Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaii

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaii. Pathfinder was a remotely controlled, solar-powered flying wing, designed and built as a proof-of-concept vehicle for a much larger aircraft capable of flying at extremely high altitudes for weeks at a time. It was built by AeroVironment, Inc., a California company that developed the human-powered Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross lightweight aircraft during the 1970s, and later made the solar-electric powered Gossamer Penguin and Solar Challenger. The basic configuration and concepts for Pathfinder were first realized with the HALSOL (High Altitude Solar) aircraft, built in 1983 by AeroVironment and the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Pathfinder was constructed of advanced composites, plastics, and foam, and despite a wingspan of nearly 100 feet, it weighed only about 600 pounds. Pathfinder was one of several unpiloted prototypes under study by NASA's ERAST (Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology) program, a NASA-industry alliance which is helping develop advanced technologies that will enable aircraft to study the earth's environment during extremely long flights at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet. (See project description below for Pathfinder's conversion to Pathfinder Plus.) In 1998, the Pathfinder solar-powered flying wing (see its photographs and project description) was modified into the longer-winged Pathfinder Plus configuration and on Aug. 6, 1998, Pathfinder Plus set an altitude record (for propeller-driven aircraft) of approximately 80,285 feet at the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The goal of the Pathfinder Plus flights was to validate new solar, aerodynamic, propulsion, and systems technology developed for its successor, the Centurion, which was designed to reach and sustain altitudes in the 100,000-foot range. The Centurion was succeeded by the Helios Prototype with a goal of reaching and sustaining flight at an altitude of 100,000 feet and flying non-stop for at least 4 days above 50

Fast pyrolysis of sugarcane and cassava residues in a free-fall reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pattiya, Adisak; Sukkasi, Sittha; Goodwin, Vituruch

2012-01-01

Fast pyrolysis of agricultural residues from sugarcane and cassava plantations was carried out in a laboratory-scale free-fall reactor unit. The objectives of this work were to investigate the effects of biomass types and pyroysis conditions, such as reactor temperature, condensation temperature, nitrogen flow rate and run duration, on pyrolysis product distribution, as well as to study the basic properties of the products. The results showed that all of the parameters affected the product distribution. The optimum reactor temperatures for maximising bio-oil yield were in the range of 350–450 °C. About 70 wt% of bio-oil yield could be obtained by pyrolysis of cassava stalk at a reactor temperature of 450 °C and a primary condensation temperature of 10 °C. It was also found that the minimum flow rate of nitrogen for obtaining high bio-oil yield was 1.5 l/min. The product characterisation showed that the bio-oil and char produced from the agricultural residues with the free-fall reactor unit were to a certain extent similar to those produced from different types of biomass with different types of pyrolysis reactor configurations. -- Highlights: ► Fast pyrolysis of sugarcane and cassava agricultural residues was carried out in a laboratory-scale free-fall reactor unit. ► The effects of process parameters on product yields were investigated. ► The process parameters included reactor temperature, condensation temperature, nitrogen flow rate and run duration. ► Basic properties of pyrolysis products were examined.

Pathfinder-Plus on a flight in Hawaii

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

Pathfinder-Plus on a flight in 1998 over Hawaiian waters. Pathfinder was a remotely controlled, solar-powered flying wing, designed and built as a proof-of-concept vehicle for a much larger aircraft capable of flying at extremely high altitudes for weeks at a time. It was built by AeroVironment, Inc., a California company that developed the human-powered Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross lightweight aircraft during the 1970s, and later made the solar-electric powered Gossamer Penguin and Solar Challenger. The basic configuration and concepts for Pathfinder were first realized with the HALSOL (High Altitude Solar) aircraft, built in 1983 by AeroVironment and the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Pathfinder was constructed of advanced composites, plastics, and foam, and despite a wingspan of nearly 100 feet, it weighed only about 600 pounds. Pathfinder was one of several unpiloted prototypes under study by NASA's ERAST (Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology) program, a NASA-industry alliance which is helping develop advanced technologies that will enable aircraft to study the earth's environment during extremely long flights at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet. (See project description below for Pathfinder's conversion to Pathfinder Plus.) In 1998, the Pathfinder solar-powered flying wing (see its photographs and project description) was modified into the longer-winged Pathfinder Plus configuration and on Aug. 6, 1998, Pathfinder Plus set an altitude record (for propeller-driven aircraft) of approximately 80,285 feet at the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The goal of the Pathfinder Plus flights was to validate new solar, aerodynamic, propulsion, and systems technology developed for its successor, the Centurion, which was designed to reach and sustain altitudes in the 100,000-foot range. The Centurion was succeeded by the Helios Prototype with a goal of reaching and sustaining flight at an altitude of 100,000 feet and flying non-stop for at least

Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaiian Islands

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaiian Islands in 1998. Pathfinder was a remotely controlled, solar-powered flying wing, designed and built as a proof-of-concept vehicle for a much larger aircraft capable of flying at extremely high altitudes for weeks at a time. It was built by AeroVironment, Inc., a California company that developed the human-powered Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross lightweight aircraft during the 1970s, and later made the solar-electric powered Gossamer Penguin and Solar Challenger. The basic configuration and concepts for Pathfinder were first realized with the HALSOL (High Altitude Solar) aircraft, built in 1983 by AeroVironment and the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Pathfinder was constructed of advanced composites, plastics, and foam, and despite a wingspan of nearly 100 feet, it weighed only about 600 pounds. Pathfinder was one of several unpiloted prototypes under study by NASA's ERAST (Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology) program, a NASA-industry alliance which is helping develop advanced technologies that will enable aircraft to study the earth's environment during extremely long flights at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet. (See project description below for Pathfinder's conversion to Pathfinder Plus.) In 1998, the Pathfinder solar-powered flying wing (see its photographs and project description) was modified into the longer-winged Pathfinder Plus configuration and on Aug. 6, 1998, Pathfinder Plus set an altitude record (for propeller-driven aircraft) of approximately 80,285 feet at the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The goal of the Pathfinder Plus flights was to validate new solar, aerodynamic, propulsion, and systems technology developed for its successor, the Centurion, which was designed to reach and sustain altitudes in the 100,000-foot range. The Centurion was succeeded by the Helios Prototype with a goal of reaching and sustaining flight at an altitude of 100,000 feet and flying non-stop for at least 4

The end-to-end testbed of the optical metrology system on-board LISA Pathfinder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steier, F; Cervantes, F Guzman; Marin, A F GarcIa; Heinzel, G; Danzmann, K [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut) and Universitaet Hannover (Germany); Gerardi, D, E-mail: frank.steier@aei.mpg.d [EADS Astrium Satellites GmbH, Friedrichshafen (Germany)

2009-05-07

LISA Pathfinder is a technology demonstration mission for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). The main experiment on-board LISA Pathfinder is the so-called LISA Technology Package (LTP) which has the aim to measure the differential acceleration between two free-falling test masses with an accuracy of 3 x 10{sup -14} ms{sup -2} Hz{sup -1/2} between 1 mHz and 30 mHz. This measurement is performed interferometrically by the optical metrology system (OMS) on-board LISA Pathfinder. In this paper, we present the development of an experimental end-to-end testbed of the entire OMS. It includes the interferometer and its sub-units, the interferometer backend which is a phasemeter and the processing of the phasemeter output data. Furthermore, three-axes piezo-actuated mirrors are used instead of the free-falling test masses for the characterization of the dynamic behaviour of the system and some parts of the drag-free and attitude control system (DFACS) which controls the test masses and the satellite. The end-to-end testbed includes all parts of the LTP that can reasonably be tested on earth without free-falling test masses. At its present status it consists mainly of breadboard components. Some of those have already been replaced by engineering models of the LTP experiment. In the next steps, further engineering and flight models will also be inserted in this testbed and tested against well-characterized breadboard components. The presented testbed is an important reference for the unit tests and can also be used for validation of the on-board experiment during the mission.

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, Sioux Author. With Teacher's Guide. Native Americans of the Twentieth Century.

Science.gov (United States)

Minneapolis Public Schools, MN.

A biography for elementary school students describes the life and career of Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (Sioux), a Native American free-lance writer, and includes her photograph and a map of South Dakota reservations. A story by Mrs. Sneve tells about a half-Sioux boy who confronts his heritage when his grandfather makes a long journey between his…

Can't this train go somewhere else?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bushee, Tom

1992-01-01

The author discusses public relations/public affairs challenges encountered in shipping a decommissioned reactor vessel from Sioux Falls, S.D. to Richland, Wa. and some of the measures his company took to assure completion of the shipment in a timely manner. (author)

Pathfinder-Plus takes off on flight in Hawaii

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

Pathfinder-Plus on a flight over Hawaii in 1998. Pathfinder was a remotely controlled, solar-powered flying wing, designed and built as a proof-of-concept vehicle for a much larger aircraft capable of flying at extremely high altitudes for weeks at a time. It was built by AeroVironment, Inc., a California company that developed the human-powered Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross lightweight aircraft during the 1970s, and later made the solar-electric powered Gossamer Penguin and Solar Challenger. The basic configuration and concepts for Pathfinder were first realized with the HALSOL (High Altitude Solar) aircraft, built in 1983 by AeroVironment and the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Pathfinder was constructed of advanced composites, plastics, and foam, and despite a wingspan of nearly 100 feet, it weighed only about 600 pounds. Pathfinder was one of several unpiloted prototypes under study by NASA's ERAST (Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology) program, a NASA-industry alliance which is helping develop advanced technologies that will enable aircraft to study the earth's environment during extremely long flights at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet. (See project description below for Pathfinder's conversion to Pathfinder Plus.) In 1998, the Pathfinder solar-powered flying wing (see its photographs and project description) was modified into the longer-winged Pathfinder Plus configuration and on Aug. 6, 1998, Pathfinder Plus set an altitude record (for propeller-driven aircraft) of approximately 80,285 feet at the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The goal of the Pathfinder Plus flights was to validate new solar, aerodynamic, propulsion, and systems technology developed for its successor, the Centurion, which was designed to reach and sustain altitudes in the 100,000-foot range. The Centurion was succeeded by the Helios Prototype with a goal of reaching and sustaining flight at an altitude of 100,000 feet and flying non-stop for at least 4 days

Strategic Team AI Path Plans: Probabilistic Pathfinding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tng C. H. John

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a novel method to generate strategic team AI pathfinding plans for computer games and simulations using probabilistic pathfinding. This method is inspired by genetic algorithms (Russell and Norvig, 2002, in that, a fitness function is used to test the quality of the path plans. The method generates high-quality path plans by eliminating the low-quality ones. The path plans are generated by probabilistic pathfinding, and the elimination is done by a fitness test of the path plans. This path plan generation method has the ability to generate variation or different high-quality paths, which is desired for games to increase replay values. This work is an extension of our earlier work on team AI: probabilistic pathfinding (John et al., 2006. We explore ways to combine probabilistic pathfinding and genetic algorithm to create a new method to generate strategic team AI pathfinding plans.

Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaiian island N'ihau

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

Pathfinder-Plus on a flight over the Hawaiian island of N'ihau in 1998. Pathfinder was a remotely controlled, solar-powered flying wing, designed and built as a proof-of-concept vehicle for a much larger aircraft capable of flying at extremely high altitudes for weeks at a time. It was built by AeroVironment, Inc., a California company that developed the human-powered Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross lightweight aircraft during the 1970s, and later made the solar-electric powered Gossamer Penguin and Solar Challenger. The basic configuration and concepts for Pathfinder were first realized with the HALSOL (High Altitude Solar) aircraft, built in 1983 by AeroVironment and the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Pathfinder was constructed of advanced composites, plastics, and foam, and despite a wingspan of nearly 100 feet, it weighed only about 600 pounds. Pathfinder was one of several unpiloted prototypes under study by NASA's ERAST (Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology) program, a NASA-industry alliance which is helping develop advanced technologies that will enable aircraft to study the earth's environment during extremely long flights at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet. (See project description below for Pathfinder's conversion to Pathfinder Plus.) In 1998, the Pathfinder solar-powered flying wing (see its photographs and project description) was modified into the longer-winged Pathfinder Plus configuration and on Aug. 6, 1998, Pathfinder Plus set an altitude record (for propeller-driven aircraft) of approximately 80,285 feet at the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The goal of the Pathfinder Plus flights was to validate new solar, aerodynamic, propulsion, and systems technology developed for its successor, the Centurion, which was designed to reach and sustain altitudes in the 100,000-foot range. The Centurion was succeeded by the Helios Prototype with a goal of reaching and sustaining flight at an altitude of 100,000 feet and flying non

Pathfinder-Plus on flight near Hawaiian island N'ihau

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

Pathfinder-Plus on a flight with the Hawaiian island of N'ihau in the background. Pathfinder was a remotely controlled, solar-powered flying wing, designed and built as a proof-of-concept vehicle for a much larger aircraft capable of flying at extremely high altitudes for weeks at a time. It was built by AeroVironment, Inc., a California company that developed the human-powered Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross lightweight aircraft during the 1970s, and later made the solar-electric powered Gossamer Penguin and Solar Challenger. The basic configuration and concepts for Pathfinder were first realized with the HALSOL (High Altitude Solar) aircraft, built in 1983 by AeroVironment and the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Pathfinder was constructed of advanced composites, plastics, and foam, and despite a wingspan of nearly 100 feet, it weighed only about 600 pounds. Pathfinder was one of several unpiloted prototypes under study by NASA's ERAST (Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology) program, a NASA-industry alliance which is helping develop advanced technologies that will enable aircraft to study the earth's environment during extremely long flights at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet. (See project description below for Pathfinder's conversion to Pathfinder Plus.) In 1998, the Pathfinder solar-powered flying wing (see its photographs and project description) was modified into the longer-winged Pathfinder Plus configuration and on Aug. 6, 1998, Pathfinder Plus set an altitude record (for propeller-driven aircraft) of approximately 80,285 feet at the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The goal of the Pathfinder Plus flights was to validate new solar, aerodynamic, propulsion, and systems technology developed for its successor, the Centurion, which was designed to reach and sustain altitudes in the 100,000-foot range. The Centurion was succeeded by the Helios Prototype with a goal of reaching and sustaining flight at an altitude of 100,000 feet and

Lower Sioux Wind Feasibility & Development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minkel, Darin

2012-04-01

This report describes the process and findings of a Wind Energy Feasibility Study (Study) conducted by the Lower Sioux Indian Community (Community). The Community is evaluating the development of a wind energy project located on tribal land. The project scope was to analyze the critical issues in determining advantages and disadvantages of wind development within the Community. This analysis addresses both of the Community's wind energy development objectives: the single turbine project and the Commerical-scale multiple turbine project. The main tasks of the feasibility study are: land use and contraint analysis; wind resource evaluation; utility interconnection analysis; and project structure and economics.

Ground-based self-gravity tests for LISA Pathfinder and LISA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trenkel, C; Warren, C; Wealthy, D

2009-01-01

Gravitational coupling between the free-falling test masses and the surrounding spacecraft is one of the dominant noise sources for both LISA Pathfinder and LISA. At present, there are no plans to verify any of the self-gravity requirements by test, on the ground. Here, we explore the possibilities of conducting such tests, using a customised torsion balance. We discuss the main sources of systematic and statistical uncertainty present in such a set-up. Our preliminary assessment indicates that the sensitivity is sufficient to carry out meaningful self-gravity tests.

Pathfinder-Plus on a flight over Hawaiian island N'ihau

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

Pathfinder-Plus on a flight over the Hawaiian island of N'ihau in 1998. Pathfinder was a remotely controlled, solar-powered flying wing, designed and built as a proof-of-concept vehicle for a much larger aircraft capable of flying at extremely high altitudes for weeks at a time. It was built by AeroVironment, Inc., a California company that developed the human-powered Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross lightweight aircraft during the 1970s, and later made the solar-electric powered Gossamer Penguin and Solar Challenger. The basic configuration and concepts for Pathfinder were first realized with the HALSOL (High Altitude Solar) aircraft, built in 1983 by AeroVironment and the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Pathfinder was constructed of advanced composites, plastics, and foam, and despite a wingspan of nearly 100 feet, it weighed only about 600 pounds. Pathfinder was one of several unpiloted prototypes under study by NASA's ERAST (Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology) program, a NASA-industry alliance which is helping develop advanced technologies that will enable aircraft to study the earth's environment during extremely long flights at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet. (See project description below for Pathfinder's conversion to Pathfinder Plus.) In 1998, the Pathfinder solar-powered flying wing (see its photographs and project description) was modified into the longer-winged Pathfinder Plus configuration and on Aug. 6, 1998, Pathfinder Plus set an altitude record (for propeller-driven aircraft) of approximately 80,285 feet at the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The goal of the Pathfinder Plus flights was to validate new solar, aerodynamic, propulsion, and systems technology developed for its successor, the Centurion, which was designed to reach and sustain altitudes in the 100,000-foot range. The Centurion was succeeded by the Helios Prototype with a goal of reaching and sustaining flight at an altitude of 100,000 feet and flying non

Sediment and Hydraulic Measurements with Computed Bed Load on the Missouri River, Sioux City to Hermann, 2014

Science.gov (United States)

2017-05-01

ER D C /C HL T R- 17 -8 Sediment and Hydraulic Measurements with Computed Bed Load on the Missouri River , Sioux City to Hermann, 2014...Hydraulic Measurements with Computed Bed Load on the Missouri River , Sioux City to Hermann, 2014 David Abraham, Marielys Ramos-Villanueva, Thad Pratt...Engineers, Omaha and Kansas City Districts, in quantifying sediment bed load and suspended load at several sites on the Missouri River for the

Flash hydropyrolysis of coal using a small scale of free fall reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miura, K.; Morozumi, F. [Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan). Department of Chemical Engineering

1998-07-01

A small scale of high-pressure free fall reactor was developed for the flash hydropyrolysis of coal. Taiheiyo coal (a Japanese subbituminous coal) was pyrolysed under a high hydrogen pressure without difficulty by use of this reactor. The effect of gas atmosphere, residence time, pressure, and temperature on the product yield was examined in detail. A flash hydropyrolysis reaction model was developed based on the experimental data, and its validity was examined. 8 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

Long Memory of Pathfinding Aesthetics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ron Coleman

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates a new dynamic (i.e., space-time model to measure aesthetic values in pathfinding for videogames. The results we report are important firstly because the artificial intelligence literature has given relatively little attention to aesthetic considerations in pathfinding. Secondly, those investigators who have studied aesthetics in pathfinding have relied largely on anecdotal arguments rather than metrics. Finally, in those cases where metrics have been used in the past, they show only that aesthetic paths are different. They provide no quantitative means to classify aesthetic outcomes. The model we develop here overcomes these deficiencies using rescaled range (R/S analysis to estimate the Hurst exponent, . It measures long-range dependence (i.e., long memory in stochastic processes and provides a novel well-defined mathematical classification for pathfinding. Indeed, the data indicates that aesthetic and control paths have statistically significantly distinct signatures. Aesthetic paths furthermore have more long memory than controls with an effect size that is large, more than three times that of an alternative approach. These conclusions will be of interest to researchers investigating games as well as other forms of entertainment, simulation, and in general nonshortest path motion planning.

Non-linear quantization error reduction for the temperature measurement subsystem on-board LISA Pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Sanjuan, J.; Nofrarias, M.

2018-04-01

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) Pathfinder is a mission to test the technology enabling gravitational wave detection in space and to demonstrate that sub-femto-g free fall levels are possible. To do so, the distance between two free falling test masses is measured to unprecedented sensitivity by means of laser interferometry. Temperature fluctuations are one of the noise sources limiting the free fall accuracy and the interferometer performance and need to be known at the ˜10 μK Hz-1/2 level in the sub-millihertz frequency range in order to validate the noise models for the future space-based gravitational wave detector LISA. The temperature measurement subsystem on LISA Pathfinder is in charge of monitoring the thermal environment at key locations with noise levels of 7.5 μK Hz-1/2 at the sub-millihertz. However, its performance worsens by one to two orders of magnitude when slowly changing temperatures are measured due to errors introduced by analog-to-digital converter non-linearities. In this paper, we present a method to reduce this effect by data post-processing. The method is applied to experimental data available from on-ground validation tests to demonstrate its performance and the potential benefit for in-flight data. The analog-to-digital converter effects are reduced by a factor between three and six in the frequencies where the errors play an important role. An average 2.7 fold noise reduction is demonstrated in the 0.3 mHz-2 mHz band.

Integrating Subject Pathfinders into Online Catalogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Jarvis, William E.

1985-01-01

Discusses the integration of subject pathfinders into online public access catalogs (OPAC) through following features: within the OPAC, offline user guide manuals, remotely printed upon user request, or online as saved searches displayed in help screen format. Excerpts of a pathfinder display for biotechnology are presented. Four sources are…

Fractal Analysis of Stealthy Pathfinding Aesthetics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ron Coleman

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper uses a fractal model to analyze aesthetic values of a new class of obstacle-prone or “stealthy” pathfinding which seeks to avoid detection, exposure, openness, and so forth in videogames. This study is important since in general the artificial intelligence literature has given relatively little attention to aesthetic outcomes in pathfinding. The data we report, according to the fractal model, suggests that stealthy paths are statistically significantly unique in relative aesthetic value when compared to control paths. We show furthermore that paths generated with different stealth regimes are also statistically significantly unique. These conclusions are supported by statistical analysis of model results on experimental trials involving pathfinding in randomly generated, multiroom virtual worlds.

Lower Sioux Indian Community Repository Research Project: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Brien, L.; Farmer, D.; Lewis, S.

1988-01-01

The Upper and Lower Sioux Communities have undertaken a review of the geotechnical aspects of the Department of Energy (DOE) program document entitled Draft Area Recommendation Report (DARR). The DARR recommends twenty sites be retained for continued consideration as a possible location for the second high-level nuclear waste repository. Of these twenty sites, twelve are designated as Potentially Acceptable Sites (PAS), and eight are designated as candidate areas to serve as /open quotes/back-ups/close quotes/ to the PAS's. It is understood there are no current plans to investigate any of the eight candidate areas. It is distressing to the Upper and Lower Sioux Communities that the DOE intends to hold these eight sites in reserve. We do not feel it is appropriate to identify /open quotes/reserve/close quotes/ sites which could be elevated to a PAS at any time during the area phase of investigation. The following chapters in this report provide a summary of the specific procedural and technical problems noted in the screening methodology; and describe our concerns over the selection of NC-13 and NC-14 as reserve sites. Also included are the specific comments recorded by our technical subcontractors as they examined the DARR for us. 10 refs

Pathfinder Climate Data

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA/NASA Pathfinder climate data CD-ROM contains seven data sets: Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)Land and Ocean, TIROS Operational Vertical...

Pathfinder Innovation Projects

Science.gov (United States)

The Pathfinder program supports high-risk, high-reward research ideas with funding and staff time. The goal is to feed a culture of innovation in the Agency and integrate innovative ideas in EPA research programs.

Free-flight experiments in LISA Pathfinder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armano, M; Audley, H; Born, M; Danzmann, K; Diepholz, I; Auger, G; Binetruy, P; Baird, J; Bortoluzzi, D; Brandt, N; Bursi, A; Caleno, M; Cavalleri, A; Cesarini, A; Dolesi, R; Ferroni, V; Cruise, M; Cutler, C; Dunbar, N; Ferraioli, L

2015-01-01

The LISA Pathfinder mission will demonstrate the technology of drag-free test masses for use as inertial references in future space-based gravitational wave detectors. To accomplish this, the Pathfinder spacecraft will perform drag-free flight about a test mass while measuring the acceleration of this primary test mass relative to a second reference test mass. Because the reference test mass is contained within the same spacecraft, it is necessary to apply forces on it to maintain its position and attitude relative to the spacecraft. These forces are a potential source of acceleration noise in the LISA Pathfinder system that are not present in the full LISA configuration. While LISA Pathfinder has been designed to meet it's primary mission requirements in the presence of this noise, recent estimates suggest that the on-orbit performance may be limited by this ‘suspension noise’. The drift-mode or free-flight experiments provide an opportunity to mitigate this noise source and further characterize the underlying disturbances that are of interest to the designers of LISA-like instruments. This article provides a high-level overview of these experiments and the methods under development to analyze the resulting data. (paper)

Multiagent path-finding in strategic games

OpenAIRE

Mihevc, Simon

2014-01-01

In this thesis I worked on creating, comparing and improving algorithms for multi-agent path planning on a domain typical for real-time strategy games. I implemented and compared Multiagent pathfinding using clearance and Multiagent pathfinding using independence detection and operator decomposition. I discovered that they had problems maintaining group compactness and took too long to calculate the path. I considerably improved the efficiency of both algorithms.

Symbolic PathFinder v7

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Luckow, Kasper Søe; Păsăreanu, Corina

2014-01-01

We describe Symbolic PathFinder v7 in terms of its updated design addressing the changes of Java PathFinder v7 and of its new optimization when computing path conditions. Furthermore, we describe the Symbolic Execution Tree Extension; a newly added feature that allows for outputting the symbolic...... execution tree that characterizes the execution paths covered during symbolic execution. The new extension can be tailored to the needs of subsequent analyses/processing facilities, and we demonstrate this by presenting SPF-Visualizer, which is a tool for customizable visualization of the symbolic execution...

TRICHLOROETHYLENE SORPTION AND OXIDATION USING A DUAL FUNCTION SORBENT/CATALYST IN A FALLING FURNACE REACTOR

Science.gov (United States)

A dual function medium (Cr-ZSM-5), capable of physisorbing trichloroethylene (TCE) at ambient temperature and catalytically oxidizing it at elevated temperature (-350 degrees C) was utilized in a novel continuous falling furnace reactor system to store and periodically destroy t...

MOC's Highest Resolution View of Mars Pathfinder Landing Site

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] (A) Mars Pathfinder site, left: April 1998; right: January 2000. [figure removed for brevity, see original site] (B) top: April 1998; bottom: January 2000.Can Mars Global Surveyor's 1.5 meter (5 ft) per pixel camera be used to find any evidence as to the fate of the Mars Polar Lander that was lost on December 3, 1999? One way to find out is to look for one of the other Mars landers and determine what, if anything, can be seen. There have been three successful Mars lander missions: Viking 1 (July 1976), Viking 2 (September 1976), and Mars Pathfinder (July 1997). Of these, the location of Mars Pathfinder is known the best because there are several distinct landmarks visible in the lander's images that help in locating the spacecraft. The MGS MOC Operations Team at Malin Space Science Systems has been tasked since mid-December 1999 with looking for the lost Polar Lander. Part of this effort has been to test the capabilities of MOC by taking a picture of the landing site of Mars Pathfinder.An attempt to photograph the Pathfinder site was made once before, in April 1998, by turning the entire MGS spacecraft so that the camera could point at the known location of the Mars Pathfinder lander. Turning the MGS spacecraft like this is not a normal operation--it takes considerable planning, and disrupts the on-going, normal acquisition of science data. It took 3 attempts to succeed, but on April 22, 1998, MOC acquired the picture seen on the left side of Figure A, above. The three near-by major landmarks that were visible to the Pathfinder's cameras are labeled here (North Peak, Big Crater, Twin Peaks). It was known at the time that this image was not adequate to see the Pathfinder lander because the camera was not in focus and had a resolution of only 3.3 meters (11 ft) per pixel. In this and all other images shown here, north is up. All views of the 1998 MOC image are illuminated from the lower right, all views of the 2000 MOC

The Pathfinder Microrover

Science.gov (United States)

Matijevic, J. R.; Bickler, D. B.; Braun, D. F.; Eisen, H. J.; Matthies, L. H.; Mishkin, A. H.; Stone, H. W.; van Nieuwstadt, L. M.; Wen, L. C.; Wilcox, B. H.;

Numerical Analysis on the Free Fall Motion of the Control Rod Assembly for the Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, Se-Hong; Choi, Choengryul; Son, Sung-Man [ELSOLTEC, Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jae-Yong; Yoon, Kyung-Ho [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

On receiving the scram signal, the control rod assemblies are released to fall into the reactor core by its weight. Thus drop time and falling velocity of the control rod assembly must be estimated for the safety evaluation. However, because of its complex shape, it is difficult to estimate the drop time by theoretical method. In this study, numerical analysis has been carried out in order to estimate drop time and falling velocity of the control rod assembly to provide the underlying data for the design optimization. Numerical analysis has been carried out to estimate the drop time and falling velocity of the control rod assembly for sodium-cooled fast reactor. Before performing the numerical analysis for the control rod assembly, sphere dropping experiment has been carried out for verification of the CFD methodology. The result of the numerical analysis for the method verification is almost same as the result of the experiment. Falling velocity and drag force increase rapidly in the beginning. And then it goes to the stable state. When the piston head of the control rod assembly is inserted into the damper, the drag force increases instantaneously and the falling velocity decreases quickly. The falling velocity is reduced about 14 % by damper. The total drop time of the control rod assembly is about 1.47s. In the next study, the experiment for the control rod assembly will be carried out, and its result is going to be compared with the CFD analysis result.

Patriarchy and the "Fighting Sioux": A Gendered Look at Racial College Sports Nicknames

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Dana M.

2006-01-01

The use of Native American nicknames and symbols by US college athletics is a long-standing practice that embodies various forms of authoritarian oppression. One type of authoritarianism is that of patriarchy and it has been present in the struggle over the nickname at the University of North Dakota, the "Fighting Sioux". This article…

Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaiian Islands, with N'ihau and Lehua in the background

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaiian Islands, with N'ihau and Lehua in the background. Pathfinder was a remotely controlled, solar-powered flying wing, designed and built as a proof-of-concept vehicle for a much larger aircraft capable of flying at extremely high altitudes for weeks at a time. It was built by AeroVironment, Inc., a California company that developed the human-powered Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross lightweight aircraft during the 1970s, and later made the solar-electric powered Gossamer Penguin and Solar Challenger. The basic configuration and concepts for Pathfinder were first realized with the HALSOL (High Altitude Solar) aircraft, built in 1983 by AeroVironment and the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Pathfinder was constructed of advanced composites, plastics, and foam, and despite a wingspan of nearly 100 feet, it weighed only about 600 pounds. Pathfinder was one of several unpiloted prototypes under study by NASA's ERAST (Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology) program, a NASA-industry alliance which is helping develop advanced technologies that will enable aircraft to study the earth's environment during extremely long flights at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet. (See project description below for Pathfinder's conversion to Pathfinder Plus.) In 1998, the Pathfinder solar-powered flying wing (see its photographs and project description) was modified into the longer-winged Pathfinder Plus configuration and on Aug. 6, 1998, Pathfinder Plus set an altitude record (for propeller-driven aircraft) of approximately 80,285 feet at the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The goal of the Pathfinder Plus flights was to validate new solar, aerodynamic, propulsion, and systems technology developed for its successor, the Centurion, which was designed to reach and sustain altitudes in the 100,000-foot range. The Centurion was succeeded by the Helios Prototype with a goal of reaching and sustaining flight at an altitude of 100,000 feet

Indianness, Sex, and Grade Differences on Behavior and Personality Measures Among Oglala Sioux Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Cress, Joseph N.; O'Donnell, James P.

1974-01-01

This study assesses Indianness (mixed or full-blood), sex, and grade differences among Oglala Sioux high school students, using the Coopersmith Behavior Rating Forms and the Quay-Peterson Behavior Problem Checklist. Results indicate that mixed-bloods had higher achievement and greater popularity than full-bloods. Fewer problems and higher…

LISA Pathfinder drag-free control and system implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fichter, Walter; Gath, Peter; Vitale, Stefano; Bortoluzzi, Daniele

2005-01-01

The top-level requirement of the LISA Pathfinder mission is the verification of pure relative free fall between two test masses with an accuracy of about 3 x 10 -14 m s -2 Hz -1/2 in a measurement bandwidth between 1 mHz and 30 mHz. The drag-free control system is one of the key technology elements that shall be verified. Its design is strongly connected to the overall system and experimental design, in particular, via the following issues: the differential test mass motion and thus the science measurements depend on the control system; design constraints, such as negative stiffness of test masses and electrostatic actuation cross-talk, have an impact on science and control system performance; derived requirements for control system components, in particular, the micro-propulsion system, must be within reasonable and feasible limits. In this paper, the control design approach is outlined and the system-related issues are addressed

LISA Pathfinder: A Mission Status

Science.gov (United States)

Hewitson, Martin; LISA Pathfinder Team Team

2016-03-01

On December 3rd at 04:04 UTC, The European Space Agency launched the LISA Pathfinder satellite on board a VEGA rocket from Kourou in French Guiana. After a series of orbit raising manoeuvres and a 2 month long transfer orbit, LISA Pathfinder arrived at L1. Following a period of commissioning, the science operations commenced at the start of March, beginning the demonstration of technologies and methodologies which pave the way for a future large-scale gravitational wave observatory in space. This talk will present the scientific goals of the mission, discuss the technologies being tested, elucidate the link to a future space-based observatory, such as LISA, and present preliminary results from the in-orbit operations and experiments.

A review of parameters and heuristics for guiding metabolic pathfinding.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sarah M; Peña, Matthew I; Moll, Mark; Bennett, George N; Kavraki, Lydia E

2017-09-15

Recent developments in metabolic engineering have led to the successful biosynthesis of valuable products, such as the precursor of the antimalarial compound, artemisinin, and opioid precursor, thebaine. Synthesizing these traditionally plant-derived compounds in genetically modified yeast cells introduces the possibility of significantly reducing the total time and resources required for their production, and in turn, allows these valuable compounds to become cheaper and more readily available. Most biosynthesis pathways used in metabolic engineering applications have been discovered manually, requiring a tedious search of existing literature and metabolic databases. However, the recent rapid development of available metabolic information has enabled the development of automated approaches for identifying novel pathways. Computer-assisted pathfinding has the potential to save biochemists time in the initial discovery steps of metabolic engineering. In this paper, we review the parameters and heuristics used to guide the search in recent pathfinding algorithms. These parameters and heuristics capture information on the metabolic network structure, compound structures, reaction features, and organism-specificity of pathways. No one metabolic pathfinding algorithm or search parameter stands out as the best to use broadly for solving the pathfinding problem, as each method and parameter has its own strengths and shortcomings. As assisted pathfinding approaches continue to become more sophisticated, the development of better methods for visualizing pathway results and integrating these results into existing metabolic engineering practices is also important for encouraging wider use of these pathfinding methods.

Constraints on LISA Pathfinder's Self-Gravity: Design Requirements, Estimates and Testing Procedures

Science.gov (United States)

Armano, M.; Audley, H.; Auger, G.; Baird, J.; Binetruy, P.; Born, M.; Bortoluzzi, M.; Brandt, Nico; Bursi, Alessandro; Slutsky. J.;

Prediction and Validation of Mars Pathfinder Hypersonic Aerodynamic Data Base

Science.gov (United States)

Gnoffo, Peter A.; Braun, Robert D.; Weilmuenster, K. James; Mitcheltree, Robert A.; Engelund, Walter C.; Powell, Richard W.

1998-01-01

Postflight analysis of the Mars Pathfinder hypersonic, continuum aerodynamic data base is presented. Measured data include accelerations along the body axis and axis normal directions. Comparisons of preflight simulation and measurements show good agreement. The prediction of two static instabilities associated with movement of the sonic line from the shoulder to the nose and back was confirmed by measured normal accelerations. Reconstruction of atmospheric density during entry has an uncertainty directly proportional to the uncertainty in the predicted axial coefficient. The sensitivity of the moment coefficient to freestream density, kinetic models and center-of-gravity location are examined to provide additional consistency checks of the simulation with flight data. The atmospheric density as derived from axial coefficient and measured axial accelerations falls within the range required for sonic line shift and static stability transition as independently determined from normal accelerations.

Pathfinder Innovation Projects: Awardees 2015

Science.gov (United States)

The Pathfinder program supports high-risk, high-reward research ideas with funding and staff time. The goal is to feed a culture of innovation in the Agency and integrate innovative ideas in EPA research programs.

Pathfinder Innovation Projects: Awardees 2016

Science.gov (United States)

The Pathfinder program supports high-risk, high-reward research ideas with funding and staff time. The goal is to feed a culture of innovation in the Agency and integrate innovative ideas in EPA research programs.

Data Analysis for the LISA Pathfinder Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Thorpe, James Ira

2009-01-01

The LTP (LISA Technology Package) is the core part of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) Pathfinder mission. The main goal of the mission is to study the sources of any disturbances that perturb the motion of the freely-falling test masses from their geodesic trajectories as well as 10 test various technologies needed for LISA. The LTP experiment is designed as a sequence of experimental runs in which the performance of the instrument is studied and characterized under different operating conditions. In order to best optimize subsequent experimental runs, each run must be promptly analysed to ensure that the following ones make best use of the available knowledge of the instrument ' In order to do this, all analyses must be designed and tested in advance of the mission and have sufficient built-in flexibility to account for unexpected results or behaviour. To support this activity, a robust and flexible data analysis software package is also required. This poster presents two of the main components that make up the data analysis effort: the data analysis software and the mock-data challenges used to validate analysis procedures and experiment designs.

Product Characterization and Kinetics of Biomass Pyrolysis in a Three-Zone Free-Fall Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natthaya Punsuwan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Pyrolysis of biomass including palm shell, palm kernel, and cassava pulp residue was studied in a laboratory free-fall reactor with three separated hot zones. The effects of pyrolysis temperature (250–1050°C and particle size (0.18–1.55 mm on the distribution and properties of pyrolysis products were investigated. A higher pyrolysis temperature and smaller particle size increased the gas yield but decreased the char yield. Cassava pulp residue gave more volatiles and less char than those of palm kernel and palm shell. The derived solid product (char gave a high calorific value of 29.87 MJ/kg and a reasonably high BET surface area of 200 m2/g. The biooil from palm shell is less attractive to use as a direct fuel, due to its high water contents, low calorific value, and high acidity. On gas composition, carbon monoxide was the dominant component in the gas product. A pyrolysis model for biomass pyrolysis in the free-fall reactor was developed, based on solving the proposed two-parallel reactions kinetic model and equations of particle motion, which gave excellent prediction of char yields for all biomass precursors under all pyrolysis conditions studied.

SST, Pathfinder Ver 5.0, Night, 4.4 km, Global, Science Quality

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — AVHRR Pathfinder Oceans Project seeks to create a long-term, continuous sea surface temperature data series for use in climate research. The Pathfinder SST data...

SST, Pathfinder Ver 5.0, Day, 4.4 km, Global, Science Quality

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — AVHRR Pathfinder Oceans Project seeks to create a long-term, continuous sea surface temperature data series for use in climate research. The Pathfinder SST data...

The Status of the Ultra Fast Flash Observatory – Pathfinder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nam, J.W.; Ahmad, S.; Ahn, K.B.; Barrillon, P.; Brandt, S.; Budtz-Jrgensen, C.; Castro-Tirado, A.J.; Chang, C.-H.; Chang, C.-Y.; Chang, Y.Y.; Chen, C.R.; Chen, P.; Cho, M.; Choi, H.S.; Choi, Y.J.; Connel, P.; Dagoret-Campagne, S.; Eyles, C.; Grossan, B.; Huang, J.J.

2014-01-01

The Ultra Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) is a project to study early optical emissions from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). The primary scientific goal of UFFO is to see if GRBs can be calibrated with their rising times, so that they could be used as new standard candles. In order to minimize delay in optical follow-up measurements, which is now about 100 sec after trigger from the Swift experiment, we rotate a mirror to redirect light path so that optical measurement can be performed within a second after the trigger. We have developed a pathfinder mission, UFFO-pathfinder to launch on board the Lomonosov satellite in 2012. In this talk, I will present scientific motivations and descriptions of the design and development of UFFO-pathfinder

Relating MBSE to Spacecraft Development: A NASA Pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Othon, Bill

2016-01-01

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has sponsored a Pathfinder Study to investigate how Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and Model Based Engineering (MBE) techniques can be applied by NASA spacecraft development projects. The objectives of this Pathfinder Study included analyzing both the products of the modeling activity, as well as the process and tool chain through which the spacecraft design activities are executed. Several aspects of MBSE methodology and process were explored. Adoption and consistent use of the MBSE methodology within an existing development environment can be difficult. The Pathfinder Team evaluated the possibility that an "MBSE Template" could be developed as both a teaching tool as well as a baseline from which future NASA projects could leverage. Elements of this template include spacecraft system component libraries, data dictionaries and ontology specifications, as well as software services that do work on the models themselves. The Pathfinder Study also evaluated the tool chain aspects of development. Two chains were considered: 1. The Development tool chain, through which SysML model development was performed and controlled, and 2. The Analysis tool chain, through which both static and dynamic system analysis is performed. Of particular interest was the ability to exchange data between SysML and other engineering tools such as CAD and Dynamic Simulation tools. For this study, the team selected a Mars Lander vehicle as the element to be designed. The paper will discuss what system models were developed, how data was captured and exchanged, and what analyses were conducted.

Beyond the Required LISA Free-Fall Performance: New LISA Pathfinder Results down to 20 μ Hz

Science.gov (United States)

Armano, M.; Audley, H.; Baird, J.; Binetruy, P.; Born, M.; Bortoluzzi, D.; Castelli, E.; Cavalleri, A.; Cesarini, A.; Cruise, A. M.; Danzmann, K.; de Deus Silva, M.; Diepholz, I.; Dixon, G.; Dolesi, R.; Ferraioli, L.; Ferroni, V.; Fitzsimons, E. D.; Freschi, M.; Gesa, L.; Gibert, F.; Giardini, D.; Giusteri, R.; Grimani, C.; Grzymisch, J.; Harrison, I.; Heinzel, G.; Hewitson, M.; Hollington, D.; Hoyland, D.; Hueller, M.; Inchauspé, H.; Jennrich, O.; Jetzer, P.; Karnesis, N.; Kaune, B.; Korsakova, N.; Killow, C. J.; Lobo, J. A.; Lloro, I.; Liu, L.; López-Zaragoza, J. P.; Maarschalkerweerd, R.; Mance, D.; Meshksar, N.; Martín, V.; Martin-Polo, L.; Martino, J.; Martin-Porqueras, F.; Mateos, I.; McNamara, P. W.; Mendes, J.; Mendes, L.; Nofrarias, M.; Paczkowski, S.; Perreur-Lloyd, M.; Petiteau, A.; Pivato, P.; Plagnol, E.; Ramos-Castro, J.; Reiche, J.; Robertson, D. I.; Rivas, F.; Russano, G.; Slutsky, J.; Sopuerta, C. F.; Sumner, T.; Texier, D.; Thorpe, J. I.; Vetrugno, D.; Vitale, S.; Wanner, G.; Ward, H.; Wass, P. J.; Weber, W. J.; Wissel, L.; Wittchen, A.; Zweifel, P.

2018-02-01

In the months since the publication of the first results, the noise performance of LISA Pathfinder has improved because of reduced Brownian noise due to the continued decrease in pressure around the test masses, from a better correction of noninertial effects, and from a better calibration of the electrostatic force actuation. In addition, the availability of numerous long noise measurement runs, during which no perturbation is purposely applied to the test masses, has allowed the measurement of noise with good statistics down to 20 μ Hz . The Letter presents the measured differential acceleration noise figure, which is at (1.74 ±0.01 ) fm s-2/√{Hz } above 2 mHz and (6 ±1 ) ×10 fm s-2/√{Hz } at 20 μ Hz , and discusses the physical sources for the measured noise. This performance provides an experimental benchmark demonstrating the ability to realize the low-frequency science potential of the LISA mission, recently selected by the European Space Agency.

Freely suspended rod fall dampener, especially for control rod of liquid-cooled nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becvar, J.; Saroch, V.

1977-01-01

A shock absorber is described whose advantage is that the space required for the movement of the shock absorber in the operating travel of the system suspension rod-control rod bundle may be reduced. The design allows the automatic disconnection of the system and the removal of the suspension rod from the reactor without dismantling. The braking force reaction is transmitted to the structure above the core. The system fall energy is absorbed on the side of the suspension rod which has a bigger mass. (J.B.)

Modeling to Mars: a NASA Model Based Systems Engineering Pathfinder Effort

Science.gov (United States)

Phojanamongkolkij, Nipa; Lee, Kristopher A.; Miller, Scott T.; Vorndran, Kenneth A.; Vaden, Karl R.; Ross, Eric P.; Powell, Bobby C.; Moses, Robert W.

2017-01-01

The NASA Engineering Safety Center (NESC) Systems Engineering (SE) Technical Discipline Team (TDT) initiated the Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) Pathfinder effort in FY16. The goals and objectives of the MBSE Pathfinder include developing and advancing MBSE capability across NASA, applying MBSE to real NASA issues, and capturing issues and opportunities surrounding MBSE. The Pathfinder effort consisted of four teams, with each team addressing a particular focus area. This paper focuses on Pathfinder team 1 with the focus area of architectures and mission campaigns. These efforts covered the timeframe of February 2016 through September 2016. The team was comprised of eight team members from seven NASA Centers (Glenn Research Center, Langley Research Center, Ames Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center IV&V Facility, Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Stennis Space Center). Collectively, the team had varying levels of knowledge, skills and expertise in systems engineering and MBSE. The team applied their existing and newly acquired system modeling knowledge and expertise to develop modeling products for a campaign (Program) of crew and cargo missions (Projects) to establish a human presence on Mars utilizing In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). Pathfinder team 1 developed a subset of modeling products that are required for a Program System Requirement Review (SRR)/System Design Review (SDR) and Project Mission Concept Review (MCR)/SRR as defined in NASA Procedural Requirements. Additionally, Team 1 was able to perform and demonstrate some trades and constraint analyses. At the end of these efforts, over twenty lessons learned and recommended next steps have been identified.

Detection of Micrometeoroids with LISA Pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Thorpe, Ira; Littenberg, Tyson; Janchez, Diego; Baker, John; The LISA Pathfinder Team Team

2017-01-01

The LISA Pathfinder mission (LPF), a joint ESA/NASA technology demonstration mission currently operating at the Sun-Earth L1 point, contains the most precise accelerometry system ever flown. Analysis suggests that LPF should have sufficient sensitivity to detect impacts of small micrometeoroids and dust through their transfer of momentum to the spacecraft. Moreover, LPF's ability to fully resolve both the linear and angular momentum transfer in three dimensions allows a magnitude, direction, and location to be estimated for each impact. We present preliminary results from a systematic search of the LISA Pathfinder data for such impacts and discuss the prospects for using these and future results to inform models of the formation and evolution of dust populations in the inner solar system. These models have wide applicability to both pure and applied space science, ranging from the physics of planet formation and dynamics of minor Solar System bodies to estimates of the micrometeorite hazard for future spacecraft. 2017 NASA Science Innovation Fund.

Mars Pathfinder Microrover- Implementing a Low Cost Planetary Mission Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Matijevic, J.

1996-01-01

The Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) is a NASA Office of Space Access and Technology (OSAT) flight experiment which has been delivered and integrated with the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) lander and spacecraft system. The total cost of the MFEX mission, including all subsystem design and development, test, integration with the MPF lander and operations on Mars has been capped at $25 M??is paper discusses the process and the implementation scheme which has resulted in the development of this first Mars rover.

SST, Pathfinder Ver 5.0, Day and Night, 4.4 km, Global, Science Quality

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — AVHRR Pathfinder Oceans Project seeks to create a long-term, continuous sea surface temperature data series for use in climate research. The Pathfinder SST data...

Pathfinders on Black Dance in America.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Loriene, Ed.

This is a compilation of 18 pathfinders (i.e., a bibliographic instruction aid) on black dance in America, prepared by graduate students in the "Information Resources in the Humanities" and the "Information Resources in the Social Sciences" classes in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of…

Pathfinder-Plus aircraft in flight

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

The Pathfinder-Plus solar-powered aircraft is shown taking off from a runway, then flying at low altitude over the ocean. The vehicle, which looks like a flying ruler, operates at low airspeed. Among the missions proposed for a solar-powered aircraft are communications relay, atmospheric studies, pipeline monitoring and gas leak detection, environmental monitoring using thermal and radar images, and disaster relief and monitoring.

"I Am Not a Fairy Tale": Contextualizing Sioux Spirituality and Story Traditions in Susan Power's "The Grass Dancer"

Science.gov (United States)

Diana, Vanessa Holford

2009-01-01

Standing Rock Sioux writer Susan Power's best-selling novel "The Grass Dancer" (1994) includes depictions of the supernatural and spiritual that do not conform to the Judeo-Christian or, in some cases, the atheist or rationalist worldviews of many readers. Power writes of ghost characters and haunted places, communication between the living and…

Laser modulator for LISA pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Voland, C.; Lund, G.; Coppoolse, W.; Crosby, P.; Stadler, M.; Kudielka, K.; Özkan, C.

2017-11-01

LISA Pathfinder is an ESA experiment to demonstrate the key technologies needed for the LISA mission to detect gravitational waves in space. The LISA Pathfinder spacecraft represents one arm of the LISA interferometer, containing an optical metrology system and two proof masses as inertial references for the drag-free control system. The LISA Pathfinder payload consists of two drag-free floating test masses located in the inertial sensors with their control electronics and an optical metrology subsystem. The optical metrology subsystem monitors the movement of both test masses relative to each other and to the spacecraft with very high sensitivity and resolution. This is achieved with a heterodyne Mach- Zehnder interferometer. This interferometer requires as input two coherent laser beams with a heterodyne frequency difference of a few kHz. To generate the two laser beams with a heterodyne frequency difference a Nd:YAG laser is used together with the Laser Modulator. The Nd:YAG laser generates a single coherent laser signal at a wavelength of 1064nm which is fibre coupled to the Laser Modulator. The Laser Modulator then generates the two optical beams with the required heterodyne frequency offset. In addition, the Laser Modulator is required to perform laser amplitude stabilization and optical path difference control for the two optical signals. The Laser Modulator consists of an optical unit - the LMU - and RF synthesiser, power amplification and control electronics. These electronics are all housed in the Laser Modulator Electronics (LME). The LMU has four primary functions: • Splitting of the input laser beam into two paths for later superposition in the interferometer. • Applying different frequency shifts to each of the beams. • Providing amplitude modulation control to each of the beams. • Providing active control of the optical path length difference between the two optical paths. The present paper describes the design and performance of the LMU

The Engineering of LISA Pathfinder – the quietest Laboratory ever flown in Space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trenkel, Christian; Wealthy, Dave; Dunbar, Neil; Warren, Carl; Schleicher, Alexander; Ziegler, Tobias; Brandt, Nico; Gerndt, Rüdiger

2017-01-01

We review the engineering approach adopted to ensure the required gravitational, magnetic, thermal and residual acceleration stability on-board LISA Pathfinder, and present the in-flight results that have been achieved. Arguably, this stability makes LISA Pathfinder the quietest laboratory ever flown in space. The implications for LISA are also discussed. (paper)

Gambling on the Protestants: the Pathfinder Fund and birth control in Peru, 1958-1965.

Science.gov (United States)

López, L Necochea

2014-01-01

Among the agencies involved in population control activities in the mid-twentieth century, none scored as many early victories in Latin America as did the Pathfinder Fund, founded by Procter & Gamble scion Clarence Gamble. This article analyzes a style in the delivery of family planning assistance in the developing world through the work of the Pathfinder Fund in Peru, the organization's hub in South America, and shows how Pathfinder personnel collaborated with local Protestant institutions. Its Protestant allies helped Pathfinder set up and manage rapid interventions such as the production of pamphlets, the smuggling of contraceptives, and the enrollment of physicians as advocates of the use of intrauterine devices. Although these rapid interventions helped quickly disseminate information and certain technologies among a fortunate few, they also weakened legitimate state agencies, neglected the monitoring of the safety of the drugs supplied, and alienated allies with their high-handed boldness.

Operations and Autonomy of the Mars Pathfinder Microrover

Science.gov (United States)

Mishkin, A. H.; Morrison, J. C.; Nguyen, T. T.; Stone, H. W.; Cooper, B. K.

1998-01-01

The Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) is a NSAS OACT (Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology) flight experiment which, integrated with the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) lander and spacecraft system, landed on Mars on July 4, 1997.

Mineralogic and compositional properties of Martian soil and dust: results from Mars Pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, J.F.; McSween, H.Y.; Crisp, J.A.; Morris, R.V.; Murchie, S.L.; Bridges, N.T.; Johnson, J. R.; Britt, D.T.; Golombek, M.P.; Moore, H.J.; Ghosh, A.; Bishop, J.L.; Anderson, R.C.; Brückner, J.; Economou, T.; Greenwood, J.P.; Gunnlaugsson, H.P.; Hargraves, R.M.; Hviid, S.; Knudsen, J.M.; Madsen, M.B.; Reid, R.; Rieder, R.; Soderblom, L.

2000-01-01

Mars Pathfinder obtained multispectral, elemental, magnetic, and physical measurements of soil and dust at the Sagan Memorial Station during the course of its 83 sol mission. We describe initial results from these measurements, concentrating on multispectral and elemental data, and use these data, along with previous Viking, SNC meteorite, and telescopic results, to help constrain the origin and evolution of Martian soil and dust. We find that soils and dust can be divided into at least eight distinct spectral units, based on parameterization of Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) 400 to 1000 nm multispectral images. The most distinctive spectral parameters for soils and dust are the reflectivity in the red, the red/blue reflectivity ratio, the near-IR spectral slope, and the strength of the 800 to 1000 nm absorption feature. Most of the Pathfinder spectra are consistent with the presence of poorly crystalline or nanophase ferric oxide(s), sometimes mixed with small but varying degrees of well-crystalline ferric and ferrous phases. Darker soil units appear to be coarser-grained, compacted, and/or mixed with a larger amount of dark ferrous materials relative to bright soils. Nanophase goethite, akaganeite, schwertmannite, and maghemite are leading candidates for the origin of the absorption centered near 900 nm in IMP spectra. The ferrous component in the soil cannot be well-constrained based on IMP data. Alpha proton X-ray spectrometer (APXS) measurements of six soil units show little variability within the landing site and show remarkable overall similarity to the average Viking-derived soil elemental composition. Differences exist between Viking and Pathfinder soils, however, including significantly higher S and Cl abundances and lower Si abundances in Viking soils and the lack of a correlation between Ti and Fe in Pathfinder soils. No significant linear correlations were observed between IMP spectral properties and APXS elemental chemistry. Attempts at constraining

DCS Terrain Submission for Sioux Falls

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

Phase 2 pilot study of Pathfinders: a psychosocial intervention for cancer patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Abernethy, Amy P; Herndon, James E; Coan, April; Staley, Tina; Wheeler, Jane L; Rowe, Krista; Smith, Sophia K; Shaw, H; Lyerly, H Kim

2010-07-01

Pathfinders is a multi-faceted psychosocial care program for cancer patients; it was developed in community oncology and adapted to the academic oncology setting. This prospective, single-arm, phase 2 pilot study examined the acceptability and feasibility of Pathfinders for women with metastatic breast cancer. Over 3 months, participants completed patient-reported surveys including the Patient Care Monitor (PCM, review of systems), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Breast Cancer (FACT-B), Self Efficacy, and a single-item survey asking patients whether the program was helpful to them. A technology-based data collection system was used to capture electronic patient-reported outcomes at point of care, report symptoms in real time to clinicians, and collect warehouse data to provide a detailed longitudinal picture of the patient experience when receiving Pathfinders. Participants (n = 50) were: mean age 51 (SD 11); 76% white, 20% black; 74% married; 50% college degree. Forty-two (n = 42) patients completed baseline and 3-month assessments. Statistically significant improvements (all P < 0.05) occurred in PCM subscales for Distress (mean [SE] = -3.42 [1.21]), Despair (-4.53 [1.56]), and Quality of Life (2.88 [0.97]), and the FACT-B Emotional Wellbeing subscale (2.07 [0.46]). Of the 29 participants asked if Pathfinders was helpful, 27 (93%) responded positively and two did not respond. Other instruments measuring symptoms, quality of life, and self-efficacy showed improvement. In a phase 2 pilot study, Pathfinders was helpful to patients and is feasible in an academic medical center. Follow-up data collected at the 3-month assessment suggest that the program impacts various psychological outcomes, notably distress and despair.

On-ground testing of the role of adhesion in the LISA-Pathfinder test mass injection phase

Science.gov (United States)

Bortoluzzi, D.; Zanoni, C.; Conklin, J. W.

2017-05-01

Many space missions share the need to fly a free-falling body inside the spacecraft, as a reference for navigation and/or as a probe for the local gravitational field. When a mechanism is required to cage such an object during the launch phase, the need arises to release it to free-fall once the operational phase must be initiated in orbit. The criticality of this phase increases when the mechanical interfaces between the body and the mechanism are affected by adhesion and the actuation authority of the control system on the free-falling body is limited. Both conditions are realized in the LISA Pathfinder mission, which aims at injecting a gold-coated 2 kg cubic test mass into a nearly perfect geodesic trajectory to demonstrate the readiness of the developed technology for in-space gravity wave detection. The criticality of adhesion is widely recognized in space technology, because it can affect and jeopardize the functionality of mechanisms, when arising between moving parts. In the LISA Pathfinder case, metallic adhesion potentially plays a relevant role, mainly for two reasons. First, thanks to its properties (ductility, high surface energy) the gold coating on the proof mass easily produces cold weldings, especially in vacuum conditions. Second, the detachment of the proof mass from the releasing device occurs abruptly and a relevant influence of the separation velocity is expected on the strength of the welding. This can produce an excessive velocity of the proof mass at the retraction of the releasing device for the following capture and centring phase on behalf of the control system. A testing activity is performed to characterize the dynamic behaviour of the adhesive bonds between the proof mass and the releasing device, which can be used to predict their contribution on the residual velocity of the proof mass after in-flight release. The study of such a dynamic phenomenon sets some challenging requirements on the measurement technique, both on the

Sharing of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Reactor Critical Facility (RCF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

The RPI Reactor Critical Facility (RCF) operated successfully over the period fall 1994 - fall 1995. During this period, the RCF was used for Critical Reactor Laboratory spring 1995 (12 students); Reactor Operations Training fall 1994 (3 students); Reactor Operations Training spring 1995 (3 students); and Reactor Operations Training fall 1995 (3 students). Thirty-two Instrumentation and Measurement students used the RCF for one class for hands-on experiments with nuclear instruments. In addition, a total of nine credits of PhD thesis work were carried out at the RCF. This document constitutes the 1995 Report of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Reactor Critical Facility (RCF) to the USNRC, to the USDOE, and to RPI management

Motoneuron axon pathfinding errors in zebrafish: Differential effects related to concentration and timing of nicotine exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menelaou, Evdokia; Paul, Latoya T.; Perera, Surangi N.; Svoboda, Kurt R.

2015-01-01

Nicotine exposure during embryonic stages of development can affect many neurodevelopmental processes. In the developing zebrafish, exposure to nicotine was reported to cause axonal pathfinding errors in the later born secondary motoneurons (SMNs). These alterations in SMN axon morphology coincided with muscle degeneration at high nicotine concentrations (15–30 μM). Previous work showed that the paralytic mutant zebrafish known as sofa potato exhibited nicotine-induced effects onto SMN axons at these high concentrations but in the absence of any muscle deficits, indicating that pathfinding errors could occur independent of muscle effects. In this study, we used varying concentrations of nicotine at different developmental windows of exposure to specifically isolate its effects onto subpopulations of motoneuron axons. We found that nicotine exposure can affect SMN axon morphology in a dose-dependent manner. At low concentrations of nicotine, SMN axons exhibited pathfinding errors, in the absence of any nicotine-induced muscle abnormalities. Moreover, the nicotine exposure paradigms used affected the 3 subpopulations of SMN axons differently, but the dorsal projecting SMN axons were primarily affected. We then identified morphologically distinct pathfinding errors that best described the nicotine-induced effects on dorsal projecting SMN axons. To test whether SMN pathfinding was potentially influenced by alterations in the early born primary motoneuron (PMN), we performed dual labeling studies, where both PMN and SMN axons were simultaneously labeled with antibodies. We show that only a subset of the SMN axon pathfinding errors coincided with abnormal PMN axonal targeting in nicotine-exposed zebrafish. We conclude that nicotine exposure can exert differential effects depending on the levels of nicotine and developmental exposure window. - Highlights: • Embryonic nicotine exposure can specifically affect secondary motoneuron axons in a dose-dependent manner. �

Motoneuron axon pathfinding errors in zebrafish: Differential effects related to concentration and timing of nicotine exposure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menelaou, Evdokia; Paul, Latoya T. [Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (United States); Perera, Surangi N. [Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53205 (United States); Svoboda, Kurt R., E-mail: svobodak@uwm.edu [Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (United States); Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53205 (United States)

2015-04-01

Nicotine exposure during embryonic stages of development can affect many neurodevelopmental processes. In the developing zebrafish, exposure to nicotine was reported to cause axonal pathfinding errors in the later born secondary motoneurons (SMNs). These alterations in SMN axon morphology coincided with muscle degeneration at high nicotine concentrations (15–30 μM). Previous work showed that the paralytic mutant zebrafish known as sofa potato exhibited nicotine-induced effects onto SMN axons at these high concentrations but in the absence of any muscle deficits, indicating that pathfinding errors could occur independent of muscle effects. In this study, we used varying concentrations of nicotine at different developmental windows of exposure to specifically isolate its effects onto subpopulations of motoneuron axons. We found that nicotine exposure can affect SMN axon morphology in a dose-dependent manner. At low concentrations of nicotine, SMN axons exhibited pathfinding errors, in the absence of any nicotine-induced muscle abnormalities. Moreover, the nicotine exposure paradigms used affected the 3 subpopulations of SMN axons differently, but the dorsal projecting SMN axons were primarily affected. We then identified morphologically distinct pathfinding errors that best described the nicotine-induced effects on dorsal projecting SMN axons. To test whether SMN pathfinding was potentially influenced by alterations in the early born primary motoneuron (PMN), we performed dual labeling studies, where both PMN and SMN axons were simultaneously labeled with antibodies. We show that only a subset of the SMN axon pathfinding errors coincided with abnormal PMN axonal targeting in nicotine-exposed zebrafish. We conclude that nicotine exposure can exert differential effects depending on the levels of nicotine and developmental exposure window. - Highlights: • Embryonic nicotine exposure can specifically affect secondary motoneuron axons in a dose-dependent manner. �

Mechanical design of the Mars Pathfinder mission

Science.gov (United States)

Eisen, Howard Jay; Buck, Carl W.; Gillis-Smith, Greg R.; Umland, Jeffrey W.

1997-01-01

The Mars Pathfinder mission and the Sojourner rover is reported on, with emphasis on the various mission steps and the performance of the technologies involved. The mechanical design of mission hardware was critical to the success of the entry sequence and the landing operations. The various mechanisms employed are considered.

Reactor shutdown device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, Toyokazu.

1982-01-01

Purpose: To obtain a highly reliable reactor shutdown device capable of checking its function irrespective of the state whether shutdown or operation in a gas-cooled type reactor. Constitution: A hopper is disposed above a guide tube inserted into the reactor core and particulate neutron absorbers are contained in the hopper. An opening for falling particles is disposed to the bottom of the hopper in opposition to the upper end of the guide pipe and the opening is closed by a plug suspended by way of a weld line so as to be capable of dropping. A power source for supplying electrical current to the weld line is disposed. Accordingly, if the current is supplied to the weld line, the line is cut by welding to fall the plug so that the neutron-absorbing particles fall from the opening into the guide pipe to shutdown the reactor, whereby high reliability is obtained for the operation. (Seki, T.)

On the warm nearshore bias in Pathfinder monthly SST products over Eastern Boundary upwelling systems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Dufois, F

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Using in situ sea surface temperature (SST) data and MODIS/TERRA SST, the monthly AVHRR Pathfinder (version 5.0 and 5.2) SST product was evaluated within the four main Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems. A warm bias in the monthly Pathfinder data...

Falling film flow, heat transfer and breakdown on horizontal tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogers, J.T.

1980-11-01

Knowledge of falling film flow and heat transfer characteristics on horizontal tubes is required in the assessment of certain CANDU reactor accident sequences for those CANDU reactors which use moderator dump as one of the shut-down mechanisms. In these reactors, subsequent cooling of the calandria tubes is provided by falling films produced by sprays. This report describes studies of falling film flow and heat transfer characteristics on horizontal tubes. Analyses using integral methods are given for laminar and turbulent flow, ignoring and accounting for momentum effects in the film. Preliminary experiments on film flow stability on horizontal tubes are described and various mechanisms of film breakdown are examined. The work described in this report shows that in LOCA with indefinitely delayed ECI in the NPD or Douglas Point (at 70 percent power) reactors, the falling films on the calandria tubes will not be disrupted by any of the mechanisms considered, provided that the pressure tubes do not sag onto the calandria tubes. However, should the pressure tubes sag onto the calandria tubes, film disruption will probably occur

The health policy pathfinder: an innovative strategy to explore interest group politics.

Science.gov (United States)

Nannini, Angela

2009-10-01

Moving a specific nursing health policy agenda forward depends on skill in building coalitions with other interest or stakeholder groups, including consumers. Often, nursing students study health policy in a discipline-specific environment without experiential opportunities to argue their views with other stakeholders in policy arenas. The health policy pathfinder, an innovative learning strategy for understanding interest group politics, will assist nursing students in meeting the following objectives: 1) analyze and articulate diverse policy arguments from various stakeholder groups; 2) identify opportunities for collaborations between stakeholder groups; 3) identify the influence of interest groups on the policy making process; and 4) critically evaluate evidence from a variety of sources ranging from peer-reviewed publications to grey literature to Internet blogs. This article describes the health policy pathfinder, including design, execution, and evaluation steps, and provides a brief excerpt from a student pathfinder. Copyright 2009, SLACK Incorporated.

Optimal path-finding through mental exploration based on neural energy field gradients.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yihong; Wang, Rubin; Zhu, Yating

2017-02-01

Rodent animal can accomplish self-locating and path-finding task by forming a cognitive map in the hippocampus representing the environment. In the classical model of the cognitive map, the system (artificial animal) needs large amounts of physical exploration to study spatial environment to solve path-finding problems, which costs too much time and energy. Although Hopfield's mental exploration model makes up for the deficiency mentioned above, the path is still not efficient enough. Moreover, his model mainly focused on the artificial neural network, and clear physiological meanings has not been addressed. In this work, based on the concept of mental exploration, neural energy coding theory has been applied to the novel calculation model to solve the path-finding problem. Energy field is constructed on the basis of the firing power of place cell clusters, and the energy field gradient can be used in mental exploration to solve path-finding problems. The study shows that the new mental exploration model can efficiently find the optimal path, and present the learning process with biophysical meaning as well. We also analyzed the parameters of the model which affect the path efficiency. This new idea verifies the importance of place cell and synapse in spatial memory and proves that energy coding is effective to study cognitive activities. This may provide the theoretical basis for the neural dynamics mechanism of spatial memory.

Uncoupling nicotine mediated motoneuron axonal pathfinding errors and muscle degeneration in zebrafish

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Welsh, Lillian; Tanguay, Robert L.; Svoboda, Kurt R.

2009-01-01

Zebrafish embryos offer a unique opportunity to investigate the mechanisms by which nicotine exposure impacts early vertebrate development. Embryos exposed to nicotine become functionally paralyzed by 42 hpf suggesting that the neuromuscular system is compromised in exposed embryos. We previously demonstrated that secondary spinal motoneurons in nicotine-exposed embryos were delayed in development and that their axons made pathfinding errors (Svoboda, K.R., Vijayaraghaven, S., Tanguay, R.L., 2002. Nicotinic receptors mediate changes in spinal motoneuron development and axonal pathfinding in embryonic zebrafish exposed to nicotine. J. Neurosci. 22, 10731-10741). In that study, we did not consider the potential role that altered skeletal muscle development caused by nicotine exposure could play in contributing to the errors in spinal motoneuron axon pathfinding. In this study, we show that an alteration in skeletal muscle development occurs in tandem with alterations in spinal motoneuron development upon exposure to nicotine. The alteration in the muscle involves the binding of nicotine to the muscle-specific AChRs. The nicotine-induced alteration in muscle development does not occur in the zebrafish mutant (sofa potato, [sop]), which lacks muscle-specific AChRs. Even though muscle development is unaffected by nicotine exposure in sop mutants, motoneuron axonal pathfinding errors still occur in these mutants, indicating a direct effect of nicotine exposure on nervous system development.

Lithium-Thionyl Chloride Batteries for the Mars Pathfinder Microrover

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deligiannis, F.; Frank, H.; Staniewicz, R.J.; Willson, J. [SAFT America, Inc., Cockeysville, MD (United States)

1996-02-01

A discussion of the power requirements for the Mars Pathfinder Mission is given. Topics include: battery requirements; cell design; battery design; test descriptions and results. A summary of the results is also included.

Lithium-Thionyl Chloride Batteries for the Mars Pathfinder Microrover

Science.gov (United States)

Deligiannis, Frank; Frank, Harvey; Staniewicz, R. J.; Willson, John

1996-01-01

A discussion of the power requirements for the Mars Pathfinder Mission is given. Topics include: battery requirements; cell design; battery design; test descriptions and results. A summary of the results is also included.

A Pathfinder for Animal Research and Animal Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, David C.

1992-01-01

This pathfinder was originally prepared for "Biomedical Research and Animal Rights," a session sponsored by the Veterinary Medical Libraries and Research Libraries Sections of the Medical Library Association. Current resources are described, from bibliographies to electronic bulletin boards, which relate to the issue of laboratory animal…

Sedimentary geomorphology of the Mars Pathfinder Landing Site

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, James W., Jr.; Parker, Timothy Jay

1997-01-01

The first landing on Mars in over 20 years will take place July 4, 1997, near te mouth of the Ares Vallis outflow channel located in southeastern Chryse Planitia. Mars Pathfinder, unlike Viking 1, is expected to land on a surface that has a distinct and unambiguous fluvial signature.

Rise and fall of the German nuclear industry; Aufstieg und Fall der deutschen Atomwirtschaft

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radkau, Joachim [Bielefeld Univ. (Germany). Neuere Geschichte; Hahn, Lothar

2013-02-01

The book on the rise and fall of the German nuclear industry includes five chapters: (1) From the atomic project of the second world war to the ''peaceful atom''. (2) The ''peaceful atom'' as vision: the phase of speculations. (3) Achieved facts: the unplanned triumph of the light water reactor. (4) The internally suppressed risk excites the public. (5) From the creeping to the open fall.

LISA Pathfinder: OPD loop characterisation

Science.gov (United States)

Born, Michael; LPF Collaboration

2017-05-01

The optical metrology system (OMS) of the LISA Pathfinder mission is measuring the distance between two free-floating test masses with unprecedented precision. One of the four OMS heterodyne interferometers reads out the phase difference between the reference and the measurement laser beam. This phase from the reference interferometer is common to all other longitudinal interferometer read outs and therefore subtracted. In addition, the phase is fed back via the digital optical pathlength difference (OPD) control loop to keep it close to zero. Here, we analyse the loop parameters and compare them to on-ground measurement results.

Oscillating liquid flow ICF Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petzoldt, R.W.

1990-01-01

Oscillating liquid flow in a falling molten salt inertial confinement fusion reactor is predicted to rapidly clear driver beam paths of residual liquid droplets. Oscillating flow will also provide adequate neutron and x-ray protection for the reactor structure with a short (2-m) fall distance permitting an 8 Hz repetition rate. A reactor chamber configuration is presented with specific features to clear the entire heavy-ion beam path of splashed molten salt. The structural components, including the structure between beam ports, are shielded. 3 refs., 12 figs

The medicine wheel nutrition intervention: a diabetes education study with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

Science.gov (United States)

Kattelmann, Kendra K; Conti, Kibbe; Ren, Cuirong

2009-09-01

The Northern Plains Indians of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe have experienced significant lifestyle and dietary changes over the past seven generations that have resulted in increased rates of diabetes and obesity. The objective of this study was to determine if Northern Plains Indians with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are randomized to receive culturally adapted educational lessons based on the Medicine Wheel Model for Nutrition in addition to their usual dietary education will have better control of their type 2 diabetes than a nonintervention, usual care group who received only the usual dietary education from their personal providers. A 6-month, randomized, controlled trial was conducted January 2005 through December 2005, with participants randomized to the education intervention or usual care control group. The education group received six nutrition lessons based on the Medicine Wheel Model for Nutrition. The usual care group received the usual dietary education from their personal providers. One hundred fourteen Northern Plains Indians from Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe aged 18 to 65 years, with type 2 diabetes. Weight, body mass index (BMI), hemoglobin A1c, fasting serum glucose and lipid parameters, circulating insulin, and blood pressure were measured at the beginning and completion. Diet histories, physical activity, and dietary satiety surveys were measured at baseline and monthly through completion. Differences were determined using Student t tests, chi(2) tests, and analysis of variance. The education group had a significant weight loss (1.4+/-0.4 kg, Pnutrition intervention promoted small but positive changes in weight. Greater frequency and longer duration of educational support may be needed to influence blood glucose and lipid parameters.

CRED REA Algal Assessment, Pathfinder Bank 2003 (NODC Accession 0010352)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Random collections of algae were made at 2 sites at Pathfinder Bank in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in August and September, 2003 from the NOAA...

The readout system and the trigger algorithm implementation for the UFFO Pathfinder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Na, G.W.; Ahmad, S.; Barrillon, P.

2012-01-01

) Pathfinder, to take the sub-minute data for the early photons from GRB. The UFFO Pathfinder has a coded-mask X-ray camera to search the GRB location by the UBAT trigger algorithm. To determine the direction of GRB as soon as possible it requires the fast processing. We have ultimately implemented all...... have been measured within a minute after the gamma ray signal. This lack of sub-minute data limits the study for the characteristics of the UV-optical light curve of the short-hard type GRB and the fast-rising GRB. Therefore, we have developed the telescope named the Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO...

Euso-Balloon: A pathfinder mission for the JEM-EUSO experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Osteria, Giuseppe, E-mail: osteria@na.infn.it [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare Sezione di Napoli, Naples (Italy); Scotti, Valentina [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare Sezione di Napoli, Naples (Italy); Università di Napoli Federico II, Dipartimento di Fisica, Naples (Italy)

2013-12-21

EUSO-Balloon is a pathfinder mission for JEM-EUSO, the near-UV telescope proposed to be installed on board the ISS in 2017. The main objective of this pathfinder mission is to perform a full scale end-to-end test of all the key technologies and instrumentation of JEM-EUSO detectors and to prove the entire detection chain. EUSO-Balloon will measure the atmospheric and terrestrial UV background components, in different observational modes, fundamental for the development of the simulations. Through a series of flights performed by the French Space Agency CNES, EUSO-Balloon also has the potential to detect Extensive Air Showers (EAS) from above. EUSO-Balloon will be mounted in an unpressurized gondola of a stratospheric balloon. We will describe the instrument and the electronic system which performs instrument control and data management in such a critical environment.

Nuclear reactor control column

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bachovchin, D.M.

1982-01-01

The nuclear reactor control column comprises a column disposed within the nuclear reactor core having a variable cross-section hollow channel and containing balls whose vertical location is determined by the flow of the reactor coolant through the column. The control column is divided into three basic sections wherein each of the sections has a different cross-sectional area. The uppermost section of the control column has the greatest crosssectional area, the intermediate section of the control column has the smallest cross-sectional area, and the lowermost section of the control column has the intermediate cross-sectional area. In this manner, the area of the uppermost section can be established such that when the reactor coolant is flowing under normal conditions therethrough, the absorber balls will be lifted and suspended in a fluidized bed manner in the upper section. However, when the reactor coolant flow falls below a predetermined value, the absorber balls will fall through the intermediate section and into the lowermost section, thereby reducing the reactivity of the reactor core and shutting down the reactor

Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor Outreach Compilation

Science.gov (United States)

1999-09-01

This videotape is a compilation of the best NASA JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) videos of the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor missions. The mission is described using animation and narration as well as some actual footage of the entire sequence of mission events. Included within these animations are the spacecraft orbit insertion; descent to the Mars surface; deployment of the airbags and instruments; and exploration by Sojourner, the Mars rover. JPL activities at spacecraft control during significant mission events are also included at the end. The spacecraft cameras pan the surrounding Mars terrain and film Sojourner traversing the surface and inspecting rocks. A single, brief, processed image of the Cydonia region (Mars face) at an oblique angle from the Mars Global Surveyor is presented. A description of the Mars Pathfinder mission, instruments, landing and deployment process, Mars approach, spacecraft orbit insertion, rover operation are all described using computer animation. Actual color footage of Sojourner as well as a 360 deg pan of the Mars terrain surrounding the spacecraft is provided. Lower quality black and white photography depicting Sojourner traversing the Mars surface and inspecting Martian rocks also is included.

Selected power reactor projects in Canada and the United States of America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1964-11-01

As part of its activities in connection with the development of nuclear power, the IAEA has undertaken a continuing study of the technology and economics of power reactors, with particular reference to the needs of the developing countries. Information on the progress made in eight power reactor projects, namely those of Bonus, Pathfinder, Elk River, Piqua, Hallam, Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor (EGCR), High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGCR) and Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD), is presented in this report. Developments during the past year are shown, emphasis being placed on operating experience in the case of those reactors which have become critical. The Agency is grateful to the Governments of Canada and the USA, who have extended the necessary facilities for covering he different power reactor projects in their respective countries. The cooperation received from the reactor manufacturers, builders and operators is also gratefully acknowledged. It is hoped that this report will be of interest to reactor technologists and operators and those interested in the application of nuclear power.

Selected power reactor projects in Canada and the United States of America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1964-01-01

As part of its activities in connection with the development of nuclear power, the IAEA has undertaken a continuing study of the technology and economics of power reactors, with particular reference to the needs of the developing countries. Information on the progress made in eight power reactor projects, namely those of Bonus, Pathfinder, Elk River, Piqua, Hallam, Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor (EGCR), High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGCR) and Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD), is presented in this report. Developments during the past year are shown, emphasis being placed on operating experience in the case of those reactors which have become critical. The Agency is grateful to the Governments of Canada and the USA, who have extended the necessary facilities for covering he different power reactor projects in their respective countries. The cooperation received from the reactor manufacturers, builders and operators is also gratefully acknowledged. It is hoped that this report will be of interest to reactor technologists and operators and those interested in the application of nuclear power

The Mars Pathfinder atmospheric structure investigation/meteorology (ASI/MET) experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schofield, J.T.; Barnes, J.R.; Crisp, D.

1997-01-01

The Mars Pathfinder atmospheric structure investigation/meteorology (ASI/MET) experiment measured the vertical density, pressure, and temperature structure of the martian atmosphere from the surface to 160 km, and monitored surface meteorology and climate for 83 sols (1 sol = 1 martian day = 24...

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of AVHRR Polar Pathfinder (APP) Cryosphere

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) contains the AVHRR Polar Pathfinder (APP) product. APP is a fundamental CDR comprised of calibrated and navigated AVHRR channel...

High pressure hydropyrolysis of coals by using a continuous free-fall reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

W.-C. Xu; K. Matsuoka; H. Akiho; M. Kumagai; A. Tomita [Institute of Research and Innovation, Kashiwa (Japan)

2003-04-01

Rapid hydropyrolysis of coal was carried out at temperatures ranging from 923 to 1123 K and H{sub 2} pressures up to 7 MPa by using a continuous free-fall pyrolyzer. The effects of the reaction conditions on product yields were investigated. Carbon mass balance was fairly good. It was revealed that a large amount of methane was produced due to the hydrogenolysis of higher hydrocarbons and the hydrogasification of char. The influence of pyrolysis temperature was significant on both reactions while H{sub 2} pressure mainly affected the latter. A considerable amount of reactive carbon was formed during hydropyrolysis of coal. It was converted to methane at high temperatures and high H{sub 2} pressures, while the hydrogasification of reactive carbon takes place relatively slowly at low temperatures and low H{sub 2} pressures, resulting in a low overall carbon conversion. The coal conversions observed in the present study were much higher than those obtained with using reactors where the contact between coal particles and H{sub 2} is insufficient. 25 refs., 6 figs., 6 tabs.

CRED REA Algal Assessments at Pathfinder Reef, Marianas Archipelago in 2005

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — As part of Rapid Ecological Assessments (REA), Twelve quadrats were sampled along 2 consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines, conducted at 2 sites at Pathfinder Reef...

Control for nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ash, E.B.; Bernath, L.; Facha, J.V.

1980-01-01

A nuclear reactor is provided with several hydraulically-supported spherical bodies having a high neutron absorption cross section, which fall by gravity into the core region of the reactor when the flow of supporting fluid is shut off. (auth)

Periodontal status among adolescents in Georgia. A pathfinder study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liran Levin

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Objectives. The aim of the present pathfinder study was to screen and map the periodontal status of Georgian population in accordance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization for population based surveys. Methods. During 2012, a pathfinder study was conducted to collect this data. For the periodontal portion of the study, 15-year-old school children were examined in the capital city of Tbilisi as well as in two other large cities and 4 smaller villages. All participants were examined by a trained dental team in a classroom using a dental mirror and a periodontal probe. Periodontal examination included plaque scores, calculus scores, probing depth measurements and bleeding on probing. These measurements were recorded for the Ramfjord index teeth. Results. A total of 397 15-year-old participants were examined in this pathfinder study. There were 240 females (60.45% and 157 males (39.55%. Of the total participants 196 (49.37% were urban adolescents while 201 (50.63% were from rural communities. Mean probing depth was 3.34 ± 0.57 mm with a range of 1 to 10 mm; a relatively high proportion (34.26% of these subjects presented with at least one site with pockets of 5 mm or deeper. Males presented with greater plaque, calculus and probing depths than females. When urban and rural populations were compared, urban participants presented with more plaque, probing depths and bleeding on probing. Greater pocket depths were found to be related to the presence of plaque calculus and bleeding on probing. Conclusions. Overall, rather high incidences of periodontal pockets ≥ 5 mm were detected in this population. This data should serve to prepare further more detailed epidemiological studies that will serve to plan and implement prevent and treat strategies for periodontal diseases in Georgia and also help make manpower decisions.

Periodontal status among adolescents in Georgia. A pathfinder study.

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, Liran; Margvelashvili, Vladimer; Bilder, Leon; Kalandadze, Manana; Tsintsadze, Nino; Machtei, Eli E

2013-01-01

Objectives. The aim of the present pathfinder study was to screen and map the periodontal status of Georgian population in accordance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization for population based surveys. Methods. During 2012, a pathfinder study was conducted to collect this data. For the periodontal portion of the study, 15-year-old school children were examined in the capital city of Tbilisi as well as in two other large cities and 4 smaller villages. All participants were examined by a trained dental team in a classroom using a dental mirror and a periodontal probe. Periodontal examination included plaque scores, calculus scores, probing depth measurements and bleeding on probing. These measurements were recorded for the Ramfjord index teeth. Results. A total of 397 15-year-old participants were examined in this pathfinder study. There were 240 females (60.45%) and 157 males (39.55%). Of the total participants 196 (49.37%) were urban adolescents while 201 (50.63%) were from rural communities. Mean probing depth was 3.34 ± 0.57 mm with a range of 1 to 10 mm; a relatively high proportion (34.26%) of these subjects presented with at least one site with pockets of 5 mm or deeper. Males presented with greater plaque, calculus and probing depths than females. When urban and rural populations were compared, urban participants presented with more plaque, probing depths and bleeding on probing. Greater pocket depths were found to be related to the presence of plaque calculus and bleeding on probing. Conclusions. Overall, rather high incidences of periodontal pockets ≥ 5 mm were detected in this population. This data should serve to prepare further more detailed epidemiological studies that will serve to plan and implement prevent and treat strategies for periodontal diseases in Georgia and also help make manpower decisions.

Disentangling the magnetic force noise contribution in LISA Pathfinder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armano, M; Audley, H; Born, M; Danzmann, K; Diepholz, I; Auger, G; Binetruy, P; Baird, J; Bortoluzzi, D; Brandt, N; Fitzsimons, E; Bursi, A; Caleno, M; Cavalleri, A; Cesarini, A; Dolesi, R; Ferroni, V; Cruise, M; Dunbar, N; Ferraioli, L

2015-01-01

Magnetically-induced forces on the inertial masses on-board LISA Pathfinder are expected to be one of the dominant contributions to the mission noise budget, accounting for up to 40%. The origin of this disturbance is the coupling of the residual magnetization and susceptibility of the test masses with the environmental magnetic field. In order to fully understand this important part of the noise model, a set of coils and magnetometers are integrated as a part of the diagnostics subsystem. During operations a sequence of magnetic excitations will be applied to precisely determine the coupling of the magnetic environment to the test mass displacement using the on-board magnetometers. Since no direct measurement of the magnetic field in the test mass position will be available, an extrapolation of the magnetic measurements to the test mass position will be carried out as a part of the data analysis activities. In this paper we show the first results on the magnetic experiments during an end- to-end LISA Pathfinder simulation, and we describe the methods under development to map the magnetic field on-board. (paper)

ERASMUS-F: pathfinder for an E-ELT 3D instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Kelz, Andreas; Roth, Martin M.; Bacon, Roland; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss; Nicklas, Harald E.; Bryant, Julia J.; Colless, Matthew; Croom, Scott; Ellis, Simon; Fleischmann, Andreas; Gillingham, Peter; Haynes, Roger; Hopkins, Andrew; Kosmalski, Johan; O'Byrne, John W.; Olaya, Jean-Christophe; Rambold, William N.; Robertson, Gordon

2010-07-01

ERASMUS-F is a pathfinder study for a possible E-ELT 3D-instrumentation, funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). The study investigates the feasibility to combine a broadband optical spectrograph with a new generation of multi-object deployable fibre bundles. The baseline approach is to modify the spectrograph of the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), which is a VLT integral-field instrument using slicers, with a fibre-fed input. Taking advantage of recent developments in astrophotonics, it is planed to equip such an instrument with fused fibre bundles (hexabundles) that offer larger filling factors than dense-packed classical fibres. The overall project involves an optical and mechanical design study, the specifications of a software package for 3Dspectrophotometry, based upon the experiences with the P3d Data Reduction Software and an investigation of the science case for such an instrument. As a proof-of-concept, the study also involves a pathfinder instrument for the VLT, called the FIREBALL project.

Reactor container facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, Takashi; Nagasaka, Hideo.

1990-01-01

A dry-well pool for spontaneously circulating stored pool water and a suppression pool for flooding a pressure vessel by feeding water, when required, to a flooding gap by means of spontaneous falling upto the flooding position, thereby flooding the pressure vessel are contained at the inside of a reactor container. Thus, when loss of coolant accidents such as caused by main pipe rupture accidents should happen, pool water in the suppression pool is supplied to the flooding gap by spontaneously falling. Further, if the flooding water uprises exceeding a predetermined level, the flooding gap is in communication with the dry-well pool at the upper and the lower portions respectively. Accordingly, flooding water at high temperature heated by the after-heat of the reactor core is returned again into the flooding gap to cool the reactor core repeatedly. (T.M.)

Hillary Clinton visits Pathfinder projects in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

1996-01-01

In October 1995, US First Lady Hillary Clinton visited a maternity hospital in Salvador, Brazil, in which a family planning (FP)/reproductive health program has been administered by Pathfinder International since 1981 with funding from USAID. During her tour of the facility, Clinton learned about the high degree of unmet need for FP in the region which results from a lack of sufficient resources to meet demand. Clinton, in turn, praised the state of Bahia for its emphasis on FP in low-income areas.

The LISA Pathfinder DMU and Radiation Monitor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Canizares, P; Conchillo, A; Gesa, L; Lloro, I; Lobo, A; Mateos, I; Sopuerta, Carlos F [Institut de Ciencies de l' Espai, CSIC, Facultat de Ciencies, Torre C5 parell, 08193 Bellaterra (Spain); Chmeissani, M [Institut de Fisica d' Altes Energies (IFAE), Edifici CN, UAB Campus, 08193 Bellaterra (Spain); Diaz-Aguilo, M; GarcIa-Berro, E; Gibert, F [Institut d' Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici Nexus, Gran Capita 2-4, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Grimani, C [Universita degli Studi di Urbino, MFI Department, Via Santa Chiara 27, 61029 Urbino, and INFN Florence (Italy); Nofrarias, M [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut), Callinstrasse 38, D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Ramos-Castro, J [Departament d' Enginyeria Electronica, UPC, Campus Nord, Edifici C4, Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Sanjuan, J [Department of Physics, University of Florida, NPB-22258 PO Box 118 440, Gainesville, FL 32611-8440 (United States); Araujo, H M; Wass, P, E-mail: lobo@ieec.fcr.es [High Energy Physics Blackett Laboratory, Prince Consort Road, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW (United Kingdom)

2011-05-07

The LISA Pathfinder DMU (Data Management Unit) flight model was formally accepted by ESA and ASD on 11 February 2010, after all hardware and software tests had been successfully completed. The diagnostics items are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2010. In this paper, we review the requirements and performance of this instrumentation, specially focusing on the Radiation Monitor and the DMU, as well as the status of their programmed use during mission operations, on which work is ongoing at the time of writing.

Falling liquid film flow along cascade-typed first wall of laser-fusion reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunugi, T.; Nakai, T.; Kawara, Z.

2007-01-01

To protect from high energy/particle fluxes caused by nuclear fusion reaction such as extremely high heat flux, X rays, Alpha particles and fuel debris to a first wall of an inertia fusion reactor, a 'cascade-typed' first wall with a falling liquid film flow is proposed as the 'liquid wall' concept which is one of the reactor chamber cooling and wall protection schemes: the reactor chamber can protect by using a liquid metal film flow (such as Li 17 Pb 83 ) over the wall. In order to investigate the feasibility of this concept, we conducted the numerical analyses by using the STREAM code and also conducted the flow visualization experiments. The numerical results suggested that the cascade structure design should be improved, so that we redesigned the cascade-typed first wall and performed the flow visualization as a POP (proof-of-principle) experiment. In the numerical analyses, the water is used as the working liquid and an acrylic plate as the wall. These selections are based on two reasons: (1) from the non-dimensional analysis approach, the Weber number (We=ρu 2 δ/σ: ρ is density, u is velocity, δ is film thickness, σ is surface tension coefficient) should be the same between the design (Li 17 Pb 83 flow) and the model experiment (water flow) because of the free-surface instability, (2) the SiC/SiC composite would be used as the wall material, so that the wall may have the less wettability: the acrylic plate has the similar feature. The redesigned cascade-typed first wall for one step (30 cm height corresponding to 4 Hz laser duration) consists of a liquid tank having a free-surface for keeping the constant water-head located at the backside of the first wall, and connects to a slit which is composed of two plates: one plate is the first wall, and the other is maintaining the liquid level. This design solved the trouble of the previous design. The test section for the flow visualization has the same structure and the same height as the reactor design

Mixing Characteristics during Fuel Coolant Interaction under Reactor Submerged Conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, S. W.; Na, Y. S.; Hong, S. H.; Song, J. H.

2014-01-01

A molten material is injected into an interaction chamber by free gravitation fall. This type of fuel coolant interaction could happen to operating plants. However, the flooding of a reactor cavity is considered as SAM measures for new PWRs such as APR-1400 and AP1000 to assure the IVR of a core melt. In this case, a molten corium in a reactor is directly injected into water surrounding the reactor vessel without a free fall. KAERI has carried out fuel coolant interaction tests without a free fall using ZrO 2 and corium to simulate the reactor submerged conditions. There are four phases in a steam explosion. The first phase is a premixing phase. The premixing is described in the literature as follows: during penetration of melt into water, hydrodynamic instabilities, generated by the velocities and density differences as well as vapor production, induce fragmentation of the melt into particles; the particles fragment in turn into smaller particles until they reach a critical size such that the cohesive forces (surface tension) balance exactly the disruptive forces (inertial); and the molten core material temperature (>2500 K) is such that the mixing always occurs in the film boiling regime of the water: It is very important to qualify and quantify this phase because it gives the initial conditions for a steam explosion This paper mainly focuses on the observation of the premixing phase between a case with 1 m free fall and a case without a free fall to simulate submerged reactor condition. The premixing behavior between a 1m free fall case and reactor case submerged without a free fall is observed experimentally. The average velocity of the melt front passing through 1m water pool; - Case without a free fall: The average velocity of corium, 2.7m/s, is faster than ZrO 2 , 2.3m/s, in water. - Cases of with a 1 m free fall and without a free fall : The case without a free fall is about two times faster than a case with a 1 m free fall. Bubble characteristics; - Case

GRS vs. OMS Calibration in LISA Pathfinder Data Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Meshksar, Neda; Ferraioli, Luigi; Mance, Davor; ten Pierick, Jan; Zweifel, Peter; Giardini, Domenico; ">LISA Pathfinder colaboration, Pathfinder spacecraft the test mass displacement along the main measurement axis is sensed in two different ways: optically and electrostatically. We have monitored the relative calibration between the two measurements during the mission science phase. The trend sensitivity of the relative calibration has been computed for different physical parameters, such as temperature, magnetic field, test mass bias voltage and current.

Primary Productivity, SeaWiFS and Pathfinder, 0.1 degrees, Global, EXPERIMENTAL

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Primary Productivity is calculated from SeaWiFS Chl a, Pathfinder SST, and SeaWiFS PAR data. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCT: intended strictly for scientific...

GRS vs. OMS Calibration in LISA Pathfinder Data Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meshksar, Neda; Ferraioli, Luigi; Mance, Davor; Zweifel, Peter; Giardini, Domenico; Ten Pierick, Jan

2017-01-01

On board LISA Pathfinder spacecraft the test mass displacement along the main measurement axis is sensed in two different ways: optically and electrostatically. We have monitored the relative calibration between the two measurements during the mission science phase. The trend sensitivity of the relative calibration has been computed for different physical parameters, such as temperature, magnetic field, test mass bias voltage and current. (paper)

The Role of APEX as a Pathfinder for AtLAST

Science.gov (United States)

Wyrowski, Friedrich

2018-01-01

Now more than 12 years in operation, the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) 12 m submillimeter telescope has significantly contributed to a wide variety of submillimeter astronomy science areas, ranging from the discoveries of new molecules to large and deep imaging of the submillimeter sky. While ALMA operation is in full swing, APEX is strengthening its role not only as pathfinder for studying large source samples and spatial scales to prepare detailed high angular resolution ALMA follow ups, but also as fast response instruments to complement new results from ALMA. Furthermore, APEX ensures southern hemisphere access for submillimeter projects complementing archival Herschel research as well as new SOFIA science. With new broadband and multipixel receivers as well as large cameras for wide-field continuum imaging, APEX will pave the way towards the science envisioned with ATLAST. In this contribution, the current status and ongoing upgrades of APEX will be discussed, with an emphasis on the importance of continuous cutting edge science and state-of-the-art instrumentation that will bridge the gap towards ATLAST.

Reactor container

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Masami; Nishio, Masahide.

1987-01-01

Purpose: To prevent the rupture of the dry well even when the melted reactor core drops into a reactor pedestal cavity. Constitution: In a reactor container in which a dry well disposed above the reactor pedestal cavity for containing the reactor pressure vessel and a torus type suppression chamber for containing pressure suppression water are connected with each other, the pedestal cavity and the suppression chamber are disposed such that the flow level of the pedestal cavity is lower than the level of the pressure suppression water. Further, a pressure suppression water introduction pipeway for introducing the pressure suppression water into the reactor pedestal cavity is disposed by way of an ON-OFF valve. In case if the melted reactor core should fall into the pedestal cavity, the ON-OFF valve for the pressure suppression water introduction pipeway is opened to introduce the pressure suppression water in the suppression chamber into the pedestal cavity to cool the melted reactor core. (Ikeda, J.)

Proceedings of the KNS Fall meeting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-10-15

This proceedings contains articles of 2013 Fall meeting of the Korean Nuclear Society. It was held on Oct 23-25 in Kyungju, Korea. This proceedings is comprised of 10 sessions. The main subject titles of session are as follows: Reactor system technology, Nuclear data, reactor physics and computational science, Radioactive waste management, Nuclear fuel and materials, Thermal hydraulics and safety, Radiation utilization and protection, Quantum engineering and nuclear fusion, Nuclear power plant construction and operation technology, Nuclear policy, human resources and cooperation, Nuclear I and C and remote operation. (Yi, J. H.)

Experimental study on the heat transfer characteristics of a nuclear reactor containment wall cooled by gravitationally falling water

Science.gov (United States)

Pasek, Ari D.; Umar, Efrison; Suwono, Aryadi; Manalu, Reinhard E. E.

2012-06-01

Gravitationally falling water cooling is one of mechanism utilized by a modern nuclear Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) for its Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS). Since the cooling is closely related to the safety, water film cooling characteristics of the PCCS should be studied. This paper deals with the experimental study of laminar water film cooling on the containment model wall. The influences of water mass flow rate and wall heat rate on the heat transfer characteristic were studied. This research was started with design and assembly of a containment model equipped with the water cooling system, and calibration of all measurement devices. The containment model is a scaled down model of AP 1000 reactor. Below the containment steam is generated using electrical heaters. The steam heated the containment wall, and then the temperatures of the wall in several positions were measure transiently using thermocouples and data acquisition. The containment was then cooled by falling water sprayed from the top of the containment. The experiments were done for various wall heat rate and cooling water flow rate. The objective of the research is to find the temperature profile along the wall before and after the water cooling applied, prediction of the water film characteristic such as means velocity, thickness and their influence to the heat transfer coefficient. The result of the experiments shows that the wall temperatures significantly drop after being sprayed with water. The thickness of water film increases with increasing water flow rate and remained constant with increasing wall heat rate. The heat transfer coefficient decreases as film mass flow rate increase due to the increases of the film thickness which causes the increasing of the thermal resistance. The heat transfer coefficient increases slightly as the wall heat rate increases. The experimental results were then compared with previous theoretical studied.

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of AVHRR Polar Pathfinder Extended (APP-X) Cryosphere

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of the extended AVHRR Polar Pathfinder (APP-x) cryosphere contains 19 geophysical variables over the Arctic and Antarctic for the...

Revised electrostatic model of the LISA Pathfinder inertial sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brandt, Nico [Astrium GmbH, 88039 Friedrichshafen (Germany); Fichter, Walter, E-mail: nico.brandt@astrium.eads.ne [iFR, Universitaet Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 7a, 70569 Stuttgart (Germany)

2009-03-01

A comprehensive electrostatic finite-element (FE) analysis of the LISA Pathfinder Inertial Sensor (IS) has been carried out at Astrium GmbH. Starting with a detailed geometrical model of the IS housing and test mass (TM) flight units, FE results were derived from multiple analyses runs applying the Maxwell 3D field simulation software. The electrostatic forces and torques on the TM in 6DoF, as well as all non-negligible capacitances between the TM, the 18 electrodes, and the housing, have been extracted for different TM translations and rotations. The results of the FE analyses were expected to confirm the existing IS electrostatic model predictions used for performance analysis, simulations, and on-board algorithms. Major discrepancies were found, however, between the results and the model used so far. In general, FE results give considerably larger capacitance values than the equivalent infinite non-parallel plate estimates. In contrast, the FE derived forces and torques are in general significantly lower compared to the analytic IS electrostatic model predictions. In this paper, these results are discussed in detail and the reasons for the deviations are elaborated. Based on these results, an adapted analytic IS electrostatic model is proposed that reflects the electrostatic forces, torques, and stiffness values in the LISA Pathfinder IS significantly more accurate.

Revised electrostatic model of the LISA Pathfinder inertial sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandt, Nico; Fichter, Walter

2009-01-01

A comprehensive electrostatic finite-element (FE) analysis of the LISA Pathfinder Inertial Sensor (IS) has been carried out at Astrium GmbH. Starting with a detailed geometrical model of the IS housing and test mass (TM) flight units, FE results were derived from multiple analyses runs applying the Maxwell 3D field simulation software. The electrostatic forces and torques on the TM in 6DoF, as well as all non-negligible capacitances between the TM, the 18 electrodes, and the housing, have been extracted for different TM translations and rotations. The results of the FE analyses were expected to confirm the existing IS electrostatic model predictions used for performance analysis, simulations, and on-board algorithms. Major discrepancies were found, however, between the results and the model used so far. In general, FE results give considerably larger capacitance values than the equivalent infinite non-parallel plate estimates. In contrast, the FE derived forces and torques are in general significantly lower compared to the analytic IS electrostatic model predictions. In this paper, these results are discussed in detail and the reasons for the deviations are elaborated. Based on these results, an adapted analytic IS electrostatic model is proposed that reflects the electrostatic forces, torques, and stiffness values in the LISA Pathfinder IS significantly more accurate.

Symbolic PathFinder: Symbolic Execution of Java Bytecode

Science.gov (United States)

Pasareanu, Corina S.; Rungta, Neha

2010-01-01

Symbolic Pathfinder (SPF) combines symbolic execution with model checking and constraint solving for automated test case generation and error detection in Java programs with unspecified inputs. In this tool, programs are executed on symbolic inputs representing multiple concrete inputs. Values of variables are represented as constraints generated from the analysis of Java bytecode. The constraints are solved using off-the shelf solvers to generate test inputs guaranteed to achieve complex coverage criteria. SPF has been used successfully at NASA, in academia, and in industry.

A Web-Portal Based Approach for Knowledge Networks in Support of the Pathfinder Programme

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Tolk, Andreas; Turnitsa, Charles D; Oehlund, Gunnar; Sursal, Gokay

2006-01-01

Technical activity program MSG-027 "Pathfinder Integration Environment" has the task of bringing the integration knowledge required to build a federation to whatever organization is charged with a federating task...

Review of A* (A Star Navigation Mesh Pathfinding as the Alternative of Artificial Intelligent for Ghosts Agent on the Pacman Game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moh. Zikky

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Shortest pathfinding problem has become a populer issue in Game’s Artificial Intelligent (AI. This paper discussed the effective way to optimize the shortest pathfinding problem, namely Navigation Mesh (NavMesh. This method is very interesting because it has a large area of implementation, especially in games world. In this paper, NavMesh was implemented by using A* (A star algorithm and examined in Unity 3D game engine. A* was an effective algorithm in shortest pathfinding problem because its optimization was made with effective tracing using segmentation line. Pac-Man game was chosen as the example of the shortest pathfinding by using NavMesh in Unity 3D. A* algorithm was implemented on the enemies of Pac-Man (three ghosts,  which path was designed by using NavMesh concept. Thus, the movement of ghosts in catching Pac-Man was the result of this review of the effectiveness of this concept. In further research, this method could be implemented on several optimization programmes, such as Geographic Information System (GIS, robotics, and statistics.

Classification and Distribution of Mars Pathfinder Rocks Using Quantitative Morphologic Indices

Science.gov (United States)

Yingst, R. A.; Biederman, K. L.; Monhead, A. M.; Haldemann, A. F. C.; Kowalczyk, M. R.

2004-01-01

The Mars Pathfinder (MPF) landing site was predicted to contain a broad sampling of rock types varying in mineralogical, physical, mechanical and geochemical characteristics. Although rocks have been divided into several spectral categories based on Imager for Mars Pathfinder visible/near-infrared spectra, it has not been fully determined which of these stem from intrinsic mineralogical differences between rocks or rock surfaces, and which result from factors such as physical or chemical weathering. This has made isolation of unique mineralogy's difficult. Efforts in isolating and classifying spectral units among MPF rocks and soils have met with varying degrees of success, and the current understanding is such that many factors influencing spectral signatures cannot be quantified to a sufficient level so they may be removed. The result is that fundamental questions regarding information needed to reveal the present and past interactions between the rocks and rock surfaces and the Martian environment remain unanswered. But it is possible to approach the issue of identifying distinct rock and rock surface types from a different angle.

Natural convection type reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakayama, Takafumi; Horiuchi, Tetsuo; Moriya, Kimiaki; Matsumoto, Masayoshi; Akita, Minoru.

1988-01-01

Purpose: To improve the reliability by decreasing the number of dynamic equipments and safely shutdown the reactor core upon occurrence of accidents. Constitution: A pressure relief valve and a pressurizing tank or gravitational water falling tank disposed to the main steam pipe of a reactor are installed in combination. Upon loss-of-coolant accident, the pressure relief valve is opened to reduce the pressure in the reactor pressure vessel to the operation pressure for each of the tanks, thereby enabling to inject water in the pressurizing tank at first and, thereafter, water in the gravitational water falling tank successively to the inside of the pressure vessel. By utilizing the natural force in this way, the reliability can be improved as compared with the case of pumped water injection. Further, by injecting an aqueous boric acid to a portion of a plurality of tanks, if the control rod insertion becomes impossible, aqueous boric acid can be injected. (Takahashi, M.)

Development of Slewing Mirror Telescope Optical System for the UFFO-pathfinder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeong, S.; Nam, J.W.; Ahn, K.-B.

2013-01-01

The Slewing Mirror Telescope (SMT) is the UV/optical telescope of UFFO-pathfinder. The SMT optical system is a Ritchey-Chrétien (RC) telescope of 100 mm diameter pointed by means of a gimbal-mounted flat mirror in front of the telescope. The RC telescope has a 17 × 17arcmin2 in Field of View and ...

Proceedings of the KNS 2015 Fall Meeting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2015-10-15

This proceedings contains articles of 2015 fall meeting of the Korean Nuclear Society. It was held on October 28-30 in Kyungju, Korea. This proceedings is comprised of 11 sessions. The main subject titles of session are as follows: Reactor system technology, Reactor physics and computational science, Radioactive waste management, Nuclear fuel and materials, Thermal hydraulics and safety, Radiation utilization and protection, Quantum engineering and nuclear fusion, Nuclear power plant construction and operation technology, Nuclear policy, human resources and cooperation, Nuclear I and C and automatic remote systems, Competition Session. (Yi, J. H.)

Proceedings of the KNS 2014 Fall Meeting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2014-10-15

This proceedings contains articles of 2014 Fall Meeting of the Korean Nuclear Society. It was held on Oct 29-31 in Pyongchang, Korea. This proceedings is comprised of 10 sessions. The main subject titles of session are as follows: Reactor system technology, Reactor physics and computational science, Radioactive waste management, Nuclear fuel and materials, Thermal hydraulics and safety, Radiation utilization and protection, Quantum engineering and nuclear fusion, Nuclear power plant construction and operation technology, Nuclear policy, human resources and cooperation, MMIS and remote control and Competition (Yi, J. H.)

Pathfinder: multiresolution region-based searching of pathology images using IRM.

OpenAIRE

Wang, J. Z.

2000-01-01

The fast growth of digitized pathology slides has created great challenges in research on image database retrieval. The prevalent retrieval technique involves human-supplied text annotations to describe slide contents. These pathology images typically have very high resolution, making it difficult to search based on image content. In this paper, we present Pathfinder, an efficient multiresolution region-based searching system for high-resolution pathology image libraries. The system uses wave...

Slewing Mirror Telescope and the Data-Acquisition System for the UFFO-Pathfinder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lim, H.; Ahmad, S.; Barrillon, P.

2013-01-01

The Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) aims to detect the earliest moment of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) which is not well known, resulting into the enhancement of GRB mechanism understanding. The pathfinder mission was proposed to be a scaled-down version of UFFO, and only contains the UFFO Burst A...

Bioconversion reactor

Science.gov (United States)

McCarty, Perry L.; Bachmann, Andre

1992-01-01

A bioconversion reactor for the anaerobic fermentation of organic material. The bioconversion reactor comprises a shell enclosing a predetermined volume, an inlet port through which a liquid stream containing organic materials enters the shell, and an outlet port through which the stream exits the shell. A series of vertical and spaced-apart baffles are positioned within the shell to force the stream to flow under and over them as it passes from the inlet to the outlet port. The baffles present a barrier to the microorganisms within the shell causing them to rise and fall within the reactor but to move horizontally at a very slow rate. Treatment detention times of one day or less are possible.

Response of a lithium fall to an inertially confined fusion microexplosion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hovingh, J.; Blink, J.; Glenn, L.

1978-01-01

One of the most difficult technology problems in an inertially confined fusion reactor is the survival of the structure from the repeated stresses caused by the microexplosion products. To mitigate the damage from the microexplosion products, a thick lithium fall can be circulated in front of the structure. This fall will absorb the short-ranged products and moderate and attenuate the neutrons. This paper discusses the response of the fall to the microexplosion products, and estimates the resulting loading and stresses in the first structural wall

LISA Pathfinder instrument data analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Guzman, Felipe

LISA Pathfinder (LPF) is an ESA-launched demonstration mission of key technologies required for the joint NASA-ESA gravitational wave observatory in space, LISA. As part of the LPF interferometry investigations, analytic models of noise sources and corresponding noise subtrac-tion techniques have been developed to correct for effects like the coupling of test mass jitter into displacement readout, and fluctuations of the laser frequency or optical pathlength difference. Ground testing of pre-flight hardware of the Optical Metrology Subsystem is currently ongoing at the Albert Einstein Institute Hannover. In collaboration with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the LPF mission data analysis tool LTPDA is being used to analyze the data product of these tests. Furthermore, the noise subtraction techniques and in-flight experiment runs for noise characterization are being defined as part of the mission experiment master plan. We will present the data analysis outcome of pre-flight hardware ground tests and possible noise subtraction strategies for in-flight instrument operations.

A user exposure based approach for non-structural road network vulnerability analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Jin

Full Text Available Aiming at the dense urban road network vulnerability without structural negative consequences, this paper proposes a novel non-structural road network vulnerability analysis framework. Three aspects of the framework are mainly described: (i the rationality of non-structural road network vulnerability, (ii the metrics for negative consequences accounting for variant road conditions, and (iii the introduction of a new vulnerability index based on user exposure. Based on the proposed methodology, a case study in the Sioux Falls network which was usually threatened by regular heavy snow during wintertime is detailedly discussed. The vulnerability ranking of links of Sioux Falls network with respect to heavy snow scenario is identified. As a result of non-structural consequences accompanied by conceivable degeneration of network, there are significant increases in generalized travel time costs which are measurements for "emotionally hurt" of topological road network.

A measurement of the absolute energy spectra of galactic cosmic rays during the 1976-77 solar minimum

Science.gov (United States)

Derrickson, J. H.; Parnell, T. A.; Austin, R. W.; Selig, W. J.; Gregory, J. C.

An instrument designed to measure elemental cosmic ray abundances from boron to nickel in the energy region 0.5-2.0 GeV/nucl was flown on a high altitude balloon from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on 30 September through 1 October 1976 at an average atmospheric depth of about 5 g/sq cm. Differential energy spectra of B, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si and Fe, extrapolated to the top of the atmosphere, were measured. The float altitude exposure of 17 h ended near Alpena, Michigan. The flight trajectory maintained a north easterly heading out of Sioux Falls traversing the upper midwest region between 84 and 97 deg west longitude while remaining between 43.5 and 45 deg north latitude. The maximum vertical cut-off for this flight path was 1.77 GV or 0.35 GeV/nucl.

Jet stability in the lithium fall reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, S.W.

1978-01-01

A preliminary analysis has been made of the various hydrodynamic aspects involved in the stability of a liquid-lithium jet in a laser-fusion reactor, which comprises a part of LLL's laser fusion power-generation concept. Various physical factors that may affect the jet breakup are delineated, and some approximate calculations are performed to determine their relative influences. Areas of uncertainty are pointed out, along with plans for experimental verification or further theoretical analysis

Investigation of cascade-typed falling liquid film flow along first wall of laser-fusion reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunugi, Tomoaki; Nakai, Tadakatsu; Kawara, Zensaku

2007-01-01

To protect from high energy/particle fluxes caused by nuclear fusion reaction such as extremely high heat flux, X rays, Alpha particles and fuel debris to a first wall of an inertia fusion reactor, a ''cascade-typed'' falling liquid film flow is proposed as the ''liquid wall'' concept which is one of the reactor chamber cooling and wall protection schemes: the reactor chamber can protect by using a liquid metal film flow (such as Li 17 Pb 83 ) over the wall. In order to investigate the feasibility of this concept, we conducted the numerical analyses by using the commercial code (STREAM: unsteady three-dimensional general purpose thermofluid code) and also conducted the flow visualization experiments. The numerical results suggested that the cascade structure design should be improved, so that we redesigned the cascade-typed first wall and performed the flow visualization as a POP (proof-of-principle) experiment. In the numerical analyses, the water is used as the working liquid and an acrylic plate as the wall. These selections are based on two reasons: (1) from the non-dimensional analysis approach, the Weber number (We=ru 2 d/s: r is density, u is velocity, d is film thickness, s is surface tension coefficient) should be the same between the design (Li 17 Pb 83 flow) and the model experiment (water flow) because of the free-surface instability, (2) the SiC/SiC composite would be used as the wall material, so that the wall may have the less wettability: the acrylic plate has the similar feature. The redesigned cascade-typed first wall for one step (30 cm height corresponding to 4 Hz laser duration) consists of a liquid tank having a free-surface for keeping the constant waterhead located at the backside of the first wall, and connects to a slit which is composed of two plates: one plate is the first wall, and the other is maintaining the liquid level. This design solved the trouble of the previous design. The test section for the flow visualization has the same

GCR flux 9-day variations with LISA Pathfinder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grimani, C; Benella, S; Fabi, M; Finetti, N; Telloni, D

2017-01-01

Galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) energy spectra in the heliosphere vary on the basis of the level of solar activity, the status of solar polarity and interplanetary transient magnetic structures of solar origin. A high counting rate particle detector (PD) aboard LISA Pathfinder (LPF) allows for the measurement of galactic cosmic-ray and solar energetic particle (SEP) integral fluxes at energies > 70 MeV n −1 up to 6500 counts s −1 . Data are gathered with a sampling time of 15 s. A study of GCR flux depressions associated with the third harmonic of the Sun rotation period (∼ 9 days) is presented here. (paper)

LISA Pathfinder: Optical Metrology System monitoring during operations

Science.gov (United States)

Audley, Heather E.; LISA Pathfinder Collaboration

2017-05-01

The LISA Pathfinder (LPF) mission has demonstrated excellent performance. In addition to having surpassed the main mission goals, data has been collected from the various subsystems throughout the duration of the mission. This data is a valuable resource, both for a more complete understanding of the LPF satellite and the differential acceleration measurements, as well as for the design of the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. Initial analysis of the Optical Metrology System (OMS) data was performed as part of daily system monitoring, and more in-depth analyses are ongoing. This contribution presents an overview of these activities along with an introduction to the OMS.

First in...Last Out: History of the U.S. Army Pathfinder (1942-2011)

Science.gov (United States)

2014-05-21

Brittany, it would seize the Port of Brest , and cover the south flank, while the First Army began an attack to the northeast toward Paris .63 87 On the......it will provide insights into Pathfinder doctrine, “tactics, techniques and procedures,” strategy, technology and lessons learned from their origin

Observation of early photons from gamma-ray bursts with the Lomonosov / UFFO-pathfinder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeong, S.; Brandt, Søren; Budtz-Jørgensen, Carl

2014-01-01

UFFO-pathfinder is a pioneering space mission to observe the early evolution of Gamma-ray Bursts using a fast slewing strategy. It consists of the Slewing Mirror Telescope, for rapid pointing at UV/optical wavelengths and the UFFO Burst Alert and Trigger Telescope. It has a total weight of ~ 20 k...

LISA Pathfinder: hardware tests and their input to the mission

Science.gov (United States)

Audley, Heather

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a joint ESA-NASA mission for the first space-borne gravitational wave detector. LISA aims to detect sources in the 0.1mHz to 1Hz range, which include supermassive black holes and galactic binary stars. Core technologies required for the LISA mission, including drag-free test mass control, picometre interferometry and micro-Newton thrusters, cannot be tested on-ground. Therefore, a precursor satellite, LISA Pathfinder, has been developed as a technology demonstration mission. The preparations for the LISA Pathfinder mission have reached an exciting stage. Tests of the engineering model of the optical metrology system have recently been completed at the Albert Einstein Institute, Hannover, and flight model tests are now underway. Significantly, they represent the first complete integration and testing of the space-qualified hardware and are the first tests on system level. The results and test procedures of these campaigns will be utilised directly in the ground-based flight hardware tests, and subsequently within in-flight operations. In addition, they allow valuable testing of the data analysis methods using the MatLab based LTP data analysis toolbox. This contribution presents an overview of the test campaigns calibration, control and perfor-mance results, focusing on the implications for the Experimental Master Plan which provides the basis for the in-flight operations and procedures.

Free-Suspension Residual Flexibility Testing of Space Station Pathfinder: Comparison to Fixed-Base Results

Science.gov (United States)

Tinker, Michael L.

1998-01-01

Application of the free-suspension residual flexibility modal test method to the International Space Station Pathfinder structure is described. The Pathfinder, a large structure of the general size and weight of Space Station module elements, was also tested in a large fixed-base fixture to simulate Shuttle Orbiter payload constraints. After correlation of the Pathfinder finite element model to residual flexibility test data, the model was coupled to a fixture model, and constrained modes and frequencies were compared to fixed-base test. modes. The residual flexibility model compared very favorably to results of the fixed-base test. This is the first known direct comparison of free-suspension residual flexibility and fixed-base test results for a large structure. The model correlation approach used by the author for residual flexibility data is presented. Frequency response functions (FRF) for the regions of the structure that interface with the environment (a test fixture or another structure) are shown to be the primary tools for model correlation that distinguish or characterize the residual flexibility approach. A number of critical issues related to use of the structure interface FRF for correlating the model are then identified and discussed, including (1) the requirement of prominent stiffness lines, (2) overcoming problems with measurement noise which makes the antiresonances or minima in the functions difficult to identify, and (3) the use of interface stiffness and lumped mass perturbations to bring the analytical responses into agreement with test data. It is shown that good comparison of analytical-to-experimental FRF is the key to obtaining good agreement of the residual flexibility values.

Slewing mirror telescope of the UFFO-pathfinder: first report on performance in space

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gaikov, G.; Jeong, S.; Agaradahalli, V. G.

2017-01-01

of the UFFO-pathfinder payload, which was launched on April 28, 2016, onboard the Lomonosov satellite. For the first time, the slewing mirror system has been proven for the precision tracking of astrophysical objects during space operation. We confirmed that the SMT has 1.4 seconds of response time to the X...

A measurement of the absolute energy spectra of galactic cosmic rays during the 1976-77 solar minimum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Derrickson, J.H.; Parnell, T.A.; Austin, R.W.; Selig, W.J.

1992-01-01

An instrument designed to measure elemental cosmic ray abundances from boron to nickel in the energy region 0.5-2.0 GeV nucl -1 was flown on a high altitude balloon from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on 30 September through 1 October 1976 at an average atmospheric depth of ∼5 g cm -2 . Differential energy spectra of B, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si and Fe, extrapolated to the top of the atmosphere, were measured. The float altitude exposure of 17 h ended near Alpena, Michigan. The flight trajectory maintained a north easterly heading out of Sioux Falls traversing the upper mid-west region between 84 o and 97 o west longitude while remaining between 43.5 o and 45 o north latitude. The maximum vertical cut-off for this flight path was 1.77 GV or 0.35 GeV nucl -1 . (author)

Reactor-core-reactivity control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miura, Teruo; Sakuranaga, Tomonobu.

1983-01-01

Purpose: To improve the reactor safety upon failures of control rod drives by adapting a control rod not to drop out accidentally from the reactor core but be inserted into the reactor core. Constitution: The control rod is entered or extracted as usual from the bottom of the pressure vessel. A space is provided above the reactor core within the pressure vessel, in which the moving scope of the control rod is set between the space above the reactor core and the reactor core. That is, the control rod is situated above the reactor core upon extraction thereof and, if an accident occurs to the control rod drive mechanisms to detach the control rod and the driving rod, the control rod falls gravitationally into the reactor core to improve the reactor safety. In addition, since the speed limiter is no more required to the control rod, the driving force can be decreased to reduce the size of the rod drive mechanisms. (Ikeda, J.)

Is it feasible to pool funds for local children's services in England? Evidence from the national evaluation of children's trust pathfinders.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorgelly, Paula; Bachmann, Max; Shreeve, Ann; Reading, Richard; Thorburn, June; Mugford, Miranda; O'Brien, Margaret; Husbands, Chris

2009-01-01

To describe how funds were pooled or otherwise jointly managed by National Health Service (NHS) primary care trusts and local authorities in England. To compare expenditure on local children's services by health, education and social services. We conducted a questionnaire survey of all 35 children's trust pathfinders, six months after they were launched, with a follow-up at 2.5 years. We also undertook an in-depth analysis of local authorities and primary care trusts, within eight pathfinder areas and three non-pathfinder areas, whereby we compared expenditure on children's services, interviewed managers and professionals and examined financial documents. Local authorities and NHS trusts coordinated expenditure in various ways, most commonly through informal agreements and aligning budgets but also by formally pooling budgets. The latter were usually for selected services such as child and adolescent mental health services, though four children's trusts pathfinders pooled (or aligned) their budgets for all children's services. Total expenditure per child was greatest for education, lowest for social services and intermediate for health. However, it was difficult to quantify education expenditure on children with health and social care needs, and health care expenditure on children. Sharing money for local children's services requires shared objectives, trust, and legal and accounting expertise. Several different mechanisms are permitted and many are feasible but programme budgeting for children's services could make them more effective.

Charge Management in LISA Pathfinder: The Continuous Discharging Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Ewing, Becca Elizabeth

2018-01-01

Test mass charging is a significant source of excess force and force noise in LISA Pathfinder (LPF). The planned design scheme for mitigation of charge induced force noise in LISA is a continuous discharge by UV light illumination. We report on analysis of a charge management experiment on-board LPF conducted during December 2016. We discuss the measurement of test mass charging noise with and without continuous UV illumination, in addition to the dynamic response in the continuous discharge scheme. Results of the continuous discharge system will be discussed for their application to operating LISA with lower test mass charge.

Fuel assemblies for nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leclercg, J.

1985-01-01

Improvements to guide tubes for the fuel assemblies of light water nuclear reactors, said assemblies being immersed in operation in the cooling water of the core of such a reactor, the guide tubes being of the type made from zircaloy and fixed at their two ends respectively to an upper end part and a lower end part made from stainless steel or Irconel and which incorporate devices for braking the fall of the control rods which they house during the rapid shutdown of the reactor, wherein the said braking devices are constituted by means for restricting the diameter of the guide tubes comprising for each guide tube a zircaloy inner sleeve spot welded to the said guide tube and whose internal diameter permits the passage, with a calibrated clearance, of the corresponding control rod, the sleeve being distributed over the lower portion of each guide tube and associated with orifices made in the actual guide tubes to produce the progressive hydraulic absorption of the end of the fall of the control rods

Proceedings on the Second Autumn School on Reactor Physics EROEFI II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Racz, A [ed.

1996-12-31

The main topics of the Reactor Physics School were neutron and reactor physical calculations, reactor safety, systems theory, simulation of accidents, reactor monitoring system, computer codes and procedures for solving specific problems in the field of nuclear reactors (especially safety). A special attention was paid to the AGNES project. Papers falling in the INIS scope have been abstracted and indexed individually for the INIS database. (K.A.).

Proceedings on the Second Autumn School on Reactor Physics EROEFI II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Racz, A.

1995-01-01

The main topics of the Reactor Physics School were neutron and reactor physical calculations, reactor safety, systems theory, simulation of accidents, reactor monitoring system, computer codes and procedures for solving specific problems in the field of nuclear reactors (especially safety). A special attention was paid to the AGNES project. Papers falling in the INIS scope have been abstracted and indexed individually for the INIS database. (K.A.)

Establishment of the Avera Twin Register in the Midwest USA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kittelsrud, Julie; Ehli, Erik A; Petersen, Vikki; Jung, Tammy; Willemsen, Gonneke; Boomsma, Dorret; Davies, Gareth E

2017-01-01

The Avera Twin Register (ATR) aims to study environmental and genetic influences on health and disease using a longitudinal repository of biological specimens, survey data, and health information provided by multiples and their family members. The ATR is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which

Analysis of entry accelerometer data: A case study of Mars Pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Withers, Paul; Towner, M. C.; Hathi, B.; Zarnecki, J. C.

2003-08-01

Accelerometers are regularly flown on atmosphere-entering spacecraft. Using their measurements, the spacecraft trajectory and the vertical structure of density, pressure, and temperature in the atmosphere through which it descends can be calculated. We review the general procedures for trajectory and atmospheric structure reconstruction and outline them here in detail. We discuss which physical properties are important in atmospheric entry, instead of working exclusively with the dimensionless numbers of fluid dynamics. Integration of the equations of motion governing the spacecraft trajectory is carried out in a novel and general formulation. This does not require an axisymmetric gravitational field or many of the other assumptions that are present in the literature. We discuss four techniques - head-on, drag-only, acceleration ratios, and gyroscopes - for constraining spacecraft attitude, which is the critical issue in the trajectory reconstruction. The head-on technique uses an approximate magnitude and direction for the aerodynamic acceleration, whereas the drag-only technique uses the correct magnitude and an approximate direction. The acceleration ratios technique uses the correct magnitude and an indirect way of finding the correct direction and the gyroscopes technique uses the correct magnitude and a direct way of finding the correct direction. The head-on and drag-only techniques are easy to implement and require little additional information. The acceleration ratios technique requires extensive and expensive aerodynamic modelling. The gyroscopes technique requires additional onboard instrumentation. The effects of errors are briefly addressed. Our implementations of these trajectory reconstruction procedures have been verified on the Mars Pathfinder dataset. We find inconsistencies within the published work of the Pathfinder science team, and in the PDS archive itself, relating to the entry state of the spacecraft. Our atmospheric structure

Effective pathfinding for four-wheeled robot based on combining Theta* and hybrid A* algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Віталій Геннадійович Михалько

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Effective pathfinding algorithm based on Theta* and Hybrid A* algorithms was developed for four-wheeled robot. Pseudocode for algorithm was showed and explained. Algorithm and simulator for four-wheeled robot were implemented using Java programming language. Algorithm was tested on U-obstacles, complex maps and for parking problem

Review of fast reactor activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

A description of some highlights of the activities performed by the Commission of the European Communities in the field of fast reactors is given. They fall into two categories: coordinating and harmonizing activities and research activities. The former are essentially performed in the frame of the Fast Reactor Coordinating Committee (FRCC), the latter in the Commission's Joint Research Center and to some extent under contract in research centers of the Member States

Studies of microstructured falling film reactor using Eddy diffusivity concepts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cantu-Perez, A.; Al-Rawashdeh, M.I.M.; Hessel, V.; Gavriilidis, A.

2012-01-01

Introduction. This work introduces a model for the absorption of CO2 in a falling film microreactor that incorporates staggered herringbone structures. The effect of the herringbone structures was incorporated into the model via a position dependent eddy diffusivity obtained from turbulent theory

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) from AVHRR Pathfinder, Version 5.2

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.2 Sea Surface Temperature data set (PFV52) is a collection of global, twice-daily 4km sea surface temperature data produced in a...

Empowering Middle School Teachers with Portable Computers.

Science.gov (United States)

Weast, Jerry D.; And Others

1993-01-01

A Sioux Falls (South Dakota) project that supplied middle school teachers with Macintosh computers and training to use them showed gratifying results. Easy access to portable notebook computers made teachers more active computer users, increased teacher interaction and collaboration, enhanced teacher productivity regarding management tasks and…

A measurement of the absolute energy spectra of galactic cosmic rays during the 1976-77 solar minimum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Derrickson, J H; Parnell, T A; Austin, R W; Selig, W J [National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, AL (United States). George C. Marshall Space Flight Center; Gregory, J C [Alabama Univ., Huntsville, AL (United States)

1992-07-01

An instrument designed to measure elemental cosmic ray abundances from boron to nickel in the energy region 0.5-2.0 GeV nucl[sup -1] was flown on a high altitude balloon from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on 30 September through 1 October 1976 at an average atmospheric depth of [approx]5 g cm[sup -2]. Differential energy spectra of B, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si and Fe, extrapolated to the top of the atmosphere, were measured. The float altitude exposure of 17 h ended near Alpena, Michigan. The flight trajectory maintained a north easterly heading out of Sioux Falls traversing the upper mid-west region between 84[sup o] and 97[sup o] west longitude while remaining between 43.5[sup o] and 45[sup o] north latitude. The maximum vertical cut-off for this flight path was 1.77 GV or 0.35 GeV nucl[sup -1]. (author).

The LISA Pathfinder interferometry-hardware and system testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Audley, H; Danzmann, K; MarIn, A Garcia; Heinzel, G; Monsky, A; Nofrarias, M; Steier, F; Bogenstahl, J [Albert-Einstein-Institut, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik und Universitaet Hannover, 30167 Hannover (Germany); Gerardi, D; Gerndt, R; Hechenblaikner, G; Johann, U; Luetzow-Wentzky, P; Wand, V [EADS Astrium GmbH, Friedrichshafen (Germany); Antonucci, F [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Trento and INFN, Gruppo Collegato di Trento, 38050 Povo, Trento (Italy); Armano, M [European Space Astronomy Centre, European Space Agency, Villanueva de la Canada, 28692 Madrid (Spain); Auger, G; Binetruy, P [APC UMR7164, Universite Paris Diderot, Paris (France); Benedetti, M [Dipartimento di Ingegneria dei Materiali e Tecnologie Industriali, Universita di Trento and INFN, Gruppo Collegato di Trento, Mesiano, Trento (Italy); Boatella, C, E-mail: antonio.garcia@aei.mpg.de [CNES, DCT/AQ/EC, 18 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse, Cedex 9 (France)

2011-05-07

Preparations for the LISA Pathfinder mission have reached an exciting stage. Tests of the engineering model (EM) of the optical metrology system have recently been completed at the Albert Einstein Institute, Hannover, and flight model tests are now underway. Significantly, they represent the first complete integration and testing of the space-qualified hardware and are the first tests on an optical system level. The results and test procedures of these campaigns will be utilized directly in the ground-based flight hardware tests, and subsequently during in-flight operations. In addition, they allow valuable testing of the data analysis methods using the MATLAB-based LTP data analysis toolbox. This paper presents an overview of the results from the EM test campaign that was successfully completed in December 2009.

Experimental studies of U-Pu-Zr fast reactor fuel pins in EBR-II [Experimental Breeder Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pahl, R.G.; Porter, D.L.; Lahm, C.E.; Hofman, G.L.

1988-01-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is a generic reactor concept under development by Argonne National Laboratory. Much of the technology for the IFR is being demonstrated at the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) on the Department of Energy site near Idaho Falls, Idaho. The IFR concept relies on four technical features to achieve breakthroughs in nuclear power economics and safety: (1) a pool-type reactor configuration, (2) liquid sodium cooling, (3) metallic fuel, and (4) an integral fuel cycle with on-site reprocessing. The purpose of this paper will be to summarize our latest results of irradiation testing uranium-plutonium-zirconium (U-Pu-Zr) fuel in the EBR-II. 10 refs., 13 figs., 2 tabs

Modeling of continuous withdrawal and falling out of CPS control rods accident, using QUABOX/CUBBOX-HYCA code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bubelis, E.; Pabarcius, R.; Tonkunas, A.

2003-01-01

At present, at the Ignalina NPP the process of a wider use of the new uranium-erbium fuel of higher saturation and the manual control rods of new design is going on. These actions are directed to reducing the reactor control and protection system (CPS) cooling circuit voiding effect and to improving the technical and economical reactor operation parameters. Continuous withdrawal and falling out of CPS control rods lead to the reactivity and power changes in the reactor core. Therefore, important for safety is the evaluation of the CPS ability to compensate for the resulting excess reactivity in the reactor core, having the changed core loading conditions during such accidents. This article presents the calculation results of the continuous withdrawal and falling out of CPS control rods for the specific reactor core conditions of the Ignalina NPP Unit 2, i.e. during its operation on the maximum allowed power level of 4200 MW. The German code QUABOX/CUBBOX-HYCA with the improved CPS logic was used for the simulation of the above-mentioned transients. (author)

Monitoring circuit for reactor safety systems

Science.gov (United States)

Keefe, Donald J.

1976-01-01

The ratio between the output signals of a pair of reactor safety channels is monitored. When ratio falls outside of a predetermined range, it indicates that one or more of the safety channels has malfunctioned.

Modelling of a falling sludge bed reactor using AQUASIM

African Journals Online (AJOL)

drinie

2001-10-04

Oct 4, 2001 ... products are then used for the biological treatment of acid mine drainage. A mathematical ... solid matter into three valleys inside the reactor, as opposed to an ... conversion of PSS in the presence of sulphate-reducing bacteria ... indicate substrate flow (stoichiometrically) in the form of COD ..... fermentation.

Modeling and Optimizing of Producing Recycled PET from Fabrics Waste via Falling Film-Rotating Disk Combined Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Qin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Recycling and reusing of poly (ethylene terephthalate (PET fabrics waste are essential for reducing serious waste of resources and environmental pollution caused by low utilization rate. The liquid-phase polymerization method has advantages of short process flow, low energy consumption, and low production cost. However, unlike prepolymer, the material characteristics of PET fabrics waste (complex composition, high intrinsic viscosity, and large quality fluctuations make its recycling a technique challenge. In this study, the falling film-rotating disk combined reactor is proposed, and the continuous liquid-phase polymerization is modeled by optimizing and correcting existing models for the final stage of PET polymerization to improve the product quality in plant production. Through modeling and simulation, the weight analysis of indexes closely related to the product quality (intrinsic viscosity, carboxyl end group concentration, and diethylene glycol content was investigated to optimize the production process in order to obtain the desired polymer properties and meet specific product material characteristics. The model could be applied to other PET wastes (e.g., bottles and films and extended to investigate different aspects of the recycling process.

Model Checking JAVA Programs Using Java Pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Havelund, Klaus; Pressburger, Thomas

2000-01-01

This paper describes a translator called JAVA PATHFINDER from JAVA to PROMELA, the "programming language" of the SPIN model checker. The purpose is to establish a framework for verification and debugging of JAVA programs based on model checking. This work should be seen in a broader attempt to make formal methods applicable "in the loop" of programming within NASA's areas such as space, aviation, and robotics. Our main goal is to create automated formal methods such that programmers themselves can apply these in their daily work (in the loop) without the need for specialists to manually reformulate a program into a different notation in order to analyze the program. This work is a continuation of an effort to formally verify, using SPIN, a multi-threaded operating system programmed in Lisp for the Deep-Space 1 spacecraft, and of previous work in applying existing model checkers and theorem provers to real applications.

Liquid metal cooled fast breeder nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, S.

1976-01-01

Reference is made to liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactors of the 'pool' kind. In this type of reactor the irradiated fuel is lowered into a transfer rotor for removal to storage facilities, this rotor normally having provision for the temporary storage of 20 irradiated fuel assemblies, each within a stainless steel bucket. For insertion or withdrawal of a fuel assembly the rotor is rotated to bring the fuel assembly to a loading or discharging station. The irradiated fuel assembly is withdrawn from the rotor within its bucket and the total weight is approximately 1000 kg, which is lifted about 27 m. In the event of malfunction the combination falls back into the rotor with considerable force. In order to prevent damage to the rotor fracture pins are provided, and to prevent damage to the reactor vessel and other parts of the reactor structure deformable energy absorbing devices are provided. After a malfunction the fractured pins and the energy absorbing devices must be replaced by remote control means operated from outside the reactor vault - a complex operation. The object of the arrangement described is to provide improved energy absorbing means for fuel assemblies falling into a fuel transfer rotor. The fuel assemblies are supported in the rotor by elastic means during transfer to storage and a hydraulic dash pot is provided in at least one position below the rotor for absorbing the energy of a falling fuel assembly. It is preferable to provide dash pots immediately below a receiving station for irradiated fuel assemblies and immediately below a discharge station. Each bucket is carried in a container that is elastically supported in the transfer rotor on a helical coil compression spring, so that, in the event of a malfunction the container and bucket are returned to their normal operating position after the force of the falling load has been absorbed by the dash pot. The transfer rotor may also be provided with recoil springs to absorb the recoil energy

The Australian SKA Pathfinder: operations management and user engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey-Smith, Lisa

2016-07-01

This paper describes the science operations model for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. ASKAP is a radio interferometer currently being commissioned in Western Australia. It will be operated by a dedicated team of observatory staff with the support of telescope monitoring, control and scheduling software. These tools, as well as the proposal tools and data archive will enable the telescope to operate with little direct input from the astronomy user. The paper also discusses how close engagement with the telescope user community has been maintained throughout the ASKAP construction and commissioning phase, leading to positive outcomes including early input into the design of telescope systems and a vibrant early science program.

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Cloud Properties from AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres - Extended (PATMOS-x), Version 5.3

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of cloud products was produced by the University of Wisconsin using the AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres - Extended (PATMOS-X)...

4 km NODC/RSMAS AVHRR Pathfinder Cloud Screened Version 5.0 Monthly Climatologies (1985-2006) (NODC Accession 0110657)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains a global, 4km monthly sea surface temperature climatology derived from harmonic analysis of the AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 sea surface...

Degradation of nicotine in water solutions using a water falling film DBD plasma reactor: direct and indirect treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Krupež, Jelena; Kovačević, Vesna V.; Jović, Milica; Roglić, Goran M.; Natić, Maja M.; Kuraica, Milorad M.; Obradović, Bratislav M.; Dojčinović, Biljana P.

2018-05-01

Nicotine degradation efficiency in water solutions was studied using a water falling film dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. Two different treatments were applied: direct treatment, the recirculation of the solution through a DBD reactor, and indirect treatment, the bubbling of the gas from the DBD through the porous filter into the solution. In a separate experiment, samples spiked with nicotine in double distilled water (ddH2O) and tap water were studied and compared after both treatments. Furthermore, the effects of the homogeneous catalysts, namely, Fe2+ and H2O2, were tested in the direct treatment. Nicotine degradation efficiency was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. A degradation efficiency of 90% was achieved after the direct treatment catalyzed with Fe2+. In order to analyze the biodegradability, mineralization level, and toxicity of the obtained solutions, after all degradation procedures the values of the following parameters were determined: total organic carbon, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, and the Artemia salina toxicity test. The results showed that an increase in biodegradability was obtained, after all treatments. A partial nicotine mineralization was achieved and the mortality of the A. salina organism decreased in the treated samples, all of which indicating the effective removal of nicotine and the creation of less toxic solutions. Nicotine degradation products were identified using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a linear ion trap Orbitrap hybrid mass spectrometer and a simple mechanism for oxidative degradation of nicotine in non-thermal plasma systems is proposed.

AVHRR Pathfinder version 5.3 level 3 collated (L3C) global 4km sea surface temperature

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.3 (PFV53) L3C Sea Surface Temperature data set is a collection of global, twice-daily (Day and Night) 4km sea surface temperature...

Monitoring circuit for reactor safety systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keefe, D.J.

1976-01-01

The ratio between the output signals of a pair of reactor safety channels is monitored. When ratio falls outside of a predetermined range, it indicates that one or more of the safety channels has malfunctioned. 3 claims, 2 figures

Steam explosions in light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

The report deals with a postulated accident caused by molten fuel falling into the lower plenum of the containment of a reactor. The analysis which is presented in the report shows that the thermal energy released in the resulting steam explosion is not enough to destroy the pressure vessel or the containment. The report was prepared for the Swedish Governmental Committee on steam explosion in light water reactors. It includes statements issued by internationally well-known specialists. (G.B.)

LWR type reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Kiyoshi.

1993-01-01

A water injection tank in an emergency reactor core cooling system is disposed at a position above a reactor pressure vessel. A liquid phase portion of the water injection tank and an inlet plenum portion in the reactor pressure vessel are connected by a water injection pipe. A gas phase portion of the water injection tank and an upper portion in the reactor pressure vessel are connected by a gas ventilation pipe. Hydraulic operation valves are disposed in the midway of the water injection pipe and the gas ventilation pipe respectively. A pressure conduit is disposed for connecting a discharge port of a main recycling pump and the hydraulic operation valve. In a case where primary coolants are not sent to the main recycling pump by lowering of a liquid level due to loss of coolants or in a case where the main recycling pump is stopped by electric power stoppage or occurrence of troubles, the discharge pressure of the main recycling pump is lowered. Then, the hydraulic operation valve is opened to release the flow channel, then, boric acid water in the water injection tank is sent into the reactor by a falling head, to lead the reactor to a scram state. (I.N.)

Reactor container spray device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanai, Ryoichi.

1980-01-01

Purpose: To enable decrease in the heat and the concentration of radioactive iodine released from the reactor vessel into the reactor container in the spray device of BWR type reactors. Constitution: A plurality of water receiving trays are disposed below the spray nozzle in the dry well and communicated to a pressure suppression chamber by way of drain pipeways passing through a diaphragm floor. When the recycling system is ruptured and coolants in the reactor vessel and radioactive iodine in the reactor core are released into the dry well, spray water is discharged from the spray nozzle to eliminate the heat and the radioactive iodine in the dry well. In this case, the receiving trays collect the portions of spray water whose absorption power for the heat and radioactive iodine is nearly saturated and falls them into the pool water of the pressure suppression chamber. Consequently, other portions of the spray water that still possess absorption power can be jetted with no hindrance, to increase the efficiency for the removal of the heat and iodine of the spray droplets. (Horiuchi, T.)

Nuclear reactor container

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishiyama, Takenori.

1989-01-01

This invention concerns a nuclear reactor container in which heat is removed from a container by external water injection. Heat is removed from the container by immersing the lower portion of the container into water and scattering spary water from above. Thus, the container can be cooled by the spray water falling down along the outer wall of the container to condensate and cool vapors filled in the container upon occurrence of accidents. Further, since the inside of the container can be cooled also during usual operation, it can also serve as a dry well cooler. Accordingly, heat is removed from the reactor container upon occurrence of accidents by the automatic operation of a spray device corresponding to the change of the internal temperature and the pressure in the reactor container. Further, since all of these devices are disposed out of container, maintenance is also facilitated. (I.S.)

Degradation of benzodiazepines using water falling film dielectric barrier discharge reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radulović Vesna M.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Classical methods of wastewater treatment are often not suitable for the treatment of pharmaceutical waste. The previous studies have shown that the use of the advanced oxidation procedures (AOP can lead to a more efficient degradation of various biologically active compounds, which are active pharmaceutical ingredients of applied drugs. The aim of this paper is the application of the plasma technology on the degradation of a two active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs, diazepam and alprazolam and the finished products (Bensedin® and Ksalol® using the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD reactor for AOP. We studied the degradation rate of these pharmaceuticals, depending on the number of passes through the reactor. This degradation method was efficient 61 % for diazepam and 95 % alprazolam. We also examined the influence of the pH adjustment between the passes of APIs through the DBD reactor. The degradation rate of APIs and the finished products was monitored by the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC technique, using a photodiode array detector. The concentration of the dissolved ozone was determined using the iodometric procedure. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 172030

In-orbit performance of the LISA Pathfinder drag-free and attitude control system

Science.gov (United States)

Schleicher, A.; Ziegler, T.; Schubert, R.; Brandt, N.; Bergner, P.; Johann, U.; Fichter, W.; Grzymisch, J.

2018-04-01

LISA Pathfinder is a technology demonstrator mission that was funded by the European Space Agency and that was launched on December 3, 2015. LISA Pathfinder has been conducting experiments to demonstrate key technologies for the gravitational wave observatory LISA in its operational orbit at the L1 Lagrange point of the Earth-Sun system until final switch off on July 18, 2017. These key technologies include the inertial sensors, the optical metrology system, a set of µ-propulsion cold gas thrusters and in particular the high performance drag-free and attitude control system (DFACS) that controls the spacecraft in 15 degrees of freedom during its science phase. The main goal of the DFACS is to shield the two test masses inside the inertial sensors from all external disturbances to achieve a residual differential acceleration between the two test masses of less than 3 × 10-14 m/s2/√Hz over the frequency bandwidth of 1-30 mHz. This paper focuses on two important aspects of the DFACS that has been in use on LISA Pathfinder: the DFACS Accelerometer mode and the main DFACS Science mode. The Accelerometer mode is used to capture the test masses after release into free flight from the mechanical grabbing mechanism. The main DFACS Science Mode is used for the actual drag-free science operation. The DFACS control system has very strong interfaces with the LISA Technology Package payload which is a key aspect to master the design, development, and analysis of the DFACS. Linear as well as non-linear control methods are applied. The paper provides pre-flight predictions for the performance of both control modes and compares these predictions to the performance that is currently achieved in-orbit. Some results are also discussed for the mode transitions up to science mode, but the focus of the paper is on the Accelerometer mode performance and on the performance of the Science mode in steady state. Based on the achieved results, some lessons learnt are formulated to extend

Radioactive fall-out in Norway after the Chernobyl accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skjerve, Eystein [Dept. of Food Hygiene, Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine (Norway)

1986-07-01

During the fall-out from the atmosphere during the fifties and sixties, a system of local control of radioactive contamination of food was built up. (LORACON - LOcal RAdioactivity COntrol). The different Meat and Food Inspection Services were equipped with Geiger Mueller instruments. The system was in operation until late seventies. From 1977 there was no testing and calibration of the instruments. The development towards a reduction of the state of readiness was accelerated when the Norwegian Parliament decided that Norway should not establish any nuclear power plants (1979). Only the universities and special institutions as the National Institute of Radiation Hygiene and the Institute for Energy Technique were still able to analyse on radioactive isotopes. The confusion about how much radioactive fall-out from the Chernobyl reactor accident Norway received lasted for some weeks in Norway. Partially, this was due to the lack of instruments, but also many experts rejected the idea that an accident so far away might cause these amounts of fall-out consisted of Iodine and Cesium. The fall-out followed a very irregular pattern both nationally and locally with the mountain areas in Middle Norway most affected.

Radioactive fall-out in Norway after the Chernobyl accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skjerve, Eystein

1986-01-01

During the fall-out from the atmosphere during the fifties and sixties, a system of local control of radioactive contamination of food was built up. (LORACON - LOcal RAdioactivity COntrol). The different Meat and Food Inspection Services were equipped with Geiger Mueller instruments. The system was in operation until late seventies. From 1977 there was no testing and calibration of the instruments. The development towards a reduction of the state of readiness was accelerated when the Norwegian Parliament decided that Norway should not establish any nuclear power plants (1979). Only the universities and special institutions as the National Institute of Radiation Hygiene and the Institute for Energy Technique were still able to analyse on radioactive isotopes. The confusion about how much radioactive fall-out from the Chernobyl reactor accident Norway received lasted for some weeks in Norway. Partially, this was due to the lack of instruments, but also many experts rejected the idea that an accident so far away might cause these amounts of fall-out consisted of Iodine and Cesium. The fall-out followed a very irregular pattern both nationally and locally with the mountain areas in Middle Norway most affected

Experimental and numerical study of the mars pathfinder vehicle; Etude experimentale et numerique sur le mars pathfinder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bur, R.; Benay, R.; Chanetz, B.; Galli, A.; Pot, T. [Office National d' Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales (ONERA), Dept. Fundamental and Experimental Aerodynamics, 92 - Chatillon (France); Hollis, B.; Moss, J. [Aerothermodynamics Branch, NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, Virginia (United States)

2002-07-01

An experimental and numerical study on the Mars Pathfinder aero-shell vehicle has been carried out in the framework of an agreement between ONERA and NASA. The experimental work was performed in the ONERA R5Ch hypersonic wind tunnel. Flow-field visualizations and heat-flux measurements along the model have been obtained. Numerical simulations have been performed at ONERA with the RANS solver NASCA and at NASA with a DSMC code. The flow-field structure is correctly reproduced by both computations. The location of the bow shock is well predicted, as well as the expansion waves emanating from the end of the fore-body cone. Both computations also predict the same extension of the separation bubble in the base flow region of the model. Measured and calculated heat-flux distributions along the model have been compared. Both computations give similar results, excepted on the prediction of the heat-flux level on the after-body cone. But computations over-predict the measured heat-flux values on the fore-body and the sting of the model: the value of the stagnation point is overestimated of 28% and the averaged sting level of 35%. (authors)

AGU Pathfinder: Career and Professional Development Resources for Earth and Space Scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Harwell, D. E.; Asher, P. M.; Hankin, E. R.; Janick, N. G.; Marasco, L.

2017-12-01

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is committed to inspiring and educating present and future generations of diverse, innovative, and creative Earth and space scientists. To meet our commitment, AGU provides career and educational resources, webinars, mentoring, and support for students and professionals at each level of development to reduce barriers to achievement and to promote professional advancement. AGU is also working with other organizations and educational institutions to collaborate on projects benefiting the greater geoscience community. The presentation will include an overview of current Pathfinder efforts, collaborative efforts, and an appeal for additional partnerships.

Bayesian statistics for the calibration of the LISA Pathfinder experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armano, M; Freschi, M; Audley, H; Born, M; Danzmann, K; Diepholz, I; Auger, G; Binetruy, P; Bortoluzzi, D; Brandt, N; Fitzsimons, E; Bursi, A; Caleno, M; Cavalleri, A; Cesarini, A; Dolesi, R; Ferroni, V; Cruise, M; Dunbar, N; Ferraioli, L

2015-01-01

The main goal of LISA Pathfinder (LPF) mission is to estimate the acceleration noise models of the overall LISA Technology Package (LTP) experiment on-board. This will be of crucial importance for the future space-based Gravitational-Wave (GW) detectors, like eLISA. Here, we present the Bayesian analysis framework to process the planned system identification experiments designed for that purpose. In particular, we focus on the analysis strategies to predict the accuracy of the parameters that describe the system in all degrees of freedom. The data sets were generated during the latest operational simulations organised by the data analysis team and this work is part of the LTPDA Matlab toolbox. (paper)

Standard technical specifications for Westinghouse pressurized water reactors (revision issued Fall 1981). Technical report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Virgilio, M.J.

1981-11-01

The Standard Technical Specifications for Westinghouse Pressurized Water Reactors (W-STS) is a generic document prepared by the U.S. NRC for use in the licensing process of current Westinghouse Pressurized Water Reactors. The W-STS sets forth the Limits, Operating Conditions and other requirements applicable to nuclear reactor facility operation as set forth in Section 50.36 of 10 CFR Part 50 for the protection of the health and safety of the public

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Reflectance and Brightness Temperatures from AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres - Extended (PATMOS-x), Version 5.3

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of AVHRR reflectance and brightness temperatures was produced by the University of Wisconsin using the AVHRR Pathfinder...

Observations at the Mars Pathfinder site: Do they provide "unequivocal" evidence of catastrophic flooding?

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, M.G.; Kargel, J.S.

1999-01-01

After Mars Pathfinder landed at the mouth of Ares Vallis, a large channel that drains into the Chryse Planitia basin, the mission reports unanimously supported the interpretation that the lander site is the locus of catastrophic flooding by noting that all aspects of the scene are consistent with this interpretation. However, alternatives cannot be ruled out by any site observations, as all aspects of the scene are equally consistent with other interpretations of origin, namely, ice and mass-flow processes subsequently modified by wind erosion. The authors discuss alternative explanations for the geologic history of the channel based on a regional view of the circum-Chryse channels from Viking images (our best broad-scale information to date) and the local view from the recent Pathfinder landing site. Mega-indicators of channel origin, the regional geomorphology, geology, and planetary climatic conditions, taken together suggest some combination of flood, mass flow, glacial, and eolian processes. The macro-indicators of channel origin (sedimentologic) are also not indicative of one process of emplacement, either as single criteria or taken cumulatively. Finally, the micro-indicators of channel origin (geochemical and mineralogic composition) do not provide very tight constraints on the deposits' possible origins other than that water was in some way involved.

Investigation of cascade-type falling liquid-film along first wall of laser-fusion reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunugi, T.; Nakai, T.; Kawara, Z.; Norimatsu, T.; Kozaki, Y.

2008-01-01

To protect the first wall of an inertia fusion reactor from extremely high heat flux, X-rays, alpha particles and fuel debris caused by a nuclear fusion reaction, a 'cascade-type' falling liquid-film flow is proposed as a 'liquid-wall' concept. The flow visualization experiment to investigate the feasibility of this liquid-wall concept has been conducted. The preliminary numerical simulation results suggest that the current cascade structure design should be improved because less thermal-mixing is expected. The cascade-type structure has, therefore, been redesigned. This new cascade-type first wall consists of a liquid reservoir which has a free-surface to maintain a constant water head in the rear, and connects to a slit composed of two plates, i.e., the first wall is connected to a slit which is partially made up of the first wall to begin with it. The numerical simulations were performed on the new cascade-type first wall and they show the stable liquid-film flow on it. Moreover, the POP (proof-of-principle) flow visualization experiments, which satisfy the Weber number coincident condition, are carried out using water as the working fluid. By comparing the numerical and experimental results, it was found that the liquid-film flow with 3-5 mm thickness could be stably established. According to these results for the new cascade-type first wall concept, it was confirmed that the coolant flow rate and the thickness of the liquid-film could be controlled if the Weber number coincident condition was satisfied

Reactors at sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hines, Colin

1988-01-01

The Greenpeace Nuclear Free Seas Campaign is outlined. The campaign aims to bring the environmental hazards from nuclear submarines and naval ships carrying nuclear weapons to public attention. Worldwide there are 544 nuclear reactor ships or submarines each with the potential to meltdown with serious environmental consequences. One meltdown is known to have occurred. Five reactors have been abandoned on the sea bed. Nuclear powered submarines are based at Rosyth, Faslane, Holy Loch, Plymouth and Portsmouth and routinely come into and out of those harbours. There have also been accidents involving nuclear weapons on board submarines, aircraft carriers or destroyers which carry nuclear depth bombs and free fall bombs. The Royal Navy's accident emergency plans for nuclear naval bases are inadequate. There is a threat to the environment when the reactors are decommissioned. There are no clear plans as to how to deal with the decommissioning of the submarines or ships although the fuel rods have been removed from the first British nuclear submarine, Dreadnought. (U.K.)

Steam leak detection in advance reactors via acoustics method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Raj Kumar; Rao, A. Rama

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Steam leak detection system is developed to detect any leak inside the reactor vault. → The technique uses leak noise frequency spectrum for leak detection. → Testing of system and method to locate the leak is also developed and discussed in present paper. - Abstract: Prediction of LOCA (loss of coolant activity) plays very important role in safety of nuclear reactor. Coolant is responsible for heat transfer from fuel bundles. Loss of coolant is an accidental situation which requires immediate shut down of reactor. Fall in system pressure during LOCA is the trip parameter used for initiating automatic reactor shut down. However, in primary heat transport system operating in two phase regimes, detection of small break LOCA is not simple. Due to very slow leak rates, time for the fall of pressure is significantly slow. From reactor safety point of view, it is extremely important to find reliable and effective alternative for detecting slow pressure drop in case of small break LOCA. One such technique is the acoustic signal caused by LOCA in small breaks. In boiling water reactors whose primary heat transport is to be driven by natural circulation, small break LOCA detection is important. For prompt action on post small break LOCA, steam leak detection system is developed to detect any leak inside the reactor vault. The detection technique is reliable and plays a very important role in ensuring safety of the reactor. Methodology developed for steam leak detection is discussed in present paper. The methods to locate the leak is also developed and discussed in present paper which is based on analysis of the signal.

The slewing mirror telescope of the Ultra Fast Flash Observatory Pathfinder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeong, S.; Ahmad, S.; Barrillon, P.

2012-01-01

The Slewing Mirror Telescope (SMT) is a key telescope of Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) space project to explore the first sub-minute or sub-seconds early photons from the Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) afterglows. As the realization of UFFO, 20kg of UFFO-Pathfinder (UFFO-P) is going to be on board...... the Russian Lomonosov satellite in November 2012 by Soyuz-2 rocket. Once the UFFO Burst Alert & Trigger Telescope (UBAT) detects the GRBs, Slewing mirror (SM) will slew to bring new GRB into the SMT’s field of view rather than slewing the entire spacecraft. SMT can give a UV/Optical counterpart position...

Falls following discharge after an in-hospital fall

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kessler Lori A

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Falls are among the most common adverse events reported in hospitalized patients. While there is a growing body of literature on fall prevention in the hospital, the data examining the fall rate and risk factors for falls in the immediate post-hospitalization period has not been well described. The objectives of the present study were to determine the fall rate of in-hospital fallers at home and to explore the risk factors for falls during the immediate post-hospitalization period. Methods We identified patients who sustained a fall on one of 16 medical/surgical nursing units during an inpatient admission to an urban community teaching hospital. After discharge, falls were ascertained using weekly telephone surveillance for 4 weeks post-discharge. Patients were followed until death, loss to follow up or end of study (four weeks. Time spent rehospitalized or institutionalized was censored in rate calculations. Results Of 95 hospitalized patients who fell during recruitment, 65 (68% met inclusion criteria and agreed to participate. These subjects contributed 1498 person-days to the study (mean duration of follow-up = 23 days. Seventy-five percent were African-American and 43% were women. Sixteen patients (25% had multiple falls during hospitalization and 23 patients (35% suffered a fall-related injury during hospitalization. Nineteen patients (29% experienced 38 falls at their homes, yielding a fall rate of 25.4/1,000 person-days (95% CI: 17.3-33.4. Twenty-three patients (35% were readmitted and 3(5% died. One patient experienced a hip fracture. In exploratory univariate analysis, persons who were likely to fall at home were those who sustained multiple falls in the hospital (p = 0.008. Conclusion Patients who fall during hospitalization, especially on more than one occasion, are at high risk for falling at home following hospital discharge. Interventions to reduce falls would be appropriate to test in this high-risk population.

Distributed Mission Operations Within-Simulator Training Effectiveness Baseline Study. Volume 5. Using the Pathfinder Methodology to Assess Pilot Knowledge Structure Changes

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Schreiber, Brian T; DiSalvo, Pam; Stock, William A; Bennett, Jr., Winston

2006-01-01

...) Within Simulator Training Effectiveness Baseline Study as described in Volume I, Summary Report, of AFRL-HE-AZ-TR-2006-0015, the current work examined pilots who participated in a Pathfinder data...

The first mock data challenge for LISA Pathfinder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monsky, A; Hewitson, M; Wanner, G; Nofrarias, M; Diepholz, I; Danzmann, K [Albert-Einstein-Institut, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik und Universitaet Hannover, 30167 Hannover (Germany); Ferraioli, L; Hueller, M; Cavalleri, A; Ciani, G; Dolesi, R [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Trento and INFN, Gruppo Collegato di Trento, 38050 Povo, Trento (Italy); Grynagier, A [Institut fuer Flugmechanik und Flugregelung, 70569 Stuttgart (Germany); Armano, M [European Space Agency, ESAC, Villanueva de la Canada, 28692 Madrid (Spain); Benedetti, M [Dipartimento di Ingegneria dei Materiali e Tecnologie Industriali, Universita di Trento and INFN, Gruppo Collegato di Trento, Mesiano, Trento (Italy); Bogenstahl, J [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow (United Kingdom); Bortoluzzi, D; Bosetti, P; Cristofolini, I [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Strutturale, Universita di Trento and INFN, Gruppo Collegato di Trento, Mesiano, Trento (Italy); Brandt, N [Astrium GmbH, 88039 Friedrichshafen (Germany); Cruise, M, E-mail: anneke.monsky@aei.mpg.d [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham (United Kingdom)

2009-05-07

The data analysis of the LISA Technology Package (LTP) will comprise a series of discrete experiments, each focusing on a particular noise measurement or characterization of the instrument in various operating modes. Each of these experiments must be analysed and planned in advance of the mission because the results of a given experiment will have an impact on those that follow. As such, a series of mock data challenges (MDCs) will be developed and carried out with the aim of preparing the analysis tools and optimizing the various planned analyses. The first of these MDCs (MDC1) is a simplified treatment of the dynamics along the axis joining the two test masses onboard LISA Pathfinder. The validation of the dynamical model by predicting the spectra of the interferometer output data is shown, a prediction for the data analysis is calculated and, finally, several simulated interferometer data sets are analysed and calibrated to equivalent out-of-loop test mass acceleration.

Pathfinding the Flight Advanced Stirling Convertor Design with the ASC-E3

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Wayne A.; Wilson, Kyle; Smith, Eddie; Collins, Josh

2012-01-01

The Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) was initially developed by Sunpower, Inc. under contract to NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) as a technology development project. The ASC technology fulfills NASA's need for high efficiency power convertors for future Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS). Early successful technology demonstrations between 2003 to 2005 eventually led to the expansion of the project including the decision in 2006 to use the ASC technology on the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG). Sunpower has delivered 22 ASC convertors of progressively mature designs to date to GRC. Currently, Sunpower with support from GRC, Lockheed Martin Space System Company (LMSSC), and the Department of Energy (DOE) is developing the flight ASC-F in parallel with the ASC-E3 pathfinders. Sunpower will deliver four pairs of ASC-E3 convertors to GRC which will be used for extended operation reliability assessment, independent validation and verification testing, system interaction tests, and to support LMSSC controller verification. The ASC-E3 and -F convertors are being built to the same design and processing documentation and the same product specification. The initial two pairs of ASC-E3 are built before the flight units and will validate design and processing changes prior to implementation on the ASC-F flight convertors. This paper provides a summary on development of the ASC technology and the status of the ASC-E3 build and how they serve the vital pathfinder role ahead of the flight build for ASRG. The ASRG is part of two of the three candidate missions being considered for selection for the Discovery 12 mission.

4 km NODC/RSMAS AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 and 5.1 Monthly Harmonic Climatologies (1982-2008) (NODC Accession 0075098)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains a global, 4km monthly sea surface temperature climatology derived from harmonic analysis of the AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 and 5.1 sea...

4 km NODC/RSMAS AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 and 5.1 Daily Harmonic Climatologies (1982-2008) (NODC Accession 0071181)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains a global, 4km daily sea surface temperature climatology derived from harmonic analysis of the AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 and 5.1 sea...

Women's perspectives on falls and fall prevention during pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Brewin, Dorothy; Naninni, Angela

2014-01-01

Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury in women. During pregnancy, even a minor fall can result in adverse consequences. Evidence to inform effective and developmentally appropriate pregnancy fall prevention programs is lacking. Early research on pregnancy fall prevention suggests that exercise may reduce falls. However, acceptability and effectiveness of pregnancy fall prevention programs are untested. To better understand postpartum women's perspective and preferences on fall prevention strategies during pregnancy to formulate an intervention. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with 31 postpartum women using descriptive qualitative methodology. Discussion of falls during pregnancy and fall prevention strategies was guided by a focus group protocol and enhanced by 1- to 3-minute videos on proposed interventions. Focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using NVivo 10 software. Emerging themes were environmental circumstances and physical changes of pregnancy leading to a fall, prevention strategies, barriers, safety concerns, and marketing a fall prevention program. Wet surfaces and inappropriate footwear commonly contributed to falls. Women preferred direct provider counseling and programs including yoga and Pilates. Fall prevention strategies tailored to pregnant women are needed. Perspectives of postpartum women support fall prevention through provider counseling and individual or supervised exercise programs.

Ascending Midbrain Dopaminergic Axons Require Descending GAD65 Axon Fascicles for Normal Pathfinding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Marcela Garcia-Peña

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The Nigrostriatal pathway (NSP is formed by dopaminergic axons that project from the ventral midbrain to the dorsolateral striatum as part of the medial forebrain bundle. Previous studies have implicated chemotropic proteins in the formation of the NSP during development but little is known of the role of substrate-anchored signals in this process. We observed in mouse and rat embryos that midbrain dopaminergic axons ascend in close apposition to descending GAD65-positive axon bundles throughout their trajectory to the striatum. To test whether such interaction is important for dopaminergic axon pathfinding, we analyzed transgenic mouse embryos in which the GAD65 axon bundle was reduced by the conditional expression of the diphtheria toxin. In these embryos we observed dopaminergic misprojection into the hypothalamic region and abnormal projection in the striatum. In addition, analysis of Robo1/2 and Slit1/2 knockout embryos revealed that the previously described dopaminergic misprojection in these embryos is accompanied by severe alterations in the GAD65 axon scaffold. Additional studies with cultured dopaminergic neurons and whole embryos suggest that NCAM and Robo proteins are involved in the interaction of GAD65 and dopaminergic axons. These results indicate that the fasciculation between descending GAD65 axon bundles and ascending dopaminergic axons is required for the stereotypical NSP formation during brain development and that known guidance cues may determine this projection indirectly by instructing the pathfinding of the axons that are part of the GAD65 axon scaffold.

Distributed Mission Operations Within-Simulator Training Effectiveness Baseline Study. Volume 5. Using the Pathfinder Methodology to Assess Pilot Knowledge Structure Changes

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Schreiber, Brian T; DiSalvo, Pam; Stock, William A; Bennett, Jr., Winston

2006-01-01

... collection methodology both before and after five days of DMO training. The Pathfinder methodology is a qualitative/quantitative method that can be used to assess if the pilots' underlying knowledge structures (i.e...

AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.2 Level 3 Collated (L3C) Global 4km Sea Surface Temperature for 1981-2012

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.2 Sea Surface Temperature data set (PFV52) is a collection of global, twice-daily 4km sea surface temperature data produced in a...

Relationship between subjective fall risk assessment and falls and fall-related fractures in frail elderly people.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimada, Hiroyuki; Suzukawa, Megumi; Ishizaki, Tatsuro; Kobayashi, Kumiko; Kim, Hunkyung; Suzuki, Takao

2011-08-12

Objective measurements can be used to identify people with risks of falls, but many frail elderly adults cannot complete physical performance tests. The study examined the relationship between a subjective risk rating of specific tasks (SRRST) to screen for fall risks and falls and fall-related fractures in frail elderly people. The SRRST was investigated in 5,062 individuals aged 65 years or older who were utilized day-care services. The SRRST comprised 7 dichotomous questions to screen for fall risks during movements and behaviours such as walking, transferring, and wandering. The history of falls and fall-related fractures during the previous year was reported by participants or determined from an interview with the participant's family and care staff. All SRRST items showed significant differences between the participants with and without falls and fall-related fractures. In multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, diseases, and behavioural variables, the SRRST score was independently associated with history of falls and fractures. Odds ratios for those in the high-risk SRRST group (≥ 5 points) compared with the no risk SRRST group (0 point) were 6.15 (p fall, 15.04 (p falls, and 5.05 (p fall-related fractures. The results remained essentially unchanged in subgroup analysis accounting for locomotion status. These results suggest that subjective ratings by care staff can be utilized to determine the risks of falls and fall-related fractures in the frail elderly, however, these preliminary results require confirmation in further prospective research.

The RAVAN CubeSat Mission: A Pathfinder for a New Measurement of Earth's Radiation Budget

Science.gov (United States)

Swartz, W.; Lorentz, S. R.; Huang, P. M.; Smith, A. W.; Deglau, D.; Reynolds, E.; Carvo, J.; Papadakis, S.; Wu, D. L.; Wiscombe, W. J.; Dyrud, L. P.

2016-12-01

The Radiometer Assessment using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes (RAVAN) CubeSat is a pathfinder for a constellation to measure the Earth's radiation imbalance (ERI), which is the single most important quantity for predicting the course of climate change over the next century. RAVAN demonstrates a small, accurate radiometer that measures top-of-the-atmosphere Earth-leaving fluxes of total and solar-reflected radiation. Coupled with knowledge of the incoming radiation from the Sun, a constellation of such measurements would aim to determine ERI directly. Our objective with RAVAN is to establish that a compact radiometer that is absolutely calibrated to climate accuracy can be built and operated in space for low cost. The radiometer, hosted on a 3U CubeSat, relies on two key technologies. The first is the use of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) as the radiometer absorber. VACNT forests are some of the blackest materials known and have an extremely flat spectral response over a wide wavelength range. The second key technology is a gallium fixed-point blackbody calibration source, embedded in RAVAN's sensor head contamination cover, that serves as a stable and repeatable reference to track the long-term degradation of the sensor. Absolute calibration is also maintained by regular solar and deep space views. We present the scientific motivation for the NASA-funded mission, design and characterization of the spacecraft, and mission operations concept. Pending a successful launch in fall 2016, we will also present the first results on-orbit. RAVAN will help enable the development of an Earth radiation budget constellation mission that can provide the measurements needed for superior predictions of future climate change.

Pedestrian Pathfinding in Urban Environments: Preliminary Results

Science.gov (United States)

López-Pazos, G.; Balado, J.; Díaz-Vilariño, L.; Arias, P.; Scaioni, M.

2017-12-01

With the rise of urban population, many initiatives are focused upon the smart city concept, in which mobility of citizens arises as one of the main components. Updated and detailed spatial information of outdoor environments is needed to accurate path planning for pedestrians, especially for people with reduced mobility, in which physical barriers should be considered. This work presents a methodology to use point clouds to direct path planning. The starting point is a classified point cloud in which ground elements have been previously classified as roads, sidewalks, crosswalks, curbs and stairs. The remaining points compose the obstacle class. The methodology starts by individualizing ground elements and simplifying them into representative points, which are used as nodes in the graph creation. The region of influence of obstacles is used to refine the graph. Edges of the graph are weighted according to distance between nodes and according to their accessibility for wheelchairs. As a result, we obtain a very accurate graph representing the as-built environment. The methodology has been tested in a couple of real case studies and Dijkstra algorithm was used to pathfinding. The resulting paths represent the optimal according to motor skills and safety.

PEDESTRIAN PATHFINDING IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. López-Pazos

2017-12-01

Full Text Available With the rise of urban population, many initiatives are focused upon the smart city concept, in which mobility of citizens arises as one of the main components. Updated and detailed spatial information of outdoor environments is needed to accurate path planning for pedestrians, especially for people with reduced mobility, in which physical barriers should be considered. This work presents a methodology to use point clouds to direct path planning. The starting point is a classified point cloud in which ground elements have been previously classified as roads, sidewalks, crosswalks, curbs and stairs. The remaining points compose the obstacle class. The methodology starts by individualizing ground elements and simplifying them into representative points, which are used as nodes in the graph creation. The region of influence of obstacles is used to refine the graph. Edges of the graph are weighted according to distance between nodes and according to their accessibility for wheelchairs. As a result, we obtain a very accurate graph representing the as-built environment. The methodology has been tested in a couple of real case studies and Dijkstra algorithm was used to pathfinding. The resulting paths represent the optimal according to motor skills and safety.

Quantitative analysis of LISA pathfinder test-mass noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferraioli, Luigi; Congedo, Giuseppe; Hueller, Mauro; Vitale, Stefano; Hewitson, Martin; Nofrarias, Miquel; Armano, Michele

2011-01-01

LISA Pathfinder (LPF) is a mission aiming to test the critical technology for the forthcoming space-based gravitational-wave detectors. The main scientific objective of the LPF mission is to demonstrate test masses free falling with residual accelerations below 3x10 -14 m s -2 /√(Hz) at 1 mHz. Reaching such an ambitious target will require a significant amount of system optimization and characterization, which will in turn require accurate and quantitative noise analysis procedures. In this paper, we discuss two main problems associated with the analysis of the data from LPF: i) excess noise detection and ii) noise parameter identification. The mission is focused on the low-frequency region ([0.1, 10] mHz) of the available signal spectrum. In such a region, the signal is dominated by the force noise acting on test masses. At the same time, the mission duration is limited to 90 days and typical data segments will be 24 hours in length. Considering those constraints, noise analysis is expected to deal with a limited amount of non-Gaussian data, since the spectrum statistics will be far from Gaussian and the lowest available frequency is limited by the data length. In this paper, we analyze the details of the expected statistics for spectral data and develop two suitable excess noise estimators. One is based on the statistical properties of the integrated spectrum, the other is based on the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The sensitivity of the estimators is discussed theoretically for independent data, then the algorithms are tested on LPF synthetic data. The test on realistic LPF data allows the effect of spectral data correlations on the efficiency of the different noise excess estimators to be highlighted. It also reveals the versatility of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov approach, which can be adapted to provide reasonable results on correlated data from a modified version of the standard equations for the inversion of the test statistic. Closely related to excess noise

Rodded shutdown system for a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golden, M.P.; Govi, A.R.

1978-01-01

A top mounted nuclear reactor diverse rodded shutdown system utilizing gas fed into a pressure bearing bellows region sealed at the upper extremity to an armature is described. The armature is attached to a neutron absorber assembly by a series of shafts and connecting means. The armature is held in an uppermost position by an electromagnet assembly or by pressurized gas in a second embodiment. Deenergizing the electromagnet assembly, or venting the pressurized gas, causes the armature to fall by the force of gravity, thereby lowering the attached absorber assembly into the reactor core

A study on ex-vessel steam explosion for a flooded reactor cavity of reactor scale - 15216

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, S.; Yoon, E.; Kim, Y.; Cho, Y.

2015-01-01

A steam explosion can occur when a molten corium is mixed with a coolant, more volatile liquid. In severe accidents, corium can come into contact with coolant either when it flows to the bottom of the reactor vessel and encounters the reactor coolant, or when it breaches the reactor vessel and flows into the reactor containment. A steam explosion could then threaten the containment structures, such as the reactor vessel or the concrete walls/penetrations of the containment building. This study is to understand the shortcomings of the existing analysis code (TEXAS-V) and to estimate the steam explosion loads on reactor scale and assess the effect of variables, then we compared results and physical phenomena. Sensitivity study of major parameters for initial condition is performed. Variables related to melt corium such as corium temperature, falling velocity and diameter of melt are more important to the ex-vessel steam explosion load and the steam explosion loads are proportional to these variables related to melt corium. Coolant temperature on reactor cavity has a specific area to increase the steam explosion loads. These results will be used to evaluate the steam explosion loads using ROAAM (Risk Oriented Accident Analysis Methodology) and to develop the evaluation methodology of ex-vessel steam explosion. (authors)

4 km NODC/RSMAS AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 and 5.1 5-day Harmonic Climatologies (1982-2008) (NODC Accession 0071182)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains a global, 4km 5-day sea surface temperature climatology derived from harmonic analysis of the AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 and 5.1 sea...

LISA and LISA PathFinder, the endeavour to detect low frequency GWs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Araujo, H [Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BW (United Kingdom); Boatella, C [Institut d' Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici Nexus, Gran Capita 2-4, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Chmeissani, M [Institut de Fisica d' Altes Energies (IFAE), Edifici C, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona) (Spain); Conchillo, A [Institut d' Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici Nexus, Gran Capita 2-4, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Garcia-Berro, E [Institut d' Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici Nexus, Gran Capita 2-4, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Grimani, C [Universita degli Studi di Urbino, and INFN Florence, Istituto di Fisica, Via Santa Chiara 27, 61029 Urbino (Italy); Hajdas, W [Department of Particles and Matter, Paul Scherrer Institut, ODRA 120, 5232 Villigen (Switzerland); Lobo, A [Institut d' Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici Nexus, Gran Capita 2-4, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Martinez, L [AtIpic, Parc Tecnologic del Valles, 08290 Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona (Spain); Nofrarias, M [Institut d' Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici Nexus, Gran Capita 2-4, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Ortega, J A [Institut d' Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici Nexus, Gran Capita 2-4, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Puigdengoles, C [Institut de Fisica d' Altes Energies (IFAE), Edifici C, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona) (Spain); Ramos-Castro, J [Departament d' Enginyeria Electronica, UPC, Campus Nord, Edif. C4, Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Sanjuan, J [Institut d' Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici Nexus, Gran Capita 2-4, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Wass, P [Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BW (United Kingdom); Xirgu, X [Institut d' Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici Nexus, Gran Capita 2-4, 08034 Barcelona (Spain)

2007-05-15

This is a review about LISA and its technology demonstrator, LISAPathFinder. We first describe the conceptual problems which need to be overcome in order to set up a working interferometric detector of low frequency Gravitational Waves (GW), then summarise the solutions to them as currently conceived by the LISA mission team. This will show that some of these solutions require new technological abilities which are still under development, and which need proper test before being fully implemented. LISAPathFinder (LPF) is the the testbed for such technologies. The final part of the paper will address the ideas and concepts behind the PathFinder as well as their impact on LISA.

LISA and LISA PathFinder, the endeavour to detect low frequency GWs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, H; Boatella, C; Chmeissani, M; Conchillo, A; Garcia-Berro, E; Grimani, C; Hajdas, W; Lobo, A; Martinez, L; Nofrarias, M; Ortega, J A; Puigdengoles, C; Ramos-Castro, J; Sanjuan, J; Wass, P; Xirgu, X

2007-01-01

This is a review about LISA and its technology demonstrator, LISAPathFinder. We first describe the conceptual problems which need to be overcome in order to set up a working interferometric detector of low frequency Gravitational Waves (GW), then summarise the solutions to them as currently conceived by the LISA mission team. This will show that some of these solutions require new technological abilities which are still under development, and which need proper test before being fully implemented. LISAPathFinder (LPF) is the the testbed for such technologies. The final part of the paper will address the ideas and concepts behind the PathFinder as well as their impact on LISA

Liquid metal reactor cover gas purification and analysis in the USA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allen, K J [Argonne National Laboratory, EBR-II Division, Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Meadows, G E; Schuck, W J [Westinghouse Hanford Company, Richland, WA (United States)

1987-07-01

Two sodium cooled reactors are currently being operated In the United States of America for the U.S. Department of Energy. These are Experimental Breeder Reactor II, EBR-ll, and the Fast Flux Test Facility, FFTF. EBR-ll is located near Idaho Falls, Idaho and the FFTF is near Rich land, Washington. These reactors are currently engaged In a wide range of testing including fuels and materials tests, and plant system performance and safety development. The U.S. DOE program also includes designs of a next generation sodium cooled power reactor. This paper discusses the efforts to develop and operate cover gas systems for the sodium cooled nuclear reactor program in the USA.

Liquid metal reactor cover gas purification and analysis in the USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, K.J.; Meadows, G.E.; Schuck, W.J.

1987-01-01

Two sodium cooled reactors are currently being operated In the United States of America for the U.S. Department of Energy. These are Experimental Breeder Reactor II, EBR-ll, and the Fast Flux Test Facility, FFTF. EBR-ll is located near Idaho Falls, Idaho and the FFTF is near Rich land, Washington. These reactors are currently engaged In a wide range of testing including fuels and materials tests, and plant system performance and safety development. The U.S. DOE program also includes designs of a next generation sodium cooled power reactor. This paper discusses the efforts to develop and operate cover gas systems for the sodium cooled nuclear reactor program in the USA

Relationship between subjective fall risk assessment and falls and fall-related fractures in frail elderly people

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shimada Hiroyuki

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Objective measurements can be used to identify people with risks of falls, but many frail elderly adults cannot complete physical performance tests. The study examined the relationship between a subjective risk rating of specific tasks (SRRST to screen for fall risks and falls and fall-related fractures in frail elderly people. Methods The SRRST was investigated in 5,062 individuals aged 65 years or older who were utilized day-care services. The SRRST comprised 7 dichotomous questions to screen for fall risks during movements and behaviours such as walking, transferring, and wandering. The history of falls and fall-related fractures during the previous year was reported by participants or determined from an interview with the participant's family and care staff. Results All SRRST items showed significant differences between the participants with and without falls and fall-related fractures. In multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, diseases, and behavioural variables, the SRRST score was independently associated with history of falls and fractures. Odds ratios for those in the high-risk SRRST group (≥ 5 points compared with the no risk SRRST group (0 point were 6.15 (p Conclusion These results suggest that subjective ratings by care staff can be utilized to determine the risks of falls and fall-related fractures in the frail elderly, however, these preliminary results require confirmation in further prospective research.

A Wind Tunnel Study on the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) Lander Descent Pressure Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Soriano, J. Francisco; Coquilla, Rachael V.; Wilson, Gregory R.; Seiff, Alvin; Rivell, Tomas

2001-01-01

The primary focus of this study was to determine the accuracy of the Mars Pathfinder lander local pressure readings in accordance with the actual ambient atmospheric pressures of Mars during parachute descent. In order to obtain good measurements, the plane of the lander pressure sensor opening should ideally be situated so that it is parallel to the freestream. However, due to two unfavorable conditions, the sensor was positioned in locations where correction factors are required. One of these disadvantages is due to the fact that the parachute attachment point rotated the lander's center of gravity forcing the location of the pressure sensor opening to be off tangent to the freestream. The second and most troublesome factor was that the lander descends with slight oscillations that could vary the amplitude of the sensor readings. In order to accurately map the correction factors required at each sensor position, an experiment simulating the lander descent was conducted in the Martian Surface Wind Tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center. Using a 115 scale model at Earth ambient pressures, the test settings provided the necessary Reynolds number conditions in which the actual lander was possibly subjected to during the descent. In the analysis and results of this experiment, the readings from the lander sensor were converted to the form of pressure coefficients. With a contour map of pressure coefficients at each lander oscillatory position, this report will provide a guideline to determine the correction factors required for the Mars Pathfinder lander descent pressure sensor readings.

Patient centered fall risk awareness perspectives: clinical correlates and fall risk

Science.gov (United States)

Verghese, Joe

2016-01-01

Background While objective measures to assess risk of falls in older adults have been established; the value of patient self-reports in the context of falls is not known. Objectives To identify clinical correlates of patient centered fall risk awareness, and their validity for predicting falls. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting and Participants 316 non-demented and ambulatory community-dwelling older adults (mean age 78 years, 55% women). Measurements Fall risk awareness was assessed with a two-item questionnaire, which asked participants about overall likelihood and personal risk of falling over the next 12 months. Incident falls were recorded over study follow-up. Results Fifty-three participants (16.8%) responded positively to the first fall risk awareness question about being likely to have a fall in the next 12 months, and 100 (31.6%) reported being at personal risk of falling over the next 12 months. There was only fair correlation (kappa 0.370) between responses on the two questions. Prior falls and depressive symptoms were associated with positive responses on both fall risk awareness questions. Age and other established fall risk factors were not associated with responses on both fall risk awareness questions. The fall risk awareness questionnaire did not predict incident falls or injurious falls. Conclusion Fall risk awareness is low in older adults. While patient centered fall risk awareness is not predictive of falls, subjective risk perceptions should be considered when designing fall preventive strategies as they may influence participation and behaviors. PMID:27801936

Fall-related activity avoidance in relation to a history of falls or near falls, fear of falling and disease severity in people with Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Kader, Manzur; Iwarsson, Susanne; Odin, Per; Nilsson, Maria H

2016-06-02

There is limited knowledge concerning fall-related activity avoidance in people with Parkinson's disease (PD); such knowledge would be of importance for the development of more efficient PD-care and rehabilitation. This study aimed to examine how fall-related activity avoidance relates to a history of self-reported falls/near falls and fear of falling (FOF) as well as to disease severity in people with PD. Data were collected from 251 (61 % men) participants with PD; their median (min-max) age and PD duration were 70 (45-93) and 8 (1-43) years, respectively. A self-administered postal survey preceded a home visit which included observations, clinical tests and interview-administered questionnaires. Fall-related activity avoidance was assessed using the modified Survey of Activities and Fear of Falling in the Elderly (mSAFFE) as well as by using a dichotomous (Yes/No) question. Further dichotomous questions concerned: the presence of FOF and the history (past 6 months) of falls or near falls, followed by stating the number of incidents. Disease severity was assessed according to the Hoehn and Yahr (HY) stages. In the total sample (n = 251), 41 % of the participants reported fall-related activity avoidance; the median mSAFFE score was 22. In relation to a history of fall, the proportions of participants (p fall-related activity avoidance were: non-fallers (30 %), single fallers (50 %) and recurrent fallers, i.e. ≥ 2 falls (57 %). Among those that reported near falls (but no falls), 51 % (26 out of 51) reported fall-related activity avoidance. Of those that reported FOF, 70 % reported fall-related activity avoidance. Fall-related activity avoidance ranged from 24 % in the early PD-stage (HY I) to 74 % in the most severe stages (HY IV-V). Results indicate that fall-related activity avoidance may be related to a history of self-reported falls/near falls, FOF and disease severity in people with PD. Importantly, fall-related activity avoidance is

The 'SURA' fast reactor program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1979-01-01

The Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique's SURA program on fast reactor safety consists of two specific testing programs on fastbreeder reactor safety: the Cabri and Scarabee programs. Both Cabri and Scarabee are examples of multinational research collaboration. The CEA and the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center are each covering half of the construction costs. Britain, the US and Japan are also due to participate in these experiments. The aim of the programs is to examine the behaviour of fuel in sodium cooled fast reactors. The Cabri program consists of setting off a reactivity accident in a power reactor core which is cooled with liquid sodium, such an accident occurring after a sharp increase in reactivity or as a result of the pump suddenly breaking down without there at the same time being any fall in the control rods. In 1967 the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique started its Scarabee research program which is trying to analyse the sort of things that can go wrong with fuel cooling systems and what the consequences can be [fr

Mitigating fall risk: A community fall reduction program.

Science.gov (United States)

Reinoso, Humberto; McCaffrey, Ruth G; Taylor, David W M

One fourth of all American's over 65 years of age fall each year. Falls are a common and often devastating event that can pose a serious health risk for older adults. Healthcare providers are often unable to spend the time required to assist older adults with fall risk issues. Without a team approach to fall prevention the system remains focused on fragmented levels of health promotion and risk prevention. The specific aim of this project was to engage older adults from the community in a fall risk assessment program, using the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries (STEADI) program, and provide feedback on individual participants' risks that participants could share with their primary care physician. Older adults who attended the risk screening were taking medications that are known to increase falls. They mentioned that their health care providers do not screen for falls and appreciated a community based screening. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Person-Centered Fall Risk Awareness Perspectives: Clinical Correlates and Fall Risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Verghese, Joe

2016-12-01

To identify clinical correlates of person-centered fall risk awareness and their validity for predicting falls. Prospective cohort study. Community. Ambulatory community-dwelling older adults without dementia (N = 316; mean age 78, 55% female). Fall risk awareness was assessed using a two-item questionnaire that asked participants about overall likelihood of someone in their age group having a fall and their own personal risk of falling over the next 12 months. Incident falls were recorded over study follow-up. Fifty-three participants (16.8%) responded positively to the first fall risk awareness question about being likely to have a fall in the next 12 months, and 100 (31.6%) reported being at personal risk of falling over the next 12 months. There was only fair correlation (κ = 0.370) between responses on the two questions. Prior falls and depressive symptoms were associated with positive responses on both fall risk awareness questions. Age and other established fall risk factors were not associated with responses on either fall risk awareness question. The fall risk awareness questionnaire did not predict incident falls or injurious falls. Fall risk awareness is low in older adults. Although person-centered fall risk awareness is not predictive of falls, subjective risk perceptions should be considered when designing fall preventive strategies because they may influence participation and behaviors. © 2016, Copyright the Author Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

Falls and Fear of Falling After Stroke: A Case-Control Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Goh, Hui-Ting; Nadarajah, Mohanasuntharaam; Hamzah, Norhamizan Binti; Varadan, Parimalaganthi; Tan, Maw Pin

2016-12-01

Falls are common after stroke, with potentially serious consequences. Few investigations have included age-matched control participants to directly compare fall characteristics between older adults with and without stroke. Further, fear of falling, a significant psychological consequence of falls, has only been examined to a limited degree as a risk factor for future falls in a stroke population. To compare the fall history between older adults with and without a previous stroke and to identify the determinants of falls and fear of falling in older stroke survivors. Case-control observational study. Primary teaching hospital. Seventy-five patients with stroke (mean age ± standard deviation, 66 ± 7 years) and 50 age-matched control participants with no previous stroke were tested. Fall history, fear of falling, and physical, cognitive, and psychological function were assessed. A χ 2 test was performed to compare characteristics between groups, and logistic regression was performed to determine the risk factors for falls and fear of falling. Fall events in the past 12 months, Fall Efficacy Scale-International, Berg Balance Scale, Functional Ambulation Category, Fatigue Severity Scale, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and Patient Healthy Questionnaire-9 were measured for all participants. Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment was used to quantify severity of stroke motor impairments. Twenty-three patients and 13 control participants reported at least one fall in the past 12 months (P = .58). Nine participants with stroke had recurrent falls (≥2 falls) compared with none of the control participants (P falling than did nonstroke control participants (P falls in the nonstroke group, whereas falls in the stroke group were not significantly associated with any measured outcomes. Fear of falling in the stroke group was associated with functional ambulation level and balance. Functional ambulation level alone explained 22% of variance in fear of falling in the stroke group

Plutonium Discharge Rates and Spent Nuclear Fuel Inventory Estimates for Nuclear Reactors Worldwide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brian K. Castle; Shauna A. Hoiland; Richard A. Rankin; James W. Sterbentz

2012-09-01

This report presents a preliminary survey and analysis of the five primary types of commercial nuclear power reactors currently in use around the world. Plutonium mass discharge rates from the reactors’ spent fuel at reload are estimated based on a simple methodology that is able to use limited reactor burnup and operational characteristics collected from a variety of public domain sources. Selected commercial reactor operating and nuclear core characteristics are also given for each reactor type. In addition to the worldwide commercial reactors survey, a materials test reactor survey was conducted to identify reactors of this type with a significant core power rating. Over 100 material or research reactors with a core power rating >1 MW fall into this category. Fuel characteristics and spent fuel inventories for these material test reactors are also provided herein.

Towards a Framework for Generating Tests to Satisfy Complex Code Coverage in Java Pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Staats, Matt

2009-01-01

We present work on a prototype tool based on the JavaPathfinder (JPF) model checker for automatically generating tests satisfying the MC/DC code coverage criterion. Using the Eclipse IDE, developers and testers can quickly instrument Java source code with JPF annotations covering all MC/DC coverage obligations, and JPF can then be used to automatically generate tests that satisfy these obligations. The prototype extension to JPF enables various tasks useful in automatic test generation to be performed, such as test suite reduction and execution of generated tests.

Fear of falling as seen in the Multidisciplinary falls consultation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaxatte, C; Nguyen, T; Chourabi, F; Salleron, J; Pardessus, V; Delabrière, I; Thévenon, A; Puisieux, F

2011-06-01

Fear of falling may be as debilitating as the fall itself, leading to a restriction in activities and even a loss of autonomy. The main objective was to evaluate the prevalence of the fear of falling among elderly fallers. The secondary objectives were to determine the factors associated with the fear of falling and evaluate the impact of this fear on the activity "getting out of the house". Prospective study conducted between 1995 and 2006 in which fallers and patients at high risk for falling were seen at baseline by the multidisciplinary falls consultation team (including a geriatrician, a neurologist and a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician) and then, again 6 month later, by the same geriatrician. The fear of falling was evaluated with a yes/no question: "are you afraid of falling?". Out of 635 patients with a mean age of 80.6 years, 502 patients (78%) expressed a fear of falling. Patients with fear of falling were not older than those who did not report this fear, but the former were mostly women (Pfear of falling were not going out alone as much as the fearless group (31% vs 53%, Pfearful group admitted to avoiding going out because they were afraid of falling. The strong prevalence of the fear of falling observed in this population and its consequences in terms of restricted activities justifies systematically screening for it in fallers or patients at risk for falling. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Falling and fall risk in adult patients with severe haemophilia.

Science.gov (United States)

Rehm, Hanna; Schmolders, Jan; Koob, Sebastian; Bornemann, Rahel; Goldmann, Georg; Oldenburg, Johannes; Pennekamp, Peter; Strauss, Andreas C

2017-05-10

The objective of this study was to define fall rates and to identify possible fall risk factors in adult patients with severe haemophilia. 147 patients with severe haemophilia A and B were evaluated using a standardized test battery consisting of demographic, medical and clinical variables and fall evaluation. 41 (27.9 %) patients reported a fall in the past 12 months, 22 (53.7 %) of them more than once. Young age, subjective gait insecurity and a higher number of artificial joints seem to be risk factors for falling. Falls seem to be a common phenomenon in patients with severe haemophilia. Fall risk screening and fall prevention should be implemented into daily practice.

Calculation of prefabricated part of WWR-K reactor building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belyashova, N.N.; Aptikaev, F.F.; Kopnichev, Yu.F.

1998-01-01

According of factual characteristics a strength and deformation of over-land part of carrier constructions under construction movement is defined. Direct dynamical calculation of design elements under action of inertial loads from supports shifts shows, that seismic stability of enclosing construction is not ensured. Possibly practically total collapse of coating construction is possibly, under which following levels of damages of internal design constructions of reactor central room have been forecasted: 1. Fall of destroyed design construction on reactor vessel in time moment (1.56-1.59 s) after coming to building of earthquake seismic waves of 10 balls. 2. It is possibly cracks formation in radial direction in lower part of reactor cap, but destroying of cap does not incident; 3. It is possibly cracks formation within stretched concrete zone of reactor construction at the mark from - 0.859 up to 0.100. Destroy of concrete's compressive zone of reactor construction have not being expected. 4. Collapse of reactor first contour coating constructions have not being expected

Present status of inertial confinement fusion reactor design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mima, Kunioki; Ido, Shunji; Nakai, Sadao.

1986-01-01

Since inertial nuclear fusion reactors do not require high vacuum and high magnetic field, the structure of the reactor cavity becomes markedly simple as compared with tokamak type fusion reactors. In particular, since high vacuum is not necessary, liquid metals such as lithium and lead can be used for the first wall, and the damage of reactor structures by neutrons can be prevented. As for the core, the energy efficiency of lasers is not very high, accordingly it must be designed so that the pellet gain due to nuclear fusion becomes sufficiently high, and typically, the gain coefficient from 100 to 200 is necessary. In this paper, the perspective of pellet gain, the plan from the present status to the practical reactors, and the conceptual design of the practical reactors are discussed. The plan of fuel ignition, energy break-even and high gain by the implosion mode, of which the uncertain factor due to uneven irradiation and instability was limited to the minimum, was clarified. The scenario of the development of laser nuclear fusion reactors is presented, and the concept of the reactor system is shown. The various types of nuclear fusion-fission hybrid reactors are explained. As for the design of inertial fusion power reactors, the engineering characteristics of the core, the conceptual design, water fall type reactors and DD fuel reactors are discussed. (Kako, I.)

Liquid metal reactor cover gas purification and analysis in the USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, K.J.; Meadows, G.E.; Schuck, W.J.

1986-09-01

Two sodium cooled reactors are currently being operated in the United States of America for the US Department of Energy. These are Experimental Breeder Reactor 11, EBR-11, and the Fast Flux Test Facility, FFTF. EBR-11 is located near Idaho Falls, Idaho, and the FFTF is near Richland, Washington. These reactors are currently engaged in a wide range of testing including fuels and materials tests, and plant system performance and safety development. The US DOE program also includes designs of a next generation sodium cooled power reactor. The FFTF and EBR-11 communities are providing input to these designs. This paper discusses the efforts to develop and operate cover gas systems for the sodium cooled nuclear reactor program in the USA

The Test Reactor Embrittlement Data Base (TR-EDB)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stallmann, F.W.; Kam, F.B.K.; Wang, J.A.

1993-01-01

The Test Reactor Embrittlement Data Base (TR-EDB) is part of an ongoing program to collect test data from materials irradiations to aid in the research and evaluation of embrittlement prediction models that are used to assure the safety of pressure vessels in power reactors. This program is being funded by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and has resulted in the publication of the Power Reactor Embrittlement Data Base (PR-EDB) whose second version is currently being released. The TR-EDB is a compatible collection of data from experiments in materials test reactors. These data contain information that is not obtainable from surveillance results, especially, about the effects of annealing after irradiation. Other information that is only available from test reactors is the influence of fluence rates and irradiation temperatures on radiation embrittlement. The first version of the TR-EDB will be released in fall of 1993 and contains published results from laboratories in many countries. Data collection will continue and further updates will be published

The Australian SKA Pathfinder: First Science Results

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey-Smith, Lisa

2015-08-01

The Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) is a precursor and technology demonstrator for the Square Kilometre Array.A specialist wide-field survey instrument, ASKAP compises 36 x 12m dish antennas with a maximum separation of 6km. The array operates in the frequency range 700 - 1800 MHz and has an instantaneous bandwidth of 300 MHz. Each dish is mounted with a 'phased array feed', a radio receiver that dramatically enhances the telescope's field-of-view from 1 to 30 square degrees. ASKAP is located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, Australia's core site for the SKA.Ten Science Survey Projects have been established by teams of more than 600 astronomers from around the world. Astronomical research topics tackled by these teams include galaxy evolution, cosmic magnetism, the history of gas in galaxies and cosmology. A program of ASKAP Early Science will commence in late 2015. The 6-antenna Boolardy Engineering Test Array (BETA) is currently being used by the commissioning team and at the time of writing has produced its first scientific discovery paper.In this talk, hear the ASKAP Project Scientist report some of the exciting new capabilities demonstrated by ASKAP and learn about the first scientific discoveries made by the commissioning and early science team.

EUSO-BALLOON a pathfinder for detecting UHECR's from the edge of space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scotti V.

2013-06-01

Full Text Available EUSO-Balloon has been conceived as a pathfinder mission for JEM-EUSO, to perform an end-to-end test of the subsystems and components, and to prove the global detection chain while improving our knowledge of the atmospheric and terrestrial UV background. Through a series of stratospheric balloon flights performed by the French Space Agency CNES, EUSO-BALLOON will serve as an evolutive test-bench for all the key technologies of JEM-EUSO. EUSO-Balloon also has the potential to detect Extensive Air Showers from above, marking a key milestone in the development of UHECR science, and paving the way for any future large scale, space-based UHECR observatory.

Fast-acting nuclear reactor control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotlyar, O.M.; West, P.B.

1993-01-01

A fast-acting nuclear reactor control device is described for controlling a safety control rod within the core of a nuclear reactor, the reactor controlled by a reactor control system, the device comprising: a safety control rod drive shaft and an electromagnetic clutch co-axial with the drive shaft operatively connected to the safety control rod for driving and positioning the safety control rod within or without the reactor core during reactor operation, the safety rod being oriented in a substantially vertical position to allow the rod to fall into the reactor core under the influence of gravity during shutdown of the reactor; the safety control rod drive shaft further operatively connected to a hydraulic pump such that operation of the drive shaft simultaneously drives and positions the safety control rod and operates the hydraulic pump such that a hydraulic fluid is forced into an accumulator, filling the accumulator with oil for the storage and supply of primary potential energy for safety control rod insertion such that the release of potential energy in the accumulator causes hydraulic fluid to flow through the hydraulic pump, converting the hydraulic pump to a hydraulic motor having speed and power capable of full length insertion and high speed driving of the safety control rod into the reactor core; a solenoid valve interposed between the hydraulic pump and the accumulator, said solenoid valve being a normally open valve, actuated to close when the safety control rod is out of the reactor during reactor operation; and further wherein said solenoid opens in response to a signal from the reactor control system calling for shutdown of the reactor and rapid insertion of the safety control rod into the reactor core, such that the opening of the solenoid releases the potential energy in the accumulator to place the safety control rod in a safe shutdown position

18th informal meeting on reactor noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dach, K.

1986-01-01

The proceedings contain the texts of 24 papers all of which fall under the INIS Subject Scope. The main purpose of the meeting of more than 90 scientists and specialists from 18 countries was for them to get acquainted with the current state and prospective development of noise diagnostics application in nuclear reactor operation. (Z.M.)

Optical design considerations for laser fusion reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monsler, M.J.; Maniscalco, J.A.

1977-09-01

The plan for the development of commercial inertial confinement fusion (ICF) power plants is discussed, emphasizing the utilization of the unique features of laser fusion to arrive at conceptual designs for reactors and optical systems which minimize the need for advanced materials and techniques requiring expensive test facilities. A conceptual design for a liquid lithium fall reactor is described which successfully deals with the hostile x-ray and neutron environment and promises to last the 30 year plant lifetime. Schemes for protecting the final focusing optics are described which are both compatible with this reactor system and show promise of surviving a full year in order to minimize costly downtime. Damage mechanisms and protection techniques are discussed, and a recommendation is made for a high f-number metal mirror final focusing system

The falls and the fear of falling among elderly institutionalized

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrícia Almeida

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In the present study it is intended to characterize the history of falls and to evaluate the fear to fall in aged institutionalized. The sample is composed for 113 institutionalized aged people, 32 men and 81 women with a average 82,96 ± 7,03 age of years. The data had been collected by means of a questionnaire and statistical analyzed (descriptive statistics, parametric tests - Test T and Anova - Test U-Mann Whitney, and Test of Kruskal-Wallis – and the Test of Tukey. The results point in the direction of that the women present a bigger number of falls (24.8% and greater fear to fall (Med=55. The falls had occurred in its majority in the context of the room of the institutions. It was verified that people who had at least a fall experience present greater fear to fall comparatively (Med=55 with that they had not the same had no incident of fall in period of time (Med=77. Our results come to strengthen the hypothesis of the changeable sex to be able to be considered a factor of fall risk. Aged that they present a history of falls seems to be more vulnerable to develop the fear to fall.

Falls efficacy, postural balance, and risk for falls in older adults with falls-related emergency department visits: prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pua, Yong-Hao; Ong, Peck-Hoon; Clark, Ross Allan; Matcher, David B; Lim, Edwin Choon-Wyn

2017-12-21

Risk for falls in older adults has been associated with falls efficacy (self-perceived confidence in performing daily physical activities) and postural balance, but available evidence is limited and mixed. We examined the interaction between falls efficacy and postural balance and its association with future falls. We also investigated the association between falls efficacy and gait decline. Falls efficacy, measured by the Modified Falls Efficacy Scale (MFES), and standing postural balance, measured using computerized posturography on a balance board, were obtained from 247 older adults with a falls-related emergency department visit. Six-month prospective fall rate and habitual gait speed at 6 months post baseline assessment were also measured. In multivariable proportional odds analyses adjusted for potential confounders, falls efficacy modified the association between postural balance and fall risk (interaction P = 0.014): increasing falls efficacy accentuated the increased fall risk related to poor postural balance. Low baseline falls efficacy was strongly predictive of worse gait speed (0.11 m/s [0.06 to 0.16] slower gait speed per IQR decrease in MFES; P falls efficacy but poor postural balance were at greater risk for falls than those with low falls efficacy; however, low baseline falls efficacy was strongly associated with worse gait function at follow-up. Further research into these subgroups of older adults is warranted. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01713543 .

Multi-Agent Pathfinding with n Agents on Graphs with n Vertices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Förster, Klaus-Tycho; Groner, Linus; Hoefler, Torsten

2017-01-01

We investigate the multi-agent pathfinding (MAPF) problem with $n$ agents on graphs with $n$ vertices: Each agent has a unique start and goal vertex, with the objective of moving all agents in parallel movements to their goal s.t.~each vertex and each edge may only be used by one agent at a time....... We give a combinatorial classification of all graphs where this problem is solvable in general, including cases where the solvability depends on the initial agent placement. Furthermore, we present an algorithm solving the MAPF problem in our setting, requiring O(n²) rounds, or O(n³) moves...... of individual agents. Complementing these results, we show that there are graphs where Omega(n²) rounds and Omega(n³) moves are required for any algorithm....

A piece of paper falling faster than free fall

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vera, F; Rivera, R

2011-01-01

We report a simple experiment that clearly demonstrates a common error in the explanation of the classic experiment where a small piece of paper is put over a book and the system is let fall. This classic demonstration is used in introductory physics courses to show that after eliminating the friction force with the air, the piece of paper falls with acceleration g. To test if the paper falls behind the book in a nearly free fall motion or if it is dragged by the book, we designed a version of this experiment that includes a ball and a piece of paper over a book that is forced to fall using elastic cords. We recorded a video of our experiment using a high-speed video camera at 300 frames per second that shows that the book and the paper fall faster than the ball, which falls well behind the book with an acceleration approximately equal to g. Our experiment shows that the piece of paper is dragged behind the book and therefore the paper and book demonstration should not be used to show that all objects fall with acceleration g independently of their mass.

A piece of paper falling faster than free fall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vera, F; Rivera, R, E-mail: fvera@ucv.cl [Instituto de Fisica, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de ValparaIso, Av. Universidad 330, Curauma, ValparaIso (Chile)

2011-09-15

We report a simple experiment that clearly demonstrates a common error in the explanation of the classic experiment where a small piece of paper is put over a book and the system is let fall. This classic demonstration is used in introductory physics courses to show that after eliminating the friction force with the air, the piece of paper falls with acceleration g. To test if the paper falls behind the book in a nearly free fall motion or if it is dragged by the book, we designed a version of this experiment that includes a ball and a piece of paper over a book that is forced to fall using elastic cords. We recorded a video of our experiment using a high-speed video camera at 300 frames per second that shows that the book and the paper fall faster than the ball, which falls well behind the book with an acceleration approximately equal to g. Our experiment shows that the piece of paper is dragged behind the book and therefore the paper and book demonstration should not be used to show that all objects fall with acceleration g independently of their mass.

Filtra-MVSS mitigates the consequences of a severe reactor accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindau, L.; Gustavsson, L.; Elisson, K.

1989-01-01

The purpose of the filter system, known as Filtra-MVSS (for Multi-Venturi Scrubber System) is to provide pressure relief for the reactor containment and to limit radioactive releases in the event of a reactor accident, thereby largely preventing local radioactive fall-out. To this end the pressure is reduced in a controlled manner and the discharged steam and gases are washed in a multi-venturi scrubber before release. The system is flexible and can cope with a number of hypothetical accident scenarios

Progress in liquid metal fast reactor technology. Proceedings of the 28th meeting of the International Working Group on Fast Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-04-01

The key objectives and activities of Member State liquid metal fast reactor (LMFR) programmes are: Demonstration of effective designs; demonstration of system safety; demonstration of economic competitiveness with other power generation systems. The International Working Group on Fast Reactors (IWGFR) at its 1995 meeting observed that while some countries (as a result of static or falling power demand) are reducing the research and development programmes or delaying the commercial deployment of fast reactors, other countries are planning to introduce these reactors and are embarking on their own development programmes. In these circumstances the international exchange of information and experience is of increasing importance. These proceedings contain updated information from long standing members of the IWGFR and new information on the status of LMFR research and development from new members of the Group: Brazil, China, Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea. Refs, figs, tabs

Progress in liquid metal fast reactor technology. Proceedings of the 28th meeting of the International Working Group on Fast Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-04-01

The key objectives and activities of Member State liquid metal fast reactor (LMFR) programmes are: Demonstration of effective designs; demonstration of system safety; demonstration of economic competitiveness with other power generation systems. The International Working Group on Fast Reactors (IWGFR) at its 1995 meeting observed that while some countries (as a result of static or falling power demand) are reducing the research and development programmes or delaying the commercial deployment of fast reactors, other countries are planning to introduce these reactors and are embarking on their own development programmes. In these circumstances the international exchange of information and experience is of increasing importance. These proceedings contain updated information from long standing members of the IWGFR and new information on the status of LMFR research and development from new members of the Group: Brazil, China, Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea. Refs, figs, tabs.

Optimal fall indicators for slip induced falls on a cross-slope.

Science.gov (United States)

Domone, Sarah; Lawrence, Daniel; Heller, Ben; Hendra, Tim; Mawson, Sue; Wheat, Jonathan

2016-08-01

Slip-induced falls are among the most common cause of major occupational injuries in the UK as well as being a major public health concern in the elderly population. This study aimed to determine the optimal fall indicators for fall detection models which could be used to reduce the detrimental consequences of falls. A total of 264 kinematic variables covering three-dimensional full body model translation and rotational measures were analysed during normal walking, successful recovery from slips and falls on a cross-slope. Large effect sizes were found for three kinematic variables which were able to distinguish falls from normal walking and successful recovery. Further work should consider other types of daily living activities as results show that the optimal kinematic fall indicators can vary considerably between movement types. Practitioner Summary: Fall detection models are used to minimise the adverse consequences of slip-induced falls, a major public health concern. Optimal fall indicators were derived from a comprehensive set of kinematic variables for slips on a cross-slope. Results suggest robust detection of falls is possible on a cross-slope but may be more difficult than level walking.

Size Scales for Thermal Inhomogeneities in Mars' Atmosphere Surface Layer: Mars Pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Mihalov, John D.; Haberle, Robert M.; Seiff, Alvin; Murphy, James R.; Schofield, John T.; DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Atmospheric temperature measurement at three heights with thin wire thermocouples on the 1.1 m Mars Pathfinder meteorology must allow estimates of the integral scale of the atmospheric thermal turbulence during an 83 sol period that begins in the summer. The integral scale is a measure for regions of perturbations. In turbulent media that roughly characterizes locations where the perturbations are correlated. Excluding some to intervals with violent excursions of the mean temperatures, integral scale values are found that increase relatively rapidly from a few tenths meters or less near down to several meters by mid-morning. During mid-morning, the diurnal and shorter time scale wind direction variations often place the meteorology mast in the thermal wake of the Lander.

Falling chains

OpenAIRE

Wong, Chun Wa; Yasui, Kosuke

2005-01-01

The one-dimensional fall of a folded chain with one end suspended from a rigid support and a chain falling from a resting heap on a table is studied. Because their Lagrangians contain no explicit time dependence, the falling chains are conservative systems. Their equations of motion are shown to contain a term that enforces energy conservation when masses are transferred between subchains. We show that Cayley's 1857 energy nonconserving solution for a chain falling from a resting heap is inco...

Increasing fall risk awareness using wearables: A fall risk awareness protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Danielsen, Asbjørn; Olofsen, Hans; Bremdal, Bernt Arild

2016-10-01

Each year about a third of elderly aged 65 or older experience a fall. Many of these falls may have been avoided if fall risk assessment and prevention tools where available in a daily living situation. We identify what kind of information is relevant for doing fall risk assessment and prevention using wearable sensors in a daily living environment by investigating current research, distinguishing between prospective and context-aware fall risk assessment and prevention. Based on our findings, we propose a fall risk awareness protocol as a fall prevention tool integrating both wearables and ambient sensing technology into a single platform. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Relationship between subjective fall risk assessment and falls and fall-related fractures in frail elderly people

OpenAIRE

Shimada, Hiroyuki; Suzukawa, Megumi; Ishizaki, Tatsuro; Kobayashi, Kumiko; Kim, Hunkyung; Suzuki, Takao

2011-01-01

Abstract Background Objective measurements can be used to identify people with risks of falls, but many frail elderly adults cannot complete physical performance tests. The study examined the relationship between a subjective risk rating of specific tasks (SRRST) to screen for fall risks and falls and fall-related fractures in frail elderly people. Methods The SRRST was investigated in 5,062 individuals aged 65 years or older who were utilized day-care services. The SRRST comprised 7 dichotom...

Glide path preparation in S-shaped canals with rotary pathfinding nickel-titanium instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ajuz, Natasha C C; Armada, Luciana; Gonçalves, Lucio S; Debelian, Gilberto; Siqueira, José F

2013-04-01

This study compared the incidence of deviation along S-shaped (double-curved) canals after glide path preparation with 2 nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary pathfinding instruments and hand K-files. S-shaped canals from 60 training blocks were filled with ink, and preinstrumentation images were obtained by using a stereomicroscope. Glide path preparation was performed by an endodontist who used hand stainless steel K-files (up to size 20), rotary NiTi PathFile instruments (up to size 19), or rotary NiTi Scout RaCe instruments (up to size 20). Postinstrumentation images were taken by using exactly the same conditions as for the preinstrumentation images, and both pictures were superimposed. Differences along the S-shaped canal for the mesial and distal aspects were measured to evaluate the occurrence of deviation. Intragroup analysis showed that all instruments promoted some deviation in virtually all levels. Overall, regardless of the group, deviations were observed in the mesial wall at the canal terminus and at levels 4, 5, 6 and 7 mm and in the distal wall at levels 1, 2, and 3 mm. These levels corresponded to the inner walls of each curvature. Both rotary NiTi instruments performed significantly better than hand K-files at all levels (P instruments showed significantly better results than PathFiles at levels 0, 2, 3, 5, and 6 mm (P rotary NiTi instruments are suitable for adequate glide path preparation because they promoted less deviation from the original canal anatomy when compared with hand-operated instruments. Of the 2 rotary pathfinding instruments, Scout RaCe showed an overall significantly better performance. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fall Protection Introduction, #33462

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chochoms, Michael [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-06-23

The proper use of fall prevention and fall protection controls can reduce the risk of deaths and injuries caused by falls. This course, Fall Protection Introduction (#33462), is designed as an introduction to various types of recognized fall prevention and fall protection systems at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), including guardrail systems, safety net systems, fall restraint systems, and fall arrest systems. Special emphasis is given to the components, inspection, care, and storage of personal fall arrest systems (PFASs). This course also presents controls for falling object hazards and emergency planning considerations for persons who have fallen.

The Earth System Science Pathfinder Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Crisp, David

2003-01-01

A viewgraph presentation describing the Earth System Science Pathfinder Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) Mission is shown. The contents include: 1) Why CO2?; 2) What Processes Control CO2 Sinks?; 3) OCO Science Team; 4) Space-Based Measurements of CO2; 5) Driving Requirement: Precise, Bias-Free Global Measurements; 6) Making Precise CO2 Measurements from Space; 7) OCO Spatial Sampling Strategy; 8) OCO Observing Modes; 9) Implementation Approach; 10) The OCO Instrument; 11) The OCO Spacecraft; 12) OCO Will Fly in the A-Train; 13) Validation Program Ensures Accuracy and Minimizes Spatially Coherent Biases; 14) Can OCO Provide the Required Precision?; 15) O2 Column Retrievals with Ground-based FTS; 16) X(sub CO2) Retrieval Simulations; 17) Impact of Albedo and Aerosol Uncertainty on X(sub CO2) Retrievals; 18) Carbon Cycle Modeling Studies: Seasonal Cycle; 19) Carbon Cycle Modeling Studies: The North-South Gradient in CO2; 20) Carbon Cycle Modeling Studies: Effect of Diurnal Biases; 21) Project Status and Schedule; and 22) Summary.

The clinical practice guideline for falls and fall risk

OpenAIRE

Vance, Jacqueline

2011-01-01

Falling is a significant cause of injury and death in frail older adults. Residents in long-term care (LTC) facilities fall for a variety of reasons and are more likely to endure injuries after a fall than those in the community The American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) Clinical Practice Guideline is written to give LTC staff an understanding of risk factors for falls and provide guidance for a systematic approach to patient assessment and selection of appropriate interventions. It is...

Argentine nuclear fuels MOX irradiated in the Petten reactor: Analysis of experience with the BACO code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marino, A C; Perez, E; Adelfang, P [Argentine Atomic Energy Commission, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

1997-08-01

The irradiation of our first prototypes of MOX nuclear fuels fabricated in Argentina began in 1986. These experiences had been made in the HFR-Petten reactor, Holland. The six rods were fabricated in the {alpha} Facility (GAID-CNEA-Argentina). The first rod has been used for destructive pre-irradiation analysis in the KFK (Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe), Germany. The second one was a pathfinder for calibrating systems in the HFR. Another two rods included doped pellets based on iodine. One of them included CsI and auxiliary components. The second one included elemental iodine. The concentration of iodine was intended to simulate 15 MWd/ton(M) of burnup. We defined the power histories with the BACO code. We assumed a cycle of 15 days that included interaction treatments of cladding and pellet due to the power cycling. The last ramp is let run until stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is induced. The experience named BU15 was done with the last two rods. The final burnup was 15 MWd/ton(M), and a final ramp test was arranged for one of them. This burnup is the same as the previous two rods. The power level during irradiation was low and without major solicitations, only the normal shutdowns of the HFR. The ramp was similar to that used for the iodine test. We attempt to see the correct correspondence between the BU15 and the doping test. The pathfinder had an excellent behavior in the HFR reactor. The presence of microcracks inside the cladding was observed in the iodine test as we predicted with the BACO code. The post-irradiation tests of the BU15 experience has just ended. The development of the ramp was interrupted due to an increase of activity in the system. We presumed the presence of a failure in the rod. The visual inspection of the rod shows an atypical failure for this kind of fuel, i.e. they found a small circular hole. We use the BACO code for the behavior analysis of the fuel rods. 23 refs, 29 figs, 5 tabs.

Argentine nuclear fuels MOX irradiated in the Petten reactor: Analysis of experience with the BACO code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marino, A.C.; Perez, E.; Adelfang, P.

1997-01-01

The irradiation of our first prototypes of MOX nuclear fuels fabricated in Argentina began in 1986. These experiences had been made in the HFR-Petten reactor, Holland. The six rods were fabricated in the α Facility (GAID-CNEA-Argentina). The first rod has been used for destructive pre-irradiation analysis in the KFK (Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe), Germany. The second one was a pathfinder for calibrating systems in the HFR. Another two rods included doped pellets based on iodine. One of them included CsI and auxiliary components. The second one included elemental iodine. The concentration of iodine was intended to simulate 15 MWd/ton(M) of burnup. We defined the power histories with the BACO code. We assumed a cycle of 15 days that included interaction treatments of cladding and pellet due to the power cycling. The last ramp is let run until stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is induced. The experience named BU15 was done with the last two rods. The final burnup was 15 MWd/ton(M), and a final ramp test was arranged for one of them. This burnup is the same as the previous two rods. The power level during irradiation was low and without major solicitations, only the normal shutdowns of the HFR. The ramp was similar to that used for the iodine test. We attempt to see the correct correspondence between the BU15 and the doping test. The pathfinder had an excellent behavior in the HFR reactor. The presence of microcracks inside the cladding was observed in the iodine test as we predicted with the BACO code. The post-irradiation tests of the BU15 experience has just ended. The development of the ramp was interrupted due to an increase of activity in the system. We presumed the presence of a failure in the rod. The visual inspection of the rod shows an atypical failure for this kind of fuel, i.e. they found a small circular hole. We use the BACO code for the behavior analysis of the fuel rods. 23 refs, 29 figs, 5 tabs

Prediction of falls and/or near falls in people with mild Parkinson's disease.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beata Lindholm

Full Text Available To determine factors associated with future falls and/or near falls in people with mild PD.The study included 141 participants with PD. Mean (SD age and PD-duration were 68 (9.7 and 4 years (3.9, respectively. Their median (q1-q3 UPDRS III score was 13 (8-18. Those >80 years of age, requiring support in standing or unable to understand instructions were excluded. Self-administered questionnaires targeted freezing of gait, turning hesitations, walking difficulties in daily life, fatigue, fear of falling, independence in activities of daily living, dyskinesia, demographics, falls/near falls history, balance problems while dual tasking and pain. Clinical assessments addressed functional balance performance, retropulsion, comfortable gait speed, motor symptoms and cognition. All falls and near falls were subsequently registered in a diary during a six-month period. Risk factors for prospective falls and/or near falls were determined using logistic regression.Sixty-three participants (45% experienced ≥ 1 fall and/or near fall. Three factors were independent predictors of falls and/or near falls: fear of falling (OR = 1.032, p<0.001 history of near falls (OR = 3.475, p = 0.009 and retropulsion (OR = 2.813, p = 0.035. The strongest contributing factor was fear of falling, followed by a history of near falls and retropulsion.Fear of falling seems to be an important issue to address already in mild PD as well as asking about prior near falls.

Power Excursion Accident Analysis of Research Water Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khaled, S.M.; Doaa, G.M.

2009-01-01

A three-dimensional neutronic code POWEX-K has been developed, and it has been coupled with the sub-channel thermal-hydraulic core analysis code SV based on the Single Mass Velocity Model. This forms the integrated neutronic/thermal hydraulics code system POWEX-K/SV for the accident analysis. The Training and Research Reactors at Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME-Reactor) has been taken as a reference reactor. The cross-section generation procedure based on WIMS. The code uses an implicit difference approach for both the diffusion equations and thermal-hydraulics modules, with reactivity feedback effects due to coolant and fuel temperatures. The code system was applied to analyzing power excursion accidents initiated by ramp reactivity insertion of 1.2 $. The results show that the reactor is inherently safe in case of such accidents i.e. no core melt is expected even if the safety rods do not fall into the core

Unexplained Falls Are Frequent in Patients with Fall-Related Injury Admitted to Orthopaedic Wards: The UFO Study (Unexplained Falls in Older Patients).

Science.gov (United States)

Chiara, Mussi; Gianluigi, Galizia; Pasquale, Abete; Alessandro, Morrione; Alice, Maraviglia; Gabriele, Noro; Paolo, Cavagnaro; Loredana, Ghirelli; Giovanni, Tava; Franco, Rengo; Giulio, Masotti; Gianfranco, Salvioli; Niccolò, Marchionni; Andrea, Ungar

2013-01-01

To evaluate the incidence of unexplained falls in elderly patients affected by fall-related fractures admitted to orthopaedic wards, we recruited 246 consecutive patients older than 65 (mean age 82 ± 7 years, range 65-101). Falls were defined "accidental" (fall explained by a definite accidental cause), "medical" (fall caused directly by a specific medical disease), "dementia-related" (fall in patients affected by moderate-severe dementia), and "unexplained" (nonaccidental falls, not related to a clear medical or drug-induced cause or with no apparent cause). According to the anamnestic features of the event, older patients had a lower tendency to remember the fall. Patients with accidental fall remember more often the event. Unexplained falls were frequent in both groups of age. Accidental falls were more frequent in younger patients, while dementia-related falls were more common in the older ones. Patients with unexplained falls showed a higher number of depressive symptoms. In a multivariate analysis a higher GDS and syncopal spells were independent predictors of unexplained falls. In conclusion, more than one third of all falls in patients hospitalized in orthopaedic wards were unexplained, particularly in patients with depressive symptoms and syncopal spells. The identification of fall causes must be evaluated in older patients with a fall-related injury.

United States Department of Energy breeder reactor staff training domestic program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

Two US DOE projects in the Pacific Northwest offer unique on-the-scene training opportunities at sodium-cooled fast-reactor plants: the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) near Richland, Washington, which has operated successfully in a wide range of irradiation test programs since 1980; and the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) near Idaho Falls, Idaho, which has been in operation for approximately 20 years. Training programs have been especially designed to take advantage of this plant experience. Available courses are described

Falls and fear of falling predict future falls and related injuries in ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury: a longitudinal observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jørgensen, Vivien; Butler Forslund, Emelie; Opheim, Arve; Franzén, Erika; Wahman, Kerstin; Hultling, Claes; Seiger, Åke; Ståhle, Agneta; Stanghelle, Johan K; Roaldsen, Kirsti S

2017-04-01

What is the 1-year incidence of falls and injurious falls in a representative cohort of community-dwelling ambulatory individuals with chronic spinal cord injury? What are the predictors of recurrent falls (more than two/year) and injurious falls in this population? One-year longitudinal observational multi-centre study. A representative sample of 68 (of 73 included) community-dwelling ambulatory individuals with traumatic SCI attending regular follow-up programs at rehabilitation centres. Primary outcome measures were incidence and predictors of recurrent falls (more than two/year) and injurious falls reported every 2 weeks for 1year. A total of 48% of participants reported recurrent falls. Of the 272 reported falls, 41% were injurious. Serious injuries were experienced by 4% of participants, all of whom were women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that recurrent falls in the previous year (OR=111, 95% CI=8.6 to 1425), fear of falling (OR=6.1, 95% CI=1.43 to 26) and longer time taken to walk 10m (OR=1.3, 95% CI=1.0 to 1.7) were predictors of recurrent falls. Fear of falling (OR=4.3, 95% CI=1.3 to 14) and recurrent falls in the previous year (OR=4.2, 95% CI=1.2 to 14) were predictors of injurious falls. Ambulatory individuals have a high risk of falling and of fall-related injuries. Fall history, fear of falling and walking speed could predict recurrent falls and injurious falls. Further studies with larger samples are needed to validate these findings. [Jørgensen V, Butler Forslund E, Opheim A, Franzén E, Wahman K, Hultling C, Seiger Å, Ståhle A, Stanghelle JK, Roaldsen KS (2017) Falls and fear of falling predict future falls and related injuries in ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury: a longitudinal observational study. Journal of Physiotherapy 63: 108-113]. Copyright © 2017 Australian Physiotherapy Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unexplained Falls Are Frequent in Patients with Fall-Related Injury Admitted to Orthopaedic Wards: The UFO Study (Unexplained Falls in Older Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mussi Chiara

2013-01-01

Full Text Available To evaluate the incidence of unexplained falls in elderly patients affected by fall-related fractures admitted to orthopaedic wards, we recruited 246 consecutive patients older than 65 (mean age 82±7 years, range 65–101. Falls were defined “accidental” (fall explained by a definite accidental cause, “medical” (fall caused directly by a specific medical disease, “dementia-related” (fall in patients affected by moderate-severe dementia, and “unexplained” (nonaccidental falls, not related to a clear medical or drug-induced cause or with no apparent cause. According to the anamnestic features of the event, older patients had a lower tendency to remember the fall. Patients with accidental fall remember more often the event. Unexplained falls were frequent in both groups of age. Accidental falls were more frequent in younger patients, while dementia-related falls were more common in the older ones. Patients with unexplained falls showed a higher number of depressive symptoms. In a multivariate analysis a higher GDS and syncopal spells were independent predictors of unexplained falls. In conclusion, more than one third of all falls in patients hospitalized in orthopaedic wards were unexplained, particularly in patients with depressive symptoms and syncopal spells. The identification of fall causes must be evaluated in older patients with a fall-related injury.

Actuation stability test of the LISA pathfinder inertial sensor front-end electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Mance, Davor; Gan, Li; Weber, Bill; Weber, Franz; Zweifel, Peter

In order to limit the residual stray forces on the inertial sensor test mass in LISA pathfinder, √ it is required that the fluctuation of the test mass actuation voltage is within 2ppm/ Hz. The actuation voltage stability test on the flight hardware of the inertial sensor front-end electronics (IS FEE) is presented in this paper. This test is completed during the inertial sensor integration at EADS Astrium Friedrichshafen, Germany. The standard measurement method using voltmeter is not sufficient for verification, since the instrument low frequency √ fluctuation is higher than the 2ppm/ Hz requirement. In this test, by using the differential measurement method and the lock-in amplifier, the actuation stability performance is verified and the quality of the IS FEE hardware is confirmed by the test results.

Associated Factors for Falls, Recurrent Falls, and Injurious Falls in Aged Men Living in Taiwan Veterans Homes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan-Chiou Ku

2013-06-01

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the advanced age, depression status, stroke, gouty arthritis, and cataract are independent variables for predicting falls; depression is the only clinical factor capable of predicting the recurrent falls. These variables were potential targets for effective prevention of falls.

Falls and fear of falling predict future falls and related injuries in ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury: a longitudinal observational study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vivien Jørgensen

2017-04-01

Conclusion: Ambulatory individuals have a high risk of falling and of fall-related injuries. Fall history, fear of falling and walking speed could predict recurrent falls and injurious falls. Further studies with larger samples are needed to validate these findings. [Jørgensen V, Butler Forslund E, Opheim A, Franzén E, Wahman K, Hultling C, Seiger Å, Ståhle A, Stanghelle JK, Roaldsen KS (2017 Falls and fear of falling predict future falls and related injuries in ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury: a longitudinal observational study. Journal of Physiotherapy 63: 108–113

Discovery of H I gas in a young radio galaxy at z = 0.44 using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Allison, J. R.; Sadler, E. M.; Moss, V. A.; Whiting, M. T.; Hunstead, R. W.; Pracy, M. B.; Curran, S. J.; Croom, S. M.; Glowacki, M.; Morganti, R.; Shabala, S. S.; Zwaan, M. A.; Allen, G.; Amy, S. W.; Axtens, P.; Ball, L.; Bannister, K. W.; Barker, S.; Bell, M. E.; Bock, D. C.-J.; Bolton, R.; Bowen, M.; Boyle, B.; Braun, R.; Broadhurst, S.; Brodrick, D.; Brothers, M.; Brown, A.; Bunton, J. D.; Cantrall, C.; Chapman, J.; Cheng, W.; Chippendale, A. P.; Chung, Y.; Cooray, F.; Cornwell, T.; DeBoer, D.; Diamond, P.; Edwards, P. G.; Ekers, R.; Feain, I.; Ferris, R. H.; Forsyth, R.; Gough, R.; Grancea, A.; Gupta, N.; Guzman, J. C.; Hampson, G.; Harvey-Smith, L.; Haskins, C.; Hay, S.; Hayman, D. B.; Heywood, I.; Hotan, A. W.; Hoyle, S.; Humphreys, B.; Indermuehle, B. T.; Jacka, C.; Jackson, C.; Jackson, S.; Jeganathan, K.; Johnston, S.; Joseph, J.; Kendall, R.; Kesteven, M.; Kiraly, D.; Koribalski, B. S.; Leach, M.; Lenc, E.; Lensson, E.; Mackay, S.; Macleod, A.; Marquarding, M.; Marvil, J.; McClure-Griffiths, N.; McConnell, D.; Mirtschin, P.; Norris, R. P.; Neuhold, S.; Ng, A.; O'Sullivan, J.; Pathikulangara, J.; Pearce, S.; Phillips, C.; Popping, A.; Qiao, R. Y.; Reynolds, J. E.; Roberts, P.; Sault, R. J.; Schinckel, A.; Serra, P.; Shaw, R.; Shields, M.; Shimwell, T.; Storey, M.; Sweetnam, T.; Troup, E.; Turner, B.; Tuthill, J.; Tzioumis, A.; Voronkov, M. A.; Westmeier, T.; Wilson, C. D.

2015-01-01

We report the discovery of a new 21-cm H I absorption system using commissioning data from the Boolardy Engineering Test Array of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). Using the 711.5-1015.5 MHz band of ASKAP we were able to conduct a blind search for the 21-cm line in a

Impact of Fall Prevention on Nurses and Care of Fall Risk Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Barbara; Pecanac, Kristen; Krupp, Anna; Liebzeit, Daniel; Mahoney, Jane

2018-03-19

Falls are common events for hospitalized older adults, resulting in negative outcomes both for patients and hospitals. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has placed pressure on hospital administrators by identifying falls as a "never event", resulting in a zero falls goal for many hospitals. Staff nurses are responsible for providing direct care to patients and for meeting the hospital no falls goal. Little is known about the impact of "zero falls" on nurses, patients and the organization. A qualitative study, using Grounded Dimensional Analysis (GDA) was conducted to explore nurses' experiences with fall prevention in hospital settings and the impact of those experiences on how nurses provide care to fall risk patients. Twenty-seven registered nurses and certified nursing assistants participated in in-depth interviews. Open, axial and selective coding was used to analyze data. A conceptual model which illustrates the impact of intense messaging from nursing administration to prevent patient falls on nurses, actions nurses take to address the message and the consequences to nurses, older adult patients and to the organization was developed. Intense messaging from hospital administration to achieve zero falls resulted in nurses developing a fear of falls, protecting self and unit, and restricting fall risk patients as a way to stop messages and meet the hospital goal. Results of this study identify unintended consequences of fall prevention message on nurses and older adult patients. Further research is needed understand how nurse care for fall risk patients.

Status report of the UFFO-pathfinder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

A. Huang, M-H; Park, I.L.; Ahmad, S.

2013-01-01

Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic explosions in the universe, their optical photonflux rise very quickly, typically within one minute, then fall off gradually. Hundreds of GRBs optical light curveshave been measured since the first discovery of GRB in 1967. However, only a handful of...

Reactor Materials Program probability of indirectly--induced failure of L and P reactor process water piping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daugherty, W.L.

1988-01-01

The design basis accident for the Savannah River Production Reactors is the abrupt double-ended guillotine break (DEGB) of a large process water pipe. This accident is not considered credible in light of the low applied stresses and the inherent ductility of the piping material. The Reactor Materials Program was initiated to provide the technical basis for an alternate credible design basis accident. One aspect of this work is to determine the probability of the DEGB; to show that in addition to being incredible, it is also highly improbable. The probability of a DEGB is broken into two parts: failure by direct means, and indirectly-induced failure. Failure of the piping by direct means can only be postulated to occur if an undetected crack grows to the point of instability, causing a large pipe break. While this accident is not as severe as a DEGB, it provides a conservative upper bound on the probability of a direct DEGB of the piping. The second part of this evaluation calculates the probability of piping failure by indirect causes. Indirect failure of the piping can be triggered by an earthquake which causes other reactor components or the reactor building to fall on the piping or pull it from its supports. Since indirectly-induced failure of the piping will not always produce consequences as severe as a DEGB, this gives a conservative estimate of the probability of an indirectly- induced DEGB. This second part, indirectly-induced pipe failure, is the subject of this report. Failure by seismic loads in the piping itself will be covered in a separate report on failure by direct causes. This report provides a detailed evaluation of L reactor. A walkdown of P reactor and an analysis of the P reactor building provide the basis for extending the L reactor results to P reactor

Effect of a Multidisciplinary Fall Risk Assessment on Falls Among Neurology Inpatients

Science.gov (United States)

Hunderfund, Andrea N. Leep; Sweeney, Cynthia M.; Mandrekar, Jayawant N.; Johnson, LeAnn M.; Britton, Jeffrey W.

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the addition of a physician assessment of patient fall risk at admission would reduce inpatient falls on a tertiary hospital neurology inpatient unit. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A physician fall risk assessment was added to the existing risk assessment process (clinical nurse evaluation and Hendrich II Fall Risk Model score with specific fall prevention measures for patients at risk). An order to select either “Patient is” or “Patient is not at high risk of falls by physician assessment” was added to the physician electronic admission order set. Nurses and physicians were instructed to reach consensus when assessments differed. Full implementation occurred in second-quarter 2008. Preimplementation (January 1, 2006, to March 31, 2008) and postimplementation (April 1, 2008, to December 31, 2009) rates of falls were compared on the neurology inpatient unit and on 6 other medical units that did not receive intervention. RESULTS: The rate of falls during the 7 quarters after full implementation was significantly lower than that during the 9 preceding quarters (4.12 vs 5.69 falls per 1000 patient-days; P=.04), whereas the rate of falls on other medical units did not significantly change (2.99 vs 3.33 falls per 1000 patient-days; P=.24, Poisson test). The consensus risk assessment at admission correctly identified patients at risk for falls (14/325 at-risk patients fell vs 0/147 low-risk patients; P=.01, χ2 test), but the Hendrich II Fall Risk Model score, nurse, and physician assessments individually did not. CONCLUSION: A multidisciplinary approach to fall risk assessment is feasible, correctly identifies patients at risk, and was associated with a reduction in inpatient falls. PMID:21193651

Falls and falls efficacy: the role of sustained attention in older adults

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

O'Halloran, Aisling M

2011-12-19

Abstract Background Previous evidence indicates that older people allocate more of their attentional resources toward their gait and that the attention-related changes that occur during aging increase the risk of falls. The aim of this study was to investigate whether performance and variability in sustained attention is associated with falls and falls efficacy in older adults. Methods 458 community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 60 years underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment. Mean and variability of reaction time (RT), commission errors and omission errors were recorded during a fixed version of the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). RT variability was decomposed using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) procedure, to help characterise variability associated with the arousal and vigilance aspects of sustained attention. The number of self-reported falls in the previous twelve months, and falls efficacy (Modified Falls Efficacy Scale) were also recorded. Results Significant increases in the mean and variability of reaction time on the SART were significantly associated with both falls (p < 0.01) and reduced falls efficacy (p < 0.05) in older adults. An increase in omission errors was also associated with falls (p < 0.01) and reduced falls efficacy (p < 0.05). Upon controlling for age and gender affects, logistic regression modelling revealed that increasing variability associated with the vigilance (top-down) aspect of sustained attention was a retrospective predictor of falling (p < 0.01, OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.03 - 1.26) in the previous year and was weakly correlated with reduced falls efficacy in non-fallers (p = 0.07). Conclusions Greater variability in sustained attention is strongly correlated with retrospective falls and to a lesser degree with reduced falls efficacy. This cognitive measure may provide a novel and valuable biomarker for falls in older adults, potentially allowing for early detection and the implementation of preventative intervention

PathfinderTURB: an automatic boundary layer algorithm. Development, validation and application to study the impact on in situ measurements at the Jungfraujoch

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Poltera

2017-08-01

Full Text Available We present the development of the PathfinderTURB algorithm for the analysis of ceilometer backscatter data and the real-time detection of the vertical structure of the planetary boundary layer. Two aerosol layer heights are retrieved by PathfinderTURB: the convective boundary layer (CBL and the continuous aerosol layer (CAL. PathfinderTURB combines the strengths of gradient- and variance-based methods and addresses the layer attribution problem by adopting a geodesic approach. The algorithm has been applied to 1 year of data measured by two ceilometers of type CHM15k, one operated at the Aerological Observatory of Payerne (491 m a.s.l. on the Swiss plateau and one at the Kleine Scheidegg (2061 m a.s.l. in the Swiss Alps. The retrieval of the CBL has been validated at Payerne using two reference methods: (1 manual detections of the CBL height performed by human experts using the ceilometer backscatter data; (2 values of CBL heights calculated using the Richardson's method from co-located radio sounding data. We found average biases as small as 27 m (53 m with respect to reference method 1 (method 2. Based on the excellent agreement between the two reference methods, PathfinderTURB has been applied to the ceilometer data at the mountainous site of the Kleine Scheidegg for the period September 2014 to November 2015. At this site, the CHM15k is operated in a tilted configuration at 71° zenith angle to probe the atmosphere next to the Sphinx Observatory (3580 m a.s.l. on the Jungfraujoch (JFJ. The analysis of the retrieved layers led to the following results: the CAL reaches the JFJ 41 % of the time in summer and 21 % of the time in winter for a total of 97 days during the two seasons. The season-averaged daily cycles show that the CBL height reaches the JFJ only during short periods (4 % of the time, but on 20 individual days in summer and never during winter. During summer in particular, the CBL and the CAL modify the

PathfinderTURB: an automatic boundary layer algorithm. Development, validation and application to study the impact on in situ measurements at the Jungfraujoch

Science.gov (United States)

Poltera, Yann; Martucci, Giovanni; Collaud Coen, Martine; Hervo, Maxime; Emmenegger, Lukas; Henne, Stephan; Brunner, Dominik; Haefele, Alexander

2017-08-01

We present the development of the PathfinderTURB algorithm for the analysis of ceilometer backscatter data and the real-time detection of the vertical structure of the planetary boundary layer. Two aerosol layer heights are retrieved by PathfinderTURB: the convective boundary layer (CBL) and the continuous aerosol layer (CAL). PathfinderTURB combines the strengths of gradient- and variance-based methods and addresses the layer attribution problem by adopting a geodesic approach. The algorithm has been applied to 1 year of data measured by two ceilometers of type CHM15k, one operated at the Aerological Observatory of Payerne (491 m a.s.l.) on the Swiss plateau and one at the Kleine Scheidegg (2061 m a.s.l.) in the Swiss Alps. The retrieval of the CBL has been validated at Payerne using two reference methods: (1) manual detections of the CBL height performed by human experts using the ceilometer backscatter data; (2) values of CBL heights calculated using the Richardson's method from co-located radio sounding data. We found average biases as small as 27 m (53 m) with respect to reference method 1 (method 2). Based on the excellent agreement between the two reference methods, PathfinderTURB has been applied to the ceilometer data at the mountainous site of the Kleine Scheidegg for the period September 2014 to November 2015. At this site, the CHM15k is operated in a tilted configuration at 71° zenith angle to probe the atmosphere next to the Sphinx Observatory (3580 m a.s.l.) on the Jungfraujoch (JFJ). The analysis of the retrieved layers led to the following results: the CAL reaches the JFJ 41 % of the time in summer and 21 % of the time in winter for a total of 97 days during the two seasons. The season-averaged daily cycles show that the CBL height reaches the JFJ only during short periods (4 % of the time), but on 20 individual days in summer and never during winter. During summer in particular, the CBL and the CAL modify the air sampled in situ at JFJ, resulting

Open access and knowledge sharing: reflections on the Pathfinder projects and Open Access Good Practice initiative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hannah DeGroff

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The following article provides a selection of reflections from a number of higher education institutions and their staff about participation in the UK-wide Pathfinder project scheme. These nine projects (comprising 30 institutions form the core of the Jisc-funded Open Access Good Practice initiative. They have produced a wide range of outputs which endorse and encourage best practice when implementing open access across institutions. Each project has a blog where progress and outputs can be tracked. Details are listed at the end of this article.

Fall Risk, Supports and Services, and Falls Following a Nursing Home Discharge.

Science.gov (United States)

Noureldin, Marwa; Hass, Zachary; Abrahamson, Kathleen; Arling, Greg

2017-09-04

Falls are a major source of morbidity and mortality among older adults; however, little is known regarding fall occurrence during a nursing home (NH) to community transition. This study sought to examine whether the presence of supports and services impacts the relationship between fall-related risk factors and fall occurrence post NH discharge. Participants in the Minnesota Return to Community Initiative who were assisted in achieving a community discharge (N = 1459) comprised the study sample. The main outcome was fall occurrence within 30 days of discharge. Factor analyses were used to estimate latent models from variables of interest. A structural equation model (SEM) was estimated to determine the relationship between the emerging latent variables and falls. Fifteen percent of participants fell within 30 days of NH discharge. Factor analysis of fall-related risk factors produced three latent variables: fall concerns/history; activities of daily living impairments; and use of high-risk medications. A supports/services latent variable also emerged that included caregiver support frequency, medication management assistance, durable medical equipment use, discharge location, and receipt of home health or skilled nursing services. In the SEM model, high-risk medications use and fall concerns/history had direct positive effects on falling. Receiving supports/services did not affect falling directly; however, it reduced the effect of high-risk medication use on falling (p risk of falling post NH discharge. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Coupling of relative intensity noise and pathlength noise to the length measurement in the optical metrology system of LISA Pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Wittchen, Andreas; the LPF Collaboration

2017-05-01

LISA Pathfinder is a technology demonstration mission for the space-based gravitational wave observatory, LISA. It demonstrated that the performance requirements for the interferometric measurement of two test masses in free fall can be met. An important part of the data analysis is to identify the limiting noise sources. [1] This measurement is performed with heterodyne interferometry. The performance of this optical metrology system (OMS) at high frequencies is limited by sensing noise. One such noise source is Relative Intensity Noise (RIN). RIN is a property of the laser, and the photodiode current generated by the interferometer signal contains frequency dependant RIN. From this electric signal the phasemeter calculates the phase change and laser power, and the coupling of RIN into the measurement signal depends on the noise frequency. RIN at DC, at the heterodyne frequency and at two times the heterodyne frequency couples into the phase. Another important noise at high frequencies is path length noise. To reduce the impact this noise is suppressed with a control loop. Path length noise not suppressed will couple directly into the length measurement. The subtraction techniques of both noise sources depend on the phase difference between the reference signal and the measurement signal, and thus on the test mass position. During normal operations we position the test mass at the interferometric zero, which is optimal for noise subtraction purposes. This paper will show results from an in-flight experiment where the test mass position was changed to make the position dependant noise visible.

Falls and Fall-Related Injuries among Community-Dwelling Adults in the United States.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Santosh K Verma

Full Text Available Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injuries in the U.S.; however, national estimates for all community-dwelling adults are lacking. This study estimated the national incidence of falls and fall-related injuries among community-dwelling U.S. adults by age and gender and the trends in fall-related injuries across the adult life span.Nationally representative data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS 2008 Balance and Dizziness supplement was used to develop national estimates of falls, and pooled data from the NHIS was used to calculate estimates of fall-related injuries in the U.S. and related trends from 2004-2013. Costs of unintentional fall-related injuries were extracted from the CDC's Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System.Twelve percent of community-dwelling U.S. adults reported falling in the previous year for a total estimate of 80 million falls at a rate of 37.2 falls per 100 person-years. On average, 9.9 million fall-related injuries occurred each year with a rate of 4.38 fall-related injuries per 100 person-years. In the previous three months, 2.0% of older adults (65+, 1.1% of middle-aged adults (45-64 and 0.7% of young adults (18-44 reported a fall-related injury. Of all fall-related injuries among community-dwelling adults, 32.3% occurred among older adults, 35.3% among middle-aged adults and 32.3% among younger adults. The age-adjusted rate of fall-related injuries increased 4% per year among older women (95% CI 1%-7% from 2004 to 2013. Among U.S. adults, the total lifetime cost of annual unintentional fall-related injuries that resulted in a fatality, hospitalization or treatment in an emergency department was 111 billion U.S. dollars in 2010.Falls and fall-related injuries represent a significant health and safety problem for adults of all ages. The findings suggest that adult fall prevention efforts should consider the entire adult lifespan to ensure a greater public health benefit.

Cyclone Boiler Field Testing of Advanced Layered NOx Control Technology in Sioux Unit 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marc A. Cremer; Bradley R. Adams

2006-06-30

A four week testing program was completed during this project to assess the ability of the combination of deep staging, Rich Reagent Injection (RRI), and Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) to reduce NOx emissions below 0.15 lb/MBtu in a cyclone fired boiler. The host site for the tests was AmerenUE's Sioux Unit 1, a 500 MW cyclone fired boiler located near St. Louis, MO. Reaction Engineering International (REI) led the project team including AmerenUE, FuelTech Inc., and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). This layered approach to NOx reduction is termed the Advanced Layered Technology Approach (ALTA). Installed RRI and SNCR port locations were guided by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based modeling conducted by REI. During the parametric testing, NOx emissions of 0.12 lb/MBtu were achieved consistently from overfire air (OFA)-only baseline NOx emissions of 0.25 lb/MBtu or less, when firing the typical 80/20 fuel blend of Powder River Basin (PRB) and Illinois No.6 coals. From OFA-only baseline levels of 0.20 lb/MBtu, NOx emissions of 0.12 lb/MBtu were also achieved, but at significantly reduced urea flow rates. Under the deeply staged conditions that were tested, RRI performance was observed to degrade as higher blends of Illinois No.6 were used. NOx emissions achieved with ALTA while firing a 60/40 blend were approximately 0.15 lb/MBtu. NOx emissions while firing 100% Illinois No.6 were approximately 0.165 lb/MBtu. Based on the performance results of these tests, economics analyses of the application of ALTA to a nominal 500 MW cyclone unit show that the levelized cost to achieve 0.15 lb/MBtu is well below 75% of the cost of a state of the art SCR.

The Association Between Fall Frequency, Injury Risk, and Characteristics of Falls in Older Residents of Long-Term Care: Do Recurrent Fallers Fall More Safely?

Science.gov (United States)

van Schooten, Kimberley S; Yang, Yijian; Feldman, Fabio; Leung, Ming; McKay, Heather; Sims-Gould, Joanie; Robinovitch, Stephen N

2018-05-09

Although a fall is a necessary prerequisite to a fall-related injury, previous studies suggest that frequent fallers are at lower injury risk for a given fall. We tested the hypotheses that differences in protective responses or the circumstances of falls underlie differences in injury risk with fall frequency. We analyzed video footage of 897 falls experienced by 220 long-term care residents (mean age 82 ± 9 years) to identify the cause of imbalance, activity leading to falling, direction of fall initiation, balance recovery and fall protective responses, and occurrence of impact to the head or hip. We further obtained injury information from the facilities' fall registration. We used generalized estimating equation models to examine the association between quartiles of fall frequency, injury risk, and fall characteristics. Residents with the highest fall frequency group (Q4; ≥5.6 falls/year) were less likely to sustain an injury per fall. They were less likely to fall during walking and more likely to fall during stand-to-sit transfers. Residents in the lowest fall frequency group (Q1; falls/year) were more likely to fall during walking, and walking was associated with an increased risk for injury. When compared to less frequent fallers, more frequent fallers had a lower risk for injury per fall. This appeared to be explained by differences in the circumstances of falls, and not by protective responses. Injury prevention strategies in long-term care should target both frequent and infrequent fallers, as the latter are more mobile and apt to sustain injury.

Falls in multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuda, Patricia N; Shumway-Cook, Anne; Bamer, Alyssa M; Johnson, Shana L; Amtmann, Dagmar; Kraft, George H

2011-07-01

To examine incidence, associated factors, and health care provider (HCP) response to falls in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). Cross-sectional retrospective design. Community setting. Four hundred seventy-four persons with MS. Mailed survey questionnaire examined incidence, risk factors, and HCP response to falls in persons with MS who were dwelling in the community. Univariate and multiple ordinal regression analysis identified variables associated with single and multiple falls. Falls, causes and perceived reasons for falls, and HCP response. A total of 265 participants (58.2%) reported one or more falls in the previous 6 months, and 58.5% of falls were medically injurious. Trips/slips while walking accounted for 48% of falls. Factors associated with falls included use of a cane or walker (odds ratio [OR] 2.62; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.66-4.14), income falls; recommended strategies included safety strategies (53.2%), use of gait assistive devices (42.1%), exercise/balance training (22.2%), and home modifications (16.6%). Factors associated with falls in persons with MS are similar to those in other populations with neurologic diseases. Despite the high incidence of falls, fewer than 50% of people with MS receive information about prevention of falls from an HCP. Copyright © 2011 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Model Checking Real Time Java Using Java PathFinder

Science.gov (United States)

Lindstrom, Gary; Mehlitz, Peter C.; Visser, Willem

2005-01-01

The Real Time Specification for Java (RTSJ) is an augmentation of Java for real time applications of various degrees of hardness. The central features of RTSJ are real time threads; user defined schedulers; asynchronous events, handlers, and control transfers; a priority inheritance based default scheduler; non-heap memory areas such as immortal and scoped, and non-heap real time threads whose execution is not impeded by garbage collection. The Robust Software Systems group at NASA Ames Research Center has JAVA PATHFINDER (JPF) under development, a Java model checker. JPF at its core is a state exploring JVM which can examine alternative paths in a Java program (e.g., via backtracking) by trying all nondeterministic choices, including thread scheduling order. This paper describes our implementation of an RTSJ profile (subset) in JPF, including requirements, design decisions, and current implementation status. Two examples are analyzed: jobs on a multiprogramming operating system, and a complex resource contention example involving autonomous vehicles crossing an intersection. The utility of JPF in finding logic and timing errors is illustrated, and the remaining challenges in supporting all of RTSJ are assessed.

Exploring Older Adult ED Fall Patients' Understanding of Their Fall: A Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shankar, Kalpana N; Taylor, Devon; Rizzo, Caroline T; Liu, Shan W

2017-12-01

We sought to understand older patients' perspectives about their fall, fall risk factors, and attitude toward emergency department (ED) fall-prevention interventions. We conducted semistructured interviews between July 2015 and January 2016 of community-dwelling, nondemented patients in the ED, who presented with a fall to an urban, teaching hospital. Interviews were halted once we achieve thematic saturation with the data coded and categorized into themes. Of the 63 patients interviewed, patients blamed falls on the environment, accidents, a medical condition, or themselves. Three major themes were generated: (1) patients blamed falls on a multitude of things but never acknowledged a possible multifactorial rationale, (2) patients have variable level of concerns regarding their current fall and future fall risk, and (3) patients demonstrated a range of receptiveness to ED interventions aimed at preventing falls but provided little input as to what those interventions should be. Many older patients who fall do not understand their fall risk. However, based on the responses provided, older adults tend to be more receptive to intervention and more concerned about their future fall risk, making the ED an appropriate setting for intervention.

A fuzzy controller for the real time supervision of nuclear power reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Si Fodil, M.; Guly, F.; Siarry, P.; Tyran, J.L.

2000-01-01

We describe the development of a real time fuzzy controller aimed at an adequate core axial power distribution inside a pressurized water reactor (PWR). The system has been implemented in simulation using the EDF model on Matlab-Simulink on a Sun workstation. Some experiments tests at different power levels have been performed: several low levels modeling falls in the network consumption and test modeling falls in the consumption followed by a recovery of the consumption. The results of all these experiments will be discussed. (orig.)

Medication use and fall-risk assessment for falls in an acute care hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Ming-Huang; Lee, Hsin-Dai; Hwang, Hei-Fen; Wang, Shih-Chieh; Lin, Mau-Roung

2015-07-01

A nested case-control study was carried out to examine relationships of a fall-risk score and the use of single medications and polypharmacy with falls among hospitalized patients aged 50 years and older in Taiwan. There were 83 patients who experienced a fall during hospitalization in an acute-care hospital. Matched by age and sex, five control patients for each case were randomly selected from all other inpatients who had not experienced any fall at the time of the index fall. Patients who took tricyclic antidepressants, diuretics, and narcotics were 3.36-, 1.83- and 2.09-fold, respectively, more likely to experience a fall than their counterparts. Conversely, patients who took beta-blockers were 0.34-fold more likely than those who did not take them to experience a fall. Patients taking ≥6 medications were 3.08-fold more likely than those taking fewer medications to experience a fall, whereas those with anxiety were 4.72-fold more likely to experience a fall than those without. A high fall-risk score was not significantly associated with the occurrence of falls. Among older hospitalized patients, tricyclic antidepressants, diuretics, narcotics, and polypharmacy should be mindfully prescribed and reviewed on a regular basis. A fall-risk scale developed from community-dwelling older people might not accurately predict falls in hospitalized patients. Further research to validate the negative effect of beta-blocker use on falls is required. © 2014 Japan Geriatrics Society.

Falling and fall risk factors in adults with haemophilia: an exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sammels, M; Vandesande, J; Vlaeyen, E; Peerlinck, K; Milisen, K

2014-11-01

Falls are a particular risk in persons with haemophilia (PWH) because of damaged joints, high risk of bleeding, possible impact on the musculoskeletal system and functioning and costs associated with treatment for these fall-related injuries. In addition, fall risk increases with age and PWH are increasingly entering the over 65 age group. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of falls during the past year and to explore which fall risk factors are present in community-dwelling PWH. Dutch speaking community-dwelling adults were included from the age of 40 years with severe or moderate haemophilia A or B, independent in their mobility and registered at the University Hospitals Leuven. They were asked to come to the haemophilia centre; otherwise a telephone survey was conducted. Demographic and social variables, medical variables, fall evaluation and clinical variables were queried. From the 89 PWH, 74 (83.1%) participated in the study. Twenty-four (32.4%) fell in the past year, and 10 of them (41.7%) more than once with an average of four falls. Living conditions, physical activity, avoidance of winter sports due to fear of falling, orthopaedic status, urinary incontinence and mobility impairments are potential fall risk factors in adult PWH. This exploratory study indicates that PWH are attentive to falling since they are at higher risk for falls and because of the serious consequences it might have. Screening and fall prevention should be stimulated in the daily practice of haemophilia care. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Which Fall Ascertainment Method Captures Most Falls in Pre-Frail and Frail Seniors?

Science.gov (United States)

Teister, Corina J; Chocano-Bedoya, Patricia O; Orav, Endel J; Dawson-Hughes, Bess; Meyer, Ursina; Meyer, Otto W; Freystaetter, Gregor; Gagesch, Michael; Rizzoli, Rene; Egli, Andreas; Theiler, Robert; Kanis, John A; Bischoff-Ferrari, Heike A

2018-06-15

There is no consensus on most reliable falls ascertainment method. Therefore, we investigated which method captures most falls among pre-frail and frail seniors from two randomized controlled trials conducted in Zurich, Switzerland, a 18-month trial (2009-2010) including 200 community-dwelling pre-frail seniors with a prior fall and a 12-month trial (2005-2008) including 173 frail seniors with acute hip fracture. Both included the same fall ascertainment methods: monthly active-asking, daily self-report diary, and a call-in hotline. We compared number of falls reported and estimated overall and positive percent agreement between methods. Pre-frail seniors reported 499 falls (rate = 2.5/year) and frail seniors reported 205 falls (rate = 1.4/year). Most falls were reported by active-asking: 81% of falls in pre-frail, and 78% in frail seniors. Among pre-frail seniors, diaries captured additional 19% falls, while hotline added none. Among frail seniors, hotline added 16% falls, while diaries added 6%. The positive percent agreement between active-asking and diary was 100% among pre-frail and 88% among frail seniors. While monthly active-asking captures most falls in both groups, this method alone missed 19% of falls in pre-frail and 22% in frail seniors. Thus, a combination of active-asking and diaries for pre-frail, and active-asking and the hotline for frail seniors is warranted.

Falls and Fall-Related Injuries among Community-Dwelling Adults in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Santosh K.; Willetts, Joanna L.; Corns, Helen L.; Marucci-Wellman, Helen R.; Lombardi, David A.; Courtney, Theodore K.

2016-01-01

Introduction Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injuries in the U.S.; however, national estimates for all community-dwelling adults are lacking. This study estimated the national incidence of falls and fall-related injuries among community-dwelling U.S. adults by age and gender and the trends in fall-related injuries across the adult life span. Methods Nationally representative data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2008 Balance and Dizziness supplement was used to develop national estimates of falls, and pooled data from the NHIS was used to calculate estimates of fall-related injuries in the U.S. and related trends from 2004–2013. Costs of unintentional fall-related injuries were extracted from the CDC’s Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System. Results Twelve percent of community-dwelling U.S. adults reported falling in the previous year for a total estimate of 80 million falls at a rate of 37.2 falls per 100 person-years. On average, 9.9 million fall-related injuries occurred each year with a rate of 4.38 fall-related injuries per 100 person-years. In the previous three months, 2.0% of older adults (65+), 1.1% of middle-aged adults (45–64) and 0.7% of young adults (18–44) reported a fall-related injury. Of all fall-related injuries among community-dwelling adults, 32.3% occurred among older adults, 35.3% among middle-aged adults and 32.3% among younger adults. The age-adjusted rate of fall-related injuries increased 4% per year among older women (95% CI 1%–7%) from 2004 to 2013. Among U.S. adults, the total lifetime cost of annual unintentional fall-related injuries that resulted in a fatality, hospitalization or treatment in an emergency department was 111 billion U.S. dollars in 2010. Conclusions Falls and fall-related injuries represent a significant health and safety problem for adults of all ages. The findings suggest that adult fall prevention efforts should consider the entire adult lifespan to ensure a

Micrometeorite Science with LISA Pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Pagane, Nicole; Thorpe, James Ira; Littenberg, Tyson; Littenberg, Tyson; Baker, John; Slutsky, Jacob; Hourihane, Sophie; LISA Pathfinder Team

2018-01-01

The primary objective of LISA Pathfinder (LPF) was to demonstrate drag-free control of test masses—along with the technology necessary to maintain the inertial motion—that LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) would later utilize as a space-based gravitational wave observatory. Due to the precise interferometry used during the mission, LPF could be employed as an accelerometer and used to detect micrometeorite impacts while in orbit about the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point L1. To infer micrometeorite impacts, the flight data was processed for event reconstruction to determine external acceleration of LPF; impact parameters were then estimated through a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) tool via Bayesian analysis by fitting delta functions in the acceleration domain. As impact candidates were collected, a catalog of event data was curated with the reconstructed estimated parameters, among which were impact sky localizations that were later rotated into more intuitive reference frames. To infer the results of this dust modeling technique, current micrometeorite models were compared to the impact data. In the final reference frame common to the available micrometeorite models, the reconstructed impacts appear to cluster at (±90°, 0°)—where impacts prograde in this longitude-latitude frame were at (-90°, 0°), retrograde were (90°, 0°), and the sun was centered at the origin. The two available models used for comparison were of the Jupiter-family comets (JFC) and Halley-type comets (HTC), which clustered primarily around (±90°, 0°) and (0°, ±20°) respectively. This suggests that the JFC population seems to account for the majority of the impacts detected by LPF. The models’ expected rates given localization and velocity are currently being compared to the reconstructed data to further characterize the micrometeorite populations at L1. We will present our current analysis of this data set and discuss possibilities of extending such an analysis for LISA.

Method of driving control rod in reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osa, Hirotaka.

1986-01-01

Purpose: To improve security and safety of the reactor by reducing reactor output automatically and quickly when circulation of cooling water is stopped. Constitution: When the circulating pump is under operation, fluid pressure in the discharge pipe is transferred to the fluid room of fluid pressure cylinder via the control rod drive pipe and lift up the piston, and then the control rod is drawn out of the reactor core. When the circulating pump is lowered in its functions, discharge pipe fluid pressure decreases, fluid pressure in the fluid room decreases, and with less force of piston movement, the control rod gets lowered by its own weight. At this time, the blocked state of the opening by the piston is released, fluid flows into the room. Lowering of pressure and the control rod is promoted by transferring out fluid below the piston in the fluid room to the upper part of the piston via a small gap when the control rod falls by gravity. (Horiuchi, T.)

Near-falls in people with Parkinson's disease: Circumstances, contributing factors and association with falling.

Science.gov (United States)

Gazibara, Tatjana; Kisic Tepavcevic, Darija; Svetel, Marina; Tomic, Aleksandra; Stankovic, Iva; Kostic, Vladimir S; Pekmezovic, Tatjana

2017-10-01

To describe circumstances of near-falls among persons with Parkinson's disease (PD), assess factors associated with near-falling and assess whether near-falls in the first 6 months are associated with falling in the latter 6 months over one year of follow-up. In the period August 2011-December 2012, 120 consecutive persons with PD, who denied having fallen in the past 6 months, were recruited at Clinical center of Serbia in Belgrade. Occurrence of falling and near-falls was followed for one year. A total of 31 persons with PD (25.8%) experienced near-falls, but did not fall. Of 42 fallers, 32 (76.2%) experienced near-falls. Tripping was the most common cause of near-falls among fallers, whereas postural instability was the most common in non-fallers. Regardless of falling experience, the most common manner to avoid fall was holding onto furniture or wall. After adjustment for multiple motor and non-motor PD features, more severe freezing of gait was associated with occurrence of near-falls over one year of follow-up (odds ratio [OR]=1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.16; p=0.043). Adjusted regression analysis did not show associations between near-falling in the first 6 months and falling in the latter 6 months of follow-up. Near-falls commonly occur in persons with PD. More severe freezing of gait appears to predispose near-falling. Fall prevention programs focusing on balance maintenance when experiencing freezing of gait could potentially be useful in reduction of near-falls. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Conceptual design of the fast ignition laser fusion power plant (KOYO-Fast). 6. Design of chamber and reactor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozaki, Yasuji; Norimatsu, Takayoshi; Furukawa, Hiroyuki; Hayashi, Takumi; Souman, Yoshihito; Nishikawa, Masabumi; Tomabechi, Ken

2007-01-01

A conceptual design of the reactor chamber system with LiPb liquid wall based on the fast ignition cone target design and the related reactor systems with exhaust system, laser beam shutter, blanket and cooling system are summarized. The multi overflow fall method was investigated as the structure of chamber and repeating 4 Hz pulse potential. The ablation depth of LiPb liquid wall was estimated and the conditions of repeat of operation were evaluated. The basic design of chamber, selection and conditions of liquid wall chamber, recycle type multi overflow fall (MOF) wall, LiPb two layers blanket structure, basic specification of reactor system, laser beam line shutter, design of chamber exhaust system, cooling system, tritium recovery system, power plant total design and arrangement of chamber and laser beam, and issues are stated. (S.Y.)

Geriatric fall-related injuries.

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Conclusion: The majority of geriatric fall-related injuries were due to fall from the same level at home. Assessment of risk fac- tors for falls including home hazards is essential for prevention of geriatric fall-related injuries. Keywords: Accidental fall, geriatrics, injury, trauma registry. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v16i2.24.

Structural design and analysis of test mass module for DECIGO Pathfinder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wakabayashi, Y; Ejiri, Y; Suzuki, R; Sugamoto, A; Obuchi, Y; Okada, N; Torii, Y; Ueda, A; Kawamura, S; Araya, A; Ando, M; Sato, S

2010-01-01

Deci-hertz Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory: DECIGO is a project aimed at future detection of deci-hertz gravitational waves in space. DECIGO Pathfinder: DPF is a precursor mission to test the key technologies with one spacecraft. Our work in this article was to examine the strength of the DPF test mass module to ensure that it is sufficiently robust for launch with a launch vehicle. We designed the test mass module, and examined the structural strength of this model by structural analysis, Quasi-static acceleration analysis and Modal analysis using FEA (Finite Element Analysis). We found that the results of each analysis fulfilled all requirements. We are confident that the DPF test mass module will withstand Quasi-static acceleration or coupling with vibration of launch vehicle during launch, if the design matches the current design. For more detail, further analysis including Response analysis and Thermal analysis are recommended. In addition, it will be necessary to lighten the model in the next step.

Oral health related behaviors among adult Tanzanians: a national pathfinder survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Senkoro Ahadieli R

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The oral health education programs which have been organised and delivered in Tanzania were not based on a thorough understanding of behaviours which influence oral health. Therefore, evaluation of these programs became difficult. This study aimed at investigating the oral health related behaviours and their determinants among Tanzanian adults. Methods A national pathfinder cross sectional survey was conducted in 2006 involving 1759 respondents from the six geographic zones of mainland Tanzania. Frequency distributions, Chi square and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 13.0. Results The rates of abstinence from alcohol for the past 30 days and life time smoking were 61.6% and 16.7% respectively, with males being more likely to smoke (OR 9.2, CI 6.3 -12.9, p Conclusion The findings of this study demonstrated social demographic disparities in relation to oral health related behaviors, while dental pain was associated with low consumption of sugar and high likelihood to take alcohol.

Quality Assurance statistics for AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.2 L3-Collated (L3C) sea surface temperature in global and selected regions (NODC Accession 0111871)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These quality monitoring data for Pathfinder Version 5.2 (PFV5.2) Sea Surface Temperature (SST) are based on the concept of a Rich Inventory developed by the...

Measurement of Narora reactor building relative settlement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deo, P.M.; Pande, K.C.; Patwardhan, H.S.

1977-01-01

The civil construction of the reactor building of Narora Atomic Power Project has a special problem. The stability of the structure is liable to settlement as this location falls in seismic zone. To obviate the possibility of large scale unequal settlements, the reactor building is founded on a 4 meter thick rigid raft concreted in three layers, at a depth of 13 meters below ground. Stainless steel tanks will be embedded at 17 locations to measure relative settlements. The relative elevation difference will be detected by electrical probes when the water level in any one of the tanks touches the tip of the probes. The design envisages a maximum permissible unequal settlements of about 10 mm. over a period of 20 years. (K.B.)

Actinide behavior in the integral fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courtney, J.C.

1993-05-01

Goal of this project is to determine the consumption of Np-237, Pu-240, Am-241, and Am-243 in the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) fuel cycle. These four actinides set the long term waste management criteria for spent nuclear fuel; if it can be demonstrated that they can be efficiently consumed in the IFR, then requirements for nuclear waste repositories can be much less demanding. Irradiations in the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) at Argonne National Laboratory's site near Idaho Falls, Idaho, will be conducted to determine fission and transmutation rates for the four nuclides. The experimental effort involves target package design, fabrication, quality assurance, and irradiation. Post irradiation analyses are required to determine the fission rates and neutron spectra in the EBR-II core

Prevalence and cost of imaging in inpatient falls: the rising cost of falling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fields J

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Jessica Fields,1 Tahani Alturkistani,2 Neal Kumar,3 Arjun Kanuri,3 Deeb N Salem,1 Samson Munn,2 Deborah Blazey-Martin1 1Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA; 2Department of Radiology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA; 3Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA Objective: To quantify the type, prevalence, and cost of imaging following inpatient falls, identify factors associated with post-fall imaging, and determine correlates of positive versus negative imaging. Design: Single-center retrospective cohort study of inpatient falls. Data were collected from the hospital's adverse event reporting system, DrQuality. Age, sex, date, time, and location of fall, clinical service, Morse Fall Scale/fall protocol, admitting diagnosis, and fall-related imaging studies were reviewed. Cost included professional and facilities fees for each study. Setting: Four hundred and fifteen bed urban academic hospital over 3 years (2008–2010. Patients: All adult inpatient falls during the study period were included. Falls experienced by patients aged <18 years, outpatient and emergency patients, visitors to the hospital, and staff were excluded. Measurements and main results: Five hundred and thirty inpatient falls occurred during the study period, average patient age 60.7 years (range 20–98. More than half of falls were men (55% and patients considered at risk of falls (56%. Falls were evenly distributed across morning (33%, evening (34%, and night (33% shifts. Of 530 falls, 178 (34% patients were imaged with 262 studies. Twenty percent of patients imaged had at least one positive imaging study attributed to the fall and 82% of studies were negative. Total cost of imaging was $160,897, 63% ($100,700 from head computed tomography (CT. Conclusion: Inpatient falls affect patients of both sexes, all ages, occur at any time of day and lead to expensive imaging, mainly from head CTs. Further study should be targeted toward

Using Pathfinder networks to discover alignment between expert and consumer conceptual knowledge from online vaccine content.

Science.gov (United States)

Amith, Muhammad; Cunningham, Rachel; Savas, Lara S; Boom, Julie; Schvaneveldt, Roger; Tao, Cui; Cohen, Trevor

2017-10-01

This study demonstrates the use of distributed vector representations and Pathfinder Network Scaling (PFNETS) to represent online vaccine content created by health experts and by laypeople. By analyzing a target audience's conceptualization of a topic, domain experts can develop targeted interventions to improve the basic health knowledge of consumers. The underlying assumption is that the content created by different groups reflects the mental organization of their knowledge. Applying automated text analysis to this content may elucidate differences between the knowledge structures of laypeople (heath consumers) and professionals (health experts). This paper utilizes vaccine information generated by laypeople and health experts to investigate the utility of this approach. We used an established technique from cognitive psychology, Pathfinder Network Scaling to infer the structure of the associational networks between concepts learned from online content using methods of distributional semantics. In doing so, we extend the original application of PFNETS to infer knowledge structures from individual participants, to infer the prevailing knowledge structures within communities of content authors. The resulting graphs reveal opportunities for public health and vaccination education experts to improve communication and intervention efforts directed towards health consumers. Our efforts demonstrate the feasibility of using an automated procedure to examine the manifestation of conceptual models within large bodies of free text, revealing evidence of conflicting understanding of vaccine concepts among health consumers as compared with health experts. Additionally, this study provides insight into the differences between consumer and expert abstraction of domain knowledge, revealing vaccine-related knowledge gaps that suggest opportunities to improve provider-patient communication. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Validation of the Saskatoon Falls Prevention Consortium's Falls Screening and Referral Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Lawson, Sara Nicole; Zaluski, Neal; Petrie, Amanda; Arnold, Cathy; Basran, Jenny

2013-01-01

ABSTRACT Purpose: To investigate the concurrent validity of the Saskatoon Falls Prevention Consortium's Falls Screening and Referral Algorithm (FSRA). Method: A total of 29 older adults (mean age 77.7 [SD 4.0] y) residing in an independent-living senior's complex who met inclusion criteria completed a demographic questionnaire and the components of the FSRA and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). The FSRA consists of the Elderly Fall Screening Test (EFST) and the Multi-factor Falls Questionnaire (MFQ); it is designed to categorize individuals into low, moderate, or high fall-risk categories to determine appropriate management pathways. A predictive model for probability of fall risk, based on previous research, was used to determine concurrent validity of the FSRI. Results: The FSRA placed 79% of participants into the low-risk category, whereas the predictive model found the probability of fall risk to range from 0.04 to 0.74, with a mean of 0.35 (SD 0.25). No statistically significant correlation was found between the FSRA and the predictive model for probability of fall risk (Spearman's ρ=0.35, p=0.06). Conclusion: The FSRA lacks concurrent validity relative to to a previously established model of fall risk and appears to over-categorize individuals into the low-risk group. Further research on the FSRA as an adequate tool to screen community-dwelling older adults for fall risk is recommended. PMID:24381379

The U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues. Volume 2: National Security Policy and Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

of the Depression . Justice Robert H. Jackson’s 1952 decision has been cited in the debate over President George W. Bush’s use of presidential power...points about morality: we know the standard, and we also know human beings fall short of that standard with depressing regularity. The fact of moral...Government Printing Office, 1884, p. 104. 21. Utley, p. 144. 22. Andrist, p. 159. 23. John S. Gray, Centennial Campaign: The Sioux War of 1876, Norman, OK

Investigation of the failure of a reactor pressure vessel by plastic instability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laemmer, H.; Ritter, B.

1994-01-01

A possible consequence of a core meltdown accident in a pressurized water reactor is the failure of the reactor pressure vessel under high internal pressure. With the aid of the finite element program ABAQUS and using a material model of the thermo-plasticity for large deformation, the failure of the reactor pressure vessel due to plastic instability was examined. It was apparent from the finite element calculations that solely due to reduction in strength of the material, even for internal wall temperatures clearly below the core melt; of about 2000 C, the critical internal pressure can fall to values which are lower than the working pressure. With the aid of simplified geometry, a lower limit for the pressure at failure of the reactor pressure vessel can be calculated. (orig./HP) [de

University of Wisconsin Nuclear Reactor Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin. Annual report, Fiscal Year 1982-1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cashwell, R.J.

1983-01-01

Three Nuclear Engineering Department classes make use of the reactor. Forty-eight students enrolled in NE 231 participated in a two-hour laboratory session introducing students to rector behavior characteristics. Twelve hours of reactor operating time were devoted to this session. NE 427 was offeed in the fall semester and had an enrollment of sixteen. Several NE 427 experiments use materials that are activated in the reactor. One experiment entitled Radiation Survey requires that students make measurements of radiation levels in and around the reactor laboratory. The irradiations in support of NE 427 and the radiation survey take place during normal isotope production runs, so no reactor time is specifically devoted to NE 427. The enrollment in NE 428 was twenty-four, as it was offered in both semesters

Monte-Carlo RAY tracing simulation of a falling particle receiver in connection with a central receiver field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alxneit, I [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

1999-08-01

The program RAY was developed to perform Monte-Carlo simulations of the flux distribution in solar reactors in connection with an arbitrary heliostat field. The code accounts for the shading of the incoming rays from the sun due to the reactor supporting tower as well as for full blocking and shading of the heliostats among themselves. A simplified falling particle reactor (FPR) was evaluated. A central receiver field was used with a total area of 311 m{sup 2} composed of 176 round, focusing heliostats. No attempt was undertaken to optimise either the geometry of the heliostat field nor the aiming strategy of the heliostats. The FPR was evaluated at two different geographic latitudes (-8.23W/47.542N; PSI and -8.23W/20.0N) and during the course of a day (May 30{sup th}). The incident power passing through the reactor aperture and the flux density distribution within the FPR was calculated. (author) 3 figs., 1 tab., 3 refs.

Nurses' Perceptions of Implementing Fall Prevention Interventions to Mitigate Patient-Specific Fall Risk Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Deleise S; Montie, Mary; Conlon, Paul; Reynolds, Margaret; Ripley, Robert; Titler, Marita G

2016-08-01

Evidence-based (EB) fall prevention interventions to mitigate patient-specific fall risk factors are readily available but not routinely used in practice. Few studies have examined nurses' perceptions about both the use of these EB interventions and implementation strategies designed to promote their adoption. This article reports qualitative findings of nurses' perceptions about use of EB fall prevention interventions to mitigate patient-specific fall risks, and implementation strategies to promote use of these interventions. The findings revealed five major themes: before-study fall prevention practices, use of EB fall prevention interventions tailored to patient-specific fall risk factors, beneficial implementation strategies, overall impact on approach to fall prevention, and challenges These findings are useful to guide nurses' engagement and use of EB fall prevention practices tailored to patient-specific fall risk factors. © The Author(s) 2016.

4 km NODC/RSMAS AVHRR Pathfinder v5.0 and Interim v5.0 Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Data and v5.1 SST Data for 1981-2009

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The 4 km Pathfinder effort at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) and the University of Miami's...

The French-German common safety approach for future reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Birkhofer, A.; Chevet, P.F.

1995-01-01

A common safety approach has been defined for future electronuclear plants in the framework of the French-German European Pressurised water Reactor (EPR) project. Improvements in the domain of containment are required in future reactors conception to prevent any risk of core fusion under high and low pressure. Another objective is to reduce significantly the radioactive releases due to other accidents in order to reduce spatial and temporal environmental and human protection procedures. Protection against external aggressions (plane fall, explosions, earthquakes,..), prevention of pipe rupture in the primary circuits, limitation of hydrogen production in the case of water-zirconium complete reaction, cooling of the reactor in the case of core fusion, and radiologic consequences of accidents are the main points discussed by the French-German safety authorities to define the common safety standards of the EPR project. (J.S.)

LISA Pathfinder E2E performance simulation: optical and self-gravity stability analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, N.; Fichter, W.; Kersten, M.; Lucarelli, S.; Montemurro, F.

2005-05-01

End-to-end (E2E) modelling and simulation, i.e. verifying the science performance of LISA Pathfinder (spacecraft and payload), is mandatory in order to minimize mission risks. In this paper, focus is on two particular applications of the E2E performance simulator currently being developed at EADS Astrium GmbH: the opto-dynamical stability and the self-gravity disturbance stability analysis. The E2E models applied here comprise the opto-dynamical modelling of the optical metrology systems (OMS) laser interferometry, the thermo-elastic distortion modelling of the OMS optical elements and the self-gravity disturbance model accounting for structural distortions. Preliminary analysis results are presented in detail, identifying shortcomings of the current LISA technology package (LTP) mounting baseline. As a consequence, the design is now being revised.

LISA Pathfinder E2E performance simulation: optical and self-gravity stability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandt, N; Fichter, W; Kersten, M; Lucarelli, S; Montemurro, F

2005-01-01

End-to-end (E2E) modelling and simulation, i.e. verifying the science performance of LISA Pathfinder (spacecraft and payload), is mandatory in order to minimize mission risks. In this paper, focus is on two particular applications of the E2E performance simulator currently being developed at EADS Astrium GmbH: the opto-dynamical stability and the self-gravity disturbance stability analysis. The E2E models applied here comprise the opto-dynamical modelling of the optical metrology systems (OMS) laser interferometry, the thermo-elastic distortion modelling of the OMS optical elements and the self-gravity disturbance model accounting for structural distortions. Preliminary analysis results are presented in detail, identifying shortcomings of the current LISA technology package (LTP) mounting baseline. As a consequence, the design is now being revised

Meteorite falls in Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Khiri, Fouad; Ibhi, Abderrahmane; Saint-Gerant, Thierry; Medjkane, Mohand; Ouknine, Lahcen

2017-10-01

The study of meteorites provides insight into the earliest history of our solar system. From 1800, about the year meteorites were first recognized as objects falling from the sky, until December 2014, 158 observed meteorite falls were recorded in Africa. Their collected mass ranges from 1.4 g to 175 kg with the 1-10 kg cases predominant. The average rate of African falls is low with only one fall recovery per 1.35-year time interval (or 0.023 per year per million km2). This African collection is dominated by ordinary chondrites (78%) just like in the worldwide falls. The seventeen achondrites include three Martian meteorite falls (Nakhla of Egypt, Tissint of Morocco and Zagami of Nigeria). Observed Iron meteorite falls are relatively rare and represent only 5%. The falls' rate in Africa is variable in time and in space. The number of falls continues to grow since 1860, 80% of which were recovered during the period between 1910 and 2014. Most of these documented meteorite falls have been recovered from North-Western Africa, Eastern Africa and Southern Africa. They are concentrated in countries which have a large surface area and a large population with a uniform distribution. Other factors are also favorable for observing and collecting meteorite falls across the African territory, such as: a genuine meteorite education, a semi-arid to arid climate (clear sky throughout the year most of the time), croplands or sparse grasslands and possible access to the fall location with a low percentage of forest cover and dense road network.

Preventing falls and fractures.

Science.gov (United States)

Ulfarsson, J; Robinson, B E

1994-11-01

One of four persons over age 65 in the community falls; those over age 75 in institutions fall more frequently. Falls, a complex phenomena suggesting present disease and predicting future disability, are caused by interactions between the environment and dynamic balance which is determined by the quality of sensory input, central processing, and motor responses. Clinical factors which predispose to falling often produce observable disturbances in gait and balance, making observation critical in assessment. Acute illness and drug therapy produce particularly preventable falls. Therapeutic exercise and environmental modification for safety are the clinical interventions most likely to successfully prevent fall-related injury.

A Successful ED Fall Risk Program Using the KINDER 1 Fall RiskAssessment Tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Townsend, Ann B; Valle-Ortiz, Marisol; Sansweet, Tracy

2016-11-01

Emergency nurses did not perform falls risk assessments routinely on our ED patients; the instrument used was aimed at inpatients. We identified a need to revise fall assessment practices specific to our emergency department. The purpose of the performance improvement project was to reduce ED falls and evaluate the use of an ED-specific fall risk tool, the KINDER 1 Fall Risk Assessment. The plan was to establish fall risk assessment practices at point of ED entry and to decrease total falls. We retrospectively reviewed ED fall data for each quarter of 2013, which included risk assessments scores, the total number of falls, and the circumstances of each fall. Using Kotter's framework to guide a successful change process, we implemented the KINDER 1 to assess fall risk. During the first 4 weeks of the project, 937 patients (27%) were identified as high risk for falls using the KINDER 1. During the subsequent 3 quarters, the total number of falls decreased; reported falls without injuries dropped from 0.21 to 0.07 per 1000 patients, and falls with injuries were reduced from 0.21 to 0.0 per 1000 patients. The results of this project represented a valuable step toward achieving our goal to keep ED patients safe from injuries as a result of falls. The findings add to the body of nursing knowledge on the application of clinical-based performance improvement projects to improve patient outcomes and to provide data on the use of the KINDER 1 tool, which has not been extensively tested. Copyright © 2016 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identification des freins et des leviers dans la coopération médecin généraliste-pharmacien d'officine, au sein d'un programme d'ETP sur l'ostéoporose (Projet SIOUX)

OpenAIRE

Mettavant , Laurie

2014-01-01

Non disponible / Not available; L’ostéoporose post-ménopausique est un enjeu important de santé publique. A l’heure actuelle, nousdisposons de moyens thérapeutiques efficaces permettant d’envisager une meilleure prise en charge,mais l’adhésion du patient à son traitement conditionne le succès thérapeutique. Les patientes peuventintégrer un programme d’éducation thérapeutique et prolonger leur suivi dans le cadre du projetSIOUX (Suivi Intégré de l’Ostéoporose par les URPS-X) au CHR de Metz-Thi...

Predictive value of stabilometry and fear of falling on falls in postmenopausal women.

Science.gov (United States)

Hita-Contreras, F; Martínez-Amat, A; Lomas-Vega, R; Álvarez, P; Aránega, A; Martínez-López, E; Mendoza, N

2013-10-01

Falls are one of the leading causes of fractures and impaired quality of life in the elderly, and they are related to balance deficit and to fear of falls. The purpose of our study is to evaluate predictors of falls in the 50-65-year-old postmenopausal population. A prospective cohort study was conducted on 96 postmenopausal women. Fear of falling and postural stability were assessed by using the FES-I (Falls Efficacy Scale-International) and a force platform, respectively. Fall frequency was determined in the 12-month follow-up study period. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictive factors of falls. Fear of falls, the FES-I scale and four stabilometric parameters, specifically under eyes-closed condition, were significantly higher in the group of fallers. The root mean square amplitude in the medial-lateral direction with eyes closed (RMSXec) (odds ratio 5.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6-15.5, p = 0.004) and FES-I (odds ratio 3.4, 95% CI 1.1-10.5, p = 0.026) were the best independent predictive factors of the risk of falling. RMSXec > 0.133 was the best predictive factor for falls in our group of 50-65-year-old postmenopausal women studied, and a FES-I score > 20 could predict falls in this population.

Examination of the bases for proposed innovations in reactor safety technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moses, D.L.

1986-01-01

This paper employs the criteria for evaluations from the Nuclear Power Option Viability Study to examine the bases for proposed innovations in light water reactor safety technology. These bases for innovation fall into four broad categories as follows: (1) virtually exclusive reliance on passive safety features to preclude core damage in all situations, (2) design simplification using some passive safety features to reduce the frequency of core damage to less than about 10 -6 per reactor-year, (3) passive containment to preclude releases from any accident, and (4) designing to limit licensing attention to one or at least a few systems. Of these, only the first two, and perhaps only the second, hold significant promise for providing for the viability of advanced light water reactors

iFall: an Android application for fall monitoring and response.

Science.gov (United States)

Sposaro, Frank; Tyson, Gary

2009-01-01

Injuries due to falls are among the leading causes of hospitalization in elderly persons, often resulting in a rapid decline in quality of life or death. Rapid response can improve the patients outcome, but this is often lacking when the injured person lives alone and the nature of the injury complicates calling for help. This paper presents an alert system for fall detection using common commercially available electronic devices to both detect the fall and alert authorities. We use an Android-based smart phone with an integrated tri-axial accelerometer. Data from the accelerometer is evaluated with several threshold based algorithms and position data to determine a fall. The threshold is adaptive based on user provided parameters such as: height, weight, and level of activity. The algorithm adapts to unique movements that a phone experiences as opposed to similar systems which require users to mount accelerometers to their chest or trunk. If a fall is suspected a notification is raised requiring the user's response. If the user does not respond, the system alerts pre-specified social contacts with an informational message via SMS. If a contact responds the system commits an audible notification, automatically connects, and enables the speakerphone. If a social contact confirms a fall, an appropriate emergency service is alerted. Our system provides a realizable, cost effective solution to fall detection using a simple graphical interface while not overwhelming the user with uncomfortable sensors.

Falls in institutions for older adults: characterization of fall occurrences and associated risk factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina Rosa Soares Lavareda Baixinho

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Falls are the main accident for older adults, with consequences on functionality. Older adults impose restrictions or have restrictions imposed on their activities for fear of new falls. This prospective longitudinal study was conducted with 104 institutionalized older adults during six months with the following goals: to determine the prevalence of falls, to characterize the falls according to place, time, resulting injuries, supervision of the older adult, action performed at the time of the fall, and to relate the occurrence of the fall to the risk of falling, medical diagnoses, number of medications in use, type of medication, degree of dependency, age, and gender. The prevalence of falls was 37.5%, and they happened mostly in the bedroom, while walking after getting up from the bed. Those under risk in the Morse Fall Scale (p=0.034 and on sedatives (p=0.007 face a higher prevalence of falls. This study enables the possibility of making suggestions for practice, training and investigation.

The Neighborhood Environment: Perceived Fall Risk, Resources, and Strategies for Fall Prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Chippendale, Tracy; Boltz, Marie

2015-08-01

To explore the experience of older adults in their neighborhood in relation to perceived fall risk, fear of falling (FOF), and resources/strategies for fall prevention. Fourteen older adults, 65 years of age and older from 3 urban senior centers, participated in this qualitative study. The semistructured interview guidelines and background questionnaire were developed by the researchers based on the literature and an existing measure of walkability. Both tools were refined based on pilot interviews with seniors. Collaizzi's phenomenological method was used for data analysis. Five themes emerged from the data: (a) The built environment contributes to perceived fall risk and FOF, (b) personal strategies used to adapt to perceived neighborhood fall risks-behavioral approaches, (c) resources for physical activity and safety, (d) barriers to physical activity and exercise, and (e) neighborhood features as a motivator. Urban-dwelling seniors perceive that neighborhood features contribute to or mitigate fall risk and FOF. Behavioral strategies are used by seniors to prevent outdoor falls. The findings can help clinicians develop targeted fall prevention interventions for well elders and help urban planners to design and retrofit urban environments to reduce fall risk. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

4 km NODC/RSMAS AVHRR Pathfinder v5 Seasonal and Annual Day-Night Sea Surface Temperature Climatologies for 1982-2009 for the Gulf of Mexico (NODC Accession 0072888)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains a set of sea surface temperature climatologies for the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), derived from the AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5 sea surface...

Characteristics and fall experiences of older adults with and without fear of falling outdoors.

Science.gov (United States)

Chippendale, Tracy; Lee, Chang Dae

2018-06-01

Using a theoretical model that combines an ecological perspective and Bandura's theory of self-efficacy as a guide, we sought to compare experiences and characteristics of community dwelling older adults with and without concern about falling outdoors. A survey of randomly selected community dwelling older adults across NYC (N = 120) was conducted using the outdoor falls questionnaire. Descriptive quantitative analyses of participant characteristics were conducted for all participants and for those with and without concern about falling outside. Conventional content analysis using two coders was employed to examine outdoor fall experiences for each group. A mixed methods matrix was used to integrate qualitative and quantitative findings. Some participant characteristics were more common among those with a concern about falling outside such as decreased functional status, female gender, and number of prior outdoor falls. As per descriptions of outdoor fall experiences, participants with concern were more likely to report a fall while climbing stairs or stepping up a curb, describe an intrinsic factor as a cause of their fall, use an injury prevention strategy during the fall, sustain a moderate to severe injury, seek medical attention, have had an ambulance called, require help to get up, and describe implementation of a behavioral change after the fall. Differences exist in participant characteristics and outdoor fall experiences of those with and without concern about falling outside. The proposed model can be used to understand fear of falling outdoors and can help to inform the target population and content of intervention programs.

Application of probabilistic method for estimation of risk of vulnerability of nuclear power station at falling of airplane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azarov, S.Yi.; Sorokyin, G.A.

2006-01-01

At the analysis of safety of NPP it is necessary to take into account possibility of damage of the reactor setting or systems which provide its safety, as a result of the external influencing, including related to activity of man. The problems of safety of NPP at the possible falling on it of airplane are analyzed in the article

Effects of a multifactorial fall prevention program on fall incidence and physical function in community-dwelling older adults with risk of falls.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hsuei-Chen; Chang, Ku-Chou; Tsauo, Jau-Yih; Hung, Jen-Wen; Huang, Yu-Ching; Lin, Sang-I

2013-04-01

To evaluate effects of a multifactorial fall prevention program on fall incidence and physical function in community-dwelling older adults. Multicenter randomized controlled trial. Three medical centers and adjacent community health centers. Community-dwelling older adults (N=616) who have fallen in the previous year or are at risk of falling. After baseline assessment, eligible subjects were randomly allocated into the intervention group (IG) or the control group (CG), stratified by the Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) fall risk level. The IG received a 3-month multifactorial intervention program including 8 weeks of exercise training, health education, home hazards evaluation/modification, along with medication review and ophthalmology/other specialty consults. The CG received health education brochures, referrals, and recommendations without direct exercise intervention. Primary outcome was fall incidence within 1 year. Secondary outcomes were PPA battery (overall fall risk index, vision, muscular strength, reaction time, balance, and proprioception), Timed Up & Go (TUG) test, Taiwan version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, EuroQol-5D, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and the Falls Efficacy Scale-International at 3 months after randomization. Participants were 76±7 years old and included low risk 25.6%, moderate risk 25.6%, and marked risk 48.7%. The cumulative 1-year fall incidence was 25.2% in the IG and 27.6% in the CG (hazard ratio=.90; 95% confidence interval, .66-1.23). The IG improved more favorably than the CG on overall PPA fall risk index, reaction time, postural sway with eyes open, TUG test, and GDS, especially for those with marked fall risk. The multifactorial fall prevention program with exercise intervention improved functional performance at 3 months for community-dwelling older adults with risk of falls, but did not reduce falls at 1-year follow-up. Fall incidence might have been decreased simultaneously in both

How Do Community-Dwelling Persons with Alzheimer Disease Fall Falls in the FINALEX Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niko M. Perttila

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background: People with dementia are at high risk for falls. However, little is known of the features causing falls in Alzheimer disease (AD. Our aim was to investigate how participants with AD fall. Methods: In the FINALEX (Finnish Alzheimer Disease Exercise Trial study, participants’ (n = 194 falls were followed up for 1 year by diaries kept by their spouses. Results: The most common reason for falls (n = 355 was stumbling (n = 61. Of the falls, 123 led to injuries, 50 to emergency department visits, and 13 to fractures. The participants without falls (n = 103 were younger and had milder dementia than those with 1 (n = 34 or ≥2 falls (n = 57. Participants with a Mini Mental State Examination score of around 10 points were most prone to fall. In adjusted regression models, good nutritional status, good physical functioning, and use of antihypertensive medication (incident rate ratio [IRR] 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54–0.85 protected against falls, whereas fall history (IRR 2.71, 95% CI 2.13–3.44, osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, higher number of drugs, drugs with anticholinergic properties, psychotropics, and opioids (IRR 4.27, 95% CI 2.92–6.24 were risk factors for falls. Conclusions: Our study provides a detailed account on how and why people with AD fall, suggesting several risk and protective factors.

Frequency spectrum of Calder Hall reactor noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cummins, J.D.

1960-01-01

The frequency spectrum of the noise power of Calder Hall reactor No. 1 has been obtained by analysing a tape recording of the backed off power. The root mean square noise power due to all frequencies above 0.001 cycles per second was found to be 0.13%. The noise power for this reactor, is due mainly to modulations of the power level by reactivity variations caused in turn by gas temperature changes. These gas temperature changes are caused by a Cyclic variation in the feedwater regulator to the heat exchanger. The apparatus and method used to determine the noise power are described in this memorandum. It is shown that for frequencies in the range 0.001 to 0.030 cycles per second the noise spectrum falls at 60 decibels per decade of frequency. (author)

Predicting falls using two instruments (the Hendrich Fall Risk Model and the Morse Fall Scale) in an acute care setting in Lebanon.

Science.gov (United States)

Nassar, Nada; Helou, Nancy; Madi, Chantal

2014-06-01

To assess the predictive value of two instruments (the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) and the Heindrich II Fall Risk Model (HFRM)] in a Middle Eastern country (Lebanon) and to evaluate the factors that are related to falls. A prospective observational cross-sectional design was used. Falls and fall-related injuries in the acute care settings contribute a substantial health and economic burden on patients and organisations. Preventing falls is a priority for most healthcare organisations. While the risk of falling cannot be eliminated, it can be significantly reduced through accurate assessment of patients' risk of falling. Data from 1815 inpatients at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) in Lebanon were evaluated using two instruments to predict falls: the MFS and the HFRM. The incidence of falls was 2·7% in one year. The results indicate that while the instruments were significantly correlated, the HFRM was more sensitive in predicting falls than the MFS. The internal consistency of both scales was moderate, but inter-rater reliability was high. Patients using antiepileptic drugs and assistance devises had higher odds of falling. Although both instruments were easy to use in a Middle Eastern country, the HFRM rather than the MFS is recommended for inpatients in an acute care setting as it had higher sensitivity and specificity. It is recommended that while the HFRM had adequate sensitivity, it is not seamless, and as such, nurses should not rely entirely on it. Rather, nurses should use their expert clinical judgement, their ethical obligations and cultural considerations to implement a safer environment of care for the patient. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Fall Enrollment Report. 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Iowa Department of Education, 2014

2014-01-01

This report summarizes and analyzes fall enrollment in Iowa's community colleges. Each year, Iowa's 15 community colleges submit data on enrollment on the 10th business day of the fall semester. Some highlights from this report include: (1) Fall 2014 enrollment was 93,772 students--a decline of 0.49 percent from last fall; (2) Enrollment continues…

Students fall for Fall Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

Smedley, Kara

2012-02-01

From Boston to Beijing, thousands of students traveled to San Francisco for the 2011 AGU Fall Meeting. Of those who participated, 183 students were able to attend thanks to AGU's student travel grant program, which assists students with travel costs and seeks to enrich the meeting through ethnic and gender diversity. Students at Fall Meeting enjoyed a variety of programs and activities designed to help them better network with their peers, learn about new fields, and disseminate their research to the interested public. More than 800 students attended AGU's first annual student mixer, sharing drinks and ideas with fellow student members and future colleagues as well as forging new friendships and intellectual relationships.

Mars 2024/2026 Pathfinder Mission: Mars Architectures, Systems, and Technologies for Exploration and Resources Project

Science.gov (United States)

Zeitlin, Nancy; Mueller, Robert; Muscatello, Anthony

2015-01-01

Integrate In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) sub-systems and examine advanced capabilities and technologies to verify Mars 2024 Forward architecture precursor pathfinder options: Integrated spacecraft/surface infrastructure fluid architecture: propulsion, power, life support center dot Power system feed and propellant scavenging from propulsion system center dot High quality oxygen for life support and EVA Fluid/cryogenic zero-loss transfer and long-term storage center dot Rapid depot-to-rover/spacecraft center dot Slow ISRU plant-to-ascent vehicle Integration of ISRU consumable production center dot Oxygen only from Mars atmosphere carbon dioxide center dot Oxygen, fuel, water, from extraterrestrial soil/regolith Test bed to evaluate long duration life, operations, maintenance on hardware, sensors, and autonomy

Falls and Fall Prevention in Older Adults With Early-Stage Dementia: An Integrative Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lach, Helen W; Harrison, Barbara E; Phongphanngam, Sutthida

2017-05-01

Older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early-stage dementia have an increased risk of falling, with risks to their health and quality of life. The purpose of the current integrative review was to evaluate evidence on fall risk and fall prevention in this population. Studies were included if they examined falls or fall risk factors in older adults with MCI or early-stage dementia, or reported interventions in this population; 40 studies met criteria. Evidence supports the increased risk of falls in individuals even in the early stages of dementia or MCI, and changes in gait, balance, and fear of falling that may be related to this increased fall risk. Interventions included exercise and multifactorial interventions that demonstrated some potential to reduce falls in this population. Few studies had strong designs to provide evidence for recommendations. Further study in this area is warranted. [Res Gerontol Nurs. 2017; 10(03):139-148.]. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

Urban Dynamics: Analyzing Land Use Change in Urban Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Acevedo, William; Richards, Lora R.; Buchanan, Janis T.; Wegener, Whitney R.

2000-01-01

In FY99, the Earth Resource Observation System (EROS) staff at Ames continued managing the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Urban Dynamics Research program, which has mapping and analysis activities at five USGS mapping centers. Historic land use reconstruction work continued while activities in geographic analysis and modeling were expanded. Retrospective geographic information system (GIS) development - the spatial reconstruction of a region's urban land-use history - focused on the Detroit River Corridor, California's Central Valley, and the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Review of experiments for research reactors - approved 1974

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1977-01-01

This standard establishes guidelines for the review and approval of experiments performed at research reactor facilities. This standard identifies the major areas that shall be reviewed for each experiment to ensure that it (a) falls within the limits delineated in the technical specifications, (b) does not present an unreviewed safety question as defined in 10 CFR Section 50.59 π2-, (c) does not constitute a threat to the health and safety of any individual or group of individuals, and (d) does not constitute a hazard to the reactor facility or other equipment. In addition, this standard recommends a system for classifying experiments to establish levels of review and approval commensurate with the level of risk inherent in the experiment

Filtra-MVSS mitigates the consequences of a severe reactor accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindau, L.; Gustavsson, L.; Elisson, K.

1989-01-01

ABB Atom and Flaekt Industri AB, both members of the ABB Group, have jointly developed an efficient filter for use in nuclear power stations. The purpose of the filter system, known as Filtra-MVSS (for Multi-Venturi Scrubber System) is to provide pressure relief for the reactor containment and to limit radioactive releases in the event of a reactor accident, thereby largely preventing local radioactive fall-out. To this end the pressure is reduced in a controlled manner and the discharged steam and gases are washed in multi-venturi scrubber before release. The system is flexible and can cope with a number of hypothetical accident scenarios. (orig.) [de

Exploring the relationship between fall risk-increasing drugs and fall-related fractures.

Science.gov (United States)

De Winter, Sabrina; Vanwynsberghe, Sarah; Foulon, Veerle; Dejaeger, Eddy; Flamaing, Johan; Sermon, An; Van der Linden, Lorenz; Spriet, Isabel

2016-04-01

Hospital admissions due to fall-related fractures are a major problem in the aging population. Several risk factors have been identified, including drug use. Most studies often retrieved prescription-only drugs from national databases. These are associated with some limitations as they do not always reliably reproduce the complete patient's active drug list. To evaluate the association between the number of FRIDs intake identified by a standardised medication reconciliation process and a fall-related fracture leading to a hospital admission in older adults. The first cohort has been recruited from one traumatology ward of a tertiary teaching hospital in Belgium and the second cohort has been recruited from 11 community pharmacies in Belgium. A prospective study with two individually matched cohorts was performed. Adult patients (≥75 years) admitted with an injury due to a fall were included in the first cohort (faller group). The second cohort consisted of patients who did not suffer from a fall within the last 6 months (non-faller group). Matching was performed for age, gender, place of residence and use of a walking aid. In both groups, clinical pharmacists and undergraduate pharmacy students obtained the medication history, using a standardised approach. A list of drugs considered to increase the risk of falling was created. It included cardiovascular drugs and drugs acting on the nervous system. A linear mixed model was used to compare the number of fall risk-increasing drugs between fallers and non-fallers. The number of fall risk-increasing drugs in a faller versus a non-faller group. Sixty-one patients were matched with 121 non-fallers. Patients received on average 3.1 ± 2.1 and 3.2 ± 1.8 fall risk-increasing drugs in the faller and in the non-faller group, respectively. The mean number of fall risk-increasing drugs was comparable in both groups (p = 0.844), even after adjusting for alcohol consumption, fear of falling, vision and foot problems (p = 0

Falls incidence underestimates the risk of fall-related injuries in older age groups : a comparison with the FARE (Falls risk by Exposure)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Etman, Astrid; Wijlhuizen, Gert Jan; van Heuvelen, Marieke J. G.; Chorus, Astrid; Hopman-Rock, Marijke

Background: up till now, the risk of falls has been expressed as falls incidence (i.e. the number of falls or fallers per 100 person-years). However, the risk of an accident or injury is the probability of having an accident or injury per unit of exposure. The FARE ( Falls risk by Exposure) is a

Falls incidence underestimates the risk of fall-related injuries in older age groups: a comparison with the FARE (Falls risk by Exposure)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Etman, A.; Wijlhuizen, G.J.; van Heuvelen, M.J.G.; Chorus, A.M.J.; Hopman-Rock, M.

2012-01-01

Background: up till now, the risk of falls has been expressed as falls incidence (i.e. the number of falls or fallers per 100 person-years). However, the risk of an accident or injury is the probability of having an accident or injury per unit of exposure. The FARE (Falls risk by Exposure) is a

Falls incidence underestimates the risk of fall-related injuries in older age groups: A comparison with the FARE (Falls risk by exposure)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Etman, A.; Wijlhuizen, G.J.; Heuvelen, M.J.G. van; Chorus, A.; Hopman-Rock, M.

2012-01-01

Background: up till now, the risk of falls has been expressed as falls incidence (i.e. the number of falls or fallers per 100 person-years). However, the risk of an accident or injury is the probability of having an accident or injury per unit of exposure. The FARE (Falls risk by Exposure) is a

Falls, a fear of falling and related factors in older adults with complex chronic disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, JuHee; Choi, MoonKi; Kim, Chang Oh

2017-12-01

To identify factors influencing falls and the fear of falling among older adults with chronic diseases in Korea. The fear of falling and falls in older adults are significant health problems towards which healthcare providers should direct their attention. Further investigation is needed to improve nursing practice specifically decreasing risk of falls and the fear of falling in Korea. Descriptive, cross-sectional survey. A convenience sample of 108 patients was recruited at the geriatric outpatient department of a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea. Demographic characteristics, comorbidities, medication use, fall history, level of physical activity, activities of daily living, mobility, muscle strength, and a fear of falling were investigated. Student's t tests, chi-square tests and multiple linear regressions were used in statistical analysis. Thirty-six participants (33.3%) among 108 subjects reported experiencing ≥1 falls in the past year. Marital status and the use of antipsychotics were associated with falls, while other factors were not significantly related to falls. Only benign prostatic hypertrophy and polypharmacy were significantly related to the fear of falling in the analysis of the relationships between chronic disease, medication use and fear of falling. In the regression model, the number of comorbidities, level of physical activity, activities of daily living and mobility were predictors of a fear of falling. Medication use was marginally significant, in the model. Increasing physical activity, functional fitness and physical independence is important to decrease the fear of falling, and to encourage active and healthy lives in older adults. The findings from this study provide evidence for the development of nursing interventions for older adults. We recommend early screening for a fear of falling and nursing interventions to decrease the fear of falling through enhancing physical activity level and function. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Fuse and application of said fuse to the construction of an emergency shutdown system for a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taulier, H.H.L.; Brugeille, G.

1978-01-01

A fuse device for an automatic emergency shutdown system in fast reactors provides a coupling between a casing tube placed within a fuel can and a series of neutron-absorbing masses held together above the reactor core under normal operating conditions but released in free fall to the lower portion of the casing tube at the level of the reactor core as a result of melting of the fuse when operating characteristics such as temperature or neutron flux attain a level which exceeds a predetermined threshold

Fuse and application of said fuse to the construction of an emergency shutdown system for a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taulier, H.H.L.; Brugeilles, G.

1976-01-01

A fuse device for an automatic emergency shutdown system in fast reactors provides a coupling between a casing tube placed within a fuel can and a series of neutron-absorbing masses held together above the reactor core under normal operating conditions. They are released in free fall to the lower portion of the casing tube at the level of the reactor core as a result of melting of the fuse when operating characteristics such as temperature or neutron flux attain a level which exceeds a predetermined threshold

Association between obesity, risk of falls and fear of falling in older women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Gonçalves Ricci Neri

2017-11-01

Full Text Available DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1980-0037.2017v19n4p450   The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between obesity, risk of falls and fear of falling in older women. Two hundred and twenty-six volunteers (68.05 ± 6.22 years, 68.06 ± 11.79 kg, 1.56 ± 0.06 m were classified as normal weight, overweight or obese, according to the body mass index. Risk of falls and fear of falling were evaluated using QuickScreen Clinical Falls Risk Assessment and Falls Efficiency Scale – International (FES-I, respectively. Comparisons between groups were conducted using Chi-square and ANOVA One-way tests. The significance level was set at p< 0.05. Obesity was associated with greater probability of falls (p< 0.001, which may be partly explained by decreased muscle strength (p< 0.001 and reaction time (p< 0.001. In addition, significant differences between groups was observed in FES-I score (p< 0.01, with obese women showing more pronounced fear of falling (30.10 ± 8.4 than normal weigh (25. 33 ± 7.11, p< 0.01 and overweight subjects (26.97 ± 7.05, p< 0.05. These findings corroborate previous evidence pointing obesity as a major risk factor for falls. Therefore, health professionals dealing with fall prevention should consider the effects of overweight.

New horizons in fall prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Lord, Stephen R; Close, Jacqueline C T

2018-04-25

Falls pose a major threat to the well-being and quality of life of older people. Falls can result in fractures and other injuries, disability and fear and can trigger a decline in physical function and loss of autonomy. This article synthesises recent published findings on fall risk and mobility assessments and fall prevention interventions and considers how this field of research may evolve in the future. Fall risk topics include the utility of remote monitoring using wearable sensors and recent work investigating brain activation and gait adaptability. New approaches for exercise for fall prevention including dual-task training, cognitive-motor training with exergames and reactive step training are discussed. Additional fall prevention strategies considered include the prevention of falls in older people with dementia and Parkinson's disease, drugs for fall prevention and safe flooring for preventing fall-related injuries. The review discusses how these new initiatives and technologies have potential for effective fall prevention and improved quality of life. It concludes by emphasising the need for a continued focus on translation of evidence into practice including robust effectiveness evaluations of so that resources can be appropriately targeted into the future.

Masculinity and preventing falls: insights from the fall experiences of men aged 70 years and over.

Science.gov (United States)

Liddle, J L M; Lovarini, Meryl; Clemson, Lindy M; Jang, Haeyoung; Lord, Stephen R; Sherrington, Catherine; Willis, Karen

2018-01-11

To explore men's fall experiences through the lens of masculine identities so as to assist health professionals better engage men in fall prevention programs. Twenty-five men, aged 70-93 years who had experienced a recent fall, participated in a qualitative semi-structured interview. Men's willingness to engage in fall prevention programs taking account of individual contexts and expressions of masculinity, were conceptualised using constant comparative methods. Men's willingness to engage in fall prevention programs was related to their perceptions of the preventability of falls; personal relevance of falls; and age, health, and capability as well as problem-solving styles to prevent falls. Fall prevention advice was rarely given when men accessed the health system at the time of a fall. Contrary to dominant expectations about masculine identity, many men acknowledged fall vulnerability indicating they would attend or consider attending, a fall prevention program. Health professionals can better engage men by providing consistent messages that falls can be prevented; tailoring advice, understanding men are at different stages in their awareness of fall risk and preferences for action; and by being aware of their own assumptions that can act as barriers to speaking with men about fall prevention. Implications for rehabilitation Men accessing the health system at the time of the fall, and during rehabilitation following a fall represent prime opportunities for health professionals to speak with men about preventing falls and make appropriate referrals to community programs. Tailored advice will take account of individual men's perceptions of preventability; personal relevance; perceptions of age, health and capability; and problem-solving styles.

Disability is an Independent Predictor of Falls and Recurrent Falls in People with Parkinson's Disease Without a History of Falls: A One-Year Prospective Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, Lorena R S; Sherrington, Catherine; Allen, Natalie E; Paul, Serene S; Valenca, Guilherme T; Oliveira-Filho, Jamary; Canning, Colleen G

2015-01-01

Predictors of falls in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) who have not previously fallen are yet to be identified. We aimed to identify predictors of all falls and recurrent falls in people with PD who had not fallen in the previous year and to explore the timing of falls in a 12-month follow-up period. Participants with PD (n = 130) were assessed by disease-specific, self-report and balance measures. Falls were recorded prospectively for 12 months. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to investigate time to falling. Forty participants (31%) had ≥1 fall during follow-up and 21 (16%) had ≥2 falls. Disability, reduced balance confidence and greater concern about falling were associated with ≥1 fall in univariate analyses. Additionally, PD duration and severity, freezing of gait and impaired balance were associated with ≥2 falls (p Disability (Schwab and England scale, Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.56 per 10 points increase; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.39-0.80; p = 0.002) was associated with ≥1 fall in the final multivariate model (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 0.65; 95% CI 0.55-0.76; p = 0.005). Disability (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale activities of daily living, OR = 1.20; 95% CI 1.07-1.34; p = 0.001) and levodopa equivalent dose (OR = 1.11 per 100 mg increase; 95% CI 0.95-1.30; p = 0.19) were associated with ≥2 falls in the final multivariate model (AUC = 0.72; 95% CI 0.60-0.84; p = 0.001). Recurrent fallers experienced their first fall earlier than single fallers (p disability was the strongest single predictor of all falls and recurrent falls.

The history of falls and the association of the timed up and go test to falls and near-falls in older adults with hip osteoarthritis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faulkner Robert A

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Falling accounts for a significant number of hospital and long-term care admissions in older adults. Many adults with the combination of advancing age and functional decline associated with lower extremity osteoarthritis (OA, are at an even greater risk. The purpose of this study was to describe fall and near-fall history, location, circumstances and injuries from falls in a community-dwelling population of adults over aged 65 with hip OA and to determine the ability of the timed up and go test (TUG to classify fallers and near-fallers. Method A retrospective observational study of 106 older men and women with hip pain for six months or longer, meeting a clinical criteria for the presence of hip OA at one or both hips. An interview for fall and near-fall history and administration of the TUG were administered on one occasion. Results Forty-five percent of the sample had at least one fall in the past year, seventy-seven percent reported occasional or frequent near-falls. The majority of falls occurred during ambulation and ascending or descending steps. Forty percent experienced an injury from the fall. The TUG was not associated with history of falls, but was associated with near-falls. Higher TUG scores occurred for those who were older, less mobile, and with greater number of co-morbidities. Conclusion A high percentage of older adults with hip OA experience falls and near-falls which may be attributed to gait impairments related to hip OA. The TUG could be a useful screening instrument to predict those who have frequent near-falls, and thus might be useful in predicting risk of future falls in this population.

Diagnosis and Tests: Evaluating a Fall or Risk of Falling

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... as a physical therapist, who can evaluate your fall risk. If your healthcare provider concludes that you are ... to check for things that can impact your fall risk, such as electrolyte balance and the possibility of ...

Risk of falls after withdrawal of fall-risk-increasing drugs: a prospective cohort study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Velde, Nathalie; Stricker, Bruno H. Ch; Pols, Huib A. P.; van der Cammen, Tischa J. M.

2007-01-01

AIMS: Falling in older persons is a frequent and serious clinical problem. Several drugs have been associated with increased fall risk. The objective of this study was to identify differences in the incidence of falls after withdrawal (discontinuation or dose reduction) of fall-risk-increasing drugs

Rationale for a Mars Pathfinder mission to Chryse Planitia and the Viking 1 lander

Science.gov (United States)

Craddock, Robert A.

1994-01-01

Presently the landing site for Mars Pathfinder will be constrained to latitudes between 0 deg and 30 deg N to facilitate communication with earth and to allow the lander and rover solar arrays to generate the maximum possible power. The reference elevation of the site must also be below 0 km so that the descent parachute, a Viking derivative, has sufficient time to open and slow the lander to the correct terminal velocity. Although Mars has as much land surface area as the continental crust of the earth, such engineering constraints immediately limit the number of possible landing sites to only three broad areas: Amazonis, Chryse, and Isidis Planitia. Of these, both Chryse and Isidis Planitia stand out as the sites offering the most information to address several broad scientific topics.

The design and development of a complex multifactorial falls assessment intervention for falls prevention: The Prevention of Falls Injury Trial (PreFIT).

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Julie; Ralhan, Shvaita; Sheridan, Ray; Westacott, Katharine; Withers, Emma; Finnegan, Susanne; Davison, John; Martin, Finbarr C; Lamb, Sarah E

2017-06-01

This paper describes the design and development of a complex multifactorial falls prevention (MFFP) intervention for implementation and testing within the framework of a large UK-based falls prevention randomised controlled trial (RCT). A complex intervention was developed for inclusion within the Prevention of Falls Injury Trial (PreFIT), a multicentre pragmatic RCT. PreFIT aims to compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of three alternative primary care falls prevention interventions (advice, exercise and MFFP), on outcomes of fractures and falls. Community-dwelling adults, aged 70 years and older, were recruited from primary care in the National Health Service (NHS), England. Development of the PreFIT MFFP intervention was informed by the existing evidence base and clinical guidelines for the assessment and management of falls in older adults. After piloting and modification, the final MFFP intervention includes seven falls risk factors: a detailed falls history interview with consideration of 'red flags'; assessment of balance and gait; vision; medication screen; cardiac screen; feet and footwear screen and home environment assessment. This complex intervention has been fully manualised with clear, documented assessment and treatment pathways for each risk factor. Each risk factor is assessed in every trial participant referred for MFFP. Referral for assessment is based upon a screening survey to identify those with a history of falling or balance problems. Intervention delivery can be adapted to the local setting. This complex falls prevention intervention is currently being tested within the framework of a large clinical trial. This paper adheres to TIDieR and CONSORT recommendations for the comprehensive and explicit reporting of trial interventions. Results from the PreFIT study will be published in due course. The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the PreFIT MFFP intervention, compared to advice and exercise, on the prevention of falls and

Relationship Between Perceived Risk of Falling and Adoption of Precautions to Reduce Fall Risk.

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Blalock, Susan J; Gildner, Paula L; Jones, Jennifer L; Bowling, James M; Casteel, Carri H

2016-06-01

To better understand the relationship between perceived risk of falling and awareness and adoption of four specific precautions that older adults have taken to reduce this risk. Cross-sectional. Data were collected in in-person interviews conducted in the homes of study participants. Interviews conducted between March 2011 and September 2013 and lasted an average of 60-90 minutes. A stratified sampling strategy designed to enroll an equal number of homebound and nonhomebound participants was used. All participants (N = 164) were recruited from central North Carolina. Participants were asked about 1-year fall history, perceived risk of falling, restriction of activities because of fear of falling, awareness of four recommended fall prevention behaviors (exercise, annual medication review, bathroom grab bars, safe footwear), and current practice of these behaviors. In bivariate analyses, individuals who were aware of two behaviors recommended to reduce the risk of falling (exercise, use of safe footwear) and had adopted these behaviors perceived their risk of falling as lower than individuals who were aware of the recommended behaviors but had not adopted them. Moreover, in multivariate analyses, individuals who did not know that exercise is recommended to reduce the risk of falling perceived their risk of falling as lower than those who were aware of this recommendation and had adopted it. Individuals were least likely to be aware that medication reviews and exercise are recommended to reduce fall risk. Awareness of behaviors recommended to reduce fall risk appears necessary for adoption of these behaviors to reduce perceived risk. Fall-prevention campaigns should emphasize behaviors where awareness is low. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

Falls in Parkinson's disease.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grimbergen, Y.A.M.; Munneke, M.; Bloem, B.R.

2004-01-01

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To summarize the latest insights into the clinical significance, assessment, pathophysiology and treatment of falls in Parkinson's disease. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies have shown that falls are common in Parkinson's disease, even when compared with other fall-prone

Predicting Falls in People with Multiple Sclerosis: Fall History Is as Accurate as More Complex Measures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle H. Cameron

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Many people with MS fall, but the best method for identifying those at increased fall risk is not known. Objective. To compare how accurately fall history, questionnaires, and physical tests predict future falls and injurious falls in people with MS. Methods. 52 people with MS were asked if they had fallen in the past 2 months and the past year. Subjects were also assessed with the Activities-specific Balance Confidence, Falls Efficacy Scale-International, and Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale-12 questionnaires, the Expanded Disability Status Scale, Timed 25-Foot Walk, and computerized dynamic posturography and recorded their falls daily for the following 6 months with calendars. The ability of baseline assessments to predict future falls was compared using receiver operator curves and logistic regression. Results. All tests individually provided similar fall prediction (area under the curve (AUC 0.60–0.75. A fall in the past year was the best predictor of falls (AUC 0.75, sensitivity 0.89, specificity 0.56 or injurious falls (AUC 0.69, sensitivity 0.96, specificity 0.41 in the following 6 months. Conclusion. Simply asking people with MS if they have fallen in the past year predicts future falls and injurious falls as well as more complex, expensive, or time-consuming approaches.

Radiological shielding of low power compact reactor: calculation and design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marino, Raul

2004-01-01

The development of compact reactors becoming a technology that offers great projection and innumerable use possibilities, both in electricity generation and in propulsion.One of the requirements for the operation of this type of reactor is that it must include a radiological shield that will allow for different types of configurations and that, may be moved with the reactor if it needs to be transported.The nucleus of a reactor emits radiation, mainly neutrons and gamma rays in the heat of power, and gamma radiation during the radioactive decay of fission products.This radiation must be restrained in both conditions of operation to avoid it affecting workers or the public.The combination of different materials and properties in layers results in better performance in the form of a decrease in radiation, hence causing the dosage outside the reactor, whether in operation or shut down, to fall within the allowed limits.The calculations and design of radiological shields is therefore of paramount importance in reactor design.The choice of material and the design of the shield have a strong impact on the cost and the load capacity, the latter being one of the characteristics to optimize.The imposed condition of design is that the reactor can be transported together with the decay shield in a standard container of 40 foot [es

The interplay between gait, falls and cognition: can cognitive therapy reduce fall risk?

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Segev-Jacubovski, Orit; Herman, Talia; Yogev-Seligmann, Galit; Mirelman, Anat; Giladi, Nir; Hausdorff, Jeffrey M

2011-01-01

In this article, we briefly summarize the incidence and significant consequences of falls among older adults, the insufficient effectiveness of commonly used multifactorial interventions and the evidence linking falls and cognitive function. Recent pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic studies that evaluated the effects of cognitive therapy on fall risk are reviewed. The results of this article illustrate the potential utility of multiple, diverse forms of cognitive therapy for reducing fall risk. The article also indicates that large-scale, randomized controlled trials are warranted and that additional research is needed to better understand the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying the interplay between human mobility, fall risk and cognitive function. Nonetheless, we suggest that multimodality interventions that combine motor and cognitive therapy should, eventually, be incorporated into clinical practice to enable older adults and patients to move safer and with a reduced fall risk. PMID:21721921

Meanings of Falls and Prevention of Falls According to Rehabilitation Nurses: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

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Bok, Amy; Pierce, Linda L; Gies, Cheryl; Steiner, Victoria

2016-01-01

Guided by Friedemann's theoretical framework, this survey explored the meaning of a fall of an institutionalized older adult or fall prevention to rehabilitation registered nurses and whether the experience changed the nurse's practice. Qualitative, descriptive survey. A convenience sample of 742 rehabilitation nurses was asked to describe these experiences and the impact on their practice. Themes discovered related to the meaning of a fall include negative feelings (incongruence) and positive feelings (congruence). Themes related to the meaning of preventing a fall include positive feelings (congruence). Practice change themes emerged from both the experience of a fall and fall prevention. Practice change themes were drawn to Friedemann's (1995) process dimensions. Nurses' experiences and meanings of falls uncovered negative and positive feelings about these falls. New findings of this study were the positive feelings expressed by nurses, when there was no injury or when a fall was prevented. © 2015 Association of Rehabilitation Nurses.

[Risk factors for falls and survival after falling in elderly people in a community].

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Ryuichi; Takagi, Chika; Sakurai, Naoko; Hoshi, Tanji

2012-05-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the risk factors associated with falls and to examine the effects of falls on survival of elderly people in a community. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 16,462 urban elderly dwellers aged 65 years or more in City A in September 2001. A follow-up survey was carried out in September 2004. We analyzed the data of 8,285 subjects who answered both questionnaires and had not relocated by August 2007. Baseline assessments of health and functioning were carried out in 2001. Falls experienced during the 1-year period before September 2004 were recorded, and the deaths were recorded until August 2007. Statistical analysis was performed using a logistic regression model and Cox's proportional hazards analysis. A total of 6,420 subjects (3,127 men and 3,293 women) who had provided complete answers about their falls were included in the analyses. Of these, 27.8% of women and 16.4% of men had experienced falls, while 6.2% of women and 2.1% of men had experienced falls that caused fractures. We found that the likelihood of fall, with or without fracture development, was greater in women than in men (P falls tended to increase with age in both women and men. Risk factors associated with falls, in addition to age and gender, were pain (odds ratio [OR], 1.75), lack of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL; OR, 1.45), poor self-rated health status (OR, 1.42), and presence of disease (OR, 1.35). Risk factors associated with falls that caused fracture were pain (OR, 1.85) and lack of IADL (OR, 1.61). Cox's proportional hazards analysis showed a significant increase in mortality in both men and women who had experienced falls than in those who had not (hazard ratio [HR], 1.94, 1.43). Aging, pain and disease, lack of IADL, and poor self-rated health status were all significant risk factors for falls in elderly people, and a fall was related to subsequent mortality.

Geriatric fall-related injuries.

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Hefny, Ashraf F; Abbas, Alaa K; Abu-Zidan, Fikri M

2016-06-01

Falls are the leading cause of geriatric injury. We aimed to study the anatomical distribution, severity, and outcome of geriatric fall-related injuries in order to give recommendations regarding their prevention. All injured patients with an age ≥ 60 years who were admitted to Al-Ain Hospital or died in the Emergency Department due to falls were prospectively studied over a four year period. We studied 92 patients. Fifty six of them (60.9%) were females. The mean (standard deviation) of age was 72.2 (9.6) years. Seventy three (89%) of all incidents occurred at home. Eighty three patients (90.2%) fell on the same level. The median (range) ISS was 4 (1-16) and the median GCS (range) was 15 (12-15). The lower limb was the most common injured body region (63%). There were no statistical significant differences between males and females regarding age, ISS, and hospital stay (p = 0.85, p = 0.57, and p = 0.35 respectively). The majority of geriatric fall-related injuries were due to fall from the same level at home. Assessment of risk factors for falls including home hazards is essential for prevention of geriatric fall-related injuries.

Fall prevention walker during rehabilitation

Science.gov (United States)

Tee, Kian Sek; E, Chun Zhi; Saim, Hashim; Zakaria, Wan Nurshazwani Wan; Khialdin, Safinaz Binti Mohd; Isa, Hazlita; Awad, M. I.; Soon, Chin Fhong

2017-09-01

This paper proposes on the design of a walker for the prevention of falling among elderlies or patients during rehabilitation whenever they use a walker to assist them. Fall happens due to impaired balance or gait problem. The assistive device is designed by applying stability concept and an accelerometric fall detection system is included. The accelerometric fall detection system acts as an alerting device that acquires body accelerometric data and detect fall. Recorded accelerometric data could be useful for further assessment. Structural strength of the walker was verified via iterations of simulation using finite element analysis, before being fabricated. Experiments were conducted to identify the fall patterns using accelerometric data. The design process and detection of fall pattern demonstrates the design of a walker that could support the user without fail and alerts the helper, thus salvaging the users from injuries due to fall and unattended situation.

Neural cell adhesion molecule, NCAM, regulates thalamocortical axon pathfinding and the organization of the cortical somatosensory representation in mouse

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Enriquez-Barreto, Lilian; Palazzetti, Cecilia; Brennaman, Leann H.; Maness, Patricia F.; Fairén, Alfonso

2012-01-01

To study the potential role of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) in the development of thalamocortical (TC) axon topography, wild type, and NCAM null mutant mice were analyzed for NCAM expression, projection, and targeting of TC afferents within the somatosensory area of the neocortex. Here we report that NCAM and its α-2,8-linked polysialic acid (PSA) are expressed in developing TC axons during projection to the neocortex. Pathfinding of TC axons in wild type and null mutant mice was mapped using anterograde DiI labeling. At embryonic day E16.5, null mutant mice displayed misguided TC axons in the dorsal telencephalon, but not in the ventral telencephalon, an intermediate target that initially sorts TC axons toward correct neocortical areas. During the early postnatal period, rostrolateral TC axons within the internal capsule along the ventral telencephalon adopted distorted trajectories in the ventral telencephalon and failed to reach the neocortex in NCAM null mutant animals. NCAM null mutants showed abnormal segregation of layer IV barrels in a restricted portion of the somatosensory cortex. As shown by Nissl and cytochrome oxidase staining, barrels of the anterolateral barrel subfield (ALBSF) and the most distal barrels of the posteromedial barrel subfield (PMBSF) did not segregate properly in null mutant mice. These results indicate a novel role for NCAM in axonal pathfinding and topographic sorting of TC axons, which may be important for the function of specific territories of sensory representation in the somatosensory cortex. PMID:22723769

Multimorbidity predicts falls differentially according to the type of fall in postmenopausal women.

Science.gov (United States)

Afrin, Nadia; Honkanen, Risto; Koivumaa-Honkanen, Heli; Lukkala, Pyry; Rikkonen, Toni; Sirola, Joonas; Williams, Lana J; Kröger, Heikki

2016-09-01

To ascertain whether the risk of falls of different types is related to morbidity (number of chronic medical conditions) among postmenopausal women. This cohort study uses data from a population-based prospective cohort study (OSTPRE). The study population consisted of 10,594 women aged 47-56 years living in Kuopio Province, Eastern Finland, in 1989, who responded to postal enquiries at both baseline and 5-year follow-up, in 1994. Morbidity (i.e. number of diagnosed chronic medical conditions) was reported in 1989 and falls in 1994. Falls were categorized as slip or nonslip, and 'frequent falls' was defined as two or more in a 12-month period. The risk (odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI) of a fall increased with the number of chronic medical conditions. The OR was 1.28 (1.17-1.40) for those with 1-2 conditions and 1.41 (1.24-1.60) for those with multimorbidity (≥3 conditions) compared with healthy respondents. Multimorbidity was associated with a greater risk of the woman experiencing frequent nonslip falls (OR=2.57; 2.01-3.29) than frequent slip falls (OR=1.46; 1.17-1.80). Adjusting with logistic regression for age, number of medications and smoking did not affect the risk estimates. Multimorbidity has a much smaller effect on slip than on nonslip falls in postmenopausal women. This should be taken into account when investigating the effects of multimorbidity on fall risk in varying weather conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Falls and fear of falling in vertigo and balance disorders: A controlled cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlick, Cornelia; Schniepp, Roman; Loidl, Verena; Wuehr, Max; Hesselbarth, Kristin; Jahn, Klaus

2016-01-01

Vertigo and dizziness are among the most prevalent symptoms in neurologic disorders. Although many of these patients suffer from postural instability and gait disturbances, there is only limited data on their risk of falling. We conducted a controlled cross-sectional study at the tertiary care outpatient clinic of the German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders using a self-administered questionnaire to assess falls, fall-related injuries, and fear of falling. The recruitment period was 6 months. A total of 569 patients (mean age 59.6 ± 17.1 years, 55% females) and 100 healthy participants were included (response rate > 90%). Dizzy patients with central balance disorders (Parkinsonian, cerebellar, and brainstem oculomotor syndromes) had the highest fall rates (> 50% recurrent fallers, odds ratio > 10). The rate of recurrent fallers was 30% in bilateral vestibular failure and peripheral neuropathy (odds ratio > 5). Patients with functional dizziness (somatoform or phobic vertigo) were concerned about falling but did not fall more often than healthy controls (odds ratio 0.87). Falls are common in patients presenting to a dizziness unit. Those with central syndromes are at risk of recurrent and injurious falling. Fall rates and fear of falling should be assessed in balance disorders and used to guide the regimen of rehabilitation therapy. The identification of risk factors would help provide protective measures to these groups of patients.

Risk of falling in a stroke unit after acute stroke: The Fall Study of Gothenburg (FallsGOT).

Science.gov (United States)

Persson, Carina U; Kjellberg, Sigvar; Lernfelt, Bodil; Westerlind, Ellen; Cruce, Malin; Hansson, Per-Olof

2018-03-01

This study aimed to investigate incidence of falls and different baseline variables and their association with falling during hospitalization in a stroke unit among patients with acute stroke. Prospective observational study. A stroke unit at a university hospital. A consecutive sample of stroke patients, out of which 504 were included, while 101 declined participation. The patients were assessed a mean of 1.7 days after admission and 3.8 days after stroke onset. The primary end-point was any fall, from admission to the stroke unit to discharge. Factors associated with falling were analysed using univariable and multivariable Cox hazard regression analyses. Independent variables were related to function, activity and participation, as well as personal and environmental factors. In total, 65 patients (13%) fell at least once. Factors statistically significantly associated with falling in the multivariable analysis were male sex (hazard ratio (HR): 1.88, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13-3.14, P = 0.015), use of a walking aid (HR: 2.11, 95% CI: 1.24-3.60, P = 0.006) and postural control as assessed with the modified version of the Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (SwePASS). No association was found with age, cognition or stroke severity, the HR for low SwePASS scores (⩽24) was 9.33 (95% CI: 2.19-39.78, P = 0.003) and for medium SwePASS scores (25-30) was 6.34 (95% CI: 1.46-27.51, P = 0.014), compared with high SwePASS scores (⩾31). Postural control, male sex and use of a walking aid are associated with falling during hospitalization after acute stroke.

Perceived Fall Risk and Functional Decline: Gender Differences in Patient's Willingness to Discuss Fall Risk, Fall History, or to Have a Home Safety Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, Marna Rayl; Moore, Elizabeth C; Nguyen, Michael C; Stello, Brian; Goldberg, Arnold; Barraco, Robert D; Porter, Bernadette G; Kurt, Anita; Dusza, Stephen W; Kane, Bryan G

2016-06-01

The CDC reports that among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury-related death and rates of fall-related fractures among older women are twice those of men. We set out to 1) determine patient perceptions (analyzed by gender) about their perceived fall risk compared to their actual risk for functional decline and death and 2) to report their comfort level in discussing their fall history or a home safety plan with their provider. Elders who presented to the Emergency Department (ED†) were surveyed. The survey included demographics, the Falls Efficacy Scale (FES) and the Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES); both validated surveys measuring fall concern and functional decline. Females had higher FES scores (mean 12.3, SD 5.9) than males (mean 9.7, SD 5.9 p = .007) in the 146 surveys analyzed. Females were more likely to report an increased fear of falling, and almost three times more likely to have a VES score of 3 or greater than males (OR = 2.86, 95% CI: 1.17-7.00, p = .02). A strong correlation was observed between FES and VES scores (r = 0.80, p fall risk with a provider; there was no difference between genders (p = .57). In this study, irrespective of gender, there appears to be a high association between subjects' perceived fall risk and risk for functional decline and death. The majority of patients are likely willing to discuss their fall risk with their provider. These findings may suggest a meaningful opportunity for fall risk mitigation in this setting.

Fear of Falling in Women with Fibromyalgia and Its Relation with Number of Falls and Balance Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Collado-Mateo, D; Gallego-Diaz, J M; Adsuar, J C; Domínguez-Muñoz, F J; Olivares, P R; Gusi, N

2015-01-01

To evaluate fear of falling, number of falls, and balance performance in women with FM and to examine the relationship between these variables and others, such as balance performance, quality of life, age, pain, and impact of fibromyalgia. A total of 240 women participated in this cross-sectional study. Of these, 125 had fibromyalgia. Several variables were assessed: age, fear of falling from 0 to 100, number of falls, body composition, balance performance, lower limb strength, health-related quality of life, and impact of fibromyalgia. Women with fibromyalgia reported more falls and more fear of falling. Fear of falling was associated with number of falls in the last year, stiffness, perceived balance problems, impact of FM, and HRQoL whereas the number of falls was related to fear of falling, balance performance with eyes closed, pain, tenderness to touch level, anxiety, self-reported balance problems, impact of FM, and HRQoL. FM has an impact on fear of falling, balance performance, and number of falls. Perceived balance problems seem to be more closely associated with fear of falling than objective balance performance.

Falls in older people

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dieën, Jaap H.; Pijnappels, Mirjam

Falls are common incidents, which can have major con-sequences. For example, falls and the interrelated category of accidents being struck by or against objects account for more than 40% of injuries and 30% of injury costs in the USA (Corso et al., 2006). Especially among older adults, falls occur

The High Flux Beam Reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shapiro, S.M.

1994-01-01

Brookhaven National Laboratory's High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) was built because of the need of the scientist to always want 'more'. In the mid-50's the Brookhaven Graphite reactor was churning away producing a number of new results when the current generation of scientists, led by Donald Hughes, realized the need for a high flux reactor and started down the political, scientific and engineering path that led to the BFBR. The effort was joined by a number of engineers and scientists among them, Chemick, Hastings, Kouts, and Hendrie, who came up with the novel design of the HFBR. The two innovative features that have been incorporated in nearly all other research reactors built since are: (i) an under moderated core arrangement which enables the thermal flux to peak outside the core region where beam tubes can be placed, and (ii) beam tubes that are tangential to the core which decrease the fast neutron background without affecting the thermal beam intensity. Construction began in the fall of 1961 and four years later, at a cost of $12 Million, criticality was achieved on Halloween Night, 1965. Thus began 30 years of scientific accomplishments

Maps of the Martian Landing Sites and Rover Traverses: Viking 1 and 2, Mars Pathfinder, and Phoenix Landers, and the Mars Exploration Rovers.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, T. J.; Calef, F. J., III; Deen, R. G.; Gengl, H.

2016-12-01

The traverse maps produced tactically for the MER and MSL rover missions are the first step in placing the observations made by each vehicle into a local and regional geologic context. For the MER, Phoenix and MSL missions, 25cm/pixel HiRISE data is available for accurately localizing the vehicles. Viking and Mars Pathfinder, however, relied on Viking Orbiter images of several tens of m/pixel to triangulate to horizon features visible both from the ground and from orbit. After Pathfinder, MGS MOC images became available for these landing sites, enabling much better correlations to horizon features and localization predictions to be made, that were then corroborated with HiRISE images beginning 9 years ago. By combining topography data from MGS, Mars Express, and stereo processing of MRO CTX and HiRISE images into orthomosaics (ORRs) and digital elevation models (DEMs), it is possible to localize all the landers and rover positions to an accuracy of a few tens of meters with respect to the Mars global control net, and to better than half a meter with respect to other features within a HiRISE orthomosaic. JPL's MIPL produces point clouds of the MER Navcam stereo images that can be processed into 1cm/pixel ORR/DEMs that are then georeferenced to a HiRISE/CTX base map and DEM. This allows compilation of seamless mosaics of the lander and rover camera-based ORR/DEMs with the HiRISE ORR/DEM that can be viewed in 3 dimensions with GIS programs with that capability. We are re-processing the Viking Lander, Mars Pathfinder, and Phoenix lander data to allow similar ORR/DEM products to be made for those missions. For the fixed landers and Spirit, we will compile merged surface/CTX/HiRISE ORR/DEMs, that will enable accurate local and regional mapping of these landing sites, and allow comparisons of the results from these missions to be made with current and future surface missions.

[Fear of falling in a fall clinic for geriatric patients: a pilot study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dautzenberg, P.LJ.; Buurman, B.H.; Loonen, A.J.; Wouters, C.J.; Olde Rikkert, M.G.M.

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE: In this pilot study we want to determine how often fear of falling occurs in geriatric patients visiting a fall clinic and to study the characteristics of fear of falling and its consequences. DESIGN: Retrospective study of patient's records. METHOD: A random sample of 100 medical records

Chemical, multispectral, and textural constraints on the composition and origin of rocks at the Mars Pathfinder landing site

Science.gov (United States)

McSween, H.Y.; Murchie, S.L.; Crisp, J.A.; Bridges, N.T.; Anderson, R.C.; Bell, J.F.; Britt, D.T.; Brückner, J.; Dreibus, G.; Economou, T.; Ghosh, A.; Golombek, M.P.; Greenwood, J.P.; Johnson, J. R.; Moore, H.J.; Morris, R.V.; Parker, T.J.; Rieder, R.; Singer, R.; Wänke, H.

1999-01-01

Rocks at the Mars Pathfinder site are probably locally derived. Textures on rock surfaces may indicate volcanic, sedimentary, or impact-generated rocks, but aeolian abration and dust coatings prevent unambiguous interpretation. Multispectral imaging has resolved four spectral classes of rocks: gray and red, which occur on different surfaces of the same rocks; pink, which is probably soil crusts; and maroon, which occurs as large boulders, mostly in the far field. Rocks are assigned to two spectral trends based on the position of peak reflectance: the primary spectral trend contains gray, red, and pink rocks; maroon rocks constitute the secondary spectral trend. The spatial pattern of spectral variations observed is oriented along the prevailing wind direction. The primary spectral trend arises from thin ferric coatings of aeolian dust on darker rocks. The secondary spectral trend is apparently due to coating by a different mineral, probably maghemite or ferrihydrite. A chronology based on rock spectra suggests that rounded maroon boulders constitute the oldest petrologic unit (a flood deposit), succeeded by smaller cobbles possibly deposited by impact, and followed by aeolian erosion and deposition. Nearly linear chemical trends in alpha proton X-ray spectrometer rock compositions are interpreted as mixing lines between rock and adhering dust, a conclusion supported by a correlation between sulfur abundance and red/blue spectral ratio. Extrapolations of regression lines to zero sulfur give the composition of a presumed igneous rock. The chemistry and normative mineralogy of the sulfur-free rock resemble common terrestrial volcanic rocks, and its classification corresponds to andesite. Igneous rocks of this composition may occur with clastic sedimentary rocks or impact melts and breccias. However, the spectral mottling expected on conglomerates or breccias is not observed in any APXS-analyzed rocks. Interpretation of the rocks as andesites is complicated by absence

Use of geochemical tracers for estimating groundwater influxes to the Big Sioux River, eastern South Dakota, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Neupane, Ram P.; Mehan, Sushant; Kumar, Sandeep

2017-09-01

Understanding the spatial distribution and variability of geochemical tracers is crucial for estimating groundwater influxes into a river and can contribute to better future water management strategies. Because of the much higher radon (222Rn) activities in groundwater compared to river water, 222Rn was used as the main tracer to estimate groundwater influxes to river discharge over a 323-km distance of the Big Sioux River, eastern South Dakota, USA; these influx estimates were compared to the estimates using Cl- concentrations. In the reaches overall, groundwater influxes using the 222Rn activity approach ranged between 0.3 and 6.4 m3/m/day (mean 1.8 m3/m/day) and the cumulative groundwater influx estimated during the study period was 3,982-146,594 m3/day (mean 40,568 m3/day), accounting for 0.2-41.9% (mean 12.5%) of the total river flow rate. The mean groundwater influx derived using the 222Rn activity approach was lower than that calculated based on Cl- concentration (35.6 m3/m/day) for most of the reaches. Based on the Cl- approach, groundwater accounted for 37.3% of the total river flow rate. The difference between the method estimates may be associated with minimal differences between groundwater and river Cl- concentrations. These assessments will provide a better understanding of estimates used for the allocation of water resources to sustain agricultural productivity in the basin. However, a more detailed sampling program is necessary for accurate influx estimation, and also to understand the influence of seasonal variation on groundwater influxes into the basin.

Issues in Geriatric Care: Falls.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Dipesh; Ackermann, Richard J

2018-05-01

One in three older adults falls each year. There are approximately 2.5 million falls among older adults treated in emergency departments. Falls account for 87% of all fractures in this age group. The biggest risk factor for falling is a history of falls. Other risk factors include frailty, sedative and anticholinergic drugs, polypharmacy, and a variety of medical conditions. Current recommendations are that all patients age 65 years and older should be asked about falls each year. Patients also can be screened for fall risk with a variety of approaches including questionnaires and the Timed Up & Go test. For patients who have fallen or are at risk, care should focus on correcting reversible home environmental factors that predispose to falls, minimizing the use of drugs with sedating properties, addressing vision conditions, recommending physical exercise (including balance, strength, and gait training), and managing postural hypotension as well as foot conditions and footwear. In addition, vitamin D and calcium supplementation should be considered. For patients needing anticoagulation for medical reasons, an assessment must balance fall risk (and thus bleeding from a fall) versus the risk of discontinuing anticoagulation (eg, sustaining an embolic stroke from atrial fibrillation). Written permission from the American Academy of Family Physicians is required for reproduction of this material in whole or in part in any form or medium.

Falls self-efficacy and falls incidence in community-dwelling older people: the mediating role of coping.

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Loft, Christine C; Jones, Fergal W; Kneebone, Ian I

2017-11-08

A cognitive behavioral model predicts that coping responses mediate the relationship between falls related psychological concerns and falls incidence, in community-dwelling older people. If empirical support could be found for this pathway then interventions could be developed to reduce falls risk by targeting coping strategies. Therefore, this study aimed to begin the process of testing whether coping responses mediate the association between falls self-efficacy (a principal element of falls related psychological concerns) and falls incidence, in community-dwelling older people. In a cross-sectional design, 160 community-dwelling older people (31 male, 129 female; mean age 83.47 years) completed the Falls Efficacy Scale-International, the Revised-Ways of Coping Questionnaire, the Turning to Religion subscale of the COPE, and a falls questionnaire. Data were analyzed via mediation analysis using a bootstrapping approach. Lower falls self-efficacy was associated with higher falls incidence, and more self-controlling coping was found to be a partial mediator of this association, with a confidence interval for the indirect effect of (0.003, 0.021) and an effect size of κ 2 = 0.035. The association was not mediated by the other measured coping responses; namely, turning to religion, distancing, seeking social support, accepting responsibility, escape-avoidance, planful problem-solving, and positive reappraisal. Self-controlling coping may mediate the association between falls self-efficacy and falling. If longitudinal studies confirm this finding then coping could be targeted in interventions to reduce falls.

Fear of Falling in Women with Fibromyalgia and Its Relation with Number of Falls and Balance Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Collado-Mateo

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To evaluate fear of falling, number of falls, and balance performance in women with FM and to examine the relationship between these variables and others, such as balance performance, quality of life, age, pain, and impact of fibromyalgia. Methods. A total of 240 women participated in this cross-sectional study. Of these, 125 had fibromyalgia. Several variables were assessed: age, fear of falling from 0 to 100, number of falls, body composition, balance performance, lower limb strength, health-related quality of life, and impact of fibromyalgia. Results. Women with fibromyalgia reported more falls and more fear of falling. Fear of falling was associated with number of falls in the last year, stiffness, perceived balance problems, impact of FM, and HRQoL whereas the number of falls was related to fear of falling, balance performance with eyes closed, pain, tenderness to touch level, anxiety, self-reported balance problems, impact of FM, and HRQoL. Conclusion. FM has an impact on fear of falling, balance performance, and number of falls. Perceived balance problems seem to be more closely associated with fear of falling than objective balance performance.

Fall risk assessment: retrospective analysis of Morse Fall Scale scores in Portuguese hospitalized adult patients.

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Sardo, Pedro Miguel Garcez; Simões, Cláudia Sofia Oliveira; Alvarelhão, José Joaquim Marques; Simões, João Filipe Fernandes Lindo; Melo, Elsa Maria de Oliveira Pinheiro de

2016-08-01

The Morse Fall Scale is used in several care settings for fall risk assessment and supports the implementation of preventive nursing interventions. Our work aims to analyze the Morse Fall Scale scores of Portuguese hospitalized adult patients in association with their characteristics, diagnoses and length of stay. Retrospective cohort analysis of Morse Fall Scale scores of 8356 patients hospitalized during 2012. Data were associated to age, gender, type of admission, specialty units, length of stay, patient discharge, and ICD-9 diagnosis. Elderly patients, female, with emergency service admission, at medical units and/or with longer length of stays were more frequently included in the risk group for falls. ICD-9 diagnosis may also be an important risk factor. More than a half of hospitalized patients had "medium" to "high" risk of falling during the length of stay, which determines the implementation and maintenance of protocoled preventive nursing interventions throughout hospitalization. There are several fall risk factors not assessed by Morse Fall Scale. There were no statistical differences in Morse Fall Scale score between the first and the last assessment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pro-Active Fall-Risk Management is Mandatory to Sustain in Hospital-Fall Prevention in Older Patients--Validation of the LUCAS Fall-Risk Screening in 2,337 Patients.

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Hoffmann, V S; Neumann, L; Golgert, S; von Renteln-Kruse, W

2015-12-01

Prevention of in-hospital falls contributes to improvement of patient safety. However, the identification of high-risk patients remains a challenge despite knowledge of fall-risk factors. Hence, objective was to prospectively validate the performance of the LUCAS (Longitudinal Urban Cohort Ageing Study) fall-risk screening, based on routine data (fall history, mobility, mental status) and applied by nurses. Observational study comparing two groups of patients who underwent different fall-risk screenings; the LUCAS screening (2010 - 2011) and the STRATIFY (St. Thomas's Risk Assessment Tool In Falling Elderly Inpatients) (2004 - 2006). Urban teaching hospital. Consecutively hospitalized patients (≥ 65 years old) were screened on admission; LUCAS n = 2,337, STRATIFY n = 4,735. The proportions of fallers were compared between the STRATIFY and the LUCAS time periods. The number of fallers expected was compared to that observed in the LUCAS time period. Standardized fall-incidence recording included case-note checks for unreported falls. Plausibility checks of fall-risk factors and logistic regression analysis for variable fall-risk factors were performed. The proportions of fallers during the two time periods were LUCAS n = 291/2,337 (12.5%) vs. STRATIFY n = 508/4,735 (10.7%). After adjustment for risk-factor prevalence, the proportion of fallers expected was 14.5% (334/2,337), the proportion observed was 12.5% (291/2,337) (p = 0.038). In-hospital fall prevention including systematic use of the LUCAS fall-risk screening reduced the proportion of fallers compared to that expected from the patients' fall-risk profile. Raw proportions of fallers are not suitable to evaluate fall prevention in hospital because of variable prevalence of patients' fall-risk factors over time. Continuous communication, education and training is needed to sustain in-hospital falls prevention.

History of falls, gait, balance, and fall risks in older cancer survivors living in the community.

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Huang, Min H; Shilling, Tracy; Miller, Kara A; Smith, Kristin; LaVictoire, Kayle

2015-01-01

Older cancer survivors may be predisposed to falls because cancer-related sequelae affect virtually all body systems. The use of a history of falls, gait speed, and balance tests to assess fall risks remains to be investigated in this population. This study examined the relationship of previous falls, gait, and balance with falls in community-dwelling older cancer survivors. At the baseline, demographics, health information, and the history of falls in the past year were obtained through interviewing. Participants performed tests including gait speed, Balance Evaluation Systems Test, and short-version of Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale. Falls were tracked by mailing of monthly reports for 6 months. A "faller" was a person with ≥1 fall during follow-up. Univariate analyses, including independent sample t-tests and Fisher's exact tests, compared baseline demographics, gait speed, and balance between fallers and non-fallers. For univariate analyses, Bonferroni correction was applied for multiple comparisons. Baseline variables with Pfalls with age as covariate. Sensitivity and specificity of each predictor of falls in the model were calculated. Significance level for the regression analysis was Pfalls. Baseline demographics, health information, history of falls, gaits speed, and balance tests did not differ significantly between fallers and non-fallers. Forward logistic regression revealed that a history of falls was a significant predictor of falls in the final model (odds ratio =6.81; 95% confidence interval =1.594-29.074) (Pfalls were 74% and 69%, respectively. Current findings suggested that for community-dwelling older cancer survivors with mixed diagnoses, asking about the history of falls may help detect individuals at risk of falling.

Power supplyer for reactor coolant recycling pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nara, Hiroshi; Okinaka, Yo.

1991-01-01

The present invention concerns a variable voltage/variable frequency static power source (static power source) used as a power source for a coolants recycling pump motor of a nuclear power plant. That is, during lower power operation such as start up or shutdown in which stoppage of the power source gives less effect to a reactor core, power is supplied from a power system, a main power generator connected thereto or a high voltage bus in the plant or a common high voltage bus to the static power source. However, during rated power operation, power is supplied from the output of an axially power generator connected with a main power generator having an extremely great inertia moment to the static power device. With such a constitution, the static power device is not stopped by the lowering of the voltage due to a thunderbolt falling accident or the like to a power-distribution line suddenly occurred in the power system. Accordingly, reactor core flowrate is free from rapid decrease caused by the reduction of rotation speed of the recycling pump. Accordingly, disadvantgages upon operation control in the reactor core is not caused. (I.S.)

Epidemiology of falls in older age.

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Peel, Nancye May

2011-03-01

Worldwide, falls among older people are a public health concern because of their frequency and adverse consequences in terms of morbidity, mortality, and quality of life, as well as their impact on health system services and costs. This epidemiological review outlines the public health burden of falls and fall-related injuries and the impact of population aging. The magnitude of the problem is described in terms of the classification of falls and measurement of outcomes, including fall incidence rates across settings, sociodemographic determinants, international trends, and costs of falls and fall-related injuries. Finally, public health approaches to minimize falls risk and consequent demand on health care resources are suggested.

Impact of fear of falling and fall history on disability incidence among older adults: Prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Makino, Keitaro; Makizako, Hyuma; Doi, Takehiko; Tsutsumimoto, Kota; Hotta, Ryo; Nakakubo, Sho; Suzuki, Takao; Shimada, Hiroyuki

2018-04-01

Fear of falling (FOF) is a major health problem for older adults, present not just in fallers, but also nonfallers. This study examined the impact of FOF and fall history on disability incidence among community-dwelling older adults from a prospective cohort study. A total of 5104 older adults living in community settings participated in baseline assessment and were followed up for about 4 years (median 52 mo, range 49-55 mo). At baseline, participants were assessed the presence of FOF and their fall history, and divided into 4 groups: Fall (-) FOF (-), Fall (+) FOF (-), Fall (-) FOF (+), and Fall (+) FOF (+). Disability incidence was defined as national long-term care insurance certification for personal support or care. During the follow-up period, 429 participants (9.9%) were newly certified as having a disability and needing personal support for long-term care insurance. Fall (-) FOF (+) group and Fall (+) FOF (+) group showed a significantly higher risk of disability incidence than Fall (-) FOF (-) group even after adjusting for covariates (Fall (-) FOF (+): hazard ratio 1.28, 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.62, Fall (+) FOF (+): hazard ratio 1.44, 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.98). Fear of falling could be a simple and useful predictor of disability incidence in community-dwelling older adults. Identifying and decreasing fall risk factors may prevent fall-related injuries, but excessive FOF may be associated with increased risk of disability incidence. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fall Prevention Hits Stumbling Blocks.

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Huff, Charlotte

2018-03-01

Implementation of efforts to screen older people for fall risk-and to intervene before falls occur-have been scattershot at best. Ongoing studies of fall prevention called STRIDE (Strategies to Reduce Injuries and Develop Confidence in Elders) might change that. The studies look at whether clinicians can implement a fall-prevention program across rural, urban, and suburban treatment settings.

Risk factors for falls and fall-related injuries in adults 85 years of age and older.

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Grundstrom, Anna C; Guse, Clare E; Layde, Peter M

2012-01-01

Falls are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in older adults. No previous studies on risk factors for falls have focused on adults 85 years and older, the most rapidly growing segment of adults. We examined demographic, health, and behavioral risk factors for falls and fall-related injuries in adults 65 years and older, with a particular focus on adults 85 years and older. We analyzed self-reported information from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for 2008. Data was available for 120,923 people aged 65 or older and 12,684 people aged 85 or older. Of those aged 85 or older, 21.3% reported at least one fall in the past 3 months and 7.2% reported at least one fall related injury requiring medical care or limiting activity for a day or longer. Below average general health, male sex, perceived insufficient sleep, health problems requiring assistive devices, alcohol consumption, increasing body mass index and history of stroke were all independently associated with a greater risk of falls or fall related injuries. The greater risk of falling in those 85 years and older appeared to be due to the deterioration of overall health status with age; among those with excellent overall health status, there was no greater risk of falling in adults 85 years and older compared to those 65-84 years of age. Our results suggest that those with risk factors for falls and fall-related injuries may be appropriate targets for evidence-based fall prevention programs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Impact of fall risk and fear of falling on mobility of independently living senior citizens transitioning to frailty: screening results concerning fall prevention in the community].

Science.gov (United States)

Anders, J; Dapp, U; Laub, S; von Renteln-Kruse, W

2007-08-01

There is a strong relation between mobility, walking safety and living independently in old age. People with walking problems suffer from fear of falling and tend to restrict their mobility and performance level in the community environment--even before falls occur. This study was planned to test the validity and prognostic value of a fall risk screening instrument ("Sturz-Risiko-Check") that has already shown its feasibility, acceptance and reliability, targeting independently living senior citizens. The study sample was recruited from a sheltered housing complex in Hamburg (with written consent). Persons with need of professional care ("Pflegestufe" in Germany) were excluded. The residents were asked to fill in the multidimensional questionnaire ("Sturz-Risiko- Check"). In a second step, a trained nurse asked the participants in a phone call about their competence in the instrumental activities of daily living (I-ADL mod. from Lawton, Brody 1969) and about their usual mobility performance level (e.g. frequency and distance of daily walks, use of public transport). According to the number and weight of self-reported risk factors for falling, three groups: "low fall risk", "medium fall risk" and "high fall risk" were classified. Finally, this classification was re-tested after one year, asking for falls and fall related injuries. A total of 112 senior citizens without need of personal care, living in a sheltered housing facility were asked to participate. Acceptance was high (76.1%). Self-reported data from 79 participants concerning falls, fall-risk, mobility and instrumental activities of daily living were included in the statistical analyses. Mean age was 78 (64 to 93) years and associated by a high percentage of women (75.9%) in this sample. The older participants reported 0 to 13 different factors (mean 5) related to a high risk of future falls. Most participants (78.5%) quit cycling because of fear of falling. There was a high incidence in the study sample

LISA Pathfinder test-mass charging during galactic cosmic-ray flux short-term variations

Science.gov (United States)

Grimani, C.; Fabi, M.; Lobo, A.; Mateos, I.; Telloni, D.

2015-02-01

Metal free-floating test masses aboard the future interferometers devoted to gravitational wave detection in space are charged by galactic and solar cosmic rays with energies \\gt 100 MeV/n. This process represents one of the main sources of noise in the lowest frequency band (\\lt 10-3 Hz) of these experiments. We study here the charging of the LISA Pathfinder (LISA-PF) gold-platinum test masses due to galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) protons and helium nuclei with the Fluka Monte Carlo toolkit. Projections of the energy spectra of GCRs during the LISA-PF operations in 2015 are considered. This work was carried out on the basis of the solar activity level and solar polarity epoch expected for LISA-PF. The effects of GCR short-term variations are evaluated here for the first time. Classical Forbush decreases, GCR variations induced by the Sun rotation, and fluctuations in the LISA-PF frequency bandwidth are discussed.

What are the Main Physical Functioning Factors Associated With Falls Among Older People With Different Perceived Fall Risk?

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Moreira, Mirian N; Bilton, Tereza L; Dias, Rosangela C; Ferriolli, Eduardo; Perracini, Monica R

2017-07-01

Fall risk perceptions may influence the judgement over physical and functional competencies to avoid falls. However, few studies have explored the physical functioning characteristics associated with falls among older people with low perceived fall risk. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of falls and physical functioning factors associated with falling among community-dwelling older adults with low and high perceived fall risk. We conducted a cross-sectional population based study with 773 community-dwelling elders. Perceived fall risk was investigated using Falls Efficacy Scale International. We considered fallers those who reported at least one fall in the previous 12 months. Physical functioning measures used were grip strength, usual gait speed, sit-to-stand test, five step test, timed up and go test, one-legged stance test, anterior and lateral functional reach test. At least one fall was reported by 103 (30%) participants with low perceived fall risk and by 196 (46%) participants with high perceived fall risk. The odds of falling were lower among those with greater grip strength and with a greater stance time in one-legged test, and the odds of falling among elders with high perceived fall risk were higher among those who took more time in performing the five step test. We believe that our results highlight the need of not neglecting the risk of falls among active older adults with low perceived fall risk, particularly in those elders that show reduced stability in a small base of support and a lower leg strength. In addition, we suggest that elders with high perceived fall risk should be assessed using anticipatory postural adjustment tests. Particularly, our results may help physiotherapists to identify eligible elders with different perceptions of fall risk for tailored interventions aimed at reducing falls. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessment of muscle mass, risk of falls and fear of falling in elderly people with diabetic neuropathy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hudson Azevedo Pinheiro

Full Text Available Abstract Objective : To assess muscle mass, risk of falls and fear of falling in elderly adults with diabetic neuropathy (DNP. Methods : 50 elderly patients with diabetes mellitus (DM and diabetic neuropathy (NPD participated in this study. Risk of falling was assessed using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS. Fear of falling was assessed by means of the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I. Muscle mass was assessed by tetrapolar bioimpedance analysis (BIA and Janssen's equation. Subjects were divided into two groups: one with a history of falls in the six months before study enrollment (G1 and the other without history of falls (G2. Results : There were statistically significant differences between G1 and G2 regarding lean body mass (p < 0.05, risk of falls as measured by the BBS (p < 0.01, and fear of falling as measured by the FES-I (p < 0.01. In addition, there was a significant correlation between the BBS and BIA (r = 0.45 and p < 0.01, showing that the greater the lean body mass, the lower the risk of falling. Conclusions : We found an association between lean mass, risk of falls and fear of falling in elderly adults with DNP and a history of falls from own height.

New methods for fall risk prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ejupi, Andreas; Lord, Stephen R; Delbaere, Kim

2014-09-01

Accidental falls are the leading cause of injury-related death and hospitalization in old age, with over one-third of the older adults experiencing at least one fall or more each year. Because of limited healthcare resources, regular objective fall risk assessments are not possible in the community on a large scale. New methods for fall prediction are necessary to identify and monitor those older people at high risk of falling who would benefit from participating in falls prevention programmes. Technological advances have enabled less expensive ways to quantify physical fall risk in clinical practice and in the homes of older people. Recently, several studies have demonstrated that sensor-based fall risk assessments of postural sway, functional mobility, stepping and walking can discriminate between fallers and nonfallers. Recent research has used low-cost, portable and objective measuring instruments to assess fall risk in older people. Future use of these technologies holds promise for assessing fall risk accurately in an unobtrusive manner in clinical and daily life settings.

First Aid: Falls

Science.gov (United States)

... Folleto de instructiones: Caídas (Falls) With all the running, climbing, and exploring kids do, it's no surprise that falls are common. Although many result in mild bumps, cuts, and bruises, some can cause serious injuries that need immediate medical attention. What to Do ...

TMI-2 reactor vessel and balance of plant status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuehn, G.A.

1990-01-01

In the fall of 1988 a corporate decision was made which concentrated effort on support of reactor vessel defueling and minimized activity in balance-of-plant areas. The auxiliary and fuel handling building are in a safe/stable state but final preparations for monitored storage won't be pursued until defueling and fuel shipping are complete. In addition to dispositioning fuel, the project is actively preparing for disposal of the Accident Generated Water (2.3 million gallons) by evaporation

Circumstances of falls and falls-related injuries in a cohort of older patients following hospital discharge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hill AM

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Anne-Marie Hill,1 Tammy Hoffmann,2,3 Terry P Haines4,51School of Physiotherapy, Institute for Health Research, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, WA, 2Centre for Research in Evidence-Based Practice, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, 3School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, 4School of Primary Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 5Allied Health Research Unit, Kingston Centre, Southern Health, Clayton, VIC, AustraliaBackground: Older people are at increased risk of falls after hospital discharge. This study aimed to describe the circumstances of falls in the six months after hospital discharge and to identify factors associated with the time and location of these falls.Methods: Participants in this randomized controlled study comprised fallers (n = 138 who were part of a prospective observational cohort (n = 343 nested within a randomized controlled trial (n = 1206. The study tested patient education on falls prevention in hospital compared with usual care in older patients who were discharged from hospital and followed for six months after hospital discharge. The outcome measures were number of falls, falls-related injuries, and the circumstances of the falls, measured by use of a diary and a monthly telephone call to each participant.Results: Participants (mean age 80.3 ± 8.7 years reported 276 falls, of which 150 (54.3% were injurious. Of the 255 falls for which there were data available about circumstances, 190 (74.5% occurred indoors and 65 (25.5% occurred in the external home environment or wider community. The most frequent time reported for falls was the morning (between 6 am and 10 am when 79 (28.6% falls, including 49 (32.7% injurious falls, occurred. The most frequently reported location for falls (n = 80, 29.0%, including injurious falls (n = 42, 28.0%, was the bedroom. Factors associated with falling in the bedroom included

Prevention of falls in nursing homes: subgroup analyses of a randomized fall prevention trial.

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Rapp, Kilian; Lamb, Sarah E; Büchele, Gisela; Lall, Ranjit; Lindemann, Ulrich; Becker, Clemens

2008-06-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of a multifactorial fall prevention program in prespecified subgroups of nursing home residents. Secondary analysis of a cluster-randomized, controlled trial. Six nursing homes in Germany. Seven hundred twenty-five long-stay residents; median age 86; 80% female. Staff and resident education on fall prevention, advice on environmental adaptations, recommendation to wear hip protectors, and progressive balance and resistance training. Time to first fall and the number of falls. Falls were assessed during the 12-month intervention period. Univariate regression analyses were performed, including a confirmatory test of interaction. The intervention was more effective in people with cognitive impairment (hazard ratio (HR)=0.49, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.35-0.69) than in those who were cognitively intact (HR=0.91, 95% CI=0.68-1.22), in people with a prior history of falls (HR=0.47, 95% CI=0.33-0.67) than in those with no prior fall history (HR=0.77, 95% CI=0.58-1.01), in people with urinary incontinence (HR=0.59, 95% CI=0.45-0.77) than in those with no urinary incontinence (HR=0.98, 95% CI=0.68-1.42), and in people with no mood problems (incidence rate ratio (IRR)=0.41, 95% CI=0.27-0.61) than in those with mood problems (IRR=0.74, 95% CI=0.51-1.09). The effectiveness of a multifactorial fall prevention program differed between subgroups of nursing home residents. Cognitive impairment, a history of falls, urinary incontinence, and depressed mood were important in determining response.

Fall risk factors in Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, P; Hildebrand, K

2000-08-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, gait disturbance, and postural instability. Patients with PD suffer frequent falls, yet little research has been done to identify risks specific to PD patients. The objective of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with falls for PD patients through the collection of demographic, environmental, and medical information as well as fall diaries completed during a 3-month period. Patients with a diagnosis of idiopathic PD, with and without falls, were included in the study provided they could stand and walk and had no other condition that could predispose them to falls. Of the 118 participants, 59% reported one or more falls. A total of 237 falls were reported. Duration and severity of PD symptoms, particularly freezing, involuntary movements, and walking and postural difficulties, were significantly associated with an increased risk of falls. Other factors associated with falls were postural hypotension and daily intake of alcohol. Forty percent of falls resulted in injury, but serious injury was rare. The findings have implications for reducing the risk of falls through patient education.

Comparison of Walking, Muscle Strength, Balance, and Fear of Falling Between Repeated Fall Group, One-time Fall Group, and Nonfall Group of the Elderly Receiving Home Care Service.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, MiYang; Gu, Mee Ock; Yim, JongEun

2017-12-01

The purpose of this study was to provide information to develop a program to prevent repeated falls by analyzing the difference in gait, muscle strength, balance, and fear of falling according to their fall experience. The study subjects were 110 elderly individuals aged over 60 years who agreed to their participation in this research. The study participants were categorized into a repeated fall group (n = 40), a one-time fall group (n = 15), and a nonfall group (n = 46) of the elderly. Measurements of gait, muscle strength, balance, and fear of falling were taken in each group. With regard to gait, there were significant differences among three groups in gait cycle (F = 3.50, p = .034), speed (F = 13.06, p balance, the nonfall group had significantly greater results than the one-time fall group and repeated fall group in dynamic balance (F = 10.80, p balance (F = 8.20, p = .001). In the case of the fear of falling, the repeated fall group had significantly higher score than other two groups (F = 20.62, p fall risk factors to enhance gait and balance and lower body muscle strength and reduce the fear of falling to prevent repeated incidences of falls in this population. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The relationship of intrinsic fall risk factors to a recent history of falling in older women with osteoporosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Cathy M; Busch, Angela J; Schachter, Candice L; Harrison, Liz; Olszynski, Wojciech

2005-07-01

Cross-sectional descriptive analysis investigating intrinsic fall risk factors in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. To examine the relationships between history of recent falls and balance, pain, quality of life, function, posture, strength, and mobility. Women with osteoporosis who fall are at a high risk of fracture due to decreased bone strength. Identifying fall risk factors for older women with osteoporosis is a crucial step in decreasing the incidence of falls and fracture. METHOD AND MEASURES: Seventy-three women over 60 years of age with established osteoporosis participated in comprehensive testing of fall history, physical function, and quality of life. Significant correlations were found between a recent history of falls and degree of kyphosis (r = 0.29), fear of falls/emotional status (r = -0.27), and balance (r = -0.27). Degree of kyphosis and fear of falls/emotional status explained 20% of the variance of recent fall history using binary logistic regression. Women with an increased kyphosis were more likely to have had a recent fall (odds ratio [OR], 1.17; 95% CI, 1.03-1.34) and those with better emotional status and less fear of falling were less likely to have had a recent fall (OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.38-0.97). Increased thoracic kyphosis and fear of falling are 2 intrinsic factors associated with recent falls in women with osteoporosis. To design more effective interventions to decrease fall risk in this population, future prospective, longitudinal studies should monitor kyphosis, fear of falling, balance reactions, and other potential risk factors not identified in this study.

The efficacy of fall-risk-increasing drug (FRID) withdrawal for the prevention of falls and fall-related complications: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Justin Yusen; Holbrook, Anne

2017-02-20

Despite limited evidence of effectiveness, withdrawal (discontinuation or dose reduction) of high risk medications known as "fall-risk increasing drugs" (FRIDs) is typically conducted as a fall prevention strategy based on presumptive benefit. Our objective is to determine the efficacy of fall-risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) withdrawal on the prevention of falls and fall-related complications. We will search for all published and unpublished randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of FRID withdrawal compared to usual care on the rate of falls, incidence of falls, fall-related injuries, fall-related fractures, fall-related hospitalizations, or adverse effects related to the intervention in adults aged 65 years or older. Electronic database searches will be conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and CINAHL. A grey literature search will be conducted including clinical trial registries and conference proceedings and abstracts. Two reviewers will independently perform in duplicate citation screening, full-text review, data abstraction, and risk of bias assessment. Conflicts will be resolved through team discussion or by a third reviewer if no consensus can be reached. The Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria will be used to independently rate overall confidence in effect estimates for each outcome. Results will be synthesized descriptively, and a random effects meta-analysis will be conducted for each outcome if studies are deemed similar methodologically, clinically, and statistically. We will attempt to determine whether a FRID withdrawal strategy alone is effective at preventing falls in older adults. Our results will be used to optimize and focus fall prevention strategies and initiatives internationally with a goal of improving the health of older adults. PROSPERO CRD42016040203.

Prospective study of falls and risk factors for falls in adults with advanced cancer.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Stone, Carol A

2012-06-10

Retrospective studies of inpatients with cancer suggest that a cancer diagnosis confers a high risk of falls. In adults with advanced cancer, we aimed to prospectively document the incidence of falls, identify the risk factors, and determine if falls in this population occur predominantly in older patients.

Community College Estimated Growth: Fall 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Phillippe, Kent; Mullin, Christopher M.

2011-01-01

A survey from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) found that enrollment growth in fall 2010 slowed its pace at community colleges, increasing 3.2% from the previous year. This contrasts with more dramatic increases in recent years: more than 11% between fall 2008 and fall 2009, and nearly 17% between fall 2007 and fall 2009,…

Sono-photo-degradation of carbamazepine in a thin falling film reactor: Operation costs in pilot plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Expósito, A J; Patterson, D A; Monteagudo, J M; Durán, A

2017-01-01

The photo-Fenton degradation of carbamazepine (CBZ) assisted with ultrasound radiation (US/UV/H 2 O 2 /Fe) was tested in a lab thin film reactor allowing high TOC removals (89% in 35min). The synergism between the UV process and the sonolytic one was quantified as 55.2%. To test the applicability of this reactor for industrial purposes, the sono-photo-degradation of CBZ was also tested in a thin film pilot plant reactor and compared with a 28L UV-C conventional pilot plant and with a solar Collector Parabolic Compound (CPC). At a pilot plant scale, a US/UV/H 2 O 2 /Fe process reaching 60% of mineralization would cost 2.1 and 3.8€/m 3 for the conventional and thin film plant respectively. The use of ultrasound (US) produces an extra generation of hydroxyl radicals, thus increasing the mineralization rate. In the solar process, electric consumption accounts for a maximum of 33% of total costs. Thus, for a TOC removal of 80%, the cost of this treatment is about 1.36€/m 3 . However, the efficiency of the solar installation decreases in cloudy days and cannot be used during night, so that a limited flow rate can be treated. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Intrinsic factors associated with pregnancy falls.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xuefang; Yeoh, Han T

2014-10-01

Approximately 25% to 27% of women sustain a fall during pregnancy, and falls are associated with serious injuries and can affect pregnancy outcomes. The objective of the current study was to identify intrinsic factors associated with pregnancy that may contribute to women's increased risk of falls. A literature search (Medline and Pubmed) identified articles published between January 1980 and June 2013 that measured associations between pregnancy and fall risks, using an existing fall accident investigation framework. The results indicated that physiological, biomechanical, and psychological changes associated with pregnancy may influence the initiation, detection, and recovery phases of falls and increase the risk of falls in this population. Considering the logistic difficulties and ethnic concerns in recruiting pregnant women to participate in this investigation of fall risk factors, identification of these factors could establish effective fall prevention and intervention programs for pregnant women and improve birth outcomes. [Workplace Health Saf 2014;62(10):403-408.]. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

In-flight thermal experiments for LISA Pathfinder: Simulating temperature noise at the Inertial Sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armano, M; Audley, H; Born, M; Danzmann, K; Diepholz, I; Auger, G; Binetruy, P; Baird, J; Bortoluzzi, D; Brandt, N; Fitzsimons, E; Bursi, A; Caleno, M; Cavalleri, A; Cesarini, A; Dolesi, R; Ferroni, V; Cruise, M; Dunbar, N; Ferraioli, L

2015-01-01

Thermal Diagnostics experiments to be carried out on board LISA Pathfinder (LPF) will yield a detailed characterisation of how temperature fluctuations affect the LTP (LISA Technology Package) instrument performance, a crucial information for future space based gravitational wave detectors as the proposed eLISA. Amongst them, the study of temperature gradient fluctuations around the test masses of the Inertial Sensors will provide as well information regarding the contribution of the Brownian noise, which is expected to limit the LTP sensitivity at frequencies close to 1 mHz during some LTP experiments. In this paper we report on how these kind of Thermal Diagnostics experiments were simulated in the last LPF Simulation Campaign (November, 2013) involving all the LPF Data Analysis team and using an end-to-end simulator of the whole spacecraft. Such simulation campaign was conducted under the framework of the preparation for LPF operations. (paper)

Fall Risk Assessment Predicts Fall-Related Injury, Hip Fracture, and Head Injury in Older Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsson, Martin; Eriksson, Joel; Larsson, Berit; Odén, Anders; Johansson, Helena; Lorentzon, Mattias

2016-11-01

To investigate the role of a fall risk assessment, using the Downton Fall Risk Index (DFRI), in predicting fall-related injury, fall-related head injury and hip fracture, and death, in a large cohort of older women and men residing in Sweden. Cross sectional observational study. Sweden. Older adults (mean age 82.4 ± 7.8) who had a fall risk assessment using the DFRI at baseline (N = 128,596). Information on all fall-related injuries, all fall-related head injuries and hip fractures, and all-cause mortality was collected from the Swedish Patient Register and Cause of Death Register. The predictive role of DFRI was calculated using Poisson regression models with age, sex, height, weight, and comorbidities as covariates, taking time to outcome or end of study into account. During a median follow-up of 253 days (interquartile range 90-402 days) (>80,000 patient-years), 15,299 participants had a fall-related injury, 2,864 a head injury, and 2,557 a hip fracture, and 23,307 died. High fall risk (DFRI ≥3) independently predicted fall-related injury (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.39-1.49), hip fracture (HR = 1.51, 95% CI =1.38-1.66), head injury (HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.03-1.22), and all-cause mortality (HR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.35-1.43). DFRI more strongly predicted head injury (HR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.21-1.36 vs HR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04-1.11) and hip fracture (HR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.30-1.53 vs HR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.05-1.11) in 70-year old men than in 90-year old women (P Fall risk assessment using DFRI independently predicts fall-related injury, fall-related head injury and hip fracture, and all-cause mortality in older men and women, indicating its clinical usefulness to identify individuals who would benefit from interventions. © 2016 The Authors. The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The American Geriatrics Society.

Preventing falls in hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, Lynne

2017-02-27

Essential facts Falls are the most frequent adverse event reported in hospitals, usually affecting older patients. Every year, more than 240,000 falls are reported in acute hospitals and mental health trusts in England and Wales, equivalent to more than 600 a day, according to the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). But research shows that when nurses, doctors and therapists work together, falls can be reduced by 20-30%.

Preventing Falls in Older Persons.

Science.gov (United States)

Moncada, Lainie Van Voast; Mire, L Glen

2017-08-15

The American Geriatrics Society and British Geriatrics Society recommend that all adults older than 65 years be screened annually for a history of falls or balance impairment. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and American Academy of Family Physicians recommend exercise or physical therapy and vitamin D supplementation to prevent falls in community-dwelling older adults who are at increased risk of falls. Although the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and American Academy of Family Physicians do not recommend routine multifactorial intervention to prevent falls in all community-dwelling older adults, they state that it may be appropriate in individual cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed an algorithm to aid in the implementation of the American Geriatrics Society/British Geriatrics Society guideline. The algorithm suggests assessment and multifactorial intervention for those who have had two or more falls or one fall-related injury. Multifactorial interventions should include exercise, particularly balance, strength, and gait training; vitamin D supplementation with or without calcium; management of medications, especially psychoactive medications; home environment modification; and management of postural hypotension, vision problems, foot problems, and footwear. These interventions effectively decrease falls in the community, hospital, and nursing home settings. Fall prevention is reimbursed as part of the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit.

Spinal sagittal contour affecting falls: cut-off value of the lumbar spine for falls.

Science.gov (United States)

Ishikawa, Yoshinori; Miyakoshi, Naohisa; Kasukawa, Yuji; Hongo, Michio; Shimada, Yoichi

2013-06-01

Spinal deformities reportedly affect postural instability or falls. To prevent falls in clinical settings, the determination of a cut-off angle of spinal sagittal contour associated with increase risk for falls would be useful for screening for high-risk fallers. The purpose of this study was to calculate the spinal sagittal contour angle associated with increased risk for falls during medical checkups in community dwelling elders. The subjects comprised 213 patients (57 men, 156 women) with a mean age of 70.1 years (range, 55-85 years). The upright and flexion/extension thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis angles, and the spinal inclination were evaluated with SpinalMouse(®). Postural instability was evaluated by stabilometry, using the total track length (LNG), enveloped areas (ENV), and track lengths in the lateral and anteroposterior directions (X LNG and Y LNG, respectively). The back extensor strength (BES) was measured using a strain-gauge dynamometer. The relationships among the parameters were analyzed statistically. Age, lumbar lordosis, spinal inclination, LNG, X LNG, Y LNG, and BES were significantly associated with falls (Pfalls about lumbar lordosis angles revealed that angles of 3° and less were significant for falls. The present findings suggest that increased age, spinal inclination, LNG, X LNG, Y LNG, and decreased BES and lumbar lordosis, are associated with falls. An angle of lumbar lordosis of 3° or less was associated with falls in these community-dwelling elders. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Clinical and Community Strategies to Prevent Falls and Fall-Related Injuries Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor-Piliae, Ruth E; Peterson, Rachel; Mohler, Martha Jane

2017-09-01

Falls in older adults are the result of several risk factors across biological and behavioral aspects of the person, along with environmental factors. Falls can trigger a downward spiral in activities of daily living, independence, and overall health outcomes. Clinicians who care for older adults should screen them annually for falls. A multifactorial comprehensive clinical fall assessment coupled with tailored interventions can result in a dramatic public health impact, while improving older adult quality of life. For community-dwelling older adults, effective fall prevention has the potential to reduce serious fall-related injuries, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, institutionalization, and functional decline. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The efficacy of fall-risk-increasing drug (FRID withdrawal for the prevention of falls and fall-related complications: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justin Yusen Lee

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite limited evidence of effectiveness, withdrawal (discontinuation or dose reduction of high risk medications known as “fall-risk increasing drugs” (FRIDs is typically conducted as a fall prevention strategy based on presumptive benefit. Our objective is to determine the efficacy of fall-risk increasing drugs (FRIDs withdrawal on the prevention of falls and fall-related complications. Methods/design We will search for all published and unpublished randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of FRID withdrawal compared to usual care on the rate of falls, incidence of falls, fall-related injuries, fall-related fractures, fall-related hospitalizations, or adverse effects related to the intervention in adults aged 65 years or older. Electronic database searches will be conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, and CINAHL. A grey literature search will be conducted including clinical trial registries and conference proceedings and abstracts. Two reviewers will independently perform in duplicate citation screening, full-text review, data abstraction, and risk of bias assessment. Conflicts will be resolved through team discussion or by a third reviewer if no consensus can be reached. The Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE criteria will be used to independently rate overall confidence in effect estimates for each outcome. Results will be synthesized descriptively, and a random effects meta-analysis will be conducted for each outcome if studies are deemed similar methodologically, clinically, and statistically. Discussion We will attempt to determine whether a FRID withdrawal strategy alone is effective at preventing falls in older adults. Our results will be used to optimize and focus fall prevention strategies and initiatives internationally with a goal of improving the health of older adults. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD

Lithium fall reactor concept: the question of jet stability, with recommendations for further experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, S.W.

1978-01-01

The stability of a liquid-lithium jet flow is of importance in a laser fusion reactor design. In this report we analyze and discuss jet stability with respect to fluid dynamics, delineating physical factors that may affect the jet breakup and performing some simple calculations to determine quantitatively the relative influences of various parameters. We define areas of uncertainty and recommend possible experimental verification, theoretical analysis, or both

Preventing Falls and Related Fractures

Science.gov (United States)

... slowed reflexes. Drinking alcoholic beverages also increases the risk of falling. Alcohol slows reflexes and response time; causes dizziness, sleepiness, or lightheadedness; alters balance; and encourages risky behaviors that can lead to falls. The Force and Direction of a Fall The ...

Virtual obstacle crossing: Reliability and differences in stroke survivors who prospectively experienced falls or no falls.

Science.gov (United States)

Punt, Michiel; Bruijn, Sjoerd M; Wittink, Harriet; van de Port, Ingrid G; Wubbels, Gijs; van Dieën, Jaap H

2017-10-01

Stroke survivors often fall during walking. To reduce fall risk, gait testing and training with avoidance of virtual obstacles is gaining popularity. However, it is unknown whether and how virtual obstacle crossing is associated with fall risk. The present study assessed whether obstacle crossing characteristics are reliable and assessed differences in stroke survivors who prospectively experienced falls or no falls. We recruited twenty-nine community dwelling chronic stroke survivors. Participants crossed five virtual obstacles with increasing lengths. After a break, the test was repeated to assess test-retest reliability. For each obstacle length and trial, we determined; success rate, leading limb preference, pre and post obstacle distance, margins of stability, toe clearance, and crossing step length and speed. Subsequently, fall incidence was monitored using a fall calendar and monthly phone calls over a six-month period. Test-retest reliability was poor, but improved with increasing obstacle-length. Twelve participants reported at least one fall. No association of fall incidence with any of the obstacle crossing characteristics was found. Given the absence of height of the virtual obstacles, obstacle avoidance may have been relatively easy, allowing participants to cross obstacles in multiple ways, increasing variability of crossing characteristics and reducing the association with fall risk. These finding cast some doubt on current protocols for testing and training of obstacle avoidance in stroke rehabilitation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Future launcher demonstrator. Challenge and pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinau, W.; Guerra, L.; Parkinson, R. C.; Lieberherr, J. F.

1996-02-01

For future and advanced launch vehicles emphasis is focused on single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) concepts and on completely reusable versions with the goal to reduce the recurrent launch cost, to improve the mission success probability and also safety for the space transportation of economically attractive payloads into Low Earth Orbit. Both issues, the SSTO launcher and the low cost reusability are extremely challenging and cannot be proven by studies and on-ground tests alone. In-flight demonstration tests are required to verify the assumptions and the new technologies, and to justify the new launcher-and operations-concepts. Because a number of SSTO launch vehicles are currently under discussion in terms of configurations and concepts such as winged vehicles for vertical or horizontal launch and landing (from ground or a flying platform), or wingless vehicles for vertical take-off and landing, and also in terms of propulsion (pure rockets or a combination of air breathing and rocket engines), an experimental demonstrator vehicle appears necessary in order to serve as a pathfinder in this area of multiple challenges. A suborbital Reusable Rocket Launcher Demonstrator (RRLD) has been studied recently by a European industrial team for ESA. This is a multipurpose, evolutionary demonstrator, conceived around a modular approach of incremental improvements of subsystems and materials, to achieve a better propellant mass fraction i.e. a better performance, and specifically for the accomplishment of an incremental flight test programme. While the RRLD basic test programme will acquire knowledge about hypersonic flight, re-entry and landing of a cryogenic rocket propelled launcher — and the low cost reusability (short turnaround on ground) in the utilization programme beyond basic testing, the RRLD will serve as a test bed for generic testing of technologies required for the realization of an SSTO launcher. This paper will present the results of the European RRLD study which

Approach to Fall in Elderly Population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet Ilkin Naharci

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Falls are one of the geriatric syndromes which occur commonly and significantly increase morbidity and mortality rates in elderly. The incidence of falls increases with age. Falls usually occur when impairments in cognitive, behavioral, and executive function begin. The incidence of fall is between 30 and 40 percent of community-dwelling people and approximately 50 percent of individuals in the long-term care setting over the age of 65 years. Fracture (hip, arm, wrist, pelvis, head trauma or major lacerations, as defined serious wounding, occur 10-25% of elderly cases. Fall is overlooked in clinical examination due to various reasons; the patient never mentions the event to a doctor; there is no injury at the time of the fall; the doctor fails to ask the patient about a history of falls; or either doctor or patient erroneously believes that falls are an inevitable part of the aging process. Elderly give not usually any self-information about fall, for this reason, all older patients should be asked at least once per year about falls and should be assessed in terms of balance and gait disorders. There are many distinct causes for falls in old people. Falls in older individuals occur when a threat to the normal homeostatic mechanisms that maintain postural stability is superimposed on underlying age-related declines in balance, ambulation, and cardiovascular function. This factor may be an acute illness (eg, fever, water loss, arrhythmia, a new medication, an environmental stress (eg, unfamiliar surrounding, or an unsafe walking surface. The elderly person can not cope with happened additional stress. To prevent and decrease the frequency of falls, effective approaches are medical interventions, environmental modifications, education-exercise programs, and assisted device. Detection and amelioration of risk factors can significantly reduce the rate of future falls. The assessment of fall, causing mobility restriction, use of nursing home, and

Development and feasibility of falls prevention advice.

Science.gov (United States)

van Harten-Krouwel, Diny; Schuurmans, Marieke; Emmelot-Vonk, Mariëlle; Pel-Littel, Ruth

2011-10-01

This study examined the feasibility of nursing falls prevention advice and factors influencing feasibility. The frequency and seriousness of falls in hospitalised patients are underestimated, and such falls should be preventable because of the presence of professionals. A best practice-based falls prevention advice was developed to decrease the incidence of secondary falls and the incidence of primary falls in the long term and to increase the knowledge of nurses about falls prevention and the seriousness of falls. A descriptive, explorative study. Feasibility of the advice for 30 patients was assessed 82 times (theoretically, three times per patient) by observation and by interviewing nurses, patients and their families. The falls prevention advice was used in 48% of the assessments. There was a difference in use between interventions. Interventions that required more knowledge, communication and extra activities were implemented the least. The absence of materials and knowledge about falls prevention were important determinants of the non-implementation of certain interventions. Before falls prevention advice is implemented, it is important to educate nurses about falls, communication skills and implementation of the advice. The falls prevention advice might help nurses to prevent falls and increase their knowledge about falls prevention. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Falls prevention in hospitals and mental health units: an extended evaluation of the FallSafe quality improvement project.

Science.gov (United States)

Healey, Frances; Lowe, Derek; Darowski, Adam; Windsor, Julie; Treml, Jonathan; Byrne, Lisa; Husk, Janet; Phipps, Jill

2014-07-01

inpatient falls are a major patient safety issue causing distress, injury and death. Systematic review suggests multifactorial assessment and intervention can reduce falls by 20-30%, but large-scale studies of implementation are few. This paper describes an extended evaluation of the FallSafe quality improvement project, which presented key components of multifactorial assessment and intervention as a care bundle. : data on delivery of falls prevention processes were collected at baseline and for 18 months from nine FallSafe units and nine control units. Data on falls were collected from local risk management systems for 24 months, and data on under-reporting through staff surveys. : in FallSafe units, delivery of seven care bundle components significantly improved; most improvements were sustained after active project support was withdrawn. Twelve-month moving average of reported fall rates showed a consistent downward trend in FallSafe units but not controls. Significant reductions in reported fall rate were found in FallSafe units (adjusted rate ratio (ARR) 0.75, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.68-0.84 P control units (ARR 0.91, 95% CI 0.81-1.03 P = 0.13). No significant changes in injurious fall rate were found in FallSafe units (ARR 0.86, 95% CI 0.71-1.03 P = 0.11), or controls (ARR 0.88, 95% CI 0.72-1.08 P = 0.13). In FallSafe units, staff certain falls had been reported increased from 60 to 77%. : introducing evidence-based care bundles of multifactorial assessment and intervention using a quality improvement approach resulted in improved delivery of multifactorial assessment and intervention and significant reductions in fall rates, but not in injurious fall rates. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

An outpatient multifactorial falls prevention intervention does not reduce falls in high-risk elderly Danes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vind, Ane B; Andersen, Hanne E; Pedersen, Kirsten D

2009-01-01

, mean age 74, 73.7%women, who had visited the emergency department or had been hospitalized due to a fall. INTERVENTION: Identification of general medical, cardiovascular, and physical risk factors for falls and individual intervention in the intervention group. Participants in the control group....... Followup exceeded 90.0%. A total of 422 falls were registered in the intervention group, 398 in the control group. Intention-to-treat analysis revealed no effect of the intervention on fall rates (relative risk=1.06, 95%confidence interval (CI)=0.75 -1.51), proportion with falls (odds ratio (OR)=1.20, 95......OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of multifactorial fall prevention in community-dwelling people aged 65 and older in Denmark. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled clinical trial. SETTING: Geriatric outpatient clinic at Glostrup University Hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred ninety-two elderly people...

Investigation and hazard assessment of the 2003 and 2007 Staircase Falls rock falls, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. F. Wieczorek

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Since 1857 more than 600 rock falls, rock slides, debris slides, and debris flows have been documented in Yosemite National Park, with rock falls in Yosemite Valley representing the majority of the events. On 26 December 2003, a rock fall originating from west of Glacier Point sent approximately 200 m³ of rock debris down a series of joint-controlled ledges to the floor of Yosemite Valley. The debris impacted talus near the base of Staircase Falls, producing fragments of flying rock that struck occupied cabins in Curry Village. Several years later on 9 June 2007, and again on 26 July 2007, smaller rock falls originated from the same source area. The 26 December 2003 event coincided with a severe winter storm and was likely triggered by precipitation and/or frost wedging, but the 9 June and 26 July 2007 events lack recognizable triggering mechanisms. We investigated the geologic and hydrologic factors contributing to the Staircase Falls rock falls, including bedrock lithology, weathering, joint spacing and orientations, and hydrologic processes affecting slope stability. We improved upon previous geomorphic assessment of rock-fall hazards, based on a shadow angle approach, by using STONE, a three-dimensional rock-fall simulation computer program. STONE produced simulated rock-fall runout patterns similar to the mapped extent of the 2003 and 2007 events, allowing us to simulate potential future rock falls from the Staircase Falls detachment area. Observations of recent rock falls, mapping of rock debris, and simulations of rock fall runouts beneath the Staircase Falls detachment area suggest that rock-fall hazard zones extend farther downslope than the extent previously defined by mapped surface talus deposits.

Investigation and hazard assessment of the 2003 and 2007 Staircase Falls rock falls, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Wieczorek, G. F.; Stock, G. M.; Reichenbach, P.; Snyder, J. B.; Borchers, J. W.; Godt, J. W.

2008-05-01

Since 1857 more than 600 rock falls, rock slides, debris slides, and debris flows have been documented in Yosemite National Park, with rock falls in Yosemite Valley representing the majority of the events. On 26 December 2003, a rock fall originating from west of Glacier Point sent approximately 200 m3 of rock debris down a series of joint-controlled ledges to the floor of Yosemite Valley. The debris impacted talus near the base of Staircase Falls, producing fragments of flying rock that struck occupied cabins in Curry Village. Several years later on 9 June 2007, and again on 26 July 2007, smaller rock falls originated from the same source area. The 26 December 2003 event coincided with a severe winter storm and was likely triggered by precipitation and/or frost wedging, but the 9 June and 26 July 2007 events lack recognizable triggering mechanisms. We investigated the geologic and hydrologic factors contributing to the Staircase Falls rock falls, including bedrock lithology, weathering, joint spacing and orientations, and hydrologic processes affecting slope stability. We improved upon previous geomorphic assessment of rock-fall hazards, based on a shadow angle approach, by using STONE, a three-dimensional rock-fall simulation computer program. STONE produced simulated rock-fall runout patterns similar to the mapped extent of the 2003 and 2007 events, allowing us to simulate potential future rock falls from the Staircase Falls detachment area. Observations of recent rock falls, mapping of rock debris, and simulations of rock fall runouts beneath the Staircase Falls detachment area suggest that rock-fall hazard zones extend farther downslope than the extent previously defined by mapped surface talus deposits.

Fall prevention in nursing homes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andresen, Mette; Hauge, Johnny

2014-01-01

that the number of hospitalization after a fall injury will become an even greater task for the Danish hospitals, The aim of the study was to show if there is a relationship between physically frail elderly nursing home resident’s subjective evaluation of fall-risk and an objective evaluation of their balance....... Further, to suggest tools for fall prevention in nursing home settings on the basis of the results of this study and the literature. A quantitative method inspired by the survey method was used to give an overview of fall patterns, subjective and objective evaluations of fallrisk. Participants were 16...... physically frail elderly nursing home residents from three different nursing homes. Measures: a small staff-questionnaire about incidences and places where the participants had falling-episodes during a 12 month period, The Falls Effi cacy Scale Swedish version (FES(S)) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) Results...

Falls: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and relationship to fracture.

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Sarah D; Miller, Ram R

2008-12-01

Falls are common in the elderly, and frequently result in injury and disability. Most falls result from an interaction between individual characteristics that increase an individual's propensity to fall and acute mediating risk factors that provide the opportunity to fall. Predisposing risk factors include age-associated changes in strength and balance, comorbidities such as osteoarthritis, visual impairment and dementia, psychotropic medications, and certain types of footwear. Fewer studies have focused on acute precipitating factors, but environmental and situational factors are clearly important to fall risk. Approximately 30% of falls result in an injury that requires medical attention, with fractures occurring in approximately 10%. In addition to the risk factors for falls, the fall descent, fall impact, and bone strength are all important determinants of whether a fall will result in a fracture. In recent years, numerous studies have been directed toward the development of effective fall and fall-related fracture prevention interventions.

Fall Risk Assessment Through Automatic Combination of Clinical Fall Risk Factors and Body-Worn Sensor Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Barry R; Redmond, Stephen J; Caulfield, Brian

2017-05-01

Falls are the leading global cause of accidental death and disability in older adults and are the most common cause of injury and hospitalization. Accurate, early identification of patients at risk of falling, could lead to timely intervention and a reduction in the incidence of fall-related injury and associated costs. We report a statistical method for fall risk assessment using standard clinical fall risk factors (N = 748). We also report a means of improving this method by automatically combining it, with a fall risk assessment algorithm based on inertial sensor data and the timed-up-and-go test. Furthermore, we provide validation data on the sensor-based fall risk assessment method using a statistically independent dataset. Results obtained using cross-validation on a sample of 292 community dwelling older adults suggest that a combined clinical and sensor-based approach yields a classification accuracy of 76.0%, compared to either 73.6% for sensor-based assessment alone, or 68.8% for clinical risk factors alone. Increasing the cohort size by adding an additional 130 subjects from a separate recruitment wave (N = 422), and applying the same model building and validation method, resulted in a decrease in classification performance (68.5% for combined classifier, 66.8% for sensor data alone, and 58.5% for clinical data alone). This suggests that heterogeneity between cohorts may be a major challenge when attempting to develop fall risk assessment algorithms which generalize well. Independent validation of the sensor-based fall risk assessment algorithm on an independent cohort of 22 community dwelling older adults yielded a classification accuracy of 72.7%. Results suggest that the present method compares well to previously reported sensor-based fall risk assessment methods in assessing falls risk. Implementation of objective fall risk assessment methods on a large scale has the potential to improve quality of care and lead to a reduction in associated hospital

Is a fall just a fall : correlates of falling in healthy older persons. The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Rekeneire, Nathalie; Visser, Marjolein; Peila, Rita; Nevitt, Michael C; Cauley, Jane A; Tylavsky, Frances A; Simonsick, Eleanor M; Harris, Tamara B

OBJECTIVES: To identify factors associated with falling in well-functioning older people. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analyses of report of falls over the past 12 months using baseline data from the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. SETTING: Clinic examinations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or

The Association Between Body Adiposity Measures, Postural Balance, Fear of Falling, and Fall Risk in Older Community-Dwelling Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Neri, Silvia Gonçalves Ricci; Gadelha, André Bonadias; de David, Ana Cristina; Ferreira, Aparecido Pimentel; Safons, Marisete Peralta; Tiedemann, Anne; Lima, Ricardo M

2017-12-07

Recent investigations demonstrate an association between obesity and the propensity of older adults to fall. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between body adiposity measures, postural balance, fear of falling, and risk of falls in older women. One hundred forty-seven volunteers took part in this cross-sectional study. Participants underwent body composition assessment using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and had body mass index, waist circumference (WC), and body adiposity index measured. Postural balance was assessed using a force platform, while fear of falling and risk of falls were, respectively, evaluated by the Falls Efficacy Scale-International and the QuickScreen Clinical Falls Risk Assessment. All adiposity measures were correlated to at least 1 postural stability parameter and to fear of falling (ρ= 0.163, P risk of falls (ρ= 0.325; P falling (28.04 vs 24.59; P = .002) and had a higher proportion of individuals with increased fall risk (72% vs 35%; P risk of falls in older women, which might be mediated by reduced postural balance and increased fear of falling. Among these indices, WC, an easy and low-cost assessment, demonstrated the strongest association with falls-related outcomes.

[Falls of older individuals: medical assessment].

Science.gov (United States)

De Breucker, S; Nkodo Mekongo, Y P; Ibebeke, B; Pepersack, T

2007-01-01

Falls are one of the most common problems that threaten the independence of older individuals. They usually occur when impairments in multiple domains compromise the compensatory ability of the individual, as is the case for many geriatric syndromes. A number of the physical conditions and environmental situations predispose to falls. The medical risk factors of falls are reviewed. Falls in older individuals are rarely due to a single cause. Mechanisms that maintain postural stability are altered with aging (balance, gait speed, cardiovascular function). Female gender, past history of a fall, cognitive impairment, lower extremity weakness, balance problems, psychotropic drug use, arthritis, history of stroke, orthostatic hypotension, dizziness, and anemia represent the most frequent causes of risk of falls. Physical examination should focus upon the above mentioned risk factors and also on the presence of orthostatic hypotension, visual acuity, hearing assessment, examination of the extremities for deformities or neuropathies, and carotid sinus hypersensitivity which contributes to falls in people with unexplained falls. In conclusion, assessment of older individual at risk of falls or who fall present medical specificities. However, these latter specificities should be included in a comprehensive assessment which focus on intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Interventional strategies including comprehensive and interdisciplinary assessment lead to effective prevention.

Method of freezing type dismantling for wasted reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tatsumi, Toshiyuki.

1985-01-01

Purpose: To enable to operate a cutting device in the air by placing a working table on ice while utilizing the ice as radiation shielding materials thereby prevent the diffusion of air contaminations. Method: Upon dismantling a BWR type reactor, ice is packed into a reactor container and a pressure vessel and frozen state is maintained by cooling coils disposed to the outer circumference of the pressure vessel. Then, an airtight hood is covered over the pressure vessel and a working table is rotatably disposed therein. Upon working, when the upper layer ice is melted by a heat pump and discharged, the airtight hood is lowered to a predetermined level. After freezing the melted portion again at the lowered level, cutting work is conducted by an operator in the hood. The cut pieces are conveyed after hoisting the airtight hood by a crane. The pressure vessel is dismantled by repeating the foregoing procedures. In this way, cut pieces can be recovered without falling them to the reactor bottom as in the conventional work in water. In addition, since the procedures are conducted while covering the airtight hood, diffusion of air contaminations can be prevented. (Kamimura, M.)

A Wavelet-Based Approach to Fall Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luca Palmerini

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Falls among older people are a widely documented public health problem. Automatic fall detection has recently gained huge importance because it could allow for the immediate communication of falls to medical assistance. The aim of this work is to present a novel wavelet-based approach to fall detection, focusing on the impact phase and using a dataset of real-world falls. Since recorded falls result in a non-stationary signal, a wavelet transform was chosen to examine fall patterns. The idea is to consider the average fall pattern as the “prototype fall”.In order to detect falls, every acceleration signal can be compared to this prototype through wavelet analysis. The similarity of the recorded signal with the prototype fall is a feature that can be used in order to determine the difference between falls and daily activities. The discriminative ability of this feature is evaluated on real-world data. It outperforms other features that are commonly used in fall detection studies, with an Area Under the Curve of 0.918. This result suggests that the proposed wavelet-based feature is promising and future studies could use this feature (in combination with others considering different fall phases in order to improve the performance of fall detection algorithms.

Life Management Programme for Long Term Operation of Reactors and Nuclear Facilities. Ageing Management of Research Reactors in Argentina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di Luch, A.; Fabbri, S.; Vega, G.; Versaci, R. [National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2014-08-15

The reactor RA-0 is a critical facility for the performance of exercises for research, education and training. It is located in the city of Cordoba, in the building of the Faculty of Physical Sciences. Its rated power is 1 W, which minimizes the shielding requirements for civil work and dispenses with a core cooling system. The core consists of two concentric and removable tanks of anodized aluminium with an active volume of 70 l. Moderator is demineralized light water, which enters through the bottom of the external tank with an overflow at the top of the inner tank that is removable. The fuel elements of 20.00% enriched UO{sub 2} are housed vertically in a grid with 232 holes of diameter greater than the fuel cladding. Other holes of smaller diameter allow circulation of the moderator, and four holes accommodate detector tubes or tubes for mounting experience. The control system consists of four control rods built with a cadmium sheet wrapped in a stainless steel cladding. These are inserted vertically and tangentially to the outer tank. Each bar is magnetically coupled to an electromagnet secured to the rise and fall mechanism, which also allows them to function as control rods. In case of emergency the electromagnet stops, and the bar falls under the influence of gravity. Obsolescence was detected in some elements of instrumentation, notably in former relays, starting systems and scram functions, but checks for updates in the data acquisition system have also been undertaken proactively to keep updated to the reactor. No ageing in mechanical systems has been verified.

Childhood Falls With Occipital Impacts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Atkinson, Norrell; van Rijn, Rick R.; Starling, Suzanne P.

2017-01-01

Falls are commonly reported in children who present with both accidental and inflicted brain injuries. Short falls rarely result in serious or life-threatening injuries. Our purpose is to describe a series of cases of short falls with occipital impact leading to subdural hemorrhage (SDH). We present

Predicting first fall in newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease: Insights from a fall-naïve cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Lord, Sue; Galna, Brook; Yarnall, Alison J; Coleman, Shirley; Burn, David; Rochester, Lynn

2016-12-01

Falls are common and associated with reduced independence and mortality in Parkinson's disease. Previous research has been conducted on falls-prevalent or advanced disease cohorts. This study identifies risk factors for first fall for 36 months in a newly diagnosed, falls-naïve cohort. A total of 121 consecutive Parkinson's disease patients were recruited. Falls data were collected prospectively during 36 months from diagnosis via monthly falls diaries and telephone follow-up for 117 participants. Assessment comprised a comprehensive battery of clinical, gait, and cognitive measures. Significant predictors were identified from decision-tree analysis and survival analysis with time to first fall during 36 months as the dependent variable. At baseline, 26 (22%) participants reported retrospective falls. At 36 months, the remaining cohort (n = 91) comprised 47 fallers (52%) and 30 (33%) nonfallers and 14 (15%) participants with incomplete diaries. Fallers presented with a significantly higher disease severity, poorer ability to stand on one leg, slower gait speed, increased stance time variability, and higher swing time asymmetry. Median time to first fall was 847 days. Gait speed, stance time, and Hoehn & Yahr III stage emerged as significant predictors of first fall, hazard ratio 3.44 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.58 to 7.48), 3.31(95% CI 1.40 to 7.80), and 2.80 (95% CI 1.38 to 5.65), respectively. The hazard ratio for risk factors combined was 7.82 (CI 2.80 to 21.84). Interventions that target gait deficit and postural control in early Parkinson's disease may limit the potential for first fall. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Self-reported preclinical mobility limitation and fall history as predictors of future falls in older women: prospective cohort study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mänty, Minna Regina; Heinonen, A; Viljanen, A

2010-01-01

mobility limitation. Fall history was recalled for previous 12 months and dichotomized. The incidence of future falls over 12 months was followed up with fall calendars. RESULTS: During the fall follow-up, a total of 440 falls were reported by 201 participants. Among those with fall history, women...

Falls and Use of Assistive Devices in Stroke Patients with Hemiparesis: Association with Balance Ability and Fall Efficacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Oksoo; Kim, Jung-Hee

2015-01-01

This study investigates balance ability and the fall efficacy with regard to the experiences of stroke patients with hemiparesis. The experience of falling, the use of assistive devices, and each disease-related characteristic were assessed using face-to-face interviews and a self-reported questionnaire. The Berg Balance Scale and Fall Efficacy Scale were used to measure balance ability and confidence. The fall efficacy was significantly lower in participants who had experienced falls than those who had not. The participants who used assistive devices exhibited low balance ability and fall efficacy compared to those who did not use assistive devices. Stroke patients with fall experience and walking aids might be considered at increased risk of falling. Preventive measures for individuals using walking aids may be beneficial in reducing the fall rate of community-dwelling stroke patients. © 2014 Association of Rehabilitation Nurses.

Science Programs for a 2-m Class Telescope at Dome C, Antarctica: PILOT, the Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, M. G.; Lawrence, J. S.; Ashley, M. C. B.; Bailey, J. A.; Blake, C.; Bedding, T. R.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Bond, I. A.; Glazebrook, K.; Hidas, M. G.; Lewis, G.; Longmore, S. N.; Maddison, S. T.; Mattila, S.; Minier, V.; Ryder, S. D.; Sharp, R.; Smith, C. H.; Storey, J. W. V.; Tinney, C. G.; Tuthill, P.; Walsh, A. J.; Walsh, W.; Whiting, M.; Wong, T.; Woods, D.; Yock, P. C. M.

2005-08-01

The cold, dry, and stable air above the summits of the Antarctic plateau provides the best ground-based observing conditions from optical to sub-millimetre wavelengths to be found on the Earth. Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope (PILOT) is a proposed 2m telescope, to be built at Dome C in Antarctica, able to exploit these conditions for conducting astronomy at optical and infrared wavelengths. While PILOT is intended as a pathfinder towards the construction of future grand-design facilities, it will also be able to undertake a range of fundamental science investigations in its own right. This paper provides the performance specifications for PILOT, including its instrumentation. It then describes the kinds of projects that it could best conduct. These range from planetary science to the search for other solar systems, from star formation within the Galaxy to the star formation history of the Universe, and from gravitational lensing caused by exo-planets to that produced by the cosmic web of dark matter. PILOT would be particularly powerful for wide-field imaging at infrared wavelengths, achieving near diffraction-limited performance with simple tip-tilt wavefront correction. PILOT would also be capable of near diffraction-limited performance in the optical wavebands, as well be able to open new wavebands for regular ground-based observation, in the mid-IR from 17 to 40μm and in the sub-millimetre at 200μm.

Prevalence of falls in elderly women.

Science.gov (United States)

Vitor, Priscila Regina Rorato; de Oliveira, Ana Carolina Kovaleski; Kohler, Renan; Winter, Gabriele Regiane; Rodacki, Cintia; Krause, Maressa Priscila

2015-01-01

To verify prevalence of falls and fear of falling, and to compare functional fitness among elderly women fallers and non-fallers. Seventy-eight elderly women participated in this study. Cases of falls and the fear of falling were self-reported by the elderly women, while the functional fitness was measured by a set of functional tests. Mean and standard deviation were used to describe the sample. Independent t-test was used to compare functional fitness between groups. The prevalence of falls in this sample was 32.4%. Among women fallers, 40% self-reported a high fear of falling. It is recommended that functional and resistance exercises are included in the preventive strategies for reducing risk factors for falls and its determinants in elderly women. Level of Evidence II, Prognostic-Prospective Study.

Ageing vision and falls: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Saftari, Liana Nafisa; Kwon, Oh-Sang

2018-04-23

Falls are the leading cause of accidental injury and death among older adults. One of three adults over the age of 65 years falls annually. As the size of elderly population increases, falls become a major concern for public health and there is a pressing need to understand the causes of falls thoroughly. While it is well documented that visual functions such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and stereo acuity are correlated with fall risks, little attention has been paid to the relationship between falls and the ability of the visual system to perceive motion in the environment. The omission of visual motion perception in the literature is a critical gap because it is an essential function in maintaining balance. In the present article, we first review existing studies regarding visual risk factors for falls and the effect of ageing vision on falls. We then present a group of phenomena such as vection and sensory reweighting that provide information on how visual motion signals are used to maintain balance. We suggest that the current list of visual risk factors for falls should be elaborated by taking into account the relationship between visual motion perception and balance control.

Reactor Vessel and Reactor Vessel Internals Segmentation at Zion Nuclear Power Station - 13230

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cooke, Conrad; Spann, Holger [Siempelkamp Nuclear Services: 5229 Sunset Blvd., (Suite M), West Columbia, SC, 29169 (United States)

2013-07-01

Plates to the Baffle Former Plates. The FaST is designed to remove the Baffle Former Plates from the Core Barrel. The VRS further volume reduces segmented components using multiple configurations of the 38i and horizontal reciprocating saws. After the successful removal and volume reduction of the Internals, the RV will be segmented using a 'First in the US' thermal cutting process through a co-operative effort with Siempelkamp NIS Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH using their experience at the Stade NPP and Karlsruhe in Germany. SNS mobilized in the fall of 2011 to commence execution of the project in order to complete the RVI segmentation, removal and packaging activities for the first unit (Unit 2) by end of the 2012/beginning 2013 and then mobilize to the second unit, Unit 1. Parallel to the completion of the segmentation of the reactor vessel internals at Unit 1, SNS will segment the Unit 2 pressure vessel and at completion move to Unit 1. (authors)

Characteristics of daily life gait in fall and non fall-prone stroke survivors and controls

NARCIS (Netherlands)