Region 9 NPL Sites (Superfund Sites 2013)

Science.gov (United States)

NPL site POINT locations for the US EPA Region 9. NPL (National Priorities List) sites are hazardous waste sites that are eligible for extensive long-term cleanup under the Superfund program. Eligibility is determined by a scoring method called Hazard Ranking System. Sites with high scores are listed on the NPL. The majority of the locations are derived from polygon centroids of digitized site boundaries. The remaining locations were generated from address geocoding and digitizing. Area covered by this data set include Arizona, California, Nevada, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Marianas and Trust Territories. Attributes include NPL status codes, NPL industry type codes and environmental indicators. Related table, NPL_Contaminants contains information about contaminated media types and chemicals. This is a one-to-many relate and can be related to the feature class using the relationship classes under the Feature Data Set ENVIRO_CONTAMINANT.

Physical properties of naked DNA influence nucleosome positioning and correlate with transcription start and termination sites in yeast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soler-López Montserrat

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In eukaryotic organisms, DNA is packaged into chromatin structure, where most of DNA is wrapped into nucleosomes. DNA compaction and nucleosome positioning have clear functional implications, since they modulate the accessibility of genomic regions to regulatory proteins. Despite the intensive research effort focused in this area, the rules defining nucleosome positioning and the location of DNA regulatory regions still remain elusive. Results Naked (histone-free and nucleosomal DNA from yeast were digested by microccocal nuclease (MNase and sequenced genome-wide. MNase cutting preferences were determined for both naked and nucleosomal DNAs. Integration of their sequencing profiles with DNA conformational descriptors derived from atomistic molecular dynamic simulations enabled us to extract the physical properties of DNA on a genomic scale and to correlate them with chromatin structure and gene regulation. The local structure of DNA around regulatory regions was found to be unusually flexible and to display a unique pattern of nucleosome positioning. Ab initio physical descriptors derived from molecular dynamics were used to develop a computational method that accurately predicts nucleosome enriched and depleted regions. Conclusions Our experimental and computational analyses jointly demonstrate a clear correlation between sequence-dependent physical properties of naked DNA and regulatory signals in the chromatin structure. These results demonstrate that nucleosome positioning around TSS (Transcription Start Site and TTS (Transcription Termination Site (at least in yeast is strongly dependent on DNA physical properties, which can define a basal regulatory mechanism of gene expression.

Do Specific Growth Drivers Exist for Firms? A Regional Analysis of Start-ups and Industrial Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PAUL I. OJEAGA

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The study of start-ups, have remained largely a micro economic issue. Firms are the key drivers of industrial sector GDP (or enterprise growth in countries across regions. Few studies have tried to examine the consequence of start-ups in the broad macroeconomics terms on enterprise growth in general with special emphasis on industrial sector output. This study provides a macroeconomic study of the effect of start- ups on industrial sector growth for countries in some specific geographical regions of the world. Panel data is utilized due to it obvious advantages such its ability to utilize a panel of short time frames and its suitability for controlling for omitted variable bias and unobservable heterogeneity across regions. The results show that start-ups remain an intrinsic variable for enterprise growth and industrial sector output discussion in general.

SITE: a methodology for assessment of energy facility siting patterns. Regional studies program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frigerio, N.A.; Habegger, L.J.; King, R.F.; Hoover, L.J.; Clark, N.A.; Cobian, J.M.

1975-08-01

The timely development of the nation's energy production capacity in a manner that minimizes potential adverse local and regional impacts associated with energy facilities requires the use of sophisticated techniques for evaluation of siting alternatives and fuel cycle options. This report is a documentation of the computerized SITE methodology that has been developed for evaluating health, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts related to utilization of alternate sites for energy production within a region of interest. The cost, impact, and attribute vectors, which are generated and displayed on density maps, can be used in a multiparameter overlay process to identify preferable siting areas. The assessment of clustered facilities in energy centers is also possible within the SITE analysis framework. An application of the SITE methodology to Northern Illinois is presented. Also included is a description of the ongoing extension of SITE for the accumulative evaluation of alternative regional energy siting patterns and fuel cycle options. An appendix provides documentation and user information for the SITE computer program

Lessons learned from an installation perspective for chemical demilitarization plant start-up at four operating incineration sites.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Motz, L.; Decision and Information Sciences

2011-02-21

This study presents the lessons learned by chemical storage installations as they prepared for the start of chemical demilitarization plant operations at the four current chemical incinerator sites in Alabama, Arkansas, Oregon, and Utah. The study included interviews with persons associated with the process and collection of available documents prepared at each site. The goal was to provide useful information for the chemical weapons storage sites in Colorado and Kentucky that will be going through plant start-up in the next few years. The study is not a compendium of what to do and what not to do. The information has been categorized into ten lessons learned; each is discussed individually. Documents that may be useful to the Colorado and Kentucky sites are included in the appendices. This study should be used as a basis for planning and training.

Toward a regional power plant siting method: AEC-Maryland regional siting factors study, FY 1974 progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yaffee, S.L.; Miller, C.A.

1974-11-01

The ''AEC-Maryland Regional Siting Factors Study'' examines the process of siting in a regional context. It is developing an analysis method to delineate candidate areas for siting of several power plant technology packages, including both fossil-fueled and nuclear options. Tools that are being used include simulation modeling, economic and demographic forecasting, spatial analysis, and computer graphics and numerical manipulation. The approach will describe the trade-offs incurred if a power plant is located in one candidate area rather than in another. In FY 1974, a suitability analysis method was developed which uses engineering and environmental parameters to define a level of environmental cost incurred if a segment of land is used to site a specific technology package. (U.S.)

High DNA melting temperature predicts transcription start site location in human and mouse.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Dineen, David G

2009-12-01

The accurate computational prediction of transcription start sites (TSS) in vertebrate genomes is a difficult problem. The physicochemical properties of DNA can be computed in various ways and a many combinations of DNA features have been tested in the past for use as predictors of transcription. We looked in detail at melting temperature, which measures the temperature, at which two strands of DNA separate, considering the cooperative nature of this process. We find that peaks in melting temperature correspond closely to experimentally determined transcription start sites in human and mouse chromosomes. Using melting temperature alone, and with simple thresholding, we can predict TSS with accuracy that is competitive with the most accurate state-of-the-art TSS prediction methods. Accuracy is measured using both experimentally and manually determined TSS. The method works especially well with CpG island containing promoters, but also works when CpG islands are absent. This result is clear evidence of the important role of the physical properties of DNA in the process of transcription. It also points to the importance for TSS prediction methods to include melting temperature as prior information.

Reconnaissance of Archaeological Sites at Tuzkhormato Region Saladdin Governorate – Northern Iraq

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salman Z. Khorshid

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This study is talking for the first time about in this region to document the archaeological sites at Tuzkhormato and surroundings. There are more than (19 archaeological sites which took two trends  one of them is parallel to Aq-Su river, which starts from behind Tuzkhomato mountain and takes NE-SW direction at Shirash Tapa site and ending at Zeghaitoon river near the bridge of (Tikrit-Tuz road, and another trend is perpendicular to the first one at about the mid-way distance of the first trend. Coordinations of (5 archaeological sites were located and studied, these sites are as a hill ranges in its shape between small to large and the broken pottery were spread widely on the surface of these sites and some of this pottery are colored, also there are chert cutter that is used as knives (at Tal-Al-Shaer site only. These sites were uplifted from the surface level with uneven degree depending on the volume of the buildings at that site, and all the buildings were built from muds, so these buildings are weak to resist the climate. It is probable that all buildings were buried under these sites, and the destroyed pottery of pre-Islamic period was distributed over the archaeological sites. Only one site on the Tuzkhormato mountain built with blaster and gypsum rocks, this site is (Gawor Qalasi which from (Sassanian period. All these sites still are not studied geologically or geophysically for determination the ages of these sites or delineating the geometrical shapes of buried buildings or searching some of the precious things like gold or other things.

National Priorities List (NPL) Site Polygons, Region 9, 2014, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — NPL site POLYGON locations for the US EPA Region 9. NPL (National Priorities List) sites are hazardous waste sites that are eligible for extensive long-term cleanup...

National Priorities List (NPL) Site Polygons, Region 9, 2013, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — NPL site POLYGON locations for the US EPA Region 9. NPL (National Priorities List) sites are hazardous waste sites that are eligible for extensive long-term cleanup...

National Priorities List (NPL) Site Points, Region 9, 2015, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — NPL site point locations for the US EPA, Region 9. NPL (National Priorities List) sites are hazardous waste sites that are eligible for extensive long-term cleanup...

National Priorities List (NPL) Site Polygons, Region 9, 2015, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — NPL site POLYGON locations for the US EPA Region 9. NPL (National Priorities List) sites are hazardous waste sites that are eligible for extensive long-term cleanup...

National Priorities List (NPL) Site Polygons, Region 9, 2012, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — NPL site POLYGON locations for the US EPA Region 9. NPL (National Priorities List) sites are hazardous waste sites that are eligible for extensive long-term cleanup...

National Priorities List (NPL) Site Polygons, Region 9, 2010, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — NPL site POLYGON locations for the US EPA Region 9. NPL (National Priorities List) sites are hazardous waste sites that are eligible for extensive long-term cleanup...

National Priorities List (NPL) Site Points, Region 9, 2017, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — NPL site point locations for the US EPA, Region 9. NPL (National Priorities List) sites are hazardous waste sites that are eligible for extensive long-term cleanup...

National Priorities List (NPL) Site Points, Region 9, 2014, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — NPL site point locations for the US EPA Region 9. NPL (National Priorities List) sites are hazardous waste sites that are eligible for extensive long-term cleanup...

National Priorities List (NPL) Site Polygons, Region 9, 2017, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — NPL site POLYGON locations for the US EPA Region 9. NPL (National Priorities List) sites are hazardous waste sites that are eligible for extensive long-term cleanup...

Geo-Proxy-Based Site Classification for Regional Zonation of Seismic Site Effects in South Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang-Guk Sun

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Seismic site effects and topographic effects related to ground motion occur during an earthquake due to site-specific geotechnical or geological characteristics, including the geological or geographical structure and the characteristics of near-surface sub-soil layers. Site-specific site effects due to geological conditions have been confirmed in recent earthquake events. Earthquake-induced damage has mainly occurred at accumulated soft soil layers under basins or along coasts and rivers. An alternative method has recently been proposed for evaluating regional seismic site effects and amplification factors using digital elevation models (DEM. High-quality DEMs at high resolutions may be employed to resolve finer-scale variations in topographic gradients and consequently, correlated site response parameters. Because there are many regions in South Korea lacking borehole datasets, which are insufficient for site classification only using borehole datasets, a DEM-based proxy for seismic zonation can be effective. Thus, in this study, geo-proxy-based site classification was proposed based on empirical correlations with site response parameters and conducted for regional zonation of seismic site effects to identify the amplification of characteristics in the western metropolitan areas of South Korea, depending on the site-specific geo-spatial conditions.

Near Regional and Site Investigations of the Temelin NPP Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prachar, Ivan; Vacek, Jiri; Heralecky, Pavel

2011-01-01

The Temelin NPP is worldwide through heated discussion with nuclear energetic opposition. In addition this discussion goes beyond a border of the Czech Republic. On the other side, results of several international supervisions shown that Temelin NPP is fully comparable with the safest nuclear power plants in the world regarding its technical design and safety functions. This presentation deals with the near regional and site investigations of the Temelin NPP Site. It must be noted that although the Temelin site is situated in the area with low seismicity, item of seismicity is a basic argument against Temelin NPP and therefore a detail seismic hazard assessment was performed

Site enforcement tracking system (SETS): PRP listing by site for region 9

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-04-01

When expending Superfund monies at a CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) site, EPA must conduct a search to identify parties with potential financial responsibility for remediation of uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. EPA regional Superfund Waste Management Staff issue a notice letter to the potentially responsible party (PRP). Data from the notice letter is used to form the Site Enforcement Tracking System (SETS). The data includes PRP name and address, a company contact person, the date the notice was issued, and the related CERCLA site name and identification number

Site enforcement tracking system (SETS): PRP listing by site for region 8

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-04-01

When expending Superfund monies at a CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) site, EPA must conduct a search to identify parties with potential financial responsibility for remediation of uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. EPA regional Superfund Waste Management Staff issue a notice letter to the potentially responsible party (PRP). Data from the notice letter is used to form the Site Enforcement Tracking System (SETS). The data includes PRP name and address, a company contact person, the date the notice was issued, and the related CERCLA site name and identification number

Site enforcement tracking system (SETS): PRP listing by site for region 10

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-04-01

When expending Superfund monies at a CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) site, EPA must conduct a search to identify parties with potential financial responsibility for remediation of uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. EPA regional Superfund Waste Management Staff issue a notice letter to the potentially responsible party (PRP). Data from the notice letter is used to form the Site Enforcement Tracking System (SETS). The data includes PRP name and address, a company contact person, the date the notice was issued, and the related CERCLA site name and identification number

Site enforcement tracking system (SETS): PRP listing by site for region 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-04-01

When expending Superfund monies at a CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) site, EPA must conduct a search to identify parties with potential financial responsibility for remediation of uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. EPA regional Superfund Waste Management Staff issue a notice letter to the potentially responsible party (PRP). Data from the notice letter is used to form the Site Enforcement Tracking System (SETS). The data includes PRP name and address, a company contact person, the date the notice was issued, and the related CERCLA site name and identification number

Site enforcement tracking system (SETS): PRP listing by site for region 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-04-01

When expending Superfund monies at a CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) site, EPA must conduct a search to identify parties with potential financial responsibility for remediation of uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. EPA regional Superfund Waste Management Staff issue a notice letter to the potentially responsible party (PRP). Data from the notice letter is used to form the Site Enforcement Tracking System (SETS). The data includes PRP name and address, a company contact person, the date the notice was issued, and the related CERCLA site name and identification number

Site enforcement tracking system (SETS): PRP listing by site for region 5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-04-01

When expending Superfund monies at a CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) site, EPA must conduct a search to identify parties with potential financial responsibility for remediation of uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. EPA regional Superfund Waste Management Staff issue a notice letter to the potentially responsible party (PRP). Data from the notice letter is used to form the Site Enforcement Tracking System (SETS). The data includes PRP name and address, a company contact person, the date the notice was issued, and the related CERCLA site name and identification number

Site enforcement tracking system (SETS): PRP listing by site for region 6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-04-01

When expending Superfund monies at a CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) site, EPA must conduct a search to identify parties with potential financial responsibility for remediation of uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. EPA regional Superfund Waste Management Staff issue a notice letter to the potentially responsible party (PRP). Data from the notice letter is used to form the Site Enforcement Tracking System (SETS). The data includes PRP name and address, a company contact person, the date the notice was issued, and the related CERCLA site name and identification number

GOFC-GOLD/LCLUC/START Regional Networking: building capacity for science and decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Justice, C. O.; Vadrevu, K.; Gutman, G.

2016-12-01

Over the past 20 years, the international GOFC-GOLD Program and START, with core funding from the NASA LCLUC program and ESA have been developing regional networks of scientists and data users for scientific capacity building and sharing experience in the use and application of Earth Observation data. Regional networks connect scientists from countries with similar environmental and social issues and often with shared water and airsheds. Through periodic regional workshops, regional and national projects are showcased and national priorities and policy drivers are articulated. The workshops encourage both north-south and south-south exchange and collaboration. The workshops are multi-sponsored and each include a training component, targeting early career scientists and data users from the region. The workshops provide an opportunity for regional scientists to publish in peer-reviewed special editions focused on regional issues. Currently, the NASA LCLUC program funded "South and Southeast Asia Regional Initiative (SARI)" team is working closely with the USAID/NASA SERVIR program to implement some capacity building and training activities jointly in south/southeast Asian countries to achieve maximum benefit.

Site study plan for regional hydrologic sampling and monitoring: Preliminary draft

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutton, A.R.

1987-01-01

The purpose of the Regional Hydrologic Studies Plan is to describe those field activities required for completion of the objectives of hydrologic activities. Many of these activities are regional in scope and are designed to provide a framework for understanding the hydrologic setting of the site and the hydrologic processes that influence site characteristics. Site Study Plans (SSPs) define activates at and in the immediate vicinity of the site. The activities specified in the Regional Hydrologic Studies Plan are performed beyond the confines of the site because the hydrologic systems extend beyond the site boundaries, because pertinent data that bear on site suitability are available outside of the site, and because natural analogues exist outside of the site that allow analysis of processes that are expected to operate within the site. 15 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab

Identification of the srtC1 Transcription Start Site and Catalytically Essential Residues Required for Actinomyces oris T14V SrtC1 Activity

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-27

report the identification of the tran scription starting site of the srtC1 determined by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method and several...When needed, kanamycin and trimethoprim were included in growth media at concentra tions of 50 and 100mg mL1, respectively. RNA isolation and...tation, resuspended in a small volume of RNase free water and stored at 80 1C. To determine the transcription start site(s) of A. oris srtC1, 50RACE PCR

Creating regional consensus for starting school later: a physician-driven approach in southern Maine.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Tracey Ann; Indorf, Christopher; Klak, Thomas

2017-12-01

In April 2016, several contiguous school districts and an independent high school academy in southern Maine voted simultaneously to start school later, beginning with the 2016-17 academic year. They became Maine's first school districts to implement the American Academy of Pediatrics' 1 and the American Medical Association's 2 health policy recommendations that middle and high schools should not start before 8:30 AM. Local physicians' presentations to school staff and parents on the medical evidence of the health benefits of a later start solidified early consensus. The action required special permission from the Maine Municipal Association to hold a joint school board vote, impacted approximately 6500 students across the region, resulted in no increase in busing costs, and took 8 months to implement after the first formal school board discussions. Copyright © 2017 National Sleep Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transcription of potato spindle tuber viroid by RNA polymerase II starts in the left terminal loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolonko, Nadine; Bannach, Oliver; Aschermann, Katja; Hu, Kang-Hong; Moors, Michaela; Schmitz, Michael; Steger, Gerhard; Riesner, Detlev

2006-01-01

Viroids are single-stranded, circular RNAs of 250 to 400 bases, that replicate autonomously in their host plants but do not code for a protein. Viroids of the family Pospiviroidae, of which potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) is the type strain, are replicated by the host's DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II in the nucleus. To analyze the initiation site of transcription from the (+)-stranded circles into (-)-stranded replication intermediates, we used a nuclear extract from a non-infected cell culture of the host plant S. tuberosum. The (-)-strands, which were de novo-synthesized in the extract upon addition of circular (+)-PSTVd, were purified by affinity chromatography. This purification avoided contamination by host nucleic acids that had resulted in a misassignment of the start site in an earlier study. Primer-extension analysis of the de novo-synthesized (-)-strands revealed a single start site located in the hairpin loop of the left terminal region in circular PSTVd's secondary structure. This start site is supported further by analysis of the infectivity and replication behavior of site-directed mutants in planta

Ensemble approach combining multiple methods improves human transcription start site prediction

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Dineen, David G

2010-11-30

Abstract Background The computational prediction of transcription start sites is an important unsolved problem. Some recent progress has been made, but many promoters, particularly those not associated with CpG islands, are still difficult to locate using current methods. These methods use different features and training sets, along with a variety of machine learning techniques and result in different prediction sets. Results We demonstrate the heterogeneity of current prediction sets, and take advantage of this heterogeneity to construct a two-level classifier (\\'Profisi Ensemble\\') using predictions from 7 programs, along with 2 other data sources. Support vector machines using \\'full\\' and \\'reduced\\' data sets are combined in an either\\/or approach. We achieve a 14% increase in performance over the current state-of-the-art, as benchmarked by a third-party tool. Conclusions Supervised learning methods are a useful way to combine predictions from diverse sources.

Selection on start codons in prokaryotes and potential compensatory nucleotide substitutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Belinky, Frida; Rogozin, Igor B; Koonin, Eugene V

2017-09-29

Reconstruction of the evolution of start codons in 36 groups of closely related bacterial and archaeal genomes reveals purifying selection affecting AUG codons. The AUG starts are replaced by GUG and especially UUG significantly less frequently than expected under the neutral expectation derived from the frequencies of the respective nucleotide triplet substitutions in non-coding regions and in 4-fold degenerate sites. Thus, AUG is the optimal start codon that is actively maintained by purifying selection. However, purifying selection on start codons is significantly weaker than the selection on the same codons in coding sequences, although the switches between the codons result in conservative amino acid substitutions. The only exception is the AUG to UUG switch that is strongly selected against among start codons. Selection on start codons is most pronounced in evolutionarily conserved, highly expressed genes. Mutation of the start codon to a sub-optimal form (GUG or UUG) tends to be compensated by mutations in the Shine-Dalgarno sequence towards a stronger translation initiation signal. Together, all these findings indicate that in prokaryotes, translation start signals are subject to weak but significant selection for maximization of initiation rate and, consequently, protein production.

Determine the Impact of Novel BRCA1 Translation Start Sites on Therapy Resistance in Ovarian Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

Award Number: W81XWH-15-1-0197 TITLE: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Neil Johnson, Ph.D. CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: Institute for Cancer Research...Therapy Resistance in Ovarian Cancer The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the author(s) and should not be...Start Sites on Therapy 5b. GRANT NUMBER Resistance in Ovarian Cancer W81XWH-15-1-0197 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER Neil

Siting regions for deep geological repositories. Why just here?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rieser, A.

2009-09-01

This report helps to the popularization of the Nagra works accomplished for the management and disposal of the radioactive wastes in Switzerland. The programme for management and disposal of the radioactive wastes are extensively determined by regulations. Protection of mankind and environment is the primary objective. The basic storage process is considered as having been solved. The question addressed in the report is where the facility has to be built; the site selection procedure includes five steps: 1) according to their type the wastes have to be allocated to two different repositories: for low- and intermediate-level wastes (L/ILW), and for high-level and alpha-toxic wastes (HLW); 2) the safety concept for both repositories and the requirements on the geology have to be determined; 3) large suitable geological-tectonic zones must be found where repositories could be built; 4) in these geological zones a suitable host rock has to be identified; 5) the most important spatial geological conditions of the host rock (minimum depth with respect to surface erosion, maximum depth in terms of engineering requirements, lateral extent) have to be identified. Based on these criteria, three suitable siting regions for a HLW repository were found in the North of Switzerland. The preferred host rock is Opalinus clay because of its very low permeability; it is therefore an excellent barrier against nuclide transport. In the three proposed siting regions, Opalinus clay is present in sufficient volumes at a suitable depth. For a L/ILW repository six different possible siting regions were identified, five in Northern Switzerland and one in Central Switzerland. In the three siting regions found for a possible HLW repository, it would also be possible to built a combined repository for both HLW and L/ILW wastes

Preparatory hydrogeological calculations for site scale models of Aberg, Beberg and Ceberg

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gylling, B.; Lindgren, M.; Widen, H.

1999-03-01

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the basis for site scale models of the three sites Aberg, Beberg and Ceberg in terms of: extent and position of site scale model domains; numerical implementation of geologic structural model; systematic review of structural data and control of compatibility in data sets. Some of the hydrogeological features of each site are briefly described. A summary of the results from the regional modelling exercises for Aberg, Beberg and Ceberg is given. The results from the regional models may be used as a base for determining the location and size of the site scale models and provide such models with boundary conditions. Results from the regional models may also indicate suitable locations for repositories. The resulting locations and sizes for site scale models are presented in figures. There are also figures showing that the structural models interpreted by HYDRASTAR do not conflict with the repository tunnels. It has in addition been verified with TRAZON, a modified version of HYDRASTAR for checking starting positions, revealing conflicts between starting positions and fractures zones if present

Pairwise comparisons of ten porcine tissues identify differential transcriptional regulation at the gene, isoform, promoter and transcription start site level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farajzadeh, Leila; Hornshøj, Henrik; Momeni, Jamal; Thomsen, Bo; Larsen, Knud; Hedegaard, Jakob; Bendixen, Christian; Madsen, Lone Bruhn

2013-01-01

Highlights: •Transcriptome sequencing yielded 223 mill porcine RNA-seq reads, and 59,000 transcribed locations. •Establishment of unique transcription profiles for ten porcine tissues including four brain tissues. •Comparison of transcription profiles at gene, isoform, promoter and transcription start site level. •Highlights a high level of regulation of neuro-related genes at both gene, isoform, and TSS level. •Our results emphasize the pig as a valuable animal model with respect to human biological issues. -- Abstract: The transcriptome is the absolute set of transcripts in a tissue or cell at the time of sampling. In this study RNA-Seq is employed to enable the differential analysis of the transcriptome profile for ten porcine tissues in order to evaluate differences between the tissues at the gene and isoform expression level, together with an analysis of variation in transcription start sites, promoter usage, and splicing. Totally, 223 million RNA fragments were sequenced leading to the identification of 59,930 transcribed gene locations and 290,936 transcript variants using Cufflinks with similarity to approximately 13,899 annotated human genes. Pairwise analysis of tissues for differential expression at the gene level showed that the smallest differences were between tissues originating from the porcine brain. Interestingly, the relative level of differential expression at the isoform level did generally not vary between tissue contrasts. Furthermore, analysis of differential promoter usage between tissues, revealed a proportionally higher variation between cerebellum (CBE) versus frontal cortex and cerebellum versus hypothalamus (HYP) than in the remaining comparisons. In addition, the comparison of differential transcription start sites showed that the number of these sites is generally increased in comparisons including hypothalamus in contrast to other pairwise assessments. A comprehensive analysis of one of the tissue contrasts, i

Towards a regional siting approach for canadian nuclear fuel waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuhn, R.G.

1999-01-01

The proposal to construct a nuclear fuel waste (NFW) disposal facility in Canada is fraught with difficulties, particularly with respect to gaining public acceptance and consent. Public perceptions of risk associated with a disposal facility are generally negative. Indeed, it was found that over 60% of residents in northern Ontario communities are opposed to the possibility of a disposal facility being constructed within 120 km of their community. Even after being offered the possibility of compensation and incentives, the majority of residents are strongly opposed. Canadian decision makers have generally endorsed a siting framework known as the open siting approach. The major characteristic of this approach is that it allows for substantial public participation in any siting process. It is premised on the notion that only communities where a majority of citizens favour the siting of a facility will be considered as potential hosts. However, given that the majority of residents on the Ontario portion of the Canadian Shield are strongly opposed to a NFW facility, the open approach will not be a panacea for a successful siting process. The major limitation of this approach is the fact that a single community cannot be isolated from its surrounding region and communities. The purpose of this paper is to work towards the development of a regional siting strategy for Canadian nuclear fuel waste management. There are no clear precedents of a regional siting approach to facility location in Canada. However, some analogous planning regimes and initiatives have been attempted. Common to these initiatives is the consideration of a large geographical region and attempts to integrate, at least formally, social, cultural, political and environmental concerns in a coherent and comprehensive manner. Under this type of 'siting strategy' NFW management would be considered within a broad array of resource management initiatives, social and cultural priorities, and institutional

Effect of starting microstructure upon the nucleation sites and distribution of graphite particles during a graphitising anneal of an experimental medium-carbon machining steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inam, A., E-mail: aqil.ceet@pu.edu.pk; Brydson, R., E-mail: mtlrmdb@leeds.ac.uk; Edmonds, D.V., E-mail: d.v.edmonds@leeds.ac.uk

2015-08-15

The potential for using graphite particles as an internal lubricant during machining is considered. Graphite particles were found to form during graphitisation of experimental medium-carbon steel alloyed with Si and Al. The graphite nucleation sites were strongly influenced by the starting microstructure, whether ferrite–pearlite, bainite or martensite, as revealed by light and electron microscopy. Favourable nucleation sites in the ferrite–pearlite starting microstructure were, not unexpectedly, found to be located within pearlite colonies, no doubt due to the presence of abundant cementite as a source of carbon. In consequence, the final distribution of graphite nodules in ferrite–pearlite microstructures was less uniform than for the bainite microstructure studied. In the case of martensite, this study found a predominance of nucleation at grain boundaries, again leading to less uniform graphite dispersions. - Highlights: • Metallography of formation of graphite particles in experimental carbon steel. • Potential for using graphite in steel as an internal lubricant during machining. • Microstructure features expected to influence improved machinability studied. • Influence of pre-anneal starting microstructure on graphite nucleation sites. • Influence of pre-anneal starting microstructure on graphite distribution. • Potential benefit is new free-cutting steel compositions without e.g. Pb alloying.

Robust detection of discordant sites in regional frequency analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Neykov, N.M.; Neytchev, P.N.; Van Gelder, P.H.A.J.M.; Todorov, V.K.

2007-01-01

The discordancy measure in terms of the sample L?moment ratios (L?CV, L?skewness, L?kurtosis) of the at?site data is widely recommended in the screening process of atypical sites in the regional frequency analysis (RFA). The sample mean and the covariance matrix of the L?moments ratios, on which the

Pairwise comparisons of ten porcine tissues identify differential transcriptional regulation at the gene, isoform, promoter and transcription start site level

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Farajzadeh, Leila; Hornshøj, Henrik; Momeni, Jamal

2013-01-01

, isoform, and transcription start site (TSS), and promoter level showed that several of the genes differed at all four levels. Interestingly, these genes were mainly annotated to the "electron transport chain" and neuronal differentiation, emphasizing that "tissue important" genes are regulated at several...

NPP Siting in Western Part of Java Island Indonesia: Regional Analysis Stage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sastratenaya, A.S.; Yuliastuti

2011-01-01

Full text of publication follows: Considering that Banten and West Java Provinces are dense regions of industry, therefore they require a large amount of electricity. Nuclear power plant is one option to be considered to anticipate the future electricity demand. To support the program, it is needed to look for some potential locations through NPP siting. The siting should meet the requirement of safety, safety aspects of the natural external events, human induced external events, public and environmental safety. Site selection is performed in several stages, where each stage has specific assessment criteria. Siting is commenced with pre-survey activity to obtain several interest areas, the activity covers a wide area but the used data is very limited and only apply general criteria. The following activities after pre survey are site survey consisting of (1) regional analysis, (2) site screening, and (3) comparison and ranking stages. The objective of regional analysis is to obtain potential sites in the study area of 150 km radius from each interest area by using both general and specific criteria. The potential sites then screened to obtain selected candidate sites by using more detailed secondary data as well as survey activities such as geophysical investigation, a few of drilling, etc., within the radius of 50 km from each potential site. All the selected candidate sites are then compared and ranked to obtain preferred candidate site. Site evaluation is the next step to evaluate all site-specific parameter to obtain design basis parameters and as the basis for preparing site permit document. This paper presents the methodology and result of regional analysis stage. The objective of the activity is to obtain potential sites in the north coast of West Java and Banten Provinces by considering fourteen study aspects which could be categorize into safety related aspects, non-safety related aspect and public education. However, this paper only considers the safety

The Demethylase JMJD2C Localizes to H3K4me3 Positive Transcription Start Sites and Is Dispensable for Embryonic Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Marianne Terndrup; Agger, Karl; Laugesen, Anne

2014-01-01

cell (ESC) self-renewal and embryonic development. Moreover, we report that JMJD2C localizes to H3K4me3 positive transcription start sites in both primary cells and in the human carcinoma KYSE150 cell line, containing an amplification of the JMJD2C locus. Binding is dependent on the double Tudor domain...... expression of a subset of target genes involved in cell cycle progression. Taken together, we show that JMJD2C is targeted to H3K4me3 positive transcription start sites, where it can contribute to transcriptional regulation, and report that the putative oncogene, JMJD2C, is not generally required...

Spastin subcellular localization is regulated through usage of different translation start sites and active export from the nucleus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Claudiani, Pamela; Riano, Elena; Errico, Alessia; Andolfi, Gennaro; Rugarli, Elena I.

2005-01-01

Most cases of autosomal-dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia are linked to mutations in SPG4 encoding spastin, a protein involved in microtubule dynamics and membrane trafficking. In pyramidal neurons of the motor cortex and in immortalized motor neurons, spastin is localized to the synaptic terminals and growth cones. However, in other neurons and in proliferating cells spastin is prevalently nuclear. The mechanisms that determine targeting of spastin to the nucleus or the cytoplasm are unknown. We show here that the SPG4 mRNA is able to direct synthesis of two spastin isoforms, 68 and 60 kDa, respectively, through usage of two different translational start sites. Both isoforms are imported into the nucleus, but the 68-kDa isoform contains two nuclear export signals that efficiently drive export to the cytoplasm. Nuclear export is leptomycin-B sensitive. The cytoplasmic 68-kDa spastin isoform is more abundant in the brain and the spinal cord than in other tissues. Our data indicate that spastin function is modulated through usage of alternative translational start sites and active nuclear import and export, and open new perspectives for the pathogenesis of hereditary spastic paraplegia

Low-level radioactive waste facility siting in the Rocky Mountain compact region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitman, M.

1983-09-01

The puprose of the Rocky Mountain Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact is to develop a regional management system for low-level waste (LLW) generated in the six states eligible for membership: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Under the terms of the compact, any party state generating at least 20% of the region's waste becomes responsible for hosting a regional LLW management facility. However, the compact prescribes no system which the host state must follow to develop a facility, but rather calls on the state to fulfill its responsibility through reliance on its own laws and regulations. Few of the Rocky Mountain compact states have legislation dealing specifically with LLW facility siting. Authority for LLW facility siting is usually obtained from radiation control statutes and solid or hazardous waste statutes. A state-by-state analysis of the siting authorities of each of the Rock Mountain compact states as they pertain to LLW disposal facility siting is presented. Siting authority for LLW disposal facilities in the Rocky Mountain compact region runs from no authority, as in Wyoming, to general statutory authority for which regulations would have to be promulgated, as in Arizona and Nevada, to more detailed siting laws, as in Colorado and New Mexico. Barring an amendment to, or different interpretation of, the Utah Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Act, none of the Rocky Mountain States' LLW facility siting authorities preempt local veto authorities

Full-Length Sequence of Mouse Acupuncture-Induced 1-L (Aig1l Gene Including Its Transcriptional Start Site

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mika Ohta

2011-01-01

Full Text Available We have been investigating the molecular efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA, which is one type of acupuncture therapy. In our previous molecular biological study of acupuncture, we found an EA-induced gene, named acupuncture-induced 1-L (Aig1l, in mouse skeletal muscle. The aims of this study consisted of identification of the full-length cDNA sequence of Aig1l including the transcriptional start site, determination of the tissue distribution of Aig1l and analysis of the effect of EA on Aig1l gene expression. We determined the complete cDNA sequence including the transcriptional start site via cDNA cloning with the cap site hunting method. We then analyzed the tissue distribution of Aig1l by means of northern blot analysis and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We used the semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to examine the effect of EA on Aig1l gene expression. Our results showed that the complete cDNA sequence of Aig1l was 6073 bp long, and the putative protein consisted of 962 amino acids. All seven tissues that we analyzed expressed the Aig1l gene. In skeletal muscle, EA induced expression of the Aig1l gene, with high expression observed after 3 hours of EA. Our findings thus suggest that the Aig1l gene may play a key role in the molecular mechanisms of EA efficacy.

Structural Fingerprints of Transcription Factor Binding Site Regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Willett

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Fourier transforms are a powerful tool in the prediction of DNA sequence properties, such as the presence/absence of codons. We have previously compiled a database of the structural properties of all 32,896 unique DNA octamers. In this work we apply Fourier techniques to the analysis of the structural properties of human chromosomes 21 and 22 and also to three sets of transcription factor binding sites within these chromosomes. We find that, for a given structural property, the structural property power spectra of chromosomes 21 and 22 are strikingly similar. We find common peaks in their power spectra for both Sp1 and p53 transcription factor binding sites. We use the power spectra as a structural fingerprint and perform similarity searching in order to find transcription factor binding site regions. This approach provides a new strategy for searching the genome data for information. Although it is difficult to understand the relationship between specific functional properties and the set of structural parameters in our database, our structural fingerprints nevertheless provide a useful tool for searching for function information in sequence data. The power spectrum fingerprints provide a simple, fast method for comparing a set of functional sequences, in this case transcription factor binding site regions, with the sequences of whole chromosomes. On its own, the power spectrum fingerprint does not find all transcription factor binding sites in a chromosome, but the results presented here show that in combination with other approaches, this technique will improve the chances of identifying functional sequences hidden in genomic data.

Comparative analysis of regulatory elements between Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae by genome-wide transcription start site profiling.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donghyuk Kim

Full Text Available Genome-wide transcription start site (TSS profiles of the enterobacteria Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were experimentally determined through modified 5' RACE followed by deep sequencing of intact primary mRNA. This identified 3,746 and 3,143 TSSs for E. coli and K. pneumoniae, respectively. Experimentally determined TSSs were then used to define promoter regions and 5' UTRs upstream of coding genes. Comparative analysis of these regulatory elements revealed the use of multiple TSSs, identical sequence motifs of promoter and Shine-Dalgarno sequence, reflecting conserved gene expression apparatuses between the two species. In both species, over 70% of primary transcripts were expressed from operons having orthologous genes during exponential growth. However, expressed orthologous genes in E. coli and K. pneumoniae showed a strikingly different organization of upstream regulatory regions with only 20% identical promoters with TSSs in both species. Over 40% of promoters had TSSs identified in only one species, despite conserved promoter sequences existing in the other species. 662 conserved promoters having TSSs in both species resulted in the same number of comparable 5' UTR pairs, and that regulatory element was found to be the most variant region in sequence among promoter, 5' UTR, and ORF. In K. pneumoniae, 48 sRNAs were predicted and 36 of them were expressed during exponential growth. Among them, 34 orthologous sRNAs between two species were analyzed in depth, and the analysis showed that many sRNAs of K. pneumoniae, including pleiotropic sRNAs such as rprA, arcZ, and sgrS, may work in the same way as in E. coli. These results reveal a new dimension of comparative genomics such that a comparison of two genomes needs to be comprehensive over all levels of genome organization.

Regional siting survey for thermal power plants in the state of Ohio

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elkins, M.L.; DiNunno, J.J.

1975-01-01

The selection and evaluation of sites for power plants have become increasingly difficult in recent years as pressures from various societal segments have resulted in government restraints on selection and burning of fossil fuels, on methods of heat dissipation, on acquisition of transmission line rights-of-way, and on environmental impact in general. The key elements in successful application of power plant siting technology are the development of the proper balance among the basic siting considerations and the understanding that level of detail in a study varies in an inverse relationship with the siting area under examination. As the first step in the process of selection and eventual licensing of new thermal power plant sites for a utility in the State of Ohio, the entire state was screened to determine promising candidate regions large enough to offer several possible candidate sites for thermal power plants. Because of the size of the area under consideration and the advantages of developing sites with an ultimate capacity for more than one power plant, sites with an installed capacity of 1100 to 4400 MW(e) were considered for this study. As a result of the preliminary screening conducted in four distinct steps, three candidate regions showed the best overall promise for either nuclear or fossil-fueled power plant development. Tentative identification was made of candidate sites within these candidate regions, and follow-on studies conducted in an increasing level of detail are presently in progress to determine the candidate site(s) most promising for power plant siting. (U.S.)

Thermophysical Properties of the Phoenix Mars Landing Site Study Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Putzig, N. E.; Mellon, M. T.; Golombek, M. P.; Arvidson, R. E.

2006-03-01

Analysis of Phoenix Mars study regions places 4 of 5 in a previously-identified duricrust-dominated thermophysical unit which also contains the Viking and Spirit landing sites. Extrapolation of lander-observed properties to the study regions may be complicated by surface heterogeneity.

Regional flow duration curves for ungauged sites in Sicily

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Viola

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Flow duration curves are simple and powerful tools to deal with many hydrological and environmental problems related to water quality assessment, water-use assessment and water allocation. Unfortunately the scarcity of streamflow data enables the use of these instruments only for gauged basins. A regional model is developed here for estimating flow duration curves at ungauged basins in Sicily, Italy. Due to the complex ephemeral behavior of the examined region, this study distinguishes dry periods, when flows are zero, from wet periods using a three parameters power law to describe the frequency distribution of flows. A large dataset of streamflows has been analyzed and the parameters of flow duration curves have been derived for about fifty basins. Regional regression equations have been developed to derive flow duration curves starting from morphological basin characteristics.

Common data about region of the former Semipalatinsk test site. Chapter 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

Region of the Semipalatinsk test site is situated on left bank shore of the Irtysh river, on joining of three regions (East Kazakstan region, Pavlodar, Karaganda) and is extended from the river to south-western direction on 180 km. Total square of the site is amount 18.5 thousand sq.km. The territory is presented by flat landscape of dry steppe and semi-desert type passing in south-western direction into hill valley changing by small hill land. There are 5 test sites on territory of the region where places of nuclear explosions were carried out. For all territory is typically presence of river valleys and lake hollows (mainly salty). Today global background from cesium-137 and strontium-90 radionuclides near Semipalatinsk city amounts in average 0,11 Ci/sq.km. By the data of ground gamma-survey radiation background is oscillating within limits of 11-25 μR/h. In the same time on the site region there are local sections of radiation contamination with very high background, in particular, in epicenter of the 'Opytnoe Pole' area is up to 15000 μR/h, on disposal area of the Balapan lake is 11000 μR/h, near dam of the Shagan reservoir is up to 7000 μR/h, near portals of some galleries of the Degelen test site is up to 20000-250000 μR/h and others. Geobotanic status of the site territory is extremely heterogeneous and it is insufficiently studied because of inaccessibility of the region for researches during long time of its activity. The 302 types higher vascular plants were defined during last four seasons of field studies, as well as 800 descriptions of biocenoses are made, 1000 herbarium specimens are gathered

Human holocarboxylase synthetase with a start site at methionine-58 is the predominant nuclear variant of this protein and has catalytic activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bao, Baolong; Wijeratne, Subhashinee S.K.; Rodriguez-Melendez, Rocio; Zempleni, Janos

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Unambiguous evidence is provided that methionine-58 serves as an in-frame alternative translation site for holocarboxylase synthetase (HLCS58). → Full-length HLCS and HLCS58 enter the nucleus, but HLCS58 is the predominant variant. → HLCS58 has biological activity as biotin protein ligase. -- Abstract: Holocarboxylase synthetase (HLCS) catalyzes the covalent binding of biotin to both carboxylases in extranuclear structures and histones in cell nuclei, thereby mediating important roles in intermediary metabolism, gene regulation, and genome stability. HLCS has three putative translational start sites (methionine-1, -7, and -58), but lacks a strong nuclear localization sequence that would explain its participation in epigenetic events in the cell nucleus. Recent evidence suggests that small quantities of HLCS with a start site in methionine-58 (HLCS58) might be able to enter the nuclear compartment. We generated the following novel insights into HLCS biology. First, we generated a novel HLCS fusion protein vector to demonstrate that methionine-58 is a functional translation start site in human cells. Second, we used confocal microscopy and western blots to demonstrate that HLCS58 enters the cell nucleus in meaningful quantities, and that full-length HLCS localizes predominantly in the cytoplasm but may also enter the nucleus. Third, we produced recombinant HLCS58 to demonstrate its biological activity toward catalyzing the biotinylation of both carboxylases and histones. Collectively, these observations are consistent with roles of HLCS58 and full-length HLCS in nuclear events. We conclude this report by proposing a novel role for HLCS in epigenetic events, mediated by physical interactions between HLCS and other chromatin proteins as part of a larger multiprotein complex that mediates gene repression.

REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN THE STARTING WAGE OF MASTER'S VS. BACHELOR'S DEGREE GRADUATES: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE HUNGARIAN GRADUATE CAREER TRACKING SURVEY 2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andras Istvan Kun

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The study examines the wage gap between bachelor‟s and master‟s degree graduates in the Hungarian labour market by NUTS2 regions. The databases used in the study have been gained from the Hungarian Graduate Career Tracking Survey conducted in 2012 as well as from public regional data sources of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. Relying on these databases independent t-tests, variance and regression analyses are performed to 1 identify the starting wage premium of those graduated at master‟s level compared to others owning only a bachelor‟s degree in the regions of Hungary, and to 2 define the role of regional factors (economic development, labour market indicators, demographic variables in the wage differences. Major conclusions of the study are that 1 obtaining a master‟s degree forecasts a significantly higher starting wage in most of the observed geographical areas, but 2 the size of this positive contribution significantly differs region by region (partly depending on economic and labour market factors.

TSSer: an automated method to identify transcription start sites in prokaryotic genomes from differential RNA sequencing data.

Science.gov (United States)

Jorjani, Hadi; Zavolan, Mihaela

2014-04-01

Accurate identification of transcription start sites (TSSs) is an essential step in the analysis of transcription regulatory networks. In higher eukaryotes, the capped analysis of gene expression technology enabled comprehensive annotation of TSSs in genomes such as those of mice and humans. In bacteria, an equivalent approach, termed differential RNA sequencing (dRNA-seq), has recently been proposed, but the application of this approach to a large number of genomes is hindered by the paucity of computational analysis methods. With few exceptions, when the method has been used, annotation of TSSs has been largely done manually. In this work, we present a computational method called 'TSSer' that enables the automatic inference of TSSs from dRNA-seq data. The method rests on a probabilistic framework for identifying both genomic positions that are preferentially enriched in the dRNA-seq data as well as preferentially captured relative to neighboring genomic regions. Evaluating our approach for TSS calling on several publicly available datasets, we find that TSSer achieves high consistency with the curated lists of annotated TSSs, but identifies many additional TSSs. Therefore, TSSer can accelerate genome-wide identification of TSSs in bacterial genomes and can aid in further characterization of bacterial transcription regulatory networks. TSSer is freely available under GPL license at http://www.clipz.unibas.ch/TSSer/index.php

Regional-interstate site-review procedure: low-level radioactive waste disposal facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-09-01

The attributes of the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB) enable it to view federal/state interface problem areas from a perspective that can be uniquely constructive. The board is sensitive to the interests of both federal and state levels of government since it is composed of member states with common regional interests and confirmed by federal legislative action. It has been most effective when exercising a leadership role in finding procedures and practices that use the resources of both levels of government that are mutually supportive and nonduplicative. SSEB began an NRC-funded effort in that direction related to nuclear power plant siting in June 1975, entitled Regional-Interstate Nuclear Facility Siting Procedure Demonstration Project. SSEB approached the problem by working with interested states to analyze various elements of the licensing process, in particular with NEPA review procedures for interstate coordination where potential impacts extend beyond a single state and where the facility serves an interstate or regional need. SSEB also served as a catalyst in the development of a region-wide nuclear facility siting procedure that could improve the effectiveness and timeliness of the regulatory process

A preferred region for recombinational patch repair in the 5' untranslated region of primer binding site-impaired murine leukemia virus vectors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, J G; Lund, Anders Henrik; Kristensen, K D

1996-01-01

, suggesting the involvement of a specific endogenous virus-like sequence in patch repair rescue of the primer binding site mutants. The putative recombination partner RNA was found in virions from psi-2 cells as detected by analysis of glutamine tRNA-initiated cDNA and by sequence analysis of regions...... site to allow correct second-strand transfer in reverse transcription. The system thereby selects for a reverse transcriptase-mediated recombination event in the 5' untranslated region. A panel of sequence differences between the recombination partners in this region has allowed mapping of the site...

A Comparison of Regional and SiteSpecific Volume Estimation Equations

Science.gov (United States)

Joe P. McClure; Jana Anderson; Hans T. Schreuder

1987-01-01

Regression equations for volume by region and site class were examined for lobiolly pine. The regressions for the Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions had significantly different slopes. The results shared important practical differences in percentage of confidence intervals containing the true total volume and in percentage of estimates within a specific proportion of...

Public participation and regional development at a nuclear waste disposal site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ipsen, D.

2005-01-01

The propositions brought forward in this article try to implement sociological aspects into the search for nuclear waste disposal sites based on two theses: Firstly without the willingness of public participation in the search and inspection processes the success of the process is severly put into question in a democratic state. Secondly the potential disposal site must not block the further economic development of the region. These two theses lead to socio-economic criteria for consideration or debarment, to a concept of active and intensive participation, and to considerations about long-term regional development. (orig.)

Retroviral DNA integration: ASLV, HIV, and MLV show distinct target site preferences.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rick S Mitchell

2004-08-01

Full Text Available The completion of the human genome sequence has made possible genome-wide studies of retroviral DNA integration. Here we report an analysis of 3,127 integration site sequences from human cells. We compared retroviral vectors derived from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, avian sarcoma-leukosis virus (ASLV, and murine leukemia virus (MLV. Effects of gene activity on integration targeting were assessed by transcriptional profiling of infected cells. Integration by HIV vectors, analyzed in two primary cell types and several cell lines, strongly favored active genes. An analysis of the effects of tissue-specific transcription showed that it resulted in tissue-specific integration targeting by HIV, though the effect was quantitatively modest. Chromosomal regions rich in expressed genes were favored for HIV integration, but these regions were found to be interleaved with unfavorable regions at CpG islands. MLV vectors showed a strong bias in favor of integration near transcription start sites, as reported previously. ASLV vectors showed only a weak preference for active genes and no preference for transcription start regions. Thus, each of the three retroviruses studied showed unique integration site preferences, suggesting that virus-specific binding of integration complexes to chromatin features likely guides site selection.

Valuation procedure for supra-regional siting of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volwahsen, A.

1977-01-01

The entwinement of area planning and power policies is explained and conceivable effects of the selection of site for nuclear power stations on the regional economic and social structure as well as the housing development are discussed. A research project and its purposes are presented here, the project having been initiated in order to examine the siting concepts emerging from the discussion of deverging interests, and in order to elaborate a variety of concrete requirements to be made with regard to site examination and site selection. Large-scole valuation indicators and procedures are expected to lead to solutions acceptable for all parties concerned. (HP) 891 HP [de

The regional issues involved in the siting of power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livingstone, R.

1980-01-01

This paper deals with the regional implications of power station siting in England and Wales and refers to the procedures used by the CEGB to find and develop sites. The resources required for a power station are outlined both for conventional and nuclear stations and the possible development of uses for the rejected heat from power stations as a result of the energy crisis is discussed. (U.K.)

Organization and duties of the site supervisory staff

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macqueron, J.F.

1976-01-01

There are two distinct phases in building a nuclear power station: The first involves the choice of the site, and the second is building the power station on the site chosen. The decision as to the site requires a long series of studies undertaken by the electricity-producing authority in France (Electricite de France) in close liaison with the government and the public, its elected representatives and municipalities. The building of a power station takes place according to the following procedure: The general, installation and operational studies and the accident-simulation studies are carried out by the planning departments of the Regional Equipment Organizations; the works department of the Regional Equipment Organizations controls and follows up the manufacture of equipment in the factory; coordination of on-site erection, trials on site and start-up of the installations are carried out by the development section of the works department. (orig./HP) [de

Experimental Studies on Earthen Architecture Sites Consolidated with BS Materials in Arid Regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong Zhao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper takes the preservation works on the archaeological sites of Gaochang Ruins, Xinjiang, as background. Based on the soil characteristics analysis on the archaeological sites, experimental studies were conducted on the consolidation effect of the BS-10 consolidation material on the archaeological sites of adobe and rammed earth. The results showed the following:, after consolidation, the wind erosion resistance of the soil on the archaeological sites was substantially increased, and the wind erosion modulus was reduced by 5~8 times; the soil exhibited fine grid structure and significantly reduced degree of permeability, while still maintaining the moisture exchange between inside and outside the soil; there is excellent ageing resistance; the resistance to freezing and thawing was closely related to the soil water content and had little influence in arid regions; the water resistance was improved and could satisfy the requirements for consolidating the sites in arid regions; the unconfined compressive strength was improved moderately, which was the key direction of improvement in the future, and the consolidated soil did not form duricrust on the surface and had good bonding strength with the internal parts. The BS-10 material can meet the consolidation requirements for the earthen archaeological sites in arid regions of northwest China.

The Transcription Bubble of the RNA Polymerase-Promoter Open Complex Exhibits Conformational Heterogeneity and Millisecond-Scale Dynamics : Implications for Transcription Start-Site Selection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Robb, Nicole C.; Cordes, Thorben; Hwang, Ling Chin; Gryte, Kristofer; Duchi, Diego; Craggs, Timothy D.; Santoso, Yusdi; Weiss, Shimon; Ebright, Richard H.; Kapanidis, Achillefs N.

2013-01-01

Bacterial transcription is initiated after RNA polymerase (RNAP) binds to promoter DNA, melts similar to 14 bp around the transcription start site and forms a single-stranded "transcription bubble" within a catalytically active RNAP-DNA open complex (RPo). There is significant flexibility in the

Screening criteria for siting waste management facilities: Regional Management Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

The Midwest Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission (Midwest Compact) seeks to define and place into operation a system for low-level waste management that will protect the public health and safety and the environment from the time the waste leaves its point of origin. Once the system is defined it will be necessary to find suitable sites for the components of that waste management system. The procedure for siting waste management facilities that have been chosen by the compact is one in which a host state is chosen for each facility. The host state is then given the freedom to select the site. Sites will be needed of low-level waste disposal facilities. Depending on the nature of the waste management system chosen by the host state, sites may also be needed for regional waste treatment facilities, such as compactors or incinerators. This report provides example criteria for use in selecting sites for low-level radioactive waste treatment and disposal facilities. 14 refs

Systematic analysis of transcription start sites in avian development.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Lizio

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE in combination with single-molecule sequencing technology allows precision mapping of transcription start sites (TSSs and genome-wide capture of promoter activities in differentiated and steady state cell populations. Much less is known about whether TSS profiling can characterize diverse and non-steady state cell populations, such as the approximately 400 transitory and heterogeneous cell types that arise during ontogeny of vertebrate animals. To gain such insight, we used the chick model and performed CAGE-based TSS analysis on embryonic samples covering the full 3-week developmental period. In total, 31,863 robust TSS peaks (>1 tag per million [TPM] were mapped to the latest chicken genome assembly, of which 34% to 46% were active in any given developmental stage. ZENBU, a web-based, open-source platform, was used for interactive data exploration. TSSs of genes critical for lineage differentiation could be precisely mapped and their activities tracked throughout development, suggesting that non-steady state and heterogeneous cell populations are amenable to CAGE-based transcriptional analysis. Our study also uncovered a large set of extremely stable housekeeping TSSs and many novel stage-specific ones. We furthermore demonstrated that TSS mapping could expedite motif-based promoter analysis for regulatory modules associated with stage-specific and housekeeping genes. Finally, using Brachyury as an example, we provide evidence that precise TSS mapping in combination with Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR-on technology enables us, for the first time, to efficiently target endogenous avian genes for transcriptional activation. Taken together, our results represent the first report of genome-wide TSS mapping in birds and the first systematic developmental TSS analysis in any amniote species (birds and mammals. By facilitating promoter-based molecular analysis and genetic

At site and regional analysis of maximum annual and seasonal discharges and precipitation depths in the upper Hron region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohnova, S.; Hlavcova, K.

2004-01-01

In this presentation authors deal with the regional analysis of maximum annual and seasonal discharges and precipitation depths in the upper Hron region (Slovak Republic). This work has two objectives: (1) At site and regional analysis of annual and seasonal maximum design discharges in the upper Hron region; (2) Analysis of annual and seasonal maximum design precipitations in the connection of extreme runoff condition in the upper Hron region

Forsmark - site descriptive model version 0

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-10-01

During 2002, the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) is starting investigations at two potential sites for a deep repository in the Precambrian basement of the Fennoscandian Shield. The present report concerns one of those sites, Forsmark, which lies in the municipality of Oesthammar, on the east coast of Sweden, about 150 kilometres north of Stockholm. The site description should present all collected data and interpreted parameters of importance for the overall scientific understanding of the site, for the technical design and environmental impact assessment of the deep repository, and for the assessment of long-term safety. The site description will have two main components: a written synthesis of the site, summarising the current state of knowledge, as documented in the databases containing the primary data from the site investigations, and one or several site descriptive models, in which the collected information is interpreted and presented in a form which can be used in numerical models for rock engineering, environmental impact and long-term safety assessments. The site descriptive models are devised and stepwise updated as the site investigations proceed. The point of departure for this process is the regional site descriptive model, version 0, which is the subject of the present report. Version 0 is developed out of the information available at the start of the site investigation. This information, with the exception of data from tunnels and drill holes at the sites of the Forsmark nuclear reactors and the underground low-middle active radioactive waste storage facility, SFR, is mainly 2D in nature (surface data), and is general and regional, rather than site-specific, in content. For this reason, the Forsmark site descriptive model, version 0, as detailed in the present report, has been developed at a regional scale. It covers a rectangular area, 15 km in a southwest-northeast and 11 km in a northwest-southeast direction, around the

Earlier school start times are associated with higher rates of behavioral problems in elementary schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Peggy S; Gilbert, Lauren R; Haak, Eric A; Bi, Shuang; Smith, Olivia A

2017-04-01

Early school start times may curtail children's sleep and inadvertently promote sleep restriction. The current study examines the potential implications for early school start times for behavioral problems in public elementary schools (student ages 5-12 years) in Kentucky. School start times were obtained from school Web sites or by calling school offices; behavioral and disciplinary problems, along with demographic information about schools, were obtained from the Kentucky Department of Education. Estimated associations controlled for teacher/student ratio, racial composition, school rank, enrollment, and Appalachian location. Associations between early school start time and greater behavioral problems (harassment, in-school removals, suspensions, and expulsions) were observed, although some of these associations were found only for schools serving the non-Appalachian region. Findings support the growing body of research showing that early school start times may contribute to student problems, and extend this research through a large-scale examination of elementary schools, behavioral outcomes, and potential moderators of risk. Copyright © 2017 National Sleep Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Murine leukemia virus vector integration favors promoter regions and regional hot spots in a human T-cell line

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsukahara, Tomonori; Agawa, Hideyuki; Matsumoto, Sayori; Matsuda, Mizuho; Ueno, Shuichi; Yamashita, Yuki; Yamada, Koichiro; Tanaka, Nobuyuki; Kojima, Katsuhiko; Takeshita, Toshikazu

2006-01-01

Genomic analysis of integration will be important in evaluating the safety of human gene therapy with retroviral vectors. Here, we investigated MLV vector integration sites in human T-cells, since they are amenable to gene transfer studies, and have been used therapeutically in clinical trials. We mapped 340 MLV vector integration sites in the infected human T-cell clones we established. The data showed that MLV preferred integration near the transcription start sites (±5 kb), near CpG islands (±1 kb), and within the first intron of RefSeq genes. We also identified MLV integration hot spots that contained three or more integrations within a 100 kb region. RT-PCR revealed that mRNA-levels of T-cell clones that contained MLV integrations near transcription start sites or introns were dysregulated compared to the uninfected cells. These studies help define the profile of MLV integration in T-cells and the risks associated with MLV-based gene therapy

Assessment of Natural Stream Sites for Hydroelectric Dams in the Pacific Northwest Region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Douglas G. Hall; Kristin L. Verdin; Randy D. Lee

2012-03-01

This pilot study presents a methodology for modeling project characteristics using a development model of a stream obstructing dam. The model is applied to all individual stream reaches in hydrologic region 17, which encompasses nearly all of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Project site characteristics produced by the modeling technique include: capacity potential, principal dam dimensions, number of required auxiliary dams, total extent of the constructed impoundment boundary, and the surface area of the resulting reservoir. Aggregated capacity potential values for the region are presented in capacity categories including total, that at existing dams, within federal and environmentally sensitive exclusion zones, and the balance which is consider available for greenfield development within the limits of the study. Distributions of site characteristics for small hydropower sites are presented and discussed. These sites are screened to identify candidate small hydropower sites and distributions of the site characteristics of this site population are presented and discussed. Recommendations are made for upgrading the methodology and extensions to make the results more accessible and available on a larger scale.

Cell-based land use screening procedure for regional siting analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jalbert, J.S.; Dobson, J.E.

1976-01-01

An energy facility site-screening methodology which permits the land resource planner to identify candidate siting areas was developed. Through the use of spatial analysis procedures and computer graphics, a selection of candidate areas is obtained. Specific sites then may be selected from among candidate areas for environmental impact analysis. The computerized methodology utilizes a cell-based geographic information system for specifying the suitability of candidate areas for an energy facility. The criteria to be considered may be specified by the user and weighted in terms of importance. Three primary computer programs have been developed. These programs produce thematic maps, proximity calculations, and suitability calculations. Programs are written so as to be transferrable to regional planning or regulatory agencies to assist in rational and comprehensive power plant site identification and analysis

Afraid to Start Because the Outcome is Uncertain?: Social Site Characterization as a Tool for Informing Public Engagement Efforts

Science.gov (United States)

Wade, S.; Greenberg, S.

2009-01-01

This paper introduces the concept of social site characterization as a parallel effort to technical site characterization to be used in evaluating and planning carbon dioxides capture and storage (CCS) projects. Social site characterization, much like technical site characterization, relies on a series of iterative investigations into public attitudes towards a CCS project and the factors that will shape those views. This paper also suggests ways it can be used to design approaches for actively engaging stakeholders and communities in the deployment of CCS projects. This work is informed by observing the site selection process for FutureGen and the implementation of research projects under the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program. ?? 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Ironbridge Gorge Heritage Site and its local and regional functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cudny Waldemar

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the issue of heritage and its functions. Based on the existing literature, the author presents the definition of heritage, the classification of heritage resources, and its most important impacts. The aim of the article was to show the functions that may be performed by a heritage site, locally and regionally. The example used by the author is the Ironbridge Gorge Heritage Site in the United Kingdom. Most heritage functions described by other authors are confirmed in this case study. The cultural heritage of the Ironbridge Gorge creates an opportunity to undertake various local and regional activities, having first of all an educational influence on the inhabitants, school youth and tourists. We must not ignore the economicinfluences, such as financing the activity of the Ironbridge Trust (the institution administering the site, generating income for local firms providing service to tourists, or for construction companies. This income helps to preserve and conserve the tangible heritage of the Ironbridge Gorge, as well as to generate jobs in heritage management, conservation and heritage tourism. Other effects of the Ironbridge Gorge Site include a socio-cultural impact or that related to sustainable development.

High-Resolution Profiling of Drosophila Replication Start Sites Reveals a DNA Shape and Chromatin Signature of Metazoan Origins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Federico Comoglio

2015-05-01

Full Text Available At every cell cycle, faithful inheritance of metazoan genomes requires the concerted activation of thousands of DNA replication origins. However, the genetic and chromatin features defining metazoan replication start sites remain largely unknown. Here, we delineate the origin repertoire of the Drosophila genome at high resolution. We address the role of origin-proximal G-quadruplexes and suggest that they transiently stall replication forks in vivo. We dissect the chromatin configuration of replication origins and identify a rich spatial organization of chromatin features at initiation sites. DNA shape and chromatin configurations, not strict sequence motifs, mark and predict origins in higher eukaryotes. We further examine the link between transcription and origin firing and reveal that modulation of origin activity across cell types is intimately linked to cell-type-specific transcriptional programs. Our study unravels conserved origin features and provides unique insights into the relationship among DNA topology, chromatin, transcription, and replication initiation across metazoa.

Regional and site geological frameworks : proposed Deep Geologic Repository, Bruce County, Ontario

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raven, K.; Sterling, S.; Gaines, S.; Wigston, A. [Intera Engineering Ltd., Ottawa, ON (Canada); Frizzell, R. [Nuclear Waste Management Organization, Toronto, ON (Canada)

2009-07-01

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is conducting geoscientific studies on behalf of Ontario Power Generation into the proposed development of a Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) for low and intermediate level radioactive waste (L and ILW) at the Bruce site, near Tiverton, Ontario. This paper presented a regional geological framework for the site that was based on a review of regional drilling; structural geology; paleozoic stratigraphy and sedimentology; a 3D geological framework model; a DGR geological site characterization model; bedrock stratigraphy and marker beds; natural fracture frequency data; and formation predictability. The studies have shown that the depth, thickness, orientation and rock quality of the 34 rock formations, members or units that comprise the 840 m thick Paleozoic bedrock sequence at the Bruce site are very uniform and predictable over distances of several kilometres. The proposed DGR will be constructed as an engineered facility comprising a series of underground emplacement rooms at a depth of 680 metres below ground within argillaceous limestones. The geoscientific studies are meant to provide a basis for the development of descriptive geological, hydrogeological and geomechanical models of the DGR site that will facilitate environmental and safety assessments. 11 refs., 3 tabs., 9 figs.

Population Health in Regions Adjacent to the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1998-01-01

...) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Inhabitants of several Kazakhstan regions were contaminated in different years by radioactive fallout from atmospheric nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk test site...

Siting of an MRS facility: identification of a geographic region that reduces transportation requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holter, G.M.; Braitman, J.L.

1985-04-01

The study reported here was undertaken as part of the site screening and evaluation activities for the Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) Program of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), Department of Energy (DOE). Its primary purpose was to determine: the location and shape of a preferred geographic region within which locating an MRS facility would minimize total shipment miles for spent fuel transported through the MRS facility to a repository, and the sensitivity of the location and shape of this region and the reduction in total shipment miles to possible variations in waste management system logistics. As a result of this analysis, a geographic region has been identified which is preferred for siting an MRS facility. This region will be referred to as the preferred region in this study. Siting an MRS facility in the preferred region will limit total shipment miles (i.e., the total miles traveled for all shipments of spent fuel) to and from the MRS facility to within 20% of the lowest achievable. The region is preferred for a mixed truck/rail system of transport from reactors to the MRS facility. It is assumed that rail will be used to ship spent fuel from the MRS facility to a geologic repository for disposal. Siting an MRS facility in the preferred region will reduce total shipment miles for all currently considered system logistics options which include an MRS facility in the system. These options include: any first repository location, the possible range of spent fuel consolidation at the MRS, use of multi-cask or single-cask train shipments, use of current or future spent fuel transport casks, servicing only the first or both the first and second repositories, and shipment of fuel from western reactors either through the MRS facility or to a western facility (a second, smaller MRS facility or the first repository)

Soil monitoring in Pavlodar region adjoining to Semipalatinsk test site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuleubaev, B.A.; Ramazanov, Zh.R.; Askarov, E.V.

2004-01-01

A problem of territory study and rehabilitation contaminated with man-caused radionuclides is an important task and it has economic, social, and ecology aspects. The problem is crucial for Pavlodar region due to real proximity and to partial location of Semipalatinsk Test Site on its territory. (author)

77 FR 62535 - Hydro Aluminum North America, Inc., Midwest Region, Including On-Site Leased Workers From...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-15

... Aluminum North America, Inc., Midwest Region, Including On- Site Leased Workers From Employment Group, Aerotek, and Manpower, Kalamazoo, Michigan; Hydro Aluminum North America, Inc., Midwest Region, Including... Aluminum North America, Inc., Kalamazoo, Michigan. The subject worker group includes on-site leased workers...

Simpevarp - site descriptive model version 0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-11-01

During 2002, SKB is starting detailed investigations at two potential sites for a deep repository in the Precambrian rocks of the Fennoscandian Shield. The present report concerns one of those sites, Simpevarp, which lies in the municipality of Oskarshamn, on the southeast coast of Sweden, about 250 kilometres south of Stockholm. The site description will have two main components: a written synthesis of the site, summarising the current state of knowledge, as documented in the databases containing the primary data from the site investigations, and one or several site descriptive models, in which the collected information is interpreted and presented in a form which can be used in numerical models for rock engineering, environmental impact and long-term safety assessments. SKB maintains two main databases at the present time, a site characterisation database called SICADA and a geographic information system called SKB GIS. The site descriptive model will be developed and presented with the aid of the SKB GIS capabilities, and with SKBs Rock Visualisation System (RVS), which is also linked to SICADA. The version 0 model forms an important framework for subsequent model versions, which are developed successively, as new information from the site investigations becomes available. Version 0 is developed out of the information available at the start of the site investigation. In the case of Simpevarp, this is essentially the information which was compiled for the Oskarshamn feasibility study, which led to the choice of that area as a favourable object for further study, together with information collected since its completion. This information, with the exception of the extensive data base from the nearby Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory, is mainly 2D in nature (surface data), and is general and regional, rather than site-specific, in content. Against this background, the present report consists of the following components: an overview of the present content of the databases

Overlapping hotspots in CDRs are critical sites for V region diversification.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Lirong; Chahwan, Richard; Wang, Shanzhi; Wang, Xiaohua; Pham, Phuong T; Goodman, Myron F; Bergman, Aviv; Scharff, Matthew D; MacCarthy, Thomas

2015-02-17

Activation-induced deaminase (AID) mediates the somatic hypermutation (SHM) of Ig variable (V) regions that is required for the affinity maturation of the antibody response. An intensive analysis of a published database of somatic hypermutations that arose in the IGHV3-23*01 human V region expressed in vivo by human memory B cells revealed that the focus of mutations in complementary determining region (CDR)1 and CDR2 coincided with a combination of overlapping AGCT hotspots, the absence of AID cold spots, and an abundance of polymerase eta hotspots. If the overlapping hotspots in the CDR1 or CDR2 did not undergo mutation, the frequency of mutations throughout the V region was reduced. To model this result, we examined the mutation of the human IGHV3-23*01 biochemically and in the endogenous heavy chain locus of Ramos B cells. Deep sequencing revealed that IGHV3-23*01 in Ramos cells accumulates AID-induced mutations primarily in the AGCT in CDR2, which was also the most frequent site of mutation in vivo. Replacing the overlapping hotspots in CDR1 and CDR2 with neutral or cold motifs resulted in a reduction in mutations within the modified motifs and, to some degree, throughout the V region. In addition, some of the overlapping hotspots in the CDRs were at sites in which replacement mutations could change the structure of the CDR loops. Our analysis suggests that the local sequence environment of the V region, and especially of the CDR1 and CDR2, is highly evolved to recruit mutations to key residues in the CDRs of the IgV region.

Regional differences in gene expression and promoter usage in aged human brains

KAUST Repository

Pardo, Luba M.; Rizzu, Patrizia; Francescatto, Margherita; Vitezic, Morana; Leday, Gwenaë l G.R.; Sanchez, Javier Simon; Khamis, Abdullah M.; Takahashi, Hazuki; van de Berg, Wilma D.J.; Medvedeva, Yulia A.; van de Wiel, Mark A.; Daub, Carsten O.; Carninci, Piero; Heutink, Peter

2013-01-01

To characterize the promoterome of caudate and putamen regions (striatum), frontal and temporal cortices, and hippocampi from aged human brains, we used high-throughput cap analysis of gene expression to profile the transcription start sites

Economic impact of accelerated cleanup on regions surrounding the US DOE's major nuclear weapons sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenberg, M.; Solitare, L.; Frisch, M.; Lowrie, K.

1999-01-01

The regional economic impacts of the US Department of Energy's accelerated environmental cleanup plan are estimated for the major nuclear weapons sites in Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. The analysis shows that the impact falls heavily on the three relatively rural regions around the Savannah River (SC), Hanford (WA), and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (ID) sites. A less aggressive phase-down of environmental management funds and separate funds to invest in education and infrastructure in the regions helps buffer the impacts on jobs, personal income, and gross regional product. Policy options open to the federal and state and local governments are discussed

Quality maternal and newborn care to ensure a healthy start for every newborn in the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region.

Science.gov (United States)

Obara, H; Sobel, H

2014-09-01

In the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region, the high rates of births attended by skilled health personnel (SHP) do not equal access to quality maternal or newborn care. 'A healthy start for every newborn' for 23 million annual births in the region means that SHP and newborn care providers give quality intrapartum, postpartum and newborn care. WHO and the UNICEF Regional Action Plan for Healthy Newborn Infants provide a platform for countries to scale-up Early Essential Newborn Care (EENC). The plan emphasises the creation of an enabling environment for the practice of EENC; thereby, preventing 50,000 newborn deaths annually. © 2014 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

About the nature of regional thermal anomaly in the Semipalatinsk Test Site region revealed basing on remote space sensing data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melent'ev, M.I.; Velikanov, A.E.

2003-01-01

A thermal anomaly, (more than 20,000 sq. km) discovered in the Semipalatinsk Test Site region in the pictures from space, is observed every year on certain days mainly in winter-spring season. Appearance of the thermal anomaly often coincides with days of intensive fall of atmospheric precipitation and possible thawing of snow cover together with decreasing of ozone concentration in atmosphere. The explanation of thermal anomaly in the Semipalatinsk Test Site region due to nuclear reaction caused by the energy of radionuclide radioactive decay deposited in a soil layer after ground and air nuclear explosions and radiolysis processes in soil solutions is given in this article. (author)

Complete motif analysis of sequence requirements for translation initiation at non-AUG start codons.

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz de Arce, Alexander J; Noderer, William L; Wang, Clifford L

2018-01-25

The initiation of mRNA translation from start codons other than AUG was previously believed to be rare and of relatively low impact. More recently, evidence has suggested that as much as half of all translation initiation utilizes non-AUG start codons, codons that deviate from AUG by a single base. Furthermore, non-AUG start codons have been shown to be involved in regulation of expression and disease etiology. Yet the ability to gauge expression based on the sequence of a translation initiation site (start codon and its flanking bases) has been limited. Here we have performed a comprehensive analysis of translation initiation sites that utilize non-AUG start codons. By combining genetic-reporter, cell-sorting, and high-throughput sequencing technologies, we have analyzed the expression associated with all possible variants of the -4 to +4 positions of non-AUG translation initiation site motifs. This complete motif analysis revealed that 1) with the right sequence context, certain non-AUG start codons can generate expression comparable to that of AUG start codons, 2) sequence context affects each non-AUG start codon differently, and 3) initiation at non-AUG start codons is highly sensitive to changes in the flanking sequences. Complete motif analysis has the potential to be a key tool for experimental and diagnostic genomics. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

A heat transfer analysis of laminar flow over a flat plate with unheated starting region for low Prandtl number fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahola, M.P.; Karimi, A.

1996-01-01

In boundary layer analyses involving heat transfer, the Prandtl number (Pr) relates the diffusion of momentum to the diffusion of heat, and can be shown to directly correlate to the ratio of the thermal boundary layer thickness to the velocity boundary layer thickness. For large Prandtl number fluids (i.e., Pr > 1) the velocity boundary layer thickness is larger than the thermal boundary layer thickness, and vice versa. In some applications in the industry heating does not occur over the entire plate, such as in the case of an unheated starting region or spot heating along a finite segment of the plate. For such applications solutions only exist for the simpler case of large Prandtl number fluids where the thermal boundary layer is assumed to be smaller than the velocity boundary layer. The analyses presented in this paper extends the solution to the unheated starting region problem for small Prandtl number fluids, where the thermal boundary layer grows larger and crosses the velocity boundary layer. The solution is based on the integral method approach assuming laminar flow, and both cases of constant wall temperature as well as constant wall heat flux are analyzed

Measurement of volatile organic compounds during start-up of bioremediation of French limited superfund site in Crosby Texas using wind dependent whole-air sampling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pleil, J.D.; Fortune, C.R.; Yoong, M.; Oliver, K.D.

1993-01-01

Whole-air sampling was performed before and after the start-up of the bioremediation of an industrial (primarily petrochemical) waste lagoon in Crosby Texas, near Houston. Four 'Sector Samplers' were deployed at the four corners of the French Limited Superfund Site. These samplers collect air into one of two SUMMA polished canisters depending upon wind direction and speed. When the wind blows at the sampler from across the waste lagoon, air is routed to the 'IN' sector canister, otherwise sample is collected in the 'OUT' sector canister. As such, each sampler provides its own background sample, and, upon gas chromatographic analysis, individual compounds can be associated with the waste lagoon. Five sets of 24-hour sector samples were taken; the first set was collected prior to the start of the bioremediation effort and the remaining four sets were taken sequentially for four 24-hour periods after the start-up of the procedure

The renaissance starts here

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nedderman, John.

1997-01-01

The Asian Pacific Basin region has the highest rate of growth of anywhere in the world and its need for electricity is staggering. This is leading, noted a senior Korean official speaking at the 10th Pacific Basin Nuclear Conference, to a ''renaissance of nuclear power'' in Asia. Judging by the optimism in evidence at the conference, perhaps it has already started. (Author)

Regional State Committees Can Help Provide a Regional Perspective to Planning and Siting Decisions, Reducing the Need for Federal Preemption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Basheda, Gregory

2006-03-01

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 gave FERC the authority to preempt state and local transmission siting authorities under certain conditions, creating the potential for federal/state disputes. Such disputes are less likely to occur where there are open, regional planning processes. Multi-state advisory bodies known as regional state committees, working with RTOs, can provide a forum to evaluate transmission needs from a regional perspective, reducing the need for FERC involvement. (author)

A method of identifying social structures in siting regions for deep geological repositories in Switzerland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brander, Simone

2010-09-01

Acceptance is a key element in the site selection process for deep geological repositories for high-level and low and intermediate-level radioactive waste in Switzerland. Participation requirements such as comprehensive negotiation issues and adequate resources have thus been defined by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). In 2008, on the basis of technical criteria Nagra (National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste) proposed several potential areas for deep geological repositories. The number of potential areas will be narrowed down within the next few years. All municipalities within the planning perimeter (the area in which surface facilities can be realised) are affected and form the siting region. In order to ensure that the local population have their say in the forthcoming discussions, regional participation bodies including all municipalities within a siting region are being set up by the SFOE. Regional participation ensures that local interests, needs and values are taken into account in the site selection process. Assembling the regional participation bodies is therefore of great importance. Before such bodies can be formed, however, the various interests, needs and values have to be identified, and special attention has to be paid to long-term interests of future generations, as well as to non-organised and under-represented interests. According to the concept of proportional representation, the interests, needs and values that are identified and weighted by the local population are to be represented in the regional participation procedure. The aim of this study is to share a method of mapping existing social structures in a defined geographical area. This involves a combination of an analysis of socio-economic statistical data and qualitative and quantitative social research methods

Site development in the Central Midwest Compact Region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lash, T.R.

1986-01-01

Illinois and Kentucky, the two members of the Central Midwest Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact, are well along in fulfilling their responsibility to provide new low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal capacity, which has been delegated to states and regions by federal law. The host state for facilities under the compact will be Illinois, and thus the focus of this paper is on Illinois' siting process. Illinois has both the statutory authority for LLW management and a cabinet-level agency, the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety (IDNS), which has the responsibility for implementing the state management act. Based on activities to date, the Central Midwest Region expects to meet the milestones established by the federal Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985. Illinois, however, cannot take further progress toward managing and disposing of our LLW for granted. IDNS and the Central Midwest Compact Commission (CMCC) must continue vigorously to press ahead to assure timely development of new disposal capacity. This paper provides background information on (1) the laws under which new facilities will be established in the Central Midwest Region, (2) the activities of IDNS and CMCC, and (3) planned activities by both IDNS and the CMCC

Conference report: 2012 Repository Symposium. Final storage in Germany. New start - ways and consequences of the site selection procedure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kettler, John

2012-01-01

The Aachen Institute for Nuclear Training invited participants to the 3-day '2012 Repository Symposium - Final Storage in Germany' held in Bonn. The subtitle of the event, 'New Start - Ways and Consequences of the Site Selection Procedure,' expressed the organizers' summary that the Repository Finding Act currently under discussion did not give rise to any expectation of a repository for high-level radioactive waste before 2080. The symposium was attended by more than 120 persons from Germany and abroad. They discussed the basic elements of the site selection procedure and its consequences on the basis of the draft so far known to the public. While extensive public participation is envisaged for the stage of finding a repository, this does not apply to the draft legislation in the same way. The legal determinations are negotiated in a small circle by the political parties and the state governments. Michael Sailer (Oeko-Institut e.V.) holds that agreement on a repository finding act is urgent. Prof. Dr. Bruno Thomauske (RWTH Aachen) arrives at the conclusion mentioned above, that no repository for high-level radioactive waste can start operation before 2080 on the basis of the Repository Finding Act. Dr. Bettina Keienburg, attorney at law, in her paper drew attention to the points of dispute in the draft legislation with regard to changes in competency of public authorities. The draft law indicated a clear shift of competency for finding a repository from the Federal Office for Radiation Protection to a federal agency yet to be set up. Prof. Dr. Christoph Moench outlined the deficiencies of the draft legislation in matters of refinancing and the polluter-pays principle. Among the tentative solutions discussed it was above all the Swedish model which was acclaimed most widely. (orig.)

Forsmark - site descriptive model version 0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-10-01

During 2002, the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) is starting investigations at two potential sites for a deep repository in the Precambrian basement of the Fennoscandian Shield. The present report concerns one of those sites, Forsmark, which lies in the municipality of Oesthammar, on the east coast of Sweden, about 150 kilometres north of Stockholm. The site description should present all collected data and interpreted parameters of importance for the overall scientific understanding of the site, for the technical design and environmental impact assessment of the deep repository, and for the assessment of long-term safety. The site description will have two main components: a written synthesis of the site, summarising the current state of knowledge, as documented in the databases containing the primary data from the site investigations, and one or several site descriptive models, in which the collected information is interpreted and presented in a form which can be used in numerical models for rock engineering, environmental impact and long-term safety assessments. The site descriptive models are devised and stepwise updated as the site investigations proceed. The point of departure for this process is the regional site descriptive model, version 0, which is the subject of the present report. Version 0 is developed out of the information available at the start of the site investigation. This information, with the exception of data from tunnels and drill holes at the sites of the Forsmark nuclear reactors and the underground low-middle active radioactive waste storage facility, SFR, is mainly 2D in nature (surface data), and is general and regional, rather than site-specific, in content. For this reason, the Forsmark site descriptive model, version 0, as detailed in the present report, has been developed at a regional scale. It covers a rectangular area, 15 km in a southwest-northeast and 11 km in a northwest-southeast direction, around the

Study on the binding sites of radiosensitivity associated transcription factor in the promoter region of Ier5 gene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui Wei; Yin Lingling; Dong Lingyue

2012-01-01

Objective: To clarify the mechanism of immediate early response gene 5 (Ier5) transcription induced by radiation. Methods: Deletant construction, site-specific mutagenesis,electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) were used to forecast the promoter region, binding sites and transcription factors of Ier5 gene in HeLa cells. Results: The promoter region of Ier5 gene might be in the region of Ier5 -8 deletant (-408 - -238 bp). The Ier5 gene had two transcription factors of GCF and NFI, and GCF had two binding sites located in the region of -388 - -382 bp and -274 - -270 bp of Ier5 promoter. The binding site of NFI was located in -362 - -357 bp of Ier5 promoter. GCF could inhibit the expression of Ier5 gene and this inhibition was diminished when the radiation dose increased. In contrast, NFI increased the expression of Ier5. Conclusions: The most possible region of Ier5 promoter is from -408 to -238 bp which has two binding sites for the radiosensitivity transcription factors of GCF and NFI that could negatively and positively regulate the expression of Ier5 respectively. (authors)

Evaluating the adequacy of a reference site pool for ecological assessments in environmentally complex regions

Science.gov (United States)

Ode, Peter R.; Rehn, Andrew C.; Mazor, Raphael D.; Schiff, Kenneth C.; Stein, Eric D.; May, Jason; Brown, Larry R.; Herbst, David B.; Gillette, D.D.; Lunde, Kevin; Hawkins, Charles P.

2016-01-01

Many advances in the field of bioassessment have focused on approaches for objectively selecting the pool of reference sites used to establish expectations for healthy waterbodies, but little emphasis has been placed on ways to evaluate the suitability of the reference-site pool for its intended applications (e.g., compliance assessment vs ambient monitoring). These evaluations are critical because an inadequately evaluated reference pool may bias assessments in some settings. We present an approach for evaluating the adequacy of a reference-site pool for supporting biotic-index development in environmentally heterogeneous and pervasively altered regions. We followed common approaches for selecting sites with low levels of anthropogenic stress to screen 1985 candidate stream reaches to create a pool of 590 reference sites for assessing the biological integrity of streams in California, USA. We assessed the resulting pool of reference sites against 2 performance criteria. First, we evaluated how well the reference-site pool represented the range of natural gradients present in the entire population of streams as estimated by sites sampled through probabilistic surveys. Second, we evaluated the degree to which we were successful in rejecting sites influenced by anthropogenic stress by comparing biological metric scores at reference sites with the most vs fewest potential sources of stress. Using this approach, we established a reference-site pool with low levels of human-associated stress and broad coverage of environmental heterogeneity. This approach should be widely applicable and customizable to particular regional or programmatic needs.

Geological evolution, palaeoclimate and historical development of the Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp areas. Site descriptive modelling SDM-Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soederbaeck, Bjoern [ed.

2008-06-15

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) is undertaking site characterization at two different locations, the Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp areas, with the objective of siting a geological repository for spent nuclear fuel. The site investigations started in 2002 and were completed in 2007. The analysis and modelling of data from the site investigations, which have taken place during and after these investigations, provide a foundation for the development of an integrated, multidisciplinary site descriptive model (SDM) for each of the two sites. A site descriptive model constitutes a description of the site and its regional setting, covering the current state of the geosphere and the biosphere, as well as those natural processes that affect or have affected their long-term development. Hitherto, a number of reports presenting preliminary site descriptive models for Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp have been published. In these reports, the evolutionary and historical aspects of the site were included in a separate chapter. The present report comprises a further elaboration of the evolutionary and historical information included in the preliminary SDM reports, but presented here in a separate, supplementary report to the final site description, SDM-Site. The report is common to the two investigated areas, and the overall objective is to describe the long-term geological evolution, the palaeoclimate, and the post-glacial development of ecosystems and of the human population at the two sites. The report largely consists of a synthesis of information derived from the scientific literature and other sources not related to the site investigations. However, considerable information from the site investigations that has contributed to our understanding of the past development at each site is also included. This unique synthesis of both published information in a regional perspective and new site-specific information breaks new ground in our understanding

Geological evolution, palaeoclimate and historical development of the Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp areas. Site descriptive modelling SDM-Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soederbaeck, Bjoern

2008-06-01

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) is undertaking site characterization at two different locations, the Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp areas, with the objective of siting a geological repository for spent nuclear fuel. The site investigations started in 2002 and were completed in 2007. The analysis and modelling of data from the site investigations, which have taken place during and after these investigations, provide a foundation for the development of an integrated, multidisciplinary site descriptive model (SDM) for each of the two sites. A site descriptive model constitutes a description of the site and its regional setting, covering the current state of the geosphere and the biosphere, as well as those natural processes that affect or have affected their long-term development. Hitherto, a number of reports presenting preliminary site descriptive models for Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp have been published. In these reports, the evolutionary and historical aspects of the site were included in a separate chapter. The present report comprises a further elaboration of the evolutionary and historical information included in the preliminary SDM reports, but presented here in a separate, supplementary report to the final site description, SDM-Site. The report is common to the two investigated areas, and the overall objective is to describe the long-term geological evolution, the palaeoclimate, and the post-glacial development of ecosystems and of the human population at the two sites. The report largely consists of a synthesis of information derived from the scientific literature and other sources not related to the site investigations. However, considerable information from the site investigations that has contributed to our understanding of the past development at each site is also included. This unique synthesis of both published information in a regional perspective and new site-specific information breaks new ground in our understanding

Evaluation of the 'amount effect' at speleothem sites in the Asian monsoon region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jung-Eun; Swann, Abigail L

2010-01-01

Oxygen isotope measurements from speleothems have been used to infer past hydrological cycles because the isotopic composition of precipitation is observed to decrease with increasing precipitation rates over low latitude coastal and island stations (the 'amount effect'). Here we show that local precipitation amount can be inferred from the differences in oxygen isotopic composition if the measurement site is in a subtropical coastal region where water vapor is transported directly from the ocean. The amount effect works because vapor from local evaporation and vapor imported from other regions have distinctly different isotopic compositions - the δ 18 O of vapor flux from evaporation is ∼10 per mille higher than the δ 18 O of imported vapor over subtropical oceanic regions - and precipitation is usually higher over the area with larger convergence. Thus, δ 18 O in precipitation can differentiate between the contribution of local evaporation and moisture convergence if the isotopic composition of local evaporation and or transported vapor remains relatively constant. Our work indicates that sites further inland may not be suitable for studying the changes in local precipitation amount but still reflect the combined changes of precipitation amount and changes in vapor transport pattern. We have shown that Hulu Cave is a reasonable site to interpret precipitation from δ 18 O p : estimated precipitation difference between present-day and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) from measured δ 18 O p difference (1∼2 per mille ) would be 0.8-2.2 mm/day (lower during the LGM) assuming our model simulates evapotranspiration reasonably well at this site.

Human-Specific Histone Methylation Signatures at Transcription Start Sites in Prefrontal Neurons

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, Iris; Bharadwaj, Rahul; Chou, Hsin-Jung; Houston, Isaac B.; Peter, Cyril J.; Mitchell, Amanda C.; Yao, Wei-Dong; Myers, Richard H.; Chen, Jiang-fan; Preuss, Todd M.; Rogaev, Evgeny I.; Jensen, Jeffrey D.; Weng, Zhiping; Akbarian, Schahram

2012-01-01

Cognitive abilities and disorders unique to humans are thought to result from adaptively driven changes in brain transcriptomes, but little is known about the role of cis-regulatory changes affecting transcription start sites (TSS). Here, we mapped in human, chimpanzee, and macaque prefrontal cortex the genome-wide distribution of histone H3 trimethylated at lysine 4 (H3K4me3), an epigenetic mark sharply regulated at TSS, and identified 471 sequences with human-specific enrichment or depletion. Among these were 33 loci selectively methylated in neuronal but not non-neuronal chromatin from children and adults, including TSS at DPP10 (2q14.1), CNTN4 and CHL1 (3p26.3), and other neuropsychiatric susceptibility genes. Regulatory sequences at DPP10 and additional loci carried a strong footprint of hominid adaptation, including elevated nucleotide substitution rates and regulatory motifs absent in other primates (including archaic hominins), with evidence for selective pressures during more recent evolution and adaptive fixations in modern populations. Chromosome conformation capture at two neurodevelopmental disease loci, 2q14.1 and 16p11.2, revealed higher order chromatin structures resulting in physical contact of multiple human-specific H3K4me3 peaks spaced 0.5–1 Mb apart, in conjunction with a novel cis-bound antisense RNA linked to Polycomb repressor proteins and downregulated DPP10 expression. Therefore, coordinated epigenetic regulation via newly derived TSS chromatin could play an important role in the emergence of human-specific gene expression networks in brain that contribute to cognitive functions and neurological disease susceptibility in modern day humans. PMID:23185133

Description of surface systems. Preliminary site description. Forsmark area Version 1.2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindborg, Tobias [ed.

2005-06-01

Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co (SKB) started site investigations for a deep repository for spent nuclear fuel in 2002 at two different sites in Sweden, Forsmark and Oskarshamn. The investigations should provide necessary information for a license application aimed at starting underground exploration. For this reason, ecosystem data need to be interpreted and assessed into site descriptive models, which in turn are used for safety assessment studies and for environmental impact assessment. Descriptions of the surface system are also needed for further planning of the site investigations. This report describes the surface ecosystems of the Forsmark site (e.g. hydrology, Quaternary deposits, chemistry, vegetation, animals and the human land use). The ecosystem description is an integration of the site and its regional setting, covering the current state of the biosphere as well as the ongoing natural processes affecting the longterm development. Improving the descriptions is important during both the initial and the complete site investigation phase. Before starting of the initial phase in Forsmark, version 0 of the site descriptive model was developed. The results of the initial site investigation phase is compiled into a preliminary site description of Forsmark (version 1.2) in June 2005. This report provides the major input and background to the biosphere description, in the 1.2 version of the Forsmark site description. The basis for this interim version is quality-assured field data from the Forsmark sub area and regional area, available in the SKB SICADA, and GIS data bases as of July 31th 2004 as well as version 1.1 of the Site Descriptive Model. To achieve an ecosystem site description there is a need to develop discipline-specific models by interpreting and analysing primary data. The different discipline-specific models are then integrated into a system describing interactions and flows and stocks of matter between and within functional units in

Description of surface systems. Preliminary site description. Forsmark area Version 1.2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindborg, Tobias

2005-06-01

Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co (SKB) started site investigations for a deep repository for spent nuclear fuel in 2002 at two different sites in Sweden, Forsmark and Oskarshamn. The investigations should provide necessary information for a license application aimed at starting underground exploration. For this reason, ecosystem data need to be interpreted and assessed into site descriptive models, which in turn are used for safety assessment studies and for environmental impact assessment. Descriptions of the surface system are also needed for further planning of the site investigations. This report describes the surface ecosystems of the Forsmark site (e.g. hydrology, Quaternary deposits, chemistry, vegetation, animals and the human land use). The ecosystem description is an integration of the site and its regional setting, covering the current state of the biosphere as well as the ongoing natural processes affecting the longterm development. Improving the descriptions is important during both the initial and the complete site investigation phase. Before starting of the initial phase in Forsmark, version 0 of the site descriptive model was developed. The results of the initial site investigation phase is compiled into a preliminary site description of Forsmark (version 1.2) in June 2005. This report provides the major input and background to the biosphere description, in the 1.2 version of the Forsmark site description. The basis for this interim version is quality-assured field data from the Forsmark sub area and regional area, available in the SKB SICADA, and GIS data bases as of July 31th 2004 as well as version 1.1 of the Site Descriptive Model. To achieve an ecosystem site description there is a need to develop discipline-specific models by interpreting and analysing primary data. The different discipline-specific models are then integrated into a system describing interactions and flows and stocks of matter between and within functional units in

Value of a regional family practice residency training program site

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Sarah; Mullett, Jennifer; Beerman, Steve

2014-01-01

Abstract Objective To examine the perceptions of residents, nurses, and physicians about the effect of a regional family practice residency site on the delivery of health services in the community, as well as on the community health care providers. Design Interviews and focus groups were conducted. Setting Nanaimo, BC. Participants A total of 16 residents, 15 nurses, and 20 physicians involved with the family practice residency training program at the Nanaimo site. Methods A series of semistructured interviews and focus groups was conducted. Transcripts of interviews and focus groups were analyzed thematically by the research team. Main findings Overall, participants agreed that having a family practice residency training site in the community contributed to community life and to the delivery of health services in the following ways: increased community capacity and social capital; motivated positive relationships and attitudes in the hospital and community settings; improved communication and teamwork, as well as accessibility and understanding of the health care system; increased the standard of care; and facilitated the recruitment and retention of family physicians. Conclusion This family practice residency training site was beneficial for the community it served. Future planning for distributed medical education sites should take into account the effects of these sites on the health care community and ensure that they continue to be positive influences. Further research in this area could focus on patients’ perceptions of how residency programs affect their care, as well as on the effect of residency programs on wait times and workload for physicians and nurses. PMID:25217693

Radioactive starting aids for electrodeless light sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proud, J.M.; Regan, R.J.; Haugsjaa, P.O.; Baird, D.H.

1980-01-01

The use of radioactive sources of α particles, β particles or γ rays as aids in starting a discharge in an electrodeless light source is discussed. The advantages of siting the sources at various positions in the device are discussed. Preferred materials are 85 Kr and 241 Am. (U.K.)

National survey of crystalline rocks and recommendations of regions to be explored for high-level radioactive waste repository sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smedes, H.W.

1983-04-01

A reconnaissance of the geological literature on large regions of exposed crystalline rocks in the United States provides the basis for evaluating if any of those regions warrant further exploration toward identifying potential sites for development of a high-level radioactive waste repository. The reconnaissance does not serve as a detailed evaluation of regions or of any smaller subunits within the regions. Site performance criteria were selected and applied insofar as a national data base exists, and guidelines were adopted that relate the data to those criteria. The criteria include consideration of size, vertical movements, faulting, earthquakes, seismically induced ground motion, Quaternary volcanic rocks, mineral deposits, high-temperature convective ground-water systems, hydraulic gradients, and erosion. Brief summaries of each major region of exposed crystalline rock, and national maps of relevant data provided the means for applying the guidelines and for recommending regions for further study. It is concluded that there is a reasonable likelihood that geologically suitable repository sites exist in each of the major regions of crystalline rocks. The recommendation is made that further studies first be conducted of the Lake Superior, Northern Appalachian and Adirondack, and the Southern Appalachian Regions. It is believed that those regions could be explored more effectively and suitable sites probably could be found, characterized, verified, and licensed more readily there than in the other regions

National survey of crystalline rocks and recommendations of regions to be explored for high-level radioactive waste repository sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smedes, H.W.

1983-04-01

A reconnaissance of the geological literature on large regions of exposed crystalline rocks in the United States provides the basis for evaluating if any of those regions warrant further exploration toward identifying potential sites for development of a high-level radioactive waste repository. The reconnaissance does not serve as a detailed evaluation of regions or of any smaller subunits within the regions. Site performance criteria were selected and applied insofar as a national data base exists, and guidelines were adopted that relate the data to those criteria. The criteria include consideration of size, vertical movements, faulting, earthquakes, seismically induced ground motion, Quaternary volcanic rocks, mineral deposits, high-temperature convective ground-water systems, hydraulic gradients, and erosion. Brief summaries of each major region of exposed crystalline rock, and national maps of relevant data provided the means for applying the guidelines and for recommending regions for further study. It is concluded that there is a reasonable likelihood that geologically suitable repository sites exist in each of the major regions of crystalline rocks. The recommendation is made that further studies first be conducted of the Lake Superior, Northern Appalachian and Adirondack, and the Southern Appalachian Regions. It is believed that those regions could be explored more effectively and suitable sites probably could be found, characterized, verified, and licensed more readily there than in the other regions.

A Ten Step Protocol and Plan for CCS Site Characterization, Based on an Analysis of the Rocky Mountain Region, USA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McPherson, Brian; Matthews, Vince

2013-09-15

This report expresses a Ten-Step Protocol for CO2 Storage Site Characterization, the final outcome of an extensive Site Characterization analysis of the Rocky Mountain region, USA. These ten steps include: (1) regional assessment and data gathering; (2) identification and analysis of appropriate local sites for characterization; (3) public engagement; (4) geologic and geophysical analysis of local site(s); (5) stratigraphic well drilling and coring; (6) core analysis and interpretation with other data; (7) database assembly and static model development; (8) storage capacity assessment; (9) simulation and uncertainty assessment; (10) risk assessment. While the results detailed here are primarily germane to the Rocky Mountain region, the intent of this protocol is to be portable or generally applicable for CO2 storage site characterization.

CanWEA regional issues and wind energy project siting : mountainous areas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D' Entremont, M. [Jacques Whitford Ltd., Vancouver, BC (Canada)]|[Axys Environmental Consulting Ltd., Vancouver, BC (Canada)

2008-07-01

Planning and permitting considerations for wind energy project siting in mountainous areas were discussed. Mountainous regions have a specific set of environmental and socio-economic concerns. Potential disruptions to wildlife, noise, and visual impacts are a primary concern in the assessment of potential wind farm projects. Alpine habitats are unique and often contain fragile and endangered species. Reclamation techniques for mountainous habitats have not been extensively tested, and the sites are not as resilient as sites located in other ecosystems. In addition, alpine habitats are often migratory corridors and breeding grounds for threatened or endangered birds. In the winter months, alpine habitats are used by caribou, grizzly bears, and wolverine dens. Bats are also present at high elevations. It is often difficult to conduct baseline and monitoring studies in mountainous areas since alpine habitat is subject to rapid weather changes, and has a very short construction period. tabs., figs.

Oil field rejuvenation work starts at 14 project sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petzet, G.A.

1992-01-01

This paper reports that the U.S. Department of Energy and oil and gas companies have released more information about a joint effort to rejuvenate aging U.S. oil fields in danger of abandonment. Work is starting on 14 demonstration projects that could recover 21 million bbl of oil from the fluvial dominated deltaic (FDD) reservoirs in which they are conducted. Wider application of the same techniques, if they are successful, could results in addition of 6.3 billion bbl of reserves, nearly 25% of U.S. crude oil reserves. A multidisciplinary team approach is to be used, with as many as 11 operators, service companies, universities, or state agencies participating in each project. All of the projects will culminate in extensive technology transfer activities. Here are descriptions of the projects gleaned from public abstracts provided by the DOE contractors

The peculiarities of dermatitis pathology in the region of Semipalatinsk test site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhunusova, A.K.

1994-01-01

Disease incidence of dermatitis of Semipalatinsk region population had been studied. Discovering of interconnection of disease incidence with factors of test site influence was being carried out on the data of hospitalization in the skin departments of region dispensaries for 1989-1992 period. The main quantity of treating patients were hospitalizing from districts which involved in the zones of extreme and maximum radiation risk: Zhanasemejskij (41,3 %), Abajskij (32,6 %) and Beskaragajskij (26,8 %).It was find out, that treating patients were aboriginal people of these districts and they were being exposed continual influence of ionizing radiation in the different doses. Entrance of radionuclides in water and food also played definite role. It was determined that skinning pathology was in 1,5-2,5 above than in the other districts and for the main part was being observed for men till 40 age (58,9 %), which were born in the period of direct activity of Semipalatinsk test site

Two cases of fibrosarcoma occurring in the x-ray irradiated site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wakamatsu, Katsuo; Mochizuki, Masako.

1975-01-01

The histological examination was carried out on the following 2 cases: One case was a 46-year-old man with psoriasis vulgaris who received x-ray irradiation continually for about 10 years on the gluteal regions and the extensive sides of both elbows. An ulcer appeared on the irradiated site and about 2 weeks later a tumor appeared. The other case was a 77-year-old man with prurigo in the pudendal region. Although the dose and duration of irradiation are unknown, the tumors appeared in the irradiated site 6-7 years after the start of irradiation. The histological examination of these cases revealed the clinical findings of fibrosarcoma. In the review of literature, 8 cases of irradiation sarcoma in Japan were discussed. (Kanao, N.)

Translation initiation in bacterial polysomes through ribosome loading on a standby site on a highly translated mRNA

Science.gov (United States)

Andreeva, Irena

2018-01-01

During translation, consecutive ribosomes load on an mRNA and form a polysome. The first ribosome binds to a single-stranded mRNA region and moves toward the start codon, unwinding potential mRNA structures on the way. In contrast, the following ribosomes can dock at the start codon only when the first ribosome has vacated the initiation site. Here we show that loading of the second ribosome on a natural 38-nt-long 5′ untranslated region of lpp mRNA, which codes for the outer membrane lipoprotein from Escherichia coli, takes place before the leading ribosome has moved away from the start codon. The rapid formation of this standby complex depends on the presence of ribosomal proteins S1/S2 in the leading ribosome. The early recruitment of the second ribosome to the standby site before translation by the leading ribosome and the tight coupling between translation elongation by the first ribosome and the accommodation of the second ribosome can contribute to high translational efficiency of the lpp mRNA. PMID:29632209

Nuclear event time histories and computed site transfer functions for locations in the Los Angeles region

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, A.M.; Covington, P.A.; Park, R.B.; Borcherdt, R.D.; Perkins, D.M.

1980-01-01

This report presents a collection of Nevada Test Site (NTS) nuclear explosion recordings obtained at sites in the greater Los Angeles, Calif., region. The report includes ground velocity time histories, as well as, derived site transfer functions. These data have been collected as part of a study to evaluate the validity of using low-level ground motions to predict the frequency-dependent response of a site during an earthquake. For this study 19 nuclear events were recorded at 98 separate locations. Some of these sites have recorded more than one of the nuclear explosions, and, consequently, there are a total of 159, three-component station records. The location of all the recording sites are shown in figures 1–5, the station coordinates and abbreviations are given in table 1. The station addresses are listed in table 2, and the nuclear explosions that were recorded are listed in table 3. The recording sites were chosen on the basis of three criteria: (1) that the underlying geological conditions were representative of conditions over significant areas of the region, (2) that the site was the location of a strong-motion recording of the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, or (3) that more complete geographical coverage was required in that location.

Reconnaissance survey of site 7 of the proposed Three Rivers Regional Landfill and Technology Center, Savannah River Site, Aiken County, South Carolina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cabak, M.A.; Beck, M.L.; Gillam, C.; Sassaman, K.E.

1996-02-01

This report documents the archaeological investigation of Site 7 of the proposed Three Rivers Regional Landfill and Technology Center in Aiken County on the United States Department of Energy`s Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken and Barnwell Counties, South Carolina. Pedestrian and subsurface survey techniques were used to investigate the 1,403-acre project area. Survey resulted in the discovery of 23 previously unrecorded sites and 11 occurrences; six previously recorded sites were also investigated. These sites consist of six prehistoric sites, nine historic sites, and 14 sites with both prehistoric and historic components. Sites locations and project area boundaries are provided on a facsimile of a USGS 7.5 topographic map. The prehistoric components consist of very small, low-density lithic and ceramic scatters; most contain less than 10 artifacts. Six of the prehistoric components are of unknown cultural affiliation, the remaining prehistoric sites were occupied predominately in the Woodland period. The historic sites are dominated by postbellum/modem home places of tenant and yeoman farmers but four historic sites were locations of antebellum house sites (38AK136, 38AK613, 38AK660, and 38AK674). The historic sites also include an African-American school (38AK677).

Simpevarp - site descriptive model version 0

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-11-01

During 2002, SKB is starting detailed investigations at two potential sites for a deep repository in the Precambrian rocks of the Fennoscandian Shield. The present report concerns one of those sites, Simpevarp, which lies in the municipality of Oskarshamn, on the southeast coast of Sweden, about 250 kilometres south of Stockholm. The site description will have two main components: a written synthesis of the site, summarising the current state of knowledge, as documented in the databases containing the primary data from the site investigations, and one or several site descriptive models, in which the collected information is interpreted and presented in a form which can be used in numerical models for rock engineering, environmental impact and long-term safety assessments. SKB maintains two main databases at the present time, a site characterisation database called SICADA and a geographic information system called SKB GIS. The site descriptive model will be developed and presented with the aid of the SKB GIS capabilities, and with SKBs Rock Visualisation System (RVS), which is also linked to SICADA. The version 0 model forms an important framework for subsequent model versions, which are developed successively, as new information from the site investigations becomes available. Version 0 is developed out of the information available at the start of the site investigation. In the case of Simpevarp, this is essentially the information which was compiled for the Oskarshamn feasibility study, which led to the choice of that area as a favourable object for further study, together with information collected since its completion. This information, with the exception of the extensive data base from the nearby Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory, is mainly 2D in nature (surface data), and is general and regional, rather than site-specific, in content. Against this background, the present report consists of the following components: an overview of the present content of the databases

Temelin 3,4 Siting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubanova, Iva; Fuzer, Jiri

2011-01-01

In the future the Czech Republic will need new energetic resources in spite of current decrease of electricity consumption due to economical crisis. Nuclear power generation is considered as important part of energetic mix of the Czech Republic and this opinion is newly reflected in new government official statement issued in August 2010. CEZ, a. s. prepares new nuclear power plants projects accordingly governmental expectations. Currently 3 projects are in preparation. Temelin 3, 4 project is in the most advanced status, tender is in progress. Potential construction of Dukovany unit 5 and new Jaslovske Bohunice units are analyzed in feasibility studies. Temelin 3, 4 project activities were started 4 years ago. Preparatory analyses, market investigation, feasibility study including many particular studies were elaborated in years 2006-2008. Later on decision to work on bid invitation specification was done and followed. EIA process was started in July 2008 by Intention Announcement and continues. Public tender for EPC contract was announced in August 2009 and it is in progress accordingly schedule. Siting process is in the initial stage. EIA process started in July 2008 through Intention Announcement in spite of anti - nuclear political climate in the Czech Republic. EIA process is interstate process, Austria and Germany participate. Investigation Process Protocol was issued by Ministry of Environment in February 2009 with 34 main conditions and 165 additional comments, requirements, statements. CEZ, a. s. adopted the positive approach with philosophy to deal with all conditions and requirements properly. Elaboration of EIA documentation took 18 months. In May 2010 CEZ, a. s. handed over the EIA documentation to the Ministry of Environment and consequently all legal steps followed including hand-over of EIA documentation to Austria and Germany. In next weeks and months all comments will be gathered by Ministry of Environment and relevant decisions and legal steps

Working group 4a: Regional aspects. Nuclear power plants siting in the dutch speaking part of the country

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willems, M.; Medart, R.; Vanneste, O.

1976-01-01

The problems due to nuclear plant siting in the northern region of Belgium are reviewed with an emphasis on economical, environmental and esthetical aspects. Three types of sitings were analysed: inland, coastal and off-shore. For the in-land siting, Doel, where already two units are in operation (780 MWe) and a third in construction (900 MWe), is supposed to be able to receive a fourth unit of 1000 MWe. The coastal siting is practically impossible for two reasons: the lack of cooling water when a coastal inland region of 5 km is considered and the strong density of tourists on the 66 km coast. For artificial island siting the different aspects are considered: type of soil, marine environment, construction factors, security, construction time, costs, etc. A comparative study for 9 off-shore sites is presented. (A.F.)

Site-specific estimates of water yield applied in regional acid sensitivity surveys across western Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick D. SHAW

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Runoff or water yield is an important input to the Steady-State Water Chemistry (SSWC model for estimating critical loads of acidity. Herein, we present site-specific water yield estimates for a large number of lakes (779 across three provinces of western Canada (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia using an isotope mass balance (IMB approach. We explore the impact of applying site-specific hydrology as compared to use of regional runoff estimates derived from gridded datasets in assessing critical loads of acidity to these lakes. In general, the average water yield derived from IMB is similar to the long-term average runoff; however, IMB results suggest a much larger range in hydrological settings of the lakes, attributed to spatial heterogeneity in watershed characteristics and landcover. The comparison of critical loads estimates from the two methods suggests that use of average regional runoff data in the SSWC model may overestimate critical loads for the majority of lakes due to systematic skewness in the actual runoff distributions. Implications for use of site-specific hydrology in regional critical loads assessments across western Canada are discussed.

Chemical dechlorination of pesticides at a superfund site in Region II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pendergrass, S.; Prince, J.

1991-01-01

Selecting technologies for cleaning up hazardous waste sites is a complex task, due in part to the rapidly changing nature of the state-of-the-art in technology. There is strong support for use of innovative technologies as specified in Section 121(b) of CERCLA. However, use of an innovative technology requires overcoming a variety of challenges. These challenges include: Screening potentially appropriate technologies, including innovative technologies, and selecting one or more potential innovative technologies for which preliminary results are promising; however, site-specific data are needed prior to technology evaluation. Evaluating the effectiveness of the proposed technology for the site through the use of treatability studies. Gaining acceptance for the innovative technology, which may employ new or unfamiliar concepts. Determining optimal design and operating parameters for full-scale remediation. This paper discusses the technology evaluation process and how that process supported the selection of an innovative technology for the Myers Property site, a Superfund site in Region II. A case study is presented showing how technology screening and laboratory treatability studies were used to evaluate an innovative technology (chemical dechlorination), which was selected as the technology for remediation of soils and sediments contaminated with pesticides at this environmentally sensitive site in New Jersey. The remedy selected by the U.S. EPA for this site designates chemical dechlorination as the selected technology, but does not specify any particular vendor or process. Rather, the remedy sets forth technology performance standards and recommends certain design tasks which may be used to select a particular chemical process. This paper discusses he of these design tasks as they might apply to innovative technologies, using chemical dechlorination as a model

Site specific information in site selection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aeikaes, T.; Hautojaervi, A.

1998-01-01

The programme for the siting of a deep repository for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel was started already in 1983 and is carried out today by Posiva Oy which continues the work started by Teollisuuden Voima Oy. The programme aims at site selection by the end of the year 2000. The programme has progressed in successive interim stages with defined goals. After an early phase for site identification, five sites were selected in 1987 for preliminary site characterisation. Three of these were selected and judged to be best suited for the more detailed characterisation in 1992. An additional new site was included into the programme based on a separate feasibility study in the beginning of 1997. Since the year 1983 several safety assessments together with technical plans of the facility have been completed. When approaching the site selection the needs for more detailed consideration of the site specific properties in the safety assessment have been increased. The Finnish regulator STUK has published a proposal for general safety requirements for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Finland. This set of requirements has been projected to be used in conjunction of the decision making by the end 2000. Based on the site evaluation all sites can provide a stable environment and there is evidence that the requirements for the longevity of the canister can be fulfilled at each site. In this manner the four candidate sites do not differ too much from each other. The main difference between the sites is in the salinity of the deep groundwater. The significance of differences in the salinity for the long-term safety cannot be defined yet. The differences may contribute to the discussion of the longevity of the bentonite buffer and also to the modelling of the groundwater flow and transport. The use of the geosphere as a transport barrier is basically culminated on the questions about sparse but fast flow routes and 'how bad channeling can be'. To answer these questions

Regional approaches to power plant siting in the United States of America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DiNunno, J.J.

1975-01-01

The selection and evaluation of sites for power plants in the United States of America have become increasingly difficult in recent years as pressures from various societal segments have resulted in governmental restraints on selection and burning of fossil fuels, methods of heat dissipation, acquisition of transmission rights of way, and on environmental impact of industrialization in general. New legislation at both Federal and state levels has been enacted that influences power plant siting. In addition to environmental requirements that must be satisfied, implementing procedures require documented justification for sites chosen and public disclosure of the basis for selection. Some states have consolidated their regulatory activities in the power plant siting area to provide for a more unified approach to these problems. Although nuclear plants have by far the most rigorous requirements for documentation of site selection and plant design, the application of the same general philosophies to fossil plants has been made in several states and can be anticipated elsewhere. Individual site-related investigations have not so much changed in basics as they have been enlarged in scope. Whereas in the past the search for siting alternatives was frequently confined to a utility's service area, the additional siting constraints represented in environmental laws, the economies of size of nuclear power plants, and the sharing of plant capacities among utilities have contributed to a widening of the search area. Several states have assumed the responsibility for site search and investigation and their efforts extend state-wide. This paper discusses applications of regional approaches to power plant siting in the United States of America using case studies made by NUS Corporation, an engineering/environmental consulting firm. The universality of these approaches is indicated, leaving to national policies and goals the importance of values assigned to the basic siting factors

Molecular characterization of monoclonal antibodies that inhibit acetylcholinesterase by targeting the peripheral site and backdoor region.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yves Bourne

Full Text Available The inhibition properties and target sites of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs Elec403, Elec408 and Elec410, generated against Electrophorus electricus acetylcholinesterase (AChE, have been defined previously using biochemical and mutagenesis approaches. Elec403 and Elec410, which bind competitively with each other and with the peptidic toxin inhibitor fasciculin, are directed toward distinctive albeit overlapping epitopes located at the AChE peripheral anionic site, which surrounds the entrance of the active site gorge. Elec408, which is not competitive with the other two mAbs nor fasciculin, targets a second epitope located in the backdoor region, distant from the gorge entrance. To characterize the molecular determinants dictating their binding site specificity, we cloned and sequenced the mAbs; generated antigen-binding fragments (Fab retaining the parental inhibition properties; and explored their structure-function relationships using complementary x-ray crystallography, homology modeling and flexible docking approaches. Hypermutation of one Elec403 complementarity-determining region suggests occurrence of antigen-driven selection towards recognition of the AChE peripheral site. Comparative analysis of the 1.9Å-resolution structure of Fab408 and of theoretical models of its Fab403 and Fab410 congeners evidences distinctive surface topographies and anisotropic repartitions of charges, consistent with their respective target sites and inhibition properties. Finally, a validated, data-driven docking model of the Fab403-AChE complex suggests a mode of binding at the PAS that fully correlates with the functional data. This comprehensive study documents the molecular peculiarities of Fab403 and Fab410, as the largest peptidic inhibitors directed towards the peripheral site, and those of Fab408, as the first inhibitor directed toward the backdoor region of an AChE and a unique template for the design of new, specific modulators of AChE catalysis.

Simultaneous measurement of current and temperature distributions in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell during cold start processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiao Kui; Alaefour, Ibrahim E.; Karimi, Gholamreza; Li Xianguo

2011-01-01

Cold start is critical to the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) in automotive applications. Dynamic distributions of current and temperature in PEMFC during various cold start processes determine the cold start characteristics, and are required for the optimization of design and operational strategy. This study focuses on an investigation of the cold start characteristics of a PEMFC through the simultaneous measurements of current and temperature distributions. An analytical model for quick estimate of purging duration is also developed. During the failed cold start process, the highest current density is initially near the inlet region of the flow channels, then it moves downstream, reaching the outlet region eventually. Almost half of the cell current is produced in the inlet region before the cell current peaks, and the region around the middle of the cell has the best survivability. These two regions are therefore more important than other regions for successful cold start through design and operational strategy, such as reducing the ice formation and enhancing the heat generation in these two regions. The evolution of the overall current density distribution over time remains similar during the successful cold start process; the current density is the highest near the flow channel inlets and generally decreases along the flow direction. For both the failed and the successful cold start processes, the highest temperature is initially in the flow channel inlet region, and is then around the middle of the cell after the overall peak current density is reached. The ice melting and liquid formation during the successful cold start process have negligible influence on the general current and temperature distributions.

Transcription factor binding sites prediction based on modified nucleosomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Talebzadeh

Full Text Available In computational methods, position weight matrices (PWMs are commonly applied for transcription factor binding site (TFBS prediction. Although these matrices are more accurate than simple consensus sequences to predict actual binding sites, they usually produce a large number of false positive (FP predictions and so are impoverished sources of information. Several studies have employed additional sources of information such as sequence conservation or the vicinity to transcription start sites to distinguish true binding regions from random ones. Recently, the spatial distribution of modified nucleosomes has been shown to be associated with different promoter architectures. These aligned patterns can facilitate DNA accessibility for transcription factors. We hypothesize that using data from these aligned and periodic patterns can improve the performance of binding region prediction. In this study, we propose two effective features, "modified nucleosomes neighboring" and "modified nucleosomes occupancy", to decrease FP in binding site discovery. Based on these features, we designed a logistic regression classifier which estimates the probability of a region as a TFBS. Our model learned each feature based on Sp1 binding sites on Chromosome 1 and was tested on the other chromosomes in human CD4+T cells. In this work, we investigated 21 histone modifications and found that only 8 out of 21 marks are strongly correlated with transcription factor binding regions. To prove that these features are not specific to Sp1, we combined the logistic regression classifier with the PWM, and created a new model to search TFBSs on the genome. We tested the model using transcription factors MAZ, PU.1 and ELF1 and compared the results to those using only the PWM. The results show that our model can predict Transcription factor binding regions more successfully. The relative simplicity of the model and capability of integrating other features make it a superior method

Efficient use of a translation start codon in BDNF exon I.

Science.gov (United States)

Koppel, Indrek; Tuvikene, Jürgen; Lekk, Ingrid; Timmusk, Tõnis

2015-09-01

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene contains a number of 5' exons alternatively spliced with a common 3' exon. BDNF protein is synthesized from alternative transcripts as a prepro-precursor encoded by the common 3' exon IX, which has a translation start site 21 bp downstream of the splicing site. BDNF mRNAs containing exon I are an exception to this arrangement as the last three nucleotides of this exon constitute an in-frame AUG. Here, we show that this AUG is efficiently used for translation initiation in PC12 cells and cultured cortical neurons. Use of exon I-specific AUG produces higher levels of BDNF protein than use of the common translation start site, resulting from a higher translation rate. No differences in protein degradation, constitutive or regulated secretion were detected between BDNF isoforms with alternative 5' termini. As the BDNF promoter preceding exon I is known to be highly regulated by neuronal activity, our results suggest that the function of this translation start site may be efficient stimulus-dependent synthesis of BDNF protein. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene contains multiple untranslated 5' exons alternatively spliced to one common protein-coding 3' exon. However, exon I contains an in-frame ATG in a favorable translation context. Here, we show that use of this ATG is associated with more efficient protein synthesis than the commonly used ATG in exon IX. © 2015 International Society for Neurochemistry.

Siting regions for deep geological repositories. Why just here?; Standortgebiete fuer geologische Tiefenlager. Warum gerade hier?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rieser, A

2009-09-15

This report helps to the popularization of the Nagra works accomplished for the management and disposal of the radioactive wastes in Switzerland. The programme for management and disposal of the radioactive wastes are extensively determined by regulations. Protection of mankind and environment is the primary objective. The basic storage process is considered as having been solved. The question addressed in the report is where the facility has to be built; the site selection procedure includes five steps: 1) according to their type the wastes have to be allocated to two different repositories: for low- and intermediate-level wastes (L/ILW), and for high-level and alpha-toxic wastes (HLW); 2) the safety concept for both repositories and the requirements on the geology have to be determined; 3) large suitable geological-tectonic zones must be found where repositories could be built; 4) in these geological zones a suitable host rock has to be identified; 5) the most important spatial geological conditions of the host rock (minimum depth with respect to surface erosion, maximum depth in terms of engineering requirements, lateral extent) have to be identified. Based on these criteria, three suitable siting regions for a HLW repository were found in the North of Switzerland. The preferred host rock is Opalinus clay because of its very low permeability; it is therefore an excellent barrier against nuclide transport. In the three proposed siting regions, Opalinus clay is present in sufficient volumes at a suitable depth. For a L/ILW repository six different possible siting regions were identified, five in Northern Switzerland and one in Central Switzerland. In the three siting regions found for a possible HLW repository, it would also be possible to built a combined repository for both HLW and L/ILW wastes.

Nuclear Energy Center: upper St. Lawrence region. Part I. Siting. Part II. Fort Drum surrogate site, description and impact assessment. Part III. Dispersed sites impact assessment and comparison with the NEC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merry, P.A.; Luner, C.; Hong, S.W.; Canham, H.O.; Boggs, J.F.; McCool, T.P.

1976-12-01

This report is one of many supporting documents used by the Nuclear Regulatory commission in the preparation of the Nuclear Energy Center Site Survey (NECSS) mandated by Congress. While the overall study focuses on the feasibility and practicability of nuclear energy centers (NECs), this report is directed towards choosing a suitable surrogate site in the upper St. Lawrence region of New York State, assessing the probable impacts associated with construction and operation of the NEC, and comparing these impacts with those associated with small dispersed nuclear power stations. The upper St. Lawrence region is surveyed to identify a specific site that might be suitable for a surrogate NEC. Several assumptions about the basic design of an NEC are delineated, and a general overview of the characteristics of the region is given. The Fort Drum Military Reservation is chosen as a suitable surrogate site. Fort Drum and the surrounding area are described in terms of land use and population patterns, terrestrial and aquatic ecology, water use and quality, meteorology, institutional framework, and socioeconomic structure. The impacts associated with NEC development are assessed. Then the impacts associated with smaller dispersed nuclear power stations located throughout New York State are assessed and compared with the impacts associated with the NEC. Finally, the impacts due to development of the transmission line networks associated with the NEC and with the dispersed power stations are assessed and compared.

Healthy Start vitamins—a missed opportunity: findings of a multimethod study

Science.gov (United States)

McFadden, Alison; Green, Josephine M; McLeish, Jenny; McCormick, Felicia; Williams, Victoria; Renfrew, Mary J

2015-01-01

Objective To evaluate and provide a real-life view of the operation of the Healthy Start vitamins scheme. Setting The study took place in primary care and community settings that served rural, urban and ethnically diverse populations, in two sentinel sites: London, and Yorkshire and the Humber. An online consultation and stakeholder workshops elicited views from across England. Participants 669 health and social care practitioners including health visitors, midwives, public health practitioners, general practitioners, paediatricians and support staff participated in focus group discussions (n=49) and an online consultation (n=620). 56 participants representing health and social care practitioners, policymakers, service commissioners, and voluntary and independent sectors took part in stakeholder workshops. Methods Three-phase multimethod study comprising focus group discussions, an online consultation and stakeholder workshops. Qualitative data were analysed thematically and quantitative data from the online survey were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results Study participants were concerned about the low uptake of Healthy Start vitamin supplements and the consequences of this for health outcomes for women and young children. They experienced Healthy Start vitamin distribution as logistically complex, requiring the time, resources and creative thinking of a range of local and regional practitioners from senior strategists to administrative support workers. In the light of this, many participants argued that moving to universal provision of vitamin supplements would be more cost-effective than the current system. Conclusions There is consistency of views of health practitioners that the current targeted system of providing free vitamin supplements for low-income childbearing women and young children via the Healthy Start programme is not fulfilling its potential to address vitamin deficiencies. There is wide professional and voluntary sector support for

Regional-to-site scale groundwater flow in Kivetty

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kattilakoski, E. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland); Meszaros, F. [The Relief Laboratory, Harskut (Hungary)

1999-04-01

The work describing numerical groundwater flow modelling at the Kivetty site serves as a background report for the safety assessment TILA-99. The site scale can roughly be taken as the scale of detailed borehole investigations, which have probed the bedrock of Kivetty over about 3 km{sup 2} large and 1 km deep volume. The site model in this work covers an area of about 16 km{sup 2}. The depth of the model is 2000 m. The site scale flow modelling produced characteristics of the deep groundwater flow both under the natural conditions and in the case of a spent fuel repository. The hydraulic gradient in the intact rock between the repository and the fracture zone nearest to it (about 50 m off) was assessed for the block scale model. The result quantities were the hydraulic head h (as the base quantity) and its gradient in selected cross sections and fracture zones, the flow rates around the repository, flow paths and discharge areas of the water from the repository. Two repository layouts were discussed. The numerical simulations were performed with the FEFTRA code based on the porous medium concept and the finite element method. The regional model with a no-flow boundary condition at the bottom and on the lateral edges was firstly used to confirm the hydraulic head boundary condition on the lateral edges of an interior site model (having a no-flow boundary condition at the bottom). The groundwater table was used as the hydraulic head boundary condition at the surface of each model. Both the conductivity of the bedrock (modeled with three-dimensional elements) and the transmissivities of the fracture zones (described with two-dimensional elements in the three-dimensional mesh) decreased as a function of the depth. All the results were derived from the site model. With the exception of the western part of Repository A the outlined repositories are located underneath Kumpuvuori, where the flow has a significant subvertical component. The horizontal component of the deep

Regional-to-site scale groundwater flow in Kivetty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kattilakoski, E.; Meszaros, F.

1999-04-01

The work describing numerical groundwater flow modelling at the Kivetty site serves as a background report for the safety assessment TILA-99. The site scale can roughly be taken as the scale of detailed borehole investigations, which have probed the bedrock of Kivetty over about 3 km 2 large and 1 km deep volume. The site model in this work covers an area of about 16 km 2 . The depth of the model is 2000 m. The site scale flow modelling produced characteristics of the deep groundwater flow both under the natural conditions and in the case of a spent fuel repository. The hydraulic gradient in the intact rock between the repository and the fracture zone nearest to it (about 50 m off) was assessed for the block scale model. The result quantities were the hydraulic head h (as the base quantity) and its gradient in selected cross sections and fracture zones, the flow rates around the repository, flow paths and discharge areas of the water from the repository. Two repository layouts were discussed. The numerical simulations were performed with the FEFTRA code based on the porous medium concept and the finite element method. The regional model with a no-flow boundary condition at the bottom and on the lateral edges was firstly used to confirm the hydraulic head boundary condition on the lateral edges of an interior site model (having a no-flow boundary condition at the bottom). The groundwater table was used as the hydraulic head boundary condition at the surface of each model. Both the conductivity of the bedrock (modeled with three-dimensional elements) and the transmissivities of the fracture zones (described with two-dimensional elements in the three-dimensional mesh) decreased as a function of the depth. All the results were derived from the site model. With the exception of the western part of Repository A the outlined repositories are located underneath Kumpuvuori, where the flow has a significant subvertical component. The horizontal component of the deep

Decision Making on Regional Landfill Site Selection in Hormozgan Province Using Smce

Science.gov (United States)

Majedi, A. S.; Kamali, B. M.; Maghsoudi, R.

2015-12-01

Landfill site selection and suitable conditions to bury hazardous wastes are among the most critical issues in modern societies. Taking several factors and limitations into account along with true decision making requires application of different decision techniques. To this end, current paper aims to make decisions about regional landfill site selection in Hormozgan province and utilizes SMCE technique combined with qualitative and quantitative criteria to select the final alternatives. To this respect, we first will describe the existing environmental situation in our study area and set the goals of our study in the framework of SMCE and will analyze the effective factors in regional landfill site selection. Then, methodological procedure of research was conducted using Delphi approach and questionnaires (in order to determine research validity, Chronbach Alpha (0.94) method was used). Spatial multi-criteria analysis model was designed in the form of criteria tree in SMCE using IL WIS software. Prioritization of respective spatial alternatives included: Bandar Abbas city with total 4 spatial alternatives (one zone with 1st priority, one zone with 3rd priority and two zones with 4thpriority) was considered the first priority, Bastak city with total 3 spatial alternatives (one zone with 2nd priority, one zone with 3rdpriorit and one zone with 4th priority) was the second priority and Bandar Abbas, Minab, Jask and Haji Abad cities were considered as the third priority.

Sprucing up the site - update

CERN Multimedia

2009-01-01

As mentioned in a previous article the Bulletin will be publishing regular short updates following the consolidation work going on around the CERN sites: All internal lighting is being replaced in the office buildings on the Prevessin site. Work has started in building 866 and will move to 864 and 865 later. New energy-efficient lights are being installed, which will reduce electricity consumption by 30 -50%, and in the common areas like corridors the lighting will be switched on by motion sensors. Also in the Prevessin site, the lines in the car parks are being repainted. This will continue in the Meyrin site later. Work has started in Building 30 to completely refurbish the AT Auditorium.

Joomla! Start to Finish How to Plan, Execute, and Maintain Your Web Site

CERN Document Server

Kramer, Jen

2010-01-01

There is much more to building a great web site than just downloading and installing Joomla!. This book provides crucial content on planning the website, before launching into the technology steps. It will show the reader how to analyze the client company's strategy and how to find out how the organization wants itself reflected and supported by the web site. Then it will cover the right technological solutions to the problems and getting the site structure organized via a site map.  All of this is done before you establish hosting or install Joomla!. Once the technology steps are established,

Social Network Sites: A Starting Point for Career Development Practitioners

Science.gov (United States)

Strehlke, Christina

2010-01-01

This action research study explores the career influence of social network sites (SNSs) by examining 14 web-based articles that consider the risks and opportunities of SNSs from a job search perspective. Three themes are discussed: user visibility, self-presentation, and network connections. Practical strategies are identified to help career…

Testing maternal depression and attachment style as moderators of Early Head Start's effects on parenting.

Science.gov (United States)

Berlin, Lisa J; Whiteside-Mansell, Leanne; Roggman, Lori A; Green, Beth L; Robinson, JoAnn; Spieker, Susan

2011-01-01

This study examined maternal depression, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety as moderators of Early Head Start's effects on four parenting outcomes assessed at age three. Participants (N = 947) were drawn from six sites of the Early Head Start National Research and Evaluation Project, a multi-site randomized trial. Findings suggest more positive program effects for mothers with less initial attachment avoidance or attachment anxiety. First, baseline attachment avoidance moderated Early Head Start program effects on observed maternal supportiveness, such that program mothers with lower baseline attachment avoidance were rated as more supportive of their three-year-olds than program mothers with higher baseline attachment avoidance. Second, program effects on spanking varied depending on mothers' baseline attachment anxiety.

Regional-to-site scale groundwater flow in Romuvaara

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kattilakoski, E.; Koskinen, L. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)

1999-04-01

The work describing numerical groundwater flow modelling at the Romuvaara site serves as a background report for the safety assessment TILA-99. The site scale can roughly be taken as the scale of detailed borehole investigations, which have probed the bedrock of Romuvaara over about 2 km{sup 2} large and 1 km deep volume. The site model in this work covers an area of about 12 km{sup 2}. The depth of the model is 2200 m. The site scale flow modelling produced characteristics of the deep groundwater flow and evaluated the impact of a spent fuel repository on the natural groundwater flow conditions. It treated the hydraulic gradient in the intact rock between the repository and the fracture zone nearest to it (about 50 m off) for the block scale model, which describes the groundwater flow on the repository scale. The result quantities were the hydraulic head h (as the base quantity) and its gradient in selected cross sections and fracture zones, the flow rates around the repository, flow paths and discharge areas of the water from the repository. Two repository layouts were discussed. The numerical simulations were performed with the FEFTRA code based on the porous medium concept and the finite element method. The regional model with a no-flow boundary condition at the bottom and on the lateral edges was firstly used to confirm the hydraulic head boundary condition on the lateral edges of an interior site model (having a no-flow boundary condition at the bottom). The groundwater table was used as the hydraulic head boundary condition at the surface of each model. Both the conductivity of the bedrock (modeled with three-dimensional elements) and the transmissivities of the fracture zones (described with two-dimensional elements in the three-dimensional mesh) decreased as a function of the depth. All the results were derived from the site model. The range of variation of the hydraulic gradient immediately outside the repository was studied in the direction of the flow

Working group 4b: Regional aspects. Siting in Walloon region and offshore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilmes, Ph.; Fincoeur, P.; Slegers, G.

1976-01-01

Four nuclear power plant solutions in view of siting have been considered. a) Saturation of the existing sites. The only site considered is Tihange where a 870 MWe power plant is operated and a 930 MWe is under construction. b) Creation of new sites only for the production of electrical power and/or thermal energy. There are two possibilities: the creation of a new site for big power stations on the Meuse river and the spreading of power plants of two kinds: supply of electricity only and double purpose production: vapor/electricity or heat/electricity. c) Creation of complete sites for the transformation of nuclear material: enrichment of fissile material; fuel elements fabrication, burning, spent fuel reprocessing and waste management. d) Off-shore power plant siting and the creation of an artificial island. (A.F.)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6 National Priorities List (NPL) Sites - 05/12/2014

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Point locations for sites in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6 which are documented as being part of the National Priorities List as of May 12, 2014....

Gains and Losses of Transcription Factor Binding Sites in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces paradoxus

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefke, Bernhard; Wang, Tzi-Yuan; Wang, Chuen-Yi; Li, Wen-Hsiung

2015-01-01

Gene expression evolution occurs through changes in cis- or trans-regulatory elements or both. Interactions between transcription factors (TFs) and their binding sites (TFBSs) constitute one of the most important points where these two regulatory components intersect. In this study, we investigated the evolution of TFBSs in the promoter regions of different Saccharomyces strains and species. We divided the promoter of a gene into the proximal region and the distal region, which are defined, respectively, as the 200-bp region upstream of the transcription starting site and as the 200-bp region upstream of the proximal region. We found that the predicted TFBSs in the proximal promoter regions tend to be evolutionarily more conserved than those in the distal promoter regions. Additionally, Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains used in the fermentation of alcoholic drinks have experienced more TFBS losses than gains compared with strains from other environments (wild strains, laboratory strains, and clinical strains). We also showed that differences in TFBSs correlate with the cis component of gene expression evolution between species (comparing S. cerevisiae and its sister species Saccharomyces paradoxus) and within species (comparing two closely related S. cerevisiae strains). PMID:26220934

Site development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noack, J.

1975-01-01

The subject of this paper is a general view over all necessary considerations to develop the site after it has been chosen and before starting with the construction of a nuclear power plant. (orig./RW) [de

Lunar heat flow: Regional prospective of the Apollo landing sites

Science.gov (United States)

Siegler, M. A.; Smrekar, S. E.

2014-01-01

reexamine the Apollo Heat Flow Experiment in light of new orbital data. Using three-dimensional thermal conduction models, we examine effects of crustal thickness, density, and radiogenic abundance on measured heat flow values at the Apollo 15 and 17 sites. These models show the importance of regional context on heat flux measurements. We find that measured heat flux can be greatly altered by deep subsurface radiogenic content and crustal density. However, total crustal thickness and the presence of a near-surface radiogenic-rich ejecta provide less leverage, representing only minor (<1.5 mW m-2) perturbations on surface heat flux. Using models of the crust implied by Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory results, we found that a roughly 9-13 mW m-2 mantle heat flux best approximate the observed heat flux. This equates to a total mantle heat production of 2.8-4.1 × 1011 W. These heat flow values could imply that the lunar interior is slightly less radiogenic than the Earth's mantle, perhaps implying that a considerable fraction of terrestrial mantle material was incorporated at the time of formation. These results may also imply that heat flux at the crust-mantle boundary beneath the Procellarum potassium, rare earth element, and phosphorus (KREEP) Terrane (PKT) is anomalously elevated compared to the rest of the Moon. These results also suggest that a limited KREEP-rich layer exists beneath the PKT crust. If a subcrustal KREEP-rich layer extends below the Apollo 17 landing site, required mantle heat flux can drop to roughly 7 mW m-2, underlining the need for future heat flux measurements outside of the radiogenic-rich PKT region.

CTBTO tests its on-site inspection regime in Kazakhstan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-07-01

The former Soviet Union's nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk in the east of today's Kazakhstan was closed down after Kazakhstan became an independent State in 1991. This region in the Kazakh steppe is deserted and pockmarked by countless craters, remnants of over 450 nuclear explosions that were detonated there. In September 2008, the area will start brimming with activity. Scientists, diplomats and journalists will arrive from all over the world to witness an endeavour in the Kazakh steppe that is of great significance for the safety of our planet. The organization that monitors the comprehensive ban on nuclear testing will conduct a large scale exercise to test one of the key elements of its global alarm system - on-site inspections.

Site-condition map for Portugal, Western Iberia: methodology and constraints on the performance of Vs30 proxies for stable continental regions in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Vilanova, S. P.; Narciso, J.; Carvalho, J. P.; Cancela, C.; Lopes, I.; Nemser, E. S.; Borges, J.

2014-12-01

Information on the amplification characteristics of the near-surface formations in a regional sense is essential to adequately represent both seismic hazard maps and ground shaking maps. Due to the scarceness of shear-wave velocity data in most regions, several methods have been proposed in order to obtain first order representations of Vs30. These include the surface geology method and the topographic slope method. The latter method has become the standard way for incorporating site effects into regional studies worldwide given the convenience provided by the global Vs30 Internet server. In the framework of project SCENE we developed a shear wave velocity database for Portugal. The database consists of 87 shear-wave velocity depth profiles from a variety of lithological and geological formations. We used an iterative three-step procedure to develop the Vs30 based site-condition map: 1) to define a preliminary set of geologically defined units based on the literature; 2) to calculate the distribution of Vs30 for each unit; and 3) to perform statistical tests in order to estimate the significance of the difference in the Vs30 distribution characteristics between the units. The units were merged according to the results of the statistical tests and the procedure was repeated. We started by classifying the sites into six generalized geological units. The final set consists of three units only: F1 (igneous, metamorphic and old sedimentary rocks); F2 (Neogene and Pleistocene formations); and F3 (Holocene deposits). We used the database to evaluate the performance of Vs30 proxies. The use of proxies based either on geological units or on correlations with the topographic slope shows relatively unbiased total residual distributions of the logarithm of Vs30. However, the performance of the methods varies significantly with the generalized geological unit analyzed. Both methods are biased towards lower values of Vs30 for rock formations. The topographic-slope method is

Human β-globin locus control region: Analysis of the 5' DNase I hypersensitive site HS 2 in transgenic mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caterina, J.J.; Ryan, T.M.; Pawlik, K.M.; Townes, T.M.; Brinster, R.L.; Behringer, R.R.; Palmiter, R.D.

1991-01-01

The human β-globin locus control region (LCR) is essential for high-level expression of human var-epsilon-, γ-, and β-globin genes. Developmentally stable DNase I hypersensitive sites (designated HS) mark sequences within this region that are important for LCR activity. A 1.9-kilobase (kb) fragment containing the 5' HS 2 site enhances human β-globin gene expression 100-fold in transgenic mice and also confers position-independent expression. To further define important sequences within this region, deletion mutations of the 1.9-kb fragment were introduced upstream of the human β-globin gene, and the constructs were tested for activity in transgenic mice. Although enhancer activity was gradually lost with deletion of both 5' and 3' sequences, a 373-base-pair (BP) fragment retained the ability to confer relative position-independent expression. Three prominent DNase I footprints were observed in this region with extracts from the human erythroleukemia cell line K-562, one of which contained duplicated binding sites for transcription factor AP-1 (activator protein 1). When the 1.9-kb fragment containing an 19-bp deletion of the AP-1 binding sites was tested in transgenic mice, enhancer activity decreased 20-fold but position-independent expression was retained

Site and Regional Data for Biosphere Assessment BSA-2009 Supplement to Olkiluoto Biosphere Description 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aro, L.; Haapanen, R.; Puhakka, L.; Hjerpe, T.; Kirkkala, T.; Koivunen, S.; Lahdenperae, A.-M.; Salo, T.; Ikonen, A.T.K.; Helin, J.

2010-06-01

The safety case for a spent nuclear fuel repository at Olkiluoto includes a computational safety assessment. A site-specific biosphere assessment is an integral part of them both. In 2009 an assessment was conducted to demonstrate preparedness to apply for construction license to the repository in 2012. As a part of the biosphere assessment, the present conditions at the site are described in Olkiluoto biosphere description report for an analogue of the future conditions being simulated in the safety assessment. This report is a supplement to the biosphere description report of 2009 and documents the site and regional data used in the biosphere assessment 'BSA-2009' with respective rationales. (orig.)

Single phase induction motor with starting performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Popescu, M.; Demeter, E. [Research Institute for Electrical Machines, ICPE-ME, Bucharest (Romania); Navrapescu, V. [University `Politehnica` Bucharest, Electrical Engineering Faculty Splaiul Independentei, Bucharest (Romania)

1997-12-31

The paper presents problems related to a special type of single phase induction motor. The main novelty consists in the use of a conducting (aluminium casted) shell distributed on the periferic region of the rotor. As a result the starting performance, as well as the rated ones, is much improved in comparison with the conventional construction. (orig.) 4 refs.

Start-up analysis of INET-5 MW district heating prototype reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Tianshu

1991-09-01

The main features and thermohydraulic design parameters of the INET-5 MW reactor (INET: Institute of Nuclear Technology of Tsinghua University, Beijing) are presented. The start-up process and the effect of thermohydraulic instability on start-up process have been analyzed. The main obstacle of start-up process of INET-5 MW reactor is to pass the instability region from 1 atm to normal operation condition. For avoiding instability, the start-up process should be divided into two steps. The results of three different start-up proposals calculated by DACOL code are given and compared. The possibility of instabilities for each proposal has been checked. The checked results show that there is no instability during start-up of the three proposals. So, it is supposed that the INET-5 MW reactor can safely and stably reach the operation conditions. Finally, some conclusions about the effect of instability on start-up in boiling mode of INET-5MW reactor are given

Radioactive waste disposal programme and siting regions for geological deep repositories. Executive summary. November 2008

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-11-01

There are radioactive wastes in Switzerland. Since many decades they are produced by the operation of the five nuclear power plants, by medicine, industry and research. Important steps towards the disposal of these wastes are already realized; the corresponding activities are practised. This particularly concerns handling and packaging of the radioactive wastes, their characterization and inventory, as well as the interim storage and the inferred transportations. Preparatory works in the field of scientific research on deep geological repositories have allowed to acquire high level of technical and scientific expertise in that domain. The feasibility of building long-term safe geological repositories in Switzerland was demonstrated for all types of radioactive wastes; the demonstration was accepted by the Federal Council. There is enough knowledge to propose geological siting regions for further works. The financial funds already accumulated guaranty the financing of the dismantling of the power plants as well as building deep geological repositories for the radioactive wastes. The regulations already exist and the organisational arrangements necessary for the fruitful continuation of the works already done have been taken. The programme of the disposal of radioactive wastes also describes the next stages towards the timely realization of the deep repositories as well as the level of the financial needs. The programme is updated every five years, checked by the regulatory bodies and accepted by the Federal Council who reports to the parliament. The process of choosing a site, which will be completed in the next years, is detailed in the conceptual part of the programme for deep geological repositories. The NAGRA proposals are based exclusively on technical and scientific considerations; the global evaluation taking into account also political considerations has to be performed by the authorities and the Federal Council. The programme states that at the beginning of

Renewable energy resource and technology assessment: Southern Tier Central Region, New York, New York. Renewable Energy Resource Inventory; renewable energy technology handbook; technology assessment workbook

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-12-01

The Renewable Energy Resource Inventory contains regional maps that record the location of renewable energy resources such as insolation, wind, biomass, and hydropower in the Southern Tier Central Region of New York State. It contains an outline of a process by which communities can prepare local renewable energy resource inventories using maps and overlays. The process starts with the mapping of the resources at a regional scale and telescopes to an analysis of resources at a site-specific scale. The resource inventory presents a site analysis of Sullivan Street Industrial Park, Elmira, New York.

Baikal-1 stand complex. Preparation and carrying out of the first energy start-up of the IVG-1 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tikhomirov, L.N.

1995-01-01

The IVG-1 reactor was a first ground prototype of nuclear rocket engine. The reactor was built on the site 10 of the Semipalatinsk test site. Since the first energy start-up in 1975 the reactor was exploited 14 years till its modernization in 1989. The Bajkal-1 stand complex was designed and built for the carrying out of tests for fuel assemblies of different modifications. The energy start-up has been sum of long creative work of different research and constructive staffs on creation of high-temperature gas-cooled IVG-1 reactor. The history of construction, project and assembling of the stand complex is presented. Complex start and put works were carried out in the December 1974. Control physical start-up was carried out in the January 1975. Cold start-up by hydrogen was in the February 1975. Hot start-up was in the March 1975. The result of the hot start-up was experimental confirmation of metodics of thermohydrovlical estimations. 2 figs., 3 tabs

RESEARCH ARTICLE Codon usage vis-a-vis start and stop codon ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Prosen

codon usage at start and stop site showed variation in codon selection in ..... pressure is 8.3%, 0.5% and 18.5% while the influence of other factors, for example natural ..... The codon Adaptation Index--a measure of directional synonymous.

Chemical characterization and source identification of PM2.5 at multiple sites in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xiaojuan; Liu, Zirui; Liu, Jingyun; Hu, Bo; Wen, Tianxue; Tang, Guiqian; Zhang, Junke; Wu, Fangkun; Ji, Dongsheng; Wang, Lili; Wang, Yuesi

2017-11-01

The simultaneous observation and analysis of atmospheric fine particles (PM2.5) on a regional scale is an important approach to develop control strategies for haze pollution. In this study, samples of filtered PM2.5 were collected simultaneously at three urban sites (Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang) and at a regional background site (Xinglong) in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region from June 2014 to April 2015. The PM2.5 at the four sites was mainly comprised of organic matter, secondary inorganic ions, and mineral dust. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) demonstrated that, on an annual basis, secondary inorganic aerosol was the largest PM2.5 source in this region, accounting for 29.2-40.5 % of the PM2.5 mass at the urban sites; the second-largest PM2.5 source was motor vehicle exhaust, particularly in Beijing (24.9 %), whereas coal combustion was also a large source in Tianjin (12.4 %) and Shijiazhuang (15.5 %), with particular dominance in winter. Secondary inorganic aerosol plays a vital role in the haze process, with the exception of the spring haze in Shijiazhuang and Tianjin, for which the dust source was crucial. In addition to secondary transformations, local direct emissions (coal combustion and motor vehicle exhaust) significantly contribute to the winter haze at the urban sites. Moreover, with the aggravation of haze pollution, the OC / EC mass ratio of PM2.5 decreased considerably and the nitrate-rich secondary aerosol increased during all four seasons in Beijing, both of which indicate that local motor vehicle emissions significantly contribute to the severe haze episodes in Beijing. To assess the impacts of regional transport on haze pollution, the PMF results were further processed with backward-trajectory cluster analysis, revealing that haze pollution usually occurred when air masses originating from polluted industrial regions in the south prevailed and is characterized by high PM2.5 loadings with considerable contributions from secondary

Chemical characterization and source identification of PM2.5 at multiple sites in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Huang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The simultaneous observation and analysis of atmospheric fine particles (PM2.5 on a regional scale is an important approach to develop control strategies for haze pollution. In this study, samples of filtered PM2.5 were collected simultaneously at three urban sites (Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang and at a regional background site (Xinglong in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH region from June 2014 to April 2015. The PM2.5 at the four sites was mainly comprised of organic matter, secondary inorganic ions, and mineral dust. Positive matrix factorization (PMF demonstrated that, on an annual basis, secondary inorganic aerosol was the largest PM2.5 source in this region, accounting for 29.2–40.5 % of the PM2.5 mass at the urban sites; the second-largest PM2.5 source was motor vehicle exhaust, particularly in Beijing (24.9 %, whereas coal combustion was also a large source in Tianjin (12.4 % and Shijiazhuang (15.5 %, with particular dominance in winter. Secondary inorganic aerosol plays a vital role in the haze process, with the exception of the spring haze in Shijiazhuang and Tianjin, for which the dust source was crucial. In addition to secondary transformations, local direct emissions (coal combustion and motor vehicle exhaust significantly contribute to the winter haze at the urban sites. Moreover, with the aggravation of haze pollution, the OC ∕ EC mass ratio of PM2.5 decreased considerably and the nitrate-rich secondary aerosol increased during all four seasons in Beijing, both of which indicate that local motor vehicle emissions significantly contribute to the severe haze episodes in Beijing. To assess the impacts of regional transport on haze pollution, the PMF results were further processed with backward-trajectory cluster analysis, revealing that haze pollution usually occurred when air masses originating from polluted industrial regions in the south prevailed and is characterized by high PM2.5 loadings with considerable

Regional groundwater chemical characteristics of Aqishan pre-selected site for high level radioactive waste repository and its hydrogeological significance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Yonghai; Dong Jiannan; Liu Shufen; Zhou Zhichao

2014-01-01

Aqishan area located in Xinjiang Uygur Automonous Region is one of the main preselected site of disposal repository for high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in our country. Groundwater chemical feature is one of the most important consideration factors in the siting and site evaluation for high-level radioactive waste repository, From 2012 to 2013, the regional field hydrogeochemical investigation was carried out in study area and more than 30 groundwater samples were collected. According to the measurement data, the groundwater chemical features for different subareas are discussed in the paper. Furthermore, the location of discharge area of groundwater in Aqishan area was estimated according to the chemical features of different subareas. (authors)

De-novo discovery of differentially abundant transcription factor binding sites including their positional preference.

Science.gov (United States)

Keilwagen, Jens; Grau, Jan; Paponov, Ivan A; Posch, Stefan; Strickert, Marc; Grosse, Ivo

2011-02-10

Transcription factors are a main component of gene regulation as they activate or repress gene expression by binding to specific binding sites in promoters. The de-novo discovery of transcription factor binding sites in target regions obtained by wet-lab experiments is a challenging problem in computational biology, which has not been fully solved yet. Here, we present a de-novo motif discovery tool called Dispom for finding differentially abundant transcription factor binding sites that models existing positional preferences of binding sites and adjusts the length of the motif in the learning process. Evaluating Dispom, we find that its prediction performance is superior to existing tools for de-novo motif discovery for 18 benchmark data sets with planted binding sites, and for a metazoan compendium based on experimental data from micro-array, ChIP-chip, ChIP-DSL, and DamID as well as Gene Ontology data. Finally, we apply Dispom to find binding sites differentially abundant in promoters of auxin-responsive genes extracted from Arabidopsis thaliana microarray data, and we find a motif that can be interpreted as a refined auxin responsive element predominately positioned in the 250-bp region upstream of the transcription start site. Using an independent data set of auxin-responsive genes, we find in genome-wide predictions that the refined motif is more specific for auxin-responsive genes than the canonical auxin-responsive element. In general, Dispom can be used to find differentially abundant motifs in sequences of any origin. However, the positional distribution learned by Dispom is especially beneficial if all sequences are aligned to some anchor point like the transcription start site in case of promoter sequences. We demonstrate that the combination of searching for differentially abundant motifs and inferring a position distribution from the data is beneficial for de-novo motif discovery. Hence, we make the tool freely available as a component of the open

Method of starting internal pumps of a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumagami, Shoji.

1985-01-01

Purpose: To reduce the noise effects by decreasing the invading current into the main line upon starting an internal pump type nuclear reactor adapted to forcively recycle the reactor water by a plurality of internal pumps. Method: A plurality of internal pumps are divided into several groups and, upon starting pumps belonging to the individual unit group, the starting instances for the respective pumps are deviated to reduce the surges applied to the main line and suppress the invading current lower to reduce the earth noises. As a result, effects caused to other devices or equipments can be moderated to improve the reliability. Furthermore, by actuating the respective pumps on every group units in a starting pattern along the orthogonal line, flow rate distribution in the reactor can be balanced. Then, the instability region during low rotation of pumps, that is, instability of the flow rate near the resonance frequency can be decreased. (Kawakami, Y.)

Management of split skin graft donor site in the West African sub region: survey of plastic surgeons' practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Olawoye, O A; Ademola, S A; Iyun, A O; Michael, A I; Oluwatosin, O M

2017-06-30

Split skin graft (SSG) is one of the most commonly performed operations on any Plastic Surgery service. Rate of donor site healing is affected by various factors including the type of dressing applied. The aim of this study was to survey the practice of plastic surgeons in the sub region with respect to management of SSG donor site and see how it conforms to international standards. Structured questionnaires on various aspects of the harvest and management of SSG donor sites were administered to plastic surgeons during the 53rd annual conference of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) at Lome, Togo in March 2013. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. There were 47 respondents out of 55 plastic surgeons from four West African countries, which represented 85.4% of registered participants at the plastic surgery section of the conference. All the respondents performed SSG regularly, and the thigh was the most commonly used donor site. Different types of paraffin gauze remained the most commonly used primary donor site dressing. Only 17% of the respondents apply a topical local anaesthetic agent on the donor site. The choice of SSG donor site dressing in the sub region was driven mainly by availability. Concerted efforts must be made to access newer wound care products for optimum management of this commonly performed operation.

Human terminal deoxyribonucleotidyltransferase: molecular cloning and structural analysis of the gene and 5' flanking region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riley, L.K.; Morrow, J.K.; Danton, M.J.; Coleman, M.S.

1988-01-01

Human terminal deoxyribonucleotidyltransferase cDNA contains an open reading frame of 1530 base pairs (bp) corresponding to a protein containing 510 amino acids. The encoded protein is a template-independent DNA polymerase found only in a restricted population of normal and malignant prelymphocytes. To begin to investigate the genetic elements responsible for the tissue-specific expression of terminal deoxyribonucleotidyltransferase, genomic clones, containing the entire human gene were isolated and characterized. Initially, cDNA clones were isolated from a library generated from the human lymphoblastoid cell line, MOLT-4R. A cDNA clone containing the entire coding region of the protein was used to isolate a series of overlapping clones from two human genomic libraries. The gene comprises 11 exons and 10 introns and spans 49.4 kilobases. The 5' flanking region (709 bp) including exon 1 was sequenced. Several putative transcription initiation sites were mapped. Within 500 nucleotides of the translation start site, a series of promoter elements was detected. TATA and CAAT sequences, respectively, were found to start at nucleotides -185 and -204, -328 and -370, and -465 and -505. Start sites were found for a cyclic AMP-dependent promoter analog at nucleotide -121, an eight-base sequence corresponding to the IgG promoter enhancer (cd) at nucleotide -455, and an analog of the IgG promoter (pd) at nucleotide -159. These findings suggest that transcripts coding for terminal deoxyribonucleotidyltransferase may be variable in length and that transcription may be influenced by a variety of genetic elements

SITE-2, Power Plant Siting, Cost, Environment, Seismic and Meteorological Effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frigerio, N.A.; Habegger, L.J.; King, R.F.; Hoover, L.J.; Clark, N.A.; Cobian, J.M.

1977-01-01

1 - Description of problem or function: SITE2 is designed to (1) screen candidate energy facility sites or areas within an electric utility region, based on the region's physical and socioeconomic attributes, the planned facility's characteristics, and impact assessments, and (2) evaluate the cumulative regional impacts associated with alternate energy supply options and inter-regional energy import/export practices, specifically, comparison of different energy technologies and their regional distribution in clustered or dispersed patterns. 2 - Method of solution: The SITE2 methodology is based on the quantification of three major site-related vectors. A cost vector is determined which identifies site-specific costs, such as transmission costs, cooling costs as related to water availability, and costs of specific controls needed to protect the surrounding environment. An impact vector is also computed for each potential site, using models of health and environmental impacts incurred in areas adjacent to the site. Finally, a site attribute vector is developed which reflects such characteristics as population, seismic conditions, meteorology, land use, and local ecological systems. This vector can be used to eliminate certain sites because of their inability to satisfy specific constraints. These three vectors can be displayed as density maps and combined in a simple overlay approach, similar to that developed by I. L. McHarg in reference 2, to identify candidate sites. Alternatively, the vector elements can be computationally combined into a weighted sum to obtain quantitative indicators of site suitability

SITE-2, Power Plant Siting, Cost, Environment, Seismic and Meteorological Effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frigerio, N A [Environmental Impact Studies, Argonne National Laboratory 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States); Habegger, L J; King, R F; Hoover, L J [Energy and Environmental Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States); Clark, N A [Applied Mathematics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States); Cobian, J M [Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60201 (United States)

1977-08-01

1 - Description of problem or function: SITE2 is designed to (1) screen candidate energy facility sites or areas within an electric utility region, based on the region's physical and socioeconomic attributes, the planned facility's characteristics, and impact assessments, and (2) evaluate the cumulative regional impacts associated with alternate energy supply options and inter-regional energy import/export practices, specifically, comparison of different energy technologies and their regional distribution in clustered or dispersed patterns. 2 - Method of solution: The SITE2 methodology is based on the quantification of three major site-related vectors. A cost vector is determined which identifies site-specific costs, such as transmission costs, cooling costs as related to water availability, and costs of specific controls needed to protect the surrounding environment. An impact vector is also computed for each potential site, using models of health and environmental impacts incurred in areas adjacent to the site. Finally, a site attribute vector is developed which reflects such characteristics as population, seismic conditions, meteorology, land use, and local ecological systems. This vector can be used to eliminate certain sites because of their inability to satisfy specific constraints. These three vectors can be displayed as density maps and combined in a simple overlay approach, similar to that developed by I. L. McHarg in reference 2, to identify candidate sites. Alternatively, the vector elements can be computationally combined into a weighted sum to obtain quantitative indicators of site suitability.

Assessing Business Ideas for Starting-Up Successful Social Enterprises in Romania: an It-Supported, Micro-Regional Development Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cezar Scarlat

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose—This paper aims to develop a unique instrument to be used for both assessing business ideas and monitoring the respective social enterprises while taking off, eventually IT-supported.Design/methodology/approach—A sample of 25 cases was selected—in the framework of a regional development project in the Horezu micro-region, Romania (the IDEALIS Project implementation is scheduled for 2011-2012. Each case corresponds to a business idea for starting-up a social enterprise (either agricultural co-operative or co-operative enterprise in the region. The first phase of this project is to assess the viability of each business idea, and the second phase is to monitor the social start-ups as they are taking off. In both phases an original decision method is used, implanted on a methodology to assess the business idea’s probability to succeed. This paper was prepared after the completion of the first phase while an IT application was considered as a vehicle to use the proposed method for monitoring the newly created social enterprises.Findings/results—The proposed instrument (ABIDIS: Assessing Business Ideas by the DISTEH method was successfully used to associate a score to each business idea and, consequently, to rank the respective social enterprises accordingly: the higher the rank, the higher the chances to succeed. It is expected that social enterprises are considered for financial aid according to this ranking.Research limitations/implications—ABIDIS instrument is more useful when analyzed against a database of similar social enterprises and/or compared to its own historic data (which is monitoring actually. Amid successful method development and its use for assessing the chances of the social enterprises’ ideas to succeed, the practical use of the proposed methodology for monitoring the recently established social enterprises is still in progress. Furthermore, the rightness of the assessment is a matter of time—as it is going

Regional trends for bud burst and flowering of woody plants in Norway as related to climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Nordli, Ø.; Wielgolaski, F. E.; Bakken, A. K.; Hjeltnes, S. H.; Måge, F.; Sivle, A.; Skre, O.

2008-09-01

Data series for bud burst, beginning of flowering and petal fall for 20 species of deciduous trees and conifers at four sites in different regions of southern Norway have been analysed and related to temperature series. On average, the spring phenophases occurred 7 days earlier during the period 1971-2005. The most significant linear trends were observed for the earliest phases. The trends in this period were compared with trends in other periods, the longest one starting in 1927. Those starting in cold decades and ending in 2005 were in most instances statistically significant, whereas hardly any significant trend appeared for series starting in warm decades. This fact showed that the results of trend studies are very sensitive to the choice of starting year. There were significant decadal variations in 40% of the series. The dates of occurrence of the phenophases, varying from the first days of May to the first days of June, correlated with seasonal temperature series, in most cases strongest to mean temperatures for the seasons March-May and April-May. The North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) for January and February appeared to have some predictive power for the date of occurrence of the recorded phases. The basis for this may be that the oscillations described by the index are of importance for the fulfilment of physiological chilling requirements needed to break bud dormancy. The same genotypes of the trees were grown in region West Norway and in Central Norwegian region; during the period 1965-2005 the trends towards earlier bud burst were more pronounced and steeper at the western site.

Gains and Losses of Transcription Factor Binding Sites in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces paradoxus.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefke, Bernhard; Wang, Tzi-Yuan; Wang, Chuen-Yi; Li, Wen-Hsiung

2015-07-27

Gene expression evolution occurs through changes in cis- or trans-regulatory elements or both. Interactions between transcription factors (TFs) and their binding sites (TFBSs) constitute one of the most important points where these two regulatory components intersect. In this study, we investigated the evolution of TFBSs in the promoter regions of different Saccharomyces strains and species. We divided the promoter of a gene into the proximal region and the distal region, which are defined, respectively, as the 200-bp region upstream of the transcription starting site and as the 200-bp region upstream of the proximal region. We found that the predicted TFBSs in the proximal promoter regions tend to be evolutionarily more conserved than those in the distal promoter regions. Additionally, Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains used in the fermentation of alcoholic drinks have experienced more TFBS losses than gains compared with strains from other environments (wild strains, laboratory strains, and clinical strains). We also showed that differences in TFBSs correlate with the cis component of gene expression evolution between species (comparing S. cerevisiae and its sister species Saccharomyces paradoxus) and within species (comparing two closely related S. cerevisiae strains). © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Why START?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendelsohn, J.

1991-01-01

Barring some major unexpected downturn in US-Soviet relations, it seems likely that the long-awaited Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) treaty will be signed sometime in 1991. Under negotiation for the past nine years, public acceptance and Senate approval of a START treaty will be facilitated by the generally less confrontational East-West relationship which has evolved over that time, by the growing constraints on the US defense budget, and by the obvious merits of the treaty itself. Not only will the nearly complete START treaty be an extremely useful and powerful arms control agreement, it is also decidedly advantageous to US security interests. First and foremost, a START treaty will cap and reduce the steady buildup of nuclear weapons that has characterized the last 30 years of the US-Soviet strategic relationship. As a result of the basic outline originally agreed to at the Reykjavik summit, START will take a 25 to 35 percent bite out of existing nuclear arsenals, impose approximately a 50 percent cut in overall Soviet ballistic missile warheads and throw-weight (lifting power or payload capacity), and produce an exact 50 percent cut in Soviet SS-18 missiles

CO{sub 2} Sequestration Capacity and Associated Aspects of the Most Promising Geologic Formations in the Rocky Mountain Region: Local-Scale Analyses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laes, Denise; Eisinger, Chris; Morgan, Craig; Rauzi, Steve; Scholle, Dana; Scott, Phyllis; Lee, Si-Yong; Zaluski, Wade; Esser, Richard; Matthews, Vince; McPherson, Brian

2013-07-30

The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of individual local-­scale CCS site characterization studies conducted in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. These site-­ specific characterization analyses were performed as part of the “Characterization of Most Promising Sequestration Formations in the Rocky Mountain Region” (RMCCS) project. The primary objective of these local-­scale analyses is to provide a basis for regional-­scale characterization efforts within each state. Specifically, limits on time and funding will typically inhibit CCS projects from conducting high-­ resolution characterization of a state-­sized region, but smaller (< 10,000 km{sup 2}) site analyses are usually possible, and such can provide insight regarding limiting factors for the regional-­scale geology. For the RMCCS project, the outcomes of these local-­scale studies provide a starting point for future local-­scale site characterization efforts in the Rocky Mountain region.

From Head Start to Sure Start: Reflections on Policy Transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Welshman, John

2010-01-01

This article uses the history of debates over the US Head Start programme (1965), Early Head Start (1994) and the UK Sure Start initiative (1998), as a window on to policy transfer. In all the three, the aim was that early intervention could offer a means of boosting children's educational attainment and of countering the wider effects of poverty…

IRSN's monitoring strategy for former uranium mining sites: regional radiological report approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Audrey, L.L.; Marie-Odile, G.; Damien, T. [Institut de radioportection et de surete nucleaire - IRSN (France)

2014-07-01

Radiological monitoring of the environment in France was one of the basic missions assigned to the IRSN upon its creation. It is performed regularly through measurement and sampling networks across France, particularly around nuclear facilities. To supplement this system and increase its effectiveness and utility, IRSN recently began issuing regional baseline reference states using radiological reporting. Application of this reporting is currently underway in regions where uranium was mined. The Dordogne river basin is one of twenty basins impacted by uranium mining. Covering some twenty sites, it was selected by IRSN for its initial mining reporting. The objective is to gain detailed knowledge of the distribution of natural radioactivity related to the presence of uranium and its radioactive decay products, including radium, in mining areas and the river basin in general. This knowledge will supplement data already available as part of AREVA's regulatory site reporting, and provide access to a baseline reference state for radioactivity in the environment at local and regional levels. Since the impact of former uranium mining sites is basically tied to water circulation, sampling projects are designed based on the drainage system. Samples are taken of water, sediment and biological indicators such as fish and aquatic plants. Samples are then analysed to determine uranium, radium and polonium concentration. An initial sampling campaign took place in October 2012. It involved an initial contact with local organisations (Regional Directorate for the Environment, Town and Country Planning and Housing (DREAL), local information and oversight committee (Clis), regional public watershed board (EPIDOR), water agencies, mayors, hunting clubs, fishing federation, farmers, etc.). It will be supplemented by a second sampling campaign in late spring 2013 designed to take into account any local issues, including those associated with local water usage (irrigation, livestock

Heritage sites in the Eastern region of Cuba, new approaches for preservation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Enrique Bello-Caballero

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The Eastern Region of Cuba holds five properties inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, which evidence the cultural heritage richness. Therefore, several studies in the national context contribute to analyze the different process related to heritage sites management. However, the studies that embrace current deficiencies on heritage analysis and monitoring are yet insufficient. New studies should contribute to the control and the adoption of conservation actions, by means of the study, visualization and updating of information related to negative factors that influences the loss of cultural values, considering the preventive conservation approach. This paper aims at presenting the joint ongoing research between the Universidad de Oriente and the KU Leuven, within the frame of the VLIR IUC Project, which final goal is to design a method for the spatial analysis and monitoring of heritage sites through a GIS based tool implementation, with a preventive conservation approach.

A Start-Up Produces Infomercials for the Internet

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2011-01-01

@@ The one thing online shopping is missing, says Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, a former Google executive, is infomercials. Ms.Singh Cassidy introduced her new shopping start-up, Joyus.It is an e-commerce site that produces videos to sell products, like a Web version of the Home Shopping Network. "If you think about the ways to sell online, video is underutilized," she said."It's a new way for brands to merchandise their product."

Regional Variations of Public Perception on Contaminated Industrial Sites in China and Its Influencing Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaonuo; Jiao, Wentao; Xiao, Rongbo; Chen, Weiping; Bai, Yanying

2016-04-08

Public involvement is critical in sustainable contaminated site management. It is important for China to improve public knowledge and participation, foster dialogue between urban managers and laypeople, and accelerate the remediation and redevelopment processes in contaminated site management. In this study, we collected 1812 questionnaires from nine cities around China through face-to-face interviews and statistically analyzed the perception of residents concerning contaminated sites. The results show that respondents' concern about soil pollution was lower than for other environmental issues and their knowledge of soil contamination was limited. The risks posed by contaminated industrial sites were well recognized by respondents, but they were unsatisfied with the performance of local agencies regarding information disclosure, publicity and education and public participation. Respondents believed that local governments and polluters should take the primary responsibility for contaminated site remediation. Most of them were unwilling to pay for contaminated site remediation and preferred recreational or public service redevelopment. Moreover, our research indicated that public perception varied among different cities. This variation was mainly determined by implementations of policy instruments and additionally affected by remediation technology, pollutant type, regional policy response and living distance.

A deeper look into transcription regulatory code by preferred pair distance templates for transcription factor binding sites

KAUST Repository

Kulakovskiy, Ivan V.

2011-08-18

Motivation: Modern experimental methods provide substantial information on protein-DNA recognition. Studying arrangements of transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) of interacting transcription factors (TFs) advances understanding of the transcription regulatory code. Results: We constructed binding motifs for TFs forming a complex with HIF-1α at the erythropoietin 3\\'-enhancer. Corresponding TFBSs were predicted in the segments around transcription start sites (TSSs) of all human genes. Using the genome-wide set of regulatory regions, we observed several strongly preferred distances between hypoxia-responsive element (HRE) and binding sites of a particular cofactor protein. The set of preferred distances was called as a preferred pair distance template (PPDT). PPDT dramatically depended on the TF and orientation of its binding sites relative to HRE. PPDT evaluated from the genome-wide set of regulatory sequences was used to detect significant PPDT-consistent binding site pairs in regulatory regions of hypoxia-responsive genes. We believe PPDT can help to reveal the layout of eukaryotic regulatory segments. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Regional difference of the start time of the recent warming in Eastern China: prompted by a 165-year temperature record deduced from tree rings in the Dabie Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Qiufang; Liu, Yu; Duan, Bingchuang; Sun, Changfeng

2018-03-01

Tree-ring studies from tropical to subtropical regions are rarer than that from extratropical regions, which greatly limit our understanding of some critical climate change issues. Based on the tree-ring-width chronology of samples collected from the Dabie Mountains, we reconstructed the April-June mean temperature for this region with an explained variance of 46.8%. Five cold (1861-1869, 1889-1899, 1913-1920, 1936-1942 and 1952-1990) and three warm (1870-1888, 1922-1934 and 2000-2005) periods were identified in the reconstruction. The reconstruction not only agreed well with the instrumental records in and around the study area, but also showed good resemblance to previous temperature reconstructions from nearby regions, indicating its spatial and temporal representativeness of the temperature variation in the central part of eastern China. Although no secular warming trend was found, the warming trend since 1970 was unambiguous in the Dabie Mountains (0.064 °C/year). Further temperature comparison indicated that the start time of the recent warming in eastern China was regional different. It delayed gradually from north to south, starting at least around 1940 AD in the north part, around 1970 AD in the central part and around 1980s in the south part. This work enriches the high-resolution temperature reconstructions in eastern China. We expect that climate warming in the future would promote the radial growth of alpine Pinus taiwanensis in the subtropical areas of China, therefore promote the carbon capture and carbon storage in the Pinus taiwanensis forest. It also helps to clarify the regional characteristic of recent warming in eastern China.

Regional patterns of declining butternut (Juglans cinerea L.) suggest site characteristics for restoration

OpenAIRE

Morin, Randall S.; Gottschalk, Kurt W.; Ostry, Michael E.; Liebhold, Andrew M.

2017-01-01

Abstract Butternut trees dying from a canker disease were first reported in southwestern Wisconsin in 1967. Since then, the disease has caused extensive mortality of butternut throughout its North American range. The objectives of this study were to quantify changes in butternut populations and density across its range and identify habitat characteristics of sites where butternut is surviving in order to locate regions for potential butternut restoration. The natural range of butternut (Jugla...

Start up testing for the secure automated fabrication line

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerber, E.W.; Benson, E.M.; Dahl, R.E.

1986-01-01

The Secure Automated Fabrication (SAF) Line has been designed and built by Westinghouse Hanford Company for the Department of Energy at the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington. The SAF Line will provide the capability for remote manufacture of fuel for Liquid Metal Reactors, and will supply fuel for the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). The SAF process is highly automated and represents a major advancement in nuclear fuel manufacturing, offering significant improvements in product quality, productivity, safety, and accountability of Special Nuclear Materials. The construction phase of the project is complete, and testing has been initiated to accomplish start up of the plant for manufacture of FFTF fuel. This paper describes the test methodology used for SAF Line start up

Site-scale groundwater flow modelling of Beberg

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gylling, B.; Walker, D.; Hartley, L.

1999-08-01

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) Safety Report for 1997 (SR 97) study is a comprehensive performance assessment illustrating the results for three hypothetical repositories in Sweden. In support of SR 97, this study examines the hydrogeologic modelling of the hypothetical site called Beberg, which adopts input parameters from the SKB study site near Finnsjoen, in central Sweden. This study uses a nested modelling approach, with a deterministic regional model providing boundary conditions to a site-scale stochastic continuum model. The model is run in Monte Carlo fashion to propagate the variability of the hydraulic conductivity to the advective travel paths from representative canister positions. A series of variant cases addresses uncertainties in the inference of parameters and the boundary conditions. The study uses HYDRASTAR, the SKB stochastic continuum (SC) groundwater modelling program, to compute the heads, Darcy velocities at each representative canister position, and the advective travel times and paths through the geosphere. The Base Case simulation takes its constant head boundary conditions from a modified version of the deterministic regional scale model of Hartley et al. The flow balance between the regional and site-scale models suggests that the nested modelling conserves mass only in a general sense, and that the upscaling is only approximately valid. The results for 100 realisation of 120 starting positions, a flow porosity of ε f 10 -4 , and a flow-wetted surface of a r = 1.0 m 2 /(m 3 rock) suggest the following statistics for the Base Case: The median travel time is 56 years. The median canister flux is 1.2 x 10 -3 m/year. The median F-ratio is 5.6 x 10 5 year/m. The travel times, flow paths and exit locations were compatible with the observations on site, approximate scoping calculations and the results of related modelling studies. Variability within realisations indicates that the change in hydraulic gradient

EPA Region 2 Draft NPL Site Contamination Area Boundaries as of February 2007 GIS Layer [EPA.R2_NPL_CONTAMBND

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This layer represents the contamination boundaries of all NPL sites located in EPA Region Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)....

Wind Resource Variations Over Selected Sites in the West African Sub-Region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iheonu, E. E.; Akingbade, F.O A.; Ocholi, M.

2002-01-01

The analysis of wind characteristics and wind resource potentials at 4 locations in the West African sub-region is presented, applying data obtained at the Ibadan central station of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA-Ibadan, Nigeria). The study has shown that the annual variations of wind speed have coefficient of variability between 10 and 15% but the available wind power at the studied locations is generally poor with values ranging between 2 and 10 Wm2 at the standard meteorological height of 10 m. Cotonou (Lat. 6.4 0 N, Long. 2.3 0 E) Benin Republic has however been distinguished from the other three locations in Nigeria, as the most promising site for wind resource development and utilization in the sub-region. With appropriate choice of wind turbine characteristics and design efficiency, establishing wind farms at the Cotonou location for electrical energy production could be feasible

Conceptual model for regional radionuclide transport from a basalt repository site. Final draft, technical memorandum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walton, W.C.; Voorhees, M.L.; Prickett, T.A.

1980-01-01

This technical memorandum was prepared to: (1) describe a typical basalt radionuclide repository site, (2) describe geologic and hydrologic processes associated with regional radionuclide transport in basalts, (3) define the parameters required to model regional radionuclide transport from a basalt repository site, and (4) develop a ''conceptual model'' of radionuclide transport from a basalt repository site. In a general hydrological sense, basalts may be described as layered sequences of aquifers and aquitards. The Columbia River Basalt, centered near the semi-arid Pasco Basin, is considered by many to be typical basalt repository host rock. Detailed description of the flow system including flow velocities with high-low hydraulic conductivity sequences are not possible with existing data. However, according to theory, waste-transport routes are ultimately towards the Columbia River and the lengths of flow paths from the repository to the biosphere may be relatively short. There are many physical, chemical, thermal, and nuclear processes with associated parameters that together determine the possible pattern of radionuclide migration in basalts and surrounding formations. Brief process descriptions and associated parameter lists are provided. Emphasis has been placed on the use of the distribution coefficient in simulating ion exchange. The use of the distribution coefficient approach is limited because it takes into account only relatively fast mass transfer processes. In general, knowledge of hydrogeochemical processes is primitive

Conceptual model for regional radionuclide transport from a basalt repository site. Final draft, technical memorandum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walton, W.C.; Voorhees, M.L.; Prickett, T.A.

1980-05-23

This technical memorandum was prepared to: (1) describe a typical basalt radionuclide repository site, (2) describe geologic and hydrologic processes associated with regional radionuclide transport in basalts, (3) define the parameters required to model regional radionuclide transport from a basalt repository site, and (4) develop a ''conceptual model'' of radionuclide transport from a basalt repository site. In a general hydrological sense, basalts may be described as layered sequences of aquifers and aquitards. The Columbia River Basalt, centered near the semi-arid Pasco Basin, is considered by many to be typical basalt repository host rock. Detailed description of the flow system including flow velocities with high-low hydraulic conductivity sequences are not possible with existing data. However, according to theory, waste-transport routes are ultimately towards the Columbia River and the lengths of flow paths from the repository to the biosphere may be relatively short. There are many physical, chemical, thermal, and nuclear processes with associated parameters that together determine the possible pattern of radionuclide migration in basalts and surrounding formations. Brief process descriptions and associated parameter lists are provided. Emphasis has been placed on the use of the distribution coefficient in simulating ion exchange. The use of the distribution coefficient approach is limited because it takes into account only relatively fast mass transfer processes. In general, knowledge of hydrogeochemical processes is primitive.

Muscular Arrangement and Muscle Attachment Sites in the Cervical Region of the American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata pratincola.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark L L M Boumans

Full Text Available Owls have the largest head rotation capability amongst vertebrates. Anatomical knowledge of the cervical region is needed to understand the mechanics of these extreme head movements. While data on the morphology of the cervical vertebrae of the barn owl have been provided, this study is aimed to provide an extensive description of the muscle arrangement and the attachment sites of the muscles on the owl's head-neck region. The major cervical muscles were identified by gross dissection of cadavers of the American barn owl (Tyto furcata pratincola, and their origin, courses, and insertion were traced. In the head-neck region nine superficial larger cervical muscles of the craniocervical, dorsal and ventral subsystems were selected for analysis, and the muscle attachment sites were illustrated in digital models of the skull and cervical vertebrae of the same species as well as visualised in a two-dimensional sketch. In addition, fibre orientation and lengths of the muscles and the nature (fleshy or tendinous of the attachment sites were determined. Myological data from this study were combined with osteological data of the same species. This improved the anatomical description of the cervical region of this species. The myological description provided in this study is to our best knowledge the most detailed documentation of the cervical muscles in a strigiform species presented so far. Our results show useful information for researchers in the field of functional anatomy, biomechanical modelling and for evolutionary and comparative studies.

SITE INDEX CURVES AND HYPSOMETRIC RELATIONSHIP FOR Eucalyptus grandis PLANTATIONS FOR THE CAMPOS GERAIS REGION, PARANA STATE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabiane Aparecida de Souza Retslaff

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The study aimed to fit mathematical models for the construction of Site Index curves and to estimate heights at different ages for Eucalyptus grandis in the Campos Gerais region, Parana State. The data used to fit the models came from permanent, temporary plots and pre-harvesting inventory, covering ages from 2.5 to 26.5 years. Several models were tested to represent the sites and the hypsometric relationship. The Site Index curves were constructed by the guide-curve method. For the Site Index, the Chapman-Richards model showed the best fit and precision statistics, generating 5 Site Index curves (range of 5 m with the Chapman-Richards model. The four hypsometric models tested showed satisfactory performance and similar statistics and the inclusion of the variables dominant height or site index did not substantially improve the goodness of fit statistics, but the residues were more homogeneous and closer to zero.

Environmental radioactivity and mitigation of radiological impact at legacy uranium sites in Portugal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carvalho, F.

2014-01-01

Uranium legacy sites in the country contain large amounts of milling tailings, mining waste, old infrastructures and acid mine drainage with high radioactivity concentrations. Radioactivity surveillance of these sites has been maintained for many years and institutional control kept beyond cessation of Portuguese uranium mining in 2001. A research programme (2003-2006) requested by the government to assess environmental contamination and public health risks in these regions advised implementing environmental remediation measures. A national programme was approved for remediation of abandoned mine sites, including radioactive and non-radioactive mines, that started in 2005 and since has completed significant remediation works in several old uranium mines. One amongst these sites, the Urgeiriça mine and milling site, was re-engineered, tailings were covered, the mine was closed, the area of mine and milling facilities cleaned, and an automated contaminated water treatment plant installed. Environmental radioactivity surveys carried out in this region showed reduced ambient radiation doses, lower radon concentrations in surface air, return to background radioactivity in surface air aerosols, and decrease of radionuclide concentrations in the river receiving water discharges from the mine site, resulting in a reduced radiation exposure to members of the public. Other legacy uranium mines without milling tailings, were mainly remediated for landscape engineering and the adopted solutions included, for example, preservation of non-contaminated ponds for public leisure. Although not completed yet in many sites, the remediation works implemented contributed already to a significant abatement of radiation exposure allowing for safer implementation of activities, such as agriculture and cattle grazing, in the surroundings of legacy sites. Environmental remediation and abatement of radiation exposure contributed to revitalize socio-economic activities of the region and

Influence of region and site-specific factors on the degree of general validity of ecological and primary-energy-related assessments of biogas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dressler, Daniela

2015-01-01

As described in this publication, since the early 1990s numerous studies based on the life cycle assessment methodology have been dedicated to assessments of different kinds of bioenergy in comparison with fossil energy resources in terms of their energy balance and environmental impact. On reviewing the results of these studies one finds a strikingly wide range of variation. One major factor of influence on the results of life cycle assessments, besides methodological factors such as the choice of allocation method, is the representativeness of the data used. Thus, widely varying results are also obtained when balance calculations and assessments are performed on energy crops with due consideration to regional and site-specific factors. To address this problem the present study endeavoured to identify region and site-specific factors and assess them in terms of their influence on the life cycle assessment of the cultivation and conversion to biogas of different kinds of energy crops. For this purpose the following questions were explored: What influence do region, site and equipment-specific factors have on the results of ecological and primary-energy-related assessments; and how large are the differences in results between region and site-specific assessments on the one hand and assessments based on general assumptions on the other? It transpires that the results of region and site-specific assessments differ from one another in terms of both the assessment of energy cropping and the assessment of the entire process chain of biogas production and conversion to electricity.

Lean start-up

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Erik Stavnsager; Tanev, Stoyan

2016-01-01

The risk of launching new products and starting new firms is known to be extremely high. The Lean Start-up approach is a way of reducing these risks and enhancing the chances for success by validating the products and services in the market with customers before launching it in full scale. The ma...... and the final business model. In other words: The start-up must first nail the problem together with the customers, then develop the solution and test, and then in the end scale it to a full-grown business model.......The risk of launching new products and starting new firms is known to be extremely high. The Lean Start-up approach is a way of reducing these risks and enhancing the chances for success by validating the products and services in the market with customers before launching it in full scale. The main...

Desert Tortoise Head-start Program at Twentynine Palms Marine Base

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-02

starting method, extinction , predation, mortality, survivorship Kenneth An Nagy, Scott Hillard University of California - Los Angeles Regents of the...the netting problems were corrected. The remaining two predators were ants : native fire ants (Solenopsis xyloni—already known as hatchling...predators from another study site) and common Harvester Ants , Pogonomyrmex californicus. Both have been controlled when and where necessary by cautious use

Brookhaven Regional Energy Facility Siting Model (REFS): model development and application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meier, P.; Hobbs, B.; Ketcham, G.; McCoy, M.; Stern, R.

1979-06-01

A siting methodology developed specifically to bridge the gap between regional-energy-system scenarios and environmental transport models is documented. Development of the model is described in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 described the basic structure of such a model. Additional chapters on model development cover: generation, transmission, demand disaggregation, the interface to other models, computational aspects, the coal sector, water resource considerations, and air quality considerations. These subjects comprise Part I. Part II, Model Applications, covers: analysis of water resource constraints, water resource issues in the New York Power Pool, water resource issues in the New England Power Pool, water resource issues in the Pennsylvania-Jersey-Maryland Power Pool, and a summary of water resource constraint analysis. (MCW)

Key parameters of the swimming start and their relationship to start performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Tor, Elaine; Pease, David L; Ball, Kevin A

2015-01-01

The swimming start is typically broken into three sub-phases; on-block, flight, and underwater phases. While overall start performance is highly important to elite swimming, the contribution of each phase and important technical components within each phase, particularly with the new kick-start technique, has not been established. The aim of this study was to identify technical factors associated with overall start performance, with a particular focus on the underwater phase. A number of parameters were calculated from 52 starts performed by elite freestyle and butterfly swimmers. These parameters were split into above-water and underwater groupings, before factor analysis was used to reduce parameter numbers for multiple regression. For the above-water phases, 81% of variance in start performance was accounted for by take-off horizontal velocity. For the underwater water phase, 96% of variance was accounted for with time underwater in descent, time underwater in ascent and time to 10 m. Therefore, developing greater take-off horizontal velocity and focussing on the underwater phase by finding the ideal trajectory will lead to improved start performance.

Transcriptional start site turnover in the evolution of bacterial paralogous genes - the pelE-pelD virulence genes in Dickeya.

Science.gov (United States)

Duprey, Alexandre; Nasser, William; Léonard, Simon; Brochier-Armanet, Céline; Reverchon, Sylvie

2016-11-01

After a gene duplication event, the resulting paralogous genes frequently acquire distinct expression profiles, roles, and/or functions but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. While transcription start site (TSS) turnover, i.e., the repositioning of the TSS during evolution, is widespread in eukaryotes, it is less documented in bacteria. Using pelD and pelE, two closely related paralogous genes encoding key virulence factors in Dickeya, a gamma proteobacterial genus of phytopathogens, we show that pelE has been selected as an initiator of bacterial aggression, while pelD acts at a later stage, thanks to modifications in the transcriptional regulation of these two genes. This expression change is linked to a few mutations that caused a shift in the position of the pelETSS and the rapid divergence in the regulation of these genes after their duplication. Genomic surveys detected additional examples of putative turnovers in other bacteria. This first report of TSS shifting in bacteria suggests that this mechanism could play a major role in paralogous genes fixation in prokaryotes. © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

From START to NEW START. The dilemma and future of nuclear disarmament; Von START zu NEW START. Das Dilemma und die Zukunft der Nuklearen Abruestung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plettenberg, Lars

2012-07-01

The report describes the existing four agreements on nuclear disarmament: START I (1991). START II (1993), SORT (2002) and NEW START (2010). The chapter on the dependence between nuclear disarmament and strategic stability covers the issues mutual assured destruction (MAD), credibility, overkill capacity; the role of nuclear weapons in the national strategies of the USA and NATO, Russia, Great Britain, France, China and the other nuclear states. Ways out of MAD include disarmament, de-alerting and mutual assured protection (MAP).

Loviisa starts low-level operating waste disposal in 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snellman, J.

1996-01-01

At an early stage Imatran Voima Oy (IVO) decided to construct a waste repository for Loviisa NPP. The suitability of the power plant site for final disposal of low- and intermediate- level operating waste was studied. In the site report in 1982 the plant site was found to be geologically suitable and economically feasible for construction. The necessary preparations started in 1992. The repository will be constructed in three phases. The first phase will cover the transport tunnel, construction of one maintenance waste tunnel and the excavation of another maintenance waste tunnel together with a hall for solidified wastes. This phase will be finished by the end of 1996. During the second phase in the beginning of next century the remaining already excavated rooms will be furnished. Finally in the third phase the repository will be extended for the decommissioning waste somewhere around years 2020-2025. (3 figs., 1 tab.)

Chemical composition of the major components of PM in different sites at the Metropolitan Region of Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, F.; Castillo, M. A.; Rubio, M.; Gramsch, E.; Vasquez, Y.; Oyola, P.

2013-05-01

Santiago, Chile's capital is one of most polluted megacity (5.5 million of people) of the world. Currently, PM2.5 annual concentration is over 2.2 times the Chilean standard (20 μg/m3). Continuous measurements of non-refractory PM1.0 (sulfate, nitrate, chloride, ammonium and organics aerosols), black carbon, and PM2,5 mass concentration were determined using Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM, Aerodyne Research, Inc), absorption coefficient monitor (SIMCA, Santiago University) and dustrack monitor (TSI Inc) in order to know the temporal variability of the major components of PM. The measurements were carried out at kerbside, urban background, industrial and mixed residential/industrial locations during year 2012 and -2013. Meteorological data (Relative Humidity, temperature, wind speed, wind direction and precipitations) were obtained from the air quality network operated by the environmental authority. The results show strong correlation with the metropolitan region major sources. Multiple regression analysis indicates that precipitations have a strong impact on PM1.0 soluble components; relative humidity has effects only on chloride, sulfate and black carbon. Chloride concentration decrease when temperature is increasing. The perceptual contribution of each component is similar among all sites. All sites shows that OA (Organics Aerosol) as the major constituent of PM1.0 (>50%), followed of nitrates (>13%). Sulfate could be used to differentiate the industrial site; due to there is a strong impact of SO2 emission. Combustion sources direct impact can be seen at BC contribution at industrial and kerbside site. Also, the OA/BC ratio shows slow value at kerbside (3.05) and industrial (3.26) site, and higher at urban background site (4.15). Aged organics aerosols are majority found at all sites (f43/f44 plot), indicating that regional background is strong in all results. These results will be compared with size distribution measurements available from previous

Where should MMS look for the electron and ion diffusion regions?

Science.gov (United States)

Lapenta, G.; Goldman, M. V.; Newman, D. L.; Olshevsky, V.

2015-12-01

Our message is that if we think of reconnection with the usual cartoon, the MMS mission should follow the advice of Indiana Jones: X never marks the spot. Based on 3D fully kinetic simulations started with a well defined x-line, we observe that reconnection transitions towards a more chaotic regime. Two fronts develop downstream of the x-line where the outflow meets the pre-existing plasma. In the fronts an instability develops caused by the local gradients of the density. The consequence is the break up of the fronts in a fashion similar to the classical fluid Rayleigh-Taylor instability with the formation of "fingers" of plasma and embedded magnetic fields. These fingers interact and produce secondary reconnection sites. We present several different diagnostics that prove the existence of these secondary reconnection sites. Each site is surrounded by its own electron diffusion region.At the fronts the ions are generally not magnetized and considerable ion slippage is present. The discovery we present is that electrons are also slipping, forming localized diffusion regions near secondary reconnection sites [1].The consequence of this discovery is twofold. First, the instability in the fronts has strong energetic implications. We observe that the energy transfer locally is very strong, an order of magnitude stronger than in the "X" line. However, this energy transfer is of both signs as it is natural for a wavy rippling with regions of magnetic to kinetic and regions of kinetic to magnetic energy conversion.Second, and most important for this session, is that MMS should not limit the search for electron diffusion regions to the location marked with X in all reconnection cartoons. Our simulations predict more numerous and perhaps more easily measurable electron diffusion regions in the fronts. [1] Lapenta, G et al., Nature Physics 11, 690-695 (2015)

Site preparation and excavation works for the foundation of station main building among construction works for No. 1 unit in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Pwer Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueyama, Koreyasu

1982-01-01

Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc., is planning the nuclear power station of final capacity 8,000 MW (7 units) in the region spread over Kashiwazaki City and Kariwa Village in Niigata Prefecture. For No. 1 unit (1100 MWe BWR), the reactor installation license was obtained in September, 1977, the site preparation and road construction started in April, 1978, and harbour construction works started in August, 1979. The construction works are now at the peak, and the overall progressing rate as of the end of June, 1982, is about 51 %. The site is a hilly region of dune along the coast of the Sea of Japan, and No. 1 unit is located in the southern part of the site. This paper reports on the outline of the project, site preparation and excavation works for the foundation of the station main building. For the site preparation and the excavation works for the foundation the main building, the shape of slope cutting, the design of landslide-preventing wall for the vertical excavation for the reactor complex building, and the construction plan and the result are reported. For underground water impermeable wall works, its outline, groundwater condition, groundwater simulation analysis, the investigation of wall installation, the wall structure and construction are described in detail. Also the outline of the control of slope face measurement, the control standards and the measured results are reported. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

Site preparation and excavation works for the foundation of station main building among construction works for No. 1 unit in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ueyama, Koreyasu [Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (Japan)

1982-09-01

Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc., is planning the nuclear power station of final capacity 8,000 MW (7 units) in the region spread over Kashiwazaki City and Kariwa Village in Niigata Prefecture. For No. 1 unit (1100 MWe BWR), the reactor installation license was obtained in September, 1977, the site preparation and road construction started in April, 1978, and harbour construction works started in August, 1979. The construction works are now at the peak, and the overall progressing rate as of the end of June, 1982, is about 51 %. The site is a hilly region of dune along the coast of the Sea of Japan, and No. 1 unit is located in the southern part of the site. This paper reports on the outline of the project, site preparation and excavation works for the foundation of the station main building. For the site preparation and the excavation works for the foundation the main building, the shape of slope cutting, the design of landslide-preventing wall for the vertical excavation for the reactor complex building, and the construction plan and the result are reported. For underground water impermeable wall works, its outline, groundwater condition, groundwater simulation analysis, the investigation of wall installation, the wall structure and construction are described in detail. Also the outline of the control of slope face measurement, the control standards and the measured results are reported.

Monitoring start of season in Alaska with GLOBE, AVHRR, and MODIS data

Science.gov (United States)

Robin, Jessica; Dubayah, Ralph; Sparrow, Elena; Levine, Elissa

2008-03-01

This work evaluates whether continuity between Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is achievable for monitoring phenological changes in Alaska. This work also evaluates whether NDVI can detect changes in start of the growing season (SOS) in this region. Six quadratic regression models with NDVI as a function of accumulated growing degree days (AGDD) were developed from 2001 through 2004 AVHRR and MODIS NDVI data sets for urban, mixed, and forested land covers. Model parameters determined NDVI values for start of the observational period as well as peak and length of the growing season. NDVI values for start of the growing season were determined from the model equations and field observations of SOS made by GLOBE students and researchers at University of Alaska Fairbanks. AGDD was computed from daily air temperature. AVHRR and MODIS models were significantly different from one another with differences in the start of the observational season as well as start, peak, and length of the growing season. Furthermore, AGDD for SOS was significantly lower during the 1990s than the 1980s. NDVI values at SOS did not detect this change. There are limitations with using NDVI to monitor phenological changes in these regions because of snow, the large extent of conifers, and clouds, which restrict the composite period. In addition, differing processing and spectral characteristics restrict continuity between AVHRR and MODIS NDVI data sets.

Screening of CHP Potential at Federal Sites in Select Regions of the U.S.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Energy Nexus Group, . .

2002-02-25

Combined Cooling Heat and Power (CHP) is a master term for onsite power generation technologies that sequentially produce electrical or mechanical energy and useful thermal energy. Some form of CHP has existed for more than 100 years and it is now achieving a greater level of acceptance due to an increasing need for reliable power service and energy cost management. Capturing and using the heat produced as a byproduct of generating electricity from fuel sources increases the usable energy that can be obtained from the original fuel source. CHP technologies have the potential to reduce energy consumption through increased efficiency--decreasing energy bills as well as pollution. The EPA recognizes CHP as a potent climate change mitigation measure. The U.S. Department of Energy (D.O.E.) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) is assisting Federal agencies to realize their energy efficiency goals. CHP is an efficiency measure that is receiving growing attention because of its sizable potential to provide efficiency, environmental, and reliability benefits. CHP therefore benefits the host facility, the electric infrastructure, and the U.S. society as a whole. This report and study seeks to make a preliminary inquiry into near term CHP opportunities for federal facilities in selected U.S. regions. It offers to help focus the attention of policy makers and energy facility managers on good candidate facilities for CHP. First, a ranked list of high potential individual sites is identified. Then, several classes of federal facilities are identified for the multiple opportunities they offer as a class. Recommendations are then offered for appropriate next steps for the evaluation and cost effective implementation of CHP. This study was designed to ultimately rank federal facilities in terms of their potential to take advantage of CHP economic and external savings in the near term. In order to best serve the purposes of this study, projections have been expressed in terms of

Identification of a starting point of breast skin tears during chicken plucking.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitcovski, J; Ohana, N; Amzaleg, L; Krispel, S; Bercovich, D; Pinchasov, Y

1997-02-01

A site (STP) was identified on the skin of the chicken, during defeathering in the slaughter house, at which about 90% of breast skin tears started. This site is on the ventral side of the pectoral tract area. There was no difference in location of this site with respect to different commercial lines, sexes, flocks, or time of the day. In order to demonstrate the importance of a small skin tear to ultimate damage, defeathered chickens with a minor tear at a particular site and undamaged defeathered chickens were passed through the defeathering machine a second time. Thirty-six percent of the STP chickens were torn further, but only a small percentage (about 4%) of the undamaged chickens were harmed.

Relationship between regional planning and site finding of power stations with regard to energy supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoppe, I.

1980-01-01

Based on the discussion on energy policy generally brought in the fore, spatial relationships are discussed especially in the field of electricity supply. A review is given of the legal systematism in which electricity supply and regional planning are to be found. How state planners organize the provision with sites for high-capacity thermal power stations is described as the concrete development of systematic legal relationships, concepts of, and opportunities for, state and regional planning. In the main part, this paper focusses on the analysis of the course of development power station construction and the distribution system have taken with regard to the question as to whether and to what extent this technological character is also responsible for an emerging structure in which these plants are mainly centred in a special region. (orig.) [de

Take Control of Getting Started with Dreamweaver

CERN Document Server

Keller, Arnie

2009-01-01

Learn fundamental Web design principles and become comfortable working in Dreamweaver's complex interface! Dreamweaver 8 is a great Web design tool for pros, but newcomers may be overwhelmed by its interface or want to know more about how to work creatively and intelligently in the program. Help is at hand in Take Control of Getting Started with Dreamweaver, which offers a detailed tutorial for making your first site in Dreamweaver. Author Arnie Keller, who teaches Web design at the University of Victoria, shows you how to style type the smart way with CSS, create a sophisticated page layout

Western Pond Turtle Head-starting and Reintroduction; 2004-2005 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Leuven, Susan; Allen, Harriet; Slavin, Kate (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Management Program, Olympia, WA)

2005-09-01

This report covers the results of the western pond turtle head-starting and reintroduction project for the period of October 2004-September 2005. Wild hatchling western pond turtles from the Columbia River Gorge were reared at the Woodland Park and Oregon Zoos in 2004 and 2005 as part of the recovery effort for this Washington State endangered species. The objective of the program is to reduce losses to introduced predators like bullfrogs and largemouth bass by raising the hatchlings to a size where they are too large to be eaten by most of these predators. Thirty-five turtles were placed at the Woodland Park Zoo and 53 at the Oregon Zoo. Of these, 77 head-started juvenile turtles were released at three sites in the Columbia Gorge in 2005. Four were held back to attain more growth in captivity. Eleven were released at the Klickitat ponds, 22 at the Klickitat lake, 39 at the Skamania site, and 5 at Pierce National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). This brought the total number of head-start turtles released since 1991 to 257 for the Klickitat ponds, 136 for the Klickitat lake, 206 for the Skamania pond complex, and 255 at Pierce NWR. In 2005, 34 females from the two Columbia Gorge populations were equipped with transmitters and monitored for nesting activity. Twenty-four nests were located and protected; these produced 90 hatchlings. The hatchlings were collected in September and transported to the Oregon and Woodland Park zoos for rearing in the head-start program. During the 2005 field season trapping effort, 486 western pond turtles were captured in the Columbia Gorge, including 430 previously head-started turtles. These recaptures, together with confirmed nesting by head-start females and visual resightings, indicate the program is succeeding in boosting juvenile recruitment to increase the populations. Records were also collected on 216 individual painted turtles captured in 2005 during trapping efforts at Pierce NWR, to gather baseline information on this native

Western Pond Turtle Head-starting and Reintroduction, 2005-2006 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Leuven, Susan; Allen, Harriet; Slavens, Kate (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Management Program, Olympia, WA)

2006-11-01

This report covers the results of the western pond turtle head-starting and reintroduction project for the period of October 2005-September 2006. Wild hatchling western pond turtles from the Columbia River Gorge were reared at the Woodland Park and Oregon zoos in 2005 and 2006 as part of the recovery effort for this Washington State endangered species. The objective of the program is to reduce losses to introduced predators like bullfrogs and largemouth bass by raising the hatchlings to a size where they are too large to be eaten by most of these predators. Twenty-six turtles were placed at the Woodland Park Zoo and 62 at the Oregon Zoo in fall 2005. These turtles joined two that were held back from release in summer 2005 due to their small size. All 90 juvenile turtles were released at three sites in the Columbia Gorge in 2006. Twenty-eight juvenile turtles were released at the Klickitat ponds, 22 at the Klickitat lake, 21 at the Skamania site, and 19 at Pierce National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). This brought the total number of head-start turtles released since 1991 to 944; 285 for the Klickitat ponds, 158 for the Klickitat lake, 227 for the Skamania pond complex, and 274 at Pierce NWR. In 2006, 20 females from the Klickitat population were equipped with transmitters and monitored for nesting activity. Fifteen nests were located and protected; these produced 55 hatchlings. The hatchlings were collected in September and transported to the Oregon and Woodland Park zoos for rearing in the head-start program. One wild hatchling captured in spring 2006 was placed in the head-start program to attain more growth in captivity. During the 2006 field season trapping effort, 414 western pond turtles were captured in the Columbia Gorge, including 374 previously head-started turtles. These recaptures, together with confirmed nesting by head-start females and visual resightings, indicate the program is succeeding in boosting juvenile recruitment to increase the populations

Trigeminal Neuralgia: Evaluation of the Relationship Between the Region of Neuralgic Manifestation and the Site of Neurovascular Compression Under Endoscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wenhao; Chen, Minjie; Zhang, Weijie; Chai, Ying

2015-07-01

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship among the pain region, branches of trigeminal nerve, and the neurovascular compression (NVC) location. A total of 123 consecutive patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) underwent endoscope-assisted microvascular decompression according to positive preoperative tomographic angiography. V2 alone was in 51 cases and V3 alone was in 64 cases. The location of NVC was classified into cranial, caudal, medial, or lateral sites. Some patients with multiple regions were recorded as medial + cranial, lateral + cranial, medial + caudal, and lateral + caudal. Twenty-eight (71.8%) of 39 patients with TN (V2) had their NVC at the medial site of the nerve. Twenty-seven (64.3%) of 42 patients with TN (V3) had their NVC at the lateral site of the nerve. There was a statistically significant difference (P = 0.0011  0.01). Evaluation of the relationship between the pain region and the NVC location by endoscopic images during microvascular decompression is more accurate. The second branch is mostly distributed in the medial area, and third branch is mainly distributed in the lateral area.

Natural responses to Quaternary climatic change in the Nevada Test Site region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibson, J.D.

1993-01-01

Migration of hazardous contaminants within geologic settings depends on natural processes. Climatic fluctuations can affect the magnitudes and rates of many of these processes. In any long-term environmental evaluation of natural processes, responses to climatic change must be considered. Four generalized categories of natural responses to Quaternary climatic change are recognized for the Nevada Test Site (NTS) region of southwestern Nevada and adjacent California: (1) biologic, (2) geomorphic, (3) hydrologic (including surface and subsurface) and (4) pedologic/diagenetic. Specific examples that correspond to the four categories illustrate the broad range of complex natural processes the are affected by climatic change. These responses dictate the potential effects of climatic change on contaminant transport, effects that are being examined by existing and planned environmental-restoration and waste-management programs within the region. Regulatory requirements for many of these programs include long-term (>10,000-year) waste isolation because of radiologic components. The purpose here is not to be exhaustive in documenting all known natural responses to climatic change in the NTS region, but rather to give a flavor of the scope of interdisciplinary and interrelated fields of Quaternary science that must be considered in evaluating the possible effects of climatic change on long-term environmental programs

Assessing Climate Vulnerabilities of Food Distribution Center Sites in Greater Boston and Their Regional Implications: Climate Adaptation Planning in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Teferra, A.; Watson, C.; Douglas, E. M.

2016-12-01

The Metro Boston region, an area whose civic leaders have been at the forefront of climate resilience initiatives in recent years, is finalizing a flood vulnerability assessment of food distribution center sites located north of Boston, with the support of the University of Massachusetts Boston and the American Geophysical Union's Thriving Earth Exchange program. The community-scientist collaboration emerged because of the need for more local analyses of the area to inform climate resiliency policy and planning actions for the region. A significant amount of the metro region's food supply passes through two major distribution centers in the cities of Everett and Chelsea, just north of the Mystic River. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), on behalf of the Metro Boston Climate Preparedness Taskforce, is working with Chris Watson and Ellen Douglas of UMass Boston to build on existing analyses of the region's food system and climate vulnerabilities and to develop a report identifying flood risk exposure to the sites. The analysis brings in dynamic modeling techniques that incorporate storm surge and sea level rise projections under different climate scenarios, and aims to align methodologies with those of other regional analyses, such as Climate Ready Boston and the City of Cambridge's Vulnerability Assessment. The study is helping to inform MAPC's and the Metro Boston Climate Preparedness Taskforce's understanding of this critical food distribution infrastructure, illustrate the larger regional implications of climate impacts on food distribution in the Greater Boston area, and guide the development of site-specific strategies for addressing identified vulnerabilities.

Hydrogeological boundary settings in SR 97. Uncertainties in regional boundary settings and transfer of boundary conditions to site-scale models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Follin, S.

1999-06-01

The SR 97 project presents a performance assessment (PA) of the overall safety of a hypothetical deep repository at three sites in Sweden arbitrarily named Aberg, Beberg and Ceberg. One component of this PA assesses the uncertainties in the hydrogeological modelling. This study focuses on uncertainties in boundary settings (size of model domain and boundary conditions) in the regional and site-scale hydrogeological modelling of the three sites used to simulating the possible transport of radionuclides from the emplacement waste packages through the host rock to the accessible environment. Model uncertainties associated with, for instance, parameter heterogeneity and structural interpretations are addressed in other studies. This study concludes that the regional modelling of the SR 97 project addresses uncertainties in the choice of boundary conditions and size of model domain differently at each site, although the overall handling is acceptable and in accordance with common modelling practice. For example, the treatment of uncertainties with regard to the ongoing post-glacial flushing of the Baltic Shield is creditably addressed although not exhaustive from a modelling point of view. A significant contribution of the performed modelling is the study of nested numerical models, i.e., the numerical interplay between regional and site-scale numerical models. In the site-scale modelling great efforts are made to address problems associated with (i) the telescopic mesh refinement (TMR) technique with regard to the stochastic continuum approach, and (ii) the transfer of boundary conditions between variable-density flow systems and flow systems that are constrained to treat uniform density flow. This study concludes that the efforts made to handle these problems are acceptable with regards to the objectives of the SR 97 project

Array analysis of regional Pn and Pg wavefields from the Nevada Test Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leonard, M.A.

1991-06-01

Small-aperture high-frequency seismic arrays with dimensions of a few kilometers or less, can improve our ability to seismically monitor compliance with a low-yield Threshold Test Ban Treaty. This work studies the characteristics and effectiveness of array processing of the regional Pn and Pg wavefields generated by underground nuclear explosions at the Nevada Test Site. Waveform data from the explosion HARDIN (m b = 5.5) is recorded at a temporary 12-element, 3-component, 1.5 km-aperture array sited in an area of northern Nevada. The explosions VILLE (m b = 4.4) and SALUT (m b = 5.5) are recorded at two arrays sited in the Mojave desert, one a 96-element vertical-component 7 km-aperture array and the other a 155-element vertical-component 4 km-aperture array. Among the mean spectra for the m b = 5.5 events there are significant differences in low-frequency spectral amplitudes between array sites. The spectra become nearly identical beyond about 6 Hz. Spectral ratios are used to examine seismic source properties and the partitioning of energy between Pn and Pg. Frequency-wavenumber analysis at the 12-element array is used to obtain estimates of signal gain, phase velocity, and source azimuth. This analysis reveals frequency-dependent biases in velocity and azimuth of the coherent Pn and Pg arrivals. Signal correlation, the principal factor governing array performance, is examined in terms of spatial coherence estimates. The coherence is found to vary between the three sites. In all cases the coherence of Pn is greater than that for Pg. 81 refs., 92 figs., 5 tabs

Array analysis of regional Pn and Pg wavefields from the Nevada Test Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leonard, M.A. (California Univ., Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Geology and Geophysics Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States))

1991-06-01

Small-aperture high-frequency seismic arrays with dimensions of a few kilometers or less, can improve our ability to seismically monitor compliance with a low-yield Threshold Test Ban Treaty. This work studies the characteristics and effectiveness of array processing of the regional Pn and Pg wavefields generated by underground nuclear explosions at the Nevada Test Site. Waveform data from the explosion HARDIN (m{sub b} = 5.5) is recorded at a temporary 12-element, 3-component, 1.5 km-aperture array sited in an area of northern Nevada. The explosions VILLE (m{sub b} = 4.4) and SALUT (m{sub b} = 5.5) are recorded at two arrays sited in the Mojave desert, one a 96-element vertical-component 7 km-aperture array and the other a 155-element vertical-component 4 km-aperture array. Among the mean spectra for the m{sub b} = 5.5 events there are significant differences in low-frequency spectral amplitudes between array sites. The spectra become nearly identical beyond about 6 Hz. Spectral ratios are used to examine seismic source properties and the partitioning of energy between Pn and Pg. Frequency-wavenumber analysis at the 12-element array is used to obtain estimates of signal gain, phase velocity, and source azimuth. This analysis reveals frequency-dependent biases in velocity and azimuth of the coherent Pn and Pg arrivals. Signal correlation, the principal factor governing array performance, is examined in terms of spatial coherence estimates. The coherence is found to vary between the three sites. In all cases the coherence of Pn is greater than that for Pg. 81 refs., 92 figs., 5 tabs.

Regional hydrogeological simulations for Forsmark - numerical modelling using CONNECTFLOW. Preliminary site description Forsmark area - version 1.2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartley, Lee; Cox, Ian; Hunter, Fiona; Jackson, Peter; Joyce, Steve; Swift, Ben [Serco Assurance, Risley (United Kingdom); Gylling, Bjoern; Marsic, Niko [Kemakta Konsult AB, Stockholm (Sweden)

2005-05-01

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) carries out site investigations in two different candidate areas in Sweden with the objective of describing the in-situ conditions for a bedrock repository for spent nuclear fuel. The site characterisation work is divided into two phases, an initial site investigation phase (IPLU) and a complete site investigation phase (KPLU). The results of IPLU are used as a basis for deciding on a subsequent KPLU phase. On the basis of the KPLU investigations a decision is made as to whether detailed characterisation will be performed (including sinking of a shaft). An integrated component in the site characterisation work is the development of site descriptive models. These comprise basic models in three dimensions with an accompanying text description. Central in the modelling work is the geological model, which provides the geometrical context in terms of a model of deformation zones and the rock mass between the zones. Using the geological and geometrical description models as a basis, descriptive models for other geo-disciplines (hydrogeology, hydro-geochemistry, rock mechanics, thermal properties and transport properties) will be developed. Great care is taken to arrive at a general consistency in the description of the various models and assessment of uncertainty and possible needs of alternative models. Here, a numerical model is developed on a regional-scale (hundreds of square kilometres) to understand the zone of influence for groundwater flow that affects the Forsmark area. Transport calculations are then performed by particle tracking from a local-scale release area (a few square kilometres) to identify potential discharge areas for the site and using greater grid resolution. The main objective of this study is to support the development of a preliminary Site Description of the Forsmark area on a regional-scale based on the available data of 30 June 2004 and the previous Site Description. A more specific

(+)- and (-)-N-allylnormetazocine binding sites in mouse brain: in vitro and in vivo characterization and regional distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Compton, D.R.; Bagley, R.B.; Katzen, J.S.; Martin, B.R.

1987-01-01

In vivo and in vitro binding studies, both in whole brain and in selected areas, indicate that non-identical (+)- and (-)-NANM sites exist in the mouse brain, and each exhibits a different regional distribution. The in vivo binding of (+)- 3 H-NANM was found to be saturable at pharmacologically relevant doses, and represents a relatively small (10 - 22%) portion of total brain (+)- 3 H-NANM concentrations. The in vivo binding of (+)- 3 H-NANM was selectively displaced by (+)-NANM and PCP, and more sensitive to haloperidol and (+)-ketocyclazocine than the (-)- 3 H-NANM site. The in vivo binding of (-)- 3 H-NANM was selectively displaced by (-)-NANM, and more sensitive to naloxone and (-) ketocyclazocine than the (+)- 3 H-NANM site, and insensitive to PCP. This study indicates that the investigation of NANM binding sites is possible using in vivo binding techniques, and that each isomer apparently binds, in the mouse brain, to a single class of distinct sites. 32 references, 4 figures, 2 tables

Hg in snow cover and snowmelt waters in high-sulfide tailing regions (Ursk tailing dump site, Kemerovo region, Russia).

Science.gov (United States)

Gustaytis, M A; Myagkaya, I N; Chumbaev, A S

2018-07-01

Gold-bearing polymetallic Cu-Zn deposits of sulphur-pyrite ores were discovered in the Novo-Ursk region in the 1930s. The average content of mercury (Hg) was approximately 120 μg/g at the time. A comprehensive study of Hg distribution in waste of metal ore enrichment industry was carried out in the cold season on the tailing dump site and in adjacent areas. Mercury concentration in among snow particulate, dissolved and colloid fractions was determined. The maximal Hg content in particulate fraction from the waste tailing site ranged 230-573 μg/g. Such indices as the frequency of aerosol dust deposition events per units of time and area, enrichment factor and the total load allowed to establish that the territory of the tailing waste dump site had a snow cover highly contaminated with dust deposited at a rate of 247-480 mg/(m 2 ∙day). Adjacent areas could be considered as area with low Hg contamination rate with average deposition rate of 30 mg/(m 2 ∙day). The elemental composition of the aerosol dust depositions was determined as well, which allowed to reveal the extent of enrichment waste dispersion throughout adjacent areas. The amount of Hg entering environment with snowmelt water discharge was estimated. As a result of snowmelting, in 2014 the nearest to the dump site hydrographic network got Hg as 7.1 g with colloids and as 5880 g as particles. The results obtained allowed to assess the degree of Hg contamination of areas under the impact of metal enrichment industry. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Site-scale groundwater flow modelling of Beberg

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gylling, B. [Kemakta Konsult AB, Stockholm (Sweden); Walker, D. [Duke Engineering and Services (United States); Hartley, L. [AEA Technology, Harwell (United Kingdom)

1999-08-01

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) Safety Report for 1997 (SR 97) study is a comprehensive performance assessment illustrating the results for three hypothetical repositories in Sweden. In support of SR 97, this study examines the hydrogeologic modelling of the hypothetical site called Beberg, which adopts input parameters from the SKB study site near Finnsjoen, in central Sweden. This study uses a nested modelling approach, with a deterministic regional model providing boundary conditions to a site-scale stochastic continuum model. The model is run in Monte Carlo fashion to propagate the variability of the hydraulic conductivity to the advective travel paths from representative canister positions. A series of variant cases addresses uncertainties in the inference of parameters and the boundary conditions. The study uses HYDRASTAR, the SKB stochastic continuum (SC) groundwater modelling program, to compute the heads, Darcy velocities at each representative canister position, and the advective travel times and paths through the geosphere. The Base Case simulation takes its constant head boundary conditions from a modified version of the deterministic regional scale model of Hartley et al. The flow balance between the regional and site-scale models suggests that the nested modelling conserves mass only in a general sense, and that the upscaling is only approximately valid. The results for 100 realisation of 120 starting positions, a flow porosity of {epsilon}{sub f} 10{sup -4}, and a flow-wetted surface of a{sub r} = 1.0 m{sup 2}/(m{sup 3} rock) suggest the following statistics for the Base Case: The median travel time is 56 years. The median canister flux is 1.2 x 10{sup -3} m/year. The median F-ratio is 5.6 x 10{sup 5} year/m. The travel times, flow paths and exit locations were compatible with the observations on site, approximate scoping calculations and the results of related modelling studies. Variability within realisations indicates

Exercise starts and ends in the brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Kayser, Bengt

2003-10-01

Classically the limit to endurance of exercise is explained in terms of metabolic capacity. Cardio-respiratory capacity and muscle fatigue are thought to set the limit and the majority of studies on factors limiting endurance exercise discuss issues such as maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), aerobic enzyme capacity, cardiac output, glycogen stores, etc. However, this paradigm does not explain the limitation to endurance exercise with large muscle groups at altitude, when at exhaustion exercise is ended without limb locomotor muscle fatigue and with sub-maximal cardiac output. A simple fact provides a basis for an explanation. Voluntary exercise starts and ends in the brain. It starts with spatial and temporal recruitment of motor units and ends with their de-recruitment. A conscious decision precedes a voluntary effort. The end of effort is again volitional and a forced conscious decision to stop precedes it, but it is unknown what forces the off-switch of recruitment at exhaustion although sensation of exertion certainly plays a role. An alternative model explaining the limitation of exercise endurance thus proposes that the central nervous system integrates input from various sources all related to the exercise and limits the intensity and duration of recruitment of limb skeletal muscle to prevent jeopardizing the integrity of the organism. This model acknowledges the cardio-respiratory and muscle metabolic capacities as prime actors on the performance scene, while crediting the central nervous system for its pivotal role as the ultimate site where exercise starts and ends.

Regional hydrogeological simulations using CONECTFLOW. Preliminary site description. Laxemar sub area - version 1.2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartley, Lee; Hunter, Fiona; Jackson, Peter; McCarthy, Rachel; Gylling, Bjoern; Marsic, Niko

2006-04-01

The main objective of this study is to support the development of a preliminary Site Description of the Laxemar subarea on a regional-scale based on the available data of November 2004 (Data Freeze L1.2). A more specific objective of this study is to assess the role of both known and less quantified hydrogeological conditions in determining the present-day distribution of saline groundwater in the Laxemar subarea on a regional-scale. An improved understanding of the palaeo-hydrogeology is necessary in order to gain credibility for the Site Description in general and the hydrogeological description in particular. This is to serve as a basis for describing the present hydrogeological conditions on a local-scale, as well as predictions of future hydrogeological conditions. Another objective is to assess the flow-paths from the local-scale model domain, based on the present-day flow conditions, to assess the distribution of discharge and recharge areas connected to the flow at the approximate repository depth to inform the Preliminary Safety Evaluation. Significant new features incorporated in the modelling include: a depth variation in hydraulic properties within the deformation zones; a dependence on rock domain and depth in the rock mass properties in regional-scale models; a more detailed model of the overburden in terms of a layered system of spatially variable thickness made up of several different types of Quaternary deposits has been implemented; and several variants on the position of the watertable have been tried. The motivation for introducing a dependence on rock domain was guided by the hydrogeological interpretation with the aim of honouring the observed differences in hydraulic properties measured at the boreholes

Regional hydrogeological simulations using CONECTFLOW. Preliminary site description. Laxemar sub area - version 1.2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartley, Lee; Hunter, Fiona; Jackson, Peter; McCarthy, Rachel [Serco Assurance, Risley (United Kingdom); Gylling, Bjoern; Marsic, Niko [Kemakta Konsult AB, Stockholm (Sweden)

2006-04-15

The main objective of this study is to support the development of a preliminary Site Description of the Laxemar subarea on a regional-scale based on the available data of November 2004 (Data Freeze L1.2). A more specific objective of this study is to assess the role of both known and less quantified hydrogeological conditions in determining the present-day distribution of saline groundwater in the Laxemar subarea on a regional-scale. An improved understanding of the palaeo-hydrogeology is necessary in order to gain credibility for the Site Description in general and the hydrogeological description in particular. This is to serve as a basis for describing the present hydrogeological conditions on a local-scale, as well as predictions of future hydrogeological conditions. Another objective is to assess the flow-paths from the local-scale model domain, based on the present-day flow conditions, to assess the distribution of discharge and recharge areas connected to the flow at the approximate repository depth to inform the Preliminary Safety Evaluation. Significant new features incorporated in the modelling include: a depth variation in hydraulic properties within the deformation zones; a dependence on rock domain and depth in the rock mass properties in regional-scale models; a more detailed model of the overburden in terms of a layered system of spatially variable thickness made up of several different types of Quaternary deposits has been implemented; and several variants on the position of the watertable have been tried. The motivation for introducing a dependence on rock domain was guided by the hydrogeological interpretation with the aim of honouring the observed differences in hydraulic properties measured at the boreholes.

Later Start, Longer Sleep: Implications of Middle School Start Times

Science.gov (United States)

Temkin, Deborah A.; Princiotta, Daniel; Ryberg, Renee; Lewin, Daniel S.

2018-01-01

Background: Although adolescents generally get less than the recommended 9 hours of sleep per night, research and effort to delay school start times have generally focused on high schools. This study assesses the relation between school start times and sleep in middle school students while accounting for potentially confounding demographic…

Early Site Permit Demonstration Program: Siting Guide, Site selection and evaluation criteria for an early site permit application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

In August 1991, the Joint Contractors came to agreement with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the Department of Energy (DOE) on a workscope for the cost-shared Early Site Permit Demonstration Program. One task within the scope was the development of a guide for site selection criteria and procedures. A generic Siting Guide his been prepared that is a roadmap and tool for applicants to use developing detailed siting plans for their specific region of the country. The guide presents three fundamental principles that, if used, ensure a high degree of success for an ESP applicant. First, the site selection process should take into consideration environmentally diverse site locations within a given region of interest. Second, the process should contain appropriate opportunities for input from the public. Third, the process should be applied so that it is clearly reasonable to an impartial observer, based on appropriately selected criteria, including criteria which demonstrate that the site can host an advanced light water reactor (ALWR). The Siting Guide provides for a systematic, comprehensive site selection process in which three basic types of criteria (exclusionary, avoidance, and suitability) are presented via a four-step procedure. It provides a check list of the criteria for each one of these steps. Criteria are applied qualitatively, as well as presented numerically, within the guide. The applicant should use the generic guide as an exhaustive checklist, customizing the guide to his individual situation

Network Screening for Smarter Road Sites: A Regional Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Attila Grieco

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Road safety has been a main societal and policy issue in many European countries since the early years of last decade. After the 2000-2010 Road Safety Programme launched by the European Commission, in 2011 the Commission adopted the new 2020 programme, even more demanding than the previous. As the societal consequences of road casualties are increasingly perceived as a core dimension of smart mobility, road safety system is now facing new challenges. Current mobility shifts to softer and greener transportation means raise new safety concerns for an increasingly larger share of vulnerable road users. The need to integrate road safety requirements with other residential, mobility, and environmental policies calls for a more detailed understanding of the phenomenon at different spatial levels and with different observation lenses. The pilot study described in this paper is a contribution to this end. It aims at identifying the accident prone sites of the regional road network to help prioritizing safety interventions, by the regional administration having road planning responsibilities. The study develops a screening approach to select hazardous road locations, outside urban premises, from the Piedmont provincial and state roads. The most recent data for the 2010-2012 years were considered, drawn from the ISTAT road accident database, managed by the CMRSS. The procedure consists of the following steps: identification of the elementary road sections to be screened, through a GIS analysis; definition of the screening groups (road sections have been subdivided in 4 length classes; definition of the selection criteria, with two severity thresholds based on the crash density; classification of the elementary road sections by severity thresholds.

Hanford Site Waste management units report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

This report summarizes the operable units in several areas of the Hanford Site Waste Facility. Each operable unit has several waste units (crib, ditch, pond, etc.). The operable units are summarized by describing each was unit. Some of the descriptions are unit name, unit type, waste category start data, site description, etc. The descriptions will vary for each waste unit in each operable unit and area of the Hanford Site

The use of the hypervariable P8 region of trnL(UAA intron for identification of orchid species: Evidence from restriction site polymorphism analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajkumar Kishor

Full Text Available The P8 stem-loop region of the trnL intron, which is known to be hypervariable in size with multiple repeat motifs and created difficulties in alignment, is always excluded in phylogenetic as well as barcode analyses. This region was investigated for species discrimination in 98 taxa of orchids belonging to the tribe Vandeae using in silico mapping of restriction site polymorphism. The length of the P8 regions varied from 200 nucleotides in Aerides rosea to 669 nucleotides in Dendrophylax sallei. Forty two taxa had unique lengths, while as many as eight shared a common length of 521 nucleotides. Of the 35 restriction endonucleases producing digestions in the P8 regions, three, viz., AgsI, ApoI and TspDTI turned out to have recognition sites across all the 98 taxa being studied. When their restriction data were combined, 92 taxa could be discriminated leaving three taxon pairs. However, Acampe papillosa and Aeranthes arachnites despite having similar restriction sites differed in their P8 lengths. This is the first report on thorough investigation of the P8 region of trnL intron for search of species specific restriction sites and hence its use as a potential plant DNA barcode.

The in vitro transcription of a rainbow trout (Salmo gairdnerii) protamine gene. II. Controlled mutation of the cap site region.

Science.gov (United States)

Jankowski, J M; Dixon, G H

1985-02-01

A series of plasmids containing new fusion genes in which the trout protamine gene is placed under the control of the complete herpes virus (HSV-1) tk promoter Pvu II-Bgl II fragment (pM8), or a shortened thymidine kinase (tk) promoter in which the region between the TATA box and the cap site is altered by using the Pvu II-Mlu I fragment (pM7), have been constructed. An additional recombinant plasmid was constructed in which the Bgl II-Ava II fragment of the protamine gene containing the entire protamine promoter but missing the protamine coding region was cloned into pBR322 between the Xho II 1666 and Hind III sites (pP5). For in vitro transcription, a HeLa cell lysate system was prepared and the RNA transcription products, after glyoxalation, were electrophoretically analyzed on 5% polyacrylamide gels. In constructing pM8 the DNA sequence between the tk promoter and the cap site was present while in pM7 it was deleted. Similar multiple transcripts were seen in both cases, indicating that the region between the promoter and the cap site has no effect upon transcription in vitro. The multiple transcripts appear to be due to the presence of a cryptic promoter in the complementary strand of the protamine gene. The activity of this cryptic promoter has been confirmed by comparison of the transcription of plasmid pP5, in which the protamine mRNA coding region has been deleted, with a previously described plasmid, pJBRP (Jankowski JM and Dixon GH (1984) Can. J. Biochem. Cell. Biol. 62, 291-300), containing the intact protamine gene.

Superfund Removal Site Points, Region 9, 2012, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Point geospatial dataset representing locations of CERCLA (Superfund) Removal sites. CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act)...

Low-level waste disposal site selection demonstration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogers, V.C.

1984-01-01

This paper discusses the results of recent studies undertaken at EPRI related to low-level waste disposal technology. The initial work provided an overview of the state of the art including an assessment of its influence upon transportation costs and waste form requirements. The paper discusses work done on the overall system design aspects and computer modeling of disposal site performance characteristics. The results of this analysis are presented and provide a relative ranking of the importance of disposal parameters. This allows trade-off evaluations to be made of factors important in the design of a shallow land burial facility. To help minimize the impact of a shortage of low-level radioactive waste disposal sites, EPRI is closely observing the development of bellweather projects for developing new sites. The purpose of this activity is to provide information about lessons learned in those projects in order to expedite the development of additional disposal facilities. This paper describes most of the major stems in selecting a low-level radioactive waste disposal site in Texas. It shows how the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority started with a wide range of potential siting areas in Texas and narrowed its attention down to a few preferred sites. The parameters used to discriminate between large areas of Texas and, eventually, 50 candidate disposal sites are described, along with the steps in the process. The Texas process is compared to those described in DOE and EPRI handbooks on site selection and to pertinent NRC requirements. The paper also describes how an inventory of low-level waste specific to Texas was developed and applied in preliminary performance assessments of two candidate sites. Finally, generic closure requirements and closure operations for low-level waste facilities in arid regions are given

Multi-site study of diffusion metric variability: effects of site, vendor, field strength, and echo time on regions-of-interest and histogram-bin analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Helmer, K G; Chou, M-C; Preciado, R I; Gimi, B; Rollins, N K; Song, A; Turner, J; Mori, S

2016-02-27

It is now common for magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) based multi-site trials to include diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) as part of the protocol. It is also common for these sites to possess MR scanners of different manufacturers, different software and hardware, and different software licenses. These differences mean that scanners may not be able to acquire data with the same number of gradient amplitude values and number of available gradient directions. Variability can also occur in achievable b-values and minimum echo times. The challenge of a multi-site study then, is to create a common protocol by understanding and then minimizing the effects of scanner variability and identifying reliable and accurate diffusion metrics. This study describes the effect of site, scanner vendor, field strength, and TE on two diffusion metrics: the first moment of the diffusion tensor field (mean diffusivity, MD), and the fractional anisotropy (FA) using two common analyses (region-of-interest and mean-bin value of whole brain histograms). The goal of the study was to identify sources of variability in diffusion-sensitized imaging and their influence on commonly reported metrics. The results demonstrate that the site, vendor, field strength, and echo time all contribute to variability in FA and MD, though to different extent. We conclude that characterization of the variability of DTI metrics due to site, vendor, field strength, and echo time is a worthwhile step in the construction of multi-center trials.

New aspects in distribution of population dose loads in Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, P.; Pivovarov, S.; Rukhin, A.; Seredavina, T.; Sushkova, N.

2008-01-01

Full text: The question on dose loads of Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (SNTS) region population is not fully solved till now. There is rather different estimations of doses, received by people of nearest to SNTS settlements. It may be explain by absence of individual dosimeters during and after nuclear weapon tests and also many various ways of radiation exposure receiving. During last some years we have done a people dose loads estimations by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) tooth enamel dosimetry method - one of the best and reliable for retrospective dosimetry. It was studied tooth enamel people from settlements Dolon, Bodene, Cheremushki, Mostik, which was irradiated mainly by the first atomic explosion 1949, settlement Sarjal, irradiated by the first thermonuclear explosion in 1953, and control settlement Maysk, which is sited close to SNTS, but there was no any radioactive traces due to east wind. The results display a not expected rather surprising picture: in all settlements, including control one Maysk, the dose loads distribution was rather similar, it has ex fast bimodal form with rather high doses in the second one. The possible reasons of such situation is discussed. The results obtained is compared with last estimations of Semipalatinsk region dose loads of population, which were specially attentively discussed at International Symposiums in Hiroshima (Japan, 2005) and Bethesda (MD, USA, 2006). (author)

Opiate antagonist binding sites in discrete brain regions of spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahmani, N.H.; Gulati, A.; Bhargava, H.N.

1991-01-01

The binding of 3 H-naltrexone, an opiate receptor antagonist, to membranes of discrete brain regions and spinal cord of 10 week old spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats was determined. The brain regions examined were hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, corpus striatum, pons and medulla, midbrain and cortex. 3 H-Naltrexone bound to membranes of brain regions and spinal cord at a single high affinity site with an apparent dissociation constant value of 3 nM. The highest density of 3 H-naltrexone binding sites were in hippocampus and lowest in the cerebral cortex. The receptor density (B max value) and apparent dissociation constant (K d value) values of 3 H-naltrexone to bind to opiate receptors on the membranes of amygdala, hippocampus, corpus striatum, pons and medulla, midgrain, cortex and spinal cord of WKY and SHR rates did not differ. The B max value of 3 H-naltrexone binding to membranes of hypothalamus of SHR rates was 518% higher than WKY rats but the K d values in the two strains did not differ. It is concluded that SHR rats have higher density of opiate receptors labeled with 3 H-naltrexone in the hypothalamus only, in comparison with WKY rats, and that such a difference in the density of opiate receptors may be related to the elevated blood pressure in SHR rats

76 FR 37174 - Capital Investment Program-New Starts and Small Starts Program Funds

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-24

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Transit Administration Capital Investment Program--New Starts... apportionment of the FY 2011 Capital Investment (New Starts and Small Starts) program funds. The funds will be... FY 2011, $1,596,800,000 was appropriated for the Capital Investments Grant Account, which includes...

Low- and intermediate level radioactive waste from Risoe, Denmark. Site studies. Report no. 1. Oestermarie - Paradisbakkerne, Bornholm Region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gravesen, P.; Nilsson, B.; Binderup, M.; Larsen, Tine; Schack Pedersen, S.A.

2012-01-01

The low- and intermediate-level radioactive wastes from Risoe (the nuclear reactor buildings, different types of material from the research periods and waste from hospitals and research institutes) have to be stored in a final disposal in Denmark for at least 300 years. In 2011, the results of the first analyses of 20 potential areas for siting a waste disposal were published. Of these potential areas, 6 specific sites were selected for further detailed studies. The site studies include information about geology, land use, nature preservation, archaeology, drinking water supply etc. The 5 municipalities with the 6 selected sites have been visited to obtain as much information about local conditions as possible. The present report describes the results for the area at Oestermarie-Paradisbakkerne in the region of Bornholm, East Denmark. (LN)

Estimation of the Altai region population exposure resulting from the nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk test site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djachenko, V.I.; Gabbasov, M.N.; Laborev, V.M.; Markovtsev, A.S.; Sudakov, V.V.; Volobuyev, N.M.; Zelenov, V.I.; Lagutin, A.A.; Shoikher, J.N.

1998-01-01

The historical roots of reconstruction of doses received by populations from nuclear tests date back to the 60''s, when the world faced a problem of growing radioactive contamination by radioactive fallout resulting from atmospheric nuclear tests. Since then, only one aspect of this problem has been properly developed, namely: public-exposure doses resulting from the global radioactive fallout have been estimated. Local fallout, which occurred mainly in the territories of the test sites and regions adjacent to their boundaries, was considered and studied as an internal affair of the states. The first steps in creating the above-mentioned methodological basis were taken in Russia, where, by now, the methodology of dose estimation in regions of local radioactive fallout has been determined and acknowledged nationwide as a standard document (Federal Committee on Sanitay Epidemiological Control of RF, 1994). It was this methodology that was used for calculations and dose estimation of the exposure of the Altai population from the Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS). (orig./GL)

Characterization of the promoter region of the human c-erbB-2 protooncogene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishii, S.; Imamoto, F.; Yamanashi, Y.; Toyoshima, K.; Yamamoto, T.

1987-01-01

Three overlapping genomic clones that contain the 5'-terminal portion of the human c-erbB-2 gene (ERBB2) were isolated. The promoter region was identified by nuclease S1 mapping with c-erbB-2 mRNA. Seven transcriptional start sites were identified. DNA sequence analysis showed that the promoter region contains a TATA box and a CAAT box about 30 and 80 base pairs (bp), respectively, upstream of the most downstream RNA initiation site. Two putative binding sites for transcription factor Sp1 were identified about 50 and 110 bp upstream of the CAAT box, and six GGA repeats were found between the CAAT box and the TATA box. This region had strong promoter activity when placed upstream of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene and transfected into monkey CV-1 cells. These data indicate that the promoter of the human c-erbB-2 protooncogene is different from that of the protooncogene c-erbB-1 (epidermal growth factor receptor gene), which does not contain either a TATA box or a CAAT box. Comparison of the promoter sequences and activities of the two protooncogenes should be helpful in analysis of the regulatory mechanism of expression of their gene products, which are growth-factor receptors

Site Features

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This dataset consists of various site features from multiple Superfund sites in U.S. EPA Region 8. These data were acquired from multiple sources at different times...

Market research and plan for Chinese fast-food restaurant start-up

OpenAIRE

Song, Tianhao

2017-01-01

CENTRIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES Market research and plan for Chinese fast-food restaurant start-up Instructor Due to the popularity of fast-food services in the Helsinki region, this thesis studies the possibility to find out the market opportunities for Chinese traditional fast-food business. Most of the fast-food restaurants opened are according to European flavor, so there is almost a void for Chinese fast-food to fill in, plus the Helsinki region is an area of ...

Radiometric survey in the sites of Regional office in Fortaleza, research gallery and camp in Itataia, CE (Brazil)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-02-01

The radiometric survey in Regional officer sites in Fortaleza, Brazil, research gallery and camp in Itataia is presented. The measurings to be done, the instrumentation used and results obtained are described as well as the conclusions and recommendations. (C.M.) [pt

Establishment of a Site-Specific Tropospheric Model Based on Ground Meteorological Parameters over the China Region.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Chongchong; Peng, Bibo; Li, Wei; Zhong, Shiming; Ou, Jikun; Chen, Runjing; Zhao, Xinglong

2017-07-27

China is a country of vast territory with complicated geographical environment and climate conditions. With the rapid progress of the Chinese BeiDou satellite navigation system (BDS); more accurate tropospheric models must be applied to improve the accuracy of navigation and positioning. Based on the formula of the Saastamoinen and Callahan models; this study develops two single-site tropospheric models (named SAAS_S and CH_S models) for the Chinese region using radiosonde data from 2005 to 2012. We assess the two single-site tropospheric models with radiosonde data for 2013 and zenith tropospheric delay (ZTD) data from four International GNSS Service (IGS) stations and compare them to the results of the Saastamoinen and Callahan models. The experimental results show that: the mean accuracy of the SAAS_S model (bias: 0.19 cm; RMS: 3.19 cm) at all radiosonde stations is superior to those of the Saastamoinen (bias: 0.62 cm; RMS: 3.62 cm) and CH_S (bias: -0.05 cm; RMS: 3.38 cm) models. In most Chinese regions; the RMS values of the SAAS_S and CH_S models are about 0.51~2.12 cm smaller than those of their corresponding source models. The SAAS_S model exhibits a clear improvement in the accuracy over the Saastamoinen model in low latitude regions. When the SAAS_S model is replaced by the SAAS model in the positioning of GNSS; the mean accuracy of vertical direction in the China region can be improved by 1.12~1.55 cm and the accuracy of vertical direction in low latitude areas can be improved by 1.33~7.63 cm. The residuals of the SAAS_S model are closer to a normal distribution compared to those of the Saastamoinen model. Single-site tropospheric models based on the short period of the most recent data (for example 2 years) can also achieve a satisfactory accuracy. The average performance of the SAAS_S model (bias: 0.83 cm; RMS: 3.24 cm) at four IGS stations is superior to that of the Saastamoinen (bias: -0.86 cm; RMS: 3.59 cm) and CH_S (bias: 0.45 cm; RMS: 3.38 cm

STARTing Again: What Happens After START I Expires?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mladineo, Stephen V.; Durbin, Karyn R.; Eastman, Christina M.

2007-01-01

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), a seminal arms control agreement that substantially reduced the levels of deployed strategic nuclear arms in the United States and Russia, will expire in December 2009. At this time, it is unclear what - if anything - will replace it. While the treaty remains relevant, more than a simple extension is appropriate. Instead the authors advocate for a successor regime that builds on the START I legacy but does not rely on the traditional tools of arms control. This paper examines the strategic context in which a successor regime would be developed and proposes several recommendations for future action

Identifying suitable sites for Florida panther reintroduction

Science.gov (United States)

Thatcher, Cindy A.; van Manen, Frank T.; Clark, Joseph D.

2006-01-01

A major objective of the 1995 Florida Panther (Puma concolor cory) Recovery Plan is the establishment of 2 additional panther populations within the historic range. Our goal was to identify prospective sites for Florida panther reintroduction within the historic range based on quantitative landscape assessments. First, we delineated 86 panther home ranges using telemetry data collected from 1981 to 2001 in south Florida to develop a Mahalanobis distance (D2) habitat model, using 4 anthropogenic variables and 3 landscape variables mapped at a 500-m resolution. From that analysis, we identified 9 potential reintroduction sites of sufficient size to support a panther population. We then developed a similar D2 model at a higher spatial resolution to quantify the area of favorable panther habitat at each site. To address potential for the population to expand, we calculated the amount of favorable habitat adjacent to each prospective reintroduction site within a range of dispersal distances of female panthers. We then added those totals to the contiguous patches to estimate the total amount of effective panther habitat at each site. Finally, we developed an expert-assisted model to rank and incorporate potentially important habitat variables that were not appropriate for our empirical analysis (e.g., area of public lands, livestock density). Anthropogenic factors heavily influenced both the landscape and the expert-assisted models. Of the 9 areas we identified, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Ozark National Forest, and Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge regions had the highest combination of effective habitat area and expert opinion scores. Sensitivity analyses indicated that variability among key model parameters did not affect the high ranking of those sites. Those sites should be considered as starting points for the field evaluation of potential reintroduction sites.

A some aspects of medical demographical situation in the regions, confidant to Semipalatinsk former test site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slazhneva, T.I.; Korchevskij, A.A.; Tret'yakova, S.N.; Pozdnyakova, A.P.

1993-01-01

It had been analysed the data of mortality index and average future life span (AFLS).The data was devided in sex and age groups of Pavlodar region (Kazakstan) for the period of 1970, 1979, 1989 and given in comparison with Semipalatinsk region (Kazakstan) and Former Soviet Union. It was discovered peculiarities of demographic index dynamics for last decades: downfall of average life span of population from 1970 to 1979 with further increasing in 1989. In Semipalatinsk region the AFLS of men was decreasing to 2,19 year, women - to 1,24 year; in Pavlodar region the AFLS of men was decreasing to 3,87 year, women - to 4,3 year. Relative compensation of this effect was being marked to 1989 year: from 1979 to 1989 the AFLS index of Pavlodar region men increased to 2,93 year, women - to 1,83 year. Similar oscillations were being followed up for all age groups. Special attention is drawing to the infants mortality dynamic in the regions, confidant to Semipalatinsk test site. Radical ascent of the infants mortality in 1970-1983 period leaded to shaping of excluding unfavourable indexes (71,9 % for 1000 burned in 1975). Analysis confirmed the information of demographic indexes, as integral characteristics of population health levels and ecological equilibrium rate in the regions

A Cost-based Explanation of Gradual, Regional Internationalization of Multinationals on Social Networking Sites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pogrebnyakov, Nicolai

2017-01-01

This paper examines firm internationalization on social networking sites (SNS). It systematically examines costs faced by an internationalizing firm and how firms react to these costs according to “distance-dependent” (gradual and regional) and “distance-invariant” (born-global) explanations...... of internationalization. Data on 5827 country pages of 240 multinational firms on Facebook, the most popular SNS today, is used. Creating a foreign country-specific Facebook page is considered the SNS equivalent of opening a physical subsidiary in that country. The data show that multinationals exhibit...

Early Site Permit Demonstration Program: Siting Guide, Site selection and evaluation criteria for an early site permit application. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-03-24

In August 1991, the Joint Contractors came to agreement with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the Department of Energy (DOE) on a workscope for the cost-shared Early Site Permit Demonstration Program. One task within the scope was the development of a guide for site selection criteria and procedures. A generic Siting Guide his been prepared that is a roadmap and tool for applicants to use developing detailed siting plans for their specific region of the country. The guide presents three fundamental principles that, if used, ensure a high degree of success for an ESP applicant. First, the site selection process should take into consideration environmentally diverse site locations within a given region of interest. Second, the process should contain appropriate opportunities for input from the public. Third, the process should be applied so that it is clearly reasonable to an impartial observer, based on appropriately selected criteria, including criteria which demonstrate that the site can host an advanced light water reactor (ALWR). The Siting Guide provides for a systematic, comprehensive site selection process in which three basic types of criteria (exclusionary, avoidance, and suitability) are presented via a four-step procedure. It provides a check list of the criteria for each one of these steps. Criteria are applied qualitatively, as well as presented numerically, within the guide. The applicant should use the generic guide as an exhaustive checklist, customizing the guide to his individual situation.

Regional hydrogeological simulations. Numerical modelling using ConnectFlow. Preliminary site description Simpevarp sub area - version 1.2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartley, Lee; Hoch, Andrew; Hunter, Fiona; Jackson, Peter [Serco Assurance, Risley (United Kingdom); Marsic, Niko [Kemakta Konsult, Stockholm (Sweden)

2005-02-01

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) carries out site investigations in two different candidate areas in Sweden with the objective of describing the in situ conditions for a bedrock repository for spent nuclear fuel. The two candidate areas are named Forsmark and Simpevarp. The site characterisation work is divided into two phases, an initial site investigation phase (IPLU) and a complete site investigation phase (KPLU). The results of IPLU are used as a basis for deciding on a subsequent KPLU phase. On the basis of the KPLU investigations a decision is made as to whether detailed characterisation will be performed (including sinking of a shaft).An integrated component in the site characterisation work is the development of site descriptive models. These comprise basic models in three dimensions with an accompanying text description. Central in the modelling work is the geological model which provides the geometrical context in terms of a model of deformation zones and the rock mass between the zones. Using the geological and geometrical description models as a basis, descriptive models for other geo-disciplines (hydrogeology, hydro-geochemistry, rock mechanics, thermal properties and transport properties) will be developed. Great care is taken to arrive at a general consistency in the description of the various models and assessment of uncertainty and possible needs of alternative models.Here, a numerical model is developed on a regional-scale (hundreds of square kilometres) to understand the zone of influence for groundwater flow that effects the Simpevarp area. Transport calculations are then performed by particle tracking from a local-scale release area (tens of square kilometres) to identify potential discharge areas for the site. The transport from the two site-scale release areas (a few square kilometres) at the Simpevarp site and the Laxemar site are also considered more specifically and using greater grid resolution.The main

From START to NEW START. The dilemma and future of nuclear disarmament

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plettenberg, Lars

2012-01-01

The report describes the existing four agreements on nuclear disarmament: START I (1991). START II (1993), SORT (2002) and NEW START (2010). The chapter on the dependence between nuclear disarmament and strategic stability covers the issues mutual assured destruction (MAD), credibility, overkill capacity; the role of nuclear weapons in the national strategies of the USA and NATO, Russia, Great Britain, France, China and the other nuclear states. Ways out of MAD include disarmament, de-alerting and mutual assured protection (MAP).

Evaluation of the state of stress at the Forsmark site. Preliminary site investigation Forsmark area - version 1.2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sjoeberg, Jonny; Lindfors, Ulf; Perman, Fredrik; Ask, Daniel [SwedPower AB, Stockholm (Sweden)

2005-09-15

This report presents an evaluation of the state of stress at the Forsmark site, based on all conducted stress measurements to date at the site, indirect stress estimates, geological and tectonic description of the site, and regional stress data from nearby locations. The work included (i) compilation of measurement results from Forsmark, as well as from nearby (regional) sites/locations, (ii) analysis of confidence intervals for each group of measurement, (iii) assessment of the stress state for the Forsmark site accounting for geological/tectonic evolution at the site, (iv) assessment of stress state for selected nearby (regional) sites/locations, and (v) comparison and combined interpretation of similarities and/or differences in stress state from a regional perspective. The combined assessment of the local (site-scale) and regional stress data for Forsmark showed that the major stress is orientated sub-horizontally and trending NW-SE; however, with significant local variation. A thrust faulting ({sigma}H > {sigma}h > {sigma}v) or possibly strike-slip faulting ({sigma}H > {sigma}v > {sigma}h) stress regime is evident at the Forsmark site. The maximum horizontal stress tends to be higher at the site compared to nearby sites and regional conditions. The site and regional data indicate that the vertical stress seems to be solely due to the overburden pressure. The lack of solid core discing for large portions of the boreholes at Forsmark was used to estimate an upper limit of the maximum horizontal stress magnitude. However, such an estimation is highly uncertain due to e.g. partly unknown mechanism for core discing failure, and unknown effects of the simplifying assumptions made in the analysis. The possible effects of shallow-dipping deformation zones on the stress state, could not be verified from the currently available data. However, the possibility of different stress regimes above and below deformation zones must be considered in future work. Slightly lower

Evaluation of the state of stress at the Forsmark site. Preliminary site investigation Forsmark area - version 1.2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sjoeberg, Jonny; Lindfors, Ulf; Perman, Fredrik; Ask, Daniel

2005-09-01

This report presents an evaluation of the state of stress at the Forsmark site, based on all conducted stress measurements to date at the site, indirect stress estimates, geological and tectonic description of the site, and regional stress data from nearby locations. The work included (i) compilation of measurement results from Forsmark, as well as from nearby (regional) sites/locations, (ii) analysis of confidence intervals for each group of measurement, (iii) assessment of the stress state for the Forsmark site accounting for geological/tectonic evolution at the site, (iv) assessment of stress state for selected nearby (regional) sites/locations, and (v) comparison and combined interpretation of similarities and/or differences in stress state from a regional perspective. The combined assessment of the local (site-scale) and regional stress data for Forsmark showed that the major stress is orientated sub-horizontally and trending NW-SE; however, with significant local variation. A thrust faulting (σH > σh > σv) or possibly strike-slip faulting (σH > σv > σh) stress regime is evident at the Forsmark site. The maximum horizontal stress tends to be higher at the site compared to nearby sites and regional conditions. The site and regional data indicate that the vertical stress seems to be solely due to the overburden pressure. The lack of solid core discing for large portions of the boreholes at Forsmark was used to estimate an upper limit of the maximum horizontal stress magnitude. However, such an estimation is highly uncertain due to e.g. partly unknown mechanism for core discing failure, and unknown effects of the simplifying assumptions made in the analysis. The possible effects of shallow-dipping deformation zones on the stress state, could not be verified from the currently available data. However, the possibility of different stress regimes above and below deformation zones must be considered in future work. Slightly lower horizontal stress was found in

A computer hydrogeologic model of the Nevada Test Site and surrounding region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gillson, R.; Hand, J.; Adams, P.; Lawrence, S.

1996-01-01

A three-dimensional, hydrogeologic model of the Nevada Test Site and surrounding region was developed as an element for regional groundwater flow and radionuclide transport models. The hydrogeologic model shows the distribution, thickness, and structural relationships of major aquifers and confining units, as conceived by a team of experts organized by the U.S. Department of Energy Nevada Operations Office. The model was created using Intergraph Corporation's Geographical Information System based Environmental Resource Management Application software. The study area encompasses more than 28,000 square kilometers in southern Nevada and Inyo County, California. Fifty-three geologic cross sections were constructed throughout the study area to provide a framework for the model. The lithology was simplified to 16 hydrostratigraphic units, and the geologic structures with minimal effect on groundwater flow were removed. Digitized cross sections, surface geology, and surface elevation data were the primary sources for the hydrogeologic model and database. Elevation data for the hydrostratigraphic units were posted, contoured, and gridded. Intergraph Corporation's three-dimensional visualization software, VOXEL trademark, was used to view the results interactively. The hydrogeologic database will be used in future flow modeling activities

Application of PIXE to the characterization of vitreous dacites from archaeolgical sites in the Atacama region in northern Chile

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morales, J.R.; Cancino, S. [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Nunoa, Santiago 1 (Chile); Miranda, P. [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Nunoa, Santiago 1 (Chile)], E-mail: pjmirand@gmail.com; Dinator, M.I. [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Nunoa, Santiago 1 (Chile); Seelenfreund, A. [Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, Condell 343, Providencia, Santiago (Chile)

2007-11-15

Geochemical characterization studies using PIXE were carried out on 21 vitreous dacite artifacts from early formative archaeological sites in the Atacama region, in northern Chile, and on 13 samples taken from two potential volcanic sources located within the region. Performing statistical analyses it was possible to obtain elemental concentration patterns for the archaeological samples of this material and match some of these artifacts with the geological source samples.

Opiate antagonist binding sites in discrete brain regions of spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rahmani, N.H.; Gulati, A.; Bhargava, H.N. (Univ. of Illinois, Chicago (USA))

1991-01-01

The binding of {sup 3}H-naltrexone, an opiate receptor antagonist, to membranes of discrete brain regions and spinal cord of 10 week old spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats was determined. The brain regions examined were hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, corpus striatum, pons and medulla, midbrain and cortex. {sup 3}H-Naltrexone bound to membranes of brain regions and spinal cord at a single high affinity site with an apparent dissociation constant value of 3 nM. The highest density of {sup 3}H-naltrexone binding sites were in hippocampus and lowest in the cerebral cortex. The receptor density (B{sub max}value) and apparent dissociation constant (K{sub d} value) values of {sup 3}H-naltrexone to bind to opiate receptors on the membranes of amygdala, hippocampus, corpus striatum, pons and medulla, midgrain, cortex and spinal cord of WKY and SHR rates did not differ. The B{sub max} value of {sup 3}H-naltrexone binding to membranes of hypothalamus of SHR rates was 518% higher than WKY rats but the K{sub d} values in the two strains did not differ. It is concluded that SHR rats have higher density of opiate receptors labeled with {sup 3}H-naltrexone in the hypothalamus only, in comparison with WKY rats, and that such a difference in the density of opiate receptors may be related to the elevated blood pressure in SHR rats.

Managing soil moisture on waste burial sites in arid regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, J.E.; Ratzlaff, T.D.; Nowak, R.S.; Markham, O.D.

1993-01-01

In semiarid regions, where potential evapotranspiration greatly exceeds precipitation, it is theoretically possible to preclude water form reaching interred wastes by (i) providing a sufficient cap of soil to store precipitation that falls while plants are dormant and (ii) establishing sufficient plant cover to deplete soil moisture during the growing season, thereby emptying the water storage reservoir of the soil. Here the authors discuss the theory and rationale for such an approach and then present the results of a field study to test its efficacy at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). They examined the capacity of four species of perennial plants to deplete soil moisture on simulated waste trenches and determined the effective water storage capacity of the soil. Those data enabled them to estimate the minimum depth of fill soil required to prevent deep drainage. Any of the species studied can use all of the plant-available soil water, even during a very wet growing season. The water storage capacity of the soil studied is 17% by volume, so a trench cap of 1.6 m of soil should be adequate to store precipitation received at the INEL while plants are dormant. They recommend a fill soil depth of 2 m to provide a margin of safety in case water accumulates in local areas as a result of heavy snow accumulation, subsidence, or runoff. Fill soil requirements and choice of plant species will vary, but the concepts and general approach are applicable to other shallow land burial sites in arid or semiarid regions. 23 refs., 5 figs

The impact of dry-land sprint start training on the short track speed skating start.

Science.gov (United States)

Haug, William B; Drinkwater, Eric J; Cicero, Nicholas J; Barthell, J Anthony; Chapman, Dale W

2017-05-05

This investigation sought to determine the effects of dry-land sprint start training on short track speed skating (STSS) start performance. Nine highly trained short track athletes completed a control period of normal STSS training followed by a four-week training intervention. Before and after the control and intervention periods, athletes performed three electronically timed dry-land and on-ice 14.43 m maximal sprint start efforts. The intervention consisted of two sprint sessions per week consisting of nine electronically timed 14.43 m dry-land sprint starts in addition to normal STSS training. The control period resulted in no substantial change in on-ice start performance (Mean Δ: -0.01 s, 95% Confidence Limits (CL): -0.08 to 0.05 s; Effect Size (ES): -0.05; Trivial) however, a small change was observed in dry-land start performance (Mean Δ: -0.07 s, 95% CL: -0.13 to -0.02 s; ES: -0.49). Following brief specific dry-land sprint start training a small improvement was observed in both on-ice (Mean Δ: -0.07 s, 95% CL: -0.13 to -0.01 s; ES: -0.33) and dry-land (Mean Δ: -0.04 s, 95% CL: -0.09 to 0.00 s; ES: -0.29) start performance. This investigation suggests STSS start performance can be improved through a brief dry-land sprint start training program.

Identification of suitable sites for rainwater harvesting structures in arid and semi-arid regions: A review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ammar Adham

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Harvested rainwater is an alternative source of water in arid and semi-arid regions (ASARs around the world. Many researchers have developed and applied various methodologies and criteria to identify suitable sites and techniques for rainwater harvesting (RWH. Determining the best method or guidelines for site selection, however, is difficult. The main objective of this study was to define a general method for selecting suitable RWH sites in ASARs by assembling an inventory of the main methods and criteria developed during the last three decades. We categorised and compared four main methodologies of site selection from 48 studies published in scientific journals, reports of international organisations, or sources of information obtained from practitioners. We then identified three main sets of criteria for selecting RWH locations and the main characteristics of the most common RWH techniques used in ASARs. The methods were diverse, ranging from those based only on biophysical criteria to more integrated approaches including socio-economic criteria, especially after 2000. The most important criteria for the selection of suitable sites for RWH were slope, land use/cover, soil type, rainfall, distance to settlements/streams, and cost. The success rate of RWH projects tended to increase when these criteria were considered, but an objective evaluation of these selection methods is still lacking. Most studies now select RHW sites using geographic information systems in combination with hydrological models and multi-criteria analysis.

Identification of Polyadenylation Sites within Arabidopsis Thaliana

KAUST Repository

Kalkatawi, Manal

2011-09-01

Machine Learning (ML) is a field of artificial intelligence focused on the design and implementation of algorithms that enable creation of models for clustering, classification, prediction, ranking and similar inference tasks based on information contained in data. Many ML algorithms have been successfully utilized in a variety of applications. The problem addressed in this thesis is from the field of bioinformatics and deals with the recognition of polyadenylation (poly(A)) sites in the genomic sequence of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. During the RNA processing, a tail consisting of a number of consecutive adenine (A) nucleotides is added to the terminal nucleotide of the 3’- untranslated region (3’UTR) of the primary RNA. The process in which these A nucleotides are added is called polyadenylation. The location in the genomic DNA sequence that corresponds to the start of terminal A nucleotides (i.e. to the end of 3’UTR) is known as a poly(A) site. Recognition of the poly(A) sites in DNA sequence is important for better gene annotation and understanding of gene regulation. In this study, we built an artificial neural network (ANN) for the recognition of poly(A) sites in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome. Our study demonstrates that this model achieves improved accuracy compared to the existing predictive models for this purpose. The key factor contributing to the enhanced predictive performance of our ANN model is a distinguishing set of features used in creation of the model. These features include a number of physico-chemical characteristics of relevance, such as dinucleotide thermodynamic characteristics, electron-ion interaction potential, etc., but also many of the statistical properties of the DNA sequences from the region surrounding poly(A) site, such as nucleotide and polynucleotide properties, common motifs, etc. Our ANN model was compared in performance with several other ML models, as well as with the PAC tool that is specifically developed for

Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies

CERN Document Server

Belew, Shannon

2011-01-01

Conquer the online marketplace with this new version of a bestseller! Whether you've thought of starting an online business or you're already selling online, this update to a bestseller presents invaluable advice for getting--and keeping--online customers. Covering everything from creating a business plan and building a customer-friendly site to marketing with Facebook and Twitter, this fun and friendly guide features eleven minibooks that cover online business basics, legal and accounting matters, website design, online and operating issues, Internet security, techniques for boosting sales, s

Starting Point: Linking Methods and Materials for Introductory Geoscience Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Manduca, C. A.; MacDonald, R. H.; Merritts, D.; Savina, M.

2004-12-01

Introductory courses are one of the most challenging teaching environments for geoscience faculty. Courses are often large, students have a wide variety of background and skills, and student motivation can include completing a geoscience major, preparing for a career as teacher, fulfilling a distribution requirement, and general interest. The Starting Point site (http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/index.html) provides help for faculty teaching introductory courses by linking together examples of different teaching methods that have been used in entry-level courses with information about how to use the methods and relevant references from the geoscience and education literature. Examples span the content of geoscience courses including the atmosphere, biosphere, climate, Earth surface, energy/material cycles, human dimensions/resources, hydrosphere/cryosphere, ocean, solar system, solid earth and geologic time/earth history. Methods include interactive lecture (e.g think-pair-share, concepTests, and in-class activities and problems), investigative cases, peer review, role playing, Socratic questioning, games, and field labs. A special section of the site devoted to using an Earth System approach provides resources with content information about the various aspects of the Earth system linked to examples of teaching this content. Examples of courses incorporating Earth systems content, and strategies for designing an Earth system course are also included. A similar section on Teaching with an Earth History approach explores geologic history as a vehicle for teaching geoscience concepts and as a framework for course design. The Starting Point site has been authored and reviewed by faculty around the country. Evaluation indicates that faculty find the examples particularly helpful both for direct implementation in their classes and for sparking ideas. The help provided for using different teaching methods makes the examples particularly useful. Examples are chosen from

WSDM : A user-centred design method for web sites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Troyer, O.M.F.; Leune, C.J.

1998-01-01

WSDM is a user-centered method for the design of kiosk Web Sites. By explicitly starting from the requirements of the users or visitors, WSDM solves Web site problems that are primarily caused by that fact that a site has no underlying design at all, or that the design is mostly data-driven.

School Starting Age and Crime

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Landersø, Rasmus; Nielsen, Helena Skyt; Simonsen, Marianne

This paper investigates the effects of school starting age on crime while relying on variation in school starting age induced by administrative rules; we exploit that Danish children typically start first grade in the calendar year they turn seven, which gives rise to a discontinuity in children......’s school starting age. Analyses are carried out using register-based Danish data. We find that higher age at school start lowers the propensity to commit crime, but that this reduction is caused by incapacitation while human capital accumulation is unaffected. Importantly, we also find that the individuals...

Regional differences in the skin blood flow at various sites of the body studied by xenon 133

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuchida, Y.

1987-01-01

Normal skin blood flow was measured by the xenon 133 clearance method at different anatomic sites of the body and the following results were obtained. First, the skin blood flow of the face and anterior chest was significantly greater than that of the deltoid region (P less than 0.01). The skin blood flow of the dorsal side of the hand and foot was significantly lower than that of the deltoid region (P less than 0.01). A tendency was observed for the skin blood flow to decrease gradually from the upper part of the body to the lower part of the body. For example, the ratio of the highest value at the face to the lowest value at the dorsal side of the foot was about 2.5:1, indicating a remarkable difference among the various sites of the body. The skin blood flow at the dorsum of the hand was significantly higher by about 25.4 percent than that of the foot (P less than 0.01). Second, the skin blood flow at the left side of the deltoid region was higher by about 5 percent than that of the right side (P less than 0.01). Bilateral comparison of the skin blood flow at the dorsal side of the hand and foot showed that the values were almost the same on the left and right

New public commons and network of nuclear site regions for the post-Fukushima accident re-vitalization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sawada, Tetsuo

2012-01-01

Due to the Fukushima NPP accidents on 11 March 2011, we have deadly lost the regional ties among local people, electricity consumers, and people involved in the nuclear research, development and businesses. Now we need the method to reconstruct the ties and further the activation of locals in accordance to the concept of 'New Public Commons'. And it is the most important key to recover the people's confidence for the nuclear business and promote the new siting and replacement of nuclear power stations. More than forty years have past since the earliest stage of invitation of nuclear power stations to regional areas in Japan. For this period, the efforts for the development of regional industries and the improvement of regional life obtained a level of results. However, now a new turn is required in the regional development, as the perception of wealthy has been gradually changed. The primary objective of this study is to make a network among regional areas where nuclear power stations and related facilities are located. It should further the understanding for nuclear energy, stimulate the 'emergence' through the cooperative works among regional areas. As a result, such efforts will enhance the Social Responsibility of conducts related to the nuclear energy. i.e., Nuclear SR (NSR). The basic frame of the NSR should be re-estimated in the reflection of 3.11 Fukushima NPP accidents. (author)

A GIS analysis of suitability for construction aggregate recycling sites using regional transportation network and population density features

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, G.R.; Kapo, K.E.

2004-01-01

Aggregate is used in road and building construction to provide bulk, strength, support, and wear resistance. Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and reclaimed Portland cement concrete (RPCC) are abundant and available sources of recycled aggregate. In this paper, current aggregate production operations in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia are used to develop spatial association models for the recycled aggregate industry with regional transportation network and population density features. The cost of construction aggregate to the end user is strongly influenced by the cost of transporting processed aggregate from the production site to the construction site. More than 60% of operations recycling aggregate in the mid-Atlantic study area are located within 4.8 km (3 miles) of an interstate highway. Transportation corridors provide both sites of likely road construction where aggregate is used and an efficient means to move both materials and on-site processing equipment back and forth from various work sites to the recycling operations. Urban and developing areas provide a high market demand for aggregate and a ready source of construction debris that may be processed into recycled aggregate. Most aggregate recycling operators in the study area are sited in counties with population densities exceeding 77 people/km2 (200 people/mile 2). No aggregate recycling operations are sited in counties with less than 19 people/km2 (50 people/mile2), reflecting the lack of sufficient long-term sources of construction debris to be used as an aggregate source, as well as the lack of a sufficient market demand for aggregate in most rural areas to locate a recycling operation there or justify the required investment in the equipment to process and produce recycled aggregate. Weights of evidence analyses (WofE), measuring correlation on an area-normalized basis, and weighted logistic regression (WLR), are used to model the distribution of RAP and RPCC operations relative

Search for Best Astronomical Observatory Sites in the MENA Region using Satellite Measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdelaziz, G; Guebsi, R; Flamant, C; Guessoum, N

2017-01-01

We perform a systematic search for astronomical observatory sites in the MENA (Middle-East and North Africa) region using space-based data for all the relevant factors, i.e. altitude (DEM), cloud fraction (CF), light pollution (NTL), precipitable water vapor (PWV), aerosol optical depth (AOD), relative humidity (RH), wind speed (WS), Richardson Number (RN), and diurnal temperature range (DTR). We look for the best locations overall even where altitudes are low (the threshold that we normally consider being 1,500 m) or where the combination of the afore-mentioned determining factors had previously excluded all locations in a given country. In this aim, we use the rich data that Earth-observing satellites provide, e.g. the Terra and Aqua multi-national NASA research satellites, with their MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) instruments, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS), and other products from climate diagnostics archives (e.g. MERRA). We present preliminary results on the best locations for the region. (paper)

Search for Best Astronomical Observatory Sites in the MENA Region using Satellite Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Abdelaziz, G.; Guebsi, R.; Guessoum, N.; Flamant, C.

2017-06-01

We perform a systematic search for astronomical observatory sites in the MENA (Middle-East and North Africa) region using space-based data for all the relevant factors, i.e. altitude (DEM), cloud fraction (CF), light pollution (NTL), precipitable water vapor (PWV), aerosol optical depth (AOD), relative humidity (RH), wind speed (WS), Richardson Number (RN), and diurnal temperature range (DTR). We look for the best locations overall even where altitudes are low (the threshold that we normally consider being 1,500 m) or where the combination of the afore-mentioned determining factors had previously excluded all locations in a given country. In this aim, we use the rich data that Earth-observing satellites provide, e.g. the Terra and Aqua multi-national NASA research satellites, with their MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) instruments, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS), and other products from climate diagnostics archives (e.g. MERRA). We present preliminary results on the best locations for the region.

Study of Site Effect at Seismic Station Located in Undermined Area of Karviná Region (Czech Republic)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Lednická, Markéta; Kaláb, Zdeněk

2016-01-01

Roč. 64, č. 5 (2016), s. 1715-1730 ISSN 1895-7455 R&D Projects: GA ČR GP13-07027P Institutional support: RVO:68145535 Keywords : Karviná region * site effect * SSR * HVSR * mining induced seismicity Subject RIV: JM - Building Engineering Impact factor: 0.968, year: 2016 http://agp.igf.edu.pl/files/64/5/Lednicka-Kalab.pdf

IDENTIFYING REGIONAL CLUSTER MANAGEMENT POTENTIALS EMPIRICAL RESULTS FROM THREE NORTH RHINEWESTPHALIAN REGIONS

OpenAIRE

Rudiger Hamm; Christiane Goebel

2010-01-01

The development and support of clusters is an issue that became quite popular by players dealing with regional economic policy. But before a regional development agency can start to implement a cluster-oriented strategy there a two question that have to be answered: 1. What are the regional fields of competence (cluster potentials) that fulfill the requirements for a cluster-oriented regional development policy? 2. If you find such regional fields of competence, are the enterprises willing to...

REGIONAL HYDROLOGY OF THE NOPAL I SITE, SIERRA DE PENA BLANCA, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

J.A. Rodriguez-Pineda; P. Goodell; P.F. Dobson; J. Walton; R. Oliver; De La Garza; S. Harder

2005-07-11

The U.S. Department of Energy sponsored the drilling of three wells in 2003 near the Nopal I uranium deposit at the Sierra Pena Blanca, Chihuahua, Mexico. Piezometric information is being collected to understand groundwater flow at local and regional levels as part of an ongoing natural analogue study of radionuclide migration. Water level monitoring reported at these and other wells in the region is combined with archival data to provide a better understanding of the hydrology at Nopal I. Initial results suggest that the local hydrology is dependent on the regional hydrologic setting and that this groundwater system behaves as an unconfined aquifer. The region is dominated by an alternating sequence of highlands and basins that step down from west to east. The Sierra de Pena Blanca was downdropped from the cratonic block to the west during Cenozoic extension. The Nopal I area is near the intersection of two large listric faults, and the questa of ash flow tuffs that hosts the deposit has been subjected to complex structural events. The Pena Blanca Uranium District was originally characterized by 105 airborne radiometric anomalies, indicating widespread uranium mineralization. The Nopal I uranium deposit is located in the Sierra del Pena Blanca between the Encinillas Basin to the west, with a mean elevation of 1560 m, and the El Cuervo Basin to the east, with a mean elevation of 1230 m. The Nopal I + 10 level is at an intermediate elevation of 1463 m, with a corresponding groundwater elevation of approximately 1240 m. The regional potentiometric surface indicates flow from west to east, with the El Cuervo Basin being the discharge zone for the regional flow system. However, it appears that the local groundwater potential beneath the Nopal I site is more in accordance with the water table of the El Cuervo Basin than with that of the Encinillas Basin. This might indicate that there is limited groundwater flow between the Encinillas Basin and the Nopal I area.

REGIONAL HYDROLOGY OF THE NOPAL I SITE, SIERRA DE PENA BLANCA, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez-Pineda, J.A.; Goodell, P.; Dobson, P.F.; Walton, J.; Oliver, R.; De La Garza; Harder, S.

2005-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy sponsored the drilling of three wells in 2003 near the Nopal I uranium deposit at the Sierra Pena Blanca, Chihuahua, Mexico. Piezometric information is being collected to understand groundwater flow at local and regional levels as part of an ongoing natural analogue study of radionuclide migration. Water level monitoring reported at these and other wells in the region is combined with archival data to provide a better understanding of the hydrology at Nopal I. Initial results suggest that the local hydrology is dependent on the regional hydrologic setting and that this groundwater system behaves as an unconfined aquifer. The region is dominated by an alternating sequence of highlands and basins that step down from west to east. The Sierra de Pena Blanca was downdropped from the cratonic block to the west during Cenozoic extension. The Nopal I area is near the intersection of two large listric faults, and the questa of ash flow tuffs that hosts the deposit has been subjected to complex structural events. The Pena Blanca Uranium District was originally characterized by 105 airborne radiometric anomalies, indicating widespread uranium mineralization. The Nopal I uranium deposit is located in the Sierra del Pena Blanca between the Encinillas Basin to the west, with a mean elevation of 1560 m, and the El Cuervo Basin to the east, with a mean elevation of 1230 m. The Nopal I + 10 level is at an intermediate elevation of 1463 m, with a corresponding groundwater elevation of approximately 1240 m. The regional potentiometric surface indicates flow from west to east, with the El Cuervo Basin being the discharge zone for the regional flow system. However, it appears that the local groundwater potential beneath the Nopal I site is more in accordance with the water table of the El Cuervo Basin than with that of the Encinillas Basin. This might indicate that there is limited groundwater flow between the Encinillas Basin and the Nopal I area

SEISMIC SITE RESPONSE ESTIMATION IN THE NEAR SOURCE REGION OF THE 2009 L’AQUILA, ITALY, EARTHQUAKE

Science.gov (United States)

Bertrand, E.; Azzara, R.; Bergamashi, F.; Bordoni, P.; Cara, F.; Cogliano, R.; Cultrera, G.; di Giulio, G.; Duval, A.; Fodarella, A.; Milana, G.; Pucillo, S.; Régnier, J.; Riccio, G.; Salichon, J.

2009-12-01

The 6th of April 2009, at 3:32 local time, a Mw 6.3 earthquake hit the Abruzzo region (central Italy) causing more than 300 casualties. The epicenter of the earthquake was 95km NE of Rome and 10km from the center of the city of L’Aquila, the administrative capital of the Abruzzo region. This city has a population of about 70,000 and was severely damaged by the earthquake, the total cost of the buildings damage being estimated around 3 Bn €. Historical masonry buildings particularly suffered from the seismic shaking, but some reinforced concrete structures from more modern construction were also heavily damaged. To better estimate the seismic solicitation of these structures during the earthquake, we deployed temporary arrays in the near source region. Downtown L’Aquila, as well as a rural quarter composed of ancient dwelling-centers located western L’Aquila (Roio area), have been instrumented. The array set up downtown consisted of nearly 25 stations including velocimetric and accelerometric sensors. In the Roio area, 6 stations operated for almost one month. The data has been processed in order to study the spectral ratios of the horizontal component of ground motion at the soil site and at a reference site, as well as the spectral ratio of the horizontal and the vertical movement at a single recording site. Downtown L’Aquila is set on a Quaternary fluvial terrace (breccias with limestone boulders and clasts in a marly matrix), which forms the left bank of the Aterno River and slopes down in the southwest direction towards the Aterno River. The alluvial are lying on lacustrine sediments reaching their maximum thickness (about 250m) in the center of L’Aquila. After De Luca et al. (2005), these quaternary deposits seem to lead in an important amplification factor in the low frequency range (0.5-0.6 Hz). However, the level of amplification varies strongly from one point to the other in the center of the city. This new experimentation allows new and more

A plant taxonomic survey of the Uranium City region, Lake Athabasca north shore, emphasizing the naturally colonizing plants on uranium mine and mill wastes and other human-disturbed sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harms, V.L.

1982-07-01

A goal of this study was to acquire more complete baseline data on the existing flora of the Uranium City region, both in natural and human-disturbed sites. Emphasis was given to determining which plant species were naturally revegetating various abandoned uranium mine and mill waste disposal areas, other human-disturbed sites, and ecologically analogous sites. Another goal was to document the occurrence and distribution in the study region of rare and possibly endangered species. A further objective was to suggest regionally-occurring species with potential value for revegetating uranium mine and mill waste sites. Field investigations were carried out in the Uranium City region during August, 1981. During this time 1412 plant collections were made; a total of 366 plant species - trees, shrubs, forbs, graminoids, lichens, and bryophytes were recorded. The report includes an annotated checklist of plant species of the Uranium City region and a reference index of plant taxa indicating species that have high revegetation potential

Thermophysical properties of the MER and Beagle II landing site regions on Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Jakosky, Bruce M.; Hynek, Brian M.; Pelkey, Shannon M.; Mellon, Michael T.; Martínez-Alonso, Sara; Putzig, Nathaniel E.; Murphy, Nate; Christensen, Philip R.

2006-08-01

We analyzed remote-sensing observations of the Isidis Basin, Gusev Crater, and Meridiani Planum landing sites for Beagle II, MER-A Spirit, and MER-B Opportunity spacecraft, respectively. We emphasized the thermophysical properties using daytime and nighttime radiance measurements from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) and thermal inertias derived from nighttime data sets. THEMIS visible images, MGS Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) narrow-angle images, and MGS Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data are incorporated as well. Additionally, the remote-sensing data were compared with ground-truth at the MER sites. The Isidis Basin surface layer has been shaped by aeolian processes and erosion by slope winds coming off of the southern highlands and funneling through notches between massifs. In the Gusev region, surface materials of contrasting thermophysical properties have been interpreted as rocks or bedrock, duricrust, and dust deposits; these are consistent with a complex geological history dominated by volcanic and aeolian processes. At Meridiani Planum the many layers having different thermophysical and erosional properties suggest periodic deposition of differing sedimentological facies possibly related to clast size, grain orientation and packing, or mineralogy.

Session II-A. Site characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McIntosh, W.

1981-01-01

Section II-A on Site Characterization consists of the following papers which describe the progress made during the past fiscal year toward identifying sites for high-level radioactive waste repositories in deep geologic formations: (1) progress in expanded studies for repository sites; (2) evaluation of geologic and hydrologic characteristics in the Basin and Range Province relative to high-level nuclear waste disposal; (3) siting progress: Permian region; (4) Paradox Basin site exploration: a progress report; (5) progress toward recommending a salt site for an exploratory shaft; (6) status of geologic investigations for nuclear waste disposal at the Nevada Test Site; (7) geohydrologic investigation of the Hanford Site, Washington: basalt waste isolation project. Highlights include: expanding studies in crystalline rocks, both in the Appalachian and Lake Superior regions; laying the ground work with the states in the Basin and Range Province to kick off a joint USGS-state province study; narrowing areas of the Permian and Paradox bedded salt regions to a few promising locations; issuing a Gulf Coast Salt Dome Evaluation report (ONWI-109) for public review and comment; narrowing the Nevada Test Site area and Hanford Site area to locations for detailed site investigations and exploratory shafts; progress in developing the subseabed and space disposals alternatives

Maternal BMI at the start of pregnancy and offspring epigenome-wide DNA methylation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sharp, Gemma C; Salas, Lucas A; Monnereau, Claire

2017-01-01

-analysed the association between pre-pregnancy maternal BMI and methylation at over 450,000 sites in newborn blood DNA, across 19 cohorts (9,340 mother-newborn pairs). We attempted to infer causality by comparing the effects of maternal versus paternal BMI and incorporating genetic variation. In four additional cohorts (1......,817 mother-child pairs), we meta-analysed the association between maternal BMI at the start of pregnancy and blood methylation in adolescents. In newborns, maternal BMI was associated with small (.... Adjustment for estimated cell proportions greatly attenuated the number of significant CpGs to 104, including 86 sites common to the unadjusted model. At 72/86 sites, the direction of the association was the same in newborns and adolescents, suggesting persistence of signals. However, we found evidence...

Strategic siting and regional grid interconnections key to low-carbon futures in African countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Grace C. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy and Resources Group; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). International Energy Studies Group; Deshmukh, Ranjit [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy and Resources Group; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). International Energy Studies Group; Ndhlukula, Kudakwashe [Namibia Univ. of Science and Technology, Windhoek, (Namibia). Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency; Radojicic, Tijana [International Renewable Energy Agency, Masdar City, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates); Reilly-Moman, Jessica [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy and Resources Group; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). International Energy Studies Group; Phadke, Amol [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). International Energy Studies Group; Kammen, Daniel M. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy and Resources Group; Callaway, Duncan S. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy and Resources Group

2017-03-27

Recent forecasts suggest that African countries must triple their current electricity generation by 2030. Our multicriteria assessment of wind and solar potential for large regions of Africa shows how economically competitive and low-environmental– impact renewable resources can significantly contribute to meeting this demand. We created the Multicriteria Analysis for Planning Renewable Energy (MapRE) framework to map and characterize solar and wind energy zones in 21 countries in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) and the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) and find that potential is several times greater than demand in many countries. Significant fractions of demand can be quickly served with “no-regrets” options—or zones that are low-cost, low-environmental impact, and highly accessible. Because no-regrets options are spatially heterogeneous, international interconnections are necessary to help achieve low-carbon development for the region as a whole, and interconnections that support the best renewable options may differ from those planned for hydropower expansion. Additionally, interconnections and selecting wind sites to match demand reduce the need for SAPP-wide conventional generation capacity by 9.5% in a high-wind scenario, resulting in a 6–20% cost savings, depending on the avoided conventional technology. Strategic selection of low-impact and accessible zones is more cost effective with interconnections compared with solutions without interconnections. In conclusion, the overall results are robust to multiple load growth scenarios. Together, results show that multicriteria site selection and deliberate planning of interconnections may significantly increase the economic and environmental competitiveness of renewable alternatives relative to conventional generation.

Strategic siting and regional grid interconnections key to low-carbon futures in African countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Grace C; Deshmukh, Ranjit; Ndhlukula, Kudakwashe; Radojicic, Tijana; Reilly-Moman, Jessica; Phadke, Amol; Kammen, Daniel M; Callaway, Duncan S

2017-04-11

Recent forecasts suggest that African countries must triple their current electricity generation by 2030. Our multicriteria assessment of wind and solar potential for large regions of Africa shows how economically competitive and low-environmental-impact renewable resources can significantly contribute to meeting this demand. We created the Multicriteria Analysis for Planning Renewable Energy (MapRE) framework to map and characterize solar and wind energy zones in 21 countries in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) and the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) and find that potential is several times greater than demand in many countries. Significant fractions of demand can be quickly served with "no-regrets" options-or zones that are low-cost, low-environmental impact, and highly accessible. Because no-regrets options are spatially heterogeneous, international interconnections are necessary to help achieve low-carbon development for the region as a whole, and interconnections that support the best renewable options may differ from those planned for hydropower expansion. Additionally, interconnections and selecting wind sites to match demand reduce the need for SAPP-wide conventional generation capacity by 9.5% in a high-wind scenario, resulting in a 6-20% cost savings, depending on the avoided conventional technology. Strategic selection of low-impact and accessible zones is more cost effective with interconnections compared with solutions without interconnections. Overall results are robust to multiple load growth scenarios. Together, results show that multicriteria site selection and deliberate planning of interconnections may significantly increase the economic and environmental competitiveness of renewable alternatives relative to conventional generation.

Clinical and hormonal aspects of reproductive disorders in women from Semipalatinsk test site region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mamedalieva, N.M.; Moshcheeva, A.M.; Nauryzbaeva, B.U.

1997-01-01

90 women (62 during pregnancy and 28 out of pregnancy) from different districts of Semipalatinsk region were examined with aims of clinic-hormonal aspects study for reproductive disorders of pregnant from Semipalatinsk test site (STS) region. Age of examined women was within limits 18-40 years old. Patients have from 1 to 4 miscarriage abortions. Particular burdening of somatic, gynaecological and reproductive health of examined women is emphasized. Taking into consideration that among causes of reproductive disorders one of top places takes endocrine disorders the hormone background by content in blood of estradiol, progesterone and thyroid hormones was studied. It was determined, that hormonal disbalance or endocrine deficiency of women from STS during pregnancy and out the time does not guarantee normal course of hesitation process on the very early stages of development. When pregnancy was preserved the hormonal disbalance conducts to disfunction of fete-placental system. High frequency of both the obstetric and the perinatal pathology are caused by mentioned disfunctions

The Italian START-Register on Anticoagulation with Focus on Atrial Fibrillation

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

START-Register – Survey on anTicoagulated pAtients RegisTer – is an independent, inception-cohort, observational, collaborative database aimed at recording prospectively the clinical history of adult patients starting anticoagulant treatment for any reason and using whatever drug. In this article we present the START-Register and give cross section baseline data focusing on non valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Participants are asked to insert prospectively consecutive patients recorded as electronic file on the web-site of the registry. Required data are: demographic and clinical characteristics of patients, associated risk factors for stroke and bleeding, laboratory routine data, clinical indication for treatment, expected therapeutic range (in cases of treatment with vitamin K antagonists -VKAs). The follow-up is carried out to record: quality of treatment (for patients on VKAs), bleeding complications, thrombotic events, and the onset of any type of associated disease. To date 5252 patients have been enrolled; 97.6% were on VKAs because direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) have been available in Italy only recently. The median age was 74 years [interquartile range (IQR) 64-80]; males 53.7%. This analysis is focused on the 3209 (61.1%) NVAF patients. Mean CHADS2 score was 2.1±1.1, CHADSVASc score was 3.1±1.3;median age was 76 years (IQR 70-81); 168 patients (5.3%) had severe renal failure [Creatinine clearance (CrCl) START-Register data shows that two-third of patients who started chronic anticoagulant treatment had NVAF, one-third of them was > 80 years with high prevalence of renal failure. PMID:26001109

Aespoe HRL - Geoscientific evaluation 1997/1. Overview of site characterization 1986-1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stanfors, R.; Erlstroem, M.; Markstroem, I.

1997-03-01

Geological investigations for the Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory in the region around Aespoe began in 1986. Aespoe was selected as the laboratory site in 1988 and construction of the underground facility started in october 1990. Construction of the laboratory was completed in the summer of 1995. This report gives a comprehensive compilation of the different investigations performed during the pre-investigation phase 1986-1990 and the excavation phase 1990-1995. The information is mainly compiled in CAD-generated maps, tables and illustrations in which the reader can gather information concerning the scope of work as well as references to more detailed reports for further study. 325 refs., 85 figs

Site Area Boundaries

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This dataset consists of site boundaries from multiple Superfund sites in U.S. EPA Region 8. These data were acquired from multiple sources at different times and...

The Clinch Bend Regional Industrial Site and economic development opportunities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-12-31

This effort focuses initially on the Clinch Bend site. Other sites and developable tracts of land are identified with the assistance of communities in proximity to Oak Ridge, the State of Tennessee, and others, and compared with the projected site requirements for large industrial facilities.

Health of children living in Panfilov distract of Almaty region after Chernobyl accident and nuclear explosions at Lobnor test site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mit, A.A.; Chasnikov, I.Ya.; Chastnicova, S.S.; Mukhametzhanov, M.M.; Zhantagulova, T.K.

1999-01-01

It is known that Panfilov district of Almaty region was affected with radiation contamination during nuclear explosions at Lobnor test site and after Chernobyl accident, which impaired the health of its population [1]. In addition, the children's mortality rate was turned out to be the highest one among other districts of the region. This report presents some other information related to an increase of children's sickness rate in Panfilov district

A Parzen window-based approach for the detection of locally enriched transcription factor binding sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandenbon, Alexis; Kumagai, Yutaro; Teraguchi, Shunsuke; Amada, Karlou Mar; Akira, Shizuo; Standley, Daron M

2013-01-21

Identification of cis- and trans-acting factors regulating gene expression remains an important problem in biology. Bioinformatics analyses of regulatory regions are hampered by several difficulties. One is that binding sites for regulatory proteins are often not significantly over-represented in the set of DNA sequences of interest, because of high levels of false positive predictions, and because of positional restrictions on functional binding sites with regard to the transcription start site. We have developed a novel method for the detection of regulatory motifs based on their local over-representation in sets of regulatory regions. The method makes use of a Parzen window-based approach for scoring local enrichment, and during evaluation of significance it takes into account GC content of sequences. We show that the accuracy of our method compares favourably to that of other methods, and that our method is capable of detecting not only generally over-represented regulatory motifs, but also locally over-represented motifs that are often missed by standard motif detection approaches. Using a number of examples we illustrate the validity of our approach and suggest applications, such as the analysis of weaker binding sites. Our approach can be used to suggest testable hypotheses for wet-lab experiments. It has potential for future analyses, such as the prediction of weaker binding sites. An online application of our approach, called LocaMo Finder (Local Motif Finder), is available at http://sysimm.ifrec.osaka-u.ac.jp/tfbs/locamo/.

Starting an aphasia center?

Science.gov (United States)

Elman, Roberta J

2011-08-01

Starting an aphasia center can be an enormous challenge. This article provides initial issues to review and consider when deciding whether starting a new organization is right for you. Determining the need for the program in your community, the best size and possible affiliation for the organization, and available resources, as well as developing a business plan, marketing the program, and building awareness in the community, are some of the factors that are discussed. Specific examples related to starting the Aphasia Center of California are provided. © Thieme Medical Publishers.

Analysis of tissue-specific region in sericin 1 gene promoter of Bombyx mori

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan, Liu [College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031 (China); Lian, Yu [College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029 (China); Xiuyang, Guo [Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031 (China); Tingqing, Guo [Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031 (China); Shengpeng, Wang [Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031 (China); Changde, Lu [Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031 (China)

2006-03-31

The gene encoding sericin 1 (Ser1) of silkworm (Bombyx mori) is specifically expressed in the middle silk gland cells. To identify element involved in this transcription-dependent spatial restriction, truncation of the 5' terminal from the sericin 1 (Ser1) promoter is studied in vivo. A 209 bp DNA sequence upstream of the transcriptional start site (-586 to -378) is found to be responsible for promoting tissue-specific transcription. Analysis of this 209 bp region by overlapping deletion studies showed that a 25 bp region (-500 to -476) suppresses the ectopic expression of the Ser1 promoter. An unknown factor abundant in fat body nuclear extracts is shown to bind to this 25 bp fragment. These results suggest that this 25 bp region and the unknown factor are necessary for determining the tissue-specificity of the Ser1 promoter.

Region-scale groundwater flow modelling of generic high level waste disposal sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metcalfe, D.

1996-02-01

Regional-scale groundwater flow modelling analyses are performed on generic high level waste (HLW) disposal sites to assess the extent to which a large crystalline rock mass such as a pluton or batholith can be expected to contain and isolate HLW in terms of hydraulic considerations, for a variety of geologic and hydrogeologic conditions. The two-dimensional cross-sectional conceptual models of generic HLW disposal sites are evaluated using SWIFT III, which is a finite-difference flow and transport code. All steps leading to the final results and conclusions are incorporated in this report. The available data and information on geological and hydrogeologic conditions in plutons and batholiths are summarized. The generic conceptual models developed from this information are defined in terms of the finite difference grid, the geologic and hydrogeologic properties and the hydrologic boundary conditions used. The modelled results are described with contour maps showing the modelled head fields, groundwater flow paths and travel times and groundwater flux rates within the modelled systems. The results of the modelling analyses are used to develop general conclusions on the scales and patterns of groundwater flow in granitic plutons and batholiths. The conclusions focus on geologic and hydrogeologic characteristics that can result in favourable conditions, in terms of hydraulic considerations, for a HLW repository. (author) 43 refs., 9 tabs., 40 figs

Evaluation of Landfill Cover Design Options for Waste Disposal Sites in the Coastal Regions of Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kodwo Beedu Keelson

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Uncontrolled leachate generation from operational and closed waste disposal sites is a major environmental concern in the coastal regions of Ghana which have abundant surface water and groundwater resources. The Ghana Landfill Guidelines requires the provision of a final cover or capping system as part of a final closure plan for waste disposal sites in the country as a means of minimizing the harmful environmental effects of these emissions. However, this technical manual does not provide explicit guidance on the material types or configuration for landfill covers that would be suitable for the different climatic conditions in the country. Four landfill cover options which are based on the USEPA RCRA-type and evapotranspirative landfill cover design specifications were evaluated with the aid of the HELP computer program to determine their suitability for waste disposal sites located in the Western, Central and Greater Accra regions. The RCRA Subtitle C cover which yielded flux rates of less than 0.001 mm/yr was found to be suitable for the specific climatic conditions. The RCRA Subtitle D cover was determined to be unsuitable due to the production of very large flux rates in excess of 200 mm/yr. The results for the anisotropic barrier and capillary barrier covers were inconclusive. Recommendations for further study include a longer simulation period as well the study of the combined effects of different topsoil vegetative conditions and evaporative zone depths on the landfill water balance. The use of other water balance models such as EPIC, HYDRUS-2D and UNSAT-H for the evaluation of the evapotranspirative landfill cover design options should also be considered.

The anti-tumor drug bleomycin preferentially cleaves at the transcription start sites of actively transcribed genes in human cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Vincent; Chen, Jon K; Galea, Anne M

2014-04-01

The genome-wide pattern of DNA cleavage at transcription start sites (TSSs) for the anti-tumor drug bleomycin was examined in human HeLa cells using next-generation DNA sequencing. It was found that actively transcribed genes were preferentially cleaved compared with non-transcribed genes. The 143,600 identified human TSSs were split into non-transcribed genes (82,596) and transcribed genes (61,004) for HeLa cells. These transcribed genes were further split into quintiles of 12,201 genes comprising the top 20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80, and 80-100 % of expressed genes. The bleomycin cleavage pattern at highly transcribed gene TSSs was greatly enhanced compared with purified DNA and non-transcribed gene TSSs. The top 20 and 20-40 % quintiles had a very similar enhanced cleavage pattern, the 40-60 % quintile was intermediate, while the 60-80 and 80-100 % quintiles were close to the non-transcribed and purified DNA profiles. The pattern of bleomycin enhanced cleavage had peaks that were approximately 200 bp apart, and this indicated that bleomycin was identifying the presence of phased nucleosomes at TSSs. Hence bleomycin can be utilized to detect chromatin structures that are present at actively transcribed genes. In this study, for the first time, the pattern of DNA damage by a clinically utilized cancer chemotherapeutic agent was performed on a human genome-wide scale at the nucleotide level.

Psychiatric Disorders among Children with Cerebral Palsy at School Starting Age

Science.gov (United States)

Bjorgaas, H. M.; Hysing, M.; Elgen, I.

2012-01-01

The aim of the present population study was to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children with cerebral palsy (CP), as well as the impact of comorbid conditions. A cohort of children with CP born 2001-2003, and living in the Western Health Region of Norway were evaluated at school starting age. Parents were interviewed with the…

Speed checks on the CERN site

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

In view of the significant number of speeding incidents that have been reported, CERN will shortly start to carry out speed checks on the site. The radar used for this purpose will show drivers the speed measured. The disciplinary measures taken against those exceeding the authorised limit (generally 50 k.p.h.) will include a ban from driving on the site for a minimum of one month. Maximilian Metzger
Secretary-General

Operative Start Time Does Not Affect Post-Operative Infection Risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Guidry, Christopher A; Davies, Stephen W; Willis, Rhett N; Dietch, Zachary C; Shah, Puja M; Sawyer, Robert G

2016-10-01

Surgical care is delivered 24 h a day at most institutions. Alarmingly, some authors have found that certain operative start times are associated with greater morbidity and mortality rates. This effect has been noted in both the public and private sector. Although some of these differences may be related to process, they may also be caused by the human circadian rhythm and corresponding changes in host defenses. We hypothesized that the time of day of an operation would impact the frequency of certain post-operative outcomes significantly. Cases at a single tertiary-care center reported to the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program over a 10-year period were identified. Operative start times were divided into six-hour blocks, with 6 am to noon serving as the reference. Standard univariable techniques were applied. Multivariable logistic regression with mixed effects modeling then was used to determine the relation between operative start times and infectious outcomes, controlling for surgeon clustering. Statistical significance was set at p operative infectious complication. Seventy percent of these infections (n = 1,506) were surgical site infections. On univariable analysis considering all cases, nighttime and evening operations had higher rates of post-operative infections than those in performed during the day (9.1% from 6 am to noon; 9.7% from noon to 6 pm; 14.8% from 6 pm to midnight; and 14.4% from midnight to 6 am; p operative start time was not associated with the risk of post-operative infection, even when emergency cases were considered independently. Our data suggest that operative start times have no correlation with post-operative infectious complications. Further work is required to identify the source of the time-dependent outcome variability observed in previous studies.

Integration of a working site in its regional context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Couture, J.

1986-01-01

This paper shows how a local representative has felt the decision of construction of the Paluel nuclear power plant and the problems involved, and how it has been tried to resolve them: insertion in the site, reception of the population of this big working site [fr

Photochemical processing of organic aerosol at nearby continental sites: contrast between urban plumes and regional aerosol

Science.gov (United States)

Slowik, J. G.; Brook, J.; Chang, R. Y.-W.; Evans, G. J.; Hayden, K.; Jeong, C.-H.; Li, S.-M.; Liggio, J.; Liu, P. S. K.; McGuire, M.; Mihele, C.; Sjostedt, S.; Vlasenko, A.; Abbatt, J. P. D.

2011-03-01

As part of the BAQS-Met 2007 field campaign, Aerodyne time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometers (ToF-AMS) were deployed at two sites in southwestern Ontario from 17 June to 11 July 2007. One instrument was located at Harrow, ON, a rural, agriculture-dominated area approximately 40 km southeast of the Detroit/Windsor/Windsor urban area and 5 km north of Lake Erie. The second instrument was located at Bear Creek, ON, a rural site approximately 70 km northeast of the Harrow site and 50 km east of Detroit/Windsor. Positive matrix factorization analysis of the combined organic mass spectral dataset yields factors related to secondary organic aerosol (SOA), direct emissions, and a factor tentatively attributed to the reactive uptake of isoprene and/or condensation of its early generation reaction products. This is the first application of PMF to simultaneous AMS measurements at different sites, an approach which allows for self-consistent, direct comparison of the datasets. Case studies are utilized to investigate processing of SOA from (1) fresh emissions from Detroit/Windsor and (2) regional aerosol during periods of inter-site flow. A strong correlation is observed between SOA/excess CO and photochemical age as represented by the NOx/NOy ratio for Detroit/Windsor outflow. Although this correlation is not evident for more aged air, measurements at the two sites during inter-site transport nevertheless show evidence of continued atmospheric processing by SOA production. However, the rate of SOA production decreases with airmass age from an initial value of ~10.1 μg m-3 ppmvCO-1 h-1 for the first ~10 h of plume processing to near-zero in an aged airmass (i.e. after several days). The initial SOA production rate is comparable to the observed rate in Mexico City over similar timescales.

Start codon targeted (SCoT) and target region amplification polymorphism (TRAP) for evaluating the genetic relationship of Dendrobium species.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Shangguo; He, Refeng; Yang, Sai; Chen, Zhe; Jiang, Mengying; Lu, Jiangjie; Wang, Huizhong

2015-08-10

Two molecular marker systems, start codon targeted (SCoT) and target region amplification polymorphism (TRAP), were used for genetic relationship analysis of 36 Dendrobium species collected from China. Twenty-two selected SCoT primers produced 337 loci, of which 324 (96%) were polymorphic, whereas 13 TRAP primer combinations produced a total of 510 loci, with 500 (97.8%) of them being polymorphic. An average polymorphism information content of 0.953 and 0.983 was detected using the SCoT and TRAP primers, respectively, showing that a high degree of genetic diversity exists among Chinese Dendrobium species. The partition of clusters in the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean dendrogram and principal coordinate analysis plot based on the SCoT and TRAP markers was similar and clustered the 36 Dendrobium species into four main groups. Our results will provide useful information for resource protection and will also be useful to improve the current Dendrobium breeding programs. Our results also demonstrate that SCoT and TRAP markers are informative and can be used to evaluate genetic relationships between Dendrobium species. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mochovce site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

In Mochovce site the construction of four units of WWER 440 NPP with V-213 type of reactor is being carried out. The financing of Mochovce units completion was resolved in April 1996. The completion work commenced at the construction site under leadership of SKODA Prague, the general supplier. The completion work on building part and tests of constructional electric distributions and lightning constructors started. The revisions in technological part were finished, and final protocols from revisions are the basis for starting of completion work. The assembly of transport container anchorage,ventilation system in hermetic areas and hermetic coverage of pools for stored spent nuclear fuel is being carried out. The pre-completion tests of instrumentation and control of ventilation systems, individual dosimetric control in medical station, and tests of nuclear programme according to commissioning and assembling work schedule at the equipment for physical protection of the NPP area started. Inspection activities at Mochovce were performed in accordance with inspection plan for 1996. Evaluation of routine inspections was performed by means of quarterly protocols. Main findings from the inspections performed in Mochovce were in the following areas: (a) deficiencies in the knowledge of the respective regulation and conditions from the Resolution of the state regulatory body, concerning selected employees; (b) training of the selected employees; (c) aim of the measures imposes by inspectors is to eliminate deficiencies in preparation of programmes for pre-completion and completion testing. NRA SR assessment activities at Mochovce NPP were focused mainly on approving and inspecting of design modification to approving programmes for pre-completion and completion testing of system s and equipment and on approving quality assurance programmes. The suggestions of international missions, which reviewed Mochovce safety in the years, were taken into consideration in the programme

Transition from site selection to site confirmation phase: New challenge to Posiva's communication and public involvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seppaelae, Timo

2001-01-01

In Finland, Posiva Oy is responsible for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel. In the 1990's investigations have been carried out on four intended sites for final disposal. Posiva implemented Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the investigation sites in 1997-1999. The results of the EIA procedure were published in the EIA report which was attached to the application filed to the Government in May 1999 for a policy decision on the construction of the final disposal facility in Olkiluoto in the municipality of Eurajoki. In December 2000, the Finnish Government made a favourable policy decision ( D ecision in Principle ) on the construction of final disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel in Olkiluoto. According to the decision, the facility is in line with the overall good of the society. According to the Government's decision the prerequisites of the policy decision had been met. The municipality of Eurajoki supported the construction of the facility in Olkiluoto and STUK, the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, also approved of the advancement of the project. The positive policy decision of the Government will still need to be ratified by the Parliament. The parliamentary proceedings of the policy decision will probably start in February 2001. The policy decision will make it possible for Posiva to concentrate the future site confirmation studies in Olkiluoto, Eurajoki, and construct an underground research facility there. The excavation of the research facility in the bedrock is planned to start in a few years' time. The construction of the final disposal facility is scheduled to start after the year 2010. The transition from the site selection to the site confirmation phase in Eurajoki means a new challenge not only to Posiva's research work but also to Posiva's communication. In addition to meeting the safety criteria, Posiva's activities shall in the future also meet all the criteria specified by the surrounding society

The possibility of distance methods application for snow dump sites monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pasko Olga

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this article the results of remote sensing of the Earth for monitoring of four snow dump sites in Tomsk are described. Their compliance with permitted type of the territory use was evaluated. Earlier unknown time of the operation start was identified. The spatial-temporal variability of areas was defined. The temperature profiles of snow dump and background sites were analyzed. Use of remote sensing data allowed easy identification of snow dump sites creation time. The fact that the sites are located out of zones of permitted type of the territory use was revealed, that is violation of the law. For the first time the cartographic material was collected and showed that in the recent years their areas increased in average in 18%. The fore-cast for the nearest years was made. The article contains satellite images indicting the degradation of soil-vegetative cover of snow dumps. The reasons are contamination and overcooling of the soil in the beginning of vegetation period. The research results became the initial material for perfection of snow dumps territories management and will be applied in the work of environmental protecting service. Approaches proposed by authors may be used in solving similar problems in any region.

Ash-flow tuff distribution and fault patterns as indicators of rotation of late-tertiary regional extension, Nevada test site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ander, H.D.

1983-01-01

Isopach and structure contour maps generated for Yucca Flat as well as fault pattern analyses of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) can aid in more efficient site selection and site characterization necessary for containment. Furthermore, these geologic studies indicate that most of the alluvial deposition in Yucca Flat was controlled by north-trending faults responding to a regional extension direction oriented approximately 20 0 to 30 0 west of the N50 0 W direction observed today. The Yucca Flat basin-forming Carpetbag and Yucca fault systems seem to be deflected at their southern ends into the northeast-trending Cane Spring and Mine Mountain fault systems. Left-lateral strike-slip displacement of approx. 1.4 km found on these northeasterly faults requires that most of the displacement on the combined fault systems occurred in an extension field oriented approximately N80 0 W. Fault movement in this extensional field postdates the Ammonia Tanks tuff (approx. 11 My) and was strongly active during deposition of some 1100 meters of alluvium in Yucca Flat. Time of rotation of regional extension to the presently active N50 0 W direction is unknown; however, it occurred so recently that it has not greatly modified fault displacement patterns extant at the NTS

Switch region for pathogenic structural change in conformational disease and its prediction.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Liu

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Many diseases are believed to be related to abnormal protein folding. In the first step of such pathogenic structural changes, misfolding occurs in regions important for the stability of the native structure. This destabilizes the normal protein conformation, while exposing the previously hidden aggregation-prone regions, leading to subsequent errors in the folding pathway. Sites involved in this first stage can be deemed switch regions of the protein, and can represent perfect binding targets for drugs to block the abnormal folding pathway and prevent pathogenic conformational changes. In this study, a prediction algorithm for the switch regions responsible for the start of pathogenic structural changes is introduced. With an accuracy of 94%, this algorithm can successfully find short segments covering sites significant in triggering conformational diseases (CDs and is the first that can predict switch regions for various CDs. To illustrate its effectiveness in dealing with urgent public health problems, the reason of the increased pathogenicity of H5N1 influenza virus is analyzed; the mechanisms of the pandemic swine-origin 2009 A(H1N1 influenza virus in overcoming species barriers and in infecting large number of potential patients are also suggested. It is shown that the algorithm is a potential tool useful in the study of the pathology of CDs because: (1 it can identify the origin of pathogenic structural conversion with high sensitivity and specificity, and (2 it provides an ideal target for clinical treatment.

30 CFR 75.1913 - Starting aids.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Starting aids. 75.1913 Section 75.1913 Mineral... SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Diesel-Powered Equipment § 75.1913 Starting aids. (a) Volatile fuel starting aids shall be used in accordance with recommendations provided by the starting aid...

Retroviral DNA integration: viral and cellular determinants of target-site selection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary K Lewinski

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Retroviruses differ in their preferences for sites for viral DNA integration in the chromosomes of infected cells. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV integrates preferentially within active transcription units, whereas murine leukemia virus (MLV integrates preferentially near transcription start sites and CpG islands. We investigated the viral determinants of integration-site selection using HIV chimeras with MLV genes substituted for their HIV counterparts. We found that transferring the MLV integrase (IN coding region into HIV (to make HIVmIN caused the hybrid to integrate with a specificity close to that of MLV. Addition of MLV gag (to make HIVmGagmIN further increased the similarity of target-site selection to that of MLV. A chimeric virus with MLV Gag only (HIVmGag displayed targeting preferences different from that of both HIV and MLV, further implicating Gag proteins in targeting as well as IN. We also report a genome-wide analysis indicating that MLV, but not HIV, favors integration near DNase I-hypersensitive sites (i.e., +/- 1 kb, and that HIVmIN and HIVmGagmIN also favored integration near these features. These findings reveal that IN is the principal viral determinant of integration specificity; they also reveal a new role for Gag-derived proteins, and strengthen models for integration targeting based on tethering of viral IN proteins to host proteins.

Scaling up of Carbon Exchange Dynamics from AmeriFlux Sites to a Super-Region in the Eastern United States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hans Peter Schmid; Craig Wayson

2009-05-05

The primary objective of this project was to evaluate carbon exchange dynamics across a region of North America between the Great Plains and the East Coast. This region contains about 40 active carbon cycle research (AmeriFlux) sites in a variety of climatic and landuse settings, from upland forest to urban development. The core research involved a scaling strategy that uses measured fluxes of CO{sub 2}, energy, water, and other biophysical and biometric parameters to train and calibrate surface-vegetation-atmosphere models, in conjunction with satellite (MODIS) derived drivers. To achieve matching of measured and modeled fluxes, the ecosystem parameters of the models will be adjusted to the dynamically variable flux-tower footprints following Schmid (1997). High-resolution vegetation index variations around the flux sites have been derived from Landsat data for this purpose. The calibrated models are being used in conjunction with MODIS data, atmospheric re-analysis data, and digital land-cover databases to derive ecosystem exchange fluxes over the study domain.

Press Start

Science.gov (United States)

Harteveld, Casper

This level sets the stage for the design philosophy called “Triadic Game Design” (TGD). This design philosophy can be summarized with the following sentence: it takes two to tango, but it takes three to design a meaningful game or a game with a purpose. Before the philosophy is further explained, this level will first delve into what is meant by a meaningful game or a game with a purpose. Many terms and definitions have seen the light and in this book I will specifically orient at digital games that aim to have an effect beyond the context of the game itself. Subsequently, a historical overview is given of the usage of games with a serious purpose which starts from the moment we human beings started to walk on our feet till our contemporary society. It turns out that we have been using games for all kinds of non-entertainment purposes for already quite a long time. With this introductory material in the back of our minds, I will explain the concept of TGD by means of a puzzle. After that, the protagonist of this book, the game Levee Patroller, is introduced. Based on the development of this game, the idea of TGD, which stresses to balance three different worlds, the worlds of Reality, Meaning, and Play, came into being. Interested? Then I suggest to quickly “press start!”

New public commons and network of nuclear site regions for the post-Fukushima accident re-vitalization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sawada, Tetsuo

2011-01-01

Due to the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accidents on March 11 2011, the landscape of the community of nuclear energy R and D and usage has been changing in various aspects here in Japan. With such recognition, the networking of nuclear site regions as well as consumer cities is proposed for obtaining novel-sense societal confidence, on the basis of on-going practice of atom-sports such as international MaxiMarathon and domestoic Tour de Atom. (author)

Jump Starting Entrepreneurship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burcharth, Ana; Smith, Pernille; Frederiksen, Lars

How do laid-off employees become entrepreneurs after receiving a dream start into self-employment? This question is relevant for policy makers and entrepreneurship researchers alike since it raises the possibility of a reverse entrepreneurial opportunity, in which the chance of becoming an entrep......How do laid-off employees become entrepreneurs after receiving a dream start into self-employment? This question is relevant for policy makers and entrepreneurship researchers alike since it raises the possibility of a reverse entrepreneurial opportunity, in which the chance of becoming...... an entrepreneur emerges before the discovery of a profitable opportunity. We empirically examine this question on the unique setting of a corporate entrepreneurship program. In the midst of a corporate crisis, Nokia supported laid-off employees to start their own ventures under favorable conditions. We...... persevered in their endeavors and eventually became comfortable with their new career prospects. We discuss the psychological factors that impact career transition after organizational closure and theorize weather they encourage or discourage entrepreneurship....

Central Nervous System Strongyloidiasis and Cryptococcosis in an HIV-Infected Patient Starting Antiretroviral Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mónica Rodríguez

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We report a case of Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection syndrome with central nervous system involvement, in a patient with late human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection starting antiretroviral therapy, in whom Strongyloides stercoralis larvae and Cryptococcus neoformans were isolated antemortem from cerebrospinal fluid. Our patient was not from an endemic region for the parasite, so strongyloidiasis was not originally suspected. For this reason, we conclude that Strongyloides stercoralis infection should be suspected in HIV-infected patients starting antiretroviral therapy in order to avoid potential fatal outcomes.

Variation of particle number size distributions and chemical compositions at the urban and downwind regional sites in the Pearl River Delta during summertime pollution episodes

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, D. L.; Hu, M.; Wu, Z. J.; Guo, S.; Wen, M. T.; Nowak, A.; Wehner, B.; Wiedensohler, A.; Takegawa, N.; Kondo, Y.; Wang, X. S.; Li, Y. P.; Zeng, L. M.; Zhang, Y. H.

2010-10-01

In order to characterize the features of particulate pollution in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in the summer, continuous measurements of particle number size distributions and chemical compositions were simultaneously performed at Guangzhou urban site (GZ) and Back-garden downwind regional site (BG) in July 2006. Particle number concentration from 20 nm to 10 μm at BG was (1.7±0.8)×104 cm-3, about 40% lower than that at GZ, (2.9±1.1)×104 cm-3. The total particle volume concentration at BG was 94±34 μm3 cm-3, similar to that at GZ, 96±43 μm3 cm-3. More 20-100 nm particles, significantly affected by the traffic emissions, were observed at GZ, while 100-660 nm particle number concentrations were similar at both sites as they are more regional. PM2.5 values were similar at GZ (69±43 μg m-3) and BG (69±58 μg m-3) with R2 of 0.71 for the daily average PM2.5 at these two sites, indicating the fine particulate pollution in the PRD region to be regional. Two kinds of pollution episodes, the accumulation pollution episode and the regional transport pollution episode, were observed. Fine particles over 100 nm dominated both number and volume concentrations of total particles during the late periods of these pollution episodes. Accumulation and secondary transformation are the main reasons for the nighttime accumulation pollution episode. SO42-, NO3- accounted for about 60% in 100-660 nm particle mass and PM2.5 increase. When south or southeast wind prevailed in the PRD region, regional transport of pollutants took place. Regional transport contributed about 30% to fine particulate pollution at BG during a regional transport case. Secondary transformation played an important role during regional transport, causing higher increase rates of secondary ions in PM1.0 than other species and shifting the peaks of sulfate and ammonium mass size distributions to larger sizes. SO42-, NO3-, and NH4+ accounted for about 70% and 40% of PM1.0 and PM2.5, respectively.

Report of JLC site study group

CERN Document Server

Hasegawa, T; Yamashita, S

2003-01-01

This study group selected some good sites for construction of JLC (Electron-Positron Linear Collider) on the basis of investigation of data and field survey. The aims, activity, use of underground of private land, conditions of site, selection of site at present and future, summary and proposal are reported. 9 sites (Hidaka, Kitakami, Murayama, Abukuma, Kitaibaraki, Aichi and Gifu, Takamatsu, Hiroshima and Seburi range) are selected for the construction on the basis of firm ground and 4 sites (Okinawa, Harima, Tsukuba and Mutsuogawara) for development and researches. 9 sites area consists of plutonic rock or old strata of Paleozoic era. Many problems in each site are reported. There are three following proposals; 1) the self-governing communities of the sites have to understand JLC and start to construct it by information, 2) a site evaluation committee consists of specialist of civil engineering, building, social and natural environment and disaster prevention and 3) the vibration test should be carried out ...

76 FR 50813 - Major Capital Investment Projects; Guidance on News Starts/Small Starts Policies and Procedures

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-16

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Transit Administration Major Capital Investment Projects; Guidance on News Starts/Small Starts Policies and Procedures AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA... Administration (FTA) to publish policy guidance on the New and Small Starts capital project review and evaluation...

Overview of Site Preparation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garin, P.

2006-01-01

The preparation of Cadarache as the host of ITER is organised at a double level: Europe, since the beginning of the candidature in 2001, is coordinating the so-called European ITER Site Studies; France, as the host country, has put in place a dedicated structure at a decisional level (close to the government), and operational level in the PACA region with two entities: The Agency Iter France (AIF), inside the CEA, interlocutor of international and European entities, in charge of site preparation and fund recollection; An accompanying prefectoral mission, in charge mainly of road adaptation and the international school. The paper will cover all the aspects related to the preparation of the implementation of ITER: Technical aspects: the progress of site preparation itself, its servicing (water supply, electrical supply, Internet...), the road adaptation between the large harbour of Fos-sur-mer and Cadarache, etc. will be detailed. Regulatory procedures: in the framework of the delegation that the ITER partners gave to the CEA/AIF on 14 th September 2005, two main large files are in progress: The public debate, organised by an independent authority, informs the population of the challenges and impacts of ITER in Provence; The safety documents: the writing of the preliminary safety report, which will be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Authority and the files submitted to the public during the public enquiries are ongoing. Socioeconomic aspects: the welcome of ITER staff and their families is operational, via a dedicated Welcome Office; the location of an international school in Manosque leads now to its pre-figuration. The overall organisation will be described, as well as all planning forecast for the coming years, leading to the start of construction. (author)

Positive selection neighboring functionally essential sites and disease-implicated regions of mammalian reproductive proteins.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Morgan, Claire C

2010-01-01

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Reproductive proteins are central to the continuation of all mammalian species. The evolution of these proteins has been greatly influenced by environmental pressures induced by pathogens, rival sperm, sexual selection and sexual conflict. Positive selection has been demonstrated in many of these proteins with particular focus on primate lineages. However, the mammalia are a diverse group in terms of mating habits, population sizes and germ line generation times. We have examined the selective pressures at work on a number of novel reproductive proteins across a wide variety of mammalia. RESULTS: We show that selective pressures on reproductive proteins are highly varied. Of the 10 genes analyzed in detail, all contain signatures of positive selection either across specific sites or in specific lineages or a combination of both. Our analysis of SP56 and Col1a1 are entirely novel and the results show positively selected sites present in each gene. Our findings for the Col1a1 gene are suggestive of a link between positive selection and severe disease type. We find evidence in our dataset to suggest that interacting proteins are evolving in symphony: most likely to maintain interacting functionality. CONCLUSION: Our in silico analyses show positively selected sites are occurring near catalytically important regions suggesting selective pressure to maximize efficient fertilization. In those cases where a mechanism of protein function is not fully understood, the sites presented here represent ideal candidates for mutational study. This work has highlighted the widespread rate heterogeneity in mutational rates across the mammalia and specifically has shown that the evolution of reproductive proteins is highly varied depending on the species and interacting partners. We have shown that positive selection and disease are closely linked in the Col1a1 gene.

Two DNA sites for MelR in the same orientation are sufficient for optimal MelR-dependent

OpenAIRE

Elrobh, M.; Webster, C.; Samarasinghe, S.; Durose, D.; Busby, S.

2012-01-01

The Escherichia coli melR gene encodes the MelR transcription factor that controls melibiose utilization. Expression of melR is autoregulated by MelR, which represses the melR promoter by binding to a target that overlaps the transcript start. Here, we show that MelR-dependent repression of the melR promoter can be enhanced by the presence of a second single DNA site for MelR located up to 250 base pairs upstream. Parallels with AraC-dependent repression at the araC–araBAD regulatory region a...

45 CFR 1308.21 - Parent participation and transition of children into Head Start and from Head Start to public...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... into Head Start and from Head Start to public school. 1308.21 Section 1308.21 Public Welfare... AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES, HEAD START PROGRAM HEAD START... Standards § 1308.21 Parent participation and transition of children into Head Start and from Head Start to...

New site selection for the immigrant transit of the post-disaster reconstruction of Wenchuan earthquake region

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Wunian; Hu, Guochao; Liu, Hanhu; Peng, Li

2009-06-01

The strong earthquake struck on 12 May 2008 destroyed numerous houses in Wenchuan, Sichuan, China. This earthquake escalated the scale of existing geological disasters, undermined the stability of earthquake-prone zones, and triggered landslides and many other hidden disasters. In addition, many aftershocks and heavy rainfalls have prompted secondary disasters and consequently, the actual damages have been doubled in terms of scale and magnitude. Since some regions there are no longer appropriate for people to live, temporary housing and post-disaster reconstruction are badly needed. Recent advances in remote sensing and geospatial technologies have promoted their successful applications in siting engineering. Because of different research backgrounds, geological disasters and vegetation density were rarely incorporated as primary parameters for siting assessment. Based on the principles of avoiding active faults and encouraging synthetic prevention of geological disasters, we performed a locating analysis using part of the Wenchuan County as a case. Six major parameters were used to build a siting model, including geological disasters, vegetation index, stream systems, faults, terrain slope, and elevation. The results show that the proposed method can provide useful information for decision-making in the selection of temporary housing and post-disaster reconstruction.

[How to start a neuroimaging study].

Science.gov (United States)

Narumoto, Jin

2012-06-01

In order to help researchers understand how to start a neuroimaging study, several tips are described in this paper. These include 1) Choice of an imaging modality, 2) Statistical method, and 3) Interpretation of the results. 1) There are several imaging modalities available in clinical research. Advantages and disadvantages of each modality are described. 2) Statistical Parametric Mapping, which is the most common statistical software for neuroimaging analysis, is described in terms of parameter setting in normalization and level of significance. 3) In the discussion section, the region which shows a significant difference between patients and normal controls should be discussed in relation to the neurophysiology of the disease, making reference to previous reports from neuroimaging studies in normal controls, lesion studies and animal studies. A typical pattern of discussion is described.

Satellite power system (SPS). Rectenna siting: availability and distribution of nominally eligible sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-11-01

Siting of 60 ground receiving stations (rectennas) for the SPS may pose a problem due to the large area per rectenna (15,000 hectares, 38,000 acres) and numerous siting constraints. This study analyzes areas potentially eligible for rectenna sites by mapping, at a national scale, those conditions which would preclude rectenna construction. These exclusion variables which reflect restricted lands, topography, safety, national policy and electromagnetic (microwave) effects, have been computer encoded and tabulated. Subsequent analysis of the nine electric power planning regions that make up the contiguous states indicate an apparently adequate number of nominally eligible sites in all regions in comparison to projected electrical generation. Eligibility in this context means only that areas were not excluded in this national level analysis; more detailed investigation may reveal purely local constraints or smaller scale exclusions. A second major qualification relates to small isolated eligible areas. Eliminating individual eligible clusters with less than nine times the area of one rectenna eliminates much of the Eastern US; a four-to-one adjacent eligible area test poses no such problem. An independant study of the placement of 60 nominal sites in relation to projected load centers reveals that, even with modest transmission distances, the supply of eligible areas is not a key constraint, except perhaps in the Mid-Atlantic (Electric Reliability) Council Region. Even when several less critical (potential) exclusions are considered, more than 19% of the US is eligible; every region except Mid-Atlantic has at least 50 times an many eligible sites as are required.

Serotonin-stimulated phosphoinositide turnover: mediation by the S2 binding site in rat cerebral cortex but not in subcortical regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conn, P.J.; Sanders-Bush, E.

1985-01-01

In rat cerebral cortex, serotonin (5-HT) stimulates phosphoinositide turnover with an EC50 of 1 microM in the presence of pargyline. The EC50 is 16-fold higher in the absence of pargyline. Selective S2 antagonists inhibit 5-HT-stimulated phosphoinositide turnover. Schild analysis of the blockade by ketanserin of the 5-HT effect gives an estimated Kd of ketanserin for the phosphoinositide-linked receptor of 11.7 nM, which agrees with the Kd (3.5 nM) of [ 3 H]ketanserin for the S2 site. Furthermore, MK-212, 5-HT and 5-fluorotryptamine stimulate phosphoinositide turnover with potencies that resemble their potencies at the S2 but not the S1 binding site. Of 11 agonists tested, the tryptamine derivatives tend to be more efficacious than the piperazine derivatives. The selective S1 agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-N-propylamino)tetralin is inactive at stimulating phosphoinositide turnover. No significant relationship exists between the regional distributions of 5-HT-stimulated phosphoinositide turnover and S2 binding sites. Furthermore, the S2 antagonist ketanserin is less potent and less efficacious in hippocampus and limbic forebrain than in cerebral cortex. These data suggest that 5-HT-stimulated phosphoinositide turnover is linked to the S2 binding site in rat cerebral cortex. However, 5-HT increases phosphoinositide turnover in subcortical regions by mechanisms other than stimulation of the S2 receptor

Introduction of a glycosylation site in the constant region decreases the aggregation of adalimumab Fab.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Hitomi; Oda-Ueda, Naoko; Ueda, Tadashi; Ohkuri, Takatoshi

2018-06-18

The production of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies is costly; therefore, antigen-binding fragments (Fabs) can be used instead. However, their tendency toward aggregation can reduce the half-life in the plasma and the therapeutic effectiveness. To examine the effect of glycosylation on the properties of the Fab of a therapeutic antibody, an N-glycosylation site was introduced at position 178 of the H-chain constant region of adalimumab Fab through site-directed mutagenesis of L178 N (H:L178 N Fab), and then H:L178 N Fab was expressed in Pichia pastoris. SDS-PAGE analysis with treatment of N-glycosidase F or periodic acid-Schiff reagent showed that H:L178 N Fab contained a relatively low glycan level. Moreover, the H:L178 N mutation did not decrease the binding activity and thermal stability of Fab, and H:L178 N Fab was more resistant to protease digestion than wild-type Fab. The aggregation of Fab induced by pH-shift stress was measured by monitoring the optical density at 350 nm. Although the wild-type Fab showed a large increase in optical density with an increase of protein concentration, no such increase of turbidity during aggregation was found in H:L178 N Fab. These results demonstrated that glycosylation at position 178 of the H-chain constant region of adalimumab Fab can prevent protein aggregation, and therefore serve as a potentially effective platform for drug development. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Photochemical processing of organic aerosol at nearby continental sites: contrast between urban plumes and regional aerosol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. G. Slowik

2011-03-01

Full Text Available As part of the BAQS-Met 2007 field campaign, Aerodyne time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometers (ToF-AMS were deployed at two sites in southwestern Ontario from 17 June to 11 July 2007. One instrument was located at Harrow, ON, a rural, agriculture-dominated area approximately 40 km southeast of the Detroit/Windsor/Windsor urban area and 5 km north of Lake Erie. The second instrument was located at Bear Creek, ON, a rural site approximately 70 km northeast of the Harrow site and 50 km east of Detroit/Windsor. Positive matrix factorization analysis of the combined organic mass spectral dataset yields factors related to secondary organic aerosol (SOA, direct emissions, and a factor tentatively attributed to the reactive uptake of isoprene and/or condensation of its early generation reaction products. This is the first application of PMF to simultaneous AMS measurements at different sites, an approach which allows for self-consistent, direct comparison of the datasets. Case studies are utilized to investigate processing of SOA from (1 fresh emissions from Detroit/Windsor and (2 regional aerosol during periods of inter-site flow. A strong correlation is observed between SOA/excess CO and photochemical age as represented by the NO_x/NO_y ratio for Detroit/Windsor outflow. Although this correlation is not evident for more aged air, measurements at the two sites during inter-site transport nevertheless show evidence of continued atmospheric processing by SOA production. However, the rate of SOA production decreases with airmass age from an initial value of ~10.1 μg m⁻³ ppmv_CO⁻¹ h⁻¹ for the first ~10 h of plume processing to near-zero in an aged airmass (i.e. after several days. The initial SOA production rate is comparable to the observed rate in Mexico City over similar timescales.

Site characterization plan: Yucca Mountain Site, Nevada Research and Development Area, Nevada: Volume 9, Index

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1988-12-01

This site characterization plan (SCP) has been developed for the candidate repository site at Yucca Mountain in the State of Nevada. The SCP includes a description of the Yucca Mountain site (Chapters 1-5), a conceptual design for the repository (Chapter 6), a description of the packaging to be used for the waste to be emplaced in the repository (Chapter 7), and a description of the planned site characterization activities (Chapter 8). The schedules and milestones presented in Sections 8.3 and 8.5 of the SCP were developed to be consistent with the June 1988 draft Amendment to the DOE`s Mission Plan for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program. The five month delay in the scheduled start of exploratory shaft construction that was announced recently is not reflected in these schedules.

Central interstate low-level radioactive waste compact region site exclusionary screening study. Phase I. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-06-01

The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980 assigns to the states the responsibility for disposal of the low-level radioactive waste generated within their boundaries. It also provides for regional compacts among states to address their needs on a broader basis and permits restriction of the use of regional disposal facilities after January 1, 1986, to generators of low-level waste within the region. Each state, either individually or as a member of a compact, must therefore consider the establishment of a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility within its borders. The states of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Oklahoma adopted the Central Interstate Low-Level Waste Compact (CILLWC) and legislation was submitted to Congress for consent in June of 1983 legislation is being reintroduced in the 99th Congress. In August of 1984, the CILLWC selected and contracted Dames and Moore to conduct a Phase I-Site Suitability Screening Study for a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in the five-state region. This report presents the results of the Phase I Screening Study. Dames and Moore reported to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the CILLWC which provided guidance and comment on work progress and direction

Early Site Permit Demonstration Program: Recommendations for communication activities and public participation in the Early Site Permit Demonstration Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

On October 24, 1992, President Bush signed into law the National Energy Policy Act of 1992. The bill is a sweeping, comprehensive overhaul of the Nation's energy laws, the first in more than a decade. Among other provisions, the National Energy Policy Act reforms the licensing process for new nuclear power plants by adopting a new approach developed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 1989, and upheld in court in 1992. The NRC 10 CFR Part 52 rule is a three-step process that guarantees public participation at each step. The steps are: early site permit approval; standard design certifications; and, combined construction/operating licenses for nuclear power reactors. Licensing reform increases an organization's ability to respond to future baseload electricity generation needs with less financial risk for ratepayers and the organization. Costly delays can be avoided because design, safety and siting issues will be resolved before a company starts to build a plant. Specifically, early site permit approval allows for site suitability and acceptability issues to be addressed prior to an organization's commitment to build a plant. Responsibility for site-specific activities, including communications and public participation, rests with those organizations selected to try out early site approval. This plan has been prepared to assist those companies (referred to as sponsoring organizations) in planning their communications and public involvement programs. It provides research findings, information and recommendations to be used by organizations as a resource and starting point in developing their own plans

Pre-start timing information is used to set final linear speed in a C-start manoeuvre.

Science.gov (United States)

Reinel, Caroline; Schuster, Stefan

2014-08-15

In their unique hunting behaviour, archerfish use a complex motor decision to secure their prey: based solely on how dislodged prey initially falls, they select an adapted C-start manoeuvre that turns the fish right towards the point on the water surface where their prey will later land. Furthermore, they take off at a speed that is set so as to arrive in time. We show here that the C-start manoeuvre and not subsequent tail beating is necessary and sufficient for setting this adaptive level of speed. Furthermore, the C-start pattern is adjusted to independently determine both the turning angle and the take-off speed. The selection of both aspects requires no a priori information and is done based on information sampled from the onset of target motion until the C-start is launched. Fin strokes can occur right after the C-start manoeuvre but are not required to fine-tune take-off speed, but rather to maintain it. By probing the way in which the fish set their take-off speed in a wide range of conditions in which distance from the later catching point and time until impact varied widely and unpredictably, we found that the C-start manoeuvre is programmed based on pre-C-start estimates of distance and time until impact. Our study hence provides the first evidence for a C-start that is fine-tuned to produce an adaptive speed level. © 2014. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Forest decline research in Northrhine-Westphalia at the regional research site Eggegebirge/Velmerstot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prinz, B.; Koeth, I.; Krause, G.H.M.; Thiele, V.

1989-01-01

In 1984 Northrhine Westfalia established a research program 'Air Pollution and Forest Decline'. Results of various experiments, carried out on the level of 1. epidemiological observations, 2. semi-controlled experiments in open-to-chambers as well as 3. controlled fumigation experiments are presented as an overview. Emphasis is put on field experiments at the regional research site Eggegebirge/Velmerstot, where the Landesanstalt fuer Immissionsschutz analysed among others yearly nutrient cycling and leaching phenomena of injured and healthy spruce trees (type: montanious yellowing). Deposition measurements were carried on a horizontal and vertical trajectory outside and inside a young spruce stand. Preliminary results showed that atmospheric acidic deposition accounts only for 1/3 of the acidification of the soil within the stand, where acidification processes are most prevalent. (orig.) [de

Regional economic impact assessment: Evaluating remedial alternatives for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, Portland, Oregon, USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, David; Coughlin, Conor; Hogan, Dylan; Edwards, Deborah A; Smith, Benjamin C

2018-01-01

The present paper describes a methodology for evaluating impacts of Superfund remedial alternatives on the regional economy in the context of a broader sustainability evaluation. Although economic impact methodology is well established, some applications to Superfund remedial evaluation have created confusion because of seemingly contradictory results. This confusion arises from failure to be explicit about 2 opposing impacts of remediation expenditures: 1) positive regional impacts of spending additional money in the region and 2) negative regional impacts of the need to pay for the expenditures (and thus forgo other expenditures in the region). The present paper provides a template for economic impact assessment that takes both positive and negative impacts into account, thus providing comprehensive estimates of net impacts. The paper also provides a strategy for identifying and estimating major uncertainties in the net impacts. The recommended methodology was applied at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, located along the Lower Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, USA. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) developed remedial alternatives that it estimated would cost up to several billion dollars, with construction durations possibly lasting decades. The economic study estimated regional economic impacts-measured in terms of gross regional product (GRP), personal income, population, and employment-for 5 of the USEPA alternatives relative to the "no further action" alternative. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:32-42. © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

SEM-REV: A sea test site for Marine Energy Converter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berhault, Christian; Le Crom, Izan; Le Bihan, Gerard

2015-01-01

Thanks to a main funding of Region des Pays de la Loire, the sea test site SEM-REV has been developed by Ecole Centrale de Nantes since 2007 to test both Wave Energy Converters and Floating Wind Turbine in real sea conditions. The sea test site is equipped with a set of oceanographic sensors and with an electric cable of 8 MW, connected to the French grid. The project is located close to Le Croisic, Western coast of France. SEM-REV is one of the main test facilities operated by Ecole Centrale de Nantes to support MRE technologies development. After presenting the initial motivations of the SEM-REV development, the paper describes, in parts 1 and 2, the complete administrative and technical processes that were followed to reach SEM-REV commissioning in 2014. The third part is focused on the exploitation process, including technical and contractual specifications imposed to the MRE developers for installation, tests and decommissioning phases. Some words are given also on the R and D projects using the SEM-REV in-situ monitoring system: prediction of environmental conditions, bio-fooling, acoustic impact. Even if operational phase is not started, expected extensions of the tests site are listed. (authors)

Asymptotic shape of the region visited by an Eulerian walker.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapri, Rajeev; Dhar, Deepak

2009-11-01

We study an Eulerian walker on a square lattice, starting from an initial randomly oriented background using Monte Carlo simulations. We present evidence that, for a large number of steps N , the asymptotic shape of the set of sites visited by the walker is a perfect circle. The radius of the circle increases as N1/3, for large N , and the width of the boundary region grows as Nalpha/3, with alpha=0.40+/-0.06 . If we introduce stochasticity in the evolution rules, the mean-square displacement of the walker, approximately approximately N2nu, shows a crossover from the Eulerian (nu=1/3) to a simple random-walk (nu=1/2) behavior.

Regional differences in gene expression and promoter usage in aged human brains

KAUST Repository

Pardo, Luba M.

2013-02-19

To characterize the promoterome of caudate and putamen regions (striatum), frontal and temporal cortices, and hippocampi from aged human brains, we used high-throughput cap analysis of gene expression to profile the transcription start sites and to quantify the differences in gene expression across the 5 brain regions. We also analyzed the extent to which methylation influenced the observed expression profiles. We sequenced more than 71 million cap analysis of gene expression tags corresponding to 70,202 promoter regions and 16,888 genes. More than 7000 transcripts were differentially expressed, mainly because of differential alternative promoter usage. Unexpectedly, 7% of differentially expressed genes were neurodevelopmental transcription factors. Functional pathway analysis on the differentially expressed genes revealed an overrepresentation of several signaling pathways (e.g., fibroblast growth factor and wnt signaling) in hippocampus and striatum. We also found that although 73% of methylation signals mapped within genes, the influence of methylation on the expression profile was small. Our study underscores alternative promoter usage as an important mechanism for determining the regional differences in gene expression at old age.

Preschool Facilities - MDC_HeadStart

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Local Govt | GIS Inventory — A label (point) feature class of Head Start / Early Head Start/ Delegate Agencies/ Child Care Partnership & Family Day Care Homes Programs location in Miami-Dade...

Criteria of site assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibbs, P.; Fuchs, H.

1975-01-01

The criteria which lead to the choice of a particular site for a nuclear power station are in general very similar to those which would apply to any other type of power station. The principal differences derive from the simpler transport problems for the fuel compared with, say, solid fuel and the special safety considerations which attach to nuclear reactors. The search for a suitable site obviously starts by considering where the power is needed, i.e. where the load centers are and also the existing transmission network which may help to bring the power from a more remote site to the load centers. This economic incentive to put the plant close to loads conflicts directly with the nuclear safety argument which favours more remote siting, and part of the problem of site selection is to reconcile these two matters. In addition, there are many other important matters which will be considered later concerning the adequacy of cooling water supplies, foundation conditions, etc., all of which must be examined in considerable detail. (orig./TK) [de

Specialized sorting and measuring system for site remediation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Runge, H.; Christ, G.

2001-01-01

The machine design and measurement philosophy of the SSGE, developed for excavation and treatment of some 21,000 metric tons of ground material and concrete from NUKEM decommissioned fuel element factory, have already been passed the official licensing procedure. The start up of site clean-up is scheduled for summer 2001. With the SSGE there has been made available a method to safe and economically remediate contaminated ground of nuclear sites. The SSEG, being a mobile system, can be applied at various sites

Allegheny County Illegal Dump Sites

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — The Illegal Dump Site dataset includes information on illegal dump sites, their type of trash, and the estimate tons of trash at each site. The information was...

CMS Tracker Alignment Performance Results Start-Up 2017

CERN Document Server

CMS Collaboration

2017-01-01

During the LHC shutdown in Winter 2016/17, the CMS pixel detector, the inner component of the CMS Tracker, was replaced by the Phase-1 upgrade detector. Among others improvements, the new pixel detector consists of four instead of three layers in the central barrel region (BPIX) and three instead of two disks in the endcap regions (FPIX). In this report, performance plots of the first pixel-detector alignment results are presented, which were obtained with cosmic-ray data taken prior to the start of the 2017 LHC pp operation. Alignment constants have been derived using the data collected initially at 0T and later at 3.8T magnetic field to the level of single module positions in the pixel detector, while keeping the alignment parameters of the strip detector fixed at the values determined in the end of 2016. The complete understanding of the alignment and biases was derived by using two algorithms, Millepede-II and HipPy. The results confirm each other.

Comparison of microbial contamination at various sites along the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study was aimed at investigating and comparing the microbial contamination levels at various sites in the Plankenburg and Diep Rivers in the Western Cape, South Africa. Sampling of sites along the Plankenburg River started in June 2004 and continued for a period of 1 year until June 2005. Sampling of the Diep ...

Getting started with Unity

CERN Document Server

Felicia, Patrick

2013-01-01

Getting Started with Unity is written in an easy-to-follow tutorial format.""Getting Started with Unity"" is for[ 3D game developers[/color] who would like to learn how to use Unity3D and become familiar with its core features. This book is also suitable for intermediate users who would like to improve their skills. No prior knowledge of Unity3D is required.

An evaluation of the regional supply of biomass at three midwestern sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

English, B.C.; Dillivan, K.D.; Ojo, M.A.; Alexander, R.R. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Graham, R.L. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1993-12-31

Research has been conducted on both the agronomy and the conversion of biomass. However, few studies have been initiated that combine the knowledge of growing biomass with site specific resource availability information. An economic appraisal of how much biomass might be grown in a specific area for a given price has only just been initiated. This paper examines the economics of introducing biomass production to three midwest representative areas centered on the following counties, Orange County, Indiana; Olmsted County, Minnesota; and Cass County, North Dakota. Using a regional linear programming model, estimates of economic feasibility as well as environmental impacts are made. At a price of $53 per metric ton the biomass supplied to the plant gate is equal to 183,251 metric tons. At $62 per metric ton the biomass supply has increased to almost 1 million metric tons. The model predicts a maximum price of $88 per metric ton and at this price, 2,748,476 metric tons of biomass are produced.

Prospects for site specific weed management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Svend; Rasmussen, Jesper; Pedersen, Søren Marcus

2014-01-01

Research on Site Specific Weed Management (SSWM) started in the late 80's. Since that moment, considerable research has been conducted on different aspects of SSWM, from fundamental studies on the spatial ecology of weeds to the applied development and testing of new technologies for weed detection...

Vandellos 1 NPP partial site release after level 2 decommissioning, using Marssim

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Medinilla, G.; Sanchez, M.; Peinador, M. [Initec-Westinghouse, Madrid (Spain); Lopez, M.T. [ENRESA, Madrid (Spain)

2008-07-01

The Vandellos 1 nuclear power plant is a french technology 480 MWe graphite gas cooled reactor, located in the spanish mediterranean coast, in the province of Tarragona. It started commercial operations in 1972 and that was definitively shutdown after a turbine fire in 1989, being decommissioned by ENRESA to reach IAEA level 2 in 2005, starting a dormancy period that will last around 20 years before the final phase of the decommissioning is executed to reach the ''greenfield'' state. For the plant remaining structures during this dormancy period the site needs not to keep its original size of approx. 130000 m{sup 2}, so ENRESA took the decision of starting a partial site release process of almost a half of the site aiming to exclude that part from regulatory control, applying US MARSSIM methodology. Main activities included: - Site radiological characterization - Derived concentration guideline limits calculation - Definition and classification of survey units Development and testing of scanning devices and procedures - Pilot application of full process to two survey units A summary of the scope and results of these activities is presented in this paper. (authors)

A review of fire effects on vegetation and soils in the Great Basin region: response and ecological site characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Richard F.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Pyke, David A.; Pierson, Fred B.; Williams, C. Jason

2013-01-01

This review synthesizes the state of knowledge on fire effects on vegetation and soils in semi-arid ecosystems in the Great Basin Region, including the central and northern Great Basin and Range, Columbia River Basin, and the Snake River Plain. We summarize available literature related to: (1) the effects of environmental gradients, ecological site, and vegetation characteristics on resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive species; (2) the effects of fire on individual plant species and communities, biological soil crusts, seed banks, soil nutrients, and hydrology; and (3) the role of fire severity, fire versus fire surrogate treatments, and post-fire grazing in determining ecosystem response. From this, we identify knowledge gaps and present a framework for predicting plant successional trajectories following wild and prescribed fires and fire surrogate treatments. Possibly the three most important ecological site characteristics that influence a site’s resilience (ability of the ecological site to recover from disturbance) and resistance to invasive species are soil temperature/moisture regimes and the composition and structure of vegetation on the ecological site just prior to the disturbance event.

High-Affinity Interaction of the K-Ras4B Hypervariable Region with the Ras Active Site

Science.gov (United States)

Chavan, Tanmay S.; Jang, Hyunbum; Khavrutskii, Lyuba; Abraham, Sherwin J.; Banerjee, Avik; Freed, Benjamin C.; Johannessen, Liv; Tarasov, Sergey G.; Gaponenko, Vadim; Nussinov, Ruth; Tarasova, Nadya I.

2015-01-01

Ras proteins are small GTPases that act as signal transducers between cell surface receptors and several intracellular signaling cascades. They contain highly homologous catalytic domains and flexible C-terminal hypervariable regions (HVRs) that differ across Ras isoforms. KRAS is among the most frequently mutated oncogenes in human tumors. Surprisingly, we found that the C-terminal HVR of K-Ras4B, thought to minimally impact the catalytic domain, directly interacts with the active site of the protein. The interaction is almost 100-fold tighter with the GDP-bound than the GTP-bound protein. HVR binding interferes with Ras-Raf interaction, modulates binding to phospholipids, and slightly slows down nucleotide exchange. The data indicate that contrary to previously suggested models of K-Ras4B signaling, HVR plays essential roles in regulation of signaling. High affinity binding of short peptide analogs of HVR to K-Ras active site suggests that targeting this surface with inhibitory synthetic molecules for the therapy of KRAS-dependent tumors is feasible. PMID:26682817

Application of trajectory clustering and source attribution methods for investigating regional CO2 and CH4 concentrations at Germany's highest mountain site

Science.gov (United States)

Giemsa, Esther; Jacobeit, Jucundus; Ries, Ludwig; Frank, Gabriele; Hachinger, Stephan; Meyer-Arnek, Julian

2017-04-01

Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) represent the most important contributors to increased radiative forcing enhancing it together by contemporary 2.65 W/m2 on the global average (IPCC 2013). The unbroken increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHG) has been unequivocally attributed to human emissions mainly coming from fossil fuel burning and land-use changes, while the oceans and terrestrial ecosystems slightly attenuate this rise with seasonally varying strength. Short-term fluctuations in the GHG concentrations that superimpose the seasonal cycle and the climate change driven trend reflect the presence of regional sources and sinks. A perfect place for investigating the comprehensive influence of these regional emissions is provided by the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus (47.42°N, 10.98°E, 2.650m a.s.l.) situated in the eastern Alps at the southern side of Zugspitze mountain. Located just 300m below the highest peak of the German Alps, the exposed site is one of the currently 30 global core sites of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) programme and thus provides ideal conditions to study source-receptor relationships for greenhouse gases. We propose a stepwise statistical methodology for examining the relationship between synoptic-scale atmospheric transport patterns and climate gas mole fractions to finally receive a characterization of the sampling site with regard to the key processes driving CO2 and CH4 concentration levels. The first step entails a reliable radon-based filtering approach to subdivide the detected air masses according to their regional or 'background' origin. Simultaneously, a large number of ten-day back-trajectories from Schneefernerhaus every two hours over the entire study period 2011 - 2015 is calculated with the Lagrangian transport and dispersion model FLEXPART (Stohl et al. 2005) and subjected to cluster analysis. The weather- and emission strength-related (short

Occurrence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in high altitude sites of the Patagonian Altoandina region in Nahuel Huapi National Park (Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Silvana Velázquez

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Knowledge of the occurrence and diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF in National Parks is essential for the establishment of policies for conservation. The aim of this study was to characterize the AMF communities in the Patagonian Altoandina region in Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina. We surveyed AMF spores associated with the rhizospheres of 9 plant species in the Patagonian Steppe (PS, Challhuaco Hill (ChH, Catedral Hill (CH, and Tronador Hill (TH regions and detected a total of 27 Glomeromycota species. Acaulospora laevis was dominant at all sites. The AMF community was dominated by Acaulosporaceae, as regards the number of species and contribution of each one to the total number of spores. Three Glomeromycota families were detected at PS, the site with the lowest elevation; whereas five to six families were detected at ChH, CH, and TH. Cluster analysis indicated that the AMF communities were grouped according to habitat. We concluded that certain patterns of the AMFcommunity structure detected were equivalent to those of high-altitude environments from other studies, while others were unique to the Patagonian region; thus suggesting that historical influences like dispersion and speciation played a critical role in shaping AMF community composition in such high-altitude environments.

Characterization of residual biomass from the Arequipa region for the production of biofuels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Laura Stronguiló Leturia

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to select residual biomass from the Arequipa Region for the production of biofuels (biodiesel, bioethanol and biogas. In each case, the initial point is a matrix based on products with residual biomass available in the region, from the agricultural and livestock sectors, information that was obtained from the regional Management of Agriculture web site. Specific factors of the resudue that will be used as raw material for each biofuel production would be considered for the selection process. For the production of biodiesel it is necessary to start from the oil extracted from oilseeds. Regarding obtaining bioethanol, it requires that the residual biomass has high percent of cellulose. With regard to the generation of biogas, we will use animal droppings. Finally, the raw materials selected are: squash and avocado seeds for biodiesel, rice chaff and deseeded corncob for bioethanol and cow and sheep droppings for biogas

A new approach to the LILW repository site selection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mele, I.; Zeleznik, N.

1998-01-01

After the failure of site selection, which was performed between 1990-1993, the Agency for Radwaste Management was urged to start a new site selection process for low and intermediate level waste (LILW). Since this is the most sensitive and delicate phase of the whole disposal project extensive analyses of foreign and domestic experiences in siting were performed. Three different models were studied and discussed at a workshop on preparation of the siting procedure for LILW repository. The participants invited to the workshop supported the combined approach, to the site selection, which is presented in this paper.(author)

Indigenous microbial capability in solid manure residues to start-up solid-phase anaerobic digesters.

Science.gov (United States)

Yap, S D; Astals, S; Jensen, P D; Batstone, D J; Tait, S

2017-06-01

Batch solid-phase anaerobic digestion is a technology for sustainable on-farm treatment of solid residues, but is an emerging technology that is yet to be optimised with respect to start-up and inoculation. In the present study, spent bedding from two piggeries (site A and B) were batch digested at total solids (TS) concentration of 5, 10 and 20% at mesophilic (37°C) and thermophilic (55°C) temperatures, without adding an external inoculum. The results showed that the indigenous microbial community present in spent bedding was able to recover the full methane potential of the bedding (140±5 and 227±6L CH 4 kgVS fed -1 for site A and B, respectively), but longer treatment times were required than for digestion with an added external inoculum. Nonetheless, at high solid loadings (i.e. TS level>10%), the digestion performance was affected by chemical inhibition due to ammonia and/or humic acid. Thermophilic temperatures did not influence digestion performance but did increase start-up failure risk. Further, inoculation of residues from the batch digestion to subsequent batch enhanced start-up and achieved full methane potential recovery of the bedding. Inoculation with liquid residue (leachate) was preferred over a solid residue, to preserve treatment capacity for fresh substrate. Overall, the study highlighted that indigenous microbial community in the solid manure residue was capable of recovering full methane potential and that solid-phase digestion was ultimately limited by chemical inhibition rather than lack of suitable microbial community. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Starting out

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ans Merens; Freek Bucx

2018-01-01

Original title: Werken aan de start Women in the Netherlands have been outperforming men in education for many years now. However, this superior educational achievement does not translate into a better position on the labour market. More women work today than in the past, but still fewer than men.

Preliminary evaluation of techniques for transforming regional climate model output to the potential repository site in support of Yucca Mountain future climate synthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Church, H.W.; Zak, B.D.; Behl, Y.K.

1995-06-01

The report describes a preliminary evaluation of models for transforming regional climate model output from a regional to a local scale for the Yucca Mountain area. Evaluation and analysis of both empirical and numerical modeling are discussed which is aimed at providing site-specific, climate-based information for use by interfacing activities. Two semiempirical approaches are recommended for further analysis

Start 2: Thinking one move ahead

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaines, L.L.

1991-11-01

At their summit meeting in the spring of 1990, Presidents Bush and Gorbachev issued a joint statement expressing their intentions to continue the process of strategic arms control beyond the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which was eventually signed in July 1991, toward agreement on further reductions. They set general goals for negotiation of a follow-on treaty to START, which has been called START II. President Bush`s historic speech on September 27, 1991, reinforced those goals and specified several actions the US would take. It is the purpose of this report to examine possible provisions of START II and the implications of those provisions for achievement of the goals set at the 1990 summit, for verifiability, and for US force planning. This look ahead will contribute to advance planning of appropriate negotiating positions, verification research and development (R&D), and force modernization and restructuring. This report describes the goals for a START II treaty and possible means for achieving them. It postulates one set of provisions for such a treaty, while it examines force structures for the US that could result from adoption of a treaty with these provisions. The adequacy of methods for verifying START II are examined and the implications of a START II treaty are postulated.

Start 2: Thinking one move ahead

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaines, L.L.

1991-11-01

At their summit meeting in the spring of 1990, Presidents Bush and Gorbachev issued a joint statement expressing their intentions to continue the process of strategic arms control beyond the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which was eventually signed in July 1991, toward agreement on further reductions. They set general goals for negotiation of a follow-on treaty to START, which has been called START II. President Bush's historic speech on September 27, 1991, reinforced those goals and specified several actions the US would take. It is the purpose of this report to examine possible provisions of START II and the implications of those provisions for achievement of the goals set at the 1990 summit, for verifiability, and for US force planning. This look ahead will contribute to advance planning of appropriate negotiating positions, verification research and development (R D), and force modernization and restructuring. This report describes the goals for a START II treaty and possible means for achieving them. It postulates one set of provisions for such a treaty, while it examines force structures for the US that could result from adoption of a treaty with these provisions. The adequacy of methods for verifying START II are examined and the implications of a START II treaty are postulated.

SitesIdentify: a protein functional site prediction tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doig Andrew J

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The rate of protein structures being deposited in the Protein Data Bank surpasses the capacity to experimentally characterise them and therefore computational methods to analyse these structures have become increasingly important. Identifying the region of the protein most likely to be involved in function is useful in order to gain information about its potential role. There are many available approaches to predict functional site, but many are not made available via a publicly-accessible application. Results Here we present a functional site prediction tool (SitesIdentify, based on combining sequence conservation information with geometry-based cleft identification, that is freely available via a web-server. We have shown that SitesIdentify compares favourably to other functional site prediction tools in a comparison of seven methods on a non-redundant set of 237 enzymes with annotated active sites. Conclusion SitesIdentify is able to produce comparable accuracy in predicting functional sites to its closest available counterpart, but in addition achieves improved accuracy for proteins with few characterised homologues. SitesIdentify is available via a webserver at http://www.manchester.ac.uk/bioinformatics/sitesidentify/

Satellite SAR imagery for site discovery, change detection and monitoring activities in cultural heritage sites: experiments on the Nasca region, Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Tapete, D.; Cigna, F.; Masini, N.; Lasaponara, R.

2012-04-01

Besides their suitability for multi-temporal and spatial deformation analysis, the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image archives acquired by space-borne radar sensors can be exploited to support archaeological investigations over huge sites, even those partially or totally buried and still to be excavated. Amplitude information is one of the main properties of SAR data from which it is possible to retrieve evidences of buried structures, using feature extraction and texture analysis. Multi-temporality allows the reconstruction of past and recent evolution of both landscape and built-up environment, with the possibility to detect natural and/or anthropogenic changes, including human-induced damages to the conservation of cultural heritage. We present the methodology and first results of the experiments currently undertaken using SAR data in the Nasca region (Southern Peru), where two important civilizations such as Paracas and Nasca developed and flourished from 4th century BC to the 6th century AD. The study areas include a wide spectrum of archaeological and environmental elements to be preserved, among which: the archaeological site of Cahuachi and its surroundings, considered the largest adobe Ceremonial Centre in the World; the Nasca lines and geoglyphs in the areas of Palpa, Atarco and Nasca; the ancient networks of aqueducts and drainage galleries in the Puquios area, built by Nasca in the 1st-6th centuries AD. Archaeological prospection and multi-purpose remote sensing activities are currently carried out in the framework of the Italian mission of heritage Conservation and Archaeogeophysics (ITACA), with the direct involvement of researchers from the Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage and the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, Italian National Research Council. In this context, C- and L-band SAR images covering the Nasca region since 2001 were identified for the purposes of this research and, in particular, the following

Reactor decommissioning strategy: a new start for BNFL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woollam, P.; Nurden, P.

2001-01-01

The key points of BNFL Magnox Electric's revised waste management and reactor decommissioning strategy for the reactor sites are enlisted. Reactors will be defuelled as soon as practicable after shutdown. Predominantly Caesium contaminated plant will be dismantled when it is no longer needed. Cobalt contaminated plant such as boilers will remain in position until the reactors are dismantled, but appropriate decontamination technology will be regularly reviewed. All buildings except the reactor buildings will be dismantled as soon as practicable after they are no longer needed. Operational ILW, except some activated components, will be retrieved and packaged during the Care and Maintenance preparation period. All wastes will be stored on site, and handled in the long term in accordance with Government policy. Reactor buildings and their residual contents will be placed in a passive safe storage Care and Maintenance condition in a manner appropriate for the site. Contaminated land will be managed to maintain public safety. The reactors will be finally dismantled in a sequenced programme with a start date and duration to be decided at the appropriate time in the light of circumstances prevalent at that time. Currently, the Company is considering a sequenced programme across all sites, notionally beginning around 100 years from station shutdown, leading to a range of deferral periods. For provisioning purposes, the Company has costed a strategy involving reactor dismantling deferrals ranging from 85 to about 105 years in order to demonstrate prudent provisioning to meet its liabilities. A risk provision to reflect the potential for shorter deferral periods is included in the cost estimates. The end point for reactor decommissioning is site clearance and delicensing, based on the assumption that a reasonably practicable interpretation of the 'no danger' clause in the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as amended) can be developed. In line with Government policy, and taking

Early Site Permit Demonstration Program: Recommendations for communication activities and public participation in the Early Site Permit Demonstration Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-01-27

On October 24, 1992, President Bush signed into law the National Energy Policy Act of 1992. The bill is a sweeping, comprehensive overhaul of the Nation`s energy laws, the first in more than a decade. Among other provisions, the National Energy Policy Act reforms the licensing process for new nuclear power plants by adopting a new approach developed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 1989, and upheld in court in 1992. The NRC 10 CFR Part 52 rule is a three-step process that guarantees public participation at each step. The steps are: early site permit approval; standard design certifications; and, combined construction/operating licenses for nuclear power reactors. Licensing reform increases an organization`s ability to respond to future baseload electricity generation needs with less financial risk for ratepayers and the organization. Costly delays can be avoided because design, safety and siting issues will be resolved before a company starts to build a plant. Specifically, early site permit approval allows for site suitability and acceptability issues to be addressed prior to an organization`s commitment to build a plant. Responsibility for site-specific activities, including communications and public participation, rests with those organizations selected to try out early site approval. This plan has been prepared to assist those companies (referred to as sponsoring organizations) in planning their communications and public involvement programs. It provides research findings, information and recommendations to be used by organizations as a resource and starting point in developing their own plans.

The voluntary siting process: The solution to siting in the Northeast Compact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deshais, J.B.

1995-01-01

The date: June 10, 1991. The decision: the announcement of three 'candidate sites' for a low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) facility in Connecticut following statewide screening. The debate: the right of the citizens of the state to refuse to have this type of facility in their 'backyard' versus the State's responsibility to provide for the safe management of LLRW generated within its borders. The debacle: vigorous opposition, political involvement, no opportunity for effective dialogue with the candidate towns. The end: a legislative mandate to terminate the siting process. This series of events, familiar to those in the business of attempting to site and develop unwanted and unwelcome facilities, would have thwarted efforts to provide for disposal capacity in the Northeast Compact region. Connecticut's efforts to site a LLRW disposal facility pursuant to a traditional 'decide-announce-defend' approach had apparently failed. New Jersey, its partner in the Compact, was also ready to proceed with a similar process that would lead to the naming of several candidate sites, but suspended its efforts to review other siting alternatives. The problem: a new approach was needed. The answer: both states would pursue voluntary siting for the LLRW facilities. The result: the best chance for successful development of LLRW disposal capacity in the Northeast Compact region

Start-up and operation of Laguna Verde-2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torres Ramirez, J.F.

1996-01-01

The 665 MWe Laguna Verde-2 nuclear generating unit was accepted into commercial operation on April 10, 1995. The boiling water reactor plant by General Electric (GE) was first synchronized with the grid on November 11, 1994. Laguna Verde-2 is identical with Laguna Verde-1 on the same site. That unit had gone critical for the first time in November 1988 and had first been synchronized with the power grid on April 13, 1989. Commercial operation of Laguna Verde-1 had been started on July 29, 1990. Mexico's only nuclear power plant had been built 70 km north of Veracruz on the east coast and had been scheduled to start operation in 1976. As the Mexican nuclear power program was reduced, the scheduled commissioning dates suffered more and more delays. In the full of 1987, the investigation by the Operational Safety Review Team (Osart) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had indicated that the safety requirements of installations and equpiment were met, and that the whole plant was well prepared for fueling. In mid-1988, the Mexican Government had issued the permit to fuel the Laguna Verde-1 reactor. The contract to build the two units had been awarded in 1972/73. No other nuclear power plants are currently under construction or in the planning phase in Mexico. (orig.) [de

Site-Specific Innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reeh, Henrik; Hemmersam, Peter

2015-01-01

Currently, cities across the Northern European region are actively redeveloping their former industrial harbours. Indeed, harbours areas are essential in the long-term transition from industrial to information and experience societies; harbours are becoming sites for new businesses and residences...... question is how innovation may contribute to urban life and site-specific qualities....

Teaching iSTART to Understand Spanish

Science.gov (United States)

Dascalu, Mihai; Jacovina, Matthew E.; Soto, Christian M.; Allen, Laura K.; Dai, Jianmin; Guerrero, Tricia A.; McNamara, Danielle S.

2017-01-01

iSTART is a web-based reading comprehension tutor. A recent translation of iSTART from English to Spanish has made the system available to a new audience. In this paper, we outline several challenges that arose during the development process, specifically focusing on the algorithms that drive the feedback. Several iSTART activities encourage…

Strategies for effective management of health and safety in confined site construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Spillane

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The overall aim of this research is to identify and catalogue the numerous managerial strategies for effective management of health and safety on a confined, urban, construction site. Design/Methodology/Approach: This is achieved by utilising individual interviews, focus groups discussion on selected case studies of confined construction sites, coupled with a questionnaire survey. Findings: The top five key strategies include (1 Employ safe system of work plans to mitigate personnel health and safety issues; (2 Inform personnel, before starting on-site, of the potential issues using site inductions; (3 Effective communication among site personnel; (4 Draft and implement an effective design site layout prior to starting on-site; and (5 Use of banksman (traffic co-ordinator to segregate personnel from vehicular traffic. Practical Implication: The construction sector is one of the leading industries in accident causation and with the continued development and regeneration of our urban centres, confined site construction is quickly becoming the norm - an environment which only fuels accident creation within the construction sector. Originality/Value: This research aids on-site management that requires direction and assistance in the identification and implementation of key strategies for the management of health and safety, particularly in confined construction site environments.

NAP SACC: Implementation of an Obesity Prevention Intervention in an American Indian Head Start Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattingly, Julie A; Andresen, Pamela A

2016-01-01

Low-income American Indian preschoolers are at greatest risk for overweight and obesity among children aged 2-5 years. The Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) program is an evidence-based intervention that promotes healthy weight development for children enrolled in child care centers. The goal of this continuous quality improvement program is for the child care staff to establish environmental policies and practices that positively influence nutrition and physical activity-related behaviors. A community needs assessment of a Head Start program on an American Indian reservation identified obesity as a priority issue. This project implemented NAP SACC at 15 Head Start sites on the reservation.

Distinct regions of loss of heterozygosity on 22q in different sites of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

dos Reis, Patricia Pintor; Poli-Frederico, Regina Célia; dos Santos, Rodrigo Mattos

2002-01-01

laryngeal, and 31 pharyngeal carcinomas. RESULTS: Two separate regions of LOH were identified in the laryngeal (22q11.2-12.1) and oral cavity (22q13.1-13.31) tumors. When the different anatomical sites were compared, a statistically significant difference was found between the presence of LOH at D22S421 (p......pharyngeal tumors and genes...

Soft-Starting Power-Factor Motor Controller

Science.gov (United States)

Nola, F. J.

1983-01-01

Three-phase power-factor controller with soft start is based on earlier version that does not control starting transients. Additional components serve to turn off "run" command signal and substitute gradual startup command signal during preset startup interval. Improved controller reduces large current surge that usually accompanies starting. Controller applies power smoothly, without causing motor vibrations.

What Happens at the Lesson Start?

Science.gov (United States)

Saloviita, Timo

2016-01-01

Transitional periods, such as lesson starts, are necessary steps from one activity to another, but they also compete with time for actual learning. The aim of the present study was to replicate a previous pilot study on lesson starts and explore possible disturbances. In total, 130 lesson starts in Finnish basic education in grades 1-9 were…

Site-selection studies for final disposal of spent fuel in Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vuorela, P.; Aeikaes, T.

1984-02-01

In the management of waste by the Industrial Power Company Ltd. (TVO) preparations are being made for the final disposal of unprocessed spent fuel into the Finnish bedrock. The site selection program will advance in three phases. The final disposal site must be made at the latest by the end of the year 2000, in accordance with a decision laid down by the Finnish Government. In the first phase, 1983-85, the main object is to find homogeneous stable bedrock blocks surrounded by fracture zones located at a safe distance from the planned disposal area. The work usually starts with a regional structural analysis of mosaics of Landsat-1 winter and summer imagery. Next an assortment of different maps, which cover the whole country, is used. Technical methods for geological and hydrogeological site investigations are being developed during the very first phase of the studies, and a borehole 1000 meters deep will be made in southwestern Finland. Studies for the final disposal of spent fuel or high-level reprocessing waste have been made since 1974 in Finland. General suitability studies of the bedrock have been going on since 1977. The present results indicate that suitable investigation areas for the final disposal of highly active waste can be found in Finland

Radioecological characterization of a uranium mining site located in a semi-arid region in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandes, Horst M.; Lamego Simoes Filho, F. Fernando; Perez, Valeska; Franklin, Mariza Ramalho; Gomiero, Luiz Alberto

2006-01-01

The work presents the radioecological characterization of the new Brazilian uranium mining and milling site located in a semi-arid region of the country. The process characterization demonstrated that in heap leach plants most of the 226 Ra remains in the leached ore. Despite the potential higher availability of radium isotopes in the soils of the studied region the lack of precipitation in that area reduces the leaching/mobilization of the radionuclides. High 226 Ra and 228 Ra concentrations were found in manioc while 21 Pb was significant in pasture. It was suggested that a range from 10 -3 to 10 -1 may conveniently encompass most of the transfer factors (TF) values for soil/plant systems (i.e. involving different cultures, different soils and natural radionuclides). Impacts due to aerial transportation of aerosols and radon generated in the mining were proved to be minimal and restricted to an area not greater than 15 km 2 . Finally, uranium complexation by carbonates was shown to be the main mechanism responding for the elevated radionuclide concentration in groundwater

46 CFR 112.50-3 - Hydraulic starting.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... POWER SYSTEMS Emergency Diesel and Gas Turbine Engine Driven Generator Sets § 112.50-3 Hydraulic starting. A hydraulic starting system must meet the following: (a) The hydraulic starting system must be a... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Hydraulic starting. 112.50-3 Section 112.50-3 Shipping...

Architecture and Development of DCMP Web Site

Science.gov (United States)

Bariakhtar, Irina

2003-03-01

The multi-tier implementation of DCMP Web site is discussed. It is based upon newly developed PHP technology. The technology allows for creating dynamic content and scalable solutions for Web site capabilities. There are several aspects as to what type of information is to be on the site. First, it should serve the immediate needs of the researchers in the field, namely, conferences, journals, news, funds, etc. This is currently available on the site, but can be extended and improved if needed. Second, the site will reflect the connection between Condensed matter physics and the technological breakthroughs that drive the economy. Third, the site will carry an educational mission helping educate the general public, and on the other hand, help young people to start their careers in the field. The content of the DCMP Web site is under active development. It depends upon wide involvement of DCMP members.

Strategic Location and Territorial Integrity: The Role of Subsidiary Sites in the Classic Maya Kingdoms of the Upper Usumacinta Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armando Anaya Hernández

2006-03-01

Full Text Available The Upper Usumacinta region was the scene of an intense interaction between the different kingdoms of the Classic Maya Period. This interaction took the form of political and marriage alliances as well as warfare and is well attested in the inscribed monuments of the region, especially towards the Late Classic Period (c. AD 600-900. Through this interaction the Maya rulers would not only assert their claim to power but also ensure the boundaries of their kingdoms, with an eye to accruing a vaster domain. The definition of the political organisation and territorial extent of the Maya Lowland kingdoms is an issue that has attracted the attention of various scholars (Adams 1981; Adams and Jones 1981; Ball and Taschek 1991; Flannery 1972; Freidel 1981; Hammond 1974; 1981; Inomata and Aoyama 1996; Mathews 1988; 1991; Sanders 1981. Like these scholars, I have presented a model aimed at estimating the territorial extent of the kingdoms of the Upper Usumacinta region, taking into account the physical characteristics of the terrain (Anaya Hernández 2001. In this article I approach this issue again, focusing this time on the importance that the subsidiary centres located at strategic locations across the landscape had for the maintenance of the territorial integrity of the kingdoms of Pomoná and Piedras Negras. The political importance of these sites is reflected in the efforts that the kings of these polities went through to warrant the loyalty of the rulers of these secondary centres, as can be attested by the presence of a sculptured stela at the site of Panhalé, in the vicinity of Pomoná, and an inscribed wooden box found within the Redención del Campesino Valley that makes reference to a Piedras Negras ruler. To address this issue I took advantage of the capabilities that GIS offers to model movement across the physical setting in order to define the potential boundaries between the aforementioned kingdoms in the light of the available

Epigenetic mismatches with mutated transcribing genes at leukemogenic S-phase binding/start sites--potential targets for therapy with enzyme inhibitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Prindull, Gregor

2012-11-01

This review focuses on gene transcription patterns of leukemogenic S-phases in mitotic cell cycles for identification of enzymatic reactions as potential targets for epigenetics-based drug therapy. Transcription of leukemic genes is triggered by reprogrammed transcription factors (TFs) mediated by chromatin histones. Reprogrammed TFs originate from transcriptional alterations of CpG methylation patterns of mutated epigenetic genes. They preserve memory information of earlier leukemogenic exposures, even transgenerationally via the zygote, through small (e.g. pi)RNA transmitted between cells by exosomes. Normally, reprogrammed TFs are enzymatically silenced and stored as markers in heterochromatic domains. Failure of intra S-phase surveillance (IS) permits the formation and continual operation of DNA replication forks in spite of persisting genotoxic stress. Silenced TFs are re-activated by euchromatin, most likely through leakages of insulator barriers of cis-regulating chromatin modulators (CRM) that normally separate hetero- from euchromatin domains. During transport by sliding nucleosomes, reprogrammed leukemogenic TFs are misplaced at transcription factor binding-/starting-sites (TFBS /TSS) allowing them to interact with and trigger replication of mutated leukemic genes. Interactions of enzymatically reprogrammed TFs, transcribed from mutated epigenetic genes, with replicating leukemic genes at TFBS/TSSs are key driving forces in leukemogenesis. Probably, epigenetic genes, although mutated, still retain their control of replication of leukemic genes. Epigenetics-based enzyme inhibitors must target reprogrammed TFs. Prudently, therapeutic corrections should be introduced within the frame of conventional, cytoreductive treatment protocols. Alternatively, reprogrammed TFs could be replaced by cell populations with regular TF production. Clinically, classification of leukemias should be based on their epigenetic presentation.

Genetic variants in promoters and coding regions of the muscle glycogen synthase and the insulin-responsive GLUT4 genes in NIDDM

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørbaek, C; Echwald, Søren Morgenthaler; Hubricht, P

1994-01-01

To examine the hypothesis that variants in the regulatory or coding regions of the glycogen synthase (GS) and insulin-responsive glucose transporter (GLUT4) genes contribute to insulin-resistant glucose processing of muscle from non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients, promoter...... volunteers. By applying inverse polymerase chain reaction and direct DNA sequencing, 532 base pairs (bp) of the GS promoter were identified and the transcriptional start site determined by primer extension. SSCP scanning of the promoter region detected five single nucleotide substitutions, positioned at 42......'-untranslated region, and the coding region of the GLUT4 gene showed four polymorphisms, all single nucleotide substitutions, positioned at -581, 1, 30, and 582. None of the three changes in the regulatory region of the gene had any major influence on expression of the GLUT4 gene in muscle. The variant at 582...

Remediation and assessment of the national radioactive waste storage and disposal site in Tajikistan - 59110

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buriev, Nazirzhon T.; Abdushukurov, Dzhamshed A.; Vandergraaf, Tjalle T.

2012-01-01

The National Radioactive Waste Storage and Disposal Site was established in 1959 in the Faizabad region approximately 50 km east of the capital, Dushanbe. The site is located on the southern flank of the Fan Mountains facing the Gissar Valley in a sparsely populated agricultural area, with the nearest villages located a few km from the site. The site was initially designed to accept a wide range of contaminated materials, including obsolete smoke detectors, sealed radioactive sources, waste from medical institutions, and radioactive liquids. Between 1962 and 1976, 363 tonnes and 1146 litres of material, contaminated with a range of radionuclides were shipped to the site. Between 1972 - 1980 and 1985 - 1991, ∼4.8 x 10 14 and 2 x 10 13 Bq, respectively, were shipped to the site. An additional 7 x 10 14 Bq was shipped to the site in 1996. Partly as a result of the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, the disposal site had fallen into disrepair and currently presents both an environmental hazard and a potential for the proliferation of radionuclides that could potentially be used for illicit purposes. Remediation of the disposal site was started in 2005. New security fences were erected and a new superstructure over an in-ground storage site constructed. A central alarm monitoring and observation station has been constructed and is now operational. The geology, flora, and fauna of the region have been documented. Radiation surveys of the buildings and the storage and disposal sites have been carried out. Samples of soil, surface water and vegetation have been taken and analyzed by gamma spectrometry. Results show a slight extent of contamination of soils near the filling ports of the underground liquid storage container where a Cs-137 concentration of 2.3 x 104 Bq/kg was obtained. Similar values were obtained for Ra- 226. Radiation fields of the in-ground storage site were generally 3 . Most of the activity appears to be associated with the sediments in the tank

USABC Development of 12 Volt Battery for Start-Stop Application: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tataria, H.; Gross, O.; Bae, C.; Cunningham, B.; Barnes, J. A.; Deppe, J.; Neubauer, J.

2015-02-01

Global automakers are accelerating the development of fuel efficient vehicles, as a part of meeting regional regulatory CO2 emissions requirements. The micro hybrid vehicles with auto start-stop functionality are considered economical solutions for the stringent European regulations. Flooded lead acid batteries were initially considered the most economical solution for idle-stop systems. However, the dynamic charge acceptance (DCA) at lower state-of-charge (SOC) was limiting the life of the batteries. While improved lead-acid batteries with AGM and VRLA features have improved battery longevity, they do not last the life of the vehicle. The United States Advanced Battery Consortium (or USABC, a consortium of GM, Ford, and Chrysler) analyzed energy storage needs for a micro hybrid automobile with start-stop capability, and with a single power source. USABC has analyzed the start-stop behaviors of many drivers and has developed the requirements for the start-stop batteries (Table 3). The testing procedures to validate the performance and longevity were standardized and published. The guideline for the cost estimates calculations have also been provided, in order to determine the value of the newly developed modules. The analysis effort resulted in a set of requirements which will help the battery manufacturers to develop a module to meet the automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) micro hybrid vehicle requirements. Battery developers were invited to submit development proposals and two proposals were selected for 50% cost share with USABC/DOE.

LLNL's Regional Seismic Discrimination Research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanley, W; Mayeda, K; Myers, S; Pasyanos, M; Rodgers, A; Sicherman, A; Walter, W

1999-01-01

second using test-site based models to transport earthquake-explosion discrimination behavior to new regions. Finally an important component of our research is assessing improvement in the ability to discriminate events. By combining the multivariate discriminants with the threshold detection curves for the regional seismic phases used in those discriminants, we have started to make maps of the probability an event will be identified properly. These maps serve a broad range of purposes from demonstrating progress to funding agencies to prioritizing research and calibration efforts

Economics of plant production on marginal sites in the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Science.gov (United States)

Ziesemer, Andrea; Andreas, Gurgel; Ines, Bull

2017-04-01

Marginal sites are defined by economics. It is not possible to produce any profit there under given conditions of markets and policy even when management is optimized. In the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a portion of nearly 20 % of arable land is characterized by such conditions. There are often to find sandy sites below 28 soil points with low storage capacity and irregular water supply. Animal husbandry as a type of agricultural upgrading has a more important role in the south and southwest of the state than in the regions with better soil quality. The percentage of Maize was already in 2003 twice as high in the regions with more marginal sites. After implementation of the Renewable Energy Act many enterprises started built biogas plants. In 2010, the portion of maize was raised to 20 %. The increase of Maize was combined with a reduction of growing other fodder crops, rye and also by reducing set-aside areas. The scale of the cash crops Rape (16%), Wheat (15 %) and barley (9 %) stayed the same. The yields and production processes of several selected farms in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were analyzed for the years 2011 to 2016. The farms reached 6.6 tons per hectare of wheat and 6.1 tons per hectare of barley on soils below 28 soil points. Hybrid rye achieved 5.4 tons per hectare and rape 3.0. Maize was especially dependent on water supply and made between 30 and 35 tons per hectare. The big problem in these regions is caused by high production costs in cropping. More than a half of the costs is required for seeds, fertilization and crop protection. However, the remaining revenues are not adequate for paying work and fix costs as an evaluation of farms in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern shows. It is not a valid option to set more land that is arable aside in regions with much marginal sites because cropping is a strategic investment there. Therefore, it is important to make effort on crop rotations and optimization of production intensities to decrease costs per unit and to

How to solve the problem of siting nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inhaber, H.

1990-01-01

Over the past decades, attempts to site new low-level and high-level radioactive wastes (LLRW and HLRW) have been almost universally frustrated. The twin goals of finding a volunteer site and, at the same time, retaining environmental and safety standards and specifications can be achieved by using a reverse Dutch auction (RDA). This apparently is the only extant system that allows these two aims to be achieved simultaneously. The RDA adds an economic dimension to the already existent risk factors. At the same time, it is not a bribe, since any payments made will be public. A bribe is performed in secret and to attain an illegal purpose. The RDA has neither feature. In a standard (or English) auction, the price rises, and these are multiple bids. In a Dutch auction, the price drops, and there is only one bid. Since an RDA deals with a facility generally regarded as undesirable, its price rises, but there is still only one bid. The RDA would work as follows. A list of environmental criteria would be circulated to all counties at the start of the process. In this discussion, it is assumed that a state is attempting to site LLRW, but the principle is also applicable to interstate compacts or HLRW. These criteria should remain fixed. Past siting proposals have often seen the alteration - or attempted alteration - of criteria in mid-stream, leading to loss of confidence in the system's scientific credibility. These alternatives have often had the purpose of excluding or including certain regions

High Time Resolution Measurements of VOCs from Vehicle Cold Starts: The Air Toxic Cold Start Pulse

Science.gov (United States)

Jobson, B. T.; Huangfu, Y.; Vanderschelden, G. S.

2017-12-01

Pollutants emitted during motor vehicle cold starts, especially in winter in some climates, is a significant source of winter time air pollution. While data exist for CO, NO, and total hydrocarbon emissions from federal testing procedures for vehicle emission certification, little is known about the emission rates of individual volatile organic compounds, in particular the air toxics benzene, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde. Little is known about the VOC speciation and temperature dependence for cold starts. The US EPA vehicle emission model MOVES assumes that cold start emissions have the same speciation profile as running emissions. We examined this assumption by measuring cold start exhaust composition for 4 vehicles fueled with E10 gasoline over a temperature range of -4°C to 10°C in winter of 2015. The extra cold start emissions were determined by comparison with emissions during engine idling. In addition to CO and NOx measurements a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer was used to measure formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzene, toluene, and C2-alkylbenzenes at high time resolution to compare with the cold start emission speciation profiles used in the EPA MOVES2014 model. The results show that after the vehicle was started, CO mixing ratios can reach a few percent of the exhaust and then drop to several ppmv within 2 minutes of idling, while NOx showed different temporal behaviors among the four vehicles. VOCs displayed elevated levels during cold start and the peak mixing ratios can be two orders higher than idling phase levels. Molar emission ratios relative to toluene were used to compare with the emission ratio used in MOVES2014 and we found the formaldehyde-to-toluene emission ratio was about 0.19, which is 5 times higher than the emission ratio used in MOVES2014 and the acetaldehyde-to-toluene emission ratios were 0.86-0.89, which is 8 times higher than the ones in MOVES2014. The C2-alkylbenzene-to-toluene ratio agreed well with moves. Our results

Scheduling with target start times

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoogeveen, J.A.; Velde, van de S.L.; Klein Haneveld, W.K.; Vrieze, O.J.; Kallenberg, L.C.M.

1997-01-01

We address the single-machine problem of scheduling n independent jobs subject to target start times. Target start times are essentially release times that may be violated at a certain cost. The goal is to minimize an objective function that is composed of total completion time and maximum

Application of intelligent soft start in asynchronous motor

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Xue; Ye, Ying; Wang, Yuelong; Peng, Lei; Zhang, Suying

2018-05-01

The starting way of three phase asynchronous motor has full voltage start and step-down start. Direct starting brings large current impact, causing excessive local temperature to the power grid and larger starting torque will also impact the motor equipment and affect the service life of the motor. Aim at the problem of large current and torque caused by start-up, an intelligent soft starter is proposed. Through the application of intelligent soft start on asynchronous motor, highlights its application advantage in motor control.

Natural type 3/type 2 intertypic vaccine-related poliovirus recombinants with the first crossover sites within the VP1 capsid coding region.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yong; Zhu, Shuangli; Yan, Dongmei; Liu, Guiyan; Bai, Ruyin; Wang, Dongyan; Chen, Li; Zhu, Hui; An, Hongqiu; Kew, Olen; Xu, Wenbo

2010-12-21

Ten uncommon natural type 3/type 2 intertypic poliovirus recombinants were isolated from stool specimens from nine acute flaccid paralysis case patients and one healthy vaccinee in China from 2001 to 2008. Complete genomic sequences revealed their vaccine-related genomic features and showed that their first crossover sites were randomly distributed in the 3' end of the VP1 coding region. The length of donor Sabin 2 sequences ranged from 55 to 136 nucleotides, which is the longest donor sequence reported in the literature for this type of poliovirus recombination. The recombination resulted in the introduction of Sabin 2 neutralizing antigenic site 3a (NAg3a) into a Sabin 3 genomic background in the VP1 coding region, which may have been altered by some of the type 3-specific antigenic properties, but had not acquired any type 2-specific characterizations. NAg3a of the Sabin 3 strain seems atypical; other wild-type poliovirus isolates that have circulated in recent years have sequences of NAg3a more like the Sabin 2 strain. 10 natural type 3/type 2 intertypic VP1 capsid-recombinant polioviruses, in which the first crossover sites were found to be in the VP1 coding region, were isolated and characterized. In spite of the complete replacement of NAg3a by type 2-specific amino acids, the serotypes of the recombinants were not altered, and they were totally neutralized by polyclonal type 3 antisera but not at all by type 2 antisera. It is possible that recent type 3 wild poliovirus isolates may be a recombinant having NAg3a sequences derived from another strain during between 1967 and 1980, and the type 3/type 2 recombination events in the 3' end of the VP1 coding region may result in a higher fitness.

Natural type 3/type 2 intertypic vaccine-related poliovirus recombinants with the first crossover sites within the VP1 capsid coding region.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Zhang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Ten uncommon natural type 3/type 2 intertypic poliovirus recombinants were isolated from stool specimens from nine acute flaccid paralysis case patients and one healthy vaccinee in China from 2001 to 2008. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Complete genomic sequences revealed their vaccine-related genomic features and showed that their first crossover sites were randomly distributed in the 3' end of the VP1 coding region. The length of donor Sabin 2 sequences ranged from 55 to 136 nucleotides, which is the longest donor sequence reported in the literature for this type of poliovirus recombination. The recombination resulted in the introduction of Sabin 2 neutralizing antigenic site 3a (NAg3a into a Sabin 3 genomic background in the VP1 coding region, which may have been altered by some of the type 3-specific antigenic properties, but had not acquired any type 2-specific characterizations. NAg3a of the Sabin 3 strain seems atypical; other wild-type poliovirus isolates that have circulated in recent years have sequences of NAg3a more like the Sabin 2 strain. CONCLUSIONS: 10 natural type 3/type 2 intertypic VP1 capsid-recombinant polioviruses, in which the first crossover sites were found to be in the VP1 coding region, were isolated and characterized. In spite of the complete replacement of NAg3a by type 2-specific amino acids, the serotypes of the recombinants were not altered, and they were totally neutralized by polyclonal type 3 antisera but not at all by type 2 antisera. It is possible that recent type 3 wild poliovirus isolates may be a recombinant having NAg3a sequences derived from another strain during between 1967 and 1980, and the type 3/type 2 recombination events in the 3' end of the VP1 coding region may result in a higher fitness.

Uranium-thorium dating of quaternary carbonate accumulations in the Nevada Test Site region, southern Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szabo, B.J.; Carr, W.J.; Gottschall, W.C.

1981-01-01

A useful way to approach the problem of tectonic activity in an arid region is through study of the history of movement of faults and fractures and of the young alluvial material they displace. Easily datable materials are scarce in these deposits, but carbonates such as caliche, calcrete, travertine, calcite vein, and tufa are common. Several types of these carbonates from the Nevada Test Site area in the southern Great Basin have been collected and dated by the uranium-series method. A variety of geologic settings are represented. The carbonate samples were subjected to a complex treatment process, and the resulting preparations were counted on an alpha spectrometer. Some of the samples from obviously closed systems yielded reasonable ages; others gave only a minimum age for a material or event. Many of the ages obtained agree well with estimates of age determined from dated volcanic units, fault-scarp morphology, and displaced alluvial units. Among the significant ages obtained were three dates of greater than 400,000 years on calcite-filling fractures above and below the water table in an exploratory drill hole for a possible candidate nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain. Another date on calcrete from immediately below the youngest basalt in the region gave an age of 345,000 years, which agrees extremely well with the K-Ar age determined for the basalt of about 300,000 years. Undisturbed travertine that fills faults in several areas gave ages from about 75,000 years to greater than 700,000 years. Soil caliche and calcretes slightly displaced or broken by repeated movement on faults gave minimum ages in the range from more than 5000 to more than about 25,000 years

Geochemical Analyses of Rock, Sediment, and Water from the Region In and Around the Tuba City Landfill, Tuba City, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Raymond H.; Wirt, Laurie

2009-01-01

The Tuba City Landfill (TCL) started as an unregulated waste disposal site in the 1940s and was administratively closed in 1997. Since the TCL closure, radionuclides have been detected in the shallow ground water. In 2006, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) contracted with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to better understand the source of radionuclides in the ground water at the TCL compared to the surrounding region. This report summarizes those data and presents interpretations that focus on the geochemistry in the rocks and water from the Tuba City region. The TCL is sited on Navajo Sandstone above the contact with the Kayenta Formation. These formations are not rich in uranium but generally are below average crustal abundance values for uranium. Uranium ores in the area were mined nearby in the Chinle Formation and processed at the Rare Metals mill (RMM). Regional samples of rock, sediment, leachates, and water were collected in and around the TCL site and analyzed for major and minor elements, 18O, 2H, 3H, 13C, 14C,34S, 87Sr, and 234U/238U, as appropriate. Results of whole rock and sediment samples, along with leachates, suggest the Chinle Formation is a major source of uranium and other trace elements in the area. Regional water samples indicate that some of the wells within the TCL site have geochemical signatures that are different from the regional springs and surface water. The geochemistry from these TCL wells is most similar to leachates from the Chinle Formation rocks and sediments. Isotope samples do not uniquely identify TCL-derived waters, but they do provide a useful indicator for shallow compared to deep ground-water flow paths and general rock/water interaction times. Information in this report provides a comparison between the geochemistry within the TCL and in the region as a whole.

Natural radioactivity survey in Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi Mountain Region Libya

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Askouri, N.A.; Hussain, M.O.; Al-Ojaily, A.S.

2011-01-01

The measurement of natural radioactivity in a given region or country is essential to provide a reference base-line map to follow up a possible variation in future. In order to perform such measurement, the natural radioactivity was measured in different locations. The locations (50 sites) were distributed over Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi Mountain, starting from the city Al-Azeeziah in the eastern part to Wazen on the Tunisian border in the west. The measurements showed obvious variation from one site to another. The levels were fluctuating from (12.8 counts/minute) in Bir-Ayad to (45.7 counts/minute) in Gherian. In order to investigate the cause for such variation, samples were collected from (27) sites for detailed study. The levels of natural radioactivity were determined in the laboratory, and were ranging from (58.7 Bq/kg) in Bir-Ayad to (102.1 Bq/kg) in Gherian. The variation in measured radioactivity was related to the geological structures taken in six perpendicular sections, namely, Gharian, Yevren, Zintan, Nalut, Wazen and Al-Azeeziah taking the naturally occurred radioisotopes concentration of 4 0K, 232 Th and 238 U present in consideration.

De-escalatory confidence-building measures after START

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stockton, P.N.

1992-01-01

The very notion of examining de-escalatory CBMs in the context of the START negotiations appears odd. Given the immense progress in US-Soviet relations, of which the proposed START agreement is emblematic, the risk of the two nations stumbling to the brink of war seems increasingly remote. Why bother analyzing CBMs designed to help resolve such an improbable event? The obvious answer is that relations between the US and the Soviet Union - or whatever array of nations succeed it - could take an unforeseeable turn for the worse. Once ratified, the START agreement is supposed to remain in force for seven years, more than enough time for political tensions to return with a vengeance. This suggests a more prudent question: if our two nations do stumble to the brink of war, will the START agreement affect the prospect of de-escalatory CBMs? And if the US and Soviet Union pursue deeper force-reductions in a follow-on START II agreement, could that agreement be designed to facilitate more effective de-escalatory measures? This paper sets the stage for addressing such questions by outlining the START agreement and offering a brief overview of how START might affect the prospects for CBMs. Then, after examining some specific CBM proposals in light of START, an analysis will be made of the de-escalatory problems and opportunities that a Start II treaty might create

The role of safety analyses in site selection. Some personal observations based on the experience from the Swiss site selection process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zuidema, Piet [Nagra, Wettingen (Switzerland)

2015-07-01

In Switzerland, the site selection process according to the ''Sectoral Plan for Deep Geological Repositories'' (BFE 2008) is underway since 2008. This process takes place in three stages. In stage 1 geological siting regions (six for the L/ILW repository and three for the HLW repository) have been identified, in stage 2 sites for the surface facilities have been identified for all siting regions in close co-operation with the sting regions and a narrowing down of the number of siting regions based on geological criteria will take place. In stage 3 the sites for a general license application are selected and the general license applications will be submitted which eventually will lead to the siting decision for both repository types. In the Swiss site selection process, safety has the highest priority. Many factors affect safety and thus a whole range of safety-related issues are considered in the identification and screening of siting possibilities. Besides dose calculations a range of quantitative and qualitative issues are considered. Dose calculations are performed in all three stages of the site selection process. In stage 1 generic safety calculations were made to develop criteria to be used for the identification of potential siting regions. In stage 2, dose calculations are made for comparing the different siting regions according to a procedure prescribed in detail by the regulator. Combined with qualitative evaluations this will lead to a narrowing down of the number of siting regions to at least two siting regions for each repository type. In stage 3 full safety cases will be prepared as part of the documentation for the general license applications. Besides the dose calculations, many other issues related to safety are analyzed in a quantitative and qualitative manner. These consider the 13 criteria defined in the Sectoral Plan and the corresponding indicators. The features analyzed cover the following broad themes: efficiency of

The role of safety analyses in site selection. Some personal observations based on the experience from the Swiss site selection process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuidema, Piet

2015-01-01

In Switzerland, the site selection process according to the ''Sectoral Plan for Deep Geological Repositories'' (BFE 2008) is underway since 2008. This process takes place in three stages. In stage 1 geological siting regions (six for the L/ILW repository and three for the HLW repository) have been identified, in stage 2 sites for the surface facilities have been identified for all siting regions in close co-operation with the sting regions and a narrowing down of the number of siting regions based on geological criteria will take place. In stage 3 the sites for a general license application are selected and the general license applications will be submitted which eventually will lead to the siting decision for both repository types. In the Swiss site selection process, safety has the highest priority. Many factors affect safety and thus a whole range of safety-related issues are considered in the identification and screening of siting possibilities. Besides dose calculations a range of quantitative and qualitative issues are considered. Dose calculations are performed in all three stages of the site selection process. In stage 1 generic safety calculations were made to develop criteria to be used for the identification of potential siting regions. In stage 2, dose calculations are made for comparing the different siting regions according to a procedure prescribed in detail by the regulator. Combined with qualitative evaluations this will lead to a narrowing down of the number of siting regions to at least two siting regions for each repository type. In stage 3 full safety cases will be prepared as part of the documentation for the general license applications. Besides the dose calculations, many other issues related to safety are analyzed in a quantitative and qualitative manner. These consider the 13 criteria defined in the Sectoral Plan and the corresponding indicators. The features analyzed cover the following broad themes: efficiency of

Sites of recurrent disease and prognostic factors in SCLC patients treated with radiochemotherapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca Bütof

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Concurrent radiochemotherapy (RCHT is standard treatment in locally advanced small cell lung cancer (SCLC patients. Due to conflicting results on elective nodal irradiation (ENI or selective node irradiation (SNI there is no clear evidence on optimal target volumes. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to assess the sites of recurrent disease in SCLC and to evaluate the feasibility of SNI versus ENI. Methods: A retrospective single-institution study of 43 consecutive patients treated with RCHT was performed. After state-of-the-art staging including FDG-PET/CT, all patients underwent three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy to a total dose of 45 Gy in twice-daily fractions of 1.5 Gy starting concurrently with the first or second chemotherapy cycle. All sites of loco-regional recurrences were correlated to the initial tumor and dose delivered. The impact of potential prognostic variables on outcome was evaluated using the Cox-regression model. Results: 13 patients (30% relapsed locally or regionally: six within the initial primary tumor volume, five within the initially affected lymph nodes, one metachronously within primary tumor and initially affected lymph nodes, and one both inside and outside of the initial nodal disease. All sites of loco-regional recurrence had received 92–106% of the prescribed dose. Conclusion: In our study most recurrences occurred within the primary tumor or initially affected lymph nodes, or distantly. We did not register any case of isolated nodal failure, supporting the use of selective nodal irradiation, possibly with the addition of supraclavicular irradiation in patients with nodal disease in the upper mediastinum. Keywords: Small cell lung cancer, Recurrence, Radiotherapy, Selective node irradiation

The Euro-Argo education web site: using Argo data to teach data analysis and marine science

Science.gov (United States)

Byfield, Valborg; Scheurle, Carolyn; Gould, John; Macama, Emina; King, Brian

2013-04-01

The Euro-Argo education website (www.euroargo-edu.org) aims to make Argo and its data accessible to a non-specialist audience. The site is centred on a selection of floats, which have been chosen because of the insight they provide into key oceanographic processes, the physical and biogeochemical characteristics of different ocean regions around the world, and the role of the ocean in the global climate system. The float selection is a vehicle for teaching data analysis skills, linking these to current topics in the ocean and climate sciences. Each float in the selection has its own page, which provides access to the float data, data plots, background information on the ocean region in which the float can be found, and questions to guide data interpretation. Hidden 'model answers' allow users to check their understanding by comparing their own answers to those provided. The interactive component of the site also includes a series of quizzes, designed to teach data interpretation skills. These start at a basic level and take the students step by step through the most common ways to plot oceanographic data in space and time. More general background information covers the main aspects of the Argo programme, its history and applications, and basic technical information about the floats and sensors. 'World Tour' pages linked to the float selection provide information about the main ocean regions and link information from the Argo programme to oceanographic information from other sources such as satellite observations. The site is primarily aimed at young people between 11 and 18 years of age. However experience from using selected material from the site during science open days shows that children as young as 8-9 and adults of all ages also enjoy the challenge of using and interpreting the Argo data in different contexts.

Economic evaluation of nuclear seawater desalination in an Algerian site: La Macta

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belkaid, Abderrahmane; Amzert, Sid Ahmed; Arbaoui, Fahd; Bouaichaoui, Youcef

2010-01-01

As the needs for fresh water and electricity increases rapidly in Algeria, the Algerian authorities launched a study to assess the potentialities of the introduction of nuclear energy for the production of electricity and potable water. This study which started in 2007, is held under the framework of an IAEA Project untitled: 'techno-economic feasibility study of seawater desalination using nuclear energy' and its objective is to provide a document which will be used to support the government's decision to introduce the nuclear desalination in Algeria. To that end, one site has been selected to host nuclear desalination plant. This site is located in North West region of the country. In this study, we present the results achieved under this project and which corresponds to the economical evaluation of coupling several nuclear reactors: GT-MHR, PBMR, AP1000 and PWR900, with two desalination processes MED and RO. The results are compared with those obtained with fossil energy sources: Natural Gas Turbine and Natural Gas Combined Cycle. (author)

46 CFR 112.50-7 - Compressed air starting.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Compressed air starting. 112.50-7 Section 112.50-7... air starting. A compressed air starting system must meet the following: (a) The starting, charging... air compressors addressed in paragraph (c)(3)(i) of this section. (b) The compressed air starting...

Multi-criteria ranking and receptor modelling of airborne fine particles at three sites in the Pearl River Delta region of China.

Science.gov (United States)

Friend, Adrian J; Ayoko, Godwin A; Guo, Hai

2011-01-15

The multi-criteria decision making methods, Preference Ranking Organization METHods for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) and Graphical Analysis for Interactive Assistance (GAIA), and the two-way Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) receptor model were applied to airborne fine particle compositional data collected at three sites in Hong Kong during two monitoring campaigns held from November 2000 to October 2001 and November 2004 to October 2005. PROMETHEE/GAIA indicated that the three sites were worse during the later monitoring campaign, and that the order of the air quality at the sites during each campaign was: rural site>urban site>roadside site. The PMF analysis on the other hand, identified 6 common sources at all of the sites (diesel vehicle, fresh sea salt, secondary sulphate, soil, aged sea salt and oil combustion) which accounted for approximately 68.8±8.7% of the fine particle mass at the sites. In addition, road dust, gasoline vehicle, biomass burning, secondary nitrate, and metal processing were identified at some of the sites. Secondary sulphate was found to be the highest contributor to the fine particle mass at the rural and urban sites with vehicle emission as a high contributor to the roadside site. The PMF results are broadly similar to those obtained in a previous analysis by PCA/APCS. However, the PMF analysis resolved more factors at each site than the PCA/APCS. In addition, the study demonstrated that combined results from multi-criteria decision making analysis and receptor modelling can provide more detailed information that can be used to formulate the scientific basis for mitigating air pollution in the region. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Case studies, cross-site comparisons, and the challenge of generalization: comparing agent-based models of land-use change in frontier regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Dawn C; Entwisle, Barbara; Rindfuss, Ronald R; Vanwey, Leah K; Manson, Steven M; Moran, Emilio; An, Li; Deadman, Peter; Evans, Tom P; Linderman, Marc; Rizi, S Mohammad Mussavi; Malanson, George

2008-01-01

Cross-site comparisons of case studies have been identified as an important priority by the land-use science community. From an empirical perspective, such comparisons potentially allow generalizations that may contribute to production of global-scale land-use and land-cover change projections. From a theoretical perspective, such comparisons can inform development of a theory of land-use science by identifying potential hypotheses and supporting or refuting evidence. This paper undertakes a structured comparison of four case studies of land-use change in frontier regions that follow an agent-based modeling approach. Our hypothesis is that each case study represents a particular manifestation of a common process. Given differences in initial conditions among sites and the time at which the process is observed, actual mechanisms and outcomes are anticipated to differ substantially between sites. Our goal is to reveal both commonalities and differences among research sites, model implementations, and ultimately, conclusions derived from the modeling process.

Regional chemical setting of the Apollo 16 landing site and the importance of the Kant Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Andre, C. G.; El-Baz, F.

1982-01-01

Orbital X-ray data from the Apollo 16 region indicate that physiographic units identified before the lunar mission can be classified as chemical units as well. The Descartes Mountains, however, appear to be an extension of the Kant Plateau composition that is unusually anorthositic and resembles farside terra. The Cayley Plains have closer affinities to basaltic materials than terra materials, physically, spectrally and chemically. The Theophilus impact, 330 km east of the landing site, excavated magnesium-rich basalts from below less-magnesian flows in Mare Nectaris; but, mafic ejecta was substantially blocked from the Apollo 16 site by the Kant Plateau that rises 5 km above the level of the mare. Apollo 16 soil samples from stations selected to collect either Descartes Mountains material or Cayley Plains material were surprisingly similar. However, they do, indeed, show the chemical trends indicative of the two units as defined by the orbiting geochemistry detectors. The Kant Plateau and Descartes Mountains material may be among the rare nearside examples of a plagioclase-rich cumulate of the primordial magma ocean.

Technological start of T-15 tokamak. The start-up diagnostic complex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Notkin, G.E.

1989-01-01

The T-15 tokamak with superconducting toroidal winding reached the technological start-up phase. The results of the first operating tests of the main tokamak components are reported. Due to improper function of both the vacuum and the cryogenic system, the nominal parameters of the vacuum and of the toroidal magnetic field have not been achieved. The non-optimum vacuum conditions made the discharge start-up difficult even when a pre-ionizing electron beam and a gyrotron generator were used. The pre-discharge plasma parametes were studied by means of a limited set of plasma diagnostic apparatus. Due to substantially deteriorated vacuum conditions, it was not possible to repeat the only one successful discharge with a current of 100 kA, lasting for 50 ms. (J.U.)

Methodology for the elaboration of Natura 2000 sites designation acts in the Walloon Region (Belgium: calcareous grasslands in the Lesse-and-Lomme area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahy G.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available In the Walloon Region (Belgium, 239 sites have been selected to be included in the Natura 2000 network. The next step is to write designation acts in order to legally protect these 221,000 ha. In this pilot study, a designation act was elaborated for a Natura 2000 site of 2,569 ha and located in the Lesse-and-Lomme area within the Calestienne region. Although the site includes 40 ha of calcareous grasslands, characterised by an exceptional flora and fauna, this habitat is very threatened by abandonment and fragmentation.The methodology used to elaborate the designation act is presented with respect to calcareous grassland. Firstly, in spring and summer 2003, an accurate map of natural habitats was produced, with every single patch of calcareous grassland being mapped. Information was also collected in order to evaluate conservation status. Based on this information, conservation status was then assessed with respect to three different criteria: (1 integrity of the cortege species, (2 habitat structure and (3 degradations. Thirdly, the site was divided into objective zones according to the different habitats and species of Community interest found in the site. Hence, an objective zone was delineated for calcareous grasslands. This objective zone was then divided in several management units. Finally, at these different spatial levels (site, objective zone, management unit, management measures were suggested. As a result, in the draft designation act, the target is to maintain or restore 230 ha of calcareous grassland, instead of the existing 40 ha. This ambitious target requires large-scale restoration and an efficient grazing scheme. These will need important resources for their successful implementation

Environmental assessment: Richton Dome site, Mississippi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Richton Dome site in Mississippi as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Richton Dome site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EAs. The site is in the Gulf interior region, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains two other potentially acceptable sites--the Cypress Creek Dome site in Mississippi and the Vacherie Dome site in Louisiana. Although the Cypress Creek Dome and the Vacherie Dome sites are suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Richton Dome site is the preferred site in the Gulf interior region. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Richton Dome site is not disqualified under the guidelines

Environmental assessment: Richton Dome Site, Mississippi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Richton Dome site in Mississippi as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Richton Dome site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EAs. The site is in the Gulf interior region, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains two other potentially acceptable sites--the Cypress Creek Dome site in Mississippi and the Vacherie Dome site in Louisiana. Although the Cypress Creek Dome and the Vacherie Dome sites are suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Richton Dome site is the preferred site in the Gulf interior region. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Richton Dome site is not disqualified under the guidelines.

Environmental assessment: Richton Dome site, Mississippi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Richton Dome site in Mississippi as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Richton Dome site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EAs. The site is in the Gulf interior region, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains two other potentially acceptable sites--the Cypress Creek Dome site in Mississippi and the Vacherie Dome site in Louisiana. Although the Cypress Creek Dome and the Vacherie Dome sites are suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Richton Dome site is the preferred site in the Gulf interior region. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Richton Dome site is not disqualified under the guidelines.

Environmental assessment: Richton Dome Site, Mississippi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Richton Dome site in Mississippi as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Richton Dome site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EAs. The site is in the Gulf interior region, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains two other potentially acceptable sites--the Cypress Creek Dome site in Mississippi and the Vacherie Dome site in Louisiana. Although the Cypress Creek Dome and the Vacherie Dome sites are suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Richton Dome site is the preferred site in the Gulf interior region. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Richton Dome site is not disqualified under the guidelines

Description of the Northwest hazardous waste site data base and preliminary analysis of site characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodruff, D.L.; Hartz, K.E.; Triplett, M.B.

1988-08-01

The Northwest Hazardous Waste RD and D Center (the Center) conducts research, development, and demonstration (RD and D) activities for hazardous and radioactive mixed-waste technologies applicable to remediating sites in the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. To properly set priorities for these RD and D activities and to target development efforts it is necessary to understand the nature of the sites requiring remediation. A data base of hazardous waste site characteristics has been constructed to facilitate this analysis. The data base used data from EPA's Region X Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) and from Preliminary Assessment/Site Investigation (PA/SI) forms for sites in Montana. The Center's data base focuses on two sets of sites--those on the National Priorities List (NPL) and other sites that are denoted as ''active'' CERCLIS sites. Active CERCLIS sites are those sites that are undergoing active investigation and analysis. The data base contains information for each site covering site identification and location, type of industry associated with the site, waste categories present (e.g., heavy metals, pesticides, etc.), methods of disposal (e.g., tanks, drums, land, etc.), waste forms (e.g., liquid, solid, etc.), and hazard targets (e.g., surface water, groundwater, etc.). As part of this analysis, the Northwest region was divided into three geographic subregions to identify differences in disposal site characteristics within the Northwest. 2 refs., 18 figs., 5 tabs

Precision agriculture - from mapping to site-specific application

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Søren Marcus; Lind, Kim Martin Hjorth

2017-01-01

of each chapter in the book. Each chapter address a different topic starting with an overview of technologies that are currently available, followed by specific Variable-Rate Technologies such as VRT fertilizer application, VRT pesticide application, site-specific irrigation management, Auto...

Start Later, Sleep Later: School Start Times and Adolescent Sleep in Homeschool vs. Public/Private School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Meltzer, Lisa J.; Shaheed, Keisha; Ambler, Devon

2014-01-01

Homeschool students provide a naturalistic comparison group for later/flexible school start times. This study compared sleep patterns and sleep hygiene for homeschool students and public/private school students (grades 6-12). Public/private school students (n=245) and homeschool students (n=162) completed a survey about sleep patterns and sleep hygiene. Significant school group differences were found for weekday bedtime, wake time, and total sleep time, with homeschool students waking later and obtaining more sleep. Homeschool students had later school start times, waking at the same time that public/private school students were starting school. Public/private school students had poorer sleep hygiene practices, reporting more homework and use of technology in the hour before bed. Regardless of school type, technology in the bedroom was associated with shorter sleep duration. Later school start times may be a potential countermeasure for insufficient sleep in adolescents. Future studies should further examine the relationship between school start times and daytime outcomes, including academic performance, mood, and health. PMID:25315902

The Mawrth Vallis region of Mars: A potential landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission.

Science.gov (United States)

Michalski, Joseph R; Jean-PierreBibring; Poulet, François; Loizeau, Damien; Mangold, Nicolas; Dobrea, Eldar Noe; Bishop, Janice L; Wray, James J; McKeown, Nancy K; Parente, Mario; Hauber, Ernst; Altieri, Francesca; Carrozzo, F Giacomo; Niles, Paul B

2010-09-01

The primary objective of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, which will launch in 2011, is to characterize the habitability of a site on Mars through detailed analyses of the composition and geological context of surface materials. Within the framework of established mission goals, we have evaluated the value of a possible landing site in the Mawrth Vallis region of Mars that is targeted directly on some of the most geologically and astrobiologically enticing materials in the Solar System. The area around Mawrth Vallis contains a vast (>1 × 10⁶ km²) deposit of phyllosilicate-rich, ancient, layered rocks. A thick (>150 m) stratigraphic section that exhibits spectral evidence for nontronite, montmorillonite, amorphous silica, kaolinite, saponite, other smectite clay minerals, ferrous mica, and sulfate minerals indicates a rich geological history that may have included multiple aqueous environments. Because phyllosilicates are strong indicators of ancient aqueous activity, and the preservation potential of biosignatures within sedimentary clay deposits is high, martian phyllosilicate deposits are desirable astrobiological targets. The proposed MSL landing site at Mawrth Vallis is located directly on the largest and most phyllosilicate-rich deposit on Mars and is therefore an excellent place to explore for evidence of life or habitability.

Nevada Test Site closure program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shenk, D.P.

1994-08-01

This report is a summary of the history, design and development, procurement, fabrication, installation and operation of the closures used as containment devices on underground nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site. It also addresses the closure program mothball and start-up procedures. The Closure Program Document Index and equipment inventories, included as appendices, serve as location directories for future document reference and equipment use

Starting a business through a franchise

OpenAIRE