Development of an IHE MRRT-compliant open-source web-based reporting platform

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinto dos Santos, Daniel; Klos, G.; Kloeckner, R.; Oberle, R.; Dueber, C.; Mildenberger, P. [University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Mainz (Germany)

2017-01-15

To develop a platform that uses structured reporting templates according to the IHE Management of Radiology Report Templates (MRRT) profile, and to implement this platform into clinical routine. The reporting platform uses standard web technologies (HTML / JavaScript and PHP / MySQL) only. Several freely available external libraries were used to simplify the programming. The platform runs on a standard web server, connects with the radiology information system (RIS) and PACS, and is easily accessible via a standard web browser. A prototype platform that allows structured reporting to be easily incorporated into the clinical routine was developed and successfully tested. To date, 797 reports were generated using IHE MRRT-compliant templates (many of them downloaded from the RSNA's radreport.org website). Reports are stored in a MySQL database and are easily accessible for further analyses. Development of an IHE MRRT-compliant platform for structured reporting is feasible using only standard web technologies. All source code will be made available upon request under a free license, and the participation of other institutions in further development is welcome. (orig.)

Development of an IHE MRRT-compliant open-source web-based reporting platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinto dos Santos, Daniel; Klos, G.; Kloeckner, R.; Oberle, R.; Dueber, C.; Mildenberger, P.

2017-01-01

To develop a platform that uses structured reporting templates according to the IHE Management of Radiology Report Templates (MRRT) profile, and to implement this platform into clinical routine. The reporting platform uses standard web technologies (HTML / JavaScript and PHP / MySQL) only. Several freely available external libraries were used to simplify the programming. The platform runs on a standard web server, connects with the radiology information system (RIS) and PACS, and is easily accessible via a standard web browser. A prototype platform that allows structured reporting to be easily incorporated into the clinical routine was developed and successfully tested. To date, 797 reports were generated using IHE MRRT-compliant templates (many of them downloaded from the RSNA's radreport.org website). Reports are stored in a MySQL database and are easily accessible for further analyses. Development of an IHE MRRT-compliant platform for structured reporting is feasible using only standard web technologies. All source code will be made available upon request under a free license, and the participation of other institutions in further development is welcome. (orig.)

Hand forces exerted by long-term care staff when pushing wheelchairs on compliant and non-compliant flooring.

Science.gov (United States)

Lachance, Chantelle C; Korall, Alexandra M B; Russell, Colin M; Feldman, Fabio; Robinovitch, Stephen N; Mackey, Dawn C

2018-09-01

Purpose-designed compliant flooring and carpeting have been promoted as a means for reducing fall-related injuries in high-risk environments, such as long-term care. However, it is not known whether these surfaces influence the forces that long-term care staff exert when pushing residents in wheelchairs. We studied 14 direct-care staff who pushed a loaded wheelchair instrumented with a triaxial load cell to test the effects on hand force of flooring overlay (vinyl versus carpet) and flooring subfloor (concrete versus compliant rubber [brand: SmartCells]). During straight-line pushing, carpet overlay increased initial and sustained hand forces compared to vinyl overlay by 22-49% over a concrete subfloor and by 8-20% over a compliant subfloor. Compliant subflooring increased initial and sustained hand forces compared to concrete subflooring by 18-31% when under a vinyl overlay. In contrast, compliant flooring caused no change in initial or sustained hand forces compared to concrete subflooring when under a carpet overlay. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Approach for Structurally Clearing an Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge Flap for Flight

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Eric J.; Lokos, William A.; Cruz, Josue; Crampton, Glen; Stephens, Craig A.; Kota, Sridhar; Ervin, Gregory; Flick, Pete

2015-01-01

The Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) flap was flown on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Gulfstream GIII testbed at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. This smoothly curving flap replaced the existing Fowler flaps creating a seamless control surface. This compliant structure, developed by FlexSys Inc. in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory, supported NASA objectives for airframe structural noise reduction, aerodynamic efficiency, and wing weight reduction through gust load alleviation. A thorough structures airworthiness approach was developed to move this project safely to flight. A combination of industry and NASA standard practice require various structural analyses, ground testing, and health monitoring techniques for showing an airworthy structure. This paper provides an overview of compliant structures design, the structural ground testing leading up to flight, and the flight envelope expansion and monitoring strategy. Flight data will be presented, and lessons learned along the way will be highlighted.

Compliant Interfacial Layers in Thermoelectric Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Firdosy, Samad A. (Inventor); Li, Billy Chun-Yip (Inventor); Ravi, Vilupanur A. (Inventor); Fleurial, Jean-Pierre (Inventor); Caillat, Thierry (Inventor); Anjunyan, Harut (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A thermoelectric power generation device is disclosed using one or more mechanically compliant and thermally and electrically conductive layers at the thermoelectric material interfaces to accommodate high temperature differentials and stresses induced thereby. The compliant material may be metal foam or metal graphite composite (e.g. using nickel) and is particularly beneficial in high temperature thermoelectric generators employing Zintl thermoelectric materials. The compliant material may be disposed between the thermoelectric segments of the device or between a thermoelectric segment and the hot or cold side interconnect of the device.

Drag reduction through self-texturing compliant bionic materials

OpenAIRE

Eryong Liu; Longyang Li; Gang Wang; Zhixiang Zeng; Wenjie Zhao; Qunji Xue

2017-01-01

Compliant fish skin is effectively in reducing drag, thus the design and application of compliant bionic materials may be a good choice for drag reduction. Here we consider the drag reduction of compliant bionic materials. First, ZnO and PDMS mesh modified with n-octadecane were prepared, the drag reduction of self-texturing compliant n-octadecane were studied. The results show that the mesh modified by ZnO and PDMS possess excellent lipophilic and hydrophobic, thus n-octadecane at solid, sem...

Drag reduction through self-texturing compliant bionic materials

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Eryong; Li, Longyang; Wang, Gang; Zeng, Zhixiang; Zhao, Wenjie; Xue, Qunji

2017-01-01

Compliant fish skin is effectively in reducing drag, thus the design and application of compliant bionic materials may be a good choice for drag reduction. Here we consider the drag reduction of compliant bionic materials. First, ZnO and PDMS mesh modified with n-octadecane were prepared, the drag reduction of self-texturing compliant n-octadecane were studied. The results show that the mesh modified by ZnO and PDMS possess excellent lipophilic and hydrophobic, thus n-octadecane at solid, semisolid and liquid state all have good adhesion with modified mesh. The states of n-octadecane changed with temperature, thus, the surface contact angle and adhesive force all varies obviously at different state. The contact angle decreases with temperature, the adhesive force shows a lower value at semisolid state. Furthermore, the drag testing results show that the compliant n-octadecane film is more effectively in drag reduction than superhydrophobic ZnO/PDMS film, indicating that the drag reduction mechanism of n-octadecane is significantly different with superhydrophobic film. Further research shows that the water flow leads to self-texturing of semisolid state n-octadecane, which is similar with compliant fish skin. Therefore, the compliant bionic materials of semisolid state n-octadecane with regular bulge plays a major role in the drag reduction.

Generation of Compliant Mechanisms using Hybrid Genetic Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, D.; Deb, K.

2014-10-01

Compliant mechanism is a single piece elastic structure which can deform to perform the assigned task. In this work, compliant mechanisms are evolved using a constraint based bi-objective optimization formulation which requires one user defined parameter ( η). This user defined parameter limits a gap between a desired path and an actual path traced by the compliant mechanism. The non-linear and discrete optimization problems are solved using the hybrid Genetic Algorithm (GA) wherein domain specific initialization, two-dimensional crossover operator and repairing techniques are adopted. A bit-wise local search method is used with elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm to further refine the compliant mechanisms. Parallel computations are performed on the master-slave architecture to reduce the computation time. A parametric study is carried out for η value which suggests a range to evolve topologically different compliant mechanisms. The applied and boundary conditions to the compliant mechanisms are considered the variables that are evolved by the hybrid GA. The post-analysis of results unveils that the complaint mechanisms are always supported at unique location that can evolve the non-dominated solutions.

Building block method: a bottom-up modular synthesis methodology for distributed compliant mechanisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Krishnan

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Synthesizing topologies of compliant mechanisms are based on rigid-link kinematic designs or completely automated optimization techniques. These designs yield mechanisms that match the kinematic specifications as a whole, but seldom yield user insight on how each constituent member contributes towards the overall mechanism performance. This paper reviews recent developments in building block based design of compliant mechanisms. A key aspect of such a methodology is formulating a representation of compliance at a (i single unique point of interest in terms of geometric quantities such as ellipses and vectors, and (ii relative compliance between distinct input(s and output(s in terms of load flow. This geometric representation provides a direct mapping between the mechanism geometry and their behavior, and is used to characterize simple deformable members that form a library of building blocks. The design space spanned by the building block library guides the decomposition of a given problem specification into tractable sub-problems that can be each solved from an entry in the library. The effectiveness of this geometric representation aids user insight in design, and enables discovery of trends and guidelines to obtain practical conceptual designs.

Compliant thermal microactuators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonsmann, Jacques; Sigmund, Ole; Bouwstra, Siebe

1999-01-01

Two dimensional compliant metallic thermal microactuators are designed using topology optimisation, and microfabricated using rapid prototyping techniques. Structures are characterised using advanced image analysis, yielding a very high precision. Characterised structures behave in accordance...

A standard MIGS/MIMS compliant XML Schema: toward the development of the Genomic Contextual Data Markup Language (GCDML).

Science.gov (United States)

Kottmann, Renzo; Gray, Tanya; Murphy, Sean; Kagan, Leonid; Kravitz, Saul; Lombardot, Thierry; Field, Dawn; Glöckner, Frank Oliver

2008-06-01

The Genomic Contextual Data Markup Language (GCDML) is a core project of the Genomic Standards Consortium (GSC) that implements the "Minimum Information about a Genome Sequence" (MIGS) specification and its extension, the "Minimum Information about a Metagenome Sequence" (MIMS). GCDML is an XML Schema for generating MIGS/MIMS compliant reports for data entry, exchange, and storage. When mature, this sample-centric, strongly-typed schema will provide a diverse set of descriptors for describing the exact origin and processing of a biological sample, from sampling to sequencing, and subsequent analysis. Here we describe the need for such a project, outline design principles required to support the project, and make an open call for participation in defining the future content of GCDML. GCDML is freely available, and can be downloaded, along with documentation, from the GSC Web site (http://gensc.org).

Modeling of a compliant joint in a Magnetic Levitation System for an endoscopic camera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Simi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A novel compliant Magnetic Levitation System (MLS for a wired miniature surgical camera robot was designed, modeled and fabricated. The robot is composed of two main parts, head and tail, linked by a compliant beam. The tail module embeds two magnets for anchoring and manual rough translation. The head module incorporates two motorized donut-shaped magnets and a miniaturized vision system at the tip. The compliant MLS can exploit the static external magnetic field to induce a smooth bending of the robotic head (0–80°, guaranteeing a wide span tilt motion of the point of view. A nonlinear mathematical model for compliant beam was developed and solved analytically in order to describe and predict the trajectory behaviour of the system for different structural parameters. The entire device is 95 mm long and 12.7 mm in diameter. Use of such a robot in single port or standard multiport laparoscopy could enable a reduction of the number or size of ancillary trocars, or increase the number of working devices that can be deployed, thus paving the way for multiple view point laparoscopy.

Topology synthesis of large-displacement compliant mechanisms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Claus B. Wittendorf; Buhl, Thomas; Sigmund, Ole

2001-01-01

This paper describes the use of topology optimization as a synthesis tool for the design of large-displacement compliant mechanisms. An objective function for the synthesis of large-displacement mechanisms is proposed together with a formulation for synthesis of path-generating compliant mechanisms...

Establishing an Iso-Compliant Modern Cancer-Biobank in a Developing Country: A Model for International Cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sughayer, Maher A; Souan, Lina

2015-01-01

King Hussein Cancer (KHCC) is a specialized cancer center that treats both adult and pediatric cancer patients from Jordan and the neighboring countries. KHCC is acknowledged as a leader in cancer treatment in the Middle East and its vision is to maintain its leading position in cancer therapy and research. Hence, KHCC embarked on establishing the first ISO compliant cancer biobank (KHCCBIO) in Jordan.Currently, there are very few biobanks in the Middle East, hence, KHCC wanted to change this situation by establishing an ISO-compliant cancer biobank which would incorporate all current international guidelines and best-in class practices under an approved quality management system for the benefit of researchers in Jordan, its neighboring countries, and throughout the world. The established biobank would follow the highest ethical standards in collecting, processing, storing and distributing high-quality, clinically annotated biospecimens.The strategy used in establishing KHCCBIO was based on taking advantage of international networking and collaboration. This in essence led to knowledge transfer between well established organizations, institutions and individuals from Europe and Jordan, in existing technological innovation and internationally recognized quality standards. KHCC efforts were facilitated by a grant from the European Union under the seventh frame work program.Future aims of KHCCBIO are to develop KHCC's research infrastructure, increase its scope and visibility and improve its competitiveness throughout the biomedical science arena. Moreover, KHCCBIO is aiming to establish a platform for future knowledge transfer and collaborative research; develop partnerships between European and Middle Eastern organizations.

Energy star compliant voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telecommunications network including energy star compliant VoIP devices

Science.gov (United States)

Kouchri, Farrokh Mohammadzadeh

2012-11-06

A Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications system, a method of managing a communications network in such a system and a program product therefore. The system/network includes an ENERGY STAR (E-star) aware softswitch and E-star compliant communications devices at system endpoints. The E-star aware softswitch allows E-star compliant communications devices to enter and remain in power saving mode. The E-star aware softswitch spools messages and forwards only selected messages (e.g., calls) to the devices in power saving mode. When the E-star compliant communications devices exit power saving mode, the E-star aware softswitch forwards spooled messages.

Compliant walking appears metabolically advantageous at extreme step lengths.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jaehoon; Bertram, John E A

2018-05-19

Humans alter gait in response to unusual gait circumstances to accomplish the task of walking. For instance, subjects spontaneously increase leg compliance at a step length threshold as step length increases. Here we test the hypothesis that this transition occurs based on the level of energy expenditure, where compliant walking becomes less energetically demanding at long step lengths. To map and compare the metabolic cost of normal and compliant walking as step length increases. 10 healthy individuals walked on a treadmill using progressively increasing step lengths (100%, 120%, 140% and 160% of preferred step length), in both normal and compliant leg walking as energy expenditure was recorded via indirect calorimetry. Leg compliance was controlled by lowering the center-of-mass trajectory during stance, forcing the leg to flex and extend as the body moved over the foot contact. For normal step lengths, compliant leg walking was more costly than normal walking gait, but compliant leg walking energetic cost did not increase as rapidly for longer step lengths. This led to an intersection between normal and compliant walking cost curves at 114% relative step length (regression analysis; r 2  = 0.92 for normal walking; r 2  = 0.65 for compliant walking). Compliant leg walking is less energetically demanding at longer step lengths where a spontaneous shift to compliant walking has been observed, suggesting the human motor control system is sensitive to energetic requirements and will employ alternate movement patterns if advantageous strategies are available. The transition could be attributed to the interplay between (i) leg work controlling body travel during single stance and (ii) leg work to control energy loss in the step-to-step transition. Compliant leg walking requires more stance leg work at normal step lengths, but involves less energy loss at the step-to-step transition for very long steps. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Towards generating ECSS-compliant fault tree analysis results via ConcertoFLA

Science.gov (United States)

Gallina, B.; Haider, Z.; Carlsson, A.

2018-05-01

Attitude Control Systems (ACSs) maintain the orientation of the satellite in three-dimensional space. ACSs need to be engineered in compliance with ECSS standards and need to ensure a certain degree of dependability. Thus, dependability analysis is conducted at various levels and by using ECSS-compliant techniques. Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is one of these techniques. FTA is being automated within various Model Driven Engineering (MDE)-based methodologies. The tool-supported CHESS-methodology is one of them. This methodology incorporates ConcertoFLA, a dependability analysis technique enabling failure behavior analysis and thus FTA-results generation. ConcertoFLA, however, similarly to other techniques, still belongs to the academic research niche. To promote this technique within the space industry, we apply it on an ACS and discuss about its multi-faceted potentialities in the context of ECSS-compliant engineering.

A survey of bio-inspired compliant legged robot designs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Xiaodong; Bi Shusheng

2012-01-01

The roles of biological springs in vertebrate animals and their implementations in compliant legged robots offer significant advantages over the rigid legged ones in certain types of scenarios. A large number of robotics institutes have been attempting to work in conjunction with biologists and incorporated these principles into the design of biologically inspired robots. The motivation of this review is to investigate the most published compliant legged robots and categorize them according to the types of compliant elements adopted in their mechanical structures. Based on the typical robots investigated, the trade-off between each category is summarized. In addition, the most significant performances of these robots are compared quantitatively, and multiple available solutions for the future compliant legged robot design are suggested. Finally, the design challenges for compliant legged robots are analysed. This review will provide useful guidance for robotic designers in creating new designs by inheriting the virtues of those successful robots according to the specific tasks. (topical review)

Design and optimization of a bend-and-sweep compliant mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tummala, Y; Frecker, M I; Wissa, A A; Hubbard Jr, J E

2013-01-01

A novel contact aided compliant mechanism called bend-and-sweep compliant mechanism is presented in this paper. This mechanism has nonlinear stiffness properties in two orthogonal directions. An angled compliant joint (ACJ) is the fundamental element of this mechanism. Geometric parameters of ACJs determine the stiffness of the compliant mechanism. This paper presents the design and optimization of bend-and-sweep compliant mechanism. A multi-objective optimization problem was formulated for design optimization of the bend-and-sweep compliant mechanism. The objectives of the optimization problem were to maximize or minimize the bending and sweep displacements, depending on the situation, while minimizing the von Mises stress and mass of each mechanism. This optimization problem was solved using NSGA-II (a genetic algorithm). The results of this optimization for a single ACJ during upstroke and downstroke are presented in this paper. Results of two different loading conditions used during optimization of a single ACJ for upstroke are presented. Finally, optimization results comparing the performance of compliant mechanisms with one and two ACJs are also presented. It can be inferred from these results that the number of ACJs and the design of each ACJ determines the stiffness of the bend-and-sweep compliant mechanism. These mechanisms can be used in various applications. The goal of this research is to improve the performance of ornithopters by passively morphing their wings. In order to achieve a bio-inspired wing gait called continuous vortex gait, the wings of the ornithopter need to bend, and sweep simultaneously. This can be achieved by inserting the bend-and-sweep compliant mechanism into the leading edge wing spar of the ornithopters. (paper)

Preliminary Assessment of a Compliant Gait Exoskeleton.

Science.gov (United States)

Cestari, Manuel; Sanz-Merodio, Daniel; Garcia, Elena

2017-06-01

Current commercial wearable gait exoskeletons contain joints with stiff actuators that cannot adapt to unpredictable environments. These actuators consume a significant amount of energy, and their stiffness may not be appropriate for safe human-machine interactions. Adjustable compliant actuators are being designed and implemented because of their ability to minimize large forces due to shocks, to safely interact with the user, and to store and release energy in passive elastic elements. Introduction of such compliant actuation in gait exoskeletons, however, has been limited by the larger power-to-weight and volume ratio requirement. This article presents a preliminary assessment of the first compliant exoskeleton for children. Compliant actuation systems developed by our research group were integrated into the ATLAS exoskeleton prototype. The resulting device is a compliant exoskeleton, the ATLAS-C prototype. The exoskeleton is coupled with a special standing frame to provide balance while allowing a semi-natural gait. Experiments show that when comparing the behavior of the joints under different stiffness conditions, the inherent compliance of the implemented actuators showed natural adaptability during the gait cycle and in regions of shock absorption. Torque tracking of the joint is achieved, identifying the areas of loading response. The implementation of a state machine in the control of knee motion allowed reutilization of the stored energy during deflection at the end of the support phase to partially propel the leg and achieve a more natural and free swing.

Turbine airfoil with a compliant outer wall

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Christian X [Oviedo, FL; Morrison, Jay A [Oviedo, FL

2012-04-03

A turbine airfoil usable in a turbine engine with a cooling system and a compliant dual wall configuration configured to enable thermal expansion between inner and outer layers while eliminating stress formation in the outer layer is disclosed. The compliant dual wall configuration may be formed a dual wall formed from inner and outer layers separated by a support structure. The outer layer may be a compliant layer configured such that the outer layer may thermally expand and thereby reduce the stress within the outer layer. The outer layer may be formed from a nonplanar surface configured to thermally expand. In another embodiment, the outer layer may be planar and include a plurality of slots enabling unrestricted thermal expansion in a direction aligned with the outer layer.

Compliant electro-thermal microactuators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonsmann, Jacques; Sigmund, Ole; Bouwstra, Siebe

1999-01-01

This paper describes design, microfabrication and characterisation of topology optimised compliant electro-thermal microactuators. The actuators are fabricated by a fast prototyping process using laser micromachining and electroplating. Actuators are characterised with respect to displacement...

Assuring image authenticity within a data grid using lossless digital signature embedding and a HIPAA-compliant auditing system

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jasper C.; Ma, Kevin C.; Liu, Brent J.

2008-03-01

A Data Grid for medical images has been developed at the Image Processing and Informatics Laboratory, USC to provide distribution and fault-tolerant storage of medical imaging studies across Internet2 and public domain. Although back-up policies and grid certificates guarantee privacy and authenticity of grid-access-points, there still lacks a method to guarantee the sensitive DICOM images have not been altered or corrupted during transmission across a public domain. This paper takes steps toward achieving full image transfer security within the Data Grid by utilizing DICOM image authentication and a HIPAA-compliant auditing system. The 3-D lossless digital signature embedding procedure involves a private 64 byte signature that is embedded into each original DICOM image volume, whereby on the receiving end the signature can to be extracted and verified following the DICOM transmission. This digital signature method has also been developed at the IPILab. The HIPAA-Compliant Auditing System (H-CAS) is required to monitor embedding and verification events, and allows monitoring of other grid activity as well. The H-CAS system federates the logs of transmission and authentication events at each grid-access-point and stores it into a HIPAA-compliant database. The auditing toolkit is installed at the local grid-access-point and utilizes Syslog [1], a client-server standard for log messaging over an IP network, to send messages to the H-CAS centralized database. By integrating digital image signatures and centralized logging capabilities, DICOM image integrity within the Medical Imaging and Informatics Data Grid can be monitored and guaranteed without loss to any image quality.

Design of a statically balanced fully compliant grasper

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lamers, A.J.; Gallego Sanchez, J.A.; Herder, Justus Laurens

2015-01-01

Monolithic and thus fully compliant surgical graspers are promising when they provide equal or better force feedback than conventional graspers. In this work for the first time a fully compliant grasper is designed to exhibit zero stiffness and zero operation force. The design problem is addressed

Modelling of a biologically inspired robotic fish driven by compliant parts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daou, Hadi El; Salumäe, Taavi; Kruusmaa, Maarja; Chambers, Lily D; Megill, William M

2014-01-01

Inspired by biological swimmers such as fish, a robot composed of a rigid head, a compliant body and a rigid caudal fin was built. It has the geometrical properties of a subcarangiform swimmer of the same size. The head houses a servo-motor which actuates the compliant body and the caudal fin. It achieves this by applying a concentrated moment on a point near the compliant body base. In this paper, the dynamics of the compliant body driving the robotic fish is modelled and experimentally validated. Lighthill’s elongated body theory is used to define the hydrodynamic forces on the compliant part and Rayleigh proportional damping is used to model damping. Based on the assumed modes method, an energetic approach is used to write the equations of motion of the compliant body and to compute the relationship between the applied moment and the resulting lateral deflections. Experiments on the compliant body were carried out to validate the model predictions. The results showed that a good match was achieved between the measured and predicted deformations. A discussion of the swimming motions between the real fish and the robot is presented. (paper)

Identifying links between origami and compliant mechanisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. C. Greenberg

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Origami is the art of folding paper. In the context of engineering, orimimetics is the application of folding to solve problems. Kinetic origami behavior can be modeled with the pseudo-rigid-body model since the origami are compliant mechanisms. These compliant mechanisms, when having a flat initial state and motion emerging out of the fabrication plane, are classified as lamina emergent mechanisms (LEMs. To demonstrate the feasibility of identifying links between origami and compliant mechanism analysis and design methods, four flat folding paper mechanisms are presented with their corresponding kinematic and graph models. Principles from graph theory are used to abstract the mechanisms to show them as coupled, or inter-connected, mechanisms. It is anticipated that this work lays a foundation for exploring methods for LEM synthesis based on the analogy between flat-folding origami models and linkage assembly.

DNA origami compliant nanostructures with tunable mechanical properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Lifeng; Marras, Alexander E; Su, Hai-Jun; Castro, Carlos E

2014-01-28

DNA origami enables fabrication of precise nanostructures by programming the self-assembly of DNA. While this approach has been used to make a variety of complex 2D and 3D objects, the mechanical functionality of these structures is limited due to their rigid nature. We explore the fabrication of deformable, or compliant, objects to establish a framework for mechanically functional nanostructures. This compliant design approach is used in macroscopic engineering to make devices including sensors, actuators, and robots. We build compliant nanostructures by utilizing the entropic elasticity of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) to locally bend bundles of double-stranded DNA into bent geometries whose curvature and mechanical properties can be tuned by controlling the length of ssDNA strands. We demonstrate an ability to achieve a wide range of geometries by adjusting a few strands in the nanostructure design. We further developed a mechanical model to predict both geometry and mechanical properties of our compliant nanostructures that agrees well with experiments. Our results provide a basis for the design of mechanically functional DNA origami devices and materials.

Regulated and unregulated emissions from modern 2010 emissions-compliant heavy-duty on-highway diesel engines.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalek, Imad A; Blanks, Matthew G; Merritt, Patrick M; Zielinska, Barbara

2015-08-01

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established strict regulations for highway diesel engine exhaust emissions of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) to aid in meeting the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The emission standards were phased in with stringent standards for 2007 model year (MY) heavy-duty engines (HDEs), and even more stringent NOX standards for 2010 and later model years. The Health Effects Institute, in cooperation with the Coordinating Research Council, funded by government and the private sector, designed and conducted a research program, the Advanced Collaborative Emission Study (ACES), with multiple objectives, including detailed characterization of the emissions from both 2007- and 2010-compliant engines. The results from emission testing of 2007-compliant engines have already been reported in a previous publication. This paper reports the emissions testing results for three heavy-duty 2010-compliant engines intended for on-highway use. These engines were equipped with an exhaust diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), high-efficiency catalyzed diesel particle filter (DPF), urea-based selective catalytic reduction catalyst (SCR), and ammonia slip catalyst (AMOX), and were fueled with ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel (~6.5 ppm sulfur). Average regulated and unregulated emissions of more than 780 chemical species were characterized in engine exhaust under transient engine operation using the Federal Test Procedure cycle and a 16-hr duty cycle representing a wide dynamic range of real-world engine operation. The 2010 engines' regulated emissions of PM, NOX, nonmethane hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide were all well below the EPA 2010 emission standards. Moreover, the unregulated emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nitroPAHs, hopanes and steranes, alcohols and organic acids, alkanes, carbonyls, dioxins and furans, inorganic ions, metals and elements, elemental carbon, and particle number were substantially (90

Development of A General Principle Solution Forisoagrinet Compliant Networking System Components in Animal Husbandry

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhlmann, Arne; Herd, Daniel; Röβler, Benjamin; Gallmann, Eva; Jungbluth, Thomas

In pig production software and electronic systems are widely used for process control and management. Unfortunately most devices on farms are proprietary solutions and autonomically working. To unify data communication of devices in agricultural husbandry, the international standard ISOagriNET (ISO 17532:2007) was developed. It defines data formats and exchange protocols, to link up devices like climate controls, feeding systems and sensors, but also management software. The aim of the research project, "Information and Data Collection in Livestock Systems" is to develop an ISOagriNET compliant IT system, a so called Farming Cell. It integrates all electronic components to acquire the available data and information for pig fattening. That way, an additional benefit to humans, animals and the environment regarding process control and documentation, can be generated. Developing the Farming Cell is very complex; in detail it is very difficult and long-winded to integrate hardware and software by various vendors into an ISOagriNET compliant IT system. This ISOagriNET prototype shows as a test environment the potential of this new standard.

Compliant flooring for fall injury prevention in long-term care

OpenAIRE

Lachance, Chantelle

2017-01-01

A promising strategy for reducing the incidence and severity of fall-related injuries in long-term care (LTC) is to decrease the ground surface stiffness, and the subsequent forces applied to the body parts at impact, through installation of compliant flooring. Evidence about the feasibility of compliant flooring in LTC is extremely limited. My PhD research addresses this gap by conducting a comprehensive, multimethod evaluation of compliant flooring. Specifically, I investigate the feasibili...

Topology optimization of compliant adaptive wing leading edge with composite materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tong Xinxing

2014-12-01

Full Text Available An approach for designing the compliant adaptive wing leading edge with composite material is proposed based on the topology optimization. Firstly, an equivalent constitutive relationship of laminated glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite plates has been built based on the symmetric laminated plate theory. Then, an optimization objective function of compliant adaptive wing leading edge was used to minimize the least square error (LSE between deformed curve and desired aerodynamics shape. After that, the topology structures of wing leading edge of different glass fiber ply-orientations were obtained by using the solid isotropic material with penalization (SIMP model and sensitivity filtering technique. The desired aerodynamics shape of compliant adaptive wing leading edge was obtained based on the proposed approach. The topology structures of wing leading edge depend on the glass fiber ply-orientation. Finally, the corresponding morphing experiment of compliant wing leading edge with composite materials was implemented, which verified the morphing capability of topology structure and illustrated the feasibility for designing compliant wing leading edge. The present paper lays the basis of ply-orientation optimization for compliant adaptive wing leading edge in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV field.

Compliant Glass Seals for SOFC Stacks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chou, Yeong -Shyung [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Choi, Jung-Pyung [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Xu, Wei [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Stephens, Elizabeth V. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Koeppel, Brian J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Stevenson, Jeffry W. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lara-Curzio, Edgar [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2014-04-30

This report summarizes results from experimental and modeling studies performed by participants in the Solid-State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) Core Technology Program, which indicate that compliant glass-based seals offer a number of potential advantages over conventional seals based on de-vitrifying glasses, including reduced stresses during stack operation and thermal cycling, and the ability to heal micro-damage induced during thermal cycling. The properties and composition of glasses developed and/or investigated in these studies are reported, along with results from long-term (up to 5,800h) evaluations of seals based on a compliant glass containing ceramic particles or ceramic fibers.

A HIPAA-compliant architecture for securing clinical images

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Brent J.; Zhou, Zheng; Huang, H. K.

2005-04-01

The HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Instituted April 2003) Security Standards mandate health institutions to protect health information against unauthorized use or disclosure. One approach to addressing this mandate is by utilizing user access control and generating audit trails of the various authorized as well as unauthorized user access of health data. Although most current clinical image systems (eg, PACS) have components that generate log files as a solution to address the HIPAA mandate, there is a lack of methodology to obtain and synthesize the pertinent data from the large volumes of log file data generated by these multiple components within a PACS. We have designed and developed a HIPAA Compliant Architecture specifically for tracking and auditing the image workflow of clinical imaging systems such as PACS. As an initial first step, a software toolkit was implemented based on the HIPAA Compliant architecture. The toolkit was implemented within a testbed PACS Simulator located in the Image Processing and Informatics (IPI) lab at the University of Southern California. Evaluation scenarios were developed where different user types performed legal and illegal access of PACS image data within each of the different components in the PACS Simulator. Results were based on whether the scenarios of unauthorized access were correctly identified and documented as well as normal operational activity.

Experimental Investigation of Compliant Wall Surface Deformation in Turbulent Boundary Layer

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jin; Agarwal, Karuna; Katz, Joseph

2017-11-01

On-going research integrates Tomographic PIV (TPIV) with Mach-Zehnder Interferometry (MZI) to measure the correlations between deformation of a compliant wall and a turbulent channel flow or a boundary layer. Aiming to extend the scope to two-way coupling, in the present experiment the wall properties have been designed, based on a theoretical analysis, to increase the amplitude of deformation to several μm, achieving the same order of magnitude as the boundary layer wall unit (5-10 μm). It requires higher speeds and a softer surface that has a Young's modulus of 0.1MPa (vs. 1Mpa before), as well as proper thickness (5 mm) that maximize the wall response to excitation at scales that fall within the temporal and spatial resolution of the instruments. The experiments are performed in a water tunnel extension to the JHU refractive index matched facility. The transparent compliant surface is made of PDMS molded on the tunnel window, and measurements are performed at friction velocity Reynolds numbers in the 1000-7000 range. MZI measures the 2D surface deformation as several magnifications. The time-resolved 3D pressure distribution is determined by calculating to spatial distribution of material acceleration from the TPIV data and integrating it using a GPU-based, parallel-line, omni-directional integration method. ONR.

On the design of compliant mechanisms using topology optimization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sigmund, Ole

1997-01-01

This paper presents a method for optimal design of compliant mechanism topologies. The method is based on continuum-type topology optimization techniques and finds the optimal compliant mechanism topology within a given design domain and a given position and direction of input and output forces....... By constraining the allowed displacement at the input port, it is possible to control the maximum stress level in the compliant mechanism. The ability of the design method to find a mechanism with complex output behavior is demonstrated by several examples. Some of the optimal mechanism topologies have been...... manufactured, both in macroscale (hand-size) made in Nylon, and in microscale (

CARAPACE: a novel composite advanced robotic actuator powering assistive compliant exoskeleton: preliminary design.

Science.gov (United States)

Masia, Lorenzo; Cappello, Leonardo; Morasso, Pietro; Lachenal, Xavier; Pirrera, Alberto; Weaver, Paul; Mattioni, Filippo

2013-06-01

A novel actuator is introduced that combines an elastically compliant composite structure with conventional electromechanical elements. The proposed design is analogous to that used in Series Elastic Actuators, its distinctive feature being that the compliant composite part offers different stable configurations. In other words, its elastic potential presents points of local minima that correspond to robust stable positions (multistability). This potential is known a priori as a function of the structural geometry, thus providing tremendous benefits in terms of control implementation. Such knowledge enables the complexities arising from the additional degrees of freedom associated with link deformations to be overcome and uncover challenges that extends beyond those posed by standard rigidlink robot dynamics. It is thought that integrating a multistable elastic element in a robotic transmission can provide new scenarios in the field of assistive robotics, as the system may help a subject to stand or carry a load without the need for an active control effort by the actuators.

An overview on STEP-NC compliant controller development

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, M. A.; Minhat, M.; Jamaludin, Z.

2017-10-01

The capabilities of conventional Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine tools as termination organiser to fabricate high-quality parts promptly, economically and precisely are undeniable. To date, most CNCs follow the programming standard of ISO 6983, also called G & M code. However, in fluctuating shop floor environment, flexibility and interoperability of current CNC system to react dynamically and adaptively are believed still limited. This outdated programming language does not explicitly relate to each other to have control of arbitrary locations other than the motion of the block-by-block. To address this limitation, new standard known as STEP-NC was developed in late 1990s and is formalized as an ISO 14649. It adds intelligence to the CNC in term of interoperability, flexibility, adaptability and openness. This paper presents an overview of the research work that have been done in developing a STEP-NC controller standard and the capabilities of STEP-NC to overcome modern manufacturing demands. Reviews stated that most existing STEP-NC controller prototypes are based on type 1 and type 2 implementation levels. There are still lack of effort being done to develop type 3 and type 4 STEP-NC compliant controller.

EPA Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with ERP Compliant Coke, LLC

Science.gov (United States)

This Administrative Order on Consent with ERP Compliant Coke was effective August 2016. The Walter Coke facility located in North Birmingham was purchased by ERP Compliant Coke, LLC in February 2016 out of bankruptcy proceedings.

Nonlinear aeroelastic behavior of compliant airfoils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thwapiah, G; Campanile, L F

2010-01-01

Since the beginning of aviation and up to the present time, airfoils have always been built as rigid structures. They are designed to fly under their divergence speed in order to avoid static aeroelastic instabilities and the resulting large deformations, which are not compatible with the typically low compliance of such airfoils. In recent years, research on airfoil morphing has generated interest in innovative ideas like the use of compliant systems, i.e. systems built to allow for large deformations without failure, in airfoil construction. Such systems can operate in the neighborhood of divergence and take advantage of large aeroelastic servo-effects. This, in turn, allows compact, advanced actuators to control the airfoil's deformation and loads, and hence complement or even replace conventional flaps. In order to analyze and design such compliant, active aeroelastic structures a nonlinear approach to static aeroelasticity is needed, which takes into account the effect of large deformations on aerodynamics and structure. Such an analytical approach is presented in this paper and applied to a compliant passive airfoil as the preliminary step in the realization of a piezoelectrically driven, active aeroelastic airfoil. Wind tunnel test results are also presented and compared with the analytic prediction. The good agreement and the observed behavior in the wind tunnel give confidence in the potential of this innovative idea

Nonlinear aeroelastic behavior of compliant airfoils

Science.gov (United States)

Thwapiah, G.; Campanile, L. F.

2010-03-01

Since the beginning of aviation and up to the present time, airfoils have always been built as rigid structures. They are designed to fly under their divergence speed in order to avoid static aeroelastic instabilities and the resulting large deformations, which are not compatible with the typically low compliance of such airfoils. In recent years, research on airfoil morphing has generated interest in innovative ideas like the use of compliant systems, i.e. systems built to allow for large deformations without failure, in airfoil construction. Such systems can operate in the neighborhood of divergence and take advantage of large aeroelastic servo-effects. This, in turn, allows compact, advanced actuators to control the airfoil's deformation and loads, and hence complement or even replace conventional flaps. In order to analyze and design such compliant, active aeroelastic structures a nonlinear approach to static aeroelasticity is needed, which takes into account the effect of large deformations on aerodynamics and structure. Such an analytical approach is presented in this paper and applied to a compliant passive airfoil as the preliminary step in the realization of a piezoelectrically driven, active aeroelastic airfoil. Wind tunnel test results are also presented and compared with the analytic prediction. The good agreement and the observed behavior in the wind tunnel give confidence in the potential of this innovative idea.

Compliant actuation of rehabilitation robots

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vallery, Heike; Veneman, J.F.; van Asseldonk, Edwin H.F.; Ekkelenkamp, R.; Buss, Martin; van der Kooij, Herman

2008-01-01

This article discusses the pros and cons of compliant actuation for rehabilitation robots on the example of LOPES, focusing on the cons. After illustrating the bandwidth limitations, a new result has been derived: if stability in terms of passivity of the haptic device is desired, the renderable

Stress-constrained topology optimization for compliant mechanism design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Leon, Daniel M.; Alexandersen, Joe; Jun, Jun S.

2015-01-01

This article presents an application of stress-constrained topology optimization to compliant mechanism design. An output displacement maximization formulation is used, together with the SIMP approach and a projection method to ensure convergence to nearly discrete designs. The maximum stress...... is approximated using a normalized version of the commonly-used p-norm of the effective von Mises stresses. The usual problems associated with topology optimization for compliant mechanism design: one-node and/or intermediate density hinges are alleviated by the stress constraint. However, it is also shown...

An EMOF-Compliant Abstract Syntax for Bigraphs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timo Kehrer

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Bigraphs are an emerging modeling formalism for structures in ubiquitous computing. Besides an algebraic notation, which can be adopted to provide an algebraic syntax for bigraphs, the bigraphical theory introduces a visual concrete syntax which is intuitive and unambiguous at the same time; the standard visual notation can be customized and thus tailored to domain-specific requirements. However, in contrast to modeling standards based on the Meta-Object Facility (MOF and domain-specific languages typically used in model-driven engineering (MDE, the bigraphical theory lacks a precise definition of an abstract syntax for bigraphical modeling languages. As a consequence, available modeling and analysis tools use proprietary formats for representing bigraphs internally and persistently, which hampers the exchange of models across tool boundaries. Moreover, tools can be hardly integrated with standard MDE technologies in order to build sophisticated tool chains and modeling environments, as required for systematic engineering of large systems or fostering experimental work to evaluate the bigraphical theory in real-world applications. To overcome this situation, we propose an abstract syntax for bigraphs which is compliant to the Essential MOF (EMOF standard defined by the Object Management Group (OMG. We use typed graphs as a formal underpinning of EMOF-based models and present a canonical mapping which maps bigraphs to typed graphs in a natural way. We also discuss application-specific variation points in the graph-based representation of bigraphs. Following standard techniques from software product line engineering, we present a framework to customize the graph-based representation to support a variety of application scenarios.

Managerial Opportunism: Monitoring Financial Risk of Malaysian Shariah-compliant Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aziatul Waznah Ghazali

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Managerial opportunism, such as earnings management, is a rampant, but often discreet, among certain managers. Agency theory and the notion of conflict of interest are used as bases to assume that managers would resolve to engage with inappropriate activities for their personal benefits. Distortion of earnings would erode investor confidence and is detrimental to the capital market. The Islamic capital market with Shariah-compliant firms is expected not to engage in activities that go against the religion code of conduct. The main purpose of this study is to investigate managerial opportunism among Shariah-compliant companies, specifically the relationship between real earnings management and the risk of financial distress, leverage, and free cash flow. This study employs 4,115 data from 694 sample companies for five years (2009–2013. Findings conclude that the risk of financial distress, leverage, and free cash flow have a significant relationship with earnings management among Shariah-compliant companies. This study provides evidence that further improvements on corporate governance are necessary to ensure that Shariah-compliant companies adhere with the Shariah requirement.

VO-compliant libraries of high resolution spectra of cool stars

Science.gov (United States)

Montes, D.

2008-10-01

In this contribution we describe a Virtual Observatory (VO) compliant version of the libraries of high resolution spectra of cool stars described by Montes et al. (1997; 1998; and 1999). Since their publication the fully reduced spectra in FITS format have been available via ftp and in the World Wide Web. However, in the VO all the spectra will be accessible using a common web interface following the standards of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA). These libraries include F, G, K and M field stars, from dwarfs to giants. The spectral coverage is from 3800 to 10000 Å, with spectral resolution ranging from 0.09 to 3.0 Å.

Financial Risk Ratios and Earnings Management: Reducing Uncertainties in Shariah-compliant Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soheil Kazemian

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study examines whether Shariah-compliant companies practice earnings management by investigating the relationship among the risk of financial distress, leverage, and free cash flow in discretionary accruals, which function as a substitute for earnings management. This empirical research is conducted on a sample of Malaysian Shariah-compliant companies from all industries in Bursa Malaysia from 2012 to 2014. Results show that Shariah-compliant companies are highly influenced by the risk of financial distress, leverage, and free cash flow. This study argues that working as either Shariah-compliant or non-Shariah-compliant does not affect the level of earnings management through financial distress, high leverage, and free cash flow by managers. Results should be of interest to stakeholders, shareholders, and regulatory bodies (i.e., the Shariah Advisory Council and the Securities Commission that oversee the accountability of corporate financial reporting to prevent earnings management in Shariah-compliant companies. Findings can also aid relevant authorities (i.e., the Shariah Advisory Council and the Security Commission in Malaysia in overcoming or reducing problems related to earnings management. This study is one of the most significant works in Malaysia in terms of sample size and methodology. It argues that the three elements of earnings management (i.e., financial distress, high leverage, and free cash flow influence better disclosure of reported earnings.

Nonlinear Dynamic Response of Compliant Journal Bearings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Glavatskih S.

2012-07-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the dynamic response of the compliant tilting pad journal bearings subjected to synchronous excitation. Bearing compliance is affected by the properties of pad liner and pad support geometry. Different unbalance eccentricities are considered. It is shown that bearing dynamic response is non-linear. Journal orbit complexity increases with pad compliance though the orbit amplitudes are marginally affected at low loads. At high loads, the journal is forced to operate outside the bearing clearance. The polymer liner reduces the maximum oil film pressure by a factor of 2 when compared to the white metal liner. The nonlinear dynamic response of compliant tilting pad journal bearings is thoroughly discussed.

Survey on Recent Designs of Compliant Micro-/Nano-Positioning Stages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeyi Wu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Micromanipulation is a hot topic due to its enabling role in various research fields. In order to perform a high precision operation at a small scale, compliant mechanisms have been proposed and applied for decades. In microscale manipulation, micro-/nano-positioning is the most fundamental operation because a precision positioning is the premise of subsequent operations. This paper is concentrated on reviewing the state-of-the-art research on complaint micro-/nano-positioning stage design in recent years. It involves the major processes and components for designing a compliant positioning stage, e.g., actuator selection, stroke amplifier design, connecting scheme of the multi-DOF stage and structure optimization. The review provides a reference to design a compliant micro-/nano-positioning stage for pertinent applications.

Control of compliant anthropomimetic robot joint

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svetozarević Bratislav

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we propose a control strategy for a robot joint which fully mimics the typical human joint structure. The joint drive is based on two actuators (dc motors, agonist and antagonist, acting through compliant tendons and forming a nonlinear multi-input multi-output (MIMO system. At any time, we consider one actuator, the puller, as being responsible for motion control, while the role of the other is to keep its tendon force at some appropriate low level. This human-like and energetically efficient approach requires the control of 'switching', or exchanging roles between actuators. Moreover, an algorithm based on adaptive force reference is used to solve a problem of slacken tendons during the switching and to increase the energy efficiency. This approach was developed and evaluated on increasingly complex robot joint configurations, starting with simple and noncompliant system, and finishing with nonlinear and compliant system.

Regulated and unregulated emissions from modern 2010 emissions-compliant heavy-duty on-highway diesel engines

Science.gov (United States)

Khalek, Imad A.; Blanks, Matthew G.; Merritt, Patrick M.; Zielinska, Barbara

2015-01-01

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established strict regulations for highway diesel engine exhaust emissions of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) to aid in meeting the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The emission standards were phased in with stringent standards for 2007 model year (MY) heavy-duty engines (HDEs), and even more stringent NOX standards for 2010 and later model years. The Health Effects Institute, in cooperation with the Coordinating Research Council, funded by government and the private sector, designed and conducted a research program, the Advanced Collaborative Emission Study (ACES), with multiple objectives, including detailed characterization of the emissions from both 2007- and 2010-compliant engines. The results from emission testing of 2007-compliant engines have already been reported in a previous publication. This paper reports the emissions testing results for three heavy-duty 2010-compliant engines intended for on-highway use. These engines were equipped with an exhaust diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), high-efficiency catalyzed diesel particle filter (DPF), urea-based selective catalytic reduction catalyst (SCR), and ammonia slip catalyst (AMOX), and were fueled with ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel (~6.5 ppm sulfur). Average regulated and unregulated emissions of more than 780 chemical species were characterized in engine exhaust under transient engine operation using the Federal Test Procedure cycle and a 16-hr duty cycle representing a wide dynamic range of real-world engine operation. The 2010 engines’ regulated emissions of PM, NOX, nonmethane hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide were all well below the EPA 2010 emission standards. Moreover, the unregulated emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nitroPAHs, hopanes and steranes, alcohols and organic acids, alkanes, carbonyls, dioxins and furans, inorganic ions, metals and elements, elemental carbon, and particle number were substantially

Material selection for elastic energy absorption in origami-inspired compliant corrugations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tolman, Sean S; Delimont, Isaac L; Howell, Larry L; Fullwood, David T

2014-01-01

Elastic absorption of kinetic energy and distribution of impact forces are required in many applications. Recent attention to the potential for using origami in engineering may provide new methods for energy absorption and force distribution. A three-stage strategy is presented for selecting materials for such origami-inspired designs that can deform to achieve a desired motion without yielding, absorb elastic strain energy, and be lightweight or cost effective. Two material indices are derived to meet these requirements based on compliant mechanism theory. Finite element analysis is used to investigate the effects of the material stiffness in the Miura-ori tessellation on its energy absorption and force distribution characteristics compared with a triangular wave corrugation. An example is presented of how the method can be used to select a material for a general energy absorption application of the Miura-ori. Whereas the focus of this study is the Miura-ori tessellation, the methods developed can be applied to other tessellated patterns used in energy absorbing or force distribution applications. (paper)

Performance of a non-tapered 3D morphing wing with integrated compliant ribs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Previtali, F; Ermanni, P

2012-01-01

Morphing wings have a high potential for improving the performance and reducing the fuel consumption of modern aircraft. Thanks to its simplicity, the compliant belt-rib concept is regarded by the authors as a promising solution. Using the compliant rib designed by Hasse and Campanile as a starting point, a compliant morphing wing made of composite materials is designed. Innovative methods for optimal placing of the actuation and for the quantification of the morphing are used. The performance of the compliant morphing wing in terms of three-dimensional (3D) structural behaviour and aerodynamic properties, both two- and three-dimensional, is presented and discussed. The fundamental importance of considering 3D coupling effects in the determination of the performance of morphing aerofoils is shown. (paper)

Full-duplex transmission of IEEE 802.11ac-compliant MIMO WLAN signals over a 2-km 7-core fiber

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fan, Yuting; Li, Jianqiang; Lei, Yi; Tang, Ming; Yin, Feifei; Dai, Yitang; Xu, Kun

2017-01-01

In this Letter, we experimentally demonstrate a full-duplex transmission system of IEEE 802.11ac-compliant multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) signals over a 2-km 7-core fiber for in-building wireless local-area network (WLAN) distributed antenna systems. For full-duplex 3 � 3 MIMO

Passively morphing ornithopter wings constructed using a novel compliant spine: design and testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wissa, A A; Hubbard Jr, J E; Tummala, Y; Frecker, M I

2012-01-01

Ornithopters or flapping wing uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) have potential applications in civil and military sectors. Amongst the UAVs, ornithopters have a unique ability to fly in low Reynolds number flight regimes and also have the agility and maneuverability of rotary wing aircraft. In nature, birds achieve such performance by exploiting various wing kinematics known as gaits. The objective of this work is to improve the steady level flight performance of an ornithopter by implementing a continuous vortex gait using a novel passive compliant spine inserted in the ornithopter’s wings. This paper presents an optimal compliant spine concept for ornithopter applications. A quasi-static design optimization procedure was formulated to design the compliant spine. Finite element analysis was performed on a first generation spine and the spine was fabricated. This prototype was then tested by inserting it into an ornithopter’s wing leading edge spar. The effect of inserting the compliant spine into the wings on the electric power required, the aerodynamic loads and the wing kinematics was studied. The ornithopter with the compliant spines inserted in its wings consumed 45% less power and produced an additional 16% of its weight in mean lift compared to the same ornithopter without the compliant spine. The results indicate that this passive morphing approach is promising for improved steady level flight performance. (paper)

Attitude and subjective wellbeing of non-compliant mothers to childhood oral polio vaccine supplemental immunization in Northern Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Umeh, Gregory C; Nomhwange, Terna Ignatius; Shamang, Anthony F; Zakari, Furera; Musa, Audu I; Dogo, Paul M; Gugong, Victor; Iliyasu, Neyu

2018-02-08

Attitude and subjective well-being are important factors in mothers accepting or rejecting Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) supplemental immunization. The purpose of the study was to determine the role of mothers' attitude and subjective wellbeing on non-compliance to OPV supplemental immunization in Northern Nigeria. The study utilized a cross-sectional design to assess attitude and subjective well-being of mothers using previously validated VACSATC (Vaccine Safety, Attitudes, Training and Communication-10 items) & SUBI (Subjective Well-being Inventory-40 items) measures. A total of 396 participants (equal number of non-compliant and compliant mothers) from 94 non-compliant settlements were interviewed, after informed consent. T-test was run to assess difference in mean scores between the non-compliant and compliant mothers on VACSATC and SUBI measures. The research showed a significant difference in mean scores between the non-compliant and compliant groups on VACSATC measure of mothers' attitude (M = 18.9 non-compliant, compared to 26.5 compliant; p  0.05). The research has shown that negative attitude is more commonly present in non-compliant mothers and may be a factor in vaccine refusal in Northern Nigeria.

Effect of Compliant Walls on Secondary Instabilities in Boundary-Layer Transition

Science.gov (United States)

Joslin, Ronald D.; Morris, Philip J.

1991-01-01

For aerodynamic and hydrodynamic vehicles, it is highly desirable to reduce drag and noise levels. A reduction in drag leads to fuel savings. In particular for submersible vehicles, a decrease in noise levels inhibits detection. A suggested means to obtain these reduction goals is by delaying the transition from laminar to turbulent flow in external boundary layers. For hydrodynamic applications, a passive device which shows promise for transition delays is the compliant coating. In previous studies with a simple mechanical model representing the compliant wall, coatings were found that provided transition delays as predicted from the semi-empirical e(sup n) method. Those studies were concerned with the linear stage of transition where the instability of concern is referred to as the primary instability. For the flat-plate boundary layer, the Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) wave is the primary instability. In one of those studies, it was shown that three-dimensional (3-D) primary instabilities, or oblique waves, could dominate transition over the coatings considered. From the primary instability, the stretching and tilting of vorticity in the shear flow leads to a secondary instability mechanism. This has been theoretical described by Herbert based on Floquet theory. In the present study, Herbert's theory is used to predict the development of secondary instabilities over isotropic and non-isotropic compliant walls. Since oblique waves may be dominant over compliant walls, a secondary theory extention is made to allow for these 3-D primary instabilities. The effect of variations in primary amplitude, spanwise wavenumber, and Reynolds number on the secondary instabilities are examined. As in the rigid wall case, over compliant walls the subharmonic mode of secondary instability dominates for low-amplitude primary disturbances. Both isotropic and non-isotropic compliant walls lead to reduced secondary growth rates compared to the rigid wall results. For high frequencies

An Exploratory Study of the Rhetoric in CSR Reports: A Comparison of Shari’ah Compliant Company and Non –Shari’ah Compliant Company in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Abdul Razak Rafizan

2017-01-01

This paper advances previous research in corporate social reporting (CSR) by using a taxonomy of five distinct rhetorical strategies to examine any differences in term of type of ethical categories and to identify moral attitudes towards different societal activities between Shari’ah compliant company Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) and Non-Shari’ah compliant company Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank). The data is analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that there are different...

IT Consumerization and Compliant Use

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lüker, Nele; Winkler, Till J.; Kude, Thomas

2016-01-01

ground’) on the policy-related attitudes of employees and their level of policy-compliant device usage (voice, email, and data) at two higher education institutions. Based on hypotheses derived from two theories – i.e., procedural justice theory and transaction cost theory – and mixed methods interviews....... Extending the procedural justice view, we conclude that transaction cost theory serves as a complementary lens to explain policy compliance....

Towards an international address standard

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Coetzee, S

2008-02-01

Full Text Available in a better user experience. Standards compliance allows for the separation of concerns: HTML for content, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for presentation and JavaScript for dynamic behaviour. Standards compliant documents are also...) and cascading style sheets through CSS (CSS n.d.), whilst the JavaScript specification has been standardised by Ecma International (another standards organisation for information and communication systems), in the form of EcmaScript (Ecma...

Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Cybersecurity Standards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saleem, Danish [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Johnson, Jay [Sandia National Laboratories

2017-11-08

This presentation covers the work that Sandia National Laboratories and National Renewable Energy Laboratory are doing for distributed energy resource cybersecurity standards, prepared for NREL's Annual Cybersecurity & Resilience Workshop on October 9-10, 2017.

Freeform Compliant CMOS Electronic Systems for Internet of Everything Applications

KAUST Repository

Shaikh, Sohail F.

2017-01-17

The state-of-the-art electronics technology has been an integral part of modern advances. The prevalent rise of the mobile device and computational technology in the age of information technology offers exciting applications that are attributed to sophisticated, enormously reliable, and most mature CMOS-based electronics. We are accustomed to high performance, cost-effective, multifunctional, and energy-efficient scaled electronics. However, they are rigid, bulky, and brittle. The convolution of flexibility and stretchability in electronics for emerging Internet of Everything application can unleash smart application horizon in unexplored areas, such as robotics, healthcare, smart cities, transport, and entertainment systems. While flexible and stretchable device themes are being remarkably chased, the realization of the fully compliant electronic system is unaddressed. Integration of data processing, storage, communication, and energy management devices complements a compliant system. Here, a comprehensive review is presented on necessity and design criteria for freeform (physically flexible and stretchable) compliant high-performance CMOS electronic systems.

Cigarette Fires Involving Upholstered Furniture in Residences: The Role that Smokers, Smoker Behavior, and Fire Standard Compliant Cigarettes Play

Science.gov (United States)

Butry, David T.; Thomas, Douglas S.

2017-01-01

Residential structure fires pose a significant risk to life and property. A major source of these fires is the ignition of upholstered furniture by cigarettes. It has long been established that cigarettes and other lighted tobacco products could ignite upholstered furniture and were a leading cause of fire deaths in residences. In recent years, states have adopted fire standard compliant cigarettes (‘FSC cigarettes’) that are made with a wrapping paper that contains regularly spaced bands, which increases the likelihood of self-extinguishment. This paper measures the effectiveness of FSC cigarettes on the number of residential fires involving upholstered furniture, and the resulting fatalities, injuries, and extent of flame spread, while accounting for the under-reporting of fire incidents. In total, four models were estimated using fire department data from 2002 to 2011. The results provide evidence that FSC cigarettes, on average, reduced the number of residential fires by 45 %, reduced fatalities by 23 %, and extent of flame spread by 27 % in 2011. No effect on injuries was found. Within each state, effectiveness is moderated by the number of smokers and their consumption patterns. In general, FSC cigarettes are more effective in places with a large smoking population who engage in heavier smoking. There is a very limited effect on the lightest of smokers, suggesting behavioral differences between heavy and light smokers that influence fire risk. PMID:28751788

IEEE 1451.1 Standard and XML Web Services: a Powerful Combination to Build Distributed Measurement and Control Systems

OpenAIRE

Viegas, Vítor; Pereira, José Dias; Girão, P. Silva

2006-01-01

In 2005, we presented the NCAP/XML, a prototype of NCAP (Network Capable Application Processor) that runs under the .NET Framework and makes available its functionality through a set of Web Services using XML (eXtended Markup Language). Giving continuity to this project, it is time to explain how to use the NCAP/XML to build a Distributed Measurement and Control System (DMCS) compliant with the 1451.1 Std. This paper is divided in two main parts: in the first part, we present the new software...

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Codes and Standards Resources

Science.gov (United States)

resources linked below help project developers and code officials prepare and review code-compliant projects , storage, and infrastructure. The following charts show the SDOs responsible for these alternative fuel codes and standards. Biodiesel Vehicle and Infrastructure Codes and Standards Chart Electric Vehicle and

The effect of compliant prisms on subduction zone earthquakes and tsunamis

Science.gov (United States)

Lotto, Gabriel C.; Dunham, Eric M.; Jeppson, Tamara N.; Tobin, Harold J.

2017-01-01

Earthquakes generate tsunamis by coseismically deforming the seafloor, and that deformation is largely controlled by the shallow rupture process. Therefore, in order to better understand how earthquakes generate tsunamis, one must consider the material structure and frictional properties of the shallowest part of the subduction zone, where ruptures often encounter compliant sedimentary prisms. Compliant prisms have been associated with enhanced shallow slip, seafloor deformation, and tsunami heights, particularly in the context of tsunami earthquakes. To rigorously quantify the role compliant prisms play in generating tsunamis, we perform a series of numerical simulations that directly couple dynamic rupture on a dipping thrust fault to the elastodynamic response of the Earth and the acoustic response of the ocean. Gravity is included in our simulations in the context of a linearized Eulerian description of the ocean, which allows us to model tsunami generation and propagation, including dispersion and related nonhydrostatic effects. Our simulations span a three-dimensional parameter space of prism size, prism compliance, and sub-prism friction - specifically, the rate-and-state parameter b - a that determines velocity-weakening or velocity-strengthening behavior. We find that compliant prisms generally slow rupture velocity and, for larger prisms, generate tsunamis more efficiently than subduction zones without prisms. In most but not all cases, larger, more compliant prisms cause greater amounts of shallow slip and larger tsunamis. Furthermore, shallow friction is also quite important in determining overall slip; increasing sub-prism b - a enhances slip everywhere along the fault. Counterintuitively, we find that in simulations with large prisms and velocity-strengthening friction at the base of the prism, increasing prism compliance reduces rather than enhances shallow slip and tsunami wave height.

Rapid Prototyping of Standard Compliant Visible Light Communications System

OpenAIRE

Gavrincea, Ciprian; Baranda, Jorge; Henarejos, Pol

2014-01-01

This article describes the implementation of a prototype visible light communications system based on the IEEE 802.15.7 standard using low-cost commercial off-the-shelf analog devices. The aim of this article is to show that this standard provides a framework that could promote the introduction of applications into the market. Thus, these specifications could be further developed, reducing the gap between the industry and research communities. The implemented prototype makes use of software d...

Comparing the effects of mechanical perturbation training with a compliant surface and manual perturbation training on joints kinematics after ACL-rupture.

Science.gov (United States)

Nawasreh, Zakariya; Failla, Mathew; Marmon, Adam; Logerstedt, David; Snyder-Mackler, Lynn

2018-05-23

Performing physical activities on a compliant surface alters joint kinematics and increases joints stiffness. However, the effect of compliant surface on joint kinematics after ACL-rupture is yet unknown. To compare the effects of mechanical perturbation training with a compliant surface to manual perturbation training on joint kinematics after ACL-rupture. Sixteen level I/II athletes with ACL-rupture participated in this preliminary study. Eight patients received mechanical perturbation with compliant surface (Mechanical) and 8 patients received manual perturbation training (Manual). Patients completed standard gait analysis before (Pre) and after (Post) training. Significant group-by-time interactions were found for knee flexion angle at initial contact (IC) and peak knee flexion (PKF) (pMechanical:27.68+4.08°, p = 0.011), hip rotation angle at PKE (Manual:-3.40+4.78°, Mechanical:5.43+4.78°, p Mechanical:0.55+2.23°, p = 0.039). Main effects of time were found for hip adduction angle at PKE (Pre:6.98+4.48°, Post:8.41+4.91°, p = 0.04), knee adduction angle at IC (Pre:-2.90+3.50°, Post:-0.62+2.58°, p = 0.03), ankle adduction angle at IC (Pre:2.16+3.54, Post:3.8+3.68, p = 0.008), and ankle flexion angle at PKF (Pre:-4.55+2.77°, Post:-2.39+3.48°, p = 0.01). Training on a compliant surface induces different effects on joint kinematics compared to manual perturbation training after ACL-rupture. Manual perturbation improved hip alignment and increased knee flexion angles, while mechanical training decreased knee flexion angles throughout the stance phase. Administering training on a compliant surface after ACL-rupture may help improving dynamic knee stability, however, long-term effects on knee health needs to be determined. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coefficient of restitution in fractional viscoelastic compliant impacts using fractional Chebyshev collocation

Science.gov (United States)

Dabiri, Arman; Butcher, Eric A.; Nazari, Morad

2017-02-01

Compliant impacts can be modeled using linear viscoelastic constitutive models. While such impact models for realistic viscoelastic materials using integer order derivatives of force and displacement usually require a large number of parameters, compliant impact models obtained using fractional calculus, however, can be advantageous since such models use fewer parameters and successfully capture the hereditary property. In this paper, we introduce the fractional Chebyshev collocation (FCC) method as an approximation tool for numerical simulation of several linear fractional viscoelastic compliant impact models in which the overall coefficient of restitution for the impact is studied as a function of the fractional model parameters for the first time. Other relevant impact characteristics such as hysteresis curves, impact force gradient, penetration and separation depths are also studied.

A Compliant Bistable Mechanism Design Incorporating Elastica Buckling Beam Theory and Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sönmez, Ümit; Tutum, Cem Celal

2008-01-01

In this work, a new compliant bistable mechanism design is introduced. The combined use of pseudo-rigid-body model (PRBM) and the Elastica buckling theory is presented for the first time to analyze the new design. This mechanism consists of the large deflecting straight beams, buckling beams...... and the buckling Elastica solution for an original compliant mechanism kinematic analysis. New compliant mechanism designs are presented to highlight where such combined kinematic analysis is required....

Standard Compliant Hazard and Threat Analysis for the Automotive Domain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristian Beckers

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The automotive industry has successfully collaborated to release the ISO 26262 standard for developing safe software for cars. The standard describes in detail how to conduct hazard analysis and risk assessments to determine the necessary safety measures for each feature. However, the standard does not concern threat analysis for malicious attackers or how to select appropriate security countermeasures. We propose the application of ISO 27001 for this purpose and show how it can be applied together with ISO 26262. We show how ISO 26262 documentation can be re-used and enhanced to satisfy the analysis and documentation demands of the ISO 27001 standard. We illustrate our approach based on an electronic steering column lock system.

Contact Mechanics and Failure Modes of Compliant Polymeric Bearing Materials for Knee Cartilage Replacement

Science.gov (United States)

Tohfafarosh, Mariya Shabbir

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of disability affecting millions of people worldwide. Total knee replacement is the current state-of-the-art treatment to alleviate pain and improve mobility among patients in the late stage of knee OA. The current gold standard materials for total knee arthroplasty are cobalt-chromium and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). However, wear debris and implant loosening-related revision persists; consequently, total knee replacements are not universally recommended for all patient subgroups with OA. This work explores the potential of using compliant polymeric materials in knee cartilage replacement devices, which are closer in lubrication and mechanical properties of articular cartilage, to prevent excessive removal of underlying bone and prolong the need for a total knee replacement. Two materials investigated in this thesis are polycarbonate urethane, Bionate 80A, and a novel hydrogel, Cyborgel, both of which have shown promising wear and lubrication properties under physiological loads. Polycarbonate urethane has been previously tested for the effects of gamma sterilization and has shown no significant changes in its mechanical strength or chemical bonds. Since an important aspect of medical device development is the sterilization process, this thesis first evaluated the effect of 30-35 kGy electron beam and gamma radiation on the polymer swell ratio, and the mechanical, chemical and tribological behavior of the novel hydrogel. Three different formulations were mechanically tested, and biphasic material properties were identified using finite element analysis. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to investigate chemical changes, while the wear properties were tested for 2 million cycles in bovine serum. The results showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the swell ratio, mechanical and tribological properties of the electron beam and gamma sterilized hydrogel sample as compared to the

Turbine airfoil with dual wall formed from inner and outer layers separated by a compliant structure

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell,; Christian X. , Morrison; Jay, A [Oviedo, FL

2011-12-20

A turbine airfoil usable in a turbine engine with a cooling system and a compliant dual wall configuration configured to enable thermal expansion between inner and outer layers while eliminating stress formation is disclosed. The compliant dual wall configuration may be formed a dual wall formed from inner and outer layers separated by a compliant structure. The compliant structure may be configured such that the outer layer may thermally expand without limitation by the inner layer. The compliant structure may be formed from a plurality of pedestals positioned generally parallel with each other. The pedestals may include a first foot attached to a first end of the pedestal and extending in a first direction aligned with the outer layer, and may include a second foot attached to a second end of the pedestal and extending in a second direction aligned with the inner layer.

Compliant Tactile Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Jara, Eduardo R.

2011-01-01

Tactile sensors are currently being designed to sense interactions with human hands or pen-like interfaces. They are generally embedded in screens, keyboards, mousepads, and pushbuttons. However, they are not well fitted to sense interactions with all kinds of objects. A novel sensor was originally designed to investigate robotics manipulation where not only the contact with an object needs to be detected, but also where the object needs to be held and manipulated. This tactile sensor has been designed with features that allow it to sense a large variety of objects in human environments. The sensor is capable of detecting forces coming from any direction. As a result, this sensor delivers a force vector with three components. In contrast to most of the tactile sensors that are flat, this one sticks out from the surface so that it is likely to come in contact with objects. The sensor conforms to the object with which it interacts. This augments the contact's surface, consequently reducing the stress applied to the object. This feature makes the sensor ideal for grabbing objects and other applications that require compliance with objects. The operational range of the sensor allows it to operate well with objects found in peoples' daily life. The fabrication of this sensor is simple and inexpensive because of its compact mechanical configuration and reduced electronics. These features are convenient for mass production of individual sensors as well as dense arrays. The biologically inspired tactile sensor is sensitive to both normal and lateral forces, providing better feedback to the host robot about the object to be grabbed. It has a high sensitivity, enabling its use in manipulation fingers, which typically have low mechanical impedance in order to be very compliant. The construction of the sensor is simple, using inexpensive technologies like silicon rubber molding and standard stock electronics.

Banding of connection standards for distributed generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-05-04

This report presents the views of distributed network operators (DNOs), developers, equipment manufacturers and consultants on the current banding of distributed generation in terms of connection standards and recommendations. The Documents ER G59/1, ER G75/1, ER G83/1 and ETR 113/1 covering recommendations for the connection of embedded generating plant to distribution systems and guidance notes for the protection of embedded generating plant are examined. The way in which the recommendations are applied in practice is investigated. Multiple distribution generator installations, fault ride through, and banding are considered as well as both protection required and maximum generator sizes at respective voltage levels.

Compliant seal development

Science.gov (United States)

Hendricks, Robert C.

1993-10-01

The compliant metallic seal combines the noncontact feature of the labyrinth seal, the low leakage of a mechanical seal, and the compliant nature of the brush seal. It consists of several thin metallic elements or leaves mounted within a ring which is press fit into the housing, and in form, sort of resembles a lip seal sections wiping the shaft. A second set of overlapping cover leaves are placed on top of the shaft riding leaves which reduces leakage and provides stiffness. The leaves can be straight or angle cut. The shaft riding fingers are designed with mismatched curvature to provide lift off similar to the Rayleigh lift pads in mechanical seals with leading edge clearances nearly twice those of the trailing edge as as shown by Fleming to be optimal for gas flows in convergent seal passages. Leading edge clearances range from 300 to 500 microinches. Balance pockets beneath the leaves provide fluid film feed to the 'Rayleigh lift' surface and the proper balance ratio (mechanical seal) when combined with the static pressure and film pressure. The leaves flex in the radial direction and accommodate thermomechanical behavior as well as axial motion and angular misalignment. In the static mode, there is a net closing force on the leaves. The seals were tested to 70 psi at speeds to 16,000 rpm or surface speeds to 330 fps and temperatures from ambient to 440 F. A slow cycle through the rig critical at 10,000 rpm induced a radial vibration response of 0.004 to 0.005 inch were accommodated by the seal. Preliminary performance data are encouraging demonstrating hydrodynamic liftoff and noncontacting operation at pressure and speeds typical of gas turbine engines. The leakage performance data are significantly better than commercial labyrinth and brush seals which should be expected as this design incorporates the features of the low leakage face or mechanical seal along with the flexibility of the brush configuration.

Handedness in shearing auxetics creates rigid and compliant structures

Science.gov (United States)

Lipton, Jeffrey Ian; MacCurdy, Robert; Manchester, Zachary; Chin, Lillian; Cellucci, Daniel; Rus, Daniela

2018-05-01

In nature, repeated base units produce handed structures that selectively bond to make rigid or compliant materials. Auxetic tilings are scale-independent frameworks made from repeated unit cells that expand under tension. We discovered how to produce handedness in auxetic unit cells that shear as they expand by changing the symmetries and alignments of auxetic tilings. Using the symmetry and alignment rules that we developed, we made handed shearing auxetics that tile planes, cylinders, and spheres. By compositing the handed shearing auxetics in a manner inspired by keratin and collagen, we produce both compliant structures that expand while twisting and deployable structures that can rigidly lock. This work opens up new possibilities in designing chemical frameworks, medical devices like stents, robotic systems, and deployable engineering structures.

Modeling of a compliant joint in a Magnetic Levitation System for an endoscopic camera

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Simi, M.; Tolou, N.; Valdastri, P.; Herder, J.L.; Menciassi, A.; Dario, P.

2012-01-01

A novel compliant Magnetic Levitation System (MLS) for a wired miniature surgical camera robot was designed, modeled and fabricated. The robot is composed of two main parts, head and tail, linked by a compliant beam. The tail module embeds two magnets for anchoring and manual rough translation. The

Determination analysis of energy conservation standards for distribution transformers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barnes, P.R.; Van Dyke, J.W.; McConnell, B.W.; Das, S.

1996-07-01

This report contains information for US DOE to use in making a determination on proposing energy conservation standards for distribution transformers as required by the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Potential for saving energy with more efficient liquid-immersed and dry-type distribution transformers could be significant because these transformers account for an estimated 140 billion kWh of the annual energy lost in the delivery of electricity. Objective was to determine whether energy conservation standards for distribution transformers would have the potential for significant energy savings, be technically feasible, and be economically justified from a national perspective. It was found that energy conservation for distribution transformers would be technically and economically feasible. Based on the energy conservation options analyzed, 3.6-13.7 quads of energy could be saved from 2000 to 2030.

Stiffness characteristics of compliant three segment leg with the self-stable region in slow and fast running

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwak, Oh Seok; Ha, Sung Mok; Lee, Dong Ha [Convergence Research Center for WellnessDaegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and TechnologyDaegu (Korea, Republic of)

2016-12-15

In this paper, we propose the stiffness characteristics of compliant three segment leg that can have a self-stable region in slow and fast running. This proposition can contribute to reducing the control effort and enhancing the locomotion energy efficiency for the compliant three segment legged robot in slow and fast running. Previous research indicated that the running self-stable region of the spring-mass system is located in a relatively fast running region and that of the two segment leg is located in a relatively slow running region. In this paper, we analyze the stiffness characteristics of the spring-mass system and the two segment leg to explain the previous research results. From this analysis, we propose the stiffness characteristics of the compliant three segment leg with a self-stable region in slow and fast running. We further design the compliant three segment leg based on this proposition and check its structural stability. We examine the running self-stable region of this compliant three segment leg to determine whether it has a self-stable region in slow and fast running. We also examine the walking self-stable region of this compliant three segment leg.

Active compliant wall for skin friction reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pätzold, A.; Peltzer, I.; Nitsche, W.; Goldin, N.; King, R.; Haller, D.; Woias, P.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Objective: Delay of laminar-turbulent transition on a wing by active wall actuation. • Natural, convective TS-instabilities are damped by travelling counter waves. • Piezo driven active wall and model predictive controller were developed. • TS amplitudes were damped by 83.6% (equals 15.7 dB within instability band). • Significant effect on skin friction distribution. -- Abstract: In order to reduce skin friction drag, an active laminarisation method is developed. Laminar-turbulent boundary layer transition caused by Tollmien–Schlichting (TS) waves is delayed by attenuation of these convective instabilities. An actively driven compliant wall is integrated as part of a wing’s surface. Different configurations of piezo-based actuators are combined with an array of sensitive surface flow sensors. Wall-normal actuation as well as inclined wall displacement are investigated. Together with a realtime-control strategy, transition onset is shifted downstream by six average TS-wave lengths. Using the example of flow velocity, the influence of variable flow conditions on TS-damping rates was investigated. Besides, the boundary layer flow downstream of the active wall area as well as required wall deflections and the global damping effect on skin friction are presented in this paper

Scaling laws for a compliant biomimetic swimmer

Science.gov (United States)

Gibouin, Florence; Raufaste, Christophe; Bouret, Yann; Argentina, Mederic

2017-11-01

Motivated by the seminal work of Lord Lighthill in the sixties, we study the motion of inertial aquatic swimmers that propels with undulatory gaits. In 2014, Gazzola et al. have uncovered the law linking the swimming velocity to the kinematics of the swimmer and the fluid properties. At high Reynolds numbers, the velocity appears to be equal to 0.4 Af /(2 π) , where A and f are respectively the amplitude and the frequency of the oscillating fin. We have constructed a compliant biomimetic swimmer, whose muscles have been modeled through a torque distribution thanks to a servomotor. A soft polymeric material mimics the flesh and provides the flexibility. By immersing our robot into a water tunnel, we find and characterize the operating point for which the propulsive force balances the drag. We bring the first experimental proof of the former law and probe large amplitude undulations which exhibits nonlinear effects. All data collapse perfectly onto a single master curve. We investigate the role of the fin flexibility by varying its length and its thickness and we figured out the existence of an efficient swimming regime. We thank the support of CNRS and Université Côte d'Azur.

Control of Adjustable Compliant Actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berno J.E. Misgeld

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Adjustable compliance or variable stiffness actuators comprise an additional element to elastically decouple the actuator from the load and are increasingly applied to human-centered robotic systems. The advantages of such actuators are of paramount importance in rehabilitation robotics, where requirements demand safe interaction between the therapy system and the patient. Compliant actuator systems enable the minimization of large contact forces arising, for example, from muscular spasticity and have the ability to periodically store and release energy in cyclic movements. In order to overcome the loss of bandwidth introduced by the elastic element and to guarantee a higher range in force/torque generation, new actuator designs consider variable or nonlinear stiffness elements, respectively. These components cannot only be adapted to the walking speed or the patient condition, but also entail additional challenges for feedback control. This paper introduces a novel design method for an impedance-based controller that fulfills the control objectives and compares the performance and robustness to a classical cascaded control approach. The new procedure is developed using a non-standard positive-real Η2 controller design and is applied to a loop-shaping approach. Robust norm optimal controllers are designed with regard to the passivity of the actuator load-impedance transfer function and the servo control problem. Classical cascaded and positive-real Η2 controller designs are validated and compared in simulations and in a test bench using a passive elastic element of varying stiffness.

Frictional Compliant Haptic Contact and Deformation of Soft Objects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naci Zafer

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This paper is concerned with compliant haptic contact and deformation of soft objects. A human soft fingertip model is considered to act as the haptic interface and is brought into contact with and deforms a discrete surface. A nonlinear constitutive law is developed in predicting normal forces and, for the haptic display of surface texture, motions along the surface are also resisted at various rates by accounting for dynamic Lund-Grenoble (LuGre frictional forces. For the soft fingertip to apply forces over an area larger than a point, normal and frictional forces are distributed around the soft fingertip contact location on the deforming surface. The distribution is realized based on a kernel smoothing function and by a nonlinear spring-damper net around the contact point. Experiments conducted demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of our approach in real-time haptic rendering of a kidney surface. The resistive (interaction forces are applied at the user fingertip bone edge. A 3-DoF parallel robotic manipulator equipped with a constraint based controller is used for the implementation. By rendering forces both in lateral and normal directions, the designed haptic interface system allows the user to realistically feel both the geometrical and mechanical (nonlinear properties of the deforming kidney.

CARAPACE:A novel composite advanced robotic actuator powering assistive compliant exoskeleton preliminary design

OpenAIRE

Masia, Lorenzo; Cappello, Leonardo; Morasso, Pietro; Lachenal, Xavier; Pirrera, Alberto; Weaver, Paul; Mattioni, Filippo

2013-01-01

A novel actuator is introduced that combines an elastically compliant composite structure with conventional electromechanical elements. The proposed design is analogous to that used in Series Elastic Actuators, its distinctive feature being that the compliant composite part offers different stable configurations. In other words, its elastic potential presents points of local minima that correspond to robust stable positions (multistability). This potential is known a priori as a function of t...

Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study Auxiliary Findings on 2007-Compliant Diesel Engines: A Comparison With Diesel Exhaust Genotoxicity Effects Prior to 2007

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lance M Hallberg

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Since its beginning, more than 117 years ago, the compression-ignition engine, or diesel engine, has grown to become a critically important part of industry and transportation. Public concerns over the health effects from diesel emissions have driven the growth of regulatory development, implementation, and technological advances in emission controls. In 2001, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board issued new diesel fuel and emission standards for heavy-duty engines. To meet these stringent standards, manufacturers used new emission after-treatment technology, and modified fuel formulations, to bring about reductions in particulate matter and nitrogen oxides within the exhaust. To illustrate the impact of that technological transition, a brief overview of pre-2007 diesel engine exhaust biomarkers of genotoxicity and health-related concerns is provided, to set the context for the results of our research findings, as part of the Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study (ACES, in which the effects of a 2007-compliant diesel engine were examined. In agreement with ACES findings reported in other tissues, we observed a lack of measurable 2007-compliant diesel treatment–associated DNA damage, in lung tissue (comet assay, blood serum (8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine [8-OHdG] assay, and hippocampus (lipid peroxidation assay, across diesel exhaust exposure levels. A time-dependent assessment of 8-OHdG and lipid peroxidation also suggested no differences in responses across diesel exhaust exposure levels more than 24 months of exposure. These results indicated that the 2007-compliant diesel engine reduced measurable reactive oxygen species–associated tissue derangements and suggested that the 2007 standards–based mitigation approaches were effective.

ON THE RESPONSE OF IMPACTING COMPLIANT FLEX RUN

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

ON THE RESPONSE OF IMPACTING COMPLIANT FLEX RUN. T. T. Akano1,* and ... different from traditional rigid-body mechanisms which have rigid links ... components such as wings, fan blades and containment casings[6] ... Figure 2: Germany's Markus Rehm jumps at the Muller ... the principal stretches j as. , ,. [∑.

Figures of merit of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for compliant analysis of waters and wastes using USEPA standard operating procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brenner, I.B.; Spence, B.; Walder, A.

2004-01-01

The scope of this study is to critically review the performance of the ICP-MS instrumentation and aspects of the analytical methodology for compliant determination of Al, Sb, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, Se, Ag, Tl, V, and Zn in surface and subsurface water, soil, sludge, sediments and various solid wastes. The evaluation was performed using conventional and practical figures of analytical merit detailed in using USEPA SW (Solid Waste) 846 procedures and ISO/EC 17025

Compliant Electrode and Composite Material for Piezoelectric Wind and Mechanical Energy Conversions

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bin (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A thin film device for harvesting energy from wind. The thin film device includes one or more layers of a compliant piezoelectric material formed from a composite of a polymer and an inorganic material, such as a ceramic. Electrodes are disposed on a first side and a second side of the piezoelectric material. The electrodes are formed from a compliant material, such as carbon nanotubes or graphene. The thin film device exhibits improved resistance to structural fatigue upon application of large strains and repeated cyclic loadings.

Confinement of Reinforced-Concrete Columns with Non-Code Compliant Confining Reinforcement plus Supplemental Pen-Binder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anang Kristianto

2012-11-01

Full Text Available One of the important requirements for earthquake resistant building related to confinement is the use of seismic hooks in the hoop or confining reinforcement of reinforced-concrete column elements. However, installation of a confining reinforcement with a 135-degree hook is not easy. Therefore, in practice, many construction workers apply a confining reinforcement with a 90-degreehook (non-code compliant. Based on research and records of recent earthquakes in Indonesia, the use of a non-code compliant confining reinforcement for concrete columns produces structures with poor seismic performance. This paper presents a study that introduces an additional element that is expected to improve the effectiveness of concrete columns confined with a non-code compliant confining reinforcement. The additional element, named a pen-binder, is used to keep the non-code compliant confining reinforcement in place. The effectiveness of this element under pure axial concentric loading was investigatedcomprehensively.The specimens tested in this study were 18 concrete columns,with a cross-section of 170 mm x 170 mm and a height of 480 mm. The main test variables were the material type of the pen-binder, the angle of the hook, and the confining reinforcement configuration.The test results indicate that adding pen-binders can effectively improve the strength and ductility of the column specimens confined with a non-code compliant confining reinforcement

Stress reduction in tungsten films using nanostructured compliant layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karabacak, Tansel; Picu, Catalin R.; Senkevich, Jay J.; Wang, G.-C.; Lu, T.-M.

2004-01-01

The residual stress in thin films is a major limiting factor for obtaining high quality films. We present a strategy for stress reduction in sputter deposited films by using a nanostructured compliant layer obtained by the oblique angle deposition technique, sandwiched between the film and the substrate. The technique is all in situ, does not require any lithography steps, and the nanostructured layer is made from the same material as the deposited thin film. By using this approach we were able to reduce stress values by approximately one order of magnitude in sputter deposited tungsten films. These lower stress thin films also exhibit stronger adhesion to the substrate, which retards delamination buckling. This technique allows the growth of much thicker films and has enhanced structural stability. A model is developed to explain the stress relief mechanism and the stronger adhesion associated with the presence of the nanostructured compliant layer

77 FR 10997 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers; Correction

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-24

... Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers; Correction AGENCY: Office of... standards for distribution transformers. It was recently discovered that values in certain tables of the...,'' including distribution transformers. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT 1992), Public Law 102-486, amended...

Multi-physics modelling of a compliant humanoid robot

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zobova, Alexandra A., E-mail: azobova@mech.math.msu.su [Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics (Russian Federation); Habra, Timothée, E-mail: timothee.habra@uclouvain.be [Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Center for Research in Mechatronics, Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering (Belgium); Van der Noot, Nicolas, E-mail: nicolas.vandernoot@uclouvain.be, E-mail: nicolas.vandernoot@epfl.ch [EPFL STI IBI BIOROB, Biorobotics Laboratory, Institute of Bioengineering, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) (Switzerland); Dallali, Houman, E-mail: houman.dallali@iit.it; Tsagarakis, Nikolaos G., E-mail: nikos.tsagarakis@iit.it [Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Department of Advanced Robotics (Italy); Fisette, Paul, E-mail: paul.fisette@uclouvain.be; Ronsse, Renaud, E-mail: renaud.ronsse@uclouvain.be [Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Center for Research in Mechatronics, Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering (Belgium)

2017-01-15

We present a multibody simulator being used for compliant humanoid robot modelling and report our reasoning for choosing the settings of the simulator’s key features. First, we provide a study on how the numerical integration speed and accuracy depend on the coordinate representation of the multibody system. This choice is particularly critical for mechanisms with long serial chains (e.g. legs and arms). Our second contribution is a full electromechanical model of the inner dynamics of the compliant actuators embedded in the COMAN robot, since joints’ compliance is needed for the robot safety and energy efficiency. Third, we discuss the different approaches for modelling contacts and selecting an appropriate contact library. The recommended solution is to couple our simulator with an open-source contact library offering both accurate and fast contact modelling. The simulator performances are assessed by two different tasks involving contacts: a bimanual manipulation task and a squatting tasks. The former shows reliability of the simulator. For the latter, we report a comparison between the robot behaviour as predicted by our simulation environment, and the real one.

Multi-physics modelling of a compliant humanoid robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zobova, Alexandra A.; Habra, Timothée; Van der Noot, Nicolas; Dallali, Houman; Tsagarakis, Nikolaos G.; Fisette, Paul; Ronsse, Renaud

2017-01-01

We present a multibody simulator being used for compliant humanoid robot modelling and report our reasoning for choosing the settings of the simulator’s key features. First, we provide a study on how the numerical integration speed and accuracy depend on the coordinate representation of the multibody system. This choice is particularly critical for mechanisms with long serial chains (e.g. legs and arms). Our second contribution is a full electromechanical model of the inner dynamics of the compliant actuators embedded in the COMAN robot, since joints’ compliance is needed for the robot safety and energy efficiency. Third, we discuss the different approaches for modelling contacts and selecting an appropriate contact library. The recommended solution is to couple our simulator with an open-source contact library offering both accurate and fast contact modelling. The simulator performances are assessed by two different tasks involving contacts: a bimanual manipulation task and a squatting tasks. The former shows reliability of the simulator. For the latter, we report a comparison between the robot behaviour as predicted by our simulation environment, and the real one.

Trade and the distributional politics of international labour standards

OpenAIRE

Oslington, Paul

2005-01-01

This paper constructs a simple general equilibrium model of the trade and distributional effects of spreading advanced country international labour standards to developing countries. Labour standards (including minimum safety requirements, prohibition of prison and child labour, and rights to unionise) are represented as a floor to the cost of employing labour. The model shows how the spread of standards affects the terms of trade and pattern of international specialisation, and can shift ...

Nickel-Graphite Composite Compliant Interface and/or Hot Shoe Material

Science.gov (United States)

Firdosy, Samad A.; Chun-Yip Li, Billy; Ravi, Vilupanur A.; Fleurial, Jean-Pierre; Caillat, Thierry; Anjunyan, Harut

2013-01-01

Next-generation high-temperature thermoelectric-power-generating devices will employ segmented architectures and will have to reliably withstand thermally induced mechanical stresses produced during component fabrication, device assembly, and operation. Thermoelectric materials have typically poor mechanical strength, exhibit brittle behavior, and possess a wide range of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) values. As a result, the direct bonding at elevated temperatures of these materials to each other to produce segmented leg components is difficult, and often results in localized microcracking at interfaces and mec hanical failure due to the stresses that arise from the CTE mismatch between the various materials. Even in the absence of full mechanical failure, degraded interfaces can lead to increased electrical and thermal resistances, which adversely impact conversion efficiency and power output. The proposed solution is the insertion of a mechanically compliant layer, with high electrical and thermal conductivity, between the low- and high-temperature segments to relieve thermomechanical stresses during device fabrication and operation. This composite material can be used as a stress-relieving layer between the thermoelectric segments and/or between a thermoelectric segment and a hot- or cold-side interconnect material. The material also can be used as a compliant hot shoe. Nickel-coated graphite powders were hot-pressed to form a nickel-graphite composite material. A freestanding thermoelectric segmented leg was fabricated by brazing the compliant pad layer between the high-temperature p- Zintl and low-temperature p-SKD TE segments using Cu-Ag braze foils. The segmented leg stack was heated in vacuum under a compressive load to achieve bonding. The novelty of the innovation is the use of composite material that re duces the thermomechanical stresses en - countered in the construction of high-efficiency, high-temperature therm - o-electric devices. The

ELEGANT: A flexible SDDS-compliant code for accelerator simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borland, M.

2000-01-01

ELEGANT (ELEctron Generation ANd Tracking) is the principle accelerator simulation code used at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) for circular and one-pass machines. Capabilities include 6-D tracking using matrices up to third order, canonical integration, and numerical integration. Standard beamline elements are supported, as well as coherent synchrotron radiation, wakefields, rf elements, kickers, apertures, scattering, and more. In addition to tracking with and without errors, ELEGANT performs optimization of tracked properties, as well as computation and optimization of Twiss parameters, radiation integrals, matrices, and floor coordinates. Orbit/trajectory, tune, and chromaticity correction are supported. ELEGANT is fully compliant with the Self Describing Data Sets (SDDS) file protocol, and hence uses the SDDS Toolkit for pre- and post-processing. This permits users to prepare scripts to run the code in a flexible and automated fashion. It is particularly well suited to multistage simulation and concurrent simulation on many workstations. Several examples of complex projects performed with ELEGANT are given, including top-up safety analysis of the APS and design of the APS bunch compressor

Deformation of conjugate compliant fault zones induced by the 2013 Mw7.7 Baluchistan (Pakistan) earthquake

Science.gov (United States)

Dutta, Rishabh; Wang, Teng; Feng, Guangcai; Harrington, Jonathan; Vasyura-Bathke, Hannes; Jónsson, Sigurjón

2017-04-01

Strain localizations in compliant fault zones (with elastic moduli lower than the surrounding rocks) induced by nearby earthquakes have been detected using geodetic observations in a few cases in the past. Here we observe small-scale changes in interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements along multiple conjugate faults near the rupture of the 2013 Mw7.7 Baluchistan (Pakistan) earthquake. After removing the main coseismic deformation signal in the interferograms and correcting them for topography-related phase, we observe 2-3 cm signal along several conjugate faults that are 15-30 km from the mainshock fault rupture. These conjugate compliant faults have strikes of N30°E and N45°W. The sense of motion indicates left-lateral deformation across the N30°E faults and right-lateral deformation across the N45°W faults, which suggests the conjugate faults were subjected to extensional coseismic stresses along the WSW-ENE direction. The spacing between the different sets of faults is around 5 to 8 km. We explain the observed strain localizations as an elastic response of the compliant conjugate faults induced by the Baluchistan earthquake. Using 3D Finite Element models (FEM), we impose coseismic static displacements due to the earthquake along the boundaries of the FEM domain to reproduce the coseismic stress changes acting across the compliant faults. The InSAR measurements are used to constrain the geometry and rigidity variations of the compliant faults with respect to the surrounding rocks. The best fitting models show the compliant fault zones to have a width of 0.5 km to 2 km and a reduction of the shear modulus by a factor of 3 to 4. Our study yields similar values as were found for compliant fault zones near the 1992 Landers and the 1999 Hector Mine earthquakes in California, although here the strain localization is occurring on more complex conjugate sets of faults.

Compliant flooring to prevent fall-related injuries: a scoping review protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Lachance, Chantelle C; Jurkowski, Michal P; Dymarz, Ania C; Mackey, Dawn C

2016-08-16

Fall-related injuries can have serious consequences for older adults, including increased risk of dependence in daily activities and mortality. Compliant flooring is a passive intervention that may reduce the incidence and severity of fall-related injuries in healthcare settings, including acute and long-term care, but few sites have implemented compliant flooring, in part because synthesised evidence about key performance aspects has not been available. We will conduct a scoping review to address the question: what is presented about the biomechanical efficacy, clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and workplace safety associated with compliant flooring systems that aim to prevent fall-related injuries? We will conduct a comprehensive and systematic literature search of academic databases (AgeLine, CINAHL, EBM Reviews, MEDLINE (Ovid), SportDiscus and Web of Science) and grey literature (clinical trial registries, theses/dissertations, abstracts/conference proceedings and relevant websites). 2 team members will independently screen records (first titles and abstracts, then full text) and extract data from included records. Numerical and narrative analyses will be presented by theme (biomechanical efficacy, clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, workplace safety). This scoping review responds to the information needs of healthcare decision-makers tasked with preventing fall-related injuries. This review will summarise evidence about compliant flooring as a potential intervention for preventing fall-related injuries in older adults and identify gaps in evidence and new avenues for research. Results will be especially useful in long-term care, but also applicable in acute care, assisted living and home care. We will disseminate the review's findings via open-access publications, conference presentations, a webinar, a Stakeholder Symposium and a Knowledge-to-Action Report. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not

PROWAY - a standard for distributed control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gellie, R.W.

1980-01-01

The availability of cheap and powerful microcomputer and data communications equipment has led to a major revision of instrumentation and control systems. Intelligent devices can now be used and distributed about the control system in a systematic and economic manner. These sub-units are linked by a communications system to provide a total system capable of meeting the required plant objectives. PROWAY, an international standard process data highway for interconnecting processing units in distributed industrial process control systems, is currently being developed. This paper describes the salient features and current status of the PROWAY effort. (auth)

Ankle rehabilitation device with two degrees of freedom and compliant joint

Science.gov (United States)

Racu (Cazacu, C.-M.; Doroftei, I.

2015-11-01

We propose a rehabilitation device that we intend to be low cost and easy to manufacture. The system will ensure functionality but also have a small dimensions and low mass, considering the physiological dimensions of the foot and lower leg. To avoid injure of the ankle joint, this device is equipped with a compliant joint between the motor and mechanical transmission. The torque of this joint is intended to be adjustable, according to the degree of ankle joint damage. To choose the material and the dimensions of this compliant joint, in this paper we perform the first stress simulation. The minimum torque is calculated, while the maximum torque is given by the preliminary chosen actuator.

Compliant liquid column damper modified by shape memory alloy device for seismic vibration control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gur, Sourav; Mishra, Sudib Kumar; Bhowmick, Sutanu; Chakraborty, Subrata

2014-01-01

Liquid column dampers (LCDs) have long been used for the seismic vibration control of flexible structures. In contrast, tuning LCDs to short-period structures poses difficulty. Various modifications have been proposed on the original LCD configuration for improving its performance in relatively stiff structures. One such system, referred to as a compliant-LCD has been proposed recently by connecting the LCD to the structure with a spring. In this study, an improvement is attempted in compliant LCDs by replacing the linear spring with a spring made of shape memory alloy (SMA). Considering the dissipative, super-elastic, force-deformation hysteresis of SMA triggered by stress-induced micro-structural phase transition, the performance is expected to improve further. The optimum parameters for the SMA-compliant LCD are obtained through design optimization, which is based on a nonlinear random vibration response analysis via stochastic linearization of the force-deformation hysteresis of SMA and dissipation by liquid motion through an orifice. Substantially enhanced performance of the SMA–LCD over a conventional compliant LCD is demonstrated, the consistency of which is further verified under recorded ground motions. The robustness of the improved performance is also validated by parametric study concerning the anticipated variations in system parameters as well as variability in seismic loading. (paper)

Design of a piezoelectric inchworm actuator and compliant end effector for minimally invasive surgery

Science.gov (United States)

Canfield, Shawn; Edinger, Ben; Frecker, Mary I.; Koopmann, Gary H.

1999-06-01

Recent advances in robotics, tele-robotics, smart material actuators, and mechatronics raise new possibilities for innovative developments in millimeter-scale robotics capable of manipulating objects only fractions of a millimeter in size. These advances can have a wide range of applications in the biomedical community. A potential application of this technology is in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). The focus of this paper is the development of a single degree of freedom prototype to demonstrate the viability of smart materials, force feedback and compliant mechanisms for minimally invasive surgery. The prototype is a compliant gripper that is 7-mm by 17-mm, made from a single piece of titanium that is designed to function as a needle driver for small scale suturing. A custom designed piezoelectric `inchworm' actuator drives the gripper. The integrated system is computer controlled providing a user interface device capable of force feedback. The design methodology described draws from recent advances in three emerging fields in engineering: design of innovative tools for MIS, design of compliant mechanisms, and design of smart materials and actuators. The focus of this paper is on the design of a millimeter-scale inchworm actuator for use with a compliant end effector in MIS.

Bauschinger effect in thin metal films on compliant substrates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoefnagels, J.P.M.; Vlassak, J.J.; Gdoutos, E.E.

2007-01-01

Flexible electronic devices such as flexible displays and solar cells draw more and more attention from the industry. In these devices, the functionality is delivered by small-scale structures consisting of thin metal lines and other materials that are integrated on a compliant (e.g. polymer)

Direct evidence of strain transfer for InAs island growth on compliant Si substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marçal, L. A. B.; Magalhães-Paniago, R.; Malachias, Angelo, E-mail: angeloms@fisica.ufmg.br [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antonio Carlos 6627, CEP 31270-901, Belo Horizonte (Brazil); Richard, M.-I. [European Synchrotron (ESRF), ID01 beamline, CS 40220, 38043 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Aix-Marseille University, IM2NP-CNRS, Faculté des Sciences de St Jérôme, 13397 Marseille (France); Cavallo, F. [Center for High Technology Materials, University of New Mexico, 1313 Goddard St., Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 (United States); University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States); Lagally, M. G. [University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States); Schmidt, O. G. [Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, IFW-Dresden, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Schülli, T. Ü. [European Synchrotron (ESRF), ID01 beamline, CS 40220, 38043 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Deneke, Ch. [Laboratório Nacional de Nanotecnologia (LNNano/CNPEM), C.P. 6192, CEP 13083-970, Campinas (Brazil)

2015-04-13

Semiconductor heteroepitaxy on top of thin compliant layers has been explored as a path to make inorganic electronics mechanically flexible as well as to integrate materials that cannot be grown directly on rigid substrates. Here, we show direct evidences of strain transfer for InAs islands on freestanding Si thin films (7 nm). Synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements using a beam size of 300 × 700 nm{sup 2} can directly probe the strain status of the compliant substrate underneath deposited islands. Using a recently developed diffraction mapping technique, three-dimensional reciprocal space maps were reconstructed around the Si (004) peak for specific illuminated positions of the sample. The strain retrieved was analyzed using continuous elasticity theory via Finite-element simulations. The comparison of experiment and simulations yields the amount of strain from the InAs islands, which is transferred to the compliant Si thin film.

Spectral fatigue analysis of a tensioned riser compliant tower

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karadeniz, H.; Vrouwenvelder, A.C.W.M.; Shi, C.

1998-01-01

In this paper, the conceptual Tensioned Riser Compliant Tower (TRCT) structure of the Shell Oil, which is developed for a region of approximately 600 meter water depth of the West of Shetlands in the North Sea, is analyzed by using the SAPOS program of the Delft University of Technology. The fatigue

Inventory of platforms towards the design of a statically balanced six degrees of freedom compliant precision stage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dunning, A.G.; Tolou, N.; Herder, J.

2011-01-01

For many applications in precision engineering, a six degrees of freedom (DoF) compliant stage (CS) with zero stiffness is desirable, to deal with problems like backlash, friction, lubrication, and at the same time, reduce the actuation force. To this end, the compliant stage (also known as

Tsallis distribution as a standard maximum entropy solution with 'tail' constraint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bercher, J.-F.

2008-01-01

We show that Tsallis' distributions can be derived from the standard (Shannon) maximum entropy setting, by incorporating a constraint on the divergence between the distribution and another distribution imagined as its tail. In this setting, we find an underlying entropy which is the Renyi entropy. Furthermore, escort distributions and generalized means appear as a direct consequence of the construction. Finally, the 'maximum entropy tail distribution' is identified as a Generalized Pareto Distribution

Experience of plastic surgery registrars in a European Working Time Directive compliant rota.

Science.gov (United States)

de Blacam, Catherine; Tierney, Sean; Shelley, Odhran

2017-08-01

Surgical training requires exposure to clinical decision-making and operative experience in a supervised environment. It is recognised that learning ability is compromised when fatigued. The European Working Time Directive requires a decrease in working hours, but compliance reduces trainees' clinical exposure, which has profound implications for plastic surgery training. The aim of this study was to evaluate plastic surgery registrars' experience of an EWTD-compliant rota, and to examine its impact on patient care, education, and logbook activity. An electronic survey was distributed to plastic surgery registrars in a university teaching hospital. Registrars were asked to rate 31 items on a five-point Likert scale, including statements on patient care, clinical and operative duties, training, and quality-of-life. Interquartile deviations explored consensus among responses. Operative caseload was objectively evaluated using eLogbook data to compare activity at equal time points before and after implementation of the EWTD rota. Highest levels of consensus among respondents were found in positive statements addressing alertness and preparation for theatre, as well as time to read and study for exams. Registrars agreed that EWTD compliance improved their quality-of-life. However, it was felt that continuity of patient care was compromised by work hours restriction. Registrars were concerned about their operative experience. eLogbook data confirmed a fall-off in mean caseload of 31.8% compared to activity prior to EWTD rota implementation. While EWTD compliant rotas promote trainee quality-of-life and satisfaction with training, attention needs to be paid to optimising operative opportunities.

14 CFR 25.1445 - Equipment standards for the oxygen distributing system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... distributing system. 25.1445 Section 25.1445 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT... Miscellaneous Equipment § 25.1445 Equipment standards for the oxygen distributing system. (a) When oxygen is supplied to both crew and passengers, the distribution system must be designed for either— (1) A source of...

Low-cost approach for a software-defined radio based ground station receiver for CCSDS standard compliant S-band satellite communications

Science.gov (United States)

Boettcher, M. A.; Butt, B. M.; Klinkner, S.

2016-10-01

A major concern of a university satellite mission is to download the payload and the telemetry data from a satellite. While the ground station antennas are in general easy and with limited afford to procure, the receiving unit is most certainly not. The flexible and low-cost software-defined radio (SDR) transceiver "BladeRF" is used to receive the QPSK modulated and CCSDS compliant coded data of a satellite in the HAM radio S-band. The control software is based on the Open Source program GNU Radio, which also is used to perform CCSDS post processing of the binary bit stream. The test results show a good performance of the receiving system.

An Exploratory Study of the Rhetoric in CSR Reports: A Comparison of Shari’ah Compliant Company and Non –Shari’ah Compliant Company in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Razak Rafizan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper advances previous research in corporate social reporting (CSR by using a taxonomy of five distinct rhetorical strategies to examine any differences in term of type of ethical categories and to identify moral attitudes towards different societal activities between Shari’ah compliant company Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB and Non-Shari’ah compliant company Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank. The data is analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that there are different rhetoric applied in both types of companies such as Agency (profit, Benefit (collective welfare, Compliance (law and contracts, Duty and Ethos (virtue. In term of moral attitudes, both types of companies disclosed relatively similar behaviour and commitment towards CSR. This research is the first of its kind to be conducted in Malaysia by using this new approach and will contribute new insights to existing CSR literatures in Malaysia.

Shari’ah-Compliant E-Commerce Models and Consumer Trust

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Kholifatul I Ardiansyah

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study is aimed at finding out the real picture of Shari’ah-compliant E-commerce model and consumer trust in e-commerce today, analyzing its drawbacks, and finding out how they influence each other. Shari'ah-compliant E-commerce model is a model that describes how e-commerce should run in accordance with the provisions of the Shari’ah. Broadly speaking, e-commerce in the perspective of Shari’ah must comply with some rules, namely: 1. the form of the offer and transaction agreement; 2. the transacting parties (buyers and sellers; 3. Objects and prices in the transaction; 4. Free from major prohibitions in transactions. The sample in this study is Indonesian citizen who are consumers of e-commerce. This research uses descriptive and statistical methods with multiple linear regression model. This model is considered relevant and good to be studied in order to enlighten how e-commerce is currently in the perspective of IslamDOI: 10.15408/aiq.v8i2.2913

ISA-97 Compliant Architecture Testbed (ICAT) Projectry Organizations

Science.gov (United States)

1992-03-30

by the System Integracion Directorate of the USAISEC, August 29, 1992. The report discusses the refinement of the ISA-97 Compliant Architecture Model...browser and iconic representations of system objects and resources. When the user is interacting with an application which has multiple compo- nents, it is...computer communications, it is not uncommon for large information systems to be shared by users on multiple machines. The trend towards the desktop

Flight Testing of Novel Compliant Spines for Passive Wing Morphing on Ornithopters

Science.gov (United States)

Wissa, Aimy; Guerreiro, Nelson; Grauer, Jared; Altenbuchner, Cornelia; Hubbard, James E., Jr.; Tummala, Yashwanth; Frecker, Mary; Roberts, Richard

2013-01-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are proliferating in both the civil and military markets. Flapping wing UAVs, or ornithopters, have the potential to combine the agility and maneuverability of rotary wing aircraft with excellent performance in low Reynolds number flight regimes. The purpose of this paper is to present new free flight experimental results for an ornithopter equipped with one degree of freedom (1DOF) compliant spines that were designed and optimized in terms of mass, maximum von-Mises stress, and desired wing bending deflections. The spines were inserted in an experimental ornithopter wing spar in order to achieve a set of desired kinematics during the up and down strokes of a flapping cycle. The ornithopter was flown at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in the Air Force Research Laboratory Small Unmanned Air Systems (SUAS) indoor flight facility. Vicon motion tracking cameras were used to track the motion of the vehicle for five different wing configurations. The effect of the presence of the compliant spine on wing kinematics and leading edge spar deflection during flight is presented. Results show that the ornithopter with the compliant spine inserted in its wing reduced the body acceleration during the upstroke which translates into overall lift gains.

Integration of LDSE and LTVS logs with HIPAA compliant auditing system (HCAS)

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zheng; Liu, Brent J.; Huang, H. K.; Guo, Bing; Documet, Jorge; King, Nelson

2006-03-01

The deadline of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) Security Rules has passed on February 2005; therefore being HIPAA compliant becomes extremely critical to healthcare providers. HIPAA mandates healthcare providers to protect the privacy and integrity of the health data and have the ability to demonstrate examples of mechanisms that can be used to accomplish this task. It is also required that a healthcare institution must be able to provide audit trails on image data access on demand for a specific patient. For these reasons, we have developed a HIPAA compliant auditing system (HCAS) for image data security in a PACS by auditing every image data access. The HCAS was presented in 2005 SPIE. This year, two new components, LDSE (Lossless Digital Signature Embedding) and LTVS (Patient Location Tracking and Verification System) logs, have been added to the HCAS. The LDSE can assure medical image integrity in a PACS, while the LTVS can provide access control for a PACS by creating a security zone in the clinical environment. By integrating the LDSE and LTVS logs with the HCAS, the privacy and integrity of image data can be audited as well. Thus, a PACS with the HCAS installed can become HIPAA compliant in image data privacy and integrity, access control, and audit control.

Quantification of the islet product: presentation of a standardized current good manufacturing practices compliant system with minimal variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Friberg, Andrew S; Brandhorst, Heide; Buchwald, Peter; Goto, Masafumi; Ricordi, Camillo; Brandhorst, Daniel; Korsgren, Olle

2011-03-27

Accurate islet quantification has proven difficult to standardize in a good manufacturing practices (GMP) approved manner. The influence of assessment variables from both manual and computer-assisted digital image analysis (DIA) methods were compared using calibrated, standardized microspheres or islets alone. Additionally, a mixture of microspheres and exocrine tissue was used to evaluate the variability of both the current, internationally recognized, manual method and a novel GMP-friendly purity- and volume-based method (PV) evaluated by DIA in a semiclosed, culture bag system. Computer-assisted DIA recorded known microsphere size distribution and quantities accurately. By using DIA to evaluate islets, the interindividual manually evaluated percent coefficients of variation (CV%; n=14) were reduced by almost half for both islet equivalents (IEs; 31% vs. 17%, P=0.002) and purity (20% vs. 13%, P=0.033). The microsphere pool mixed with exocrine tissue did not differ from expected IE with either method. However, manual IE resulted in a total CV% of 44.3% and a range spanning 258 k IE, whereas PV resulted in CV% of 10.7% and range of 60 k IE. Purity CV% for each method were similar approximating 10.5% and differed from expected by +7% for the manual method and +3% for PV. The variability of standard counting methods for islet samples and clinical quantities of microspheres mixed with exocrine tissue were reduced with DIA. They were reduced even further by use of a semiclosed bag system compared with standard manual counting, thereby facilitating the standardization of islet evaluation according to GMP standards.

Rapid prototyping compliant arterial phantoms for in-vitro studies and device testing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Biglino Giovanni

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Compliant vascular phantoms are desirable for in-vitro patient-specific experiments and device testing. TangoPlus FullCure 930® is a commercially available rubber-like material that can be used for PolyJet rapid prototyping. This work aims to gather preliminary data on the distensibility of this material, in order to assess the feasibility of its use in the context of experimental cardiovascular modelling. Methods The descending aorta anatomy of a volunteer was modelled in 3D from cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR images and rapid prototyped using TangoPlus. The model was printed with a range of increasing wall thicknesses (0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 1.0 and 1.5 mm, keeping the lumen of the vessel constant. Models were also printed in both vertical and horizontal orientations, thus resulting in a total of ten specimens. Compliance tests were performed by monitoring pressure variations while gradually increasing and decreasing internal volume. Knowledge of distensibility was thus derived and then implemented with CMR data to test two applications. Firstly, a patient-specific compliant model of hypoplastic aorta suitable for connection in a mock circulatory loop for in-vitro tests was manufactured. Secondly, the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT of a patient necessitating pulmonary valve replacement was printed in order to physically test device insertion and assess patient’s suitability for percutaneous pulmonary valve intervention. Results The distensibility of the material was identified in a range from 6.5 × 10-3 mmHg-1 for the 0.6 mm case, to 3.0 × 10-3 mmHg-1 for the 1.5 mm case. The models printed in the vertical orientation were always more compliant than their horizontal counterpart. Rapid prototyping of a compliant hypoplastic aorta and of a RVOT anatomical model were both feasible. Device insertion in the RVOT model was successful. Conclusion Values of distensibility, compared with literature data, show that Tango

Rapid prototyping compliant arterial phantoms for in-vitro studies and device testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Biglino, Giovanni; Verschueren, Peter; Zegels, Raf; Taylor, Andrew M; Schievano, Silvia

2013-01-16

Compliant vascular phantoms are desirable for in-vitro patient-specific experiments and device testing. TangoPlus FullCure 930 is a commercially available rubber-like material that can be used for PolyJet rapid prototyping. This work aims to gather preliminary data on the distensibility of this material, in order to assess the feasibility of its use in the context of experimental cardiovascular modelling. The descending aorta anatomy of a volunteer was modelled in 3D from cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) images and rapid prototyped using TangoPlus. The model was printed with a range of increasing wall thicknesses (0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 1.0 and 1.5 mm), keeping the lumen of the vessel constant. Models were also printed in both vertical and horizontal orientations, thus resulting in a total of ten specimens. Compliance tests were performed by monitoring pressure variations while gradually increasing and decreasing internal volume. Knowledge of distensibility was thus derived and then implemented with CMR data to test two applications. Firstly, a patient-specific compliant model of hypoplastic aorta suitable for connection in a mock circulatory loop for in-vitro tests was manufactured. Secondly, the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) of a patient necessitating pulmonary valve replacement was printed in order to physically test device insertion and assess patient's suitability for percutaneous pulmonary valve intervention. The distensibility of the material was identified in a range from 6.5 × 10(-3) mmHg(-1) for the 0.6 mm case, to 3.0 × 10(-3) mmHg(-1) for the 1.5 mm case. The models printed in the vertical orientation were always more compliant than their horizontal counterpart. Rapid prototyping of a compliant hypoplastic aorta and of a RVOT anatomical model were both feasible. Device insertion in the RVOT model was successful. Values of distensibility, compared with literature data, show that TangoPlus is suitable for manufacturing arterial phantoms, with

Design and development of automatic sharia compliant wheelchair wheels cleaner

Science.gov (United States)

Shaari, Muhammad Farid; Rasli, Ibrahim Ismail Mohammad; Jamaludin, M. Z. Z. Wan; Isa, W. A. Mohamad; M., H.; Rashid, A. H. Abdul

2017-04-01

Sharia compliant wheelchair wheel cleaner was developed in order to assist the muslim Person with Disabilities (PWD) to pray in the mosque without leaving their wheelchair because of the filthy wheels. Though there are many wheelchair wheel cleaning system in the market, it is very rare to find sharia compliant cleaning system that applies sertu concept which is one of the cleaning and purification technique in Islamic practice. The sertu concept is based on 6:1 ratio that refers to the six times pipe water cleaning and one time soiled water cleaning. The development process consists of design stage, fabrication and system installation stage and followed by testing stage. During the design stage, the proposed prototype underwent design brainstorming, operation programming and structural simulation analysis. Once fabricated, the cleaner prototype underwent was tested. The results showed that the prototype can cater load up to 100kg with 1.31×10-6 mm shaft bending displacement. The water ejection timing varied approximately 3% compared to the program.

Compliant gel polymer electrolyte based on poly(methyl acrylate-co-acrylonitrile)/poly(vinyl alcohol) for flexible lithium-ion batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Xianguo; Huang, Xinglan; Gao, Jiandong; Zhang, Shu; Deng, Zhenghua; Suo, Jishuan

2014-01-01

Highlights: •Compliant gel polymer electrolyte based on P(MA-co-AN)/PVA is facilely prepared for flexible lithium-ion batteries. •The compliant gel polymer electrolyte displays high ionic conductivity, self-standing and mechanical flexible. •The compliant gel polymer electrolyte exhibits excellent chemical and electrochemical performances. -- Abstract: In this report, mechanically compliant gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) for flexible lithium-ion batteries is facilely fabricated. The GPE that based on the poly(methyl acrylate-co-acrylonitrile)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (P(MA-co-AN)/PVA) was prepared via emulsion polymerization. Herein, the P(MA-co-AN) copolymer is anticipated to exert beneficial for the bendability of the GPE, as well as swollen with the liquid electrolyte to provide a facile pathway for ion movement. The PVA serves as a stabilizer during the emulsion polymerization and a mechanical framework for the compliant polymer membrane. Performance benefits of the mechanically compliant membrane are elucidated in terms of mechanical behavior, thermostability and ionic conductivity. The GPE is still self-standing and mechanical flexible after swollen with liquid electrolyte. The GPE displays a conductivity of 0.98 mS cm −1 with the uptake electrolyte up to 150% of its own weight at 30 °C, excellent electrochemical stability window (5.2 V vs. Li/Li + ) and favorable interfacial characteristics. When used in flexible lithium-ion batteries, such a GPE demonstrates satisfactory compatibility with LiCoO 2 and graphite electrodes

Modelling and simulation of a compliant tilting pad air bearing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duijnhouwer, F.; Nijmeijer, H.

The compliant tilting pad air bearing concept, a tilting pad bearing with the pivot of the pads placed on radial springs, is a promising aerodynamic bearing solution. Nevertheless, its non-linear dynamics make a time domain dynamic simulation model an essential tool for the design of rotor systems

Personalized-Detailed Clinical Model for Data Interoperability Among Clinical Standards

OpenAIRE

Khan, Wajahat Ali; Hussain, Maqbool; Afzal, Muhammad; Amin, Muhammad Bilal; Saleem, Muhammad Aamir; Lee, Sungyoung

2013-01-01

Objective: Data interoperability among health information exchange (HIE) systems is a major concern for healthcare practitioners to enable provisioning of telemedicine-related services. Heterogeneity exists in these systems not only at the data level but also among different heterogeneous healthcare standards with which these are compliant. The relationship between healthcare organization data and different heterogeneous standards is necessary to achieve the goal of data level interoperabi...

Applicability of the FASTBUS standard to distributed control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deiss, S.R.; Downing, R.W.; Gustavson, D.B.; Larsen, R.S.; Logg, C.A.; Paffrath, L.

1981-03-01

The new FASTBUS standard has been designed to provide a framework for distributed processing in both experimental data acquisition and accelerator control. The features of FASTBUS which support distributed control are a priority arbitration scheme which allows intercrate as well as intracrate message flow between processors and slave devices; and a high bandwidth to permit efficient sharing of the data paths by high-speed devices. Sophisticated diagnostic aids permit system-wide error checking and/or correction. Software has been developed for large distributed systems. This consists of a system data base description, and initialization algorithms to allocate address space and establish preferred message routes. A diagnostics package is also being developed, based on an independent Ethernet-like serial link. The paper describes available hardware and software, on-going developments, and current applications

SU-F-T-485: Independent Remote Audits for TG51 NonCompliant Photon Beams Performed by the IROC Houston QA Center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvarez, P; Molineu, A; Lowenstein, J; Taylor, P; Kry, S; Followill, D [UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: IROC-H conducts external audits for output check verification of photon and electron beams. Many of these beams can meet the geometric requirements of the TG 51 calibration protocol. For those photon beams that are non TG 51 compliant like Elekta GammaKnife, Accuray CyberKnife and TomoTherapy, IROC-H has specific audit tools to monitor the reference calibration. Methods: IROC-H used its TLD and OSLD remote monitoring systems to verify the output of machines with TG 51 non compliant beams. Acrylic OSLD miniphantoms are used for the CyberKnife. Special TLD phantoms are used for TomoTherapy and GammaKnife machines to accommodate the specific geometry of each machine. These remote audit tools are sent to institutions to be irradiated and returned to IROC-H for analysis. Results: The average IROC-H/institution ratios for 480 GammaKnife, 660 CyberKnife and 907 rotational TomoTherapy beams are 1.000±0.021, 1.008±0.019, 0.974±0.023, respectively. In the particular case of TomoTherapy, the overall ratio is 0.977±0.022 for HD units. The standard deviations of all results are consistent with values determined for TG 51 compliant photon beams. These ratios have shown some changes compared to values presented in 2008. The GammaKnife results were corrected by an experimentally determined scatter factor of 1.025 in 2013. The TomoTherapy helical beam results are now from a rotational beam whereas in 2008 the results were from a static beam. The decision to change modality was based on recommendations from the users. Conclusion: External audits of beam outputs is a valuable tool to confirm the calibrations of photon beams regardless of whether the machine is TG 51 or TG 51 non compliant. The difference found for TomoTherapy units is under investigation. This investigation was supported by IROC grant CA180803 awarded by the NCI.

SU-F-T-485: Independent Remote Audits for TG51 NonCompliant Photon Beams Performed by the IROC Houston QA Center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez, P; Molineu, A; Lowenstein, J; Taylor, P; Kry, S; Followill, D

2016-01-01

Purpose: IROC-H conducts external audits for output check verification of photon and electron beams. Many of these beams can meet the geometric requirements of the TG 51 calibration protocol. For those photon beams that are non TG 51 compliant like Elekta GammaKnife, Accuray CyberKnife and TomoTherapy, IROC-H has specific audit tools to monitor the reference calibration. Methods: IROC-H used its TLD and OSLD remote monitoring systems to verify the output of machines with TG 51 non compliant beams. Acrylic OSLD miniphantoms are used for the CyberKnife. Special TLD phantoms are used for TomoTherapy and GammaKnife machines to accommodate the specific geometry of each machine. These remote audit tools are sent to institutions to be irradiated and returned to IROC-H for analysis. Results: The average IROC-H/institution ratios for 480 GammaKnife, 660 CyberKnife and 907 rotational TomoTherapy beams are 1.000±0.021, 1.008±0.019, 0.974±0.023, respectively. In the particular case of TomoTherapy, the overall ratio is 0.977±0.022 for HD units. The standard deviations of all results are consistent with values determined for TG 51 compliant photon beams. These ratios have shown some changes compared to values presented in 2008. The GammaKnife results were corrected by an experimentally determined scatter factor of 1.025 in 2013. The TomoTherapy helical beam results are now from a rotational beam whereas in 2008 the results were from a static beam. The decision to change modality was based on recommendations from the users. Conclusion: External audits of beam outputs is a valuable tool to confirm the calibrations of photon beams regardless of whether the machine is TG 51 or TG 51 non compliant. The difference found for TomoTherapy units is under investigation. This investigation was supported by IROC grant CA180803 awarded by the NCI

50 CFR 21.29 - Falconry standards and falconry permitting.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... substitute any falconry school program or education to shorten the period of 2 years at the Apprentice level... wish, you may purchase and implant an ISO (International Organization for Standardization)-compliant... agency within 5 business days if you change the location of your facilities. (2) Falconry facilities on...

Radioactivity standards distribution program, 1978--1979. Interim report, 1978--1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ziegler, L.H.

1978-06-01

A program for the distribution of calibrated radioactive samples, as one function of EPA's quality assurance program for environmental radiation measurements, is described. Included is a discussion of the objectives of the distribution program and a description of the preparation, availability, and distribution of calibrated radioactive samples. Instructions and application forms are included for laboratories desiring to participate in the program. This document is not a research report. It is designed for use by personnel of laboratories participating or desiring to participate in the Radioactivity Standards Distribution Program, which is a part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's quality assurance program

Standardized approach for developing probabilistic exposure factor distributions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maddalena, Randy L.; McKone, Thomas E.; Sohn, Michael D.

2003-03-01

The effectiveness of a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) depends critically on the quality of input information that is available to the risk assessor and specifically on the probabilistic exposure factor distributions that are developed and used in the exposure and risk models. Deriving probabilistic distributions for model inputs can be time consuming and subjective. The absence of a standard approach for developing these distributions can result in PRAs that are inconsistent and difficult to review by regulatory agencies. We present an approach that reduces subjectivity in the distribution development process without limiting the flexibility needed to prepare relevant PRAs. The approach requires two steps. First, we analyze data pooled at a population scale to (1) identify the most robust demographic variables within the population for a given exposure factor, (2) partition the population data into subsets based on these variables, and (3) construct archetypal distributions for each subpopulation. Second, we sample from these archetypal distributions according to site- or scenario-specific conditions to simulate exposure factor values and use these values to construct the scenario-specific input distribution. It is envisaged that the archetypal distributions from step 1 will be generally applicable so risk assessors will not have to repeatedly collect and analyze raw data for each new assessment. We demonstrate the approach for two commonly used exposure factors--body weight (BW) and exposure duration (ED)--using data for the U.S. population. For these factors we provide a first set of subpopulation based archetypal distributions along with methodology for using these distributions to construct relevant scenario-specific probabilistic exposure factor distributions.

Nanomechanics of hard films on compliant substrates.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reedy, Earl David, Jr. (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Emerson, John Allen (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Bahr, David F. (Washington State University, Pullman, WA); Moody, Neville Reid; Zhou, Xiao Wang; Hales, Lucas (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN); Adams, David Price (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Yeager,John (Washington State University, Pullman, WA); Nyugen, Thao D. (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD); Corona, Edmundo (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Kennedy, Marian S. (Clemson University, Clemson, SC); Cordill, Megan J. (Erich Schmid Institute, Leoben, Austria)

2009-09-01

Development of flexible thin film systems for biomedical, homeland security and environmental sensing applications has increased dramatically in recent years [1,2,3,4]. These systems typically combine traditional semiconductor technology with new flexible substrates, allowing for both the high electron mobility of semiconductors and the flexibility of polymers. The devices have the ability to be easily integrated into components and show promise for advanced design concepts, ranging from innovative microelectronics to MEMS and NEMS devices. These devices often contain layers of thin polymer, ceramic and metallic films where differing properties can lead to large residual stresses [5]. As long as the films remain substrate-bonded, they may deform far beyond their freestanding counterpart. Once debonded, substrate constraint disappears leading to film failure where compressive stresses can lead to wrinkling, delamination, and buckling [6,7,8] while tensile stresses can lead to film fracture and decohesion [9,10,11]. In all cases, performance depends on film adhesion. Experimentally it is difficult to measure adhesion. It is often studied using tape [12], pull off [13,14,15], and peel tests [16,17]. More recent techniques for measuring adhesion include scratch testing [18,19,20,21], four point bending [22,23,24], indentation [25,26,27], spontaneous blisters [28,29] and stressed overlayers [7,26,30,31,32,33]. Nevertheless, sample design and test techniques must be tailored for each system. There is a large body of elastic thin film fracture and elastic contact mechanics solutions for elastic films on rigid substrates in the published literature [5,7,34,35,36]. More recent work has extended these solutions to films on compliant substrates and show that increasing compliance markedly changes fracture energies compared with rigid elastic solution results [37,38]. However, the introduction of inelastic substrate response significantly complicates the problem [10,39,40]. As

Hawaii Compliant Large Capacity Cesspools (LCC), Hawaii, 2014, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — LCC Compliant: Large Capacity Cesspools that have been properly abandoned or converted to a seepage pit that is associated with a State approved IWS. These LCCs are...

Sharia-compliant hotels in Egypt: Concept and chanllenges

OpenAIRE

Saad, Hesham Ezzat; Ali, Badran Nabil; ABDEL-ATI, Abdel- aleem Magdy

2014-01-01

This study was undertaken to provide greater clearness for the meaning of the ShariaCompliant Hotel (SCH) and identify the challenges facing the development of this type of hotels in Egypt. To fulfill these objectives, Delphi technique, as a method of refining group opinions, was used. The study used two rounds e-mailed questionnaires. Findings indicated that the most important defining features of SCH were; no alcohol or pork allowed, gender segregation was significant and halal food product...

Compliant flooring to prevent fall-related injuries in older adults: A scoping review of biomechanical efficacy, clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and workplace safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Lachance, Chantelle C; Jurkowski, Michal P; Dymarz, Ania C; Robinovitch, Stephen N; Feldman, Fabio; Laing, Andrew C; Mackey, Dawn C

2017-01-01

Compliant flooring, broadly defined as flooring systems or floor coverings with some level of shock absorbency, may reduce the incidence and severity of fall-related injuries in older adults; however, a lack of synthesized evidence may be limiting widespread uptake. Informed by the Arksey and O'Malley framework and guided by a Research Advisory Panel of knowledge users, we conducted a scoping review to answer: what is presented about the biomechanical efficacy, clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and workplace safety associated with compliant flooring systems that aim to prevent fall-related injuries in healthcare settings? We searched academic and grey literature databases. Any record that discussed a compliant flooring system and at least one of biomechanical efficacy, clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, or workplace safety was eligible for inclusion. Two independent reviewers screened and abstracted records, charted data, and summarized results. After screening 3611 titles and abstracts and 166 full-text articles, we included 84 records plus 56 companion (supplementary) reports. Biomechanical efficacy records (n = 50) demonstrate compliant flooring can reduce fall-related impact forces with minimal effects on standing and walking balance. Clinical effectiveness records (n = 20) suggest that compliant flooring may reduce injuries, but may increase risk for falls. Preliminary evidence suggests that compliant flooring may be a cost-effective strategy (n = 12), but may also result in increased physical demands for healthcare workers (n = 17). In summary, compliant flooring is a promising strategy for preventing fall-related injuries from a biomechanical perspective. Additional research is warranted to confirm whether compliant flooring (i) prevents fall-related injuries in real-world settings, (ii) is a cost-effective intervention strategy, and (iii) can be installed without negatively impacting workplace safety. Avenues for future research are

Exploiting Stretchable Metallic Springs as Compliant Electrodes for Cylindrical Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEAs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chien-Hao Liu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In recent years, dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs have been widely used in soft robots and artificial bio-medical applications. Most DEAs are composed of a thin dielectric elastomer layer sandwiched between two compliant electrodes. DEAs vary in their design to provide bending, torsional, and stretch/contraction motions under the application of high external voltages. Most compliant electrodes are made of carbon powders or thin metallic films. In situations involving large deformations or improper fabrication, the electrodes are susceptible to breakage and increased resistivity. The worst cases result in a loss of conductivity and functional failure. In this study, we developed a method by which to exploit stretchable metallic springs as compliant electrodes for cylindrical DEAs. This design was inspired by the extensibility of mechanical springs. The main advantage of this approach is the fact that the metallic spring-like compliant electrodes remain conductive and do not increase the stiffness as the tube-like DEAs elongate in the axial direction. This can be attributed to a reduction in thickness in the radial direction. The proposed cylindrical structure is composed of highly-stretchable VHB 4905 film folded within a hollow tube and then sandwiched between copper springs (inside and outside to allow for stretching and contraction in the axial direction under the application of high DC voltages. We fabricated a prototype and evaluated the mechanical and electromechanical properties of the device experimentally using a high-voltage source of 9.9 kV. This device demonstrated a non-linear increase in axial stretching with an increase in applied voltage, reaching a maximum extension of 0.63 mm (axial strain of 2.35% at applied voltage of 9.9 kV. Further miniaturization and the incorporation of compressive springs are expected to allow the implementation of the proposed method in soft micro-robots and bio-mimetic applications.

Clinically compliant spatial and temporal imaging of chimeric antigen receptor T-cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Emami-Shahri, Nia; Foster, Julie; Kashani, Roxana; Gazinska, Patrycja; Cook, Celia; Sosabowski, Jane; Maher, John; Papa, Sophie

2018-03-14

The unprecedented efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy of CD19 + B-cell malignancy has established a new therapeutic pillar of hematology-oncology. Nonetheless, formidable challenges remain for the attainment of comparable success in patients with solid tumors. To accelerate progress and rapidly characterize emerging toxicities, systems that permit the repeated and non-invasive assessment of CAR T-cell bio-distribution would be invaluable. An ideal solution would entail the use of a non-immunogenic reporter that mediates specific uptake of an inexpensive, non-toxic and clinically established imaging tracer by CAR T cells. Here we show the utility of the human sodium iodide symporter (hNIS) for the temporal and spatial monitoring of CAR T-cell behavior in a cancer-bearing host. This system provides a clinically compliant toolkit for high-resolution serial imaging of CAR T cells in vivo, addressing a fundamental unmet need for future clinical development in the field.

Reward-Modulated Hebbian Plasticity as Leverage for Partially Embodied Control in Compliant Robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Burms, Jeroen; Caluwaerts, Ken; Dambre, Joni

2015-01-01

In embodied computation (or morphological computation), part of the complexity of motor control is offloaded to the body dynamics. We demonstrate that a simple Hebbian-like learning rule can be used to train systems with (partial) embodiment, and can be extended outside of the scope of traditional neural networks. To this end, we apply the learning rule to optimize the connection weights of recurrent neural networks with different topologies and for various tasks. We then apply this learning rule to a simulated compliant tensegrity robot by optimizing static feedback controllers that directly exploit the dynamics of the robot body. This leads to partially embodied controllers, i.e., hybrid controllers that naturally integrate the computations that are performed by the robot body into a neural network architecture. Our results demonstrate the universal applicability of reward-modulated Hebbian learning. Furthermore, they demonstrate the robustness of systems trained with the learning rule. This study strengthens our belief that compliant robots should or can be seen as computational units, instead of dumb hardware that needs a complex controller. This link between compliant robotics and neural networks is also the main reason for our search for simple universal learning rules for both neural networks and robotics. PMID:26347645

Code Compliant School Buildings Boost Student Achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronald B. Lumpkin

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Much of the focus in the literature in raising student achievement has included parental involvement, principal leadership, quality of instruction, students’ socioeconomic status, curriculum, and use of technology. Limited empirical research relates the condition of the school building as a variable that affects student achievement. Furthermore, there is no research that has examined the impact of building codes on achievement outcomes in the state of Florida. This research determined whether academic achievement of 4th-, 8th-, 9th-, and 10th-grade students as measured by the mathematics and reading subtests of the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT increased in new school buildings compliant to the 2000 Florida State Requirements for Educational Facilities. A causal-comparative design determined whether the independent variables, old and new school building influenced student achievement as measured by students’ FCAT mathematics and reading subtest scores. The control group was two cohorts of 4th-, 8th-, 9th-, and 10th-grade students who attended school in old buildings. The experimental group was two cohorts of 4th-, 8th-, 9th-, and 10th-grade students who attended school in new buildings. Transition from an old school into a new school was the treatment. Two hypotheses were formulated for testing and the research question for the inquiry was whether the percentage of students passing the FCAT mathematics and reading subtests increases after transitioning from an old school building into a new 2000 UBC (Uniform Building Code compliant facility.

Evaluation of GMP-compliant culture media for in vitro expansion of human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wuchter, Patrick; Vetter, Marcel; Saffrich, Rainer; Diehlmann, Anke; Bieback, Karen; Ho, Anthony D; Horn, Patrick

2016-06-01

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from human bone marrow serve as a resource for cell-based therapies in regenerative medicine. Clinical applications require standardized protocols according to good manufacturing practice (GMP) guidelines. Donor variability as well as the intrinsic heterogeneity of MSC populations must be taken into consideration. The composition of the culture medium is a key factor in successful MSC expansion. The aim of this study was to comparatively assess the efficiency of xeno-free human platelet lysate (HPL)-based cell expansion with two commercially available media-StemPro MSC SFM CTS (for human ex vivo tissue and cell culture processing applications) and MSCGM (non-GMP-compliant, for research only)-in an academic setting as the first optimization step toward GMP-compliant manufacturing. We report the feasibility of MSC expansion up to the yielded cell number with all three media. MSCs exhibited the typical fibroblastoid morphology, with distinct differences in cell size depending on the medium. The differentiation capacity and characteristic immunophenotype were confirmed for all MSC populations. Proliferation was highest using StemPro MSC SFM CTS, whereas HPL medium was more cost-effective and its composition could be adjusted individually according to the respective needs. In summary, we present a comprehensive evaluation of GMP-compatible culture media for MSC expansion. Both StemPro and HPL medium proved to be suitable for clinical application and allowed sufficient cell proliferation. Specific differences were observed and should be considered according to the intended use. This study provides a detailed cost analysis and tools that may be helpful for the establishment of GMP-compliant MSC expansion. Copyright © 2016 ISEH - International Society for Experimental Hematology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

International Review of Standards and Labeling Programs for Distribution Transformers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Letschert, Virginie [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Scholand, Michael [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Carreño, Ana María [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Hernandez, Carolina [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2017-06-20

Transmission and distribution (T&D) losses in electricity networks represent 8.5% of final energy consumption in the world. In Latin America, T&D losses range between 6% and 20% of final energy consumption, and represent 7% in Chile. Because approximately one-third of T&D losses take place in distribution transformers alone, there is significant potential to save energy and reduce costs and carbon emissions through policy intervention to increase distribution transformer efficiency. A large number of economies around the world have recognized the significant impact of addressing distribution losses and have implemented policies to support market transformation towards more efficient distribution transformers. As a result, there is considerable international experience to be shared and leveraged to inform countries interested in reducing distribution losses through policy intervention. The report builds upon past international studies of standards and labeling (S&L) programs for distribution transformers to present the current energy efficiency programs for distribution transformers around the world.

On the compliant behaviour of free-standing Si nanostructures on Si(001) for Ge nanoheteroepitaxy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kozlowski, Grzegorz

2012-04-24

Selective chemical vapor deposition Ge heteroepitaxy approaches for high quality Ge nanostructure growth with reasonable thermal budget must be developed for local Ge photonic module integration. A promising vision is offered by the compliant substrate effects within nanometer scale Ge/Si heteroepitaxial structures. Here, in contrast to the classical Ge deposition on bulk Si substrates, the thermal and lattice mismatch strain energy accumulated in the Ge epilayer is partially shifted to the free-standing Si nanostructure. This strain partitioning phenomenon is at the very heart of the nanoheteroepitaxy theory (NHE) and, if strain energy levels are correctly balanced, offers the vision to grow defect-free nanostructures of lattice mismatched semiconductors on Si. In case of the Ge/Si heterosystem with a lattice mismatch of 4.2%, the strain partitioning phenomenon is expected to be triggered when free-standing Si nanopillars with the width of 50 nm and below are used. In order to experimentally verify NHE with its compliant substrate effects, a set of free-standing Ge/Si nanostructures with diameter ranging from 150 to 50 nm were fabricated and investigated. The main limitation corresponds to a simultaneous detection of (a) the strain partitioning phenomenon between Ge and Si and (b) the absence of defects on the nano-scale. In this respect, synchrotron-based grazing incidence X-ray diffraction was applied to study the epitaxial relationship, defect and strain characteristics with high resolution and sensitivity in a non-destructive way. Raman spectroscopy supported by finite element method calculations were used to investigate the strain distribution within a single Ge/Si nanostructure. Special focus was devoted to transmission electron microscopy to determine the quality of the Ge epilayer. It was found, that although high quality Ge nanoclusters can be achieved by thermal annealing on Si pillars bigger than 50 nm in width, no proof of strain partitioning

Toward a Standards-Compliant Genomic and Metagenomic Publication Record

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garrity, GM; Field, D; Kyrpides, N

2008-01-01

Increasingly, we are aware as a community of the growing need to manage the avalanche of genomic and metagenomic data, in addition to related data types like ribosomal RNA and barcode sequences, in a way that tightly integrates contextual data with traditional literature in a machine-readable way...... is in the midst of a publishing revolution. This revolution is marked by a growing shift away from a traditional dichotomy between "journal articles" and "database entries" and an increasing adoption of hybrid models of collecting and disseminating scientific information. With respect to genomes and metagenomes...... or communities) such as the call by the GSC for a central repository of Standard Operating Procedures describing the genomic annotation pipelines of the major sequencing centers. We argue that such an "eJournal," published under the Open Access paradigm by the GSC, could be an attractive publishing forum...

Dependence of residual displacements on the width and depth of compliant fault zones: a 3D study

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, J.; Duan, B.

2011-12-01

Compliant fault zones have been detected along active faults by seismic investigations (trapped waves and travel time analysis) and InSAR observations. However, the width and depth extent of compliant fault zones are still under debate in the community. Numerical models of dynamic rupture build a bridge between theories and the geological and geophysical observations. Theoretical 2D plane-strain studies of elastic and inelastic response of compliant fault zones to nearby earthquake have been conducted by Duan [2010] and Duan et al [2010]. In this study, we further extend the experiments to 3D with a focus on elastic response. We are specifically interested in how residual displacements depend on the structure and properties of complaint fault zones, in particular on the width and depth extent. We conduct numerical experiments on various types of fault-zone models, including fault zones with a constant width along depth, with decreasing widths along depth, and with Hanning taper profiles of velocity reduction. . Our preliminary results suggest 1) the width of anomalous horizontal residual displacement is only indicative of the width of a fault zone near the surface, and 2) the vertical residual displacement contains information of the depth extent of compliant fault zones.

Buckling of a stiff thin film on an elastic graded compliant substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhou; Chen, Weiqiu; Song, Jizhou

2017-12-01

The buckling of a stiff film on a compliant substrate has attracted much attention due to its wide applications such as thin-film metrology, surface patterning and stretchable electronics. An analytical model is established for the buckling of a stiff thin film on a semi-infinite elastic graded compliant substrate subjected to in-plane compression. The critical compressive strain and buckling wavelength for the sinusoidal mode are obtained analytically for the case with the substrate modulus decaying exponentially. The rigorous finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to validate the analytical model and investigate the postbuckling behaviour of the system. The critical buckling strain for the period-doubling mode is obtained numerically. The influences of various material parameters on the results are investigated. These results are helpful to provide physical insights on the buckling of elastic graded substrate-supported thin film.

Monitoring by Control Technique - Compliant (Low/No VOC/HAP) Inks and Coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Stationary source emissions monitoring is required to demonstrate that a source is meeting the requirements in Federal or state rules. This page is about Compliant (Low/No VOC/HAP) Inks and Coatings control techniques used to reduce pollutant emissions.

Compliant threads maximize spider silk connection strength and toughness

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Avery; Pugno, Nicola M.; Cranford, Steven W.

2014-01-01

Millions of years of evolution have adapted spider webs to achieve a range of functionalities, including the well-known capture of prey, with efficient use of material. One feature that has escaped extensive investigation is the silk-on-silk connection joints within spider webs, particularly from a structural mechanics perspective. We report a joint theoretical and computational analysis of an idealized silk-on-silk fibre junction. By modifying the theory of multiple peeling, we quantitatively compare the performance of the system while systematically increasing the rigidity of the anchor thread, by both scaling the stress–strain response and the introduction of an applied pre-strain. The results of our study indicate that compliance is a virtue—the more extensible the anchorage, the tougher and stronger the connection becomes. In consideration of the theoretical model, in comparison with rigid substrates, a compliant anchorage enormously increases the effective adhesion strength (work required to detach), independent of the adhered thread itself, attributed to a nonlinear alignment between thread and anchor (contact peeling angle). The results can direct novel engineering design principles to achieve possible load transfer from compliant fibre-to-fibre anchorages, be they silk-on-silk or another, as-yet undeveloped, system. PMID:25008083

Elastic/plastic analyses of advanced composites investigating the use of the compliant layer concept in reducing residual stresses resulting from processing

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Steven M.; Arya, Vinod K.; Melis, Matthew E.

1990-01-01

High residual stresses within intermetallic and metal matrix composite systems can develop upon cooling from the processing temperature to room temperature due to the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between the fiber and matrix. As a result, within certain composite systems, radial, circumferential, and/or longitudinal cracks have been observed to form at the fiber-matrix interface. The compliant layer concept (insertion of a compensating interface material between the fiber and matrix) was proposed to reduce or eliminate the residual stress buildup during cooling and thus minimize cracking. The viability of the proposed compliant layer concept is investigated both elastically and elastoplastically. A detailed parametric study was conducted using a unit cell model consisting of three concentric cylinders to determine the required character (i.e., thickness and material properties) of the compliant layer as well as its applicability. The unknown compliant layer mechanical properties were expressed as ratios of the corresponding temperature dependent Ti-24Al-11Nb (a/o) matrix properties. The fiber properties taken were those corresponding to SCS-6 (SiC). Results indicate that the compliant layer can be used to reduce, if not eliminate, radial and circumferential residual stresses within the fiber and matrix and therefore also reduce or eliminate the radial cracking. However, with this decrease in in-plane stresses, one obtains an increase in longitudinal stress, thus potentially initiating longitudinal cracking. Guidelines are given for the selection of a specific compliant material, given a perfectly bonded system.

Standard deviation of luminance distribution affects lightness and pupillary response.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanari, Kei; Kaneko, Hirohiko

2014-12-01

We examined whether the standard deviation (SD) of luminance distribution serves as information of illumination. We measured the lightness of a patch presented in the center of a scrambled-dot pattern while manipulating the SD of the luminance distribution. Results showed that lightness decreased as the SD of the surround stimulus increased. We also measured pupil diameter while viewing a similar stimulus. The pupil diameter decreased as the SD of luminance distribution of the stimuli increased. We confirmed that these results were not obtained because of the increase of the highest luminance in the stimulus. Furthermore, results of field measurements revealed a correlation between the SD of luminance distribution and illuminance in natural scenes. These results indicated that the visual system refers to the SD of the luminance distribution in the visual stimulus to estimate the scene illumination.

Standard compliant communication of motion data in a telemonitoring system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piro, Neltje Emma

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Interoperability is regarded as one of the key factors for the high acceptance of a telemonitoring system. In a general telemonitoring scenario for motion tracking, data recorded by inertial sensors should be sent from the patient's home to a central server for medical assessment by a physician. The objective of this work is to elaborate a concept on how continuously measured motion data can be transferred according to the guidelines of the and, and which adaptations are reasonable to achieve high efficiency.For the communication between sensor systems and a smartphone, the X73 standards family was applied. To cover the interface between the smartphone and a central information system, the proposed Version 2.6 was used as message exchange format. Because we are dealing with continually measured data, the HL7 message construction is oriented towards the . Two variants of the transmission of binary motion data with an HL7 message were implemented. An evaluation with regard to relevant criteria led to the decision to use REST-based web services for message transport instead of the SOAP-based variant proposed by the Continua Design Guidelines.To summarize, the developed approach uses extended standards for the transmission of motion data. The detailed results can support other work groups with comparable implementation needs. In order to achieve a fully interoperable system, the communication of motion data should be included in the guidelines of IHE and Continua Health Alliance, since motion sensors can be used in various monitoring scenarios such as in patients with multiple sclerosis or for rehabilitation in general.

Shape optimization and sensitivity of compliant beams for prescribed load-displacement response

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Radaelli, G.; Herder, J.L.

2016-01-01

This paper presents the shape optimization of a compliant beam for prescribed load-displacements response. The analysis of the design is based on the isogeometric analysis framework for an enhanced fidelity between designed and analysed shape. The sensitivities used for an improved optimization

Mix design and pollution control potential of pervious concrete with non-compliant waste fly ash.

Science.gov (United States)

Soto-Pérez, Linoshka; Hwang, Sangchul

2016-07-01

Pervious concrete mix was optimized for the maximum compressive strength and the desired permeability at 7 mm/s with varying percentages of water-to-binder (W/B), fly ash-to-binder (FA/B), nano-iron oxide-to-binder (NI/B) and water reducer-to-binder (WR/B). The mass ratio of coarse aggregates in sizes of 4.75-9.5 mm to the binder was fixed at 4:1. Waste FA used in the study was not compliant with a standard specification for use as a mineral admixture in concrete. One optimum pervious concrete (Opt A) targeting high volume FA utilization had a 28-day compressive strength of 22.8 MPa and a permeability of 5.6 mm/s with a mix design at 36% W/B, 35% FA/B, 6% NI/B and 1.2% WR/B. The other (Opt B) targeting a less use of admixtures had a 28-day compressive strength and a permeability of 21.4 MPa and 7.6 mm/s, respectively, at 32% W/B, 10% FA/B, 0.5% NI/B and 0.8% WR/B. During 10 loads at a 2-h contact time each, the Opt A and Opt B achieved the average fecal coliform removals of 72.4% and 77.9% and phosphorus removals of 49.8% and 40.5%, respectively. Therefore, non-compliant waste FA could be utilized for a cleaner production of pervious concrete possessing a greater structural strength and compatible hydrological property and pollution control potential, compared to the ordinary pervious concrete. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Model-Based Experimental Development of Passive Compliant Robot Legs from Fiberglass Composites

OpenAIRE

Lin, Shang-Chang; Hu, Chia-Jui; Shih, Wen-Pin; Lin, Pei-Chun

2015-01-01

We report on the methodology of developing compliant, half-circular, and composite robot legs with designable stiffness. First, force-displacement experiments on flat cantilever composites made by one or multifiberglass cloths are executed. By mapping the cantilever mechanics to the virtual spring model, the equivalent elastic ...

Aerodynamic Characteristic of the Active Compliant Trailing Edge Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Rui; Qiu, Jinhao; Ji, Hongli; Li, Dawei

2016-06-01

This paper introduces a novel Morphing Wing structure known as the Active Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE). ACTE structures are designed using the concept of “distributed compliance” and wing skins of ACTE are fabricated from high-strength fiberglass composites laminates. Through the relative sliding between upper and lower wing skins which are connected by a linear guide pairs, the wing is able to achieve a large continuous deformation. In order to present an investigation about aerodynamics and noise characteristics of ACTE, a series of 2D airfoil analyses are established. The aerodynamic characteristics between ACTE and conventional deflection airfoil are analyzed and compared, and the impacts of different ACTE structure design parameters on aerodynamic characteristics are discussed. The airfoils mentioned above include two types (NACA0012 and NACA64A005.92). The computing results demonstrate that: compared with the conventional plane flap airfoil, the morphing wing using ACTE structures has the capability to improve aerodynamic characteristic and flow separation characteristic. In order to study the noise level of ACTE, flow field analysis using LES model is done to provide noise source data, and then the FW-H method is used to get the far field noise levels. The simulation results show that: compared with the conventional flap/aileron airfoil, the ACTE configuration is better to suppress the flow separation and lower the overall sound pressure level.

77 FR 32916 - Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers: Public Meeting and Availability of...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-04

...-2010-BT-STD-0048] RIN 1904-AC04 Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers: Public... information that it is making available about the liquid-immersed distribution transformer equipment classes... equipment classes for several different types of liquid-immersed distribution transformers. In addition to...

PCI compliance understand and implement effective PCI data security standard compliance

CERN Document Server

Williams, Branden R

2012-01-01

The credit card industry established the PCI Data Security Standards to provide a minimum standard for how vendors should protect data to ensure it is not stolen by fraudsters. PCI Compliance, 3e, provides the information readers need to understand the current PCI Data Security standards, which have recently been updated to version 2.0, and how to effectively implement security within your company to be compliant with the credit card industry guidelines and protect sensitive and personally identifiable information. Security breaches continue to occur on a regular basis, affecting millions of

Validation of a digital work simulation to assess Macchiavellianism and compliant behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dubbelt, L.; Oostrom, J.K.; Hiemstra, A.M.; Modderman, J.P.L.

”This paper describes a new and innovative measure that is developed to predict workplace deviance through the measurement of Machiavellianism and Compliant Behavior. Two field studies were conducted to study the validity of the digital work simulation. In Study 1, (N = 113) support was found for

NCI's Distributed Geospatial Data Server

Science.gov (United States)

Larraondo, P. R.; Evans, B. J. K.; Antony, J.

2016-12-01

Earth systems, environmental and geophysics datasets are an extremely valuable source of information about the state and evolution of the Earth. However, different disciplines and applications require this data to be post-processed in different ways before it can be used. For researchers experimenting with algorithms across large datasets or combining multiple data sets, the traditional approach to batch data processing and storing all the output for later analysis rapidly becomes unfeasible, and often requires additional work to publish for others to use. Recent developments on distributed computing using interactive access to significant cloud infrastructure opens the door for new ways of processing data on demand, hence alleviating the need for storage space for each individual copy of each product. The Australian National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) has developed a highly distributed geospatial data server which supports interactive processing of large geospatial data products, including satellite Earth Observation data and global model data, using flexible user-defined functions. This system dynamically and efficiently distributes the required computations among cloud nodes and thus provides a scalable analysis capability. In many cases this completely alleviates the need to preprocess and store the data as products. This system presents a standards-compliant interface, allowing ready accessibility for users of the data. Typical data wrangling problems such as handling different file formats and data types, or harmonising the coordinate projections or temporal and spatial resolutions, can now be handled automatically by this service. The geospatial data server exposes functionality for specifying how the data should be aggregated and transformed. The resulting products can be served using several standards such as the Open Geospatial Consortium's (OGC) Web Map Service (WMS) or Web Feature Service (WFS), Open Street Map tiles, or raw binary arrays under

A Study of Detonation Propagation and Diffraction with Compliant Confinement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banks, J; Schwendeman, D; Kapila, A; Henshaw, W

2007-08-13

A previous computational study of diffracting detonations with the ignition-and-growth model demonstrated that contrary to experimental observations, the computed solution did not exhibit dead zones. For a rigidly confined explosive it was found that while diffraction past a sharp corner did lead to a temporary separation of the lead shock from the reaction zone, the detonation re-established itself in due course and no pockets of unreacted material were left behind. The present investigation continues to focus on the potential for detonation failure within the ignition-and-growth (IG) model, but now for a compliant confinement of the explosive. The aim of the present paper is two fold. First, in order to compute solutions of the governing equations for multi-material reactive flow, a numerical method of solution is developed and discussed. The method is a Godunov-type, fractional-step scheme which incorporates an energy correction to suppress numerical oscillations that would occur near the material interface separating the reactive material and the inert confiner for standard conservative schemes. The numerical method uses adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) on overlapping grids, and the accuracy of solutions is well tested using a two-dimensional rate-stick problem for both strong and weak inert confinements. The second aim of the paper is to extend the previous computational study of the IG model by considering two related problems. In the first problem, the corner-turning configuration is re-examined, and it is shown that in the matter of detonation failure, the absence of rigid confinement does not affect the outcome in a material way; sustained dead zones continue to elude the model. In the second problem, detonations propagating down a compliantly confined pencil-shaped configuration are computed for a variety of cone angles of the tapered section. It is found, in accord with experimental observation, that if the cone angle is small enough, the detonation fails

Effects of fatiguing isometric and isokinetic ankle exercises on postural control while standing on firm and compliant surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Bisson, Etienne J; Remaud, Anthony; Boyas, Sébastien; Lajoie, Yves; Bilodeau, Martin

2012-06-14

Fatiguing exercises used across studies to induce alterations in postural control are diverse and may explain the different findings reported. This study aimed to compare the effects of two types of fatiguing plantarflexion exercises on postural control on a firm and a compliant surface. Ten healthy young men (29 ± 4 years) were asked to stand as steadily as possible for 30 s, blindfolded with feet together, on a firm and a compliant surface before and immediately after an isometric and an isokinetic fatiguing exercise. Maximal force reduction due to fatigue was found significant but similar between exercises. No significant difference was found between the fatiguing exercises on all Center of Pressure (CoP) parameters. Both fatiguing exercises induced increases in CoP excursion area, CoP variability and CoP velocity in both planes (antero-posterior, mediolateral) on the compliant surface. On the firm surface, both fatiguing exercises only induced increases in CoP variability and CoP velocity in the fatigued plane (antero-posterior). Isometric and isokinetic fatiguing exercises, when producing a similar level of force reduction, induce similar decreases in postural control. The effects of fatigue on postural control in healthy young men are more pronounced when standing on a compliant surface, i.e. when proprioceptive information at the ankle is altered.

BENEFITS OF USING SOFTWARE WITH SIK COMPLIANT ARCHITECTURE IN CLOUD

OpenAIRE

Vasile AVRAM

2010-01-01

The aim of this paper is to investigate the main benefits that can be obtained by using a SIK (software inherited knowledge) compliant architecture for cloud services and support software used to build, administer and maintaining the cloud. It introduces the basic building blocks for cloud computing together with the main categories of cloud services. For the SIK architecture, shown in connection with a semantic-web application architecture, are introduced the main functionalities. The paper ...

Conversion of the US State System of Accountancy to be Year 2000 compliant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proco, G.; Brown, S.

1999-01-01

The Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System (NMMSS) is the US government's state system of accountancy, maintaining current and historical data on the possession, use and transfer of nuclear material. The system is an important tool in maintaining and monitoring accounting data for nuclear materials inventory and transactions and reporting under the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the safeguards agreement between the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency and agreements for cooperation between the US and its international partners for peaceful uses of atomic energy. Accounting information is provided to the system by nuclear facilities under the reporting requirements issued by relevant US government entities: the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NMMSS is operated for the DOE and the NRC by NAC International, Norcross, Georgia. The state system of accountancy was identified by the US government as a 'mission essential' system, an accounting system considered essential to government missions. As such, the system is held to a high standard of reliability. This system was identified in 1996 by the DOE as a system that should be made Year 2000 compliant at an early date - by March 1999. Very detailed planning for system conversion was necessary including: risk and vulnerability assessments, a comprehensive test plan and a contingency plan to be followed in case the conversion was not completed on time. Actual compliance was accomplished well in advance of March 1999. The conversion was complete, tested and capable of receiving data in the revised format in July 1998. All date fields in the data base are now eight characters, with the year reported in four characters. All incoming data that is only six characters is modified through software into an eight-character format by a default provision in the system. Also, output reports now contain eight-character date fields. If any of the systems that

Assessing the degradation of compliant electrodes for soft actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Rosset, Samuel; de Saint-Aubin, Christine; Poulin, Alexandre; Shea, Herbert R.

2017-10-01

We present an automated system to measure the degradation of compliant electrodes used in dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) over millions of cycles. Electrodes for DEAs generally experience biaxial linear strains of more than 10%. The decrease in electrode conductivity induced by this repeated fast mechanical deformation impacts the bandwidth of the actuator and its strain homogeneity. Changes in the electrode mechanical properties lead to reduced actuation strain. Rather than using an external actuator to periodically deform the electrodes, our measurement method consists of measuring the properties of an electrode in an expanding circle DEA. A programmable high voltage power supply drives the actuator with a square signal up to 1 kHz, periodically actuating the DEA, and thus stretching the electrodes. The DEA strain is monitored with a universal serial bus camera, while the resistance of the ground electrode is measured with a multimeter. The system can be used for any type of electrode. We validated the test setup by characterising a carbon black/silicone composite that we commonly use as compliant electrode. Although the composite is well-suited for tens of millions of cycles of actuation below 5%, we observe important degradation for higher deformations. When activated at a 20% radial strain, the electrodes suffer from important damage after a few thousand cycles, and an inhomogeneous actuation is observed, with the strain localised in a sub-region of the actuator only.

Effort Flow Analysis: A Methodology for Directed Product Evolution Using Rigid Body and Compliant Mechanisms

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Greer, James

2002-01-01

This dissertation presents a systematic design methodology for directed product evolution that uses both rigid body and compliant mechanisms to facilitate component combination in the domain of mechanical products...

TIDAL TURBULENCE SPECTRA FROM A COMPLIANT MOORING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomson, Jim; Kilcher, Levi; Richmond, Marshall C.; Talbert, Joe; deKlerk, Alex; Polagye, Brian; Guerra, Maricarmen; Cienfuegos, Rodrigo

2013-06-13

A compliant mooring to collect high frequency turbulence data at a tidal energy site is evaluated in a series of short demon- stration deployments. The Tidal Turbulence Mooring (TTM) improves upon recent bottom-mounted approaches by suspend- ing Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters (ADVs) at mid-water depths (which are more relevant to tidal turbines). The ADV turbulence data are superior to Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data, but are subject to motion contamination when suspended on a mooring in strong currents. In this demonstration, passive stabilization is shown to be sufficient for acquiring bulk statistics of the turbulence, without motion correction. With motion cor- rection (post-processing), data quality is further improved; the relative merits of direct and spectral motion correction are dis- cussed.

Data distribution architecture based on standard real time protocol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castro, R.; Vega, J.; Pereira, A.; Portas, A.

2009-01-01

Data distribution architecture (DDAR) has been designed conforming to new requirements, taking into account the type of data that is going to be generated from experiments in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The main goal of this architecture is to implement a system that is able to manage on line all data that is being generated by an experiment, supporting its distribution for: processing, storing, analysing or visualizing. The first objective is to have a distribution architecture that supports long pulse experiments (even hours). The described system is able to distribute, using real time protocol (RTP), stored data or live data generated while the experiment is running. It enables researchers to access data on line instead of waiting for the end of the experiment. Other important objective is scalability, so the presented architecture can easily grow based on actual necessities, simplifying estimation and design tasks. A third important objective is security. In this sense, the architecture is based on standards, so complete security mechanisms can be applied, from secure transmission solutions until elaborated access control policies, and it is full compatible with multi-organization federation systems as PAPI or Shibboleth.

Data distribution architecture based on standard real time protocol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castro, R. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Avda. Complutense No. 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain)], E-mail: rodrigo.castro@ciemat.es; Vega, J.; Pereira, A.; Portas, A. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Avda. Complutense No. 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

2009-06-15

Data distribution architecture (DDAR) has been designed conforming to new requirements, taking into account the type of data that is going to be generated from experiments in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The main goal of this architecture is to implement a system that is able to manage on line all data that is being generated by an experiment, supporting its distribution for: processing, storing, analysing or visualizing. The first objective is to have a distribution architecture that supports long pulse experiments (even hours). The described system is able to distribute, using real time protocol (RTP), stored data or live data generated while the experiment is running. It enables researchers to access data on line instead of waiting for the end of the experiment. Other important objective is scalability, so the presented architecture can easily grow based on actual necessities, simplifying estimation and design tasks. A third important objective is security. In this sense, the architecture is based on standards, so complete security mechanisms can be applied, from secure transmission solutions until elaborated access control policies, and it is full compatible with multi-organization federation systems as PAPI or Shibboleth.

Alternative profit rate shariah-compliant for islamic banking

Science.gov (United States)

Gazali, Nadhirah; Halim, Nurfadhlina Abdul; Ghazali, Puspa Liza

2017-09-01

Profit is the aims for Islamic banking and conventional banking. Determination of profit in Islamic banking in Malaysia depends on the profit rate, whereas profit rate is essentially from reference rate which is known as the base rate (BR). However, the determination of the components contained in the BR such as benchmark cost of funds and the statutory reserve requirement (SRR) is non-compliance with the Shariah because its directly proportional to the overnight policy rate (OPR). Therefore, an alternative formula for the profit rate are proposed which is known as the base profit rate (BPR). Construction of BPR formula is based on the principle that are more Shariah-compliant.

Fuel cell cassette with compliant seal

Science.gov (United States)

Karl, Haltiner, Jr. J.; Anthony, Derose J.; Klotzbach, Darasack C.; Schneider, Jonathan R.

2017-11-07

A fuel cell cassette for forming a fuel cell stack along a fuel cell axis includes a cell retainer, a plate positioned axially to the cell retainer and defining a space axially with the cell retainer, and a fuel cell having an anode layer and a cathode layer separated by an electrolyte layer. The outer perimeter of the fuel cell is positioned in the space between the plate and the cell retainer, thereby retaining the fuel cell and defining a cavity between the cell retainer, the fuel cell, and the plate. The fuel cell cassette also includes a seal disposed within the cavity for sealing the edge of the fuel cell. The seal is compliant at operational temperatures of the fuel cell, thereby allowing lateral expansion and contraction of the fuel cell within the cavity while maintaining sealing at the edge of the fuel cell.

Mechanically compliant electrodes and dielectric elastomers from PEG-PDMS copolymers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

A Razak, Aliff Hisyam; Madsen, Frederikke Bahrt; Skov, Anne Ladegaard

2016-01-01

Soft conducting elastomers have been prepared from polydimethylsiloxane-polyethyleneglycol (PDMS-PEG) copolymer and surfactant-stabilized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The copolymer was chain-extended with PDMS of molecular weight 17.2 kg mol-1 in order to obtain a crosslinkable PDMS...... showed high conductivity combined with inherent softness. The high conductivity and softness, PDMS-PEG copolymers with incorporated MWCNTs hold great promises as compliant and highly stretchable electrodes for stretchable devices such as electro-mechanical transducers....

Critical Assessment of the Foundations of Power Transmission and Distribution Reliability Metrics and Standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Nateghi, Roshanak; Guikema, Seth D; Wu, Yue Grace; Bruss, C Bayan

2016-01-01

The U.S. federal government regulates the reliability of bulk power systems, while the reliability of power distribution systems is regulated at a state level. In this article, we review the history of regulating electric service reliability and study the existing reliability metrics, indices, and standards for power transmission and distribution networks. We assess the foundations of the reliability standards and metrics, discuss how they are applied to outages caused by large exogenous disturbances such as natural disasters, and investigate whether the standards adequately internalize the impacts of these events. Our reflections shed light on how existing standards conceptualize reliability, question the basis for treating large-scale hazard-induced outages differently from normal daily outages, and discuss whether this conceptualization maps well onto customer expectations. We show that the risk indices for transmission systems used in regulating power system reliability do not adequately capture the risks that transmission systems are prone to, particularly when it comes to low-probability high-impact events. We also point out several shortcomings associated with the way in which regulators require utilities to calculate and report distribution system reliability indices. We offer several recommendations for improving the conceptualization of reliability metrics and standards. We conclude that while the approaches taken in reliability standards have made considerable advances in enhancing the reliability of power systems and may be logical from a utility perspective during normal operation, existing standards do not provide a sufficient incentive structure for the utilities to adequately ensure high levels of reliability for end-users, particularly during large-scale events. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

Vibration isolation by compliant sensor mounting applied to a coriolis mass-flow meter

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Ridder, Bert; Hakvoort, Wouter; van Dijk, Johannes

2014-01-01

In this paper a vibration isolated design of the Coriolis Mass-Flow Meter (CMFM) is proposed, by introducing a compliant connection between the casing and the tube displacement sensors with the intention to obtain a relative displacement measurement of the fluid conveying tube, dependent on the tube

Augmented Reality Applications for Substation Management by Utilizing Standards-Compliant SCADA Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miro Antonijević

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Most electrical substations are remotely monitored and controlled by using Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA applications. Current SCADA systems have been significantly enhanced by utilizing standardized communication protocols and the most prominent is the IEC 61850 international standard. These enhancements enable improvements in different domains of SCADA systems such as communication engineering, data management and visualization of automation process data in SCADA applications. Process data visualization is usually achieved through Human Machine Interface (HMI screens in substation control centres. However, this visualization method sometimes makes supervision, control and maintenance procedures executed by engineers slow and error-prone because it separates equipment from its automation data. Augmented reality (AR and mixed reality (MR visualization techniques have matured enough to provide new possibilities of displaying relevant data wherever needed. This paper presents a novel methodology for visualizing process related SCADA data to enhance and facilitate human-centric activities in substations such as regular equipment maintenance. The proposed solution utilizes AR visualization techniques together with standards-based communication protocols used in substations. The developed proof-of-concept AR application that enables displaying SCADA data on the corresponding substation equipment with the help of AR markers demonstrates originality and benefits of the proposed visualization method. Additionally, the application enables displaying widgets and 3D models of substation equipment to make the visualization more user-friendly and intuitive. The visualized SCADA data needs to be refreshed considering soft real-time data delivery restrictions. Therefore, the proposed solution is thoroughly tested to demonstrate the applicability of proposed methodology in real substations.

Standards for dielectric elastomer transducers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carpi, Federico; Frediani, Gabriele; Anderson, Iain; Bauer, Siegfried; Gallone, Giuseppe; Gei, Massimiliano; Graaf, Christian; Jean-Mistral, Claire; Kaal, William; Kofod, Guggi; Kollosche, Matthias; Kornbluh, Roy; Pelrine, Ron; Lassen, Benny; Rechenbach, Björn; Matysek, Marc; Michel, Silvain; Nowak, Stephan; O’Brien, Benjamin; Pei, Qibing

2015-01-01

Dielectric elastomer transducers consist of thin electrically insulating elastomeric membranes coated on both sides with compliant electrodes. They are a promising electromechanically active polymer technology that may be used for actuators, strain sensors, and electrical generators that harvest mechanical energy. The rapid development of this field calls for the first standards, collecting guidelines on how to assess and compare the performance of materials and devices. This paper addresses this need, presenting standardized methods for material characterisation, device testing and performance measurement. These proposed standards are intended to have a general scope and a broad applicability to different material types and device configurations. Nevertheless, they also intentionally exclude some aspects where knowledge and/or consensus in the literature were deemed to be insufficient. This is a sign of a young and vital field, whose research development is expected to benefit from this effort towards standardisation. (paper)

Standards for dielectric elastomer transducers

Science.gov (United States)

Carpi, Federico; Anderson, Iain; Bauer, Siegfried; Frediani, Gabriele; Gallone, Giuseppe; Gei, Massimiliano; Graaf, Christian; Jean-Mistral, Claire; Kaal, William; Kofod, Guggi; Kollosche, Matthias; Kornbluh, Roy; Lassen, Benny; Matysek, Marc; Michel, Silvain; Nowak, Stephan; O'Brien, Benjamin; Pei, Qibing; Pelrine, Ron; Rechenbach, Björn; Rosset, Samuel; Shea, Herbert

2015-10-01

Dielectric elastomer transducers consist of thin electrically insulating elastomeric membranes coated on both sides with compliant electrodes. They are a promising electromechanically active polymer technology that may be used for actuators, strain sensors, and electrical generators that harvest mechanical energy. The rapid development of this field calls for the first standards, collecting guidelines on how to assess and compare the performance of materials and devices. This paper addresses this need, presenting standardized methods for material characterisation, device testing and performance measurement. These proposed standards are intended to have a general scope and a broad applicability to different material types and device configurations. Nevertheless, they also intentionally exclude some aspects where knowledge and/or consensus in the literature were deemed to be insufficient. This is a sign of a young and vital field, whose research development is expected to benefit from this effort towards standardisation.

First-principles photoemission spectroscopy in DNA and RNA nucleobases from Koopmans-compliant functionals

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Ngoc Linh; Borghi, Giovanni; Ferretti, Andrea; Marzari, Nicola

The determination of spectral properties of the DNA and RNA nucleobases from first principles can provide theoretical interpretation for experimental data, but requires complex electronic-structure formulations that fall outside the domain of applicability of common approaches such as density-functional theory. In this work, we show that Koopmans-compliant functionals, constructed to enforce piecewise linearity in energy functionals with respect to fractional occupation-i.e., with respect to charged excitations-can predict not only frontier ionization potentials and electron affinities of the nucleobases with accuracy comparable or superior with that of many-body perturbation theory and high-accuracy quantum chemistry methods, but also the molecular photoemission spectra are shown to be in excellent agreement with experimental ultraviolet photoemsision spectroscopy data. The results highlight the role of Koopmans-compliant functionals as accurate and inexpensive quasiparticle approximations to the spectral potential, which transform DFT into a novel dynamical formalism where electronic properties, and not only total energies, can be correctly accounted for.

GMP-compliant isolation and large-scale expansion of bone marrow-derived MSC.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalie Fekete

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC have gained importance in tissue repair, tissue engineering and in immunosupressive therapy during the last years. Due to the limited availability of MSC in the bone marrow, ex vivo amplification prior to clinical application is requisite to obtain therapeutic applicable cell doses. Translation of preclinical into clinical-grade large-scale MSC expansion necessitates precise definition and standardization of all procedural parameters including cell seeding density, culture medium and cultivation devices. While xenogeneic additives such as fetal calf serum are still widely used for cell culture, its use in the clinical context is associated with many risks, such as prion and viral transmission or adverse immunological reactions against xenogeneic components. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We established animal-free expansion protocols using platelet lysate as medium supplement and thereby could confirm its safety and feasibility for large-scale MSC isolation and expansion. Five different GMP-compliant standardized protocols designed for the safe, reliable, efficient and economical isolation and expansion of MSC was performed and MSC obtained were analyzed for differentiation capacity by qPCR and histochemistry. Expression of standard MSC markers as defined by the International Society for Cellular Therapy as well as expression of additional MSC markers and of various chemokine and cytokine receptors was analysed by flow cytometry. Changes of metabolic markers and cytokines in the medium were addressed using the LUMINEX platform. CONCLUSIONS: The five different systems for isolation and expansion of MSC described in this study are all suitable to produce at least 100 millions of MSC, which is commonly regarded as a single clinical dose. Final products are equal according to the minimal criteria for MSC defined by the ISCT. We showed that chemokine and integrin receptors analyzed had the same expression pattern

Distribution of standard deviation of an observable among superposed states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Chang-shui; Shao, Ting-ting; Li, Dong-mo

2016-01-01

The standard deviation (SD) quantifies the spread of the observed values on a measurement of an observable. In this paper, we study the distribution of SD among the different components of a superposition state. It is found that the SD of an observable on a superposition state can be well bounded by the SDs of the superposed states. We also show that the bounds also serve as good bounds on coherence of a superposition state. As a further generalization, we give an alternative definition of incompatibility of two observables subject to a given state and show how the incompatibility subject to a superposition state is distributed.

Distribution of standard deviation of an observable among superposed states

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Chang-shui; Shao, Ting-ting; Li, Dong-mo

2016-10-01

The standard deviation (SD) quantifies the spread of the observed values on a measurement of an observable. In this paper, we study the distribution of SD among the different components of a superposition state. It is found that the SD of an observable on a superposition state can be well bounded by the SDs of the superposed states. We also show that the bounds also serve as good bounds on coherence of a superposition state. As a further generalization, we give an alternative definition of incompatibility of two observables subject to a given state and show how the incompatibility subject to a superposition state is distributed.

Single-user MIMO versus multi-user MIMO in distributed antenna systems with limited feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Schwarz, Stefan; Heath, Robert W.; Rupp, Markus

2013-12-01

This article investigates the performance of cellular networks employing distributed antennas in addition to the central antennas of the base station. Distributed antennas are likely to be implemented using remote radio units, which is enabled by a low latency and high bandwidth dedicated link to the base station. This facilitates coherent transmission from potentially all available antennas at the same time. Such distributed antenna system (DAS) is an effective way to deal with path loss and large-scale fading in cellular systems. DAS can apply precoding across multiple transmission points to implement single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) transmission. The throughput performance of various SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO transmission strategies is investigated in this article, employing a Long-Term evolution (LTE) standard compliant simulation framework. The previously theoretically established cell-capacity improvement of MU-MIMO in comparison to SU-MIMO in DASs is confirmed under the practical constraints imposed by the LTE standard, even under the assumption of imperfect channel state information (CSI) at the base station. Because practical systems will use quantized feedback, the performance of different CSI feedback algorithms for DASs is investigated. It is shown that significant gains in the CSI quantization accuracy and in the throughput of especially MU-MIMO systems can be achieved with relatively simple quantization codebook constructions that exploit the available temporal correlation and channel gain differences.

78 FR 57293 - Distribution of Reference Biological Standards and Biological Preparations

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-18

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 42 CFR Part 7 [Docket No. CDC-2013-0013] RIN 0920-AA52 Distribution of Reference Biological Standards and Biological Preparations AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (HHS/CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Confirmation of...

GMP-compliant automated synthesis of [{sup 18}F]AV-45 (Florbetapir F 18) for imaging {beta}-amyloid plaques in human brain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yao, C.-H. [Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan (China); Lin, K.-J. [Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan (China); Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hua 1st Road, Kweishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan (China); Weng, C.-C. [Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hua 1st Road, Kweishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan (China); Hsiao, I.-T. [Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan (China); Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hua 1st Road, Kweishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan (China); Ting, Y.-S. [Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan (China); Yen, T.-C. [Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan (China); Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hua 1st Road, Kweishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan (China); Jan, T.-R. [Department and Graduate Institute of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Skovronsky, Daniel [Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc., Philadelphia, PA 19104 (United States); Kung, M.-P. [Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan (China); Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (United States); Wey, S.-P., E-mail: spwey@mail.cgu.edu.t [Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan (China); Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hua 1st Road, Kweishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan (China)

2010-12-15

We report herein the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant automated synthesis of {sup 18}F-labeled styrylpyridine, AV-45 (Florbetapir), a novel tracer for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of {beta}-amyloid (A{beta}) plaques in the brain of Alzheimer's disease patients. [{sup 18}F]AV-45 was prepared in 105 min using a tosylate precursor with Sumitomo modules for radiosynthesis under GMP-compliant conditions. The overall yield was 25.4{+-}7.7% with a final radiochemical purity of 95.3{+-}2.2% (n=19). The specific activity of [{sup 18}F]AV-45 reached as high as 470{+-}135 TBq/mmol (n=19). The present studies show that [{sup 18}F]AV-45 can be manufactured under GMP-compliant conditions and could be widely available for routine clinical use.

Flectofold—a biomimetic compliant shading device for complex free form facades

Science.gov (United States)

Körner, A.; Born, L.; Mader, A.; Sachse, R.; Saffarian, S.; Westermeier, A. S.; Poppinga, S.; Bischoff, M.; Gresser, G. T.; Milwich, M.; Speck, T.; Knippers, J.

2018-01-01

Smart and adaptive outer façade shading systems are of high interest in modern architecture. For long lasting and reliable systems, the abandonment of hinges which often fail due to mechanical wear during repetitive use is of particular importance. Drawing inspiration from the hinge-less motion of the underwater snap-trap of the carnivorous waterwheel plant (Aldrovanda vesiculosa), the compliant façade shading device Flectofold was developed. Based on computational simulations of the biological role-model’s elastic and reversible motion, the actuation principle of the plant can be identified. The enclosed geometric motion principle is abstracted into a simplified curved-line folding geometry with distinct flexible hinge-zones. The kinematic behaviour is translated into a quantitative kinetic model, using finite element simulation which allows the detailed analyses of the influence of geometric parameters such as curved-fold line radius and various pneumatically driven actuation principles on the motion behaviour, stress concentrations within the hinge-zones, and actuation forces. The information regarding geometric relations and material gradients gained from those computational models are then used to develop novel material combinations for glass fibre reinforced plastics which enabled the fabrication of physical prototypes of the compliant façade shading device Flectofold.

Structural stiffness and Coulomb damping in compliant foil journal bearings: Theoretical considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Ku, C.-P. Roger; Heshmat, Hooshang

1994-07-01

Compliant foil bearings operate on either gas or liquid, which makes them very attractive for use in extreme environments such as in high-temperature aircraft turbine engines and cryogenic turbopumps. However, a lack of analytical models to predict the dynamic characteristics of foil bearings forces the bearing designer to rely on prototype testing, which is time-consuming and expensive. In this paper, the authors present a theoretical model to predict the structural stiffness and damping coefficients of the bump foil strip in a journal bearing or damper. Stiffness is calculated based on the perturbation of the journal center with respect to its static equilibrium position. The equivalent viscous damping coefficients are determined based on the area of a closed hysteresis loop of the journal center motion. The authors found, theoretically, that the energy dissipated from this loop was mostly contributed by the frictional motion between contact surfaces. In addition, the source and mechanism of the nonlinear behavior of the bump foil strips were examined. With the introduction of this enhanced model, the analytical tools are now available for the design of compliant foil bearings.

Monitoring compliance with standards of care for chronic diseases using healthcare administrative databases in Italy: Strengths and limitations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Gini

Full Text Available A recent comprehensive report on healthcare quality in Italy published by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD recommended that regular monitoring of quality of primary care by means of compliance with standards of care for chronic diseases is performed. A previous ecological study demonstrated that compliance with standards of care could be reliably estimated on regional level using administrative databases. This study compares estimates based on administrative data with estimates based on GP records for the same persons, to understand whether ecological fallacy played a role in the results of the previous study.We compared estimates of compliance with diagnostic and therapeutic standards of care for type 2 diabetes (T2DM, hypertension and ischaemic heart disease (IHD from administrative data (IAD with estimates from medical records (MR for the same persons registered with 24 GP's in 2012. Data were linked at an individual level.32,688 persons entered the study, 12,673 having at least one of the three diseases according to at least one data source. Patients not detected by IAD were many, for all three conditions: adding MR increased the number of cases of T2DM, hypertension, and IHD by +40%, +42%, and +104%, respectively. IAD had imperfect sensitivity in detecting population compliance with therapies (adding MR increased the estimate, from +11.5% for statins to +14.7% for antithrombotics, and, more substantially, with diagnostic recommendations (adding MR increased the estimate, from +23.7% in glycated hemoglobin tests, to +50.5% in electrocardiogram. Patients not detected by IAD were less compliant with respect to those that IAD correctly identified (from -4.8 percentage points in proportion of IHD patients compliant with a yearly glycated hemoglobin test, to -40.1 points in the proportion of T2DM patients compliant with the same recommendation. IAD overestimated indicators of compliance with therapeutic standards

Enhancements to ASHRAE Standard 90.1 Prototype Building Models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goel, Supriya; Athalye, Rahul A.; Wang, Weimin; Zhang, Jian; Rosenberg, Michael I.; Xie, YuLong; Hart, Philip R.; Mendon, Vrushali V.

2014-04-16

This report focuses on enhancements to prototype building models used to determine the energy impact of various versions of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1. Since the last publication of the prototype building models, PNNL has made numerous enhancements to the original prototype models compliant with the 2004, 2007, and 2010 editions of Standard 90.1. Those enhancements are described here and were made for several reasons: (1) to change or improve prototype design assumptions; (2) to improve the simulation accuracy; (3) to improve the simulation infrastructure; and (4) to add additional detail to the models needed to capture certain energy impacts from Standard 90.1 improvements. These enhancements impact simulated prototype energy use, and consequently impact the savings estimated from edition to edition of Standard 90.1.

Standard IEC 61850 substation automation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bricchi, A.; Mezzadri, D. [Selta, Tortoreto (Italy)

2008-07-01

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61850 standard is the reference communication protocol for all electrical substations protection and control systems. It creates models of all the elements and functionalities of an electrical substation, including physical elements such as switches or circuit breakers, as well as protection, control and monitoring functionalities. Network managers need to renew power substation automation and control systems in order to improve the efficiency and quality of services offered by electric utilities. Selta has proposed a new integrated solution for the automation of power substations which is fully compliant with the IEC 61850 norms. The solution involves the integration of control, automation, protection, monitoring and maintenance functions and applies leading edge technology to its systems, particularly for the TERNA network. The system is based on the use of many electronic devices at a power plant, each one with a specialized function, and all interconnected via a Station LAN. This solution, was tested on the TERNA network in Italy, in VHV and HV stations. It was shown to offer many advantages, such as an architecture based on full interoperability between control, monitoring and protection equipment; centralized and distributed automation; a LAN station that allows full interoperability between different bay units and protection relays in order to integrate equipment from various suppliers; the integration of automation systems in existing bay units and protection relays equipped with standard communication buses or with proprietary interfaces; and time synchronization for the entire system through a station GPS reception system. 10 refs., 1 tab., 7 figs.

Fully Decoupled Compliant Parallel Mechanism: a New Solution for the Design of Multidimensional Accelerometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhen GAO

2010-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a novel multidimensional accelerometer is proposed based on fully decoupled compliant parallel mechanism. Three separated chains, which are served as the elastic body, are perpendicular to each other for sensing the kinetic information in different directions without decoupling process. As the crucial part of the whole sensor structure, the revolute and prismatic joints in three pairwise orthogonal branches of the parallel mechanism are manufactured with the alloy aluminium as flexure hinge-based compliant joints. The structure development is first introduced, followed by the comprehensive finite-element analysis including the strain of the sensitive legs, modal analysis for total deformation under different frequency, and the performance of harmonic response. Then, the shape optimization is conducted to reduce the unnecessary parts. Compliance optimization with particle swarm algorithm is implemented to redesign the dimension of the sensitive legs. The research supplies a new viewpoint for the mechanical design of physical sensor, especially acceleration sensor.

Standard services for the capture, processing, and distribution of packetized telemetry data

Science.gov (United States)

Stallings, William H.

1989-01-01

Standard functional services for the capture, processing, and distribution of packetized data are discussed with particular reference to the future implementation of packet processing systems, such as those for the Space Station Freedom. The major functions are listed under the following major categories: input processing, packet processing, and output processing. A functional block diagram of a packet data processing facility is presented, showing the distribution of the various processing functions as well as the primary data flow through the facility.

GLN standard as a facilitator of physical location identification within process of distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davor Dujak

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Distribution, from the business point of view, is a set of decisions and actions that will provide the right products at the right time and place, in line with customer expectations. It is a process that generates significant cost, but also effectively implemented, significantly affects the positive perception of the company. Institute of Logistics and Warehousing (IliM, based on the research results related to the optimization of the distribution network and consulting projects for companies, indicates the high importance of the correct description of the physical location within the supply chains in order to make transport processes more effective. Individual companies work on their own geocoding of warehouse locations and location of their business partners (suppliers, customers, but the lack of standardization in this area causes delays related to delivery problems with reaching the right destination. Furthermore, the cooperating companies do not have a precise indication of the operating conditions of each location, e.g. Time windows of the plant, logistic units accepted at parties, supported transport etc. Lack of this information generates additional costs associated with re-operation and the costs of lost benefits for the lack of goods on time. The solution to this problem seems to be a wide-scale implementation of GS1 standard which is the Global Location Number (GLN, that, thanks to a broad base of information will assist the distribution processes. Material and methods: The results of survey conducted among Polish companies in the second half of 2016 indicate an unsatisfactory degree of implementation of the transport processes, resulting from incorrect or inaccurate description of the location, and thus, a significant number of errors in deliveries. Accordingly, authors studied literature and examined case studies indicating the possibility of using GLN standard to identify the physical location and to show the

Using the ACR/NEMA standard with TCP/IP and Ethernet

Science.gov (United States)

Chimiak, William J.; Williams, Rodney C.

1991-07-01

There is a need for a consolidated picture archival and communications system (PACS) in hospitals. At the Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University (BGSM), the authors are enhancing the ACR/NEMA Version 2 protocol using UNIX sockets and TCP/IP to greatly improve connectivity. Initially, nuclear medicine studies using gamma cameras are to be sent to PACS. The ACR/NEMA Version 2 protocol provides the functionality of the upper three layers of the open system interconnection (OSI) model in this implementation. The images, imaging equipment information, and patient information are then sent in ACR/NEMA format to a software socket. From there it is handed to the TCP/IP protocol, which provides the transport and network service. TCP/IP, in turn, uses the services of IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) to complete the connectivity. The advantage of this implementation is threefold: (1) Only one I/O port is consumed by numerous nuclear medicine cameras, instead of a physical port for each camera. (2) Standard protocols are used which maximize interoperability with ACR/NEMA compliant PACSs. (3) The use of sockets allows a migration path to the transport and networking services of OSIs TP4 and connectionless network service as well as the high-performance protocol being considered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Standards Organization (ISO) -- the Xpress Transfer Protocol (XTP). The use of sockets also gives access to ANSI's Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) as well as other high-speed network standards.

Topological design of compliant smart structures with embedded movable actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Yiqiang; Zhang, Xiaopeng; Kang, Zhan; Luo, Zhen

2014-01-01

In the optimal configuration design of piezoelectric smart structures, it is favorable to use actuation elements with certain predefined geometries from the viewpoint of manufacturability of fragile piezoelectric ceramics in practical applications. However, preserving the exact shape of these embedded actuators and tracking their dynamic motions presents a more challenging research task than merely allowing them to take arbitrary shapes. This paper proposes an integrated topology optimization method for the systematic design of compliant smart structures with embedded movable PZT (lead zirconate titanate) actuators. Compared with most existing studies, which either optimize positions/sizes of the actuators in a given host structure or design the host structure with pre-determined actuator locations, the proposed method simultaneously optimizes the positions of the movable PZT actuators and the topology of the host structure, typically a compliant mechanism for amplifying the small strain stroke. A combined topological description model is employed in the optimization, where the level set model is used to track the movements of the PZT actuators and the independent point-wise density interpolation (iPDI) approach is utilized to search for the optimal topology of the host structure. Furthermore, we define an integral-type constraint function to prevent overlaps between the PZT actuators and between the actuators and the external boundaries of the design domain. Such a constraint provides a unified and explicit mathematical statement of the non-overlap condition for any number of arbitrarily shaped embedded actuators. Several numerical examples are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization method. (paper)

A compliant mechanism for inspecting extremely confined spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Mascareñas, David; Moreu, Fernando; Cantu, Precious; Shields, Daniel; Wadden, Jack; El Hadedy, Mohamed; Farrar, Charles

2017-11-01

We present a novel, compliant mechanism that provides the capability to navigate extremely confined spaces for the purpose of infrastructure inspection. Extremely confined spaces are commonly encountered during infrastructure inspection. Examples of such spaces can include pipes, conduits, and ventilation ducts. Often these infrastructure features go uninspected simply because there is no viable way to access their interior. In addition, it is not uncommon for extremely confined spaces to possess a maze-like architecture that must be selectively navigated in order to properly perform an inspection. Efforts by the imaging sensor community have resulted in the development of imaging sensors on the millimeter length scale. Due to their compact size, they are able to inspect many extremely confined spaces of interest, however, the means to deliver these sensors to the proper location to obtain the desired images are lacking. To address this problem, we draw inspiration from the field of endoscopic surgery. Specifically we consider the work that has already been done to create long flexible needles that are capable of being steered through the human body. These devices are typically referred to as ‘steerable needles.’ Steerable needle technology is not directly applicable to the problem of navigating maze-like arrangements of extremely confined spaces, but it does provide guidance on how this problem should be approached. Specifically, the super-elastic nitinol tubing material that allows steerable needles to operate is also appropriate for the problem of navigating maze-like arrangements of extremely confined spaces. Furthermore, the portion of the mechanism that enters the extremely confined space is completely mechanical in nature. The mechanical nature of the device is an advantage when the extremely confined space features environmental hazards such as radiation that could degrade an electromechanically operated mechanism. Here, we present a compliant mechanism

There is more to life than risk avoidance - elderly people's experiences of falls, fall-injuries and compliant flooring.

Science.gov (United States)

Gustavsson, Johanna; Jernbro, Carolina; Nilson, Finn

2018-12-01

Falls are the most common cause of injury in all ages and are especially difficult to prevent among residential care residents. Compliant flooring that absorbs energy generated within the fall, has been proposed as a measure to prevent fall-injury, however little is known regarding the implementation aspects in clinical settings. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of falls, the risk of fall-injury, prevention in general and specifically compliant flooring as an injury preventative measure amongst frail elderly people living in a residential care facility with compliant flooring. Through this, generate a theory that further explains the underlying barriers of active prevention amongst elderly people. We used the grounded theory method and conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with eight elderly people in residential care (data collected between February and December 2017). The identified categories were Falling as a part of life, Fearing the consequences and A wish to prevent falls and injuries. Through the results it was clear that There is more to life than risk avoidance, permeated the interviews, therefore forming the grounded theory. The interviewees viewed falls as something common and normal, and were uninterested in focusing on the risk of falls. Although they wanted to prevent falls, it was often difficult to integrate preventative measures into their everyday life. They embraced the idea of an injury-reducing compliant flooring, however their main interests lay elsewhere, preferring to focus on social interaction and issues concerning daily activities. The theory generated in this paper proposes explanations on the obstacles of implementing fall prevention measures in an elderly frail population. The findings give insights as to why interest and compliance for active fall prevention measures are low. We conclude that complaint flooring, from the perspective of the residents, can work well in residential care.

IEEE 1547 and 2030 Standards for Distributed Energy Resources Interconnection and Interoperability with the Electricity Grid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Basso, T.

2014-12-01

Public-private partnerships have been a mainstay of the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (DOE/NREL) approach to research and development. These partnerships also include technology development that enables grid modernization and distributed energy resources (DER) advancement, especially renewable energy systems integration with the grid. Through DOE/NREL and industry support of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards development, the IEEE 1547 series of standards has helped shape the way utilities and other businesses have worked together to realize increasing amounts of DER interconnected with the distribution grid. And more recently, the IEEE 2030 series of standards is helping to further realize greater implementation of communications and information technologies that provide interoperability solutions for enhanced integration of DER and loads with the grid. For these standards development partnerships, for approximately $1 of federal funding, industry partnering has contributed $5. In this report, the status update is presented for the American National Standards IEEE 1547 and IEEE 2030 series of standards. A short synopsis of the history of the 1547 standards is first presented, then the current status and future direction of the ongoing standards development activities are discussed.

A Compliant Mechanism Synthesis Theory for Fostering Innovation of Micro Air Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-01

errors creep into the model only for very large loads, and it works extremely well for tip deflections as high as 70◦. A sensitivity analysis was also...D., and Howell, L. L., 1999. “A Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model for Initially- Curved Pinned-Pinned Segments Used in Compliant Mechanisms”. Journal of Me...synthesis theory that incorporate a general framework for determining pseudo-rigid-body models , type synthesis algorithms (determining mechanism topology

Consistent data models and security standards for power system control through their standard compliant integration via ontologies; Einheitliche Datenmodelle und Sicherheitsstandards in der Netzleittechnik durch ihre standardkonforme Integration mittels Ontologien

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uslar, Mathias; Beenken, Petra; Beer, Sebastian [OFFIS, Oldenburg (Germany)

2009-07-01

The ongoing integration of distributed energy recourses into the existing power grid has lead to both grown communication costs and an increased need for interoperability between the involved actors. In this context, standardized and ontology- based data models help to reduce integration costs in heterogeneous system landscapes. Using ontology-based security profiles, such models can be extended with meta-data containing information about security measures for energyrelated data in need of protection. By this approach, we achieve both a unified data model and a unified security level. (orig.)

EZ and GOSSIP, two new VO compliant tools for spectral analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Franzetti, P.; Garill, B.; Fumana, M.; Paioro, L.; Scodeggio, M.; Paltani, S.; Scaramella, R.

2008-10-01

We present EZ and GOSSIP, two new VO compliant tools dedicated to spectral analysis. EZ is a tool to perform automatic redshift measurement; GOSSIP is a tool created to perform the SED fitting procedure in a simple, user friendly and efficient way. These two tools have been developed by the PANDORA Group at INAF-IASF (Milano); EZ has been developed in collaboration with Osservatorio Monte Porzio (Roma) and Integral Science Data Center (Geneve). EZ is released to the astronomical community; GOSSIP is currently in beta-testing.

Vibration Isolation by an Actively Compliantly Mounted Sensor Applied to a Coriolis Mass-Flow Meter

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Ridder, Bert; Hakvoort, Wouter; van Dijk, Johannes; Lötters, Joost Conrad; de Boer, Andries

2016-01-01

In this paper, a vibration isolated design of a Coriolis mass-flow meter (CMFM) is proposed by introducing a compliant connection between the casing and the tube displacement sensors, with the objective to obtain a relative displacement measurement of the fluid conveying tube, dependent on the tube

Advances in a Distributed Approach for Ocean Model Data Interoperability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard P. Signell

2014-03-01

Full Text Available An infrastructure for earth science data is emerging across the globe based on common data models and web services. As we evolve from custom file formats and web sites to standards-based web services and tools, data is becoming easier to distribute, find and retrieve, leaving more time for science. We describe recent advances that make it easier for ocean model providers to share their data, and for users to search, access, analyze and visualize ocean data using MATLAB® and Python®. These include a technique for modelers to create aggregated, Climate and Forecast (CF metadata convention datasets from collections of non-standard Network Common Data Form (NetCDF output files, the capability to remotely access data from CF-1.6-compliant NetCDF files using the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC Sensor Observation Service (SOS, a metadata standard for unstructured grid model output (UGRID, and tools that utilize both CF and UGRID standards to allow interoperable data search, browse and access. We use examples from the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS® Coastal and Ocean Modeling Testbed, a project in which modelers using both structured and unstructured grid model output needed to share their results, to compare their results with other models, and to compare models with observed data. The same techniques used here for ocean modeling output can be applied to atmospheric and climate model output, remote sensing data, digital terrain and bathymetric data.

Advances in a distributed approach for ocean model data interoperability

Science.gov (United States)

Signell, Richard P.; Snowden, Derrick P.

2014-01-01

An infrastructure for earth science data is emerging across the globe based on common data models and web services. As we evolve from custom file formats and web sites to standards-based web services and tools, data is becoming easier to distribute, find and retrieve, leaving more time for science. We describe recent advances that make it easier for ocean model providers to share their data, and for users to search, access, analyze and visualize ocean data using MATLAB® and Python®. These include a technique for modelers to create aggregated, Climate and Forecast (CF) metadata convention datasets from collections of non-standard Network Common Data Form (NetCDF) output files, the capability to remotely access data from CF-1.6-compliant NetCDF files using the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Sensor Observation Service (SOS), a metadata standard for unstructured grid model output (UGRID), and tools that utilize both CF and UGRID standards to allow interoperable data search, browse and access. We use examples from the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) Coastal and Ocean Modeling Testbed, a project in which modelers using both structured and unstructured grid model output needed to share their results, to compare their results with other models, and to compare models with observed data. The same techniques used here for ocean modeling output can be applied to atmospheric and climate model output, remote sensing data, digital terrain and bathymetric data.

Project Management Plan to Maintain Safe and Compliant Conditions at the Plutonium Finishing Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

COX, G.J.

1999-01-01

This Project Management Plan presents the overall plan, description, mission, and workscope for the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) maintain safe and compliant conditions project at PFP. This plan presents the overall description, mission, work scope, and planning for the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) Maintain Safe and Compliant Conditions Project at PFP. This project includes all tasks required to maintain the safety boundary for the PFP Complex, except for the 2736-2 Vault Complex and the 234-52 vaults and vault-type rooms. The intent of this plan is to describe how this project will be managed and integrated with the stabilization, and deactivation activities. This plan supplements the overall integrated plan presented in the Plutonium Finishing Plant Integrated Project Management Plan (IPMP), HNF-3617, Rev. 0. This is the top-level definitive project management document that specifies the technical (work scope), schedule, and cost baselines that will manage the execution of this project. It describes the organizational approach and roles/responsibilities implemented to execute the project. This plan is under configuration management and any deviations must be authorized by appropriate change control action

A High-Order Theory for the Analysis of Circular Cylindrical Composite Sandwich Shells with Transversely Compliant Core Subjected to External Loads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rahmani, Omid; Khalili, S.M.R.; Thomsen, Ole Thybo

2012-01-01

A new model based on the high order sandwich panel theory is proposed to study the effect of external loads on the free vibration of circular cylindrical composite sandwich shells with transversely compliant core, including also the calculation of the buckling loads. In the present model......, which is based on a 3D elasticity solution for the core material, can be used as a benchmark in future studies of the free vibration and buckling of circular cylindrical composite sandwich shells with a transversely compliant core....

Photonic generation of FCC-compliant UWB pulses based on modified Gaussian quadruplet and incoherent wavelength-to-time conversion

Science.gov (United States)

Mu, Hongqian; Wang, Muguang; Tang, Yu; Zhang, Jing; Jian, Shuisheng

2018-03-01

A novel scheme for the generation of FCC-compliant UWB pulse is proposed based on modified Gaussian quadruplet and incoherent wavelength-to-time conversion. The modified Gaussian quadruplet is synthesized based on linear sum of a broad Gaussian pulse and two narrow Gaussian pulses with the same pulse-width and amplitude peak. Within specific parameter range, FCC-compliant UWB with spectral power efficiency of higher than 39.9% can be achieved. In order to realize the designed waveform, a UWB generator based on spectral shaping and incoherent wavelength-to-time mapping is proposed. The spectral shaper is composed of a Gaussian filter and a programmable filter. Single-mode fiber functions as both dispersion device and transmission medium. Balanced photodetection is employed to combine linearly the broad Gaussian pulse and two narrow Gaussian pulses, and at same time to suppress pulse pedestals that result in low-frequency components. The proposed UWB generator can be reconfigured for UWB doublet by operating the programmable filter as a single-band Gaussian filter. The feasibility of proposed UWB generator is demonstrated experimentally. Measured UWB pulses match well with simulation results. FCC-compliant quadruplet with 10-dB bandwidth of 6.88-GHz, fractional bandwidth of 106.8% and power efficiency of 51% is achieved.

Risk and Return under Shari’a Framework: An Attempt to Develop Shari’a Compliant Asset Pricing Model (SCAPM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Hanif

2011-12-01

Full Text Available A speedy emerging area of finance is the Shari’a compliant financial system. In first decade of 21st century Islamic financing has shown tremendous increase and global volume has reached to US $ 1,041 billion by the end of 2009. Being financial intermediaries Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs have shown commendable progress in deposit collection under profit and loss sharing schemes however investment avenues are limited in comparison of conventional banks. Although a large number of financing modes are available to IFIs, yet maintenance of required liquidity is serious issue because money market and capital market is dominated by interest based instruments and conventional practices (some are clearly prohibited by Shari’a. Recently Al-meezan Investment Management Ltd. (AIML has started screening of Shari’a compliant stocks on KSE, and provided an avenue for Shari’a Compliant Investors/IFIs to invest in equities. This study is conducted to understand conventional asset pricing models, document any mismatching with Shari’a financial system, and suggest amendments if required. Findings suggest existing models of equity pricing (CAPM, APT/MFM are very much practicable under Shari’a framework with slight modification of risk free return because under Shari’a frame work risk free returns do not exist.

Koopmans-Compliant Spectral Functionals for Extended Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ngoc Linh Nguyen

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Koopmans-compliant functionals have been shown to provide accurate spectral properties for molecular systems; this accuracy is driven by the generalized linearization condition imposed on each charged excitation, i.e., on changing the occupation of any orbital in the system, while accounting for screening and relaxation from all other electrons. In this work, we discuss the theoretical formulation and the practical implementation of this formalism to the case of extended systems, where a third condition, the localization of Koopmans’s orbitals, proves crucial to reach seamlessly the thermodynamic limit. We illustrate the formalism by first studying one-dimensional molecular systems of increasing length. Then, we consider the band gaps of 30 paradigmatic solid-state test cases, for which accurate experimental and computational results are available. The results are found to be comparable with the state of the art in many-body perturbation theory, notably using just a functional formulation for spectral properties and the generalized-gradient approximation for the exchange and correlation functional.

Koopmans-Compliant Spectral Functionals for Extended Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Ngoc Linh; Colonna, Nicola; Ferretti, Andrea; Marzari, Nicola

2018-04-01

Koopmans-compliant functionals have been shown to provide accurate spectral properties for molecular systems; this accuracy is driven by the generalized linearization condition imposed on each charged excitation, i.e., on changing the occupation of any orbital in the system, while accounting for screening and relaxation from all other electrons. In this work, we discuss the theoretical formulation and the practical implementation of this formalism to the case of extended systems, where a third condition, the localization of Koopmans's orbitals, proves crucial to reach seamlessly the thermodynamic limit. We illustrate the formalism by first studying one-dimensional molecular systems of increasing length. Then, we consider the band gaps of 30 paradigmatic solid-state test cases, for which accurate experimental and computational results are available. The results are found to be comparable with the state of the art in many-body perturbation theory, notably using just a functional formulation for spectral properties and the generalized-gradient approximation for the exchange and correlation functional.

Concurrent validity of accelerations measured using a tri-axial inertial measurement unit while walking on firm, compliant and uneven surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Michael H; van den Hoorn, Wolbert; Kavanagh, Justin K; Morrison, Steven; Hodges, Paul W; Smeathers, James E; Kerr, Graham K

2014-01-01

Although accelerometers are extensively used for assessing gait, limited research has evaluated the concurrent validity of these devices on less predictable walking surfaces or the comparability of different methods used for gravitational acceleration compensation. This study evaluated the concurrent validity of trunk accelerations derived from a tri-axial inertial measurement unit while walking on firm, compliant and uneven surfaces and contrasted two methods used to remove gravitational accelerations; i) subtraction of the best linear fit from the data (detrending); and ii) use of orientation information (quaternions) from the inertial measurement unit. Twelve older and twelve younger adults walked at their preferred speed along firm, compliant and uneven walkways. Accelerations were evaluated for the thoracic spine (T12) using a tri-axial inertial measurement unit and an eleven-camera Vicon system. The findings demonstrated excellent agreement between accelerations derived from the inertial measurement unit and motion analysis system, including while walking on uneven surfaces that better approximate a real-world setting (all differences firm surfaces (delta range: -0.05 to 0.06 vs. 0.00 to 0.14 m.s(-2)), whereas the quaternion method performed better when walking on compliant and uneven walkways (delta range: -0.16 to -0.02 vs. -0.07 to 0.07 m.s(-2)). The technique used to compensate for gravitational accelerations requires consideration in future research, particularly when walking on compliant and uneven surfaces. These findings demonstrate trunk accelerations can be accurately measured using a wireless inertial measurement unit and are appropriate for research that evaluates healthy populations in complex environments.

Wavelet/scalar quantization compression standard for fingerprint images

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brislawn, C.M.

1996-06-12

US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has recently formulated a national standard for digitization and compression of gray-scale fingerprint images. Fingerprints are scanned at a spatial resolution of 500 dots per inch, with 8 bits of gray-scale resolution. The compression algorithm for the resulting digital images is based on adaptive uniform scalar quantization of a discrete wavelet transform subband decomposition (wavelet/scalar quantization method). The FBI standard produces archival-quality images at compression ratios of around 15 to 1 and will allow the current database of paper fingerprint cards to be replaced by digital imagery. The compression standard specifies a class of potential encoders and a universal decoder with sufficient generality to reconstruct compressed images produced by any compliant encoder, allowing flexibility for future improvements in encoder technology. A compliance testing program is also being implemented to ensure high standards of image quality and interchangeability of data between different implementations.

Design, realization and structural testing of a compliant adaptable wing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molinari, G; Arrieta, A F; Ermanni, P; Quack, M; Morari, M

2015-01-01

This paper presents the design, optimization, realization and testing of a novel wing morphing concept, based on distributed compliance structures, and actuated by piezoelectric elements. The adaptive wing features ribs with a selectively compliant inner structure, numerically optimized to achieve aerodynamically efficient shape changes while simultaneously withstanding aeroelastic loads. The static and dynamic aeroelastic behavior of the wing, and the effect of activating the actuators, is assessed by means of coupled 3D aerodynamic and structural simulations. To demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed morphing concept and optimization procedure, the wings of a model airplane are designed and manufactured according to the presented approach. The goal is to replace conventional ailerons, thus to achieve controllability in roll purely by morphing. The mechanical properties of the manufactured components are characterized experimentally, and used to create a refined and correlated finite element model. The overall stiffness, strength, and actuation capabilities are experimentally tested and successfully compared with the numerical prediction. To counteract the nonlinear hysteretic behavior of the piezoelectric actuators, a closed-loop controller is implemented, and its capability of accurately achieving the desired shape adaptation is evaluated experimentally. Using the correlated finite element model, the aeroelastic behavior of the manufactured wing is simulated, showing that the morphing concept can provide sufficient roll authority to allow controllability of the flight. The additional degrees of freedom offered by morphing can be also used to vary the plane lift coefficient, similarly to conventional flaps. The efficiency improvements offered by this technique are evaluated numerically, and compared to the performance of a rigid wing. (paper)

Development process and data management of TurnSTEP, a STEP-compliant CNC system for turning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Choi, I.; Suh, S.-H; Kim, K.; Song, M.S.; Jang, M.; Lee, B.-E.

2006-01-01

TurnSTEP is one of the earliest STEP-compliant CNC systems for turning. Based on the STEP-NC data model formalized as ISO 14649-12 and 121, it is designed to support intelligent and autonomous control of NC machines for e-manufacturing. The present paper introduces the development process and data

Standardization of quantum key distribution and the ETSI standardization initiative ISG-QKD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laenger, Thomas; Lenhart, Gaby

2009-01-01

In recent years, quantum key distribution (QKD) has been the object of intensive research activities and of rapid progress, and it is now developing into a competitive industry with commercial products. Once QKD systems are transferred from the controlled environment of physical laboratories into a real-world environment for practical use, a number of practical security, compatibility and connectivity issues need to be resolved. In particular, comprehensive security evaluation and watertight security proofs need to be addressed to increase trust in QKD. System interoperability with existing infrastructures and applications as well as conformance with specific user requirements have to be assured. Finding common solutions to these problems involving all actors can provide an advantage for the commercialization of QKD as well as for further technological development. The ETSI industry specification group for QKD (ISG-QKD) offers a forum for creating such universally accepted standards and will promote significant leverage effects on coordination, cooperation and convergence in research, technical development and business application of QKD.

Standardization of quantum key distribution and the ETSI standardization initiative ISG-QKD

Science.gov (United States)

Länger, Thomas; Lenhart, Gaby

2009-05-01

In recent years, quantum key distribution (QKD) has been the object of intensive research activities and of rapid progress, and it is now developing into a competitive industry with commercial products. Once QKD systems are transferred from the controlled environment of physical laboratories into a real-world environment for practical use, a number of practical security, compatibility and connectivity issues need to be resolved. In particular, comprehensive security evaluation and watertight security proofs need to be addressed to increase trust in QKD. System interoperability with existing infrastructures and applications as well as conformance with specific user requirements have to be assured. Finding common solutions to these problems involving all actors can provide an advantage for the commercialization of QKD as well as for further technological development. The ETSI industry specification group for QKD (ISG-QKD) offers a forum for creating such universally accepted standards and will promote significant leverage effects on coordination, cooperation and convergence in research, technical development and business application of QKD.

Distribution of Standard deviation of an observable among superposed states

OpenAIRE

Yu, Chang-shui; Shao, Ting-ting; Li, Dong-mo

2016-01-01

The standard deviation (SD) quantifies the spread of the observed values on a measurement of an observable. In this paper, we study the distribution of SD among the different components of a superposition state. It is found that the SD of an observable on a superposition state can be well bounded by the SDs of the superposed states. We also show that the bounds also serve as good bounds on coherence of a superposition state. As a further generalization, we give an alternative definition of in...

Force-Sensing Actuator with a Compliant Flexure-Type Joint for a Robotic Manipulator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mathieu Grossard

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the mechatronic design of a novel self-sensing motor-to-joint transmission to be used for the actuation of robotic dexterous manipulators. Backdrivability, mechanical simplicity and efficient flexure joint structures are key concepts that have guided the mechanical design rationale to provide the actuator with force sensing capabilities. Indeed, a self-sensing characteristic is achieved by the specific design of high-resolution cable-driven actuators based on a DC motor, a ball-screw and a monolithic compliant anti-rotation system together with a novel flexure pivot providing a frictionless mechanical structure. That novel compliant pivot with a large angular range and a small center shift has been conceived of to provide the inter-phalangeal rotational degree of freedom of the fingers’ joints to be used for integration in a multi-fingered robotic gripper. Simultaneously, it helps to remove friction at the joint level of the mechanism. Experimental tests carried out on a prototype show an accurate matching between the model and the real behavior. Overall, this mechatronic design contributes to the improvement of the manipulation skills of robotic grippers, thanks to the combination of high performance mechanics, high sensitivity to external forces and compliance control capability.

Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Architecture Standard. Release 1.02.1

Science.gov (United States)

Reinhart, Richard C.; Kacpura, Thomas J.; Handler, Louis M.; Hall, C. Steve; Mortensen, Dale J.; Johnson, Sandra K.; Briones, Janette C.; Nappier, Jennifer M.; Downey, Joseph A.; Lux, James P.

2012-01-01

This document contains the NASA architecture standard for software defined radios used in space- and ground-based platforms to enable commonality among radio developments to enhance capability and services while reducing mission and programmatic risk. Transceivers (or transponders) with functionality primarily defined in software (e.g., firmware) have the ability to change their functional behavior through software alone. This radio architecture standard offers value by employing common waveform software interfaces, method of instantiation, operation, and testing among different compliant hardware and software products. These common interfaces within the architecture abstract application software from the underlying hardware to enable technology insertion independently at either the software or hardware layer.

Cyber security. Compliance to the new CSA 290.7 standard

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daley, M.; Doucet, R.; Echlin, M.; MacDonald, M.; Mihaylov, V.; Sijs, J.; Trask, D. [Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario (Canada)

2015-12-15

Since 2008, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), similar to regulators of other critical industries, has requested their licensees to implement cyber security programs and conduct self- assessments without the benefit of an industry specific cyber security standard that provides common metrics for coverage and effectiveness of their programs. However, for the nuclear industry, a new CSA standard 290.7 entitled 'Cyber security for nuclear power plants and small reactor facilities', released in December 2014, will have the CNSC looking to facility operators to be compliant to the new standard. This paper will discuss initiatives at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to develop of a suite of tools, techniques, and best practices that can be used by the regulator and industry for assessing compliance and effectiveness of cyber security technology and implementations. (author)

Cyber security - compliance to the new CSA 290.7 standard

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daley, M.; Doucet, R.; Echlin, M.; MacDonald, M.; Mihaylov, V.; Sijs, J.; Trask, D., E-mail: Matthew.Daley@cnl.ca [Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Chalk River, ON, (Canada)

2015-07-01

Since 2008, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), similar to regulators of other critical industries, has requested their licensees to implement cyber security programs and conduct self-assessments without the benefit of an industry specific cyber security standard that provides common metrics for coverage and effectiveness of their programs. However, for the nuclear industry, a new CSA standard 290.7 entitled 'Cyber security for nuclear power plants and small reactor facilities' [1], released in December 2014, will have the CNSC looking to facility operators to be compliant to the new standard. This paper will discuss initiatives at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to develop of a suite of tools, techniques, and best practices that can be used by the regulator and industry for assessing compliance and effectiveness of cyber security technology and implementations. (author)

Cyber security. Compliance to the new CSA 290.7 standard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daley, M.; Doucet, R.; Echlin, M.; MacDonald, M.; Mihaylov, V.; Sijs, J.; Trask, D.

2015-01-01

Since 2008, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), similar to regulators of other critical industries, has requested their licensees to implement cyber security programs and conduct self- assessments without the benefit of an industry specific cyber security standard that provides common metrics for coverage and effectiveness of their programs. However, for the nuclear industry, a new CSA standard 290.7 entitled 'Cyber security for nuclear power plants and small reactor facilities', released in December 2014, will have the CNSC looking to facility operators to be compliant to the new standard. This paper will discuss initiatives at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to develop of a suite of tools, techniques, and best practices that can be used by the regulator and industry for assessing compliance and effectiveness of cyber security technology and implementations. (author)

Cyber security - compliance to the new CSA 290.7 standard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daley, M.; Doucet, R.; Echlin, M.; MacDonald, M.; Mihaylov, V.; Sijs, J.; Trask, D.

2015-01-01

Since 2008, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), similar to regulators of other critical industries, has requested their licensees to implement cyber security programs and conduct self-assessments without the benefit of an industry specific cyber security standard that provides common metrics for coverage and effectiveness of their programs. However, for the nuclear industry, a new CSA standard 290.7 entitled 'Cyber security for nuclear power plants and small reactor facilities' [1], released in December 2014, will have the CNSC looking to facility operators to be compliant to the new standard. This paper will discuss initiatives at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to develop of a suite of tools, techniques, and best practices that can be used by the regulator and industry for assessing compliance and effectiveness of cyber security technology and implementations. (author)

Development of a paperless, Y2K compliant exposure tracking database at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Conwell, J L; Creek, K L; Pozzi, A R; Whyte, H M

2001-02-01

The Industrial Hygiene and Safety Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) developed a database application known as IH DataView, which manages industrial hygiene monitoring data. IH DataView replaces a LANL legacy system, IHSD, that restricted user access to a single point of data entry needed enhancements that support new operational requirements, and was not Year 2000 (Y2K) compliant. IH DataView features a comprehensive suite of data collection and tracking capabilities. Through the use of Oracle database management and application development tools, the system is Y2K compliant and Web enabled for easy deployment and user access via the Internet. System accessibility is particularly important because LANL operations are spread over 43 square miles, and industrial hygienists (IHs) located across the laboratory will use the system. IH DataView shows promise of being useful in the future because it eliminates these problems. It has a flexible architecture and sophisticated capability to collect, track, and analyze data in easy-to-use form.

SED-ML web tools: generate, modify and export standard-compliant simulation studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergmann, Frank T; Nickerson, David; Waltemath, Dagmar; Scharm, Martin

2017-04-15

The Simulation Experiment Description Markup Language (SED-ML) is a standardized format for exchanging simulation studies independently of software tools. We present the SED-ML Web Tools, an online application for creating, editing, simulating and validating SED-ML documents. The Web Tools implement all current SED-ML specifications and, thus, support complex modifications and co-simulation of models in SBML and CellML formats. Ultimately, the Web Tools lower the bar on working with SED-ML documents and help users create valid simulation descriptions. http://sysbioapps.dyndns.org/SED-ML_Web_Tools/ . fbergman@caltech.edu . © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

The Puller-Follower Control of Compliant and Noncompliant Antagonistic Tendon Drives in Robotic Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veljko Potkonjak

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a new control strategy for noncompliant and compliant antagonistic tendon drives. It is applied to a succession of increasingly complex single‐joint systems, starting with a linear and noncompliant system and ending with a revolute, nonlinearly tendon coupled and compliant system. The last configuration mimics the typical human joint structure, used as a model for certain joints of the anthropomimetic robot ECCEROBOT. The control strategy is based on a biologically inspired puller‐ follower concept, which distinguishes the roles of the agonist and antagonist motors. One actuator, the puller, is considered as being primarily responsible for the motion, while the follower prevents its tendon from becoming slack by maintaining its tendon force at some non‐zero level. Certain movements require switching actuator roles; adaptive co‐contraction is used to prevent tendons slackening, while maintaining energetic efficiency. The single‐joint control strategy is then evaluated in a multi‐ joint system. Dealing with the gravitational and dynamic effects arising from the coupling in a multi‐joint system, a robust control design has to be applied with on‐line gravity compensation. Finally, an experiment corresponding to object grasping is presented to show the controller

Corporate Governance and Islamic Social Responsibility Disclosure In Kuwaiti Shariah Compliant Financial Institutions

OpenAIRE

Al-Shammari, B.

2012-01-01

This study examines the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and the extent of Islamic social responsibility disclosure in Kuwait. The annual reports of 40 Shariah-compliant financial institutions listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in 2010 are examined. Four major corporate governance characteristics are investigated: 1) the existence of a Shariah supervisory board; 2) the number of board members; 3) the proportion of non-executive directors to the total number of di...

Delayed outcomes and rule-governed behavior among "noncompliant" and "compliant" boys: a replication and extension.

Science.gov (United States)

Reitman, D; Gross, A M

1996-01-01

The present research investigated the effects of verbal, contingency-specifying, stimuli on compliance among two groups of preschool-aged boys. Experiment 1 assessed the joint influence of prior compliance history and reinforcement parameters on compliance, and Experiment 2 explored the utility of distinguishing between the evocative and function-altering effects of verbal stimuli. Results from Experiment 1 showed that statements specifying a behavior and an outcome controlled similar levels of compliance in "compliant" and "noncompliant" boys under conditions of immediate reinforcement, but as the opportunity for reinforcement became more delayed (or nonexistent), the performance of "noncompliant" boys deteriorated. Results from Experiment 2 showed that statements specifying immediate and delayed reinforcers, but not statements specifying no reinforcer, controlled high levels of compliance in both compliant and noncompliant boys, even after a 15-20 minute delay in the opportunity to respond. These results suggest that rules, or contingency specifying stimuli with function-altering, rather than evocative effects, reliably control the behavior of boys as young as 4 or 5 years-old.

An efficient architecture to support digital pathology in standard medical imaging repositories.

Science.gov (United States)

Marques Godinho, Tiago; Lebre, Rui; Silva, Luís Bastião; Costa, Carlos

2017-07-01

In the past decade, digital pathology and whole-slide imaging (WSI) have been gaining momentum with the proliferation of digital scanners from different manufacturers. The literature reports significant advantages associated with the adoption of digital images in pathology, namely, improvements in diagnostic accuracy and better support for telepathology. Moreover, it also offers new clinical and research applications. However, numerous barriers have been slowing the adoption of WSI, among which the most important are performance issues associated with storage and distribution of huge volumes of data, and lack of interoperability with other hospital information systems, most notably Picture Archive and Communications Systems (PACS) based on the DICOM standard. This article proposes an architecture of a Web Pathology PACS fully compliant with DICOM standard communications and data formats. The solution includes a PACS Archive responsible for storing whole-slide imaging data in DICOM WSI format and offers a communication interface based on the most recent DICOM Web services. The second component is a zero-footprint viewer that runs in any web-browser. It consumes data using the PACS archive standard web services. Moreover, it features a tiling engine especially suited to deal with the WSI image pyramids. These components were designed with special focus on efficiency and usability. The performance of our system was assessed through a comparative analysis of the state-of-the-art solutions. The results demonstrate that it is possible to have a very competitive solution based on standard workflows. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sharia-compliant hotels in Egypt: Concept and chanllenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hesham Ezzat Saad

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This study was undertaken to provide greater clearness for the meaning of the ShariaCompliant Hotel (SCH and identify the challenges facing the development of this type of hotels in Egypt. To fulfill these objectives, Delphi technique, as a method of refining group opinions, was used. The study used two rounds e-mailed questionnaires. Findings indicated that the most important defining features of SCH were; no alcohol or pork allowed, gender segregation was significant and halal food products are significant. Other important defining features included; Quran and prayer mats in each room, no nightclubs, disco or bars, and signs indicating the direction of Mecca in every room. The main SCH challenges cited by the respondents were deprivation of the insertion in the international or local hotel classifications; competition with other non-Islamic hotels, and need for specific criteria appropriated to the international hotel classifications.

A compliant underactuated hand with suction flow for underwater mobile manipulation

KAUST Repository

Stuart, Hannah S.

2014-05-01

© 2014 IEEE. Fingertip suction is investigated using a compliant, underactuated, tendon-driven hand designed for underwater mobile manipulation. Tendon routing and joint stiffnesses are designed to provide ease of closure while maintaining finger rigidity, allowing the hand to pinch small objects, as well as secure large objects, without diminishing strength. While the hand is designed to grasp a range of objects, the addition of light suction flow to the fingertips is especially effective for small, low-friction (slippery) objects. Numerical simulations confirm that changing suction parameters can increase the object acquisition region, providing guidelines for future versions of the hand.

A compliant underactuated hand with suction flow for underwater mobile manipulation

KAUST Repository

Stuart, Hannah S.; Wang, Shiquan; Gardineer, Bayard; Christensen, David L.; Aukes, Daniel M.; Cutkosky, Mark

2014-01-01

© 2014 IEEE. Fingertip suction is investigated using a compliant, underactuated, tendon-driven hand designed for underwater mobile manipulation. Tendon routing and joint stiffnesses are designed to provide ease of closure while maintaining finger rigidity, allowing the hand to pinch small objects, as well as secure large objects, without diminishing strength. While the hand is designed to grasp a range of objects, the addition of light suction flow to the fingertips is especially effective for small, low-friction (slippery) objects. Numerical simulations confirm that changing suction parameters can increase the object acquisition region, providing guidelines for future versions of the hand.

Variation simulation for compliant sheet metal assemblies with applications

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Yufeng

Sheet metals are widely used in discrete products, such as automobiles, aircraft, furniture and electronics appliances, due to their good manufacturability and low cost. A typical automotive body assembly consists of more than 300 parts welded together in more than 200 assembly fixture stations. Such an assembly system is usually quite complex, and takes a long time to develop. As the automotive customer demands products of increasing quality in a shorter time, engineers in automotive industry turn to computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools for help. Computers are an invaluable resource for engineers, not only to simplify and automate the design process, but also to share design specifications with manufacturing groups so that production systems can be tooled up quickly and efficiently. Therefore, it is beneficial to develop computerized simulation and evaluation tools for development of automotive body assembly systems. It is a well-known fact that assembly architectures (joints, fixtures, and assembly lines) have a profound impact on dimensional quality of compliant sheet metal assemblies. To evaluate sheet metal assembly architectures, a special dimensional analysis tool need be developed for predicting dimensional variation of the assembly. Then, the corresponding systematic tools can be established to help engineers select the assembly architectures. In this dissertation, a unified variation model is developed to predict variation in compliant sheet metal assemblies by considering fixture-induced rigid-body motion, deformation and springback. Based on the unified variation model, variation propagation models in multiple assembly stations with various configurations are established. To evaluate the dimensional capability of assembly architectures, quantitative indices are proposed based on the sensitivity matrix, which are independent of the variation level of the process. Examples are given to demonstrate their applications in selecting robust assembly

Insects traversing grass-like vertical compliant beams

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chen; Fearing, Ronald; Full, Robert

2014-03-01

Small running animals encounter many challenging terrains. These terrains can be filled with 3D, multi-component obstacles. Here, we study cockroaches (Blaberus discoidalis) moving through grass-like vertical compliant beams during escape. We created an apparatus to control and vary geometric parameters and mechanical properties of model grass including height, width, thickness, lateral and fore-aft spacings, angle, number of layers, stiffness, and damping. We observed a suite of novel locomotor behaviors not previously described on simpler 2D ground. When model grass height was >2 × body length and lateral spacing was test our hypothesis, we modified body shape by adding either a rectangular or an oval plate onto its dorsal surface, and found that P dropped by an order of magnitude and t more than doubled. Upon removal of either plate, both P and t recovered. Locomotor kinematics and geometry effectively coupled to terrain properties enables negotiation of 3D, multi-component obstacles, and provides inspiration for small robots to navigate such terrain with minimal sensing and control.

MIG version 0.0 model interface guidelines: Rules to accelerate installation of numerical models into any compliant parent code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brannon, R.M.; Wong, M.K.

1996-08-01

A set of model interface guidelines, called MIG, is presented as a means by which any compliant numerical material model can be rapidly installed into any parent code without having to modify the model subroutines. Here, {open_quotes}model{close_quotes} usually means a material model such as one that computes stress as a function of strain, though the term may be extended to any numerical operation. {open_quotes}Parent code{close_quotes} means a hydrocode, finite element code, etc. which uses the model and enforces, say, the fundamental laws of motion and thermodynamics. MIG requires the model developer (who creates the model package) to specify model needs in a standardized but flexible way. MIG includes a dictionary of technical terms that allows developers and parent code architects to share a common vocabulary when specifying field variables. For portability, database management is the responsibility of the parent code. Input/output occurs via structured calling arguments. As much model information as possible (such as the lists of required inputs, as well as lists of precharacterized material data and special needs) is supplied by the model developer in an ASCII text file. Every MIG-compliant model also has three required subroutines to check data, to request extra field variables, and to perform model physics. To date, the MIG scheme has proven flexible in beta installations of a simple yield model, plus a more complicated viscodamage yield model, three electromechanical models, and a complicated anisotropic microcrack constitutive model. The MIG yield model has been successfully installed using identical subroutines in three vectorized parent codes and one parallel C++ code, all predicting comparable results. By maintaining one model for many codes, MIG facilitates code-to-code comparisons and reduces duplication of effort, thereby reducing the cost of installing and sharing models in diverse new codes.

Drinking Water Quality and the Geospatial Distribution of Notified Gastro-Intestinal Infections.

Science.gov (United States)

Grilc, Eva; Gale, Ivanka; Veršič, Aleš; Žagar, Tina; Sočan, Maja

2015-09-01

Even brief episodes of fecal contamination of drinking water can lead directly to illness in the consumers. In water-borne outbreaks, the connection between poor microbial water quality and disease can be quickly identified. The impact of non-compliant drinking water samples due to E. coli taken for regular monitoring on the incidence of notified acute gastrointestinal infections has not yet been studied. The objective of this study was to analyse the geographical distribution of notified acute gastrointestinal infections (AGI) in Slovenia in 2010, with hotspot identification. The second aim of the study was to correlate the fecal contamination of water supply system on the settlement level with the distribution of notified AGI cases. Spatial analysis using geo-information technology and other methods were used. Hot spots with the highest proportion of notified AGI cases were mainly identified in areas with small supply zones. The risk for getting AGI was drinking water contaminated with E. coli from supply zones with 50-1000 users: RR was 1.25 and significantly greater than one (p-value less than 0.001). This study showed the correlation between the frequency of notified AGI cases and non-compliant results in drinking water monitoring.

Standardization of 32P activity determination method in soil-root cores for root distribution studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, R.B.; Ghildyal, B.P.

1976-01-01

The root distribution of wheat variety UP 301 was obtained by determining the 32 P activity in soil-root cores by two methods, viz., ignition and triacid digestion. Root distribution obtained by these two methods was compared with that by standard root core washing procedure. The percent error in root distribution as determined by triacid digestion method was within +- 2.1 to +- 9.0 as against +- 5.5 to +- 21.2 by ignition method. Thus triacid digestion method proved better over the ignition method. (author)

MHD peristaltic motion of Johnson-Segalman fluid in a channel with compliant walls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayat, T.; Javed, Maryiam; Asghar, S.

2008-01-01

A mathematical model for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of a Johnson-Segalman fluid in a channel with compliant walls is analyzed. The flow is engendered due to sinusoidal waves on the channel walls. A series solution is developed for the case in which the amplitude ratio is small. Our computations show that the mean axial velocity of a Johnson-Segalman fluid is smaller than that of a viscous fluid. The variations of various interesting dimensionless parameters are graphed and discussed

On the Linear Relation between the Mean and the Standard Deviation of a Response Time Distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan; Brown, Scott

2007-01-01

Although it is generally accepted that the spread of a response time (RT) distribution increases with the mean, the precise nature of this relation remains relatively unexplored. The authors show that in several descriptive RT distributions, the standard deviation increases linearly with the mean. Results from a wide range of tasks from different…

Real-time on a standard UNIX workstation?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glanzman, T.

1992-09-01

This is a report of an ongoing R ampersand D project which is investigating the use of standard UNIX workstations for the real-time data acquisition from a major new experimental initiative, the SLAC B Factory (PEP II). For this work an IBM RS/6000 workstation running the AIX operating system is used. Real-time extensions to the UNIX operating system are explored and performance measured. These extensions comprise a set of AIX-specific and POSIX-compliant system services. Benchmark comparisons are made with embedded processor technologies. Results are presented for a simple prototype on-line system for laboratory-testing of a new prototype drift chamber

Vehicular ad hoc networks standards, solutions, and research

CERN Document Server

Molinaro, Antonella; Scopigno, Riccardo

2015-01-01

This book presents vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) from the their onset, gradually going into technical details, providing a clear understanding of both theoretical foundations and more practical investigation. The editors gathered top-ranking authors to provide comprehensiveness and timely content; the invited authors were carefully selected from a list of who’s who in the respective field of interest: there are as many from Academia as from Standardization and Industry sectors from around the world. The covered topics are organized around five Parts starting from an historical overview of vehicular communications and standardization/harmonization activities (Part I), then progressing to the theoretical foundations of VANETs and a description of the day-one standard-compliant solutions (Part II), hence going into details of vehicular networking and security (Part III) and to the tools to study VANETs, from mobility and channel models, to network simulators and field trial methodologies (Part IV), and fi...

THE EFFECT OF UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE STANDARD AND QUALITY OF

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JELENA TOSKOVIC

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In the early 1990s the Western Balkan countries entered the transition process which involved the transition from a centrally-planned to a market economy. Thus, these countries were forced to adhere to the basic neoliberal principles based on the Washington consensus, which has promoted the liberalization, privatization and stabilization. This model, in all transition countries, and thus the countries of the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, was governed by the same guidelines. However, the consequence occurred but economic and social crisis that led to decades of growth of economic inequality. Deformation of the unequal distribution led to the economic and social stratification which is disabled out of the economic crisis in which these countries found. In this paper we analyzed indicators Gini coefficient, the standard of living and quality of life that affect the life of the inhabitants of the Western Balkans. Gini coefficient as the most commonly used measure for measuring economic inequality, measured the distribution of income or consumption expenditure among households or individuals who within an economy deviates from the even distribution. The standard of living is determined by the totality of the conditions of life and work of the individual layers of the population of a country in a given time period.It is related to quality of life and is used for comparative reviews and comparisons of geographic areas, a number of vacation days, and then to compare different periods in history and more. Quality of life is intangible thesis, which includes the assessment of quality of life factors such as employment, income, health, education, science, energy, knowledge and technology, the environment, human rights, protection and recreation, infrastructure, national security, public safety, etc. All these factors combine to affect the life of the population, which from the beginning of the

Influenza and other respiratory viruses: standardizing disease severity in surveillance and clinical trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Rath, Barbara; Conrad, Tim; Myles, Puja; Alchikh, Maren; Ma, Xiaolin; Hoppe, Christian; Tief, Franziska; Chen, Xi; Obermeier, Patrick; Kisler, Bron; Schweiger, Brunhilde

2017-06-01

Influenza-Like Illness is a leading cause of hospitalization in children. Disease burden due to influenza and other respiratory viral infections is reported on a population level, but clinical scores measuring individual changes in disease severity are urgently needed. Areas covered: We present a composite clinical score allowing individual patient data analyses of disease severity based on systematic literature review and WHO-criteria for uncomplicated and complicated disease. The 22-item ViVI Disease Severity Score showed a normal distribution in a pediatric cohort of 6073 children aged 0-18 years (mean age 3.13; S.D. 3.89; range: 0 to 18.79). Expert commentary: The ViVI Score was correlated with risk of antibiotic use as well as need for hospitalization and intensive care. The ViVI Score was used to track children with influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus, human rhinovirus, and adenovirus infections and is fully compliant with regulatory data standards. The ViVI Disease Severity Score mobile application allows physicians to measure disease severity at the point-of care thereby taking clinical trials to the next level.

Evaluation of Load Analysis Methods for NASAs GIII Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge Project

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, Josue; Miller, Eric J.

2016-01-01

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC), and FlexSys Inc. (Ann Arbor, Michigan) have collaborated to flight test the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) flaps. These flaps were installed on a Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (GAC) GIII aircraft and tested at AFRC at various deflection angles over a range of flight conditions. External aerodynamic and inertial load analyses were conducted with the intention to ensure that the change in wing loads due to the deployed ACTE flap did not overload the existing baseline GIII wing box structure. The objective of this paper was to substantiate the analysis tools used for predicting wing loads at AFRC. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models and distributed mass inertial models were developed for predicting the loads on the wing. The analysis tools included TRANAIR (full potential) and CMARC (panel) models. Aerodynamic pressure data from the analysis codes were validated against static pressure port data collected in-flight. Combined results from the CFD predictions and the inertial load analysis were used to predict the normal force, bending moment, and torque loads on the wing. Wing loads obtained from calibrated strain gages installed on the wing were used for substantiation of the load prediction tools. The load predictions exhibited good agreement compared to the flight load results obtained from calibrated strain gage measurements.

The Determinants of Voluntary Risk Disclosures: The Case of Shariah Compliant Companies in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosli Nurul Fida

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Risk reporting is essential in notifying investors on how companies manage the risks they engage in. Even though companies nowadays release information through press releases, corporate websites, and other forms of communications, they still have to disclose more information in their annual reports. The objective of this study is to examine the determinants of voluntary risk disclosures of Shariah compliant companies (ShCCs in Malaysia, focusing on the religiosity factor and the ownership structure. A quantitative analysis using secondary data was employed as a method to assess the annual reports of 116 Shariah compliant companies in Malaysia for the financial years of 2012 and 2013. The findings of this study reveal that the voluntary risk disclosures in ShCCs on average are not more than sixty per cent. This study indicates no relationship between the religiosity of board members and directors’ ownership to the level of voluntary risk disclosure. More importantly, this study finds the relationship between the existence of government ownership and voluntary risk disclosure in ShCCs. The study adds value to the current body of knowledge in voluntary risk disclosures and suggests the importance of risk management information in the annual reports of ShCCs as Malaysia grows as a leading country in the Islamic economy.

The Puller-Follower Control of Compliant and Noncompliant Antagonistic Tendon Drives in Robotic Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veljko Potkonjak

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a new control strategy for noncompliant and compliant antagonistic tendon drives. It is applied to a succession of increasingly complex single-joint systems, starting with a linear and noncompliant system and ending with a revolute, nonlinearly tendon coupled and compliant system. The last configuration mimics the typical human joint structure, used as a model for certain joints of the anthropomimetic robot ECCEROBOT. The control strategy is based on a biologically inspired puller-follower concept, which distinguishes the roles of the agonist and antagonist motors. One actuator, the puller, is considered as being primarily responsible for the motion, while the follower prevents its tendon from becoming slack by maintaining its tendon force at some non-zero level. Certain movements require switching actuator roles; adaptive co-contraction is used to prevent tendons slackening, while maintaining energetic efficiency. The single-joint control strategy is then evaluated in a multi-joint system. Dealing with the gravitational and dynamic effects arising from the coupling in a multi-joint system, a robust control design has to be applied with on-line gravity compensation. Finally, an experiment corresponding to object grasping is presented to show the controller's robustness to external disturbances.

Variation in the standard deviation of the lure rating distribution: Implications for estimates of recollection probability.

Science.gov (United States)

Dopkins, Stephen; Varner, Kaitlin; Hoyer, Darin

2017-10-01

In word recognition semantic priming of test words increased the false-alarm rate and the mean of confidence ratings to lures. Such priming also increased the standard deviation of confidence ratings to lures and the slope of the z-ROC function, suggesting that the priming increased the standard deviation of the lure evidence distribution. The Unequal Variance Signal Detection (UVSD) model interpreted the priming as increasing the standard deviation of the lure evidence distribution. Without additional parameters the Dual Process Signal Detection (DPSD) model could only accommodate the results by fitting the data for related and unrelated primes separately, interpreting the priming, implausibly, as decreasing the probability of target recollection (DPSD). With an additional parameter, for the probability of false (lure) recollection the model could fit the data for related and unrelated primes together, interpreting the priming as increasing the probability of false recollection. These results suggest that DPSD estimates of target recollection probability will decrease with increases in the lure confidence/evidence standard deviation unless a parameter is included for false recollection. Unfortunately the size of a given lure confidence/evidence standard deviation relative to other possible lure confidence/evidence standard deviations is often unspecified by context. Hence the model often has no way of estimating false recollection probability and thereby correcting its estimates of target recollection probability.

The Determinants of Voluntary Risk Disclosures: The Case of Shariah Compliant Companies in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Rosli Nurul Fida; Mohammed Nor Farizal; Sanusi Zuraidah Mohd

2017-01-01

Risk reporting is essential in notifying investors on how companies manage the risks they engage in. Even though companies nowadays release information through press releases, corporate websites, and other forms of communications, they still have to disclose more information in their annual reports. The objective of this study is to examine the determinants of voluntary risk disclosures of Shariah compliant companies (ShCCs) in Malaysia, focusing on the religiosity factor and the ownership st...

Regional drought assessment using a distributed hydrological model coupled with Standardized Runoff Index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Shen

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Drought assessment is essential for coping with frequent droughts nowadays. Owing to the large spatio-temporal variations in hydrometeorology in most regions in China, it is very necessary to use a physically-based hydrological model to produce rational spatial and temporal distributions of hydro-meteorological variables for drought assessment. In this study, the large-scale distributed hydrological model Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC was coupled with a modified standardized runoff index (SRI for drought assessment in the Weihe River basin, northwest China. The result indicates that the coupled model is capable of reasonably reproducing the spatial distribution of drought occurrence. It reflected the spatial heterogeneity of regional drought and improved the physical mechanism of SRI. This model also has potential for drought forecasting, early warning and mitigation, given that accurate meteorological forcing data are available.

Compliant Task Execution and Learning for Safe Mixed-Initiative Human-Robot Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Shuonan; Conrad, Patrick R.; Shah, Julie A.; Williams, Brian C.; Mittman, David S.; Ingham, Michel D.; Verma, Vandana

2011-01-01

We introduce a novel task execution capability that enhances the ability of in-situ crew members to function independently from Earth by enabling safe and efficient interaction with automated systems. This task execution capability provides the ability to (1) map goal-directed commands from humans into safe, compliant, automated actions, (2) quickly and safely respond to human commands and actions during task execution, and (3) specify complex motions through teaching by demonstration. Our results are applicable to future surface robotic systems, and we have demonstrated these capabilities on JPL's All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer (ATHLETE) robot.

A data science based standardized Gini index as a Lorenz dominance preserving measure of the inequality of distributions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ultsch, Alfred; Lötsch, Jörn

2017-01-01

The Gini index is a measure of the inequality of a distribution that can be derived from Lorenz curves. While commonly used in, e.g., economic research, it suffers from ambiguity via lack of Lorenz dominance preservation. Here, investigation of large sets of empirical distributions of incomes of the World's countries over several years indicated firstly, that the Gini indices are centered on a value of 33.33% corresponding to the Gini index of the uniform distribution and secondly, that the Lorenz curves of these distributions are consistent with Lorenz curves of log-normal distributions. This can be employed to provide a Lorenz dominance preserving equivalent of the Gini index. Therefore, a modified measure based on log-normal approximation and standardization of Lorenz curves is proposed. The so-called UGini index provides a meaningful and intuitive standardization on the uniform distribution as this characterizes societies that provide equal chances. The novel UGini index preserves Lorenz dominance. Analysis of the probability density distributions of the UGini index of the World's counties income data indicated multimodality in two independent data sets. Applying Bayesian statistics provided a data-based classification of the World's countries' income distributions. The UGini index can be re-transferred into the classical index to preserve comparability with previous research.

A data science based standardized Gini index as a Lorenz dominance preserving measure of the inequality of distributions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfred Ultsch

Full Text Available The Gini index is a measure of the inequality of a distribution that can be derived from Lorenz curves. While commonly used in, e.g., economic research, it suffers from ambiguity via lack of Lorenz dominance preservation. Here, investigation of large sets of empirical distributions of incomes of the World's countries over several years indicated firstly, that the Gini indices are centered on a value of 33.33% corresponding to the Gini index of the uniform distribution and secondly, that the Lorenz curves of these distributions are consistent with Lorenz curves of log-normal distributions. This can be employed to provide a Lorenz dominance preserving equivalent of the Gini index. Therefore, a modified measure based on log-normal approximation and standardization of Lorenz curves is proposed. The so-called UGini index provides a meaningful and intuitive standardization on the uniform distribution as this characterizes societies that provide equal chances. The novel UGini index preserves Lorenz dominance. Analysis of the probability density distributions of the UGini index of the World's counties income data indicated multimodality in two independent data sets. Applying Bayesian statistics provided a data-based classification of the World's countries' income distributions. The UGini index can be re-transferred into the classical index to preserve comparability with previous research.

Application of extreme value distribution function in the determination of standard meteorological parameters for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Haimei; Liu Xinjian; Qiu Lin; Li Fengju

2014-01-01

Based on the meteorological data from weather stations around several domestic nuclear power plants, the statistical results of extreme minimum temperatures, minimum. central pressures of tropical cyclones and some other parameters are calculated using extreme value I distribution function (EV- I), generalized extreme value distribution function (GEV) and generalized Pareto distribution function (GP), respectively. The influence of different distribution functions and parameter solution methods on the statistical results of extreme values is investigated. Results indicate that generalized extreme value function has better applicability than the other two distribution functions in the determination of standard meteorological parameters for nuclear power plants. (authors)

Design and development of broadband piezoelectric vibration energy harvester based on compliant orthoplanar spring

Science.gov (United States)

Dhote, Sharvari

With advancement in technology, power requirements are reduced drastically for sensor nodes. The piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters generate sufficient power to low-powered sensor nodes. The main requirement of energy harvester is to provide a broad bandwidth. A conventional linear harvester does not satisfy this requirement. Therefore, the research focus is shifted to exploiting nonlinearity to widen the bandwidth of the harvester. Although nonlinear techniques are promising for broadening a bandwidth, reverse sweep shows reduced response as compared to the forward sweep. To overcome this issue, this thesis presents the design and development of a broadband piezoelectric vibration energy harvester based on a nonlinear multi-frequency compliant orthoplanar spring. This thesis is divided into three parts. The first part presents the design and experimental study of a tri-leg compliant orthoplanar spring for a broadband energy harvesting. The harvester performance is enhanced through the use of lightweight masses, which bring nonlinear vibration modes closer. The performance of the harvester is analyzed through development of a mathematical model based on the Duffing oscillator. The experimental and numerical results are in good agreement. The parametric study shows that an optimum performance is achieved by further reducing a gap in between the vibration modes using different weight masses. In the second part of the research, multiple (bi, quad and pent) leg compliant orthoplanar springs are designed to understand their role in expanding the bandwidth and reducing gap between vibration modes. The designed harvesters are compared by calculating the figure of merits. The quad-leg design provides a better performance in terms of power density and bandwidth among all the designs. The reverse sweep response is comparable to the forward sweep in terms of bandwidth. In the final part, a magnetic force is applied to the tri-leg harvester, which enhanced the voltage

Design of a Robust Stair Climbing Compliant Modular Robot to Tackle Overhang on Stairs

OpenAIRE

Bhole, Ajinkya; Turlapati, Sri Harsha; S, Rajashekhar V.; Dixit, Jay; Shah, Suril V.; Krishna, K Madhava

2016-01-01

This paper discusses the concept and parameter design of a Robust Stair Climbing Compliant Modular Robot, capable of tackling stairs with overhangs. Modifying the geometry of the periphery of the wheels of our robot helps in tackling overhangs. Along with establishing a concept design, robust design parameters are set to minimize performance variation. The Grey-based Taguchi Method is adopted for providing an optimal setting for the design parameters of the robot. The robot prototype is shown...

Human-robot interaction: kinematics and muscle activity inside a powered compliant knee exoskeleton.

Science.gov (United States)

Knaepen, Kristel; Beyl, Pieter; Duerinck, Saartje; Hagman, Friso; Lefeber, Dirk; Meeusen, Romain

2014-11-01

Until today it is not entirely clear how humans interact with automated gait rehabilitation devices and how we can, based on that interaction, maximize the effectiveness of these exoskeletons. The goal of this study was to gain knowledge on the human-robot interaction, in terms of kinematics and muscle activity, between a healthy human motor system and a powered knee exoskeleton (i.e., KNEXO). Therefore, temporal and spatial gait parameters, human joint kinematics, exoskeleton kinetics and muscle activity during four different walking trials in 10 healthy male subjects were studied. Healthy subjects can walk with KNEXO in patient-in-charge mode with some slight constraints in kinematics and muscle activity primarily due to inertia of the device. Yet, during robot-in-charge walking the muscular constraints are reversed by adding positive power to the leg swing, compensating in part this inertia. Next to that, KNEXO accurately records and replays the right knee kinematics meaning that subject-specific trajectories can be implemented as a target trajectory during assisted walking. No significant differences in the human response to the interaction with KNEXO in low and high compliant assistance could be pointed out. This is in contradiction with our hypothesis that muscle activity would decrease with increasing assistance. It seems that the differences between the parameter settings of low and high compliant control might not be sufficient to observe clear effects in healthy subjects. Moreover, we should take into account that KNEXO is a unilateral, 1 degree-of-freedom device.

Comparing Arc-shaped Feet and Rigid Ankles with Flat Feet and Compliant Ankles for a Dynamic Walker

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuhlemann, Ilyas; Matthias Braun, Jan; Wörgötter, Florentin

2014-01-01

In this paper we show that exchanging curved feet and rigid ankles by at feet and compliant ankles improves the range of gait parameters for a bipedal dynamic walker. The new lower legs were designed such that they t to the old set-up, allowing for a direct and quantitative comparison. The dynamic...

Stability characteristics of compressible boundary layers over thermo-mechanically compliant walls

Science.gov (United States)

Dettenrieder, Fabian; Bodony, Daniel

2017-11-01

Transition prediction at hypersonic flight conditions continues to be a challenge and results in conservative safety factors that increase vehicle weight. The weight and thus cost reduction of the outer skin panels promises significant impact; however, fluid-structure interaction due to unsteady perturbations in the laminar boundary layer regime has not been systematically studied at conditions relevant for reusable, hypersonic flight. In this talk, we develop and apply convective and global stability analyses for compressible boundary layers over thermo-mechanically compliant panels. This compliance is shown to change the convective stability of the boundary layer modes, with both stabilization and destabilization observed. Finite panel lengths are shown to affect the global stability properties of the boundary layer.

Challenges in adapting imitation and reinforcement learning to compliant robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Calinon Sylvain

2011-12-01

Full Text Available There is an exponential increase of the range of tasks that robots are forecasted to accomplish. (Reprogramming these robots becomes a critical issue for their commercialization and for their applications to real-world scenarios in which users without expertise in robotics wish to adapt the robot to their needs. This paper addresses the problem of designing userfriendly human-robot interfaces to transfer skills in a fast and efficient manner. This paper presents recent work conducted at the Learning and Interaction group at ADVR-IIT, ranging from skill acquisition through kinesthetic teaching to self-refinement strategies initiated from demonstrations. Our group started to explore the use of imitation and exploration strategies that can take advantage of the compliant capabilities of recent robot hardware and control architectures.

Research on Grinding and Polishing Force Control of Compliant Flange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Chuang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The automation of the grinding and polishing process is important to improve the production efficiency of the part surfaces. In this paper, a new compliant flange mounted on the end of the industrial robots for the robotic grinding and polishing force control is developed. With regard to the non-linear and time-varying problem of the contact force, the mathematical model of the new force control system was presented and the fuzzy PID control strategy was used to drive the proposed system. Especially, the air spring and electric proportional valve is studied to establish the model. The simulation results show that the selected control strategy has quick response and good robustness, which satisfies the real-time requirements of the grinding and polishing force control in processing.

Performance demonstration of a single-frequency optically-pumped cesium beam frequency standard for space applications

Science.gov (United States)

Lecomte, S.; Haldimann, M.; Ruffieux, R.; Thomann, P.; Berthoud, P.

2017-11-01

Observatoire de Neuchâtel (ON) is developing a compact optically-pumped cesium beam frequency standard in the frame of an ESA-ARTES 5 project. The simplest optical scheme, which is based on a single optical frequency for both preparation and detection processes of atoms, has been chosen to fulfill reliability constraints of space applications. With our laboratory demonstrator operated at 852 nm (D2 line), we have measured a frequency stability of σy=2.74x10-12 τ -1/2, which is compliant with the Galileo requirement. The atomic resonator is fully compliant to be operated with a single diode laser at 894 nm (D1 line). Sensitivity measurements of the clock signal to the microwave power and to the optical pumping power are also presented. Present performance limitations are discussed and further improvements are proposed in order to reach our ultimate frequency stability goal of σy=1x10-12 τ -1/2. The clock driving software is also briefly described.

Extending Mechanical Construction Kits to Incorporate Passive and Compliant Elements for Educational Robotics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Assaf, Dorit; Larsen, Jørgen Christian; Reichardt, Markus

2012-01-01

artificial intelligence and biomechanics to students with different backgrounds. The robots we use both for research and education are usually built incorporating compliant materials as well as passive dynamics. These kind of properties are often not available in classical robot kits or mechanical...... construction kits. In this paper we describe some of the robots we use for education. So far we built the robots using 3D printing technology which is convenient but too expensive for class use. Our aim is to find cheaper, commercially available solutions. After a short review on educational robot kits...

Ultralow threading dislocation density in GaN epilayer on near-strain-free GaN compliant buffer layer and its applications in hetero-epitaxial LEDs.

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Huan-Yu; Shiojiri, Makoto; Chen, Ching-Hsiang; Yu, Sheng-Fu; Ko, Chung-Ting; Yang, Jer-Ren; Lin, Ray-Ming; Chen, Miin-Jang

2015-09-02

High threading dislocation (TD) density in GaN-based devices is a long unresolved problem because of the large lattice mismatch between GaN and the substrate, which causes a major obstacle for the further improvement of next-generation high-efficiency solid-state lighting and high-power electronics. Here, we report InGaN/GaN LEDs with ultralow TD density and improved efficiency on a sapphire substrate, on which a near strain-free GaN compliant buffer layer was grown by remote plasma atomic layer deposition. This "compliant" buffer layer is capable of relaxing strain due to the absorption of misfit dislocations in a region within ~10 nm from the interface, leading to a high-quality overlying GaN epilayer with an unusual TD density as low as 2.2 × 10(5) cm(-2). In addition, this GaN compliant buffer layer exhibits excellent uniformity up to a 6" wafer, revealing a promising means to realize large-area GaN hetero-epitaxy for efficient LEDs and high-power transistors.

SU-B-213-00: Education Council Symposium: Accreditation and Certification: Establishing Educational Standards and Evaluating Candidates Based on these Standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

The North American medical physics community validates the education received by medical physicists and the clinical qualifications for medical physicists through accreditation of educational programs and certification of medical physicists. Medical physics educational programs (graduate education and residency education) are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP), whereas medical physicists are certified by several organizations, the most familiar of which is the American Board of Radiology (ABR). In order for an educational program to become accredited or a medical physicist to become certified, the applicant must meet certain specified standards set by the appropriate organization. In this Symposium, representatives from both CAMPEP and the ABR will describe the process by which standards are established as well as the process by which qualifications of candidates for accreditation or certification are shown to be compliant with these standards. The Symposium will conclude with a panel discussion. Learning Objectives: Recognize the difference between accreditation of an educational program and certification of an individual Identify the two organizations primarily responsible for these tasks Describe the development of educational standards Describe the process by which examination questions are developed GS is Executive Secretary of CAMPEP

SU-B-213-02: Development of CAMPEP Standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beckham, W.

2015-01-01

The North American medical physics community validates the education received by medical physicists and the clinical qualifications for medical physicists through accreditation of educational programs and certification of medical physicists. Medical physics educational programs (graduate education and residency education) are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP), whereas medical physicists are certified by several organizations, the most familiar of which is the American Board of Radiology (ABR). In order for an educational program to become accredited or a medical physicist to become certified, the applicant must meet certain specified standards set by the appropriate organization. In this Symposium, representatives from both CAMPEP and the ABR will describe the process by which standards are established as well as the process by which qualifications of candidates for accreditation or certification are shown to be compliant with these standards. The Symposium will conclude with a panel discussion. Learning Objectives: Recognize the difference between accreditation of an educational program and certification of an individual Identify the two organizations primarily responsible for these tasks Describe the development of educational standards Describe the process by which examination questions are developed GS is Executive Secretary of CAMPEP

Peroxy-Titanium Complex-based inks for low temperature compliant anatase thin films.

Science.gov (United States)

Shabanov, N S; Asvarov, A Sh; Chiolerio, A; Rabadanov, K Sh; Isaev, A B; Orudzhev, F F; Makhmudov, S Sh

2017-07-15

Stable highly crystalline titanium dioxide colloids are of paramount importance for the establishment of a solution-processable library of materials that could help in bringing the advantages of digital printing to the world of photocatalysis and solar energy conversion. Nano-sized titanium dioxide in the anatase phase was synthesized by means of hydrothermal methods and treated with hydrogen peroxide to form Peroxy-Titanium Complexes (PTCs). The influence of hydrogen peroxide on the structural, optical and rheological properties of titanium dioxide and its colloidal solutions were assessed and a practical demonstration of a low temperature compliant digitally printed anatase thin film given. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Standard test method for distribution coefficients of inorganic species by the batch method

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2010-01-01

1.1 This test method covers the determination of distribution coefficients of chemical species to quantify uptake onto solid materials by a batch sorption technique. It is a laboratory method primarily intended to assess sorption of dissolved ionic species subject to migration through pores and interstices of site specific geomedia. It may also be applied to other materials such as manufactured adsorption media and construction materials. Application of the results to long-term field behavior is not addressed in this method. Distribution coefficients for radionuclides in selected geomedia are commonly determined for the purpose of assessing potential migratory behavior of contaminants in the subsurface of contaminated sites and waste disposal facilities. This test method is also applicable to studies for parametric studies of the variables and mechanisms which contribute to the measured distribution coefficient. 1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement a...

A statically balanced and bi-stable compliant end effector combined with a laparoscopic 2DoF robotic arm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lassooij, J.; Tolou, N.; Tortora, G.; Caccavaro, S.; Menciassi, A.; Herder, J.L.

2012-01-01

This article presents the design of a newly developed 2DoF robotic arm with a novel statically balanced and bi-stable compliant grasper as the end effector for laparoscopic surgery application. The arm is based on internal motors actuating 2 rotational DoFs: pitch and roll. The positive stiffness of

Competition compliant wholesale electricity prices. An examination of the regulation on the integrity and transparency of wholesale energy market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konar, Selma

2015-01-01

The development of wholesale electricity prices showed in recent years a very fluctuating course. The starting point for ensuring competitive compliant electricity prices have uniform rules that establish effective competition in the overall wholesale electricity, ensure greater transparency in the market and prohibit market abuse influence exercised on the wholesale price. The REMIT regulation creates a first union-law rules to this standardized specifications. The volume first examines the transparency, competitiveness, and supervisory structures in the wholesale electricity before legislating a regulation. It is clear, as the transparency and supervisory structures should be designed from the wholesale electricity ideally. On this basis, the work is dealing with the REMIT regulation. The author works out to market participants relevant notification and publication requirements, the follow-up demands on the company as well as the now existing prohibitions on market abuse and the related penalty catalog and analyze the supervisory structures newly created in the wholesale electricity. Here, the work also identified the weaknesses of the regulation and shows suitable solution approaches. [de

Distributional impacts of energy-efficiency certificates vs. taxes and standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quirion, Philippe

2005-01-01

Energy efficiency certificates, dubbed 'white certificates', have been recently implemented in the United Kingdom and will soon start in Italy and France. Energy suppliers have to fund a given quantity of energy efficiency measures, or to buy 'white certificates' from other suppliers who exceed their target. We develop a partial equilibrium model to compare white certificates to other policy instruments for energy efficiency, i.e., taxes and standards. Our conclusions are: First, if white certificates are chosen, each supplier's target should be set as a percentage of the energy they sell rather than in absolute terms. Indeed the latter solution decreases sharply energy suppliers' profit since they cannot pass the cost of certificate generation on to consumers. Such a system thus risks generating a fierce opposition from these industries. Furthermore, setting individual targets independently of the evolution of market shares seems unfair. At last, this system risks creating a large rebound effect, i.e., a large increase in energy services consumption. Second, compared to taxes and standards, white certificates (with targets in percentage of energy sold) seem particularly interesting to reach a certain level of energy savings while limiting distributional effects, thus to limit oppositions to its implementation. Furthermore, they generate less rebound effect than standards and seem more able than taxes to mobilise a part of the no regret potential. However if targets are too weak there is a real risk that white certificates systems fund mostly business-as-usual energy efficiency activities, thus having little impact while delaying the implementation of other policy instruments

Aerodynamic Flight-Test Results for the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge

Science.gov (United States)

Cumming, Stephen B.; Smith, Mark S.; Ali, Aliyah N.; Bui, Trong T.; Ellsworth, Joel C.; Garcia, Christian A.

2016-01-01

The aerodynamic effects of compliant flaps installed onto a modified Gulfstream III airplane were investigated. Analyses were performed prior to flight to predict the aerodynamic effects of the flap installation. Flight tests were conducted to gather both structural and aerodynamic data. The airplane was instrumented to collect vehicle aerodynamic data and wing pressure data. A leading-edge stagnation detection system was also installed. The data from these flights were analyzed and compared with predictions. The predictive tools compared well with flight data for small flap deflections, but differences between predictions and flight estimates were greater at larger deflections. This paper describes the methods used to examine the aerodynamics data from the flight tests and provides a discussion of the flight-test results in the areas of vehicle aerodynamics, wing sectional pressure coefficient profiles, and air data.

Instrumented Compliant Wrist with Proximity and Contact Sensing for Close Robot Interaction Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pascal Laferrière

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Compliance has been exploited in various forms in robotic systems to allow rigid mechanisms to come into contact with fragile objects, or with complex shapes that cannot be accurately modeled. Force feedback control has been the classical approach for providing compliance in robotic systems. However, by integrating other forms of instrumentation with compliance into a single device, it is possible to extend close monitoring of nearby objects before and after contact occurs. As a result, safer and smoother robot control can be achieved both while approaching and while touching surfaces. This paper presents the design and extensive experimental evaluation of a versatile, lightweight, and low-cost instrumented compliant wrist mechanism which can be mounted on any rigid robotic manipulator in order to introduce a layer of compliance while providing the controller with extra sensing signals during close interaction with an object’s surface. Arrays of embedded range sensors provide real-time measurements on the position and orientation of surfaces, either located in proximity or in contact with the robot’s end-effector, which permits close guidance of its operation. Calibration procedures are formulated to overcome inter-sensor variability and achieve the highest available resolution. A versatile solution is created by embedding all signal processing, while wireless transmission connects the device to any industrial robot’s controller to support path control. Experimental work demonstrates the device’s physical compliance as well as the stability and accuracy of the device outputs. Primary applications of the proposed instrumented compliant wrist include smooth surface following in manufacturing, inspection, and safe human-robot interaction.

Dynamic monitoring of compliant bodies impacting the water surface through local strain measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Panciroli, Riccardo; Biscarini, Chiara; Jannelli, Elio; Ubertini, Filippo; Ubertini, Stefano

2016-04-01

The understanding and the experimental characterization of the evolution of impulsive loading is crucial in several fields in structural, mechanical and ocean engineering, naval architecture and aerospace. In this regards, we developed an experimental methodology to reconstruct the deformed shape of compliant bodies subjected to impulsive loadings, as those encountered in water entry events, starting from a finite number of local strain measurements performed through Fiber Bragg Gratings. The paper discusses the potential applications of the proposed methodology for: i) real-time damage detection and structural health monitoring, ii) fatigue assessment and iii) impulsive load estimation.

Bridging IMO e-Navigation Policy and Offshore Oil and Gas Operations through Geospatial Standards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filipe Modesto Da Rocha

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In offshore industry activities, the suitable onboard provision of assets location and geospatial marine information during operations is essential. Currently, most companies use its own data structures, resulting in incompatibility between processes. In order to promote the data exchange, oil and gas industry associations have pursued initiatives to standardize spatial information. In turn, the IMO - International Maritime Organization - started the implementation of e-Navigation policy, which is the standardization of technologies and protocols applied to maritime information and navigation. This paper shows relationship and integration points between maritime activities of oil and gas industry and e-Navigation technologies and processes, highlighting geospatial information. This paper also preludes out an initiative for a suitable product specification for the offshore oil and gas industry, compliant with e-Navigation and IHO S-100 international standards.

Correlations of Surface Deformation and 3D Flow Field in a Compliant Wall Turbulent Channel Flow.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jin; Zhang, Cao; Katz, Joseph

2015-11-01

This study focuses on the correlations between surface deformation and flow features, including velocity, vorticity and pressure, in a turbulent channel flow over a flat, compliant Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) wall. The channel centerline velocity is 2.5 m/s, and the friction Reynolds number is 2.3x103. Analysis is based on simultaneous measurements of the time resolved 3D velocity and surface deformation using tomographic PIV and Mach-Zehnder Interferometry. The volumetric pressure distribution is calculated plane by plane by spatially integrating the material acceleration using virtual boundary, omni-directional method. Conditional sampling based on local high/low pressure and deformation events reveals the primary flow structures causing the deformation. High pressure peaks appear at the interface between sweep and ejection, whereas the negative deformations peaks (dent) appear upstream, under the sweeps. The persistent phase lag between flow and deformations are presumably caused by internal damping within the PDMS. Some of the low pressure peaks and strong ejections are located under the head of hairpin vortices, and accordingly, are associated with positive deformation (bump). Others bumps and dents are correlated with some spanwise offset large inclined quasi-streamwise vortices that are not necessarily associated with hairpins. Sponsored by ONR.

Optimal transformations leading to normal distributions of positron emission tomography standardized uptake values

Science.gov (United States)

Scarpelli, Matthew; Eickhoff, Jens; Cuna, Enrique; Perlman, Scott; Jeraj, Robert

2018-02-01

The statistical analysis of positron emission tomography (PET) standardized uptake value (SUV) measurements is challenging due to the skewed nature of SUV distributions. This limits utilization of powerful parametric statistical models for analyzing SUV measurements. An ad-hoc approach, which is frequently used in practice, is to blindly use a log transformation, which may or may not result in normal SUV distributions. This study sought to identify optimal transformations leading to normally distributed PET SUVs extracted from tumors and assess the effects of therapy on the optimal transformations. Methods. The optimal transformation for producing normal distributions of tumor SUVs was identified by iterating the Box-Cox transformation parameter (λ) and selecting the parameter that maximized the Shapiro-Wilk P-value. Optimal transformations were identified for tumor SUVmax distributions at both pre and post treatment. This study included 57 patients that underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET scans (publically available dataset). In addition, to test the generality of our transformation methodology, we included analysis of 27 patients that underwent 18F-Fluorothymidine (18F-FLT) PET scans at our institution. Results. After applying the optimal Box-Cox transformations, neither the pre nor the post treatment 18F-FDG SUV distributions deviated significantly from normality (P  >  0.10). Similar results were found for 18F-FLT PET SUV distributions (P  >  0.10). For both 18F-FDG and 18F-FLT SUV distributions, the skewness and kurtosis increased from pre to post treatment, leading to a decrease in the optimal Box-Cox transformation parameter from pre to post treatment. There were types of distributions encountered for both 18F-FDG and 18F-FLT where a log transformation was not optimal for providing normal SUV distributions. Conclusion. Optimization of the Box-Cox transformation, offers a solution for identifying normal SUV transformations for when

PCI Compliance Understand and Implement Effective PCI Data Security Standard Compliance

CERN Document Server

Chuvakin, Anton

2010-01-01

Identity theft and other confidential information theft have now topped the charts as the #1 cybercrime. In particular, credit card data is preferred by cybercriminals. Is your payment processing secure and compliant?. Now in its second edition, PCI Compliance has been revised to follow the new PCI DSS standard 1.2.1. Also new to this edition: Each chapter has how-to guidance to walk you through implementing concepts, and real-world scenarios to help you relate to the information and better grasp how it impacts your data. This book provides the information that you need to understand the curre

Tanning lamps ultraviolet emissions and compliance with technical standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonino, A.; Facta, S.; Saudino, S.; Anglesio, L.; D'Amore, G.

2009-01-01

In this work the compliance of tanning lamps with technical standards EN 60335-2-27 'Household and similar electrical appliances-Safety. Part 2: Particular requirements for appliances for skin exposure to ultraviolet and infrared radiation' was analysed. Results of this analysis showed that none of the examined technical documentation produced by the lamps manufacturers is fully compliant with the standard technique. Furthermore data reported in the same manuals, such as effective radiant exposure or irradiance, would indicate that these sources may be the cause of undue exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. For this reason a measurement campaign on UV lamps used in tanning salons was organised. The first results of these measurements seem to confirm the doubts raised from the analysis of the lamp manuals: the use of a tanning lamp can lead to UV radiation exposure levels higher than reference maximum values recommended by EN 60335-2-27. (authors)

Model-Based Experimental Development of Passive Compliant Robot Legs from Fiberglass Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shang-Chang Lin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We report on the methodology of developing compliant, half-circular, and composite robot legs with designable stiffness. First, force-displacement experiments on flat cantilever composites made by one or multifiberglass cloths are executed. By mapping the cantilever mechanics to the virtual spring model, the equivalent elastic moduli of the composites can be derived. Next, by using the model that links the curved beam mechanics back to the virtual spring, the resultant stiffness of the composite in a half-circular shape can be estimated without going through intensive experimental tryouts. The overall methodology has been experimentally validated, and the fabricated composites were used on a hexapod robot to perform walking and leaping behaviors.

Malachi’s concept of a Torah-compliant community (Ml 3:22 [MT] and its associated implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Blessing O. Boloje

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on Malachi’s distinctive claims that guarantee a well-ordered community, namely the validity and feasibility of a Torah-compliant community. Since Torah compliance is a fundamental core of Israel’s life, in the book of Malachi, Yahweh’s Torah functions as the reliable and invariable authority for the community well-being as a whole. Community well-being as pictured by Malachi is created not only by Yahweh but also as the consequent contemplation and action of community. Malachi notes clearly that it is the sins of the community as a whole that renders it inconceivable that Yahweh’s blessings should attend to them as they are now, and Malachi demands certain definite and substantial actions as preconditions to the manifestation of the desired expectations. To him the secret of creating and maintaining a healthy, viable community and living as people in covenant relationship with Yahweh, is by ‘remembering’ (upholding and practicing Yahweh’s Torah. Accordingly, Malachi enjoined his audience to remember the Torah of Moses, which constitutes the fundamental dimensions of their relationship with Yahweh. This article is thus an attempt to understand Malachi’s concept of a Torah-compliant community and its associated blessings of happiness and shalom.

Improved GMP-compliant multi-dose production and quality control of 6-[18F]fluoro-L-DOPA.

Science.gov (United States)

Luurtsema, G; Boersma, H H; Schepers, M; de Vries, A M T; Maas, B; Zijlma, R; de Vries, E F J; Elsinga, P H

2017-01-01

6-[ 18 F]Fluoro-L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (FDOPA) is a frequently used radiopharmaceutical for detecting neuroendocrine and brain tumors and for the differential diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. To meet the demand for FDOPA, a high-yield GMP-compliant production method is required. Therefore, this study aimed to improve the FDOPA production and quality control procedures to enable distribution of the radiopharmaceutical over distances.FDOPA was prepared by electrophilic fluorination of the trimethylstannyl precursor with [ 18 F]F 2 , produced from [ 18 O] 2 via the double-shoot approach, leading to FDOPA with higher specific activity as compared to FDOPA which was synthesized, using [ 18 F]F 2 produced from 20 Ne, leading to FDOPA with a lower specific activity. The quality control of the product was performed using a validated UPLC system and compared with quality control with a conventional HPLC system. Impurities were identified using UPLC-MS. The [ 18 O] 2 double-shoot radionuclide production method yielded significantly more [ 18 F]F 2 with less carrier F 2 than the conventional method starting from 20 Ne. After adjustment of radiolabeling parameters substantially higher amounts of FDOPA with higher specific activity could be obtained. Quality control by UPLC was much faster and detected more side-products than HPLC. UPLC-MS showed that the most important side-product was FDOPA-quinone, rather than 6-hydroxydopa as suggested by the European Pharmacopoeia. The production and quality control of FDOPA were significantly improved by introducing the [ 18 O] 2 double-shoot radionuclide production method, and product analysis by UPLC, respectively. As a result, FDOPA is now routinely available for clinical practice and for distribution over distances.

SU-B-213-05: Development of ABR Certification Standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seibert, J.

2015-01-01

The North American medical physics community validates the education received by medical physicists and the clinical qualifications for medical physicists through accreditation of educational programs and certification of medical physicists. Medical physics educational programs (graduate education and residency education) are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP), whereas medical physicists are certified by several organizations, the most familiar of which is the American Board of Radiology (ABR). In order for an educational program to become accredited or a medical physicist to become certified, the applicant must meet certain specified standards set by the appropriate organization. In this Symposium, representatives from both CAMPEP and the ABR will describe the process by which standards are established as well as the process by which qualifications of candidates for accreditation or certification are shown to be compliant with these standards. The Symposium will conclude with a panel discussion. Learning Objectives: Recognize the difference between accreditation of an educational program and certification of an individual Identify the two organizations primarily responsible for these tasks Describe the development of educational standards Describe the process by which examination questions are developed GS is Executive Secretary of CAMPEP

Compliant lightweight non-invasive standalone “Marine Skin” tagging system

KAUST Repository

Nassar, Joanna M.

2018-04-16

Current marine research primarily depends on weighty and invasive sensory equipment and telemetric network to understand the marine environment, including the diverse fauna it contains, as a function of animal behavior and size, as well as equipment longevity. To match animal morphology and activity within the surrounding marine environment, here we show a physically flexible and stretchable skin-like and waterproof autonomous multifunctional system, integrating Bluetooth, memory chip, and high performance physical sensors. The sensory tag is mounted on a swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus) and is capable of continuous logging of depth, temperature, and salinity within the harsh ocean environment. The fully packaged, ultra-lightweight (<2.4 g in water), and compliant “Marine Skin” system does not have any wired connection enabling safe and weightless cutting-edge approach to monitor and assess marine life and the ecosystem’s health to support conservation and management of marine ecosystems.

Kinematic Analysis and Optimization of a New Compliant Parallel Micromanipulator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qingsong Xu

2008-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a new three translational degrees of freedom (DOF compliant parallel micromanipulator (CPM is proposed, which has an excellent accuracy of parallel mechanisms with flexure hinges. The system is established by a proper selection of hardware and analyzed via the derived pseudo-rigid-body model. In view of the physical constraints imposed by both the piezoelectric actuators and flexure hinges, the CPM's reachable workspace is determined analytically, where a maximum cylinder defined as an usable workspace can be inscribed. Moreover, the optimal design of the CPM with the consideration of the usable workspace size and global dexterity index simultaneously is carried out by utilizing the approaches of direct search method, genetic algorithm (GA, and particle swarm optimization (PSO, respectively. The simulation results show that the PSO is the best method for the optimization, and the results are valuable in the design of a new micromanipulator.

Metallized compliant 3D microstructures for dry contact thermal conductance enhancement

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Jin; Wang, Jicheng; Zhong, Yang; Pan, Liang; Weibel, Justin A.

2018-05-01

Microstructured three-dimensional (3D) materials can be engineered to enable new capabilities for various engineering applications; however, microfabrication of large 3D structures is typically expensive due to the conventional top-down fabrication scheme. Herein we demonstrated the use of projection micro-stereolithography and electrodeposition as cost-effective and high-throughput methods to fabricate compliant 3D microstructures as a thermal interface material (TIM). This novel TIM structure consists of an array of metallized micro-springs designed to enhance the dry contact thermal conductance between nonflat surfaces under low interface pressures (10s-100s kPa). Mechanical compliance and thermal resistance measurements confirm that this dry contact TIM can achieve conformal contact between mating surfaces with a nonflatness of approximately 5 µm under low interface pressures.

Human-Robot Interaction during Walking with a Powered Compliant Knee Exoskeleton

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meeusen Romain

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Determinants of locomotor training involve taskspecificity, repeatability, variability, intensity and self-initiative. KNEXO, a unilateral knee exoskeleton has been developed to study the effects of compliant assistance during treadmill gait. Overall, walking within KNEXO, leads to asymmetric kinematics (Figure 1 and changes in naturally occurring muscle activity. Walking without KNEXO and with KNEXO in unassisted mode is difficult to compare as the device is unilateral and the pneumatic muscles give, although weight-compensated, a certain amount of inertia to the movement. Walking with KNEXO in high compliance resembles walking with KNEXO in unassisted mode. Overall, kinematic and EMG data show that the device has its shortcomings (unilateral, 1 DoF, 1 joint when assisting healthy gait, yet it gives opportunities to study the effects of assistanceas-needed on gait biomechanics.

Developing Archive Information Packages for Data Sets: Early Experiments with Digital Library Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Duerr, R. E.; Yang, M.; Gooyabadi, M.; Lee, C.

2008-12-01

The key to interoperability between systems is often metadata, yet metadata standards in the digital library and data center communities have evolved separately. In the data center world NASA's Directory Interchange Format (DIF), the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM), and most recently the international Geographic Information: Metadata (ISO 19115:2003) are used for descriptive metadata at the data set level to allow catalog interoperability; but use of anything other than repository- based metadata standards for the individual files that comprise a data set is rare, making true interoperability, at the data rather than data set level, across archives difficult. While the Open Archival Information Systems (OAIS) Reference Model with its call for creating Archive Information Packages (AIP) containing not just descriptive metadata but also preservation metadata is slowly being adopted in the community, the PREservation Metadata Implementation Strategies (PREMIS) standard, the only extant OAIS- compliant preservation metadata standard, has scarcely even been recognized as being applicable to the community. The digital library community in the meantime has converged upon the Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS) for interoperability between systems as evidenced by support for the standard by digital library systems such as Fedora and Greenstone. METS is designed to allow inclusion of other XML-based standards as descriptive and administrative metadata components. A recent Stanford study suggests that a combination of METS with included FGDC and PREMIS metadata could work well for individual granules of a data set. However, some of the lessons learned by the data center community over the last 30+ years of dealing with digital data are 1) that data sets as a whole need to be preserved and described and 2) that discovery and access mechanisms need to be hierarchical. Only once a user has reviewed a data set description and determined

Glottal aerodynamics in compliant, life-sized vocal fold models

Science.gov (United States)

McPhail, Michael; Dowell, Grant; Krane, Michael

2013-11-01

This talk presents high-speed PIV measurements in compliant, life-sized models of the vocal folds. A clearer understanding of the fluid-structure interaction of voiced speech, how it produces sound, and how it varies with pathology is required to improve clinical diagnosis and treatment of vocal disorders. Physical models of the vocal folds can answer questions regarding the fundamental physics of speech, as well as the ability of clinical measures to detect the presence and extent of disorder. Flow fields were recorded in the supraglottal region of the models to estimate terms in the equations of fluid motion, and their relative importance. Experiments were conducted over a range of driving pressures with flow rates, given by a ball flowmeter, and subglottal pressures, given by a micro-manometer, reported for each case. Imaging of vocal fold motion, vector fields showing glottal jet behavior, and terms estimated by control volume analysis will be presented. The use of these results for a comparison with clinical measures, and for the estimation of aeroacoustic source strengths will be discussed. Acknowledge support from NIH R01 DC005642.

RELIABLE COGNITIVE DIMENSIONAL DOCUMENT RANKING BY WEIGHTED STANDARD CAUCHY DISTRIBUTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S Florence Vijila

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Categorization of cognitively uniform and consistent documents such as University question papers are in demand by e-learners. Literature indicates that Standard Cauchy distribution and the derived values are extensively used for checking uniformity and consistency of documents. The paper attempts to apply this technique for categorizing question papers according to four selective cognitive dimensions. For this purpose cognitive dimensional keyword sets of these four categories (also termed as portrayal concepts are assumed and an automatic procedure is developed to quantify these dimensions in question papers. The categorization is relatively accurate when checked with manual methods. Hence simple and well established term frequency / inverse document frequency ‘tf/ IDF’ technique is considered for automating the categorization process. After the documents categorization, standard Cauchy formula is applied to rank order the documents that have the least differences among Cauchy value, (according to Cauchy theorem so as obtain consistent and uniform documents in an order or ranked. For the purpose of experiments and social survey, seven question papers (documents have been designed with various consistencies. To validate this proposed technique social survey is administered on selective samples of e-learners of Tamil Nadu, India. Results are encouraging and conclusions drawn out of the experiments will be useful to researchers of concept mining and categorizing documents according to concepts. Findings have also contributed utility value to e-learning system designers.

7 CFR 250.24 - Distributing agency performance standards.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... commodity assistance levels; (4) Ordering and allocating donated food based on participation data for those... selected donated foods that may be cost-effectively distributed to them. (e) Warehousing and distribution. Distributing agencies shall use a warehousing and distribution system that is efficient, cost effective and...

Gold internal standard correction for elemental imaging of soft tissue sections by LA-ICP-MS: element distribution in eye microstructures.

Science.gov (United States)

Konz, Ioana; Fernández, Beatriz; Fernández, M Luisa; Pereiro, Rosario; González, Héctor; Alvarez, Lydia; Coca-Prados, Miguel; Sanz-Medel, Alfredo

2013-04-01

Laser ablation coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry has been developed for the elemental imaging of Mg, Fe and Cu distribution in histological tissue sections of fixed eyes, embedded in paraffin, from human donors (cadavers). This work presents the development of a novel internal standard correction methodology based on the deposition of a homogeneous thin gold film on the tissue surface and the use of the (197)Au(+) signal as internal standard. Sample preparation (tissue section thickness) and laser conditions were carefully optimized, and internal normalisation using (197)Au(+) was compared with (13)C(+) correction for imaging applications. (24)Mg(+), (56)Fe(+) and (63)Cu(+) distributions were investigated in histological sections of the anterior segment of the eye (including the iris, ciliary body, cornea and trabecular meshwork) and were shown to be heterogeneously distributed along those tissue structures. Reproducibility was assessed by imaging different human eye sections from the same donor and from ten different eyes from adult normal donors, which showed that similar spatial maps were obtained and therefore demonstrate the analytical potential of using (197)Au(+) as internal standard. The proposed analytical approach could offer a robust tool with great practical interest for clinical studies, e.g. to investigate trace element distribution of metals and their alterations in ocular diseases.

Full GMP-Compliant Validation of Bone Marrow-Derived Human CD133+ Cells as Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product for Refractory Ischemic Cardiomyopathy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Belotti

2015-01-01

Full Text Available According to the European Medicine Agency (EMA regulatory frameworks, Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP represent a new category of drugs in which the active ingredient consists of cells, genes, or tissues. ATMP-CD133 has been widely investigated in controlled clinical trials for cardiovascular diseases, making CD133+ cells one of the most well characterized cell-derived drugs in this field. To ensure high quality and safety standards for clinical use, the manufacturing process must be accomplished in certified facilities following standard operative procedures (SOPs. In the present work, we report the fully compliant GMP-grade production of ATMP-CD133 which aims to address the treatment of chronic refractory ischemic heart failure. Starting from bone marrow (BM, ATMP-CD133 manufacturing output yielded a median of 6.66 × 106 of CD133+ cells (range 2.85 × 106–30.84 × 106, with a viability ranged between 96,03% and 99,97% (median 99,87% and a median purity of CD133+ cells of 90,60% (range 81,40%–96,20%. Based on these results we defined our final release criteria for ATMP-CD133: purity ≥ 70%, viability ≥ 80%, cellularity between 1 and 12 × 106 cells, sterile, and endotoxin-free. The abovementioned criteria are currently applied in our Phase I clinical trial (RECARDIO Trial.

Full GMP-compliant validation of bone marrow-derived human CD133(+) cells as advanced therapy medicinal product for refractory ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Belotti, Daniela; Gaipa, Giuseppe; Bassetti, Beatrice; Cabiati, Benedetta; Spaltro, Gabriella; Biagi, Ettore; Parma, Matteo; Biondi, Andrea; Cavallotti, Laura; Gambini, Elisa; Pompilio, Giulio

2015-01-01

According to the European Medicine Agency (EMA) regulatory frameworks, Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) represent a new category of drugs in which the active ingredient consists of cells, genes, or tissues. ATMP-CD133 has been widely investigated in controlled clinical trials for cardiovascular diseases, making CD133(+) cells one of the most well characterized cell-derived drugs in this field. To ensure high quality and safety standards for clinical use, the manufacturing process must be accomplished in certified facilities following standard operative procedures (SOPs). In the present work, we report the fully compliant GMP-grade production of ATMP-CD133 which aims to address the treatment of chronic refractory ischemic heart failure. Starting from bone marrow (BM), ATMP-CD133 manufacturing output yielded a median of 6.66 × 10(6) of CD133(+) cells (range 2.85 × 10(6)-30.84 × 10(6)), with a viability ranged between 96,03% and 99,97% (median 99,87%) and a median purity of CD133(+) cells of 90,60% (range 81,40%-96,20%). Based on these results we defined our final release criteria for ATMP-CD133: purity ≥ 70%, viability ≥ 80%, cellularity between 1 and 12 × 10(6) cells, sterile, and endotoxin-free. The abovementioned criteria are currently applied in our Phase I clinical trial (RECARDIO Trial).

Full GMP-Compliant Validation of Bone Marrow-Derived Human CD133+ Cells as Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product for Refractory Ischemic Cardiomyopathy

Science.gov (United States)

Belotti, Daniela; Gaipa, Giuseppe; Bassetti, Beatrice; Cabiati, Benedetta; Spaltro, Gabriella; Biagi, Ettore; Parma, Matteo; Biondi, Andrea; Cavallotti, Laura; Gambini, Elisa; Pompilio, Giulio

2015-01-01

According to the European Medicine Agency (EMA) regulatory frameworks, Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) represent a new category of drugs in which the active ingredient consists of cells, genes, or tissues. ATMP-CD133 has been widely investigated in controlled clinical trials for cardiovascular diseases, making CD133+ cells one of the most well characterized cell-derived drugs in this field. To ensure high quality and safety standards for clinical use, the manufacturing process must be accomplished in certified facilities following standard operative procedures (SOPs). In the present work, we report the fully compliant GMP-grade production of ATMP-CD133 which aims to address the treatment of chronic refractory ischemic heart failure. Starting from bone marrow (BM), ATMP-CD133 manufacturing output yielded a median of 6.66 × 106 of CD133+ cells (range 2.85 × 106–30.84 × 106), with a viability ranged between 96,03% and 99,97% (median 99,87%) and a median purity of CD133+ cells of 90,60% (range 81,40%–96,20%). Based on these results we defined our final release criteria for ATMP-CD133: purity ≥ 70%, viability ≥ 80%, cellularity between 1 and 12 × 106 cells, sterile, and endotoxin-free. The abovementioned criteria are currently applied in our Phase I clinical trial (RECARDIO Trial). PMID:26495296

Stress relaxation insensitive designs for metal compliant mechanism threshold accelerometers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Vilorio

2015-12-01

Full Text Available We present two designs for metal compliant mechanisms for use as threshold accelerometers which require zero external power. Both designs rely on long, thin flexures positioned orthogonally to a flat body. The first design involves cutting or stamping a thin spring-steel sheet and then bending elements to form the necessary thin flexors. The second design uses precut spring-steel flexure elements mounted into a mold which is then filled with molten tin to form a bimetallic device. Accelerations necessary to switch the devices between bistable states were measured using a centrifuge. Both designs showed very little variation in threshold acceleration due to stress relaxation over a period of several weeks. Relatively large variations in threshold acceleration were observed for devices of the same design, most likely due to variations in the angle of the flexor elements relative to the main body of the devices. Keywords: Structural health monitoring, Sensor, Accelerometer, Zero power, Shock, Threshold

Compliant behaviour of redundant robot arm - experiments with null-space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petrović Petar B.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents theoretical and experimental aspects of Jacobian nullspace use in kinematically redundant robots for achieving kinetostatically consistent control of their compliant behavior. When the stiffness of the robot endpoint is dominantly influenced by the compliance of the robot joints, generalized stiffness matrix can be mapped into joint space using appropriate congruent transformation. Actuation stiffness matrix achieved by this transformation is generally nondiagonal. Off-diagonal elements of the actuation matrix can be generated by redundant actuation only (polyarticular actuators, but such kind of actuation is very difficult to realize practically in technical systems. The approach of solving this problem which is proposed in this paper is based on the use of kinematic redundancy and nullspace of the Jacobian matrix. Evaluation of the developed analytical model was done numerically by a minimal redundant robot with one redundant d.o.f. and experimentally by a 7 d.o.f. Yaskawa SIA 10F robot arm. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR35007

Development and Control of Compliant Hybrid Joints for Human-Symbiotic Mobile Manipulators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhijun Li

2008-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we develop a robot with the ability to secure human safety in humanrobot collisions arising in our living and working environments. The humansymbiotic service robot using compliant hybrid joints realizes human safety, absorbs impact force, and fulfills task. In unexpected or expected collisions with human, the arising impulse force is attenuated effectively by the proposed physical model. Owing to the displacement of the links, several recovery controls have been developed for the endeffector to maintain its desired task position after the collision. The force attenuation property has been verified through collision simulations and experiments in that the capability of the proposed passive arm in overcoming the limitations of active compliance control has been demonstrated.

Development and Control of Compliant Hybrid Joints for Human-Symbiotic Mobile Manipulators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhijun Li

2007-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we develop a robot with the ability to secure human safety in human-robot collisions arising in our living and working environments. The human-symbiotic service robot using compliant hybrid joints realizes human safety, absorbs impact force, and fulfills task. In unexpected or expected collisions with human, the arising impulse force is attenuated effectively by the proposed physical model. Owing to the displacement of the links, several recovery controls have been developed for the end-effector to maintain its desired task position after the collision. The force attenuation property has been verified through collision simulations and experiments in that the capability of the proposed passive arm in overcoming the limitations of active compliance control has been demonstrated.

Improvement of journal bearing operation at heavy misalignment using bearing flexibility and compliant liners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Kim; Klit, Peder

2012-01-01

A flexure journal bearing design is proposed that will improve operational behaviour of a journal bearing at pronounced misalignment. Using a thermoelastohydrodynamic model, it is shown that the proposed flexure journal bearing has vastly increased the hydrodynamic performance compared to the stiff...... bearing when misaligned. The hydrodynamic performance is evaluated on lubricant film thickness, pressure and temperature. Furthermore, the influence of a compliant bearing liner is investigated and it is found that it increases the hydrodynamic performance when applied to a stiff bearing, whereas...... the liner has practically no influence on the flexure journal bearing's performance....

Safety critical systems handbook a straightforward guide to functional safety : IEC 61508 (2010 edition) and related standards

CERN Document Server

Smith, David J

2010-01-01

Electrical, electronic and programmable electronic systems increasingly carry out safety functions to guard workers and the public against injury or death and the environment against pollution. The international functional safety standard IEC 61508 was revised in 2010, and this is the first comprehensive guide available to the revised standard. As functional safety is applicable to many industries, this book will have a wide readership beyond the chemical and process sector, including oil and gas, power generation, nuclear, aircraft, and automotive industries, plus project, instrumentation, design, and control engineers. * The only comprehensive guide to IEC 61508, updated to cover the 2010 amendments, that will ensure engineers are compliant with the latest process safety systems design and operation standards* Helps readers understand the process required to apply safety critical systems standards* Real-world approach helps users to interpret the standard, with case studies and best practice design examples...

Mt. Graham: optical turbulence vertical distribution with standard and high resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Masciadri, Elena; Stoesz, Jeff; Hagelin, Susanna; Lascaux, Franck

2010-07-01

A characterization of the optical turbulence vertical distribution and all the main integrated astroclimatic parameters derived from the C2N and the wind speed profiles above Mt. Graham is presented. The statistic includes measurements related to 43 nights done with a Generalized Scidar (GS) used in standard configuration with a vertical resolution of ~1 km on the whole 20-22 km and with the new technique (HVR-GS) in the first kilometer. The latter achieves a resolution of ~ 20-30 m in this region of the atmosphere. Measurements done in different periods of the year permit us to provide a seasonal variation analysis of the C2N. A discretized distribution of the typical C2N profiles useful for the Ground Layer Adaptive Optics (GLAO) simulations is provided and a specific analysis for the LBT Laser Guide Star system ARGOS case is done including the calculation of the 'gray zones' for J, H and K bands. Mt. Graham confirms to be an excellent site with median values of the seeing without dome contribution equal to 0.72", the isoplanatic angle equal to 2.5" and the wavefront coherence time equal to 4.8 msec. We provide a cumulative distribution of the percentage of turbulence developed below H* where H* is included in the (0,1 km) range. We find that 50% of the whole turbulence develops in the first 80 m from the ground. The turbulence decreasing rate is very similar to what has been observed above Mauna Kea.

Quantifying the effect of squirt flow dispersion from compliant clay porosity in clay bearing sandstones

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Morten Kanne; Fabricius, Ida Lykke

2013-01-01

Compliant porosity in the form of cracks is known to cause significant attenuation and velocity dispersion through pore pressure gradients and consequent relaxation, dubbed squirt flow. Squirt flow from cracks vanish at high confining stress due to crack closing. Studies on clay bearing sandstones......-squirt flow on the bulk modulus of a clay bearing sandstone. The predicted magnitude of the clay-squirt effect on the bulk modulus is compared with experimental data. The clay-squirt effect is found to possibly account for a significant portion of the deviances from Gassmann fluid substitution in claybearing...... sandstones....

Best Practices for Making Scientific Data Discoverable and Accessible through Integrated, Standards-Based Data Portals

Science.gov (United States)

Lucido, J. M.

2013-12-01

Scientists in the fields of hydrology, geophysics, and climatology are increasingly using the vast quantity of publicly-available data to address broadly-scoped scientific questions. For example, researchers studying contamination of nearshore waters could use a combination of radar indicated precipitation, modeled water currents, and various sources of in-situ monitoring data to predict water quality near a beach. In discovering, gathering, visualizing and analyzing potentially useful data sets, data portals have become invaluable tools. The most effective data portals often aggregate distributed data sets seamlessly and allow multiple avenues for accessing the underlying data, facilitated by the use of open standards. Additionally, adequate metadata are necessary for attribution, documentation of provenance and relating data sets to one another. Metadata also enable thematic, geospatial and temporal indexing of data sets and entities. Furthermore, effective portals make use of common vocabularies for scientific methods, units of measure, geologic features, chemical, and biological constituents as they allow investigators to correctly interpret and utilize data from external sources. One application that employs these principles is the National Ground Water Monitoring Network (NGWMN) Data Portal (http://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn), which makes groundwater data from distributed data providers available through a single, publicly accessible web application by mediating and aggregating native data exposed via web services on-the-fly into Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) compliant service output. That output may be accessed either through the map-based user interface or through the aforementioned OGC web services. Furthermore, the Geo Data Portal (http://cida.usgs.gov/climate/gdp/), which is a system that provides users with data access, subsetting and geospatial processing of large and complex climate and land use data, exemplifies the application of International Standards

JPL Space Telecommunications Radio System Operating Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Lux, James P.; Lang, Minh; Peters, Kenneth J.; Taylor, Gregory H.; Duncan, Courtney B.; Orozco, David S.; Stern, Ryan A.; Ahten, Earl R.; Girard, Mike

2013-01-01

A flight-qualified implementation of a Software Defined Radio (SDR) Operating Environment for the JPL-SDR built for the CoNNeCT Project has been developed. It is compliant with the NASA Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Architecture Standard, and provides the software infrastructure for STRS compliant waveform applications. This software provides a standards-compliant abstracted view of the JPL-SDR hardware platform. It uses industry standard POSIX interfaces for most functions, as well as exposing the STRS API (Application Programming In terface) required by the standard. This software includes a standardized interface for IP components instantiated within a Xilinx FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The software provides a standardized abstracted interface to platform resources such as data converters, file system, etc., which can be used by STRS standards conformant waveform applications. It provides a generic SDR operating environment with a much smaller resource footprint than similar products such as SCA (Software Communications Architecture) compliant implementations, or the DoD Joint Tactical Radio Systems (JTRS).

Microscopically crumpled indium-tin-oxide thin films as compliant electrodes with tunable transmittance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ong, Hui-Yng; Shrestha, Milan; Lau, Gih-Keong

2015-01-01

Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) thin films are perceived to be stiff and brittle. This letter reports that crumpled ITO thin films on adhesive poly-acrylate dielectric elastomer can make compliant electrodes, sustaining compression of up to 25% × 25% equi-biaxial strain and unfolding. Its optical transmittance reduces with crumpling, but restored with unfolding. A dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) using the 14.2% × 14.2% initially crumpled ITO thin-film electrodes is electrically activated to produce a 37% areal strain. Such electric unfolding turns the translucent DEA to be transparent, with transmittance increased from 39.14% to 52.08%. This transmittance tunability promises to make a low-cost smart privacy window

Microscopically crumpled indium-tin-oxide thin films as compliant electrodes with tunable transmittance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ong, Hui-Yng [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); School of Engineering, Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore 569830 (Singapore); Shrestha, Milan; Lau, Gih-Keong, E-mail: mgklau@ntu.edu.sg [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

2015-09-28

Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) thin films are perceived to be stiff and brittle. This letter reports that crumpled ITO thin films on adhesive poly-acrylate dielectric elastomer can make compliant electrodes, sustaining compression of up to 25% × 25% equi-biaxial strain and unfolding. Its optical transmittance reduces with crumpling, but restored with unfolding. A dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) using the 14.2% × 14.2% initially crumpled ITO thin-film electrodes is electrically activated to produce a 37% areal strain. Such electric unfolding turns the translucent DEA to be transparent, with transmittance increased from 39.14% to 52.08%. This transmittance tunability promises to make a low-cost smart privacy window.

Prototyping an online wetland ecosystem services model using open model sharing standards

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, M.; Liu, S.; Euliss, N.H.; Young, Caitlin; Mushet, D.M.

2011-01-01

Great interest currently exists for developing ecosystem models to forecast how ecosystem services may change under alternative land use and climate futures. Ecosystem services are diverse and include supporting services or functions (e.g., primary production, nutrient cycling), provisioning services (e.g., wildlife, groundwater), regulating services (e.g., water purification, floodwater retention), and even cultural services (e.g., ecotourism, cultural heritage). Hence, the knowledge base necessary to quantify ecosystem services is broad and derived from many diverse scientific disciplines. Building the required interdisciplinary models is especially challenging as modelers from different locations and times may develop the disciplinary models needed for ecosystem simulations, and these models must be identified and made accessible to the interdisciplinary simulation. Additional difficulties include inconsistent data structures, formats, and metadata required by geospatial models as well as limitations on computing, storage, and connectivity. Traditional standalone and closed network systems cannot fully support sharing and integrating interdisciplinary geospatial models from variant sources. To address this need, we developed an approach to openly share and access geospatial computational models using distributed Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques and open geospatial standards. We included a means to share computational models compliant with Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Processing Services (WPS) standard to ensure modelers have an efficient and simplified means to publish new models. To demonstrate our approach, we developed five disciplinary models that can be integrated and shared to simulate a few of the ecosystem services (e.g., water storage, waterfowl breeding) that are provided by wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America.

Principal Components Analysis on the spectral Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function of ceramic colour standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrero, A; Campos, J; Rabal, A M; Pons, A; Hernanz, M L; Corróns, A

2011-09-26

The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) is essential to characterize an object's reflectance properties. This function depends both on the various illumination-observation geometries as well as on the wavelength. As a result, the comprehensive interpretation of the data becomes rather complex. In this work we assess the use of the multivariable analysis technique of Principal Components Analysis (PCA) applied to the experimental BRDF data of a ceramic colour standard. It will be shown that the result may be linked to the various reflection processes occurring on the surface, assuming that the incoming spectral distribution is affected by each one of these processes in a specific manner. Moreover, this procedure facilitates the task of interpolating a series of BRDF measurements obtained for a particular sample. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Spectral and geometrical variation of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function of diffuse reflectance standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrero, Alejandro; Rabal, Ana María; Campos, Joaquín; Pons, Alicia; Hernanz, María Luisa

2012-12-20

A study on the variation of the spectral bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of four diffuse reflectance standards (matte ceramic, BaSO(4), Spectralon, and white Russian opal glass) is accomplished through this work. Spectral BRDF measurements were carried out and, using principal components analysis, its spectral and geometrical variation respect to a reference geometry was assessed from the experimental data. Several descriptors were defined in order to compare the spectral BRDF variation of the four materials.

A fully customizable MATLAB Framework for MSA based on ISO 5725 Standard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D’Aucelli, Giuseppe Maria; Giaquinto, Nicola; Mannatrizio, Sabino; Savino, Mario

2017-01-01

In this paper, a full featured MATLAB framework for Measurement System Analysis, fully compliant with the ISO 5725 Repeatability and Reproducibility (R and R) assessment is presented. While preserving the operations prescribed in the ISO standard, the software presents distinct improvements. First of all, all computations are made using exact closed-form formulae (instead of statistical tables) allowing a consistent analysis without limitations on the number of participating laboratories and measurements, and using custom significance levels of statistical tests. Second, a double threshold decision system for each test step has been implemented, helping the statistician to decide on the elimination of outliers/stragglers. Third, ANOVA analysis has been included. The software therefore, besides producing quickly and efficiently all the graphical and numerical results required in an inter-laboratory experiment, provide guidelines for properly updating the ISO 5725 standard. (paper)

Mechanics of fluid flow over compliant wrinkled polymeric surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Raayai, Shabnam; McKinley, Gareth; Boyce, Mary

2014-03-01

Skin friction coefficients (based on frontal area) of sharks and dolphins are lower than birds, fish and swimming beetles. By either exploiting flow-induced changes in their flexible skin or microscale textures, dolphins and sharks can change the structure of the fluid flow around them and thus reduce viscous drag forces on their bodies. Inspired by this ability, investigators have tried using compliant walls and riblet-like textures as drag reduction methods in aircraft and marine industries and have been able to achieve reductions up to 19%. Here we investigate flow-structure interaction and wrinkling of soft polymer surfaces that can emulate shark riblets and dolphin's flexible skin. Wrinkling arises spontaneously as the result of mismatched deformation of a thin stiff coating bound to a thick soft elastic substrate. Wrinkles can be fabricated by controlling the ratio of the stiffness of the coating and substrate, the applied displacement and the thickness of the coating. In this work we will examine the evolution in the kinematic structures associated with steady viscous flow over the polymer wrinkled surfaces and in particular compare the skin friction with corresponding results for flow over non-textured and rigid surfaces.

Implications of Multi-Core Architectures on the Development of Multiple Independent Levels of Security (MILS) Compliant Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-01

Two CBEA based products available for purchase were: Sony PlayStation 3 and the IBM BladeCenter QS20. The CBEA provides a single general purpose...and second generation Sony PlayStation 3 devices. Figure 13 provides the block diagram for the CMOS 90 nm Cell Broadband Engine processor [IBM07a...information between two red networks via a black network. In this scenario, a Sony PlayStation 3 is used for the CBEA-compliant processor. The CBEA

When does mechanical plantar stimulation promote sensory re-weighing: standing on a firm or compliant surface?

Science.gov (United States)

Preszner-Domjan, Andrea; Nagy, Edit; Szíver, Edit; Feher-Kiss, Anna; Horvath, Gyöngyi; Kranicz, Janos

2012-08-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different types of mechanical stimulation of the sole on standing postural stability in healthy, young adults. Fifty subjects (34 women, 16 men; mean age 23 ± 2 (mean ± SE)) stood barefoot on fixed force plates both with open and closed eyes on firm surface and then on compliant surface (foam). A modified clinical test of sensory interaction on balance protocol was employed to assess the center of gravity (COG) excursions along anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) axes on each surface and visual condition. After the baseline measurement, a stimulation was applied with an elastic spiked layer topped to the firm and then foam surface, and the COG excursions were measured during the stimulation, and then at least 30 min after the stimulation of the spiked layer, we used 10 min of manual static and glide pressure applied to the plantar surface of both feet. Immediately after manual stimulation, static balance parameters were measured again. Results showed that after manual stimulation, the sway path with closed eyes decreased significantly on the AP and ML directions on firm surface conditions. The spiked layer caused significantly decreased sway path on firm platform in both directions, but it was ineffective on compliant surface. Our results established that the activation of plantar mechanoreceptors by 10-min manual stimulation can partially compensate subjects for the absence of visual input and the lack of accurate pressure information from the supporting surface, too.

New compliant strain gauges for self-sensing dynamic deformation of flapping wings on miniature air vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Wissman, James; Perez-Rosado, Ariel; Edgerton, Alex; Levi, Benjamin M.; Karakas, Zeynep N.; Kujawski, Mark; Philipps, Alyssa; Papavizas, Nicholas; Fallon, Danielle; Bruck, Hugh A.; Smela, Elisabeth

2013-08-01

Over the past several years there has been an increasing interest in the development of miniature air vehicles (MAVs) with flapping wings. To allow these MAVs to adjust to changes in wind direction and to maximize their efficiency, it is desirable to monitor the deformation of the wing during flight. This paper presents a step in this direction, demonstrating the measurement of strain on the surface of the wing using minimally invasive compliant piezoresistive sensors. The strain gauges consisted of latex mixed with electrically conducting exfoliated graphite, and they were applied by spray coating. To calibrate the gauges, both static and dynamic testing up to 10 Hz were performed using cantilever structures. In tension the static sensitivity was a linear 0.4 Ω μɛ-1 and the gauge factor was 28; in compression, the gauge factor was -5. Although sensitivities in tension and compression differed by a factor of almost six, this was not reflected in the dynamic data, which followed the strain reversibly with little distortion. There was no attenuation with frequency, indicating a sufficiently small time constant for this application. The gauges were thin, compliant, and light enough to measure, without interference, deformations due to shape changes of the flexible wing associated with generating lift and thrust. During flapping the resistance closely tracked the generated thrust, measured on a test stand, with both signals tracing figure-8 loops as a function of wing position throughout each cycle.

New compliant strain gauges for self-sensing dynamic deformation of flapping wings on miniature air vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wissman, James; Perez-Rosado, Ariel; Edgerton, Alex; Levi, Benjamin M; Karakas, Zeynep N; Kujawski, Mark; Philipps, Alyssa; Papavizas, Nicholas; Fallon, Danielle; Bruck, Hugh A; Smela, Elisabeth

2013-01-01

Over the past several years there has been an increasing interest in the development of miniature air vehicles (MAVs) with flapping wings. To allow these MAVs to adjust to changes in wind direction and to maximize their efficiency, it is desirable to monitor the deformation of the wing during flight. This paper presents a step in this direction, demonstrating the measurement of strain on the surface of the wing using minimally invasive compliant piezoresistive sensors. The strain gauges consisted of latex mixed with electrically conducting exfoliated graphite, and they were applied by spray coating. To calibrate the gauges, both static and dynamic testing up to 10 Hz were performed using cantilever structures. In tension the static sensitivity was a linear 0.4 Ω με −1 and the gauge factor was 28; in compression, the gauge factor was −5. Although sensitivities in tension and compression differed by a factor of almost six, this was not reflected in the dynamic data, which followed the strain reversibly with little distortion. There was no attenuation with frequency, indicating a sufficiently small time constant for this application. The gauges were thin, compliant, and light enough to measure, without interference, deformations due to shape changes of the flexible wing associated with generating lift and thrust. During flapping the resistance closely tracked the generated thrust, measured on a test stand, with both signals tracing figure-8 loops as a function of wing position throughout each cycle. (paper)

Standardization of a method to study the distribution of Americium in purex process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dapolikar, T.T.; Pant, D.K.; Kapur, H.N.; Kumar, Rajendra; Dubey, K.

2017-01-01

In the present work the distribution of Americium in PUREX process is investigated in various process streams. For this purpose a method has been standardized for the determination of Am in process samples. The method involves extraction of Am with associated actinides using 30% TRPO-NPH at 0.3M HNO 3 followed by selective stripping of Am from the organic phase into aqueous phase at 6M HNO 3 . The assay of aqueous phase for Am content is carried out by alpha radiometry. The investigation has revealed that 100% Am follows the HLLW route. (author)

Etalon (standard) for surface potential distribution produced by electric activity of the heart.

Science.gov (United States)

Szathmáry, V; Ruttkay-Nedecký, I

1981-01-01

The authors submit etalon (standard) equipotential maps as an aid in the evaluation of maps of surface potential distributions in living subjects. They were obtained by measuring potentials on the surface of an electrolytic tank shaped like the thorax. The individual etalon maps were determined in such a way that the parameters of the physical dipole forming the source of the electric field in the tank corresponded to the mean vectorcardiographic parameters measured in a healthy population sample. The technique also allows a quantitative estimate of the degree of non-dipolarity of the heart as the source of the electric field.

Good manufacturing practice-compliant expansion of marrow-derived stem and progenitor cells for cell therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gastens, Martin H; Goltry, Kristin; Prohaska, Wolfgang; Tschöpe, Diethelm; Stratmann, Bernd; Lammers, Dirk; Kirana, Stanley; Götting, Christian; Kleesiek, Knut

2007-01-01

Ex vivo expansion is being used to increase the number of stem and progenitor cells for autologous cell therapy. Initiation of pivotal clinical trials testing the efficacy of these cells for tissue repair has been hampered by the challenge of assuring safe and high-quality cell production. A strategy is described here for clinical-scale expansion of bone marrow (BM)-derived stem cells within a mixed cell population in a completely closed process from cell collection through postculture processing using sterile connectable devices. Human BM mononuclear cells (BMMNC) were isolated, cultured for 12 days, and washed postharvest using either standard open procedures in laminar flow hoods or using automated closed systems. Conditions for these studies were similar to long-term BM cultures in which hematopoietic and stromal components are cultured together. Expansion of marrow-derived stem and progenitor cells was then assessed. Cell yield, number of colony forming units (CFU), phenotype, stability, and multilineage differentiation capacity were compared from the single pass perfusion bioreactor and standard flask cultures. Purification of BMMNC using a closed Ficoll gradient process led to depletion of 98% erythrocytes and 87% granulocytes, compared to 100% and 70%, respectively, for manual processing. After closed system culture, mesenchymal progenitors, measured as CD105+CD166+CD14-CD45- and fibroblastic CFU, expanded 317- and 364-fold, respectively, while CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors were depleted 10-fold compared to starting BMMNC. Cultured cells exhibited multilineage differentiation by displaying adipogenic, osteogenic, and endothelial characteristics in vitro. No significant difference was observed between manual and bioreactor cultures. Automated culture and washing of the cell product resulted in 181 x 10(6) total cells that were viable and contained fibroblastic CFU for at least 24 h of storage. A combination of closed, automated technologies enabled

Publication and Distribution of Chinese Standard and Quality Books

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Bai Demei

2010-01-01

@@ 1.A Brief Introduction to SPC Standards Press of China (SPC),founded in October,1963,is the largest publisher of standard and quality products in China.It publishes national standards,trade standards,and audio,video,electronic,and network products.

Compliant ferroelastic domains in epitaxial Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feigl, L.; McGilly, L. J.; Sandu, C. S.; Setter, N. [Ceramics Laboratory, EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne CH-1015 (Switzerland)

2014-04-28

Ordered patterns of highly compliant ferroelastic domains have been created by use of tensile strained epitaxial Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} thin films, of very low defect density, grown on DyScO{sub 3} substrates. The effect of 180° switching on well-ordered a/c 90° domain patterns is investigated by a combination of transmission electron microscopy, piezoelectric force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. It is shown that ferroelastic a-domains, having an in-plane polarization, can be created and completely removed on a local level by an out-of-plane electric field. The modifications of the ferroelastic domain pattern can be controlled by varying the parameters used during switching with a piezoresponse force microscope to produce the desired arrangement.

Biomimetic Spider Leg Joints: A Review from Biomechanical Research to Compliant Robotic Actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Landkammer

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Due to their inherent compliance, soft actuated joints are becoming increasingly important for robotic applications, especially when human-robot-interactions are expected. Several of these flexible actuators are inspired by biological models. One perfect showpiece for biomimetic robots is the spider leg, because it combines lightweight design and graceful movements with powerful and dynamic actuation. Building on this motivation, the review article focuses on compliant robotic joints inspired by the function principle of the spider leg. The mechanism is introduced by an overview of existing biological and biomechanical research. Thereupon a classification of robots that are bio-inspired by spider joints is presented. Based on this, the biomimetic robot applications referring to the spider principle are identified and discussed.

A study on compliant layers and its influence on dynamic response of a hydrodynamic journal bearing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Kim; Klit, Peder

2011-01-01

For some hydrodynamic bearing applications polymer-lined bearings are chosen over traditional metal alloy bearings due to their better wear and friction properties when operating at very thin films, e.g. in the mixed lubrication region. The introduction of a compliant layer also affects the dynamic...... used to evaluate hydrodynamic bearing designs: dynamic response, maximum pressure, minimum film thickness, wear, power loss and temperature response. The primary findings are that the maximum pressures are reduced significantly and this comes at the expense of slightly higher eccentricity ratios during...

Modal Measurements and Model Corrections of A Large Stroke Compliant Mechanism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wijma W.

2014-08-01

Full Text Available In modelling flexure based mechanisms, generally flexures are modelled perfectly aligned and nominal values are assumed for the dimensions. To test the validity of these assumptions for a two Degrees Of Freedom (DOF large stroke compliant mechanism, eigenfrequency and mode shape measurements are compared to results obtained with a flexible multibody model. The mechanism consists of eleven cross flexures and seven interconnecting bodies. From the measurements 30% lower eigenfrequencies are observed than those obtained with the model. With a simplified model, it is demonstrated that these differences can be attributed to wrongly assumed leaf spring thickness and misalignment of the leaf springs in the cross flexures. These manufacturing tolerances thus significantly affect the behaviour of the two DOF mechanism, even though it was designed using the exact constraint design principle. This design principle avoids overconstraints to limit internal stresses due to manufacturing tolerances, yet this paper shows clearly that manufacturing imperfections can still result in significantly different dynamic behaviour.

Product reformulation and nutritional improvements after new competitive food standards in schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Jahn, Jaquelyn L; Cohen, Juliana Fw; Gorski-Findling, Mary T; Hoffman, Jessica A; Rosenfeld, Lindsay; Chaffee, Ruth; Smith, Lauren; Rimm, Eric B

2018-04-01

In 2012, Massachusetts enacted school competitive food and beverage standards similar to national Smart Snacks. These standards aim to improve the nutritional quality of competitive snacks. It was previously demonstrated that a majority of foods and beverages were compliant with the standards, but it was unknown whether food manufacturers reformulated products in response to the standards. The present study assessed whether products were reformulated after standards were implemented; the availability of reformulated products outside schools; and whether compliance with the standards improved the nutrient composition of competitive snacks. An observational cohort study documenting all competitive snacks sold before (2012) and after (2013 and 2014) the standards were implemented. The sample included thirty-six school districts with both a middle and high school. After 2012, energy, saturated fat, Na and sugar decreased and fibre increased among all competitive foods. By 2013, 8 % of foods were reformulated, as were an additional 9 % by 2014. Nearly 15 % of reformulated foods were look-alike products that could not be purchased at supermarkets. Energy and Na in beverages decreased after 2012, in part facilitated by smaller package sizes. Massachusetts' law was effective in improving the nutritional content of snacks and product reformulation helped schools adhere to the law. This suggests fully implementing Smart Snacks standards may similarly improve the foods available in schools nationally. However, only some healthier reformulated foods were available outside schools.

An 802.11k Compliant Framework for Cooperative Handoff in Wireless Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Korakis Thanasis

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract In IEEE 802.11-based wireless networks, the stations (STAs are associated with the available access points (APs and communicate through them. In traditional handoff schemes, the STAs get information about the active APs in their neighborhood by scanning the available channels and listening to transmitted beacons. This paper proposes an 802.11k compliant framework for cooperative handoff where the STAs are informed about the active APs by exchanging information with neighboring STAs. Besides, the APs share useful information that can be used by the STAs in a handoff process. In this way, we minimize the delay of the scanning procedure. We evaluate the performance of our mechanisms through OPNET simulations. We demonstrate that our scheme reduces the scanning delay up to 92%. Consequently, our system is more capable in meeting the needs of QoS-sensitive applications.

Interfacial stresses in a bi-material assembly with a compliant bonding layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suhir, E; Vujosevic, M

2008-01-01

We examine an elongated bi-material adhesively bonded or soldered assembly with a continuous compliant attachment (bonding layer). The assembly is subjected to external tensile forces or to bending moments applied to one of the assembly components. We develop simple predictive analytical ('mathematical') models for the evaluation of interfacial shearing (in the case of external tensile forces) and peeling (in the case of external bending moments) stresses and strains in the bonding material. The developed models can be helpful in stress-strain analyses of assemblies of the type in question and particularly for printed-circuit-board (PCB)/surface-mounted-device (SMD) assemblies employed in electronic packaging. These models enable one to particularly evaluate the maximum interfacial stresses in the bonding material from the predicted or measured strains in the PCB in the vicinity of but still outside the surface-mounted package

Design Of Measurements For Evaluating Readiness Of Technoware Components To Meet The Required Standard Of Products

Science.gov (United States)

Fauzi, Ilham; Muharram Hasby, Fariz; Irianto, Dradjad

2018-03-01

Although government is able to make mandatory standards that must be obeyed by the industry, the respective industries themselves often have difficulties to fulfil the requirements described in those standards. This is especially true in many small and medium sized enterprises that lack the required capital to invest in standard-compliant equipment and machineries. This study aims to develop a set of measurement tools for evaluating the level of readiness of production technology with respect to the requirements of a product standard based on the quality function deployment (QFD) method. By combining the QFD methodology, UNESCAP Technometric model [9] and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), this model is used to measure a firm’s capability to fulfill government standard in the toy making industry. Expert opinions from both the governmental officers responsible for setting and implementing standards and the industry practitioners responsible for managing manufacturing processes are collected and processed to find out the technological capabilities that should be improved by the firm to fulfill the existing standard. This study showed that the proposed model can be used successfully to measure the gap between the requirements of the standard and the readiness of technoware technological component in a particular firm.

Implementation of Competitive Food and Beverage Standards in a Sample of Massachusetts Schools: The NOURISH Study (Nutrition Opportunities to Understand Reforms Involving Student Health).

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Jessica A; Rosenfeld, Lindsay; Schmidt, Nicole; Cohen, Juliana F W; Gorski, Mary; Chaffee, Ruth; Smith, Lauren; Rimm, Eric B

2015-08-01

During 2012, Massachusetts adopted comprehensive school competitive food and beverage standards that closely align with Institute of Medicine recommendations and Smart Snacks in School national standards. We examined the extent to which a sample of Massachusetts middle schools and high schools sold foods and beverages that were compliant with the state competitive food and beverage standards after the first year of implementation, and complied with four additional aspects of the regulations. Observational cohort study with data collected before implementation (Spring 2012) and 1 year after implementation (Spring 2013). School districts (N=37) with at least one middle school and one high school participated. Percent of competitive foods and beverages that were compliant with Massachusetts standards and compliance with four additional aspects of the regulations. Data were collected via school site visits and a foodservice director questionnaire. Multilevel models were used to examine change in food and beverage compliance over time. More products were available in high schools than middle schools at both time points. The number of competitive beverages and several categories of competitive food products sold in the sample of Massachusetts schools decreased following the implementation of the standards. Multilevel models demonstrated a 47-percentage-point increase in food and 46-percentage-point increase in beverage compliance in Massachusetts schools from 2012 to 2013. Overall, total compliance was higher for beverages than foods. This study of a group of Massachusetts schools demonstrated the feasibility of schools making substantial changes in response to requirements for healthier competitive foods, even in the first year of implementation. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Maternal Depression History Moderates Parenting Responses to Compliant and Noncompliant Behaviors of Children with ADHD

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Sharon R.; O’Brien, Kelly A.; Clarke, Tana L.; Liu, Yihao; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea

2014-01-01

Maternal depression and parenting are robust predictors of developmental outcomes for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, methods commonly used to examine parent-child interactions in these families do not account for temporal associations between child and parent behavior that have been theorized to maintain negative child behavior. Moreover, studies examining associations between maternal depression and parenting in families of children with ADHD have not compared mothers who were currently depressed, remitted, and never clinically depressed. This study utilized sequential analysis to examine how maternal reinforcement of compliant and noncompliant child behavior differs as a function of maternal depression history. Within the 82 participating mother-child dyads, 21 mothers were currently depressed, 29 mothers had a lifetime history of depression but were in remission for at least 1 month, and 32 mothers had never been clinically depressed. 24 girls (29.6%) and 57 boys (70.4%) between the ages of 6–12 year old (M = 8.7, SD = 2.0) and were diagnosed with ADHD. Results indicated that all mothers were less likely to respond optimally than non-optimally to child compliant and noncompliant behaviors during observed parent-child interactions; however, currently depressed mothers were least likely to reinforce child compliance and responded most coercively to child noncompliance relative to the other groups. Remitted mothers in this sample were more coercive than never clinically depressed mothers, but were more likely to follow through with commands than never clinically depressed mothers. Implications for behavioral parent training programs aimed at skill development for depressed mothers of children with ADHD are discussed. PMID:25413021

Maternal Depression History Moderates Parenting Responses to Compliant and Noncompliant Behaviors of Children with ADHD.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Sharon R; O'Brien, Kelly A; Clarke, Tana L; Liu, Yihao; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea

2015-10-01

Maternal depression and parenting are robust predictors of developmental outcomes for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, methods commonly used to examine parent-child interactions in these families do not account for temporal associations between child and parent behavior that have been theorized to maintain negative child behavior. Moreover, studies examining associations between maternal depression and parenting in families of children with ADHD have not compared mothers who were currently depressed, remitted, and never clinically depressed. This study utilized sequential analysis to examine how maternal reinforcement of compliant and noncompliant child behavior differs as a function of maternal depression history. Within the 82 participating mother-child dyads, 21 mothers were currently depressed, 29 mothers had a lifetime history of depression but were in remission for at least 1 month, and 32 mothers had never been clinically depressed. 24 girls (29.6 %) and 57 boys (70.4 %) between the ages of 6-12 years old (M = 8.7, SD = 2.0) and were diagnosed with ADHD. Results indicated that all mothers were less likely to respond optimally than non-optimally to child compliant and noncompliant behaviors during observed parent-child interactions; however, currently depressed mothers were least likely to reinforce child compliance and responded most coercively to child noncompliance relative to the other groups. Remitted mothers in this sample were more coercive than never clinically depressed mothers, but were more likely to follow through with commands than never clinically depressed mothers. Implications for behavioral parent training programs aimed at skill development for depressed mothers of children with ADHD are discussed.

A highly compliant protein native state with a spontaneous-like mechanical unfolding pathway

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heiðarsson, Pétur Orri; Valpapuram, Immanuel; Camilloni, Carlo

2012-01-01

The mechanical properties of proteins and their force-induced structural changes play key roles in many biological processes. Previous studies have shown that natively folded proteins are brittle under tension, unfolding after small mechanical deformations, while partially folded intermediate...... states, such as molten globules, are compliant and can deform elastically a great amount before crossing the transition state barrier. Moreover, under tension proteins appear to unfold through a different sequence of events than during spontaneous unfolding. Here, we describe the response to force...... of the four-α-helix acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) in the low-force regime using optical tweezers and ratcheted molecular dynamics simulations. The results of our studies reveal an unprecedented mechanical behavior of a natively folded protein. ACBP displays an atypical compliance along two nearly orthogonal...

Ownership transfer for non-federate object and time management in developing an hla compliant logistics model.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Z.

1998-01-12

A seaport simulation model, PORTSIM, has been developed for the Department of Defense (DOD) at Argonne National Laboratory. PORTSIM simulates the detailed processes of cargo loading and unloading in a seaport and provides throughput capability, resource utilization, and other important information on the bottlenecks in a seaport operation, which are crucial data in determining troop and equipment deployment capability. There are two key problems to solve in developing the HLA-compliant PORTSIM model. The first is the cargo object ownership transfer problem. In PORTSIM, cargo items, e.g. vehicles, containers, and pallets, are objects having asset attributes. Cargo comes to a seaport for loading or unloading. The ownership of a cargo object transfers from its carrier to the port and then from the port to a new carrier. Each owner of the cargo object is responsible for publishing and updating the attributes of the cargo object when it has the ownership. This creates a unique situation in developing the PORTSIM federate object model, that is, the ownership of the object instead of the attributes needs to be changed in handling the cargo object in the PORTSIM federate. The ownership management service provided by the current RTI does not directly address this issue. The second is the time management issue. PORTSIM is an event-driven simulation that models seaport operations over time. To make PORTSIM HLA compliant, time management must be addressed to allow for synchronization with other simulation models. This paper attempts to address these two issues and methodologies developed for solving these two problems.

Standardizing economic analysis in prevention will require substantial effort.

Science.gov (United States)

Guyll, Max

2014-12-01

It is exceedingly difficult to compare results of economic analyses across studies due to variations in assumptions, methodology, and outcome measures, a fact which surely decreases the impact and usefulness of prevention-related economic research. Therefore, Crowley et al. (Prevention Science, 2013) are precisely correct in their call for increased standardization and have usefully highlighted the issues that must be addressed. However, having made the need clear, the questions become what form the solution should take, and how should it be implemented. The present discussion outlines the rudiments of a comprehensive framework for promoting standardized methodology in the estimation of economic outcomes, as encouraged by Crowley et al. In short, a single, standard, reference case approach should be clearly articulated, and all economic research should be encouraged to apply that standard approach, with results from compliant analyses being reported in a central archive. Properly done, the process would increase the ability of those without specialized training to contribute to the body of economic research pertaining to prevention, and the most difficult tasks of predicting and monetizing distal outcomes would be readily completed through predetermined models. These recommendations might be viewed as somewhat forcible, insomuch as they advocate for prescribing the details of a standard methodology and establishing a means of verifying compliance. However, it is unclear that the best practices proposed by Crowley et al. will be widely adopted in the absence of a strong and determined approach.

Demonstration of the Energy Component of the Installation Master Plan Using the Net Zero Energy Planner Tool

Science.gov (United States)

2015-10-07

with conversations with stakeholders and data from sources such as maps, geographic information systems (GISs), and spreadsheets obtained in a pre...data come from Spatial Data Standards for Facilities, Infrastructure, and Environment (SDSFIE) compliant GIS, usually obtained from the installation...etc.), biogas , or synthetic gas need to be considered as part of the mix during distribution and supply optimiza- tion. They are almost always more

Evaluation of Tissue Homogenization to Support the Generation of GMP-Compliant Mesenchymal Stromal Cells from the Umbilical Cord

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryan J. Emnett

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Recent studies have demonstrated that the umbilical cord (UC is an excellent source of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs. However, current protocols for extracting and culturing UC-MSCs do not meet current good manufacturing practice (cGMP standards, in part due to the use of xenogeneic reagents. To support the development of a cGMP-compliant method, we have examined an enzyme-free isolation method utilizing tissue homogenization (t-H followed by culture in human platelet lysate (PL supplemented media. The yield and viability of cells after t-H were comparable to those obtained after collagenase digestion (Col-D. Importantly, kinetic analysis of cultured cells showed logarithmic growth over 10 tested passages, although the rate of cell division was lower for t-H as compared to Col-D. This slower growth of t-H-derived cells was also reflected in their longer population doubling time. Interestingly, there was no difference in the expression of mesenchymal markers and trilineage differentiation potential of cells generated using either method. Finally, t-H-derived cells had greater clonogenic potential compared to Col-D/FBS but not Col-D/PL and were able to maintain CFU-F capacity through P7. This bench scale study demonstrates the possibility of generating therapeutic doses of good quality UC-MSCs within a reasonable length of time using t-H and PL.

Closed-form critical earthquake response of elastic-plastic structures on compliant ground under near-fault ground motions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kotaro eKojima

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The double impulse is introduced as a substitute of the fling-step near-fault ground motion. A closed-form solution of the elastic-plastic response of a structure on compliant (flexible ground by the ‘critical double impulse’ is derived for the first time based on the solution for the corresponding structure with fixed base. As in the case of fixed-base model, only the free-vibration appears under such double impulse and the energy approach plays an important role in the derivation of the closed-form solution of a complicated elastic-plastic response on compliant ground. It is remarkable that no iteration is needed in the derivation of the critical elastic-plastic response. It is shown via the closed-form expression that, in the case of a smaller input level of double impulse to the structural strength, as the ground stiffness becomes larger, the maximum plastic deformation becomes larger. On the other hand, in the case of a larger input level of double impulse to the structural strength, as the ground stiffness becomes smaller, the maximum plastic deformation becomes larger. The criticality and validity of the proposed theory are investigated through the comparison with the response analysis to the corresponding one-cycle sinusoidal input as a representative of the fling-step near-fault ground motion. The applicability of the proposed theory to actual recorded pulse-type ground motions is also discussed.

Technical Note: Modeling a complex micro-multileaf collimator using the standard BEAMnrc distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kairn, T.; Kenny, J.; Crowe, S. B.; Fielding, A. L.; Franich, R. D.; Johnston, P. N.; Knight, R. T.; Langton, C. M.; Schlect, D.; Trapp, J. V.

2010-01-01

Purpose: The component modules in the standard BEAMnrc distribution may appear to be insufficient to model micro-multileaf collimators that have trifaceted leaf ends and complex leaf profiles. This note indicates, however, that accurate Monte Carlo simulations of radiotherapy beams defined by a complex collimation device can be completed using BEAMnrc's standard VARMLC component module. Methods: That this simple collimator model can produce spatially and dosimetrically accurate microcollimated fields is illustrated using comparisons with ion chamber and film measurements of the dose deposited by square and irregular fields incident on planar, homogeneous water phantoms. Results: Monte Carlo dose calculations for on-axis and off-axis fields are shown to produce good agreement with experimental values, even on close examination of the penumbrae. Conclusions: The use of a VARMLC model of the micro-multileaf collimator, along with a commissioned model of the associated linear accelerator, is therefore recommended as an alternative to the development or use of in-house or third-party component modules for simulating stereotactic radiotherapy and radiosurgery treatments. Simulation parameters for the VARMLC model are provided which should allow other researchers to adapt and use this model to study clinical stereotactic radiotherapy treatments.

Expansion of Human Tregs from Cryopreserved Umbilical Cord Blood for GMP-Compliant Autologous Adoptive Cell Transfer Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Howard R. Seay

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Umbilical cord blood is a traditional and convenient source of cells for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Thymic regulatory T cells (Tregs are also present in cord blood, and there is growing interest in the use of autologous Tregs to provide a low-risk, fully human leukocyte antigen (HLA-matched cell product for treating autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes. Here, we describe a good manufacturing practice (GMP-compatible Treg expansion protocol using fluorescence-activated cell sorting, resulting in a mean 2,092-fold expansion of Tregs over a 16-day culture for a median yield of 1.26 × 109 Tregs from single-donor cryopreserved units. The resulting Tregs passed prior clinical trial release criteria for Treg purity and sterility, including additional rigorous assessments of FOXP3 and Helios expression and epigenetic analysis of the FOXP3 Treg-specific demethylated region (TSDR. Compared with expanded adult peripheral blood Tregs, expanded cord blood Tregs remained more naive, as assessed by continued expression of CD45RA, produced reduced IFN-γ following activation, and effectively inhibited responder T cell proliferation. Immunosequencing of the T cell receptor revealed a remarkably diverse receptor repertoire within cord blood Tregs that was maintained following in vitro expansion. These data support the feasibility of generating GMP-compliant Tregs from cord blood for adoptive cell transfer therapies and highlight potential advantages in terms of safety, phenotypic stability, autoantigen specificity, and tissue distribution.

Standard deviation and standard error of the mean.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Dong Kyu; In, Junyong; Lee, Sangseok

2015-06-01

In most clinical and experimental studies, the standard deviation (SD) and the estimated standard error of the mean (SEM) are used to present the characteristics of sample data and to explain statistical analysis results. However, some authors occasionally muddle the distinctive usage between the SD and SEM in medical literature. Because the process of calculating the SD and SEM includes different statistical inferences, each of them has its own meaning. SD is the dispersion of data in a normal distribution. In other words, SD indicates how accurately the mean represents sample data. However the meaning of SEM includes statistical inference based on the sampling distribution. SEM is the SD of the theoretical distribution of the sample means (the sampling distribution). While either SD or SEM can be applied to describe data and statistical results, one should be aware of reasonable methods with which to use SD and SEM. We aim to elucidate the distinctions between SD and SEM and to provide proper usage guidelines for both, which summarize data and describe statistical results.

Experimental investigations of the large deflection capabilities of a compliant parallel mechanism actuated by shape memory alloy wires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sreekumar, M; Nagarajan, T; Singaperumal, M

2008-01-01

This experimental study investigates the coupled effect of the force developed by the shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators and the force required for the large deflection of an elastica member in a compliant parallel mechanism. The compliant mechanism developed in house consists of a moving platform mounted on a superelastic pillar and three SMA wire actuators to manipulate the platform. A three-axis MEMS accelerometer has been mounted on the moving platform to measure its tilt angle. Three miniature force sensors have been designed and fabricated out of cantilever beams, each mounted with a pair of strain gauges, to measure the force developed by the respective actuators. The force sensors are highly sensitive and cost effective compared to commercially available miniature force sensors. Calibration of the force sensors has been accomplished with known weights, and for the three-axis MEMS accelerometer a rotary base has been considered which is usually used in optical applications. The calibration curves obtained, with R-squared values between 0.9997 and 1.0, show that both the tilt and force sensors considered are most appropriate for the respective applications. The mechanism fixed with the sensors and the drivers for the SMA actuators is integrated with a National Instrument's data acquisition system. The experimental results have been compared with the analytical results and it was found that the relative error is less than 2%. This is a preliminary study in the development of a mechanism for eye prosthesis and similar applications

Synthesis of Porous and Mechanically Compliant Carbon Aerogels Using Conductive and Structural Additives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Macias

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We report the synthesis of conductive and mechanically compliant monolithic carbon aerogels prepared by sol-gel polycondensation of melamine-resorcinol-formaldehyde (MRF mixtures by incorporating diatomite and carbon black additives. The resulting aerogels composites displayed a well-developed porous structure, confirming that the polymerization of the precursors is not impeded in the presence of either additive. The aerogels retained the porous structure after etching off the siliceous additive, indicating adequate cross-linking of the MRF reactants. However, the presence of diatomite caused a significant fall in the pore volumes, accompanied by coarsening of the average pore size (predominance of large mesopores and macropores. The diatomite also prevented structural shrinkage and deformation of the as-prepared monoliths upon densification by carbonization, even after removal of the siliceous framework. The rigid pristine aerogels became more flexible upon incorporation of the diatomite, favoring implementation of binderless monolithic aerogel electrodes.

An implementation of a security infrastructure compliant with the Italian Personal Data Protection Code in a web-based cooperative work system.

Science.gov (United States)

Eccher, Claudio; Eccher, Lorenzo; Izzo, Umberto

2005-01-01

In this poster we describe the security solutions implemented in a web-based cooperative work frame-work for managing heart failure patients among different health care professionals involved in the care process. The solution, developed in close collaboration with the Law Department of the University of Trento, is compliant with the new Italian Personal Data Protection Code, issued in 2003, that regulates also the storing and processing of health data.

Study of relationship between radioactivity distribution, contamination burden and quality standard, accommodate energy of code river Yogyakarta

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agus Taftazani and Muzakky

2009-01-01

Study of relationship between distribution, contamination burden of gross β radioactivity and natural radionuclide in water and sediment sample from 11 observation station Code river to quality standard and maximum capacity of Code river have been done. Natural radio nuclides identification and gross β radioactivity measurement of condensed water, dry and homogeneous sediment powder (past through 100 mesh sieve) samples have been done by using spectrometer and GM counter. Radioactivity data was analyzed descriptive with histogram to show the spreading pattern of data. Contamination burden data, quality standard and maximum capacity of river Code was to descriptive analyzed by line diagram to knowing relationship between contamination burden, quality standard, and maximum capacity of Code river. The observation of water and sediment at 11 observation station show that the emitter natural radionuclides: 210 Pb, 212 Pb, 214 Pb, 226 Ra, 208 Tl, 214 Bi, 228 Ac and 40 K were detected. The analytical result conclusion was that the pattern spread of average activity gross β and were increase from upstream to downstream of the Code river samples. Contamination burden, quality standard and maximum capacity of radionuclide activity of 210 Pb, 212 Pb, 226 Ra and 228 Ac were more smaller than quality standard of river water according to regulation of Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency 02/Ka-BAPETEN/V-99 concerning quality standard of radioactivity. It’s mean that Code river still in good contamination burden for the four radionuclides. (author)

Research on sorption behavior of radionuclides under shallow land environment. Mechanism and standard methodologies for measurement of distribution coefficients of radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakamoto, Yoshiaki; Tanaka, Tadao; Takebe, Shinichi; Nagao, Seiya; Ogawa, Hiromichi; Komiya, Tomokazu; Hagiwara, Shigeru

2001-01-01

This study consists of two categories' research works. One is research on sorption mechanism of radionuclides with long half-life, which are Technetium-99, TRU elements and U series radionuclides, on soil and rocks, including a development of database of distribution coefficients of radionuclides. The database on the distribution coefficients of radionuclides with information about measurement conditions, such as shaking method, soil characteristics and solution composition, has been already opened to the public (JAERI-DATABASE 20001003). Another study is investigation on a standard methodology of the distribution coefficient of radionuclide on soils, rocks and engineering materials in Japan. (author)

No difference between mechanical perturbation training with compliant surface and manual perturbation training on knee functional performance after ACL rupture.

Science.gov (United States)

Nawasreh, Zakariya; Logerstedt, David; Failla, Mathew; Snyder-Mackler, Lynn

2017-10-27

Manual perturbation training improves dynamic knee stability and functional performance after anterior cruciate ligament rupture (ACL-rupture). However, it is limited to static standing position and does not allow time-specific perturbations at different phase of functional activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether administering mechanical perturbation training including compliant surface provides effects similar to manual perturbation training on knee functional measures after an acute ACL-rupture. Sixteen level I/II athletes with ACL-ruptures participated in this preliminary study. Eight patients received mechanical (Mechanical) and eight subjects received manual perturbation training (Manual). All patients completed a functional testing (isometric quadriceps strength, single-legged hop tests) and patient-reported measures (Knee Outcome Survey-Activities of Daily Living Scale (KOS-ADLS), Global Rating Score (GRS), International Knee Documentation Committee 2000 (IKDC 2000) at pre- and post-training. 2 × 2 ANOVA was used for data analysis. No significant group-by-time interactions were found for all measures (p > 0.18). Main effects of time were found for single hop (Pre-testing: 85.14% ± 21.07; Post-testing: 92.49% ± 17.55), triple hop (Pre-testing: 84.64% ± 14.17; Post-testing: 96.64% ± 11.14), KOS-ADLS (Pre-testing: 81.13% ± 11.12; Post-testing: 88.63% ± 12.63), GRS (Pre-testing: 68.63% ± 15.73; Post-testing: 78.81% ± 13.85), and IKDC 2000 (Pre-testing: 66.66% ± 9.85; Post-testing: 76.05% ± 14.62) (p training using compliant surfaces induce effects similar to manual perturbation training on knee functional performance after acute ACL-rupture. The clinical significance is both modes of training improve patients' functional-performance and limb-to-limb movement symmetry, and enhancing the patients' self-reported of knee functional measures after ACL rupture. Mechanical

Section for Standard and Patents - Standardization and Patents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wojtowicz, S.; Trechcinski, R.; Rybka, M.; Ryszkowska, A.; Wardaszko, J.

1997-01-01

Full text: The most important tasks of the Section in 1996 were: preparation of national standards and program of future work on standards for nuclear instrumentation and electronic equipment in nuclear engineering; organization of activities and participation in the meetings of the Commissions for Standardization No 173 Microprocessor Systems, No 266 Nuclear Instrumentation; giving opinions and expertises on national and international standards for equipment in nuclear engineering; cooperation with the Commission for Standardization No 246 Radiological Protection; control of inventiveness activity; The quality of the technical products is being improved by: a) selection of the proper types of interface systems, technical coordination and quality control; b) creation of standards at a high technical level; The Section works mainly for the Polish Committee for Standardization, the National Atomic Energy Agency, Association of Polish Electrical Engineers and Research Institutes in Poland. The activity of the Section is useful for all national institutions where backplane busses and nuclear electronic equipment is produced or used. The Section participates in the following international organizations: IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) TC 45 (Nuclear Instrumentation); ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTCl SC26 (Microprocessor systems); ESONE (European Studies on Norms for Electronics); The section takes part in popularization of nuclear technology and instrumentation in the following ways: distribution of standards and technical documentation to national institutions dealing with nuclear apparatus; collecting and distributing technical information from international organizations (e.g. ESONE); organization of technical and scientific, national and international conferences (New Generation Nuclear Power Plants - September 96, QNX in Real World - January 96); participation in the technical conference organized by the Polish Committee for

STANDARDIZED COSTS FOR WATER SUPPLY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

Science.gov (United States)

Presented within the report are cost data for construction and operation/maintenance of domestic water distribution and transmission pipelines, domestic water pumping stations, and domestic water storage reservoirs. To allow comparison of new construction with rehabilitation of e...

Ciliary metachronal wave propagation on the compliant surface of Paramecium cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Narematsu, Naoki; Quek, Raymond; Chiam, Keng-Hwee; Iwadate, Yoshiaki

2015-12-01

Ciliary movements in protozoa exhibit metachronal wave-like coordination, in which a constant phase difference is maintained between adjacent cilia. It is at present generally thought that metachronal waves require hydrodynamic coupling between adjacent cilia and the extracellular fluid. To test this hypothesis, we aspirated a Paramecium cell using a micropipette which completely sealed the surface of the cell such that no fluid could pass through the micropipette. Thus, the anterior and the posterior regions of the cell were hydrodynamically decoupled. Nevertheless, we still observed that metachronal waves continued to propagate from the anterior to the posterior ends of the cell, suggesting that in addition to hydrodynamic coupling, there are other mechanisms that can also transmit the metachronal waves. Such transmission was also observed in computational modeling where the fluid was fully decoupled between two partitions of a beating ciliary array. We also imposed cyclic stretching on the surface of live Paramecium cells and found that metachronal waves persisted in the presence of cyclic stretching. This demonstrated that, in addition to hydrodynamic coupling, a compliant substrate can also play a critical role in mediating the propagation of metachronal waves. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Importance of structural damping in the dynamic analysis of compliant deployable structures

Science.gov (United States)

Dewalque, Florence; Rochus, Pierre; Brüls, Olivier

2015-06-01

Compliant mechanisms such as tape springs are often used on satellites to deploy appendices, e.g. solar panels, antennas, telescopes and solar sails. Their main advantage comes from the fact that their motion results from the elastic deformation of structural components and the absence of actuators or external energy sources. The mechanical behaviour of a tape spring is intrinsically complex and nonlinear involving buckling, hysteresis and self-locking phenomena. In the majority of the previous works, dynamic simulations were performed without any physical representation of the structural damping. These simulations could be successfully achieved because of the presence of numerical damping in the transient solver. However, in this case, the dynamic response turns out to be quite sensitive to the amount of numerical dissipation, so that the predictive capabilities of the model are questionable. In this work based on numerical case studies, we show that the dynamic simulation of a tape spring can be made less sensitive to numerical parameters when the structural dissipation is taken into account.

Synthesis and Evaluation of A High Precision 3D-Printed Ti6Al4V Compliant Parallel Manipulator

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Minh Tuan; Teo, Tat Joo; Huat Yeo, Song; Wang, Pan; Nai, Mui Ling Sharon

2017-12-01

A novel 3D printed compliant parallel manipulator (CPM) with θX - θX - Z motions is presented in this paper. This CPM is synthesized using the beam-based method, a new structural optimization approach, to achieve optimized stiffness properties with targeted dynamic behavior. The CPM performs high non-actuating stiffness based on the predicted stiffness ratios of about 3600 for translations and 570 for rotations, while the dynamic response is fast with the targeted first resonant mode of 100Hz. A prototype of the synthesized CPM is fabricated using the electron beam melting (EBM) technology with Ti6Al4V material. Driven by three voice-coil (VC) motors, the CPM demonstrated a positioning resolution of 50nm along the Z axis and an angular resolution of ~0.3 “about the X and Y axes, the positioning accuracy is also good with the measured values of ±25.2nm and ±0.17” for the translation and rotations respectively. Experimental investigation also shows that this large workspace CPM has a first resonant mode of 98Hz and the stiffness behavior matches the prediction with the highest deviation of 11.2%. Most importantly, the full workspace of 10° × 10° × 7mm of the proposed CPM can be achieved, that demonstrates 3D printed compliant mechanisms can perform large elastic deformation. The obtained results show that CPMs printed by EBM technology have predictable mechanical characteristics and are applicable in precise positioning systems.

Bidirectional reflectance distribution function of Spectralon white reflectance standard illuminated by incoherent unpolarized and plane-polarized light.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhandari, Anak; Hamre, Børge; Frette, Øvynd; Zhao, Lu; Stamnes, Jakob J; Kildemo, Morten

2011-06-01

A Lambert surface would appear equally bright from all observation directions regardless of the illumination direction. However, the reflection from a randomly scattering object generally has directional variation, which can be described in terms of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF). We measured the BRDF of a Spectralon white reflectance standard for incoherent illumination at 405 and 680 nm with unpolarized and plane-polarized light from different directions of incidence. Our measurements show deviations of the BRDF for the Spectralon white reflectance standard from that of a Lambertian reflector that depend both on the angle of incidence and the polarization states of the incident light and detected light. The non-Lambertian reflection characteristics were found to increase more toward the direction of specular reflection as the angle of incidence gets larger.

Development of surface coatings for air-lubricated, compliant journal bearings to 650 C

Science.gov (United States)

Bhushan, B.; Gray, S.

1978-01-01

Surface coatings for an air-lubricated, compliant journal for an automotive gas turbine engine were tested to find those capable of withstanding temperatures of either 540 C (1000 F) or 650 C (1200 F). Also, the coatings have to be capable of surviving the start-stop sliding contact cycles prior to rotor lift-off and at touchdown. Selected coating combinations were tested in start-stop tests at 14 kPa (2 psi) loading for 2000 cycles at room and maximum temperatures. Specific coating recommendations are: Cdo and graphite on foil versus chrome carbide on journal up to 370 C (700 F); NASA PS-120 (Tribaloy 400, silver, and CaF2) on journal versus uncoated foil up to 540 C (1000 F); and chemically adherent Cr2O3 on journal and foil up to 650 C (1200 F). The chemically adherent Cr2O3 coating system was further tested successfully at 35 kPa (5 psi) loading for 2000 start-stop cycles.

Investigating How to Align Schools' Marketing Environments With Federal Standards for Competitive Foods.

Science.gov (United States)

Polacsek, Michele; O'Brien, Liam M; Pratt, Elizabeth; Whatley-Blum, Janet; Adler, Sabrina

2017-03-01

Limiting food and beverage marketing to children is a promising approach to influence children's nutrition behavior. School-based marketing influences nutrition behavior and studies have consistently found marketing for nonnutritious foods and beverages in schools. No studies have examined the resources necessary to align school marketing environments with federal school nutrition standards. The purpose of this study was to determine how to improve school marketing environments so that they align with new federal competitive food nutrition standards. We assessed food marketing environments in 3 Portland, Maine schools using the Food and Beverage Marketing Survey (FBMS) and provided technical assistance to bring their marketing environments into conformity with the federal competitive food regulations, tracking resources and strategies for marketing removal. Noncompliant marketing was significantly reduced pre- to postintervention. Intervention strategies were facilitated by the School Health Coordinator and school-based wellness teams. Low monetary resources were required to remove marketing not compliant with federal nutrition standards for foods sold in schools. Several key challenges remain to sustain efforts. This study provides timely information for policymakers to support crafting policies that address the realities of school nutrition environments and universal enforcement challenges. © 2017, American School Health Association.

Standard Model processes

CERN Document Server

Mangano, M.L.; Aguilar-Saavedra, Juan Antonio; Alekhin, S.; Badger, S.; Bauer, C.W.; Becher, T.; Bertone, V.; Bonvini, M.; Boselli, S.; Bothmann, E.; Boughezal, R.; Cacciari, M.; Carloni Calame, C.M.; Caola, F.; Campbell, J.M.; Carrazza, S.; Chiesa, M.; Cieri, L.; Cimaglia, F.; Febres Cordero, F.; Ferrarese, P.; D'Enterria, D.; Ferrera, G.; Garcia i Tormo, X.; Garzelli, M.V.; Germann, E.; Hirschi, V.; Han, T.; Ita, H.; Jäger, B.; Kallweit, S.; Karlberg, A.; Kuttimalai, S.; Krauss, F.; Larkoski, A.J.; Lindert, J.; Luisoni, G.; Maierhöfer, P.; Mattelaer, O.; Martinez, H.; Moch, S.; Montagna, G.; Moretti, M.; Nason, P.; Nicrosini, O.; Oleari, C.; Pagani, D.; Papaefstathiou, A.; Petriello, F.; Piccinini, F.; Pierini, M.; Pierog, T.; Pozzorini, S.; Re, E.; Robens, T.; Rojo, J.; Ruiz, R.; Sakurai, K.; Salam, G.P.; Salfelder, L.; Schönherr, M.; Schulze, M.; Schumann, S.; Selvaggi, M.; Shivaji, A.; Siodmok, A.; Skands, P.; Torrielli, P.; Tramontano, F.; Tsinikos, I.; Tweedie, B.; Vicini, A.; Westhoff, S.; Zaro, M.; Zeppenfeld, D.; CERN. Geneva. ATS Department

2017-06-22

This report summarises the properties of Standard Model processes at the 100 TeV pp collider. We document the production rates and typical distributions for a number of benchmark Standard Model processes, and discuss new dynamical phenomena arising at the highest energies available at this collider. We discuss the intrinsic physics interest in the measurement of these Standard Model processes, as well as their role as backgrounds for New Physics searches.

Introduction and application of non-stationary standardized precipitation index considering probability distribution function and return period

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Junehyeong; Sung, Jang Hyun; Lim, Yoon-Jin; Kang, Hyun-Suk

2018-05-01

The widely used meteorological drought index, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), basically assumes stationarity, but recent changes in the climate have led to a need to review this hypothesis. In this study, a new non-stationary SPI that considers not only the modified probability distribution parameter but also the return period under the non-stationary process was proposed. The results were evaluated for two severe drought cases during the last 10 years in South Korea. As a result, SPIs considered that the non-stationary hypothesis underestimated the drought severity than the stationary SPI despite that these past two droughts were recognized as significantly severe droughts. It may be caused by that the variances of summer and autumn precipitation become larger over time then it can make the probability distribution wider than before. This implies that drought expressions by statistical index such as SPI can be distorted by stationary assumption and cautious approach is needed when deciding drought level considering climate changes.

A nonlinear multi-mode wideband piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvester using compliant orthoplanar spring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dhote, Sharvari, E-mail: sharvari.dhote@mail.utoronto.ca; Zu, Jean; Zhu, Yang [Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King' s College Road, Toronto, Ontario M5S-3G8 (Canada)

2015-04-20

In this paper, a nonlinear wideband multi-mode piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvester (PVEH) is proposed based on a compliant orthoplanar spring (COPS), which has an advantage of providing multiple vibration modes at relatively low frequencies. The PVEH is made of a tri-leg COPS flexible structure, where three fixed-guided beams are capable of generating strong nonlinear oscillations under certain base excitation. A prototype harvester was fabricated and investigated through both finite-element analysis and experiments. The frequency response shows multiple resonance which corresponds to a hardening type of nonlinear resonance. By adding masses at different locations on the COPS structure, the first three vibration modes are brought close to each other, where the three hardening nonlinear resonances provide a wide bandwidth for the PVEH. The proposed PVEH has enhanced performance of the energy harvester in terms of a wide frequency bandwidth and a high-voltage output under base excitations.

Compliant tiedown system for securing a cask for transporting radioactive materials to a vehicle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richardson, R.V.

1991-01-01

This patent describes a tiedown system for releasably securing a cask having opposing trunnions to a cradle assembly that in turn is mounted onto the deck and frame of a vehicle. The cradle assembly includes at least one cradle member for supporting the weight of the cask, and wherein the cask trunnions are displaceable in opposite vertical directions relative to the cradle member of the cradle assembly when the assembly is torsionally flexed, and the cask rotates relative to the cradle member, about a horizontally oriented axis comprising a compliant linkage means including a tie-bar means operably connected between the trunnions and moveably mounted within the cradle assembly for applying a biasing force on each of the trunnions that remains substantially constant despite the opposite vertical displacement of the trunnions relative to the cradle member that results from the torsional flexing of the vehicle deck

Comparison of Portfolio Selection and Performance: Shari’ah-Compliant and Socially Responsible Investment Portfolios

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet Asutay

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This study examines the effect of Islamic screening criteria on Shari’ah-compliant portfolio selection and performance compared to Socially Responsible Investment (SRI portfolio. Each portfolio constructed from 15 stocks based on FTSE 100 using data from year 1997. Mean-variance portfolio optimization is employed with some financial ratios added as constraints for the Shari’ah portfolio. Annual expected return of each portfolio from 2008 to 2013 is used to calculate Sharpe’s ratio, Treynor ratio and Jensen’s alpha as the performance measurement tools. Macroeconomic variables are assessed using ordinary least square to examine whether they influence the portfolios’ expected returns or not. The result finds that Shari’ah portfolio has a better performance than SRI from year 2008 to 2010 shown by higher value of the measurement tools. However, from 2011 to 2013, SRI portfolio has better performance than Shari’ah portfolio. 

Can we reduce the cost of illness with more compliant patients? An estimation of the effect of 100% compliance with hypertension treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Koçkaya, Güvenç; Wertheimer, Albert

2011-06-01

The current study was designed to calculate the direct cost of noncompliance of hypertensive patients to the US health system. Understanding these expenses can inform screening and education budget policy regarding expenditure levels that can be calculated to be cost-beneficial. The study was conducted in 3 parts. First, a computer search of National Institutes of Health Web sites and professional society Web sites for organizations with members that treat hypertension, and a PubMed search were performed to obtain the numbers required for calculations. Second, formulas were developed to estimate the risk of noncompliance and undiagnosed hypertension. Third, risk calculations were performed using the information obtained in part 1 and the formulas developed in part 2. Direct risk reduction for stroke caused by hypertension, heart attack, kidney disease, and heart disease was calculated for a 100% compliant strategy. Risk, case, and cost reduction for a 100% compliant strategy for hypertension were 32%, 8.5 million and US$ 72 billion, respectively. Our analysis means that the society can spend up to the cost of noncompliance in screening, education, and prevention efforts in an attempt to reduce these costly and traumatic sequelae of poorly controlled hypertension in the light of published analysis.

Data analysis in an Object Request Broker environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malon, D.M.; May, E.N.; Grossman, R.L.; Day, C.T.; Quarrie, D.R.

1995-01-01

Computing for the Next Millenium will require software interoperability in heterogeneous, increasingly object-oriented environments. The Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) is a software industry effort, under the aegis of the Object Management Group (OMG), to standardize mechanisms for software interaction among disparate applications written in a variety of languages and running on a variety of distributed platforms. In this paper, we describe some of the design and performance implications for software that must function in such a brokered environment in a standards-compliant way. We illustrate these implications with a physics data analysis example as a case study

Data analysis in an object request broker environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malon, David M.; May, Edward N.; Grossman, Robert L.; Day, Christopher T.; Quarrie, David R.

1996-01-01

Computing for the Next Millennium will require software interoperability in heterogeneous, increasingly object-oriented environments. The Common Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) is a software industry effort, under the aegis of the Object Management Group (OMG), to standardize mechanism for software interaction among disparate applications written in a variety of languages and running on a variety of distributed platforms. In this paper, we describe some of the design and performance implications for software that must function is such a brokered environment in a standards-compliant way. We illustrate these implications with a physics data analysis example as a case study. (author)

Distributed intelligence in CAMAC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunz, P.F.

1977-01-01

A simple extension of the CAMAC standard is described which allows distributed intelligence at the crate level. By distributed intelligence is meant that there is more than one source of control in a system. This standard is just now emerging from the NIM Dataway Working Group and its European counterpart. 1 figure

Standardization of Good Manufacturing Practice-compliant production of bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stromal cells for immunotherapeutic applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Wuchter, Patrick; Bieback, Karen; Schrezenmeier, Hubert; Bornhäuser, Martin; Müller, Lutz P; Bönig, Halvard; Wagner, Wolfgang; Meisel, Roland; Pavel, Petra; Tonn, Torsten; Lang, Peter; Müller, Ingo; Renner, Matthias; Malcherek, Georg; Saffrich, Rainer; Buss, Eike C; Horn, Patrick; Rojewski, Markus; Schmitt, Anita; Ho, Anthony D; Sanzenbacher, Ralf; Schmitt, Michael

2015-02-01

Human mesenchymal stem or stromal cells (MSCs) represent a potential resource not only for regenerative medicine but also for immunomodulatory cell therapies. The application of different MSC culture protocols has significantly hampered the comparability of experimental and clinical data from different laboratories and has posed a major obstacle for multicenter clinical trials. Manufacturing of cell products for clinical application in the European Community must be conducted in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice and requires a manufacturing license. In Germany, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut as the Federal Authority for Vaccines and Biomedicines is critically involved in the approval process. This report summarizes a consensus meeting between researchers, clinicians and regulatory experts on standard quality requirements for MSC production. The strategy for quality control testing depends on the product's cell composition, the manufacturing process and the indication and target patient population. Important quality criteria in this sense are, among others, the immunophenotype of the cells, composition of the culture medium and the risk for malignant transformation, as well as aging and the immunosuppressive potential of the manufactured MSCs. This position paper intends to provide relevant information to interested parties regarding these criteria to foster the development of scientifically valid and harmonized quality standards and to support approval of MSC-based investigational medicinal products. Copyright © 2015 International Society for Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of a low mobility IEEE 802.15.4 compliant VANET system for urban environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Nazabal, Juan Antonio; Falcone, Francisco; Fernández-Valdivielso, Carlos; Matías, Ignacio Raúl

2013-05-29

The use of Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs) is growing nowadays and it includes both roadside-to-vehicle communication (RVC) and inter-vehicle communication (IVC). The purpose of VANETs is to exchange useful information between vehicles and the roadside infrastructures for making an intelligent use of them. There are several possible applications for this technology like: emergency warning system for vehicles, cooperative adaptive cruise control or collision avoidance, among others. The objective of this work is to develop a VANET prototype system for urban environments using IEEE 802.15.4 compliant devices. Simulation-based values of the estimated signal strength and radio link quality values are obtained and compared with measurements in outdoor conditions to validate an implemented VANET system. The results confirm the possibility of implementing low cost vehicular communication networks operating at moderate vehicular speeds.

A cross-platform GUI to control instruments compliant with SCPI through VISA

Science.gov (United States)

Roach, Eric; Liu, Jing

2015-10-01

In nuclear physics experiments, it is necessary and important to control instruments from a PC, which automates many tasks that require human operations otherwise. Not only does this make long term measurements possible, but it also makes repetitive operations less error-prone. We created a graphical user interface (GUI) to control instruments connected to a PC through RS232, USB, LAN, etc. The GUI is developed using Qt Creator, a cross-platform integrated development environment, which makes it portable to various operating systems, including those commonly used in mobile devices. NI-VISA library is used in the back end so that the GUI can be used to control instruments connected through various I/O interfaces without any modification. Commonly used SCPI commands can be sent to different instruments using buttons, sliders, knobs, and other various widgets provided by Qt Creator. As an example, we demonstrate how we set and fetch parameters and how to retrieve and display data from an Agilent Digital Storage Oscilloscope X3034A with the GUI. Our GUI can be easily used for other instruments compliant with SCPI and VISA with little or no modification.

Load speed regulation in compliant mechanical transmission systems using feedback and feedforward control actions.

Science.gov (United States)

Raul, P R; Dwivedula, R V; Pagilla, P R

2016-07-01

The problem of controlling the load speed of a mechanical transmission system consisting of a belt-pulley and gear-pair is considered. The system is modeled as two inertia (motor and load) connected by a compliant transmission. If the transmission is assumed to be rigid, then using either the motor or load speed feedback provides the same result. However, with transmission compliance, due to belts or long shafts, the stability characteristics and performance of the closed-loop system are quite different when either motor or load speed feedback is employed. We investigate motor and load speed feedback schemes by utilizing the singular perturbation method. We propose and discuss a control scheme that utilizes both motor and load speed feedback, and design an adaptive feedforward action to reject load torque disturbances. The control algorithms are implemented on an experimental platform that is typically used in roll-to-roll manufacturing and results are shown and discussed. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CRUX: A compliant robotic upper-extremity exosuit for lightweight, portable, multi-joint muscular augmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lessard, Steven; Pansodtee, Pattawong; Robbins, Ash; Baltaxe-Admony, Leya Breanna; Trombadore, James M; Teodorescu, Mircea; Agogino, Adrian; Kurniawan, Sri

2017-07-01

Wearable robots can potentially offer their users enhanced stability and strength. These augmentations are ideally designed to actuate harmoniously with the user's movements and provide extra force as needed. The creation of such robots, however, is particularly challenging due to the underlying complexity of the human body. In this paper, we present a compliant, robotic exosuit for upper extremities called CRUX. This exosuit, inspired by tensegrity models of the human arm, features a lightweight (1.3 kg), flexible multi-joint design for portable augmentation. We also illustrate how CRUX maintains the full range of motion of the upper-extremities for its users while providing multi-DoF strength amplification to the major muscles of the arm, as evident by tracking the heart rate of an individual exercising said arm. Exosuits such as CRUX may be useful in physical therapy and in extreme environments where users are expected to exert their bodies to the fullest extent.

Effect of the 2011 vs 2003 duty hour regulation-compliant models on sleep duration, trainee education, and continuity of patient care among internal medicine house staff: a randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Desai, Sanjay V; Feldman, Leonard; Brown, Lorrel; Dezube, Rebecca; Yeh, Hsin-Chieh; Punjabi, Naresh; Afshar, Kia; Grunwald, Michael R; Harrington, Colleen; Naik, Rakhi; Cofrancesco, Joseph

2013-04-22

On July 1, 2011, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education implemented further restrictions of its 2003 regulations on duty hours and supervision. It remains unclear if the 2003 regulations improved trainee well-being or patient safety. To determine the effects of the 2011 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education duty hour regulations compared with the 2003 regulations concerning sleep duration, trainee education, continuity of patient care, and perceived quality of care among internal medicine trainees. Crossover study design in an academic research setting. Medical house staff. General medical teams were randomly assigned using a sealed-envelope draw to an experimental model or a control model. We randomly assigned 4 medical house staff teams (43 interns) using a 3-month crossover design to a 2003-compliant model of every fourth night overnight call (control) with 30-hour duty limits or to one of two 2011-compliant models of every fifth night overnight call (Q5) or a night float schedule (NF), both with 16-hour duty limits. We measured sleep duration using actigraphy and used admission volumes, educational opportunities, the number of handoffs, and satisfaction surveys to assess trainee education, continuity of patient care, and perceived quality of care. RESULTS The study included 560 control, 420 Q5, and 140 NF days that interns worked and 834 hospital admissions. Compared with controls, interns on NF slept longer during the on call period (mean, 5.1 vs 8.3 hours; P = .003), and interns on Q5 slept longer during the postcall period (mean, 7.5 vs 10.2 hours; P = .05). However, both the Q5 and NF models increased handoffs, decreased availability for teaching conferences, and reduced intern presence during daytime work hours. Residents and nurses in both experimental models perceived reduced quality of care, so much so with NF that it was terminated early. Compared with a 2003-compliant model, two 2011 duty hour regulation-compliant

Bio-Inspired Control of an Arm Exoskeleton Joint with Active-Compliant Actuation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michele Folgheraiter

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the methodology followed on the design of a multi-contact point haptic interface that uses a bio-inspired control approach and a novel actuation system. The combination of these components aims at creating a system that increases the operability of the target, and, at the same time, enables an intuitive and safe tele-operation of any complex robotic system of any given morphology. The novelty lies on the combination of a thoughtful kinematic structure driven by an active-compliant actuation system and a bio-inspired paradigm for its regulation. Due to the proposed actuation approach, the final system will achieve the condition of wearable system. On that final solution, each joint will be able to change its stiffness depending on the task to be executed, and on the anatomical features of each individual. Moreover, the system provides a variety of safety mechanisms at different levels to prevent causing any harm to the operator. In future, the system should allow the complete virtual immersion of the user within the working scenario.

An Optimal Portfolio and Capital Management Strategy for Basel III Compliant Commercial Banks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grant E. Muller

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We model a Basel III compliant commercial bank that operates in a financial market consisting of a treasury security, a marketable security, and a loan and we regard the interest rate in the market as being stochastic. We find the investment strategy that maximizes an expected utility of the bank’s asset portfolio at a future date. This entails obtaining formulas for the optimal amounts of bank capital invested in different assets. Based on the optimal investment strategy, we derive a model for the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR, which the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS introduced as a measure against banks’ susceptibility to failure. Furthermore, we consider the optimal investment strategy subject to a constant CAR at the minimum prescribed level. We derive a formula for the bank’s asset portfolio at constant (minimum CAR value and present numerical simulations on different scenarios. Under the optimal investment strategy, the CAR is above the minimum prescribed level. The value of the asset portfolio is improved if the CAR is at its (constant minimum value.

Transformation of an empirical distribution to normal distribution by the use of Johnson system of translation and symmetrical quantile method

OpenAIRE

Ludvík Friebel; Jana Friebelová

2006-01-01

This article deals with approximation of empirical distribution to standard normal distribution using Johnson transformation. This transformation enables us to approximate wide spectrum of continuous distributions with a normal distribution. The estimation of parameters of transformation formulas is based on percentiles of empirical distribution. There are derived theoretical probability distribution functions of random variable obtained on the base of backward transformation standard normal ...

Distributed intelligence in CAMAC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunz, P.F.

1977-01-01

The CAMAC digital interface standard has served us well since 1969. During this time there have been enormous advances in digital electronics. In particular, low cost microprocessors now make it feasible to consider use of distributed intelligence even in simple data acquisition systems. This paper describes a simple extension of the CAMAC standard which allows distributed intelligence at the crate level

Experimental study on surface wrinkling of silicon monoxide film on compliant substrate under thermally induced loads

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chuanwei; Kong, Yingxiao; Jiang, Wenchong; Wang, Zhiyong; Li, Linan; Wang, Shibin

2017-06-01

The wrinkling of a silicon monoxide thin film on a compliant poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) substrate structure was experimentally investigated in this study. The self-expansion effect of PDMS during film deposition was utilized to impose a pretensile strain on the structure through a specially made fixture. A laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) system with an in situ heating stage was employed for the real-time measurement. The Young’s modulus of the silicon monoxide thin film as well as the PDMS substrate was measured on the basis of the elasticity theory. Moreover, the effects of temperature variations on geometric parameters in the postbuckling state, such as wavelength and amplitude, were analyzed. It was proved that wavelength is relatively immune to thermal loads, while amplitude is much more sensitive.

Barriers to guideline-compliant psoriasis care: analyses and concepts.

Science.gov (United States)

Eissing, L; Radtke, M A; Zander, N; Augustin, M

2016-04-01

Despite the availability of effective therapeutics and evidence-based treatment guidelines, a substantial proportion of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis does not receive appropriate care. This under-provision of health care may cause further worsening of health, remarkable limitations of the patient's quality of life, and indirect costs for the health care system. In order to provide guideline-compliant care for every psoriasis patient, it is important to identify barriers obstructing optimal care. Studies have identified various barriers on the physician's and on the patient's side; however, respective studies approached only single barriers, and not all of them in the context of psoriasis. Other publications that describe barriers systematically did not focus on psoriasis either. The objective of this literature review was to identify barriers and facilitators, based on studies analysing quality of care and single barriers, resulting in a comprehensive model of causal factors. Our analyses revealed three categories of barriers - patient-related, physician-related and external factors: On the patient side, we found non-adherence to therapies to be an important barrier, often in close association with psychiatric factors. Barriers on the physician's side predominantly are incomplete knowledge of the guidelines as well as the complexity of psoriasis comorbidity. In some countries, payment for patients with complex disease status is poor and inconsistent reimbursement regulations potentially interfere with optimal care. The current analysis indicates that most barriers are interdependent. Thus, measures approaching related barriers simultaneously are required. To improve care for psoriasis patients, further studies systematically addressing all potentially relevant barriers in conjoint are needed. © 2015 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

Aid conditionalities, international Good Manufacturing Practice standards and local production rights: a case study of local production in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Brhlikova, Petra; Harper, Ian; Subedi, Madhusudan; Bhattarai, Samita; Rawal, Nabin; Pollock, Allyson M

2015-06-14

Local pharmaceutical production has been endorsed by the WHO as a means of addressing health priorities of developing countries. However, local producers of essential medicines must comply with international pharmaceutical standards in order to be eligible to compete in donor tenders. These standards determine production rights for on-patent and off-patent medicines, and guide international procurement of medicines. We reviewed the literature on the impact of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) on local production; a gap analysis from the literature review indicated a need for further research. Over sixty interviews were conducted with people involved in the Nepali pharmaceutical production and distribution chain from 2006 to 2009 on the GMP areas of relevance: regulatory capacity, staffing, funding and training, resourcing of GMP, inspectors' interpretation of the rules and compliance. Although Nepal producers have increased their overall share of the domestic market, only the public manufacturer, Royal Drugs, focuses on medicines for public health programmes; private producers engage mainly in brand competition for private markets, not essential medicines. Nepali regulators and producers state that implementation of GMP standards is hindered by low regulatory capacity, insufficient training of staff in the industry, financial constraints and lack of investment for upgrading capital. The transition period to mandatory compliance with WHO GMP rules is lengthy. Less than half of private producers had WHO GMP in 2013. Producers are not directly affected by international harmonisation of standards as they do not export medicines and the Nepali regulator does not enforce the WHO standards strictly. Without an international GMP certificate they cannot tender for donor dependent health programmes. In Nepal, local private manufacturers focus mainly on brand competition for private consumption not essential medicines, the government preferentially procures essential

Design, modeling and optimization of an underwater manipulator with four-bar mechanism and compliant linkage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Sang Ok; Kim, Ji Hoon; Bae, Jang Ho; Kim, Jong Won [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seo, Tae Won [School of Mechanical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan (Korea, Republic of)

2016-09-15

Underwater manipulators are very important for a robot to perform a specific operation in water. Conventional robot arm manipulators have been suggested for various operations but have not been suitable for repeated motion in gathering something. This paper presents a new underwater manipulator design for gathering things such as starfish on the sea floor. The manipulator is composed of a four-bar linkage to achieve repeated motion along a loop and compliant linkages to enhance the efficiency of the gathering work. Kinematic and quasi-static analyses were performed to calculate the loop path and the reaction force at the actuation point. Based on the analysis, optimal design was performed to maximize the working distance with the height difference and the reaction moments considered as constraints. A prototype was assembled to test the performance of the manipulator, and the empirical loop path was compared to simulation results.

A soft and conductive PDMS-PEG block copolymer as a compliant electrode for dielectric elastomers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

A Razak, Aliff Hisyam; Szabo, Peter; Skov, Anne Ladegaard

Conductive PDMS-PEG block copolymers (Mn = 3 – 5 kg/mol) were chain-extended (Mn = 30 – 45 kg/mol) using hydrosilylation reaction as presented in figure 1. Subsequently, the extended copolymers were added to a conductive nano-filler (multi-walled carbon nanotubes – MWCNTs) in order to enhance...... conductivity. The combination of soft chainextended PDMS-PEG block copolymers and conductive MWCNTs results in a soft and conductive block copolymer composite which potentially can be used as a compliant and highly stretchable electrode for dielectric elastomers. The addition of MWCNTs into the PDMS-PEG matrix...... MWCNTs is 10-3 S/cm compared to 10-1 S/cm of a non-stretchable reference conducting silicone elastomer (LR3162 from Wacker). Furthermore, PDMS-PEG block copolymer with 4 phr MWCNTs (Young’s modulus, Y = 0.26 MPa) is softer and more stretchable thanLR3162 (Y = 1.17 MPa)....

Design, modeling and optimization of an underwater manipulator with four-bar mechanism and compliant linkage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Sang Ok; Kim, Ji Hoon; Bae, Jang Ho; Kim, Jong Won; Seo, Tae Won

2016-01-01

Underwater manipulators are very important for a robot to perform a specific operation in water. Conventional robot arm manipulators have been suggested for various operations but have not been suitable for repeated motion in gathering something. This paper presents a new underwater manipulator design for gathering things such as starfish on the sea floor. The manipulator is composed of a four-bar linkage to achieve repeated motion along a loop and compliant linkages to enhance the efficiency of the gathering work. Kinematic and quasi-static analyses were performed to calculate the loop path and the reaction force at the actuation point. Based on the analysis, optimal design was performed to maximize the working distance with the height difference and the reaction moments considered as constraints. A prototype was assembled to test the performance of the manipulator, and the empirical loop path was compared to simulation results

River Basin Standards Interoperability Pilot

Science.gov (United States)

Pesquer, Lluís; Masó, Joan; Stasch, Christoph

2016-04-01

There is a lot of water information and tools in Europe to be applied in the river basin management but fragmentation and a lack of coordination between countries still exists. The European Commission and the member states have financed several research and innovation projects in support of the Water Framework Directive. Only a few of them are using the recently emerging hydrological standards, such as the OGC WaterML 2.0. WaterInnEU is a Horizon 2020 project focused on creating a marketplace to enhance the exploitation of EU funded ICT models, tools, protocols and policy briefs related to water and to establish suitable conditions for new market opportunities based on these offerings. One of WaterInnEU's main goals is to assess the level of standardization and interoperability of these outcomes as a mechanism to integrate ICT-based tools, incorporate open data platforms and generate a palette of interchangeable components that are able to use the water data emerging from the recently proposed open data sharing processes and data models stimulated by initiatives such as the INSPIRE directive. As part of the standardization and interoperability activities in the project, the authors are designing an experiment (RIBASE, the present work) to demonstrate how current ICT-based tools and water data can work in combination with geospatial web services in the Scheldt river basin. The main structure of this experiment, that is the core of the present work, is composed by the following steps: - Extraction of information from river gauges data in OGC WaterML 2.0 format using SOS services (preferably compliant to the OGC SOS 2.0 Hydrology Profile Best Practice). - Model floods using a WPS 2.0, WaterML 2.0 data and weather forecast models as input. - Evaluation of the applicability of Sensor Notification Services in water emergencies. - Open distribution of the input and output data as OGC web services WaterML, / WCS / WFS and with visualization utilities: WMS. The architecture

The exp-normal distribution is infinitely divisible

OpenAIRE

Pinelis, Iosif

2018-01-01

Let $Z$ be a standard normal random variable (r.v.). It is shown that the distribution of the r.v. $\\ln|Z|$ is infinitely divisible; equivalently, the standard normal distribution considered as the distribution on the multiplicative group over $\\mathbb{R}\\setminus\\{0\\}$ is infinitely divisible.

Analisis Saham Syariah Efisien dengan Pendekatan Shari’a Compliant Asset Pricing Model (SCAPM pada Jakarta Islamic Index (JII

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zainul Hasan Quthbi

2017-10-01

Artikel ini bermaksud untuk menganalisis saham syariah yang tergolong efisien untuk keputusan investasi dengan menggunakan SCAPM (Shari’a Compliant Asset Pricing Model. SCAPM adalah bentuk modifikasi dari CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model yang bertujuan agar kerangka model analisis masih dalam kerangka syariah. Teknik pengumpulan data adalah dokumentasi dari data yang bersifat sekunder. Digunakan 13 sampel saham syariah pada penelitian ini dengan kriteria saham syariah yang konsisten masuk pada JII (Jakarta Islamic Index periode penelitian Desember 2013 hingga November 2016 dan memiliki pengembalian saham individual positif. Hasil dari penelitian menunjukkan terdapat 9 saham syariah yang tergolong efisien dan 4 sisanya tidak efisien. Saham PT. Adaro Energy memiliki nilai RVAR terbesar yang berarti memiliki kinerja saham paling baik.

Strain Gage Load Calibration of the Wing Interface Fittings for the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge Flap Flight Test

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Eric J.; Holguin, Andrew C.; Cruz, Josue; Lokos, William A.

2014-01-01

This is the presentation to follow conference paper of the same name. The adaptive compliant trailing edge (ACTE) flap experiment safety of flight requires that the flap to wing interface loads be sensed and monitored in real time to ensure that the wing structural load limits are not exceeded. This paper discusses the strain gage load calibration testing and load equation derivation methodology for the ACTE interface fittings. Both the left and right wing flap interfaces will be monitored and each contains four uniquely designed and instrumented flap interface fittings. The interface hardware design and instrumentation layout are discussed. Twenty one applied test load cases were developed using the predicted in-flight loads for the ACTE experiment.

Wireless installation standard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, Hwang Bin

2007-12-01

This is divided six parts which are radio regulation law on securing of radio resource, use of radio resource, protection of radio resource, radio regulation enforcement ordinance with securing, distribution and assignment of radio regulation, radio regulation enforcement regulation on utility of radio resource and technical qualification examination, a wireless installation regulation of technique standard and safety facility standard, radio regulation such as certification regulation of information communicative machines and regulation of radio station on compliance of signal security, radio equipment in radio station, standard frequency station and emergency communication.

Standardizing Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for Translation to Clinical Use: Selection of GMP-Compliant Medium and a Simplified Isolation Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Robert Smith

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stromal cells (UC-MSCs are a focus for clinical translation but standardized methods for isolation and expansion are lacking. Previously we published isolation and expansion methods for UC-MSCs which presented challenges when considering good manufacturing practices (GMP for clinical translation. Here, a new and more standardized method for isolation and expansion of UC-MSCs is described. The new method eliminates dissection of blood vessels and uses a closed-vessel dissociation following enzymatic digestion which reduces contamination risk and manipulation time. The new method produced >10 times more cells per cm of UC than our previous method. When biographical variables were compared, more UC-MSCs per gram were isolated after vaginal birth compared to Caesarian-section births, an unexpected result. UC-MSCs were expanded in medium enriched with 2%, 5%, or 10% pooled human platelet lysate (HPL eliminating the xenogeneic serum components. When the HPL concentrations were compared, media supplemented with 10% HPL had the highest growth rate, smallest cells, and the most viable cells at passage. UC-MSCs grown in 10% HPL had surface marker expression typical of MSCs, high colony forming efficiency, and could undergo trilineage differentiation. The new protocol standardizes manufacturing of UC-MSCs and enables clinical translation.

ISTP CDF Skeleton Editor

Science.gov (United States)

Chimiak, Reine; Harris, Bernard; Williams, Phillip

2013-01-01

Basic Common Data Format (CDF) tools (e.g., cdfedit) provide no specific support for creating International Solar-Terrestrial Physics/Space Physics Data Facility (ISTP/SPDF) standard files. While it is possible for someone who is familiar with the ISTP/SPDF metadata guidelines to create compliant files using just the basic tools, the process is error-prone and unreasonable for someone without ISTP/SPDF expertise. The key problem is the lack of a tool with specific support for creating files that comply with the ISTP/SPDF guidelines. There are basic CDF tools such as cdfedit and skeletoncdf for creating CDF files, but these have no specific support for creating ISTP/ SPDF compliant files. The SPDF ISTP CDF skeleton editor is a cross-platform, Java-based GUI editor program that allows someone with only a basic understanding of the ISTP/SPDF guidelines to easily create compliant files. The editor is a simple graphical user interface (GUI) application for creating and editing ISTP/SPDF guideline-compliant skeleton CDF files. The SPDF ISTP CDF skeleton editor consists of the following components: A swing-based Java GUI program, JavaHelp-based manual/ tutorial, Image/Icon files, and HTML Web page for distribution. The editor is available as a traditional Java desktop application as well as a Java Network Launching Protocol (JNLP) application. Once started, it functions like a typical Java GUI file editor application for creating/editing application-unique files.

Building Standards based Science Information Systems: A Survey of ISO and other standards

Science.gov (United States)

King, Todd; Walker, Raymond

Science Information systems began with individual researchers maintaining personal collec-tions of data and managing them by using ad hoc, specialized approaches. Today information systems are an enterprise consisting of federated systems that manage and distribute both historical and contemporary data from distributed sources. Information systems have many components. Among these are metadata models, metadata registries, controlled vocabularies and ontologies which are used to describe entities and resources. Other components include services to exchange information and data; tools to populate the system and tools to utilize available resources. When constructing information systems today a variety of standards can be useful. The benefit of adopting standards is clear; it can shorten the design cycle, enhance software reuse and enable interoperability. We look at standards from the International Stan-dards Organization (ISO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), American National Standards Institute (ANSI) which have influenced the develop-ment of information systems in the Heliophysics and Planetary sciences. No standard can solve the needs of every community. Individual disciplines often must fill the gap between general purpose standards and the unique needs of the discipline. To this end individual science dis-ciplines are developing standards, Examples include the International Virtual Observatory Al-liance (IVOA), Planetary Data System (PDS)/ International Planetary Data Alliance (IPDA), Dublin-Core Science, and the Space Physics Archive Search and Extract (SPASE) consortium. This broad survey of ISO and other standards provides some guidance for the development information systems. The development of the SPASE data model is reviewed and provides some insights into the value of applying appropriate standards and is used to illustrate

Linear Estimation of Standard Deviation of Logistic Distribution ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper presents a theoretical method based on order statistics and a FORTRAN program for computing the variance and relative efficiencies of the standard deviation of the logistic population with respect to the Cramer-Rao lower variance bound and the best linear unbiased estimators (BLUE\\'s) when the mean is ...

How do we actually put smarter snacks in schools? NOURISH (Nutrition Opportunities to Understand Reforms Involving Student Health) conversations with food-service directors.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenfeld, Lindsay E; Cohen, Juliana Fw; Gorski, Mary T; Lessing, Andrés J; Smith, Lauren; Rimm, Eric B; Hoffman, Jessica A

2017-02-01

In autumn 2012, Massachusetts schools implemented comprehensive competitive food and beverage standards similar to the US Department of Agriculture's Smart Snacks in School standards. We explored major themes raised by food-service directors (FSD) regarding their school-district-wide implementation of the standards. For this qualitative study, part of a larger mixed-methods study, compliance was measured via direct observation of foods and beverages during school site visits in spring 2013 and 2014, calculated to ascertain the percentage of compliant products available to students. Semi-structured interviews with school FSD conducted in each year were analysed for major implementation themes; those raised by more than two-thirds of participating school districts were explored in relationship to compliance. Massachusetts school districts (2013: n 26; 2014: n 21). Data collected from FSD. Seven major themes were raised by more than two-thirds of participating school districts (range 69-100 %): taking measures for successful transition; communicating with vendors/manufacturers; using tools to identify compliant foods and beverages; receiving support from leadership; grappling with issues not covered by the law; anticipating changes in sales of competitive foods and beverages; and anticipating changes in sales of school meals. Each theme was mentioned by the majority of more-compliant school districts (65-81 %), with themes being raised more frequently after the second year of implementation (range increase 4-14 %). FSD in more-compliant districts were more likely to talk about themes than those in less-compliant districts. Identified themes suggest best-practice recommendations likely useful for school districts implementing the final Smart Snacks in School standards, effective July 2016.

Adapting the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System to OGC standards

Science.gov (United States)

Valentine, D. W.; Whitenack, T.; Zaslavsky, I.

2010-12-01

, as the basis for ingesting data series information into a cloud-hosted catalog. The future HIS services involve providing information via OGC Standards that will allow for observational data access from commercial GIS applications. Use of standards will allow for tools to access observational data from other projects using standards, such as the Ocean Observatories Initiative, and for tools from such projects to be integrated into the HIS toolset. With international collaborators, we have been developing a water information exchange language called “WaterML 2.0” which will be used to deliver observations data over OGC Sensor Observation Services (SOS). A software stack of OGC standard services will provide access to HIS information. In addition to SOS, Web Mapping and Feature Services (WMS, and WFS) will provide access to location information. Catalog Services for the Web (CSW) will provide a catalog for water information that is both centralized, and distributed. We intend the OGC standards supplement the existing HIS service interfaces, rather than replace the present service interfaces. The ultimate goal of this development is expand access to hydrologic observations data, and create an environment where these data can be seamlessly integrated with standards-compliant data resources.

Inflation and deflation pressure-volume loops in anesthetized pinnipeds confirms compliant chest and lungs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas eFahlman

2014-11-01

Full Text Available We examined structural properties of the marine mammal respiratory system, and tested Scholander’s hypothesis that the chest is highly compliant by measuring the mechanical properties of the respiratory system in five species of pinniped under anesthesia (Pacific harbor seal, Phoca vitulina; northern elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris; northern fur seal Callorhinus ursinus; California sea lion, Zalophus californianus; and Steller sea lion, Eumetopias jubatus. We found that the chest wall compliance (CCW of all five species was greater than lung compliance (airways and alveoli, CL as predicted by Scholander, which suggests that the chest provides little protection against alveolar collapse or lung squeeze. We also found that specific respiratory compliance was significantly greater in wild animals than in animals raised under human care. While differences in ages between the two groups may affect this incidental finding, it is also possible that lung conditioning in free-living animals may increase pulmonary compliance and reduce the risk of lung squeeze during diving. Overall, our data indicate that compliance of excised pinniped lungs provide a good estimate of total respiratory compliance.

Inflation and deflation pressure-volume loops in anesthetized pinnipeds confirms compliant chest and lungs.

Science.gov (United States)

Fahlman, Andreas; Loring, Stephen H; Johnson, Shawn P; Haulena, Martin; Trites, Andrew W; Fravel, Vanessa A; Van Bonn, William G

2014-01-01

We examined structural properties of the marine mammal respiratory system, and tested Scholander's hypothesis that the chest is highly compliant by measuring the mechanical properties of the respiratory system in five species of pinniped under anesthesia (Pacific harbor seal, Phoca vitulina; northern elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris; northern fur seal Callorhinus ursinus; California sea lion, Zalophus californianus; and Steller sea lion, Eumetopias jubatus). We found that the chest wall compliance (CCW) of all five species was greater than lung compliance (airways and alveoli, CL) as predicted by Scholander, which suggests that the chest provides little protection against alveolar collapse or lung squeeze. We also found that specific respiratory compliance was significantly greater in wild animals than in animals raised in an aquatic facility. While differences in ages between the two groups may affect this incidental finding, it is also possible that lung conditioning in free-living animals may increase pulmonary compliance and reduce the risk of lung squeeze during diving. Overall, our data indicate that compliance of excised pinniped lungs provide a good estimate of total respiratory compliance.

ROMANIAN ACCOUNTING - A TALE OF TWO STANDARDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIUS DEAC

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The process of accounting harmonization in Europe has started in 1978 with the adoption of the Fourth Council Directive 78/660/EEC regarding the annual accounts of limited liability companies. The harmonization process continued with the regulation of the consolidated annual accounts with the enactment of the Seventh Council Directive 83/349/EEC. In 2002 the European Parliament has adopted the EC Regulation No. 1606/2002 requiring all listed group entities within EU to apply the International Accounting Standards for their consolidated financial statements starting from 2005. This has led to the use of a dual accounting standardization as listed entities are required to use IAS/IFRS while non-listed entities use the national GAAP harmonized with the 4th and 7th directives. The adoption of the new accounting directive 2013/34/EU does not solve this differentiation as it doesn't allow the option for national accounting regulators the use of IFRS for SMEs. Romania, as a member of the European Union, is no exception from this usage of a dual accounting standard. After the fall of the communist regime, Romania has modernized its accounting system by adopting a French inspired, EU 4th directive compliant national GAAP. Between 2001 and 2005 there was a strong interest towards the adoption of IAS/IFRS that went beyond the scope of EC Regulation No. 1606/2002. This has changed in 2005 when IAS/IFRSs were considered as an option of additional voluntary disclosure. From 2006, Romania has aligned its national legislation to the requirements of EC Regulation No. 1606/2002. The application of this dual standard accounting system has been cumbersome especially for the entities that were required to prepare two different annual accounts, one using IAS/IFRS and one using Romanian GAAP. This obstacle has been overcome in 2012 when certain entities were allowed to prepare their financial statements using only IFRS.

Ventriculostomy-associated infection: a new, standardized reporting definition and institutional experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Gozal, Yair M; Farley, Chad W; Hanseman, Dennis J; Harwell, Daniel; Magner, Mark; Andaluz, Norberto; Shutter, Lori

2014-08-01

Shortcomings created by the lack of both a uniform definition of ventriculostomy-associated infection (VAI) and reporting standards have led to widely ranging infections rates (2-24%) whose significance is uncertain. We propose a standardized definition of VAI and a consistent reporting format compliant with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for device-related infections. Using those parameters to establish an infection-control surveillance program, we report our 4-year institutional VAI rates. In this prospective study covering ventriculostomy utilization (October 2006-December 2010), 498 patients had a total of 4,673 ventriculostomy days. By review of the literature and our institutional analysis, we defined VAI as a positive CSF culture in a patient with ventriculostomy catheter, plus one or more of the following (1) fever recorded >101.5 °F or (2) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose level, either definition and CDC format seems promising toward facilitating future study and guideline development. Given our strict protocol of sterile catheter placement and care, and our institution's low 2.0% infection rates, we propose an infection-rate target of ≤5 per 1,000 device days. Our results suggest that the use of antibiotics or antibiotic-impregnated catheters is unwarranted--a positive given concerns of evolving anti-microbial resistance.

Standard compliant channel selection scheme for TV white space networks

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Masonta, MT

2014-08-01

Full Text Available CHANNEL DECISION SCHEME The proposed channel selection model is performed based on the flowchart shown in Fig. 1. We assume that the TVWS- BS is authorised and registered with the national GSDB. The model starts when the TVWS-BS queries the GSDB after...-BS will query the GSDB after a predefined period of time until at least more than one channel is available to allow the channel allocation process to start. Fig. 1: Proposed channel selection scheme flowchart A. White Space Channel Attributes Collection Based...

Distributed Technologies in a Data Pool

Science.gov (United States)

Keiser, K.; Conover, H.; Graves, S.; He, Y.; Regner, K.; Smith, M.

2004-12-01

A Data Pool is an on-line repository providing interactive and programmatic access to data products through a variety of services. The University of Alabama in Huntsville has developed and deployed such a Data Pool in conjunction with the DISCOVER project, a collaboration with NASA and Remote Sensing Systems. DISCOVER provides long-term ocean and climate data from a variety of passive microwave satellite instruments, including such products as sea-surface temperature and wind, air temperature, atmospheric water vapor, cloud water and rain rate. The Data Pool provides multiple methods to access and visualize these products, including conventional HTTP and FTP access, as well as data services that provide for enhanced usability and interoperability, such as GridFTP, OPeNDAP, OpenGIS-compliant web mapping and coverage services, and custom subsetting and packaging services. This paper will focus on the distributed service technologies used in the Data Pool, which spans heterogeneous machines at multiple locations. For example, in order to provide seamless access to data at multiple sites, the Data Pool provides catalog services for all data products at the various data server locations. Under development is an automated metadata generation tool that crawls the online data repositories regularly to dynamically update the Data Pool catalog with information about newly generated data files. For efficient handling of data orders across distributed repositories, the Data Pool also implements distributed data processing services on the file servers where the data resides. Ontologies are planned to support automated service chaining for custom user requests. The UAH Data Pool is based on a configurable technology framework that integrates distributed data services with a web interface and a set of centralized database services for catalogs and order tracking. While this instantiation of the Data Pool was implemented to meet the needs of the DISCOVER project, the framework was

DICOM-compliant PACS with CD-based image archival

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Robert D.; Henri, Christopher J.; Rubin, Richard K.; Bret, Patrice M.

1998-07-01

This paper describes the design and implementation of a low- cost PACS conforming to the DICOM 3.0 standard. The goal was to provide an efficient image archival and management solution on a heterogeneous hospital network as a basis for filmless radiology. The system follows a distributed, client/server model and was implemented at a fraction of the cost of a commercial PACS. It provides reliable archiving on recordable CD and allows access to digital images throughout the hospital and on the Internet. Dedicated servers have been designed for short-term storage, CD-based archival, data retrieval and remote data access or teleradiology. The short-term storage devices provide DICOM storage and query/retrieve services to scanners and workstations and approximately twelve weeks of 'on-line' image data. The CD-based archival and data retrieval processes are fully automated with the exception of CD loading and unloading. The system employs lossless compression on both short- and long-term storage devices. All servers communicate via the DICOM protocol in conjunction with both local and 'master' SQL-patient databases. Records are transferred from the local to the master database independently, ensuring that storage devices will still function if the master database server cannot be reached. The system features rules-based work-flow management and WWW servers to provide multi-platform remote data access. The WWW server system is distributed on the storage, retrieval and teleradiology servers allowing viewing of locally stored image data directly in a WWW browser without the need for data transfer to a central WWW server. An independent system monitors disk usage, processes, network and CPU load on each server and reports errors to the image management team via email. The PACS was implemented using a combination of off-the-shelf hardware, freely available software and applications developed in-house. The system has enabled filmless operation in CT, MR and ultrasound within

OCCI-Compliant Cloud Configuration Simulation

OpenAIRE

Ahmed-Nacer , Mehdi; Gaaloul , Walid; Tata , Samir

2017-01-01

In recent years many organizations such as, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, have accelerated the development of their cloud computing ecosystem. This rapid development has created a plethora of cloud resource management interfaces for provisioning, supervising, and managing cloud resources. Thus, there is an obvious need for the standardization of cloud resource management interfaces to cope with the prevalent issues of heterogeneity, integration, and portability issues.To this end, Open Cloud Com...

CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) compliant tools for high energy physics data analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rouse, Forest R.; Patel, Mayank B.

1996-01-01

We describe a system that given an IDL specification for a subroutine can generate the code required for autonomous execution of the routine in a distributed heterogeneous computing environment using the COBRA standard. This allows users to interactively modify the network of tools to either change the functionality or to redistribute the tools among the available processors without modifying any code. We show that the additional system overhead is small in comparison to the data movement time. Additionally, a prototype Graphical User Interface (GUI) to configure and control the network of tools has been written. (author)

Comparing Standard Deviation Effects across Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Ost, Ben; Gangopadhyaya, Anuj; Schiman, Jeffrey C.

2017-01-01

Studies using tests scores as the dependent variable often report point estimates in student standard deviation units. We note that a standard deviation is not a standard unit of measurement since the distribution of test scores can vary across contexts. As such, researchers should be cautious when interpreting differences in the numerical size of…

Mobility particle size spectrometers: harmonization of technical standards and data structure to facilitate high quality long-term observations of atmospheric particle number size distributions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Wiedensohler

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Mobility particle size spectrometers often referred to as DMPS (Differential Mobility Particle Sizers or SMPS (Scanning Mobility Particle Sizers have found a wide range of applications in atmospheric aerosol research. However, comparability of measurements conducted world-wide is hampered by lack of generally accepted technical standards and guidelines with respect to the instrumental set-up, measurement mode, data evaluation as well as quality control. Technical standards were developed for a minimum requirement of mobility size spectrometry to perform long-term atmospheric aerosol measurements. Technical recommendations include continuous monitoring of flow rates, temperature, pressure, and relative humidity for the sheath and sample air in the differential mobility analyzer.

We compared commercial and custom-made inversion routines to calculate the particle number size distributions from the measured electrical mobility distribution. All inversion routines are comparable within few per cent uncertainty for a given set of raw data.

Furthermore, this work summarizes the results from several instrument intercomparison workshops conducted within the European infrastructure project EUSAAR (European Supersites for Atmospheric Aerosol Research and ACTRIS (Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network to determine present uncertainties especially of custom-built mobility particle size spectrometers. Under controlled laboratory conditions, the particle number size distributions from 20 to 200 nm determined by mobility particle size spectrometers of different design are within an uncertainty range of around ±10% after correcting internal particle losses, while below and above this size range the discrepancies increased. For particles larger than 200 nm, the uncertainty range increased to 30%, which could not be explained. The network reference mobility spectrometers with identical design agreed within ±4% in the

The gel electrophoresis markup language (GelML) from the Proteomics Standards Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Frank; Hoogland, Christine; Martinez-Bartolomé, Salvador; Medina-Aunon, J Alberto; Albar, Juan Pablo; Babnigg, Gyorgy; Wipat, Anil; Hermjakob, Henning; Almeida, Jonas S; Stanislaus, Romesh; Paton, Norman W; Jones, Andrew R

2010-09-01

The Human Proteome Organisation's Proteomics Standards Initiative has developed the GelML (gel electrophoresis markup language) data exchange format for representing gel electrophoresis experiments performed in proteomics investigations. The format closely follows the reporting guidelines for gel electrophoresis, which are part of the Minimum Information About a Proteomics Experiment (MIAPE) set of modules. GelML supports the capture of metadata (such as experimental protocols) and data (such as gel images) resulting from gel electrophoresis so that laboratories can be compliant with the MIAPE Gel Electrophoresis guidelines, while allowing such data sets to be exchanged or downloaded from public repositories. The format is sufficiently flexible to capture data from a broad range of experimental processes, and complements other PSI formats for MS data and the results of protein and peptide identifications to capture entire gel-based proteome workflows. GelML has resulted from the open standardisation process of PSI consisting of both public consultation and anonymous review of the specifications.

E-Standards For Mass Properties Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Cerro, Jeffrey A.

2008-01-01

A proposal is put forth to promote the concept of a Society of Allied Weight Engineers developed voluntary consensus standard for mass properties engineering. This standard would be an e-standard, and would encompass data, data manipulation, and reporting functionality. The standard would be implemented via an open-source SAWE distribution site with full SAWE member body access. Engineering societies and global standards initiatives are progressing toward modern engineering standards, which become functioning deliverable data sets. These data sets, if properly standardized, will integrate easily between supplier and customer enabling technically precise mass properties data exchange. The concepts of object-oriented programming support all of these requirements, and the use of a JavaTx based open-source development initiative is proposed. Results are reported for activity sponsored by the NASA Langley Research Center Innovation Institute to scope out requirements for developing a mass properties engineering e-standard. An initial software distribution is proposed. Upon completion, an open-source application programming interface will be available to SAWE members for the development of more specific programming requirements that are tailored to company and project requirements. A fully functioning application programming interface will permit code extension via company proprietary techniques, as well as through continued open-source initiatives.

Capacity of Distribution Feeders for Hosting Distributed Energy Resources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Papathanassiou, S.; Hatziargyriou, N.; Anagnostopoulos, P.

The last two decades have seen an unprecedented development of distributed energy resources (DER) all over the world. Several countries have adopted a variety of support schemes (feed-in tariffs, green certificates, direct subsidies, tax exemptions etc.) so as to promote distributed generation (DG...... standards of the networks. To address this need in a timely and effective manner, simplified methodologies and practical rules of thumbs are often applied to assess the DER hosting capacity of existing distribution networks, avoiding thus detailed and time consuming analytical studies. The scope...

An implementation of OGC WPS and BPEL4WS compliant dynamic geoprocessing services chain

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Bin; Zhang, Denghui; Yu, Le; Zhang, Dengrong

2008-12-01

How to use web services quickly and efficiently is quite important in geospatial applications. A possible solution of sharing and integrating geospatial resources in opening web environment is to chain distributed and diversified geodata and geoprocessing by using web services. This paper presents an approach for chaining geoprocessing by employing Web Processing Service (WPS) and Business Process Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL4WS) under the service-oriented architecture (SOA) and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standard. Workflow control model and SQL Server based register center are used in a prototype system for chaining geoprocessing web services which have been performed functionality decomposition and packed by using extended WPS.

GSKY: A scalable distributed geospatial data server on the cloud

Science.gov (United States)

Rozas Larraondo, Pablo; Pringle, Sean; Antony, Joseph; Evans, Ben

2017-04-01

an independent service. An indexing service crawls data collections either locally or remotely by extracting, storing and indexing all spatio-temporal metadata associated with each individual record. GSKY provides the user with the ability of specifying how ingested data should be aggregated, transformed and presented. It presents an OGC standards-compliant interface, allowing ready accessibility for users of the data via Web Map Services (WMS), Web Processing Services (WPS) or raw data arrays using Web Coverage Services (WCS). The presentation will show some cases where we have used this new capability to provide a significant improvement over previous approaches.

Compliant Buckled Foam Actuators and Application in Patient-Specific Direct Cardiac Compression.

Science.gov (United States)

Mac Murray, Benjamin C; Futran, Chaim C; Lee, Jeanne; O'Brien, Kevin W; Amiri Moghadam, Amir A; Mosadegh, Bobak; Silberstein, Meredith N; Min, James K; Shepherd, Robert F

2018-02-01

We introduce the use of buckled foam for soft pneumatic actuators. A moderate amount of residual compressive strain within elastomer foam increases the applied force ∼1.4 × or stroke ∼2 × compared with actuators without residual strain. The origin of these improved characteristics is explained analytically. These actuators are applied in a direct cardiac compression (DCC) device design, a type of implanted mechanical circulatory support that avoids direct blood contact, mitigating risks of clot formation and stroke. This article describes a first step toward a pneumatically powered, patient-specific DCC design by employing elastomer foam as the mechanism for cardiac compression. To form the device, a mold of a patient's heart was obtained by 3D printing a digitized X-ray computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scan into a solid model. From this model, a soft, robotic foam DCC device was molded. The DCC device is compliant and uses compressed air to inflate foam chambers that in turn apply compression to the exterior of a heart. The device is demonstrated on a porcine heart and is capable of assisting heart pumping at physiologically relevant durations (∼200 ms for systole and ∼400 ms for diastole) and stroke volumes (∼70 mL). Although further development is necessary to produce a fully implantable device, the material and processing insights presented here are essential to the implementation of a foam-based, patient-specific DCC design.

Distributed generation: An empirical analysis of primary motivators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carley, Sanya

2009-01-01

What was once an industry dominated by centralized fossil-fuel power plants, the electricity industry in the United States is now evolving into a more decentralized and deregulated entity. While the future scope and scale of the industry is not yet apparent, recent trends indicate that distributed generation electricity applications may play an important role in this transformation. This paper examines which types of utilities are more likely to adopt distributed generation systems and, additionally, which factors motivate decisions of adoption and system capacity size. Results of a standard two-part model reveal that private utilities are significantly more inclined to adopt distributed generation than cooperatives and other types of public utilities. We also find evidence that interconnection standards and renewable portfolio standards effectively encourage consumer-owned distributed generation, while market forces associated with greater market competition encourage utility-owned distributed generation. Net metering programs are also found to have a significant marginal effect on distributed generation adoption and deployment.

Distributed generation: An empirical analysis of primary motivators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carley, Sanya [Department of Public Policy and Center for Sustainable Energy, Environment, and Economic Development, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB3435, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 (United States)], E-mail: scarley@email.unc.edu

2009-05-15

What was once an industry dominated by centralized fossil-fuel power plants, the electricity industry in the United States is now evolving into a more decentralized and deregulated entity. While the future scope and scale of the industry is not yet apparent, recent trends indicate that distributed generation electricity applications may play an important role in this transformation. This paper examines which types of utilities are more likely to adopt distributed generation systems and, additionally, which factors motivate decisions of adoption and system capacity size. Results of a standard two-part model reveal that private utilities are significantly more inclined to adopt distributed generation than cooperatives and other types of public utilities. We also find evidence that interconnection standards and renewable portfolio standards effectively encourage consumer-owned distributed generation, while market forces associated with greater market competition encourage utility-owned distributed generation. Net metering programs are also found to have a significant marginal effect on distributed generation adoption and deployment.

Distributed generation. An empirical analysis of primary motivators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carley, Sanya [Department of Public Policy and Center for Sustainable Energy, Environment, and Economic Development, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB3435, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 (United States)

2009-05-15

What was once an industry dominated by centralized fossil-fuel power plants, the electricity industry in the United States is now evolving into a more decentralized and deregulated entity. While the future scope and scale of the industry is not yet apparent, recent trends indicate that distributed generation electricity applications may play an important role in this transformation. This paper examines which types of utilities are more likely to adopt distributed generation systems and, additionally, which factors motivate decisions of adoption and system capacity size. Results of a standard two-part model reveal that private utilities are significantly more inclined to adopt distributed generation than cooperatives and other types of public utilities. We also find evidence that interconnection standards and renewable portfolio standards effectively encourage consumer-owned distributed generation, while market forces associated with greater market competition encourage utility-owned distributed generation. Net metering programs are also found to have a significant marginal effect on distributed generation adoption and deployment. (author)

Future Standardization of Space Telecommunications Radio System with Core Flight System

Science.gov (United States)

Briones, Janette C.; Hickey, Joseph P.; Roche, Rigoberto; Handler, Louis M.; Hall, Charles S.

2016-01-01

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is integrating the NASA Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Standard with the Core Flight System (cFS), an avionics software operating environment. The STRS standard provides a common, consistent framework to develop, qualify, operate and maintain complex, reconfigurable and reprogrammable radio systems. The cFS is a flexible, open architecture that features a plugand- play software executive called the Core Flight Executive (cFE), a reusable library of software components for flight and space missions and an integrated tool suite. Together, STRS and cFS create a development environment that allows for STRS compliant applications to reference the STRS application programmer interfaces (APIs) that use the cFS infrastructure. These APIs are used to standardize the communication protocols on NASAs space SDRs. The cFS-STRS Operating Environment (OE) is a portable cFS library, which adds the ability to run STRS applications on existing cFS platforms. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the cFS-STRS OE prototype, preliminary experimental results performed using the Advanced Space Radio Platform (ASRP), the GRC S- band Ground Station and the SCaN (Space Communication and Navigation) Testbed currently flying onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Additionally, this paper presents a demonstration of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Spacecraft Onboard Interface Services (SOIS) using electronic data sheets (EDS) inside cFE. This configuration allows for the data sheets to specify binary formats for data exchange between STRS applications. The integration of STRS with cFS leverages mission-proven platform functions and mitigates barriers to integration with future missions. This reduces flight software development time and the costs of software-defined radio (SDR) platforms. Furthermore, the combined benefits of STRS standardization with the flexibility of cFS provide an effective, reliable and

Medical Device Plug-and-Play Interoperability Standards and Technology Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

2015-10-01

into MySQL tables that can be displayed on a browser. We completed the development of foundational content for the draft ICE-Compliant Data Logger...over the course of several meetings beginning in February 2015. Following the MD PnP Program’s 10-year Anniversary Open House in October 2014 (see

The exponentiated generalized Pareto distribution | Adeyemi | Ife ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Recently Gupta et al. (1998) introduced the exponentiated exponential distribution as a generalization of the standard exponential distribution. In this paper, we introduce a three-parameter generalized Pareto distribution, the exponentiated generalized Pareto distribution (EGP). We present a comprehensive treatment of the ...

Validation of an automated system for aliquoting of HIV-1 Env-pseudotyped virus stocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, Anke; Germann, Anja; Fuss, Martina; Sarzotti-Kelsoe, Marcella; Ozaki, Daniel A; Montefiori, David C; Zimmermann, Heiko; von Briesen, Hagen

2018-01-01

The standardized assessments of HIV-specific immune responses are of main interest in the preclinical and clinical stage of HIV-1 vaccine development. In this regard, HIV-1 Env-pseudotyped viruses play a central role for the evaluation of neutralizing antibody profiles and are produced according to Good Clinical Laboratory Practice- (GCLP-) compliant manual and automated procedures. To further improve and complete the automated production cycle an automated system for aliquoting HIV-1 pseudovirus stocks has been implemented. The automation platform consists of a modified Tecan-based system including a robot platform for handling racks containing 48 cryovials, a Decapper, a tubing pump and a safety device consisting of ultrasound sensors for online liquid level detection of each individual cryovial. With the aim to aliquot the HIV-1 pseudoviruses in an automated manner under GCLP-compliant conditions a validation plan was developed where the acceptance criteria-accuracy, precision as well as the specificity and robustness-were defined and summarized. By passing the validation experiments described in this article the automated system for aliquoting has been successfully validated. This allows the standardized and operator independent distribution of small-scale and bulk amounts of HIV-1 pseudovirus stocks with a precise and reproducible outcome to support upcoming clinical vaccine trials.

29 CFR 1953.5 - Special provisions for standards changes.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... of its intent to retain the existing State standard to OSHA within 6 months of the Federal..., in the case of standards applicable to products used or distributed in interstate commerce where... standards. (1) Immediately upon publication of an emergency temporary standard in the Federal Register, OSHA...

Pneumatic artificial muscle actuators for compliant robotic manipulators

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Ryan Michael

Robotic systems are increasingly being utilized in applications that require interaction with humans. In order to enable safe physical human-robot interaction, light weight and compliant manipulation are desirable. These requirements are problematic for many conventional actuation systems, which are often heavy, and typically use high stiffness to achieve high performance, leading to large impact forces upon collision. However, pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) are actuators that can satisfy these safety requirements while offering power-to-weight ratios comparable to those of conventional actuators. PAMs are extremely lightweight actuators that produce force in response to pressurization. These muscles demonstrate natural compliance, but have a nonlinear force-contraction profile that complicates modeling and control. This body of research presents solutions to the challenges associated with the implementation of PAMs as actuators in robotic manipulators, particularly with regard to modeling, design, and control. An existing PAM force balance model was modified to incorporate elliptic end geometry and a hyper-elastic constitutive relationship, dramatically improving predictions of PAM behavior at high contraction. Utilizing this improved model, two proof-of-concept PAM-driven manipulators were designed and constructed; design features included parallel placement of actuators and a tendon-link joint design. Genetic algorithm search heuristics were employed to determine an optimal joint geometry; allowing a manipulator to achieve a desired torque profile while minimizing the required PAM pressure. Performance of the manipulators was evaluated in both simulation and experiment employing various linear and nonlinear control strategies. These included output feedback techniques, such as proportional-integral-derivative (PID) and fuzzy logic, a model-based control for computed torque, and more advanced controllers, such as sliding mode, adaptive sliding mode, and

Determining the Optimum Portfolio of Sharia Stocks Using an Approach of Shariah Compliant Asset Pricing Model (SCAPM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fakhri Husein

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Shariah Compliant Asset Pricing Model (SCAPM is a modification of the model Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM. This research is quantitative descriptive study of theories of optimal portfolio analysis applied to trading stocks, especially in stocks Jakarta Islamic Index. Sampling technique used was purposive sampling and obtained 26 shares. The analysis tool used is MatLab R2010a. The results of this study are not prove theMarkowitz portfolio theory. This is explained by the amount of Beta market (β_m a value beta below 1 indicates that the fluctuation of stocks returns do not follow the movement of market fluctuations. Investors are likely to want a high profit, the investors are advised to choose a second portfolio groups, with rate of 0.176722% and investors are likely to enjoy a substantial risk in the investment portfolio are advised to choose the first group with a great risk of 0.8501%.

The Biological Connection Markup Language: a SBGN-compliant format for visualization, filtering and analysis of biological pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Beltrame, Luca; Calura, Enrica; Popovici, Razvan R; Rizzetto, Lisa; Guedez, Damariz Rivero; Donato, Michele; Romualdi, Chiara; Draghici, Sorin; Cavalieri, Duccio

2011-08-01

Many models and analysis of signaling pathways have been proposed. However, neither of them takes into account that a biological pathway is not a fixed system, but instead it depends on the organism, tissue and cell type as well as on physiological, pathological and experimental conditions. The Biological Connection Markup Language (BCML) is a format to describe, annotate and visualize pathways. BCML is able to store multiple information, permitting a selective view of the pathway as it exists and/or behave in specific organisms, tissues and cells. Furthermore, BCML can be automatically converted into data formats suitable for analysis and into a fully SBGN-compliant graphical representation, making it an important tool that can be used by both computational biologists and 'wet lab' scientists. The XML schema and the BCML software suite are freely available under the LGPL for download at http://bcml.dc-atlas.net. They are implemented in Java and supported on MS Windows, Linux and OS X.

Polymer-coated compliant receivers for intact laser-induced forward transfer of thin films: experimental results and modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Feinaeugle, Matthias; Horak, Peter; Sones, Collin L.; Lippert, Thomas; Eason, Rob W.

2014-09-01

In this study, we investigate both experimentally and numerically laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) of thin films to determine the role of a thin polymer layer coating the receiver with the aim of modifying the rate of deceleration and reduction of material stress preventing intact material transfer. A numerical model of the impact phase during LIFT shows that such a layer reduces the modelled stress. The evolution of stress within the transferred deposit and the substrate as a function of the thickness of the polymer layer, the transfer velocity and the elastic properties of the polymer are evaluated. The functionality of the polymer layer is verified experimentally by LIFT printing intact 1- m-thick bismuth telluride films and polymeric light-emitting diode pads onto a layer of 12-m-thick polydimethylsiloxane and 50-nm-thick poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) blended with poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), respectively. Furthermore, it is demonstrated experimentally that the introduction of such a compliant layer improves adhesion between the deposit and its substrate.

Creating religiously compliant milk banks in the Muslim world: a commentary.

Science.gov (United States)

Alnakshabandi, Kholoud; Fiester, Autumn

2016-02-01

Human milk banks are vital for providing donor milk to infants for whom there are maternal or postnatal barriers to the mother's own milk. Although more than 35 countries have active milk banks, not one of those is a Muslim country.(1) Despite widespread support for breastfeeding across the Muslim world, religious constraints surrounding milk-sharing have created challenging barriers to the creation of milk banks. The religious objection centres around the Islamic tenet that consuming human milk builds a kinship bond between individuals who have consumed the same woman's milk which prohibits future marriage between the 'milk-brothers and sisters.' While a small-scale, experimental 'milk exchange' programme has been attempted in two Muslim countries (Kuwait and Malaysia), the only proposed milk bank in the Muslim world was a pilot programme in Turkey that was halted because of religious concerns. The problem with milk banking is the step in the process during which the milk from individual donors is pooled and de-identified, making it impossible to trace its origins and acknowledge the newly formed kinship relationship. To meet the need for Muslim children to be able to access human milk while remaining compliant with the prevalent understanding of Islamic doctrine on milk-sharing, we propose a new approach to milk banking that we term the Conditional Identified Milk Banking System (CIMBS). In this new system, both the donor's and recipient's identities are accessible to all parties through a voluntary registry, and the milk-pooling is limited to three milk donors. Based on recent survey data, we believe that there would be receptivity among practicing Muslims and religious leaders to this alternative approach.

HIPAA Compliant Wireless Sensing Smartwatch Application for the Self-Management of Pediatric Asthma.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseini, Anahita; Buonocore, Chris M; Hashemzadeh, Sepideh; Hojaiji, Hannaneh; Kalantarian, Haik; Sideris, Costas; Bui, Alex A T; King, Christine E; Sarrafzadeh, Majid

2016-06-01

Asthma is the most prevalent chronic disease among pediatrics, as it is the leading cause of student absenteeism and hospitalization for those under the age of 15. To address the significant need to manage this disease in children, the authors present a mobile health (mHealth) system that determines the risk of an asthma attack through physiological and environmental wireless sensors and representational state transfer application program interfaces (RESTful APIs). The data is sent from wireless sensors to a smartwatch application (app) via a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant cryptography framework, which then sends data to a cloud for real-time analytics. The asthma risk is then sent to the smartwatch and provided to the user via simple graphics for easy interpretation by children. After testing the safety and feasibility of the system in an adult with moderate asthma prior to testing in children, it was found that the analytics model is able to determine the overall asthma risk (high, medium, or low risk) with an accuracy of 80.10 ± 14.13%. Furthermore, the features most important for assessing the risk of an asthma attack were multifaceted, highlighting the importance of continuously monitoring different wireless sensors and RESTful APIs. Future testing this asthma attack risk prediction system in pediatric asthma individuals may lead to an effective self-management asthma program.

Patient-oriented presentation of results of radiological procedures using DICOM-compliant DVD media

Science.gov (United States)

Ratib, Osman M.; Aberle, Denise R.; Goldin, Jonathan G.; Lu, David S.; Dahlbom, Magdalena; McGill, D. Ric; McCoy, J. Michael

2003-05-01

Some institutions have adopted digital media such as CD ROMs to provide patients and referring physicians with results of radiological procedures. These systems require a computer to review the images and lack the supporting explanations and guidance for patients to properly understand the results. We developed a hybrid DVD encoding format that combines DICOM-compliant image storage format with video streams viewable on any consumer DVD players. The addition of the video material allows radiologists to provide explanations, disclaimers and guidance to the patients regarding the results of the study. The diagnostic report is also included on the DVD as a PDF file and as a set of video frames that can be viewed on a DVD player. The native high-resolution images are also included in DICOM format on the DVD and can be accessed by any workstation equipped with a DICOM viewer. The DVD that can be reviewed on any consumer DVD player overcomes the limitation of CD ROMS that require the use of a personal computer. The results of the radiological procedures become more accessible patients that could be reluctant or unable to use a computer. Also, live video clips add a more personalized note and allow radiologists to convey important messages to the patients. This is particularly useful for self-referred screening procedures where results should always be accompanied with education material and explanations of the findings.

Repair mechanisms and exposure standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mills, W.A.

1978-01-01

The following topics are discussed; public policy for setting radiation standards; use of linear, nonthreshold theory in setting radiation standards; dose-rate dependence; occupational exposure to radiation; radon inhalation from radium in the soil in the vicinity of the phosphate industry; relation of repair mechanisms for cell survival to cancer induction; application of information on genetic repair to humans and to cancer induction; importance of repair processes in radiation protection standards; corrective factors for repair processes; relation of repair processes to age, sex, and other factors; and population distribution in radiosensitivity

Non-leaky modes and bandgaps of surface acoustic waves in wrinkled stiff-film/compliant-substrate bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Guo-Yang; Xu, Guoqiang; Zheng, Yang; Cao, Yanping

2018-03-01

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices have found a wide variety of technical applications, including SAW filters, SAW resonators, microfluidic actuators, biosensors, flow measurement devices, and seismic wave shields. Stretchable/flexible electronic devices, such as sensory skins for robotics, structural health monitors, and wearable communication devices, have received considerable attention across different disciplines. Flexible SAW devices are essential building blocks for these applications, wherein piezoelectric films may need to be integrated with the compliant substrates. When piezoelectric films are much stiffer than soft substrates, SAWs are usually leaky and the devices incorporating them suffer from acoustic losses. In this study, the propagation of SAWs in a wrinkled bilayer system is investigated, and our analysis shows that non-leaky modes can be achieved by engineering stress patterns through surface wrinkles in the system. Our analysis also uncovers intriguing bandgaps (BGs) related to the SAWs in a wrinkled bilayer system; these are caused by periodic deformation patterns, which indicate that diverse wrinkling patterns could be used as metasurfaces for controlling the propagation of SAWs.

77 FR 7281 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-10

... Electrical Efficiencies for all Liquid-Immersed Distribution Transformer Equipment Classes (Compliance... ``customers.'' Customers refer to electric utilities in the case of liquid-immersed transformers, and to... for Determining Energy Efficiency for Distribution Transformers'' published by the National Electrical...

Modeling the TrueBeam linac using a CAD to Geant4 geometry implementation: Dose and IAEA-compliant phase space calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Constantin, Magdalena; Perl, Joseph; LoSasso, Tom; Salop, Arthur; Whittum, David; Narula, Anisha; Svatos, Michelle; Keall, Paul J.

2011-01-01

Purpose: To create an accurate 6 MV Monte Carlo simulation phase space for the Varian TrueBeam treatment head geometry imported from cad (computer aided design) without adjusting the input electron phase space parameters. Methods: geant4 v4.9.2.p01 was employed to simulate the 6 MV beam treatment head geometry of the Varian TrueBeam linac. The electron tracks in the linear accelerator were simulated with Parmela, and the obtained electron phase space was used as an input to the Monte Carlo beam transport and dose calculations. The geometry components are tessellated solids included in geant4 as gdml (generalized dynamic markup language) files obtained via STEP (standard for the exchange of product) export from Pro/Engineering, followed by STEP import in Fastrad, a STEP-gdml converter. The linac has a compact treatment head and the small space between the shielding collimator and the divergent arc of the upper jaws forbids the implementation of a plane for storing the phase space. Instead, an IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) compliant phase space writer was implemented on a cylindrical surface. The simulation was run in parallel on a 1200 node Linux cluster. The 6 MV dose calculations were performed for field sizes varying from 4 x 4 to 40 x 40 cm 2 . The voxel size for the 60x60x40 cm 3 water phantom was 4x4x4 mm 3 . For the 10x10 cm 2 field, surface buildup calculations were performed using 4x4x2 mm 3 voxels within 20 mm of the surface. Results: For the depth dose curves, 98% of the calculated data points agree within 2% with the experimental measurements for depths between 2 and 40 cm. For depths between 5 and 30 cm, agreement within 1% is obtained for 99% (4x4), 95% (10x10), 94% (20x20 and 30x30), and 89% (40x40) of the data points, respectively. In the buildup region, the agreement is within 2%, except at 1 mm depth where the deviation is 5% for the 10x10 cm 2 open field. For the lateral dose profiles, within the field size for fields up to 30x30 cm 2

Modeling the TrueBeam linac using a CAD to Geant4 geometry implementation: Dose and IAEA-compliant phase space calculations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Constantin, Magdalena; Perl, Joseph; LoSasso, Tom; Salop, Arthur; Whittum, David; Narula, Anisha; Svatos, Michelle; Keall, Paul J. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Radiation Physics Division, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94304 (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025 (United States); Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York 10021 (United States); Varian Medical Systems, Inc., Palo Alto, California 94304 (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, Radiation Physics Division, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94304 (United States)

2011-07-15

Purpose: To create an accurate 6 MV Monte Carlo simulation phase space for the Varian TrueBeam treatment head geometry imported from cad (computer aided design) without adjusting the input electron phase space parameters. Methods: geant4 v4.9.2.p01 was employed to simulate the 6 MV beam treatment head geometry of the Varian TrueBeam linac. The electron tracks in the linear accelerator were simulated with Parmela, and the obtained electron phase space was used as an input to the Monte Carlo beam transport and dose calculations. The geometry components are tessellated solids included in geant4 as gdml (generalized dynamic markup language) files obtained via STEP (standard for the exchange of product) export from Pro/Engineering, followed by STEP import in Fastrad, a STEP-gdml converter. The linac has a compact treatment head and the small space between the shielding collimator and the divergent arc of the upper jaws forbids the implementation of a plane for storing the phase space. Instead, an IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) compliant phase space writer was implemented on a cylindrical surface. The simulation was run in parallel on a 1200 node Linux cluster. The 6 MV dose calculations were performed for field sizes varying from 4 x 4 to 40 x 40 cm{sup 2}. The voxel size for the 60x60x40 cm{sup 3} water phantom was 4x4x4 mm{sup 3}. For the 10x10 cm{sup 2} field, surface buildup calculations were performed using 4x4x2 mm{sup 3} voxels within 20 mm of the surface. Results: For the depth dose curves, 98% of the calculated data points agree within 2% with the experimental measurements for depths between 2 and 40 cm. For depths between 5 and 30 cm, agreement within 1% is obtained for 99% (4x4), 95% (10x10), 94% (20x20 and 30x30), and 89% (40x40) of the data points, respectively. In the buildup region, the agreement is within 2%, except at 1 mm depth where the deviation is 5% for the 10x10 cm{sup 2} open field. For the lateral dose profiles, within the field size

Fabrication of a compliant phantom of the human aortic arch for use in Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV experimentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hütter Larissa

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Compliant phantoms of the human aortic arch can mimic patient specific cardiovascular dysfunctions in vitro. Hence, phantoms may enable elucidation of haemodynamic disturbances caused by aortic dysfunction. This paper describes the fabrication of a thin-walled silicone phantom of the human ascending aorta and brachiocephalic artery. The model geometry was determined via a meta-analysis and modelled in SolidWorks before 3D printing. The solid model surface was smoothed and scanned with a 3D scanner. An offset outer mould was milled from Ebalta S-Model board. The final phantom indicated that ABS was a suitable material for the internal model, the Ebalta S-Model board yielded a rough external surface. Co-location of the moulds during silicone pour was insufficient to enable consistent wall thickness. The resulting phantom was free of air bubbles but did not have the desired wall thickness consistency.

BabelFish-Tools for IEEE C37.118.2-compliant real-time synchrophasor data mediation

Science.gov (United States)

Almas, M. S.; Vanfretti, L.; Baudette, M.

BabelFish (BF) is a real-time data mediator for development and fast prototyping of synchrophasor applications. BF is compliant with the synchrophasor data transmission IEEE Std C37.118.2-2011. BF establishes a TCP/IP connection with any Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) or Phasor Data Concentrator (PDC) stream and parses the IEEE Std C37.118.2-2011 frames in real-time to provide access to raw numerical data in the LabVIEW environment. Furthermore, BF allows the user to select "data-of-interest" and transmit it to either a local or remote application using the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) in order to support both unicast and multicast communication. In the power systems Wide Area Monitoring Protection and Control (WAMPAC) domain, BF provides the first Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) for the purpose of giving the users tools for fast prototyping of new applications processing PMU measurements in their chosen environment, thus liberating them of time consuming synchrophasor data handling and allowing them to develop applications in a modular fashion, without a need of a large and monolithic synchrophasor software environment.

A detailed analysis of adhesion mechanics between a compliant elastic coating and a spherical probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sridhar, I; Zheng, Z W; Johnson, K L

2004-01-01

As length scales decrease, adhesive forces become increasingly important. These adhesive forces contribute to the normal load in experiments conducted on thin layered systems using micro-probe instruments such as the surface force apparatus (SFA) and the atomic force microscope (AFM). Adhesion between these thin-layer systems was analysed by Sridhar et al (1997 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 30 1710) for the SFA geometry and Johnson and Sridhar (2001 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 34 683) for AFM using a numerical SJF (Sridhar-Johnson-Fleck) version of the JKR (Johnson-Kendal-Roberts) theory. In this paper, adhesion mechanics between a compliant elastic coating and a spherical probe is investigated using the SJF model in detail. When the substrate is rigid, the non-dimensional pull-off force may differ from the JKR value of -0.5 by as much as 90%. Computations of the contact size at zero load and pull-off force are presented for a range of values of adhesion energy. Finally, empirical relations for the contact load and contact compliance as a function of contact radius were obtained from the numerical data for practical layer-substrate material systems

Standard requirements for GCP-compliant data management in multinational clinical trials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ohmann, Christian; Kuchinke, Wolfgang; Canham, Steve

2011-01-01

A recent survey has shown that data management in clinical trials performed by academic trial units still faces many difficulties (e.g. heterogeneity of software products, deficits in quality management, limited human and financial resources and the complexity of running a local computer centre...

Web-based discovery, access and analysis tools for the provision of different data sources like remote sensing products and climate data

Science.gov (United States)

Eberle, J.; Hese, S.; Schmullius, C.

2012-12-01

To provide different of Earth Observation products in the area of Siberia, the Siberian Earth System Science Cluster (SIB-ESS-C) was established as a spatial data infrastructure at the University of Jena (Germany), Department for Earth Observation. The infrastructure implements standards published by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for data discovery, data access and data analysis. The objective of SIB-ESS-C is to faciliate environmental research and Earth system science in Siberia. Several products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer sensor were integrated by serving ISO-compliant Metadata and providing OGC-compliant Web Map Service for data visualization and Web Coverage Services / Web Feature Service for data access. Furthermore climate data from the World Meteorological Organization were downloaded, converted, provided as OGC Sensor Observation Service. Each climate data station is described with ISO-compliant Metadata. All these datasets from multiple sources are provided within the SIB-ESS-C infrastructure (figure 1). Furthermore an automatic workflow integrates updates of these datasets daily. The brokering approach within the SIB-ESS-C system is to collect data from different sources, convert the data into common data formats, if necessary, and provide them with standardized Web services. Additional tools are made available within the SIB-ESS-C Geoportal for an easy access to download and analysis functions (figure 2). The data can be visualized, accessed and analysed with this Geoportal. Providing OGC-compliant services the data can also be accessed with other OGC-compliant clients.; Figure 1. Technical Concept of SIB-ESS-C providing different data sources ; Figure 2. Screenshot of the web-based SIB-ESS-C system.

Preliminary estimation of infantile exposure to BPA based on the standard quality of baby bottles distributed in Isfahan urban society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zohreh Abdi Moghadam

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Aims: This study was aimed to estimate the bisphenol A (BPA intake from baby bottles, considering the diversity and the standard quality of the baby bottles distributed in an Isfahan urban society. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in Isfahan in 2011. Baby shops ( n = 33 and drug stores ( n = 7 in four district areas were included in the study. The distribution of baby bottles was investigated regarding their brand, origin, and being labeled "BPA free." Estimation of exposure to BPA from baby bottles was made based on the national and international representative data. Results: The products marked as "BPA free" were found among the western products and limited to two of the selected areas. No "BPA free" marked baby bottle was distinguished among the Iranian made products. Of the 8% exclusively formula-fed infants, 90% may be the high consumers of BPA from polycarbonate baby bottles, with an intake of 1.5-2 μg/kg b.w./day for the moderate and 7.5-10 μg/kg b.w./day in case of worse condition. Conclusion: Considering the current globally accepted threshold daily intake (TDI for BPA, primary exposure estimation is that feeding using non-BPA-free baby bottles is not a serious health concern in Iran. Thought that threshold level of TDI is discussed to be reduced in future, improvement and revision of the national standards can be effective in reducing the exposure to BPA in Iranian infants so as to provide large margin of safety for them.

78 FR 23335 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-18

... nominal EL values. Table I.5--Electrical Efficiencies for All Liquid-Immersed Distribution Transformer... 2,500 99.53 Table I.6--Electrical Efficiencies for All Low-Voltage Dry-Type Distribution Transformer... Transformers'' published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA TP 1-2002). [[Page 23343...

Quality standards proposal for the pipeline gas distribution service in the state of Sao Paulo - Brazil; Proposta de padroes de qualidade para o servico de distribuicao de gas canalizado no Estado de Sao Paulo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galvao, Clovis Badaro; Assad, Luiz Sergio [Secretaria de Estado de Energia, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Bajay, Sergio Valdir [Universidade Estadual de Campinas, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica

1998-12-31

The Energy Supply Public Utilities Commission of the State of Sao Paulo - CSPE created in April 1998 to regulate the public services of electricity and gas distribution through networks in the State. Within its legal attributions, the future staff of CSPE, still in the Sao Paulo Secretary of State of Energy, put forward standards to regulate the quality of service in the distribution of electricity and pipeline gas in the State. This paper summarises the current, still preliminary, version of these gas standards, that take into account the current practice of COMGAS, international, well proven, standards as well as COMGAS capacity to achieve quality of service gains favoring the consumers. (author) 8 refs., 3 tabs.

Protection of Distribution Systems with Distributed Energy Resources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bak-Jensen, Birgitte; Browne, Matthew; Calone, Roberto

of 17 months of work of the Joint Working Group B5/C6.26/CIRED “Protection of Distribution Systems with Distributed Energy Resources”. The working group used the CIGRE report TB421 “The impact of Renewable Energy Sources and Distributed Generation on Substation Protection and Automation”, published...... by WG B5.34 as the entry document for the work on this report. In doing so, the group aligned the content and the scope of this report, the network structures considered, possible islanding, standardized communication and adaptive protection, interface protection, connection schemes and protection...... are listed (chapter 3). The first main part of the report starts with a summary of the backgrounds on DER and current practices in protection at the distribution level (chapter 4). This chapter contains an analysis of CIGRE TB421, protection relevant characteristics of DER, a review of current practices...

Framework and Method for Controlling a Robotic System Using a Distributed Computer Network

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Adam M. (Inventor); Barajas, Leandro G. (Inventor); Permenter, Frank Noble (Inventor); Strawser, Philip A. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A robotic system for performing an autonomous task includes a humanoid robot having a plurality of compliant robotic joints, actuators, and other integrated system devices that are controllable in response to control data from various control points, and having sensors for measuring feedback data at the control points. The system includes a multi-level distributed control framework (DCF) for controlling the integrated system components over multiple high-speed communication networks. The DCF has a plurality of first controllers each embedded in a respective one of the integrated system components, e.g., the robotic joints, a second controller coordinating the components via the first controllers, and a third controller for transmitting a signal commanding performance of the autonomous task to the second controller. The DCF virtually centralizes all of the control data and the feedback data in a single location to facilitate control of the robot across the multiple communication networks.

Analysis of ISO 26262 compliant techniques for the automotive domain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S., Manoj Kannan; Dajsuren, Y.; Luo, Y.; Barosan, I.; Antkiewicz, M.; Atlee, J.; Dingel, J.; S, R.

2015-01-01

The ISO 26262 standard defines functional safety for automotive E/E systems. Since the publication of the first edition of this standard in 2011, many different safety techniques complying to the ISO 26262 have been developed. However, it is not clear which parts and (sub-) phases of the standard

Grid Databases for Shared Image Analysis in the MammoGrid Project

CERN Document Server

Amendolia, S R; Hauer, T; Manset, D; McClatchey, R; Odeh, M; Reading, T; Rogulin, D; Schottlander, D; Solomonides, T

2004-01-01

The MammoGrid project aims to prove that Grid infrastructures can be used for collaborative clinical analysis of database-resident but geographically distributed medical images. This requires: a) the provision of a clinician-facing front-end workstation and b) the ability to service real-world clinician queries across a distributed and federated database. The MammoGrid project will prove the viability of the Grid by harnessing its power to enable radiologists from geographically dispersed hospitals to share standardized mammograms, to compare diagnoses (with and without computer aided detection of tumours) and to perform sophisticated epidemiological studies across national boundaries. This paper outlines the approach taken in MammoGrid to seamlessly connect radiologist workstations across a Grid using an "information infrastructure" and a DICOM-compliant object model residing in multiple distributed data stores in Italy and the UK

Escort entropies and divergences and related canonical distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bercher, J.-F.

2011-01-01

We discuss two families of two-parameter entropies and divergences, derived from the standard Renyi and Tsallis entropies and divergences. These divergences and entropies are found as divergences or entropies of escort distributions. Exploiting the nonnegativity of the divergences, we derive the expression of the canonical distribution associated to the new entropies and a observable given as an escort-mean value. We show that this canonical distribution extends, and smoothly connects, the results obtained in nonextensive thermodynamics for the standard and generalized mean value constraints. -- Highlights: → Two-parameter entropies are derived from q-entropies and escort distributions. → The related canonical distribution is derived. → This connects and extends known results in nonextensive statistics.

Weight-for-age standard score - distribution and effect on in-hospital mortality: A retrospective analysis in pediatric cardiac surgery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antony George

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To study the distribution of weight for age standard score (Z score in pediatric cardiac surgery and its effect on in-hospital mortality. Introduction: WHO recommends Standard Score (Z score to quantify and describe anthropometric data. The distribution of weight for age Z score and its effect on mortality in congenital heart surgery has not been studied. Methods: All patients of younger than 5 years who underwent cardiac surgery from July 2007 to June 2013, under single surgical unit at our institute were enrolled. Z score for weight for age was calculated. Patients were classified according to Z score and mortality across the classes was compared. Discrimination and calibration of the for Z score model was assessed. Improvement in predictability of mortality after addition of Z score to Aristotle Comprehensive Complexity (ACC score was analyzed. Results: The median Z score was -3.2 (Interquartile range -4.24 to -1.91] with weight (mean±SD of 8.4 ± 3.38 kg. Overall mortality was 11.5%. 71% and 52.59% of patients had Z score < -2 and < -3 respectively. Lower Z score classes were associated with progressively increasing mortality. Z score as continuous variable was associated with O.R. of 0.622 (95% CI- 0.527 to 0.733, P < 0.0001 for in-hospital mortality and remained significant predictor even after adjusting for age, gender, bypass duration and ACC score. Addition of Z score to ACC score improved its predictability for in-hosptial mortality (δC - 0.0661 [95% CI - 0.017 to 0.0595, P = 0.0169], IDI- 3.83% [95% CI - 0.017 to 0.0595, P = 0.00042]. Conclusion: Z scores were lower in our cohort and were associated with in-hospital mortality. Addition of Z score to ACC score significantly improves predictive ability for in-hospital mortality.

The κ-generalized distribution: A new descriptive model for the size distribution of incomes

Science.gov (United States)

Clementi, F.; Di Matteo, T.; Gallegati, M.; Kaniadakis, G.

2008-05-01

This paper proposes the κ-generalized distribution as a model for describing the distribution and dispersion of income within a population. Formulas for the shape, moments and standard tools for inequality measurement-such as the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient-are given. A method for parameter estimation is also discussed. The model is shown to fit extremely well the data on personal income distribution in Australia and in the United States.

Characteristics of the Audit Processes for Distributed Informatics Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius POPA

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The paper contains issues regarding: main characteristics and examples of the distributed informatics systems and main difference categories among them, concepts, principles, techniques and fields for auditing the distributed informatics systems, concepts and classes of the standard term, characteristics of this one, examples of standards, guidelines, procedures and controls for auditing the distributed informatics systems. The distributed informatics systems are characterized by the following issues: development process, resources, implemented functionalities, architectures, system classes, particularities. The audit framework has two sides: the audit process and auditors. The audit process must be led in accordance with the standard specifications in the IT&C field. The auditors must meet the ethical principles and they must have a high-level of professional skills and competence in IT&C field.

Autoregressive moving average fitting for real standard deviation in Monte Carlo power distribution calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueki, Taro

2010-01-01

The noise propagation of tallies in the Monte Carlo power method can be represented by the autoregressive moving average process of orders p and p-1 (ARMA(p,p-1)], where p is an integer larger than or equal to two. The formula of the autocorrelation of ARMA(p,q), p≥q+1, indicates that ARMA(3,2) fitting is equivalent to lumping the eigenmodes of fluctuation propagation in three modes such as the slow, intermediate and fast attenuation modes. Therefore, ARMA(3,2) fitting was applied to the real standard deviation estimation of fuel assemblies at particular heights. The numerical results show that straightforward ARMA(3,2) fitting is promising but a stability issue must be resolved toward the incorporation in the distributed version of production Monte Carlo codes. The same numerical results reveal that the average performance of ARMA(3,2) fitting is equivalent to that of the batch method in MCNP with a batch size larger than one hundred and smaller than two hundred cycles for a 1100 MWe pressurized water reactor. The bias correction of low lag autocovariances in MVP/GMVP is demonstrated to have the potential of improving the average performance of ARMA(3,2) fitting. (author)

The Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration (SADI Web service Design-Pattern, API and Reference Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wilkinson Mark D

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The complexity and inter-related nature of biological data poses a difficult challenge for data and tool integration. There has been a proliferation of interoperability standards and projects over the past decade, none of which has been widely adopted by the bioinformatics community. Recent attempts have focused on the use of semantics to assist integration, and Semantic Web technologies are being welcomed by this community. Description SADI - Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration - is a lightweight set of fully standards-compliant Semantic Web service design patterns that simplify the publication of services of the type commonly found in bioinformatics and other scientific domains. Using Semantic Web technologies at every level of the Web services "stack", SADI services consume and produce instances of OWL Classes following a small number of very straightforward best-practices. In addition, we provide codebases that support these best-practices, and plug-in tools to popular developer and client software that dramatically simplify deployment of services by providers, and the discovery and utilization of those services by their consumers. Conclusions SADI Services are fully compliant with, and utilize only foundational Web standards; are simple to create and maintain for service providers; and can be discovered and utilized in a very intuitive way by biologist end-users. In addition, the SADI design patterns significantly improve the ability of software to automatically discover appropriate services based on user-needs, and automatically chain these into complex analytical workflows. We show that, when resources are exposed through SADI, data compliant with a given ontological model can be automatically gathered, or generated, from these distributed, non-coordinating resources - a behaviour we have not observed in any other Semantic system. Finally, we show that, using SADI, data dynamically generated from Web services

The Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration (SADI) Web service Design-Pattern, API and Reference Implementation

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background The complexity and inter-related nature of biological data poses a difficult challenge for data and tool integration. There has been a proliferation of interoperability standards and projects over the past decade, none of which has been widely adopted by the bioinformatics community. Recent attempts have focused on the use of semantics to assist integration, and Semantic Web technologies are being welcomed by this community. Description SADI - Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration - is a lightweight set of fully standards-compliant Semantic Web service design patterns that simplify the publication of services of the type commonly found in bioinformatics and other scientific domains. Using Semantic Web technologies at every level of the Web services "stack", SADI services consume and produce instances of OWL Classes following a small number of very straightforward best-practices. In addition, we provide codebases that support these best-practices, and plug-in tools to popular developer and client software that dramatically simplify deployment of services by providers, and the discovery and utilization of those services by their consumers. Conclusions SADI Services are fully compliant with, and utilize only foundational Web standards; are simple to create and maintain for service providers; and can be discovered and utilized in a very intuitive way by biologist end-users. In addition, the SADI design patterns significantly improve the ability of software to automatically discover appropriate services based on user-needs, and automatically chain these into complex analytical workflows. We show that, when resources are exposed through SADI, data compliant with a given ontological model can be automatically gathered, or generated, from these distributed, non-coordinating resources - a behaviour we have not observed in any other Semantic system. Finally, we show that, using SADI, data dynamically generated from Web services can be explored in a manner

The Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration (SADI) Web service Design-Pattern, API and Reference Implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkinson, Mark D; Vandervalk, Benjamin; McCarthy, Luke

2011-10-24

The complexity and inter-related nature of biological data poses a difficult challenge for data and tool integration. There has been a proliferation of interoperability standards and projects over the past decade, none of which has been widely adopted by the bioinformatics community. Recent attempts have focused on the use of semantics to assist integration, and Semantic Web technologies are being welcomed by this community. SADI - Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration - is a lightweight set of fully standards-compliant Semantic Web service design patterns that simplify the publication of services of the type commonly found in bioinformatics and other scientific domains. Using Semantic Web technologies at every level of the Web services "stack", SADI services consume and produce instances of OWL Classes following a small number of very straightforward best-practices. In addition, we provide codebases that support these best-practices, and plug-in tools to popular developer and client software that dramatically simplify deployment of services by providers, and the discovery and utilization of those services by their consumers. SADI Services are fully compliant with, and utilize only foundational Web standards; are simple to create and maintain for service providers; and can be discovered and utilized in a very intuitive way by biologist end-users. In addition, the SADI design patterns significantly improve the ability of software to automatically discover appropriate services based on user-needs, and automatically chain these into complex analytical workflows. We show that, when resources are exposed through SADI, data compliant with a given ontological model can be automatically gathered, or generated, from these distributed, non-coordinating resources - a behaviour we have not observed in any other Semantic system. Finally, we show that, using SADI, data dynamically generated from Web services can be explored in a manner very similar to data housed in

Development of the Lymphoma Enterprise Architecture Database: a caBIG Silver level compliant system.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Taoying; Shenoy, Pareen J; Sinha, Rajni; Graiser, Michael; Bumpers, Kevin W; Flowers, Christopher R

2009-04-03

Lymphomas are the fifth most common cancer in United States with numerous histological subtypes. Integrating existing clinical information on lymphoma patients provides a platform for understanding biological variability in presentation and treatment response and aids development of novel therapies. We developed a cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG) Silver level compliant lymphoma database, called the Lymphoma Enterprise Architecture Data-system (LEAD), which integrates the pathology, pharmacy, laboratory, cancer registry, clinical trials, and clinical data from institutional databases. We utilized the Cancer Common Ontological Representation Environment Software Development Kit (caCORE SDK) provided by National Cancer Institute's Center for Bioinformatics to establish the LEAD platform for data management. The caCORE SDK generated system utilizes an n-tier architecture with open Application Programming Interfaces, controlled vocabularies, and registered metadata to achieve semantic integration across multiple cancer databases. We demonstrated that the data elements and structures within LEAD could be used to manage clinical research data from phase 1 clinical trials, cohort studies, and registry data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database. This work provides a clear example of how semantic technologies from caBIG can be applied to support a wide range of clinical and research tasks, and integrate data from disparate systems into a single architecture. This illustrates the central importance of caBIG to the management of clinical and biological data.

An efficient auto TPT stitch guidance generation for optimized standard cell design

Science.gov (United States)

Samboju, Nagaraj C.; Choi, Soo-Han; Arikati, Srini; Cilingir, Erdem

2015-03-01

As the technology continues to shrink below 14nm, triple patterning lithography (TPT) is a worthwhile lithography methodology for printing dense layers such as Metal1. However, this increases the complexity of standard cell design, as it is very difficult to develop a TPT compliant layout without compromising on the area. Hence, this emphasizes the importance to have an accurate stitch generation methodology to meet the standard cell area requirement as defined by the technology shrink factor. In this paper, we present an efficient auto TPT stitch guidance generation technique for optimized standard cell design. The basic idea here is to first identify the conflicting polygons based on the Fix Guidance [1] solution developed by Synopsys. Fix Guidance is a reduced sub-graph containing minimum set of edges along with the connecting polygons; by eliminating these edges in a design 3-color conflicts can be resolved. Once the conflicting polygons are identified using this method, they are categorized into four types [2] - (Type 1 to 4). The categorization is based on number of interactions a polygon has with the coloring links and the triangle loops of fix guidance. For each type a certain criteria for keep-out region is defined, based on which the final stitch guidance locations are generated. This technique provides various possible stitch locations to the user and helps the user to select the best stitch location considering both design flexibility (max. pin access/small area) and process-preferences. Based on this technique, a standard cell library for place and route (P and R) can be developed with colorless data and a stitch marker defined by designer using our proposed method. After P and R, the full chip (block) would contain the colorless data and standard cell stitch markers only. These stitch markers are considered as "must be stitch" candidates. Hence during full chip decomposition it is not required to generate and select the stitch markers again for the

Current Issues and Distributive Justice.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosal, Lorenca Consuelo

1992-01-01

Provides a lesson plan on the issue of distributive justice, or fairness in the ways things are distributed among individuals and groups. Includes a student reading concerning a proposed guaranteed standard of living. Proposes an activity that calls for student discussion of a constitutional amendment that would offer such a guarantee. (SG)

470‐MHz–698‐MHz IEEE 802.15.4m Compliant RF CMOS Transceiver

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Youngho Seo

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes an IEEE 802.15.4m compliant TV white‐space orthogonal frequency‐division multiplexing (TVWS‐(OFDM radio frequency (RF transceiver that can be adopted in advanced metering infrastructures, universal remote controllers, smart factories, consumer electronics, and other areas. The proposed TVWS‐OFDM RF transceiver consists of a receiver, a transmitter, a 25% duty‐cycle local oscillator generator, and a delta‐sigma fractional‐N phase‐locked loop. In the TV band from 470 MHz to 698 MHz, the highly linear RF transmitter protects the occupied TV signals, and the high‐Q filtering RF receiver is tolerable to in‐band interferers as strong as −20 dBm at a 3‐MHz offset. The proposed TVWS‐OFDM RF transceiver is fabricated using a 0.13‐μm CMOS process, and consumes 47 mA in the Tx mode and 35 mA in the Rx mode. The fabricated chip shows a Tx average power of 0 dBm with an error‐vector‐magnitude of  3%, and a sensitivity level of −103 dBm with a packet‐error‐rate of 3%. Using the implemented TVWS‐OFDM modules, a public demonstration of electricity metering was successfully carried out.

Compliant actuation based on dielectric elastomers for a force-feedback device: modeling and experimental evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Vertechy

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Thanks to their large power densities, low costs and shock-insensitivity, Dielectric Elastomers (DE seem to be a promising technology for the implementation of light and compact force-feedback devices such as, for instance, haptic interfaces. Nonetheless, the development of these kinds of DE-based systems is not trivial owing to the relevant dissipative phenomena that affect the DE when subjected to rapidly changing deformations. In this context, the present paper addresses the development of a force feedback controller for an agonist-antagonist linear actuator composed of a couple of conically-shaped DE films and a compliant mechanism behaving as a negative-rate bias spring. The actuator is firstly modeled accounting for the visco-hyperelastic nature of the DE material. The model is then linearized and employed for the design of a force controller. The controller employs a position sensor, which determines the actuator configuration, and a force sensor, which measures the interaction force that the actuator exchanges with the environment. In addition, an optimum full-state observer is also implemented, which enables both accurate estimation of the time-dependent behavior of the elastomeric material and adequate suppression of the sensor measurement noise. Preliminary experimental results are provided to validate the proposed actuator-controller architecture.

Riding through red lights: the rate, characteristics and risk factors of non-compliant urban commuter cyclists.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Marilyn; Newstead, Stuart; Charlton, Judith; Oxley, Jennifer

2011-01-01

This study determined the rate and associated factors of red light infringement among urban commuter cyclists. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using a covert video camera to record cyclists at 10 sites across metropolitan Melbourne, Australia from October 2008 to April 2009. In total, 4225 cyclists faced a red light and 6.9% were non-compliant. The main predictive factor for infringement was direction of travel, cyclists turning left (traffic travels on the left-side in Australia) had 28.3 times the relative odds of infringement compared to cyclists who continued straight through the intersection. Presence of other road users had a deterrent effect with the odds of infringement lower when a vehicle travelling in the same direction was present (OR=0.39, 95% CI 0.28-0.53) or when other cyclists were present (OR=0.26, 95% CI 0.19-0.36). Findings suggest that some cyclists do not perceive turning left against a red signal to be unsafe and the opportunity to ride through the red light during low cross traffic times influences the likelihood of infringement. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrodynamic air lubricated compliant surface bearing for an automotive gas turbine engine. 2: Materials and coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Bhushan, B.; Ruscitto, D.; Gray, S.

1978-01-01

Material coatings for an air-lubricated, compliant journal bearing for an automotive gas turbine engine were exposed to service test temperatures of 540 C or 650 C for 300 hours, and to 10 temperature cycles from room temperatures to the service test temperatures. Selected coatings were then put on journal and partial-arc foils and tested in start-stop cycle tests at 14 kPa (2 psi) loading for 2000 cycles. Half of the test cycles were performed at a test chamber service temperature of 540 C (1000 F) or 650 C (1200 F); the other half were performed at room temperature. Based on test results, the following combinations and their service temperature limitations are recommended: HL-800 TM (CdO and graphite) on foil versus chrome carbide on journal up to 370 C (700 F); NASA PS 120 (Tribaloy 400, silver and CaF2 on journal versus uncoated foil up to 540 C (1000 F); and Kaman DES on journal and foil up to 640 C (1200 F). Kaman DES coating system was further tested successfully at 35 kPa (5 psi) loading for 2000 start-stop cycles.

Convective and global stability analysis of a Mach 5.8 boundary layer grazing a compliant surface

Science.gov (United States)

Dettenrieder, Fabian; Bodony, Daniel

2016-11-01

Boundary layer transition on high-speed vehicles is expected to be affected by unsteady surface compliance. The stability properties of a Mach 5.8 zero-pressure-gradient laminar boundary layer grazing a nominally-flat thermo-mechanically compliant panel is considered. The linearized compressible Navier-Stokes equations describe small amplitude disturbances in the fluid while the panel deformations are described by the Kirchhoff-Love plate equation and its thermal state by the transient heat equation. Compatibility conditions that couple disturbances in the fluid to those in the solid yield simple algebraic and robin boundary conditions for the velocity and thermal states, respectively. A local convective stability analysis shows that the panel can modify both the first and second Mack modes when, for metallic-like panels, the panel thickness exceeds the lengthscale δ99 Rex- 0 . 5 . A global stability analysis, which permits finite panel lengths with clamped-clamped boundary conditions, shows a rich eigenvalue spectrum with several branches. Unstable modes are found with streamwise-growing panel deformations leading to Mach wave-type radiation. Stable global modes are also found and have distinctly different panel modes but similar radiation patterns. Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Pharmaceutical quality assurance of local private distributors: a secondary analysis in 13 low-income and middle-income countries

Science.gov (United States)

Caudron, Jean Michel; Schiavetti, Benedetta; Pouget, Corinne; Tsoumanis, Achilleas; Meessen, Bruno; Ravinetto, Raffaella

2018-01-01

Introduction The rapid globalisation of the pharmaceutical production and distribution has not been supported by harmonisation of regulatory systems worldwide. Thus, the supply systems in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) remain exposed to the risk of poor-quality medicines. To contribute to estimating this risk in the private sector in LMICs, we assessed the quality assurance system of a convenient sample of local private pharmaceutical distributors. Methods This descriptive study uses secondary data derived from the audits conducted by the QUAMED group at 60 local private pharmaceutical distributors in 13 LMICs. We assessed the distributors’ compliance with good distribution practices (GDP), general quality requirements (GQR) and cold chain management (CCM), based on an evaluation tool inspired by the WHO guidelines ’Model Quality Assurance System (MQAS) for procurement agencies'. Descriptive statistics describe the compliance for the whole sample, for distributors in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) versus those in non-SSA, and for those in low-income countries (LICs) versus middle-income countries (MICs). Results Local private pharmaceutical distributors in our sample were non-compliant, very low-compliant or low-compliant for GQR (70%), GDP (60%) and CCM (41%). Only 7/60 showed good to full compliance for at least two criteria. Observed compliance varies by geographical region and by income group: maximum values are higher in non-SSA versus SSA and in MICs versus LICs, while minimum values are the same across different groups. Conclusion The poor compliance with WHO quality standards observed in our sample indicates a concrete risk that patients in LMICs are exposed to poor-quality or degraded medicines. Significant investments are needed to strengthen the regulatory supervision, including on private pharmaceutical distributors. An adapted standardised evaluation tool inspired by the WHO MQAS would be helpful for self-evaluation, audit and inspection

76 FR 11396 - Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers: Public Meeting and Availability of...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-02

... impact of the standard on manufacturers and customers of equipment subject to the standard; 2. The... relationship serves as the basis for cost-benefit calculations for individual customers, manufacturers, and the... PBP analyses determine the economic impact of potential standards on individual customers. The LCC is...

Standard Populations (Millions) for Age-Adjustment - SEER Population Datasets

Science.gov (United States)

Download files containing standard population data for use in statististical software. The files contain the same data distributed with SEER*Stat software. You can also view the standard populations, either 19 age groups or single ages.

Providers and Patients Caught Between Standardization and Individualization: Individualized Standardization as a Solution Comment on "(Re) Making the Procrustean Bed? Standardization and Customization as Competing Logics in Healthcare".

Science.gov (United States)

Ansmann, Lena; Pfaff, Holger

2017-08-12

In their 2017 article, Mannion and Exworthy provide a thoughtful and theory-based analysis of two parallel trends in modern healthcare systems and their competing and conflicting logics: standardization and customization. This commentary further discusses the challenge of treatment decision-making in times of evidence-based medicine (EBM), shared decision-making and personalized medicine. From the perspective of systems theory, we propose the concept of individualized standardization as a solution to the problem. According to this concept, standardization is conceptualized as a guiding framework leaving room for individualization in the patient physician interaction. The theoretical background is the concept of context management according to systems theory. Moreover, the comment suggests multidisciplinary teams as a possible solution for the integration of standardization and individualization, using the example of multidisciplinary tumor conferences and highlighting its limitations. The comment also supports the authors' statement of the patient as co-producer and introduces the idea that the competing logics of standardization and individualization are a matter of perspective on macro, meso and micro levels. © 2018 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Method of recommending items to a user based on user interest

Science.gov (United States)

Bollen, John; Van De Sompel, Herbert

2013-11-05

Although recording of usage data is common in scholarly information services, its exploitation for the creation of value-added services remains limited due to concerns regarding, among others, user privacy, data validity, and the lack of accepted standards for the representation, sharing and aggregation of usage data. A technical, standards-based architecture for sharing usage information is presented. In this architecture, OpenURL-compliant linking servers aggregate usage information of a specific user community as it navigates the distributed information environment that it has access to. This usage information is made OAI-PMH harvestable so that usage information exposed by many linking servers can be aggregated to facilitate the creation of value-added services with a reach beyond that of a single community or a single information service.

Usage based indicators to assess the impact of scholarly works: architecture and method

Science.gov (United States)

Bollen, Johan [Santa Fe, NM; Van De Sompel, Herbert [Santa Fe, NM

2012-03-13

Although recording of usage data is common in scholarly information services, its exploitation for the creation of value-added services remains limited due to concerns regarding, among others, user privacy, data validity, and the lack of accepted standards for the representation, sharing and aggregation of usage data. A technical, standards-based architecture for sharing usage information is presented. In this architecture, OpenURL-compliant linking servers aggregate usage information of a specific user community as it navigates the distributed information environment that it has access to. This usage information is made OAI-PMH harvestable so that usage information exposed by many linking servers can be aggregated to facilitate the creation of value-added services with a reach beyond that of a single community or a single information service.

Information and communication technologies for operating of smart distribution grids based on the German standardization roadmap; Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien zur Betriebsfuehrung smarter Verteilungsnetze auf Basis der Deutschen Normungsroadmap

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brunner, Christoph [IT4Power, Zug (Switzerland); Buchholz, Bernd Michael [NTB Technoservice, Pyrbaum (Germany); Hampel, Herman [iAD GmbH, Grosshabersdorf (Germany); Naumann, A. [Magdeburg Univ. (Germany)

2012-07-01

The current challenges of the distribution networks are caused by a growing volume of distributed energy in-feed and new types of load. They require the introduction of information and communication technologies (ICT) down to the low voltage level. Innovative monitoring and control tasks are developed in the framework of the European lighthouse project ''Web2Energy'' (W2E) and performed in the practice of the 20/0.4 kV network of the HSE AG in Darmstadt. The overview of the realized functions is given and the related information exchange between the control centre and the distributed plants is considered. The project applies the standards IEC 61850 for data communication and IEC 61968/70 for the data management (CIM - Common Information Model) in the control center (CC). The client - server architecture of the developed communication system is considered in detail. The project related W2E CC serves the aspects of smart distribution also in the context with market activities. Data acquisition and control of the 20/0.4 kV terminals and the various power plants are executed by a mini remote terminal unit. The W2E RTU offers a 100 MBd Ethernet interface providing the IEC 61850 protocol for the access to the communication system. The required application specific extensions of the standards are discussed and the first experiences for application in the practice are demonstrated. (orig.)

Defining the framework for environmentally compliant cleanup: The Hanford site tri-party agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Austin, B.A.; Wisness, S.H.

1994-01-01

The Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, commonly called the Tri-Party Agreement, was signed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State of Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in May of 1989. It was the first three-party agreement of its magnitude in the country and was touted as a landmark agreement. It was one of the most significant actions that has been taken to define the framework for environmentally compliant cleanup actions at the Hanford Site. Accomplishments thus far represent a lot of planning, permitting, and development activities either required by regulation or necessary to ensure an adequate infrastructure to support cleanup activities. Actual cleanup work and construction of new facilities are beginning to accelerate as the Hanford Site moves out of study and development phases into actual cleanup activities. Significant changes to the Hanford Tri-Party Agreement were negotiated between May 1993 and January 1994. These negotiations were precipitated by the completion of a 15-month rebaselining study of the Hanford Site's Tank Waste Remediation System. The revised agreement is based on comments and values the three agencies heard from people of the region during the negotiation process. The recent renegotiation reflected an ability of the agencies and the agreement to change commensurate with technical, economic, and political realities of today. Hanford has moved into a new era of public participation which will continue to watch and guide cleanup efforts in manners satisfactory to regional concerns and values

Standard compensation for power cuts. Working group report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-07-01

The Working Group was commissioned to draw up a proposal in the form of a Government Bill for provisions to be included in the Electricity Market Act on imposing an obligation on the distribution net operator to pay a standard compensation to the users of electricity for the event that they get no access to electricity. The Working Group should consider especially a model of standard compensation presented in the final report by Mr. Jarl Forsten, Deputy Director General of the Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT, published on 30 April 2002 that the amount of standard compensation should not depend on the reason for the power cut. The Working Group proposes that the Electricity Market Act should be amended by provisions providing that a distribution net operator shall pay to the user of electricity a standard compensation for power cuts lasting over 12 hours. The amount of compensation shall be based on the annual network service fee and a sliding scale of compensation related to the duration of the power cut shall be applied. The maximum compensation shall be paid when the power cut lasts more than five days. The maximum amount of individual compensations shall be fixed at EUR 700. The proposed provisions on standard compensation in the event of power cuts are aimed at amending the provisions in Chapter 6a of the Electricity Market Act on price reduction and compensation because of fault in the supply of electricity. The aim of the introduction of standard compensation for power cuts is to persuade distribution net operators to make an effort to minimize the time for power cuts. (orig.)

Monitoring fish distributions along electrofishing segments

Science.gov (United States)

Miranda, Leandro E.

2014-01-01

Electrofishing is widely used to monitor fish species composition and relative abundance in streams and lakes. According to standard protocols, multiple segments are selected in a body of water to monitor population relative abundance as the ratio of total catch to total sampling effort. The standard protocol provides an assessment of fish distribution at a macrohabitat scale among segments, but not within segments. An ancillary protocol was developed for assessing fish distribution at a finer scale within electrofishing segments. The ancillary protocol was used to estimate spacing, dispersion, and association of two species along shore segments in two local reservoirs. The added information provided by the ancillary protocol may be useful for assessing fish distribution relative to fish of the same species, to fish of different species, and to environmental or habitat characteristics.

Luminosity distribution in galaxies. I. The elliptical galaxy NGC 3379 as a luminosity distribution standard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

de Vaucouleurs, G.; Capaccioli, M.

1979-01-01

A standard mean luminosity profile in the B band of the El galaxy NGC 3379 along its east-west x-axis is derived from four sets of medium- and low-resolution photographic and photoelectric McDonald data. The 154 mean points cover a range in excess of 11 mag down to μ/sub B/=27.8 mag arcsec -2 (x=7'.3), with possible detection out to x=16'.3 (μ/sub B/approx. =30.9).The profile is presented within +- 0.08 mag at all x>10'' by μ 1 =14.076+3.0083 x/sup 1/4/ (x in arcsec). Near the center the galaxy is brighter than μ 1 by up to 0.35 mag; the excess can be represented by a Gaussian core μ/sub II/=18.565+0.03965 r 2 (r in arcsec) contributing 19.8% of the integrated magnitude B=11.97 within r* =12'' and 4.0% of the total magnitude B/sub T/=10.225 of the galaxy.This two-component model convolved by the appropriate point spread function represents the data within a standard deviation of 0.04 mag over the whole range. Other analytical formulae give generally poorer fits. There is no evidence for a tidal cutoff or a tidal extension.The integrated magnitudes derived from the model agree with aperture photometry (47 values) within 0.05 mag

The Impact of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) Regulation on Electricity Saving in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Fatihah Salleh, Siti; Eqwan Roslan, Mohd; Isa, Aishah Mohd; Faizal Basri Nair, Mohd; Syafiqah Salleh, Siti

2018-03-01

One of Malaysia’s key strategies to promote efficient energy use in the country is to implement the minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) through the Electricity Regulations (Amendment) 2013. Five selected electrical appliances (refrigerator, air conditioner, television, domestic fans and lamp fittings) must comply with MEPS requirement in order to be sold in Malaysian market. Manufacturers, importers or distributors are issued Certificate of Approval (COA) if products are MEPS-compliant. In 2015, 1,215 COAs were issued but the number of MEPS products in the market is unknown. This work collects sales data from major manufacturers to estimate the annual sales of MEPS appliances and the cumulative electricity consumption and electricity saving. It was found that most products sold have 3-star rating and above. By year 2015, total cumulative electricity savings gained from MEPS implementation is 3,645 GWh, with air conditioner being the highest contributor (30%). In the future, it is recommended that more MEPS products and related incentives be introduced to further improve efficiency of energy use in Malaysia.

Distributed processor systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zacharov, B.

1976-01-01

In recent years, there has been a growing tendency in high-energy physics and in other fields to solve computational problems by distributing tasks among the resources of inter-coupled processing devices and associated system elements. This trend has gained further momentum more recently with the increased availability of low-cost processors and with the development of the means of data distribution. In two lectures, the broad question of distributed computing systems is examined and the historical development of such systems reviewed. An attempt is made to examine the reasons for the existence of these systems and to discern the main trends for the future. The components of distributed systems are discussed in some detail and particular emphasis is placed on the importance of standards and conventions in certain key system components. The ideas and principles of distributed systems are discussed in general terms, but these are illustrated by a number of concrete examples drawn from the context of the high-energy physics environment. (Auth.)

Data standards can boost metabolomics research, and if there is a will, there is a way.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocca-Serra, Philippe; Salek, Reza M; Arita, Masanori; Correa, Elon; Dayalan, Saravanan; Gonzalez-Beltran, Alejandra; Ebbels, Tim; Goodacre, Royston; Hastings, Janna; Haug, Kenneth; Koulman, Albert; Nikolski, Macha; Oresic, Matej; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta; Schober, Daniel; Smith, James; Steinbeck, Christoph; Viant, Mark R; Neumann, Steffen

2016-01-01

Thousands of articles using metabolomics approaches are published every year. With the increasing amounts of data being produced, mere description of investigations as text in manuscripts is not sufficient to enable re-use anymore: the underlying data needs to be published together with the findings in the literature to maximise the benefit from public and private expenditure and to take advantage of an enormous opportunity to improve scientific reproducibility in metabolomics and cognate disciplines. Reporting recommendations in metabolomics started to emerge about a decade ago and were mostly concerned with inventories of the information that had to be reported in the literature for consistency. In recent years, metabolomics data standards have developed extensively, to include the primary research data, derived results and the experimental description and importantly the metadata in a machine-readable way. This includes vendor independent data standards such as mzML for mass spectrometry and nmrML for NMR raw data that have both enabled the development of advanced data processing algorithms by the scientific community. Standards such as ISA-Tab cover essential metadata, including the experimental design, the applied protocols, association between samples, data files and the experimental factors for further statistical analysis. Altogether, they pave the way for both reproducible research and data reuse, including meta-analyses. Further incentives to prepare standards compliant data sets include new opportunities to publish data sets, but also require a little "arm twisting" in the author guidelines of scientific journals to submit the data sets to public repositories such as the NIH Metabolomics Workbench or MetaboLights at EMBL-EBI. In the present article, we look at standards for data sharing, investigate their impact in metabolomics and give suggestions to improve their adoption.

Distributed creativity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glaveanu, Vlad Petre

This book challenges the standard view that creativity comes only from within an individual by arguing that creativity also exists ‘outside’ of the mind or more precisely, that the human mind extends through the means of action into the world. The notion of ‘distributed creativity’ is not commonly...... used within the literature and yet it has the potential to revolutionise the way we think about creativity, from how we define and measure it to what we can practically do to foster and develop creativity. Drawing on cultural psychology, ecological psychology and advances in cognitive science......, this book offers a basic framework for the study of distributed creativity that considers three main dimensions of creative work: sociality, materiality and temporality. Starting from the premise that creativity is distributed between people, between people and objects and across time, the book reviews...

Ioffe-time distributions instead of parton momentum distributions in description of deep inelastic scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, V.; Gornicki, P.; Mankiewicz, L.

1994-10-01

We argue that parton distributions in coordinate space provide a more natural object for nonperturbative methods compared to the usual momentum distributions in which the physics of different longitudinal distances is being mixed. To illustrate the advantages of the coordinate space formulation, we calculate the coordinate space distributions for valence quarks in the proton using the QCD sum rule approach. A remarkable agreement is found between the calcuulated and the experimentally measured u-quark distribution up to distances of order ∝2 fm in the proton rest frame. The standard calculation completely fails, however, for valence d quarks; the reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. (orig.)

Magnetic compatibility of standard components for electrical installations: Computation of the background field and consequences on the design of the electrical distribution boards and control boards for the ITER Tokamak building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benfatto, I.; Bettini, P.; Cavinato, M.; Lorenzi, A. De; Hourtoule, J.; Serra, E.

2005-01-01

Inside the proposed Tokamak building, the ITER poloidal field magnet system would produce a stray magnetic field up to 70 mT. This is a very unusual environmental condition for electrical installation equipment and limited information is available on the magnetic compatibility of standard components for electrical distribution boards and control boards. Because this information is a necessary input for the design of the electrical installation inside the proposed ITER Tokamak building specific investigations have been carried out by the ITER European Participant Team. The paper reports on the computation of the background magnetic field map inside the ITER Tokamak building and the consequences on the design of the electrical installations of this building. The effects of the steel inside the building structure and the feasibility of magnetic shields for electrical distribution boards and control boards are also reported in the paper. The results of the test campaigns on the magnetic field compatibility of standard components for electrical distribution boards and control boards are reported in companion papers published in these proceedings

Determination of the relations governing trends in the standard deviations of the distribution of pollution based on observations on the atmospheric turbulence spectrum and the possibility of laboratory simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crabol, B.

1980-01-01

Using TAYLOR's calculation, which takes account of the low-pass filter effect of the transfer time on the value for the standard deviation of particle dispersion, we have introduced a high-pass filter which translate the effect of the time of observation, by definition finite, onto the true atmospheric scale. It is then possible to identify those conditions under which the relations governing variation of the standard deviations of pollution distribution are dependent upon: the distance of transfer alone, the time of transfer alone. Thence, making certain simplifying assumptions, practical quantitive relationships are deduced for the variation of the horizontal standard deviation of pollution dispersion as a function of wind speed and time of transfer

Design and experimental evaluation of a lightweight, high-torque and compliant actuator for an active ankle foot orthosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Moltedo, Marta; Bacek, Tomislav; Langlois, Kevin; Junius, Karen; Vanderborght, Bram; Lefeber, Dirk

2017-07-01

The human ankle joint plays a crucial role during walking. At the push-off phase the ankle plantarflexors generate the highest torque among the lower limb joints during this activity. The potential of the ankle plantarflexors is affected by numerous pathologies and injuries, which cause a decrease in the ability of the subject to achieve a natural gait pattern. Active orthoses have shown to have potential in assisting these subjects. The design of such robots is very challenging due to the contrasting design requirements of wearability (light weight and compact) and high torques capacity. This paper presents the development of a high-torque ankle actuator to assist the ankle joint in both dorsiflexion and plantarflexion. The compliant actuator is a spindle-driven MACCEPA (Mechanically Adjustable Compliance and Controllable Equilibrium Position Actuator). The design of the actuator was made to keep its weight as low as possible, while being able to provide high torques. As a result of this novel design, the actuator weighs 1.18kg. Some static characterization tests were perfomed on the actuator and their results are shown in the paper.

Distribution Development for STORM Ingestion Input Parameters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fulton, John [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-07-01

The Sandia-developed Transport of Radioactive Materials (STORM) code suite is used as part of the Radioisotope Power System Launch Safety (RPSLS) program to perform statistical modeling of the consequences due to release of radioactive material given a launch accident. As part of this modeling, STORM samples input parameters from probability distributions with some parameters treated as constants. This report described the work done to convert four of these constant inputs (Consumption Rate, Average Crop Yield, Cropland to Landuse Database Ratio, and Crop Uptake Factor) to sampled values. Consumption rate changed from a constant value of 557.68 kg / yr to a normal distribution with a mean of 102.96 kg / yr and a standard deviation of 2.65 kg / yr. Meanwhile, Average Crop Yield changed from a constant value of 3.783 kg edible / m ² to a normal distribution with a mean of 3.23 kg edible / m ² and a standard deviation of 0.442 kg edible / m ² . The Cropland to Landuse Database ratio changed from a constant value of 0.0996 (9.96%) to a normal distribution with a mean value of 0.0312 (3.12%) and a standard deviation of 0.00292 (0.29%). Finally the crop uptake factor changed from a constant value of 6.37e^-4 (Bq crop /kg)/(Bq soil /kg) to a lognormal distribution with a geometric mean value of 3.38e^-4 (Bq crop /kg)/(Bq soil /kg) and a standard deviation value of 3.33 (Bq crop /kg)/(Bq soil /kg)

Clean Air Act Standards and Guidelines for Chemical Production and Distribution

Science.gov (United States)

This page contains the stationary sources of air pollution for the chemical production & distribution industries, and their corresponding air pollution regulations. To learn more about the regulations for each industry, click on the links below.

Shear flow - Structure interaction phenomena; Proceedings of the winter annual meeting, Miami Beach, FL, November 17-22, 1985

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akay, A.; Reischman, M.

1985-01-01

Papers are presented on frequency-wavenumber spectral estimation of the wall-pressure field beneath a turbulent boundary layer, spectral distribution measurements of turbulent boundary layer pressure fields, measurements of fluctuating wall pressure for separated/reattached boundary layer flows, recent progress on trailing-edge/end interactions and instabilities, and the effects of compliant walls on transition and turbulence. Consideration is also given to the generation of wave patterns on a compliant surface by turbulent boundary layer pressure, boundary layer interactions with compliant coatings, an assessment of some vorticity field-leading edge interactions, an experimental study of the flow and wall-pressure field around a wind-body junction, and pressure cross-spectra in turbulent boundary layers in water

Uncertainty Visualization Using Copula-Based Analysis in Mixed Distribution Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Hazarika, Subhashis; Biswas, Ayan; Shen, Han-Wei

2018-01-01

Distributions are often used to model uncertainty in many scientific datasets. To preserve the correlation among the spatially sampled grid locations in the dataset, various standard multivariate distribution models have been proposed in visualization literature. These models treat each grid location as a univariate random variable which models the uncertainty at that location. Standard multivariate distributions (both parametric and nonparametric) assume that all the univariate marginals are of the same type/family of distribution. But in reality, different grid locations show different statistical behavior which may not be modeled best by the same type of distribution. In this paper, we propose a new multivariate uncertainty modeling strategy to address the needs of uncertainty modeling in scientific datasets. Our proposed method is based on a statistically sound multivariate technique called Copula, which makes it possible to separate the process of estimating the univariate marginals and the process of modeling dependency, unlike the standard multivariate distributions. The modeling flexibility offered by our proposed method makes it possible to design distribution fields which can have different types of distribution (Gaussian, Histogram, KDE etc.) at the grid locations, while maintaining the correlation structure at the same time. Depending on the results of various standard statistical tests, we can choose an optimal distribution representation at each location, resulting in a more cost efficient modeling without significantly sacrificing on the analysis quality. To demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed modeling strategy, we extract and visualize uncertain features like isocontours and vortices in various real world datasets. We also study various modeling criterion to help users in the task of univariate model selection.

A "post-psychological" curiosity of subjectivities and standards

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nissen, Morten; Staunæs, Dorthe; Bank, Mads

2016-01-01

a division between standardizing sciences and off-standard qualitative research. Yet, a “postpsychological curiosity” suggests a reflexive stance, admitting to complicity in the “intra-actions” of standards and subjectivity, in theoretical psychology as in practices such as management, counseling, or self......-help. Objectifying values, standards can reach out to the image of infinity; even posited as immanent to practices, they can be seen as expressions of hope. They both shake and establish temporalities and spatial distributions that feed into affective economies and help or force us to focus and forget. We use them...

Regulatory practices of radiation safety of SNF transportation in Russia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuryndina, Lidia; Kuryndin, Anton; Stroganov, Anatoly

2008-01-01

This paper overviews current regulatory practices for the assurance of nuclear and radiation safety during railway transportation of SNF on the territory of Russian Federation from NPPs to longterm-storage of reprocessing sites. The legal and regulatory requirements (mostly compliant with IAEA ST-1), licensing procedure for NM transportation are discussed. The current procedure does not require a regulatory approval for each particular shipment if the SNF fully comply with the Rosatom's branch standard and is transported in approved casks. It has been demonstrated that SNF packages compliant with the branch standard, which is knowingly provide sufficient safety margin, will conform to the federal level regulations. The regulatory approval is required if a particular shipment does not comply with the branch standard. In this case, the shipment can be approved only after regulatory review of Applicant's documents to demonstrate that the shipment still conformant to the higher level (federal) regulations. The regulatory review frequently needs a full calculation test of the radiation safety assurance. This test can take a lot of time. That's why the special calculation tools were created in SEC NRS. These tools aimed for precision calculation of the radiation safety parameters by SNF transportation use preliminary calculated Green's functions. Such approach allows quickly simulate any source distribution and optimize spent fuel assemblies placement in cask due to the transport equation property of linearity relatively the source. The short description of calculation tools are presented. Also, the paper discusses foreseen implications related to transportation of mixed-oxide SNF. (author)

Analysis of ISO 26262 Compliant Techniques for the Automotive Domain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M. S. Kannan; Y. Dajsuren (Yanjindulam); Y. Luo; I. Barosan

2015-01-01

htmlabstractThe ISO 26262 standard denes functional safety for automotive E/E systems. Since the publication of the rst edition of this standard in 2011, many dierent safety techniques complying to the ISO 26262 have been developed. However, it is not clear which parts and (sub-) phases of the

Development of the Lymphoma Enterprise Architecture Database: A caBIG(TM Silver Level Compliant System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taoying Huang

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Lymphomas are the fifth most common cancer in United States with numerous histological subtypes. Integrating existing clinical information on lymphoma patients provides a platform for understanding biological variability in presentation and treatment response and aids development of novel therapies. We developed a cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid™ (caBIG™ Silver level compliant lymphoma database, called the Lymphoma Enterprise Architecture Data-system™ (LEAD™, which integrates the pathology, pharmacy, laboratory, cancer registry, clinical trials, and clinical data from institutional databases. We utilized the Cancer Common Ontological Representation Environment Software Development Kit (caCORE SDK provided by National Cancer Institute’s Center for Bioinformatics to establish the LEAD™ platform for data management. The caCORE SDK generated system utilizes an n-tier architecture with open Application Programming Interfaces, controlled vocabularies, and registered metadata to achieve semantic integration across multiple cancer databases. We demonstrated that the data elements and structures within LEAD™ could be used to manage clinical research data from phase 1 clinical trials, cohort studies, and registry data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database. This work provides a clear example of how semantic technologies from caBIG™ can be applied to support a wide range of clinical and research tasks, and integrate data from disparate systems into a single architecture. This illustrates the central importance of caBIG™ to the management of clinical and biological data.

Development of the Lymphoma Enterprise Architecture Database: A caBIG(TM Silver Level Compliant System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taoying Huang

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Lymphomas are the fifth most common cancer in United States with numerous histological subtypes. Integrating existing clinical information on lymphoma patients provides a platform for understanding biological variability in presentation and treatment response and aids development of novel therapies. We developed a cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid™ (caBIG™ Silver level compliant lymphoma database, called the Lymphoma Enterprise Architecture Data-system™ (LEAD™, which integrates the pathology, pharmacy, laboratory, cancer registry, clinical trials, and clinical data from institutional databases. We utilized the Cancer Common Ontological Representation Environment Software Development Kit (caCORE SDK provided by National Cancer Institute’s Center for Bioinformatics to establish the LEAD™ platform for data management. The caCORE SDK generated system utilizes an n-tier architecture with open Application Programming Interfaces, controlled vocabularies, and registered metadata to achieve semantic integration across multiple cancer databases. We demonstrated that the data elements and structures within LEAD™ could be used to manage clinical research data from phase 1 clinical trials, cohort studies, and registry data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database. This work provides a clear example of how semantic technologies from caBIG™ can be applied to support a wide range of clinical and research tasks, and integrate data from disparate systems into a single architecture. This illustrates the central importance of caBIG™ to the management of clinical and biological data.

Development of the Lymphoma Enterprise Architecture Database: A caBIG(tm) Silver level compliant System

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Taoying; Shenoy, Pareen J.; Sinha, Rajni; Graiser, Michael; Bumpers, Kevin W.; Flowers, Christopher R.

2009-01-01

Lymphomas are the fifth most common cancer in United States with numerous histological subtypes. Integrating existing clinical information on lymphoma patients provides a platform for understanding biological variability in presentation and treatment response and aids development of novel therapies. We developed a cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid™ (caBIG™) Silver level compliant lymphoma database, called the Lymphoma Enterprise Architecture Data-system™ (LEAD™), which integrates the pathology, pharmacy, laboratory, cancer registry, clinical trials, and clinical data from institutional databases. We utilized the Cancer Common Ontological Representation Environment Software Development Kit (caCORE SDK) provided by National Cancer Institute’s Center for Bioinformatics to establish the LEAD™ platform for data management. The caCORE SDK generated system utilizes an n-tier architecture with open Application Programming Interfaces, controlled vocabularies, and registered metadata to achieve semantic integration across multiple cancer databases. We demonstrated that the data elements and structures within LEAD™ could be used to manage clinical research data from phase 1 clinical trials, cohort studies, and registry data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database. This work provides a clear example of how semantic technologies from caBIG™ can be applied to support a wide range of clinical and research tasks, and integrate data from disparate systems into a single architecture. This illustrates the central importance of caBIG™ to the management of clinical and biological data. PMID:19492074

"Heidelberg standard examination" and "Heidelberg standard procedures" - Development of faculty-wide standards for physical examination techniques and clinical procedures in undergraduate medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Nikendei, C; Ganschow, P; Groener, J B; Huwendiek, S; Köchel, A; Köhl-Hackert, N; Pjontek, R; Rodrian, J; Scheibe, F; Stadler, A-K; Steiner, T; Stiepak, J; Tabatabai, J; Utz, A; Kadmon, M

2016-01-01

The competent physical examination of patients and the safe and professional implementation of clinical procedures constitute essential components of medical practice in nearly all areas of medicine. The central objective of the projects "Heidelberg standard examination" and "Heidelberg standard procedures", which were initiated by students, was to establish uniform interdisciplinary standards for physical examination and clinical procedures, and to distribute them in coordination with all clinical disciplines at the Heidelberg University Hospital. The presented project report illuminates the background of the initiative and its methodological implementation. Moreover, it describes the multimedia documentation in the form of pocketbooks and a multimedia internet-based platform, as well as the integration into the curriculum. The project presentation aims to provide orientation and action guidelines to facilitate similar processes in other faculties.

Raney Distributions and Random Matrix Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Forrester, Peter J.; Liu, Dang-Zheng

2015-03-01

Recent works have shown that the family of probability distributions with moments given by the Fuss-Catalan numbers permit a simple parameterized form for their density. We extend this result to the Raney distribution which by definition has its moments given by a generalization of the Fuss-Catalan numbers. Such computations begin with an algebraic equation satisfied by the Stieltjes transform, which we show can be derived from the linear differential equation satisfied by the characteristic polynomial of random matrix realizations of the Raney distribution. For the Fuss-Catalan distribution, an equilibrium problem characterizing the density is identified. The Stieltjes transform for the limiting spectral density of the singular values squared of the matrix product formed from inverse standard Gaussian matrices, and standard Gaussian matrices, is shown to satisfy a variant of the algebraic equation relating to the Raney distribution. Supported on , we show that it too permits a simple functional form upon the introduction of an appropriate choice of parameterization. As an application, the leading asymptotic form of the density as the endpoints of the support are approached is computed, and is shown to have some universal features.

Experimental investigation on temperature distribution of foamed concrete filled steel tube column under standard fire

Science.gov (United States)

Kado, B.; Mohammad, S.; Lee, Y. H.; Shek, P. N.; Kadir, M. A. A.

2018-04-01

Standard fire test was carried out on 3 hollow steel tube and 6 foamed concrete filled steel tube columns. Temperature distribution on the columns was investigated. 1500 kg/m3 and 1800 kg/m3 foamed concrete density at 15%, 20% and 25% load level are the parameters considered. The columns investigated were 2400 mm long, 139.7 mm outer diameter and 6 mm steel tube thickness. The result shows that foamed concrete filled steel tube columns has the highest fire resistance of 43 minutes at 15% load level and low critical temperature of 671 ºC at 25% load level using 1500 kg/m3 foamed concrete density. Fire resistance of foamed concrete filled column increases with lower foamed concrete strength. Foamed concrete can be used to provide more fire resistance to hollow steel column or to replace normal weight concrete in concrete filled columns. Since filling hollow steel with foamed concrete produce column with high fire resistance than unfilled hollow steel column. Therefore normal weight concrete can be substituted with foamed concrete in concrete filled column, it will reduces the self-weight of the structure because of its light weight at the same time providing the desired fire resistance.