Comparative analysis on flexibility requirements of typical Cryogenic Transfer lines

Science.gov (United States)

Jadon, Mohit; Kumar, Uday; Choukekar, Ketan; Shah, Nitin; Sarkar, Biswanath

2017-04-01

The cryogenic systems and their applications; primarily in large Fusion devices, utilize multiple cryogen transfer lines of various sizes and complexities to transfer cryogenic fluids from plant to the various user/ applications. These transfer lines are composed of various critical sections i.e. tee section, elbows, flexible components etc. The mechanical sustainability (under failure circumstances) of these transfer lines are primary requirement for safe operation of the system and applications. The transfer lines need to be designed for multiple design constraints conditions like line layout, support locations and space restrictions. The transfer lines are subjected to single load and multiple load combinations, such as operational loads, seismic loads, leak in insulation vacuum loads etc. [1]. The analytical calculations and flexibility analysis using professional software are performed for the typical transfer lines without any flexible component, the results were analysed for functional and mechanical load conditions. The failure modes were identified along the critical sections. The same transfer line was then refurbished with the flexible components and analysed for failure modes. The flexible components provide additional flexibility to the transfer line system and make it safe. The results obtained from the analytical calculations were compared with those obtained from the flexibility analysis software calculations. The optimization of the flexible component’s size and selection was performed and components were selected to meet the design requirements as per code.

Measuring and Comparing Energy Flexibilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valsomatzis, Emmanouil; Hose, Katja; Pedersen, Torben Bach

2015-01-01

induced by time and amount individually, and by their com- bination. To this end, we introduce several flexibility measures that take into account the combined effect of time and energy on flex-offer flexibility and discuss their respective pros and cons through a number of realistic examples....

Development of Flexible Pneumatic Cylinder with Built-in Flexible Linear Encoder and Flexible Bending Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Akagi, Tetsuya; Dohta, Shujiro; Matsushita, Hisashi; Fukuhara, Akimasa

The purpose of this study is to develop a lightweight and intelligent soft actuator which can be safely attached to the human body. A novel flexible pneumatic cylinder that can be used even if it is deformed by external force had been proposed. The cylinder can realize both pushing and pulling motions even if the cylinder bends. In this paper, a flexible pneumatic cylinder with a built-in flexible linear encoder is proposed and tested. The encoder can detect the cylinder displacement even if the cylinder bends. In the next step, to realize an intelligent flexible cylinder, it is essential to recognize the angle of deflection of the cylinder to estimate the direction of the external force. Therefore, a flexible bending sensor that can measure the directional angle by attaching it to the end of the cylinder is also proposed and tested. The tested bending sensor also consists of four inexpensive photo-reflectors set on the circumferential surface to the cylinder tube every 90 degrees from the center of the tube. By measuring the distance between the photo reflector and the surface of the tube at each point, the bending directional angle of the cylinder can be obtained. A low cost measuring system using a micro-computer incorporating a programmed Up/Down counter to measure the displacement of the cylinder is also developed. As a result, it was confirmed that the measuring accuracy of the bending directional angle was good, less than 0.7 degrees as a standard deviation.

Accounting for water quality in monitoring access to safe drinking-water as part of the Millennium Development Goals: lessons from five countries

Science.gov (United States)

Bain, Rob ES; Wright, Jim A; Yang, Hong; Pedley, Steve; Bartram, Jamie K

2012-01-01

Abstract Objective To determine how data on water source quality affect assessments of progress towards the 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target on access to safe drinking-water. Methods Data from five countries on whether drinking-water sources complied with World Health Organization water quality guidelines on contamination with thermotolerant coliform bacteria, arsenic, fluoride and nitrates in 2004 and 2005 were obtained from the Rapid Assessment of Drinking-Water Quality project. These data were used to adjust estimates of the proportion of the population with access to safe drinking-water at the MDG baseline in 1990 and in 2008 made by the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, which classified all improved sources as safe. Findings Taking account of data on water source quality resulted in substantially lower estimates of the percentage of the population with access to safe drinking-water in 2008 in four of the five study countries: the absolute reduction was 11% in Ethiopia, 16% in Nicaragua, 15% in Nigeria and 7% in Tajikistan. There was only a slight reduction in Jordan. Microbial contamination was more common than chemical contamination. Conclusion The criterion used by the MDG indicator to determine whether a water source is safe can lead to substantial overestimates of the population with access to safe drinking-water and, consequently, also overestimates the progress made towards the 2015 MDG target. Monitoring drinking-water supplies by recording both access to water sources and their safety would be a substantial improvement. PMID:22461718

Static inelastic analysis of steel frames with flexible connections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nefovska-Danilović M.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The effects of connection flexibility and material yielding on the behavior of plane steel frames subjected to static (monotonic loads are presented in this paper. Two types of material nonlinearities are considered: flexible nodal connections and material yielding, as well as geometric nonlinearity of the structure. To account for material yielding, a plastic hinge concept is adopted. A flexible connection is idealized by nonlinear rotational spring. Plastic hinge is also idealized by nonlinear rotational spring attached in series with the rotational spring that accounts for connection flexibility. The stiffness matrix for the beam with flexible connections and plastic hinges at its ends is obtained. To illustrate the validity and accuracy of the proposed numerical model, several examples have been conducted.

Flexible Graphene-Based Energy Storage Devices for Space Application

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The purpose of this project is to develop a graphene-based battery/ultra-capacitor prototype that is flexible, thin, lightweight, durable, low cost, and safe and...

A Navy Escrow Account: Increasing Financial Flexibility

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Pritchard, Marcus

2003-01-01

.... To that end, transforming the current financial practices within the DoN/DoD is required. This paper addresses the proposed Navy escrow account, a mechanism for eliminating wasteful spending while maximizing all available financial resources...

AN EXPLANATION OF THE CHANGE IN ACCOUNTANTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS FLEXIBILITY USING THE THEORY OF REASONED ACTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Calu Daniela Artemisa

2010-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper we look at accountants as “consumers of accounting regulations”. We explain the change in the accountants’ attitude towards flexibility in the accounting regulation process, using a theory derived from social psychology: the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA. In 1999 and 2005 we tested the attitude towards flexibility of a number of Romanian accountants who aimed at becoming private practitioners. We observed that before the existence of an accounting conceptual framework (1999, the accountants surveyed preferred flexibility with respect to accounting choices. A few years later (2005, after the implementation of IASB’s conceptual framework (but before the regulator removed it, the preference of accountants changed to flexibility. We believe that these changes could be explained using TRA.

Design methodology for flexible energy conversion systems accounting for dynamic performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pierobon, Leonardo; Casati, Emiliano; Casella, Francesco

2014-01-01

This article presents a methodology to help in the definition of the optimal design of power generation systems. The innovative element is the integration of requirements on dynamic performance into the system design procedure. Operational flexibility is an increasingly important specification...

A Water-/Fireproof Flexible Lithium-Oxygen Battery Achieved by Synergy of Novel Architecture and Multifunctional Separator.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Yan-Bin; Yang, Xiao-Yang; Chang, Zhi-Wen; Zhu, Yun-Hai; Liu, Tong; Yan, Jun-Min; Jiang, Qing

2018-01-01

To meet the increasing demands for portable and flexible devices in a rapidly developing society, it is urgently required to develop highly safe and flexible electrochemical energy-storage systems. Flexible lithium-oxygen batteries with high theoretical specific energy density are promising candidates; however, the conventional half-open structure design prevents it from working properly under water or fire conditions. Herein, as a proof-of-concept experiment, a highly safe flexible lithium-oxygen battery achieved by the synergy of a vital multifunctional structure design and a unique composite separator is proposed and fabricated. The structure can effectively prevent the invasion of water from the environment and combustion, which is further significantly consolidated with the help of a polyimide and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) composite separator, which holds good water resistance, thermal stability, and ionic conductivity. Unexpectedly, the obtained lithium-oxygen battery exhibits superior flexibility, water resistance, thermal resistance, and cycling stability (up to 218 cycles; at a high current of 1 mA and capacity of 4 mA h). This novel water/fireproof, flexible lithium-oxygen battery is a promising candidate to power underwater flexible electronics. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Trunk Flexibility Improvement in Response to Powered Assisted Exercise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B.S. Bains

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background study: Flexibility in human spine has always plays an important role in dexterity and seamless ambulatory activities. When optimum range is not maintained by the trunk column, due to lack of flexibility, the posture gets affected resulting in reduce trunk rotation flexibility and mobility hence loss of complete trunk rotation. Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Shapemaster Power Assisted Exercise Equipment (SPAEE on trunk flexibility. Methodology: Twenty healthy individual ages between 40 to 60 years were randomly divided into control and exercise groups. Shapemaster exercise program performed two times per week for 5 weeks and 45 minutes per session. Before and after 10 sessions of Shapemaster exercise protocol, Seated trunk rotation test was used to measure trunk flexibility. Results: Repeated measurement ANOVA were used to analysis data between groups. The results of this study illustrated that after 10th sessions trunk flexibility significantly improved (F (1.0, 18 = 11.732, p < 0.003. Conclusion: In conclusion results were determined that SPAEE is safe and it did effectively enhance flexibility among individual healthy adults. Keyword: Shapemaster Power Assisted Exercise Equipment (SPAEE, Trunk Flexibility, Healthy individual

SIR - small is safe [in reactor design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayns, M.

1989-01-01

A joint USA-UK venture has been initiated to design a small nuclear reactor which offers low capital cost, greater flexibility and a potentially lower environmental impact. Called Safe Integral Reactor (SIR), the lead unit could be built in the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's (UKAEA's) Winfrith site if the design is accepted by the UK Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII). This article describes the 320 MWe reactor unit that is the basis of the design being developed. (author)

Flexible rotor balancing by the influence coefficient method: Multiple critical speeds with rigid or flexible supports

Science.gov (United States)

Tessarzik, J. M.

1975-01-01

Experimental tests were conducted to demonstrate the ability of the influence coefficient method to achieve precise balance of flexible rotors of virtually any design for operation through virtually any speed range. Various practical aspects of flexible-rotor balancing were investigated. Tests were made on a laboratory quality machine having a 122 cm (48 in.) long rotor weighing 50 kg (110 lb) and covering a speed range up to 18000 rpm. The balancing method was in every instance effective, practical, and economical and permitted safe rotor operation over the full speed range covering four rotor bending critical speeds. Improved correction weight removal methods for rotor balancing were investigated. Material removal from a rotating disk was demonstrated through application of a commercially available laser.

5 CFR 610.404 - Requirement for time-accounting method.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... REGULATIONS HOURS OF DUTY Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules § 610.404 Requirement for time-accounting method. An agency that authorizes a flexible work schedule or a compressed work schedule under this...

Research into Flexibility Services. Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-03-01

The Dutch Office for Energy Regulation (DTe) is currently investigating the Dutch gas flexibility market. DTe is concerned that Gasunie is dominant in the market. In order to take a view of Gasunie's market position, DTe needs to first define the market for gas flexibility services and then explore whether Gasunie is dominant in the market (or markets). DTe has commissioned Frontier to undertake the respective formal analysis. This report summarises the findings by Frontier. On the basis of this report and a formal consultation process, We follow a three-step approach to the study: (1) We first define the relevant markets for gas flexibility (Section 3); (2) We then analyse the structure of the markets for flexibility that we have defined (Section 4); (3) Finally, we assess whether Gasunie is dominant in the relevant markets, taking account of market shares and other competitive effects (Section 5). This document is the Final Report, which contains our views as to the market definition for gas flexibility and the position of Gasunie in the market. The remainder of this document is set out as follows: Section 2 provides an overview of aspects of the Dutch gas industry relevant to this study; Section 3 sets out our approach to defining the market and de-Mops our conclusions on the markets for gas flexibility; Section 4 provides our view as to the structure of the relevant flexibility markets as defined in Section 3; Section 5 reports our assessment as to whether Gasunie is dominant in the relevant markets, taking account of market shares and other competitive effects; Section 6 sets out our conclusions about the competitive assessment. We include three annexes that set out details related to the market definition and analysis of dominance

Developmental constraints on behavioural flexibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Holekamp, Kay E; Swanson, Eli M; Van Meter, Page E

2013-05-19

We suggest that variation in mammalian behavioural flexibility not accounted for by current socioecological models may be explained in part by developmental constraints. From our own work, we provide examples of constraints affecting variation in behavioural flexibility, not only among individuals, but also among species and higher taxonomic units. We first implicate organizational maternal effects of androgens in shaping individual differences in aggressive behaviour emitted by female spotted hyaenas throughout the lifespan. We then compare carnivores and primates with respect to their locomotor and craniofacial adaptations. We inquire whether antagonistic selection pressures on the skull might impose differential functional constraints on evolvability of skulls and brains in these two orders, thus ultimately affecting behavioural flexibility in each group. We suggest that, even when carnivores and primates would theoretically benefit from the same adaptations with respect to behavioural flexibility, carnivores may nevertheless exhibit less behavioural flexibility than primates because of constraints imposed by past adaptations in the morphology of the limbs and skull. Phylogenetic analysis consistent with this idea suggests greater evolutionary lability in relative brain size within families of primates than carnivores. Thus, consideration of developmental constraints may help elucidate variation in mammalian behavioural flexibility.

Towards constraint-based aggregation of energy flexibilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valsomatzis, Emmanouil; Pedersen, Torben Bach; Abello, Alberto

2016-01-01

present the problem of aggregating energy flexibilities taking into account grid capacity limitations and introduce a heuristic aggregation technique. We show through an experimental setup that our proposed technique, compared to a baseline approach, not only leads to a valid unit commitment result......The aggregation of energy flexibilities enables individual producers and/or consumers with small loads to directly participate in the emerging energy markets. On the other hand, aggregation of such flexibilities might also create problems to the operation of the electrical grid. In this paper, we...

17 CFR 270.6e-3(T) - Temporary exemptions for flexible premium variable life insurance separate accounts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... for issuance, increases in or additions of insurance benefits, transfer and redemption of flexible... deducted from amounts transferred to a flexible contract from another plan of insurance; (iii) Sections 27... guaranteed death benefit risks assumed by the life insurer under the flexible contracts (collectively, a...

Psychological flexibility and mindfulness explain intuitive eating in overweight adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Sairanen, Essi; Tolvanen, Asko; Karhunen, Leila; Kolehmainen, Marjukka; Järvelä, Elina; Rantala, Sanni; Peuhkuri, Katri; Korpela, Riitta; Lappalainen, Raimo

2015-07-01

The current study investigated whether mindfulness and psychological flexibility, independently and together, explain intuitive eating. The participants were overweight or obese persons (N = 306) reporting symptoms of perceived stress and enrolled in a psychological lifestyle intervention study. Participants completed self-report measures of psychological flexibility; mindfulness including the subscales observe, describe, act with awareness, non-react, and non-judgment; and intuitive eating including the subscales unconditional permission to eat, eating for physical reasons, and reliance on hunger/satiety cues. Psychological flexibility and mindfulness were positively associated with intuitive eating factors. The results suggest that mindfulness and psychological flexibility are related constructs that not only account for some of the same variance in intuitive eating, but they also account for significant unique variances in intuitive eating. The present results indicate that non-judgment can explain the relationship between general psychological flexibility and unconditional permission to eat as well as eating for physical reasons. However, mindfulness skills-acting with awareness, observing, and non-reacting-explained reliance on hunger/satiety cues independently from general psychological flexibility. These findings suggest that mindfulness and psychological flexibility are interrelated but not redundant constructs and that both may be important for understanding regulation processes underlying eating behavior. © The Author(s) 2015.

Basic concepts of materials accounting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markin, J.T.

1989-01-01

The importance of accounting for nuclear materials to the efficient, safe, and economical operation of nuclear facilities is introduced, and the following topics are covered: material balance equation; item control areas; material balance uncertainty; decision procedures for materials accounting; conventional and near-real-time accounting; regulatory requirements of the US Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and a summary related to the development of a materials accounting system to implement the basic concepts described. The summary includes a section on each of the following: problem definition, system objectives, and system design

Modelling in Accounting. Theoretical and Practical Dimensions

OpenAIRE

Teresa Szot -Gabryś

2010-01-01

Accounting in the theoretical approach is a scientific discipline based on specific paradigms. In the practical aspect, accounting manifests itself through the introduction of a system for measurement of economic quantities which operates in a particular business entity. A characteristic of accounting is its flexibility and ability of adaptation to information needs of information recipients. One of the main currents in the development of accounting theory and practice is to cover by economic...

Accounting for individual differences in human associative learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Byrom, Nicola C

2013-09-04

Associative learning has provided fundamental insights to understanding psychopathology. However, psychopathology occurs along a continuum and as such, identification of disruptions in processes of associative learning associated with aspects of psychopathology illustrates a general flexibility in human associative learning. A handful of studies have looked specifically at individual differences in human associative learning, but while much work has concentrated on accounting for flexibility in learning caused by external factors, there has been limited work considering how to model the influence of dispositional factors. This review looks at the range of individual differences in human associative learning that have been explored and the attempts to account for, and model, this flexibility. To fully understand human associative learning, further research needs to attend to the causes of variation in human learning.

Accounting for Individual Differences in Human Associative Learning.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola C Byrom

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Associative learning has provided fundamental insights to understanding psychopathology. However, psychopathology occurs along a continuum and as such, identification of disruptions in processes of associative learning associated with aspects of psychopathology illustrates a general flexibility in human associative learning. A handful of studies have looked specifically at individual differences in human associative learning, but while much work has concentrated on accounting for flexibility in learning caused by external factors, there has been limited work considering how to model the influence of dispositional factors. This review looks at the range of individual differences in human associative learning that have been explored and the attempts to account for, and model, this flexibility. To fully understand human associative learning, further research needs to attend to the causes of variation in human learning.

The Geographical Aspect of Flexibility in Distribution Grids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kouzelis, Konstantinos; Bak-Jensen, Birgitte; Pillai, Jayakrishnan Radhakrishna

2015-01-01

, the reason for this is that flexibility is a multidimensional commodity. It can be associated with a unit or a system, a time-frame and a time-horizon of measuring it, its power magnitude and ramp rate, its energy shifting capability, its location and several other features. In this paper, the locational...... aggregation taking into account the distribution grid's radial structure. By aggregating the flexibility in this manner, different geographical points for offering it are defined. Through an illustrative market scenario, it is demonstrated how utilities might profit from their local flexibility by assisting...

Safe, High Specific Energy & Power Li-ion Cells

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Today’s best, safe commercial Li-ion cell designs achieve ~180 Wh/kg, ~500 Wh/L, and 400 W/kg. When accounting for the lightest (1.35) parasitic mass and smallest...

EQUALIZATION OF RESULTS ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florentina MOISESCU

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the effect that different accounting policies have on the outcome of an enterprise, this effect being represented either earnings growth or diminishing it. Deprecation policy, the policy related to inventory, policy provisions and related policy borrowing costs are some of the many other possibilities which affect the content of financial statements. Because national and international accounting standards give businesses the flexibility to choose between different policies, managers take advantage of existing loopholes and draw on creative accounting , so that it answers to the needs of the management team.

Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management (UTM): Safely Enabling UAS Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Jaewoo; Kopardekar, Parimal H.

2016-01-01

Flexibility where possible, and structure where necessary. Consider the needs of national security, safe airspace operations, economic opportunities, and emerging technologies. Risk-based approach based on population density, assets on the ground, density of operations, etc. Digital, virtual, dynamic, and as needed UTM services to manage operations.

Accounting for individual differences in human associative learning

OpenAIRE

Byrom, Nicola C.

2013-01-01

Associative learning has provided fundamental insights to understanding psychopathology. However, psychopathology occurs along a continuum and as such, identification of disruptions in processes of associative learning associated with aspects of psychopathology illustrates a general flexibility in human associative learning. A handful of studies have looked specifically at individual differences in human associative learning, but while much work has concentrated on accounting for flexibility ...

Advanced 4S (super safe, small and simple) LMR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minato, A.; Handa, N.

2000-01-01

This paper describes a new nuclear power system which can be used for a greater variety of applications. The 4S liquid metal reactor has high inherent safety and passive safety characteristics. It is also easy to operate, maintain and inspect, faster to construct, more flexible in location, requires less initial investment, and is better suited to electrical grid management. The reactor offers a new route through which to expand the use of safe nuclear technology in the world. (author)

Stress indices and flexibility factors in thin elbows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berton, M.N.; Carbonnier, J.L.

1983-01-01

Usually piping calculations are done with a beam model. Ovalisation in elbows is taken into account by the means of flexibility factors and stress indices. This paper compares results from a beam model calculation with results from a 3 D shell model calculation. (codes TEDEL and TRICO from the CEA-SEMT System). The aim of this comparison is to study the validity of the stress indices and flexibility factors used in the beam model for several kinds of loading

Torsion instability of Flexible Pipes at the TDP - Torsjonsinstabilitet av fleksible rør med sjøbunnskontakt

OpenAIRE

Hansson, Linn Storesund

2017-01-01

Dynamic flexible risers are a common term for cables, umbilicals and flexible pipes,that are freely or semi-freely suspended between two points (offshore). Flexible pipes are mostly used to transport fluids between platforms/ships etc. to a flow-line/sea floor installation or similar. The safe operating window for the installation is limited by whether induced motion of the installation vessel giving rise to dynamic tension and curvature at the touch-down-zone (TDZ). By investigation and ...

Accountability. State Implementation of Common Core State Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Kimberly; Mira, Mary Elizabeth

2014-01-01

All of the 15 states in this study have recently been involved in school accountability system reform. Since 2011, the states have taken advantage of a federal program to give them flexibility around certain accountability requirements of the "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001 (NCLB), the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and…

Safe sex

Science.gov (United States)

... sex; Sexually transmitted - safe sex; GC - safe sex; Gonorrhea - safe sex; Herpes - safe sex; HIV - safe sex; ... contact. STIs include: Chlamydia Genital herpes Genital warts Gonorrhea Hepatitis HIV HPV Syphilis STIs are also called ...

Summary of Guidelines for Infection Prevention and Control for Flexible Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lawrence Hookey

2013-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: High-quality processes to ensure infection prevention and control in the delivery of safe endoscopy services are essential. In 2010, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG developed a Canadian guideline for the reprocessing of flexible gastrointestinal endoscopy equipment.

Health Providers' Perception towards Safe Abortion Service at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In Ethiopia, unsafe abortion accounts up to 32% of maternal deaths. The perception of health providers towards safe abortion provision at selected health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was assessed. A stratified random sampling was used to select 431 health providers. A cross-sectional study was conducted from ...

Implementation of Safe-by-Design for Nanomaterial Development and Safe Innovation: Why We Need a Comprehensive Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraegeloh, Annette; Suarez-Merino, Blanca; Sluijters, Teun; Micheletti, Christian

2018-04-14

Manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) are regarded as key components of innovations in various fields with high potential impact (e.g., energy generation and storage, electronics, photonics, diagnostics, theranostics, or drug delivery agents). Widespread use of MNMs raises concerns about their safety for humans and the environment, possibly limiting the impact of the nanotechnology-based innovation. The development of safe MNMs and nanoproducts has to result in a safe as well as functional material or product. Its safe use, and disposal at the end of its life cycle must be taken into account too. However, not all MNMs are similarly useful for all applications, some might bear a higher hazard potential than others, and use scenarios could lead to different exposure probabilities. To improve both safety and efficacy of nanotechnology, we think that a new proactive approach is necessary, based on pre-regulatory safety assessment and dialogue between stakeholders. On the basis of the work carried out in different European Union (EU) initiatives, developing and integrating MNMs Safe-by-Design and Trusted Environments (NANoREG, ProSafe, and NanoReg2), we present our point of view here. This concept, when fully developed, will allow for cost effective industrial innovation, and an exchange of key information between regulators and innovators. Regulators are thus informed about incoming innovations in good time, supporting a proactive regulatory action. The final goal is to contribute to the nanotechnology governance, having faster, cheaper, effective, and safer nano-products on the market.

Flexible intramedullary nailing for femoral diaphyseal fractures in children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rojan Tamrakar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background & Objectives: Although various treatment options are available for the treatment of femoral diaphyesal fractures in children, the titanium flexible nailing has gained popularity because it is safe, easy procedure with rapid recovery and high success rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of titanium elastic nails in treating paediatric femoral diaphyesal fractures at Patan Hospital.Materials & Methods: There were 35 cases which were all fixed with titanium flexible intramedullary nail under image intensifier at the Patan hospital from January 2013 and December 2015. Patients were evaluated in follow-ups to observe the alignment of fracture, infection, delayed union, nonunion, limb length discrepancy, implant failure, range of movement of hip and knee joints, and time to unite the fracture. The final results were evaluated using criteria of titanium elastic nail (TEN outcome score described by Flynn et al.Results: The mean age of the patients was 8.51 years. Among 35 patients (22 boys and 13 girls, there were 19 mid-shaft fractures, nine proximal third fractures and seven distal third fractures. Fracture patterns were transverse (22, oblique (10, spiral (2, and comminuted (2. The mean time for fracture union was 8.17 weeks radiologically whereas 9.83 weeks clinically. According to TEN outcome score, excellent and good results were in 28 cases (80% and seven cases (20% respectively.Conclusion: Flexible titanium nailing is a safe and satisfactory treatment for diaphyseal femoral fractures in children, because it provides rapid recovery, short rehabilitation and immobilization as well as very high union rate with few complications.

Nuclear fuel accounting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aisch, D.E.

1977-01-01

After a nuclear power plant has started commercial operation the actual nuclear fuel costs have to be demonstrated in the rate making procedure. For this purpose an accounting system has to be developed which comprises the following features: 1) All costs associated with nuclear fuel shall be correctly recorded; 2) it shall be sufficiently flexible to cover also deviations from proposed core loading patterns; 3) it shall be applicable to different fuel cycle schemes. (orig./RW) [de

An account of cognitive flexibility and inflexibility for a complex dynamic task

OpenAIRE

De Obeso Orendain, Alberto; Wood, Sharon

2012-01-01

Problem solving involves adapting known problem solving methods and strategies to the task at hand (Schunn & Reder, 2001) and cognitive flexibility is considered to be “the human ability to adapt the cognitive processing strategies to face new and unexpected conditions of the environment” (Cañas et al., 2005, p. 95). This work presents an ACT-R 6.0 model of complex problem solving behavior for the dynamic microworld game FireChief (Omodei & Wearing, 1995) that models the performance of partic...

Functional flexibility in wild bonobo vocal behaviour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zanna Clay

2015-08-01

Full Text Available A shared principle in the evolution of language and the development of speech is the emergence of functional flexibility, the capacity of vocal signals to express a range of emotional states independently of context and biological function. Functional flexibility has recently been demonstrated in the vocalisations of pre-linguistic human infants, which has been contrasted to the functionally fixed vocal behaviour of non-human primates. Here, we revisited the presumed chasm in functional flexibility between human and non-human primate vocal behaviour, with a study on our closest living primate relatives, the bonobo (Pan paniscus. We found that wild bonobos use a specific call type (the “peep” across a range of contexts that cover the full valence range (positive-neutral-negative in much of their daily activities, including feeding, travel, rest, aggression, alarm, nesting and grooming. Peeps were produced in functionally flexible ways in some contexts, but not others. Crucially, calls did not vary acoustically between neutral and positive contexts, suggesting that recipients take pragmatic information into account to make inferences about call meaning. In comparison, peeps during negative contexts were acoustically distinct. Our data suggest that the capacity for functional flexibility has evolutionary roots that predate the evolution of human speech. We interpret this evidence as an example of an evolutionary early transition away from fixed vocal signalling towards functional flexibility.

Modelling in Accounting. Theoretical and Practical Dimensions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teresa Szot-Gabryś

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Accounting in the theoretical approach is a scientific discipline based on specific paradigms. In the practical aspect, accounting manifests itself through the introduction of a system for measurement of economic quantities which operates in a particular business entity. A characteristic of accounting is its flexibility and ability of adaptation to information needs of information recipients. One of the main currents in the development of accounting theory and practice is to cover by economic measurements areas which have not been hitherto covered by any accounting system (it applies, for example, to small businesses, agricultural farms, human capital, which requires the development of an appropriate theoretical and practical model. The article illustrates the issue of modelling in accounting based on the example of an accounting model developed for small businesses, i.e. economic entities which are not obliged by law to keep accounting records.

Conductive Cotton Textile from Safely Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Jellur Rahman

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Electroconductive cotton textile has been prepared by a simple dipping-drying coating technique using safely functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs. Owing to the surface functional groups, the f-MWCNTs become strongly attached with the cotton fibers forming network armors on their surfaces. As a result, the textile exhibits enhanced electrical properties with improved thermal conductivity and therefore is demonstrated as a flexible electrothermal heating element. The fabricated f-MWCNTs/cotton textile can be heated uniformly from room temperature to ca. 100°C within few minutes depending on the applied voltage. The textile shows good thermal stability and repeatability during a long-term heating test.

Active vibration control of spatial flexible multibody systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neto, Maria Augusta; Ambrósio, Jorge A. C.; Roseiro, Luis M.; Amaro, A.; Vasques, C. M. A.

2013-01-01

In this work a flexible multibody dynamics formulation of complex models including elastic components made of composite materials is extended to include piezoelectric sensors and actuators. The only limitation for the deformation of a structural member is that they must remain elastic and linear when described in a coordinate frame fixed to a material point or region of its domain. The flexible finite-element model of each flexible body is obtained referring the flexible body nodal coordinates to the body fixed frame and using a diagonalized mass description of the inertia in the mass matrix and on the gyroscopic force vector. The modal superposition technique is used to reduce the number of generalized coordinates to a reasonable dimension for complex shaped structural models of flexible bodies. The active vibration control of the flexible multibody components is implemented using an asymmetric collocated piezoelectric sensor/actuator pair. An electromechanically coupled model is taken into account to properly consider the surface-bonded piezoelectric transducers and their effects on the time and spatial response of the flexible multibody components. The electromechanical effects are introduced in the flexible multibody equations of motion by the use of beam and plate/shell elements, developed to this purpose. A comparative study between the classical control strategies, constant gain and amplitude velocity feedback, and optimal control strategy, linear quadratic regulator (LQR), is performed in order to investigate their effectiveness to suppress vibrations in structures with piezoelectric sensing and actuating patches.

Active vibration control of spatial flexible multibody systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neto, Maria Augusta, E-mail: augusta.neto@dem.uc.pt [Universidade de Coimbra (Polo II), Departamento de Engenharia Mecanica, Faculdade de Ciencia e Tecnologia (Portugal); Ambrosio, Jorge A. C., E-mail: jorge@dem.ist.utl.pt [Instituto Superior Tecnico, Instituto de Engenharia Mecanica (Portugal); Roseiro, Luis M., E-mail: lroseiro@isec.pt [Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra, Departamento de Engenharia Mecanica (Portugal); Amaro, A., E-mail: ana.amaro@dem.uc.pt [Universidade de Coimbra (Polo II), Departamento de Engenharia Mecanica, Faculdade de Ciencia e Tecnologia (Portugal); Vasques, C. M. A., E-mail: cvasques@inegi.up.pt [Universidade do Porto, INEGI-Instituto de Engenharia Mecanica e Gestao Industrial (Portugal)

2013-06-15

In this work a flexible multibody dynamics formulation of complex models including elastic components made of composite materials is extended to include piezoelectric sensors and actuators. The only limitation for the deformation of a structural member is that they must remain elastic and linear when described in a coordinate frame fixed to a material point or region of its domain. The flexible finite-element model of each flexible body is obtained referring the flexible body nodal coordinates to the body fixed frame and using a diagonalized mass description of the inertia in the mass matrix and on the gyroscopic force vector. The modal superposition technique is used to reduce the number of generalized coordinates to a reasonable dimension for complex shaped structural models of flexible bodies. The active vibration control of the flexible multibody components is implemented using an asymmetric collocated piezoelectric sensor/actuator pair. An electromechanically coupled model is taken into account to properly consider the surface-bonded piezoelectric transducers and their effects on the time and spatial response of the flexible multibody components. The electromechanical effects are introduced in the flexible multibody equations of motion by the use of beam and plate/shell elements, developed to this purpose. A comparative study between the classical control strategies, constant gain and amplitude velocity feedback, and optimal control strategy, linear quadratic regulator (LQR), is performed in order to investigate their effectiveness to suppress vibrations in structures with piezoelectric sensing and actuating patches.

Granular shear flows of flexible rod-like particles

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Y.; Curtis, J.; Wassgren, C.; Ketterhagen, W.; Hancock, B.

2013-06-01

Flexible particles are widely encountered in nature, e.g., stalks of plants, fiberglass particles, and ceramic nanofibers. Early studies indicated that the deformability of particles has a significant impact on the properties of granular materials and fiber suspensions. In this study, shear flows of flexible particles are simulated using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to explore the effect of particle flexibility on the flow behavior and constitutive laws. A flexible particle is formed by connecting a number of constituent spheres in a straight line using elastic bonds. The forces/moments due to the normal, tangential, bending, and torsional deformation of a bond resist the relative movement between two bonded constituent spheres. The bond stiffness determines how difficult it is to make a particle deform, and the bond damping accounts for the energy dissipation in the particle vibration process. The simulation results show that elastically bonded particles have smaller coefficients of restitution compared to rigidly connected particles, due to the fact that kinetic energy is partially converted to potential energy in a contact between flexible particles. The coefficient of restitution decreases as the bond stiffness decreases and the bond damping coefficient increases. As a result, smaller stresses are obtained for granular flows of the flexible particles with smaller bond stiffness and larger bond damping coefficient.

Qualification test for the flexible receiver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keller, C.M.

1994-01-01

This document provides the test plan and procedures to certify and design verify the 42 inch and 4--6 inch Flexible Receiver (FR) is a safety class 3 system. Verification of the design will be handled in two parts. The first part will be to show that it meets design requirements set forth by documents and the second part will perform test(s) to verify its operational aspects. To qualify the design of the FR systems for field use this test will demonstrate environmentally safe removal of a Tank Farm pump mock-up from a Tank Farm riser mock-up. Testing will also demonstrate the performance of supporting equipment. The FR and the Secondary Bagging (SB) equipment shall be tested to verify successful operation of the equipment to the following criteria: The FR can be placed on a riser and connections made to the supporting equipment; The FR bag can accept equipment and be successfully sealed; The SB system encases the seal of the primary FR bag; The flexible bag(s) do not tear and maintain integrity during the entire test; The FR control system operates in the fail safe forced sequence mode; The FR control system will operate in the manual override mode (out of sequence operations); The CCTV Video system monitors and records the removal of the test item; The spray wash system operates without leaks and effectively provides coverage; The item being removed can be reinserted to a depth of 8 feet and the bag reinstalled onto the vertical bag supports; and The system prohibits momentary mechanical fluctuations due to the application of system power, including power interruptions

Nonlinear analysis of flexible plates lying on elastic foundation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trushin Sergey

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article describes numerical procedures for analysis of flexible rectangular plates lying on elastic foundation. Computing models are based on the theory of plates with account of transverse shear deformations. The finite difference energy method of discretization is used for reducing the initial continuum problem to finite dimensional problem. Solution procedures for nonlinear problem are based on Newton-Raphson method. This theory of plates and numerical methods have been used for investigation of nonlinear behavior of flexible plates on elastic foundation with different properties.

Current Account Balance and Export Performances: Evidence Based on New EU Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogdan Željko

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate whether the differences in the current account balance and export performances for a new EU countries are a result of exchange rate policies. The analysis shows that countries with a flexible exchange rate have better export performances and the current account balance in the pre-crisis period. The obtained results show that movements in the current account balance are mainly driven by domestic variables. In the countries with a flexible exchange rate, real and nominal depreciation affects export positively although the magnitude of these effects is tiny and limited to the crisis period. These results point to a higher significance of non-price competitiveness on export which should be a future research topic.

29 CFR 2550.404a-3 - Safe harbor for distributions from terminated individual account plans.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974 RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY § 2550.404a-3 Safe... rate of return, whether or not such return is guaranteed, consistent with liquidity (except that... liquidity; (v) A statement explaining what fees, if any, will be paid from the participant or beneficiary's...

Solid-state Memory on Flexible Silicon for Future Electronic Applications

KAUST Repository

Ghoneim, Mohamed

2016-11-01

Advancements in electronics research triggered a vision of a more connected world, touching new unprecedented fields to improve the quality of our lives. This vision has been fueled by electronic giants showcasing flexible displays for the first time in consumer electronics symposiums. Since then, the scientific and research communities partook on exploring possibilities for making flexible electronics. Decades of research have revealed many routes to flexible electronics, lots of opportunities and challenges. In this work, we focus on our contributions towards realizing a complimentary approach to flexible inorganic high performance electronic memories on silicon. This approach provides a straight forward method for capitalizing on the existing well-established semiconductor infrastructure, standard processes and procedures, and collective knowledge. Ultimately, we focus on understanding the reliability and functionality anomalies in flexible electronics and flexible solid state memory built using the flexible silicon platform. The results of the presented studies show that: (i) flexible devices fabricated using etch-protect-release approach (with trenches included in the active area) exhibit ~19% lower safe operating voltage compared to their bulk counterparts, (ii) they can withstand prolonged bending duration (static stress) but are prone to failure under dynamic stress as in repeated bending and re-flattening, (iii) flexible 3D FinFETs exhibit ~10% variation in key properties when exposed to out-of-plane bending stress and out-of-plane stress does not resemble the well-studied in-plane stress used in strain engineering, (iv) resistive memories can be achieved on flexible silicon and their basic resistive property is preserved but other memory functionalities (retention, endurance, speed, memory window) requires further investigations, (v) flexible silicon based PZT ferroelectric capacitors exhibit record polarization, capacitance, and endurance (1 billion

Adoption of the B2SAFE EUDAT replication service by the EPOS community

Science.gov (United States)

Cacciari, Claudio; Fares, Massimo; Fiameni, Giuseppe; Michelini, Alberto; Danecek, Peter; Wittenburg, Peter

2014-05-01

B2SAFE is the EUDAT service for moving and replicating data between sites and storage systems for different purposes. The goal of B2SAFE is to keep the data from a repository safe by replicating it across different geographical and administrative zones according to a set of well-defined policies. It is also a way to store large volumes of data permanently at those sites which are providing powerful on-demand data analysis facilities. In particular, B2SAFE operates on the domain of registered data where data objects are referable via persistent identifiers (PIDs). B2SAFE is more than just copying data because the PIDs must be carefully managed when data objects are moved or replicated. The EUDAT B2SAFE Service offers functionality to replicate datasets across different data centres in a safe and efficient way while maintaining all information required to easily find and query information about the replica locations. The information about the replica locations and other important information is stored in PID records, each managed in separate administrative domains. The B2SAFE Service is implemented as an iRODS module providing a set of iRODS rules or policies to interface with the EPIC handle API and uses the iRODS middleware to replicate datasets from a source data (or community) centre to a destination data centre. The definition of the dataset(s) to replicate is flexible and up to the communities using the B2SAFE service. While the B2SAFE is internally using the EPIC handle API, communities have the choice to use any PID system they prefer to assign PIDs to their digital objects. A reference to one or more EUDAT B2SAFE PIDs is returned by the B2SAFE service when a dataset is replicated. The presentation will introduce the problem space of B2SAFE, presents the achievements that have been made during the last year for enabling communities to make use of the B2SAFE service, demonstrates a EPOS use cases, outlines the commonalities and differences between the policies

LearnSafe. Learning organisations for nuclear safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wahlstroem, B.; Kettunen, J.; Reiman, T.

2005-03-01

The nuclear power industry is currently undergoing a period of major change, which has brought with it a number of challenges. These changes have forced the nuclear power plants to initiate their own processes of change in order to adapt to the new situation. This adaptation must not compromise safety at any time, but during a rapid process of change there is a danger that minor problems may trigger a chain of events leading to a degraded safety. Organisational learning has been identified as an important component in ensuring the continued safety and efficiency of nuclear organisations. In response to these challenges a project LearnSafe 'Learning organisations for nuclear safety' was set up and funded by the European Community under the 5th Euratom Framework Programme. The present report gives an account of the LearnSafe project and its major results. (orig.)

Flexibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Humphrey, L. Dennis

1981-01-01

Flexibility is an important aspect of all sports and recreational activities. Flexibility can be developed and maintained by stretching exercises. Exercises designed to develop flexibility in ankle joints, knees, hips, and the lower back are presented. (JN)

76 FR 12719 - Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program; Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools; Safe Schools/Healthy...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-08

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program; Office of Safe and Drug- Free Schools; Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program; Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 84... priorities, requirements, and definitions under the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) program. Since...

Shaft flexibility effects on aeroelastic stability of a rotating bladed disk

Science.gov (United States)

Khader, Naim; Loewy, Robert

1989-01-01

A comprehensive study of Coriolis forces and shaft flexibility effects on the structural dynamics and aeroelastic stability of a rotating bladed-disk assembly attached to a cantilever, massless, flexible shaft is presented. Analyses were performed for an actual bladed-disk assembly, used as the first stage in the fan of the 'E3' engine. In the structural model, both in-plane and out-of-plane elastic deformation of the bladed-disk assembly were considered relative to their hub, in addition to rigid disk translations and rotations introduced by shaft flexibility. Besides structural coupling between blades (through the flexible disk), additional coupling is introduced through quasisteady aerodynamic loads. Rotational effects are accounted for throughout the work, and some mode shapes for the whole structure are presented at a selected rpm.

Measuring Carbon Footprint of Flexible Pavement Construction Project in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Utomo Dwi Hatmoko Jati

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Road infrastructure in Indonesia is mainly dominated by flexible pavement type. Its construction process, however, has raised concerns in terms of its environment impacts. This study aims to track and measure the carbon footprint of flexible pavement. The objectives are to map the construction process in relation to greenhouse gas (GHG emissions, to quantify them in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e as generated by the process of production and transportation of raw materials, and the operation of plant off-site and on-site project. Data collection was done by having site observations and interviews with project stakeholders. The results show a total emissions of 70.888 tonnes CO2e, consisting of 34.248 tonnes CO2e (48.31% off-site activities and 36.640 tonnes CO2e (51.687% on-site activities. The two highest CO2e emissions were generated by the use of plant for asphalt concrete laying activities accounted 34.827 tonnes CO2e (49.130%, and material transportation accounted 24.921 (35.155%. These findings provide a new perspective of the carbon footprint in flexible pavement and suggest the urgent need for the use of more efficient and environmentally friendly plant in construction process as it shows the most significant contribution on the CO2e. This study provides valuable understanding on the environmental impact of typical flexible pavement projects in Indonesia, and further can be used for developing green road framework.

Measuring Carbon Footprint of Flexible Pavement Construction Project in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Hatmoko, Jati Utomo Dwi; Hidayat, Arif; Setiawati, Apsari; Prasetyo, Stefanus Catur Adi

2018-02-01

Road infrastructure in Indonesia is mainly dominated by flexible pavement type. Its construction process, however, has raised concerns in terms of its environment impacts. This study aims to track and measure the carbon footprint of flexible pavement. The objectives are to map the construction process in relation to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to quantify them in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) as generated by the process of production and transportation of raw materials, and the operation of plant off-site and on-site project. Data collection was done by having site observations and interviews with project stakeholders. The results show a total emissions of 70.888 tonnes CO2e, consisting of 34.248 tonnes CO2e (48.31%) off-site activities and 36.640 tonnes CO2e (51.687%) on-site activities. The two highest CO2e emissions were generated by the use of plant for asphalt concrete laying activities accounted 34.827 tonnes CO2e (49.130%), and material transportation accounted 24.921 (35.155%). These findings provide a new perspective of the carbon footprint in flexible pavement and suggest the urgent need for the use of more efficient and environmentally friendly plant in construction process as it shows the most significant contribution on the CO2e. This study provides valuable understanding on the environmental impact of typical flexible pavement projects in Indonesia, and further can be used for developing green road framework.

Safe design of protective structures of tunnels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farahat, M.A.Z.

2011-01-01

This research aims to explain how to use a tunnel, constructed from reinforced concrete, passes under a river to protect some people. The computer code is used (MCNP) (the transfer photon and neutron) at this model for such tunnel which passes under a river to account attenuation of both neutrons and gamma rays passing through the river water, clay, soil and reinforced concrete wall layers ,the last one (thickness 40 cm)constructed the tunnel construction. And to account the dose inside the tunnel, and to account neutron dose, gamma dose, prompt gamma dose, total gamma dose and total (neutron + gamma) dose estimated by μSv/h. At different depths from the earth surface layer depths 100 cm, 250 cm, 500 cm, 750 cm , 1000 cm, 1300 cm, 1700 cm, 1900 cm, 2020 cm, 2500 cm). And then account these doses for three cases which are a nuclear bomb its intensity 20 kt, another bomb its intensity 100 kt, and the last one its intensity is 1000 kt. This research aims to account the required safe depth to protect some people in this tunnel, passing under a river from the dangerous effects of neutron and gamma rays, emitted from the nuclear bomb.

Cool and Safe: Multiplicity in Safe Innovation at Unilever

Science.gov (United States)

Penders, Bart

2011-01-01

This article presents the making of a safe innovation: the application of ice structuring protein (ISP) in edible ices. It argues that safety is not the absence of risk but is an active accomplishment; innovations are not "made safe afterward" but "safe innovations are made". Furthermore, there are multiple safeties to be accomplished in the…

All-Solution-Processed Metal-Oxide-Free Flexible Organic Solar Cells with Over 10% Efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Wei; Fan, Xi; Xu, Bingang; Yan, Feng; Cui, Huiqin; Wei, Qiang; Peng, Ruixiang; Hong, Ling; Huang, Jiaming; Ge, Ziyi

2018-05-16

All-solution-processing at low temperatures is important and desirable for making printed photovoltaic devices and also offers the possibility of a safe and cost-effective fabrication environment for the devices. Herein, an all-solution-processed flexible organic solar cell (OSC) using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly-(styrenesulfonate) electrodes is reported. The all-solution-processed flexible devices yield the highest power conversion efficiency of 10.12% with high fill factor of over 70%, which is the highest value for metal-oxide-free flexible OSCs reported so far. The enhanced performance is attributed to the newly developed gentle acid treatment at room temperature that enables a high-performance PEDOT:PSS/plastic underlying substrate with a matched work function (≈4.91 eV), and the interface engineering that endows the devices with better interface contacts and improved hole mobility. Furthermore, the flexible devices exhibit an excellent mechanical flexibility, as indicated by a high retention (≈94%) of the initial efficiency after 1000 bending cycles. This work provides a simple route to fabricate high-performance all-solution-processed flexible OSCs, which is important for the development of printing, blading, and roll-to-roll technologies. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Tuned resonant mass or inerter-based absorbers: unified calibration with quasi-dynamic flexibility and inertia correction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krenk, Steen; Høgsberg, Jan Becker

2016-01-01

effects are included via a flexibility and an inertia coefficient, accounting for the effect of the non-resonant modes. The design procedure starts from a selected level of dynamic amplification and then determines the device parameters for an equivalent dynamic system, in which the background flexibility...

Labour Markets and Employment Practices in the Age of Flexibility: A Case Study of Silicon Valley.

Science.gov (United States)

Carnoy, Martin; And Others

1997-01-01

Flexible employment has accounted for more than half of Silicon Valley's total employment growth in the past 10 years. Flexible employment has become a permanent strategy that may create insecurity for low-skilled workers; it also leads to a high turnover rate among highly skilled workers. (JOW)

Computer aided accountancy for tritium handling systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spannagel, G.; Schmid, C.

1993-03-01

A program is presented which can be used in tritium bearing systems for inventory taking and accountancy purposes. In particular, a detailed description is given of the environment in which this program has been integrated. It is explained in which way a high user friendliness has been attained and which structures contribute to achieving the flexibility required. (orig.) [de

High performance flexible CMOS SOI FinFETs

KAUST Repository

Fahad, Hossain M.

2014-06-01

We demonstrate the first ever CMOS compatible soft etch back based high performance flexible CMOS SOI FinFETs. The move from planar to non-planar FinFETs has enabled continued scaling down to the 14 nm technology node. This has been possible due to the reduction in off-state leakage and reduced short channel effects on account of the superior electrostatic charge control of multiple gates. At the same time, flexible electronics is an exciting expansion opportunity for next generation electronics. However, a fully integrated low-cost system will need to maintain ultra-large-scale-integration density, high performance and reliability - same as today\\'s traditional electronics. Up until recently, this field has been mainly dominated by very weak performance organic electronics enabled by low temperature processes, conducive to low melting point plastics. Now however, we show the world\\'s highest performing flexible version of 3D FinFET CMOS using a state-of-the-art CMOS compatible fabrication technique for high performance ultra-mobile consumer applications with stylish design. © 2014 IEEE.

Safe Youth. Safe Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

... Concussion ABCs A child can take a spill, knock his/her head, and get a concussion in any number of school settings ranging from the hallway, the playground, the cafeteria, in school sports activities, and beyond. This flexible set of materials ...

Flexible Bronchoscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Russell J; Casal, Roberto F; Lazarus, Donald R; Ost, David E; Eapen, George A

2018-03-01

Flexible bronchoscopy has changed the course of pulmonary medicine. As technology advances, the role of the flexible bronchoscope for both diagnostic and therapeutic indications is continually expanding. This article reviews the historical development of the flexible bronchoscopy, fundamental uses of the flexible bronchoscope as a tool to examine the central airways and obtain diagnostic tissue, and the indications, complications, and contraindications to flexible bronchoscopy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of safe routes for children in urban environment

Science.gov (United States)

Koryagin, M. E.; Medvedev, V. I.; Strykov, P. G.

2018-01-01

The matter of development of safe travel routes for children between school and home is analyzed. The availability of various applications and devices to identify the location of the child and his/her travel routes is noted. The main factors to be taken into account when planning children travel routes are described. The most popular Russian services for route planning, Google, Yandex, and 2GIS, are discussed. These services are shown to have a number of shortcomings which does not allow them to choose really safe routes. A decision on making the route selection by two criteria (the travel time and the probability of an accident) is obtained. As a numerical example, the Pareto area for possible routes is constructed.

STAR facility tritium accountancy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pawelko, R. J.; Sharpe, J. P.; Denny, B. J.

2008-01-01

The Safety and Tritium Applied Research (STAR) facility has been established to provide a laboratory infrastructure for the fusion community to study tritium science associated with the development of safe fusion energy and other technologies. STAR is a radiological facility with an administrative total tritium inventory limit of 1.5 g (14,429 Ci) [1]. Research studies with moderate tritium quantities and various radionuclides are performed in STAR. Successful operation of the STAR facility requires the ability to receive, inventory, store, dispense tritium to experiments, and to dispose of tritiated waste while accurately monitoring the tritium inventory in the facility. This paper describes tritium accountancy in the STAR facility. A primary accountancy instrument is the tritium Storage and Assay System (SAS): a system designed to receive, assay, store, and dispense tritium to experiments. Presented are the methods used to calibrate and operate the SAS. Accountancy processes utilizing the Tritium Cleanup System (TCS), and the Stack Tritium Monitoring System (STMS) are also discussed. Also presented are the equations used to quantify the amount of tritium being received into the facility, transferred to experiments, and removed from the facility. Finally, the STAR tritium accountability database is discussed. (authors)

Smart grids. Socioeconomic value and optimal flexibility portfolios - Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-06-01

Even by 2030, the management of the electricity consumption peaks will remain the main economic value for smart grid flexibility solutions in France. The economic potential of smart grid flexibility solutions increases with the rising needs for new capacities to ensure the security of supply. This need could be covered by a mix of different smart grid solutions (battery storage, pumped hydroelectric power stations, demand response by industrial or residential consumers). Flexibility solutions, even connected to the distribution network, can moderate reinforcements of the transmission network. The economic benefits are significant: smart grid solutions can be deployed for the benefit of consumers and can support the energy transition. The implementation of smart grid solutions in France can lightly reduce the GHG emissions of the French power system, even if the life cycles of equipments are taken into account in the analysis. Battery storage: in the next years, a solution that should no longer be limited to a niche market. Residential demand response: a deployment reflecting the heterogeneity of consumers and the different development stages of demand response solutions (smart meters, 'DR boxes'...). Demand response in the industry or tertiary sector: a 'no regret' option for the management of consumption peaks. Wind power controllability: a 'no regret' option to moderate investments in the network. The socio-economic assessment of smart grid solutions summarised in this report provides new information about the issues associated with the development of smart grid flexibilities in the French power system. It can now be used to assess the most efficient level of development of various smart grid solutions, taking into account the effects of competition between the different solutions in accessing the sources of value

Flexible Design for α-Duplex Communications in Multi-Tier Cellular Networks

KAUST Repository

Alammouri, Ahmad; Elsawy, Hesham; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2016-01-01

the foreseen FD gains. This paper presents flexible and tractable modeling framework for multi-tier cellular networks with FD BSs and FD/HD UEs. The presented model is based on stochastic geometry and accounts for the intrinsic vulnerability of uplink

Insurance choice and tax-preferred health savings accounts.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardon, James H; Showalter, Mark H

2007-03-01

We develop an infinite horizon utility maximization model of the interaction between insurance choice and tax-preferred health savings accounts. The model can be used to examine a wide range of policy options, including flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, and health reimbursement accounts. We also develop a 2-period model to simulate various implications of the model. Key results from the simulation analysis include the following: (1) with no adverse selection, use of unrestricted health savings accounts leads to modest welfare gains, after accounting for the tax revenue loss; (2) with adverse selection and an initial pooling equilibrium comprised of "sick" and "healthy" consumers, introducing HSAs can, but does not necessarily, lead to a new pooling equilibrium. The new equilibrium results in a higher coinsurance rate, an increase in expected utility for healthy consumers, and a decrease in expected utility for sick consumers; (3) with adverse selection and a separating equilibrium, both sick and healthy consumers are better off with a health savings account; (4) efficiency gains are possible when insurance contracts are explicitly linked to tax-preferred health savings accounts.

Iatrogenic Hepatitis C Virus Transmission and Safe Injection Practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Defendorf, Charles M; Paul, Sindy; Scott, George J

2018-05-01

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection poses significant adverse health effects. Improper use of vials, needles, syringes, intravenous bags, tubing, and connectors for injections and infusions is a current preventable cause of iatrogenic HCV transmission. Numerous cases have demonstrated the need for continued vigilance and the widespread nature of this iatrogenic infection risk across a variety of medical practice settings in the United States. Failure to implement the evidence-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) infection prevention guidelines exposes patients to preventable harm. The guidelines establish the requirement to notify patients in cases of suspected virus transmission, as well as to screen those patients who would not otherwise have been at risk for HCV seroconversion and other bloodborne pathogens. Legal and regulatory ramifications, including state, criminal, and tort laws, hold physicians and other health care professionals accountable to use safe injection practices. This article reviews the major health risks of HCV infection, significant effects of iatrogenic infection transmission, CDC guidelines for safe injection practices, and legal regulations and ramifications designed to promote safe injection practices.

Hungarian Accounting Regulations: Exposed to the Cross-Fire

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rita Ambrus

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to highlight two factors influencing Hungarian accounting regulations: the legislation of accounting in the last 25 years and the most important features of the taxation system. Both of them can influence the main requirement of the Hungarian Act on Accounting, the true and fair view. The research methods are based on a synthesis of the national and international literature. The authors examine the regulation system embedded in the legal and economic environment. The paper shows the accounting legislation in Hungary after the changing of the regime, its asymmetry, the attitude of the legislators and the current situation. The analysis of the tax system is connected to the provisions of accounting, highlighting the problems of the tax administration, the relation between corporate tax and the resultsof accounting and the intention to simplify it. The main conclusion is to make the system more flexible, in line with the legal and fiscal institutions, to fulfil its important requirements.

Accounting Students' Reflections on a Regional Internship Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bonnie Cord

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The opportunity to gain professional industry experience for accounting students while undertaking theirundergraduate degree provides them with both a competitive edge in the marketplace and an opportunity toexperience the activities undertaken in their chosen profession. Structured experiential learning programsprovide students with the practical opportunity to apply their knowledge in an industry context and also toreflect on their personal learning journey. This paper explores the learning contribution of students’reflection-based assessments in an innovative and flexible internship program based on an e-learningframework. Through a preliminary investigation, it has been identified that after undertaking this internshipprogram, accounting students from an Australian regional university have advanced their learning pertainingto workplace preparedness, understanding and application of accounting principles, generic skillenhancement, and consolidation of accounting as their chosen professional career. The paper suggests that aninternship program such as the one examined contributes to the professional accountancy bodies’ andcommunity’s expectations of accounting graduates possessing key cognitive and behavioural skills.

The Role of Representations in Executive Function: Investigating a Developmental Link Between Flexibility and Abstraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria eKharitonova

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Young children often perseverate, engaging in previously correct, but no longer appropriate behaviors. One account posits that such perseveration results from the use of stimulus-specific representations of a situation, which are distinct from abstract, generalizable representations that support flexible behavior. Previous findings supported this account, demonstrating that only children who flexibly switch between rules could generalize their behavior to novel stimuli. However, this link between flexibility and generalization might reflect general cognitive abilities, or depend upon similarities across the measures or their temporal order. The current work examined these issues by testing the specificity and generality of this link. In two experiments with three-year-old children, flexibility was measured in terms of switching between rules in a card-sorting task, while abstraction was measured in terms of selecting which stimulus did not belong in an odd-one-out task. The link between flexibility and abstraction was general across (1 abstraction dimensions similar to or different from those in the card-sorting task and (2 abstraction tasks that preceded or followed the switching task. Good performance on abstraction and flexibility measures did not extend to all cognitive tasks, including an IQ measure, and dissociated from children’s ability to gaze at the correct stimulus in the odd-one-out task, suggesting that the link between flexibility and abstraction is specific to such measures, rather than reflecting general abilities that affect all tasks. We interpret these results in terms of the role that developing prefrontal cortical regions play in processes such as working memory, which can support both flexibility and abstraction.

Redesigning School Accountability and Support: Progress in Pioneering States

Science.gov (United States)

Cook-Harvey, Channa M.; Stosich, Elizabeth Leisy

2016-01-01

How might policymakers and educators utilize the work already being done as states redesign their accountability systems? The 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), brought much needed attention to the performance of traditionally underserved subgroups of students. Supported by greater flexibility under ESEA…

Study regarding the relevance of the accounting subjects in the economic vocational training of non-accountant specialists

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galina Bădicu

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The responsibility for the skills of specialists in the economic field belongs to universities, which, by modernizing the curriculum, must take into account the requirements of the professional environment (employers, where the role of the economic specialist extends beyond narrow knowledge, flexibility and high capacity to address various problems. From this perspective, in order to enhance the role of the academic environment and to develop the professional skills of the graduating economists, it is necessary to correlate the competencies and the requirements about educational outcomes. With regard to the relevance of the accounting subjects in the professional training of non-accountant economic specialists, given the competing interests of universities, students and employers in the field of education, we proposed a debate with the view to design strategies of accounting education in the higher economic education of the Republic of Moldova. The article represents a study based on the documentation of the university curriculum in undergraduate programs. With the view to test and validate the necessity of studying accounting subjects in the professional training of non-accounting economic specialists, a questionnaire was developed and implemented. The general research idea refers to the need to study accounting in economic education and practice, which could have an impact over the competitiveness of the Economics graduate.

Applying machine learning techniques for forecasting flexibility of virtual power plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

MacDougall, Pamela; Kosek, Anna Magdalena; Bindner, Henrik W.

2016-01-01

network as well as the multi-variant linear regression. It is found that it is possible to estimate the longevity of flexibility with machine learning. The linear regression algorithm is, on average, able to estimate the longevity with a 15% error. However, there was a significant improvement with the ANN...... approach to investigating the longevity of aggregated response of a virtual power plant using historic bidding and aggregated behaviour with machine learning techniques. The two supervised machine learning techniques investigated and compared in this paper are, multivariate linear regression and single...... algorithm achieving, on average, a 5.3% error. This is lowered 2.4% when learning for the same virtual power plant. With this information it would be possible to accurately offer residential VPP flexibility for market operations to safely avoid causing further imbalances and financial penalties....

The SafeCOP ECSEL Project: Safe Cooperating Cyber-Physical Systems Using Wireless Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pop, Paul; Scholle, Detlef; Hansson, Hans

2016-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the ECSEL project entitled "Safe Cooperating Cyber-Physical Systems using Wireless Communication" (SafeCOP), which runs during the period 2016 -- 2019. SafeCOP targets safety-related Cooperating Cyber-Physical Systems (CO-CPS) characterised by use of wireless...... detection of abnormal behaviour, triggering if needed a safe degraded mode. SafeCOP will also develop methods and tools, which will be used to produce safety assurance evidence needed to certify cooperative functions. SafeCOP will extend current wireless technologies to ensure safe and secure cooperation...

Elaboration of Safe Community Assessment System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Birutė Mikulskienė

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The paper aims to design an assessment system to monitor and evaluate safety parameters and administrative efforts with the purpose to increase safety in municipalities. The safety monitoring system considered is to be the most important tool for creation and development of safe communities in Lithuania. Several methods were applied to achieve this purpose. In order to determine the role of local government in ensuring the safety of people, property and environment at the local level of a meta-analysis of research reports, the Lithuanian national legislation, strategic planning documents of the state and local government were carried out. Analysis of statistical data, structural analysis, comparative analysis and synthesis methods were used while investigating the areas of safety uncertainty, risk groups, identifying safety risk factors, determining their relationship, and creating a safe community assessment system. A safe community assessment system, which consists of two types of criteria, has been elaborated. The assessment system is based on the multi-level criteria for safety monitoring and the multi-level criteria for the evaluation of municipal activities in the field of building safety. Links between the criteria, peculiarities of their application and advantages in the process of safe community creation and development are analyzed. Design and implementation of the safe community assessment system is one of the most important stages to implement the idea of safe communities. The proposed system integrates a variety of risk areas, the safety achievement criteria are linked to the criteria used in the strategic planning. Periodic assessment of the safety situation using the proposed system ensures possibility to monitor current local safety conditions and assess the changes and the trends. A safe community assessment system is proposed to be used as a tool to unified municipalities safety comprehensiveness and compare safety level in

Elaboration of Safe Community Assessment System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Algirdas Astrauskas

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The paper aims to design an assessment system to monitor and evaluate safety parameters and administrative efforts with the purpose to increase safety in municipalities. The safety monitoring system considered is to be the most important tool for creation anddevelopment of safe communities in Lithuania. Several methods were applied to achieve this purpose. In order to determine the role of local government in ensuring the safety of people, property and environment at the local level of a meta-analysis of research reports,the Lithuanian national legislation, strategic planning documents of the state and local government were carried out. Analysis of statistical data, structural analysis, comparative analysis and synthesis methods were used while investigating the areas of safety uncertainty, risk groups, identifying safety risk factors, determining their relationship, and creating a safe community assessment system.A safe community assessment system, which consists of two types of criteria, has been elaborated. The assessment system is based on the multi-level criteria for safety monitoring and the multi-level criteria for the evaluation of municipal activities in the field of building safety. Links between the criteria, peculiarities of their application and advantages in the process of safe community creation and development are analyzed.Design and implementation of the safe community assessment system is one of the most important stages to implement the idea of safe communities. The proposed system integrates a variety of risk areas, the safety achievement criteria are linked to the criteria used in thestrategic planning. Periodic assessment of the safety situation using the proposed system ensures possibility to monitor current local safety conditions and assess the changes and the trends. A safe community assessment system is proposed to be used as a tool to unified municipalities safety comprehensiveness and compare safety level in

Aflatoxins & Safe Storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philippe eVillers

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The paper examines both field experience and research on the prevention of the exponential growth of aflatoxins during multi-month post harvest storage in hot, humid countries. The approach described is the application of modern safe storage methods using flexible, Ultra Hermetic™ structures that create an unbreatheable atmosphere through insect and microorganism respiration alone, without use of chemicals, fumigants, or pumps. Laboratory and field data are cited and specific examples are given describing the uses of Ultra Hermetic storage to prevent the growth of aflatoxins with their significant public health consequences. Also discussed is the presently limited quantitative information on the relative occurrence of excessive levels of aflatoxin (>20 ppb before versus after multi-month storage of such crops as maize, rice and peanuts when under high humidity, high temperature conditions and, consequently, the need for further research to determine the frequency at which excessive aflatoxin levels are reached in the field versus after months of post-harvest storage. The significant work being done to reduce aflatoxin levels in the field is mentioned, as well as its probable implications on post harvest storage. Also described is why, with some crops such as peanuts, using Ultra Hermetic storage may require injection of carbon dioxide or use of an oxygen absorber as an accelerant. The case of peanuts is discussed and experimental data is described.

The Impact of Accounting Methods on Cost Reduction Rates in Defense Aerospace Weapons System Programs

Science.gov (United States)

1988-12-01

and adhered to in U.S. industry, allow some flexibility in accounting. Under GAAP , accounting areas such as depreciation , inventory, investment tax... depreciation , inventory and investment tax credit) in predicting cost reduction rates are studied. Of the three accounting variables, only inventory...RATES .. ................. ........... 5 1. Depreciation ........ ............... 6 2. Capitalizing or Expensing of Costs . . .. 6 3. Material Costs

Safe Kids Worldwide

Science.gov (United States)

... Blog Videos Newsletter facebook twitter instagram pinterest gplus youtube Search Menu Why It Matters Who We Are What We Do Find Your Safe Kids Safe Kids Day Main menu Keeping All Kids Safe Safety Tips Get Involved 4 Star Charity Donate Text Burns and Scalds 4 tips ...

Analysis of flexible structures under lateral impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramirez, D. F.; Razavi, H.

2012-01-01

Three methods for analysis of flexible structures under lateral impact are presented. The first proposed method (Method A) consists of: (1) modifying an available deceleration on a rigid target with conservation principles to account for structural flexibility; and (2) transient nonlinear analysis of the structure with the corrected forcing function. The second proposed method (Method B) is similar to Method A in obtaining the forcing function but it solves the equations of motion of an idealized two-degree-of-freedom system instead of directly using conservation principles. The last method simply provides the maximum force in the structure using the conservation of energy and linear momentum. A coupled simulation is also performed in LS-DYNA and compared against the proposed methods. A case study is presented to illustrate the applicability of all three methods and the LS-DYNA simulation. (authors)

On flexibility

OpenAIRE

Weiss, Christoph R.; Briglauer, Wolfgang

2000-01-01

By building on theoretical work by Mills and Schumann (1985) and Ungern-Sternberg (1990) this paper provides evidence on the determinants of two dimensions of flexibility, the flexibility in adjusting aggregate output over time (tactical flexibility) as well as the ability to switch quickly between products (operational flexibility). Econometric analysis of a sample of 40.000 farms in Upper-Austria for the period 1980 to 1990 suggests that larger full-time farms operated by younger, better ed...

Rural planning organizations--their role in transportation planning and project development in Texas : technical report.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

While a formal planning and programming process is established for urbanized areas through Metropolitan : Planning Organizations, no similar requirement has been established for rural areas. Currently, under the : Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficie...

Accident history, risk perception and traffic safe behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngueutsa, Robert; Kouabenan, Dongo Rémi

2017-09-01

This study clarifies the associations between accident history, perception of the riskiness of road travel and traffic safety behaviours by taking into account the number and severity of accidents experienced. A sample of 525 road users in Cameroon answered a questionnaire comprising items on perception of risk, safe behaviour and personal accident history. Participants who reported involvement in more than three accidents or involvement in a severe accident perceived road travel as less risky and also reported behaving less safely compared with those involved in fewer, or less severe accidents. The results have practical implications for the prevention of traffic accidents. Practitioner Summary: The associations between accident history, perceived risk of road travel and safe behaviour were investigated using self-report questionnaire data. Participants involved in more than three accidents, or in severe accidents, perceived road travel as less risky and also reported more unsafe behaviour compared with those involved in fewer, or less severe accidents. Campaigns targeting people with a less serious, less extensive accident history should aim to increase awareness of hazards and the potential severity of their consequences, as well as emphasising how easy it is to take the recommended preventive actions. Campaigns targeting those involved in more frequent accidents, and survivors of serious accidents, should address feelings of invulnerability and helplessness.

Enhancing wind turbines efficiency with passive reconfiguration of flexible blades

Science.gov (United States)

Cognet, Vincent P. A.; Thiria, Benjamin; Courrech Du Pont, Sylvain; MSC Team; PMMH Team

2015-11-01

Nature provides excellent examples where flexible materials are advantageous in a fluid stream. By folding, leaves decrease the drag caused by air stream; and birds' flapping is much more efficient with flexible wings. Motivated by this, we investigate the effect of flexible blades on the performance of a wind turbine. The effect of chordwise flexible blades is studied both experimentally and theoretically on a small wind turbine in steady state. Four parameters are varied: the wind velocity, the resisting torque, the pitch angle, and the blade's bending modulus. We find an optimum efficiency with respect to the bending modulus. By tuning our four parameters, the wind turbine with flexible blades has a high-efficiency range significantly larger than rigid blades', and, furthermore enhances the operating range. These results are all the more important as one of the current issues concerning wind turbines is the enlargement of their operating range. To explain these results, we propose a simple two-dimensional model by discretising the blade along the radius. We take into account the variation of drag and lift coefficients with the bending ability. This model matches experimental observations and demonstrates the contribution of the reconfiguration of the blade. Matiere et Systemes Complexes.

Dynamics and control of robotic spacecrafts for the transportation of flexible elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wen, Hao; Chen, Ti; Yu, Bensong; Jin, Dongping

2016-01-01

The technology of robotic spacecrafts has been identified as one of the most appealing solutions to the on-orbit construction of large space structures in future space missions. As a prerequisite of a successful on-orbit construction, it is needed to use small autonomous spacecrafts for the transportation of flexible elements. To this end, the paper presents an energy-based scheme to control a couple of robotic spacecrafts carrying a flexible slender structure to its desired position. The flexible structure is modelled as a long beam based on the formulation of absolute nodal coordinates to account for the geometrical nonlinearity due to large displacement. Meanwhile, the robotic spacecrafts are actuated on their rigid-body degrees of freedom and modelled as two rigid bodies attached to the flexible beam. The energy-based controller is designed using the technique of energy shaping and damping injection such that translational and rotational maneuvers can be achieved with the suppression of the flexible vibrations of the beam. Finally, numerical case studies are performed to demonstrate the proposed schemes. (paper)

Balance and flexibility.

Science.gov (United States)

2003-12-01

The 'work-life balance' and flexible working are currently key buzz terms in the NHS. Those looking for more information on these topics should visit Flexibility at www.flexibility.co.uk for a host of resources designed to support new ways of working, including information on flexible workers and flexible rostering, the legal balancing act for work-life balance and home working.

"Same Room, Safe Place".

Science.gov (United States)

Keene Woods, Nikki

2017-04-01

There are many different professional stances on safe sleep and then there is the reality of caring for a newborn. There is a debate among professionals regarding safe sleep recommendations. The continum of recommendations vary from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Safe Sleep Guidelines to the bed-sharing recommendations from the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory. The lack of consistent and uniform safe sleep recommendations from health professionals has been confusing for families but has more recently raised a real professional ethical dilemma. Despite years of focused safe sleep community education and interventions, sleep-related infant deaths are on the rise in many communities. This commentary calls for a united safe sleep message from all health professionals to improve health for mothers and infants most at-risk, "Same Room, Safe Place."

Fuel flexibility in power generation onboard offshore floating units

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keep, Jeroen van [Waertsilae Corporation, Helsinki (Finland)

2012-07-01

Power Plants for offshore oil and gas installations utilizing dual fuel (DF) reciprocating engines are by many owners seen as an interesting alternative to conventional solutions due to the apparent advantages in fuel flexibility, fuel efficiency and lower emission. The paper summarizes the dual fuel technology, typical solutions for FPSO's and operational. Items that are discussed: DF operation and how it works; fuel flexibility, including transfer between fuel modes; fuel efficiency, also in production an important cost saver; emissions of the different fuel modes; size and weights, constraints; experiences of the P-63 project. With the above it is safe to conclude that the DF-technology is mature with important benefits for the offshore production market in certain specific applications, most notably the FPSO's for fields in low gas to oil ratios, bringing important fuel cost savings and also for new-built F-LNG/FSO/FPSO's where the power plant can be accommodated below decks, freeing up valuable deck space for the process plant. (author)

Coaxial wet-spun yarn supercapacitors for high-energy density and safe wearable electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Kou, Liang; Huang, Tieqi; Zheng, Bingna; Han, Yi; Zhao, Xiaoli; Gopalsamy, Karthikeyan; Sun, Haiyan; Gao, Chao

2014-01-01

Yarn supercapacitors have great potential in future portable and wearable electronics because of their tiny volume, flexibility and weavability. However, low-energy density limits their development in the area of wearable high-energy density devices. How to enhance their energy densities while retaining their high-power densities is a critical challenge for yarn supercapacitor development. Here we propose a coaxial wet-spinning assembly approach to continuously spin polyelectrolyte-wrapped graphene/carbon nanotube core-sheath fibres, which are used directly as safe electrodes to assembly two-ply yarn supercapacitors. The yarn supercapacitors using liquid and solid electrolytes show ultra-high capacitances of 269 and 177 mF cm−2 and energy densities of 5.91 and 3.84 μWh cm−2, respectively. A cloth supercapacitor superior to commercial capacitor is further interwoven from two individual 40-cm-long coaxial fibres. The combination of scalable coaxial wet-spinning technology and excellent performance of yarn supercapacitors paves the way to wearable and safe electronics. PMID:24786366

Coaxial wet-spun yarn supercapacitors for high-energy density and safe wearable electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Kou, Liang; Huang, Tieqi; Zheng, Bingna; Han, Yi; Zhao, Xiaoli; Gopalsamy, Karthikeyan; Sun, Haiyan; Gao, Chao

2014-05-01

Yarn supercapacitors have great potential in future portable and wearable electronics because of their tiny volume, flexibility and weavability. However, low-energy density limits their development in the area of wearable high-energy density devices. How to enhance their energy densities while retaining their high-power densities is a critical challenge for yarn supercapacitor development. Here we propose a coaxial wet-spinning assembly approach to continuously spin polyelectrolyte-wrapped graphene/carbon nanotube core-sheath fibres, which are used directly as safe electrodes to assembly two-ply yarn supercapacitors. The yarn supercapacitors using liquid and solid electrolytes show ultra-high capacitances of 269 and 177 mF cm-2 and energy densities of 5.91 and 3.84 μWh cm-2, respectively. A cloth supercapacitor superior to commercial capacitor is further interwoven from two individual 40-cm-long coaxial fibres. The combination of scalable coaxial wet-spinning technology and excellent performance of yarn supercapacitors paves the way to wearable and safe electronics.

Materials and Techniques for Implantable Nutrient Sensing Using Flexible Sensors Integrated with Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, Wei; Liew, Guoguang; Li, Ya; Hao, Yafeng; Pan, Huizhuo; Wang, Hanjie; Ning, Baoan; Xu, Hang; Huang, Xian

2018-06-01

The combination of novel materials with flexible electronic technology may yield new concepts of flexible electronic devices that effectively detect various biological chemicals to facilitate understanding of biological processes and conduct health monitoring. This paper demonstrates single- or multichannel implantable flexible sensors that are surface modified with conductive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) such as copper-MOF and cobalt-MOF with large surface area, high porosity, and tunable catalysis capability. The sensors can monitor important nutriments such as ascorbicacid, glycine, l-tryptophan (l-Trp), and glucose with detection resolutions of 14.97, 0.71, 4.14, and 54.60 × 10 -6 m, respectively. In addition, they offer sensing capability even under extreme deformation and complex surrounding environment with continuous monitoring capability for 20 d due to minimized use of biological active chemicals. Experiments using live cells and animals indicate that the MOF-modified sensors are biologically safe to cells, and can detect l-Trp in blood and interstitial fluid. This work represents the first effort in integrating MOFs with flexible sensors to achieve highly specific and sensitive implantable electrochemical detection and may inspire appearance of more flexible electronic devices with enhanced capability in sensing, energy storage, and catalysis using various properties of MOFs. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Removal of foreign bodies in children's airways using flexible bronchoscopic CO2 cryotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Lei; Yin, Yong; Zhang, Jing; Zhang, Hao

2016-09-01

The present retrospective study investigated the safety and efficacy of removing foreign bodies from children's airways using flexible bronchoscopic CO2 cryotherapy instead of traditional foreign body aspiration. Between October 2012 and June 2014 in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center, we performed flexible bronchoscopic CO2 cryotherapy to remove foreign bodies from the airways of 12 children who ranged in age from 10 to 40 months and analyzed outcomes and complications. Using cryotherapy, we successfully and without complications removed the foreign bodies in eight of 12 children. In two cases, the foreign bodies were removed successfully, but cryotherapy partially damaged the airway mucosa, which caused partial airway obstruction because of the newly developed granulation tissue. We incompletely removed the foreign body in one case and failed to remove the foreign body in another case. No serious adverse reactions or complications were observed after the treatments. Removal of foreign bodies from children's airways using flexible bronchoscopic CO2 cryotherapy may be a safe, easy, and effective method. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2016; 51:943-949. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Flexible endoscopic procedure in children with foreign bodies in their upper gastrointestinal system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaan Demirören

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: Foreign body ingestion is an important public health problem. We pointed to this subject and aimed to determine the effectiveness of flexible endoscopic procedure in this study. Methods: We evaluated retrospectively fifty children having foreign body in their upper gastrointestinal system, who underwent flexible endoscopic procedure. Results: Of the patients, mean age was 5.5 ± 4 years old (range: 0.5-16 years, 64% was female. Ingested foreign bodies were coin (58%, pin (10%, battery (6%, nail (6%, necklace (6%, safety pin (4% and sewing pin, wire hairclip, ring, button and chicken skin. In endoscopic procedure, foreign bodies were seen in upper esophagus (32%, middle esophagus (26%, lower esophagus (8%, stomach (18%, bulbus (4% and second part of duodenum (8%, but were not seen in 4% of the cases. While 94% of foreign bodies were endoscopically removed, 6% of them were pushed to stomach with gastroscope from esophagus and left for spontaneous passage. Any important complication was developed. Conclusion: Flexible endoscopic procedure is an effective and safe method for removal of gastrointestinal system foreign bodies in children.

ROLE OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING IN DECISIONS ON MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. I. Khomutetskaya

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the introduction of management accounting in the work of organizations (enterprises that will improve the efficiency of administrative decisions will contribute to the flexibility and adaptability of the organization to changes in the external environment, increased productivity and efficient use of all resources of the organization.

Know Your Client and Know Your Team: A Complexity Inspired Approach to Understanding Safe Transitions in Care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deborah Tregunno

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Transitions in care are one of the most important and challenging client safety issues in healthcare. This project was undertaken to gain insight into the practice setting realities for nurses and other health care providers as they manage increasingly complex care transitions across multiple settings. Methods. The Appreciative Inquiry approach was used to guide interviews with sixty-six healthcare providers from a variety of practice settings. Data was collected on participants’ experience of exceptional care transitions and opportunities for improving care transitions. Results. Nurses and other healthcare providers need to know three things to ensure safe care transitions: (1 know your client; (2 know your team on both sides of the transfer; and (3 know the resources your client needs and how to get them. Three themes describe successful care transitions, including flexible structures; independence and teamwork; and client and provider focus. Conclusion. Nurses often operate at the margins of acceptable performance, and flexibility with regulation and standards is often required in complex sociotechnical work like care transitions. Priority needs to be given to creating conditions where nurses and other healthcare providers are free to creatively engage and respond in ways that will optimize safe care transitions.

The role of the hippocampus in flexible cognition and social behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachael D Rubin

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Successful behavior requires actively acquiring and representing information about the environment and people, and manipulating and using those acquired representations flexibly to optimally act in and on the world. The frontal lobes have figured prominently in most accounts of flexible or goal-directed behavior, as evidenced by often-reported behavioral inflexibility in individuals with frontal lobe dysfunction. Here, we propose that the hippocampus also plays a critical role by forming and reconstructing relational memory representations that underlie flexible cognition and social behavior. There is mounting evidence that damage to the hippocampus can produce inflexible and maladaptive behavior when such behavior places high demands on the generation, recombination, and flexible use of information. This is seen in abilities as diverse as memory, navigation, exploration, imagination, creativity, decision-making, character judgments, establishing and maintaining social bonds, empathy, social discourse, and language use. Thus, the hippocampus, together with its extensive interconnections with other neural systems, supports the flexible use of information in general. Further, we suggest that this understanding has important clinical implications. Hippocampal abnormalities can produce profound deficits in real-world situations, which typically place high demands on the flexible use of information, but are not always obvious on diagnostic tools tuned to frontal lobe function. This review documents the role of the hippocampus in supporting flexible representations and aims to expand our understanding of the dynamic networks that operate as we move through and create meaning of our world.

The role of the hippocampus in flexible cognition and social behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubin, Rachael D; Watson, Patrick D; Duff, Melissa C; Cohen, Neal J

2014-01-01

Successful behavior requires actively acquiring and representing information about the environment and people, and manipulating and using those acquired representations flexibly to optimally act in and on the world. The frontal lobes have figured prominently in most accounts of flexible or goal-directed behavior, as evidenced by often-reported behavioral inflexibility in individuals with frontal lobe dysfunction. Here, we propose that the hippocampus also plays a critical role by forming and reconstructing relational memory representations that underlie flexible cognition and social behavior. There is mounting evidence that damage to the hippocampus can produce inflexible and maladaptive behavior when such behavior places high demands on the generation, recombination, and flexible use of information. This is seen in abilities as diverse as memory, navigation, exploration, imagination, creativity, decision-making, character judgments, establishing and maintaining social bonds, empathy, social discourse, and language use. Thus, the hippocampus, together with its extensive interconnections with other neural systems, supports the flexible use of information in general. Further, we suggest that this understanding has important clinical implications. Hippocampal abnormalities can produce profound deficits in real-world situations, which typically place high demands on the flexible use of information, but are not always obvious on diagnostic tools tuned to frontal lobe function. This review documents the role of the hippocampus in supporting flexible representations and aims to expand our understanding of the dynamic networks that operate as we move through and create meaning of our world.

Simulation of a flexible wind turbine response to a grid fault

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anca Daniela; Cutululis, Nicolaos Antonio; Sørensen, Poul Ejnar

2007-01-01

The purpose of this work is to illustrate the impact of a grid fault on the mechanical loads of a wind turbine. Grid faults generate transients in the generator electromagnetic torque, which are propagated in the wind turbine, stressing its mechanical components. Grid faults are normally simulated...... in power system simulation tools applying simplified mechanical models of the drive train. This paper presents simulations of the wind turbine load response to grid faults with an advanced aeroelastic computer code (HAWC2). The core of this code is an advanced model for the flexible structure of the wind...... turbines, taking the flexibility of the tower, blades and other components of the wind turbines into account. The effect of a grid fault on the wind turbine flexible structure is assessed for a typical fixed speed wind turbine, equipped with an induction generator....

Seismic-safe conditions of blasting near pressure pipe-lines during power installation construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smolij, N.I.; Nikitin, A.S.

1980-01-01

Seismic-safe conditions for performing drill-blasting operations in the vicinity of underground gas pipelines when constructing thermal- or nuclear power plants are discussed. It is shown that, for the determination of seismic-safe parameters, of drill-blasting operations, the maximum permissible level of seismic loads should be specified taking into account the mechanical properties of the pipeline.metal, structural parameters of the gas pipeline and the pressure of the medium transported. Besides, the seismic effect of the blast should be considered with regard to particular conditions of blasting and rock properties. The equations and diagrams used in the calculation are given

Flight Dynamics of Flexible Aircraft with Aeroelastic and Inertial Force Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Nhan T.; Tuzcu, Ilhan

2009-01-01

This paper presents an integrated flight dynamic modeling method for flexible aircraft that captures coupled physics effects due to inertial forces, aeroelasticity, and propulsive forces that are normally present in flight. The present approach formulates the coupled flight dynamics using a structural dynamic modeling method that describes the elasticity of a flexible, twisted, swept wing using an equivalent beam-rod model. The structural dynamic model allows for three types of wing elastic motion: flapwise bending, chordwise bending, and torsion. Inertial force coupling with the wing elasticity is formulated to account for aircraft acceleration. The structural deflections create an effective aeroelastic angle of attack that affects the rigid-body motion of flexible aircraft. The aeroelastic effect contributes to aerodynamic damping forces that can influence aerodynamic stability. For wing-mounted engines, wing flexibility can cause the propulsive forces and moments to couple with the wing elastic motion. The integrated flight dynamics for a flexible aircraft are formulated by including generalized coordinate variables associated with the aeroelastic-propulsive forces and moments in the standard state-space form for six degree-of-freedom flight dynamics. A computational structural model for a generic transport aircraft has been created. The eigenvalue analysis is performed to compute aeroelastic frequencies and aerodynamic damping. The results will be used to construct an integrated flight dynamic model of a flexible generic transport aircraft.

Advanced and flexible genetic algorithms for BWR fuel loading pattern optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin-del-Campo, Cecilia; Palomera-Perez, Miguel-Angel; Francois, Juan-Luis

2009-01-01

This work proposes advances in the implementation of a flexible genetic algorithm (GA) for fuel loading pattern optimization for Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs). In order to avoid specific implementations of genetic operators and to obtain a more flexible treatment, a binary representation of the solution was implemented; this representation had to take into account that a little change in the genotype must correspond to a little change in the phenotype. An identifier number is assigned to each assembly by means of a Gray Code of 7 bits and the solution (the loading pattern) is represented by a binary chain of 777 bits of length. Another important contribution is the use of a Fitness Function which includes a Heuristic Function and an Objective Function. The Heuristic Function which is defined to give flexibility on the application of a set of positioning rules based on knowledge, and the Objective Function that contains all the parameters which qualify the neutronic and thermal hydraulic performances of each loading pattern. Experimental results illustrating the effectiveness and flexibility of this optimization algorithm are presented and discussed.

DroidSafe

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-01

Massachusetts Avenue, Build E19-750 Cambridge , MA 02139-4307 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS...Activity objects illustrating the challenges of points-to and information flow analysis...measure how many malicious flows Droid- Safe was able to detect). As these results illustrate , DroidSafe implements an analysis of unprece- dented

Modeling of Flexible Beams for Robotic Manipulators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, Jorge; Ayala Botto, Miguel; Costa, Jose sa da

2002-01-01

This work treats the problem of modeling robotic manipulators with structural flexibility. A mathematical model of a planar manipulator with a single flexible link is developed. This model is capable of reproducing nonlinear dynamic effects, such as the beam stiffening due to the centrifugal forces induced by the rotation of the joints, giving it the capability to predict reliable dynamic behaviors for a wide range of applications. On the other hand, the model complexity is reduced, in order to keep it amenable for analysis and controller design. The models found in current literature for control design of flexible manipulator arms present dynamic limitations for the sake of real time implementation in a control scheme. These limitations are the result of premature linearization in the formulation of the dynamics equations. In this paper, this common linearization is presented and their dynamic limitations uncovered. An alternative reliable model is then presented. The model is founded on two basic assumptions: inextensibility of the neutral fiber and moderate rotations of the cross sections in order to account for the foreshortening of the beam due to bending. Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed model has the closest dynamic behavior to the real beam

Common accounting system for monitoring the ATLAS distributed computing resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karavakis, E; Andreeva, J; Campana, S; Saiz, P; Gayazov, S; Jezequel, S; Sargsyan, L; Schovancova, J; Ueda, I

2014-01-01

This paper covers in detail a variety of accounting tools used to monitor the utilisation of the available computational and storage resources within the ATLAS Distributed Computing during the first three years of Large Hadron Collider data taking. The Experiment Dashboard provides a set of common accounting tools that combine monitoring information originating from many different information sources; either generic or ATLAS specific. This set of tools provides quality and scalable solutions that are flexible enough to support the constantly evolving requirements of the ATLAS user community.

Retail electricity price savings from compliance flexibility in GHG standards for stationary sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burtraw, Dallas; Woerman, Matt; Paul, Anthony

2012-01-01

The EPA will issue rules regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing steam boilers and refineries in 2012. A crucial issue affecting the scope and cost of emissions reductions will be the potential introduction of flexibility in compliance, including averaging across groups of facilities. This research investigates the role of compliance flexibility for the most important of these source categories—existing coal-fired power plants—that currently account for one-third of national emissions of carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas. We find a flexible standard, calibrated to achieve the same emissions reductions as a traditional(inflexible) approach, reduces the increase in electricity price by 60 percent and overall costs by two-thirds in 2020. The flexible standard also leads to substantially more investment to improve the operating efficiency of existing facilities, whereas the traditional standard leads to substantially greater retirement of existing facilities. - Highlights: ► The U.S. EPA will regulate GHG emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act. ► We compare a flexible standard with fleet-wide averaging to a traditional standard. ► Flexible standard reduces the increase in electricity price by 60percent in 2020. ► Flexible standard reduces the increase in overall costs by two-thirds in 2020. ► Flexible standard leads to more efficiency investment and less capacity retirement.

Interactive Web-based e-learning for Studying Flexible Manipulator Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abul K. M. Azad

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract— This paper presents a web-based e-leaning facility for simulation, modeling, and control of flexible manipulator systems. The simulation and modeling part includes finite difference and finite element simulations along with neural network and genetic algorithm based modeling strategies for flexible manipulator systems. The controller part constitutes a number of open-loop and closed-loop designs. Closed loop control designs include the classical, adaptive, and neuro-model based strategies. Matlab software package and its associated toolboxes are used to implement these. The Matlab web server is used as the gateway between the facility and web-access. ASP.NET technology and SQL database are utilized to develop web applications for access control, user account and password maintenance, administrative management, and facility utilization monitoring. The reported facility provides a flexible but effective approach of web-based interactive e-learning facility of an engineering system. This can be extended to incorporate additional engineering systems within the e-learning framework.

Safe havens in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paldam, Martin

2013-01-01

Eleven safe havens exist in Europe providing offshore banking and low taxes. Ten of these states are very small while Switzerland is moderately small. All 11 countries are richer than their large neighbors. It is shown that causality is from small to safe haven to wealth, and that theoretically...... equilibriums are likely to exist where a certain regulation is substantially lower in a small country than in its big neighbor. This generates a large capital inflow to the safe havens. The pool of funds that may reach the safe havens is shown to be huge. It is far in excess of the absorptive capacity...... of the safe havens, but it still explains, why they are rich. Microstates offer a veil of anonymity to funds passing through, and Switzerland offers safe storage of funds....

Traveling Safely with Medicines

Science.gov (United States)

... Medications Safely My Medicine List How to Administer Traveling Safely with Medicines Planes, trains, cars – even boats ... your trip, ask your pharmacist about how to travel safely with your medicines. Make sure that you ...

Spring-back of flexible roll forming bending process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Y; Kim, D H; Jung, D W

2015-01-01

Simulations are now widely used in the field of roll forming because of their convenience. Simulations provide a low cost, secure and fast analysis tool. Flexible roll forming provides the desired shapes with a one time forming process. For roll forming, the velocity of the sheet and friction are important factors to attain an ideal shape. Because it is a complicated process, simulations provide a better understanding of the roll forming process. Simulations were peformed using ABAQUS software linked to elastic-plastic modules which we developed taking into account of interactions between these fields [1]. The application of this method makes it possible to highlight the strain-stress and mechanical behaviour laws and the spring-back. Thus, the flexible roll forming and bending process can be well described by the simulation software and guide the actual machine. (paper)

Office flexible cystoscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kavoussi, L R; Clayman, R V

1988-11-01

Since the development of the first purpose-built flexible cystoscope in 1984, flexible cystoscopy has become an accepted diagnostic and therapeutic modality. Indeed, it is estimated that more than 10 per cent of practicing urologists are already familiar with this technology. The flexible cystoscope has markedly extended the urologist's ability to examine the bladder, and it has become a valuable adjunct to the rigid cystoscope. Although the operation of this instrument is vastly different from that of its rigid counterpart, with practice, the technique can be learned. After experience is obtained with diagnostic flexible cystoscopy, the urologist will likely prefer this new instrument for bladder inspection, as it provides for a more thorough yet less morbid and less expensive examination. In the future, the development of improved and smaller instrumentation will further extend the therapeutic indications for flexible cystoscopy. Indeed, advances in laser technology are already providing the urologist with 300- to 600-micron (0.9 to 1.8F) flexible probes capable of incision (KTP laser), fulguration (Nd:YAG laser), and stone disintegration (tunable dye laser). Lastly, the skills obtained in using the flexible cystoscope are all readily applicable to the development of dexterity with the already available flexible nephroscope and the more recently developed flexible ureteroscope.

Hydrodynamics of a three-dimensional self-propelled flexible plate

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, Jaeha; Sung, Hyung Jin

2017-11-01

A three-dimensional self-propelled flexible plate in a quiescent flow was simulated using the immersed boundary method. The clamped leading edge of the flexible plate was forced into a vertical oscillation, while free to move horizontally. To reveal the hydrodynamics of the plate, the averaged cruising speed (UC) , the input power (P) , and the swimming efficiency (η) were analyzed as a function of the bending rigidity (γ) and the flapping frequency (f) . The velocity field around the plate and the exerted force on the plate were demonstrated to find out the dynamic interaction between the plate and the surrounding fluid. The kinematics of the plate, the maximum angle of attack (ϕmax) , and the mean effective length (Leff) were examined accounting for the hydrodynamics of the self-propelled flexible plate. The vortical structures around the plate were visualized, and the influence of the tip vortex on the swimming efficiency was explored qualitatively and quantitatively. This work was supported by the Creative Research Initiatives (No. 2017-013369) program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (MSIP).

Optimal Life-Cycle Investing with Flexible Labor Supply: A Welfare Analysis of Life-Cycle Funds

OpenAIRE

Francisco J. Gomes; Laurence J. Kotlikoff; Luis M. Viceira

2008-01-01

We investigate optimal consumption, asset accumulation and portfolio decisions in a realistically calibrated life-cycle model with flexible labor supply. Our framework allows for wage rate uncertainly, variable labor supply, social security benefits and portfolio choice over safe bonds and risky equities. Our analysis reinforces prior findings that equities are the preferred asset for young households, with the optimal share of equities generally declining prior to retirement. However, variab...

The advantage of flexible neuronal tunings in neural network models for motor learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ellisha N Marongelli

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Human motor adaptation to novel environments is often modeled by a basis function network that transforms desired movement properties into estimated forces. This network employs a layer of nodes that have fixed broad tunings that generalize across the input domain. Learning is achieved by updating the weights of these nodes in response to training experience. This conventional model is unable to account for rapid flexibility observed in human spatial generalization during motor adaptation. However, added plasticity in the breadths of the basis function tunings can achieve this flexibility, and several neurophysiological experiments have revealed flexibility in tunings of sensorimotor neurons. We found a model, Locally Weighted Projection Regression (LWPR, which uniquely possesses the structure of a basis function network in which both the weights and tuning widths of the nodes are updated incrementally during adaptation. We presented this LWPR model with training functions of different spatial complexities and monitored incremental updates to receptive field sizes. An inverse pattern of dependence of receptive field adaptation on experienced error became evident, underlying both a relationship between generalization and complexity, and a unique behavior in which generalization always narrows after a sudden switch in environmental complexity. These results implicate a model with a flexible structure, like LWPR, as a viable alternative model for human motor adaptation that can account for previously observed plasticity in spatial generalization. This theory can be tested by using the behaviors observed in our experiments as novel hypotheses in human studies.

Research on the Safe Broadcasting of Television Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Song Jin Bao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The existing way of broadcasting and television monitoring has a lot of problems in China. On the basis of the signal technical indicators monitoring in the present broadcasting and television monitoring system, this paper further extends the function of the monitoring network in order to broaden the services of monitoring business and improve the effect and efficiency of monitoring work. The problem of identifying video content and channel in television and related electronic media is conquered at a low cost implementation way and the flexible technology mechanism. The coverage for video content and identification of the channel is expanded. The informative broadcast entries are generated after a series of video processing. The value of the numerous broadcast data is deeply excavated by using big data processing in order to realize a comprehensive, objective and accurate information monitoring for the safe broadcasting of television program.

Clinical, information and business process modeling to promote development of safe and flexible software.

Science.gov (United States)

Liaw, Siaw-Teng; Deveny, Elizabeth; Morrison, Iain; Lewis, Bryn

2006-09-01

Using a factorial vignette survey and modeling methodology, we developed clinical and information models - incorporating evidence base, key concepts, relevant terms, decision-making and workflow needed to practice safely and effectively - to guide the development of an integrated rule-based knowledge module to support prescribing decisions in asthma. We identified workflows, decision-making factors, factor use, and clinician information requirements. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) and public domain software and knowledge engineering tools (e.g. Protégé) were used, with the Australian GP Data Model as the starting point for expressing information needs. A Web Services service-oriented architecture approach was adopted within which to express functional needs, and clinical processes and workflows were expressed in the Business Process Execution Language (BPEL). This formal analysis and modeling methodology to define and capture the process and logic of prescribing best practice in a reference implementation is fundamental to tackling deficiencies in prescribing decision support software.

A nanoporous MXene film enables flexible supercapacitors with high energy storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Zhimin; Wang, Youshan; Xie, Zhimin; Xu, Xueqing; Yuan, Yin; Cheng, Zhongjun; Liu, Yuyan

2018-05-14

MXene films are attractive for use in advanced supercapacitor electrodes on account of their ultrahigh density and pseudocapacitive charge storage mechanism in sulfuric acid. However, the self-restacking of MXene nanosheets severely affects their rate capability and mass loading. Herein, a free-standing and flexible modified nanoporous MXene film is fabricated by incorporating Fe(OH)3 nanoparticles with diameters of 3-5 nm into MXene films and then dissolving the Fe(OH)3 nanoparticles, followed by low calcination at 200 °C, resulting in highly interconnected nanopore channels that promote efficient ion transport without compromising ultrahigh density. As a result, the modified nanoporous MXene film presents an attractive volumetric capacitance (1142 F cm-3 at 0.5 A g-1) and good rate capability (828 F cm-3 at 20 A g-1). Furthermore, it still displays a high volumetric capacitance of 749 F cm-3 and good flexibility even at a high mass loading of 11.2 mg cm-2. Therefore, this flexible and free-standing nanoporous MXene film is a promising electrode material for flexible, portable and compact storage devices. This study provides an efficient material design for flexible energy storage devices possessing high volumetric capacitance and good rate capability even at a high mass loading.

State transportation liaison funded positions study

Science.gov (United States)

2009-10-01

The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which was signed into law in August 2005, contained several provisions focused on streamlining the environmental review process. One of these provi...

Legal accountability for public school discipline: fact or fiction?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elda de Waal

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Educators, learners and parents/caregivers should be held accountable for instilling learner discipline through clear guidelines and limitations to achieve security at public schools. Two previously identified education challenges are sustaining well-disciplined education systems and ensuring that educators are attentive to legal parameters in making decisions and dealing with discipline. This article adds a third challenge: convincing educators, learners and parents/caregivers of their accountability concerning creating/maintaining safe learning environments. Five subordinate legislation documents relevant to legal accountability are scrutinized, as well as relevant case law. The article follows a documentary comparative perspective using a secondary analysis method: appraising legal guidelines and asking questions to draw conclusions and make pragmatic action-oriented suggestions.

Flexible structured high-frequency film bulk acoustic resonator for flexible wireless electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Changjian; Shu, Yi; Yang, Yi; Ren, Tian-Ling; Jin, Hao; Dong, Shu-Rong; Chan, Mansun

2015-01-01

Flexible electronics have inspired many novel and very important applications in recent years and various flexible electronic devices such as diodes, transistors, circuits, sensors, and radiofrequency (RF) passive devices including antennas and inductors have been reported. However, the lack of a high-performance RF resonator is one of the key bottlenecks to implement flexible wireless electronics. In this study, for the first time, a novel ultra-flexible structured film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) is proposed. The flexible FBAR is fabricated on a flexible polyimide substrate using piezoelectric thin film aluminum nitride (AlN) for acoustic wave excitation. Both the shear wave and longitudinal wave can be excited under the surface interdigital electrodes configuration we proposed. In the case of the thickness extension mode, a flexible resonator with a working frequency as high as of 5.2325 GHz has been realized. The resonators stay fully functional under bending status and after repeated bending and re-flattening operations. This flexible high-frequency resonator will serve as a key building block for the future flexible wireless electronics, greatly expanding the application scope of flexible electronics. (paper)

Motorcycle crash causes and outcomes: pilot study : traffic tech.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-01

The number of motorcyclist crash-related fatalities has more than doubled during the past 10 years. In the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Congress directed the Secretary of Transport...

Drug impaired Driving : Understanding the Problem and Ways to Reduce It (a Report to Congress)

Science.gov (United States)

2009-12-01

This report was prepared in accordance with Section 2013 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient : Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The report summarizes a series of studies : undertaken by the National Highway Traffi...

Alternative Uses of Highway Right-of-Way : Accommodating Renewable Energy Technologies and Alternative Fuel Facilities

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-31

In recent years, the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) has sought to better understand global climate change and the transportation sectors effects on the issue, and vice versa. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation ...

Transparent Indium Tin Oxide Electrodes on Muscovite Mica for High-Temperature-Processed Flexible Optoelectronic Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Ke, Shanming; Chen, Chang; Fu, Nianqing; Zhou, Hua; Ye, Mao; Lin, Peng; Yuan, Wenxiang; Zeng, Xierong; Chen, Lang; Huang, Haitao

2016-10-26

Sn-doped In 2 O 3 (ITO) electrodes were deposited on transparent and flexible muscovite mica. The use of mica substrate makes a high-temperature annealing process (up to 500 °C) possible. ITO/mica retains its low electric resistivity even after continuous bending of 1000 times on account of the unique layered structure of mica. When used as a transparent flexible heater, ITO/mica shows an extremely fast ramping (solar cells (PSCs) with high efficiency.

Flexibility@Work 2013: yearly report on flexible labor and employment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhout, E.; Heyma, A.; Prins, J.

2013-01-01

There is no clear evidence that the strong growth in the share of flexible labor relations between 2002 and 2007 points at a worldwide trend towards a larger share of flexible labor at the expense of traditional open-ended labor contracts. The growth in flexible labor varies too much between

Quality assurance for the safe transport of radioactive material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

All activities related to the safe transport of radioactive material should be covered by a quality assurance programme. This publication recognizes that a single transport operation often involves several different organizations, each having specific responsibilities. Hence, it is unlikely that the operation will be covered by a single quality assurance programme. Each quality assurance programme should be tailored to the specific organizational structure for which the programme is prepared, with account taken of the particular transport activities of that organization and the interfaces with other organizations. The aim of this publication is to give a detailed interpretation of what must be done by whom to produce a quality assurance programme for radioactive material transport. This publication provides guidance on methods and practical examples to develop QA programmes for the safe transport of radioactive material. It provides information on how to develop the programme, the standards and the common features of a QA programme

76 FR 11554 - Fiscal Year 2010 Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program Project Selections

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-02

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Transit Administration Fiscal Year 2010 Public Transportation... Interior for public transportation capital projects, operating costs and planning activities that are... authorized by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users...

How safe is safe enough?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desnoyers, B.; Chanzy, Y.

2004-01-01

The IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, were historically established with the objective to reduce the probability that persons be exposed to unacceptable doses due to normal operation or accident situations during transport of radioactive material. Based on the International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation (BSS), the definition, which was adopted for an unacceptable dose for an accident situation, is the excess of the maximum dose limits permissible in a single year for the occupational exposure of a worker in the BSS. Concerning the severity of accident situations, it has always be clearly stated that the objective of the tests for demonstrating ability to withstand accident conditions of transport was not to cover every accident condition, but solely most of them. The last available evaluations regarding the rate of accidents which are covered by the standardised accident conditions of transport defined in the IAEA Regulations give a range of about 80%, plus or minus 15% which depends on transport mode and studies. Consequently, slight variations in the capabilities of the packages to meet the specified performance would probably not have significant consequences on the protection level in case of accident. In the assessment of the compliance with the regulations, the tendency of experts, taking advantage of the enhanced performances of computer calculation codes, is to ask more and more calculations, with more and more accuracy, leading to more and more restrictions. Consequently, cost and delay are considerably increased without any evidence of an equivalent effect on the level of protection. This paper will initiate a reflection on the general objectives and principles when implementing the Regulations, in such a way that demonstrations remain cost effective, taking into account evolution of the techniques and a high level of safety

Flexible Fringe Benefit Plans Save You Money and Keep Employees Happy.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Rob

1987-01-01

This fringe benefit plan saves money for both employers and employees, provides a better fit for employees' actual benefit needs, and allows employees to choose options from a menu of benefits. One option is a flexible spending plan. Employees place a portion of their before-tax income into a special account from which allowable expenses are paid…

Etanercept provides an effective, safe and flexible short- and long-term treatment regimen for moderate-to-severe psoriasis: a systematic review of current evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Strohal, Robert; Chimenti, Sergio; Vena, Gino Antonio; Girolomoni, Giampiero

2013-06-01

The treatment of psoriasis requires long-lasting intervention. Conventional treatments for psoriasis comprise topical, phototherapeutic and systemic modalities, such as methotrexate or cyclosporine. Biological therapies are advocated by treatment guidelines for the use in moderate-to-severe psoriasis, when conventional treatments have failed, are contraindicated or are associated with severe adverse events. Etanercept is an anti-TNF recombinant fusion protein that has emerged as a standard biologic treatment option for moderate-to-severe psoriasis. The present review summarizes data from pivotal and post-marketing randomized controlled etanercept trials to treat moderate-to-severe psoriasis for 24 weeks and longer. During the first 12 weeks, etanercept can be administered in different dosing regimens: 50 mg twice weekly (BIW) and 50 mg once weekly. Although both regimens are effective, it has been shown that the 50 mg BIW dosage leads to higher response rates at week 24. In addition, after 24 weeks' treatment etanercept provides the unique possibility of continuous or intermittent long-term treatment programmes. The medium- to long-term efficacy of etanercept was consistent, regardless of whether etanercept therapy was interrupted or continuous. Taking the chronic nature of psoriasis into account, this flexibility in dosing regimen bestows a key advantage in facilitating individualisation of long-term treatment according to patient needs.

The advantage of flexible neuronal tunings in neural network models for motor learning

Science.gov (United States)

Marongelli, Ellisha N.; Thoroughman, Kurt A.

2013-01-01

Human motor adaptation to novel environments is often modeled by a basis function network that transforms desired movement properties into estimated forces. This network employs a layer of nodes that have fixed broad tunings that generalize across the input domain. Learning is achieved by updating the weights of these nodes in response to training experience. This conventional model is unable to account for rapid flexibility observed in human spatial generalization during motor adaptation. However, added plasticity in the widths of the basis function tunings can achieve this flexibility, and several neurophysiological experiments have revealed flexibility in tunings of sensorimotor neurons. We found a model, Locally Weighted Projection Regression (LWPR), which uniquely possesses the structure of a basis function network in which both the weights and tuning widths of the nodes are updated incrementally during adaptation. We presented this LWPR model with training functions of different spatial complexities and monitored incremental updates to receptive field widths. An inverse pattern of dependence of receptive field adaptation on experienced error became evident, underlying both a relationship between generalization and complexity, and a unique behavior in which generalization always narrows after a sudden switch in environmental complexity. These results implicate a model that is flexible in both basis function widths and weights, like LWPR, as a viable alternative model for human motor adaptation that can account for previously observed plasticity in spatial generalization. This theory can be tested by using the behaviors observed in our experiments as novel hypotheses in human studies. PMID:23888141

Study on hydrodynamics and mass transfer of the critically safe multistage mixer-settler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Weibo; Jiao Rongzhou; Liu Bingren

1992-08-01

The study on structure of critically safe multistage mixer-settler for the extraction process of high enriched uranium and plutonium has been completed. The mixer-settler has simple structure, good critical safety, flexibility in operation (O/A from 0.5 to 5) and high extraction efficiency (E x > 90%). These performances have been proved in the hydrodynamics and mass transfer experiments at a three stages cascade mixer-settler. Based on the others experience, a trapezoidal impeller combined with half-open turbine is developed which has stronger pumping and well mixing function at low rotating speed. The optimal rotating speed is 250 to 280 r/min obtained by experiments

Motorcycle crash causes and outcomes : pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-01

The number of motorcyclist crash-related fatalities has more than doubled during the past 10 years. In the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) P.L. 109-59, Congress directed the Secretary ...

SAFE Newsletter

OpenAIRE

2013-01-01

The Center of Excellence SAFE – “Sustainable Architecture for Finance in Europe” – is a cooperation of the Center for Financial Studies and Goethe University Frankfurt. It is funded by the LOEWE initiative of the State of Hessen (Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung wissenschaftlich-ökonomischer Exzellenz). SAFE brings together more than 40 professors and just as many junior researchers who are all dedicated to conducting research in support of a sustainable financial architecture. The Center has...

Automation Architecture based on Cyber Physical Systems for Flexible Manufacturing within Oil&Gas Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcelo V García

2018-03-01

Full Text Available It is clear that in the next few years most of the technologies involved in the so-called Industry 4.0 will have a deep impact on manufacturing companies, including those related to Oil & Gas exploration and production. Low cost automation promotes reference architectures and development approaches aiming at increasing the flexibility and efficiency of production operations in industrial plants. In this sense, OPC UA, in addition to allowing companies to join the Industry 4.0 initiative, provides local and remote access to plant information, enabling a recognized mechanism for both, horizontal and vertical integration in a reliable, safe and efficient way. The contribution of this article is an open architecture for vertical integration based on cyber-physical production systems, configured under IEC 61499 and using OPC UA, suitable to achieve flexible manufacturing within Oil & Gas industry.

Improved but unsustainable: accounting for sachet water in post-2015 goals for global safe water.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoler, Justin

2012-12-01

The advent and rapid spread of sachet drinking water in West Africa presents a new challenge for providing sustainable access to global safe water. Sachet water has expanded drinking water access and is often of sufficient quality to serve as an improved water source for Millennium Development Goals (MDG) monitoring purposes, yet sachets are an unsustainable water delivery vehicle due to their overwhelming plastic waste burden. Monitoring of primary drinking water sources in West Africa generally ignores sachet water, despite its growing ubiquity. Sub-Saharan Africa as a region is unlikely to meet the MDG Target for drinking water provision, and post-2015 monitoring activities may depend upon rapid adaptability to local drinking water trends. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Getting home safe and sound: occupational safety and health administration at 38.

Science.gov (United States)

Silverstein, Michael

2008-03-01

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHAct) declared that every worker is entitled to safe and healthful working conditions, and that employers are responsible for work being free from all recognized hazards. Thirty-eight years after these assurances, however, it is difficult to find anyone who believes the promise of the OSHAct has been met. The persistence of preventable, life-threatening hazards at work is a failure to keep a national promise. I review the history of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and propose measures to better ensure that those who go to work every day return home safe and sound. These measures fall into 6 areas: leverage and accountability, safety and health systems, employee rights, equal protection, framing, and infrastructure.

Lateral vibration control of a flexible overcritical rotor via an active gas bearing – Theoretical and experimental comparisons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pierart Vásquez, Fabián Gonzalo; Santos, Ilmar

2016-01-01

The lack of damping of radial gas bearings leads to high vibration levels of a rotor supported by this type of bearing when crossing resonant areas. This is even more relevant for flexible rotors, as studied in this work. In order to reduce these high vibration levels, an active gas bearing...... is proposed. The control action of this active bearing is selected based on two different strategies: a simple proportional integral derivative controller and an optimal controller. Both controllers are designed based on a theoretical model previously presented. The dynamics of the flexible rotor are modelled......-based controllers are compared against experimental results, showing good agreement. Theoretical and experimental results show a significant increase in the damping ratio of the system, enabling the flexible rotor to run safely across the critical speeds and up to 12,000rev/min, i.e. 50 percent over the second...

Curbing Creative Accounting: Do Religious Environment and Individual Attribute Matter?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ratna Candra Sari

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The flexibility of accounting standards is one of the drivers of creative accounting. Creative accounting is an ethical dilemma. It seems that creative accounting does not explicitly violate the rules, but led misinterpretation and misdirection in user’s decision- making. The purposes of this study are, to test the differences of ethical perceptions of creative accounting of undergraduate students in religious and public universities; Second, to examine the effects of moral disengagement on ethical perceptions. The data collection method involved a questionnaire to a total of 225 respondents from two religious-based universities and one public university. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA was used to test the hypothesis. The results show that there is a significant difference in students’ethical perceptions between public university and religious-based universities. Thus, there is a significant difference in students’ ethical perceptions students with high and low level moral disengagement. Educational implication and suggestion for future research are proposed.

4 CFR 21.10 - Express options, flexible alternative procedures, accelerated schedules, summary decisions, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... alternative procedures to promptly and fairly resolve a protest, including alternative dispute resolution... 4 Accounts 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Express options, flexible alternative procedures... alternative procedures, accelerated schedules, summary decisions, and status and other conferences. (a) At the...

The changing role of nuclear materials accounting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibbs, P.W.

1995-01-01

Nuclear materials accounting and accounting systems at what have been DOE Production sites are evolving into management decision support tools. As the sites are moving into the mode of making decisions on how to disposition complex and varied nuclear material holdings, the need for complete and many times different information has never been greater. The artificial boundaries that have historically been established between what belongs in the classic material control and accountability (MC and A) records versus what goes into the financial, radiological control, waste, or decommissioning and decontamination records are being challenged. In addition, the tools historically used to put material into different categories such as scrap codes, composition codes, etc. have been found to be inadequate for the information needs of today. In order to be cost effective and even, more importantly to effectively manage -our inventories, the new information systems the authors design have to have the flexibility to serve many needs. In addition, those tasked with the responsibility of managing the inventories must also expand beyond the same artificial boundaries. This paper addresses some of the things occurring at the Savannah River Site to support the changing role of nuclear materials accounting

Highway Safety Improvement Program : further efforts needed to address data limitations and better align funding with states' top safety priorities : report to the Ranking Member, Committee on Environment and Public Works, U.S. Senate.

Science.gov (United States)

2008-11-01

About 43,000 people died and another 290,000 were seriously injured on the nation's roads in 2006. To reduce these numbers, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) nearly doubled funding f...

Report to the U.S. Congress on the Outcomes of the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program SAFETEA-LU Section 1807

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-30

Section 1807 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users : (SAFETEA-LU) P.L. 109-59 established the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP) in : August 2005. Over the span of 4 years, the NTPP p...

Flexible and fragmentable tandem photosensitive nanocrystal skins

Science.gov (United States)

Akhavan, S.; Uran, C.; Bozok, B.; Gungor, K.; Kelestemur, Y.; Lesnyak, V.; Gaponik, N.; Eychmüller, A.; Demir, H. V.

2016-02-01

We proposed and demonstrated the first account of large-area, semi-transparent, tandem photosensitive nanocrystal skins (PNSs) constructed on flexible substrates operating on the principle of photogenerated potential buildup, which avoid the need for applying an external bias and circumvent the current-matching limitation between junctions. We successfully fabricated and operated the tandem PNSs composed of single monolayers of colloidal water-soluble CdTe and CdHgTe nanocrystals (NCs) in adjacent junctions on a Kapton polymer tape. Owing to the usage of a single NC layer in each junction, noise generation was significantly reduced while keeping the resulting PNS films considerably transparent. In each junction, photogenerated excitons are dissociated at the interface of the semi-transparent Al electrode and the NC layer, with holes migrating to the contact electrode and electrons trapped in the NCs. As a result, the tandem PNSs lead to an open-circuit photovoltage buildup equal to the sum of those of the two single junctions, exhibiting a total voltage buildup of 128.4 mV at an excitation intensity of 75.8 μW cm-2 at 350 nm. Furthermore, we showed that these flexible PNSs could be bent over 3.5 mm radius of curvature and cut out in arbitrary shapes without damaging the operation of individual parts and without introducing any significant loss in the total sensitivity. These findings indicate that the NC skins are promising as building blocks to make low-cost, flexible, large-area UV/visible sensing platforms with highly efficient full-spectrum conversion.We proposed and demonstrated the first account of large-area, semi-transparent, tandem photosensitive nanocrystal skins (PNSs) constructed on flexible substrates operating on the principle of photogenerated potential buildup, which avoid the need for applying an external bias and circumvent the current-matching limitation between junctions. We successfully fabricated and operated the tandem PNSs composed of

Global Sourcing Flexibility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ørberg Jensen, Peter D.; Petersen, Bent

2013-01-01

the higher costs (but decreased risk for value chain disruption) embedded in a more flexible global sourcing model that allows the firm to replicate and/or relocate activities across multiple locations. We develop a model and propositions on facilitating and constraining conditions of global sourcing...... sourcing flexibility. Here we draw on prior research in the fields of organizational flexibility, international business and global sourcing as well as case examples and secondary studies. In the second part of the paper, we discuss the implications of global sourcing flexibility for firm strategy...... and operations against the backdrop of the theory-based definition of the construct. We discuss in particular the importance of global sourcing flexibility for operational performance stability, and the trade-off between specialization benefits, emerging from location and service provider specialization, versus...

Energy Efficient and Safe Weighted Clustering Algorithm for Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amine Dahane

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The main concern of clustering approaches for mobile wireless sensor networks (WSNs is to prolong the battery life of the individual sensors and the network lifetime. For a successful clustering approach the need of a powerful mechanism to safely elect a cluster head remains a challenging task in many research works that take into account the mobility of the network. The approach based on the computing of the weight of each node in the network is one of the proposed techniques to deal with this problem. In this paper, we propose an energy efficient and safe weighted clustering algorithm (ES-WCA for mobile WSNs using a combination of five metrics. Among these metrics lies the behavioral level metric which promotes a safe choice of a cluster head in the sense where this last one will never be a malicious node. Moreover, the highlight of our work is summarized in a comprehensive strategy for monitoring the network, in order to detect and remove the malicious nodes. We use simulation study to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.

Safe Grid

Science.gov (United States)

Chow, Edward T.; Stewart, Helen; Korsmeyer, David (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

The biggest users of GRID technologies came from the science and technology communities. These consist of government, industry and academia (national and international). The NASA GRID is moving into a higher technology readiness level (TRL) today; and as a joint effort among these leaders within government, academia, and industry, the NASA GRID plans to extend availability to enable scientists and engineers across these geographical boundaries collaborate to solve important problems facing the world in the 21 st century. In order to enable NASA programs and missions to use IPG resources for program and mission design, the IPG capabilities needs to be accessible from inside the NASA center networks. However, because different NASA centers maintain different security domains, the GRID penetration across different firewalls is a concern for center security people. This is the reason why some IPG resources are been separated from the NASA center network. Also, because of the center network security and ITAR concerns, the NASA IPG resource owner may not have full control over who can access remotely from outside the NASA center. In order to obtain organizational approval for secured remote access, the IPG infrastructure needs to be adapted to work with the NASA business process. Improvements need to be made before the IPG can be used for NASA program and mission development. The Secured Advanced Federated Environment (SAFE) technology is designed to provide federated security across NASA center and NASA partner's security domains. Instead of one giant center firewall which can be difficult to modify for different GRID applications, the SAFE "micro security domain" provide large number of professionally managed "micro firewalls" that can allow NASA centers to accept remote IPG access without the worry of damaging other center resources. The SAFE policy-driven capability-based federated security mechanism can enable joint organizational and resource owner approved remote

The origin and evolution of safe-yield policies in the Kansas groundwater management districts

Science.gov (United States)

Sophocleous, M.

2000-01-01

The management of groundwater resources in Kansas continues to evolve. Declines in the High Plains aquifer led to the establishment of groundwater management districts in the mid-1970s and reduced streamflows prompted the enactment of minimum desirable streamflow standards in the mid-1980s. Nonetheless, groundwater levels and streamflows continued to decline, although at reduced rates compared to premid-1980s rates. As a result, "safe-yield" policies were revised to take into account natural groundwater discharge in the form of stream baseflow. These policies, although a step in the right direction, are deficient in several ways. In addition to the need for more accurate recharge data, pumping-induced streamflow depletion, natural stream losses, and groundwater evapotranspiration need to be accounted for in the revised safe-yield policies. Furthermore, the choice of the 90% flow-duration statistic as a measure of baseflow needs to be reevaluated, as it significantly underestimates mean baseflow estimated from baseflow separation computer programs; moreover, baseflow estimation needs to be refined and validated. ?? 2000 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

Conflicting flexibility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Jong, P.; Schaap, A.

2011-01-01

New buildings are designed for first users. For a sustainable approach there are many advantages in designing in flexibility and adjustability in order to enable and facilitate the other sequential users. For the first investor this flexibility is translated into improved exit values due to

Management accounting for advanced technological environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, R S

1989-08-25

Management accounting systems designed decades ago no longer provide timely, relevant information for companies in today's highly competitive environment. New operational control and performance measurement systems are recognizing the importance of direct measurement of quality, manufacturing lead times, flexibility, and customer responsiveness, as well as more accurate measures of the actual costs of consumed resources. Activity-based cost systems can assign the costs of indirect and support resources to the specific products and activities that benefit from these resources. Both operational control and activity-based systems represent new opportunities for improved managerial information in complex, technologically advanced environments.

Planning flexible learning to match the needs of consumers: a national survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayer, S; Smith, C

1998-05-01

stresses the need for providers of flexible education to take into account the dual perspectives of those who have a stake in the flexibility of nurse education; NHS employers as funders of students and individual healthcare professionals themselves.

Model of Formation of the Enterprise Business Portfolio in the Context of Ensuring Strategic Flexibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shatilova Olena V.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers urgent problems of enterprise management under conditions of external environment instability, studies problems of the enterprise strategic flexibility management. It shows that one of the efficient mechanisms of ensuring strategic flexibility is restructuring of the enterprise business portfolio in accordance with the change of the situation in the target market of enterprise functioning. The goal of the article is development of a model of formation of enterprise business portfolio in the context of ensuring strategic flexibility. The main method of optimisation of the enterprise business portfolio in the context of ensuring strategic flexibility is the use of modification of the Markowitz model of investment portfolio formation. The offered model of the enterprise business portfolio formation allows taking into account changes of external and internal environments and conducting portfolio restructuring in the event of the change of the enterprise target market situation. Prospects of further studies in this direction are detailed elaboration and formalisation of the organisational and economic mechanism of realisation of strategic flexibility at an enterprise.

Pioneering SUPER - Small Unit Passively-safe Enclosed Reactor - 15559

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhownik, P.K.; Gairola, A.; Shamim, J.A.; Suh, K.Y.; Suh, K.S.

2015-01-01

This paper presents the basic features of the Small Unit Passively-safe Enclosed Reactor abbreviated as SUPER, a new reactor system that has been designed and proposed at the Seoul National University's Department of Energy Systems Engineering. SUPER is a small modular reactor system or SMR that is cooled by sub-cooled as well as supercritical water. As a new member of SMRs, SUPER is a small-scale nuclear plant that is designed to be factory-manufactured and shipped as modules to be assembled at a site. The concept offers promising answers to many questions about nuclear power including proliferation resistance, waste management, safety, and startup costs. SUPER is a customized paradigm of a supercritical water reactor or SCWR, a type sharing commonalities with the current fleet of light water reactors, or LWRs. SUPER has evolved from the System-integrated Modular Advance Reactor, or SMART, being developed at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, or KAERI. SUPER enhanced the safety features for robustness, design/equipment simplification for natural convection, multi-purpose application for co-generation flexibilities, suitable for isolated or small electrical grids, just-in-time capacity addition, short construction time, and last, but not least, lower capital cost per unit. The primary objectives of SUPER is to develop the conceptual design for a safe and economic small, natural circulation SCWR, to address the economic and safety attributes of the concept, and to demonstrate its technical feasibilities. (authors)

Inter-vertebral flexibility of the ostrich neck: implications for estimating sauropod neck flexibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Cobley, Matthew J; Rayfield, Emily J; Barrett, Paul M

2013-01-01

The flexibility and posture of the neck in sauropod dinosaurs has long been contentious. Improved constraints on sauropod neck function will have major implications for what we know of their foraging strategies, ecology and overall biology. Several hypotheses have been proposed, based primarily on osteological data, suggesting different degrees of neck flexibility. This study attempts to assess the effects of reconstructed soft tissues on sauropod neck flexibility through systematic removal of muscle groups and measures of flexibility of the neck in a living analogue, the ostrich (Struthio camelus). The possible effect of cartilage on flexibility is also examined, as this was previously overlooked in osteological estimates of sauropod neck function. These comparisons show that soft tissues are likely to have limited the flexibility of the neck beyond the limits suggested by osteology alone. In addition, the inferred presence of cartilage, and varying the inter-vertebral spacing within the synovial capsule, also affect neck flexibility. One hypothesis proposed that flexibility is constrained by requiring a minimum overlap between successive zygapophyses equivalent to 50% of zygapophyseal articular surface length (ONP50). This assumption is tested by comparing the maximum flexibility of the articulated cervical column in ONP50 and the flexibility of the complete neck with all tissues intact. It is found that this model does not adequately convey the pattern of flexibility in the ostrich neck, suggesting that the ONP50 model may not be useful in determining neck function if considered in isolation from myological and other soft tissue data.

Inter-vertebral flexibility of the ostrich neck: implications for estimating sauropod neck flexibility.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew J Cobley

Full Text Available The flexibility and posture of the neck in sauropod dinosaurs has long been contentious. Improved constraints on sauropod neck function will have major implications for what we know of their foraging strategies, ecology and overall biology. Several hypotheses have been proposed, based primarily on osteological data, suggesting different degrees of neck flexibility. This study attempts to assess the effects of reconstructed soft tissues on sauropod neck flexibility through systematic removal of muscle groups and measures of flexibility of the neck in a living analogue, the ostrich (Struthio camelus. The possible effect of cartilage on flexibility is also examined, as this was previously overlooked in osteological estimates of sauropod neck function. These comparisons show that soft tissues are likely to have limited the flexibility of the neck beyond the limits suggested by osteology alone. In addition, the inferred presence of cartilage, and varying the inter-vertebral spacing within the synovial capsule, also affect neck flexibility. One hypothesis proposed that flexibility is constrained by requiring a minimum overlap between successive zygapophyses equivalent to 50% of zygapophyseal articular surface length (ONP50. This assumption is tested by comparing the maximum flexibility of the articulated cervical column in ONP50 and the flexibility of the complete neck with all tissues intact. It is found that this model does not adequately convey the pattern of flexibility in the ostrich neck, suggesting that the ONP50 model may not be useful in determining neck function if considered in isolation from myological and other soft tissue data.

Stabilizing model predictive control of a gantry crane based on flexible set-membership constraints

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Iles, Sandor; Lazar, M.; Kolonic, Fetah; Jadranko, Matusko

2015-01-01

This paper presents a stabilizing distributed model predictive control of a gantry crane taking into account the variation of cable length. The proposed algorithm is based on the off-line computation of a sequence of 1-step controllable sets and a condition that enables flexible convergence towards

Reduced Flexibility Associated with Metabolic Syndrome in Community-Dwelling Elders

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Ke-Vin; Hung, Chen-Yu; Li, Chia-Ming; Lin, Yu-Hung; Wang, Tyng-Guey; Tsai, Keh-Sung; Han, Der-Sheng

2015-01-01

Background The ageing process may lead to reductions in physical fitness, a known risk factor in the development of metabolic syndrome. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate cross-sectional and combined associations of metabolic syndrome with body composition and physical fitness in a community based geriatric population. Methods A total of 628 community-dwelling elders attending a geriatric health examination were enrolled in the study. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was based on the modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) criterion with Asian cutoff of waist girth was adopted in this study. Body composition was obtained using bioimpedance analysis, and physical fitness was evaluated through the measurement of muscle strength (handgrip force), lower extremity muscle endurance (sit-to-stand test), flexibility (sit-and-reach test), and cardiorespiratory endurance (2-minute step test). Multivariable logistic regression and correlation analysis were performed to determine the association of metabolic syndrome with body composition and functionality variables. Results Metabolic syndrome was associated with increased skeletal muscle index (SMI) (odds ratio (OR), 1.61, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.25–2.07) and decreased flexibility (OR, 0.97, 95% CI, 0.95–0.99) compared with those without metabolic syndrome. When body mass index was accounted for in the analysis, the association of SMI with metabolic syndrome was reduced. Waist circumference was positively correlated with SMI but negatively correlated with flexibility, whereas high density lipoprotein was positively correlated with flexibility but negatively correlated with SMI. Conclusion Reduced flexibility was positively associated with metabolic syndrome independent of age, gender, body composition, and functionality measurements in a community based geriatric population. Significant associations between metabolic syndrome with muscle strength

Reduced flexibility associated with metabolic syndrome in community-dwelling elders.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ke-Vin Chang

Full Text Available The ageing process may lead to reductions in physical fitness, a known risk factor in the development of metabolic syndrome. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate cross-sectional and combined associations of metabolic syndrome with body composition and physical fitness in a community based geriatric population.A total of 628 community-dwelling elders attending a geriatric health examination were enrolled in the study. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was based on the modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III criterion with Asian cutoff of waist girth was adopted in this study. Body composition was obtained using bioimpedance analysis, and physical fitness was evaluated through the measurement of muscle strength (handgrip force, lower extremity muscle endurance (sit-to-stand test, flexibility (sit-and-reach test, and cardiorespiratory endurance (2-minute step test. Multivariable logistic regression and correlation analysis were performed to determine the association of metabolic syndrome with body composition and functionality variables.Metabolic syndrome was associated with increased skeletal muscle index (SMI (odds ratio (OR, 1.61, 95% confidence interval (CI, 1.25-2.07 and decreased flexibility (OR, 0.97, 95% CI, 0.95-0.99 compared with those without metabolic syndrome. When body mass index was accounted for in the analysis, the association of SMI with metabolic syndrome was reduced. Waist circumference was positively correlated with SMI but negatively correlated with flexibility, whereas high density lipoprotein was positively correlated with flexibility but negatively correlated with SMI.Reduced flexibility was positively associated with metabolic syndrome independent of age, gender, body composition, and functionality measurements in a community based geriatric population. Significant associations between metabolic syndrome with muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness in the

Digestive Phenotypic Flexibility in Post-Metamorphic Amphibians: Studies on a Model Organism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DANIEL E NAYA

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Studies of phenotypic flexibility are central to the understanding of evolutionary and comparative physiology. Research conducted on many vertebrate species has shown that the digestive system is highly responsive and sensitive to environmental cues. However, amphibians, which are a standard and classic model organism for the study of many physiological processes, have been poorly considered in the study of ecological consequences on digestive flexibility. Here we review and analyze the current information on this topic for amphibians. We identify three major bodies of empirical evidence: a seasonal changes in gut development, b lack of dietary modulation of gut attributes in adult individuals, c a relationship between feeding habits and the magnitude of digestive performance regulation. Once the natural history characteristics of the species under study are taken into account, all the evidence is in full agreement with the predictions of digestive theory. We propose that evolutionary and comparative physiology could benefit greatly from the study of phenotypic flexibility in amphibians

Transportation and Aging: An Updated Research Agenda for Advancing Safe Mobility.

Science.gov (United States)

Dickerson, Anne E; Molnar, Lisa; Bedard, Michel; Eby, David W; Classen, Sherrilene; Polgar, Janice

2017-10-01

This article discusses what is currently known about three important topics related to older driver safety and mobility: screening and evaluation, education and training interventions, and in-vehicle technology. Progress is being made to improve the safe mobility of older adults in these key areas; however, significant research gaps remain. This article advances the state of knowledge by identifying these gaps, and proposing further research topics will improve the lives of older adults. In addition, we discuss several themes that emerged from the review, including the need for multidisciplinary, community-wide solutions; large-scale, longitudinal studies; improved education/training for both older adults themselves and the variety of stakeholders involved in older adult transportation; and programs and interventions that are flexible and responsive to individual needs and differences.

Flexible Response: Executive Federalism and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

Science.gov (United States)

Shelly, Bryan

2012-01-01

The federal government promised that it would limit waiver grants to states for the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). It largely kept that promise, but states did gain significant flexibility through amendments to accountability plans. OLS model estimates showed that larger, more affluent, and more Republican states submitted more amendment…

Flexible Carbon Aerogels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Schwan

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Carbon aerogels are highly porous materials with a large inner surface area. Due to their high electrical conductivity they are excellent electrode materials in supercapacitors. Their brittleness, however, imposes certain limitations in terms of applicability. In that context, novel carbon aerogels with varying degree of flexibility have been developed. These highly porous, light aerogels are characterized by a high surface area and possess pore structures in the micrometer range, allowing for a reversible deformation of the aerogel network. A high ratio of pore size to particle size was found to be crucial for high flexibility. For dynamic microstructural analysis, compression tests were performed in-situ within a scanning electron microscope allowing us to directly visualize the microstructural flexibility of an aerogel. The flexible carbon aerogels were found to withstand between 15% and 30% of uniaxial compression in a reversible fashion. These findings might stimulate further research and new application fields directed towards flexible supercapacitors and batteries.

A methodology to evaluate the fatigue life of flexible pipes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sousa, Fernando J.M. de; Sousa, Jose Renato M. de; Siqueira, Marcos Q. de; Sagrilo, Luis V.S. [Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao em Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Lemos, Carlos Alberto D. de [Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (PETROBRAS), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2009-07-01

This paper focus on a methodology to perform the fatigue analysis of flexible pipes. This methodology employs functions that convert forces and moments obtained in global analyses into stresses. The stresses are then processed by well-known cycle counting methods, and S-N curves evaluate the damage at several points in the pipe cross-section. Palmgren-Miner linear damage hypothesis is assumed in order to calculate the accumulated fatigue damage. A parametric study on the fatigue life of a flexible pipe employing this methodology is presented. The main points addressed in the study are the influence of friction between layers in the results, the importance of evaluating the fatigue life in various points of the pipe cross-section and the effect of different mean stress levels. The obtained results suggest that the consideration of friction effects strongly influences the fatigue life of flexible risers and these effects have to be accounted both in the global and local analyses of the riser. Moreover, mean stress effects are also significant and at least 8 equally spaced wires in each analyzed section of the riser must be considered in fatigue analyses. (author)

Development and operation of nuclear material accounting system of JAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obata, Takashi; Numata, Kazuyoshi; Namiki, Shinji; Yamauchi, Takahiro

2003-01-01

For the nuclear material accounting system, the mainframe computer had been used in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). For the purpose of more flexible use and easy operation, the PC base accounting system has been developed since 1999, and operation started from October, 2002. This system consists of the server with the database software and the client PC with original application software. The functions of this system are the input and edit of data, the creation of inspection correspondence data, and creation of a report to the states. Furthermore, it is also possible to create the Web application which used accounting data on a user level by using the programming language. Now, this system is being specialized in JAERI, but it is during a plan to develop as a system which can be also used at other institutions and organization. In the paper, the outline and operating situation of the nuclear material accounting system of JAERI are presented. (author)

75 FR 50708 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Transportation Conformity...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-17

... during the Regional Office normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for... Background for This Action? On August 10, 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation... Indiana portions of the Cincinnati area have combined motor vehicle emissions budgets and thus must work...

76 FR 36613 - Environmental Impact Statement; Nueces County, TX

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-22

... will be developed in compliance with Section 6002 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient... Organization's Metropolitan Transportation Plan 2010-2035 (the long range transportation plan) as construction... Christi. The impacts and benefits of such will also be analyzed in the indirect and cumulative impacts...

Reversibly Bistable Flexible Electronics

KAUST Repository

Alfaraj, Nasir

2015-05-01

Introducing the notion of transformational silicon electronics has paved the way for integrating various applications with silicon-based, modern, high-performance electronic circuits that are mechanically flexible and optically semitransparent. While maintaining large-scale production and prototyping rapidity, this flexible and translucent scheme demonstrates the potential to transform conventionally stiff electronic devices into thin and foldable ones without compromising long-term performance and reliability. In this work, we report on the fabrication and characterization of reversibly bistable flexible electronic switches that utilize flexible n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors. The transistors are fabricated initially on rigid (100) silicon substrates before they are peeled off. They can be used to control flexible batches of light-emitting diodes, demonstrating both the relative ease of scaling at minimum cost and maximum reliability and the feasibility of integration. The peeled-off silicon fabric is about 25 µm thick. The fabricated devices are transferred to a reversibly bistable flexible platform through which, for example, a flexible smartphone can be wrapped around a user’s wrist and can also be set back to its original mechanical position. Buckling and cyclic bending of such host platforms brings a completely new dimension to the development of flexible electronics, especially rollable displays.

Development of a set of equations for incorporating disk flexibility effects in rotordynamical analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Flowers, George T.; Ryan, Stephen G.

1991-01-01

Rotordynamical equations that account for disk flexibility are developed. These equations employ free-free rotor modes to model the rotor system. Only transverse vibrations of the disks are considered, with the shaft/disk system considered to be torsionally rigid. Second order elastic foreshortening effects that couple with the rotor speed to produce first order terms in the equations of motion are included. The approach developed in this study is readily adaptable for usage in many of the codes that are current used in rotordynamical simulations. The equations are similar to those used in standard rigid disk analyses but with additional terms that include the effects of disk flexibility. An example case is presented to demonstrate the use of the equations and to show the influence of disk flexibility on the rotordynamical behavior of a sample system.

The German Labor Market Miracle Revisited: Risk Elimination in Working Time Accounts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vivian Carstensen

2013-08-01

Full Text Available This paper contributes to analyses of sustainable enterprise with focus on quality of present and future employment, maintenance of human capital and constituting characteristics of institutional arrangements between the social partners. We add by proving that a specific option from the toolkit of flexible work schedules reduces unemployment risk over the business cycle, while providing mutual insurance of employers and employees. In labor market practice this option is known as working time accounts. Working time accounts are exceptionally widespread and wellinstitutionalized in Germany. We also introduce a risk elimination model of working time accounts and thus contribute to closing the jobs miracle research gap that has become evident since the global financial and economic crisis.

Flexible MEMS: A novel technology to fabricate flexible sensors and electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Hongen

This dissertation presents the design and fabrication techniques used to fabricate flexible MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) devices. MEMS devices and CMOS(Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) circuits are traditionally fabricated on rigid substrates with inorganic semiconductor materials such as Silicon. However, it is highly desirable that functional elements like sensors, actuators or micro fluidic components to be fabricated on flexible substrates for a wide variety of applications. Due to the fact that flexible substrate is temperature sensitive, typically only low temperature materials, such as polymers, metals, and organic semiconductor materials, can be directly fabricated on flexible substrates. A novel technology based on XeF2(xenon difluoride) isotropic silicon etching and parylene conformal coating, which is able to monolithically incorporate high temperature materials and fluidic channels, was developed at Wayne State University. The technology was first implemented in the development of out-of-plane parylene microneedle arrays that can be individually addressed by integrated flexible micro-channels. These devices enable the delivery of chemicals with controlled temporal and spatial patterns and allow us to study neurotransmitter-based retinal prosthesis. The technology was further explored by adopting the conventional SOI-CMOS processes. High performance and high density CMOS circuits can be first fabricated on SOI wafers, and then be integrated into flexible substrates. Flexible p-channel MOSFETs (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect-Transistors) were successfully integrated and tested. Integration of pressure sensors and flow sensors based on single crystal silicon has also been demonstrated. A novel smart yarn technology that enables the invisible integration of sensors and electronics into fabrics has been developed. The most significant advantage of this technology is its post-MEMS and post-CMOS compatibility. Various high

Within-species digestive tract flexibility in rufous-collared sparrows and the climatic variability hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Maldonado, Karin; Bozinovic, Francisco; Rojas, José M; Sabat, Pablo

2011-01-01

The climatic variability hypothesis (CVH) states that species are geographically more widespread at higher latitudes because individuals have a broader range of physiological tolerance or phenotypic flexibility as latitude and climatic variability increase. However, it remains unclear to what extent climatic variability or latitude, acting on the phenotype, account for any observed geographical gradient in mean range size. In this study, we analyzed the physiological flexibility within the CVH framework by using an intraspecific population experimental approach. We tested for a positive relationship between digestive-tract flexibility (i.e., morphology and enzyme activities) and latitude and climatic and natural diet variability in populations of rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) captured in desert (27°S), Mediterranean (33°S), and cold-temperate (41°S) sites in Chile. In accordance with the CVH, we observed a positive relationship between the magnitude of digestive-tract flexibility and environmental variability but not latitude. The greatest digestive flexibility was observed in birds at middle latitudes, which experience the most environmental variability (a Mediterranean climate), whereas individuals from the most stable climates (desert and cold-temperate) exhibited little or no digestive-tract flexibility in response to experimental diets. Our findings support the idea that latitudinal gradients in geographical ranges may be strongly affected by the action of regional features, which makes it difficult to find general patterns in the distribution of species.

Safe Handover : Safe Patients - The Electronic Handover System.

Science.gov (United States)

Till, Alex; Sall, Hanish; Wilkinson, Jonathan

2014-01-01

Failure of effective handover is a major preventable cause of patient harm. We aimed to promote accurate recording of high-quality clinical information using an Electronic Handover System (EHS) that would contribute to a sustainable improvement in effective patient care and safety. Within our hospital the human factors associated with poor communication were compromising patient care and unnecessarily increasing the workload of staff due to the poor quality of handovers. Only half of handovers were understood by the doctors expected to complete them, and more than half of our medical staff felt it posed a risk to patient safety. We created a standardised proforma for handovers that contained specific sub-headings, re-classified patient risk assessments, and aided escalation of care by adding prompts for verbal handover. Sources of miscommunication were removed, accountability for handovers provided, and tasks were re-organised to reduce the workload of staff. Long-term, three-month data showed that each sub-heading achieved at least 80% compliance (an average improvement of approximately 40% for the overall quality of handovers). This translated into 91% of handovers being subjectively clear to junior doctors. 87% of medical staff felt we had reduced a risk to patient safety and 80% felt it increased continuity of care. Without guidance, doctors omit key information required for effective handover. All organisations should consider implementing an electronic handover system as a viable, sustainable and safe solution to handover of care that allows patient safety to remain at the heart of the NHS.

Coordinating Flexibility under Uncertainty in Multi-Area AC and DC Grids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Halilbasic, Lejla; Chatzivasileiadis, Spyros; Pinson, Pierre

2017-01-01

In the future, mixed AC and DC grids, spanning multiple areas operated by different transmission system operators (TSO), are expected to offer the necessary controllability for integrating large amounts of intermittent renewable generation. This is facilitated by high voltage direct current...... transmission based on voltage source converter technology that can offer recourse actions in the form of preventive and corrective control of both active and reactive power. Market-clearing procedures, based on optimal power flow algorithms, need to be revised to account for DC transmission, flexibility...... and privacy requirements. To this end, we propose a decentralized two-stage stochastic market-clearing algorithm that incorporates meshed DC grids and allows the sharing of flexibility resources between areas. The benefit of this approach lies in its pricing mechanism, used for coordinating the different area...

CVD-Graphene-Based Flexible, Thermoelectrochromic Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam Januszko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The main idea behind this work was demonstrated in a form of a new thermoelectrochromic sensor on a flexible substrate using graphene as an electrically reconfigurable thermal medium (TEChrom™. Our approach relies on electromodulation of thermal properties of graphene on poly(ethylene terephthalate (PET via mechanical destruction of a graphene layer. Graphene applied in this work was obtained by chemical vapor deposition (CVD technique on copper substrate and characterized by Raman and scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Electrical parameters of graphene were evaluated by the van der Pauw method on the transferred graphene layers onto SiO2 substrates by electrochemical delamination method. Two configurations of architecture of sensors, without and with the thermochromic layer, were investigated, taking into account the increase of voltage from 0 to 50 V and were observed by thermographic camera to define heat energy. Current-voltage characteristics obtained for the sensor with damaged graphene layer are linear, and the resistivity is independent from the current applied. The device investigated under 1000 W/m2 exhibited rise of resistivity along with increased temperature. Flexible thermoelectrochromic device with graphene presented here can be widely used as a sensor for both the military and civil monitoring.

Flexible Carpooling: Exploratory Study

OpenAIRE

Dorinson, Diana; Gay, Deanna; Minett, Paul; Shaheen, Susan

2009-01-01

Energy consumption could be reduced if more people shared rides rather than driving alone yet carpooling represents a small proportion of all potential carpoolers. Prior research has found that many who might carpool were concerned about reduced flexibility with carpooling. If flexibility is one of the barriers how could carpooling be organized to be more flexible? In Northern Virginia a flexible system has evolved where there are 3,500 single-use carpools per day. In another example there ...

Are Detox Diets Safe?

Science.gov (United States)

... Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Are Detox Diets Safe? KidsHealth / For Teens / Are Detox Diets ... seguras las dietas de desintoxicación? What Is a Detox Diet? The name sounds reassuring — everyone knows that ...

Local Flexibility Market Design for Aggregators Providing Multiple Flexibility Services at Distribution Network Level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pol Olivella-Rosell

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a general description of local flexibility markets as a market-based management mechanism for aggregators. The high penetration of distributed energy resources introduces new flexibility services like prosumer or community self-balancing, congestion management and time-of-use optimization. This work is focused on the flexibility framework to enable multiple participants to compete for selling or buying flexibility. In this framework, the aggregator acts as a local market operator and supervises flexibility transactions of the local energy community. Local market participation is voluntary. Potential flexibility stakeholders are the distribution system operator, the balance responsible party and end-users themselves. Flexibility is sold by means of loads, generators, storage units and electric vehicles. Finally, this paper presents needed interactions between all local market stakeholders, the corresponding inputs and outputs of local market operation algorithms from participants and a case study to highlight the application of the local flexibility market in three scenarios. The local market framework could postpone grid upgrades, reduce energy costs and increase distribution grids’ hosting capacity.

[Inspecting the cochlear scala tympanic with flexible and semi-flexible micro-endoscope].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Daoxcing; Zhang, Yankun

2006-02-01

Flexible and semi-flexible micro-endoscopes were used in cochlear scala tympani inspection , to explore their application in inner ear examination. Fifteen profound hearing loss patients preparing for cochlear implant were included in this study. During the operation, micro-endoscopy was performed after opening the cochlear scala tympani. And 1 mm diameter semi-flexible micro-endoscope could go as deep as 9 mm into the cochlear scala tympani, while 0. 5 mm diameter flexible micro-endoscope could go as deep as 25 mm. The inspecting results were compared with video recording. Using 0.5 mm flexible micro-endoscope, we canould check cochlear scala tympani with depth range of 15-25 mm, but the video imaging was not clear enough to examine the microstructure in the cochlear. With 1 mm diameter semi-flexible micro-endoscope, we could reach 9 mm deep into the cochlear. During the examination, we found 3 cases with calcification deposit in osseous spiral lamina, l case with granulation tissue in the lateral wall of scala tympani, no abnormal findings in the other 11 cases. Inspecting the cochlear scala tympani with 0.5 mm flexible micro-endoscope, even though we can reach the second circuit of the cochlear, it is difficult to find the pathology in the cochlear because of the poor video imaging. With 1 mm semi-flexible micro-endoscope, we can identify the microstructure of the cochlear clearly and find the pathologic changes, but the inserting depth was limited to 9 mm with limitation to examine the whole cochlear.

Internal urethrotomy combined with antegrade flexible cystoscopy for management of obliterative urethral stricture.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseini, Seyed Jali; Kaviani, Ali; Vazirnia, Ali Reza

2008-01-01

We studied the safety and efficacy of flexible cystoscopy-guided internal urethrotomy in the management of obliterative urethral strictures. Forty-three flexible cystoscopy-guided internal urethrotomies were performed between 1999 and 2005. The indication for the procedure was nearly blinded bulbar or membranous urethral strictures not longer than 1 cm that would not allow passage of guide wire. Candidates were those who refused or were unable to undergo urtheroplasty. By monitoring any impression of the urethrotome on the monitor through the flexible cystoscope, we were able to do under-vision urethrotomy. All of the patients were started clean intermittent catheterization afterwards which was tapered over the following 6 months. Follow-up continued for 24 months after the last internal urethrotomy. Seventeen patients were younger than 65 years with a history of failed posterior urethroplasty, and 26 were older than 65 with poor cardiopulmonary conditions who had bulbar urethral stricture following straddle or iatrogenic injuries. Urethral stricture stabilized in 16 patients (37.2%) with a single session of urethrotomy and in 17 (39.5%) with 2 urethrotomies. Overall, urethral stricture stabilized in 76.7% of patients with 1 or 2 internal urethrotomies within 24 months of follow-up. No severe complication was reported. Flexible cystoscopy-guided internal urethrotomy is a simple, safe, and under-vision procedure in obliterative urethral strictures shorter than 1 cm. It can be an ideal option for patients who do not accept posterior urethroplasty or are in a poor cardiopulmonary condition that precludes general anesthesia.

Flexible interaction of plug-in electric vehicle parking lots for efficient wind integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heydarian-Forushani, E.; Golshan, M.E.H.; Shafie-khah, M.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Interactive incorporation of plug-in electric vehicle parking lots is investigated. • Flexible energy and reserve services are provided by electric vehicle parking lots. • Uncertain characterization of electric vehicle owners’ behavior is taken into account. • Coordinated operation of parking lots can facilitate wind power integration. - Abstract: The increasing share of uncertain wind generation has changed traditional operation scheduling of power systems. The challenges of this additional variability raise the need for an operational flexibility in providing both energy and reserve. One key solution is an effective incorporation of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) into the power system operation process. To this end, this paper proposes a two-stage stochastic programming market-clearing model considering the network constraints to achieve the optimal scheduling of conventional units as well as PEV parking lots (PLs) in providing both energy and reserve services. Different from existing works, the paper pays more attention to the uncertain characterization of PLs takes into account the arrival/departure time of PEVs to/from the PL, the initial state of charge (SOC) of PEVs, and their battery capacity through a set of scenarios in addition to wind generation scenarios. The results reveal that although the cost saving as a consequence of incorporating PL to the grid is below 1% of total system cost, however, flexible interactions of PL in the energy and reserve markets can promote the integration of wind power more than 13.5%.

Accounting control of tritium at the tritium process laboratory (TPL) of JAERI. Results of 15-year operation and research activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishi, Masataka; Yamanishi, Toshihiko; Hayashi, Takumi; Yamada, Masayuki; Suzuki, Takumi

2003-01-01

Research and development work of fuel processing technology and tritium safe-handling technology necessary for fusion reactors has been performed at the Tritium Process Laboratory (TPL) of JAERI. TPL is the first facility in Japan permitted to handle tritium of more than 1g (about 0.36PBq), and its operation itself is also important for the development of fusion reactor facility in the viewpoint of tritium control. Various experiments have been carried out at TPL safely since 1988 controlling 22PBq of tritium as the maximum observing regulations. In addition to the regulatory accounting and control, detailed independent control in TPL was planned and was established through its 15-year safe-operation. For future fusion fuel facility where kilo-grams of tritium will be handled, method of tritium accounting has been researched and some new technologies have been developed at TPL. Results of TPL operation and of the research activity in it contributed the completion of the engineering design of ITER. Further research activity on tritium accounting and control is in progress in TPL for the future fusion reactors. (author)

Energy Flexibility in Retail Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ma, Zheng; Billanes, Joy Dalmacio; Kjærgaard, Mikkel Baun

2017-01-01

Retail buildings has an important role for demand side energy flexibility because of their high energy consumption, variety of energy flexibility resources, and centralized control via building control systems. Energy flexibility requires agreements and collaborations among different actors......), with the discussion of the stakeholders’ roles and their interrelation in delivering energy flexibility with the influential factors to the actual implementation of energy flexible operation of their buildings. Based on a literature analysis, the results cover stakeholders’ types and roles, perceptions (drivers......, barriers, and benefits), energy management activities and technology adoptions, and the stakeholders’ interaction for the energy flexibility in retail buildings....

Rigid-flexible coupling dynamics of three-dimensional hub-beams system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Jinyang; Lu Hao

2007-01-01

In the previous research of the coupling dynamics of a hub-beam system, coupling between the rotational motion of hub and the torsion deformation of beam is not taken into account since the system undergoes planar motion. Due to the small longitudinal deformation, coupling between the rotational motion of hub and the longitudinal deformation of beam is also neglected. In this paper, rigid-flexible coupling dynamics is extended to a hub-beams system with three-dimensional large overall motion. Not only coupling between the large overall motion and the bending deformation, but also coupling between the large overall motion and the torsional deformation are taken into account. In case of temperature increase, the longitudinal deformation caused by the thermal expansion is significant, such that coupling between the large overall motion and the longitudinal deformation is also investigated. Combining the characteristics of the hybrid coordinate formulation and the absolute nodal coordinate formulation, the system generalized coordinates include the relative nodal displacement and the slope of each beam element with respect to the body-fixed frame of the hub, and the variables related to the spatial large overall motion of the hub and beams. Based on precise strain-displacement relation, the geometric stiffening effect is taken into account, and the rigid-flexible coupling dynamic equations are derived using velocity variational principle. Finite element method is employed for discretization. Simulation of a hub-beams system is used to show the coupling effect between the large overall motion and the torsional deformation as well as the longitudinal deformation. Furthermore, conservation of energy in case of free motion is shown to verify the formulation

Safe Anesthesia For Every Tot

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weiss, Markus; Vutskits, Laszlo; Hansen, Tom G

2015-01-01

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The term 'safe use of anesthesia in children is ill-defined and requires definition of and focus on the 'safe conduct of pediatric anesthesia'. RECENT FINDINGS: The Safe Anesthesia For Every Tot initiative (www.safetots.org) has been set up during the last year to focus...... on the safe conduct of pediatric anesthesia. This initiative aims to provide guidance on markers of quality anesthesia care. The introduction and implementation of national regulations of 'who, where, when and how' are required and will result in an improved perioperative outcome in vulnerable children....... The improvement of teaching, training, education and supervision of the safe conduct of pediatric anesthesia are the main goals of the safetots.org initiative. SUMMARY: This initiative addresses the well known perioperative risks in young children, perioperative causes for cerebral morbidity as well as gaps...

Flexible Word Classes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

• First major publication on the phenomenon • Offers cross-linguistic, descriptive, and diverse theoretical approaches • Includes analysis of data from different language families and from lesser studied languages This book is the first major cross-linguistic study of 'flexible words', i.e. words...... that cannot be classified in terms of the traditional lexical categories Verb, Noun, Adjective or Adverb. Flexible words can - without special morphosyntactic marking - serve in functions for which other languages must employ members of two or more of the four traditional, 'specialised' word classes. Thus......, flexible words are underspecified for communicative functions like 'predicating' (verbal function), 'referring' (nominal function) or 'modifying' (a function typically associated with adjectives and e.g. manner adverbs). Even though linguists have been aware of flexible world classes for more than...

Thrust generation by a heaving flexible foil: Resonance, nonlinearities, and optimality

Science.gov (United States)

Paraz, Florine; Schouveiler, Lionel; Eloy, Christophe

2016-01-01

Flexibility of marine animal fins has been thought to enhance swimming performance. However, despite numerous experimental and numerical studies on flapping flexible foils, there is still no clear understanding of the effect of flexibility and flapping amplitude on thrust generation and swimming efficiency. Here, to address this question, we combine experiments on a model system and a weakly nonlinear analysis. Experiments consist in immersing a flexible rectangular plate in a uniform flow and forcing this plate into a heaving motion at its leading edge. A complementary theoretical model is developed assuming a two-dimensional inviscid problem. In this model, nonlinear effects are taken into account by considering a transverse resistive drag. Under these hypotheses, a modal decomposition of the system motion allows us to predict the plate response amplitude and the generated thrust, as a function of the forcing amplitude and frequency. We show that this model can correctly predict the experimental data on plate kinematic response and thrust generation, as well as other data found in the literature. We also discuss the question of efficiency in the context of bio-inspired propulsion. Using the proposed model, we show that the optimal propeller for a given thrust and a given swimming speed is achieved when the actuating frequency is tuned to a resonance of the system, and when the optimal forcing amplitude scales as the square root of the required thrust.

Safe Handling of Radioisotopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1958-01-01

Under its Statute the International Atomic Energy Agency is empowered to provide for the application of standards of safety for protection against radiation to its own operations and to operations making use of assistance provided by it or with which it is otherwise directly associated. To this end authorities receiving such assistance are required to observe relevant health and safety measures prescribed by the Agency. As a first step, it has been considered an urgent task to provide users of radioisotopes with a manual of practice for the safe handling of these substances. Such a manual is presented here and represents the first of a series of manuals and codes to be issued by the Agency. It has been prepared after careful consideration of existing national and international codes of radiation safety, by a group of international experts and in consultation with other international bodies. At the same time it is recommended that the manual be taken into account as a basic reference document by Member States of the Agency in the preparation of national health and safety documents covering the use of radioisotopes.

A Contextual Behavior Science Framework for Understanding How Behavioral Flexibility Relates to Anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Palm Reed, Kathleen M; Cameron, Amy Y; Ameral, Victoria E

2017-09-01

There is a growing literature focusing on the emerging idea that behavioral flexibility, rather than particular emotion regulation strategies per se, provides greater promise in predicting and influencing anxiety-related psychopathology. Yet this line of research and theoretical analysis appear to be plagued by its own challenges. For example, middle-level constructs, such as behavioral flexibility, are difficult to define, difficult to measure, and difficult to interpret in relation to clinical interventions. A key point that some researchers have made is that previous studies examining flexible use of emotion regulation strategies (or, more broadly, coping) have failed due to a lack of focus on context. That is, examining strategies in isolation of the context in which they are used provides limited information on the suitability, rigid adherence, or effectiveness of a given strategy in that situation. Several of these researchers have proposed the development of new models to define and measure various types of behavioral flexibility. We would like to suggest that an explanation of the phenomenon already exists and that we can go back to our behavioral roots to understand this phenomenon rather than focusing on defining and capturing a new process. Indeed, thorough contextual behavioral analyses already yield a useful account of what has been observed. We will articulate a model explaining behavioral flexibility using a functional, contextual framework, with anxiety-related disorders as an example.

78 FR 28242 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Safe Drinking Water Act

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-14

... Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the Surface Water Treatment Rule, promulgated under the SDWA. Under the terms... public water system and to pay $8,000 into an escrow account to be used by the association for future... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Safe Drinking Water...

Flexible magnetoimpedance sensor

KAUST Repository

Li, Bodong; Kavaldzhiev, Mincho; Kosel, Jü rgen

2015-01-01

Flexible magnetoimpedance (MI) sensors fabricated using a NiFe/Cu/NiFe tri-layer on Kapton substrate have been studied. A customized flexible microstrip transmission line was employed to investigate the MI sensors's magnetic field and frequency

The safe home project.

Science.gov (United States)

Arphorn, Sara; Jiraniratisai, Sopaphan; Rungtakul, Rungsri; Phutta, Nikom

2011-12-01

The Thai Health Promotion Foundation supported the Improvement of Quality of Life of Informal Workers project in Ban Luang District, Amphur Photaram, Ratchaburi Province. There were many informal workers in Ban Luang District. Sweet-crispy fish producers in Ban Luang were the largest group among the sweet-crispy fish producers in Thailand. This project was aimed at improving living and working conditions of informal workers, with a focus on the sweet-crispy fish group. Good practices of improved living and working conditions were used to help informal workers build safe, healthy and productive work environments. These informal workers often worked in substandard conditions and were exposed to various hazards in the working area. These hazards included risk of exposure to hot work environment, ergonomics-related injuries, chemical hazards, electrical hazards etc. Ergonomics problems were commonly in the sweet-crispy fish group. Unnatural postures such as prolonged sitting were performed dominantly. One hundred and fifty informal workers participated in this project. Occupational health volunteers were selected to encourage occupational health and safety in four groups of informal workers in 2009. The occupational health volunteers trained in 2008 were farmers, beauty salon workers and doll makers. The occupational health and safety knowledge is extended to a new informal worker group: sweet-crispy fish producer, in 2009. The occupational health and safety training for sweet-crispy fish group is conducted by occupational health volunteers. The occupational health volunteers increased their skills and knowledge assist in to make safe home and safe community through participatory oriented training. The improvement of living and working condition is conducted by using a modified WISH, Work Improvement for Safe Home, checklist. The plans of improvement were recorded. The informal workers showed improvement mostly on material handling and storage. The safe uses and safe

Flexible magnetoimpedance sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Bodong; Kavaldzhiev, Mincho N.; Kosel, Jürgen

2015-01-01

Flexible magnetoimpedance (MI) sensors fabricated using a NiFe/Cu/NiFe tri-layer on Kapton substrate have been studied. A customized flexible microstrip transmission line was employed to investigate the MI sensors's magnetic field and frequency responses and their dependence on the sensors's deflection. For the first time, the impedance characteristic is obtained through reflection coefficient analysis over a wide range of frequencies from 0.1 MHz to 3 GHz and for deflections ranging from zero curvature to a radius of 7.2 cm. The sensor element maintains a high MI ratio of up to 90% and magnetic sensitivity of up to 9.2%/Oe over different bending curvatures. The relationship between the curvature and material composition is discussed based on the magnetostriction effect and stress simulations. The sensor's large frequency range, simple fabrication process and high sensitivity provide a great potential for flexible electronics and wireless applications. - Highlights: • A flexible magnetoimpedance (MI) sensor is developed. • Studies are carried out using a flexible microstrip transmission line. • An MI ratio of up to 90% is obtained. • The effect of magnetostriction is studied

Flexible transparent electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Demiryont, Hulya; Shannon, Kenneth C., III; Moorehead, David; Bratcher, Matthew

2011-06-01

This paper presents the properties of the EclipseTECTM transparent conductor. EclipseTECTM is a room temperature deposited nanostructured thin film coating system comprised of metal-oxide semiconductor elements. The system possesses metal-like conductivity and glass-like transparency in the visible region. These highly conductive TEC films exhibit high shielding efficiency (35dB at 1 to 100GHz). EclipseTECTM can be deposited on rigid or flexible substrates. For example, EclipseTECTM deposited on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is extremely flexible that can be rolled around a 9mm diameter cylinder with little or no reduction in electrical conductivity and that can assume pre-extension states after an applied stress is relieved. The TEC is colorless and has been tailored to have high visible transmittance which matches the eye sensitivity curve and allows the viewing of true background colors through the coating. EclipseTECTM is flexible, durable and can be tailored at the interface for applications such as electron- or hole-injecting OLED electrodes as well as electrodes in flexible displays. Tunable work function and optical design flexibility also make EclipseTECTM well-suited as a candidate for grid electrode replacement in next-generation photovoltaic cells.

Flexible Foam Model.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neilsen, Michael K.; Lu, Wei-Yang; Werner, Brian T.; Scherzinger, William M.; Lo, Chi S.

2018-03-01

Experiments were performed to characterize the mechanical response of a 15 pcf flexible polyurethane foam to large deformation at different strain rates and temperatures. Results from these experiments indicated that at room temperature, flexible polyurethane foams exhibit significant nonlinear elastic deformation and nearly return to their original undeformed shape when unloaded. However, when these foams are cooled to temperatures below their glass transition temperature of approximately -35 o C, they behave like rigid polyurethane foams and exhibit significant permanent deformation when compressed. Thus, a new model which captures this dramatic change in behavior with temperature was developed and implemented into SIERRA with the name Flex_Foam to describe the mechanical response of both flexible and rigid foams to large deformation at a variety of temperatures and strain rates. This report includes a description of recent experiments. Next, development of the Flex Foam model for flexible polyurethane and other flexible foams is described. Selection of material parameters are discussed and finite element simulations with the new Flex Foam model are compared with experimental results to show behavior that can be captured with this new model.

New Flexible Medical Compact Antenna: Design and Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yann Mahe

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Some results on embedded antennas for medical wireless communication systems are presented. Medical telemetry can advantageously assist medical diagnostics. For example, you can better locate a diseased area by monitoring temperature inside the human body. In order to establish efficient wireless links in such an environment, a special attention should be paid to the antenna design. It is required to be of a low profile, very small regardless of the working frequency—434 MHz in the ISM band, safe, and cost effective. Design of the as-considered antenna is proposed based on a simple model. The approach has been demonstrated for a compact flexible antenna with a factor of 10 with respect to the half-wave antenna, rolling up inside an ingestible pill. Measured and calculated impedance behaviour and radiation characteristics of the modified patch are determined. Excellent agreement was found between experiment and theory.

The use of whitetopping technology in the aspect of implementation of repairs of flexible pavements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Rudnicki

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an analysis of technical and economic implementation of repairs of bituminous pavements using whitetopping technology at the example of classical jointed solutions and the continuous reinforcement. The problems of repairs of asphalt roads in the context of steadily progressive degradation of flexible pavements in Poland are discussed.The types of pavement constructions were presented, with particular emphasis on characteristics of flexible pavements. There were identified and described significant factors contributing to damage, which consequently lead to surface degradation. Also there have been described the types of concrete pavements and their characteristics, taking into account modern technology of cement concrete overlays made in various technologies. The results of the analysis of technical and economic implementation of repairs of flexible pavements using whitetopping technology are presented at the example of classical jointed solutions and the continuous reinforcement. The benefits and potential difficulties in the implementation of pavements repairs as cement concrete technology are indicated.[b]Keywords[/b]: road, repair, whitetopping, overlay, flexible surface, cement concrete pavement, continuous reinforcement

A flexible framework for process-based hydraulic and water ...

Science.gov (United States)

Background Models that allow for design considerations of green infrastructure (GI) practices to control stormwater runoff and associated contaminants have received considerable attention in recent years. While popular, generally, the GI models are relatively simplistic. However, GI model predictions are being relied upon by many municipalities and State/Local agencies to make decisions about grey vs. green infrastructure improvement planning. Adding complexity to GI modeling frameworks may preclude their use in simpler urban planning situations. Therefore, the goal here was to develop a sophisticated, yet flexible tool that could be used by design engineers and researchers to capture and explore the effect of design factors and properties of the media used in the performance of GI systems at a relatively small scale. We deemed it essential to have a flexible GI modeling tool that is capable of simulating GI system components and specific biophysical processes affecting contaminants such as reactions, and particle-associated transport accurately while maintaining a high degree of flexibly to account for the myriad of GI alternatives. The mathematical framework for a stand-alone GI performance assessment tool has been developed and will be demonstrated.Framework Features The process-based model framework developed here can be used to model a diverse range of GI practices such as green roof, retention pond, bioretention, infiltration trench, permeable pavement and

Reliable Radiographic Inspection of Flexible Risers for the Oil Industry

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, Rômulo M.; Rebello, Joao Marcos A.; Vaz, Murilo A.

2010-02-01

Flexible risers are composite tubular structures manufactured by the concentric assemblage of cylindrical polymeric and helically wound metallic layers employed to convey pressurized fluids such as oil, gas and water in the ocean environment. The metallic layers account for the flexible risers' structural strength and are dimensioned according to the static and dynamic loads. They are usually installed in a free hanging catenary configuration and are subjected to the direct action of waves and marine currents and wave induced motions from the oil production platform. The fatigue rupture of wire armours in the end fitting or within the riser segment protected by the bend stiffener is an object of major concern. Integrity models have been developed, however inspection techniques are mandatory to ensure that failure is detected. Gammagraphy has been used as a common inspection technique in all regions of the flexible riser, mainly with the single wall-single view method. On the other side, there is not any qualified radiographic procedure to this kind of structure. Radiographic simulation was adopted and its validation with actual gammagraphies and establishment of radiographic parameters to complex radiation geometries were done. Results show the viability of the radiographic inspection analyzing the armour wires' rupture and the displacement between wires.

RELIABLE RADIOGRAPHIC INSPECTION OF FLEXIBLE RISERS FOR THE OIL INDUSTRY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Almeida, Romulo M.; Rebello, Joao Marcos A.; Vaz, Murilo A.

2010-01-01

Flexible risers are composite tubular structures manufactured by the concentric assemblage of cylindrical polymeric and helically wound metallic layers employed to convey pressurized fluids such as oil, gas and water in the ocean environment. The metallic layers account for the flexible risers' structural strength and are dimensioned according to the static and dynamic loads. They are usually installed in a free hanging catenary configuration and are subjected to the direct action of waves and marine currents and wave induced motions from the oil production platform. The fatigue rupture of wire armours in the end fitting or within the riser segment protected by the bend stiffener is an object of major concern. Integrity models have been developed, however inspection techniques are mandatory to ensure that failure is detected. Gammagraphy has been used as a common inspection technique in all regions of the flexible riser, mainly with the single wall-single view method. On the other side, there is not any qualified radiographic procedure to this kind of structure. Radiographic simulation was adopted and its validation with actual gammagraphies and establishment of radiographic parameters to complex radiation geometries were done. Results show the viability of the radiographic inspection analyzing the armour wires' rupture and the displacement between wires.

Safe working hours--doctors in training a best practice issue.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Andrew

2002-01-01

In 1995, the Australian Medical Association launched its Safe Working Hours campaign. By 1998, this had been developed into a National Code of Conduct that continues to resonate in the Australian public health system. However, and particularly in respect of Doctors in Training (DITs) who continue to work long hours, there are levels of resistance to proposals that seek to re-organise work or change prevailing professional and cultural expectations. Long working hours have substantial impacts on a DIT's capacity to consistently deliver high quality patient care, dilute the effectiveness of their training regime and have negative consequences on their health, social life and family responsibilities. While public hospitals often maintain the view that minimal budget flexibility restricts their capacity to affect change in a positive way, in fact devisable productivity and efficiency gains can be achieved by reducing working hours. Further, the medical profession needs to consider whether long hours provide an optimal environment for quality learning and performance.

SAFE/SNAP application to shipboard security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grady, L.M.; Walker, J.L.; Polito, J.

1981-11-01

An application of the combined Safeguards Automated Facility Evaluation/Safeguards Network Analysis Procedure (SAFE/SNAP) modeling technique to a physical protection system (PPS) aboard a generic ship is described. This application was performed as an example of how the SAFE and SNAP techniques could be used. Estimates of probability of interruption and neutralization for the example shipboard PPS are provided by SAFE as well as an adversary scenario, which serves as input to SNAP. This adversary scenario is analyzed by SNAP through four cases which incorporate increasingly detailed security force tactics. Comparisons between the results of the SAFE and SNAP analyses are made and conclusions drawn on the validity of each technique. Feedback from SNAP to SAFE is described, and recommendations for upgrading the ship based on the results of the SAFE/SNAP application are also discussed

A network identity authentication protocol of bank account system based on fingerprint identification and mixed encryption

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Lijuan; Liu, Jingao

2013-07-01

This paper describes a network identity authentication protocol of bank account system based on fingerprint identification and mixed encryption. This protocol can provide every bank user a safe and effective way to manage his own bank account, and also can effectively prevent the hacker attacks and bank clerk crime, so that it is absolute to guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of bank users.

Removal of metallic tracheobronchial stents in lung transplantation with flexible bronchoscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fruchter Oren

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Airway complications are among the most challenging problems after lung transplantation, and Self-Expandable Metallic Stents (SEMS are used to treat airway complications such as stenosis or malacia at the bronchial anastomosis sites. Several transplantation centers are reluctant to use SEMS since their removal is sometimes needed and usually requires the use of rigid bronchoscopy under general anesthesia. The objective of the current report is to describe our experience in SEMS retrieval by flexible bronchoscopy under conscious sedation. Methods A retrospective review was done of patients requiring tracheobronchial stent placement after lung transplantation in which the SEMS had to be removed. The retrieval procedure was done by flexible bronchoscopy on a day-care ambulatory basis. Results Between January 2004 and January 2010, out of 305 lung transplantation patients, 24 (7.8% underwent SEMS placement. Indications included bronchial stenosis in 20 and bronchomalacia in 4. In six patients (25% the SEMS had to be removed due to excessive granulation tissue formation and stent obstruction. The average time from SEMS placement to retrieval was 30 months (range 16-48 months. The stent was completely removed in five patients and partially removed in one patient; no major complications were encountered, and all patients were discharged within 3 hours of the procedure. In all procedures, new SEMS was successfully re-inserted thereafter. Conclusions The retrieval of SEMS in patients that underwent lung transplantation can be effectively and safely done under conscious sedation using flexible bronchoscopy on a day-care basis, this observation should encourage increasing usage of SEMS in highly selected patients.

Incentivizing Flexibility in System Operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Milligan, Michael [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bloom, Aaron P [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Townsend, Aaron [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Ela, Erik [Electric Power Research Institute; Botterud, Audun [Argonne National Laboratory; Levin, Todd [Argonne National Laboratory

2018-02-15

Defining flexibility has been a challenge that a number of industry members and researchers have attempted to address in recent years. With increased variability and uncertainty of variable generation (VG), the resources on the system will have to be more flexible to adjust output, so that power output ranges, power ramp rates, and energy duration sustainability are sufficient to meet the needs of balancing supply with demand at various operational timescales. This chapter discusses whether existing market designs provide adequate incentives for resources to offer their flexibility into the market to meet the increased levels of variability and uncertainty introduced by VG in the short-term operational time frame. It presents a definition of flexibility and discusses how increased levels of VG require increased needs for flexibility on power systems. Following this introductory material, the chapter examines how existing market designs ensure that resources have the right incentives to provide increased flexibility, and then discusses a number of emerging market design elements that impact flexibility incentives.

An aqueous, polymer-based redox-flow battery using non-corrosive, safe, and low-cost materials

Science.gov (United States)

Janoschka, Tobias; Martin, Norbert; Martin, Udo; Friebe, Christian; Morgenstern, Sabine; Hiller, Hannes; Hager, Martin D.; Schubert, Ulrich S.

2015-11-01

For renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric to be effectively used in the grid of the future, flexible and scalable energy-storage solutions are necessary to mitigate output fluctuations. Redox-flow batteries (RFBs) were first built in the 1940s and are considered a promising large-scale energy-storage technology. A limited number of redox-active materials--mainly metal salts, corrosive halogens, and low-molar-mass organic compounds--have been investigated as active materials, and only a few membrane materials, such as Nafion, have been considered for RFBs. However, for systems that are intended for both domestic and large-scale use, safety and cost must be taken into account as well as energy density and capacity, particularly regarding long-term access to metal resources, which places limits on the lithium-ion-based and vanadium-based RFB development. Here we describe an affordable, safe, and scalable battery system, which uses organic polymers as the charge-storage material in combination with inexpensive dialysis membranes, which separate the anode and the cathode by the retention of the non-metallic, active (macro-molecular) species, and an aqueous sodium chloride solution as the electrolyte. This water- and polymer-based RFB has an energy density of 10 watt hours per litre, current densities of up to 100 milliamperes per square centimetre, and stable long-term cycling capability. The polymer-based RFB we present uses an environmentally benign sodium chloride solution and cheap, commercially available filter membranes instead of highly corrosive acid electrolytes and expensive membrane materials.

An aqueous, polymer-based redox-flow battery using non-corrosive, safe, and low-cost materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Janoschka, Tobias; Martin, Norbert; Martin, Udo; Friebe, Christian; Morgenstern, Sabine; Hiller, Hannes; Hager, Martin D; Schubert, Ulrich S

2015-11-05

For renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric to be effectively used in the grid of the future, flexible and scalable energy-storage solutions are necessary to mitigate output fluctuations. Redox-flow batteries (RFBs) were first built in the 1940s and are considered a promising large-scale energy-storage technology. A limited number of redox-active materials--mainly metal salts, corrosive halogens, and low-molar-mass organic compounds--have been investigated as active materials, and only a few membrane materials, such as Nafion, have been considered for RFBs. However, for systems that are intended for both domestic and large-scale use, safety and cost must be taken into account as well as energy density and capacity, particularly regarding long-term access to metal resources, which places limits on the lithium-ion-based and vanadium-based RFB development. Here we describe an affordable, safe, and scalable battery system, which uses organic polymers as the charge-storage material in combination with inexpensive dialysis membranes, which separate the anode and the cathode by the retention of the non-metallic, active (macro-molecular) species, and an aqueous sodium chloride solution as the electrolyte. This water- and polymer-based RFB has an energy density of 10 watt hours per litre, current densities of up to 100 milliamperes per square centimetre, and stable long-term cycling capability. The polymer-based RFB we present uses an environmentally benign sodium chloride solution and cheap, commercially available filter membranes instead of highly corrosive acid electrolytes and expensive membrane materials.

Safe Handover : Safe Patients – The Electronic Handover System

Science.gov (United States)

Till, Alex; Sall, Hanish; Wilkinson, Jonathan

2014-01-01

Failure of effective handover is a major preventable cause of patient harm. We aimed to promote accurate recording of high-quality clinical information using an Electronic Handover System (EHS) that would contribute to a sustainable improvement in effective patient care and safety. Within our hospital the human factors associated with poor communication were compromising patient care and unnecessarily increasing the workload of staff due to the poor quality of handovers. Only half of handovers were understood by the doctors expected to complete them, and more than half of our medical staff felt it posed a risk to patient safety. We created a standardised proforma for handovers that contained specific sub-headings, re-classified patient risk assessments, and aided escalation of care by adding prompts for verbal handover. Sources of miscommunication were removed, accountability for handovers provided, and tasks were re-organised to reduce the workload of staff. Long-term, three-month data showed that each sub-heading achieved at least 80% compliance (an average improvement of approximately 40% for the overall quality of handovers). This translated into 91% of handovers being subjectively clear to junior doctors. 87% of medical staff felt we had reduced a risk to patient safety and 80% felt it increased continuity of care. Without guidance, doctors omit key information required for effective handover. All organisations should consider implementing an electronic handover system as a viable, sustainable and safe solution to handover of care that allows patient safety to remain at the heart of the NHS. PMID:26734244

Thoracoscopy as a safe and effective technique for exploring calves affected with bovine respiratory disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natividad Perez-Villalobos

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Bovine respiratory disease (BRD is one of the leading causes of economic losses in the beef and dairy industry. Reliable antemortem tools for diagnosing BRD would improve the efficacy of treatment and reduce costs. Here we examined whether the relatively simple technique of thoracoscopy can support BRD diagnosis under field conditions. We also compared various equipment set-ups in order to optimize the safety and efficacy of the procedure. A total of 24 thoracoscopic procedures were performed in 17 calves diagnosed with BRD and in 2 healthy control calves. Rigid and flexible endoscopes and industrial videoscopes were tested using various insertion approaches. The suitability of the technique was assessed in terms of duration, volume of air extracted, visualization score, and image quality. Safety was assessed in terms of rectal temperature, body weight, breaths/min, presence of fibrinogen, pain score, recovery time, intraoperative complications and risk of laceration or threatening collapse. Results Insertion of a flexible endoscope via a right, dorso-caudal approach at the 5th intercostal space allowed complete examination of the right lung in 15 min, as well as identification of main lung lesions and adherences in calves with BRD, without compromising calf welfare. While the dorso-caudal approach was optimal, it was associated with substantial discomfort when rigid endoscopes were used, minimal complications or mortality due to thoracoscopy were observed up to 28 days after the procedure. Videoscopes were as safe and easy to use as endoscopes, but endoscopes provided better image quality. Conclusion This study provides the first field evidence that thoracoscopy can be safe to explore BRD-diseased calves. These results justify a larger study to rigorously assess the diagnostic performance of the technique.

Graphene-based materials for flexible supercapacitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Yuanlong; El-Kady, Maher F; Wang, Lisa J; Zhang, Qinghong; Li, Yaogang; Wang, Hongzhi; Mousavi, Mir F; Kaner, Richard B

2015-06-07

The demand for flexible/wearable electronic devices that have aesthetic appeal and multi-functionality has stimulated the rapid development of flexible supercapacitors with enhanced electrochemical performance and mechanical flexibility. After a brief introduction to flexible supercapacitors, we summarize current progress made with graphene-based electrodes. Two recently proposed prototypes for flexible supercapacitors, known as micro-supercapacitors and fiber-type supercapacitors, are then discussed. We also present our perspective on the development of graphene-based electrodes for flexible supercapacitors.

Chernobyl new safe confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dodd, L.

2011-01-01

The author presents the new safe confinement that will be commissioned at Unit 4 of the Chernobyl NPP in 2015. The confinement will ensure that Chernobyl Unit 4 will be placed in an environmentally safe condition for at least next 100 years. The article highlights the current work status, future perspectives and the feasibility of confinement concept [ru

Asymptotically Safe Dark Matter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sannino, Francesco; Shoemaker, Ian M.

2015-01-01

We introduce a new paradigm for dark matter (DM) interactions in which the interaction strength is asymptotically safe. In models of this type, the coupling strength is small at low energies but increases at higher energies, and asymptotically approaches a finite constant value. The resulting...... searches are the primary ways to constrain or discover asymptotically safe dark matter....

Flexible Metal Oxide/Graphene Oxide Hybrid Neuromorphic Devices on Flexible Conducting Graphene Substrates

OpenAIRE

Wan, Chang Jin; Wang, Wei; Zhu, Li Qiang; Liu, Yang Hui; Feng, Ping; Liu, Zhao Ping; Shi, Yi; Wan, Qing

2016-01-01

Flexible metal oxide/graphene oxide hybrid multi-gate neuron transistors were fabricated on flexible graphene substrates. Dendritic integrations in both spatial and temporal modes were successfully emulated, and spatiotemporal correlated logics were obtained. A proof-of-principle visual system model for emulating lobula giant motion detector neuron was investigated. Our results are of great interest for flexible neuromorphic cognitive systems.

Flexible Electronics Research Facility

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Flexible Electronics Research Facility designs, synthesizes, tests, and fabricates materials and devices compatible with flexible substrates for Army information...

Flexibility within Fidelity

Science.gov (United States)

Kendall, Philip C.; Gosch, Elizabeth; Furr, Jami M.; Sood, Erica

2008-01-01

The authors address concerns regarding manual-based treatments, highlighting the role of flexibility and creativity. A cognitive-behavioral therapy for youth anxiety called the Coping Cat program demonstrates the flexible application of manuals and emphasizes the importance of a child-centered, personalized approach that involves the child in the…

75 FR 4996 - Safety Requirements for Operators of Small Passenger-Carrying Commercial Motor Vehicles Used in...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-01

... vehicle for driver inspection is 11 hours [250 working days per year x ((95% no defects x 2 minutes 35... the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU... exemptions contemplated by the Conference Report or other legislative history. ``[I]n the absence of a...

Flexible Power Regulation and Current-limited Control of Grid-connected Inverter under Unbalanced Grid Voltage Faults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Xiaoqiang; Liu, Wenzhao; Lu, Zhigang

2017-01-01

The grid-connected inverters may experience excessive current stress in case of unbalanced grid voltage Fault Ride Through (FRT), which significantly affects the reliability of the power supply system. In order to solve the problem, the inherent mechanisms of the excessive current phenomenon...... with the conventional FRT solutions are discussed. The quantitative analysis of three phase current peak values are conducted and a novel current-limited control strategy is proposed to achieve the flexible active and reactive power regulation and successful FRT in a safe current operation area with the aim...

Flexible services for the support of research.

Science.gov (United States)

Turilli, Matteo; Wallom, David; Williams, Chris; Gough, Steve; Curran, Neal; Tarrant, Richard; Bretherton, Dan; Powell, Andy; Johnson, Matt; Harmer, Terry; Wright, Peter; Gordon, John

2013-01-28

Cloud computing has been increasingly adopted by users and providers to promote a flexible, scalable and tailored access to computing resources. Nonetheless, the consolidation of this paradigm has uncovered some of its limitations. Initially devised by corporations with direct control over large amounts of computational resources, cloud computing is now being endorsed by organizations with limited resources or with a more articulated, less direct control over these resources. The challenge for these organizations is to leverage the benefits of cloud computing while dealing with limited and often widely distributed computing resources. This study focuses on the adoption of cloud computing by higher education institutions and addresses two main issues: flexible and on-demand access to a large amount of storage resources, and scalability across a heterogeneous set of cloud infrastructures. The proposed solutions leverage a federated approach to cloud resources in which users access multiple and largely independent cloud infrastructures through a highly customizable broker layer. This approach allows for a uniform authentication and authorization infrastructure, a fine-grained policy specification and the aggregation of accounting and monitoring. Within a loosely coupled federation of cloud infrastructures, users can access vast amount of data without copying them across cloud infrastructures and can scale their resource provisions when the local cloud resources become insufficient.

Geometric feasibility of flexible cask transportation system for ITER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lima, P; Ribeiro, M I; Aparicio, P [Instituto Superior Tecnico-Instituto de Sistemas e Robotica, Lisboa (Portugal)

1998-07-01

One of the remote operations that has to be carried out in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is the transportation of sealed casks between the various ports of the Tokamak Building (TB) and the Hot Cell Building (HCB). The casks may contain different in-vessel components (e.g. blanket modules, divertors) and are designed for a maximum load of about 80 ton. To improve the safety and flexibility of ITER Remote Handling (RH) transport vehicles, the cask is not motorized by itself, but instead, a motorized platform carrying the cask was proposed. This paper addresses the geometric feasibility of the flexible cask transportation system, taking into account the vehicle kinematics. The feasibility issues studied include planning smooth paths to increase safety, the discussion of building constraints by the evaluation of the vehicle spanned areas when following a planned path, and the analysis of the clearance required to remove the platform from underneath the cask at different possible failure locations. Simulation results are presented for the recommended trajectory, the spanned area and the rescue manoeuvres at critical locations along the path. (authors)

Geometric feasibility of flexible cask transportation system for ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, P.; Ribeiro, M.I.; Aparicio, P.

1998-01-01

One of the remote operations that has to be carried out in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is the transportation of sealed casks between the various ports of the Tokamak Building (TB) and the Hot Cell Building (HCB). The casks may contain different in-vessel components (e.g. blanket modules, divertors) and are designed for a maximum load of about 80 ton. To improve the safety and flexibility of ITER Remote Handling (RH) transport vehicles, the cask is not motorized by itself, but instead, a motorized platform carrying the cask was proposed. This paper addresses the geometric feasibility of the flexible cask transportation system, taking into account the vehicle kinematics. The feasibility issues studied include planning smooth paths to increase safety, the discussion of building constraints by the evaluation of the vehicle spanned areas when following a planned path, and the analysis of the clearance required to remove the platform from underneath the cask at different possible failure locations. Simulation results are presented for the recommended trajectory, the spanned area and the rescue manoeuvres at critical locations along the path. (authors)

75 FR 1734 - Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule Safe Harbor Proposed Self-Regulatory Guidelines; i-SAFE...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-13

... Proposed Self-Regulatory Guidelines; i-SAFE, Inc. Application for Safe Harbor AGENCY: Federal Trade... for public comment concerning proposed self-regulatory guidelines submitted by i-SAFE, Inc. under the... approval self-regulatory guidelines that would implement the Rule's protections.\\3\\ \\1\\ 64 FR 59888 (1999...

Safeness of radiological machinery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokoyama, Shun

1979-01-01

The human factors affecting the safeness of radiological machinery, which are often very big and complicated machines, are described from the stand point of handling. 20 to 50% of the troubles on equipments seem to be caused by men. This percentage will become even higher in highly developed equipments. Human factors have a great influence on the safeness of radiological equipments. As the human factors, there are sensory factors and knowledge factors as well as psychological factors, and the combination of these factors causes mishandling and danger. Medical services at present are divided in various areas, and consist of the teamwork of the people in various professions. Good human relationship, education and control are highly required to secure the safeness. (Kobatake, H.)

WAGE FLEXIBILITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TECULESCU Silviu Alexandru

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The paper follows to offer the most efficient solutions for the attainment by Romania of the economic development level associated to the Western European countries. It proposes the division of the flexibility of labour market in three components, namely: internal flexibility, external flexibility and wage flexibility. The analysis performed within the present study will emphasize the wage flexibility. Wage flexibility can be classified in four components: a plans of individual and group incentives; b plans of assigning wages out of productivity; c plans of distribution of profits and, respectively, d plans of suggestions. The labour market flexibility, in general, and especially the wage flexibility contributes to the increase of employee motivation at the workplace, aspect which leeds to the growth of labour productivity, through this one being put the bases of the medium- and long-term economic development.

Energy Flexibility in the Power System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Billanes, Joy Dalmacio; Ma, Zheng; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard

2017-01-01

Energy flexibility can address the challenges of large scale integration of renewable energy resources and thereby increasing imbalance in the power system. Flexible power system can provide reliable supply, low electricity cost and sustainability. Various situations and factors influence...... the adoption of the flexibility solutions, such as flexible electricity generation, demand-response, and electricity storage. This paper tries to analyze the current energy flexibility solutions and the factors that can influence the energy flexibility adoption. This paper takes Philippines as case study...... to provide an overview of the current condition of the Philippines’ power system and discuss the energy flexibility in the Philippines’ power system. A further discussion and recommendation is conducted in the end of the paper....

The influence of mindfulness, self-compassion, psychological flexibility, and posttraumatic stress disorder on disability and quality of life over time in war veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Eric C; Frankfurt, Sheila B; Kimbrel, Nathan A; DeBeer, Bryann B; Gulliver, Suzy B; Morrisette, Sandra B

2018-07-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) strongly predicts greater disability and lower quality of life (QOL). Mindfulness-based and other third-wave behavior therapy interventions improve well-being by enhancing mindfulness, self-compassion, and psychological flexibility. We hypothesized that these mechanisms of therapeutic change would comprise a single latent factor that would predict disability and QOL after accounting for PTSD symptom severity. Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans (N = 117) completed a study of predictors of successful reintegration. Principal axis factor analysis tested whether mindfulness, self-compassion, and psychological flexibility comprised a single latent factor. Hierarchical regression tested whether this factor predicted disability and QOL 1 year later. Mindfulness, self-compassion, and psychological flexibility comprised a single factor that predicted disability and QOL after accounting for PTSD symptom severity. PTSD symptoms remained a significant predictor of disability but not QOL. Targeting these mechanisms may help veterans achieve functional recovery, even in the presence of PTSD symptoms. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Facile Methodology for the Development of a Printable and Flexible All-Solid-State Rechargeable Battery.

Science.gov (United States)

De, Bibekananda; Yadav, Amit; Khan, Salman; Kar, Kamal K

2017-06-14

Development of printable and flexible energy storage devices is one of the most promising technologies for wearable electronics in textile industry. The present work involves the design of a printable and flexible all-solid-state rechargeable battery for wearable electronics in textile applications. Copper-coated carbon fiber is used to make a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based polymer nanocomposite for a flexible and conductive current collector layer. Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4 ) and titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) are utilized to prepare the cathode and anode layers, respectively, with PEO and carbon black composites. The PEO- and Li salt-based solid composite separator layer is utilized for the solid-state and safe electrolyte. Fabrication of all these layers and assembly of them through coating on fabrics are performed in the open atmosphere without using any complex processing, as PEO prevents the degradation of the materials in the open atmosphere. The performance of the battery is evaluated through charge-discharge and open-circuit voltage analyses. The battery shows an open-circuit voltage of ∼2.67 V and discharge time ∼2000 s. It shows similar performance at different repeated bending angles (0° to 180°) and continuous bending along with long cycle life. The application of the battery is also investigated for printable and wearable textile applications. Therefore, this printable, flexible, easily processable, and nontoxic battery with this performance has great potential to be used in portable and wearable textile electronics.

Organizational flexibility estimation

OpenAIRE

Komarynets, Sofia

2013-01-01

By the help of parametric estimation the evaluation scale of organizational flexibility and its parameters was formed. Definite degrees of organizational flexibility and its parameters for the Lviv region enterprises were determined. Grouping of the enterprises under the existing scale was carried out. Special recommendations to correct the enterprises behaviour were given.

Breathing, bubbling, and bending: DNA flexibility from multimicrosecond simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Zeida, Ari; Machado, Matías Rodrigo; Dans, Pablo Daniel; Pantano, Sergio

2012-08-01

Bending of the seemingly stiff DNA double helix is a fundamental physical process for any living organism. Specialized proteins recognize DNA inducing and stabilizing sharp curvatures of the double helix. However, experimental evidence suggests a high protein-independent flexibility of DNA. On the basis of coarse-grained simulations, we propose that DNA experiences thermally induced kinks associated with the spontaneous formation of internal bubbles. Comparison of the protein-induced DNA curvature calculated from the Protein Data Bank with that sampled by our simulations suggests that thermally induced distortions can account for ˜80% of the DNA curvature present in experimentally solved structures.

Breathing, bubbling, and bending: DNA flexibility from multimicrosecond simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeida, Ari; Machado, Matías Rodrigo; Dans, Pablo Daniel; Pantano, Sergio

2012-08-01

Bending of the seemingly stiff DNA double helix is a fundamental physical process for any living organism. Specialized proteins recognize DNA inducing and stabilizing sharp curvatures of the double helix. However, experimental evidence suggests a high protein-independent flexibility of DNA. On the basis of coarse-grained simulations, we propose that DNA experiences thermally induced kinks associated with the spontaneous formation of internal bubbles. Comparison of the protein-induced DNA curvature calculated from the Protein Data Bank with that sampled by our simulations suggests that thermally induced distortions can account for ~80% of the DNA curvature present in experimentally solved structures.

Medicare changes create accounting, reporting, and auditing problems. Task Force on Federal Health Care Legislation, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Science.gov (United States)

1984-11-01

Hospital auditors and financial officers must adjust and react to the changing financial healthcare environment brought about by PPS. A close review of accounting systems, reporting methods, auditing procedures, and internal control systems should be made to determine that assets are safe-guarded and financial information is presented in conformity with GAAP. This article identified new problems and suggested solutions. Old tasks may no longer be necessary. For example, retroactive adjustments are not as important as they used to be. Estimates for capital and outpatient costs may continue to be required, but elaborate cost-finding techniques may no longer be necessary to estimate retroactive adjustments for reimbursable items. We recommend that prior to beginning an audit of a hospital's financial statements, each hospital's financial officers and its auditors discuss the possible accounting, reporting, and auditing implications as a result of PPS.

Intrinsically safe electrical installations, auxiliary circuits and electric communication equipment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herms, C D

1981-11-19

Technical progress has not stopped short of electrical systems in mining, so that three new chapters are new included in the VDE regulations leaflet No. 0118 on 'Installation of electrical systems in underground coal mining'. The regulations on intrinsically safe electric systems, auxiliary circuits and communication systems are briefly described, and grounds for the regulations are presented. The regulations already take account of European regulations on intrinsic safety which will soon be published in a European Regulation on Mine Explosions. In the chapters on auxiliary circuits and communication systems, protection against direct contact, fires, and explosions is discussed as well as the further goal of reliable signal transmission.

Inter-Vertebral Flexibility of the Ostrich Neck: Implications for Estimating Sauropod Neck Flexibility

OpenAIRE

Cobley, Matthew J.; Rayfield, Emily J.; Barrett, Paul M.

2013-01-01

The flexibility and posture of the neck in sauropod dinosaurs has long been contentious. Improved constraints on sauropod neck function will have major implications for what we know of their foraging strategies, ecology and overall biology. Several hypotheses have been proposed, based primarily on osteological data, suggesting different degrees of neck flexibility. This study attempts to assess the effects of reconstructed soft tissues on sauropod neck flexibility through systematic removal o...

Flexible automated manufacturing for SMEs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grube Hansen, David; Bilberg, Arne; Madsen, Erik Skov

2017-01-01

SMEs are in general highly flexible and agile in order to accommodate the customer demands in the paradigm of High Mix-Low Volume manufacturing. The flexibility and agility have mainly been enabled by manual labor, but as we are entering the technology and data driven fourth industrial revolution......, where augmented operators and machines work in cooperation in a highly flexible and productive manufacturing system both an opportunity and a need has raised for developing highly flexible and efficient automation....

On flexible and rigid nouns

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rijkhoff, Jan

2010-01-01

classes. Finally this article wants to claim that the distinction between rigid and flexible noun categories (a) adds a new dimension to current classifications of parts of speech systems, (b) correlates with certain grammatical phenomena (e.g. so-called number discord), and (c) helps to explain the parts......This article argues that in addition to the major flexible lexical categories in Hengeveld’s classification of parts of speech systems (Contentive, Non-Verb, Modifier), there are also flexible word classes within the rigid lexical category Noun (Set Noun, Sort Noun, General Noun). Members...... by the flexible item in the external world. I will then argue that flexible word classes constitute a proper category (i.e. they are not the result of a merger of some rigid word classes) in that members of flexible word categories display the same properties regarding category membership as members of rigid word...

On flexible and rigid nouns

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rijkhoff, Jan

2008-01-01

Studies in Language 32-3 (2008), 727-752. Special issue: Parts of Speech: Descriptive tools, theoretical constructs Jan Rijkhoff - On flexible and rigid nouns This article argues that in addition to the flexible lexical categories in Hengeveld’s classification of parts-of-speech systems (Contentive......, Non-Verb, Modifier), there are also flexible word classes within the rigid lexical category Noun (Set Noun, Sort Noun, General Noun). Members of flexible word classes are characterized by their vague semantics, which in the case of nouns means that values for the semantic features Shape...... and Homogeneity are either left undetermined or they are specified in such a way that they do not quite match the properties of the kind of entity denoted by the flexible item in the external world. I will then argue that flexible word classes constitute a proper category (i.e. they are not the result of a merger...

Implementation of project Safe in Amber. Verification study for SFR 1 SAR-08

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomson, Gavin; Herben, Martin; Lloyd, Pam; Rose, Danny; Smith, Chris; Barraclough, Ian (Enviros Consulting Ltd (GB))

2008-03-15

This report documents an exercise in which AMBER has been used to represent the models used in Project SAFE, a safety assessment undertaken on SFR 1. (AMBER is a flexible, graphical-user-interface based tool that allows users to build their own dynamic compartmental models to represent the migration, degradation and fate of contaminants in an environmental system. AMBER allows the user to assess routine, accidental and long-term contaminant release.) AMBER has been used to undertake assessment calculations on all of the disposal system, including all disposal tunnels and the Silo, the geosphere and several biosphere modules. The near-field conceptual models were implemented with minimal changes to the approach undertaken previously in Project SAFE. Model complexity varied significantly between individual disposal facilities increasing significantly from the BLA to the BTF and BMA tunnels and Silo. Radionuclide transport through the fractured granite geosphere was approximated using a compartment model approach in AMBER. Several biosphere models were implemented in AMBER including reasonable biosphere development, which considered the evolution of the Forsmark area from coastal to lacustrine to agricultural environments in response to land uplift. Parameters were sampled from distributions and simulations were run for 1,000 realisations. In undertaking the comparison of AMBER with the various codes and calculation tools used in Project SAFE it was necessary to undertake a detailed analysis of the modelling approach previously adopted, with particular focus given to the near-field models. As a result some discrepancies in the implementation of the models and documentation were noted. The exercise demonstrates that AMBER is fully capable of representing the features of the SFR 1 disposal system in a safety assessment suitable for SAR-08

Implementation of project Safe in Amber. Verification study for SFR 1 SAR-08

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomson, Gavin; Herben, Martin; Lloyd, Pam; Rose, Danny; Smith, Chris; Barra clough, Ian

2008-03-01

This report documents an exercise in which AMBER has been used to represent the models used in Project SAFE, a safety assessment undertaken on SFR 1. (AMBER is a flexible, graphical-user-interface based tool that allows users to build their own dynamic compartmental models to represent the migration, degradation and fate of contaminants in an environmental system. AMBER allows the user to assess routine, accidental and long-term contaminant release.) AMBER has been used to undertake assessment calculations on all of the disposal system, including all disposal tunnels and the Silo, the geosphere and several biosphere modules. The near-field conceptual models were implemented with minimal changes to the approach undertaken previously in Project SAFE. Model complexity varied significantly between individual disposal facilities increasing significantly from the BLA to the BTF and BMA tunnels and Silo. Radionuclide transport through the fractured granite geosphere was approximated using a compartment model approach in AMBER. Several biosphere models were implemented in AMBER including reasonable biosphere development, which considered the evolution of the Forsmark area from coastal to lacustrine to agricultural environments in response to land uplift. Parameters were sampled from distributions and simulations were run for 1,000 realisations. In undertaking the comparison of AMBER with the various codes and calculation tools used in Project SAFE it was necessary to undertake a detailed analysis of the modelling approach previously adopted, with particular focus given to the near-field models. As a result some discrepancies in the implementation of the models and documentation were noted. The exercise demonstrates that AMBER is fully capable of representing the features of the SFR 1 disposal system in a safety assessment suitable for SAR-08

Annual report and accounts 1991/92

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The primary objective of British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) is to supply a safe and efficient nuclear fuel cycle service. Springfields near Preston is the site of our fuel manufacturing operations, while Capenhurst near Chester is responsible for uranium enrichment. We reprocess irradiated nuclear fuel at Sellafield in West Cumbria, the site also of our multi-million pound investment programme which includes the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) and a range of facilities for the treatment and storage of waste produced during reprocessing operations. We also operate two nuclear power stations -Calder Hall on the Sellafield site and Chapelcross in Southern Scotland. Risley in Cheshire is the focus for our engineering design activities and the Company's Central Services Unit. The Head Office is also based at Risley. Fuel cycle services associated with the production of nuclear-generated electricity accounts for around 90% of our work. The report includes the chairman's review of the year, the Chief Executive's Report and summaries of the activities of the UK Group, International Group, Engineering Group and the Central Services Unit. The accounts are presented. (author)

Unit of Account, Medium of Exchange, and Prices

OpenAIRE

Young Sik Kim; Manjong Lee

2011-01-01

The separation of a unit of account (UoA) from a medium of exchange (MoE) in the commodity-money system is investigated by considering explicitly a seller¡¯s choice with regard to posting price in terms of either an MoE or a UoA. If the likelihood of debasement of MoE or its rate is high enough and agents are sufficiently risk averse, there exists a monetary equilibrium in which price is quoted in terms of a UoA. Further, a UoA-posting equilibrium yields the flexible nominal price, whereas ...

The mechanical design of a humanoid robot with flexible skin sensor for use in psychiatric therapy

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Alec; Tadesse, Yonas

2014-03-01

In this paper, a humanoid robot is presented for ultimate use in the rehabilitation of children with mental disorders, such as autism. Creating affordable and efficient humanoids could assist the therapy in psychiatric disability by offering multimodal communication between the humanoid and humans. Yet, the humanoid development needs a seamless integration of artificial muscles, sensors, controllers and structures. We have designed a human-like robot that has 15 DOF, 580 mm tall and 925 mm arm span using a rapid prototyping system. The robot has a human-like appearance and movement. Flexible sensors around the arm and hands for safe human-robot interactions, and a two-wheel mobile platform for maneuverability are incorporated in the design. The robot has facial features for illustrating human-friendly behavior. The mechanical design of the robot and the characterization of the flexible sensors are presented. Comprehensive study on the upper body design, mobile base, actuators selection, electronics, and performance evaluation are included in this paper.

Flexible magnetoimpidence sensor

KAUST Repository

Kavaldzhiev, Mincho

2015-05-01

Recently, flexible electronic devices have attracted increasing interest, due to the opportunities they promise for new applications such as wearable devices, where the components are required to flex during normal use[1]. In this light, different magnetic sensors, like microcoil, spin valve, giant magnetoresistance (GMR), magnetoimpedance (MI), have been studied previously on flexible substrates.

Global Analysis of Flexible Risers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Banke, Lars

1996-01-01

Flexible pipes are often a technically attractive alternative to the traditional steel pipe. Often commercial utilisation of oil/gas fields depends on the use of flexible pipes. An example is when floating production vessels are used, where the flexible pipe follows the wave induced motions...

Designing structural supply chain flexibility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mulinski, Ksawery Jan

2012-01-01

In a continuously changing business environment the role of supply chain flexibility is constantly increasing. A flexible supply chain can ensure survival in quickly changing market conditions as well as enable sustainable growth. This thesis explores the topic of supply chain flexibility with focus

Flexibility in insulin prescription

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjay Kalra

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This communication explores the concept of flexibility, a propos insulin preparations and insulin regimes used in the management of type 2 diabetes. The flexibility of an insulin regime or preparation is defined as their ability to be injected at variable times, with variable injection-meal time gaps, in a dose frequency and quantum determined by shared decision making, with a minimal requirement of glucose monitoring and health professional consultation, with no compromise on safety, efficiency and tolerability. The relative flexibility of various basal, prandial and dual action insulins, as well as intensive regimes, is compared. The biopsychosocial model of health is used to assess the utility of different insulins while encouraging a philosophy of flexible insulin usage.

Thermal shock induced dynamics of a spacecraft with a flexible deploying boom

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Zhenxing; Li, Huijian; Liu, Xiaoning; Hu, Gengkai

2017-12-01

The dynamics in the process of deployment of a flexible extendible boom as a deployable structure on the spacecraft is studied. For determining the thermally induced vibrations of the boom subjected to an incident solar heat flux, an axially moving thermal-dynamic beam element based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation which is able to precisely describe the large displacement, rotation and deformation of flexible body is presented. For the elastic forces formulation of variable-length beam element, the enhanced continuum mechanics approach is adopted, which can eliminate the Poisson locking effect, and take into account the tension-bending-torsion coupling deformations. The main body of the spacecraft, modeled as a rigid body, is described using the natural coordinates method. In the derived nonlinear thermal-dynamic equations of rigid-flexible multibody system, the mass matrix is time-variant, and a pseudo damping matrix which is without actual energy dissipation, and a heat conduction matrix which is relative to the moving speed and the number of beam element are arisen. Numerical results give the dynamic and thermal responses of the nonrotating and spinning spacecraft, respectively, and show that thermal shock has a significant influence on the dynamics of spacecraft.

Safe Cooperating Cyber-Physical Systems using Wireless Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pop, Paul; Scholle, Detlef; Sljivo, Irfan

2017-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the ECSEL project entitled ―Safe Cooperating Cyber-Physical Systems using Wireless Communication‖ (SafeCOP), which runs during the period 2016–2019. SafeCOP targets safety-related Cooperating Cyber-Physical Systems (CO-CPS) characterised by use of wireless...... detection of abnormal behaviour, triggering if needed a safe degraded mode. SafeCOP will also develop methods and tools, which will be used to produce safety assurance evidence needed to certify cooperative functions. SafeCOP will extend current wireless technologies to ensure safe and secure cooperation...

Education for Flexible Personality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogomir Novak

1998-12-01

Full Text Available Flexible personality transforms both cultural environment and itself. Post-modern personality is both contemplative and active. On one hand, it is subject to inner imagination of a creative act, and on the other hand, to creation of a tangible product What is more, flexible personality is also autonomous, mature, healthy and well balanced, as well as stable and responsive to the demand for change. Due to ever quicker changes, flexible personality is a must. And it is a task. The impact of professional work of adults on the education of children, however, is being conditioned by the exrigid family and rigid enterprises or institutions in which adults are employed. Nevertheless, flexible educational style is not repressive, as it used to be, nor permissive and totally concentrated on the child. It is a choice between the two qualities. The educators' style is dependent on their attitude towards life (play and self-education and not only towards work. Nowadays, flexibility is a way towards quality management of social and personal changes.

COST ACCOUNTING AS THE KEY INFORMATION CORE OF THE COMPANY MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radmila Jablan STEFANOVIĆ

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The management is expected to lead the company towards the achievement of set objectives which, in the contemporary settings of marked external and internal complexity, inevitably requires sophisticated expert knowledge and skills, as well as quality information support. Cost accounting generates cost and performance information with the goal of qualitatively meeting information needs of, above all, internal users. It represents the essential part of the company’s accounting information system as a whole and it is often stressed as the key information core and a reliable information support for the company’s management in performing their managerial activities. The contemporary business environment inevitably requires the restructuring of cost accounting and new approaches to costing and cost management, in the attempt to improve the quality of cost information that has always been the object of particular interest. Moreover, only a flexibly designed cost accounting information system can qualitatively respond to the increasingly numerous and various information requirements. In this paper we discuss the role cost accounting has in offering adequate information support to managers at all managerial levels. We emphasize some of the new tools, techniques, concepts and approaches to costing and cost management

THE IMPACT OF NEW INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS ACCOUNTING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentin Ioan UŞURELU

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The studied field has suffered continuous transformation, both in interaction with other scientific fields and in constituent sub-classes, for discovering and understanding more deeply the contemporary economic realities under the impact of major trends of world development. This paper aims to analyze the location and the effects of information and communication technologies within the public accounting in order to evaluate the effects of this element on accounting research, teaching and professional practice. In a comprehensive approach of public institutions accounting, new information and communication technologies represent a tool that facilitates the accounting function and realizes the connection between the transmitter and the receiver, both within and outside the organization, not just at the micro and macro economic level but also at the micro and macro social one. The advantages of recent progress of information and communication technologies are obvious for the organizations management. It highlights the developments and challenges represented by these new technologies for researchers and professionals in the idea of performing a broad and flexible view of public accounting enabling them to provide useful services for all categories of users of accounting information.

InaSAFE applications in disaster preparedness

Science.gov (United States)

Pranantyo, Ignatius Ryan; Fadmastuti, Mahardika; Chandra, Fredy

2015-04-01

Disaster preparedness activities aim to reduce the impact of disasters by being better prepared to respond when a disaster occurs. In order to better anticipate requirements during a disaster, contingency planning activities can be undertaken prior to a disaster based on a realistic disaster scenario. InaSAFE is a tool that can inform this process. InaSAFE is a free and open source software that estimates the impact to people and infrastructure from potential hazard scenarios. By using InaSAFE, disaster managers can develop scenarios of disaster impacts (people and infrastructures affected) to inform their contingency plan and emergency response operation plan. While InaSAFE provides the software framework exposure data and hazard data are needed as inputs to run this software. Then InaSAFE can be used to forecast the impact of the hazard scenario to the exposure data. InaSAFE outputs include estimates of the number of people, buildings and roads are affected, list of minimum needs (rice and clean water), and response checklist. InaSAFE is developed by Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the Australian Government, through the Australia-Indonesia Facility for Disaster Reduction (AIFDR), in partnership with the World Bank - Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). This software has been used in many parts of Indonesia, including Padang, Maumere, Jakarta, and Slamet Mountain for emergency response and contingency planning.

Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart

Science.gov (United States)

... Internal Temperature Chart Safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage are essential in preventing foodborne illness. You can't see, smell, or taste harmful bacteria that may cause illness. In every step of food preparation, follow the four guidelines to keep food safe: ...

Graphene-cellulose paper flexible supercapacitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weng, Zhe; Su, Yang; Li, Feng; Du, Jinhong; Cheng, Hui-Ming [Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016 (China); Wang, Da-Wei [ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Qld 4072 (Australia)

2011-10-15

A simple and scalable method to fabricate graphene-cellulose paper (GCP) membranes is reported; these membranes exhibit great advantages as freestanding and binder-free electrodes for flexible supercapacitors. The GCP electrode consists of a unique three-dimensional interwoven structure of graphene nanosheets and cellulose fibers and has excellent mechanical flexibility, good specific capacitance and power performance, and excellent cyclic stability. The electrical conductivity of the GCP membrane shows high stability with a decrease of only 6% after being bent 1000 times. This flexible GCP electrode has a high capacitance per geometric area of 81 mF cm{sup -2}, which is equivalent to a gravimetric capacitance of 120 F g{sup -1} of graphene, and retains >99% capacitance over 5000 cycles. Several types of flexible GCP-based polymer supercapacitors with various architectures are assembled to meet the power-energy requirements of typical flexible or printable electronics. Under highly flexible conditions, the supercapacitors show a high capacitance per geometric area of 46 mF cm{sup -2} for the complete devices. All the results demonstrate that polymer supercapacitors made using GCP membranes are versatile and may be used for flexible and portable micropower devices. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Mechanistic drivers of flexibility in summit metabolic rates of small birds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Swanson

Full Text Available Flexible metabolic phenotypes allow animals to adjust physiology to better fit ecological or environmental demands, thereby influencing fitness. Summit metabolic rate (Msum = maximal thermogenic capacity is one such flexible trait. Skeletal muscle and heart masses and myocyte metabolic intensity are potential drivers of Msum flexibility in birds. We examined correlations of skeletal muscle and heart masses and pectoralis muscle citrate synthase (CS activity (an indicator of cellular metabolic intensity with Msum in house sparrows (Passer domesticus and dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis to determine whether these traits are associated with Msum variation. Pectoralis mass was positively correlated with Msum for both species, but no significant correlation remained for either species after accounting for body mass (Mb variation. Combined flight and leg muscle masses were also not significantly correlated with Msum for either species. In contrast, heart mass was significantly positively correlated with Msum for juncos and nearly so (P = 0.054 for sparrows. Mass-specific and total pectoralis CS activities were significantly positively correlated with Msum for sparrows, but not for juncos. Thus, myocyte metabolic intensity influences Msum variation in house sparrows, although the stronger correlation of total (r = 0.495 than mass-specific (r = 0.378 CS activity with Msum suggests that both pectoralis mass and metabolic intensity impact Msum. In contrast, neither skeletal muscle masses nor pectoralis metabolic intensity varied with Msum in juncos. However, heart mass was associated with Msum variation in both species. These data suggest that drivers of metabolic flexibility are not uniform among bird species.

Developmental Constraints on Learning Artificial Grammars with Fixed, Flexible and Free Word Order

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iga Nowak

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Human learning, although highly flexible and efficient, is constrained in ways that facilitate or impede the acquisition of certain systems of information. Some such constraints, active during infancy and childhood, have been proposed to account for the apparent ease with which typically developing children acquire language. In a series of experiments, we investigated the role of developmental constraints on learning artificial grammars with a distinction between shorter and relatively frequent words (‘function words,’ F-words and longer and less frequent words (‘content words,’ C-words. We constructed 4 finite-state grammars, in which the order of F-words, relative to C-words, was either fixed (F-words always occupied the same positions in a string, flexible (every F-word always followed a C-word, or free. We exposed adults (N = 84 and kindergarten children (N = 100 to strings from each of these artificial grammars, and we assessed their ability to recognize strings with the same structure, but a different vocabulary. Adults were better at recognizing strings when regularities were available (i.e., fixed and flexible order grammars, while children were better at recognizing strings from the grammars consistent with the attested distribution of function and content words in natural languages (i.e., flexible and free order grammars. These results provide evidence for a link between developmental constraints on learning and linguistic typology.

COMT Val158Met polymorphism, cognitive stability and cognitive flexibility: an experimental examination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Elise C

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Dopamine in prefrontal cortex (PFC modulates core cognitive processes, notably working memory and executive control. Dopamine regulating genes and polymorphisms affecting PFC - including Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT Val158Met - are crucial to understanding the molecular genetics of cognitive function and dysfunction. A mechanistic account of the COMT Val158Met effect associates the Met allele with increased tonic dopamine transmission underlying maintenance of relevant information, and the Val allele with increased phasic dopamine transmission underlying the flexibility of updating new information. Thus, consistent with some earlier work, we predicted that Val carriers would display poorer performance when the maintenance component was taxed, while Met carriers would be less efficient when rapid updating was required. Methods Using a Stroop task that manipulated level of required cognitive stability and flexibility, we examined reaction time performance of patients with schizophrenia (n = 67 and healthy controls (n = 186 genotyped for the Val/Met variation. Results In both groups we found a Met advantage for tasks requiring cognitive stability, but no COMT effect when a moderate level of cognitive flexibility was required, or when a conflict cost measure was calculated. Conclusions Our results do not support a simple stability/flexibility model of dopamine COMT Val/Met effects and suggest a somewhat different conceptualization and experimental operationalization of these cognitive components.

Comparing the level of dexterity offered by latex and nitrile SafeSkin gloves.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawyer, Jo; Bennett, Allan

2006-04-01

An increase in the occurrence of latex allergy has been concurrent with the increasing use of latex gloves by laboratory and healthcare workers. In recent years nitrile gloves have been used to replace latex gloves to prevent latex allergy. Nitrile gloves offer a comparable level of protection against chemical and biological agents and are more puncture resistant. However, if manual dexterity is compromised by nitrile gloves to a greater degree than latex then this may increase the risk of sharps injuries. The Purdue pegboard test, which measures both gross and fine finger dexterity, was used to test the dexterity levels of two glove types used at HPA CEPR; Kimberly-Clark SafeSkin nitrile and latex laboratory gloves. There was a statistically significant 8.6% increase in fine finger dexterity provided by latex compared with nitrile SafeSkin laboratory gloves but no difference in gross dexterity between the glove types. There was no significant relationship between glove dexterity and age or gender. The selection of glove size was influenced by the digit length of participants. Moreover, those with longer, thinner fingers appeared to have an advantage when using nitrile SafeSkin gloves. The level of dexterity provided by latex and nitrile SafeSkin gloves for tasks on a gross dexterity level are comparable and health workers will benefit from the non-allergenic properties of nitrile. For tasks requiring fine finger dexterity nitrile SafeSkin gloves may impede dexterity. Despite this, the degree of restriction appears to have a negligible impact on safety in this study when compared with the risk of latex sensitization and subsequent allergy. In addition to glove material, working practices must also take into account glove size, fit, grip and thickness, as these factors can all influence dexterity.

Three-dimensional formulation of rigid-flexible multibody systems with flexible beam elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia-Vallejo, D.; Mayo, J.; Escalona, J. L.; Dominguez, J.

2008-01-01

Multibody systems generally contain solids with appreciable deformations and which decisively influence the dynamics of the system. These solids have to be modeled by means of special formulations for flexible solids. At the same time, other solids are of such a high stiffness that they may be considered rigid, which simplifies their modeling. For these reasons, for a rigid-flexible multibody system, two types of formulations coexist in the equations of the system. Among the different possibilities provided in the literature on the material, the formulation in natural coordinates and the formulation in absolute nodal coordinates are utilized in this paper to model the rigid and flexible solids, respectively. This paper contains a mixed formulation based on the possibility of sharing coordinates between a rigid solid and a flexible solid. The global mass matrix of the system is shown to be constant and, in addition, many of the constraint equations obtained upon utilizing these formulations are linear and can be eliminated

Safe affordable fission engine (SAFE 30) module conductivity test thermal model correlation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roman, Jose

2001-01-01

The SAFE 30 is a simple, robust space fission power system that is comprised of several independent modules. Each module contains 4 fuel tubes bonded to a central heatpipe. Fission energy is conducted from the fuel tubes to the heatpipe, which in turn transfers the energy to a power conversion system. This paper benchmarks a thermal model of the SAFE 30 with actual test data from simulated SAFE 30 module tests. Two 'dummy' SAFE 30 modules were fabricated - each consisted of 4 1-inch dia. tubes (simulating the fuel tubes) bonded to a central '1' dia. tube (simulating the heatpipe). In the first module the fuel tubes were simply brazed to the heatpipe along the line of contact (leaving void space in the interstices), and in the second module the tubes and heatpipe were brazed via tri-cusps that completely fill the interstices between the tubes. In these tests, fission energy is simulated by placing resistance heaters within each of the 4 fuel tubes. The tests were conducted in a vacuum chamber in 4 configurations: tri-cusps filled with and without an outer insulation wrap, and no tri-cusps with and without an outer insulation wrap. The baseline SAFE 30 configuration uses the brazed tri-cusps. During the tests, the power applied to the heaters was varied in a stepwise fashion, until a steady-state temperature profile was reached. These temperature levels varied between 773 K and 1073 K. To benchmark the thermal model, the input energy and chamber surface temperature were used as boundary conditions for the model. The analytical results from the nodes at the same location as the test thermocouples were plotted again test data to determinate the accuracy of the analysis. The unknown variables on the analysis are the radiation emissivity of the pipe and chamber and the radiation view factor between the module and the chamber. A correlation was determined using a parametric analysis by varying the surface emissivity and view factor until a good match was reached. This

Steering teens safe: a randomized trial of a parent-based intervention to improve safe teen driving.

Science.gov (United States)

Peek-Asa, Corinne; Cavanaugh, Joseph E; Yang, Jingzhen; Chande, Vidya; Young, Tracy; Ramirez, Marizen

2014-07-31

Crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and parent-based interventions are a promising approach. We assess the effectiveness of Steering Teens Safe, a parent-focused program to increase safe teen driving. Steering Teens Safe aimed to improve parental communication with teens about safe driving using motivational interviewing techniques in conjunction with 19 safe driving lessons. A randomized controlled trial involved 145 parent-teen dyads (70 intervention and 75 control). Intervention parents received a 45-minute session to learn the program with four follow-up phone sessions, a DVD, and a workbook. Control parents received a standard brochure about safe driving. Scores were developed to measure teen-reported quantity and quality of parental communication about safe driving. The main outcome measure was a previously validated Risky Driving Score reported by teens. Because the Score was highly skewed, a generalized linear model based on a gamma distribution was used for analysis. Intervention teens ranked their parent's success in talking about driving safety higher than control teens (p = 0.035) and reported that their parents talked about more topics (non-significant difference). The Risky Driving Score was 21% lower in intervention compared to control teens (85% CI = 0.60, 1.00). Interaction between communication quantity and the intervention was examined. Intervention teens who reported more successful communication had a 42% lower Risky Driving Score (95% CI = 0.37, 0.94) than control parents with less successful communication. This program had a positive although not strong effect, and it may hold the most promise in partnership with other programs, such as Driver's Education or Graduated Driver's License policies. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01014923. Registered Nov. 16, 2009.

Staying Safe in the Water

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

In this podcast, Dr. Julie Gilchrist, a pediatrician and medical epidemiologist from CDC’s Injury Center, talks about staying safe in the water. Tips are for all audiences, with a focus on preventing drownings and keeping children safe in and around the pool, lake, or ocean.

Development of the Coping Flexibility Scale: Evidence for the Coping Flexibility Hypothesis

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Tsukasa

2012-01-01

"Coping flexibility" was defined as the ability to discontinue an ineffective coping strategy (i.e., evaluation coping) and produce and implement an alternative coping strategy (i.e., adaptive coping). The Coping Flexibility Scale (CFS) was developed on the basis of this definition. Five studies involving approximately 4,400 Japanese…

Safe biodegradable fluorescent particles

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Sue I [Berkeley, CA; Fergenson, David P [Alamo, CA; Srivastava, Abneesh [Santa Clara, CA; Bogan, Michael J [Dublin, CA; Riot, Vincent J [Oakland, CA; Frank, Matthias [Oakland, CA

2010-08-24

A human-safe fluorescence particle that can be used for fluorescence detection instruments or act as a safe simulant for mimicking the fluorescence properties of microorganisms. The particle comprises a non-biological carrier and natural fluorophores encapsulated in the non-biological carrier. By doping biodegradable-polymer drug delivery microspheres with natural or synthetic fluorophores, the desired fluorescence can be attained or biological organisms can be simulated without the associated risks and logistical difficulties of live microorganisms.

Safe Haven.

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Gail

2003-01-01

Discusses school libraries as safe havens for teenagers and considers elements that foster that atmosphere, including the physical environment, lack of judgments, familiarity, leisure, and a welcoming nature. Focuses on the importance of relationships, and taking the time to listen to teens and encourage them. (LRW)

Development of a balance, safe mobility and falls management programme for people with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunn, Hilary; Endacott, Ruth; Haas, Bernhard; Marsden, Jonathan; Freeman, Jennifer

2017-08-07

To utilise stakeholder input to inform the structure, format and approach of a multiple sclerosis (MS) balance, safe mobility and falls management programme. Using a three-round nominal group technique, participants individually rated their agreement with 20 trigger statements, followed by a facilitated group discussion and re-rating. Three mixed groups included service users (n = 15) and providers (n = 19). Quantitative analysis determined agreement, whilst qualitative responses were analysed thematically. Median scores for each of the 20 trigger statements did not change significantly over sequential rounds, however, deviations around the medians indicated more agreement amongst participants over time. Key recommendations were: Aims and approach: The programme should be tailored to the needs of people with MS. Falls and participation-based outcomes are equally important. Structure and format: The programme should balance expected burden and anticipated benefit, moving away from models requiring weekly attendance and promoting and supporting self-efficacy. Optimising engagement: Support to maintain engagement and intensity of practice over the long term is essential. Sustainability: Adequate funding is necessary. Staff should have MS specific knowledge and experience. Participants collaboratively identified critical components of a MS balance, safe mobility and falls management programme. They also highlighted the importance of a collaborative, user-centred, MS-specific approach. Implications for Rehabilitation People with multiple sclerosis need condition-specific interventions focussed on maximising balance and safe mobility and reducing falls. Programme design should support self-efficacy and flexible engagement. Adequate support and funding are seen as essential by both service users and providers.

The advantage of flexible neuronal tunings in neural network models for motor learning

OpenAIRE

Marongelli, Ellisha N.; Thoroughman, Kurt A.

2013-01-01

Human motor adaptation to novel environments is often modeled by a basis function network that transforms desired movement properties into estimated forces. This network employs a layer of nodes that have fixed broad tunings that generalize across the input domain. Learning is achieved by updating the weights of these nodes in response to training experience. This conventional model is unable to account for rapid flexibility observed in human spatial generalization during motor adaptation. Ho...

How to Observe the Sun Safely

CERN Document Server

Macdonald, Lee

2012-01-01

How to Observe the Sun Safely, Second Edition gives all the basic information and advice the amateur astronomer needs to get started in observing our own ever-fascinating star. Unlike many other astronomical objects, you do not need a large telescope or expensive equipment to observe the Sun. And it is possible to take excellent pictures of the Sun with today's low-cost digital cameras! This book surveys what is visible on the Sun and then describes how to record solar features and measure solar activity levels. There is also an account of how to use H-alpha and Calcium-K filters to observe and record prominences and other features of the solar chromosphere, the Sun's inner atmosphere. Because we are just entering a period of high activity on the Sun, following a long, quiet period, this is a great time to get involved with solar observing. Still emphasizing safety first, this Second Edition reflects recent and exciting advances in solar observing equipment. Chapters 6 through 8 have been completely revised ...

Process information displays from a computerized nuclear materials control and accounting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellis, J.H.

1981-11-01

A computerized nuclear materials control and accounting system is being developed for an LWR spent fuel reprocessing facility. This system directly accesses process instrument readings, sample analyses, and outputs of various on-line analytical instruments. In this paper, methods of processing and displaying this information in ways that aid in the efficient, timely, and safe control of the chemical processes of the facility are described

The Flexibility of Pusher Furnace Grate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Słowik J.A.

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The lifetime of guide grates in pusher furnaces for heat treatment could be increased by raising the flexibility of their structure through, for example, the replacement of straight ribs, parallel to the direction of grate movement, with more flexible segments. The deformability of grates with flexible segments arranged in two orientations, i.e. crosswise (perpendicular to the direction of compression and lengthwise (parallel to the direction of compression, was examined. The compression process was simulated using SolidWorks Simulation program. Relevant regression equations were also derived describing the dependence of force inducing the grate deformation by 0.25 mm ‒ modulus of grate elasticity ‒ on the number of flexible segments in established orientations. These calculations were made in Statistica and Scilab programs. It has been demonstrated that, with the same number of segments, the crosswise orientation of flexible segments increases the grate structure flexibility in a more efficient way than the lengthwise orientation. It has also been proved that a crucial effect on the grate flexibility has only the quantity and orientation of segments (crosswise / lengthwise, while the exact position of segments changes the grate flexibility by less than 1%.

[Towards safe motherhood. World Health Day].

Science.gov (United States)

Plata, M I

1998-06-01

The objective of the 'safe motherhood' initiative is to reduce maternal mortality by 50% by the year 2000. A strong policy is needed to permit development of national and international programs. The lifetime risk of death from causes related to complications of pregnancy is estimated at 1/16 in Africa, 1/65 in Asia, 1/130 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1/1400 in Europe, and 1/3700 in North America. A minimum of 585,000 women die of maternal causes each year, with nearly 90% of the deaths occurring in Asia and Africa. Approximately 50 million women suffer from illnesses related to childbearing. A principal cause of maternal mortality is lack of medical care during labor, delivery, and the postpartum period. Motherhood will become safe if governments, multilateral and bilateral funding agencies, and nongovernmental organizations give it the high priority it requires. Women also die because they lack rights. Their reduced decision-making power and inequitable access to family and social resources prevents them from overcoming barriers to health care. Women die when they begin childbearing at a very young age, yet an estimated 11% of births throughout the world each year are to adolescents. Adolescents have very limited access to family planning, either through legal restrictions or obstacles created by family planning workers. Maternal deaths would be avoided if all births were attended by trained health workers; an estimated 60 million births annually are not. Prevention of unwanted pregnancy and, thus, of the 50 million abortions estimated to take place each year would avoid over 200 maternal deaths each day. Unsafe abortions account for 13% of maternal deaths. The evidence demonstrates that rates of unsafe abortion and abortion mortality are higher where laws are more restrictive.

High Performance Electronics on Flexible Silicon

KAUST Repository

Sevilla, Galo T.

2016-09-01

Over the last few years, flexible electronic systems have gained increased attention from researchers around the world because of their potential to create new applications such as flexible displays, flexible energy harvesters, artificial skin, and health monitoring systems that cannot be integrated with conventional wafer based complementary metal oxide semiconductor processes. Most of the current efforts to create flexible high performance devices are based on the use of organic semiconductors. However, inherent material\\'s limitations make them unsuitable for big data processing and high speed communications. The objective of my doctoral dissertation is to develop integration processes that allow the transformation of rigid high performance electronics into flexible ones while maintaining their performance and cost. In this work, two different techniques to transform inorganic complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor electronics into flexible ones have been developed using industry compatible processes. Furthermore, these techniques were used to realize flexible discrete devices and circuits which include metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistors, the first demonstration of flexible Fin-field-effect-transistors, and metal-oxide-semiconductors-based circuits. Finally, this thesis presents a new technique to package, integrate, and interconnect flexible high performance electronics using low cost additive manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing and inkjet printing. This thesis contains in depth studies on electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the fabricated devices.

Workplace flexibility: from research to action.

Science.gov (United States)

Galinsky, Ellen; Sakai, Kelly; Wigton, Tyler

2011-01-01

Ellen Galinsky, Kelly Sakai, and Tyler Wigton explore the "time famine" among American workers-the continuing sense among employees of not having enough time to manage the multiple responsibilities of work and personal and family life. Noting that large shares of U.S. employees report feeling the need for greater workplace flexibility to enable them to take better care of family responsibilities, the authors examine a large-scale community-engagement initiative to increase workplace flexibility voluntarily. Using the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce as a primary source of data, the authors begin with an overview of the prevalence of flexibility in today's American workplace. They track which categories of employees have access to various flexibility options, as well as the extent to which employees with access to various types of flexibility use those options. Findings from the study indicate that the majority of employees want flexibility but that access to it varies, with more advantaged employees--those who are well educated, have high salaries, and work full time, for example--being doubly advantaged in having greater access to flexibility. A number of employers, say the authors, tend to be skeptical of the value of workplace flexibility and to fear that employees will abuse it if it is offered. But the study data reveal that most employees use flexibility quite conservatively. When the authors use their nationally representative data set to investigate correlations between access to workplace flexibility and a range of workplace outcomes especially valued by employers--employee engagement, job satisfaction, retention, and health--they find that employers as well as employees can benefit from flexibility. Finally, the authors discuss When Work Works, a large, national community-based initiative under way since 2003 to increase voluntary adoption of workplace flexibility. The authors detail the conceptual basis of the project's design, noting its

More than a Safe Space

Science.gov (United States)

Sadowski, Michael

2016-01-01

Over the past three decades, much of the conversation about LGBTQ students in schools has centered on safety--anti-bullying policies, the "safe space" of gay-straight alliances, and "safe zones" marked by rainbow-colored stickers on classroom doors. In this article, Michael Sadowski argues that it's time to move beyond safety…

Flexible ureterorenoscopy for lower pole stones: influence of the collecting system's anatomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Jessen, Jan Peter; Honeck, Patrick; Knoll, Thomas; Wendt-Nordahl, Gunnar

2014-02-01

The impact of renal anatomy on the success rate of flexible ureterorenoscopy (fURS) for lower pole stones is less clear than it is on shock wave lithotripsy, for which it is a recognized influence factor. We analyzed safety and efficiency of fURS using modern endoscopes for lower pole stones dependent on the collecting system's configuration. We retrospectively evaluated a consecutive sample of 111 fURS for lower pole stones at our tertiary care center between January 2010 and September 2012 from our prospectively kept database. All procedures were performed with modern flexible ureterorenoscopes, nitinol baskets, holmium laser lithotripsy, and ureteral access sheaths whenever needed. The infundibular length (IL) and width (IW) and infundibulopelvic angle (IPA) were measured and the data were stratified for stone-free status and complications classified by the Clavien-Dindo scale. Univariate and multifactorial statistical analyses were performed. Correlation of operation time (OR-time) with anatomical parameters was conducted. Ninety-eight (88.3%) of the 111 patients were stone free after a single fURS. On multifactorial analysis, the stone size and IL had significant influence on the stone-free rate (SFR) (panatomy. fURS is a safe and efficient treatment option for lower pole kidney stones. A long infundibulum and a very acute IPA (anatomy.

Numerical Modeling and Mechanical Analysis of Flexible Risers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Y. Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available ABAQUS is used to create a detailed finite element model for a 10-layer unbonded flexible riser to simulate the riser’s mechanical behavior under three load conditions: tension force and internal and external pressure. It presents a technique to create detailed finite element model and to analyze flexible risers. In FEM model, all layers are modeled separately with contact interfaces; interaction between steel trips in certain layers has been considered as well. FEM model considering contact interaction, geometric nonlinearity, and friction has been employed to accurately simulate the structural behavior of riser. The model includes the main features of the riser geometry with very little simplifying assumptions. The model was solved using a fully explicit time-integration scheme implemented in a parallel environment on an eight-processor cluster and 24 G memory computer. There is a very good agreement obtained from numerical and analytical comparisons, which validates the use of numerical model here. The results from the numerical simulation show that the numerical model takes into account various details of the riser. It has been shown that the detailed finite element model can be used to predict riser’s mechanics behavior under various load cases and bound conditions.

Development and Design of a Flexible Measurement System for Offshore Wind Farm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kocewiak, Lukasz Hubert; Arana Aristi, Iván; Hjerrild, Jesper

The development process of a flexible measurement system for multi-point, high-speed and long-term offshore data logging is described in this paper. This covers the complete design taking into account precise synchronisation, electromagnetic compatibility, software development and sensor...... calibration. The presented measurement set-up was tested in a rough offshore environment. Results from measurement campaigns at Avedøre and Gunfleet Sands offshore wind farms including synchronisation precision and accuracy, electromagnetic interference of power electronic devices are briefly presented....

Development and Design of a Flexible Measurement System for Offshore Wind Farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kocewiak, Lukasz Hubert; Arana Aristi, Ivan; Hjerrild, Jesper

2011-01-01

The development process of a flexible measurement system for multi-point, high-speed and long-term offshore data logging is described in this paper. This covers the complete design taking into account precise synchronisation, electromagnetic compatibility, software development and sensor...... calibration. The presented measurement set-up was tested in a rough offshore environment. Results from measurement campaigns at Avedøre and Gunfleet Sands offshore wind farms including synchronisation precision and accuracy, electromagnetic interference of power electronic devices are briefly presented....

Geometric nonlinear effects on the planar dynamics of a pivoted flexible beam encountering a point-surface impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Qing; Wang Tianshu; Ma Xingrui

2009-01-01

Flexible-body modeling with geometric nonlinearities remains a hot topic of research by applications in multibody system dynamics undergoing large overall motions. However, the geometric nonlinear effects on the impact dynamics of flexible multibody systems have attracted significantly less attention. In this paper, a point-surface impact problem between a rigid ball and a pivoted flexible beam is investigated. The Hertzian contact law is used to describe the impact process, and the dynamic equations are formulated in the floating frame of reference using the assumed mode method. The two important geometric nonlinear effects of the flexible beam are taken into account, i.e., the longitudinal foreshortening effect due to the transverse deformation, and the stress stiffness effect due to the axial force. The simulation results show that good consistency can be obtained with the nonlinear finite element program ABAQUS/Explicit if proper geometric nonlinearities are included in the floating frame formulation. Specifically, only the foreshortening effect should be considered in a pure transverse impact for efficiency, while the stress stiffness effect should be further considered in an oblique case with much more computational effort. It also implies that the geometric nonlinear effects should be considered properly in the impact dynamic analysis of more general flexible multibody systems

Cognitive Flexibility in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jónsson, Hjalti; Salkovskis, Paul M.

BT for problems such as OCD requires a level of cognitive flexibility (that is the ability to take a different perspective on ones problems). It could be argued that problems in set shifting (by neuropsychological tests) might underpin problems in this area. Two assessments were used (1: perception...... of cognitive flexibility was assessed by questionnaire 2: neuropsychological evaluation of set shifting). This study will recruit three groups: OCD patients, anxious and healthy controls. Cognitive flexibility is measured using modified version of the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (Martin & Rubin, 1995......) and neuropsychological measures of cognitive flexibility (Wisconsin Cart Sorting Test, Trail Making Test A/B, The Brixton Test). IN addition to the group comparison, the relationship between perceived flexibility, set shifting and psychopathology will be investigated. The implications of the findings for treatment...

Transfer of a cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet through a long flexible plastic tube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostov, Konstantin G; Prysiazhnyi, Vadym; Honda, Roberto Y; Machida, Munemasa

2015-01-01

This work proposes an experimental configuration for the generation of a cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet at the downstream end of a long flexible plastic tube. The device consists of a cylindrical dielectric chamber where an insulated metal rod that serves as high-voltage electrode is inserted. The chamber is connected to a long (up to 4 m) commercial flexible plastic tube, equipped with a thin floating Cu wire. The wire penetrates a few mm inside the discharge chamber, passes freely (with no special support) along the plastic tube and terminates a few millimeters before the tube end. The system is flushed with Ar and the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is ignited inside the dielectric chamber by a low frequency ac power supply. The gas flow is guided by the plastic tube while the metal wire, when in contact with the plasma inside the DBD reactor, acquires plasma potential. There is no discharge inside the plastic tube, however an Ar plasma jet can be extracted from the downstream tube end. The jet obtained by this method is cold enough to be put in direct contact with human skin without an electric shock. Therefore, by using this approach an Ar plasma jet can be generated at the tip of a long plastic tube far from the high-voltage discharge region, which provides the safe operation conditions and device flexibility required for medical treatment. (paper)

Flexible packaging for PV modules

Science.gov (United States)

Dhere, Neelkanth G.

2008-08-01

Economic, flexible packages that provide needed level of protection to organic and some other PV cells over >25-years have not yet been developed. However, flexible packaging is essential in niche large-scale applications. Typical configuration used in flexible photovoltaic (PV) module packaging is transparent frontsheet/encapsulant/PV cells/flexible substrate. Besides flexibility of various components, the solder bonds should also be flexible and resistant to fatigue due to cyclic loading. Flexible front sheets should provide optical transparency, mechanical protection, scratch resistance, dielectric isolation, water resistance, UV stability and adhesion to encapsulant. Examples are Tefzel, Tedlar and Silicone. Dirt can get embedded in soft layers such as silicone and obscure light. Water vapor transmittance rate (WVTR) of polymer films used in the food packaging industry as moisture barriers are ~0.05 g/(m2.day) under ambient conditions. In comparison, light emitting diodes employ packaging components that have WVTR of ~10-6 g/(m2.day). WVTR of polymer sheets can be improved by coating them with dense inorganic/organic multilayers. Ethylene vinyl acetate, an amorphous copolymer used predominantly by the PV industry has very high O2 and H2O diffusivity. Quaternary carbon chains (such as acetate) in a polymer lead to cleavage and loss of adhesional strength at relatively low exposures. Reactivity of PV module components increases in presence of O2 and H2O. Adhesional strength degrades due to the breakdown of structure of polymer by reactive, free radicals formed by high-energy radiation. Free radical formation in polymers is reduced when the aromatic rings are attached at regular intervals. This paper will review flexible packaging for PV modules.

Safe injection procedures, injection practices, and needlestick ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Results: Safe injection procedures regarding final waste disposal were sufficiently adopted, while measures regarding disposable injection equipment, waste containers, hand hygiene, as well as injection practices were inadequately carried out. Lack of job aid posters that promote safe injection and safe disposal of ...

Flexible devices: from materials, architectures to applications

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Mingzhi; Ma, Yue; Yuan, Xin; Hu, Yi; Liu, Jie; Jin, Zhong

2018-01-01

Flexible devices, such as flexible electronic devices and flexible energy storage devices, have attracted a significant amount of attention in recent years for their potential applications in modern human lives. The development of flexible devices is moving forward rapidly, as the innovation of methods and manufacturing processes has greatly encouraged the research of flexible devices. This review focuses on advanced materials, architecture designs and abundant applications of flexible devices, and discusses the problems and challenges in current situations of flexible devices. We summarize the discovery of novel materials and the design of new architectures for improving the performance of flexible devices. Finally, we introduce the applications of flexible devices as key components in real life. Project supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Nos. 2017YFA0208200, 2016YFB0700600, 2015CB659300), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21403105, 21573108), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 020514380107).

Water Accounting Priorities in the American West

Science.gov (United States)

Hanak, E.

2017-12-01

In regions facing water scarcity, understanding the water balance sheet—how much there is, who has claims to it, and what is actually being "spent"—is key to effectively managing supplies to meet a wide range of societal goals. This is a common challenge across the American West, a region needing to balance the water demands of large irrigated agricultural sectors, growing urban populations, and declining aquatic ecosystems—in a context of increasingly variable, and in some cases diminishing, water supplies. Many local urban water utilities, and some irrigation water suppliers, have developed sophisticated data systems for tracking water availability and use within their systems. But there are still major gaps in essential metrics at the scale of watersheds and river basins. On the supply side, key issues include understanding groundwater availability and surface-groundwater interactions. On the demand side, the biggest challenges relate to understanding groundwater use and return flows—the water that is returned to rivers or aquifers and is available for reuse. In addition, most states lack consistent accounting and data standards for sharing water availability, claims, and use information—and transparent systems for reporting information to users in ways that facilitates oversight and flexible tools such as water trading. Drawing on a detailed study of water accounting in 12 western states and 2 countries with similar water challenges (Escriva Bou et al. 2016, Accounting for Water in Dry Regions: A Comparative Review, Public Policy Institute of California), this talk provides insights on best practices that can help fill critical water accounting gaps.

A volume flexible inventory model with trapezoidal demand under inflation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

kapil mehrotra

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Abstract   This article experiment. Further, the effects of different parameters are analysed by performing sensitivity analyses on the optimal policy. explores an economic production quantity model (EPQ model for deteriorating items with time-dependent demand following trapezoidal pattern taking the volume flexibility into account. We have also considered the inflation and time value of money. The solution of the model aims at determining the optimal production run-time in order to maximize the profit. The model is also illustrated by means of numerical

'Becquerel screening' device to automatically measure activity level of contaminated soil in flexible containers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okada, Hisashi; Yamaguchi, Yoshihisa; Yamamoto, Shuji

2014-01-01

Contaminated soil and incineration ash collected during offsite decontamination work following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. is being stored in flexible containers. These containers are managed taking their activity level into account in accordance with the Decontamination Guidelines issued by the Ministry of the Environment. Toshiba has developed the 'Becquerel Screening' device that can automatically measure the activity level of the contents of each flexible container simply by placing the container on a palette, without the need to take samples for analysis from the container. The Becquerel Screening device is expected to contribute not only to improved operational efficiency but also to reduced exposure of operators to radiation, because it eliminates the need for direct contact with contaminated soil and ash. (author)

Flexible Thermoelectric Generators on Silicon Fabric

KAUST Repository

Sevilla, Galo T.

2012-01-01

In this work, the development of a Thermoelectric Generator on Flexible Silicon Fabric is explored to extend silicon electronics for flexible platforms. Low cost, easily deployable plastic based flexible electronics are of great interest for smart

Managing Cassini Safe Mode Attitude at Saturn

Science.gov (United States)

Burk, Thomas A.

2010-01-01

The Cassini spacecraft was launched on October 15, 1997 and arrived at Saturn on June 30, 2004. It has performed detailed observations and remote sensing of Saturn, its rings, and its satellites since that time. In the event safe mode interrupts normal orbital operations, Cassini has flight software fault protection algorithms to detect, isolate, and recover to a thermally safe and commandable attitude and then wait for further instructions from the ground. But the Saturn environment is complex, and safety hazards change depending on where Cassini is in its orbital trajectory around Saturn. Selecting an appropriate safe mode attitude that insures safe operation in the Saturn environment, including keeping the star tracker field of view clear of bright bodies, while maintaining a quiescent, commandable attitude, is a significant challenge. This paper discusses the Cassini safe table management strategy and the key criteria that must be considered, especially during low altitude flybys of Titan, in deciding what spacecraft attitude should be used in the event of safe mode.

The Flexibility of Organization and the flexibility of product – premises of organizational success

OpenAIRE

Todorut, Amalia Venera

2008-01-01

Flexibility represents the ability of a manufactural system to adapt to some diversified tasks of production, thus to assure an economic efficiency – the rapport time/cost should be optimum, with insignificant structure changes within a long period of time. The central role of flexibility is to permit the survival and the success of the organizations in a turbulent circumstance, which is characteristic to the new world tendencies. The more flexible the organization becomes, the better it resp...

RapidRMSD: Rapid determination of RMSDs corresponding to motions of flexible molecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Neveu, Emilie; Popov, Petr; Hoffmann, Alexandre; Migliosi, Angelo; Besseron, Xavier; Danoy, Grégoire; Bouvry, Pascal; Grudinin, Sergei

2018-03-15

The root mean square deviation (RMSD) is one of the most used similarity criteria in structural biology and bioinformatics. Standard computation of the RMSD has a linear complexity with respect to the number of atoms in a molecule, making RMSD calculations time-consuming for the large-scale modeling applications, such as assessment of molecular docking predictions or clustering of spatially proximate molecular conformations. Previously we introduced the RigidRMSD algorithm to compute the RMSD corresponding to the rigid-body motion of a molecule. In this study we go beyond the limits of the rigid-body approximation by taking into account conformational flexibility of the molecule. We model the flexibility with a reduced set of collective motions computed with e.g. normal modes or principal component analysis. The initialization of our algorithm is linear in the number of atoms and all the subsequent evaluations of RMSD values between flexible molecular conformations depend only on the number of collective motions that are selected to model the flexibility. Therefore, our algorithm is much faster compared to the standard RMSD computation for large-scale modeling applications. We demonstrate the efficiency of our method on several clustering examples, including clustering of flexible docking results and molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories. We also demonstrate how to use the presented formalism to generate pseudo-random constant-RMSD structural molecular ensembles and how to use these in cross-docking. We provide the algorithm written in C ++ as the open-source RapidRMSD library governed by the BSD-compatible license, which is available at http://team.inria.fr/nano-d/software/RapidRMSD/. The constant-RMSD structural ensemble application and clustering of MD trajectories is available at http://team.inria.fr/nano-d/software/nolb-normal-modes/. sergei.grudinin@inria.fr. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics.

Contagious flexibility? A study on whether schedule flexibility facilitates work-life enrichment.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, Vivi Bach; Jeppesen, Hans Jeppe

2012-08-01

Schedule flexibility defines an important generating resource for work-life enrichment; however, our knowledge about how such spillovers take place is limited. This multiple case study examines how workers from different working time contexts with varying levels of schedule flexibility experience work-life interplay. Given the adopted explorative design, it is important to interpret the findings in a tentative light. Nonetheless, the study offers important insight into work-life enrichment that may guide future research in this field. The findings indicate that schedule flexibility may act as a boundary-spanning resource owing to the agency potential it offers workers. Thus, it seemed that flexible schedule opportunities enabled workers to engage more fully in personal life activities, which in turn had a positive influence on their work involvement through positive affect. Such positive role engagements appeared, however, to be greatly determined by workers' boundary management and by time conditions of work and family. In conclusion, the major findings and limitation of the study are discussed against existing research and theory. © 2012 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2012 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

UNITY OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL FUNCTIONS FLEXIBILITY

OpenAIRE

George MOLDOVEANU; Cosmin DOBRIN

2012-01-01

The paper has the goal to analyse the correlation of the flexibility of all organizational functions. Based upon theoretical and practical studies, the decrease of flexibility into an "activity area" of organizations implies a diminution on a large scale of the flexibility of the processing system as a law expression of the decreasing outputs within economy. Therefore, at the level of each organizational function there are several major directions ensuring the flexibility of the "ensemble".

Conditional bistability, a generic cellular mnemonic mechanism for robust and flexible working memory computations.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Guillaume; Sarazin, Matthieu; Clemente, Alexandra; Holden, Stephanie; Paz, Jeanne T; Delord, Bruno

2018-04-30

Persistent neural activity, the substrate of working memory, is thought to emerge from synaptic reverberation within recurrent networks. However, reverberation models do not robustly explain fundamental dynamics of persistent activity, including high-spiking irregularity, large intertrial variability, and state transitions. While cellular bistability may contribute to persistent activity, its rigidity appears incompatible with persistent activity labile characteristics. Here, we unravel in a cellular model a form of spike-mediated conditional bistability that is robust, generic and provides a rich repertoire of mnemonic computations. Under asynchronous synaptic inputs of the awakened state, conditional bistability generates spiking/bursting episodes, accounting for the irregularity, variability and state transitions characterizing persistent activity. This mechanism has likely been overlooked because of the sub-threshold input it requires and we predict how to assess it experimentally. Our results suggest a reexamination of the role of intrinsic properties in the collective network dynamics responsible for flexible working memory. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study unravels a novel form of intrinsic neuronal property, i.e. conditional bistability. We show that, thanks of its conditional character, conditional bistability favors the emergence of flexible and robust forms of persistent activity in PFC neural networks, in opposition to previously studied classical forms of absolute bistability. Specifically, we demonstrate for the first time that conditional bistability 1) is a generic biophysical spike-dependent mechanism of layer V pyramidal neurons in the PFC and that 2) it accounts for essential neurodynamical features for the organisation and flexibility of PFC persistent activity (the large irregularity and intertrial variability of the discharge and its organization under discrete stable states), which remain unexplained in a robust fashion by current models

Flexible barrier technology for enabling rollable AMOLED displays and upscaling flexible OLED lighting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Li, F.M.; Unnikrishnan, S.; Weijer, P. van de; Assche, F. van; Shen, J.; Ellis, T.; Manders, W.; Akkerman, H.; Bouten, P.; Mol, A.M.B. van

2013-01-01

The availability of a high performance thin-film barrier is the most critical challenge in upscaling and commercializing flexible OLED products. We report a flexible thin-film-barrier technology that meets lifetime specifications for OLED lighting, and demonstrate it in rollable QVGA a-IGZO AMOLED

Is Historical Cost Accounting a Panacea? Market Stress, Incentive Distortions, and Gains Trading

OpenAIRE

Ellul, Andrew; Jotikasthira, Chotibhak; Lundblad, Christian T; Wang, Yihui

2015-01-01

This paper explores the trading incentives of financial institutions induced by the interaction between regulatory accounting rules and capital requirements by investigating insurance companies’ trading behavior during the recent financial crisis. According to insurance regulation, life insurers have a greater degree of flexibility to hold downgraded instruments at historical cost, whereas property and casualty insurers are forced to re-mark many of their downgraded securities to market price...

Intrinsic flexibility of porous materials; theory, modelling and the flexibility window of the EMT zeolite framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fletcher, Rachel E.; Wells, Stephen A.; Leung, Ka Ming; Edwards, Peter P.; Sartbaeva, Asel

2015-01-01

Framework materials possess intrinsic flexibility which can be investigated using geometric simulation. We review framework flexibility properties in energy materials and present novel results on the flexibility window of the EMT zeolite framework containing 18-crown-6 ether as a structure directing agent (SDA). Framework materials have structures containing strongly bonded polyhedral groups of atoms connected through their vertices. Typically the energy cost for variations of the inter-polyhedral geometry is much less than the cost of distortions of the polyhedra themselves – as in the case of silicates, where the geometry of the SiO 4 tetrahedral group is much more strongly constrained than the Si—O—Si bridging angle. As a result, framework materials frequently display intrinsic flexibility, and their dynamic and static properties are strongly influenced by low-energy collective motions of the polyhedra. Insight into these motions can be obtained in reciprocal space through the ‘rigid unit mode’ (RUM) model, and in real-space through template-based geometric simulations. We briefly review the framework flexibility phenomena in energy-relevant materials, including ionic conductors, perovskites and zeolites. In particular we examine the ‘flexibility window’ phenomenon in zeolites and present novel results on the flexibility window of the EMT framework, which shed light on the role of structure-directing agents. Our key finding is that the crown ether, despite its steric bulk, does not limit the geometric flexibility of the framework

Inherently safe light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ise, Takeharu

1987-01-01

Today's large nuclear power reactors of world-wise use have been designed based on the philosophy. It seems that recent less electricity demand rates, higher capital cost and the TMI accident let us acknowledge relative small and simplified nuclear plants with safer features, and that Chernobyl accident in 1983 underlines the needs of intrinsic and passive safety characteristics. In such background, several inherently safe reactor concepts have been presented abroad and domestically. First describing 'Can inherently safe reactors be designed,' then I introduce representative reactor concepts of inherently safe LWRs advocated abroad so far. All of these innovative reactors employ intrinsic and passive features in their design, as follows: (1) PIUS, an acronym for Process Inherent Ultimate Safety, or an integral PWR with passive heat sink and passive shutdown mechanism, advocated by ASEA-ATOM of Sweden. (2) MAP(Minimum Attention Plant), or a self-pressurized, natural circulation integral PWR, promoted by CE Inc. of the U.S. (3) TPS(TRIGA Power System), or a compact PWR with passive heat sink and inherent fuel characteristics of large prompt temperature coefficient, prompted by GA Technologies Inc. of the U.S. (4) PIUS-BWR, or an inherently safe BWR employing passively actuated fluid valves, in competition with PIUS, prompted by ORNL of the U.S. Then, I will describe the domestic trends in Japan and the innovative inherently safe LWRs presented domestically so far. (author)

Dementia - keeping safe in the home

Science.gov (United States)

... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000031.htm Dementia - keeping safe in the home To use the ... make sure the homes of people who have dementia are safe for them. Safety Tips for the ...

Intra-patient comparison of parietal pleural biopsies by rigid forceps, flexible forceps and cryoprobe obtained during medical thoracoscopy: a prospective series of 80 cases with pleural effusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Wurps, H; Schönfeld, N; Bauer, T T; Bock, M; Duve, C; Sauer, R; Mairinger, T; Griff, S

2016-07-07

There is only few data available on the use of cryotechnique during medical thoracoscopy. Medical thoracoscopy was performed in consecutive patients with pleural effusion. Prospectively, biopsies were taken by rigid forceps, flexible forceps and cryoprobe. Specimen size, depth and diagnostic yield were compared. 80 Patients were included. 408 biopsies were taken (205 rigid biopsies, 104 flexible biopsies, 99 cryobiopsies). Mean surface area of rigid biopsies was 22.6 ± 20.4 mm(2) (flexible biopsies: 7.1 ± 9.3 mm(2), cryobiopsies: 14.4 ± 12.8 mm(2)). Rigid biopsies were significantly larger than cryobiopsies (p < 0.001) and flexible biopsies (p < 0.001), crybiopsies were significantly larger than flexible biopsies (p < 0.01). A deep biopsy containing fatty tissue was harvested in 63 % of rigid biopsies (cryobiopsy: 49.5 % flexible biopsy: 39.5 %). In 79/80 cases (98.7 % 95 % CI cannot be calculated) a diagnosis was obtained by rigid biopsy (cryobiopsy: 73/80 cases (91.3 % 95 % CI 86.0 - 96.5 %), flexible biopsy: 74/80 cases (92.5 % 95 % CI 88.6 - 97.4 %)). Diagnostic yield achieved with cryobiopsies was inferior to the yield of rigid biopsies (Difference: 12.7 %), but non-inferior to flexible biopsies (Difference: 6.5 %). Cryobiopsies in medical thoracoscopy are safe with high diagnostic yield, non-inferior to flexible biopsies with increased tissue quantity and quality. Cryotechnique can develop an important role in medical thoracoscopy in the near future when rigid thoracoscopy is not available.

Safeguards Automated Facility Evaluation (SAFE) methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, L.D.; Grady, L.M.; Bennett, H.A.; Sasser, D.W.; Engi, D.

1978-01-01

The SAFE procedure is an efficient method of evaluating the physical protection system of a nuclear facility. Since the algorithms used in SAFE for path generation and evaluation are analytical, many paths can be evaluated with a modest investment in computer time. SAFE is easy to use because the information required is well-defined and the interactive nature of this procedure lends itself to straightforward operation. The modular approach that has been taken allows other functionally equivalent modules to be substituted as they become available. The SAFE procedure has broad applications in the nuclear facility safeguards field as well as in the security field in general. Any fixed facility containing valuable materials or components to be protected from theft or sabotage could be analyzed using this same automated evaluation technique

Optimized flexible cover films for improved conversion efficiency in thin film flexible solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Guterman, Sidney; Wen, Xin; Gudavalli, Ganesh; Rhajbhandari, Pravakar; Dhakal, Tara P.; Wilt, David; Klotzkin, David

2018-05-01

Thin film solar cell technologies are being developed for lower cost and flexible applications. For such technologies, it is desirable to have inexpensive, flexible cover strips. In this paper, we demonstrate that transparent silicone cover glass adhesive can be doped with TiO2 nanoparticles to achieve an optimal refractive index and maximize the performance of the cell. Cells covered with the film doped with nanoparticles at the optimal concentration demonstrated a ∼1% increase in photocurrent over the plain (undoped) film. In addition, fused silica beads can be incorporated into the flexible cover slip to realize a built-in pseudomorphic glass diffuser layer as well. This additional degree of freedom in engineering flexible solar cell covers allows maximal performance from a given cell for minimal increased cost.

Investing in biogas: Timing, technological choice and the value of flexibility from input mix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Corato, Luca; Moretto, Michele

2011-01-01

In a stochastic dynamic frame, we study the technology choice problem of a continuous co-digestion biogas plant where input factors are substitutes but need to be mixed together to provide output. Given any initial rule for the composition of the feedstock, we consider the possibility of revising it if economic circumstances make it profitable. Flexibility in the mix is an advantage under randomly fluctuating input costs and comes at a higher investment cost. We show that the degree of flexibility in the productive technology installed depends on the value of the option to profitably re-arrange the input mix. Such option adds value to the project in that it provides a device for hedging against fluctuations in the input relative convenience. Accounting for such value we discuss the trade-off between investment timing and profit smoothing flexibility. - Research highlights: ► We study the technology choice problem of a continuous co-digestion biogas plant where input factors are substitutes but need to be mixed together to provide output. ► We show that the degree of flexibility in the productive technology installed depends on the value of the option to profitably re-arrange the input mix. ► Such option adds value to the project in that it provides a device for hedging against fluctuations in the input relative convenience.

Flexible Programmes in Higher Professional Education: Expert Validation of a Flexible Educational Model

Science.gov (United States)

Schellekens, Ad; Paas, Fred; Verbraeck, Alexander; van Merrienboer, Jeroen J. G.

2010-01-01

In a preceding case study, a process-focused demand-driven approach for organising flexible educational programmes in higher professional education (HPE) was developed. Operations management and instructional design contributed to designing a flexible educational model by means of discrete-event simulation. Educational experts validated the model…

Unconventional ordering behavior of semi-flexible polymers in dense brushes under compression.

Science.gov (United States)

Milchev, Andrey; Binder, Kurt

2014-06-07

Using a coarse-grained bead-spring model for semi-flexible macromolecules which form a polymer brush, the structure and dynamics of the polymers were investigated, varying the chain stiffness and the grafting density. The anchoring conditions for the grafted chains were chosen such that their first bonds were oriented along the normal to the substrate plane. The compression of such a semi-flexible brush by a planar piston was observed to be a two-stage process: for a small compression the chains were shown to contract by "buckling" deformation whereas for a larger compression the chains exhibited a collective (almost uniform) bending deformation. Thus, the stiff polymer brush underwent a 2nd order phase transition of collective bond reorientation. The pressure, required to keep the stiff brush at a given degree of compression, was thereby significantly smaller than for an otherwise identical brush made of entirely flexible polymer chains! While both the brush height and the chain linear dimensions in the z-direction perpendicular to the substrate increased monotonically with an increase in the chain stiffness, the lateral (xy) chain linear dimensions exhibited a maximum at an intermediate chain stiffness. Increasing the grafting density led to a strong decrease of these lateral dimensions which is compatible with an exponential decay. Also the recovery kinetics after removal of the compressing piston were studied, and were found to follow a power-law/exponential decay with time. A simple mean-field theoretical consideration, accounting for the buckling/bending behavior of semi-flexible polymer brushes under compression was suggested.

Flexible technologies and smart clothing for citizen medicine, home healthcare, and disease prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Axisa, Fabrice; Schmitt, Pierre Michael; Gehin, Claudine; Delhomme, Georges; McAdams, Eric; Dittmar, André

2005-09-01

Improvement of the quality and efficiency of healthcare in medicine, both at home and in hospital, is becoming more and more important for patients and society at large. As many technologies (micro technologies, telecommunication, low-power design, new textiles, and flexible sensors) are now available, new user-friendly devices can be developed to enhance the comfort and security of the patient. As clothes and textiles are in direct contact with about 90% of the skin surface, smart sensors and smart clothes with noninvasive sensors are an attractive solution for home-based and ambulatory health monitoring. Moreover, wearable devices or smart homes with exosensors are also potential solutions. All these systems can provide a safe and comfortable environment for home healthcare, illness prevention, and citizen medicine.

Flexible position probe assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmitz, J.J.

1977-01-01

The combination of a plurality of tubular transducer sections and a flexible supporting member extending through the tubular transducer sections forms a flexible elongated probe of a design suitable for monitoring the level of an element, such as a nuclear magnetically permeable control rod or liquid. 3 claims, 23 figures

Flexible Learning Environments: Leveraging the Affordances of Flexible Delivery and Flexible Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Janette R.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this article is to explore the key features of "flexible learning environments" (FLEs). Key principles associated with FLEs are explained. Underlying tenets and support mechanisms necessary for the implementation of FLEs are described. Similarities and differences in traditional learning and FLEs are explored. Finally, strategies…

Frequency Analysis of Wing-Rotor System Considering Flexibility in Capsule Based on High-Accurate Method

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiayang; Zhu, Ming; Zhao, Meijuan; Wu, Zhe

2018-05-01

Based on a typical wing-rotor thrust model on the airship, the dynamic influence of the gyroscopic effects from the tip rotor acting on the overall coupled system has been analyzed. Meanwhile, the flexibility at the capsule boundary has been studied, as well. Hamilton's principle is employed to derive the general governing equations and the numerical Rayleigh-Ritz method is finally chosen in actual frequency computations. A new set of shape functions are put forward and verified which take most of the couplings among dimensions into account. The parameter studies are also conducted to make deep investigations. The results demonstrate that the inherent frequencies are significantly affected by the rotor speed and the flexible capsule condition. When rotor revolves, the modal shapes have reached into complex states and the components of each mode will change with the increment of rotor speed. The flexibility will also greatly reduce the entire frequencies compared with the rigid case. It is also demonstrated that the inherent property will be significantly affected by the mounting geometry, rotor inertia, the structural stiffness, and rotor speed.

Breastfeeding FAQs: Safely Storing Breast Milk

Science.gov (United States)

... Search English Español Breastfeeding FAQs: Safely Storing Breast Milk KidsHealth / For Parents / Breastfeeding FAQs: Safely Storing Breast ... may have. How do I store my breast milk? You can freeze and/or refrigerate your pumped ( ...

Organizational responses to accountability requirements: Do we get what we expect?

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Carolyn Steele; Berta, Whitney; Deber, Raisa; Lum, Janet

In health care, accountability is being championed as a promising approach to meeting the dual imperatives of improving care quality while managing constrained budgets. Few studies focus on public sector organizations' responsiveness to government imperatives for accountability. We applied and adapted a theory of organizational responsiveness to community care agencies operating in Ontario, Canada, asking the question: What is the array of realized organizational responses to government-imposed accountability requirements among community agencies that receive public funds to provide home and community care? A sequential complementary mixed methods approach was used. It gathered data through a survey of 114 home and community care organizations in Ontario and interviews with 20 key informants representing 13 home and community care agencies and four government agencies. It generated findings using a parallel mixed analysis technique. In addition to responses predicted by the theory, we found that organizations engage in active, as well as passive, forms of compliance; we refer to this response as internal modification in which internal policies, practices, and/or procedures are changed to meet accountability requirements. We also found that environmental factors, such as the presence of an association representing organizational interests, can influence bargaining tactics. Our study helps us to better understand the range of likely responses to accountability requirements and is a first step toward encouraging the development of accountability frameworks that favor positive outcomes for organizations and those holding them to account. Tailoring agreements to organizational environments, aligning perceived compliance with behaviors that encourage improved performance, and allowing for flexibility in accountability arrangements are suggested strategies to support beneficial outcomes.

Curiosity's Autonomous Surface Safing Behavior Design

Science.gov (United States)

Neilson, Tracy A.; Manning, Robert M.

2013-01-01

The safing routines on all robotic deep-space vehicles are designed to put the vehicle in a power and thermally safe configuration, enabling communication with the mission operators on Earth. Achieving this goal is made a little more difficult on Curiosity because the power requirements for the core avionics and the telecommunication equipment exceed the capability of the single power source, the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator. This drove the system design to create an operational mode, called "sleep mode", where the vehicle turns off most of the loads in order to charge the two Li-ion batteries. The system must keep the vehicle safe from over-heat and under-heat conditions, battery cell failures, under-voltage conditions, and clock failures, both while the computer is running and while the system is sleeping. The other goal of a safing routine is to communicate. On most spacecraft, this simply involves turning on the receiver and transmitter continuously. For Curiosity, Earth is above the horizon only a part of the day for direct communication to the Earth, and the orbiter overpass opportunities only occur a few times a day. The design must robustly place the Rover in a communicable condition at the correct time. This paper discusses Curiosity's autonomous safing behavior and describes how the vehicle remains power and thermally safe while sleeping, as well as a description of how the Rover communicates with the orbiters and Earth at specific times.

Endoscopic Ultrasound Guided Rendezvous Drainage of Biliary Obstruction Using a New Flexible 19-Gauge Fine Needle Aspiration Needle.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Zhouwen; Igbinomwanhia, Efehi; Elhanafi, Sherif; Othman, Mohamed O

2016-01-01

Background and Aim. A successful endoscopic ultrasound guided rendezvous (EUS-RV) biliary drainage is dependent on accurate puncture of the bile duct and precise guide wire manipulation across the ampulla of Vater. We aim to study the feasibility of using a flexible 19-gauge fine aspiration needle in the performance of EUS-RV biliary drainage. Method. This is a retrospective case series of EUS-RV biliary drainage procedures at a single center. Patients who failed ERCP during the same session for benign or malignant biliary obstruction underwent EUS-RV using a flexible, nitinol covered, 19-gauge needle for biliary access and guide wire manipulation. Result. 24 patients underwent EUS-RV biliary drainage via extrahepatic access while 1 attempt was via intrahepatic access. The technical success rate was 80%, including 83.3% of cases via extrahepatic access. There was no significant difference in success rate of inpatient and outpatient procedures, benign or malignant indications, or type of guide wire used. Adverse events included mild pancreatitis (3 patients) and cholangitis (1 patient). Conclusion. A flexible 19-gauge needle for biliary access can be safe and effective when used to perform EUS-RV biliary drainage. Direct comparison between the nitinol needle and conventional metal needles in the performance of EUS guided biliary drainage is needed.

Removing Hair Safely

Science.gov (United States)

... For Consumers Home For Consumers Consumer Updates Removing Hair Safely Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More sharing ... related to common methods of hair removal. Laser Hair Removal In this method, a laser destroys hair ...

Performance measurement of supply chain flexibility using witness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rituraj Chandrakar

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In today’s global scenario of intense competition and environmental uncertainty flexibility in supply chain has an important role to play for the existence of any supply chain business. A need to be responsive to the constantly changing market scenario and cater to the customer needs, a certain degree of flexibility is required, which requires the coordination of many plants to produce and deliver goods to customers located in different places, and suppliers, which provide each plant with the required components. This paper intends to measure the degree of flexibility required for a two stage supply chain and assessing both the supplier flexibility and the assembler flexibility. In this paper, nine configurations of the SC are considered resulting from the combination of the three degrees of supplier and manufacturer flexibility, i.e. no flexibility, limited flexibility and total flexibility, respectively. Simulation model representing the different flexibility configurations are evaluated and the performance of each configuration analyzed to determine the flexibility configuration suitable to a supply chain. In particular the performance analysis of lead time, work-in-process, service level and cost are measured to determine the suitable flexibility.

Software industrial flexible

OpenAIRE

Díaz Araya, Daniel; Muñoz, Leandro; Sirerol, Daniel; Oviedo, Sandra; Ibáñez, Francisco S.

2012-01-01

En este trabajo se pretende investigar y proponer técnicas, métodos y tecnologías que permitan el desarrollo de software flexible en ambientes industriales. El objetivo es generar métodos y técnicas para facilitar el desarrollo de software flexible en ambientes industriales. Las áreas de investigación son los sistemas de scheduling de producción, la generación de software para plataformas de hardware abiertas y la innovación.

Toward defining and measuring social accountability in graduate medical education: a stakeholder study.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, Anjani T; Lazreg, Sonia A; Phillips, Robert L; Bazemore, Andrew W; Lucan, Sean C

2013-09-01

Since 1965, Medicare has publically financed graduate medical education (GME) in the United States. Given public financing, various advisory groups have argued that GME should be more socially accountable. Several efforts are underway to develop accountability measures for GME that could be tied to Medicare payments, but it is not clear how to measure or even define social accountability. We explored how GME stakeholders perceive, define, and measure social accountability. Through purposive and snowball sampling, we completed semistructured interviews with 18 GME stakeholders from GME training sites, government agencies, and health care organizations. We analyzed interview field notes and audiorecordings using a flexible, iterative, qualitative group process to identify themes. THREE THEMES EMERGED IN REGARDS TO DEFINING SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY: (1) creating a diverse physician workforce to address regional needs and primary care and specialty shortages; (2) ensuring quality in training and care to best serve patients; and (3) providing service to surrounding communities and the general public. All but 1 stakeholder believed GME institutions have a responsibility to be socially accountable. Reported barriers to achieving social accountability included training time constraints, financial limitations, and institutional resistance. Suggestions for measuring social accountability included reviewing graduates' specialties and practice locations, evaluating curricular content, and reviewing program services to surrounding communities. Most stakeholders endorsed the concept of social accountability in GME, suggesting definitions and possible measures that could inform policy makers calls for increased accountability despite recognized barriers.

Flexible Al-doped ZnO films grown on PET substrates using linear facing target sputtering for flexible OLEDs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Jin-A; Shin, Hyun-Su; Choi, Kwang-Hyuk; Kim, Han-Ki

2010-01-01

We report the characteristics of flexible Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films prepared by a plasma damage-free linear facing target sputtering (LFTS) system on PET substrates for use as a flexible transparent conducting electrode in flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The electrical, optical and structural properties of LFTS-grown flexible AZO electrodes were investigated as a function of dc power. We obtained a flexible AZO film with a sheet resistance of 39 Ω/□ and an average transmittance of 84.86% in the visible range although it was sputtered at room temperature without activation of the Al dopant. Due to the effective confinement of the high-density plasma between the facing AZO targets, the AZO film was deposited on the PET substrate without plasma damage and substrate heating caused by bombardment of energy particles. Moreover, the flexible OLED fabricated on the AZO/PET substrate showed performance similar to the OLED fabricated on a ITO/PET substrate in spite of a lower work function. This indicates that LFTS is a promising plasma damage-free and low-temperature sputtering technique for deposition of flexible and indium-free AZO electrodes for use in cost-efficient flexible OLEDs.

Using mobile technology to promote safe sex and sexual health in adolescents: current practices and future recommendations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cornelius JB

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Judith B Cornelius,1 Josephine A Appiah2 1School of Nursing, 2Health Services Research Doctoral Program, College of Health and Human Services, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA Abstract: Youth and young adults (19–24 years of age shoulder the burden of sexually transmitted infections accounting for nearly half of all new infections annually. Mobile technology is one way that we have reached this population with safer sex information but challenges exist with the delivery process. The literature between 2010 and 2015 was reviewed for data on safe sex and sexual health information delivered using mobile cell phone devices. A search for relevant databases revealed that 17 articles met our inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that mobile cell phone interventions are an effective mode for delivering safe sex and sexual health information to youth; those at the highest risk may not be able to access cell phones based on availability and cost of the text messages or data plans. Keywords: mobile, safe sex, sexual health, practices, recommendations

Robustness from flexibility in the fungal circadian clock

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akman Ozgur E

2010-06-01

the circuit by the interlocking loop structure. Conclusions Our model shows that the behaviour of the fungal clock in light-dark cycles can be accounted for by a transcription-translation feedback model of the central FRQ-WC oscillator. More generally, we provide an example of a biological circuit in which greater flexibility yields improved robustness, while also introducing novel sensitivity analysis techniques applicable to a broader range of cellular oscillators.

Mechanistic modelling of weak interlayers in flexible and semi-flexible road pavements: Part 2

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

De Beer, Morris

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This paper (Part 2 of a two-part set of papers) discusses models and illustrates the adverse effects of weak layers, interlayers, laminations and/or weak interfaces in flexible and semi-flexible pavements, also incorporating lightly cemented layers...

On the Effect of Hull Girder Flexibility on the Vertical Wave Bending Moment for Ultra Large Container Vessels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Ingrid Marie Vincent; Jensen, Jørgen Juncher

2012-01-01

Currently, a number of very large container ships are being built and more are on order, and some concerns have been expressed about the importance of the reduced hull girder stiffness to the wave-induced loads. The main concern is related to the fatigue life, but also a possible increase...... in the global hull girder loads as consequence of the increased hull flexibility must be considered. This is especially so as the rules of the classification societies do not explicitly account for the effect of hull flexibility on the global loads. In the present paper an analysis has been carried out...... in the waves. Slamming forces are determined by a standard momentum formulation. The hull flexibility is modelled as a nonprismatic Timoshenko beam. Generally, good agreement with experimental results and more accurate numerical predictions has previously been obtained in a number of studies. The statistical...

Flexible magnetoimpedance sensor

KAUST Repository

Li, Bodong

2015-03-01

Flexible magnetoimpedance (MI) sensors fabricated using a NiFe/Cu/NiFe tri-layer on Kapton substrate have been studied. A customized flexible microstrip transmission line was employed to investigate the MI sensors\\'s magnetic field and frequency responses and their dependence on the sensors\\'s deflection. For the first time, the impedance characteristic is obtained through reflection coefficient analysis over a wide range of frequencies from 0.1 MHz to 3 GHz and for deflections ranging from zero curvature to a radius of 7.2 cm. The sensor element maintains a high MI ratio of up to 90% and magnetic sensitivity of up to 9.2%/Oe over different bending curvatures. The relationship between the curvature and material composition is discussed based on the magnetostriction effect and stress simulations. The sensor\\'s large frequency range, simple fabrication process and high sensitivity provide a great potential for flexible electronics and wireless applications.

THE FLEXIBILITY-AUTOMATION CORRESPONDENCE TO A VIRTUAL COMMERCIAL SOCIETY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liliana Doble

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Design and operation of FMS is based on system requirement can be as productive and flexible as necessary, i.e. obtaining controlled correspondence between the degree of flexibility and automation of system.The flexibility of a FMS (Flexible Manufacturing Systems is determined by two important criteria: Flexible hardware structure of the system; Flexible software structure. Flexible hardware structure of the CS system (calculation system is determined to its turn according to three components: Flexibility of technological subsystem; Flexibility subsystem of storage, transport and handling;Flexibility of informational subsystem.

Developing Safe Schools Partnerships with Law Enforcement

Science.gov (United States)

Rosiak, John

2009-01-01

Safe schools are the concern of communities throughout the world. If a school is safe, and if children feel safe, students "are better able to learn. But what are the steps to make" this happen? First, it is important to understand the problem: What are the threats to school safety? These include crime-related behaviors that find their way to…

Docking of flexible ligands to flexible receptors in solution by molecular dynamics simulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mangoni, R; Roccatano, D; Di Nola, A

1999-01-01

In this paper, a method of simulating the docking of small flexible ligands to flexible receptors in water is reported. The method is based on molecular dynamics simulations and is an extension of an algorithm previously reported by Di Nola et al, (Di Nola et al,, Proteins 1994;19:174-182), The

Transnasal flexible esophagoscopy (TNE): an evaluation of the patient's experience and time management.

Science.gov (United States)

Streckfuss, Alexandra; Bosch, Nikolaus; Plinkert, Peter K; Baumann, Ingo

2014-02-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate patient's experience when performing transnasal flexible endoscopy using EndoSheath Technology without sedation in an ENT outpatient department. Patients were seen at the laryngological clinic of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, presenting with complaints of reflux like throat cleaning, persistent cough, globus sensation, heartburn, or voice problems. First, we performed stroboscopy. In cases where physical examination findings revealed the presence of LPR, we performed a transnasal flexible esophagoscopy (TNE) using sterile EndoSheath Technology under local anesthesia. 55 patients were investigated and completed a questionnaire on subjective discomfort that they felt during the procedure. The different steps of the examination were assessed separately. Complications were noted down by the surgeon. All patients underwent a complete examination of the upper aerodigestive tract. The time needed for preparation, examination and cleaning measures was recorded as well. The average preparation time for each examination was 24 min. No complications were observed during the procedure. The procedure was well tolerated by all patients and was classified on average as "low-grade unpleasant". In summary, TNE is a safe, quick and well-tolerated procedure that can be performed in a regular examination room under local anesthesia without sedation.

Healthcare not-for-profits: FASB exposure draft highlights flexibility in financial statement presentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Conner, Brian

2016-03-01

A new version of the FASB accounting standard covering not-for-profit healthcare organizations contains potentially significant changes to the statement of operations and changes in net assets, statement of cash flows, and notes to the financial statements. Healthcare organizations already have tremendous flexibility with disclosures around all aspects of their business. Although auditors prefer to see only information that can be effectively audited, this preference does not prevent organizations from expanding on certain activities or transactions covered by GAAP in their footnotes.

Differential ethnic associations between maternal flexibility and play sophistication in toddlers born very low birth weight

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, Sarah J.; Montague, Erica Q.; Maclean, Peggy C.; Bancroft, Mary E.; Lowe, Jean R.

2013-01-01

maternal flexibility must account for ethnic-cultural differences in order to promote toddler developmental outcomes through play paradigms. PMID:22982287

Aggregating and Disaggregating Flexibility Objects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siksnys, Laurynas; Valsomatzis, Emmanouil; Hose, Katja

2015-01-01

In many scientific and commercial domains we encounter flexibility objects, i.e., objects with explicit flexibilities in a time and an amount dimension (e.g., energy or product amount). Applications of flexibility objects require novel and efficient techniques capable of handling large amounts...... and aiming at energy balancing during aggregation. In more detail, this paper considers the complete life cycle of flex-objects: aggregation, disaggregation, associated requirements, efficient incremental computation, and balance aggregation techniques. Extensive experiments based on real-world data from...

Annual report and accounts 1989/90

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

When the government decided to privatise the electricity generating industry it was decided to retain nuclear generation in the public sector. Thus, Scottish Nuclear Ltd, formerly part of the South of Scotland Electricity Boeard, was created in March 1990. Scottish Nuclear owns and is responsible for the continued safe and commercially sound operation of two nuclear power stations, Hunterston 'B' on the Firth of Clyde and Torness on the Scottish east coast. Both are Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors. The company is also responsible for Hunterston 'A', a Magnox power station; both the Hunterston 'A' reactors have been shut down on economic grounds. This, the company's first Annual Report, includes the Chairman's statement, Chief Executive's review, a summary of the activities, a list of Directors and advisers, the Directors' report and the accounts. (UK)

Allowing variance may enlarge the safe operating space for exploited ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Stephen R; Brock, William A; Folke, Carl; van Nes, Egbert H; Scheffer, Marten

2015-11-17

Variable flows of food, water, or other ecosystem services complicate planning. Management strategies that decrease variability and increase predictability may therefore be preferred. However, actions to decrease variance over short timescales (2-4 y), when applied continuously, may lead to long-term ecosystem changes with adverse consequences. We investigated the effects of managing short-term variance in three well-understood models of ecosystem services: lake eutrophication, harvest of a wild population, and yield of domestic herbivores on a rangeland. In all cases, actions to decrease variance can increase the risk of crossing critical ecosystem thresholds, resulting in less desirable ecosystem states. Managing to decrease short-term variance creates ecosystem fragility by changing the boundaries of safe operating spaces, suppressing information needed for adaptive management, cancelling signals of declining resilience, and removing pressures that may build tolerance of stress. Thus, the management of variance interacts strongly and inseparably with the management of resilience. By allowing for variation, learning, and flexibility while observing change, managers can detect opportunities and problems as they develop while sustaining the capacity to deal with them.

Preliminary risk assessment of the Integral Inherently-Safe Light Water Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCarroll, Kellen R.; Lee, John C.; Manera, Annalisa; Memmott, Matthew J.; Ferroni, Paolo

2017-01-01

The Integral, Inherently Safe Light Water Reactor (I 2 S-LWR) concept seeks to significantly increase nuclear power plant safety. The project implements a safety-by-design philosophy, eliminating several initiating events and providing novel, passive safety systems at the conceptual phase. Pursuit of unparalleled safety employs an integrated development process linking design with deterministic and probabilistic safety analyses. Unique aspects of the I 2 S-LWR concept and design process present challenges to the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), particularly regarding overall flexibility, auditability and resolution of results. Useful approaches to initiating events and conditional failures are presented. To exemplify the risk-informed design process using PRA, a trade-off study of two safety system configurations is presented. Although further optimization is required, preliminary results indicate that the I 2 S-LWR can achieve a core damage frequency (CDF) from internal events less than 1.01 × 10 −8 /ry, including reactor vessel ruptures. Containment bypass frequency due to primary heat exchanger rupture is found to be comparable to non-vessel rupture CDF.

Towards a Virtual Machine Approach to Resilient and Safe Mobile Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adam, Marian Sorin; Kuhrmann, Marco; Schultz, Ulrik Pagh

2016-01-01

Mobile robots are advanced systems that often need to operate in unstructured environments, which raises the complexity of the software. Many components are important for the overall reliability and safety of the robot, but reducing the risk of errors by making the software resilient is both comp...... switching between different implementations of the non-critical parts of the system. We report on the overall architecture and implementation, and demonstrate our approach using software for a commercial mobile robot.......Mobile robots are advanced systems that often need to operate in unstructured environments, which raises the complexity of the software. Many components are important for the overall reliability and safety of the robot, but reducing the risk of errors by making the software resilient is both...... complicated and expensive. Nevertheless, a commercially successful robot often has to remain safe while maintaining as much as possible from the required functionality, even in the presence of partial failures. In this paper, we propose a flexible way to improve the reliability of existing robot software...

Error Modeling and Experimental Study of a Flexible Joint 6-UPUR Parallel Six-Axis Force Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yanzhi; Cao, Yachao; Zhang, Caifeng; Zhang, Dan; Zhang, Jie

2017-09-29

By combining a parallel mechanism with integrated flexible joints, a large measurement range and high accuracy sensor is realized. However, the main errors of the sensor involve not only assembly errors, but also deformation errors of its flexible leg. Based on a flexible joint 6-UPUR (a kind of mechanism configuration where U-universal joint, P-prismatic joint, R-revolute joint) parallel six-axis force sensor developed during the prephase, assembly and deformation error modeling and analysis of the resulting sensors with a large measurement range and high accuracy are made in this paper. First, an assembly error model is established based on the imaginary kinematic joint method and the Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) method. Next, a stiffness model is built to solve the stiffness matrix. The deformation error model of the sensor is obtained. Then, the first order kinematic influence coefficient matrix when the synthetic error is taken into account is solved. Finally, measurement and calibration experiments of the sensor composed of the hardware and software system are performed. Forced deformation of the force-measuring platform is detected by using laser interferometry and analyzed to verify the correctness of the synthetic error model. In addition, the first order kinematic influence coefficient matrix in actual circumstances is calculated. By comparing the condition numbers and square norms of the coefficient matrices, the conclusion is drawn theoretically that it is very important to take into account the synthetic error for design stage of the sensor and helpful to improve performance of the sensor in order to meet needs of actual working environments.

Error Modeling and Experimental Study of a Flexible Joint 6-UPUR Parallel Six-Axis Force Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanzhi Zhao

2017-09-01

Full Text Available By combining a parallel mechanism with integrated flexible joints, a large measurement range and high accuracy sensor is realized. However, the main errors of the sensor involve not only assembly errors, but also deformation errors of its flexible leg. Based on a flexible joint 6-UPUR (a kind of mechanism configuration where U-universal joint, P-prismatic joint, R-revolute joint parallel six-axis force sensor developed during the prephase, assembly and deformation error modeling and analysis of the resulting sensors with a large measurement range and high accuracy are made in this paper. First, an assembly error model is established based on the imaginary kinematic joint method and the Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H method. Next, a stiffness model is built to solve the stiffness matrix. The deformation error model of the sensor is obtained. Then, the first order kinematic influence coefficient matrix when the synthetic error is taken into account is solved. Finally, measurement and calibration experiments of the sensor composed of the hardware and software system are performed. Forced deformation of the force-measuring platform is detected by using laser interferometry and analyzed to verify the correctness of the synthetic error model. In addition, the first order kinematic influence coefficient matrix in actual circumstances is calculated. By comparing the condition numbers and square norms of the coefficient matrices, the conclusion is drawn theoretically that it is very important to take into account the synthetic error for design stage of the sensor and helpful to improve performance of the sensor in order to meet needs of actual working environments.

Code of Practice for the safe transport of radioactive substances 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

This Federal Code revises an earlier Code on the same subject issued in 1982 and was formulated under the Environment Protection (Nuclear Codes) Act 1978. The purpose of the Code is to establish uniform safety standards, applicable throughout the Commonwealth of Australia, to provide for the protection of persons and the environment, against any dangers associated with the transport of radioactive substances. The Code uses as a basis the IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials. This new edition takes into account the 1985 Edition of the Regulations incorporating the 1988 Supplement and provides, furthermore, that radiation protection standards will also be subject to recommendations of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council [fr

Distributed flexibility in inertial swimmers

Science.gov (United States)

Floryan, Daniel; Rowley, Clarence W.; Smits, Alexander J.

2017-11-01

To achieve fast and efficient swimming, the flexibility of the propulsive surfaces is an important feature. To better understand the effects of distributed flexibility (either through inhomogeneous material properties, varying geometry, or both) we consider the coupled solid and fluid mechanics of the problem. Here, we develop a simplified model of a flexible swimmer, using Euler-Bernoulli theory to describe the solid, Theodorsen's theory to describe the fluid, and a Blasius boundary layer to incorporate viscous effects. Our primary aims are to understand how distributed flexibility affects the thrust production and efficiency of a swimmer with imposed motion at its leading edge. In particular, we examine the modal shapes of the swimmer to gain physical insight into the observed trends. Supported under ONR MURI Grant N00014-14-1-0533, Program Manager Robert Brizzolara.

Flexibility of trunnion piping elbows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, G.D.; Chao, Y.J.

1987-01-01

Flexibility factors and stress indices for piping component such as straight pipe, elbows, butt-welding tees, branch connections, and butt-welding reducers are contained in the code, but many of the less common piping components, like the trunnion elbow, do not have flexibility factors or stress indices defined. The purpose of this paper is to identify the in-plane and out-of-plane flexibility factors in accordance with code procedures for welded trunnions attached to the tangent centerlines of long radius elbows. This work utilized the finite element method as applicable to plates and shells for calculating the relative rotations of the trunnion elbow-ends for in-plane and out-of-plane elbow moment loadings. These rotations are used to derive the corresponding in-plane and out-of-plane flexibility factors. (orig./GL)

Towards Safe Robotic Surgical Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sloth, Christoffer; Wisniewski, Rafael

2015-01-01

a controller for motion compensation in beating-heart surgery, and prove that it is safe, i.e., the surgical tool is kept within an allowable distance and orientation of the heart. We solve the problem by simultaneously finding a control law and a barrier function. The motion compensation system is simulated...... from several initial conditions to demonstrate that the designed control system is safe for every admissible initial condition....

Safe use of ionizing radiations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1973-01-01

Based on the ''Code of Practice for the protection of persons against ionizing radiations arising from medical and dental use'' (CIS 74-423), this handbook shows how hospital staff can avoid exposing themselves and others to these hazards. It is designed particularly for junior and student nurses. Contents: ionizing radiations, their types and characteristics; their uses and dangers; basic principles in their safe use; safe use in practice; explanation of terms.

Staying Safe in the Water

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2008-05-15

In this podcast, Dr. Julie Gilchrist, a pediatrician and medical epidemiologist from CDC’s Injury Center, talks about staying safe in the water. Tips are for all audiences, with a focus on preventing drownings and keeping children safe in and around the pool, lake, or ocean.  Created: 5/15/2008 by National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC).   Date Released: 5/19/2008.

Visual attention and flexible normalization pools

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Odelia; Coen-Cagli, Ruben

2013-01-01

Attention to a spatial location or feature in a visual scene can modulate the responses of cortical neurons and affect perceptual biases in illusions. We add attention to a cortical model of spatial context based on a well-founded account of natural scene statistics. The cortical model amounts to a generalized form of divisive normalization, in which the surround is in the normalization pool of the center target only if they are considered statistically dependent. Here we propose that attention influences this computation by accentuating the neural unit activations at the attended location, and that the amount of attentional influence of the surround on the center thus depends on whether center and surround are deemed in the same normalization pool. The resulting form of model extends a recent divisive normalization model of attention (Reynolds & Heeger, 2009). We simulate cortical surround orientation experiments with attention and show that the flexible model is suitable for capturing additional data and makes nontrivial testable predictions. PMID:23345413

Integration of Modern Information Technologies in the Field of Financial Accounting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian LUPASC

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Financial accounting activities are currently influenced as many other important areas that characterize and surrounds the activities within each economic entity, the avalanche of modern information technologies, which are able to improve specific business processes and to ensure future business success. Approach analysis of the impact of new technologies on this field should be so as a starting point to identify the opportunities and the benefits they would bring to specific activities. Information and communication technologies are in use both at the individual level and at the organizational level with the flexibility of the increasingly high, using a huge volume of information that financial accounting with direct impact on all human activities. Basically, it has already made the passage to a new stage:the global network society, whose main features are digitizing and interconnectivity. In this sense, this paper has as its main objective of examining the impact of modern information technologies may have on the financial accounting domain and the identification and submission directions for their integration within organizations.

STRRAP system-A software for hazardous materials risk assessment and safe distances calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godoy, S.M.; Santa Cruz, A.S.M.; Scenna, N.J.

2007-01-01

This work presents a powerful computational tool (Stochastic Toxic Release Risk Assessment Package, STRRAP) useful in risk assessment and emergency planning (safe distance calculation), which allows to handle the stochastic uncertainty of atmospheric parameters, critical for risk calculation when diffusion of hazardous gases or particulate matter occur as a consequence of an emission or accidental release. In fact, the random behaviour of wind intensity, wind direction, atmospheric stability and temperature, given a time horizon, (a season or a complete year), is taken into account considering also the day or night condition. STRRAP can be used for releases or emissions from static sources (for example a stack or a fixed tank in a facility) or from transportation accidents (road, rail, maritime and pipeline transport) involving different scenarios. After a stochastic simulation based on well-known diffusion models (dense and light gases, particulate matter) is carried out, the downwind pollutant concentrations are obtained, in order to compute safe distances and/or individual and societal risks. Some study cases are analyzed to show STRRAP capabilities

General stability of composite panels reinforced with flexible rods taking account of the side boundary conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Dudchenko, A. A.; Elpat'evskii, A. N.

1995-07-01

Reinforced panels are the basic load-bearing elements of various structures. Optimization of massive structures requires consideration of deformation of the panel cross-sections. This is particularly important in determining the bearing strength at buckling. The load scheme, conditions for fixation of the panel cross-section, and bend-torsional stiffness taking account of the deformation of the rod cross-section affect the buckling load in real structures. The stress distribution prior to buckling must be known to solve the buckling problem properly. The stress in the panel is proportional to the active load. The stress distribution is assumed to be known according to our previous method [1]. The load scheme and panel dimensions are shown in Fig. 1. The stress distribution in the panel prior to buckling can be found using Eqs. (1)-(3). A view of the cross-section is given in Fig. 1. The displacements in the panel at buckling for the boundary area are found using Eqs. (4)-(6), while the stresses in the skin and stiffness are found using Eq. (7). Roots k1 and k2 are those of the characteristic equation and β is a dimensionless coordinate. The problem was solved using variational theory. The potential energy is given by Eqs. (8) and (9) by orihogonalization of Eqs. (5). The basic equations are converted to Eqs. (10) by evaluation of the components in Eqs. (8) and (9). Its calculation (11) gives the compression load. Optimization of parameter α gives the critical strength P1 = 6.93 kN (without taking account of the boundary area) and P2 = 5.31 kN (taking account of the boundary area).

Flexible Biogas in Future Energy Systems—Sleeping Beauty for a Cheaper Power Generation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus Lauer

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The increasing proportion of intermittent renewable energies asks for further technologies for balancing demand and supply in the energy system. In contrast to other countries, Germany is characterized by a high installed capacity of dispatchable biogas plants. For this paper, we analyzed the total system costs varying biogas extension paths and modes of operation for the period of 2016–2035 by using a non-linear optimization model. We took variable costs of existing conventional power plants, as well as variable costs and capital investments in gas turbines, Li-ion batteries, and pumped-storage plants into account. Without the consideration of the costs for biogas plants, an increasing proportion of biogas plants, compared to their phase out, reduces the total system costs. Furthermore, their flexible power generation should be as flexible as possible. The lowest total system costs were calculated in an extension path with the highest rate of construction of new biogas plants. However, the highest marginal utility was assessed by a medium proportion of flexible biogas plants. In conclusion, biogas plants can be a cost-effective option to integrate intermittent renewable energies into the electricity system. The optimal extension path of biogas plants depends on the future installed capacities of conventional and renewable energies.

Cognitive flexibility: A trait of bipolar disorder that worsens with length of illness.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Lisa A; Deldin, Patricia J; Pester, Bethany; McInnis, Melvin G; Langenecker, Scott A; Ryan, Kelly A

2017-12-01

Deficits in cognitive flexibility, a difficulty altering thoughts and behavioral responses in a changing environment, are found in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) and are associated with poor social and work functioning. However, the current literature is inconsistent in clarifying the long-term nature of these deficits for those with BD. We administered a common task of cognitive flexibility, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) and accounted for demographics, clinical, and cognitive features of BD, to determine the state versus trait characteristics of these deficits. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) was administered to 154 adults with BD and 95 healthy controls twice, one year apart. The main findings show that cognitive inflexibility is a trait feature of BD, independent of clinical features, that may modestly worsen over time due to the presence of certain demographic, cognitive, and functional features of the disorder. In addition, improvements in WCST performance over an extended period of time in both those with and those without already existing cognitive flexibility deficits indicate potential practice effects. These findings suggest that the implementation of early interventions before the illness progresses could potentially prevent further cognitive impairment, mitigate functional outcomes, and improve the quality of life of the individual with BD.

Sleep Deprivation Diminishes Attentional Control Effectiveness and Impairs Flexible Adaptation to Changing Conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitney, Paul; Hinson, John M; Satterfield, Brieann C; Grant, Devon A; Honn, Kimberly A; Van Dongen, Hans P A

2017-11-22

Insufficient sleep is a global public health problem resulting in catastrophic accidents, increased mortality, and hundreds of billions of dollars in lost productivity. Yet the effect of sleep deprivation (SD) on decision making and performance is often underestimated by fatigued individuals and is only beginning to be understood by scientists. The deleterious impact of SD is frequently attributed to lapses in vigilant attention, but this account fails to explain many SD-related problems, such as loss of situational awareness and perseveration. Using a laboratory study protocol, we show that SD individuals can maintain information in the focus of attention and anticipate likely correct responses, but their use of such a top-down attentional strategy is less effective at preventing errors caused by competing responses. Moreover, when the task environment requires flexibility, performance under SD suffers dramatically. The impairment in flexible shifting of attentional control we observed is distinct from lapses in vigilant attention, as corroborated by the specificity of the influence of a genetic biomarker, the dopaminergic polymorphism DRD2 C957T. Reduced effectiveness of top-down attentional control under SD, especially when conditions require flexibility, helps to explain maladaptive performance that is not readily explained by lapses in vigilant attention.

Work Life Balance in the Netherlands: Flexible working hours and a flexible working place (Japanese)

OpenAIRE

KENJOH Eiko

2011-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of Dutch approach to achieving Work Life Balance (WLB) and to draw policy implications for Japan. It is argued that flexibility of working hours and flexibility offered at one's working place are essential elements of WLB. In this respect, the Netherlands has attained relatively advanced policies and practices. For instance, workers in the Netherlands enjoy a strong degree of flexibility in terms of working hours, a system that strives to...

ACCOUNTING AND AUDIT OPERATIONS ON CURRENT ACCOUNT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koblyanska Olena

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The article is devoted to theoretical, methodical and practical issues of accounting and auditing of operations on the current account. The purpose of the study is to deepen and consolidate the theoretical and practical knowledge of the issues of accounting and auditing of operations on the current account, identify practical problems with the implementation of the methodology and organization of accounting and auditing of operations on the current account and develop recommendations for the elimination of deficiencies and improve the accounting and auditing. Results. The issue of the relevance of proper accounting and audit of transactions on the current account in the bank is considered. The research of typical operations on the current account was carried out with using of the method of their reflection in the account on practical examples. Features of the audit of transactions on the current account are examined, the procedure for its implementation is presented, and types of abuses and violations that occur while performing operations on the current account are identified. The legal regulation of accounting, analysis and control of operations with cash on current accounts is considered. The problem issues related to the organization and conducting of the audit of funds in the accounts of the bank are analyzed, as well as the directions of their solution are determined. The proposals for determining the sequence of actions of the auditor during the check of cash flow on accounts in the bank are provided. Conclusions. The questions about theoretical, methodological and practical issues of accounting and auditing of operations on the current account in the bank. A study of typical operations with cash on the current account was carried out with the use of the method of their reflection in the accounts and the features of the auditing of cash on the account.

Business Models for Power System Flexibility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boscan, Luis; Poudineh, Rahmatallah

2016-01-01

As intermittent, renewable resources gain more share in the generation mix, the need for power system flexibility increases more than ever. Parallel to this, technological change and the emergence of new players bringing about innovative solutions are boosting the development of flexibility...... business models will play an important role in ensuring sufficiency and efficiency of flexibility services....

Safe operating envelope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oliva, N [Ontario Hydro, Toronto, ON (Canada)

1997-12-01

Safe Operating Envelope is described representing: The outer bound of plant conditions within which day-to-day plant operation must be maintained in order to comply with regulatory requirements, associated safety design criteria and corporate nuclear safety goals. Figs.

Safe operating envelope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliva, N.

1997-01-01

Safe Operating Envelope is described representing: The outer bound of plant conditions within which day-to-day plant operation must be maintained in order to comply with regulatory requirements, associated safety design criteria and corporate nuclear safety goals. Figs

The pros and cons of safe electronuclear station with accelerator as a driver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svistunov, Yu.A.; Vorogushin, M.F.; Gavrish, Yu.N.; Kudinovich, I.V.; Struev, V.P.

2001-01-01

Creation of 200 MW compact safe energetic installation on a base of a high-temperature, gas-cooled,subcritical reactor was discussed in paper. Chain reaction was initiated by the outer neutron flow. It was proposed to obtain such a source by irradiation of different substances with an intensive proton beam from the linac. Now possibilities of such a scheme are considered in more details.Structure of the reactor active zone is discussed. The use of the cyclotron as a driver is considered as an alternative variant. Problems of reliability, radiation safety and cost of installation are taken into account too

The pros and cons of safe electronuclear station with accelerator as a driver

CERN Document Server

Svistunov, Y A; Gavrish, Y N; Kudinovich, I V; Struev, V P

2001-01-01

Creation of 200 MW compact safe energetic installation on a base of a high-temperature, gas-cooled,subcritical reactor was discussed in paper. Chain reaction was initiated by the outer neutron flow. It was proposed to obtain such a source by irradiation of different substances with an intensive proton beam from the linac. Now possibilities of such a scheme are considered in more details.Structure of the reactor active zone is discussed. The use of the cyclotron as a driver is considered as an alternative variant. Problems of reliability, radiation safety and cost of installation are taken into account too.

Flexible lithium-ion planer thin-film battery

KAUST Repository

Kutbee, Arwa T.; Ghoneim, Mohamed T.; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2016-01-01

Commercialization of wearable electronics requires miniaturized, flexible power sources. Lithium ion battery is a strong candidate as the next generation high performance flexible battery. The development of flexible materials for battery electrodes

An Automated Safe-to-Mate (ASTM) Tester

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Phuc; Scott, Michelle; Leung, Alan; Lin, Michael; Johnson, Thomas

2013-01-01

Safe-to-mate testing is a common hardware safety practice where impedance measurements are made on unpowered hardware to verify isolation, continuity, or impedance between pins of an interface connector. A computer-based instrumentation solution has been developed to resolve issues. The ASTM is connected to the circuit under test, and can then quickly, safely, and reliably safe-to-mate the entire connector, or even multiple connectors, at the same time.

PTFE films with improved flexibility

Science.gov (United States)

Muraca, R. F.; Koch, A. A.

1972-01-01

Development and application of flexible polytetrafluroethylene films for expulsion bladders in spacecraft propellant tanks are described. Flexibility of material is obtained by reducing crystallinity through annealing and quenching in water. Physical and mechanical properties of material are presented.

The Development of a Flexible Measuring System for Muscle Volume Using Ultrasonography

Science.gov (United States)

Fukumoto, Kiyotaka; Fukuda, Osamu; Tsubai, Masayoshi; Muraki, Satoshi

Quantification of muscle volume can be used as a means for the estimation of muscle strength. Its measuring process does not need the subject's muscular contractions so it is completely safe and particularly suited for elderly people. Therefore, we have developed a flexible measuring system for muscle volume using ultrasonography. In this system, an ultrasound probe is installed on a link mechanism which continuously scans fragmental images along the human body surface. These images are then measured and composed into a wide area cross-sectional image based on the spatial compounding method. The flexibility of the link mechanism enables the operator to measure the images under any body postures and body site. The spatial compounding method significantly reduces speckle and artifact noises from the composed cross-sectional image so that the operator can observe the individual muscles, such as Rectus femoris, Vastus intermedius, and so on, in detail. We conducted the experiments in order to examine the advantages of this system we have developed. The experimental results showed a high accuracy of the measuring position which was calculated using the link mechanism and presented the noise reduction effect based on the spatial compounding method. Finally, we confirmed high correlations between the MRI images and the ones of the developed system to verify the validity of the system.

Flexible Learning in a Workplace Model: Blended a Motivation to a Lifelong Learner in a Social Network Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Na-songkhla, Jaitip

2011-01-01

This paper presents a model of learning in a workplace, in which an online course provides flexibility for staff to learn at their convenient hours. A motivation was brought into an account of the success of learning in a workplace program, based upon Behaviorist learning approach--an online mentor and an accumulated learning activities score was…

The new forest carbon accounting framework for the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Domke, G. M.; Woodall, C. W.; Coulston, J.; Wear, D. N.; Healey, S. P.; Walters, B. F.

2015-12-01

The forest carbon accounting system used in recent National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (NGHGI) was developed more than a decade ago when the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis annual inventory system was in its infancy and contemporary questions regarding the terrestrial sink (e.g., attribution) did not exist. The time has come to develop a new framework that can quickly address new questions, enables forest carbon analytics, and uses all the inventory information (e.g., disturbances and land use change) while having the flexibility to engage a wider breadth of stakeholders and partner agencies. The Forest Carbon Accounting Framework (FCAF) is comprised of a forest dynamics module and a land use dynamics module. Together these modules produce data-driven estimates of carbon stocks and stock changes in forest ecosystems that are sensitive to carbon sequestration, forest aging, and disturbance effects as well as carbon stock transfers associated with afforestation and deforestation. The new accounting system was used in the 2016 NGHGI report and research is currently underway to incorporate emerging non-live tree carbon pool data, remotely sensed information, and auxiliary data (e.g., climate information) into the FCAF.

Evidence supporting broader access to safe legal abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Faúndes, Anibal; Shah, Iqbal H

2015-10-01

Unsafe abortion continues to be a major cause of maternal death; it accounts for 14.5% of all maternal deaths globally and almost all of these deaths occur in countries with restrictive abortion laws. A strong body of accumulated evidence shows that the simple means to drastically reduce unsafe abortion-related maternal deaths and morbidity is to make abortion legal and institutional termination of pregnancy broadly accessible. Despite this evidence, abortion is denied even when the legal condition for abortion is met. The present article aims to contribute to a better understanding that one can be in favor of greater access to safe abortion services, while at the same time not be "in favor of abortion," by reviewing the evidence that indicates that criminalization of abortion only increases mortality and morbidity without decreasing the incidence of induced abortion, and that decriminalization rapidly reduces abortion-related mortality and does not increase abortion rates. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

USING THE SAFE SYSTEM APPROACH TO KEEP OLDER DRIVERS SAFELY MOBILE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jim LANGFORD

2006-01-01

Full Text Available In 2003, Australian road transport jurisdictions collectively accepted that the greatest road safety gains would be achieved through adopting a Safe System approach, derived from Sweden's Vision Zero and the Netherlands' Sustainable Safety strategies. A key objective of all three approaches is to manage vehicles, the road infrastructure, speeds, road users and the interactions between these components, to ensure that in the event of crashes, crash energies will remain at levels that minimize the probability of death and serious injury. Older drivers pose a particular challenge to the Safe System approach, given particularly their greater physical frailty, their driving patterns and for some at least, their reduced fitness to drive. This paper has analyzed the so-called ‘older driver problem’ and identified a number of key factors underpinning their crash levels, for which countermeasures can be identified and implemented within a Safe System framework. The recommended countermeasures consist of: (1 safer roads, through a series of design improvements particularly governing urban intersections; (2 safer vehicles, through both the promotion of crashworthiness as a critical consideration when purchasing a vehicle and the wide use of developed and developing ITS technologies; (3 safer speeds especially at intersections; and (4 safer road users, through both improved assessment procedures to identify the minority of older drivers with reduced fitness to drive and educational efforts to encourage safer driving habits particularly but not only through self-regulation.

Consumer Central Energy Flexibility in Office Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Billanes, Joy Dalmacio; Ma, Zheng; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard

2017-01-01

Energy flexibility in buildings will play an important role in the smart energy system. Office buildings have more potentials to provide energy flexibility to the grid compared to other types of buildings, due to the existing building management, control systems and large energy consumption....... Consumers in office buildings (building owners/managers and occupants) take a main role for adopting and engaging in building energy flexibility. In this paper provides a systematic review of consumer central energy flexibility in office buildings with the discussion of social, technical and business...... can boost energy flexibility in the office buildings....

Special Issue: Flexible Work Arrangements.

Science.gov (United States)

Olmstead, Barney, Ed.

1996-01-01

Section 1 contains five chapters on flexible work arrangements, self-employment, working from home, part-time professionals, job sharing, and temporary employment. Section 2 includes reviews of four books on working flexibly, concluding with a list of 23 additional readings. (SK)

Feeling safe during an inpatient hospitalization: a concept analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mollon, Deene

2014-08-01

This paper aims to explore the critical attributes of the concept feeling safe. The safe delivery of care is a high priority; however; it is not really known what it means to the patient to 'feel safe' during an inpatient hospitalization. This analysis explores the topic of safety from the patient's perspective. Concept analysis. The data bases of CINAHL, Medline, PsychInfo and Google Scholar for the years 1995-2012 were searched using the terms safe and feeling safe. The eight-step concept analysis method of Walker and Avant was used to analyse the concept of feeling safe. Uses and defining attributes, as well as identified antecedents, consequences and empirical referents, are presented. Case examples are provided to assist in the understanding of defining attributes. Feeling safe is defined as an emotional state where perceptions of care contribute to a sense of security and freedom from harm. Four attributes were identified: trust, cared for, presence and knowledge. Relationship, environment and suffering are the antecedents of feeling safe, while control, hope and relaxed or calm are the consequences. Empirical referents and early development of a theory of feeling safe are explored. This analysis begins the work of synthesizing qualitative research already completed around the concept of feeling safe by defining the key attributes of the concept. Support for the importance of developing patient-centred models of care and creating positive environments where patients receive high-quality care and feel safe is provided. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Flexible displays, rigid designs?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hornbæk, Kasper

2015-01-01

Rapid technological progress has enabled a wide range of flexible displays for computing devices, but the user experience--which we're only beginning to understand--will be the key driver for successful designs.......Rapid technological progress has enabled a wide range of flexible displays for computing devices, but the user experience--which we're only beginning to understand--will be the key driver for successful designs....

Creating Safe Spaces for Music Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Hendricks, Karin S.; Smith, Tawnya D.; Stanuch, Jennifer

2014-01-01

This article offers a practical model for fostering emotionally safe learning environments that instill in music students a positive sense of self-belief, freedom, and purpose. The authors examine the implications for music educators of creating effective learning environments and present recommendations for creating a safe space for learning,…

Keeping Food Safe

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2009-05-27

This CDC Kidtastics podcast discusses things kids and parents can do to help prevent illness by keeping food safe.  Created: 5/27/2009 by National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (NCZVED).   Date Released: 5/27/2009.

Flexible lithium-ion planer thin-film battery

KAUST Repository

Kutbee, Arwa T.

2016-02-03

Commercialization of wearable electronics requires miniaturized, flexible power sources. Lithium ion battery is a strong candidate as the next generation high performance flexible battery. The development of flexible materials for battery electrodes suffers from the limited material choices. In this work, we present a flexible inorganic lithium-ion battery with no restrictions on the materials used. The battery showed an enhanced normalized capacity of 146 ??Ah/cm2.

Fast and anisotropic flexibility-rigidity index for protein flexibility and fluctuation analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Opron, Kristopher [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, Michigan 48824 (United States); Xia, Kelin [Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University, Michigan 48824 (United States); Wei, Guo-Wei, E-mail: wei@math.msu.edu [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, Michigan 48824 (United States); Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University, Michigan 48824 (United States); Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, Michigan 48824 (United States)

2014-06-21

Protein structural fluctuation, typically measured by Debye-Waller factors, or B-factors, is a manifestation of protein flexibility, which strongly correlates to protein function. The flexibility-rigidity index (FRI) is a newly proposed method for the construction of atomic rigidity functions required in the theory of continuum elasticity with atomic rigidity, which is a new multiscale formalism for describing excessively large biomolecular systems. The FRI method analyzes protein rigidity and flexibility and is capable of predicting protein B-factors without resorting to matrix diagonalization. A fundamental assumption used in the FRI is that protein structures are uniquely determined by various internal and external interactions, while the protein functions, such as stability and flexibility, are solely determined by the structure. As such, one can predict protein flexibility without resorting to the protein interaction Hamiltonian. Consequently, bypassing the matrix diagonalization, the original FRI has a computational complexity of O(N{sup 2}). This work introduces a fast FRI (fFRI) algorithm for the flexibility analysis of large macromolecules. The proposed fFRI further reduces the computational complexity to O(N). Additionally, we propose anisotropic FRI (aFRI) algorithms for the analysis of protein collective dynamics. The aFRI algorithms permit adaptive Hessian matrices, from a completely global 3N × 3N matrix to completely local 3 × 3 matrices. These 3 × 3 matrices, despite being calculated locally, also contain non-local correlation information. Eigenvectors obtained from the proposed aFRI algorithms are able to demonstrate collective motions. Moreover, we investigate the performance of FRI by employing four families of radial basis correlation functions. Both parameter optimized and parameter-free FRI methods are explored. Furthermore, we compare the accuracy and efficiency of FRI with some established approaches to flexibility analysis, namely

Plutonium safe handling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tvehlov, Yu.

2000-01-01

The abstract, prepared on the basis of materials of the IAEA new leadership on the plutonium safe handling and its storage (the publication no. 9 in the Safety Reports Series), aimed at presenting internationally acknowledged criteria on the radiation danger evaluation and summarizing the experience in the safe management of great quantities of plutonium, accumulated in the nuclear states, is presented. The data on the weapon-class and civil plutonium, the degree of its danger, the measures for provision of its safety, including the data on accident radiation consequences with the fission number 10 18 , are presented. The recommendations, making it possible to eliminate the super- criticality danger, as well as ignition and explosion, to maintain the tightness of the facility, aimed at excluding the radioactive contamination and the possibility of internal irradiation, to provide for the plutonium security, physical protection and to reduce irradiation are given [ru

Flexibility evaluation of multiechelon supply chains.

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, João Flávio de Freitas; Conceição, Samuel Vieira; Pinto, Luiz Ricardo; de Camargo, Ricardo Saraiva; Júnior, Gilberto de Miranda

2018-01-01

Multiechelon supply chains are complex logistics systems that require flexibility and coordination at a tactical level to cope with environmental uncertainties in an efficient and effective manner. To cope with these challenges, mathematical programming models are developed to evaluate supply chain flexibility. However, under uncertainty, supply chain models become complex and the scope of flexibility analysis is generally reduced. This paper presents a unified approach that can evaluate the flexibility of a four-echelon supply chain via a robust stochastic programming model. The model simultaneously considers the plans of multiple business divisions such as marketing, logistics, manufacturing, and procurement, whose goals are often conflicting. A numerical example with deterministic parameters is presented to introduce the analysis, and then, the model stochastic parameters are considered to evaluate flexibility. The results of the analysis on supply, manufacturing, and distribution flexibility are presented. Tradeoff analysis of demand variability and service levels is also carried out. The proposed approach facilitates the adoption of different management styles, thus improving supply chain resilience. The model can be extended to contexts pertaining to supply chain disruptions; for example, the model can be used to explore operation strategies when subtle events disrupt supply, manufacturing, or distribution.

Integral Inherently Safe Light Water Reactor (I2S-LWR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrovic, Bojan; Memmott, Matthew; Boy, Guy; Charit, Indrajit; Manera, Annalisa; Downar, Thomas; Lee, John; Muldrow, Lycurgus; Upadhyaya, Belle; Hines, Wesley; Haghighat, Alierza

2017-01-01

This final report summarizes results of the multi-year effort performed during the period 2/2013- 12/2016 under the DOE NEUP IRP Project ''Integral Inherently Safe Light Water Reactors (I 2 S-LWR)''. The goal of the project was to develop a concept of a 1 GWe PWR with integral configuration and inherent safety features, at the same time accounting for lessons learned from the Fukushima accident, and keeping in mind the economic viability of the new concept. Essentially (see Figure 1-1) the project aimed to implement attractive safety features, typically found only in SMRs, to a larger power (1 GWe) reactor, to address the preference of some utilities in the US power market for unit power level on the order of 1 GWe.

Functional aspects of protein flexibility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teilum, Kaare; Olsen, Johan G; Kragelund, Birthe B

2009-01-01

this into an intuitive perception of protein function is challenging. Flexibility is of overwhelming importance for protein function, and the changes in protein structure during interactions with binding partners can be dramatic. The present review addresses protein flexibility, focusing on protein-ligand interactions...

The experience of the Republic of Belarus in the field of safe and secure transport of radioactive material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astashka, R.; Kronava, Z.; Prykhodzka, A.; Tkachonak, I.

2016-01-01

The experience of the safe and secure transport of radioactive material of the Republic of Belarus includes domestic and international movements. Transit is a substantial part of international movements taking into account the location of the country. Legislative and regulatory requirements on safety and security of radioactive material transport being in force in the country include the demands making by such state structures as the Department on Nuclear and Radiation Safety, the Department on supervision for the safe industrial activities, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus. At the same time response to accidents and security events belongs to the scope of activity of special subdivisions of the Ministry for Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. For safety purposes all the above-mentioned structures are executing their duties in close collaboration with each other and are following the IAEA safety and security recommendations. The regulatory infrastructure concerning the safe and secure transport of radioactive material of the Republic of Belarus is the subject of the contributed paper. (author)

ACCOUNTING HARMONIZATION AND HISTORICAL COST ACCOUNTING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentin Gabriel CRISTEA

2017-05-01

Full Text Available There is a huge interest in accounting harmonization and historical costs accounting, in what they offer us. In this article, different valuation models are discussed. Although one notices the movement from historical cost accounting to fair value accounting, each one has its advantages.

Skill Flexibility among Schoolteachers: Operationalization and Organizational Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenblatt, Zehava; Inbal, Batia

1999-01-01

Investigates effects of skill flexibility on Israeli secondary teachers' work attitudes and job performance. Both role and functional flexibility were associated with improved teachers' work performance; role flexibility is linked to high organizational commitment and low powerlessness. Principals appreciate skill flexibility, but organizational…

Flexible labour strategy in the Dutch automotive industry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Riemsdijk, Maarten; de Leede, Jan

2001-01-01

Labour flexibility is a major way for companies to become more flexible. Why companies use flexible labour relations varies widely per industry. We assess the development of labour flexibility within the Dutch automotive industry. Four cases, together representing the production chain, are

Endogenous price flexibility and optimal monetary policy

OpenAIRE

Ozge Senay; Alan Sutherland

2014-01-01

Much of the literature on optimal monetary policy uses models in which the degree of nominal price flexibility is exogenous. There are, however, good reasons to suppose that the degree of price flexibility adjusts endogenously to changes in monetary conditions. This article extends the standard new Keynesian model to incorporate an endogenous degree of price flexibility. The model shows that endogenizing the degree of price flexibility tends to shift optimal monetary policy towards complete i...

Compilation and analysis of national and international OPEX for Safe Enclosure prior to decommissioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dinner, Paul J.C.; Heimlich, Karel

2016-01-01

Around the world, a large number of aging nuclear plants are approaching final shutdown. While this is largely driven by plants reaching the end of their design life, economic factors such as low gas prices (in North America) and the smaller unit size of early commercial reactors are important contributors to this trend. In several instances, economic pressures have resulted in a need for a more rapid transition to Safe Enclosure than originally anticipated. Thus plans for this transition taking into account experience with Safe Enclosure periods of varying lengths are being actively prepared in many jurisdictions. The IAEA as well as other national and international authorities have long recognized the importance of the topic of Safe Enclosure and provided guidance, and the IAEA has recently undertaken a study of 'Lessons Learned from Deferred Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities'. Beginning with preliminary experience from Canadian CANDU reactors in extended shutdown or safe enclosure, this paper aims to compare this experience with the larger pool of experience from the international community to: - classify the main issues or themes, - examine means to mitigate these, and - formulate general measures of 'good practice'. Compilation of this experience represents the first steps towards a comprehensive, searchable database potentially of use to many in the decommissioning community. Tabulation and analysis of the complete list (comprising approximately 70 cases) has provided the 'short list' of issues presented in Table 1. Examples of the most important listed issues are discussed. The authors' objective is to stimulate interest in extending this compilation. In this way it will continue to grow and benefit all those preparing for transition to decommissioning. (authors)

Compilation and analysis of national and international OPEX or safe enclosure prior to decommissioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dinner, Paul J.C.; Heimlich, Karel

2016-01-01

Around the world, a large number of aging nuclear plants are approaching final shutdown. While this is largely driven by plants reaching the end of their design life, economic factors such as low gas prices (in North America) and the smaller unit size of early commercial reactors are important contributors to this trend. In several instances, economic pressures have resulted in a need for a more rapid transition to Safe Enclosure than originally anticipated. Thus plans for this transition taking into account experience with Safe Enclosure periods of varying lengths are being actively prepared in many jurisdictions. The IAEA as well as other national and international authorities have long recognized the importance of the topic of Safe Enclosure and provided guidance [1-7], and the IAEA has recently undertaken a study of 'Lessons Learned from Deferred Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities' [8]. Beginning with preliminary experience from Canadian CANDU reactors in extended shutdown or safe enclosure, this paper aims to compare this experience with the larger pool of experience from the international community to: - classify the main issues or themes, - examine means to mitigate these, and - formulate general measures of 'good practice'. Compilation of this experience represents the first steps towards a comprehensive, searchable database potentially of use to many in the decommissioning community. Tabulation and analysis of the complete list (comprising approximately 70 cases) has provided the 'short list' of issues presented. Examples of the most important listed issues are discussed. The authors' objective is to stimulate interest in extending this compilation. In this way it will continue to grow and benefit all those preparing for transition to decommissioning. (authors)

ESF [Exploratory Shaft Facility] flexibility analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brusenback, R.W.

1987-03-01

This report directs that uncertainty allowances be included within the ESF facilities. The recommendations herein developed are intended as input to Title II Design criteria. Flexibility is measured first by lineal ft of drift, and then by hoisting rate and capacity of supporting utilities and services. A defined probability of need shows an extra 10,000 ft of drift for the first level of flexibility responding to testing and operations, and over 60,000 ft of drift for the second level of flexibility which recognizes possible need for perimeter drifting to investigate geologic stratigraphy. Observing there will be time constraints, a single shaft muck hoisting rate up to 170 to 250 tons per hour is recommended. The potential hoisting rate recommended for flexibility should be satisfied by a hoist approximately equivalent to, or conveniently upgraded from those being considered for sinking and construction, or 1000 horsepower. The cost of flexibility is limited to engineering planning and design (mostly conceptual) which makes later expansion achievable, and to selected items for initial construction where later upgrading would be impractical, impossible, or very costly. The cost is fixed to the level of flexibility and does not vary with excavated footage. The incremental margin is only a small fraction of the additional footage made available. Flexibility presents a strategy and not a position of design or technology. Examples used in this report are intended to be illustrative only, and not to lead design or cost estimates. 7 tabs

Factors impeding flexible inpatient unit design.

Science.gov (United States)

Pati, Debajyoti; Evans, Jennie; Harvey, Thomas E; Bazuin, Doug

2012-01-01

To identify and examine factors extraneous to the design decision-making process that could impede the optimization of flexibility on inpatient units. A 2006 empirical study to identify domains of design decisions that affect flexibility on inpatient units found some indication in the context of the acuity-adaptable operational model that factors extraneous to the design process could have negatively influenced the successful implementation of the model. This raised questions regarding extraneous factors that might influence the successful optimization of flexibility. An exploratory, qualitative method was adopted to examine the question. Stakeholders from five recently built acute care inpatient units participated in the study, which involved three types of data collection: (1) verbal protocol data from a gaming session; (2) in-depth semi-structured interviews; and (3) shadowing frontline personnel. Data collection was conducted between June 2009 and November 2010. The study revealed at least nine factors extraneous to the design process that have the potential to hinder the optimization of flexibility in four domains: (1) systemic; (2) cultural; (3) human; and (4) financial. Flexibility is critical to hospital operations in the new healthcare climate, where cost reduction constitutes a vital target. From this perspective, flexibility and efficiency strategies can be influenced by (1) return on investment, (2) communication, (3) culture change, and (4) problem definition. Extraneous factors identified in this study could also affect flexibility in other care settings; therefore, these findings may be viewed from the overall context of hospital design.

Financial Flexibility as a Phenomenon of Manifestation of Flexibility of the Financial System at the Micro-level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laktionova Oleksandra A.

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The article considers financial flexibility of economic subjects in the context of specific features of manifestation of this property at the micro-level of the financial system. It generalises various theoretical approaches to understanding the essence of the financial flexibility in the context of motives of its formation, sources and instruments of realisation. It specifies criteria of financial flexibility: manoeuvrability, efficiency and economy. It studies interrelation between the financial flexibility and financial restrictions at the micro-level and, consequently, factors that determine them: capital market imperfection, development level and structure of the financial system, cyclicity of economy, and company characteristics (including financial architecture. The article describes their distinguishing features. It states that apart from maintaining the financial flexibility during formation of money reserves and debt load resource the companies can be guided by other motives. It offers classification of types of financial flexibility based on the sources and goals of formation, influence upon the financial potential, stages of reproduction of financial resources, the instruments used, engaged elements of the financial mechanism, stages of the business cycle and types of the used financial resources.

A High Performance Computing Approach to the Simulation of Fluid Solid Interaction Problems with Rigid and Flexible Components (Open Access Publisher’s Version)

Science.gov (United States)

2014-08-01

enhances flow incompressibility [20]. This correction takes into account the velocity of neighboring markers through a mean velocity evaluated within...interactions between individual markers; i.e., the right hand side of Eqs. (7) and (8), are accounted for, the total rigid body force and torque due to the...coordinate formulation. In: Proceedings of the ASME 2005 IDETC/ CIE . Orlando, Florida (2005). [35] Shabana A.: Flexible multibody dynamics: Review of

Safe injection practice among health care workers, Gharbiya, Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Ismail, Nanees A; Aboul Ftouh, Aisha M; El Shoubary, Waleed H

2005-01-01

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 25 health care facilities in Gharbiya governorate to assess safe injection practices among health care workers (HCWs). Two questionnaires, one to collect information about administrative issues related to safe injection and the other to collect data about giving injections, exposure to needle stick injuries, hepatitis B vaccination status and safe injection training. Practices of injections were observed using a standardized checklist. The study revealed that there was lack of both national and local infection control policies and lack of most of the supplies needed for safe injection practices. Many safe practices were infrequent as proper needle manipulation before disposal (41%), safe needle disposal (47.5%), reuse of used syringe & needle (13.2%) and safe syringe disposal (0%). Exposure to needle stick injuries were common among the interviewed HCWs (66.2%) and hand washing was the common post exposure prophylaxis measure (63.4%). Only 11.3% of HCWs had full course hepatitis B vaccination. Infection control -including safe injections- training programs should be afforded to all HCWs.

SafeNet: a methodology for integrating general-purpose unsafe devices in safe-robot rehabilitation systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Vicentini, Federico; Pedrocchi, Nicola; Malosio, Matteo; Molinari Tosatti, Lorenzo

2014-09-01

Robot-assisted neurorehabilitation often involves networked systems of sensors ("sensory rooms") and powerful devices in physical interaction with weak users. Safety is unquestionably a primary concern. Some lightweight robot platforms and devices designed on purpose include safety properties using redundant sensors or intrinsic safety design (e.g. compliance and backdrivability, limited exchange of energy). Nonetheless, the entire "sensory room" shall be required to be fail-safe and safely monitored as a system at large. Yet, sensor capabilities and control algorithms used in functional therapies require, in general, frequent updates or re-configurations, making a safety-grade release of such devices hardly sustainable in cost-effectiveness and development time. As such, promising integrated platforms for human-in-the-loop therapies could not find clinical application and manufacturing support because of lacking in the maintenance of global fail-safe properties. Under the general context of cross-machinery safety standards, the paper presents a methodology called SafeNet for helping in extending the safety rate of Human Robot Interaction (HRI) systems using unsafe components, including sensors and controllers. SafeNet considers, in fact, the robotic system as a device at large and applies the principles of functional safety (as in ISO 13489-1) through a set of architectural procedures and implementation rules. The enabled capability of monitoring a network of unsafe devices through redundant computational nodes, allows the usage of any custom sensors and algorithms, usually planned and assembled at therapy planning-time rather than at platform design-time. A case study is presented with an actual implementation of the proposed methodology. A specific architectural solution is applied to an example of robot-assisted upper-limb rehabilitation with online motion tracking. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vibration sensing in flexible structures using a distributed-effect modal domain optical fiber sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Reichard, Karl M.; Lindner, Douglas K.; Claus, Richard O.

1991-01-01

Modal domain optical fiber sensors have recently been employed in the implementation of system identification algorithms and the closed-loop control of vibrations in flexible structures. The mathematical model of the modal domain optical fiber sensor used in these applications, however, only accounted for the effects of strain in the direction of the fiber's longitudinal axis. In this paper, we extend this model to include the effects of arbitrary stress. Using this sensor model, we characterize the sensor's sensitivity and dynamic range.

Flexible learning and the design of instruction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Collis, Betty; Nikolova, Iliana

1998-01-01

The paper deals with the problem of designing flexible learning and instruction. Flexibility is considered both from the learner's and the designer's perspective. The potential of telematics in the design, development and implementation of flexible and distance learning is discussed. A Method for

Nuclear material accounting software for Ukraine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doll, M.; Ewing, T.; Lindley, R.; McWilliams, C.; Roche, C.; Sakunov, I.; Walters, G.

1999-01-01

Among the needs identified during initial surveys of nuclear facilities in Ukraine was improved accounting software for reporting material inventories to the regulatory body. AIMAS (Automated Inventory/Material Accounting System) is a PC-based application written in Microsoft Access that was jointly designed by an US/Ukraine development team. The design is highly flexible and configurable, and supports a wide range of computing infrastructure needs and facility requirements including situations where networks are not available or reliable. AIMAS has both English and Russian-language options for displays and reports, and it operates under Windows 3.1, 95, or NT 4.0trademark. AIMAS functions include basic physical inventory tracking, transaction histories, reporting, and system administration functions (system configuration, security, data backup and recovery). Security measures include multilevel password access control, all transactions logged with the user identification, and system administration control. Interfaces to external modules provide nuclear fuel burn-up adjustment and barcode scanning capabilities for physical inventory taking. AIMAS has been installed at Kiev Institute of Nuclear Research (KINR), South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (SUNPP), Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology (KIPT), Sevastopol Institute of Nuclear Energy and Industry (SINEI), and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety/Nuclear Regulatory Administration (MEPNS/NRA). Facility specialists are being trained to use the application to track material movement and report to the national regulatory authority

Manager's Discretionary Power and Comparability of Financial Reports: An Analysis of the Regulatory Transition Process in Brazilian Accounting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Mussoi Ribeiro

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This research aimed to directly evaluate the impact of the accounting regulatory flexibility movement on the comparability of financial reports. The country chosen for the analysis was Brazil, because it was one of the few countries in the world where a process of regulatory change from a completely rule-based standard with a strong link to tax accounting (Lopes, 2011 to a principle-based standard with greater need for decision by managers who prepare the financial reports took place. To measure comparability, the accounting function similarity model developed by DeFranco, Kothari and Verdi (2011 was used. The companies analyzed were all listed ones with full data for the period concerned having, at least, a pair company within the same economic activity sector. To obtain the research results, we adopted a panel data model where the years 2005 to 2012 were compared to the year 2004. The results obtained prove that, on average, there was no significant decrease in the comparability level within country during the regulatory transition period in Brazil. On the contrary, there was an increase in genuine comparability in the year 2012 when compared to 2004. In the model adjusted by stepwise, the years 2011 and 2012 had a significantly higher average comparability when compared to 2004. The results found corroborate other researches addressing the quality of accounting information (Collins, Pasewark, & Riley, 2012; Psaros & Trotman, 2004; Agoglia, Doupnik, & Tsakumis, 2011 and prove the superiority of the principle-based standard also over the comparability of financial reports. The main conclusion of this research is that increasing manager's discretionary power through flexibility of accounting standards does not decrease the comparability of financial reports.

Implicit attitudes towards risky and safe driving

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martinussen, Laila Marianne; Sømhovd, Mikael Julius; Møller, Mette

; further, self-reports of the intention to drive safely (or not) are socially sensitive. Therefore, we examined automatic preferences towards safe and risky driving with a Go/No-go Association Task (GNAT). The results suggest that (1) implicit attitudes towards driving behavior can be measured reliably...... with the GNAT; (2) implicit attitudes towards safe driving versus towards risky driving may be separable constructs. We propose that research on driving behavior may benefit from routinely including measures of implicit cognition. A practical advantage is a lesser susceptibility to social desirability biases......, compared to self-report methods. Pending replication in future research, the apparent dissociation between implicit attitudes towards safe versus risky driving that we observed may contribute to a greater theoretical understanding of the causes of unsafe and risky driving behavior....

Flexibility evaluation of multiechelon supply chains.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Flávio de Freitas Almeida

Full Text Available Multiechelon supply chains are complex logistics systems that require flexibility and coordination at a tactical level to cope with environmental uncertainties in an efficient and effective manner. To cope with these challenges, mathematical programming models are developed to evaluate supply chain flexibility. However, under uncertainty, supply chain models become complex and the scope of flexibility analysis is generally reduced. This paper presents a unified approach that can evaluate the flexibility of a four-echelon supply chain via a robust stochastic programming model. The model simultaneously considers the plans of multiple business divisions such as marketing, logistics, manufacturing, and procurement, whose goals are often conflicting. A numerical example with deterministic parameters is presented to introduce the analysis, and then, the model stochastic parameters are considered to evaluate flexibility. The results of the analysis on supply, manufacturing, and distribution flexibility are presented. Tradeoff analysis of demand variability and service levels is also carried out. The proposed approach facilitates the adoption of different management styles, thus improving supply chain resilience. The model can be extended to contexts pertaining to supply chain disruptions; for example, the model can be used to explore operation strategies when subtle events disrupt supply, manufacturing, or distribution.

Flexible Thermoelectric Generators on Silicon Fabric

KAUST Repository

Sevilla, Galo T.

2012-11-01

In this work, the development of a Thermoelectric Generator on Flexible Silicon Fabric is explored to extend silicon electronics for flexible platforms. Low cost, easily deployable plastic based flexible electronics are of great interest for smart textile, wearable electronics and many other exciting applications. However, low thermal budget processing and fundamentally limited electron mobility hinders its potential to be competitive with well established and highly developed silicon technology. The use of silicon in flexible electronics involve expensive and abrasive materials and processes. In this work, high performance flexible thermoelectric energy harvesters are demonstrated from low cost bulk silicon (100) wafers. The fabrication of the micro- harvesters was done using existing silicon processes on silicon (100) and then peeled them off from the original substrate leaving it for reuse. Peeled off silicon has 3.6% thickness of bulk silicon reducing the thermal loss significantly and generating nearly 30% more output power than unpeeled harvesters. The demonstrated generic batch processing shows a pragmatic way of peeling off a whole silicon circuitry after conventional fabrication on bulk silicon wafers for extremely deformable high performance integrated electronics. In summary, by using a novel, low cost process, this work has successfully integrated existing and highly developed fabrication techniques to introduce a flexible energy harvester for sustainable applications.

Flexible and rigid cystoscopy in women.

Science.gov (United States)

Gee, Jason R; Waterman, Bradley J; Jarrard, David F; Hedican, Sean P; Bruskewitz, Reginald C; Nakada, Stephen Y

2009-01-01

Previous studies have evaluated the tolerability of rigid versus flexible cystoscopy in men. Similar studies, however, have not been performed in women. We sought to determine whether office-based flexible cystoscopy was better tolerated than rigid cystoscopy in women. Following full IRB approval, women were prospectively randomized in a single-blind manner. Patients were randomized to flexible or rigid cystoscopy and draped in the lithotomy position to maintain blinding of the study. Questionnaires evaluated discomfort before, during, and after cystoscopy. Thirty-six women were randomized to flexible (18) or rigid (18) cystoscopy. Indications were surveillance (16), hematuria (15), recurrent UTIs (2), voiding dysfunction (1), and other (2). All questionnaires were returned by 31/36 women. Using a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS), median discomfort during the procedure for flexible and rigid cystoscopy were 1.4 and 1.8, respectively, in patients perceiving pain. Median recalled pain 1 week later was similar at 0.8 and 1.15, respectively. None of these differences were statistically significant. Flexible and rigid cystoscopy are well tolerated in women. Discomfort during and after the procedure is minimal in both groups. Urologists should perform either procedure in women based on their preference and skill level.

Flexible magnetic thin films and devices

Science.gov (United States)

Sheng, Ping; Wang, Baomin; Li, Runwei

2018-01-01

Flexible electronic devices are highly attractive for a variety of applications such as flexible circuit boards, solar cells, paper-like displays, and sensitive skin, due to their stretchable, biocompatible, light-weight, portable, and low cost properties. Due to magnetic devices being important parts of electronic devices, it is essential to study the magnetic properties of magnetic thin films and devices fabricated on flexible substrates. In this review, we mainly introduce the recent progress in flexible magnetic thin films and devices, including the study on the stress-dependent magnetic properties of magnetic thin films and devices, and controlling the properties of flexible magnetic films by stress-related multi-fields, and the design and fabrication of flexible magnetic devices. Project supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2016YFA0201102), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51571208, 51301191, 51525103, 11274321, 11474295, 51401230), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 2016270), the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KJZD-EW-M05), the Ningbo Major Project for Science and Technology (No. 2014B11011), the Ningbo Science and Technology Innovation Team (No. 2015B11001), and the Ningbo Natural Science Foundation (No. 2015A610110).

Analysis of a Thrust Bearing with Flexible Pads and Flexible Supports

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klit, Peder; Thomsen, Kim

2007-01-01

A theoretical analysis of a hydrodynamic thrust bearing is presented. The bearing investigated is used in an ndustrial product. The lubricant is water, but the results are valid also for other lubricants.At first the results from a 1-dimensional model for the fluid film forces and the associated...... deformation of the bearing geometry is presented. This model enlightens the influence of pad flexibility and support location and flexibility. Subsequently results from a 2-dimensional model of the bearing is presented. The model is used to carry out an optimization of the bearing design, and the obtained...

Flexible Transparent Supercapacitors Based on Hierarchical Nanocomposite Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Fanhong; Wan, Pengbo; Xu, Haijun; Sun, Xiaoming

2017-05-31

Flexible transparent electronic devices have recently gained immense popularity in smart wearable electronics and touch screen devices, which accelerates the development of the portable power sources with reliable flexibility, robust transparency and integration to couple these electronic devices. For potentially coupled as energy storage modules in various flexible, transparent and portable electronics, the flexible transparent supercapacitors are developed and assembled from hierarchical nanocomposite films of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and aligned polyaniline (PANI) nanoarrays upon their synergistic advantages. The nanocomposite films are fabricated from in situ PANI nanoarrays preparation in a blended solution of aniline monomers and rGO onto the flexible, transparent, and stably conducting film (FTCF) substrate, which is obtained by coating silver nanowires (Ag NWs) layer with Meyer rod and then coating of rGO layer on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Optimization of the transparency, the specific capacitance, and the flexibility resulted in the obtained all-solid state nanocomposite supercapacitors exhibiting enhanced capacitance performance, good cycling stability, excellent flexibility, and superior transparency. It provides promising application prospects for exploiting flexible, low-cost, transparent, and high-performance energy storage devices to be coupled into various flexible, transparent, and wearable electronic devices.

Accounting and Control of Tritium at the Tritium Process Laboratory (TPL) of JAERI - Results of 15-year Operation and Research Activity -

Science.gov (United States)

Nishi, Masataka; Yamanishi, Toshihiko; Hayashi, Takumi; Yamada, Masayuki; Suzuki, Takumi

Research and development work of fuel processing technology and tritium safe-handling technology necessary for fusion reactors has been performed at the Tritium Process Laboratory (TPL) of JAERI. TPL is the first facility in Japan permitted to handle tritium of more than 1g (about 0.36PBq), and its operation itself is also important for the development of fusion reactor facility in the viewpoint of tritium control. Various experiments have been carried out at TPL safely since 1988 controlling 22PBq of tritium as the maximum observing regulations. In addition to the regulatory accounting and control, detailed independent control in TPL was planned and was established throughits15-yearsafe-operation. For future fusion fuel facility where kilograms of tritium will be handled, method of tritium accounting has been researched and some new technologies have been developed at TPL. Results of TPL operation and of the research activity in it contributed the completion of the engineering design of ITER. Further research activity on tritium accounting and control is in progress in TPL for the future fusion reactors.

Child Care: States Exercise Flexibility in Setting Reimbursement Rates and Providing Access for Low-Income Children. Report to Congressional Requesters.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaul, Marnie S.

In order to promote low-income parents' job preparation and work efforts, states were given greater flexibility to design programs using federal funds to subsidize child care for low-income families. At Congressional request, this report from the General Accounting Office describes how states set reimbursement rates and calculates the extent to…

The Flexibility Scale: Development and Preliminary Validation of a Cognitive Flexibility Measure in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Strang, John F.; Anthony, Laura G.; Yerys, Benjamin E.; Hardy, Kristina K.; Wallace, Gregory L.; Armour, Anna C.; Dudley, Katerina; Kenworthy, Lauren

2017-01-01

Flexibility is a key component of executive function, and is related to everyday functioning and adult outcomes. However, existing informant reports do not densely sample cognitive aspects of flexibility; the Flexibility Scale (FS) was developed to address this gap. This study investigates the validity of the FS in 221 youth with ASD and 57…

Considerations of device and operational flexibility in FER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugihara, Masayoshi; Miki, Nobuharu; Nishio, Satoshi; Yamada, Masao; Yamamoto, Shin

1988-01-01

Expected physics uncertainties in DT burning plasma of FER, which may not be removed completely at the start of construction or DT operation, are reviewed. Several possible device and operational flexibility scenarios to cope with these uncertainties are considered. They are (1) Plasma size enlargement scenario, (2) Plasma shape flexibility scenario, (3) Heating/Current drive/Control system flexibility scenario, (4) Impurity control system flexibility scenario and (5) Advanced operation scenario. Feasibility of these flexibility scenarios are examined and shown to be practicable. However, careful assessment of the physics data base is necessary at the start of construction and DT operation to proceed to actually implement these flexibilities in FER. (author)

High-flexibility, noncollapsing lightweight hose

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, D.A.

1993-04-20

A high-flexibility, noncollapsing, lightweight, large-bore, wire-reinforced hose is inside fiber-reinforced PVC tubing that is flexible, lightweight, and abrasion resistant. It provides a strong, kink- and collapse-free conduit for moving large quantities of dangerous fluids, e.g., removing radioactive waste water or processing chemicals.

49 CFR 178.940 - Standards for flexible Large Packagings.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

.... Flexible Large Packagings types are designated: (1) 51H flexible plastics. (2) 51M flexible paper. (b... this subchapter, flexible Large Packaging must be resistant to aging and degradation caused by ultraviolet radiation. (5) For plastic flexible Large Packagings, if necessary, protection against ultraviolet...

Flexible energy-storage devices: design consideration and recent progress.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xianfu; Lu, Xihong; Liu, Bin; Chen, Di; Tong, Yexiang; Shen, Guozhen

2014-07-23

Flexible energy-storage devices are attracting increasing attention as they show unique promising advantages, such as flexibility, shape diversity, light weight, and so on; these properties enable applications in portable, flexible, and even wearable electronic devices, including soft electronic products, roll-up displays, and wearable devices. Consequently, considerable effort has been made in recent years to fulfill the requirements of future flexible energy-storage devices, and much progress has been witnessed. This review describes the most recent advances in flexible energy-storage devices, including flexible lithium-ion batteries and flexible supercapacitors. The latest successful examples in flexible lithium-ion batteries and their technological innovations and challenges are reviewed first. This is followed by a detailed overview of the recent progress in flexible supercapacitors based on carbon materials and a number of composites and flexible micro-supercapacitors. Some of the latest achievements regarding interesting integrated energy-storage systems are also reviewed. Further research direction is also proposed to surpass existing technological bottle-necks and realize idealized flexible energy-storage devices. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Prospects for inherently safe reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barkenbus, J.N.

1988-01-01

Public fears over nuclear safety have led some within the nuclear community to investigate the possibility of producing inherently safe nuclear reactors; that is, reactors that are transparently incapable of producing a core melt. While several promising designs of such reactors have been produced, support for large-scale research and development efforts has not been forthcoming. The prospects for commercialization of inherently safe reactors, therefore, are problematic; possible events such as further nuclear reactor accidents and superpower summits, could alter the present situation significantly. (author)

Flexible licensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martyn Jansen

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The case is presented for a more flexible approach to licensing online library resources. Today's distributed education environment creates pressure for UK higher and further education institutions (HEI/FEIs to form partnerships and to develop educational products and roll them out across the globe. Online library resources are a key component of distributed education and yet existing licensing agreements struggle to keep pace with the increasing range of users and purposes for which they are required. This article describes the process of developing a flexible approach to licensing and proposes a new model licence for online library resources which has the adaptability needed in this new global educational landscape. These ideas have been presented and discussed at various workshops across Eduserv's and JISC Collections' higher education and publisher communities, and further consultation is ongoing.

Flexible Working Time Arrangements in Bulgaria

OpenAIRE

Beleva, Iskra

2009-01-01

The objective of this paper is to analyze the flexible working time arrangements in Bulgaria, using a life-course perspective. Two important features have to be outlined, namely: underdeveloped flexible forms of employment in the country, including working time arrangement, and lack of previous analysis on flexible working time arrangements from the angle of life-course perspective. The author describes the regulatory framework, collective agreements at national and company level as a frame w...

50 CFR 216.91 - Dolphin-safe labeling standards.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Dolphin-safe labeling standards. 216.91... MAMMALS Dolphin Safe Tuna Labeling § 216.91 Dolphin-safe labeling standards. (a) It is a violation of... include on the label of those products the term “dolphin-safe” or any other term or symbol that claims or...

Medications: Using Them Safely

Science.gov (United States)

... to Safely Give Ibuprofen Childproofing and Preventing Household Accidents Medicines for Diabetes Complementary and Alternative Medicine How Do Pain Relievers Work? What Medicines Are and What They Do Medicines ...

Sensor Technologies on Flexible Substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Koehne, Jessica

2016-01-01

NASA Ames has developed sensor technologies on flexible substrates integrated into textiles for personalized environment monitoring and human performance evaluation. Current technologies include chemical sensing for gas leak and event monitoring and biological sensors for human health and performance monitoring. Targeted integration include next generation EVA suits and flexible habitats.

Cellulose Nanofiber Composite Substrates for Flexible Electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Ronald Sabo; Jung-Hun Seo; Zhenqiang Ma

2012-01-01

Flexible electronics have a large number of potential applications including malleable displays and wearable computers. The current research into high-speed, flexible electronic substrates employs the use of plastics for the flexible substrate, but these plastics typically have drawbacks, such as high thermal expansion coefficients. Transparent films made from...

Flexible Pedagogies: Employer Engagement and Work-Based Learning. Flexible Pedagogies: Preparing for the Future Series

Science.gov (United States)

Kettle, Jane

2013-01-01

This publication focuses on national and international policy initiatives to develop a better understanding of work-based learners and the types of flexibility that may well enhance their study especially pedagogically. As part of our five-strand research project "Flexible Pedagogies: preparing for the future" it: (1) highlights the…

Safe havens in Europe: Switzerland and the ten dwarfs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Paldam

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Eleven safe havens exist in Europe providing offshore banking and low taxes. Ten of these states are very small while Switzerland is moderately small. All 11countries are richer than their large neighbors. It is shown that causality is from small to safe haven towealth, and that theoretically equilibriums are likely to exist where a certain regulation is substantially lower in a small country than in its big neighbor. This generates a large capital inflow to the safe havens. The pool of funds that may reach the safe havens is shown to be huge. It is far in excess of the absorptive capacity of the safe havens, but it still explains, why they are rich. Microstates offer a veil of anonymity to funds passing through, and Switzerland offers safe storage of funds.

Bio-Inspired Flexible Cellular Actuating Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-21

S. Hong, “Robust adaptive boundary control of a flexible marine riser with vessel dynamics,” Automatica, vol. 47, pp. 722–732, 2011. [22] D. H...conditionally accepted. [6] W. He, S. S. Ge, B. V. E. How, Y. S. Choo, and K. S. Hong, “Robust adaptive boundary control of a flexible marine riser ... flexible robotic actuators, often represented by a distributed parameter system or a partial differential equation. We establish a model-guided

Flexible benefit plans in Dutch organisations

OpenAIRE

Hillebrink, C.

2006-01-01

Flexible benefit plans give employees a greater say over the composition of their benefits than traditional Dutch benefit plans. These arrangements developed in a time of further individualisation, increasing flexibility in the workplace, and a tight labour market in the Netherlands. By giving employees a choice in the way they are paid, employers hoped to become more attractive employers, and lend a helping hand to employees who were combining work and care. In this study, flexible benefit p...

Safe and Liquid Mortgage Bonds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dick-Nielsen, Jens; Gyntelberg, Jacob; Lund, Jesper

This paper shows that strict match pass-through funding of covered bonds provides safe and liquid mortgage bonds. Despite a 30% drop in house prices during the 2008 global crisis Danish mortgage bonds remained as liquid as most European government bonds. The Danish pass-through system effectively...... eliminates credit risk from the investor's perspective. Similar to other safe bonds, funding liquidity becomes the main driver of mortgage bond liquidity and this creates commonality in liquidity across markets and countries. These findings have implications for how to design a robust mortgage bond system...

Flexible Work Options within the Organisational System

Science.gov (United States)

Albion, Majella J.; Chee, Munli

2006-01-01

The availability of flexible work options provides an opportunity for individuals to shape their careers in order to optimise their work and life goals. This study takes a systems theory approach to examine how the use of flexible work options influences relationships and interactions in the workplace. The "Flexible Work Options…

Safe clinical practice for patients hospitalised in a suicidal crisis: a study protocol for a qualitative case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Siv Hilde; Rørtveit, Kristine; Walby, Fredrik A; Aase, Karina

2017-01-27

Suicide prevention in psychiatric care is arguably complex and incompletely understood as a patient safety issue. A resilient healthcare approach provides perspectives through which to understand this complexity by understanding everyday clinical practice. By including suicidal patients and healthcare professionals as sources of knowledge, a deeper understanding of what constitutes safe clinical practice can be achieved. This planned study aims to adopt the perspective of resilient healthcare to provide a deeper understanding of safe clinical practice for suicidal patients in psychiatric inpatient care. It will describe the experienced components and conditions of safe clinical practice and the experienced practice of patient safety. The study will apply a descriptive case study approach consisting of qualitative semistructured interviews and focus groups. The data sources are hospitalised patients in a suicidal crisis and healthcare professionals in clinical practice. This study was approved by the Regional Ethics Committee (2016/34). The results will be disseminated through scientific articles, a PhD dissertation, and national and international conferences. These findings can generate knowledge to be integrated into the practice of safety for suicidal inpatients in Norway and to improve the feasibility of patient safety measures. Theoretical generalisations can be drawn regarding safe clinical practice by taking into account the experiences of patients and healthcare professionals. Thus, this study can inform the conceptual development of safe clinical practice for suicidal patients. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Narrative Control and Governmentality: Coherence Production in Identity Narratives. The Case of Young Adult Professionals Working under Flexible Employability in Chile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vicente Sisto

2009-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper we analyse the narrative control mechanisms which generate coherence in the elaboration of personal stories presented by professional individuals working under flexible employment conditions. We also examine how these personal stories function to articulate constructions of self in relation to attributes demanded by the conditions associated with patterns of flexible working. A discourse analysis of 32 job interviews with male and female young adult professionals in flexible employment in Chile was undertaken. One of the main aspects of the narratives is a general tendency to present oneself as a successful and enterprising individual. However, the coherence of the image constructed in the account tends to show certain fissures that may refute that constitution. When the narrator realizes the latter, he/she quickly tries to repair the account in order to maintain this coherence. Focusing our attention on this narrative coherence mechanism, and drawing on BAKHTIN's dialogical theory and discursive psychology, we demonstrate how these self narrative constructions involve certain control practices that connect the different forms people use to refer to themselves with the governmental strategies of contemporary societies. Through this analysis we intend to contribute to current discussions of how to empirically deal with the complex relation observed among narrative, identity and social organization. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0902292

Implementation of an Improved Safe Operating Envelope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prime, Robyn; McIntyre, Mark; Reeves, David

2008-01-01

This paper is a continuation of the paper presented at IYNC 2004 on 'The Definition of a Safe Operating Envelope'. The current paper concentrates on the implementation process of the Safe Operating Envelope employed at the Point Lepreau Generating Station. (authors)

Photodetectors based on single-walled carbon nanotubes and thiamonomethinecyanine J-aggregates on flexible substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fedorov, I. V., E-mail: i-v-fedorov@mail.ru; Emel’yanov, A. V.; Romashkin, A. V.; Bobrinetskiy, I. I. [National Research University of Electronic Technology (MIET) (Russian Federation)

2015-09-15

The present paper is devoted to observations of the photoresistive effect in multilayer structures with a sensitive layer of J-aggregates of thiamonomethinecyanine polymethine dye and a transparent electrode of a conductive carbon-nanotube network on a flexible polyethylenenaphtalate substrate. The effect of narrow-band emission with a wavelength of 465 nm on a change in the conductivity of the fabricated structures is studied. The prepared samples are studied by atomic-force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and spectrophotometry methods. It is shown that these structures are photosensitive to the indicated spectral region, and the dye layer is a film of dye J-aggregates. The change in the sample conductivity upon exposure to light one hundred times exceeds the dark conductivity. In general, the principal possibility of developing a photoresistive detector based on J-aggregates of cyanine dyes on flexible supports on account of the use of transparent and conductive carbon-nanotube layers is shown.

Limited access: gender, occupational composition, and flexible work scheduling.

Science.gov (United States)

Glauber, Rebecca

2011-01-01

The current study draws on national data to explore differences in access to flexible work scheduling by the gender composition of women's and men's occupations. Results show that those who work in integrated occupations are more likely to have access to flexible scheduling. Women and men do not take jobs with lower pay in return for greater access to flexibility. Instead, jobs with higher pay offer greater flexibility. Integrated occupations tend to offer the greatest access to flexible scheduling because of their structural locations. Part-time work is negatively associated with men's access to flexible scheduling but positively associated with women's access. Women have greater flexibility when they work for large establishments, whereas men have greater flexibility when they work for small establishments.

Falling films on flexible inclines

Science.gov (United States)

Matar, O. K.; Craster, R. V.; Kumar, S.

2007-11-01

The nonlinear stability and dynamic behavior of falling fluid films is studied for flow over a flexible substrate. We use asymptotic methods to deduce governing equations valid in various limits. Long-wave theory is used to derive Benney-like coupled equations for the film thickness and substrate deflection. Weakly nonlinear equations are then derived from these equations that, in the limit of large wall damping and/or large wall tension, reduce to the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation. These models break down when inertia becomes more significant, so we also use a long-wave approximation in conjunction with integral theory to derive three strongly coupled nonlinear evolution equations for the film thickness, substrate deflection, and film volumetric flow rate valid at higher Reynolds numbers. These equations, accounting for inertia, capillary, viscous, wall tension, and damping effects, are solved over a wide range of parameters. Our results suggest that decreasing wall damping and/or wall tension can promote the development of chaos in the weakly nonlinear regime and lead to severe substrate deformations in the strongly nonlinear regime; these can give rise to situations in which the free surface and underlying substrate come into contact in finite time.

Flexible resources for quantum metrology

Science.gov (United States)

Friis, Nicolai; Orsucci, Davide; Skotiniotis, Michalis; Sekatski, Pavel; Dunjko, Vedran; Briegel, Hans J.; Dür, Wolfgang

2017-06-01

Quantum metrology offers a quadratic advantage over classical approaches to parameter estimation problems by utilising entanglement and nonclassicality. However, the hurdle of actually implementing the necessary quantum probe states and measurements, which vary drastically for different metrological scenarios, is usually not taken into account. We show that for a wide range of tasks in metrology, 2D cluster states (a particular family of states useful for measurement-based quantum computation) can serve as flexible resources that allow one to efficiently prepare any required state for sensing, and perform appropriate (entangled) measurements using only single qubit operations. Crucially, the overhead in the number of qubits is less than quadratic, thus preserving the quantum scaling advantage. This is ensured by using a compression to a logarithmically sized space that contains all relevant information for sensing. We specifically demonstrate how our method can be used to obtain optimal scaling for phase and frequency estimation in local estimation problems, as well as for the Bayesian equivalents with Gaussian priors of varying widths. Furthermore, we show that in the paradigmatic case of local phase estimation 1D cluster states are sufficient for optimal state preparation and measurement.

Flexible resources for quantum metrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friis, Nicolai; Orsucci, Davide; Skotiniotis, Michalis; Sekatski, Pavel; Dunjko, Vedran; Briegel, Hans J; Dür, Wolfgang

2017-01-01

Quantum metrology offers a quadratic advantage over classical approaches to parameter estimation problems by utilising entanglement and nonclassicality. However, the hurdle of actually implementing the necessary quantum probe states and measurements, which vary drastically for different metrological scenarios, is usually not taken into account. We show that for a wide range of tasks in metrology, 2D cluster states (a particular family of states useful for measurement-based quantum computation) can serve as flexible resources that allow one to efficiently prepare any required state for sensing, and perform appropriate (entangled) measurements using only single qubit operations. Crucially, the overhead in the number of qubits is less than quadratic, thus preserving the quantum scaling advantage. This is ensured by using a compression to a logarithmically sized space that contains all relevant information for sensing. We specifically demonstrate how our method can be used to obtain optimal scaling for phase and frequency estimation in local estimation problems, as well as for the Bayesian equivalents with Gaussian priors of varying widths. Furthermore, we show that in the paradigmatic case of local phase estimation 1D cluster states are sufficient for optimal state preparation and measurement. (paper)

Dynamic Analysis of Wind Turbine Towers on Flexible Foundations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Adhikari

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Offshore wind turbines are considered as an essential part to develop sustainable, alternative energy sources. The structures themselves are both slender and highly flexible, with a subsea foundation typically consisting of a single large diameter monopile. They are subject to intense wind and wave loadings, with the result that significant movement of both the exposed structure and the upper part of the monopile can occur. Although the structures are intended for design life of 25 to 30 years, very little is known about the long term behaviour of these structures. This paper characterizes the dynamic behaviour of these structures. A simplified approach has been proposed for the free vibration analysis of wind turbines taking the effect of foundation into account. The method is based on an Euler-Bernoulli beam-column with elastic end supports. The elastic end-supports are considered to model the flexible nature of the interaction of these systems with the foundation. A closed-form expression of the characteristic equation governing all the natural frequencies of the system has been derived. Theoretical developments are explained by practical numerical examples. Analytical as well as a new experimental approach has been proposed to determine the parameters for the foundation. Some design issues of wind turbine towers are discussed from the point of view of the foundation parameters.

Education, Training and the Flexible Labour Market.

Science.gov (United States)

Merson, Martin

1996-01-01

The British government's policy of flexible labor market may be interpreted as either flexibility of conditions, which encourages temporary, contingent work, or flexibility of skills, a repertoire that enables workers to undertake a range of tasks as needed. The challenge for educators is to help workers understand and engage in an uncertain world…

A new challenges in international cooperation. Via interdisciplinary approach towards safe nuclear industry back-end

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreimanis, Andrejs

2011-01-01

Development of multinational radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel repositories requires safe nuclear industry back-end. We propose an interdisciplinary synergetic approach to multilevel consensus building for siting shared multinational repositories, based on self-organization, chaos and fuzziness concepts. An entire partnering country is considered as a higher-level stakeholder - the national stakeholder, being faced to simultaneous seeking an upward (international) and a downward (intra-national) consensus in the environment, being characterized by diverse political, economic and social interests. There is deduced: a) building of international stakeholder consensus could be promoted by activating the international scale multilateral interactions between intra- and international stakeholders, b) gradual progress in intergovernmental consensus and reaching multilateral agreements - the result of dialogue, via observing the whole set of various interests and common resolving of emerged controversies, and c) knowledge, mental flexibility and systems thinking - basic prerogatives for elevating the level of mutual understanding and consensus. (author)

Labor Supply Flexibility and Portfolio Choice

OpenAIRE

Zvi Bodie; William Samuelson

1989-01-01

This paper develops a model showing that people who have flexibility in choosing how much to work will prefer to invest substantially more of their money in risky assets than if they had no such flexibility. Viewed in this way, labor supply flexibility offers insurance against adverse investment outcomes. The model provides support for the conventional wisdom that the young can tolerate more risk in their investment portfolios than the old. The model has other implications for the study of ho...

Flexible spin-orbit torque devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, OukJae; You, Long; Jang, Jaewon; Subramanian, Vivek [Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Salahuddin, Sayeef [Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

2015-12-21

We report on state-of-the-art spintronic devices synthesized and fabricated directly on a flexible organic substrate. Large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy was achieved in ultrathin ferromagnetic heterostructures of Pt/Co/MgO sputtered on a non-rigid plastic substrate at room temperature. Subsequently, a full magnetic reversal of the Co was observed by exploiting the spin orbit coupling in Pt that leads to a spin accumulation at the Pt/Co interface when an in-plane current is applied. Quasi-static measurements show the potential for operating these devices at nano-second speeds. Importantly, the behavior of the devices remained unchanged under varying bending conditions (up to a bending radius of ≈ ±20–30 mm). Furthermore, the devices showed robust operation even after application of 10{sup 6} successive pulses, which is likely sufficient for many flexible applications. Thus, this work demonstrates the potential for integrating high performance spintronic devices on flexible substrates, which could lead to many applications ranging from flexible non-volatile magnetic memory to local magnetic resonance imaging.

Flexible spin-orbit torque devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, OukJae; You, Long; Jang, Jaewon; Subramanian, Vivek; Salahuddin, Sayeef

2015-01-01

We report on state-of-the-art spintronic devices synthesized and fabricated directly on a flexible organic substrate. Large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy was achieved in ultrathin ferromagnetic heterostructures of Pt/Co/MgO sputtered on a non-rigid plastic substrate at room temperature. Subsequently, a full magnetic reversal of the Co was observed by exploiting the spin orbit coupling in Pt that leads to a spin accumulation at the Pt/Co interface when an in-plane current is applied. Quasi-static measurements show the potential for operating these devices at nano-second speeds. Importantly, the behavior of the devices remained unchanged under varying bending conditions (up to a bending radius of ≈ ±20–30 mm). Furthermore, the devices showed robust operation even after application of 10 6 successive pulses, which is likely sufficient for many flexible applications. Thus, this work demonstrates the potential for integrating high performance spintronic devices on flexible substrates, which could lead to many applications ranging from flexible non-volatile magnetic memory to local magnetic resonance imaging

Can flexibility help you float?

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, L. J.; Bush, J. W. M.

2012-10-01

We consider the role of flexibility in the weight-bearing characteristics of bodies floating at an interface. Specifically, we develop a theoretical model for a two-dimensional thin floating plate that yields the maximum stable plate load and optimal stiffness for weight support. Plates small relative to the capillary length are primarily supported by surface tension, and their weight-bearing potential does not benefit from flexibility. Above a critical size comparable to the capillary length, flexibility assists interfacial flotation. For plates on the order of and larger than the capillary length, deflection from an initially flat shape increases the force resulting from hydrostatic pressure, allowing the plate to support a greater load. In this large plate limit, the shape that bears the most weight is a semicircle, which displaces the most fluid above the plate for a fixed plate length. Exact results for maximum weight-bearing plate shapes are compared to analytic approximations made in the limits of large and small plate sizes. The value of flexibility for floating to a number of biological organisms is discussed in light of our study.

Implementation of an Improved Safe Operating Envelope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prime, Robyn; McIntyre, Mark [NB Power Nuclear, P.O. Box 600, Lepreau, NB (Canada); Reeves, David [Atlantic Nuclear Services Ltd., PO Box 1268 Fredericton, NB (Canada)

2008-07-01

This paper is a continuation of the paper presented at IYNC 2004 on 'The Definition of a Safe Operating Envelope'. The current paper concentrates on the implementation process of the Safe Operating Envelope employed at the Point Lepreau Generating Station. (authors)

RESTORATION OF ACCOUNTING A OF THE ENTERPRISE: PREREQUISITE AND ESSENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luhova Olha

2018-01-01

; verification of the accuracy of the calculation of tax payments and transfers to the budget; preparation of statements for past periods, adjustment of reporting of current periods; statement of accounting in order to ensure that the situation with the loss of data does not repeat; consultations on further accounting issues. Conclusions. Without restoring accounting, it is impossible for the entity to continue to conduct safe business. On the basis of data obtained during the restoration of accounting, not only the state authorities receive information about the activities of the company, but also the leadership receives benchmarks for successful business. After the restoration of accounting it is possible to operate with objective information about the activities of the company, coordinate its development, correct errors and manage the property rationally.

Flexible wings in flapping flight

Science.gov (United States)

Moret, Lionel; Thiria, Benjamin; Zhang, Jun

2007-11-01

We study the effect of passive pitching and flexible deflection of wings on the forward flapping flight. The wings are flapped vertically in water and are allowed to move freely horizontally. The forward speed is chosen by the flapping wing itself by balance of drag and thrust. We show, that by allowing the wing to passively pitch or by adding a flexible extension at its trailing edge, the forward speed is significantly increased. Detailed measurements of wing deflection and passive pitching, together with flow visualization, are used to explain our observations. The advantage of having a wing with finite rigidity/flexibility is discussed as we compare the current results with our biological inspirations such as birds and fish.

Two dimensional nanomaterials for flexible supercapacitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Xu; Peng, Lele; Wu, Changzheng; Xie, Yi

2014-05-21

Flexible supercapacitors, as one of most promising emerging energy storage devices, are of great interest owing to their high power density with great mechanical compliance, making them very suitable as power back-ups for future stretchable electronics. Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, including the quasi-2D graphene and inorganic graphene-like materials (IGMs), have been greatly explored to providing huge potential for the development of flexible supercapacitors with higher electrochemical performance. This review article is devoted to recent progresses in engineering 2D nanomaterials for flexible supercapacitors, which survey the evolution of electrode materials, recent developments in 2D nanomaterials and their hybrid nanostructures with regulated electrical properties, and the new planar configurations of flexible supercapacitors. Furthermore, a brief discussion on future directions, challenges and opportunities in this fascinating area is also provided.

Flexible nanoscale high-performance FinFETs

KAUST Repository

Sevilla, Galo T.

2014-10-28

With the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), flexible high-performance nanoscale electronics are more desired. At the moment, FinFET is the most advanced transistor architecture used in the state-of-the-art microprocessors. Therefore, we show a soft-etch based substrate thinning process to transform silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based nanoscale FinFET into flexible FinFET and then conduct comprehensive electrical characterization under various bending conditions to understand its electrical performance. Our study shows that back-etch based substrate thinning process is gentler than traditional abrasive back-grinding process; it can attain ultraflexibility and the electrical characteristics of the flexible nanoscale FinFET show no performance degradation compared to its rigid bulk counterpart indicating its readiness to be used for flexible high-performance electronics.

Flexibility-enabling Contracts in Electricity Markets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boscan, Luis; Poudineh, Rahmatallah

As the share of intermittent renewable energy increases in the generation mix, power systems are exposed to greater levels of uncertainty and risk, which requires planners, policy and business decision makers to incentivise flexibility, that is: their adaptability to unforeseen variations....... Additionally, along with traditional sources, which already enable flexibility, a number of business models, such as thermostat-based demand response, aggregators and small storage providers, are emerging in electricity markets and expected to constitute important sources of flexibility in future decentralised...... power systems. However, due to presence of high transaction costs, relative to the size of resource, the emerging small resources cannot directly participate in an organised electricity market and/or compete. This paper asks the fundamental question of how should the provision of flexibility, as a multi...

From Safe Systems to Patient Safety

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aarts, J.; Nøhr, C.

2010-01-01

for the third conference with the theme: The ability to design, implement and evaluate safe, useable and effective systems within complex health care organizations. The theme for this conference was "Designing and Implementing Health IT: from safe systems to patient safety". The contributions have reflected...... and implementation of safe systems and thus contribute to the agenda of patient safety? The contributions demonstrate how the health informatics community has contributed to the performance of significant research and to translating research findings to develop health care delivery and improve patient safety......This volume presents the papers from the fourth International Conference on Information Technology in Health Care: Socio-technical Approaches held in Aalborg, Denmark in June 2010. In 2001 the first conference was held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands with the theme: Sociotechnical' approaches...

The first safe country

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raffaela Puggioni

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The Dublin II Regulation makes the first safe country of refuge solelyresponsible for refugees and asylum seekers. In the case of Italy, thefirst responsible country has not been acting responsibly.

Karate: Keep It Safe.

Science.gov (United States)

Jordan, David

1981-01-01

Safety guidelines for each phase of a karate practice session are presented to provide an accident-free and safe environment for teaching karate in a physical education or traditional karate training program. (JMF)

Testing of the coping flexibility hypothesis based on the dual-process theory: Relationships between coping flexibility and depressive Symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Tsukasa

2015-12-15

According to the dual-process theory of coping flexibility (Kato, 2012), coping flexibility is the ability to discontinue an ineffective coping strategy (i.e., evaluation coping process) and implement an alternative strategy (i.e., adaptive coping process). The coping flexibility hypothesis (CFH) proposes that the ability to engage in flexible coping is related to better psychological functioning and physical health, including less depression. I the present study, participants were 393 American Whites, 429 Australian Whites, and 496 Chinese, selected from the data pool of the 2013 Coping and Health Survey (see Kato, 2014b). They completed both the Coping Flexibility Scale (Kato, 2012), which is based on the dual-process theory of coping flexibility, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). For all nationalities and genders, evaluation coping and adaptive coping were significantly correlated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. Structural equation modeling revealed that evaluation coping was associated with lower depressive symptoms for all nationalities and genders, whereas no significant relationships between adaptive coping and depressive symptoms were found for any nationalities. Our results partially supported that the CFH fits with the dual-process theory of coping flexibility. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Movable MEMS Devices on Flexible Silicon

KAUST Repository

Ahmed, Sally

2013-01-01

Flexible electronics have gained great attention recently. Applications such as flexible displays, artificial skin and health monitoring devices are a few examples of this technology. Looking closely at the components of these devices, although MEMS

Prepare to protect: Operating and maintaining a tornado safe room.

Science.gov (United States)

Herseth, Andrew; Goldsmith-Grinspoon, Jennifer; Scott, Pataya

2017-06-01

Operating and maintaining a tornado safe room can be critical to the effective continuity of business operations because a firm's most valuable asset is its people. This paper describes aspects of operations and maintenance (O&M) for existing tornado safe rooms as well as a few planning and design aspects that affect the ultimate operation of a safe room for situations where a safe room is planned, but not yet constructed. The information is based on several Federal Emergency Management Agency safe room publications that provide guidance on emergency management and operations, as well as the design and construction of tornado safe rooms.

Highly flexible self-standing film electrode composed of mesoporous rutile TiO2/C nanofibers for lithium-ion batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Bote; Cai Rui; Jiang Simin; Sha Yujing; Shao Zongping

2012-01-01

There is increasing interest in flexible, safe, high-power thin-film lithium-ion batteries which can be applied to various modern devices. Although TiO 2 in rutile phase is highly attractive as an anode material of lithium-ion batteries for its high thermal stability and theoretical capacity of 336 mA h g −1 and low price, its inflexibility and sluggish lithium intercalation kinetics of bulk phase strongly limit its practical application for particular in thin-film electrode. Here we show a simple way to prepare highly flexible self-standing thin-film electrodes composed of mesoporous rutile TiO 2 /C nanofibers with low carbon content ( 2 in as-fabricated nanofibers. Big size (10 cm × 4 cm), flexible thin film is obtained after heat treatment under 10%H 2 –Ar at 900 °C for 3 h. After optimization, the diameter of fibers can reach as small as ∼110 nm, and the as-prepared rutile TiO 2 films show high initial electrochemical activity with the first discharge capacity as high as 388 mA h g −1 . What is more, very stable reversible capacities of ∼122, 92, and 70 mA h g −1 are achieved respectively at 1, 5 and 10 C rates with negligible decay rate within 100 cycling times.

Workplace flexibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Scordato, C; Harris, J

1990-01-01

Whether your organization is in a growth pattern or downsizing, you are probably facing change. To gain some insight into your options, here is an in-depth look at the problems and benefits of some flexible work arrangements from a just published study by Catalyst.

Flexibility conflict?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Delsen, L.W.M.; Bauer, F.; Groß, H.; Sieglen, G.

2002-01-01

The chapter deals with the presupposed conflict of interests between employers and employees resulting from a decoupling of operating hours and working times. It starts from the notion that both long operating hours and flexibility are relative concepts. As there is some discretion, the ultimate

How "accountable" are accountable care organizations?

Science.gov (United States)

Addicott, Rachael; Shortell, Stephen M

2014-01-01

The establishment of accountable care organizations (ACOs) in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was intended to support both cost savings and high-quality care. However, a key challenge will be to ensure that governance and accountability mechanisms are sufficient to support those twin ambitions. This exploratory study considers how recently developed ACOs have established governance structures and accountability mechanisms, particularly focusing on attempts at collaborative accountability and shared governance arrangements. Four case studies of ACOs across the United States were undertaken, with data collected throughout 2012. These involved 34 semistructured interviews with ACO administrative and clinical leaders, observation of nine meetings, and a review of documentary materials from each ACO. We identified very few examples of physicians being held to account as a collective and therefore only limited evidence of collaborative accountability impacting on behavior change. However, ACO leaders do have many mechanisms available to stimulate change across physicians. The challenge is to determine governance structure(s) and accountability mechanisms that facilitate the most effective combination of approaches, measures, incentives, and sanctions to achieve the goals of more accountable care. Accountability structures and processes will need to be tailored to local membership composition, historical evolution, and current stage of development. There are also some common lessons to be drawn. Shared goals and incentives should be reflected through performance criteria. It is important to align measures and thresholds across payers to ensure ACOs are not unnecessarily burdened or compromised by reporting on different and potentially disjointed measures. Finally, emphasis needs to be placed on the importance of credible, transparent data. This exploratory study provides early evidence regarding how ACOs are establishing their governance and accountability arrangements and

Management of antithrombotic agents in patients undergoing flexible bronchoscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sami Abuqayyas

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Bleeding is one of the most feared complications of flexible bronchoscopy. Although infrequent, it can be catastrophic and result in fatal outcomes. Compared to other endoscopic procedures, the risk of morbidity and mortality from the bleeding is increased, as even a small amount of blood can fill the tracheobronchial tree and lead to respiratory failure. Patients using antithrombotic agents (ATAs have higher bleeding risk. A thorough understanding of the different ATAs is critical to manage patients during the peri-procedural period. A decision to stop an ATA before bronchoscopy should take into account a variety of factors, including indication for its use and the type of procedure. This article serves as a detailed review on the different ATAs, their pharmacokinetics and the pre- and post-bronchoscopy management of patients receiving these medications.

Safe actinide disposition in molten salt reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gat, U.

1997-01-01

Safe molten salt reactors (MSR) can readily accommodate the burning of all fissile actinides. Only minor compromises associated with plutonium are required. The MSRs can dispose safely of actinides and long lived isotopes to result in safer and simpler waste. Disposing of actinides in MSRs does increase the source term of a safety optimized MSR. It is concluded that the burning and transmutation of actinides in MSRs can be done in a safe manner. Development is needed for the processing to handle and separate the actinides. Calculations are needed to establish the neutron economy and the fuel management. 9 refs

Natural flexible dermal armor.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Wen; Chen, Irene H; Gludovatz, Bernd; Zimmermann, Elizabeth A; Ritchie, Robert O; Meyers, Marc A

2013-01-04

Fish, reptiles, and mammals can possess flexible dermal armor for protection. Here we seek to find the means by which Nature derives its protection by examining the scales from several fish (Atractosteus spatula, Arapaima gigas, Polypterus senegalus, Morone saxatilis, Cyprinius carpio), and osteoderms from armadillos, alligators, and leatherback turtles. Dermal armor has clearly been developed by convergent evolution in these different species. In general, it has a hierarchical structure with collagen fibers joining more rigid units (scales or osteoderms), thereby increasing flexibility without significantly sacrificing strength, in contrast to rigid monolithic mineral composites. These dermal structures are also multifunctional, with hydrodynamic drag (in fish), coloration for camouflage or intraspecies recognition, temperature and fluid regulation being other important functions. The understanding of such flexible dermal armor is important as it may provide a basis for new synthetic, yet bioinspired, armor materials. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Safe Sleep for Babies

Science.gov (United States)

... 5 MB] Read the MMWR Science Clips Safe Sleep for Babies Eliminating hazards Recommend on Facebook Tweet ... Page Problem Every year, there are thousands of sleep-related deaths among babies. View large image and ...

Soldier Flexible Personal Digital Assistant Program

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Price, Mark; Woytowich, Jason; Carlson, Marc

2008-01-01

The main goal of the Soldier Flexible Personal Digital Assistant Program was to develop prototypes of a novel flexible display technology device for demonstration in a laboratory setting and use in Future Force Warrior (FFW) demonstrations...

ACCOUNTING TREATMENTS USED FOR ACCOUNTING SERVICES PROVIDERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ŢOGOE GRETI DANIELA

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The theme of our research is the ways of keeping accounting entities that are the object of the provision of services in the accounting profession. This paper aims to achieve a parallel between the ways of organizing financial records - accounting provided by freelancers and companies with activity in the financial - accounting. The first step in our scientific research is to establish objectives chosen area of scientific knowledge. Our scientific approach seeks to explain through a thorough and detailed approach as different sides (conceptual and practical looking projections of accounting issues related to regulatory developments and practices in the field. This paper addresses various concepts, accounting treatments, and books and accounting documents used both freelancers in providing accounting services and legal persons authorized accounting profession. In terms of methodology and research perspective, the whole scientific approach combined with quantitative and qualitative research theoretical perspective (descriptive-conceptual with practice perspective (empirical analyzing the main contributions of various authors (Romanian and foreign to knowledge in the field. Following the survey believe that the amendments to the national legislation will support entities providing accounting services, by cutting red tape on Administrative Burdens, and consequently will increase profitability and increase service quality.

Simulation analysis of resource flexibility on healthcare processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Simwita, Yusta W; Helgheim, Berit I

2016-01-01

This paper uses discrete event simulation to explore the best resource flexibility scenario and examine the effect of implementing resource flexibility on different stages of patient treatment process. Specifically we investigate the effect of resource flexibility on patient waiting time and throughput in an orthopedic care process. We further seek to explore on how implementation of resource flexibility on patient treatment processes affects patient access to healthcare services. We focus on two resources, namely, orthopedic surgeon and operating room. The observational approach was used to collect process data. The developed model was validated by comparing the simulation output with actual patient data collected from the studied orthopedic care process. We developed different scenarios to identify the best resource flexibility scenario and explore the effect of resource flexibility on patient waiting time, throughput, and future changes in demand. The developed scenarios focused on creating flexibility on service capacity of this care process by altering the amount of additional human resource capacity at different stages of patient care process and extending the use of operating room capacity. The study found that resource flexibility can improve responsiveness to patient demand in the treatment process. Testing different scenarios showed that the introduction of resource flexibility reduces patient waiting time and improves throughput. The simulation results show that patient access to health services can be improved by implementing resource flexibility at different stages of the patient treatment process. This study contributes to the current health care literature by explaining how implementing resource flexibility at different stages of patient care processes can improve ability to respond to increasing patients demands. This study was limited to a single patient process; studies focusing on additional processes are recommended.

Individual Differences in the Phenotypic Flexibility of Basal Metabolic Rate in Siberian Hamsters Are Consistent on Short- and Long-Term Timescales.

Science.gov (United States)

Boratyński, Jan S; Jefimow, Małgorzata; Wojciechowski, Michał S

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) correlates with the cost of life in endothermic animals. It usually differs consistently among individuals in a population, but it may be adjusted in response to predictable or unpredictable changes in the environment. The phenotypic flexibility of BMR is considered an adaptation to living in a stochastic environment; however, whether it is also repeatable it is still unexplored. Assuming that variations in phenotypic flexibility are evolutionarily important, we hypothesized that they are consistently different among individuals. We predicted that not only BMR but also its flexibility in response to changes in ambient temperature (T a ) are repeatable on short- and long-term timescales. To examine this, we acclimated Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) for 100 d to winterlike and then to summerlike conditions, and after each acclimation we exposed them interchangeably to 10° and 28°C for 14 d. The difference in BMR measured after each exposure defined an individual's phenotypic flexibility (ΔBMR). BMR was repeatable within and among seasons. It was also flexible in both seasons, but in winter this flexibility was lower in individuals responding to seasonal changes than in nonresponding ones. When we accounted for individual responsiveness, the repeatability of ΔBMR was significant in winter (τ = 0.48, P = 0.01) and in summer (τ = 0.55, P = 0.005). Finally, the flexibility of BMR in response to changes in T a was also repeatable on a long-term timescale, that is, among seasons (τ = 0.31, P = 0.008). Our results indicate the evolutionary importance of the phenotypic flexibility of energy metabolism and suggest that it may be subject to selection.

Points-Based Safe Path Planning of Continuum Robots

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Khuram Shahzad

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Continuum robots exhibit great potential in a number of challenging applications where traditional rigid link robots pose certain limitations, e.g., working in unstructured environments. In order to enable the usage of continuum robots in safety-critical applications, such as surgery and nuclear decontamination, it is extremely important to ensure a safe path for the robot's movement. Existing algorithms for continuum robot path planning have certain limitations that need to be addressed. These include the fact that none of the algorithms provide safety assurance parameters and control for path planning. They are computationally expensive, applicable to a specific type of continuum robots, and mostly they do not incorporate design and kinematics constraints. In this paper, we propose a points-based path planning (PoPP algorithm for continuum robots that computes the path by imposing safety constraints and improves upon the limitations of existing approaches. In the algorithm, we exploit the constant curvature-bending property of continuum robots in their path planning process. The algorithm is computationally efficient and provides a good tradeoff between accuracy and efficiency that can be implemented to enable the safety-critical application of continuum robots. This algorithm also provides information regarding path volume and flexibility in movement. Simulation results confirm that the algorithm possesses promising potential for all types of continuum robots (following the constant curvature-bending property. We believe that this effectively balances the desired safety and efficiency requirements.

On the concept of flexibility: A dual control perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.C.J. de Leeuw (A. C J); H.W. Volberda (Henk)

1996-01-01

textabstractOrganizational flexibility has recently received much attention from researchers, management consultants and practitioners. In general, the term 'flexibility' has a positive connotation: flexible organizations are the better ones. However, the meaning of flexibility as well as its

Tunnel flexibility effect on the ground surface acceleration response

Science.gov (United States)

Baziar, Mohammad Hassan; Moghadam, Masoud Rabeti; Choo, Yun Wook; Kim, Dong-Soo

2016-09-01

Flexibility of underground structures relative to the surrounding medium, referred to as the flexibility ratio, is an important factor that influences their dynamic interaction. This study investigates the flexibility effect of a box-shaped subway tunnel, resting directly on bedrock, on the ground surface acceleration response using a numerical model verified against dynamic centrifuge test results. A comparison of the ground surface acceleration response for tunnel models with different flexibility ratios revealed that the tunnels with different flexibility ratios influence the acceleration response at the ground surface in different ways. Tunnels with lower flexibility ratios have higher acceleration responses at short periods, whereas tunnels with higher flexibility ratios have higher acceleration responses at longer periods. The effect of the flexibility ratio on ground surface acceleration is more prominent in the high range of frequencies. Furthermore, as the flexibility ratio of the tunnel system increases, the acceleration response moves away from the free field response and shifts towards the longer periods. Therefore, the flexibility ratio of the underground tunnels influences the peak ground acceleration (PGA) at the ground surface, and may need to be considered in the seismic zonation of urban areas.

Escola segura Safe school

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Edson Ferreira Liberal

2005-11-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Revisão das estratégias para tornar o ambiente escolar seguro. Inicialmente os autores contextualizam a violência e os acidentes no ambiente escolar e fazem recomendações, baseadas em dados da literatura, para a implantação de escolas seguras. FONTE DE DADOS: Artigos publicados entre 1993 e 2005 na base de dados MEDLINE. Dados nacionais epidemiológicos e da literatura também foram pesquisados. SÍNTESE DOS DADOS: Há evidência crescente de que a intervenção tem múltiplos componentes. O foco político é a prática em educação em saúde com o envolvimento de toda a comunidade. O norte dessas intervenções é ajudar estudantes e toda a comunidade a adotar um comportamento seguro e saudável. As escolas estão assumindo um envolvimento crescente na promoção da saúde, prevenção de doenças e prevenção de trauma. Nesse contexto de prevenção de causas externas de morbimortalidade, é importante reconhecer o risco ambiental, locais e comportamentos de risco como favoráveis ao trauma e à violência, além de um novo conceito de acidentes como algo que possa ser evitado. CONCLUSÃO: A implementação da escola segura representa uma nova direção promissora para o trabalho preventivo baseado na escola. É importante notar que uma escola segura deve intervir não meramente na sua estrutura física, mas também torná-la tão segura quanto possível, trabalhando com a comunidade escolar por meio de educação em saúde, discutindo principalmente o comportamento saudável.OBJECTIVE: To review the strategies to make school a safe environment. The paper first addresses the social context of accidents and violence in the school environment, and makes recommendations, based on the literature data, for the implementation of safe schools. SOURCE OF DATA: Articles published between 1993 and 2005 in the MEDLINE database. Brazilian epidemiological and literature data have also been searched. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: There is

Generational Approach to Factors Influencing Career Choice in Accounting

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Jony Hsiao

Full Text Available ABSTRACT This research aims to grasp which factors influence the generation Y to choose accounting as its career. A significant decline in the number of candidates willing to pursue a career as accountant has been observed abroad - USA, Australia, and Japan. However, in other countries - Brazil, Singapore, and Hong Kong - the opposite has been observed. Another issue is the decline in educational qualification of those pursuing an accounting career, contributing in a way that many talented students change their career choice. This may be explained by the fact that people tend to believe accounting is an exact science, full of calculations, boring, and not very creative, bringing an unbalance between the traits an individual should have according to the job market and those perceived by society. In order to give a contribution to literature concerning the factors that influence the generation Y in its career choice, a goal of this research was conducting an exploratory study where some hypotheses were formulated to support the discussion. We used Mannheim's Generational Theory and the literature on career choice. Data collection was carried out using a questionnaire, based on Schwartz's Portrait Value Questionnaire and Germeijs and Verschueren's Student Choice Task Inventory, adapted through focus group interview. Data were fully collected online and the sample consisted of 665 subjects. The results showed that people who chose accounting as their career were influenced by factors such as creativity, independence, challenging and dynamic environment, job security, money-making, job availability, and other significant people - friends and teachers. The subjects were not influenced by social factors, such as working with people and making contributions to society and family. They wish for more autonomy, creativity, and flexibility at work, and people still care about job security and money-making.

IEA EBC Annex 67 Energy Flexible Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marszal, Anna Joanna; Jensen, Søren Østergaard

2016-01-01

know ledge on and demonstration of the Energy Flexibility Buildings can provide for the energy grids as well of to identify critical aspects and possible solutions to manage this Energy Flexibility. The paper discusses the background, the aims and the work plan of IEA (International Energy Agency) EBC......The foreseen large deployment of renewable energy sources may seriously affect the stability of energy grids. It will be necessary to control energy consumption to match instantaneous energy production. The built-in Energy Flexibility in buildings may be utilized for stabilizing the energy grids......, allowing for a larger roll out of renewable technologies. The Energy Flexibility of a building is the ability to manage its energy demand and generation according to local climate conditions, user needs and grid requirements. Energy Flexibility of buildings will thus allow for demand side management...

Buying & Using Medicine Safely

Science.gov (United States)

... Reducers Safe Daily Use of Aspirin Medication Health Fraud Resources for You FDA Consumer Updates (Drugs) Page ... feeds Follow FDA on Twitter Follow FDA on Facebook View FDA videos on YouTube View FDA photos ...

Defining Peer-to-Peer Accountability From the Nurse's Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Lockett, Jacqueline Jansen; Barkley, Leslie; Stichler, Jaynelle; Palomo, Jeanne; Kik, Bozena; Walker, Christopher; Donnelly, Janet; Willon, Judy; Sanborn, Julie; O'Byrne, Noeleen

2015-11-01

The aim of this study was to define and create a conceptual model for peer-to-peer accountability (P to PA). Many organizations cite the importance of peer accountability (PA) as essential in ensuring patient safety. Professionalism in nursing requires self-regulation of practice and PA. Although discussed in the literature, P to PA is not conceptually defined. A grounded theory study design with constant comparative data collection and analysis was used to explore nurses' definitions of P to PA and their perceptions of motivators and barriers to engaging in P to PA. Transcripts of digital recordings of all interviews were analyzed using line-by-line coding until identified themes emerged. P to PA was defined as the act of speaking up when one observes a peer not practicing to acceptable standards. A conceptual model illustrates the antecedents, attributes, and consequences of P to PA. P to PA is the professional responsibility of every nurse and healthcare provider and is essential for safe patient care. The conceptual definition facilitates actualization of P to PA in practice.

Production Flexibility and Hedging

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Georges Dionne

2015-12-01

Full Text Available We extend the analysis on hedging with price and output uncertainty by endogenizing the output decision. Specifically, we consider the joint determination of output and hedging in the case of flexibility in production. We show that the risk-averse firm always maintains a short position in the futures market when the futures price is actuarially fair. Moreover, in the context of an example, we show that the presence of production flexibility reduces the incentive to hedge for all risk averse agents.

On the concept of flexibility : A dual control perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Leeuw, A.C.J.; Volberda, H.W.

Organizational flexibility has recently received much attention from researchers, management consultants and practitioners, In general, the term 'flexibility' has a positive connotation: flexible organizations are the better ones. However, the meaning of flexibility as well as its relation to the

Flexible video-endsocopic injection sclerotherapy for second and third degree internal hemorrhoids

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Sandeep Nijhawan

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background and objectives: Bleeding from hemorrhoids is the commonest cause of rectal bleeding in adults. Injection sclerotherapy of internal hemorrhoids is one of the non-surgical treatments, and is simple, safe and feasible. Conventionally sclerotherapy is performed with rigid proctoscope which has limitations of maneuverability, narrower field of vision and documentation compared to flexible videoendoscope. Therefore, we assessed the efficacy and safety of video-colonoscopic sclerotherapy for bleeding internal hemorrhides. Methods: Seventy-nine patients of bleeding internal hemorrhoids were subjected to colonoscopic sclerotherapy using 1.5% polidocanol in retroflexed or forward viewing positions. Success of treatment was defined as cessation of bleeding for six weeks. Patients were observed for complications and were followed up regularly for 3 months. Results: A total of 79 evaluable patients, 61 had grade II and 18 had grade III hemorrhoids. There was no statistically significant differences in achieving excellent or good results for control of bleeding between patients with grade II and grade III hemorrhoids (100% vs 94,5%; p>0.05. The number of sessions of sclerotherapy required were significantly more in grade II than grade III hemorrhoids (1.1 ± 0.3 vs 1.3 ± 0.7; p = 0.04. No significant complications were noted except for bloating in ten patients (12.6 % and rectal pain in 6 (7.6% patients. Median time taken for the procedure was 30 minutes. Conclusions: Video-endoscopic sclerotherapy is safe, well-tolerated and effective treatment for bleeding internal hemorrhoids.

Modeling the transient aerodynamic effects during the motion of a flexible trailing edge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolff, T; Seume, J R