WorldWideScience

Sample records for stand-alone freshman academy

  1. The impact of a freshman academy on science performance of first-time ninth-grade students at one Georgia high school

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel, Vivian Summerour

    The purpose of this within-group experimental study was to find out to what extent ninth-grade students improved their science performance beyond their middle school science performance at one Georgia high school utilizing a freshman academy model. Freshman academies have been recognized as a useful tool for increasing academic performance among ninth-grade students because they address a range of academic support initiatives tailored to improve academic performance among ninth-grade students. The talent development model developed by Legters, Balfanz, Jordan, and McPartland (2002) has served as a foundational standard for many ninth grade academy programs. A cornerstone feature of this model is the creation of small learning communities used to increase ninth-grade student performance. Another recommendation was to offer credit recovery opportunities for ninth graders along with creating parent and community involvement activities to increase academic success among ninth-grade students. While the site's program included some of the initiatives outlined by the talent development model, it did not utilize all of them. The study concluded that the academy did not show a definitive increase in academic performance among ninth-grade students since most students stayed within their original performance category.

  2. Stand-alone XLIF

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, E. J.; Simony, A.; Hummel, Stefan

    2015-01-01

    and clinical/radiological results in 22 patients treated with XLIF procedure for DS or degenerative disc disease (DDD). Material and methods: 22 consecutive patients with DS underwent surgery with the XLIF stand-alone procedure, with follow-up of 24 months. Clinical outcome scores were collected. Complications......Introduction: Adult thoracolumbar degeneration is an increasing challenge in the aging population. With age the progressive degeneration of the discs leads to an asymmetric collapse and a thoracolumbar coronal plane deformity, a degenerative scoliosis (DS). Aim: To evaluate the complication rate......-year follow-up, with a 31.8% revision rate. Due to the high revision rate we recommend supplementary posterior instrumentation, to achieve a higher fusion rate. When considering XLIF-stand-alone procedure for DS or DDD without supplemental posterior instrumentation, only single-level disease should...

  3. Solar Charged Stand Alone Inverter

    OpenAIRE

    M.Vasugi; Prof R.Jayaraman

    2014-01-01

    This paper deals with solar powered stand alone inverter which converts the variable dc output of a photovoltaic solar panel into ac that can be fed to loads. Stand alone inverters are used in systems where the inverter get its energy from batteries charged by photo voltaic arrays. A charge controller limits the rate at which electric current is added to or drawn from electric batteries. This charge discharge controller is needed to prevent the battery from being overcharged o...

  4. 39 CFR 122.2 - Stand-alone special services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Stand-alone special services. 122.2 Section 122.2 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE POST OFFICE SERVICES [DOMESTIC MAIL] SERVICE STANDARDS FOR MARKET-DOMINANT SPECIAL SERVICES PRODUCTS § 122.2 Stand-alone special services. (a) The service standard...

  5. Stand-alone photovoltaic applications. Lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loois, G.; Van Hemert, B.

    1999-02-01

    The IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) is one of the collaborative R and D agreements established within the IEA. The objective of Task III is to promote and facilitate the exchange of information and experiences in the field of PV Systems in Stand-alone and Island Applications (SAPV). The book focuses on the practical experiences gained, and does not aim to provide a complete manual on SAPV. When Task III started its activities in 1993, a collection of 50 'State of the art' projects was published in the book 'Examples of Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems'. This publication marked the base line for the work of the task. Now, in 1998, the showcases from each country demonstrate the lessons learned in five years of cooperation. The book consists of two parts. The first part contains eight chapters dealing with a specific aspect of stand-alone PV. The second part introduces 14 national showcase projects in a systematic presentation. Each chapter and showcase can be read independently from the rest of the book. Chapter 2, contributed by The Netherlands, analyses the market for stand-alone PV systems. It gives an overview of the 'traditional' application of stand-alone PV, which is the electrification of remote buildings and which has been addressed in depth in other publications. The focus is on the market niches of service applications that are also interesting for more densely populated areas, e.g. in industrialised countries. The United Kingdom illustrates the economic aspects in Chapter 3. Cost comparisons are made, but more important is the illustration of the non-financial considerations that make PV the preferred choice as a power source for many applications. Switzerland explores in Chapter 4 (financing aspects) different financing mechanisms, and financial policies used to overcome the initial cost barrier. Most of these approaches have been applied in developing countries rather than in the western world. Using various examples from all over the

  6. Stand alone photovoltaic systems: guarantee of results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-12-31

    This study aims to provide a guarantee of results for system performance for users of stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems, which have no back-up generator. The appropriate main performance criterion for PV systems is that a specified load is supplied with power either continuously or intermittently whenever the load requires power. A methodology to evaluate the power availability of stand-alone PV systems has been developed as part of the project, which encompasses power losses due to weather variations. The guarantee of results produced allows users to compare system designs from different manufacturers. (UK)

  7. R and D into stand-alone PV systems for export

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-09-01

    The current status of photovoltaic (PV) technology is reviewed for systems to provide electricity where mains supplies are unavailable, known as stand-alone PV systems. Typical applications and experiences with installed stand-alone systems are described. Economic issues and barriers to the wide use of PV systems are also examined. (UK)

  8. Basic Stand Alone Medicare Inpatient Claims PUF

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This release contains the Basic Stand Alone (BSA) Inpatient Public Use Files (PUF) named CMS 2008 BSA Inpatient Claims PUF with information from 2008 Medicare...

  9. Basic Stand Alone Carrier Line Items PUF

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This release contains the Basic Stand Alone (BSA) Carrier Line Items Public Use Files (PUF) with information from Medicare Carrier claims. The CMS BSA Carrier Line...

  10. Stand-alone wind system with Vanadium Redox Battery energy storage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Teodorescu, Remus; Barote, L.; Weissbach, R.

    2008-01-01

    Energy storage devices are required for power balance and power quality in stand alone wind energy systems. A Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRB) system has many features which make its integration with a stand-alone wind energy system attractive. This paper proposes the integration of a VRB system...... with a typical stand-alone wind energy system during wind speed variation as well as transient performance under variable load. The investigated system consists of a variable speed wind turbine with permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG), diode rectifier bridge, buck-boost converter, bidirectional charge...... controller, transformer, inverter, ac loads and VRB (to store a surplus of wind energy and to supply power during a wind power shortage). The main purpose is to supply domestic appliances through a single phase 230V, 50Hz inverter. Simulations are accomplished in order to validate the stability of the supply....

  11. Basic Stand Alone Skilled Nursing Facility Beneficiary PUF

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This release contains the Basic Stand Alone (BSA) Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Beneficiary Public Use Files (PUF) with information from Medicare SNF claims. The...

  12. Models for a stand-alone PV system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, A.D.; Sørensen, Poul Ejnar; Hansen, L.H.

    2001-01-01

    are based on the model descriptions found in the literature. The battery model is developed at UMASS and is known as the Kinetic Battery Model(KiBaM). The other component models in the PV system are based on simple electrical knowledge. The implementation is done using Matlab/Simulink, a simulation program......This report presents a number of models for modelling and simulation of a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system with a battery bank verified against a system installed at Risø National Laboratory. The work has been supported by the Danish Ministry ofEnergy, as a part of the activities in the Solar...... Energy Centre Denmark. The study is carried out at Risø National Laboratory with the main purpose to establish a library of simple mathematical models for each individual element of a stand-alone PVsystem, namely solar cells, battery, controller, inverter and load. The models for PV module and battery...

  13. Basic Stand Alone Medicare DME Line Items PUF

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This release contains the Basic Stand Alone (BSA) Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Line Items Public Use Files (PUF) with information from Medicare DME claims. The...

  14. Models for a stand-alone PV system[Photovoltaic

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hansen, A.D.; Soerensen, P.; Hansen, L.H.; Bindner, H.

    2000-12-01

    This report presents a number of models for modelling and simulation of a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system with a battery bank verified against a system installed at Risoe National Laboratory. The work has been supported by the Danish Ministry of Energy, as a part of the activities in the Solar Energy Centre Denmark. The study is carried out at Risoe National Laboratory with the main purpose to establish a library of simple mathematical models for each individual element of a stand-alone PV system, namely solar cells, battery, controller, inverter and load. The models for PV module and battery are based on the model descriptions found in the literature. The battery model is developed at UMASS and is known as the Kinetic Battery Model (KiBaM). The other component models in the PV system are based on simple electrical knowledge. The implementation is done using Matlab/Simulink, a simulation program that provides a graphical interface for building models as modular block diagrams. The non-linear behaviour of the battery, observed in the measurements, is investigated and compared to the KiBaM model's performance. A set of linear Black box models are estimated based on the battery measurements. The performance of the best linear Black box model is compared to the KiBaM model. A validation of each of the implemented mathematical model is performed by an interactive analysis and comparison between simulation results and measurements, acquired from the stand-alone PV system at Risoe. (au)

  15. Procedures for Determining the Performance of Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeBlasio, R.; Durand, S.; Hansen, R.; Hutchinson, P.; Kroposki, B.; McNutt, P.; Rosenthal, A.; Thomas, M.

    1999-01-01

    This document provides the procedures for determining the performance of stand-alone PV systems. The procedures in this document provide a common approach for evaluating whether a given PV system is suitable to perform the function for which it was designed and manufactured to accomplish, and whether it will provide adequate power to run the load. These procedures cover small stand-alone PV systems. They cover complete outdoor system testing. Test results are valid only for the system that is tested

  16. Stand-alone photovoltaic systems in the Netherlands. Evaluation of the market introduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cloin, J.; Van Dijk, A.L.; Westra, C.A.

    1999-08-01

    The policy followed for stand-alone PV systems in the Netherlands is evaluated for the period 1997-1998. The world-wide powerful growth of the PV industry is not being followed by the increase in volume of implemented stand-alone PV systems in the Netherlands. This leads to the question whether the Dutch policy to stimulate stand-alone PV systems is effective. Recommendations on the use of communication as a strategic instrument are given, including the drawing up of a marketing plan. Other recommendations include increased transparency in the application for subsidies and a pro-active role of the Netherlands Agency for Energy and the Environment (Novem) in the contact with relevant market parties. The increased focus on product development aimed at the environmental benefits and general reliability of PV systems is recommended. 38 refs

  17. Stand-alone induction generators for small water power schemes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harvey, Adam [Intermediate Technology Development Group, Rugby (United Kingdom); Smith, Nigel [Smith Associates, Nottingham (United Kingdom)

    1996-04-01

    Conventional technology for isolated power generation is the synchronous generator. Using stand-alone induction generators has proved to have tremendous advantages in remote regions of developing countries, where electricity has significant social benefits. (author)

  18. Clinical outcome of stand-alone ALIF compared to posterior instrumentation for degenerative disc disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Udby, Peter M.; Bech-Azeddine, Rachid

    2015-01-01

    The objective of the article was to: a) present results from a case cohort pilot study comparing stand-alone ALIF and TLIF and, b) review the literature on studies comparing the clinical outcome of stand-alone ALIF with posterior instrumentation including TLIF or PLIF, in patients with disabling...... low back pain resulting from degenerative disc disease. ALIF surgery has previously been linked with certain high risk complications and unfavorable long term fusion results. Newer studies suggest that stand-alone ALIF can possibly be advantageous compared to other types of posterior instrumented...

  19. Stand-alone solutions, computer networks and extern communications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tarschisch, H.

    1988-01-01

    The advantages of local networks over stand-alone solutions are presented. Of the local networks (LAN), two are presently at the center of attention: the bus and the ring. ETHERNET and the IBM-Token-Ring are described as typical examples. Access to public networks, especially TELEPAC and ISDN, is discussed. 12 figs

  20. Connecting embedded and stand-alone peer mentoring models to enhance student engagement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rhys Cooper

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper outlines the Trident Student Mentoring Program that runs in the College of Engineering at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. The program offers both embedded and stand-alone models of peer mentoring services to the same cohort of first-year students. It shows that by forming strong links between these two types of peer mentoring models, the inherent challenges of both, such as low attendance rates in stand-alone models and short periods of peer to peer time in embedded models, are mitigated.

  1. Sensorless direct voltage control of the stand-alone brushless doubly-fed generator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Yi; Xu, Wei; Xiong, Fei

    2017-01-01

    The conventional stand-alone brushless doubly-fed generator (BDFG) control strategies need the feedback from the rotor position or speed sensors, which can reduce system reliability and increase the cost and axial volume of the machine. In this paper, a sensorless direct voltage control (DVC) str......) strategy is presented for the stand-alone BDFG. The satisfactory dynamic performance is verified by experimental results under four kinds of typical operation conditions. Besides, the proposed control strategy is robust due to no generator parameters being required....

  2. The stand-alone test and decreasing serial cost sharing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hougaard, Jens Leth; Thorlund-Petersen, Lars

    2000-01-01

    The rule of decreasing serial cost sharing defined in de Frutos [1] over the class of concave cost functions may violate the important stand-alone test. Sufficient conditions for the test to be satisfied are given, in terms of individual rationality as well as coalitional stability...

  3. Availability model of stand-alone photovoltaic system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazurek, G.

    2017-08-01

    In this paper we present a simple, empirical model of stand-alone photovoltaic power system availability. The model is a final result of five-year long studies and ground measurements of solar irradiation carried out in Central Europe. The obtained results facilitate sizing of PV modules that have to be installed with taking into account system's availability level in each month of a year. The model can be extended to different geographical locations, with help of local meteorological data or solar irradiation datasets derived from satellite measurements.

  4. Input of biomass in stand-alone small-scale installations for power generation. Calculation of the financial gap

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Tilburg, X.; De Vries, H.J.; Pfeiffer, A.E.; Beekes, M.; Cleijne, J.W.

    2005-09-01

    A number of new initiatives in which bio-oil is used in stand-alone plants for power generation has been reviewed. The question to be answered is whether the reference case for stand alone biomass projects based on burning of wood chips can still be considered representative for the costs and benefits in this category. ECN, in cooperation with KEMA, have determined the financial gap between the costs and benefits of projects in which bio-oil is used in stand alone plants for power generation. The ranges and reference case for bio-oil in stand alone applications show that these projects have a substantially lower financial gap than the current reference case based on wood chips [nl

  5. Environmental/Climatic Effect on Stand-Alone Solar Energy Supply ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper investigates the climatic eects and environmental variations on the performance of a stand-alone photovoltaic system. The eects of partial shading with dierent climate conditions and load resistance variations were examined. A survey of some of the work done in this eld of environmental eect on solar panel was ...

  6. Modelling of fluid-solid interaction using two stand-alone codes

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Grobler, Jan H

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available A method is proposed for the modelling of fluid-solid interaction in applications where fluid forces dominate. Data are transferred between two stand-alone codes: a dedicated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code capable of free surface modelling...

  7. Analysis and controller design for stand-alone VSIs in synchronous reference frame

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ramezani, Malek; Li, Shuhui; Golestan, Saeed

    2017-01-01

    -by-step graphical analysis and design approach for a three-phase stand-alone VSI system in the dq reference frame, which provides a clear systematic decoupling process to design the inner- and outer-loop current and voltage controllers, respectively. The closed-loop d- and q-axis output impedances of the stand......-alone VSI system by considering the coupling effects between axes are also formulated, modelled, and evaluated. The study investigates how the decoupling and compensating terms added in the current and voltage controllers affect the dynamic performance and output dq impedances of the VSI system. Simulation...... and hardware results verify the effectiveness of the graphic design and analysis strategy....

  8. Ampere hour method of sizing a stand alone photovoltaic system ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Stand-alone photovoltaic power systems are natural options for application in electrification of remote areas which are not served by the grid electricity supply system. An ampere-hour ... Sizing of the balance-of-system were carefully handled to avoid undersizing or oversizing and subsequent variation in supply reliability.

  9. Hybrid Configuration of Darrieus and Savonius Rotors for Stand-alone Power Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wakui, Tetsuya; Tanzawa, Yoshiaki; Hashizume, Takumi; Nagao, Toshio

    The suitable hybrid configuration of Darrieus lift-type and Savonius drag-type rotors for stand-alone wind turbine-generator systems is discussed using our dynamic simulation model. Two types of hybrid configurations are taken up: Type-A installs the Savonius rotor inside the Darrieus rotor and Type-B installs the Savonius rotor outside the Darrieus rotor. The computed results of the output characteristics and the dynamic behaviors of the system operated at the maximum power coefficient points show that Type-A, which has fine operating behavior to wind speed changes and can be compactly designed because of a shorter rotational shaft, is an effective way for self-controlled stand-alone small-scale systems.

  10. The Stand-alone Heliostat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia Navajas, G. I.; Egea Gea, A.

    2000-01-01

    The first Autonomous Heliostat has been developed by CIEMAT at PSA facilities in Almeria. This heliostat is an innovative approach to reducing the civil engineering work costs in heliostat fields of central tower plants. Channels, cables and other electric elements have been eliminated in the new heliostat. Thus, one 70-nr, classical T glass/metal heliostat has been adapted to include all the new stand-alone concept components. A PV system is able to drive two sun-tracking DC motors between 5 and 24Vdc, 0 and 15A. The heliostat communicates with the control room 400-m away by using a radio-modem working at 9600 baud. An anemometer, a wind switcher, light and ambient temperature sensors have been installed on the heliostat for self-protection decision-making. A PV panel integrated into the heliostat reflecting surface, eliminates cabling and other elements required for a conventional power supply. Communication lines between master control and local control have been replaced by radio-modem. Testing has validated the technical feasibility of the prototype and quantified the real consumption and efficiencies of new elements. The extra costs produced.by the autonomous concepts are compared with the cost of civil work in conventional heliostat field. (Author) 8 refs

  11. Size-Prediction Analysis for Stand-Alone Photovoltaic System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erusiafe, N. E.; Chendo, M. A. C.

    2002-01-01

    The cost - effectiveness of photovoltaic (PV) generator depends, among others, on its ability to satisfy energy demand and the cost of achieving this. In this work a step - by - step procedure for predicting the size of the main components of a stand - alone PV system (array and storage) is presented. The results yield an expression which can he used lo determine the size of both components at optimum cost and desired reliability. The result from this work compare favourably with some earlier works in that, the system sizes shows some degree of agreement

  12. Optimal sizing method for stand-alone photovoltaic power systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Groumpos, P P; Papageorgiou, G

    1987-01-01

    The total life-cycle cost of stand-alone photovoltaic (SAPV) power systems is mathematically formulated. A new optimal sizing algorithm for the solar array and battery capacity is developed. The optimum value of a balancing parameter, M, for the optimal sizing of SAPV system components is derived. The proposed optimal sizing algorithm is used in an illustrative example, where a more economical life-cycle cost has bene obtained. The question of cost versus reliability is briefly discussed.

  13. Integral type small PWR with stand-alone safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Makihara, Yoshiaki

    2001-01-01

    A feasibility study is achieved on an integral type small PWR with stand-alone safety. It is designed to have the following features. (1) The coolant does not leak out at any accidental condition. (2) The fuel failure does never occur while it is supposed on the large scale PWR at the design base accident. (3) At any accidental condition the safety is secured without any support from the outside (stand-alone safety secure). (4) It has self-regulating characteristics and easy controllability. The above features can be satisfied by integrate the steam generator and CRDM in the reactor vessel while the pipe line break has to be considered on the conventional PWR. Several counter measures are planned to satisfy the above features. The economy feature is also attained by several simplifications such as (1) elimination of main coolant piping and pressurizer by the integration of primary cooling system and self-pressurizing, (2) elimination of RCP by application of natural circulating system, (3) elimination of ECCS and accumulator by application of static safety system, (4) large scale volume reduction of the container vessel by application of integrated primary cooling system, (5) elimination of boric acid treatment by deletion of chemical shim. The long operation period such as 10 years can be attained by the application of Gd fuel in one batch refueling. The construction period can be shortened by the standardizing the design and the introduction of modular component system. Furthermore the applicability of the reduced modulation core is also considered. (K. Tsuchihashi)

  14. A maximum power point tracking scheme for a 1kw stand-alone ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A maximum power point tracking scheme for a 1kw stand-alone solar energy based power supply. ... Nigerian Journal of Technology ... A method for efficiently maximizing the output power of a solar panel supplying a load or battery bus under ...

  15. Minimum cost solution of wind–photovoltaic based stand-alone power systems for remote consumers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaldellis, J.K.; Zafirakis, D.; Kavadias, K.

    2012-01-01

    Renewable energy sources (RES) based stand-alone systems employing either wind or solar power and energy storage comprise a reliable energy alternative, on top of conventional diesel-electric generator sets, commonly used by remote consumers. However, such systems usually imply the need for oversizing and considerable energy storage requirements leading to relatively high costs. On the other hand, hybrid configurations that may exploit both wind and solar potential of a given area may considerably reduce energy storage capacity and improve the economic performance of the system. In this context, an integrated techno-economic methodology for the evaluation of hybrid wind–photovoltaic stand-alone power systems is currently developed, aiming at the designation of optimum configurations for a typical remote consumer, using economic performance criteria. For the problem investigation, the developed evaluation model is applied to four representative areas of the Greek territory with different wind potential characteristics in order to obtain optimum configurations on the basis of minimum initial investment, 10-year and 20-year total cost. According to the results obtained, the proposed solution is favorably compared with all other stand-alone energy alternatives, reflecting the ability of hybrid systems to adjust even in areas where the local RES potential is not necessarily of high quality. - Highlights: ► Wind- and PV-stand alone systems often imply use of extreme battery capacity. ► Hybrid wind–PV systems may reduce energy storage requirements and associated costs. ► An optimization methodology is developed, based on economic performance criteria. ► Methodology is applied to four Greek regions of different wind potential. ► Results obtained reflect the hybrid solution's advantages over other alternatives.

  16. A Three-Port Topology Comparison for a Low Power Stand-Alone Photovoltaic System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mira Albert, Maria del Carmen; Knott, Arnold; Andersen, Michael A. E.

    2014-01-01

    Three-port converter (TPC) topologies for renewable energy systems aim to provide higher efficiency and power density than conventional cascaded structures. This work proposes an analytical comparison of different TPC topologies for a photovoltaic LED lamp stand-alone system. A comparison using c...... component stress factor (CSF) is performed, which gives a quantitative measure of the performance of the converter. The candidate topologies are compared to each other according to a defined LED lighting strategy and a solar irradiation profile.......Three-port converter (TPC) topologies for renewable energy systems aim to provide higher efficiency and power density than conventional cascaded structures. This work proposes an analytical comparison of different TPC topologies for a photovoltaic LED lamp stand-alone system. A comparison using...

  17. Modeling, Design and Simulation of Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Power Systems with Battery Storage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abd Essalam BADOUD

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Stand alone renewable energy based on photovoltaic systems accompanied with battery storage system are beginning to play an important role over the world to supply power to remote areas. The objective of the study reported in this paper is to elaborate and design a bond graphs model for sizing stand-alone domestic solar photovoltaic electricity systems and simulating the performance of the systems in a tropical climate. The systems modelled consist of an array of PV modules, a lead-acid battery, and a number of direct current appliances. This paper proposes the combination of lead acid battery system with a typical stand alone photovoltaic energy system under variable loads. The main activities of this work purpose to establish library graphical models for each individual component of standalone photovoltaic system. Control strategy has been considered to achieve permanent power supply to the load via photovoltaic/battery based on the power available from the sun. The complete model was simulated under two testing including sunny and cloudy conditions. Simulation of the system using Symbols software was performed and the results of simulation show the superior stable control system and high efficiency. These results have been contrasted with real measured data from a measurement campaign plant carried on electrical engineering laboratory of Grenoble using various interconnection schemes are presented.

  18. Magnetic field measurements near stand-alone transformer stations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandel, Shaiela; Hareuveny, Ronen; Yitzhak, Nir-Mordechay; Ruppin, Raphael

    2013-12-01

    Extremely low-frequency (ELF) magnetic field (MF) measurements around and above three stand-alone 22/0.4-kV transformer stations have been performed. The low-voltage (LV) cables between the transformer and the LV switchgear were found to be the major source of strong ELF MFs of limited spatial extent. The strong fields measured above the transformer stations support the assessment method, to be used in future epidemiological studies, of classifying apartments located right above the transformer stations as highly exposed to MFs. The results of the MF measurements above the ground around the transformer stations provide a basis for the assessment of the option of implementing precautionary procedures.

  19. Stand-Alone Microgrid Inverter Controller Design for Nonlinear, Unbalanced Load with Output Transformer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jae-Uk Lim

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a technique that compensates for unbalance and nonlinearity in microgrid inverters with power transformers operating in stand-alone mode. When a microgrid inverter is operating in stand-alone mode, providing high-quality power is very important. When an unbalanced, nonlinear load is connected, zero sequence current and negative sequence current occur, which leads to an unbalanced output voltage. This paper examines why the zero sequence component occurs differently depending on the structure of a three-phase transformer connected to the inverter output terminal, and it proposes a method for controlling the zero sequence component. It also uses a resonant controller to remove the harmonics that correspond to the negative sequence component and the nonlinear component. The proposed elements were verified by a Powersim (PSIM simulation.

  20. Enhanced current and voltage regulators for stand-alone applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Federico, de Bosio; Pastorelli, Michele; Antonio DeSouza Ribeiro, Luiz

    2016-01-01

    State feedback decoupling permits to achieve a better dynamic response for Voltage Source in stand-alone applications. The design of current and voltage regulators is performed in the discrete-time domain since it provides better accuracy and allows direct pole placement. As the attainable...... bandwidth of the current loop is mainly limited by computational and PWM delays, a lead compensator structure is proposed to overcome this limitation. The design of the voltage regulator is based on the Nyquist criterion, verifying to guarantee a high sensitivity peak. Discrete-time domain implementation...

  1. Secure stand alone positive personnel identity verification system (SSA-PPIV)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merillat, P.D.

    1979-03-01

    The properties of a secure stand-alone positive personnel identity verification system are detailed. The system is designed to operate without the aid of a central computing facility and the verification function is performed in the absence of security personnel. Security is primarily achieved by means of data encryption on a magnetic stripe badge. Several operational configurations are discussed. Advantages and disadvantages of this system compared to a central computer driven system are detailed

  2. Study on Soft Phase Locked Method to Solving the Synchronization Problem of Active Power Filter in Stand-alone Power Grid

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhuo, Fang; Wu, Longhui; Chen, Zhe

    2009-01-01

    on zero-cross detection can't work effectively in small rating stand-alone power grid. Then a soft phase locked loop with additional filter is proposed. It can lock the phase angle on to the positive sequence of fundamental voltage accurately and rapidly. It ensures the performance of APF applied...... in the small rating stand-alone power grid. Moreover, the soft phase locked loop is easy to be implemented in a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). Simulation and experimental results validate that the soft phase locked loop has satisfactory performance.......Traditional LC filters can't work stably in small rating stand-alone power grid. So active power filter (APF) is becoming an important tool to solve the power quality problem in small rating stand-alone power grid. In most current detection algorithm of APF, it needs a synchronizing signal. Firstly...

  3. Stand-alone version of the 11kW Gaia wind turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bindner, H.; Rosas, P.A.C.; Teodorescu, R.

    2004-01-01

    This report describes the development of a stand-alone version of the 11kW Gaia wind turbine. Various possible configurations are investigated and a configuration using a back-to-back converter is chosen. A model is developed for controller design of thefast controllers of the unit. Controllers...... assessment and controller design a dynamic performance assessment model has been developed....

  4. Structure Optimization of Stand-Alone Renewable Power Systems Based on Multi Object Function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jae-Hoon Cho

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a methodology for the size optimization of a stand-alone hybrid PV/wind/diesel/battery system while considering the following factors: total annual cost (TAC, loss of power supply probability (LPSP, and the fuel cost of the diesel generator required by the user. A new optimization algorithm and an object function (including a penalty method are also proposed; these assist with designing the best structure for a hybrid system satisfying the constraints. In hybrid energy system sources such as photovoltaic (PV, wind, diesel, and energy storage devices are connected as an electrical load supply. Because the power produced by PV and wind turbine sources is dependent on the variation of the resources (sun and wind and the load demand fluctuates, such a hybrid system must be able to satisfy the load requirements at any time and store the excess energy for use in deficit conditions. Therefore, reliability and cost are the two main criteria when designing a stand-alone hybrid system. Moreover, the operation of a diesel generator is important to achieve greater reliability. In this paper, TAC, LPSP, and the fuel cost of the diesel generator are considered as the objective variables and a hybrid teaching–learning-based optimization algorithm is proposed and used to choose the best structure of a stand-alone hybrid PV/wind/diesel/battery system. Simulation results from MATLAB support the effectiveness of the proposed method and confirm that it is more efficient than conventional methods.

  5. Stand-Alone Personalized Normative Feedback for College Student Drinkers: A Meta-Analytic Review, 2004 to 2014.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keri B Dotson

    Full Text Available Norms clarification has been identified as an effective component of college student drinking interventions, prompting research on norms clarification as a single-component intervention known as Personalized Normative Feedback (PNF. Previous reviews have examined PNF in combination with other components but not as a stand-alone intervention.To investigate the degree to which computer-delivered stand-alone personalized normative feedback interventions reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms among college students and to compare gender-neutral and gender-specific PNF.Electronic databases were searched systematically through November 2014. Reference lists were reviewed manually and forward and backward searches were conducted.Outcome studies that compared computer-delivered, stand-alone PNF intervention with an assessment only, attention-matched, or active treatment control and reported alcohol use and harms among college students.Between-group effect sizes were calculated as the standardized mean difference in change scores between treatment and control groups divided by pooled standard deviation. Within-group effect sizes were calculated as the raw mean difference between baseline and follow-up divided by pooled within-groups standard deviation.Eight studies (13 interventions with a total of 2,050 participants were included. Compared to control participants, students who received gender-neutral (dbetween = 0.291, 95% CI [0.159, 0.423] and gender-specific PNF (dbetween = 0.284, 95% CI [0.117, 0.451] reported greater reductions in drinking from baseline to follow-up. Students who received gender-neutral PNF reported 3.027 (95% CI [2.171, 3.882] fewer drinks per week at first follow-up and gender-specific PNF reported 3.089 (95% CI [0.992, 5.186] fewer drinks. Intervention effects were small for harms (dbetween = 0.157, 95% CI [0.037, 0.278].Computer-delivered PNF is an effective stand-alone approach for reducing college student

  6. Stand-Alone Personalized Normative Feedback for College Student Drinkers: A Meta-Analytic Review, 2004 to 2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dotson, Keri B; Dunn, Michael E; Bowers, Clint A

    2015-01-01

    Norms clarification has been identified as an effective component of college student drinking interventions, prompting research on norms clarification as a single-component intervention known as Personalized Normative Feedback (PNF). Previous reviews have examined PNF in combination with other components but not as a stand-alone intervention. To investigate the degree to which computer-delivered stand-alone personalized normative feedback interventions reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms among college students and to compare gender-neutral and gender-specific PNF. Electronic databases were searched systematically through November 2014. Reference lists were reviewed manually and forward and backward searches were conducted. Outcome studies that compared computer-delivered, stand-alone PNF intervention with an assessment only, attention-matched, or active treatment control and reported alcohol use and harms among college students. Between-group effect sizes were calculated as the standardized mean difference in change scores between treatment and control groups divided by pooled standard deviation. Within-group effect sizes were calculated as the raw mean difference between baseline and follow-up divided by pooled within-groups standard deviation. Eight studies (13 interventions) with a total of 2,050 participants were included. Compared to control participants, students who received gender-neutral (dbetween = 0.291, 95% CI [0.159, 0.423]) and gender-specific PNF (dbetween = 0.284, 95% CI [0.117, 0.451]) reported greater reductions in drinking from baseline to follow-up. Students who received gender-neutral PNF reported 3.027 (95% CI [2.171, 3.882]) fewer drinks per week at first follow-up and gender-specific PNF reported 3.089 (95% CI [0.992, 5.186]) fewer drinks. Intervention effects were small for harms (dbetween = 0.157, 95% CI [0.037, 0.278]). Computer-delivered PNF is an effective stand-alone approach for reducing college student drinking and

  7. 11kW stand alone wind turbine based on proven wind turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bindner, H.; Wodstrup, J.; Andersen, J.

    2004-01-01

    and enable control of frequency and voltage independently on both the grid side and the generator side. The prototype has been installed at Risø. The paper will present results from test runs of the system both operating stand-alone supplying a single load and in parallel operation with a diesel genset....

  8. Benchmarking the Collocation Stand-Alone Library and Toolkit (CSALT)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Steven; Knittel, Jeremy; Shoan, Wendy; Kim, Youngkwang; Conway, Claire; Conway, Darrel J.

    2017-01-01

    This paper describes the processes and results of Verification and Validation (VV) efforts for the Collocation Stand Alone Library and Toolkit (CSALT). We describe the test program and environments, the tools used for independent test data, and comparison results. The VV effort employs classical problems with known analytic solutions, solutions from other available software tools, and comparisons to benchmarking data available in the public literature. Presenting all test results are beyond the scope of a single paper. Here we present high-level test results for a broad range of problems, and detailed comparisons for selected problems.

  9. Leadership in Dental Hygiene Degree Completion Programs: A Pilot Study Comparing Stand-Alone Leadership Courses and Leadership-Infused Curricula.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Michelle L; Gurenlian, JoAnn R; Freudenthal, Jacqueline J; Farnsworth, Tracy J

    2016-05-01

    The aim of this study was to define the extent to which leadership and leadership skills are taught in dental hygiene degree completion programs by comparing stand-alone leadership courses/hybrid programs with programs that infuse leadership skills throughout the curricula. The study involved a mixed-methods approach using qualitative and quantitative data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with program directors and faculty members who teach a stand-alone leadership course, a hybrid program, or leadership-infused courses in these programs. A quantitative comparison of course syllabi determined differences in the extent of leadership content and experiences between stand-alone leadership courses and leadership-infused curricula. Of the 53 U.S. dental hygiene programs that offer degree completion programs, 49 met the inclusion criteria, and 19 programs provided course syllabi. Of the program directors and faculty members who teach a stand-alone leadership course or leadership-infused curriculum, 16 participated in the interview portion of the study. The results suggested that competencies related to leadership were not clearly defined or measurable in current teaching. Reported barriers to incorporating a stand-alone leadership course included overcrowded curricula, limited qualified faculty, and lack of resources. The findings of this study provide a synopsis of leadership content and gaps in leadership education for degree completion programs. Suggested changes included defining a need for leadership competencies and providing additional resources to educators such as courses provided by the American Dental Education Association and the American Dental Hygienists' Association.

  10. Optimum autonomous stand-alone photovoltaic system design on the basis of energy pay-back analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaldellis, J.K.; Zafirakis, D.; Kondili, E.

    2009-01-01

    Stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems comprise one of the most promising electrification solutions for covering the demand of remote consumers. However, such systems are strongly questioned due to extreme life-cycle (LC) energy requirements. For similar installations to be considered as environmentally sustainable, their LC energy content must be compensated by the respective useful energy production, i.e. their energy pay-back period (EPBP) should be found less than their service period. In this context, an optimum sizing methodology is currently developed, based on the criterion of minimum embodied energy. Various energy autonomous stand-alone PV-lead-acid battery systems are examined and two different cases are investigated; a high solar potential area and a medium solar potential area. By considering that the PV-battery (PV-Bat) system's useful energy production is equal to the remote consumer's electricity consumption, optimum cadmium telluride (CdTe) based systems yield the minimum EPBP (15 years). If achieving to exploit the net PV energy production however, the EPBP is found less than 20 years for all PV types. Finally, the most interesting finding concerns the fact that in all cases examined the contribution of the battery component exceeds 27% of the system LC energy requirements, reflecting the difference between grid-connected and stand-alone configurations.

  11. A new approach for sizing stand alone photovoltaic systems based in neural networks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hontoria, L.; Aguilera, J. [Universidad de Jaen, Dept. de Electronica, Jaen (Spain); Zufiria, P. [UPM Ciudad Universitaria, Dept. de Matematica Aplicada a las Tecnologias de la Informacion, Madrid (Spain)

    2005-02-01

    Several methods for sizing stand alone photovoltaic (pv) systems has been developed. The more simplistic are called intuitive methods. They are a useful tool for a first approach in sizing stand alone photovoltaic systems. Nevertheless they are very inaccurate. Analytical methods use equations to describe the pv system size as a function of reliability. These ones are more accurate than the previous ones but they are also not accurate enough for sizing of high reliability. In a third group there are methods which use system simulations. These ones are called numerical methods. Many of the analytical methods employ the concept of reliability of the system or the complementary term: loss of load probability (LOLP). In this paper an improvement for obtaining LOLP curves based on the neural network called Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) is presented. A unique MLP for many locations of Spain has been trained and after the training, the MLP is able to generate LOLP curves for any value and location. (Author)

  12. Fuzzy logic control of stand-alone photovoltaic system with battery storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lalouni, S.; Rekioua, D.; Rekioua, T.; Matagne, E.

    Photovoltaic energy has nowadays an increased importance in electrical power applications, since it is considered as an essentially inexhaustible and broadly available energy resource. However, the output power provided via the photovoltaic conversion process depends on solar irradiation and temperature. Therefore, to maximize the efficiency of the photovoltaic energy system, it is necessary to track the maximum power point of the PV array. The present paper proposes a maximum power point tracker (MPPT) method, based on fuzzy logic controller (FLC), applied to a stand-alone photovoltaic system. It uses a sampling measure of the PV array power and voltage then determines an optimal increment required to have the optimal operating voltage which permits maximum power tracking. This method carries high accuracy around the optimum point when compared to the conventional one. The stand-alone photovoltaic system used in this paper includes two bi-directional DC/DC converters and a lead-acid battery bank to overcome the scare periods. One converter works as an MPP tracker, while the other regulates the batteries state of charge and compensates the power deficit to provide a continuous delivery of energy to the load. The Obtained simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed fuzzy logic controller.

  13. Future UK markets for stand-alone renewable energy systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paish, O.

    1999-01-01

    A study to identify and quantify the market for stand-alone renewable energy supplies of power (photovoltaics, wind and micro-hydro electricity systems) was described. The study focused on small systems, generally less than a few kW installed capacity. It was suggested that in the UK, the emphasis on grid-connected renewable energy technologies (RETs) has blurred the fact that it is 'off-grid' renewable systems that can offer more immediate real commercial markets for the renewables business. With the likelihood of a significant increase in demand for renewables world wide over the next ten years, the UK needs to make a special effort to become involved

  14. New control strategy of stand-alone brushless doubly-fed induction generator for supplying unbalanced loads in ship shaft power generation system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Yi; Xu, Wei; Xiong, Fei

    2017-01-01

    The ship shaft power generation system based on a stand-alone brushless doubly-fed induction generator (BDFIG) have demonstrated excellent saving-energy performance. This paper presents a new control scheme of the stand-alone BDFIG for supplying unbalanced loads in the ship shaft power generation...

  15. A New Vector Control of Brushless Doubly-Fed Inductor Generator With Transient Current Compensation for Stand-Alone Power Generation Applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Yi; Xu, Wei; Yu, Kailiang

    2018-01-01

    The stand-alone brushless doubly-fed induction generator (BDFIG) with the conventional control strategies suffers heavily from poor dynamic performance especially under heavy load disturbance. This paper presents a new vector control strategy of BDFIG for stand-alone power generation applications...... control strategies, and the results verify the satisfactory dynamic performance of the proposed strategy....

  16. Maintenance of Segmental Lordosis and Disk Height in Stand-alone and Instrumented Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malham, Gregory M; Ellis, Ngaire J; Parker, Rhiannon M; Blecher, Carl M; White, Rohan; Goss, Ben; Seex, Kevin A

    2017-03-01

    A prospective single-surgeon nonrandomized clinical study. To evaluate the radiographic and clinical outcomes, by fixation type, in extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF) patients and provide an algorithm for determining patients suitable for stand-alone XLIF. XLIF may be supplemented with pedicle screw fixation, however, since stabilizing structures remain intact, it is suggested that stand-alone XLIF can be used for certain indications. This eliminates the associated morbidity, though subsidence rates may be elevated, potentially minimizing the clinical benefits. A fixation algorithm was developed after evaluation of patient outcomes from the surgeon's first 30 cases. This algorithm was used prospectively for 40 subsequent patients to determine the requirement for supplemental fixation. Preoperative, postoperative, and 12-month follow-up computed tomography scans were measured for segmental and global lumbar lordosis and posterior disk height. Clinical outcome measures included back and leg pain (visual analogue scale), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and SF-36 physical and mental component scores (PCS and MCS). Preoperatively to 12-month follow-up there were increases in segmental lordosis (7.9-9.4 degrees, P=0.0497), lumbar lordosis (48.8-55.2 degrees, P=0.0328), and disk height (3.7-5.5 mm, P=0.0018); there were also improvements in back (58.6%) and leg pain (60.0%), ODI (44.4%), PCS (56.7%), and MCS (16.1%) for stand-alone XLIF. For instrumented XLIF, segmental lordosis (7.6-10.5 degrees, P=0.0120) and disk height (3.5-5.6 mm, Plordosis decreased (51.1-45.8 degrees, P=0.2560). Back (49.8%) and leg pain (30.8%), ODI (32.3%), PCS (37.4%), and MCS (2.0%) were all improved. Subsidence occurred in 3 (7.5%) stand-alone patients. The XLIF treatment fixation algorithm provided a clinical pathway to select suitable patients for stand-alone XLIF. These patients achieved positive clinical outcomes, satisfactory fusion rates, with sustained correction of lordosis and

  17. Developing a mobile stand alone photovoltaic generator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soler-Bientz, R.; Ricalde-Cab, L.O.; Solis-Rodriguez, L.E.

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes a recent work developed to create a mobile stand alone photovoltaic generator that can be easily relocated in remote areas to evaluate the feasibility of photovoltaic energy applications. A set of sensors were installed to monitor the electric current and voltage of the energy generated, the energy stored and the energy used by the loads that may be connected to the system. Other parameters like solar radiations (both on the horizontal and on the photovoltaic generation planes) and temperatures (of both the environment and the photovoltaic module) were monitored. This was done while considering the important role of temperature in the photovoltaic module performance. Finally, a measurement and communication hardware was installed to interface the system developed with a conventional computer. In this way, the performance of the overall system in real rural conditions could be evaluated efficiently. Visual software that reads, visualizes and saves the data generated by the system was also developed by means of the LabVIEW programming environment

  18. Freshman Sexual Attitudes and Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nutt, Roberta L.; Sedlacek, William E.

    At the University of Maryland, 758 randomly selected incoming freshman students were administered an anonymous poll regarding their sexual attitudes and behavior. Results showed that the Maryland freshman generally resembled other U.S. college students in their sexual experience. Approximately half (52% of males, 46% of females) reported that they…

  19. A Novel Method for Fast Configuration of Energy Storage Capacity in Stand-Alone and Grid-Connected Wind Energy Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haixiang Zang

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a novel method is proposed and applied to quickly calculate the capacity of energy storage for stand-alone and grid-connected wind energy systems, according to the discrete Fourier transform theory. Based on practical wind resource data and power data, which are derived from the American Wind Energy Technology Center and HOMER software separately, the energy storage capacity of a stand-alone wind energy system is investigated and calculated. Moreover, by applying the practical wind power data from a wind farm in Fujian Province, the energy storage capacity for a grid-connected wind system is discussed in this paper. This method can also be applied to determine the storage capacity of a stand-alone solar energy system with practical photovoltaic power data.

  20. Use of Super-Capacitor to Enhance Charging Performance of Stand-Alone Solar PV System

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, B. J.; Hsu, P. C.; Ho, P. Y

    2011-01-01

    Introduction: The battery charging performance in a stand-alone solar PV system affects the PV system efficiency and the load operating time. The New Energy Center of National Taiwan University has been devoted to the development of a PWM charging

  1. Sizing, techno-economic and generation management analysis of a stand alone photovoltaic power unit including storage devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jallouli, Rihab; Krichen, Lotfi

    2012-01-01

    Due to the mismatch between the load demand and the intermittent solar energy, a stand-alone photovoltaic-hydrogen system and an optimal control scheme are designed to maintain the high system efficiency. Based on meteorological and the load demand data, a system sizing technique is proposed to establish the minimum capacity of the system components, which are a photovoltaic (PV) panel, a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), a battery bank and an alkaline electrolyzer (Elz). An accurate energy management scheme that is utilized during power transfer is proposed to meet the economic requirements. Case studies are used to verify the efficiency of the energy management strategy and system sizing technique. Simulation results illustrate a simple solution to the design and processing of stand-alone PV-hydrogen (PV-H 2 ) systems. -- Highlights: ► We study a stand alone PV-hydrogen system comprising renewable devices. ► A PV generator, a battery bank, a fuel cell and an electrolyzer are modeled. ► Power management taking into account the economic arrangement and the operating conditions to ensure energy availability is proposed.

  2. Simulation of stand alone PV systems; Dokuritsugata taiyoko hatsuden system no simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsuda, I.; Sakuta, K. [Electrotechnical Laboratory, Tsukuba (Japan); Oshiro, T. [Japan Quality Assurance Organization, Tokyo (Japan); Kurokawa, K. [Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo (Japan)

    1997-11-25

    Studies are performed to develop a simulation program for a stand-alone photovoltaic power generation system equipped with a lead acid battery. In this stand-alone photovoltaic power generation system, the load is connected in shunt with the solar cell array output through the intermediary of a lead acid battery and inverter. The program is a model in which the solar cell model is built taking parallel resistance into account, and the temperature-dependence of the constants is described using approximations experimentally obtained by Solar Techno Center of JQA (Japan Quality Assurance Organization), Hamamatsu. Insolation data for the model is described using METPV compiled by Japan Weather Association, and load data is described using data actually measured at Shizuoka. This program is compared with the data of operation at Hamamatsu, and the result is almost satisfactory. Simulations are conducted at five typical locations in Japan using this program, and it is found that the array load matching correction factor is dependent on seasonal changes rather than locality, that the battery contribution rate does not change much throughout the year, and that it is not dependent on locality. 5 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs.

  3. Coordination Control Strategy for AC/DC Hybrid Microgrids in Stand-Alone Mode

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dwi Riana Aryani

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Interest in DC microgrids is rapidly increasing along with the improvement of DC power technology because of its advantages. To support the integration process of DC microgrids with the existing AC utility grids, the form of hybrid AC/DC microgrids is considered for higher power conversion efficiency, lower component cost and better power quality. In the system, AC and DC portions are connected through interlink bidirectional AC/DC converters (IC with a proper control system and power management. In the stand-alone operation mode of AC/DC hybrid microgrids, the control of power injection through the IC is crucial in order to maintain the system security. This paper mainly deals with a coordination control strategy of IC and a battery energy storage system (BESS converter under stand-alone operation. A coordinated control strategy for the IC, which considers the state of charge (SOC level of BESS and the load shedding scheme as the last resort, is proposed to obtain better power sharing between AC and DC subgrids. The scheme will be tested with a hybrid AC/DC microgrid, using the tool of the PSCAD/EMTDC software.

  4. Control strategy of wind turbine based on permanent magnet synchronous generator and energy storage for stand-alone systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Deng, Fujin; Liu, Dong; Chen, Zhe

    2017-01-01

    This paper investigates a variable speed wind turbine based on permanent magnet synchronous generator and a full-scale power converter in a stand-alone system. An energy storage system(ESS) including battery and fuel cell-electrolyzer combination is connected to the DC link of the full-scale power...... converter through the power electronics interface. Wind is the primary power source of the system, the battery and FC-electrolyzer combination is used as a backup and a long-term storage system to provide or absorb power in the stand-alone system, respectively. In this paper, a control strategy is proposed...... for the operation of this variable speed wind turbine in a stand-alone system, where the generator-side converter and the ESS operate together to meet the demand of the loads. This control strategy is competent for supporting the variation of the loads or wind speed and limiting the DC-link voltage of the full...

  5. Loss-of-load probabilities for stand-alone photovoltaic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klein, S.A.; Beckman, W.A.

    1989-01-01

    A general method is presented for estimating the loss-of-load probability of stand-alone photovoltaic systems. The method was developed by correlating simulation results. The simulations were driven with synthetic radiation sequences having the same statistical significance as available historical data. The methods assumes a constant nighttime load and accounts for the distribution and persistence in daily solar radiation data. It is shown that the 10 year average performance of systems having loss-of-load probabilities less than about 0.01 can vary greatly from one ten year period to the next and thereby cannot be considered realistic performance estimates of a system during its lifetime. (author). 26 refs, 15 figs, 4 tabs

  6. Robust Power Management Control for Stand-Alone Hybrid Power Generation System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamal, Elkhatib; Adouane, Lounis; Aitouche, Abdel; Mohammed, Walaa

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a new robust fuzzy control of energy management strategy for the stand-alone hybrid power systems. It consists of two levels named centralized fuzzy supervisory control which generates the power references for each decentralized robust fuzzy control. Hybrid power systems comprises: a photovoltaic panel and wind turbine as renewable sources, a micro turbine generator and a battery storage system. The proposed control strategy is able to satisfy the load requirements based on a fuzzy supervisor controller and manage power flows between the different energy sources and the storage unit by respecting the state of charge and the variation of wind speed and irradiance. Centralized controller is designed based on If-Then fuzzy rules to manage and optimize the hybrid power system production by generating the reference power for photovoltaic panel and wind turbine. Decentralized controller is based on the Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy model and permits us to stabilize each photovoltaic panel and wind turbine in presence of disturbances and parametric uncertainties and to optimize the tracking reference which is given by the centralized controller level. The sufficient conditions stability are formulated in the format of linear matrix inequalities using the Lyapunov stability theory. The effectiveness of the proposed Strategy is finally demonstrated through a SAHPS (stand-alone hybrid power systems) to illustrate the effectiveness of the overall proposed method. (paper)

  7. International market assessment of stand-alone photovoltaic power systems for cottage industry applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philippi, T. M.

    1981-01-01

    The final result of an international assessment of the market for stand-alone photovoltaic systems in cottage industry applications is reported. Nonindustrialized countries without centrally planned economies were considered. Cottage industries were defined as small rural manufacturers, employing less than 50 people, producing consumer and simple products. The data to support this analysis were obtained from secondary and expert sources in the U.S. and in-country field investigations of the Philippines and Mexico. The near-term market for photovoltaics for rural cottage industry applications appears to be limited to demonstration projects and pilot programs, based on an in-depth study of the nature of cottage industry, its role in the rural economy, the electric energy requirements of cottage industry, and a financial analysis of stand-alone photovoltaic systems as compared to their most viable competitor, diesel driven generators. Photovoltaics are shown to be a better long-term option only for very low power requirements. Some of these uses would include clay mixers, grinders, centrifuges, lathes, power saws and lighting of a workshop.

  8. International market assessment of stand-alone photovoltaic power systems for cottage industry applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philippi, T. M.

    1981-11-01

    The final result of an international assessment of the market for stand-alone photovoltaic systems in cottage industry applications is reported. Nonindustrialized countries without centrally planned economies were considered. Cottage industries were defined as small rural manufacturers, employing less than 50 people, producing consumer and simple products. The data to support this analysis were obtained from secondary and expert sources in the U.S. and in-country field investigations of the Philippines and Mexico. The near-term market for photovoltaics for rural cottage industry applications appears to be limited to demonstration projects and pilot programs, based on an in-depth study of the nature of cottage industry, its role in the rural economy, the electric energy requirements of cottage industry, and a financial analysis of stand-alone photovoltaic systems as compared to their most viable competitor, diesel driven generators. Photovoltaics are shown to be a better long-term option only for very low power requirements. Some of these uses would include clay mixers, grinders, centrifuges, lathes, power saws and lighting of a workshop.

  9. Methodology for the design of a stand-alone photovoltaic power supply

    OpenAIRE

    López Seguel, Julio; Seleme Junior, Seleme Isaac; Donoso-Garcia, Pedro F; Ferreira Morais, Lenin Martins; Cabaleiro Cortizo, Porfirio; Severo Mendes, Marcos A

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a complete methodology for the design of an autonomous photovoltaic system to maximize the use of solar energy. It is a method that prioritizes the best cost-effective choice at every step of the project. In order to ensure the proper use and extended battery life time, a control strategy for charging the batteries is proposed. Experimental results are provided for a stand-alone photovoltaic system with low electrical power, intended primarily for the illumination and basi...

  10. MOSFET Loss Evaluation for a Low-Power Stand-Alone Photovoltaic-LED System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mira Albert, Maria del Carmen; Knott, Arnold; Andersen, Michael A. E.

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a performance evaluation and comparison of state-of-the-art low voltage Si MOSFETs for a stand-alone photovoltaic-LED Light to Light (LtL) system. The complete system is formed by two cascaded converters that will be optimized for a determined solar irradiation and LED...... illumination profiles. The comparison is performed based on dynamic characterization and evaluation of the devices energy loss at different current levels....

  11. Assessment of Stand-Alone Displays for Time Management in a Creativity-Driven Learning Environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frimodt-Møller, Søren

    2017-01-01

    This paper considers the pros and cons of stand-alone displays, analog (e.g. billboards, blackboards, whiteboards, large pieces of paper etc.) as well as digital (e.g. large shared screens, digital whiteboards or similar), as tools for time management processes in a creativity-driven learning...

  12. Methanol production via pressurized entrained flow biomass gasification – Techno-economic comparison of integrated vs. stand-alone production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersson, Jim; Lundgren, Joakim; Marklund, Magnus

    2014-01-01

    The main objective with this work was to investigate techno-economically the opportunity for integrated gasification-based biomass-to-methanol production in an existing chemical pulp and paper mill. Three different system configurations using the pressurized entrained flow biomass gasification (PEBG) technology were studied, one stand-alone plant, one where the bark boiler in the mill was replaced by a PEBG unit and one with a co-integration of a black liquor gasifier operated in parallel with a PEBG unit. The cases were analysed in terms of overall energy efficiency (calculated as electricity-equivalents) and process economics. The economics was assessed under the current as well as possible future energy market conditions. An economic policy support was found to be necessary to make the methanol production competitive under all market scenarios. In a future energy market, integrating a PEBG unit to replace the bark boiler was the most beneficial case from an economic point of view. In this case the methanol production cost was reduced in the range of 11–18 Euro per MWh compared to the stand-alone case. The overall plant efficiency increased approximately 7%-units compared to the original operation of the mill and the non-integrated stand-alone case. In the case with co-integration of the two parallel gasifiers, an equal increase of the system efficiency was achieved, but the economic benefit was not as apparent. Under similar conditions as the current market and when methanol was sold to replace fossil gasoline, co-integration of the two parallel gasifiers was the best alternative based on received IRR. - Highlights: • Techno-economic results regarding integration of methanol synthesis processes in a pulp and paper mill are presented. • The overall energy efficiency increases in integrated methanol production systems compared to stand-alone production units. • The economics of the integrated system improves compared to stand-alone alternatives. • Tax

  13. Stand-alone flat-plate photovoltaic power systems: System sizing and life-cycle costing methodology for Federal agencies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borden, C. S.; Volkmer, K.; Cochrane, E. H.; Lawson, A. C.

    1984-01-01

    A simple methodology to estimate photovoltaic system size and life-cycle costs in stand-alone applications is presented. It is designed to assist engineers at Government agencies in determining the feasibility of using small stand-alone photovoltaic systems to supply ac or dc power to the load. Photovoltaic system design considerations are presented as well as the equations for sizing the flat-plate array and the battery storage to meet the required load. Cost effectiveness of a candidate photovoltaic system is based on comparison with the life-cycle cost of alternative systems. Examples of alternative systems addressed are batteries, diesel generators, the utility grid, and other renewable energy systems.

  14. Linguistic and Structural Analyses of Stand-Alone Literature Reviews: Seventy-Five Years of Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Heidi Rachel

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this dissertation is to offer a multifaceted overview of stand-alone literature reviews. These texts, literature reviews published unattached to research articles, have existed for centuries but remained largely unstudied by linguists. Thus, the goal of this project is to present these reviews' situational, grammatical, and…

  15. A sizing method for stand-alone PV installations with variable demand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Posadillo, R. [Grupo de Investigacion en Energias y Recursos Renovables, Dpto. de Fisica Aplicada, E.P.S., Universidad de Cordoba, Avda. Menendez Pidal s/n, 14004 Cordoba (Spain); Lopez Luque, R. [Grupo de Investigacion de Fisica Para las Energias y Recursos Renovables, Dpto. de Fisica Aplicada, Edificio C2 Campus de Rabanales, 14071 Cordoba (Spain)

    2008-05-15

    The practical applicability of the considerations made in a previous paper to characterize energy balances in stand-alone photovoltaic systems (SAPV) is presented. Given that energy balances were characterized based on monthly estimations, the method is appropriate for sizing installations with variable monthly demands and variable monthly panel tilt (for seasonal estimations). The method presented is original in that it is the only method proposed for this type of demand. The method is based on the rational utilization of daily solar radiation distribution functions. When exact mathematical expressions are not available, approximate empirical expressions can be used. The more precise the statistical characterization of the solar radiation on the receiver module, the more precise the sizing method given that the characterization will solely depend on the distribution function of the daily global irradiation on the tilted surface H{sub g{beta}}{sub i}. This method, like previous ones, uses the concept of loss of load probability (LLP) as a parameter to characterize system design and includes information on the standard deviation of this parameter ({sigma}{sub LLP}) as well as two new parameters: annual number of system failures (f) and the standard deviation of annual number of system failures ({sigma}{sub f}). This paper therefore provides an analytical method for evaluating and sizing stand-alone PV systems with variable monthly demand and panel inclination. The sizing method has also been applied in a practical manner. (author)

  16. Design and Operation Studies of A Stand-Alone PV Generation System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hu, Yanting; Chen, Zhe; Zhang, Donglai

    2013-01-01

    This paper discusses the modeling, design and operation of a PV powered stand-alone system, which includes a PV array, a battery bank, power electronic converters and the associated control system. The design considerations are analyzed and a design platform is presented. Furthermore the operation...... modes of the system are described. A power electronic system with the associated control scheme has been proposed and simulation models have been developed. Simulation studies have been conducted on an example system; the results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the presented methods....

  17. Analyzing grid extension and stand-alone photovoltaic systems for the cost-effective electrification of Kenya

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeyringer, Marianne; Pachauri, Shonali; Schmid, Erwin; Schmidt, Johannes; Worrell, Ernst|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/106856715; Morawetz, Ulrich B.

    2015-01-01

    The declaration of 2014-2024 as the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All has catalyzed actions towards achieving universal electricity access. The high costs of building electric infrastructure are a major impediment to improved access, making stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems an attractive

  18. Design of a Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Model for Home Lightings and Clean Environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ani, Vincent Anayochukwu, E-mail: vincent_ani@yahoo.com [Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (Nigeria)

    2016-01-11

    This paper gives a well-documented health risk of fuel-based lighting (kerosene lamps and fuel-powered generators) and proposed a design of a stand-alone solar PV system for sustainable home lightings in rural Nigerian area. The design was done in three different patterns of electricity consumptions with energy efficient lightings (EELs) using two different battery types (Rolls Surrette 6CS25PS and Hoppecke 10 OpzS 1000) on; (i) judicious power consumption, (ii) normal power consumption, and (iii) excess power consumption; and compared them with the incandescent light bulb consumption. The stand-alone photovoltaic energy systems were designed to match the rural Nigerian sunlight and weather conditions to meet the required lightings of the household. The objective function and constraints for the design models were formulated and optimization procedures were used to demonstrate the best solution (reliability at the lowest lifecycle cost). Initial capital costs as well as annualized costs over 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years were quantified and documented. The design identified the most cost-effective and reliable solar and battery array among the patterns of electricity consumption with EEL options (judicious power consumption, normal power consumption, and excess power consumption).

  19. Design of a Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Model for Home Lightings and Clean Environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ani, Vincent Anayochukwu

    2016-01-01

    This paper gives a well-documented health risk of fuel-based lighting (kerosene lamps and fuel-powered generators) and proposed a design of a stand-alone solar PV system for sustainable home lightings in rural Nigerian area. The design was done in three different patterns of electricity consumptions with energy efficient lightings (EELs) using two different battery types (Rolls Surrette 6CS25PS and Hoppecke 10 OpzS 1000) on; (i) judicious power consumption, (ii) normal power consumption, and (iii) excess power consumption; and compared them with the incandescent light bulb consumption. The stand-alone photovoltaic energy systems were designed to match the rural Nigerian sunlight and weather conditions to meet the required lightings of the household. The objective function and constraints for the design models were formulated and optimization procedures were used to demonstrate the best solution (reliability at the lowest lifecycle cost). Initial capital costs as well as annualized costs over 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years were quantified and documented. The design identified the most cost-effective and reliable solar and battery array among the patterns of electricity consumption with EEL options (judicious power consumption, normal power consumption, and excess power consumption).

  20. A Model for Freshman Engineering Retention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veenstra, Cindy P.; Dey, Eric L.; Herrin, Gary D.

    2009-01-01

    With the current concern over the growing need for more engineers, there is an immediate need to improve freshman engineering retention. A working model for freshman engineering retention is needed. This paper proposes such a model based on Tinto's Interactionalist Theory. Emphasis in this model is placed on pre-college characteristics as…

  1. Modeling, design and analysis of a stand-alone hybrid power generation system using solar/urine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Wei; Zhou, Ya-Yan; Lin, Mu-Hsuan; Hwang, Jenn-Jiang

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • The stand-alone hybrid power system is presented. • The urine-to-hydrogen processor is proposed. • Scenario analysis of the hybrid power dispatching and the urine/solar demands is investigated. • The design, modeling and optimization of the hybrid power system is addressed by Aspen Plus and Matlab. - Abstract: The urine turned to hydrogen as an energy conversion process is integrated into a stand-alone hybrid (PV/FC/battery) power generation system. The optimization and simulation of a new urine-to-hydrogen processor is evaluated in Aspen Plus environment. In our approach, the PV generator aims to reduce urine consumption and the lithium-ion battery can compensate the power gap due to the fuel processing delay. Based on prescribed patterns of solar irradiation and the daily load demand of a 30-persons classroom, scenario analyses of the hybrid power dispatching and operational feasibility is addressed

  2. prfectBLAST: a platform-independent portable front end for the command terminal BLAST+ stand-alone suite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santiago-Sotelo, Perfecto; Ramirez-Prado, Jorge Humberto

    2012-11-01

    prfectBLAST is a multiplatform graphical user interface (GUI) for the stand-alone BLAST+ suite of applications. It allows researchers to do nucleotide or amino acid sequence similarity searches against public (or user-customized) databases that are locally stored. It does not require any dependencies or installation and can be used from a portable flash drive. prfectBLAST is implemented in Java version 6 (SUN) and runs on all platforms that support Java and for which National Center for Biotechnology Information has made available stand-alone BLAST executables, including MS Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It is free and open source software, made available under the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPLv3) and can be downloaded at www.cicy.mx/sitios/jramirez or http://code.google.com/p/prfectblast/.

  3. Admissions and Plebe Year Data as Indicators of Academic Success in Engineering Majors at the United States Naval Academy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kristof, Nicholas

    2002-01-01

    This research analyzes the relationship between academic success in high school and at the freshman collegiate level and academic performance in engineering majors at the United States Naval Academy (USNA...

  4. Optimization of the photovoltaic-hydrogen supply system of a stand-alone remote-telecom application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gomez, Guillermo; Martinez, Graciano; Galvez, Jose L.; Cuevas, Raquel; Maellas, Jesus [National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), Renewable Energy Department, Ctra. Ajalvir km 4, E-28850 Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid (Spain); Gila, Raul; Bueno, Emilio [Polytechnical School - Alcala de Henares University, Electronics Department, Campus Universitario, Ctra. De Madrid-Barcelona Km 33.600, Alcala de Henares, Madrid (Spain)

    2009-07-15

    Hydrogen is considered as the optimal carrier for the surplus energy storage from renewable resources. Although hydrogen and its application in fuel cell is considered as a high-cost energy system, some cost-efficient solutions have been found for their use in stand-alone applications, which usually depend on the variability of renewable sources that have to be oversized in order to reduce their dependence on external energy sources. This paper shows the results from the simulation of several alternatives of introducing hydrogen technologies to increase the independence of a remote-telecom application fed by photovoltaic panels. Hydrogen is obtained by electrolysis and it is used in a fuel cell when the renewable energy source is not enough to maintain the stand-alone application. TRNSYS simulation environment has been used for evaluating the proposed alternatives. The results show that the best configuration option is that considering the use of hydrogen as a way to storage the surplus of radiation and the management system can vary the number of photovoltaic panels assigned to feed the hydrogen generation, the batteries or the telecom application. (author)

  5. Optimal expansion planning of stand-alone systems with stochastic simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoese, Alejandro [Instituto de Energia Electrica (IEE), Universidad Nacional de San Juan, (Argentina)

    1997-12-31

    Stand-alone systems in the range of 1 kW - 10 MW are taking relevance in the new (global) liberal concept of energy market. State and private investors are becoming increasingly attention on the use of renewable for these systems, but it must be shown that these non-conventional solutions are competitive with the established conventional ones. The high investment costs and the technical and economic uncertainties coupled with the use of time-dependent energy sources are the mainly inhibiting factors for the decision agents to choose these systems instead of conventional ones. In the paper a new model for optimal expansion planning of hybrid stand-alone generating systems under consideration of uncertainties is presented. This model is at present in {sup d}evelopment state{sup .} Results already obtained in the first steps of this research are promising and some of them are here presented. [Espanol] Los sistemas autocontenidos en el rango de 1 Kw a 10 MW estan tomando importancia en el nuevo (global) concepto liberal del mercado de la energia. Inversionistas privados y del Estado estan poniendo mayor atencion en el uso de energias renovables para estos sistemas, pero debe mostrarse que estas soluciones no-convencionales son competitivas con las convencionales establecidas. Los altos costos de inversion y las incertidumbres tecnicas y economicas aunadamente con el uso de fuentes de energia dependientes del tiempo son los principales factores inhibidores de los factores de decision para escoger estos sistemas en lugar de los convencionales. En este articulo se presenta un nuevo modelo de planeacion de expansion optima de sistemas hibridos autocontenidos de generacion electrica bajo la consideracion de incertidumbres. Este modelo esta actualmente en {sup e}stado de desarrollo{sup .} Los resultados ya obtenidos en las primeras etapas de esta investigacion son prometedores y se presentan algunos de ellos.

  6. Optimal expansion planning of stand-alone systems with stochastic simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoese, Alejandro [Instituto de Energia Electrica (IEE), Universidad Nacional de San Juan, (Argentina)

    1998-12-31

    Stand-alone systems in the range of 1 kW - 10 MW are taking relevance in the new (global) liberal concept of energy market. State and private investors are becoming increasingly attention on the use of renewable for these systems, but it must be shown that these non-conventional solutions are competitive with the established conventional ones. The high investment costs and the technical and economic uncertainties coupled with the use of time-dependent energy sources are the mainly inhibiting factors for the decision agents to choose these systems instead of conventional ones. In the paper a new model for optimal expansion planning of hybrid stand-alone generating systems under consideration of uncertainties is presented. This model is at present in {sup d}evelopment state{sup .} Results already obtained in the first steps of this research are promising and some of them are here presented. [Espanol] Los sistemas autocontenidos en el rango de 1 Kw a 10 MW estan tomando importancia en el nuevo (global) concepto liberal del mercado de la energia. Inversionistas privados y del Estado estan poniendo mayor atencion en el uso de energias renovables para estos sistemas, pero debe mostrarse que estas soluciones no-convencionales son competitivas con las convencionales establecidas. Los altos costos de inversion y las incertidumbres tecnicas y economicas aunadamente con el uso de fuentes de energia dependientes del tiempo son los principales factores inhibidores de los factores de decision para escoger estos sistemas en lugar de los convencionales. En este articulo se presenta un nuevo modelo de planeacion de expansion optima de sistemas hibridos autocontenidos de generacion electrica bajo la consideracion de incertidumbres. Este modelo esta actualmente en {sup e}stado de desarrollo{sup .} Los resultados ya obtenidos en las primeras etapas de esta investigacion son prometedores y se presentan algunos de ellos.

  7. Size optimization of stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) room air conditioners

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Chien-Wei; Zahedi, A.

    2006-01-01

    Sizing of a stand-alone PV system determines the main cost of the system. PV electricity cost is determined by the amount of solar energy received, hence the actual climate and weather conditions such as solar irradiance and ambient temperature affect the size required and cost of the system. Air conditioning demand also depends on the weather conditions. Therefore, sizing a PV powered air conditioner must consider the characteristics of local climate and temperature. In this paper, sizing procedures and special considerations for air conditioning under Melbourne's climatic conditions is presented. The reliability of various PV-battery size combinations is simulated by MATLAB. As a result, excellent system performance can be predicated.(Author)

  8. Enhancement of a stand-alone photovoltaic system's performance: Reduction of soft and hard shading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lamont, Lisa A.; El Chaar, Lana [Petroleum Institute, Electrical Engineering Department, P.O. Box 2533, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

    2011-04-15

    A stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system is the most promising solution to supply electric power to meet energy demand in isolated locations. This technology can offer an interesting alternative to other currently existing sources of energy. Due to space constraint in the remote offshore oil and gas industry, a stand-alone system is used for cathodic protection, telemetry and valve control. However in such an environment, dust accumulation and bird droppings have been critical issues to the operation of off-grid solar devices. These factors do not only reduce the available power of the modules but also makes the cost of solar devices ineffective since cleaning, especially on well-head towers, is very expensive due to the location. Hence this paper presents two technical solutions that have shown promising results in reducing the impact of these factors. (author)

  9. Design of Stand-Alone Hybrid Power Generation System at Brumbun Beach Tulungagung East Java

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahmat, A. N.; Hidayat, M. N.; Ronilaya, F.; Setiawan, A.

    2018-04-01

    Indonesian government insists to optimize the use of renewable energy resources in electricity generation. One of the efforts is launching Independent Energy Village plan. This program aims to fulfill the need of electricity for isolated or remote villages in Indonesia. In order to support the penetration of renewable energy resources in electricity generation, a hybrid power generation system is developed. The simulation in this research is based on the availability of renewable energy resources in Brumbun beach, Tulungagung, East Java. Initially, the electricity was supplied through stand-alone electricity generations which are installed at each house. Hence, the use of electricity between 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. requires high operational costs. Based on the problem above, this research is conducted to design a stand-alone hybrid electricity generation system, which may consist of diesel, wind, and photovoltaic. The design is done by using HOMER software to optimize the use of electricity from renewable resources and to reduce the operation of diesel generation. The combination of renewable energy resources in electricity generation resulted in NPC of 44.680, COE of 0,268, and CO2 emissions of 0,038 % much lower than the use of diesel generator only.

  10. Feasibility and Optimal Design of a Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Energy System for the Orphanage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincent Anayochukwu Ani

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Access to electricity can have a positive psychological impact through a lessening of the sense of exclusion, and vulnerability often felt by the orphanages. This paper presented the simulation and optimization study of a stand-alone photovoltaic power system that produced the desired power needs of an orphanage. Solar resources for the design of the system were obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy website at a location of 6°51′N latitude and 7°35′E longitude, with annual average solar radiation of 4.92 kWh/m2/d. This study is based on modeling, simulation, and optimization of energy system in the orphanage. The patterns of load consumption within the orphanage were studied and suitably modeled for optimization. Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER software was used to analyze and design the proposed stand-alone photovoltaic power system model. The model was designed to provide an optimal system configuration based on an hour-by-hour data for energy availability and demands. A detailed design, description, and expected performance of the system were presented in this paper.

  11. A control strategy for PV stand-alone applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slouma, S; Baccar, H

    2015-01-01

    This paper proposes a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system study in domestic applications. Because of the decrease in power of photovoltaic module as a consequence of changes in solar radiation and temperature which affect the photovoltaic module performance, the design and control of DC-DC buck converter was proposed for providing power to the load from a photovoltaic source.In fact, the control of this converter is carried out with integrated MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) algorithm which ensures a maximum energy generated by the PV arrays. Moreover, the output stage is composed by a battery energy storage system, dc-ac inverter, LCL filter which enables higher efficiency, low distortion ac waveforms and low leakage currents. The control strategy adopted is cascade control composed by two regulation loops.Simulations performed with PSIM software were able to validate the control system.The realization and testing of the photovoltaic system were achieved in the Photovoltaic laboratory of the Centre for Research and Energy Technologies at the Technopark Borj Cedria. Experimental results verify the effeciency of the proposed system

  12. A control strategy for PV stand-alone applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slouma, S.; Baccar, H.

    2015-04-01

    This paper proposes a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system study in domestic applications. Because of the decrease in power of photovoltaic module as a consequence of changes in solar radiation and temperature which affect the photovoltaic module performance, the design and control of DC-DC buck converter was proposed for providing power to the load from a photovoltaic source.In fact, the control of this converter is carried out with integrated MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) algorithm which ensures a maximum energy generated by the PV arrays. Moreover, the output stage is composed by a battery energy storage system, dc-ac inverter, LCL filter which enables higher efficiency, low distortion ac waveforms and low leakage currents. The control strategy adopted is cascade control composed by two regulation loops.Simulations performed with PSIM software were able to validate the control system.The realization and testing of the photovoltaic system were achieved in the Photovoltaic laboratory of the Centre for Research and Energy Technologies at the Technopark Borj Cedria. Experimental results verify the effeciency of the proposed system.

  13. Lossy Data Aggregation with Network Coding in Stand-Alone Wireless Sensor Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Tatiana Kozlova

    2011-01-01

    in chemical plants, etc. Given resource constrained operation of a sensor network where the nodes are battery powered and buffer sizes are limited, efficient methods for in-network data storage abd it subsequent fast and reliable transmission to a gateway is desirable. To save scarse resources and to prolong......This work focuses on a special type of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) that we refer to as a stand alone network. These netwoks operate in harsh and extreme environments where data collection is done only occasionally. Typical examples include habitat monitoring systems, monitoring systems...

  14. State Feedback Decoupling with In-Loop Lead Compensator in Stand-Alone VSIs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Federico, de Bosio; Pastorelli, Michele; de Sousa Ribeiro, Luiz Antonio

    2016-01-01

    The performance of current and voltage regulators during transients and steady-state is of primary concern for power converters intended for stand-alone applications. Dynamics performance and command tracking capability are enhanced by actively decoupling the controlled states variables. To further...... widen the current loop bandwidth while still preserving a well-damped system a lead compensator structure on the forward loop is proposed. A 3 kHz bandwidth with 0.707 damping factor is achieved for the inner current controller. Accordingly, also the voltage regulator bandwidth can be widen, thus...

  15. The Stand-alone Heliostat; El Heliostato Autonomo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia Navajas, G.; Egea Gea, A. [Ciemat. Madrid (Spain)

    2000-07-01

    The first Autonomous Heliostat has been developed by CIEMAT at PSA facilities in Almeria. This heliostat is an innovative approach to reducing the civil engineering work costs in heliostat fields of central tower plants. Channels, cables and other electric elements have been eliminated in the new heliostat. Thus, one 70-m''2, classical T glass/metal heliostat has been adapted to include all the new stand-alone concept components. A PV system is able to drive two sun-tracking DC motors between 5 and 24 Vdc, 0 and 15A. The heliostat communicates with the control room 400-m away by using a radio-modern working at 9600 baud. An anemometer, a wind switcher, light and ambient temperature sensors have been installed on the heliostat for self-protection decision-making. A PV panel integrated into the heliostat reflecting surface, eliminates cabling and other elements required for a conventional power supply. Communication lines between master control and local control have been replaced by radio-modern. Testing has validated the technical feasibility of the prototype and quantified the real consumption and efficiencies of new elements. The extra costs produced by the autonomous concepts are compared with the cost of civil work in conventional heliostat field. (Author) 8 refs.

  16. The Stand-alone Heliostat; El Heliostato Autonomo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia Navajas, G; Egea Gea, A [Ciemat. Madrid (Spain)

    2000-07-01

    The first Autonomous Heliostat has been developed by CIEMAT at PSA facilities in Almeria. This heliostat is an innovative approach to reducing the civil engineering work costs in heliostat fields of central tower plants. Channels, cables and other electric elements have been eliminated in the new heliostat. Thus, one 70-m''2, classical T glass/metal heliostat has been adapted to include all the new stand-alone concept components. A PV system is able to drive two sun-tracking DC motors between 5 and 24 Vdc, 0 and 15A. The heliostat communicates with the control room 400-m away by using a radio-modern working at 9600 baud. An anemometer, a wind switcher, light and ambient temperature sensors have been installed on the heliostat for self-protection decision-making. A PV panel integrated into the heliostat reflecting surface, eliminates cabling and other elements required for a conventional power supply. Communication lines between master control and local control have been replaced by radio-modern. Testing has validated the technical feasibility of the prototype and quantified the real consumption and efficiencies of new elements. The extra costs produced by the autonomous concepts are compared with the cost of civil work in conventional heliostat field. (Author) 8 refs.

  17. Development of a microprocessor controller for stand-alone photovoltaic power systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millner, A. R.; Kaufman, D. L.

    1984-01-01

    A controller for stand-alone photovoltaic systems has been developed using a low power CMOS microprocessor. It performs battery state of charge estimation, array control, load management, instrumentation, automatic testing, and communications functions. Array control options are sequential subarray switching and maximum power control. A calculator keypad and LCD display provides manual control, fault diagnosis and digital multimeter functions. An RS-232 port provides data logging or remote control capability. A prototype 5 kW unit has been built and tested successfully. The controller is expected to be useful in village photovoltaic power systems, large solar water pumping installations, and other battery management applications.

  18. Hydrogen Gas Production in a Stand-Alone Wind Farm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Naziry Kordkandy

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper is analyzing the operation of a stand-alone wind farm with variable speed turbines, permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG and a system for converting wind energy during wind speed variations. On this paper, the design and modeling of a wind system which uses PMSG’s to provide the required power of a hydrogen gas electrolyzer system, is discussed. This wind farm consists of three wind turbines, boost DC-DC converters, diode full bridge rectifiers, permanent magnet synchronous generators, MPPT control and a hydrogen gas electrolyzer system. The MPPT controller based on fuzzy logic is designed to adjust the duty ratio of the boost DC-DC converters to absorb maximum power. The proposed fuzzy logic controller assimilates, with (PSF MPPT algorithm which generally used to absorb maximum power from paralleled wind turbines and stores it in form of hydrogen gas. The system is modeled and its behavior is studied using the MATLAB software.

  19. Stand-alone version of the 11kW Gaia wind turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bindner, H.; Rosas, P.A.C.; Teodorescu, R.; Blaabjerg, F.

    2004-09-15

    This report describes the development of a stand-alone version of the 11kW Gaia wind turbine. Various possible configurations are investigated and a configuration using a back-to-back converter is chosen. A model is developed for controller design of the fast controllers of the unit. Controllers are designed and a prototype is built for testing. The report documents the performance of the prototype through measurements done on the full scale prototype installed in a test facility where it has been tested both as a standalone unit and in parallel with a diesel genset. For system wide power quality assessment and controller design a dynamic performance assessment model has been developed. (au)

  20. A Simple Sizing Algorithm for Stand-Alone PV/Wind/Battery Hybrid Microgrids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Li

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we develop a simple algorithm to determine the required number of generating units of wind-turbine generator and photovoltaic array, and the associated storage capacity for stand-alone hybrid microgrid. The algorithm is based on the observation that the state of charge of battery should be periodically invariant. The optimal sizing of hybrid microgrid is given in the sense that the life cycle cost of system is minimized while the given load power demand can be satisfied without load rejection. We also report a case study to show the efficacy of the developed algorithm.

  1. Design, building and testing of a stand alone fuel cell hybrid system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Segura, F.; Duran, E.; Andujar, J.M. [Department of Electronic, Computer Science and Automatic Engineering, University of Huelva (Spain)

    2009-08-01

    This paper designs, sizes, builds and tests a stand alone fuel cell hybrid system made up of a fuel cell stack and a battery bank. This system has been sized to supply a typical telecommunication load profile, but moreover, the system can supply other profiles. For this purpose, a modular low cost electronic load bank has been designed and built. This load bank allows the power demand to be chosen by selecting different solid state relays. Moreover, a virtual instrument based on NI Labview {sup registered} has been designed to select the load power demand from the computer. (author)

  2. Stand-Alone Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Sustainability Course Requirements: A Snapshot from Australia and New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rundle-Thiele, Sharyn R.; Wymer, Walter

    2010-01-01

    This article analyzes the extent to which Australian and New Zealand marketing educators use dedicated or stand-alone courses to equip students with alternative views of business. A census of marketing programs in degree-granting universities was conducted. Program brochures were obtained via the Internet and were content analyzed. This study…

  3. Modified Chaos Particle Swarm Optimization-Based Optimized Operation Model for Stand-Alone CCHP Microgrid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fei Wang

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The optimized dispatch of different distributed generations (DGs in stand-alone microgrid (MG is of great significance to the operation’s reliability and economy, especially for energy crisis and environmental pollution. Based on controllable load (CL and combined cooling-heating-power (CCHP model of micro-gas turbine (MT, a multi-objective optimization model with relevant constraints to optimize the generation cost, load cut compensation and environmental benefit is proposed in this paper. The MG studied in this paper consists of photovoltaic (PV, wind turbine (WT, fuel cell (FC, diesel engine (DE, MT and energy storage (ES. Four typical scenarios were designed according to different day types (work day or weekend and weather conditions (sunny or rainy in view of the uncertainty of renewable energy in variable situations and load fluctuation. A modified dispatch strategy for CCHP is presented to further improve the operation economy without reducing the consumers’ comfort feeling. Chaotic optimization and elite retention strategy are introduced into basic particle swarm optimization (PSO to propose modified chaos particle swarm optimization (MCPSO whose search capability and convergence speed are improved greatly. Simulation results validate the correctness of the proposed model and the effectiveness of MCPSO algorithm in the optimized operation application of stand-alone MG.

  4. Design of a Stand-Alone Photovoltaic (PV Models for Home Lightings and Clean Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincent Anayochukwu Ani

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper gives a well-documented health risks of fuel-based lighting (kerosene lamps and fuel-powered generators and proposed a design of a stand-alone solar PV system for sustainable home lightings in rural Nigerian area. The design was done in three different patterns of electricity consumptions with energy efficient lightings (EELs using two different battery types (Rolls Surrette 6CS25PS and hoppecke 10 OpzS 1000 on; i judicious power consumption, ii normal power consumption, iii excess power consumption; and compared them with the incandescent light bulb consumption. The stand-alone photovoltaic energy systems were designed to match the rural Nigerian sunlight and weather conditions to meet the required lightings of the household. The objective function and constraints for the design models were formulated and optimization procedure were used to demonstrate the best solution (reliability at the lowest lifecycle cost. Initial capital costs as well as annualized costs over 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years were quantified and documented. The design identified the most cost-effective and reliable solar and battery array among the patterns of electricity consumption with energy efficient lighting options (judicious power consumption, normal power consumption, and excess power consumption.

  5. Hierarchical energy management system for stand-alone hybrid system based on generation costs and cascade control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Torreglosa, J.P.; García, P.; Fernández, L.M.; Jurado, F.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We present an energy management system for a stand-alone WT/PV/hydrogen/battery hybrid system. • Hierarchical control composed by master and slave control strategies. • Control assures reliable electricity support for stand-alone applications subject to technical and economic criteria. - Abstract: This paper presents an energy management system (EMS) for stand-alone hybrid systems composed by photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and a wind turbine (WT) as primary energy sources and two energy storage systems, which are a hydrogen system and a battery. The hydrogen system is composed of fuel cell (FC), electrolyzer and hydrogen storage tank. The EMS is a hierarchical control composed by a master control strategy and a slave control strategy. On the one hand, the master control generates the reference powers to meet several premises (such as to satisfy the load power demand, and to maintain the hydrogen tank level and the state of charge (SOC) of the battery between their target margins), taking also into account economic aspects to discriminate between using the battery or hydrogen system. On the other hand, the slave control modifies the reference powers generated by the master control according to the energy sources dynamic limitations, and maintains the DC bus voltage at its reference value. The models, implemented in MATLAB-Simulink environment, have been developed from commercially available components. To check the viability of the proposed EMS, two kinds of simulations were carried out: (1) A long-term simulation of 25 years (expected lifetime of the system) with a sample time of one hour to validate the master control of the EMS; and (2) A short-term simulation with sudden net power variations to validate the slave control of the EMS

  6. SoC-Based Output Voltage Control for BESS with a Lithium-Ion Battery in a Stand-Alone DC Microgrid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seung-Yeong Yu

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a new DC output voltage control for a battery energy storage system (BESS with a lithium-ion battery based on the state of charge (SoC. The proposed control scheme was verified through computer simulations for a typical stand-alone DC microgrid, which consists of a BESS, photovoltaic (PV panel, engine generator (EG, and DC load. A scaled hardware prototype for a stand-alone DC microgrid was set up in the lab, in which the proposed control scheme was loaded in a DSP controller. The experimental results were compared with the simulation results for performance verification. The proposed control scheme provides relatively lower variation of the DC grid voltage than the conventional droop control.

  7. Improved double integral sliding mode MPPT controller based parameter estimation for a stand-alone photovoltaic system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chatrenour, Nasrin; Razmi, Hadi; Doagou-Mojarrad, Hasan

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • IDISMC based MPPT algorithm is introduced. • Hurwitz stability theorem is used for switching surface coefficients computation. • GA approach is presented for parameter estimation of the stand-alone PV system. - Abstract: In this paper, an Improved Double Integral Sliding Mode MPPT Controller (IDISMC) for a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system is proposed. Performance of a sliding mode controller (SMC) is greatly influenced by the choice of the sliding surface. Switching surface coefficients were selected by the use of Hurwitz stability theorem. The IDISMC not only is robust against parametric and non-parametric uncertainties, but also has a very small steady-state error, thanks to the use of double integral of tracking voltage error in the definition of its sliding surface. For realistic simulation, Genetic Algorithm (GA) method was used to estimate parameters of solar panels model. The validity of the proposed double integral SMC in maximum power point tracking was approved by comparing the simulation results obtained for a sample PV system with the results of other methods.

  8. A Meta-Analytic Review of Stand-Alone Interventions to Improve Body Image.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica M Alleva

    Full Text Available Numerous stand-alone interventions to improve body image have been developed. The present review used meta-analysis to estimate the effectiveness of such interventions, and to identify the specific change techniques that lead to improvement in body image.The inclusion criteria were that (a the intervention was stand-alone (i.e., solely focused on improving body image, (b a control group was used, (c participants were randomly assigned to conditions, and (d at least one pretest and one posttest measure of body image was taken. Effect sizes were meta-analysed and moderator analyses were conducted. A taxonomy of 48 change techniques used in interventions targeted at body image was developed; all interventions were coded using this taxonomy.The literature search identified 62 tests of interventions (N = 3,846. Interventions produced a small-to-medium improvement in body image (d+ = 0.38, a small-to-medium reduction in beauty ideal internalisation (d+ = -0.37, and a large reduction in social comparison tendencies (d+ = -0.72. However, the effect size for body image was inflated by bias both within and across studies, and was reliable but of small magnitude once corrections for bias were applied. Effect sizes for the other outcomes were no longer reliable once corrections for bias were applied. Several features of the sample, intervention, and methodology moderated intervention effects. Twelve change techniques were associated with improvements in body image, and three techniques were contra-indicated.The findings show that interventions engender only small improvements in body image, and underline the need for large-scale, high-quality trials in this area. The review identifies effective techniques that could be deployed in future interventions.

  9. A Case Study of Control and Improved Simplified Swarm Optimization for Economic Dispatch of a Stand-Alone Modular Microgrid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xianyong Zhang

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Due to the complex configuration and control framework, the conventional microgrid is not cost-effective for engineering applications with small or medium capacity. A stand-alone modular microgrid with separated AC bus and decentralized control strategy is proposed in this paper. Each module is a self-powered system, which consists of wind and solar power, a storage battery, load and three-port converter. The modules are interconnected by three-port converters to form the microgrid. Characteristics, operation principle, control of the modular microgrid and the three-port converter are analyzed in detail. Distributed storage batteries enable power exchanges among modules to enhance economic returns. Economic dispatch of the stand-alone modular microgrid is a mixed-integer programming problem. A day-ahead operation optimization model including fuel cost, battery operation cost, and power transmission cost is established. Because there are so many constraints, it is difficult to produce a feasible solution and even more difficult to have an improved solution. An improved simplified swarm optimization (iSSO method is therefore proposed. The iSSO scheme designs the new update mechanism and survival of the fittest policy. The experimental results from the demonstration project on DongAo Island reflect the effectiveness of the stand-alone modular microgrid and the economic dispatch strategy based on the iSSO method.

  10. Diagnostic value of the stand-alone synthetic image in digital breast tomosynthesis examinations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garayoa, Julia; Chevalier, Margarita; Castillo, Maria; Mahillo-Fernández, Ignacio; Amallal El Ouahabi, Najim; Estrada, Carmen; Tejerina, Alejandro; Benitez, Olivia; Valverde, Julio

    2018-02-01

    To demonstrate the non-inferiority of synthetic image (SI) mammography versus full-field digital mammography (FFDM) in breast tomosynthesis (DBT) examinations. An observational, retrospective, single-centre, multireader blinded study was performed, using 2384 images to directly compare SI and FFDM based on Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BIRADS) categorisation and visibility of radiological findings. Readers had no access to digital breast tomosynthesis slices. Multiple reader, multiple case (MRMC) receiver operating characteristic (ROC) methodology was used to compare the diagnostic performance of SI and FFDM images. The kappa statistic was used to estimate the inter-reader and intra-reader reliability. The area under the ROC curves (AUC) reveals the non-inferiority of SI versus FFDM based on BIRADS categorisation [difference between AUC (ΔAUC), -0.014] and lesion visibility (ΔAUC, -0.001) but the differences were not statistically significant (p=0.282 for BIRADS; p=0.961 for lesion visibility). On average, 77.4% of malignant lesions were detected with SI versus 76.5% with FFDM. Sensitivity and specificity of SI are superior to FFDM for malignant lesions scored as BIRADS 5 and breasts categorised as BIRADS 1. SI is not inferior to FFDM when DBT slices are not available during image reading. SI can replace FFDM, reducing the dose by 45%. • Stand-alone SI demonstrated performance not inferior for lesion visibility as compared to FFDM. • Stand-alone SI demonstrated performance not inferior for lesion BIRADS categorisation as compared to FFDM. • Synthetic images provide important dose savings in breast tomosynthesis examinations.

  11. Stand-Alone Photovoltaic System Operation with Energy Management and Fault Tolerant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jmashidpour, Ehsan; Poure, Philippe; Gholipour, E.; Saadate, Shahrokh

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system with a fault tolerant operation capability. An energy management method is provided to keep the balance between produced and consumed energy instantaneously. As the storage element, an Ultra-Capacitor (UC) pack is used for facing high frequency variation of the load/source, and batteries are in charge of slow load /source variations. A Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm is applied to control the boost converter of the PV source to achieve the maximum power. In order to improve the micro-grid service continuity and reliability, a fast fault diagnosis method based on the converter current shape for PV source is applied. Finally, the validity of the proposed energy management and the fault diagnosis method is confirmed by the simulation and experimental results. (author)

  12. Epicardial, Biatrial Ablation With Integrated Uni-bipolar Radiofrequency Technology in Stand-alone Persistent Atrial Fibrillation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosati, Fabrizio; Muneretto, Claudio; Merati, Elisa; Polvani, Gianluca; Moltrasio, Massimo; Tondo, Claudio; Curnis, Antonio; Cerini, Manuel; Metras, Alexandre; Bisleri, Gianluigi

    Although minimally invasive approaches for surgical treatment of stand-alone atrial fibrillation have gained popularity for the past decade, ablation technology and extensive lesion sets play a major role in the achievement of a successful procedure, especially in presence of persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation. We evaluated clinical outcomes after totally endoscopic biatrial epicardial ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation with a novel integrated uni-bipolar radiofrequency device. Forty-nine (49) consecutive patients with stand-alone atrial fibrillation underwent right-sided monolateral thoracoscopic surgical ablation with a novel integrated uni-bipolar radiofrequency energy delivery and temperature-controlled technology. Atrial fibrillation was persistent in 13 (26.5%) of 49 and long-standing persistent in 36 (73.5%) of 49 patients. Mean ± SD age was 60.6 ± 10.3 years. Median duration of atrial fibrillation was 74 months. Mean ± SD left atrial diameter was 44.7 ± 4.0 mm. Epicardial en bloc isolation of all pulmonary veins (box lesion) and additional ablation of the right atrial free wall was successfully performed via minimally invasive approach without any intraoperative and postoperative major complications. Intraoperative entrance and exit block was achieved in 77.5% (38/49) and 91.8% (45/49) of patients, respectively. Mean ± SD ablation time was 16.3 ± 4.8 minutes. No intensive care unit stay was required. Postoperative sinus rhythm was achieved in 93.8% (30/32) patients, and no pacemaker implantation was required. At 13 months, 87.7% (43/49) of patients were in sinus rhythm; 71.4% (35/49) were free from antiarrhythmic drugs and 75.5% (37/49) from oral anticoagulation. Integrated uni-bipolar radiofrequency ablation technology showed to be effective for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation with a total endoscopic approach. A versapolar suction device with extensive right-left atrial lesion set may further improve

  13. Charactrization of a Li-ion battery based stand-alone a-Si photovoltaic system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamid Vishkasougheh, Mehdi; Tunaboylu, Bahadir

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • An Li-ion battery based stand-alone a-Si PV was designed. The system composed of three a-Si panels with an efficiency of 7% and 40 cells of LFP batteries. • Effects of solar radiation and environmental temperature for three cities, Istanbul, Ankara, and Adana, have been investigated on a-Si panels. • Using transition formulas BSPV outputs are predictable for any location out of standard test condition. - Abstract: The number of photovoltaic (PV) system installations is increasing rapidly. As more people learn about this versatile and often cost-effective power option, this trend will accelerate. This document presents a recommended design for a battery based stand-alone photovoltaic system (BSPV). BSPV system has the ability to be applied in different areas, including warning signals, lighting, refrigeration, communication, residential water pumping, remote sensing, and cathodic protection. The presented calculation method gives a proper idea for a system sizing technique. Based on application load, different scenarios are possible for designing a BSPV system. In this study, a battery based stand-alone system was designed. The electricity generation part is three a-Si panels, which are connected in parallel, and for the storage part LFP (lithium iron phosphate) battery was used. The high power LFP battery packs are 40 cells each 8S5P (configured 8 series 5 parallel). Each individual pack weighs 0.5 kg and is 25.6 V. In order to evaluate the efficiency of a-Si panels with respect to the temperature and the solar irradiation, cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Adana in Turkey were selected. Temperature and solar irradiation were gathered from reliable sources and by using translation equations, current and voltage output of panels were calculated. As a result of these calculations, current and energy outputs were computed by considering an average efficient solar irradiation time value per day in Turkey. The calculated power values were inserted to a

  14. Charactrization of a Li-ion battery based stand-alone a-Si photovoltaic system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hamid Vishkasougheh, Mehdi, E-mail: mehdi.hamid2@gmail.com [Istanbul Sehir University, Kubakisi Caddesi, No: 27, Altunizade, Uskudar, Istanbul 34662 (Turkey); Tunaboylu, Bahadir [Istanbul Sehir University, Kubakisi Caddesi, No: 27, Altunizade, Uskudar, Istanbul 34662 (Turkey); Marmara Research Center, Materials Institute, PO Box 21, Gebze, Kocaeli 41470 (Turkey)

    2014-11-01

    Highlights: • An Li-ion battery based stand-alone a-Si PV was designed. The system composed of three a-Si panels with an efficiency of 7% and 40 cells of LFP batteries. • Effects of solar radiation and environmental temperature for three cities, Istanbul, Ankara, and Adana, have been investigated on a-Si panels. • Using transition formulas BSPV outputs are predictable for any location out of standard test condition. - Abstract: The number of photovoltaic (PV) system installations is increasing rapidly. As more people learn about this versatile and often cost-effective power option, this trend will accelerate. This document presents a recommended design for a battery based stand-alone photovoltaic system (BSPV). BSPV system has the ability to be applied in different areas, including warning signals, lighting, refrigeration, communication, residential water pumping, remote sensing, and cathodic protection. The presented calculation method gives a proper idea for a system sizing technique. Based on application load, different scenarios are possible for designing a BSPV system. In this study, a battery based stand-alone system was designed. The electricity generation part is three a-Si panels, which are connected in parallel, and for the storage part LFP (lithium iron phosphate) battery was used. The high power LFP battery packs are 40 cells each 8S5P (configured 8 series 5 parallel). Each individual pack weighs 0.5 kg and is 25.6 V. In order to evaluate the efficiency of a-Si panels with respect to the temperature and the solar irradiation, cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Adana in Turkey were selected. Temperature and solar irradiation were gathered from reliable sources and by using translation equations, current and voltage output of panels were calculated. As a result of these calculations, current and energy outputs were computed by considering an average efficient solar irradiation time value per day in Turkey. The calculated power values were inserted to a

  15. An improved synchronous reference frame phase-locked loop for stand-alone variable speed constant frequency power generation systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Yi; Xu, Wei; Ke, Longzhang

    2017-01-01

    The phase-locked loop (PLL) based on conventional synchronous reference frame, i.e. dqPLL, is usually employed in grid-connected variable speed constant frequency (VSCF) power generation systems (PGSs). However, the voltage amplitude drop of stand-alone PGSs is often greater than that of the grid...

  16. Imagery rescripting as a stand-alone treatment for patients with social phobia: a case series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frets, Petra G; Kevenaar, Ciska; van der Heiden, Colin

    2014-03-01

    The majority of patients with social phobia reports experiencing negative images, usually linked to memories of earlier aversive social experiences. Several studies have indicated that such negative self-imagery appears to have a causal role in maintaining social phobia, which suggests that interventions aimed at dealing with these images could be beneficial in the treatment of social phobia. One potentially powerful approach is imagery rescripting (IR), a clinical intervention that focuses on changing the meaning and impact of unpleasant memories. In the treatment of social phobia IR was only used as part of a broader cognitive-behavioral treatment package. However, we propose that IR alone might also be an effective treatment for this anxiety disorder. The present study reports an initial evaluation of the application of IR as a stand-alone treatment for six adult outpatients presenting with social phobia. A single case series using an A-B replication across patients design was employed. Following a no-treatment baseline period, IR was delivered weekly and patients were followed up for 3 and 6 months. For all patients, substantial reductions were obtained on all outcome measures at post-treatment, and gains were largely maintained at 6-months follow-up. The generalizability of the effects of IR for social phobia is limited by the small number of patients treated by only one therapist. The results of this preliminary case series suggest that IR as a stand alone treatment is an apparently effective intervention in the treatment of patients with social phobia, and indicate that controlled evaluation of its efficacy might be worthwhile. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Stand-Alone Solar Organic Rankine Cycle Water Pumping System and Its Economic Viability in Nepal

    OpenAIRE

    Suresh Baral; Kyung Chun Kim

    2015-01-01

    The current study presents the concept of a stand-alone solar organic Rankine cycle (ORC) water pumping system for rural Nepalese areas. Experimental results for this technology are presented based on a prototype. The economic viability of the system was assessed based on solar radiation data of different Nepalese geographic locations. The mechanical power produced by the solar ORC is coupled with a water pumping system for various applications, such as drinking and irrigation. The thermal ef...

  18. Boost converter with combined control loop for a stand-alone photovoltaic battery charge system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mira Albert, Maria del Carmen; Knott, Arnold; Thomsen, Ole Cornelius

    2013-01-01

    frequency avoids perturbations in the load being propagated to the photovoltaic panel and thus deviating the operating point. Linearization of the photovoltaic panel and converter state-space modeling is performed. In order to achieve stable operation under all operating conditions, the photovoltaic panel......The converter control scheme plays an important role in the performance of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms. In this paper, an input voltage control with double loop for a stand-alone photovoltaic system is designed and tested. The inner current control loop with high crossover...

  19. System design optimization for stand-alone photovoltaic systems sizing by using superstructure model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azau, M A M; Jaafar, S; Samsudin, K

    2013-01-01

    Although the photovoltaic (PV) systems have been increasingly installed as an alternative and renewable green power generation, the initial set up cost, maintenance cost and equipment mismatch are some of the key issues that slows down the installation in small household. This paper presents the design optimization of stand-alone photovoltaic systems using superstructure model where all possible types of technology of the equipment are captured and life cycle cost analysis is formulated as a mixed integer programming (MIP). A model for investment planning of power generation and long-term decision model are developed in order to help the system engineer to build a cost effective system.

  20. Study of Stand-Alone Microgrid under Condition of Faults on Distribution Line

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malla, S. G.; Bhende, C. N.

    2014-10-01

    The behavior of stand-alone microgrid is analyzed under the condition of faults on distribution feeders. During fault since battery is not able to maintain dc-link voltage within limit, the resistive dump load control is presented to do so. An inverter control is proposed to maintain balanced voltages at PCC under the unbalanced load condition and to reduce voltage unbalance factor (VUF) at load points. The proposed inverter control also has facility to protect itself from high fault current. Existing maximum power point tracker (MPPT) algorithm is modified to limit the speed of generator during fault. Extensive simulation results using MATLAB/SIMULINK established that the performance of the controllers is quite satisfactory under different fault conditions as well as unbalanced load conditions.

  1. Multi-objective optimal planning of the stand-alone microgrid system based on different benefit subjects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Li; Wang, Nan; Lu, Hai; Li, Xialin; Wang, Chengshan

    2016-01-01

    As an important means to realize the energetic complementarity and improve the efficiency of renewable resources, the stand-alone microgrid (SAMG) system gains attention increasingly, especially in islands and remote areas. In this paper, considering the interest conflict of the distribution company and the distributed generation owner, a new multi-objective optimal planning model is formulated for medium voltage SAMG. Besides, to avoid the power constraint of distributed generation (DG) once the over-limit voltage occurs, a novel two-step power dispatch control method including the voltage regulation strategy is proposed, in which the absorption of distributed power by energy storage system (ESS) and the reactive power adjustment though its power control system are used to regulate voltage. The goal of this paper is to search the Pareto-optimal front of the site and capacity of DG as well as the contract price between both parties, and thus can provide effective references for practical planning of SAMG. Considering the high cost of ESS, the investment analysis of ESS is also discussed in the paper. - Highlights: • A multi-objective planning model based on different benefit subjects is proposed. • A two-step power dispatch method including the voltage regulation is proposed. • The economical efficiency of the proposed model is analyzed. • The effective reference for the stand-alone microgrid planning is provided.

  2. Business Writing in Freshman English.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larmouth, Donald W.

    1980-01-01

    Suggests incorporating business writing into a freshman English course. Outlines three writing and research assignments: a financial status memorandum, a management analysis report, and an evaluation of applicants for a position at a university. (TJ)

  3. Darwin, dogs and DNA: Freshman writing about biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Michael C.; Piirto, John

    1994-12-01

    We describe a successful interdepartmental program at a major research-oriented university that melds freshman writing with freshman biology to the significant benefit of both disciplines. Extensive, repeated feedback on individual student writing projects from two instructors, one a humanities professor, one a biology professor, appears to work synergistically so that learning by the students is significantly enhanced. Particulars derived from five years of experience with intensive, student-centered strategy are included.

  4. Efficiency of the hybrid solar-wind systems for electricity supply to the stand-alone sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdullaev, D.A.; Isaev, R.I.

    2000-01-01

    The features of stand-alone sites and principles of their electricity supply is described there is going observation of the works about conditions of production and efficiency of using autonomy wind turbines and photovoltaics. Their unsufficiency is estimated. The advantages of hybrid systems and their realization schemes is described. The advantage of hybrid solar-wind Battery system (HSWBS) on the basis of own researches and the facts of other authors are given. The conception overall discounting cost is developed on HSWBS case. (Author)

  5. A Control Approach and Supplementary Controllers for a Stand-Alone System with Predominance of Wind Generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiago Lukasievicz

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a control approach and supplementary controllers for the operation of a hybrid stand-alone system composed of a wind generation unit and a conventional generation unit based on synchronous generator (CGU. The proposed controllers allow the islanded or isolated operation of small power systems with predominance of wind generation. As an advantage and a paradigm shift, the DC-link voltage of the wind unit is controlled by means of a conventional synchronous generator connected to the AC grid of the system. Two supplementary controllers, added to a diesel generator (DIG and to a DC dump load (DL, are proposed to control the DC-link voltage. The wind generation unit operates in V-f control mode and the DIG operates in PQ control mode, which allows the stand-alone system to operate either in wind-diesel (WD mode or in wind-only (WO mode. The strong influence of the wind turbine speed variations in the DC-link voltage is mitigated by a low-pass filter added to the speed control loop of the wind turbine. The proposed control approach does not require the use battery bank and ultra-capacitor to control the DC-link voltage in wind generation units based on fully rated converter.

  6. Energy management system for stand-alone diesel-wind-biomass microgrid with energy storage system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Chengshan; Liu, Yixin; Li, Xialin; Guo, Li; Qiao, Lei; Lu, Hai

    2016-01-01

    An energy management system for stand-alone microgrid composed of diesel generators, wind turbine generator, biomass generator and an ESS (energy storage system) is proposed in this paper. Different operation objectives are achieved by a hierarchical control structure with different time scales. Firstly, the optimal schedules of the diesel generators, wind turbine generator, biomass generator and ESS are determined fifteen minutes ahead according to the super short-term forecast of load and wind speed in the optimal scheduling layer. Comprehensive analysis which takes the uncertainty of load and wind speed into account is conducted in this layer to minimize the operation cost of the system and ensure a desirable range of the state of charge of the ESS. Secondly, the operation points of each unit are regulated dynamically to guarantee real-time power balance and safety range of diesel generation in the real-time control layer, based on which the response capability when suffering significant forecast deviation and other emergency issues, e.g. sudden load-up can be improved. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed energy management strategy is verified on an RT-Lab based real-time simulation platform, and the economic performances with different types of ESS are analyzed as well. - Highlights: • A hierarchical control strategy is proposed for a stand-alone microgrid. • The uncertainties of load and wind speed have been considered. • Better economic performance and high reliability of the system can be achieved. • The influences of different energy storage systems have been analyzed.

  7. Use of appliances in stand-alone PV power supply systems: problems and solutions. Task 3 use of photovoltaic power systems in stand-alone and island applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vallve, X.; Gafas, G. [IEA PVPS, Task 3 (Spain); Villoz, M. [IEA PVPS, Task 3 (Switzerland); Wilshaw, A. [IEA PVPS, Task 3 (United Kingdom); Jacquin, P. [IEA PVPS, Task 3 (France)

    2002-09-15

    In Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems (SAPV systems), special attention must be paid to the used appliances and loads. Inappropriate loads are very often the origin of PV system malfunction or failure. Start-up power peaks, or reactive power and harmonic distortion can cause system signal instability and protective devices will close the system down. A well-matched load together with a carefully selected choice of appliances can lead to significant savings in terms of reduced need for PV and electricity storage capacity. Conversely, inefficient appliances and processes, standby loads and inappropriate loads will increase the requirement for expensive PV and storage capacity. This paper presents a survey of real cases with load related problems in worldwide applications, their effect on quality and cost of the service and the solutions that were adopted and suggested alternative solutions. One of the main conclusions of the work is the importance to integrate the choice of the appliance while designing the SAPV system. (author)

  8. College Retention Initiatives Meeting the Needs of Millennial Freshman Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Patrick; Thompson, Elizabeth

    2014-01-01

    The qualitative study explored the opinions and perceptions of freshman, sophomores, and freshman students that dropped out of the university to understand the obstacles and enablers that millennial freshmen faced transitioning into a college environment. To understand these factors the study posed the question, how do the participants (i.e.,…

  9. 49 CFR 1109.4 - Mandatory mediation in rate cases to be considered under the stand-alone cost methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Mandatory mediation in rate cases to be considered... § 1109.4 Mandatory mediation in rate cases to be considered under the stand-alone cost methodology. (a) A... methodology must engage in non-binding mediation of its dispute with the railroad upon filing a formal...

  10. Optimization of stand-alone photovoltaic systems with hydrogen storage for total energy self-sufficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lund, P D [Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Espoo (Finland). Dept. of Technical Physics

    1991-01-01

    A new method for optimization of stand-alone photovoltaic-hydrogen energy systems is presented. The methodology gives the optimum values for the solar array and hydrogen storage size for any given system configuration and geographical site. Sensitivity analyses have been performed to study the effect of subsystem efficiencies on the total system performance and sizing, and also to identify possibilities for further improvements. Optimum system configurations have also been derived. The results indicate that a solar-hydrogen energy system is a very promising potential alternative for low power applications requiring a total electricity self-sufficiency. (Author).

  11. GOssTo: a stand-alone application and a web tool for calculating semantic similarities on the Gene Ontology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caniza, Horacio; Romero, Alfonso E; Heron, Samuel; Yang, Haixuan; Devoto, Alessandra; Frasca, Marco; Mesiti, Marco; Valentini, Giorgio; Paccanaro, Alberto

    2014-08-01

    We present GOssTo, the Gene Ontology semantic similarity Tool, a user-friendly software system for calculating semantic similarities between gene products according to the Gene Ontology. GOssTo is bundled with six semantic similarity measures, including both term- and graph-based measures, and has extension capabilities to allow the user to add new similarities. Importantly, for any measure, GOssTo can also calculate the Random Walk Contribution that has been shown to greatly improve the accuracy of similarity measures. GOssTo is very fast, easy to use, and it allows the calculation of similarities on a genomic scale in a few minutes on a regular desktop machine. alberto@cs.rhul.ac.uk GOssTo is available both as a stand-alone application running on GNU/Linux, Windows and MacOS from www.paccanarolab.org/gossto and as a web application from www.paccanarolab.org/gosstoweb. The stand-alone application features a simple and concise command line interface for easy integration into high-throughput data processing pipelines. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

  12. Biomechanical comparison of a new stand-alone anterior lumbar interbody fusion cage with established fixation techniques – a three-dimensional finite element analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsieh Pang-Hsing

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Initial promise of a stand-alone interbody fusion cage to treat chronic back pain and restore disc height has not been realized. In some instances, a posterior spinal fixation has been used to enhance stability and increase fusion rate. In this manuscript, a new stand-alone cage is compared with conventional fixation methods based on the finite element analysis, with a focus on investigating cage-bone interface mechanics and stress distribution on the adjacent tissues. Methods Three trapezoid 8° interbody fusion cage models (dual paralleled cages, a single large cage, or a two-part cage consisting of a trapezoid box and threaded cylinder were created with or without pedicle screws fixation to investigate the relative importance of the screws on the spinal segmental response. The contact stress on the facet joint, slip displacement of the cage on the endplate, and rotational angle of the upper vertebra were measured under different loading conditions. Results Simulation results demonstrated less facet stress and slip displacement with the maximal contact on the cage-bone interface. A stand-alone two-part cage had good slip behavior under compression, flexion, extension, lateral bending and torsion, as compared with the other two interbody cages, even with the additional posterior fixation. However, the two-part cage had the lowest rotational angles under flexion and torsion, but had no differences under extension and lateral bending. Conclusion The biomechanical benefit of a stand-alone two-part fusion cage can be justified. This device provided the stability required for interbody fusion, which supports clinical trials of the cage as an alternative to circumferential fixations.

  13. Use of small stand-alone Internet nodes as a distributed control system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, Robert W.; Kucera, Michael J.; Shea, Michael F.

    1994-12-01

    For several years, the standard model for accelerator control systems has been workstation consoles connected to VME local stations by a Local Area Network with analog and digital data being accessed via a field bus to custom I/O interface electronics. Commercially available hardware has now made it possible to implement a small stand-alone data acquisition station that combines the LAN connection, the computer, and the analog and digital I/O interface on a single board. This eliminates the complexity of a field bus and the associated proprietary I/O hardware. A minimum control system is one data acquisition station and a Macintosh or workstation console, both connected to the network; larger systems have more consoles and nodes. An implementation of this architecture is described along with performance and operational experience.

  14. Human microRNA target analysis and gene ontology clustering by GOmir, a novel stand-alone application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roubelakis, Maria G; Zotos, Pantelis; Papachristoudis, Georgios; Michalopoulos, Ioannis; Pappa, Kalliopi I; Anagnou, Nicholas P; Kossida, Sophia

    2009-06-16

    microRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded RNA molecules of about 20-23 nucleotides length found in a wide variety of organisms. miRNAs regulate gene expression, by interacting with target mRNAs at specific sites in order to induce cleavage of the message or inhibit translation. Predicting or verifying mRNA targets of specific miRNAs is a difficult process of great importance. GOmir is a novel stand-alone application consisting of two separate tools: JTarget and TAGGO. JTarget integrates miRNA target prediction and functional analysis by combining the predicted target genes from TargetScan, miRanda, RNAhybrid and PicTar computational tools as well as the experimentally supported targets from TarBase and also providing a full gene description and functional analysis for each target gene. On the other hand, TAGGO application is designed to automatically group gene ontology annotations, taking advantage of the Gene Ontology (GO), in order to extract the main attributes of sets of proteins. GOmir represents a new tool incorporating two separate Java applications integrated into one stand-alone Java application. GOmir (by using up to five different databases) introduces miRNA predicted targets accompanied by (a) full gene description, (b) functional analysis and (c) detailed gene ontology clustering. Additionally, a reverse search initiated by a potential target can also be conducted. GOmir can freely be downloaded BRFAA.

  15. Information systems for the materials management department: stand-alone and enterprise resource planning systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-03-01

    Materials management information systems (MMISs) incorporate information tools that hospitals can use to automate certain business processes, increase staff compliance with these processes, and identify opportunities for cost savings. Recently, there has been a push by hospital administration to purchase enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, information systems that promise to integrate many more facets of healthcare business. We offer this article to help materials managers, administrators, and others involved with information system selection understand the changes that have taken place in materials management information systems, decide whether they need a new system and, if so, whether a stand-alone MMIS or an ERP system will be the best choice.

  16. Cognitive style and plebe turnover at the U.S. Naval Academy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Tom; Cahill, Alice M

    2005-08-01

    Students entering (N = 1,134) the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2000 were administered the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory on the first day of Plebe Summer, a 7-wk. nonacademic training program completed by all entering students in the summer prior to the freshman year. The mean score on Innovation cognitive style for this sample of plebes was approximately a standard deviation lower than those of five other undergraduate student samples from nonmilitary universities. Furthermore, the 98 plebes who voluntarily withdrew before completing the program scored higher on the average on Innovation than those who remained. Findings suggest that, in terms of Person-Organization fit, plebes with a more innovative cognitive style may, perhaps, be less compatible with the regimentation-style climate of the Academy than those with an Adaptive cognitive style. Further research, however, is needed to specify the relationship between Academy students' cognitive style and other important organizational outcomes.

  17. An optimized Fuzzy Logic Controller by Water Cycle Algorithm for power management of Stand-alone Hybrid Green Power generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarvi, Mohammad; Avanaki, Isa Nasiri

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A new method to improve the performance of renewable power management is proposed. • The proposed method is based on Fuzzy Logic optimized by the Water Cycle Algorithm. • The proposed method characteristics are compared with two other methods. • The comparisons confirm that the proposed method is robust and effectiveness one. - Abstract: This paper aims to improve the power management system of a Stand-alone Hybrid Green Power generation based on the Fuzzy Logic Controller optimized by the Water Cycle Algorithm. The proposed Stand-alone Hybrid Green Power consists of wind energy conversion and photovoltaic systems as primary power sources and a battery, fuel cell, and Electrolyzer as energy storage systems. Hydrogen is produced from surplus power generated by the wind energy conversion and photovoltaic systems of Stand-alone Hybrid Green Power and stored in the hydrogen storage tank for fuel cell later using when the power generated by primary sources is lower than load demand. The proposed optimized Fuzzy Logic Controller based power management system determines the power that is generated by fuel cell or use by Electrolyzer. In a hybrid system, operation and maintenance cost and reliability of the system are the important issues that should be considered in studies. In this regard, Water Cycle Algorithm is used to optimize membership functions in order to simultaneously minimize the Loss of Power Supply Probability and operation and maintenance. The results are compared with the particle swarm optimization and the un-optimized Fuzzy Logic Controller power management system to prove that the proposed method is robust and effective. Reduction in Loss of Power Supply Probability and operation and maintenance, are the most advantages of the proposed method. Moreover the level of the State of Charge of the battery in the proposed method is higher than other mentioned methods which leads to increase battery lifetime.

  18. Improving efficiency of a regional stand alone bone bank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warnock, Jonathan M; Rowan, Clare H; Davidson, Helen; Millar, Ciara; McAlinden, M Gavan

    2016-03-01

    The introduction of a stand-alone Bone Bank in our Regional Orthopaedic Hospital has improved the availability of femoral head allograft. Benninger et al. (Bone Joint J 96-B:1307-1311, 2014), demonstrated their institutions bank to be cost effective despite a 30 % discard rate for harvested allograft. We sought to audit our own discard rates and subsequent cost-effectiveness of our bone bank. Donor recruitment. Before approaching a potential donor, our establishment's nurse specialists review their clinical notes and biochemical laboratory results, available on a regional Electronic Care Records. They view femoral head architecture on radiographs against set criteria, Patient Archive and Communication system (SECTRA, Sweden). In total 1383 femoral heads were harvested, 247 were discarded giving an overall rate of 17.9 %. The most common reasons for discard of harvested graft was a positive microbiology/bacteriology result, n = 96 (38.9 %). After a rise in discard rates in 2007, we have steadily reduced our discard rates since 2006/2007 (28.2 %), 2008/2009 (17 %), 2010/2011 (14.8 %), and finally to 10.3 % in 2012/2013. In the current financial year, our cost to harvest, test, store and release a femoral head is £ 610. With a structured donor recruitment process and unique pre-operative radiographic analysis we have successfully reduced our discard rates bi-annually making our bone bank increasingly cost-effective.

  19. Clinical and radiological outcome after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with stand-alone empty polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiban, Ehab; Gapon, Karina; Wostrack, Maria; Meyer, Bernhard; Lehmberg, Jens

    2016-02-01

    To evaluate long-term results after one-, two-, and three-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) with stand-alone empty polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages. We performed a retrospective review of a consecutive patient cohort that underwent ACDF with stand-alone empty PEEK cages between 2007 and 2010 with a minimum follow-up of 12 months. Radiographic follow-up included static and flexion/extension radiographs. Changes in the operated segments were measured and compared to radiographs directly after surgery. Clinical outcome was evaluated by a physical examination, pain visual analog scale (VAS), and health-related quality of life (HRQL) using the EuroQOL questionnaire (EQ-5D). Analysis of associations between fusion, subsidence, cervical alignment, and clinical outcome parameters were performed. Of 407 consecutive cases, 318 met all inclusion criteria. Follow-up data were obtained from 265 (83 %) cases. The mean age at presentation was 55 years and 139 patients were male (52 %). In the sample, 127, 125, and 13 patients had one-, two-, and three-level surgeries, respectively; 132 (49 %) presented with spondylotic cervical myelopathy and 133 (50 %) with cervical radiculopathy. Fusion was achieved in 85, 95, and 94 % of segments in one-, two-, and three-level surgeries, respectively. Non-fusion was associated with higher VAS pain levels. Radiographic adjacent segment disease (ASD) was observed in 20, 29, and 15 % in one-, two-, and three-level surgeries, respectively. ASD was associated with lower HRQL. Subsidence was observed in 25, 27, and 15 % of segments in one-, two-, and three-level surgeries, respectively. However, this had no influence on clinical outcome. Follow-up operations for symptomatic adjacent disc disease and implant failure at index level were needed in 16 (6 %) and four (1.5 %) cases, respectively. Younger age was associated with better clinical outcome. Multilevel surgery favored better myelopathy outcomes and fusion reduced overall

  20. Economic and Environmental Assessment of a Renewable Stand-Alone Energy Supply System Using Multi-objective Optimization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Dohyun; Han, Seulki; Kim, Jiyong Kim [Incheon National University, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-06-15

    This study aims to propose a new optimization-based approach for design and analysis of the stand-alone hybrid energy supply system using renewable energy sources (RES). In the energy supply system, we include multiple energy production technologies such as Photovoltaics (PV), Wind turbine, and fossil-fuel-based AC generator along with different types of energy storage and conversion technologies such as battery and inverter. We then select six different regions of Korea to represent various characteristics of different RES potentials and demand profiles. We finally designed and analyzed the optimal RES stand-alone energy supply system in the selected regions using multiobjective optimization (MOOP) technique, which includes two objective functions: the minimum cost and the minimum CO{sub 2} emission. In addition, we discussed the feasibility and expecting benefits of the systems by comparing to conventional systems of Korea. As a result, the region of the highest RES potential showed the possibility to remarkably reduce CO{sub 2} emissions compared to the conventional system. Besides, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of the RES-based energy system is identified to be slightly higher than conventional energy system: 0.35 and 0.46 $/kWh, respectively. However, the total life-cycle emission of CO{sub 2} (LCECO{sub 2}) can be reduced up to 470 gCO{sub 2}/kWh from 490 gCO{sub 2}/kWh of the conventional systems.

  1. Clinician's perspectives of the relocation of a regional child and adolescent mental health service from co-located to stand alone premises.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francis, K J; Boyd, C P; Sewell, J; Nurse, S

    2008-01-01

    Australia's National Mental Health Strategy's statement of rights and responsibilities states that children and adolescents admitted to a mental health facility or community program have the right to be separated from adult patients and provided with programs suited to their developmental needs. However, in rural Australia, where a lack of healthcare services, financial constraints, greater service delivery areas and fewer mental healthcare specialists represent the norm, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are sometimes co-located with adult mental health services. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a recent relocation of a regional CAMHS in Victoria from co-located to stand alone premises. Six CAMHS clinicians who had experienced service delivery at a co-located setting and the current stand-alone CAMHS setting were interviewed about their perceptions of the impact of the relocation on service delivery. An exploratory interviewing methodology was utilized due to the lack of previous research in this area. Interview data were transcribed and analysed according to interpretative phenomenological analysis techniques. Findings indicated a perception that the relocation was positive for clients due to the family-friendly environment at the new setting and separation of CAMHS from adult psychiatric services. However, the impact of the relocation on clinicians was marked by a perceived loss of social capital from adult psychiatric service clinicians. These results provide increased understanding of the effects of service relocation and the influence of co-located versus stand-alone settings on mental health service delivery - an area where little prior research exists.

  2. A compact seven switches topology and reduced DC-link capacitor size for single-phase stand-alone PV system with hybrid energy storages

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Xiong; Wang, Peng; Loh, Poh Chiang

    2011-01-01

    Single-phase stand-alone PV system is suitable for household applications in remote area. Hybrid battery/ultra-capacitor energy storage can reduce charge and discharge cycles and avoid deep discharges of battery. This paper proposes a compact seven switches structure for stand-alone PV system......, which otherwise needs nine switches configuration, inclusive of one switch for boost converter, four switches for single-phase inverter and four switches for two DC/DC converters of battery and ultra-capacitor. It is well-known that a bulky DC-link capacitor is always required to absorb second......-order harmonic current caused by single-phase inverter. In the proposed compact topology, a small size DC-link capacitor can achieve the same function through charging/discharging control of ultra-capacitor to mitigate second-order ripple current. Simulation results are provided to validate the effectiveness...

  3. From Retention to Satisfaction: New Outcomes for Assessing the Freshman Experience. AIR 1994 Annual Forum Paper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Liz; And Others

    To meet accountability challenges from a customer-satisfaction perspective, an urban institution of higher education has developed an integrated approach to studying the freshman year experience in order to develop comprehensive outcomes measures for assessing freshman success. Multiple sources of data (freshman satisfaction survey data,…

  4. Comparison of pulp-mill-integrated hydrogen production from gasified black liquor with stand-alone production from gasified biomass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersson, E.; Harvey, S.

    2007-01-01

    When gasified black liquor is used for hydrogen production, significant amounts of biomass must be imported. This paper compares two alternative options for producing hydrogen from biomass: (A) pulp-mill-integrated hydrogen production from gasified back liquor; and (B) stand-alone production of hydrogen from gasified biomass. The comparison assumes that the same amount of biomass that is imported in Alternative A is supplied to a stand-alone hydrogen production plant and that the gasified black liquor in Alternative B is used in a black liquor gasification combined cycle (BLGCC) CHP unit. The comparison is based upon equal amounts of black liquor fed to the gasifier, and identical steam and power requirements for the pulp mill. The two systems are compared on the basis of total CO 2 emission consequences, based upon different assumptions for the reference energy system that reflect different societal CO 2 emissions reduction target levels. Ambitions targets are expected to lead to a more CO 2 -lean reference energy system, in which case hydrogen production from gasified black liquor (Alternative A) is best from a CO 2 emissions' perspective, whereas with high CO 2 emissions associated with electricity production, hydrogen from gasified biomass and electricity from gasified black liquor (Alternative B) is preferable. (author)

  5. Can aqueous hydrogen peroxide be used as a stand-alone energy source?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Disselkamp, Robert S.

    2010-01-01

    A novel electrochemical scheme to convert a stand-alone supply of aqueous hydrogen peroxide into a fuel cell-ready stream of hydrogen gas plus aqueous hydrogen peroxide is described. The electrochemical cell, consisting of a solid base and solid acid electrocatalyst, together with a proton exchange membrane, comprise the system that converts aqueous hydrogen peroxide into separate gas streams of oxygen and hydrogen. Aqueous hydrogen peroxide is contained in the anode compartment only and exists in the region where oxygen gas is formed, whereas the cathode compartment is where hydrogen gas is generated and therefore exists in a reduced state. A near zero theoretical over-potential can be achieved by the choice of basicity and acidity of the electrode materials. The primary cost of the electrochemical cell is electrode construction and the aqueous hydrogen peroxide energy storage compound. Additional research effort is required to experimentally validate the concept and explore the full economic impact should initial studies, based on the design presented here, prove promising. (author)

  6. Segmental kyphosis after cervical interbody fusion with stand-alone polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages: a comparative study on 2 different PEEK cages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Chi Heon; Chung, Chun Kee; Jahng, Tae-Ahn; Park, Sung Bae; Sohn, Seil; Lee, Sungjoon

    2015-02-01

    Retrospective comparative study. Two polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages of different designs were compared in terms of the postoperative segmental kyphosis after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. Segmental kyphosis occasionally occurs after the use of a stand-alone cage for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. Although PEEK material seems to have less risk of segmental kyphosis compared with other materials, the occurrence of segmental kyphosis for PEEK cages has been reported to be from 0% to 29%. There have been a few reports that addressed the issue of PEEK cage design. A total of 41 consecutive patients who underwent single-level anterior discectomy and fusion with a stand-alone cage were included. Either a round tube-type (Solis; 18 patients, S-group) or a trapezoidal tube-type (MC+; 23 patients, M-group) cage was used. The contact area between the cage and the vertebral body is larger in MC+ than in Solis, and anchoring pins were present in the Solis cage. The effect of the cage type on the segmental angle (SA) (lordosis vs. kyphosis) at postoperative month 24 was analyzed. Preoperatively, segmental lordosis was present in 12/18 S-group and 16/23 M-group patients (P=0.84). The SA was more lordotic than the preoperative angle in both groups just after surgery, with no difference between groups (P=0.39). At 24 months, segmental lordosis was observed in 9/18 S-group and 20/23 M-group patients (P=0.01). The patients in M-group were 7.83 times more likely than patients in S-group (P=0.04; odds ratio, 7.83; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-56.28) not to develop segmental kyphosis. The design of the PEEK cage used may influence the SA, and this association needs to be considered when using stand-alone PEEK cages.

  7. Key factors for the implementation of successful, stand-alone village electrification schemes in Peru

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez-Campos, Teodoro

    The hypothesis of this work is that there are social, financial, technical, managerial institutional and political key factors that may either support or prevent the success of small stand alone energy systems in rural areas. This research work aims at contributing to the identification of such factors and study their relevance to the performance and sustainability of stand alone energy systems in rural areas; to meet its purpose, a wide range of literature was reviewed including rural electrification programmes and projects, research and development projects on access to electricity in rural areas, impact studies and others, and a field research survey was done the Andes and Upper Jungle regions in Peru. Nineteen possible critical factors were identified, thirteen with relevance at the local context (the community or village), and six with relevance at the national (or wider) context. From literature review it was found that the possible local critical factors were relevant only to four categories of factors instead of the six considered initially (i.e. social, financial, technological and managerial): the other two categories, political and institutional were found to be more relevant to the national context, therefore those were included in the group of possible critical factors of wider context. A series of questionnaires were designed to collect field data information, which was later used to analyse and establish the relation of each identified factor with the success of the systems studied. The survey research was implemented in 14 villages, 7 with small diesel sets and 7 with small hydropower schemes, all spread in the Andes and Upper Jungle of Peru, which were carefully selected to be representative of regions with isolated stand alone systems and with different socioeconomic background. Out of the 13 possible critical factors of local context, it was found that only 3 are really critical, the others are important but not critical; one of them (technical

  8. Study on the optimization of stand-alone type photovoltaic systems. 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Man Geun; Song, Jin Soo; Kim, Boo ho; Park, I June; Jung, Meung Woong; Yoo, Kyun Joung; Kim, Hong Woo [Korea Inst. of Energy Research, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1995-12-01

    The objectives of this study are to make a maximization of the operating efficiency of photovoltaic power systems, to improve stand- align PV systems design, technical operation and system analysis, and to promote technical cooperation of mutual interest in the area of IEA/PVPS program. This study aims to investigating the problems of applied photovoltaic power systems currently in operation to improve a system design, seeking remedies of individual PVPS applications to improve the system efficiency and reliability and to raise the system economics, and reporting the international movements of PV system dissemination and technical cooperation for developing countries. For the purpose of this works 1) Investigations of applications of existing photovoltaic power systems: - Photovoltaic electric sources used for expressway lamps - Optimum design of solar light with low pressure sodium lamps under 8 hours lighting a day at night by program-able electronic timer. 2) Comparative analyses of Marado PV system and propose a new reliable PV-diesel hybrid system and high efficiency operations. 3) Overall review of Hahwado 60 KWp PV system extending from 25 KWp and the remote monitoring systems for measurement of its operating results. 4) Introduction of IEA/PVPS international cooperating program, especially in task III for stand- alone PV systems and isolated islands and Exco meeting. As results, investigative findings of PVPS currently in operation and the work for improvement - Propose a prescription of Marado PV systems being blocked up by explosion of electrical demands from residence, parallel operational dual inverter with a big capacity. - There are shortage of solar generated power due to shortage of solar cell capacity that results in an increased operating time of diesel generator. Hence the insolation capacity of solar cell per household is continuously increased from the 0.5 KWp to 2 KWp in Hanwado island electrification.

  9. What do seniors remember from freshman physics?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Pawl

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available We have given a group of 56 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT seniors who took mechanics as freshmen a written test similar to the final exam they took in their freshman course as well as the Mechanics Baseline Test (MBT and the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS. Students in majors unrelated to physics scored 60% lower on the written analytic part of the final than they would have as freshmen. The mean score of all participants on the MBT was insignificantly changed from their average on the posttest they took as freshmen. However, the students’ performance on 9 of the 26 MBT items (with 6 of the 9 involving graphical kinematics represents a gain over their freshman posttest score (a normalized gain of about 70%, while their performance on the remaining 17 questions is best characterized as a loss of approximately 50% of the material learned in the freshman course. On multiple-choice questions covering advanced physics concepts, the mean score of the participants was about 50% lower than the average performance of freshmen. Although attitudinal survey results indicate that almost half the seniors feel the specific mechanics course content is unlikely to be useful to them, a significant majority (75%–85% feel that physics does teach valuable problem solving skills, and an overwhelming majority believe that mechanics should remain a required course at MIT.

  10. Strategies for Evaluating a Freshman Studies Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ketkar, Kusum; Bennett, Shelby D.

    1989-01-01

    The study developed an economic model for the evaluation of Seaton Hall University's freshman studies program. Two techniques used to evaluate the economic success of the program are break-even analysis and elasticity coefficient. (Author/MLW)

  11. SedInConnect: a stand-alone, free and open source tool for the assessment of sediment connectivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crema, Stefano; Cavalli, Marco

    2018-02-01

    There is a growing call, within the scientific community, for solid theoretic frameworks and usable indices/models to assess sediment connectivity. Connectivity plays a significant role in characterizing structural properties of the landscape and, when considered in combination with forcing processes (e.g., rainfall-runoff modelling), can represent a valuable analysis for an improved landscape management. In this work, the authors present the development and application of SedInConnect: a free, open source and stand-alone application for the computation of the Index of Connectivity (IC), as expressed in Cavalli et al. (2013) with the addition of specific innovative features. The tool is intended to have a wide variety of users, both from the scientific community and from the authorities involved in the environmental planning. Thanks to its open source nature, the tool can be adapted and/or integrated according to the users' requirements. Furthermore, presenting an easy-to-use interface and being a stand-alone application, the tool can help management experts in the quantitative assessment of sediment connectivity in the context of hazard and risk assessment. An application to a sample dataset and an overview on up-to-date applications of the approach and of the tool shows the development potential of such analyses. The modelled connectivity, in fact, appears suitable not only to characterize sediment dynamics at the catchment scale but also to integrate prediction models and as a tool for helping geomorphological interpretation.

  12. Five-year durability of stand-alone interspinous process decompression for lumbar spinal stenosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nunley PD

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Pierce D Nunley,1 Vikas V Patel,2 Douglas G Orndorff,3 William F Lavelle,4 Jon E Block,5 Fred H Geisler6 1Spine Institute of Louisiana, Shreveport, LA, 2The Spine Center, University of Colorado Hospital, Denver, CO, 3Spine Colorado, Mercy Regional Hospital, Durango, CO, 4Upstate Bone and Joint Center, East Syracuse, NY, 5Independent Consultant, San Francisco, CA, 6Independent Consultant, Chicago, IL, USA Background: Lumbar spinal stenosis is the most common indication for spine surgery in older adults. Interspinous process decompression (IPD using a stand-alone spacer that functions as an extension blocker offers a minimally invasive treatment option for intermittent neurogenic claudication associated with spinal stenosis.Methods: This study evaluated the 5-year clinical outcomes for IPD (Superion® from a randomized controlled US Food and Drug Administration (FDA noninferiority trial. Outcomes included Zurich Claudication Questionnaire (ZCQ symptom severity (ss, physical function (pf, and patient satisfaction (ps subdomains, leg and back pain visual analog scale (VAS, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI.Results: At 5 years, 84% of patients (74 of 88 demonstrated clinical success on at least two of three ZCQ domains. Individual ZCQ domain success rates were 75% (66 of 88, 81% (71 of 88, and 90% (79 of 88 for ZCQss, ZCQpf, and ZCQps, respectively. Leg and back pain success rates were 80% (68 of 85 and 65% (55 of 85, respectively, and the success rate for ODI was 65% (57 of 88. Percentage improvements over baseline were 42%, 39%, 75%, 66%, and 58% for ZCQss, ZCQpf, leg and back pain VAS, and ODI, respectively (all P<0.001. Within-group effect sizes were classified as very large for four of five clinical outcomes (ie, >1.0; all P<0.0001. Seventy-five percent of IPD patients were free from reoperation, revision, or supplemental fixation at their index level at 5 years.Conclusion: After 5 years of follow-up, IPD with a stand-alone spacer provides

  13. Multi-objective analytical model for optimal sizing of stand-alone photovoltaic water pumping systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olcan, Ceyda

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • An analytical optimal sizing model is proposed for PV water pumping systems. • The objectives are chosen as deficiency of power supply and life-cycle costs. • The crop water requirements are estimated for a citrus tree yard in Antalya. • The optimal tilt angles are calculated for fixed, seasonal and monthly changes. • The sizing results showed the validity of the proposed analytical model. - Abstract: Stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) water pumping systems effectively use solar energy for irrigation purposes in remote areas. However the random variability and unpredictability of solar energy makes difficult the penetration of PV implementations and complicate the system design. An optimal sizing of these systems proves to be essential. This paper recommends a techno-economic optimization model to determine optimally the capacity of the components of PV water pumping system using a water storage tank. The proposed model is developed regarding the reliability and cost indicators, which are the deficiency of power supply probability and life-cycle costs, respectively. The novelty is that the proposed optimization model is analytically defined for two-objectives and it is able to find a compromise solution. The sizing of a stand-alone PV water pumping system comprises a detailed analysis of crop water requirements and optimal tilt angles. Besides the necessity of long solar radiation and temperature time series, the accurate forecasts of water supply needs have to be determined. The calculation of the optimal tilt angle for yearly, seasonally and monthly frequencies results in higher system efficiency. It is, therefore, suggested to change regularly the tilt angle in order to maximize solar energy output. The proposed optimal sizing model incorporates all these improvements and can accomplish a comprehensive optimization of PV water pumping systems. A case study is conducted considering the irrigation of citrus trees yard located in Antalya, Turkey

  14. Integrated Three-Port DC-DC Converter for Photovoltaic (PV) Battery Stand-alone Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ouyang, Ziwei; Andersen, Michael A. E.

    2016-01-01

    of solar energy. Moreover, a novel transformer configuration enables variable turns ratio controlled by the phase between the two current excitations subjected to the primary windings, allowing a wider input/output range. 1 kW experimental prototype has been built to demonstrate a wellmanaged power flow......Several power sources such as PV solar arrays and battery are often used to manage the power flow for a photovoltaic (PV) based stand-alone power system due to the fluctuation nature of solar energy resource, and deliver a continuous power to the users in an appropriate form. Traditionally, three...... different single-input single-output (SISO) dc/dc converters would have been used. To reduce the cost and improve the power density of the system, an integrated three-port isolated dc/dc converter is proposed in this paper. It can realize all functions of the energy delivery due to the fluctuation nature...

  15. JAERI Fuel Cleanup System (J-FCU) stand-alone tritium test at the TSTA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Konishi, Satoshi; Hayashi, Takumi; Inoue, Masahiko

    1993-03-01

    JAERI designed, fabricated, and installed the JAERI Fuel Cleanup System (J-FCU) as a subsystem of simulated fusion fuel loop at the TSTA. The main function of the J-FCU is to purify and to recover hydrogen isotopes from simulated plasma exhaust while exhausting tritium free impurities. After a lot of deuterium tests, a first tritium test of the J-FCU was performed with one gram of tritium at the TSTA on June 1991. Main purpose of this test was to evaluate the total integrity and function of the J-FCU system with a DT mixture. Through this test, the J-FCU was operated well and its function with tritium was demonstrated. This report describes the detail test results of the J-FCU first tritium test and discuss its functions by stand-alone mode. Residual tritium inventory of the J-FCU system was also discussed. (author)

  16. System Simulation by Recursive Feedback: Coupling a Set of Stand-Alone Subsystem Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nixon, D. D.

    2001-01-01

    Conventional construction of digital dynamic system simulations often involves collecting differential equations that model each subsystem, arran g them to a standard form, and obtaining their numerical gin solution as a single coupled, total-system simultaneous set. Simulation by numerical coupling of independent stand-alone subsimulations is a fundamentally different approach that is attractive because, among other things, the architecture naturally facilitates high fidelity, broad scope, and discipline independence. Recursive feedback is defined and discussed as a candidate approach to multidiscipline dynamic system simulation by numerical coupling of self-contained, single-discipline subsystem simulations. A satellite motion example containing three subsystems (orbit dynamics, attitude dynamics, and aerodynamics) has been defined and constructed using this approach. Conventional solution methods are used in the subsystem simulations. Distributed and centralized implementations of coupling have been considered. Numerical results are evaluated by direct comparison with a standard total-system, simultaneous-solution approach.

  17. DCE-MRI of the breast in a stand-alone setting outside a complementary strategy - results of the TK-study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaiser, Clemens G.; Krammer, J.; Wasser, K.; Schoenberg, S.O. [University Medical Centre Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim-University of Heidelberg, Institute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Mannheim (Germany); Reich, C.; Kaiser, W.A. [Friedrich-Schiller-University Hospital Jena, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology I, Jena (Germany); Dietzel, M. [Friedrich-Alexander-University Hospital Erlangen-Nuernberg, Department of Neuroradiology, Erlangen (Germany); Baltzer, P.A.T. [Medical University Vienna, Institute of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Vienna (Austria)

    2015-06-01

    To evaluate the accuracy of MRI of the breast (DCE-MRI) in a stand-alone setting with extended indications. According to the inclusion criteria, breast specialists were invited to refer patients to our institution for DCE-MRI. Depending on the MR findings, patients received either a follow-up or biopsy. Between 04/2006 and 12/2011 a consecutive total of 1,488 women were prospectively examined. Of 1,488 included patients, 393 patients were lost to follow-up, 1,095 patients were evaluated. 124 patients were diagnosed with malignancy by DCE-MRI (76 TP, 48 FP, 971 TN, 0 FN cases). Positive cases were confirmed by histology, negative cases by MR follow-ups or patient questionnaires over the next 5 years in 1,737 cases (sensitivity 100 %; specificity 95.2 %; PPV 61.3 %; NPV 100 %; accuracy 95.5 %). For invasive cancers only (DCIS excluded), the results were 63 TP; 27 FP; 971 TP and 0 FN (sensitivity 100 %; specificity 97.2 %; PPV 70 %; NPV 100 %; accuracy 97.5 %). The DCE-MRI indications tested imply that negative results in DCE-MRI reliably exclude cancer. The results were achieved in a stand-alone setting (single modality diagnosis). However, these results are strongly dependent on reader experience and adequate technical standards as prerequisites for optimal diagnoses. (orig.)

  18. DCE-MRI of the breast in a stand-alone setting outside a complementary strategy - results of the TK-study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaiser, Clemens G.; Krammer, J.; Wasser, K.; Schoenberg, S.O.; Reich, C.; Kaiser, W.A.; Dietzel, M.; Baltzer, P.A.T.

    2015-01-01

    To evaluate the accuracy of MRI of the breast (DCE-MRI) in a stand-alone setting with extended indications. According to the inclusion criteria, breast specialists were invited to refer patients to our institution for DCE-MRI. Depending on the MR findings, patients received either a follow-up or biopsy. Between 04/2006 and 12/2011 a consecutive total of 1,488 women were prospectively examined. Of 1,488 included patients, 393 patients were lost to follow-up, 1,095 patients were evaluated. 124 patients were diagnosed with malignancy by DCE-MRI (76 TP, 48 FP, 971 TN, 0 FN cases). Positive cases were confirmed by histology, negative cases by MR follow-ups or patient questionnaires over the next 5 years in 1,737 cases (sensitivity 100 %; specificity 95.2 %; PPV 61.3 %; NPV 100 %; accuracy 95.5 %). For invasive cancers only (DCIS excluded), the results were 63 TP; 27 FP; 971 TP and 0 FN (sensitivity 100 %; specificity 97.2 %; PPV 70 %; NPV 100 %; accuracy 97.5 %). The DCE-MRI indications tested imply that negative results in DCE-MRI reliably exclude cancer. The results were achieved in a stand-alone setting (single modality diagnosis). However, these results are strongly dependent on reader experience and adequate technical standards as prerequisites for optimal diagnoses. (orig.)

  19. Control of a Stand-Alone Variable Speed Wind Energy Supply System †

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed M. Hamada

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a simple control strategy for the operation of a variable speed stand-alone wind turbine with a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG. The PMSG is connected to a three phase resistive load through a switch mode rectifier and a voltage source inverter. Control of the generator side converter is used to achieve maximum power extraction from the available wind power. Control of the DC-DC bidirectional buck-boost converter, which is connected between batteries bank and DC-link voltage, is used to maintain the DC-link voltage at a constant value. It is also used to make the batteries bank stores the surplus of wind energy and supplies this energy to the load during a wind power shortage. The load side voltage source inverter uses a relatively complex vector control scheme to control the output load voltage in terms of amplitude and frequency. The control strategy works under wind speed variation as well as with variable load. Extensive simulation results have been performed using MATLAB/SIMULINK.

  20. Stand-alone excitation synchronous wind power generators with power flow management strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tzuen-Lih Chern

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This study presents a stand-alone excitation synchronous wind power generator (SESWPG with power flow management strategy (PFMS. The rotor speed of the excitation synchronous generator tracks the utility grid frequency by using servo motor tracking technologies. The automatic voltage regulator governs the exciting current of generator to achieve the control goals of stable voltage. When wind power is less than the needs of the consumptive loading, the proposed PFMS increases motor torque to provide a positive power output for the loads, while keeping the generator speed constant. Conversely, during the periods of wind power greater than output loads, the redundant power of generator production is charged to the battery pack and the motor speed remains constant with very low power consumption. The advantage of the proposed SESWPG is that the generator can directly output stable alternating current (AC electricity without using additional DC–AC converters. The operation principles with software simulation for the system are described in detail. Experimental results of a laboratory prototype are shown to verify the feasibility of the system.

  1. How to Make Financial Aid "Freshman-Friendly"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pugh, Susan L.; Johnson, David B.

    2011-01-01

    Ultimately, making financial aid "freshman friendly" also makes financial aid "sophomore friendly," "junior friendly," and "senior friendly." Indiana University has in place an Office of Enrollment Management (OEM) model that includes focused financial aid packaging strategies complemented by unique contact…

  2. Standing Up for Learning: A Pilot Investigation on the Neurocognitive Benefits of Stand-Biased School Desks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ranjana K. Mehta

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Standing desks have proven to be effective and viable solutions to combat sedentary behavior among children during the school day in studies around the world. However, little is known regarding the potential of such interventions on cognitive outcomes in children over time. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the neurocognitive benefits, i.e., improvements in executive functioning and working memory, of stand-biased desks and explore any associated changes in frontal brain function. 34 freshman high school students were recruited for neurocognitive testing at two time points during the school year: (1 in the fall semester and (2 in the spring semester (after 27.57 (1.63 weeks of continued exposure. Executive function and working memory was evaluated using a computerized neurocognitive test battery, and brain activation patterns of the prefrontal cortex were obtained using functional near infrared spectroscopy. Continued utilization of the stand-biased desks was associated with significant improvements in executive function and working memory capabilities. Changes in corresponding brain activation patterns were also observed. These findings provide the first preliminary evidence on the neurocognitive benefits of standing desks, which to date have focused largely on energy expenditure. Findings obtained here can drive future research with larger samples and multiple schools, with comparison groups that may in turn implicate the importance of stand-biased desks, as simple environmental changes in classrooms, on enhancing children’s cognitive functioning that drive their cognitive development and impact educational outcomes.

  3. Performance and Simulation of a Stand-alone Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammad, S. T.; Al-Kayiem, H. H.; Assadi, M. K.; Gilani, S. I. U. H.; Khlief, A. K.

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, a Simulink® Thermolib Model has been established for simulation performance evaluation of Stand-alone Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plant in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia. This paper proposes a design of 1.2 kW parabolic trough power plant. The model is capable to predict temperatures at any system outlet in the plant, as well as the power output produced. The conditions that are taken into account as input to the model are: local solar radiation and ambient temperatures, which have been measured during the year. Other parameters that have been input to the model are the collector’s sizes, location in terms of latitude and altitude. Lastly, the results are presented in graphical manner to describe the analysed variations of various outputs of the solar fields obtained, and help to predict the performance of the plant. The developed model allows an initial evaluation of the viability and technical feasibility of any similar solar thermal power plant.

  4. Power quality improvement of a stand-alone power system subjected to various disturbances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lone, Shameem Ahmad; Mufti, Mairaj Ud-Din

    In wind-diesel stand-alone power systems, the disturbances like random nature of wind power, turbulent wind, sudden changes in load demand and the wind park disconnection effect continuously the system voltage and frequency. The satisfactory operation of such a system is not an easy task and the control design has to take in to account all these subtleties. For maintaining the power quality, generally, a short-term energy storage device is used. In this paper, the performance of a wind-diesel system associated with a superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) system is studied. The effect of installing SMES at wind park bus/load bus, on the system performance is investigated. To control the exchange of real and reactive powers between the SMES unit and the wind-diesel system, a control strategy based on fuzzy logic is proposed. The dynamic models of the hybrid power system for most common scenarios are developed and the results presented.

  5. Evaluation of a proper controller performance for maximum-power point tracking of a stand-alone PV system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nafeh, A.E.-S.A.; Fahmy, F.H. [Electronics Research Institute, Cairo (Egypt); El-Zahab, E.M.A. [Cairo University, Giza (Egypt). Faculty of Engineering

    2003-02-01

    In this paper the implementation of a suggested stand-alone PV system, for maximum-power point tracking (MPPT), is carried out. Also, this paper presents a comparative study, through experimental work, between the conventional PI controller and the fuzzy logic controller (FLC) under different atmospheric conditions. The implemented system with both the PI controller and the FLC gives a good maximum-power operation of the PV array, but the tracking capability for different optimum operating points is better and faster for the case of using the FLC compared to the case of using the PI controller. (author)

  6. Freshman Ethics Course Influences Students' Basic Beliefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appleton, James R.; Wong, Frank T.

    1989-01-01

    A freshman class called "Educational Odysseys" that bound together four themes and the concern for ethical living is described. The four themes included: the problem of identity; responses to good and evil; the search for success and surviving failure; and cultural diversity and a liberal education. (MLW)

  7. Pre Business College Freshman Perception of Classroom Behavior: An Analysis among and between Genders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Melody W.; Mundrake, George A.; Brown, Betty J.

    2009-01-01

    The focus of this study was 1) to identify pre business college freshman observed classroom behavior (personal, technical, and collaborative behaviors) in high school versus college, and to compare by gender (male to male; female to female), and 2) to identify pre business college freshman perceptions of classroom behavior in college, and to…

  8. Probabilistic modelling and analysis of stand-alone hybrid power systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lujano-Rojas, Juan M.; Dufo-López, Rodolfo; Bernal-Agustín, José L.

    2013-01-01

    As a part of the Hybrid Intelligent Algorithm, a model based on an ANN (artificial neural network) has been proposed in this paper to represent hybrid system behaviour considering the uncertainty related to wind speed and solar radiation, battery bank lifetime, and fuel prices. The Hybrid Intelligent Algorithm suggests a combination of probabilistic analysis based on a Monte Carlo simulation approach and artificial neural network training embedded in a genetic algorithm optimisation model. The installation of a typical hybrid system was analysed. Probabilistic analysis was used to generate an input–output dataset of 519 samples that was later used to train the ANNs to reduce the computational effort required. The generalisation ability of the ANNs was measured in terms of RMSE (Root Mean Square Error), MBE (Mean Bias Error), MAE (Mean Absolute Error), and R-squared estimators using another data group of 200 samples. The results obtained from the estimation of the expected energy not supplied, the probability of a determined reliability level, and the estimation of expected value of net present cost show that the presented model is able to represent the main characteristics of a typical hybrid power system under uncertain operating conditions. - Highlights: • This paper presents a probabilistic model for stand-alone hybrid power system. • The model considers the main sources of uncertainty related to renewable resources. • The Hybrid Intelligent Algorithm has been applied to represent hybrid system behaviour. • The installation of a typical hybrid system was analysed. • The results obtained from the study case validate the presented model

  9. An Analysis of Stand-alone GPS Quality and Simulated GNSS Quality for Road Pricing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zabic, Martina; Nielsen, Otto Anker

    2006-01-01

    Use of GPS for road pricing has often been suggested as the way of creating more efficient charging strategies than existing systems based on cordon lines or time use. In Denmark, Copenhagen participated with the AKTA project in the PRoGRESS programme, sponsored by the EU. The major part...... of the AKTA project was to equip 500 cars with GPS receivers. The paper presents the methods and results from a study of GPS quality in relation to road pricing in a dense urban area. The collected data from 500 cars over a two-year period in the Copenhagen region was analyzed in order to determine whether...... the stand alone GPS quality and reliability is adequate for implementation of an operational road pricing system in Copenhagen. The results from the analysis show that the satellite availability in Copenhagen is not sufficient to form the basis for a reliable operational road pricing system. The narrow...

  10. Online retrieval of patient information by asynchronous communication between general purpose computer and stand-alone personal computer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsutsumi, Reiko; Takahashi, Kazuei; Sato, Toshiko; Komatani, Akio; Yamaguchi, Koichi

    1988-01-01

    Asynchronous communication was made between host (FACOM M-340) and personal computer (OLIBETTIE S-2250) to get patient's information required for RIA test registration. The retrieval system consists of a keyboad input of six numeric codes, patient's ID, and a real time reply containing six parameters for the patient. Their identified parameters are patient's name, sex, date of birth (include area), department, and out- or inpatient. Linking this program to RIA registration program for individual patient, then, operator can input name of RIA test requested. Our simple retrieval program made a useful data network between different types of host and stand-alone personal computers, and enabled us accurate and labor-saving registration for RIA test. (author)

  11. Efficiency of hydrogen gas production in a stand-alone solar hydrogen system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, K.; Tamakloe, R.Y.

    2003-01-01

    Many photovoltaic systems operate in a decentralised electricity producing system, or stand-alone mode and the total energy demand is met by the output of the photovoltaic array. The output of the photovoltaic system fluctuates and is unpredictable for many applications making some forms of energy storage system necessary. The role of storage medium is to store the excess energy produced by the photovoltaic arry, to absorb momentary power peaks and to supply energy during sunless periods. One of the storage modes is the use of electrochemical techniques, with batteries and water electrolysis as the most important examples. The present study includes three main parts: the first one is the hydrogen production form the electrolysis of water depending on the DC output current of the photovoltaic (PV) energy source and the charging of the battery. The second part presents the influence of various parameters on the efficiency of hydrogen gas production. The final part includes simulation studies with focus on solar hydrogen efficiency under the influence of various physical and chemical parameters. For a 50W panel-battery-electrolyser system, the dependence of volume of hydrogen gas on voltage, current and power yielded a maximum efficiency of 13.6% (author)

  12. Optimal sizing method for constituent elements of stand-alone photovoltaic power systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Otsuka, Hirotada; Oi, Yoichi [Hokuriku Electric Power Co., Inc. Toyama (Japan)

    1988-12-25

    The purpose of the report was to calculate the optimal volume of constituent elements of stand-alone photovoltaic power systems, based on the distribution of global radiation on an inclined surface (herein-after called flux of solar radiation), which had been previously measured, and the size of load to be supplied. The least power generation cost was calculated, supposing that setting load was 176kWh/month and the loss of load probability (LOLP) was 1%, by using actual amount of solar radiation in May 1985. The cost was divided into two components: one was proportionate to the size of solar cell, and the other was in proportion to the battery volume. And then, the cost of twenty-year operation(TLC) was calculated. The size of array and the battery volume, which minimize the cost, can be determined when TLC is differentiate. Since auxiliary power source is not attached to this system, it is necessary to restrict the load in order to meet the electric power shortage. In case of the cost at construction in 1984, a standard model indicating the least power generation cost is a photovoltaic system with the array size of A=49.0m{sup 2} and the battery volume of Q=568(Ah). 4 refs., 9 figs., 10 tabs.

  13. Cybernetics and Rhetoric: Freshman English in an Overdetermined World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comprone, Joseph

    1975-01-01

    Argues that freshman composition courses should incorporate the study of communications systems (Cybernetics) and the idea that a situation or subject cannot be explained by a single series of logical steps (Overdetermination) as part of their rationale. (RB)

  14. Solar pv fed stand-alone excitation system of a synchronous machine for reactive power generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudhakar, N.; Jain, Siddhartha; Jyotheeswara Reddy, K.

    2017-11-01

    This paper presents a model of a stand-alone solar energy conversion system based on synchronous machine working as a synchronous condenser in overexcited state. The proposed model consists of a Synchronous Condenser, a DC/DC boost converter whose output is fed to the field of the SC. The boost converter is supplied by the modelled solar panel and a day time variable irradiance is fed to the panel during the simulation time. The model also has one alternate source of rechargeable batteries for the time when irradiance falls below a threshold value. Also the excess power produced when there is ample irradiance is divided in two parts and one is fed to the boost converter while other is utilized to recharge the batteries. A simulation is done in MATLAB-SIMULINK and the obtained results show the utility of such modelling for supplying reactive power is feasible.

  15. Science and Cooking: Motivating the Study of Freshman Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weitz, David

    2011-03-01

    This talk will describe a course offered to Harvard undergraduates as a general education science course, meant to intrduce freshman-level science for non-science majors. The course was a collaboration between world-class chefs and science professors. The chefs introduced concepts of cooking and the professors used these to motivate scientific concepts. The lectures were designed to provide a coherent introduction to freshman physics, primarily through soft matter science. The lectures were supplemented by a lab experiments, designed by a team of very talented graduate students and post docs, that supplemented the science taught in lecture. The course was very successful in motivating non-science students to learn, and even enjoy, basic science concepts. This course depended on contributions from Michael Brenner, Otger Campas, Amy Rowat and a team of talented graduate student teaching fellows.

  16. Systematic Multi-variable H-infinity Control Design for Primary Frequency Regulation in Stand-alone Microgrids with High Penetration of Renewable Energy Sources

    OpenAIRE

    Lam , Quang Linh; Bratcu , Antoneta Iuliana; Riu , Delphine

    2016-01-01

    International audience; In this paper, a systematic design of a robust multi-variable control structure for primary frequency regulation in microgrids with high rate of renewable source penetration is proposed. The considered microgrid represents a diesel-photovoltaic-supercapacitor hybrid power generation system operating in stand-alone mode. The proposed control structure relies on a two-level architecture: classical PI-based current tracking controllers are placed on the low control level ...

  17. Multi-muscle electrical stimulation and stand training: Effects on standing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Momeni, Kamyar; Ramanujam, Arvind; Garbarini, Erica L; Forrest, Gail F

    2018-02-15

    To examine the biomechanical and neuromuscular effects of a longitudinal multi-muscle electrical stimulation (submaximal intensities) training of the lower limbs combined with/without activity-based stand training, on the recovery of stability and function for one individual with spinal cord injury (SCI). Single-subject, longitudinal study. Neuroplasticity laboratory. A 34-year-old male, with sensory- and motor-complete SCI (C5/C6). Two consecutive interventions: 61 hours of supine, lower-limb ES (ES-alone) and 51 hours of ES combined with stand training using an overhead body-weight support system (ST + ES). Clinical measures, trunk stability, and muscle activity were assessed and compared across time points. Trunk Stability Limit (TSL) determined improvements in trunk independence. Functional clinical values increased after both interventions, with further increases post ST + ES. Post ES-alone, trunk stability was maintained at 81% body-weight (BW) loading before failure; post ST + ES, BW loading increased to 95%. TSL values decreased post ST + ES (TSL A/P =54.0 kg.cm, TSL M/L =14.5 kg.cm), compared to ES-alone (TSL A/P =8.5 kg.cm, TSL M/L =3.9 kg.cm). Trunk muscle activity decreased post ST + ES training, compared to ES-alone. Neuromuscular and postural trunk control dramatically improved following the multi-muscle ES of the lower limbs with stand training. Multi-muscle ES training paradigm of the lower limb, using traditional parameters, may contribute to the functional recovery of the trunk.

  18. An Investigation of the Relationship between Language Learning Strategies and Learning Styles in Turkish Freshman Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balci, Özgül

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the language learning strategies of freshman students and their learning styles. This study is a descriptive research and employs a relational screening model. Participants of the study were 328 freshman students majoring in different fields at Necmettin Erbakan University Ahmet…

  19. Social and Emotional Learning in a Freshman Seminar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyatt, Jeannette B.; Bloemker, Geraldine A.

    2013-01-01

    First year college students are challenged both socially and academically in their transition to college life. The literature suggests that social and emotional competence skills can help with this transition. This article describes the course content for a University freshman seminar that teaches skills in social and emotional competence in order…

  20. Particulate matter concentrations in residences: an intervention study evaluating stand-alone filters and air conditioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batterman, S; Du, L; Mentz, G; Mukherjee, B; Parker, E; Godwin, C; Chin, J-Y; O'Toole, A; Robins, T; Rowe, Z; Lewis, T

    2012-06-01

    This study, a randomized controlled trial, evaluated the effectiveness of free-standing air filters and window air conditioners (ACs) in 126 low-income households of children with asthma. Households were randomized into a control group, a group receiving a free-standing HEPA filter placed in the child's sleeping area, and a group receiving the filter and a window-mounted AC. Indoor air quality (IAQ) was monitored for week-long periods over three to four seasons. High concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and carbon dioxide were frequently seen. When IAQ was monitored, filters reduced PM levels in the child's bedroom by an average of 50%. Filter use varied greatly among households and declined over time, for example, during weeks when pollutants were monitored, filter use was initially high, averaging 84±27%, but dropped to 63±33% in subsequent seasons. In months when households were not visited, use averaged only 34±30%. Filter effectiveness did not vary in homes with central or room ACs. The study shows that measurements over multiple seasons are needed to characterize air quality and filter performance. The effectiveness of interventions using free-standing air filters depends on occupant behavior, and strategies to ensure filter use should be an integral part of interventions. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) increased particulate matter (PM) levels by about 14 μg/m3 and was often detected using ETS-specific tracers despite restrictions on smoking in the house as reported on questionnaires administered to caregivers. PM concentrations depended on season, filter usage, relative humidity, air exchange ratios, number of children, outdoor PM levels, sweeping/dusting, and presence of a central air conditioner (AC). Free-standing air filters can be an effective intervention that provides substantial reductions in PM concentrations if the filters are used. However, filter use was variable across the study population and declined over the study duration, and

  1. Design of a reliable and low-cost stand-alone micro hydropower station

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kusakana, K.; Munda, J.L. [Tshwane Univ. of Technology, Pretoria (South Africa)

    2008-07-01

    A stand-alone micro-hydropower station was presented. The plant was comprised of a squirrel cage induction machine coupled to a Kaplan water turbine. Power converters were used to control the variable frequency and voltage outputs of the generator caused by variations in water flow. The hydropower plant was installed a farm in the Kwazulu-Natal region of South Africa, and was designed to provide electricity in relation to the low power demand of users in the region as well as according to the site's hydrology and topology. Load forecasts for the 8 houses using the system were conducted. A generator with a higher output than the average power needed to feed the load was selected in order to ensure load supply during peak demand. The system was designed to shore energy generated during off-peak periods in batteries. An AC-DC-AC converter was used as an interface between the generator and the load in order to ensure voltage and frequency stabilization. Simulations of plant components were conducted to demonstrate output power supply during water flow variations. Results of the modelling study indicated that power converters are needed to stabilize generator outputs. The hydropower design is a cost-effective means of supplying power to low-income households. 10 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs.

  2. Battery Storage Technologies for Electrical Applications: Impact in Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Akinyele

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Batteries are promising storage technologies for stationary applications because of their maturity, and the ease with which they are designed and installed compared to other technologies. However, they pose threats to the environment and human health. Several studies have discussed the various battery technologies and applications, but evaluating the environmental impact of batteries in electrical systems remains a gap that requires concerted research efforts. This study first presents an overview of batteries and compares their technical properties such as the cycle life, power and energy densities, efficiencies and the costs. It proposes an optimal battery technology sizing and selection strategy, and then assesses the environmental impact of batteries in a typical renewable energy application by using a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV system as a case study. The greenhouse gas (GHG impact of the batteries is evaluated based on the life cycle emission rate parameter. Results reveal that the battery has a significant impact in the energy system, with a GHG impact of about 36–68% in a 1.5 kW PV system for different locations. The paper discusses new batteries, strategies to minimize battery impact and provides insights into the selection of batteries with improved cycling capacity, higher lifespan and lower cost that can achieve lower environmental impacts for future applications.

  3. Simulation of stand alone PV system; Dokuritsugata taiyoko hatsuden system no simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kondo, H; Ogawa, H; Sekii, Y [Chiba Institute of Technology, Chiba (Japan); Tsuda, I; Nozaki, K [Electrotechnical Laboratory, Tsukuba (Japan); Kurokawa, K [Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo (Japan)

    1996-10-27

    In order to evaluate the simulation results of a photovoltaic power generation system, an operation simulation was carried out using the actual measured data of a stand alone PV system in Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture, so as to make a comparison with the actual operation data. The electric power was supplied to 250 houses and primary/junior high schools in the surrounding villages, which had an average demand load of approximately 90kw and the maximum of approximately 200kw. The power was supplied through the PV power generation in the duration of the sunshine, with an excess power charged in storage batteries and then supplied from the batteries at night. The array capacity was made 750kWp, the output current and storage batteries being characteristic type with an actual efficiency curve used for the inverter. The weather data used were the actual inclined insolation quantity and the outside air temperature data for a period of one month of November. The power charged in excess of 100% in the batteries was termed as an overflow power. With the charging condition 30% or less, a diesel generator was run for a rated operation for one hour, the power of which was termed as a backup power. As a result, the simulation was found nearly in agreement with the actual measurements. 5 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.

  4. Predicting academic problems in college from freshman alcohol involvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, P K; Sher, K J; Erickson, D J; DeBord, K A

    1997-03-01

    The present article examines the relation of problematic alcohol use to collegiate academic problems based on a systematic assessment of problematic alcohol use and college transcript data. The degree to which this prospective association can be explained by reference to third variables is also explored. These third variables include: students' high school academic achievement and aptitude, concurrent drug use, participation in deviant behaviors and students' investment or participation in the college experience. A sample of 444 (240 female) college freshman recruited for a longitudinal study of alcohol use was followed for 6 years. Alcohol and drug involvement, general deviance, academic investment, campus involvement and several background variables were assessed during the freshman year. Additional measures of high school aptitude and achievement as well as collegiate performance were calculated based on college transcript data from all institutions attended. A latent variable structural equation model revealed that problematic alcohol use during the freshman year correlated +.32 with collegiate academic problems. No evidence was found for a unique association between the two constructs when additional constructs were included in the model. Specifically, the association was substantially reduced when preexisting student differences traditionally associated with academic failure in college were taken into account. The inclusion of concurrent drug use and deviance also resulted in a significant reduction in the magnitude of the association. Although a substantial bivariate association exists between problematic alcohol use and academic problems during college, much of this association appears attributable to preexisting student differences on admission to college.

  5. A soil-canopy scheme for use in a numerical model of the atmosphere: 1D stand-alone model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kowalczyk, E. A.; Garratt, J. R.; Krummel, P. B.

    We provide a detailed description of a soil-canopy scheme for use in the CSIRO general circulation models (GCMs) (CSIRO-4 and CSIRO-9), in the form of a one-dimensional stand-alone model. In addition, the paper documents the model's ability to simulate realistic surface fluxes by comparison with mesoscale model simulations (involving more sophisticated soil and boundary-layer treatments) and observations, and the diurnal range in surface quantities, including extreme maximum surface temperatures. The sensitivity of the model to values of the surface resistance is also quantified. The model represents phase 1 of a longer-term plan to improve the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and surface schemes in the CSIRO GCMs.

  6. Freshman year alcohol and marijuana use prospectively predict time to college graduation and subsequent adult roles and independence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilhite, Emily R; Ashenhurst, James R; Marino, Elise N; Fromme, Kim

    2017-06-15

    This study examined how freshman year substance use prospectively predicted time to college graduation, and whether delayed graduation predicted postponed adoption of adult roles and future substance use. Participants were part of a longitudinal study that began in 2004. The first analyses focused on freshman year (N = 2,050). The second analyses corresponded to a subset of participants at age 27 (N = 575). Measures included self-reported substance use, adult role adoption, and university reported graduation dates. Results indicated that frequent binge drinking and marijuana use during freshman year predicted delayed college graduation. Those who took longer to graduate were more likely to have lower incomes and were less likely to obtain a graduate degree. Taking 5-6 years to graduate was associated with greater likelihood of alcohol-related problems. Findings support the importance of interventions during freshman year of college to decrease substance use and promote timely graduation.

  7. Reorganizing Freshman Business Mathematics I: Background and Philosophy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Kris; Emerson, Allen

    2008-01-01

    This article is the first of the two-part discussion of the development of a new Freshman Business Mathematics (FBM) course at our college. Part I of the article describes the background and history behind the course, and provides a theoretical framework for the design of the course. This design involves students in learning and applying…

  8. Focus on Freshman: Basic Instruction Programs Enhancing Physical Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curry, Jarred; Jenkins, Jayne M.; Weatherford, Jennifer

    2015-01-01

    Physical activity sharply decreases after different life stages, particularly high school graduation to beginning university education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a specifically designed university physical activity class, Exercise Planning for Freshman (EPF), on students' physical activity and group cohesion…

  9. The international phase 4 validation study of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32: A stand-alone measure of spiritual well-being for people receiving palliative care for cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vivat, B.; Young, T. E.; Winstanley, J.; Arraras, J. I.; Black, K.; Boyle, F.; Bredart, A.; Costantini, A.; Guo, J.; Irarrazaval, M. E.; Kobayashi, K.; Kruizinga, R.; Navarro, M.; Omidvari, S.; Rohde, G. E.; Serpentini, S.; Spry, N.; van Laarhoven, H. W. M.; Yang, G. M.

    2017-01-01

    The EORTC Quality of Life Group has just completed the final phase (field-testing and validation) of an international project to develop a stand-alone measure of spiritual well-being (SWB) for palliative cancer patients. Participants (n = 451)-from 14 countries on four continents; 54% female; 188

  10. Promoting skill building and confidence in freshman nursing students with a "Skills-a-Thon".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Susan T; Vignato, Julie A; Moore, Joan L; Madden, Carol A

    2009-08-01

    Freshman nursing students returning for their second semester after summer break benefited by reviewing previously learned clinical skills presented in a Skills-a-Thon. Skills stations were established and facilitated by faculty and senior students. Senior students were first trained in mentoring and specific steps in skills competencies. Freshman students demonstrated skills in various mock clinical situations including catheter insertion, sterile dressings, medications, and physical assessment. The strategy reinforced learning and provided an opportunity for students to experience risk-free skills performance among peers. Freshman students gained proficiency and appreciated guidance by senior students without the pressures of testing. Seniors benefited from a condensed version of the program to review their own skills prior to the event. Responses were positive, with students reporting improved performance and confidence with hands-on application in a non-threatening environment. Nursing faculty observed improvement in skill performance and competence, and plan to offer future events. Copyright 2009, SLACK Incorporated.

  11. [Biomechanicsl evaluation of a stand-alone interbody fusion cage based on porous TiO2/glass-ceramic on the human cervical spine].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korinth, M C; Moersch, S; Ragoss, C; Schopphoff, E

    2003-12-01

    Recently, there has been a rapid increase in the use of cervical spine interbody fusion cages, differing in design and biomaterial used, in competition to autologous iliac bone graft and bone cement (PMMA). Limited biomechanical differences in primary stability, as well as advantages and disadvantages of each cage or material have been investigated in studies, using an in vitro human cervical spine model. 20 human cervical spine specimens were tested after fusion with either a cubical stand-alone interbody fusion cage manufactured from a new porous TiO2/glass composite (Ecopore) or PMMA after discectomy. Non-destructive biomechanical testing was performed, including flexion/extension and lateral bending using a spine testing apparatus. Three-dimensional segmental range of motion (ROM) was evaluated using an ultrasound measurement system. ROM increased more in flexion/extension and lateral bending after PMMA fusion (26.5%/36.1%), then after implantation of the Ecopore-cage (8.1%/7.8%). In this first biomechanical in vitro examination of a new porous ceramic bone replacement material a) the feasibility and reproducibility of biomechanical cadaveric cervical examination and its applicability was demonstrated, b) the stability of the ceramic cage as a stand alone interbody cage was confirmed in vitro, and c) basic information and knowledge for our intended biomechanical and histological in vivo testing, after implantation of Ecopore in cervical sheep spines, were obtained.

  12. Risk factors for subsidence in anterior cervical fusion with stand-alone polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages: a review of 82 cases and 182 levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kao, Ting-Hsien; Wu, Chen-Hao; Chou, Yu-Ching; Chen, Hsien-Te; Chen, Wen-Hsien; Tsou, Hsi-Kai

    2014-10-01

    To determine risk factors for subsidence in patients treated with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) and stand-alone polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages. Records of patients with degenerative spondylosis or traumatic disc herniation resulting in radiculopathy or myelopathy between C2 and C7 who underwent ACDF with stand-alone PEEK cages were retrospectively reviewed. Cages were filled with autogenous cancellous bone harvested from iliac crest or hydroxyapatite. Subsidence was defined as a decrease of 3 mm or more of anterior or posterior disc height from that measured on the postoperative radiograph. Eighty-two patients (32 males, 50 females; 182 treatment levels) were included in the analysis. Most patients had 1-2 treatment levels (62.2 %), and 37.8 % had 3-4 treatment levels. Treatment levels were from C2-7. Of the 82 patients, cage subsidence occurred in 31 patients, and at 39 treatment levels. Multivariable analysis showed that subsidence was more likely to occur in patients with more than two treatment levels, and more likely to occur at treatment levels C5-7 than at levels C2-5. Subsidence was not associated with postoperative alignment change but associated with more disc height change (relatively oversized cage). Subsidence is associated with a greater number of treatment levels, treatment at C5-7 and relatively oversized cage use.

  13. Single anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) using self- locking stand-alone polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cage: evaluation of pain and health-related quality of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapetanakis, Stylianos; Thomaidis, Tryfon; Charitoudis, George; Pavlidis, Pavlos; Theodosiadis, Panagiotis; Gkasdaris, Grigorios

    2017-09-01

    Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) constitutes the conventional treatment of cervical disc herniation due to degenerative disc disease (DDD). ACDF with plating presents a variety of complications postoperatively and stand-alone cages are thought to be a promising alternative. The aim of this study was firstly, to analyze prospectively collected data from a sample of patients treated with single ACDF using C-Plus self-locking stand-alone PEEK cage system, without the use of plates or screws, in order to evaluate pain levels of patients, utilizing Neck and Arm Pain scale as an expression of visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondly, we aimed to evaluate health-related quality of life, via the short-form 36 (SF-36) and Neck Disability Index (NDI). Thirty-six patients (19 male and 17 female) with mean age 49.6±7 years old who underwent successful single ACDF using self-locking stand-alone PEEK cage for symptomatic cervical DDD were selected for the study. Neck and Arm pain, as well as SF-36 and NDI were estimated preoperatively and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Patients underwent preoperative and postoperative clinical, neurological and radiological evaluation. The clinical and radiological outcomes were satisfactory after a minimum 1-year follow-up. All results were statistically important (P<0.05), excluding improvement in NDI measured between 6 and 12 months. SF-36, Neck Pain, as well as Arm Pain featured gradual and constant improvement during follow-up, with best scores presenting at 12 months after surgery, while NDI reached its best at 6 months postoperatively. Generally, all scores showed improvement postoperatively during the different phases of the follow-up. Subsequently, ACDF using C-Plus cervical cage constitutes an effective method for cervical disc herniation treatment, in terms of postoperative improvement on pain levels and health-related quality of life and a safe alternative to the conventional method of treatment for cervical DDD.

  14. Stand quality management in a late-rotation, red oak-sweetgum stand in east Mississippi: preliminary results following thinning

    Science.gov (United States)

    James S. Meadows; Daniel A. Skojac

    2012-01-01

    Stand quality management is a new management strategy in which thinning prescriptions are based solely on tree quality rather than a quantitative level of residual stand density. As long as residual density falls within fairly broad limits, prescriptions are based on tree quality alone. We applied four thinning prescriptions based on stand quality management, along...

  15. Stand-Alone Photovoltaic System Assessment in Warmer Urban Areas in Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alberto-Jesus Perea-Moreno

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to examine the possibility of using a stand-alone photovoltaic system (SAPVS for electricity generation in urban areas in Southern Mexico. In Mexico, an urban area is defined as an area where more than 2500 inhabitants live. Due to constant migration from the countryside to the cities, the number of inhabitants of urban localities has been increasing. Global horizontal irradiation (GHI data were recorded every 10 min during 2014–2016 in Coatzacoalcos in the state of Veracruz located on 18°08′09″ N and 94°27′48″ W. In this study, batteries represented 77% of the total cost, 12 PV panels of 310 W could export 5.41 MWh to the grid, and an inverter with an integrated controller and charger was selected, which decreased the initial cost. The city of Coatzacoalcos was chosen because the average annual temperature is 28°, with an average relative humidity of 75% and an average irradiance of 5.3 kWh/m2/day. An emission factor 0.505 tCO2/MWh of greenhouse gases (GHG were obtained, based on the power system, the reduction of net annual GHG would be 11 tCO2 and a financial revenue of 36.951 × 103 $/tCO2 would be obtained. Financial parameters such as a 36.3% Internal Rate Return (IRR and 3.4 years payback show the financial viability of this investment. SAPVSs in urban areas in Mexico could be a benefit as long as housing has a high consumption of electricity.

  16. The eBioKit, a stand-alone educational platform for bioinformatics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández-de-Diego, Rafael; de Villiers, Etienne P; Klingström, Tomas; Gourlé, Hadrien; Conesa, Ana; Bongcam-Rudloff, Erik

    2017-09-01

    Bioinformatics skills have become essential for many research areas; however, the availability of qualified researchers is usually lower than the demand and training to increase the number of able bioinformaticians is an important task for the bioinformatics community. When conducting training or hands-on tutorials, the lack of control over the analysis tools and repositories often results in undesirable situations during training, as unavailable online tools or version conflicts may delay, complicate, or even prevent the successful completion of a training event. The eBioKit is a stand-alone educational platform that hosts numerous tools and databases for bioinformatics research and allows training to take place in a controlled environment. A key advantage of the eBioKit over other existing teaching solutions is that all the required software and databases are locally installed on the system, significantly reducing the dependence on the internet. Furthermore, the architecture of the eBioKit has demonstrated itself to be an excellent balance between portability and performance, not only making the eBioKit an exceptional educational tool but also providing small research groups with a platform to incorporate bioinformatics analysis in their research. As a result, the eBioKit has formed an integral part of training and research performed by a wide variety of universities and organizations such as the Pan African Bioinformatics Network (H3ABioNet) as part of the initiative Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa), the Southern Africa Network for Biosciences (SAnBio) initiative, the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) hub, and the International Glossina Genome Initiative.

  17. Fuel Cell Car Design Project for Freshman Engineering Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duke, Steve R.; Davis, Virginia A.

    2014-01-01

    In the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University, we have integrated a semester long design project based on a toy fuel cell car into our freshman "Introduction to Chemical Engineering Class." The project provides the students a basic foundation in chemical reactions, energy, and dimensional analysis that facilitates…

  18. Fungal diseases of tree stands under urbanized conditions of Moscow

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smirnova Oksana G.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Phytosanitary and ecological estimation of tree-stands has been con­ducted at the Forest Experimental Station of Moscow Agricultural Academy and parks of Northeast of Moscow in 2007-2011. Fomes fomentarius was proved to be a very serious pathogen of trees under conditions of Moscow, Piptoporus betulinus, Phellinus igniarius, and Fomitopsis pinicola also occurred and caused damage to trees. This rather bad phytosanitary situation depends on alarming ecological situation in Moscow. At the Forest Experimental Station of Moscow Agricultural Academy a number and cover of lichens decreased. In general, all trees in Moscow are in dynamic equilibrium with the urbanized environment. In connection with this, the following classification of tree-stands was proposed for the urbanized environment: 1 - healthy trees, 2 - affected trees which can be managed, 3 - dry woods, 3a - very diseased. Many tree-stands in investigated regions of Moscow are found to belong to the groups 2 and 3c. All tree-stands must be carefully monitored and managed in order to provide a well-timed decision on the support system for preservation of trees as ‘lungs of city’ and avoid unpredictable tree falling which put people and traffic at risk.

  19. Analysis and control of induction generator supplying stand-alone AC loads employing a Matrix Converter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumedha Mahajan

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a Capacitor Excited Induction Generator (CEIG-Matrix Converter (MC system for feeding stand-alone AC loads. The variable output voltage magnitude and frequency from CEIG is converted into a constant voltage magnitude and frequency at the load terminals by controlling MC using Space Vector Modulation (SVM technique. This single-stage MC is turned up as a good alternative for the proposed system against commonly used AC/DC/AC two stage power converters. The configuration and implementation of the closed-loop control scheme employing dSPACE 1103 real time controller have been fully described in the paper. The proposed closed-loop controller regulates the AC load voltage irrespective of changes in the prime mover speed and load. A method for predetermining the steady-state performance of the proposed system has been developed and described with relevant analytical expressions. The effectiveness of the proposed system is exemplified through simulation results for various operating conditions. The proposed control technique is further validated using an experimental setup developed in the laboratory.

  20. An intelligent stand-alone ultrasonic device for monitoring local structural damage: implementation and preliminary experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pertsch, Alexander; Kim, Jin-Yeon; Wang, Yang; Jacobs, Laurence J

    2011-01-01

    Continuous structural health monitoring has the potential to significantly improve the safety management of aged, in-service civil structures. In particular, monitoring of local damage growth at hot-spot areas can help to prevent disastrous structural failures. Although ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) has proved to be effective in monitoring local damage growth, conventional equipment and devices are usually bulky and only suitable for scheduled human inspections. The objective of this research is to harness the latest developments in embedded hardware and wireless communication for developing a stand-alone, compact ultrasonic device. The device is directed at the continuous structural health monitoring of civil structures. Relying on battery power, the device possesses the functionalities of high-speed actuation, sensing, signal processing, and wireless communication. Integrated with contact ultrasonic transducers, the device can generate 1 MHz Rayleigh surface waves in a steel specimen and measure response waves. An envelope detection algorithm based on the Hilbert transform is presented for efficiently determining the peak values of the response signals, from which small surface cracks are successfully identified

  1. Modeling and Experimental Test of Grid-Tied Photovoltaic Cell Emulating System in the Stand-alone Mode

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vu Minh Phap

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In recent decades, generation of electricity from solar arrays has been increased to meet the world's growing energy demand. However, the utilization rate of the power conditioner in the grid-tied solar power system is low because the operation of solar panels is dependent on sunlight. Thus, we studied the method that the small scale wind power generating system in size from a few hundred watts to two or three kilowatts can be connected to the grid-tied power conditioner of the solar power system for residential applications with low power ratings (single phase, size is limited to 10kW by emulating characteristic of the solar panel. In this paper, we introduce the application of the grid-tied PV cell emulating system in the stand-alone mode to improve the utilization rate of the power conditioner. The simulation and experimental test results verify that the PV cell emulating system can operate the power conditioner of the gridtied solar power system.

  2. Hydrogen-based energy storage unit for stand alone PV systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Labbe, J.

    2006-12-01

    Stand alone systems supplied only by a photovoltaic generator need an energy storage unit to be fully self sufficient. Lead acid batteries are commonly used to store energy because of their low cost, despite several operational constraints. A hydrogen-based energy storage unit (HESU) could be another candidate, including an electrolyser, a fuel cell and a hydrogen tank. However many efforts still need to be carried out for this technology to reach an industrial stage. In particular, market outlets must be clearly identified. The study of small stationary applications (few kW) is performed by numerical simulations. A simulator is developed in the Matlab/Simulink environment. It is mainly composed of a photovoltaic field and a storage unit (lead acid batteries, HESU, or hybrid storage HESU/batteries). The system component sizing is achieved in order to ensure the complete system autonomy over a whole year of operation. The simulator is tested with 160 load profiles (1 kW as a yearly mean value) and three locations (Algeria, France and Norway). Two coefficients are set in order to quantify the correlation between the power consumption of the end user and the renewable resource availability at both daily and yearly scales. Among the tested cases, a limit value of the yearly correlation coefficient came out, enabling to recommend the use of the most adapted storage to a considered case. There are cases for which using HESU instead of lead acid batteries can increase the system efficiency, decrease the size of the photovoltaic field and improve the exploitation of the renewable resource. In addition, hybridization of HESU with batteries always leads to system enhancements regarding its sizing and performance, with an efficiency increase by 10 to 40 % depending on the considered location. The good agreement between the simulation data and field data gathered on real systems enabled the validation of the models used in this study. (author)

  3. The Freshman Odyssey: Classical Metaphors for Counseling College Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandoz, Jeff

    This paper highlights the use of analogies and metaphors in counseling sessions with a focus on the college freshman experience as a living, contemporary example of how clients may experience mythic themes in their lives. Drawing from the ideas of Joseph Campbell, characters found in classical Greek mythology, as well as contemporary myths as…

  4. [Clinical application of stand-alone MC+PEEK cage in the anterior cervical fusion].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Bing; Cao, Yan-Qing; Pan, Hong; Zhu, Cheng-Run; Zhang, Xiao-Jun; Tao, Yue-Feng; Liu, Zhen

    2015-04-01

    To explore the effect of clinical application of stand-alone MC+PEEK cage in anterior cervical fusion. From January 2011 to January 2014,50 patients were treated with the MC+PEEK cage filled with autogenous cancellous illic-bone graft after anterior cervical discectomy. There were 22 patients with cervical spondylosis,26 patients with traumatic cervical disc herniation, 2 patients with cervical instability in these patients. There were 32 males and 18 females, aged from 30 to 79 years old with an average of 53.30 years old. There were 32 patients with single segment, 15 patients with double segments and 3 patients with three segments. Cervical AP and lateral and the flexion-extension X-rays were regularly taken in order to assess the cervical physiological curvature, the graft fusion and internal fixation related complications. Nerve function, clinical effect and bone fusion were respectively evaluated according to Japan Orthopedic Association (JOA), Otani grade and Suk method. All patients were followed up from 6 to 36 months with an average of 20 months. No correlated surgical complications were found and all patients obtained bony fusion with an average time of 4.30 months. JOA score had significantly improvement after surgery (P cervical fusion can obtain satisfactory clinical effect with less operation injury and reduce the complications. It is a better fusion method in anterior cervical fusion.

  5. On the economics of stand-alone renewable hybrid power plants in remote regions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrakopoulou, Fontina

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Economic evaluation of three renewable hybrid power plants for off-grid operation. • The high electricity cost of remote regions increases the competitiveness of renewable energy. • The proposed plants are economically viable when compared to the existing situation. • The zero direct emissions of the plants constitute an additional advantage of the plants. - Abstract: In recent years ever more examples of regions that have managed to achieve or orientate themselves toward renewable energy sufficiency are emerging. However, actions to create energy autonomy are mainly the result of isolated activities and they are less driven from fully organized movements. In addition, total energy independence without the support of a centralized electrical grid is yet to be achieved. The objectives of this work are to investigate the associated costs of stand-alone renewable hybrid power plants on a Greek island and compare them to the cost of the currently used fossil-fuel-based conventional plant. The plants examined here are designed to fully cover the electricity needs of the island. Islands may face numerous energy problems and rely heavily on foreign and environmentally-harmful fuels. It is shown that the relatively high cost of electricity of such a remote region can increase the competitiveness and promote the wider incorporation of technologies based on renewable energy sources that may, in other cases, seem economically inferior to business-as-usual energy solutions.

  6. MIRNA-DISTILLER: a stand-alone application to compile microRNA data from databases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica K. Rieger

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNA are small non-coding RNA molecules of ~22 nucleotides which regulate large numbers of genes by binding to seed sequences at the 3’-UTR of target gene transcripts. The target mRNA is then usually degraded or translation is inhibited, although thus resulting in posttranscriptional down regulation of gene expression at the mRNA and/or protein level. Due to the bioinformatic difficulties in predicting functional miRNA binding sites, several publically available databases have been developed that predict miRNA binding sites based on different algorithms. The parallel use of different databases is currently indispensable, but highly uncomfortable and time consuming, especially when working with numerous genes of interest. We have therefore developed a new stand-alone program, termed MIRNA-DISTILLER, which allows to compile miRNA data for given target genes from public databases. Currently implemented are TargetScan, microCosm, and miRDB, which may be queried independently, pairwise, or together to calculate the respective intersections. Data are stored locally for application of further analysis tools including freely definable biological parameter filters, customized output-lists for both miRNAs and target genes, and various graphical facilities. The software, a data example file and a tutorial are freely available at http://www.ikp-stuttgart.de/content/language1/html/10415.asp

  7. MIRNA-DISTILLER: A Stand-Alone Application to Compile microRNA Data from Databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rieger, Jessica K; Bodan, Denis A; Zanger, Ulrich M

    2011-01-01

    MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small non-coding RNA molecules of ∼22 nucleotides which regulate large numbers of genes by binding to seed sequences at the 3'-untranslated region of target gene transcripts. The target mRNA is then usually degraded or translation is inhibited, although thus resulting in posttranscriptional down regulation of gene expression at the mRNA and/or protein level. Due to the bioinformatic difficulties in predicting functional miRNA binding sites, several publically available databases have been developed that predict miRNA binding sites based on different algorithms. The parallel use of different databases is currently indispensable, but highly uncomfortable and time consuming, especially when working with numerous genes of interest. We have therefore developed a new stand-alone program, termed MIRNA-DISTILLER, which allows to compile miRNA data for given target genes from public databases. Currently implemented are TargetScan, microCosm, and miRDB, which may be queried independently, pairwise, or together to calculate the respective intersections. Data are stored locally for application of further analysis tools including freely definable biological parameter filters, customized output-lists for both miRNAs and target genes, and various graphical facilities. The software, a data example file and a tutorial are freely available at http://www.ikp-stuttgart.de/content/language1/html/10415.asp.

  8. A Survey of Gender Biases of Freshman Students toward Engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaer, Barbara; And Others

    1991-01-01

    A survey of 724 freshman engineering orientation students investigated the significance of 5 literature-cited barriers to women's success in engineering--sexual discrimination, financial concerns, academic comfort, career awareness, and locus of control. Significant main effects were found for gender but not ethnic group. The instrument is…

  9. College Freshman Stress and Weight Change: Differences by Gender

    Science.gov (United States)

    Economos, Christina D.; Hildebrandt, M. Lise; Hyatt, Raymond R.

    2008-01-01

    Objectives: To examine how stress and health-related behaviors affect freshman weight change by gender. Methods: Three hundred ninety-six freshmen completed a 40-item health behavior survey and height and weight were collected at baseline and follow-up. Results: Average weight change was 5.04 lbs for males, 5.49 lbs for females. Weight gain was…

  10. Stand alone solution for generation and storage of hydrogen and electric energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gany, Alon; Elitzur, Shani; Valery

    2015-01-01

    A novel method enabling safe, simple, and controllable production, storage, and use of hydrogen as well as compact electric energy storage and generation via hydrogen- oxygen fuel cells has been developed. The technology indicates, in our opinion, a significant milestone in the search for practical utilization of hydrogen as an alternative energy source. It consists of an original thermal-chemical treatment / activation of aluminum powders to react spontaneously with water to produce hydrogen at regular conditions according to the reaction Al+3H 2 O=Al (OH) 3 +3/2H 2 . Only about 1-2% of lithium, based activator is applied, and any type of water including tap water, sea water and waste water may be used, making the method attractive for variety of applications. 11% of hydrogen compared to the aluminum mass can be obtained, and our experiments reveal 90% reaction yield and more. The technology has a clear advantage over batteries, providing specific electric energy of over 2 kW h/kg Al, 5-10 times greater than that of commonly used lithium-ion batteries. Combined with a fuel cell it may be particularly beneficial for stand-alone electric power generators, where there is no access to the grid. Such applications include emergency generators (e.g., in hospitals), electricity backup systems, and power generation in remote communication posts. Automotive applications may be considered as well. The technology provides green electric energy and quiet operation as well as additional heat energy resulting mainly from the exothermic aluminum-water reaction. (full text)

  11. Use of Super-Capacitor to Enhance Charging Performance of Stand-Alone Solar PV System

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, B. J.

    2011-01-01

    Introduction: The battery charging performance in a stand-alone solar PV system affects the PV system efficiency and the load operating time. The New Energy Center of National Taiwan University has been devoted to the development of a PWM charging technique to continue charging the lead-acid battery after the overcharge point to increase the battery storage capacity by more than 10%. The present study intends to use the super-capacitor to further increase the charge capacity before the overcharge point of the battery. The super-capacitor is connected in parallel to the lead-acid battery. This will reduce the overall charging impedance during the charge and increase the charging current, especially in sunny weather. A system dynamics model of the lead-acid battery and super-capacitor was derived and the control system simulation was carried out to predict the charging performance for various weathers. It shows that the overall battery impedance decreases and charging power increases with increasing solar radiation. An outdoor comparative test for two identical PV systems with and without supercapacitor was carried out. The use of super-capacitor is shown to be able to increase the lead-acid charging capacity by more than 25% at sunny weather and 10% in cloudy weather. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.

  12. Grid parity analysis of stand-alone hybrid microgrids: A comparative study of Germany, Pakistan, South Africa and the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siddiqui, Jawad M.

    Grid parity for alternative energy resources occurs when the cost of electricity generated from the source is lower than or equal to the purchasing price of power from the electricity grid. This thesis aims to quantitatively analyze the evolution of hybrid stand-alone microgrids in the US, Germany, Pakistan and South Africa to determine grid parity for a solar PV/Diesel/Battery hybrid system. The Energy System Model (ESM) and NREL's Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software are used to simulate the microgrid operation and determine a Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) figure for each location. This cost per kWh is then compared with two distinct estimates of future retail electricity prices at each location to determine grid parity points. Analysis results reveal that future estimates of LCOE for such hybrid stand-alone microgrids range within the 35-55 cents/kWh over the 25 year study period. Grid parity occurs earlier in locations with higher power prices or unreliable grids. For Pakistan grid parity is already here, while Germany hits parity between the years 2023-2029. Results for South Africa suggest a parity time range of the years 2040-2045. In the US, places with low grid prices do not hit parity during the study period. Sensitivity analysis results reveal the significant impact of financing and the cost of capital on these grid parity points, particularly in developing markets of Pakistan and South Africa. Overall, the study helps conclude that variations in energy markets may determine the fate of emerging energy technologies like microgrids. However, policy interventions have a significant impact on the final outcome, such as the grid parity in this case. Measures such as eliminating uncertainty in policies and improving financing can help these grids overcome barriers in developing economies, where they may find a greater use much earlier in time.

  13. Solar photovoltaic applications seminar: design, installation and operation of small, stand-alone photovoltaic power systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-07-01

    This seminar material was developed primarily to provide solar photovoltaic (PV) applied engineering technology to the Federal community. An introduction to photoconductivity, semiconductors, and solar photovoltaic cells is included along with a demonstration of specific applications and application identification. The seminar details general systems design and incorporates most known information from industry, academia, and Government concerning small solar cell power system design engineering, presented in a practical and applied manner. Solar PV power system applications involve classical direct electrical energy conversion and electric power system analysis and synthesis. Presentations and examples involve a variety of disciplines including structural analysis, electric power and load analysis, reliability, sizing and optimization; and, installation, operation and maintenance. Four specific system designs are demonstrated: water pumping, domestic uses, navigational and aircraft aids, and telecommunications. All of the applications discussed are for small power requirement (under 2 kilowatts), stand-alone systems to be used in remote locations. Also presented are practical lessons gained from currently installed and operating systems, problems at sites and their resolution, a logical progression through each major phase of system acquisition, as well as thorough design reviews for each application.

  14. Comparative analysis of distributed MPPT controllers for partially shaded stand alone photovoltaic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muthuramalingam, M.; Manoharan, P.S.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Analyzes the performance of ANN and ANFIS MPPT algorithms by stand alone PV system. • ISSBC with ANFIS can provide the overall efficiency higher than ANN. • CHBMLI integrate with SHE ANN modulation technique improve output voltage quality. • Simulation and hardware results show the ANFIS algorithm efficient than ANN algorithm. - Abstract: This paper presents a unique combination of an interleaved soft switched boost converter (ISSBC) run by a set of two photovoltaic panel (PV) with a distributed MPPT, suitable to guarantee MPPT even under partial shadowed conditions, managed by an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system trained by the training data derived from a particle swarm optimization (PSO–ANFIS) unit. The ISSBC is followed by a, single phase cascaded H bridge five-level inverter (CHI) driven by the individual DC outputs of the ISSBC, with selective harmonic elimination scheme to eliminate typically the seventh order harmonics. A comparison of different intelligent distributed maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms for photovoltaic (PV) system under partial shadow conditions is carried out. The use of the ISSBC guarantees mitigation of ripple and it is meant to handle higher currents with minimal switching losses. Simulation was carried out in the Matlab Simulink environment and an experimental verification with a scaled down model validated the proposed scheme. It has been thus established, by both simulation and experimental verification, that the PSO–ANFIS model of distributed MPPT scheme of control outperforms other schemes of control for MPPT

  15. Stand-Alone Lateral Interbody Fusion for the Treatment of Low-Grade Degenerative Spondylolisthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Marchi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper was to investigate the stand-alone lateral interbody fusion as a minimally invasive option for the treatment of low-grade degenerative spondylolisthesis with a minimum 24-month followup. Prospective nonrandomized observational single-center study. 52 consecutive patients (67.6±10 y/o; 73.1% female; 27.4±3.4 BMI with single-level grade I/II single-level degenerative spondylolisthesis without significant spine instability were included. Fusion procedures were performed as retroperitoneal lateral transpsoas interbody fusions without screw supplementation. The procedures were performed in average 73.2 minutes and with less than 50cc blood loss. VAS and Oswestry scores showed lasting improvements in clinical outcomes (60% and 54.5% change, resp.. The vertebral slippage was reduced in 90.4% of cases from mean values of 15.1% preoperatively to 7.4% at 6-week followup (P<0.001 and was maintained through 24 months (7.1%, P<0.001. Segmental lordosis (P<0.001 and disc height (P<0.001 were improved in postop evaluations. Cage subsidence occurred in 9/52 cases (17% and 7/52 cases (13% spine levels needed revision surgery. At the 24-month evaluation, solid fusion was observed in 86.5% of the levels treated. The minimally invasive lateral approach has been shown to be a safe and reproducible technique to treat low-grade degenerative spondylolisthesis.

  16. Is the radiographic subsidence of stand-alone cages associated with adverse clinical outcomes after cervical spine fusion? An observational cohort study with 2-year follow-up outcome scoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zajonz, Dirk; Franke, Anne-Catherine; von der Höh, Nicolas; Voelker, Anna; Moche, Michael; Gulow, Jens; Heyde, Christoph-Eckhard

    2014-01-01

    The stand-alone treatment of degenerative cervical spine pathologies is a proven method in clinical practice. However, its impact on subsidence, the resulting changes to the profile of the cervical spine and the possible influence of clinical results compared to treatment with additive plate osteosynthesis remain under discussion until present. This study was designed as a retrospective observational cohort study to test the hypothesis that radiographic subsidence of cervical cages is not associated with adverse clinical outcomes. 33 cervical segments were treated surgically by ACDF with stand-alone cage in 17 patients (11 female, 6 male), mean age 56 years (33-82 years), and re-examined after eight and twenty-six months (mean) by means of radiology and score assessment (Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (MOS-SF 36), Oswestry Neck Disability Index (ONDI), painDETECT questionnaire and the visual analogue scale (VAS)). Subsidence was observed in 50.5% of segments (18/33) and 70.6% of patients (12/17). 36.3% of cases of subsidence (12/33) were observed after eight months during mean time of follow-up 1. After 26 months during mean time of follow-up 2, full radiographic fusion was seen in 100%. MOS-SF 36, ONDI and VAS did not show any significant difference between cases with and without subsidence in the two-sample t-test. Only in one type of scoring (painDETECT questionnaire) did a statistically significant difference in t-Test emerge between the two groups (p = 0.03; α = 0.05). However, preoperative painDETECT score differ significantly between patients with subsidence (13.3 falling to 12.6) and patients without subsidence (7.8 dropped to 6.3). The radiological findings indicated 100% healing after stand-alone treatment with ACDF. Subsidence occurred in 50% of the segments treated. No impact on the clinical results was detected in the medium-term study period.

  17. Hot-Spots and Holiness: Faith-Based Topics in Freshman Composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worth, Jan

    For an instructor of freshman composition at the University of Michigan at Flint, faith-based writing topics offer particular challenges and sometimes intersect in troubling ways with her own prejudices and personal history as a teacher and as a person. But if handled correctly, she believes that a teacher's interaction with students about…

  18. Integration of hydrogen energy technologies in stand-alone power systems analysis of the current potential for applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zoulias, E.I.; Lymberopoulos, N.; Tsoutsos, T.; Glockner, R.; Mydske, H.J.; Vosseler, I.; Gavalda, O.; Taylor, P.

    2006-01-01

    The European study entitled: 'Market Potential Analysis for Introduction of Hydrogen Energy Technology in Stand-Alone Power Systems (H-SAPS)' aimed to establish a broad understanding of the market potential for H-SAPS and provide a basis for promoting in wide scale new technological applications. The scope of the study was limited to small and medium installations, up to a few hundred kW power rating and based on RE as the primary energy source. The potential for hydrogen technology in SAPS was investigated through an assessment of the technical potential for hydrogen, the market analysis and the evaluation of external factors. The results are mostly directed towards action by governments and the research community but also industry involvement is identified. The results include targeted market research, establishment of individual cost targets, regulatory changes to facilitate alternative grid solutions, information and capacity building, focused technology research and bridging the technology gaps. (author)

  19. Multi-Objective Optimal Design of Stand-Alone Hybrid Energy System Using Entropy Weight Method Based on HOMER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiaxin Lu

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Implementation of hybrid energy system (HES is generally considered as a promising way to satisfy the electrification requirements for remote areas. In the present study, a novel decision making methodology is proposed to identify the best compromise configuration of HES from a set of feasible combinations obtained from HOMER. For this purpose, a multi-objective function, which comprises four crucial and representative indices, is formulated by applying the weighted sum method. The entropy weight method is employed as a quantitative methodology for weighting factors calculation to enhance the objectivity of decision-making. Moreover, the optimal design of a stand-alone PV/wind/battery/diesel HES in Yongxing Island, China, is conducted as a case study to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Both the simulation and optimization results indicate that, the optimization method is able to identify the best trade-off configuration among system reliability, economy, practicability and environmental sustainability. Several useful conclusions are given by analyzing the operation of the best configuration.

  20. A practical multi-objective design approach for optimum exhaust heat recovery from hybrid stand-alone PV-diesel power systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yousefi, Moslem; Kim, Joong Hoon; Hooshyar, Danial; Yousefi, Milad; Sahari, Khairul Salleh Mohamed; Ahmad, Rodina Binti

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Heat recovery exchanger is designed based on practical conditions of a hybrid power system. • Off-the-grid electricity system modeling and analysis using micro-grid analysis software HOMER. • NSGA-II is used for the multi-objective design optimization task. • A new local search is proposed to incorporate the engineering knowledge in NSGA-II. • The proposed approach outperforms the existing ones. - Abstract: Integration of solar power and diesel generators (DGs) together with battery storage has proven to be an efficient choice for stand-alone power systems (SAPS). For higher energy efficiency, heat recovery from exhaust gas of the DG can also be employed to supply all or a portion of the thermal energy demand. Although the design of such heat recovery systems (HRSs) has been studied, the effect of solar power integration has not been taken into account. In this paper, a new approach for practical design of these systems based on varying engine loads is presented. Fast and elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) equipped with a novel local search was used for the design process, considering conflicting objectives of annual energy recovery and total cost of the system, and six design variables. An integrated power system, designed for a remote SAPS, was used to evaluate the design approach. The optimum power supply system was first designed using the commercial software Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER), based on power demand and global solar energy in the region. Heat recovery design was based on the outcome of HOMER for DG hourly load, considering different power scenarios. The proposed approach improves the annual heat recovery of the PV/DG/battery system by 4%, PV/battery by 1.7%, and stand-alone DG by 1.8% when compared with a conventional design based on nominal DG load. The results prove that the proposed approach is effective and that load calculations should be taken into account prior to

  1. Factors that can influence the economic feasibility of stand-alone and grid-connected photovoltaic systems: case studies using the software AVES-F

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blasques, L.C.M.; Pinho, J.T.

    2004-01-01

    This paper presents case studies of economic feasibility of solar photovoltaic systems using the software AVES-F (Analysis of Economic Feasibility of Photovoltaic Systems), developed by the authors, considering cases of stand-alone and grid-connected systems. The software takes into account several factors that can influence the economic feasibility of these kind of systems, like load to be supplied, distance to the grid, the use regime of the system, applied subsidies and others. The main goal of this paper is to analyze some of these factors and to observe how they can affect the economics of PV systems for electricity generation. (authors)

  2. "Candidatus Fokinia solitaria", a Novel "Stand-Alone" Symbiotic Lineage of Midichloriaceae (Rickettsiales.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franziska Szokoli

    Full Text Available Recently, the family Midichloriaceae has been described within the bacterial order Rickettsiales. It includes a variety of bacterial endosymbionts detected in different metazoan host species belonging to Placozoa, Cnidaria, Arthropoda and Vertebrata. Representatives of Midichloriaceae are also considered possible etiological agents of certain animal diseases. Midichloriaceae have been found also in protists like ciliates and amoebae. The present work describes a new bacterial endosymbiont, "Candidatus Fokinia solitaria", retrieved from three different strains of a novel Paramecium species isolated from a wastewater treatment plant in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil. Symbionts were characterized through the full-cycle rRNA approach: SSU rRNA gene sequencing and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH with three species-specific oligonucleotide probes. In electron micrographs, the tiny rod-shaped endosymbionts (1.2 x 0.25-0.35 μm in size were not surrounded by a symbiontophorous vacuole and were located in the peripheral host cytoplasm, stratified in the host cortex in between the trichocysts or just below them. Frequently, they occurred inside autolysosomes. Phylogenetic analyses of Midichloriaceae apparently show different evolutionary pathways within the family. Some genera, such as "Ca. Midichloria" and "Ca. Lariskella", have been retrieved frequently and independently in different hosts and environmental surveys. On the contrary, others, such as Lyticum, "Ca. Anadelfobacter", "Ca. Defluviella" and the presently described "Ca. Fokinia solitaria", have been found only occasionally and associated to specific host species. These last are the only representatives in their own branches thus far. Present data do not allow to infer whether these genera, which we named "stand-alone lineages", are an indication of poorly sampled organisms, thus underrepresented in GenBank, or represent fast evolving, highly adapted evolutionary lineages.

  3. Synchronized Pulsed dc - dc Converter as Maximum Power Position Tracker with Wide Load and Insolation Variation for Stand Alone PV System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hardik, P. Desai; Ranjan Maheshwari

    2011-01-01

    This paper investigates the interest focused on employing parallel connected dc-dc converter with high tracking effectiveness under wide variation in environmental conditions (Insolation) and wide load variation. dc-dc converter is an essential part of the stand alone PV system. Paper also presents an approach on how duty cycle for maximum power position (MPP) is adjusted by taking care of varying load conditions and without iterative steps. Synchronized PWM pulses are employed for the converter. High tracking efficiency is achieved with continuous input and inductor current. In this approach, the converter can he utilized in buck as well in boost mode. The PV system simulation was verified and experimental results were in agreement to the presented scheme. (authors)

  4. Development of a Laser-Powered Dielectric Structure-Based Accelerator as a Stand-Alone Particle Source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoder, R. B.; Travish, G.; Arab, E. R.; Fong, D.; Hoyer, Z.; Lacroix, U. H.; Vartanian, N.; Rosenzweig, J. B.

    2010-01-01

    An experimental program to develop and build a dielectric-based slab-symmetric structure (the micro-accelerator platform, or MAP) for generating and accelerating low-energy electrons is underway at UCLA and Manhattanville College. This optical acceleration structure is effectively a resonant cavity powered by a side-coupled laser, and has applications as a radiation source for medicine or industry. We present recent experimental and computational results on the accelerator, and progress toward its incorporation into a self-contained particle source. Such a particle source would incorporate a micron-scale electron emitter and a non-relativistic capture region to enable self-injection into the synchronous field within the accelerator. A prototype of the accelerator itself has been constructed from candidate dielectric materials using micromanufacturing techniques; the current status of the testing program is described. A novel electron emitter incorporating pyroelectric crystals with field-enhancing tips has been demonstrated to produce steady currents; the results are dependent on tip geometry, and appear suitable for injection into a microstructure. Extension of the MAP concept to non-relativistic velocities, as in the stand-alone source, requires a tapered structure that gives rise to numerous complications including beam defocusing and manufacturing challenges; approaches for addressing these complications are mentioned.

  5. Effects of ozone as a stand-alone and coagulation-aid treatment on the reduction of trihalomethanes precursors from high DOC and hardness water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadrnourmohamadi, Mehrnaz; Gorczyca, Beata

    2015-04-15

    This study investigates the effect of ozone as a stand-alone and coagulation aid on the removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from the water with a high level of DOC (13.8 mgL(-1)) and calcium hardness (270 mgL(-1)) CaCO3. Natural water collected from the Assiniboine River (Manitoba, Canada) was used in this study. Effectiveness of ozone treatment was evaluated by measurement of DOC, DOC fractions, UV254, and trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP). Additionally, zeta potential and dissolved calcium concentration were measured to discern the mechanism of ozone reactions. Results indicated that 0.8 mg O3/mg DOC ozone stand-alone can cause up to 86% UV254 reduction and up to 27% DOC reduction. DOC fractionation results showed that ozone can change the composition of DOC in the water samples, converting the hydrophobic fractions into hydrophilic ones and resulting in the reduction of THMFP. Also, ozone caused a decrease in particle stability and dissolved calcium concentration. These simultaneous ozonation effects caused improved water flocculation and enhanced removal of DOC. This resulted in reduction of the coagulant dosage when ozone doses higher than 0.2 mg O3/mg DOC were applied prior to coagulation with ferric sulfate. Also, pre-ozonation-coagulation process achieved preferential THMFP removal for all of the ozone doses tested (0-0.8 mg O3/mg DOC), leading to a lower specific THMFP in pre-ozonated-coagulated waters than in the corresponding ozonated waters. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Incorporating Solid Modeling and Team-Based Design into Freshman Engineering Graphics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchal, Ralph O.

    2001-01-01

    Describes the integration of these topics through a major team-based design and computer aided design (CAD) modeling project in freshman engineering graphics at the University of Western Ontario. Involves n=250 students working in teams of four to design and document an original Lego toy. Includes 12 references. (Author/YDS)

  7. A Practical Model for Forecasting New Freshman Enrollment during the Application Period.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paulsen, Michael B.

    1989-01-01

    A simple and effective model for forecasting freshman enrollment during the application period is presented step by step. The model requires minimal and readily available information, uses a simple linear regression analysis on a personal computer, and provides updated monthly forecasts. (MSE)

  8. Search Improvement Process-Chaotic Optimization-Particle Swarm Optimization-Elite Retention Strategy and Improved Combined Cooling-Heating-Power Strategy Based Two-Time Scale Multi-Objective Optimization Model for Stand-Alone Microgrid Operation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fei Wang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The optimal dispatching model for a stand-alone microgrid (MG is of great importance to its operation reliability and economy. This paper aims at addressing the difficulties in improving the operational economy and maintaining the power balance under uncertain load demand and renewable generation, which could be even worse in such abnormal conditions as storms or abnormally low or high temperatures. A new two-time scale multi-objective optimization model, including day-ahead cursory scheduling and real-time scheduling for finer adjustments, is proposed to optimize the operational cost, load shedding compensation and environmental benefit of stand-alone MG through controllable load (CL and multi-distributed generations (DGs. The main novelty of the proposed model is that the synergetic response of CL and energy storage system (ESS in real-time scheduling offset the operation uncertainty quickly. And the improved dispatch strategy for combined cooling-heating-power (CCHP enhanced the system economy while the comfort is guaranteed. An improved algorithm, Search Improvement Process-Chaotic Optimization-Particle Swarm Optimization-Elite Retention Strategy (SIP-CO-PSO-ERS algorithm with strong searching capability and fast convergence speed, was presented to deal with the problem brought by the increased errors between actual renewable generation and load and prior predictions. Four typical scenarios are designed according to the combinations of day types (work day or weekend and weather categories (sunny or rainy to verify the performance of the presented dispatch strategy. The simulation results show that the proposed two-time scale model and SIP-CO-PSO-ERS algorithm exhibit better performance in adaptability, convergence speed and search ability than conventional methods for the stand-alone MG’s operation.

  9. Effect of State Feedback Coupling and System Delays on the Transient Performance of Stand-Alone VSI with LC Output Filter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Federico, de Bosio; de Sousa Ribeiro, Luiz Antonio; Freijedo Fernandez, Francisco Daniel

    2016-01-01

    The influence of state feedback coupling in the dynamics performance of power converters for stand-alone microgrids is investigated. Computation and PWM delays are the main factors that limit the achievable bandwidth of current regulators in digital implementations. In particular, the performance...... of state feedback decoupling is degraded because of these delays. Two decoupling techniques to improve the transient response of the system are investigated, named non-ideal and ideal capacitor voltage decoupling respectively. In particular, the latter solution consists in leading the capacitor voltage...... on the state feedback decoupling path in order to compensate for system delays. Practical implementation issues are discussed with reference to both the decoupling techniques. A design methodology for the voltage loop, that considers the closed loop transfer functions developed for the inner loop, is also...

  10. Tinkering self-efficacy and team interaction on freshman engineering design teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, Arlisa Labrie

    This study utilizes Bandura's theory of self-efficacy as a framework to examine the development of tinkering skills white working on a freshman engineering design team. The four sources of self-efficacy were analyzed in the context of tinkering within the design team. The research question, 'Does tinkering self-efficacy change for female students during the Freshman Engineering Design class while working on mixed sex teams?', was addressed using quantitative data collection and field observations. Approximately 41 students enrolled in a freshman engineering design class at a public university in the southwest participated by providing self-reports about their tinkering involvement during each design project. In addition, three mixed-sex student teams were observed while working to complete the course design projects. An observation protocol based on Bandura's sources of self efficacy, was used to document tinkering interactions within the three observed teams. The results revealed that Bandura's sources of self-efficacy influenced tinkering involvement. The self-efficacy source, performance accomplishment measured through prior tinkering experience, was the most influential on tinkering involvement. Unlike Bandura's ranking of influence, verbal persuasion was shown to correlate with more tinkering behaviors than the observation of others. The number of females on a team had no impact on tinkering involvement. Tinkering involvement did not change as students progressed from one project to another. However, the competitive nature of the design project appeared to have a negative impact on tinkering involvement and the division of tasks within the team. In addition, a difference was found in the female students' perception of their tinkering involvement and observation of their tinkering involvement. The findings suggest that effective implementation of teamwork including teamwork preparation, more emphasis on the design process and the elimination of competition

  11. Feasibility study and energy conversion analysis of stand-alone hybrid renewable energy system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baghdadi, Fazia; Mohammedi, Kamal; Diaf, Said; Behar, Omar

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Hybrid stand-alone wind–solar–fossil power system is analyzed. • Measurement data are used to evaluate system performance. • The proposed system can generate about 70% from renewables. • Such a hybrid plant is very promising for remote regions in Algeria. - Abstract: There is a great interest in the development of renewable power technologies in Algeria, and more particularly hybrid concept. The present paper has investigated the performance of hybrid PV–Wind–Diesel–Battery configuration based on hourly measurements of Adrar climate (southern Algeria). Data of global solar radiation, ambient temperature and wind speed for a period of one year have been used. Firstly, the proposed hybrid system has been optimized by means of HOMER software. The optimization process has been carried out taking into account renewable resources potential and energy demand; while maximizing renewable electricity use and fuel saving are the purpose. In the second step, a mathematical model has been developed to ensure efficient energy management on the basis of various operation strategies. The analysis has shown that renewable energy system (PV–Wind) is able to supply about 70% of the demand. Wind power has ranked first with 43% of the annual total electricity production followed by diesel generator (with 31%) while the remaining fraction is being to PV panels. In this context, 69% of the fossil fuel can be saved when using the proposed hybrid configuration instead of the diesel generators that are currently installed in most remote regions in Algeria. Such a concept is very promising to meet the focus of renewable energy program announced in 2011.

  12. The Impact of Course Delivery Systems on Student Achievement and Sense of Community: A Comparison of Learning Community versus Stand-Alone Classroom Settings in an Open-Enrollment Inner City Public Community College

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bandyopadhyay, Pamela

    2010-01-01

    This study examined the effects of two types of course delivery systems (learning community classroom environments versus stand-alone classroom environments) on the achievement of students who were simultaneously enrolled in remedial and college-level social science courses at an inner city open-enrollment public community college. This study was…

  13. Problem drinking among at-risk college students: The examination of Greek involvement, freshman status, and history of mental health problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez, Haley S; Klanecky, Alicia K; McChargue, Dennis E

    2018-02-06

    Scarce research has examined the combined effect of mental health difficulties and demographic risk factors such as freshman status and Greek affiliation in understanding college problem drinking. The current study is interested in looking at the interaction among freshman status, Greek affiliation, and mental health difficulties. Undergraduate students (N = 413) from a private and public Midwestern university completed a large online survey battery between January 2009 and April 2013. Data from both schools were aggregated for the analyses. After accounting for gender, age, and school type, the three-way interaction indicated that the highest drinking levels were reported in freshman students who reported a history of mental health problems although were not involved in Greek life. Findings are discussed in the context of perceived social norms, as well as alcohol-related screenings and intervention opportunities on college campuses.

  14. Approaches for developing a sizing method for stand-alone PV systems with variable demand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Posadillo, R. [Grupo de Investigacion en Energias y Recursos Renovables, Dpto. de Fisica Aplicada, E.P.S., Universidad de Cordoba, Avda. Menendez Pidal s/n, 14004 Cordoba (Spain); Lopez Luque, R. [Grupo de Investigacion de Fisica para las Energias y Recursos Renovables, Dpto. de Fisica Aplicada. Edificio C2 Campus de Rabanales, 14071 Cordoba (Spain)

    2008-05-15

    Accurate sizing is one of the most important aspects to take into consideration when designing a stand-alone photovoltaic system (SAPV). Various methods, which differ in terms of their simplicity or reliability, have been developed for this purpose. Analytical methods, which seek functional relationships between variables of interest to the sizing problem, are one of these approaches. A series of rational considerations are presented in this paper with the aim of shedding light upon the basic principles and results of various sizing methods proposed by different authors. These considerations set the basis for a new analytical method that has been designed for systems with variable monthly energy demands. Following previous approaches, the method proposed is based on the concept of loss of load probability (LLP) - a parameter that is used to characterize system design. The method includes information on the standard deviation of loss of load probability ({sigma}{sub LLP}) and on two new parameters: annual number of system failures (f) and standard deviation of annual number of failures ({sigma}{sub f}). The method proves useful for sizing a PV system in a reliable manner and serves to explain the discrepancies found in the research on systems with LLP<10{sup -2}. We demonstrate that reliability depends not only on the sizing variables and on the distribution function of solar radiation, but on the minimum value as well, which in a given location and with a monthly average clearness index, achieves total solar radiation on the receiver surface. (author)

  15. A Grounded Theory Investigation Into Sophomore Students' Recall of Depression During Their Freshman Year in College: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandy, Julie M; Kessler, Theresa A; Grabarek, Christina H

    2018-04-17

    Using a grounded theory approach, the current descriptive qualitative design was conducted with sophomore students to understand the meaning participants gave their freshman experiences with depression. Twelve participants were recruited using scripted class announcements across campus. After informed consent, interviews began with the question: What was the experience of your freshman year in college? All interviews were completed with the primary investigator and transcribed verbatim. Interviews were analyzed using constant comparative methodology. Data collection continued until saturation was achieved. Four major categories emerged, including the category of symptoms and emotions. This category included the subcategories expressions of stress, changes in eating habits, sleep issues, and procrastination. Descriptive examples of each were found throughout the interview data. With greater understanding of living with depression as a college freshman, health care and college student affairs professionals will have additional evidence to guide their practices. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, xx(x),xx-xx.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

  16. A stand alone computer system to aid the development of mirror fusion test facility RF heating systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, R.A.

    1983-01-01

    The Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF-B) control system architecture requires the Supervisory Control and Diagnostic System (SCDS) to communicate with a LSI-11 Local Control Computer (LCC) that in turn communicates via a fiber optic link to CAMAC based control hardware located near the machine. In many cases, the control hardware is very complex and requires a sizable development effort prior to being integrated into the overall MFTF-B system. One such effort was the development of the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) system. It became clear that a stand alone computer system was needed to simulate the functions of SCDS. This paper describes the hardware and software necessary to implement the SCDS Simulation Computer (SSC). It consists of a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) LSI-11 computer and a Winchester/Floppy disk operating under the DEC RT-11 operating system. All application software for MFTF-B is programmed in PASCAL, which allowed us to adapt procedures originally written for SCDS to the SSC. This nearly identical software interface means that software written during the equipment development will be useful to the SCDS programmers in the integration phase

  17. Optimum capacity determination of stand-alone hybrid generation system considering cost and reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Hung-Cheng

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► This paper presents a methodology for the installation capacity optimization. ► Hybrid generation system is optimized by application of adaptive genetic algorithm. ► A cost investigation is made under various conditions and component characteristics. ► The optimization scheme is validated to meet the annual power load demand. -- Abstract: The aim of this work is to present an optimization methodology for the installation capacity of a stand-alone hybrid generation system, taking into consideration the cost and reliability. Firstly, on the basis of derived steady state models of a wind generator (WG), a photovoltaic array (PV), a battery and an inverter, the hybrid generation system is modeled for the purpose of capacity optimization. Secondly, the power system is analyzed for determining both the system structure and the operation control strategy. Thirdly, according to hourly weather database of wind speed, temperature and solar irradiation, annual power generation capacity is estimated for the system match design in order that an annual power load demand can be met. The capacity determination of a hybrid generation system becomes complicated as a result of the uncertainty in the renewable energy together with load demand and the nonlinearity of system components. Aimed at the power system reliability and the cost minimization, the capacity of a hybrid generation system is optimized by application of an adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) to individual power generation units. A total cost investigation is made under various conditions, such as wind generator power curves, battery discharge depth and the loss of load probability (LOLP). At the end of this work, the capacity of a hybrid generation system is optimized at two installation sites, namely the offshore Orchid Island and Wuchi in Taiwan. The optimization scheme is validated to optimize power capacities of a photovoltaic array, a battery and a wind turbine generator with a relative

  18. Modeling and control design of a stand alone wind energy conversion system based on functional model predictive control

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kassem, Ahmed M. [Beni-Suef University, Electrical Dept., Beni Suef (Egypt)

    2012-09-15

    This paper investigates the application of the model predictive control (MPC) approach to control the voltage and frequency of a stand alone wind generation system. This scheme consists of a wind turbine which drives an induction generator feeding an isolated load. A static VAR compensator is connected at the induction generator terminals to regulate the load voltage. The rotor speed, and thereby the load frequency are controlled via adjusting the mechanical power input using the blade pitch-angle. The MPC is used to calculate the optimal control actions including system constraints. To alleviate computational effort and to reduce numerical problems, particularly in large prediction horizon, an exponentially weighted functional model predictive control (FMPC) is employed. Digital simulations have been carried out in order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. The proposed controller has been tested through step changes in the wind speed and the load impedance. Simulation results show that adequate performance of the proposed wind energy scheme has been achieved. Moreover, this scheme is robust against the parameters variation and eliminates the influence of modeling and measurement errors. (orig.)

  19. Reorganizing Freshman Business Mathematics II: Authentic Assessment in Mathematics through Professional Memos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Kris; Emerson, Allen

    2008-01-01

    The first part of this two-part paper [see EJ787497] described the development of a new freshman business mathematics (FBM) course at our college. In this paper, we discuss our assessment tool, the business memo, as a venue for students to apply mathematical skills, via mathematical modelling, to realistic business problems. These memos have…

  20. The international phase 4 validation study of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32: a stand-alone measure of spiritual wellbeing (SWB) for people receiving palliative care for cancer

    OpenAIRE

    Vivat, B.; Young, T.; Winstanley, J.; Arraras, J.; Black, K.; Boyle, F.; Brédart, A.; Costantini, A.; Guo, J.; Irarrazaval, M. E.; Kobayashi, K.; Kruizinga, R.; Navarro, M.; Omidvari, S.; Rohde, G. E.

    2017-01-01

    The EORTC Quality of Life (QL) Group has just completed the final phase (field-testing and validation) of an international project to develop a stand-alone measure of spiritual wellbeing (SWB) for palliative cancer patients. Participants (n= 451) - from 14 countries on four continents; 54% female; 188 Christian, 50 Muslim, 156 with no religion - completed a provisional 36-item measure of SWB plus the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL (PAL), then took part in a structured debriefing interview. All items showe...

  1. Techno-economic assessment of FT unit for synthetic diesel production in existing stand-alone biomass gasification plant using process simulation tool

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hunpinyo, Piyapong; Narataruksa, Phavanee; Tungkamani, Sabaithip

    2014-01-01

    For alternative thermo-chemical conversion process route via gasification, biomass can be gasified to produce syngas (mainly CO and H2). On more applications of utilization, syngas can be used to synthesize fuels through the catalytic process option for producing synthetic liquid fuels...... such as Fischer-Tropsch (FT) diesel. The embedding of the FT plant into the stand-alone based on power mode plants for production of a synthetic fuel is a promising practice, which requires an extensive adaptation of conventional techniques to the special chemical needs found in a gasified biomass. Because...... there are currently no plans to engage the FT process in Thailand, the authors have targeted that this work focus on improving the FT configurations in existing biomass gasification facilities (10 MWth). A process simulation model for calculating extended unit operations in a demonstrative context is designed...

  2. Freshman Year Dropouts: Interactions between Student and School Characteristics and Student Dropout Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zvoch, Keith

    2006-01-01

    Data from a large school district in the southwestern United States were analyzed to investigate relations between student and school characteristics and high school freshman dropout patterns. Application of a multilevel logistic regression model to student dropout data revealed evidence of school-to-school differences in student dropout rates and…

  3. Adaptive Artificial intelligence based fuzzy logic MPPTcontrol for stande-alone photovoltaic system under different atmospheric conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zaghba Layachi

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available there is an increased need for analysing the effect of atmospheric variables on photovoltaic (PV production and performance. The outputs from the different PV cells in different atmospheric conditions, such as irradiation and temperature , differ from each other evidencing knowledge deficiency in PV systems [14]. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT methods are used to maximize the PV array output power by tracking continuously the maximum power point (MPP. Among all MPPT methods existing in the literature, perturb and observe (P&O is the most commonly used for its simplicity and ease of implementation; however, it presents drawbacks such as slow response speed, oscillation around the MPP in steady state, and even tracking in wrong way under rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. In order to allow a functioning around the optimal point Mopt, we have inserted a DC-DC converter (Buck–Boost for a better matching between the PV and the load. This paper, we study the Maximum power point tracking using adaptive Intelligent fuzzy logic and conventional (P&O control for stande-alone photovoltaic Array system .In particular, the performances of the controllers are analyzed under variation weather conditions with are constant temperature and variable irradiation. The proposed system is simulated by using MATLAB-SIMULINK. According to the results, fuzzy logic controller has shown better performance during the optimization.

  4. Weight Changes, Exercise, and Dietary Patterns during Freshman and Sophomore Years of College.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Racette, Susan B.; Deusinger, Susan S.; Strube, Michael J.; Highstein, Gabrielle R.; Deusinger, Robert H.

    2005-01-01

    Weight gain and behavioral patterns during college may contribute to overweight and obesity in adulthood. The aims of this study were to assess weight, exercise, and dietary patterns of 764 college students (53% women, 47% men) during freshman and sophomore years. Students had their weight and height measured and completed questionnaires about…

  5. Comparison of plate-cage construct and stand-alone anchored spacer in the surgical treatment of three-level cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a preliminary clinical study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Sheng; Liu, Zu-De; Li, Xin-Feng; Qian, Lie; Zhong, Gui-Bin; Chen, Fang-Jing

    2015-09-01

    Although stand-alone cages were advocated to be superior to plate-cage construct (PCC) because of comparable clinical outcomes and fewer plate-related complications, cage dislocation and subsidence were frequently mentioned in multilevel fusion. There are some concerns about whether these issues can be effectively prevented in multilevel anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) by stand-alone anchored spacer (SAAS). The aim was to compare clinical outcomes, radiologic parameters, and complications of PCC and SAAS in the treatment of three-level cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). This was a retrospective comparative study. A total of 38 consecutive patients with three-level CSM (ACDF with PCC, 20 patients; ACDF with SAAS, 18 patients) were reviewed. Clinical outcomes were assessed using Japanese Orthopaedic Association and Neck Disability Index. The radiologic evaluations included cervical alignment (CA), segmental angle (SA), postoperative curvature loss (PCL), and incidence of subsidence. All the aforementioned parameters were compared before and after surgery between two groups. Besides, the aforementioned results were also compared between the two groups. The complications were also recorded. The mean follow-up period was 30.3 months. No significant differences were observed in clinical outcomes between the two groups (p>.05). Additionally, no significant differences existed in fusion rate between the two groups. There were significant differences in PCL of SA and CA and correction of SA between the two groups (pSAAS group, and the potential of SAAS to reduce the incidence of postoperative dysphagia was not proven. No other complications were observed in this study. In the surgical treatment of three-level CSM, PCC is superior to SAAS in correction and maintenance of SA and avoiding cage subsidence, although the technique of ACDF with SAAS yielded encouraging clinical outcomes and high fusion rate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Comparison of Turkey’s Geographical Regions in terms of Stand-Alone PV System Design and Cost Parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nevzat Onat

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Stand-alone photovoltaic (SAPV systems are widely used in rural areas where there is no national grid or as a precaution against power outages. In this study, technical and economic analysis of a SAPV system was carried out using meteorological data for 75 province centers in seven geographical regions of Turkey. Obtained results for each province center were separated by geographical area. The averages of the centers for each region are taken as output. A calculation algorithm based on MsExcel has been established for these operations. The analyses made with the developed algorithm are repeated for five different scenarios that they cover periods of time when a constant strong load is active for all seasons (winter, spring, summer, and autumn and all year round. The developed algorithm calculates the life-cycle cost, the unit energy cost, the electrical capacity utilization rate, the amount of generated/excess energy per month, the initial investment/replacement, and operating and maintenance (O&M costs of each element. As a result, geographical regions of Turkey are compared in terms of these outputs graphically. Further investigations may include the sale of excess energy generated, small-scale PV system cost factors parallel to the grid, and the effects of government incentives.

  7. Power fluctuations suppression of stand-alone hybrid generation combining solar photovoltaic/wind turbine and fuel cell systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, Nabil A.; Miyatake, Masafumi; Al-Othman, A.K.

    2008-01-01

    In this paper a hybrid energy system combining variable speed wind turbine, solar photovoltaic and fuel cell generation systems is presented to supply continuous power to residential power applications as stand-alone loads. The wind and photovoltaic systems are used as main energy sources while the fuel cell is used as secondary or back-up energy source. Three individual dc-dc boost converters are used to control the power flow to the load. A simple and cost effective control with dc-dc converters is used for maximum power point tracking and hence maximum power extracting from the wind turbine and the solar photovoltaic systems. The hybrid system is sized to power a typical 2 kW/150 V dc load as telecommunication power plants or ac residential power applications in isolated islands continuously throughout the year. The results show that even when the sun and wind are not available; the system is reliable and available and it can supply high-quality power to the load. The simulation results which proved the accuracy of the proposed controllers are given to demonstrate the availability of the proposed system in this paper. Also, a complete description of the management and control system is presented

  8. Raising the Bar in Freshman Science Education: Student Lectures, Scientific Papers, and Independent Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Eva-Maria S.; Calhoun, Tessa R.

    2014-01-01

    This article presents the combination of three enhanced educational approaches for training future scientists. These methods incorporate skills generally not introduced in the freshman year: student-led blackboard introductions; the writing of scientific papers; and the design, execution, and presentation of an independent lab module. We tested…

  9. Exploring Cystic Fibrosis Using Bioinformatics Tools: A Module Designed for the Freshman Biology Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaorong

    2011-01-01

    We incorporated a bioinformatics component into the freshman biology course that allows students to explore cystic fibrosis (CF), a common genetic disorder, using bioinformatics tools and skills. Students learn about CF through searching genetic databases, analyzing genetic sequences, and observing the three-dimensional structures of proteins…

  10. Sports-Oriented Model of Organization of Classes on Physical Education with Freshman

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olena Sіnіcina

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the results of questionnaires, which made it possible to determine the priority kinds of sports among the freshmen of the National University of Water Management and Nature Management. Respondents were offered the choice of the following sports: volleyball, basketball, football, mini football, swimming, track and field, table tennis, wrestling, weight sport, arm wrestling, chess, checkers, boxing, fitness. It was found that 33% of male freshman who took part in the study prioritized football above all. Volleyball is the second most common kind of sport among boys (it was chosen by 16% of respondents. The third position (11.4% of respondents was taken by basketball. The least popular (0.6% of the polled is the power kind of sports – weight lifting. Among female freshman, fitness was placed on the first place by 82% of respondents; athletics occupied the second position (4.8%; in the third place was tennis (4.2% of the respondents. The sports-oriented model of organizing the physical education courses provides students of the university who have chosen a certain sport to take part in competitions of different levels.

  11. Energetic and financial investigation of a stand-alone solar-thermal Organic Rankine Cycle power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tzivanidis, Christos; Bellos, Evangelos; Antonopoulos, Kimon A.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A stand-alone solar driven Organic Rankine Cycle is optimized parametrically. • The system is optimized energetically and financially. • Nine working fluids are tested with cyclohexane to be the most suitable. • A collecting area of 25,000 m"2 parabolic trough collectors is the optimum solution. • The maximum IRR is 13.46% and the payback period is about 9 years. - Abstract: The use of solar thermal energy for electricity production is a clean and sustainable way to cover the increasing energy needs of our society. The most mature technology for capturing solar energy in high temperature levels is the parabolic trough collectors (PTC). In this study, an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) coupled with PTC is analyzed parametrically in order to be optimized financially and energetically. The first step is the thermodynamic investigation of the ORC by using various working fluids. The second step is the energetic and financial investigation of the total system which includes the solar field, the storage tank and the ORC module. By testing many combinations of collecting areas and storage tank volumes, finally cyclohexane proved to be the most suitable working fluid for producing 1 MW_e_l with PTC. Specifically, in the optimum situation a solar field of 25,000 m"2 with storage tank of about 300 m"3 leads to a payback period of 9 years and to an internal rate of return (IRR) equal to 13.46%. Moreover, an economic comparison for different commercial collectors is presented, with Eurotrough ET-150 being the financially optimum solution for this case study.

  12. Stand-Alone Solar Organic Rankine Cycle Water Pumping System and Its Economic Viability in Nepal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suresh Baral

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The current study presents the concept of a stand-alone solar organic Rankine cycle (ORC water pumping system for rural Nepalese areas. Experimental results for this technology are presented based on a prototype. The economic viability of the system was assessed based on solar radiation data of different Nepalese geographic locations. The mechanical power produced by the solar ORC is coupled with a water pumping system for various applications, such as drinking and irrigation. The thermal efficiency of the system was found to be 8% with an operating temperature of 120 °C. The hot water produced by the unit has a temperature of 40 °C. Economic assessment was done for 1-kW and 5-kW solar ORC water pumping systems. These systems use different types of solar collectors: a parabolic trough collector (PTC and an evacuated tube collector (ETC. The economic analysis showed that the costs of water are $2.47/m3 (highest and $1.86/m3 (lowest for the 1-kW system and a 150-m pumping head. In addition, the cost of water is reduced when the size of the system is increased and the pumping head is reduced. The minimum volumes of water pumped are 2190 m3 and 11,100 m3 yearly for 1 kW and 5 kW, respectively. The payback period is eight years with a profitability index of 1.6. The system is highly feasible and promising in the context of Nepal.

  13. Sadhana | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    There have been renewed interests in slip-ring induction machines due to their increasing use in both grid connected and stand-alone wind power generation schemes. Despite the squirrel cage induction generators' advantages of being brushless, low-cost, needing less maintenance and having inherent overload ...

  14. A Low-Power Wearable Stand-Alone Tongue Drive System for People With Severe Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jafari, Ali; Buswell, Nathanael; Ghovanloo, Maysam; Mohsenin, Tinoosh

    2018-02-01

    This paper presents a low-power stand-alone tongue drive system (sTDS) used for individuals with severe disabilities to potentially control their environment such as computer, smartphone, and wheelchair using their voluntary tongue movements. A low-power local processor is proposed, which can perform signal processing to convert raw magnetic sensor signals to user-defined commands, on the sTDS wearable headset, rather than sending all raw data out to a PC or smartphone. The proposed sTDS significantly reduces the transmitter power consumption and subsequently increases the battery life. Assuming the sTDS user issues one command every 20 ms, the proposed local processor reduces the data volume that needs to be wirelessly transmitted by a factor of 64, from 9.6 to 0.15 kb/s. The proposed processor consists of three main blocks: serial peripheral interface bus for receiving raw data from magnetic sensors, external magnetic interference attenuation to attenuate external magnetic field from the raw magnetic signal, and a machine learning classifier for command detection. A proof-of-concept prototype sTDS has been implemented with a low-power IGLOO-nano field programmable gate array (FPGA), bluetooth low energy, battery and magnetic sensors on a headset, and tested. At clock frequency of 20 MHz, the processor takes 6.6 s and consumes 27 nJ for detecting a command with a detection accuracy of 96.9%. To further reduce power consumption, an application-specified integrated circuit processor for the sTDS is implemented at the postlayout level in 65-nm CMOS technology with 1-V power supply, and it consumes 0.43 mW, which is 10 lower than FPGA power consumption and occupies an area of only 0.016 mm.

  15. Does Hamlet Belong in Freshman Composition? The Debatable Role of Canonical Literature in Composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzwilliam, Marie A.

    2006-01-01

    The question of whether "Hamlet" belongs in a freshman composition classroom is one that institutions are making easier to answer, though perhaps for political rather than pedagogical reasons. This article describes a project in which Marie Fitzwilliam and her colleagues were asked to engage in a dialogue with the administration on…

  16. PR2ALIGN: a stand-alone software program and a web-server for protein sequence alignment using weighted biochemical properties of amino acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuznetsov, Igor B; McDuffie, Michael

    2015-05-07

    Alignment of amino acid sequences is the main sequence comparison method used in computational molecular biology. The selection of the amino acid substitution matrix best suitable for a given alignment problem is one of the most important decisions the user has to make. In a conventional amino acid substitution matrix all elements are fixed and their values cannot be easily adjusted. Moreover, most existing amino acid substitution matrices account for the average (dis)similarities between amino acid types and do not distinguish the contribution of a specific biochemical property to these (dis)similarities. PR2ALIGN is a stand-alone software program and a web-server that provide the functionality for implementing flexible user-specified alignment scoring functions and aligning pairs of amino acid sequences based on the comparison of the profiles of biochemical properties of these sequences. Unlike the conventional sequence alignment methods that use 20x20 fixed amino acid substitution matrices, PR2ALIGN uses a set of weighted biochemical properties of amino acids to measure the distance between pairs of aligned residues and to find an optimal minimal distance global alignment. The user can provide any number of amino acid properties and specify a weight for each property. The higher the weight for a given property, the more this property affects the final alignment. We show that in many cases the approach implemented in PR2ALIGN produces better quality pair-wise alignments than the conventional matrix-based approach. PR2ALIGN will be helpful for researchers who wish to align amino acid sequences by using flexible user-specified alignment scoring functions based on the biochemical properties of amino acids instead of the amino acid substitution matrix. To the best of the authors' knowledge, there are no existing stand-alone software programs or web-servers analogous to PR2ALIGN. The software is freely available from http://pr2align.rit.albany.edu.

  17. Strategies Employed by Iranian EFL Freshman University Students in Extensive Listening: A Qualitative Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bidabadi, Farinaz Shirani; Yamat, Hamidah

    2014-01-01

    This paper discusses the findings of a qualitative study on the strategies employed by Iranian freshmen in extensive listening. A group of 12 freshman university students were purposefully selected based on their scores in the Oxford Placement Test administered. Four learners were identified as advanced, four as intermediate, and four as lower…

  18. Stand-alone power systems for the future: Optimal design, operation and control of solar-hydrogen energy systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ulleberg, Oeystein

    1998-12-31

    This thesis gives a systematic review of the fundamentals of energy systems, the governing physical and chemical laws related to energy, inherent characteristics of energy system, and the availability of the earth`s energy. It shows clearly why solar-hydrogen systems are one of the most viable options for the future. The main subject discussed is the modelling of SAPS (Stand-Alone Power Systems), with focus on photovoltaic-hydrogen energy systems. Simulation models for a transient simulation program are developed for PV-H{sub 2} components, including models for photovoltaics, water electrolysis, hydrogen storage, fuel cells, and secondary batteries. A PV-H{sub 2} demonstration plant in Juelich, Germany, is studied as a reference plant and the models validated against data from this plant. Most of the models developed were found to be sufficiently accurate to perform short-term system simulations, while all were more than accurate enough to perform long-term simulations. Finally, the verified simulation models are used to find the optimal operation and control strategies of an existing PV-H{sub 2} system. The main conclusion is that the simulation methods can be successfully used to find optimal operation and control strategies for a system with fixed design, and similar methods could be used to find alternative system designs. 148 refs., 78 figs., 31 tabs.

  19. Stand-alone power systems for the future: Optimal design, operation and control of solar-hydrogen energy systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ulleberg, Oeystein

    1999-12-31

    This thesis gives a systematic review of the fundamentals of energy systems, the governing physical and chemical laws related to energy, inherent characteristics of energy system, and the availability of the earth`s energy. It shows clearly why solar-hydrogen systems are one of the most viable options for the future. The main subject discussed is the modelling of SAPS (Stand-Alone Power Systems), with focus on photovoltaic-hydrogen energy systems. Simulation models for a transient simulation program are developed for PV-H{sub 2} components, including models for photovoltaics, water electrolysis, hydrogen storage, fuel cells, and secondary batteries. A PV-H{sub 2} demonstration plant in Juelich, Germany, is studied as a reference plant and the models validated against data from this plant. Most of the models developed were found to be sufficiently accurate to perform short-term system simulations, while all were more than accurate enough to perform long-term simulations. Finally, the verified simulation models are used to find the optimal operation and control strategies of an existing PV-H{sub 2} system. The main conclusion is that the simulation methods can be successfully used to find optimal operation and control strategies for a system with fixed design, and similar methods could be used to find alternative system designs. 148 refs., 78 figs., 31 tabs.

  20. IEA PVPS Task 3. Use of photovoltaic systems in stand-alone and island applications. 'Swiss participation'; IEA PVPS Task 3. Use of photovoltaic systems in stand-alone and island applications. 'Participation Suisse'

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Villoz, M. [Dynatex SA, Morges (Switzerland)

    2004-07-01

    This report describes the work done during five years of the second phase of Task 3 of the photovoltaic power systems programme of the International Energy Agency (IEA-PVPS). Task 3 activities were concentrated on stand-alone photovoltaic systems with the main effort on improving the quality and reducing the cost of these systems. The work was divided in 2 sub-tasks whose first one was concentrated on quality insurance schemes and second one on technical recommendations coming from practical experience. Twelve original reports have been published covering topics that can be sorted in 4 categories: the first one is dedicated on quality issues with a review of existing standards in the participating countries and a double paper giving quality assurance recommendations on project management and examples of applying these rules in practical cases. The second category dwelled on photovoltaic systems with papers on charge controllers, on lightning protection and monitoring of systems. The third category presents interesting studies on the storage of energy which remains the main subject where improvements should be made in order to lower the cost of energy; four papers describe the management and the test procedures of lead-acid batteries, how to choose a lead-acid battery and finally are there alternatives to lead-acid batteries for the storage of photovoltaic electricity. The last category worked on loads and users of renewable energy and gives a large amount of experience with loads, how to choose them and how the energy can be better used through demand side management. (author)

  1. Sadhana | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Sadhana. K NAVIN SAM. Articles written in Sadhana. Volume 42 Issue 2 February 2017 pp 173-185. Wind-driven stand-alone DFIG with battery and pumped hydro storage system · K NAVIN SAM N KUMARESAN N AMMASAI GOUNDEN · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF. A wind-driven doubly fed ...

  2. Direct Flux Control for Stand-Alone Operation Brushless Doubly Fed Induction Generators Using a Resonant-Based Sliding-Mode Control Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Ji

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a novel voltage control strategy for stand-alone operation brushless doubly fed induction generators for variable speed constant frequency wind energy conversion systems was presented and discussed. Based on the model of the power generation system, the proposed direct flux control strategy employs a nonlinear reduced-order generalized integrator-based resonant sliding-mode control approach to directly calculate and regulate the output value of converter which the control winding stator requires so as to eliminate its instantaneous errors, without involving any synchronous rotating coordinate transformations. The stability, robustness and convergence capability of the proposed control strategy were described and analyzed. Owing to the fact no additional current control inner loops are involved, the system configuration is therefore simplified and the dynamic performance enhanced. A constant converter switching frequency was achieved by using space vector pulse width modulation, which reduces the harmonics of the generator terminal voltage. In addition, the feasibility and validity of the proposed scheme is verified by experiments, and excellent steady and transient performance is achieved.

  3. Optimal Sizing of a Stand-Alone Hybrid Power System Based on Battery/Hydrogen with an Improved Ant Colony Optimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weiqiang Dong

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available A distributed power system with renewable energy sources is very popular in recent years due to the rapid depletion of conventional sources of energy. Reasonable sizing for such power systems could improve the power supply reliability and reduce the annual system cost. The goal of this work is to optimize the size of a stand-alone hybrid photovoltaic (PV/wind turbine (WT/battery (B/hydrogen system (a hybrid system based on battery and hydrogen (HS-BH for reliable and economic supply. Two objectives that take the minimum annual system cost and maximum system reliability described as the loss of power supply probability (LPSP have been addressed for sizing HS-BH from a more comprehensive perspective, considering the basic demand of load, the profit from hydrogen, which is produced by HS-BH, and an effective energy storage strategy. An improved ant colony optimization (ACO algorithm has been presented to solve the sizing problem of HS-BH. Finally, a simulation experiment has been done to demonstrate the developed results, in which some comparisons have been done to emphasize the advantage of HS-BH with the aid of data from an island of Zhejiang, China.

  4. System dynamic model and charging control of lead-acid battery for stand-alone solar PV system

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, B.J.

    2010-05-01

    The lead-acid battery which is widely used in stand-alone solar system is easily damaged by a poor charging control which causes overcharging. The battery charging control is thus usually designed to stop charging after the overcharge point. This will reduce the storage energy capacity and reduce the service time in electricity supply. The design of charging control system however requires a good understanding of the system dynamic behaviour of the battery first. In the present study, a first-order system dynamics model of lead-acid battery at different operating points near the overcharge voltage was derived experimentally, from which a charging control system based on PI algorithm was developed using PWM charging technique. The feedback control system for battery charging after the overcharge point (14 V) was designed to compromise between the set-point response and the disturbance rejection. The experimental results show that the control system can suppress the battery voltage overshoot within 0.1 V when the solar irradiation is suddenly changed from 337 to 843 W/m2. A long-term outdoor test for a solar LED lighting system shows that the battery voltage never exceeded 14.1 V for the set point 14 V and the control system can prevent the battery from overcharging. The test result also indicates that the control system is able to increase the charged energy by 78%, as compared to the case that the charging stops after the overcharge point (14 V). © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Techno-economic analysis of stand-alone photovoltaic/wind/battery/hydrogen systems for very small-scale applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stojković Saša M.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the results of a technical and economic analysis of three stand-alone hybrid power systems based on renewable energy sources which supply a specific group of low-power consumers. This particular case includes measuring sensors and obstacle lights on a meteorological mast for wind measurements requiring an uninterrupted power supply in cold climate conditions. Although these low-power (100 W measuring sensors and obstacle lights use little energy, their energy consumption is not the same as the available solar energy obtained on a daily or seasonal basis. In the paper, complementarity of renewable energy sources was analysed, as well as one of short-term lead-acid battery-based storage and seasonal, hydrogen-based (electrolyser, H2 tank, and fuel cells storage. These relatively complex power systems were proposed earlier for high-power consumers only, while this study specifically highlights the role of the hydrogen system for supplying low-power consumers. The analysis employed a numerical simulation method using the HOMER software tool. The results of the analysis suggest that solar and wind-solar systems, which involve meteorological conditions as referred to in this paper, include a relatively large number of lead-acid batteries. Additionally, the analysis suggests that the use of hydrogen power systems for supplying low power-consumers is entirely justifiable, as it significantly reduces the number of batteries (two at minimum in this particular case. It was shown that the increase in costs induced by the hydrogen system is acceptable.

  6. The Use of Artificial Neural Networks for Forecasting the Electric Demand of Stand-Alone Consumers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanin, O. A.; Direktor, L. B.

    2018-05-01

    The problem of short-term forecasting of electric power demand of stand-alone consumers (small inhabited localities) situated outside centralized power supply areas is considered. The basic approaches to modeling the electric power demand depending on the forecasting time frame and the problems set, as well as the specific features of such modeling, are described. The advantages and disadvantages of the methods used for the short-term forecast of the electric demand are indicated, and difficulties involved in the solution of the problem are outlined. The basic principles of arranging artificial neural networks are set forth; it is also shown that the proposed method is preferable when the input information necessary for prediction is lacking or incomplete. The selection of the parameters that should be included into the list of the input data for modeling the electric power demand of residential areas using artificial neural networks is validated. The structure of a neural network is proposed for solving the problem of modeling the electric power demand of residential areas. The specific features of generation of the training dataset are outlined. The results of test modeling of daily electric demand curves for some settlements of Kamchatka and Yakutia based on known actual electric demand curves are provided. The reliability of the test modeling has been validated. A high value of the deviation of the modeled curve from the reference curve obtained in one of the four reference calculations is explained. The input data and the predicted power demand curves for the rural settlement of Kuokuiskii Nasleg are provided. The power demand curves were modeled for four characteristic days of the year, and they can be used in the future for designing a power supply system for the settlement. To enhance the accuracy of the method, a series of measures based on specific features of a neural network's functioning are proposed.

  7. Stand-alone front-end system for high- frequency, high-frame-rate coded excitation ultrasonic imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jinhyoung; Hu, Changhong; Shung, K Kirk

    2011-12-01

    A stand-alone front-end system for high-frequency coded excitation imaging was implemented to achieve a wider dynamic range. The system included an arbitrary waveform amplifier, an arbitrary waveform generator, an analog receiver, a motor position interpreter, a motor controller and power supplies. The digitized arbitrary waveforms at a sampling rate of 150 MHz could be programmed and converted to an analog signal. The pulse was subsequently amplified to excite an ultrasound transducer, and the maximum output voltage level achieved was 120 V(pp). The bandwidth of the arbitrary waveform amplifier was from 1 to 70 MHz. The noise figure of the preamplifier was less than 7.7 dB and the bandwidth was 95 MHz. Phantoms and biological tissues were imaged at a frame rate as high as 68 frames per second (fps) to evaluate the performance of the system. During the measurement, 40-MHz lithium niobate (LiNbO(3)) single-element lightweight (<;0.28 g) transducers were utilized. The wire target measure- ment showed that the -6-dB axial resolution of a chirp-coded excitation was 50 μm and lateral resolution was 120 μm. The echo signal-to-noise ratios were found to be 54 and 65 dB for the short burst and coded excitation, respectively. The contrast resolution in a sphere phantom study was estimated to be 24 dB for the chirp-coded excitation and 15 dB for the short burst modes. In an in vivo study, zebrafish and mouse hearts were imaged. Boundaries of the zebrafish heart in the image could be differentiated because of the low-noise operation of the implemented system. In mouse heart images, valves and chambers could be readily visualized with the coded excitation.

  8. Interactive Web-Based and Hands-On Engineering Education: A Freshman Aerospace Design Course at MIT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Dava J.

    "Introduction to Aerospace and Design" is a 3-hour per week freshman elective course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that culminates in a Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) vehicle design competition, exposing freshmen to the excitement of aerospace engineering design typically taught in the junior or senior years. In addition to the…

  9. A comparison of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) using self-locking stand-alone polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cage with ACDF using cage and plate in the treatment of three-level cervical degenerative spondylopathy: a retrospective study with 2-year follow-up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yuqiao; Lü, Guohua; Wang, Bing; Li, Lei; Kuang, Lei

    2016-07-01

    To evaluate the clinical efficacy and radiological outcomes of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) using self-locking polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages for treatment of three-level cervical degenerative spondylopathy. Twenty-eight patients underwent three-level ACDF using self-locking stand-alone PEEK cages (group A), and 26 patients underwent three-level ACDF using cages and plate fixation (group B) were reviewed retrospectively. Clinical efficacy was evaluated by pre- and post-operative Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores and Neck Disability Index (NDI). The operation time, blood loss, surgical results according to Odom's criteria and post-operative dysphagia status were also recorded. Radiological outcomes including fusion, cervical Cobb's lordosis, fused segment angle, disc height, and cage subsidence were assessed. Clinical outcome measures such as dysphagia and fusion rate and the results of surgery evaluated according to Odom's criteria were not statistically significant (P > 0.05) between groups. The operation time was shorter and blood loss was less in group A (P  0.05). Post-operative cage subsidence, the loss of disc height, cervical lordosis and the fused segment angle were relatively higher in group A than group B (P < 0.05). ACDF using self-locking stand-alone cages showed similar clinical results as compared to ACDF using cages and plate fixation for the treatment of three-level cervical degenerative spondylopathy. However, potential long-term problems such as cage subsidence, loss of cervical lordosis and fused segment angle post-operatively were shown to be associated with patients who underwent ACDF using self-locking stand-alone cages.

  10. [The life of elderly women living alone].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Chunmi; Ko, Moon Hee; Kim, Moon Jeong; Kim, Joohyun; Kim, Hee Ja; Moon, Jin Ha; Baek, Kyoung Seon; Son, Haeng-Mi; Oh, SangEun; Lee, YoungAe; Choi, Jung-Sook

    2008-10-01

    This study aimed to uncover the fundamental nature of living alone in female elderly. The phenomenological research approach developed by van Manen was adopted. The theme was 'taking a firm stand alone on the edges of life'. The composition elements of living alone experienced by elderly women were as follows: 1) Corporeality: participants perceived their bodies by their health status. Unhealthy participants were suffering with diseases and dependant on other persons, while healthy participants were free from family responsibility and kept on moving. 2) Spatiality: participants felt both freedom and loneliness while they stayed home. 3) Relationality: participants felt pity and yearning for their bereaved husband and sometimes talked to his picture. According to their children's filial piety, participants were pleased or displeased. However, they incessantly devoted themselves to their children. 4) Temporality: participants considered the rest of their life as extra-time which was proceeding to death, and tried to keep themselves busy before they died. A nurse should understand the multifarious aspects of elderly women's life, and then intervene to consolidate their strengths for self-supporting the final years of life.

  11. A Teaching Method on Basic Chemistry for Freshman : Teaching Method with Pre-test and Post-test

    OpenAIRE

    立木, 次郎; 武井, 庚二

    2003-01-01

    This report deals with a teaching method on basic chemistry for freshman. This teaching method contains guidance and instruction to how to understand basic chemistry. Pre-test and post-test have been put into practice each time. Each test was returned to students at class in the following weeks.

  12. Pros and Cons of a Group Webpage Design Project in a Freshman Anatomy and Physiology Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crisp, Kevin M.; Jensen, Murray; Moore, Randy

    2007-01-01

    To generate motivation and promote the development of written communication skills, students in a freshman-level anatomy and physiology course for nonmajors created group webpages describing historically important diseases. After the groups had been formed, each individual was assigned specific components of the disease (e.g., causes or…

  13. Stand-alone microgrids

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bauer, P.; Weldemariam, L.E.; Raijen, E.

    2011-01-01

    Abstract- A hybrid power system (HPS) which consists of diesel Genset, PV -arrays and wind turbines with energy storing and power electronic devices is discussed in this paper. An inventory of different connection topologies is made for some of the sources that generate AC power and others that

  14. Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science; Volume 123; Issue 8 ... (SF) receivers has the advantages of stand-alone, absolute positioning and cost efficiency. ... College of Informatics, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, ...

  15. New Scheme for Seamless Operation for Stand-Alone Power Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyun-Jun Kim

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available On remote islands photovoltaic (PV panels with battery energy storage systems (BESSs supply electric power to customers in parallel operation with engine generators (EGs to reduce fuel consumption and environmental burden. A BESS operates in voltage control mode when it supplies power to loads alone, while it operates in current control mode when it supplies power to loads in parallel with the EG. This paper proposes a smooth mode change of the BESS from current control to voltage control by using initial value at the output of integral part in the voltage controller, and a smooth mode change from voltage control to current control by tracking the EG output voltage to the BESS output voltage using a phase-locked loop (PLL. The feasibility of the proposed scheme was verified through computer simulations and experiments with a scaled prototype.

  16. Exploration of the Attitudes of Freshman Foreign Language Students toward Using Computers at a Turkish State University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbulut, Yavuz

    2008-01-01

    The present study expands the design of Warschauer (1996) surveying freshman foreign language students at a Turkish university. Motivating aspects of computer assisted instruction in terms of writing and e-mailing are explored through an exploratory factor analysis conducted on the survey developed by Warschauer (1996). Findings suggest that…

  17. Environmental Nanoscience: Turning Outreach Activities into a College Freshman Seminar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, M. L.; Lau, B.

    2017-12-01

    Teaching nano concepts can be a daunting task due to the varying science backgrounds of the audience. Nonetheless, nanoscience education is important as nanotechnology expands. Our perspective is that nano education must be available at earlier stages than what is currently available. Through outreach activities, we examined how high school students and STEM middle/high school teachers approached answering questions about nanomaterials and the environment to design an effective freshman-level college seminar with achievable course goals. Specifically, participants were asked: 1) what color would you expect gold nanoparticles to be; 2) what are ways we can remove nanomaterials from the environment; and 3) what do you expect will happen to nanomaterials when salt is introduced into the system? Initial analysis showed STEM middle and high school teachers and high school students responded similarly. In response to question 1, the majority of the responses suggested color was a function of size. For question 2, both groups suggested the use of filters, magnets or a chemical reaction to remove the nanomaterials. For question 3, both groups expected a chemical reaction to occur. Understanding how foundational high school STEM concepts influenced responses could assist in the curriculum development for an introductory undergraduate nanoscience course. For example, familiar principles of physics and chemistry appeared to direct student responses. From these results, we developed three course goals to test in our college freshman seminar: 1) differentiate between properties of nanomaterials and conventional materials; 2) describe the role of nanomaterials in household items; and 3) form an opinion on the potential impacts of nanoscience and technology on the human health and the environment. Surveys from our first semester showed that the seminar was effective in achieving all course goals for the majority of students.

  18. Freshman Seminars: Interdisciplinary Engagements in Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemenway, M. K.

    2006-08-01

    The Freshman Seminar program at the University of Texas is designed to allow groups of fifteen students an engaging introduction to the University. The seminars introduce students to the resources of the university and allow them to identify interesting subjects for further research or future careers. An emphasis on oral and written communication by the students provides these first-year students a transition to college-level writing and thinking. Seminar activities include field trips to an art museum, a research library, and the Humanities Research Center rare book collection. This paper will report on two seminars, each fifteen weeks in length. In "The Galileo Scandal" students examine Galileo's struggle with the church (including a mock trial). They perform activities that connect his use of the telescope and observations to astronomical concepts. In "Astronomy and the Humanities" students analyze various forms of human expression that have astronomical connections (art, drama, literature, music, poetry, and science fiction); they perform hands-on activities to reinforce the related astronomy concepts. Evaluation of the seminars indicates student engagement and improvement in communication skills. Many of the activities could be used independently to engage students enrolled in standard introductory astronomy classes.

  19. A Teaching Method on Basic Chemistry for Freshman (II) : Teaching Method with Pre-test and Post-test

    OpenAIRE

    立木, 次郎; 武井, 庚二

    2004-01-01

    This report deals with review of a teaching method on basic chemistry for freshman in this first semester. We tried to review this teaching method with pre-test and post-test by means of the official and private questionnaires. Several hints and thoughts on teaching skills are obtained from this analysis.

  20. A Study on Electric Power Smoothing System for Lead-Acid Battery of Stand-Alone Natural Energy Power System Using EDLC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Yan; Shibata, Ryosuke; Yamamura, Naoki; Ishida, Muneaki

    To resolve energy shortage and global warming problem, renewable natural resource and its power system has been gradually generalizing. However, the power fluctuation suppressing in short period and the balance control of consumption and supply in long period are two of main problems that need to be resolved urgently in natural energy power system. In Stand-alone Natural Energy Power System (SNEPS) with power energy storage devices, power fluctuation in short period is one of the main reasons that recharge cycle times increase and lead-acid battery early failure. Hence, to prolong the service life of lead-acid battery and improve power quality through suppressing the power fluctuation, we proposed a method of electric power smoothing for lead-acid battery of SNEPS using bi-directional Buck/Boost converter and Electric Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC) in this paper. According to the test data of existing SNEPS, a power fluctuation condition is selected and as an example to analyze the validity of the proposed method. The analysis of frequency characteristics indicates the power fluctuation is suppressed a desired range in the target frequency region. The experimental results of confirmed the feasibility of the proposed system and the results well satisfy the requirement of system design.

  1. Feasibility Analysis and Simulation of a Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Energy System for Electricity Generation and Environmental Sustainability – Equivalent to 650VA Fuel-Powered Generator – Popularly Known as “I Pass My Neighbour”

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ani, Vincent Anayochukwu

    2015-01-01

    Photovoltaic (PV) power system can be used to replace wholly 650VA generator for electricity generation for household use in Nigeria. This paper presented the feasibility analysis of load data and simulation study of a stand-alone PV power system that produced the electrical needs of a household. This study is based on designing of PV energy system for household use. The patterns of load consumption within the household were studied and suitably modeled for simulation. The simulation study indicates that energy requirements to provide electricity, which is equivalent to 650VA generator for household use in Nigeria, can be accomplished by 520 W solar PV array, 2312 Ah nominal capacity battery, and a 1 kW DC/AC inverter. This would be suitable for deployment of 100% clean energy for environmental sustainability and uninterruptable power performance in the household. The results of this research show that, with a low-power consuming appliances, it is possible to meet the entire annual electricity demand of a single household solely through a stand-alone PV energy supply. Installing solar panels by most Nigerian home can significantly reduce home reliance on government power thereby reduce the strain on the current capacity of our power generation infrastructure. A detailed design and description of the system were presented in this paper.

  2. Feasibility Analysis and Simulation of a Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Energy System for Electricity Generation and Environmental Sustainability – Equivalent to 650VA Fuel-Powered Generator – Popularly Known as “I Pass My Neighbour”

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ani, Vincent Anayochukwu, E-mail: vincent_ani@yahoo.com [Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nsukka (Nigeria)

    2015-09-11

    Photovoltaic (PV) power system can be used to replace wholly 650VA generator for electricity generation for household use in Nigeria. This paper presented the feasibility analysis of load data and simulation study of a stand-alone PV power system that produced the electrical needs of a household. This study is based on designing of PV energy system for household use. The patterns of load consumption within the household were studied and suitably modeled for simulation. The simulation study indicates that energy requirements to provide electricity, which is equivalent to 650VA generator for household use in Nigeria, can be accomplished by 520 W solar PV array, 2312 Ah nominal capacity battery, and a 1 kW DC/AC inverter. This would be suitable for deployment of 100% clean energy for environmental sustainability and uninterruptable power performance in the household. The results of this research show that, with a low-power consuming appliances, it is possible to meet the entire annual electricity demand of a single household solely through a stand-alone PV energy supply. Installing solar panels by most Nigerian home can significantly reduce home reliance on government power thereby reduce the strain on the current capacity of our power generation infrastructure. A detailed design and description of the system were presented in this paper.

  3. The Relationship between Listening Strategies Used by Iranian EFL Freshman University Students and Their Listening Proficiency Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bidabadi, Farinaz Shirani; Yamat, Hamidah

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of the current study was to identify Iranian EFL freshman university students' listening proficiency levels and the listening strategies they employed to investigate the relationship between these two variables. A total of 92 freshmen were involved in this study. The Oxford Placement Test was employed to identify the learners'…

  4. The Chicken Soup Effect: The Role of Recreation and Intramural Participation in Boosting Freshman Grade Point Average

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbison, Godfrey A.; Henry, Tracyann L.; Perkins-Brown, Jayne

    2011-01-01

    Freshman grade point average, in particular first semester grade point average, is an important predictor of survival and eventual student success in college. As many institutions of higher learning are searching for ways to improve student success, one would hope that policies geared towards the success of freshmen have long term benefits…

  5. A review of three stand-alone topical thrombins for surgical hemostasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Christine M; Meyer-Massetti, Carla; Kayser, Steven R

    2009-01-01

    Topical thrombins are active hemostatic agents that can be used to minimize blood loss during surgery. Before 2007, the only topical thrombins available were derived from bovine plasma. Antibody formation to bovine thrombin and/or factor V, with subsequent risk of cross-reactivity with human factor V, and hemorrhagic complications associated with human factor-V deficiencies have been described in case reports of surgeries in which bovine thrombins were used. This risk is now included in the boxed warning section of the bovine thrombin prescribing information. In 2007 and 2008, 2 new topical thrombins from nonbovine sources received approval for use from the US Food and Drug Administration. The 3 active topical thrombins that are currently marketed are bovine plasma-derived thrombin, human plasma-derived thrombin, and human recombinant thrombin. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the literature on the efficacy and safety of topical thrombins and discuss the pharmacoeconomic considerations associated with their use. PubMed, EMBASE, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts were searched for relevant papers published in English through October 10,2008, using the terms thrombin, human recombinant thrombin, bovine thrombin, plasma derived thrombin, and topical thrombin. Manufacturer-provided materials were also reviewed. Abstracts and unpublished data, as well as evaluations of sealants, adhesives, glues, and other hemostats that contain thrombin mixed with fibrinogen and other clotting factors, were excluded. Four randomized, double-blind studies involving the active, stand-alone topical thrombins were found. The bovine thrombin involved in these studies was the predecessor to the currently marketed, highly purified bovine formulation. No studies comparing the human products, studies involving the highly purified bovine preparation, or placebo-controlled studies involving bovine thrombin were found. In a Phase III comparison of human recombinant thrombin and

  6. Effectiveness of Three Case Studies and Associated Teamwork in Stimulating Freshman Interest in an Introduction to Engineering Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    McIntyre, Joseph S.

    2011-01-01

    The effectiveness of three case studies and associated teamwork to stimulate interest of college freshman in engineering was investigated by observing students. Case studies were assigned as laboratory team exercises in an introduction to engineering course at Auburn University. Student interest in the case studies was evaluated qualitatively…

  7. Gaining Proficiency through Task-Based Activities in the Portuguese Classroom (Beginning and Intermediate Year Case Studies)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones-Kellogg, Rebecca

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes a task-based activity used at the United States Military Academy, in their first- through third-semester Portuguese language sequence "Proficiencies" (Proficiências). The stand-alone task-based activity can be an effective tool in gaining foreign-language proficiency at even the lowest levels of classroom instruction…

  8. Stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) integrated with earth to air heat exchanger (EAHE) for space heating/cooling of adobe house in New Delhi (India)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chel, Arvind; Tiwari, G.N.

    2010-01-01

    This paper deals with an experimental outdoor annual performance evaluation of 2.32 kW P photovoltaic (PV) power system located at solar energy park in New Delhi composite climatic conditions. This PV system operates the daily electrical load nearly 10 kW h/day which comprises of various applications such as electric air blower of an earth to air heat exchanger (EAHE) used for heating/cooling of adobe house, ceiling fan, fluorescent tube-light, computer, submersible water pump, etc. The outdoor efficiencies, power generated and lost in PV system components were determined using hourly experimental measured data for 1 year on typical clear day in each month. These realistic data are useful for design engineers for outdoor assessment of PV system components. The energy conservation, mitigation of CO 2 emission and carbon credit potential of the existing PV integrated EAHE system is presented in this paper. Also, the energy payback time (EPBT) and unit cost of electricity were determined for both stand-alone PV (SAPV) and building roof integrated PV (BIPV) systems.

  9. Science on the fringe of the empire: the Academy of the Linceans in the early nineteenth century.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donato, Maria Pia

    2012-01-01

    The article treats the Academy of the Linceans in the early nineteenth century, and more particularly during the Napoleonic domination of Rome in 1809-14. For the French regime, the Academy was instrumental to turning intellectuals into notables; pursuing the advancement of knowledge; stimulating industry; fostering secularization and orientating public opinion. But these goals did not always harmonize one with the other. Moreover, the local agenda was subordinated to strategic and ideological considerations pertaining to the organization of the Empire, relations with the Papacy, and internal politics. Hence, support to the Academy was subject to changes and contradictions. Within the Empire, the small local scientific elite found a place within international networks of science. Men of science increased their visibility and social standing, and greater symbolic and material resources were granted to the practice of science. The Academy, however, was left in the unclear status of a semi-public establishment, and it eventually imploded after the Restoration. The article analyses the Academy's scientific activity and its role in public life, focusing on material history as a key element to understand the ambiguous nature of Roman scientific institutions both under the papal government and the French regime.

  10. DESIGN OF A SUPERBIKE PADDOCK STAND USING CAD AND CAE TOOLS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.H. Mohd Noh

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Two people are required to operate current superbike paddock stands in order to elevate the superbike. Lifting the superbike alone using the current design of paddock stand may be impractical and inconvenient for users. To overcome this limitation, a new design of a superbike paddock stand was conceived that could be operated by a single user. CAD and CAE tools using CATIA V5R18 software were utilised in designing this new stand. A 3D CAD model was developed and analysed through finite element analysis (FEA and a prototype fabricated for verification testing of the design. The use of CAD and CAE tools saved much time in the design work and gave the researchers and designers freedom in producing their own design. However, the most important aspect of this design study was to design a superbike paddock stand that is more practical and convenient for operation by a single user.

  11. Entering Freshman Transfer and Career Students: A Comparison of Selected Educational Objectives with Recommendations for Transfer and Academic Advisement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padula, Mary S.

    The descriptive study investigated the extent to which entering freshman students and transfer students at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) are enrolled in degree programs that are compatible with their stated educational objectives, transfer intents, and degree intents. Subjects (N=376) enrolled in a mandatory orientation course were…

  12. Static trunk posture in sitting and standing during pregnancy and early postpartum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilleard, Wendy L; Crosbie, Jack; Smith, Richard

    2002-12-01

    To investigate the postural alignment of the upper body in the sagittal plane during sitting and standing postures as pregnancy progressed and then in the postpartum period. Longitudinal, repeated-measures design. Biomechanics laboratory in an Australian university. A volunteer convenience sample of 9 primiparous and multiparous women and 12 nulliparous women serving as a control group. Not applicable. Subjects were filmed while sitting and during quiet standing at intervals throughout pregnancy and at 8 weeks postpartum. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to assess systematic changes in the alignment of the pelvic, thoracic, and head segments, and the thoracolumbar and cervicothoracic spines. Student t tests were used to compare the postpartum and nulliparous control groups. There was no significant effect of pregnancy on the upper-body posture, although there was a tendency in some subjects for a flatter thoracolumbar spinal curve in sitting as pregnancy progressed. Postpartum during standing, the pelvic segment had a reduced sagittal plane anterior orientation, and the thoracolumbar spine was less extended, indicating a flatter spinal curve compared with the control group. There was no significant effect of pregnancy on upper-body posture during sitting and standing, although individuals varied in their postural response. A flatter spinal curve was found during standing postpartum. Copyright 2002 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

  13. An adaptive artificial neural network model for sizing stand-alone photovoltaic systems: Application for isolated sites in Algeria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mellit, A.; Benghanem, M.; Hadj Arab, A.; Guessoum, G.

    2004-07-01

    In this paper we investigate, by using an adaptive Artificial Neural Network (ANN), in order to find a suitable model for sizing Stand-Alone Photovoltaic (SAPV) systems, based on a minimum of input data. This model combines Radial Basis Function (RBF) network and Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filter in order to accelerate the convergence of the network. For the sizing of a photovoltaic (PV) system, we need to determine the optimal sizing coefficients (K PV , K B . These coefficients allow us to determine the number of solar panels and storage batteries necessary to satisfy a given consumption, especially in isolated sites where the global solar radiation data is not always available and which are considered the most important parameters for sizing a PV system. Obtained results by classical models (analytical, numerical, analytical- numerical, B-spline function) and new models like feed-forward (MLP), radial basis function (RBF), MLP-IIR and RBF-IIR have been compared with experimental sizing coefficients in order to illustrate the accuracy of the results of the new developed model. This model has been trained by using 200 known optimal sizing coefficients corresponding to 200 locations in Algeria. In this way, the adaptive model was trained to accept and even handle a number of unusual cases, the unknown validation sizing coefficients set produced very set accurate estimation and a correlation coefficient of 98% was obtained between the calculated and that estimated by the RBF-IIR model. This result indicates that the proposed method can be successfully used for the estimation of optimal sizing coefficients of SAPV systems for any locations in Algeria, but the methodology can be generalized using different locations over the world. (author)

  14. Comparing the AUDIT and 3 Drinking Indices as Predictors of Personal and Social Drinking Problems in Freshman First Offenders

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Hare, Thomas

    2005-01-01

    The current study of 376 college freshman adjudicated the first time for breaking university drinking rules tested the predictive power of four alcohol consumption and problem drinking indices--recent changes in drinking (the Alcohol Change Index: ACI), heavy drinking, binge drinking index, and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)…

  15. Comparison of scientists of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA on the basis of the h-index

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Mugnaini

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available A new scientometric indicator, the h-index, has been recently proposed (Hirsch JE. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2005; 102: 16569-16572. The index avoids some shortcomings of the calculation of the total number of citations as a parameter to evaluate scientific performance. Although it has become known only recently, it has had widespread acceptance. A comparison of the average h-index of members of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (BAS and of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (NAS-USA was carried out for 10 different areas of science. Although, as expected, the comparison was unfavorable to the members of the BAS, the imbalance was distinct in different areas. Since these two academies represent, to a significant extent, the science of top quality produced in each country, the comparison allows the identification of the areas in Brazil that are closer to the international stakeholders of scientific excellence. The areas of Physics and Mathematics stand out in this context. The heterogeneity of the h-index in the different areas, estimated by the median dispersion of the index, is significantly higher in the BAS than in the NAS-USA. No elements have been collected in the present study to provide an explanation for this fact.

  16. Meteorology--An Interdisciplinary Base for Science Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howell, David C.

    1980-01-01

    Described is a freshman science program at Deerfield Academy (Deerfield, Mass.) in meteorology, designed as the first part of a three-year unified science sequence. Merits of the course, in which particular emphasis is placed on observation skills and making predictions, are enumerated. (CS)

  17. Stand-Alone Containment Analysis of the Phébus FPT Tests with the ASTEC and the MELCOR Codes: The FPT-0 Test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno Gonfiotti

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The integral Phébus tests were probably one of the most important experimental campaigns performed to investigate the progression of severe accidents in light water reactors. In these tests, the degradation of a PWR fuel bundle was investigated employing different control rod materials and burn-up levels in strongly or weakly oxidizing conditions. From the results of such tests, numerical codes such as ASTEC and MELCOR have been developed to describe the evolution of a severe accident. After the termination of the experimental Phébus campaign, these two codes were furthermore expanded. Therefore, the aim of the present work is to reanalyze the first Phébus test (FPT-0 employing the updated ASTEC and MELCOR versions to ensure that the new improvements introduced in such codes allow also a better prediction of these Phébus tests. The analysis focuses on the stand-alone containment aspects of this test, and the paper summarizes the main thermal-hydraulic results and presents different sensitivity analyses carried out on the aerosols and fission products behavior. This paper is part of a series of publications covering the four executed Phébus tests employing a solid PWR fuel bundle: FPT-0, FPT-1, FPT-2, and FPT-3.

  18. A Study into the Perceptions of Students of Color and Their Ninth-Grade Academic Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, J. Ako; Eadens, Daniel

    2014-01-01

    Barnes, Mullen, and Lieb (2013) suggested that the effective implementation of the freshman academy promoted positive achievement outcomes for students of color. From a sociocultural perspective through the theoretical framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT), understanding the existence of racism is crucial to a positive academic environment…

  19. Post-processing in cardiovascular computed tomography. Performance of a client server solution versus a stand-alone solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luecke, C.; Foldyna, B.; Andres, C.; Grothoff, M.; Nitzsche, S.; Gutberlet, M.; Lehmkuhl, L.; Boehmer-Lasthaus, S.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To compare the performance of server-based (CSS) versus stand-alone post-processing software (ES) for the evaluation of cardiovascular CT examinations (cvCT) and to determine the crucial steps. Data of 40 patients (20 patients for coronary artery evaluation and 20 patients prior to transcatheter aortic valve implantation [TAVI]) were evaluated by 5 radiologists with CSS and ES. Data acquisition was performed using a dual-source 128-row CT unit (SOMATOM Definition Flash, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) and a 64-row CT unit (Brilliance 64, Philips, Hamburg, Germany). The following workflow was evaluated: Data loading, aorta and coronary segmentation, curved multiplanar reconstruction (cMPR) and 3 D volume rendering technique (3D-VRT), measuring of coronary artery stenosis and planimetry of the aortic annulus. The time requirement and subjective quality for the workflow were evaluated. The coronary arteries as well as the TAVI data could be evaluated significantly faster with CSS (5.5 ± 2.9 min and 8.2 ± 4.0 min, respectively) than with ES (13.9 ± 5.2 min and 15.2 ± 10.9 min, respectively, p = 0.01). Segmentation of the aorta (CSS: 1.9 ± 2.0 min, ES: 3.7 ± 3.3 min), generating cMPR of coronaries (CSS: 0.5 ± 0.2 min, ES: 5.1 ± 2.6 min), aorta and iliac vessels (CSS: 0.5 ± 0.4 min and 0.4 ± 0.4 min, respectively, ES: 1.6 ± 0.7 min and 2.8 ± 3 min, respectively) could be performed significantly faster with CSS than with ES with higher quality of cMPR, measuring of coronary stenosis and 3D-VRT (p < 0.05). Evaluation of cvCT can be accomplished significantly faster and better with CSS than with ES. The segmentation remains the most time-consuming workflow step, so optimization of segmentation algorithms could improve performance even further.

  20. Relation between eating habits and a high body mass index among freshman students: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunes, Fatma Esra; Bekiroglu, Nural; Imeryuz, Nese; Agirbasli, Mehmet

    2012-06-01

    This study aimed to examine the relation between eating habits and a high body mass index (BMI) in first-year freshman university students and included 2525 freshman university students 18 to 22 years old from a Turkish population. İn this study, 48% of the students were men. They were asked to complete a questionnaire on their dietary habits including the frequency of their consumption of individual food items, demographic data, and smoking habit. The effects of eating habits on increased BMI (≥25) were analyzed. Of 2259 subjects included in the analyses, 322 were overweight or obese and 1937 had normal and thin BMI (ender, recent weight change, and high number of meals as independent predictors of obesity/overweight. Frequent consumptions of beer, alcoholic drinks other than beer and wine (e.g., spirits including whisky, gin, raki, vodka), coffee, tea, coke, red meat, variety meat, and eggs were associated with a significantly higher risk of obesity/overweight, whereas frequent consumption of snacks was associated with a low risk. Findings of further studies, possibly taking into consideration the absolute quantities of consumption along with cultural and local issues, would guide the adoption of healthier feeding behaviors in this particular age group.

  1. X-ray microbeam stand-alone facility for cultured cells irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bożek, Sebastian, E-mail: sebastian.bozek@yahoo.com [Jagiellonian University Medical College, Department of Pharmaceutical Biophysics, Krakow (Poland); Bielecki, Jakub; Wiecheć, Anna; Lekki, Janusz; Stachura, Zbigniew; Pogoda, Katarzyna; Lipiec, Ewelina; Tkocz, Konrad; Kwiatek, Wojciech M. [Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, PL-31342 Krakow (Poland)

    2017-03-01

    Highlights: • An X-ray microbeam line for irradiation of living cultured cells was constructed. • A step by step explanation of working principles with engineering details, procedures and calculations is presented. • A model of beam and cell interaction is presented. • A method of uniform irradiation of living cells with an exact dose per a cell is presented. • Results of preliminary experiments are presented. - Abstract: The article describes an X-ray microbeam standalone facility dedicated for irradiation of living cultured cells. The article can serve as an advice for such facilities construction, as it begins from engineering details, through mathematical modeling and experimental procedures, ending up with preliminary experimental results and conclusions. The presented system consists of an open type X-ray tube with microfocusing down to about 2 μm, an X-ray focusing system with optical elements arranged in the nested Kirckpatrick-Baez (or Montel) geometry, a sample stand and an optical microscope with a scientific digital CCD camera. For the beam visualisation an X-ray sensitive CCD camera and a spectral detector are used, as well as a scintillator screen combined with the microscope. A method of precise one by one irradiation of previously chosen cells is presented, as well as a fast method of uniform irradiation of a chosen sample area. Mathematical models of beam and cell with calculations of kerma and dose are presented. The experiments on dose-effect relationship, kinetics of DNA double strand breaks repair, as well as micronuclei observation were performed on PC-3 (Prostate Cancer) cultured cells. The cells were seeded and irradiated on Mylar foil, which covered a hole drilled in the Petri dish. DNA lesions were visualised with γ-H2AX marker combined with Alexa Fluor 488 fluorescent dye.

  2. Predicting Freshman Grade Point Average From College Admissions Test Scores and State High School Test Scores

    OpenAIRE

    Koretz, Daniel; Yu, C; Mbekeani, Preeya Pandya; Langi, M.; Dhaliwal, Tasminda Kaur; Braslow, David Arthur

    2016-01-01

    The current focus on assessing “college and career readiness” raises an empirical question: How do high school tests compare with college admissions tests in predicting performance in college? We explored this using data from the City University of New York and public colleges in Kentucky. These two systems differ in the choice of college admissions test, the stakes for students on the high school test, and demographics. We predicted freshman grade point average (FGPA) from high school GPA an...

  3. Improving physical activity, mental health outcomes, and academic retention in college students with Freshman 5 to Thrive: COPE/Healthy Lifestyles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melnyk, Bernadette; Kelly, Stephanie; Jacobson, Diana; Arcoleo, Kimberly; Shaibi, Gabriel

    2014-06-01

    To assess the preliminary effects of a new course entitled Freshman 5 to Thrive/COPE Healthy Lifestyles on the cognitive beliefs, knowledge, mental health outcomes, healthy lifestyle choices, physical activity, and retention of college freshmen. Measures included demographics, nutrition knowledge, healthy lifestyle beliefs, healthy lifestyle perceived difficulty, healthy lifestyle choices, Beck Youth Inventories-II (anxiety, depression, anxiety, and destructive behavior), step count via pedometer, and college retention. The experimental COPE (Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment) group had greater intentions to live a healthy lifestyle (p = .02) versus the comparison group. COPE students also significantly increased their physical activity (p = .003) from baseline to postintervention and had a higher college retention rate than students who did not take the course. In addition, there was a significant decrease in depressive and anxiety symptoms in COPE students whose baseline scores were elevated. The Freshman 5 to Thrive Course is a promising intervention that can be used to enhance healthy lifestyle behaviors and improve mental health outcomes in college freshmen. ©2013 The Author(s) ©2013 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

  4. Increasing URM Undergraduate Student Success through Assessment-Driven Interventions: A Multiyear Study Using Freshman-Level General Biology as a Model System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carmichael, Mary C.; St. Clair, Candace; Edwards, Andrea M.; Barrett, Peter; McFerrin, Harris; Davenport, Ian; Awad, Mohamed; Kundu, Anup; Ireland, Shubha Kale

    2016-01-01

    Xavier University of Louisiana leads the nation in awarding BS degrees in the biological sciences to African-American students. In this multiyear study with ~5500 participants, data-driven interventions were adopted to improve student academic performance in a freshman-level general biology course. The three hour-long exams were common and…

  5. Library Instruction for Freshman English: A Multi-Year Assessment of Student Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan Gardner Archambault

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective – The objective of this study was twofold: 1 to assess the effectiveness of curriculum changes made from the 2009 freshman English library instruction curriculum to the 2010 curriculum at Loyola Marymount University (LMU; and 2 to evaluate the effectiveness of library instruction delivered via a “blended” combination of face-to-face and online instruction versus online instruction alone.Methods – An experimental design compared random samples of student scores from 2009 and 2010 worksheets to determine the effects of a new curriculum on student learning. A second experiment examined the effect of delivery method on student learning by comparing scores from a group of students receiving only online instruction against a group receiving blended instruction.Results – The first component of the study, which compared scores between 2009 and 2010 to examine the effects of the curriculum revisions, had mixed results. Students scored a significantly higher mean in 2010 on completing and correctly listing book citation components than in 2009, but a significantly lower mean on constructing a research question. There was a significant difference in the distribution of scores for understanding differences between information found on the Internet versus through the Library that was better in 2010 than 2009, but worse for narrowing a broad research topic. For the study that examined computer aided instruction, the group of students receiving only computer-assisted instruction did significantly better overall than the group receiving blended instruction. When separate tests were run for each skill, two particular skills, generating keywords and completing book citation and location elements, resulted in a significantly higher mean.Conclusions – The comparison of scores between 2009 and 2010 were mixed, but the evaluation process helped us identify continued problems in the teaching materials to address in the next cycle of revisions

  6. Academy Trust | About IASc | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  7. CRionScan: A stand-alone real time controller designed to perform ion beam imaging, dose controlled irradiation and proton beam writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daudin, L.; Barberet, Ph.; Serani, L.; Moretto, Ph.

    2013-07-01

    High resolution ion microbeams, usually used to perform elemental mapping, low dose targeted irradiation or ion beam lithography needs a very flexible beam control system. For this purpose, we have developed a dedicated system (called “CRionScan”), on the AIFIRA facility (Applications Interdisciplinaires des Faisceaux d'Ions en Région Aquitaine). It consists of a stand-alone real-time scanning and imaging instrument based on a Compact Reconfigurable Input/Output (Compact RIO) device from National Instruments™. It is based on a real-time controller, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), input/output modules and Ethernet connectivity. We have implemented a fast and deterministic beam scanning system interfaced with our commercial data acquisition system without any hardware development. CRionScan is built under LabVIEW™ and has been used on AIFIRA's nanobeam line since 2009 (Barberet et al., 2009, 2011) [1,2]. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) embedded in the Compact RIO as a web page is used to control the scanning parameters. In addition, a fast electrostatic beam blanking trigger has been included in the FPGA and high speed counters (15 MHz) have been implemented to perform dose controlled irradiation and on-line images on the GUI. Analog to Digital converters are used for the beam current measurement and in the near future for secondary electrons imaging. Other functionalities have been integrated in this controller like LED lighting using Pulse Width Modulation and a “NIM Wilkinson ADC” data acquisition.

  8. CRionScan: A stand-alone real time controller designed to perform ion beam imaging, dose controlled irradiation and proton beam writing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daudin, L., E-mail: daudin@cenbg.in2p3.fr [Université Bordeaux, CENBG, UMR 5797, F-33170 Gradignan (France); CNRS, IN2P3, CENBG, UMR 5797, F-33170 Gradignan (France); Barberet, Ph.; Serani, L.; Moretto, Ph. [Université Bordeaux, CENBG, UMR 5797, F-33170 Gradignan (France); CNRS, IN2P3, CENBG, UMR 5797, F-33170 Gradignan (France)

    2013-07-01

    High resolution ion microbeams, usually used to perform elemental mapping, low dose targeted irradiation or ion beam lithography needs a very flexible beam control system. For this purpose, we have developed a dedicated system (called “CRionScan”), on the AIFIRA facility (Applications Interdisciplinaires des Faisceaux d’Ions en Région Aquitaine). It consists of a stand-alone real-time scanning and imaging instrument based on a Compact Reconfigurable Input/Output (Compact RIO) device from National Instruments™. It is based on a real-time controller, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), input/output modules and Ethernet connectivity. We have implemented a fast and deterministic beam scanning system interfaced with our commercial data acquisition system without any hardware development. CRionScan is built under LabVIEW™ and has been used on AIFIRA’s nanobeam line since 2009 (Barberet et al., 2009, 2011) [1,2]. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) embedded in the Compact RIO as a web page is used to control the scanning parameters. In addition, a fast electrostatic beam blanking trigger has been included in the FPGA and high speed counters (15 MHz) have been implemented to perform dose controlled irradiation and on-line images on the GUI. Analog to Digital converters are used for the beam current measurement and in the near future for secondary electrons imaging. Other functionalities have been integrated in this controller like LED lighting using Pulse Width Modulation and a “NIM Wilkinson ADC” data acquisition.

  9. An analytical model of stand dynamics as a function of tree growth, mortality and recruitment: the shade tolerance-stand structure hypothesis revisited.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zavala, Miguel A; Angulo, Oscar; Bravo de la Parra, Rafael; López-Marcos, Juan C

    2007-02-07

    Light competition and interspecific differences in shade tolerance are considered key determinants of forest stand structure and dynamics. Specifically two main stand diameter distribution types as a function of shade tolerance have been proposed based on empirical observations. All-aged stands of shade tolerant species tend to have steeply descending, monotonic diameter distributions (inverse J-shaped curves). Shade intolerant species in contrast typically exhibit normal (unimodal) tree diameter distributions due to high mortality rates of smaller suppressed trees. In this study we explore the generality of this hypothesis which implies a causal relationship between light competition or shade tolerance and stand structure. For this purpose we formulate a partial differential equation system of stand dynamics as a function of individual tree growth, recruitment and mortality which allows us to explore possible individual-based mechanisms--e.g. light competition-underlying observed patterns of stand structure--e.g. unimodal or inverse J-shaped equilibrium diameter curves. We find that contrary to expectations interspecific differences in growth patterns can result alone in any of the two diameter distributions types observed in the field. In particular, slow growing species can present unimodal equilibrium curves even in the absence of light competition. Moreover, light competition and shade intolerance evaluated both at the tree growth and mortality stages did not have a significant impact on stand structure that tended to converge systematically towards an inverse J-shaped curves for most tree growth scenarios. Realistic transient stand dynamics for even aged stands of shade intolerant species (unimodal curves) were only obtained when recruitment was completely suppressed, providing further evidence on the critical role played by juvenile stages of tree development (e.g. the sampling stage) on final forest structure and composition. The results also point out the

  10. CANGS DB: a stand-alone web-based database tool for processing, managing and analyzing 454 data in biodiversity studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schlötterer Christian

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Next generation sequencing (NGS is widely used in metagenomic and transcriptomic analyses in biodiversity. The ease of data generation provided by NGS platforms has allowed researchers to perform these analyses on their particular study systems. In particular the 454 platform has become the preferred choice for PCR amplicon based biodiversity surveys because it generates the longest sequence reads. Nevertheless, the handling and organization of massive amounts of sequencing data poses a major problem for the research community, particularly when multiple researchers are involved in data acquisition and analysis. An integrated and user-friendly tool, which performs quality control, read trimming, PCR primer removal, and data organization is desperately needed, therefore, to make data interpretation fast and manageable. Findings We developed CANGS DB (Cleaning and Analyzing Next Generation Sequences DataBase a flexible, stand alone and user-friendly integrated database tool. CANGS DB is specifically designed to organize and manage the massive amount of sequencing data arising from various NGS projects. CANGS DB also provides an intuitive user interface for sequence trimming and quality control, taxonomy analysis and rarefaction analysis. Our database tool can be easily adapted to handle multiple sequencing projects in parallel with different sample information, amplicon sizes, primer sequences, and quality thresholds, which makes this software especially useful for non-bioinformaticians. Furthermore, CANGS DB is especially suited for projects where multiple users need to access the data. CANGS DB is available at http://code.google.com/p/cangsdb/. Conclusion CANGS DB provides a simple and user-friendly solution to process, store and analyze 454 sequencing data. Being a local database that is accessible through a user-friendly interface, CANGS DB provides the perfect tool for collaborative amplicon based biodiversity surveys

  11. epubworkshop | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Toggle navigation. Logo of the Indian Academy of Sciences. Indian Academy of Sciences. Home · About IASc · History · Memorandum of Association · Role of the Academy · Statutes · Council · Raman Chair · Jubilee Chair · Academy – Springer Nature chair · Academy Trust · Contact details · Office Staff · Office complaint ...

  12. Freshman College Students’ Reasons for Enrolling in and Anticipated Benefits from a Basic College Physical Education Activity Course

    OpenAIRE

    Lackman, Jeremy; Smith, Matthew Lee; McNeill, Elisa Beth

    2015-01-01

    Background Given the rise in US obesity rates in adulthood, efforts are needed to assess physical activity engagement during the college years as a strategy to promote a lifetime of being physically active. This study identifies the reasons incoming college freshman enrolled in basic physical education activity courses (BPEAC) and the perceived benefits they anticipated receiving as a result of course participation. Methods Data collected from 302 college freshmen in September 2013...

  13. Academy News

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  14. Representation of Aloneness in Forever Alone Guy Comic Strips

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pricillia Chandra

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to discuss the representation of aloneness in Forever Alone Guy comic strips. The purpose of this research is to find out how the meaning of aloneness is constructed in the representation of Forever Alone Guy through the theory of representation described by Stuart Hall (1997, 2013. In the theory suggested by Hall, it is described that there are two ways to be done in creating representation. Those ways are through language/sign and mental representation. The mental representation is the only way used in this research with a reason that this analysis focuses to the stigmas attached to the concept of aloneness. The analysis shows that the construction of meaning is done through embedding clusters of negative stigmas to the three entities: single, alone and lonely. Thus, through the analysis, it can be concluded that the dominant meaning which represents being single and alone as the ‘imperfect’ condition plays an important role in the construction of the meaning

  15. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. BEDARTHA GOSWAMI. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 51-60 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. Inferring interdependencies from short ...

  16. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. SERGEY P KUZNETSOV. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 117-132 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. Chaos in three coupled rotators: ...

  17. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. PRIYANKA SHUKLA. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 133-143 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. Grad-type fourteen-moment theory for ...

  18. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. F FAMILY. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 221-224 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. Transport in ratchets with single-file constraint.

  19. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. GIOVANNA ZIMATORE. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 35-41 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. RQA correlations on real business cycles ...

  20. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. SUDHARSANA V IYENGAR. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 93-99 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. Missing cycles: Effect of climate ...

  1. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. NORBERT MARWAN. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 51-60 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. Inferring interdependencies from short time ...

  2. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. JANAKI BALAKRISHNAN. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 93-99 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. Missing cycles: Effect of climate change ...

  3. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. PAUL SCHULTZ. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 51-60 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. Inferring interdependencies from short time ...

  4. A case study of a typical 2.32 kW{sub P} stand-alone photovoltaic (SAPV) in composite climate of New Delhi (India)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chel, Arvind; Tiwari, G.N. [Center for Energy Studies (CES), Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110 016 (India)

    2011-04-15

    This paper presents rigorous experimental outdoor performance of a 2.32 kW{sub P} stand-alone photovoltaic (SAPV) system in New Delhi (India) for four weather types in each month such as clear, hazy, partially cloudy/foggy and fully cloudy/foggy weather conditions respectively. The daily power generated from the existing SAPV system was experimentally found in the range of 4-6 kW h/day depending on the prevailing sky conditions. The number of days and daily power generated corresponding to four weather types in each month were used to determine monthly and subsequently annual power generation from the existing SAPV system. There are three daily load profiles with and without earth to air heat exchanger suitable for three seasons like summer (3.75-6.15 kW h/day), winter (2.79-5.19 kW h/day) and rainy (3.75 kW h/day). The hourly efficiency of the SAPV system components are determined and presented in this paper. The life cycle cost (LCC) analysis for the existing typical SAPV system is carried out to determine unit cost of electricity. The effect of annual degradation rate of PV system efficiency is also presented in this paper. The energy production factor (EPF) and the energy payback time (EPBT) of the SAPV system was also determined and presented in this paper. (author)

  5. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. F REVUELTA. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 145-155 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. Rate calculation in two-dimensional barriers with ...

  6. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. JOYDEEP SINGHA. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 195-203 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. Spatial splay states in coupled map lattices ...

  7. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. MURILO S BAPTISTA. Articles written in Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series. Volume 1 Issue 1 December 2017 pp 17-23 Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016. Interpreting physical flows in networks as a ...

  8. Impact of Fibromyalgia in the Sit-to-Stand-to-Sit Performance Compared With Healthy Controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collado-Mateo, Daniel; Adsuar, Jose C; Dominguez-Muñoz, Francisco J; Olivares, Pedro R; Gusi, Narcis

    2017-06-01

    Fibromyalgia is associated with a reduction in the ability to perform activities of daily living. Sit-to-stand-to-sit performance is one of the most common activities of daily living and often is evaluated by counting the number of repetitions of the 30-second chair-stand test. No study, however, has examined the performance over the 30 seconds of this test of female patients with fibromyalgia on a phase-by-phase basis. To evaluate the impact of fibromyalgia on performance of the 30-second chair-stand test and to analyze how the kinematic performance changed over the 30-second test period. A cross-sectional study. Local association of fibromyalgia. Fifteen females with fibromyalgia and nine healthy female controls. Participants performed the 30-second chair-stand test while wearing a motion capture device. Duration of each sit-to-stand-to-sit phase within the 30-second time limit was compared between groups using repeated measures analysis of variance. The association between duration of phases and scores from the revised version of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire was tested using bivariate correlations. The duration of impulse and sit-to-stand phases were gradually increased over the 30 seconds of the chair-stand test for women with fibromyalgia compared with healthy controls (P = .04 and P = .02, respectively). The mean duration of these 2 phases was associated with symptom duration and the function domain of the revised version of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (P fibromyalgia and healthy controls. Since sit-to-stand from a chair is a common daily activity, women with fibromyalgia may require specific exercises to improve performance of this task. Not applicable. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Indian Academy of Sciences Indian National Science Academy The ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The three national Science Academies offer several two-month Summer Fellowships to enable students/teachers to work with scientists associated with the three Academies during 2012. A list of those who have consented to guide students/teachers to work on short-term projects is displayed on the online announcement.

  10. An Examination of Higher Educational Stakeholders' Perceptions on the Effectiveness of Retention Efforts That Impact Student Persistence from Freshman to Sophomore Year

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lantta, Melissa M.

    2013-01-01

    The first year of college is critical to the growth and retention of the freshman college student. Students enter college with a wide range of backgrounds, skills and dispositions and it is the responsibility of the institution to do all it can to assist students in achieving their education goals. The purpose of this mixed methods research design…

  11. ayurvis.pdf | dvdocs | academy | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from 29–30 June 2018 in Infosys, Mysuru ...

  12. astrophys.pdf | dvdocs | academy | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from 29–30 June 2018 in Infosys, Mysuru ...

  13. GMCrops-interAcademy-report-updated.pdf | inter academy ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from 29–30 June 2018 in Infosys, Mysuru ...

  14. Iraqi Military Academies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nodar Z. Mossaki

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes the system of training of officers in military academies in Iraq – in Zakho, Qalacholan, ar-Rustamiyah and an-Nasiriyah. The author describes the history of creation, process of evolution, challenges and features of training in these colleges. Particular attention paid to military academies in the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan, which actually do not obey the central government of Iraq, however, have the highest level of training. Currently, Iraq's military academies operate on the basis of the NATO standards. Iraqi military academies paid miuch attention to the specifics of the military and political situation in Iraq – counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations, patrolling cities, fighting in an urban environment etc. Significant place in the curriculum take the courses contributing to the formation of pro-Western sentiment.

  15. A Comparison between Anxiety and Self-esteem amongst High School Freshman Students(Male and Female with Amblyopia in Gachsaran in 2015

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Mohammad Karim Afzali

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The present research intends to investigate and compare the relationship between anxiety and self-esteem amongst high school freshman students (male and female with Amblyopia in Gachsaran city. To this end, all the male and female freshman students (1st Grade in high school suffering from Amblyopia in Gachsaran participated in the study as the research statistical population among which 80 students, including 40 girls and 40 boys, were selected based on Simple Random Sampling Method. Materials and tools used in this research included Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI, Cooper-smith Self-esteem Inventory (CSEI and Snellen chart. In order to analyze results obtained from the present research, t-student test and correlation coefficient were used to investigate the relationship between the variables. Accordingly, the results indicated that: there is a statistically significant relationship between anxiety and self-esteem in students with Amblyopia (P˂0.000. Statistically significant difference in anxiety between male and female students with Amblyopia (P˂0.05 was observed. The results also showed that there is no any statistically significant difference in self-esteem between male and female students with Amblyopia (P˂0.66.

  16. office.html | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Toggle navigation. Logo of the Indian Academy of Sciences. Indian Academy of Sciences. Home · About IASc · History · Memorandum of Association · Role of the Academy · Statutes · Council · Raman Chair · Jubilee Chair · Academy – Springer Nature chair · Academy Trust · Contact details · Office Staff · Office complaint ...

  17. Why a Steiner Academy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avison, Kevin

    2008-01-01

    This article examines the curious position of the Academy model in the English school system and how a potential Hereford Steiner Waldorf Academy might figure in this. It sketches the background to the Steiner movement in the UK and goes on to set out the key aspirations and concerns of Steiner educators regarding an Academy. The article provides…

  18. Competence to stand trial evaluations of sovereign citizens: a case series and primer of odd political and legal beliefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, George F

    2014-01-01

    Sovereign citizens hold a variety of beliefs that challenge the legitimacy of the United States government and criminal justice system. In criminal cases, sovereign citizens typically raise a variety of seemingly strange objections to the proceedings that can cause court participants to believe the defendant is not competent to stand trial. The author's case files were reviewed to identify all defendants who espoused sovereign citizen beliefs during a court-ordered competence-to-stand-trial evaluation. This case series consisted of nine evaluations completed between 2003 and 2012. A review of the outcomes in these cases showed that sovereign citizens typically have the capacity to understand criminal proceedings and assist an attorney. © 2014 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

  19. Stop fighting alone, let synergy rule!

    CERN Document Server

    Computer Security Team

    2013-01-01

    Could it be true, as it seems to me, that CERN still has manpower to spare? I thought that now, during LS1, resources were scarce and everybody was very busy. But apparently not. We are getting more requests than ever to open firewalls for stand-alone web servers running local databases and custom web applications.   What we are talking about here are “newly” created software applications with similar functions to existing alternatives. We often encounter computing hardware and network equipment managed in multiple ways by multiple people, and commercial software or cloud services that closely resemble CERN’s existing computing services are bought or rented – for instance, SurveyMonkey vs. SharePoint or tinyurl.com vs. cern.ch/go. Why does CERN run two document stores, CDS and EDMS, that provide similar functions and workflows? Wouldn’t one be sufficient? And four (or more!) JIRA ticketing systems? Why are there so many local Git instances, do...

  20. Stand-alone containment analysis of Phébus FPT tests with ASTEC and MELCOR codes: the FPT-2 test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonfiotti, Bruno; Paci, Sandro

    2018-03-01

    During the last 40 years, many studies have been carried out to investigate the different phenomena occurring during a Severe Accident (SA) in a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Such efforts have been supported by the execution of different experimental campaigns, and the integral Phébus FP tests were probably some of the most important experiments in this field. In these tests, the degradation of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) fuel bundle was investigated employing different control rod materials and burn-up levels in strongly or weakly oxidizing conditions. From the findings on these and previous tests, numerical codes such as ASTEC and MELCOR have been developed to analyze the evolution of a SA in real NPPs. After the termination of the Phébus FP campaign, these two codes have been furthermore improved to implement the more recent findings coming from different experimental campaigns. Therefore, continuous verification and validation is still necessary to check that the new improvements introduced in such codes allow also a better prediction of these Phébus tests. The aim of the present work is to re-analyze the Phébus FPT-2 test employing the updated ASTEC and MELCOR code versions. The analysis focuses on the stand-alone containment aspects of this test, and three different spatial nodalizations of the containment vessel (CV) have been developed. The paper summarizes the main thermal-hydraulic results and presents different sensitivity analyses carried out on the aerosols and fission products (FP) behavior. When possible, a comparison among the results obtained during this work and by different authors in previous work is also performed. This paper is part of a series of publications covering the four Phébus FP tests using a PWR fuel bundle: FPT-0, FPT-1, FPT-2, and FPT-3, excluding the FPT-4 one, related to the study of the release of low-volatility FP and transuranic elements from a debris bed and a pool of melted fuel.

  1. Stand-alone containment analysis of Phébus FPT tests with ASTEC and MELCOR codes: the FPT-2 test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno Gonfiotti

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available During the last 40 years, many studies have been carried out to investigate the different phenomena occurring during a Severe Accident (SA in a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP. Such efforts have been supported by the execution of different experimental campaigns, and the integral Phébus FP tests were probably some of the most important experiments in this field. In these tests, the degradation of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR fuel bundle was investigated employing different control rod materials and burn-up levels in strongly or weakly oxidizing conditions. From the findings on these and previous tests, numerical codes such as ASTEC and MELCOR have been developed to analyze the evolution of a SA in real NPPs. After the termination of the Phébus FP campaign, these two codes have been furthermore improved to implement the more recent findings coming from different experimental campaigns. Therefore, continuous verification and validation is still necessary to check that the new improvements introduced in such codes allow also a better prediction of these Phébus tests. The aim of the present work is to re-analyze the Phébus FPT-2 test employing the updated ASTEC and MELCOR code versions. The analysis focuses on the stand-alone containment aspects of this test, and three different spatial nodalizations of the containment vessel (CV have been developed. The paper summarizes the main thermal-hydraulic results and presents different sensitivity analyses carried out on the aerosols and fission products (FP behavior. When possible, a comparison among the results obtained during this work and by different authors in previous work is also performed. This paper is part of a series of publications covering the four Phébus FP tests using a PWR fuel bundle: FPT-0, FPT-1, FPT-2, and FPT-3, excluding the FPT-4 one, related to the study of the release of low-volatility FP and transuranic elements from a debris bed and a pool of melted fuel. Keywords: Safety

  2. Morphological and ecological variation of Gremmeniella abietina var. abietina in Pinus sylvestris, Pinus contorta and Picea abies sapling stands in northern Finland and the Kola Peninsula

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaitera, Juha; Seitamaeki, Leena; Jalkanen, Risto [Finnish Forest Research Inst., Rovaniemi (Finland). Rovaniemi Research Station

    2000-07-01

    The morphological and ecological variation of two types of Gremmeniella abietina var. abietina causing scleroderris canker on conifers was investigated in Pinus spp. and Picea sp. sapling stands in northern Finland and the Kola Peninsula. Small-tree type (STT or B type) of G. abietina was detected alone in 13 Scots pine, three lodgepole pine and two Norway spruce sapling stands out of 26 stands investigated, both STT and large-tree type (LTT or A type) were observed in six Scots pine stands, and LTT was detected alone in two Scots pine stands. For the first time, G. abietina was found to injure Norway spruce saplings in a respective plantation in northern Fennoscandia. STT isolates produced statistically significantly more conidia in vitro than LTT isolates. Morphological variation in conidia septation revealed that STT produced conidia with more than five septa more frequently than did LTT. There was a greater range in variation in septation in STT than in LTT, with overlapping between the types. Isolates of both types were equally associated with cankers, coloured wood, pycnidia or apothecia in the infected saplings.

  3. American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... AACD AACD 2018: A Masterpiece of Comprehensive Cosmetic Dentistry Education 34th Annual Scientific Session | April 18-21 ... 222.9540 Contact Us © 2017American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) © 2017American Academy ...

  4. epubworkshop | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    How to combat infectious diseases: The role of Science Academies · Academy Public Lecture and INSA–Leopoldina Lecture by Prof. Jörg Hacker, President, German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. 4 December, 2017, 4 PM Faculty Hall, Indian Institute ...

  5. academy public lecture

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  6. Executive Energy Leadership Academy | NREL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Executive Energy Leadership Academy Executive Energy Leadership Academy NREL's Executive Energy Leadership Academy is a nationally renowned program that provides non-technical business, governmental, and foreground. Leadership Program The Leadership Program is designed for community and industry leaders with an

  7. Science Academies' Summer Research Fellowship Programme for ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    2013-11-30

    Nov 30, 2013 ... Science Academies' Summer Research Fellowship Programme for. Students and Teachers – 2014. Sponspored by. Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore. Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi. The National Academy of Sciences, India, Allahabad. The three national science academies offer ...

  8. Kos16.pdf | multimedia | academy | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from 29–30 June 2018 in Infosys, Mysuru ...

  9. ASPIRE-to-Excellence Academy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Drees

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The ASPIRE-to-Excellence Academy was recently founded at the 2015 Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE conference in Glasgow. The academy is new pillar of the ASPIRE-to-Excellence initiative by AMEE, which aims at promoting and encouraging medical schools in achieving excellence in the categories of assessment, student engagement, social accountability or faculty development. The Academy panel consists of the members of the ASPIRE Board and representatives from schools which have been recognised with an ASPIRE-to-excellence award in one or more of the categories. Major goal of the ASPIRE-to-Excellence Academy is to foster collaboration between excellent medical schools and to allow them to exchange experiences and Best Practices. The Academy members are organising workshops and symposia at international conferences to inform medical schools about the ASPIRE-to-Excellence programme and the areas for recognition in excellence as well as to support medical school in preparing their applications.

  10. 32 CFR 575.1 - Military Academy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Military Academy. 575.1 Section 575.1 National... MILITARY ACADEMY § 575.1 Military Academy. (a) Organization and administration. (1) The United States Military Academy is under the general direction and supervision of the Department of the Army. The...

  11. Randomized controlled trial of supplemental augmentative and alternative communication versus voice rest alone after phonomicrosurgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rousseau, Bernard; Gutmann, Michelle L; Mau, Theodore; Francis, David O; Johnson, Jeffrey P; Novaleski, Carolyn K; Vinson, Kimberly N; Garrett, C Gaelyn

    2015-03-01

    This randomized trial investigated voice rest and supplemental text-to-speech communication versus voice rest alone on visual analog scale measures of communication effectiveness and magnitude of voice use. Randomized clinical trial. Multicenter outpatient voice clinics. Thirty-seven patients undergoing phonomicrosurgery. Patients undergoing phonomicrosurgery were randomized to voice rest and supplemental text-to-speech communication or voice rest alone. The primary outcome measure was the impact of voice rest on ability to communicate effectively over a 7-day period. Pre- and postoperative magnitude of voice use was also measured as an observational outcome. Patients randomized to voice rest and supplemental text-to-speech communication reported higher median communication effectiveness on each postoperative day compared to those randomized to voice rest alone, with significantly higher median communication effectiveness on postoperative days 3 (P=.03) and 5 (P=.01). Magnitude of voice use did not differ on any preoperative (P>.05) or postoperative day (P>.05), nor did patients significantly decrease voice use as the surgery date approached (P>.05). However, there was a significant reduction in median voice use pre- to postoperatively across patients (Pcommunication increased patient-perceived communication effectiveness on postoperative days 3 and 5 over voice rest alone. With the prevalence of smartphones and the widespread use of text messaging, supplemental text-to-speech communication may provide an accessible and cost-effective communication option for patients on vocal restrictions. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.

  12. Contrast-enhanced MR enterography as a stand-alone tool to evaluate Crohn's disease in a paediatric population

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spieler, B.; Hindman, N.; Levy, J.; Zabrieski, K.; Sahlein, D.; Seuss, C.; Kim, S.

    2013-01-01

    Aim: To assess the performance of contrast-enhanced T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) alone in the evaluation of Crohn's disease in comparison to all magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) imaging sequences together in an attempt to suggest limitation of the number of overall unenhanced sequences need for the follow-up evaluation. Materials and methods: Twenty-five paediatric patients (mean age 14.1 ± 3.7 years, male = 12, female = 13) underwent MRE at 1.5 T for evaluation of Crohn's disease. Two radiologists reviewed only contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images in consensus on the first session. Whole images including unenhanced (steady-state free precession, single-shot fast spin-echo (HASTE), fat-suppressed T2-weighted) and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted sequences were reviewed in consensus during the second session with a 1 month interval, which was used as a reference standard. The readers evaluated the presence or absence of disease in 10 bowel segments in each patient. For the abnormal bowel segments, the readers then evaluated for active versus inactive disease and for the presence or absence of abscess. Sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy were calculated for detecting active inflammation. Results: There were 53/250 bowel segments with active inflammation using the reference standard imaging method. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for diagnosing active inflammation using contrast-enhanced images alone were 83.3%, 86.9%, and 84.9%. In five of the false-positive cases of detecting abscess from contrast-enhanced imaging alone, absence of abscesses was confirmed on the non-fat-suppressed HASTE images. Conclusion: The number of MRE sequences in paediatric Crohn's patients can be decreased while maintaining diagnostic accuracy using contrast-enhanced T1 and non-fat-suppressed HASTE images

  13. Comparing joint kinematics and center of mass acceleration as feedback for control of standing balance by functional neuromuscular stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nataraj, Raviraj; Audu, Musa L; Triolo, Ronald J

    2012-05-06

    The purpose of this study was to determine the comparative effectiveness of feedback control systems for maintaining standing balance based on joint kinematics or total body center of mass (COM) acceleration, and assess their clinical practicality for standing neuroprostheses after spinal cord injury (SCI). In simulation, controller performance was measured according to the upper extremity effort required to stabilize a three-dimensional model of bipedal standing against a variety of postural disturbances. Three cases were investigated: proportional-derivative control based on joint kinematics alone, COM acceleration feedback alone, and combined joint kinematics and COM acceleration feedback. Additionally, pilot data was collected during external perturbations of an individual with SCI standing with functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS), and the resulting joint kinematics and COM acceleration data was analyzed. Compared to the baseline case of maximal constant muscle excitations, the three control systems reduced the mean upper extremity loading by 51%, 43% and 56%, respectively against external force-pulse perturbations. Controller robustness was defined as the degradation in performance with increasing levels of input errors expected with clinical deployment of sensor-based feedback. At error levels typical for body-mounted inertial sensors, performance degradation due to sensor noise and placement were negligible. However, at typical tracking error levels, performance could degrade as much as 86% for joint kinematics feedback and 35% for COM acceleration feedback. Pilot data indicated that COM acceleration could be estimated with a few well-placed sensors and efficiently captures information related to movement synergies observed during perturbed bipedal standing following SCI. Overall, COM acceleration feedback may be a more feasible solution for control of standing with FNS given its superior robustness and small number of inputs required.

  14. Introducing sit-stand desks increases classroom standing time among university students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew Jerome

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Excessive sedentary behavior has been associated with many negative health outcomes. While an understudied health topic, there is evidence that university students are excessively sedentary. Sit-stand desks have been shown to reduce sedentary time among pre-university students (ages 5–18years and sedentary workers but have not been tested in university classrooms. This study tested the effects of introducing sit-stand desks into a university classroom on student's classroom sitting and standing behaviors. Using a cross-over design, students received access to both traditional seated desks and sit-stand desks for six weeks. Data were collected between September and December, 2016. We recruited 304 healthy undergraduate university students enrolled in one of two small (25 seats classrooms at a large Midwestern university during the fall of 2016. Average minutes of standing/hour/student, average percent class time spent standing, and the number of sit-stand transitions/student/hour were directly observed with video camera surveillance. Participants stood significantly more (p<0.001 when provided access to sit-stand desks (7.2min/h/student; 9.3% of class time spent standing compared to when they had access to seated desks (0.7min/h/student; 1.6% of class time spent standing but no differences were observed for the number of sit-stand transitions (p=0.47. Students reported high favorability for the sit-stand desks and improvements in several student engagement and affective outcomes while using the sit-stand desks. These findings support introducing sit-stand desks in university classrooms as an approach to reduce sedentary behaviors of university students. Keywords: Sedentary, University students, Sit-stand desk

  15. Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Integration of a LITEE Case Study for a Freshman Level Mechanical Engineering Course at The University of Toledo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franchetti, Matthew

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of the integration of a manufacturing case study to a freshman level mechanical engineering course at The University of Toledo. The approach to integrate this case study into the class was completed via weekly assignments analyzing the case, small group discussion, and weekly group discussion.…

  16. Electroencephalographic and electromyographic changes during the use of detomidine and detomidine-butorphanol combination in standing horses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruluc, P; Nemec, Alenka

    2006-03-01

    Clinically, the use of detomidine and butorphanol is suitable for sedation and deepening of analgosedation. The aim of our study was to establish the influence of detomidine used alone and a butorphanol-detomidine combination on brain activity and to evaluate and compare brain responses (using electroencephalography, EEG) by recording SEF90 (spectral edge frequency 90%), individual brain wave fractions (beta, alpha, theta and delta) and electromyographic (EMG) changes in the left temporal muscle in standing horses. Ten clinically healthy cold-blooded horses were divided into two groups of five animals each. Group I received detomidine and Group II received detomidine followed by butorphanol 10 min later. SEF90, individual brain wave fractions and EMG were recorded with a pEEG (processed EEG) monitor using computerised processed electroencephalography and electromyography. The present study found that detomidine alone and the detomidine-butorphanol combination significantly reduced SEF90 and EMG, and they caused changes in individual brain wave fractions during sedation and particularly during analgosedation. The EMG results showed that the detomidine-butorphanol combination provided greater and longer muscle relaxation. Our EEG and EMG results confirmed that the detomidine-butorphanol combination is safer and more appropriate for painless and non-painless procedures on standing horses compared to detomidine alone.

  17. Stand-off detection of chemicals by UV Raman spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Ming; Ray, Mark; Hang Fung, K.; Ruckman, Mark W.; Harder, David; Sedlacek, Arthur J. III

    2000-01-01

    Experimental results are reported on a mobile, stand-alone, solar-blind ultraviolet (UV) Raman lidar system for the stand-off detection and identification of liquid and solid targets at ranges of hundreds of meters. The lidar is a coaxial system capable of performing range-resolved measurements of gases and aerosols, as well as solids and liquids. The transmitter is a flash lamp pumped 30 Hz Nd:YAG laser with quadrupled output at 266 nm. The receiver subsystem is comprised of a 40 cm Cassegrain telescope, a holographic UV edge filter for suppressing the elastic channel, a 0.46 m Czerny-Turner spectrometer, and a time gated intensified charge-coupled device (CCD) detector. The rejection of elastic light scattering by the edge filter is better than one part in 10 5 , while the transmittance 500 cm-1 to the red of the laser line is greater than 50%. Raman data are shown for selected solids, neat liquids, and mixtures down to the level of 1% volume ratio. On the basis of the strength of the Raman returns, a stand-off detection limit of ∼500 g/m2 for liquid spills of common solvents at the range of one half of a kilometer is possible. (c) 2000 Society for Applied Spectroscopy

  18. WWC Review of the Report "Freshman Year Financial Aid Nudges: An Experiment to Increase FAFSA Renewal and College Persistence." What Works Clearinghouse Single Study Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2014

    2014-01-01

    The 2014 study, Freshman Year Financial Aid Nudges: An Experiment to Increase FAFSA Renewal and College Persistence, measured the impact of sending text message reminders regarding annual Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) renewal to first-year college students who were already receiving financial aid. The study sample included 808…

  19. The Research on Second-Order ADRC Algorithm of Using Wind Turbine Virtual Inertia to Participate in Primary Frequency Regulation in a Small Stand-Alone Microgrid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Yi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to improve the transient stability of frequency in a small stand-alone microgrid (SSM, this paper takes a SSM composed of a direct-drive permanent magnet synchronous generator (D-PMSG and a micro gas turbine (MGT as the background and uses wind turbine generator (WTG virtual inertia (VI to participate in the primary (short-term system frequency regulation. First of all, this paper constructs a grid-connected model composed of a WTG and a MGT, analyzes the WTG virtual inertia frequency regulation mechanism, and explains the principle of proportional-differentiation (PD virtual inertia control (VIC and its shortcomings. Secondly, the paper introduces the structure principle of n-order active disturbance rejection control (ADRC and deduces the design process of second-order ADRC-VIC. Finally, through the simulation and experimental verification, comparing the frequency perturbation of without-VIC, PD-VIC, and ADRC-VIC, it is concluded that PD-VIC and ADRC-VIC both can use the WTG virtual inertia to participate in the primary frequency regulation. The frequency regulation effect of ADRC-VIC is better than PD-VIC, ADRC-VIC can extend the rotor speed recovery time and avoid overshoot, and its frequency fluctuation amplitude and settling time are obviously improved, and ADRC-VIC can effectively avoid the overshoot phenomenon of the MGT output power.

  20. Standing footprint diagnostic method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Y. F.; Fan, Y. B.; Li, Z. Y.; Newman, T.; Lv, C. S.; Fan, Y. Z.

    2013-10-01

    Center of pressure is commonly used to evaluate standing balance. Even though it is incomplete, no better evaluation method has been presented. We designed our experiment with three standing postures: standing with feet together, standing with feet shoulder width apart, and standing with feet slightly wider than shoulder width. Our platform-based pressure system collected the instantaneous plantar pressure (standing footprint). A physical quantity of instantaneous standing footprint principal axis was defined, and it was used to construct an index to evaluate standing balance. Comparison between results from our newly established index and those from the center of pressure index to evaluate the stability of different standing postures revealed that the standing footprint principal axis index could better respond to the standing posture change than the existing one. Analysis indicated that the insensitive response to the relative position between feet and to the standing posture change from the center of pressure could be better detected by the standing footprint principal axis index. This predicts a wide application of standing footprint principal axis index when evaluating standing balance.

  1. Performance of a small stand alone photovoltaic-wind system at El Oyameyo D.F., Mexico

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez Juarez, A.; Campos, J. [Centro de Investigacion en Energia, UNAM, Mexico, D. F. (Mexico); Tiburcio Silver, A. [Instituto Tecnologico de Toluca-Division de Posgrado, Toluca (Mexico)

    1997-12-31

    El Oyameyo, is an ecological site located to the South-West of the Topilejo town, D.F., 19 degree 25` North latitude, 99 degree 5` West longitude and at an altitude of 3100 m. At present, there are 10 families living at this place. They have energy generators to produce their own electricity by means of solar or wind energy using photovoltaic (PV) technology and eolic systems, respectively. There are three different configurations of energy generators: DC regulated PV systems, AC regulated PV systems and one PV-Wind hybrid system. The electrical power installed for the stand alone PV systems are from 48 W-p up to 768 W-p range. Among these, there are 4 PV systems that are configurated in DC regulated systems, and other 6 are AC regulated systems. All these systems use lead-acid battery (scaled or vented) banks to store the energy produced daily by the systems. The PV-Wind hybrid system in formed, at present, by a 5.0 kW wind generator, a PV array of 768 W-p, a 37.8 kW-h storage battery bank and a 5.0 kW DC/AC inverter. In this work, we report the electricity generated, load pattern and overall system performance of the photovoltaic-wind hybrid system. The technical characteristics, energy test on the hybrid system and the experience obtained from energy handling and system maintenance for all the systems are presented. We found that all the systems had shown good performance and users` satisfaction. [Espanol] El Oyameyo es un lugar ecologico localizado al Sur-Oeste del pueblo de Topilejo, D. F., 19 grados 25` de latitud Norte 99 grados 5` de longitud Oeste y a una altitud de 3100m. Actualmente hay 10 familias viviendo en este lugar. Tienen generadores de energia para producir su propia electricidad mediante la energia solar y la del viento usando sistemas fotovoltaicos (FV) y sistemas eolicos, respectivamente. Hay tres diferentes configuraciones de generadores de energia: sistemas fotovoltaicos de CD regulados, sistemas fotovoltaicos de CA regulados y un sistema

  2. Performance of a small stand alone photovoltaic-wind system at El Oyameyo D.F., Mexico

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez Juarez, A; Campos, J [Centro de Investigacion en Energia, UNAM, Mexico, D. F. (Mexico); Tiburcio Silver, A [Instituto Tecnologico de Toluca-Division de Posgrado, Toluca (Mexico)

    1998-12-31

    El Oyameyo, is an ecological site located to the South-West of the Topilejo town, D.F., 19 degree 25` North latitude, 99 degree 5` West longitude and at an altitude of 3100 m. At present, there are 10 families living at this place. They have energy generators to produce their own electricity by means of solar or wind energy using photovoltaic (PV) technology and eolic systems, respectively. There are three different configurations of energy generators: DC regulated PV systems, AC regulated PV systems and one PV-Wind hybrid system. The electrical power installed for the stand alone PV systems are from 48 W-p up to 768 W-p range. Among these, there are 4 PV systems that are configurated in DC regulated systems, and other 6 are AC regulated systems. All these systems use lead-acid battery (scaled or vented) banks to store the energy produced daily by the systems. The PV-Wind hybrid system in formed, at present, by a 5.0 kW wind generator, a PV array of 768 W-p, a 37.8 kW-h storage battery bank and a 5.0 kW DC/AC inverter. In this work, we report the electricity generated, load pattern and overall system performance of the photovoltaic-wind hybrid system. The technical characteristics, energy test on the hybrid system and the experience obtained from energy handling and system maintenance for all the systems are presented. We found that all the systems had shown good performance and users` satisfaction. [Espanol] El Oyameyo es un lugar ecologico localizado al Sur-Oeste del pueblo de Topilejo, D. F., 19 grados 25` de latitud Norte 99 grados 5` de longitud Oeste y a una altitud de 3100m. Actualmente hay 10 familias viviendo en este lugar. Tienen generadores de energia para producir su propia electricidad mediante la energia solar y la del viento usando sistemas fotovoltaicos (FV) y sistemas eolicos, respectivamente. Hay tres diferentes configuraciones de generadores de energia: sistemas fotovoltaicos de CD regulados, sistemas fotovoltaicos de CA regulados y un sistema

  3. National Academy of Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... and Irma. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) PNAS is one of the world’s most- ... Exchange Evolution Resources Biographical Memoirs National Academy of Sciences About The NAS Mission History Organization Leadership and ...

  4. Socioeconomic Status and the Relationship between the SAT® and Freshman GPA: An Analysis of Data from 41 Colleges and Universities. Research Report No. 2009-1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sackett, Paul R.; Kuncel, Nathan R.; Arneson, Justin J.; Cooper, Sara R.; Waters, Shonna D.

    2009-01-01

    Critics of educational admissions tests assert that tests measure nothing other than socioeconomic status (SES), and that their apparent validity in predicting academic performance is an artifact of SES. We examine relationships among SAT, SES, and freshman grades in 41 colleges and universities and show that (a) SES is related to SAT scores (r =…

  5. Step Prediction During Perturbed Standing Using Center Of Pressure Measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milos R. Popovic

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available The development of a sensor that can measure balance during quiet standing and predict stepping response in the event of perturbation has many clinically relevant applica- tions, including closed-loop control of a neuroprothesis for standing. This study investigated the feasibility of an algorithm that can predict in real-time when an able-bodied individual who is quietly standing will have to make a step to compensate for an external perturbation. Anterior and posterior perturbations were performed on 16 able-bodied subjects using a pul- ley system with a dropped weight. A linear relationship was found between the peak center of pressure (COP velocity and the peak COP displacement caused by the perturbation. This result suggests that one can predict when a person will have to make a step based on COP velocity measurements alone. Another important feature of this finding is that the peak COP velocity occurs considerably before the peak COP displacement. As a result, one can predict if a subject will have to make a step in response to a perturbation sufficiently ahead of the time when the subject is actually forced to make the step. The proposed instability detection algorithm will be implemented in a sensor system using insole sheets in shoes with minitur- ized pressure sensors by which the COPv can be continuously measured. The sensor system will be integrated in a closed-loop feedback system with a neuroprosthesis for standing in the near future.

  6. Comparing joint kinematics and center of mass acceleration as feedback for control of standing balance by functional neuromuscular stimulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nataraj Raviraj

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to determine the comparative effectiveness of feedback control systems for maintaining standing balance based on joint kinematics or total body center of mass (COM acceleration, and assess their clinical practicality for standing neuroprostheses after spinal cord injury (SCI. Methods In simulation, controller performance was measured according to the upper extremity effort required to stabilize a three-dimensional model of bipedal standing against a variety of postural disturbances. Three cases were investigated: proportional-derivative control based on joint kinematics alone, COM acceleration feedback alone, and combined joint kinematics and COM acceleration feedback. Additionally, pilot data was collected during external perturbations of an individual with SCI standing with functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS, and the resulting joint kinematics and COM acceleration data was analyzed. Results Compared to the baseline case of maximal constant muscle excitations, the three control systems reduced the mean upper extremity loading by 51%, 43% and 56%, respectively against external force-pulse perturbations. Controller robustness was defined as the degradation in performance with increasing levels of input errors expected with clinical deployment of sensor-based feedback. At error levels typical for body-mounted inertial sensors, performance degradation due to sensor noise and placement were negligible. However, at typical tracking error levels, performance could degrade as much as 86% for joint kinematics feedback and 35% for COM acceleration feedback. Pilot data indicated that COM acceleration could be estimated with a few well-placed sensors and efficiently captures information related to movement synergies observed during perturbed bipedal standing following SCI. Conclusions Overall, COM acceleration feedback may be a more feasible solution for control of standing with FNS given its

  7. Guiding Students from Consuming Information to Creating Knowledge: A Freshman English Library Instruction Collaboration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolyn B. Gamtso

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we examine how faculty and librarians’ own approaches to and attitudes toward library tools, as well as their assumptions about student research practices, impede students’ ability to view learning as a recursive, creative, and ongoing inquiry. We propose first that librarians and faculty examine the assumptions of knowledge that characterize their respective university constituencies; second that they dismantle some of the disciplinary boundaries that separate these constituencies; third that they collaborate to craft analytical assignments that stress knowledge as process; and fourth that they transform library instruction from tool-based demonstrations to analytical, problem-based learning exercises. Finally, we describe how we have collaborated to craft a Freshman Composition library instruction session that moves beyond developing students’ information-gathering expertise by focusing on the development of transferable knowledge and critical thinking skills.

  8. OpCost: an open-source system for estimating costs of stand-level forest operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conor K. Bell; Robert F. Keefe; Jeremy S. Fried

    2017-01-01

    This report describes and documents the OpCost forest operations cost model, a key component of the BioSum analysis framework. OpCost is available in two editions: as a callable module for use with BioSum, and in a stand-alone edition that can be run directly from R. OpCost model logic and assumptions for this open-source tool are explained, references to the...

  9. Methodology for predicting sequences of mean monthly clearness index and daily solar radiation data in remote areas: Application for sizing a stand-alone PV system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mellit, A. [Department of Electronics, Institute of Sciences Engineering, Centre University of Medea, Medea 26000 (Algeria); Department of Electronics, Faculty of Science Engineering, Blida University, Blida 09000 (Algeria); Kalogirou, S.A. [Higher Technical Institute, P.O. Box 20423, Nicosia 2152 (Cyprus); Shaari, S. [Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); Salhi, H. [Department of Electronics, Faculty of Science Engineering, Blida University, Blida 09000 (Algeria); Hadj Arab, A. [Development Centre of Renewable Energy (CDER), P.O. Box 62, Bouzareah, Algiers 16000 (Algeria); Departamento de Energias Renerables, CIEMAT, Arda Complutense, 22, Madrid 28040 (Spain)

    2008-07-15

    In this paper, a suitable adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model is presented for estimating sequences of mean monthly clearness index (anti K{sub t}) and total solar radiation data in isolated sites based on geographical coordinates. The magnitude of solar radiation is the most important parameter for sizing photovoltaic (PV) systems. The ANFIS model is trained by using a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) based on fuzzy logic (FL) rules. The inputs of the ANFIS are the latitude, longitude, and altitude, while the outputs are the 12-values of mean monthly clearness index anti K{sub t}. These data have been collected from 60 locations in Algeria. The results show that the performance of the proposed approach in the prediction of mean monthly clearness index anti K{sub t} is favorably compared to the measured values. The root mean square error (RMSE) between measured and estimated values varies between 0.0215 and 0.0235 and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) is less than 2.2%. In addition, a comparison between the results obtained by the ANFIS model and artificial neural network (ANN) models, is presented in order to show the advantage of the proposed method. An example for sizing a stand-alone PV system is also presented. This technique has been applied to Algerian locations, but it can be generalized for any geographical position. It can also be used for estimating other meteorological parameters such as temperature, humidity and wind speed. (author)

  10. Further development of LLNA:DAE method as stand-alone skin-sensitization testing method and applied for evaluation of relative skin-sensitizing potency between chemicals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamashita, Kunihiko; Shinoda, Shinsuke; Hagiwara, Saori; Itagaki, Hiroshi

    2015-04-01

    To date, there has been no well-established local lymph node assay (LLNA) that includes an elicitation phase. Therefore, we developed a modified local lymph node assay with an elicitation phase (LLNA:DAE) to discriminate true skin sensitizers from chemicals that gave borderline positive results and previously reported this assay. To develop the LLNA:DAE method as a useful stand-alone testing method, we investigated the complete procedure for the LLNA:DAE method using hexyl cinnamic aldehyde (HCA), isoeugenol, and 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) as test compounds. We defined the LLNA:DAE procedure as follows: in the dose-finding test, four concentrations of chemical applied to dorsum of the right ear on days 1, 2, and 3 and dorsum of both ears on day 10. Ear thickness and skin irritation score were measured on days 1, 3, 5, 10, and 12. Local lymph nodes were excised and weighed on day 12. The test dose for the primary LLNA:DAE study was selected as the dose that gave the highest left ear lymph node weight in the dose-finding study, or the lowest dose that produced a left ear lymph node of over 4 mg. This procedure was validated using nine different chemicals. Furthermore, qualitative relationship was observed between the degree of elicitation response in the left ear lymph node and the skin sensitizing potency of 32 chemicals tested in this study and the previous study. These results indicated that LLNA:DAE method was as first LLNA method that was able to evaluate the skin sensitizing potential and potency in elicitation response.

  11. Drive Stands

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Electrical Systems Laboratory (ESL)houses numerous electrically driven drive stands. A drive stand consists of an electric motor driving a gearbox and a mounting...

  12. Patrika | Publications | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Patrika. Newsletter of the Indian Academy of Sciences. Patrika is a newsletter brought out by the Indian Academy of Sciences every year. It records all the major activities, events and initiatives of the academy. Issue 65. March 2017. In English | In Hindi. Issue 64. September 2016. In English | In Hindi. Issue 63. March 2016.

  13. The ambiguity of standing in standing devices: a qualitative interview study concerning children and parents experiences of the use of standing devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordström, Birgitta; Näslund, Annika; Ekenberg, Lilly; Zingmark, Karin

    2014-10-01

    The aim of this study was to describe children's and parents' experiences of the significance of standing in a standing device. Individual interviews were performed with six children/teenagers (aged 7-19 years) and 14 parents. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a qualitative content analysis. The analysis resulted in the major theme, the duality of uprightness and the related themes: (1) the instrumental dimension of standing; (2) the social dimension of standing; and (3) the ambivalent dimension of standing. Each of the themes comprised several subthemes. There is an inherent duality related to the use of a standing device. Standing in a standing device was seen as a treatment of body structures and functions, as well as a possible source of pain. Standing was considered to influence freedom in activities and participation both positively and negatively. The parents experienced that standing influenced other peoples' views of their child, while the children experienced standing as a way to extend the body and as something that gave them benefits in some activities. Physiotherapists working with children should take into account both the social and physical dimensions of using a standing device and consider both the child's and the parents' views.

  14. Talent Management in Academies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Brent; Davies, Barbara J.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: Academies are semi-autonomous schools set up outside the normal local government structures with sponsors from business and charity groups to create new and innovative ways of creating and sustaining school transformation. The aim of this paper is to assist in a strategic conversation within the academy movement on talent development.…

  15. Monitoring Freshman College Experience Through Content Analysis of Tweets: Observational Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Sam; Zhu, Miaoqi; Young, Sean D

    2018-01-11

    Freshman experiences can greatly influence students' success. Traditional methods of monitoring the freshman experience, such as conducting surveys, can be resource intensive and time consuming. Social media, such as Twitter, enable users to share their daily experiences. Thus, it may be possible to use Twitter to monitor students' postsecondary experience. Our objectives were to (1) describe the proportion of content posted on Twitter by college students relating to academic studies, personal health, and social life throughout the semester; and (2) examine whether the proportion of content differed by demographics and during nonexam versus exam periods. Between October 5 and December 11, 2015, we collected tweets from 170 freshmen attending the University of California Los Angeles, California, USA, aged 18 to 20 years. We categorized the tweets into topics related to academic, personal health, and social life using keyword searches. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests examined whether the content posted differed by sex, ethnicity, and major. The Friedman test determined whether the total number of tweets and percentage of tweets related to academic studies, personal health, and social life differed between nonexam (weeks 1-8) and final exam (weeks 9 and 10) periods. Participants posted 24,421 tweets during the fall semester. Academic-related tweets (n=3433, 14.06%) were the most prevalent during the entire semester, compared with tweets related to personal health (n=2483, 10.17%) and social life (n=1646, 6.74%). The proportion of academic-related tweets increased during final-exam compared with nonexam periods (mean rank 68.9, mean 18%, standard error (SE) 0.1% vs mean rank 80.7, mean 21%, SE 0.2%; Z=-2.1, P=.04). Meanwhile, the proportion of tweets related to social life decreased during final exams compared with nonexam periods (mean rank 70.2, mean 5.4%, SE 0.01% vs mean rank 81.8, mean 7.4%, SE 0.01%; Z=-4.8, P.05). However, during the final-exam periods

  16. Introducing sit-stand desks increases classroom standing time among university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerome, Matthew; Janz, Kathleen F; Baquero, Barbara; Carr, Lucas J

    2017-12-01

    Excessive sedentary behavior has been associated with many negative health outcomes. While an understudied health topic, there is evidence that university students are excessively sedentary. Sit-stand desks have been shown to reduce sedentary time among pre-university students (ages 5-18 years) and sedentary workers but have not been tested in university classrooms. This study tested the effects of introducing sit-stand desks into a university classroom on student's classroom sitting and standing behaviors. Using a cross-over design, students received access to both traditional seated desks and sit-stand desks for six weeks. Data were collected between September and December, 2016. We recruited 304 healthy undergraduate university students enrolled in one of two small (25 seats) classrooms at a large Midwestern university during the fall of 2016. Average minutes of standing/hour/student, average percent class time spent standing, and the number of sit-stand transitions/student/hour were directly observed with video camera surveillance. Participants stood significantly more (p classrooms as an approach to reduce sedentary behaviors of university students.

  17. Stand alone biofuel production from algae

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijffels, R.H.; Janssen, M.G.J.; Barbosa, M.J.

    2011-01-01

    In this feature, leading researchers in the field of microbial biotechnology speculate on the technical and conceptual developments that will drive innovative research and open new vistas over the next few years

  18. Chapter 2: Stand-alone Applications - TOPCAT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, C. J.

    Tool for OPerations on Catalogues And Tables or TOPCAT is a graphical viewer for table data. It offers a variety of ways to work with data tables, including a browser for the cell data, viewers for information about table and column metadata, dataset visualization, and even analysis. We discuss a small subset of TOPCAT's functionalities in this chapter. TOPCAT was originally developed as part of the Starlink program in the United Kingdom. It is now maintained by AstroGrid. The program is written in pure Java and available under the GNU General Public License. It is available for download and a version is included in the software distribution accompanying this book. TOPCAT is a GUI interface on top of the STIL library. A command line interface to this library, STILTS, described in Chapter 21 provides scriptable access to many of the capabilities described here. The purpose of this tutorial is to provide an overview of TOPCAT to the novice user. The best place to look for and learn about TOPCAT is the web page maintained by Mark B. Taylor. There, TOPCAT documentation is provided in HTML, PDF, via screen shots, etc. In this chapter we take the user through a few examples that give the general idea of how TOPCAT works. The majority of the functionality of TOPCAT is not included in this short tutorial. Our goal in this tutorial is to lead the reader through an exercise that would result in a publication quality figure (e.g. for a journal article). Specifically, we will use TOPCAT to show how the color-magnitude relation of a galaxy cluster compares to that of all galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (York et al. 2000). This diagnostic is used not only in cluster finding, but its linear fit can provide insight into the age and/or metallicity of the oldest galaxies in galaxy clusters (which are some of the oldest galaxies in the Universe). The data we need for this exercise are: 1) the entire spectroscopic galaxy catalog from the SDSS, with galaxy positions, galaxy redshifts, and galaxy magnitudes and 2) galaxy members of a known galaxy cluster. For the former, we will download data directly from the SDSS servers to our local machine for analysis. For the latter, we will use TOPCAT's ability to call live cone search services.

  19. Stand Alone Battery Thermal Management System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brodie, Brad [Denso International America, Incorporated, Southfield, MI (United States)

    2015-09-30

    The objective of this project is research, development and demonstration of innovative thermal management concepts that reduce the cell or battery weight, complexity (component count) and/or cost by at least 20%. The project addresses two issues that are common problems with current state of the art lithium ion battery packs used in vehicles; low power at cold temperatures and reduced battery life when exposed to high temperatures. Typically, battery packs are “oversized” to satisfy the two issues mentioned above. The first phase of the project was spent making a battery pack simulation model using AMEsim software. The battery pack used as a benchmark was from the Fiat 500EV. FCA and NREL provided vehicle data and cell data that allowed an accurate model to be created that matched the electrical and thermal characteristics of the actual battery pack. The second phase involved using the battery model from the first phase and evaluate different thermal management concepts. In the end, a gas injection heat pump system was chosen as the dedicated thermal system to both heat and cool the battery pack. Based on the simulation model. The heat pump system could use 50% less energy to heat the battery pack in -20°C ambient conditions, and by keeping the battery cooler at hot climates, the battery pack size could be reduced by 5% and still meet the warranty requirements. During the final phase, the actual battery pack and heat pump system were installed in a test bench at DENSO to validate the simulation results. Also during this phase, the system was moved to NREL where testing was also done to validate the results. In conclusion, the heat pump system can improve “fuel economy” (for electric vehicle) by 12% average in cold climates. Also, the battery pack size, or capacity, could be reduced 5%, or if pack size is kept constant, the pack life could be increased by two years. Finally, the total battery pack and thermal system cost could be reduced 5% only if the system is integrated with the vehicle cabin air conditioning system. The reason why we were not able to achieve the 20% reduction target is because of the natural decay of the battery cell due to the number of cycles. Perhaps newer battery chemistries that are not so sensitive to cycling would have more potential for reducing the battery size due to thermal issues.

  20. Stand and within-stand factors influencing Golden-winged Warbler use of regenerating stands in the central Appalachian Mountains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marja H. Bakermans

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera is currently being considered for protected status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The creation of breeding habitat in the Appalachian Mountains is considered a conservation priority for this songbird, which is dependent on extensively forested landscapes with adequate availability of young forest. We modeled abundance of Golden-winged Warbler males in regenerating harvested forest stands that were 0-17 years postharvest at both mid-Appalachian and northeast Pennsylvania regional scales using stand and within-stand characteristics of 222 regenerating stands, 2010-2011. Variables that were most influential at the mid-Appalachian scale were different than those in the northeast region. Across the mid-Appalachian ecoregion, the proportion of young forest cover, i.e., shrub/scrub cover, within 1 km of regenerating stands best explained abundance of Golden-winged Warblers. Golden-winged Warbler response was best explained by a concave quadratic relationship in which abundance was highest with 5-15% land in young forest cover. We also found evidence that the amount of herbaceous cover, i.e., the amount of grasses and forbs, within a regenerating stand positively influenced abundance of Golden-winged Warblers. In northeastern Pennsylvania, where young forest cover is found in high proportions, the distance to the nearest regenerating stand best explained variation in abundance of Golden-winged Warblers. Abundance of Golden-winged Warblers was 1500 m away. When modeling within-stand features in the northeast region, many of the models were closely ranked, indicating that multiple variables likely explained Golden-winged Warbler response to within-stand conditions. Based on our findings, we have proposed several management guidelines for land managers interested in creating breeding habitat for Golden-winged Warblers using commercial timber operations. For example, we recommend when managing for

  1. Development of Stand Alone Application Tool for Processing and Quality Measurement of Weld Imperfection Image Captured by μ-Focused Digital Radiography Using MATLAB- Based Graphical User Interface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PZ Nadila

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Digital radiography incresingly is being applied in the fabrication industry. Compared to film- based radiography, digitally radiographed images can be acquired with less time and fewer exposures. However, noises can simply occur on the digital image resulting in a low-quality result. Due to this and the system’s complexity, parameters’ sensitivity, and environmental effects, the results can be difficult to interpret, even for a radiographer. Therefore, the need of an application tool to improve and evaluate the image is becoming urgent. In this research, a user-friendly tool for image processing and image quality measurement was developed. The resulting tool contains important components needed by radiograph inspectors in analyzing defects and recording the results. This tool was written by using image processing and the graphical user interface development environment and compiler (GUIDE toolbox available in Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB R2008a. In image processing methods, contrast adjustment, and noise removal, edge detection was applied. In image quality measurement methods, mean square error (MSE, peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR, modulation transfer function (MTF, normalized signal-to-noise ratio (SNRnorm, sensitivity and unsharpness were used to measure the image quality. The graphical user interface (GUI wass then compiled to build a Windows, stand-alone application that enables this tool to be executed independently without the installation of MATLAB.

  2. Fiscal 2000 regional new energy vision formulation - Financially aided project. Report on regional new energy vision formulation for Ueno village (Object of survey: Commercialization feasibility study for a stand-alone type wind power generation system at Ueno German Culture Village); 2000 nendo Uenoson chiiki shin energy vision sakutei hokokusho. Ueno Doitsu bunkamura dokuritsugata furyoku hatsuden system jigyoka feasibility study chosa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-02-01

    A survey is conducted about the profitability of installing a stand-alone type wind power system at Ueno village (Miyako Island), Okinawa Prefecture. The German Culture Village, which is an integrated resort house provided with accommodations (500 people), educational and cultural facilities, and sports facilities consumes 272 MWh/year in electric power. The results of the survey are summarized in six chapters, which are (1) the survey of the business under the project to be the object of feasibility study, (2) project to be the object of feasibility study, (3) outline of the Okinawa Electric Power Co., Inc., Miyakojima system and problems to ensue from its interconnection with wind turbines, (4) survey of stand-alone type wind turbine power generation systems, (5) technical/economic feasibility study, and (6) project management and future tasks. It is concluded that there will be profit in the presence of a subsidy that covers 65% or more of the total cost of constructing a system comprising three 600 KW wind turbines, three 400 kW class diesel generators, and storage batteries. (NEDO)

  3. Working alone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tearle, Paul

    2004-09-01

    Employees may be found working alone in a wide range of occupations. Technological advance, rationalisation and automation mean that more and more frequently. one single person is in charge of several machines, pieces of equipment or different work activities. Employees will be found working alone during work carried out as 'overtime', as part of flexible working hours, on Saturdays, Sundays, Bank Holidays and other statutory leave days, or in situations where their work takes them away from a fixed base (mobile workers). A person may be considered to be 'working alone' whenever it is not possible to offer immediate assistance following an accident or in another critical situation. This article looks at the legal background to lone working and what an employer must do to ensure lone workers are at no greater risk to their health and safety than any other members of the workforce.

  4. Journal of Chemical Sciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Indian Academy of Sciences. Home · About IASc · History · Memorandum of Association · Role of the Academy · Statutes · Council · Raman Chair · Jubilee Chair · Academy – Springer Nature chair · Academy Trust · Contact details · Office Staff · Office complaint redressal committee · Positions Available · Citizens Charter ...

  5. Interactive 3-dimensional registration of stand-along 18F-FDG whole-body PET with CT in the thorax

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Xiangsong; Tang Anwu; He Zuoxiang

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To establish a method of 3-dimensional volume fusion of stand-alone 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET with CT in the thorax. Methods: 18 F-FDG PET and CT studies were performed on 8 patients with lung cancer. CT raw data were reconstructed into three dimensional volume data. The mutual positioning of the volume data of PET and CT was repeatedly adjusted according to the inner marker of apparent anatomical structures and lesions until the accurate registrations were obtained. The registered PET study was then displayed on a hot metal scale overlaid on top of the gray scale CT study. Results: All of the 25 lesions on 18 F-FDG PET imaging in 8 patients were correctly located on CT images using the software of three dimension volumetric fusion of stand-alone 18 F-FDG PET with CT in the thorax. The software can be run in a PC computer, and the whole computational performance time of the software algorithm is less than 10 min for one patient. Conclusion: This technique can correctly locate the FDG uptake lesions in the thorax. (authors)

  6. cur | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  7. jarc | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  8. j | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  9. Associateship | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  10. Associateship | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Most recent entry 16 January 2017. The Academy regrets to report the passing of: Roshko, Prof. Anatol C V Vishveshwara (see YouTube video: Eureka with C. V. Vishveshwara) Mandayam Anandampillai Lakshmi Thathachar Chokkappa Kempanna. © 2017 Indian Academy of Sciences, Bengaluru. Contact | Site index.

  11. Sadhana | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Logo of the Indian Academy of Sciences. Indian Academy of ... 2013 pp 571-589. An evolutionary approach for colour constancy based on gamut mapping constraint satisfaction ... A new colour constancy algorithm based on automatic determination of gray framework parameters using neural network · Mohammad Mehdi ...

  12. Authentic Assessment in the First Steiner Academy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnett, John

    2009-01-01

    In August 2008, the then Schools Minister, Andrew Adonis, gave the go-ahead for the privately funded Hereford Waldorf School to reopen as a tax-payer-funded Academy, sponsored by the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship of Great Britain. Accordingly, the Steiner Academy Hereford opened in September 2008. In common with the 132 other Academies opened…

  13. Design of a small scale stand-alone solar thermal co-generation plant for an isolated region in Egypt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdelhady, Suzan; Borello, Domenico; Tortora, Eileen

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • In the selected area, connection to the grid is very difficult and expensive. • The integrated unsteady CSP/ORC system, was modeled TRNSYS. • Assuming a CSP of 200,000 m 2 , 6 MW e and 21.5 MW th can be obtained. • The energy is sufficient to feed more than 3,300 rural users and two big factories. • PER = 1.43, LCOE = 1.25 USD/kW h and the GHG emissions are reduced of 7300 toe/year. - Abstract: Most of Egypt’s population is concentrated in the Nile Valley (5% of Egypt’s area), while the western desert occupies an area of 50% of the total area of Egypt with a small number of inhabitants. The New Valley is the largest governorates in Egypt which occupies 45.8% of the total area of the Country and 65% of the Western Desert and it is the least densely populated governorate in Egypt. However, New Valley has started to receive the migrated people from the Nile valley and Delta region and the demand for the energy is continuously increasing. However, the rural area in New Valley still suffers from lack of access to energy services. The very high transmission losses and costs are the main challenges for electrification in this area. Then, it is worth to investigate the opportunities for distributed energy generation. This area of Egypt receives some of the highest solar radiation in the world (up to 3000 kW h per square meters per year), making it a prime location for use of this resource. In this study, performance and economic assessment of a small scale stand-alone solar thermal co-generation plant using diathermic oil is presented. This configuration is considered as a promising and sustainable solution to provide electricity and heat to an isolated area satisfying the local loads. Parabolic trough plant has been modeled in TRNSYS simulation environment integrated with the Solar Thermal Electric Components (STEC) model library. Both solar and power cycle performances have been modeled based on the solar energy data of the plant site. The

  14. The international phase 4 validation study of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32: A stand-alone measure of spiritual well-being for people receiving palliative care for cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vivat, B; Young, T E; Winstanley, J; Arraras, J I; Black, K; Boyle, F; Bredart, A; Costantini, A; Guo, J; Irarrazaval, M E; Kobayashi, K; Kruizinga, R; Navarro, M; Omidvari, S; Rohde, G E; Serpentini, S; Spry, N; Van Laarhoven, H W M; Yang, G M

    2017-11-01

    The EORTC Quality of Life Group has just completed the final phase (field-testing and validation) of an international project to develop a stand-alone measure of spiritual well-being (SWB) for palliative cancer patients. Participants (n = 451)-from 14 countries on four continents; 54% female; 188 Christian; 50 Muslim; 156 with no religion-completed a provisional 36-item measure of SWB plus the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL (PAL), then took part in a structured debriefing interview. All items showed good score distribution across response categories. We assessed scale structure using principal component analysis and Rasch analysis, and explored construct validity, and convergent/divergent validity with the PAL. Twenty-two items in four scoring scales (Relationship with Self, Relationships with Others, Relationship with Someone or Something Greater, and Existential) explained 53% of the variance. The measure also includes a global SWB item and nine other items. Scores on the PAL global quality-of-life item and Emotional Functioning scale weakly-moderately correlated with scores on the global SWB item and two of the four SWB scales. This new validated 32-item SWB measure addresses a distinct aspect of quality-of-life, and is now available for use in research and clinical practice, with a role as both a measurement and an intervention tool. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Tender Notices | About IASc | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    ... Tender for works related to expansion to main building of Indian Academy of ... for building Hostel Block at Indian Academy of Sciences Fellows Residency, ... the Three Science Academies of India on the teaching of the theory of evolution

  16. Associateship | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Date of birth: 30 December 1961. Specialization: String Theory Address during Associateship: Institute of Physics, Sachivalaya Marg, Bhubaneswar 751 005. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be ...

  17. Associateship | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Date of birth: 27 August 1960. Specialization: Polymer Science Address during Associateship: IPC Department, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will ...

  18. conf | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Academy Public Lecture and INSA–Leopoldina Lecture by Prof. Jörg Hacker, President, German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. 4 December, 2017, 4 PM Faculty Hall, Indian Institute. Associates – 2017. Posted on 30 August 2017. Click here to see the list · 83rd Annual Meeting. Posted on 01 December 2017.

  19. Mental illness and legal fitness (competence) to stand trial in New York State: expert opinion and criminal defendants' psychiatric symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Eugene; Rosner, Richard; Harmon, Ronnie

    2014-07-01

    Fitness to Stand Trial is a critical concept in the adjudication of justice-involved persons. A retrospective study was conducted to examine criminal defendants' specific psychiatric symptoms and those symptoms' associations with expert opinions on Competence to Stand Trial. One hundred charts were reviewed: 50 Cases (opined as Not Fit) were compared against 50 Controls (opined as Fit) with respect to ratings on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). A significance level of 0.001 was selected a priori. Statistically significant differences were found in seven of the eighteen BPRS symptom constructs (with the highest differences in Conceptual Disorganization and Unusual Thought Content) and two of the four BPRS higher-order syndrome factors (Thinking Disorder and Hostile-Suspiciousness). Consistent with previous reports, psychotic symptoms are found in this study to be inversely associated with Fitness. Validity, reliability, and limitations of this study, as well as directions for future research, are discussed herein. © 2014 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  20. Nuclear Academy for journalists

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szoenyi, Z.; Bujdoso, E.; Komornik, F.

    2000-01-01

    Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority launched a comprehensive nuclear training program for journalists in 1999. The aim of the ''Nuclear Academy'' was to gain the journalists for the objective interpretation and - for this reason - to provide them a large-scale knowledge and experience in connection with nuclear energy. The Academy consisted of ten all day long programs monthly, containing lectures, discussions, debates and technical visits to the Paks NPP, research and training reactors, scientific institutions and facilities of waste disposal, etc. Two international outlooks were important events of the training: the journalists visited the Mohovce NPP (Slovakia) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.The successful attendants took over diplomas at the closing ceremony in June 2000, which diplomas authorise them to use the ''Nuclear Journalist'' title. The slogan of the Academy was: ''Gain and provide objective information''. (author)

  1. Acoustic radiation force on a multilayered sphere in a Gaussian standing field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Haibin; Liu, Xiaozhou; Gao, Sha; Cui, Jun; Liu, Jiehui; He, Aijun; Zhang, Gutian

    2018-03-01

    We develop a model for calculating the radiation force on spherically symmetric multilayered particles based on the acoustic scattering approach. An expression is derived for the radiation force on a multilayered sphere centered on the axis of a Gaussian standing wave propagating in an ideal fluid. The effects of the sound absorption of the materials and sound wave on acoustic radiation force of a multilayered sphere immersed in water are analyzed, with particular emphasis on the shell thickness of every layer, and the width of the Gaussian beam. The results reveal that the existence of particle trapping behavior depends on the choice of the non-dimensional frequency ka, as well as the shell thickness of each layer. This study provides a theoretical basis for the development of acoustical tweezers in a Gaussian standing wave, which may benefit the improvement and development of acoustic control technology, such as trapping, sorting, and assembling a cell, and drug delivery applications. Project supported by National Key R&D Program (Grant No. 2016YFF0203000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11774167 and 61571222), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant No. 020414380001), the Key Laboratory of Underwater Acoustic Environment, Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. SSHJ-KFKT-1701), and the AQSIQ Technology R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2017QK125).

  2. Information and Announcements Science Academies' Refresher ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    2015-09-20

    Sep 20, 2015 ... Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, The National Academy ... Advances in Chemistry for College/University teachers and research scholars will be ... Course will cover both basic and advanced topics in Chemistry ...

  3. Sadhana | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Toggle navigation. Logo of the Indian Academy of Sciences. Indian Academy of Sciences. Home · About IASc · History · Memorandum of Association ... Volume 31 Issue 5 October 2006 pp 621-633. Minimizing total costs of forest roads with computer-aided design model · Abdullah E Akay · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

  4. Indian Academy of Sciences: Home

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Founded in 1934 by Sir C V Raman the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was registered as a Society on 27 April 1934 with the main objective of promoting the progress and upholding the cause of science. The Academy began functioning with 65 Founding Fellows and the formal inauguration took place at the ...

  5. Planning Guide for Career Academies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dayton, Charles

    2010-01-01

    A career academy is a small learning community within a high school, which selects a subset of students and teachers for a two-, three-, or four-year period. Students enter through a voluntary process; they must apply and be accepted, with parental knowledge and support. A career academy involves teachers from different subjects working together…

  6. American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... New Research AADSM Highlights Members More news... Dental Sleep Medicine: An area of dental practice that focuses on ... SomnoMed Silver Sponsors Copyright © American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, All Rights Reserved. American Academy of Dental Sleep ...

  7. Fellowship | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The process of election of Fellows is described in the statutes. Nomination forms are provided only to the Fellows and are not made available on the Academy website. Those pursuing research in India are eligible to be nominated. The last date for receipt of new nominations is 31st May. The Academy offers only fellowship ...

  8. Catherine Cesarsky Elected Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-04-01

    On April 20, 2004, the US National Academy of Sciences selected 72 new members and 18 foreign associates from 13 countries, including Dr. Cesarsky, in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. This brought the total number of active members to 1,949, among which 351 foreign associates. The US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a private, non-profit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Election to the NAS is considered one of the highest honours that can be accorded a scientist or engineer. "It is a great honour. I am extremely happy about it," says Catherine Cesarsky. "It comes at a time when we are very engaged in a fruitful collaboration with our American partners for the construction of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, certainly one of the largest ground-based astronomy projects of the next decade." Among its distinguished members, the National Academy includes 83 astronomers. Catherine Cesarsky was elected in recognition of her role as a pioneer of space infrared astronomy and a leader of European physics and astronomy. "She has made seminal contributions to the study of star formation in near and distant galaxies, the cosmic infrared background, and the confinement and acceleration of cosmic rays", states the nomination form. "The election of Catherine Cesarsky to the US National Academy of Sciences is most appropriate", declares Piet van der Kruit, President of ESO's Council. "She has many accomplishments of very high standing, not the least her leadership of the European Southern Observatory ESO, which under her directorship became the leading organisation worldwide in

  9. Retrospective analysis of detomidine infusion for standing chemical restraint in 51 horses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, D V; Bohart, G V; Evans, A T; Robertson, S; Rondenay, Y

    2002-01-01

    To assess the effectiveness of a detomidine infusion technique to provide standing chemical restraint in the horse. Retrospective study. Fifty-one adult horses aged 9.5 ± 6.9 years (range 1-23 years) and weighing 575 ± 290.3 kg. Records of horses presented to our clinic over a 3-year period in which a detomidine infusion was used to provide standing chemical restraint were reviewed. Information relating to the types of procedure performed, duration of infusion, drug dosages and adjunct drugs administered was retrieved. Detomidine was administered as an initial bolus loading dose (mean ± SD) of 7.5 ± 1.87 μg kg -1 . The initial infusion rate was 0.6 μg kg -1 minute -1 , and this was halved every 15 minutes. The duration of the infusion ranged from 20 to 135 minutes. Twenty horses received additional detomidine or butorphanol during the procedure. All horses undergoing surgery received local anesthesia or epidural analgesia in addition to the detomidine infusion. A wide variety of procedures were performed in these horses. Detomidine administered by infusion provides prolonged periods of chemical restraint in standing horses. Supplemental sedatives or analgesics may be needed in horses undergoing surgery. An effective method that provides prolonged periods of chemical restraint in standing horses is described. The infusion alone did not provide sufficient analgesia for surgery and a significant proportion of animals required supplemental sedatives and analgesics. Copyright © 2002 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Overview | Journals | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2017-12-21

    Dec 21, 2017 ... ... Academy of Sciences Parts A and B began publication that very year. The Academy today publishes 12 journals, several of which grew out of ... which is among the oldest English language journals in genetics, having been ...

  11. Relationships Between Simple Toe Elevation Angle in the Standing Position and Dynamic Balance and Fall Risk Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takatori, Katsuhiko; Matsumoto, Daisuke

    2015-10-01

    To investigate the relationships between toe elevation ability in the standing position and dynamic balance and fall risk among community-dwelling older adults. Cross-sectional survey. General community. Community-dwelling older adults (N = 287). Toe elevation angles in the standing position. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of measurements of the toe elevation angle was high (internal coefficient of correlation [ICC] (1,2) = 0.94 for the former and ICC (2,1) = 0.90 for the latter). Significant correlations were found between the toe elevation angle and age (r = -0.20, P fall in the previous 6 months had a significantly lower toe elevation angle compared with subjects who did not experience a fall (t = 2.19, P balance ability and appears to be a simple screening test for fall risk in community-dwelling older adults. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Alternative route of process modification for biofuel production by embedding the Fischer-Tropsch plant in existing stand-alone power plant (10 MW) based on biomass gasification - Part I: A conceptual modeling and simulation approach (a case study in Thailand)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hunpinyo, Piyapong; Cheali, Peam; Narataruksa, Phavanee

    2014-01-01

    a base case process model coupled with techno-economic evaluation for the FT synthesis. In particular, the FT process configurations are designed and assessed using current kinetic laboratory data by our research group for modeling specific reactions in PFR reactor. The calculation of equipment sizing......The utilization of syngas shows a highly potential to improve the economic potential of the stand-alone power unit-based gasification plants as well as enhancing the growing demand of transportation fuels. The thermochemical conversion of biomass via gasification to heat and power generations from...... incurred several major unit operations is performed for once-through mode (no recycles of unconverted syngas) with electricity co-production. This study provides a detailed base-case model for the synthesis with the capacities of 1, 2 and 3 MW of syngas technology sharing and the comparison between...

  13. Citizens Charter | About IASc | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Science Education Panel: The Academy has been undertaking several programmes for improving the state of science education in the country. ... Panels on Scientific Values and Women in Science: As part of the Academy initiatives on topics of importance to scientists, two new panels were set up by the Academy - on ...

  14. Information and Announcements Science Academies 81st Refresher ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    2016-09-25

    Sep 25, 2016 ... are in (a) mechanics, (b) heat, (c) electricity both DC and AC, (d) magnetism, (e) relaxation, (f) phase sensitive detection technique, and (g) non-linear dynamics. This course is sponsored by Indian Academy of Sciences,. Bangalore, Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi and National Academy of ...

  15. European Decommissioning Academy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slugen, V. S.; Hornacek, M.

    2016-01-01

    Full text: Experiences from the first run of the European Decommissioning Academy (EDA) are reported in details. EDA was created at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava Slovakia, based on discussion and expressed needs declared at many international meetings including ECED2013. The first run successfully passed 15 participants during 7–26 June 2015. Academy was focused on decommissioning issues via lessons, practical exercises in laboratories, on-site training prepared at NPP V-1 in Jaslovské Bohunice, Slovakia as well as four day technical tour to other European decommissioning facilities in Switzerland and Italy. Detailed information can be found at http://kome.snus.sk/inpe/. (author

  16. Developing Youth Football Academies in Greece: Managing Issues and Challenges

    OpenAIRE

    Chris Trikalis; Zisis Papanikolaou; Sofia Trikali

    2014-01-01

    Present study firstly investigated the goals and objectives of youth football academies in Greece, according to the different sector that they operate (public, private, voluntary) and secondly created proposals for future youth football academies development. Research was conducted in Greece, at the period of 2010-2011. Fourteen youth football academies participated in this study and divided into three categories (five academies in commercial sector, four academies in public sector, and five ...

  17. Academy named after newsreader's wife.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-24

    AN ADMIRAL nurse academy named in honour of Bonnie Suchet, the wife of former newsreader John Suchet, has opened. The 'virtual' academy, set up by charity dementia UK, Canterbury Christ Church University and the Avante Partnership, will provide continuing professional development and a networking environment for n nurses through its website. Ms Suchet has Alzheimer's disease and is in a care home.

  18. Events | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Events. 404! error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from 29–30 June ...

  19. currsci | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; currsci. 404! error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from 29–30 June ...

  20. Development of prolonged standing strain index to quantify risk levels of standing jobs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halim, Isa; Omar, Abdul Rahman

    2012-01-01

    Many occupations in industry such as metal stamping workers, electronics parts assembly operators, automotive industry welders, and lathe operators require working in a standing posture for a long time. Prolonged standing can contribute to discomfort and muscle fatigue particularly in the back and legs. This study developed the prolonged standing strain index (PSSI) to quantify the risk levels caused by standing jobs, and proposed recommendations to minimize the risk levels. Risk factors associated with standing jobs, such as working posture, muscles activity, standing duration, holding time, whole-body vibration, and indoor air quality, were the basis for developing the PSSI. All risk factors were assigned multipliers, and the PSSI was the product of those multipliers. Recommendations for improvement are based on the PSSI; however, extensive studies are required to validate their effectiveness. multipliers, and the PSSI was the product of those multipliers. Recommendations for improvement are based on the PSSI; however, extensive studies are required to validate their effectiveness.

  1. Committee on Scientific Values | Initiatives | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Academy Committee on Scientific Values. The Council of the Academy had in 2003 constituted a Committee to consider and submit a report on ethical guidelines which the fellowship of the Academy should follow. The Committee submitted its report to the Council, which at its meeting in December 2005 approved this report ...

  2. The one-leg standing radiograph

    OpenAIRE

    Pinsornsak, P.; Naratrikun, K.; Kanitnate, S.; Sangkomkamhang, T.

    2016-01-01

    Objectives The purpose of this study was to compare the joint space width between one-leg and both-legs standing radiographs in order to diagnose a primary osteoarthritis of the knee. Methods Digital radiographs of 100 medial osteoarthritic knees in 50 patients were performed. The patients had undergone one-leg standing anteroposterior (AP) views by standing on the affected leg while a both-legs standing AP view was undertaken while standing on both legs. The severity of the osteoarthritis wa...

  3. Two weeks of additional standing balance circuit classes during inpatient rehabilitation are cost saving and effective: an economic evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treacy, Daniel; Howard, Kirsten; Hayes, Alison; Hassett, Leanne; Schurr, Karl; Sherrington, Catherine

    2018-01-01

    Among people admitted for inpatient rehabilitation, is usual care plus standing balance circuit classes more cost-effective than usual care alone? Cost-effectiveness study embedded within a randomised controlled trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding and intention-to-treat analysis. 162 rehabilitation inpatients from a metropolitan hospital in Sydney, Australia. The experimental group received a 1-hour standing balance circuit class, delivered three times a week for 2 weeks, in addition to usual therapy. The circuit classes were supervised by one physiotherapist and one physiotherapy assistant for up to eight patients. The control group received usual therapy alone. Costs were estimated from routinely collected hospital use data in the 3 months after randomisation. The functional outcome measure was mobility measured at 3 months using the Short Physical Performance Battery administered by a blinded assessor. An incremental analysis was conducted and the joint probability distribution of costs and outcomes was examined using bootstrapping. The median cost savings for the intervention group was AUD4,741 (95% CI 137 to 9,372) per participant; 94% of bootstraps showed that the intervention was both effective and cost saving. Two weeks of additional standing balance circuit classes delivered in addition to usual therapy resulted in decreased healthcare costs at 3 months in hospital inpatients admitted for rehabilitation. There is a high probability that this intervention is both cost saving and effective. ACTRN12611000412932. [Treacy D, Howard K, Hayes A, Hassett L, Schurr K, Sherrington C (2018) Two weeks of additional standing balance circuit classes during inpatient rehabilitation are cost saving and effective: an economic evaluation. Journal of Physiotherapy 64: 41-47]. Copyright © 2017 Australian Physiotherapy Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series; Volume 1; Issue 1. Chimera-like states generated by large perturbation of synchronous state of coupled metronomes. SERGEY BREZETSKIY DAWID DUDKOWSKI PATRYCJA JAROS JERZY WOJEWODA KRZYSZTOF CZOLCZYNSKI YURI MAISTRENKO ...

  5. 1173.pdf | may102008 | currsci | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    How to combat infectious diseases: The role of Science Academies · Academy Public Lecture and INSA–Leopoldina Lecture by Prof. Jörg Hacker, President, German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. 4 December, 2017, 4 PM Faculty Hall, Indian Institute ...

  6. Reineke’s stand density index: a quantitative and non-unitless measure of stand density

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis L. VanderSchaaf

    2013-01-01

    When used as a measure of relative density, Reineke’s stand density index (SDI) can be made unitless by relating the current SDI to a standard density but when used as a quantitative measure of stand density SDI is not unitless. Reineke’s SDI relates the current stand density to an equivalent number of trees per unit area in a stand with a quadratic mean diameter (Dq)...

  7. Falls classification using tri-axial accelerometers during the five-times-sit-to-stand test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doheny, Emer P; Walsh, Cathal; Foran, Timothy; Greene, Barry R; Fan, Chie Wei; Cunningham, Clodagh; Kenny, Rose Anne

    2013-09-01

    The five-times-sit-to-stand test (FTSS) is an established assessment of lower limb strength, balance dysfunction and falls risk. Clinically, the time taken to complete the task is recorded with longer times indicating increased falls risk. Quantifying the movement using tri-axial accelerometers may provide a more objective and potentially more accurate falls risk estimate. 39 older adults, 19 with a history of falls, performed four repetitions of the FTSS in their homes. A tri-axial accelerometer was attached to the lateral thigh and used to identify each sit-stand-sit phase and sit-stand and stand-sit transitions. A second tri-axial accelerometer, attached to the sternum, captured torso acceleration. The mean and variation of the root-mean-squared amplitude, jerk and spectral edge frequency of the acceleration during each section of the assessment were examined. The test-retest reliability of each feature was examined using intra-class correlation analysis, ICC(2,k). A model was developed to classify participants according to falls status. Only features with ICC>0.7 were considered during feature selection. Sequential forward feature selection within leave-one-out cross-validation resulted in a model including four reliable accelerometer-derived features, providing 74.4% classification accuracy, 80.0% specificity and 68.7% sensitivity. An alternative model using FTSS time alone resulted in significantly reduced classification performance. Results suggest that the described methodology could provide a robust and accurate falls risk assessment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. 75 FR 39561 - National Fire Academy Board of Visitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-09

    ...] National Fire Academy Board of Visitors AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS. ACTION: Committee Management; Notice of Open Federal Advisory Committee Meeting. SUMMARY: The National Fire Academy Board of... the docket to read background documents or comments received by the National Fire Academy Board of...

  9. Predicting Freshman Grade Point Average From College Admissions Test Scores and State High School Test Scores

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Koretz

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The current focus on assessing “college and career readiness” raises an empirical question: How do high school tests compare with college admissions tests in predicting performance in college? We explored this using data from the City University of New York and public colleges in Kentucky. These two systems differ in the choice of college admissions test, the stakes for students on the high school test, and demographics. We predicted freshman grade point average (FGPA from high school GPA and both college admissions and high school tests in mathematics and English. In both systems, the choice of tests had only trivial effects on the aggregate prediction of FGPA. Adding either test to an equation that included the other had only trivial effects on prediction. Although the findings suggest that the choice of test might advantage or disadvantage different students, it had no substantial effect on the over- and underprediction of FGPA for students classified by race-ethnicity or poverty.

  10. Associateship | Fellowship | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Associateship. Associate of the Indian Academy of Sciences. This programme was initiated by the Academy in 1983 to identify and encourage promising young scientists. The Associateship is tenable for a maximum period of five years until the age of 35 or a minimum period of three years. During this period the Associates ...

  11. Informing Approaches in Establishing Stand Alone Community ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Literacy is usually considered the ability to read at a basic level. Now it is beginning to be defined more broadly to include applying reading, writing, and mathematical skills to obtain and use information and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function in society, to achieve one's goals and develop one's ...

  12. Academy Training Catalog -

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Transportation — IRIS is a suite of front-end web applications utilizing a centralized back-end Oracle database. The system fully supports the FAA Academy's Distance Learning Program...

  13. Role of the Academy | About IASc | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The Academy has laid the responsibility on all its Fellows, individually and ... the principle of social responsibility for all scientific effort, individual or corporate, ... to provide publication opportunities to Indian scientists at the international level; ...

  14. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series; Volume 1; Issue 1. Missing cycles: Effect of climate change on population dynamics. JANAKI BALAKRISHNAN SUDHARSANA V IYENGAR JÜRGEN KURTHS. Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear Dynamics - 2016 Volume 1 Issue 1 ...

  15. Learning to Stand: The Acceptability and Feasibility of Introducing Standing Desks into College Classrooms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto M. Benzo

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Prolonged sedentary behavior is an independent risk factor for multiple negative health outcomes. Evidence supports introducing standing desks into K-12 classrooms and work settings to reduce sitting time, but no studies have been conducted in the college classroom environment. The present study explored the acceptability and feasibility of introducing standing desks in college classrooms. A total of 993 students and 149 instructors completed a single online needs assessment survey. This cross-sectional study was conducted during the fall semester of 2015 at a large Midwestern University. The large majority of students (95% reported they would prefer the option to stand in class. Most students (82.7% reported they currently sit during their entire class time. Most students (76.6% and instructors (86.6% reported being in favor of introducing standing desks into college classrooms. More than half of students and instructors predicted having access to standing desks in class would improve student’s “physical health”, “attention”, and “restlessness”. Collectively, these findings support the acceptability of introducing standing desks in college classrooms. Future research is needed to test the feasibility, cost-effectiveness and efficacy of introducing standing desks in college classrooms. Such studies would be useful for informing institutional policies regarding classroom designs.

  16. Annual Meetings | Events | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  17. pju | splpubs | pubs | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  18. ArcAcademy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  19. B | About IASc | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  20. Leadership Academies: Elixir for Common School Ills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    School Administrator, 1989

    1989-01-01

    Describes a model leadership academy program at Topeka (Kansas) Public Schools in cooperation with Kansas State University. Created in 1987, the academy was designed to serve the school system's unique needs while fostering innovative educational experiences for administrator preparation. Includes four references. (MLH)

  1. AWARENESS, KNOWLEDGE, AND BEHAVIOR REGARDING HIV/AIDS AMONG FRESHMAN STUDENTS AT OAKLAND UNIVERSITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sean Mackman

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV causes a sexually transmitted disease (STD affecting the human immune system. It is mainly transmitted through sexual intercourse, blood transfusions, hypodermic needles, and parenterally. Multiple actions can be taken to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, such as condom and sterile needle use and HIV testing for pregnant women. This study aims to assess freshmen students’ awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral perceptions regarding HIV/AIDS at Oakland University (OU in Michigan. This study is a cross-sectional survey targeting freshman students at OU. The questionnaire is comprised of seven sections including demographics, risk perception, protection measures, alcohol tendencies, health-seeking behaviors, culturally sensitive issues, and methods of dissemination of information. The mean age of respondents was 20. The majority of respondents knew that HIV is transmitted sexually (98% and by sharing needles (98%. Many misconceptions about transmission of HIV were expressed by 53%. Data showed that while there was good knowledge regarding HIV transmission and prevention, some misconceptions still prevailed. Our results indicate the need to develop educational programs with specific interventions to raise awareness about preventive measures, clear misconceptions, and promote healthy lifestyle in order to prevent new HIV infections among young college students.

  2. Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership Annual Publications

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership's Annual Report highlights the Academy's efforts to serve the NASA workforce's needs in adapting to the...

  3. Role of the Academy | About IASc | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    ... individual or corporate, is entirely consistent with individual freedom and that the quest for knowledge and ... within the Academy a fuller representation of the Indian scientific community in its corporate body so that the ... Math and Finance ...

  4. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Annual Meetings · Mid Year Meetings · Discussion Meetings · Public Lectures · Lecture Workshops · Refresher Courses · Symposia · Live Streaming. Home; Journals; Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series; Volume 1; Issue 1. Organizing Commitee. Proceedings of the Conference on Perspectives in Nonlinear ...

  5. Effects of a stand-alone web-based electronic screening and brief intervention targeting alcohol use in university students of legal drinking age: A randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganz, Thomas; Braun, Michael; Laging, Marion; Schermelleh-Engel, Karin; Michalak, Johannes; Heidenreich, Thomas

    2018-02-01

    Many intervention efforts targeting student drinking were developed to address US college students, which usually involves underage drinking. It remains unclear, if research evidence from these interventions is generalizable to university and college students of legal drinking age, e.g., in Europe. To evaluate the effectiveness of a translated and adapted version of the eCHECKUP TO GO, applied as stand-alone web-based electronic screening and brief intervention (e-SBI), in German university students at risk for hazardous drinking. A fully automated web-based two-arm parallel-group randomized controlled trial was conducted. Participants were randomized to an e-SBI or assessment-only (AO) condition. The current paper analyzed students with baseline AUDIT-C scores ≥3 for women and ≥4 for men (sample at baseline: e-SBI [n=514], AO [n=467]; 3-month follow-up: e-SBI [n=194], AO [n=231]; 6-month follow-up: e-SBI [n=146], AO [n=200]). The primary outcome was prior four weeks' alcohol consumption. Secondary outcomes were frequency of heavy drinking occasions, peak blood alcohol concentration, and number of alcohol-related problems. Mixed linear model analyses revealed significant interaction effects between groups and time points on the primary outcome after 3 and 6months. Compared to students in the AO condition, students in the e-SBI condition reported consuming 4.11 fewer standard drinks during the previous four weeks after 3months, and 4.78 fewer standard drinks after 6months. Mixed results were found on secondary outcomes. The results indicate that evidence on and knowledge of web-based e-SBIs based on US college student samples is transferable to German university students of legal drinking age. However, knowledge of what motivates students to complete programs under voluntary conditions, although rare, is needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Carnegie Science Academy Web Site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotwicki, John; Atzinger, Joe; Turso, Denise

    1997-11-01

    The Carnegie Science Academy is a professional society "For Teens...By Teens" at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. The CSA Web Site [ http://csa.clpgh.org ] is designed for teens who have an interest in science and technology. This online or virtual science academy provides resources for teens in high school science classes. The Web site also allows students around the world to participate and communicate with other students, discuss current events in science, share opinions, find answers to questions, or make online friends. Visitors can enjoy the main components of the site or sign up for a free membership which allows access to our chat room for monthly meeting, online newsletter, members forum, and much more. Main components to the site include a spot for cool links and downloads, available for any visitor to download or view. Online exhibits are created by students to examine and publish an area of study and also allow teachers to easily post classroom activities as exhibits by submitting pictures and text. Random Access, the interactive part of the academy, allows users to share ideas and opinions. Planet CSA focuses on current events in science and the academy. In the future the CSA Web site will become a major resource for teens and science teachers providing materials that will allow students to further enhance their interest and experiences in science.

  7. publications.html | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; publications.html. 404! error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from ...

  8. associates.html | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; associates.html. 404! error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from 29–30 ...

  9. Journal of the Cameroon Academy of Sciences

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Revue de L'academie des Sciences du Cameroun The Journal of the Cameroon Academy of Sciences is a multi-disciplinary publication devoted to all aspects of fundamental and applied research. It also publishes topical reviews on science and technology in development, arts, humanities and culture.

  10. Selling Academies: Local Democracy and the Management of "Consultation"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatcher, Richard

    2008-01-01

    Academies (state schools owned and run by private sponsors on a non-profit basis) are a key element in Labour's education agenda. Proposals to set up Academies, in most cases by taking over existing schools, have provoked local campaigns of opposition in many areas. Replacing a Local Authority with an Academy entails a process of consultation.…

  11. report2.pdf | cvnit | academy | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Theory Of Evolution. Posted on 23 January 2018. Joint Statement by the Three Science Academies of India on the teaching of the theory of evolution more. ... Posted on 21 December 2017. ASTROPHYSICS: An Observational View of the Universe. Math Art and Design: MAD about Math, Math Education and Outreach.

  12. Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Aim and Scope. The scope of the Indian Academy of Sciences Conference Series is to publish invited and peer reviewed original research, review, perspective, and commentary articles arising from presentations at select and topical Scientific Conferences. Upto four issues are published a year, each edited in consultation ...

  13. Office Staff | About IASc | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Administration; Editorial Staff - Academy; Editorial Staff - Current Science ... Coordinator, Summer Research Fellowship Programme (Science Education Panel), .... Joint Statement by the Three Science Academies of India on the teaching of the ...

  14. Multi-site evaluation of a computer aided detection (CAD) algorithm for small acute intra-cranial hemorrhage and development of a stand-alone CAD system ready for deployment in a clinical environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deshpande, Ruchi R.; Fernandez, James; Lee, Joon K.; Chan, Tao; Liu, Brent J.; Huang, H. K.

    2010-03-01

    Timely detection of Acute Intra-cranial Hemorrhage (AIH) in an emergency environment is essential for the triage of patients suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury. Moreover, the small size of lesions and lack of experience on the reader's part could lead to difficulties in the detection of AIH. A CT based CAD algorithm for the detection of AIH has been developed in order to improve upon the current standard of identification and treatment of AIH. A retrospective analysis of the algorithm has already been carried out with 135 AIH CT studies with 135 matched normal head CT studies from the Los Angeles County General Hospital/ University of Southern California Hospital System (LAC/USC). In the next step, AIH studies have been collected from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and are currently being processed using the AIH CAD system as part of implementing a multi-site assessment and evaluation of the performance of the algorithm. The sensitivity and specificity numbers from the Walter Reed study will be compared with the numbers from the LAC/USC study to determine if there are differences in the presentation and detection due to the difference in the nature of trauma between the two sites. Simultaneously, a stand-alone system with a user friendly GUI has been developed to facilitate implementation in a clinical setting.

  15. .pdf | Volumes | public | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Joint Statement by the Three Science Academies of India on the teaching of the theory of evolution more... Introducing: Summer Schools. Posted on 21 December 2017. ASTROPHYSICS: An Observational View of the ... Academy Public Lecture. Posted on 19 January 2018. Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza by Prof.

  16. Chain Effects: The Impact of Academy Chains on Low Income Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchings, Merryn; Francis, Becky; De Vries, Robert

    2014-01-01

    The authors analysed school performance data to review how well disadvantaged pupils achieve in academy chains. They included chains only if they had at least three academies in 2013, and two sponsored secondary academies for the whole period from September 2010 to July 2013. This means that academies are included in our analysis only when there…

  17. The effect of mastication on reaction latency to unanticipated external disturbances in the standing position.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaji, Keisuke; Katoh, Munenori; Isozaki, Koji; Aizawa, Junya; Masuda, Tadashi; Morita, Sadao

    2012-12-03

    Previous research has shown that mastication reduces shifts in the center of gravity of persons standing still. The present research was conducted to determine whether mastication improves reactive balance in the standing position in response to unanticipated external disturbances. The subjects were 32 healthy male adults (mean age 21.1 years, standard deviation (SD) 0.7 years). Latency data determined with the Motor Control Test of Computerized Dynamic Posturography (CDP) were compared for the three conditions of mastication status, the direction of translation, and the magnitude of translation, using three-way repeated measures ANOVA and lower-order ANOVA with the three conditions separated. Latency was significantly shorter with mastication than with the lower jaw relaxed (P Mastication alone, however, cannot be considered significant because of the complex interactions involved among the three conditions. Mastication increases not only static balance but also reactive balance in response to unanticipated external disturbances. Gum chewing may therefore reduce falls among elderly persons with impaired balance.

  18. Multi-Purpose Test Stand

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Multi-Purpose Test Stand is used for a wide variety of tests. The Stand is designed to be rotated through a range of fixed yaw positions to allow engines to be...

  19. Obstacles Facing the Iranian Basketball Academy

    OpenAIRE

    Hamta Hadian; Mohamad Reza Boroumand; Saeed Amirnejad; Masoud Najafi

    2016-01-01

    This study, which is a strategic study with a mixed research approach aimed to identify obstacles facing the academies of Iranian Basketball Federation. The population comprises board of directors and committees responsible for Education and Talent Spotting Association, academy administrators, physical education instructors, qualified experts, professors, coaches, referees and heads of delegations who were asked via interviews and questionnaire (exploratory manner) to state internal and exter...

  20. journals | pubs | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from 29–30 June 2018 in Infosys, Mysuru ...

  1. Startup - Philippines Community Electronic Centres Academy | CRDI ...

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

    ... involved in setting up such an academy, such as formulating operational guidelines, competency standards and an accreditation program. The team will also pilot a CeC training course using the train-the-trainers approach, form a mentors' network and engage in social marketing, advocacy and promotion of the academy.

  2. Journal of Genetics | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    All correspondence regarding subscription within India should be addressed to the Circulation Department, Indian Academy of Sciences, at the address below, or by e-mail to orders@ias.ac.in. See the Academy journals page for the latest subscription information (PDF file) and 2018 subscription prices (Library, Personal).

  3. Contact details | About IASc | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Academy Fellows' Residency, Jalahalli. Indian Academy of Sciences (Next to ISRO Housing Colony, Near HMT School) Jalahalli West Bengaluru 560 031 Tel.: +91-80-2838 1934. Location on Google Map · Sketch Map ...

  4. PEMANFAATAN WEB KHAN ACADEMY DALAM PEMBELAJARAN MATEMATIKA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joko Soebagyo

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Artikel ini bertujuan untuk mengobservasi pemanfaatan web Khan Academy siswa SMK Swasta di Jakarta Utara. Observasi dilakukan untuk mengamati aktivitas siswa dalam menggunakan web khan academy selama proses pembelajaran matematika. Pemanfaatan teknologi dalam proses pembelajaran matematika sudah sepatutnya dilakukan oleh pihak-pihak yang ikut bertanggungjawab atas keberhasilan belajar matematika perserta didik.  Teknologi merupakan hal yang tidak bisa dipisahkan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari dan salah satu bentuk teknologi yang sering dimanfaatkan saat ini adalah website dimana akitifitas pekerjaan, pendidikan, hiburan dan hubungan  sosial, semuanya dapat dialami melalui website.  Dibutuhkan sebuah website yang bias mengakomodir siswa dalam proses pembelajaran matematika baik di dalam kelas maupun di luar kelas.  Kriteria web yang baik haruslah memberikan kemudahan dalam pemanfaatannya, salah satu web tersebut adalah web khan academy.   This paper aims to observe the use of web Khan Academy Private vocational students in North Jakarta. Observations carried out to observe the activities of the students in using web khan academy during the learning process of mathematics. The use of technology in the learning process of mathematics has been duly carried out by parties who share responsibility for the success of students studying mathematics participants. Technology is something that can not be separated in everyday life and one form of technology that is often used today is a website where the activity, employment, education, entertainment and social relationships, all of which can be experienced through the website. It takes a biased website to accommodate students in mathematics learning process both in the classroom and outside the classroom. Criteria for good web should provide ease of use, one of the web is a web khan academy.

  5. Freshman Students‟ Attitudes and Behavior towards Advanced Grammar and Composition Teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romel M. Aceron

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Teaching English advanced grammar and composition to college students is important as it provides them with high level of understanding and competence in the language. It guides them in putting words together into sentences and makes them orally produce sounds clearly and effectively. This paper aims to determine the attitudes and behavior towards advanced grammar and composition teaching among freshman college students of Batangas State University. Descriptive method of research has been used to analyze and interpret data. The following instruments such as self-made questionnaire, focus group discussion, data analysis, interview guide, have been utilized to gather data. To analyze and interpret data, mean scores have been used. Pearson’s (r Product Moment Correlation Method has been utilized to treat the null hypothesis with regard to the attitudes and behavior of the students towards advanced grammar and composition teaching. Based on the findings of the study, the students sometimes understand and feel the subject matters, i.e., morphology, phonology, grammar and usage, and mechanics and composition writing. They are also sometimes ready in particular lesson and activity which are given to them in class. The study also reveals that there is no significant relationship between the students’ attitudes and behavior towards AGCT. In this regard, college students taking advanced grammar and composition course must be well-motivated to understand, and must have the readiness to perform the activities entail in the subject areas of morphology, phonology, grammar and usage, and mechanics and composition writing through teacher’s varied approaches, strategies, researches, and integration.

  6. 78 FR 25289 - Board of Visitors for the National Fire Academy Teleconference

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-30

    ...] Board of Visitors for the National Fire Academy Teleconference AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management... National Fire Academy (Academy) and advise the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.... SUMMARY: The Board of Visitors for the National Fire Academy (Board) will meet via teleconference on...

  7. Using a stand-level model to predict light absorption in stands with vertically and horizontally heterogeneous canopies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David I Forrester

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Background Forest ecosystem functioning is strongly influenced by the absorption of photosynthetically active radiation (APAR, and therefore, accurate predictions of APAR are critical for many process-based forest growth models. The Lambert-Beer law can be applied to estimate APAR for simple homogeneous canopies composed of one layer, one species, and no canopy gaps. However, the vertical and horizontal structure of forest canopies is rarely homogeneous. Detailed tree-level models can account for this heterogeneity but these often have high input and computational demands and work on finer temporal and spatial resolutions than required by stand-level growth models. The aim of this study was to test a stand-level light absorption model that can estimate APAR by individual species in mixed-species and multi-layered stands with any degree of canopy openness including open-grown trees to closed canopies. Methods The stand-level model was compared with a detailed tree-level model that has already been tested in mixed-species stands using empirical data. Both models were parameterised for five different forests, including a wide range of species compositions, species proportions, stand densities, crown architectures and canopy structures. Results The stand-level model performed well in all stands except in the stand where extinction coefficients were unusually variable and it appears unlikely that APAR could be predicted in such stands using (tree- or stand-level models that do not allow individuals of a given species to have different extinction coefficients, leaf-area density or analogous parameters. Conclusion This model is parameterised with species-specific information about extinction coefficients and mean crown length, diameter, height and leaf area. It could be used to examine light dynamics in complex canopies and in stand-level growth models.

  8. Gilda's Academy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duplessis, Gilda

    2008-01-01

    Immediately after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the author and her partner made a decision to rebuild their child care center as two apartments. However, the city of New Orleans would only approve the location for one dwelling with a child care center. This article describes the author's experiences in rebuilding Gilda's Academy, her child…

  9. e-Books | Publications | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    e-Books. of the Indian Academy of Sciences. The following publications of the Academy are now available in e-Book (ePub) format. More details about the format can be seen here. Organic Chemistry Masterclasses Articles by Prof. S Ranganathan in Resonance Download ePub | Read online. Linear Algebra and Analysis ...

  10. Public Lectures | Events | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Public and special lectures. Academy Public Lectures · Public and special lectures in Mid-Year and Annual Meetings · Platinum Jubilee Lectures. Academy's annual and mid-year meetings include a special lecture by a senior Fellow in the morning of each meeting day and one public lecture by an eminent person, from ...

  11. Hydrogen-based energy storage unit for stand alone PV systems; L'hydrogene electrolytique comme moyen de stockage d'electricite pour systemes photovoltaiques isoles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Labbe, J

    2006-12-15

    Stand alone systems supplied only by a photovoltaic generator need an energy storage unit to be fully self sufficient. Lead acid batteries are commonly used to store energy because of their low cost, despite several operational constraints. A hydrogen-based energy storage unit (HESU) could be another candidate, including an electrolyser, a fuel cell and a hydrogen tank. However many efforts still need to be carried out for this technology to reach an industrial stage. In particular, market outlets must be clearly identified. The study of small stationary applications (few kW) is performed by numerical simulations. A simulator is developed in the Matlab/Simulink environment. It is mainly composed of a photovoltaic field and a storage unit (lead acid batteries, HESU, or hybrid storage HESU/batteries). The system component sizing is achieved in order to ensure the complete system autonomy over a whole year of operation. The simulator is tested with 160 load profiles (1 kW as a yearly mean value) and three locations (Algeria, France and Norway). Two coefficients are set in order to quantify the correlation between the power consumption of the end user and the renewable resource availability at both daily and yearly scales. Among the tested cases, a limit value of the yearly correlation coefficient came out, enabling to recommend the use of the most adapted storage to a considered case. There are cases for which using HESU instead of lead acid batteries can increase the system efficiency, decrease the size of the photovoltaic field and improve the exploitation of the renewable resource. In addition, hybridization of HESU with batteries always leads to system enhancements regarding its sizing and performance, with an efficiency increase by 10 to 40 % depending on the considered location. The good agreement between the simulation data and field data gathered on real systems enabled the validation of the models used in this study. (author)

  12. Thinning in artificially regenerated young beech stands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Novák Jiří

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Although beech stands are usually regenerated naturally, an area of up to 5,000 ha year−1 is artificially regenerated by beech in the Czech Republic annually. Unfortunately, these stands often showed insufficient stand density and, consequently, lower quality of stems. Therefore, thinning methods developed for naturally regenerated beech stands are applicable with difficulties. The paper evaluates the data from two thinning experiments established in young artificially regenerated beech stands located in different growing conditions. In both experiments, thinning resulted in the lower amount of salvage cut in following years. Positive effect of thinning on periodic stand basal area increment and on periodic diameter increment of dominant trees was found in the beech stand located at middle elevations. On the other hand, thinning effects in mountain conditions were negligible. Thinning focusing on future stand quality cannot be commonly applied in artificially regenerated beech stands because of their worse initial quality and lower density. However, these stands show good growth and response to thinning, hence their management can be focused on maximising beech wood production.

  13. Recruit Fitness as a Predictor of Police Academy Graduation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shusko, M; Benedetti, L; Korre, M; Eshleman, E J; Farioli, A; Christophi, C A; Kales, S N

    2017-10-01

    Suboptimal recruit fitness may be a risk factor for poor performance, injury, illness, and lost time during police academy training. To assess the probability of successful completion and graduation from a police academy as a function of recruits' baseline fitness levels at the time of academy entry. Retrospective study where all available records from recruit training courses held (2006-2012) at all Massachusetts municipal police academies were reviewed and analysed. Entry fitness levels were quantified from the following measures, as recorded at the start of each training class: body composition, push-ups, sit-ups, sit-and-reach, and 1.5-mile run-time. The primary outcome of interest was the odds of not successfully graduating from an academy. We used generalized linear mixed models in order to fit logistic regression models with random intercepts for assessing the probability of not graduating, based on entry-level fitness. The primary analyses were restricted to recruits with complete entry-level fitness data. The fitness measures most strongly associated with academy failure were lesser number of push-ups completed (odds ratio [OR] = 5.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.3-11.7, for 20 versus 41-60 push-ups) and slower run times (OR = 3.8, 95% CI 1.8-7.8, [1.5 mile run time of ≥15'20″] versus [12'33″ to 10'37″]). Baseline pushups and 1.5-mile run-time showed the best ability to predict successful academy graduation, especially when considered together. Future research should include prospective validation of entry-level fitness as a predictor of subsequent police academy success. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.

  14. Refrigeration system having standing wave compressor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas, Timothy S.

    1992-01-01

    A compression-evaporation refrigeration system, wherein gaseous compression of the refrigerant is provided by a standing wave compressor. The standing wave compressor is modified so as to provide a separate subcooling system for the refrigerant, so that efficiency losses due to flashing are reduced. Subcooling occurs when heat exchange is provided between the refrigerant and a heat pumping surface, which is exposed to the standing acoustic wave within the standing wave compressor. A variable capacity and variable discharge pressure for the standing wave compressor is provided. A control circuit simultaneously varies the capacity and discharge pressure in response to changing operating conditions, thereby maintaining the minimum discharge pressure needed for condensation to occur at any time. Thus, the power consumption of the standing wave compressor is reduced and system efficiency is improved.

  15. Journal of Biosciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2016-08-26

    Aug 26, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Biosciences; Search ... part of the email address of all email addresses used by the office of Indian Academy of Sciences, including those of the staff, the journals, various programmes, and Current Science, has changed from 'ias.ernet.in' (or 'academy.ias.ernet.in') to 'ias.ac.in'.

  16. Parent Academy: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Husain, Fatima; Jabin, Nico; Haywood, Sarah; Kasim, Adetayo; Paylor, Jonathan

    2016-01-01

    The Parent Academy was a series of classes for pupils' parents, designed to improve the English and mathematics attainment of pupils in Years 3 to 6 in English primary schools. Parents were offered the opportunity to participate in 12 Parent Academy classes, 6 on English and 6 on mathematics, delivered fortnightly by tutors with teaching…

  17. Live Streaming | Events | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Live Streaming. Watch Academy events live here! There are no live events currently happening. Watch out this space for updates or suscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year ...

  18. Child abuse and neglect experts' determination of when a child being left home alone constitutes child neglect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennissen, Charles A; Evans, Erin; Oral, Resmiye; Denning, Gerene

    2018-04-10

    Only 14 states have laws or guidelines regarding the minimum age a child may be left home alone. These ages range from 6 to 14 years. Our objective was to identify factors that influence child neglect determination by experts with regards to parents leaving children home alone. American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Child Abuse and Neglect members (N = 523) were surveyed from July-August, 2015. Respondents were asked whether scenarios involving a child of varying age knowingly left home alone for 4 h were neglect in the presence or absence of injury to the child and the legality of the situation. Comparisons were performed using the chi-square test. One hundred ninety-three members responded (36.9%). In the scenario where there were no relevant laws and the child was uninjured, nearly 100% of the child experts determined this as being child neglect when the child was 6 years old. For 8, 10, 12, and 14 year olds, this was 88, 48, 4, and 1%, respectively. However, a significantly higher percentage of experts considered it child neglect for most ages when there was a law making the scenario illegal as compared when there was no law, and when the child was injured versus when they were not. The only demographic variable that showed a difference in child neglect determination was that females were more likely to consider higher aged children as having been neglected when there were no laws but the child was injured. The vast majority of experts (85%) stated that leaving a child home alone for 4 h should be illegal if the child is < 9 years old, and nearly one-half (44%) said it should be illegal for children < 11 years old. A number of factors affect how experts view children being left home alone as potential child neglect. Our data suggests that such cases may be evaluated differently due to variations in state laws, even though the risk to the child is the same. These results call for child safety law reform to provide greater uniformity in the

  19. How Academies use science to enhance global security and well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boright, John

    2017-01-01

    Science academies were originally created to facilitate science communication and later to recognize excellence. But in the last 20 years some 150 academies of science, engineering,and medicine around the world have united to cooperate in contributing to human welfare, by: 1. Providing evidence-based inputs to national, regional, and global policies addressing human needs, and 2. Conducting cooperative programs to increase the capacity of academies to provide such advice, and to better connect academies to publics and to policy makers. Examples: At the global level, 112 academies of science produce brief common statements on major global issues. They have also created an organization to provide in-depth reports on major issues such as a transition to sustainable energy systems, boosting agricultural productivity in Africa, and a guide to responsible conduct in the global research enterprise. Regional networks of those academies, in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe conduct program on topics such as water, energy, engagement of women in science, and science education. They also help and mentor new academies.

  20. The Influence of Residual Stand Densities on Regeneration in Sugar Maple Stands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carl H. Tubbs

    1968-01-01

    Studies of regeneration 2, 5, and 10 years after cutting mature and overmature sugar maple stands to several residual densities show that (1) sugar maple is still the predominant species under all stand densities (2) nearly all regeneration reaching larger size classes became established before cutting (3) heavier cuttings (30, 50, and 70 square feet) are more rapidly...

  1. 70am | annmeet | meetings | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  2. absfeb2015.htm | jess | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  3. san boq.pdf | office | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  4. 00001061.pdf | 6 | bms | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ethical Guidelines and Procedures document. Posted on 17 January 2017. A revised version of the document 'Scientific Values: Ethical Guidelines and Procedures' has been produced by the Academy's Panel on Scientific Values. For more details, see the Academy Committee on Scientific Values page.

  5. Science Academies' Refresher Course on Innovations in Genetics ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    PG and Research Department of Botany, Vivekananda College of Arts and Sciences for Women. (Autonomous), Elayampalayam ... Academy of Sciences, Bengaluru. Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi ... R Uma Shaankar, Department of Crop physiology and School of Ecology and Conservation, University of ...

  6. Bulletin of Materials Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Logo of the Indian Academy of Sciences. Indian Academy of ... using Scherrer's formula. Volume 27 Issue 2 April 2004 pp 213-216 High Pressure Studies. High pressure effect on MoS2 and MoSe2 single crystals grown by CVT method.

  7. Planter unit test stand

    Science.gov (United States)

    A planter test stand was developed to evaluate individual row-crop metering units in early 2013. This test stand provided the ability to quantify actual seed metering in terms of population, seed spacing, skips, and multiples over a range of meter RPMs and vacuum pressures. Preliminary data has been...

  8. Resonance – Journal of Science Education | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Conferring Molecular Machines as Engines of Creativity ... Science Academies' 92nd Refresher Course in Experimental Physics ... Science Academies' Refresher Course on Advances in Molecular Biology.

  9. 24 CFR 206.37 - Credit standing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... CONVERSION MORTGAGE INSURANCE Eligibility; Endorsement Eligible Mortgagors § 206.37 Credit standing. Each mortgagor must have a general credit standing satisfactory to the Secretary. ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Credit standing. 206.37 Section 206...

  10. Three-dimensional instability of standing waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Qiang; Liu, Yuming; Yue, Dick K. P.

    2003-12-01

    We investigate the three-dimensional instability of finite-amplitude standing surface waves under the influence of gravity. The analysis employs the transition matrix (TM) approach and uses a new high-order spectral element (HOSE) method for computation of the nonlinear wave dynamics. HOSE is an extension of the original high-order spectral method (HOS) wherein nonlinear wave wave and wave body interactions are retained up to high order in wave steepness. Instead of global basis functions in HOS, however, HOSE employs spectral elements to allow for complex free-surface geometries and surface-piercing bodies. Exponential convergence of HOS with respect to the total number of spectral modes (for a fixed number of elements) and interaction order is retained in HOSE. In this study, we use TM-HOSE to obtain the stability of general three-dimensional perturbations (on a two-dimensional surface) on two classes of standing waves: plane standing waves in a rectangular tank; and radial/azimuthal standing waves in a circular basin. For plane standing waves, we confirm the known result of two-dimensional side-bandlike instability. In addition, we find a novel three-dimensional instability for base flow of any amplitude. The dominant component of the unstable disturbance is an oblique (standing) wave oriented at an arbitrary angle whose frequency is close to the (nonlinear) frequency of the original standing wave. This finding is confirmed by direct long-time simulations using HOSE which show that the nonlinear evolution leads to classical Fermi Pasta Ulam recurrence. For the circular basin, we find that, beyond a threshold wave steepness, a standing wave (of nonlinear frequency Omega) is unstable to three-dimensional perturbations. The unstable perturbation contains two dominant (standing-wave) components, the sum of whose frequencies is close to 2Omega. From the cases we consider, the critical wave steepness is found to generally decrease/increase with increasing radial

  11. 77 FR 21576 - Board of Visitors for the National Fire Academy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-10

    ...] Board of Visitors for the National Fire Academy AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS. ACTION: Committee Management; Notice of Open Federal Advisory Committee Teleconference Meeting. SUMMARY: The Board... National Fire Academy (Academy) and advise the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency...

  12. backissues.htm | currsci | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; currsci; backissues.htm. 404! error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from ...

  13. Journal of | Journals | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Journal of. 404! error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from ...

  14. contents.htm | currsci | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; currsci; contents.htm. 404! error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from ...

  15. Acoustic radiation force on a sphere in standing and quasi-standing zero-order Bessel beam tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitri, F.G.

    2008-01-01

    Starting from the exact acoustic scattering from a sphere immersed in an ideal fluid and centered along the propagation axis of a standing or quasi-standing zero-order Bessel beam, explicit partial-wave representations for the radiation force are derived. A standing or a quasi-standing acoustic field is the result of propagating two equal or unequal amplitude zero-order Bessel beams, respectively, along the same axis but in opposite sense. The Bessel beam is characterized by the half-cone angle β of its plane wave components, such that β = 0 represents a plane wave. It is assumed here that the half-cone angle β for each of the counter-propagating acoustic Bessel beams is equal. Fluid, elastic and viscoelastic spheres immersed in water are treated as examples. Results indicate the capability of manipulating spherical targets based on their mechanical and acoustical properties. This condition provides an impetus for further designing acoustic tweezers operating with standing or quasi-standing Bessel acoustic waves. Potential applications include particle manipulation in micro-fluidic lab-on-chips as well as in reduced gravity environments

  16. The BeUpstanding ProgramTM: Scaling up the Stand Up Australia Workplace Intervention for Translation into Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Genevieve N Healy

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Context and purpose: Too much sitting is now recognised as a common risk factor for several health outcomes, with the workplace identified as a key setting in which to address prolonged sitting time. The Stand Up Australia intervention was designed to reduce prolonged sitting in the workplace by addressing influences at multiple-levels, including the organisation, the environment, and the individual. Intervention success has been achieved within the context of randomised controlled trials, where research staff deliver several of the key intervention components. This study describes the initial step in the multi-phase process of scaling up the Stand Up Australia intervention for workplace translation. Methods: A research-government partnership was critical in funding and informing the prototype for the scaled up BeUpstanding programTM. Evidence, protocols and materials from Stand Up Australia were adapted in collaboration with funding partner Workplace Health and Safety Queensland to ensure consistency and compatibility with existing government frameworks and resources. In recognition of the key role of workplace champions in facilitating workplace health promotion programs, the BeUpstanding programTM is designed to be delivered through a stand-alone, free, website-based toolkit using a 'train the champion' approach. Key findings and significance: The BeUpstanding programTM was influenced by the increasing recognition of prolonged sitting as an emerging health issue as well as industry demand. The research-government partnership was critical in informing and resourcing the development of the scaled-up program.

  17. Visible Leading: Principal Academy Connects and Empowers Principals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hindman, Jennifer; Rozzelle, Jan; Ball, Rachel; Fahey, John

    2015-01-01

    The School-University Research Network (SURN) Principal Academy at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has a mission to build a leadership development program that increases principals' instructional knowledge and develops mentor principals to sustain the program. The academy is designed to connect and empower principals…

  18. Bulletin of Materials Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    All correspondence regarding subscription within India should be addressed to: The Circulation Department Indian Academy of Sciences C V Raman Avenue P.B. No. 8005. Bengaluru 560 080, India. Download the Order form (2018): Institutions and Individuals. DD should be arranged in favour of "Indian Academy of ...

  19. American Academy of Audiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Certification Meetings & Events Employee Resources Research Academia Practice Management Reimbursement Coding Compliance Resources and Tools Publications & News News Audiology Today Journal of the American Academy of Audiology Books Brochures Multimedia Guidelines and Standards ...

  20. resources.html | epubworkshop | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    error. The page your are looking for can not be found! Please check the link or use the navigation bar at the top. YouTube; Twitter; Facebook; Blog. Academy News. IAS Logo. 29th Mid-year meeting. Posted on 19 January 2018. The 29th Mid-year meeting of the Academy will be held from 29–30 June 2018 in Infosys, Mysuru ...