WorldWideScience

Sample records for previous upper limits

  1. New experimental upper limit of the electron–proton spin-flip cross-section

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oellers, D.; Weidemann, C.; Lenisa, P.; Meyer, H.O.; Rathmann, F.; Trusov, S.; Augustyniak, W.; Bagdasarian, Z.; Barion, L.; Barsov, S.

    2014-01-01

    In a previous publication, measurements of the depolarization of a stored proton beam by interaction with a co-propagating unpolarized electron beam at low relative energy have been presented and an upper limit of about 3 ×10 7 b for the electron–proton spin-flip cross-section was determined. A refined analysis presented in this paper reduces the previous upper limit by a factor of three by the introduction of a new procedure that also makes use of non-identified particles

  2. ACA Federal Upper Limits

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Affordable Care Act Federal Upper Limits (FUL) based on the weighted average of the most recently reported monthly average manufacturer price (AMP) for...

  3. ON COMPUTING UPPER LIMITS TO SOURCE INTENSITIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kashyap, Vinay L.; Siemiginowska, Aneta; Van Dyk, David A.; Xu Jin; Connors, Alanna; Freeman, Peter E.; Zezas, Andreas

    2010-01-01

    A common problem in astrophysics is determining how bright a source could be and still not be detected in an observation. Despite the simplicity with which the problem can be stated, the solution involves complicated statistical issues that require careful analysis. In contrast to the more familiar confidence bound, this concept has never been formally analyzed, leading to a great variety of often ad hoc solutions. Here we formulate and describe the problem in a self-consistent manner. Detection significance is usually defined by the acceptable proportion of false positives (background fluctuations that are claimed as detections, or Type I error), and we invoke the complementary concept of false negatives (real sources that go undetected, or Type II error), based on the statistical power of a test, to compute an upper limit to the detectable source intensity. To determine the minimum intensity that a source must have for it to be detected, we first define a detection threshold and then compute the probabilities of detecting sources of various intensities at the given threshold. The intensity that corresponds to the specified Type II error probability defines that minimum intensity and is identified as the upper limit. Thus, an upper limit is a characteristic of the detection procedure rather than the strength of any particular source. It should not be confused with confidence intervals or other estimates of source intensity. This is particularly important given the large number of catalogs that are being generated from increasingly sensitive surveys. We discuss, with examples, the differences between these upper limits and confidence bounds. Both measures are useful quantities that should be reported in order to extract the most science from catalogs, though they answer different statistical questions: an upper bound describes an inference range on the source intensity, while an upper limit calibrates the detection process. We provide a recipe for computing upper

  4. New upper limits on the local metagalactic ionizing radiation density

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogel, Stuart N.; Weymann, Ray; Rauch, Michael; Hamilton, Tom

    1995-01-01

    We have obtained H-alpha observations with the Maryland-Caltech Fabry-Perot Spectrometer attached to the Cassegrain focus of the 1.5 m telescope at Palomer Observatory in order to set limits on the number of ionizing photons from the local metagalactic radiation field. We have observed the SW component of the Haynes-Giovanelli cloud H I 1225+01, an intergalactic cloud which should be optimum for measuring the metagalactic flux because it is nearly opaque to ionizing photons, it does not appear to be significantly shielded from the metagalactic radiation field, and the limits on embedded or nearby ionizing sources are unusually low. For the area of the cloud with an H I column density greater than 10(exp 19)/sq cm we set a 2 sigma limit of 1.1 x 10(exp -19) ergs/sq cm/s/sq arcsec (20 mR) for the surface brightness of diffuse H-alpha. This implies a 2 sigma upper limit on the incident one-sided ionizing flux of Phi(sub ex) is less than 3 x 10(exp 4)/sq cm/s. For a radiation field of the form J(sub nu) is approximately nu(exp -1.4), this yields a firm 2 sigma upper limit on the local metagalactic photoionization rate of Gamma is less than 2 x 10(exp -13)/s, and an upper limit for the radiation field J(sub nu) at the Lyman limit of J(sub nu0) is less than 8 x 10(exp -23) ergs/sq cm/Hz/sr. We discuss previous efforts to constrain the metagalactic ionizing flux using H-alpha surface brightness observations and also other methods, and conclude that our result places the firmest upper limit on this flux. We also observed the 7 min diameter region centered on 3C 273 in which H-alpha emission at a velocity of approximately 1700 km/s was initially reported by Williams and Schommer. In agreement with T. B. Williams (private communication) we find the initial detection was spurious. We obtain a 2 sigma upper limit of 1.8 x 10(exp -19) ergs/sq cm/s/sq arcsec (32 mR) for the mean surface brightness of diffuse H-alpha, about a factor of 6 below the published value.

  5. Upper Limit for Regional Sea Level Projections

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-04-01

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

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2014-07-01

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

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2014-01-01

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

  8. Upper limits on gravitational wave bursts in LIGO's second science run

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbott, B.; Adhikari, R.; Agresti, J.; Anderson, S.B.; Araya, M.; Armandula, H.; Asiri, F.; Barish, B.C.; Barnes, M.; Barton, M.A.; Bhawal, B.; Billingsley, G.; Black, E.; Blackburn, K.; Bork, R.; Brown, D.A.; Busby, D.; Cardenas, L.; Chandler, A.; Chapsky, J.

    2005-01-01

    We perform a search for gravitational wave bursts using data from the second science run of the LIGO detectors, using a method based on a wavelet time-frequency decomposition. This search is sensitive to bursts of duration much less than a second and with frequency content in the 100-1100 Hz range. It features significant improvements in the instrument sensitivity and in the analysis pipeline with respect to the burst search previously reported by LIGO. Improvements in the search method allow exploring weaker signals, relative to the detector noise floor, while maintaining a low false alarm rate, O(0.1) μHz. The sensitivity in terms of the root-sum-square (rss) strain amplitude lies in the range of h rss ∼10 -20 -10 -19 Hz -1/2 . No gravitational wave signals were detected in 9.98 days of analyzed data. We interpret the search result in terms of a frequentist upper limit on the rate of detectable gravitational wave bursts at the level of 0.26 events per day at 90% confidence level. We combine this limit with measurements of the detection efficiency for selected waveform morphologies in order to yield rate versus strength exclusion curves as well as to establish order-of-magnitude distance sensitivity to certain modeled astrophysical sources. Both the rate upper limit and its applicability to signal strengths improve our previously reported limits and reflect the most sensitive broad-band search for untriggered and unmodeled gravitational wave bursts to date

  9. Upper limits from counting experiments with multiple pipelines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutton, Patrick J

    2009-01-01

    In counting experiments, one can set an upper limit on the rate of a Poisson process based on a count of the number of events observed due to the process. In some experiments, one makes several counts of the number of events, using different instruments, different event detection algorithms or observations over multiple time intervals. We demonstrate how to generalize the classical frequentist upper limit calculation to the case where multiple counts of events are made over one or more time intervals using several (not necessarily independent) procedures. We show how different choices of the rank ordering of possible outcomes in the space of counts correspond to applying different levels of significance to the various measurements. We propose an ordering that is matched to the sensitivity of the different measurement procedures and show that in typical cases it gives stronger upper limits than other choices. As an example, we show how this method can be applied to searches for gravitational-wave bursts, where multiple burst-detection algorithms analyse the same data set, and demonstrate how a single combined upper limit can be set on the gravitational-wave burst rate.

  10. Pulsation, Mass Loss and the Upper Mass Limit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klapp, J.; Corona-Galindo, M. G.

    1990-11-01

    RESUMEN. La existencia de estrellas con masas en exceso de 100 M0 ha sido cuestionada por mucho tiempo. Lfmites superiores para la masa de 100 M0 han sido obtenidos de teorfas de pulsaci6n y formaci6n estelar. En este trabajo nosotros primero investigamos la estabilidad radial de estrellas masivas utilizando la aproximaci6n clasica cuasiadiabatica de Ledoux, la aproximaci6n cuasiadiabatica de Castor y un calculo completamente no-adiabatico. Hemos encontrado que los tres metodos de calculo dan resultados similares siempre y cuando una pequefia regi6n de las capas externas de la estrella sea despreciada para la aproximaci6n clasica. La masa crftica para estabilidad de estrellas masivas ha sido encontrada en acuerdo a trabajos anteriores. Explicamos Ia discrepancia entre este y trabajos anteriores por uno de los autores. Discunmos calculos no-lineales y perdida de masa con respecto a) lfmite superior de masa. The existence of stars with masses in excess of 100 M0 has been questioned for a very long time. Upper mass limits of 100 Me have been obtained from pulsation and star formation theories. In this work we first investigate the radial stability of massive stars using the classical Ledoux's quasiadiabatic approximation. the Castor quasiadiabatic approximation and a fully nonadiabatic calculation. We have found that the three methods of calculation give similar results provided that a small region in outer layers of the star be neglected for the classical approximation. The critical mass for stability of massive stars is found to be in agreement with previous work. We explain the reason for the discrepancy between this and previous work by one of the authors. We discuss non-linear calculations and mass loss with regard to the upper mass limit. Key words: STARS-MASS FUNCTION - STARS-MASS LOSS - STARS-PULSATION

  11. Herbivory and pollen limitation at the upper elevational range limit of two forest understory plants of eastern North America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivest, Sébastien; Vellend, Mark

    2018-01-01

    Studies of species' range limits focus most often on abiotic factors, although the strength of biotic interactions might also vary along environmental gradients and have strong demographic effects. For example, pollinator abundance might decrease at range limits due to harsh environmental conditions, and reduced plant density can reduce attractiveness to pollinators and increase or decrease herbivory. We tested for variation in the strength of pollen limitation and herbivory by ungulates along a gradient leading to the upper elevational range limits of Trillium erectum (Melanthiaceae) and Erythronium americanum (Liliaceae) in Mont Mégantic National Park, Québec, Canada. In T. erectum, pollen limitation was higher at the range limit, but seed set decreased only slightly with elevation and only in one of two years. In contrast, herbivory of T. erectum increased from 60% at the upper elevational range limit. In E. americanum , we found no evidence of pollen limitation despite a significant decrease in seed set with elevation, and herbivory was low across the entire gradient. Overall, our results demonstrate the potential for relatively strong negative interactions (herbivory) and weak positive interactions (pollination) at plant range edges, although this was clearly species specific. To the extent that these interactions have important demographic consequences-highly likely for herbivory on Trillium , based on previous studies-such interactions might play a role in determining plant species' range limits along putatively climatic gradients.

  12. Upper limit of peak area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Helene, O.A.M.

    1982-08-01

    The determination of the upper limit of peak area in a multi-channel spectra, with a known significance level is discussed. This problem is specially important when the peak area is masked by the background statistical fluctuations. The problem is exactly solved and, thus, the results are valid in experiments with small number of events. The results are submitted to a Monte Carlo test and applied to the 92 Nb beta decay. (Author) [pt

  13. Upper limit on the transition temperature for non-ideal Bose gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dai Wusheng; Xie Mi

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, we show that for a non-ideal Bose gas there exists an upper limit on the transition temperature above which Bose-Einstein condensation cannot occur regardless of the pressure applied. Such upper limits for some realistic Bose gases are estimated

  14. Upper limit for Poisson variable incorporating systematic uncertainties by Bayesian approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Yongsheng

    2007-01-01

    To calculate the upper limit for the Poisson observable at given confidence level with inclusion of systematic uncertainties in background expectation and signal efficiency, formulations have been established along the line of Bayesian approach. A FORTRAN program, BPULE, has been developed to implement the upper limit calculation

  15. Upper limits for air humidity based on human comfort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    1998-01-01

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

  16. Upper limit for J/psi→γ+ axion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edwards, C.; Partridge, R.; Peck, C.; Porter, F.C.; Antreasyan, D.; Gu, Y.F.; Kollmann, W.; Richardson, M.; Strauch, K.; Weinstein, A.; Aschman, D.; Burnett, T.; Cavalli-Sforza, M.; Coyne, D.; Newman, C.; Sadrozinski, H.F.W.; Gelphman, D.; Hofstadter, R.; Horisberger, R.; Kirkbride, I.; Kolanoski, H.; Koenigsmann, K.; Lee, R.; Liberman, A.; O'Reilly, J.; Osterheld, A.; Pollock, B.; Tompkins, J.; Bloom, E.; Bulos, F.; Chestnut, R.; Gaiser, J.; Godfrey, G.; Kiesling, C.; Lockman, W.; Oreglia, M.; Scharre, D.L.; Wacker, K.

    1982-01-01

    The authors have searched with the crystal ball detector for axionlike particles in radiative J/psi decays. An upper limit on the branching ratio B(J/psi→γ+a) -5 (90% C.L.) is obtained. This result holds for long-lived, noninteracting pseudoscalar or vector particles of mass less than 1 GeV. Thus, this experiment also places stringent limits on the existence of other possible light bosons such as those arising in supersymmetric theories

  17. Higgs Mass Constraints on a Fourth Family: Upper and Lower Limits on CKM Mixing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chanowitz, Michael S.

    2010-01-01

    Theoretical and experimental limits on the Higgs boson mass restrict CKM mixing of a possible fourth family beyond the constraints previously obtained from precision electroweak data alone. Existing experimental and theoretical bounds on m H already significantly restrict the allowed parameter space. Zero CKM mixing is excluded and mixing of order θ Cabbibo is allowed. Upper and lower limits on 3-4 CKM mixing are exhibited as a function of m H . We use the default inputs of the Electroweak Working Group and also explore the sensitivity of both the three and four family fits to alternative inputs.

  18. An upper limit to the photon fraction in cosmic rays above 10**19-eV from the Pierre Auger Observatory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abraham, J.; Aglietta, M.; Aguirre, C.; Allard, D.; Allekotte, I.; Allison, P.; Alvarez, C.; Alvarez-Muniz, J.; Ambrosio, M.; Anchordoqui, L.; Anjos, J.C.; /Centro Atomico Bariloche /Buenos Aires, CONICET /La Plata U. /Pierre Auger Observ. /CNEA, San Martin /Adelaide U. /Catholic U. of Bolivia, La Paz /Bolivia U. /Sao Paulo U. /Campinas State U. /UEFS, Feira de Santana

    2006-06-01

    An upper limit of 16% (at 95% c.l.) is derived for the photon fraction in cosmic rays with energies above 10{sup 19} eV, based on observations of the depth of shower maximum performed with the hybrid detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. This is the first such limit on photons obtained by observing the fluorescence light profile of air showers. This upper limit confirms and improves on previous results from the Haverah Park and AGASA surface arrays. Additional data recorded with the Auger surface detectors for a subset of the event sample, support the conclusion that a photon origin of the observed events is not favored.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khanh Dung T Nguyen

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

  20. New upper limits for atmospheric constituents on Io

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fink, U.; Larson, H. P.; Gautier, T. N., III

    1976-01-01

    A spectrum of Io from 0.86 to 2.7 microns with a resolution of 3.36 per cm and a signal to rms noise ratio of 120 is presented. No absorptions due to any atmospheric constituents on Io could be found in the spectrum. Upper limits of 0.12 cm-atm for NH3, 0.12 cm-atm for CH4, 0.4 cm-atm for N2O, and 24 cm-atm for H2S were determined. Laboratory spectra of ammonia frosts as a function of temperature were compared with the spectrum of Io and showed this frost not to be present at the surface of Io. A search for possible resonance lines of carbon, silicon, and sulfur, as well as the 1.08-micron line of helium, proved negative. Upper emission limits of 60, 18, 27, and 60 kilorayleighs, respectively, were established for these lines.

  1. Upper limits on beauty meson production in π- collisions at 280 GeV/c

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Badier, J.; Bourotte, J.; Mine, P.; Vanderhaghen, R.; Weisz, S.; Boucrot, J.; Callot, O.; Decamp, D.; Karyotakis, Y.; Lefrancois, J.; Crozon, M.; Delpierre, P.; Leray, T.; Maillard, J.; Tilquin, A.; Valentin, J.

    1983-01-01

    From events with two like-sign muons, or with three or four muons, observed in the NA3 spectrometer with 280 GeV/c incoming π - beam, we deduce upper limits on the production of beauty meson pairs Banti B. We use the leptonic branching ratios of B meson measured at CESR storage rings, and assume that no nuclear effects occur in the platinum target. We find sigma(Banti B) < 2 nb/nucleon for centrally produced Banti B pairs, and sigma(Banti B) < 10 nb/nucleon for a diffractive production. These values are one order of magnitude lower than previously published limits. As a consequence, the psipsi events observed in our experiment cannot come from Banti B decays. (orig.)

  2. Upper limit on the inner radiation belt MeV electron intensity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, X; Selesnick, RS; Baker, DN; Jaynes, AN; Kanekal, SG; Schiller, Q; Blum, L; Fennell, J; Blake, JB

    2015-01-01

    No instruments in the inner radiation belt are immune from the unforgiving penetration of the highly energetic protons (tens of MeV to GeV). The inner belt proton flux level, however, is relatively stable; thus, for any given instrument, the proton contamination often leads to a certain background noise. Measurements from the Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope integrated little experiment on board Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment CubeSat, in a low Earth orbit, clearly demonstrate that there exist sub-MeV electrons in the inner belt because their flux level is orders of magnitude higher than the background, while higher-energy electron (>1.6 MeV) measurements cannot be distinguished from the background. Detailed analysis of high-quality measurements from the Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope on board Van Allen Probes, in a geo-transfer-like orbit, provides, for the first time, quantified upper limits on MeV electron fluxes in various energy ranges in the inner belt. These upper limits are rather different from flux levels in the AE8 and AE9 models, which were developed based on older data sources. For 1.7, 2.5, and 3.3 MeV electrons, the upper limits are about 1 order of magnitude lower than predicted model fluxes. The implication of this difference is profound in that unless there are extreme solar wind conditions, which have not happened yet since the launch of Van Allen Probes, significant enhancements of MeV electrons do not occur in the inner belt even though such enhancements are commonly seen in the outer belt. Key Points Quantified upper limit of MeV electrons in the inner belt Actual MeV electron intensity likely much lower than the upper limit More detailed understanding of relativistic electrons in the magnetosphere PMID:26167446

  3. Determination of the upper limit of a peak area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Helene, O.

    1990-03-01

    This paper reports the procedure to extract an upper limit of a peak area in a multichannel spectrum. This procedure takes into account the finite shape of the peak and the uncertanties in the background and in the expected position of the peak. (author) [pt

  4. Determination of the upper limit of a peak area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Helene, O.

    1991-01-01

    This article reports the procedure to extract an upper limit of a peak area in a multichannel spectrum. This procedure takes into account the finite shape of the peak and the uncertainties both in the background and in the expected position of the peak. (orig.)

  5. Electric-dipole-moment enhancement factor for the thallium atom, and a new upper limit on the electric dipole moment of the electron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sandars, P.G.H.; Sternheimer, R.M.

    1975-01-01

    Some time ago, an accurate upper limit on a possible permanent electric dipole moment of the thallium atom in the 6 2 P 1 / 2 ground state was obtained by Gould. The result was D/sub Tl/ = [(1.3 +- 2.4) x 10 -21 cm]e. In connection with this value, a calculation of the electric dipole enhancement factor R/sub Tl/, which is defined as the ratio D/sub Tl//D/sub e/, where D/sub e/is the corresponding upper limit on a possible electric dipole moment of the (valence) electron was carried out. A value R/subTl/ = 700 was obtained, which leads to an upper limit D/sub e/ = [(1.9 +- 3.4) x 10 -24 cm]e. This result is comparable with the value D/sub e/ -24 cm)e previously obtained by Weisskopf et al. from measurements on the cesium atom, and with the result of Player and Sandars of [(0.7 +- 2.2) x 10 -24 cm]e obtained from the search for an electric dipole moment in the 3 P 2 metastable state of xenon. All three results set a stringent upper limit on the amount of a possible violation of T and P invariance in electromagnetic interactions. (U.S.)

  6. Upper limits on the luminosity of the progenitor of type Ia supernova SN2014J

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, M. T. B.; Gilfanov, M.; Bogdan, A.

    2014-01-01

    We analysed archival data of Chandra pre-explosion observations of the position of SN2014J in M82. No X-ray source at this position was detected in the data, and we calculated upper limits on the luminosities of the progenitor. These upper limits allow us to firmly rule out an unobscured supersof...

  7. Upper limits to trace constituents in Jupiter's atmosphere from an analysis of its 5 micrometer spectrum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treffers, R. R.; Larson, H. P.; Fink, U.; Gautier, T. N.

    1978-01-01

    A high-resolution spectrum of Jupiter at 5 micrometers recorded at the Kuiper Airborne Observatory is used to determine upper limits to the column density of 19 molecules. The upper limits to the mixing ratios of SiH4, H2S, HCN, and simple hydrocarbons are discussed with respect to current models of Jupiter's atmosphere. These upper limits are compared to expectations based upon the solar abundance of the elements. This analysis permits upper limit measurements (SiH4), or actual detections (GeH4) of molecules with mixing ratios with hydrogen as low as 10 to the minus 9th power. In future observations at 5 micrometers the sensitivity of remote spectroscopic analyses should permit the study of constituents with mixing ratios as low as 10 to the minus 10th power, which would include the hydrides of such elements as Sn and As as well as numerous organic molecules.

  8. Upper Limits on a Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background Using LIGO and Virgo Interferometers at 600-1000 Hz

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abadie, J.; Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M.; Accadia, T.; Acernese, F.; Adams, C.; Adhikari, R.; Affeldt, C.; hide

    2012-01-01

    A stochastic background of gravitational waves is expected to arise from a superposition of many incoherent sources of gravitational waves, of either cosmological or astrophysical origin. This background is a target for the current generation of ground-based detectors. In this article we present the first joint search for a stochastic background using data from the LIGO and Virgo interferometers. In a frequency band of 600-1000 Hz, we obtained a 95% upper limit on the amplitude of omega(sub GW)(f) = omega(sub 3) (f/900Hz)3, of omega(sub 3) < 0.33, assuming a value of the Hubble parameter of h(sub 100) = 0.72. These new limits are a factor of seven better than the previous best in this frequency band.

  9. Low Upper Limit to Methane Abundance on Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, Christopher R.; Mahaffy, Paul R.; Atreya, Sushil K.; Flesch, Gregory J.; Farley, Kenneth A.; Kemppinen, Osku; Bridges, Nathan; Johnson, Jeffrey R.; Minitti, Michelle; Cremers, David; Bell, James F.; Edgar, Lauren; Farmer, Jack; Godber, Austin; Wadhwa, Meenakshi; Wellington, Danika; McEwan, Ian; Newman, Claire; Richardson, Mark; Charpentier, Antoine; Peret, Laurent; King, Penelope; Blank, Jennifer; Weigle, Gerald; Schmidt, Mariek; Li, Shuai; Milliken, Ralph; Robertson, Kevin; Sun, Vivian; Baker, Michael; Edwards, Christopher; Ehlmann, Bethany; Farley, Kenneth; Griffes, Jennifer; Grotzinger, John; Miller, Hayden; Newcombe, Megan; Pilorget, Cedric; Rice, Melissa; Siebach, Kirsten; Stack, Katie; Stolper, Edward; Brunet, Claude; Hipkin, Victoria; Léveillé, Richard; Marchand, Geneviève; Sánchez, Pablo Sobrón; Favot, Laurent; Cody, George; Steele, Andrew; Flückiger, Lorenzo; Lees, David; Nefian, Ara; Martin, Mildred; Gailhanou, Marc; Westall, Frances; Israël, Guy; Agard, Christophe; Baroukh, Julien; Donny, Christophe; Gaboriaud, Alain; Guillemot, Philippe; Lafaille, Vivian; Lorigny, Eric; Paillet, Alexis; Pérez, René; Saccoccio, Muriel; Yana, Charles; Armiens-Aparicio, Carlos; Rodríguez, Javier Caride; Blázquez, Isaías Carrasco; Gómez, Felipe Gómez; Elvira, Javier Gómez; Hettrich, Sebastian; Malvitte, Alain Lepinette; Jiménez, Mercedes Marín; Martínez-Frías, Jesús; Soler, Javier Martín; Martín-Torres, F. Javier; Jurado, Antonio Molina; Mora-Sotomayor, Luis; Caro, Guillermo Muñoz; López, Sara Navarro; Peinado-González, Verónica; Pla-García, Jorge; Manfredi, José Antonio Rodriguez; Romeral-Planelló, Julio José; Fuentes, Sara Alejandra Sans; Martinez, Eduardo Sebastian; Redondo, Josefina Torres; Urqui-O'Callaghan, Roser; Mier, María-Paz Zorzano; Chipera, Steve; Lacour, Jean-Luc; Mauchien, Patrick; Sirven, Jean-Baptiste; Manning, Heidi; Fairén, Alberto; Hayes, Alexander; Joseph, Jonathan; Squyres, Steven; Sullivan, Robert; Thomas, Peter; Dupont, Audrey; Lundberg, Angela; Melikechi, Noureddine; Mezzacappa, Alissa; DeMarines, Julia; Grinspoon, David; Reitz, Günther; Prats, Benito; Atlaskin, Evgeny; Genzer, Maria; Harri, Ari-Matti; Haukka, Harri; Kahanpää, Henrik; Kauhanen, Janne; Kemppinen, Osku; Paton, Mark; Polkko, Jouni; Schmidt, Walter; Siili, Tero; Fabre, Cécile; Wray, James; Wilhelm, Mary Beth; Poitrasson, Franck; Patel, Kiran; Gorevan, Stephen; Indyk, Stephen; Paulsen, Gale; Gupta, Sanjeev; Bish, David; Schieber, Juergen; Gondet, Brigitte; Langevin, Yves; Geffroy, Claude; Baratoux, David; Berger, Gilles; Cros, Alain; d'Uston, Claude; Forni, Olivier; Gasnault, Olivier; Lasue, Jérémie; Lee, Qiu-Mei; Maurice, Sylvestre; Meslin, Pierre-Yves; Pallier, Etienne; Parot, Yann; Pinet, Patrick; Schröder, Susanne; Toplis, Mike; Lewin, Éric; Brunner, Will; Heydari, Ezat; Achilles, Cherie; Oehler, Dorothy; Sutter, Brad; Cabane, Michel; Coscia, David; Israël, Guy; Szopa, Cyril; Dromart, Gilles; Robert, François; Sautter, Violaine; Le Mouélic, Stéphane; Mangold, Nicolas; Nachon, Marion; Buch, Arnaud; Stalport, Fabien; Coll, Patrice; François, Pascaline; Raulin, François; Teinturier, Samuel; Cameron, James; Clegg, Sam; Cousin, Agnès; DeLapp, Dorothea; Dingler, Robert; Jackson, Ryan Steele; Johnstone, Stephen; Lanza, Nina; Little, Cynthia; Nelson, Tony; Wiens, Roger C.; Williams, Richard B.; Jones, Andrea; Kirkland, Laurel; Treiman, Allan; Baker, Burt; Cantor, Bruce; Caplinger, Michael; Davis, Scott; Duston, Brian; Edgett, Kenneth; Fay, Donald; Hardgrove, Craig; Harker, David; Herrera, Paul; Jensen, Elsa; Kennedy, Megan R.; Krezoski, Gillian; Krysak, Daniel; Lipkaman, Leslie; Malin, Michael; McCartney, Elaina; McNair, Sean; Nixon, Brian; Posiolova, Liliya; Ravine, Michael; Salamon, Andrew; Saper, Lee; Stoiber, Kevin; Supulver, Kimberley; Van Beek, Jason; Van Beek, Tessa; Zimdar, Robert; French, Katherine Louise; Iagnemma, Karl; Miller, Kristen; Summons, Roger; Goesmann, Fred; Goetz, Walter; Hviid, Stubbe; Johnson, Micah; Lefavor, Matthew; Lyness, Eric; Breves, Elly; Dyar, M. Darby; Fassett, Caleb; Blake, David F.; Bristow, Thomas; DesMarais, David; Edwards, Laurence; Haberle, Robert; Hoehler, Tori; Hollingsworth, Jeff; Kahre, Melinda; Keely, Leslie; McKay, Christopher; Wilhelm, Mary Beth; Bleacher, Lora; Brinckerhoff, William; Choi, David; Conrad, Pamela; Dworkin, Jason P.; Eigenbrode, Jennifer; Floyd, Melissa; Freissinet, Caroline; Garvin, James; Glavin, Daniel; Harpold, Daniel; Jones, Andrea; Mahaffy, Paul; Martin, David K.; McAdam, Amy; Pavlov, Alexander; Raaen, Eric; Smith, Michael D.; Stern, Jennifer; Tan, Florence; Trainer, Melissa; Meyer, Michael; Posner, Arik; Voytek, Mary; Anderson, Robert C.; Aubrey, Andrew; Beegle, Luther W.; Behar, Alberto; Blaney, Diana; Brinza, David; Calef, Fred; Christensen, Lance; Crisp, Joy A.; DeFlores, Lauren; Ehlmann, Bethany; Feldman, Jason; Feldman, Sabrina; Flesch, Gregory; Hurowitz, Joel; Jun, Insoo; Keymeulen, Didier; Maki, Justin; Mischna, Michael; Morookian, John Michael; Parker, Timothy; Pavri, Betina; Schoppers, Marcel; Sengstacken, Aaron; Simmonds, John J.; Spanovich, Nicole; Juarez, Manuel de la Torre; Vasavada, Ashwin R.; Webster, Christopher R.; Yen, Albert; Archer, Paul Douglas; Cucinotta, Francis; Jones, John H.; Ming, Douglas; Morris, Richard V.; Niles, Paul; Rampe, Elizabeth; Nolan, Thomas; Fisk, Martin; Radziemski, Leon; Barraclough, Bruce; Bender, Steve; Berman, Daniel; Dobrea, Eldar Noe; Tokar, Robert; Vaniman, David; Williams, Rebecca M. E.; Yingst, Aileen; Lewis, Kevin; Leshin, Laurie; Cleghorn, Timothy; Huntress, Wesley; Manhès, Gérard; Hudgins, Judy; Olson, Timothy; Stewart, Noel; Sarrazin, Philippe; Grant, John; Vicenzi, Edward; Wilson, Sharon A.; Bullock, Mark; Ehresmann, Bent; Hamilton, Victoria; Hassler, Donald; Peterson, Joseph; Rafkin, Scot; Zeitlin, Cary; Fedosov, Fedor; Golovin, Dmitry; Karpushkina, Natalya; Kozyrev, Alexander; Litvak, Maxim; Malakhov, Alexey; Mitrofanov, Igor; Mokrousov, Maxim; Nikiforov, Sergey; Prokhorov, Vasily; Sanin, Anton; Tretyakov, Vladislav; Varenikov, Alexey; Vostrukhin, Andrey; Kuzmin, Ruslan; Clark, Benton; Wolff, Michael; McLennan, Scott; Botta, Oliver; Drake, Darrell; Bean, Keri; Lemmon, Mark; Schwenzer, Susanne P.; Anderson, Ryan B.; Herkenhoff, Kenneth; Lee, Ella Mae; Sucharski, Robert; Hernández, Miguel Ángel de Pablo; Ávalos, Juan José Blanco; Ramos, Miguel; Kim, Myung-Hee; Malespin, Charles; Plante, Ianik; Muller, Jan-Peter; Navarro-González, Rafael; Ewing, Ryan; Boynton, William; Downs, Robert; Fitzgibbon, Mike; Harshman, Karl; Morrison, Shaunna; Dietrich, William; Kortmann, Onno; Palucis, Marisa; Sumner, Dawn Y.; Williams, Amy; Lugmair, Günter; Wilson, Michael A.; Rubin, David; Jakosky, Bruce; Balic-Zunic, Tonci; Frydenvang, Jens; Jensen, Jaqueline Kløvgaard; Kinch, Kjartan; Koefoed, Asmus; Madsen, Morten Bo; Stipp, Susan Louise Svane; Boyd, Nick; Campbell, John L.; Gellert, Ralf; Perrett, Glynis; Pradler, Irina; VanBommel, Scott; Jacob, Samantha; Owen, Tobias; Rowland, Scott; Atlaskin, Evgeny; Savijärvi, Hannu; Boehm, Eckart; Böttcher, Stephan; Burmeister, Sönke; Guo, Jingnan; Köhler, Jan; García, César Martín; Mueller-Mellin, Reinhold; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert; Bridges, John C.; McConnochie, Timothy; Benna, Mehdi; Franz, Heather; Bower, Hannah; Brunner, Anna; Blau, Hannah; Boucher, Thomas; Carmosino, Marco; Atreya, Sushil; Elliott, Harvey; Halleaux, Douglas; Rennó, Nilton; Wong, Michael; Pepin, Robert; Elliott, Beverley; Spray, John; Thompson, Lucy; Gordon, Suzanne; Newsom, Horton; Ollila, Ann; Williams, Joshua; Vasconcelos, Paulo; Bentz, Jennifer; Nealson, Kenneth; Popa, Radu; Kah, Linda C.; Moersch, Jeffrey; Tate, Christopher; Day, Mackenzie; Kocurek, Gary; Hallet, Bernard; Sletten, Ronald; Francis, Raymond; McCullough, Emily; Cloutis, Ed; ten Kate, Inge Loes; Kuzmin, Ruslan; Arvidson, Raymond; Fraeman, Abigail; Scholes, Daniel; Slavney, Susan; Stein, Thomas; Ward, Jennifer; Berger, Jeffrey; Moores, John E.

    2013-10-01

    By analogy with Earth, methane in the Martian atmosphere is a potential signature of ongoing or past biological activity. During the past decade, Earth-based telescopic observations reported “plumes” of methane of tens of parts per billion by volume (ppbv), and those from Mars orbit showed localized patches, prompting speculation of sources from subsurface bacteria or nonbiological sources. From in situ measurements made with the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) on Curiosity using a distinctive spectral pattern specific to methane, we report no detection of atmospheric methane with a measured value of 0.18 ± 0.67 ppbv corresponding to an upper limit of only 1.3 ppbv (95% confidence level), which reduces the probability of current methanogenic microbial activity on Mars and limits the recent contribution from extraplanetary and geologic sources.

  10. Global robust stability of delayed neural networks: Estimating upper limit of norm of delayed connection weight matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Vimal

    2007-01-01

    The question of estimating the upper limit of -parallel B -parallel 2 , which is a key step in some recently reported global robust stability criteria for delayed neural networks, is revisited ( B denotes the delayed connection weight matrix). Recently, Cao, Huang, and Qu have given an estimate of the upper limit of -parallel B -parallel 2 . In the present paper, an alternative estimate of the upper limit of -parallel B -parallel 2 is highlighted. It is shown that the alternative estimate may yield some new global robust stability results

  11. Acoustic observation of living organisms reveals the upper limit of the oxygen minimum zone.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arnaud Bertrand

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs are expanding in the World Ocean as a result of climate change and direct anthropogenic influence. OMZ expansion greatly affects biogeochemical processes and marine life, especially by constraining the vertical habitat of most marine organisms. Currently, monitoring the variability of the upper limit of the OMZs relies on time intensive sampling protocols, causing poor spatial resolution. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using routine underwater acoustic observations of the vertical distribution of marine organisms, we propose a new method that allows determination of the upper limit of the OMZ with a high precision. Applied in the eastern South-Pacific, this original sampling technique provides high-resolution information on the depth of the upper OMZ allowing documentation of mesoscale and submesoscale features (e.g., eddies and filaments that structure the upper ocean and the marine ecosystems. We also use this information to estimate the habitable volume for the world's most exploited fish, the Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This opportunistic method could be implemented on any vessel geared with multi-frequency echosounders to perform comprehensive high-resolution monitoring of the upper limit of the OMZ. Our approach is a novel way of studying the impact of physical processes on marine life and extracting valid information about the pelagic habitat and its spatial structure, a crucial aspect of Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management in the current context of climate change.

  12. CALET UPPER LIMITS ON X-RAY AND GAMMA-RAY COUNTERPARTS OF GW151226

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adriani, O.; Bongi, M.; Castellini, G. [University of Florence, Via Sansone, 1, I-50019 Sesto, Fiorentino (Italy); Akaike, Y. [Universities Space Research Association, 7178 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046 (United States); Asano, K. [Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwa-no-Ha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8582 (Japan); Asaoka, Y. [JEM Mission Operations and Integration Center, Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 2-1-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8505 (Japan); Bagliesi, M. G.; Bigongiari, G.; Bonechi, S.; Brogi, P.; Felice, V. Di [National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Piazza dei Caprettari, 70, I-00186 Rome (Italy); Binns, W. R.; Buckley, J. H. [Department of Physics, Washington University, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 (United States); Cannady, N.; Cherry, M. L.; Guzik, T. G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, 202 Nicholson Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (United States); Checchia, C.; Collazuol, G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Via Marzolo, 8, I-35131 Padova (Italy); Ebisawa, K.; Fuke, H., E-mail: nakahira@crab.riken.jp, E-mail: yoichi.asaoka@aoni.waseda.jp, E-mail: tsakamoto@phys.aoyama.ac.jp [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); and others

    2016-09-20

    We present upper limits in the hard X-ray and gamma-ray bands at the time of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) gravitational-wave event GW151226 derived from the CALorimetric Electron Telescope ( CALET ) observation. The main instrument of CALET , CALorimeter (CAL), observes gamma-rays from ∼1 GeV up to 10 TeV with a field of view of ∼2 sr. The CALET gamma-ray burst monitor (CGBM) views ∼3 sr and ∼2 π sr of the sky in the 7 keV–1 MeV and the 40 keV–20 MeV bands, respectively, by using two different scintillator-based instruments. The CGBM covered 32.5% and 49.1% of the GW151226 sky localization probability in the 7 keV–1 MeV and 40 keV–20 MeV bands respectively. We place a 90% upper limit of 2 × 10{sup −7} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} in the 1–100 GeV band where CAL reaches 15% of the integrated LIGO probability (∼1.1 sr). The CGBM 7 σ upper limits are 1.0 × 10{sup −6} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} (7–500 keV) and 1.8 × 10{sup −6} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} (50–1000 keV) for a 1 s exposure. Those upper limits correspond to the luminosity of 3–5 × 10{sup 49} erg s{sup −1}, which is significantly lower than typical short GRBs.

  13. Upper limit on NUT charge from the observed terrestrial Sagnac effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulbakova, A.; Karimov, R. Kh; Izmailov, R. N.; Nandi, K. K.

    2018-06-01

    The exact Sagnac delay in the Kerr–Taub–NUT (Newman–Unti–Tamburino) spacetime is derived in the equatorial plane for non-geodesic as well as geodesic circular orbits. The resulting formula, being exact, can be directly applied to motion in the vicinity of any spinning object including black holes but here we are considering only the terrestrial case since observational data are available. The formula reveals that, in the limit of spin , the delay does not vanish. This fact is similar to the non-vanishing of Lense–Thirring precession under even though the two effects originate from different premises. Assuming a reasonable input that the Kerr–Taub–NUT corrections are subsumed in the average residual uncertainty in the measured Sagnac delay, we compute upper limits on the NUT charge n. It is found that the upper limits on n are far larger than the Earth’s gravitational mass, which has not been detected in observations, implying that the Sagnac effect cannot constrain n to smaller values near zero. We find a curious difference between the delays for non-geodesic and geodesic clock orbits and point out its implication for the well known ‘twin paradox’ of special relativity.

  14. Temporal variations of mobile carbohydrates in Abies fargesii at the upper tree limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dang, H S; Zhang, K R; Zhang, Q F; Xu, Y M

    2015-01-01

    Low temperatures are associated high-altitude treelines, but the functional mechanism of treeline formation remains controversial. The relative contributions of carbon limitation (source activity) and growth limitation (sink activity) require more tests across taxa and regions. We examined temporal variations of mobile carbon supply in different tissues of Abies fargesii across treeline ecotones on north- and south-facing slopes of the Qinling Mountains, China. Non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) concentrations in tissues along the altitudinal gradient on both slopes changed significantly in the early and late growing season, but not in the mid-growing season, indicating the season-dependent carbon supply status. Late in the growing season on both slopes, trees at the upper limits had the highest NSC concentrations and total soluble sugars and lowest starch concentrations compared to trees at the lower elevations. NSC concentrations tended to increase in needles and branches throughout the growing season with increasing elevation on both slopes, but declined in roots and stems. NSC concentrations across sampling dates also indicated increases in needles and branches, and decreases in roots and stem with increasing elevation. Overall altitudinal trends of NSC in A. fargesii revealed no depletion of mobile carbon reserves at upper elevation limits, suggesting limitation of sink activity dominates tree life across treeline ecotones in both north- and south-facing slopes. Carbon reserves in storage tissues (especially roots) in the late growing season might also play an important role in winter survival and early growth in spring at upper elevations on both slopes, which define the uppermost limit of A. fargesii. © 2014 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  15. The upper spatial limit for perception of displacement is affected by preceding motion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stefanova, Miroslava; Mateeff, Stefan; Hohnsbein, Joachim

    2009-03-01

    The upper spatial limit D(max) for perception of apparent motion of a random dot pattern may be strongly affected by another, collinear, motion that precedes it [Mateeff, S., Stefanova, M., &. Hohnsbein, J. (2007). Perceived global direction of a compound of real and apparent motion. Vision Research, 47, 1455-1463]. In the present study this phenomenon was studied with two-dimensional motion stimuli. A random dot pattern moved alternately in the vertical and oblique direction (zig-zag motion). The vertical motion was of 1.04 degrees length; it was produced by three discrete spatial steps of the dots. Thereafter the dots were displaced by a single spatial step in oblique direction. Each motion lasted for 57ms. The upper spatial limit for perception of the oblique motion was measured under two conditions: the vertical component of the oblique motion and the vertical motion were either in the same or in opposite directions. It was found that the perception of the oblique motion was strongly influenced by the relative direction of the vertical motion that preceded it; in the "same" condition the upper spatial limit was much shorter than in the "opposite" condition. Decreasing the speed of the vertical motion reversed this effect. Interpretations based on networks of motion detectors and on Gestalt theory are discussed.

  16. The solar-flare infrared continuum: observational techniques and upper limits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudson, H.S.

    1975-01-01

    Exploratory observations at 20μ and 350 μ have determined detection thresholds for solar flares in these wavelengths. In the 20μ range solar atmospheric fluctuations (the 'temperature field') set the basic limits on flare detectability at approximately 5K; at 350μ the extinction in the Earth's atmosphere provides the basic limitation of approximately 30 K. These thresholds are low enough for the successful detection of several infrared-emitting components of large flares. Limited observing time and lack of solar activity have prevented observations of large flares up to the present, but the techniques promise to be extremely useful in the future. The upper limits obtained thus far, for subflares, indicate that the thickness of the Hα flare region does not exceed approximately 10 km. This result confirms the conclusion of Suemoto and Hiei (1959) regarding the small effective thickness of the Hα-emitting regions in solar flares. (Auth.)

  17. Actinide solubility in deep groundwaters - estimates for upper limits based on chemical equilibrium calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schweingruber, M.

    1983-12-01

    A chemical equilibrium model is used to estimate maximum upper concentration limits for some actinides (Th, U, Np, Pu, Am) in groundwaters. Eh/pH diagrams for solubility isopleths, dominant dissolved species and limiting solids are constructed for fixed parameter sets including temperature, thermodynamic database, ionic strength and total concentrations of most important inorganic ligands (carbonate, fluoride, phosphate, sulphate, chloride). In order to assess conservative conditions, a reference water is defined with high ligand content and ionic strength, but without competing cations. In addition, actinide oxides and hydroxides are the only solid phases considered. Recommendations for 'safe' upper actinide solubility limits for deep groundwaters are derived from such diagrams, based on the predicted Eh/pH domain. The model results are validated as far as the scarce experimental data permit. (Auth.)

  18. The Canadian experience: why Canada decided against an upper limit for cholesterol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Bruce E

    2004-12-01

    Canada, like the United States, held a "consensus conference on cholesterol" in 1988. Although the final report of the consensus panel recommended that total dietary fat not exceed 30 percent and saturated fat not exceed 10 percent of total energy intake, it did not specify an upper limit for dietary cholesterol. Similarly, the 1990, Health Canada publication "Nutrition Recommendations: The Report of the Scientific Review Committee" specified upper limits for total and saturated fat in the diet but did not specify an upper limit for cholesterol. Canada's Guidelines for Healthy Eating, a companion publication from Health Canada, suggested that Canadians "choose low-fat dairy products, lean meats, and foods prepared with little or no fat" while enjoying "a variety of foods." Many factors contributed to this position but a primary element was the belief that total dietary fat and saturated fat were primary dietary determinants of serum total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, not dietary cholesterol. Hence, Canadian health authorities focused on reducing saturated fat and trans fats in the Canadian diet to help lower blood cholesterol levels rather than focusing on limiting dietary cholesterol. In an effort to allay consumer concern with the premise that blood cholesterol level is linked to dietary cholesterol, organizations such as the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency (CEMA) reminded health professionals, including registered dietitians, family physicians and nutrition educators, of the extensive data showing that there is little relationship between dietary cholesterol intake and cardiovascular mortality. In addition, it was pointed out that for most healthy individuals, endogenous synthesis of cholesterol by the liver adjusts to the level of dietary cholesterol intake. Educating health professionals about the relatively weak association between dietary cholesterol and the relatively strong association between serum cholesterol and saturated fat and

  19. Risk of low-energy hip, wrist, and upper arm fractures among current and previous users of hormone replacement therapy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hundrup, Yrsa Andersen; Høidrup, Susanne; Ekholm, Ola

    2004-01-01

    To examine the effect of oestrogen alone and in combination with progestin on the risk of low-energy, hip, wrist, and upper arm fractures. Additionally, to examine to what extent previous use, duration of use as well as recency of discontinuation of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) influences...

  20. An upper limit on hypertriton production in collisions of Ar(1.76 A GeV) + KCl

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agakishiev, G.; Chernenko, S.; Fateev, O.; Zanevsky, Y.; Belver, D.; Cabanelas, P.; Castro, E.; Garzon, J.A.; Blanco, A.; Fonte, P.; Lopes, L.; Mangiarotti, A.; Boehmer, M.; Friese, J.; Gernhaeuser, R.; Jurkovic, M.; Kruecken, R.; Maier, L.; Weber, M.; Boyard, J.L.; Hennino, T.; Liu, T.; Moriniere, E.; Ramstein, B.; Destefanis, M.; Gilardi, C.; Kuehn, W.; Lange, J.S.; Metag, V.; Spruck, B.; Dohrmann, F.; Kaempfer, B.; Kotte, R.; Naumann, L.; Wendisch, C.; Wuestenfeld, J.; Dybczak, A.; Michalska, B.; Palka, M.; Przygoda, W.; Salabura, P.; Trebacz, R.; Wisniowski, M.; Epple, E.; Fabbietti, L.; Lapidus, K.; Siebenson, J.; Finocchiaro, P.; Schmah, A.; Spataro, S.; Froehlich, I.; Lorenz, M.; Markert, J.; Michel, J.; Muentz, C.; Pachmayer, Y.C.; Pechenova, O.; Rehnisch, L.; Rustamov, A.; Scheib, T.; Schuldes, H.; Stroebele, H.; Tarantola, A.; Teilab, K.; Galatyuk, T.; Gonzalez-Diaz, D.; Golubeva, M.; Guber, F.; Ivashkin, A.; Karavicheva, T.; Kurepin, A.; Reshetin, A.; Sadovsky, A.; Gumberidze, M.; Heinz, T.; Holzmann, R.; Koenig, I.; Koenig, W.; Kolb, B.W.; Lang, S.; Pechenov, V.; Pietraszko, J.; Schwab, E.; Sturm, C.; Traxler, M.; Yurevich, S.; Iori, I.; Krasa, A.; Krizek, F.; Kugler, A.; Sobolev, Yu.G.; Tlusty, P.; Wagner, V.; Kuc, H.; Mousa, J.; Tsertos, H.; Stroth, J.

    2013-01-01

    A high-statistic data sample of Ar(1.76 AGeV)+KCl events recorded with HADES is used to search for a hypertriton signal. An upper production limit per centrality-triggered event of 1.04 x 10 -3 on the 3 σ level is derived. Comparing this value with the number of successfully reconstructed Λ hyperons allows to determine an upper limit on the ratio N 3 Λ H /N Λ , which is confronted with statistical and coalescence-type model calculations. (orig.)

  1. Upper limits on the 21 cm power spectrum at z = 5.9 from quasar absorption line spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pober, Jonathan C.; Greig, Bradley; Mesinger, Andrei

    2016-11-01

    We present upper limits on the 21 cm power spectrum at z = 5.9 calculated from the model-independent limit on the neutral fraction of the intergalactic medium of x_{H I} chain Monte Carlo Epoch of Reionization analysis code, we explore the probability distribution of 21 cm power spectra consistent with this constraint on the neutral fraction. We present 99 per cent confidence upper limits of Δ2(k) limit dependent on the sampled k mode. This limit can be used as a null test for 21 cm experiments: a detection of power at z = 5.9 in excess of this value is highly suggestive of residual foreground contamination or other systematic errors affecting the analysis.

  2. An upper limit on hypertriton production in collisions of Ar(1.76 A GeV) + KCl

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Agakishiev, G.; Chernenko, S.; Fateev, O.; Zanevsky, Y. [Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation); Belver, D.; Cabanelas, P.; Castro, E.; Garzon, J.A. [Univ. de Santiago de Compostela, LabCAF. F. Fisica, Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Blanco, A.; Fonte, P.; Lopes, L.; Mangiarotti, A. [LIP-Laboratorio de Instrumentacao e Fisica Experimental de Particulas, Coimbra (Portugal); Boehmer, M.; Friese, J.; Gernhaeuser, R.; Jurkovic, M.; Kruecken, R.; Maier, L.; Weber, M. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Physik Department E12, Garching (Germany); Boyard, J.L.; Hennino, T.; Liu, T.; Moriniere, E.; Ramstein, B. [Universite Paris Sud, Institut de Physique Nucleaire (UMR 8608), CNRS/IN2P3, Orsay Cedex (France); Destefanis, M.; Gilardi, C.; Kuehn, W.; Lange, J.S.; Metag, V.; Spruck, B. [Justus Liebig Universitaet Giessen, II. Physikalisches Institut, Giessen (Germany); Dohrmann, F.; Kaempfer, B.; Kotte, R.; Naumann, L.; Wendisch, C.; Wuestenfeld, J. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institut fuer Strahlenphysik, Dresden (Germany); Dybczak, A.; Michalska, B.; Palka, M.; Przygoda, W.; Salabura, P.; Trebacz, R.; Wisniowski, M. [Jagiellonian University of Cracow, Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Krakow (Poland); Epple, E.; Fabbietti, L.; Lapidus, K.; Siebenson, J. [Excellence Cluster ' ' Origin and Structure of the Universe' ' , Garching (Germany); Finocchiaro, P.; Schmah, A.; Spataro, S. [Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Catania (Italy); Froehlich, I.; Lorenz, M.; Markert, J.; Michel, J.; Muentz, C.; Pachmayer, Y.C.; Pechenova, O.; Rehnisch, L.; Rustamov, A.; Scheib, T.; Schuldes, H.; Stroebele, H.; Tarantola, A.; Teilab, K. [Goethe-Universitaet, Institut fuer Kernphysik, Frankfurt (Germany); Galatyuk, T.; Gonzalez-Diaz, D. [Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Darmstadt (Germany); Golubeva, M.; Guber, F.; Ivashkin, A.; Karavicheva, T.; Kurepin, A.; Reshetin, A.; Sadovsky, A. [Russian Academy of Science, Institute for Nuclear Research, Moscow (Russian Federation); Gumberidze, M. [Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Darmstadt (Germany); Universite Paris Sud, Institut de Physique Nucleaire (UMR 8608), CNRS/IN2P3, Orsay Cedex (France); Heinz, T.; Holzmann, R.; Koenig, I.; Koenig, W.; Kolb, B.W.; Lang, S.; Pechenov, V.; Pietraszko, J.; Schwab, E.; Sturm, C.; Traxler, M.; Yurevich, S. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Iori, I. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano, Milano (Italy); Krasa, A.; Krizek, F.; Kugler, A.; Sobolev, Yu.G.; Tlusty, P.; Wagner, V. [Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, Nuclear Physics Institute, Rez (Czech Republic); Kuc, H. [Jagiellonian University of Cracow, Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Krakow (Poland); Universite Paris Sud, Institut de Physique Nucleaire (UMR 8608), CNRS/IN2P3, Orsay Cedex (France); Mousa, J.; Tsertos, H. [University of Cyprus, Department of Physics, Nicosia (Cyprus); Stroth, J. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Goethe-Universitaet, Institut fuer Kernphysik, Frankfurt (Germany); Collaboration: HADES Collaboration

    2013-11-15

    A high-statistic data sample of Ar(1.76 AGeV)+KCl events recorded with HADES is used to search for a hypertriton signal. An upper production limit per centrality-triggered event of 1.04 x 10{sup -3} on the 3 {sigma} level is derived. Comparing this value with the number of successfully reconstructed {Lambda} hyperons allows to determine an upper limit on the ratio N{sub 3{sub {Lambda}H}}/N{sub {Lambda}}, which is confronted with statistical and coalescence-type model calculations. (orig.)

  3. From the Chloride of Tungsten to the Upper Limit of the Periodic Table of Elements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khazan A.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Experimental study of the physical chemical properties and the technology of manufac- turing chemically clean hexachloride of tungsten has led to unexpected results. It was found that each element of the Periodic Table of Elements has its own hyperbola in the graph “molecular mass — content of the element”. The hyperbolas differ according to the atomic mass of the elements. Lagrange’s theorem shows that the tops of the hyper- bolas approach to an upper limit. This upper limit means the heaviest element, which is possible in the Table. According to the calculation, its atomic mass is 411.66, while its number is 155.

  4. Upper pinch radius limit in EXTRAP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehnert, B.

    1989-12-01

    A simple static equilibrium model of the Z-pinch is considered where a hot plasma core is surrounded by a cold-mantle (gas blanket). The pinch radius, defined as the radial extension of the fully ionized plasma core, is uniquely determined by the plasma particle. momentum and heat balance equations. In Extrap configurations an octupole field is introduced which imposes a magnetic separatrix on Z-pinch geometry. This makes the conditions for Extrap equilibrium 'overdetermined' when the characteristic pinch radium given by the plasma parameters tends to exceed the characteristic radius of the magnetic separatrix. In this case no conventional pinch equilibrium can exist, and part of the current which is forced into the plasma discharge by external sources must be channelled outside of the separatrix, i.e. into the surrounding support structure of the Extrap conductors and the vessel walls. A possibly existing bootstrap current in the plasma boundary layer is further expected to be 'scraped off' in this case. The present paper gives some illustrations of the marginal case of this upper pinch radius limit, in a state where the pinch current is antiparallel to the external rod currents which generate the octupole field. (authors)

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santhanam, P.; Chi, C.C.

    1988-01-01

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

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2000-01-01

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

  7. Evaluation of upper limit of accident probability in a nuclear reactor in Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosa, L.P.

    1979-01-01

    This work calls attention to the great probability of accident in a pessimist vision regarding optimist one. The author uses the upper limit presented in Ford Foundation report and applies it on brazilian case to an evaluation of risk of reactor accident in Brazil. (C.M.)

  8. 77 FR 33622 - Airworthiness Directives; Alpha Aviation Concept Limited (Type Certificate Previously Held by...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-07

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Alpha Aviation Concept Limited (Type Certificate Previously Held by Alpha Aviation... Aviation Concept Limited Model R2160 Airplanes. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness... condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as oil lines fitted to affected...

  9. Seasonal Dynamics of Mobile Carbon Supply in Quercus aquifolioides at the Upper Elevational Limit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Wan-Ze; Cao, Min; Wang, San-Gen; Xiao, Wen-Fan; Li, Mai-He

    2012-01-01

    Many studies have tried to explain the physiological mechanisms of the alpine treeline phenomenon, but the debate on the alpine treeline formation remains controversial due to opposite results from different studies. The present study explored the carbon-physiology of an alpine shrub species (Quercus aquifolioides) grown at its upper elevational limit compared to lower elevations, to test whether the elevational limit of alpine shrubs (treeline formation. PMID:22479567

  10. Interaction between Posidonia oceanica meadows upper limit and hydrodynamics of four Mediterranean beaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Muro, Sandro; Ruju, Andrea; Buosi, Carla; Porta, Marco; Passarella, Marinella; Ibba, Angelo

    2017-04-01

    Posidonia oceanica meadow is considered to play an important role in the coastal geomorphology of Mediterranean beach systems. In particular, the importance of the meadow in protecting the coastline from erosion is well-recognized. Waves are attenuated by greater friction across seagrass meadows, which have the capacity to reduce water flow and therefore increase sediment deposition and accumulation as well as beach stability. The P. oceanica meadow upper limit usually occurs within the most dynamic zone of the beach system. Considering the great attention paid in the literature to the connection between the growth of P. oceanica and coastal hydrodynamics (Infantes et al., 2009; Vacchi et al., 2014; De Muro et al., 2016, 2017), this study aims at extending the previous work by investigating the combined influence of hydrodynamic parameters (e.g., wave-induced main currents and wave orbital velocity at the bottom) and different types of sea bottom (e.g., soft sediment, rocky substrates) on the position of the upper limit of the P. oceanica meadow. We applied this approach to 4 Mediterranean beach systems located on the Sardinian coastline (3 on the South and 1 on the North) and characterized by a wide range of orientations and incoming wave conditions. On these beaches, the extension of the P. oceanica meadows and the bathymetry have been obtained through detailed surveying campaigns and aerial photo analysis. In addition, high spatial resolution wave hydrodynamics have been reconstructed by running numerical simulations with Delft 3D. Offshore wave climate has been reconstructed by using measured datasets for those beaches that have a nearby buoy whose dataset is representative of the incoming wave conditions for that particular stretch of coast. Whereas, for those beaches with no availability of a representative measured dataset, wave climate has been analyzed from the NOAA hindcast dataset. From the whole range of incoming wave directions in deep waters, we

  11. Upper limit set for level of lightning activity on Titan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desch, M. D.; Kaiser, M. L.

    1990-01-01

    Because optically thick cloud and haze layers prevent lightning detection at optical wavelength on Titan, a search was conducted for lightning-radiated signals (spherics) at radio wavelengths using the planetary radioastronomy instrument aboard Voyager 1. Given the maximum ionosphere density of about 3000/cu cm, lightning spherics should be detectable above an observing frequency of 500 kHz. Since no evidence for spherics is found, an upper limit to the total energy per flash in Titan lightning of about 10 to the 6th J, or about 1000 times weaker than that of typical terrestrial lightning, is inferred.

  12. 77 FR 15980 - Airworthiness Directives; Alpha Aviation Concept Limited (Type Certificate Previously Held by...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-19

    ... Concept Limited (Type Certificate Previously Held by Alpha Aviation Design Limited) Airplanes AGENCY... rulemaking (NPRM). SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Alpha Aviation Concept... condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as oil lines fitted to affected...

  13. Upper limits for absorption by water vapor in the near-UV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, Eoin M.; Wenger, John C.; Venables, Dean S.

    2016-01-01

    There are few experimental measurements of absorption by water vapor in the near-UV. Here we report the results of spectral measurements of water vapor absorption at ambient temperature and pressure from 325 nm to 420 nm, covering most tropospherically relevant short wavelengths. Spectra were recorded using a broadband optical cavity in the chemically controlled environment of an atmospheric simulation chamber. No absorption attributable to the water monomer (or the dimer) was observed at the 0.5 nm resolution of our system. Our results are consistent with calculated spectra and recent DOAS field observations, but contradict a report of significant water absorption in the near-UV. Based on the detection limit of our instrument, we report upper limits for the water absorption cross section of less than 5×10 −26 cm 2 molecule −1 at our instrument resolution. For a typical, indicative slant column density of 4×10 23 cm 2 , we calculate a maximum optical depth of 0.02 arising from absorption of water vapor in the atmosphere at wavelengths between 340 nm and 420 nm, with slightly higher maximum optical depths below 340 nm. The results of this work, together with recent atmospheric observations and computational results, suggest that water vapor absorption across most of the near-UV is small compared to visible and infrared wavelengths. - Highlights: • The absorption cross section of water vapor was studied from 325 to 420 nm. • The upper limit was 5×10 −26 cm 2 molecule −1 above 340 nm at 0.5 nm resolution. • Our result contradicts a recent report of appreciable absorption by water vapor.

  14. 42 CFR 447.321 - Outpatient hospital and clinic services: Application of upper payment limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Outpatient hospital and clinic services... SERVICES Payment Methods for Other Institutional and Noninstitutional Services Outpatient Hospital and Clinic Services § 447.321 Outpatient hospital and clinic services: Application of upper payment limits...

  15. Upper limit on a stochastic background of gravitational waves from seismic measurements in the range 0.05-1 Hz.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coughlin, Michael; Harms, Jan

    2014-03-14

    In this Letter, we present an upper limit of ΩGW<1.2×108 on an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background integrated over a year in the frequency range 0.05-1 Hz, which improves current upper limits from high-precision laboratory experiments by about 9 orders of magnitude. The limit is obtained using the response of Earth itself to GWs via a free-surface effect described more than 40 years ago by Dyson. The response was measured by a global network of broadband seismometers selected to maximize the sensitivity.

  16. Variability of Jovian ion winds: an upper limit for enhanced Joule heating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. B. Lystrup

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available It has been proposed that short-timescale fluctuations about the mean electric field can significantly increase the upper atmospheric energy inputs at Jupiter, which may help to explain the high observed thermospheric temperatures. We present data from the first attempt to detect such variations in the Jovian ionosphere. Line-of-sight ionospheric velocity profiles in the Southern Jovian auroral/polar region are shown, derived from the Doppler shifting of H3+ infrared emission spectra. These data were recently obtained from the high-resolution CSHELL spectrometer at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. We find that there is no variability within this data set on timescales of the order of one minute and spatial scales of 640 km, putting upper limits on the timescales of fluctuations that would be needed to enhance Joule heating.

  17. Living with transversal upper limb reduction deficiency : Limitations experienced by young adults during their transition to adulthood

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lankhorst, Ilse M. F.; Baars, Erwin C. T.; van Wijk, Iris; Janssen, Wim G. M.; Poelma, Margriet J.; van der Sluis, Corry K.

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: During transition to adulthood young adults with disabilities are at risk of experiencing limitations due to changing physical and social requirements. Purpose: To determine whether young adults with transversal upper limb reduction deficiency (tULRD) have experienced limitations in

  18. Physiological responses to short-term thermal stress in mayfly (Neocloeon triangulifer) larvae in relation to upper thermal limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kyoung Sun; Chou, Hsuan; Funk, David H; Jackson, John K; Sweeney, Bernard W; Buchwalter, David B

    2017-07-15

    Understanding species' thermal limits and their physiological determinants is critical in light of climate change and other human activities that warm freshwater ecosystems. Here, we ask whether oxygen limitation determines the chronic upper thermal limits in larvae of the mayfly Neocloeon triangulifer , an emerging model for ecological and physiological studies. Our experiments are based on a robust understanding of the upper acute (∼40°C) and chronic thermal limits of this species (>28°C, ≤30°C) derived from full life cycle rearing experiments across temperatures. We tested two related predictions derived from the hypothesis that oxygen limitation sets the chronic upper thermal limits: (1) aerobic scope declines in mayfly larvae as they approach and exceed temperatures that are chronically lethal to larvae; and (2) genes indicative of hypoxia challenge are also responsive in larvae exposed to ecologically relevant thermal limits. Neither prediction held true. We estimated aerobic scope by subtracting measurements of standard oxygen consumption rates from measurements of maximum oxygen consumption rates, the latter of which was obtained by treating with the metabolic uncoupling agent carbonyl cyanide-4-(trifluoromethoxy) pheylhydrazone (FCCP). Aerobic scope was similar in larvae held below and above chronic thermal limits. Genes indicative of oxygen limitation (LDH, EGL-9) were only upregulated under hypoxia or during exposure to temperatures beyond the chronic (and more ecologically relevant) thermal limits of this species (LDH). Our results suggest that the chronic thermal limits of this species are likely not driven by oxygen limitation, but rather are determined by other factors, e.g. bioenergetics costs. We caution against the use of short-term thermal ramping approaches to estimate critical thermal limits (CT max ) in aquatic insects because those temperatures are typically higher than those that occur in nature. © 2017. Published by The Company of

  19. Upper bound limit analysis of spherical pressure vessels with protruding nozzles and associated defects at the intersection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, A.G.

    1981-08-01

    The limit analysis of a circumferential partial penetration defect around the intersection of a sphere and a cylinder has been investigated. An upper bound to the limit pressure has been determined by considering four independent mechanisms, and compared to an existing lower bound solution. (author)

  20. Implementation of upper limit calculation for a poisson variable by bayesian approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Yongsheng

    2008-01-01

    The calculation of Bayesian confidence upper limit for a Poisson variable including both signal and background with and without systematic uncertainties has been formulated. A Fortran 77 routine, BPULE, has been developed to implement the calculation. The routine can account for systematic uncertainties in the background expectation and signal efficiency. The systematic uncertainties may be separately parameterized by a Gaussian, Log-Gaussian or flat probability density function (pdf). Some technical details of BPULE have been discussed. (authors)

  1. Method for calculation of upper limit internal alpha dose rates to aquatic organisms with application of plutonium-239 in plankton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paschoa, A.S.; Baptista, G.B.

    1977-01-01

    A method for the calculation of upper limit internal alpha dose rates to aquatic organisms is presented. The mean alpha energies per disintegration of radionuclides of interest are listed to be used in standard methodologies to calculate dose to aquatic biota. As an application, the upper limits for the alpha dose rates from 239 Pu to the total body of plankton are estimated based on data available in open literature [pt

  2. An upper limit on the sulphur abundance in HE 1327-2326

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonifacio, P.; Caffau, E.; Venn, K. A.; Lambert, D. L.

    2012-08-01

    Context. Star HE 1327-2326 is a unique object, with the lowest measured iron abundance ([Fe/H] ~ -6) and a peculiar chemical composition that includes large overabundances of C, N, and O with respect to iron. One important question is whether the chemical abundances in this star reflect the chemical composition of the gas cloud from which it was formed or if they have been severely affected by other processes, such as dust-gas winnowing. Aims: We measure or provide an upper limit to the abundance of the volatile element sulphur, which can help to discriminate between the two scenarios. Methods: We observed HE 1327-2326 with the high resolution infra-red spectrograph CRIRES at the VLT to observe the S i lines of Multiplet 3 at 1045 nm. Results: We do not detect the S i line. A 3σ upper limit on the equivalent width (EW) of any line in our spectrum is EW winnowing, and the evidence coming from other elements (e.g., Na and Ti) is also inconclusive or contradictory. The formation of dust in the atmosphere versus an origin of the metals in a metal-poor supernova with extensive "fall-back" are not mutually exclusive. It is possible that dust formation distorts the peculiar abundance pattern created by a supernova with fall-back, thus the abundance ratios in HE 1327-2326 may be used to constrain the properties of the supernova(e) that produced its metals, but with some caution. Based on spectra obtained with CRIRES at the 8.2 m Antu ESO telescope, programme 386.D-0095.

  3. X-ray Bursts in Neutron Star and Black Hole Binaries from USA Data: Detections and Upper Limits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tournear, Derek M

    2003-02-18

    Narayan and Heyl (2002) have developed a theoretical framework to convert suitable upper limits on type I X-ray bursts from accreting black hole candidates (BHCs) into evidence for an event horizon. However, no appropriate observational limit exists in the literature. In this paper we survey 2101.2 ks of data from the Unconventional Stellar Aspect (USA) X-ray timing experiment and 5142 ks of data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) experiment to obtain a formal constraint of this type. 1122 ks of neutron star data yield a population averaged mean burst rate of 1.69 x 10{sup -5} bursts s{sup -1} while 6081 ks of BHC data yield a 95% confidence level upper limit of 4.9 x 10{sup -7} bursts s{sup -1}. This is the first published limit of this type for Black Hole Candidates. Applying the theoretical framework of Narayan and Heyl (2002) we calculate regions of unstable luminosity where the neutron stars are expected to burst and the BHCs would be expected to burst if they had a surface. In this unstable luminosity region 464 ks of neutron star data yield an averaged mean burst rate of 4.1 x 10{sup -5} bursts s{sup -1} and 1512 ks of BHC data yield a 95% confidence level upper limit of 2.0 x 10{sup 6} bursts s{sup -1}, and a limit of > 10 {sigma} that BHCs do not burst with a rate similar to the rate of neutron stars in these unstable regions. This gives further evidence that BHCs do not have surfaces unless there is some new physics occurring on their surface.

  4. Outlier treatment for improving parameter estimation of group contribution based models for upper flammability limit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frutiger, Jerome; Abildskov, Jens; Sin, Gürkan

    2015-01-01

    Flammability data is needed to assess the risk of fire and explosions. This study presents a new group contribution (GC) model to predict the upper flammability limit UFL oforganic chemicals. Furthermore, it provides a systematic method for outlier treatment inorder to improve the parameter...

  5. Upper and Lower Bound Limit Loads for Thin-Walled Pressure Vessels Used for Aerosol Cans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen John Hardy

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The elastic compensation method proposed by Mackenzie and Boyle is used to estimate the upper and lower bound limit (collapse loads for one-piece aluminium aerosol cans, which are thin-walled pressure vessels subjected to internal pressure loading. Elastic-plastic finite element predictions for yield and collapse pressures are found using axisymmetric models. However, it is shown that predictions for the elastic-plastic buckling of the vessel base require the use of a full three-dimensional model with a small unsymmetrical imperfection introduced. The finite element predictions for the internal pressure to cause complete failure via collapse fall within the upper and lower bounds. Hence the method, which involves only elastic analyses, can be used in place of complex elastic-plastic finite element analyses when upper and lower bound estimates are adequate for design purposes. Similarly, the lower bound value underpredicts the pressure at which first yield occurs.

  6. The upper limit of the solar antineutrino flux according to the LSD array data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al'etta, M.; Antonioli, P.; Badino, D.

    1997-01-01

    The analysis of the experimental data obtained at the LSD liquid scintillation detector is carried out with the aim of searching the possible flux of electron antineutrinos from Sun. The most strong at present upper limit for the electron antineutrino flux of solar origin is determined: ≤ 1.0 x 10 5 cm -2 x s -1 (the reliability level of 90%)

  7. Upper Limits of the Fission Cross-Sections of Lead and Bismuth for Li-D Neutrons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Broda, E.

    1945-07-01

    This report was written by E. Broda and P.K. Wright at the Cavendish Laboratory (Cambridge) in April 1945 and is about the upper limits of the fission cross sections of lead and bismuth for Li-D neutrons. This report includes the experiment description and the discussion of the results. (nowak)

  8. Experimental upper limits for hadronic and axion decays of the T(1S)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niczyporuk, B.; Jakubowski, Z.; Zeludziewicz, T.; Folger, G.; Lurz, B.; Vogel, H.; Volland, U.; Wegener, H.; Coles, M.; Engler, A.; Kraemer, R.W.; Marlow, D.; Messing, F.; Rippich, C.; Youssef, S.; Fridman, A.; Alexander, G.; Av-Shalom, A.; Bella, G.; Grunhaus, J.; Langguth, W.; Scheer, M.; Bienlein, J.K.; Graumann, R.; Trost, H.J.; Schmitz, M.

    1982-10-01

    A search for the decays Y->rhoπ, Y->J/psiX and Y->γa (where X is undetermined and a is an axion) has been completed using the LENA detector at the DORIS storage ring. No evidence for any of these processes was found. For these decay modes we set branching fraction upper limits (90% C.L.) of 2.1 x 10 -3 , 2.0 x 10 -2 and 9.1 x 10 -4 , respectively. (orig.)

  9. An upper limit on the $\\tau$ neutrino mass from three- and five-prong tau decays

    CERN Document Server

    Barate, R; Décamp, D; Ghez, P; Goy, C; Lees, J P; Lucotte, A; Minard, M N; Nief, J Y; Pietrzyk, B; Casado, M P; Chmeissani, M; Comas, P; Crespo, J M; Delfino, M C; Fernández, E; Fernández-Bosman, M; Garrido, L; Juste, A; Martínez, M; Merino, G; Miquel, R; Mir, L M; Padilla, C; Park, I C; Pascual, A; Perlas, J A; Riu, I; Sánchez, F; Colaleo, A; Creanza, D; De Palma, M; Gelao, G; Iaselli, Giuseppe; Maggi, G; Maggi, M; Marinelli, N; Nuzzo, S; Ranieri, A; Raso, G; Ruggieri, F; Selvaggi, G; Silvestris, L; Tempesta, P; Tricomi, A; Zito, G; Huang, X; Lin, J; Ouyang, Q; Wang, T; Xie, Y; Xu, R; Xue, S; Zhang, J; Zhang, L; Zhao, W; Abbaneo, D; Alemany, R; Becker, U; Bright-Thomas, P G; Casper, David William; Cattaneo, M; Cerutti, F; Dissertori, G; Drevermann, H; Forty, Roger W; Frank, M; Hagelberg, R; Hansen, J B; Harvey, J; Janot, P; Jost, B; Lehraus, Ivan; Mato, P; Minten, Adolf G; Moneta, L; Pacheco, A; Pusztaszeri, J F; Ranjard, F; Rolandi, Luigi; Rousseau, D; Schlatter, W D; Schmitt, M; Schneider, O; Tejessy, W; Teubert, F; Tomalin, I R; Wachsmuth, H W; Wagner, A; Ajaltouni, Ziad J; Barrès, A; Boyer, C; Falvard, A; Ferdi, C; Gay, P; Guicheney, C; Henrard, P; Jousset, J; Michel, B; Monteil, S; Montret, J C; Pallin, D; Perret, P; Podlyski, F; Proriol, J; Rosnet, P; Rossignol, J M; Fearnley, Tom; Hansen, J D; Hansen, J R; Hansen, P H; Nilsson, B S; Rensch, B; Wäänänen, A; Daskalakis, G; Kyriakis, A; Markou, C; Simopoulou, Errietta; Siotis, I; Vayaki, Anna; Blondel, A; Bonneaud, G R; Brient, J C; Bourdon, P; Rougé, A; Rumpf, M; Valassi, Andrea; Verderi, M; Videau, H L; Candlin, D J; Parsons, M I; Boccali, T; Focardi, E; Parrini, G; Zachariadou, K; Corden, M; Georgiopoulos, C H; Jaffe, D E; Antonelli, A; Bencivenni, G; Bologna, G; Bossi, F; Campana, P; Capon, G; Chiarella, V; Felici, G; Laurelli, P; Mannocchi, G; Murtas, F; Murtas, G P; Passalacqua, L; Pepé-Altarelli, M; Curtis, L; Dorris, S J; Halley, A W; Lynch, J G; O'Shea, V; Raine, C; Scarr, J M; Smith, K; Teixeira-Dias, P; Thompson, A S; Thomson, E; Thomson, F; Buchmüller, O L; Dhamotharan, S; Geweniger, C; Graefe, G; Hanke, P; Hansper, G; Hepp, V; Kluge, E E; Putzer, A; Sommer, J; Tittel, K; Werner, S; Wunsch, M; Beuselinck, R; Binnie, David M; Cameron, W; Dornan, Peter J; Girone, M; Goodsir, S M; Martin, E B; Moutoussi, A; Nash, J; Sedgbeer, J K; Spagnolo, P; Stacey, A M; Williams, M D; Ghete, V M; Girtler, P; Kneringer, E; Kuhn, D; Rudolph, G; Betteridge, A P; Bowdery, C K; Buck, P G; Colrain, P; Crawford, G; Finch, A J; Foster, F; Hughes, G; Jones, R W L; Sloan, Terence; Williams, M I; Giehl, I; Greene, A M; Hoffmann, C; Jakobs, K; Kleinknecht, K; Quast, G; Renk, B; Rohne, E; Sander, H G; Van Gemmeren, P; Zeitnitz, C; Aubert, Jean-Jacques; Benchouk, C; Bonissent, A; Bujosa, G; Carr, J; Coyle, P; Diaconu, C A; Etienne, F; Leroy, O; Motsch, F; Payre, P; Talby, M; Sadouki, A; Thulasidas, M; Trabelsi, K; Aleppo, M; Antonelli, M; Ragusa, F; Berlich, R; Blum, Walter; Büscher, V; Dietl, H; Ganis, G; Gotzhein, C; Kroha, H; Lütjens, G; Lutz, Gerhard; Mannert, C; Männer, W; Moser, H G; Richter, R H; Rosado-Schlosser, A; Schael, S; Settles, Ronald; Seywerd, H C J; Stenzel, H; Wiedenmann, W; Wolf, G; Boucrot, J; Callot, O; Chen, S; Choi, Y; Cordier, A; Davier, M; Duflot, L; Grivaz, J F; Heusse, P; Höcker, A; Jacholkowska, A; Kim, D W; Le Diberder, F R; Lefrançois, J; Lutz, A M; Nikolic, I A; Schune, M H; Tournefier, E; Veillet, J J; Videau, I; Zerwas, D; Azzurri, P; Bagliesi, G; Batignani, G; Bettarini, S; Bozzi, C; Calderini, G; Carpinelli, M; Ciocci, M A; Ciulli, V; Dell'Orso, R; Fantechi, R; Ferrante, I; Foà, L; Forti, F; Giassi, A; Giorgi, M A; Gregorio, A; Ligabue, F; Lusiani, A; Marrocchesi, P S; Messineo, A; Palla, Fabrizio; Rizzo, G; Sanguinetti, G; Sciabà, A; Steinberger, Jack; Tenchini, Roberto; Tonelli, G; Vannini, C; Venturi, A; Verdini, P G; Blair, G A; Bryant, L M; Chambers, J T; Green, M G; Medcalf, T; Perrodo, P; Strong, J A; Von Wimmersperg-Töller, J H; Botterill, David R; Clifft, R W; Edgecock, T R; Haywood, S; Norton, P R; Thompson, J C; Wright, A E; Bloch-Devaux, B; Colas, P; Emery, S; Kozanecki, Witold; Lançon, E; Lemaire, M C; Locci, E; Pérez, P; Rander, J; Renardy, J F; Roussarie, A; Schuller, J P; Schwindling, J; Trabelsi, A; Vallage, B; Black, S N; Dann, J H; Johnson, R P; Kim, H Y; Konstantinidis, N P; Litke, A M; McNeil, M A; Taylor, G; Booth, C N; Brew, C A J; Cartwright, S L; Combley, F; Kelly, M S; Lehto, M H; Reeve, J; Thompson, L F; Affholderbach, K; Böhrer, A; Brandt, S; Cowan, G D; Grupen, Claus; Saraiva, P; Smolik, L; Stephan, F; Apollonio, M; Bosisio, L; Della Marina, R; Giannini, G; Gobbo, B; Musolino, G; Rothberg, J E; Wasserbaech, S R; Armstrong, S R; Charles, E; Elmer, P; Ferguson, D P S; Gao, Y; González, S; Greening, T C; Hayes, O J; Hu, H; Jin, S; McNamara, P A; Nachtman, J M; Nielsen, J; Orejudos, W; Pan, Y B; Saadi, Y; Scott, I J; Walsh, J; Wu Sau Lan; Wu, X; Yamartino, J M; Zobernig, G

    1998-01-01

    A bound on the tau neutrino mass is established using the data collected from 1991 to 1995 at Ecm = M(Z) with the ALEPH detector. Two separate limits are derived by fitting the distribution of visible energy vs invariant mass in tau+ -> pi+ pi+ pi- nu and tau+ -> pi+ pi+ pi- pi- pi+ (pi0) nu decays. The two results are combined to obtain a 95 % confidence level upper limit of 18.2 MeV/c^2 on the mass of the tau neutrino.

  10. Upper limits on the branching ratios $\\tau$ --> $\\mu\\gamma$ and $\\tau$ --> e$\\gamma$

    CERN Document Server

    Abreu, P; Adye, T; Agasi, E; Ajinenko, I; Aleksan, Roy; Alekseev, G D; Allport, P P; Almehed, S; Alvsvaag, S J; Amaldi, Ugo; Amato, S; Andreazza, A; Andrieux, M L; Antilogus, P; Apel, W D; Arnoud, Y; Åsman, B; Augustin, J E; Augustinus, A; Baillon, Paul; Bambade, P; Barão, F; Barate, R; Barbiellini, Guido; Bardin, Dimitri Yuri; Barker, G J; Baroncelli, A; Bärring, O; Barrio, J A; Bartl, Walter; Bates, M J; Battaglia, Marco; Baubillier, M; Baudot, J; Becks, K H; Begalli, M; Beillière, P; Belokopytov, Yu A; Benvenuti, Alberto C; Berggren, M; Bertrand, D; Bianchi, F; Bigi, M; Bilenky, S M; Billoir, P; Bloch, D; Blume, M; Blyth, S; Bocci, V; Bolognese, T; Bonesini, M; Bonivento, W; Booth, P S L; Borisov, G; Bosio, C; Bosworth, S; Botner, O; Boudinov, E; Bouquet, B; Bourdarios, C; Bowcock, T J V; Bozzo, M; Branchini, P; Brand, K D; Brenke, T; Brenner, R A; Bricman, C; Brillault, L; Brown, R C A; Brückman, P; Brunet, J M; Bugge, L; Buran, T; Burgsmüller, T; Buschmann, P; Buys, A; Caccia, M; Calvi, M; Camacho-Rozas, A J; Camporesi, T; Canale, V; Canepa, M; Cankocak, K; Cao, F; Carena, F; Carrilho, P; Carroll, L; Caso, Carlo; Castillo-Gimenez, M V; Cattai, A; Cavallo, F R; Cerrito, L; Chabaud, V; Chapkin, M M; Charpentier, P; Chaussard, L; Chauveau, J; Checchia, P; Chelkov, G A; Chierici, R; Chliapnikov, P V; Chochula, P; Chorowicz, V; Cindro, V; Collins, P; Contreras, J L; Contri, R; Cortina, E; Cosme, G; Cossutti, F; Crawley, H B; Crennell, D J; Crosetti, G; Cuevas-Maestro, J; Czellar, S; Dahl-Jensen, Erik; Dahm, J; D'Almagne, B; Dam, M; Damgaard, G; Daum, A; Dauncey, P D; Davenport, Martyn; Da Silva, W; Defoix, C; Della Ricca, G; Delpierre, P A; Demaria, N; De Angelis, A; De Boeck, H; de Boer, Wim; De Brabandere, S; De Clercq, C; La Vaissière, C de; De Lotto, B; De Min, A; De Paula, L S; De Saint-Jean, C; Dijkstra, H; Di Ciaccio, Lucia; Djama, F; Dolbeau, J; Dönszelmann, M; Doroba, K; Dracos, M; Drees, J; Drees, K A; Dris, M; Dufour, Y; Dupont, F; Edsall, D M; Ehret, R; Eigen, G; Ekelöf, T J C; Ekspong, Gösta; Elsing, M; Engel, J P; Ershaidat, N; Erzen, B; Espirito-Santo, M C; Falk, E; Fassouliotis, D; Feindt, Michael; Ferrer, A; Filippas-Tassos, A; Firestone, A; Fischer, P A; Föth, H; Fokitis, E; Fontanelli, F; Formenti, F; Franek, B J; Frenkiel, P; Fries, D E C; Frodesen, A G; Frühwirth, R; Fulda-Quenzer, F; Fuster, J A; Galloni, A; Gamba, D; Gandelman, M; García, C; García, J; Gaspar, C; Gasparini, U; Gavillet, P; Gazis, E N; Gelé, D; Gerber, J P; Gibbs, M; Gokieli, R; Golob, B; Gopal, Gian P; Gorn, L; Górski, M; Guz, Yu; Gracco, Valerio; Graziani, E; Grosdidier, G; Gunnarsson, P; Günther, M; Guy, J; Haedinger, U; Hahn, F; Hahn, M; Hahn, S; Hajduk, Z; Hallgren, A; Hamacher, K; Hao, W; Harris, F J; Hedberg, V; Henriques, R P; Hernández, J J; Herquet, P; Herr, H; Hessing, T L; Higón, E; Hilke, Hans Jürgen; Hill, T S; Holmgren, S O; Holt, P J; Holthuizen, D J; Houlden, M A; Hrubec, Josef; Huet, K; Hultqvist, K; Ioannou, P; Jackson, J N; Jacobsson, R; Jalocha, P; Janik, R; Jarlskog, G; Jarry, P; Jean-Marie, B; Johansson, E K; Jönsson, L B; Jönsson, P E; Joram, Christian; Juillot, P; Kaiser, M; Kapusta, F; Karlsson, M; Karvelas, E; Katsanevas, S; Katsoufis, E C; Keränen, R; Khomenko, B A; Khovanskii, N N; King, B J; Kjaer, N J; Klein, H; Klovning, A; Kluit, P M; Köhne, J H; Köne, B; Kokkinias, P; Koratzinos, M; Kostyukhin, V; Kourkoumelis, C; Kuznetsov, O; Kramer, P H; Krammer, Manfred; Kreuter, C; Królikowski, J; Kronkvist, I J; Krumshtein, Z; Krupinski, W; Kubinec, P; Kucewicz, W; Kurvinen, K L; Lacasta, C; Laktineh, I; Lamblot, S; Lamsa, J; Lanceri, L; Lane, D W; Langefeld, P; Lapin, V; Last, I; Laugier, J P; Lauhakangas, R; Ledroit, F; Lefébure, V; Legan, C K; Leitner, R; Lemoigne, Y; Lemonne, J; Lenzen, Georg; Lepeltier, V; Lesiak, T; Liko, D; Lindner, R; Lipniacka, A; Lippi, I; Lörstad, B; Lokajícek, M; Loken, J G; López, J M; López-Fernandez, A; López-Aguera, M A; Loukas, D; Lutz, P; Lyons, L; MacNaughton, J N; Maehlum, G; Maio, A; Malychev, V; Mandl, F; Marco, J; Maréchal, B; Margoni, M; Marin, J C; Mariotti, C; Markou, A; Maron, T; Martínez-Rivero, C; Martínez-Vidal, F; Martí i García, S; Marvik, K; Matorras, F; Matteuzzi, C; Matthiae, Giorgio; Mazzucato, M; McCubbin, M L; McKay, R; McNulty, R; Medbo, J; Meroni, C; Meyer, W T; Michelotto, M; Migliore, E; Mirabito, L; Mitaroff, Winfried A; Mjörnmark, U; Moa, T; Møller, R; Mönig, K; Monge, M R; Morettini, P; Müller, H; Mundim, L M; Murray, W J; Muryn, B; Myatt, Gerald; Naraghi, F; Navarria, Francesco Luigi; Navas, S; Negri, P; Némécek, S; Neumann, W; Neumeister, N; Nicolaidou, R; Nielsen, B S; Nieuwenhuizen, M; Nikolaenko, V; Niss, P; Nomerotski, A; Normand, Ainsley; Oberschulte-Beckmann, W; Obraztsov, V F; Olshevskii, A G; Orava, Risto; Österberg, K; Ouraou, A; Paganini, P; Paganoni, M; Pagès, P; Palka, H; Papadopoulou, T D; Pape, L; Parkes, C; Parodi, F; Passeri, A; Pegoraro, M; Peralta, L; Pernegger, H; Pernicka, Manfred; Perrotta, A; Petridou, C; Petrolini, A; Phillips, H T; Piana, G; Pierre, F; Pimenta, M; Pindo, M; Plaszczynski, S; Podobrin, O; Pol, M E; Polok, G; Poropat, P; Pozdnyakov, V; Prest, M; Privitera, P; Pukhaeva, N; Pullia, Antonio; Radojicic, D; Ragazzi, S; Rahmani, H; Rames, J; Ratoff, P N; Read, A L; Reale, M; Rebecchi, P; Redaelli, N G; Regler, Meinhard; Reid, D; Renton, P B; Resvanis, L K; Richard, F; Richardson, J; Rídky, J; Rinaudo, G; Ripp, I; Romero, A; Roncagliolo, I; Ronchese, P; Roos, L; Rosenberg, E I; Rosso, E; Roudeau, Patrick; Rovelli, T; Rückstuhl, W; Ruhlmann-Kleider, V; Ruiz, A; Rybicki, K; Saarikko, H; Sacquin, Yu; Sadovskii, A; Sajot, G; Salt, J; Sánchez, J; Sannino, M; Schneider, H; Schyns, M A E; Sciolla, G; Scuri, F; Sedykh, Yu; Segar, A M; Seitz, A; Sekulin, R L; Shellard, R C; Siccama, I; Siegrist, P; Simonetti, S; Simonetto, F; Sissakian, A N; Sitár, B; Skaali, T B; Smadja, G; Smirnov, N; Smirnova, O G; Smith, G R; Sosnowski, R; Souza-Santos, D; Spassoff, Tz; Spiriti, E; Sponholz, P; Squarcia, S; Stanescu, C; Stapnes, Steinar; Stavitski, I; Stepaniak, K; Stichelbaut, F; Stocchi, A; Strauss, J; Strub, R; Stugu, B; Szczekowski, M; Szeptycka, M; Tabarelli de Fatis, T; Tavernet, J P; Chikilev, O G; Tilquin, A; Timmermans, J; Tkatchev, L G; Todorov, T; Toet, D Z; Tomaradze, A G; Tomé, B; Tortora, L; Tranströmer, G; Treille, D; Trischuk, W; Tristram, G; Trombini, A; Troncon, C; Tsirou, A L; Turluer, M L; Tyapkin, I A; Tyndel, M; Tzamarias, S; Überschär, B; Ullaland, O; Uvarov, V; Valenti, G; Vallazza, E; Van der Velde, C; van Apeldoorn, G W; van Dam, P; Van Doninck, W K; Van Eldik, J; Vassilopoulos, N; Vegni, G; Ventura, L; Venus, W A; Verbeure, F; Verlato, M; Vertogradov, L S; Vilanova, D; Vincent, P; Vitale, L; Vlasov, E; Vodopyanov, A S; Vrba, V; Wahlen, H; Walck, C; Weierstall, M; Weilhammer, Peter; Wetherell, Alan M; Wicke, D; Wickens, J H; Wielers, M; Wilkinson, G R; Williams, W S C; Winter, M; Witek, M; Woschnagg, K; Yip, K; Yushchenko, O P; Zach, F; Zacharatou-Jarlskog, C; Zaitsev, A; Zalewska-Bak, A; Zalewski, Piotr; Zavrtanik, D; Zevgolatakos, E; Zimin, N I; Zito, M; Zontar, D; Zuberi, R; Zucchelli, G C; Zumerle, G

    1995-01-01

    The DELPHI collaboration has searched for lepton flavour violating decays \\tau \\rightarrow \\mu \\gamma and \\tau \\rightarrow e \\gamma using a data sample of about 70~pb^{-1} of integrated luminosity corresponding to 81 000 produced \\tau^+ \\tau^- events. No candidates were found for either of the two modes. This yields branching ratio upper limits of \\rm{B}( \\tau \\rightarrow e \\gamma ) < 1.1 \\times 10^{-4} and \\rm{B} ( \\tau \\rightarrow \\mu \\gamma) < 6.2 \\times 10^{-5} at 90\\% confidence level.

  11. A size upper limit and position for the HCN maser in CIT 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlstrom, J.E.; Welch, W.J.; Goldsmith, P.F.; Lis, D.C.

    1990-01-01

    A size upper limit and position for the HCN maser in CIT 6 were determined from interferometric observations with the Hat Creek millimeter array. The maser is located at alpha(1950) = 10 h 13 m 10.942 + or - 0.012 s and delta(1950) = + 30 deg 49 arcmin 16.75 arcsec + or - 0.15, coincident with the optical image taken from the Palomar plates, within the 3 arcsec uncertainty of the latter. The size of the maser emission region is less than 0.45 arcsec, approximately 180 AU at the distance estimated for CIT 6. The small size and strong emission (40 Jy) set a lower limit to the brightness temperature of 44,000 K, further strengthening the maser interpretation. 14 refs

  12. An upper limit on the branching ratio for $\\tau$ decays into seven charged particles

    CERN Document Server

    Ackerstaff, K; Allison, J; Altekamp, N; Anderson, K J; Anderson, S; Arcelli, S; Asai, S; Axen, D A; Azuelos, Georges; Ball, A H; Barberio, E; Barlow, R J; Bartoldus, R; Batley, J Richard; Baumann, S; Bechtluft, J; Beeston, C; Behnke, T; Bell, A N; Bell, K W; Bella, G; Bentvelsen, Stanislaus Cornelius Maria; Berlich, P; Bethke, Siegfried; Biebel, O; Biguzzi, A; Bird, S D; Blobel, Volker; Bloodworth, Ian J; Bloomer, J E; Bobinski, M; Bock, P; Bonacorsi, D; Boutemeur, M; Bouwens, B T; Braibant, S; Brigliadori, L; Brown, R M; Burckhart, Helfried J; Burgard, C; Bürgin, R; Capiluppi, P; Carnegie, R K; Carter, A A; Carter, J R; Chang, C Y; Charlton, D G; Chrisman, D; Clarke, P E L; Cohen, I; Conboy, J E; Cooke, O C; Cuffiani, M; Dado, S; Dallapiccola, C; Dallavalle, G M; De Jong, S; del Pozo, L A; Desch, Klaus; Dixit, M S; do Couto e Silva, E; Doucet, M; Duchovni, E; Duckeck, G; Duerdoth, I P; Eatough, D; Edwards, J E G; Estabrooks, P G; Evans, H G; Evans, M; Fabbri, Franco Luigi; Fanti, M; Faust, A A; Fiedler, F; Fierro, M; Fischer, H M; Fleck, I; Folman, R; Fong, D G; Foucher, M; Fürtjes, A; Futyan, D I; Gagnon, P; Gary, J W; Gascon, J; Gascon-Shotkin, S M; Geddes, N I; Geich-Gimbel, C; Geralis, T; Giacomelli, G; Giacomelli, P; Giacomelli, R; Gibson, V; Gibson, W R; Gingrich, D M; Glenzinski, D A; Goldberg, J; Goodrick, M J; Gorn, W; Grandi, C; Gross, E; Grunhaus, Jacob; Gruwé, M; Hajdu, C; Hanson, G G; Hansroul, M; Hapke, M; Hargrove, C K; Hart, P A; Hartmann, C; Hauschild, M; Hawkes, C M; Hawkings, R; Hemingway, Richard J; Herndon, M; Herten, G; Heuer, R D; Hildreth, M D; Hill, J C; Hillier, S J; Hilse, T; Hobson, P R; Homer, R James; Honma, A K; Horváth, D; Howard, R; Hutchcroft, D E; Igo-Kemenes, P; Imrie, D C; Ingram, M R; Ishii, K; Jawahery, A; Jeffreys, P W; Jeremie, H; Jimack, Martin Paul; Joly, A; Jones, C R; Jones, G; Jones, M; Jost, U; Jovanovic, P; Junk, T R; Karlen, D A; Kartvelishvili, V G; Kawagoe, K; Kawamoto, T; Keeler, Richard K; Kellogg, R G; Kennedy, B W; Kirk, J; Klier, A; Kluth, S; Kobayashi, T; Kobel, M; Koetke, D S; Kokott, T P; Kolrep, M; Komamiya, S; Kress, T; Krieger, P; Von Krogh, J; Kyberd, P; Lafferty, G D; Lahmann, R; Lai, W P; Lanske, D; Lauber, J; Lautenschlager, S R; Layter, J G; Lazic, D; Lee, A M; Lefebvre, E; Lellouch, Daniel; Letts, J; Levinson, L; Lloyd, S L; Loebinger, F K; Long, G D; Losty, Michael J; Ludwig, J; Macchiolo, A; MacPherson, A L; Mannelli, M; Marcellini, S; Markus, C; Martin, A J; Martin, J P; Martínez, G; Mashimo, T; Mättig, P; McDonald, W J; McKenna, J A; McKigney, E A; McMahon, T J; McPherson, R A; Meijers, F; Menke, S; Merritt, F S; Mes, H; Meyer, J; Michelini, Aldo; Mikenberg, G; Miller, D J; Mincer, A; Mir, R; Mohr, W; Montanari, A; Mori, T; Morii, M; Müller, U; Nagai, K; Nakamura, I; Neal, H A; Nellen, B; Nisius, R; O'Neale, S W; Oakham, F G; Odorici, F; Ögren, H O; Oldershaw, N J; Oreglia, M J; Orito, S; Pálinkás, J; Pásztor, G; Pater, J R; Patrick, G N; Patt, J; Pearce, M J; Petzold, S; Pfeifenschneider, P; Pilcher, J E; Pinfold, James L; Plane, D E; Poffenberger, P R; Poli, B; Posthaus, A; Przysiezniak, H; Rees, D L; Rigby, D; Robertson, S; Robins, S A; Rodning, N L; Roney, J M; Rooke, A M; Ros, E; Rossi, A M; Rosvick, M; Routenburg, P; Rozen, Y; Runge, K; Runólfsson, O; Ruppel, U; Rust, D R; Rylko, R; Sachs, K; Saeki, T; Sarkisyan-Grinbaum, E; Sbarra, C; Schaile, A D; Schaile, O; Scharf, F; Scharff-Hansen, P; Schenk, P; Schieck, J; Schleper, P; Schmitt, B; Schmitt, S; Schöning, A; Schröder, M; Schultz-Coulon, H C; Schulz, M; Schumacher, M; Schwick, C; Scott, W G; Shears, T G; Shen, B C; Shepherd-Themistocleous, C H; Sherwood, P; Siroli, G P; Sittler, A; Skillman, A; Skuja, A; Smith, A M; Snow, G A; Sobie, Randall J; Söldner-Rembold, S; Springer, R W; Sproston, M; Stephens, K; Steuerer, J; Stockhausen, B; Stoll, K; Strom, D; Szymanski, P; Tafirout, R; Talbot, S D; Tanaka, S; Taras, P; Tarem, S; Teuscher, R; Thiergen, M; Thomson, M A; Von Törne, E; Towers, S; Trigger, I; Tsur, E; Turcot, A S; Turner-Watson, M F; Utzat, P; Van Kooten, R; Verzocchi, M; Vikas, P; Vokurka, E H; Voss, H; Wäckerle, F; Wagner, A; Ward, C P; Ward, D R; Watkins, P M; Watson, A T; Watson, N K; Wells, P S; Wermes, N; White, J S; Wilkens, B; Wilson, G W; Wilson, J A; Wolf, G; Wyatt, T R; Yamashita, S; Yekutieli, G; Zacek, V; Zer-Zion, D

    1997-01-01

    We have searched for decays of the tau lepton into seven or more charged particles, using data collected with the OPAL detector from 1990 to 1995 in e^+e^- collisions at sqrt(s) ~ M_Z. No candidate events were found and an upper limit on the branching ratio for tau decays into seven charged particles of 1.8 x 10^-5 at the 95% confidence level was determined.

  13. First all-sky upper limits from LIGO on the strength of periodic gravitational waves using the Hough transform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbott, B.; Adhikari, R.; Agresti, J.; Anderson, S.B.; Araya, M.; Armandula, H.; Asiri, F.; Barish, B.C.; Barnes, M.; Barton, M.A.; Bhawal, B.; Billingsley, G.; Black, E.; Blackburn, K.; Bork, R.; Brown, D.A.; Busby, D.; Cardenas, L.; Chandler, A.; Chapsky, J.

    2005-01-01

    We perform a wide parameter-space search for continuous gravitational waves over the whole sky and over a large range of values of the frequency and the first spin-down parameter. Our search method is based on the Hough transform, which is a semicoherent, computationally efficient, and robust pattern recognition technique. We apply this technique to data from the second science run of the LIGO detectors and our final results are all-sky upper limits on the strength of gravitational waves emitted by unknown isolated spinning neutron stars on a set of narrow frequency bands in the range 200-400 Hz. The best upper limit on the gravitational-wave strain amplitude that we obtain in this frequency range is 4.43x10 -23

  14. Determination of the upper mass limit for stars producing white-dwarf remnants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romanishin, W.; Angel, J.R.P.

    1980-01-01

    We have searched ultraviolet and red plates of four open clusters (NGC 2168, 2287, 2422, and 6633) for faint blue objects which might be white dwarf members of the clusters. The most massive stars in these clusters range from 3 to 6 M/sub sun/. We find a definite concentration of faint blue objects in the clusters. This fact, plus initial photoelectric photometry, provides strong support for the identification of many of these objects as cluster white dwarfs. By modeling the expected number of possible white dwarfs in each cluster, we are able to put some limits on m/sub w/, the upper stellar mass limit for formation of white dwarfs. Our data require that some stars of at least 5 M/sub sun/ have evolved into white dwarfs and give a most probable value of 7 M/sub sun/ for m/sub w/

  15. An Upper Limit for $Br(Z^0 \\rightarrow ggg)$ from Symmetric 3-jet $Z^0$ Hadronic Decays

    CERN Document Server

    Abreu, P; Adye, T; Ajinenko, I; Alekseev, G D; Alemany, R; Allport, P P; Almehed, S; Amaldi, Ugo; Amato, S; Andreazza, A; Andrieux, M L; Antilogus, P; Apel, W D; Åsman, B; Augustin, J E; Augustinus, A; Baillon, Paul; Bambade, P; Barão, F; Barate, R; Barbi, M S; Bardin, Dimitri Yuri; Baroncelli, A; Bärring, O; Barrio, J A; Bartl, Walter; Bates, M J; Battaglia, Marco; Baubillier, M; Baudot, J; Becks, K H; Begalli, M; Beillière, P; Belokopytov, Yu A; Belous, K S; Benvenuti, Alberto C; Berggren, M; Bertini, D; Bertrand, D; Besançon, M; Bianchi, F; Bigi, M; Bilenky, S M; Billoir, P; Bizouard, M A; Bloch, D; Blume, M; Bolognese, T; Bonesini, M; Bonivento, W; Booth, P S L; Bosio, C; Botner, O; Boudinov, E; Bouquet, B; Bourdarios, C; Bowcock, T J V; Bozzo, M; Branchini, P; Brand, K D; Brenke, T; Brenner, R A; Bricman, C; Brown, R C A; Brückman, P; Brunet, J M; Bugge, L; Buran, T; Burgsmüller, T; Buschmann, P; Buys, A; Cabrera, S; Caccia, M; Calvi, M; Camacho-Rozas, A J; Camporesi, T; Canale, V; Canepa, M; Cankocak, K; Cao, F; Carena, F; Carroll, L; Caso, Carlo; Castillo-Gimenez, M V; Cattai, A; Cavallo, F R; Chabaud, V; Charpentier, P; Chaussard, L; Checchia, P; Chelkov, G A; Chen, M; Chierici, R; Chliapnikov, P V; Chochula, P; Chorowicz, V; Chudoba, J; Cindro, V; Collins, P; Contri, R; Cortina, E; Cosme, G; Cossutti, F; Cowell, J H; Crawley, H B; Crennell, D J; Crosetti, G; Cuevas-Maestro, J; Czellar, S; Dahl-Jensen, Erik; Dahm, J; D'Almagne, B; Dam, M; Damgaard, G; Dauncey, P D; Davenport, Martyn; Da Silva, W; Defoix, C; Deghorain, A; Della Ricca, G; Delpierre, P A; Demaria, N; De Angelis, A; de Boer, Wim; De Brabandere, S; De Clercq, C; La Vaissière, C de; De Lotto, B; De Min, A; De Paula, L S; De Saint-Jean, C; Dijkstra, H; Di Ciaccio, Lucia; Di Diodato, A; Djama, F; Dolbeau, J; Dönszelmann, M; Doroba, K; Dracos, M; Drees, J; Drees, K A; Dris, M; Durand, J D; Edsall, D M; Ehret, R; Eigen, G; Ekelöf, T J C; Ekspong, Gösta; Elsing, M; Engel, J P; Erzen, B; Espirito-Santo, M C; Falk, E; Fassouliotis, D; Feindt, Michael; Fenyuk, A; Ferrer, A; Fichet, S; Filippas-Tassos, A; Firestone, A; Fischer, P A; Föth, H; Fokitis, E; Fontanelli, F; Formenti, F; Franek, B J; Frenkiel, P; Fries, D E C; Frodesen, A G; Fulda-Quenzer, F; Fuster, J A; Galloni, A; Gamba, D; Gandelman, M; García, C; García, J; Gaspar, C; Gasparini, U; Gavillet, P; Gazis, E N; Gelé, D; Gerber, J P; Gerdyukov, L N; Gokieli, R; Golob, B; Gopal, Gian P; Gorn, L; Górski, M; Guz, Yu; Gracco, Valerio; Graziani, E; Green, C; Grefrath, A; Gris, P; Grosdidier, G; Grzelak, K; Gumenyuk, S A; Gunnarsson, P; Günther, M; Guy, J; Hahn, F; Hahn, S; Hajduk, Z; Hallgren, A; Hamacher, K; Harris, F J; Hedberg, V; Henriques, R P; Hernández, J J; Herquet, P; Herr, H; Hessing, T L; Higón, E; Hilke, Hans Jürgen; Hill, T S; Holmgren, S O; Holt, P J; Holthuizen, D J; Hoorelbeke, S; Houlden, M A; Hrubec, Josef; Huet, K; Hultqvist, K; Jackson, J N; Jacobsson, R; Jalocha, P; Janik, R; Jarlskog, C; Jarlskog, G; Jarry, P; Jean-Marie, B; Johansson, E K; Jönsson, L B; Jönsson, P E; Joram, Christian; Juillot, P; Kaiser, M; Kapusta, F; Karafasoulis, K; Karlsson, M; Karvelas, E; Katsanevas, S; Katsoufis, E C; Keränen, R; Khokhlov, Yu A; Khomenko, B A; Khovanskii, N N; King, B J; Kjaer, N J; Klapp, O; Klein, H; Klovning, A; Kluit, P M; Köne, B; Kokkinias, P; Koratzinos, M; Korcyl, K; Kostyukhin, V; Kourkoumelis, C; Kuznetsov, O; Krammer, Manfred; Kreuter, C; Kronkvist, I J; Krumshtein, Z; Krupinski, W; Kubinec, P; Kucewicz, W; Kurvinen, K L; Lacasta, C; Laktineh, I; Lamsa, J; Lanceri, L; Lane, D W; Langefeld, P; Lapin, V; Laugier, J P; Lauhakangas, R; Leder, Gerhard; Ledroit, F; Lefébure, V; Legan, C K; Leitner, R; Lemonne, J; Lenzen, Georg; Lepeltier, V; Lesiak, T; Libby, J; Liko, D; Lindner, R; Lipniacka, A; Lippi, I; Lörstad, B; Loken, J G; López, J M; Loukas, D; Lutz, P; Lyons, L; MacNaughton, J N; Maehlum, G; Mahon, J R; Malmgren, T G M; Malychev, V; Mandl, F; Marco, J; Marco, R P; Maréchal, B; Margoni, M; Marin, J C; Mariotti, C; Markou, A; Martínez-Rivero, C; Martínez-Vidal, F; Martí i García, S; Masik, J; Matorras, F; Matteuzzi, C; Matthiae, Giorgio; Mazzucato, M; McCubbin, M L; McKay, R; McNulty, R; Medbo, J; Merk, M; Meroni, C; Meyer, S; Meyer, W T; Michelotto, M; Migliore, E; Mirabito, L; Mitaroff, Winfried A; Mjörnmark, U; Moa, T; Møller, R; Mönig, K; Monge, M R; Morettini, P; Müller, H; Münich, K; Mulders, M; Mundim, L M; Murray, W J; Muryn, B; Myatt, Gerald; Naraghi, F; Navarria, Francesco Luigi; Navas, S; Nawrocki, K; Negri, P; Neumann, W; Neumeister, N; Nicolaidou, R; Nielsen, B S; Nieuwenhuizen, M; Nikolaenko, V; Niss, P; Nomerotski, A; Normand, Ainsley; Novák, M; Oberschulte-Beckmann, W; Obraztsov, V F; Olshevskii, A G; Onofre, A; Orava, Risto; Österberg, K; Ouraou, A; Paganini, P; Paganoni, M; Pagès, P; Pain, R; Palka, H; Papadopoulou, T D; Papageorgiou, K; Pape, L; Parkes, C; Parodi, F; Passeri, A; Pegoraro, M; Peralta, L; Pernegger, H; Pernicka, Manfred; Perrotta, A; Petridou, C; Petrolini, A; Petrovykh, M; Phillips, H T; Piana, G; Pierre, F; Pimenta, M; Podobrin, O; Pol, M E; Polok, G; Poropat, P; Pozdnyakov, V; Privitera, P; Pukhaeva, N; Pullia, Antonio; Radojicic, D; Ragazzi, S; Rahmani, H; Rames, J; Ratoff, P N; Read, A L; Reale, M; Rebecchi, P; Redaelli, N G; Regler, Meinhard; Reid, D; Renton, P B; Resvanis, L K; Richard, F; Richardson, J; Rídky, J; Rinaudo, G; Ripp, I; Romero, A; Roncagliolo, I; Ronchese, P; Roos, L; Rosenberg, E I; Rosso, E; Roudeau, Patrick; Rovelli, T; Rückstuhl, W; Ruhlmann-Kleider, V; Ruiz, A; Rybicki, K; Saarikko, H; Sacquin, Yu; Sadovskii, A; Sahr, O; Sajot, G; Salt, J; Sánchez, J; Sannino, M; Schimmelpfennig, M; Schneider, H; Schwickerath, U; Schyns, M A E; Sciolla, G; Scuri, F; Seager, P; Sedykh, Yu; Segar, A M; Seitz, A; Sekulin, R L; Serbelloni, L; Shellard, R C; Siegrist, P; Silvestre, R; Simonetti, S; Simonetto, F; Sissakian, A N; Sitár, B; Skaali, T B; Smadja, G; Smirnova, O G; Smith, G R; Sokolov, A; Sosnowski, R; Souza-Santos, D; Spassoff, Tz; Spiriti, E; Sponholz, P; Squarcia, S; Stanescu, C; Stapnes, Steinar; Stavitski, I; Stevenson, K; Stichelbaut, F; Stocchi, A; Strauss, J; Strub, R; Stugu, B; Szczekowski, M; Szeptycka, M; Tabarelli de Fatis, T; Tavernet, J P; Chikilev, O G; Thomas, J; Tilquin, A; Timmermans, J; Tkatchev, L G; Todorov, T; Todorova, S; Toet, D Z; Tomaradze, A G; Tomé, B; Tonazzo, A; Tortora, L; Tranströmer, G; Treille, D; Trischuk, W; Tristram, G; Trombini, A; Troncon, C; Tsirou, A L; Turluer, M L; Tyapkin, I A; Tyndel, M; Tzamarias, S; Überschär, B; Ullaland, O; Uvarov, V; Valenti, G; Vallazza, E; van Apeldoorn, G W; van Dam, P; Van Eldik, J; Van Lysebetten, A; Vassilopoulos, N; Vegni, G; Ventura, L; Venus, W A; Verbeure, F; Verlato, M; Vertogradov, L S; Vilanova, D; Vincent, P; Vitale, L; Vlasov, E; Vodopyanov, A S; Vrba, V; Wahlen, H; Walck, C; Waldner, F; Weierstall, M; Weilhammer, Peter; Weiser, C; Wetherell, Alan M; Wicke, D; Wickens, J H; Wielers, M; Wilkinson, G R; Williams, W S C; Winter, M; Witek, M; Wlodek, T; Woschnagg, K; Yip, K; Yushchenko, O P; Zach, F; Zaitsev, A; Zalewska-Bak, A; Zalewski, Piotr; Zavrtanik, D; Zevgolatakos, E; Zimin, N I; Zito, M; Zontar, D; Zucchelli, G C; Zumerle, G

    1996-01-01

    An upper limit for $BR(Z^0\\ rightarrow 3g)$ is obtained from a correlation method, which distinguishes statistically between quark and gluon jets by using the difference in their charged particle multiplicity distributions. From the sam020AU LW

  16. Study of the decay /sup 184/Hg. -->. /sup 184/Au (Tsub(1/2)=30s). [Lifetime, upper limits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nettles, W G; Beraud, R; Cole, J D; Hamilton, J H; Ramayya, A V; Kawakami, H [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (USA). Dept. of Physics; Sastry, K S.R. [Massachusetts Univ., Amherst (USA); Spejewski, E H

    1978-04-01

    The radioactive decay of /sup 184/Hg to /sup 184/Au was studied on line with the UNISOR isotope separator. The 184 mass chain was entered at /sup 184/Tl and /sup 184/Hg by bombarding an isotopically-enriched target of /sup 180/W with /sup 14/N ions of 177 MeV. Multiscale singles and ..gamma..-..gamma..-time coincidence studies were carried out. No previous levels have been assigned to /sup 184/Au. From the coincidence data eight levels at 156.2, 159.1, 247.7, 282.8, 295.1, 392.4, 418.0 and 412.4 keV are assigned and two tentative levels at 534.0 and 551.6 keV are proposed. By using the delayed coincidence technique, a half-life of 36+-6 nanoseconds was measured for the 156.2 keV first-excited level and upper limits of 2 nanoseconds were determined for the half-lives of levels at 159.1, 247.7, 295.1 and 392.4 keV.

  17. A novel approach to derive halo-independent limits on dark matter properties

    OpenAIRE

    Ferrer, Francesc; Ibarra, Alejandro; Wild, Sebastian

    2015-01-01

    We propose a method that allows to place an upper limit on the dark matter elastic scattering cross section with nucleons which is independent of the velocity distribution. Our approach combines null results from direct detection experiments with indirect searches at neutrino telescopes, and goes beyond previous attempts to remove astrophysical uncertainties in that it directly constrains the particle physics properties of the dark matter. The resulting halo-independent upper limits on the sc...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    1946-01-01

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

  19. A new upper limit for the branching ratio for the decay eta→π0e+e-

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jan, M.R.; Grannis, P.; Jones, B.D.; Lipman, N.H.; Owen, D.P.; Peterson, V.Z.; Toner, W.T.

    1975-01-01

    A search has been made for the decay eta→π 0 e + e - in an optical spark chamber experiment at the Rutherford Laboratory. The observations are consistent with no events being seen and give an upper limit. Rate (eta→π 0 e + e - )/Rate (eta→ALL) -5 (90%C.L.). (author)

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    1994-01-01

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

  1. Increased seedling establishment via enemy release at the upper elevational range limit of sugar maple.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urli, Morgane; Brown, Carissa D; Narváez Perez, Rosela; Chagnon, Pierre-Luc; Vellend, Mark

    2016-11-01

    The enemy release hypothesis is frequently invoked to explain invasion by nonnative species, but studies focusing on the influence of enemies on natural plant range expansion due to climate change remain scarce. We combined multiple approaches to study the influence of plant-enemy interactions on the upper elevational range limit of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) in southeastern Québec, Canada, where a previous study had demonstrated intense seed predation just beyond the range limit. Consistent with the hypothesis of release from natural enemies at the range limit, data from both natural patterns of regeneration and from seed and seedling transplant experiments showed higher seedling densities at the range edge than in the core of the species' distribution. A growth chamber experiment manipulating soil origin and temperature indicated that this so-called "happy edge" was not likely caused by temperature (i.e., the possibility that climate warming has made high elevation temperatures optimal for sugar maple) or by abiotic soil factors that vary along the elevational gradient. Finally, an insect-herbivore-exclusion experiment showed that insect herbivory was a major cause of seedling mortality in the core of sugar maple's distribution, whereas seedlings transplanted at or beyond the range edge experienced minimal herbivory (i.e., enemy release). Insect herbivory did not completely explain the high levels of seedling mortality in the core of the species' distribution, suggesting that seedlings at or beyond the range edge may also experience release from pathogens. In sum, while some effects of enemies are magnified beyond range edges (e.g., seed predation), others are dampened at and beyond the range edge (e.g., insect herbivory), such that understanding the net outcome of different biotic interactions within, at and beyond the edge of distribution is critical to predicting species' responses to global change. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

  2. TLD personnel monitoring dose estimation- extending the upper limit of the dose range

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Popli, K.L.; Sathian, Deepa; Divakaran, T.; Massand, O.P.

    2001-01-01

    TLD personnel monitoring was introduced in the year 1975 in India and at present nearly 41,000 radiation workers are being monitored by 13 monitoring laboratories all over India. The BARC- TLD being used for personnel monitoring is based on CaSO 4 :Dy embedded in PTFE and semi-automatic TL reader using hot N 2 Gas for heating the dosimeters. This reader has the range to measure γ dose from ten μSv to 3 μSv and x-ray dose form 1 μ Sv to 0.3 Sv due to the higher sensitivity of CaSO 4 : Dy to lower energy photons (20keV-50 keV) generated by diagnostic x-ray units. The x-ray radiation workers are at present nearly 35% of the total radiation workers monitored and this number is expected to grow as more and more number of x-ray workers are covered under this service. The upper limit of the x-ray dose range of the instrument is 0.3 Sv, whereas in the past one year it has been observed that at least 25% of the total overexposures reported in case of x-ray workers have recorded the dose more than 0.3 Sv. This paper presents the technique developed to extend the upper limit of the range from 0.3 Sv to 1 Sv for x-rays and 10 Sv for γ rays

  3. Fermi-LAT upper limits on gamma-ray emission from colliding wind binaries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Werner, Michael; Reimer, O.; Reimer, A.

    2013-01-01

    Here, colliding wind binaries (CWBs) are thought to give rise to a plethora of physical processes including acceleration and interaction of relativistic particles. Observation of synchrotron radiation in the radio band confirms there is a relativistic electron population in CWBs. Accordingly, CWBs have been suspected sources of high-energy γ-ray emission since the COS-B era. Theoretical models exist that characterize the underlying physical processes leading to particle acceleration and quantitatively predict the non-thermal energy emission observable at Earth. Furthermore, we strive to find evidence of γ-ray emission from a sample of seven CWB systems: WR 11, WR 70, WR 125, WR 137, WR 140, WR 146, and WR 147. Theoretical modelling identified these systems as the most favourable candidates for emitting γ-rays. We make a comparison with existing γ-ray flux predictions and investigate possible constraints. We used 24 months of data from the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope to perform a dedicated likelihood analysis of CWBs in the LAT energy range. As a result, we find no evidence of γ-ray emission from any of the studied CWB systems and determine corresponding flux upper limits. For some CWBs the interplay of orbital and stellar parameters renders the Fermi-LAT data not sensitive enough to constrain the parameter space of the emission models. In the cases of WR140 and WR147, the Fermi-LAT upper limits appear to rule out some model predictions entirely and constrain theoretical models over a significant parameter space. A comparison of our findings to the CWB η Car is made.

  4. What is the appropriate upper limit for added sugars consumption?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rippe, James M; Sievenpiper, John L; Lê, Kim-Anne; White, John S; Clemens, Roger; Angelopoulos, Theodore J

    2017-01-01

    Dramatic increases in obesity and diabetes have occurred worldwide over the past 30 years. Some investigators have suggested that these increases may be due, in part, to increased added sugars consumption. Several scientific organizations, including the World Health Organization, the Scientific Advisory Council on Nutrition, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee 2015, and the American Heart Association, have recommended significant restrictions on upper limits of sugars consumption. In this review, the scientific evidence related to sugars consumption and its putative link to various chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and the metabolic syndrome is examined. While it appears prudent to avoid excessive calories from sugars, the scientific basis for restrictive guidelines is far from settled. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Using Hashimoto thyroiditis as gold standard to determine the upper limit value of thyroid stimulating hormone in a Chinese cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yu; Chen, Dong-Ning; Cui, Jing; Xin, Zhong; Yang, Guang-Ran; Niu, Ming-Jia; Yang, Jin-Kui

    2016-11-06

    Subclinical hypothyroidism, commonly caused by Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. This disorder is defined as merely having elevated serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels. However, the upper limit of reference range for TSH is debated recently. This study was to determine the cutoff value for the upper normal limit of TSH in a cohort using the prevalence of Hashimoto thyroiditis as "gold" calibration standard. The research population was medical staff of 2856 individuals who took part in health examination annually. Serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), TSH, thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPAb), thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb) and other biochemistry parameters were tested. Meanwhile, thyroid ultrasound examination was performed. The diagnosis of HT was based on presence of thyroid antibodies (TPAb and TGAb) and abnormalities of thyroid ultrasound examination. We used two different methods to estimate the cutoff point of TSH based on the prevalence of HT. Joinpoint regression showed the prevalence of HT increased significantly at the ninth decile of TSH value corresponding to 2.9 mU/L. ROC curve showed a TSH cutoff value of 2.6 mU/L with the maximized sensitivity and specificity in identifying HT. Using the newly defined cutoff value of TSH can detect patients with hyperlipidemia more efficiently, which may indicate our approach to define the upper limit of TSH can make more sense from the clinical point of view. A significant increase in the prevalence of HT occurred among individuals with a TSH of 2.6-2.9 mU/L made it possible to determine the cutoff value of normal upper limit of TSH.

  6. Previous Repeated Exposure to Food Limitation Enables Rats to Spare Lipid Stores during Prolonged Starvation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCue, Marshall D; Albach, Audrey; Salazar, Giovanni

    The risk of food limitation and, ultimately, starvation dates back to the dawn of heterotrophy in animals, yet starvation remains a major factor in the regulation of modern animal populations. Researchers studying starvation more than a century ago suggested that animals subjected to sublethal periods of food limitation are somehow more tolerant of subsequent starvation events. This possibility has received little attention over the past decades, yet it is highly relevant to modern science for two reasons. First, animals in natural populations are likely to be exposed to bouts of food limitation once or more before they face prolonged starvation, during which the risk of mortality becomes imminent. Second, our current approach to studying starvation physiology in the laboratory focuses on nourished animals with no previous exposure to nutritional stress. We examined the relationship between previous exposure to food limitation and potentially adaptive physiological responses to starvation in adult rats and found several significant differences. On two occasions, rats were fasted until they lost 20% of their body mass maintained lower body temperatures, and had presumably lower energy requirements when subjected to prolonged starvation than their naive cohort that never experienced food limitation. These rats that were trained in starvation also had lower plasma glucose set -points and reduced their reliance on endogenous lipid oxidation. These findings underscore (1) the need for biologists to revisit the classic hypothesis that animals can become habituated to starvation, using a modern set of research tools; and (2) the need to design controlled experiments of starvation physiology that more closely resemble the dynamic nature of food availability.

  7. Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinomas Accompanied by Previous or Synchronous Nonmuscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer and Preoperative Hydronephrosis Might Have Worse Oncologic Outcomes After Radical Nephroureterectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Chengcai; Chi, Runmin; Huang, Liqun; Wang, Jinliang; Liu, Hailong; Xu, Ding; Qian, Subo; Qian, Xiaoqiang; Qi, Jun

    2016-10-01

    The purpose of the study was to identify predictors of clinicopathologic features and oncologic outcomes in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma treated with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). The medical records of 172 patients treated with RNU from January 2001 to September 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. Logistic regression and survival analysis methodology were respectively used to evaluate predictors of clinicopathologic features and oncologic outcomes. Of the enrolled 172 patients, 80 (46.5%) had renal pelvic tumors, 67 (39%) had ureteral tumors, and the remaining 25 (14.5%) patients had multifocal tumors. Compared with patients with renal pelvic tumors, those with ureteral and multifocal tumors were more likely to have previous or synchronous nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and severe hydronephrosis (P = .001 and P hydronephrosis independently predicted worse renal function and positive lymph node or lymphovascular invasion status (P = .001 and P = .007, respectively). Moreover, severe hydronephrosis was an independent risk factor for overall survival and cancer-specific survival in multivariate analysis (P = .025 and P = .045, respectively). Multifocality and previous or synchronous NMIBC were significantly associated with bladder-recurrence-free survival (P = .023 and P = .001, respectively). Upper tract urothelial carcinoma accompanied by previous or synchronous NMIBC and preoperative severe hydronephrosis could have worse oncologic outcomes after RNU. These common accompanied diagnoses could be valuable for guiding preoperative planning and postoperative adjuvant therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Good news for conservation: mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA data detect limited genetic signatures of inter-basin fish transfer in Thymallus thymallus (Salmonidae from the Upper Drava River

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meraner A.

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available In the last few decades, numerous populations of European grayling, Thymallus thymallus, have been suffering from stocking-induced genetic admixture of foreign strains into wild populations. Concordantly, genetic introgression was also reportedfor grayling stocks inhabiting the Upper Drava River, but all published genetic data based on specimens caught at least a decade ago, when stocking load was strong. Here, we applied mitochondrial control region sequencing and nuclear microsatellite genotyping to Upper Drava grayling fry collections and reference samples to update patterns and extent of human-mediated introgression. In contrast to previous data, we highlighted an almost genetic integrity of Drava grayling, evidencing limited genetic signatures of trans-basin stocking for grayling of Northern Alpine Danubian origin. Recent hybridisation was detected only twice among sixty-nine samples, while several cases of later-generation hybrids were disclosed by linking mitochondrial sequence to nuclear genetic data. The observed past, but very limited recent genetic introgression in grayling from Upper Drava seems to reflect shifting stocking trends, changing from massive introduction of trans-basin fish to more conservation-oriented strategies during the last 27 years. In a conservation context, we encourage pursuing the use of local wild grayling for supportive- and captive-breeding, but underline the need for genetic approaches in brood-stock selection programs. Finally, our integrated results from sibship reconstruction validate our strictly fry-based sampling scheme, thus offering a reasonable alternative also for other rheophilic fish species with similar life-history characteristics.

  9. UPPER LIMITS ON THE MASSES OF 105 SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES FROM HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE/SPACE TELESCOPE IMAGING SPECTROGRAPH ARCHIVAL DATA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beifiori, A.; Corsini, E. M.; Bonta, E. Dalla; Pizzella, A.; Coccato, L.; Bertola, F.; Sarzi, M.

    2009-01-01

    Based on the modeling of the central emission-line width measured over subarcsecond apertures with the Hubble Space Telescope, we present stringent upper bounds on the mass of the central supermassive black hole, M . , for a sample of 105 nearby galaxies (D c (58-419 km s -1 ). For the vast majority of the objects, the derived M . upper limits run parallel and above the well-known M . -σ c relation independently of the galaxy distance, suggesting that our nebular line-width measurements trace rather well the nuclear gravitational potential. For values of σ c between 90 and 220 km s -1 , 68% of our upper limits falls immediately above the M . -σ c relation without exceeding the expected M . values by more than a factor 4.1. No systematic trends or offsets are observed in this σ c range as a function of the galaxy Hubble type or with respect to the presence of a bar. For 6 of our 12 M . upper limits with σ c -1 , our line-width measurements are more sensitive to the stellar contribution to the gravitational potential, either due to the presence of a nuclear stellar cluster or because of a greater distance compared to the other galaxies at the low-σ c end of the M . -σ c relation. Conversely, our M . upper bounds appear to lie closer to the expected M . in the most massive elliptical galaxies with values of σ c above 220 km s -1 . Such a flattening of the M . -σ c relation at its high-σ c end would appear consistent with a coevolution of supermassive black holes and galaxies driven by dry mergers, although better and more consistent measurements for σ c and K-band luminosity are needed for these kinds of objects before systematic effects can be ruled out.

  10. Living with transversal upper limb reduction deficiency: limitations experienced by young adults during their transition to adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lankhorst, Ilse M F; Baars, Erwin C T; Wijk, Iris van; Janssen, Wim G M; Poelma, Margriet J; van der Sluis, Corry K

    2017-08-01

    During transition to adulthood young adults with disabilities are at risk of experiencing limitations due to changing physical and social requirements. To determine whether young adults with transversal upper limb reduction deficiency (tULRD) have experienced limitations in various domains of participation during transition to adulthood and how they dealt with these limitations. Fifteen participants (mean age 21.4 years) with tULRD. A qualitative study was performed using a semi-structured interview based on the Rotterdam Transition Profile to identify the limitations experienced in participation domains. Almost all the participants reported difficulties in finding a suitable study or job. Most young adults were convinced they were suitable for almost any study or job, but their teachers and potential employers were more reserved. Few difficulties were reported on the domains leisure activities, intimate relationships/sexuality, housing/housekeeping and transportation. Participants preferred to develop their own strategies for dealing with limitations. Various aids, adaptations and prostheses were used to overcome limitations. Rehabilitation teams were infrequently consulted for advice in solving transitional problems. Young adults with tULRD experience limitations mainly in choosing and finding a suitable study or job. Rehabilitation teams may play a more extensive role in supporting individuals with transitional problems. Implications for rehabilitation Most young adults with transversal upper limb reduction deficiency (tULRD) experience limitations in study and job selection during transition to adulthood, but they do not consult the rehabilitation team. Assessment of abilities in relation to job interests and practicing job specific bimanual activities may be helpful for young adults with a tULRD. How the rehabilitation teams can meet the needs of young adults with tULRD during transitional phases, when autonomy is of growing importance, should be investigated

  11. Vegetation dynamics at the upper elevational limit of vascular plants in Himalaya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolezal, Jiri; Dvorsky, Miroslav; Kopecky, Martin; Liancourt, Pierre; Hiiesalu, Inga; Macek, Martin; Altman, Jan; Chlumska, Zuzana; Rehakova, Klara; Capkova, Katerina; Borovec, Jakub; Mudrak, Ondrej; Wild, Jan; Schweingruber, Fritz

    2016-05-04

    A rapid warming in Himalayas is predicted to increase plant upper distributional limits, vegetation cover and abundance of species adapted to warmer climate. We explored these predictions in NW Himalayas, by revisiting uppermost plant populations after ten years (2003-2013), detailed monitoring of vegetation changes in permanent plots (2009-2012), and age analysis of plants growing from 5500 to 6150 m. Plant traits and microclimate variables were recorded to explain observed vegetation changes. The elevation limits of several species shifted up to 6150 m, about 150 vertical meters above the limit of continuous plant distribution. The plant age analysis corroborated the hypothesis of warming-driven uphill migration. However, the impact of warming interacts with increasing precipitation and physical disturbance. The extreme summer snowfall event in 2010 is likely responsible for substantial decrease in plant cover in both alpine and subnival vegetation and compositional shift towards species preferring wetter habitats. Simultaneous increase in summer temperature and precipitation caused rapid snow melt and, coupled with frequent night frosts, generated multiple freeze-thaw cycles detrimental to subnival plants. Our results suggest that plant species responses to ongoing climate change will not be unidirectional upward range shifts but rather multi-dimensional, species-specific and spatially variable.

  12. Upper limits for stratospheric H2O2 and HOCl from high resolution balloon-borne infrared solar absorption spectra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, J. C.; Rinsland, C. P.; Goldman, A.; Murcray, D. G.; Murcray, F. J.

    1985-01-01

    Solar absorption spectra from two stratospheric balloon flights have been analyzed for the presence of H2O2 and HOCl absorption in the 1230.0 to 1255.0 per cm region. The data were recorded at 0.02 per cm resolution during sunset with the University of Denver interferometer system on October 27, 1978 and March 23, 1981. Selected spectral regions were analyzed with the technique of nonlinear least squares spectral curve fitting. Upper limits of 0.33 ppbv for H2O2 and 0.36 ppbv for HOCl near 28 km are derived from the 1978 flight data while upper limits of 0.44 ppbv for H2O2 and 0.43 ppbv for HOCl at 29.5 km are obtained from the 1981 flight data.

  13. A retrieved upper limit of CS in Neptune's atmosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iino, T.; Mizuno, A.; Nagahama, T.; Hirota, A.; Nakajima, T.

    2012-12-01

    We present our new result of CS(J=7-6), CO(J=3-2) observations of Neptune's atmosphere carried out with 10-m ASTE sub-mm waveband telescope on August 2010. As a result, while CS line was not detected with 6.4 mK 1-sigma r.m.s. noise level, CO line was detected as 282 mK with 9.7 mK noise level in antenna temperature scale. All of the observations were carried out with 512 MHz bandwidth and 500 kHz resolution, the total integration time for CS and CO were 23 m 40 s and 11 m 00 s, respectively. Abundances have been obtained from the comparison between the intensity and the synthesis spectra modeled by plane parallel 1-D radiative transfer code assuming various mixing ratio of each gas. The retrieved upper limit of CS mixing ratio was 0.03 ppb throughout tropopause to stratosphere. CO mixing ratio have been retrieved 1.0 ppm with errors +0.3 and -0.2 ppm, and the result was consistent with previous observation [1]. The origin of abundant CO in Neptune's atmosphere has been long discussed since its mixing ratio is 30 - 500 times higher than the value of other gas giants [2][3][4]. Assuming that all of CO is produced by thermochemical equilibrium process in deep interior of Neptune, required O/H value in interior is 440 times higher than the solar value [5]. For this reason, it is claimed that the external CO supply source, such as the impact of comet or asteroid, is also the possible candidates of the origin of CO along with the internal supply source [6]. In this observation, we searched the remnant gas of cometary impact in Neptune's atmosphere. Along with CO and HCN, CS could be one of the possible candidate of the remnant gas of cometary impact since CS was largely produced after the impact of comet SL/9 on Jupiter while many other major sulfur compounds have not been detected. Actually, derived L37-40. [7]Moreno et al., 2003. Planetary and Space Sciences 51, 591-611 [8]Zahnle et al.,1995. GRL 22, 1593-1596 [9]Feuchtgruber et al., 1999. Proceeding of the conference

  14. A novel power efficient location-based cooperative routing with transmission power-upper-limit for wireless sensor networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Juanfei; Calveras, Anna; Cheng, Ye; Liu, Kai

    2013-05-15

    The extensive usage of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has led to the development of many power- and energy-efficient routing protocols. Cooperative routing in WSNs can improve performance in these types of networks. In this paper we discuss the existing proposals and we propose a routing algorithm for wireless sensor networks called Power Efficient Location-based Cooperative Routing with Transmission Power-upper-limit (PELCR-TP). The algorithm is based on the principle of minimum link power and aims to take advantage of nodes cooperation to make the link work well in WSNs with a low transmission power. In the proposed scheme, with a determined transmission power upper limit, nodes find the most appropriate next nodes and single-relay nodes with the proposed algorithm. Moreover, this proposal subtly avoids non-working nodes, because we add a Bad nodes Avoidance Strategy (BAS). Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm with BAS can significantly improve the performance in reducing the overall link power, enhancing the transmission success rate and decreasing the retransmission rate.

  15. A Novel Power Efficient Location-Based Cooperative Routing with Transmission Power-Upper-Limit for Wireless Sensor Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Juanfei; Calveras, Anna; Cheng, Ye; Liu, Kai

    2013-01-01

    The extensive usage of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has led to the development of many power- and energy-efficient routing protocols. Cooperative routing in WSNs can improve performance in these types of networks. In this paper we discuss the existing proposals and we propose a routing algorithm for wireless sensor networks called Power Efficient Location-based Cooperative Routing with Transmission Power-upper-limit (PELCR-TP). The algorithm is based on the principle of minimum link power and aims to take advantage of nodes cooperation to make the link work well in WSNs with a low transmission power. In the proposed scheme, with a determined transmission power upper limit, nodes find the most appropriate next nodes and single-relay nodes with the proposed algorithm. Moreover, this proposal subtly avoids non-working nodes, because we add a Bad nodes Avoidance Strategy (BAS). Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm with BAS can significantly improve the performance in reducing the overall link power, enhancing the transmission success rate and decreasing the retransmission rate. PMID:23676625

  16. A Revised Experimental Upper Limit on the Electric Dipole Moment of the Neutron

    CERN Document Server

    Pendlebury, J  M; Ayres, N J; Baker, C A; Ban, G; Bison, G; Bodek, K; Burghoff, M; Geltenbort, P; Green, K; Griffith, W C; van der Grinten, M; Grujic, Z D; Harris, P G; Helaine, V; Iaydjiev, P; Ivanov, S N; Kasprzak, M; Kermaidic, Y; Kirch, K; Koch, H-C; Komposch, S; Kozela, A; Krempel, J; Lauss, B; Lefort, T; Lemiere, Y; May, D J R; Musgrave, M; Musgrave, M; Naviliat-Cuncic, O; Piegsa, F M; Pignol, G; Prashanth, P N; Quéméner, G; Rawlik, M; Rebreyend, D; Richardson, J D; Ries, D; Roccia, S; Rozpedzik, D; Schnabel, A; Schmidt-Wellenburg, P; Severijns, N; Shiers, D; Thorne, J A; Weis, A; Winston, O  J; Wursten, E; Zejma, J; Zsigmond, G

    2015-01-01

    We present for the first time a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the experimental results that set the current world sensitivity limit on the magnitude of the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron. We have extended and enhanced our earlier analysis to include recent developments in the understanding of the effects of gravity in depolarizing ultracold neutrons (UCN); an improved calculation of the spectrum of the neutrons; and conservative estimates of other possible systematic errors, which are also shown to be consistent with more recent measurements undertaken with the apparatus. We obtain a net result of $d_\\mathrm{n} = -0.21 \\pm 1.82 \\times10^{-26}$ $e$cm, which may be interpreted as a slightly revised upper limit on the magnitude of the EDM of $3.0 \\times10^{-26}$ $e$cm (90% CL) or $ 3.6 \\times10^{-26}$ $e$cm (95% CL). This paper is dedicated by the remaining authors to the memory of Prof. J. Michael Pendlebury.

  17. Intra-Annual Xylem Growth of Larix principis-rupprechtii at Its Upper and Lower Distribution Limits on the Luyashan Mountain in North-Central China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuan Jiang

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Altitude-related climatic factors, especially temperature, are important factors that affect tree growth in mountain forest ecosystems. The aims of this study were to estimate the intra-annual radial growth differences of Larix principis-rupprechtii (L. principis-rupprechtii between its upper and lower distribution limits, at 2740 and 2040 m a.s.l, respectively. Dynamics of xylem growth were observed by collecting microcore samples weekly during the 2011 growth season. The result indicated that different strategies were adopted at the two selected sites. Trees at the upper distribution limit adopted an “intensive strategy” with higher maximum growth rates (0.69 cell·day−1 within a shorter duration of 95 days, producing 21 new tracheids. By contrast, trees at the lower distribution limit exhibited an “extensive strategy” with lower maximum growth rates (0.53 cell·day−1 over a longer duration of 135 days, producing 50 tracheids. The soil temperature was probably the main factor limiting the onset of cambial activity for L. principis-rupprechtii, its daily mean thresholds for onset were 0 °C and 1.4 °C at the upper and lower distribution limits, respectively. These results indicate that L. principis-rupprechtii is able to adjust its xylem growth according to environmental conditions.

  18. An Upper Limit on the Functional Fraction of the Human Genome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graur, Dan

    2017-07-01

    For the human population to maintain a constant size from generation to generation, an increase in fertility must compensate for the reduction in the mean fitness of the population caused, among others, by deleterious mutations. The required increase in fertility due to this mutational load depends on the number of sites in the genome that are functional, the mutation rate, and the fraction of deleterious mutations among all mutations in functional regions. These dependencies and the fact that there exists a maximum tolerable replacement level fertility can be used to put an upper limit on the fraction of the human genome that can be functional. Mutational load considerations lead to the conclusion that the functional fraction within the human genome cannot exceed 25%, and is probably considerably lower. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  19. An upper limit to the secular variation of the gravitational constant from white dwarf stars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    García-Berro, Enrique; Lorén-Aguilar, Pablo; Torres, Santiago [Departament de Física Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, c/Esteve Terrades, 5, 08860 Castelldefels (Spain); Althaus, Leandro G. [Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, (1900) La Plata (Argentina); Isern, Jordi, E-mail: garcia@fa.upc.edu, E-mail: loren@fa.upc.edu, E-mail: santi@fa.upc.edu, E-mail: althaus@fcaglp.fcaglp.unlp.edu.ar, E-mail: isern@ieec.cat [Institut de Ciències de l' Espai (CSIC), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Spain)

    2011-05-01

    A variation of the gravitational constant over cosmological ages modifies the main sequence lifetimes and white dwarf cooling ages. Using an state-of-the-art stellar evolutionary code we compute the effects of a secularly varying G on the main sequence ages and, employing white dwarf cooling ages computed taking into account the effects of a running G, we place constraints on the rate of variation of Newton's constant. This is done using the white dwarf luminosity function and the distance of the well studied open Galactic cluster NGC 6791. We derive an upper bound Ġ/G ∼ −1.8 × 10{sup −12} yr{sup −1}. This upper limit for the secular variation of the gravitational constant compares favorably with those obtained using other stellar evolutionary properties, and can be easily improved if deep images of the cluster allow to obtain an improved white dwarf luminosity function.

  20. New upper limit to the coronal line emission from the T Tauri star RU Lupi

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gahm, G F [Stockholm Observatory (Sweden); Lago, M T.V.T. [Universidade do Porto (Portugal). Grupo de Matematica Aplicada; Penston, M V [ESTEC, European Space Agency, Villafranca Satellite Tracking Station, Madrid, (Spain)

    1981-05-01

    A high dispersion AAT spectrogram sets an upper limit on the (Fe x) emission line lambda 6374.5 A in the T Tauri star RU Lupi. The intensity of any 10/sup 6/ K corona in this star is less than 600 times that of the Sun compared to a chromosphere and transition region of 3 x 10/sup 3/ to 2 x 10/sup 5/ K gas 10/sup 6/ times stronger than the Sun's. The important theoretical implications are noted.

  1. INTEGRAL Upper Limits on Gamma-Ray Emission Associated with the Gravitational Wave Event GW150914

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Savchenko, V.; Ferrigno, C.; Natalucci, L.

    Using observations of the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), we place upper limits on the gamma-ray and hard X-ray prompt emission associated with the gravitational wave event GW150914, discovered by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration. The omnidirectional view of the INTEGRAL...... MeV energy range for typical spectral models. Our results constrain the ratio of the energy promptly released in gamma-rays in the direction of the observer to the gravitational wave energy Eγ/EGW gravitational wave...

  2. Spinal fusion limits upper body range of motion during gait without inducing compensatory mechanisms in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holewijn, R M; Kingma, I; de Kleuver, M; Schimmel, J J P; Keijsers, N L W

    2017-09-01

    Previous studies show a limited alteration of gait at normal walking speed after spinal fusion surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), despite the presumed essential role of spinal mobility during gait. This study analyses how spinal fusion affects gait at more challenging walking speeds. More specifically, we investigated whether thoracic-pelvic rotations are reduced to a larger extent at higher gait speeds and whether compensatory mechanisms above and below the stiffened spine are present. 18 AIS patients underwent gait analysis at increasing walking speeds (0.45 to 2.22m/s) before and after spinal fusion. The range of motion (ROM) of the upper (thorax, thoracic-pelvic and pelvis) and lower body (hip, knee and ankle) was determined in all three planes. Spatiotemporal parameters of interest were stride length and cadence. Spinal fusion diminished transverse plane thoracic-pelvic ROM and this difference was more explicit at higher walking speeds. Transversal pelvis ROM was also decreased but this effect was not affected by speed. Lower body ROM, step length and cadence remained unaffected. Despite the reduction of upper body ROM after spine surgery during high speed gait, no altered spatiotemporal parameters or increased compensatory ROM above or below the fusion (i.e. in the shoulder girdle or lower extremities) was identified. Thus, it remains unclear how patients can cope so well with such major surgery. Future studies should focus on analyzing the kinematics of individual spinal levels above and below the fusion during gait to investigate possible compensatory mechanisms within the spine. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Acute Upper Thermal Limits of Three Aquatic Invasive Invertebrates: Hot Water Treatment to Prevent Upstream Transport of Invasive Species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beyer, Jessica; Moy, Philip; de Stasio, Bart

    2011-01-01

    Transport of aquatic invasive species (AIS) by boats traveling up rivers and streams is an important mechanism of secondary spread of AIS into watersheds. Because physical barriers to AIS movement also prevent navigation, alternate methods for preventing spread are necessary while allowing upstream navigation. One promising approach is to lift boats over physical barriers and then use hot water immersion to kill AIS attached to the hull, motor, or fishing gear. However, few data have been published on the acute upper thermal tolerance limits of potential invaders treated in this manner. To test the potential effectiveness of this approach for a planned boat lift on the Fox River of northeastern WI, USA, acute upper thermal limits were determined for three AIS, adult zebra mussels ( Dreissena polymorpha), quagga mussels ( Dreissena rostriformis bugensis), and spiny water fleas ( Bythotrephes longimanus) from the local area employing temperatures from 32 to 54°C and immersion times from 1 to 20 min. Mortality was determined after immersion followed by a 20-min recovery period. Immersion at 43°C for at least 5 min was required to ensure 100% mortality for all three species, but due to variability in the response by Bythotrephes a 10 min immersion would be more reliable. Overall there were no significant differences between the three species in acute upper thermal limits. Heated water can be an efficient, environmentally sound, and cost effective method of controlling AIS potentially transferred by boats, and our results should have both specific and wide-ranging applications in the prevention of the spread of aquatic invasive species.

  4. Upper limit on the ultrahigh-energy photon flux from AGASA and Yakutsk data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubtsov, G.I.; Dedenko, L.G.; Fedorova, G.F.; Fedunin, E.Yu.; Roganova, T.M.; Glushkov, A.V.; Makarov, I.T.; Pravdin, M.I.; Sleptsov, I.E.; Gorbunov, D.S.; Troitsky, S.V.

    2006-01-01

    We present the interpretation of the muon and scintillation signals of ultrahigh-energy air showers observed by AGASA and Yakutsk extensive air shower array experiments. We consider case-by-case ten highest-energy events with known muon content and conclude that at the 95% confidence level none of them was induced by a primary photon. Taking into account statistical fluctuations and differences in the energy estimation of proton and photon primaries, we derive an upper limit of 36% at a 95% confidence level on the fraction of primary photons in the cosmic-ray flux above 10 20 eV. This result disfavors the Z-burst and superheavy dark-matter solutions to the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin-cutoff problem

  5. New Paleomagnetic Data From Upper Gabbros Supports Limited Rotation of Central Semail Massif in Oman Ophiolite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horst, A. J.; Sarah, T.; Hartley, E.; Martin, J.

    2017-12-01

    Paleomagnetic data from northern massifs of the Oman ophiolite demonstrate substantial clockwise rotations prior to or during obduction, yet data from southern massifs are recently suggested to be remagnetized during obduction and show subsequent smaller counterclockwise rotations. To better understand paleomagnetic data from the southern massifs, we conducted a detailed paleomagnetic and rock magnetic study of 21 sites in upper gabbros and 5 sites in lower crustal gabbros within the central Semail massif. Samples treated with progressive thermal demagnetization yield interpretable magnetizations with dominant unblocking between 500-580°C that implies characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) components carried by low-titanium magnetite and nearly pure magnetite. Rock magnetic and scanning electron microscopy data provide additional support of the carriers of magnetization. ChRMs from sites with samples containing partially-serpentinized olivine are similar to sites with samples lacking olivine, where the carriers appear to be fine magnetite intergrowths in pyroxene. The overall in situ and tilt-corrected mean directions from upper gabbros are distinct from the lower gabbros, from previous data within the massif, and also directions from similar crustal units in adjacent Rustaq and Wadi Tayin massifs. After tilt correction for 10-15° SE dip of the crust-mantle boundary, the mean direction from upper gabbros is nearly coincident with in situ lower gabbros. The tilt-corrected direction from upper gabbros is also consistent with an expected direction from the Late Cretaceous apparent polar wander path for Arabia at the age of crustal accretion ( 95Ma). These results suggest the upper crustal section in Semail has likely only experienced minor tilting since formation and acquisition of magnetization. Due to slow cooling of middle to lower gabbros in fast-spread crust, the lower gabbro sites likely cooled later or after obduction, and thus yield a distinct

  6. Upper Limit in the Periodic Table of Elements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khazan A.

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The method of rectangular hyperbolas is developed for the first time, by which a means for estimating the upper bound of the Periodic Table is established in calculating that its last element has an atom mass of 411.663243 and an atomic number (the nuclear charge of 155. The formulating law is given.

  7. Additional Explanations to "Upper Limit in Mendeleev’s Periodic Table - Element No.155". A Story How the Problem was Resolved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khazan A.

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper gives a survey for the methods how a possible upper limit in Mendeleev's Periodic Table can be found. It is show, only the method of hyperbolas leads to exact answering this question.

  8. Inclusive distributions of diffractively produced neutral kaons, lambdas, and antilambdas, and upper limits on Λ/sub c/+ production in high energy γ p interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhadra, S.

    1985-01-01

    The author has used a large acceptance spectrometer in a tagged photon beam to study the interactions of real photons with protons in a hydrogen target. In particular, this thesis presents distributions of neutral kaons, lambdas, and antilambdas from diffractive dissociation where the kinematic regions of the target and projectile fragments are clearly distinguished by using events with clean recoiling protons. This data extends the neutral strange particle production rate measurements to higher overall centre-of-mass energies than previous photoproduction experiments. Comparison to pion-induced reactions supports the hypothesis that the photon behaves primarily as a hardon. Finally, upper limits have been set on the Λ/sub c/ + cross section times the branching ratio for decay modes leading to neutral strange particles for a diffractive dissociation process

  9. New Horizons Upper Limits on O{sub 2} in Pluto’s Present Day Atmosphere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kammer, J. A.; Gladstone, G. R. [Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, TX 78238 (United States); Stern, S. A.; Young, L. A.; Steffl, A. J.; Olkin, C. B. [Southwest Research Institute Boulder, CO 80302 (United States); Weaver, H. A. [Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel, MD 20723 (United States); Ennico, K., E-mail: jkammer@swri.edu [NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Collaboration: New Horizons Atmospheres and Alice UV Spectrograph Teams

    2017-08-01

    The surprising discovery by the Rosetta spacecraft of molecular oxygen (O{sub 2}) in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko challenged our understanding of the inventory of this volatile species on and inside bodies from the Kuiper Belt. That discovery motivated our search for oxygen in the atmosphere of Kuiper Belt planet Pluto, because O{sub 2} is volatile even at Pluto’s surface temperatures. During the New Horizons flyby of Pluto in 2015 July, the spacecraft probed the composition of Pluto’s atmosphere using a variety of observations, including an ultraviolet solar occultation observed by the Alice UV spectrograph. As described in these reports, absorption by molecular species in Pluto’s atmosphere yielded detections of N{sub 2}, as well as hydrocarbon species such as CH{sub 4}, C{sub 2}H{sub 2}, C{sub 2}H{sub 4}, and C{sub 2}H{sub 6}. Our work here further examines this data to search for UV absorption from molecular oxygen (O{sub 2}), which has a significant cross-section in the Alice spectrograph bandpass. We find no evidence for O{sub 2} absorption and place an upper limit on the total amount of O{sub 2} in Pluto’s atmosphere as a function of tangent height up to 700 km. In most of the atmosphere, this upper limit in line-of-sight abundance units is ∼3 × 10{sup 15} cm{sup −2}, which, depending on tangent height, corresponds to a mixing ratio of 10{sup −6} to 10{sup −4}, far lower than in comet 67P/CG.

  10. Seasonal dynamics of mobile carbon supply in Quercus aquifolioides at the upper elevational limit.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wan-Ze Zhu

    Full Text Available Many studies have tried to explain the physiological mechanisms of the alpine treeline phenomenon, but the debate on the alpine treeline formation remains controversial due to opposite results from different studies. The present study explored the carbon-physiology of an alpine shrub species (Quercus aquifolioides grown at its upper elevational limit compared to lower elevations, to test whether the elevational limit of alpine shrubs (<3 m in height are determined by carbon limitation or growth limitation. We studied the seasonal variations in non-structural carbohydrate (NSC and its pool size in Q. aquifolioides grown at 3000 m, 3500 m, and at its elevational limit of 3950 m above sea level (a.s.l. on Zheduo Mt., SW China. The tissue NSC concentrations along the elevational gradient varied significantly with season, reflecting the season-dependent carbon balance. The NSC levels in tissues were lowest at the beginning of the growing season, indicating that plants used the winter reserve storage for re-growth in the early spring. During the growing season, plants grown at the elevational limit did not show lower NSC concentrations compared to plants at lower elevations, but during the winter season, storage tissues, especially roots, had significantly lower NSC concentrations in plants at the elevational limit compared to lower elevations. The present results suggest the significance of winter reserve in storage tissues, which may determine the winter survival and early-spring re-growth of Q. aquifolioides shrubs at high elevation, leading to the formation of the uppermost distribution limit. This result is consistent with a recent hypothesis for the alpine treeline formation.

  11. Experimentally reducing clutch size reveals a fixed upper limit to egg size in snakes, evidence from the king ratsnake, Elaphe carinata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Xiang; Du, Wei-Guo; Li, Hong; Lin, Long-Hui

    2006-08-01

    Snakes are free of the pelvic girdle's constraint on maximum offspring size, and therefore present an opportunity to investigate the upper limit to offspring size without the limit imposed by the pelvic girdle dimension. We used the king ratsnake (Elaphe carinata) as a model animal to examine whether follicle ablation may result in enlargement of egg size in snakes and, if so, whether there is a fixed upper limit to egg size. Females with small sized yolking follicles were assigned to three manipulated, one sham-manipulated and one control treatments in mid-May, and two, four or six yolking follicles in the manipulated females were then ablated. Females undergoing follicle ablation produced fewer, but larger as well as more elongated, eggs than control females primarily by increasing egg length. This finding suggests that follicle ablation may result in enlargement of egg size in E. carinata. Mean values for egg width remained almost unchanged across the five treatments, suggesting that egg width is more likely to be shaped by the morphological feature of the oviduct. Clutch mass dropped dramatically in four- and six-follicle ablated females. The function describing the relationship between size and number of eggs reveals that egg size increases with decreasing clutch size at an ever-decreasing rate, with the tangent slope of the function for the six-follicle ablation treatment being -0.04. According to the function describing instantaneous variation in tangent slope, the maximum value of tangent slope should converge towards zero. This result provides evidence that there is a fixed upper limit to egg size in E. carinata.

  12. Heterogeneous upper-bound finite element limit analysis of masonry walls out-of-plane loaded

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milani, G.; Zuccarello, F. A.; Olivito, R. S.; Tralli, A.

    2007-11-01

    A heterogeneous approach for FE upper bound limit analyses of out-of-plane loaded masonry panels is presented. Under the assumption of associated plasticity for the constituent materials, mortar joints are reduced to interfaces with a Mohr Coulomb failure criterion with tension cut-off and cap in compression, whereas for bricks both limited and unlimited strength are taken into account. At each interface, plastic dissipation can occur as a combination of out-of-plane shear, bending and torsion. In order to test the reliability of the model proposed, several examples of dry-joint panels out-of-plane loaded tested at the University of Calabria (Italy) are discussed. Numerical results are compared with experimental data for three different series of walls at different values of the in-plane compressive vertical loads applied. The comparisons show that reliable predictions of both collapse loads and failure mechanisms can be obtained by means of the numerical procedure employed.

  13. Upper-limit on the Advanced Virgo output mode cleaner cavity length noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonnand, R.; Ducrot, M.; Gouaty, R.; Marion, F.; Masserot, A.; Mours, B.; Pacaud, E.; Rolland, L.; Was, M.

    2017-09-01

    The Advanced Virgo detector uses two monolithic optical cavities at its output port to suppress higher order modes and radio frequency sidebands from the carrier light used for gravitational wave detection. These two cavities in series form the output mode cleaner. We present a measured upper limit on the length noise of these cavities that is consistent with the thermo-refractive noise prediction of 8×10-16~m~Hz-1/2 at 15 Hz. The cavity length is controlled using Peltier cells and piezo-electric actuators to maintain resonance on the incoming light. A length lock precision of 3.5×10-13 m is achieved. These two results are combined to demonstrate that the broadband length noise of the output mode cleaner in the 10-60 Hz band is at least a factor 10 below other expected noise sources in the Advanced Virgo detector design configuration.

  14. INTEGRAL Upper Limits on Gamma-Ray Emission Associated with the Gravitational Wave Event GW150914

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Savchenko, V.; Ferrigno, C.; Mereghetti, S.

    2016-01-01

    Using observations of the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), we place upper limits on the gamma-ray and hard X-ray prompt emission associated with the gravitational wave event GW150914, which was discovered by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration. The omnidirectional view...... in the 75 keV-2 MeV energy range for typical spectral models. Our results constrain the ratio of the energy promptly released in gamma-rays in the direction of the observer to the gravitational wave energy Eγ/EGW ... of the gravitational wave source, based on the available predictions for prompt electromagnetic emission....

  15. New age- and sex-specific criteria for QT prolongation based on rate correction formulas that minimize bias at the upper normal limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rautaharju, Pentti M; Mason, Jay W; Akiyama, Toshio

    2014-07-01

    Existing formulas for rate-corrected QT (QTc) commonly fail to properly adjust the upper normal limits which are more critical than the mean QTc for evaluation of prolonged QT. Age- and sex-related differences in QTc are also often overlooked. Our goal was to establish criteria for prolonged QTc using formulas that minimize QTc bias at the upper normal limits. Strict criteria were used in selecting a study group of 57,595 persons aged 5 to 89 years (54% women) and to exclude electrocardiograms (ECG) with possible disease-associated changes. Two QT rate adjustment formulas were identified which both minimized rate-dependency in the 98 th percentile limits: QTcmod, based on an electrophysiological model (QTcMod = QTx(120 + HR)/180)), and QTcLogLin, a power function of the RR interval with exponents 0.37 for men and 0.38 for women. QTc shortened in men during adolescence and QTcMod became 13 ms shorter than in women at age 20-29 years. The sex difference was maintained through adulthood although decreasing with age. The criteria established for prolonged QTc were: Age < 40 years, men 430 ms, women 440 ms; Age 40 to 69, men 440 ms, women 450 ms; Age ≥ 70 years, men 455 ms, and women 460 ms. Sex difference in QTc originates from shortened QT in adolescent males. Upper normal limits for QTc vary substantially by age and sex, and it is essential to use age- and sex-specific criteria for evaluation of QT prolongation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Upper limit on the diffuse flux of ultrahigh energy tau neutrinos from the Pierre Auger Observatory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abraham, J; Abreu, P; Aglietta, M; Aguirre, C; Allard, D; Allekotte, I; Allen, J; Allison, P; Alvarez-Muñiz, J; Ambrosio, M; Anchordoqui, L; Andringa, S; Anzalone, A; Aramo, C; Argirò, S; Arisaka, K; Armengaud, E; Arneodo, F; Arqueros, F; Asch, T; Asorey, H; Assis, P; Atulugama, B S; Aublin, J; Ave, M; Avila, G; Bäcker, T; Badagnani, D; Barbosa, A F; Barnhill, D; Barroso, S L C; Bauleo, P; Beatty, J J; Beau, T; Becker, B R; Becker, K H; Bellido, J A; BenZvi, S; Berat, C; Bergmann, T; Bernardini, P; Bertou, X; Biermann, P L; Billoir, P; Blanch-Bigas, O; Blanco, F; Blasi, P; Bleve, C; Blümer, H; Bohácová, M; Bonifazi, C; Bonino, R; Boratav, M; Brack, J; Brogueira, P; Brown, W C; Buchholz, P; Bueno, A; Burton, R E; Busca, N G; Caballero-Mora, K S; Cai, B; Camin, D V; Caramete, L; Caruso, R; Carvalho, W; Castellina, A; Catalano, O; Cataldi, G; Cazon, L; Cester, R; Chauvin, J; Chiavassa, A; Chinellato, J A; Chou, A; Chye, J; Clark, P D J; Clay, R W; Colombo, E; Conceição, R; Connolly, B; Contreras, F; Coppens, J; Cordier, A; Cotti, U; Coutu, S; Covault, C E; Creusot, A; Criss, A; Cronin, J; Curutiu, A; Dagoret-Campagne, S; Daumiller, K; Dawson, B R; de Almeida, R M; De Donato, C; de Jong, S J; De La Vega, G; de Mello Junior, W J M; de Mello Neto, J R T; DeMitri, I; de Souza, V; del Peral, L; Deligny, O; Della Selva, A; Delle Fratte, C; Dembinski, H; Di Giulio, C; Diaz, J C; Dobrigkeit, C; D'Olivo, J C; Dornic, D; Dorofeev, A; dos Anjos, J C; Dova, M T; D'Urso, D; Dutan, I; DuVernois, M A; Engel, R; Epele, L; Erdmann, M; Escobar, C O; Etchegoyen, A; Facal San Luis, P; Falcke, H; Farrar, G; Fauth, A C; Fazzini, N; Ferrer, F; Ferry, S; Fick, B; Filevich, A; Filipcic, A; Fleck, I; Fonte, R; Fracchiolla, C E; Fulgione, W; García, B; García Gámez, D; Garcia-Pinto, D; Garrido, X; Geenen, H; Gelmini, G; Gemmeke, H; Ghia, P L; Giller, M; Glass, H; Gold, M S; Golup, G; Gomez Albarracin, F; Gómez Berisso, M; Gómez Herrero, R; Gonçalves, P; Gonçalves do Amaral, M; Gonzalez, D; Gonzalez, J G; González, M; Góra, D; Gorgi, A; Gouffon, P; Grassi, V; Grillo, A F; Grunfeld, C; Guardincerri, Y; Guarino, F; Guedes, G P; Gutiérrez, J; Hague, J D; Hamilton, J C; Hansen, P; Harari, D; Harmsma, S; Harton, J L; Haungs, A; Hauschildt, T; Healy, M D; Hebbeker, T; Hebrero, G; Heck, D; Hojvat, C; Holmes, V C; Homola, P; Hörandel, J; Horneffer, A; Horvat, M; Hrabovský, M; Huege, T; Hussain, M; Iarlori, M; Insolia, A; Ionita, F; Italiano, A; Kaducak, M; Kampert, K H; Karova, T; Kégl, B; Keilhauer, B; Kemp, E; Kieckhafer, R M; Klages, H O; Kleifges, M; Kleinfeller, J; Knapik, R; Knapp, J; Koang, D-H; Krieger, A; Krömer, O; Kuempel, D; Kunka, N; Kusenko, A; La Rosa, G; Lachaud, C; Lago, B L; Lebrun, D; Lebrun, P; Lee, J; Leigui de Oliveira, M A; Letessier-Selvon, A; Leuthold, M; Lhenry-Yvon, I; López, R; Lopez Agüera, A; Lozano Bahilo, J; Luna García, R; Maccarone, M C; Macolino, C; Maldera, S; Mancarella, G; Manceñido, M E; Mandat, D; Mantsch, P; Mariazzi, A G; Maris, I C; Marquez Falcon, H R; Martello, D; Martínez, J; Martínez Bravo, O; Mathes, H J; Matthews, J; Matthews, J A J; Matthiae, G; Maurizio, D; Mazur, P O; McCauley, T; McEwen, M; McNeil, R R; Medina, M C; Medina-Tanco, G; Meli, A; Melo, D; Menichetti, E; Menschikov, A; Meurer, Chr; Meyhandan, R; Micheletti, M I; Miele, G; Miller, W; Mollerach, S; Monasor, M; Monnier Ragaigne, D; Montanet, F; Morales, B; Morello, C; Moreno, J C; Morris, C; Mostafá, M; Muller, M A; Mussa, R; Navarra, G; Navarro, J L; Navas, S; Necesal, P; Nellen, L; Newman-Holmes, C; Newton, D; Nguyen Thi, T; Nierstenhoefer, N; Nitz, D; Nosek, D; Nozka, L; Oehlschläger, J; Ohnuki, T; Olinto, A; Olmos-Gilbaja, V M; Ortiz, M; Ortolani, F; Ostapchenko, S; Otero, L; Pacheco, N; Pakk Selmi-Dei, D; Palatka, M; Pallotta, J; Parente, G; Parizot, E; Parlati, S; Pastor, S; Patel, M; Paul, T; Pavlidou, V; Payet, K; Pech, M; Pekala, J; Pelayo, R; Pepe, I M; Perrone, L; Petrera, S; Petrinca, P; Petrov, Y; Pham Ngoc, Diep; Pham Ngoc, Dong; Pham Thi, T N; Pichel, A; Piegaia, R; Pierog, T; Pimenta, M; Pinto, T; Pirronello, V; Pisanti, O; Platino, M; Pochon, J; Privitera, P; Prouza, M; Quel, E J; Rautenberg, J; Redondo, A; Reucroft, S; Revenu, B; Rezende, F A S; Ridky, J; Riggi, S; Risse, M; Rivière, C; Rizi, V; Roberts, M; Robledo, C; Rodriguez, G; Rodríguez Frías, D; Rodriguez Martino, J; Rodriguez Rojo, J; Rodriguez-Cabo, I; Ros, G; Rosado, J; Roth, M; Rouillé-d'Orfeuil, B; Roulet, E; Rovero, A C; Salamida, F; Salazar, H; Salina, G; Sánchez, F; Santander, M; Santo, C E; Santos, E M; Sarazin, F; Sarkar, S; Sato, R; Scherini, V; Schieler, H; Schmidt, A; Schmidt, F; Schmidt, T; Scholten, O; Schovánek, P; Schüssler, F; Sciutto, S J; Scuderi, M; Segreto, A; Semikoz, D; Settimo, M; Shellard, R C; Sidelnik, I; Siffert, B B; Sigl, G; Smetniansky De Grande, N; Smiałkowski, A; Smída, R; Smith, A G K; Smith, B E; Snow, G R; Sokolsky, P; Sommers, P; Sorokin, J; Spinka, H; Squartini, R; Strazzeri, E; Stutz, A; Suarez, F; Suomijärvi, T; Supanitsky, A D; Sutherland, M S; Swain, J; Szadkowski, Z; Takahashi, J; Tamashiro, A; Tamburro, A; Taşcău, O; Tcaciuc, R; Thomas, D; Ticona, R; Tiffenberg, J; Timmermans, C; Tkaczyk, W; Todero Peixoto, C J; Tomé, B; Tonachini, A; Torres, I; Torresi, D; Travnicek, P; Tripathi, A; Tristram, G; Tscherniakhovski, D; Tueros, M; Tunnicliffe, V; Ulrich, R; Unger, M; Urban, M; Valdés Galicia, J F; Valiño, I; Valore, L; van den Berg, A M; van Elewyck, V; Vázquez, R A; Veberic, D; Veiga, A; Velarde, A; Venters, T; Verzi, V; Videla, M; Villaseñor, L; Vorobiov, S; Voyvodic, L; Wahlberg, H; Wainberg, O; Walker, P; Warner, D; Watson, A A; Westerhoff, S; Wieczorek, G; Wiencke, L; Wilczyńska, B; Wilczyński, H; Wileman, C; Winnick, M G; Wu, H; Wundheiler, B; Yamamoto, T; Younk, P; Zas, E; Zavrtanik, D; Zavrtanik, M; Zech, A; Zepeda, A; Ziolkowski, M

    2008-05-30

    The surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory is sensitive to Earth-skimming tau neutrinos that interact in Earth's crust. Tau leptons from nu(tau) charged-current interactions can emerge and decay in the atmosphere to produce a nearly horizontal shower with a significant electromagnetic component. The data collected between 1 January 2004 and 31 August 2007 are used to place an upper limit on the diffuse flux of nu(tau) at EeV energies. Assuming an E(nu)(-2) differential energy spectrum the limit set at 90% C.L. is E(nu)(2)dN(nu)(tau)/dE(nu)<1.3 x 10(-7) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1) in the energy range 2 x 10(17) eV< E(nu)< 2 x 10(19) eV.

  17. Variations of Climate-Growth Response of Major Conifers at Upper Distributional Limits in Shika Snow Mountain, Northwestern Yunnan Plateau, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun Zhang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Improved understanding of climate-growth relationships of multiple species is fundamental to understanding and predicting the response of forest growth to future climate change. Forests are mainly composed of conifers in Northwestern Yunnan Plateau, but variations of growth response to climate conditions among the species are not well understood. To detect the growth response of multiple species to climate change, we developed residual chronologies of four major conifers, i.e., George’s fir (Abies georgei Orr, Likiang spruce (Picea likiangensis (Franch. E.Pritz., Gaoshan pine (Pinus densata Mast. and Chinese larch (Larix potaninii Batalin at the upper distributional limits in Shika Snow Mountain. Using the dendroclimatology method, we analyzed correlations between the residual chronologies and climate variables. The results showed that conifer radial growth was influenced by both temperature and precipitation in Shika Snow Mountain. Previous November temperature, previous July temperature, and current May precipitation were the common climatic factors that had consistent influences on radial growth of the four species. Temperature in the previous post-growing season (September–October and moisture conditions in the current growing season (June–August were the common climatic factors that had divergent impacts on the radial growth of the four species. Based on the predictions of climate models and our understanding of the growth response of four species to climate variables, we may understand the growth response to climate change at the species level. It is difficult to predict future forest growth in the study area, since future climate change might cause both increases and decreases for the four species and indirect effects of climate change on forests should be considered.

  18. The upper limits of the SNR in radiography and CT with polyenergetic x-rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shikhaliev, Polad M

    2010-01-01

    The aim of the study is to determine the upper limits of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in radiography and computed tomography (CT) with polyenergetic x-ray sources. In x-ray imaging, monoenergetic x-rays provide a higher SNR compared to polyenergetic x-rays. However, the SNR in polyenergetic x-ray imaging can be increased when a photon-counting detector is used and x-rays are optimally weighted according to their energies. For a particular contrast/background combination and at a fixed x-ray entrance skin exposure, the SNR in energy-weighting x-ray imaging depends on tube voltage and can be maximized by selecting the optimal tube voltage. The SNR in energy-weighted x-ray images acquired at this optimal tube voltage is the highest SNR that can be achieved with polyenergetic x-ray sources. The optimal tube voltages and the highest SNR were calculated and compared to the SNR of monoenergetic x-ray imaging. Monoenergetic, energy-weighting polyenergetic and energy-integrating polyenergetic x-ray imagings were simulated at a fixed entrance skin exposure of 20 mR. The tube voltages varied in the range of 30-140 kVp with 10 kV steps. Contrast elements of CaCO 3 , iodine, adipose and tumor with thicknesses of 280 mg cm -2 , 15 mg cm -2 , 1 g cm -2 and 1 g cm -2 , respectively, inserted in a soft tissue background with 10 cm and 20 cm thicknesses, were used. The energy weighting also improves the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in CT when monoenergetic CT projections are optimally weighted prior to CT reconstruction (projection-based weighting). Alternatively, monoenergetic CT images are reconstructed, optimally weighted and composed to yield a final CT image (image-based weighting). Both projection-based and image-based weighting methods improve the CNR in CT. An analytical approach was used to determine which of these two weighting methods provides the upper limit of the CNR in CT. The energy-weighting method was generalized and expanded as a weighting method applicable in

  19. Effect of pH Upper Control Limit on Nutrient Solution Component and Water Spinach Growth under Hydroponics

    OpenAIRE

    Xuzhang Xue; Yinkun Li; Feng Li; Fang Zhang; Wenzhong Guo

    2015-01-01

    In this study, experiment with four levels of nutrient solution pH control upper limit was conducted to explore the optimal nutrient solution pH management scheme under hydroponics by evaluating the nutrient solution characters i.e., pH, Electric Conductivity (EC), nitrate, soluble phosphorus (soluble-P), water spinach growth and quality. The results showed that the nutrient solution pH was 8.2 and unsuitable for water spinach growth under the treatment with no pH regulation during the experi...

  20. Is the Universe More Transparent to Gamma Rays than Previously Thought?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stecker, Floyd W.; Scully, Sean T.

    2009-01-01

    The MAGIC collaboration has recently reported the detection of the strong gamma-ray blazar 3C279 during a 1-2 day flare. They have used their spectral observations to draw conclusions regarding upper limits on the opacity of the Universe to high energy gamma-rays and, by implication, upper limits on the extragalactic mid-infrared background radiation. In this paper we examine the effect of gamma-ray absorption by the extragalactic infrared radiation on intrinsic spectra for this blazar and compare our results with the observational data on 3C279. We find agreement with our previous results, contrary to the recent assertion of the MAGIC group that the Universe is more transparent to gamma-rays than our calculations indicate. Our analysis indicates that in the energy range between approx. 80 and approx. 500 GeV, 3C279 has a best-fit intrinsic spectrum with a spectral index approx. 1.78 using our fast evolution model and approx. 2.19 using our baseline model. However, we also find that spectral indices in the range of 1.0 to 3.0 are almost as equally acceptable as the best fit spectral indices. Assuming the same intrinsic spectral index for this flare as for the 1991 flare from 3C279 observed by EGRET, viz., 2.02, which lies between our best fit indeces, we estimate that the MAGIC flare was approx.3 times brighter than the EGRET flare observed 15 years earlier.

  1. Physiologic upper limit of pore size in the blood-tumor barrier of malignant solid tumors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Griffiths Gary L

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The existence of large pores in the blood-tumor barrier (BTB of malignant solid tumor microvasculature makes the blood-tumor barrier more permeable to macromolecules than the endothelial barrier of most normal tissue microvasculature. The BTB of malignant solid tumors growing outside the brain, in peripheral tissues, is more permeable than that of similar tumors growing inside the brain. This has been previously attributed to the larger anatomic sizes of the pores within the BTB of peripheral tumors. Since in the physiological state in vivo a fibrous glycocalyx layer coats the pores of the BTB, it is possible that the effective physiologic pore size in the BTB of brain tumors and peripheral tumors is similar. If this were the case, then the higher permeability of the BTB of peripheral tumor would be attributable to the presence of a greater number of pores in the BTB of peripheral tumors. In this study, we probed in vivo the upper limit of pore size in the BTB of rodent malignant gliomas grown inside the brain, the orthotopic site, as well as outside the brain in temporalis skeletal muscle, the ectopic site. Methods Generation 5 (G5 through generation 8 (G8 polyamidoamine dendrimers were labeled with gadolinium (Gd-diethyltriaminepentaacetic acid, an anionic MRI contrast agent. The respective Gd-dendrimer generations were visualized in vitro by scanning transmission electron microscopy. Following intravenous infusion of the respective Gd-dendrimer generations (Gd-G5, N = 6; Gd-G6, N = 6; Gd-G7, N = 5; Gd-G8, N = 5 the blood and tumor tissue pharmacokinetics of the Gd-dendrimer generations were visualized in vivo over 600 to 700 minutes by dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. One additional animal was imaged in each Gd-dendrimer generation group for 175 minutes under continuous anesthesia for the creation of voxel-by-voxel Gd concentration maps. Results The estimated diameters of Gd-G7 dendrimers were 11 ± 1 nm and those of Gd-G8

  2. Upper limits for the photoproduction cross section for the Φ--(1860) pentaquark state off the deuteron

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egiyan, H.; Langheinrich, J.; Gothe, R. W.; Graham, L.; Holtrop, M.; Lu, H.; Mattione, P.; Mutchler, G.; Park, K.; Smith, E. S.; Stepanyan, S.; Zhao, Z. W.; Adhikari, K. P.; Aghasyan, M.; Anghinolfi, M.; Baghdasaryan, H.; Ball, J.; Baltzell, N. A.; Battaglieri, M.; Bedlinskiy, I.; Bennett, R. P.; Biselli, A. S.; Bookwalter, C.; Branford, D.; Briscoe, W. J.; Brooks, W. K.; Burkert, V. D.; Carman, D. S.; Celentano, A.; Chandavar, S.; Contalbrigo, M.; D'Angelo, A.; Daniel, A.; Dashyan, N.; de Vita, R.; de Sanctis, E.; Deur, A.; Dey, B.; Dickson, R.; Djalali, C.; Doughty, D.; Dupre, R.; El Alaoui, A.; El Fassi, L.; Eugenio, P.; Fedotov, G.; Fegan, S.; Fradi, A.; Gabrielyan, M. Y.; Gevorgyan, N.; Gilfoyle, G. P.; Giovanetti, K. L.; Girod, F. X.; Goetz, J. T.; Gohn, W.; Golovatch, E.; Griffioen, K. A.; Guidal, M.; Guler, N.; Guo, L.; Gyurjyan, V.; Hafidi, K.; Hakobyan, H.; Hanretty, C.; Heddle, D.; Hicks, K.; Ilieva, Y.; Ireland, D. G.; Ishkhanov, B. S.; Jo, H. S.; Joo, K.; Khetarpal, P.; Kim, A.; Kim, W.; Klein, A.; Klein, F. J.; Kubarovsky, V.; Kuleshov, S. V.; Livingston, K.; MacGregor, I. J. D.; Mao, Y.; Mayer, M.; McKinnon, B.; Mokeev, V.; Munevar, E.; Nadel-Turonski, P.; Ni, A.; Niculescu, G.; Ostrovidov, A. I.; Paolone, M.; Pappalardo, L.; Paremuzyan, R.; Park, S.; Pasyuk, E.; Anefalos Pereira, S.; Phelps, E.; Pogorelko, O.; Pozdniakov, S.; Price, J. W.; Procureur, S.; Protopopescu, D.; Raue, B. A.; Ricco, G.; Rimal, D.; Ripani, M.; Ritchie, B. G.; Rosner, G.; Rossi, P.; Sabatié, F.; Saini, M. S.; Salgado, C.; Schott, D.; Schumacher, R. A.; Seder, E.; Seraydaryan, H.; Sharabian, Y. G.; Smith, G. D.; Sober, D. I.; Stepanyan, S. S.; Strauch, S.; Taiuti, M.; Tang, W.; Taylor, C. E.; Tedeschi, D. J.; Ungaro, M.; Voutier, E.; Watts, D. P.; Weinstein, L. B.; Weygand, D. P.; Wood, M. H.; Zachariou, N.; Zana, L.; Zhao, B.

    2012-01-01

    We searched for the Φ--(1860) pentaquark in the photoproduction process off the deuteron in the Ξ-π--decay channel using CLAS. The invariant-mass spectrum of the Ξ-π- system does not indicate any statistically significant enhancement near the reported mass M=1.860 GeV. The statistical analysis of the sideband-subtracted mass spectrum yields a 90%-confidence-level upper limit of 0.7 nb for the photoproduction cross section of Φ--(1860) with a consecutive decay into Ξ-π- in the photon-energy range 4.5GeV

  3. Implications from the upper limit of radio afterglow emission of FRB 131104/Swift J0644.5-5111

    OpenAIRE

    Gao, He; Zhang, Bing

    2016-01-01

    A $\\gamma$-ray transient, Swift J0644.5-5111, has been claimed to be associated with FRB 131104. The $\\gamma$-ray energy output is estimated as $E_\\gamma \\approx 5\\times 10^{51}$\\,erg at the nominal $z\\approx 0.55$ redshift implied by the dispersion measure of FRB 131104. However, a long-term radio imaging follow-up observations only place an upper limit on the radio afterglow flux of Swift J0644.5-5111. Applying the external shock model, we make a detailed constraint on the afterglow paramet...

  4. Upper and lower limits of the proton stoichiometry of cytochrome c oxidation in rat liver mitoplasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynafarje, B; Costa, L E; Lehninger, A L

    1986-06-25

    The stoichiometry of vectorial H+ translocation coupled to oxidation of added ferrocytochrome c by O2 via cytochrome-c oxidase of rat liver mitoplasts was determined employing a fast-responding O2 electrode. Electron flow was initiated by addition of either ferrocytochrome c or O2. When the rates were extrapolated to level flow, the H+/O ratios in both cases were less than but closely approached 4; the directly observed H+/O ratios significantly exceeded 3.0. The mechanistic H+/O ratio was then more closely fixed by a kinetic approach that eliminates the necessity for measuring energy leaks and is independent of any particular model of the mechanism of energy transduction. From two sets of kinetic measurements, an overestimate and an underestimate and thus the upper and lower limits of the mechanistic H+/O ratio could be obtained. In the first set, the utilization of respiratory energy was systematically varied through changes in the concentrations of valinomycin or K+. From the slope of a plot of the initial rates of H+ ejection (JH) and O2 uptake (JO) obtained in such experiments, the upper limit of the H+/O ratio was in the range 4.12-4.19. In the second set of measurements, the rate of respiratory energy production was varied by inhibiting electron transport. From the slope of a plot of JH versus JO, the lower limit of the H+/O ratio, equivalent to that at level flow, was in the range 3.83-3.96. These data fix the mechanistic H+/O ratio for the cytochrome oxidase reaction of mitoplasts at 4.0, thus confirming our earlier measurements (Reynafarje, B., Alexandre, A., Davies, P., and Lehninger, A. L. (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79, 7218-7222). Possible reasons for discrepancies in published reports on the H+/O ratio of cytochrome oxidase in various mitochondrial and reconstituted systems are discussed.

  5. Physiologic upper limits of pore size of different blood capillary types and another perspective on the dual pore theory of microvascular permeability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarin, Hemant

    2010-08-11

    Much of our current understanding of microvascular permeability is based on the findings of classic experimental studies of blood capillary permeability to various-sized lipid-insoluble endogenous and non-endogenous macromolecules. According to the classic small pore theory of microvascular permeability, which was formulated on the basis of the findings of studies on the transcapillary flow rates of various-sized systemically or regionally perfused endogenous macromolecules, transcapillary exchange across the capillary wall takes place through a single population of small pores that are approximately 6 nm in diameter; whereas, according to the dual pore theory of microvascular permeability, which was formulated on the basis of the findings of studies on the accumulation of various-sized systemically or regionally perfused non-endogenous macromolecules in the locoregional tissue lymphatic drainages, transcapillary exchange across the capillary wall also takes place through a separate population of large pores, or capillary leaks, that are between 24 and 60 nm in diameter. The classification of blood capillary types on the basis of differences in the physiologic upper limits of pore size to transvascular flow highlights the differences in the transcapillary exchange routes for the transvascular transport of endogenous and non-endogenous macromolecules across the capillary walls of different blood capillary types. The findings and published data of studies on capillary wall ultrastructure and capillary microvascular permeability to lipid-insoluble endogenous and non-endogenous molecules from the 1950s to date were reviewed. In this study, the blood capillary types in different tissues and organs were classified on the basis of the physiologic upper limits of pore size to the transvascular flow of lipid-insoluble molecules. Blood capillaries were classified as non-sinusoidal or sinusoidal on the basis of capillary wall basement membrane layer continuity or lack thereof

  6. Applying Adjacent Hyperbolas to Calculation of the Upper Limit of the Periodic Table of Elements, with Use of Rhodium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khazan A.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In the earlier study (Khazan A. Upper Limit in Mendeleev's Periodic Table - Element No.155. 2nd ed., Svenska fysikarkivet, Stockholm, 2010 the author showed how Rhodium can be applied to the hyperbolic law of the Periodic Table of Elements in order to calculate, with high precision, all other elements conceivable in the Table. Here we obtain the same result, with use of fraction linear functions (adjacent hyperbolas.

  7. Upper limits of a cosmic infrared background flux as determined by X- and gamma-ray observations on M87

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schlickeiser, R.; Cambridge Univ.; Harwit, M.; Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY

    1982-01-01

    Upper limits on the energy density of infrared photons in the radio lobe regions of M87 are derived using measurements of the X-ray and gamma-ray emission. The calculations are based on an inverse Compton scattering model initiated by radio-flux producing electrons. It is shown that the energy density of infrared photons in the radio lobe regions is similar than 2 eV cm -3 . (orig.)

  8. Nearly half of the adolescents in an Italian school-based study exceeded the recommended upper limits for daily caffeine consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santangelo, Barbara; Lapolla, Rosa; Rutigliano, Irene; Pettoello Mantovani, Massimo; Campanozzi, Angelo

    2018-06-01

    No data are available on caffeine consumption among Italian adolescents. We investigated caffeine intake from coffee, soft drinks and energy drinks in a sample of Italian adolescents and determined if they exceeded the recommended limits. The study comprised 1213 adolescents with a mean age of 15.1 years (range 12-19) from four schools in Foggia, southern Italy. Caffeine intake was assessed using an anonymous self-reported questionnaire during the 2013/2014 school year. We calculated the percentage of daily caffeine consumers, their mean intake of caffeine from beverages and the contribution of each beverage category to the total caffeine intake. Approximately 76% of the sample consumed caffeine every day, amounting to 125.5 ± 69.2 mg/day and 2.1 ± 1.2 mg/kg/day. When we applied the reference values from the Academy of Pediatrics, we found that 46% of the adolescents exceeded the recommended upper limits. Coffee was the most frequently consumed caffeinated drink and the main contributor to daily caffeine intake. More than three quarters (76%) of the Italian adolescents in our study drank coffee on a daily basis and nearly half (46%) exceeded the recommended upper limits. Strategies are needed to reduce caffeine consumption by adolescents. ©2018 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Water relations and microclimate around the upper limit of a cloud forest in Maui, Hawai'i.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gotsch, Sybil G; Crausbay, Shelley D; Giambelluca, Thomas W; Weintraub, Alexis E; Longman, Ryan J; Asbjornsen, Heidi; Hotchkiss, Sara C; Dawson, Todd E

    2014-07-01

    The goal of this study was to determine the effects of atmospheric demand on both plant water relations and daily whole-tree water balance across the upper limit of a cloud forest at the mean base height of the trade wind inversion in the tropical trade wind belt. We measured the microclimate and water relations (sap flow, water potential, stomatal conductance, pressure-volume relations) of Metrosideros polymorpha Gaudich. var. polymorpha in three habitats bracketing the cloud forest's upper limit in Hawai'i to understand the role of water relations in determining ecotone position. The subalpine shrubland site, located 100 m above the cloud forest boundary, had the highest vapor pressure deficit, the least amount of rainfall and the highest levels of nighttime transpiration (EN) of all three sites. In the shrubland site, on average, 29% of daily whole-tree transpiration occurred at night, while on the driest day of the study 50% of total daily transpiration occurred at night. While EN occurred in the cloud forest habitat, the proportion of total daily transpiration that occurred at night was much lower (4%). The average leaf water potential (Ψleaf) was above the water potential at the turgor loss point (ΨTLP) on both sides of the ecotone due to strong stomatal regulation. While stomatal closure maintained a high Ψleaf, the minimum leaf water potential (Ψleafmin) was close to ΨTLP, indicating that drier conditions may cause drought stress in these habitats and may be an important driver of current landscape patterns in stand density. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. Limit moments for non circular cross-section (elliptical) pipe bends

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spence, J.

    1977-01-01

    A number of experiment studies have been reported or are underway which investigate limit moments applied to pipe bends. Some theoretical work is also available. However, most of the work has been confined to nominally circular cross-section bends and little account has been taken of the practical problem of manufacturing tolerances. Many methods of manufacture result in bends which are not circular in cross-section but have an oval or elliptical shape. The present paper extends previous analyses on circular bends to cater for initially elliptical cross-sections. The loading is primarily in plane bending but out of plane is also considered and several independent methods are presented. No previous information is known to the authors. Upper and lower bound limit moments are derived first of all from existing linear elastic analyses and secondly upper bound moments are derived via a plastic analogy from existing stationary creep results. It is also shown that the creep information on design factors for bends can be used to obtain a reasonable estimate of the complete moment/strain behaviour of a bend or indeed a system. (Auth.)

  11. Upper limits on gravitational-wave bursts radiated from stellar-core collapses in our galaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ando, Masaki; Akutsu, Tomomi; Akutsu, Tomotada

    2005-01-01

    We present the results of observations with the TAMA300 gravitational-wave detector, targeting burst signals from stellar-core collapse events. We used an excess-power filter to extract gravitational-wave candidates, and developed two methods to reduce fake events caused by non-stationary noises of the detector. These analysis methods were applied to real data from the TAMA300 interferometric gravitational wave detector. We compared the data-processed results with those of a Monte Carlo simulation with an assumed galactic-event distribution model and with burst waveforms expected from numerical simulations of stellar-core collapses, in order to interpret the event candidates from an astronomical viewpoint. We set an upper limit of 5.0 x 10 3 events s -1 on the burst gravitational-wave event rate in our galaxy with a confidence level of 90%

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2009-01-01

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

  13. Applying Adjacent Hyperbolas to Calculation of the Upper Limit of the Periodic Table of Elements, with Use of Rhodium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khazan A.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In the earlier study (Khazan A. Upper Limit in Mendeleev’s Periodic Table — Ele- ment No. 155. 2nd ed., Svenska fysikarkivet, Stockholm, 2010 the author showed how Rhodium can be applied to the hyperbolic law of the Periodic Table of Elements in or- der to calculate, with high precision, all other elements conceivable in the Table. Here we obtain the same result, with use of fraction linear functions (adjacent hyperbolas.

  14. Expanding the net: The re-evaluation of the multidimensional nomogram calculating the upper limit of normal PTH (maxPTH) in the setting of secondary hyperparathyroidism and the development of the MultIdimensional Predictive hyperparaTHyroid model (Mi-PTH).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajhbeharrysingh, Uma; El Youssef, Joseph; Leon, Enrique; Lasarev, Michael R; Klein, Robert; Vanek, Chaim; Mattar, Samer; Berber, Eren; Siperstein, Allan; Shindo, Maisie; Milas, Mira

    2016-01-01

    The multidimensional nomogram calculating the upper limit of normal PTH (maxPTH) model identifies a personalized upper limit of normal parathyroid hormone (PTH) and successfully predicts classical primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP). We aimed to assess whether maxPTH can distinguish normocalcemic PHP (NCPHP) from secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHP), including subjects who underwent bariatric surgery (BrS). A total of 172 subjects with 359 complete datasets of serum calcium (Ca), 25-OH vitamin D, and intact PTH from Oregon were analyzed: 123 subjects (212 datasets) with PHP and 47 (143) with SHP, including 28 (100) with previous BrS. An improved prediction model, MultIdimensional evaluation for Primary hyperparaTHyroidism (Mi-PTH), was created with the same variables as maxPTH by the use of a combined cohort (995 subjects) including participants from previous studies. In the Oregon cohort, maxPTH's sensitivity was 100% for classical PHP and 89% for NCPHP, but only 50% for normohormonal PHP (NHPHP) and 40% specific for SHP. In comparison, although sensitivity for NCPHP was similar (89%), Mi-PTH vastly improved SHP specificity (85%). In the combined cohort, Mi-PTH had better sensitivity of 98.5% (vs 95%) and specificity 97% (vs 85%). MaxPTH was sensitive in detecting PHP; however, there was low specificity for SHP, especially in patients who underwent BrS. The creation of Mi-PTH provided improved performance measures but requires further prospective evaluation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Surface Transient Binding-Based Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (STB-FCS), a Simple and Easy-to-Implement Method to Extend the Upper Limit of the Time Window to Seconds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Sijia; Wang, Wenjuan; Chen, Chunlai

    2018-05-10

    Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy is a powerful single-molecule tool that is able to capture kinetic processes occurring at the nanosecond time scale. However, the upper limit of its time window is restricted by the dwell time of the molecule of interest in the confocal detection volume, which is usually around submilliseconds for a freely diffusing biomolecule. Here, we present a simple and easy-to-implement method, named surface transient binding-based fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (STB-FCS), which extends the upper limit of the time window to seconds. We further demonstrated that STB-FCS enables capture of both intramolecular and intermolecular kinetic processes whose time scales cross several orders of magnitude.

  16. Upper-airway flow limitation and transcutaneous carbon dioxide during sleep in normal pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rimpilä, Ville; Jernman, Riina; Lassila, Katariina; Uotila, Jukka; Huhtala, Heini; Mäenpää, Johanna; Polo, Olli

    2017-08-01

    Sleep during pregnancy involves a physiological challenge to provide sufficient gas exchange to the fetus. Enhanced ventilatory responses to hypercapnia and hypoxia may protect from deficient gas exchange, but sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) may predispose to adverse events. The aim of this study was to analyze sleep and breathing in healthy pregnant women compared to non-pregnant controls, with a focus on CO 2 changes and upper-airway flow limitation. Healthy women in the third trimester and healthy non-pregnant women with normal body mass index (BMI) were recruited for polysomnography. Conventional analysis of sleep and breathing was performed. Transcutaneous carbon dioxide (TcCO 2 ) was determined for each sleep stage. Flow-limitation was analyzed using the flattening index and TcCO 2 values were recorded for every inspiration. Eighteen pregnant women and 12 controls were studied. Pregnancy was associated with shorter sleep duration and more superficial sleep. Apnea-hypopnea index, arterial oxyhemoglobin desaturation, flow-limitation, snoring or periodic leg movements were similar in the two groups. Mean SaO 2 and minimum SaO 2 were lower and average heart rate was higher in the pregnant group. TcCO 2 levels did not differ between groups but variance of TcCO 2 was smaller in pregnant women during non-rapid eye movement (NREM). TcCO 2 profiles showed transient TcCO 2 peaks, which seem specific to pregnancy. Healthy pregnancy does not predispose to SDB. Enhanced ventilatory control manifests as narrowing threshold of TcCO 2 between wakefulness and sleep. Pregnant women have a tendency for rapid CO 2 increases during sleep which might have harmful consequences if not properly compensated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. GeV GAMMA-RAY FLUX UPPER LIMITS FROM CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.; Bechtol, K.; Blandford, R. D.; Bloom, E. D.; Borgland, A. W.; Bouvier, A.; Buehler, R.; Baldini, L.; Bellazzini, R.; Bregeon, J.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Bastieri, D.; Blasi, P.; Bonamente, E.; Brandt, T. J.; Brigida, M.; Bruel, P.

    2010-01-01

    The detection of diffuse radio emission associated with clusters of galaxies indicates populations of relativistic leptons infusing the intracluster medium (ICM). Those electrons and positrons are either injected into and accelerated directly in the ICM, or produced as secondary pairs by cosmic-ray ions scattering on ambient protons. Radiation mechanisms involving the energetic leptons together with the decay of neutral pions produced by hadronic interactions have the potential to produce abundant GeV photons. Here, we report on the search for GeV emission from clusters of galaxies using data collected by the Large Area Telescope on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope from 2008 August to 2010 February. Thirty-three galaxy clusters have been selected according to their proximity and high mass, X-ray flux and temperature, and indications of non-thermal activity for this study. We report upper limits on the photon flux in the range 0.2-100 GeV toward a sample of observed clusters (typical values (1-5) x10 -9 photon cm -2 s -1 ) considering both point-like and spatially resolved models for the high-energy emission and discuss how these results constrain the characteristics of energetic leptons and hadrons, and magnetic fields in the ICM. The volume-averaged relativistic-hadron-to-thermal energy density ratio is found to be <5%-10% in several clusters.

  18. Continuing the Original Stanford Sleep Surgery Protocol From Upper Airway Reconstruction to Upper Airway Stimulation: Our First Successful Case.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Stanley Yung; Riley, Robert Wayne

    2017-07-01

    In 1993, a surgical protocol for dynamic upper airway reconstruction in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was published, and it became commonly known as the Stanford phase 1 and 2 sleep surgery protocol. It served as a platform on which research and clinical studies have continued to perfect the surgical care of patients with OSA. However, relapse is inevitable in a chronic condition such as OSA, and a subset of previously cured surgical patients return with complaints of excessive daytime sleepiness. This report describes a patient who was successfully treated with phase 1 and 2 operations more than a decade previously. He returned at 65 years of age with relapse of moderate OSA, and after workup with polysomnography and drug-induced sleep endoscopy, he underwent upper airway stimulation of the hypoglossal nerve that resulted in a cure of OSA. This case shows why upper airway stimulation is an appropriate option for patients with OSA relapse, after previously successful maxillomandibular advancement. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. Upper Limits on the 21 cm Epoch of Reionization Power Spectrum from One Night with LOFAR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patil, A. H.; Yatawatta, S.; Koopmans, L. V. E.; de Bruyn, A. G.; Brentjens, M. A.; Zaroubi, S.; Asad, K. M. B.; Hatef, M.; Jelić, V.; Mevius, M.; Offringa, A. R.; Pandey, V. N.; Vedantham, H.; Abdalla, F. B.; Brouw, W. N.; Chapman, E.; Ciardi, B.; Gehlot, B. K.; Ghosh, A.; Harker, G.; Iliev, I. T.; Kakiichi, K.; Majumdar, S.; Mellema, G.; Silva, M. B.; Schaye, J.; Vrbanec, D.; Wijnholds, S. J.

    2017-03-01

    We present the first limits on the Epoch of Reionization 21 cm H I power spectra, in the redshift range z = 7.9-10.6, using the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) High-Band Antenna (HBA). In total, 13.0 hr of data were used from observations centered on the North Celestial Pole. After subtraction of the sky model and the noise bias, we detect a non-zero {{{Δ }}}{{I}}2={(56+/- 13{mK})}2 (1-σ) excess variance and a best 2-σ upper limit of {{{Δ }}}212< {(79.6{mK})}2 at k = 0.053 h cMpc-1 in the range z = 9.6-10.6. The excess variance decreases when optimizing the smoothness of the direction- and frequency-dependent gain calibration, and with increasing the completeness of the sky model. It is likely caused by (I) residual side-lobe noise on calibration baselines, (II) leverage due to nonlinear effects, (III) noise and ionosphere-induced gain errors, or a combination thereof. Further analyses of the excess variance will be discussed in forthcoming publications.

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

    KAUST Repository

    Yu, Zongfu; Raman, Aaswath; Fan, Shanhui

    2012-01-01

    to an upper bound dictated by the second law of thermodynamics. Such bound limits how efficient light can be coupled to any photonic structure. As one example of application, we use this upper bound to derive the limit of light absorption in broadband solar

  1. A new limit on the rate-density of evaporating black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    Data taken with the CYGNUS detector between 1989 and 1993 have been used to search for 1 second bursts of ultra-high energy (UHE) gamma rays from any point in the northern sky. There is no evidence for such bursts. Therefore the theory-dependent upper limit on the rate-density of evaporating black holes is 6.1 x 10 5 pc -3 yr -1 at the 99% C.L.. After renormalizing previous direct searches to the same theory, this limit is the most restrictive by more than 2 orders of magnitude

  2. Definition of the upper reference limit of glycated albumin in blood donors from Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellia, Chiara; Zaninotto, Martina; Cosma, Chiara; Agnello, Luisa; Lo Sasso, Bruna; Bivona, Giulia; Plebani, Mario; Ciaccio, Marcello

    2017-11-27

    Glycated Albumin (GA) has been proposed as a short-term indicator of glycemic homeostasis. The aim of this study is to describe the distribution of GA in a large sample of blood donors from Italy to evaluate whether demographic features, namely age and sex, could influence GA levels and define specific reference limits. The study included 1334 Italian blood donors. GA was measured using an enzymatic method (quantILab Glycated Albumin, IL Werfen, Germany). The upper reference limit (URL) was calculated using the non-parametric percentile method. A modest, although significant, increase of GA was observed in relation to age (psex (12% [11.3-12.8] in males; 12.2% [11.4-13.1] in females; p=0.01). After excluding individuals with fasting plasma glucose ≥7 mmol/L, the calculated GA URL was 14.5% (95% CI: 14.3-14.7). Subjects with GA>14.5% presented a mean age of 48.4±12.2 years, 66.7% were males and the mean glucose was 6.88±2.5 mmol/L. GA in Caucasians shows a similar increasing trend at older ages documented in other ethnicities. The definition of the URL in this population could be useful for both clinical studies, which will clarify the role of GA for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes, and will encourage the introduction of GA in clinical practice.

  3. Injuries to the upper extremities in polytrauma: limited effect on outcome more than ten years after injury - a cohort study in 629 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macke, C; Winkelmann, M; Mommsen, P; Probst, C; Zelle, B; Krettek, C; Zeckey, C

    2017-02-01

    To analyse the influence of upper extremity trauma on the long-term outcome of polytraumatised patients. A total of 629 multiply injured patients were included in a follow-up study at least ten years after injury (mean age 26.5 years, standard deviation 12.4). The extent of the patients' injury was classified using the Injury Severity Score. Outcome was measured using the Hannover Score for Polytrauma Outcome (HASPOC), Short Form (SF)-12, rehabilitation duration, and employment status. Outcomes for patients with and without a fracture of the upper extremity were compared and analysed with regard to specific fracture regions and any additional brachial plexus lesion. In all, 307 multiply-injured patients with and 322 without upper extremity injuries were included in the study. The groups with and without upper limb injuries were similar with respect to demographic data and injury pattern, except for midface trauma. There were no significant differences in the long-term outcome. In patients with brachial plexus lesions there were significantly more who were unemployed, required greater retraining and a worse HASPOC. Injuries to the upper extremities seem to have limited effect on long-term outcome in patients with polytrauma, as long as no injury was caused to the brachial plexus. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:255-60. ©2017 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery.

  4. Low Simulated Radiation Limit for Runaway Greenhouse Climates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldblatt, Colin; Robinson, Tyler D.; Zahnle, Kevin J.; Crisp, David

    2013-01-01

    Terrestrial planet atmospheres must be in long-term radiation balance, with solar radiation absorbed matched by thermal radiation emitted. For hot moist atmospheres, however, there is an upper limit on the thermal emission which is decoupled from the surface temperature. If net absorbed solar radiation exceeds this limit the planet will heat uncontrollably, the so-called \\runaway greenhouse". Here we show that a runaway greenhouse induced steam atmosphere may be a stable state for a planet with the same amount of incident solar radiation as Earth has today, contrary to previous results. We have calculated the clear-sky radiation limits at line-by-line spectral resolution for the first time. The thermal radiation limit is lower than previously reported (282 W/sq m rather than 310W/sq m) and much more solar radiation would be absorbed (294W/sq m rather than 222W/sq m). Avoiding a runaway greenhouse under the present solar constant requires that the atmosphere is subsaturated with water, and that cloud albedo forcing exceeds cloud greenhouse forcing. Greenhouse warming could in theory trigger a runaway greenhouse but palaeoclimate comparisons suggest that foreseeable increases in greenhouse gases will be insufficient to do this.

  5. Nanoscale Coloristic Pigments: Upper Limits on Releases from Pigmented Plastic during Environmental Aging, In Food Contact, and by Leaching

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Neubauer, Nicole; Scifo, Lorette; Navratilova, Jana

    2017-01-01

    The life cycle of nanoscale pigments in plastics may cause environmental or human exposure by various release scenarios. We investigated spontaneous and induced release with mechanical stress during/after simulated sunlight and rain degradation of polyethylene (PE) with organic and inorganic pigm...... investigated scenarios, with upper limits of 10 mg/m2 or 1600 particles/mL. This is the first holistic confirmation that pigment nanomaterials remain strongly contained in a plastic that has low diffusion and high persistence such as the polyolefin High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)....

  6. A study on flammability limits of fuel mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kondo, Shigeo; Takizawa, Kenji; Takahashi, Akifumi; Tokuhashi, Kazuaki; Sekiya, Akira

    2008-07-15

    Flammability limit measurements were made for various binary and ternary mixtures prepared from nine different compounds. The compounds treated are methane, propane, ethylene, propylene, methyl ether, methyl formate, 1,1-difluoroethane, ammonia, and carbon monoxide. The observed values of lower flammability limits of mixtures were found to be in good agreement to the calculated values by Le Chatelier's formula. As for the upper limits, however, some are close to the calculated values but some are not. It has been found that the deviations of the observed values of upper flammability limits from the calculated ones are mostly to lower concentrations. Modification of Le Chatelier's formula was made to better fit to the observed values of upper flammability limits. This procedure reduced the average difference between the observed and calculated values of upper flammability limits to one-third of the initial value.

  7. Dark matter electron anisotropy. A universal upper limit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borriello, Enrico; Maccione, Luca; Cuoco, Alessandro

    2010-12-01

    Indirect searches of particle Dark Matter (DM) with high energy Cosmic Rays (CR) are affected by large uncertainties, coming both from the DM side, and from poor understanding of the astrophysical backgrounds. We show that, on the contrary, the DM intrinsic degree of anisotropy in the arrival directions of high energy CR electrons and positrons does not suffer from these unknowns. Furthermore, if contributions from possible local sources are neglected, the intrinsic DM anisotropy sets the maximum degree of total anisotropy. As a consequence, if some anisotropy larger than the DM upper bound is detected, its origin could not be ascribed to DM, and would constitute an unambiguous evidence for the presence of astrophysical local discrete sources of high energy electrons and positrons. The Fermi-LAT will be able to probe such scenarios in the next years. (orig.)

  8. Towards a short questionnaire for stepwise assessment of upper limb function, pain and stiffness in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janssen, Mariska M H P; Geurts, Alexander C H; de Groot, Imelda J M

    2018-04-01

    Duchenne muscular dystrophy can lead to upper extremity limitations, pain and stiffness. In a previous study, these domains have been investigated using extensive questionnaires, which are too time-consuming for clinical practice. This study aimed at gaining insight into the underlying dimensions of these questionnaires, and to construct a short questionnaire that can be used for clinical assessment. Exploratory factor analysis was performed on the responses of 213 participants to a web-based survey to find the underlying dimensions in the Capabilities of Upper Extremity questionnaire, the ABILHAND questionnaire, and questionnaires regarding pain and stiffness. Based on these underlying dimensions, a stepwise approach was formulated. In addition, construct validity of the factors was investigated. In total, 14 factors were identified. All had high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha >0.89) and explained 80-88% of the variance of the original questionnaires. Construct validity was supported, because participants in the early ambulatory stage performed significantly better (pDuchenne muscular dystrophy. Based on the factor commonalities, the Upper Limb Short Questionnaire was formulated. Implications for Rehabilitation New insights into the underlying dimensions of upper extremity function, pain and stiffness in Duchenne muscular dystrophy are gained. Fourteen factors, with good internal consistency and construct validity, are identified regarding upper extremity function, pain and stiffness in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Based on these factors, the Upper Limb Short Questionnaire is presented. The Upper Limb Short Questionnaire can be used as an identifier of arm-hand limitations and the start of more thorough clinical investigation.

  9. Upper limit of the muon-neutrino mass and charged-pion mass from the momentum analysis of a surface muon beam

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kettle, P R [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

    1996-11-01

    Using a surface muon beam and a magnetic spectrometer equipped with a position-sensitive detector, we have measured the muon momentum from pion decay at rest {pi}{sup +}{yields}{mu}{sup +}{nu}{sub {mu}}, to be p{sub {mu}{sup +}}=(29.79200{+-}0.00011)MeV/c. This value together with the muon mass and the favoured pion mass leads to an upper limit of 0.17 MeV (90%CL) for the muon-neutrino mass. (author) 4 figs., 5 refs.

  10. Order of Magnitude Smaller Limit on the Electron's Electron Dipole Moment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabrielse, Gerald

    2014-05-01

    Proposed extensions to the Standard Model of particle physics typically predict that the electron would naturally have a small but potentially measurable electric dipole moment (EDM). The Standard Model, known to be incomplete, instead predicts that the electron EDM is much too small to measure. The ACME collaboration used the enormous electric field that electrons experience within a ThO molecule, the unique structure of this molecule, and a cryogenic buffer gas beam of molecules to search for an electron EDM. The new search was sensitive enough to detect an EDM that is ten times smaller than the previously measured upper limit - well within the range of predictions from various proposed extensions to the Standard Model. We did not detect such an EDM, however. Instead, we set a new upper limit on the electron EDM at a 90% confidence limit, | de | < 8 . 7 × 10-29 , making use of the effective electric field calculated for ThO. The new limit stringently constrains the parameters of proposed extensions to the Standard Model to values that predict an electron EDM smaller than the new limit. The TeV energy scale being probed is comparable to that being investigated at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Supported by the AMO program of the NSF.

  11. Improved Mars Upper Atmosphere Climatology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bougher, S. W.

    2004-01-01

    The detailed characterization of the Mars upper atmosphere is important for future Mars aerobraking activities. Solar cycle, seasonal, and dust trends (climate) as well as planetary wave activity (weather) are crucial to quantify in order to improve our ability to reasonably depict the state of the Mars upper atmosphere over time. To date, our best information is found in the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Accelerometer (ACC) database collected during Phase 1 (Ls = 184 - 300; F10.7 = 70 - 90) and Phase 2 (Ls = 30 - 90; F10.7 = 90 - 150) of aerobraking. This database (100 - 170 km) consists of thermospheric densities, temperatures, and scale heights, providing our best constraints for exercising the coupled Mars General Circulation Model (MGCM) and the Mars Thermospheric General Circulation Model (MTGCM). The Planetary Data System (PDS) contains level 0 and 2 MGS Accelerometer data, corresponding to atmospheric densities along the orbit track. Level 3 products (densities, temperatures, and scale heights at constant altitudes) are also available in the PDS. These datasets provide the primary model constraints for the new MGCM-MTGCM simulations summarized in this report. Our strategy for improving the characterization of the Mars upper atmospheres using these models has been three-fold : (a) to conduct data-model comparisons using the latest MGS data covering limited climatic and weather conditions at Mars, (b) to upgrade the 15-micron cooling and near-IR heating rates in the MGCM and MTGCM codes for ad- dressing climatic variations (solar cycle and seasonal) important in linking the lower and upper atmospheres (including migrating tides), and (c) to exercise the detailed coupled MGCM and MTGCM codes to capture and diagnose the planetary wave (migrating plus non-migrating tidal) features throughout the Mars year. Products from this new suite of MGCM-MTGCM coupled simulations are being used to improve our predictions of the structure of the Mars upper atmosphere for the

  12. Changing storm track diffusivity and the upper limit to poleward latent heat transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caballero, R.

    2010-12-01

    Poleward atmospheric energy transport plays a key role in the climate system by helping set the mean equator-pole temperature gradient. The mechanisms controlling the response of poleward heat flux to climate change are still poorly understood. Recent work shows that midlatitude poleward latent heat flux in atmospheric GCMs generally increases as the climate warms but reaches an upper limit at sufficiently high temperature and decreases with further warming. The reasons for this non-monotonic behavior have remained unclear. Simple arguments suggests that the latent heat flux Fl should scale as Fl ˜ vref qs, where vref is a typical meridional velocity in the baroclinic zone and qs is saturation humidity. While vref decreases with temperature, qs increases much more rapidly, so this scaling implies monotonically increasing moisture flux. We study this problem using a series of simulations employing NCAR’s CAM3 GCM coupled to a slab-ocean aquaplanet and spanning a wide range of atmospheric CO2 concentrations. We find that a modified scaling, Fl ˜ vref2 qs, describes the changes in moisture flux much more accurately. Using Lagrangian trajectory analysis, we explain the success of this scaling in terms of changes in the mixing length, which contracts proportionally to vref.

  13. Post-traumatic upper cervical subluxation visualized by MRI: a case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Demetrious James

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper describes MRI findings of upper cervical subluxation due to alar ligament disruption following a vehicular collision. Incidental findings included the presence of a myodural bridge and a spinal cord syrinx. Chiropractic management of the patient is discussed. Case presentation A 21-year old female presented with complaints of acute, debilitating upper neck pain with unremitting sub-occipital headache and dizziness following a vehicular collision. Initial emergency department and neurologic investigations included x-ray and CT evaluation of the head and neck. Due to persistent pain, the patient sought chiropractic care. MRI of the upper cervical spine revealed previously unrecognized clinical entities. Conclusion This case highlights the identification of upper cervical ligamentous injury that produced vertebral subluxation following a traumatic incident. MRI evaluation provided visualization of previously undetected injury. The patient experienced improvement through chiropractic care.

  14. An improved limit on the axion-photon coupling from the CAST experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andriamonje, S.; Aune, S.; Dafni, T.; Ferrer Ribas, E.; Giomataris, I.; Irastorza, I.G. [CEA Saclay, DAPNIA, F-91191 Gif Sur Yvette, (France); Autiero, D.; Barth, K.; Davenport, M.; Di Lella, L.; Lasseur, C.; Papaevangelou, T.; Placci, A.; Stewart, L.; Walckiers, L.; Zioutas, K. [CERN, European Org Nucl Res, CH-1211 Geneva 23, (Switzerland); Belov, A.; Gninenko, S. [Russian Acad Sci, Inst Nucl Res, Moscow, (Russian Federation); Beltran, B.; Carmona, J.M.; Cebrian, S.; Gomez, H.; Irastorza, I.G.; Luzon, G.; Morales, A.; Morales, J.; Ortiz, A.; Rodriguez, A.; Ruz, J.; Villar, J. [Univ Zaragoza, Inst Fis Nucl and Altas Energias, Zaragoza, (Spain); Brauninger, H.; Englhauser, J.; Friedrich, P.; Kuster, M. [Max Planck Inst Extraterr Phys, D-85748 Garching, (Germany); Collar, J.I.; Miller, D.; Vieira, J. [Univ Chicago, Enrico Fermi Inst and KICP, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Dafni, T.; Hoffmann, D.H.H.; Kuster, M.; Riege, H. [Tech Univ Darmstadt, Inst Kernphys, D-64289 Darmstadt, (Germany); Eleftheriadis, C.; Liolios, A.; Savvidis, I. [Aristotle Univ Thessaloniki, GR-54006 Thessaloniki, (Greece); Fanourakis, G.; Geralis, T.; Kousouris, K. [Natl Ctr Sci Res Demokritos, Athens, (Greece); Fischer, H.; Franz, J.; Heinsius, F.H.; Kang, D.; Konigsmann, K.; Vogel, J. [Univ Freiburg, Freiburg, (Germany)] (and others)

    2007-04-15

    We have searched for solar axions or similar particles that couple to two photons by using the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) set-up with improved conditions in all detectors. From the absence of excess x-rays when the magnet was pointing to the Sun, we set an upper limit on the axion-photon coupling of g{sub a{gamma}} {<=} 8.8 x 10{sup -11} GeV{sup -1} at 95% CL for m{sub a} {<=} 0.02 eV. This result is the best experimental limit over a broad range of axion masses and for m{sub a} {<=} 0.02 eV also supersedes the previous limit derived from energy-loss arguments on globular cluster stars. (authors)

  15. Electric Mars: The first direct measurement of an upper limit for the Martian "polar wind" electric potential

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collinson, Glyn; Mitchell, David; Glocer, Alex; Grebowsky, Joseph; Peterson, W. K.; Connerney, Jack; Andersson, Laila; Espley, Jared; Mazelle, Christian; Sauvaud, Jean-André; Fedorov, Andrei; Ma, Yingjuan; Bougher, Steven; Lillis, Robert; Ergun, Robert; Jakosky, Bruce

    2015-11-01

    An important mechanism in the generation of polar wind outflow is the ambipolar electric potential which assists ions in overcoming gravity and is a key mechanism for Terrestrial ionospheric escape. At Mars, open field lines are not confined to the poles, and outflow of ionospheric electrons is observed far into the tail. It has thus been hypothesized that a similar electric potential may be present at Mars, contributing to global ionospheric loss. However, no direct measurements of this potential have been made. In this pilot study, we examine photoelectron spectra measured by the Solar Wind Electron Analyzer instrument on the NASA Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) Mars Scout to put an initial upper bound on the total potential drop in the ionosphere of Mars of Φ♂ ≾⊥ 2V , with the possibility of a further ≾4.5 V potential drop above this in the magnetotail. If the total potential drop was close to the upper limit, then strong outflows of major ionospheric species (H+, O+, and O2+) would be expected. However, if most of the potential drop is confined below the spacecraft, as expected by current theory, then such a potential would not be sufficient on its own to accelerate O2+ to escape velocities, but would be sufficient for lighter ions. However, any potential would contribute to atmospheric loss through the enhancement of Jeans escape.

  16. Upper bounds on superpartner masses from upper bounds on the Higgs boson mass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabrera, M E; Casas, J A; Delgado, A

    2012-01-13

    The LHC is putting bounds on the Higgs boson mass. In this Letter we use those bounds to constrain the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) parameter space using the fact that, in supersymmetry, the Higgs mass is a function of the masses of sparticles, and therefore an upper bound on the Higgs mass translates into an upper bound for the masses for superpartners. We show that, although current bounds do not constrain the MSSM parameter space from above, once the Higgs mass bound improves big regions of this parameter space will be excluded, putting upper bounds on supersymmetry (SUSY) masses. On the other hand, for the case of split-SUSY we show that, for moderate or large tanβ, the present bounds on the Higgs mass imply that the common mass for scalars cannot be greater than 10(11)  GeV. We show how these bounds will evolve as LHC continues to improve the limits on the Higgs mass.

  17. An assessment of racial differences in the upper limits of normal ALT levels in children and the effect of obesity on elevated values.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kliethermes, S; Ma, M; Purtell, C; Balasubramanian, N; Gonzalez, B; Layden, T J; Cotler, S J

    2017-10-01

    Childhood obesity is a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and poses important public health issues for children. Racial differences in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels among children have not been described. This study aimed to identify racial differences in upper limit normal (ULN) ALT levels and evaluate the effect of obesity on elevated levels in children without other metabolic risk factors. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and clinical data from the Loyola University Health System were used to determine ULN ALT by race and gender. Quantile regression was used to evaluate the impact of obesity on elevated ALT and to identify potential risk factors for ALT above the ULN. Upper limit normal (ULN) ALT was approximately 28.0 and 21.0-24.0 U/L for boys and girls, respectively. No significant difference in ULN ALT across race was observed. Obesity was significantly associated with elevated ALT; obese children with elevated ALT had values 10 U/L higher than normal-weight children. Racial differences in ALT levels among adults are not evident in children. Obesity, in the absence of metabolic risk factors and other causes of liver disease, is associated with elevated ALT, providing evidence against the concept of healthy obesity in children. © 2016 World Obesity Federation.

  18. Outcomes of the Bobath concept on upper limb recovery following stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luke, Carolyn; Dodd, Karen J; Brock, Kim

    2004-12-01

    To determine the effectiveness of the Bobath concept at reducing upper limb impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions after stroke. Electronic databases were searched to identify relevant trials published between 1966 and 2003. Two reviewers independently assessed articles for the following inclusion criteria: population of adults with upper limb disability after stroke; stated use of the Bobath concept aimed at improving upper limb disability in isolation from other approaches; outcomes reflecting changes in upper limb impairment, activity limitation or participation restriction. Of the 688 articles initially identified, eight met the inclusion criteria. Five were randomized controlled trials, one used a single-group crossover design and two were single-case design studies. Five studies measured impairments including shoulder pain, tone, muscle strength and motor control. The Bobath concept was found to reduce shoulder pain better than cryotherapy, and to reduce tone compared to no intervention and compared to proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF). However, no difference was detected for changes in tone between the Bobath concept and a functional approach. Differences did not reach significance for measures of muscle strength and motor control. Six studies measured activity limitations, none of these found the Bobath concept was superior to other therapy approaches. Two studies measured changes in participation restriction and both found equivocal results. Comparisons of the Bobath concept with other approaches do not demonstrate superiority of one approach over the other at improving upper limb impairment, activity or participation. However, study limitations relating to methodological quality, the outcome measures used and contextual factors investigated limit the ability to draw conclusions. Future research should use sensitive upper limb measures, trained Bobath therapists and homogeneous samples to identify the influence of

  19. UPPER LIMITS FROM FIVE YEARS OF BLAZAR OBSERVATIONS WITH THE VERITAS CHERENKOV TELESCOPES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Archambault, S. [Physics Department, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2T8 (Canada); Archer, A.; Buckley, J. H.; Bugaev, V. [Department of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 (United States); Benbow, W.; Cerruti, M. [Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Amado, AZ 85645 (United States); Bird, R. [School of Physics, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4 (Ireland); Biteau, J. [Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Buchovecky, M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Byrum, K. [Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Chen, X. [Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm (Germany); Ciupik, L. [Astronomy Department, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Chicago, IL 60605 (United States); Connolly, M. P. [School of Physics, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway (Ireland); Cui, W.; Feng, Q.; Finley, J. P. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 (United States); Eisch, J. D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011 (United States); Errando, M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Barnard College, Columbia University, NY 10027 (United States); Falcone, A. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Fleischhack, H., E-mail: wystan.benbow@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: matteo.cerruti@lpnhe.in2p3.fr, E-mail: caajohns@ucsc.edu [DESY, Platanenallee 6, D-15738 Zeuthen (Germany); Collaboration: VERITAS collaboration; and others

    2016-06-01

    Between the beginning of its full-scale scientific operations in 2007 and 2012, the VERITAS Cherenkov telescope array observed more than 130 blazars; of these, 26 were detected as very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) γ -ray sources. In this work, we present the analysis results of a sample of 114 undetected objects. The observations constitute a total live-time of ∼570 hr. The sample includes several unidentified Fermi -Large Area Telescope (LAT) sources (located at high Galactic latitude) as well as all the sources from the second Fermi -LAT catalog that are contained within the field of view of the VERITAS observations. We have also performed optical spectroscopy measurements in order to estimate the redshift of some of these blazars that do not have spectroscopic distance estimates. We present new optical spectra from the Kast instrument on the Shane telescope at the Lick observatory for 18 blazars included in this work, which allowed for the successful measurement or constraint on the redshift of four of them. For each of the blazars included in our sample, we provide the flux upper limit in the VERITAS energy band. We also study the properties of the significance distributions and we present the result of a stacked analysis of the data set, which shows a 4 σ excess.

  20. Estimation of the upper limit of aerosol nanoparticles penetration through inhomogeneous fibrous filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Podgorski, Albert

    2009-01-01

    The fully segregated flow model (FSFM) was formulated to describe filtration of aerosol nanoparticles in polydisperse fibrous filters made of fibers with different diameters. The model is capable of predicting significantly higher penetration of nanoparticles through polydisperse filters than it may be expected from the classical theory applied to a mean fiber diameter. The model was solved numerically in the case of the log-normal fiber size distribution, and a simple correlation between the actual penetration through a polydisperse filter and the one calculated for the geometric mean fiber diameter was proposed. Equivalent fiber diameter for deposition due to Brownian diffusion was determined and it was found to be dependent on particle size and filter's polydispersity degree, being significantly greater than any mean fiber diameter. It was noted that it is impossible to select any one universal mean fiber diameter to describe penetration of nanoparticles with different sizes. It was also shown that in the case of a polydisperse fibrous filter the apparent exponent of the Peclet number based on the mean fiber diameter is greater than the expected value of -2/3 for diffusional deposition in a monodisperse filter. This prediction is in agreement with the available experimental data. The FSFM is expected to give the estimation of the upper limit of nanoparticles penetration in polydisperse fibrous filters.

  1. UPPER LIMITS FROM FIVE YEARS OF BLAZAR OBSERVATIONS WITH THE VERITAS CHERENKOV TELESCOPES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Archambault, S.; Archer, A.; Buckley, J. H.; Bugaev, V.; Benbow, W.; Cerruti, M.; Bird, R.; Biteau, J.; Buchovecky, M.; Byrum, K.; Chen, X.; Ciupik, L.; Connolly, M. P.; Cui, W.; Feng, Q.; Finley, J. P.; Eisch, J. D.; Errando, M.; Falcone, A.; Fleischhack, H.

    2016-01-01

    Between the beginning of its full-scale scientific operations in 2007 and 2012, the VERITAS Cherenkov telescope array observed more than 130 blazars; of these, 26 were detected as very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) γ -ray sources. In this work, we present the analysis results of a sample of 114 undetected objects. The observations constitute a total live-time of ∼570 hr. The sample includes several unidentified Fermi -Large Area Telescope (LAT) sources (located at high Galactic latitude) as well as all the sources from the second Fermi -LAT catalog that are contained within the field of view of the VERITAS observations. We have also performed optical spectroscopy measurements in order to estimate the redshift of some of these blazars that do not have spectroscopic distance estimates. We present new optical spectra from the Kast instrument on the Shane telescope at the Lick observatory for 18 blazars included in this work, which allowed for the successful measurement or constraint on the redshift of four of them. For each of the blazars included in our sample, we provide the flux upper limit in the VERITAS energy band. We also study the properties of the significance distributions and we present the result of a stacked analysis of the data set, which shows a 4 σ excess.

  2. Improved upper limits on the stochastic gravitational-wave background from 2009-2010 LIGO and Virgo data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aasi, J; Abbott, B P; Abbott, R; Abbott, T; Abernathy, M R; Accadia, T; Acernese, F; Ackley, K; Adams, C; Adams, T; Addesso, P; Adhikari, R X; Affeldt, C; Agathos, M; Aggarwal, N; Aguiar, O D; Ain, A; Ajith, P; Alemic, A; Allen, B; Allocca, A; Amariutei, D; Andersen, M; Anderson, R; Anderson, S B; Anderson, W G; Arai, K; Araya, M C; Arceneaux, C; Areeda, J; Aston, S M; Astone, P; Aufmuth, P; Aulbert, C; Austin, L; Aylott, B E; Babak, S; Baker, P T; Ballardin, G; Ballmer, S W; Barayoga, J C; Barbet, M; Barish, B C; Barker, D; Barone, F; Barr, B; Barsotti, L; Barsuglia, M; Barton, M A; Bartos, I; Bassiri, R; Basti, A; Batch, J C; Bauchrowitz, J; Bauer, Th S; Behnke, B; Bejger, M; Beker, M G; Belczynski, C; Bell, A S; Bell, C; Bergmann, G; Bersanetti, D; Bertolini, A; Betzwieser, J; Beyersdorf, P T; Bilenko, I A; Billingsley, G; Birch, J; Biscans, S; Bitossi, M; Bizouard, M A; Black, E; Blackburn, J K; Blackburn, L; Blair, D; Bloemen, S; Blom, M; Bock, O; Bodiya, T P; Boer, M; Bogaert, G; Bogan, C; Bond, C; Bondu, F; Bonelli, L; Bonnand, R; Bork, R; Born, M; Boschi, V; Bose, Sukanta; Bosi, L; Bradaschia, C; Brady, P R; Braginsky, V B; Branchesi, M; Brau, J E; Briant, T; Bridges, D O; Brillet, A; Brinkmann, M; Brisson, V; Brooks, A F; Brown, D A; Brown, D D; Brückner, F; Buchman, S; Bulik, T; Bulten, H J; Buonanno, A; Burman, R; Buskulic, D; Buy, C; Cadonati, L; Cagnoli, G; Bustillo, J Calderón; Calloni, E; Camp, J B; Campsie, P; Cannon, K C; Canuel, B; Cao, J; Capano, C D; Carbognani, F; Carbone, L; Caride, S; Castiglia, A; Caudill, S; Cavaglià, M; Cavalier, F; Cavalieri, R; Celerier, C; Cella, G; Cepeda, C; Cesarini, E; Chakraborty, R; Chalermsongsak, T; Chamberlin, S J; Chao, S; Charlton, P; Chassande-Mottin, E; Chen, X; Chen, Y; Chincarini, A; Chiummo, A; Cho, H S; Chow, J; Christensen, N; Chu, Q; Chua, S S Y; Chung, S; Ciani, G; Clara, F; Clark, J A; Cleva, F; Coccia, E; Cohadon, P-F; Colla, A; Collette, C; Colombini, M; Cominsky, L; Constancio, M; Conte, A; Cook, D; Corbitt, T R; Cordier, M; Cornish, N; Corpuz, A; Corsi, A; Costa, C A; Coughlin, M W; Coughlin, S; Coulon, J-P; Countryman, S; Couvares, P; Coward, D M; Cowart, M; Coyne, D C; Coyne, R; Craig, K; Creighton, J D E; Crowder, S G; Cumming, A; Cunningham, L; Cuoco, E; Dahl, K; Canton, T Dal; Damjanic, M; Danilishin, S L; D'Antonio, S; Danzmann, K; Dattilo, V; Daveloza, H; Davier, M; Davies, G S; Daw, E J; Day, R; Dayanga, T; Debreczeni, G; Degallaix, J; Deléglise, S; Del Pozzo, W; Denker, T; Dent, T; Dereli, H; Dergachev, V; De Rosa, R; DeRosa, R T; DeSalvo, R; Dhurandhar, S; Díaz, M; Di Fiore, L; Di Lieto, A; Di Palma, I; Di Virgilio, A; Donath, A; Donovan, F; Dooley, K L; Doravari, S; Dossa, S; Douglas, R; Downes, T P; Drago, M; Drever, R W P; Driggers, J C; Du, Z; Dwyer, S; Eberle, T; Edo, T; Edwards, M; Effler, A; Eggenstein, H; Ehrens, P; Eichholz, J; Eikenberry, S S; Endrőczi, G; Essick, R; Etzel, T; Evans, M; Evans, T; Factourovich, M; Fafone, V; Fairhurst, S; Fang, Q; Farinon, S; Farr, B; Farr, W M; Favata, M; Fehrmann, H; Fejer, M M; Feldbaum, D; Feroz, F; Ferrante, I; Ferrini, F; Fidecaro, F; Finn, L S; Fiori, I; Fisher, R P; Flaminio, R; Fournier, J-D; Franco, S; Frasca, S; Frasconi, F; Frede, M; Frei, Z; Freise, A; Frey, R; Fricke, T T; Fritschel, P; Frolov, V V; Fulda, P; Fyffe, M; Gair, J; Gammaitoni, L; Gaonkar, S; Garufi, F; Gehrels, N; Gemme, G; Genin, E; Gennai, A; Ghosh, S; Giaime, J A; Giardina, K D; Giazotto, A; Gill, C; Gleason, J; Goetz, E; Goetz, R; Gondan, L; González, G; Gordon, N; Gorodetsky, M L; Gossan, S; Gossler, S; Gouaty, R; Gräf, C; Graff, P B; Granata, M; Grant, A; Gras, S; Gray, C; Greenhalgh, R J S; Gretarsson, A M; Groot, P; Grote, H; Grover, K; Grunewald, S; Guidi, G M; Guido, C; Gushwa, K; Gustafson, E K; Gustafson, R; Hammer, D; Hammond, G; Hanke, M; Hanks, J; Hanna, C; Hanson, J; Harms, J; Harry, G M; Harry, I W; Harstad, E D; Hart, M; Hartman, M T; Haster, C-J; Haughian, K; Heidmann, A; Heintze, M; Heitmann, H; Hello, P; Hemming, G; Hendry, M; Heng, I S; Heptonstall, A W; Heurs, M; Hewitson, M; Hild, S; Hoak, D; Hodge, K A; Holt, K; Hooper, S; Hopkins, P; Hosken, D J; Hough, J; Howell, E J; Hu, Y; Huerta, E; Hughey, B; Husa, S; Huttner, S H; Huynh, M; Huynh-Dinh, T; Ingram, D R; Inta, R; Isogai, T; Ivanov, A; Iyer, B R; Izumi, K; Jacobson, M; James, E; Jang, H; Jaranowski, P; Ji, Y; Jiménez-Forteza, F; Johnson, W W; Jones, D I; Jones, R; Jonker, R J G; Ju, L; K, Haris; Kalmus, P; Kalogera, V; Kandhasamy, S; Kang, G; Kanner, J B; Karlen, J; Kasprzack, M; Katsavounidis, E; Katzman, W; Kaufer, H; Kawabe, K; Kawazoe, F; Kéfélian, F; Keiser, G M; Keitel, D; Kelley, D B; Kells, W; Khalaidovski, A; Khalili, F Y; Khazanov, E A; Kim, C; Kim, K; Kim, N; Kim, N G; Kim, Y-M; King, E J; King, P J; Kinzel, D L; Kissel, J S; Klimenko, S; Kline, J; Koehlenbeck, S; Kokeyama, K; Kondrashov, V; Koranda, S; Korth, W Z; Kowalska, I; Kozak, D B; Kremin, A; Kringel, V; Królak, A; Kuehn, G; Kumar, A; Kumar, P; Kumar, R; Kuo, L; Kutynia, A; Kwee, P; Landry, M; Lantz, B; Larson, S; Lasky, P D; Lawrie, C; Lazzarini, A; Lazzaro, C; Leaci, P; Leavey, S; Lebigot, E O; Lee, C-H; Lee, H K; Lee, H M; Lee, J; Leonardi, M; Leong, J R; Le Roux, A; Leroy, N; Letendre, N; Levin, Y; Levine, B; Lewis, J; Li, T G F; Libbrecht, K; Libson, A; Lin, A C; Littenberg, T B; Litvine, V; Lockerbie, N A; Lockett, V; Lodhia, D; Loew, K; Logue, J; Lombardi, A L; Lorenzini, M; Loriette, V; Lormand, M; Losurdo, G; Lough, J; Lubinski, M J; Lück, H; Luijten, E; Lundgren, A P; Lynch, R; Ma, Y; Macarthur, J; Macdonald, E P; MacDonald, T; Machenschalk, B; MacInnis, M; Macleod, D M; Magana-Sandoval, F; Mageswaran, M; Maglione, C; Mailand, K; Majorana, E; Maksimovic, I; Malvezzi, V; Man, N; Manca, G M; Mandel, I; Mandic, V; Mangano, V; Mangini, N; Mantovani, M; Marchesoni, F; Marion, F; Márka, S; Márka, Z; Markosyan, A; Maros, E; Marque, J; Martelli, F; Martin, I W; Martin, R M; Martinelli, L; Martynov, D; Marx, J N; Mason, K; Masserot, A; Massinger, T J; Matichard, F; Matone, L; Matzner, R A; Mavalvala, N; Mazumder, N; Mazzolo, G; McCarthy, R; McClelland, D E; McGuire, S C; McIntyre, G; McIver, J; McLin, K; Meacher, D; Meadors, G D; Mehmet, M; Meidam, J; Meinders, M; Melatos, A; Mendell, G; Mercer, R A; Meshkov, S; Messenger, C; Meyers, P; Miao, H; Michel, C; Mikhailov, E E; Milano, L; Milde, S; Miller, J; Minenkov, Y; Mingarelli, C M F; Mishra, C; Mitra, S; Mitrofanov, V P; Mitselmakher, G; Mittleman, R; Moe, B; Moesta, P; Mohan, M; Mohapatra, S R P; Moraru, D; Moreno, G; Morgado, N; Morriss, S R; Mossavi, K; Mours, B; Mow-Lowry, C M; Mueller, C L; Mueller, G; Mukherjee, S; Mullavey, A; Munch, J; Murphy, D; Murray, P G; Mytidis, A; Nagy, M F; Kumar, D Nanda; Nardecchia, I; Naticchioni, L; Nayak, R K; Necula, V; Nelemans, G; Neri, I; Neri, M; Newton, G; Nguyen, T; Nitz, A; Nocera, F; Nolting, D; Normandin, M E N; Nuttall, L K; Ochsner, E; O'Dell, J; Oelker, E; Oh, J J; Oh, S H; Ohme, F; Oppermann, P; O'Reilly, B; O'Shaughnessy, R; Osthelder, C; Ottaway, D J; Ottens, R S; Overmier, H; Owen, B J; Padilla, C; Pai, A; Palashov, O; Palomba, C; Pan, H; Pan, Y; Pankow, C; Paoletti, F; Paoletti, R; Paris, H; Pasqualetti, A; Passaquieti, R; Passuello, D; Pedraza, M; Penn, S; Perreca, A; Phelps, M; Pichot, M; Pickenpack, M; Piergiovanni, F; Pierro, V; Pinard, L; Pinto, I M; Pitkin, M; Poeld, J; Poggiani, R; Poteomkin, A; Powell, J; Prasad, J; Premachandra, S; Prestegard, T; Price, L R; Prijatelj, M; Privitera, S; Prodi, G A; Prokhorov, L; Puncken, O; Punturo, M; Puppo, P; Qin, J; Quetschke, V; Quintero, E; Quiroga, G; Quitzow-James, R; Raab, F J; Rabeling, D S; Rácz, I; Radkins, H; Raffai, P; Raja, S; Rajalakshmi, G; Rakhmanov, M; Ramet, C; Ramirez, K; Rapagnani, P; Raymond, V; Re, V; Read, J; Reed, C M; Regimbau, T; Reid, S; Reitze, D H; Rhoades, E; Ricci, F; Riles, K; Robertson, N A; Robinet, F; Rocchi, A; Rodruck, M; Rolland, L; Rollins, J G; Romano, J D; Romano, R; Romanov, G; Romie, J H; Rosińska, D; Rowan, S; Rüdiger, A; Ruggi, P; Ryan, K; Salemi, F; Sammut, L; Sandberg, V; Sanders, J R; Sannibale, V; Santiago-Prieto, I; Saracco, E; Sassolas, B; Sathyaprakash, B S; Saulson, P R; Savage, R; Scheuer, J; Schilling, R; Schnabel, R; Schofield, R M S; Schreiber, E; Schuette, D; Schutz, B F; Scott, J; Scott, S M; Sellers, D; Sengupta, A S; Sentenac, D; Sequino, V; Sergeev, A; Shaddock, D; Shah, S; Shahriar, M S; Shaltev, M; Shapiro, B; Shawhan, P; Shoemaker, D H; Sidery, T L; Siellez, K; Siemens, X; Sigg, D; Simakov, D; Singer, A; Singer, L; Singh, R; Sintes, A M; Slagmolen, B J J; Slutsky, J; Smith, J R; Smith, M; Smith, R J E; Smith-Lefebvre, N D; Son, E J; Sorazu, B; Souradeep, T; Sperandio, L; Staley, A; Stebbins, J; Steinlechner, J; Steinlechner, S; Stephens, B C; Steplewski, S; Stevenson, S; Stone, R; Stops, D; Strain, K A; Straniero, N; Strigin, S; Sturani, R; Stuver, A L; Summerscales, T Z; Susmithan, S; Sutton, P J; Swinkels, B; Tacca, M; Talukder, D; Tanner, D B; Tarabrin, S P; Taylor, R; Ter Braack, A P M; Thirugnanasambandam, M P; Thomas, M; Thomas, P; Thorne, K A; Thorne, K S; Thrane, E; Tiwari, V; Tokmakov, K V; Tomlinson, C; Toncelli, A; Tonelli, M; Torre, O; Torres, C V; Torrie, C I; Travasso, F; Traylor, G; Tse, M; Ugolini, D; Unnikrishnan, C S; Urban, A L; Urbanek, K; Vahlbruch, H; Vajente, G; Valdes, G; Vallisneri, M; van den Brand, J F J; Van Den Broeck, C; van der Putten, S; van der Sluys, M V; van Heijningen, J; van Veggel, A A; Vass, S; Vasúth, M; Vaulin, R; Vecchio, A; Vedovato, G; Veitch, J; Veitch, P J; Venkateswara, K; Verkindt, D; Verma, S S; Vetrano, F; Viceré, A; Vincent-Finley, R; Vinet, J-Y; Vitale, S; Vo, T; Vocca, H; Vorvick, C; Vousden, W D; Vyachanin, S P; Wade, A; Wade, L; Wade, M; Walker, M; Wallace, L; Wang, M; Wang, X; Ward, R L; Was, M; Weaver, B; Wei, L-W; Weinert, M; Weinstein, A J; Weiss, R; Welborn, T; Wen, L; Wessels, P; West, M; Westphal, T; Wette, K; Whelan, J T; White, D J; Whiting, B F; Wiesner, K; Wilkinson, C; Williams, K; Williams, L; Williams, R; Williams, T; Williamson, A R; Willis, J L; Willke, B; Wimmer, M; Winkler, W; Wipf, C C; Wiseman, A G; Wittel, H; Woan, G; Worden, J; Yablon, J; Yakushin, I; Yamamoto, H; Yancey, C C; Yang, H; Yang, Z; Yoshida, S; Yvert, M; Zadrożny, A; Zanolin, M; Zendri, J-P; Zhang, Fan; Zhang, L; Zhao, C; Zhu, X J; Zucker, M E; Zuraw, S; Zweizig, J

    2014-12-05

    Gravitational waves from a variety of sources are predicted to superpose to create a stochastic background. This background is expected to contain unique information from throughout the history of the Universe that is unavailable through standard electromagnetic observations, making its study of fundamental importance to understanding the evolution of the Universe. We carry out a search for the stochastic background with the latest data from the LIGO and Virgo detectors. Consistent with predictions from most stochastic gravitational-wave background models, the data display no evidence of a stochastic gravitational-wave signal. Assuming a gravitational-wave spectrum of Ω_{GW}(f)=Ω_{α}(f/f_{ref})^{α}, we place 95% confidence level upper limits on the energy density of the background in each of four frequency bands spanning 41.5-1726 Hz. In the frequency band of 41.5-169.25 Hz for a spectral index of α=0, we constrain the energy density of the stochastic background to be Ω_{GW}(f)waves.

  3. Upper Limits on the Presence of Central Massive Black Holes in Two Ultra-compact Dwarf Galaxies in Centaurus A

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voggel, Karina T.; Seth, Anil C.; Neumayer, Nadine; Mieske, Steffen; Chilingarian, Igor; Ahn, Christopher; Baumgardt, Holger; Hilker, Michael; Nguyen, Dieu D.; Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Walsh, Jonelle L.; den Brok, Mark; Strader, Jay

    2018-05-01

    The recent discovery of massive black holes (BHs) in the centers of high-mass ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) suggests that at least some are the stripped nuclear star clusters of dwarf galaxies. We present the first study that investigates whether such massive BHs, and therefore stripped nuclei, also exist in low-mass (M < 107 M ⊙) UCDs. We constrain the BH masses of two UCDs located in Centaurus A (UCD 320 and UCD 330) using Jeans modeling of the resolved stellar kinematics from adaptive optics data obtained with the SINFONI integral field spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope (VLT/SINFONI). No massive BHs are found in either UCD. We find a 3σ upper limit on the central BH mass in UCD 330 of M • < 1.0 × 105 M ⊙, which corresponds to 1.7% of the total mass. This excludes a high-mass fraction BH and would only allow low-mass BHs similar to those claimed to be detected in Local Group globular clusters. For UCD 320, poorer data quality results in a less constraining 3σ upper limit of M • < 1 × 106 M ⊙, which is equal to 37.7% of the total mass. The dynamical mass-to-light ratios of UCD 320 and UCD 330 are not inflated compared to predictions from stellar population models. The non-detection of BHs in these low-mass UCDs is consistent with the idea that elevated dynamical mass-to-light ratios do indicate the presence of a substantial BH. Although no massive BHs are detected, these systems could still be stripped nuclei. The strong rotation (v/σ of 0.3–0.4) in both UCDs and the two-component light profile in UCD 330 support the idea that these UCDs may be stripped nuclei of low-mass galaxies whose BH occupation fraction is not yet known.

  4. Upper Extremity Injured Workers Stratified by Current Work Status: An Examination of Health Characteristics, Work Limitations and Work Instability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D Pichora

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Upper extremity injured workers are an under-studied population. A descriptive comparison of workers with shoulder, elbow and hand injuries reporting to a Canadian Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB clinic was undertaken. Objective: To determine if differences existed between injury groups stratified by current work status. Methods: All WSIB claimants reporting to our upper extremity clinic between 2003 and 2008 were approached to participate in this descriptive study. 314 working and 146 non-working WSIB claimants completed the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH; Short Form health survey (SF36; Worker’s Limitations Questionnaire and the Work Instability Scale. Various parametric and non-parametric analyses were used to assess significant differences between groups on demographic, work and health related variables. Results: Hand, followed by the shoulder and elbow were the most common site of injury. Most non-workers listed their current injury as the reason for being off work, and attempted to return to work once since their injury occurrence. Non-workers and a subset of workers at high risk for work loss showed significantly worse mental functioning. Workers identified physical demands as the most frequent injury-related on the job limitation. 60% of current workers were listed as low risk for work loss on the Work Instability Scale. Conclusions: Poorer mental functioning, being female and sustaining a shoulder injury were risk factors for work instability. Our cohort of injured non-workers were unable to return to work due to their current injury, reinforcing the need to advocate for modified duties, shorter hours and a work environment where stress and injury recurrence is reduced. Future studies examining pre-injury depression as a risk factor for prolonged work absences are warranted.

  5. Limits on rare exclusive decays of B mesons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avery, P.; Besson, D.; Bowcock, T.; Giles, R.T.; Hassard, J.; Kinoshita, K.; Pipkin, F.M.; Wilson, R.; Wolinski, J.; Xiao, D.; Gentile, T.; Haas, P.; Hempstead, M.; Jensen, T.; Kagan, H.; Kass, R.; Behrends, S.; Guida, J.M.; Guida, J.A.; Morrow, F.; Poling, R.; Thorndike, E.H.; Tipton, P.; Alam, M.S.; Katayama, N.; Kim, I.J.; Sun, C.R.; Tanikella, V.; Bortoletto, D.; Chen, A.; Garren, L.; Goldberg, M.; Holmes, R.; Horwitz, N.; Jawahery, A.; Lubrano, P.; Moneti, G.C.; Sharma, V.; Csorna, S.E.; Mestayer, M.D.; Panvini, R.S.; Word, G.B.; Bean, A.; Bobbink, G.J.; Brock, I.C.; Engler, A.; Ferguson, T.; Kraemer, R.W.; Rippich, C.; Vogel, H.; Bebek, C.; Berkelman, K.; Blucher, E.; Cassel, D.G.; Copie, T.; DeSalvo, R.; DeWire, J.W.; Ehrlich, R.; Galik, R.S.; Gilchriese, M.G.D.; Gittelman, B.; Gray, S.W.; Halling, A.M.; Hartill, D.L.; Heltsley, B.K.; Holzner, S.; Ito, M.; Kandaswamy, J.; Kowalewski, R.; Kreinick, D.L.; Kubota, Y.; Mistry, N.B.; Mueller, J.; Namjoshi, R.; Nordberg, E.; Ogg, M.; Perticone, D.; Peterson, D.; Pisharody, M.; Read, K.; Riley, D.; Silverman, A.; Stone, S.; Yi Xia; Sadoff, A.J.

    1987-01-01

    We have set upper limits for rare exclusive decays of B mesons arising from higher order processes in the standard model of electroweak interactions. Such decays may occur via ''penguin diagrams'' in B decay. We also set an upper limit on a lepton-number-violating decay mode of the neutral B meson. (orig.)

  6. Numerical Limit Analysis:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damkilde, Lars

    2007-01-01

    Limit State analysis has a long history and many prominent researchers have contributed. The theoretical foundation is based on the upper- and lower-bound theorems which give a very comprehensive and elegant formulation on complicated physical problems. In the pre-computer age Limit State analysis...... also enabled engineers to solve practical problems within reinforced concrete, steel structures and geotechnics....

  7. Upper limit for the D2H+ ortho-to-para ratio in the prestellar core 16293E (CHESS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vastel, C.; Caselli, P.; Ceccarelli, C.; Bacmann, A.; Lis, D. C.; Caux, E.; Codella, C.; Beckwith, J. A.; Ridley, T.

    2012-11-01

    The H_3^+ ion plays a key role in the chemistry of dense interstellar gas clouds where stars and planets are forming. The low temperatures and high extinctions of such clouds make direct observations of H_3^+ impossible, but lead to large abundances of H2D+ and D2H+, which are very useful probes of the early stages of star and planet formation. The ground-state rotational ortho-D2H+ 11,1-00,0 transition at 1476.6 GHz in the prestellar core 16293E has been searched for with the Herschel HIFI instrument, within the CHESS (Chemical HErschel Surveys of Star forming regions) Key Program. The line has not been detected at the 21 mK km s-1 level (3σ integrated line intensity). We used the ortho-H2D+ 11,0-11,1 transition and para-D2H+ 11,0-10,1 transition detected in this source to determine an upper limit on the ortho-to-para D2H+ ratio as well as the para-D2H+/ortho-H2D+ ratio from a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium analysis. The comparison between our chemical modeling and the observations suggests that the CO depletion must be high (larger than 100), with a density between 5 × 105 and 106 cm-3. Also the upper limit on the ortho-D2H+ line is consistent with a low gas temperature (~11 K) with a ortho-to-para ratio of 6 to 9, i.e. 2 to 3 times higher than the value estimated from the chemical modeling, making it impossible to detect this high frequency transition with the present state of the art receivers. The chemical network is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/547/A33Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.

  8. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with CKD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Chih-Chia; Wang, Su-Ming; Kuo, Huey-Liang; Chang, Chiz-Tzung; Liu, Jiung-Hsiun; Lin, Hsin-Hung; Wang, I-Kuan; Yang, Ya-Fei; Lu, Yueh-Ju; Chou, Che-Yi; Huang, Chiu-Ching

    2014-08-07

    Patients with CKD receiving maintenance dialysis are at risk for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. However, the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with early CKD who are not receiving dialysis is unknown. The hypothesis was that their risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding is negatively linked to renal function. To test this hypothesis, the association between eGFR and risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with stages 3-5 CKD who were not receiving dialysis was analyzed. Patients with stages 3-5 CKD in the CKD program from 2003 to 2009 were enrolled and prospectively followed until December of 2012 to monitor the development of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding was analyzed using competing-risks regression with time-varying covariates. In total, 2968 patients with stages 3-5 CKD who were not receiving dialysis were followed for a median of 1.9 years. The incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding per 100 patient-years was 3.7 (95% confidence interval, 3.5 to 3.9) in patients with stage 3 CKD, 5.0 (95% confidence interval, 4.8 to 5.3) in patients with stage 4 CKD, and 13.9 (95% confidence interval, 13.1 to 14.8) in patients with stage 5 CKD. Higher eGFR was associated with a lower risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (P=0.03), with a subdistribution hazard ratio of 0.93 (95% confidence interval, 0.87 to 0.99) for every 5 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) higher eGFR. A history of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (Pupper gastrointestinal bleeding risk. In patients with CKD who are not receiving dialysis, lower renal function is associated with higher risk for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The risk is higher in patients with previous upper gastrointestinal bleeding history and low serum albumin. Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Nephrology.

  9. Upper extremity sensorimotor control among collegiate football players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laudner, Kevin G

    2012-03-01

    Injuries stemming from shoulder instability are very common among athletes participating in contact sports, such as football. Previous research has shown that increased laxity negatively affects the function of the sensorimotor system potentially leading to a pathological cycle of shoulder dysfunction. Currently, there are no data detailing such effects among football players. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the differences in upper extremity sensorimotor control among football players compared with that of a control group. Forty-five collegiate football players and 70 male control subjects with no previous experience in contact sports participated. All the subjects had no recent history of upper extremity injury. Each subject performed three 30-second upper extremity balance trials on each arm. The balance trials were conducted in a single-arm push-up position with the test arm in the center of a force platform and the subjects' feet on a labile device. The trials were averaged, and the differences in radial area deviation between groups were analyzed using separate 1-way analyses of variance (p football players showed significantly more radial area deviation of the dominant (0.41 ± 1.23 cm2, p = 0.02) and nondominant arms (0.47 ± 1.63 cm2, p = 0.03) when compared with the control group. These results suggest that football players may have decreased sensorimotor control of the upper extremity compared with individuals with no contact sport experience. The decreased upper extremity sensorimotor control among the football players may be because of the frequent impacts accumulated during football participation. Football players may benefit from exercises that target the sensorimotor system. These findings may also be beneficial in the evaluation and treatment of various upper extremity injuries among football players.

  10. Upper limits for the circular dichroism for the C 1s and O 1s core excitation of methyl oxirane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pruemper, G; Lischke, T; Fukuzawa, H; Reinkoester, A; Ueda, K

    2007-01-01

    The circular dichroism (CD) in the total and partial ion yields of methyl-oxirane C 3 H 6 O was measured at the C 1s and O 1s edges. The difference of the response of the chiral molecule to circularly polarized light with opposite handedness was found to be less than 0.2% for the total ion yield and less than 0.5% for the partial ion yield. Additionally we tried to find a dipole allowed molecular orientation CD effect by analysing the fragmentation in the forward and backward direction. For this effect we found an upper limit of 1-2% for all abundant ionic fragments

  11. New high (> or =6M/sub sun/) upper mass limit for planetary nebula formation, and a new high lower mass bound for carbon detonation supernova models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuchman, Y.; Sack, N.; Barkat, Z.

    1978-01-01

    Envelope ejection leading to a planetary nebula has been recently shown to occur as the terminal point of the Mira stage. The ejection is due to a diverging pulsational instability, not to a dynamical one. It is found that in this case (and for Population I, mixing length=1 pressure scale height) the upper mass limit for formation of planetary nebulae is at least 6 M/sub sun/. It thus follows that the lower mass limit for realization of carbon detonation model configurations is also at last 6 M/sub sun/

  12. Work-related upper limb “overuse” syndromes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jepsen, Jørgen Riis

    2016-01-01

    A previous review of historical descriptions and theories about the character and pathogenesis of writer’s cramp and other comparable chronic upper limb “overuse” work-related pain syndromes has indicated that somatic dysfunctions explain symptoms and findings. The first case studies and case...... series suggested that these conditions were caused by pathology affecting the peripheral nerves. The general perception gradually changed, however, with symptoms becoming attributed to central nervous system dysfunction and ultimately to represent a psychiatric condition. Work-related upper limb...... disorders remain diagnostically challenging to clinicians and there is still a tendency to see many patients’ pain as a psychiatric problem when a standard physical examination does not explain the condition. This article describes reports of writer’s cramp and comparable occupational upper limb “overuse...

  13. First upper limits on the radar cross section of cosmic-ray induced extensive air showers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbasi, R. U.; Abe, M.; Abou Bakr Othman, M.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Allen, M.; Anderson, R.; Azuma, R.; Barcikowski, E.; Belz, J. W.; Bergman, D. R.; Besson, D.; Blake, S. A.; Byrne, M.; Cady, R.; Chae, M. J.; Cheon, B. G.; Chiba, J.; Chikawa, M.; Cho, W. R.; Farhang-Boroujeny, B.; Fujii, T.; Fukushima, M.; Gillman, W. H.; Goto, T.; Hanlon, W.; Hanson, J. C.; Hayashi, Y.; Hayashida, N.; Hibino, K.; Honda, K.; Ikeda, D.; Inoue, N.; Ishii, T.; Ishimori, R.; Ito, H.; Ivanov, D.; Jayanthmurthy, C.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kadota, K.; Kakimoto, F.; Kalashev, O.; Kasahara, K.; Kawai, H.; Kawakami, S.; Kawana, S.; Kawata, K.; Kido, E.; Kim, H. B.; Kim, J. H.; Kim, J. H.; Kitamura, S.; Kitamura, Y.; Kunwar, S.; Kuzmin, V.; Kwon, Y. J.; Lan, J.; Lim, S. I.; Lundquist, J. P.; Machida, K.; Martens, K.; Matsuda, T.; Matsuyama, T.; Matthews, J. N.; Minamino, M.; Mukai, K.; Myers, I.; Nagasawa, K.; Nagataki, S.; Nakamura, T.; Nonaka, T.; Nozato, A.; Ogio, S.; Ogura, J.; Ohnishi, M.; Ohoka, H.; Oki, K.; Okuda, T.; Ono, M.; Oshima, A.; Ozawa, S.; Park, I. H.; Prohira, S.; Pshirkov, M. S.; Rezazadeh-Reyhani, A.; Rodriguez, D. C.; Rubtsov, G.; Ryu, D.; Sagawa, H.; Sakurai, N.; Sampson, A. L.; Scott, L. M.; Schurig, D.; Shah, P. D.; Shibata, F.; Shibata, T.; Shimodaira, H.; Shin, B. K.; Smith, J. D.; Sokolsky, P.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Stratton, S. R.; Stroman, T. A.; Suzawa, T.; Takai, H.; Takamura, M.; Takeda, M.; Takeishi, R.; Taketa, A.; Takita, M.; Tameda, Y.; Tanaka, H.; Tanaka, K.; Tanaka, M.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tinyakov, P.; Tkachev, I.; Tokuno, H.; Tomida, T.; Troitsky, S.; Tsunesada, Y.; Tsutsumi, K.; Uchihori, Y.; Udo, S.; Urban, F.; Vasiloff, G.; Venkatesh, S.; Wong, T.; Yamane, R.; Yamaoka, H.; Yamazaki, K.; Yang, J.; Yashiro, K.; Yoneda, Y.; Yoshida, S.; Yoshii, H.; Zollinger, R.; Zundel, Z.

    2017-01-01

    TARA (Telescope Array Radar) is a cosmic ray radar detection experiment colocated with Telescope Array, the conventional surface scintillation detector (SD) and fluorescence telescope detector (FD) near Delta, Utah, U.S.A. The TARA detector combines a 40 kW, 54.1 MHz VHF transmitter and high-gain transmitting antenna which broadcasts the radar carrier over the SD array and within the FD field of view, towards a 250 MS/s DAQ receiver. TARA has been collecting data since 2013 with the primary goal of observing the radar signatures of extensive air showers (EAS). Simulations indicate that echoes are expected to be short in duration (∼ 10 μs) and exhibit rapidly changing frequency, with rates on the order 1 MHz/μs. The EAS radar cross-section (RCS) is currently unknown although it is the subject of over 70 years of speculation. A novel signal search technique is described in which the expected radar echo of a particular air shower is used as a matched filter template and compared to waveforms obtained by triggering the radar DAQ using the Telescope Array fluorescence detector. No evidence for the scattering of radio frequency radiation by EAS is obtained to date. We report the first quantitative RCS upper limits using EAS that triggered the Telescope Array Fluorescence Detector. The transmitter is under the direct control of experimenters, and in a radio-quiet area isolated from other radio frequency (RF) sources. The power and radiation pattern are known at all times. Forward power up to 40 kW and gain exceeding 20 dB maximize energy density in the radar field. Continuous wave (CW) transmission gives 100% duty cycle, as opposed to pulsed radar. TARA utilizes a high sample rate DAQ (250 MS/s). TARA is colocated with a large state-of-the-art conventional CR observatory, allowing the radar data stream to be sampled at the arrival times of known cosmic ray events. Each of these attributes of the TARA detector has been discussed in detail in the literature [8]. A map

  14. Upper limits from the LIGO and TAMA detectors on the rate of gravitational-wave bursts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbott, B.; Abbott, R.; Adhikari, R.; Agresti, J.; Anderson, S.B.; Araya, M.; Armandula, H.; Asiri, F.; Barish, B.C.; Barnes, M.; Barton, M.A.; Bhawal, B.; Billingsley, G.; Black, E.; Blackburn, K.; Bork, R.; Brown, D. A.; Busby, D.; Cardenas, L.; Chandler, A.

    2005-01-01

    We report on the first joint search for gravitational waves by the TAMA and LIGO collaborations. We looked for millisecond-duration unmodeled gravitational-wave bursts in 473 hr of coincident data collected during early 2003. No candidate signals were found. We set an upper limit of 0.12 events per day on the rate of detectable gravitational-wave bursts, at 90% confidence level. From software simulations, we estimate that our detector network was sensitive to bursts with root-sum-square strain amplitude above approximately 1-3x10 -19 Hz -1/2 in the frequency band 700-2000 Hz. We describe the details of this collaborative search, with particular emphasis on its advantages and disadvantages compared to searches by LIGO and TAMA separately using the same data. Benefits include a lower background and longer observation time, at some cost in sensitivity and bandwidth. We also demonstrate techniques for performing coincidence searches with a heterogeneous network of detectors with different noise spectra and orientations. These techniques include using coordinated software signal injections to estimate the network sensitivity, and tuning the analysis to maximize the sensitivity and the livetime, subject to constraints on the background

  15. Effect of specimen size on the upper shelf energy of ferritic steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, A.S.

    1990-01-01

    A methodology is proposed that can be used to predict the upper shelf energy (USE) of ferritic steels based on subsize specimen data. The proposed methodology utilizes the partitioning of the USE into energies required for crack initiation and crack propagation. Notched-only Charpy specimens are used in conjunction with precracked specimens to separate the two components. An unirradiated ferritic steel, HT-9, was used to demonstrate the validity of the methodology. Unlike previous correlations that were limited in their applicability to either highly ductile or brittle material, the proposed methodology is expected to be applicable over a wide range of ductility and to be particularly useful for materials that harden significantly during irradiation

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

    KAUST Repository

    Yu, Zongfu

    2012-10-01

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

  17. On the Necessity of Using Element No.155 in the Chemical Physical Calculations: Again on the Upper Limit in the Periodic Table of Elements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khazan A.

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available It is shown how the properties of different elements of the Periodic System of Elements can be obtained using the properties of the theoretically predicted heaviest element No.155 (it draws the upper principal limit of the Table, behind which stable elements cannot exist. It is suggested how the properties of element No.155 can be used in the synthesis of superheavy elements. An analysis of nuclear reactions is also produced on the same basis.

  18. A New Limit on CMB Circular Polarization from SPIDER

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagy, J. M.; Ade, P. A. R.; Amiri, M.; Benton, S. J.; Bergman, A. S.; Bihary, R.; Bock, J. J.; Bond, J. R.; Bryan, S. A.; Chiang, H. C.; Contaldi, C. R.; Doré, O.; Duivenvoorden, A. J.; Eriksen, H. K.; Farhang, M.; Filippini, J. P.; Fissel, L. M.; Fraisse, A. A.; Freese, K.; Galloway, M.; Gambrel, A. E.; Gandilo, N. N.; Ganga, K.; Gudmundsson, J. E.; Halpern, M.; Hartley, J.; Hasselfield, M.; Hilton, G.; Holmes, W.; Hristov, V. V.; Huang, Z.; Irwin, K. D.; Jones, W. C.; Kuo, C. L.; Kermish, Z. D.; Li, S.; Mason, P. V.; Megerian, K.; Moncelsi, L.; Morford, T. A.; Netterfield, C. B.; Nolta, M.; Padilla, I. L.; Racine, B.; Rahlin, A. S.; Reintsema, C.; Ruhl, J. E.; Runyan, M. C.; Ruud, T. M.; Shariff, J. A.; Soler, J. D.; Song, X.; Trangsrud, A.; Tucker, C.; Tucker, R. S.; Turner, A. D.; Van Der List, J. F.; Weber, A. C.; Wehus, I. K.; Wiebe, D. V.; Young, E. Y.

    2017-08-01

    We present a new upper limit on cosmic microwave background (CMB) circular polarization from the 2015 flight of Spider, a balloon-borne telescope designed to search for B-mode linear polarization from cosmic inflation. Although the level of circular polarization in the CMB is predicted to be very small, experimental limits provide a valuable test of the underlying models. By exploiting the nonzero circular-to-linear polarization coupling of the half-wave plate polarization modulators, data from Spider's 2015 Antarctic flight provide a constraint on Stokes V at 95 and 150 GHz in the range 33< {\\ell }< 307. No other limits exist over this full range of angular scales, and Spider improves on the previous limit by several orders of magnitude, providing 95% C.L. constraints on {\\ell }({\\ell }+1){C}{\\ell }{VV}/(2π ) ranging from 141 to 255 μK2 at 150 GHz for a thermal CMB spectrum. As linear CMB polarization experiments become increasingly sensitive, the techniques described in this paper can be applied to obtain even stronger constraints on circular polarization.

  19. A New Limit on CMB Circular Polarization from SPIDER

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nagy, J. M.; Ade, P. A. R.; Amiri, M.; Benton, S. J.; Bergman, A. S.; Bihary, R.; Bock, J. J.; Bond, J. R.; Bryan, S. A.; Chiang, H. C.; Contaldi, C. R.; Doré, O.; Duivenvoorden, A. J.; Eriksen, H. K.; Farhang, M.; Filippini, J. P.; Fissel, L. M.; Fraisse, A. A.; Freese, K.; Galloway, M.; Gambrel, A. E.; Gandilo, N. N.; Ganga, K.; Gudmundsson, J. E.; Halpern, M.; Hartley, J.; Hasselfield, M.; Hilton, G.; Holmes, W.; Hristov, V. V.; Huang, Z.; Irwin, K. D.; Jones, W. C.; Kuo, C. L.; Kermish, Z. D.; Li, S.; Mason, P. V.; Megerian, K.; Moncelsi, L.; Morford, T. A.; Netterfield, C. B.; Nolta, M.; Padilla, I. L.; Racine, B.; Rahlin, A. S.; Reintsema, C.; Ruhl, J. E.; Runyan, M. C.; Ruud, T. M.; Shariff, J. A.; Soler, J. D.; Song, X.; Trangsrud, A.; Tucker, C.; Tucker, R. S.; Turner, A. D.; List, J. F. Van Der; Weber, A. C.; Wehus, I. K.; Wiebe, D. V.; Young, E. Y.

    2017-08-01

    We present a new upper limit on CMB circular polarization from the 2015 flight of SPIDER, a balloon-borne telescope designed to search for $B$-mode linear polarization from cosmic inflation. Although the level of circular polarization in the CMB is predicted to be very small, experimental limits provide a valuable test of the underlying models. By exploiting the non-zero circular-to-linear polarization coupling of the HWP polarization modulators, data from SPIDER's 2015 Antarctic flight provides a constraint on Stokes $V$ at 95 and 150 GHz from $33<\\ell<307$. No other limits exist over this full range of angular scales, and SPIDER improves upon the previous limit by several orders of magnitude, providing 95% C.L. constraints on $\\ell (\\ell+1)C_{\\ell}^{VV}/(2\\pi)$ ranging from 141 $\\mu K ^2$ to 203 $\\mu K ^2$ at 150 GHz for a thermal CMB spectrum. As linear CMB polarization experiments become increasingly sensitive, the techniques described in this paper can be applied to obtain stronger constraints on circular polarization.

  20. Limits on Spin-Dependent WIMP-Nucleon Cross Section Obtained from the Complete LUX Exposure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akerib, D. S.; Alsum, S.; Araújo, H. M.; Bai, X.; Bailey, A. J.; Balajthy, J.; Beltrame, P.; Bernard, E. P.; Bernstein, A.; Biesiadzinski, T. P.; Boulton, E. M.; Brás, P.; Byram, D.; Cahn, S. B.; Carmona-Benitez, M. C.; Chan, C.; Chiller, A. A.; Chiller, C.; Currie, A.; Cutter, J. E.; Davison, T. J. R.; Dobi, A.; Dobson, J. E. Y.; Druszkiewicz, E.; Edwards, B. N.; Faham, C. H.; Fallon, S. R.; Fiorucci, S.; Gaitskell, R. J.; Gehman, V. M.; Ghag, C.; Gilchriese, M. G. D.; Hall, C. R.; Hanhardt, M.; Haselschwardt, S. J.; Hertel, S. A.; Hogan, D. P.; Horn, M.; Huang, D. Q.; Ignarra, C. M.; Jacobsen, R. G.; Ji, W.; Kamdin, K.; Kazkaz, K.; Khaitan, D.; Knoche, R.; Larsen, N. A.; Lee, C.; Lenardo, B. G.; Lesko, K. T.; Lindote, A.; Lopes, M. I.; Manalaysay, A.; Mannino, R. L.; Marzioni, M. F.; McKinsey, D. N.; Mei, D.-M.; Mock, J.; Moongweluwan, M.; Morad, J. A.; Murphy, A. St. J.; Nehrkorn, C.; Nelson, H. N.; Neves, F.; O'Sullivan, K.; Oliver-Mallory, K. C.; Palladino, K. J.; Pease, E. K.; Reichhart, L.; Rhyne, C.; Shaw, S.; Shutt, T. A.; Silva, C.; Solmaz, M.; Solovov, V. N.; Sorensen, P.; Stephenson, S.; Sumner, T. J.; Szydagis, M.; Taylor, D. J.; Taylor, W. C.; Tennyson, B. P.; Terman, P. A.; Tiedt, D. R.; To, W. H.; Tripathi, M.; Tvrznikova, L.; Uvarov, S.; Velan, V.; Verbus, J. R.; Webb, R. C.; White, J. T.; Whitis, T. J.; Witherell, M. S.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Xu, J.; Yazdani, K.; Young, S. K.; Zhang, C.; LUX Collaboration

    2017-06-01

    We present experimental constraints on the spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon elastic cross sections from the total 129.5 kg yr exposure acquired by the Large Underground Xenon experiment (LUX), operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota (USA). A profile likelihood ratio analysis allows 90% C.L. upper limits to be set on the WIMP-neutron (WIMP-proton) cross section of σn=1.6 ×10-41 cm2 (σp=5 ×10-40 cm2 ) at 35 GeV c-2 , almost a sixfold improvement over the previous LUX spin-dependent results. The spin-dependent WIMP-neutron limit is the most sensitive constraint to date.

  1. Upper-extremity phocomelia reexamined: a longitudinal dysplasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldfarb, Charles A; Manske, Paul R; Busa, Riccardo; Mills, Janith; Carter, Peter; Ezaki, Marybeth

    2005-12-01

    In contrast to longitudinal deficiencies, phocomelia is considered a transverse, intercalated segmental dysplasia. Most patients demonstrate severe, but not otherwise classifiable, upper-extremity deformities, which usually cannot be placed into one of three previously described phocomelia groups. Additionally, these phocomelic extremities do not demonstrate true segmental deficits; the limb is also abnormal proximal and distal to the segmental defect. The purpose of this investigation was to present evidence that upper-extremity abnormalities in patients previously diagnosed as having phocomelia in fact represent a proximal continuum of radial or ulnar longitudinal dysplasia. The charts and radiographs of forty-one patients (sixty extremities) diagnosed as having upper-extremity phocomelia were reviewed retrospectively. On the basis of the findings on the radiographs, the disorders were categorized into three groups: (1) proximal radial longitudinal dysplasia, which was characterized by an absent proximal part of the humerus, a nearly normal distal part of the humerus, a completely absent radius, and a radial-sided hand dysplasia; (2) proximal ulnar longitudinal dysplasia, characterized by a short one-bone upper extremity that bifurcated distally and by severe hand abnormalities compatible with ulnar dysplasia; and (3) severe combined dysplasia, with type A characterized by an absence of the forearm segment (i.e., the radius and ulna) and type B characterized by absence of the arm and forearm (i.e., the hand attached to the thorax). Twenty-nine limbs in sixteen patients could be classified as having proximal radial longitudinal dysplasia. Systemic medical conditions such as thrombocytopenia-absent radius syndrome were common in those patients, but additional musculoskeletal conditions were rare. Twenty limbs in seventeen patients could be classified as having proximal ulnar longitudinal dysplasia. Associated musculoskeletal abnormalities, such as proximal femoral

  2. Verification of an immunoturbidimetric assay for heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) on a clinical chemistry platform and establishment of the upper reference limit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Da Molin, Simona; Cappellini, Fabrizio; Falbo, Rosanna; Signorini, Stefano; Brambilla, Paolo

    2014-11-01

    Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) is an early biomarker of cardiac injury. Randox Laboratories developed an immunoturbidimetric H-FABP assay for non-proprietary automated clinical chemistry analysers that could be useful in the emergency department. We verified the analytical performances claimed by Randox Laboratories on Roche Cobas 6000 clinical chemistry platform in use in our laboratory, and we defined our own 99th percentile upper reference limit for H-FABP. For the verification of method performances, we used pools of spared patient samples from routine and two levels of quality control material, while samples for the reference value study were collected from 545 blood donors. Following CLSI guidelines we verified limit of blank (LOB), limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), repeatability and within-laboratory precision, trueness, linearity, and the stability of H-FABP in EDTA over 24h. The LOQ (3.19 μg/L) was verified with a CV% of 10.4. The precision was verified for the low (mean 5.88 μg/L, CV=6.7%), the medium (mean 45.28 μg/L, CV=3.0%), and the high concentration (mean 88.81 μg/L, CV=4.0%). The trueness was verified as well as the linearity over the indicated measurement interval of 0.747-120 μg/L. The H-FABP in EDTA samples is stable throughout 24h both at room temperature and at 4 °C. The H-FABP 99th percentile upper reference limit for all subjects (3.60 μg/L, 95% CI 3.51-3.77) is more appropriate than gender-specific ones that are not statistically different. Copyright © 2014 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. An upper bound for the proton temperature anisotrophy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gary, S.P.

    1994-01-01

    This tutorial describes recent research concerning the upper bound on the hot proton temperature anisotropy imposed by wave-particle scattering due to enhanced fluctuations from the electromagnetic proton cyclotron anisotropy instability. This upper bound, which has been observed in both the magnetosheath and the outer magnetosphere, represents a limited closure relation for the equations of anisotropic magnetohydrodynamics. Such a closure relation has the potential to improve the predictive capability of large-scale anisotropic models of the magnetosphere

  4. New limit on logotropic unified dark energy models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V.M.C. Ferreira

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available A unification of dark matter and dark energy in terms of a logotropic perfect dark fluid has recently been proposed, where deviations with respect to the standard ΛCDM model are dependent on a single parameter B. In this paper we show that the requirement that the linear growth of cosmic structures on comoving scales larger than 8h−1Mpc is not significantly affected with respect to the standard ΛCDM result provides the strongest limit to date on the model (B<6×10−7, an improvement of more than three orders of magnitude over previous upper limits on the value of B. We further show that this limit rules out the logotropic Unified Dark Energy model as a possible solution to the small scale problems of the ΛCDM model, including the cusp problem of Dark Matter halos or the missing satellite problem, as well as the original version of the model where the Planck energy density was taken as one of the two parameters characterizing the logotropic dark fluid.

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alwin, Jennifer Louise; Zhang, Ning

    2016-01-01

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

  6. Single-chain statistics and the upper wave-vector cutoff in polymer blends

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holyst, R.; Vilgis, T.A.

    1994-01-01

    We derive the equation for the single-chain correlation function in polymer blends. The chains in the incompressible blend have a radius of gyration smaller than the radius of gyration for ideal chains. The chains shrink progressively as we approach the critical temperature T c . The correction responsible for shrinking is proportional to 1/ √N , where N is the polymerization index. At T=T c and for N=1000, the size of the chain has been estimated to be 10% smaller than the size of the ideal coil. The estimate relies on the appropriate cutoff. In the limit of N→∞ the chains approach the random walk limit. Additionally, we propose in this paper a self-consistent determination of the radius of gyration and the upper wave-vector cutoff. Our model is free from any divergences such as were encountered in the previous mean-field studies; we make an estimate of the chain size at the true critical temperature and not the mean-field one

  7. Previously unreported abnormalities in Wolfram Syndrome Type 2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akturk, Halis Kaan; Yasa, Seda

    2017-01-01

    Wolfram syndrome (WFS) is a rare autosomal recessive disease with non-autoimmune childhood onset insulin dependent diabetes and optic atrophy. WFS type 2 (WFS2) differs from WFS type 1 (WFS1) with upper intestinal ulcers, bleeding tendency and the lack ofdiabetes insipidus. Li-fespan is short due to related comorbidities. Only a few familieshave been reported with this syndrome with the CISD2 mutation. Here we report two siblings with a clinical diagnosis of WFS2, previously misdiagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy-related blindness. We report possible additional clinical and laboratory findings that have not been pre-viously reported, such as asymptomatic hypoparathyroidism, osteomalacia, growth hormone (GH) deficiency and hepatomegaly. Even though not a requirement for the diagnosis of WFS2 currently, our case series confirm hypogonadotropic hypogonadism to be also a feature of this syndrome, as reported before. © Polish Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology.

  8. Quantum-limited heat conduction over macroscopic distances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Partanen, Matti; Tan, Kuan Yen; Govenius, Joonas; Lake, Russell E.; Mäkelä, Miika K.; Tanttu, Tuomo; Möttönen, Mikko

    2016-05-01

    The emerging quantum technological apparatuses, such as the quantum computer, call for extreme performance in thermal engineering. Cold distant heat sinks are needed for the quantized electric degrees of freedom owing to the increasing packaging density and heat dissipation. Importantly, quantum mechanics sets a fundamental upper limit for the flow of information and heat, which is quantified by the quantum of thermal conductance. However, the short distance between the heat-exchanging bodies in the previous experiments hinders their applicability in quantum technology. Here, we present experimental observations of quantum-limited heat conduction over macroscopic distances extending to a metre. We achieved this improvement of four orders of magnitude in the distance by utilizing microwave photons travelling in superconducting transmission lines. Thus, it seems that quantum-limited heat conduction has no fundamental distance cutoff. This work establishes the integration of normal-metal components into the framework of circuit quantum electrodynamics, which provides a basis for the superconducting quantum computer. Especially, our results facilitate remote cooling of nanoelectronic devices using faraway in situ-tunable heat sinks. Furthermore, quantum-limited heat conduction is important in contemporary thermodynamics. Here, the long distance may lead to ultimately efficient mesoscopic heat engines with promising practical applications.

  9. The Use of Limited Fluid Resuscitation and Blood Pressure-Controlling Drugs in the Treatment of Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage Concomitant with Hemorrhagic Shock.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Bo; Li, Mao-Qin; Li, Jia-Qiong

    2015-06-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the limited fluid resuscitation regimen combined with blood pressure-controlling drugs in treating acute upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage concomitant with hemorrhagic shock. A total of 51 patients were enrolled and divided into a group that received traditional fluid resuscitation group (conventional group, 24 patients) and a limited fluid resuscitation group (study group, 27 patients). Before and after resuscitation, the blood lactate, base excess, and hemoglobin values, as well as the volume of fluid resuscitation and resuscitation time were examined. Compared with conventional group, study group had significantly better values of blood lactate, base excess, and hemoglobin (all p controlling drugs effectivelyxxx maintains blood perfusion of vital organs, improves whole body perfusion indicators, reduces the volume of fluid resuscitation, and achieves better bleeding control and resuscitation effectiveness.

  10. Difference in tree growth responses to climate at the upper treeline: Qilian Juniper in the Anyemaqen Mountains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Jianfeng; Gou, Xiaohua; Chen, Fahu; Li, Jinbao; Liu, Puxing; Zhang, Yong; Fang, Keyan

    2008-08-01

    Three ring-width chronologies were developed from Qilian Juniper (Sabina przewalskii Kom.) at the upper treeline along a west-east gradient in the Anyemaqen Mountains. Most chronological statistics, except for mean sensitivity (MS), decreased from west to east. The first principal component (PC1) loadings indicated that stands in a similar climate condition were most important to the variability of radial growth. PC2 loadings decreased from west to east, suggesting the difference of tree-growth between eastern and western Anyemaqen Mountains. Correlations between standard chronologies and climatic factors revealed different climatic influences on radial growth along a west-east gradient in the study area. Temperature of warm season (July-August) was important to the radial growth at the upper treeline in the whole study area. Precipitation of current May was an important limiting factor of tree growth only in the western (drier) upper treeline, whereas precipitation of current September limited tree growth in the eastern (wetter) upper treeline. Response function analysis results showed that there were regional differences between tree growth and climatic factors in various sampling sites of the whole study area. Temperature and precipitation were the important factors influencing tree growth in western (drier) upper treeline. However, tree growth was greatly limited by temperature at the upper treeline in the middle area, and was more limited by precipitation than temperature in the eastern (wetter) upper treeline.

  11. Morel-Lavallee Lesion in the Upper Extremity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cochran, Grant K; Hanna, Kathryn H

    2017-01-01

    Background: The Morel-Lavallee lesion (MLL) is a closed internal degloving injury that results from shearing of the skin and subcutaneous tissue from the underlying fascia. Disruption of the perforating blood vessels and lymphatics results in a lesion filled with serosanguinous fluid and necrotized fat. MLLs are most commonly described in association with pelvic and lower extremity trauma, and there are limited reports of these lesions in other locations. Methods: This case report describes a 58-year-old male referred from his primary care physician with a soft tissue mass in the upper arm. Careful history discovered prior trauma with extensive bruising and MRI revealed a large encapsulated mass consistent with MLL. Results: An open debridement with excision of pseudocapsule was performed. Meticulous closure over a drain was performed and the patient healed without complication or recurrence. Intra-operative cultures were negative and pathology was consistent with MLL. Conclusion: MLL should always be considered in the setting of previous trauma regardless the location. In the chronic setting an open approach with excision of pseudocapsule can have an acceptable result.

  12. Ages of young star clusters, massive blue stragglers, and the upper mass limit of stars: Analyzing age-dependent stellar mass functions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schneider, F. R. N.; Izzard, R. G.; Langer, N.; Stolte, A.; Hußmann, B. [Argelander-Institut für Astronomie der Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); De Mink, S. E. [Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara St, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); De Koter, A.; Sana, H. [Astronomical Institute " Anton Pannekoek" , Amsterdam University, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Gvaramadze, V. V. [Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Universitetskij Pr. 13, Moscow 119992 (Russian Federation); Liermann, A., E-mail: fschneid@astro.uni-bonn.de [Max Planck Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)

    2014-01-10

    Massive stars rapidly change their masses through strong stellar winds and mass transfer in binary systems. The latter aspect is important for populations of massive stars as more than 70% of all O stars are expected to interact with a binary companion during their lifetime. We show that such mass changes leave characteristic signatures in stellar mass functions of young star clusters that can be used to infer their ages and to identify products of binary evolution. We model the observed present-day mass functions of the young Galactic Arches and Quintuplet star clusters using our rapid binary evolution code. We find that the shaping of the mass function by stellar wind mass loss allows us to determine the cluster ages as 3.5 ± 0.7 Myr and 4.8 ± 1.1 Myr, respectively. Exploiting the effects of binary mass exchange on the cluster mass function, we find that the most massive stars in both clusters are rejuvenated products of binary mass transfer, i.e., the massive counterpart of classical blue straggler stars. This resolves the problem of an apparent age spread among the most luminous stars exceeding the expected duration of star formation in these clusters. We perform Monte Carlo simulations to probe stochastic sampling, which support the idea of the most massive stars being rejuvenated binary products. We find that the most massive star is expected to be a binary product after 1.0 ± 0.7 Myr in Arches and after 1.7 ± 1.0 Myr in Quintuplet. Today, the most massive 9 ± 3 stars in Arches and 8 ± 3 in Quintuplet are expected to be such objects. Our findings have strong implications for the stellar upper mass limit and solve the discrepancy between the claimed 150 M {sub ☉} limit and observations of four stars with initial masses of 165-320 M {sub ☉} in R136 and of supernova 2007bi, which is thought to be a pair-instability supernova from an initial 250 M {sub ☉} star. Using the stellar population of R136, we revise the upper mass limit to values in the range

  13. Ages of young star clusters, massive blue stragglers, and the upper mass limit of stars: Analyzing age-dependent stellar mass functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schneider, F. R. N.; Izzard, R. G.; Langer, N.; Stolte, A.; Hußmann, B.; De Mink, S. E.; Anton Pannekoek, Amsterdam University, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam (Netherlands))" data-affiliation=" (Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek, Amsterdam University, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam (Netherlands))" >De Koter, A.; Anton Pannekoek, Amsterdam University, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam (Netherlands))" data-affiliation=" (Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek, Amsterdam University, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam (Netherlands))" >Sana, H.; Gvaramadze, V. V.; Liermann, A.

    2014-01-01

    Massive stars rapidly change their masses through strong stellar winds and mass transfer in binary systems. The latter aspect is important for populations of massive stars as more than 70% of all O stars are expected to interact with a binary companion during their lifetime. We show that such mass changes leave characteristic signatures in stellar mass functions of young star clusters that can be used to infer their ages and to identify products of binary evolution. We model the observed present-day mass functions of the young Galactic Arches and Quintuplet star clusters using our rapid binary evolution code. We find that the shaping of the mass function by stellar wind mass loss allows us to determine the cluster ages as 3.5 ± 0.7 Myr and 4.8 ± 1.1 Myr, respectively. Exploiting the effects of binary mass exchange on the cluster mass function, we find that the most massive stars in both clusters are rejuvenated products of binary mass transfer, i.e., the massive counterpart of classical blue straggler stars. This resolves the problem of an apparent age spread among the most luminous stars exceeding the expected duration of star formation in these clusters. We perform Monte Carlo simulations to probe stochastic sampling, which support the idea of the most massive stars being rejuvenated binary products. We find that the most massive star is expected to be a binary product after 1.0 ± 0.7 Myr in Arches and after 1.7 ± 1.0 Myr in Quintuplet. Today, the most massive 9 ± 3 stars in Arches and 8 ± 3 in Quintuplet are expected to be such objects. Our findings have strong implications for the stellar upper mass limit and solve the discrepancy between the claimed 150 M ☉ limit and observations of four stars with initial masses of 165-320 M ☉ in R136 and of supernova 2007bi, which is thought to be a pair-instability supernova from an initial 250 M ☉ star. Using the stellar population of R136, we revise the upper mass limit to values in the range 200-500 M ☉ .

  14. Ages of Young Star Clusters, Massive Blue Stragglers, and the Upper Mass Limit of Stars: Analyzing Age-dependent Stellar Mass Functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, F. R. N.; Izzard, R. G.; de Mink, S. E.; Langer, N.; Stolte, A.; de Koter, A.; Gvaramadze, V. V.; Hußmann, B.; Liermann, A.; Sana, H.

    2014-01-01

    Massive stars rapidly change their masses through strong stellar winds and mass transfer in binary systems. The latter aspect is important for populations of massive stars as more than 70% of all O stars are expected to interact with a binary companion during their lifetime. We show that such mass changes leave characteristic signatures in stellar mass functions of young star clusters that can be used to infer their ages and to identify products of binary evolution. We model the observed present-day mass functions of the young Galactic Arches and Quintuplet star clusters using our rapid binary evolution code. We find that the shaping of the mass function by stellar wind mass loss allows us to determine the cluster ages as 3.5 ± 0.7 Myr and 4.8 ± 1.1 Myr, respectively. Exploiting the effects of binary mass exchange on the cluster mass function, we find that the most massive stars in both clusters are rejuvenated products of binary mass transfer, i.e., the massive counterpart of classical blue straggler stars. This resolves the problem of an apparent age spread among the most luminous stars exceeding the expected duration of star formation in these clusters. We perform Monte Carlo simulations to probe stochastic sampling, which support the idea of the most massive stars being rejuvenated binary products. We find that the most massive star is expected to be a binary product after 1.0 ± 0.7 Myr in Arches and after 1.7 ± 1.0 Myr in Quintuplet. Today, the most massive 9 ± 3 stars in Arches and 8 ± 3 in Quintuplet are expected to be such objects. Our findings have strong implications for the stellar upper mass limit and solve the discrepancy between the claimed 150 M ⊙ limit and observations of four stars with initial masses of 165-320 M ⊙ in R136 and of supernova 2007bi, which is thought to be a pair-instability supernova from an initial 250 M ⊙ star. Using the stellar population of R136, we revise the upper mass limit to values in the range 200-500 M ⊙.

  15. Climate limits across space and time on European forest structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno, A. L. S.; Neumann, M.; Hasenauer, H.

    2017-12-01

    The impact climate has on forests has been extensively studied. However, the large scale effect climate has on forest structures, such as average diameters, heights and basal area are understudied in a spatially explicit manner. The limits, tipping points and thresholds that climate places on forest structures dictate the services a forest may provide, the vulnerability of a forest to mortality and the potential value of the timber there within. The majority of current research either investigates climate impacts on forest pools and fluxes, on a tree physiological scale or on case studies that are used to extrapolate results and potential impacts. A spatially explicit study on how climate affects forest structure over a large region would give valuable information to stakeholders who are more concerned with ecosystem services that cannot be described by pools and fluxes but require spatially explicit information - such as biodiversity, habitat suitability, and market values. In this study, we quantified the limits that climate (maximum, minimum temperature and precipitation) places on 3 forest structures, diameter at breast height, height, and basal area throughout Europe. Our results show clear climatic zones of high and low upper limits for each forest structure variable studied. We also spatially analyzed how climate restricts the potential bio-physical upper limits and creates tipping points of each forest structure variable and which climate factors are most limiting. Further, we demonstrated how the climate change has affected 8 individual forests across Europe and then the continent as a whole. We find that diameter, height and basal area are limited by climate in different ways and that areas may have high upper limits in one structure and low upper limits in another limitted by different climate variables. We also found that even though individual forests may have increased their potential upper limit forest structure values, European forests as a whole

  16. An upper and lower bound of the Medication Possession Ratio

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sperber CM

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Christian M Sperber, Suren R Samarasinghe, Grace P Lomax Patient Connect Limited, Guildford, UK Background: The Medication Possession Ratio (MPR is a ubiquitous and central measurement for adherence in the health care industry. However, attempts to standardize its calculation have failed, possibly due to the opacity of a single, static MPR, incapability of directly lending itself to a variety of studies, and challenges of comparing the value across studies. This work shows that the MPR strictly depends on the length of the time interval over which it is measured as well as on the dominant dispense quantity for short time intervals. Furthermore, removing a proportion of the patient cohort based on the number of acquisitions may also have a severe impact on the MPR. Therefore, it is suggested that the MPR is represented as a trend over a range of time intervals. To this end, an upper and lower bound of the MPR trend is developed with an upper bound acknowledging patients who change their treatment and the lower bound acknowledging patients who discontinue their treatment.Purpose: Introducing a representation of the MPR value as a trend rather than a static number by developing a quantitative description of an upper and lower bound of the MPR trend, while shedding light on the impacts on prefiltering the patient cohort.Patients and methods: Anonymized patient-level data was utilized as an example for a suggested calculation of an upper and lower bound of the MPR.Results: Representation of the MPR for a predefined time interval precludes a reliable MPR assessment. A quantitative approach is suggested to generate an upper and lower trend of the MPR while emphasizing the impact on removing patients with a limited number of acquisitions.Conclusion: An upper and lower trend makes the MPR more transparent and allows a better comparison across different studies. Removing patients with a limited number of acquisitions should be avoided. Keywords: MPR

  17. Prevalence of upper limb disorders among female librarians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandy, R

    2013-09-01

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

  18. Estimate of the upper limit of amplitude of Solar Cycle No. 23

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silbergleit, V. M; Larocca, P. A [Departamento de Fisica, UBA (Argentina)

    2001-07-01

    AA* indices of values greater than 60 10{sup -9} Tesla are considered in order to characterize geomagnetic storms since the available series of these indices comprise the years from 1868 to 1998 (The longest existing interval of geomagnetic activity). By applying the precursor technique we have performed an analysis of the storm periods and the solar activity, obtaining a good correlation between the number of storms ({alpha})(characterized by the AA* indices) and the amplitudes of each solar cycle ({zeta}) and those of the next ({mu}). Using the multiple regression method applied to {alpha}=A+B{zeta} +C{mu}, the constants are calculated and the values found are: A=-33 {+-}18, B= 0.74{+-}0.13 y C= 0.56{+-}0.13. The present statistical method indicates that the current solar cycle (number 23) would have an upper limit of 202{+-}57 monthy mean sunspots. This value indicates that the solar activity would be high causing important effects on the Earth's environment. [Spanish] Se consideran los valores de los indices AA* de valor mayor que 60 10{sup -9} Tesla para caracterizar tormentas geomagneticas ya que las series disponibles de estos indices van desde 1868 hasta 1998 (el mas largo intervalo de la actividad geomagnetica existente). Aplicando la tecnica del precursor hemos realizado un analisis de los periodos de tormentas y la actividad solar obteniendo una buena correlacion entre el numero de tormentas ({alpha}) (caracterizado por los indices AA*) y las amplitudes de los ciclos solares corriente ({zeta}) y el proximo ({mu}). Usando el metodo de regresion multiple aplicado a {alpha}=A+B{zeta} +C{mu}, las consonantes resultaron: A=-33 {+-}18, B= 0.74{+-}0.13 y C= 0.56{+-}0.13. El metodo estadistico presentado indica que el ciclo actual (numero 23) tendria un pico de 202{+-} 57 manchas mensuales promedio. Este valor indica que la actividad solar seria alta produciendo importantes efectos en el medio ambiente terrestre.

  19. The NANOGrav Nine-year Data Set: Limits on the Isotropic Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background

    OpenAIRE

    Arzoumanian, Zaven; Brazier, Adam; Burke-Spolaor, Sarah; Chamberlin, Sydney; Chatterjee, Shami; Christy, Brian; Cordes, Jim; Cornish, Neil; Demorest, Paul; Deng, Xihao; Dolch, Tim; Ellis, Justin; Ferdman, Rob; Fonseca, Emmanuel; Garver-Daniels, Nate

    2015-01-01

    We compute upper limits on the nanohertz-frequency isotropic stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB) using the 9-year data release from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) collaboration. We set upper limits for a GWB from supermassive black hole binaries under power law, broken power law, and free spectral coefficient GW spectrum models. We place a 95\\% upper limit on the strain amplitude (at a frequency of yr$^{-1}$) in the power law model of $A...

  20. Evidence of lacustrine sedimentation in the Upper Permian Bijori

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The Upper Permian Bijori Formation of the Satpura Gondwana basin comprising fine- to coarsegrained sandstone, carbonaceous shale/mudstone and thin coal bands was previously interpreted as the deposits of meandering rivers. The present study documents abundance of wave ripples, hummocky and swaley ...

  1. The upper and lower limits of the mechanistic stoichiometry of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Stoichiometry of oxidative phosphorylation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beavis, A D; Lehninger, A L

    1986-07-15

    Determination of the intrinsic or mechanistic P/O ratio of oxidative phosphorylation is difficult because of the unknown magnitude of leak fluxes. Applying a new approach developed to overcome this problem (see our preceding paper in this journal), the relationships between the rate of O2 uptake [( Jo)3], the net rate of phosphorylation (Jp), the P/O ratio, and the respiratory control ratio (RCR) have been determined in rat liver mitochondria when the rate of phosphorylation was systematically varied by three specific means. (a) When phosphorylation is titrated with carboxyatractyloside, linear relationships are observed between Jp and (Jo)3. These data indicate that the upper limit of the mechanistic P/O ratio is 1.80 for succinate and 2.90 for 3-hydroxybutyrate oxidation. (b) Titration with malonate or antimycin yields linear relationships between Jp and (Jo)3. These data give the lower limit of the mechanistic P/O ratio of 1.63 for succinate and 2.66 for 3-hydroxybutyrate oxidation. (c) Titration with a protonophore yields linear relationships between Jp, (Jo)3, and (Jo)4 and between P/O and 1/RCR. Extrapolation of the P/O ratio to 1/RCR = 0 yields P/O ratios of 1.75 for succinate and 2.73 for 3-hydroxybutyrate oxidation which must be equal to or greater than the mechanistic stoichiometry. When published values for the H+/O and H+/ATP ejection ratios are taken into consideration, these measurements suggest that the mechanistic P/O ratio is 1.75 for succinate oxidation and 2.75 for NADH oxidation.

  2. Experiment on performance of upper head injection system with ROSA-II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-05-01

    Of the total 10 ROSA-II/UHI performance tests, 6 were reported previously. The rest are presented and discussion is made on the effects of heat generation in the core and UHI injection and repeatability of experiments. In addition, the following are described: (1) Pressure spikes observed in the upper head after sudden stoppage of UHI injection, and (2) discharge flow oscillation possibly due to UHI water injection into the upper plenum. (auth.)

  3. Upper-limb robot-assisted therapy in rehabilitation of acute stroke patients: focused review and results of new randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masiero, Stefano; Armani, Mario; Rosati, Giulio

    2011-01-01

    The successful motor rehabilitation of stroke patients requires early intensive and task-specific therapy. A recent Cochrane Review, although based on a limited number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), showed that early robotic training of the upper limb (i.e., during acute or subacute phase) can enhance motor learning and improve functional abilities more than chronic-phase training. In this article, a new subacute-phase RCT with the Neuro-Rehabilitation-roBot (NeReBot) is presented. While in our first study we used the NeReBot in addition to conventional therapy, in this new trial we used the same device in substitution of standard proximal upper-limb rehabilitation. With this protocol, robot patients achieved similar reductions in motor impairment and enhancements in paretic upper-limb function to those gained by patients in a control group. By analyzing these results and those of previous studies, we hypothesize a new robotic protocol for acute and subacute stroke patients based on both treatment modalities (in addition and in substitution).

  4. Efficiency and limitations of the upper airway mucosa as an air conditioner evaluated from the mechanisms of bronchoconstriction in asthmatic subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konno, A; Terada, N; Okamoto, Y; Togawa, K

    1985-01-01

    To elucidate a limit to the efficiency of the upper airway mucosa as an air conditioner, the temperatures of the inspiratory air and mucosa were measured in the cervical trachea. Both of them were affected only minimally by change of atmospheric air temperature during resting nose breathing, but were affected greatly by change of mode of breathing. During hyperventilation through the mouth, when the atmospheric air temperature was 1 degree C, a temperature difference of 9 degrees C was noted between inspiratory air in the cervical trachea and body temperature, together with a mucosal temperature fall by 1.86 +/- 0.61 degree C. Wearing of a mask caused a rise of 3 degrees C in the inspiratory air temperature in the cervical trachea.

  5. Overcoming limitations in previous research on exercise as a smoking cessation treatment: rationale and design of the "Quit for Health" trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, David M; Ussher, Michael; Dunsiger, Shira; Miranda, Robert; Gwaltney, Chad J; Monti, Peter M; Emerson, Jessica

    2014-01-01

    Aerobic exercise has been proposed as a stand-alone or adjunct smoking cessation treatment, but findings have been mixed. Laboratory studies have shown that individual exercise sessions lead to decreases in withdrawal symptoms and cigarette cravings, but findings are limited by lack of follow-up and artificial settings. On the other hand, smoking cessation treatment RCTs have generally failed to show positive effects of exercise on smoking cessation, but have been plagued by poor and/or unverified compliance with exercise programs. This paper describes the rationale and design for Quit for Health (QFH)--an RCT designed to determine the efficacy of aerobic exercise as an adjunct smoking cessation treatment among women. To overcome limitations of previous research, compliance with the exercise (and wellness contact control) program is incentivized and directly observed, and ecological momentary assessment is used to examine change over time in withdrawal symptoms and cigarette cravings in participants' natural environments. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Upper temperature tolerance of North Atlantic and North Pacific geographical isolates of Chondrus species (Rhodophyta)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lüning, K.; Guiry, M. D.; Masuda, M.

    1987-09-01

    The upper survival temperature for most isolates of Chondrus crispus from localities ranging from northern Norway and Iceland to Spain, and for an isolate from Nova Scotia, was 28 °C after 2 weeks of exposure to temperatures of 20 31 °C at intervals of 1 °C. An upper survival limit of 29 °C was exhibited by a few European isolates from the English Channel, the North Sea, and one Irish isolate from the upper intertidal. The warm-temperate Japanese species C. nipponicus and C. giganteus forma flabellatus survived 30 °C, whereas 29 °C was the upper survival limit for the coldtemperature C. pinnulatus forma pinnulatus from northern Japan. A possible origin of C. crispus in the north Pacific is discussed.

  7. Vibrational energy transfer in selectively excited diatomic molecules. [Relaxation rates, self-relaxation, upper limits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dasch, C.J.

    1978-09-01

    Single rovibrational states of HCl(v=2), HBr(v=2), DCl(v=2), and CO(v=2) were excited with a pulsed optical parametric oscillator (OPO). Total vibrational relaxation rates near - resonance quenchers were measured at 295/sup 0/K using time resolved infrared fluorescence. These rates are attributed primarily to V - V energy transfer, and they generally conform to a simple energy gap law. A small deviation was found for the CO(v) + DCl(v') relaxation rates. Upper limits for the self relaxation by V - R,T of HCl(v=2) and HBr(v=2) and for the two quantum exchange between HCl and HBr were determined. The HF dimer was detected at 295/sup 0/K and 30 torr HF pressure with an optoacoustic spectrometer using the OPO. Pulsed and chopped, resonant and non-resonant spectrophones are analyzed in detail. From experiments and first order perturbation theory, these V - V exchange rates appear to behave as a first order perturbation in the vibrational coordinates. The rotational dynamics are known to be complicated however, and the coupled rotational - vibrational dynamics were investigated theoreticaly in infinite order by the Dillon and Stephenson and the first Magnus approximations. Large ..delta..J transitions appear to be important, but these calculations differ by orders of magnitude on specific rovibrational transition rates. Integration of the time dependent semiclassical equations by a modified Gordon method and a rotationally distorted wave approximation are discussed as methods which would treat the rotational motion more accurately. 225 references.

  8. Observations Of General Learning Patterns In An Upper-Level Thermal Physics Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meltzer, David E.

    2009-11-01

    I discuss some observations from using interactive-engagement instructional methods in an upper-level thermal physics course over a two-year period. From the standpoint of the subject matter knowledge of the upper-level students, there was a striking persistence of common learning difficulties previously observed in students enrolled in the introductory course, accompanied, however, by some notable contrasts between the groups. More broadly, I comment on comparisons and contrasts regarding general pedagogical issues among different student sub-populations, for example: differences in the receptivity of lower- and upper-level students to diagrammatic representations; varying receptivity to tutorial-style instructional approach within the upper-level population; and contrasting approaches to learning among physics and engineering sub-populations in the upper-level course with regard to use of symbolic notation, mathematical equations, and readiness to employ verbal explanations.

  9. A Search for Rarely Seen Ultraviolet Coma Emissions and New Species Upper Limits at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Using the Rosetta-Alice Ultraviolet Spectrograph

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noonan, J.; Stern, S. A.; Parker, J. W.; Keeney, B. A.; Weaver, H. A., Jr.; Feldman, P.; Steffl, A.; Feaga, L. M.; Bertaux, J. L.

    2017-12-01

    The Alice far/extreme-UV spectrograph aboard Rosetta is one of three US instruments provided by NASA; it is the first UV spectrograph to reach any comet. Numerous scientific results have been obtained regarding 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by this instrument. Here we summarize two new sets of results from a search for rarely appearing atomic and molecular spectral emission features and a grand sum spectrum allowing us to place new atomic and molecular neutral and ionized species upper limits in the comet's coma.

  10. Spitzer MIPS Limits on Asteroidal Dust in the Pulsar Planetary System PSR B1257+12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryden, G.; Beichman, C. A.; Rieke, G. H.; Stansberry, J. A.; Stapelfeldt, K. R.; Trilling, D. E.; Turner, N. J.; Wolszczan, A.

    2006-01-01

    With the MIPS camera on Spitzer, we have searched for far-infrared emission from dust in the planetary system orbiting pulsar PSR B1257+12. With accuracies of 0.05 mJy at 24 microns and 1.5 mJy at 70 microns, photometric measurements find no evidence for emission at these wavelengths. These observations place new upper limits on the luminosity of dust with temperatures between 20 and 1000 K. They are particularly sensitive to dust temperatures of 100-200 K, for which they limit the dust luminosity to below 3 x 10(exp -5) of the pulsar's spin-down luminosity, 3 orders of magnitude better than previous limits. Despite these improved constraints on dust emission, an asteroid belt similar to the solar system's cannot be ruled out.

  11. Treatment of upper airway resistance syndrome in adults: Where do we stand?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciana B.M. de Godoy

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the available literature regarding Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS treatment. Methods: Keywords “Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome,” “Sleep-related Breathing Disorder treatment,” “Obstructive Sleep Apnea treatment” and “flow limitation and sleep” were used in main databases. Results: We found 27 articles describing UARS treatment. Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP has been the mainstay therapy prescribed but with limited effectiveness. Studies about surgical treatments had methodological limitations. Oral appliances seem to be effective but their efficacy is not yet established. Conclusion: Randomized controlled trials with larger numbers of patients and long-term follow-up are important to establish UARS treatment options.

  12. The question of an upper bound on entropy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qadir, A.

    1982-08-01

    We discuss the possibility, and significance, of an upper bound on entropy in the light of the arguments of Bekenstein and Unruh and Wald. We obtain a stricter bound than Bekenstein does, and point out some limitations with regard to its significance. (author)

  13. Limits on the scaling of nucleon magnetic moments in nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ericson, T.E.O.; State Univ. of New York, Stony Brook; Richter, A.; State Univ. of New York, Stony Brook

    1987-01-01

    In view of the suggestion that nucleon magnetic moments inside nuclei may be modified due to a rescaling of the nucleon size, we investigate empirically how large such an effect can be. The method is based on a nearly model-independent scaling relation between the axial vector matrix element and the main part of the corresponding magnetic dipole matrix element supplemented by a small and well understood contribution from the one-pion exchange current. Taking the mass A = 3 and 12 systems as examples the upper limit, for such a change of the nucleon magnetic moment inside nuclei is found to be about 2%, considerably smaller than previous estimates in the literature. (orig.)

  14. The upper reference limit for thyroid peroxidase autoantibodies is method-dependent: A collaborative study with biomedical industries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tozzoli, Renato; D'Aurizio, Federica; Ferrari, Anna; Castello, Roberto; Metus, Paolo; Caruso, Beatrice; Perosa, Anna Rosa; Sirianni, Francesca; Stenner, Elisabetta; Steffan, Agostino; Villalta, Danilo

    2016-01-15

    The determination of the upper reference limit (URL) for thyroid peroxidase autoantibodies (TPOAbs) is a contentious issue, because of the difficulty in defining the reference population. The aim of this study was to establish the URL (eURL) for TPOAbs, according to the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (NACB) guidelines and to compare them with those obtained in a female counterpart, by the use of six commercial automated platforms. 120 healthy males and 120 healthy females with NACB-required characteristics (Lumipulse G1200, Fujirebio. Within each method, TPOAbs values had a high degree of dispersion and the eURLs were lower than those stated by the manufacturer. A statistically significant difference (p0.05). Despite the analytical harmonization, the wide dispersion of the results and the differences of the eURLs between methods suggest the need of further studies focusing on TPO antigen preparations as the possible source of variability between different assays. In addition, the lack of clinical significant difference between males and females, in terms of TPOAb eURLs, confirms the suitability of the NACB recommendations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Programmed Death-ligand 1 Expression in Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skala, Stephanie L; Liu, Tzu-Ying; Udager, Aaron M; Weizer, Alon Z; Montgomery, Jeffrey S; Palapattu, Ganesh S; Siddiqui, Javed; Cao, Xuhong; Fields, Kristina; Abugharib, Ahmed E; Soliman, Moaaz; Hafez, Khaled S; Miller, David; Lee, Cheryl T; Alva, Ajjai; Chinnaiyan, Arul M; Morgan, Todd M; Spratt, Daniel E; Jiang, Hui; Mehra, Rohit

    2017-10-01

    Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is the most common malignancy of the urinary tract. Upper tract (renal pelvis and ureter) urothelial carcinomas (UTUC) account for approximately 5% of UCs but a significant subset are invasive and associated with poor clinical outcomes. To evaluate programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in UTUC. UTUC cases from 1997-2016 were retrospectively identified from the surgical pathology database at a single large academic institution. The cohort included 149 cases: 27 low-grade and 24 high-grade pathologic T (pT)a, 29 pT1, 23 pT2, 38 pT3, and eight pT4. PD-L1 immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed on representative whole tumor sections using anti-PD-L1 primary antibody clone 5H1. PD-L1 expression was evaluated using a previously established cut-off for positivity (≥ 5% membranous staining). Association between PD-L1 IHC expression and clinicopathologic parameters was examined with Fisher's exact test; the effect of PD-L1 expression on cancer-specific mortality was assessed using the Cox proportional hazard model. Approximately one-third (32.7%) of invasive primary UTUC and 23.5% of all primary UTUC (invasive and noninvasive tumors) demonstrated positive PD-L1 expression. Positive PD-L1 expression was associated with high histologic grade, high pathologic stage, and angiolymphatic invasion. Cancer-specific survival was not significantly associated with positive PD-L1 expression using a 5% cut-off. Study limitations include the retrospective nature and the fact that PD-L1 expression by IHC is an imperfect surrogate for response to therapy. Positive PD-L1 expression in approximately one-third of primary invasive UTUC and association with high-risk clinicopathologic features provide a rational basis for further investigation of PD-L1-based immunotherapeutics in these patients. Upper tract urothelial carcinoma is often associated with poor clinical outcome. While current treatment options for advanced upper tract urothelial carcinoma are

  16. Upper limits to the detection of ammonia from protoplanetary disks around HL Tauri and L1551-IRS 5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez, Jose F.; Torrelles, Jose M.; Ho, Paul T. P.; Rodriguez, Luis F.; Canto, Jorge

    1993-01-01

    We present NH3(1, 1) and (2, 2) observations of the young stellar sources HL Tau and L1551-IRS 5 using the VLA in its B-configuration, which provides an angular resolution of about 0.4 arcsec (about 50 AU at 140 pc) at 1.3 cm wavelength. Our goal was to detect and resolve circumstellar molecular disks with radius of the order of 100 AU around these two sources. No ammonia emission was detected toward either of them. The 3-sigma levels were 2.7 mJy/beam and 3.9 mJy/beam for HL Tau and L1551-IRS 5, respectively, with a velocity resolution of about 5 km/s. With this nondetection, we estimate upper limits to the mass of the proposed protoplanetary molecular disks (within a radius of 10 AU from the central stars) on the order of 0.02/(X(NH3)/10 exp -8) solar mass for HL Tau and 0.1/(X(NH3)/10 exp -8) solar mass for L1551-IRS 5.

  17. A short overview of upper limb rehabilitation devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macovei, S.; Doroftei, I.

    2016-08-01

    As some studies show, the number of people over 65 years old increases constantly, leading to the need of solution to provide services regarding patient mobility. Diseases, accidents and neurologic problems affect hundreds of people every day, causing pain and lost of motor functions. The ability of using the upper limb is indispensable for a human being in everyday activities, making easy tasks like drinking a glass of water a real challenge. We can agree that physiotherapy promotes recovery, but not at an optimal level, due to limited financial and human resources. Hence, the need of robot-assisted rehabilitation emerges. A robot for upper-limb exercises should have a design that can accurately control interaction forces and progressively adapt assistance to the patients’ abilities and also to record the patient's motion and evolution. In this paper a short overview of upper limb rehabilitation devices is presented. Our goal is to find the shortcomings of the current developed devices in terms of utility, ease of use and costs, for future development of a mechatronic system for upper limb rehabilitation.

  18. Accuracy Limitations in Optical Linear Algebra Processors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batsell, Stephen Gordon

    1990-01-01

    One of the limiting factors in applying optical linear algebra processors (OLAPs) to real-world problems has been the poor achievable accuracy of these processors. Little previous research has been done on determining noise sources from a systems perspective which would include noise generated in the multiplication and addition operations, noise from spatial variations across arrays, and from crosstalk. In this dissertation, we propose a second-order statistical model for an OLAP which incorporates all these system noise sources. We now apply this knowledge to determining upper and lower bounds on the achievable accuracy. This is accomplished by first translating the standard definition of accuracy used in electronic digital processors to analog optical processors. We then employ our second-order statistical model. Having determined a general accuracy equation, we consider limiting cases such as for ideal and noisy components. From the ideal case, we find the fundamental limitations on improving analog processor accuracy. From the noisy case, we determine the practical limitations based on both device and system noise sources. These bounds allow system trade-offs to be made both in the choice of architecture and in individual components in such a way as to maximize the accuracy of the processor. Finally, by determining the fundamental limitations, we show the system engineer when the accuracy desired can be achieved from hardware or architecture improvements and when it must come from signal pre-processing and/or post-processing techniques.

  19. WORK RELATED MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS OF THE UPPER LIMBS AMONG STEEL INDUSTRY POPULATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. A. Moussavi-Najarkola A. Khavanin

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available For high occurrences of upper extremity disorders in working populations and in order to compare the occurrence of musculoskeletal alterations due to ergonomic risk factors such as highly force exertion, repetition, awkward posture between exposed and non-exposed groups, the research was carried out in Tabarestan steel industry. All 526 male workers (316 as exposed group : 132 aged 20-35 years, 184 aged >35 years; 210 as Non-exposed group: 89 aged 20-35 years, 121 aged > 35 years performing tasks exposed / not exposed to risk factors for WMSDS of the upper limbs underwent a clinical examinations as well as completing standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaires. The anamnestic cases were defined on the basis of pain, paraesthesia, hyposthenia, and vegetative disorders during previous months. Mean age of exposed and non- exposed groups were obtained 36.3 years (SD= 5.9 and 37.9 years (SD = 7.3 respectively. There were distinguished differences in occurrences of WMSDS of upper limbs between two mentioned groups. The major occurrence was found for the right and left hands. Nocturnal and diurnal paraesthesia obtained an occurrence of about 54% and 53% respectively. Data bears witness to the greater occurrence of affected individuals in exposed group, with a non- exposed / exposed ratio of 1:7.2. The greater occurrences of affected individuals in exposed group (P = 0.006 and in subjects>35 years (P = 0.002 were significant. Structural, organizational and educational measures can be applied to prevent WMSDS or diminish the relative effects to acceptable limit.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-02-01

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

  1. Improved upper limits on B(KL0 → μe) and B(KL0 → ee) and a new value for B(KL0 → μμ)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Molzon, W.R.

    1998-01-01

    The author gives recent results from E791 at BNL with improved upper limits on the branching fractions B(K L 0 → μe) and B(K L 0 → ee) of 8.5 x 10 -11 and 11.6 x 10 -11 at 90% C.L. He also gives a preliminary result of a new measurement B(K L 0 → μμ) = 7.6 ± 0.5(stat) ± 0.4(syst) x 10 -9

  2. Summary and evaluation of hydraulic property data available for the Hanford Site upper basalt confined aquifer system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spane, F.A. Jr.; Vermeul, V.R.

    1994-09-01

    Pacific Northwest Laboratory, as part of the Hanford Site Ground-Water Surveillance Project, examines the potential for offsite migration of contamination within the upper basalt confined aquifer system. For the past 40 years, hydrologic testing of the upper basalt confined aquifer has been conducted by a number of Hanford Site programs. Hydraulic property estimates are important for evaluating aquifer flow characteristics (i.e., ground-water flow patterns, flow velocity, transport travel time). Presented are the first comprehensive Hanford Site-wide summary of hydraulic properties for the upper basalt confined aquifer system (i.e., the upper Saddle Mountains Basalt). Available hydrologic test data were reevaluated using recently developed diagnostic test analysis methods. A comparison of calculated transmissivity estimates indicates that, for most test results, a general correspondence within a factor of two between reanalysis and previously reported test values was obtained. For a majority of the tests, previously reported values are greater than reanalysis estimates. This overestimation is attributed to a number of factors, including, in many cases, a misapplication of nonleaky confined aquifer analysis methods in previous analysis reports to tests that exhibit leaky confined aquifer response behavior. Results of the test analyses indicate a similar range for transmissivity values for the various hydro-geologic units making up the upper basalt confined aquifer. Approximately 90% of the calculated transmissivity values for upper basalt confined aquifer hydrogeologic units occur within the range of 10 0 to 10 2 m 2 /d, with 65% of the calculated estimate values occurring between 10 1 to 10 2 m 2 d. These summary findings are consistent with the general range of values previously reported for basalt interflow contact zones and sedimentary interbeds within the Saddle Mountains Basalt

  3. Are altitudinal limits of equatorial stream insects reflected in their respiratory performance?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Dean; Brodersen, Klaus Peter

    2008-01-01

    .6 between genera at 17 °C, and from 1.3 to 2.5 at 5 °C. Q10 values for this temperature interval ranged 1.5-2.9 (mean 2.3). The two "high-altitude" genera had higher respiration rates at low temperature and oxygen saturation, and their respiration rate saturated at lower temperatures, than three of the four......-term physiological tolerance of low temperature and oxygen concentration. 5. Multiple regressions (based on respiration experiments and previously obtained relationships between water temperature, oxygen saturation and altitude) were used to predict how respiration rates should vary with altitude. At the upper limit...... saturation. Further quantitative and long-term studies on survival and recruitment in populations and communities are needed to determine the importance of temperature and oxygen for altitudinal limits of aquatic insects....

  4. Are Price Limits Effective? An Examination of an Artificial Stock Market.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaotao; Ping, Jing; Zhu, Tao; Li, Yuelei; Xiong, Xiong

    2016-01-01

    We investigated the inter-day effects of price limits policies that are employed in agent-based simulations. To isolate the impact of price limits from the impact of other factors, we built an artificial stock market with higher frequency price limits hitting. The trading mechanisms in this market are the same as the trading mechanisms in China's stock market. Then, we designed a series of simulations with and without price limits policy. The results of these simulations demonstrate that both upper and lower price limits can cause a volatility spillover effect and a trading interference effect. The process of price discovery will be delayed if upper price limits are imposed on a stock market; however, this phenomenon does not occur when lower price limits are imposed.

  5. Overcoming Limitations in Previous Research on Exercise as a Smoking Cessation Treatment: Rationale and Design of the “Quit for Health” Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, David M.; Ussher, Michael; Dunsiger, Shira; Miranda, Robert; Gwaltney, Chad J.; Monti, Peter M.; Emerson, Jessica

    2013-01-01

    Aerobic exercise has been proposed as a stand-alone or adjunct smoking cessation treatment, but findings have been mixed. Laboratory studies have shown that individual exercise sessions lead to decreases in withdrawal symptoms and cigarette cravings, but findings are limited by lack of follow-up and artificial settings. On the other hand, smoking cessation treatment RCTs have generally failed to show positive effects of exercise on smoking cessation, but have been plagued by poor and/or unverified compliance with exercise programs. This paper describes the rationale and design for Quit for Health (QFH)—an RCT designed to determine the efficacy of aerobic exercise as an adjunct smoking cessation treatment among women. To overcome limitations of previous research, compliance with the exercise (and wellness contact control) program is incentivized and directly observed, and ecological momentary assessment is used to examine change over time in withdrawal symptoms and cigarette cravings in participants’ natural environments. PMID:24246818

  6. Early Hydrodynamic Escape Limits Rocky Planets to Less Than or Equal to 1.6 Earth Radii

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehmer, O. R.; Catling, D. C.

    2017-01-01

    In the past decade thousands of exoplanet candidates and hundreds of confirmed exoplanets have been found. For sub-Neptune-sized planets, those less than approx. 10 Earth masses, we can separate planets into two broad categories: predominantly rocky planets, and gaseous planets with thick volatile sheaths. Observations and subsequent analysis of these planets show that rocky planets are only found with radii less than approx. 1.6 Earth radii. No rocky planet has yet been found that violates this limit. We propose that hydrodynamic escape of hydrogen rich protoatmospheres, accreted by forming planets, explains the limit in rocky planet size. Following the hydrodynamic escape model employed by Luger et al. (2015), we modelled the XUV driven escape from young planets (less than approx.100 Myr in age) around a Sun-like star. With a simple, first-order model we found that the rocky planet radii limit occurs consistently at approx. 1.6 Earth radii across a wide range of plausible parameter spaces. Our model shows that hydrodynamic escape can explain the observed cutoff between rocky and gaseous planets. Fig. 1 shows the results of our model for rocky planets between 0.5 and 10 Earth masses that accrete 3 wt. % H2/He during formation. The simulation was run for 100 Myr, after that time the XUV flux drops off exponentially and hydrodynamic escape drops with it. A cutoff between rocky planets and gaseous ones is clearly seen at approx. 1.5-1.6 Earth radii. We are only interested in the upper size limit for rocky planets. As such, we assumed pure hydrogen atmospheres and the highest possible isothermal atmospheric temperatures, which will produce an upper limit on the hydrodynamic loss rate. Previous work shows that a reasonable approximation for an upper temperature limit in a hydrogen rich protoatmosphere is 2000-3000 K, consistent with our assumptions. From these results, we propose that the observed dichotomy between mini-Neptunes and rocky worlds is simply explained by

  7. An upper limit for slow-earthquake zones: self-oscillatory behavior through the Hopf bifurcation mechanism from a spring-block model under lubricated surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castellanos-Rodríguez, Valentina; Campos-Cantón, Eric; Barboza-Gudiño, Rafael; Femat, Ricardo

    2017-08-01

    The complex oscillatory behavior of a spring-block model is analyzed via the Hopf bifurcation mechanism. The mathematical spring-block model includes Dieterich-Ruina's friction law and Stribeck's effect. The existence of self-sustained oscillations in the transition zone - where slow earthquakes are generated within the frictionally unstable region - is determined. An upper limit for this region is proposed as a function of seismic parameters and frictional coefficients which are concerned with presence of fluids in the system. The importance of the characteristic length scale L, the implications of fluids, and the effects of external perturbations in the complex dynamic oscillatory behavior, as well as in the stationary solution, are take into consideration.

  8. Limits of computational white-light holography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mader, Sebastian; Kozacki, Tomasz; Tompkin, Wayne

    2013-01-01

    Recently, computational holograms are being used in applications, where previously conventional holograms were applied. Compared to conventional holography, computational holography is based on imaging of virtual objects instead of real objects, which renders them somewhat more flexibility. Here, computational holograms are calculated based on the superposition of point sources, which are placed at the mesh vertices of arbitrary 3D models. The computed holograms have full parallax and exhibit a problem in viewing that we have called g hosting , which is linked to the viewing of computational holograms based on 3D models close to the image plane. Experimental white-light reconstruction of these holograms showed significant blurring, which is explained here based on simulations of the lateral as well as the axial resolution of a point image with respect to the source spectrum and image distance. In accordance with these simulations, an upper limit of the distance to the image plane is determined, which ensures high quality imaging.

  9. On the temperature dependence of flammability limits of gases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kondo, Shigeo; Takizawa, Kenji; Takahashi, Akifumi; Tokuhashi, Kazuaki

    2011-03-15

    Flammability limits of several combustible gases were measured at temperatures from 5 to 100 °C in a 12-l spherical flask basically following ASHRAE method. The measurements were done for methane, propane, isobutane, ethylene, propylene, dimethyl ether, methyl formate, 1,1-difluoroethane, ammonia, and carbon monoxide. As the temperature rises, the lower flammability limits are gradually shifted down and the upper limits are shifted up. Both the limits shift almost linearly to temperature within the range examined. The linear temperature dependence of the lower flammability limits is explained well using a limiting flame temperature concept at the lower concentration limit (LFL)--'White's rule'. The geometric mean of the flammability limits has been found to be relatively constant for many compounds over the temperature range studied (5-100 °C). Based on this fact, the temperature dependence of the upper flammability limit (UFL) can be predicted reasonably using the temperature coefficient calculated for the LFL. However, some compounds such as ethylene and dimethyl ether, in particular, have a more complex temperature dependence. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Upper Bound for Neutron Emission from Sonoluminescing Bubbles in Deuterated Acetone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Camara, C. G.; Putterman, S. J.; Hopkins, S. D.; Suslick, K. S.

    2007-01-01

    An experimental search for nuclear fusion inside imploding bubbles of degassed deuterated acetone at 0 degree sign C driven by a 15 atm sound field and seeded with a neutron generator reveals an upper bound that is a factor of 10 000 less than the signal reported by Taleyarkhan et al. The strength of our upper bound is limited by the weakness of sonoluminescence, which we ascribe to the relatively high vapor pressure of acetone

  11. Implications from the Upper Limit of Radio Afterglow Emission of FRB 131104/Swift J0644.5-5111

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, He; Zhang, Bing

    2017-02-01

    A γ-ray transient, Swift J0644.5-5111, has been claimed to be associated with FRB 131104. However, a long-term radio imaging follow-up observation only placed an upper limit on the radio afterglow flux of Swift J0644.5-5111. Applying the external shock model, we perform a detailed constraint on the afterglow parameters for the FRB 131104/Swift J0644.5-5111 system. We find that for the commonly used microphysics shock parameters (e.g., {ɛ }e=0.1, {ɛ }B=0.01, and p = 2.3), if the fast radio burst (FRB) is indeed cosmological as inferred from its measured dispersion measure (DM), the ambient medium number density should be ≤slant {10}-3 {{cm}}-3, which is the typical value for a compact binary merger environment but disfavors a massive star origin. Assuming a typical ISM density, one would require that the redshift of the FRB be much smaller than the value inferred from DM (z\\ll 0.1), implying a non-cosmological origin of DM. The constraints are much looser if one adopts smaller {ɛ }B and {ɛ }e values, as observed in some gamma-ray burst afterglows. The FRB 131104/Swift J0644.5-5111 association remains plausible. We critically discuss possible progenitor models for the system.

  12. Evaluation of Forming Limit by the 3 Dimensional Local Bifurcation Theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishimura, Ryuichi; Nakazawa, Yoshiaki; Ito, Koichi; Uemura, Gen; Mori, Naomichi

    2007-01-01

    A theoretical prediction and evaluation method for the sheet metal formability is developed on the basis of the three-dimensional local bifurcation theory previously proposed by authors. The forming limit diagram represented on the plane defined by the ratio of stress component to work-hardening rate is perfectly independent of plastic strain history. The upper and the lower limit of the sheet formability are indicated by the 3D critical line and the Stoeren-Rice's critical line on this plane, respectively. In order to verify the above mentioned behavior of the proposed forming limit diagram, the experimental research is also conducted. From the standpoint of the mechanical instability theory, a new concept called instability factor is introduced. It represents a degree of acceleration by current stress for developing the local bifurcation mode toward a fracture. The instability factor provides a method to evaluate a forming allowance which is useful to appropriate identification for a forming limit and to optimize the forming condition. The proposed criterion provides not only the moment to initiate the necking but also the local bifurcation mode vector and the direction of necking line

  13. Fundamental limitations of cavity-assisted atom interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dovale-Álvarez, M.; Brown, D. D.; Jones, A. W.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Miao, H.; Freise, A.

    2017-11-01

    Atom interferometers employing optical cavities to enhance the beam splitter pulses promise significant advances in science and technology, notably for future gravitational wave detectors. Long cavities, on the scale of hundreds of meters, have been proposed in experiments aiming to observe gravitational waves with frequencies below 1 Hz, where laser interferometers, such as LIGO, have poor sensitivity. Alternatively, short cavities have also been proposed for enhancing the sensitivity of more portable atom interferometers. We explore the fundamental limitations of two-mirror cavities for atomic beam splitting, and establish upper bounds on the temperature of the atomic ensemble as a function of cavity length and three design parameters: the cavity g factor, the bandwidth, and the optical suppression factor of the first and second order spatial modes. A lower bound to the cavity bandwidth is found which avoids elongation of the interaction time and maximizes power enhancement. An upper limit to cavity length is found for symmetric two-mirror cavities, restricting the practicality of long baseline detectors. For shorter cavities, an upper limit on the beam size was derived from the geometrical stability of the cavity. These findings aim to aid the design of current and future cavity-assisted atom interferometers.

  14. Studies towards the data acquisition of the PANDA experiment and measurement of a new upper limit of the production cross section of p anti p→hc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, Milan Nicolas

    2016-01-01

    The PANDA experiment will be one of the main future FAIR experiments located at Darmstadt, Germany. It has a challenging concept of a new type of Data Acquisition (DAQ) including the full online reconstruction and filtering as well as a high precision synchronization mechanism. The new concept is needed due to a high data rate of 200 GB/s, which has to be reduced by three orders of magnitude before storing. In this thesis the prototype trigger-less DAQ, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) based system is presented. As a scalable system, it includes first parts of the final DAQ. Thus it is the first system allowing studies of the full DAQ-chain, including the synchronization mechanism. Furthermore, the functionalities during an in-beam environment test of the prototype of the PANDA electromagnetic calorimeter were investigated. This test showed that the PTDAQ can be used as a DAQ in prototype tests. In addition to hardware and firmware development, simulations of benchmark channels are crucial to extract filtering possibilities. Therefore the knowledge of the production cross section is necessary. In the framework of this thesis a new upper limit of the production cross section σ(p anti p→h c ) was extracted. h c is one of the most unknown charmonium states, and it is not possible to produce pure h c in one of the other ''charm factories'' directly. For this purpose, the branching ratio of the decay B(h c →p anti p)<5.6.10 -5 rate at 90% C.L. was determined. For this, data from the BES III experiment located at the BEPCII accelerator in Beijing, China was used. h c was produced in the decay of the ψ(2S) charmonium resonance, which itself was produced in e + e - collisions. A data set of (447.9±2.8).10 6 ψ(2S)-events was used for this analysis. The new upper limit of the cross section σ(p anti p→h c )<32 nb rate at 90% C.L. was calculated by using the method of detailed balance. Furthermore, the lower limit of the integrated

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, R.M.

    1987-01-01

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

  16. 75 FR 43092 - Airworthiness Directives; Viking Air Limited (Type Certificate Previously Held by Bombardier, Inc...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-23

    ... completed a system safety review of the aircraft fuel system against fuel tank safety standards introduced... Limited has completed a system safety review of the aircraft fuel system against fuel tank safety... describes the unsafe condition as: Viking Air Limited has completed a system safety review of the aircraft...

  17. Prevention of upper limb symptoms and signs of nerve afflictions in computer operators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Riis Jepsen, Jørgen; Thomsen, Gert

    2008-01-01

    could be drawn regarding the relation to the intervention of this reduction. Incident pain correlated to findings in accordance with the three locations of nerve affliction. CONCLUSION: A six month course of stretching seems to reduce upper limb symptoms in computer operators but we could......ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: In a previous study of computer operators we have demonstrated the relation of upper limb pain to individual and patterns of neurological findings (reduced function of muscles, sensory deviations from normal and mechanical allodynia of nerve trunks). The identified patterns......, respectively, computer operators in two divisions of an engineering consultancy company were invited to answer a questionnaire on upper limb symptoms and to undergo a blinded neurological examination. Participants in one division were subsequently instructed to participate in an upper limb stretching course...

  18. Reflections on the present and future of upper limb prostheses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farina, Dario; Amsüss, Sebastian

    2016-01-01

    Despite progress in research and media attention on active upper limb prostheses, presently the most common commercial upper limb prosthetic devices are not fundamentally different from solutions offered almost one century ago. Limited information transfer for both control and sensory-motor integration and challenges in socket technology have been major obstacles. By analysing the present state-of-the-art and academic achievements, we provide our opinion on the future of upper limb prostheses. We believe that surgical procedures for muscle reinnervation and osseointegration will become increasingly clinically relevant; muscle electrical signals will remain the main clinical means for prosthetic control; and chronic electrode implants, first in muscles (control), then in nerves (sensory feedback), will become viable clinical solutions. After decades of suspended clinically relevant progress, it is foreseeable that a new generation of upper limb prostheses will enter the market in the near future based on such advances, thereby offering substantial clinical benefit for patients.

  19. Repeated measures of recent headache, neck and upper back pain in Australian adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimmer, K; Nyland, L; Milanese, S

    2006-07-01

    The epidemiological and clinical literature identifies strong associations between adult headache, cervical and thoracic spine dysfunction and spinal posture. This paper reports on the prevalence and incidence of headache, neck and upper back pain which occurred in the previous week, in urban Australians aged 13-17 years. Commencing in 1999, we followed a cohort of South Australian students through 5 years of secondary schooling. Of our commencing cohort of students, 132 (30%) provided data on bodily pain every year. For both girls and boys, there was a significantly decreasing prevalence of headache over the study period, while neck pain and upper back pain increased. There was a significantly increasing trend over time for boys with upper back pain. Twenty percent of girls and boys consistently reported headache, neck pain or upper back pain over 5 years. The progression of early adolescent headaches to mid-adolescent neck and upper back pain potentially reflects the adolescents' biomechanical responses to intrinsic and extrinsic imposts. This requires further investigation to understand the causes of adolescent headache, neck and upper thoracic pain.

  20. 75 FR 70106 - Airworthiness Directives; Viking Air Limited (Type Certificate Previously Held by Bombardier, Inc...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-17

    ... states: Viking Air Limited has completed a system safety review of the aircraft fuel system against fuel... safety review of the aircraft fuel system against fuel tank safety standards introduced in Chapter 525 of... describes the unsafe condition as: Viking Air Limited has completed a system safety review of the aircraft...

  1. Trends in Acute Nonvariceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Dialysis Patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Ju-Yeh; Lee, Tsung-Chun; Montez-Rath, Maria E.; Paik, Jane; Chertow, Glenn M.; Desai, Manisha

    2012-01-01

    Impaired kidney function is a risk factor for upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, an event associated with poor outcomes. The burden of upper GI bleeding and its effect on patients with ESRD are not well described. Using data from the US Renal Data System, we quantified the rates of occurrence of and associated 30-day mortality from acute, nonvariceal upper GI bleeding in patients undergoing dialysis; we used medical claims and previously validated algorithms where available. Overall, 948,345 patients contributed 2,296,323 patient-years for study. The occurrence rates for upper GI bleeding were 57 and 328 episodes per 1000 person-years according to stringent and lenient definitions of acute, nonvariceal upper GI bleeding, respectively. Unadjusted occurrence rates remained flat (stringent) or increased (lenient) from 1997 to 2008; after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics and comorbid conditions, however, we found a significant decline for both definitions (linear approximation, 2.7% and 1.5% per year, respectively; Pupper GI bleeding episodes and were more likely to receive blood transfusions during an episode. Overall 30-day mortality was 11.8%, which declined significantly over time (relative declines of 2.3% or 2.8% per year for the stringent and lenient definitions, respectively). In summary, despite declining trends worldwide, crude rates of acute, nonvariceal upper GI bleeding among patients undergoing dialysis have not decreased in the past 10 years. Although 30-day mortality related to upper GI bleeding declined, perhaps reflecting improvements in medical care, the burden on the ESRD population remains substantial. PMID:22266666

  2. Regeneration of upper-elevation red oak in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

    Science.gov (United States)

    William B. Leak; Mariko. Yamasaki

    2013-01-01

    Northern red oak occurs in limited amounts with a mixture of softwoods on the shallow soils at upper elevations in northern New England. These stands are important for wildlife habitat and forest diversity as well as a modest amount of timber harvesting. Little experience or research is available on how to regenerate upper-elevation oak. However, an examination of a 35...

  3. Design and modeling of an SJ infrared solar cell approaching upper limit of theoretical efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahoo, G. S.; Mishra, G. P.

    2018-01-01

    Recent trends of photovoltaics account for the conversion efficiency limit making them more cost effective. To achieve this we have to leave the golden era of silicon cell and make a path towards III-V compound semiconductor groups to take advantages like bandgap engineering by alloying these compounds. In this work we have used a low bandgap GaSb material and designed a single junction (SJ) cell with a conversion efficiency of 32.98%. SILVACO ATLAS TCAD simulator has been used to simulate the proposed model using both Ray Tracing and Transfer Matrix Method (under 1 sun and 1000 sun of AM1.5G spectrum). A detailed analyses of photogeneration rate, spectral response, potential developed, external quantum efficiency (EQE), internal quantum efficiency (IQE), short-circuit current density (JSC), open-circuit voltage (VOC), fill factor (FF) and conversion efficiency (η) are discussed. The obtained results are compared with previously reported SJ solar cell reports.

  4. Improved limit on the branching fraction of the rare decay K{sup 0}{sub S} → μ{sup +}μ{sup -}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aaij, R. [European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva (Switzerland); Adeva, B. [Santiago de Compostela Univ. (Spain); Adinolfi, M. [Bristol Univ. (United Kingdom). H.H. Wills Physics Lab.; Collaboration: LHCb Collaboration; and others

    2017-10-15

    A search for the decay K{sup 0}{sub S} → μ{sup +}μ{sup -} is performed, based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb{sup -1}, collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. The observed yield is consistent with the background-only hypothesis, yielding a limit on the branching fraction of B(K{sup 0}{sub S} → μ{sup +}μ{sup -}) < 0.8 (1.0) x 10{sup -9} at 90% (95%) confidence level. This result improves the previous upper limit on the branching fraction by an order of magnitude. (orig.)

  5. Approaching the Shockley-Queisser limit: General assessment of the main limiting mechanisms in photovoltaic cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vossier, Alexis; Gualdi, Federico; Dollet, Alain; Ares, Richard; Aimez, Vincent

    2015-01-01

    In principle, the upper efficiency limit of any solar cell technology can be determined using the detailed-balance limit formalism. However, “real” solar cells show efficiencies which are always below this theoretical value due to several limiting mechanisms. We study the ability of a solar cell architecture to approach its own theoretical limit, using a novel index introduced in this work, and the amplitude with which the different limiting mechanisms affect the cell efficiency is scrutinized as a function of the electronic gap and the illumination level to which the cell is submitted. The implications for future generations of solar cells aiming at an improved conversion of the solar spectrum are also addressed

  6. Palms and Palm Communities in the Upper Ucayali River Valley - a Little-Known Region in the Amazon Basin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Balslev, Henrik; Eiserhardt, Wolf L.; Kristiansen, Thea

    2010-01-01

    The Amazon region and its palms are inseparable. Palms make up such an important part of the rain forest ecosystem that it is impossible to imagine the Amazon basin without them. Palms are visible in the canopy and often fill up the forest understory. Palms – because of their edible fruits...... – are cornerstone species for the survival of many animals, and palms contribute substantially to forest inventories in which they are often among the ten most important families. Still, the palms and palm communities of some parts of the Amazon basin remain poorly studied and little known. We travelled to a little......-explored corner of the western Amazon basin, the upper Ucayali river valley. There, we encountered 56 different palms, 18 of which had not been registered for the region previously, and 21 of them were found 150–400 km beyond their previously known limits....

  7. ORIGINAL ARTICLE ORIG ORIG CT for upper abdominal pathology ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ORIG. 14. SA JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY • March 2007. ORIG. Abstract. Background. Current practice at our institution for routine abdominal. CT includes coverage from the diaphragm to the symphysis pubis and therefore includes pelvic organs. Limited upper abdominal imaging exists in other modalities, and tailoring the ...

  8. [Does the antisecretory agent used affect the evolution of upper digestive hemorrhage?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortí, E; Canelles, P; Quiles, F; Zapater, R; Cuquerella, J; Ariete, V; Tomé, A; Medina, E

    1995-06-01

    To investigate whether omeprazole has improved morbidity-mortality among patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding of non-variceal origin in comparison with ranitidine. Prospective, randomized and open study. We study 519 consecutive patients admitted to our Service between June 1991 and January 1993 for upper gastrointestinal bleeding of peptic origin, dividing the patients into two randomized groups that were homogeneous in terms of age, sex, previous history of gastric disease and upper gastrointestinal bleeding, intake of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs, and the severity of bleeding on admittance. Thus, Group A consisted of 252 patients treated immediately upon arrival at the emergency ward with 50 mg intravenous ranitidine, followed by a further 50 mg every 6 hours. Group B in turn consisted of 267 patients initially given a bolus dose of 80 mg omeprazole intravenously, followed by an additional 40 mg every 8 hours for 48 hours. Forty mg were subsequently administered every 12 hours until hospital discharge. Endoscopy was performed in all cases within the first 24 hours following admittance, those patients with active upper gastrointestinal bleeding resulted from Forrest-type ulcer of subjected to endoscopic sclerotherapy were excluded. Duodenal ulcer was the most common cause of bleeding, followed by gastric ulcer and acute lesions of the mucosa. Emphasis should be placed on the high incidence of previous non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug intake in our series (54.5%). We encountered no statistically significant differences between the two groups on comparing bleeding stigmata, transfusion requirements, recurrences, emergency surgery, the duration of hospital stay, and mortality. Both drugs were found to possess a similar efficacy in treating upper gastrointestinal bleeding of peptic origin.

  9. Upper bound of abutment scour in laboratory and field data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benedict, Stephen

    2016-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, conducted a field investigation of abutment scour in South Carolina and used those data to develop envelope curves that define the upper bound of abutment scour. To expand on this previous work, an additional cooperative investigation was initiated to combine the South Carolina data with abutment scour data from other sources and evaluate upper bound patterns with this larger data set. To facilitate this analysis, 446 laboratory and 331 field measurements of abutment scour were compiled into a digital database. This extensive database was used to evaluate the South Carolina abutment scour envelope curves and to develop additional envelope curves that reflected the upper bound of abutment scour depth for the laboratory and field data. The envelope curves provide simple but useful supplementary tools for assessing the potential maximum abutment scour depth in the field setting.

  10. Neutron-star mass limit in the bimetric theory of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caporaso, G.; Brecher, K.

    1977-01-01

    The ''neutron''-star upper mass limit is examined in Rosen's bimetric theory of gravitation. An exact solution, approximate scaling law, and numerical integration of the hydrostatic equilibrium equation show the dependence of the mass limit on the assumed equation of state. As in general relativity, that limit varies roughly as 1/√rho 0 , where rho 0 is the density above which the equation of state becomes ''stiff.'' Unlike general relativity, the stiffer the equation of state, the higher the mass limit. For rho 0 = 2 x 10 14 g/cm 3 and P = (rho - rho 0 ) c 2 , we found M/sub max/ = 81M/sub sun/. This mass is consistent with causality and experimental tests of gravitation and nuclear physics. For dp/drho > c 2 it appears that the upper mass limit can become arbitrarily large

  11. Crocodilian faunal renewal in the Upper Oligocene of Western Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antunes, Miguel Telles; Cahuzac, Bruno

    1999-01-01

    The presence of Tomistomine Crocodilians ( Tomistoma sp.) is first recorded in the Upper Oligocene of Western Europe (Chattian, Saint-Geours-de-Maremne, Aquitaine basin). Immigration, probably of Asiatic origin, occurred ca. 26 Ma, prior to the previously earliest records for Lowermost Miocene. Tomistoma points to warm, at least subtropical environments, in agreement with data on invertebrates and fish fauna. Immigrations to Western Europe of Tomistoma (and of Gavialis, in Miocene times) during Upper Oligocene and Lower-Middle Miocene seem related to climatic warming and eustatic rise events. There was a renewal of the European Crocodilian fauna, much impoverished in Late Eocene and reduced to Diplocynodon.

  12. A limit of the anisotropy of the microwave background radiation on arc minute scales

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Readhead, A.C.S.; Lawrence, C.R.; Myers, S.T.; Sargent, W.L.W.; Hardebeck, H.E.

    1989-01-01

    After adjustment for observational parameters, various models predict an upper anisotropy limit of microwave background radiation of delta T/T less than 0.00017 at the 95 percent confidence level for uncorrelated patches of sky that are uniform on a 2-arcsec scale. This limit is more than a factor of 2 lower than previous limits on comparable angular scales. Results obtained assuming Gaussian fluctuations place useful constraints on models of galaxy formation based on adiabatic or isocurvature fluctuations in baryonic matter, provided that any reionization of the intergalactic medium occurred at z less than 40. Adiabatic models are ruled out with greater than 95 percent confidence, and isocurvature models with Omega less than 0.8 are inconsistent with the measured limits. Nonbaryonic models with early reionization predict anisotropy levels up to a factor of 3 below the present limit. The lowest predictions come from models with biased galaxy formation, nonbaryonic matter, and early reionization and are as much as a factor of 10 below the present sensitivity limit. The predictions of most popular contending theories of galaxy formation are within reach of the techniques used in this study. 112 refs

  13. Limit on mass differences in the Weinberg model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veltman, M.J.G.

    1977-01-01

    Within the Weinberg model mass differences between members of a multiplet generate further mass differences between the neutral and charged vector bosons. The experimental situation on the Weinberg model leads to an upper limit of about 800 GeV on mass differences within a multiplet. No limit on the

  14. Radioecological survey of the Belgian upper part of the Meuse river during the triennial low water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Hees, M.; Hurtgen, Ch.; Verrezen, F.; Bruggeman, M.; Hardeman, F.

    2007-01-01

    Every three years, when the dams on the upper Meuse river are opened to allow heavy maintenance works on the sluices and banks, specific and more extensive sampling campaigns are organised, taking advantage of the low water. This particular situation facilitates sampling and, hence, provides the opportunity to enlarge the sample set and the sampled quantities. This triennial campaign, carried out in September 2004, allowed to confirm the impact of the commissioning of the new units on the Meuse. Upon demand of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC), the programme has been modified considerably, as the activity levels observed in previous years (1998 - 2001) proved to be very low in most of the compartments, often even below limits of detection.

  15. Radioecological survey of the Belgian upper part of the Meuse river during the triennial low water

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Hees, M.; Hurtgen, Ch.; Verrezen, F.; Bruggeman, M.; Hardeman, F.

    2007-01-15

    Every three years, when the dams on the upper Meuse river are opened to allow heavy maintenance works on the sluices and banks, specific and more extensive sampling campaigns are organised, taking advantage of the low water. This particular situation facilitates sampling and, hence, provides the opportunity to enlarge the sample set and the sampled quantities. This triennial campaign, carried out in September 2004, allowed to confirm the impact of the commissioning of the new units on the Meuse. Upon demand of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC), the programme has been modified considerably, as the activity levels observed in previous years (1998 - 2001) proved to be very low in most of the compartments, often even below limits of detection.

  16. Effects of hypoxia and ocean acidification on the upper thermal niche boundaries of coral reef fishes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ern, Rasmus; Johansen, Jacob L; Rummer, Jodie L; Esbaugh, Andrew J

    2017-07-01

    Rising ocean temperatures are predicted to cause a poleward shift in the distribution of marine fishes occupying the extent of latitudes tolerable within their thermal range boundaries. A prevailing theory suggests that the upper thermal limits of fishes are constrained by hypoxia and ocean acidification. However, some eurythermal fish species do not conform to this theory, and maintain their upper thermal limits in hypoxia. Here we determine if the same is true for stenothermal species. In three coral reef fish species we tested the effect of hypoxia on upper thermal limits, measured as critical thermal maximum (CT max ). In one of these species we also quantified the effect of hypoxia on oxygen supply capacity, measured as aerobic scope (AS). In this species we also tested the effect of elevated CO 2 (simulated ocean acidification) on the hypoxia sensitivity of CT max We found that CT max was unaffected by progressive hypoxia down to approximately 35 mmHg, despite a substantial hypoxia-induced reduction in AS. Below approximately 35 mmHg, CT max declined sharply with water oxygen tension ( P w O 2 ). Furthermore, the hypoxia sensitivity of CT max was unaffected by elevated CO 2 Our findings show that moderate hypoxia and ocean acidification do not constrain the upper thermal limits of these tropical, stenothermal fishes. © 2017 The Author(s).

  17. Directional Limits on Persistent Gravitational Waves from Advanced LIGO's First Observing Run.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, B P; Abbott, R; Abbott, T D; Abernathy, M R; Acernese, F; Ackley, K; Adams, C; Adams, T; Addesso, P; Adhikari, R X; Adya, V B; Affeldt, C; Agathos, M; Agatsuma, K; Aggarwal, N; Aguiar, O D; Aiello, L; Ain, A; Ajith, P; Allen, B; Allocca, A; Altin, P A; Ananyeva, A; Anderson, S B; Anderson, W G; Appert, S; Arai, K; Araya, M C; Areeda, J S; Arnaud, N; Arun, K G; Ascenzi, S; Ashton, G; Ast, M; Aston, S M; Astone, P; Aufmuth, P; Aulbert, C; Avila-Alvarez, A; Babak, S; Bacon, P; Bader, M K M; Baker, P T; Baldaccini, F; Ballardin, G; Ballmer, S W; Barayoga, J C; Barclay, S E; Barish, B C; Barker, D; Barone, F; Barr, B; Barsotti, L; Barsuglia, M; Barta, D; Bartlett, J; Bartos, I; Bassiri, R; Basti, A; Batch, J C; Baune, C; Bavigadda, V; Bazzan, M; Beer, C; Bejger, M; Belahcene, I; Belgin, M; Bell, A S; Berger, B K; Bergmann, G; Berry, C P L; Bersanetti, D; Bertolini, A; Betzwieser, J; Bhagwat, S; Bhandare, R; Bilenko, I A; Billingsley, G; Billman, C R; Birch, J; Birney, R; Birnholtz, O; Biscans, S; Biscoveanu, A S; Bisht, A; Bitossi, M; Biwer, C; Bizouard, M A; Blackburn, J K; Blackman, J; Blair, C D; Blair, D G; Blair, R M; Bloemen, S; Bock, O; Boer, M; Bogaert, G; Bohe, A; Bondu, F; Bonnand, R; Boom, B A; Bork, R; Boschi, V; Bose, S; Bouffanais, Y; Bozzi, A; Bradaschia, C; Brady, P R; Braginsky, V B; Branchesi, M; Brau, J E; Briant, T; Brillet, A; Brinkmann, M; Brisson, V; Brockill, P; Broida, J E; Brooks, A F; Brown, D A; Brown, D D; Brown, N M; Brunett, S; Buchanan, C C; Buikema, A; Bulik, T; Bulten, H J; Buonanno, A; Buskulic, D; Buy, C; Byer, R L; Cabero, M; Cadonati, L; Cagnoli, G; Cahillane, C; Calderón Bustillo, J; Callister, T A; Calloni, E; Camp, J B; Campbell, W; Canepa, M; Cannon, K C; Cao, H; Cao, J; Capano, C D; Capocasa, E; Carbognani, F; Caride, S; Casanueva Diaz, J; Casentini, C; Caudill, S; Cavaglià, M; Cavalier, F; Cavalieri, R; Cella, G; Cepeda, C B; Cerboni Baiardi, L; Cerretani, G; Cesarini, E; Chamberlin, S J; Chan, M; Chao, S; Charlton, P; Chassande-Mottin, E; Cheeseboro, B D; Chen, H Y; Chen, Y; Cheng, H-P; Chincarini, A; Chiummo, A; Chmiel, T; Cho, H S; Cho, M; Chow, J H; Christensen, N; Chu, Q; Chua, A J K; Chua, S; Chung, S; Ciani, G; Clara, F; Clark, J A; Cleva, F; Cocchieri, C; Coccia, E; Cohadon, P-F; Colla, A; Collette, C G; Cominsky, L; Constancio, M; Conti, L; Cooper, S J; Corbitt, T R; Cornish, N; Corsi, A; Cortese, S; Costa, C A; Coughlin, E; Coughlin, M W; Coughlin, S B; Coulon, J-P; Countryman, S T; Couvares, P; Covas, P B; Cowan, E E; Coward, D M; Cowart, M J; Coyne, D C; Coyne, R; Creighton, J D E; Creighton, T D; Cripe, J; Crowder, S G; Cullen, T J; Cumming, A; Cunningham, L; Cuoco, E; Dal Canton, T; Danilishin, S L; D'Antonio, S; Danzmann, K; Dasgupta, A; Da Silva Costa, C F; Dattilo, V; Dave, I; Davier, M; Davies, G S; Davis, D; Daw, E J; Day, B; Day, R; De, S; DeBra, D; Debreczeni, G; Degallaix, J; De Laurentis, M; Deléglise, S; Del Pozzo, W; Denker, T; Dent, T; Dergachev, V; De Rosa, R; DeRosa, R T; DeSalvo, R; Devenson, J; Devine, R C; Dhurandhar, S; Díaz, M C; Di Fiore, L; Di Giovanni, M; Di Girolamo, T; Di Lieto, A; Di Pace, S; Di Palma, I; Di Virgilio, A; Doctor, Z; Dolique, V; Donovan, F; Dooley, K L; Doravari, S; Dorrington, I; Douglas, R; Dovale Álvarez, M; Downes, T P; Drago, M; Drever, R W P; Driggers, J C; Du, Z; Ducrot, M; Dwyer, S E; Edo, T B; Edwards, M C; Effler, A; Eggenstein, H-B; Ehrens, P; Eichholz, J; Eikenberry, S S; Essick, R C; Etienne, Z; Etzel, T; Evans, M; Evans, T M; Everett, R; Factourovich, M; Fafone, V; Fair, H; Fairhurst, S; Fan, X; Farinon, S; Farr, B; Farr, W M; Fauchon-Jones, E J; Favata, M; Fays, M; Fehrmann, H; Fejer, M M; Fernández Galiana, A; Ferrante, I; Ferreira, E C; Ferrini, F; Fidecaro, F; Fiori, I; Fiorucci, D; Fisher, R P; Flaminio, R; Fletcher, M; Fong, H; Forsyth, S S; Fournier, J-D; Frasca, S; Frasconi, F; Frei, Z; Freise, A; Frey, R; Frey, V; Fries, E M; Fritschel, P; Frolov, V V; Fulda, P; Fyffe, M; Gabbard, H; Gadre, B U; Gaebel, S M; Gair, J R; Gammaitoni, L; Gaonkar, S G; Garufi, F; Gaur, G; Gayathri, V; Gehrels, N; Gemme, G; Genin, E; Gennai, A; George, J; Gergely, L; Germain, V; Ghonge, S; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S; Giaime, J A; Giardina, K D; Giazotto, A; Gill, K; Glaefke, A; Goetz, E; Goetz, R; Gondan, L; González, G; Gonzalez Castro, J M; Gopakumar, A; Gorodetsky, M L; Gossan, S E; Gosselin, M; Gouaty, R; Grado, A; Graef, C; Granata, M; Grant, A; Gras, S; Gray, C; Greco, G; Green, A C; Groot, P; Grote, H; Grunewald, S; Guidi, G M; Guo, X; Gupta, A; Gupta, M K; Gushwa, K E; Gustafson, E K; Gustafson, R; Hacker, J J; Hall, B R; Hall, E D; Hammond, G; Haney, M; Hanke, M M; Hanks, J; Hanna, C; Hannam, M D; Hanson, J; Hardwick, T; Harms, J; Harry, G M; Harry, I W; Hart, M J; Hartman, M T; Haster, C-J; Haughian, K; Healy, J; Heidmann, A; Heintze, M C; Heitmann, H; Hello, P; Hemming, G; Hendry, M; Heng, I S; Hennig, J; Henry, J; Heptonstall, A W; Heurs, M; Hild, S; Hoak, D; Hofman, D; Holt, K; Holz, D E; Hopkins, P; Hough, J; Houston, E A; Howell, E J; Hu, Y M; Huerta, E A; Huet, D; Hughey, B; Husa, S; Huttner, S H; Huynh-Dinh, T; Indik, N; Ingram, D R; Inta, R; Isa, H N; Isac, J-M; Isi, M; Isogai, T; Iyer, B R; Izumi, K; Jacqmin, T; Jani, K; Jaranowski, P; Jawahar, S; Jiménez-Forteza, F; Johnson, W W; Jones, D I; Jones, R; Jonker, R J G; Ju, L; Junker, J; Kalaghatgi, C V; Kalogera, V; Kandhasamy, S; Kang, G; Kanner, J B; Karki, S; Karvinen, K S; Kasprzack, M; Katsavounidis, E; Katzman, W; Kaufer, S; Kaur, T; Kawabe, K; Kéfélian, F; Keitel, D; Kelley, D B; Kennedy, R; Key, J S; Khalili, F Y; Khan, I; Khan, S; Khan, Z; Khazanov, E A; Kijbunchoo, N; Kim, Chunglee; Kim, J C; Kim, Whansun; Kim, W; Kim, Y-M; Kimbrell, S J; King, E J; King, P J; Kirchhoff, R; Kissel, J S; Klein, B; Kleybolte, L; Klimenko, S; Koch, P; Koehlenbeck, S M; Koley, S; Kondrashov, V; Kontos, A; Korobko, M; Korth, W Z; Kowalska, I; Kozak, D B; Krämer, C; Kringel, V; Królak, A; Kuehn, G; Kumar, P; Kumar, R; Kuo, L; Kutynia, A; Lackey, B D; Landry, M; Lang, R N; Lange, J; Lantz, B; Lanza, R K; Lartaux-Vollard, A; Lasky, P D; Laxen, M; Lazzarini, A; Lazzaro, C; Leaci, P; Leavey, S; Lebigot, E O; Lee, C H; Lee, H K; Lee, H M; Lee, K; Lehmann, J; Lenon, A; Leonardi, M; Leong, J R; Leroy, N; Letendre, N; Levin, Y; Li, T G F; Libson, A; Littenberg, T B; Liu, J; Lockerbie, N A; Lombardi, A L; London, L T; Lord, J E; Lorenzini, M; Loriette, V; Lormand, M; Losurdo, G; Lough, J D; Lousto, C O; Lovelace, G; Lück, H; Lundgren, A P; Lynch, R; Ma, Y; Macfoy, S; Machenschalk, B; MacInnis, M; Macleod, D M; Magaña-Sandoval, F; Majorana, E; Maksimovic, I; Malvezzi, V; Man, N; Mandic, V; Mangano, V; Mansell, G L; Manske, M; Mantovani, M; Marchesoni, F; Marion, F; Márka, S; Márka, Z; Markosyan, A S; Maros, E; Martelli, F; Martellini, L; Martin, I W; Martynov, D V; Mason, K; Masserot, A; Massinger, T J; Masso-Reid, M; Mastrogiovanni, S; Matas, A; Matichard, F; Matone, L; Mavalvala, N; Mazumder, N; McCarthy, R; McClelland, D E; McCormick, S; McGrath, C; McGuire, S C; McIntyre, G; McIver, J; McManus, D J; McRae, T; McWilliams, S T; Meacher, D; Meadors, G D; Meidam, J; Melatos, A; Mendell, G; Mendoza-Gandara, D; Mercer, R A; Merilh, E L; Merzougui, M; Meshkov, S; Messenger, C; Messick, C; Metzdorff, R; Meyers, P M; Mezzani, F; Miao, H; Michel, C; Middleton, H; Mikhailov, E E; Milano, L; Miller, A L; Miller, A; Miller, B B; Miller, J; Millhouse, M; Minenkov, Y; Ming, J; Mirshekari, S; Mishra, C; Mitra, S; Mitrofanov, V P; Mitselmakher, G; Mittleman, R; Moggi, A; Mohan, M; Mohapatra, S R P; Montani, M; Moore, B C; Moore, C J; Moraru, D; Moreno, G; Morriss, S R; Mours, B; Mow-Lowry, C M; Mueller, G; Muir, A W; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D; Mukherjee, S; Mukund, N; Mullavey, A; Munch, J; Muniz, E A M; Murray, P G; Mytidis, A; Napier, K; Nardecchia, I; Naticchioni, L; Nelemans, G; Nelson, T J N; Neri, M; Nery, M; Neunzert, A; Newport, J M; Newton, G; Nguyen, T T; Nielsen, A B; Nissanke, S; Nitz, A; Noack, A; Nocera, F; Nolting, D; Normandin, M E N; Nuttall, L K; Oberling, J; Ochsner, E; Oelker, E; Ogin, G H; Oh, J J; Oh, S H; Ohme, F; Oliver, M; Oppermann, P; Oram, Richard J; O'Reilly, B; O'Shaughnessy, R; Ottaway, D J; Overmier, H; Owen, B J; Pace, A E; Page, J; Pai, A; Pai, S A; Palamos, J R; Palashov, O; Palomba, C; Pal-Singh, A; Pan, H; Pankow, C; Pannarale, F; Pant, B C; Paoletti, F; Paoli, A; Papa, M A; Paris, H R; Parker, W; Pascucci, D; Pasqualetti, A; Passaquieti, R; Passuello, D; Patricelli, B; Pearlstone, B L; Pedraza, M; Pedurand, R; Pekowsky, L; Pele, A; Penn, S; Perez, C J; Perreca, A; Perri, L M; Pfeiffer, H P; Phelps, M; Piccinni, O J; Pichot, M; Piergiovanni, F; Pierro, V; Pillant, G; Pinard, L; Pinto, I M; Pitkin, M; Poe, M; Poggiani, R; Popolizio, P; Post, A; Powell, J; Prasad, J; Pratt, J W W; Predoi, V; Prestegard, T; Prijatelj, M; Principe, M; Privitera, S; Prodi, G A; Prokhorov, L G; Puncken, O; Punturo, M; Puppo, P; Pürrer, M; Qi, H; Qin, J; Qiu, S; Quetschke, V; Quintero, E A; Quitzow-James, R; Raab, F J; Rabeling, D S; Radkins, H; Raffai, P; Raja, S; Rajan, C; Rakhmanov, M; Rapagnani, P; Raymond, V; Razzano, M; Re, V; Read, J; Regimbau, T; Rei, L; Reid, S; Reitze, D H; Rew, H; Reyes, S D; Rhoades, E; Ricci, F; Riles, K; Rizzo, M; Robertson, N A; Robie, R; Robinet, F; Rocchi, A; Rolland, L; Rollins, J G; Roma, V J; Romano, J D; Romano, R; Romie, J H; Rosińska, D; Rowan, S; Rüdiger, A; Ruggi, P; Ryan, K; Sachdev, S; Sadecki, T; Sadeghian, L; Sakellariadou, M; Salconi, L; Saleem, M; Salemi, F; Samajdar, A; Sammut, L; Sampson, L M; Sanchez, E J; Sandberg, V; Sanders, J R; Sassolas, B; Sathyaprakash, B S; Saulson, P R; Sauter, O; Savage, R L; Sawadsky, A; Schale, P; Scheuer, J; Schlassa, S; Schmidt, E; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P; Schnabel, R; Schofield, R M S; Schönbeck, A; Schreiber, E; Schuette, D; Schutz, B F; Schwalbe, S G; Scott, J; Scott, S M; Sellers, D; Sengupta, A S; Sentenac, D; Sequino, V; Sergeev, A; Setyawati, Y; Shaddock, D A; Shaffer, T J; Shahriar, M S; Shapiro, B; Shawhan, P; Sheperd, A; Shoemaker, D H; Shoemaker, D M; Siellez, K; Siemens, X; Sieniawska, M; Sigg, D; Silva, A D; Singer, A; Singer, L P; Singh, A; Singh, R; Singhal, A; Sintes, A M; Slagmolen, B J J; Smith, B; Smith, J R; Smith, R J E; Son, E J; Sorazu, B; Sorrentino, F; Souradeep, T; Spencer, A P; Srivastava, A K; Staley, A; Steinke, M; Steinlechner, J; Steinlechner, S; Steinmeyer, D; Stephens, B C; Stevenson, S P; Stone, R; Strain, K A; Straniero, N; Stratta, G; Strigin, S E; Sturani, R; Stuver, A L; Summerscales, T Z; Sun, L; Sunil, S; Sutton, P J; Swinkels, B L; Szczepańczyk, M J; Tacca, M; Talukder, D; Tanner, D B; Tao, D; Tápai, M; Taracchini, A; Taylor, R; Theeg, T; Thomas, E G; Thomas, M; Thomas, P; Thorne, K A; Thrane, E; Tippens, T; Tiwari, S; Tiwari, V; Tokmakov, K V; Toland, K; Tomlinson, C; Tonelli, M; Tornasi, Z; Torrie, C I; Töyrä, D; Travasso, F; Traylor, G; Trifirò, D; Trinastic, J; Tringali, M C; Trozzo, L; Tse, M; Tso, R; Turconi, M; Tuyenbayev, D; Ugolini, D; Unnikrishnan, C S; Urban, A L; Usman, S A; Vahlbruch, H; Vajente, G; Valdes, G; van Bakel, N; van Beuzekom, M; van den Brand, J F J; Van Den Broeck, C; Vander-Hyde, D C; van der Schaaf, L; van Heijningen, J V; van Veggel, A A; Vardaro, M; Varma, V; Vass, S; Vasúth, M; Vecchio, A; Vedovato, G; Veitch, J; Veitch, P J; Venkateswara, K; Venugopalan, G; Verkindt, D; Vetrano, F; Viceré, A; Viets, A D; Vinciguerra, S; Vine, D J; Vinet, J-Y; Vitale, S; Vo, T; Vocca, H; Vorvick, C; Voss, D V; Vousden, W D; Vyatchanin, S P; Wade, A R; Wade, L E; Wade, M; Walker, M; Wallace, L; Walsh, S; Wang, G; Wang, H; Wang, M; Wang, Y; Ward, R L; Warner, J; Was, M; Watchi, J; Weaver, B; Wei, L-W; Weinert, M; Weinstein, A J; Weiss, R; Wen, L; Weßels, P; Westphal, T; Wette, K; Whelan, J T; Whiting, B F; Whittle, C; Williams, D; Williams, R D; Williamson, A R; Willis, J L; Willke, B; Wimmer, M H; Winkler, W; Wipf, C C; Wittel, H; Woan, G; Woehler, J; Worden, J; Wright, J L; Wu, D S; Wu, G; Yam, W; Yamamoto, H; Yancey, C C; Yap, M J; Yu, Hang; Yu, Haocun; Yvert, M; Zadrożny, A; Zangrando, L; Zanolin, M; Zendri, J-P; Zevin, M; Zhang, L; Zhang, M; Zhang, T; Zhang, Y; Zhao, C; Zhou, M; Zhou, Z; Zhu, S J; Zhu, X J; Zucker, M E; Zweizig, J

    2017-03-24

    We employ gravitational-wave radiometry to map the stochastic gravitational wave background expected from a variety of contributing mechanisms and test the assumption of isotropy using data from the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory's (aLIGO) first observing run. We also search for persistent gravitational waves from point sources with only minimal assumptions over the 20-1726 Hz frequency band. Finding no evidence of gravitational waves from either point sources or a stochastic background, we set limits at 90% confidence. For broadband point sources, we report upper limits on the gravitational wave energy flux per unit frequency in the range F_{α,Θ}(f)<(0.1-56)×10^{-8}    erg cm^{-2} s^{-1} Hz^{-1}(f/25  Hz)^{α-1} depending on the sky location Θ and the spectral power index α. For extended sources, we report upper limits on the fractional gravitational wave energy density required to close the Universe of Ω(f,Θ)<(0.39-7.6)×10^{-8}  sr^{-1}(f/25  Hz)^{α} depending on Θ and α. Directed searches for narrowband gravitational waves from astrophysically interesting objects (Scorpius X-1, Supernova 1987 A, and the Galactic Center) yield median frequency-dependent limits on strain amplitude of h_{0}<(6.7,5.5,  and  7.0)×10^{-25}, respectively, at the most sensitive detector frequencies between 130-175 Hz. This represents a mean improvement of a factor of 2 across the band compared to previous searches of this kind for these sky locations, considering the different quantities of strain constrained in each case.

  18. Fracture toughness of A533B. Part 2. Review of data pertinent to upper shelf temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Druce, S.G.; Eyre, B.L.; Belcher, W.P.A.

    1978-08-01

    This report is the second in a series of three examining the state of the art of elastoplastic fracture mechanics as applied to A533B pressure vessel steel in the upper shelf temperature regime. Part II presents a review of fracture toughness data for A533B Class 1 plate tested in the longitudinal (RW) orientation. Data from USA, UK and Scandinavian sources published prior to September 1976 has been included. It is concluded that previous studies using a maximum load criterion have over-estimated the initiation toughness in the upper shelf regime. Results derived from J integral tests now show the mean toughness at 275 0 C to vary between 141 ksi sq. root in and 154 ksi sq. root in depending on the exact analytical procedure used. Limited statistical analysis of the results obtained using several heats of material suggest that standard deviation of the scatter of results is approximately 11% of the mean value. Recommendations for future work to improve our understanding of the fracture properties of A533B and similar medium strength high toughness materials, and their application to large structures, are presented. (author)

  19. Basinal Structure Of Yola Arm Of The Upper Benue Trough Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Aeromagnetic data interpretation of the Yola arm of the Upper Benue Trough has previously been carried out. However, no detail modeling of the Crustal Structures has been undertaken. Two composite reduced Aeromagnetic maps on a scale of 1:250,000 were digitized and processed using computer techniques.

  20. The Evaluation of the Effect of Strain Limits on the Physical Properties of Magnetorheological Elastomers Subjected to Uniaxial and Biaxial Cyclic Testing.

    OpenAIRE

    Gorman, Dave; Murphy, Niall; Ekins, Ray; Jerrams, Stephen

    2017-01-01

    Magnetorheological Elastomers (MREs) are “smart” materials whose physical properties are altered by the application of magnetic fields. In a previous study by the authors [1], variations in the physical properties of MREs have been evaluated when subjected to a range of magnetic field strengths for both uniaxial and biaxial cyclic tests. By applying the same magnetic field to similar samples, this paper investigates the effect of both the upper strain limit and the strain amplitude on the pro...

  1. A geometric morphometric analysis of hominin upper premolars. Shape variation and morphological integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Robles, Aida; Martinón-Torres, María; Bermúdez de Castro, José María; Prado-Simón, Leyre; Arsuaga, Juan Luis

    2011-12-01

    This paper continues the series of articles initiated in 2006 that analyse hominin dental crown morphology by means of geometric morphometric techniques. The detailed study of both upper premolar occlusal morphologies in a comprehensive sample of hominin fossils, including those coming from the Gran Dolina-TD6 and Sima de los Huesos sites from Atapuerca, Spain, complement previous works on lower first and second premolars and upper first molars. A morphological gradient consisting of the change from asymmetric to symmetric upper premolars and a marked reduction of the lingual cusp in recent Homo species has been observed in both premolars. Although percentages of correct classification based on upper premolar morphologies are not very high, significant morphological differences between Neanderthals (and European middle Pleistocene fossils) and modern humans have been identified, especially in upper second premolars. The study of morphological integration between premolar morphologies reveals significant correlations that are weaker between upper premolars than between lower ones and significant correlations between antagonists. These results have important implications for understanding the genetic and functional factors underlying dental phenotypic variation and covariation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Upper limit to the deuterium abundance and a measurement of the pickering-β line in the low excitation planetary IC 418

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Vaux, H.A.

    1977-01-01

    The problem of detecting a weak spectrum line, deuterium alpha, very near in wavelength to H/sub alpha/, assumed to be thousands of times as strong, is discussed from the point of view of optimizing the signal-to-noise ratio. A spectrometer consisting of three pressure scanning Fabry-Perot etalons with low reflectivity coatings was found to be the best instrument for this experiment. While no feature attributable to deuterium was detected in the planetary nebula IC 418, an upper limit relative to hydrogen of 3.4 x 10 -5 was established at the 95% confidence level. The significance of this result is discussed in light of the role played by deuterium in cosmology. The intensity ratio of the Pickering beta line (n'' = 6, n' = 4 transition of ionized helium) relative to H/sub alpha/ was measured to be 6.5 x 10 -5 . Observations of the nebular continuum made at five wavelengths in the red and near infrared are summarized and compared with predicted intensities

  3. Combined Tevatron upper limit on gg -> H -> W^+W^- and constraints on the Higgs boson mass in fourth-generation fermion models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aaltonen, T.; Abazov, V.M.; Abbott, B.; Abolins, M.; Acharya, B.S.; Adams, M.; Adams, T.; Adelman, J.; Aguilo, E.; Alexeev, G.D.; Alkhazov, G.; /Helsinki Inst. of Phys. /Dubna, JINR /Oklahoma U. /Michigan State U. /Tata Inst. /Illinois U., Chicago /Florida State U. /Chicago U., EFI /Simon Fraser U. /York U., Canada /St. Petersburg, INP /Illinois U., Urbana /Sao Paulo, IFT /Munich U. /University Coll. London /Oxford U. /St. Petersburg, INP /Duke U. /Kyungpook Natl. U. /Chonnam Natl. U. /Florida U. /Osaka City U.

    2010-05-01

    We combine results from searches by the CDF and D0 collaborations for a standard model Higgs boson (H) in the process gg {yields} H {yields} W{sup +}W{sup -} in p{bar p} collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider at {radical}s = 1.o6 TeV. With 4.8 fb{sup -1} of itnegrated luminosity analyzed at CDF and 5.4 fb{sup -1} at D0, the 95% Confidence Level upper limit on {sigma}(gg {yields} H) x {Beta}(H {yields} W{sup +}W{sup -}) is 1.75 pb at m{sub H} = 120 GeV, 0.38 pb at m{sub H} = 165 GeV, and 0.83 pb at m{sub H} = 200 GeV. Assuming the presence of a fourth sequential generation of fermions with large masses, they exclude at the 95% Confidence Level a standard-model-like Higgs boson with a mass between 131 and 204 Gev.

  4. CT arteriography of the upper abdomen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasuo, K; Matsuura, K; Baba, H; Numaguchi, Y; Komaki, S [Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan). Faculty of Medicine

    1980-04-01

    The technique of CT arteriography was introduced, and CT images of the upper abdomen were explained. Very clear enhancement of parenchyma and vessels (especially portal vein) of the object organs could be obtained by CT arteriography of the upper abdomen, anatomical structures of organs were identified more easily by CT arteriography than by conventional CT, and the amount of information obtained was increased by using CT arteriography. However, the indication of CT arteriography must be limited, because of its complexity that CT arteriography is performed after angiography and involves the invasion of patients' bodies. As described in many reports, CT arteriography is useful for malignant tumors of the liver, and it is worthwhile, especially when surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma is considered. CT arteriography for organs except the liver has not been discussed sufficiently. Therefore, an application of this method for other organs must be decided after consideration of the balance of the amount of information obtained by CT arteriography with invasion to patients.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-01-01

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

  6. A summary of the low upper shelf toughness safety margin issue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merkle, J.G.

    1991-01-01

    The low upper shelf toughness issue has a long history, beginning with the choice of materials for the submerged arc welding process, but also potentially involving the use of A302-B plate. Criteria for vessels containing low upper shelf materials have usually been expressed in terms of the Charpy upper shelf impact energy. Although these criteria have had several different bases, the range of limiting values for wall thicknesses approaching 229 mm (9 in.) has remained between 54 to 68J (40 to 50 ft lbs). Allowable values for vessels with thinner walls and/or only circumferential low upper shelf welds might conceivably be less. A decision on criteria to be incorporated into the ASME Code is now being made. Choices to be made concern the method for estimating the decrease in upper shelf impact energy, flaw geometry for circumferential welds, statistical significance of toughness values, the choice between J D and J M , reference pressure, safety factors and the inclusion of tearing stability calculations by means of R curve extrapolation. NRC research programs have contributed significantly to the resolution of the low upper shelf issue. These programs embrace all aspects of the issue, including material characterization, large scale testing, analysis and criteria development. 52 refs., 5 figs

  7. Upper Bound Solution for the Face Stability of Shield Tunnel below the Water Table

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xilin Lu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available By FE simulation with Mohr-Coulomb perfect elastoplasticity model, the relationship between the support pressure and displacement of the shield tunnel face was obtained. According to the plastic strain distribution at collapse state, an appropriate failure mechanism was proposed for upper bound limit analysis, and the formula to calculate the limit support pressure was deduced. The limit support pressure was rearranged to be the summation of soil cohesion c, surcharge load q, and soil gravity γ multiplied by their corresponding coefficients Nc, Nq, and Nγ, and parametric studies were carried out on these coefficients. In order to consider the influence of seepage on the face stability, the pore water pressure distribution and the seepage force on the tunnel face were obtained by FE simulation. After adding the power of seepage force into the equation of the upper bound limit analysis, the total limit support pressure for stabilizing the tunnel face under seepage condition was obtained. The total limit support pressure was shown to increase almost linearly with the water table.

  8. Rare Earth element (REE) incorporation in natural calcite. Upper limits for actinide uptake in a secondary phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stipp, S.L.S.; Christensen, J.T.; Waight, T.E.; Lakshtanov, L.Z.; Baker, J.A.

    2006-01-01

    Secondary minerals have the potential to sequester escaped actinides in the event of a radioactive waste repository failure, but currently, data to define their maximum uptake capacity are generally lacking. To estimate a maximum limit for solid solution in calcite, we took advantage of the behavioural similarities of the 4f-orbital lanthanides with some of the 5f-orbital actinides and used rare Earth element (REE) concentration as an analogue. A suite of 65 calcite samples, mostly pure single crystals, was assembled from a range of geological settings, ages and locations and analysed by isotope dilution MC-ICP-MS (multiple-collector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectroscopy). All samples were shown to contain significant lanthanide concentrations. The highest were in calcite formed from hydrothermal solutions and from carbonatite magma. Maximum total mole fraction of REE was 4.72 x 10 -4 , which represents one substituted atom for about 2000 Ca sites. In comparison, synthetic calcite, precipitated at growth rates slow enough to insure solid solution formation, incorporated 7.5 x 10 -4 mole fraction Eu(III). For performance assessment, we propose that 7.5 mmole substitution/kg calcite should be considered the upper limit for actinide incorporation in secondary calcite. The largest source of uncertainty in this estimate results from extrapolating lanthanide data to actinides. However, the data offer confidence that for waters in the hydrothermal temperature range, such as in the near-field, or at groundwater temperatures, such as in the far-field, if calcite formation is favoured and actinides are present, those with behaviour like the trivalent lanthanides, especially Am 3+ and Cm 3+ , will be incorporated. REE are abundant and widely distributed, and they have remained in calcite for millions of years. Thus, one can be certain that incorporated actinides will also remain immobilised in calcite formed in fractures and pore spaces, as long as solution conditions

  9. Mechanical limits to maximum weapon size in a giant rhinoceros beetle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCullough, Erin L

    2014-07-07

    The horns of giant rhinoceros beetles are a classic example of the elaborate morphologies that can result from sexual selection. Theory predicts that sexual traits will evolve to be increasingly exaggerated until survival costs balance the reproductive benefits of further trait elaboration. In Trypoxylus dichotomus, long horns confer a competitive advantage to males, yet previous studies have found that they do not incur survival costs. It is therefore unlikely that horn size is limited by the theoretical cost-benefit equilibrium. However, males sometimes fight vigorously enough to break their horns, so mechanical limits may set an upper bound on horn size. Here, I tested this mechanical limit hypothesis by measuring safety factors across the full range of horn sizes. Safety factors were calculated as the ratio between the force required to break a horn and the maximum force exerted on a horn during a typical fight. I found that safety factors decrease with increasing horn length, indicating that the risk of breakage is indeed highest for the longest horns. Structural failure of oversized horns may therefore oppose the continued exaggeration of horn length driven by male-male competition and set a mechanical limit on the maximum size of rhinoceros beetle horns. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  10. Psychosocial Risk Factors for Upper Respiratory Infection: Demographic and Health History Predictors of URI (Upper Respiratory Illness) During Basic Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-07-05

    Symptom Reporting scores represent hypochondriasis , somatic responses to acute stress, or simple response biases in filling out questionnaires. The...laboratory settings which presumably are not as stressful as basic training and may tend, therefore, to minimize the expression of hypochondriasis ... somatization , and related factors that could be important in basic training. However: the present findings make it clear that even if the upper limit of the

  11. Renal Embolization and Urothelial Sclerotherapy for Recurrent Obstructive Urosepsis and Intractable Haematuria from Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, Nicholas, E-mail: nibrown@cantab.net [St Vincent’s Hospital, Department of Interventional Radiology (Australia); Olayos, Elizabeth; Elmer, Sandra; Wong, Lih-Ming [St Vincent’s Hospital, Department of Urology (Australia); Brooks, Duncan M; Jhamb, Ashu [St Vincent’s Hospital, Department of Interventional Radiology (Australia)

    2016-03-15

    Management of intractable haematuria and obstructive urosepsis from upper tract urothelial carcinoma can be problematic in patients not suitable for surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Interventional radiology techniques provide alternative approaches in this setting, such as complete kidney embolization to cease urine output, percutaneous nephrostomy, antegrade injection of sclerotherapy agents and sterilisation of the upper collecting system. Related approaches have been successfully employed to sclerose renal cysts, lymphoceles, chyluria and intractable lower tract haemorrhage. No reports of percutaneous, antegrade sclerotherapy in the upper urinary tract have previously been published. We present a case of recurrent haematuria and obstructive urosepsis caused by invasive upper tract urothelial carcinoma in a non-operative patient, which was treated with renal embolisation and percutaneous upper tract urothelial sclerotherapy.

  12. Valuing investments in sustainable land management in the Upper Tana River basin, Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogl, Adrian L; Bryant, Benjamin P; Hunink, Johannes E; Wolny, Stacie; Apse, Colin; Droogers, Peter

    2017-06-15

    We analyze the impacts of investments in sustainable land use practices on ecosystem services in the Upper Tana basin, Kenya. This work supports implementation of the Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund, a public-private partnership to safeguard ecosystem service provision and food security. We apply an integrated modelling framework, building on local knowledge and previous field- and model-based studies, to link biophysical landscape changes at high temporal and spatial resolution to economic benefits for key actors in the basin. The primary contribution of this study is that it a) presents a comprehensive analysis for targeting interventions that takes into account stakeholder preferences, local environmental and socio-economic conditions, b) relies on detailed, process-based, biophysical models to demonstrate the biophysical return on those investments for a practical, decision-driven case, and c) in close collaboration with downstream water users, links those biophysical outputs to monetary metrics, including: reduced water treatment costs, increased hydropower production, and crop yield benefits for agricultural producers in the conservation area. This study highlights the benefits and trade-offs that come with conducting participatory research as part of a stakeholder engagement process: while results are more likely to be decision-relevant within the local context, navigating stakeholder expectations and data limitations present ongoing challenges. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph Lin

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

  14. An upper bound on right-chiral weak interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephenson, G.J.; Goldman, T.; Maltman, K.

    1990-01-01

    Weak vertex corrections to the quark-gluon vertex functions produce differing form-factor corrections for quarks of differing chiralities. These differences grow with increasing four-momentum transfer in the gluon leg. Consequently, inclusive polarized proton--proton scattering to a final state jet should show a large parity-violating asymmetry at high energies. The absence of large signals at sufficiently high energies can be interpreted as being due to balancing vertex corrections from a right-handed weak vector boson of limited mass, and limits on the strength of such signals can, in principle, give upper bounds on that mass. 2 refs

  15. An upper bound on right-Chiral weak interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephenson, G.J.; Goldman, T.; Maltman, K.

    1990-01-01

    Weak vertex corrections to the quark-gluon vertex functions produce differing form-factor corrections for quarks of differing chiralities. These differences grow with increasing four-momentum transfer in the gluon leg. Consequently, inclusive polarized proton-proton scattering to a final state jet should show a large parity-violating asymmetry at high energies. The absence of large signals at sufficiently high energies can be interpreted as being due to balancing vertex corrections from a right-handed weak vector boson of limited mass, and limits on the strength of such signals can, in principle, give upper bounds on that mass

  16. Magnetospheric energy inputs into the upper atmospheres of the giant planets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. G. A. Smith

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available We revisit the effects of Joule heating upon the upper atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. We show that in addition to direct Joule heating there is an additional input of kinetic energy – ion drag energy – which we quantify relative to the Joule heating. We also show that fluctuations about the mean electric field, as observed in the Earth's ionosphere, may significantly increase the Joule heating itself. For physically plausible parameters these effects may increase previous estimates of the upper atmospheric energy input at Saturn from ~10 TW to ~20 TW.

    Keywords. Ionosphere (Electric fields and currents; Planetary ionosphere – Magnetospheric physics (Auroral phenomena

  17. Supplemental Carbon Dioxide Stabilizes the Upper Airway in Volunteers Anesthetized with Propofol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruscic, Katarina Jennifer; Bøgh Stokholm, Janne; Patlak, Johann; Deng, Hao; Simons, Jeroen Cedric Peter; Houle, Timothy; Peters, Jürgen; Eikermann, Matthias

    2018-05-10

    Propofol impairs upper airway dilator muscle tone and increases upper airway collapsibility. Preclinical studies show that carbon dioxide decreases propofol-mediated respiratory depression. We studied whether elevation of end-tidal carbon dioxide (PETCO2) via carbon dioxide insufflation reverses the airway collapsibility (primary hypothesis) and impaired genioglossus muscle electromyogram that accompany propofol anesthesia. We present a prespecified, secondary analysis of previously published experiments in 12 volunteers breathing via a high-flow respiratory circuit used to control upper airway pressure under propofol anesthesia at two levels, with the deep level titrated to suppression of motor response. Ventilation, mask pressure, negative pharyngeal pressure, upper airway closing pressure, genioglossus electromyogram, bispectral index, and change in end-expiratory lung volume were measured as a function of elevation of PETCO2 above baseline and depth of propofol anesthesia. PETCO2 augmentation dose-dependently lowered upper airway closing pressure with a decrease of 3.1 cm H2O (95% CI, 2.2 to 3.9; P < 0.001) under deep anesthesia, indicating improved upper airway stability. In parallel, the phasic genioglossus electromyogram increased by 28% (23 to 34; P < 0.001). We found that genioglossus electromyogram activity was a significant modifier of the effect of PETCO2 elevation on closing pressure (P = 0.005 for interaction term). Upper airway collapsibility induced by propofol anesthesia can be reversed in a dose-dependent manner by insufflation of supplemental carbon dioxide. This effect is at least partly mediated by increased genioglossus muscle activity.

  18. Functional rehabilitation of upper limb apraxia in poststroke patients: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

    OpenAIRE

    P?rez-M?rmol, Jose Manuel; Garc?a-R?os, M? Carmen; Barrero-Hernandez, Francisco J.; Molina-Torres, Guadalupe; Brown, Ted; Aguilar-Ferr?ndiz, Mar?a Encarnaci?n

    2015-01-01

    Background Upper limb apraxia is a common disorder associated with stroke that can reduce patients? independence levels in activities of daily living and increase levels of disability. Traditional rehabilitation programs designed to promote the recovery of upper limb function have mainly focused on restorative or compensatory approaches. However, no previous studies have been completed that evaluate a combined intervention method approach, where patients concurrently receive cognitive trainin...

  19. Why is joint range of motion limited in patients with cerebral palsy?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Bruin, M.; Smeulders, M. J. C.; Kreulen, M.

    2013-01-01

    Patients with spastic cerebral palsy of the upper limb typically present with various problems including an impaired range of motion that affects the positioning of the upper extremity. This impaired range of motion often develops into contractures that further limit functioning of the spastic hand

  20. On the limiting stationary currents of relativistic electron beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kavchuk, V.N.; Kondratenko, A.N.

    1987-01-01

    The problem on electron beam transport in the system of different configurations both vacuum and filled with gas or plasma is connected with the problem of the limiting current, which can conduct such systems. Two models of a vacuum relativistic electron beam (REB) are considered. It is shown that there is upper limit for the value of the external magnetic field, H 0 , in the model of isovelocity REB with the constant longitudinal beam particle rate, β z =const. Estimation of the limiting current of REB as a series of inverse power H 0 is obtained. Estimations of the limiting current of magnetized hallow REB with thin walls are obtained in another model with β z ≠ const. Determination used in this case of the limiting current is directly connected with ''trapping'' of the beam central part due to formation of a virtual cathode and based on consideration of uniflux electron motion in the beam. Such an approach allows to obtain estimations of the limiting current of the thin-wall hallow beam. In this case an upper limit for the thickness of the beam wall is connected with the bottom limit for the value of the external magnetic field providing radial beam equilibrium

  1. Active Upper-atmosphere Chemistry and Dynamics from Polar Circulation Reversal on Titan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teanby, Nicholas A.; Irwin, Patrick Gerard Joseph; Nixon, Conor A.; DeKok, Remco; Vinatier, Sandrine; Coustenis, Athena; Sefton-Nash, Elliot; Calcutt, Simon B.; Flasar, Michael F.

    2012-01-01

    Saturn's moon Titan has a nitrogen atmosphere comparable to Earth's, with a surface pressure of 1.4 bar. Numerical models reproduce the tropospheric conditions very well but have trouble explaining the observed middle-atmosphere temperatures, composition and winds. The top of the middle-atmosphere circulation has been thought to lie at an altitude of 450 to 500 kilometres, where there is a layer of haze that appears to be separated from the main haze deck. This 'detached' haze was previously explained as being due to the colocation of peak haze production and the limit of dynamical transport by the circulation's upper branch. Herewe report a build-up of trace gases over the south pole approximately two years after observing the 2009 post-equinox circulation reversal, from which we conclude that middle-atmosphere circulation must extend to an altitude of at least 600 kilometres. The primary drivers of this circulation are summer-hemisphere heating of haze by absorption of solar radiation and winter-hemisphere cooling due to infrared emission by haze and trace gases; our results therefore imply that these effects are important well into the thermosphere (altitudes higher than 500 kilometres). This requires both active upper-atmosphere chemistry, consistent with the detection of high-complexity molecules and ions at altitudes greater than 950 kilometres, and an alternative explanation for the detached haze, such as a transition in haze particle growth from monomers to fractal structures.

  2. Upper-Level Waves of Synoptic Scale at Midlatitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivest, Chantal

    1990-01-01

    Upper-level waves of synoptic scale are important dynamical entities at midlatitudes. They often induce surface cyclogenesis (cf. Peterssen and Smebye, 1971), and their life duration is typically longer than time scales for disruption by the ambient shear (Sanders, 1988). The objectives of the present thesis are to explain the maintenance and genesis of upper-level synoptic-scale waves in the midlatitude flow. We develop an analytical model of waves on generalized Eady basic states that have uniform tropospheric and stratospheric potential vorticity, but allow for the decay of density with height. The Eady basic state represents the limiting case of infinite stratospheric stability and constant density. We find that the Eady normal mode characteristics hold in the presence of realistic tropopause and stratosphere. In particular, the basic states studied support at the synoptic scale upper-level normal modes. These modes provide simple models for the dynamics of upper-level synoptic-scale waves, as waves supported by the large latitudinal gradients of potential vorticity at the tropopause. In the presence of infinitesimal positive tropospheric gradients of potential vorticity, the upper-level normal mode solutions no longer exist, as was demonstrated in Green (1960). Disappearance of the normal mode solution when a parameter changes slightly represents a dilemma that we seek to understand. We examine what happens to the upper-level normal modes in the presence of tropospheric gradients of potential vorticity in a series of initial -value experiments. Our results show that the normal modes become slowly decaying quasi-modes. Mathematically the quasi-modes consist of a superposition of singular modes sharply peaked in the phase speed domain, and their decay proceeds as the modes interfere with one another. We repeat these experiments in basic states with a smooth tropopause in the presence of tropospheric and stratospheric gradients, and similar results are obtained

  3. Short-term use of serotonin reuptake inhibitors and risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yen-Po; Chen, Yung-Tai; Tsai, Chia-Fen; Li, Szu-Yuan; Luo, Jiing-Chyuan; Wang, Shuu-Jiun; Tang, Chao-Hsiun; Liu, Chia-Jen; Lin, Han-Chieh; Lee, Fa-Yauh; Chang, Full-Young; Lu, Ching-Liang

    2014-01-01

    The association between selective serotonin receptor inhibitors (SSRIs) and risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding remains controversial. Previous studies have generally evaluated the issue for approximately 3 months, even though the SSRI-mediated inhibition of platelet serotonin concentrations occurs within 7-14 days. The authors explored the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding after short-term SSRI exposure by a case-crossover design. The records of psychiatric inpatients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database (1998-2009). Rates of antidepressant use were compared for case and control periods with time windows of 7, 14, and 28 days. The adjusted self-matched odds ratios from a conditional logistic regression model were used to determine the association between SSRI use and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. A total of 5,377 patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding were enrolled. The adjusted odds ratio for the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding after SSRI exposure was 1.67 (95% CI=1.23-2.26) for the 7-day window, 1.84 (95% CI=1.42-2.40) for the 14-day window, and 1.67 (95% CI=1.34-2.08) for the 28-day window. SSRIs with high and intermediate, but not low, affinity for serotonin transporter were associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. An elevated risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding after SSRI exposure was seen in male but not female patients. Short-term SSRI use (7-28 days) is significantly associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Gender differences may exist in the relationship between SSRI use and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Physicians should carefully monitor signs of upper gastrointestinal bleeding even after short-term exposure to SSRIs, as is done with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and aspirin.

  4. Quantitative risk stratification in Markov chains with limiting conditional distributions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, David C; Pollett, Philip K; Weinstein, Milton C

    2009-01-01

    Many clinical decisions require patient risk stratification. The authors introduce the concept of limiting conditional distributions, which describe the equilibrium proportion of surviving patients occupying each disease state in a Markov chain with death. Such distributions can quantitatively describe risk stratification. The authors first establish conditions for the existence of a positive limiting conditional distribution in a general Markov chain and describe a framework for risk stratification using the limiting conditional distribution. They then apply their framework to a clinical example of a treatment indicated for high-risk patients, first to infer the risk of patients selected for treatment in clinical trials and then to predict the outcomes of expanding treatment to other populations of risk. For the general chain, a positive limiting conditional distribution exists only if patients in the earliest state have the lowest combined risk of progression or death. The authors show that in their general framework, outcomes and population risk are interchangeable. For the clinical example, they estimate that previous clinical trials have selected the upper quintile of patient risk for this treatment, but they also show that expanded treatment would weakly dominate this degree of targeted treatment, and universal treatment may be cost-effective. Limiting conditional distributions exist in most Markov models of progressive diseases and are well suited to represent risk stratification quantitatively. This framework can characterize patient risk in clinical trials and predict outcomes for other populations of risk.

  5. Functional rehabilitation of upper limb apraxia in poststroke patients: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Mármol, Jose Manuel; García-Ríos, M Carmen; Barrero-Hernandez, Francisco J; Molina-Torres, Guadalupe; Brown, Ted; Aguilar-Ferrándiz, María Encarnación

    2015-11-05

    Upper limb apraxia is a common disorder associated with stroke that can reduce patients' independence levels in activities of daily living and increase levels of disability. Traditional rehabilitation programs designed to promote the recovery of upper limb function have mainly focused on restorative or compensatory approaches. However, no previous studies have been completed that evaluate a combined intervention method approach, where patients concurrently receive cognitive training and learn compensatory strategies for enhancing daily living activities. This study will use a two-arm, assessor-blinded, parallel, randomized controlled trial design, involving 40 patients who present a left- or right-sided unilateral vascular lesion poststroke and a clinical diagnosis of upper limb apraxia. Participants will be randomized to either a combined functional rehabilitation or a traditional health education group. The experimental group will receive an 8-week combined functional program at home, including physical and occupational therapy focused on restorative and compensatory techniques for upper limb apraxia, 3 days per week in 30-min intervention periods. The control group will receive a conventional health education program once a month over 8 weeks, based on improving awareness of physical and functional limitations and facilitating the adaptation of patients to the home. Study outcomes will be assessed immediately postintervention and at the 2-month follow-up. The primary outcome measure will be basic activities of daily living skills as assessed with the Barthel Index. Secondary outcome measures will include the following: 1) the Lawton and Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale, 2) the Observation and Scoring of ADL-Activities, 3) the De Renzi Test for Ideational Apraxia, 4) the De Renzi Test for Ideomotor Apraxia, 5) Recognition of Gestures, 6) the Test of Upper Limb Apraxia (TULIA), and 7) the Quality of Life Scale For Stroke (ECVI-38). This trial is

  6. Order of magnitude smaller limit on the electric dipole moment of the electron.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baron, J; Campbell, W C; DeMille, D; Doyle, J M; Gabrielse, G; Gurevich, Y V; Hess, P W; Hutzler, N R; Kirilov, E; Kozyryev, I; O'Leary, B R; Panda, C D; Parsons, M F; Petrik, E S; Spaun, B; Vutha, A C; West, A D

    2014-01-17

    The Standard Model of particle physics is known to be incomplete. Extensions to the Standard Model, such as weak-scale supersymmetry, posit the existence of new particles and interactions that are asymmetric under time reversal (T) and nearly always predict a small yet potentially measurable electron electric dipole moment (EDM), d(e), in the range of 10(-27) to 10(-30) e·cm. The EDM is an asymmetric charge distribution along the electron spin (S(→)) that is also asymmetric under T. Using the polar molecule thorium monoxide, we measured d(e) = (-2.1 ± 3.7stat ± 2.5syst) × 10(-29) e·cm. This corresponds to an upper limit of |d(e)| < 8.7 × 10(-29) e·cm with 90% confidence, an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity relative to the previous best limit. Our result constrains T-violating physics at the TeV energy scale.

  7. Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2007-01-01

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

  8. Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2007-07-15

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

  9. Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Series

    Science.gov (United States)

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

  10. Reduced Limit on the Permanent Electric Dipole Moment of ^{199}Hg.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graner, B; Chen, Y; Lindahl, E G; Heckel, B R

    2016-04-22

    This Letter describes the results of the most recent measurement of the permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of neutral ^{199}Hg atoms. Fused silica vapor cells containing enriched ^{199}Hg are arranged in a stack in a common magnetic field. Optical pumping is used to spin polarize the atoms orthogonal to the applied magnetic field, and the Faraday rotation of near-resonant light is observed to determine an electric-field-induced perturbation to the Larmor precession frequency. Our results for this frequency shift are consistent with zero; we find the corresponding ^{199}Hg EDM d_{Hg}=(-2.20±2.75_{stat}±1.48_{syst})×10^{-30}e cm. We use this result to place a new upper limit on the ^{199}Hg EDM |d_{Hg}|<7.4×10^{-30}e cm (95% C.L.), improving our previous limit by a factor of 4. We also discuss the implications of this result for various CP-violating observables as they relate to theories of physics beyond the standard model.

  11. The upper limit of the cardiorespiratory training zone (40-84%HRR) is overestimated for postmenopausal women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aragão, Florbela; Moreira, Maria Helena; Gabriel, Ronaldo Eugénio; Abrantes, Catarina Gavião

    2013-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the heart rate reserve (HRR) at first and second ventilatory thresholds (VT's) in postmenopausal women and compare it with optimal intensity range recommended by the ACSM (40-84%HRR). An additional aim was to evaluate whether a higher aerobic power level corresponded to a higher HRR at VT's. Fifty-eight postmenopausal women participated in this study (aged 48-69). A graded 25 Wmin(-2) cycle ergometer (Monark E839) exercise protocol was performed in order to assess aerobic power. The heart rate and gas-exchange variables were measured continuously using a portable gas analyzer system (Cosmed K4b). The first (VT1) and the second (VT2) VT's were determined by the time course curves of ventilation and O2 and CO2 ventilatory equivalents. A K-means clustering analysis was used in order to identify VO2max groups (cut-off of 30.5 mlkg(-1)min(-1)) and differences were evaluated by an independent sample t-test. Bland-Altman plots were performed to illustrate the agreement between methods. The women's HRR values at VT1 were similar to 40% HRR in both VO2max groups. At VT2 both VO2max groups exhibited negative differences (Plower VO2max group and -16.32% in the higher VO2max group). An upper limit of 84% overestimates the %HRR value for the second ventilatory threshold, suggesting that the cardiorespiratory target zone for this population should be lower and narrower (40-70%HRR). Copyright © 2012 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Beating the Spin-Down Limit on Gravitational Wave Emission from the Crab Pulsar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbott, B.; Babak, S.; Abbott, R.; Adhikari, R.; Anderson, S. B.; Araya, M.; Armandula, H.; Ballmer, S.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Aulbert, C.; Allen, G.; Amin, R.; Anderson, W. G.; Armor, P.; Arain, M. A.; Aso, Y.; Aston, S.; Aufmuth, P.; Bantilan, H.

    2008-01-01

    We present direct upper limits on gravitational wave emission from the Crab pulsar using data from the first 9 months of the fifth science run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). These limits are based on two searches. In the first we assume that the gravitational wave emission follows the observed radio timing, giving an upper limit on gravitational wave emission that beats indirect limits inferred from the spin-down and braking index of the pulsar and the energetics of the nebula. In the second we allow for a small mismatch between the gravitational and radio signal frequencies and interpret our results in the context of two possible gravitational wave emission mechanisms.

  13. Supra-Epiglottic Upper Airway Volume in Elderly Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boutet, Claire; Abdirahman Mohamed Moussa, Syad; Celle, Sébastien; Laurent, Bernard; Barthélémy, Jean-Claude; Barral, Fabrice-Guy; Roche, Frédéric

    2016-01-01

    Small upper airway measurements areas and high body mass index are recognized risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in non-elderly populations; however, there is limited information regarding elderly patients. We evaluated whether upper airway volume is associated with OSAS and OSAS treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment and whether BMI is correlated with upper airway volume and measurements in elderly subjects. In 60 volunteers aged 75.58±0.9 years: 20 OSAS, 20 OSAS chronically treated with CPAP, and 20 controls, semi-automatic segmentation, retropalatal distance and transverse diameter of the supra-epiglottic upper airway were evaluated using 3DT1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Anteroposterior to transverse diameter ratio was defined as retropalatar diameter/transverse diameter. There were no significant differences in supra-epiglottic upper airway volume between OSAS, CPAP treated patients, and controls. There were significant differences in retropalatal distance and anteroposterior to transverse diameter ratio between OSAS, CPAP treated patients, and controls (P = 0.008 and Psupra-epiglottic upper airway volume. In elderly subjects, OSAS and body mass index are not associated with changes in supra-epiglottic upper airway volume but are associated with modification of pharynx shape.

  14. Limits to fuel/coolant mixing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corradini, M.L.; Moses, G.A.

    1985-01-01

    The vapor explosion process involves the mixing of fuel with coolant prior to the explosion. A number of analysts have identified limits to the amount of fuel/coolant mixing that could occur within the reactor vessel following a core melt accident. Past models are reviewed and a sim plified approach is suggested to estimate the upper limit on the amount of fuel/coolant mixing pos sible. The approach uses concepts first advanced by Fauske in a different way. The results indicat that water depth is an important parameter as well as the mixing length scale D /SUB mix/ , and for large values of D /SUB mix/ the fuel mass mixed is limited to <7% of the core mass

  15. Calculating exclusion limits for weakly interacting massive particle direct detection experiments without background subtraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, Anne M.

    2002-01-01

    Competitive limits on the weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) spin-independent scattering cross section are currently being produced by 76 Ge detectors originally designed to search for neutrinoless double beta decay, such as the Heidelberg-Moscow and IGEX experiments. In the absence of background subtraction, limits on the WIMP interaction cross section are set by calculating the upper confidence limit on the theoretical event rate, given the observed event rate. The standard analysis technique involves calculating the 90% upper confidence limit on the number of events in each bin, and excluding any set of parameters (WIMP mass and cross section) which produces a theoretical event rate for any bin which exceeds the 90% upper confidence limit on the event rate for that bin. We show that, if there is more than one energy bin, this produces exclusion limits that are actually at a lower degree of confidence than 90%, and are hence erroneously tight. We formulate criteria which produce true 90% confidence exclusion limits in these circumstances, including calculating the individual bin confidence limit for which the overall probability that no bins exceed this confidence limit is 90% and calculating the 90% minimum confidence limit on the number of bins which exceed their individual bin 90% confidence limits. We then compare the limits on the WIMP cross section produced by these criteria with those found using the standard technique, using data from the Heidelberg-Moscow and IGEX experiments

  16. Upper and lower bounds in nonrelativistic scattering theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darewych, J.W.; Pooran, R.

    1980-01-01

    We consider the problem of determining rigorous upper and lower bounds to the difference between the exact and approximate scattering phase shift, for the case of central potential scattering. The present work is based on the Kato identities and the phase-amplitude formalism of potential scattering developed by Calogero. For nonstationary approximations, a new first-order (in small quantities) bound is established which is particularly useful for partial waves other than s waves. Similar, but second-order, bounds are established for approximations which are stationary. Some previous results, based on the use of the Lippman--Schwinger equation are generalized, and some new bounds are established. These are illustrated, and compared to previous results, by a simple example. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the present results in comparison to those derived previously. Finally, we present the generalization of some of the present formalism to the case of many-channel scattering involving many-particle systems, and discuss some of the difficulties of their practical implementation

  17. Upper limit for the effect of elastic bending stress on the saturation magnetization of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Q.

    2018-01-31

    Using polarized neutron reflectometry, we measured the influence of elastic bending stress on the magnetization depth profile of a La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 (LSMO) epitaxial film grown on a SrTiO3 substrate. The elastic bending strain of +/- 0.03% has no obvious effect on the magnetization depth profile at saturation. This result is in stark contrast to that of (La1-xPrx)(1-y),Ca-y,MnO3 (LPCMO) films for which strain of +/- 0.01% produced dramatic changes in the magnetization profile and Curie temperature. We attribute the difference between the influence of strain on the saturation magnetization in LSMO (weak or none) and LPCMO (strong) to a difference in the ability of LSMO (weak or none) and LPCMO (strong) to phase separate. Our observation provides an upper limit of tuning LSMO saturation magnetization via elastic strain effect.

  18. Surgical management for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, Bhavan Prasad; Shelley, Mike; Coles, Bernadette; Biyani, Chandra S; El-Mokadem, Ismail; Nabi, Ghulam

    2011-04-13

    Upper tract transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) are uncommon and aggressive tumours. There are a number of surgical approaches to manage this condition including open radical nephroureterectomy and laparoscopic procedures. To determine the best surgical management option for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma. A sensitive search strategy was developed to identify relevant studies for inclusion in this review. The following databases were searched for randomised trials evaluating surgical approaches to the management of upper tract TCC: Medline EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), CINAHL, British Nursing Index, AMED, LILACS, Web of Science®, Scopus, Biosis, TRIP, Biomed Central, Dissertation Abstracts, and ISI Proceedings. The following criteria that were considered for this review.Types of studies - All randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials comparing the various surgical methods and approaches for the management of localised upper tract transitional cell carcinoma. Types of participants - All adult patients with localised transitional cell carcinoma. Localised disease was defined as limited to the kidney or ureter with no gross regional lymph nodal enlargement on imaging. Types of interventions - Any surgical method or approach for managing localised upper tract transitional cell carcinoma. Types of outcome measures - Overall and cancer-specific survival were primary outcomes. Surgery-related morbidity. Quality of life and health economics outcomes were secondary outcomes. Two review authors examined the search results independently to identify trials for inclusion. We identified one randomised controlled trial that met our inclusion criteria. The trial showed that the laparoscopic approach had superior peri-operative outcomes compared to open approach. Laparoscopic was superior and statistically significant for blood loss (104 mL (millilitres) versus 430 mL, P management of upper tract transitional cell carcinoma

  19. A REVISED AGE FOR UPPER SCORPIUS AND THE STAR FORMATION HISTORY AMONG THE F-TYPE MEMBERS OF THE SCORPIUS-CENTAURUS OB ASSOCIATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pecaut, Mark J.; Mamajek, Eric E.; Bubar, Eric J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0171 (United States)

    2012-02-20

    We present an analysis of the ages and star formation history of the F-type stars in the Upper Scorpius (US), Upper Centaurus-Lupus (UCL), and Lower Centaurus-Crux (LCC) subgroups of Scorpius-Centaurus (Sco-Cen), the nearest OB association. Our parent sample is the kinematically selected Hipparcos sample of de Zeeuw et al., restricted to the 138 F-type members. We have obtained classification-resolution optical spectra and have also determined the spectroscopic accretion disk fraction. With Hipparcos and 2MASS photometry, we estimate the reddening and extinction for each star and place the candidate members on a theoretical H-R diagram. For each subgroup we construct empirical isochrones and compare to published evolutionary tracks. We find that (1) our empirical isochrones are consistent with the previously published age-rank of the Sco-Cen subgroups; (2) subgroups LCC and UCL appear to reach the main-sequence turn-on at spectral types {approx}F4 and {approx}F2, respectively. An analysis of the A-type stars shows US reaching the main sequence at about spectral type {approx}A3. (3) The median ages for the pre-main-sequence members of UCL and LCC are 16 Myr and 17 Myr, respectively, in agreement with previous studies, however we find that (4) Upper Sco is much older than previously thought. The luminosities of the F-type stars in US are typically a factor of {approx}2.5 less luminous than predicted for a 5 Myr old population for four sets of evolutionary tracks. We re-examine the evolutionary state and isochronal ages for the B-, A-, and G-type Upper Sco members, as well as the evolved M supergiant Antares, and estimate a revised mean age for Upper Sco of 11 {+-} 1 {+-} 2 Myr (statistical, systematic). Using radial velocities and Hipparcos parallaxes we calculate a lower limit on the kinematic expansion age for Upper Sco of >10.5 Myr (99% confidence). However, the data are statistically consistent with no expansion. We reevaluate the inferred masses for the known

  20. Response to health insurance by previously uninsured rural children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilford, J M; Robbins, J M; Shema, S J; Farmer, F L

    1999-08-01

    To examine the healthcare utilization and costs of previously uninsured rural children. Four years of claims data from a school-based health insurance program located in the Mississippi Delta. All children who were not Medicaid-eligible or were uninsured, were eligible for limited benefits under the program. The 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) was used to compare utilization of services. The study represents a natural experiment in the provision of insurance benefits to a previously uninsured population. Premiums for the claims cost were set with little or no information on expected use of services. Claims from the insurer were used to form a panel data set. Mixed model logistic and linear regressions were estimated to determine the response to insurance for several categories of health services. The use of services increased over time and approached the level of utilization in the NMES. Conditional medical expenditures also increased over time. Actuarial estimates of claims cost greatly exceeded actual claims cost. The provision of a limited medical, dental, and optical benefit package cost approximately $20-$24 per member per month in claims paid. An important uncertainty in providing health insurance to previously uninsured populations is whether a pent-up demand exists for health services. Evidence of a pent-up demand for medical services was not supported in this study of rural school-age children. States considering partnerships with private insurers to implement the State Children's Health Insurance Program could lower premium costs by assembling basic data on previously uninsured children.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-09-01

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

  2. Are gender differences in upper-body power generated by elite cross-country skiers augmented by increasing the intensity of exercise?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hegge, Ann Magdalen; Myhre, Kenneth; Welde, Boye; Holmberg, Hans-Christer; Sandbakk, Øyvind

    2015-01-01

    In the current study, we evaluated the impact of exercise intensity on gender differences in upper-body poling among cross-country skiers, as well as the associated differences in aerobic capacity, maximal strength, body composition, technique and extent of training. Eight male and eight female elite skiers, gender-matched for level of performance by FIS points, carried out a 4-min submaximal, and a 3-min and 30-sec maximal all-out test of isolated upper-body double poling on a Concept2 ski ergometer. Maximal upper-body power and strength (1RM) were determined with a pull-down exercise. In addition, body composition was assessed with a DXA scan and training during the previous six months quantified from diaries. Relative to the corresponding female values (defined as 100%), the power output produced by the men was 88%, 95% and 108% higher during the submaximal, 3-min and 30-sec tests, respectively, and peak power in the pull-down strength exercise was 118% higher (all Pgender differences in upper-body power among cross-country skiers augmented as the intensity of exercise increased. The gender differences observed here are greater than those reported previously for both lower- and whole-body sports and coincided with greater peak aerobic capacity and maximal upper-body strength, relatively more muscle mass in the upper-body, and more extensive training of upper-body strength and endurance among the male skiers.

  3. Biodiversity and climate change: consequences for upper tree line in Slovakia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minďaš Jozef

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Study of the effects of climate change on upper tree limit has mainly focused on the diversity of tree species as a result of the ability of species to tolerate temperature and moisture changes as well as some effects of disturbance regime changes. The tree species diversity changes due to climate change has been analysed via gap model and biodiversity indices. Gap models are individually based on simulations of establishment, growth, and mortality of each tree on the forest plot. Input ecological data for model calculations have been taken from the permanent research plots located in primeval forests in mountainous regions in Slovakia. The results of regional scenarios of the climatic change for the territory of Slovakia have been used, from which the values according to the CGCM3.1 (global model, KNMI and MPI (regional models. Model results for conditions of the climate change scenarios suggest a shift of the upper forest limit to the region of the present subalpine zone, in supramontane zone. The most significant tree species diversity changes have been identified for the upper tree line and current belt of dwarf pine (Pinus mugo occurrence. Hill’s index of biodiversity in the upper forest line increased by 30 – 35% for horizon of 2050, resp. by 45 – 50% modeled for the horizon of 2075. Calculated values of Shannon’s index show an even higher increase due to climate change. For horizon 2050 is a roughly of three fold increase and horizon for 2075 by almost fivefold increase in the value of the index. Results from the gap model indicate the increase of tree species diversity 2 – 2,5 times.

  4. Upper packing dimension of a measure and the limit distribution of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    .com. MS received 17 March 2009; revised 9 April 2009. Abstract. This article gives sufficient conditions for the limit distribution of products of i.i.d. 2 × 2 stochastic matrices to be continuous singular, when the support of the distribution of the ...

  5. Semiclassical limit of the FZZT Liouville theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hadasz, Leszek; Jaskolski, Zbigniew

    2006-01-01

    The semiclassical limit of the FZZT Liouville theory on the upper half plane with bulk operators of arbitrary type and with elliptic boundary operators is analyzed. We prove the Polyakov conjecture for an appropriate classical Liouville action. This action is calculated in a number of cases: One bulk operator of arbitrary type, one bulk and one boundary, and two boundary elliptic operators. The results are in agreement with the classical limits of the corresponding quantum correlators

  6. Semiclassical limit of the FZZT Liouville theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadasz, Leszek; Jaskólski, Zbigniew

    2006-11-01

    The semiclassical limit of the FZZT Liouville theory on the upper half plane with bulk operators of arbitrary type and with elliptic boundary operators is analyzed. We prove the Polyakov conjecture for an appropriate classical Liouville action. This action is calculated in a number of cases: One bulk operator of arbitrary type, one bulk and one boundary, and two boundary elliptic operators. The results are in agreement with the classical limits of the corresponding quantum correlators.

  7. Semiclassical limit of the FZZT Liouville theory

    OpenAIRE

    Hadasz, Leszek; Jaskolski, Zbigniew

    2006-01-01

    The semiclassical limit of the FZZT Liouville theory on the upper half plane with bulk operators of arbitrary type and with elliptic boundary operators is analyzed. We prove the Polyakov conjecture for an appropriate classical Liouville action. This action is calculated in a number of cases: one bulk operator of arbitrary type, one bulk and one boundary, and two boundary elliptic operators. The results are in agreement with the classical limits of the corresponding quantum correlators.

  8. Semiclassical limit of the FZZT Liouville theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hadasz, Leszek [Physikalisches Institut, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitaet, Nussallee 12, 53115 Bonn (Germany); M. Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, W. Reymonta 4, 30-059 Cracow (Poland)]. E-mail: hadasz@th.if.uj.edu.pl; Jaskolski, Zbigniew [Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Wroclaw, pl. M. Borna 9, 50-204 Wroclaw (Poland)]. E-mail: jask@ift.uni.wroc.pl

    2006-11-27

    The semiclassical limit of the FZZT Liouville theory on the upper half plane with bulk operators of arbitrary type and with elliptic boundary operators is analyzed. We prove the Polyakov conjecture for an appropriate classical Liouville action. This action is calculated in a number of cases: One bulk operator of arbitrary type, one bulk and one boundary, and two boundary elliptic operators. The results are in agreement with the classical limits of the corresponding quantum correlators.

  9. Teachers’ Thoughts and Students’ Strategies : An empirical study on Swedish upper-secondary students’ andteachers’ perception on reading comprehension

    OpenAIRE

    Sibahi, Samir

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that explicit reading strategy teaching has positive effects on English second language (ESL) students’ reading comprehension. However, Swedish upper- secondary students’ attitudes towards English reading comprehension classes are relatively unknown. This study therefore has the objectives of finding out to what extent reading strategies are taught explicitly in upper-secondary schools in Sweden, and to investigate how students and teachers perceive reading compreh...

  10. A phase II study of VP-16-ifosfamide-cisplatin combination chemotherapy plus early concurrent thoracic irradiation for previously untreated limited small cell lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woo, In Sook; Park, Young Suk; Kwon, Sung Hee

    2000-01-01

    At present the addition of thoracic irradiation to combination chemotherapy is a standard treatment for limited staged small cell ling cancer. However, there is still controversy about the optimum timing of chest irradiation. We conducted a phase II study of etoposide (VP-16)-ifosfamide-cisplatin (VIP) combination chemotherapy plus early concurrent thoracic irradiation for the patients with previously untreated limited small cell lung cancer in order to assess if the treatment modality could improve the response rate and the toxicity. Forty-four patients with limited small cell lung cancer were treated with etoposide-ifosfamide-cisplatin and concurrent thoracic irradiation. Combination chemotherapy consisted of etoposide 100 mg/m 2 (on day 1-3), ifosfamide 1000 mg/m 2 (on days 1 and 2) and cisplatin 100 mg/m 2 (on day 1). Concurrent thoracic irradiation consisted of a total of 4000 cGy over 4 weeks starting on the first day of the first chemotherapy. All patients who showed a complete response were given prophylactic cranial irradiation for 2.5 weeks. Forty-four of the 49 patients who entered the study from May 1994 to August 1998 were evaluable. The median age was 59 years and 40 patients had a performance status of 0 or 1. The median survival time was 22.5 months. Twenty-eight patients (62%) showed a complete response and 16 (38%) a partial response. Twenty-four patients (54%) developed grade 3 or 4 neutropenia; there was a 9% RTOG score 3 or 4 esophagitis. VIP combination chemotherapy and early concurrent thoracic irradiation for patients with limited stage small cell lung cancer revealed excellent antitumor response with tolerable toxicity. (author)

  11. [Relationship between sulfur dioxide pollution and upper respiratory outpatients in Jiangbei, Ningbo].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yifeng; Zhao, Fengmin; Qian, Xujun; Xu, Guozhang; He, Tianfeng; Shen, Yueping; Cai, Yibiao

    2015-07-01

    To describe the daily average concentration of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in Ningbo, and to analysis the health impacts it caused in upper respiratory disease. With outpatients log and air pollutants monitoring data matched in 2011-2013, the distributed lag non-linear models were used to analysis the relative risk of the number of upper respiratory patients associated with SO2, and also excessive risk, and the inferred number of patients due to SO2 pollution. The daily average concentration of SO2 didn't exceed the limit value of second class area. The coefficient of upper respiratory outpatient number and daily average concentration of SO2 matched was 0.44,with the excessive risk was 10% to 18%, the lag of most SO2 concentrations was 4 to 6 days. It could be estimated that about 30% of total upper respiratory outpatients were caused by SO2 pollution. Although the daily average concentration of SO2 didn't exceed the standard in 3 years, the health impacts still be caused with lag effect.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2007-01-01

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

  13. Setting limits and application to Higgs boson search

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lista, L.

    2013-01-01

    This lecture summarizes the basic concept of hypothesis testing, will introduce the concepts of significance and upper limit under the frequentist and Bayesian approaches, and will discuss the benefits and limitations of the most popular approaches. Special attention will be devoted to the so-called modified frequentist approach, which is a popular method in High Energy Physics, and some application to real physics cases will be discussed. (authors)

  14. Upper GI Bleeding in Children

    Science.gov (United States)

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

  15. Using commercial video games for upper limb stroke rehabilitation: is this the way of the future?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietrzak, Eva; Cotea, Cristina; Pullman, Stephen

    2014-01-01

    The increasing number of people living with poststroke sequelae has stimulated the search for novel ways of providing poststroke rehabilitation without putting additional stress on overburdened health care systems. One of them is the use of commercially available technology and off-the-shelf video games for hemiparetic upper limb rehabilitation. The MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched using key word synonyms for stroke, upper limb, and video games. Included studies investigated upper limb stroke rehabilitation using commercially available consoles and video games, reported outcomes that included measures of upper limb functionality, and were published in a peer-reviewed journal written in English. Thirteen studies were identified - 6 published as full articles and 7 as abstracts. Studies were generally small and only 3 were randomized. The gaming systems investigated were the Nintendo Wii (n = 10), EyeToy PlayStation (n = 2), and CyWee Z (n = 1). The Nintendo Wii appears to provide the greatest benefits to patients, with improvements seen in upper extremity function measures such as joint range of motion, hand motor function, grip strength, and dexterity. Three studies indicate that video therapy appears to be safe and that long-term improvements continue at follow-up. At present, the evidence that the use of commercial video games in rehabilitation improves upper limb functionality after stroke is very limited. However, this approach has the potential to provide easily available and affordable stroke rehabilitation therapy in settings where access to therapy is limited by geographical or financial constraints.

  16. An investigation of the processes controlling ozone in the upper stratosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patten, K.O. Jr.; Connell, P.S.; Kinnison, D.E.; Wuebbles, D.J.; Waters, J.; Froidevaux, L.; Slanger, T.G.

    1992-01-01

    Photolysis of vibrationally excited oxygen produced by ultraviolet photolysis of ozone in the upper stratosphere is incorporated into the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 2-D zonally averaged chemical-radiative-transport model of the troposphere and stratosphere. The importance of this potential contributor of odd oxygen to the concentration of ozone is evaluated based upon recent information on vibrational distributions of excited oxygen and upon preliminary studies of energy transfer from the excited oxygen. When the energy transfer rate constants of previous work are assumed, increases in model ozone concentrations of up to 40 percent in the upper stratosphere are found, and the ozone concentrations of the model agree with measurements, including data from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. However, the increase is about 0.4 percent when the larger energy transfer rate constants suggested by more recent experimental work are applied in the model. This indicates the importance of obtaining detailed information on vibrationally excited oxygen properties, particularly the state-specific energy transfer rate constants, to evaluation of tills precess for stratospheric modeling

  17. Primary aortojejunal fistula: a rare cause for massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paulasir, Sylvester; Khorfan, Rhami; Harsant, Christina; Anderson, Harry Linne

    2017-04-26

    A 68-year-old man presented to the emergency department with haematemesis and shock. Upper endoscopy and selective angiography could not identify the source of bleeding. He underwent selective embolisation of the gastroduodenal artery. The patient then had a period of about 24 hours with relative haemodynamic stability before having another episode of massive upper gastrointestinal bleed. A second attempt to embolise the common hepatic artery and distal coeliac axis was unsuccessful. Hence, he was urgently taken to the operating room for exploratory laparotomy. The source of bleeding could not be identified in the operating room. The patient went into cardiac arrest and expired. Autopsy revealed a fistula between proximal jejunum and a previously unknown abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). We present an entity that has only been described a few times in the literature while highlighting the importance of having a broad differential with upper gastrointestinal bleeding, especially when the source is not clearly evident. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  18. Evidence for Radial Anisotropy in Earth's Upper Inner Core from Normal Modes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lythgoe, K.; Deuss, A. F.

    2017-12-01

    The structure of the uppermost inner core is related to solidification of outer core material at the inner core boundary. Previous seismic studies using body waves indicate an isotropic upper inner core, although radial anisotropy has not been considered since it cannot be uniquely determined by body waves. Normal modes, however, do constrain radial anisotropy in the inner core. Centre frequency measurements indicate 2-5 % radial anisotropy in the upper 100 km of the inner core, with a fast direction radially outwards and a slow direction along the inner core boundary. This seismic structure provides constraints on solidification processes at the inner core boundary and appears consistent with texture predicted due to anisotropic inner core growth.

  19. ITER Experts' meeting on density limits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borrass, K.; Igitkhanov, Y.L.; Uckan, N.A.

    1989-12-01

    The necessity of achieving a prescribed wall load or fusion power essentially determines the plasma pressure in a device like ITER. The range of operation densities and temperatures compatible with this condition is constrained by the problems of power exhaust and the disruptive density limit. The maximum allowable heat loads on the divertor plates and the maximum allowable sheath edge temperature practically impose a lower limit on the operating densities, whereas the disruptive density limit imposes an upper limit. For most of the density limit scalings proposed in the past an overlap of the two constraints or at best a very narrow accessible density range is predicted for ITER. Improved understanding of the underlying mechanisms is therefore a crucial issue in order to provide a more reliable basis for extrapolation to ITER and to identify possible ways of alleviating the problem

  20. An Instrument to Determine the Technological Literacy Levels of Upper Secondary School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luckay, Melanie B.; Collier-Reed, Brandon I.

    2014-01-01

    In this article, an instrument for assessing upper secondary school students' levels of technological literacy is presented. The items making up the instrument emerged from a previous study that employed a phenomenographic research approach to explore students' conceptions of technology in terms of their understanding of the "nature…

  1. Local extirpations and regional declines of endemic upper beach invertebrates in southern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubbard, D. M.; Dugan, J. E.; Schooler, N. K.; Viola, S. M.

    2014-10-01

    Along the world's highly valued and populous coastlines, the upper intertidal zones of sandy beach ecosystems and the biodiversity that these zones support are increasingly threatened by impacts of human activities, coastal development, erosion, and climate change. The upper zones of beaches typically support invertebrates with restricted distributions and dispersal, making them particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation. We hypothesized that disproportionate loss or degradation of these zones in the last century has resulted in declines of upper shore macroinvertebrates in southern California. We identified a suite of potentially vulnerable endemic upper beach invertebrates with direct development, low dispersal and late reproduction. Based on the availability of printed sources and museum specimens, we investigated historical changes in distribution and abundance of two intertidal isopod species (Tylos punctatus, Alloniscus perconvexus) in southern California. Populations of these isopods have been extirpated at numerous historically occupied sites: T. punctatus from 16 sites (57% decrease), and A. perconvexus from 14 sites (64% decrease). During the same period, we found evidence of only five colonization events. In addition, the northern range limit of the southern species, T. punctatus, moved south by 31 km (8% of range on California mainland) since 1971. Abundances of T. punctatus have declined on the mainland coast; only three recently sampled populations had abundances >7000 individuals m-1. For A. perconvexus populations, abundances >100 individuals m-1 now appear to be limited to the northern part of the study area. Our results show that numerous local extirpations of isopod populations have resulted in regional declines and in greatly reduced population connectivity in several major littoral cells of southern California. Two of the six major littoral cells (Santa Barbara and Zuma) in the area currently support 74% of the remaining isopod

  2. Upper critical field of Mo-Ni heterostructures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1985-12-01

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

  3. Reoperations following combat-related upper-extremity amputations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tintle, Scott M; Baechler, Martin F; Nanos, George P; Forsberg, Jonathan A; Potter, Benjamin K

    2012-08-15

    Amputation revision rates following major upper-extremity amputations have not been previously reported in a large cohort of patients. We hypothesized that the revision rates following major upper-extremity amputation were higher than the existing literature would suggest, and that surgical treatment of complications and persistent symptoms would lead to improved outcomes. We performed a retrospective analysis of a consecutive series of ninety-six combat-wounded personnel who had sustained a total of 100 major upper-extremity amputations in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Prerevision and postrevision outcome measures, including prosthesis use and type, the presence of phantom and residual limb pain, pain medication use, and return to active military duty, were identified for all patients. All amputations resulted from high-energy trauma, with 87% occurring secondary to a blast injury. Forty-two residual limbs (42%) underwent a total of 103 repeat surgical interventions. As compared with patients with all other levels of amputation, those with a transradial amputation were 4.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.75 to 12.46) times more likely to have phantom limb pain and 2.8 (95% CI: 1.04 to 7.39) times more likely to require neuropathic pain medications. In the group of patients who underwent revision surgery, regular prosthesis use increased from 19% before the revision to 87% after it (p < 0.0001). In our cohort, revision amputation to address surgical complications and persistently symptomatic residual limbs improved the patient's overall acceptance of the prosthesis and led to outcomes equivalent to those following amputations that did not require revision.

  4. The limits of the Bohm criterion in collisional plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valentini, H.-B.; Kaiser, D.

    2015-01-01

    The sheath formation within a low-pressure collisional plasma is analysed by means of a two-fluid model. The Bohm criterion takes into account the effects of the electric field and the inertia of the ions. Numerical results yield that these effects contribute to the space charge formation, only, if the collisionality is lower than a relatively small threshold. It follows that a lower and an upper limit of the drift speed of the ions exist where the effects treated by Bohm can form a sheath. This interval becomes narrower as the collisionality increases and vanishes at the mentioned threshold. Above the threshold, the sheath is mainly created by collisions and the ionisation. Under these conditions, the sheath formation cannot be described by means of Bohm like criteria. In a few references, a so-called upper limit of the Bohm criterion is stated for collisional plasmas where the momentum equation of the ions is taken into account, only. However, the present paper shows that this limit results in an unrealistically steep increase of the space charge density towards the wall, and, therefore, it yields no useful limit of the Bohm velocity

  5. Mechanical metamaterials at the theoretical limit of isotropic elastic stiffness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger, J. B.; Wadley, H. N. G.; McMeeking, R. M.

    2017-02-01

    A wide variety of high-performance applications require materials for which shape control is maintained under substantial stress, and that have minimal density. Bio-inspired hexagonal and square honeycomb structures and lattice materials based on repeating unit cells composed of webs or trusses, when made from materials of high elastic stiffness and low density, represent some of the lightest, stiffest and strongest materials available today. Recent advances in 3D printing and automated assembly have enabled such complicated material geometries to be fabricated at low (and declining) cost. These mechanical metamaterials have properties that are a function of their mesoscale geometry as well as their constituents, leading to combinations of properties that are unobtainable in solid materials; however, a material geometry that achieves the theoretical upper bounds for isotropic elasticity and strain energy storage (the Hashin-Shtrikman upper bounds) has yet to be identified. Here we evaluate the manner in which strain energy distributes under load in a representative selection of material geometries, to identify the morphological features associated with high elastic performance. Using finite-element models, supported by analytical methods, and a heuristic optimization scheme, we identify a material geometry that achieves the Hashin-Shtrikman upper bounds on isotropic elastic stiffness. Previous work has focused on truss networks and anisotropic honeycombs, neither of which can achieve this theoretical limit. We find that stiff but well distributed networks of plates are required to transfer loads efficiently between neighbouring members. The resulting low-density mechanical metamaterials have many advantageous properties: their mesoscale geometry can facilitate large crushing strains with high energy absorption, optical bandgaps and mechanically tunable acoustic bandgaps, high thermal insulation, buoyancy, and fluid storage and transport. Our relatively simple

  6. Use of previous maternal health services has a limited role in reattendance for skilled institutional delivery: cross-sectional survey in Northwest Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kebede B

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Bekana Kebede,1 Abebaw Gebeyehu,2 Gashaw Andargie11Department of Health Services Management, 2Department of Reproductive Health, Institute of Public Health, University of Gondar, EthiopiaBackground: Maternal mortality rates are unacceptably high in Ethiopia. Institutional delivery with skilled care of the mother is one of the interventions proven to reduce the risk of complications that can cause maternal and neonatal mortality. Quality of service given during antenatal visits and childbirth are important measures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of skilled institutional delivery and its repeat use during a subsequent pregnancy and to identify any reasons why women avoid institutional delivery.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2012 in Chilga Woreda, Northwest Ethiopia. Data were collected from women who gave birth during the year preceding the survey. Information was entered and cleaned using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Multivariate and binary logistic regression was used to identify the relative effect of each explanatory variable on the outcome.Results: A total of 402 (84.2% women gave birth at home. Previous experience of skilled institutional delivery had a limited role in subsequent acceptance or use of institutional delivery. Most mothers who had previously had institutional delivery gave birth at home. Although 111 (40.8% women visited the health facility during their pregnancy only because of illness, 184 (38.8% did not know when to visit for antenatal care. In multivariate analysis, lower maternal education, being a rural resident, previous use of institutional delivery, remoteness of the health facility, and multiparity were factors significantly associated with less likelihood of institutional delivery. Number of months pregnant at the time of the first antenatal visit had no role in increasing the likelihood of institutional delivery.Conclusion: The

  7. Limits on turbulent propagation of energy in cool-core clusters of galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bambic, C. J.; Pinto, C.; Fabian, A. C.; Sanders, J.; Reynolds, C. S.

    2018-07-01

    We place constraints on the propagation velocity of bulk turbulence within the intracluster medium of three clusters and an elliptical galaxy. Using Reflection Grating Spectrometer measurements of turbulent line broadening, we show that for these clusters, the 90 per cent upper limit on turbulent velocities when accounting for instrumental broadening is too low to propagate energy radially to the cooling radius of the clusters within the required cooling time. In this way, we extend previous Hitomi-based analysis on the Perseus cluster to more clusters, with the intention of applying these results to a future, more extensive catalogue. These results constrain models of turbulent heating in active galactic nucleus feedback by requiring a mechanism which can not only provide sufficient energy to offset radiative cooling but also resupply that energy rapidly enough to balance cooling at each cluster radius.

  8. Upper limb movement analysis during gait in multiple sclerosis patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elsworth-Edelsten, Charlotte; Bonnefoy-Mazure, Alice; Laidet, Magali; Armand, Stephane; Assal, Frederic; Lalive, Patrice; Allali, Gilles

    2017-08-01

    Gait disorders in multiple sclerosis (MS) are well studied; however, no previous study has described upper limb movements during gait. However, upper limb movements have an important role during locomotion and can be altered in MS patients due to direct MS lesions or mechanisms of compensation. The aim of this study was to describe the arm movements during gait in a population of MS patients with low disability compared with a healthy control group. In this observational study we analyzed the arm movements during gait in 52 outpatients (mean age: 39.7±9.6years, female: 40%) with relapsing-remitting MS with low disability (mean EDSS: 2±1) and 25 healthy age-matched controls using a 3-dimension gait analysis. MS patients walked slower, with increased mean elbow flexion and decreased amplitude of elbow flexion (ROM) compared to the control group, whereas shoulder and hand movements were similar to controls. These differences were not explained by age or disability. Upper limb alterations in movement during gait in MS patients with low disability can be characterized by an increase in mean elbow flexion and a decrease in amplitude (ROM) for elbow flexion/extension. This upper limb movement pattern should be considered as a new component of gait disorders in MS and may reflect subtle motor deficits or the use of compensatory mechanisms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Challenging previous conceptions of vegetarianism and eating disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisak, B; Peterson, R D; Tantleff-Dunn, S; Molnar, J M

    2006-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to replicate and expand upon previous research that has examined the potential association between vegetarianism and disordered eating. Limitations of previous research studies are addressed, including possible low reliability of measures of eating pathology within vegetarian samples, use of only a few dietary restraint measures, and a paucity of research examining potential differences in body image and food choice motives of vegetarians versus nonvegetarians. Two hundred and fifty-six college students completed a number of measures of eating pathology and body image, and a food choice motives questionnaire. Interestingly, no significant differences were found between vegetarians and nonvegetarians in measures of eating pathology or body image. However, significant differences in food choice motives were found. Implications for both researchers and clinicians are discussed.

  10. 3D Measurement of Forearm and Upper Arm during Throwing Motion using Body Mounted Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koda, Hideharu; Sagawa, Koichi; Kuroshima, Kouta; Tsukamoto, Toshiaki; Urita, Kazutaka; Ishibashi, Yasuyuki

    The aim of this study is to propose the measurement method of three-dimensional (3D) movement of forearm and upper arm during pitching motion of baseball using inertial sensors without serious consideration of sensor installation. Although high accuracy measurement of sports motion is achieved by using optical motion capture system at present, it has some disadvantages such as the calibration of cameras and limitation of measurement place. Whereas the proposed method for 3D measurement of pitching motion using body mounted sensors provides trajectory and orientation of upper arm by the integration of acceleration and angular velocity measured on upper limb. The trajectory of forearm is derived so that the elbow joint axis of forearm corresponds to that of upper arm. Spatial relation between upper limb and sensor system is obtained by performing predetermined movements of upper limb and utilizing angular velocity and gravitational acceleration. The integration error is modified so that the estimated final position, velocity and posture of upper limb agree with the actual ones. The experimental results of the measurement of pitching motion show that trajectories of shoulder, elbow and wrist estimated by the proposed method are highly correlated to those from the motion capture system within the estimation error of about 10 [%].

  11. Reasoning with Previous Decisions: Beyond the Doctrine of Precedent

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Komárek, Jan

    2013-01-01

    in different jurisdictions use previous judicial decisions in their argument, we need to move beyond the concept of precedent to a wider notion, which would embrace practices and theories in legal systems outside the Common law tradition. This article presents the concept of ‘reasoning with previous decisions...... law method’, but they are no less rational and intellectually sophisticated. The reason for the rather conceited attitude of some comparatists is in the dominance of the common law paradigm of precedent and the accompanying ‘case law method’. If we want to understand how courts and lawyers......’ as such an alternative and develops its basic models. The article first points out several shortcomings inherent in limiting the inquiry into reasoning with previous decisions by the common law paradigm (1). On the basis of numerous examples provided in section (1), I will present two basic models of reasoning...

  12. Limited entropic uncertainty as new principle of quantum physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ion, D.B.; Ion, M.L.

    2001-01-01

    The Uncertainty Principle (UP) of quantum mechanics discovered by Heisenberg, which constitute the corner-stone of quantum physics, asserts that: there is an irreducible lower bound on the uncertainty in the result of a simultaneous measurement of non-commuting observables. In order to avoid this state-dependence many authors proposed to use the information entropy as a measure of the uncertainty instead of above standard quantitative formulation of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. In this paper the Principle of Limited Entropic Uncertainty (LEU-Principle), as a new principle in quantum physics, is proved. Then, consistent experimental tests of the LEU-principle, obtained by using the available 49 sets of the pion-nucleus phase shifts, are presented for both, extensive (q=1) and nonextensive (q=0.5 and q=2.0) cases. Some results obtained by the application of LEU-Principle to the diffraction phenomena are also discussed. The main results and conclusions of our paper can be summarized as follows: (i) We introduced a new principle in quantum physics namely the Principle of Limited Entropic Uncertainty (LEU-Principle). This new principle includes in a more general and exact form not only the old Heisenberg uncertainty principle but also introduce an upper limit on the magnitude of the uncertainty in the quantum physics. The LEU-Principle asserts that: 'there is an irreducible lower bound as well as an upper bound on the uncertainty in the result of a simultaneous measurement of non-commuting observables for any extensive and nonextensive (q ≥ 0) quantum systems'; (ii) Two important concrete realizations of the LEU-Principle are explicitly obtained in this paper, namely: (a) the LEU-inequalities for the quantum scattering of spinless particles and (b) the LEU-inequalities for the diffraction on single slit of width 2a. In particular from our general results, in the limit y → +1 we recover in an exact form all the results previously reported. In our paper an

  13. Upper estimates of complexity of algorithms for multi-peg Tower of Hanoi problem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergey Novikov

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available There are proved upper explicit estimates of complexity of lgorithms: for multi-peg Tower of Hanoi problem with the limited number of disks, for Reve's puzzle and for $5$-peg Tower of Hanoi problem with the free number of disks.

  14. Limit values for exposure to physical agents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1983-01-01

    The limit values for exposure to thermal environments adopted by the French AFNOR and by the ISO Working Group (AFNOR Standard X 35-201 and ISO Standard 7243, and AFNOR Standard X 35-204). The limit values for exposure to other physical agents established by the American ACGIH for 1982. The following agents are covered: - laser radiation (ocular and skin exposure); - ultraviolet radiation; - visible and near-infrared radiation (retinal thermal and photochemical injury); - airborne and upper sonic and ultrasonic acoustic radiation; - radiofrequency radiation [fr

  15. Effects of upper-limb immobilisation on driving safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory, J J; Stephens, A N; Steele, N A; Groeger, J A

    2009-03-01

    Doctors are frequently asked by patients whether it is safe to drive with an upper limb immobilised in a cast. In the literature there are no objective measurements of the effects of upper-limb immobilisation upon driving performance. Eight healthy volunteers performed four 20-min driving circuits in a driving simulator (STISIM 400W), circuits 1 and 4 without immobilisation and circuits 2 and 3 with immobilisation. Immobilisation involved a lightweight below-elbow cast with the thumb left free. Volunteers were randomised to right or left immobilisation for circuit 2, and the contralateral wrist was immobilised for circuit 3. Circuits included urban and rural environments and specific hazards (pedestrians crossing, vehicles emerging from a concealed entrance, traffic lights changing suddenly, avoidance of an oncoming vehicle in the driver's carriageway). Limb immobilisation led to more cautious rural and urban driving, with less adjustment of speed and lateral road position than when unrestricted. However when responding to hazards immobilisation caused less safe driving, with higher speeds, a greater proximity to the hazard before action was taken and less steering adjustment. The effects of restriction upon performance were more prevalent and severe with right-arm immobilisation. Upper-limb immobilisation appears to have little effect on the ability to drive a car unchallenged, but to adversely affect responses to routine hazards. Advice on ability to drive safely should be cautious, as the impact of immobilisation appears to be more subtle and wide ranging than previously thought.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2014-03-01

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

  17. The Limit of Free Magnetic Energy in Active Regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Ron; Falconer, David; Sterling, Alphonse

    2012-01-01

    By measuring from active-region magnetograms a proxy of the free energy in the active region fs magnetic field, it has been found previously that (1) there is an abrupt upper limit to the free energy the field can hold that increases with the amount of magnetic field in the active region, the active region fs magnetic flux content, and (2) the free energy is usually near its limit when the field explodes in a CME/flare eruption. That is, explosive active regions are concentrated in a main-sequence path bordering the free-energy ]limit line in (flux content, free-energy proxy) phase space. Here, from measurement of Marshall Space Flight Center vector magnetograms, we find the magnetic condition that underlies the free ]energy limit and the accompanying main sequence of explosive active regions. Using a suitable free ]energy proxy measured from vector magnetograms of 44 active regions, we find that (1) in active regions at and near their free ]energy limit, the ratio of magnetic-shear free energy to the non ]free magnetic energy the potential field would have is approximately 1 in the core field, the field rooted along the neutral line, and (2) this ratio is progressively less in active regions progressively farther below their free ]energy limit. This shows that most active regions in which this core-field energy ratio is much less than 1 cannot be triggered to explode; as this ratio approaches 1, most active regions become capable of exploding; and when this ratio is 1 or greater, most active regions are compelled to explode. From these results we surmise the magnetic condition that determines the free ]energy limit is the ratio of the free magnetic energy to the non-free energy the active region fs field would have were it completely relaxed to its potential ]field configuration, and that this ratio is approximately 1 at the free-energy limit and in the main sequence of explosive active regions.

  18. Seasonal variations of the upper ocean salinity stratification in the Tropics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maes, Christophe; O'Kane, Terence J.

    2014-03-01

    In comparison to the deep ocean, the upper mixed layer is a region typically characterized by substantial vertical gradients in water properties. Within the Tropics, the rich variability in the vertical shapes and forms that these structures can assume through variation in the atmospheric forcing results in a differential effect in terms of the temperature and salinity stratification. Rather than focusing on the strong halocline above the thermocline, commonly referred to as the salinity barrier layer, the present study takes into account the respective thermal and saline dependencies in the Brunt-Väisälä frequency (N2) in order to isolate the specific role of the salinity stratification in the layers above the main pycnocline. We examine daily vertical profiles of temperature and salinity from an ocean reanalysis over the period 2001-2007. We find significant seasonal variations in the Brunt-Väisälä frequency profiles are limited to the upper 300 m depth. Based on this, we determine the ocean salinity stratification (OSS) to be defined as the stabilizing effect (positive values) due to the haline part of N2 averaged over the upper 300 m. In many regions of the tropics, the OSS contributes 40-50% to N2 as compared to the thermal stratification and, in some specific regions, exceeds it for a few months of the seasonal cycle. Away from the tropics, for example, near the centers of action of the subtropical gyres, there are regions characterized by the permanent absence of OSS. In other regions previously characterized with salinity barrier layers, the OSS obviously shares some common variations; however, we show that where temperature and salinity are mixed over the same depth, the salinity stratification can be significant. In addition, relationships between the OSS and the sea surface salinity are shown to be well defined and quasilinear in the tropics, providing some indication that in the future, analyses that consider both satellite surface salinity

  19. Integrity analysis of an upper guide structure flange

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Ki Hyoung; Kang, Sung Sik; Jhung, Myung Jo [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-10-15

    The integrity assessment of reactor vessel internals should be conducted in the design process to secure the safety of nuclear power plants. Various loads such as self-weight, seismic load, flow-induced load, and preload are applied to the internals. Therefore, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code, Section III, defines the stress limit for reactor vessel internals. The present study focused on structural response analyses of the upper guide structure upper flange. The distributions of the stress intensity in the flange body were analyzed under various design load cases during normal operation. The allowable stress intensities along the expected sections of stress concentration were derived from the results of the finite element analysis for evaluating the structural integrity of the flange design. Furthermore, seismic analyses of the upper flange were performed to identify dynamic behavior with respect to the seismic and impact input. The mode superposition and full transient methods were used to perform time–history analyses, and the displacement at the lower end of the flange was obtained. The effect of the damping ratio on the response of the flange was also evaluated, and the acceleration was obtained. The results of elastic and seismic analyses in this study will be used as basic information to judge whether a flange design meets the acceptance criteria.

  20. 1995 and 1996 Upper Three Runs Dye Study Data Analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, K.F.

    1998-06-01

    This report presents an analysis of dye tracer studies conducted on Upper Three Runs. The revised STREAM code was used to analyze these studies and derive a stream velocity and a dispersion coefficient for use in aqueous transport models. These models will be used to facilitate the establishment of aqueous effluent limits and provide contaminant transport information to emergency management in the event of a release

  1. A theoretical limit on the Higgs mass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Temiraliev, A.T.

    2007-01-01

    Full text: The standard model of particle physics, which describes masses through the Higgs mechanism, contains parameters - such as particle masses - whose origins are still unknown and which cannot be exactly predicted, but whose values are constrained through their interactions. In particular, the masses of the top quark and W boson constrain the mass of the long-hypothesized, but thus far not observed, Higgs boson. Several more or less precise arguments can set the upper limit for a standard model Higgs particle. All of them follows the line that the standard model breaks down of the Higgs mass is pushed too far upwards. The theoretical bounds will be reviewed. With gauge-top quark Yukawa coupling unification the standard model Higgs boson mass is estimated to be about 135 GeV. In the article will be consider an approximation of 4-fermion interactions. And as a result, the most likely Higgs mass is 150 GeV. The upper limit on the Higgs mass at the 90 % confidence level is about 250 GeV

  2. Holocene faulting in the Bellingham forearc basin: upper-plate deformation at the northern end of the Cascadia subduction zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelsey, Harvey M.; Sherrod, Brian L.; Blakely, Richard J.; Haugerud, Ralph A.

    2013-01-01

    The northern Cascadia forearc takes up most of the strain transmitted northward via the Oregon Coast block from the northward-migrating Sierra Nevada block. The north-south contractional strain in the forearc manifests in upper-plate faults active during the Holocene, the northern-most components of which are faults within the Bellingham Basin. The Bellingham Basin is the northern of four basins of the actively deforming northern Cascadia forearc. A set of Holocene faults, Drayton Harbor, Birch Bay, and Sandy Point faults, occur within the Bellingham Basin and can be traced from onshore to offshore using a combination of aeromagnetic lineaments, paleoseismic investigations and scarps identified using LiDAR imagery. With the recognition of such Holocene faults, the northernmost margin of the actively deforming Cascadia forearc extends 60 km north of the previously recognized limit of Holocene forearc deformation. Although to date no Holocene faults are recognized at the northern boundary of the Bellingham Basin, which is 15 km north of the international border, there is no compelling tectonic reason to expect that Holocene faults are limited to south of the international border.

  3. Reliability and safety of a new upper cervical spine injury treatment algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrei Fernandes Joaquim

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT In the present study, we evaluated the reliability and safety of a new upper cervical spine injury treatment algorithm to help in the selection of the best treatment modality for these injuries. Methods Thirty cases, previously treated according to the new algorithm, were presented to four spine surgeons who were questioned about their personal suggestion for treatment, and the treatment suggested according to the application of the algorithm. After four weeks, the same questions were asked again to evaluate reliability (intra- and inter-observer using the Kappa index. Results The reliability of the treatment suggested by applying the algorithm was superior to the reliability of the surgeons’ personal suggestion for treatment. When applying the upper cervical spine injury treatment algorithm, an agreement with the treatment actually performed was obtained in more than 89% of the cases. Conclusion The system is safe and reliable for treating traumatic upper cervical spine injuries. The algorithm can be used to help surgeons in the decision between conservative versus surgical treatment of these injuries.

  4. Upper limit for the branching ratio of KS→e+e- decay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelopoulos, A.; Apostolakis, A.; Sakeliou, L.; Aslanides, E.; Bertin, V.; Ealet, A.; Henry-Couannier, F.; Hubert, E.; Le Gac, R.; Montanet, F.; Touchard, F.; Backenstoss, G.; Leimgruber, F.; Pavlopoulos, P.; Polivka, G.; Rickenbach, R.; Schietinger, T.; Tauscher, L.; Vlachos, S.; Bargassa, P.

    1998-01-01

    A measurement of the branching ratio for K S →e + e - decay was performed with the CPLEAR detector at LEAR. Full event reconstruction together with calorimeter e/π separation allowed for powerful background rejection and high signal acceptance. The analysis on the complete set of data yields the result: BR(K S →e + e - ) -7 (90% CL), an improvement on the current experimental limit by a factor of 20

  5. Fundamental limitation of electrocatalytic methane conversion to methanol

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arnarson, Logi; Schmidt, Per Simmendefeldt; Pandey, Mohnish

    2018-01-01

    binding energies on the surface. Based on a simple kinetic model we can conclude that in order to obtain sufficient activity oxygen has to bind weakly to the surface but there is an upper limit to retain selectivity. Few potentially interesting candidates are found but this relatively simple description...

  6. Muon Flux Limits for Majorana Dark Matter Particles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Belotsky, Konstantin; Khlopov, Maxim; Kouvaris, Christoforos

    2009-01-01

    We analyze the effects of capture of dark matter (DM) particles, with successive annihilations, predicted in the minimal walking technicolor model (MWT) by the Sun and the Earth. We show that the Super-Kamiokande (SK) upper limit on excessive muon flux disfavors the mass interval between 100-200 Ge...

  7. Demographic characteristics of MS patients in Poland's upper Silesia region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierzchala, Krystyna; Adamczyk-Sowa, Monika; Dobrakowski, Pawel; Kubicka-Baczyk, Katarzyna; Niedziela, Natalia; Sowa, Pawel

    2015-05-01

    In Poland, no national registry of MS patients has yet been introduced. So far, no demographic studies have been conducted in patients with MS in Upper Silesia. The aim of the present study was to evaluate, for the first time, a selected demographic and clinical parameters in MS patients from the Upper Silesia region and compare these characteristics with previously published data from other regions of Poland. 640 patients with clinically defined MS, were prospectively and randomly selected for the study. Social, socio-economic, and demographic data were obtained through a questionnaire study. All subjects performed a self-assessment of their health condition using EQ-5D and EQ-VAS version questionnaires. The ratio of women to men was 2.18. The average age of onset was 29.6 ± 11.1 years; the disease duration was 7.9 ± 4.5 years. The relapsing-remitting form of MS was diagnosed in 73.12%. In 71.25% the onset was monofocal and in 28.75% multifocal disease onset was observed. Among the studied population 339 (52.97%) patients were still employed. A mean EQ-VAS score of 66.11 ± 20.12 was calculated. Results from our study identify for the first time the demographic and clinical characteristics of the Upper Silesia MS population.

  8. Reliability Evaluation of Bridges Based on Nonprobabilistic Response Surface Limit Method

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Xuyong; Chen, Qian; Bian, Xiaoya; Fan, Jianping

    2017-01-01

    Due to many uncertainties in nonprobabilistic reliability assessment of bridges, the limit state function is generally unknown. The traditional nonprobabilistic response surface method is a lengthy and oscillating iteration process and leads to difficultly solving the nonprobabilistic reliability index. This article proposes a nonprobabilistic response surface limit method based on the interval model. The intention of this method is to solve the upper and lower limits of the nonprobabilistic ...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2012-04-01

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

  10. Age Limit of Pediatrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardin, Amy Peykoff; Hackell, Jesse M

    2017-09-01

    Pediatrics is a multifaceted specialty that encompasses children's physical, psychosocial, developmental, and mental health. Pediatric care may begin periconceptionally and continues through gestation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Although adolescence and young adulthood are recognizable phases of life, an upper age limit is not easily demarcated and varies depending on the individual patient. The establishment of arbitrary age limits on pediatric care by health care providers should be discouraged. The decision to continue care with a pediatrician or pediatric medical or surgical subspecialist should be made solely by the patient (and family, when appropriate) and the physician and must take into account the physical and psychosocial needs of the patient and the abilities of the pediatric provider to meet these needs. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  11. Ethical considerations in providing an upper limb exoskeleton device for stroke patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulboacă, Adriana E; Bolboacă, Sorana D; Bulboacă, Angelo C

    2017-04-01

    The health care system needs to face new and advanced medical technologies that can improve the patients' quality of life by replacing lost or decreased functions. In stroke patients, the disabilities that follow cerebral lesions may impair the mandatory daily activities of an independent life. These activities are dependent mostly on the patient's upper limb function so that they can carry out most of the common activities associated with a normal life. Therefore, an upper limb exoskeleton device for stroke patients can contribute a real improvement of quality of their life. The ethical problems that need to be considered are linked to the correct adjustment of the upper limb skills in order to satisfy the patient's expectations, but within physiological limits. The debate regarding the medical devices dedicated to neurorehabilitation is focused on their ability to be beneficial to the patient's life, keeping away damages, injustice, and risks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinman, Marcie; Haut, Elliott R

    2014-02-01

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

  13. Acupotomy and venesection in Upper Limb Lymphedema and Peripheral neuropathy following Breast Cancer Surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jang Eun-ha

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: In order to estimate clinical effects of acupotomy and venesection in a patient with peripheral neuropathy and upper limb lymphedema following breast cancer surgery. Methods: From 17th August, 2009 to 29th August 2009, 1 female patient with peripheral neuropathy and upper limb lymphedema following breast cancer surgery was treated with general oriental medicine therapy(acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, physical therapy, herbal medication and acupotomy with venesection. Results: The patient's chief complaints- Lt hand numbness, Lt arm edema, Lt. wrist flexion limitation - were notably improved. Conclusions : This study demonstrates that oriental medical treatment with acupotomy and venesection therapy has significant effect in improving symptoms of peripheral neuropathy and upper limb lymphedema following breast cancer surgery, as though we had not wide experience in this treatment, more research is needed.

  14. Limits on neutral Higgs production in the forward region in pp collisions at $\\sqrt{s}$=7 TeV

    CERN Document Server

    Ilten, P

    2013-01-01

    Limits on the cross-section times branching fraction for Higgs particles, produced in pp collisions at $\\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV, and decaying to two taus with pseudorapidities between 2 and 4.5, are presented. The result is based on a dataset of 1.0 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb detector. Model independent upper limits on neutral Higgs cross-section times branching fraction are set and are compared to the SM Higgs expectation. Model dependent MSSM upper limits on tan(beta) are also set.

  15. Control of upper airway muscle activity in younger versus older men during sleep onset

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fogel, Robert B; White, David P; Pierce, Robert J; Malhotra, Atul; Edwards, Jill K; Dunai, Judy; Kleverlaan, Darci; Trinder, John

    2003-01-01

    Pharyngeal dilator muscles are clearly important in the pathophysiology of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSA). We have previously shown that the activity of both the genioglossus (GGEMG) and tensor palatini (TPEMG) are decreased at sleep onset, and that this decrement in muscle activity is greater in the apnoea patient than in healthy controls. We have also previously shown this decrement to be greater in older men when compared with younger ones. In order to explore the mechanisms responsible for this decrement in muscle activity nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) was applied to reduce negative pressure mediated muscle activation. We then investigated the effect of sleep onset (transition from predominantly α to predominantly θ EEG activity) on ventilation, upper airway muscle activation and upper airway resistance (UAR) in middle-aged and younger healthy men. We found that both GGEMG and TPEMG were reduced by the application of nasal CPAP during wakefulness, but that CPAP did not alter the decrement in activity in either muscle seen in the first two breaths following an α to θ transition. However, CPAP prevented both the rise in UAR at sleep onset that occurred on the control night, and the recruitment in GGEMG seen in the third to fifth breaths following the α to θ transition. Further, GGEMG was higher in the middle-aged men than in the younger men during wakefulness and was decreased more in the middle-aged men with the application of nasal CPAP. No differences were seen in TPEMG between the two age groups. These data suggest that the initial sleep onset reduction in upper airway muscle activity is due to loss of a ‘wakefulness’ stimulus, rather than to loss of responsiveness to negative pressure. In addition, it suggests that in older men, higher wakeful muscle activity is due to an anatomically more collapsible upper airway with more negative pressure driven muscle activation. Sleep onset per se does not appear to have a greater

  16. Clinical comparison of automatic, noninvasive measurements of blood pressure in the forearm and upper arm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schell, Kathleen; Bradley, Elisabeth; Bucher, Linda; Seckel, Maureen; Lyons, Denise; Wakai, Sandra; Bartell, Deborah; Carson, Elizabeth; Chichester, Melanie; Foraker, Teresa; Simpson, Kathleen

    2005-05-01

    When the upper arm (area from shoulder to elbow) is inaccessible and/or a standard-sized blood pressure cuff does not fit, some healthcare workers use the forearm to measure blood pressure. To compare automatic noninvasive measurements of blood pressure in the upper arm and forearm. A descriptive, correlational comparison study was conducted in the emergency department of a 1071-bed teaching hospital. Subjects were 204 English-speaking patients 6 to 91 years old in medically stable condition who had entered the department on foot or by wheelchair and who had no exclusions to using their left upper extremity. A Welch Allyn Vital Signs 420 series monitor was used to measure blood pressure in the left upper arm and forearm with the subject seated and the upper arm or forearm at heart level. Pearson r correlation coefficients between measurements in the upper arm and forearm were 0.88 for systolic blood pressure and 0.76 for diastolic blood pressure (P upper arm and forearm differed significantly (t = 2.07, P = .04). A Bland-Altman analysis indicated that the distances between the mean values and the limits of agreement for the 2 sites ranged from 15 mm Hg (mean arterial pressure) to 18.4 mm Hg (systolic pressure). Despite strict attention to correct cuff size and placement of the upper arm or forearm at heart level, measurements of blood pressure obtained noninvasively in the arm and forearm of seated patients in stable condition are not interchangeable.

  17. Comparison study of upper arm and forearm non-invasive blood pressures in adult Emergency Department patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schimanski, Karen; Jull, Andrew; Mitchell, Nancy; McLay, Jessica

    2014-12-01

    Forearm blood pressures have been suggested as an alternative site to measure blood pressures when the upper arm is unavailable. However there is little evidence utilising clinical populations to support this substitution. To determine agreement between blood pressures measured in the left upper arm and forearm using a singular oscillometric non-invasive device in adult Emergency Department patients. The secondary objective was to explore the relationship of blood pressure differences with age, sex, ethnicity, smoking history and obesity. Single centre comparison study. Adult Emergency Department, Tertiary Trauma Centre. Forty-four participants who met inclusion/exclusion criteria selected sequentially from the Emergency Department arrival board. A random assignment of order of measurement for left upper arm and forearm blood pressures was utilised. Participants were eligible if they were aged 18 years or older, had been assigned an Australasian Triage Scale code of 2, 3, 4, or 5, were able to consent, and able to have blood pressures measured on their left arm whilst lying at a 45° angle. The Bland-Altman method of statistical analysis was used, with the level of agreement for clinical acceptability for the systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure defined as ±10 mmHg. The forearm measure overestimated systolic (mean difference 2.2 mmHg, 95% limits of agreement ±19 mmHg), diastolic (mean difference 3.4 mmHg, 95% limits of agreement ±14.4 mmHg), and mean arterial pressures (mean difference 4.1 mmHg, 95% limits of agreement ±13.7 mmHg). The systolic measure was not significantly different from zero. Evidence of better agreement was found with upper arm/forearm systolic measures below 140 mmHg compared to systolic measures above 140 mmHg using the Levene's test (p=0.002, F-statistic=11.09). Blood pressure disparity was not associated with participant characteristics. Forearm measures cannot routinely replace upper arm measures for blood pressure measurement

  18. Experimental Limits on Gravitational Waves in the MHz frequency Range

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lanza, Robert Jr. [Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)

    2015-03-01

    This thesis presents the results of a search for gravitational waves in the 1-11MHz frequency range using dual power-recycled Michelson laser interferometers at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. An unprecedented level of sensitivity to gravitational waves in this frequency range has been achieved by cross-correlating the output fluctuations of two identical and colocated 40m long interferometers. This technique produces sensitivities better than two orders of magnitude below the quantum shot-noise limit, within integration times of less than 1 hour. 95% confidence level upper limits are placed on the strain amplitude of MHz frequency gravitational waves at the 10-21 Hz-1/2 level, constituting the best direct limits to date at these frequencies. For gravitational wave power distributed over this frequency range, a broadband upper limit of 2.4 x 10-21Hz-1/2 at 95% confidence level is also obtained. This thesis covers the detector technology, the commissioning and calibration of the instrument, the statistical data analysis, and the gravitational wave limit results. Particular attention is paid to the end-to-end calibration of the instrument’s sensitivity to differential arm length motion, and so to gravitational wave strain. A detailed statistical analysis of the data is presented as well.

  19. Efficiency Limits of Solar Energy Harvesting via Internal Photoemission in Carbon Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetlana V. Boriskina

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available We describe strategies to estimate the upper limits of the efficiency of photon energy harvesting via hot electron extraction from gapless absorbers. Gapless materials such as noble metals can be used for harvesting the whole solar spectrum, including visible and near-infrared light. The energy of photo-generated non-equilibrium or ‘hot’ charge carriers can be harvested before they thermalize with the crystal lattice via the process of their internal photo-emission (IPE through the rectifying Schottky junction with a semiconductor. However, the low efficiency and the high cost of noble metals necessitates the search for cheaper abundant alternative materials, and we show here that carbon can serve as a promising IPE material candidate. We compare the upper limits of performance of IPE photon energy-harvesting platforms, which incorporate either gold or carbon as the photoactive material where hot electrons are generated. Through a combination of density functional theory, joint electron density of states calculations, and Schottky diode efficiency modeling, we show that the material electron band structure imposes a strict upper limit on the achievable efficiency of the IPE devices. Our calculations reveal that graphite is a good material candidate for the IPE absorber for harvesting visible and near-infrared photons. Graphite electron density of states yields a sizeable population of hot electrons with energies high enough to be collected across the potential barrier. We also discuss the mechanisms that prevent the IPE device efficiency from reaching the upper limits imposed by their material electron band structures. The proposed approach is general and allows for efficient pre-screening of materials for their potential use in IPE energy converters and photodetectors within application-specific spectral windows.

  20. Preliminary Upper Estimate of Peak Currents in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation at Distant Locations From a TMS Coil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makarov, Sergey N; Yanamadala, Janakinadh; Piazza, Matthew W; Helderman, Alex M; Thang, Niang S; Burnham, Edward H; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro

    2016-09-01

    Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is increasingly used as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool for numerous neuropsychiatric disorders. The use of TMS might cause whole-body exposure to undesired induced currents in patients and TMS operators. The aim of this study is to test and justify a simple analytical model known previously, which may be helpful as an upper estimate of eddy current density at a particular distant observation point for any body composition and any coil setup. We compare the analytical solution with comprehensive adaptive mesh refinement-based FEM simulations of a detailed full-body human model, two coil types, five coil positions, about 100 000 observation points, and two distinct pulse rise times; thus, providing a representative number of different datasets for comparison, while also using other numerical data. Our simulations reveal that, after a certain modification, the analytical model provides an upper estimate for the eddy current density at any location within the body. In particular, it overestimates the peak eddy currents at distant locations from a TMS coil by a factor of 10 on average. The simple analytical model tested in this study may be valuable as a rapid method to safely estimate levels of TMS currents at different locations within a human body. At present, safe limits of general exposure to TMS electric and magnetic fields are an open subject, including fetal exposure for pregnant women.

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

    KAUST Repository

    Shakir, Muhammad

    2011-09-01

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

  2. In-vitro evaluation of limitations and possibilities for the future use of intracorporeal gas exchangers placed in the upper lobe position.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schumer, Erin; Höffler, Klaus; Kuehn, Christian; Slaughter, Mark; Haverich, Axel; Wiegmann, Bettina

    2018-03-01

    The lack of donor organs has led to the development of alternative "destination therapies", such as a bio-artificial lung (BA) for end-stage lung disease. Ultimately aiming at a fully implantable BA, general capabilities and limitations of different oxygenators were tested based on the model of BA positioning at the right upper lobe. Three different-sized oxygenators (neonatal, paediatric, and adult) were tested in a mock circulation loop regarding oxygenation and decarboxylation capacities for three respiratory pathologies. Blood flows were imitated by a roller pump, and respiration was imitated by a mechanical ventilator with different FiO 2 applications. Pressure drops across the oxygenators and the integrity of the gas-exchange hollow fibers were analyzed. The neonatal oxygenator proved to be insufficient regarding oxygenation and decarboxylation. Despite elevated pCO 2 levels, the paediatric and adult oxygenators delivered comparable sufficient oxygen levels, but sufficient decarboxylation across the oxygenators was ensured only at flow rates of 0.5 L min. Only the adult oxygenator indicated no significant pressure drops. For all tested conditions, gas-exchange hollow fibers remained intact. This is the first study showing the general feasibility of delivering sufficient levels of gas exchange to an intracorporeal BA via patient's breathing, without damaging gas-exchange hollow fiber membranes.

  3. A Rare Cause of Upper Airway Obstruction in a Child

    OpenAIRE

    Ahmed, H.; Ndiaye, C.; Barry, M. W.; Thiongane, Aliou; Mbaye, A.; Zemene, Y.; Ndiaye, I. C.

    2017-01-01

    Ventricular band cyst is a rare condition in children but can result in severe upper airway obstruction with laryngeal dyspnea or death. The diagnosis should be considered in any stridor in children with previous history of intubation or respiratory infections. We report a case of a 4-year-old girl, received in an array of severe respiratory distress, emergency endoscopy was done, and a large ventricular tape band cyst obstructing the air way was found. Complete excision was made, and postope...

  4. An upper limit on the anomalous magnetic moment of the $\\tau$ lepton

    CERN Document Server

    Ackerstaff, K.; Allison, John; Altekamp, N.; Anderson, K.J.; Anderson, S.; Arcelli, S.; Asai, S.; Ashby, S.F.; Axen, D.; Azuelos, G.; Ball, A.H.; Barberio, E.; Barlow, Roger J.; Bartoldus, R.; Batley, J.R.; Baumann, S.; Bechtluft, J.; Behnke, T.; Bell, Kenneth Watson; Bella, G.; Bentvelsen, S.; Bethke, S.; Betts, S.; Biebel, O.; Biguzzi, A.; Bird, S.D.; Blobel, V.; Bloodworth, I.J.; Bobinski, M.; Bock, P.; Bonacorsi, D.; Boutemeur, M.; Braibant, S.; Brigliadori, L.; Brown, Robert M.; Burckhart, H.J.; Burgard, C.; Burgin, R.; Capiluppi, P.; Carnegie, R.K.; Carter, A.A.; Carter, J.R.; Chang, C.Y.; Charlton, David G.; Chrisman, D.; Clarke, P.E.L.; Cohen, I.; Conboy, J.E.; Cooke, O.C.; Couyoumtzelis, C.; Coxe, R.L.; Cuffiani, M.; Dado, S.; Dallapiccola, C.; Dallavalle, G.Marco; Davis, R.; De Jong, S.; del Pozo, L.A.; de Roeck, A.; Desch, K.; Dienes, B.; Dixit, M.S.; Doucet, M.; Duchovni, E.; Duckeck, G.; Duerdoth, I.P.; Eatough, D.; Estabrooks, P.G.; Etzion, E.; Evans, H.G.; Evans, M.; Fabbri, F.; Fanfani, A.; Fanti, M.; Faust, A.A.; Feld, L.; Fiedler, F.; Fierro, M.; Fischer, H.M.; Fleck, I.; Folman, R.; Fong, D.G.; Foucher, M.; Furtjes, A.; Futyan, D.I.; Gagnon, P.; Gary, J.W.; Gascon, J.; Gascon-Shotkin, S.M.; Geddes, N.I.; Geich-Gimbel, C.; Geralis, T.; Giacomelli, G.; Giacomelli, P.; Giacomelli, R.; Gibson, V.; Gibson, W.R.; Gingrich, D.M.; Glenzinski, D.; Goldberg, J.; Goodrick, M.J.; Gorn, W.; Grandi, C.; Gross, E.; Grunhaus, J.; Gruwe, M.; Hajdu, C.; Hanson, G.G.; Hansroul, M.; Hapke, M.; Hargrove, C.K.; Hart, P.A.; Hartmann, C.; Hauschild, M.; Hawkes, C.M.; Hawkings, R.; Hemingway, R.J.; Herndon, M.; Herten, G.; Heuer, R.D.; Hildreth, M.D.; Hill, J.C.; Hillier, S.J.; Hobson, P.R.; Hocker, James Andrew; Homer, R.J.; Honma, A.K.; Horvath, D.; Hossain, K.R.; Howard, R.; Huntemeyer, P.; Hutchcroft, D.E.; Igo-Kemenes, P.; Imrie, D.C.; Ishii, K.; Jawahery, A.; Jeffreys, P.W.; Jeremie, H.; Jimack, M.; Joly, A.; Jones, C.R.; Jones, M.; Jost, U.; Jovanovic, P.; Junk, T.R.; Kanzaki, J.; Karlen, D.; Kartvelishvili, V.; Kawagoe, K.; Kawamoto, T.; Kayal, P.I.; Keeler, R.K.; Kellogg, R.G.; Kennedy, B.W.; Kirk, J.; Klier, A.; Kluth, S.; Kobayashi, T.; Kobel, M.; Koetke, D.S.; Kokott, T.P.; Kolrep, M.; Komamiya, S.; Kowalewski, Robert V.; Kress, T.; Krieger, P.; von Krogh, J.; Kyberd, P.; Lafferty, G.D.; Lahmann, R.; Lai, W.P.; Lanske, D.; Lauber, J.; Lautenschlager, S.R.; Lawson, I.; Layter, J.G.; Lazic, D.; Lee, A.M.; Lefebvre, E.; Lellouch, D.; Letts, J.; Levinson, L.; List, B.; Lloyd, S.L.; Loebinger, F.K.; Long, G.D.; Losty, M.J.; Ludwig, J.; Lui, D.; Macchiolo, A.; Macpherson, A.; Mannelli, M.; Marcellini, S.; Markopoulos, C.; Markus, C.; Martin, A.J.; Martin, J.P.; Martinez, G.; Mashimo, T.; Mattig, Peter; McDonald, W.John; McKenna, J.; Mckigney, E.A.; McMahon, T.J.; McPherson, R.A.; Meijers, F.; Menke, S.; Merritt, F.S.; Mes, H.; Meyer, J.; Michelini, A.; Mihara, S.; Mikenberg, G.; Miller, D.J.; Mincer, A.; Mir, R.; Mohr, W.; Montanari, A.; Mori, T.; Nagai, K.; Nakamura, I.; Neal, H.A.; Nellen, B.; Nisius, R.; O'Neale, S.W.; Oakham, F.G.; Odorici, F.; Ogren, H.O.; Oh, A.; Oldershaw, N.J.; Oreglia, M.J.; Orito, S.; Palinkas, J.; Pasztor, G.; Pater, J.R.; Patrick, G.N.; Patt, J.; Perez-Ochoa, R.; Petzold, S.; Pfeifenschneider, P.; Pilcher, J.E.; Pinfold, J.; Plane, David E.; Poffenberger, P.; Poli, B.; Posthaus, A.; Rembser, C.; Robertson, S.; Robins, S.A.; Rodning, N.; Roney, J.M.; Rooke, A.; Rossi, A.M.; Routenburg, P.; Rozen, Y.; Runge, K.; Runolfsson, O.; Ruppel, U.; Rust, D.R.; Sachs, K.; Saeki, T.; Sahr, O.; Sang, W.M.; Sarkisian, E.K.G.; Sbarra, C.; Schaile, A.D.; Schaile, O.; Scharf, F.; Scharff-Hansen, P.; Schieck, J.; Schleper, P.; Schmitt, B.; Schmitt, S.; Schoning, A.; Schroder, Matthias; Schumacher, M.; Schwick, C.; Scott, W.G.; Shears, T.G.; Shen, B.C.; Shepherd-Themistocleous, C.H.; Sherwood, P.; Siroli, G.P.; Sittler, A.; Skillman, A.; Skuja, A.; Smith, A.M.; Snow, G.A.; Sobie, R.; Soldner-Rembold, S.; Springer, Robert Wayne; Sproston, M.; Stephens, K.; Steuerer, J.; Stockhausen, B.; Stoll, K.; Strom, David M.; Strohmer, R.; Szymanski, P.; Tafirout, R.; Talbot, S.D.; Taras, P.; Tarem, S.; Teuscher, R.; Thiergen, M.; Thomson, M.A.; von Torne, E.; Torrence, E.; Towers, S.; Trigger, I.; Trocsanyi, Z.; Tsur, E.; Turcot, A.S.; Turner-Watson, M.F.; Ueda, I.; Utzat, P.; Van Kooten, Rick J.; Vannerem, P.; Verzocchi, M.; Vikas, P.; Vokurka, E.H.; Voss, H.; Wackerle, F.; Wagner, A.; Ward, C.P.; Ward, D.R.; Watkins, P.M.; Watson, A.T.; Watson, N.K.; Wells, P.S.; Wermes, N.; White, J.S.; Wilson, G.W.; Wilson, J.A.; Wyatt, T.R.; Yamashita, S.; Yekutieli, G.; Zacek, V.; Zer-Zion, D.

    1998-01-01

    Using radiative Z^0 -> \\tau^+ \\tau^- \\gamma events collected with the OPAL detector at LEP at \\sqrt{s}=M_Z during 1990-95, a direct study of the electromagnetic current at the \\tau\\gamma vertex has been performed in terms of the anomalous magnetic form factor F_2 of the \\tau lepton. The analysis is based on a data sample of 1429 e^+ e^- -> \\tau^+ \\tau^- \\gamma events which are examined for a deviation from the expectation with F_2 = 0. From the non-observation of anomalous \\tau^+ \\tau^- \\gamma production a limit of -0.068 < F_2 < 0.065 is obtained. This can also be interpreted as a limit on the electric dipole form factor F_3 as -3.8 x 10^-16 e-cm < eF_3 < 3.6 x 10^-16 e-cm. The above ranges are valid at the 95% confidence level.

  5. Parametric decay instability near the upper hybrid resonance in magnetically confined fusion plasmas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Søren Kjer; Nielsen, Stefan Kragh; Salewski, Mirko

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we investigate parametric decay of an electromagnetic pump wave into two electrostatic daughter waves, particularly an X-mode pump wave decaying into a warm upper hybrid wave (a limit of an electron Bernstein wave) and a warm lower hybrid wave. We describe the general theory...

  6. Multi-model attribution of upper-ocean temperature changes using an isothermal approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weller, Evan; Min, Seung-Ki; Palmer, Matthew D.; Lee, Donghyun; Yim, Bo Young; Yeh, Sang-Wook

    2016-06-01

    Both air-sea heat exchanges and changes in ocean advection have contributed to observed upper-ocean warming most evident in the late-twentieth century. However, it is predominantly via changes in air-sea heat fluxes that human-induced climate forcings, such as increasing greenhouse gases, and other natural factors such as volcanic aerosols, have influenced global ocean heat content. The present study builds on previous work using two different indicators of upper-ocean temperature changes for the detection of both anthropogenic and natural external climate forcings. Using simulations from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, we compare mean temperatures above a fixed isotherm with the more widely adopted approach of using a fixed depth. We present the first multi-model ensemble detection and attribution analysis using the fixed isotherm approach to robustly detect both anthropogenic and natural external influences on upper-ocean temperatures. Although contributions from multidecadal natural variability cannot be fully removed, both the large multi-model ensemble size and properties of the isotherm analysis reduce internal variability of the ocean, resulting in better observation-model comparison of temperature changes since the 1950s. We further show that the high temporal resolution afforded by the isotherm analysis is required to detect natural external influences such as volcanic cooling events in the upper-ocean because the radiative effect of volcanic forcings is short-lived.

  7. Scaphitid ammonites from the Upper Cretaceous of KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, William James; Klinger, Herbert Christian

    2013-12-01

    Kennedy, W.J. and Klinger, H.C. 2013. Scaphitid ammonites from the Upper Cretaceous of KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Acta Geologica Polonica, 63 (4), 527-543. Warszawa. Scaphitid ammonites are described and illustrated from the Upper Cretaceous of the coastal region of north-eastern South Africa. Scaphites kieslingswaldensis Langenhan and Grundey, 1891, Scaphites manasoaensis Collignon, 1965, and Yezoites concinna sp. nov. occur in the Coniacian part of the St Lucia Formation in northern KwaZulu-Natal. A further Yezoites sp. may also be from this level. Argentoscaphites corrugatus sp. nov. occurs in the Santonian to Lower Campanian Mzamba Formation on the northernmost coast of Eastern Cape Province. Yezoites australis sp. nov. occurs in the Upper Santonian part of the St Lucia and Mzamba formations of these areas, and Scaphites reesidei Collignon, 1969, is recorded from the Lower Campanian part of the Mzamba Formation. The scaphitid assemblage includes species previously described from Western Europe and Madagascar, together with Argentoscaphites, previously known only from Patagonia (and possibly South India). Dimorphism is recognised in Scaphites reesidei, Yezoites concinna sp. nov. and Y. australis sp. nov. Argentoscaphites corrugatus sp. nov. and Yezoites sp. are represented by microconchs only. Dimorphism has not been recognised in Scaphites kieslingswaldensis.

  8. The Use of Unilateral Pericranial Flaps for the Closure of Difficult Medial Orbital and Upper Lateral Nasal Defects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Jason; Costantino, Peter; Moche, Jason

    2003-11-01

    We present 3 cases in which a unilateral pericranial flap was used to repair defects in the medial orbital and upper lateral nasal areas. All three patients had undergone previous excision of malignant tumors from the upper septum and ethmoid areas. Postoperatively, they all received radiation and then developed wound breakdown with fistula formation, particularly in the area of the incisional site. All 3 patients had undergone previous unsuccessful repair of the fistula. Closure of such fistulas requires well-vascularized nonradiated tissue, which can be provided by a unilateral pericranial flap. This flap is flexible, thin, and well suited to the sinonasal area. Use of this flap avoids the need for a paramedian forehead or other musculocutaneous flap. Cosmetic results were excellent, and there have been no flap breakdowns or complications to date.

  9. Tranexamic acid for upper gastrointestinal bleeding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bennett, Cathy; Klingenberg, Sarah Louise; Langholz, Ebbe

    2014-01-01

    Background Tranexamic acid reduces haemorrhage through its antifibrinolytic effects. In a previous version of the present review, we found that tranexamic acid may reduce mortality. This review includes updated searches and new trials.Objectives To assess the effects of tranexamic acid versus......-effect and random-effects model meta-analyses and presented results as risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and used I² as a measure of between-trial heterogeneity. We analysed tranexamic acid versus placebo or no intervention and tranexamic acid versus antiulcer drugs separately. To analyse...... sources of heterogeneity and robustness of the overall results, we performed subgroup, sensitivity and sequential analyses.Main results We included eight randomised controlled trials on tranexamic acid for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Additionally, we identified one large ongoing pragmatic randomised...

  10. Tracking upper limbs fatigue by means of electronic dynamometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Max Lima

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to identify useful electronic grip dynamometry parameters to track differences between trained (TR and untrained (UT participants, and between dominant (DO and non-dominant (ND limbs as a consequence of upper limbs muscle fatigue following 10 RM tests of the brachial biceps. This experimental study with transversal design involved 18 young adult males, of whom 9 were untrained and 9 were experienced in resistance training.Isometric grip force was evaluated (30 seconds long previous and after 10RM tests by means of a G200 Model grip dynamometer with precision load cell (Biometrics(r. Significant differences between initial and final measurements were found only for trained participants: Peak force for TR-DO (67.1 vs 55.5 kgf, p = .0277; Raw average for TR-DO (46.96 vs 42.22 kgf, p = .0464, and for TR-ND (40.34 vs 36.13 kgf, p = .0277. Electronic grip dynamometry efficiently identified upper limbs fatigue in trained participants, being raw average measurements the best parameter.

  11. Gender, Previous Knowledge, Personality Traits and Subject-Specific Motivation as Predictors of Students' Math Grade in Upper-Secondary School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peklaj, Cirila; Podlesek, Anja; Pecjak, Sonja

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between gender, previous knowledge, different personality traits, subject-specific motivational dimensions and students' math grade in secondary school. A total of 386 first-year students (142 boys and 244 girls) from secondary schools in Slovenia (mean age was 15.7 years) participated in the…

  12. Second malignancies in high-dose areas of previous tumor radiotherapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Welte, Birgitta; Suhr, Peter; Bottke, Dirk; Bartkowiak, Detlef; Wiegel, Thomas [Dept. of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, Univ. of Ulm (Germany); Doerr, Wolfgang [Dept. of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, Radiobiology Lab., Univ. of Technology Dresden (Germany); Trott, Klaus Ruediger [UCL Cancer Centre, Univ. Coll. London (United Kingdom)

    2010-03-15

    Purpose: To characterize second tumors that developed in or near the high-dose areas of a previous radiotherapy, regarding their frequency, entities, latency, and dose dependence. Patients and Methods: 9,995/15,449 tumor patients of the Radiation Oncology Department in Ulm, Germany, treated between 1981 and 2003, survived at least 1 year after radiotherapy. By long-term follow-up and review of treatment documentation, 100 of them were identified who developed an independent second cancer in or near the irradiated first tumor site. Results: Major primary malignancies were breast cancer (27%), lymphoma (24%), and pelvic gynecologic tumors (17%). Main second tumors were carcinomas of the upper (18%) and lower (12%) gastrointestinal tract, head and neck tumors (10%), lymphoma (10%), breast cancer (9%), sarcoma (9%), and lung cancer (8%). Overall median second tumor latency was 7.4 years (1-42 years). For colorectal cancer it was 3.5 and for leukemia 4.3 years, but for sarcoma 11.7 and for breast cancer 17.1 years. The relatively frequent second tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract were associated with median radiation doses of 24 Gy. By contrast, second colorectal cancer and sarcoma developed after median doses of 50 Gy. Conclusion: The 5- and 15-year probability to develop a histopathologically independent second tumor in or near the irradiated first tumor site, i.e., after intermediate or high radiation doses, was 0.5% and 2.2%, respectively. To identify potentially radiogenic second malignancies, a follow-up far beyond 5 years is mandatory. The incidence and potential dose-response relationship intermediate will be analyzed by a case-case and a case-control study of the Ulm data. (orig.)

  13. Revisions to the original extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enomoto, Catherine B.; Rouse, William A.; Trippi, Michael H.; Higley, Debra K.

    2016-04-11

    Technically recoverable undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in continuous accumulations are present in Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian strata in the Appalachian Basin Petroleum Province. The province includes parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. The Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian strata are part of the previously defined Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System (TPS) that extends from New York to Tennessee. This publication presents a revision to the extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic TPS. The most significant modification to the maximum extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic TPS is to the south and southwest, adding areas in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi where Devonian strata, including potential petroleum source rocks, are present in the subsurface up to the outcrop. The Middle to Upper Devonian Chattanooga Shale extends from southeastern Kentucky to Alabama and eastern Mississippi. Production from Devonian shale has been established in the Appalachian fold and thrust belt of northeastern Alabama. Exploratory drilling has encountered Middle to Upper Devonian strata containing organic-rich shale in west-central Alabama. The areas added to the TPS are located in the Valley and Ridge, Interior Low Plateaus, and Appalachian Plateaus physiographic provinces, including the portion of the Appalachian fold and thrust belt buried beneath Cretaceous and younger sediments that were deposited on the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain.

  14. An upper limit on the stochastic gravitational-wave background of cosmological origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, B P; Abbott, R; Acernese, F; Adhikari, R; Ajith, P; Allen, B; Allen, G; Alshourbagy, M; Amin, R S; Anderson, S B; Anderson, W G; Antonucci, F; Aoudia, S; Arain, M A; Araya, M; Armandula, H; Armor, P; Arun, K G; Aso, Y; Aston, S; Astone, P; Aufmuth, P; Aulbert, C; Babak, S; Baker, P; Ballardin, G; Ballmer, S; Barker, C; Barker, D; Barone, F; Barr, B; Barriga, P; Barsotti, L; Barsuglia, M; Barton, M A; Bartos, I; Bassiri, R; Bastarrika, M; Bauer, Th S; Behnke, B; Beker, M; Benacquista, M; Betzwieser, J; Beyersdorf, P T; Bigotta, S; Bilenko, I A; Billingsley, G; Birindelli, S; Biswas, R; Bizouard, M A; Black, E; Blackburn, J K; Blackburn, L; Blair, D; Bland, B; Boccara, C; Bodiya, T P; Bogue, L; Bondu, F; Bonelli, L; Bork, R; Boschi, V; Bose, S; Bosi, L; Braccini, S; Bradaschia, C; Brady, P R; Braginsky, V B; Brand, J F J van den; Brau, J E; Bridges, D O; Brillet, A; Brinkmann, M; Brisson, V; Van Den Broeck, C; Brooks, A F; Brown, D A; Brummit, A; Brunet, G; Bullington, A; Bulten, H J; Buonanno, A; Burmeister, O; Buskulic, D; Byer, R L; Cadonati, L; Cagnoli, G; Calloni, E; Camp, J B; Campagna, E; Cannizzo, J; Cannon, K C; Canuel, B; Cao, J; Carbognani, F; Cardenas, L; Caride, S; Castaldi, G; Caudill, S; Cavaglià, M; Cavalier, F; Cavalieri, R; Cella, G; Cepeda, C; Cesarini, E; Chalermsongsak, T; Chalkley, E; Charlton, P; Chassande-Mottin, E; Chatterji, S; Chelkowski, S; Chen, Y; Christensen, N; Chung, C T Y; Clark, D; Clark, J; Clayton, J H; Cleva, F; Coccia, E; Cokelaer, T; Colacino, C N; Colas, J; Colla, A; Colombini, M; Conte, R; Cook, D; Corbitt, T R C; Corda, C; Cornish, N; Corsi, A; Coulon, J-P; Coward, D; Coyne, D C; Creighton, J D E; Creighton, T D; Cruise, A M; Culter, R M; Cumming, A; Cunningham, L; Cuoco, E; Danilishin, S L; D'Antonio, S; Danzmann, K; Dari, A; Dattilo, V; Daudert, B; Davier, M; Davies, G; Daw, E J; Day, R; De Rosa, R; Debra, D; Degallaix, J; Del Prete, M; Dergachev, V; Desai, S; Desalvo, R; Dhurandhar, S; Di Fiore, L; Di Lieto, A; Di Paolo Emilio, M; Di Virgilio, A; Díaz, M; Dietz, A; Donovan, F; Dooley, K L; Doomes, E E; Drago, M; Drever, R W P; Dueck, J; Duke, I; Dumas, J-C; Dwyer, J G; Echols, C; Edgar, M; Effler, A; Ehrens, P; Ely, G; Espinoza, E; Etzel, T; Evans, M; Evans, T; Fafone, V; Fairhurst, S; Faltas, Y; Fan, Y; Fazi, D; Fehrmann, H; Ferrante, I; Fidecaro, F; Finn, L S; Fiori, I; Flaminio, R; Flasch, K; Foley, S; Forrest, C; Fotopoulos, N; Fournier, J-D; Franc, J; Franzen, A; Frasca, S; Frasconi, F; Frede, M; Frei, M; Frei, Z; Freise, A; Frey, R; Fricke, T; Fritschel, P; Frolov, V V; Fyffe, M; Galdi, V; Gammaitoni, L; Garofoli, J A; Garufi, F; Genin, E; Gennai, A; Gholami, I; Giaime, J A; Giampanis, S; Giardina, K D; Giazotto, A; Goda, K; Goetz, E; Goggin, L M; González, G; Gorodetsky, M L; Gobler, S; Gouaty, R; Granata, M; Granata, V; Grant, A; Gras, S; Gray, C; Gray, M; Greenhalgh, R J S; Gretarsson, A M; Greverie, C; Grimaldi, F; Grosso, R; Grote, H; Grunewald, S; Guenther, M; Guidi, G; Gustafson, E K; Gustafson, R; Hage, B; Hallam, J M; Hammer, D; Hammond, G D; Hanna, C; Hanson, J; Harms, J; Harry, G M; Harry, I W; Harstad, E D; Haughian, K; Hayama, K; Heefner, J; Heitmann, H; Hello, P; Heng, I S; Heptonstall, A; Hewitson, M; Hild, S; Hirose, E; Hoak, D; Hodge, K A; Holt, K; Hosken, D J; Hough, J; Hoyland, D; Huet, D; Hughey, B; Huttner, S H; Ingram, D R; Isogai, T; Ito, M; Ivanov, A; Johnson, B; Johnson, W W; Jones, D I; Jones, G; Jones, R; Sancho de la Jordana, L; Ju, L; Kalmus, P; Kalogera, V; Kandhasamy, S; Kanner, J; Kasprzyk, D; Katsavounidis, E; Kawabe, K; Kawamura, S; Kawazoe, F; Kells, W; Keppel, D G; Khalaidovski, A; Khalili, F Y; Khan, R; Khazanov, E; King, P; Kissel, J S; Klimenko, S; Kokeyama, K; Kondrashov, V; Kopparapu, R; Koranda, S; Kozak, D; Krishnan, B; Kumar, R; Kwee, P; La Penna, P; Lam, P K; Landry, M; Lantz, B; Laval, M; Lazzarini, A; Lei, H; Lei, M; Leindecker, N; Leonor, I; Leroy, N; Letendre, N; Li, C; Lin, H; Lindquist, P E; Littenberg, T B; Lockerbie, N A; Lodhia, D; Longo, M; Lorenzini, M; Loriette, V; Lormand, M; Losurdo, G; Lu, P; Lubinski, M; Lucianetti, A; Lück, H; Machenschalk, B; Macinnis, M; Mackowski, J-M; Mageswaran, M; Mailand, K; Majorana, E; Man, N; Mandel, I; Mandic, V; Mantovani, M; Marchesoni, F; Marion, F; Márka, S; Márka, Z; Markosyan, A; Markowitz, J; Maros, E; Marque, J; Martelli, F; Martin, I W; Martin, R M; Marx, J N; Mason, K; Masserot, A; Matichard, F; Matone, L; Matzner, R A; Mavalvala, N; McCarthy, R; McClelland, D E; McGuire, S C; McHugh, M; McIntyre, G; McKechan, D J A; McKenzie, K; Mehmet, M; Melatos, A; Melissinos, A C; Mendell, G; Menéndez, D F; Menzinger, F; Mercer, R A; Meshkov, S; Messenger, C; Meyer, M S; Michel, C; Milano, L; Miller, J; Minelli, J; Minenkov, Y; Mino, Y; Mitrofanov, V P; Mitselmakher, G; Mittleman, R; Miyakawa, O; Moe, B; Mohan, M; Mohanty, S D; Mohapatra, S R P; Moreau, J; Moreno, G; Morgado, N; Morgia, A; Morioka, T; Mors, K; Mosca, S; Mossavi, K; Mours, B; Mowlowry, C; Mueller, G; Muhammad, D; Mühlen, H Zur; Mukherjee, S; Mukhopadhyay, H; Mullavey, A; Müller-Ebhardt, H; Munch, J; Murray, P G; Myers, E; Myers, J; Nash, T; Nelson, J; Neri, I; Newton, G; Nishizawa, A; Nocera, F; Numata, K; Ochsner, E; O'Dell, J; Ogin, G H; O'Reilly, B; O'Shaughnessy, R; Ottaway, D J; Ottens, R S; Overmier, H; Owen, B J; Pagliaroli, G; Palomba, C; Pan, Y; Pankow, C; Paoletti, F; Papa, M A; Parameshwaraiah, V; Pardi, S; Pasqualetti, A; Passaquieti, R; Passuello, D; Patel, P; Pedraza, M; Penn, S; Perreca, A; Persichetti, G; Pichot, M; Piergiovanni, F; Pierro, V; Pinard, L; Pinto, I M; Pitkin, M; Pletsch, H J; Plissi, M V; Poggiani, R; Postiglione, F; Principe, M; Prix, R; Prodi, G A; Prokhorov, L; Punken, O; Punturo, M; Puppo, P; Putten, S van der; Quetschke, V; Raab, F J; Rabaste, O; Rabeling, D S; Radkins, H; Raffai, P; Raics, Z; Rainer, N; Rakhmanov, M; Rapagnani, P; Raymond, V; Re, V; Reed, C M; Reed, T; Regimbau, T; Rehbein, H; Reid, S; Reitze, D H; Ricci, F; Riesen, R; Riles, K; Rivera, B; Roberts, P; Robertson, N A; Robinet, F; Robinson, C; Robinson, E L; Rocchi, A; Roddy, S; Rolland, L; Rollins, J; Romano, J D; Romano, R; Romie, J H; Röver, C; Rowan, S; Rüdiger, A; Ruggi, P; Russell, P; Ryan, K; Sakata, S; Salemi, F; Sandberg, V; Sannibale, V; Santamaría, L; Saraf, S; Sarin, P; Sassolas, B; Sathyaprakash, B S; Sato, S; Satterthwaite, M; Saulson, P R; Savage, R; Savov, P; Scanlan, M; Schilling, R; Schnabel, R; Schofield, R; Schulz, B; Schutz, B F; Schwinberg, P; Scott, J; Scott, S M; Searle, A C; Sears, B; Seifert, F; Sellers, D; Sengupta, A S; Sentenac, D; Sergeev, A; Shapiro, B; Shawhan, P; Shoemaker, D H; Sibley, A; Siemens, X; Sigg, D; Sinha, S; Sintes, A M; Slagmolen, B J J; Slutsky, J; van der Sluys, M V; Smith, J R; Smith, M R; Smith, N D; Somiya, K; Sorazu, B; Stein, A; Stein, L C; Steplewski, S; Stochino, A; Stone, R; Strain, K A; Strigin, S; Stroeer, A; Sturani, R; Stuver, A L; Summerscales, T Z; Sun, K-X; Sung, M; Sutton, P J; Swinkels, B L; Szokoly, G P; Talukder, D; Tang, L; Tanner, D B; Tarabrin, S P; Taylor, J R; Taylor, R; Terenzi, R; Thacker, J; Thorne, K A; Thorne, K S; Thüring, A; Tokmakov, K V; Toncelli, A; Tonelli, M; Torres, C; Torrie, C; Tournefier, E; Travasso, F; Traylor, G; Trias, M; Trummer, J; Ugolini, D; Ulmen, J; Urbanek, K; Vahlbruch, H; Vajente, G; Vallisneri, M; Vass, S; Vaulin, R; Vavoulidis, M; Vecchio, A; Vedovato, G; van Veggel, A A; Veitch, J; Veitch, P; Veltkamp, C; Verkindt, D; Vetrano, F; Viceré, A; Villar, A; Vinet, J-Y; Vocca, H; Vorvick, C; Vyachanin, S P; Waldman, S J; Wallace, L; Ward, H; Ward, R L; Was, M; Weidner, A; Weinert, M; Weinstein, A J; Weiss, R; Wen, L; Wen, S; Wette, K; Whelan, J T; Whitcomb, S E; Whiting, B F; Wilkinson, C; Willems, P A; Williams, H R; Williams, L; Willke, B; Wilmut, I; Winkelmann, L; Winkler, W; Wipf, C C; Wiseman, A G; Woan, G; Wooley, R; Worden, J; Wu, W; Yakushin, I; Yamamoto, H; Yan, Z; Yoshida, S; Yvert, M; Zanolin, M; Zhang, J; Zhang, L; Zhao, C; Zotov, N; Zucker, M E; Zweizig, J

    2009-08-20

    A stochastic background of gravitational waves is expected to arise from a superposition of a large number of unresolved gravitational-wave sources of astrophysical and cosmological origin. It should carry unique signatures from the earliest epochs in the evolution of the Universe, inaccessible to standard astrophysical observations. Direct measurements of the amplitude of this background are therefore of fundamental importance for understanding the evolution of the Universe when it was younger than one minute. Here we report limits on the amplitude of the stochastic gravitational-wave background using the data from a two-year science run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). Our result constrains the energy density of the stochastic gravitational-wave background normalized by the critical energy density of the Universe, in the frequency band around 100 Hz, to be theory models. This search for the stochastic background improves on the indirect limits from Big Bang nucleosynthesis and cosmic microwave background at 100 Hz.

  15. Stringent limits on the ionized mass loss from A and F dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, A.; Veale, A.; Judge, P.; Bookbinder, J.A.; Hubeny, I.

    1990-01-01

    Following the suggestion of Willson et al. (1987) that A- and F-type main-sequence stars might undergo significant mass loss due to pulsationally driven winds, upper limits to the ionized mass loss from A and F dwarfs have been obtained using VLA observations. These stringent upper limits show that the level of ionized mass loss would have at most only a small effect on stellar evolution. Radiative-equilibrium atmospheric and wind models for early A dwarfs indicate that it is highly likely that a wind flowing from such stars would be significantly ionized. In addition, late A and early F dwarfs exhibit chromospheric emission indicative of significant nonradiative heating. The present mass-loss limits are thus representative of the total mass-loss rates for these stars. It is concluded that A and F dwarfs are not losing sufficient mass to cause A dwarfs to evolve into G dwarfs. 24 refs

  16. Endovascular treatment of nonvariceal acute arterial upper gastrointestinal bleeding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Poul Erik; Duvnjak, Stevo

    2010-01-01

    Transcatheter arterial embolization as treatment of upper nonvariceal gastrointestinal bleeding is increasingly being used after failed primary endoscopic treatment. The results after embolization have become better and surgery still has a high mortality. Embolization is a safe and effective...... procedure, but its use is has been limited because of relatively high rates of rebleeding and high mortality, both of which are associated with gastrointestinal bleeding and non-gastrointestinal related mortality causes. Transcatheter arterial embolization is a valuable minimal invasive method...

  17. Study of MHD stability beta limit in LHD by hierarchy integrated simulation code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, M.; Watanabe, K.Y.; Nakamura, Y.

    2008-10-01

    The beta limit by the ideal MHD instabilities (so-called 'MHD stability beta limit') for helical plasmas is studied by a hierarchy integrated simulation code. A numerical model for the effect of the MHD instabilities is introduced such that the pressure profile is flattened around the rational surface due to the MHD instabilities. The width of the flattening of the pressure gradient is determined from the width of the eigenmode structure of the MHD instabilities. It is assumed that there is the upper limit of the mode number of the MHD instabilities which directly affect the pressure gradient. The upper limit of the mode number is determined using a recent high beta experiment in the Large Helical Device (LHD). The flattening of the pressure gradient is calculated by the transport module in a hierarchy integrated code. The achievable volume averaged beta value in the LHD is expected to be beyond 6%. (author)

  18. Upper limit for the effect of elastic bending stress on the saturation magnetization of L a0.8S r0.2Mn O3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Q.; Chen, A. P.; Guo, E. J.; Roldan, M. A.; Jia, Q. X.; Fitzsimmons, M. R.

    2018-01-01

    Using polarized neutron reflectometry, we measured the influence of elastic bending stress on the magnetization depth profile of a L a0.8S r0.2Mn O3 (LSMO) epitaxial film grown on a SrTi O3 substrate. The elastic bending strain of ±0.03 % has no obvious effect on the magnetization depth profile at saturation. This result is in stark contrast to that of (L a1 -xP rx)1 -y C ayMn O3 (LPCMO) films for which strain of ±0.01 % produced dramatic changes in the magnetization profile and Curie temperature. We attribute the difference between the influence of strain on the saturation magnetization in LSMO (weak or none) and LPCMO (strong) to a difference in the ability of LSMO (weak or none) and LPCMO (strong) to phase separate. Our observation provides an upper limit of tuning LSMO saturation magnetization via elastic strain effect.

  19. Gardening in the zone of death: an experimental assessment of the absolute elevation limit of vascular plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dvorský, Miroslav; Chlumská, Zuzana; Altman, Jan; Čapková, Kateřina; Řeháková, Klára; Macek, Martin; Kopecký, Martin; Liancourt, Pierre; Doležal, Jiří

    2016-04-13

    Vascular plants in the western Tibetan Plateau reach 6000 m--the highest elevation on Earth. Due to the significant warming of the region, plant ranges are expected to shift upwards. However, factors governing maximum elevational limits of plant are unclear. To experimentally assess these factors, we transplanted 12 species from 5750 m to 5900 m (upper edge of vegetation) and 6100 m (beyond range) and monitored their survival for six years. In the first three years (2009-2012), there were plants surviving beyond the regional upper limit of vegetation. This supports the hypothesis of dispersal and/or recruitment limitation. Substantial warming, recorded in-situ during this period, very likely facilitated the survival. The survival was ecologically a non-random process, species better adapted to repeated soil freezing and thawing survived significantly better. No species have survived at 6100 m since 2013, probably due to the extreme snowfall in 2013. In conclusion, apart from the minimum heat requirements, our results show that episodic climatic events are decisive determinants of upper elevational limits of vascular plants.

  20. Rare muscular variations identified in a single cadaveric upper limb: a four-headed biceps brachii and muscular elevator of the latissimus dorsi tendon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Colin W; Rice, Charles L

    2018-03-01

    Supernumerary or accessory heads of the biceps brachii are persistent muscular structures which can vary in number and location in the arm. Variations in other arm muscles, such as the coracobrachialis, can accompany supernumerary biceps brachii musculature in the upper limb. In this case report, we describe two rare muscular variants in a single adult male: a four-headed biceps brachii and the muscular elevator of the latissimus dorsi tendon. Additionally, accessory muscles of the brachialis and flexor digiti minimi brevis were identified in the upper limb. To our knowledge, the muscular variants identified here are considered rare, and their co-occurrence in a single upper limb has not been described previously. Also, a four-headed biceps brachii consisting of both the infero-medial and infero-lateral humeral heads has not been described previously to our knowledge. We postulate that the simultaneous appearance of several muscular variations may indicate a signaling disruption in embryogenesis during muscle patterning of the ventral limb bud. Knowledge of variant musculature in the arm is important for surgeons and clinicians as these muscles and their aberrant innervation patterns can complicate surgical procedures and may compress arteries and nerves producing upper limb pain and paresthesia. The clinical, functional and embryological implications of the upper limb variants are discussed.

  1. A previously unreported association between Nance-Horan syndrome and spontaneous dental abscesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hibbert, Sally

    2005-02-01

    Atypical dentofacial structures may be the first indicator of other anomalies linked to a syndrome. This case describes the management of a 9-year-old girl referred for the routine management of supernumerary teeth. The anomalous form of her teeth, together with multiple supernumerary units and a history of congenital cataracts, were suggestive of a diagnosis of Nance-Horan syndrome. This is an X-linked disorder, in which females usually demonstrate mild expression; this case was unusual in respect to the marked phenotype expressed. Unusually, the girl developed 2 spontaneous abscesses of her noncarious upper incisor teeth; a feature never previously described in this syndrome. This report details the patient's dental management and discusses the possible pathogenesis of the dental abscesses, together with the genetic implications of this syndrome.

  2. Limit cycles via higher order perturbations for some piecewise differential systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzzi, Claudio A.; Lima, Maurício Firmino Silva; Torregrosa, Joan

    2018-05-01

    A classical perturbation problem is the polynomial perturbation of the harmonic oscillator, (x‧ ,y‧) =(- y + εf(x , y , ε) , x + εg(x , y , ε)) . In this paper we study the limit cycles that bifurcate from the period annulus via piecewise polynomial perturbations in two zones separated by a straight line. We prove that, for polynomial perturbations of degree n , no more than Nn - 1 limit cycles appear up to a study of order N. We also show that this upper bound is reached for orders one and two. Moreover, we study this problem in some classes of piecewise Liénard differential systems providing better upper bounds for higher order perturbation in ε, showing also when they are reached. The Poincaré-Pontryagin-Melnikov theory is the main technique used to prove all the results.

  3. Characterization of the upper pouch tracheo-oesophageal fistula in oesophageal atresia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Summerour, Virginia; Stevens, Paul S; Lander, Anthony D; Singh, Michael; Soccorso, Giampiero; Arul, G Suren

    2017-02-01

    A small proportion of infants with oesophageal atresia (OA) are thought to have a proximal tracheoesophageal fistula (TOF). Failure to recognize these can hamper mobilization of the upper pouch and lead to life-threatening episodes of aspiration once oral feeding starts. We reviewed our experience of upper pouch fistulae to identify characteristic features of proximal TOF. A retrospective review of TOF/OA patient notes and bronchoscopy photographs and videos, identified from our database from 01/01/2006 to 12/31/2015, was performed. Eight (6.1%) infants were identified (M:F 5:3) from a total population of 131 newly diagnosed TOF/OA infants during the period. Their median gestational age was 33 (range 28-39) weeks, and median birth weight was 1647g (range 1100-3400g). Five were initially diagnosed with pure OA and 3 with a distal TOF. All patients underwent rigid bronchoscopy at the initial surgery but only one proximal fistula was identified. The 7 missed proximal fistulae were subsequently found either during on-table oesophagograms for gap assessment (n=2), at the time of thoracotomy when mobilizing the upper pouch (n=3), or during subsequent bronchoscopy for symptoms post OA repair (n=2). Two patients needed a further operation to divide the fistula. Review of the bronchoscopy videos identified four characteristic differences between upper and lower pouch fistulae. Proximal fistulae are found just distal to the vocal cords, are very small, often no more than a pit, do not open and close with ventilation, and are best identified by insufflation of the esophagus. Upper pouch fistulae are relatively easy to miss because of different characteristics compared with H-type or distal fistulae that have not previously been mentioned in the literature. level IV. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  4. Nanoscale Coloristic Pigments: Upper Limits on Releases from Pigmented Plastic during Environmental Aging, In Food Contact, and by Leaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neubauer, Nicole; Scifo, Lorette; Navratilova, Jana; Gondikas, Andreas; Mackevica, Aiga; Borschneck, Daniel; Chaurand, Perrine; Vidal, Vladimir; Rose, Jerome; von der Kammer, Frank; Wohlleben, Wendel

    2017-10-17

    The life cycle of nanoscale pigments in plastics may cause environmental or human exposure by various release scenarios. We investigated spontaneous and induced release with mechanical stress during/after simulated sunlight and rain degradation of polyethylene (PE) with organic and inorganic pigments. Additionally, primary leaching in food contact and secondary leaching from nanocomposite fragments with an increased surface into environmental media was examined. Standardized protocols/methods for release sampling, detection, and characterization of release rate and form were applied: Transformation of the bulk material was analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray-tomography and Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); releases were quantified by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), single-particle-ICP-MS (sp-ICP-MS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Analytical Ultracentrifugation (AUC), and UV/Vis spectroscopy. In all scenarios, the detectable particulate releases were attributed primarily to contaminations from handling and machining of the plastics, and were not identified with the pigments, although the contamination of 4 mg/kg (Fe) was dwarfed by the intentional content of 5800 mg/kg (Fe as Fe 2 O 3 pigment). We observed modulations (which were at least partially preventable by UV stabilizers) when comparing as-produced and aged nanocomposites, but no significant increase of releases. Release of pigments was negligible within the experimental error for all investigated scenarios, with upper limits of 10 mg/m 2 or 1600 particles/mL. This is the first holistic confirmation that pigment nanomaterials remain strongly contained in a plastic that has low diffusion and high persistence such as the polyolefin High Density Polyethylene (HDPE).

  5. Improved Limits on Scattering of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles from Reanalysis of 2013 LUX Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akerib, D. S.; Araújo, H. M.; Bai, X.; Bailey, A. J.; Balajthy, J.; Beltrame, P.; Bernard, E. P.; Bernstein, A.; Biesiadzinski, T. P.; Boulton, E. M.; Bradley, A.; Bramante, R.; Cahn, S. B.; Carmona-Benitez, M. C.; Chan, C.; Chapman, J. J.; Chiller, A. A.; Chiller, C.; Currie, A.; Cutter, J. E.; Davison, T. J. R.; de Viveiros, L.; Dobi, A.; Dobson, J. E. Y.; Druszkiewicz, E.; Edwards, B. N.; Faham, C. H.; Fiorucci, S.; Gaitskell, R. J.; Gehman, V. M.; Ghag, C.; Gibson, K. R.; Gilchriese, M. G. D.; Hall, C. R.; Hanhardt, M.; Haselschwardt, S. J.; Hertel, S. A.; Hogan, D. P.; Horn, M.; Huang, D. Q.; Ignarra, C. M.; Ihm, M.; Jacobsen, R. G.; Ji, W.; Kazkaz, K.; Khaitan, D.; Knoche, R.; Larsen, N. A.; Lee, C.; Lenardo, B. G.; Lesko, K. T.; Lindote, A.; Lopes, M. I.; Malling, D. C.; Manalaysay, A.; Mannino, R. L.; Marzioni, M. F.; McKinsey, D. N.; Mei, D.-M.; Mock, J.; Moongweluwan, M.; Morad, J. A.; Murphy, A. St. J.; Nehrkorn, C.; Nelson, H. N.; Neves, F.; O'Sullivan, K.; Oliver-Mallory, K. C.; Ott, R. A.; Palladino, K. J.; Pangilinan, M.; Pease, E. K.; Phelps, P.; Reichhart, L.; Rhyne, C.; Shaw, S.; Shutt, T. A.; Silva, C.; Solovov, V. N.; Sorensen, P.; Stephenson, S.; Sumner, T. J.; Szydagis, M.; Taylor, D. J.; Taylor, W.; Tennyson, B. P.; Terman, P. A.; Tiedt, D. R.; To, W. H.; Tripathi, M.; Tvrznikova, L.; Uvarov, S.; Verbus, J. R.; Webb, R. C.; White, J. T.; Whitis, T. J.; Witherell, M. S.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Yazdani, K.; Young, S. K.; Zhang, C.; LUX Collaboration

    2016-04-01

    We present constraints on weakly interacting massive particles (WIMP)-nucleus scattering from the 2013 data of the Large Underground Xenon dark matter experiment, including 1.4 ×104 kg day of search exposure. This new analysis incorporates several advances: single-photon calibration at the scintillation wavelength, improved event-reconstruction algorithms, a revised background model including events originating on the detector walls in an enlarged fiducial volume, and new calibrations from decays of an injected tritium β source and from kinematically constrained nuclear recoils down to 1.1 keV. Sensitivity, especially to low-mass WIMPs, is enhanced compared to our previous results which modeled the signal only above a 3 keV minimum energy. Under standard dark matter halo assumptions and in the mass range above 4 GeV c-2 , these new results give the most stringent direct limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section. The 90% C.L. upper limit has a minimum of 0.6 zb at 33 GeV c-2 WIMP mass.

  6. Limits of detection and decision. Part 4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voigtman, E.

    2008-01-01

    Probability density functions (PDFs) have been derived for a number of commonly used limit of detection definitions, including several variants of the Relative Standard Deviation of the Background-Background Equivalent Concentration (RSDB-BEC) method, for a simple linear chemical measurement system (CMS) having homoscedastic, Gaussian measurement noise and using ordinary least squares (OLS) processing. All of these detection limit definitions serve as both decision and detection limits, thereby implicitly resulting in 50% rates of Type 2 errors. It has been demonstrated that these are closely related to Currie decision limits, if the coverage factor, k, is properly defined, and that all of the PDFs are scaled reciprocals of noncentral t variates. All of the detection limits have well-defined upper and lower limits, thereby resulting in finite moments and confidence limits, and the problem of estimating the noncentrality parameter has been addressed. As in Parts 1-3, extensive Monte Carlo simulations were performed and all the simulation results were found to be in excellent agreement with the derived theoretical expressions. Specific recommendations for harmonization of detection limit methodology have also been made

  7. Upper arm circumference measurement for detecting overweight and obesity in children aged 6-7 years

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dewi Rosariah Ayu

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Background Obesity is a worldwide problem and is associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome. Nutritional status in children has traditionally been determined by body mass index (BMI scores, but with limitations. Upper arm circumference measurement may be a better predictor of energy, protein, and fat storage, as well as a simpler method for screening overweight and obesity in children. Objective To determine the diagnostic value of upper arm circumference compared to BMI for detecting overweight and obesity in children aged 6-7 years. Methods This diagnostic study with a cross-sectional design was performed from September to October 2015 at 16 primary schools in Palembang, Indonesia. We measured the heights, weights, and upper arm circumferences, and calculated BMIs of 2,258 children. Receiver-operator characteristic (ROC curve analysis was used to find an optimal upper arm circumference cut-off point to detect overweight and obesity. Diagnostic value was calculated by using a 2x2 table analysis. Results The prevalences of overweight and obesity were 5.8% and 11.7%, respectively. The optimal upper arm circumference cut-off points for detecting overweight in children aged 6-7 years was 185 mm (sensitivity 88.1% and specificity 78.3%, and for obesity was 195 mm (sensitivity 90.15% and specificity 86.65%. Upper arm circumference had a strong correlation with BMI. Conclusion Upper arm circumference measurement is an accurate method fordistinguishing between normoweight, overweight, and obesity in children aged 6-7 years.

  8. Treatment of the Upper Extremity Contracture/Deformities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oishi, Scott N; Agranovich, Olga; Pajardi, Giorgio E; Novelli, Chiara; Baindurashvili, Alexey G; Trofimova, Svetlana I; Abdel-Ghani, Hisham; Kochenova, Evgenia; Prosperpio, Giulietta; Jester, Andrea; Yilmaz, Güney; Şenaran, Hakan; Kose, Oksana; Butler, Lesley

    Patients with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita have a characteristic upper extremity resting posture consisting of internal rotation of the shoulders, elbow extension, flexed wrists, thumb-in palm deformities, and variable degrees of finger contractures. Treatment of these patients is aimed at improving independence and performance of activities of daily living. Although each area needs to be assessed independently for the most appropriate surgical procedure, often multiple areas can be addressed at the same operative setting. This limits the number of anesthetic exposures and cast immobilization time. The following is a synopsis of treatment strategies presented at the second international symposium on Arthrogryposis which took place in St Petersburg in September 2014.

  9. Brachial index does not reflect upper extremity functionality following surgery for vascular trauma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erdal Simsek

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Vascular injuries to the upper extremities requiring surgical repair are common after accidents. However, neither postoperative functionality nor hemodynamic status of the extremity are routinely described. We evaluated the postoperative functional and hemodynamic status of patients with vascular traumas in the upper extremities. METHODS: 26 patients who suffered penetrating vascular traumas in the upper extremities from November 2008 to December 2011 were retrospectively evaluated. Data on first approach, surgical technique employed and early postoperative outcomes were recorded. Further data on the post-discharge period, including clinical functional status of the arm, Doppler ultrasonography and brachial-brachial index were also evaluated. RESULTS: Average follow up was 33.5±10.8 months. Right (1.05±0.09 and left (1.04±0.08 brachial indexes were measured during follow up,. Doppler ultrasonography showed arterial occlusion in 4 patients (15%. Near-normal brachial-brachial indexes was observed in all four of these patients with occlusion of one of the upper extremity arteries, even though they exhibited limited arm function for daily work. CONCLUSIONS: Evaluation of the postoperative outcomes of this small series of patients with penetrating vascular traumas in the upper extremity revealed that 15% of them suffered occlusion of one artery of the upper extremity. Artery occlusion did not correlate with brachial-brachial Doppler index, probably due to rich collateral circulation, but occlusion was associated with an extremity that was dysfunctional for the purposes of daily work. The result of the brachial-brachial index does not therefore correlate with functionality.

  10. Pediatric and staff dose evaluation in fluoroscopy upper gastrointestinal series

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Filipov, Danielle; Nascimento, Eduarda X. do; Lacerda, Camila M., E-mail: diilipov@utfpr.edu.br [Universidade Tecnologica Federal do Parana (UFTPR), Curitiba, PR (Brazil); Schelin, Hugo R.; Ledesma, Jorge A.; Denyak, Valeriy; Legnani, Adriano, E-mail: ledesmajorgealberto@gmail.com [Instituto de Pesquisa Pele Pequeno Principe, Curitiba, PR (Brazil)

    2014-07-01

    Fluoroscopy upper GI series are widely used for the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease in children. Pediatric radiological procedures bring concern due to the high life expectancy and radiosensitivity on children, as well as the risks to the exposed staff Important studies present the mean KAP values on patients and the European Commission (EC) recommends specific techniques for these procedures. For the occupational expositions, staffs doses must be within the annual limit, according to the CNEN 3.01. Based on those data, the aims of the current study are: analyzing the upper GI procedure; determining the KAP on the patient and estimating the annual equivalent dose on the staff's crystalline. LiF :Mg,Ti TLDs were positioned on the patient upper chest center, so that the entrance surface air kerma could be determined. The field size on the patient s surface and the kerma were multiplied so that the KAP was obtained. LiF:Mg,Cu,P dosimeters were used to estimate the equivalent dose on the staff s crystalline. The results showed discrepancy in the kVp range and in the exposure time when compared to the EC data. The mean KAP values for the 0-1,1-3 and 3-10 years old patients were, respectively: 102 ± 19 cGy.cm2, 142 ± 25 cGy.cm2 and 323 ± 39 cGy.cm2; which are higher than the KAPs presented in the studies used for comparison. The estimated annual equivalent dose in the staff s crystalline would be approximately 85% higher than the limit set by the CNEN. Analyzing the data, it becomes clear that an optimization implementation is necessary in order to reduce the radiation levels. (author)

  11. Pediatric and staff dose evaluation in fluoroscopy upper gastrointestinal series

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Filipov, Danielle; Nascimento, Eduarda X. do; Lacerda, Camila M.; Schelin, Hugo R.; Ledesma, Jorge A.; Denyak, Valeriy; Legnani, Adriano

    2014-01-01

    Fluoroscopy upper GI series are widely used for the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease in children. Pediatric radiological procedures bring concern due to the high life expectancy and radiosensitivity on children, as well as the risks to the exposed staff Important studies present the mean KAP values on patients and the European Commission (EC) recommends specific techniques for these procedures. For the occupational expositions, staffs doses must be within the annual limit, according to the CNEN 3.01. Based on those data, the aims of the current study are: analyzing the upper GI procedure; determining the KAP on the patient and estimating the annual equivalent dose on the staff's crystalline. LiF :Mg,Ti TLDs were positioned on the patient upper chest center, so that the entrance surface air kerma could be determined. The field size on the patient s surface and the kerma were multiplied so that the KAP was obtained. LiF:Mg,Cu,P dosimeters were used to estimate the equivalent dose on the staff s crystalline. The results showed discrepancy in the kVp range and in the exposure time when compared to the EC data. The mean KAP values for the 0-1,1-3 and 3-10 years old patients were, respectively: 102 ± 19 cGy.cm2, 142 ± 25 cGy.cm2 and 323 ± 39 cGy.cm2; which are higher than the KAPs presented in the studies used for comparison. The estimated annual equivalent dose in the staff s crystalline would be approximately 85% higher than the limit set by the CNEN. Analyzing the data, it becomes clear that an optimization implementation is necessary in order to reduce the radiation levels. (author)

  12. Predictive Value of Upper Limb Muscles and Grasp Patterns on Functional Outcome in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velstra, Inge-Marie; Bolliger, Marc; Krebs, Jörg; Rietman, Johan S; Curt, Armin

    2016-05-01

    To determine which single or combined upper limb muscles as defined by the International Standards for the Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI); upper extremity motor score (UEMS) and the Graded Redefined Assessment of Strength, Sensibility, and Prehension (GRASSP), best predict upper limb function and independence in activities of daily living (ADLs) and to assess the predictive value of qualitative grasp movements (QlG) on upper limb function in individuals with acute tetraplegia. As part of a Europe-wide, prospective, longitudinal, multicenter study ISNCSCI, GRASSP, and Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM III) scores were recorded at 1 and 6 months after SCI. For prediction of upper limb function and ADLs, a logistic regression model and unbiased recursive partitioning conditional inference tree (URP-CTREE) were used. Results: Logistic regression and URP-CTREE revealed that a combination of ISNCSCI and GRASSP muscles (to a maximum of 4) demonstrated the best prediction (specificity and sensitivity ranged from 81.8% to 96.0%) of upper limb function and identified homogenous outcome cohorts at 6 months. The URP-CTREE model with the QlG predictors for upper limb function showed similar results. Prediction of upper limb function can be achieved through a combination of defined, specific upper limb muscles assessed in the ISNCSCI and GRASSP. A combination of a limited number of proximal and distal muscles along with an assessment of grasping movements can be applied for clinical decision making for rehabilitation interventions and clinical trials. © The Author(s) 2015.

  13. Defining the role of sensation, strength, and prehension for upper limb function in cervical spinal cord injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalsi-Ryan, Sukhvinder; Beaton, Dorcas; Curt, Armin; Duff, Susan; Jiang, Depeng; Popovic, Milos R; Rudhe, Claudia; Fehlings, Michael G; Verrier, Mary C

    2014-01-01

    Upper limb function plays a significant role in enhancing independence for individuals with tetraplegia. However, there is limited knowledge about the specific input of sensorimotor deficits on upper limb function. Thus the theoretical framework designed to develop the Graded Redefined Assessment of Strength Sensibility and Prehension (GRASSP) was used as a hypothetical model to analyze the impact of impairment on function. To define the association of impairment (sensation, strength, and prehension measured by the GRASSP) to upper limb function as defined by functional measures (Capabilities of Upper Extremity Questionnaire, Spinal Cord Independence Measure). A hypothetical model representing relationships by applying structural equation modeling was used to estimate the effect of the impairment domains in GRASSP on upper limb function. Data collected on 72 chronic individuals with tetraplegia was used to test the hypothetical model. Structural equation modeling confirmed strong associations between sensation, strength, and prehension with upper limb function, and determined 72% of the variance in "sensorimotor upper limb function" was explained by the model. Statistics of fit showed the data did fit the hypothesized model. Sensation and strength influence upper limb function directly and indirectly with prehension as the mediator. The GRASSP is a sensitive diagnostic tool in distinguishing the relative contribution of strength, sensation and prehension to function. Thus, the impact of interventions on specific domains of impairment and related contribution on clinical recovery of the upper limb can be detailed to optimize rehabilitation programs.

  14. Computer work and musculoskeletal disorders of the neck and upper extremity: A systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veiersted Kaj Bo

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This review examines the evidence for an association between computer work and neck and upper extremity disorders (except carpal tunnel syndrome. Methods A systematic critical review of studies of computer work and musculoskeletal disorders verified by a physical examination was performed. Results A total of 22 studies (26 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Results show limited evidence for a causal relationship between computer work per se, computer mouse and keyboard time related to a diagnosis of wrist tendonitis, and for an association between computer mouse time and forearm disorders. Limited evidence was also found for a causal relationship between computer work per se and computer mouse time related to tension neck syndrome, but the evidence for keyboard time was insufficient. Insufficient evidence was found for an association between other musculoskeletal diagnoses of the neck and upper extremities, including shoulder tendonitis and epicondylitis, and any aspect of computer work. Conclusions There is limited epidemiological evidence for an association between aspects of computer work and some of the clinical diagnoses studied. None of the evidence was considered as moderate or strong and there is a need for more and better documentation.

  15. AN X-RAY UPPER LIMIT ON THE PRESENCE OF A NEUTRON STAR FOR THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD SUPERNOVA REMNANT 1E0102.2-7219

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rutkowski, M. J.; Windhorst, R. A.; Schlegel, E. M.; Keohane, J. W.

    2010-01-01

    We present Chandra X-ray Observatory archival observations of the supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219, a young oxygen-rich remnant in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Combining 28 ObsIDs for 324 ks of total exposure time, we present an Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer image with an unprecedented signal-to-noise ratio (mean S/N ≅√S∼ 6; maximum S/N > 35). We search within the remnant, using the source detection software WAVDETECT, for point sources which may indicate a compact object. Despite finding numerous detections of high significance in both broad and narrowband images of the remnant, we are unable to satisfactorily distinguish whether these detections correspond to emission from a compact object. We also present upper limits to the luminosity of an obscured compact stellar object which were derived from an analysis of spectra extracted from the high signal-to-noise image. We are able to further constrain the characteristics of a potential neutron star for this remnant with the results of the analysis presented here, though we cannot confirm the existence of such an object for this remnant.

  16. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding: audit of a single center experience in Western India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jignesh B. Rathod

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Upper gastrointestinal (GI bleeding is defined as bleeding proximal to the ligament of Treitz. The most important aspect of management of GI bleeding is to locate the site and cause of bleeding. The aim of the study is to find out the common etiology, presentation and management, including the role of upper GI endoscopy. Recent advances have meant that endoscopic hemostatic methods are now associated with a reduced rate of re-bleeding, cost, blood transfusion, length of hospital stay and mortality. A prospective study of 50 cases was carried out between August 2001 and July 2003. Patients with signs and symptoms suggestive of upper GI bleeding (UGIB such as hematemesis, melena, aspirated blood from nasogastric tubes, profuse hematochezia, etc., were included in the study. The patients were selected randomly. The most common cause of UGIB in the present study was acute erosive gastritis (34% followed by portal hypertension (24% and peptic ulcer (22%. All 50 patients underwent upper GI endoscopy, of whom 39 patients were treated conservatively and 11 patients underwent endotherapy to control bleeding. Out of 39 patients treated non-endoscopically, 6 cases required laparotomy to control UGIB. 8 of 50 cases had past history of UGIB, 5 of whom had a previous history of endotherapy. One case was treated with devascularization as routine hemostatic methods failed. So, initial method of choice to control the bleeding was endotherapy and surgery was undertaken if an endoscopic method failed. The most common cause of hematemesis in our setting was acute erosive gastritis followed by portal hypertension. Endoscopy is a valuable minimal invasive method to diagnose and treat upper GI bleeding.

  17. Additional Gigantoproductus species from the upper Visean-Namurian limestone of Kotaki, central Japan

    OpenAIRE

    Ibaraki, Yousuke; Tazawa, Jun-ichi; Nakamura, Yukio

    2010-01-01

    A large productid brachiopod species, Gigantoproductus aurita (Bolkhovitinova, 1938), is described from the Tsuchikurazawa Limestone (upper Visean-Namurian), a large limestone block within a Permian accretionary complex of Kotaki, Itoigawa City, Niigata Prefecture, central Japan. This is the fourth described Gigantoproductus species from the Tsuchikurazawa Limestone. The range of G. aurita may extend to late Visean on the basis of the previous fossil records of the limestone.

  18. Energy Dissipation in the Upper Atmospheres of TRAPPIST-1 Planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Ofer; Glocer, Alex; Garraffo, Cecilia; Drake, Jeremy J.; Bell, Jared M.

    2018-03-01

    We present a method to quantify the upper limit of the energy transmitted from the intense stellar wind to the upper atmospheres of three of the TRAPPIST-1 planets (e, f, and g). We use a formalism that treats the system as two electromagnetic regions, where the efficiency of the energy transmission between one region (the stellar wind at the planetary orbits) to the other (the planetary ionospheres) depends on the relation between the conductances and impedances of the two regions. Since the energy flux of the stellar wind is very high at these planetary orbits, we find that for the case of high transmission efficiency (when the conductances and impedances are close in magnitude), the energy dissipation in the upper planetary atmospheres is also very large. On average, the Ohmic energy can reach 0.5–1 W m‑2, about 1% of the stellar irradiance and 5–15 times the EUV irradiance. Here, using constant values for the ionospheric conductance, we demonstrate that the stellar wind energy could potentially drive large atmospheric heating in terrestrial planets, as well as in hot Jupiters. More detailed calculations are needed to assess the ionospheric conductance and to determine more accurately the amount of heating the stellar wind can drive in close-orbit planets.

  19. Limits on cold dark matter cosmologies from new anisotropy bounds on the cosmic microwave background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vittorio, N.; Meinhold, P.; Lubin, P.; Muciaccia, P.F.; Silk, J.

    1991-01-01

    A self-consistent method is presented for comparing theoretical predictions of and observational upper limits on CMB anisotropy. New bounds on CDM cosmologies set by the UCSB South Pole experiment on the 1 deg angular scale are presented. An upper limit of 4.0 x 10 to the -5th is placed on the rms differential temperature anisotropy to a 95 percent confidence level and a power of the test beta = 55 percent. A lower limit of about 0.6/b is placed on the density parameter of cold dark matter universes with greater than about 3 percent baryon abundance and a Hubble constant of 50 km/s/Mpc, where b is the bias factor, equal to unity only if light traces mass. 22 refs

  20. Confidence limits with multiple channels and arbitrary probability distributions for sensitivity and expected background

    CERN Document Server

    Perrotta, A

    2002-01-01

    A MC method is proposed to compute upper limits, in a pure Bayesian approach, when the errors associated with the experimental sensitivity and expected background content are not Gaussian distributed or not small enough to apply usual approximations. It is relatively easy to extend the procedure to the multichannel case (for instance when different decay branching, luminosities or experiments have to be combined). Some of the searches for supersymmetric particles performed in the DELPHI experiment at the LEP electron- positron collider use such a procedure to propagate systematics into the calculation of cross-section upper limits. One of these searches is described as an example. (6 refs).

  1. Conventional and technical diving surveys reveal elevated biomass and differing fish community composition from shallow and upper mesophotic zones of a remote United States coral reef.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz, Roldan C; Buckel, Christine A; Whitfield, Paula E; Viehman, Shay; Clark, Randy; Taylor, J Christopher; Degan, Brian P; Hickerson, Emma L

    2017-01-01

    The world's coral reefs appear to be in a global decline, yet most previous research on coral reefs has taken place at depths shallower than 30 m. Mesophotic coral ecosystem (depths deeper than ~30 m) studies have revealed extensive, productive habitats and rich communities. Despite recent advances, mesophotic coral ecosystems remain understudied due to challenges with sampling at deeper depths. The few previous studies of mesophotic coral ecosystems have shown variation across locations in depth-specific species composition and assemblage shifts, potentially a response to differences in habitat or light availability/water clarity. This study utilized scuba to examine fish and benthic communities from shallow and upper mesophotic (to 45 m) zones of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS, 28°0'N; 93°50'W) from 2010-2012. Dominant planktivores were ubiquitous in shallow and upper mesophotic habitats, and comparisons with previous shallow research suggest this community distribution has persisted for over 30 years. Planktivores were abundant in shallow low-relief habitats on the periphery of the coral reef, and some of these sites that contained habitat transitioning from high to low relief supported high biomass of benthic predators. These peripheral sites at FGBNMS may be important for the trophic transfer of oceanic energy to the benthic coral reef. Distinct differences between upper mesophotic and shallow communities were also observed. These included greater overall fish (as well as apex predator) biomass in the upper mesophotic, differences in apex predator community composition between depth zones, and greater percent cover of algae, rubble, sand, and sponges in the upper mesophotic. Greater fish biomass in the upper mesophotic and similar fish community composition between depth zones provide preliminary support that upper mesophotic habitats at FGBNMS have the capacity to serve as refugia for the shallow-water reefs. Diving surveys of the

  2. Conventional and technical diving surveys reveal elevated biomass and differing fish community composition from shallow and upper mesophotic zones of a remote United States coral reef.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roldan C Muñoz

    Full Text Available The world's coral reefs appear to be in a global decline, yet most previous research on coral reefs has taken place at depths shallower than 30 m. Mesophotic coral ecosystem (depths deeper than ~30 m studies have revealed extensive, productive habitats and rich communities. Despite recent advances, mesophotic coral ecosystems remain understudied due to challenges with sampling at deeper depths. The few previous studies of mesophotic coral ecosystems have shown variation across locations in depth-specific species composition and assemblage shifts, potentially a response to differences in habitat or light availability/water clarity. This study utilized scuba to examine fish and benthic communities from shallow and upper mesophotic (to 45 m zones of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS, 28°0'N; 93°50'W from 2010-2012. Dominant planktivores were ubiquitous in shallow and upper mesophotic habitats, and comparisons with previous shallow research suggest this community distribution has persisted for over 30 years. Planktivores were abundant in shallow low-relief habitats on the periphery of the coral reef, and some of these sites that contained habitat transitioning from high to low relief supported high biomass of benthic predators. These peripheral sites at FGBNMS may be important for the trophic transfer of oceanic energy to the benthic coral reef. Distinct differences between upper mesophotic and shallow communities were also observed. These included greater overall fish (as well as apex predator biomass in the upper mesophotic, differences in apex predator community composition between depth zones, and greater percent cover of algae, rubble, sand, and sponges in the upper mesophotic. Greater fish biomass in the upper mesophotic and similar fish community composition between depth zones provide preliminary support that upper mesophotic habitats at FGBNMS have the capacity to serve as refugia for the shallow-water reefs. Diving

  3. Designing instrumented walker to measure upper-extremity's efforts: A case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khodadadi, Mohammad; Baniasad, Mina Arab; Arazpour, Mokhtar; Farahmand, Farzam; Zohoor, Hassan

    2018-02-26

    The high prevalence of shoulder pain in using walkers in patients who have spinal cord injury (SCI). Also, the limited options available to economically measure grip forces in walkers, which drove the need to create one. This article describes a method to obtain upper-extremities' forces and moments in a person with SCI by designing an appropriate instrumented walker. First, since the commercial multidirectional loadcells are too expensive, custom loadcells are fabricated. Ultimately, a complete gait analysis by means of VICON motion analysis and using inverse dynamic method has been held to measure upper-extremities' efforts. The results for a person with SCI using a two-wheel walker in low and high heights and a basic walker show that there are higher shoulder and elbow flexion-extension moments and also higher shoulder forces in superior-inferior direction and higher elbow and wrist forces in anterior-posterior directions. The results are not much different in using two different types of walker. By using the proposed method, upper-extremities' forces and moments were obtained and the results were compared to each other in using two different walkers.

  4. Limits on an optical pulsar in supernova 1987A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pennypacker, C.R.; Morris, D.E.; Muller, R.A.

    1989-01-01

    Since March 1987 the optical flux from supernova 1987A for periodic pulsations has been sought. As of August 1988, after 38 separate observations, no pulsar has been detected. The typical upper limit placed on the pulsed fraction optical light from the supernova is 0.0002, for pulse frequencies in the range 0.03-5000 Hz. The best limit on the pulsed fraction of supernova light is 7 x 10 to the -6th, on January 22, 1988. On August 28, 1988 the faintest limit for the magnitude of the pulsar, dimmer than 20th mag is reached. These limits are based on Fourier transforms of up to 67 million points, covering a range of spindown rates. 25 refs

  5. Prevalence of Upper Abdominal Complaints in Patients Who Have Undergone Partial Gastrectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RJLF Loffeld

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available Little is known about the long term occurrence and prevalence of upper abdominal complaints after previous partial gastrectomy. Therefore, a retrospective, uncontrolled, cross-sectional, descriptive, clinical, endoscopic study was done. A questionnaire was mailed to patients who had undergone partial gastrectomy and been sent for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Eight questions were scored on a five-point Likert scale, and a symptom score was calculated. During the five-year study period, 189 patients (137 men, 52 women were identified as having had a partial gastrectomy -- 143 (76% received the Billroth II operation and 46 (24% received the Billroth I operation. The questionnaire was mailed to 124 patients, of whom 79 (64% responded. Eighty-eight per cent of patients had undergone surgery more than 15 years earlier. Fifty-nine patients (75% suffered from upper abdominal symptoms. Regurgitation of food, retrosternal heartburn and bile reflux occurred significantly more often in patients who underwent the Billroth II operation. The mean symptom score of patients who underwent Billroth I resection was significantly lower (4.5 [SD 3.6] than that of patients who underwent Billroth II resection (7.1 [SD 4.4](P=0.04. One or more symptoms indicative of dumping were found in 70% of patients who underwent Billroth II resection and in 59% of patients who underwent Billroth I resection (not significant. Many patients who had undergone a partial gastrectomy developed upper abdominal symptoms during long term follow-up that were not specifically linked to dumping.

  6. Timing of rehabilitation in children with obstetric upper trunk brachial plexus palsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yilmaz, Volkan; Umay, Ebru; Tezel, Nihal; Gundogdu, Ibrahim

    2018-06-01

    The initiation timing of rehabilitation in children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy is controversial. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation timing to the functional outcomes of patients with obstetric upper trunk brachial plexus palsy. Twenty-nine patients, who did not previously received any rehabilitation programme but attended our outpatient clinic, were included for the study. The electrophysiological findings, obstetric characteristics, and demographic features of the patients were recorded. The range of motion (ROM) of shoulders, elbows, and wrists and the strength of the muscles associated with these joints were evaluated. Modified Mallet Scale (MMS) was used for functional evaluation. A 4-week rehabilitation programme was performed twice at 2-month intervals. Patients were divided into three groups according to their ages as follows: 1-3 years old (group 1), 3-5 years old (group 2), and 5-7 years old (group 3). The ROMs, muscle strengths, and MMS scores of the patients were all evaluated. Two out of 29 patients were female (6.9%) and 27 were male (93.1%). All 29 patients had right upper extremity palsy (100%). The MMS scores, ROMs, and muscle strength of the upper extremities had improved in all the groups following the standardized rehabilitation programme. A rehabilitation programme is the best choice of treatment before surgical procedures in patients with mild to moderate obstetric upper trunk brachial plexus palsy regardless of age and the initiation time.

  7. Investigation of whiplash injuries in the upper cervical spine using a detailed neck model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fice, Jason B; Cronin, Duane S

    2012-04-05

    Whiplash injuries continue to have significant societal cost; however, the mechanism and location of whiplash injury is still under investigation. Recently, the upper cervical spine ligaments, particularly the alar ligament, have been identified as a potential whiplash injury location. In this study, a detailed and validated explicit finite element model of a 50th percentile male cervical spine in a seated posture was used to investigate upper cervical spine response and the potential for whiplash injury resulting from vehicle crash scenarios. This model was previously validated at the segment and whole spine levels for both kinematics and soft tissue strains in frontal and rear impact scenarios. The model predicted increasing upper cervical spine ligament strain with increasing impact severity. Considering all upper cervical spine ligaments, the distractions in the apical and alar ligaments were the largest relative to their failure strains, in agreement with the clinical findings. The model predicted the potential for injury to the apical ligament for 15.2 g frontal or 11.7 g rear impacts, and to the alar ligament for a 20.7 g frontal or 14.4 g rear impact based on the ligament distractions. Future studies should consider the effect of initial occupant position on ligament distraction. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. A rare disease in an atypical location - Kimura's Disease of the upper extremity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lam, Alan Cheuk Si; Lau, Vince Wing Hang [Queen Mary Hospital, Department of Radiology, Hong Kong (China); Au Yeung, Rex Kwok Him [University of Hong Kong, Department of Pathology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, Hong Kong (China)

    2015-12-15

    Kimura's disease is a rare chronic inflammatory disorder predominantly affecting young Asian male patients, occurring mainly in the head and neck regions. Kimura's disease of the upper extremity is extremely rare, and previous case reports in the literature show similar imaging characteristics with consistent location at the medial epitrochlear region, predominantly with unilateral involvement. We present the first reported case of Kimura's disease affecting the anterolateral aspect of the upper arm, sparing the medial epitrochlear region, illustrating that with typical MR appearance and serology, the involvement of this rare disease in an atypical location still warrants consideration of this diagnosis. There was also bilateral asymmetrical involvement in our patient, suggesting the possibility of a propensity for Kimura's disease affecting the upper extremities to have bilateral involvement, which may necessitate imaging of the clinically asymptomatic contralateral limb in these patients for early lesion identification and treatment. (orig.)

  9. A rare disease in an atypical location - Kimura's Disease of the upper extremity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lam, Alan Cheuk Si; Lau, Vince Wing Hang; Au Yeung, Rex Kwok Him

    2015-01-01

    Kimura's disease is a rare chronic inflammatory disorder predominantly affecting young Asian male patients, occurring mainly in the head and neck regions. Kimura's disease of the upper extremity is extremely rare, and previous case reports in the literature show similar imaging characteristics with consistent location at the medial epitrochlear region, predominantly with unilateral involvement. We present the first reported case of Kimura's disease affecting the anterolateral aspect of the upper arm, sparing the medial epitrochlear region, illustrating that with typical MR appearance and serology, the involvement of this rare disease in an atypical location still warrants consideration of this diagnosis. There was also bilateral asymmetrical involvement in our patient, suggesting the possibility of a propensity for Kimura's disease affecting the upper extremities to have bilateral involvement, which may necessitate imaging of the clinically asymptomatic contralateral limb in these patients for early lesion identification and treatment. (orig.)

  10. Wildland fire as a self-regulating mechanism: the role of previous burns and weather in limiting fire progression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parks, Sean A; Holsinger, Lisa M; Miller, Carol; Nelson, Cara R

    2015-09-01

    Theory suggests that natural fire regimes can result in landscapes that are both self-regulating and resilient to fire. For example, because fires consume fuel, they may create barriers to the spread of future fires, thereby regulating fire size. Top-down controls such as weather, however, can weaken this effect. While empirical examples demonstrating this pattern-process feedback between vegetation and fire exist, they have been geographically limited or did not consider the influence of time between fires and weather. The availability of remotely sensed data identifying fire activity over the last four decades provides an opportunity to explicitly quantify-the ability of wildland fire to limit the progression of subsequent fire. Furthermore, advances in fire progression mapping now allow an evaluation of how daily weather as a top-down control modifies this effect. In this study, we evaluated the ability of wildland fire to create barriers that limit the spread of subsequent fire along a gradient representing time between fires in four large study areas in the western United States. Using fire progression maps in conjunction with weather station data, we also evaluated the influence of daily weather. Results indicate that wildland fire does limit subsequent fire spread in all four study areas, but this effect decays over time; wildland fire no longer limits subsequent fire spread 6-18 years after fire, depending on the study area. We also found that the ability of fire to regulate, subsequent fire progression was substantially reduced under extreme conditions compared to moderate weather conditions in all four study areas. This study increases understanding of the spatial feedbacks that can lead to self-regulating landscapes as well as the effects of top-down controls, such as weather, on these feedbacks. Our results will be useful to managers who seek to restore natural fire regimes or to exploit recent burns when managing fire.

  11. Heat up and potential failure of BWR upper internals during a severe accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robb, Kevin R [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2015-01-01

    In boiling water reactors, the steam dome, steam separators, and dryers above the core are comprised of approximately 100 tons of stainless steel. During a severe accident in which the coolant boils away and exothermic oxidation of zirconium occurs, gases (steam and hydrogen) are superheated in the core region and pass through the upper internals. Historically, the upper internals have been modeled using severe accident codes with relatively simple approximations. The upper internals are typically modeled in MELCOR as two lumped volumes with simplified heat transfer characteristics, with no structural integrity considerations, and with limited ability to oxidize, melt, and relocate. The potential for and the subsequent impact of the upper internals to heat up, oxidize, fail, and relocate during a severe accident was investigated. A higher fidelity representation of the shroud dome, steam separators, and steam driers was developed in MELCOR v1.8.6 by extending the core region upwards. This modeling effort entailed adding 45 additional core cells and control volumes, 98 flow paths, and numerous control functions. The model accounts for the mechanical loading and structural integrity, oxidation, melting, flow area blockage, and relocation of the various components. The results indicate that the upper internals can reach high temperatures during a severe accident; they are predicted to reach a high enough temperature such that they lose their structural integrity and relocate. The additional 100 tons of stainless steel debris influences the subsequent in-vessel and ex-vessel accident progression.

  12. Improving timing sensitivity in the microhertz frequency regime: limits from PSR J1713+0747 on gravitational waves produced by super-massive black-hole binaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perera, B. B. P.; Stappers, B. W.; Babak, S.; Keith, M. J.; Antoniadis, J.; Bassa, C. G.; Caballero, R. N.; Champion, D. J.; Cognard, I.; Desvignes, G.; Graikou, E.; Guillemot, L.; Janssen, G. H.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kramer, M.; Lazarus, P.; Lentati, L.; Liu, K.; Lyne, A. G.; McKee, J. W.; Osłowski, S.; Perrodin, D.; Sanidas, S. A.; Sesana, A.; Shaifullah, G.; Theureau, G.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Taylor, S. R.

    2018-05-01

    We search for continuous gravitational waves (CGWs) produced by individual super-massive black-hole binaries (SMBHBs) in circular orbits using high-cadence timing observations of PSR J1713+0747. We observe this millisecond pulsar using the telescopes in the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) with an average cadence of approximately 1.6 days over the period between April 2011 and July 2015, including an approximately daily average between February 2013 and April 2014. The high-cadence observations are used to improve the pulsar timing sensitivity across the GW frequency range of 0.008 - 5 μHz. We use two algorithms in the analysis, including a spectral fitting method and a Bayesian approach. For an independent comparison, we also use a previously published Bayesian algorithm. We find that the Bayesian approaches provide optimal results and the timing observations of the pulsar place a 95 per cent upper limit on the sky-averaged strain amplitude of CGWs to be ≲ 3.5 × 10-13 at a reference frequency of 1 μHz. We also find a 95 per cent upper limit on the sky-averaged strain amplitude of low-frequency CGWs to be ≲ 1.4 × 10-14 at a reference frequency of 20 nHz.

  13. Developments in the Curriculum and Structures of Upper-Secondary Education in Australia: The Last Decade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKinnon, Ken

    1988-01-01

    Examines the recent influences on and development of upper-secondary Australian education. These influences include youth unemployment, rapid technological and social change, immigration, increasing federal role, and limited entry to tertiary education. Changes include broader curriculum planning to include all students, and improvement of the…

  14. Prevalence of Anguillicoloides crassus and growth variation in migrant yellow-phase American eels of the upper Potomac River drainage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmerman, Jennifer L.; Welsh, Stuart A.

    2012-01-01

    Prevalence of the non-native swim bladder nematode Anguillicoloides crassus has recently increased in American eels from estuaries of the North American Atlantic coast, but little is known about parasite prevalence or conditions of previous infection in upstream migrant eels within upper watersheds. This study is the first to confirm presence of A. crassus in the upper Potomac River watershed. We estimated A. crassus prevalence during 3 time periods: September to October 2006 (5/143 eels, 3.5%), August to October 2007 (0/49 eels), and June 2008 (0/50 eels). All eels were sampled from the Millville Dam eel ladder on the lower Shenandoah River, a Potomac River tributary located approximately 285 km upstream of Chesapeake Bay, USA. Of the 5 infected eels, parasite intensity was 1 for each eel, and mean intensity was also 1.0. A swim bladder degenerative index (SDI) was calculated for the 50 eels from the final sampling period, and 38% of those eels (19 of 50) showed signs of previous infection by A. crassus. We also aged 42 of the 50 eels (mean ± SE = 6.7 ± 0.29 yr, range 4 to 11 yr) from the final sampling period. Based on the range of possible SDI scores (0 to 6), severity of previously infected swim bladders was moderate (SDI = 1 or 2). Previously infected eels, however, had a lower length-at-age than that of uninfected eels. Female yellow-phase eels in upper watersheds develop into large highly fecund silver-phase adults; hence, a parasite-induced effect on growth of yellow-phase eels could ultimately reduce reproductive potential.

  15. Concentrations of ethane (C2H6) in the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere and acetylene (C2H2) in the upper troposphere deduced from Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy/Spacelab 3 spectra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rinsland, C. P.; Russell, J. M., III; Zander, R.; Farmer, C. B.; Norton, R. H.

    1987-01-01

    This paper reports the results of the spectroscopic analysis of C2H6 and C2H2 absorption spectra obtained by the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument flown on the Shuttle as part of the Spacelab 3 mission. The spectra were recorded during sunset occultations occurring between 25 deg N and 31 deg N latitudes, yielding volume-mixing ratio profiles of C2H6 in the lower stratosphere and the upper troposphere, and an upper tropospheric profile of C2H2. These results compare well with previous in situ and remote sounding data obtained at similar latitudes and with model calculations. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the ATMOS instrument to sound the lower atmosphere from space.

  16. Right upper quadrant pain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ralls, P.W.; Colletti, P.M.; Boswell, W.D. Jr.; Halls, J.M.

    1984-01-01

    Historically, assessment of acute right upper quadrant abdominal pain has been a considerable clinical challenge. While clinical findings and laboratory data frequently narrow the differential diagnosis, symptom overlap generally precludes definitive diagnosis among the various diseases causing acute right upper quadrant pain. Fortunately, the advent of newer diagnostic imaging modalities has greatly improved the rapidity and reliability of diagnosis in these patients. An additional challenge to the physician, with increased awareness of the importance of cost effectiveness in medicine, is to select appropriate diagnostic schema that rapidly establish accurate diagnoses in the most economical fashion possible. The dual goals of this discussion are to assess not only the accuracy of techniques used to evaluate patients with acute right upper quadrant pain, but also to seek out cost-effective, coordinated imaging techniques to achieve this goal

  17. EROS and MACHO combined limits on planetary-mass dark matter in the galactic halo

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alcock, C; Allsman, RA; Alves, D; Ansari, R; Aubourg, E; Axelrod, TS; Bareyre, P; Beaulieu, JP; Becker, AC; Bennett, DP; Brehin, S; Cavalier, F; Char, S; Cook, KH; Ferlet, R; Fernandez, J; Freeman, KC; Griest, K; Grison, P; Gros, M; Gry, C; Guibert, J; Lachieze-Rey, M; Laurent, B; Lehner, MJ; Lesquoy, E; Magneville, C; Marshall, SL; Maurice, E; Milsztajn, A; Minniti, D; Moniez, M; Moreau, O; Moscoso, L; Palanque-Delabrouille, N; Peterson, BA; Pratt, MR; Prevot, L; Queinnec, F; Quinn, PJ; Renault, C; Rich, J; Spiro, M; Stubbs, CW; Sutherland, W; Tomaney, A; Vandehei, T; Vidal-Madjar, A; Vigroux, L; Zylberajch, S

    1998-01-01

    The EROS and MACHO collaborations have each published upper limits on the amount of planetary-mass dark matter in the Galactic halo obtained from gravitational microlensing searches. In this Letter, the two limits are combined to give a much stronger constraint on the abundance of low-mass MACHOs.

  18. Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic human fossils from Moravia and Bohemia (Czech Republic) : Some new C-14 dates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Svoboda, JA; Van der Plicht, J; Kuzelka, [No Value; Svoboda, Jiři A.; Kuželka, Vítězslav

    2002-01-01

    New radiocarbon dates from four Moravian and bohemian sites are presented and linked to previous work on the depositional contexts of human fossils at similar sites in the region. Whilst dates from Mladec confirm its early Upper Palaeolithic age, the chronologies of the other three sites require

  19. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding in a patient with depression receiving selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Deepak; Saaraswat, Tanuj; Sengupta, S N; Mehrotra, Saurabh

    2009-02-01

    Serotonin plays an important role in the normal clotting phenomenon and is released by platelets. Platelets are dependent on a serotonin transporter for the uptake of serotonin, as they cannot synthesize it themselves. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) block the uptake of serotonin into platelets and can cause problems with clotting leading to bleeding. This case report highlights the occurrence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in the index case on initiating SSRI therapy for depression and the prompt resolution of the same on its discontinuation on two separate occasions. SSRIs may cause upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Physicians should be aware of the same and should try to rule out previous episodes of upper GI bleed or the presence of other risk factors which might predispose to it before prescribing SSRIs; they should also warn the patients about this potential side effect. Also, the presence of thalassemia trait in the index patient deserves special attention and needs to be explored to see if it might in any way contribute in potentiating this side effect of SSRIs.

  20. Upper plenum mixing in a BWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alamgir, M.; Andersen, J.G.M.; Parameswaran, V.

    1984-01-01

    A model for the emergency core cooling injection into the upper plenum of a boiling water reactor has been formulated and implemented into the TRACB02 computer program. The model consists of a spray model and a submerged jet model. The submerged jet model is used when the spray nozzles are covered by a two-phase mixture, and the spray model is used when the nozzles are uncovered. The upper plenum model has been assessed by comparison to an upper plenum mixing test in the Steam Sector Test Facility. It is found that the model accurately predicts the phenomena in the upper plenum of a boiling water reactor

  1. Limited versus full sternotomy for aortic valve replacement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirmani, Bilal H; Jones, Sion G; Malaisrie, S C; Chung, Darryl A; Williams, Richard Jnn

    2017-04-10

    , assess quality, and identify risk of bias. A third review author provided arbitration where required. The quality of evidence was determined using the GRADE methodology and results of patient-relevant outcomes were summarised in a 'Summary of findings' table. The review included seven trials with 511 participants. These included adults from centres in Austria, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and Egypt. We performed 12 comparisons investigating the effects of minimally invasive limited upper hemi-sternotomy on aortic valve replacement as compared to surgery performed via full median sternotomy.There was no evidence of any effect of upper hemi-sternotomy on mortality versus full median sternotomy (risk ratio (RR) 1.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.36 to 2.82; participants = 511; studies = 7; moderate quality). There was no evidence of an increase in cardiopulmonary bypass time with aortic valve replacement performed via an upper hemi-sternotomy (mean difference (MD) 3.02 minutes, 95% CI -4.10 to 10.14; participants = 311; studies = 5; low quality). There was no evidence of an increase in aortic cross-clamp time (MD 0.95 minutes, 95% CI -3.45 to 5.35; participants = 391; studies = 6; low quality). None of the included studies reported major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events as a composite end point.There was no evidence of an effect on length of hospital stay through limited hemi-sternotomy (MD -1.31 days, 95% CI -2.63 to 0.01; participants = 297; studies = 5; I 2 = 89%; very low quality). Postoperative blood loss was lower in the upper hemi-sternotomy group (MD -158.00 mL, 95% CI -303.24 to -12.76; participants = 297; studies = 5; moderate quality). The evidence did not support a reduction in deep sternal wound infections (RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.22 to 2.30; participants = 511; studies = 7; moderate quality) or re-exploration (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.48 to 2.13; participants = 511; studies = 7; moderate quality). There was no change in pain scores by upper hemi

  2. Radiation dose calculations for orally administered radio-pharmaceuticals in upper gastrointestinal disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, R.K.; Malmud, L.S.; Knight, L.C.; Siegel, J.A.; Stern, H.; Zelac, R.

    1983-01-01

    Radiation burden estimates for upper gastrointestinal function studies employing the following orally administered radiopharmaceuticals are reported. Technetium 99m sulfur colloid (Tc-99m-SC) in water, Indium-111-DTPA in water, Tc-99m-DTPA in water, Indium-113m DTPA in water, Tc-99m Ovalbumin, Tc-99m sulfur colloid in a cooked egg, Tc-99m sulfur colloid in vivo labeled chicken liver, and Indium-111 colloid in vivo labeled chicken liver. Orally administered radiopharmaceuticals for upper gastrointestinal studies afford clinician and investigator valuable clinical and physiologic information not previously obtainable using other techniques. The radiation burden to the patient from single or sequential studies is acceptable in comparison to fluoroscopy which results in approximately 5000 millirem per minute of exposure. The variety of preparations listed above should make these types of studies available in any routinely equipped nuclear medicine radiopharmacy laboratory

  3. Identification of the altitudinal limit of woods through object oriented segmentation and validation using GPS survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovanna Pezzi

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Target of this work is the definition of the upper tree limit and the identification of clumps and isolated trees above it using an object-oriented classification of aerial ortophotos. The case study is related to Mt. Giovo, in the northern Apennines. A check on the field using a GPS system was done over some sample areas to identify coordinates and to create a GPS profile of the upper tree limit and clumps of isolated trees. The goal is to “validate” in terms of quality and quantity the information on the features extracted from aerial imagery.

  4. Music Upper Limb Therapy – Integrated: an Enriched Collaborative Approach for Stroke Rehabilitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Preeti Raghavan

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide. It leads to a sudden and overwhelming disruption in one’s physical body, and alters the stroke survivors’ sense of self. Long-term recovery requires that bodily perception, social participation and sense of self are restored; this is challenging to achieve, particularly with a single intervention. However, rhythmic synchronization of movement to external stimuli facilitates sensorimotor coupling for movement recovery, enhances emotional engagement, and has positive effects on interpersonal relationships. In this proof-of-concept study, we designed a group music-making intervention, Music Upper Limb Therapy-Integrated (MULT-I, to address the physical, psychological and social domains of rehabilitation simultaneously, and investigated its effects on long-term post-stroke upper limb recovery. The study used a mixed-method pre-post design with one-year follow up. Thirteen subjects completed the 45-minute intervention twice a week for six weeks. The primary outcome was reduced upper limb motor impairment on the Fugl-Meyer Scale. Secondary outcomes included sensory impairment (two-point discrimination test, activity limitation (Modified Rankin scale, well-being (WHO well-being index, and participation (Stroke Impact Scale. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to test for differences between pre- and post-intervention, and one-year follow up scores. Significant improvement was found in upper limb motor impairment, sensory impairment, activity limitation, and well-being immediately post-intervention that persisted at 1 year. Activities of daily living and social participation improved only from post-intervention to one-year follow up. The improvement in upper limb motor impairment was more pronounced in a subset of lower functioning individuals as determined by their pre-intervention wrist range of motion. Qualitatively, subjects reported new feelings of ownership of their impaired limb, more

  5. Local Upper Mantle Upwelling beneath New England: Evidence from Seismic Anisotropy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levin, V. L.; Long, M. D.; Lopez, I.; Li, Y.; Skryzalin, P. A.

    2017-12-01

    The upper mantle beneath eastern North America contains regions where seismic wave speed is significantly reduced. As they cut across the trend of the Appalachian terranes, these anomalies likely post-date the Paleozoic assembly of Pangea. Most prominent of them, the North Appalachian Anomaly (NAA), has been alternatively explained by the localized disruption of lithospheric fabric, the passage of the Great Meteor Hot Spot, and the current local upwelling of the asthenosphere. Comprehensive mapping of shear wave splitting identified a local perturbation of an otherwise uniform regional pattern, with no apparent splitting occurring at a site within the NAA. To evaluate the reality of this apparent localized disruption in the anisotropic fabric of the upper mantle beneath northeastern North America we used observations of shear wave splitting from a set of long-running observatories not included in previous studies. Three methods of evaluating shear wave splitting (rotation-correlation, minimization of the transverse component, and the splitting intensity) yield complementary results. We show that splitting of core-refracted shear waves within the outline of the NAA is significantly weaker than towards its edges and beyond them (Figure 1). Average fast orientations are close to the absolute plate motion in the hot-spot reference frame, thus we can attribute a large fraction of this signal to the coherently sheared sub-lithospheric upper mantle. A decrease in average delay we observe, from 1 s outside the NAA to under 0.2 s within it, translates into a reduction of the vertical extent of the sheared layer from 130 km to 16 km (assuming 4% anisotropy), or alternatively into a weakening of the azimuthal anisotropy from 5% to 0.6% (assuming a 100 km thick layer). The splitting reduction within the NAA is consistent with a localized change in anisotropic fabric that would be expected in case of geologically recent sub-vertical flow overprinting the broadly uniform upper

  6. Functional studies in 79-year-olds. II. Upper extremity function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundgren-Lindquist, B; Sperling, L

    1983-01-01

    As part of the Gerontological and Geriatric Population Study of 79-year-old people in Göteborg, a representative subsample comprising 112 women and 93 men took part in a study of upper extremity function. Thirty-eight per cent of the women and 37% of the men had disorders in the upper extremities. The investigation included tests of co-ordination, static strength in the key-grip and the transversal volar grip, power capacity in opening jars and a bottle, basal movements in the upper extremities in personal hygiene and dressing activities, function in the kitchen e.g. reaching shelves, manual tasks including tests of pronation and supination of the forearm. In the key-grip as well as in the transversal volar grip men showed a generally larger decrease in strength with age than women compared to 70-year-olds in a previous population study. Significant correlations were found between strength in the key-grip and the performance time in the test of co-ordination. Women produced about 66% of the muscular force of the men when opening jars. Significant correlations were found between strength in the transversal volar grip and the maximal torque for opening the jars. Female and male subjects who were not capable of handling the electric plug in the manual ability test had significantly weaker strength in the key-grip. The importance of designing products and adapting the environment so as to correspond to the functional capacity of the elderly, is emphasized.

  7. 'Horses for courses' in the upper gastrointestinal tract: a rational approach to diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendelson, R.M.

    1989-01-01

    In Australia, the number of barium studies performed in teaching hospitals has fallen markedly while in the community at large a 113% increase occurred in the number of upper gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures performed between 1980 and 1986. Protagonists of primary endoscopy cite studies that report on the superiority of oesophagogastroduodenoscopy in patients with dyspepsia and related symptoms but several studies have shown that upper gastrointestinal barium studies miss very few important lesions. Fibreoptic endoscopy and radiology each have strengths and weaknesses which determine their respective places in the investigation of the different symptom complexes that are referable to the upper gastrointestinal tract. Double-contrast barium-meal examination is the suggested imaging modality for simple dyspepsia, for the oesophagitis-reflux-hiatus hernia complex and for dysphagia; while oesophagogastroduodenoscopy is the method of choice for the investigation of complicated dyspepsia, haematemesis and melaena. In patients who have previously undergone gastric surgery, endoscopy and radiology are complementary procedures - the former more accurate in the diagnosis of recurrent disease like ulceration, and the later useful for the delineation of anatomical changes. The time for the across-the-board replacement of barium studies by primary endoscopy has not yet arrived. 57 refs

  8. An analysis of the tritium content in fish from Upper Three Runs Creek

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murphy, C.E. Jr.

    1991-01-01

    In November of 1988 the F/H-area effluent treatment facility (ETF) began releasing treated waste water to Upper Three Runs Creek. Previous to that time, there has been minimal discharge of plant waste water to this tributary of the Savannah River. The ETF is designed to remove the toxic and radioactive waste materials from the effluent stream and to meet the discharge limits of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC). The only radioactive nuclide not removed by the process is tritium. Tritium, an isotope of hydrogen, is chemically associated with the water molecules in the waste stream and can not be economically removed at this time. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the concentration of tritium in the stream water and the concentration of tritium in the fish. Fish collections were made at two locations. The most upstream location was 50 meters downstream from the SRS Road C bridge. This is immediately downstream of the effluent discharge pipe from the ETF. The other location was at the bridge of SRS Road A (SC Highway 125). The water is removed from the fish by freeze drying under vacuum. This study suggests that, on the average, the tritium concentration of fish in Upper Three Runs Creek will be in equilibrium with the tritium in the water of the creek. The water in the fish comes into equilibrium with the water in the stream quite rapidly and it is quite likely that any single fish sampled will be higher or lower in tritium content of an integrated water sample, such as those collected by the Environmental Monitoring samplers. Both the time of sampling and the sampling of a sufficient number of fish is important in obtaining an accurate estimate of the average tritium concentration in the tissue water of the fish

  9. Intrinsic Energy Dissipation Limits in Nano and Micromechanical Resonators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iyer, Srikanth Subramanian

    Resonant microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) have enabled miniaturization of high-performance inertial sensors, radio-frequency filters, timing references and mass-based chemical sensors. Despite the increasing prevalence of MEMS resonators for these applications, the energy dissipation in these structures is not well-understood. Accurate prediction of the energy loss and the resulting quality factor (Q) has significant design implications because it is directly related to device performance metrics including sensitivity for resonant sensors, bandwidth for radio-frequency filters and phase-noise for timing references. In order to assess the future potential for MEMS resonators it is critically important to evaluate the energy dissipation limits, which will dictate the ultimate performance resonant MEMS devices can achieve. This work focuses on the derivation and evaluation of the intrinsic mechanical energy dissipation limit for single-crystal nano and micromechanical resonators due to anharmonic phonon-phonon scattering in the Akhiezer regime. The energy loss is derived using perturbation theory and the linearized Boltzmann transport equation for phonons, and includes the direction and polarization dependent mode-Gruneisen parameters in order to capture the strain-induced anharmonicity among phonon branches. Evaluation of the quality factor limit reveals that Akhiezer damping, previously thought to depend only on material properties, has a strong dependence on crystal orientation and resonant mode shape. The robust model provides a dissipation limit for all resonant modes including shear-mode vibrations, which have significantly reduced energy loss because dissipative phonon-phonon scattering is restricted to volume-preserving phonon branches, indicating that Lame or wine-glass mode resonators will have the highest upper limit on mechanical efficiency. Finally, the analytical dissipation model is integrated with commercial finite element software in order to

  10. New Brown Dwarf Discs in Upper Scorpius Observed with WISE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, P.; Scholz, A.; Ray, T. P.; Natta, A.; Marsh, K. A.; Padgett, D.; Ressler, M. E.

    2013-01-01

    We present a census of the disc population for UKIDSS selected brown dwarfs in the 5-10 Myr old Upper Scorpius OB association. For 116 objects originally identified in UKIDSS, the majority of them not studied in previous publications, we obtain photometry from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer data base. The resulting colour magnitude and colour colour plots clearly show two separate populations of objects, interpreted as brown dwarfs with discs (class II) and without discs (class III). We identify 27 class II brown dwarfs, 14 of them not previously known. This disc fraction (27 out of 116, or 23%) among brown dwarfs was found to be similar to results for K/M stars in Upper Scorpius, suggesting that the lifetimes of discs are independent of the mass of the central object for low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. 5 out of 27 discs (19 per cent) lack excess at 3.4 and 4.6 microns and are potential transition discs (i.e. are in transition from class II to class III). The transition disc fraction is comparable to low-mass stars.We estimate that the time-scale for a typical transition from class II to class III is less than 0.4 Myr for brown dwarfs. These results suggest that the evolution of brown dwarf discs mirrors the behaviour of discs around low-mass stars, with disc lifetimes of the order of 5 10 Myr and a disc clearing time-scale significantly shorter than 1 Myr.

  11. Fuzzy upper bounds and their applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soleimani-damaneh, M. [Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematical Science and Computer Engineering, Teacher Training University, 599 Taleghani Avenue, Tehran 15618 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], E-mail: soleimani_d@yahoo.com

    2008-04-15

    This paper considers the concept of fuzzy upper bounds and provides some relevant applications. Considering a fuzzy DEA model, the existence of a fuzzy upper bound for the objective function of the model is shown and an effective approach to solve that model is introduced. Some dual interpretations are provided, which are useful for practical purposes. Applications of the concept of fuzzy upper bounds in two physical problems are pointed out.

  12. The Advanced Limiter Test-I (ALT-I) variable-geometry pump limiter module

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pontau, A.E.; Malinowski, M.E.; Ver Berkmoes, A.A.; Guthrie, S.E.; Watson, R.D.; Goebel, D.M.; Campbell, G.A.

    1984-01-01

    The ALT-I variable geometry module has been designed to address many of the issues not previously settled by earlier experiments. The goal is to study the basic processes involved in pump limiter operation as well as demonstrate its utility and effect on the plasma. The flexibility and extensive instrumentation of ALT-I will offer a unique opportunity to parameterize operation and facilitate the engineering design of future pump limiters. (orig.)

  13. Does previous abdominal surgery affect the course and outcomes of laparoscopic bariatric surgery?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Major, Piotr; Droś, Jakub; Kacprzyk, Artur; Pędziwiatr, Michał; Małczak, Piotr; Wysocki, Michał; Janik, Michał; Walędziak, Maciej; Paśnik, Krzysztof; Hady, Hady Razak; Dadan, Jacek; Proczko-Stepaniak, Monika; Kaska, Łukasz; Lech, Paweł; Michalik, Maciej; Duchnik, Michał; Kaseja, Krzysztof; Pastuszka, Maciej; Stepuch, Paweł; Budzyński, Andrzej

    2018-03-26

    Global experiences in general surgery suggest that previous abdominal surgery may negatively influence different aspects of perioperative care. As the incidence of bariatric procedures has recently increased, it is essential to assess such correlations in bariatric surgery. To assess whether previous abdominal surgery influences the course and outcomes of laparoscopic bariatric surgery. Seven referral bariatric centers in Poland. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 2413 patients; 1706 patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) matched the inclusion criteria. Patients with no history of abdominal surgery were included as group 1, while those who had undergone at least 1 abdominal surgery were included as group 2. Group 2 had a significantly prolonged median operation time for RYGB (P = .012), and the longest operation time was observed in patients who had previously undergone surgeries in both the upper and lower abdomen (P = .002). Such a correlation was not found in SG cases (P = .396). Groups 1 and 2 had similar rates of intraoperative adverse events and postoperative complications (P = .562 and P = .466, respectively). Group 2 had a longer median duration of hospitalization than group 1 (P = .034), while the readmission rate was similar between groups (P = .079). There was no significant difference between groups regarding the influence of the long-term effects of bariatric treatment on weight loss (percentage of follow-up was 55%). Previous abdominal surgery prolongs the operative time of RYGB and the duration of postoperative hospitalization, but does not affect the long-term outcomes of bariatric treatment. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Wives without husbands: gendered vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections among previously married women in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walters, Kimberly; Dandona, Rakhi; Walters, Lawrence C; Lakshmi, Vemu; Dandona, Lalit; Schneider, John A

    2012-01-01

    Using population-based and family structural data from a high HIV-prevalence district of Southern India, this paper considers four suggested social scenarios used to explain the positive correlation between HIV prevalence and previously married status among Indian women: (1) infection from and then bereavement of an infected husband; (2) abandonment after husbands learn of their wives' HIV status; (3) economic instability after becoming previously married, leading women to seek financial support through male partners; and (4) the social status of being previously married exposing women to sexual harassment and predation. By also considering seroprevalence of two other common sexually transmitted infections (STIs), herpes and syphilis, in a combined variable with HIV, we limit the likelihood of the first two scenarios accounting for the greater part of this correlation. Through a nuanced analysis of household residences patterns (family structure), standard of living, and education, we also limit the probability that scenario three explains a greater portion of the correlation. Scenario four emerges as the most likely explanation for this correlation, recognizing that other scenarios are also possible. Further, the interdisciplinary literature on the social position of previously married women in India strongly supports the suggestion that, as a population, previously married women are sexually vulnerable in India. Previously married status as an STI risk factor requires further biosocial research and warrants concentrated public health attention.

  15. Upper and Lower Limb Muscle Architecture of a 104 Year-Old Cadaver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruggiero, Marissa; Cless, Daniel; Infantolino, Benjamin

    2016-01-01

    Muscle architecture is an important component to typical musculoskeletal models. Previous studies of human muscle architecture have focused on a single joint, two adjacent joints, or an entire limb. To date, no study has presented muscle architecture for the upper and lower limbs of a single cadaver. Additionally, muscle architectural parameters from elderly cadavers are lacking, making it difficult to accurately model elderly populations. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to present muscle architecture of the upper and lower limbs of a 104 year old female cadaver. The major muscles of the upper and lower limbs were removed and the musculotendon mass, tendon mass, musculotendon length, tendon length, pennation angle, optimal fascicle length, physiological cross-sectional area, and tendon cross-sectional area were determined for each muscle. Data from this complete cadaver are presented in table format. The data from this study can be used to construct a musculoskeletal model of a specific individual who was ambulatory, something which has not been possible to date. This should increase the accuracy of the model output as the model will be representing a specific individual, not a synthesis of measurements from multiple individuals. Additionally, an elderly individual can be modeled which will provide insight into muscle function as we age.

  16. Scrape-off layer based modelling of the density limit in beryllated JET limiter discharges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borrass, K.; Campbell, D.J.; Clement, S.; Vlases, G.C.

    1993-01-01

    The paper gives a scrape-off layer based interpretation of the density limit in beryllated JET limiter discharges. In these discharges, JET edge parameters show a complicated time evolution as the density limit is approached and the limit is manifested as a non-disruptive density maximum which cannot be exceeded by enhanced gas puffing. The occurrence of Marfes, the manner of density control and details of recycling are essential elements of the interpretation. Scalings for the maximum density are given and compared with JET data. The relation to disruptive density limits, previously observed in JET carbon limiter discharges, and to density limits in divertor discharges is discussed. (author). 18 refs, 10 figs, 1 tab

  17. A Limited Submuscular Direct-to-Implant Technique Utilizing AlloMax

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michal Brichacek, MD

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Background:. This study evaluates a novel limited submuscular direct-to-implant technique utilizing AlloMax where only the upper few centimeters of the implant is covered by the pectoralis, whereas the majority of the implant including the middle and lower poles are covered by acellular dermal matrix. Methods:. The pectoralis muscle is released off its inferior and inferior-medial origins and allowed to retract superiorly. Two sheets of AlloMax (6 × 16 cm are sutured together and secured to the inframammary fold, serratus fascia, and the superiorly retracted pectoralis. Thirty-seven breasts in 19 consecutive patients with follow-up at 6 months were reviewed. Results:. Nineteen consecutive patients with 37 reconstructed breasts were studied. Average age was 50 years, average BMI was 24.3. Ptosis ranged from grade 0–III, and average cup size was B (range, A–DDD. Early minor complications included 1 seroma, 3 minor postoperative hematomas managed conservatively, and 3 minor wound healing problems. Three breasts experienced mastectomy skin flap necrosis and were managed with local excision. There were no cases of postoperative infection, red breast, grade III/IV capsular contractures, or implant loss. A single patient complained of animation postoperatively. One patient desired fat grafting for rippling. Conclusions:. The limited submuscular direct-to-implant technique utilizing AlloMax appears to be safe with a low complication rate at 6 months. This technique minimizes the action of the pectoralis on the implant, reducing animation deformities but still providing muscle coverage of the upper limit of the implant. Visible rippling is reduced, and a vascularized bed remains for fat grafting of the upper pole if required.

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1999-09-01

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

  19. Feature binding and attention in working memory: a resolution of previous contradictory findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Richard J; Hitch, Graham J; Mate, Judit; Baddeley, Alan D

    2012-01-01

    We aimed to resolve an apparent contradiction between previous experiments from different laboratories, using dual-task methodology to compare effects of a concurrent executive load on immediate recognition memory for colours or shapes of items or their colour-shape combinations. Results of two experiments confirmed previous evidence that an irrelevant attentional load interferes equally with memory for features and memory for feature bindings. Detailed analyses suggested that previous contradictory evidence arose from limitations in the way recognition memory was measured. The present findings are inconsistent with an earlier suggestion that feature binding takes place within a multimodal episodic buffer Baddeley, ( 2000 ) and support a subsequent account in which binding takes place automatically prior to information entering the episodic buffer Baddeley, Allen, & Hitch, ( 2011 ). Methodologically, the results suggest that different measures of recognition memory performance (A', d', corrected recognition) give a converging picture of main effects, but are less consistent in detecting interactions. We suggest that this limitation on the reliability of measuring recognition should be taken into account in future research so as to avoid problems of replication that turn out to be more apparent than real.

  20. Neck and Upper Limb Dysfunction in Patients following Neck Dissection: Looking beyond the Shoulder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gane, Elise M; O'Leary, Shaun P; Hatton, Anna L; Panizza, Benedict J; McPhail, Steven M

    2017-10-01

    Objective To measure patient-perceived upper limb and neck function following neck dissection and to investigate potential associations between clinical factors, symptoms, and function. Study Design Cross-sectional. Setting Two tertiary hospitals in Brisbane, Australia. Subjects and Methods Inclusion criteria: patients treated with neck dissection (2009-2014). aged <18 years, accessory nerve or sternocleidomastoid sacrifice, previous neck dissection, preexisting shoulder/neck injury, and inability to provide informed consent (cognition, insufficient English). Primary outcomes were self-reported function of the upper limb (Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand) and neck (Neck Disability Index). Secondary outcomes included demographics, oncological management, self-efficacy, and pain. Generalized linear models were prepared to examine relationships between explanatory variables and self-reported function. Results Eighty-nine participants (male n = 63, 71%; median age, 62 years; median 3 years since surgery) reported mild upper limb and neck dysfunction (median [quartile 1, quartile 3] scores of 11 [3, 32] and 12 [4, 28], respectively). Significant associations were found between worse upper limb function and longer time since surgery (coefficient, 1.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01-3.51), having disease within the thyroid (17.40; 2.37-32.44), postoperative radiation therapy (vs surgery only) (13.90; 6.67-21.14), and shoulder pain (0.65; 0.44-0.85). Worse neck function was associated with metastatic cervical lymph nodes (coefficient, 6.61; 95% CI, 1.14-12.08), shoulder pain (0.19; 0.04-0.34), neck pain (0.34; 0.21-0.47), and symptoms of neuropathic pain (0.61; 0.25-0.98). Conclusion Patients can experience upper limb and neck dysfunction following nerve-preserving neck dissection. The upper quadrant as a whole should be considered when assessing rehabilitation priorities after neck dissection.

  1. A splenic artery aneurysm presenting with multiple episodes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Silva, W S L; Gamlaksha, D S; Jayasekara, D P; Rajamanthri, S D

    2017-05-03

    Splenic artery aneurysm is rare and its diagnosis is challenging due to the nonspecific nature of the clinical presentation. We report a case of a splenic artery aneurysm in which the patient presented with chronic dyspepsia and multiple episodes of minor intragastric bleeding. A 60-year-old, previously healthy Sri Lankan man presented with four episodes of hematemesis and severe dyspeptic symptoms over a period of 6 months. The results of two initial upper gastrointestinal endoscopies and an abdominal ultrasound scan were unremarkable. A third upper gastrointestinal endoscopy detected a pulsatile bulge at the posterior wall of the gastric antrum. A contrast-enhanced computed tomogram of his abdomen detected a splenic artery aneurysm measuring 3 × 3 × 2.5 cm. While awaiting routine surgery, he developed a torrential upper gastrointestinal bleeding and shock, leading to emergency laparotomy. Splenectomy and en bloc resection of the aneurysm with the posterior stomach wall were performed. Histology revealed evidence for a true aneurysm without overt, acute, or chronic inflammation of the surrounding gastric mucosa. He became completely asymptomatic 2 weeks after the surgery. Splenic artery aneurysms can result in recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The possibility of impending catastrophic bleeding should be remembered when managing patients with splenic artery aneurysms after a minor bleeding. Negative endoscopy and ultrasonography should require contrast-enhanced computed tomography to look for the cause of recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

  2. Simulant-material experimental investigation of flow dynamics in the CRBR Upper-Core Structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilhelm, D.; Starkovich, V.S.; Chapyak, E.J.

    1982-09-01

    The results of a simulant-material experimental investigation of flow dynamics in the Clinch River Breeder Reactor (CRBR) Upper Core Structure are described. The methodology used to design the experimental apparatus and select test conditions is detailed. Numerous comparisons between experimental data and SIMMER-II Code calculations are presented with both advantages and limitations of the SIMMER modeling features identified

  3. Unvealing the Principal Modes of Human Upper Limb Movements through Functional Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe Averta

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The rich variety of human upper limb movements requires an extraordinary coordination of different joints according to specific spatio-temporal patterns. However, unvealing these motor schemes is a challenging task. Principal components have been often used for analogous purposes, but such an approach relies on hypothesis of temporal uncorrelation of upper limb poses in time. To overcome these limitations, in this work, we leverage on functional principal component analysis (fPCA. We carried out experiments with 7 subjects performing a set of most significant human actions, selected considering state-of-the-art grasp taxonomies and human kinematic workspace. fPCA results show that human upper limb trajectories can be reconstructed by a linear combination of few principal time-dependent functions, with a first component alone explaining around 60/70% of the observed behaviors. This allows to infer that in daily living activities humans reduce the complexity of movement by modulating their motions through a reduced set of few principal patterns. Finally, we discuss how this approach could be profitably applied in robotics and bioengineering, opening fascinating perspectives to advance the state of the art of artificial systems, as it was the case of hand synergies.

  4. A Rare Cause of Upper Airway Obstruction in a Child

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Ahmed

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Ventricular band cyst is a rare condition in children but can result in severe upper airway obstruction with laryngeal dyspnea or death. The diagnosis should be considered in any stridor in children with previous history of intubation or respiratory infections. We report a case of a 4-year-old girl, received in an array of severe respiratory distress, emergency endoscopy was done, and a large ventricular tape band cyst obstructing the air way was found. Complete excision was made, and postoperative prophylaxis tracheotomy was done. The postoperative course was uneventful with improvement of clinical and endoscopic signs.

  5. Previously unknown species of Aspergillus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gautier, M; Normand, A-C; Ranque, S

    2016-08-01

    The use of multi-locus DNA sequence analysis has led to the description of previously unknown 'cryptic' Aspergillus species, whereas classical morphology-based identification of Aspergillus remains limited to the section or species-complex level. The current literature highlights two main features concerning these 'cryptic' Aspergillus species. First, the prevalence of such species in clinical samples is relatively high compared with emergent filamentous fungal taxa such as Mucorales, Scedosporium or Fusarium. Second, it is clearly important to identify these species in the clinical laboratory because of the high frequency of antifungal drug-resistant isolates of such Aspergillus species. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has recently been shown to enable the identification of filamentous fungi with an accuracy similar to that of DNA sequence-based methods. As MALDI-TOF MS is well suited to the routine clinical laboratory workflow, it facilitates the identification of these 'cryptic' Aspergillus species at the routine mycology bench. The rapid establishment of enhanced filamentous fungi identification facilities will lead to a better understanding of the epidemiology and clinical importance of these emerging Aspergillus species. Based on routine MALDI-TOF MS-based identification results, we provide original insights into the key interpretation issues of a positive Aspergillus culture from a clinical sample. Which ubiquitous species that are frequently isolated from air samples are rarely involved in human invasive disease? Can both the species and the type of biological sample indicate Aspergillus carriage, colonization or infection in a patient? Highly accurate routine filamentous fungi identification is central to enhance the understanding of these previously unknown Aspergillus species, with a vital impact on further improved patient care. Copyright © 2016 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and

  6. Limit cycles bifurcating from a perturbed quartic center

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coll, Bartomeu, E-mail: dmitcv0@ps.uib.ca [Dept. de Matematiques i Informatica, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Facultat de ciencies, 07071 Palma de Mallorca (Spain); Llibre, Jaume, E-mail: jllibre@mat.uab.ca [Dept. de Matematiques, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Edifici Cc 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain); Prohens, Rafel, E-mail: dmirps3@ps.uib.ca [Dept. de Matematiques i Informatica, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Facultat de ciencies, 07071 Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

    2011-04-15

    Highlights: We study polynomial perturbations of a quartic center. We get simultaneous upper and lower bounds for the bifurcating limit cycles. A higher lower bound for the maximum number of limit cycles is obtained. We obtain more limit cycles than the number obtained in the cubic case. - Abstract: We consider the quartic center x{sup .}=-yf(x,y),y{sup .}=xf(x,y), with f(x, y) = (x + a) (y + b) (x + c) and abc {ne} 0. Here we study the maximum number {sigma} of limit cycles which can bifurcate from the periodic orbits of this quartic center when we perturb it inside the class of polynomial vector fields of degree n, using the averaging theory of first order. We prove that 4[(n - 1)/2] + 4 {<=} {sigma} {<=} 5[(n - 1)/2] + 14, where [{eta}] denotes the integer part function of {eta}.

  7. Commercial gaming devices for stroke upper limb rehabilitation: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomson, Katie; Pollock, Alex; Bugge, Carol; Brady, Marian

    2014-06-01

    Rehabilitation using commercial gaming devices is a new concept for stroke care. Commercial gaming devices such as Nintendo Wii or Sony PlayStation encourage high repetition of arm movements and are being introduced into some clinical settings. The evidence base for gaming use in rehabilitation is growing rapidly and there is a need to systematically synthesise research. Our review aims to integrate evidence on how gaming is being used, explore patient/therapist experience and synthesise evidence of effectiveness. An integrative systematic review was undertaken searching Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (2013), Medline (2013), Embase (2013) and twelve additional databases. Two review authors independently selected studies based on pre-defined inclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Nineteen studies including 215 patients met inclusion criteria. Studies were typically small scale feasibility studies using a range of research designs, limiting the ability to reach generalised conclusions. Results have been tabulated (activities of daily living, upper limb function/ movement) and qualitative themes identified. Findings suggest that most patients enjoy using commercial gaming and can tolerate 180 mins per week without significant adverse effects. A trend towards improvement was noted for upper limb function/ movement. Few studies recorded outcomes related to activities of daily living or focused on understanding patients' experiences of this intervention. Commercial gaming can provide high intensity upper limb practice however there is insufficient high quality evidence to reach generalisable conclusions about risks or benefits on activities of daily living or upper limb function/movement. © 2014 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2014 World Stroke Organization.

  8. Incidence of upper limb venous thrombosis associated with peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdullah, B J J; Mohammad, N; Sangkar, J V; Abd Aziz, Y F; Gan, G G; Goh, K Y; Benedict, I

    2005-07-01

    The objective of this study was to prospectively determine the incidence of venous thrombosis (VT) in the upper limbs in patients with peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC). We prospectively investigated the incidence of VT in the upper limbs of 26 patients who had PICC inserted. The inclusion criteria were all patients who had a PICC inserted, whilst the exclusion criterion was the inability to perform a venogram (allergies, previous contrast medium reaction and inability of gaining venous access). Both valved and non-valved catheters were evaluated. Prior to removal of the PICC, an upper limb venogram was performed. The number of segments involved with VT were determined. The duration of central venous catheterization was classified as; less than 6 days, between 6 days and 14 days and more than 14 days. VT was confirmed in 38.5% (10/26) of the patients. The majority 85.7% (12/14) were complete occlusive thrombi and the majority of VT only involved one segment. There was no statistical correlation between the site of insertion of the PICC and the location of VT. Neither was there any observed correlation between the occurrence of VT with the patient's history of hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, cardiac insufficiency, smoking or cancer. There was also no statistical correlation with the size of the catheter. In conclusion, PICCs are associated with a significant risk of upper extremity deep vein thrombosis (UEVT).

  9. Hydrogen Radicals, Nitrogen Radicals, and the Production of O3 in the Upper Troposphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wennberg, P. O.; Hanisco, T. F.; Jaegle, L.; Jacob, D. J.; Hintsa, E. J.; Lanzendorf, E. J.; Anderson, J. G.; Gao, R.-S.; Keim, E. R.; Donnelly, S. G.; hide

    1998-01-01

    The concentrations of the hydrogen radicals OH and HO2 in the middle and upper troposphere were measured simultaneously with those of NO, O3, CO, H2O, CH4, non-methane hydrocarbons, and with the ultraviolet and visible radiation field. The data allow a direct examination of the processes that produce O3, in this region of the atmosphere. Comparison of the measured concentrations of OH and HO2 with calculations based on their production from water vapor, ozone, and methane demonstrate that these sources are insufficient to explain the observed radical concentrations in the upper troposphere. The photolysis of carbonyl and peroxide compounds transported to this region from the lower troposphere may provide the source of HO(x) required to sustain the measured abundances of these radical species. The mechanism by which NO affects the production of 03 is also illustrated by the measurements. In the upper tropospheric air masses sampled, the production rate for ozone (determined from the measured concentrations of HO2 and NO) is calculated to be about 1 part per billion by volume each day.This production rate is faster than previously thought and implies that anthropogenic activities that add NO to the upper troposphere, such as biomass burning and aviation, will lead to production of more 03 than expected.

  10. Upper limb therapy in children with cerebral palsy (CP – The Pirate Group

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pawlak Marta

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Children with cerebral palsy (CP in the form of spastic hemiplegia experience numerous difficulties concerning an affected upper limb such as reaching for objects, gripping or manipulating them. These limitations affect their everyday activity. Conducting an effective and simultaneously an interesting therapy aimed at meeting the child’s individual needs and improving upper limb function is a challenge for a physiotherapist. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of upper limb therapy carried out within the project titled “The Pirate Group” based on Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT and Bimanual Training (BIT conducted in a specially arranged environment. Material and methods: The research included 16 children with CP in the form of spastic hemiplegia. Mean age of the study participants was 4.23 years. The children underwent a two-week Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT combined with Bimanual Training (BIT. In order to evaluate the effects of the therapy, each child underwent the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA prior to the therapy and after its completion. Results: Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference (p<0.05 between the results of AHA prior to and after the therapy (t(14=9.12, p<0.0001. An improvement in the affected upper limb function was noted in all the children participating in the research. Conclusions: The project titled “The Pirate Group”, based on CIMT and BIT is an effective therapeutic intervention which improves spontaneous activity of the affected upper limb in children with hemiplegia.

  11. Elastic stability and the limit of strength

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morris Jr., J.W.; Krenn, C.R.; Roundy, D.; Cohen, Marvin L.

    2002-01-01

    The upper limit of strength (the ''theoretical strength'') has been an active subject of research and speculation for the better part of a century. The subject has recently become important, for two reasons. First, given recent advances in ab initio techniques and computing machines, the limits of strength can be calculated with considerable accuracy, making this one of the very few problems in mechanical behavior that can actually be solved. Second, given recent advances in materials engineering, the limits of strength are being approached in some systems, such as hardened or defect-free films, and their relevance is becoming recognized in others. The present paper discusses some interesting results from recent research on the limits of strength, with an intermixture of speculations based on those results. Topics include the inherent nature of {100} cleavage and ''pencil slip'' in bcc metals, the inherent ductility of fcc metals, the anomalous properties of Al, and the possibility of measuring ideal strength with nanoindentation

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frisbee, Joseph H., Jr.

    2015-01-01

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

  13. Large-Scale Skin Resurfacing of the Upper Extremity in Pediatric Patients Using a Pre-Expanded Intercostal Artery Perforator Flap.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Jiao; Herrler, Tanja; Gu, Bin; Yang, Mei; Li, Qingfeng; Dai, Chuanchang; Xie, Feng

    2018-05-01

    The repair of extensive upper limb skin lesions in pediatric patients is extremely challenging due to substantial limitations of flap size and donor-site morbidity. We aimed to create an oversize preexpanded flap based on intercostal artery perforators for large-scale resurfacing of the upper extremity in children. Between March 2013 and August 2016, 11 patients underwent reconstructive treatment for extensive skin lesions in the upper extremity using a preexpanded intercostal artery perforator flap. Preoperatively, 2 to 4 candidate perforators were selected as potential pedicle vessels based on duplex ultrasound examination. After tissue expander implantation in the thoracodorsal area, regular saline injections were performed until the expanded flap was sufficient in size. Then, a pedicled flap was formed to resurface the skin lesion of the upper limb. The pedicles were transected 3 weeks after flap transfer. Flap survival, complications, and long-term outcome were evaluated. The average time of tissue expansion was 133 days with a mean final volume of 1713 mL. The thoracoabdominal flaps were based on 2 to 6 pedicles and used to resurface a mean skin defect area of 238 cm ranging from 180 to 357 cm. In all cases, primary donor-site closure was achieved. Marginal necrosis was seen in 5 cases. The reconstructed limbs showed satisfactory outcome in both aesthetic and functional aspects. The preexpanded intercostal artery perforator flap enables 1-block repair of extensive upper limb skin lesions. Due to limited donor-site morbidity and a pedicled technique, this resurfacing approach represents a useful tool especially in pediatric patients.

  14. Novel limiter pump topologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schultz, J.H.

    1981-01-01

    The use of limiter pumps as the principle plasma exhaust system of a magnetic confinement fusion device promises significant simplification, when compared to previously investigating divertor based systems. Further simplifications, such as the integration of the exhaust system with a radio frequency heating system and with the main reactor shield and structure are investigated below. The integrity of limiters in a reactor environment is threatened by many mechanisms, the most severe of which may be erosion by sputtering. Two novel topolgies are suggested which allow high erosion without limiter failure

  15. Novel limiter pump topologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schultz, J.H.

    1981-01-01

    The use of limiter pumps as the principle plasma exhaust system of a magnetic confinement fusion device promises significant simplification, when compared to previously investigating divertor based systems. Further simplifications, such as the integration of the exhaust system with a radio frequency heating system and with the main reactor shield and structure are investigated below. The integrity of limiters in a reactor environment is threatened by many mechanisms, the most severe of which may be erosion by sputtering. Two novel topologies are suggested which allow high erosion without limiter failure

  16. Comparing two reliability upper bounds for multistate systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meng, Fan C.

    2005-01-01

    The path-cut reliability bound due to Esary and Proschan [J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 65 (1970) 329] and the minimax reliability bound due to Barlow and Proschan [Statistical Theory of Reliability and Life Testing: Probability Models, 1981] for binary systems have been generalized to multistate systems by Block and Savits [J. Appl. Probab. 19 (1982) 391]. Some comparison results concerning the two multistate lower bounds for various types of multistate systems are given by Meng [Probab. Eng. Inform. Sci. 16 (2002) 485]. In this note we compare the two multistate upper bounds and present results which generalize some previous ones obtained by Maymin [J. Stat. Plan. Inference 16 (1987) 337] for binary systems. Examples are given to illustrate our results

  17. Upper Bounds for the Rate Distortion Function of Finite-Length Data Blocks of Gaussian WSS Sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesús Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we present upper bounds for the rate distortion function (RDF of finite-length data blocks of Gaussian wide sense stationary (WSS sources and we propose coding strategies to achieve such bounds. In order to obtain those bounds, we previously derive new results on the discrete Fourier transform (DFT of WSS processes.

  18. Severe Chronic Upper Airway Disease (SCUAD) in children. Definition issues and requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karatzanis, A; Kalogjera, L; Scadding, G; Velegrakis, S; Kawauchi, H; Cingi, C; Prokopakis, E

    2015-07-01

    Upper airway diseases are extremely common, and a significant proportion of patients are not adequately controlled by contemporary treatment algorithms. The term SCUAD (Severe Chronic Upper Airway Disease) has been previously introduced to describe such cases. However, this term has not been adequately focused on children. This study aims to address the necessity of the term, as well as further details specifically for children. For this purpose, a review was performed of the current literature, with specific focus on issues regarding SCUAD in children. Paediatric SCUAD represents a heterogeneous group of patients and has significant clinical and socioeconomic implications. Relevant literature is generally lacking and questions regarding definition and pathogenesis remain unanswered. Accurate definition and acknowledgement of paediatric SCUAD cases may lead to better design of future clinical and molecular research protocols. This may provide improved understanding of the underlying disease processes, more accurate data regarding socioeconomic burden, and, above all, more successful treatment and prevention strategies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Impact of virtual reality games on psychological well-being and upper limb performance in adults with physical disabilities: A pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, D K A; Rahman, N N A; Seffiyah, R; Chang, S Y; Zainura, A K; Aida, S R; Rajwinder, K H S

    2017-04-01

    There is limited information regarding the effects of interactive virtual reality (VR) games on psychological and physical well-being among adults with physical disabilities. We aimed to examine the impact of VR games on psychological well-being, upper limb motor function and reaction time in adults with physical disabilities. Fifteen participants completed the intervention using Wii VR games in this pilot study. Depressive, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) and Capabilities of Upper Extremity (CUE) questionnaires were used to measure psychological well-being and upper limb motor function respectively. Upper limb reaction time was measured using reaction time test. Results showed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in DASS questionnaire and average reaction time score after intervention. There is a potential for using interactive VR games as an exercise tool to improve psychological wellbeing and upper limb reaction time among adults with disabilities.

  20. UPPER LIMITS ON PULSED RADIO EMISSION FROM THE 6.85 s X-RAY PULSAR XTE J0103-728 IN THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crawford, Fronefield; Devour, Brian M.; Takacs, Brian P.; Lorimer, Duncan R.; Kondratiev, Vladislav I.

    2009-01-01

    X-ray pulsations with a 6.85 s period were recently detected in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and were subsequently identified as originating from the Be/X-ray binary system XTE J0103-728. The recent localization of the source of the X-ray emission has made a targeted search for radio pulsations from this source possible. The detection of pulsed radio emission from XTE J0103-728 would make it only the second system after PSR B1259-63 that is both a Be/X-ray binary and a radio pulsar. We observed XTE J0103-728 in 2008 February with the Parkes 64 m radio telescope soon after the identification of the source of X-ray pulsations was reported in order to search for corresponding radio pulsations. We used a continuous 6.4 hr observation with a 256 MHz bandwidth centered at 1390 MHz using the center beam of the Parkes multibeam receiver. In the subsequent data analysis, which included a folding search, a Fourier search, a fast-folding algorithm search, and a single pulse search, no pulsed signals were found for trial dispersion measures (DMs) between 0 and 800 pc cm -3 . This DM range easily encompasses the expected values for sources in the SMC. We place an upper limit of ∼45 mJy kpc 2 on the luminosity of periodic radio emission from XTE J0103-728 at the epoch of our observation, and we compare this limit to a range of luminosities measured for PSR B1259-63, the only Be/X-ray binary currently known to emit radio pulses. We also compare our limit to the radio luminosities of neutron stars having similarly long spin periods to XTE J0103-728. Since the radio pulses from PSR B1259-63 are eclipsed and undetectable during the portion of the orbit near periastron, repeated additional radio search observations of XTE J0103-728 may be valuable if it is undergoing similar eclipsing and if such observations are able to sample the orbital phase of this system well.

  1. Angiography of the upper extremity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janevski, B.K.

    1982-01-01

    This thesis provides a description of the technical and medical aspects of arteriography of the upper extremity and an extensive analysis of the angiographic anatomy and pathology of 750 selective studies performed in more than 500 patients. A short historical review is provided of angiography as a whole and of arteriography of the hand in particular. The method of percutaneous transfemoral catheterization of the arteries of the upper extremity and particularly the arteries of the hand is considered, discussing the problems the angiographer encounters frequently, describing the angiographic complications which may occur and emphasizing the measures to keep them to a minimum. The use of vasodilators in hand angiography is discussed. A short description of the embryological patterns persisting in the arteries of the arm is included in order to understand the congenital variations of the arteries of the upper extremity. The angiographic patterns and clinical aspects of the most common pathological processes involving the arteries of the upper extremities are presented. Special attention is paid to the correlation between angiography and pathology. (Auth.)

  2. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding - state of the art.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szura, Mirosław; Pasternak, Artur

    2014-01-01

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

  3. The dynamics in the upper atmospheres of Mars and Titan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Jared M.

    2008-06-01

    This thesis explores the dynamics of two terrestrial bodies: Mars and Titan. At Mars, the coupled Mars General Circulation Model - Mars Thermospheric General Circulation Model (MGCM-MTGCM) is employed to investigate the phenomenon known as Mars winter polar warming. At Titan, a new theoretical model, the Titan Global Ionosphere - Thermosphere Model (T-GITM), is developed, based upon previous work by Ridley et al. [2006]. Using this new model, three separate numerical studies quantify the impacts of solar cycle, seasons, and lower boundary zonal winds on the Titan thermosphere structure and dynamics. At Mars, this thesis investigates thermospheric winter polar warming through three major studies: (1) a systematic analysis of vertical dust mixing in the lower atmosphere and its impact upon the dynamics of the lower thermosphere (100-130 km), (2) an interannual investigation utilizing three years of lower atmosphere infrared (IR) dust optical depth data acquired by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument on board Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), and finally (3) a brief study of the MTGCM's response to variations in upward propagating waves and tides from the lower atmosphere. Ultimately, this investigation suggests that an interhemispheric summer-to-winter Hadley circulation, originating in the lower atmosphere and extending into the upper atmosphere, is responsible for thermospheric winter polar warming [ Bell etal. , 2007]. A major branch of this thesis builds upon the previous work of Müller-Wodarg et al. [2000], Müller-Wodarg et al. [2003], M7uuml;ller-Wodarg et al. [2006], and Yelle et al. [2006] as it attempts to explain the structures in Titan's upper atmosphere, between 500-1500 km. Building also upon the recent development of GITM by Ridley et al. [2006], this thesis presents a new theoretical framework, T-GITM. This model is then employed to conduct a series of numerical experiments to quantify the impacts of the solar cycle, the season, and the

  4. The long-term consequences of previous hyperthyroidism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjelm Brandt Kristensen, Frans

    2015-01-01

    Thyroid hormones affect every cell in the human body, and the cardiovascular changes associated with increased levels of thyroid hormones are especially well described. As an example, short-term hyperthyroidism has positive chronotropic and inotropic effects on the heart, leading to a hyperdynamic...... with CVD, LD and DM both before and after the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism. Although the design used does not allow a stringent distinction between cause and effect, the findings indicate a possible direct association between hyperthyroidism and these morbidities, or vice versa....... vascular state. While it is biologically plausible that these changes may induce long-term consequences, the insight into morbidity as well as mortality in patients with previous hyperthyroidism is limited. The reasons for this are a combination of inadequately powered studies, varying definitions...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2010-05-01

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

  6. Asymptotically optimal production policies in dynamic stochastic jobshops with limited buffers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Yumei; Sethi, Suresh P.; Zhang, Hanqin; Zhang, Qing

    2006-05-01

    We consider a production planning problem for a jobshop with unreliable machines producing a number of products. There are upper and lower bounds on intermediate parts and an upper bound on finished parts. The machine capacities are modelled as finite state Markov chains. The objective is to choose the rate of production so as to minimize the total discounted cost of inventory and production. Finding an optimal control policy for this problem is difficult. Instead, we derive an asymptotic approximation by letting the rates of change of the machine states approach infinity. The asymptotic analysis leads to a limiting problem in which the stochastic machine capacities are replaced by their equilibrium mean capacities. The value function for the original problem is shown to converge to the value function of the limiting problem. The convergence rate of the value function together with the error estimate for the constructed asymptotic optimal production policies are established.

  7. Upper canopy pollinators of Eucryphia cordifolia Cav., a tree of South American temperate rain forest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cecilia Smith-Ramírez

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Ecological processes in the upper canopy of temperate forests have been seldom studied because of the limited accessibility. Here, we present the results of the first survey of the pollinator assemblage and the frequency of insect visits to flowers in the upper branches of ulmo, Eucryphia cordifolia Cav., an emergent 30-40 m-tall tree in rainforests of Chiloé Island, Chile. We compared these findings with a survey of flower visitors restricted to lower branches of E. cordifolia 1- in the forest understory, 2- in lower branches in an agroforestry area. We found 10 species of pollinators in canopy, and eight, 12 and 15 species in understory, depending of tree locations. The main pollinators of E. cordifolia in the upper canopy differed significantly from the pollinator assemblage recorded in lower tree branches. We conclude that the pollinator assemblages of the temperate forest canopy and interior are still unknown.

  8. Study on 3-D velocity structure of crust and upper mantle in Sichuan-yunnan region, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, C.; Mooney, W.D.; Wang, X.; Wu, J.; Lou, H.; Wang, F.

    2002-01-01

    Based on the first arrival P and S data of 4 625 regional earthquakes recorded at 174 stations dispersed in the Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces, the 3-D velocity structure of crust and upper mantle in the region is determined, incorporating with previous deep geophysical data. In the upper crust, a positive anomaly velocity zone exists in the Sichuan basin, whereas a negative anomaly velocity zone exists in the western Sichuan plateau. The boundary between the positive and negative anomaly zones is the Longmenshan fault zone. The images of lower crust and upper mantle in the Longmenshan fault, Xianshuihe fault, Honghe fault and others appear the characteristic of tectonic boundary, indicating that the faults litely penetrate the Moho discontinuity. The negative velocity anomalies at the depth of 50 km in the Tengchong volcanic area and the Panxi tectonic zone appear to be associated with the temperature and composition variations in the upper mantle. The overall features of the crustal and the upper mantle structures in the Sichuan-Yunnan region are the lower average velocity in both crust and uppermost mantle, the large crustal thickness variations, and the existence of high conductivity layer in the crust or/and upper mantle, and higher geothermal value. All these features are closely related to the collision between the Indian and the Asian plates. The crustal velocity in the Sichuan-Yunnan rhombic block generally shows normal.value or positive anomaly, while the negative anomaly exists in the area along the large strike-slip faults as the block boundary. It is conducive to the crustal block side-pressing out along the faults. In the major seismic zones, the seismicity is relative to the negative anomaly velocity. Most strong earthquakes occurred in the upper-mid crust with positive anomaly or normal velocity, where the negative anomaly zone generally exists below.

  9. [Conservative therapy of cartilage defects of the upper ankle joint].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smolenski, U C; Best, N; Bocker, B

    2008-03-01

    Cartilage defects of the upper ankle joint reflect the problem that great force is transmitted and balanced out over a relatively small surface area. As a pathophysiological factor, cartilage-bone contusions play a significant role in the development of cartilage defects of the upper ankle joint. Physiotherapeutic procedures belong to the standard procedures of conservative therapy. The use and selection of the type of therapy is based on empirical considerations and experience and investigations on effectiveness of particular therapies are relatively rare. At present a symptom-oriented therapy of cartilage defects of the upper ankle joint seems to be the most sensible approach. It can be assumed that it makes sense that the symptomatic treatment of cartilage defects or initial stages of arthritis also includes the subsequent symptoms of pain, irritated condition and limited function. This leads to starting points for physiotherapy with respect to pain therapy, optimisation of pressure relationships, avoidance of pressure points, improvement of diffusion and pressure release. In addition to the differential physiotherapeutic findings, the determination of a curative, preventive or rehabilitative procedure is especially important. In physical therapy special importance is placed on a scheduled serial application corresponding to the findings, employing the necessary methods, such as physiotherapy, sport therapy, medical mechanics, manual therapy, massage, electrotherapy and warmth therapy. From this the findings-related therapy is proposed as a practical therapy concept: locomotive apparatus pain therapy, optimisation of pressure relationships, improvement of diffusion and decongestion therapy. Therapy options have been selected base on the current literature and are summarised in tabular form. The art of symptomatic therapy of cartilage defects of the upper ankle joint does not lie in the multitude of sometimes speculative procedures, but in the targeted selection

  10. IMPORTANCE OF SHALLOW AREAS OF THE UPPER PART OF THE KANIV RESERVOIR IN THE MAINTENANCE OF ITS ICHTHYOFAUNA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Gurbyk

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. Determination of the relative number of fish juveniles on biotopes of the upper part of the Kanev reservoir in the aspect of evaluation of these areas in general propagation of ichthyofauna. Methodology. The work is based on data of fish juvenile surveys conducted in the Kaniv reservoir during 2011—2013. Data collection and processing were performed according to generally accepted methods. Fish juveniles were caught using a beach seine made of mill gauze № 7, length 10 m, height 1 m. Relative number of fish juveniles on different sites has been calculated based on the areas of fish nursing biotopes under assumption of the constancy of catchability coefficients. Shannon-Weaver diversity index was used for comparing species diversity of the commercial ichthyofauna of different sites. Findings. The majority of the studied littoral sites of the upper part of the Kaniv reservoir were characterized by sufficiently high indices of biodiversity ― Shannon index values varied within 2,07—3,24 bit./ind. Twenty six species were recorded in the composition of the fish juvenile communities that was 80 % of total number of species in the reservoir. It was found that despite a decrease of the relative number of the juveniles of valuable commercial species compared to previous years, the upper part of the reservoir remains the major site for recruitment of commercial fish stock ― 70 % of bream (Abramis brama, tench (Tinca tinca, pike (Esox lucius, roach (Rutilus rutilus and wels (Vimba vimba of the Kaniv reservoir are reproduced here. Taking into account the especial value of the upper part in formation of the spawning fund of the reservoir, any hydroenhancement works here should be limited exclusively by navigable channel. Originality. For the first time we quantitatively evaluated (in spatial aspect the number of fish fauna recruitment in the Kanev reservoir under current state of spawning areas. Practical value. Results of the work will be

  11. Trait Mindfulness as a Limiting Factor for Residual Depressive Symptoms: An Explorative Study Using Quantile Regression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radford, Sholto; Eames, Catrin; Brennan, Kate; Lambert, Gwladys; Crane, Catherine; Williams, J. Mark G.; Duggan, Danielle S.; Barnhofer, Thorsten

    2014-01-01

    Mindfulness has been suggested to be an important protective factor for emotional health. However, this effect might vary with regard to context. This study applied a novel statistical approach, quantile regression, in order to investigate the relation between trait mindfulness and residual depressive symptoms in individuals with a history of recurrent depression, while taking into account symptom severity and number of episodes as contextual factors. Rather than fitting to a single indicator of central tendency, quantile regression allows exploration of relations across the entire range of the response variable. Analysis of self-report data from 274 participants with a history of three or more previous episodes of depression showed that relatively higher levels of mindfulness were associated with relatively lower levels of residual depressive symptoms. This relationship was most pronounced near the upper end of the response distribution and moderated by the number of previous episodes of depression at the higher quantiles. The findings suggest that with lower levels of mindfulness, residual symptoms are less constrained and more likely to be influenced by other factors. Further, the limiting effect of mindfulness on residual symptoms is most salient in those with higher numbers of episodes. PMID:24988072

  12. Lack of Cetuximab induced skin toxicity in a previously irradiated field: case report and review of the literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Introduction Mutation, amplification or dysregulation of the EGFR family leads to uncontrolled division and predisposes to cancer. Inhibiting the EGFR represents a form of targeted cancer therapy. Case report We report the case of 79 year old gentlemen with a history of skin cancer involving the left ear who had radiation and surgical excision. He had presented with recurrent lymph node in the left upper neck. We treated him with radiation therapy concurrently with Cetuximab. He developed a skin rash over the face and neck area two weeks after starting Cetuximab, which however spared the previously irradiated area. Conclusion The etiology underlying the sparing of the previously irradiated skin maybe due to either decrease in the population of EGFR expressing cells or decrease in the EGFR expression. We raised the question that "Is it justifiable to use EGFR inhibitors for patients having recurrence in the previously irradiated field?" We may need further research to answer this question which may guide the physicians in choosing appropriate drug in this scenario. PMID:20478052

  13. An overview of the Upper Carboniferous fossil deposit at Linton, Ohio

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hook, R.W.; Baird, D.

    1988-03-01

    The cannel coal that underlies the Upper Freeport coal (Westphalian D, Upper Carboniferous) at Linton in Jefferson County, Ohio, has yielded a remarkable fossil assemblage of at least 10 invertebrate taxa and nearly 40 vertebrate taxa. Spirorbid worms, crustaceans (primarily syncarids and conchostracans), and fishes (coelacanths, haplolepid palaeoniscoids, and xenacanth sharks) are the most abundant fossils in the deposit; small aquatic amphibians (including nectridean, temnospondyl, and aistopod species) are also common. Other arthropod and tetrapod taxa are exceedingly rare and possess obvious adaptations for terrestial existence. The fossiliferous cannel originated as the sapropelic filling of an approximately 15-m-deep abandoned river meander within an alluviated delta plain setting. Remains of animals that lived in and near the freshwater oxbow accumulated in this anaerobic, scavenger-free lake bottom. The assemblage is autochthonous at the scale of the floodplain lake and its margins and represents a lowland biocoenose. Previous paleoecological interpretations of the Linton assemblage and similar Westphalian vertebrate deposits cannot be upheld because they are based largely on paleontological inferences and incorrect paleoenvironmental diagnoses. 34 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

  14. Cardioprotective aspirin users and their excess risk of upper gastrointestinal complications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández-Díaz, Sonia; García Rodríguez, Luis A

    2006-09-20

    To balance the cardiovascular benefits from low-dose aspirin against the gastrointestinal harm caused, studies have considered the coronary heart disease risk for each individual but not their gastrointestinal risk profile. We characterized the gastrointestinal risk profile of low-dose aspirin users in real clinical practice, and estimated the excess risk of upper gastrointestinal complications attributable to aspirin among patients with different gastrointestinal risk profiles. To characterize aspirin users in terms of major gastrointestinal risk factors (i.e., advanced age, male sex, prior ulcer history and use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), we used The General Practice Research Database in the United Kingdom and the Base de Datos para la Investigación Farmacoepidemiológica en Atención Primaria in Spain. To estimate the baseline risk of upper gastrointestinal complications according to major gastrointestinal risk factors and the excess risk attributable to aspirin within levels of these factors, we used previously published meta-analyses on both absolute and relative risks of upper gastrointestinal complications. Over 60% of aspirin users are above 60 years of age, 4 to 6% have a recent history of peptic ulcers and over 13% use other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The estimated average excess risk of upper gastrointestinal complications attributable to aspirin is around 5 extra cases per 1,000 aspirin users per year. However, the excess risk varies in parallel to the underlying gastrointestinal risk and might be above 10 extra cases per 1,000 person-years in over 10% of aspirin users. In addition to the cardiovascular risk, the underlying gastrointestinal risk factors have to be considered when balancing harms and benefits of aspirin use for an individual patient. The gastrointestinal harms may offset the cardiovascular benefits in certain groups of patients where the gastrointestinal risk is high and the cardiovascular risk is low.

  15. REHABILITATION OF SEVERELY ATROPHIED UPPER JAW WITH INTRAOSSAL DENTAL IMPLANTS - clinical case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Chenchev

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The purpose of this presentation is to show the difficulty in prosthetization of a clinical case with a pronounced atrophy of the upper jaw and the various types and nature of restrictions imposed by the requirements of the patient. Methods: The clinical analysis, surgical protocol and prosthetic solution are presented in the treatment of 72 year-old woman with a pronounced atrophy of the upper jaw. OPG, standard CT of the upper jaw was used in the planning and a special surgical template was fabricated, helping us to find intraoperatively the exact locations of implants. The preliminary analysis of the number, height and diameter of intraossal implants helped us to find the exact prosthetic solution in this clinical case. The preparation of the implant bed was done by conical osteotomy in order to expand and condense the existing bone, which allowed us to use endoossal implants with a possible maximum size in a very limited maxillary volume and the reluctance of the patient to use other methods and surgical techniques. Conical threaded and self-tapping intraossal implants were used, placed according to a classic two-stage methodology with a flap and a long-term functional loading after a period of four months.Results and Conclusion: The applied surgical and prosthetic solution allowed us to achieve a good functional and aesthetic rehabilitation in this case of severe atrophy of the upper jaw, following a number of restrictions imposed on us by the reluctance of the patient to use other surgical solutions. This shows that in the case of severe atrophy of the upper jaw, a good clinical result can be achieved. For this reason, the use of CT,a well-planned surgical template, sufficient preparation ,the maximum use of available bone volume and the choice of a good prosthetic solution is very important.

  16. Risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors with or without concurrent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory use: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anglin, Rebecca; Yuan, Yuhong; Moayyedi, Paul; Tse, Frances; Armstrong, David; Leontiadis, Grigorios I

    2014-06-01

    There is emerging concern that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be associated with an increased risk of upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, and that this risk may be further increased by concurrent use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medications. Previous reviews of a relatively small number of studies have reported a substantial risk of upper GI bleeding with SSRIs; however, more recent studies have produced variable results. The objective of this study was to obtain a more precise estimate of the risk of upper GI bleeding with SSRIs, with or without concurrent NSAID use. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, the Cochrane central register of controlled trials (through April 2013), and US and European conference proceedings were searched. Controlled trials, cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies that reported the incidence of upper GI bleeding in adults on SSRIs with or without concurrent NSAID use, compared with placebo or no treatment were included. Data were extracted independently by two authors. Dichotomous data were pooled to obtain odds ratio (OR) of the risk of upper GI bleeding with SSRIs +/- NSAID, with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The main outcome and measure of the study was the risk of upper GI bleeding with SSRIs compared with placebo or no treatment. Fifteen case-control studies (including 393,268 participants) and four cohort studies were included in the analysis. There was an increased risk of upper GI bleeding with SSRI medications in the case-control studies (OR=1.66, 95% CI=1.44,1.92) and cohort studies (OR=1.68, 95% CI=1.13,2.50). The number needed to harm for upper GI bleeding with SSRI treatment in a low-risk population was 3,177, and in a high-risk population it was 881. The risk of upper GI bleeding was further increased with the use of both SSRI and NSAID medications (OR=4.25, 95% CI=2.82,6.42). SSRI medications are associated with a modest increase in the risk of upper GI bleeding, which is lower than has

  17. Upper Limits on the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from Advanced LIGO's First Observing Run.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, B P; Abbott, R; Abbott, T D; Abernathy, M R; Acernese, F; Ackley, K; Adams, C; Adams, T; Addesso, P; Adhikari, R X; Adya, V B; Affeldt, C; Agathos, M; Agatsuma, K; Aggarwal, N; Aguiar, O D; Aiello, L; Ain, A; Ajith, P; Allen, B; Allocca, A; Altin, P A; Ananyeva, A; Anderson, S B; Anderson, W G; Appert, S; Arai, K; Araya, M C; Areeda, J S; Arnaud, N; Arun, K G; Ascenzi, S; Ashton, G; Ast, M; Aston, S M; Astone, P; Aufmuth, P; Aulbert, C; Avila-Alvarez, A; Babak, S; Bacon, P; Bader, M K M; Baker, P T; Baldaccini, F; Ballardin, G; Ballmer, S W; Barayoga, J C; Barclay, S E; Barish, B C; Barker, D; Barone, F; Barr, B; Barsotti, L; Barsuglia, M; Barta, D; Bartlett, J; Bartos, I; Bassiri, R; Basti, A; Batch, J C; Baune, C; Bavigadda, V; Bazzan, M; Beer, C; Bejger, M; Belahcene, I; Belgin, M; Bell, A S; Berger, B K; Bergmann, G; Berry, C P L; Bersanetti, D; Bertolini, A; Betzwieser, J; Bhagwat, S; Bhandare, R; Bilenko, I A; Billingsley, G; Billman, C R; Birch, J; Birney, R; Birnholtz, O; Biscans, S; Biscoveanu, A S; Bisht, A; Bitossi, M; Biwer, C; Bizouard, M A; Blackburn, J K; Blackman, J; Blair, C D; Blair, D G; Blair, R M; Bloemen, S; Bock, O; Boer, M; Bogaert, G; Bohe, A; Bondu, F; Bonnand, R; Boom, B A; Bork, R; Boschi, V; Bose, S; Bouffanais, Y; Bozzi, A; Bradaschia, C; Brady, P R; Braginsky, V B; Branchesi, M; Brau, J E; Briant, T; Brillet, A; Brinkmann, M; Brisson, V; Brockill, P; Broida, J E; Brooks, A F; Brown, D A; Brown, D D; Brown, N M; Brunett, S; Buchanan, C C; Buikema, A; Bulik, T; Bulten, H J; Buonanno, A; Buskulic, D; Buy, C; Byer, R L; Cabero, M; Cadonati, L; Cagnoli, G; Cahillane, C; Calderón Bustillo, J; Callister, T A; Calloni, E; Camp, J B; Campbell, W; Canepa, M; Cannon, K C; Cao, H; Cao, J; Capano, C D; Capocasa, E; Carbognani, F; Caride, S; Casanueva Diaz, J; Casentini, C; Caudill, S; Cavaglià, M; Cavalier, F; Cavalieri, R; Cella, G; Cepeda, C B; Cerboni Baiardi, L; Cerretani, G; Cesarini, E; Chamberlin, S J; Chan, M; Chao, S; Charlton, P; Chassande-Mottin, E; Cheeseboro, B D; Chen, H Y; Chen, Y; Cheng, H-P; Chincarini, A; Chiummo, A; Chmiel, T; Cho, H S; Cho, M; Chow, J H; Christensen, N; Chu, Q; Chua, A J K; Chua, S; Chung, S; Ciani, G; Clara, F; Clark, J A; Cleva, F; Cocchieri, C; Coccia, E; Cohadon, P-F; Colla, A; Collette, C G; Cominsky, L; Constancio, M; Conti, L; Cooper, S J; Corbitt, T R; Cornish, N; Corsi, A; Cortese, S; Costa, C A; Coughlin, E; Coughlin, M W; Coughlin, S B; Coulon, J-P; Countryman, S T; Couvares, P; Covas, P B; Cowan, E E; Coward, D M; Cowart, M J; Coyne, D C; Coyne, R; Creighton, J D E; Creighton, T D; Cripe, J; Crowder, S G; Cullen, T J; Cumming, A; Cunningham, L; Cuoco, E; Dal Canton, T; Danilishin, S L; D'Antonio, S; Danzmann, K; Dasgupta, A; Da Silva Costa, C F; Dattilo, V; Dave, I; Davier, M; Davies, G S; Davis, D; Daw, E J; Day, B; Day, R; De, S; DeBra, D; Debreczeni, G; Degallaix, J; De Laurentis, M; Deléglise, S; Del Pozzo, W; Denker, T; Dent, T; Dergachev, V; De Rosa, R; DeRosa, R T; DeSalvo, R; Devenson, J; Devine, R C; Dhurandhar, S; Díaz, M C; Di Fiore, L; Di Giovanni, M; Di Girolamo, T; Di Lieto, A; Di Pace, S; Di Palma, I; Di Virgilio, A; Doctor, Z; Dolique, V; Donovan, F; Dooley, K L; Doravari, S; Dorrington, I; Douglas, R; Dovale Álvarez, M; Downes, T P; Drago, M; Drever, R W P; Driggers, J C; Du, Z; Ducrot, M; Dwyer, S E; Edo, T B; Edwards, M C; Effler, A; Eggenstein, H-B; Ehrens, P; Eichholz, J; Eikenberry, S S; Essick, R C; Etienne, Z; Etzel, T; Evans, M; Evans, T M; Everett, R; Factourovich, M; Fafone, V; Fair, H; Fairhurst, S; Fan, X; Farinon, S; Farr, B; Farr, W M; Fauchon-Jones, E J; Favata, M; Fays, M; Fehrmann, H; Fejer, M M; Fernández Galiana, A; Ferrante, I; Ferreira, E C; Ferrini, F; Fidecaro, F; Fiori, I; Fiorucci, D; Fisher, R P; Flaminio, R; Fletcher, M; Fong, H; Forsyth, S S; Fournier, J-D; Frasca, S; Frasconi, F; Frei, Z; Freise, A; Frey, R; Frey, V; Fries, E M; Fritschel, P; Frolov, V V; Fulda, P; Fyffe, M; Gabbard, H; Gadre, B U; Gaebel, S M; Gair, J R; Gammaitoni, L; Gaonkar, S G; Garufi, F; Gaur, G; Gayathri, V; Gehrels, N; Gemme, G; Genin, E; Gennai, A; George, J; Gergely, L; Germain, V; Ghonge, S; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S; Giaime, J A; Giardina, K D; Giazotto, A; Gill, K; Glaefke, A; Goetz, E; Goetz, R; Gondan, L; González, G; Gonzalez Castro, J M; Gopakumar, A; Gorodetsky, M L; Gossan, S E; Gosselin, M; Gouaty, R; Grado, A; Graef, C; Granata, M; Grant, A; Gras, S; Gray, C; Greco, G; Green, A C; Groot, P; Grote, H; Grunewald, S; Guidi, G M; Guo, X; Gupta, A; Gupta, M K; Gushwa, K E; Gustafson, E K; Gustafson, R; Hacker, J J; Hall, B R; Hall, E D; Hammond, G; Haney, M; Hanke, M M; Hanks, J; Hanna, C; Hannam, M D; Hanson, J; Hardwick, T; Harms, J; Harry, G M; Harry, I W; Hart, M J; Hartman, M T; Haster, C-J; Haughian, K; Healy, J; Heidmann, A; Heintze, M C; Heitmann, H; Hello, P; Hemming, G; Hendry, M; Heng, I S; Hennig, J; Henry, J; Heptonstall, A W; Heurs, M; Hild, S; Hoak, D; Hofman, D; Holt, K; Holz, D E; Hopkins, P; Hough, J; Houston, E A; Howell, E J; Hu, Y M; Huerta, E A; Huet, D; Hughey, B; Husa, S; Huttner, S H; Huynh-Dinh, T; Indik, N; Ingram, D R; Inta, R; Isa, H N; Isac, J-M; Isi, M; Isogai, T; Iyer, B R; Izumi, K; Jacqmin, T; Jani, K; Jaranowski, P; Jawahar, S; Jiménez-Forteza, F; Johnson, W W; Jones, D I; Jones, R; Jonker, R J G; Ju, L; Junker, J; Kalaghatgi, C V; Kalogera, V; Kandhasamy, S; Kang, G; Kanner, J B; Karki, S; Karvinen, K S; Kasprzack, M; Katsavounidis, E; Katzman, W; Kaufer, S; Kaur, T; Kawabe, K; Kéfélian, F; Keitel, D; Kelley, D B; Kennedy, R; Key, J S; Khalili, F Y; Khan, I; Khan, S; Khan, Z; Khazanov, E A; Kijbunchoo, N; Kim, Chunglee; Kim, J C; Kim, Whansun; Kim, W; Kim, Y-M; Kimbrell, S J; King, E J; King, P J; Kirchhoff, R; Kissel, J S; Klein, B; Kleybolte, L; Klimenko, S; Koch, P; Koehlenbeck, S M; Koley, S; Kondrashov, V; Kontos, A; Korobko, M; Korth, W Z; Kowalska, I; Kozak, D B; Krämer, C; Kringel, V; Królak, A; Kuehn, G; Kumar, P; Kumar, R; Kuo, L; Kutynia, A; Lackey, B D; Landry, M; Lang, R N; Lange, J; Lantz, B; Lanza, R K; Lartaux-Vollard, A; Lasky, P D; Laxen, M; Lazzarini, A; Lazzaro, C; Leaci, P; Leavey, S; Lebigot, E O; Lee, C H; Lee, H K; Lee, H M; Lee, K; Lehmann, J; Lenon, A; Leonardi, M; Leong, J R; Leroy, N; Letendre, N; Levin, Y; Li, T G F; Libson, A; Littenberg, T B; Liu, J; Lockerbie, N A; Lombardi, A L; London, L T; Lord, J E; Lorenzini, M; Loriette, V; Lormand, M; Losurdo, G; Lough, J D; Lovelace, G; Lück, H; Lundgren, A P; Lynch, R; Ma, Y; Macfoy, S; Machenschalk, B; MacInnis, M; Macleod, D M; Magaña-Sandoval, F; Majorana, E; Maksimovic, I; Malvezzi, V; Man, N; Mandic, V; Mangano, V; Mansell, G L; Manske, M; Mantovani, M; Marchesoni, F; Marion, F; Márka, S; Márka, Z; Markosyan, A S; Maros, E; Martelli, F; Martellini, L; Martin, I W; Martynov, D V; Mason, K; Masserot, A; Massinger, T J; Masso-Reid, M; Mastrogiovanni, S; Matas, A; Matichard, F; Matone, L; Mavalvala, N; Mazumder, N; McCarthy, R; McClelland, D E; McCormick, S; McGrath, C; McGuire, S C; McIntyre, G; McIver, J; McManus, D J; McRae, T; McWilliams, S T; Meacher, D; Meadors, G D; Meidam, J; Melatos, A; Mendell, G; Mendoza-Gandara, D; Mercer, R A; Merilh, E L; Merzougui, M; Meshkov, S; Messenger, C; Messick, C; Metzdorff, R; Meyers, P M; Mezzani, F; Miao, H; Michel, C; Middleton, H; Mikhailov, E E; Milano, L; Miller, A L; Miller, A; Miller, B B; Miller, J; Millhouse, M; Minenkov, Y; Ming, J; Mirshekari, S; Mishra, C; Mitra, S; Mitrofanov, V P; Mitselmakher, G; Mittleman, R; Moggi, A; Mohan, M; Mohapatra, S R P; Montani, M; Moore, B C; Moore, C J; Moraru, D; Moreno, G; Morriss, S R; Mours, B; Mow-Lowry, C M; Mueller, G; Muir, A W; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D; Mukherjee, S; Mukund, N; Mullavey, A; Munch, J; Muniz, E A M; Murray, P G; Mytidis, A; Napier, K; Nardecchia, I; Naticchioni, L; Nelemans, G; Nelson, T J N; Neri, M; Nery, M; Neunzert, A; Newport, J M; Newton, G; Nguyen, T T; Nielsen, A B; Nissanke, S; Nitz, A; Noack, A; Nocera, F; Nolting, D; Normandin, M E N; Nuttall, L K; Oberling, J; Ochsner, E; Oelker, E; Ogin, G H; Oh, J J; Oh, S H; Ohme, F; Oliver, M; Oppermann, P; Oram, Richard J; O'Reilly, B; O'Shaughnessy, R; Ottaway, D J; Overmier, H; Owen, B J; Pace, A E; Page, J; Pai, A; Pai, S A; Palamos, J R; Palashov, O; Palomba, C; Pal-Singh, A; Pan, H; Pankow, C; Pannarale, F; Pant, B C; Paoletti, F; Paoli, A; Papa, M A; Paris, H R; Parker, W; Pascucci, D; Pasqualetti, A; Passaquieti, R; Passuello, D; Patricelli, B; Pearlstone, B L; Pedraza, M; Pedurand, R; Pekowsky, L; Pele, A; Penn, S; Perez, C J; Perreca, A; Perri, L M; Pfeiffer, H P; Phelps, M; Piccinni, O J; Pichot, M; Piergiovanni, F; Pierro, V; Pillant, G; Pinard, L; Pinto, I M; Pitkin, M; Poe, M; Poggiani, R; Popolizio, P; Post, A; Powell, J; Prasad, J; Pratt, J W W; Predoi, V; Prestegard, T; Prijatelj, M; Principe, M; Privitera, S; Prodi, G A; Prokhorov, L G; Puncken, O; Punturo, M; Puppo, P; Pürrer, M; Qi, H; Qin, J; Qiu, S; Quetschke, V; Quintero, E A; Quitzow-James, R; Raab, F J; Rabeling, D S; Radkins, H; Raffai, P; Raja, S; Rajan, C; Rakhmanov, M; Rapagnani, P; Raymond, V; Razzano, M; Re, V; Read, J; Regimbau, T; Rei, L; Reid, S; Reitze, D H; Rew, H; Reyes, S D; Rhoades, E; Ricci, F; Riles, K; Rizzo, M; Robertson, N A; Robie, R; Robinet, F; Rocchi, A; Rolland, L; Rollins, J G; Roma, V J; Romano, J D; Romano, R; Romie, J H; Rosińska, D; Rowan, S; Rüdiger, A; Ruggi, P; Ryan, K; Sachdev, S; Sadecki, T; Sadeghian, L; Sakellariadou, M; Salconi, L; Saleem, M; Salemi, F; Samajdar, A; Sammut, L; Sampson, L M; Sanchez, E J; Sandberg, V; Sanders, J R; Sassolas, B; Sathyaprakash, B S; Saulson, P R; Sauter, O; Savage, R L; Sawadsky, A; Schale, P; Scheuer, J; Schlassa, S; Schmidt, E; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P; Schnabel, R; Schofield, R M S; Schönbeck, A; Schreiber, E; Schuette, D; Schutz, B F; Schwalbe, S G; Scott, J; Scott, S M; Sellers, D; Sengupta, A S; Sentenac, D; Sequino, V; Sergeev, A; Setyawati, Y; Shaddock, D A; Shaffer, T J; Shahriar, M S; Shapiro, B; Shawhan, P; Sheperd, A; Shoemaker, D H; Shoemaker, D M; Siellez, K; Siemens, X; Sieniawska, M; Sigg, D; Silva, A D; Singer, A; Singer, L P; Singh, A; Singh, R; Singhal, A; Sintes, A M; Slagmolen, B J J; Smith, B; Smith, J R; Smith, R J E; Son, E J; Sorazu, B; Sorrentino, F; Souradeep, T; Spencer, A P; Srivastava, A K; Staley, A; Steinke, M; Steinlechner, J; Steinlechner, S; Steinmeyer, D; Stephens, B C; Stevenson, S P; Stone, R; Strain, K A; Straniero, N; Stratta, G; Strigin, S E; Sturani, R; Stuver, A L; Summerscales, T Z; Sun, L; Sunil, S; Sutton, P J; Swinkels, B L; Szczepańczyk, M J; Tacca, M; Talukder, D; Tanner, D B; Tao, D; Tápai, M; Taracchini, A; Taylor, R; Theeg, T; Thomas, E G; Thomas, M; Thomas, P; Thorne, K A; Thrane, E; Tippens, T; Tiwari, S; Tiwari, V; Tokmakov, K V; Toland, K; Tomlinson, C; Tonelli, M; Tornasi, Z; Torrie, C I; Töyrä, D; Travasso, F; Traylor, G; Trifirò, D; Trinastic, J; Tringali, M C; Trozzo, L; Tse, M; Tso, R; Turconi, M; Tuyenbayev, D; Ugolini, D; Unnikrishnan, C S; Urban, A L; Usman, S A; Vahlbruch, H; Vajente, G; Valdes, G; van Bakel, N; van Beuzekom, M; van den Brand, J F J; Van Den Broeck, C; Vander-Hyde, D C; van der Schaaf, L; van Heijningen, J V; van Veggel, A A; Vardaro, M; Varma, V; Vass, S; Vasúth, M; Vecchio, A; Vedovato, G; Veitch, J; Veitch, P J; Venkateswara, K; Venugopalan, G; Verkindt, D; Vetrano, F; Viceré, A; Viets, A D; Vinciguerra, S; Vine, D J; Vinet, J-Y; Vitale, S; Vo, T; Vocca, H; Vorvick, C; Voss, D V; Vousden, W D; Vyatchanin, S P; Wade, A R; Wade, L E; Wade, M; Walker, M; Wallace, L; Walsh, S; Wang, G; Wang, H; Wang, M; Wang, Y; Ward, R L; Warner, J; Was, M; Watchi, J; Weaver, B; Wei, L-W; Weinert, M; Weinstein, A J; Weiss, R; Wen, L; Weßels, P; Westphal, T; Wette, K; Whelan, J T; Whiting, B F; Whittle, C; Williams, D; Williams, R D; Williamson, A R; Willis, J L; Willke, B; Wimmer, M H; Winkler, W; Wipf, C C; Wittel, H; Woan, G; Woehler, J; Worden, J; Wright, J L; Wu, D S; Wu, G; Yam, W; Yamamoto, H; Yancey, C C; Yap, M J; Yu, Hang; Yu, Haocun; Yvert, M; Zadrożny, A; Zangrando, L; Zanolin, M; Zendri, J-P; Zevin, M; Zhang, L; Zhang, M; Zhang, T; Zhang, Y; Zhao, C; Zhou, M; Zhou, Z; Zhu, S J; Zhu, X J; Zucker, M E; Zweizig, J

    2017-03-24

    A wide variety of astrophysical and cosmological sources are expected to contribute to a stochastic gravitational-wave background. Following the observations of GW150914 and GW151226, the rate and mass of coalescing binary black holes appear to be greater than many previous expectations. As a result, the stochastic background from unresolved compact binary coalescences is expected to be particularly loud. We perform a search for the isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background using data from Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory's (aLIGO) first observing run. The data display no evidence of a stochastic gravitational-wave signal. We constrain the dimensionless energy density of gravitational waves to be Ω_{0}<1.7×10^{-7} with 95% confidence, assuming a flat energy density spectrum in the most sensitive part of the LIGO band (20-86 Hz). This is a factor of ∼33 times more sensitive than previous measurements. We also constrain arbitrary power-law spectra. Finally, we investigate the implications of this search for the background of binary black holes using an astrophysical model for the background.

  18. Actualization and enlargement of the Upper Austrian emission inventory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winiwarter, W.; Schimak, G.; Raup, N.

    2001-06-01

    The functionality of the Upper Austrian emission inventory has been increased by simplifying the evaluation routines. Thus access to existing data will be simplified. This version 2.0 not only improves evaluation procedures already in place, but also allows to retrieve annual information on point sources, as routinely reported by the individual industrial facilities on an annual basis. In the same way as for such point source information, also statistical information is used to derive annual emission changes. This is currently limited to the sector of domestic heating, where emissions are directly influenced by climate parameters that can be easily obtained. Trend analysis currently is not possible due to the limited number of sectors included. First conclusions on the temporal behavior of emissions are still possible and are discussed here. Likewise, additional plausibility checks are facilitated by using temporal emission changes, which will help improve data quality. (author)

  19. Theory of the upper critical field in layered superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1975-01-01

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

  20. Continuous Flow of Upper Labrador Sea Water around Cape Hatteras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andres, Magdalena; Muglia, Mike; Bahr, Frank; Bane, John

    2018-03-14

    Six velocity sections straddling Cape Hatteras show a deep counterflow rounding the Cape wedged beneath the poleward flowing Gulf Stream and the continental slope. This counterflow is likely the upper part of the equatorward-flowing Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC). Hydrographic data suggest that the equatorward flow sampled by the shipboard 38 kHz ADCP comprises the Upper Labrador Sea Water (ULSW) layer and top of the Classical Labrador Sea Water (CLSW) layer. Continuous DWBC flow around the Cape implied by the closely-spaced velocity sections here is also corroborated by the trajectory of an Argo float. These findings contrast with previous studies based on floats and tracers in which the lightest DWBC constituents did not follow the boundary to cross under the Gulf Stream at Cape Hatteras but were diverted into the interior as the DWBC encountered the Gulf Stream in the crossover region. Additionally, our six quasi-synoptic velocity sections confirm that the Gulf Stream intensified markedly at that time as it approached the separation point and flowed into deeper waters. Downstream increases were observed not only in the poleward transport across the sections but also in the current's maximum speed.

  1. Upper atmosphere research at INPE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clemesha, B.R.

    1984-01-01

    Upper atmosphere research at INPE is mainly concerned with the chemistry and dynamics of the stratosphere, upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere, and the middle thermosphere. Experimental work includes lidar observations of the stratospheric aerosol, measurements of stratospheric ozone by Dobson spectrophotometers and by balloon and rocket-borne sondes, lidar measurements of atmospheric sodium, and photometric observations of O, O 2 , OH and Na emissions, including interferrometric measurements of the OI6300 emission for the purpose of determing thermospheric winds and temperature. The airglow observations also include measurements of a number of emissions produced by the precipitation of energetic neutral particles generated by charge exchange in the ring current. Some recent results of INPE's upper atmosphere program are presented. (Author) [pt

  2. Hip and upper extremity kinematics in youth baseball pitchers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, Taylor; Oliver, Gretchen D

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between dynamic hip rotational range of motion and upper extremity kinematics during baseball pitching. Thirty-one youth baseball pitchers (10.87 ± 0.92 years; 150.03 ± 5.48 cm; 44.83 ± 8.04 kg) participated. A strong correlation was found between stance hip rotation and scapular upward rotation at maximum shoulder external rotation (r = 0.531, P = 0.002) and at ball release (r = 0.536, P = 0.002). No statistically significant correlations were found between dynamic hip rotational range of motion and passive hip range of motion. Hip range of motion deficits can constrain pelvis rotation and limit energy generation in the lower extremities. Shoulder pathomechanics can then develop as greater responsibility is placed on the shoulder to generate the energy lost from the proximal segments, increasing risk of upper extremity injury. Additionally, it appears that passive seated measurements of hip range of motion may not accurately reflect the dynamic range of motion of the hips through the progression of the pitch cycle.

  3. Risk of contamination of wild berries from upper Orava region by cadmium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanislav Zupka

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The upper Orava region is located at the North Slovakia, near of potential sources of environmental contamination due by mining of coal, zinc and lead ores. The aim of the study was to evaluate the risk of consumption of wild forest fruit from Upper Orava region from the aspect of cadmium content. Ten sampling points were found by random search. From these points samples of soil, leaves and fruits of wild berries (9 samples of blueberries Vaccinium Myrtillus and 1 sample of strawberries Fragaria Vesca were collected. In soil samples the active soil reaction (pH/H2O ranged from 3.53 (strong acidity to 4.56 (extremly strong acidity, and the determined percentage of humus ranged from 1.66 (low humic soil to 4.90 (high humic soil.  In two soil samples the total content of cadmium determinated in soil extracts by aqua regia exceeded limit 0.70 mg.kg-1 given by the legislation in tne Slovak Republic. In three soil samples the determined content of cadmium mobile forms determined in soil extracts by NH4NO3 exceeded the limit 0.10 mg.kg-1. The content of Cd determined in leaves as well as in fruits was evaluated according to Food Codex of the Slovak Republic. Only in one sample of leaf samples the limit 1.00 mg.kg-1 was exceeded. The other leaf samples are safely when used as an ingredient in tea mixtures. On the other hand even in 7 fruit samples the limit 0.05 mg.kg-1 was exceeded. This fruit can pose a risk for the human organism when is directly consumed as well as may negatively affect the human health when is used as raw materials in the food industry. 

  4. H.E.S.S. Limits on Linelike Dark Matter Signatures in the 100 GeV to 2 TeV Energy Range Close to the Galactic Center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdalla, H; Abramowski, A; Aharonian, F; Ait Benkhali, F; Akhperjanian, A G; Andersson, T; Angüner, E O; Arrieta, M; Aubert, P; Backes, M; Balzer, A; Barnard, M; Becherini, Y; Becker Tjus, J; Berge, D; Bernhard, S; Bernlöhr, K; Birsin, E; Blackwell, R; Böttcher, M; Boisson, C; Bolmont, J; Bordas, P; Bregeon, J; Brun, F; Brun, P; Bryan, M; Bulik, T; Capasso, M; Carr, J; Casanova, S; Chakraborty, N; Chalme-Calvet, R; Chaves, R C G; Chen, A; Chevalier, J; Chrétien, M; Colafrancesco, S; Cologna, G; Condon, B; Conrad, J; Couturier, C; Cui, Y; Davids, I D; Degrange, B; Deil, C; Devin, J; deWilt, P; Djannati-Ataï, A; Domainko, W; Donath, A; Drury, L O'C; Dubus, G; Dutson, K; Dyks, J; Dyrda, M; Edwards, T; Egberts, K; Eger, P; Ernenwein, J-P; Eschbach, S; Farnier, C; Fegan, S; Fernandes, M V; Fiasson, A; Fontaine, G; Förster, A; Funk, S; Füßling, M; Gabici, S; Gajdus, M; Gallant, Y A; Garrigoux, T; Giavitto, G; Giebels, B; Glicenstein, J F; Gottschall, D; Goyal, A; Grondin, M-H; Grudzińska, M; Hadasch, D; Hahn, J; Hawkes, J; Heinzelmann, G; Henri, G; Hermann, G; Hervet, O; Hillert, A; Hinton, J A; Hofmann, W; Hoischen, C; Holler, M; Horns, D; Ivascenko, A; Jacholkowska, A; Jamrozy, M; Janiak, M; Jankowsky, D; Jankowsky, F; Jingo, M; Jogler, T; Jouvin, L; Jung-Richardt, I; Kastendieck, M A; Katarzyński, K; Katz, U; Kerszberg, D; Khélifi, B; Kieffer, M; King, J; Klepser, S; Klochkov, D; Kluźniak, W; Kolitzus, D; Komin, Nu; Kosack, K; Krakau, S; Kraus, M; Krayzel, F; Krüger, P P; Laffon, H; Lamanna, G; Lau, J; Lees, J-P; Lefaucheur, J; Lefranc, V; Lemière, A; Lemoine-Goumard, M; Lenain, J-P; Leser, E; Liu, R; Lohse, T; Lorentz, M; Lypova, I; Marandon, V; Marcowith, A; Mariaud, C; Marx, R; Maurin, G; Maxted, N; Mayer, M; Meintjes, P J; Meyer, M; Mitchell, A M W; Moderski, R; Mohamed, M; Morå, K; Moulin, E; Murach, T; de Naurois, M; Niederwanger, F; Niemiec, J; Oakes, L; O'Brien, P; Odaka, H; Ohm, S; Ostrowski, M; Öttl, S; Oya, I; Padovani, M; Panter, M; Parsons, R D; Paz Arribas, M; Pekeur, N W; Pelletier, G; Perennes, C; Petrucci, P-O; Peyaud, B; Pita, S; Poon, H; Prokhorov, D; Prokoph, H; Pühlhofer, G; Punch, M; Quirrenbach, A; Raab, S; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Renaud, M; de Los Reyes, R; Rieger, F; Romoli, C; Rosier-Lees, S; Rowell, G; Rudak, B; Rulten, C B; Sahakian, V; Salek, D; Sanchez, D A; Santangelo, A; Sasaki, M; Schlickeiser, R; Schüssler, F; Schulz, A; Schwanke, U; Schwemmer, S; Settimo, M; Seyffert, A S; Shafi, N; Shilon, I; Simoni, R; Sol, H; Spanier, F; Spengler, G; Spies, F; Stawarz, Ł; Steenkamp, R; Stegmann, C; Stinzing, F; Stycz, K; Sushch, I; Tavernet, J-P; Tavernier, T; Taylor, A M; Terrier, R; Tibaldo, L; Tluczykont, M; Trichard, C; Tuffs, R; van der Walt, J; van Eldik, C; van Soelen, B; Vasileiadis, G; Veh, J; Venter, C; Viana, A; Vincent, P; Vink, J; Voisin, F; Völk, H J; Vuillaume, T; Wadiasingh, Z; Wagner, S J; Wagner, P; Wagner, R M; White, R; Wierzcholska, A; Willmann, P; Wörnlein, A; Wouters, D; Yang, R; Zabalza, V; Zaborov, D; Zacharias, M; Zdziarski, A A; Zech, A; Zefi, F; Ziegler, A; Żywucka, N

    2016-10-07

    A search for dark matter linelike signals iss performed in the vicinity of the Galactic Center by the H.E.S.S. experiment on observational data taken in 2014. An unbinned likelihood analysis iss developed to improve the sensitivity to linelike signals. The upgraded analysis along with newer data extend the energy coverage of the previous measurement down to 100 GeV. The 18 h of data collected with the H.E.S.S. array allow one to rule out at 95% C.L. the presence of a 130 GeV line (at l=-1.5°, b=0° and for a dark matter profile centered at this location) previously reported in Fermi-LAT data. This new analysis overlaps significantly in energy with previous Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. No significant excess associated with dark matter annihilations was found in the energy range of 100 GeV to 2 TeV and upper limits on the gamma-ray flux and the velocity weighted annihilation cross section are derived adopting an Einasto dark matter halo profile. Expected limits for present and future large statistics H.E.S.S. observations are also given.

  5. The upper bound of abutment scour defined by selected laboratory and field data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benedict, Stephen; Caldwell, Andral W.

    2015-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, conducted a field investigation of abutment scour in South Carolina and used that data to develop envelope curves defining the upper bound of abutment scour. To expand upon this previous work, an additional cooperative investigation was initiated to combine the South Carolina data with abutment-scour data from other sources and evaluate the upper bound of abutment scour with the larger data set. To facilitate this analysis, a literature review was made to identify potential sources of published abutment-scour data, and selected data, consisting of 446 laboratory and 331 field measurements, were compiled for the analysis. These data encompassed a wide range of laboratory and field conditions and represent field data from 6 states within the United States. The data set was used to evaluate the South Carolina abutment-scour envelope curves. Additionally, the data were used to evaluate a dimensionless abutment-scour envelope curve developed by Melville (1992), highlighting the distinct difference in the upper bound for laboratory and field data. The envelope curves evaluated in this investigation provide simple but useful tools for assessing the potential maximum abutment-scour depth in the field setting.

  6. Upper limit for context-based crop classification in robotic weeding applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Midtiby, Henrik Skov; Åstrand, Björn; Jørgensen, Ole

    2016-01-01

    Knowledge of the precise position of crop plants is a prerequisite for effective mechanical weed control in robotic weeding application such as in crops like sugar beets which are sensitive to mechanical stress. Visual detection and recognition of crop plants based on their shapes has been...... described many times in the literature. In this paper the potential of using knowledge about the crop seed pattern is investigated based on simulated output from a perception system. The reliability of position–based crop plant detection is shown to depend on the weed density (ρ, measured in weed plants per...... square metre) and the crop plant pattern position uncertainty (σx and σy, measured in metres along and perpendicular to the crop row, respectively). The recognition reliability can be described with the positive predictive value (PPV), which is limited by the seeding pattern uncertainty and the weed...

  7. Southern Hemisphere Upper Thermospheric Wind Climatology

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2017-12-01

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

  8. The Effect of Shoulder Plyometric Training on Amortization Time and Upper-Extremity Kinematics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanik, Kathleen A; Thomas, Stephen J; Struminger, Aaron H; Bliven, Kellie C Huxel; Kelly, John D; Swanik, Charles B

    2016-12-01

    Plyometric training is credited with providing benefits in performance and dynamic restraint. However, limited prospective data exist quantifying kinematic adaptations such as amortization time, glenohumeral rotation, and scapulothoracic position, which may underlie the efficacy of plyometric training for upper-extremity rehabilitation or performance enhancement. To measure upper-extremity kinematics and plyometric phase times before and after an 8-wk upper-extremity strength- and plyometric-training program. Randomized pretest-posttest design. Research laboratory. 40 recreationally active men (plyometric group, age 20.43 ± 1.40 y, height 180.00 ± 8.80 cm, weight 73.07 ± 7.21 kg; strength group, age 21.95 ± 3.40 y, height 173.98 ± 11.91 cm, weight 74.79 ± 13.55 kg). Participants were randomly assigned to either a strength-training group or a strength- and plyometric-training group. Each participant performed the assigned training for 8 wk. Dynamic and static glenohumeral and scapular-rotation measurements were taken before and after the training programs. Dynamic measurement of scapular rotation and time spent in each plyometric phase (concentric, eccentric, and amortization) during a ball-toss exercise were recorded while the subjects were fitted with an electromagnetic tracking system. Static measures included scapular upward rotation at 3 different glenohumeral-abduction angles, glenohumeral internal rotation, and glenohumeral external rotation. Posttesting showed that both groups significantly decreased the time spent in the amortization, concentric, and eccentric phases of a ball-toss exercise (P plyometric-training group exhibited an increase in internal rotation that was not present in the strength-training group (P plyometrics and strength training for reducing commonly identified upper-extremity-injury risk factors and improving upper-extremity performance.

  9. Hydrodynamic Limit of Multiple SLE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hotta, Ikkei; Katori, Makoto

    2018-04-01

    Recently del Monaco and Schleißinger addressed an interesting problem whether one can take the limit of multiple Schramm-Loewner evolution (SLE) as the number of slits N goes to infinity. When the N slits grow from points on the real line R in a simultaneous way and go to infinity within the upper half plane H, an ordinary differential equation describing time evolution of the conformal map g_t(z) was derived in the N → ∞ limit, which is coupled with a complex Burgers equation in the inviscid limit. It is well known that the complex Burgers equation governs the hydrodynamic limit of the Dyson model defined on R studied in random matrix theory, and when all particles start from the origin, the solution of this Burgers equation is given by the Stieltjes transformation of the measure which follows a time-dependent version of Wigner's semicircle law. In the present paper, first we study the hydrodynamic limit of the multiple SLE in the case that all slits start from the origin. We show that the time-dependent version of Wigner's semicircle law determines the time evolution of the SLE hull, K_t \\subset H\\cup R, in this hydrodynamic limit. Next we consider the situation such that a half number of the slits start from a>0 and another half of slits start from -a exact solutions, we will discuss the universal long-term behavior of the multiple SLE and its hull K_t in the hydrodynamic limit.

  10. Upper wind observing systems used for meteorological operations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Nash

    Full Text Available Methods of upper wind measurements used in operational meteorology have been reviewed to provide guidance to those developing wind profiler radar systems. The main limitations of the various methods of tracking weather balloons are identified using results from the WMO radiosonde comparisons and additional tests in the United Kingdom. Costs associated with operational balloon measurements are reviewed. The sampling and quality of operational aircraft wind observations are illustrated with examples from the ASDAR system. Measurement errors in horizontal winds are quantified wherever possible. When tracking equipment is functioning correctly, random errors in southerly and westerly wind component measurements from aircraft and weather balloons are usually in the range 0.5-2 m s-1.

  11. Portable upper extremity robotics is as efficacious as upper extremity rehabilitative therapy: a randomized controlled pilot trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Page, Stephen J; Hill, Valerie; White, Susan

    2013-06-01

    To compare the efficacy of a repetitive task-specific practice regimen integrating a portable, electromyography-controlled brace called the 'Myomo' versus usual care repetitive task-specific practice in subjects with chronic, moderate upper extremity impairment. Sixteen subjects (7 males; mean age 57.0 ± 11.02 years; mean time post stroke 75.0 ± 87.63 months; 5 left-sided strokes) exhibiting chronic, stable, moderate upper extremity impairment. Subjects were administered repetitive task-specific practice in which they participated in valued, functional tasks using their paretic upper extremities. Both groups were supervised by a therapist and were administered therapy targeting their paretic upper extremities that was 30 minutes in duration, occurring 3 days/week for eight weeks. One group participated in repetitive task-specific practice entirely while wearing the portable robotic, while the other performed the same activity regimen manually. The upper extremity Fugl-Meyer, Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and Stroke Impact Scale were administered on two occasions before intervention and once after intervention. After intervention, groups exhibited nearly identical Fugl-Meyer score increases of ≈2.1 points; the group using robotics exhibited larger score changes on all but one of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and Stroke Impact Scale subscales, including a 12.5-point increase on the Stroke Impact Scale recovery subscale. Findings suggest that therapist-supervised repetitive task-specific practice integrating robotics is as efficacious as manual practice in subjects with moderate upper extremity impairment.

  12. Photoelectron reflection and scattering at Venus: an upper limit on the "polar wind" ambipolar electric field, and a new source of top-side ionospheric heating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collinson, Glyn; Glocer, Alex; Grebowsky, Joe; Peterson, William; Frahm, Rudy; Moore, Thomas; Gilbert, Lin; Coates, Andrew

    2015-04-01

    An important mechanism in the generation of Earth's polar wind is the ambipolar potential generated by the outflow along open field lines of superthermal electrons. This ≈20V electric potential assists ions in overcoming the gravitational potential, and is a key mechanism for Terrestrial ionospheric escape. At Venus, except in rare circumstances, every field line is open, and a similar outflow of ionospheric electrons is observed. It is thus hypothesized that a similar electric potential may be present at Venus, contributing to global ionospheric loss. However, a very sensitive electric field instrument would be required to directly measure this potential, and no such instrument has yet been flown to Venus. In this pilot study, we examine photoelectron spectra measured by the ASPERA-ELS instrument on the Venus Express to put an initial upper bound on the total potential drop above 350km of Φ current understanding, a "polar wind" like ambipolar electric field may not be as important a mechanism for atmospheric escape as previously suspected. Additionally, we find our spectra are consistent with the scattering of photoelectrons, the heating from which which we hypothesize may act as a source of top-side ionospheric heating, and may play a role in influencing the scale height of the ionosphere.

  13. First detection of ammonia (NH3 in the Asian summer monsoon upper troposphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Höpfner

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Ammonia (NH3 has been detected in the upper troposphere by the analysis of averaged MIPAS (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding infrared limb-emission spectra. We have found enhanced amounts of NH3 within the region of the Asian summer monsoon at 12–15 km altitude. Three-monthly, 10° longitude  ×  10° latitude average profiles reaching maximum mixing ratios of around 30 pptv in this altitude range have been retrieved, with a vertical resolution of 3–8 km and estimated errors of about 5 pptv. These observations show that loss processes during transport from the boundary layer to the upper troposphere within the Asian monsoon do not deplete the air entirely of NH3. Thus, ammonia might contribute to the so-called Asian tropopause aerosol layer by the formation of ammonium aerosol particles. On a global scale, outside the monsoon area and during different seasons, we could not detect enhanced values of NH3 above the actual detection limit of about 3–5 pptv. This upper bound helps to constrain global model simulations.

  14. A Boundary Property for Upper Domination

    KAUST Repository

    AbouEisha, Hassan M.; Hussain, Shahid; Lozin, Vadim; Monnot, Jé rô me; Ries, Bernard; Zamaraev, Viktor

    2016-01-01

    An upper dominating set in a graph is a minimal (with respect to set inclusion) dominating set of maximum cardinality.The problem of finding an upper dominating set is generally NP-hard, but can be solved in polynomial time in some restricted graph

  15. Gravitational recoil from binary black hole mergers: The close-limit approximation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sopuerta, Carlos F.; Yunes, Nicolas; Laguna, Pablo

    2006-01-01

    The coalescence of a binary black hole system is one of the main sources of gravitational waves that present and future detectors will study. Apart from the energy and angular momentum that these waves carry, for unequal-mass binaries there is also a net flux of linear momentum that implies a recoil velocity of the resulting final black hole in the opposite direction. Due to the relevance of this phenomenon in astrophysics, in particular, for galaxy merger scenarios, there have been several attempts to estimate the magnitude of this velocity. Since the main contribution to the recoil comes from the last orbit and plunge, an approximation valid at the last stage of coalescence is well motivated for this type of calculation. In this paper, we present a computation of the recoil velocity based on the close-limit approximation scheme, which gives excellent results for head-on and grazing collisions of black holes when compared to full numerical relativistic calculations. We obtain a maximum recoil velocity of ∼57 km/s for a symmetric mass ratio η=M 1 M 2 /(M 1 +M 2 ) 2 ∼0.19 and an initial proper separation of 4M, where M is the total Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) mass of the system. This separation is the maximum at which the close-limit approximation is expected to provide accurate results. Therefore, it cannot account for the contributions due to inspiral and initial merger. If we supplement this estimate with post-Newtonian (PN) calculations up to the innermost stable circular orbit, we obtain a lower bound for the recoil velocity, with a maximum around 80 km/s. This is a lower bound because it neglects the initial merger phase. We can however obtain a rough estimate by using PN methods or the close-limit approximation. Since both methods are known to overestimate the amount of radiation, we obtain in this way an upper bound for the recoil with maxima in the range of 214-240 km/s. We also provide nonlinear fits to these estimated upper and lower bounds. These

  16. Structure and floristic similarities of upper montane forests in Serra Fina mountain range, southeastern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonardo Dias Meireles

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The upper montane forests in the southern and southeastern regions of Brazil have an unusual and discontinuous geographic distribution at the top of the Atlantic coastal mountain ranges. To describe the floristic composition and structure of the Atlantic Forest near its upper altitudinal limit in southeastern Brazil, 30 plots with 10 × 10 m were installed in three forest sites between 2,200 and 2,300 m.a.s.l. at Serra Fina. The floristic composition and phytosociological structure of this forest were compared with other montane and upper montane forests. In total, 704 individuals were included, belonging to 24 species, 15 families, and 19 genera. Myrsinaceae, Myrtaceae, Symplocaceae, and Cunoniaceae were the most important families, and Myrsine gardneriana, Myrceugenia alpigena, Weinmannia humilis, and Symplocos corymboclados were the most important species. The three forest sites revealed differences in the abundance of species, density, canopy height, and number of stems per individual. The upper montane forests showed structural similarities, such as lower richness, diversity, and effective number of species, and they tended to have higher total densities and total dominance per hectare to montane forests. The most important species in these upper montane forests belong to Austral-Antartic genera or neotropical and pantropical genera that are typical of montane areas. The high number of species shared by these forests suggests past connections between the vegetation in southern Brazilian high-altitude areas.

  17. Limits of Gaussian fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background at 19.2 GHz

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boughn, S. P.; Cheng, E. S.; Cottingham, D. A.; Fixsen, D. J.

    1992-01-01

    The Northern Hemisphere data from the 19.2 GHz full sky survey are analyzed to place limits on the magnitude of Gaussian fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background implied by a variety of correlation functions. Included among the models tested are the monochromatic and Gaussian-shaped families, and those with power-law spectra for n values between -2 and 1. An upper bound is placed on the quadrupole anisotropy of Delta T/T less than 3.2 x 10 exp -5 rms, and an upper bound on scale-invariant (n = 1) fluctuations of a2 less than 4.5 x 10 exp -5 (95 percent confidence level). There is significant contamination of these data from Galactic emission, and improvement of the modeling of the Galaxy could yield a significant reduction of these upper bounds.

  18. Sedimentation in Lake Onalaska, Navigation Pool 7, upper Mississippi River, since impoundment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korschgen, C.E.; Jackson, G.A.; Muessig, L.F.; Southworth, D.C.

    1987-01-01

    Sediment accumulation was evaluated in Lake Onalaska, a 2800-ha backwater impoundment on the Upper Mississippi River. Computer programs were used to process fathometric charts and generate an extensive data set on water depth for the lake. Comparison of 1983 survey data with pre-impoundment (before 1937) data showed that Lake Onalaska had lost less than 10 percent of its original mean depth in the 46 years since impoundment. Previous estimates of sedimentation rates based on Cesium-137 sediment core analysis appear to have been too high. (DBO)

  19. Scalings of energy confinement and density limit in stellarator/heliotron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sudo, S.; Takeiri, Y.; Zushi, H.; Sano, F.; Itoh, K.; Kondo, K.; Iiyoshi, A.

    1989-04-01

    Empirical scaling of energy confinement observed experimentally in stellarator/heliotron (Heliotron E, Wendelstein 7A, L2, Heliotron DR) under the condition that plasmas are heated by ECH and/or NbI is proposed. Empirical scaling of density limit obtainable under the optimum condition is proposed. These scalings are compared with those of tokamaks. The energy confinement scaling has similar power dependence as 'L mode scaling' of tokamaks. The density limit scaling seems also to indicate the upper limit of achievable density in many tokamaks. Combining the energy confinement time and the density limit scaling a transport-limited beta value is also deduced. Thus, from the viewpoint of designing a machine, there should be some compromise in determing magnetic field strength on plasma axis, average minor radius and major radius, because their dependence on confinement time and transport-limited beta value is contradicting. (J.P.N.)

  20. Cost-Effectiveness of Treating Upper Limb Spasticity Due to Stroke with Botulinum Toxin Type A: Results from the Botulinum Toxin for the Upper Limb after Stroke (BoTULS Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nick Steen

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Stroke imposes significant burdens on health services and society, and as such there is a growing need to assess the cost-effectiveness of stroke treatment to ensure maximum benefit is derived from limited resources. This study compared the cost-effectiveness of treating post-stroke upper limb spasticity with botulinum toxin type A plus an upper limb therapy programme against the therapy programme alone. Data on resource use and health outcomes were prospectively collected for 333 patients with post-stroke upper limb spasticity taking part in a randomized trial and combined to estimate the incremental cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY gained of botulinum toxin type A plus therapy relative to therapy alone. The base case incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER of botulinum toxin type A plus therapy was £93,500 per QALY gained. The probability of botulinum toxin type A plus therapy being cost-effective at the England and Wales cost-effectiveness threshold value of £20,000 per QALY was 0.36. The point estimates of the ICER remained above £20,000 per QALY for a range of sensitivity analyses, and the probability of botulinum toxin type A plus therapy being cost-effective at the threshold value did not exceed 0.39, regardless of the assumptions made.

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