Performance Evaluation of a SOA-based Rack-To-Rack Switch for Optical Interconnects Exploiting NRZ-DPSK

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karinou, Fotini; Borkowski, Robert; Prince, Kamau

2012-01-01

We experimentally study the transmission performance of 10-Gb/s NRZ-DPSK through concatenated AWG MUX/DMUXs and SOAs employed in an optimized 64×64 optical supercomputer interconnect architecture. NRZ-DPSK offers 9-dB higher dynamic range compared to conventional IM/DD....

Simultaneous RZ-OOK to NRZ-OOK and RZ-DPSK to NRZ-DPSK format conversion in a silicon microring resonator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xiong, Meng; Ozolins, Oskars; Ding, Yunhong

2012-01-01

Simultaneous RZ-OOK to NRZ-OOK and RZ-DPSK to NRZDPSK modulation format conversion in a single silicon microring resonator with free spectral range equal to twice the signal bit rate is experimentally demonstrated for the first time at 41.6 Gb/s. By utilizing an optimized custom-made microring...

All-optical clock recovery of NRZ-DPSK signals using optical resonator-type filters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peucheret, Christophe; Seoane, Jorge; Ji, Hua

2009-01-01

It is shown how introducing a limited rise time to the driving signal enables all-optical clock recovery of NRZ-DPSK signals generated using a phase modulator. A Fabry-Perot filter is used to generate the optical clock.......It is shown how introducing a limited rise time to the driving signal enables all-optical clock recovery of NRZ-DPSK signals generated using a phase modulator. A Fabry-Perot filter is used to generate the optical clock....

A multi-rate DPSK modem for free-space laser communications

Science.gov (United States)

Spellmeyer, N. W.; Browne, C. A.; Caplan, D. O.; Carney, J. J.; Chavez, M. L.; Fletcher, A. S.; Fitzgerald, J. J.; Kaminsky, R. D.; Lund, G.; Hamilton, S. A.; Magliocco, R. J.; Mikulina, O. V.; Murphy, R. J.; Rao, H. G.; Scheinbart, M. S.; Seaver, M. M.; Wang, J. P.

2014-03-01

The multi-rate DPSK format, which enables efficient free-space laser communications over a wide range of data rates, is finding applications in NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration. We discuss the design and testing of an efficient and robust multi-rate DPSK modem, including aspects of the electrical, mechanical, thermal, and optical design. The modem includes an optically preamplified receiver, an 0.5-W average power transmitter, a LEON3 rad-hard microcontroller that provides the command and telemetry interface and supervisory control, and a Xilinx Virtex-5 radhard reprogrammable FPGA that both supports the high-speed data flow to and from the modem and controls the modem's analog and digital subsystems. For additional flexibility, the transmitter and receiver can be configured to support operation with multi-rate PPM waveforms.

Cascadability of Silicon Microring Resonators for40-Gbit/s OOK and DPSK Optical Signals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ozolins, Oskars; An, Yi; Lali-Dastjerdi, Zohreh

2012-01-01

The cascadability of a single silicon micro-ring resonator for CSRZ-OOK and CSRZ-DPSK signals is experimentally demonstrated at 40 Gbit/s for the first time. Error-free performance is obtained for both modulation formats after 5 cascaded resonators.......The cascadability of a single silicon micro-ring resonator for CSRZ-OOK and CSRZ-DPSK signals is experimentally demonstrated at 40 Gbit/s for the first time. Error-free performance is obtained for both modulation formats after 5 cascaded resonators....

Wavelength conversion of 80 Gb/s RZ-DPSK Pol-MUX signals in a silicon nanowire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vukovic, Dragana; Peucheret, Christophe; Oxenløwe, Leif Katsuo

2014-01-01

All-optical wavelength conversion of 80 Gb/s RZ-DPSK polarization multiplexed signals is demonstrated in a silicon nanowire using an angled-pump scheme. The quality of the converted signal is characterized through BER measurements for the first time.......All-optical wavelength conversion of 80 Gb/s RZ-DPSK polarization multiplexed signals is demonstrated in a silicon nanowire using an angled-pump scheme. The quality of the converted signal is characterized through BER measurements for the first time....

Dynamic range enhancement and amplitude regeneration in single pump fibre optic parametric amplifiers using DPSK modulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peucheret, Christophe; Lorenzen, Michael Rodas; Seoane, Jorge

2008-01-01

Input power dynamic range enhancement and amplitude regeneration of highly distorted signals are demonstrated experimentally for 40 Gbit/s RZ-DPSK in a single-pump fibre parametric amplifier with 22 dB smallsignal gain.......Input power dynamic range enhancement and amplitude regeneration of highly distorted signals are demonstrated experimentally for 40 Gbit/s RZ-DPSK in a single-pump fibre parametric amplifier with 22 dB smallsignal gain....

All-optical phase-preserving amplitude regeneration of a 640 Gbit/s RZ-DPSK signal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lali-Dastjerdi, Zohreh; Galili, Michael; Mulvad, Hans Christian Hansen

2013-01-01

Phase-preserving amplitude regeneration based on optical parametric amplification has been experimentally demonstrated for a 640 Gbit/s RZ-DPSK signal. Improvement of 2.2 dB in receiver sensitivity at a BER of 10-9 together with 13.3 dB net gain have been successfully achieved.......Phase-preserving amplitude regeneration based on optical parametric amplification has been experimentally demonstrated for a 640 Gbit/s RZ-DPSK signal. Improvement of 2.2 dB in receiver sensitivity at a BER of 10-9 together with 13.3 dB net gain have been successfully achieved....

Time domain spectral phase encoding/DPSK data modulation using single phase modulator for OCDMA application.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xu; Gao, Zhensen; Kataoka, Nobuyuki; Wada, Naoya

2010-05-10

A novel scheme using single phase modulator for simultaneous time domain spectral phase encoding (SPE) signal generation and DPSK data modulation is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Array- Waveguide-Grating and Variable-Bandwidth-Spectrum-Shaper based devices can be used for decoding the signal directly in spectral domain. The effects of fiber dispersion, light pulse width and timing error on the coding performance have been investigated by simulation and verified in experiment. In the experiment, SPE signal with 8-chip, 20GHz/chip optical code patterns has been generated and modulated with 2.5 Gbps DPSK data using single modulator. Transmission of the 2.5 Gbps data over 34km fiber with BEROCDMA) and secure optical communication applications. (c) 2010 Optical Society of America.

Detection and processing of phase modulated optical signals at 40 Gbit/s and beyond

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geng, Yan

the amplitude regeneration capability based on FWM in a highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF). The first reported experimental demonstration of amplitude equalization of 40 Gbit/s RZ-DPSK signals using a 500 m long HNLF is presented. Using four possible phase levels to carry the information, DQPSK allows generation......This thesis addresses demodulation in direct detection systems and signal processing of high speed phase modulated signals in future all-optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) communication systems where differential phase shift keying (DPSK) or differential quadrature phase shift keying...... (DQPSK) are used to transport information. All-optical network functionalities -such as optical labeling, wavelength conversion and signal regeneration- are experimentally investigated. Direct detection of phase modulated signals requires phase-to-intensity modulation conversion in a demodulator...

Breaking chaotic shift key communication via adaptive key identification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren Haipeng; Han Chongzhao; Liu Ding

2008-01-01

This paper proposes an adaptive parameter identification method for breaking chaotic shift key communication from the transmitted signal in public channel. The sensitive dependence property of chaos on parameter mismatch is used for chaos adaptive synchronization and parameter identification. An index function about the synchronization error is defined and conjugate gradient method is used to minimize the index function and to search the transmitter's parameter (key). By using proposed method, secure key is recovered from transmitted signal generated by low dimensional chaos and hyper chaos switching communication. Multi-parameters can also be identified from the transmitted signal with noise

A cost-effective structure of a centralized-light-source WDM-PON utilizing inverse-duobinary-RZ downstream and DPSK upstream

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Long-Quan; Qiao Yao-Jun; Ji Yue-Feng

2013-01-01

In this paper, we propose a new structure of a centralized-light-source wavelength division multiplexed passive optical network (WDM-PON) utilizing inverse-duobinary-return-to-zero (inverse-duobinary-RZ) downstream and DPSK upstream. It reuses downstream light for the upstream modulation, which retrenches lasers assembled at each optical network unit (ONU), and ultimately cuts down the cost of ONUs a great deal. Meanwhile, a 50-km-reach WDM-PON experiment with 10-Gb/s inverse-duobinary-RZ downstream and 6-Gb/s DPSK upstream is demonstrated here. It is revealed to be a novel cost-effective alternative for the next generation access network. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

Improved slow-light performance of 10 Gb/s NRZ, PSBT and DPSK signals in fiber broadband SBS.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Lilin; Jaouen, Yves; Hu, Weisheng; Su, Yikai; Bigo, Sébastien

2007-12-10

We have demonstrated error-free operations of slow-light via stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in optical fiber for 10-Gb/s signals with different modulation formats, including non-return-to-zero (NRZ), phase-shaped binary transmission (PSBT) and differential phase-shiftkeying (DPSK). The SBS gain bandwidth is broadened by using current noise modulation of the pump laser diode. The gain shape is simply controlled by the noise density function. Super-Gaussian noise modulation of the Brillouin pump allows a flat-top and sharp-edge SBS gain spectrum, which can reduce slow-light induced distortion in case of 10-Gb/s NRZ signal. The corresponding maximal delay-time with error-free operation is 35 ps. Then we propose the PSBT format to minimize distortions resulting from SBS filtering effect and dispersion accompanied with slow light because of its high spectral efficiency and strong dispersion tolerance. The sensitivity of the 10-Gb/s PSBT signal is 5.2 dB better than the NRZ case with a same 35-ps delay. The maximal delay of 51 ps with error-free operation has been achieved. Futhermore, the DPSK format is directly demodulated through a Gaussian-shaped SBS gain, which is achieved using Gaussian-noise modulation of the Brillouin pump. The maximal error-free time delay after demodulation of a 10-Gb/s DPSK signal is as high as 81.5 ps, which is the best demonstrated result for 10-Gb/s slow-light.

Chirp investigation in EMLs towards frequency shift keying modulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iglesias Olmedo, Miguel; Vegas Olmos, Juan José; Westergren, Urban

2014-01-01

This paper presents a chirp modeling and experimental results that support our vision of enabling frequency shift keying (FSK) exploiting the chirp effect in externally modulated lasers (EMLs).......This paper presents a chirp modeling and experimental results that support our vision of enabling frequency shift keying (FSK) exploiting the chirp effect in externally modulated lasers (EMLs)....

Spectral Amplitude Coding (SAC)-OCDMA Network with 8DPSK

Science.gov (United States)

Aldhaibani, A. O.; Aljunid, S. A.; Fadhil, Hilal A.; Anuar, M. S.

2013-09-01

Optical code division multiple access (OCDMA) technique is required to meet the increased demand for high speed, large capacity communications in optical networks. In this paper, the transmission performance of a spectral amplitude coding (SAC)-OCDMA network is investigated when a conventional single-mode fiber (SMF) is used as the transmission link using 8DPSK modulation. The DW has a fixed weight of two. Simulation results reveal that the transmission distance is limited mainly by the fiber dispersion when high coding chip rate is used. For a two-user SAC-OCDMA network operating with 2 Gbit/s data rate and two wavelengths for each user, the maximum allowable transmission distance is about 15 km.

Bandwidth scalable, coherent transmitter based on the parallel synthesis of multiple spectral slices using optical arbitrary waveform generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Geisler, David J; Fontaine, Nicolas K; Scott, Ryan P; He, Tingting; Paraschis, Loukas; Gerstel, Ori; Heritage, Jonathan P; Yoo, S J B

2011-04-25

We demonstrate an optical transmitter based on dynamic optical arbitrary waveform generation (OAWG) which is capable of creating high-bandwidth (THz) data waveforms in any modulation format using the parallel synthesis of multiple coherent spectral slices. As an initial demonstration, the transmitter uses only 5.5 GHz of electrical bandwidth and two 10-GHz-wide spectral slices to create 100-ns duration, 20-GHz optical waveforms in various modulation formats including differential phase-shift keying (DPSK), quaternary phase-shift keying (QPSK), and eight phase-shift keying (8PSK) with only changes in software. The experimentally generated waveforms showed clear eye openings and separated constellation points when measured using a real-time digital coherent receiver. Bit-error-rate (BER) performance analysis resulted in a BER < 9.8 × 10(-6) for DPSK and QPSK waveforms. Additionally, we experimentally demonstrate three-slice, 4-ns long waveforms that highlight the bandwidth scalable nature of the optical transmitter. The various generated waveforms show that the key transmitter properties (i.e., packet length, modulation format, data rate, and modulation filter shape) are software definable, and that the optical transmitter is capable of acting as a flexible bandwidth transmitter.

A Novel Noise Free Transmission Technique for Designing 100Gb/s Future Generation Optical Communication System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Das, Bhagwan; Abdullah, M.F.L.; Pandey, Bishwajeet

2017-01-01

Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK) techniques are widely used in designing the high-speed communication systems. However, these techniques still need improvement for long haul communication system design. In this paper, high-speed optical signal transmission and reception system is achieved f...

One-to-six WDM multicasting of DPSK signals based on dual-pump four-wave mixing in a silicon waveguide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pu, Minhao; Hu, Hao; Ji, Hua

2011-01-01

We present WDM multicasting based on dual-pump four-wave mixing in a 3-mm long dispersion engineered silicon waveguide. One-to-six phase-preserving WDM multicasting of 10-Gb/s differential phase-shiftkeying (DPSK) data is experimentally demonstrated with bit-error rate measurements. All the six...

The Effects of Interference Suppression by a Reconfigurable Structure at DSSS-DPSK Receiver

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Dimitrijevic

2010-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper we show the performances of DSSS-DPSK receiver where the interference rejection circuit is reconfigurable and is using ksi-structure. The results will be shown for the case of packet, as well as for the continuous QPSK interference. The results show that the proposed reconfiguration circuit, in case of packet QPSK interference, significantly decreases the error probability, compared to the system using only ksi-structure. Also, in case of continuous interference, the reconfigurable structure has equally good performance, regardless of interference power and its bitrate.

Demonstration of asynchronous, 40 Gbps x 4-user DPSK-OCDMA transmission using a multi-port encoder/decoder.

Science.gov (United States)

Kataoka, Nobuyuki; Cincotti, Gabriella; Wada, Naoya; Kitayama, Ken-ichi

2011-12-12

We have developed a new 8-chip, 320 Gchip/s encoder/decoder with eight input/output ports, that can be used in 40-Gb/s PON networks. The device has been to multiplex four asynchronous 40 Gb/s users, using DPSK modulation. The transmission over 50 km has been successfully demonstrated for the first time. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Simulation analysis of security performance of DPSKOCDMA network via virtual user scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vishav Jyoti

2012-07-01

Full Text Available A novel technique to enhance the security of an optical code division multipleaccess (OCDMA system against eavesdropping is proposed. It has been observed that whena single user is active in the network, an eavesdropper can easily sift the data beingtransmitted without decoding. To increase the security, a virtual user scheme is proposed andsimulated on a differential phase shift keying (DPSK OCDMA system. By using the virtualuser scheme, the security of the DPSK-OCDMA system can be effectively improved and themultiple access interference, which is generally considered to be a limitation of the OCDMAsystem, is used to increase the confidentiality of the system.

Design and Performance Analysis of 2D OCDMA System with Polarization States

Science.gov (United States)

Bharti, Manisha; Sharma, Ajay K.; Kumar, Manoj

2016-12-01

This paper focuses on increasing the number of subscribers in optical code-division multiple access (OCDMA) system by using one of the features of light signal that it can be propagated in two polarization states. The performance of two-dimensional (2D) OCDMA system based on wavelength-time coding scheme by adding polarization state is investigated at varying data rates from 1 GHz to 6 GHz and for various modulation formats. It is reported that with increase in data rate of system, the performance of the system deteriorates due to polarization mode dispersion. Non-return to-zero (RZ), return to-zero (RZ), carrier suppressed return-to-zero (CSRZ) and differential phase shift keying (DPSK) modulation formats are simulated for a single user system with polarization. Investigations reveal that differential phase shift keying (DPSK) modulation format suits best to the proposed system and exhibit the potential to improve the flexibility of system for more number of users. The investigations are reported in terms of Q-factor, BER, received optical power (ROP) and eye diagrams.

Precoded generalized space shift keying for indoor visible light communications

KAUST Repository

Kadampot, Ishaque Ashar; Park, Kihong; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2014-01-01

We consider a visible light communication system with 2 transmit light emitting diodes (LED) and nr receive photodiodes. An optical generalized space shift keying modulation scheme is considered for the transmission of bits where each LED can

Security of differential-phase-shift quantum key distribution against individual attacks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waks, Edo; Takesue, Hiroki; Yamamoto, Yoshihisa

2006-01-01

We derive a proof of security for the differential-phase-shift quantum key distribution protocol under the assumption that Eve is restricted to individual attacks. The security proof is derived by bounding the average collision probability, which leads directly to a bound on Eve's mutual information on the final key. The security proof applies to realistic sources based on pulsed coherent light. We then compare individual attacks to sequential attacks and show that individual attacks are more powerful

Practical round-robin differential-phase-shift quantum key distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Zhen; Yuan, Xiao; Cao, Zhu; Ma, Xiongfeng

2017-01-01

The security of quantum key distribution (QKD) relies on the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, with which legitimate users are able to estimate information leakage by monitoring the disturbance of the transmitted quantum signals. Normally, the disturbance is reflected as bit flip errors in the sifted key; thus, privacy amplification, which removes any leaked information from the key, generally depends on the bit error rate. Recently, a round-robin differential-phase-shift QKD protocol for which privacy amplification does not rely on the bit error rate (Sasaki et al 2014 Nature 509 475) was proposed. The amount of leaked information can be bounded by the sender during the state-preparation stage and hence, is independent of the behavior of the unreliable quantum channel. In our work, we apply the tagging technique to the protocol and present a tight bound on the key rate and employ a decoy-state method. The effects of background noise and misalignment are taken into account under practical conditions. Our simulation results show that the protocol can tolerate channel error rates close to 50% within a typical experiment setting. That is, there is a negligible restriction on the error rate in practice. (paper)

Nonlinear Silicon Photonic Signal Processing Devices for Future Optical Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cosimo Lacava

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a review on silicon-based nonlinear devices for all optical nonlinear processing of complex telecommunication signals. We discuss some recent developments achieved by our research group, through extensive collaborations with academic partners across Europe, on optical signal processing using silicon-germanium and amorphous silicon based waveguides as well as novel materials such as silicon rich silicon nitride and tantalum pentoxide. We review the performance of four wave mixing wavelength conversion applied on complex signals such as Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK, Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK, 16-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM and 64-QAM that dramatically enhance the telecom signal spectral efficiency, paving the way to next generation terabit all-optical networks.

Differential-phase-shift quantum key distribution using coherent light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, K.; Waks, E.; Yamamoto, Y.

2003-01-01

Differential-phase-shift quantum key distribution based on two nonorthogonal states is described. A weak coherent pulse train is sent from Alice to Bob, in which the phase of each pulse is randomly modulated by {0,π}. Bob measures the differential phase by a one-bit delay circuit. The system has a simple configuration without the need for an interferometer and a bright reference pulse in Alice's site, unlike the conventional QKD system based on two nonorthogonal states, and has an advantage of improved communication efficiency. The principle of the operation is successfully demonstrated in experiments

Evaluación de la modulación digital DPSK y OQPSK utilizados en sistemas de comunicaciones ópticos sobre OPTISYSTEM.

OpenAIRE

Herrera Illescas, Milton Junior

2015-01-01

El proyecto de graduación denominado “EVALUACIÓN DE LA MODULACIÓN DIGITAL DPSK Y OQPSK UTILIZADOS EN SISTEMAS DE COMUNICACIONES ÓPTICOS SOBRE OPTISYSTEM” consistió en desarrollar dos modelos de simulación para la transmisión y recepción de información sobre sistemas de comunicaciones ópticas de alta velocidad. Estos modelos fueron diseñados en el software OptiSystem que permite modelar sistemas de comunicaciones a través de fibra óptica. En el Capítulo 1, se describe la parte preliminar del p...

Performance Analysis of Direct-Sequence Code-Division Multiple-Access Communications with Asymmetric Quadrature Phase-Shift-Keying Modulation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, C.-W.; Stark, W.

2005-01-01

This article considers a quaternary direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) communication system with asymmetric quadrature phase-shift-keying (AQPSK) modulation for unequal error protection (UEP) capability. Both time synchronous and asynchronous cases are investigated. An expression for the probability distribution of the multiple-access interference is derived. The exact bit-error performance and the approximate performance using a Gaussian approximation and random signature sequences are evaluated by extending the techniques used for uniform quadrature phase-shift-keying (QPSK) and binary phase-shift-keying (BPSK) DS-CDMA systems. Finally, a general system model with unequal user power and the near-far problem is considered and analyzed. The results show that, for a system with UEP capability, the less protected data bits are more sensitive to the near-far effect that occurs in a multiple-access environment than are the more protected bits.

Full-asynchronous gigabit-symmetric DPSK downstream and OOK upstream OCDMA-PON with source-free ONUs employing all-optical self-clocked time gate.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Bo; Shimizu, Satoshi; Wang, Xu; Wada, Naoya

2012-12-10

We propose an asynchronous gigabit-symmetric optical code division multiplexing access passive optical network (OCDMA-PON) in which optical network units (ONUs) are source-free. In the experiment, we demonstrate a duplex OCDMA system with a 50 km 10 Gbit/s/user 4-user DPSK-OCDMA downlink and a 50 km 10 Gbit/s/user 4-user OOK-OCDMA uplink and error-free duplex transmissions are achieved. Besides, we investigate an all-optical self-clocked time gate, which is used for the signal regeneration of decoded signals and ensures asynchronization in the up/downstream transmissions. Furthermore, we evaluate the power budget of the proposed duplex transmission.

Digital 8-DPSK Modem For Trellis-Coded Communication

Science.gov (United States)

Jedrey, T. C.; Lay, N. E.; Rafferty, W.

1989-01-01

Digital real-time modem processes octuple differential-phase-shift-keyed trellis-coded modulation. Intended for use in communicating data at rate up to 4.8 kb/s in land-mobile satellite channel (Rician fading) of 5-kHz bandwidth at carrier frequency of 1 to 2 GHz. Modulator and demodulator contain digital signal processors performing modem functions. Design flexible in that functions altered via software. Modem successfully tested and evaluated in both laboratory and field experiments, including recent full-scale satellite experiment. In all cases, modem performed within 1 dB of theory. Other communication systems benefitting from this type of modem include land mobile (without satellites), paging, digitized voice, and frequency-modulation subcarrier data broadcasting.

16-level differential phase shift keying (D16PSK) in direct detection optical communication systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sambaraju, R.; Tokle, Torger; Jensen, J.B.

2006-01-01

Optical 16-level differential phase shift keying (D16PSK) carrying four bits for every symbol is proposed for direct detection optical communication systems. Transmitter and receiver schematics are presented, and the receiver sensitivity is discussed. We numerically investigate the impact...

Conversion and matched filter approximations for serial minimum-shift keyed modulation

Science.gov (United States)

Ziemer, R. E.; Ryan, C. R.; Stilwell, J. H.

1982-01-01

Serial minimum-shift keyed (MSK) modulation, a technique for generating and detecting MSK using series filtering, is ideally suited for high data rate applications provided the required conversion and matched filters can be closely approximated. Low-pass implementations of these filters as parallel inphase- and quadrature-mixer structures are characterized in this paper in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) degradation from ideal and envelope deviation. Several hardware implementation techniques utilizing microwave devices or lumped elements are presented. Optimization of parameter values results in realizations whose SNR degradation is less than 0.5 dB at error probabilities of .000001.

Data-derived symbol synchronization of MASK and QASK signals. [Multilevel and Quadrature Amplitude Shift Keying

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, M. K.

1975-01-01

Much has been said in the literature regarding the problem of establishing symbol synchronization in binary baseband digital communication systems. By comparison, the literature contains little information relating to the extraction of symbol sync from multilevel baseband data. With the recent interest in multilevel amplitude-shift keying (MASK) and quadrature amplitude-shift keying (QASK) as signaling techniques for multilevel digital communications systems, the problem of providing symbol synchronization in the receivers of such systems becomes paramount. This paper presents a technique for extracting symbol sync from a MASK or QASK signal which has been transmitted over an infinite-bandwidth white Gaussian noise channel. The scheme is essentially a generalization of the data transition tracking loop (DTTL) which has heretofore been used in PSK systems. The performance of the loop is analyzed in terms of its mean-squared symbol sync jitter and its effects on the data detection process in MASK and QASK systems.

Precoded generalized space shift keying for indoor visible light communications

KAUST Repository

Kadampot, Ishaque Ashar

2014-09-01

We consider a visible light communication system with 2 transmit light emitting diodes (LED) and nr receive photodiodes. An optical generalized space shift keying modulation scheme is considered for the transmission of bits where each LED can be either in ON state or OFF state at a given time. With this set-up, we design in this paper a precoder for this modulation scheme given the channel state information to improve the bit error rate performance of the system. As conventional precoding techniques for radio frequency at the transmitter cannot be applied to the optical intensity channel, we formulate an optimization problem with constraints for this specific channel. An analytical solution for the precoder is derived and the system performance is compared with and without precoder.

Ultra-high-speed wavelength conversion in a silicon photonic chip

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hu, Hao; Ji, Hua; Galili, Michael

2011-01-01

We have successfully demonstrated all-optical wavelength conversion of a 640-Gbit/s line-rate return-to-zero differential phase-shift keying (RZ-DPSK) signal based on low-power four wave mixing (FWM) in a silicon photonic chip with a switching energy of only ~110 fJ/bit. The waveguide dispersion...... of the silicon nanowire is nano-engineered to optimize phase matching for FWM and the switching power used for the signal processing is low enough to reduce nonlinear absorption from twophoton- absorption (TPA). These results demonstrate that high-speed wavelength conversion is achievable in silicon chips...

A Novel Phase-Locking-Free Phase Sensitive Amplifier based Regenerator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjøller, Niels-Kristian; Røge, Kasper Meldgaard; Guan, Pengyu

2016-01-01

We propose a scheme for phase regeneration of optical binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) data signals based on phase sensitive amplification without active phase-locking. A delay interferometer (DI) is used to convert a BPSK signal impaired by noise to an amplitude modulated signal followed by cross......-locked pumps. As a result, active phase-stabilization is avoided. A proof-of-principle experiment is carried out with a dual-pump degenerate phase sensitive amplifier (PSA), demonstrating regeneration for a 10 Gb/s non-return-to-zero differential BPSK (NRZ-DPSK) data signal degraded by a sinusoidal phase...

Cryptosystem based on two-step phase-shifting interferometry and the RSA public-key encryption algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, X. F.; Peng, X.; Cai, L. Z.; Li, A. M.; Gao, Z.; Wang, Y. R.

2009-08-01

A hybrid cryptosystem is proposed, in which one image is encrypted to two interferograms with the aid of double random-phase encoding (DRPE) and two-step phase-shifting interferometry (2-PSI), then three pairs of public-private keys are utilized to encode and decode the session keys (geometrical parameters, the second random-phase mask) and interferograms. In the stage of decryption, the ciphered image can be decrypted by wavefront reconstruction, inverse Fresnel diffraction, and real amplitude normalization. This approach can successfully solve the problem of key management and dispatch, resulting in increased security strength. The feasibility of the proposed cryptosystem and its robustness against some types of attack are verified and analyzed by computer simulations.

Desynchronization Chaos Shift Keying Method Based on the Error Second Derivative and Its Security Analysis

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Čelikovský, Sergej; Lynnyk, Volodymyr

2012-01-01

Roč. 22, č. 9 (2012), 1250231-1-1250231-11 ISSN 0218-1274 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP103/12/1794 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Nonlinear system * desynchronization * chaos shift keying * generalized Lorenz system Subject RIV: BC - Control Systems Theory Impact factor: 0.921, year: 2012 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2012/TR/celikovsky-0381701.pdf

A new orthogonal labeling scheme based on a 40-Gb/s DPSK payload and a 2.5-Gb/s PolSK label

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Lin; Chi, Nan; Oxenløwe, Leif Katsuo

2005-01-01

In this letter, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a new orthogonal labeling scheme based on a 40-Gb/s differential phase-shift keying payload and a 2.5-Gb/s polarization-shift keying label, which entirely eliminates the modulation crosstalk between the payload and label and shows negligible...

1.28-Tb/s Demultiplexing of an OTDM DPSK Data Signal Using a Silicon Waveguide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ji, Hua; Galili, Michael; Hu, Hao

2010-01-01

This letter demonstrates optical demultiplexing of a 1.28-Tb/s serial differential phase-shift-keying data signal using a nano-engineered silicon waveguide. We first present error-free performance at 640 Gb/s and then at 1.28 Tb/s with characterization of all 128 channels. Bit-error rates below $10...

60-GHz integrated-circuit high data rate quadriphase shift keying exciter and modulator

Science.gov (United States)

Grote, A.; Chang, K.

1984-01-01

An integrated-circuit quadriphase shift keying (QPSK) exciter and modulator have demonstrated excellent performance directly modulating a carrier frequency of 60 GHz with an output phase error of less than 3 degrees and maximum amplitude error of 0.5 dB. The circuit consists of a 60-GHz Gunn VCO phase-locked to a low-frequency reference source, a 4th subharmonic mixer, and a QPSK modlator packaged into a small volume of 1.8 x 2.5 x 0.35 in. The use of microstrip has the advantages of small size, light-weight, and low-cost fabrication. The unit has the potential for multigigabit data rate applications.

Shifting the Climate Finance Paradigm: Nine Key Challenges for Developed Countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Curtin, Joseph

2013-03-13

In 2009, developed countries committed to part-funding the cost of adapting to the impacts of climate change and of low carbon development in developing countries. From 2010 to 2012, fast start finance began to flow from developed country exchequers. However, the climate finance paradigm is now shifting. A transition from loans and grants provided from scarce exchequer resources to innovative instruments for leveraging private capital and mitigating investment risk is required in the coming period. But what are the implications for developed countries? This policy brief explores the policy context defining the current climate finance debate; examines the extent to which commitments have been met; and identifies nine key challenges for developed countries as they enter the new climate finance paradigm, drawing on the lessons of the fast start finance period. This is the second in a series of Environment Nexus policy briefs by leading experts in the fields of agriculture, energy, climate change and water.

Optical code division multiple access secure communications systems with rapid reconfigurable polarization shift key user code

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Kaiqiang; Wu, Chongqing; Sheng, Xinzhi; Shang, Chao; Liu, Lanlan; Wang, Jian

2015-09-01

An optical code division multiple access (OCDMA) secure communications system scheme with rapid reconfigurable polarization shift key (Pol-SK) bipolar user code is proposed and demonstrated. Compared to fix code OCDMA, by constantly changing the user code, the performance of anti-eavesdropping is greatly improved. The Pol-SK OCDMA experiment with a 10 Gchip/s user code and a 1.25 Gb/s user data of payload has been realized, which means this scheme has better tolerance and could be easily realized.

Electric-field assisted spin torque nano-oscillator and binary frequency shift keying modulation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiangli; Chen, Hao-Hsuan; Zhang, Zongzhi; Liu, Yaowen

2018-04-01

Electric-controlled magnetization precession introduces technologically relevant possibility for developing spin torque nano-oscillators (STNO) with potential applications in microwave emission. Using the perpendicularly magnetized magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), we show that the magnetization oscillation frequency can be tuned by the co-action of electric field and spin polarized current. The dynamical phase diagram of MTJ-based STNO is analytically predicted through coordinate transformation from the laboratory frame to the rotation frame, by which the nonstationary out-of-plane magnetization precession process is therefore transformed into the stationary process in the rotation frame. Furthermore, using this STNO as a microwave source, we numerically demonstrate that the bit signal can be transmitted by a binary frequency shift keying (BFSK) modulation technique. The BFSK scheme shows good modulation features with no transient state.

Using advertisement light-panel and CMOS image sensor with frequency-shift-keying for visible light communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Chow, Chi-Wai; Shiu, Ruei-Jie; Liu, Yen-Chun; Liao, Xin-Lan; Lin, Kun-Hsien; Wang, Yi-Chang; Chen, Yi-Yuan

2018-05-14

A frequency-shift-keying (FSK) visible light communication (VLC) system is proposed and demonstrated using advertisement light-panel as transmitter and mobile-phone image sensor as receiver. The developed application program (APP) in mobile-phone can retrieve the rolling shutter effect (RSE) pattern produced by the FSK VLC signal effectively. Here, we also define noise-ratio value (NRV) to evaluate the contrast of different advertisements displayed on the light-panel. Both mobile-phones under test can achieve success rate > 96% even when the transmission distance is up to 200 cm and the NRVs are low.

Melanosome evolution indicates a key physiological shift within feathered dinosaurs.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Quanguo; Clarke, Julia A; Gao, Ke-Qin; Zhou, Chang-Fu; Meng, Qingjin; Li, Daliang; D'Alba, Liliana; Shawkey, Matthew D

2014-03-20

Inference of colour patterning in extinct dinosaurs has been based on the relationship between the morphology of melanin-containing organelles (melanosomes) and colour in extant bird feathers. When this relationship evolved relative to the origin of feathers and other novel integumentary structures, such as hair and filamentous body covering in extinct archosaurs, has not been evaluated. Here we sample melanosomes from the integument of 181 extant amniote taxa and 13 lizard, turtle, dinosaur and pterosaur fossils from the Upper-Jurassic and Lower-Cretaceous of China. We find that in the lineage leading to birds, the observed increase in the diversity of melanosome morphologies appears abruptly, near the origin of pinnate feathers in maniraptoran dinosaurs. Similarly, mammals show an increased diversity of melanosome form compared to all ectothermic amniotes. In these two clades, mammals and maniraptoran dinosaurs including birds, melanosome form and colour are linked and colour reconstruction may be possible. By contrast, melanosomes in lizard, turtle and crocodilian skin, as well as the archosaurian filamentous body coverings (dinosaur 'protofeathers' and pterosaur 'pycnofibres'), show a limited diversity of form that is uncorrelated with colour in extant taxa. These patterns may be explained by convergent changes in the key melanocortin system of mammals and birds, which is known to affect pleiotropically both melanin-based colouration and energetic processes such as metabolic rate in vertebrates, and may therefore support a significant physiological shift in maniraptoran dinosaurs.

Nonlinear detection for a high rate extended binary phase shift keying system.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xian-Qing; Wu, Le-Nan

2013-03-28

The algorithm and the results of a nonlinear detector using a machine learning technique called support vector machine (SVM) on an efficient modulation system with high data rate and low energy consumption is presented in this paper. Simulation results showed that the performance achieved by the SVM detector is comparable to that of a conventional threshold decision (TD) detector. The two detectors detect the received signals together with the special impacting filter (SIF) that can improve the energy utilization efficiency. However, unlike the TD detector, the SVM detector concentrates not only on reducing the BER of the detector, but also on providing accurate posterior probability estimates (PPEs), which can be used as soft-inputs of the LDPC decoder. The complexity of this detector is considered in this paper by using four features and simplifying the decision function. In addition, a bandwidth efficient transmission is analyzed with both SVM and TD detector. The SVM detector is more robust to sampling rate than TD detector. We find that the SVM is suitable for extended binary phase shift keying (EBPSK) signal detection and can provide accurate posterior probability for LDPC decoding.

Nonlinear Detection for a High Rate Extended Binary Phase Shift Keying System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Le-Nan Wu

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The algorithm and the results of a nonlinear detector using a machine learning technique called support vector machine (SVM on an efficient modulation system with high data rate and low energy consumption is presented in this paper. Simulation results showed that the performance achieved by the SVM detector is comparable to that of a conventional threshold decision (TD detector. The two detectors detect the received signals together with the special impacting filter (SIF that can improve the energy utilization efficiency. However, unlike the TD detector, the SVM detector concentrates not only on reducing the BER of the detector, but also on providing accurate posterior probability estimates (PPEs, which can be used as soft-inputs of the LDPC decoder. The complexity of this detector is considered in this paper by using four features and simplifying the decision function. In addition, a bandwidth efficient transmission is analyzed with both SVM and TD detector. The SVM detector is more robust to sampling rate than TD detector. We find that the SVM is suitable for extended binary phase shift keying (EBPSK signal detection and can provide accurate posterior probability for LDPC decoding.

Individual differences in shift work tolerance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lammers-van der Holst, H.M.

2016-01-01

Shift work is a key feature of our contemporary 24/7 society, employing several successive work teams to sustain around-the-clock operations. However, numerous studies imply that frequently shifting the periods of sleep and wakefulness poses a serious threat to the shift worker’s physical, mental

Amplification of a bi-phase shift-key modulated signal by a mm-wave FEL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prosnitz, D.; Scharlemann, E.T.; Sheaffer, M.K.

1991-10-01

Bi-phase shift keying (BPSK) is a modulation scheme used in communications and radar in which the phase of a transmitted rf signal is switched in a coded pattern between discrete values differing by π radians. The transmitted information rate (in communications) or resolution (in imaging radar) depends on the rate at which the transmitted signal can be modulated. Modulation rates of greater than 1 GHz are generally desired. Although the instantaneous gain bandwidth of a mm-wave FEL amplifier can be much greater than 10 GHz, slippage may limit the BPSK modulation rate that can be amplified. Qualitative slippage arguments would limit the modulation rate to relatively low values; nevertheless, simulations with a time-dependent FEL code (GINGER) indicate that rates of 2 GHz or more are amplified without much loss in modulation integrity. In this paper we describe the effects of slippage in the simulations and discuss the limits of simple arguments

Josephson shift registers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Przybysz, J.X.

1989-01-01

This paper gives a review of Josephson shift register circuits that were designed, fabricated, or tested, with emphasis on work in the 1980s. Operating speed is most important, since it often limits system performance. Older designs used square-wave clocks, but most modern designs use offset sine waves, with either two or three phases. Operating margins and gate bias uniformity are key concerns. The fastest measured Josephson shift register operated at 2.3 GHz, which compares well with a GaAs shift register that consumes 250 times more power. The difficulties of high-speed testing have prevented many Josephson shift registers from being operated at their highest speeds. Computer simulations suggest that 30-GHz operation is possible with current Nb/Al 2 O 3 /Nb technology. Junctions with critical current densities near 10 kA/cm 2 would make 100-GHz shift registers feasible

Expert system application for prioritizing preventive actions for shift work: shift expert.

Science.gov (United States)

Esen, Hatice; Hatipoğlu, Tuğçen; Cihan, Ahmet; Fiğlali, Nilgün

2017-09-19

Shift patterns, work hours, work arrangements and worker motivations have increasingly become key factors for job performance. The main objective of this article is to design an expert system that identifies the negative effects of shift work and prioritizes mitigation efforts according to their importance in preventing these negative effects. The proposed expert system will be referred to as the shift expert. A thorough literature review is conducted to determine the effects of shift work on workers. Our work indicates that shift work is linked to demographic variables, sleepiness and fatigue, health and well-being, and social and domestic conditions. These parameters constitute the sections of a questionnaire designed to focus on 26 important issues related to shift work. The shift expert is then constructed to provide prevention advice at the individual and organizational levels, and it prioritizes this advice using a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process model, which considers comparison matrices provided by users during the prioritization process. An empirical study of 61 workers working on three rotating shifts is performed. After administering the questionnaires, the collected data are analyzed statistically, and then the shift expert produces individual and organizational recommendations for these workers.

Sequential attack with intensity modulation on the differential-phase-shift quantum-key-distribution protocol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsurumaru, Toyohiro

2007-01-01

In this paper, we discuss the security of the differential-phase-shift quantum-key-distribution (DPSQKD) protocol by introducing an improved version of the so-called sequential attack, which was originally discussed by Waks et al. [Phys. Rev. A 73, 012344 (2006)]. Our attack differs from the original form of the sequential attack in that the attacker Eve modulates not only the phases but also the amplitude in the superposition of the single-photon states which she sends to the receiver. Concentrating especially on the 'discretized Gaussian' intensity modulation, we show that our attack is more effective than the individual attack, which had been the best attack up to present. As a result of this, the recent experiment with communication distance of 100 km reported by Diamanti et al. [Opt. Express 14, 13073 (2006)] turns out to be insecure. Moreover, it can be shown that in a practical experimental setup which is commonly used today, the communication distance achievable by the DPSQKD protocol is less than 95 km

Influence of Camera Setting on Vehicle-to-Vehicle VLC Employing Undersampled Phase Shift On-Off Keying

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Vitek

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the performance analysis of a camera based vehicle-to-vehicle visible light communication system employing undersampled phase shift on-off keying modulation under interference scenario. Two Nissan Qashqai front lights with daylight running light emitting diodes based lamps are used for communications. The bit error rate (BER performance of the proposed system is experimentally measured for a transmission span up to 24m focusing mostly on the side interference due to reflections. Based on experimental data we demonstrate reduction of the system performance due to the side reflection and illumination of the detector by other light sources which has to taken into account during further data processing. We provide with further statistics for particular shuter speed and transmitter power setting and discus BER improvement especially to meet FEC via the method of adaptive region of interest.

Demodulation of acoustic telemetry binary phase shift keying signal based on high-order Duffing system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan Bing-Nan; Liu Chong-Xin; Ni Jun-Kang; Zhao Liang

2016-01-01

In order to grasp the downhole situation immediately, logging while drilling (LWD) technology is adopted. One of the LWD technologies, called acoustic telemetry, can be successfully applied to modern drilling. It is critical for acoustic telemetry technology that the signal is successfully transmitted to the ground. In this paper, binary phase shift keying (BPSK) is used to modulate carrier waves for the transmission and a new BPSK demodulation scheme based on Duffing chaos is investigated. Firstly, a high-order system is given in order to enhance the signal detection capability and it is realized through building a virtual circuit using an electronic workbench (EWB). Secondly, a new BPSK demodulation scheme is proposed based on the intermittent chaos phenomena of the new Duffing system. Finally, a system variable crossing zero-point equidistance method is proposed to obtain the phase difference between the system and the BPSK signal. Then it is determined that the digital signal transmitted from the bottom of the well is ‘0’ or ‘1’. The simulation results show that the demodulation method is feasible. (paper)

Wavelength conversion of a 40 Gb/s RZ-DPSK signal using four-wave mixing in a dispersion-flattened highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Peter Andreas; Tokle, Torger; Geng, Yan

2005-01-01

Wavelength conversion of a 40-Gb/s return-to-zero differential phase-shift keying signal is demonstrated in a highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber (HNL-PCF) for the first time. A conversion efficiency of -20 dB for a pump power of 23 dBm and a conversion bandwidth of 31 nm, essentially limited...

16 channel WDM regeneration in a single phase-sensitive amplifier through optical Fourier transformation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guan, Pengyu; Da Ros, Francesco; Lillieholm, Mads

2016-01-01

We demonstrate simultaneous phase regeneration of 16-WDM DPSK channels using optical Fourier transformation and a single phase-sensitive amplifier. The BERs of 16-WDM×10-Gbit/s phase noise degraded DPSK signals are improved by 0.4-1.3 orders of magnitude...

Cost effective shift schedules enhance utility operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coleman, R.M.

1995-01-01

This article describes how new shift scheduling concepts can save utility operations millions of dollars every year and yet maintain safety and improve employee morale. The key to scheduling is to define and match the work load. This includes discretionary as well as daily, weekly, and yearly core work loads. In most power plants the overall work load (including maintenance, operations, materials handling, etc.) on day shift is greater than on other shifts, hence an unbalanced schedule would be appropriate

Quantum-Secure Symmetric-Key Cryptography Based on Hidden Shifts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alagic, Gorjan; Russell, Alexander

2017-01-01

Recent results of Kaplan et al., building on work by Kuwakado and Morii, have shown that a wide variety of classically-secure symmetric-key cryptosystems can be completely broken by quantum chosen-plaintext attacks (qCPA). In such an attack, the quantum adversary has the ability to query the cryp...

Research and Implementation of Tractor Power Shift Clutch Control System

OpenAIRE

Li Chengjun; Ke Meicong; Wu Youyu

2018-01-01

Applying power shift control technology on tractor can improve the power, economy and driving comfort of tractor. The separation and engagement control of clutch in tractor power shift transmission system is the key factor to optimize the quality of shift. Through many experiments and tests, an electronic control unit based on MC9S12 was developed, and an effective clutch control strategy was put forward, which improved the jerk of power shift and shortened the gear shift time.

Performance improvement of coherent free-space optical communication with quadrature phase-shift keying modulation using digital phase estimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xueliang; Geng, Tianwen; Ma, Shuang; Li, Yatian; Gao, Shijie; Wu, Zhiyong

2017-06-01

The performance of coherent free-space optical (CFSO) communication with phase modulation is limited by both phase fluctuations and intensity scintillations induced by atmospheric turbulence. To improve the system performance, one effective way is to use digital phase estimation. In this paper, a CFSO communication system with quadrature phase-shift keying modulation is studied. With consideration of the effects of log-normal amplitude fluctuations and Gauss phase fluctuations, a two-stage Mth power carrier phase estimation (CPE) scheme is proposed. The simulation results show that the phase noise can be suppressed greatly by this scheme, and the system symbol error rate performance with the two-stage Mth power CPE can be three orders lower than that of the single-stage Mth power CPE. Therefore, the two-stage CPE we proposed can contribute to the performance improvements of the CFSO communication system and has determinate guidance sense to its actual application.

Performance Improvement of Space Shift Keying MIMO Systems with Orthogonal Codebook-Based Phase-Rotation Precoding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Al-Ansi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper considers codebook-based precoding for Space Shift Keying (SSK modulation MIMO system. Codebook-based precoding avoids the necessity for full knowledge of Channel State Information (CSI at the transmitter and alleviates the complexity of generating a CSI-optimized precoder. The receiver selects the codeword that maximizes the Minimum Euclidean Distance (MED of the received constellation and feeds back its index to the transmitter. In this paper, we first develop a new accurate closed-form Bit Error Rate (BER for SSK without precoding. Then, we investigate several phase-rotation codebooks with quantized set of phases and systematic structure. Namely, we investigate the Full-Combination, Walsh-Hadamard, Quasi-Orthogonal Sequences, and Orthogonal Array Testing codebooks. In addition, since the size of the Full-Combination codebook may be large, we develop an iterative search method for fast selection of its best codeword. The proposed codebooks significantly improve the BER performance in Rayleigh and Nakagami fading channels, even at high spatial correlation among transmit antennas and CSI estimation error. Moreover, we show that only four phases {+1,+j,-1,-j} are sufficient and further phase granularity does yield significant gain. This avoids hardware multiplication during searching the codebook and applying the codeword.

All-optical OFDM system using a wavelength selective switch based transmitter and a spectral magnification based receiver

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guan, Pengyu; Lefrancois, S.; Lillieholm, Mads

2014-01-01

We demonstrate an AO-OFDM system with a WSS-based transmitter and time-lens based receiver for spectral magnification, achieving BER~10-9 for a 28×10 Gbit/s DPSK AO-OFDM signal. Furthermore, the receiver performance for DPSK and DQPSK is investigated using Monte Carlo simulations....

Noise tolerance in wavelength-selective switching of optical differential quadrature-phase-shift-keying pulse train by collinear acousto-optic devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Goto, Nobuo; Miyazaki, Yasumitsu

2014-06-01

Optical switching of high-bit-rate quadrature-phase-shift-keying (QPSK) pulse trains using collinear acousto-optic (AO) devices is theoretically discussed. Since the collinear AO devices have wavelength selectivity, the switched optical pulse trains suffer from distortion when the bandwidth of the pulse train is comparable to the pass bandwidth of the AO device. As the AO device, a sidelobe-suppressed device with a tapered surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) waveguide and a Butterworth-type filter device with a lossy SAW directional coupler are considered. Phase distortion of optical pulse trains at 40 to 100  Gsymbols/s in QPSK format is numerically analyzed. Bit-error-rate performance with additive Gaussian noise is also evaluated by the Monte Carlo method.

Key Issues in the Application of Knowledge Management in Education

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Mendoza, George A

2005-01-01

.... This shift in paradigms has made knowledge the key resource as organizations shift their focus from natural resources to intellectual assets, heralding the use of a concept called Knowledge Management (KM...

Metacognitive Instruction: Global and Local Shifts in Considering Listening Input

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Bozorgian

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A key shift of thinking for effective learning and teaching of listening input has been seen and organized in education locally and globally. This study has probed whether metacognitive instruction through a pedagogical cycle shifts high-intermediate students' English language learning and English as a second language (ESL teacher's teaching focus on listening input. Twenty male Iranian students with an age range of 18 to 24 received a guided methodology including metacognitive strategies (planning, monitoring, and evaluation for a period of three months. This study has used the strategies and probed the importance of metacognitive instruction through interviewing both the teacher and the students. The results have shown that metacognitive instruction helped both the ESL teacher's and the students' shift of thinking about teaching and learning listening input. This key shift of thinking has implications globally and locally for classroom practices of listening input.

OFDM techniques for narrow-band power line communications; OFDM-Verfahren fuer die schmalbandige Datenuebertragung im elektrischen Energieversorgungsnetz

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoch, Martin

2012-07-01

In Power Line Communications (PLC) the power distribution grid is modelled by a frequency-selective time-variant channel. Therefore, OFDM techniques are suited very well for this application since they equalize the frequency-selective behaviour in a simple fashion. For narrow-band PLC, where only little amounts of data are to be transmitted, it is advantageous to employ a non-coherent system that does not need a training sequence for channel estimation. Such type of system can be brought up with CyclicPrefix OFDM in combination with Differential Phase-Shift Keying (DPSK). In an alternative, Unique-Word OFDM, the guard interval is not filled by a cyclic prefix, but a ''unique word'', which can be deployed for channel estimation. However, there is a loss in signal-to-noise power ratio due to the special type of signal generation. This loss can be more than regained in principle, but only by applying expensive detection. Another interesting technique is Wavelet-OFDM as its transmit spectrum can be formed outstandingly because of extended transmit pulses. This implies a large overhead when short packets of data are transmitted - additionally to a training sequence, for non-coherent detection is not possible. Cyclic-Prefix OFDM and DPSK are the basis of the Physical Layers of the PLC systems ''PLC G3'' and ''PRIME''. Comparing their specifications and analyzing simulation results ''PLC G3'' turns out to be the more reliable system. In order to equalize the time-variant behaviour of the power line channel, linear equalization and Multiple Symbol Differential Detection is studied as well as algorithms to estimate the time-variant envelope. (orig.)

LOOP- SIMULATION OF THE AUTOMATIC FREQUENCY CONTROL SUBSYSTEM OF A DIFFERENTIAL MINIMUM SHIFT KEYING RECEIVER

Science.gov (United States)

Davarian, F.

1994-01-01

The LOOP computer program was written to simulate the Automatic Frequency Control (AFC) subsystem of a Differential Minimum Shift Keying (DMSK) receiver with a bit rate of 2400 baud. The AFC simulated by LOOP is a first order loop configuration with a first order R-C filter. NASA has been investigating the concept of mobile communications based on low-cost, low-power terminals linked via geostationary satellites. Studies have indicated that low bit rate transmission is suitable for this application, particularly from the frequency and power conservation point of view. A bit rate of 2400 BPS is attractive due to its applicability to the linear predictive coding of speech. Input to LOOP includes the following: 1) the initial frequency error; 2) the double-sided loop noise bandwidth; 3) the filter time constants; 4) the amount of intersymbol interference; and 5) the bit energy to noise spectral density. LOOP output includes: 1) the bit number and the frequency error of that bit; 2) the computed mean of the frequency error; and 3) the standard deviation of the frequency error. LOOP is written in MS SuperSoft FORTRAN 77 for interactive execution and has been implemented on an IBM PC operating under PC DOS with a memory requirement of approximately 40K of 8 bit bytes. This program was developed in 1986.

Novel Quantum Encryption Algorithm Based on Multiqubit Quantum Shift Register and Hill Cipher

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalaf, Rifaat Zaidan; Abdullah, Alharith Abdulkareem

2014-01-01

Based on a quantum shift register, a novel quantum block cryptographic algorithm that can be used to encrypt classical messages is proposed. The message is encoded and decoded by using a code generated by the quantum shift register. The security of this algorithm is analysed in detail. It is shown that, in the quantum block cryptographic algorithm, two keys can be used. One of them is the classical key that is used in the Hill cipher algorithm where Alice and Bob use the authenticated Diffie Hellman key exchange algorithm using the concept of digital signature for the authentication of the two communicating parties and so eliminate the man-in-the-middle attack. The other key is generated by the quantum shift register and used for the coding of the encryption message, where Alice and Bob share the key by using the BB84 protocol. The novel algorithm can prevent a quantum attack strategy as well as a classical attack strategy. The problem of key management is discussed and circuits for the encryption and the decryption are suggested

An in-building network based on community access television integration with quadrature phase-shift keying orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Chia-Yi; Lin, Ying-Pyng; Lu, Hai-Han; Wu, Po-Yi; Lin, Huang-Chang; Wu, Hsiao-Wen

2012-01-01

An in-building network based on cable television (CATV) integration with quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) transport over a combination of single-mode fibers (SMF) and perfluorinated graded-index plastic optical fibers (GI-POF) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In this system, a 1558.5 nm optical signal is directly transmitted along two fiber spans (20 km SMF + 25 m GI-POF). An optimum guard band is carefully established to ensure that no very substantial signal interference is induced between the CATV and QPSK OFDM bands. Error free transmission with sufficiently low bit error rate values was achieved for 1.25 Gbps/771.5 MHz QPSK OFDM signals; also, acceptable carrier-to-noise ratio, composite second-order, and composite triple-beat performances were obtained for CATV signals. This proposed network is significant because it is economical and convenient to install. (paper)

Visual attention shifting in autism spectrum disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Richard, Annette E; Lajiness-O'Neill, Renee

2015-01-01

Abnormal visual attention has been frequently observed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Abnormal shifting of visual attention is related to abnormal development of social cognition and has been identified as a key neuropsychological finding in ASD. Better characterizing attention shifting in ASD and its relationship with social functioning may help to identify new targets for intervention and improving social communication in these disorders. Thus, the current study investigated deficits in attention shifting in ASD as well as relationships between attention shifting and social communication in ASD and neurotypicals (NT). To investigate deficits in visual attention shifting in ASD, 20 ASD and 20 age- and gender-matched NT completed visual search (VS) and Navon tasks with attention-shifting demands as well as a set-shifting task. VS was a feature search task with targets defined in one of two dimensions; Navon required identification of a target letter presented at the global or local level. Psychomotor and processing speed were entered as covariates. Relationships between visual attention shifting, set shifting, and social functioning were also examined. ASD and NT showed comparable costs of shifting attention. However, psychomotor and processing speed were slower in ASD than in NT, and psychomotor and processing speed were positively correlated with attention-shifting costs on Navon and VS, respectively, for both groups. Attention shifting on VS and Navon were correlated among NT, while attention shifting on Navon was correlated with set shifting among ASD. Attention-shifting costs on Navon were positively correlated with restricted and repetitive behaviors among ASD. Relationships between attention shifting and psychomotor and processing speed, as well as relationships between measures of different aspects of visual attention shifting, suggest inefficient top-down influences over preattentive visual processing in ASD. Inefficient attention shifting may be

Design of a hybrid reconfigurable Software Defined Radio transceiver based on frequency shift keying using multiple encoding schemes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikhil Marriwala

2016-03-01

The aim of this paper was to analyze Frequency Shift Keying (FSK Transceiver built using Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW and to measure the reduction in data errors in the presence of Forward Error Correction (FEC channel coding algorithms namely the Convolution and the Turbo Codes. Through this design a graphical representation of Bit Error Rate (BER vs Eb/N0 where (Eb is Energy per bit and (N0 is Spectral noise density has been given in the presence of Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN introduced in the channel. FSK is widely used for data transmission over band pass channels; hence, we have chosen FSK for the implementation of SDR. The SDR transceiver module designed has been fully implemented and has the ability to navigate over a wide range of frequencies with programmable channel bandwidth and modulation characteristics. We are able to build an interactive FSK based SDR transceiver in a shorter time with the use of LabVIEW. The outputs achieved show a low BER for very high data rates in the presence of AWGN noise.

Increased diversification rates follow shifts to bisexuality in liverworts.

Science.gov (United States)

Laenen, Benjamin; Machac, Antonin; Gradstein, S Robbert; Shaw, Blanka; Patiño, Jairo; Désamoré, Aurélie; Goffinet, Bernard; Cox, Cymon J; Shaw, A Jonathan; Vanderpoorten, Alain

2016-05-01

Shifts in sexual systems are one of the key drivers of species diversification. In contrast to angiosperms, unisexuality prevails in bryophytes. Here, we test the hypotheses that bisexuality evolved from an ancestral unisexual condition and is a key innovation in liverworts. We investigate whether shifts in sexual systems influence diversification using hidden state speciation and extinction analysis (HiSSE). This new method compares the effects of the variable of interest to the best-fitting latent variable, yielding robust and conservative tests. We find that the transitions in sexual systems are significantly biased toward unisexuality, even though bisexuality is coupled with increased diversification. Sexual systems are strongly conserved deep within the liverwort tree but become much more labile toward the present. Bisexuality appears to be a key innovation in liverworts. Its effects on diversification are presumably mediated by the interplay of high fertilization rates, massive spore production and long-distance dispersal, which may separately or together have facilitated liverwort speciation, suppressed their extinction, or both. Importantly, shifts in liverwort sexual systems have the opposite effect when compared to angiosperms, leading to contrasting diversification patterns between the two groups. The high prevalence of unisexuality among liverworts suggests, however, a strong selection for sexual dimorphism. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

Leadership and the Church: The Impact of Shifting Leadership Constructs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas Gautsch

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The idea of leadership has been examined for millennia. Examples of leadership in action go back to Moses from the Bible and Xenophón from Greek history.  One of the key theories in early leadership is that of charismatic leadership. Although most scholars agree that a key concept of charismatic leadership is that of follower attribution, defining boundaries for charismatic is as difficult as defining leadership itself. This difficulty is accentuated in this work because of the shifting organizational structures and follower perceptions. The case details follower attributed charismatic leadership traits, and then provides a robust discussion on the impact of shifting organizational constructs.

Broadband Polarization-Insensitive Wavelength Conversion Based on Non-Degenerate Four-Wave Mixing in a Silicon Nanowire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pu, Minhao; Hu, Hao; Ji, Hua

2012-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate broadband polarization-insensitive one-to-two wavelength conversion of a 10-Gb/s DPSK data signal based on non-degenerate four-wave mixing in a silicon nanowire with bit-error rate measurements.......We experimentally demonstrate broadband polarization-insensitive one-to-two wavelength conversion of a 10-Gb/s DPSK data signal based on non-degenerate four-wave mixing in a silicon nanowire with bit-error rate measurements....

The Third Perspective on Shifting Cultivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukanya Sharma

2017-11-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT There are two perspectives in which the understanding of food sustainability in the world is entangled. The first perspective which believes that food sustainability can be achieved by technology presents shifting cultivation as a reflection of a lower state of cultural evolution in comparison with more sophisticated societies (O’Brien 2002.The second perspective which believes in culture, in the ‘way of life’ paradigm valorise shifting cultivation as a form of indigenous genius, representing the indigenous people as perhaps the original environmentalist (Bandy et al.1993; Conklin 1957; Grandstaff 1981; Hong 1987. The biasness of both the perspectives is well visible. The task now is to document and evaluate indigenous strategies of shifting cultivation through a process of research and development. This process involves identification of promising indigenous practices, characterization of the practices, validation of the utility of the practice for other communities, extrapolation to other locations, verification with key farmers, and wide-scale extension. This can be treated as the third perspective available to the policy makers. By this, the detrimental effects of shifting cultivation can be mitigated and productivity increased (Mali 2003.

Transmission access and retail wheeling. The key questions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casazza, J.A.

1996-01-01

The key questions involving transmission access and retail wheeling are discussed, distinguishing between opposing views regarding the effect on system costs and the environment, particularly on optimal planning involving matching capacity and demand, generation use, demand side management, and economic operations. Also discussed are contrasting views regarding the effect of cost control pressures, regulatory advantages and disadvantages, the impact on system reliability, and the stranding of investment. The author's key concern is the effect of retail wheeling upon optimal planning and operation i.e., will competitors be willing to provide one another with the cost and technical information required for coordination? In his worst scenario, retail wheeling may lead to substantial production cost increases, lessened reliability, and unfair cost-shifting between customer classes. More optimistically, production costs and reliability may be unaffected and the cost-shifting could be salubrious. 7 figs., 11 refs

Analisis Perbandingan Kinerja Mach-Zehnder berdasarkan Ragam Format Modulasi pada Jaringan FTTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZULIA NURUL KARIMAH

2017-06-01

Full Text Available ABSTRAKPada jurnal ini dibuat pemodelan link FTTH pada software Optisystem 7.0 untuk mengetahui pengaruh dari Kerr effect dengan membandingkan performansi serat optik kaca dan serat optik plastik berdasarkan format modulasi berupa NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK, RZ-DQPSK dan CSRZ. Terdapat dua skenario, dengan skenario pertama, variabel input yang diubah adalah format modulasi pada Mach-zehnder, sedangkan pada skenario kedua, variabel yang diubah adalah pemakaian serat optik yang dipakai, yaitu serat optik bahan kaca, plastik dan hybrid kaca plastik. Hasil simulasi menunjukkan dengan efek linier dan non-linier pada kabel kaca yang menghasilkan performansi jaringan dari yang terbaik, dengan Q factor di atas 6 dan BER di bawah 10-9 adalah NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK, CSRZ dan RZ-DQPSK. Sedangkan dengan penggunaan kabel PMMA, yang menunjukkan performansi jaringan yang baik adalah dengan konfigurasi G652D-G652D-PMMA pada format modulasi NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK dan RZ-DQPSK. Efek non-linier yang terjadi pada jaringan ini hanya SPM dan XPM.Kata kunci: FTTH, mach-zehnder, format modulasi, efek non-linier, GOF, POF.ABSTRACTIn this journal is creating a FTTH link on Optisystem software 7.0 to determine the effect of Kerr effect by comparing the performance of fiber optic glass and plastic optical fiber based on modulation formats such as NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK, RZ-DQPSK and CSRZ. There are two scenarios, first, input variables are changed based on format in Mach-zehnder modulator, while in the second scenario, the changed variable is the material of optical fiber, the materials are optical fiber glass, plastic and hybrid plastic and glass. The simulation results based on comparison with linear and nonlinear effects on glass optical fiber, which produce Q factor above 6 and BER below 10-9 are NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK, CSRZ and RZ-DQPSK. While the use of PMMA cable, which indicates good network performance is the configuration G652D-G652D-PMMA on the modulation format NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK and RZ

Analisis Perbandingan Kinerja Mach-Zehnder berdasarkan Ragam Format Modulasi pada Jaringan FTTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZULIA NURUL KARIMAH

2018-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRAK Pada jurnal ini dibuat pemodelan link FTTH pada software Optisystem 7.0 untuk mengetahui pengaruh dari Kerr effect dengan membandingkan performansi serat optik kaca dan serat optik plastik berdasarkan format modulasi berupa NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK, RZ-DQPSK dan CSRZ. Terdapat dua skenario, dengan skenario pertama, variabel input yang diubah adalah format modulasi pada Mach-zehnder, sedangkan pada skenario kedua, variabel yang diubah adalah pemakaian serat optik yang dipakai, yaitu serat optik bahan kaca, plastik dan hybrid kaca plastik. Hasil simulasi menunjukkan dengan efek linier dan non-linier pada kabel kaca yang menghasilkan performansi jaringan dari yang terbaik, dengan Q factor di atas 6 dan BER di bawah 10-9 adalah NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK, CSRZ dan RZ-DQPSK. Sedangkan dengan penggunaan kabel PMMA, yang menunjukkan performansi jaringan yang baik adalah dengan konfigurasi G652D-G652D-PMMA pada format modulasi NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK dan RZ-DQPSK. Efek non-linier yang terjadi pada jaringan ini hanya SPM dan XPM. Kata kunci: FTTH, mach-zehnder, format modulasi, efek non-linier, GOF, POF. ABSTRACT In this journal is creating a FTTH link on Optisystem software 7.0 to determine the effect of Kerr effect by comparing the performance of fiber optic glass and plastic optical fiber based on modulation formats such as NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK, RZ-DQPSK and CSRZ. There are two scenarios, first, input variables are changed based on format in Mach-zehnder modulator, while in the second scenario, the changed variable is the material of optical fiber, the materials are optical fiber glass, plastic and hybrid plastic and glass. The simulation results based on comparison with linear and nonlinear effects on glass optical fiber, which produce Q factor above 6 and BER below 10-9 are NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK, CSRZ and RZ-DQPSK. While the use of PMMA cable, which indicates good network performance is the configuration G652D-G652D-PMMA on the modulation format NRZ, RZ, RZ-DPSK and RZ

Multi-format all-optical processing based on a large-scale, hybridly integrated photonic circuit.

Science.gov (United States)

Bougioukos, M; Kouloumentas, Ch; Spyropoulou, M; Giannoulis, G; Kalavrouziotis, D; Maziotis, A; Bakopoulos, P; Harmon, R; Rogers, D; Harrison, J; Poustie, A; Maxwell, G; Avramopoulos, H

2011-06-06

We investigate through numerical studies and experiments the performance of a large scale, silica-on-silicon photonic integrated circuit for multi-format regeneration and wavelength-conversion. The circuit encompasses a monolithically integrated array of four SOAs inside two parallel Mach-Zehnder structures, four delay interferometers and a large number of silica waveguides and couplers. Exploiting phase-incoherent techniques, the circuit is capable of processing OOK signals at variable bit rates, DPSK signals at 22 or 44 Gb/s and DQPSK signals at 44 Gbaud. Simulation studies reveal the wavelength-conversion potential of the circuit with enhanced regenerative capabilities for OOK and DPSK modulation formats and acceptable quality degradation for DQPSK format. Regeneration of 22 Gb/s OOK signals with amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise and DPSK data signals degraded with amplitude, phase and ASE noise is experimentally validated demonstrating a power penalty improvement up to 1.5 dB.

Perspectives of key stakeholders regarding task shifting of care for HIV patients in Mozambique: a qualitative interview-based study with Ministry of Health leaders, clinicians, and donors.

Science.gov (United States)

Rustagi, Alison S; Manjate, Rosa Marlene; Gloyd, Stephen; John-Stewart, Grace; Micek, Mark; Gimbel, Sarah; Sherr, Kenneth

2015-04-01

Task shifting is a common strategy to deliver antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-limited settings and is safe and effective if implemented appropriately. Consensus among stakeholders is necessary to formulate clear national policies that maintain high-quality care. We sought to understand key stakeholders' opinions regarding task shifting of HIV care in Mozambique and to characterize which specific tasks stakeholders considered appropriate for specific cadres of health workers. National and provincial Ministry of Health leaders, representatives from donor and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and clinicians providing HIV care were intentionally selected to represent diverse viewpoints. Using open- and closed-ended questions, interviewees were asked about their general support of task shifting, its potential advantages and disadvantages, and whether each of seven cadres of non-physician health workers should perform each of eight tasks related to ART provision. Responses were tallied overall and stratified by current job category. Interviews were conducted between November 2007 and June 2008. Of 62 stakeholders interviewed, 44% held leadership positions in the Ministry of Health, 44% were clinicians providing HIV care, and 13% were donors or employed by NGOs; 89% held a medical degree. Stakeholders were highly supportive of physician assistants performing simple ART-related tasks and unanimous in opposing community health workers providing any ART-related services. The most commonly cited motives to implement task shifting were to increase ART access, decrease physician workload, and decrease patient wait time, whereas chief concerns included reduced quality of care and poor training and supervision. Support for task shifting was higher among clinicians than policy and programme leaders for three specific task/cadre combinations: general mid-level nurses to initiate ART in adults (supported by 75% of clinicians vs. 41% of non-clinicians) and in pregnant

Quaternion Approach to Solve Coupled Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation and Crosstalk of Quarter-Phase-Shift-Key Signals in Polarization Multiplexing Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Lan-Lan; Wu Chong-Qing; Wang Jian; Gao Kai-Qiang; Shang Chao

2015-01-01

The quaternion approach to solve the coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations (CNSEs) in fibers is proposed, converting the CNSEs to a single variable equation by using a conception of eigen-quaternion of coupled quaternion. The crosstalk of quarter-phase-shift-key signals caused by fiber nonlinearity in polarization multiplexing systems with 100 Gbps bit-rate is investigated and simulated. The results demonstrate that the crosstalk is like a rotated ghosting of input constellation. For the 50 km conventional fiber link, when the total power is less than 4 mW, the crosstalk effect can be neglected; when the power is larger than 20 mW, the crosstalk is very obvious. In addition, the crosstalk can not be detected according to the output eye diagram and state of polarization in Poincaré sphere in the trunk fiber, making it difficult for the monitoring of optical trunk link. (paper)

Renewable: A key component of our global energy future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartley, D.

1995-12-31

Inclusion of renewable energy sources in national and international energy strategies is a key component of a viable global energy future. The global energy balance is going to shift radically in the near future brought about by significant increases in population in China and India, and increases in the energy intensity of developing countries. To better understand the consequences of such global shifts in energy requirements and to develop appropriate energy strategies to respond to these shifts, we need to look at the factors driving choices among supply options by geopolitical consumers and the impact these factors can have on the future energy mix.

Study of key technology of ghost imaging via compressive sensing for a phase object based on phase-shifting digital holography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leihong, Zhang; Dong, Liang; Bei, Li; Zilan, Pan; Dawei, Zhang; Xiuhua, Ma

2015-01-01

In this article, the algorithm of compressing sensing is used to improve the imaging resolution and realize ghost imaging via compressive sensing for a phase object based on the theoretical analysis of the lensless Fourier imaging of the algorithm of ghost imaging based on phase-shifting digital holography. The algorithm of ghost imaging via compressive sensing based on phase-shifting digital holography uses the bucket detector to measure the total light intensity of the interference and the four-step phase-shifting method is used to obtain the total light intensity of differential interference light. The experimental platform is built based on the software simulation, and the experimental results show that the algorithm of ghost imaging via compressive sensing based on phase-shifting digital holography can obtain the high-resolution phase distribution figure of the phase object. With the same sampling times, the phase clarity of the phase distribution figure obtained by the algorithm of ghost imaging via compressive sensing based on phase-shifting digital holography is higher than that obtained by the algorithm of ghost imaging based on phase-shift digital holography. In this article, this study further extends the application range of ghost imaging and obtains the phase distribution of the phase object. (letter)

Rapid and reliable protein structure determination via chemical shift threading.

Science.gov (United States)

Hafsa, Noor E; Berjanskii, Mark V; Arndt, David; Wishart, David S

2018-01-01

Protein structure determination using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy can be both time-consuming and labor intensive. Here we demonstrate how chemical shift threading can permit rapid, robust, and accurate protein structure determination using only chemical shift data. Threading is a relatively old bioinformatics technique that uses a combination of sequence information and predicted (or experimentally acquired) low-resolution structural data to generate high-resolution 3D protein structures. The key motivations behind using NMR chemical shifts for protein threading lie in the fact that they are easy to measure, they are available prior to 3D structure determination, and they contain vital structural information. The method we have developed uses not only sequence and chemical shift similarity but also chemical shift-derived secondary structure, shift-derived super-secondary structure, and shift-derived accessible surface area to generate a high quality protein structure regardless of the sequence similarity (or lack thereof) to a known structure already in the PDB. The method (called E-Thrifty) was found to be very fast (often chemical shift refinement, these results suggest that protein structure determination, using only NMR chemical shifts, is becoming increasingly practical and reliable. E-Thrifty is available as a web server at http://ethrifty.ca .

In-line digital holography with phase-shifting Greek-ladder sieves

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Jing; Zhang, Junyong; Zhang, Yanli; Zhou, Shenlei; Zhu, Jianqiang

2018-04-01

Phase shifting is the key technique in in-line digital holography, but traditional phase shifters have their own limitations in short wavelength regions. Here, phase-shifting Greek-ladder sieves with amplitude-only modulation are introduced into in-line digital holography, which are essentially a kind of diffraction lens with three-dimensional array diffraction-limited foci. In the in-line digital holographic experiment, we design two kinds of sieves by lithography and verify the validity of their phase-shifting function by measuring a 1951 U.S. Air Force resolution test target and three-dimensional array foci. With advantages of high resolving power, low cost, and no limitations at shorter wavelengths, phase-shifting Greek-ladder sieves have great potential in X-ray holography or biochemical microscopy for the next generation of synchrotron light sources.

Finite-key analysis for quantum key distribution with weak coherent pulses based on Bernoulli sampling

Science.gov (United States)

Kawakami, Shun; Sasaki, Toshihiko; Koashi, Masato

2017-07-01

An essential step in quantum key distribution is the estimation of parameters related to the leaked amount of information, which is usually done by sampling of the communication data. When the data size is finite, the final key rate depends on how the estimation process handles statistical fluctuations. Many of the present security analyses are based on the method with simple random sampling, where hypergeometric distribution or its known bounds are used for the estimation. Here we propose a concise method based on Bernoulli sampling, which is related to binomial distribution. Our method is suitable for the Bennett-Brassard 1984 (BB84) protocol with weak coherent pulses [C. H. Bennett and G. Brassard, Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Computers, Systems and Signal Processing (IEEE, New York, 1984), Vol. 175], reducing the number of estimated parameters to achieve a higher key generation rate compared to the method with simple random sampling. We also apply the method to prove the security of the differential-quadrature-phase-shift (DQPS) protocol in the finite-key regime. The result indicates that the advantage of the DQPS protocol over the phase-encoding BB84 protocol in terms of the key rate, which was previously confirmed in the asymptotic regime, persists in the finite-key regime.

Using chemical shift perturbation to characterise ligand binding.

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Mike P

2013-08-01

Chemical shift perturbation (CSP, chemical shift mapping or complexation-induced changes in chemical shift, CIS) follows changes in the chemical shifts of a protein when a ligand is added, and uses these to determine the location of the binding site, the affinity of the ligand, and/or possibly the structure of the complex. A key factor in determining the appearance of spectra during a titration is the exchange rate between free and bound, or more specifically the off-rate koff. When koff is greater than the chemical shift difference between free and bound, which typically equates to an affinity Kd weaker than about 3μM, then exchange is fast on the chemical shift timescale. Under these circumstances, the observed shift is the population-weighted average of free and bound, which allows Kd to be determined from measurement of peak positions, provided the measurements are made appropriately. (1)H shifts are influenced to a large extent by through-space interactions, whereas (13)Cα and (13)Cβ shifts are influenced more by through-bond effects. (15)N and (13)C' shifts are influenced both by through-bond and by through-space (hydrogen bonding) interactions. For determining the location of a bound ligand on the basis of shift change, the most appropriate method is therefore usually to measure (15)N HSQC spectra, calculate the geometrical distance moved by the peak, weighting (15)N shifts by a factor of about 0.14 compared to (1)H shifts, and select those residues for which the weighted shift change is larger than the standard deviation of the shift for all residues. Other methods are discussed, in particular the measurement of (13)CH3 signals. Slow to intermediate exchange rates lead to line broadening, and make Kd values very difficult to obtain. There is no good way to distinguish changes in chemical shift due to direct binding of the ligand from changes in chemical shift due to allosteric change. Ligand binding at multiple sites can often be characterised, by

Shift Colors

Science.gov (United States)

Publications & News Shift Colors Pages default Sign In NPC Logo Banner : Shift Colors Search Navy Personnel Command > Reference Library > Publications & News > Shift Colors Top Link Bar Navy Personnel Library Expand Reference Library Quick Launch Shift Colors Shift Colors Archives Mailing Address How to

All-optical ultra-high-speed OFDM to Nyquist-WDM conversion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guan, Pengyu; Røge, Kasper Meldgaard; Mulvad, Hans Christian Hansen

2015-01-01

We propose an all-optical ultra-high-speed OFDM to Nyquist-WDM conversion scheme based on complete OFT. An 8-subcarrier 640 Gbit/s DPSK OFDM super-channel is converted to eight 80-Gbit/s Nyquist-WDM channels with BER <10−9 performance for all channels.......We propose an all-optical ultra-high-speed OFDM to Nyquist-WDM conversion scheme based on complete OFT. An 8-subcarrier 640 Gbit/s DPSK OFDM super-channel is converted to eight 80-Gbit/s Nyquist-WDM channels with BER

Special training of shift personnel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, H.D.

1981-01-01

The first step of on-the-job training is practical observation phase in an operating Nuclear Plant, where the participants are assigned to shift work. The simulator training for operating personnel, for key personnel and, to some extent, also for maintenance personnel and specialists give the practical feeling for Nuclear Power Plant behaviour during normal and abnormal conditions. During the commissioning phase of the own Nuclear Power Plant, which is the most important practical training, the participants are integrated into the commissioning staff and assisted during their process of practical learning by special instructors. The preparation for the licensing exams is vitally important for shift personnel and special courses are provided after the first non-nuclear trial operation of the plant. Personnel training also includes performance of programmes and material for retraining, training of instructors and assistance in building up special training programmes and material as well as training centers. (orig./RW)

A Novel Method for Generating Encryption Keys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dascalescu Ana Cristina

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The development of the informational society, which has led to an impressive growth of the information volume circulating in the computer networks, has accelerated the evolution and especially the use of modern cryptography instruments. Today, the commercial products use standard cryptographic libraries that implement certified and tested cryptographic algorithms. Instead, the fragility ofencryption algorithms is given by compositional operations like key handling or key generation. In this sense, the article proposes an innovative method to generate pseudorandom numbers which can be used for the construction of secure stream encryption keys. The proposed method is based on the mathematical complements based on the algebra of the finite fields and uses a particularized structure of the linear feedback shift registers.

Lanthanide shift reagents, binding, shift mechanisms and exchange

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boer, J.W.M. de

1977-01-01

Paramagnetic lanthanide shift reagents, when added to a solution of a substrate, induce shifts in the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum of the substrate molecules. The induced shifts contain information about the structure of the shift reagent substrate complex. The structural information, however, may be difficult to extract because of the following effects: (1) different complexes between shift reagent and substrate may be present in solution, e.g. 1:1 and 1:2 complexes, and the shift observed is a weighed average of the shifts of the substrate nuclei in the different complexes; (2) the Fermi contact interaction, arising from the spin density at the nucleus, contributes to the induced shift; (3) chemical exchange effects may complicate the NMR spectrum. In this thesis, the results of an investigation into the influence of these effects on the NMR spectra of solutions containing a substrate and LSR are presented. The equations describing the pseudo contact and the Fermi contact shift are derived. In addition, it is shown how the modified Bloch equations describing the effect of the chemical exchange processes occurring in the systems studied can be reduced to the familiar equations for a two-site exchange case. The binding of mono- and bifunctional ethers to the shift reagent are reported. An analysis of the induced shifts is given. Finally, the results of the experiments performed to study the exchange behavior of dimethoxyethane and heptafluorodimethyloctanedionato ligands are presented

Security proof for round robin differential phase shift QKD

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leermakers, D.; Skoric, B.

2017-01-01

We give the first information-theoretic security proof of the `Round Robin Differential Phase Shift' Quantum Key Distribution scheme. Our proof consists of the following steps. We construct an EPR variant of the scheme. We identify Eve's optimal way of coupling an ancilla to an EPR qudit pair under

Tilt shift determinations with spatial-carrier phase-shift method in temporal phase-shift interferometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Qian; Wang, Yang; He, Jianguo; Ji, Fang; Wang, Baorui

2014-01-01

An algorithm is proposed to deal with tilt-shift errors in temporal phase-shift interferometry (PSI). In the algorithm, the tilt shifts are detected with the spatial-carrier phase-shift (SCPS) method and then the tilt shifts are applied as priori information to the least-squares fittings of phase retrieval. The algorithm combines the best features of the SCPS and the temporal PSI. The algorithm could be applied to interferograms of arbitrary aperture without data extrapolation for the Fourier transform is not involved. Simulations and experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm. The statistics of simulation results show a satisfied accuracy in detecting tilt-shift errors. Comparisons of the measurements with and without environmental vibration show that the proposed algorithm could compensate tilt-shift errors and retrieve wavefront phase accurately. The algorithm provides an approach to retrieve wavefront phase for the temporal PSI in vibrating environment. (paper)

When teams shift among processes: insights from simulation and optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Deanna M; McComb, Sara A

2014-09-01

This article introduces process shifts to study the temporal interplay among transition and action processes espoused in the recurring phase model proposed by Marks, Mathieu, and Zacarro (2001). Process shifts are those points in time when teams complete a focal process and change to another process. By using team communication patterns to measure process shifts, this research explores (a) when teams shift among different transition processes and initiate action processes and (b) the potential of different interventions, such as communication directives, to manipulate process shift timing and order and, ultimately, team performance. Virtual experiments are employed to compare data from observed laboratory teams not receiving interventions, simulated teams receiving interventions, and optimal simulated teams generated using genetic algorithm procedures. Our results offer insights about the potential for different interventions to affect team performance. Moreover, certain interventions may promote discussions about key issues (e.g., tactical strategies) and facilitate shifting among transition processes in a manner that emulates optimal simulated teams' communication patterns. Thus, we contribute to theory regarding team processes in 2 important ways. First, we present process shifts as a way to explore the timing of when teams shift from transition to action processes. Second, we use virtual experimentation to identify those interventions with the greatest potential to affect performance by changing when teams shift among processes. Additionally, we employ computational methods including neural networks, simulation, and optimization, thereby demonstrating their applicability in conducting team research. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Measuring Velocity and Acceleration Using Doppler Shift of a ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

to be used to measure its velocity and acceleration. We also apply this method, as an example here, to spectral lines of the blue-shifted jet in micro-quasar SS433 and discuss the intricacies of these measurements. Key words. Doppler effect—measuring velocity and acceleration of the source— jet in SS433. 1. Introduction.

[Testing method research for key performance indicator of imaging acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF)].

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Shan-Zhou; Chen, Fen-Fei; Zeng, Li-Bo; Wu, Qiong-Shui

2013-01-01

Imaging AOTF is an important optical filter component for new spectral imaging instruments developed in recent years. The principle of imaging AOTF component was demonstrated, and a set of testing methods for some key performances were studied, such as diffraction efficiency, wavelength shift with temperature, homogeneity in space for diffraction efficiency, imaging shift, etc.

Reversing into Meritocracy: Shifting the Culture of Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Bertschinger, Edmund

Culture is the dark energy of our lives: it is an invisible force that shapes our environment for work and life. Physics culture often includes the assumption that people have equal access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, race, or any other demographic characteristic. Numerous studies show this is false, yet the invisible force of meritocracy shapes many departments, and its passive acceptance can foster inequitable working environments. Department chairs and other leaders play a key role in shifting institutional culture to leverage the power of diversity, improve student and employee success, and enhance the quality of life for everyone. I will describe steps taken at MIT to shift our cultural direction so that we are not driving in reverse on the highway of meritocracy.

Enhanced preference for high-fat foods following a simulated night shift.

Science.gov (United States)

Cain, Sean W; Filtness, Ashleigh J; Phillips, Craig L; Anderson, Clare

2015-05-01

Shift workers are prone to obesity and associated co-morbidities such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Sleep restriction associated with shift work results in dramatic endocrine and metabolic effects that predispose shift workers to these adverse health consequences. While sleep restriction has been associated with increased caloric intake, food preference may also play a key role in weight gain associated with shift work. This study examined the impact of an overnight simulated night shift on food preference. Sixteen participants [mean 20.1, standard deviation (SD) 1.4 years; 8 women] underwent a simulated night shift and control condition in a counterbalanced order. On the following morning, participants were provided an opportunity for breakfast that included high- and low-fat food options (mean 64.8% and 6.4% fat, respectively). Participants ate significantly more high-fat breakfast items after the simulated night shift than after the control condition [167.3, standard error of the mean (SEM 28.7) g versus 211.4 (SEM 35.6) g; P=0.012]. The preference for high-fat food was apparent among the majority of individuals following the simulated night shift (81%), but not for the control condition (31%). Shift work and control conditions did not differ, however, in the total amount of food or calories consumed. A simulated night shift leads to preference for high-fat food during a subsequent breakfast opportunity. These results suggest that food choice may contribute to weight-related chronic health problems commonly seen among night shift workers.

Shape-shifting colloids via stimulated dewetting

Science.gov (United States)

Youssef, Mena; Hueckel, Theodore; Yi, Gi-Ra; Sacanna, Stefano

2016-01-01

The ability to reconfigure elementary building blocks from one structure to another is key to many biological systems. Bringing the intrinsic adaptability of biological systems to traditional synthetic materials is currently one of the biggest scientific challenges in material engineering. Here we introduce a new design concept for the experimental realization of self-assembling systems with built-in shape-shifting elements. We demonstrate that dewetting forces between an oil phase and solid colloidal substrates can be exploited to engineer shape-shifting particles whose geometry can be changed on demand by a chemical or optical signal. We find this approach to be quite general and applicable to a broad spectrum of materials, including polymers, semiconductors and magnetic materials. This synthetic methodology can be further adopted as a new experimental platform for designing and rapidly prototyping functional colloids, such as reconfigurable micro swimmers, colloidal surfactants and switchable building blocks for self-assembly. PMID:27426418

Europe?s Shifting Response to HIV/AIDS

OpenAIRE

Smith, Julia

2016-01-01

Abstract Despite a history of championing HIV/AIDS as a human rights issue, and a rhetorical commitment to health as a human right, European states and institutions have shifted from a rights-based response to a risk management approach to HIV/AIDS since the economic recession of 2008. An interdisciplinary perspective is applied to analyze health policy changes at the national, regional, and global levels by drawing on data from key informant interviews, and institutional and civil society do...

Mesoscopic Self-Assembly: A Shift to Complexity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Massimo eMastrangeli

2015-06-01

Full Text Available By focusing on the construction of thermodynamically stable structures, the self-assembly of mesoscopic systems has proven capable of formidable achievements in the bottom-up engineering of micro- and nanosystems. Yet, inspired by an analogous evolution in supramolecular chemistry, synthetic mesoscopic self-assembly may have a lot more ahead, within reach of a shift toward fully three-dimensional architectures, collective interactions of building blocks and kinetic control. All over these challenging fronts, complexity holds the key.

Recognition of Bread Key Odorants by Using Polymer Coated QCMs

Science.gov (United States)

Nakai, Takashi; Kouno, Shinji; Hiruma, Naoya; Shuzo, Masaki; Delaunay, Jean-Jacques; Yamada, Ichiro

Polyisobutylene (PIB) polymer and methylphenylsiloxane (25%) diphenylsiloxane (75%) copolymer (OV25) were coated on Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensors and used in recognition of bread key odorants. Representative compounds of key roasty odorants of bread were taken as 3-acetylpyridine and benzaldehyde, and representative key fatty odorants were hexanal and (E)-2-nonenal. Both OV25- and PIB-coated QCM fabricated sensors could detect concentration as low as 0.9 ppm of 3-acetylpyridine and 1.2 ppm of (E)-2-nonenal. The sensitivity to 3-acetylpyridine of the OV25-coated QCM was about 1000 times higher than that of ethanol, the major interference compound in bread key odorant analysis. Further, the OV25-coated QCM response was 5-6 times and 2-3 times larger than that of the PIB-coated QCM when exposed to roasty odorants and to fatty odorants, respectively. The difference in sensitivity of the OV25- and PIB-coated QCMs we fabricated made possible to discriminate roasty from fatty odorants as was evidenced by the odor recognition map representing the frequency shifts of the OV25-coated QCM against the frequency shift of the PIB-coated QCM. In conclusion, we found that the combination of an OV25-coated QCM and a PIB-coated QCM was successful in discriminating roasty odorants from fatty odorants at the ppm level.

Secure quantum key distribution using squeezed states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gottesman, Daniel; Preskill, John

2001-01-01

We prove the security of a quantum key distribution scheme based on transmission of squeezed quantum states of a harmonic oscillator. Our proof employs quantum error-correcting codes that encode a finite-dimensional quantum system in the infinite-dimensional Hilbert space of an oscillator, and protect against errors that shift the canonical variables p and q. If the noise in the quantum channel is weak, squeezing signal states by 2.51 dB (a squeeze factor e r =1.34) is sufficient in principle to ensure the security of a protocol that is suitably enhanced by classical error correction and privacy amplification. Secure key distribution can be achieved over distances comparable to the attenuation length of the quantum channel

Threshold secret sharing scheme based on phase-shifting interferometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Xiaopeng; Shi, Zhengang; Wen, Wei

2016-11-01

We propose a new method for secret image sharing with the (3,N) threshold scheme based on phase-shifting interferometry. The secret image, which is multiplied with an encryption key in advance, is first encrypted by using Fourier transformation. Then, the encoded image is shared into N shadow images based on the recording principle of phase-shifting interferometry. Based on the reconstruction principle of phase-shifting interferometry, any three or more shadow images can retrieve the secret image, while any two or fewer shadow images cannot obtain any information of the secret image. Thus, a (3,N) threshold secret sharing scheme can be implemented. Compared with our previously reported method, the algorithm of this paper is suited for not only a binary image but also a gray-scale image. Moreover, the proposed algorithm can obtain a larger threshold value t. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method.

Land-use regime shifts: an analytical framework and agenda for future land-use research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Navin Ramankutty

2016-06-01

Full Text Available A key research frontier in global change research lies in understanding processes of land change to inform predictive models of future land states. We believe that significant advances in the field are hampered by limited attention being paid to critical points of change termed land-use regime shifts. We present an analytical framework for understanding land-use regime shifts. We survey historical events of land change and perform in-depth case studies of soy and shrimp development in Latin America to demonstrate the role of preconditions, triggers, and self-reinforcing processes in driving land-use regime shifts. Whereas the land-use literature demonstrates a good understanding of within-regime dynamics, our understanding of the drivers of land-use regime shifts is limited to ex post facto explications. Theoretical and empirical advances are needed to better understand the dynamics and implications of land-use regime shifts. We draw insights from the regime-shifts literature to propose a research agenda for studying land change.

Staff perceptions of leadership during implementation of task-shifting in three surgical units.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Amanda; Paterson, Karyn; Burmeister, Liz; Thomson, Bernadette; Young, Louise

2013-03-01

Registered nurses are difficult to recruit and retain. Task shifting, which involves reallocation of delegation, can reduce demand for registered nurses. Effective leadership is needed for successful task shifting. This study explored leadership styles of three surgical nurse unit managers. Staff completed surveys before and after the implementation of task shifting. Task shifting involved the introduction of endorsed enrolled nurses (licensed nurses who must practise under registered nurse supervision) to better utilize registered nurses. Implementation of task shifting occurred over 4 months in a 700-bed tertiary hospital, in southeast Queensland, Australia. A facilitator assisted nurse unit managers during implementation. The impact was assessed by comparison of data before (n = 49) and after (n = 72) task shifting from registered nurses and endorsed enrolled nurses (n = 121) who completed the Ward Organization Features Survey. Significant differences in leadership and staff organization subscales across the settings suggest that how change involving task shifting is implemented influences nurses' opinions of leadership. Leadership behaviours of nurse unit managers is a key consideration in managing change such as task shifting. Consistent and clear messages from leaders about practice change are viewed positively by nursing staff. In the short term, incremental change possibly results in staff maintaining confidence in leadership. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Physical fitness: An operator's approach to coping with shift work

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanks, D.H.

1989-01-01

There is a strong correlation between a shift worker's ability to remain alert and the physical fitness of the individual. Alertness is a key element of a nuclear plant operator's ability to effectively monitor and control plant status. The constant changes in one's metabolism caused by the rotation of work (and sleep) hours can be devastating to his or her health. Many workers with longevity in the field, however, have found it beneficial to maintain some sort of workout or sport activity, feeling that this activity offsets the physical burden of backshift. The author's experience working shifts for 10 years and his reported increase in alertness through exercise and diet manipulation are described in this paper

Shift Work Disorder and Mental and Physical Effects of Shift Work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pinar Guzel Ozdemir

2018-03-01

Full Text Available With the growing prevalence of shift work all over the the world, the relationship between the daily lives of irregular lifestyles and rhythms is being investigated for those working as shift workers and their families. The effect of shift work on physical and mental health is a very important field of research in recent years. The onset and persistence of medical complications in shift workers includes impaired synchronization between work schedule rhythms and circadian clock. In this context, studies have been carried out showing the increased risk of sleep-wake disorders, gastrointestinal problems, and cardiovascular diseases. There is little information about the actual frequency, effect on health and treatment of shift work disorder, known as circadian rhythm sleep disorder. Shift work disorder includes insomnia and/or excessive sleepiness related with the work schedule. The aim of this rewiev, mentioning about the physical and mental effects of shift work, and to provide information about the diagnosis, clinic and treatment methods of shift-work disorder.

Non-occupational physical activity levels of shift workers compared with non-shift workers

Science.gov (United States)

Loef, Bette; Hulsegge, Gerben; Wendel-Vos, G C Wanda; Verschuren, W M Monique; Bakker, Marije F; van der Beek, Allard J; Proper, Karin I

2017-01-01

Objectives Lack of physical activity (PA) has been hypothesised as an underlying mechanism in the adverse health effects of shift work. Therefore, our aim was to compare non-occupational PA levels between shift workers and non-shift workers. Furthermore, exposure–response relationships for frequency of night shifts and years of shift work regarding non-occupational PA levels were studied. Methods Data of 5980 non-shift workers and 532 shift workers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Netherlands (EPIC-NL) were used in these cross-sectional analyses. Time spent (hours/week) in different PA types (walking/cycling/exercise/chores) and intensities (moderate/vigorous) were calculated based on self-reported PA. Furthermore, sports were operationalised as: playing sports (no/yes), individual versus non-individual sports, and non-vigorous-intensity versus vigorous-intensity sports. PA levels were compared between shift workers and non-shift workers using Generalized Estimating Equations and logistic regression. Results Shift workers reported spending more time walking than non-shift workers (B=2.3 (95% CI 1.2 to 3.4)), but shift work was not associated with other PA types and any of the sports activities. Shift workers who worked 1–4 night shifts/month (B=2.4 (95% CI 0.6 to 4.3)) and ≥5 night shifts/month (B=3.7 (95% CI 1.8 to 5.6)) spent more time walking than non-shift workers. No exposure–response relationships were found between years of shift work and PA levels. Conclusions Shift workers spent more time walking than non-shift workers, but we observed no differences in other non-occupational PA levels. To better understand if and how PA plays a role in the negative health consequences of shift work, our findings need to be confirmed in future studies. PMID:27872151

Dynamic Shift Coordinated Control Based on Motor Active Speed Synchronization with the New Hybrid System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ting Yan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Considering the inherent disadvantages that severely affect driving comfortability during the shift process in HEVs, a dynamic shift coordinated control based on motor active speed synchronization is proposed to improve shift quality by reduction of shift vibration. The whole control scheme is comprised of three phases, preparatory phase, speed regulation phase, and synchronization phase, which are implemented consecutively in order. The key to inhibiting impact and jerk depends on the speed regulation phase, where motor active speed synchronization is utilized to reach the minimum speed difference between the two ends of synchronizer. A new hybrid system with superior performances is applied to present the validity of the adopted control algorithm during upshift or downshift, which can represent planetary gear system and conventional AMT shift procedure, respectively. Bench test, simulation, and road test results show that, compared with other methods, the proposed dynamic coordinated control can achieve shifting control in real time to effectively improve gear-shift comfort and shorten power interruption transients, with robustness in both conventional AMT and planetary gear train.

Reduced Tolerance to Night Shift in Chronic Shift Workers: Insight From Fractal Regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Peng; Morris, Christopher J; Patxot, Melissa; Yugay, Tatiana; Mistretta, Joseph; Purvis, Taylor E; Scheer, Frank A J L; Hu, Kun

2017-07-01

Healthy physiology is characterized by fractal regulation (FR) that generates similar structures in the fluctuations of physiological outputs at different time scales. Perturbed FR is associated with aging and age-related pathological conditions. Shift work, involving repeated and chronic exposure to misaligned environmental and behavioral cycles, disrupts circadian coordination. We tested whether night shifts perturb FR in motor activity and whether night shifts affect FR in chronic shift workers and non-shift workers differently. We studied 13 chronic shift workers and 14 non-shift workers as controls using both field and in-laboratory experiments. In the in-laboratory study, simulated night shifts were used to induce a misalignment between the endogenous circadian pacemaker and the sleep-wake cycles (ie, circadian misalignment) while environmental conditions and food intake were controlled. In the field study, we found that FR was robust in controls but broke down in shift workers during night shifts, leading to more random activity fluctuations as observed in patients with dementia. The night shift effect was present even 2 days after ending night shifts. The in-laboratory study confirmed that night shifts perturbed FR in chronic shift workers and showed that FR in controls was more resilience to the circadian misalignment. Moreover, FR during real and simulated night shifts was more perturbed in those who started shift work at older ages. Chronic shift work causes night shift intolerance, which is probably linked to the degraded plasticity of the circadian control system. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

Quadrature-Quadrature Phase Shift Keying.

Science.gov (United States)

1986-09-01

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF -IS PAfr All other editions are obsolete ’r- Ac P..N -N- %.. .. V . .. b . h S Debabrata Saha 1986 All Rights Reserved...1.2/T T~,pe of AISA Q -PSK AMSK 0 Y(IitIo ?6 orthogonal Four -level F, J." 𔃻 1i 1/ 2 H13.4 a H P6 E 44 3.5 Modulator Demodulator and Synchronization

Non-occupational physical activity levels of shift workers compared with non-shift workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Loef, Bette; Hulsegge, Gerben; Wendel-Vos, G C Wanda; Verschuren, W M Monique; Vermeulen, Roel C H; Bakker, Marije F; van der Beek, Allard J; Proper, Karin I

2017-05-01

Lack of physical activity (PA) has been hypothesised as an underlying mechanism in the adverse health effects of shift work. Therefore, our aim was to compare non-occupational PA levels between shift workers and non-shift workers. Furthermore, exposure-response relationships for frequency of night shifts and years of shift work regarding non-occupational PA levels were studied. Data of 5980 non-shift workers and 532 shift workers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Netherlands (EPIC-NL) were used in these cross-sectional analyses. Time spent (hours/week) in different PA types (walking/cycling/exercise/chores) and intensities (moderate/vigorous) were calculated based on self-reported PA. Furthermore, sports were operationalised as: playing sports (no/yes), individual versus non-individual sports, and non-vigorous-intensity versus vigorous-intensity sports. PA levels were compared between shift workers and non-shift workers using Generalized Estimating Equations and logistic regression. Shift workers reported spending more time walking than non-shift workers (B=2.3 (95% CI 1.2 to 3.4)), but shift work was not associated with other PA types and any of the sports activities. Shift workers who worked 1-4 night shifts/month (B=2.4 (95% CI 0.6 to 4.3)) and ≥5 night shifts/month (B=3.7 (95% CI 1.8 to 5.6)) spent more time walking than non-shift workers. No exposure-response relationships were found between years of shift work and PA levels. Shift workers spent more time walking than non-shift workers, but we observed no differences in other non-occupational PA levels. To better understand if and how PA plays a role in the negative health consequences of shift work, our findings need to be confirmed in future studies. 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/.

Night shift work at specific age ranges and chronic disease risk factors

Science.gov (United States)

Ramin, Cody; Devore, Elizabeth E; Wang, Weike; Pierre-Paul, Jeffrey; Wegrzyn, Lani R; Schernhammer, Eva S

2014-01-01

Objectives We examined the association of night shift work history and age when night shift work was performed with cancer and cardiovascular disease risk factors among 54 724 women in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) II. Methods We calculated age-adjusted and socioeconomic status-adjusted means and percentages for cancer and cardiovascular risk factors in 2009 across categories of night shift work history. We used multivariable-adjusted logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for key risk factors among 54 724 participants (72% ever shift workers). We further examined these associations by age (20–25, 26–35, 36– 45 and 46+ years) at which shift work was performed. Results Ever night shift workers had increased odds of obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2; OR=1.37, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.43); higher caffeine intake (≥131 mg/day; OR=1.16, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.22) and total calorie intake (≥1715 kcal/day; OR=1.09, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.13); current smoking (OR=1.30, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.42); and shorter sleep durations (≤7 h of sleep/day; OR=1.19, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.24) compared to never night shift workers. These estimates varied depending on age at which night work was performed, with a suggestion that night shift work before age 25 was associated with fewer risk factors compared to night shift work at older ages. Conclusions Our results indicate that night shift work may contribute to an adverse chronic disease risk profile, and that risk factors may vary depending on the age at which night shift work was performed. PMID:25261528

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Developing, Implementing, and Using Winning KPIs

CERN Document Server

Parmenter, David

2010-01-01

An in-depth look at how to create and use key performance indicators (KPIs), from the King of KPIs â€" now updated and expanded! By exploring measures that have transformed businesses, David Parmenter has developed a methodology that is breathtaking in its simplicity and yet profound in its impact. Now in an updated and expanded Second Edition, Key Performance Indicators is a proactive guide representing a significant shift in the way KPIs are developed and used, with an abundance of implementation tools, including: The four foundation stones that lead the development and use of KPIs; A 12-ste

Re-scheduling nursing shifts: Scoping the challenge and examining the potential of mathematical model based tools

OpenAIRE

Clark, A.; Moule, P.; Topping, A.; Serpell, M.

2015-01-01

Aims: To review research in the literature on nursing shift scheduling/rescheduling, and report key issues identified in a listening exercise with managers in four English NHS trusts to inform the development of mathematical tools for rescheduling decision-making.\\ud Background: Shift rescheduling is unrecognised as an everyday time-consuming management task with different imperatives than scheduling. Poor rescheduling decisions can have quality, cost and morale implications.\\ud Evaluation: A...

Blue and red shifted temperature dependence of implicit phonon shifts in graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Sarita; Jindal, V. K.

2017-07-01

We have calculated the implicit shift for various modes of frequency in a pure graphene sheet. Thermal expansion and Grüneisen parameter which are required for implicit shift calculation have already been studied and reported. For this calculation, phonon frequencies are obtained using force constants derived from dynamical matrix calculated using VASP code where the density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) is used in interface with phonopy software. The implicit phonon shift shows an unusual behavior as compared to the bulk materials. The frequency shift is large negative (red shift) for ZA and ZO modes and the value of negative shift increases with increase in temperature. On the other hand, blue shift arises for all other longitudinal and transverse modes with a similar trend of increase with increase in temperature. The q dependence of phonon shifts has also been studied. Such simultaneous red and blue shifts in transverse or out plane modes and surface modes, respectively leads to speculation of surface softening in out of plane direction in preference to surface melting.

Shift work in nurses: contribution of phenotypes and genotypes to adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gamble, Karen L; Motsinger-Reif, Alison A; Hida, Akiko; Borsetti, Hugo M; Servick, Stein V; Ciarleglio, Christopher M; Robbins, Sam; Hicks, Jennifer; Carver, Krista; Hamilton, Nalo; Wells, Nancy; Summar, Marshall L; McMahon, Douglas G; Johnson, Carl Hirschie

2011-04-13

Daily cycles of sleep/wake, hormones, and physiological processes are often misaligned with behavioral patterns during shift work, leading to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular/metabolic/gastrointestinal disorders, some types of cancer, and mental disorders including depression and anxiety. It is unclear how sleep timing, chronotype, and circadian clock gene variation contribute to adaptation to shift work. Newly defined sleep strategies, chronotype, and genotype for polymorphisms in circadian clock genes were assessed in 388 hospital day- and night-shift nurses. Night-shift nurses who used sleep deprivation as a means to switch to and from diurnal sleep on work days (∼25%) were the most poorly adapted to their work schedule. Chronotype also influenced efficacy of adaptation. In addition, polymorphisms in CLOCK, NPAS2, PER2, and PER3 were significantly associated with outcomes such as alcohol/caffeine consumption and sleepiness, as well as sleep phase, inertia and duration in both single- and multi-locus models. Many of these results were specific to shift type suggesting an interaction between genotype and environment (in this case, shift work). Sleep strategy, chronotype, and genotype contribute to the adaptation of the circadian system to an environment that switches frequently and/or irregularly between different schedules of the light-dark cycle and social/workplace time. This study of shift work nurses illustrates how an environmental "stress" to the temporal organization of physiology and metabolism can have behavioral and health-related consequences. Because nurses are a key component of health care, these findings could have important implications for health-care policy.

Shift work in nurses: contribution of phenotypes and genotypes to adaptation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen L Gamble

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Daily cycles of sleep/wake, hormones, and physiological processes are often misaligned with behavioral patterns during shift work, leading to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular/metabolic/gastrointestinal disorders, some types of cancer, and mental disorders including depression and anxiety. It is unclear how sleep timing, chronotype, and circadian clock gene variation contribute to adaptation to shift work.Newly defined sleep strategies, chronotype, and genotype for polymorphisms in circadian clock genes were assessed in 388 hospital day- and night-shift nurses.Night-shift nurses who used sleep deprivation as a means to switch to and from diurnal sleep on work days (∼25% were the most poorly adapted to their work schedule. Chronotype also influenced efficacy of adaptation. In addition, polymorphisms in CLOCK, NPAS2, PER2, and PER3 were significantly associated with outcomes such as alcohol/caffeine consumption and sleepiness, as well as sleep phase, inertia and duration in both single- and multi-locus models. Many of these results were specific to shift type suggesting an interaction between genotype and environment (in this case, shift work.Sleep strategy, chronotype, and genotype contribute to the adaptation of the circadian system to an environment that switches frequently and/or irregularly between different schedules of the light-dark cycle and social/workplace time. This study of shift work nurses illustrates how an environmental "stress" to the temporal organization of physiology and metabolism can have behavioral and health-related consequences. Because nurses are a key component of health care, these findings could have important implications for health-care policy.

OpenShift Workshop

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva; Rodriguez Peon, Alberto

2017-01-01

Workshop to introduce developers to the OpenShift platform available at CERN. Several use cases will be shown, including deploying an existing application into OpenShift. We expect attendees to realize about OpenShift features and general architecture of the service.

Contributors to shift work tolerance in South Korean nurses working rotating shift.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Hye-Sun; Lee, Bokim

2015-05-01

Shift workers have rapidly increased in South Korea; however, there is no published research exploring shift work tolerance among South Korean workers. This study aimed to investigate factors related to shift work tolerance in South Korean nurses. The sample comprised of 660 nurses who worked shifts in a large hospital in South Korea. A structured questionnaire included following comprehensive variables: demographic (age and number of children), individual (morningness and self-esteem), psychosocial (social support and job stress), lifestyle (alcohol consumption, physical activity, and BMI), and working condition factors (number of night shifts and working hours). Shift work tolerance was measured in terms of insomnia, fatigue, and depression. The results of hierarchical regressions indicate that all variables, except for three, number of children, BMI, and working hours, were related to at least one of the symptoms associated with shift work tolerance. Based on these results, we offer some practical implications to help improve shift work tolerance of workers. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Policy and programmatic implications of task shifting in Uganda: a case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dambisya Yoswa M

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Uganda has a severe health worker shortage and a high demand for health care services. This study aimed to assess the policy and programmatic implications of task shifting in Uganda. Methods This was a qualitative, descriptive study through 34 key informant interviews and eight (8 focus group discussions, with participants from various levels of the health system. Results Policy makers understood task shifting, but front-line health workers had misconceptions on the meaning and intention(s of task shifting. Examples were cited of task shifting within the Ugandan health system, some formalized (e.g. psychiatric clinical officers, and some informal ones (e.g. nurses inserting IV lines and initiating treatment. There was apparently high acceptance of task shifting in HIV/AIDS service delivery, with involvement of community health workers (CHW and PLWHA in care and support of AIDS patients. There was no written policy or guidelines on task shifting, but the policy environment was reportedly conducive with plans to develop a policy and guidelines on task shifting. Factors favouring task shifting included successful examples of task shifting, proper referral channels, the need for services, scarcity of skills and focused initiatives such as home based management of fever. Barriers to task shifting included reluctance to change, protection of professional turf, professional boundaries and regulations, heavy workload and high disease burden, poor planning, lack of a task shifting champion, lack of guidelines, the name task shifting itself, and unemployed health professionals. There were both positive and negative views on task shifting: the positive ones cast task shifting as one of the solutions to the dual problem of lack of skills and high demand for service, and as something that is already happening; while negative ones saw it as a quick fix intended for the poor, a threat to quality care and likely to compromise the health

The radio-on-fiber-wavelength-division-multiplexed-passive-optical network (WDM-RoF-PON) for wireless and wire layout with linearly-polarized dual-wavelength fiber laser and carrier reusing

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Wei; Chang, Jun

2013-07-01

In this paper, we design a WDM-RoF-PON based on linearly-polarized dual-wavelength fiber laser and CSRZ-DPSK, which can achieve wire-line and wireless access synchronously. With the CSRZ-DPSK modulation, the wireless access in ONU can save RF source and the frequency of radio carrier can be controlled by OLT. The dual-wavelength fiber laser is the union light source of WDM-PON with polarization multiplexing. By the RSOA and downstream light source reusing, the ONU can save omit laser source and makes the WDM-PON to be colorless. The networking has the credible transmission property, including wireless access and fiber transmission. The networking also has excellent covering range.

Mechanofluorochromic Carbon Nanodots: Controllable Pressure-Triggered Blue- and Red-Shifted Photoluminescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Cui; Xiao, Guanjun; Yang, Mengli; Zou, Bo; Zhang, Zhi-Ling; Pang, Dai-Wen

2018-02-12

Mechanofluorochromic materials, which change their photoluminescence (PL) colors in responding to mechanical stimuli, can be used as mechanosensors, security papers, and photoelectronic devices. However, traditional mechanofluorochromic materials can only be adjusted to a monotone direction upon the external stimuli. Controllable pressure-triggered blue- and red-shifted PL is reported for C-dots. The origin of mechanofluorochromism (MFC) in C-dots is interpreted based on structure-property relationships. The carbonyl group and the π-conjugated system play key roles in the PL change of C-dots under high pressure. As the pressure increases, the enhanced π-π stacking of the π-conjugated system causes the red-shift of PL, while the conversion of carbonyl groups eventually induces a blue-shift. Together with their low toxicity, good hydrophilicity, and small size, the tunable MFC property would boost various potential applications of C-dots. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Implementing OpenShift

CERN Document Server

Miller, Adam

2013-01-01

A standard tutorial-based approach to using OpenShift and deploying custom or pre-built web applications to the OpenShift Online cloud.This book is for software developers and DevOps alike who are interested in learning how to use the OpenShift Platform-as-a-Service for developing and deploying applications, how the environment works on the back end, and how to deploy their very own open source Platform-as-a-Service based on the upstream OpenShift Origin project.

Shift in the National Drug Strategy: Implications for the SOUTHCOM AOR

Science.gov (United States)

1994-06-17

NT.F:C.,ThON ! .’.NUI SER -4. 70,... l lOU R, -, Cf CE OF IL l NI l .. ELEV•ENT NO. . NO ACCESS’ON NO. 11. TITLE (. ict .*e Security Cla.ficaeionj SHIFT IN...illegal drugs and cooperate in international efforts.22 In Colombia, the Gaviria government challenged the violence of the Medellin Cartel capturing key

Shift Work and Health: Current Problems and Preventive Actions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Costa

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The paper gives an overview of the problems to be tackled nowadays by occupational health with regards to shift work as well as the main guidelines at organizational and medical levels on how to protect workers’ health and well-being. Working time organization is becoming a key factor on account of new technologies, market globalization, economic competition, and extension of social services to general populations, all of which involve more and more people in continuous assistance and control of work processes over the 24 hours in a day. The large increase of epidemiological and clinical studies on this issue document the severity of this risk factor on human health and well being, at both social and psychophysical levels, starting from a disruption of biological circadian rhythms and sleep/wake cycle and ending in several psychosomatic troubles and disorders, likely also including cancer, and extending to impairment of performance efficiency as well as family and social life. Appropriate interventions on the organization of shift schedules according to ergonomic criteria and careful health surveillance and social support for shift workers are important preventive and corrective measures that allow people to keep working without significant health impairment.

Petroleum and Health Care: Evaluating and Managing Health Care's Vulnerability to Petroleum Supply Shifts

Science.gov (United States)

Bednarz, Daniel; Bae, Jaeyong; Pierce, Jessica

2011-01-01

Petroleum is used widely in health care—primarily as a transport fuel and feedstock for pharmaceuticals, plastics, and medical supplies—and few substitutes for it are available. This dependence theoretically makes health care vulnerable to petroleum supply shifts, but this vulnerability has not been empirically assessed. We quantify key aspects of petroleum use in health care and explore historical associations between petroleum supply shocks and health care prices. These analyses confirm that petroleum products are intrinsic to modern health care and that petroleum supply shifts can affect health care prices. In anticipation of future supply contractions lasting longer than previous shifts and potentially disrupting health care delivery, we propose an adaptive management approach and outline its application to the example of emergency medical services. PMID:21778473

Shift Work in Nurses: Contribution of Phenotypes and Genotypes to Adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Gamble, Karen L.; Motsinger-Reif, Alison A.; Hida, Akiko; Borsetti, Hugo M.; Servick, Stein V.; Ciarleglio, Christopher M.; Robbins, Sam; Hicks, Jennifer; Carver, Krista; Hamilton, Nalo; Wells, Nancy; Summar, Marshall L.; McMahon, Douglas G.; Johnson, Carl Hirschie

2011-01-01

Background Daily cycles of sleep/wake, hormones, and physiological processes are often misaligned with behavioral patterns during shift work, leading to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular/metabolic/gastrointestinal disorders, some types of cancer, and mental disorders including depression and anxiety. It is unclear how sleep timing, chronotype, and circadian clock gene variation contribute to adaptation to shift work. Methods Newly defined sleep strategies, chronotype, and genotype for polymorphisms in circadian clock genes were assessed in 388 hospital day- and night-shift nurses. Results Night-shift nurses who used sleep deprivation as a means to switch to and from diurnal sleep on work days (∼25%) were the most poorly adapted to their work schedule. Chronotype also influenced efficacy of adaptation. In addition, polymorphisms in CLOCK, NPAS2, PER2, and PER3 were significantly associated with outcomes such as alcohol/caffeine consumption and sleepiness, as well as sleep phase, inertia and duration in both single- and multi-locus models. Many of these results were specific to shift type suggesting an interaction between genotype and environment (in this case, shift work). Conclusions Sleep strategy, chronotype, and genotype contribute to the adaptation of the circadian system to an environment that switches frequently and/or irregularly between different schedules of the light-dark cycle and social/workplace time. This study of shift work nurses illustrates how an environmental “stress” to the temporal organization of physiology and metabolism can have behavioral and health-related consequences. Because nurses are a key component of health care, these findings could have important implications for health-care policy. PMID:21533241

Protein structure validation and refinement using amide proton chemical shifts derived from quantum mechanics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Anders Steen; Linnet, Troels Emtekær; Borg, Mikael

2013-01-01

We present the ProCS method for the rapid and accurate prediction of protein backbone amide proton chemical shifts - sensitive probes of the geometry of key hydrogen bonds that determine protein structure. ProCS is parameterized against quantum mechanical (QM) calculations and reproduces high level...

Collaborative co-teaching of Numeracy and Literacy as a key to ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Inclusion of learners with diverse needs implies a shift from a medical deficit model of disability to a social systems model. The latter does not view these learners as a problem; instead the environment or society's response to these individuals is viewed as a barrier to learning. I focus on collaborative coteaching as a key to ...

Elevated Extinction Rates as a Trigger for Diversification Rate Shifts: Early Amniotes as a Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Brocklehurst, Neil; Ruta, Marcello; Müller, Johannes; Fröbisch, Jörg

2015-01-01

Tree shape analyses are frequently used to infer the location of shifts in diversification rate within the Tree of Life. Many studies have supported a causal relationship between shifts and temporally coincident events such as the evolution of “key innovations”. However, the evidence for such relationships is circumstantial. We investigated patterns of diversification during the early evolution of Amniota from the Carboniferous to the Triassic, subjecting a new supertree to analyses of tree balance in order to infer the timing and location of diversification shifts. We investigated how uneven origination and extinction rates drive diversification shifts, and use two case studies (herbivory and an aquatic lifestyle) to examine whether shifts tend to be contemporaneous with evolutionary novelties. Shifts within amniotes tend to occur during periods of elevated extinction, with mass extinctions coinciding with numerous and larger shifts. Diversification shifts occurring in clades that possess evolutionary innovations do not coincide temporally with the appearance of those innovations, but are instead deferred to periods of high extinction rate. We suggest such innovations did not cause increases in the rate of cladogenesis, but allowed clades to survive extinction events. We highlight the importance of examining general patterns of diversification before interpreting specific shifts. PMID:26592209

Night shift work at specific age ranges and chronic disease risk factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramin, Cody; Devore, Elizabeth E; Wang, Weike; Pierre-Paul, Jeffrey; Wegrzyn, Lani R; Schernhammer, Eva S

2015-02-01

We examined the association of night shift work history and age when night shift work was performed with cancer and cardiovascular disease risk factors among 54 724 women in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) II. We calculated age-adjusted and socioeconomic status-adjusted means and percentages for cancer and cardiovascular risk factors in 2009 across categories of night shift work history. We used multivariable-adjusted logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for key risk factors among 54 724 participants (72% ever shift workers). We further examined these associations by age (20-25, 26-35, 36-45 and 46+ years) at which shift work was performed. Ever night shift workers had increased odds of obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m(2); OR=1.37, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.43); higher caffeine intake (≥131 mg/day; OR=1.16, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.22) and total calorie intake (≥1715 kcal/day; OR=1.09, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.13); current smoking (OR=1.30, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.42); and shorter sleep durations (≤7 h of sleep/day; OR=1.19, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.24) compared to never night shift workers. These estimates varied depending on age at which night work was performed, with a suggestion that night shift work before age 25 was associated with fewer risk factors compared to night shift work at older ages. Our results indicate that night shift work may contribute to an adverse chronic disease risk profile, and that risk factors may vary depending on the age at which night shift work was performed. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Shifting schedules: the health effects of reorganizing shift work.

Science.gov (United States)

Bambra, Clare L; Whitehead, Margaret M; Sowden, Amanda J; Akers, Joanne; Petticrew, Mark P

2008-05-01

Approximately one fifth of workers are engaged in some kind of shift work. The harmful effects of shift work on the health and work-life balance of employees are well known. A range of organizational interventions has been suggested to address these negative effects. This study undertook the systematic review (following Quality Of Reporting Of Meta [QUORUM] analyses guidelines) of experimental and quasi-experimental studies, from any country (in any language) that evaluated the effects on health and work-life balance of organizational-level interventions that redesign shift work schedules. Twenty-seven electronic databases (medical, social science, economic) were searched. Data extraction and quality appraisal were carried out by two independent reviewers. Narrative synthesis was performed. The review was conducted between October 2005 and November 2006. Twenty-six studies were found relating to a variety of organizational interventions. No one type of intervention was found to be consistently harmful to workers. However, three types were found to have beneficial effects on health and work-life balance: (1) switching from slow to fast rotation, (2) changing from backward to forward rotation, and (3) self-scheduling of shifts. Improvements were usually at little or no direct organizational cost. However, there were concerns about the generalizability of the evidence, and no studies reported on impacts on health inequalities. This review reinforces the findings of epidemiologic and laboratory-based research by suggesting that certain organizational-level interventions can improve the health of shift workers, their work-life balance, or both. This evidence could be useful when designing interventions to improve the experience of shift work.

Energy efficiency and CO2: is electricity the key factor?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bamberger, Y.

2007-07-01

Europe must face soon to the depletion of fossil energy resources. Efficiency in end energy uses is a key to prepare this challenge. First, the report shows that significant energy efficiency capacities remain in the main economy sectors in France and Europe: buildings, industry, transportation. The key technologies, mainly electricity-driven, are briefly presented, together with the related main tracks for R and D: heat pumps, thermal insulation, induction and mechanical vapour compression for industry, plugged hybrid vehicle, LED sources for lighting. Their ability to decrease CO2 emissions is shown. Control equipment and users behaviour are pointed out, mainly with the key role of price energy with recent French experience : load shifting, peak shaving. Finally, the report shows that a firm policy, based on high performance equipments, could lead to a significant decrease of energy needs in France around 2030.

Performance comparison of 0/π- and ± π/2-phase-shifted superstructured Fiber Bragg grating en/decoder.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Bo; Gao, Zhensen; Wang, Xu; Kataoka, Nobuyuki; Wada, Naoya

2011-06-20

We compare the performances of the 0/π-phase-shifted SSFBG (0/π-SSFBG) and the ± π/2-phase-shifted SSFBG (± π/2-SSFBG) en/decoders in the three aspects: the security, coding and system performances. In terms of the security performance, we evaluate the security performance by the investigation on the encoded waveform of both encoders. We also propose and demonstrate the code extraction technique for the ± π/2-SSFBG encoder when input pulse has large pulse width. Then, we analyze the coding performance of these two kinds of en/decoders by the calculation of autocorrelation and cross-correlation with sets of 31-chip, 63-chip and 127-chip Gold codes. Furthermore, we propose and demonstrate the hybrid use of both en/decoders. To demonstrate the performance of both en/decoders and the hybrid use in the different systems, we employ four 31-chip 640 Gchip/s 0/π-SSFBG and ± π/2-SSFBG en/decoders in the 4-user 10 Gbps/user on-off keying and differential phase-shift keying OCDMA systems.

Fostering Creative Engineers: A Key to Face the Complexity of Engineering Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Chunfang

2012-01-01

Recent studies have argued a shift of thinking about engineering practice from a linear conception to a system understanding. The complexity of engineering practice has been thought of as the root of challenges for engineers. Moreover, creativity has been emphasised as one key capability that engineering students should master. This paper aims to…

The University of Canberra quantum key distribution testbed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganeshkumar, G.; Edwards, P.J.; Cheung, W.N.; Barbopoulos, L.O.; Pham, H.; Hazel, J.C.

1999-01-01

Full text: We describe the design, operation and preliminary results obtained from a quantum key distribution (QKD) testbed constructed at the University of Canberra. Quantum cryptographic systems use shared secret keys exchanged in the form of sequences of polarisation coded or phase encoded single photons transmitted over an optical communications channel. Secrecy of this quantum key rests upon fundamental laws of quantum physics: measurements of linear or circular photon polarisation states introduce noise into the conjugate variable and so reveal eavesdropping. In its initial realisation reported here, pulsed light from a 650nm laser diode is attenuated by a factor of 10 6 , plane-polarised and then transmitted through a birefringent liquid crystal modulator (LCM) to a polarisation sensitive single photon receiver. This transmitted key sequence consists of a 1 kHz train of weak coherent 100ns wide light pulses, polarisation coded according to the BB84 protocol. Each pulse is randomly assigned one of four polarisation states (two orthogonal linear and two orthogonal circular) by computer PCA operated by the sender ('Alice'). This quaternary polarisation shift keyed photon stream is detected by the receiver ('Bob') whose computer (PCB) randomly chooses either a linear or a circular polarisation basis. Computer PCB is also used for final key selection, authentication, privacy amplification and eavesdropping. We briefly discuss the realisation of a mesoscopic single photon QKD source and the use of the testbed to simulate a global quantum key distribution system using earth satellites. Copyright (1999) Australian Optical Society

Shifting Attention

Science.gov (United States)

Ingram, Jenni

2014-01-01

This article examines the shifts in attention and focus as one teacher introduces and explains an image that represents the processes involved in a numeric problem that his students have been working on. This paper takes a micro-analytic approach to examine how the focus of attention shifts through what the teacher and students do and say in the…

Key Working for Families with Young Disabled Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernie Carter

2011-01-01

Full Text Available For families with a disabled child, the usual challenges of family life can be further complicated by the need to access a wide range of services provided by a plethora of professionals and agencies. Key working aims to support children and their families in navigating these complexities ensuring easy access to relevant, high quality, and coordinated care. The aim of this paper is to explore the key worker role in relation to “being a key worker” and “having a key worker”. The data within this paper draw on a larger evaluation study of the Blackpool Early Support Pilot Programme. The qualitative study used an appreciative and narrative approach and utilised mixed methods (interviews, surveys and a nominal group workshop. Data were collected from 43 participants (parents, key workers, and other stakeholders. All stakeholders who had been involved with the service were invited to participate. In the paper we present and discuss the ways in which key working made a difference to the lives of children and their families. We also consider how key working transformed the perspectives of the key workers creating a deeper and richer understanding of family lives and the ways in which other disciplines and agencies worked. Key working contributed to the shift to a much more family-centred approach, and enhanced communication and information sharing between professionals and agencies improved. This resulted in families feeling more informed. Key workers acted in an entrepreneurial fashion, forging new relationships with families and between families and other stakeholders. Parents of young disabled children and their service providers benefited from key working. Much of the benefit accrued came from strong, relational, and social-professional networking which facilitated the embedding of new ways of working into everyday practice. Using an appreciative inquiry approach provided an effective and relevant way of engaging with parents, professionals

Strain-Induced Spin-Resonance Shifts in Silicon Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Pla, J. J.; Bienfait, A.; Pica, G.; Mansir, J.; Mohiyaddin, F. A.; Zeng, Z.; Niquet, Y. M.; Morello, A.; Schenkel, T.; Morton, J. J. L.; Bertet, P.

2018-04-01

In spin-based quantum-information-processing devices, the presence of control and detection circuitry can change the local environment of a spin by introducing strain and electric fields, altering its resonant frequencies. These resonance shifts can be large compared to intrinsic spin linewidths, and it is therefore important to study, understand, and model such effects in order to better predict device performance. We investigate a sample of bismuth donor spins implanted in a silicon chip, on top of which a superconducting aluminum microresonator is fabricated. The on-chip resonator provides two functions: it produces local strain in the silicon due to the larger thermal contraction of the aluminum, and it enables sensitive electron spin-resonance spectroscopy of donors close to the surface that experience this strain. Through finite-element strain simulations, we are able to reconstruct key features of our experiments, including the electron spin-resonance spectra. Our results are consistent with a recently observed mechanism for producing shifts of the hyperfine interaction for donors in silicon, which is linear with the hydrostatic component of an applied strain.

Social optimal shifts and fares of taxi services

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salanova Grau, J.M.; Estrada Romeu, M.

2016-07-01

This paper presents a mathematical model for supporting the decision and policy making related to the optimal determination of shifts and fares of taxi services in a major city. The model is based on the system’s generalized cost function and uses continuous approximations and geometric probabilities for estimating the key performance indicators of the taxi market, which are waiting and access time for the customers (in-vehicle travel time does not depend on the offer side) and benefits for the drivers. The model is based on an econometric model with the inclusion of an elastic demand, which allows the estimation of the optimal values for the two decision variables of the problem: fare structure and the taxi fleet size. The model also accounts for a full-day time period instead of the one-hour time frame models used in most of the taxi models, which allows for providing insights on the daily duration and distribution of the shifts that should be defined by the policy makers. (Author)

Work shift duration: a review comparing eight hour and 12 hour shift systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, L; Folkard, S; Tucker, P; Macdonald, I

1998-04-01

Shiftwork is now a major feature of working life across a broad range of industries. The features of the shift systems operated can impact on the wellbeing, performance, and sleep of shiftworkers. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge on one major characteristic of shift rotas-namely, shift duration. Evidence comparing the relative effects of eight hour and 12 hour shifts on fatigue and job performance, safety, sleep, and physical and psychological health are considered. At the organisational level, factors such as the mode of system implementation, attitudes towards shift rotas, sickness absence and turnover, overtime, and moonlighting are discussed. Manual and electronic searches of the shiftwork research literature were conducted to obtain information on comparisons between eight hour and 12 hour shifts. The research findings are largely equivocal. The bulk of the evidence suggests few differences between eight and 12 hour shifts in the way they affect people. There may even be advantages to 12 hour shifts in terms of lower stress levels, better physical and psychological wellbeing, improved durations and quality of off duty sleep as well as improvements in family relations. On the negative side, the main concerns are fatigue and safety. It is noted that a 12 hour shift does not equate with being active for only 12 hours. There can be considerable extension of the person's time awake either side of the shift. However, the effects of longer term exposure to extended work days have been relatively uncharted in any systematic way. Longitudinal comparative research into the chronic impact of the compressed working week is needed.

Third ventricle midline shift on computed tomography as an alternative to septum pellucidum shift

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santiago, Carlos Francis A.; Oropilla, Jean Quint L; Alvarez, Victor M.

2000-01-01

The cerebral midline shift is measured using the displacement from midline of the third ventricle. It is an easily determined criterion from which CT scans of patients with spontaneous intracerebral hematoma may be investigated. Midline shift is a significant criteria in which to gauge the neurological status of patients. In a retrospective study of 32 patients with spontaneous unilateral intracerebral hemorrhage, a midline third ventricle shift correlated well with septum pellucidum shift. A greater than 7 mm midline third ventricle shift was associated with a significantly lower Glasgow Coma scale score compared a shift less than 7mm. For the septum pellucidum, a greater than 10 mm shift was similarly associated with a significantly lower Glasgow Coma scale score. (Author)

Insomnia in shift work.

Science.gov (United States)

Vallières, Annie; Azaiez, Aïda; Moreau, Vincent; LeBlanc, Mélanie; Morin, Charles M

2014-12-01

Shift work disorder involves insomnia and/or excessive sleepiness associated with the work schedule. The present study examined the impact of insomnia on the perceived physical and psychological health of adults working on night and rotating shift schedules compared to day workers. A total of 418 adults (51% women, mean age 41.4 years), including 51 night workers, 158 rotating shift workers, and 209 day workers were selected from an epidemiological study. An algorithm was used to classify each participant of the two groups (working night or rotating shifts) according to the presence or absence of insomnia symptoms. Each of these individuals was paired with a day worker according to gender, age, and income. Participants completed several questionnaires measuring sleep, health, and psychological variables. Night and rotating shift workers with insomnia presented a sleep profile similar to that of day workers with insomnia. Sleep time was more strongly related to insomnia than to shift work per se. Participants with insomnia in the three groups complained of anxiety, depression, and fatigue, and reported consuming equal amounts of sleep-aid medication. Insomnia also contributed to chronic pain and otorhinolaryngology problems, especially among rotating shift workers. Work productivity and absenteeism were more strongly related to insomnia. The present study highlights insomnia as an important component of the sleep difficulties experienced by shift workers. Insomnia may exacerbate certain physical and mental health problems of shift workers, and impair their quality of life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of extended work shifts and shift work on patient safety, productivity, and employee health.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Simone M

2009-12-01

It is estimated 1.3 million health care errors occur each year and of those errors 48,000 to 98,000 result in the deaths of patients (Barger et al., 2006). Errors occur for a variety of reasons, including the effects of extended work hours and shift work. The need for around-the-clock staff coverage has resulted in creative ways to maintain quality patient care, keep health care errors or adverse events to a minimum, and still meet the needs of the organization. One way organizations have attempted to alleviate staff shortages is to create extended work shifts. Instead of the standard 8-hour shift, workers are now working 10, 12, 16, or more hours to provide continuous patient care. Although literature does support these staffing patterns, it cannot be denied that shifts beyond the traditional 8 hours increase staff fatigue, health care errors, and adverse events and outcomes and decrease alertness and productivity. This article includes a review of current literature on shift work, the definition of shift work, error rates and adverse outcomes related to shift work, health effects on shift workers, shift work effects on older workers, recommended optimal shift length, positive and negative effects of shift work on the shift worker, hazards associated with driving after extended shifts, and implications for occupational health nurses. Copyright 2009, SLACK Incorporated.

Deep sequencing analysis of HBV genotype shift and correlation with antiviral efficiency during adefovir dipivoxil therapy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuwei Wang

Full Text Available Viral genotype shift in chronic hepatitis B (CHB patients during antiviral therapy has been reported, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive.38 CHB patients treated with ADV for one year were selected for studying genotype shift by both deep sequencing and Sanger sequencing method.Sanger sequencing method found that 7.9% patients showed mixed genotype before ADV therapy. In contrast, all 38 patients showed mixed genotype before ADV treatment by deep sequencing. 95.5% mixed genotype rate was also obtained from additional 200 treatment-naïve CHB patients. Of the 13 patients with genotype shift, the fraction of the minor genotype in 5 patients (38% increased gradually during the course of ADV treatment. Furthermore, responses to ADV and HBeAg seroconversion were associated with the high rate of genotype shift, suggesting drug and immune pressure may be key factors to induce genotype shift. Interestingly, patients with genotype C had a significantly higher rate of genotype shift than genotype B. In genotype shift group, ADV treatment induced a marked enhancement of genotype B ratio accompanied by a reduction of genotype C ratio, suggesting genotype C may be more sensitive to ADV than genotype B. Moreover, patients with dominant genotype C may have a better therapeutic effect. Finally, genotype shifts was correlated with clinical improvement in terms of ALT.Our findings provided a rational explanation for genotype shift among ADV-treated CHB patients. The genotype and genotype shift might be associated with antiviral efficiency.

Modelling a Nurse Shift Schedule with Multiple Preference Ranks for Shifts and Days-Off

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun-Cheng Lin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available When it comes to nurse shift schedules, it is found that the nursing staff have diverse preferences about shift rotations and days-off. The previous studies only focused on the most preferred work shift and the number of satisfactory days-off of the schedule at the current schedule period but had few discussions on the previous schedule periods and other preference levels for shifts and days-off, which may affect fairness of shift schedules. As a result, this paper proposes a nurse scheduling model based upon integer programming that takes into account constraints of the schedule, different preference ranks towards each shift, and the historical data of previous schedule periods to maximize the satisfaction of all the nursing staff's preferences about the shift schedule. The main contribution of the proposed model is that we consider that the nursing staff’s satisfaction level is affected by multiple preference ranks and their priority ordering to be scheduled, so that the quality of the generated shift schedule is more reasonable. Numerical results show that the planned shifts and days-off are fair and successfully meet the preferences of all the nursing staff.

Shift systems in nuclear power plants - aspects for planning, shift systems, utility practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grauf, E.

1986-01-01

This lecture contains the most important aspects of shift structure and shift organisation. The criteria for shift planning involving essential tasks, duties, laws and regulations, medical aspects, social aspects, will be presented. In the Federal Republic of Germany some basic models were established, which will be shown and explained with special reference to the number of teams, size of shift crews and absence regulations. Moreover, the lecture will deal with rotation systems and provisions for the transfer of shift responsibilities. By example of a utility plant commissioning time scale (1300 MW PWR) the practice of shift installations will be shown as well as the most important points of education and training. Within this compass the criteria and requirements for training and education of operational personnel in the Federal Republic of Germany will also be touched. (orig.)

Spin-Center Shift-Enabled Direct Enantioselective α-Benzylation of Aldehydes with Alcohols.

Science.gov (United States)

Nacsa, Eric D; MacMillan, David W C

2018-03-07

Nature routinely engages alcohols as leaving groups, as DNA biosynthesis relies on the removal of water from ribonucleoside diphosphates by a radical-mediated "spin-center shift" (SCS) mechanism. Alcohols, however, remain underused as alkylating agents in synthetic chemistry due to their low reactivity in two-electron pathways. We report herein an enantioselective α-benzylation of aldehydes using alcohols as alkylating agents based on the mechanistic principle of spin-center shift. This strategy harnesses the dual activation modes of photoredox and organocatalysis, engaging the alcohol by SCS and capturing the resulting benzylic radical with a catalytically generated enamine. Mechanistic studies provide evidence for SCS as a key elementary step, identify the origins of competing reactions, and enable improvements in chemoselectivity by rational photocatalyst design.

Nurses' shift reports

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buus, Niels; Hoeck, Bente; Hamilton, Bridget Elizabeth

2017-01-01

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To identify reporting practices that feature in studies of nurses' shift reports across diverse nursing specialities. The objectives were to perform an exhaustive systematic literature search and to critically review the quality and findings of qualitative field studies...... of nurses' shift reports. BACKGROUND: Nurses' shift reports are routine occurrences in healthcare organisations that are viewed as crucial for patient outcomes, patient safety and continuity of care. Studies of communication between nurses attend primarily to 1:1 communication and analyse the adequacy...... and accuracy of patient information and feature handovers at the bedside. Still, verbal reports between groups of nurses about patients are commonplace. Shift reports are obvious sites for studying the situated accomplishment of professional nursing at the group level. This review is focused exclusively...

[Sleep quality of nurses working in shifts - Hungarian adaptation of the Bergen Shift Work Sleep Questionnaire].

Science.gov (United States)

Fusz, Katalin; Tóth, Ákos; Fullér, Noémi; Müller, Ágnes; Oláh, András

2015-12-06

Sleep disorders among shift workers are common problems due to the disturbed circadian rhythm. The Bergen Shift Work Sleep Questionnaire assesses discrete sleep problems related to work shifts (day, evening and night shifts) and rest days. The aim of the study was to develop the Hungarian version of this questionnaire and to compare the sleep quality of nurses in different work schedules. 326 nurses working in shifts filled in the questionnaire. The authors made convergent and discriminant validation of the questionnaire with the Athens Insomnia Scale and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire. The questionnaire based on psychometric characteristics was suitable to assess sleep disorders associated with shift work in a Hungarian sample. The frequency of discrete symptoms significantly (pshifts. Nurses experienced the worst sleep quality and daytime fatigue after the night shift. Nurses working in irregular shift system had worse sleep quality than nurses working in regular and flexible shift system (pworking in shifts should be assessed with the Hungarian version of the Bergen Shift Work Sleep Questionnaire on a nationally representative sample, and the least burdensome shift system could be established.

Age differences in strategy shift: retrieval avoidance or general shift reluctance?

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, David J; Touron, Dayna R; Hertzog, Christopher

2013-09-01

Previous studies of metacognitive age differences in skill acquisition strategies have relied exclusively on tasks with a processing shift from an algorithm to retrieval strategy. Older adults' demonstrated reluctance to shift strategies in such tasks could reflect either a specific aversion to a memory retrieval strategy or a general, inertial resistance to strategy change. Haider and Frensch's (1999) alphabet verification task (AVT) affords a non-retrieval-based strategy shift. Participants verify the continuation of alphabet strings such as D E F G [4] L, with the bracketed digit indicating a number of letters to be skipped. When all deviations are restricted to the letter-digit-letter portion, participants can speed their responses by selectively attending to only that part of the stimulus. We adapted the AVT to include conditions that promoted shift to a retrieval strategy, a selective attention strategy, or both strategies. Item-level strategy reports were validated by eye movement data. Older adults shifted more slowly to the retrieval strategy but more quickly to the selective attention strategy than young adults, indicating a retrieval-strategy avoidance. Strategy confidence and perceived strategy difficulty correlated with shift to the two strategies in both age groups. Perceived speed of responses with each strategy specifically correlated with older adults' strategy choices, suggesting that some older adults avoid retrieval because they do not appreciate its efficiency benefits.

Age Differences in Strategy Shift: Retrieval Avoidance or General Shift Reluctance?

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, David J.; Touron, Dayna R.; Hertzog, Christopher

2013-01-01

Previous studies of metacognitive age differences in skill acquisition strategies have relied exclusively on tasks with a processing shift from an algorithm to retrieval strategy. Older adults’ demonstrated reluctance to shift strategies in such tasks could reflect either a specific aversion to a memory retrieval strategy or a general, inertial resistance to strategy change. Haider and Frensch’s (1999) alphabet verification task (AVT) affords a non-retrieval-based strategy shift. Participants verify the continuation of alphabet strings such as D E F G [4] L, with the bracketed digit indicating a number of letters to be skipped. When all deviations are restricted to the letter-digit-letter portion, participants can speed their responses by selectively attend only to that part of the stimulus. We adapted the AVT to include conditions which promoted shift to a retrieval strategy, a selective attention strategy, or both strategies. Item-level strategy reports were validated by eye movement data. Older adults shifted more slowly to the retrieval strategy but more quickly to the selective attention strategy than young adults, indicating a retrieval-strategy avoidance. Strategy confidence and perceived strategy difficulty correlated with shift to the two strategies in both age groups. Perceived speed of responses with each strategy specifically correlated with older adults’ strategy choices, suggesting that some older adults avoid retrieval because they do not appreciate its efficiency benefits. PMID:23088195

Non-occupational physical activity levels of shift workers compared with non-shift workers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loef, Bette; Hulsegge, Gerben; Wendel-Vos, G C Wanda; Verschuren, W M Monique; Vermeulen, Roel C H; Bakker, Marije F.; van der Beek, Allard J.; Proper, Karin I

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Lack of physical activity (PA) has been hypothesised as an underlying mechanism in the adverse health effects of shift work. Therefore, our aim was to compare non-occupational PA levels between shift workers and non-shift workers. Furthermore, exposure-response relationships for

The changing model of big pharma: impact of key trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Gautam, Ajay; Pan, Xiaogang

2016-03-01

Recent years have seen exciting breakthroughs in biomedical sciences that are producing truly novel therapeutics for unmet patient needs. However, the pharmaceutical industry is also facing significant barriers in the form of pricing and reimbursement, continued patent expirations and challenging market dynamics. In this article, we have analyzed data from the 1995-2015 period, on key aspects such as revenue distribution, research units, portfolio mix and emerging markets to identify four key trends that help to understand the change in strategic focus, realignment of R&D footprint, the shift from primary care toward specialty drugs and biologics and the growth of emerging markets as major revenue drivers for big pharma. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Trophic shifts of a generalist consumer in response to resource pulses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pei-Jen L Shaner

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Trophic shifts of generalist consumers can have broad food-web and biodiversity consequences through altered trophic flows and vertical diversity. Previous studies have used trophic shifts as indicators of food-web responses to perturbations, such as species invasion, and spatial or temporal subsidies. Resource pulses, as a form of temporal subsidies, have been found to be quite common among various ecosystems, affecting organisms at multiple trophic levels. Although diet switching of generalist consumers in response to resource pulses is well documented, few studies have examined if the switch involves trophic shifts, and if so, the directions and magnitudes of the shifts. In this study, we used stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes with a Bayesian multi-source mixing model to estimate proportional contributions of three trophic groups (i.e. producer, consumer, and fungus-detritivore to the diets of the White-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus receiving an artificial seed pulse or a naturally-occurring cicadas pulse. Our results demonstrated that resource pulses can drive trophic shifts in the mice. Specifically, the producer contribution to the mouse diets was increased by 32% with the seed pulse at both sites examined. The consumer contribution to the mouse diets was also increased by 29% with the cicadas pulse in one of the two grids examined. However, the pattern was reversed in the second grid, with a 13% decrease in the consumer contribution with the cicadas pulse. These findings suggest that generalist consumers may play different functional roles in food webs under perturbations of resource pulses. This study provides one of the few highly quantitative descriptions on dietary and trophic shifts of a key consumer in forest food webs, which may help future studies to form specific predictions on changes in trophic interactions following resource pulses.

Chemical shift imaging: a review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brateman, L.

1986-01-01

Chemical shift is the phenomenon that is seen when an isotope possessing a nuclear magnetic dipole moment resonates at a spectrum of resonance frequencies in a given magnetic field. These resonance frequencies, or chemical shifts, depend on the chemical environments of particular nuclei. Mapping the spatial distribution of nuclei associated with a particular chemical shift (e.g., hydrogen nuclei associated with water molecules or with lipid groups) is called chemical shift imaging. Several techniques of proton chemical shift imaging that have been applied in vivo are presented, and their clinical findings are reported and summarized. Acquiring high-resolution spectra for large numbers of volume elements in two or three dimensions may be prohibitive because of time constraints, but other methods of imaging lipid of water distributions (i.e., selective excitation, selective saturation, or variations in conventional magnetic resonance imaging pulse sequences) can provide chemical shift information. These techniques require less time, but they lack spectral information. Since fat deposition seen by chemical shift imaging may not be demonstrated by conventional magnetic resonance imaging, certain applications of chemical shift imaging, such as in the determination of fatty liver disease, have greater diagnostic utility than conventional magnetic resonance imaging. Furthermore, edge artifacts caused by chemical shift effects can be eliminated by certain selective methods of data acquisition employed in chemical shift imaging

Shifting Control Algorithm for a Single-Axle Parallel Plug-In Hybrid Electric Bus Equipped with EMT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunyun Yang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Combining the characteristics of motor with fast response speed, an electric-drive automated mechanical transmission (EMT is proposed as a novel type of transmission in this paper. Replacing the friction synchronization shifting of automated manual transmission (AMT in HEVs, the EMT can achieve active synchronization of speed shifting. The dynamic model of a single-axle parallel PHEV equipped with the EMT is built up, and the dynamic properties of the gearshift process are also described. In addition, the control algorithm is developed to improve the shifting quality of the PHEV equipped with the EMT in all its evaluation indexes. The key techniques of changing the driving force gradient in preshifting and shifting compensation phases as well as of predicting the meshing speed in the gear meshing phase are also proposed. Results of simulation, bench test, and real road test demonstrate that the proposed control algorithm can reduce the gearshift jerk and the power interruption time noticeably.

Adaptation of Shift Sequence Based Method for High Number in Shifts Rostering Problem for Health Care Workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mindaugas Liogys

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose—is to investigate a shift sequence-based approach efficiency then problem consisting of a high number of shifts.Research objectives:• Solve health care workers rostering problem using a shift sequence based method.• Measure its efficiency then number of shifts increases.Design/methodology/approach—Usually rostering problems are highly constrained. Constraints are classified to soft and hard constraints. Soft and hard constraints of the problem are additionally classified to: sequence constraints, schedule constraints and roster constraints. Sequence constraints are considered when constructing shift sequences. Schedule constraints are considered when constructing a schedule. Roster constraints are applied, then constructing overall solution, i.e. combining all schedules.Shift sequence based approach consists of two stages:• Shift sequences construction,• The construction of schedules.In the shift sequences construction stage, the shift sequences are constructed for each set of health care workers of different skill, considering sequence constraints. Shifts sequences are ranked by their penalties for easier retrieval in later stage.In schedules construction stage, schedules for each health care worker are constructed iteratively, using the shift sequences produced in stage 1.Shift sequence based method is an adaptive iterative method where health care workers who received the highest schedule penalties in the last iteration are scheduled first at the current iteration.During the roster construction, and after a schedule has been generated for the current health care worker, an improvement method based on an efficient greedy local search is carried out on the partial roster. It simply swaps any pair of shifts between two health care workers in the (partial roster, as long as the swaps satisfy hard constraints and decrease the roster penalty.Findings—Using shift sequence method for solving health care workers rostering problem

Adaptation of Shift Sequence Based Method for High Number in Shifts Rostering Problem for Health Care Workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mindaugas Liogys

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose—is to investigate a shift sequence-based approach efficiency then problem consisting of a high number of shifts. Research objectives:• Solve health care workers rostering problem using a shift sequence based method.• Measure its efficiency then number of shifts increases. Design/methodology/approach—Usually rostering problems are highly constrained.Constraints are classified to soft and hard constraints. Soft and hard constraints of the problem are additionally classified to: sequence constraints, schedule constraints and roster constraints. Sequence constraints are considered when constructing shift sequences. Schedule constraints are considered when constructing a schedule. Roster constraints are applied, then constructing overall solution, i.e. combining all schedules.Shift sequence based approach consists of two stages:• Shift sequences construction,• The construction of schedules.In the shift sequences construction stage, the shift sequences are constructed for each set of health care workers of different skill, considering sequence constraints. Shifts sequences are ranked by their penalties for easier retrieval in later stage.In schedules construction stage, schedules for each health care worker are constructed iteratively, using the shift sequences produced in stage 1. Shift sequence based method is an adaptive iterative method where health care workers who received the highest schedule penalties in the last iteration are scheduled first at the current iteration. During the roster construction, and after a schedule has been generated for the current health care worker, an improvement method based on an efficient greedy local search is carried out on the partial roster. It simply swaps any pair of shifts between two health care workers in the (partial roster, as long as the swaps satisfy hard constraints and decrease the roster penalty.Findings—Using shift sequence method for solving health care workers rostering

Combined chemical shift changes and amino acid specific chemical shift mapping of protein-protein interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumann, Frank H.; Riepl, Hubert [University of Regensburg, Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry (Germany); Maurer, Till [Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH and Co. KG, Analytical Sciences Department (Germany); Gronwald, Wolfram [University of Regensburg, Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry (Germany); Neidig, Klaus-Peter [Bruker BioSpin GmbH, Software Department (Germany); Kalbitzer, Hans Robert [University of Regensburg, Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry (Germany)], E-mail: hans-robert.kalbitzer@biologie.uni-regensburg.de

2007-12-15

Protein-protein interactions are often studied by chemical shift mapping using solution NMR spectroscopy. When heteronuclear data are available the interaction interface is usually predicted by combining the chemical shift changes of different nuclei to a single quantity, the combined chemical shift perturbation {delta}{delta}{sub comb}. In this paper different procedures (published and non-published) to calculate {delta}{delta}{sub comb} are examined that include a variety of different functional forms and weighting factors for each nucleus. The predictive power of all shift mapping methods depends on the magnitude of the overlap of the chemical shift distributions of interacting and non-interacting residues and the cut-off criterion used. In general, the quality of the prediction on the basis of chemical shift changes alone is rather unsatisfactory but the combination of chemical shift changes on the basis of the Hamming or the Euclidian distance can improve the result. The corrected standard deviation to zero of the combined chemical shift changes can provide a reasonable cut-off criterion. As we show combined chemical shifts can also be applied for a more reliable quantitative evaluation of titration data.

Comparison of sleep disturbances in shift workers and people working with a fixed shift

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zohreh Yazdi

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Different types of sleep disturbances can have a serious negative effect on a person’s ability, function and overall well-being. One of the most important issues that can result in sleep disturbances are occupational causes, the most important among them is shift work. The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of sleep disturbances between shift work and non-shift workers. Material and Methods: This study was designed as a case-control study in 196 shift workers and 204 non-shift workers in a textile factory. The data were collected by using a comprehensive questionnaire including Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index questionnaire, Berlin Questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Insomnia Severity Index and Restless Leg Syndrome Questionnaire. Data analyses were carried out using the SPSS software version 13 by student's t-test, Chi square and multiple logistic regressions. Results: The duration of night sleep in shift workers was less than day workers (p<0.001. Prevalence of poor sleep quality and insomnia were higher in shift workers significantly than non shift workers (p<0.001, OR=2.3 95% CI: 1.7-2.9. The most prevalent type of insomnia was problems in initiating sleep (P=0.022, OR=2.2 95% CI: 1.5-3.2. There was no difference in the prevalence of excessive day-time sleepiness, restless leg syndrome, snoring, obstructive sleep apnea and different types of parasomnias between two groups. Conclusion: Reduced length of sleep and higher prevalence of poor sleep quality and insomnia in shift workers emphasizes the importance of serious attention to sleep disorders in shift workers.

SPARTA+: a modest improvement in empirical NMR chemical shift prediction by means of an artificial neural network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Yang; Bax, Ad

2010-01-01

NMR chemical shifts provide important local structural information for proteins and are key in recently described protein structure generation protocols. We describe a new chemical shift prediction program, SPARTA+, which is based on artificial neural networking. The neural network is trained on a large carefully pruned database, containing 580 proteins for which high-resolution X-ray structures and nearly complete backbone and 13 C β chemical shifts are available. The neural network is trained to establish quantitative relations between chemical shifts and protein structures, including backbone and side-chain conformation, H-bonding, electric fields and ring-current effects. The trained neural network yields rapid chemical shift prediction for backbone and 13 C β atoms, with standard deviations of 2.45, 1.09, 0.94, 1.14, 0.25 and 0.49 ppm for δ 15 N, δ 13 C', δ 13 C α , δ 13 C β , δ 1 H α and δ 1 H N , respectively, between the SPARTA+ predicted and experimental shifts for a set of eleven validation proteins. These results represent a modest but consistent improvement (2-10%) over the best programs available to date, and appear to be approaching the limit at which empirical approaches can predict chemical shifts.

Chemical shift homology in proteins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potts, Barbara C.M.; Chazin, Walter J.

1998-01-01

The degree of chemical shift similarity for homologous proteins has been determined from a chemical shift database of over 50 proteins representing a variety of families and folds, and spanning a wide range of sequence homologies. After sequence alignment, the similarity of the secondary chemical shifts of C α protons was examined as a function of amino acid sequence identity for 37 pairs of structurally homologous proteins. A correlation between sequence identity and secondary chemical shift rmsd was observed. Important insights are provided by examining the sequence identity of homologous proteins versus percentage of secondary chemical shifts that fall within 0.1 and 0.3 ppm thresholds. These results begin to establish practical guidelines for the extent of chemical shift similarity to expect among structurally homologous proteins

Adaptation to shift work: physiologically based modeling of the effects of lighting and shifts' start time.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svetlana Postnova

Full Text Available Shift work has become an integral part of our life with almost 20% of the population being involved in different shift schedules in developed countries. However, the atypical work times, especially the night shifts, are associated with reduced quality and quantity of sleep that leads to increase of sleepiness often culminating in accidents. It has been demonstrated that shift workers' sleepiness can be improved by a proper scheduling of light exposure and optimizing shifts timing. Here, an integrated physiologically-based model of sleep-wake cycles is used to predict adaptation to shift work in different light conditions and for different shift start times for a schedule of four consecutive days of work. The integrated model combines a model of the ascending arousal system in the brain that controls the sleep-wake switch and a human circadian pacemaker model. To validate the application of the integrated model and demonstrate its utility, its dynamics are adjusted to achieve a fit to published experimental results showing adaptation of night shift workers (n = 8 in conditions of either bright or regular lighting. Further, the model is used to predict the shift workers' adaptation to the same shift schedule, but for conditions not considered in the experiment. The model demonstrates that the intensity of shift light can be reduced fourfold from that used in the experiment and still produce good adaptation to night work. The model predicts that sleepiness of the workers during night shifts on a protocol with either bright or regular lighting can be significantly improved by starting the shift earlier in the night, e.g.; at 21:00 instead of 00:00. Finally, the study predicts that people of the same chronotype, i.e. with identical sleep times in normal conditions, can have drastically different responses to shift work depending on their intrinsic circadian and homeostatic parameters.

Adaptation to shift work: physiologically based modeling of the effects of lighting and shifts' start time.

Science.gov (United States)

Postnova, Svetlana; Robinson, Peter A; Postnov, Dmitry D

2013-01-01

Shift work has become an integral part of our life with almost 20% of the population being involved in different shift schedules in developed countries. However, the atypical work times, especially the night shifts, are associated with reduced quality and quantity of sleep that leads to increase of sleepiness often culminating in accidents. It has been demonstrated that shift workers' sleepiness can be improved by a proper scheduling of light exposure and optimizing shifts timing. Here, an integrated physiologically-based model of sleep-wake cycles is used to predict adaptation to shift work in different light conditions and for different shift start times for a schedule of four consecutive days of work. The integrated model combines a model of the ascending arousal system in the brain that controls the sleep-wake switch and a human circadian pacemaker model. To validate the application of the integrated model and demonstrate its utility, its dynamics are adjusted to achieve a fit to published experimental results showing adaptation of night shift workers (n = 8) in conditions of either bright or regular lighting. Further, the model is used to predict the shift workers' adaptation to the same shift schedule, but for conditions not considered in the experiment. The model demonstrates that the intensity of shift light can be reduced fourfold from that used in the experiment and still produce good adaptation to night work. The model predicts that sleepiness of the workers during night shifts on a protocol with either bright or regular lighting can be significantly improved by starting the shift earlier in the night, e.g.; at 21:00 instead of 00:00. Finally, the study predicts that people of the same chronotype, i.e. with identical sleep times in normal conditions, can have drastically different responses to shift work depending on their intrinsic circadian and homeostatic parameters.

Shift Work, Chronotype, and Melatonin Patterns among Female Hospital Employees on Day and Night Shifts.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Michael; Tranmer, Joan; Hung, Eleanor; Korsiak, Jill; Day, Andrew G; Aronson, Kristan J

2016-05-01

Shift work-related carcinogenesis is hypothesized to be mediated by melatonin; however, few studies have considered the potential effect modification of this underlying pathway by chronotype or specific aspects of shift work such as the number of consecutive nights in a rotation. In this study, we examined melatonin patterns in relation to shift status, stratified by chronotype and number of consecutive night shifts, and cumulative lifetime exposure to shift work. Melatonin patterns of 261 female personnel (147 fixed-day and 114 on rotations, including nights) at Kingston General Hospital were analyzed using cosinor analysis. Urine samples were collected from all voids over a 48-hour specimen collection period for measurement of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin concentrations using the Buhlmann ELISA Kit. Chronotypes were assessed using mid-sleep time (MSF) derived from the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ). Sociodemographic, health, and occupational information were collected by questionnaire. Rotational shift nurses working nights had a lower mesor and an earlier time of peak melatonin production compared to day-only workers. More pronounced differences in mesor and acrophase were seen among later chronotypes, and shift workers working ≥3 consecutive nights. Among nurses, cumulative shift work was associated with a reduction in mesor. These results suggest that evening-types and/or shift workers working ≥3 consecutive nights are more susceptible to adverse light-at-night effects, whereas long-term shift work may also chronically reduce melatonin levels. Cumulative and current exposure to shift work, including nights, affects level and timing of melatonin production, which may be related to carcinogenesis and cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(5); 830-8. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

Effect of Shift Work on Nocturia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jin Wook

2016-01-01

To identify the circadian sensitive component of nocturia by comparing nocturia in patients who voluntarily choose a disrupted circadian rhythm, that is, shift workers, with those who maintain normal day-night cycles. Between 2011 and 2013, a total of 1741 untreated patients, 1376 nonshift workers and 365 shift workers, were compared for nocturia indices based on frequency volume charts (FVCs). General linear model of 8-hour interval urine production and frequency were compared between FVCs of nonshift workers, FVCs of night-shift workers, and FVCs of day-shift workers. Nocturia frequency was increased in the night-shift workers (2.38 ± 1.44) compared with nonshift workers (2.18 ± 1.04) (P night-shift workers, 0.34 ± 0.13 for nonshift workers, P = .24), nocturnal bladder capacity index increased significantly (1.41 ± 1.06 for night-shift workers, 1.26 ± 0.92 for nonshift workers, P shift (P shift changes (P = .35). Patients in alternating work shifts showed increased nocturia, especially during their night shift. These changes tended to be more associated with decreased nocturnal bladder capacity than increased nocturnal polyuria. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Getting safely through the shift: a qualitative exploration of the administrative supervisor role.

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, Susan H; Lindgren, Teri G

2017-09-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the administrative supervisors' perspective of their managerial practices and how these practices contribute to nurse and patient safety. The position of administrative supervisor, often referred to as house supervisor on the evening and night shifts, lacks empirical data supporting efficacy. A focused ethnographic study was conducted with 30 administrative supervisors from acute care hospitals, using in-depth interviews and job descriptions. Regardless of the size, location or type of hospital, the interviews revealed the administrative supervisor as the hospital shift leader, who achieves nurse and patient safety when performing his/her role responsibilities, despite being disconnected from the nursing management team. To support patient care quality and safety, the administrative supervisor competencies need to be developed along with role-specific education programmes. Additionally, there is a need to recognise these off-shift leaders as a key stakeholder on the nursing leadership team. Although nurse leaders in many countries may believe they understand this role, this is among the first empirical studies. These results can lead discussions on enhancing nurse and patient safety with additional support for administrative supervisors, along with the discussion of a best practice model for off-shift leadership. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Smooth Phase Interpolated Keying

Science.gov (United States)

Borah, Deva K.

2007-01-01

Smooth phase interpolated keying (SPIK) is an improved method of computing smooth phase-modulation waveforms for radio communication systems that convey digital information. SPIK is applicable to a variety of phase-shift-keying (PSK) modulation schemes, including quaternary PSK (QPSK), octonary PSK (8PSK), and 16PSK. In comparison with a related prior method, SPIK offers advantages of better performance and less complexity of implementation. In a PSK scheme, the underlying information waveform that one seeks to convey consists of discrete rectangular steps, but the spectral width of such a waveform is excessive for practical radio communication. Therefore, the problem is to smooth the step phase waveform in such a manner as to maintain power and bandwidth efficiency without incurring an unacceptably large error rate and without introducing undesired variations in the amplitude of the affected radio signal. Although the ideal constellation of PSK phasor points does not cause amplitude variations, filtering of the modulation waveform (in which, typically, a rectangular pulse is converted to a square-root raised cosine pulse) causes amplitude fluctuations. If a power-efficient nonlinear amplifier is used in the radio communication system, the fluctuating-amplitude signal can undergo significant spectral regrowth, thus compromising the bandwidth efficiency of the system. In the related prior method, one seeks to solve the problem in a procedure that comprises two major steps: phase-value generation and phase interpolation. SPIK follows the two-step approach of the related prior method, but the details of the steps are different. In the phase-value-generation step, the phase values of symbols in the PSK constellation are determined by a phase function that is said to be maximally smooth and that is chosen to minimize the spectral spread of the modulated signal. In this step, the constellation is divided into two groups by assigning, to information symbols, phase values

Associations between number of consecutive night shifts and impairment of neurobehavioral performance during a subsequent simulated night shift.

Science.gov (United States)

Magee, Michelle; Sletten, Tracey L; Ferguson, Sally A; Grunstein, Ronald R; Anderson, Clare; Kennaway, David J; Lockley, Steven W; Rajaratnam, Shantha Mw

2016-05-01

This study aimed to investigate sleep and circadian phase in the relationships between neurobehavioral performance and the number of consecutive shifts worked. Thirty-four shift workers [20 men, mean age 31.8 (SD 10.9) years] worked 2-7 consecutive night shifts immediately prior to a laboratory-based, simulated night shift. For 7 days prior, participants worked their usual shift sequence, and sleep was assessed with logs and actigraphy. Participants completed a 10-minute auditory psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) at the start (~21:00 hours) and end (~07:00 hours) of the simulated night shift. Mean reaction times (RT), number of lapses and RT distribution was compared between those who worked 2-3 consecutive night shifts versus those who worked 4-7 shifts. Following 4-7 shifts, night shift workers had significantly longer mean RT at the start and end of shift, compared to those who worked 2-3 shifts. The slowest and fastest 10% RT were significantly slower at the start, but not end, of shift among participants who worked 4-7 nights. Those working 4-7 nights also demonstrated a broader RT distribution at the start and end of shift and had significantly slower RT based on cumulative distribution analysis (5 (th), 25 (th), 50 (th), 75 (th)percentiles at the start of shift; 75th percentile at the end of shift). No group differences in sleep parameters were found for 7 days and 24 hours prior to the simulated night shift. A greater number of consecutive night shifts has a negative impact on neurobehavioral performance, likely due to cognitive slowing.

Change from an 8-hour shift to a 12-hour shift, attitudes, sleep, sleepiness and performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowden, A; Kecklund, G; Axelsson, J; Akerstedt, T

1998-01-01

The present study sought to evaluate the effect of a change from a rotating 3-shift (8-hour) to a 2-shift shift (12 hour) schedule on sleep, sleepiness, performance, perceived health, and well-being. Thirty-two shift workers at a chemical plant (control room operators) responded to a questionnaire a few months before a change was made in their shift schedule and 10 months after the change. Fourteen workers also filled out a diary, carried activity loggers, and carried out reaction-time tests (beginning and end of shift). Fourteen day workers served as a reference group for the questionnaires and 9 were intensively studied during a week with workdays and a free weekend. The questionnaire data showed that the shift change increased satisfaction with workhours, sleep, and time for social activities. Health, perceived accident risk, and reaction-time performance were not negatively affected. Alertness improved and subjective recovery time after night work decreased. The quick changes in the 8-hour schedule greatly increased sleep problems and fatigue. Sleepiness integrated across the entire shift cycle showed that the shift workers were less alert than the day workers, across workdays and days off (although alertness increased with the 12-hour shift). The change from 8-hour to 12-hour shifts was positive in most respects, possibly due to the shorter sequences of the workdays, the longer sequences of consecutive days off, the fewer types of shifts (easier planning), and the elimination of quick changes. The results may differ in groups with a higher work load.

SHIFT: server for hidden stops analysis in frame-shifted translation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Arun; Singh, Tiratha Raj

2013-02-23

Frameshift is one of the three classes of recoding. Frame-shifts lead to waste of energy, resources and activity of the biosynthetic machinery. In addition, some peptides synthesized after frame-shifts are probably cytotoxic which serve as plausible cause for innumerable number of diseases and disorders such as muscular dystrophies, lysosomal storage disorders, and cancer. Hidden stop codons occur naturally in coding sequences among all organisms. These codons are associated with the early termination of translation for incorrect reading frame selection and help to reduce the metabolic cost related to the frameshift events. Researchers have identified several consequences of hidden stop codons and their association with myriad disorders. However the wealth of information available is speckled and not effortlessly acquiescent to data-mining. To reduce this gap, this work describes an algorithmic web based tool to study hidden stops in frameshifted translation for all the lineages through respective genetic code systems. This paper describes SHIFT, an algorithmic web application tool that provides a user-friendly interface for identifying and analyzing hidden stops in frameshifted translation of genomic sequences for all available genetic code systems. We have calculated the correlation between codon usage frequencies and the plausible contribution of codons towards hidden stops in an off-frame context. Markovian chains of various order have been used to model hidden stops in frameshifted peptides and their evolutionary association with naturally occurring hidden stops. In order to obtain reliable and persuasive estimates for the naturally occurring and predicted hidden stops statistical measures have been implemented. This paper presented SHIFT, an algorithmic tool that allows user-friendly exploration, analysis, and visualization of hidden stop codons in frameshifted translations. It is expected that this web based tool would serve as a useful complement for

Real-time all-optical OFDM transmission system based on time-domain optical fourier transformation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guan, Pengyu; Kong, Deming; Røge, Kasper Meldgaard

2014-01-01

We propose a novel simple all-optical OFDM transmission system based on time-domain OFT using time-lenses. A real-time 160 Gbit/s DPSK OFDM transmission with 16 decorrelated data subcarriers is successfully demonstrated over 100 km....

Mathematical modeling of sleep state dynamics in a rodent model of shift work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael J. Rempe

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Millions of people worldwide are required to work when their physiology is tuned for sleep. By forcing wakefulness out of the body’s normal schedule, shift workers face numerous adverse health consequences, including gastrointestinal problems, sleep problems, and higher rates of some diseases, including cancers. Recent studies have developed protocols to simulate shift work in rodents with the intention of assessing the effects of night-shift work on subsequent sleep (Grønli et al., 2017. These studies have already provided important contributions to the understanding of the metabolic consequences of shift work (Arble et al., 2015; Marti et al., 2016; Opperhuizen et al., 2015 and sleep-wake-specific impacts of night-shift work (Grønli et al., 2017. However, our understanding of the causal mechanisms underlying night-shift-related sleep disturbances is limited. In order to advance toward a mechanistic understanding of sleep disruption in shift work, we model these data with two different approaches. First we apply a simple homeostatic model to quantify differences in the rates at which sleep need, as measured by slow wave activity during slow wave sleep (SWS rises and falls. Second, we develop a simple and novel mathematical model of rodent sleep and use it to investigate the timing of sleep in a simulated shift work protocol (Grønli et al., 2017. This mathematical framework includes the circadian and homeostatic processes of the two-process model, but additionally incorporates a stochastic process to model the polyphasic nature of rodent sleep. By changing only the time at which the rodents are forced to be awake, the model reproduces some key experimental results from the previous study, including correct proportions of time spent in each stage of sleep as a function of circadian time and the differences in total wake time and SWS bout durations in the rodents representing night-shift workers and those representing day-shift workers

Shifted-modified Chebyshev filters

OpenAIRE

ŞENGÜL, Metin

2013-01-01

This paper introduces a new type of filter approximation method that utilizes shifted-modified Chebyshev filters. Construction of the new filters involves the use of shifted-modified Chebyshev polynomials that are formed using the roots of conventional Chebyshev polynomials. The study also includes 2 tables containing the shifted-modified Chebyshev polynomials and the normalized element values for the low-pass prototype filters up to degree 6. The transducer power gain, group dela...

OpenShift cookbook

CERN Document Server

Gulati, Shekhar

2014-01-01

If you are a web application developer who wants to use the OpenShift platform to host your next big idea but are looking for guidance on how to achieve this, then this book is the first step you need to take. This is a very accessible cookbook where no previous knowledge of OpenShift is needed.

VLSI IMPLEMENTATION OF NOVEL ROUND KEYS GENERATION SCHEME FOR CRYPTOGRAPHY APPLICATIONS BY ERROR CONTROL ALGORITHM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. SENTHILKUMAR

2015-05-01

Full Text Available A novel implementation of code based cryptography (Cryptocoding technique for multi-layer key distribution scheme is presented. VLSI chip is designed for storing information on generation of round keys. New algorithm is developed for reduced key size with optimal performance. Error Control Algorithm is employed for both generation of round keys and diffusion of non-linearity among them. Two new functions for bit inversion and its reversal are developed for cryptocoding. Probability of retrieving original key from any other round keys is reduced by diffusing nonlinear selective bit inversions on round keys. Randomized selective bit inversions are done on equal length of key bits by Round Constant Feedback Shift Register within the error correction limits of chosen code. Complexity of retrieving the original key from any other round keys is increased by optimal hardware usage. Proposed design is simulated and synthesized using VHDL coding for Spartan3E FPGA and results are shown. Comparative analysis is done between 128 bit Advanced Encryption Standard round keys and proposed round keys for showing security strength of proposed algorithm. This paper concludes that chip based multi-layer key distribution of proposed algorithm is an enhanced solution to the existing threats on cryptography algorithms.

Performance and sleepiness in nurses working 12-h day shifts or night shifts in a community hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Marian; Permito, Regan; English, Ashley; Albritton, Sandra; Coogle, Carlana; Van Dongen, Hans P A

2017-10-05

Hospitals are around-the-clock operations and nurses are required to care for patients night and day. The nursing shortage and desire for a more balanced work-to-home life has popularized 12-h shifts for nurses. The present study investigated sleep/wake cycles and fatigue levels in 22 nurses working 12-h shifts, comparing day versus night shifts. Nurses (11day shift and 11 night shift) were recruited from a suburban acute-care medical center. Participants wore a wrist activity monitor and kept a diary to track their sleep/wake cycles for 2 weeks. They also completed a fatigue test battery, which included the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) and the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), at the beginning, middle and end of 4 duty shifts. Daily sleep duration was 7.1h on average. No overall difference in mean daily sleep duration was found between nurses working day shifts versus night shifts. Objective performance on the PVT remained relatively good and stable at the start, middle, and end of duty shifts in day shift workers, but gradually degraded across duty time in night shift workers. Compared to day shift workers, night shift workers also exhibited more performance variability among measurement days and between participants at each testing time point. The same pattern was observed for subjective sleepiness on the KSS. However, congruence between objective and subjective measures of fatigue was poor. Our findings suggest a need for organizations to evaluate practices and policies to mitigate the inevitable fatigue that occurs during long night shifts, in order to improve patient and healthcare worker safety. Examination of alternative shift lengths or sanctioned workplace napping may be strategies to consider. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shift Verification and Validation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pandya, Tara M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Evans, Thomas M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Davidson, Gregory G [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Johnson, Seth R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Godfrey, Andrew T. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2016-09-07

This documentation outlines the verification and validation of Shift for the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL). Five main types of problems were used for validation: small criticality benchmark problems; full-core reactor benchmarks for light water reactors; fixed-source coupled neutron-photon dosimetry benchmarks; depletion/burnup benchmarks; and full-core reactor performance benchmarks. We compared Shift results to measured data and other simulated Monte Carlo radiation transport code results, and found very good agreement in a variety of comparison measures. These include prediction of critical eigenvalue, radial and axial pin power distributions, rod worth, leakage spectra, and nuclide inventories over a burn cycle. Based on this validation of Shift, we are confident in Shift to provide reference results for CASL benchmarking.

Choice Shifts in Groups

OpenAIRE

Kfir Eliaz; Debraj Ray

2004-01-01

The phenomenon of "choice shifts" in group decision-making is fairly ubiquitous in the social psychology literature. Faced with a choice between a ``safe" and ``risky" decision, group members appear to move to one extreme or the other, relative to the choices each member might have made on her own. Both risky and cautious shifts have been identified in different situations. This paper demonstrates that from an individual decision-making perspective, choice shifts may be viewed as a systematic...

Simulated night shift work induces circadian misalignment of the human peripheral blood mononuclear cell transcriptome.

Science.gov (United States)

Kervezee, Laura; Cuesta, Marc; Cermakian, Nicolas; Boivin, Diane B

2018-05-22

Misalignment of the endogenous circadian timing system leads to disruption of physiological rhythms and may contribute to the development of the deleterious health effects associated with night shift work. However, the molecular underpinnings remain to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the effect of a 4-day simulated night shift work protocol on the circadian regulation of the human transcriptome. Repeated blood samples were collected over two 24-hour measurement periods from eight healthy subjects under highly controlled laboratory conditions before and 4 days after a 10-hour delay of their habitual sleep period. RNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells to obtain transcriptomic data. Cosinor analysis revealed a marked reduction of significantly rhythmic transcripts in the night shift condition compared with baseline at group and individual levels. Subsequent analysis using a mixed-effects model selection approach indicated that this decrease is mainly due to dampened rhythms rather than to a complete loss of rhythmicity: 73% of transcripts rhythmically expressed at baseline remained rhythmic during the night shift condition with a similar phase relative to habitual bedtimes, but with lower amplitudes. Functional analysis revealed that key biological processes are affected by the night shift protocol, most notably the natural killer cell-mediated immune response and Jun/AP1 and STAT pathways. These results show that 4 days of simulated night shifts leads to a loss in temporal coordination between the human circadian transcriptome and the external environment and impacts biological processes related to the adverse health effects associated to night shift work.

SPARTA+: a modest improvement in empirical NMR chemical shift prediction by means of an artificial neural network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shen Yang; Bax, Ad, E-mail: bax@nih.go [National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (United States)

2010-09-15

NMR chemical shifts provide important local structural information for proteins and are key in recently described protein structure generation protocols. We describe a new chemical shift prediction program, SPARTA+, which is based on artificial neural networking. The neural network is trained on a large carefully pruned database, containing 580 proteins for which high-resolution X-ray structures and nearly complete backbone and {sup 13}C{sup {beta}} chemical shifts are available. The neural network is trained to establish quantitative relations between chemical shifts and protein structures, including backbone and side-chain conformation, H-bonding, electric fields and ring-current effects. The trained neural network yields rapid chemical shift prediction for backbone and {sup 13}C{sup {beta}} atoms, with standard deviations of 2.45, 1.09, 0.94, 1.14, 0.25 and 0.49 ppm for {delta}{sup 15}N, {delta}{sup 13}C', {delta}{sup 13}C{sup {alpha}}, {delta}{sup 13}C{sup {beta}}, {delta}{sup 1}H{sup {alpha}} and {delta}{sup 1}H{sup N}, respectively, between the SPARTA+ predicted and experimental shifts for a set of eleven validation proteins. These results represent a modest but consistent improvement (2-10%) over the best programs available to date, and appear to be approaching the limit at which empirical approaches can predict chemical shifts.

Night shift work exposure profile and obesity: Baseline results from a Chinese night shift worker cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Miaomiao; Feng, Wenting; Wang, Feng; Zhang, Liuzhuo; Wu, Zijun; Li, Zhimin; Zhang, Bo; He, Yonghua; Xie, Shaohua; Li, Mengjie; Fok, Joan P C; Tse, Gary; Wong, Martin C S; Tang, Jin-Ling; Wong, Samuel Y S; Vlaanderen, Jelle; Evans, Greg; Vermeulen, Roel; Tse, Lap Ah

2018-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate the associations between types of night shift work and different indices of obesity using the baseline information from a prospective cohort study of night shift workers in China. A total of 3,871 workers from five companies were recruited from the baseline survey. A structured self-administered questionnaire was employed to collect the participants' demographic information, lifetime working history, and lifestyle habits. Participants were grouped into rotating, permanent and irregular night shift work groups. Anthropometric parameters were assessed by healthcare professionals. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between night shift work and different indices of obesity. Night shift workers had increased risk of overweight and obesity, and odds ratios (ORs) were 1.17 (95% CI, 0.97-1.41) and 1.27 (95% CI, 0.74-2.18), respectively. Abdominal obesity had a significant but marginal association with night shift work (OR = 1.20, 95% CI, 1.01-1.43). A positive gradient between the number of years of night shift work and overweight or abdominal obesity was observed. Permanent night shift work showed the highest odds of being overweight (OR = 3.94, 95% CI, 1.40-11.03) and having increased abdominal obesity (OR = 3.34, 95% CI, 1.19-9.37). Irregular night shift work was also significantly associated with overweight (OR = 1.56, 95% CI, 1.13-2.14), but its association with abdominal obesity was borderline (OR = 1.26, 95% CI, 0.94-1.69). By contrast, the association between rotating night shift work and these parameters was not significant. Permanent and irregular night shift work were more likely to be associated with overweight or abdominal obesity than rotating night shift work. These associations need to be verified in prospective cohort studies.

Night shift work exposure profile and obesity: Baseline results from a Chinese night shift worker cohort

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Wenting; Wang, Feng; Zhang, Liuzhuo; Wu, Zijun; Li, Zhimin; Zhang, Bo; He, Yonghua; Xie, Shaohua; Li, Mengjie; Fok, Joan P. C.; Tse, Gary; Wong, Martin C. S.; Tang, Jin-ling; Wong, Samuel Y. S.; Vlaanderen, Jelle; Evans, Greg; Vermeulen, Roel; Tse, Lap Ah

2018-01-01

Aims This study aimed to evaluate the associations between types of night shift work and different indices of obesity using the baseline information from a prospective cohort study of night shift workers in China. Methods A total of 3,871 workers from five companies were recruited from the baseline survey. A structured self-administered questionnaire was employed to collect the participants’ demographic information, lifetime working history, and lifestyle habits. Participants were grouped into rotating, permanent and irregular night shift work groups. Anthropometric parameters were assessed by healthcare professionals. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between night shift work and different indices of obesity. Results Night shift workers had increased risk of overweight and obesity, and odds ratios (ORs) were 1.17 (95% CI, 0.97–1.41) and 1.27 (95% CI, 0.74–2.18), respectively. Abdominal obesity had a significant but marginal association with night shift work (OR = 1.20, 95% CI, 1.01–1.43). A positive gradient between the number of years of night shift work and overweight or abdominal obesity was observed. Permanent night shift work showed the highest odds of being overweight (OR = 3.94, 95% CI, 1.40–11.03) and having increased abdominal obesity (OR = 3.34, 95% CI, 1.19–9.37). Irregular night shift work was also significantly associated with overweight (OR = 1.56, 95% CI, 1.13–2.14), but its association with abdominal obesity was borderline (OR = 1.26, 95% CI, 0.94–1.69). By contrast, the association between rotating night shift work and these parameters was not significant. Conclusion Permanent and irregular night shift work were more likely to be associated with overweight or abdominal obesity than rotating night shift work. These associations need to be verified in prospective cohort studies. PMID:29763461

Hemispherically asymmetric trade wind changes as signatures of past ITCZ shifts

Science.gov (United States)

McGee, David; Moreno-Chamarro, Eduardo; Green, Brian; Marshall, John; Galbraith, Eric; Bradtmiller, Louisa

2018-01-01

The atmospheric Hadley cells, which meet at the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), play critical roles in transporting heat, driving ocean circulation and supplying precipitation to the most heavily populated regions of the globe. Paleo-reconstructions can provide concrete evidence of how these major features of the atmospheric circulation can change in response to climate perturbations. While most such reconstructions have focused on ITCZ-related rainfall, here we show that trade wind proxies can document dynamical aspects of meridional ITCZ shifts. Theoretical expectations based on angular momentum constraints and results from freshwater hosing simulations with two different climate models predict that ITCZ shifts due to anomalous cooling of one hemisphere would be accompanied by a strengthening of the Hadley cell and trade winds in the colder hemisphere, with an opposite response in the warmer hemisphere. This expectation of hemispherically asymmetric trade wind changes is confirmed by proxy data of coastal upwelling and windblown dust from the Atlantic basin during Heinrich stadials, showing trade wind strengthening in the Northern Hemisphere and weakening in the Southern Hemisphere subtropics in concert with southward ITCZ shifts. Data from other basins show broadly similar patterns, though improved constraints on past trade wind changes are needed outside the Atlantic Basin. The asymmetric trade wind changes identified here suggest that ITCZ shifts are also marked by intensification of the ocean's wind-driven subtropical cells in the cooler hemisphere and a weakening in the warmer hemisphere, which induces cross-equatorial oceanic heat transport into the colder hemisphere. This response would be expected to prevent extreme meridional ITCZ shifts in response to asymmetric heating or cooling. Understanding trade wind changes and their coupling to cross-equatorial ocean cells is key to better constraining ITCZ shifts and ocean and atmosphere dynamical

Shift schedule, work-family relationships, marital communication, job satisfaction and health among transport service shift workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Iskra-Golec, Irena; Smith, Lawrence; Wilczek-Rużyczka, Ewa; Siemiginowska, Patrycja; Wątroba, Joanna

2017-02-21

Existing research has documented that shiftwork consequences may depend on the shift system parameters. Fast rotating systems (1-3 shifts of the same kind in a row) and day work have been found to be less disruptive biologically and socially than slower rotating systems and afternoon and night work. The aim of this study was to compare day workers and shift workers of different systems in terms of rotation speed and shifts worked with regard to work-family and family-work positive and negative spillover, marital communication style, job satisfaction and health. Employees (N = 168) of the maintenance workshops of transportation service working different shift systems (day shift, weekly rotating 2 and 3‑shift system, and fast rotating 3-shift system) participated in the study. They completed the Work- Family Spillover Questionnaire, Marital Communication Questionnaire, Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Physical Health Questionnaire (a part of the Standard Shiftwork Index). The workers of quicker rotating 3-shift systems reported significantly higher scores of family-to-work facilitation (F(3, 165) = 4.175, p = 0.007) and a higher level of constructive style of marital communication (Engagement F(3, 165) = 2.761, p = 0.044) than the workers of slower rotating 2-shift systems. There were no differences between the groups of workers with regard to health and job satisfaction. A higher level of work-family facilitation and a more constructive style of marital communication were found among the workers of faster rotating 3-shift system when compared to the workers of a slower rotating 2-shift system (afternoon, night). This may indicate that the fast rotating shift system in contrary to the slower rotating one is more friendly for the work and family domains and for the relationship between them. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(1):121-131. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Shift schedule, work–family relationships, marital communication, job satisfaction and health among transport service shift workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irena Iskra-Golec

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Existing research has documented that shiftwork consequences may depend on the shift system parameters. Fast rotating systems (1–3 shifts of the same kind in a row and day work have been found to be less disruptive biologically and socially than slower rotating systems and afternoon and night work. The aim of this study was to compare day workers and shift workers of different systems in terms of rotation speed and shifts worked with regard to work–family and family–work positive and negative spillover, marital communication style, job satisfaction and health. Material and Methods: Employees (N = 168 of the maintenance workshops of transportation service working different shift systems (day shift, weekly rotating 2 and 3‑shift system, and fast rotating 3-shift system participated in the study. They completed the Work– Family Spillover Questionnaire, Marital Communication Questionnaire, Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Physical Health Questionnaire (a part of the Standard Shiftwork Index. Results: The workers of quicker rotating 3-shift systems reported significantly higher scores of family-to-work facilitation (F(3, 165 = 4.175, p = 0.007 and a higher level of constructive style of marital communication (Engagement F(3, 165 = 2.761, p = 0.044 than the workers of slower rotating 2-shift systems. There were no differences between the groups of workers with regard to health and job satisfaction. Conclusions: A higher level of work–family facilitation and a more constructive style of marital communication were found among the workers of faster rotating 3-shift system when compared to the workers of a slower rotating 2-shift system (afternoon, night. This may indicate that the fast rotating shift system in contrary to the slower rotating one is more friendly for the work and family domains and for the relationship between them. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(1:121–131

Reassigning the Structures of Natural Products Using NMR Chemical Shifts Computed with Quantum Mechanics: A Laboratory Exercise

Science.gov (United States)

Palazzo, Teresa A.; Truong, Tiana T.; Wong, Shirley M. T.; Mack, Emma T.; Lodewyk, Michael W.; Harrison, Jason G.; Gamage, R. Alan; Siegel, Justin B.; Kurth, Mark J.; Tantillo, Dean J.

2015-01-01

An applied computational chemistry laboratory exercise is described in which students use modern quantum chemical calculations of chemical shifts to assign the structure of a recently isolated natural product. A pre/post assessment was used to measure student learning gains and verify that students demonstrated proficiency of key learning…

Real life working shift assignment problem

Science.gov (United States)

Sze, San-Nah; Kwek, Yeek-Ling; Tiong, Wei-King; Chiew, Kang-Leng

2017-07-01

This study concerns about the working shift assignment in an outlet of Supermarket X in Eastern Mall, Kuching. The working shift assignment needs to be solved at least once in every month. Current approval process of working shifts is too troublesome and time-consuming. Furthermore, the management staff cannot have an overview of manpower and working shift schedule. Thus, the aim of this study is to develop working shift assignment simulation and propose a working shift assignment solution. The main objective for this study is to fulfill manpower demand at minimum operation cost. Besides, the day off and meal break policy should be fulfilled accordingly. Demand based heuristic is proposed to assign working shift and the quality of the solution is evaluated by using the real data.

Dynamics and computation in functional shifts

Science.gov (United States)

Namikawa, Jun; Hashimoto, Takashi

2004-07-01

We introduce a new type of shift dynamics as an extended model of symbolic dynamics, and investigate the characteristics of shift spaces from the viewpoints of both dynamics and computation. This shift dynamics is called a functional shift, which is defined by a set of bi-infinite sequences of some functions on a set of symbols. To analyse the complexity of functional shifts, we measure them in terms of topological entropy, and locate their languages in the Chomsky hierarchy. Through this study, we argue that considering functional shifts from the viewpoints of both dynamics and computation gives us opposite results about the complexity of systems. We also describe a new class of shift spaces whose languages are not recursively enumerable.

Simultaneous all-channel OTDM demultiplexing based on complete optical Fourier transformation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guan, Pengyu; Lillieholm, Mads; Røge, Kasper Meldgaard

2016-01-01

We demonstrate simultaneous OTDM demultiplexing of all 16-channels for 160-Gbit/s DPSK and 320-Gbit/s DQPSK signals based on complete OFT. Furthermore, numerical simulations show promising results for extending the proposed technique to spectrally efficient Nyquist-OTDM....

Ultra-high-speed all-channel serial-to-parallel conversion based on complete optical fourier transformation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guan, Pengyu; Røge, Kasper Meldgaard; Morioka, Toshio

2016-01-01

We propose a serial-to-parallel conversion scheme based on complete OFT, allowing simultaneous conversion of all channels. We demonstrate all 32-channel simultaneous OTDM to WDM conversion of 320-Gbit/s DPSK and of 640-Gbit/s DQPSK signal, respectively....

Phase-sensitive optical processing in silicon waveguides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petermann, Klaus; Gajda, A.; Dziallas, Claudia

2015-01-01

Parametric optical signal processing is reviewed for silicon nano-rib-waveguides with a reverse-biased pin-junction. Phase-sensitive parametric amplification with a phase-sensitive extinction of more than 20 dB has been utilized for the regeneration of DPSK signals...

Associations of rotational shift work and night shift status with hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Manohar, Sandhya; Thongprayoon, Charat; Cheungpasitporn, Wisit; Mao, Michael A; Herrmann, Sandra M

2017-10-01

The reported risks of hypertension (HTN) in rotating shift and night shift workers are controversial. The objective of this meta-analysis was to assess the association between shift work status and HTN. A literature search was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Database from inception through October 2016. Studies that reported odds ratios (OR) comparing the risk of HTN in shift workers were included. A prespecified subgroup analysis by rotating shift and night shift statuses were also performed. Pooled OR and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effect, generic inverse variance method. The protocol for this study is registered with International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews; no. CRD42016051843. Twenty-seven observational studies (nine cohort and 18 cross-sectional studies) with a total of 394 793 individuals were enrolled. The pooled ORs of HTN in shift workers in cohort and cross-sectional studies were 1.31 (95% CI, 1.07-1.60) and 1.10 (95% CI, 1.00-1.20), respectively. When meta-analysis was restricted only to cohort studies in rotating shift, the pooled OR of HTN in rotating shift workers was 1.34 (95% CI, 1.08-1.67). The data regarding night shift and HTN in cohort studies was limited. The pooled OR of HTN in night shift workers in cross-sectional studies was 1.07 (95% CI, 0.85-1.35). Based on the findings of our meta-analysis, shiftwork status may play an important role in HTN, as there is a significant association between rotating shift work and HTN. However, there is no significant association between night shift status and risk of HTN.

Micropatch Antenna Phase Shifting

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Thursby, Michael

2000-01-01

.... We have been looking at the ability of embedded element to adjust the phase shift seen by the element with the goal of being able to remove the phase shifting devices from the antenna and replace...

Micropatch Antenna Phase Shifting

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Thursby, Michael

1999-01-01

.... We have been looking at the ability of embedded element to adjust the phase shift seen by the element wit the goal of being able to remove the phase shifting devices from the antenna and replace...

Self-reflection and set-shifting mediate awareness in cognitively preserved schizophrenia patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilleen, James; David, Anthony; Greenwood, Kathryn

2016-05-01

Poor insight in schizophrenia has been linked to poor cognitive functioning, psychological processes such as denial, or more recently with impaired metacognitive capacity. Few studies, however, have investigated the potential co-dependency of multiple factors in determining level of insight, but such a model is necessary in order to account for patients with good cognitive functioning who have very poor awareness. As evidence suggests that set-shifting and cognitive insight (self-reflection (SR) and self-certainty) are strong predictors of awareness we proposed that these factors are key mediators in the relationship between cognition and awareness. We hypothesised that deficits specifically in SR and set-shifting determine level of awareness in the context of good cognition. Thirty schizophrenia patients were stratified by high and low awareness of illness and executive functioning scores. Cognitive insight, cognition, mood and symptom measures were compared between sub-groups. A low insight/high executive functioning (LI-HE) group, a high insight/high executive functioning (HI-HE) group and a low insight/low executive functioning (LI-LE) group were revealed. As anticipated, the LI-HE patients showed significantly lower capacity for SR and set-shifting than the HI-HE patients. This study indicates that good cognitive functioning is necessary but not sufficient for good awareness; good awareness specifically demands preserved capacity to self-reflect and shift-set. Results support Nelson and Narens' [1990. Metamemory: A theoretical framework and new findings. The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 26, 125-173] model of metacognition by which awareness is founded on control (set-shifting) and monitoring (SR) processes. These specific factors could be targeted to improve insight in patients with otherwise unimpaired cognitive function.

Influences on Dietary Choices during Day versus Night Shift in Shift Workers: A Mixed Methods Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnell, Emily K; Huggins, Catherine E; Huggins, Chris T; McCaffrey, Tracy A; Palermo, Claire; Bonham, Maxine P

2017-02-26

Shift work is associated with diet-related chronic conditions such as obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to explore factors influencing food choice and dietary intake in shift workers. A fixed mixed method study design was undertaken on a convenience sample of firefighters who continually work a rotating roster. Six focus groups ( n = 41) were conducted to establish factors affecting dietary intake whilst at work. Dietary intake was assessed using repeated 24 h dietary recalls ( n = 19). Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and interpreted using thematic analysis. Dietary data were entered into FoodWorks and analysed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test; p night shift. Energy intakes (kJ/day) did not differ between days that included a day or night shift but greater energy density (ED energy , kJ/g/day) of the diet was observed on night shift compared with day shift. This study has identified a number of dietary-specific shift-related factors that may contribute to an increase in unhealthy behaviours in a shift-working population. Given the increased risk of developing chronic diseases, organisational change to support workers in this environment is warranted.

A compressed shift schedule: dealing with some of the problems of shift work

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cunningham, J B [Victoria University, Victoria, BC (Canada). School of Public Administration

1989-07-01

This study examines some of the psychological and behavioural effects of a 12-hour compressed shift schedule on coal miners in two organisations in Western Canada. It suggests that young, married compressed shift workers are more satisfied with their family relationship. They spend less of their leisure time with spouses when working shifts, and do not spend any more time with them on their days off. They have less time available for many leisure activities on their workdays. The extra time on days off is not reallocated to the leisure activities they were unable to do on their workdays. Some extra leisure time on days off may be spent on personal hobbies. There is no suggestion that the compressed shift schedule has any negative effect on the individual's health. 38 refs., 3 tabs.

Shift work as an oxidative stressor

OpenAIRE

Pasalar Parvin; Farahani Saeed; Sharifian Akbar; Gharavi Marjan; Aminian Omid

2005-01-01

Abstract Background Some medical disorders have higher prevalence in shift workers than others. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of night-shift-working on total plasma antioxidant capacity, with respect to the causative role of oxidative stress in induction of some of these disorders. Methods Two blood samples were taken from 44 workers with a rotational shift schedule, one after their day shift and one after their night shift. The total plasma antioxidant capacity of each worke...

Influences on Dietary Choices during Day versus Night Shift in Shift Workers: A Mixed Methods Study

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnell, Emily K.; Huggins, Catherine E.; Huggins, Chris T.; McCaffrey, Tracy A.; Palermo, Claire; Bonham, Maxine P.

2017-01-01

Shift work is associated with diet-related chronic conditions such as obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to explore factors influencing food choice and dietary intake in shift workers. A fixed mixed method study design was undertaken on a convenience sample of firefighters who continually work a rotating roster. Six focus groups (n = 41) were conducted to establish factors affecting dietary intake whilst at work. Dietary intake was assessed using repeated 24 h dietary recalls (n = 19). Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and interpreted using thematic analysis. Dietary data were entered into FoodWorks and analysed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test; p shift schedule; attitudes and decisions of co-workers; time and accessibility; and knowledge of the relationship between food and health. Participants reported consuming more discretionary foods and limited availability of healthy food choices on night shift. Energy intakes (kJ/day) did not differ between days that included a day or night shift but greater energy density (EDenergy, kJ/g/day) of the diet was observed on night shift compared with day shift. This study has identified a number of dietary-specific shift-related factors that may contribute to an increase in unhealthy behaviours in a shift-working population. Given the increased risk of developing chronic diseases, organisational change to support workers in this environment is warranted. PMID:28245625

Faktor Dan Penjadualan Shift Kerja

OpenAIRE

Maurits, Lientje Setyawati; Widodo, Imam Djati

2008-01-01

Work shift has negative effect in physical and mental health, work performance and job accident. Disturbance of circadian rhythms is indicated as source of the problems. This article explores some researches related to the impacts of work shift and establishes basic principles of work shift scheduling that considers human need and limitation.

Shift work as an oxidative stressor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pasalar Parvin

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Some medical disorders have higher prevalence in shift workers than others. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of night-shift-working on total plasma antioxidant capacity, with respect to the causative role of oxidative stress in induction of some of these disorders. Methods Two blood samples were taken from 44 workers with a rotational shift schedule, one after their day shift and one after their night shift. The total plasma antioxidant capacity of each worker was measured through the FRAP method. The impacts of age and weight were also assessed. Results The total plasma antioxidant capacity was measured in 44 shift-workers with a mean age of 36.57 years (SD: 10.18 and mean BMI of 26.06 (SD: 4.37 after their day and night shifts. The mean reduction of total plasma antioxidant capacity after the night shift was 105.8 μmol/L (SD: 146.39. Also, a significant correlation was shown between age and weight and total plasma antioxidant capacity. Age and weight were found to be inversely related to total plasma antioxidant capacity; as age and weight increased, the total plasma antioxidant capacity decreased. Conclusion Shift work can act as an oxidative stressor and may induce many medical disorders. Aging and obesity in shift workers makes them more sensitive to this hazardous effect.

Shift work-related health problems in

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Khavaji

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Background and aimsShift work is a major feature of working life that affects diverse aspects of human life. The main purposes of this study were to investigate shift work-related health problems and their risk factors among workers of "12-hour shift" schedule.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was carried out at 8 petrochemical industries in Asalooyeh area. Study population consisted of 1203 workers including 549 shift worker (46% and 654 day worker (54%. Data on personal details, shift schedule and adverse effects of shift work werecollected by anonymous questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS, version 11.5. The level of significance was set at 5%.ResultsAlthough, the results showed that health problems among shift workers was more prevalent than day workers, but the differences were just significant in gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal disorders (p<0.05. Multiple linear regressions indicated that in addition to shift working, other variants such as long work hours, type of employment, second job, number of children and job title were associated with health problems.ConclusionPrevalence rates of gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal problems among shift workers were significantly higher than that of day workers. Although, working in shift system was the main significant factor associated with the reported problems, but other demographic andwork variables were also found to have association.

Comparison of Mental Health and Quality of Life between Shift and Non-shift Employees of Service Industries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nahal Salimi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study examined the relationship between the employment practices and employees' mental health and quality of life in Iran. In particular, the study compared the mental health and quality of life of shift and non-shift workers in sensitive employment settings. Using a cross-sectional survey design, 120 individuals employed in two airline companies as either shift or non-shift employees completed the survey for the study. Data was collected using General Health Question (GHQ28 for mental health, the Short Form (36 Health Survey (SF-36 for Quality of Life and a demographic questionnaire. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA was used to analyze the collected data. The results showed that (1 type of work (shift or non-shift has an effect on mental health and quality of life; and (2 there are significant differences in dimensions of quality of life and mental health between shift and non-shift staff.

SimShiftDB; local conformational restraints derived from chemical shift similarity searches on a large synthetic database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ginzinger, Simon W. [Center of Applied Molecular Engineering, University of Salzburg, Department of Molecular Biology, Division of Bioinformatics (Austria)], E-mail: simon@came.sbg.ac.at; Coles, Murray [Max-Planck-Institute for Developmental Biology, Department of Protein Evolution (Germany)], E-mail: Murray.Coles@tuebingen.mpg.de

2009-03-15

We present SimShiftDB, a new program to extract conformational data from protein chemical shifts using structural alignments. The alignments are obtained in searches of a large database containing 13,000 structures and corresponding back-calculated chemical shifts. SimShiftDB makes use of chemical shift data to provide accurate results even in the case of low sequence similarity, and with even coverage of the conformational search space. We compare SimShiftDB to HHSearch, a state-of-the-art sequence-based search tool, and to TALOS, the current standard tool for the task. We show that for a significant fraction of the predicted similarities, SimShiftDB outperforms the other two methods. Particularly, the high coverage afforded by the larger database often allows predictions to be made for residues not involved in canonical secondary structure, where TALOS predictions are both less frequent and more error prone. Thus SimShiftDB can be seen as a complement to currently available methods.

SimShiftDB; local conformational restraints derived from chemical shift similarity searches on a large synthetic database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ginzinger, Simon W.; Coles, Murray

2009-01-01

We present SimShiftDB, a new program to extract conformational data from protein chemical shifts using structural alignments. The alignments are obtained in searches of a large database containing 13,000 structures and corresponding back-calculated chemical shifts. SimShiftDB makes use of chemical shift data to provide accurate results even in the case of low sequence similarity, and with even coverage of the conformational search space. We compare SimShiftDB to HHSearch, a state-of-the-art sequence-based search tool, and to TALOS, the current standard tool for the task. We show that for a significant fraction of the predicted similarities, SimShiftDB outperforms the other two methods. Particularly, the high coverage afforded by the larger database often allows predictions to be made for residues not involved in canonical secondary structure, where TALOS predictions are both less frequent and more error prone. Thus SimShiftDB can be seen as a complement to currently available methods

Fuzzy Determination of Target Shifting Time and Torque Control of Shifting Phase for Dry Dual Clutch Transmission

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiguo Zhao

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Based on the independently developed five-speed dry dual clutch transmission (DDCT, the paper proposes the torque coordinating control strategy between engine and two clutches, which obtains engine speed and clutch transferred torque in the shifting process, adequately reflecting the driver intention and improving the shifting quality. Five-degree-of-freedom (DOF shifting dynamics model of DDCT with single intermediate shaft is firstly established according to its physical characteristics. Then the quantitative control objectives of the shifting process are presented. The fuzzy decision of shifting time and the model-based torque coordinating control strategy are proposed and also verified by simulating under different driving intentions in up-/downshifting processes with the DCT model established on the MATLAB/Simulink. Simulation results validate that the shifting control algorithm proposed in this paper can not only meet the shifting quality requirements, but also adapt to the various shifting intentions, having a strong robustness.

Individual vulnerability to insomnia, excessive sleepiness and shift work disorder amongst healthcare shift workers. A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Booker, Lauren A; Magee, Michelle; Rajaratnam, Shantha M W; Sletten, Tracey L; Howard, Mark E

2018-03-27

Shift workers often experience reduced sleep quality, duration and/or excessive sleepiness due to the imposed conflict between work and their circadian system. About 20-30% of shift workers experience prominent insomnia symptoms and excessive daytime sleepiness consistent with the circadian rhythm sleep disorder known as shift work disorder. Individual factors may influence this vulnerability to shift work disorder or sleep-related impairment associated with shift work. This paper was registered with Prospero and was conducted using recommended standards for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Published literature that measured sleep-related impairment associated with shift work including reduced sleep quality and duration and increased daytime sleepiness amongst healthcare shift workers and explored characteristics associated with individual variability were reviewed. Fifty-eight studies were included. Older age, morning-type, circadian flexibility, being married or having children, increased caffeine intake, higher scores on neuroticism and lower on hardiness were related to a higher risk of sleep-related impairment in response to shift work, whereas physical activity was a protective factor. The review highlights the diverse range of measurement tools used to evaluate the impact of shift work on sleep. Use of standardised and validated tools would enable cross-study comparisons. Longitudinal studies are required to establish causal relationships between individual factors and the development of shift work disorder. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Homogeneous bilateral block shifts

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Douglas class were classified in [3]; they are unilateral block shifts of arbitrary block size (i.e. dim H(n) can be anything). However, no examples of irreducible homogeneous bilateral block shifts of block size larger than 1 were known until now.

Quantized beam shifts in graphene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

de Melo Kort-Kamp, Wilton Junior [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Sinitsyn, Nikolai [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Dalvit, Diego Alejandro Roberto [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2015-10-08

We predict the existence of quantized Imbert-Fedorov, Goos-Hanchen, and photonic spin Hall shifts for light beams impinging on a graphene-on-substrate system in an external magnetic field. In the quantum Hall regime the Imbert-Fedorov and photonic spin Hall shifts are quantized in integer multiples of the fine structure constant α, while the Goos-Hanchen ones in multiples of α². We investigate the influence on these shifts of magnetic field, temperature, and material dispersion and dissipation. An experimental demonstration of quantized beam shifts could be achieved at terahertz frequencies for moderate values of the magnetic field.

PACSY, a relational database management system for protein structure and chemical shift analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Woonghee; Yu, Wookyung; Kim, Suhkmann; Chang, Iksoo; Lee, Weontae; Markley, John L

2012-10-01

PACSY (Protein structure And Chemical Shift NMR spectroscopY) is a relational database management system that integrates information from the Protein Data Bank, the Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank, and the Structural Classification of Proteins database. PACSY provides three-dimensional coordinates and chemical shifts of atoms along with derived information such as torsion angles, solvent accessible surface areas, and hydrophobicity scales. PACSY consists of six relational table types linked to one another for coherence by key identification numbers. Database queries are enabled by advanced search functions supported by an RDBMS server such as MySQL or PostgreSQL. PACSY enables users to search for combinations of information from different database sources in support of their research. Two software packages, PACSY Maker for database creation and PACSY Analyzer for database analysis, are available from http://pacsy.nmrfam.wisc.edu.

Paradigm Shift: Report on the New Role of Design in Business and Society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gjoko Muratovski

Full Text Available Corporate cultures' prevailing attitudes towards design have begun to shift. Financial companies and management consultancies now have design teams, and include “design” in their service portfolios. Large corporations are bolstering their in-house design capabilities, and appointing designers to executive roles. Venture capitalist firms and startups increasingly recognize the value of including designers in the early stages of business development. Even global organizations and international foundations now list design on their agendas. A paradigm shift is taking place in the field of design. This study examines some of the latest corporate investments in design, and reflects on what this phenomenon means for the wider field of design. The focus of this study is on the key trend indicators that are defining the current landscape of design, and its changing role in business and society.

PACSY, a relational database management system for protein structure and chemical shift analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Woonghee, E-mail: whlee@nmrfam.wisc.edu [University of Wisconsin-Madison, National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison, and Biochemistry Department (United States); Yu, Wookyung [Center for Proteome Biophysics, Pusan National University, Department of Physics (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Suhkmann [Pusan National University, Department of Chemistry and Chemistry Institute for Functional Materials (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Iksoo [Center for Proteome Biophysics, Pusan National University, Department of Physics (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Weontae, E-mail: wlee@spin.yonsei.ac.kr [Yonsei University, Structural Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry (Korea, Republic of); Markley, John L., E-mail: markley@nmrfam.wisc.edu [University of Wisconsin-Madison, National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison, and Biochemistry Department (United States)

2012-10-15

PACSY (Protein structure And Chemical Shift NMR spectroscopY) is a relational database management system that integrates information from the Protein Data Bank, the Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank, and the Structural Classification of Proteins database. PACSY provides three-dimensional coordinates and chemical shifts of atoms along with derived information such as torsion angles, solvent accessible surface areas, and hydrophobicity scales. PACSY consists of six relational table types linked to one another for coherence by key identification numbers. Database queries are enabled by advanced search functions supported by an RDBMS server such as MySQL or PostgreSQL. PACSY enables users to search for combinations of information from different database sources in support of their research. Two software packages, PACSY Maker for database creation and PACSY Analyzer for database analysis, are available from http://pacsy.nmrfam.wisc.eduhttp://pacsy.nmrfam.wisc.edu.

PACSY, a relational database management system for protein structure and chemical shift analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Woonghee; Yu, Wookyung; Kim, Suhkmann; Chang, Iksoo

2012-01-01

PACSY (Protein structure And Chemical Shift NMR spectroscopY) is a relational database management system that integrates information from the Protein Data Bank, the Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank, and the Structural Classification of Proteins database. PACSY provides three-dimensional coordinates and chemical shifts of atoms along with derived information such as torsion angles, solvent accessible surface areas, and hydrophobicity scales. PACSY consists of six relational table types linked to one another for coherence by key identification numbers. Database queries are enabled by advanced search functions supported by an RDBMS server such as MySQL or PostgreSQL. PACSY enables users to search for combinations of information from different database sources in support of their research. Two software packages, PACSY Maker for database creation and PACSY Analyzer for database analysis, are available from http://pacsy.nmrfam.wisc.edu. PMID:22903636

PACSY, a relational database management system for protein structure and chemical shift analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Woonghee; Yu, Wookyung; Kim, Suhkmann; Chang, Iksoo; Lee, Weontae; Markley, John L.

2012-01-01

PACSY (Protein structure And Chemical Shift NMR spectroscopY) is a relational database management system that integrates information from the Protein Data Bank, the Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank, and the Structural Classification of Proteins database. PACSY provides three-dimensional coordinates and chemical shifts of atoms along with derived information such as torsion angles, solvent accessible surface areas, and hydrophobicity scales. PACSY consists of six relational table types linked to one another for coherence by key identification numbers. Database queries are enabled by advanced search functions supported by an RDBMS server such as MySQL or PostgreSQL. PACSY enables users to search for combinations of information from different database sources in support of their research. Two software packages, PACSY Maker for database creation and PACSY Analyzer for database analysis, are available from http://pacsy.nmrfam.wisc.eduhttp://pacsy.nmrfam.wisc.edu.

Fluid Shifts

Science.gov (United States)

Stenger, M. B.; Hargens, A. R.; Dulchavsky, S. A.; Arbeille, P.; Danielson, R. W.; Ebert, D. J.; Garcia, K. M.; Johnston, S. L.; Laurie, S. S.; Lee, S. M. C.;

Isotope shifting capacity of rock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blattner, P.; Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Lower Hutt

1980-01-01

Any oxygen isotope shifted rock volume exactly defines a past throughput of water. An expression is derived that relates the throughput of an open system to the isotope shift of reservoir rock and present-day output. The small isotope shift of Ngawha reservoir rock and the small, high delta oxygen-18 output are best accounted for by a magmatic water source

Sleep and satisfaction in 8- and 12-h forward-rotating shift systems: Industrial employees prefer 12-h shifts.

Science.gov (United States)

Karhula, Kati; Härmä, Mikko; Ropponen, Annina; Hakola, Tarja; Sallinen, Mikael; Puttonen, Sampsa

2016-01-01

Twelve-hour shift systems have become more popular in industry. Survey data of shift length, shift rotation speed, self-rated sleep, satisfaction and perceived health were investigated for the associations among 599 predominantly male Finnish industrial employees. The studied forward-rotating shift systems were 12-h fast (12fast, DDNN------, n = 268), 8-h fast (8fast, MMEENN----, n = 161) and 8-h slow (8slow, MMMM-EEEE-NNNN, n = 170). Satisfaction with shift system differed between the groups (p effects on sleep and alertness were rare (8%) in the 12fast group (53% 8fast, 66% 8 slow, p effects of the current shift system on general health (12fast 4%, 8fast 30%, 8slow 41%, p work-life balance (12fast 8%, 8fast 52%, 8slow 63%, p effects of shift work were dependent on both shift length and shift rotation speed: employees in the 12-h rapidly forward-rotating shift system were most satisfied, perceived better work-life balance and slept better than the employees in the 8fast or especially the employees in the 8-h slowly rotating systems.

Tempo of Diversification of Global Amphibians: One-Constant Rate, One-Continuous Shift or Multiple-Discrete Shifts?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Youhua Chen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this brief report, alternative time-varying diversification rate models were fitted onto the phylogeny of global amphibians by considering one-constant-rate (OCR, one-continuous-shift (OCS and multiplediscrete- shifts (MDS situations. The OCS diversification model was rejected by γ statistic (γ=-5.556, p⁄ 0.001, implying the existence of shifting diversification rates for global amphibian phylogeny. Through model selection, MDS diversification model outperformed OCS and OCR models using “laser” package under R environment. Moreover, MDS models, implemented using another R package “MEDUSA”, indicated that there were sixteen shifts over the internal nodes for amphibian phylogeny. Conclusively, both OCS and MDS models are recommended to compare so as to better quantify rate-shifting trends of species diversification. MDS diversification models should be preferential for large phylogenies using “MEDUSA” package in which any arbitrary numbers of shifts are allowed to model.

Phenological shifts conserve thermal niches in North American birds and reshape expectations for climate-driven range shifts.

Science.gov (United States)

Socolar, Jacob B; Epanchin, Peter N; Beissinger, Steven R; Tingley, Morgan W

2017-12-05

Species respond to climate change in two dominant ways: range shifts in latitude or elevation and phenological shifts of life-history events. Range shifts are widely viewed as the principal mechanism for thermal niche tracking, and phenological shifts in birds and other consumers are widely understood as the principal mechanism for tracking temporal peaks in biotic resources. However, phenological and range shifts each present simultaneous opportunities for temperature and resource tracking, although the possible role for phenological shifts in thermal niche tracking has been widely overlooked. Using a canonical dataset of Californian bird surveys and a detectability-based approach for quantifying phenological signal, we show that Californian bird communities advanced their breeding phenology by 5-12 d over the last century. This phenological shift might track shifting resource peaks, but it also reduces average temperatures during nesting by over 1 °C, approximately the same magnitude that average temperatures have warmed over the same period. We further show that early-summer temperature anomalies are correlated with nest success in a continental-scale database of bird nests, suggesting avian thermal niches might be broadly limited by temperatures during nesting. These findings outline an adaptation surface where geographic range and breeding phenology respond jointly to constraints imposed by temperature and resource phenology. By stabilizing temperatures during nesting, phenological shifts might mitigate the need for range shifts. Global change ecology will benefit from further exploring phenological adjustment as a potential mechanism for thermal niche tracking and vice versa.

[Burden and health effects of shift work].

Science.gov (United States)

Heitmann, Jörg

2010-10-01

In Germany aprox. 15% of all employees have irregular or flexible working hours. Disturbed sleep and/or hypersomnia are direct consequences of shift work and therefore described as shift work disorder. Beyond this, shift work can also be associated with specific pathological disorders. There are individual differences in tolerance to shift work. Optimization of both shift schedules and sleep to "non-physiological" times of the day are measures to counteract the negative effects of shift work. There is still not enough evidence to recommend drugs for routine use in shift workers. © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York.

The impact of shifting vantage perspective when recalling and imagining positive events.

Science.gov (United States)

Vella, Nicholas C; Moulds, Michelle L

2014-01-01

The vantage perspective from which memories are recalled influences their emotional impact. To date, however, the impact of vantage perspective on the emotions elicited by positive memories and images of positive future events has been minimally explored. We experimentally manipulated the vantage perspective from which a sample of undergraduate students (n =80) recalled positive memories and imagined positive future events. Participants who naturally recalled their positive memories from a field perspective reported decreased vividness and positive affect (i.e., happiness, optimism, hopefulness) when they were instructed to shift to an observer perspective. The same pattern of emotionality ratings was observed when participants' vantage perspective of imagined future events was manipulated. In contrast, shifting participants from observer to field perspective recall of positive memories did not result in changes in ratings of memory-related emotion, although we found an unexpected trend towards reduced vividness. For positive future events, shifting from an observer to a field perspective resulted in decreased vividness but did not lead to any changes in positive emotion. Our findings confirm that vantage perspective plays a key role in determining the emotional impact of positive memories, and demonstrate that this relationship is also evident for images of future positive events.

India's NCD strategy in the SDG era: are there early signs of a paradigm shift?

Science.gov (United States)

Mondal, Shinjini; Van Belle, Sara

2018-04-25

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are seen in most corners as the embodiment of a more inclusive and holistic development approach, key to addressing the numerous and urgent challenges the world faces. In the health realm, a true SDG approach will require a five-fold paradigm shift according to Buse and Hawkes. This article explores whether early traces of this paradigm shift can already be witnessed in the Indian context, focusing on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) more in particular. By now, NCDs make up a large health burden in India, both individually and on the health system. Inspired by an SDG vision, tackling NCDs will require a comprehensive approach rooted in preventive, curative and rehabilitative services. In India, some early momentum in this respect can already be witnessed, certainly in addressing the first two challenges identified by Buse and Hawkes, leadership and intersectoral coherence, and a shift from treatment to prevention. A central plan addressing health through an inter-sectoral approach has shaped the trajectory so far, moving away from silos to engagement with sectors beyond health. New guidelines addressing comprehensive primary healthcare propose a community outreach and preventive approach for NCDs. At a broader level, NCD prevention is also closely linked to tackling the so called "commercial determinants of health" and will require among others strong (central and state level) regulation, teaming up with global advocacy networks and capitalizing on global frameworks, where they exist. Strong political leadership will be indispensable for this, and is according to Buse and Hawkes closely linked to seeing health as a right and the government as accountable when it comes to providing for the right to health through its policies and actions. National stewardship will thus be key, via a more adaptive network governance structure with the central level coordinating with the state level to ensure implementation, while also engaging

Shifted Independent Component Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mørup, Morten; Madsen, Kristoffer Hougaard; Hansen, Lars Kai

2007-01-01

Delayed mixing is a problem of theoretical interest and practical importance, e.g., in speech processing, bio-medical signal analysis and financial data modelling. Most previous analyses have been based on models with integer shifts, i.e., shifts by a number of samples, and have often been carried...

The impact of shift work on the psychological and physical health of nurses in a general hospital: a comparison between rotating night shifts and day shifts.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferri, Paola; Guadi, Matteo; Marcheselli, Luigi; Balduzzi, Sara; Magnani, Daniela; Di Lorenzo, Rosaria

2016-01-01

Shift work is considered necessary to ensure continuity of care in hospitals and residential facilities. In particular, the night shift is one of the most frequent reasons for the disruption of circadian rhythms, causing significant alterations of sleep and biological functions that can affect physical and psychological well-being and negatively impact work performance. The aim of this study was to highlight if shift work with nights, as compared with day work only, is associated with risk factors predisposing nurses to poorer health conditions and lower job satisfaction. This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 1, 2015 to July 31, 2015 in 17 wards of a general hospital and a residential facility of a northern Italian city. This study involved 213 nurses working in rotating night shifts and 65 in day shifts. The instrument used for data collection was the "Standard Shift Work Index," validated in Italian. Data were statistically analyzed. The response rate was 86%. The nurses engaged in rotating night shifts were statistically significantly younger, more frequently single, and had Bachelors and Masters degrees in nursing. They reported the lowest mean score in the items of job satisfaction, quality and quantity of sleep, with more frequent chronic fatigue, psychological, and cardiovascular symptoms in comparison with the day shift workers, in a statistically significant way. Our results suggest that nurses with rotating night schedule need special attention due to the higher risk for both job dissatisfaction and undesirable health effects.

NRF2 Orchestrates the Metabolic Shift during Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Reprogramming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kate E. Hawkins

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The potential of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs in disease modeling and regenerative medicine is vast, but current methodologies remain inefficient. Understanding the cellular mechanisms underlying iPSC reprogramming, such as the metabolic shift from oxidative to glycolytic energy production, is key to improving its efficiency. We have developed a lentiviral reporter system to assay longitudinal changes in cell signaling and transcription factor activity in living cells throughout iPSC reprogramming of human dermal fibroblasts. We reveal early NF-κB, AP-1, and NRF2 transcription factor activation prior to a temporal peak in hypoxia inducible factor α (HIFα activity. Mechanistically, we show that an early burst in oxidative phosphorylation and elevated reactive oxygen species generation mediates increased NRF2 activity, which in turn initiates the HIFα-mediated glycolytic shift and may modulate glucose redistribution to the pentose phosphate pathway. Critically, inhibition of NRF2 by KEAP1 overexpression compromises metabolic reprogramming and results in reduced efficiency of iPSC colony formation.

All-optical OFDM demultiplexing by spectral magnification and optical band-pass filtering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Palushani, Evarist; Mulvad, Hans Christian Hansen; Kong, Deming

2013-01-01

We propose spectral magnification of optical-OFDM super-channels using time-lenses, enabling reduced inter-carrier-interference in subcarrier detection by simple band-pass filtering. A demonstration on an emulated 100 Gbit/s DPSK optical-OFDM channel shows improved sensitivities after 4-times spe...

Shifting white pox aetiologies affecting Acropora palmata in the Florida Keys, 1994-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutherland, Kathryn P; Berry, Brett; Park, Andrew; Kemp, Dustin W; Kemp, Keri M; Lipp, Erin K; Porter, James W

2016-03-05

We propose 'the moving target hypothesis' to describe the aetiology of a contemporary coral disease that differs from that of its historical disease state. Hitting the target with coral disease aetiology is a complex pursuit that requires understanding of host and environment, and may lack a single pathogen solution. White pox disease (WPX) affects the Caribbean coral Acropora palmata. Acroporid serratiosis is a form of WPX for which the bacterial pathogen (Serratia marcescens) has been established. We used long-term (1994-2014) photographic monitoring to evaluate historical and contemporary epizootiology and aetiology of WPX affecting A. palmata at eight reefs in the Florida Keys. Ranges of WPX prevalence over time (0-71.4%) were comparable for the duration of the 20-year study. Whole colony mortality and disease severity were high in historical (1994-2004), and low in contemporary (2008-2014), outbreaks of WPX. Acroporid serratiosis was diagnosed for some historical (1999, 2003) and contemporary (2012, 2013) outbreaks, but this form of WPX was not confirmed for all WPX cases. Our results serve as a context for considering aetiology as a moving target for WPX and other coral diseases for which pathogens are established and/or candidate pathogens are identified. Coral aetiology investigations completed to date suggest that changes in pathogen, host and/or environment alter the disease state and complicate diagnosis. © 2016 The Author(s).

Rescheduling nursing shifts: scoping the challenge and examining the potential of mathematical model based tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Alistair; Moule, Pam; Topping, Annie; Serpell, Martin

2015-05-01

To review research in the literature on nursing shift scheduling / rescheduling, and to report key issues identified in a consultation exercise with managers in four English National Health Service trusts to inform the development of mathematical tools for rescheduling decision-making. Shift rescheduling is unrecognised as an everyday time-consuming management task with different imperatives from scheduling. Poor rescheduling decisions can have quality, cost and morale implications. A systematic critical literature review identified rescheduling issues and existing mathematic modelling tools. A consultation exercise with nursing managers examined the complex challenges associated with rescheduling. Minimal research exists on rescheduling compared with scheduling. Poor rescheduling can result in greater disruption to planned nursing shifts and may impact negatively on the quality and cost of patient care, and nurse morale and retention. Very little research examines management challenges or mathematical modelling for rescheduling. Shift rescheduling is a complex and frequent management activity that is more challenging than scheduling. Mathematical modelling may have potential as a tool to support managers to minimise rescheduling disruption. The lack of specific methodological support for rescheduling that takes into account its complexity, increases the likelihood of harm for patients and stress for nursing staff and managers. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Applying a Dynamic Stomatal Optimization to Predict Shifts in the Functional Composition of Tropical Forests Under Increased Drought And CO2

Science.gov (United States)

Bartlett, M. K.; Detto, M.; Pacala, S. W.

2017-12-01

The accurate prediction of tropical forest carbon fluxes is key to forecasting global climate, but forest responses to projected increases in CO2 and drought are highly uncertain. Here we present a dynamic optimization that derives the trajectory of stomatal conductance (gs) during drought, a key source of model uncertainty, from plant and soil water relations and the carbon economy of the plant hydraulic system. This optimization scheme is novel in two ways. First, by accounting for the ability of capacitance (i.e., the release of water from plant storage tissue; C) to buffer evaporative water loss and maintain gs during drought, this optimization captures both drought tolerant and avoidant hydraulic strategies. Second, by determining the optimal trajectory of plant and soil water potentials, this optimization quantifies species' impacts on the water available to competing plants. These advances allowed us to apply this optimization across the range of physiology trait values observed in tropical species to evaluate shifts in the competitively optimal trait values, or evolutionarily stable hydraulic strategy (ESS), under increased drought and CO2. Increasing the length of the dry season shifted the ESS towards more drought tolerant, rather than avoidant, trait values, and these shifts were larger for longer individual drought periods (i.e., more consecutive days without rainfall), even if the total time spent in drought was the same. Concurrently doubling the CO2 level reduced the magnitude of these shifts and slightly favored drought avoidant strategies under wet conditions. Overall, these analyses predicted that short, frequent droughts would allow elevated CO2 to shift the functional composition in tropical forests towards more drought avoidant species, while infrequent but long drought periods would shift the ESS to more drought tolerant trait values, despite increased CO2. Overall, these analyses quantified the impact of physiology traits on plant performance

Task shifting of HIV/AIDS case management to Community Health Service Centers in urban China: a qualitative policy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Fuchang; Lv, Fan; Xu, Peng; Zhang, Dapeng; Meng, Sining; Ju, Lahong; Jiang, Huihui; Ma, Liping; Sun, Jiangping; Wu, Zunyou

2015-07-02

The growing number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in China points to an increased need for case management services of HIV/AIDS. This study sought to explore the challenges and enablers in shifting the HIV/AIDS case management services from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) to Community Health Service Centers (CHSCs) in urban China. A qualitative method based on the Health Policy Triangle (HPT) framework was employed to gain in-depth insights into four elements of the task shifting strategy. This included a review on published literature and health policy documents, 15 focus group discussions (FGDs) and 30 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with four types of key actors from three cities in China. A total of 78 studies and 17 policy files at the national, municipal and local levels were obtained and reviewed comprehensively. Three semi-structured interview guides were used to explore key actors' views on shifting the HIV/AIDS case management services to CHSCs. It is necessary and feasible for CHSCs to engage in case management services for PLWHA in local communities. The increasing number of PLWHA and shortage of qualified health professionals in CDCs made shifting case management services downwards to CHSCs an urgent agenda. CHSCs' wide distribution, technical capacity, accessibility and current practice enabled them to carry out case management services for PLWHA. However our findings indicated several challenges in this task shifting process. Those challenges included lack of specific policy and stable financial support for CHSCs, inadequate manpower, relatively low capacity for health service delivery, lack of coordination among sectors, PLWHA's fear for discrimination and privacy disclosure in local communities, which may compromise the effectiveness and sustainability of those services. Shifting the HIV/AIDS case management services from CDCs to CHSCs is a new approach to cope with the rising number of PLWHA in China, but it should be

Cα chemical shift tensors in helical peptides by dipolar-modulated chemical shift recoupling NMR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao Xiaolan; Yamaguchi, Satoru; Hong Mei

2002-01-01

The Cα chemical shift tensors of proteins contain information on the backbone conformation. We have determined the magnitude and orientation of the Cα chemical shift tensors of two peptides with α-helical torsion angles: the Ala residue in G*AL (φ=-65.7 deg., ψ=-40 deg.), and the Val residue in GG*V (φ=-81.5 deg., ψ=-50.7 deg.). The magnitude of the tensors was determined from quasi-static powder patterns recoupled under magic-angle spinning, while the orientation of the tensors was extracted from Cα-Hα and Cα-N dipolar modulated powder patterns. The helical Ala Cα chemical shift tensor has a span of 36 ppm and an asymmetry parameter of 0.89. Its σ 11 axis is 116 deg. ± 5 deg. from the Cα-Hα bond while the σ 22 axis is 40 deg. ± 5 deg. from the Cα-N bond. The Val tensor has an anisotropic span of 25 ppm and an asymmetry parameter of 0.33, both much smaller than the values for β-sheet Val found recently (Yao and Hong, 2002). The Val σ 33 axis is tilted by 115 deg. ± 5 deg. from the Cα-Hα bond and 98 deg. ± 5 deg. from the Cα-N bond. These represent the first completely experimentally determined Cα chemical shift tensors of helical peptides. Using an icosahedral representation, we compared the experimental chemical shift tensors with quantum chemical calculations and found overall good agreement. These solid-state chemical shift tensors confirm the observation from cross-correlated relaxation experiments that the projection of the Cα chemical shift tensor onto the Cα-Hα bond is much smaller in α-helices than in β-sheets

KEYING AND ROLE PLAY IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION: GENDER, AGE AND RACE CUES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GABRIELA DUMBRAVĂ

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This study comes as a sequel to other two papers published in this journal in 2010 and 2012 being part of a larger research that approaches business communication from the perspective of Goffman’s theory of the relational dimension of meaning. The paper starts from the premise that meaning is generated within the context of each specific interaction, as a result of a culturally determined process of framing, during which inherited patterns of thought and behavior establish well defined positions from which the interlocutors perceive and respond to one another. It also aims at further analyzing the process of keying by identifying the paradigm shifts that individualize business encounters according to gender, age, and race cues, as well as the communication malfunctions induced by keying errors (misunderstandings, conflict and discrimination.

Methodological aspects of shift-work research.

Science.gov (United States)

Knutsson, Anders

2004-01-01

A major issue in shift-work research is to understand the possible ways in which shift work can impact performance and health. Nearly all body functions, from those of the cellular level to those of the entire body, are circadian rhythmic. Disturbances of these rhythms as well as the social consequences of odd work hours are of importance for the health and well-being of shift workers. This article reviews a number of common methodological issues which are of relevance to epidemiological studies in this area of research. It discusses conceptual problems regarding the use of the term "shift work," and it underscores the need to develop models that explain the mechanisms of disease in shift workers.

Key-value store with internal key-value storage interface

Science.gov (United States)

Bent, John M.; Faibish, Sorin; Ting, Dennis P. J.; Tzelnic, Percy; Gupta, Uday; Grider, Gary; Bonnie, David J.

2018-01-16

A key-value store is provided having one or more key-value storage interfaces. A key-value store on at least one compute node comprises a memory for storing a plurality of key-value pairs; and an abstract storage interface comprising a software interface module that communicates with at least one persistent storage device providing a key-value interface for persistent storage of one or more of the plurality of key-value pairs, wherein the software interface module provides the one or more key-value pairs to the at least one persistent storage device in a key-value format. The abstract storage interface optionally processes one or more batch operations on the plurality of key-value pairs. A distributed embodiment for a partitioned key-value store is also provided.

SAT in shift manager training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lecuyer, F.

1995-01-01

EDF has improved the organization of the operation shift teams with the replacement of shift supervisor in shift manager function. The shift manager is not only responsible for tasks associated to plant operation (production), but he is also responsible for safety of these tasks and for management of shift team members. A job analysis of this new job position has been performed in order to design the training programme. It resulted in a 10-month training programme that includes 8 weeks in safety-related topics and 12 weeks in soft-skills related topics. The safety related training courses are mandatory, the other courses are optional courses depending on individual trainee needs. The training also includes the development of management competencies. During the 10 month period, each trainee develops an individual project that is evaluated by NPP manager. As well, as group project is undertaken by the trainees and overseen by a steering committee. The steering committee participates in the evaluation process and provides operational experience feedback to the trainee groups and to the overall programme

The phylogeny and biogeography of Hakea (Proteaceae) reveals the role of biome shifts in a continental plant radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardillo, Marcel; Weston, Peter H; Reynolds, Zoe K M; Olde, Peter M; Mast, Austin R; Lemmon, Emily M; Lemmon, Alan R; Bromham, Lindell

2017-08-01

The frequency of evolutionary biome shifts during diversification has important implications for our ability to explain geographic patterns of plant diversity. Recent studies present several examples of biome shifts, but whether frequencies of biome shifts closely reflect geographic proximity or environmental similarity of biomes remains poorly known. We explore this question by using phylogenomic methods to estimate the phylogeny of Hakea, a diverse Australian genus occupying a wide range of biomes. Model-based estimation of ancestral regions indicates that Hakea began diversifying in the Mediterranean biome of southern Australia in the Middle Eocene-Early Oligocene, and dispersed repeatedly into other biomes across the continent. We infer around 47 shifts between biomes. Frequencies of shifts between pairs of biomes are usually similar to those expected from their geographic connectedness or climatic similarity, but in some cases are substantially higher or lower than expected, perhaps reflecting how readily key physiological traits can be modified to adapt lineages to new environments. The history of frequent biome-shifting is reflected in the structure of present-day assemblages, which tend to be more phylogenetically diverse than null-model expectations. The case of Hakea demonstrates that the radiation of large plant clades across wide geographic areas need not be constrained by dispersal limitation or conserved adaptations to particular environments. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Changes in the diurnal rhythms of cortisol, melatonin, and testosterone after 2, 4, and 7 consecutive night shifts in male police officers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Marie Aarrebo; Hansen, Åse Marie; Kristiansen, Jesper

2016-01-01

Night work is associated with a large range of acute health problems and possibly also health consequences in the long run. Yet, only very few field studies specifically investigate the effects of consecutive night shift on key physiological regulatory systems. In this field study, we investigated...... the effects of consecutive night shifts on three hormones, melatonin, cortisol, and testosterone, among police officers at work. More specifically, the aim was to investigate how the diurnal rhythms of melatonin, cortisol, and testosterone responded to two, four, and seven consecutive night shifts...... 4th hour when awake. The diurnal rhythms of melatonin, cortisol, and testosterone were all affected differently by an increasing number of consecutive night shifts: the amplitude of the melatonin rhythm was suppressed by 4.9% per day (95% CI 1.4–8.2% per day; p = 0.006). The diurnal rhythm...

An analysis of clock-shift experiments: is scatter increased and deflection reduced in clock-shifted homing pigeons?

Science.gov (United States)

Chappell

1997-01-01

Clock-shifting (altering the phase of the internal clock) in homing pigeons leads to a deflection in the vanishing bearing of the clock-shifted group relative to controls. However, two unexplained phenomena are common in clock-shift experiments: the vanishing bearings of the clock-shifted group are often more scattered (with a shorter vector length) than those of the control group, and the deflection of the mean bearing of the clock-shifted group from that of the controls is often smaller than expected theoretically. Here, an analysis of 55 clock-shift experiments performed in four countries over 21 years is reported. The bearings of the clock-shifted groups were significantly more scattered than those of controls and less deflected than expected, but these effects were not significantly different at familiar and unfamiliar sites. The possible causes of the effects are discussed and evaluated with reference to this analysis and other experiments. The most likely causes appear to be conflict between the directions indicated by the sun compass and either unshifted familiar visual landmarks (at familiar sites only) or the unshifted magnetic compass (possible at both familiar and unfamiliar sites).

Examining paid sickness absence by shift workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Catano, V M; Bissonnette, A B

2014-06-01

Shift workers are at greater risk than day workers with respect to psychological and physical health, yet little research has linked shift work to increased sickness absence. To investigate the relationship between shift work and sickness absence while controlling for organizational and individual characteristics and shift work attributes that have confounded previous research. The study used archive data collected from three national surveys in Canada, each involving over 20000 employees and 6000 private-sector firms in 14 different occupational groups. The employees reported the number of paid sickness absence days in the past 12 months. Data were analysed using both chi-squared statistics and hierarchical regressions. Contrary to previous research, shift workers took less paid sickness absence than day workers. There were no differences in the length of the sickness absence between both groups or in sickness absence taken by female and male workers whether working days or shifts. Only job tenure, the presence of a union in the workplace and working rotating shifts predicted sickness absence in shift workers. The results were consistent across all three samples. In general, shift work does not seem to be linked to increased sickness absence. However, such associations may be true for specific industries. Male and female workers did not differ in the amount of sickness absence taken. Rotating shifts, regardless of industry, predicted sickness absence among shift workers. Consideration should be given to implementing scheduled time off between shift changes. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Molecular Electronic Shift Registers

Science.gov (United States)

Beratan, David N.; Onuchic, Jose N.

1990-01-01

Molecular-scale shift registers eventually constructed as parts of high-density integrated memory circuits. In principle, variety of organic molecules makes possible large number of different configurations and modes of operation for such shift-register devices. Several classes of devices and implementations in some specific types of molecules proposed. All based on transfer of electrons or holes along chains of repeating molecular units.

Blue-shifted and red-shifted hydrogen bonds: Theoretical study of the CH3CHO· · ·HNO complexes

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yong; Zhang, Weijun; Gao, Xiaoming

The blue-shifted and red-shifted H-bonds have been studied in complexes CH3CHO?HNO. At the MP2/6-31G(d), MP2/6-31+G(d,p) MP2/6-311++G(d,p), B3LYP/6-31G(d), B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) and B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) levels, the geometric structures and vibrational frequencies of complexes CH3CHO?HNO are calculated by both standard and CP-corrected methods, respectively. Complex A exhibits simultaneously red-shifted C bond H?O and blue-shifted N bond H?O H-bonds. Complex B possesses simultaneously two blue-shifted H-bonds: C bond H?O and N bond H?O. From NBO analysis, it becomes evident that the red-shifted C bond H?O H-bond can be explained on the basis of the two opposite effects: hyperconjugation and rehybridization. The blue-shifted C bond H?O H-bond is a result of conjunct C bond H bond strengthening effects of the hyperconjugation and the rehybridization due to existence of the significant electron density redistribution effect. For the blue-shifted N bond H?O H-bonds, the hyperconjugation is inhibited due to existence of the electron density redistribution effect. The large blue shift of the N bond H stretching frequency is observed because the rehybridization dominates the hyperconjugation.

Shift Work: Improving Daytime Sleep

Science.gov (United States)

... night. Good daytime sleep is possible, though, if shift work is a necessary part of your work life. ... mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/shift-work/faq-20057991 . Mayo Clinic Footer Legal Conditions and ...

Ontogenetic shifts in morphology and resource use of cisco Coregonus artedi.

Science.gov (United States)

Muir, A M; Vecsei, P; Pratt, T C; Krueger, C C; Power, M; Reist, J D

2013-02-01

Two previously described lacustrine cisco Coregonus spp. morphs [i.e. a small (cisco Coregonus artedi. Geometric body shape did not differ between the two size classes nor could they be differentiated by 24 size-corrected linear measurements, indicating that the two groups had similar phenotypes. Strong, positive correlations between all linear characters and geometric centroid size (a composite variable of fish body length, mass and age) suggested that body morphology changed with age as fish grew. Total gillraker number (N(GR)) increased with L(F) according to: N(GR) = 36.3 + 0.034L(F). Differences in gillraker number and phenotype with age and size were explained by shifts in habitat and trophic resource use. Relative abundance within 0-30, 30-60, 60-90 and >90 m depth strata differed between size classes suggesting that morphology changed when fish shifted their habitat as they grew older. Large C. artedi had lower δ(13)C and slightly higher δ(15)N, indicating greater reliance on pelagic prey resources (i.e. more or larger zooplankton, such as Mysis spp.), compared to small C. artedi, which relied slightly more on benthic prey. Gillraker shape and number have always been used as key diagnostic characters in coregonine taxonomy; based on the findings presented here, ontogenetic shifts should be accounted for in resulting classifications. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Fish Biology © 2013 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Night shift work and modifiable lifestyle factors.

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Pepłońska, Beata; Burdelak, Weronika; Krysicka, Jolanta; Bukowska, Agnieszka; Marcinkiewicz, Andrzej; Sobala, Wojciech; Klimecka-Muszyńska, Dorota; Rybacki, Marcin

2014-10-01

Night shift work has been linked to some chronic diseases. Modification of lifestyle by night work may partially contribute to the development of these diseases, nevertheless, so far epidemiological evidence is limited. The aim of the study was to explore association between night shift work and lifestyle factors using data from a cross-sectional study among blue-collar workers employed in industrial plants in Łódź, Poland. The anonymous questionnaire was self-administered among 605 employees (236 women and 369 men, aged 35 or more) - 434 individuals currently working night shifts. Distribution of the selected lifestyle related factors such as smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), number of main meals and the hour of the last meal was compared between current, former, and never night shift workers. Adjusted ORs or predicted means were calculated, as a measure of the associations between night shift work and lifestyle factors, with age, marital status and education included in the models as covariates. Recreational inactivity (defined here as less than one hour per week of recreational physical activity) was associated with current night shift work when compared to never night shift workers (OR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.13-5.22) among men. Alcohol abstinence and later time of the last meal was associated with night shift work among women. Statistically significant positive relationship between night shift work duration and BMI was observed among men (p = 0.029). This study confirms previous studies reporting lower exercising among night shift workers and tendency to increase body weight. This finding provides important public health implication for the prevention of chronic diseases among night shift workers. Initiatives promoting physical activity addressed in particular to the night shift workers are recommended.

Night shift work and modifiable lifestyle factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beata Pepłońska

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Night shift work has been linked to some chronic diseases. Modification of lifestyle by night work may partially contribute to the development of these diseases, nevertheless, so far epidemiological evidence is limited. The aim of the study was to explore association between night shift work and lifestyle factors using data from a cross-sectional study among blue-collar workers employed in industrial plants in Łódź, Poland. Material and Methods: The anonymous questionnaire was self-administered among 605 employees (236 women and 369 men, aged 35 or more - 434 individuals currently wor­king night shifts. Distribution of the selected lifestyle related factors such as smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, body mass index (BMI, number of main meals and the hour of the last meal was compared between current, former, and never night shift workers. Adjusted ORs or predicted means were calculated, as a measure of the associations between night shift work and lifestyle factors, with age, marital status and education included in the models as covariates. Results: Recreational inactivity (defined here as less than one hour per week of recreational physical activity was associated with current night shift work when compared to never night shift workers (OR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.13-5.22 among men. Alcohol abstinence and later time of the last meal was associated with night shift work among women. Statistically significant positive relationship between night shift work duration and BMI was observed among men (p = 0.029. Conclusions: This study confirms previous studies reporting lower exercising among night shift workers and tendency to increase body weight. This finding provides important public health implication for the prevention of chronic diseases among night shift workers. Initiatives promoting physical activity addressed in particular to the night shift workers are recommended.

Exploring stakeholders’ perceptions of a task-shifting strategy for hypertension control in Ghana: a qualitative study

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Juliet Iwelunmor

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to explore stakeholders' perception of an on-going evidence-based task-shifting strategy for hypertension (TASSH in 32 community health centers and district hospitals in Ghana. Methods Using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, qualitative data were obtained from 81 key stakeholders including patients, nurses, and site directors of participating community health centers involved in the TASSH trial. Qualitative data were analyzed using open and axial coding techniques. Results Analysis of the qualitative data revealed three themes that illustrate stakeholders' perceptions of the ongoing task-shifting strategy for blood pressure control in Ghana and they include: 1 awareness and understanding of the TASSH program; 2 reasons for participation and non-participation in TASSH; and 3 the benefit and drawbacks to the TASSH program. Conclusion The findings support evidence that successful implementation of any task-shifting strategy must focus not only on individual patient characteristics, but also consider the role contextual factors such as organizational and leadership factors play. The findings also demonstrate the importance of understanding stakeholder's perceptions of evidence-based task-shifting interventions for hypertension control as it may ultimately influence the sustainable uptake of these interventions into "real world" settings.

Study of insomnia in rotating shift-workers

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Kaushik Chatterjee

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Shift-workers commonly suffer from insomnia. This study evaluates different domains of insomnia. Aim: This study was aimed to study sleep and insomnia in rotating shift-workers and compare with day-workers. Materials and Methods: This was case–control study. The sleep of rotating shift-workers is compared with day workers using Athens Insomnia Scale. Results: Rotating shift-workers had significantly higher scores on Athens insomnia scale on domains of initial, intermediate and terminal insomnia than day workers. Duration and quality of sleep and sense of well-being are lower in rotating shift-workers. Rotating shift-workers also experienced more day-time sleepiness than day workers. However, there was no difference in perceived physical and mental functioning between the two groups. Conclusion: Individuals working in rotating shifts for more than 15 days have significantly higher prevalence of insomnia than day-workers.

The effects of consecutive night shifts and shift length on cognitive performance and sleepiness: a field study.

Science.gov (United States)

Haidarimoghadam, Rashid; Kazemi, Reza; Motamedzadeh, Majid; Golmohamadi, Rostam; Soltanian, Alireza; Zoghipaydar, Mohamad Reza

2017-06-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of consecutive night shifts (CNS) and shift length on cognitive performance and sleepiness. This study evaluated the sleepiness and performance of 30 control room operators (CROs) working in 7 nights, 7 days, 7 days off (7N7D7O) and 30 CROs working in 4 nights, 7 days, 3 nights, 7 days off (4N7D3N7O) shift patterns in a petrochemical complex on the last night shift before swinging into the day shift. To assess cognitive performance, the n-back test, continuous performance test and simple reaction time test were employed. To assess sleepiness, the Karolinska sleepiness scale was used. Both schedules indicated that the correct responses and response times of working memory were reduced (p = 0.001), while intentional errors and sleepiness increased during the shift work (p = 0.001). CNS had a significant impact on reaction time and commission errors (p = 0.001). The main duty of CROs at a petrochemical plant is checking hazardous processes which require appropriate alertness and cognitive performance. As a result, planning for appropriate working hours and suitable number of CNS in a rotating shift system is a contribution to improving CRO performance and enhancing safety.

Study of nanometer-level precise phase-shift system used in electronic speckle shearography and phase-shift pattern interferometry

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, Chao; Liu, Zhongling; Zhou, Ge; Zhang, Yimo

2011-11-01

The nanometer-level precise phase-shift system is designed to realize the phase-shift interferometry in electronic speckle shearography pattern interferometry. The PZT is used as driving component of phase-shift system and translation component of flexure hinge is developed to realize micro displacement of non-friction and non-clearance. Closed-loop control system is designed for high-precision micro displacement, in which embedded digital control system is developed for completing control algorithm and capacitive sensor is used as feedback part for measuring micro displacement in real time. Dynamic model and control model of the nanometer-level precise phase-shift system is analyzed, and high-precision micro displacement is realized with digital PID control algorithm on this basis. It is proved with experiments that the location precision of the precise phase-shift system to step signal of displacement is less than 2nm and the location precision to continuous signal of displacement is less than 5nm, which is satisfied with the request of the electronic speckle shearography and phase-shift pattern interferometry. The stripe images of four-step phase-shift interferometry and the final phase distributed image correlated with distortion of objects are listed in this paper to prove the validity of nanometer-level precise phase-shift system.

Tempo of Diversification of Global Amphibians: One-Constant Rate, One-Continuous Shift or Multiple-Discrete Shifts?

OpenAIRE

Youhua Chen

2014-01-01

In this brief report, alternative time-varying diversification rate models were fitted onto the phylogeny of global amphibians by considering one-constant-rate (OCR), one-continuous-shift (OCS) and multiplediscrete- shifts (MDS) situations. The OCS diversification model was rejected by γ statistic (γ=-5.556, p⁄ 0.001), implying the existence of shifting diversification rates for global amphibian phylogeny. Through model selection, MDS diversification model outperformed OCS and OCR...

A semi-automatic 2D-to-3D video conversion with adaptive key-frame selection

Science.gov (United States)

Ju, Kuanyu; Xiong, Hongkai

2014-11-01

To compensate the deficit of 3D content, 2D to 3D video conversion (2D-to-3D) has recently attracted more attention from both industrial and academic communities. The semi-automatic 2D-to-3D conversion which estimates corresponding depth of non-key-frames through key-frames is more desirable owing to its advantage of balancing labor cost and 3D effects. The location of key-frames plays a role on quality of depth propagation. This paper proposes a semi-automatic 2D-to-3D scheme with adaptive key-frame selection to keep temporal continuity more reliable and reduce the depth propagation errors caused by occlusion. The potential key-frames would be localized in terms of clustered color variation and motion intensity. The distance of key-frame interval is also taken into account to keep the accumulated propagation errors under control and guarantee minimal user interaction. Once their depth maps are aligned with user interaction, the non-key-frames depth maps would be automatically propagated by shifted bilateral filtering. Considering that depth of objects may change due to the objects motion or camera zoom in/out effect, a bi-directional depth propagation scheme is adopted where a non-key frame is interpolated from two adjacent key frames. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme has better performance than existing 2D-to-3D scheme with fixed key-frame interval.

Anxiety about starting three-shift work among female workers: findings from the Female Shift Workers' Health Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kubo, Tatsuhiko; Maruyama, Takashi; Shirane, Kiyoyumi; Otomo, Hajime; Matsumoto, Tetsuro; Oyama, Ichiro

2008-03-01

In 1999, the Japanese Law on Equal Employment Opportunity and Conditions was amended and the previous prohibition of the assignment of female workers to night work was abolished. Subsequently, the number of female shift workers has been increasing in Japan, necessitating greater attention to the health care of this population. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the relationship between anxiety expressed about starting three-shift work and background characteristics among female workers who were being assigned to three-shift work for the first time. The subjects were 38 middle-aged female workers (age range: 44 to 59 years) who were working at a chemical plant. The women completed a self-administered questionnaire before starting three-shift work. Levels of anxiety about starting three-shift work were assessed by the question 'Do you feel anxious about starting three-shift work?' The available responses were: 'Very agree', 'Considerably agree', 'Rather agree', 'Slightly agree' and 'Not agree at all', and 63% of the subjects gave one of the first two answers, which were defined as indicating anxiety. We also acquired information regarding lifestyle and occupation for each subject, including the following factors: frequency of breakfast consumption, subjective sleep insufficiency, previous experience of similar work before beginning shift work, previous experience of two-shift work, and responsibility for household duties. In the study, we found a marginally statistically significant trend association between frequent breakfast consumption and anxiety about starting three-shift work (P(trend) = 0.09). Anxiety was also high among subjects with sleep disorders, especially those suffering from subjective sleep insufficiency (P = 0.08). Due to the small study population, these results should be interpreted with caution and confirmed by future studies.

Key Distribution and Changing Key Cryptosystem Based on Phase Retrieval Algorithm and RSA Public-Key Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tieyu Zhao

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The optical image encryption has attracted more and more researchers’ attention, and the various encryption schemes have been proposed. In existing optical cryptosystem, the phase functions or images are usually used as the encryption keys, and it is difficult that the traditional public-key algorithm (such as RSA, ECC, etc. is used to complete large numerical key transfer. In this paper, we propose a key distribution scheme based on the phase retrieval algorithm and the RSA public-key algorithm, which solves the problem for the key distribution in optical image encryption system. Furthermore, we also propose a novel image encryption system based on the key distribution principle. In the system, the different keys can be used in every encryption process, which greatly improves the security of the system.

Performance of various quantum-key-distribution systems using 1.55-μm up-conversion single-photon detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diamanti, Eleni; Takesue, Hiroki; Honjo, Toshimori; Inoue, Kyo; Yamamoto, Yoshihisa

2005-01-01

We compare the performance of various quantum-key-distribution (QKD) systems using a single-photon detector, which combines frequency up-conversion in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide and a silicon avalanche photodiode (APD). The comparison is based on the secure communication rate as a function of distance for three QKD protocols: the Bennett-Brassard 1984, the Bennett-Brassard-Mermin 1992, and the coherent differential-phase-shift keying protocols. We show that the up-conversion detector allows for higher communication rates and longer communication distances than the commonly used InGaAs/InP APD for all three QKD protocols

Diversity Dynamics in Nymphalidae Butterflies: Effect of Phylogenetic Uncertainty on Diversification Rate Shift Estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Peña, Carlos; Espeland, Marianne

2015-01-01

The species rich butterfly family Nymphalidae has been used to study evolutionary interactions between plants and insects. Theories of insect-hostplant dynamics predict accelerated diversification due to key innovations. In evolutionary biology, analysis of maximum credibility trees in the software MEDUSA (modelling evolutionary diversity using stepwise AIC) is a popular method for estimation of shifts in diversification rates. We investigated whether phylogenetic uncertainty can produce different results by extending the method across a random sample of trees from the posterior distribution of a Bayesian run. Using the MultiMEDUSA approach, we found that phylogenetic uncertainty greatly affects diversification rate estimates. Different trees produced diversification rates ranging from high values to almost zero for the same clade, and both significant rate increase and decrease in some clades. Only four out of 18 significant shifts found on the maximum clade credibility tree were consistent across most of the sampled trees. Among these, we found accelerated diversification for Ithomiini butterflies. We used the binary speciation and extinction model (BiSSE) and found that a hostplant shift to Solanaceae is correlated with increased net diversification rates in Ithomiini, congruent with the diffuse cospeciation hypothesis. Our results show that taking phylogenetic uncertainty into account when estimating net diversification rate shifts is of great importance, as very different results can be obtained when using the maximum clade credibility tree and other trees from the posterior distribution. PMID:25830910

Diversity dynamics in Nymphalidae butterflies: effect of phylogenetic uncertainty on diversification rate shift estimates.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Peña

Full Text Available The species rich butterfly family Nymphalidae has been used to study evolutionary interactions between plants and insects. Theories of insect-hostplant dynamics predict accelerated diversification due to key innovations. In evolutionary biology, analysis of maximum credibility trees in the software MEDUSA (modelling evolutionary diversity using stepwise AIC is a popular method for estimation of shifts in diversification rates. We investigated whether phylogenetic uncertainty can produce different results by extending the method across a random sample of trees from the posterior distribution of a Bayesian run. Using the MultiMEDUSA approach, we found that phylogenetic uncertainty greatly affects diversification rate estimates. Different trees produced diversification rates ranging from high values to almost zero for the same clade, and both significant rate increase and decrease in some clades. Only four out of 18 significant shifts found on the maximum clade credibility tree were consistent across most of the sampled trees. Among these, we found accelerated diversification for Ithomiini butterflies. We used the binary speciation and extinction model (BiSSE and found that a hostplant shift to Solanaceae is correlated with increased net diversification rates in Ithomiini, congruent with the diffuse cospeciation hypothesis. Our results show that taking phylogenetic uncertainty into account when estimating net diversification rate shifts is of great importance, as very different results can be obtained when using the maximum clade credibility tree and other trees from the posterior distribution.

Working the Night Shift: The Impact of Compensating Wages and Local Economic Conditions on Shift Choice

OpenAIRE

Colene Trent; Walter J. Mayer

2014-01-01

The theory of compensating differentials asserts that night shift workers should receive compensating wage differentials due to undesirable work conditions. In weak local economies, workers may have difficulty finding jobs; thus, these workers might be more likely to accept night shift work and be less concerned with the size of the compensating differential for night shifts. Using CPS data from 2001, this paper employs maximum likelihood estimation of an endogenous switching regression model...

Stokes shift spectroscopy for breast cancer diagnosis

Science.gov (United States)

Jeyasingh, Ebenezar; Prakashrao, Aruna; Singaravelu, Ganesan

2010-02-01

The objective of this study is to assess the diagnostic potential of stokes shift (SS) spectroscopy (SSS) for normal and different pathological breast tissues such as fibroadenoma and infiltrating ductal carcinoma. The SS spectra is measured by simultaneously scanning both the excitation and emission wavelengths while keeping a fixed wavelength interval Δλ=20 nm between them. Characteristic, highly resolved peaks and significant spectral differences between normal and different pathological breast tissues were observed. The SS spectra of normal and different pathological breast tissues shows the distinct peaks around 300, 350, 450, 500 and 600 nm may be attributed to tryptophan, collagen, NADH, flavin and porphyrin respectively. Using SSS technique one can obtain all the key fluorophores in a single scan and hence they can be targeted as a tumor markers in this study. In order to quantify the altered spectral differences between normal and different pathological breast tissues are verified by different ratio parameters.

Regime shift of snow days in Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Marty, Christoph

2008-06-01

The number of days with a snow depth above a certain threshold is the key factor for winter tourism in an Alpine country like Switzerland. An investigation of 34 long-term stations between 200 and 1800 m asl (above sea level) going back for at least the last 60 years (1948-2007) shows an unprecedented series of low snow winters in the last 20 years. The signal is uniform despite high regional differences. A shift detection analysis revealed a significant step-like decrease in snow days at the end of the 1980's with no clear trend since then. This abrupt change resulted in a loss of 20% to 60% of the total snow days. The stepwise increase of the mean winter temperature at the end of the 1980's and its close correlation with the snow day anomalies corroborate the sensitivity of the mid-latitude winter to the climate change induced temperature increase.

Chemical shift-dependent apparent scalar couplings: An alternative concept of chemical shift monitoring in multi-dimensional NMR experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwiatkowski, Witek; Riek, Roland

2003-01-01

The paper presents an alternative technique for chemical shift monitoring in a multi-dimensional NMR experiment. The monitored chemical shift is coded in the line-shape of a cross-peak through an apparent residual scalar coupling active during an established evolution period or acquisition. The size of the apparent scalar coupling is manipulated with an off-resonance radio-frequency pulse in order to correlate the size of the coupling with the position of the additional chemical shift. The strength of this concept is that chemical shift information is added without an additional evolution period and accompanying polarization transfer periods. This concept was incorporated into the three-dimensional triple-resonance experiment HNCA, adding the information of 1 H α chemical shifts. The experiment is called HNCA coded HA, since the chemical shift of 1 H α is coded in the line-shape of the cross-peak along the 13 C α dimension

A simple coherent attack and practical security of differential phase shift quantum cryptography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kronberg, D A

2014-01-01

The differential phase shift quantum key distribution protocol reveals good security against such powerful attacks as unambiguous state discrimination and beam splitting attacks. Its complete security analysis is complex due to high dimensions of the supposed spaces and density operators. In this paper, we consider a particular and conceptually simple coherent attack, available in practical implementations. The main condition for this attack is the length of used coherent state tuples of order 8–12. We show that under this condition, no high level of practical distance between legitimate users can be achieved. (paper)

Doppler shift simulation of scattered HF signals during the Tromsø HF pumping experiment on 16 February 1996

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. D. Borisova

2002-09-01

Full Text Available Comparisons between bistatic scatter measurements and simulation results during the Tromsø HF pumping experiment on 16 February 1996 are made. Doppler measurements of an HF diagnostic signal scattered from the field-aligned irregularities (FAIs in the auroral E-region were carried out on the London – Tromsø – St. Petersburg path at 9410 kHz from 21:00 to 22:00 UT. The scattered signals were observed both from natural and artificial ionospheric irregularities located in the vicinity of Tromsø. To simulate the Doppler frequency shifts, fd , of scattered signals, a radio channel model, named CONE, was developed. The model allows for ray tracing, group and phase paths, and Doppler frequency shift calculations. The calculated Doppler shifts were analyzed for dependence on the magnitude and direction of plasma velocities in the scattering volume. It was found that the velocity components in the north-south direction are crucial for explaining the Doppler frequency shifts of the scattered diagnostic signals. To simulate fd , real velocities obtained from the EISCAT UHF radar at an altitude of 278 km and from the digital all-sky imager during the experiment were employed. The simulation results of Doppler frequency shift variations with time are in reasonable agreement with the experimental Doppler shifts of scattered signals on the London – Tromsø – St. Petersburg path.Key words. Ionosphere (active experiments; ionospheric irregularities Radio science (ionospheric propagation

Doppler interpretation of quasar red shifts.

Science.gov (United States)

Zapolsky, H S

1966-08-05

The hypothesis that the quasistellar sources (quasars) are local objects moving with velocities close to the speed of light is examined. Provided there is no observational cutoff on apparent bolometric magnitude for the quasars, the transverse Doppler effect leads to the expectation of fewer blue shifts than red shifts for an isotropic distribution of velocities. Such a distribution also yields a function N(z), the number of objects with red shift less than z which is not inconsistent with the present data. On the basis of two extreme assumptions concerning the origin of such rapidly moving sources, we computed curves of red shift plotted against magnitude. In particular, the curve obtained on the assumption that the quasars originated from an explosion in or nearby our own galaxy is in as good agreement with the observations as the curve of cosmological red shift plotted against magnitude.

Goos-Haenchen shift in complex crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Longhi, Stefano; Della Valle, Giuseppe; Staliunas, Kestutis [Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Departament de Fisica i Enginyeria Nuclear, Instituci Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avanats (ICREA), Universitat Politcnica de Catalunya, Colom 11, E-08222 Terrassa, Barcelona (Spain)

2011-10-15

The Goos-Haenchen (GH) effect for wave scattering from complex PT-symmetric periodic potentials (complex crystals) is theoretically investigated, with specific reference to optical GH shift in photonic crystal slabs with a sinusoidal periodic modulation of both real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant. The analysis highlights some distinct and rather unique features as compared to the GH shift found in ordinary crystals. In particular, as opposed to GH shift in ordinary crystals, which is large at the band gap edges, in complex crystals the GH shift can be large inside the reflection (amplification) band and becomes extremely large as the PT symmetry-breaking threshold is approached.

Optimal control of the gear shifting process for shift smoothness in dual-clutch transmissions

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Guoqiang; Görges, Daniel

2018-03-01

The control of the transmission system in vehicles is significant for the driving comfort. In order to design a controller for smooth shifting and comfortable driving, a dynamic model of a dual-clutch transmission is presented in this paper. A finite-time linear quadratic regulator is proposed for the optimal control of the two friction clutches in the torque phase for the upshift process. An integral linear quadratic regulator is introduced to regulate the relative speed difference between the engine and the slipping clutch under the optimization of the input torque during the inertia phase. The control objective focuses on smoothing the upshift process so as to improve the driving comfort. Considering the available sensors in vehicles for feedback control, an observer design is presented to track the immeasurable variables. Simulation results show that the jerk can be reduced both in the torque phase and inertia phase, indicating good shift performance. Furthermore, compared with conventional controllers for the upshift process, the proposed control method can reduce shift jerk and improve shift quality.

El Niño, Rainfall, and the Shifting Geography of Cholera in Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, S.; Azman, A. S.; Zaitchik, B. F.; McKay, H.; Lessler, J.

2017-12-01

The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and other climate patterns can have profound impacts on the occurrence of infectious diseases. Because of the key role of water supplies in cholera transmission, a relationship between El Niño events and cholera incidence is highly plausible, and previous research has shown a link between El Niño patterns and cholera in Bangladesh. However, there is little systematic evidence for this link in Africa where many cholera cases and deaths are reported. To understand how ENSO affects the geographic distribution of cholera incidence in Africa, we used a hierarchical Bayesian approach to integrate over 17,000 annual observations of cholera incidence from 2000-2014 in over 3,000 unique locations of varying spatial extent, ranging from entire countries to neighborhoods. The resulting maps reflect modeled cholera incidence at a fine spatial resolution using reported counts of cholera cases, key explanatory variables, and a spatially-dependent covariance term. We then examined the potential mechanistic association between ENSO-related changes in cholera incidence and several environmental variables including rainfall. El Niño profoundly changed the annual geographic distribution of cholera in Africa from 2000-2014, shifting the burden to continental East Africa, where almost 50,000 additional cases occur during El Niño years. Cholera incidence during El Niño years was higher in regions of East Africa with increased rainfall, but incidence was also higher in some areas with decreased rainfall suggesting a complex relationship between rainfall and cholera incidence. Here we show clear evidence for a shift in the distribution of cholera incidence throughout Africa in El Niño and non-El Niño years, likely mediated by El Niño's impact on local climatic factors. Knowledge of this relationship between cholera and climate patterns coupled with El Niño forecasting could be used to notify countries in Africa when they are likely to see

Temporal dynamics of circadian phase shifting response to consecutive night shifts in healthcare workers: role of light-dark exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Julia E; Sletten, Tracey L; Magee, Michelle; Ganesan, Saranea; Mulhall, Megan D; Collins, Allison; Howard, Mark; Lockley, Steven W; Rajaratnam, Shantha M W

2018-03-28

Shift work is highly prevalent and is associated with significant adverse health impacts. There is substantial inter-individual variability in the way the circadian clock responds to changing shift cycles. The mechanisms underlying this variability are not well understood. We tested the hypothesis that light-dark exposure is a significant contributor to this variability; when combined with diurnal preference, the relative timing of light exposure accounted for 71% of individual variability in circadian phase response to night shift work. These results will drive development of personalised approaches to manage circadian disruption among shift workers and other vulnerable populations to potentially reduce the increased risk of disease in these populations. Night shift workers show highly variable rates of circadian adaptation. This study examined the relationship between light exposure patterns and the magnitude of circadian phase resetting in response to night shift work. In 21 participants (nursing and medical staff in an intensive care unit) circadian phase was measured using 6-sulphatoxymelatonin at baseline (day/evening shifts or days off) and after 3-4 consecutive night shifts. Daily light exposure was examined relative to individual circadian phase to quantify light intensity in the phase delay and phase advance portions of the light phase response curve (PRC). There was substantial inter-individual variability in the direction and magnitude of phase shift after three or four consecutive night shifts (mean phase delay -1:08 ± 1:31 h; range -3:43 h delay to +3:07 h phase advance). The relative difference in the distribution of light relative to the PRC combined with diurnal preference accounted for 71% of the variability in phase shift. Regression analysis incorporating these factors estimated phase shift to within ±60 min in 85% of participants. No participants met criteria for partial adaptation to night work after three or four consecutive night

Understanding and controlling chromaticity shift in LED devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, Lynn; Mills, Karmann; Lamvik, Michael; Perkins, Curtis; Bobashev, Georgiy; Young, Joseph; Yaga, Robert; Johnson, Cortina

2017-05-30

Chromaticity shift in light-emitting diode (LED) devices arises from multiple mechanisms, and at least five different chromaticity shift modes (CSMs) have been identified to date. This paper focuses on the impacts of irreversible phosphor degradation as a cause of chromaticity shifts in LED devices. The nitride phosphors used to produce warm white LEDs are especially vulnerable to degradation due to thermal and chemical effects such as reactions with oxygen and water. As a result, LED devices utilizing these phosphors were found to undergo either a green shift or, less commonly, a red shift depending on the phosphor mix in the LED devices. These types of chromaticity shifts are classified as CSM-2 (green shift) and CSM-5 (red shift). This paper provides an overview of the kinetic processes responsible for green and red chromaticity shifts along with examples from accelerated stress testing of 6” downlights. Both CSMs appear to proceed through analogous mechanisms that are initiated at the surface of the phosphor. A green shift is produced by the surface oxidation of the nitride phosphor that changes the emission profile to lower wavelengths. As the surface oxidation reaction proceeds, reactant limitations slow the rate and bulk oxidation processes become more prevalent. We found that a red chromaticity shift arises from quenching of the green phosphor, also possibly due to surface reactions of oxygen, which shift the emission chromaticity in the red direction. In conclusion, we discuss the implications of these findings on projecting chromaticity.

Characterization Of Dissolved Organic Mattter In The Florida Keys Ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, D. G.; Shank, G. C.

2009-12-01

Over the past few decades, Scleractinian coral populations in the Florida Keys have increasingly experienced mortality due to bleaching events as well as microbial mediated illnesses such as black band and white band disease. Such pathologies seem to be most correlated with elevated sea surface temperatures, increased UV exposures, and shifts in the microbial community living on the coral itself. Recent studies indicate that corals’ exposure to UV in the Florida Keys is primarily controlled by the concentration of CDOM (Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter) in the water column. Further, microbial community alterations may be linked to changes in concentration and chemical composition of the larger DOM (Dissolved Organic Matter) pool. Our research characterized the spatial and temporal properties of DOM in Florida Bay and along the Keys ecosystems using DOC analyses, in-situ water column optical measurements, and spectral analyses including absorbance and fluorescence measurements. We analyzed DOM characteristics along transects running from the mouth of the Shark River at the southwest base of the Everglades, through Florida Bay, and along near-shore Keys coastal waters. Two 12 hour time-series samplings were also performed at the Seven-Mile Bridge, the primary Florida Bay discharge channel to the lower Keys region. Photo-bleaching experiments showed that the chemical characteristics of the DOM pool are altered by exposure to solar radiation. Results also show that DOC (~0.8-5.8 mg C/L) and CDOM (~0.5-16.5 absorbance coefficient at 305nm) concentrations exhibit seasonal fluctuations in our study region. EEM analyses suggest seasonal transitions between primarily marine (summer) and terrestrial (winter) sources along the Keys. We are currently combining EEM-PARAFAC analysis with in-situ optical measurements to model changes in the spectral properties of DOM in the water column. Additionally, we are using stable δ13C isotopic analysis to further characterize DOM

The development of shifting radioactive material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Haiteng; Chen Yonghong; Yin Fujun; Che Mingsheng; Hu Xiaodan; Yao Shouzhong

2010-01-01

In nuclear field, When the nuclear material shifting from the glove-box,use the technology of plastic welding package in accordance with tradition. There are some defects in this technology because of the plastic character, such as package pierced easily, wrapper not fitted storage for long term, etc. Because of this limit. Plastic shifting technology is only fit for shifting radwaste and nuclear material not need storage from radioactive close area to non-radioactive open area for long term.As the nuclear material exiting leak when shifting in plastic package,and the plastic material don't meet the need of storaging safely for long term.We research into a new technology of nuclear material shifting. When nuclear material is carried out from the glove box. It should be sealed by welding case, then it can be storaged safely for long term. At the same time, nuclear material wouldn't pollute the glove box outside.The study achieved well effect in apply. (authors)

Association between rotating night shift work and metabolic syndrome in Korean workers: differences between 8-hour and 12-hour rotating shift work.

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Jae-Il; Yim, Hyeon Woo

2018-02-07

This study aimed to analyze the association between the shift work schedule and metabolic syndrome (MetS). This is a retrospective longitudinal study based on the 2015 health checkup data of 2,090 workers evaluated for MetS in 2010 at a general hospital in Korea. The participants were divided according to their shift work schedule into daytime, three-shift (8-h rotation), and two-shift (12-h rotation) workers. The index that indicates the association between the shift work schedule and MetS is the odds ratio (OR) calculated using multivariate logistic regression. The analysis for the entire group of workers indicated that there was positive association between two-shift rotation and MetS (OR=1.58, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09, 2.29). In the analysis of rotating night-shift workers, the years of rotating night shifts, frequency of night-shift work, and sleep disturbance were added to the confounding variables, and two-shift work remained positively associated with MetS (OR=1.72, 95% CI: 1.10, 2.70). The risk of MetS differs based on the shift work schedules they engage in. Hence, structural changes to the shift work schedules are required to prevent MetS in night-shift workers.

Shift work and age in the offshore petroleum industry

OpenAIRE

Waage, Siri; Pallesen, Ståle; Moen, Bente Elisabeth; Bjorvatn, Bjørn

2010-01-01

Background. Shift work is associated with sleep and health problems. Tolerance to shift work is reported to decrease with age. Shift work tolerance should be considered in different shift work populations. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between age, shift work exposure, shift type, and morningness and sleep/health problems in oil rig shift workers. Material and methods. A total of 199 workers participated. They worked either two weeks of 12-h day shifts (n = 96) or tw...

Flexible Schedules and Shift Work.

Science.gov (United States)

Beers, Thomas M.

2000-01-01

Flexible work hours have gained prominence, as more than 25 million workers (27.6% of all full-time workers) can now vary their schedules. However, there has been little change since the mid-1980s in the proportion who work a shift other than a regular daytime shift. (JOW)

Ecosystem regime shifts disrupt trophic structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Hempson, Tessa N; Graham, Nicholas A J; MacNeil, M Aaron; Hoey, Andrew S; Wilson, Shaun K

2018-01-01

Regime shifts between alternative stable ecosystem states are becoming commonplace due to the combined effects of local stressors and global climate change. Alternative states are characterized as substantially different in form and function from pre-disturbance states, disrupting the delivery of ecosystem services and functions. On coral reefs, regime shifts are typically characterized by a change in the benthic composition from coral to macroalgal dominance. Such fundamental shifts in the benthos are anticipated to impact associated fish communities that are reliant on the reef for food and shelter, yet there is limited understanding of how regime shifts propagate through the fish community over time, relative to initial or recovery conditions. This study addresses this knowledge gap using long-term data of coral reef regime shifts and recovery on Seychelles reefs following the 1998 mass bleaching event. It shows how trophic structure of the reef fish community becomes increasingly dissimilar between alternative reef ecosystem states (regime-shifted vs. recovering) with time since disturbance. Regime-shifted reefs developed a concave trophic structure, with increased biomass in base trophic levels as herbivorous species benefitted from increased algal resources. Mid trophic level species, including specialists such as corallivores, declined with loss of coral habitat, while biomass was retained in upper trophic levels by large-bodied, generalist invertivores. Recovering reefs also experienced an initial decline in mid trophic level biomass, but moved toward a bottom-heavy pyramid shape, with a wide range of feeding groups (e.g., planktivores, corallivores, omnivores) represented at mid trophic levels. Given the importance of coral reef fishes in maintaining the ecological function of coral reef ecosystems and their associated fisheries, understanding the effects of regime shifts on these communities is essential to inform decisions that enhance ecological

Achieving excellence on shift through teamwork

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Newman, L.

1988-01-01

Anyone familiar with the nuclear industry realizes the importance of operators. Operators can achieve error-free plant operations, i.e., excellence on shift through teamwork. As a shift supervisor (senior reactor operator/shift technical advisor) the author went through the plant's first cycle of operations with no scrams and no equipment damaged by operator error, having since changed roles (and companies) to one of assessing plant operations. This change has provided the opportunity to see objectively the importance of operators working together and of the team building and teamwork that contribute to the shift's success. This paper uses examples to show the effectiveness of working together and outlines steps for building a group of operators into a team

Unusually large chemical potential shift in a degenerate semiconductor: Angle-resolved photoemission study of SnSe and Na-doped SnSe

Science.gov (United States)

Maeda, M.; Yamamoto, K.; Mizokawa, T.; Saini, N. L.; Arita, M.; Namatame, H.; Taniguchi, M.; Tan, G.; Zhao, L. D.; Kanatzidis, M. G.

2018-03-01

We have studied the electronic structure of SnSe and Na-doped SnSe by means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The valence-band top reaches the Fermi level by the Na doping, indicating that Na-doped SnSe can be viewed as a degenerate semiconductor. However, in the Na-doped system, the chemical potential shift with temperature is unexpectedly large and is apparently inconsistent with the degenerate semiconductor picture. The large chemical potential shift and anomalous spectral shape are key ingredients for an understanding of the novel metallic state with the large thermoelectric performance in Na-doped SnSe.

Simple Web-based interactive key development software (WEBiKEY) and an example key for Kuruna (Poaceae: Bambusoideae).

Science.gov (United States)

Attigala, Lakshmi; De Silva, Nuwan I; Clark, Lynn G

2016-04-01

Programs that are user-friendly and freely available for developing Web-based interactive keys are scarce and most of the well-structured applications are relatively expensive. WEBiKEY was developed to enable researchers to easily develop their own Web-based interactive keys with fewer resources. A Web-based multiaccess identification tool (WEBiKEY) was developed that uses freely available Microsoft ASP.NET technologies and an SQL Server database for Windows-based hosting environments. WEBiKEY was tested for its usability with a sample data set, the temperate woody bamboo genus Kuruna (Poaceae). WEBiKEY is freely available to the public and can be used to develop Web-based interactive keys for any group of species. The interactive key we developed for Kuruna using WEBiKEY enables users to visually inspect characteristics of Kuruna and identify an unknown specimen as one of seven possible species in the genus.

Northward shift of the agricultural climate zone under 21st-century global climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Myron; Altdorff, Daniel; Li, Pengfei; Galagedara, Lakshman; Holden, Joseph; Unc, Adrian

2018-05-21

As agricultural regions are threatened by climate change, warming of high latitude regions and increasing food demands may lead to northward expansion of global agriculture. While socio-economic demands and edaphic conditions may govern the expansion, climate is a key limiting factor. Extant literature on future crop projections considers established agricultural regions and is mainly temperature based. We employed growing degree days (GDD), as the physiological link between temperature and crop growth, to assess the global northward shift of agricultural climate zones under 21 st -century climate change. Using ClimGen scenarios for seven global climate models (GCMs), based on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and transient GHGs, we delineated the future extent of GDD areas, feasible for small cereals, and assessed the projected changes in rainfall and potential evapotranspiration. By 2099, roughly 76% (55% to 89%) of the boreal region might reach crop feasible GDD conditions, compared to the current 32%. The leading edge of the feasible GDD will shift northwards up to 1200 km by 2099 while the altitudinal shift remains marginal. However, most of the newly gained areas are associated with highly seasonal and monthly variations in climatic water balances, a critical component of any future land-use and management decisions.

Shift in Food Intake and Changes in Metabolic Regulation and Gene Expression during Simulated Night-Shift Work : A Rat Model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marti, Andrea Rørvik; Meerlo, Peter; Grønli, Janne; van Hasselt, Sjoerd Johan; Mrdalj, Jelena; Pallesen, Ståle; Pedersen, Torhild Thue; Henriksen, Tone Elise Gjøtterud; Skrede, Silje

2016-01-01

Night-shift work is linked to a shift in food intake toward the normal sleeping period, and to metabolic disturbance. We applied a rat model of night-shift work to assess the immediate effects of such a shift in food intake on metabolism. Male Wistar rats were subjected to 8 h of forced activity

Uncertainties in key low carbon power generation technologies - Implication for UK decarbonisation targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kannan, R.

2009-01-01

The UK government's economy-wide 60% carbon dioxide reduction target by 2050 requires a paradigm shift in the whole energy system. Numerous analytical studies have concluded that the power sector is a critical contributor to a low carbon energy system, and electricity generation has dominated the policy discussion on UK decarbonisation scenarios. However, range of technical, social and market challenges, combined with alternate market investment strategies mean that large scale deployment of key classes of low carbon electricity technologies is fraught with uncertainty. The UK MARKAL energy systems model has been used to investigate these long-term uncertainties in key electricity generation options. A range of power sector specific parametric sensitivities have been performed under a 'what-if' framework to provide a systematic exploration of least-cost energy system configurations under a broad, integrated set of input assumptions. In this paper results of six sensitivities, via restricted investments in key low carbon technologies to reflect their technical and political uncertainties, and an alternate investment strategies from perceived risk and other barriers, have been presented. (author)

Objectively measured physical activity of hospital shift workers.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loef, Bette; van der Beek, Allard J; Holtermann, Andreas; Hulsegge, Gerben; van Baarle, Debbie; Proper, Karin I

2018-01-01

Objectives Shift work may alter workers' leisure-time and occupational physical activity (PA) levels, which might be one of the potential underlying mechanisms of the negative health effects of shift work. Therefore, we compared objectively measured PA levels between hospital shift and non-shift

Evaluating the traditional day and night shift in an acute care surgery fellowship: Is the swing shift a better choice?

Science.gov (United States)

Chestovich, Paul J; McNicoll, Christopher F; Ingalls, Nichole K; Kuhls, Deborah A; Fraser, Douglas R; Morrissey, Shawna L; Fildes, John J

2018-01-01

Fellowship trainees in acute care surgery require experience in the management of complex and operative trauma cases. Trauma center staffing usually follows standard 12-hour or 24-hour shifts, with resident and fellow trainees following a similar schedule. Although trauma admissions can be generally unpredictable, we analyzed temporal trends of trauma patient arrival times to determine the best time frame to maximize trainee experience during each day. We reviewed 10 years (2007-2016) of trauma registry data for blunt and penetrating trauma activations. Hourly volumetric trends were observed, and three specific events were chosen for detailed analysis: (1) trauma activation with Injury Severity Score (ISS) greater than 15, (2) laparotomy for trauma, and (3) thoracotomy for trauma. A retrospective shift log was created, which included day (7:00 AM to 7:00 PM), night (7:00 PM to 7:00 AM), and swing (noon to midnight) shifts. A swing shift was chosen because it captures the peak volume for all three events. Means and 95% confidence intervals were calculated, and comparisons were made between shifts using the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test with Bonferroni correction, and p less than 0.05 considered significant. During the 10-year study period, 28,287 patients were treated at our trauma center. This included the evaluation and management of 7,874 patients with ISS greater than 15, performance of 1,766 laparotomies, and 392 thoracotomies for trauma. Swing shift was superior to both day and night shifts for ISS greater than 15 (p night shifts were superior to day shift for laparotomies (p day shift (p night shift (p = 0.031). Shifts with the highest yield of ISS greater than 15, laparotomies, and thoracotomies include night and swing shifts on Fridays and Saturdays. Projected experience of acute care surgery fellows in managing complex trauma patients increases with the integration of swing shifts into the schedule. Daily trauma volume follows a temporal pattern

Random coil chemical shift for intrinsically disordered proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Magnus; Brander, Søren; Poulsen, Flemming Martin

2011-01-01

. Temperature has a non-negligible effect on the (13)C random coil chemical shifts, so temperature coefficients are reported for the random coil chemical shifts to allow extrapolation to other temperatures. The pH dependence of the histidine random coil chemical shifts is investigated in a titration series......, which allows the accurate random coil chemical shifts to be obtained at any pH. By correcting the random coil chemical shifts for the effects of temperature and pH, systematic biases of the secondary chemical shifts are minimized, which will improve the reliability of detection of transient secondary...

Exploring the key predictors of retention in emergency nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawatzky, Jo-Ann V; Enns, Carol L

2012-07-01

To explore the factors that predict the retention of nurses working in emergency departments. The escalating shortage of nurses is one of the most critical issues facing specialty areas, such as the emergency department. Therefore, it is important to identify the key influencing and intermediary factors that affect emergency department nurses' intention to leave. As part of a larger study, a cross-sectional survey was completed by 261 registered nurses working in the 12 designated emergency departments within rural, urban community and tertiary hospitals in Manitoba, Canada. Twenty-six per cent of the respondents will probably/definitely leave their current emergency department jobs within the next year. Engagement was the key predictor of intention to leave (P burnout (P nursing management, professional practice, collaboration with physicians, staffing resources and shift work emerged as significant influencing factors for engagement. Engagement plays a central role in emergency department nurses intention to leave. Addressing the factors that influence engagement may reduce emergency department nurses' intention to leave. This study highlights the value of research-based evidence as the foundation for developing innovative strategies for the retention of emergency department nurses. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Associations between shift schedule characteristics with sleep, need for recovery, health and performance measures for regular (semi-)continuous 3-shift systems.

Science.gov (United States)

van de Ven, Hardy A; Brouwer, Sandra; Koolhaas, Wendy; Goudswaard, Anneke; de Looze, Michiel P; Kecklund, Göran; Almansa, Josue; Bültmann, Ute; van der Klink, Jac J L

2016-09-01

In this cross-sectional study associations were examined between eight shift schedule characteristics with shift-specific sleep complaints and need for recovery and generic health and performance measures. It was hypothesized that shift schedule characteristics meeting ergonomic recommendations are associated with better sleep, need for recovery, health and performance. Questionnaire data were collected from 491 shift workers of 18 companies with 9 regular (semi)-continuous shift schedules. The shift schedule characteristics were analyzed separately and combined using multilevel linear regression models. The hypothesis was largely not confirmed. Relatively few associations were found, of which the majority was in the direction as expected. In particular early starts of morning shifts and many consecutive shifts seem to be avoided. The healthy worker effect, limited variation between included schedules and the cross-sectional design might explain the paucity of significant results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shift Performance Test and Analysis of Multipurpose Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Can Yang

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This paper presented an analysis of the gear shifting performances of a multipurpose vehicle transmission in driving condition by Ricardo's Gear Shift Quality Assessment (GSQA system. The performances of the transmission included the travel and effort of the gear shift lever and synchronizing time. The mathematic models of the transmission including the gear shift mechanism and synchronizer were developed in MATLAB. The model of the gear shift mechanism was developed to analyze the travel map of the gear shift lever and the model of the synchronizer was developed to obtain the force-time curve of the synchronizer during the slipping time. The model of the synchronizer was used to investigate the relationship between the performances of the transmission and the variation of parameters during gear shifting. The mathematic models of the gear shift mechanism and the synchronizer provided a rapid design and verification method for the transmission with ring spring.

Night shift and rotating shift in association with sleep problems, burnout and minor mental disorder in male and female employees.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Wan-Ju; Cheng, Yawen

2017-07-01

Shift work is associated with adverse physical and psychological health outcomes. However, the independent health effects of night work and rotating shift on workers' sleep and mental health risks and the potential gender differences have not been fully evaluated. We used data from a nationwide survey of representative employees of Taiwan in 2013, consisting of 16 440 employees. Participants reported their work shift patterns 1 week prior to the survey, which were classified into the four following shift types: fixed day, rotating day, fixed night and rotating night shifts. Also obtained were self-reported sleep duration, presence of insomnia, burnout and mental disorder assessed by the Brief Symptom Rating Scale. Among all shift types, workers with fixed night shifts were found to have the shortest duration of sleep, highest level of burnout score, and highest prevalence of insomnia and minor mental disorders. Gender-stratified regression analyses with adjustment of age, education and psychosocial work conditions showed that both in male and female workers, fixed night shifts were associated with greater risks for short sleep duration (night shifts were also associated with increased risks for burnout and mental disorders, but after adjusting for insomnia, the associations between fixed night shifts and poor mental health were no longer significant. The findings of this study suggested that a fixed night shift was associated with greater risks for sleep and mental health problems, and the associations might be mediated by sleep disturbance. 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/.

Validity of self-reported exposure to shift work.

Science.gov (United States)

Härmä, Mikko; Koskinen, Aki; Ropponen, Annina; Puttonen, Sampsa; Karhula, Kati; Vahtera, Jussi; Kivimäki, Mika

2017-03-01

To evaluate the validity of widely used questionnaire items on work schedule using objective registry data as reference. A cohort study of hospital employees who responded to a self-administered questionnaire on work schedule in 2008, 2012 and 2014 and were linked to individual-level pay-roll-based records on work shifts. For predictive validity, leisure-time fatigue was assessed. According to the survey data in 2014 (n=8896), 55% of the day workers had at least 1 year of earlier shift work experience. 8% of the night shift workers changed to day work during the follow-up. Using pay-roll data as reference, questions on 'shift work with night shifts' and 'permanent night work' showed high sensitivity (96% and 90%) and specificity (92% and 97%). Self-reported 'regular day work' showed moderate sensitivity (73%), but high specificity (99%) and 'shift work without night shifts' showed low sensitivity (62%) and moderate specificity (87%). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the age-adjusted, sex-adjusted and baseline fatigue-adjusted association between 'shift work without night shifts' and leisure-time fatigue was lower for self-reported compared with objective assessment (1.30, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.82, n=1707 vs 1.89, 95% CI 1.06 to 3.39, n=1627). In contrast, shift work with night shifts, compared with permanent day work, was similarly associated with fatigue in the two assessments (2.04, 95% CI 1.62 to 2.57, n=2311 vs 1.82, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.58, n=1804). The validity of self-reported assessment of shift work varies between work schedules. Exposure misclassification in self-reported data may contribute to bias towards the null in shift work without night shifts. 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/.

Manet key management via Mobile Ficlke Key protocol (MFK ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Manet key management via Mobile Ficlke Key protocol (MFK) ... Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL ... No Abstract. Keywords: MANET; key management scheme; simulation environment ...

5 CFR 532.505 - Night shift differentials.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Night shift differentials. 532.505... PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS Premium Pay and Differentials § 532.505 Night shift differentials. (a) Employees shall be entitled to receive night shift differentials in accordance with section 5343 of title 5...

Shifting Cultivation : Promoting Innovative Policy and Development ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Shifting Cultivation : Promoting Innovative Policy and Development Options in the Eastern Himalayas. Shifting ... pressure and market forces. The idea is to share good policies and practices related to shifting cultivation and alternative options through regional exchange. ... Les chaînes de valeur comme leviers stratégiques.

Shifting white pox aetiologies affecting Acropora palmata in the Florida Keys, 1994–2014

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Brett; Park, Andrew; Kemp, Dustin W.; Kemp, Keri M.; Lipp, Erin K.; Porter, James W.

2016-01-01

We propose ‘the moving target hypothesis’ to describe the aetiology of a contemporary coral disease that differs from that of its historical disease state. Hitting the target with coral disease aetiology is a complex pursuit that requires understanding of host and environment, and may lack a single pathogen solution. White pox disease (WPX) affects the Caribbean coral Acropora palmata. Acroporid serratiosis is a form of WPX for which the bacterial pathogen (Serratia marcescens) has been established. We used long-term (1994–2014) photographic monitoring to evaluate historical and contemporary epizootiology and aetiology of WPX affecting A. palmata at eight reefs in the Florida Keys. Ranges of WPX prevalence over time (0–71.4%) were comparable for the duration of the 20-year study. Whole colony mortality and disease severity were high in historical (1994–2004), and low in contemporary (2008–2014), outbreaks of WPX. Acroporid serratiosis was diagnosed for some historical (1999, 2003) and contemporary (2012, 2013) outbreaks, but this form of WPX was not confirmed for all WPX cases. Our results serve as a context for considering aetiology as a moving target for WPX and other coral diseases for which pathogens are established and/or candidate pathogens are identified. Coral aetiology investigations completed to date suggest that changes in pathogen, host and/or environment alter the disease state and complicate diagnosis. PMID:26880837

Paradigm Shifts in Ophthalmic Diagnostics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sebag, J; Sadun, Alfredo A; Pierce, Eric A

2016-08-01

Future advances in ophthalmology will see a paradigm shift in diagnostics from a focus on dysfunction and disease to better measures of psychophysical function and health. Practical methods to define genotypes will be increasingly important and non-invasive nanotechnologies are needed to detect molecular changes that predate histopathology. This is not a review nor meant to be comprehensive. Specific topics have been selected to illustrate the principles of important paradigm shifts that will influence the future of ophthalmic diagnostics. It is our impression that future evaluation of vision will go beyond visual acuity to assess ocular health in terms of psychophysical function. The definition of disease will incorporate genotype into what has historically been a phenotype-centric discipline. Non-invasive nanotechnologies will enable a paradigm shift from disease detection on a cellular level to a sub-cellular molecular level. Vision can be evaluated beyond visual acuity by measuring contrast sensitivity, color vision, and macular function, as these provide better insights into the impact of aging and disease. Distortions can be quantified and the psychophysical basis of vision can be better evaluated than in the past by designing tests that assess particular macular cell function(s). Advances in our understanding of the genetic basis of eye diseases will enable better characterization of ocular health and disease. Non-invasive nanotechnologies can assess molecular changes in the lens, vitreous, and macula that predate visible pathology. Oxygen metabolism and circulatory physiology are measurable indices of ocular health that can detect variations of physiology and early disease. This overview of paradigm shifts in ophthalmology suggests that the future will see significant improvements in ophthalmic diagnostics. The selected topics illustrate the principles of these paradigm shifts and should serve as a guide to further research and development. Indeed

Solvent Effects on Oxygen-17 Chemical Shifts in Amides. Quantitative Linear Solvation Shift Relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Díez, Ernesto; Fabián, Jesús San; Gerothanassis, Ioannis P.; Esteban, Angel L.; Abboud, José-Luis M.; Contreras, Ruben H.; de Kowalewski, Dora G.

1997-01-01

A multiple-linear-regression analysis (MLRA) has been carried out using the Kamlet-Abboud-Taft (KAT) solvatochromic parameters in order to elucidate and quantify the solvent effects on the17O chemical shifts ofN-methylformamide (NMF),N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF),N-methylacetamide (NMA), andN,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA). The chemical shifts of the four molecules show the same dependence (in ppm) on the solvent polarity-polarizability, i.e., -22π*. The influence of the solvent hydrogen-bond-donor (HBD) acidities is slightly larger for the acetamides NMA and DMA, i.e., -48α, than for the formamides NMF and DMF, i.e., -42α. The influence of the solvent hydrogen-bond-acceptor (HBA) basicities is negligible for the nonprotic molecules DMF and DMA but significant for the protic molecules NMF and NMA, i.e., -9β. The effect of substituting the N-H hydrogen by a methyl group amounts to -5.9 ppm in NMF and 5.4 ppm in NMA. The effect of substituting the O=C-H hydrogen amounts to 5.5 ppm in NMF and 16.8 ppm in DMF. The model of specific hydration sites of amides by I. P. Gerothanassis and C. Vakka [J. Org. Chem.59,2341 (1994)] is settled in a more quantitative basis and the model by M. I. Burgar, T. E. St. Amour, and D. Fiat [J. Phys. Chem.85,502 (1981)] is critically evaluated.17O hydration shifts have been calculated for formamide (FOR) by the ab initio LORG method at the 6-31G* level. For a formamide surrounded by the four in-plane molecules of water in the first hydration shell, the calculated17O shift change due to the four hydrogen bonds, -83.2 ppm, is smaller than the empirical hydration shift, -100 ppm. The17O shift change from each out-of-plane water molecule hydrogen-bonded to the amide oxygen is -18.0 ppm. These LORG results support the conclusion that no more than four water molecules are hydrogen-bonded to the amide oxygen in formamide.

Identifying Patterns of Participant Shifts in the Psalms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Erwich, C.M.

2017-01-01

A great challenge of reading the Hebrew poetry of the Psalms is the identification of participants. The major cause of this problem is a continual shift in person, gender and number (so-called PGN-shifts, or participant shifts) in the text. To account for these PGN-shifts, scholars have always used

The Relationship Between Shift Work and Men's Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Nanfu; Kohn, Taylor P; Lipshultz, Larry I; Pastuszak, Alexander W

2018-01-19

More than 21 million Americans and nearly 20% of the U.S. workforce are shift workers. Non-standard shift work, defined as work that falls outside of 6 am-6 pm, can lead to poor diet, exercise, and sleep habits that lead to decreased productivity, increased workplace accidents, and a variety of negative health outcomes. To investigate the associations between shift work exposure and chronic medical conditions such as metabolic syndromes, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disturbances, and depression as well as urologic complications including hypogonadism, male infertility, lower urinary tract symptoms, and prostate cancer with a focus on the effects of shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) on the severity of these negative health outcomes. We reviewed the literature examining effects of shift work and SWSD on general and urologic health. We produced a summary of effects of shift work on health with focus on the increased risk of negative health outcomes in non-standard shift workers, particularly those with SWSD, when compared to daytime workers or workers without SWSD. Studies have associated non-standard shift work schedules and poor health outcomes, including increased risks of diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, heart disease, peptic ulcer disease, and depression, in shift workers. However, few studies have focused on the role that shift work plays in men's urologic health. Current evidence supports associations between non-standard shift work and increased hypogonadal symptoms, poor semen parameters, decreased fertility, lower urinary tract symptoms, and prostate cancer. These associations are strengthened by the presence of SWSD, which affects up to 20% of shift workers. Unfortunately, interventions, such as planned naps, timed light exposure, melatonin, and sedative hypnotics, aimed at alleviating excessive nighttime sleepiness and daytime insomnia in non-standard shift workers experiencing SWSD, are limited and lack strong evidence to support

Doppler shift simulation of scattered HF signals during the Tromsø HF pumping experiment on 16 February 1996

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. D. Borisova

Full Text Available Comparisons between bistatic scatter measurements and simulation results during the Tromsø HF pumping experiment on 16 February 1996 are made. Doppler measurements of an HF diagnostic signal scattered from the field-aligned irregularities (FAIs in the auroral E-region were carried out on the London – Tromsø – St. Petersburg path at 9410 kHz from 21:00 to 22:00 UT. The scattered signals were observed both from natural and artificial ionospheric irregularities located in the vicinity of Tromsø. To simulate the Doppler frequency shifts, f_d , of scattered signals, a radio channel model, named CONE, was developed. The model allows for ray tracing, group and phase paths, and Doppler frequency shift calculations. The calculated Doppler shifts were analyzed for dependence on the magnitude and direction of plasma velocities in the scattering volume. It was found that the velocity components in the north-south direction are crucial for explaining the Doppler frequency shifts of the scattered diagnostic signals. To simulate f_d , real velocities obtained from the EISCAT UHF radar at an altitude of 278 km and from the digital all-sky imager during the experiment were employed. The simulation results of Doppler frequency shift variations with time are in reasonable agreement with the experimental Doppler shifts of scattered signals on the London – Tromsø – St. Petersburg path.

Key words. Ionosphere (active experiments; ionospheric irregularities Radio science (ionospheric propagation

Shift-Variant Multidimensional Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

1985-05-29

x,y;u,v) is the system response at (x,y) to an unit impulse applied at (u,v). The presence of additive noise in the preceding input-output model of a...space model developed works very effi- ciently to deblur images affected by 2-D linear shift- varying blurs, its use, in presence of noise needs to be...causal linear shift-variant (LSV) system, whose impulse res- ponse is a K-th order degenerate sequence, a K-th order state-space model was obtained

[Sleep disorders among physicians on shift work].

Science.gov (United States)

Schlafer, O; Wenzel, V; Högl, B

2014-11-01

Sleep disorders in physicians who perform shift work can result in increased risks of health problems that negatively impact performance and patient safety. Even those who cope well with shift work are likely to suffer from sleep disorders. The aim of this manuscript is to discuss possible causes, contributing factors and consequences of sleep disorders in physicians and to identify measures that can improve adaptation to shift work and treatment strategies for shift work-associated sleep disorders. The risk factors that influence the development of sleep disorders in physicians are numerous and include genetic factors (15 % of the population), age (> 50 years), undiagnosed sleep apnea,, alcohol abuse as well as multiple stress factors inherent in clinical duties (including shift work), research, teaching and family obligations. Several studies have reported an increased risk for medical errors in sleep-deprived physicians. Shift workers have an increased risk for psychiatric and cardiovascular diseases and shift work may also be a contributing factor to cancer. A relationship has been reported not only with sleep deprivation and changes in food intake but also with diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypertension and coronary heart disease. Nicotine and alcohol consumption are more frequent among shift workers. Increased sickness and accident rates among physicians when commuting (especially after night shifts) have a socioeconomic impact. In order to reduce fatigue and to improve performance, short naps during shiftwork or naps plus caffeine, have been proposed as coping strategies; however, napping during adverse circadian phases is less effective, if not impossible when unable to fall asleep. Bright and blue light supports alertness during a night shift. After shiftwork, direct sunlight exposure to the retina can be avoided by using dark sunglasses or glasses with orange lenses for commuting home. The home environment for daytime sleeping after a night shift should be

Frequency-shift vs phase-shift characterization of in-liquid quartz crystal microbalance applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montagut, Y. J.; Garcia, J. V.; Jimenez, Y.; Arnau, A.; March, C.; Montoya, A.

2011-01-01

The improvement of sensitivity in quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) applications has been addressed in the last decades by increasing the sensor fundamental frequency, following the increment of the frequency/mass sensitivity with the square of frequency predicted by Sauerbrey. However, this sensitivity improvement has not been completely transferred in terms of resolution. The decrease of frequency stability due to the increase of the phase noise, particularly in oscillators, made impossible to reach the expected resolution. A new concept of sensor characterization at constant frequency has been recently proposed. The validation of the new concept is presented in this work. An immunosensor application for the detection of a low molecular weight contaminant, the insecticide carbaryl, has been chosen for the validation. An, in principle, improved version of a balanced-bridge oscillator is validated for its use in liquids, and applied for the frequency shift characterization of the QCM immunosensor application. The classical frequency shift characterization is compared with the new phase-shift characterization concept and system proposed.

Does workplace health promotion reach shift workers?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Garde, Anne Helene; Clausen, Thomas

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVES: One reason for health disparities between shift and day workers may be that workplace health promotion does not reach shift workers to the same extent as it reaches day workers. This study aimed to investigate the association between shift work and the availability of and participation...... in workplace health promotion. METHODS: We used cross-sectional questionnaire data from a large representative sample of all employed people in Denmark. We obtained information on the availability of and participation in six types of workplace health promotion. We also obtained information on working hours, ie......). RESULTS: In the general working population, fixed evening and fixed night workers, and employees working variable shifts including night work reported a higher availability of health promotion, while employees working variable shifts without night work reported a lower availability of health promotion...

Lung function studies before and after a work shift

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Love, R G

1983-05-01

The lung function of 23 underground coal workers and eight surface workers at a Scottish colliery was measured immediately before and after a work shift. Changes in lung function were assessed in relation to the measured respirable dust exposure and the time of day in which the shift was worked. Large, and statistically significant, decrements of lung function during the shift were found in night-shift workers compared with workers on other shifts. Measurements derived from the forced expiratory manoeuvre, particularly FEV1, Vmax50, and Vmax25, after three vital capacity breaths of an 80% He/20% O2 mixture, showed large reductions in night-shift men, smaller reductions in afternoon-shift men, and small increases or decreases in morning-shift underground and surface workers. Within-shift changes for other tests, such as closing volume, N2 index, and volume of isoflow, did not differ significantly between shifts. No significant relationship was found between dust exposure and functional changes during a shift for any test. Lung function changes in a control group of 25 female workers not exposed to dust (hospital nurses) did not show the same large variations between day and night shifts. Examination of a further control group of 16 office workers did not show any difference in diurnal changes between smokers and non-smokers. It is concluded that these coal miners, even on permanent shift patterns, had widely different changes in their lung function cycle depending on which shift they were working. These changes did not appear to be related to dust exposure or cigarette smoking and were not consistent with other biological adaptations known to result from regular night-shift working.

Noninvasive diagnosis of oral cancer by Stokes shift spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Ebenezar, Jeyasingh; Ganesan, Singaravelu; Aruna, Prakasrao; Muralinaidu, Radhakrishnan

2014-03-01

The objective of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic potential of stokes shift (SS) spectroscopy (S3) for normal, precancer and cancerous oral lesions in vivo. The SS spectra were recorded in the 250 - 650 nm spectral range by simultaneously scanning both the excitation and emission wavelengths while keeping a fixed wavelength interval Δλ=20 nm between them. Characteristic, highly resolved peaks and significant spectral differences between normal and different pathological oral lesions observed around 300, 355, 395, and 420 nm which are attributed to tryptophan, collagen, and NADH respectively. Using S3 technique one can obtain the key fluorophores in a single scan and hence they can be targeted as a tumor markers in this study. In order to quantify the altered spectral differences between normal and different pathological oral lesions are verified by different ratio parameters.

Health consequences of shift work and insufficient sleep.

Science.gov (United States)

Kecklund, Göran; Axelsson, John

2016-11-01

This review summarises the literature on shift work and its relation to insufficient sleep, chronic diseases, and accidents. It is based on 38 meta-analyses and 24 systematic reviews, with additional narrative reviews and articles used for outlining possible mechanisms by which shift work may cause accidents and adverse health. Evidence shows that the effect of shift work on sleep mainly concerns acute sleep loss in connection with night shifts and early morning shifts. A link also exists between shift work and accidents, type 2 diabetes (relative risk range 1.09-1.40), weight gain, coronary heart disease (relative risk 1.23), stroke (relative risk 1.05), and cancer (relative risk range 1.01-1.32), although the original studies showed mixed results. The relations of shift work to cardiometabolic diseases and accidents mimic those with insufficient sleep. Laboratory studies indicate that cardiometabolic stress and cognitive impairments are increased by shift work, as well as by sleep loss. Given that the health and safety consequences of shift work and insufficient sleep are very similar, they are likely to share common mechanisms. However, additional research is needed to determine whether insufficient sleep is a causal pathway for the adverse health effects associated with shift work. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Work shifts in Emergency Medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Recupero

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Emergency Medicine is known as a high stress specialty. The adverse effect of constantly rotating shifts is the single most important reason given for premature attrition from the field. In this work problems tied with night shift work will be taken into account and some solutions to reduce the impact of night work on the emergency physicians will be proposed.

Glucose metabolism during rotational shift-work in healthcare workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Anu; Laurenti, Marcello C; Dalla Man, Chiara; Varghese, Ron T; Cobelli, Claudio; Rizza, Robert A; Matveyenko, Aleksey; Vella, Adrian

2017-08-01

Shift-work is associated with circadian rhythm disruption and an increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. We sought to determine the effect of rotational shift-work on glucose metabolism in humans. We studied 12 otherwise healthy nurses performing rotational shift-work using a randomised crossover study design. On each occasion, participants underwent an isotope-labelled mixed meal test during a simulated day shift and a simulated night shift, enabling simultaneous measurement of glucose flux and beta cell function using the oral minimal model. We sought to determine differences in fasting and postprandial glucose metabolism during the day shift vs the night shift. Postprandial glycaemic excursion was higher during the night shift (381±33 vs 580±48 mmol/l per 5 h, pshift. While insulin action did not differ between study days, the beta cell responsivity to glucose (59±5 vs 44±4 × 10 -9  min -1 ; pshift. Impaired beta cell function during the night shift may result from normal circadian variation, the effect of rotational shift-work or a combination of both. As a consequence, higher postprandial glucose concentrations are observed during the night shift.

Key technologies for the current and future challenges of the nuclear industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez-Sancho, Lou; Roulleaux Dugage, Martin

2017-01-01

The current challenges of the nuclear industry are the result of too many uncertainties: low GDP growth of OECD countries, booming state debts, deregulated electricity markets, growing safety regulation and diminishing public support. As a result, nuclear technology companies tend to entrench in their current installed base, while attempting to develop global partnerships to market their products to new nuclear countries, along with viable financing schemes. But new opportunities are lying ahead. In a future context of effective and global climate policies, nuclear energy will have to play a key role in a new energy ecosystem aside the two other clean air energy production technologies: renewable energies and electricity storage. And still, the perspective of long-term sustainability of nuclear energy is still high. This paper explores the opportunity for key innovative technologies to shift the way we think about nuclear in the future energy system while addressing these major challenges. (author)

Conversion of a DWDM signal to a single Nyquist channel based on a complete optical Fourier transformation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guan, Pengyu; Røge, Kasper Meldgaard; Mulvad, Hans Christian Hansen

2014-01-01

We propose a DWDM-to-Nyquist channel conversion scheme based on complete Optical Fourier Transformation and optical Nyquist filtering. We demonstrate conversion from 50-GHz-grid 16×10 Gbit/s DPSK DWDM to a 160-Gbit/s Nyquist channel (0.9 symbol/s/Hz spectral efficiency) with 1.4 dB power penalty....

Market shifting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Forst, Michael

2013-11-01

After years of oversupply and artificially low module pricing, market analysts believe that the solar industry will begin to stabilize by 2017. While the market activities are shifting from Europe to the Asia Pacific region and the United States, the solar shakeout continues to be in full swing including solar cell and module manufacturing. (orig.)

Tough Shift

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brewer, Robert S.; Verdezoto, Nervo; Holst, Thomas

2015-01-01

people to change their behavior at home. Leveraging prior research on encouraging reductions in residential energy use through game play, we introduce ShareBuddy: a casual mobile game intended to encourage players not only to reduce, but also to shift their electricity use. We conducted two field studies...... real-world resource use into a game....

Lateral shifting in one dimensional chiral photonic crystal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

You Yuan, E-mail: yctcyouyuan@163.com [School of Physics and Electronics, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng, 224002 Jiangsu (China); Chen Changyuan [School of Physics and Electronics, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng, 224002 Jiangsu (China)

2012-07-01

We report the lateral shifts of the transmitted waves in a one dimensional chiral photonic crystal by using the stationary-phase approach. It is revealed that two kinds of lateral shifts are observed due to the existence of cross coupling in chiral materials, which is different from what has been observed in previous non-chiral photonic crystals. Unlike the chiral slab, the positions of lateral shift peaks are closely related to the band edges of band gap characteristics of periodic structure and lateral shifts can be positive as well as negative. Besides, the lateral shifts show a strong dependence on the chiral factor, which varies the lateral shift peaks in both magnitudes and positions. These features are desirable for future device applications.

Lateral shifting in one dimensional chiral photonic crystal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

You Yuan; Chen Changyuan

2012-01-01

We report the lateral shifts of the transmitted waves in a one dimensional chiral photonic crystal by using the stationary-phase approach. It is revealed that two kinds of lateral shifts are observed due to the existence of cross coupling in chiral materials, which is different from what has been observed in previous non-chiral photonic crystals. Unlike the chiral slab, the positions of lateral shift peaks are closely related to the band edges of band gap characteristics of periodic structure and lateral shifts can be positive as well as negative. Besides, the lateral shifts show a strong dependence on the chiral factor, which varies the lateral shift peaks in both magnitudes and positions. These features are desirable for future device applications.

Choice Shift in Opinion Network Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Gabbay, Michael

Choice shift is a phenomenon associated with small group dynamics whereby group discussion causes group members to shift their opinions in a more extreme direction so that the mean post-discussion opinion exceeds the mean pre-discussion opinion. Also known as group polarization, choice shift is a robust experimental phenomenon and has been well-studied within social psychology. In opinion network models, shifts toward extremism are typically produced by the presence of stubborn agents at the extremes of the opinion axis, whose opinions are much more resistant to change than moderate agents. However, we present a model in which choice shift can arise without the assumption of stubborn agents; the model evolves member opinions and uncertainties using coupled nonlinear differential equations. In addition, we briefly describe the results of a recent experiment conducted involving online group discussion concerning the outcome of National Football League games are described. The model predictions concerning the effects of network structure, disagreement level, and team choice (favorite or underdog) are in accord with the experimental results. This research was funded by the Office of Naval Research and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

A non-correlator-based digital communication system using interleaved chaotic differential peaks keying (I-CDPK) modulation and chaotic synchronization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chien, T.-I; Hung, Y.-C.; Liao, T.-L.

2006-01-01

This paper presents a novel non-correlator-based digital communication system with the application of interleaved chaotic differential peaks keying (I-CDPK) modulation technique. The proposed communication system consists of four major modules: I-CDPK modulator (ICM), frequency modulation (FM) transmitter, FM receiver and I-CDPK demodulator (ICDM). In the ICM module, there are four components: a chaotic circuit to generate the chaotic signals, A/D converter, D/A converter and a digital processing mechanism to control all signal flows and performs I-CDPK modulation corresponding to the input digital bits. For interleaving every input digital bit set, every state of the chaotic system is used to represent one portion of it, but only a scalar state variable (i.e. the system output) is sent to the ICDM's chaotic circuit through both FM transmitter and FM receiver. An observer-based chaotic synchronization scheme is designed to synchronize the chaotic circuits of the ICM and ICDM. Meanwhile, the bit detector in ICDM is devoted to recover the transmitted input digital bits. Some numerical simulations of an illustrative communication system are given to demonstrate its theoretical effectiveness. Furthermore, the performance of bit error rate of the proposed system is analyzed and compared with those of the correlator-based communication systems adopting coherent binary phase shift keying (BPSK) and coherent differential chaotic shift keying (DCSK) schemes

Rapid Hydrogen Shift Reactions in Acyl Peroxy Radicals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knap, Hasse Christian; Jørgensen, Solvejg

2017-01-01

-shift with X = 6, 7, 8, or 9) in the hydroperoxy acyl peroxy radicals, this H-shift is a reversible reaction and it scrambles between two peroxides, hydroperoxy acyl peroxy and peroxy peroxoic acid radicals. The forward reaction rate constants of the 1,X-OOH H-shift reactions are estimated to be above 103 s–1...... with transition state theory corrected with Eckart quantum tunnelling correction. The ratio between the forward and reverse reaction rate constant of the 1,X-OOH H-shift reactions is around ∼105. Therefore, the equilibrium is pushed toward the production of peroxy peroxoic acid radicals. These very fast 1,X-OOH H......We have used quantum mechanical chemical calculations (CCSD(T)-F12a/cc-pVDZ-F12//M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ) to investigate the hydrogen shift (H-shift) reactions in acyl peroxy and hydroperoxy acyl peroxy radicals. We have focused on the H-shift reactions from a hydroperoxy group (OOH) (1,X-OOH H...

Giant Lamb shift in photonic crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xuehua; Kivshar, Yuri S.; Gu Benyuan

2004-01-01

We obtain a general result for the Lamb shift of excited states of multilevel atoms in inhomogeneous electromagnetic structures and apply it to study atomic hydrogen in inverse-opal photonic crystals. We find that the photonic-crystal environment can lead to very large values of the Lamb shift, as compared to the case of vacuum. We also suggest that the position-dependent Lamb shift should extend from a single level to a miniband for an assembly of atoms with random distribution in space, similar to the velocity-dependent Doppler effect in atomic/molecular gases

Origins of Stokes shift in PbS nanocrystals

KAUST Repository

Voznyy, Oleksandr

2017-10-27

Stokes shift, an energy difference between the excitonic absorption and emission, is a property of colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) typically ascribed to splitting between dark and bright excitons. In some materials, e.g., PbS, CuInS2, CdHgTe, a Stokes shift of up to 200 meV is observed, substantially larger than the estimates of dark-bright state splitting or vibronic relaxations. The shift origin remains highly debated, as contradictory signatures of both surface and bulk character were reported for the Stokes-shifted electronic state. Here we show that the energy transfer among CQDs in a polydispersed ensemble in solution suffices to explain the excess Stokes shift. This energy transfer is primarily due to CQD aggregation, and can be substantially eliminated by extreme dilution, higher-viscosity solvent, or better-dispersed colloids. Our findings highlight that ensemble polydispersity remains the primary source of the Stokes shift in CQDs in solution, propagating into the Stokes shift in films and the open-circuit voltage deficit in CQD solar cells. Improved synthetic control can bring notable advancements in CQD photovoltaics, and the Stokes shift continues to provide a sensitive and significant metric to monitor ensemble size distribution.

Trust and Privacy in the Shift from E-Commerce to M-Commerce: A Comparative Approach

OpenAIRE

Papadopoulou , Panagiota; Pelet , Jean-Eric

2013-01-01

Part 2: Trust and Privacy; International audience; Trust and privacy have been widely studied as key issues and success factors for e-commerce. The advent of m-commerce calls for revisiting these concepts and re-examining their antecedents in the mobile context. This paper attempts a comparative approach to the issues of trust and privacy in e-commerce and m-commerce. It investigates how trust and privacy are differentiated with the shift from the context of e-commerce to the context of m-com...

Quantum key management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hughes, Richard John; Thrasher, James Thomas; Nordholt, Jane Elizabeth

2016-11-29

Innovations for quantum key management harness quantum communications to form a cryptography system within a public key infrastructure framework. In example implementations, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a Merkle signature scheme (using Winternitz one-time digital signatures or other one-time digital signatures, and Merkle hash trees) to constitute a cryptography system. More generally, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a hash-based signature scheme. This provides a secure way to identify, authenticate, verify, and exchange secret cryptographic keys. Features of the quantum key management innovations further include secure enrollment of users with a registration authority, as well as credential checking and revocation with a certificate authority, where the registration authority and/or certificate authority can be part of the same system as a trusted authority for quantum key distribution.

Health workforce skill mix and task shifting in low income countries: a review of recent evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Auh Erica

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Health workforce needs-based shortages and skill mix imbalances are significant health workforce challenges. Task shifting, defined as delegating tasks to existing or new cadres with either less training or narrowly tailored training, is a potential strategy to address these challenges. This study uses an economics perspective to review the skill mix literature to determine its strength of the evidence, identify gaps in the evidence, and to propose a research agenda. Methods Studies primarily from low-income countries published between 2006 and September 2010 were found using Google Scholar and PubMed. Keywords included terms such as skill mix, task shifting, assistant medical officer, assistant clinical officer, assistant nurse, assistant pharmacist, and community health worker. Thirty-one studies were selected to analyze, based on the strength of evidence. Results First, the studies provide substantial evidence that task shifting is an important policy option to help alleviate workforce shortages and skill mix imbalances. For example, in Mozambique, surgically trained assistant medical officers, who were the key providers in district hospitals, produced similar patient outcomes at a significantly lower cost as compared to physician obstetricians and gynaecologists. Second, although task shifting is promising, it can present its own challenges. For example, a study analyzing task shifting in HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa noted quality and safety concerns, professional and institutional resistance, and the need to sustain motivation and performance. Third, most task shifting studies compare the results of the new cadre with the traditional cadre. Studies also need to compare the new cadre's results to the results from the care that would have been provided--if any care at all--had task shifting not occurred. Conclusions Task shifting is a promising policy option to increase the productive efficiency of the delivery of health

The androgen receptor malignancy shift in prostate cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Copeland, Ben T; Pal, Sumanta K; Bolton, Eric C; Jones, Jeremy O

2018-05-01

Androgens and the androgen receptor (AR) are necessary for the development, function, and homeostatic growth regulation of the prostate gland. However, once prostate cells are transformed, the AR is necessary for the proliferation and survival of the malignant cells. This change in AR function appears to occur in nearly every prostate cancer. We have termed this the AR malignancy shift. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the AR malignancy shift, including the DNA-binding patterns that define the shift, the transcriptome changes associated with the shift, the putative drivers of the shift, and its clinical implications. In benign prostate epithelial cells, the AR primarily binds consensus AR binding sites. In carcinoma cells, the AR cistrome is dramatically altered, as the AR associates with FOXA1 and HOXB13 motifs, among others. This shift leads to the transcription of genes associated with a malignant phenotype. In model systems, some mutations commonly found in localized prostate cancer can alter the AR cistrome, consistent with the AR malignancy shift. Current evidence suggests that the AR malignancy shift is necessary but not sufficient for transformation of prostate epithelial cells. Reinterpretation of prostate cancer genomic classification systems in light of the AR malignancy shift may improve our ability to predict clinical outcomes and treat patients appropriately. Identifying and targeting the molecular factors that contribute to the AR malignancy shift is not trivial but by doing so, we may be able to develop new strategies for the treatment or prevention of prostate cancer. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Forget about switching keyboard layouts with the "Compose Key"

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2018-01-01

Growing up with a Spanish keyboard was not an easy childhood (using Shift+7 (/) to search in vim, or having to type AltGr+[ to actually have an opening bracket), so at some point in my life I switched to an American keyboard. At the beginning I was happy switching layouts to either do some coding or talk to my mum (I am not a fan of the classical excuse "sorry for my typos, I don't have the 'ñ' in my keyboard"). Things got much worse when I started to need French characters (ç, è) to interact with some services at CERN, or some Slovak letters (č, đ) to talk to Robert, my Slovak colleague . Then I discovered the Compose Key and my life has been different ever since.

Shift work disorder, depression, and anxiety in the transition to rotating shifts: the role of sleep reactivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalmbach, David A; Pillai, Vivek; Cheng, Philip; Arnedt, J Todd; Drake, Christopher L

2015-12-01

The aim of this study is to investigate premorbid sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to incident shift work disorder (SWD), and related changes in depression as well as anxiety following a transition to a rotating shifts work schedule. This is a longitudinal study with two waves of data collection. The community-based sample included normal sleeping non-shift workers (N = 96; 62.5% female; 47.9 ± 13.3 years) without a lifetime history of insomnia or baseline excessive daytime sleepiness who transitioned to rotating shift work one year later. Participants reported demographic characteristics, trait sleep reactivity on the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test, depression symptoms on the Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology, and anxiety symptoms on the Beck Anxiety Inventory. SWD was determined based on significant sleep disturbance and/or excessive sleepiness in the context of working in a rotating-shift schedule. Analyses revealed that the odds were over five times greater for highly sleep-reactive individuals to develop SWD after transitioning to rotating shifts (OR = 5.59, p = 0.04). Nearly 90% of participants who suffered from SWD were accurately identified as high risk at one year before disease onset. Furthermore, individuals who developed SWD reported greater increases in symptoms of depression and anxiety. Finally, analyses revealed significant indirect effects wherein high sleep reactivity increased risk for SWD, which led to greater severity of anxiety and depression symptoms. The Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test (FIRST) accurately identifies a focused target population in which the premorbid psychobiological processes complicit in SWD onset and progression, as well as shift work-related depression and anxiety changes, can be better investigated, thus improving future preventative efforts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lamb shift of Rydberg atoms in a resonator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belov, A.A.; Lozovik, Yu.E.; Pokrovsky, V.L.

1988-08-01

The Lamb shift of a Rydberg atom in a cavity is shown to be enhanced with the resonance interaction of a virtual atomic transition and cavity modes. The dependence of the Lamb shift on quantum numbers and atomic number changes drastically. Shifting cavity walls and scanning the atomic beam one can vary the Lamb shift. The value of the Lamb shift in a cavity may exceed a typical magnitude of the fine structure energy. For a rough resonance tuning the Coulumb multiplet occurs to be strongly mixed and a novel classification is necessary. (author). 8 refs, 2 figs

The calculation of proton chemical shifts in hydrocarbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abraham, Raymond J [Liverpool Univ. (United Kingdom). Dept. of Chemistry

1994-12-31

Novel extension of the CHARGE3 semi-empirical calculation of the partial atomic charges in molecules are described which allow the accurate calculation of the proton chemical shifts of a variety of acyclic alkanes. This simple scheme predicts the proton chemical shifts of all the simple alkanes, cyclohexane and methyl cyclohexanes, norbornane, trans-decalin and trans perhydrophenanthrene, comprising a range of chemical shifts from 0.3 to 2.2 {delta} with the known substituent chemical shifts of other functional groups this could allow the general prediction of proton chemical shifts in a simple and useful format. (author) 13 refs., 2 figs.

Bacterial Community Shift Drives Antibiotic Resistance Promotion during Drinking Water Chlorination.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Shuyu; Shi, Peng; Hu, Qing; Li, Bing; Zhang, Tong; Zhang, Xu-Xiang

2015-10-20

For comprehensive insights into the effects of chlorination, a widely used disinfection technology, on bacterial community and antibiotic resistome in drinking water, this study applied high-throughput sequencing and metagenomic approaches to investigate the changing patterns of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and bacterial community in a drinking water treatment and distribution system. At genus level, chlorination could effectively remove Methylophilus, Methylotenera, Limnobacter, and Polynucleobacter, while increase the relative abundance of Pseudomonas, Acidovorax, Sphingomonas, Pleomonas, and Undibacterium in the drinking water. A total of 151 ARGs within 15 types were detectable in the drinking water, and chlorination evidently increased their total relative abundance while reduced their diversity in the opportunistic bacteria (p < 0.05). Residual chlorine was identified as the key contributing factor driving the bacterial community shift and resistome alteration. As the dominant persistent ARGs in the treatment and distribution system, multidrug resistance genes (mainly encoding resistance-nodulation-cell division transportation system) and bacitracin resistance gene bacA were mainly carried by chlorine-resistant bacteria Pseudomonas and Acidovorax, which mainly contributed to the ARGs abundance increase. The strong correlation between bacterial community shift and antibiotic resistome alteration observed in this study may shed new light on the mechanism behind the chlorination effects on antibiotic resistance.

Does the ARFIMA really shift?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Monache, Davide Delle; Grassi, Stefano; Santucci de Magistris, Paolo

Short memory models contaminated by level shifts have long-memory features similar to those associated to processes generated under fractional integration. In this paper, we propose a robust testing procedure, based on an encompassing parametric specification, that allows to disentangle the level...... the highest power compared to other existing tests for spurious long-memory. Finally, we illustrate the usefulness of the proposed approach on the daily series of bipower variation and share turnover and on the monthly inflation series of G7 countries....... shift term from the ARFIMA component. The estimation is carried out via a state-space methodology and it leads to a robust estimate of the fractional integration parameter also in presence of level shifts.The Monte Carlo simulations show that this approach produces unbiased estimates of the fractional...

Differences in cortisol profiles and circadian adjustment time between nurses working night shifts and regular day shifts: A prospective longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Shu-Fen; Chung, Min-Huey; Chu, Hsin; Tsai, Jui-Chen; Lin, Chun-Chieh; Liao, Yuan-Mei; Ou, Keng-Liang; O'Brien, Anthony Paul; Chou, Kuei-Ru

2015-07-01

This study explored the differences in the circadian salivary cortisol profiles between nurses working night shifts and regular day shifts following a slow rotating shift schedule to assess the number of days required for adjusting the circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol levels in nurses working consecutive night shifts and the number of days off required to restore the diurnal circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol levels. This was a prospective, longitudinal, parallel-group comparative study. The participants were randomly assigned to night and day-shift groups, and saliva samples were collected to measure their cortisol levels and circadian secretion patterns. Significant differences were observed in the overall salivary cortisol pattern parameters (cortisol awakening response, changes in cortisol profiles between 6 and 12h after awakening, and changes in cortisol profiles between 30 min and 12 h after awakening) from Days 2 to 4 of the workdays between both groups. However, on Day 2 of the days off, both groups exhibited similar cortisol profiles and the cortisol profiles in the night-shift group were restored. Nurses working night shifts require at least 4 days to adjust their circadian rhythms of cortisol secretions. Moreover, on changing from night shift to other shifts, nurses must be allowed more than 2 days off work. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Isotope shift studies in gadolinium spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, S.A.; Saksena, G.D.; Venugopalan, A.

1976-01-01

Isotope shift studies have been carried out in the gadolinium spectrum using a recording Fabry-Perot spectrometer and gadolinium samples enriched in 156 Gd and 160 Gd isotopes. Isotope shifts Δsigma(156-160) have been recorded in 134 lines in the region 3930-4140 A. Some of these lines involve the recently identified even configuration 4f 8 5d6s of Gd I and the newly classified transition 4f 8 6s-4f 8 6p of Gd II. From the isotope shift measurements of lines involving the 4f 8 6s-4f 8 6p transition in Gd II, the isotope shift, ΔT(156-160)=87 mK, has been obtained for the 4f 8 6s configuration. Electronic configurations have been suggested for a number of energy levels and configuration mixing has been pointed out in certain cases. (Auth.)

Improved medical image fusion based on cascaded PCA and shift invariant wavelet transforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Reena Benjamin, J; Jayasree, T

2018-02-01

In the medical field, radiologists need more informative and high-quality medical images to diagnose diseases. Image fusion plays a vital role in the field of biomedical image analysis. It aims to integrate the complementary information from multimodal images, producing a new composite image which is expected to be more informative for visual perception than any of the individual input images. The main objective of this paper is to improve the information, to preserve the edges and to enhance the quality of the fused image using cascaded principal component analysis (PCA) and shift invariant wavelet transforms. A novel image fusion technique based on cascaded PCA and shift invariant wavelet transforms is proposed in this paper. PCA in spatial domain extracts relevant information from the large dataset based on eigenvalue decomposition, and the wavelet transform operating in the complex domain with shift invariant properties brings out more directional and phase details of the image. The significance of maximum fusion rule applied in dual-tree complex wavelet transform domain enhances the average information and morphological details. The input images of the human brain of two different modalities (MRI and CT) are collected from whole brain atlas data distributed by Harvard University. Both MRI and CT images are fused using cascaded PCA and shift invariant wavelet transform method. The proposed method is evaluated based on three main key factors, namely structure preservation, edge preservation, contrast preservation. The experimental results and comparison with other existing fusion methods show the superior performance of the proposed image fusion framework in terms of visual and quantitative evaluations. In this paper, a complex wavelet-based image fusion has been discussed. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method enhances the directional features as well as fine edge details. Also, it reduces the redundant details, artifacts, distortions.

A SSVEP Stimuli Encoding Method Using Trinary Frequency-Shift Keying Encoded SSVEP (TFSK-SSVEP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xing Zhao

2017-06-01

Full Text Available SSVEP is a kind of BCI technology with advantage of high information transfer rate. However, due to its nature, frequencies could be used as stimuli are scarce. To solve such problem, a stimuli encoding method which encodes SSVEP signal using Frequency Shift–Keying (FSK method is developed. In this method, each stimulus is controlled by a FSK signal which contains three different frequencies that represent “Bit 0,” “Bit 1” and “Bit 2” respectively. Different to common BFSK in digital communication, “Bit 0” and “Bit 1” composited the unique identifier of stimuli in binary bit stream form, while “Bit 2” indicates the ending of a stimuli encoding. EEG signal is acquired on channel Oz, O1, O2, Pz, P3, and P4, using ADS1299 at the sample rate of 250 SPS. Before original EEG signal is quadrature demodulated, it is detrended and then band-pass filtered using FFT-based FIR filtering to remove interference. Valid peak of the processed signal is acquired by calculating its derivative and converted into bit stream using window method. Theoretically, this coding method could implement at least 2n−1 (n is the length of bit command stimulus while keeping the ITR the same. This method is suitable to implement stimuli on a monitor and where the frequency and phase could be used to code stimuli is limited as well as implementing portable BCI devices which is not capable of performing complex calculations.

Association between exposure to rotating night shift versus day shift using levels of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin and cortisol and other sex hormones in women.

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez-Acebo, Inés; Dierssen-Sotos, Trinidad; Papantoniou, Kyriaki; García-Unzueta, María Teresa; Santos-Benito, María Francisca; Llorca, Javier

2015-02-01

The present study aims to compare 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) secretion patterns and levels of cortisol and sex hormones (estradiol, progesterone, DHEA, DHEAS, and testosterone) among rotating night-shift workers and day-shift workers. We performed a cross-sectional study in Cantabria (northern Spain) including 136 women (73 day-shift workers and 63 rotating night-shift workers). Blood and urine samples were obtained after two consecutive working days. Differences in means were estimated using ANCOVA, stratified by menopausal status, ovulation phase, and adjusted for season, age, body mass index, consumption of cigarettes in the last 24 h. aMT6s circadian rhythm was analyzed using the cosinor analysis. The present study showed that rotating night-shift workers had lower excretion of aMT6s than day-shift workers (mesor = 50.26 ng aMT6s/mg creatinine in women with rotating night shift versus 88.79 ng aMT6s/mg creatinine in women with day shift), lower fluctuation (amplitude = 45.24 ng aMT6s/mg creatinine in rotating night-shift workers versus 79.71 ng aMT6s/mg creatinine in day-shift workers), and a later acrophase (aMT6s peak time: 08:31 in rotating night-shift workers versus 07:13 h in day-shift workers). Additionally, women with rotating night shift had higher estradiol and progesterone levels, compared to day workers, especially in the follicular phase on the menstrual cycle.

Validation of archived chemical shifts through atomic coordinates

Science.gov (United States)

Rieping, Wolfgang; Vranken, Wim F

2010-01-01

The public archives containing protein information in the form of NMR chemical shift data at the BioMagResBank (BMRB) and of 3D structure coordinates at the Protein Data Bank are continuously expanding. The quality of the data contained in these archives, however, varies. The main issue for chemical shift values is that they are determined relative to a reference frequency. When this reference frequency is set incorrectly, all related chemical shift values are systematically offset. Such wrongly referenced chemical shift values, as well as other problems such as chemical shift values that are assigned to the wrong atom, are not easily distinguished from correct values and effectively reduce the usefulness of the archive. We describe a new method to correct and validate protein chemical shift values in relation to their 3D structure coordinates. This method classifies atoms using two parameters: the per-atom solvent accessible surface area (as calculated from the coordinates) and the secondary structure of the parent amino acid. Through the use of Gaussian statistics based on a large database of 3220 BMRB entries, we obtain per-entry chemical shift corrections as well as Z scores for the individual chemical shift values. In addition, information on the error of the correction value itself is available, and the method can retain only dependable correction values. We provide an online resource with chemical shift, atom exposure, and secondary structure information for all relevant BMRB entries (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/pdbe/nmr/vasco) and hope this data will aid the development of new chemical shift-based methods in NMR. Proteins 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. PMID:20602353

Nurse perceptions of workplace environment: differences across shifts.

Science.gov (United States)

Teclaw, Robert; Osatuke, Katerine

2015-11-01

To evaluate whether nurse work shift affected workplace perceptions. Although the importance of work schedule in shaping work attitudes, generally (and specifically for nurses) is well accepted, much work remains in characterising how and why nurses' perceptions might differ across shifts. Using an exploratory study of observational data, we examined whether shift influenced non-supervisory nurses' job perceptions in the Veterans Health Administration All Employee Survey (n = 14057; years 2008, 2010, 2012). The size of differences in item means (95% C.I.) across shifts was evaluated graphically. Using ordinal logistic regression, we accounted for the ordinal outcome variables and controlled for the demographic and survey year effects. Nurses' perceptions of workplace climate differed across shifts. Items with the greatest differences, consistent across years and analytic methods, involved supervisors and fairness. Night and weekend shift nurse ratings were more negative than for weekday shift nurses. Off-shift nurses are less satisfied with work/life balance, their supervisors and especially fairness. Overall satisfaction and turnover intention are not affected to the same extent. These results indicate several specific areas that nurse managers can address through workforce support and communication. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Soft theorems for shift-symmetric cosmologies

Science.gov (United States)

Finelli, Bernardo; Goon, Garrett; Pajer, Enrico; Santoni, Luca

2018-03-01

We derive soft theorems for single-clock cosmologies that enjoy a shift symmetry. These so-called consistency conditions arise from a combination of a large diffeomorphism and the internal shift symmetry and fix the squeezed limit of all correlators with a soft scalar mode. As an application, we show that our results reproduce the squeezed bispectrum for ultra-slow-roll inflation, a particular shift-symmetric, nonattractor model which is known to violate Maldacena's consistency relation. Similar results have been previously obtained by Mooij and Palma using background-wave methods. Our results shed new light on the infrared structure of single-clock cosmological spacetimes.

Anthropometric changes and fluid shifts

Science.gov (United States)

Thornton, W. E.; Hoffler, G. W.; Rummel, J. A.

1974-01-01

Several observations of body size, shape, posture, and configuration were made to document changes resulting from direct effects of weightlessness during the Skylab 4 mission. After the crewmen were placed in orbit, a number of anatomical and anthropometric changes occurred including a straightening of the thoracolumbar spine, a general decrease in truncal girth, and an increase in height. By the time of the earliest in-flight measurement on mission day 3, all crewmen had lost more than two liters of extravascular fluid from the calf and thigh. The puffy facies, the bird legs effect, the engorgement of upper body veins, and the reduced volume of lower body veins were all documented with photographs. Center-of-mass measurements confirmed a fluid shift cephalad. This shift remained throughout the mission until recovery, when a sharp reversal occurred; a major portion of the reversal was completed in a few hours. The anatomical changes are of considerable scientific interest and of import to the human factors design engineer, but the shifts of blood and extravascular fluid are of more consequence. It is hypothesized that the driving force for the fluid shift is the intrinsic and unopposed lower limb elasticity that forces venous blood and then other fluid cephalad.

Architecture for the Secret-Key BC3 Cryptography Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arif Sasongko

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Cryptography is a very important aspect in data security. The focus of research in this field is shifting from merely security aspect to consider as well the implementation aspect. This paper aims to introduce BC3 algorithm with focus on its hardware implementation. It proposes architecture for the hardware implementation for this algorithm. BC3 algorithm is a secret-key cryptography algorithm developed with two considerations: robustness and implementation efficiency. This algorithm has been implemented on software and has good performance compared to AES algorithm. BC3 is improvement of BC2 and AE cryptographic algorithm and it is expected to have the same level of robustness and to gain competitive advantages in the implementation aspect. The development of the architecture gives much attention on (1 resource sharing and (2 having single clock for each round. It exploits regularity of the algorithm. This architecture is then implemented on an FPGA. This implementation is three times smaller area than AES, but about five times faster. Furthermore, this BC3 hardware implementation has better performance compared to BC3 software both in key expansion stage and randomizing stage. For the future, the security of this implementation must be reviewed especially against side channel attack.

Designing key-dependent chaotic S-box with larger key space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin Ruming; Yuan Jian; Wang Jian; Shan Xiuming; Wang Xiqin

2009-01-01

The construction of cryptographically strong substitution boxes (S-boxes) is an important concern in designing secure cryptosystems. The key-dependent S-boxes designed using chaotic maps have received increasing attention in recent years. However, the key space of such S-boxes does not seem to be sufficiently large due to the limited parameter range of discretized chaotic maps. In this paper, we propose a new key-dependent S-box based on the iteration of continuous chaotic maps. We explore the continuous-valued state space of chaotic systems, and devise the discrete mapping between the input and the output of the S-box. A key-dependent S-box is constructed with the logistic map in this paper. We show that its key space could be much larger than the current key-dependent chaotic S-boxes.

Shifts in the field of mathematics education Stephen Lerman and the turn to the social

CERN Document Server

Gates, Peter

2014-01-01

Professor Stephen Lerman has been a leader in the field of mathematics education for thirty years. His work is extensive, making many significant contributions to a number of key areas of research. Stephen retired from South Bank University in 2012, where he had worked for over 20 years, though he continues to work at Loughborough University. In this book several of his long standing colleagues and collaborators reflect on his contribution to mathematics education, and in so doing illustrate how some of Steve's ideas and interventions have resulted in significant shifts in the domain.

Associations between shift schedule characteristics with sleep, need for recovery, health and performance measures for regular (semi-) continuous 3-shift systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Ven, Hardy A.; Brouwer, Sandra; Koolhaas, Wendy; Goudswaard, Anneke; de Looze, Michiel P.; Kecklund, Goran; Almansa, Josue; Bultmann, Ute; van der Klink, Jac J. L.

In this cross-sectional study associations were examined between eight shift schedule characteristics with shift-specific sleep complaints and need for recovery and generic health and performance measures. It was hypothesized that shift schedule characteristics meeting ergonomic recommendations are

Associations between shift schedule characteristics with sleep, need for recovery, health and performance measures for regular (semi-)continuous 3-shift systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Ven, Hardy A.; Brouwer, Sandra; Koolhaas, Wendy; Goudswaard, Anneke; de Looze, Michiel P.; Kecklund, Göran; Almansa, Josue; Bültmann, Ute; van der Klink, Jac J L

2016-01-01

In this cross-sectional study associations were examined between eight shift schedule characteristics with shift-specific sleep complaints and need for recovery and generic health and performance measures. It was hypothesized that shift schedule characteristics meeting ergonomic recommendations are

Dietary habits among persons hired on shift work

OpenAIRE

Joanna Strzemecka; Iwona Bojar; Ewa Strzemecka; Alfred Owoc

2014-01-01

Introduction. Shift-work determinates irregular nutrition habits. The quality as well as the quantity of meals consumed by shift-workers can significantly affects their health. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary habits of people performing shift work in the Bogdanka mine. Material and Methods. The study was carried out in the Bogdanka mine in Leczna. The questionnaire, which was designed by the author of this dissertation, was conducted among 700 shift-workers,...

Shift work and burnout among health care workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wisetborisut, A; Angkurawaranon, C; Jiraporncharoen, W; Uaphanthasath, R; Wiwatanadate, P

2014-06-01

Burnout, defined as a syndrome derived from prolonged exposure to stressors at work, is often seen in health care workers. Shift work is considered one of the occupational risks for burnout in health care workers. To identify and describe the association between shift work and burnout among health care workers. A cross-sectional study of health care workers in Chiang Mai University Hospital, Thailand. Data were collected via an online self-answered questionnaire and included details of shift work and burnout. Burnout was measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Two thousand seven hundred and seventy two health care workers participated, a 52% response rate. Burnout was found more frequently among shift workers than those who did not work shifts (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0-1.9). Among shift workers, over 10 years of being a shift worker was associated with increasing burnout (aOR 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.6) and having 6-8 sleeping hours per day was associated with having less burnout (aOR 0.7, 95% CI: 0.5-0.9). Nurses who had at least 8 days off per month had lower odds of burnout compared with those with fewer than 8 days off (aOR 0.6, 95% CI: 0.5-0.8). Shift work was associated with burnout in this sample. Increased years of work as a shift worker were associated with more frequent burnout. Adequate sleeping hours and days off were found to be possible protective factors. Policies on shift work should take into account the potential of such work for contributing towards increasing burnout. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Machiavellianism, Discussion Time, and Group Shift

Science.gov (United States)

Lamm, Helmut; Myers, David G.

1976-01-01

Social-emotional and rational-cognitive explanations of group risky shift on choice dilemmas (hypothetical life situations) were evaluated by comparing shift in groups of low Mach (emotional) and high Mach (non-emotional) subjects. Effects of Machiavellian beliefs on social functioning are examined. Group composition was not observed to affect…

Multiscale regime shifts and planetary boundaries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hughes, T.P.; Carpenter, S.; Rockstrom, J.; Scheffer, M.; Walker, B.

2013-01-01

Life on Earth has repeatedly displayed abrupt and massive changes in the past, and there is no reason to expect that comparable planetary-scale regime shifts will not continue in the future. Different lines of evidence indicate that regime shifts occur when the climate or biosphere transgresses a

Intestinal microbiota shifts towards elevated commensal Escherichia coli loads abrogate colonization resistance against Campylobacter jejuni in mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lea-Maxie Haag

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of bacterial foodborne enterocolitis in humans worldwide. The understanding of immunopathology underlying human campylobacteriosis is hampered by the fact that mice display strong colonization resistance against the pathogen due to their host specific gut microbiota composition. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Since the microbiota composition changes significantly during intestinal inflammation we dissected factors contributing to colonization resistance against C. jejuni in murine ileitis, colitis and in infant mice. In contrast to healthy animals C. jejuni could stably colonize mice suffering from intestinal inflammation. Strikingly, in mice with Toxoplasma gondii-induced acute ileitis, C. jejuni disseminated to mesenteric lymphnodes, spleen, liver, kidney, and blood. In infant mice C. jejuni infection induced enterocolitis. Mice suffering from intestinal inflammation and C. jejuni susceptible infant mice displayed characteristical microbiota shifts dominated by increased numbers of commensal Escherichia coli. To further dissect the pivotal role of those distinct microbiota shifts in abrogating colonization resistance, we investigated C. jejuni infection in healthy adult mice in which the microbiota was artificially modified by feeding live commensal E. coli. Strikingly, in animals harboring supra-physiological intestinal E. coli loads, colonization resistance was significantly diminished and C. jejuni infection induced enterocolitis mimicking key features of human campylobacteriosis. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Murine colonization resistance against C. jejuni is abrogated by changes in the microbiota composition towards elevated E. coli loads during intestinal inflammation as well as in infant mice. Intestinal inflammation and microbiota shifts thus represent potential risk factors for C. jejuni infection. Corresponding interplays between C. jejuni and microbiota might

Environmental tax shifting in Canada : theory and application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, A.; Hornung, R.; Cairns, S.

2003-03-01

Canada's leading energy and resource companies along with the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development have collaborated in the Triple E Tax Shift Research Collaborative which examines the use of environmental tax shifting in Canada. The objective is to design, evaluate and advance federal and provincial environmental tax shifts that will influence individual behaviour and decisions to improve ecological integrity through measurable reductions in materials and energy throughput, and to maintain or increase economic competitiveness through the creation of a tax framework that would encourage businesses to improve energy efficiency. Another objective is to increase employment and social benefits through more employment opportunities and improved quality of life. Environmental tax shifting means shifting a portion of a government's tax base onto goods, services and activities associated with harmful environmental impacts that add to societal costs. Tax shifting can be implemented by offering rebates to consumers of environmental significant goods, or by adjustments to existing taxes so that environmentally sensitive goods are taxed at a lower rate than environmentally harmful goods and services. Environmental tax shifting can also be implemented by reducing existing environmental taxes and introducing a carbon dioxide emissions tax. This report is the first product of the collaboration and is intended to promote public dialogue on the subject and identify ways to implement environmental tax shifting. tabs., figs

Anatomising proton NMR spectra with pure shift 2D J-spectroscopy: A cautionary tale

Science.gov (United States)

Kiraly, Peter; Foroozandeh, Mohammadali; Nilsson, Mathias; Morris, Gareth A.

2017-09-01

Analysis of proton NMR spectra has been a key tool in structure determination for over 60 years. A classic tool is 2D J-spectroscopy, but common problems are the difficulty of obtaining the absorption mode lineshapes needed for accurate results, and the need for a 45° shear of the final 2D spectrum. A novel 2D NMR method is reported here that allows straightforward determination of homonuclear couplings, using a modified version of the PSYCHE method to suppress couplings in the direct dimension. The method illustrates the need for care when combining pure shift data acquisition with multiple pulse methods.

What does the literature tell us about health workers' experiences of task-shifting projects in sub-Saharan Africa? A systematic, qualitative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Mijovic, Hana; McKnight, Jacob; English, Mike

2016-08-01

To review systematically, qualitative literature covering the implementation of task shifting in sub-Saharan Africa to address the growing interest in interventions of this kind. This review aims to distil the key practical findings to both guide a specific project aiming to improve the quality of neonatal care in Kenya and to contribute to the broader literature. Task-shifting programmes aim to improve access to healthcare by delegating specific tasks from higher to lower skilled health workers. Evidence suggests that task-shifting programmes in sub-Saharan Africa may improve patient outcomes, but they have also been criticised for providing fragmented, unsustainable services. This systematic review of qualitative literature summarises factors affecting implementation of task shifting and how such interventions in sub-Saharan Africa may have affected health workers' feelings about their own positions and their ability to provide care. Following literature search, a modified Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) framework was used to assess quality. Thereafter, analysis adopted a thematic synthesis approach. A systematic literature search identified qualitative studies examining task -shifting interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. Thematic synthesis was used to identify overarching themes arising from across the studies and infer how task-shifting interventions may impact on the health workers from whom tasks are being shifted. From the 230 studies screened, 13 met the inclusion criteria. Overarching themes identified showed that task shifting has been associated with jurisdictional debates linked to new cadres working beyond their scope of practice, and tension around compensation and career development for those taking on tasks that were being delegated. Based on the qualitative data available, it appears that task shifting may negatively impact the sense of agency and the ability to perform of health workers' from whom tasks are shifted. The potential

Health and Occupational Outcomes Among Injured, Nonstandard Shift Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Imelda S; Smith, Peter M; Mustard, Cameron A; Gignac, Monique A M

2015-11-01

This study compares health and occupational outcomes following a work-related injury for nonstandard and day-shift workers. National Population Health Survey data were used to explore outcomes 2 years post-work injury. Retrospective-matched cohort analyses examined main effects and interactions of shift schedule and work injury with changes in health, shift schedule, and labor force status. Models were adjusted for respondent characteristics, baseline health status, and occupational strength requirements. Injured nonstandard shift workers reported lower health utility index scores, compared with uninjured and injured daytime workers and uninjured nonstandard-shift workers. No significant interactions between shift and injury were found with schedule change and leaving the labor force. Injured nonstandard-shift workers are as likely to remain employed as other groups, but may be vulnerable in terms of diminished health.

TIPS (trigger an IIF paradigm shift)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kilcup, P.E. Glen [Intel Corporation, MS: F9-016, 4100 Sara Road, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 (United States)]. E-mail: glen.w.kilcup@intel.com; Hickox, Dick [Intel Corporation, MS: F9-016, 4100 Sara Road, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 (United States); Reynaga, Adolfo [Intel Corporation, MS: F9-016, 4100 Sara Road, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 (United States)

2007-04-11

Challenge: New Mexico Corporate Services (NMCS) recordable injuries have been averaging 2-4 per year for the last 5 years with no statistical improvement. However, we believe all NM employees must go home incident and injury free every day and just as healthy as they came to work. In addition, we have received feedback from several sources, that indicates some employees are reluctant to report injuries. These indicators showed us that continuing our current strategies, making incremental improvement and changes, would not give us the improvement desired. We needed a paradigm shift to get everyone completely engaged in the IIF (Incident and Injury Free) culture, in order to achieve true IIF results. Methods/Strategies: We formed a small (3-person) taskforce consisting of safety representatives from EHS, Site Services and CS Operations. We reviewed 5 years worth of data to determine what was injuring our people. We also decided to review all injuries, not simply those classified as recordable by OSHA standards. First we identified the types of injury information needed to get a true picture of our safety issues. We analyzed IRB (Incident Review Board) data showing us the following factors and whether any of them contributed to the injury: - Date - Incident Description - Severity - Root Cause - Type of Injury - Season - Work Group/Shift - Area - Improper evaluation of hazard - Inadequate work procedures - Incorrect Mental Model - Inadequate PPE Requirement - Failure to Follow or Unaware of PPE Requirement - Shortcut or Schedule Pressure - Last or First Day of Shift or Adjacent to Holiday - OT - Aggravate Existing Condition - Inadequate Training or Passdown - Experience in Task - Corrective Action Taken - Overall Quality of Response. Once this information was collected for all injuries in an Excel file, we graphed it several ways to help reveal trends: - Shift 7 had double the injuries of shift 5 - Night shift injuries were relatively high but lower than Shift 7 -Shift

TIPS (trigger an IIF paradigm shift)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilcup, P.E. Glen; Hickox, Dick; Reynaga, Adolfo

2007-01-01

Challenge: New Mexico Corporate Services (NMCS) recordable injuries have been averaging 2-4 per year for the last 5 years with no statistical improvement. However, we believe all NM employees must go home incident and injury free every day and just as healthy as they came to work. In addition, we have received feedback from several sources, that indicates some employees are reluctant to report injuries. These indicators showed us that continuing our current strategies, making incremental improvement and changes, would not give us the improvement desired. We needed a paradigm shift to get everyone completely engaged in the IIF (Incident and Injury Free) culture, in order to achieve true IIF results. Methods/Strategies: We formed a small (3-person) taskforce consisting of safety representatives from EHS, Site Services and CS Operations. We reviewed 5 years worth of data to determine what was injuring our people. We also decided to review all injuries, not simply those classified as recordable by OSHA standards. First we identified the types of injury information needed to get a true picture of our safety issues. We analyzed IRB (Incident Review Board) data showing us the following factors and whether any of them contributed to the injury: - Date - Incident Description - Severity - Root Cause - Type of Injury - Season - Work Group/Shift - Area - Improper evaluation of hazard - Inadequate work procedures - Incorrect Mental Model - Inadequate PPE Requirement - Failure to Follow or Unaware of PPE Requirement - Shortcut or Schedule Pressure - Last or First Day of Shift or Adjacent to Holiday - OT - Aggravate Existing Condition - Inadequate Training or Passdown - Experience in Task - Corrective Action Taken - Overall Quality of Response. Once this information was collected for all injuries in an Excel file, we graphed it several ways to help reveal trends: - Shift 7 had double the injuries of shift 5 - Night shift injuries were relatively high but lower than Shift 7 -Shift

TIPS (trigger an IIF paradigm shift).

Science.gov (United States)

Kilcup P E, Glen; Hickox, Dick; Reynaga, Adolfo

2007-04-11

New Mexico Corporate Services (NMCS) recordable injuries have been averaging 2-4 per year for the last 5 years with no statistical improvement. However, we believe all NM employees must go home incident and injury free every day and just as healthy as they came to work. In addition, we have received feedback from several sources, that indicates some employees are reluctant to report injuries. These indicators showed us that continuing our current strategies, making incremental improvement and changes, would not give us the improvement desired. We needed a paradigm shift to get everyone completely engaged in the IIF (Incident & Injury Free) culture, in order to achieve true IIF results. We formed a small (3-person) taskforce consisting of safety representatives from EHS, Site Services and CS Operations. We reviewed 5 years worth of data to determine what was injuring our people. We also decided to review all injuries, not simply those classified as recordable by OSHA standards. First we identified the types of injury information needed to get a true picture of our safety issues. We analyzed IRB (Incident Review Board) data showing us the following factors and whether any of them contributed to the injury: - Date - Incident Description - Severity - Root Cause - Type of Injury - Season - Work Group/Shift - Area - Improper evaluation of hazard - Inadequate work procedures - Incorrect Mental Model - Inadequate PPE Requirement - Failure to Follow or Unaware of PPE Requirement - Shortcut or Schedule Pressure - Last or First Day of Shift or Adjacent to Holiday - OT - Aggravate Existing Condition - Inadequate Training or Passdown - Experience in Task - Corrective Action Taken - Overall Quality of Response. Once this information was collected for all injuries in an Excel file, we graphed it several ways to help reveal trends: Shift 7 had double the injuries of shift 5. Night shift injuries were relatively high but lower than Shift 7. Shift 5 had no severe (recordable

Group key management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunigan, T.; Cao, C.

1997-08-01

This report describes an architecture and implementation for doing group key management over a data communications network. The architecture describes a protocol for establishing a shared encryption key among an authenticated and authorized collection of network entities. Group access requires one or more authorization certificates. The implementation includes a simple public key and certificate infrastructure. Multicast is used for some of the key management messages. An application programming interface multiplexes key management and user application messages. An implementation using the new IP security protocols is postulated. The architecture is compared with other group key management proposals, and the performance and the limitations of the implementation are described.

Time Zones, Shift Working and International Outsourcing

OpenAIRE

Matsuoka, Yuji; Fukushima, Marcelo

2009-01-01

We build a trade model with two identical countries located in different time zones and a monopolistically competitive sector of which production requires differentiated goods produced in two successive stages. We introduce shift working disutility and allow consumers to choose between day and night shifts. Shift working disutility raises the cost of night production and firms can reduce costs by “virtually” outsourcing foreign labor. We found that firms only outsource if relat...

Forecasting interest rates with shifting endpoints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Van Dijk, Dick; Koopman, Siem Jan; Wel, Michel van der

2014-01-01

We consider forecasting the term structure of interest rates with the assumption that factors driving the yield curve are stationary around a slowly time-varying mean or ‘shifting endpoint’. The shifting endpoints are captured using either (i) time series methods (exponential smoothing) or (ii......) long-range survey forecasts of either interest rates or inflation and output growth, or (iii) exponentially smoothed realizations of these macro variables. Allowing for shifting endpoints in yield curve factors provides substantial and significant gains in out-of-sample predictive accuracy, relative...... to stationary and random walk benchmarks. Forecast improvements are largest for long-maturity interest rates and for long-horizon forecasts....

Beta-shifts, their languages and computability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simonsen, Jakob Grue

2011-01-01

they give into the dynamics of the underlying system. We prove that the language of the ß-shift is recursive iff ß is a computable real number. That fact yields a precise characterization of the reals: The real numbers ß for which we can compute arbitrarily good approximations—hence in particular......For every real number ß >1, the ß-shift is a dynamical system describing iterations of the map x ¿ ßx mod 1 and is studied intensively in number theory. Each ß-shift has an associated language of finite strings of characters; properties of this language are studied for the additional insight...

Lamb Shift in Nonrelativistic Quantum Electrodynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Grotch, Howard

1981-01-01

The bound electron self-energy or Lamb shift is calculated in nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics. Retardation is retained and also an interaction previously dropped in other nonrelativistic approaches is kept. Results are finite without introducing a cutoff and lead to a Lamb shift in hydrogen of 1030.9 MHz. (Author/JN)

Gear shift map design methodology for automotive transmissions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ngo, Viet Dac; Hofman, Theo; Steinbuch, Maarten; Serrarens, Alex

In this paper, a design methodology is developed to condtruct the gear shift map for the automotive transmissions used in conventional and hybrid electric vehicles. The methodology utilizes an optimal gear shift strategy to derive the optimal gear shift patterns over a wide range of driving

Uniqueness and zeros of q-shift difference polynomials

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In this paper, we consider the zero distributions of -shift difference polynomials of meromorphic functions with zero order, and obtain two theorems that extend the classical Hayman results on the zeros of differential polynomials to -shift difference polynomials. We also investigate the uniqueness problem of -shift ...

Robust Public Key Cryptography — A New Cryptosystem Surviving Private Key Compromise

Science.gov (United States)

Shaik, Cheman

A weakness of the present-day public key cryptosystems is that these cryptosystems do not survive private-key compromise attacks resulting from an internal breach of trust. In a competitive business environment, private key compromise is a common incident that voids the strength of public key cryptosystems such as RSA and ECC. Bribing corporate employees to disclose their secret keys and inadvertently disclosing secret information are among a plethora of practical attacks that occur at the implementation level. Once a breach of trust takes place and subsequently the private key is revealed, any public key cryptosystem fails to secure electronic data in Internet communications. The revealed key may be used by an attacker to decipher the intercepted data at an intermediary router. This weakness of public key cryptography calls for an additional security measure that enables encryptions to survive private key compromise attacks.

The impact of chronotype on melatonin levels among shift workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatti, Parveen; Mirick, Dana K; Davis, Scott

2014-03-01

The association between shift work and cancer, which is thought to be mediated by effects on circulating melatonin levels, may be modified by chronotype (ie, the inherent preference for activity in the morning or the evening); however, few studies have examined the potential impact of chronotype on the carcinogenic effects of shift work. The authors analysed the impact of chronotype on previously reported differences in melatonin levels among healthcare workers that exclusively worked night or day shifts. The cross-sectional study included 664 men and women (310 day shift and 354 night shift workers) from which urine samples were collected throughout work and sleep periods and were assayed for 6-sulfatoxymelatonin. Participants also completed the Composite Scale of Morningness, a questionnaire used to assess chronotype. Among both morning and evening-type night shift workers, 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels were constitutively lower during daytime sleep, night-time sleep and night work compared with day shift workers during night-time sleep. However, morning-type night shift workers consistently showed 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels that were closer to levels in day shift workers than did evening-type night shift workers. Differences in 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels between morning-type and evening-type night shift workers relative to day shift workers were statistically significant in every instance (pnight shift workers may be better able to maintain a 'normal' circadian pattern of melatonin production as compared with evening-type night shift workers. The impact of this chronotype effect on cancer risk among shift workers requires further study.

Written Language Shift among Norwegian Youth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamil ÖZERK

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In Norway there are two written Norwegian languages, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Of these two written languages Bokmål is being used by the majority of the people, and Bokmål has the highest prestige in the society. This article is about the shift of written language from Nynorsk to Bokmål among young people in a traditional Nynorsk district in the country. Drawing on empirical data we conclude that many adolescents are experiencing written language shift. We discuss various reasons for this phenomenon in the linguistic landscape of Norway. In our discussions we emphasize the importance of the school with regard to language maintenance and language revitalization. We call for a new language policy in the educational system that can prevent language shift. Having several dialects and two officially written forms of Norwegian in the country, creates a special linguistic landscape in Norway. Despite the fact that the Norwegian language situation is in several ways unique, it’s done very little research on how the existing policy works in practice. Our research reveals that the existing language policy and practice in the school system is not powerful enough to prevent language shift and language decay among the youngsters. The school system functions like a fabric for language shift.

Task Shifting in Dermatology: A Call to Action.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Danielle N; Langan, Sinéad M; Freeman, Esther E

2017-11-01

Can task shifting be used to improve the delivery of dermatologic care in resource-poor settings worldwide? Task shifting is a means of redistributing available resources, whereby highly trained individuals train an available workforce to provide necessary care in low-resource settings. Limited evidence exists for task shifting in dermatology; however, studies from psychiatry demonstrate its efficacy. In the field of dermatology there is a need for high-quality evidence including randomized clinical trials to validate the implementation of task shifting in low-resource settings globally.

Relationship between thyroid stimulating hormone and night shift work.

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, So-Hyun; Lee, Bum-Joon; Kim, Seong-Jin; Kim, Hwan-Cheol

2016-01-01

Night shift work has well-known adverse effects on health. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between thyroid diseases and night shift work. This study aimed to examine night shift workers and their changes in thyroid stimulating hormones (TSH) levels over time. Medical check-up data (2011-2015) were obtained from 967 female workers at a university hospital in Incheon, Korea. Data regarding TSH levels were extracted from the records, and 2015 was used as a reference point to determine night shift work status. The relationships between TSH levels and night shift work in each year were analyzed using the general linear model (GLM). The generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to evaluate the repeated measurements over the 5-year period. The GEE analysis revealed that from 2011 to 2015, night shift workers had TSH levels that were 0.303 mIU/L higher than the levels of non-night shift workers (95 % CI: 0.087-0.519 mIU/L, p  = 0.006) after adjusting for age and department. When we used TSH levels of 4.5 ≥ mIU/L to identify subclinical hypothyroidism, night shift workers exhibited a 1.399 fold higher risk of subclinical hypothyroidism (95 % CI: 1.050-1.863, p  = 0.022), compared to their non-night shift counterparts. This result of this study suggests that night shift workers may have an increased risk of thyroid diseases, compared to non-night shift workers.

Impacts of shift work on sleep and circadian rhythms.

Science.gov (United States)

Boivin, D B; Boudreau, P

2014-10-01

Shift work comprises work schedules that extend beyond the typical "nine-to-five" workday, wherein schedules often comprise early work start, compressed work weeks with 12-hour shifts, and night work. According to recent American and European surveys, between 15 and 30% of adult workers are engaged in some type of shift work, with 19% of the European population reportedly working at least 2 hours between 22:00 and 05:00. The 2005 International Classification of Sleep Disorders estimates that a shift work sleep disorder can be found in 2-5% of workers. This disorder is characterized by excessive sleepiness and/or sleep disruption for at least one month in relation with the atypical work schedule. Individual tolerance to shift work remains a complex problem that is affected by the number of consecutive work hours and shifts, the rest periods, and the predictability of work schedules. Sleepiness usually occurs during night shifts and is maximal at the end of the night. Impaired vigilance and performance occur around times of increased sleepiness and can seriously compromise workers' health and safety. Indeed, workers suffering from a shift work sleep-wake disorder can fall asleep involuntarily at work or while driving back home after a night shift. Working on atypical shifts has important socioeconomic impacts as it leads to an increased risk of accidents, workers' impairment and danger to public safety, especially at night. The aim of the present review is to review the circadian and sleep-wake disturbances associated with shift work as well as their medical impacts. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier SAS.

On the energy shift the ECC cusp. Does the shift really exist?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarkadi, L.; Barrachina, R.O.

2004-01-01

The cusplike 'electron capture to the continuum' (ECC) peak appearing in the spectrum of the forward emitted electrons in ion-atom collisions are generally thought to be a divergence. Recently Shah et al., however, claimed that 'the ECC cusp is indeed a cusp, and not a divergence smoothed by the experiment'. These authors measured the ECC cusp for collisions of 10- and 20-keV protons with H 2 and He, and found that the peak was shifted to lower velocity than its expected position. We also carried out CTMC calculations (for the case of 20-keV protons on He) by which we demonstrated that the shift really exists but its value depends on the angular window of the electron detection. (K.A.)

Stochastic dynamical models for ecological regime shifts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Jan Kloppenborg; Carstensen, Jacob; Madsen, Henrik

the physical and biological knowledge of the system, and nonlinearities introduced here can generate regime shifts or enhance the probability of regime shifts in the case of stochastic models, typically characterized by a threshold value for the known driver. A simple model for light competition between...... definition and stability of regimes become less subtle. Ecological regime shifts and their modeling must be viewed in a probabilistic manner, particularly if such model results are to be used in ecosystem management....

Comparison of second-order impact line shifts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griem, H.R.; Iglesias, C.A.; Boercker, D.B.

1991-01-01

The second-order impact shifts in hydrogen obtained from the Baranger formalism are compared with those from a kinetic theory approach. The resulting Δn=0 contributions to the shift from the two theories are shown to be identical, except for the neglect of electron-electron correlations in the Baranger formalism. It is also shown that some care is required in taking the classical limit for the perturbing electrons, or else the shift from Δn=0 interactions vanishes

Shift versus no-shift in local regularization of Chern-Simons theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giavarini, G.; Parma Univ.; Martin, C.P.; Ruiz Ruiz, F.

1994-01-01

We consider a family of local BRS-invariant higher covariant derivative regularizations of SU(N) Chern-Simons theory that do not shift the value of the Chern-Simons parameter k to k + sign(k) c v at one loop. (orig.)

[Shift and night work and mental health].

Science.gov (United States)

Sancini, Angela; Ciarrocca, Manuela; Capozzella, Assunta; Corbosiero, Paola; Fiaschetti, Maria; Caciari, Tiziana; Cetica, Carlotta; Scimitto, Lara; Ponticiello, Barnaba Giuseppina; Tasciotti, Zaira; Schifano, Maria Pia; Andreozzit, Giorgia; Tomei, Francesco; Tomei, Gianfranco

2012-01-01

Aim of our study was to evaluate the influence that shift work and night work could have on mental health. A review of literary articles from 1990 to 2011 on shift work and night work was carried out. The results of this review confirmed that the shift work and night work affect mental health with the onset of neuropsychological disorders such as mood disorders, anxiety, nervousness, depressive anxiety syndromes, chronic fatigue and chronic insomnia irritability, sleep disturbances, reduction in levels of attention, cognitive impairments, alteration of circadian rhythm. Night work and shift work cause severe desynchronization of the cronobiological rhythms and a disruption of social life with negative effects on performance at work, on health and on social relationships. In the light of these results and recognizing shift work and night work as risk factors for the health of workers is necessary to implement preventive and periodic health checks by the occupational doctor to ensure the health and safety of workers taking account of the different environmental and individual factors.

Dietary habits among persons hired on shift work.

Science.gov (United States)

Strzemecka, Joanna; Bojar, Iwona; Strzemecka, Ewa; Owoc, Alfred

2014-01-01

Shift-work determinates irregular nutrition habits. The quality as well as the quantity of meals consumed by shift-workers can significantly affects their health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary habits of people performing shift work in the Bogdanka mine. The study was carried out in the Bogdanka mine in Leczna. The questionnaire, which was designed by the author of this dissertation, was conducted among 700 shift-workers, working underground. The results were subjected to statistical analysis based on STATISTICA v. 7.1 (StatSoft, Poland) software. Nearly half of respondents reported regular consumption of meals (40.0%) Interviewees admitted having warm meals during the day (81.4%). The most frequently consumed meal during the day was the hot one (50.9%), three meals and more were consumed the least frequently (8.1%). Almost half of respondents considered their eating habits as inappropriate (46.3%). Among those, nearly half (68.2%) stated that shift - work is the reason for their nutrition habits. More than half of respondents (66.0%) admitted that shift work hampers regular consumption of meals. Shift work makes nourishment and regular consumption difficult. It contributes to the limited amount of warm meals eaten during the day. In order to maintain preventive health care and the improvement of quality of life, shift workers should be provided with an easier access to meals (including warm one) at specified times of the day.

Metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Canuto, Raquel; Pattussi, Marcos Pascoal; Macagnan, Jamile Block Araldi; Henn, Ruth Liane; Olinto, Maria Teresa Anselmo

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE To analyze if metabolic syndrome and its altered components are associated with demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral factors in fixed-shift workers. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 902 shift workers of both sexes in a poultry processing plant in Southern Brazil in 2010. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was determined according to the recommendations from Harmonizing the Metabolic Syndrome. Its frequency was evaluated according to the demographic (sex, skin color, age and marital status), socioeconomic (educational level, income and work shift), and behavioral characteristics (smoking, alcohol intake, leisure time physical activity, number of meals and sleep duration) of the sample. The multivariate analysis followed a theoretical framework for identifying metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers. RESULTS The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the sample was 9.3% (95%CI 7.4;11.2). The most frequently altered component was waist circumference (PR 48.4%; 95%CI 45.5;51.2), followed by high-density lipoprotein. Work shift was not associated with metabolic syndrome and its altered components. After adjustment, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was positively associated with women (PR 2.16; 95%CI 1.28;3.64), workers aged over 40 years (PR 3.90; 95%CI 1.78;8.93) and those who reported sleeping five hours or less per day (PR 1.70; 95%CI 1.09;2.24). On the other hand, metabolic syndrome was inversely associated with educational level and having more than three meals per day (PR 0.43; 95%CI 0.26;0.73). CONCLUSIONS Being female, older and deprived of sleep are probable risk factors for metabolic syndrome, whereas higher educational level and higher number of meals per day are protective factors for metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers.

Shift work in a security environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longhouser, G.A. Jr.

1993-01-01

Human beings are diurnal species, normally active by day and asleep by night. Yet over thirty million Americans struggle with work schedules that include an off-normal work effort. The railroads, law enforcement, health services, Department of Defense, factory workers, chemical plants and public services, communications and utility workers must provide some form of around-the-clock effort. Shift work has been around since the advent of recorded history. There has always been a need for some type of off-normal service and assistance. The impact of shift work is replete with tales and factual evidence of an increased personnel error rate; disorders, both personal and family, and of course, increased accident events. In recent memory, the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant incident, Union Carbide's explosion in Bhopal, and the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant catastrophe all occurred during off-normal working hours. Yet management overall has done little to correct the production-driven twelve hour, seven day week shift mentality of the nineteenth century. Most schedules in use today are nothing more than cosmetic variations of the old production schedules. This could be driven by a management consideration of the worker's response to change coupled with a reluctant buy-in of responsibility for the effects of change. Florida Power Corporation has developed for its nuclear security force, a unique work schedule which attempts to employ the sound principles of circadian rhythms coupled with a comprehensive training program to counter the problems associated with shift work. The results over the last four years have seen a marked reduction in the generic problems of personnel errors, absenteeism, unscheduled overtime and turnover rates. Utilization and understanding of this scheduling process for rotational shift work needs to be assessed to determine if the benefits are site specific or provide an expected response to the problems of shift work

Metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raquel Canuto

2015-01-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE To analyze if metabolic syndrome and its altered components are associated with demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral factors in fixed-shift workers. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 902 shift workers of both sexes in a poultry processing plant in Southern Brazil in 2010. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was determined according to the recommendations from Harmonizing the Metabolic Syndrome. Its frequency was evaluated according to the demographic (sex, skin color, age and marital status, socioeconomic (educational level, income and work shift, and behavioral characteristics (smoking, alcohol intake, leisure time physical activity, number of meals and sleep duration of the sample. The multivariate analysis followed a theoretical framework for identifying metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers. RESULTS The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the sample was 9.3% (95%CI 7.4;11.2. The most frequently altered component was waist circumference (PR 48.4%; 95%CI 45.5;51.2, followed by high-density lipoprotein. Work shift was not associated with metabolic syndrome and its altered components. After adjustment, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was positively associated with women (PR 2.16; 95%CI 1.28;3.64, workers aged over 40 years (PR 3.90; 95%CI 1.78;8.93 and those who reported sleeping five hours or less per day (PR 1.70; 95%CI 1.09;2.24. On the other hand, metabolic syndrome was inversely associated with educational level and having more than three meals per day (PR 0.43; 95%CI 0.26;0.73. CONCLUSIONS Being female, older and deprived of sleep are probable risk factors for metabolic syndrome, whereas higher educational level and higher number of meals per day are protective factors for metabolic syndrome in fixed-shift workers.

Measuring proton shift tensors with ultrafast MAS NMR.

Science.gov (United States)

Miah, Habeeba K; Bennett, David A; Iuga, Dinu; Titman, Jeremy J

2013-10-01

A new proton anisotropic-isotropic shift correlation experiment is described which operates with ultrafast MAS, resulting in good resolution of isotropic proton shifts in the detection dimension. The new experiment makes use of a recoupling sequence designed using symmetry principles which reintroduces the proton chemical shift anisotropy in the indirect dimension. The experiment has been used to measure the proton shift tensor parameters for the OH hydrogen-bonded protons in tyrosine·HCl and citric acid at Larmor frequencies of up to 850 MHz. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stokes shift spectroscopy for the early diagnosis of epithelial precancers in DMBA treated mouse skin carcinogenesis

Science.gov (United States)

Jeyasingh, Ebenezar; Singaravelu, Ganesan; Prakasarao, Aruna

2018-02-01

In this study, we aim to characterize the tissue transformation in dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) treated mouse skin tumor model using stokes shift spectroscopy (SSS) technique for early detection of the neoplastic changes. Stokes shift (SS) spectra measured by scanning both excitation and emission wavelength simultaneously with a fixed wavelength of interval (Δλ=20 nm) in vivo from 33 DMBA treated animals and 6 control animals. The SS spectra of normal (n=6), hyperplasia (n=10), dysplasia (n=10), and WDSCC (n=13) of mice skin shows the distinct peaks around 300, 350, and 386 nm may be attributed to tryptophan, collagen, and NADH respectively. From the observed spectral differences and the ratio variables that resulted in better classification between groups, it is concluded that tryptophan, collagen, and NADH are the key fluorophores that undergo changes during tissue transformation process and hence they can be targeted as tumor markers for early neoplastic changes.

Optical image encryption using chaos-based compressed sensing and phase-shifting interference in fractional wavelet domain

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Qi; Wang, Ying; Wang, Jun; Wang, Qiong-Hua

2018-02-01

In this paper, a novel optical image encryption system combining compressed sensing with phase-shifting interference in fractional wavelet domain is proposed. To improve the encryption efficiency, the volume data of original image are decreased by compressed sensing. Then the compacted image is encoded through double random phase encoding in asymmetric fractional wavelet domain. In the encryption system, three pseudo-random sequences, generated by three-dimensional chaos map, are used as the measurement matrix of compressed sensing and two random-phase masks in the asymmetric fractional wavelet transform. It not only simplifies the keys to storage and transmission, but also enhances our cryptosystem nonlinearity to resist some common attacks. Further, holograms make our cryptosystem be immune to noises and occlusion attacks, which are obtained by two-step-only quadrature phase-shifting interference. And the compression and encryption can be achieved in the final result simultaneously. Numerical experiments have verified the security and validity of the proposed algorithm.

Josephson shift register design and layout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Przybysz, J.X.; Buttyan, J.; Blaugher, R.D.

1989-01-01

Integrated circuit chips were designed and fabricated, based on Josephson shift register circuit that simulated operation at 25 GHz using the SPICE program. The 6.25 mm square chip featured a twelve-gate, four-stage shift register fabricated with Nb/AlO/sub x//Nb Josephson junctions with a design value of 2000 A/cm/sup 2/ critical current density. SUPERCOMPACT, a general program for the design of monolithic microwave integrated circuits, was used to model the effects of layout geometry on the uniformity and phase coherence of logic gate bias currents. Gate bias resistors were treated as resistive transmission lines. A layout geometry for the superconductive transmission lines and thin film bias resistors was developed. The original SPICE-designed circuit was modified as a result of these calculations. Modeling indicated that bias current variations could be limited to 3% for all possible logic states of the shift register, and phase coherence of the gates could be maintained to within 2 degrees of 10 Ghz. The fundamental soundness of the circuit design was demonstrated by the proper operation of fabricated shift registers

Scandinavian Object Shift and Optimality Theory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engels, Eva; Vikner, Sten

This study presents an account of object shift, a word order phenomenon found in most of the Scandinavian languages where an object occurs unexpectedly to the left and not to the right of a sentential adverbial. The book examines object shift across many of the Scandinavian languages and dialects...... and original observations, this book is an important addition to the fields of phonology, optimality theory and theoretical syntax......., and analyses the variation, for example whether object shift is optional or obligatory, whether it applies only to pronouns or other objects as well, and whether it applies to adverbials. The authors show that optimality theory, traditionally used in phonology, is a useful framework for accounting...

Special offer for early shift takers!

CERN Multimedia

Muriel

Peter Jenni, spokesperson of the ATLAS collaboration, just made the following announcement. "Despite the few problems that we are encountering, which of course are unavoidable in such a large project, I am very pleased with the way the ATLAS experiment is taking shape. With the imminence of data taking, I would like to make a special gesture as a thank you to all of you who are working so hard for ATLAS to meet its many deadlines. The first 100 ATLAS members who will sign up for shifts will receive twice the standard OTSMOU credit." You can sign up for shifts as of April 1st by sending an e-mail to Atlas.Shifts@cern.ch.

Profit shifting in the Norwegian and British petroleum industry: Differentiating between the real and shifting response to tax changes

OpenAIRE

Vada, Helene

2016-01-01

In this master’s thesis, I explain the concept of profit shifting within multinational enterprises and investigate whether petroleum companies on the Norwegian and British continental shelves engage in tax motivated profit shifting, by applying ordinary least squares and company fixed effects estimation. To be able to distinguish between traditional tax distortions and profit shifting, I extend the model developed by James R. Hines and Eric M. Rice in their 1994 article “Fiscal Paradise: Fore...

Lateral shift in one-dimensional quasiperiodic chiral photonic crystal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Da, Jian, E-mail: dajian521@sina.com [Department of Information Engineering, Huaian Senior Vocational and Technical School, Feiyao road, Huaian 223005, Jiangsu Province (China); Mo, Qi, E-mail: moqiyueyang@163.com [School of Software, Yunnan University, Cuihu Bai Road, Kunming City, Yunnan Province 650091 (China); Cheng, Yaokun [Department of Information Engineering, Huaian Senior Vocational and Technical School, Feiyao road, Huaian 223005, Jiangsu Province (China); Liu, Taixiang [Taishan Vocational College of Nursing, Shandong Province 271000 (China)

2015-02-01

We investigate the lateral shift of a one-dimensional quasiperiodic photonic crystal consisting of chiral and conventional dielectric materials. The effect of structural irregularity on lateral shift is evaluated by stationary-phase approach. Our results show that the lateral shift can be modulated by varying the structural irregularity in quasiperiodic structure. Besides, the position of peak in lateral shift spectrum stays sensitive to the chiral factor of chiral materials. In comparison with that of periodic structure, quasiperiodic structure provides an extra degree of freedom to manipulate the lateral shift.

Dynamic Characteristics Analysis of Power Shift Control Valve

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Ren

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In order to study the influence that dynamic performance of shift control valve has on shifting process of construction machinery, the paper introduces working principle of the shift control valve and sets up the dynamically mathematical model and corresponding simulation model with simulation software LMS Imagine. Lab AMESim. Based on simulation, the paper analyzes the influence of pressure variation characteristics and buffering characteristics acting on vehicle performance during the process of shifting, meanwhile conducting experiments to verify the simulation. The results indicate that the simulation model is accurate and credible; the performance of the valve is satisfactory, which indeed reduces impact during shifting. Furthermore, the valve can meet the demand of other construction machineries in better degree by suitable matching between control spring stiffness and damping holes diameter.

Shift manager workload assessment - A case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berntson, K.; Kozak, A.; Malcolm, J. S.

2006-01-01

In early 2003, Bruce Power restarted two of its previously laid up units in the Bruce A generating station, Units 3 and 4. However, due to challenges relating to the availability of personnel with active Shift Manager licenses, an alternate shift structure was proposed to ensure the safe operation of the station. This alternate structure resulted in a redistribution of responsibility, and a need to assess the resulting changes in workload. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited was contracted to perform a workload assessment based on the new shift structure, and to provide recommendations, if necessary, to ensure Shift Managers had sufficient resources available to perform their required duties. This paper discusses the performance of that assessment, and lessons learned as a result of the work performed during the Restart project. (authors)

Lambda shifted photonic crystal cavity laser

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schubert, Martin; Skovgård, Troels Suhr; Ek, Sara

2010-01-01

We propose and demonstrate an alternative type of photonic crystal laser design that shifts all the holes in the lattice by a fixed fraction of the targeted emission wavelength. The structures are realized in InGaAsP =1.15 with InGaAsP quantum wells =1.52 as gain material. Cavities with shifts of...

Shift Work and Cognitive Flexibility: Decomposing Task Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Philip; Tallent, Gabriel; Bender, Thomas John; Tran, Kieulinh Michelle; Drake, Christopher L

2017-04-01

Deficits in cognitive functioning associated with shift work are particularly relevant to occupational performance; however, few studies have examined how cognitive functioning is associated with specific components of shift work. This observational study examined how circadian phase, nocturnal sleepiness, and daytime insomnia in a sample of shift workers ( N = 30) were associated with cognitive flexibility during the night shift. Cognitive flexibility was measured using a computerized task-switching paradigm, which produces 2 indexes of flexibility: switch cost and set inhibition. Switch cost represents the additional cognitive effort required in switching to a different task and can impact performance when multitasking is involved. Set inhibition is the efficiency in returning to previously completed tasks and represents the degree of cognitive perseveration, which can lead to reduced accuracy. Circadian phase was measured via melatonin assays, nocturnal sleepiness was assessed using the Multiple Sleep Latency Test, and daytime insomnia was assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index. Results indicated that those with an earlier circadian phase, insomnia, and sleepiness exhibited reduced cognitive flexibility; however, specific components of cognitive flexibility were differentially associated with circadian phase, insomnia, and sleepiness. Individuals with an earlier circadian phase (thus more misaligned to the night shift) exhibited larger switch costs, which was also associated with reduced task efficiency. Shift workers with more daytime insomnia demonstrated difficulties with cognitive inhibition, whereas nocturnal sleepiness was associated with difficulties in reactivating previous tasks. Deficits in set inhibition were also related to reduced accuracy and increased perseverative errors. Together, this study indicates that task performance deficits in shift work are complex and are variably impacted by different mechanisms. Future research may examine

Night shift decreases cognitive performance of ICU physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Maltese, François; Adda, Mélanie; Bablon, Amandine; Hraeich, Sami; Guervilly, Christophe; Lehingue, Samuel; Wiramus, Sandrine; Leone, Marc; Martin, Claude; Vialet, Renaud; Thirion, Xavier; Roch, Antoine; Forel, Jean-Marie; Papazian, Laurent

2016-03-01

The relationship between tiredness and the risk of medical errors is now commonly accepted. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of an intensive care unit (ICU) night shift on the cognitive performance of a group of intensivists. The influence of professional experience and the amount of sleep on cognitive performance was also investigated. A total of 51 intensivists from three ICUs (24 seniors and 27 residents) were included. The study participants were evaluated after a night of rest and after a night shift according to a randomized order. Four cognitive skills were tested according to the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. All cognitive abilities worsened after a night shift: working memory capacity (11.3 ± 0.3 vs. 9.4 ± 0.3; p night shift. The cognitive abilities of intensivists were significantly altered following a night shift in the ICU, regardless of either the amount of professional experience or the duration of sleep during the shift. The consequences for patients' safety and physicians' health should be further evaluated.

Shift work and its association with metabolic disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Brum, Maria Carlota Borba; Filho, Fábio Fernandes Dantas; Schnorr, Claudia Carolina; Bottega, Gustavo Borchardt; Rodrigues, Ticiana C

2015-01-01

Although the health burden of shift work has not been extensively studied, evidence suggests that it may affect the metabolic balance and cause obesity and other metabolic disorders. Sleep deprivation, circadian desynchronization and behavioral changes in diet and physical activity are among the most commonly mentioned factors in studies of the association between night work and metabolic disorders. Individual adaptation to night work depends greatly on personal factors such as family and social life, but occupational interventions may also make a positive contribution to the transition to shift work, such as exposure to bright lights during the night shift, melatonin use, shift regularity and clockwise rotation, and dietary adaptations for the metabolic needs of night workers. The evaluation of the impact of night work on health and of the mechanisms underlying this relationship can serve as a basis for intervention strategies to minimize the health burden of shift work. This review aimed to identify highlights regarding therapeutic implications following the association between night and shift work and metabolic disorders, as well as the mechanisms and pathways responsible for these relationships.

Revisiting the 'paradigm shift' in opioid use: Developments and implications 10 years later.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Benedikt; Rehm, Jürgen

2017-03-23

A decade ago, we queried the unfolding of a 'paradigm shift' in illicit opioid use in North America, specifically involving a shift away from heroin to prescription opioid (PO) use. Today, this situation is more acute than ever, with prescription opioid misuse, morbidity and mortality amounting to one of the most severe substance use-related public health crises ever, now even impacting life expectancy in key population segments. Despite medical system-based PO dispensing and practices being recognised as core drivers of the PO crisis, effective policy measures have been long absent or limited-including those to reduce medical PO use to levels supported by best evidence for pain care. At the same time, heroin use has been increasing again, now commonly tied into interdependent opioid use trajectories, initiated with POs yet shifting to heroin as influenced by economic or availability factors. For policy, there are now two major and urgent-yet partly conflicting-tasks: one is to reduce the determinants of PO misuse and harms by reducing medical prescribing to levels supported by good evidence, while the other is to effectively protect those many active problematic PO users from acute harms (including overdose mortality) by providing effective treatment and survival aids (e.g. naloxone). Surprisingly, it appears that a major 'homemade' and medical system-induced drug crisis has been at least as challenging for North American policy systems to address as other, more conventional illicit drug problems. Lessons for policy hence need to be urgently identified and applied for the future. [Fischer B, Rehm J. Revisiting the 'paradigm shift' in opioid use: Developments and implications 10 years later. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;00:000-000]. © 2017 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Staffing, overtime, and shift scheduling project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, P.M.

1989-01-01

Recent events at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant have demonstrated the need to establish a quantifiable basis for assessing the safety significance of long work hours on nuclear power plant operators. The incidents at TMI-2, Chernobyl, and Bhopal, which all occurred during the late evening/night shift, further highlight the importance of the relationship between shift scheduling and performance. The objective of this project is to estimate, using statistical analysis on data from the nuclear industry, the effects on safety of staffing levels, overtime, and shift scheduling for operators and maintenance personnel. Regarding staffing levels, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) currently has no explicit regulation concerning the minimum acceptable levels of staffing in a plant that has an operating license. The NRC has no systematic method for collecting data on the number of licensed operators on the operating crews. In 1982 the NRC recommended that plants write into their technical specifications a model policy on overtime. Currently, 77 nuclear power plant units have the model policy or a modification of it written into their technical specifications; 33 units have no policy on overtime. The model policy sets limits on overtime for safety related personnel, although these limits can be exceeded with plant manger approval. The US nuclear power industry has three types of shift schedules: (1) forward-rotating 8-hour/day shift schedules, (2) backward-rotating 8-hour/day schedules, and (3) 12-hour/day schedules

Night Shift Work and Its Health Effects on Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Books, Candie; Coody, Leon C; Kauffman, Ryan; Abraham, Sam

The purpose of this research was to study night shift work and its health effects on nurses. This was a quantitative study using descriptive design; it also incorporated three qualitative open-ended questions to complement the study. The data were collected using Survey Monkey, with an Internet-based confidential data collection tool. The population of relevance to this study was nurses employed in hospital settings in the United States. E-mail addresses and Facebook were used to recruit participants. Results indicated that there is an increased risk of sleep deprivation, family stressors, and mood changes because of working the night shift. Rotating shifts were mentioned as a major concern for night shift nurses. Respondents agreed that complaints about fatigue and fatigue-related illnesses in night shift workers were ignored. There was also a general perception among nurses working the night shift that sleep deprivation leads to negative health consequences including obesity; however, they were not as high a concern as rotating shifts or fatigue.

Recurrence phase shift in Fermi-Pasta-Ulam nonlinear dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Devine, N., E-mail: nnd124@rsphysse.anu.edu.au [Optical Sciences Group, Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia); Ankiewicz, A. [Optical Sciences Group, Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia); Genty, G. [Tampere University of Technology, Optics Laboratory, FI-33101 Tampere (Finland); Dudley, J.M. [Institut FEMTO-ST UMR 6174 CNRS/Universite de Franche-Comte, Besancon (France); Akhmediev, N. [Optical Sciences Group, Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia)

2011-11-07

We show that the dynamics of Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence is associated with a nonlinear phase shift between initial and final states that are otherwise identical, after a full growth-return cycle. The properties of this phase shift are studied for the particular case of the self-focussing nonlinear Schroedinger equation, and we describe the magnitude of the phase shift in terms of the system parameters. This phase shift, accumulated during the nonlinear recurrence cycle, is a previously-unremarked feature of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam problem, and we anticipate its wide significance as an essential feature of related dynamics in other systems. -- Highlights: → The dynamics of FPU recurrence is associated with a phase shift between initial and final states. → The properties of this phase shift are studied for the self-focussing NLS equation. → This phase shift is a previously-unremarked feature of the FPU growth-return cycle. → We anticipate its wide significance as an essential feature of related dynamics in other systems.

Recurrence phase shift in Fermi-Pasta-Ulam nonlinear dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devine, N.; Ankiewicz, A.; Genty, G.; Dudley, J.M.; Akhmediev, N.

2011-01-01

We show that the dynamics of Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence is associated with a nonlinear phase shift between initial and final states that are otherwise identical, after a full growth-return cycle. The properties of this phase shift are studied for the particular case of the self-focussing nonlinear Schroedinger equation, and we describe the magnitude of the phase shift in terms of the system parameters. This phase shift, accumulated during the nonlinear recurrence cycle, is a previously-unremarked feature of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam problem, and we anticipate its wide significance as an essential feature of related dynamics in other systems. -- Highlights: → The dynamics of FPU recurrence is associated with a phase shift between initial and final states. → The properties of this phase shift are studied for the self-focussing NLS equation. → This phase shift is a previously-unremarked feature of the FPU growth-return cycle. → We anticipate its wide significance as an essential feature of related dynamics in other systems.

Passing the Baton: An Experimental Study of Shift Handover

Science.gov (United States)

Parke, Bonny; Hobbs, Alan; Kanki, Barbara

2010-01-01

Shift handovers occur in many safety-critical environments, including aviation maintenance, medicine, air traffic control, and mission control for space shuttle and space station operations. Shift handovers are associated with increased risk of communication failures and human error. In dynamic industries, errors and accidents occur disproportionately after shift handover. Typical shift handovers involve transferring information from an outgoing shift to an incoming shift via written logs, or in some cases, face-to-face briefings. The current study explores the possibility of improving written communication with the support modalities of audio and video recordings, as well as face-to-face briefings. Fifty participants participated in an experimental task which mimicked some of the critical challenges involved in transferring information between shifts in industrial settings. All three support modalities, face-to-face, video, and audio recordings, reduced task errors significantly over written communication alone. The support modality most preferred by participants was face-to-face communication; the least preferred was written communication alone.

Use of task-shifting to rapidly scale-up HIV treatment services: experiences from Lusaka, Zambia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi Harmony F

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract The World Health Organization advocates task-shifting, the process of delegating clinical care functions from more specialized to less specialized health workers, as a strategy to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. However, there is a dearth of literature describing task shifting in sub-Saharan Africa, where services for antiretroviral therapy (ART have scaled up rapidly in the face of generalized human resource crises. As part of ART services expansion in Lusaka, Zambia, we implemented a comprehensive task-shifting program among existing health providers and community-based workers. Training begins with didactic sessions targeting specialized skill sets. This is followed by an intensive period of practical mentorship, where providers are paired with trainers before working independently. We provide on-going quality assessment using key indicators of clinical care quality at each site. Program performance is reviewed with clinic-based staff quarterly. When problems are identified, clinic staff members design and implement specific interventions to address targeted areas. From 2005 to 2007, we trained 516 health providers in adult HIV treatment; 270 in pediatric HIV treatment; 341 in adherence counseling; 91 in a specialty nurse "triage" course, and 93 in an intensive clinical mentorship program. On-going quality assessment demonstrated improvement across clinical care quality indicators, despite rapidly growing patient volumes. Our task-shifting strategy was designed to address current health care worker needs and to sustain ART scale-up activities. While this approach has been successful, long-term solutions to the human resource crisis are also urgently needed to expand the number of providers and to slow staff migration out of the region.

Dietary habits among persons hired on shift work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Strzemecka

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Shift-work determinates irregular nutrition habits. The quality as well as the quantity of meals consumed by shift-workers can significantly affects their health. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary habits of people performing shift work in the Bogdanka mine. Material and Methods. The study was carried out in the Bogdanka mine in Leczna. The questionnaire, which was designed by the author of this dissertation, was conducted among 700 shift-workers, working underground. The results were subjected to statistical analysis based on STATISTICA v. 7.1 (StatSoft, Poland software. Results. Nearly half of respondents reported regular consumption of meals (40.0% Interviewees admitted having warm meals during the day (81.4%. The most frequently consumed meal during the day was the hot one (50.9%, three meals and more were consumed the least frequently (8.1%. Almost half of respondents considered their eating habits as inappropriate (46.3%. Among those, nearly half (68.2% stated that shift – work is the reason for their nutrition habits. More than half of respondents (66.0% admitted that shift work hampers regular consumption of meals. Conclusions. Shift work makes nourishment and regular consumption difficult. It contributes to the limited amount of warm meals eaten during the day. In order to maintain preventive health care and the improvement of quality of life, shift workers should be provided with an easier access to meals (including warm one at specified times of the day.

The Prerequisites for a Degrowth Paradigm Shift

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buch-Hansen, Hubert

2018-01-01

What would it take for a degrowth paradigm shift to take place? Drawing on contemporary critical political economy scholarship, this article identifies four prerequisites for socio-economic paradigm shifts: deep crisis, an alternative political project, a comprehensive coalition of social forces...... currently facing humanity. On the other hand, the prospects for a degrowth paradigm shift remain bleak: unlike political projects that became hegemonic in the past, degrowth has neither support from a comprehensive coalition of social forces nor any consent to its agenda among the broader population....

Shifting Sugars and Shifting Paradigms

Science.gov (United States)

Siegal, Mark L.

2015-01-01

No organism lives in a constant environment. Based on classical studies in molecular biology, many have viewed microbes as following strict rules for shifting their metabolic activities when prevailing conditions change. For example, students learn that the bacterium Escherichia coli makes proteins for digesting lactose only when lactose is available and glucose, a better sugar, is not. However, recent studies, including three PLOS Biology papers examining sugar utilization in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, show that considerable heterogeneity in response to complex environments exists within and between populations. These results join similar recent results in other organisms that suggest that microbial populations anticipate predictable environmental changes and hedge their bets against unpredictable ones. The classical view therefore represents but one special case in a range of evolutionary adaptations to environmental changes that all organisms face. PMID:25688600

Shifting sugars and shifting paradigms.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark L Siegal

2015-02-01

Full Text Available No organism lives in a constant environment. Based on classical studies in molecular biology, many have viewed microbes as following strict rules for shifting their metabolic activities when prevailing conditions change. For example, students learn that the bacterium Escherichia coli makes proteins for digesting lactose only when lactose is available and glucose, a better sugar, is not. However, recent studies, including three PLOS Biology papers examining sugar utilization in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, show that considerable heterogeneity in response to complex environments exists within and between populations. These results join similar recent results in other organisms that suggest that microbial populations anticipate predictable environmental changes and hedge their bets against unpredictable ones. The classical view therefore represents but one special case in a range of evolutionary adaptations to environmental changes that all organisms face.

Joe L. Kincheloe: Genies and wishes: a review of Key Works in Critical Pedagogy

Science.gov (United States)

Ali-Khan, Carolyne; Siry, Christina

2012-06-01

We review Key Works in Critical Pedagogy: Joe L. Kincheloe edited by kecia hayes, Shirley R. Steinberg and Kenneth Tobin, which gathers the seminal works of Joe. L. Kincheloe and pairs them with contemporary scholars who respond to and push forward Kincheloe's work. The chapters of Key Works in Critical Pedagogy are arranged to begin with Kincheloe's earlier works, going back to 1991, and progress through to the last works he published before his death in 2008. Through this format, readers are able to see the evolution of Kincheloe's scholarship. In addition to this, a few key authors provide a behind the scenes look at the man who wrote the texts. As Kincheloe's ideas and the ideas of the scholars that he drew from are presented, applied, reworked and reconfigured, they shift and transform. The response chapters work to (in effect) show us the notes in the margins of scholars who have been influenced by Kincheloe's ideas. Using the metaphors of lamps and wish-granting genies, we argue that this book is an important tool in illuminating the way forward for social justice work, published in an historical moment that requires precisely this.

Frequency Constrained ShiftCP Modeling of Neuroimaging Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mørup, Morten; Hansen, Lars Kai; Madsen, Kristoffer H.

2011-01-01

The shift invariant multi-linear model based on the CandeComp/PARAFAC (CP) model denoted ShiftCP has proven useful for the modeling of latency changes in trial based neuroimaging data[17]. In order to facilitate component interpretation we presently extend the shiftCP model such that the extracted...... components can be constrained to pertain to predefined frequency ranges such as alpha, beta and gamma activity. To infer the number of components in the model we propose to apply automatic relevance determination by imposing priors that define the range of variation of each component of the shiftCP model...

Advantages of shift changeovers with meetings: ergonomic analysis of shift supervisors' activity in aircraft building.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Bris, Valérie; Barthe, Béatrice; Marquié, Jean-Claude; Kerguelen, Alain; Aubert, Sophie; Bernadou, Bernadette

2012-03-01

Good shift changeovers contribute to ensuring continuity and reliability in shift work. In situations where production is not maintained 24 h a day, changeovers with meetings (SCM) between the two work teams (written plus oral face-to-face handovers) alternate with changeovers without meetings (SCnM; written handovers only). An ergonomic work analysis on an aircraft assembly line showed that (1) incoming and outgoing operators met during the overlap time allotted by the company, and (2) the content of the exchanges was richer for SCMs than for SCnMs. SCMs enabled the operators to pass on and process more aspects of their work than SCnMs did. SCMs also allowed incoming operators to validate their predictions, and enabled both outgoing and incoming operators to update their mental models and work together on peripheral aspects of the technical process over a greater time span. The findings highlight the importance of allowing overlap time in shift work. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Gain Shift Corrections at Chi-Nu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, Tristan Brooks [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Univ. of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics and Applied Physics; Devlin, Matthew James [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-08-30

Ambient conditions have the potential to cause changes in liquid scintillator detector gain that vary with time and temperature. These gain shifts can lead to poor resolution in both energy as well as pulse shape discrimination. In order to correct for these shifts in the Chi-Nu high energy array, a laser system has been developed for calibration of the pulse height signals.

The electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA)

OpenAIRE

sprotocols

2015-01-01

The electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), also known as “gel shift assay”, is used to examine the binding parameters and relative affinities of protein and DNA interactions. We produced recombinant CCA1 protein and tested its binding affinity for the promoter fragments that contain CBS (AAAAATCT) or evening element (EE, AAAATATCT) (1) using a modified procedure adopted from published protocols (2,3).

Shift Work and Sleep Quality Among Urban Police Officers

Science.gov (United States)

Fekedulegn, Desta; Burchfiel, Cecil M.; Charles, Luenda E.; Hartley, Tara A.; Andrew, Michael E.; Violanti, John M.

2016-01-01

Objective The aim of the study was to examine association of shift work with sleep quality in police officers. Methods Data were obtained from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress study (n =363). An electronic work history database was used to define shift as day, afternoon, or night for three durations: past month, 1 year, and 15 years. Sleep quality was determined using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results The overall prevalence of poor sleep quality was 54%; 44% for day, 60% for afternoon, and 69% for night shift. Poor sleep quality was 70% more prevalent among night-shift officers (P shift (P =0.003) relative to officers working on the day shift. Conclusions Night and evening work schedules are associated with elevated prevalence of poor sleep quality among police officers. PMID:26949891

Do working environment interventions reach shift workers?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Jørgensen, Marie Birk; Garde, Anne Helene

2016-01-01

PURPOSE: Shift workers are exposed to more physical and psychosocial stressors in the working environment as compared to day workers. Despite the need for targeted prevention, it is likely that workplace interventions less frequently reach shift workers. The aim was therefore to investigate whether...... the reach of workplace interventions varied between shift workers and day workers and whether such differences could be explained by the quality of leadership exhibited at different times of the day. METHODS: We used questionnaire data from 5361 female care workers in the Danish eldercare sector...

Phase-shift interferometry with a digital photocamera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vannoni, Maurizio; Trivi, Marcelo; Molesini, Giuseppe

2007-01-01

A phase-shift interferometry experiment is proposed, working on a Twyman-Green optical configuration with additional polarization components. A guideline is provided to modern phase-shift interferometry, using concepts and laboratory equipment at the level of undergraduate optics courses

Phase shifts in the Fourier spectra of phase gratings and phase grids: an application for one-shot phase-shifting interferometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Toto-Arellano, Noel-Ivan; Rodriguez-Zurita, Gustavo; Meneses-Fabian, Cruz; Vazquez-Castillo, Jose F

2008-11-10

Among several techniques, phase shifting interferometry can be implemented with a grating used as a beam divider to attain several interference patterns around each diffraction order. Because each pattern has to show a different phase-shift, a suitable shifting technique must be employed. Phase gratings are attractive to perform the former task due to their higher diffraction efficiencies. But as is very well known, the Fourier coefficients of only-phase gratings are integer order Bessel functions of the first kind. The values of these real-valued functions oscillate around zero, so they can adopt negative values, thereby introducing phase shifts of pi at certain diffraction orders. Because this almost trivial fact seems to have been overlooked in the literature regarding its practical implications, in this communication such phase shifts are stressed in the description of interference patterns obtained with grating interferometers. These patterns are obtained by placing two windows in the object plane of a 4f system with a sinusoidal grating/grid in the Fourier plane. It is shown that the corresponding experimental observations of the fringe modulation, as well as the corresponding phase measurements, are all in agreement with the proposed description. A one-shot phase shifting interferometer is finally proposed taking into account these properties after proper incorporation of modulation of polarization.

Shifting identities : the musician as theatrical perfomer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hübner, Falk

2013-01-01

The artistic PhD research "Shifting Identities" investigates the musicians' professional identity and how this identity might shift when musicians start acting as theatrical performers. In most of the theatrical situations where musicians "perform", their profession is extended by additional tasks

Europe's Shifting Response to HIV/AIDS: From Human Rights to Risk Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Julia

2016-12-01

Despite a history of championing HIV/AIDS as a human rights issue, and a rhetorical commitment to health as a human right, European states and institutions have shifted from a rights-based response to a risk management approach to HIV/AIDS since the economic recession of 2008. An interdisciplinary perspective is applied to analyze health policy changes at the national, regional, and global levels by drawing on data from key informant interviews, and institutional and civil society documents. It is demonstrated that, in the context of austerity measures, member states such as the UK and Greece reduced commitments to rights associated with HIV/AIDS; at the regional level, the EU failed to develop rights-based approaches to address the vulnerabilities and health care needs of key populations affected by HIV/AIDS, particularly migrants and sex workers; and at the global level, the EU backtracked on commitments to global health and is prioritizing the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies over the human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. The focus within and from the EU is on containment, efficiency, and cost reduction. The rights of those most affected are no longer prioritized.

Lamb-shift measurement in hydrogenic phosphorus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pross, H.; Budelsky, D.; Kremer, L.; Platte, D.; von Brentano, P.; Gassen, J.; Mueller, D.; Scheuer, F.; Pape, A.; Sens, J.C.

1993-01-01

The final result of a 2s 2 S 1/2-- 2p 2 P 1/2 Lamb-shift measurement by the laser resonance method in hydrogenic phosphorus is reported. Metastable 2s 2 S 1/2 ions were prepared using a β∼0.08 velocity beam of 31 P 14+ ions obtained from the MP tandem accelerator at the Centre de Recherches Nucleaires in Strasbourg. From the metastable state the transition to the 2p 2 P 3/2 state was induced with a high-power dye laser leading to a measured transition energy of ΔE=2.231 33(12) eV. Subtracting the well-known fine-structure splitting ΔE FS =2.314 82(2) eV, the Lamb shift is deduced to be E expt (LS)=20 188(29) GHz. This result is compared with the theoretical value E theor (LS)=20 254(10) GHz and with other experimental results for the Lamb shift in the region Z≤18. Finally, the utility of the Lamb-shift measurements in testing the G(Zα) function of the self-energy, which includes only terms in (Zα) n , n≥6, is discussed

Two-Dimensional Key Table-Based Group Key Distribution in Advanced Metering Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woong Go

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A smart grid provides two-way communication by using the information and communication technology. In order to establish two-way communication, the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI is used in the smart grid as the core infrastructure. This infrastructure consists of smart meters, data collection units, maintenance data management systems, and so on. However, potential security problems of the AMI increase owing to the application of the public network. This is because the transmitted information is electricity consumption data for charging. Thus, in order to establish a secure connection to transmit electricity consumption data, encryption is necessary, for which key distribution is required. Further, a group key is more efficient than a pairwise key in the hierarchical structure of the AMI. Therefore, we propose a group key distribution scheme using a two-dimensional key table through the analysis result of the sensor network group key distribution scheme. The proposed scheme has three phases: group key predistribution, selection of group key generation element, and generation of group key.

Shift work and cognitive aging: a longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bokenberger, Kathleen; Ström, Peter; Dahl Aslan, Anna K; Åkerstedt, Torbjörn; Pedersen, Nancy L

2017-09-01

Objectives The few studies of shift work and late life cognitive functioning have yielded mixed findings. The aim of the present study is to estimate the association between shift-work experience and change in cognitive performance before and after retirement age among older adults who were gainfully employed. Methods Five hundred and ninety five participants with no dementia were followed up for a mean of 17.6 standard deviation (SD) 8.8 years from a Swedish population-based sample. Participants had self-reported information on any type of shift-work experience (ever/never) in 1984 and measures of cognitive performance (verbal, spatial, memory, processing speed, and general cognitive ability) from up to 9 waves of cognitive assessments during 1986-2012. Night work history (ever/never) from 1998-2002 was available from a subsample (N=320). Early adult cognitive test scores were available for 77 men. Results In latent growth curve modeling, there were no main effects of "any-type" or night shift work on the mean scores or rate of change in any of the cognitive domains. An interaction effect between any-type shift work and education on cognitive performance at retirement was noted. Lower-educated shift workers performed better on cognitive tests than lower-educated day workers at retirement. Sensitivity analyses, however, indicated that the interactions appeared to be driven by selection effects. Lower-educated day workers demonstrated poorer cognitive ability in early adulthood than lower-educated shift workers, who may have selected jobs entailing higher cognitive demand. Conclusion There was no difference in late-life cognitive aging between individuals with a history of working shifts compared to those who had typical day work schedules during midlife.

Alternative approaches to providing engineering expertise on shift

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olson, J.; Schreiber, R.E.; Melber, B.D.

1984-05-01

This report represents the conclusions of a project studying the role of engineering expertise on shift in nuclear power plants. Using the present shift technical advisor (STA) position as the base case, several alternatives are analyzed. On-shift alternatives included the STA, the SS (shift supervisor), and the SE (shift engineer). The SE is degreed, experienced, trained, and licensed as a Senior Reactor Operator. Some non-shift alternatives were also studied. These included a cadre of on-call engineers and specialists within continual contact and easy reach of the plant; a technical system of phone and data lines linking the plant with a facility similar to an on-site technical support center; and finally, an SPDS (safety parameter display system) to agument technical upgrading of operator aids presently available. Potential problems considered in the analysis of implementation of these alternatives included job content constraints, problems of crew acceptance, and problems of labor supply and retention. Of the considered alternatives, the SE and SS options appear superior to the current STA approach. The SE approach appears the easiest to implement and the most effective under varied plant conditions. The SE may also serve as liaison to off-site support facilities

Impact of shift work on critical care nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Pryce, Cheryl

2016-01-01

Shift work is a common practice in the health care field to maintain 24-hour patient care. The purpose of this article is to recognize the negative impact of shift work on critical care nurses, and identify strategies to mitigate these effects. A review of the literature was completed, using the search terms: 'shift work, 'critical care', impact, and health. The literature revealed that shift work has an adverse effect on the health of a nurse. Some of the health implications include stress, sleep deprivation, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal symptoms, and mental health illnesses. Furthermore, shift work impacts a nurse's social life and may result in patient harm. Strategies to reduce the negative impact of shift work will be focused on educating critical care nurses and managers. These strategies include frontline staff maintaining a moderate amount of exercise, sustaining a well-balanced diet, using relaxation techniques, reducing the use of cigarettes, working an eight-hour work day, and napping during scheduled breaks. Recommendations for managers include implementing quiet time at the workplace, providing a safe space for staff to nap during breaks, facilitating an eight-hour work day, and encouraging a multidisciplinary team approach when managing workload.

Role of Users’ Movements in Shifting the Power to the Experts by Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra Videmšek

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Article is based on the literature review where we present development of user’s movement abroad and in Slovenia. User’s movement has key role in professionalization of social work. Methods of social work are basic tool in which the basic element are realised. Social work profession has been legitimised by changing the methods, through traditional methods (classical, landed methods towards innovative (radical methods of social work. The latter moved from elitism (professionals know the best, what is good for individual towards co-creation. With this shift, the role of exert by experience has changes from passive receiver of help towards more active participant in solution seeking for their situation.

Global regime shift dynamics of catastrophic sea urchin overgrazing

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, S. D.; Scheibling, R. E.; Rassweiler, A.; Johnson, C. R.; Shears, N.; Connell, S. D.; Salomon, A. K.; Norderhaug, K. M.; Pérez-Matus, A.; Hernández, J. C.; Clemente, S.; Blamey, L. K.; Hereu, B.; Ballesteros, E.; Sala, E.; Garrabou, J.; Cebrian, E.; Zabala, M.; Fujita, D.; Johnson, L. E.

2015-01-01

A pronounced, widespread and persistent regime shift among marine ecosystems is observable on temperate rocky reefs as a result of sea urchin overgrazing. Here, we empirically define regime-shift dynamics for this grazing system which transitions between productive macroalgal beds and impoverished urchin barrens. Catastrophic in nature, urchin overgrazing in a well-studied Australian system demonstrates a discontinuous regime shift, which is of particular management concern as recovery of desirable macroalgal beds requires reducing grazers to well below the initial threshold of overgrazing. Generality of this regime-shift dynamic is explored across 13 rocky reef systems (spanning 11 different regions from both hemispheres) by compiling available survey data (totalling 10 901 quadrats surveyed in situ) plus experimental regime-shift responses (observed during a total of 57 in situ manipulations). The emergent and globally coherent pattern shows urchin grazing to cause a discontinuous ‘catastrophic’ regime shift, with hysteresis effect of approximately one order of magnitude in urchin biomass between critical thresholds of overgrazing and recovery. Different life-history traits appear to create asymmetry in the pace of overgrazing versus recovery. Once shifted, strong feedback mechanisms provide resilience for each alternative state thus defining the catastrophic nature of this regime shift. Importantly, human-derived stressors can act to erode resilience of desirable macroalgal beds while strengthening resilience of urchin barrens, thus exacerbating the risk, spatial extent and irreversibility of an unwanted regime shift for marine ecosystems.

Stowage Planning in Multiple Ports with Shifting Fee Minimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Zhang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper studies the problem of stowage planning within a vessel bay in a multiple port transportation route, aiming at minimizing the total container shifting fee. Since the access to containers is in the top-to-bottom order for each stack, reshuffle operations occur when a target container to be unloaded at its destination port is not stowed on the top of a stack at the time. Each container shift via a quay crane induces one unit of shifting fee that depends on the charge policy of the local container port. Previous studies assume that each container shift consumes a uniform cost in all ports and thus focus on minimizing the total number of shifts or the turnaround time of the vessel. Motivated by the observation that different ports are of nonuniform fee for each container shift, we propose a mixed integer programming (MIP model for the problem to produce an optimal stowage planning with minimum total shifting fee in this work. Moreover, as the considered problem is NP-hard due to the NP-hardness of its counterpart with uniform unit shifting fee, we propose an improved genetic algorithm to solve the problem. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated via numerical experiments.

Shift work and cognition in the Nurses' Health Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Devore, Elizabeth E; Grodstein, Francine; Schernhammer, Eva S

2013-10-15

Rotating night-shift work, which can disrupt circadian rhythm, may adversely affect long-term health. Experimental studies indicate that circadian rhythm disruption might specifically accelerate brain aging; thus, we prospectively examined shift-work history at midlife as associated with cognitive function among older women in the Nurses' Health Study. Women reported their history of rotating night-shift work in 1988 and participated in telephone-based cognitive interviews between 1995 and 2001; interviews included 6 cognitive tests that were subsequently repeated 3 times, at 2-year intervals. We focused on shift work through midlife (here, ages 58-68 years) because cognitive decline is thought to begin during this period. Using multivariable-adjusted linear regression, we evaluated mean differences in both "average cognitive status" at older age (averaging cognitive scores from all 4 interviews) and rates of cognitive decline over time across categories of shift-work duration at midlife (none, 1-9, 10-19, or ≥20 years). There was little association between shift work and average cognition in later life or between shift work and cognitive decline. Overall, this study does not clearly support the hypothesis that shift-work history in midlife has long-term effects on cognition in older adults.

De novo protein structure generation from incomplete chemical shift assignments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shen Yang [National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (United States); Vernon, Robert; Baker, David [University of Washington, Department of Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (United States); Bax, Ad [National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (United States)], E-mail: bax@nih.gov

2009-02-15

NMR chemical shifts provide important local structural information for proteins. Consistent structure generation from NMR chemical shift data has recently become feasible for proteins with sizes of up to 130 residues, and such structures are of a quality comparable to those obtained with the standard NMR protocol. This study investigates the influence of the completeness of chemical shift assignments on structures generated from chemical shifts. The Chemical-Shift-Rosetta (CS-Rosetta) protocol was used for de novo protein structure generation with various degrees of completeness of the chemical shift assignment, simulated by omission of entries in the experimental chemical shift data previously used for the initial demonstration of the CS-Rosetta approach. In addition, a new CS-Rosetta protocol is described that improves robustness of the method for proteins with missing or erroneous NMR chemical shift input data. This strategy, which uses traditional Rosetta for pre-filtering of the fragment selection process, is demonstrated for two paramagnetic proteins and also for two proteins with solid-state NMR chemical shift assignments.

Do phase-shift analyses and nucleon-nucleon potential models yield the wrong 3Pj phase shifts at low energies?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tornow, W.; Witala, H.; Kievsky, A.

1998-01-01

The 4 P J waves in nucleon-deuteron scattering were analyzed using proton-deuteron and neutron-deuteron data at E N =3 MeV. New sets of nucleon-nucleon 3 P j phase shifts were obtained that may lead to a better understanding of the long-standing A y (θ) puzzle in nucleon-deuteron elastic scattering. However, these sets of 3 P j phase shifts are quite different from the ones determined from both global phase-shift analyses of nucleon-nucleon data and nucleon-nucleon potential models. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

Key management of the double random-phase-encoding method using public-key encryption

Science.gov (United States)

Saini, Nirmala; Sinha, Aloka

2010-03-01

Public-key encryption has been used to encode the key of the encryption process. In the proposed technique, an input image has been encrypted by using the double random-phase-encoding method using extended fractional Fourier transform. The key of the encryption process have been encoded by using the Rivest-Shamir-Adelman (RSA) public-key encryption algorithm. The encoded key has then been transmitted to the receiver side along with the encrypted image. In the decryption process, first the encoded key has been decrypted using the secret key and then the encrypted image has been decrypted by using the retrieved key parameters. The proposed technique has advantage over double random-phase-encoding method because the problem associated with the transmission of the key has been eliminated by using public-key encryption. Computer simulation has been carried out to validate the proposed technique.

Heuristic Approach for Balancing Shift Schedules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Dae Ho; Yun, Young Su; Lee, Yong Hee

2005-01-01

In this paper, a heuristic approach for balancing shift schedules is proposed. For the shift schedules, various constraints which have usually been considered in realworld industry are used, and the objective is to minimize the differences of the workloads in each workgroup. The constraints and objective function are implemented in the proposed heuristic approach. Using a simple instance, the efficiency of the proposed heuristic approach is proved

Cloud Feedback Key to Marine Heatwave off Baja California

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Timothy A.; Mechoso, Carlos R.; Cesana, Gregory V.; DeFlorio, Michael J.; Waliser, Duane E.

2018-05-01

Between 2013 and 2015, the northeast Pacific Ocean experienced the warmest surface temperature anomalies in the modern observational record. This "marine heatwave" marked a shift of Pacific decadal variability to its warm phase and was linked to significant impacts on marine species as well as exceptionally arid conditions in western North America. Here we show that the subtropical signature of this warming, off Baja California, was associated with a record deficit in the spatial coverage of co-located marine boundary layer clouds. This deficit coincided with a large increase in downwelling solar radiation that dominated the anomalous energy budget of the upper ocean, resulting in record-breaking warm sea surface temperature anomalies. Our observation-based analysis suggests that a positive cloud-surface temperature feedback was key to the extreme intensity of the heatwave. The results demonstrate the extent to which boundary layer clouds can contribute to regional variations in climate.

The ALICE Glance Shift Accounting Management System (SAMS)

Science.gov (United States)

Martins Silva, H.; Abreu Da Silva, I.; Ronchetti, F.; Telesca, A.; Maidantchik, C.

2015-12-01

ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is an experiment at the CERN LHC (Large Hadron Collider) studying the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma. The experiment operation requires a 24 hours a day and 7 days a week shift crew at the experimental site, composed by the ALICE collaboration members. Shift duties are calculated for each institute according to their correlated members. In order to ensure the full coverage of the experiment operation as well as its good quality, the ALICE Shift Accounting Management System (SAMS) is used to manage the shift bookings as well as the needed training. ALICE SAMS is the result of a joint effort between the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and the ALICE Collaboration. The Glance technology, developed by the UFRJ and the ATLAS experiment, sits at the basis of the system as an intermediate layer isolating the particularities of the databases. In this paper, we describe the ALICE SAMS development process and functionalities. The database has been modelled according to the collaboration needs and is fully integrated with the ALICE Collaboration repository to access members information and respectively roles and activities. Run, period and training coordinators can manage their subsystem operation and ensure an efficient personnel management. Members of the ALICE collaboration can book shifts and on-call according to pre-defined rights. ALICE SAMS features a user profile containing all the statistics and user contact information as well as the Institutes profile. Both the user and institute profiles are public (within the scope of the collaboration) and show the credit balance in real time. A shift calendar allows the Run Coordinator to plan data taking periods in terms of which subsystems shifts are enabled or disabled and on-call responsible people and slots. An overview display presents the shift crew present in the control room and allows the Run Coordination team to confirm the presence

Research on effects of phase error in phase-shifting interferometer

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hongjun; Wang, Zhao; Zhao, Hong; Tian, Ailing; Liu, Bingcai

2007-12-01

Referring to phase-shifting interferometry technology, the phase shifting error from the phase shifter is the main factor that directly affects the measurement accuracy of the phase shifting interferometer. In this paper, the resources and sorts of phase shifting error were introduction, and some methods to eliminate errors were mentioned. Based on the theory of phase shifting interferometry, the effects of phase shifting error were analyzed in detail. The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) as a new shifter has advantage as that the phase shifting can be controlled digitally without any mechanical moving and rotating element. By changing coded image displayed on LCD, the phase shifting in measuring system was induced. LCD's phase modulation characteristic was analyzed in theory and tested. Based on Fourier transform, the effect model of phase error coming from LCD was established in four-step phase shifting interferometry. And the error range was obtained. In order to reduce error, a new error compensation algorithm was put forward. With this method, the error can be obtained by process interferogram. The interferogram can be compensated, and the measurement results can be obtained by four-step phase shifting interferogram. Theoretical analysis and simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach to improve measurement accuracy.