Investigation of RADTRAN Stop Model input parameters for truck stops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griego, N.R.; Smith, J.D.; Neuhauser, K.S.

1996-01-01

RADTRAN is a computer code for estimating the risks and consequences as transport of radioactive materials (RAM). RADTRAN was developed and is maintained by Sandia National Laboratories for the US Department of Energy (DOE). For incident-free transportation, the dose to persons exposed while the shipment is stopped is frequently a major percentage of the overall dose. This dose is referred to as Stop Dose and is calculated by the Stop Model. Because stop dose is a significant portion of the overall dose associated with RAM transport, the values used as input for the Stop Model are important. Therefore, an investigation of typical values for RADTRAN Stop Parameters for truck stops was performed. The resulting data from these investigations were analyzed to provide mean values, standard deviations, and histograms. Hence, the mean values can be used when an analyst does not have a basis for selecting other input values for the Stop Model. In addition, the histograms and their characteristics can be used to guide statistical sampling techniques to measure sensitivity of the RADTRAN calculated Stop Dose to the uncertainties in the stop model input parameters. This paper discusses the details and presents the results of the investigation of stop model input parameters at truck stops

Model of the discrete destruction process of a solid body

Science.gov (United States)

Glagolev, V. V.; Markin, A. A.

2018-03-01

Destruction is considered as a discrete thermomechanical process, in which the deformation of a solid body is achieved by changing the boundary stresses acting on the part of the volume being destroyed with the external load unchanged. On the basis of the proposed concept, a model for adhesive stratification of a composite material is constructed. When adhesive stratification is used, the stress state of one or two boundaries of the adhesive layer changes to zero if the bonds with the joined body are broken. As a result of the stratification, the interaction between the part of the composite, which may include an adhesive layer and the rest of the body stops. When solving the elastoplastic problem of cohesive stratification, the region in which the destruction criterion is achieved is identified. With the help of a repeated solution of the problem of subcritical deformation with the known law of motion of the boundary of the region, the distribution of the load (nodal forces) acting from the region to the body is located. The next step considers the change in the stress–strain state of the body in the process of destruction of the selected area. The elastoplastic problem is solved with a simple unloading of the formed surface of the body and preservation of the external load corresponding to the beginning of the process of destruction.

Clamped seismic metamaterials: ultra-low frequency stop bands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Achaoui, Y; Enoch, S; Guenneau, S; Antonakakis, T; Brûlé, S; Craster, R V

2017-01-01

The regularity of earthquakes, their destructive power, and the nuisance of ground vibration in urban environments, all motivate designs of defence structures to lessen the impact of seismic and ground vibration waves on buildings. Low frequency waves, in the range 1–10 Hz for earthquakes and up to a few tens of Hz for vibrations generated by human activities, cause a large amount of damage, or inconvenience; depending on the geological conditions they can travel considerable distances and may match the resonant fundamental frequency of buildings. The ultimate aim of any seismic metamaterial, or any other seismic shield, is to protect over this entire range of frequencies; the long wavelengths involved, and low frequency, have meant this has been unachievable to date. Notably this is scalable and the effects also hold for smaller devices in ultrasonics. There are three approaches to obtaining shielding effects: bragg scattering, locally resonant sub-wavelength inclusions and zero-frequency stop-band media. The former two have been explored, but the latter has not and is examined here. Elastic flexural waves, applicable in the mechanical vibrations of thin elastic plates, can be designed to have a broad zero-frequency stop-band using a periodic array of very small clamped circles. Inspired by this experimental and theoretical observation, all be it in a situation far removed from seismic waves, we demonstrate that it is possible to achieve elastic surface (Rayleigh) wave reflectors at very large wavelengths in structured soils modelled as a fully elastic layer periodically clamped to bedrock. We identify zero frequency stop-bands that only exist in the limit of columns of concrete clamped at their base to the bedrock. In a realistic configuration of a sedimentary basin 15 m deep we observe a zero frequency stop-band covering a broad frequency range of 0–30 Hz. (paper)

Lessons Learned and Legacy of the Stop Transmission of Polio Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, Yinka; Mailhot, Melinda; Williams, Alford A J; Swezy, Virginia; Quick, Linda; Tangermann, Rudolf H; Ward, Kirsten; Benke, Amalia; Callaghan, Anna; Clark, Kathleen; Emery, Brian; Nix, Jessica; Aydlotte, Eleanor; Newman, Charlotte; Nkowane, Benjamin

2017-07-01

In 1988, the by the World Health Assembly established the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which consisted of a partnership among the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United Nations Children's Fund. By 2016, the annual incidence of polio had decreased by >99.9%, compared with 1988, and at the time of writing, only 3 countries in which wild poliovirus circulation has never been interrupted remain: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. A key strategy for polio eradication has been the development of a skilled and deployable workforce to implement eradication activities across the globe. In 1999, the Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) program was developed and initiated by the CDC, in collaboration with the WHO, to train and mobilize additional human resources to provide technical assistance to polio-endemic countries. STOP has also informed the development of other public health workforce capacity to support polio eradication efforts, including national STOP programs. In addition, the program has diversified to address measles and rubella elimination, data management and quality, and strengthening routine immunization programs. This article describes the STOP program and how it has contributed to polio eradication by building global public health workforce capacity. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Suppressor of cytokine signalling-3 expression inhibits cytokine-mediated destruction of primary mouse and rat pancreatic islets and delays allograft rejection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rønn, S G; Börjesson, A; Bruun, C

2008-01-01

The pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1 and IFNgamma are critical molecules in immune-mediated beta cell destruction leading to type 1 diabetes mellitus. Suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS)-3 inhibits the cytokine-mediated destruction of insulinoma-1 cells. Here we investigate the effect of SOCS...

Rate of red blood cell destruction varies in different strains of mice infected with Plasmodium berghei-ANKA after chronic exposure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kikuchi Mihoko

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Severe malaria anaemia in the semi-immune individuals in the holo-endemic area has been observed to occur at low parasite density with individual variation in the responses. Thus the following has been thought to be involved: auto-immune-mediated mechanisms of uninfected red blood cell destruction, and host genetic factors to explain the differences in individual responses under the same malaria transmission. In this study, the extent of red blood cell (RBC destruction in different strains of semi-immune mice model at relatively low parasitaemia was studied. Methodology To generate semi-immunity, four strains of mice were taken through several cycles of infection and treatment. By means of immunofluorescent assay and ELISA, sera were screened for anti-erythrocyte auto-antibodies, and their relationship with haematological parameters and parasitaemia in the strains of semi-immune mice was investigated. Results Upon challenge with Plasmodium berghei ANKA after generating semi-immune status, different mean percentage haemoglobin (Hb drop was observed in the mice strains (Balb/c = 47.1%; NZW = 30.05%; C57BL/6 = 28.44%; CBA = 25.1%, which occurred on different days for each strain (for Balb/c, mean period = 13.6 days; for C57BL/6, NZW, and CBA mean period = 10.6, 10.8, 10.9 days respectively. Binding of antibody to white ghost RBCs was observed in sera of the four strains of semi-immune mice by immunofluorescence. Mean percentage Hb drop per parasitaemia was highest in Balb/c (73.6, followed by C57BL/6 (8.6, CBA (6.9 and NZW (4.0, p = 0.0005. Consequently, auto-antibodies level to ghost RBC were correlated with degree of anaemia and were highest in Balb/c, when compared with the other strains, p Conclusion The results presented in this study seem to indicate that anti-RBC auto-antibodies may be involved in the destruction of uninfected RBC in semi-immune mice at relatively low parasite burden. Host genetic factors may also

Second stop and sbottom searches with a stealth stop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, Hsin-Chia; Li, Lingfeng; Qin, Qin [Department of Physics, University of California,Davis, California 95616 (United States)

2016-11-29

The top squarks (stops) may be the most wanted particles after the Higgs boson discovery. The searches for the lightest stop have put strong constraints on its mass. However, there is still a search gap in the low mass region if the spectrum of the stop and the lightest neutralino is compressed. In that case, it may be easier to look for the second stop since naturalness requires both stops to be close to the weak scale. The current experimental searches for the second stop are based on the simplified model approach with the decay modes t̃{sub 2}→t̃{sub 1}Z and t̃{sub 2}→t̃{sub 1}h. However, in a realistic supersymmetric spectrum there is always a sbottom lighter than the second stop, hence the decay patterns are usually more complicated than the simplified model assumptions. In particular, there are often large branching ratios of the decays t̃{sub 2}→b̃{sub 1}W and b̃{sub 1}→t̃{sub 1}W as long as they are open. The decay chains can be even more complex if there are intermediate states of additional charginos and neutralinos in the decays. By studying several MSSM benchmark models at the 14 TeV LHC, we point out the importance of the multi-W final states in the second stop and the sbottom searches, such as the same-sign dilepton and multilepton signals, aside from the traditional search modes. The observed same-sign dilepton excesses at LHC Run 1 and Run 2 may be explained by some of our benchmark models. We also suggest that the vector boson tagging and a new kinematic variable may help to suppress the backgrounds and increase the signal significance for some search channels. Due to the complex decay patterns and lack of the dominant decay channels, the best reaches likely require a combination of various search channels at the LHC for the second stop and the lightest sbottom.

Viral subversion of the immune system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gillet, L.; Vanderplasschen, A.

2005-01-01

The continuous interactions between host and viruses during their co-evolution have shaped not only the immune system but also the countermeasures used by viruses. Studies in the last decade have described the diverse arrays of pathways and molecular targets that are used by viruses to elude immune detection or destruction, or both. These include targeting of pathways for major histocompatibility complex class I and class II antigen presentation, natural killer cell recognition, apoptosis, cytokine signalling, and complement activation. This paper provides an overview of the viral immune-evasion mechanisms described to date. It highlights the contribution of this field to our understanding of the immune system, and the importance of understanding this aspect of the biology of viral infection to develop efficacious and safe vaccines. (author)

The role of acquired immunity and periodontal disease progression.

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Yen-Tung A

2003-01-01

Our understanding of the pathogenesis in human periodontal diseases is limited by the lack of specific and sensitive tools or models to study the complex microbial challenges and their interactions with the host's immune system. Recent advances in cellular and molecular biology research have demonstrated the importance of the acquired immune system not only in fighting the virulent periodontal pathogens but also in protecting the host from developing further devastating conditions in periodontal infections. The use of genetic knockout and immunodeficient mouse strains has shown that the acquired immune response-in particular, CD4+ T-cells-plays a pivotal role in controlling the ongoing infection, the immune/inflammatory responses, and the subsequent host's tissue destruction. In particular, studies of the pathogen-specific CD4+ T-cell-mediated immunity have clarified the roles of: (i) the relative diverse immune repertoire involved in periodontal pathogenesis, (ii) the contribution of pathogen-associated Th1-Th2 cytokine expressions in periodontal disease progression, and (iii) micro-organism-triggered periodontal CD4+ T-cell-mediated osteoclastogenic factor, 'RANK-L', which is linked to the induction of alveolar bone destruction in situ. The present review will focus on some recent advances in the acquired immune responses involving B-cells, CD8+ T-cells, and CD4+ T-cells in the context of periodontal disease progression. New approaches will further facilitate our understanding of their underlying molecular mechanisms that may lead to the development of new treatment modalities for periodontal diseases and their associated complications.

Non-destructive Engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ko, Jin Hyeon; Ryu, Taek In; Ko, Jun Bin; Hwang, Yong Hwa

2006-08-01

This book gives descriptions of non-destructive engineering on outline of non-destructive test, weld defects, radiographic inspection radiography, ultrasonic inspection, magnetic particle testing, liquid penetrant testing, eddy current inspection method, strain measurement, acoustic emission inspection method, other non-destructive testing like leakage inspection method, and non-destructive mechanics for fault analysis such as Griffiths creaking theory, and stress analysis of creaking.

Inseparability of Go and Stop in Inhibitory Control: Go Stimulus Discriminability Affects Stopping Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Ning; Yu, Angela J

2016-01-01

Inhibitory control, the ability to stop or modify preplanned actions under changing task conditions, is an important component of cognitive functions. Two lines of models of inhibitory control have previously been proposed for human response in the classical stop-signal task, in which subjects must inhibit a default go response upon presentation of an infrequent stop signal: (1) the race model, which posits two independent go and stop processes that race to determine the behavioral outcome, go or stop; and (2) an optimal decision-making model, which posits that observers decides whether and when to go based on continually (Bayesian) updated information about both the go and stop stimuli. In this work, we probe the relationship between go and stop processing by explicitly manipulating the discrimination difficulty of the go stimulus. While the race model assumes the go and stop processes are independent, and therefore go stimulus discriminability should not affect the stop stimulus processing, we simulate the optimal model to show that it predicts harder go discrimination should result in longer go reaction time (RT), lower stop error rate, as well as faster stop-signal RT. We then present novel behavioral data that validate these model predictions. The results thus favor a fundamentally inseparable account of go and stop processing, in a manner consistent with the optimal model, and contradicting the independence assumption of the race model. More broadly, our findings contribute to the growing evidence that the computations underlying inhibitory control are systematically modulated by cognitive influences in a Bayes-optimal manner, thus opening new avenues for interpreting neural responses underlying inhibitory control.

Inseparability of Go and Stop in Inhibitory Control: Go Stimulus Discriminability Affects Stopping Behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ning eMa

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Inhibitory control, the ability to stop or modify preplanned actions under changing task conditions, is an important component of cognitive functions. Two lines of models of inhibitory control have previously been proposed for human response in the classical stop-signal task, in which subjects must inhibit a default go response upon presentation of an infrequent stop signal: (1 the race model, which posits two independent go and stop processes that race to determine the behavioral outcome, go or stop; and (2 an optimal decision-making model, which posits that observers decides whether and when to go based on continually (Bayesian updated information about both the go and stop stimuli. In this work, we probe the relationship between go and stop processing by explicitly manipulating the discrimination difficulty of the go stimulus. While the race model assumes the go and stop processes are independent, and therefore go stimulus discriminability should not affect the stop stimulus processing, we simulate the optimal model to show that it predicts harder go discrimination results in a longer go reaction time (RT, a lower stop error rate, as well as a faster stop-signal RT. We then present novel behavioral data that validate these model predictions. The results thus favor a fundamentally inseparable account of go and stop processing, in a manner consistent with the optimal model, and contradicting the independence assumption of the race model. More broadly, our findings contribute to the growing evidence that the computations underlying inhibitory control are systematically modulated by cognitive influences in a Bayes-optimal manner, thus opening new avenues for interpreting neural responses underlying inhibitory control.

Coexisting Situs Inversus Totalis and Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura.

Science.gov (United States)

Gundogdu, Kemal; Altintoprak, Fatih; Uzunoğlu, Mustafa Yener; Dikicier, Enis; Zengin, İsmail; Yağmurkaya, Orhan

2016-01-01

Situs inversus totalis is a rare congenital abnormality with mirror symmetry of mediastinal and abdominal organs. Immune thrombocytopenic purpura is an autoimmune disease with destruction of thrombocytes. This paper is presentation of surgical approach to a case with coexistence of these two conditions.

Patients With Antithyroid Antibodies Are Prone To Develop Destructive Thyroiditis by Nivolumab: A Prospective Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Tomoko; Iwama, Shintaro; Yasuda, Yoshinori; Okada, Norio; Tsunekawa, Taku; Onoue, Takeshi; Takagi, Hiroshi; Hagiwara, Daisuke; Ito, Yoshihiro; Morishita, Yoshiaki; Goto, Motomitsu; Suga, Hidetaka; Banno, Ryoichi; Yokota, Kenji; Hase, Tetsunari; Morise, Masahiro; Hashimoto, Naozumi; Ando, Masahiko; Kiyoi, Hitoshi; Gotoh, Momokazu; Ando, Yuichi; Akiyama, Masashi; Hasegawa, Yoshinori; Arima, Hiroshi

2018-03-01

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, including anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) antibodies, have become promising treatments for a variety of advanced malignancies. However, these medicines can cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs), including endocrinopathies. This study examined the incidence of endocrine irAEs induced by nivolumab. Sixty-six patients treated with nivolumab at Nagoya University Hospital were prospectively evaluated for pituitary hormones, thyroid function, antithyroid antibodies (Abs), and glucose levels every 6 weeks after the initiation of nivolumab for 24 weeks. Four out of 66 patients developed destructive thyroiditis, and three patients developed hypothyroidism requiring levothyroxine replacement. The prevalence of positive anti-thyroglobulin Abs (TgAbs) and/or anti-thyroid peroxidase Abs (TPOAbs) at baseline was significantly higher in the group that developed destructive thyroiditis (3/4) compared with the group that did not develop thyroiditis (3/62; P = 0.002). There were no significant differences in other clinical variables between the groups. There were no endocrine irAEs other than destructive thyroiditis during the 24 weeks. The prevalence of TgAbs and/or TPOAbs at baseline was not associated with the development of other irAEs, including pneumonitis, colitis, or skin reactions. Our real-world data showed that destructive thyroiditis was an endocrine irAE that was frequently induced by nivolumab and was significantly associated with positive TgAbs and/or TPOAbs before treatment. Our findings indicate that evaluating these Abs before treatment may help identify patients with a high risk of thyroidal irAEs and may have important clinical benefit.

Apoptosis in fatal Ebola infection. Does the virus toll the bell for immune system?

Science.gov (United States)

Baize, S; Leroy, E M; Mavoungou, E; Fisher-Hoch, S P

2000-02-01

In fatal Ebola virus hemorrhagic fever massive intravascular apoptosis develops rapidly following infection and progressing relentlessly until death. While data suggest that T lymphocytes are mainly deleted by apoptosis in PBMC of human fatal cases, experimental Ebola infection in animal models have shown some evidence of destruction of lymphocytes in spleen and lymph nodes probably involving both T and B cells. Nevertheless, we are able to conclude from the accumulated evidence that early interactions between Ebola virus and the immune system, probably via macrophages, main targets for viral replication, lead to massive destruction of immune cells in fatal cases.

Stopping, goal-conflict, trait anxiety and frontal rhythmic power in the stop-signal task.

Science.gov (United States)

Neo, Phoebe S-H; Thurlow, Jane K; McNaughton, Neil

2011-12-01

The medial right frontal cortex is implicated in fast stopping of an initiated motor action in the stop-signal task (SST). To assess whether this region is also involved in the slower behavioural inhibition induced by goal conflict, we tested for effects of goal conflict (when stop and go tendencies are balanced) on low-frequency rhythms in the SST. Stop trials were divided, according to the delays at which the stop signal occurred, into short-, intermediate-, and long-delay trials. Consistent with goal-conflict processing, intermediate-delay trials were associated with greater 7-8 Hz EEG power than short- or long-delay trials at medial right frontal sites (Fz, F4, and F8). At F8, 7-8 Hz power was linked to high trait anxiety and neuroticism. A separate 4-7 Hz power increase was also seen in stop, relative to go, trials, but this was independent of delay, was maximal at the central midline site Cz, and predicted faster stopping. Together with previous data on the SST, these results suggest that the right frontal region could be involved in multiple inhibition mechanisms. We propose a hierarchical model of the control of stopping that integrates the literature on the neural control of fast motor stopping with that on slower, motive-directed behavioural inhibition.

Remune trial will stop; new trials planned.

Science.gov (United States)

James, J S

1999-05-21

A clinical trial using remune, the anti-HIV vaccine developed by the late Dr. Jonas Salk, has been ended. The study is a clinical-endpoint trial which looks for statistically significant differences in AIDS sickness or death between patients who add remune to their treatment regimens versus those who use a placebo. Agouron Pharmaceuticals and the Immune Response Corporation who were conducting the trial announced their decision to stop it after an analysis by the Data Safety Monitoring Board. No differences in clinical endpoints were found and it was projected that continuing the trial would likely not find any. The companies are now planning two new Phase III trials using viral load testing rather than clinical endpoints as study criteria.

Role of immune system in type 1 diabetes mellitus pathogenesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Szablewski, Leszek

2014-09-01

The immune system is the body's natural defense system against invading pathogens. It protects the body from infection and works to communicate an individual's well-being through a complex network of interconnected cells and cytokines. This system is an associated host defense. An uncontrolled immune system has the potential to trigger negative complications in the host. Type 1 diabetes results from the destruction of pancreatic β-cells by a β-cell-specific autoimmune process. Examples of β-cell autoantigens are insulin, glutamic acid decarboxylase, tyrosine phosphatase, and insulinoma antigen. There are many autoimmune diseases, but type 1 diabetes mellitus is one of the well-characterized autoimmune diseases. The mechanisms involved in the β-cell destruction are still not clear; it is generally believed that β-cell autoantigens, macrophages, dendritic cells, B lymphocytes, and T lymphocytes are involved in the β-cell-specific autoimmune process. It is necessary to determine what exact factors are causing the immune system to become unregulated in such a manner as to promote an autoimmune response. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coexisting Situs Inversus Totalis and Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kemal Gundogdu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Situs inversus totalis is a rare congenital abnormality with mirror symmetry of mediastinal and abdominal organs. Immune thrombocytopenic purpura is an autoimmune disease with destruction of thrombocytes. This paper is presentation of surgical approach to a case with coexistence of these two conditions.

Patients With Antithyroid Antibodies Are Prone To Develop Destructive Thyroiditis by Nivolumab: A Prospective Study

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Tomoko; Iwama, Shintaro; Yasuda, Yoshinori; Okada, Norio; Tsunekawa, Taku; Onoue, Takeshi; Takagi, Hiroshi; Hagiwara, Daisuke; Ito, Yoshihiro; Morishita, Yoshiaki; Goto, Motomitsu; Suga, Hidetaka; Banno, Ryoichi; Yokota, Kenji; Hase, Tetsunari; Morise, Masahiro; Hashimoto, Naozumi; Ando, Masahiko; Kiyoi, Hitoshi; Gotoh, Momokazu; Ando, Yuichi; Akiyama, Masashi; Hasegawa, Yoshinori; Arima, Hiroshi

2018-01-01

Abstract Context Immune checkpoint inhibitors, including anti–programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) antibodies, have become promising treatments for a variety of advanced malignancies. However, these medicines can cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs), including endocrinopathies. Objective This study examined the incidence of endocrine irAEs induced by nivolumab. Patients and Main Outcome Measured Sixty-six patients treated with nivolumab at Nagoya University Hospital were prospectively evaluated for pituitary hormones, thyroid function, antithyroid antibodies (Abs), and glucose levels every 6 weeks after the initiation of nivolumab for 24 weeks. Results Four out of 66 patients developed destructive thyroiditis, and three patients developed hypothyroidism requiring levothyroxine replacement. The prevalence of positive anti-thyroglobulin Abs (TgAbs) and/or anti–thyroid peroxidase Abs (TPOAbs) at baseline was significantly higher in the group that developed destructive thyroiditis (3/4) compared with the group that did not develop thyroiditis (3/62; P = 0.002). There were no significant differences in other clinical variables between the groups. There were no endocrine irAEs other than destructive thyroiditis during the 24 weeks. The prevalence of TgAbs and/or TPOAbs at baseline was not associated with the development of other irAEs, including pneumonitis, colitis, or skin reactions. Conclusions Our real-world data showed that destructive thyroiditis was an endocrine irAE that was frequently induced by nivolumab and was significantly associated with positive TgAbs and/or TPOAbs before treatment. Our findings indicate that evaluating these Abs before treatment may help identify patients with a high risk of thyroidal irAEs and may have important clinical benefit. PMID:29600292

The innate immune response during urinary tract infection and pyelonephritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, John David; Schwaderer, Andrew L; Becknell, Brian; Watson, Joshua; Hains, David S

2014-07-01

Despite its proximity to the fecal flora, the urinary tract is considered sterile. The precise mechanisms by which the urinary tract maintains sterility are not well understood. Host immune responses are critically important in the antimicrobial defense of the urinary tract. During recent years, considerable advances have been made in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying immune homeostasis of the kidney and urinary tract. Dysfunctions in these immune mechanisms may result in acute disease, tissue destruction and overwhelming infection. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the innate immune response in the urinary tract in response to microbial assault. In doing so, we focus on the role of antimicrobial peptides-a ubiquitous component of the innate immune response.

All-dielectric band stop filter at terahertz frequencies

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Shan; Chen, Lin

2018-01-01

We design all-dielectric band stop filters with silicon subwavelength rod and block arrays at terahertz frequencies. Supporting magnetic dipole resonances originated from the Mia resonance, the all-dielectric filters can modulate the working band by simply varying the structural geometry, while eliminating the ohmic loss induced by the traditional metallic metamaterials and uninvolved with the complicated mechanism. The nature of the resonance in the silicon arrays is clarified, which is attributed to the destructive interference between the directly transmitted waves and the waves emitted from the magnetic dipole resonances, and the resonance frequency is determined by the dielectric structure. By particularly designing the geometrical parameters, the profile of the transmission spectrum can be tailored, and the step-like band edge can be obtained. The all-dielectric filters can realize 93% modulation of the transmission within 0.04 THz, and maintain the bandwidth of 0.05 THz. This work provides a method to develop THz functional devices, such as filters, switches and sensors.

The Skin Microbiome: Is It Affected by UV-induced Immune Suppression?

OpenAIRE

Patra, VijayKumar; Byrne, Scott N.; Wolf, Peter

2016-01-01

Human skin apart from functioning as a physical barricade to stop the entry of pathogens, also hosts innumerable commensal organisms. The skin cells and the immune system constantly interact with microbes, to maintain cutaneous homeostasis, despite the challenges offered by various environmental factors. A major environmental factor affecting the skin is ultraviolet radiation (UV-R) from sunlight. UV-R is well known to modulate the immune system, which can be both beneficial and deleterious. ...

Immunities of International Organizations before Domestic Courts : Reflections on the Collective Labour Case against the European Patent Organization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ryngaert, C.M.J.

2016-01-01

The Netherlands is home to a substantial number of international organizations, which on the basis of international agreements are entitled to immunity from jurisdiction and enforcement before Dutch courts. This immunity grant has not stopped claimants from suing international organizations in The

Progress in understanding heavy-ion stopping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sigmund, P., E-mail: sigmund@sdu.dk [Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5230 Odense M (Denmark); Schinner, A. [Institut für Experimentalphysik, Johannes Kepler Universität, A-4040 Linz (Austria)

2016-09-01

We report some highlights of our work with heavy-ion stopping in the energy range where Bethe stopping theory breaks down. Main tools are our binary stopping theory (PASS code), the reciprocity principle, and Paul’s data base. Comparisons are made between PASS and three alternative theoretical schemes (CasP, HISTOP and SLPA). In addition to equilibrium stopping we discuss frozen-charge stopping, deviations from linear velocity dependence below the Bragg peak, application of the reciprocity principle in low-velocity stopping, modeling of equilibrium charges, and the significance of the so-called effective charge.

Progress in understanding heavy-ion stopping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sigmund, P.; Schinner, A.

2016-01-01

We report some highlights of our work with heavy-ion stopping in the energy range where Bethe stopping theory breaks down. Main tools are our binary stopping theory (PASS code), the reciprocity principle, and Paul’s data base. Comparisons are made between PASS and three alternative theoretical schemes (CasP, HISTOP and SLPA). In addition to equilibrium stopping we discuss frozen-charge stopping, deviations from linear velocity dependence below the Bragg peak, application of the reciprocity principle in low-velocity stopping, modeling of equilibrium charges, and the significance of the so-called effective charge.

Agutaynen Glottal Stop.

Science.gov (United States)

Quakenbush, J. Stephen

A study investigated the phonemic and morphophonemic patterning of the glottal stop in Agutaynen, a Meso-Philippine language, and some comparison with two northern Philippine languages. Agutaynen glottal stop has as its sole origin a neutralization of contrast rule, the operation of which can be noted in three different linguistic environments.…

Destructive impact of t-lymphocytes, NK and mast cells on basal cell layers: implications for tumor invasion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan, Hongyan; Hsiao, Yi-Hsuan; Zhang, Yiyu; Wang, Jinlian; Yin, Chao; Shen, Rong; Su, Yiping

2013-01-01

Our previous studies have suggested that the primary impact of immune cell infiltration into the normal or pre-invasive tissue component is associated with the physical destruction of epithelial capsules, which may promote tumor progression and invasion. Our current study attempted to further verify our previous observations and determine the primary type(s) of infiltrating immune cells and the possible mechanism associated with physical destructions of the epithelial capsules. In total, the study was conducted with 250 primary breast and prostate tumors, the primary immune cell of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL), Natural killer cells (NK) and Mast cells were analyzed by immunohistochemistry, fluorescent labeling and apoptosis assay. qRT-PCR was used for gene expression analysis. Our current study assessed the physical disruption of these immune cells and potential impact on the epithelial capsule of human breast and prostate tumors. Our study yield several clinically-relevant findings that have not been studied before. (1) A vast majority of these infiltrating immune cells are distributed in the normal-appearing or pre-invasive tissue components rather than in invasive cancer tissues. (2) These cells often form rings or semilunar structures that either surround focally-disrupted basal cell layers or physically attach to the basal cells. (3) Basal cells physically associated with these immune cells generally displayed distinct signs of degeneration, including substantially elevated apoptosis, necrosis, and reduced tumor suppressor p63 expression. In contrast, luminal cells overlying focally disrupted basal cell layers had a substantially increased proliferation rate and elevated expression of stem cell markers compared to their adjacent morphologically similar counterparts that overlie a non-disrupted capsule. Our findings suggest that at the early stage of tumor invasion, CTL, NK and Mast cells are the main types of tumor infiltrating immune cells involved in focal

All in One Stop? The Accessibility of Work Support Programs at One-Stop Centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Richer, Elise; Kubo, Hitomi; Frank, Abbey

The accessibility of work support programs at one-stop centers was examined in a study during which 33 telephone directors or managers of one-stop centers in 22 states were interviewed by telephone. The interviews established the existence of extensive differences between one-stop centers from the standpoint of all aspects of their operation,…

LHC Availability 2017: Technical Stop 1 to Technical Stop 2

CERN Document Server

Todd, Benjamin; Apollonio, Andrea; Walsh, David John; CERN. Geneva. ATS Department

2017-01-01

This document summarises the LHC machine availability for the period of Technical Stop 1 (TS1) to Technical Stop 2 (TS2) in 2017. This period was dedicated to proton physics with a bunch spacing of 25ns. This note has been produced and ratified by the Availability Working Group which has complied fault information for the period in question using the Accelerator Fault Tracker.

periapical cyst and its relation with the body immune system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Vahid

1994-06-01

Full Text Available One of the most common outcomes of pulp inflammation is periapical granuloma formation. Existence of immune cells in these lesions showed involvement of both humoral and cellular immunity in the site. The presence of different antigens in the root canal causes production o various antibodies and consequent immunological reactions. Different theories have been proposed on periapical cysts. The most valid of them is based onimmunologic response which can lead to tissue destruction due to immunological reactions.

Nonconventional concrete hollow blocks evaluation by destructive and non-destructive testing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.S. Rodrigues

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate cementitious matrices properties by partial replacement of Portland cement by silica fume (SF or by rice husk ash (RHA, and their application in nonbearing hollow blocks, tested by destructive and non-destructive methods. The following mixtures were produced: reference (100% of Portland cement and Portland cement replacement (10% by mass with SF or RHA. The non-destructive testing showed that the highest values of UPV were obtained for SF-based blocks and RHA-based blocks. The destructive test showed better results for SF-based blocks, but there was no statistical difference between the RHA-based and control ones.

Luminescent beam stop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bryant, Diane; Morton, Simon A.

2017-10-25

This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus related to beam stops. In one aspect, a device comprises a luminescent material, a beam stop plate, and an optical fiber. The luminescent material is a parallelepiped having a first side and a second side that are squares and having a third side that is a rectangle or a square. The first side and the second side are perpendicular to the third side. The beam stop plate is attached to the first side of the luminescent material. The optical fiber has a first end and a second end, with the first end of the optical fiber attached to the third side of the luminescent material.

Probing Light Stops with Stoponium

CERN Document Server

Batell, Brian

2015-01-01

We derive new limits on light stops from diboson resonance searches in the $\\gamma\\gamma$, $Z \\gamma$, $ZZ$, $WW$ and $hh$ channels from the first run of the LHC. If the two-body decays of the light stop are mildly suppressed or kinematically forbidden, stoponium bound states will form in $pp$ collisions and subsequently decay via the pair annihilation of the constituent stops to diboson final states, yielding striking resonance signatures. Remarkably, we find that stoponium searches are highly complementary to direct collider searches and indirect probes of light stops such as Higgs coupling measurements. Using an empirical quarkonia potential model and including the first two $S$-wave stoponium states, we find that in the decoupling limit $m_{\\widetilde t_1} \\lesssim 130$ GeV is excluded for any value of the stop mixing angle and heavy stop mass by the combination of the latest resonance searches and the indirect constraints. The $\\gamma \\gamma$ searches are the most complementary to the indirect constraint...

Stop smoking support programs

Science.gov (United States)

Smokeless tobacco - stop smoking programs; Stop smoking techniques; Smoking cessation programs; Smoking cessation techniques ... You can find out about smoking cessation programs from: Your ... Your employer Your local health department The National Cancer ...

Clinical and immunologic follow-up of patients who stop venom immunotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Keating, M U; Kagey-Sobotka, A; Hamilton, R G; Yunginger, J W

1991-09-01

We prospectively studied 51 self-selected Hymenoptera sting-sensitive patients to determine (1) whether a minimal or optimal duration for venom immunotherapy (VIT) exists and (2) whether clinical or immunologic parameters exist that are predictive of clinical immunity after VIT was stopped. After 2 to 10 years of VIT, all patients had deliberate sting challenges (DSCs) from live insects. If DSCs were tolerated, patients voluntarily stopped VIT and returned annually for repeat venom skin tests (VSTs) and DSCs. In most patients, it was possible to monitor VST and venom-specific antibody (Ab) levels before and after VIT was stopped. One-year after VIT, VST and venom-specific IgE and IgG Ab level results were variable; 49 patients tolerated DSC, whereas two patients exhibited generalized reactions. These two patients had pre-VIT histories of grade IV field-sting reactions and had received VIT for 2 years and 4 years, respectively. The short-term (1 year) risk of recurrence of clinical allergy to stings after VIT was higher in patients who had experienced grade IV field-sting reactions before VIT versus patients experiencing grade I to III reactions before VIT (2/15, 13% versus 0/36, 0%) and higher in patients who had received VIT for less than 5 years versus patients who received VIT for 5 or more years (2/20, 10% versus 0/31, 0%). We suggest that VIT should be continued for 5 years in patients with pre-VIT field-sting reactions of grade IV severity. VST and venom-specific Ab results do not reliably predict the outcome of DSC or the subsequent clinical course in individual patients stopping VIT.

Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay

Science.gov (United States)

Pay (RSLSP), providing $500 for each month/partial month served in stop loss status. Service members served under stop loss must submit a claim for the special pay. Throughout the year, the services have or extension of service, became ineligible to receive retroactive stop loss special pay. There may be

Stop feeling: inhibition of emotional interference following stop-signal trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalanthroff, Eyal; Cohen, Noga; Henik, Avishai

2013-01-01

Although a great deal of literature has been dedicated to the mutual links between emotion and the selective attention component of executive control, there is very little data regarding the links between emotion and the inhibitory component of executive control. In the current study we employed an emotional stop-signal task in order to examine whether emotion modulates and is modulated by inhibitory control. Results replicated previous findings showing reduced inhibitory control [longer stop-signal reaction time (SSRT)] following negative, compared to neutral pictures. Most importantly, results show decreased emotional interference following stop-signal trials. These results show that the inhibitory control component of executive control can serve to decrease emotional effects. We suggest that inhibitory control and emotion have a two-way connection in which emotion disrupts inhibitory control and activation of inhibitory control disrupts emotion.

Stop feeling: Inhibition of emotional interference following stop-signal trials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eyal eKalanthroff

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Although a great deal of literature has been dedicated to the mutual links between emotion and the selective attention component of executive control, there is very little data regarding the links between emotion and the inhibitory component of executive control. In the current study we employed an emotional stop-signal task in order to examine whether emotion modulates and is modulated by inhibitory control. Results replicated previous findings showing reduced inhibitory control (longer stop-signal reaction time following negative, compared to neutral pictures. Most importantly, results show decreased emotional interference following stop-signal trials. These results show that the inhibitory control component of executive control can serve to decrease emotional effects. We suggest that inhibitory control and emotion have a two-way connection in which emotion disrupts inhibitory control and activation of inhibitory control disrupts emotion.

Stop feeling: Inhibition of emotional interference following stop-signal trials

OpenAIRE

Eyal eKalanthroff; Noga eCohen; Avishai eHenik

2013-01-01

Although a great deal of literature has been dedicated to the mutual links between emotion and the selective attention component of executive control, there is very little data regarding the links between emotion and the inhibitory component of executive control. In the current study we employed an emotional stop-signal task in order to examine whether emotion modulates and is modulated by inhibitory control. Results replicated previous findings showing reduced inhibitory control [longer stop...

Autoradiographic study of gamma-irradiated mouse spleen during primary immune response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gitsov, L.G.; Kyncheva, L.S.; Burneva, V.G.; Martinova, J.Sh.; Viklichka, S.

1978-01-01

Study on the kinetics of the cells in the mouse spleen during the primary immune response against thymusdependent antigen after sublethal irradiation was carried out. For this purpose the animals were immunized with sheep erythrocytes one day after their irradiation with 700 r gamma rays. On the 5th day after the immunization, tritium labelled thymidine was injected three times at two hourly intervals. Mice were killed two hours after the third injection for preparation of routine histological samples and autoradiographs. Immunized, but not irradiated mice were utilized as controls. Extensive zones of lymphocyte destruction were observed in the spleen of the irradiated mice - accumulation of picnotic lymphocyte nuclei, surrounded by reticulo-histocyte elements. The number of the labelled cells and the intensity of labelled are lower than that of the germinal centres in control animal. There is no marked cell destruction in the periarteriolar zone nor labelled cells, whereas in the controls there is a considerable number of labelled blast cells. In the red pulp of the irradiated animals islands of erythroblasts were found, whereas in the controls - parallely to the erythroblast islands, there are islands of proliferating lymphocytes and plasmocytes. The decrease of lymphocyte number in irradiated mice is connected with their destruction and with the altered lymphocytopoiesis in the red pulp. It is assumed that the observed preservation of the periarteriolar lymphatic sheaths in an expression of a higher radioresistance of the T-cells as compared to the B-cells in the white pulp. This study contributes for elucidation of the irradiation immunosuppressive effect. It points out also that the post-irradiation lymphopaenia is due not only to the cell death but also to the exclusion of part of the T-lymphocytes from the circulation and their selective deposition in the thymus-dependent zones of the peripheral lymphoid organs. (A.B.)

Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells Promoting Tumor Invasion and Metastasis: Existing Theories

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Yan-gao Man, Alexander Stojadinovic, Jeffrey Mason, Itzhak Avital, Anton Bilchik, Bjoern Bruecher, Mladjan Protic, Aviram Nissan, Mina Izadjoo, Xichen Zhang, Anahid Jewett

2013-01-01

Full Text Available It is a commonly held belief that infiltration of immune cells into tumor tissues and direct physical contact between tumor cells and infiltrated immune cells is associated with physical destructions of the tumor cells, reduction of the tumor burden, and improved clinical prognosis. An increasing number of studies, however, have suggested that aberrant infiltration of immune cells into tumor or normal tissues may promote tumor progression, invasion, and metastasis. Neither the primary reason for these contradictory observations, nor the mechanism for the reported diverse impact of tumor-infiltrating immune cells has been elucidated, making it difficult to judge the clinical implications of infiltration of immune cells within tumor tissues. This mini-review presents several existing hypotheses and models that favor the promoting impact of tumor-infiltrating immune cells on tumor invasion and metastasis, and also analyzes their strength and weakness.

A whistle-stop tour of statistics

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Everitt, Brian

2012-01-01

"Preface according to my Penguin English dictionary, whistle-stop, used before a noun means 'consisting of brief stops in several places' and this whistle-stop tour of statistics does just that, with...

9 CFR 51.6 - Destruction of animals; time limit for destruction of animals.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Destruction of animals; time limit for destruction of animals. 51.6 Section 51.6 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION... ANIMALS DESTROYED BECAUSE OF BRUCELLOSIS Indemnity for Cattle, Bison, and Swine § 51.6 Destruction of...

Immune Privilege and Eye-Derived T-Regulatory Cells

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Hiroshi Keino

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Certain cellular components of the eye, such as neural retina, are unable to regenerate and replicate after destructive inflammation. Ocular immune privilege provides the eye with immune protection against intraocular inflammation in order to minimize the risk to vision integrity. The eye and immune system use strategies to maintain the ocular immune privilege by regulating the innate and adaptive immune response, which includes immunological ignorance, peripheral tolerance to eye-derived antigens, and intraocular immunosuppressive microenvironment. In this review, we summarize current knowledge regarding the molecular mechanism responsible for the development and maintenance of ocular immune privilege via regulatory T cells (Tregs, which are generated by the anterior chamber-associated immune deviation (ACAID, and ocular resident cells including corneal endothelial (CE cells, ocular pigment epithelial (PE cells, and aqueous humor. Furthermore, we examined the therapeutic potential of Tregs generated by RPE cells that express transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β, cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-2 alpha (CTLA-2α, and retinoic acid for autoimmune uveoretinitis and evaluated a new strategy using human RPE-induced Tregs for clinical application in inflammatory ocular disease. We believe that a better understanding of the ocular immune privilege associated with Tregs might offer a new approach with regard to therapeutic interventions for ocular autoimmunity.

Immune Privilege and Eye-Derived T-Regulatory Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Keino, Hiroshi; Horie, Shintaro; Sugita, Sunao

2018-01-01

Certain cellular components of the eye, such as neural retina, are unable to regenerate and replicate after destructive inflammation. Ocular immune privilege provides the eye with immune protection against intraocular inflammation in order to minimize the risk to vision integrity. The eye and immune system use strategies to maintain the ocular immune privilege by regulating the innate and adaptive immune response, which includes immunological ignorance, peripheral tolerance to eye-derived antigens, and intraocular immunosuppressive microenvironment. In this review, we summarize current knowledge regarding the molecular mechanism responsible for the development and maintenance of ocular immune privilege via regulatory T cells (Tregs), which are generated by the anterior chamber-associated immune deviation (ACAID), and ocular resident cells including corneal endothelial (CE) cells, ocular pigment epithelial (PE) cells, and aqueous humor. Furthermore, we examined the therapeutic potential of Tregs generated by RPE cells that express transforming growth factor beta (TGF- β ), cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-2 alpha (CTLA-2 α ), and retinoic acid for autoimmune uveoretinitis and evaluated a new strategy using human RPE-induced Tregs for clinical application in inflammatory ocular disease. We believe that a better understanding of the ocular immune privilege associated with Tregs might offer a new approach with regard to therapeutic interventions for ocular autoimmunity.

Anti-Tribbles Pseudokinase 2 (TRIB2)-Immunization Modulates Hypocretin/Orexin Neuronal Functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Susumu; Honda, Yoshiko; Honda, Makoto; Yamada, Hisao; Honda, Kazuki; Kodama, Tohru

2017-01-01

Recent findings showed that 16%-26% of narcolepsy patients were positive for anti-tribbles pseudokinase 2 (TRIB2) antibody, and the intracerebroventricular administration of immunoglobulin-G purified from anti-TRIB2 positive narcolepsy patients caused hypocretin/orexin neuron loss. We investigated the pathophysiological role of TRIB2 antibody using TRIB2-immunized rats and hypocretin/ataxin-3 transgenic (ataxin-3) mice. Plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and hypothalamic tissues from TRIB2-immunized rats were collected. Anti-TRIB2 titers, hypocretin contents, mRNA expressions, the cell count of hypocretin neurons, and immunoreactivity of anti-TRIB2 antibodies on hypocretin neurons were investigated. The plasma from ataxin-3 mice was also used to determine the anti-TRIB2 antibody titer changes following the loss of hypocretin neurons. TRIB2 antibody titers increased in the plasma and CSF of TRIB2-immunized rats. The hypothalamic tissue immunostained with the sera from TRIB2-immunized rats revealed positive signals in the cytoplasm of hypcretin neurons. While no changes were found regarding hypothalamic hypocretin contents or cell counts, but there were significant decreases of the hypocretin mRNA level and release into the CSF. The plasma from over 26-week-old ataxin-3 mice, at the advanced stage of hypocretin cell destruction, showed positive reactions against TRIB2 antigen, and positive plasma also reacted with murine hypothalamic hypocretin neurons. Our results suggest that the general activation of the immune system modulates the functions of hypocretin neurons. The absence of a change in hypocretin cell populations suggested that factors other than anti-TRIB2 antibody play a part in the loss of hypocretin neurons in narcolepsy. The increased anti-TRIB2 antibody after the destruction of hypocretin neurons suggest that anti-TRIB2 antibody in narcolepsy patients is the consequence rather than the inciting cause of hypocretin cell destruction. © Sleep Research

Measurement of stopping power of heavy ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitahara, Tetsuo

1981-01-01

The stopping power of heavy ions is discussed. In the low energy region, heavy ions keep some of their orbital electrons, and have equilibrium electron charge. The stopping power of penetrating particles depends on this effective charge. At present, it is hard to estimate this effective charge theoretically, accordingly, the estimation is made experimentally. Another difficulty in this estimation is that the Born approximation is not effective for heavy ions. In the low energy region, electronic stopping and nuclear stopping contribute to the stopping power. For the electronic stopping, a formula for the stopping power was given by Lindhard et al. The experimental values were obtained at GSI, and are inconsistent with the estimation by the Lindhard's formula. In the high energy region, where the Born approximation can be used, the Bethe's formula is applied, but the experimental data are scarce. Oscillations are seen in the Z dependence graph of the experimental stopping cross sections. Experimental works on the stopping power have been done. The differential and the integral methods were carried out. (Kato, T.)

Destructiveness in Political Discourse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Яна Александровна Волкова

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Destructiveness is among the fundamental discourse categories that play a significant role in the organization of communicative interaction and define the pragmatics of discourse; its study helps to understand some mechanisms and principles of communication, identify strategies and tactics used by a destructive communicative personality. The relevance of this study is determined by the increasing aggressiveness in various types of discourse, and, accordingly, by the need to extend the knowledge of destructive behavior of a communicative personality. The study is based on the theory of discourse-analysis and theory of destructiveness (Z. Harris, T. van Dijk, A. Buss, E. Fromm, D. Ponton, K. Hacker, R. Wodak. N. Arutyunova, V. Karasik, M. Makarov, E. Sheigal et al. Developing the theory of destructiveness and relying on Erich Fromm’s research (1973, we specify the concept of “destructiveness” in relation to the political discourse and compare it with the related concept of aggressiveness. The paper analyses the category of destructiveness in modern US political discourse, using excerpts from the speeches of the candidates for presidency of 2016. Particular attention is paid to the dominant destructive intention - to harm the reputation of the opponent and reduce his political chances, as well as to the functions of verbal aggression: on the one hand - to discredit the opponent, bring accusations, on the other hand - to poison the audience mind against him/her and arouse the feeling of danger posed by a political opponent. The analysis of verbal and nonverbal means of destructiveness in the US political discourse is carried out. The article concludes that abusive remarks of politicians do not result from spontaneous emotional outburst, but from an elaborated destructive strategy where the agonistic nature of political discourse stipulates the use of instrumental aggression (Buss, 1971 for the sake of the conquest of power, lowering the

20 CFR 662.430 - Under what conditions may One-Stop operators designated to operate in a One-Stop delivery system...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... designated to operate in a One-Stop delivery system established prior to the enactment of WIA be designated... DESCRIPTION OF THE ONE-STOP SYSTEM UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT One-Stop Operators § 662.430 Under what conditions may One-Stop operators designated to operate in a One-Stop delivery system...

Perceptual assessment of fricative--stop coarticulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Repp, B H; Mann, V A

1981-04-01

The perceptual dependence of stop consonants on preceding fricatives [Mann and Repp, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 69, 548--558 (1981)] was further investigated in two experiments employing both natural and synthetic speech. These experiments consistently replicated our original finding that listeners, report velar stops following [s]. In addition, our data confirmed earlier reports that natural fricative noises (excerpted from utterances of [st alpha], [sk alpha], [(formula: see text)k alpha]) contain cues to the following stop consonants; this was revealed in subjects' identifications of stops from isolated fricative noises and from stimuli consisting of these noises followed by synthetic CV portions drawn from a [t alpha]--[k alpha] continuum. However, these cues in the noise portion could not account for the contextual effect of fricative identity ([formula: see text] versus [sp) on stop perception (more "k" responses following [s]). Rather, this effect seems to be related to a coarticulatory influence of a preceding fricative on stop production; Subjects' responses to excised natural CV portions (with bursts and aspiration removed) were biased towards a relatively more forward place of stop articulation when the CVs had originally been preceded by [s]; and the identification of a preceding ambiguous fricative was biased in the direction of the original fricative context in which a given CV portion had been produced. These findings support an articulatory explanation for the effect of preceding fricatives on stop consonant perception.

Stopping of hypervelocity clusters in solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anders, Christian; Ziegenhain, Gerolf; Urbassek, Herbert M; Bringa, Eduardo M

2011-01-01

Using molecular-dynamics simulations, we study the processes underlying the stopping of energetic clusters upon impact in matter. We investigate self-bombardment of both a metallic (Cu) and a van-der-Waals bonded (frozen Ar) target. Clusters with sizes up to N = 10 4 atoms and with energies per atom of E/N = 0.1-1600 eV atom -1 were studied. We find that the stopping force exerted on a cluster follows an N 2/3 -dependence with cluster size N; thus large clusters experience less stopping than equi-velocity atoms. In the course of being stopped, the cluster is strongly deformed and attains a roughly pancake shape. Due to the cluster inertia, maximum deformation occurs later than the maximum stopping force. The time scale of projectile stopping is set by t 0 , the time the cluster needs to cover its own diameter before impacting the target; it thus depends on both cluster size and velocity. The time when the cluster experiences its maximum stopping force is around (0.7-0.8)t 0 . We find that the cluster is deformed with huge strain rates of around 1/2t 0 ; this amounts to 10 11 -10 13 s -1 for the cases studied here. (paper)

Cancer as an immune-mediated disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shurin MR

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Michael R ShurinDepartments of Pathology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USAAbstract: The link between oncology and immunology has a long history and its development is forced by the necessity to develop innovative and highly efficient modalities for immunological destruction of malignant cells. The limited efficacy of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation also exemplify these issues, as these treatments do not eliminate all cancerous cells, do not address the immunosuppressive nature of the disease and can further impair the patient's immune response weakening patient's resistance to the cancer. Multidisciplinary analysis of the interaction between the immune system and cancer in preclinical and clinical settings suggests that the immune system is closely intertwined with both cancer pathogenesis and treatment. On the one hand, cancer is a manifestation of malfunctions in immunity, as malignant cells manage to escape recognition and elimination by the immune system. Chronic infections and inflammation associated with limited or polarized immune responses also contribute to carcinogenesis and tumor progression. The tumor immunoenvironment represents specific conditions and elements that support cancerous cell survival, proliferation and spreading. On the other hand, the specificity and strength of antitumor immunity is a powerful and efficient tool that can be used to recognize and destroy neoplastic cells or their supporting microenvironment. Understanding the role of the immune system in controlling and supporting tumor initiation, formation, growth and progression has crucial implications for cancer therapy and will therefore guide the future development of cancer immunotherapy and its combination with conventional therapies to achieve optimal antitumor effects in patients with different types of cancer.Keywords: tumor immunology and immunotherapy, tumor immunoenvironment, cancer, immunosuppression

Strengthening health system to improve immunization for migrants in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Hai; Yang, Li; Zhang, Huyang; Li, Chenyang; Wen, Liankui; Sun, Li; Hanson, Kara; Meng, Qingyue

2017-07-01

Immunization is the most cost-effective method to prevent and control vaccine-preventable diseases. Migrant population in China has been rising rapidly, and their immunization status is poor. China has tried various strategies to strengthen its health system, which has significantly improved immunization for migrants. This study applied a qualitative retrospective review method aiming to collect, analyze and synthesize health system strengthening experiences and practices about improving immunizations for migrants in China. A conceptual framework of Theory of Change was used to extract the searched literatures. 11 searched literatures and 4 national laws and policies related to immunizations for migrant children were carefully studied. China mainly employed 3 health system strengthening strategies to significantly improve immunization for migrant population: stop charging immunization fees or immunization insurance, manage immunization certificates well, and pay extra attentions on immunization for special children including migrant children. These health system strengthening strategies were very effective, and searched literatures show that up-to-date and age-appropriate immunization rates were significantly improved for migrant children. Economic development led to higher migrant population in China, but immunization for migrants, particularly migrant children, were poor. Fortunately various health system strengthening strategies were employed to improve immunization for migrants in China and they were rather successful. The experiences and lessons of immunization for migrant population in China might be helpful for other developing countries with a large number of migrant population.

Evaluating the Effects of Traffic on Driver Stopping and Turn Signal Use at a Stop Sign: A Systematic Replication

Science.gov (United States)

Lebbon, Angela R.; Austin, John; Van Houten, Ron; Malenfant, Louis E.

2007-01-01

The current analyses of observational data found that oncoming traffic substantially affected driver stopping patterns and turn signal use at the target stop sign. The percentage of legal stops and turn signal use by drivers in the presence and absence of traffic was analyzed using a multi-element design. The results showed that legal stops were…

How Can I Stop Cutting?

Science.gov (United States)

... Educators Search English Español How Can I Stop Cutting? KidsHealth / For Teens / How Can I Stop Cutting? ... in a soft, cozy blanket Substitutes for the Cutting Sensation You'll notice that all the tips ...

Intelligent Bus Stops in the Flexible Bus Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Razi Iqbal

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to discuss Intelligent Bus Stops in a special Demand Responsive Transit (DRT, the Flexible Bus System. These Intelligent Bus Stops are more efficient and information rich than Traditional Bus Stops. The real time synchronization of the Flexible Bus System makes it unique as compared to Traditional Bus Systems. The Main concern is to make Bus Stops intelligent and information rich. Buses are informed about the no. of passengers waiting at the upcoming Bus Stops. If there are no passengers to ride or get off on upcoming Bus Stop, the Bus can skip that Bus Stop and head towards the next Bus Stop where passenger is waiting, which will decrease the ride time of the passengers on the Bus and also the wait time of the passengers waiting on the upcoming Bus Stops. Providing more information at Bus Stops about the Destination (Time to Destination, Distance to Destination etc. and Buses (Bus Location, Arrival Time of Bus etc. makes it easier for the passengers to decide whether to ride a particular Bus or not.

Stop Codon Reassignment in the Wild

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivanova, Natalia [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Walnut Creek, CA (United States). Dept. of Energy Joint Genome Inst.; Schwientek, Patrick [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Walnut Creek, CA (United States). Dept. of Energy Joint Genome Inst.; Tripp, H. James [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Walnut Creek, CA (United States). Dept. of Energy Joint Genome Inst.; Rinke, Christian [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Walnut Creek, CA (United States). Dept. of Energy Joint Genome Inst.; Pati, Amrita [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Walnut Creek, CA (United States). Dept. of Energy Joint Genome Inst.; Huntemann, Marcel [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Walnut Creek, CA (United States). Dept. of Energy Joint Genome Inst.; Visel, Axel [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Walnut Creek, CA (United States). Dept. of Energy Joint Genome Inst.; Woyke, Tanja [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Walnut Creek, CA (United States). Dept. of Energy Joint Genome Inst.; Kyrpides, Nikos [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Walnut Creek, CA (United States). Dept. of Energy Joint Genome Inst.; Rubin, Edward [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Walnut Creek, CA (United States). Dept. of Energy Joint Genome Inst.

2014-03-21

Since the discovery of the genetic code and protein translation mechanisms (1), a limited number of variations of the standard assignment between unique base triplets (codons) and their encoded amino acids and translational stop signals have been found in bacteria and phages (2-3). Given the apparent ubiquity of the canonical genetic code, the design of genomically recoded organisms with non-canonical codes has been suggested as a means to prevent horizontal gene transfer between laboratory and environmental organisms (4). It is also predicted that genomically recoded organisms are immune to infection by viruses, under the assumption that phages and their hosts must share a common genetic code (5). This paradigm is supported by the observation of increased resistance of genomically recoded bacteria to phages with a canonical code (4). Despite these assumptions and accompanying lines of evidence, it remains unclear whether differential and non-canonical codon usage represents an absolute barrier to phage infection and genetic exchange between organisms. Our knowledge of the diversity of genetic codes and their use by viruses and their hosts is primarily derived from the analysis of cultivated organisms. Advances in single-cell sequencing and metagenome assembly technologies have enabled the reconstruction of genomes of uncultivated bacterial and archaeal lineages (6). These initial findings suggest that large scale systematic studies of uncultivated microorganisms and viruses may reveal the extent and modes of divergence from the canonical genetic code operating in nature. To explore alternative genetic codes, we carried out a systematic analysis of stop codon reassignments from the canonical TAG amber, TGA opal, and TAA ochre codons in assembled metagenomes from environmental and host-associated samples, single-cell genomes of uncultivated bacteria and archaea, and a collection of phage sequences

Indirect Self-Destructiveness and Emotional Intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsirigotis, Konstantinos

2016-06-01

While emotional intelligence may have a favourable influence on the life and psychological and social functioning of the individual, indirect self-destructiveness exerts a rather negative influence. The aim of this study has been to explore possible relations between indirect self-destructiveness and emotional intelligence. A population of 260 individuals (130 females and 130 males) aged 20-30 (mean age of 24.5) was studied by using the Polish version of the chronic self-destructiveness scale and INTE, i.e., the Polish version of the assessing emotions scale. Indirect self-destructiveness has significant correlations with all variables of INTE (overall score, factor I, factor II), and these correlations are negative. The intensity of indirect self-destructiveness differentiates significantly the height of the emotional intelligence and vice versa: the height of the emotional intelligence differentiates significantly the intensity of indirect self-destructiveness. Indirect self-destructiveness has negative correlations with emotional intelligence as well as its components: the ability to recognize emotions and the ability to utilize emotions. The height of emotional intelligence differentiates the intensity of indirect self-destructiveness, and vice versa: the intensity of indirect self-destructiveness differentiates the height of emotional intelligence. It seems advisable to use emotional intelligence in the prophylactic and therapeutic work with persons with various types of disorders, especially with the syndrome of indirect self-destructiveness.

Biobjective Optimization and Evaluation for Transit Signal Priority Strategies at Bus Stop-to-Stop Segment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a new optimization framework for the transit signal priority strategies in terms of green extension, red truncation, and phase insertion at the stop-to-stop segment of bus lines. The optimization objective is to minimize both passenger delay and the deviation from bus schedule simultaneously. The objective functions are defined with respect to the segment between bus stops, which can include the adjacent signalized intersections and downstream bus stops. The transit priority signal timing is optimized by using a biobjective optimization framework considering both the total delay at a segment and the delay deviation from the arrival schedules at bus stops. The proposed framework is evaluated using a VISSIM model calibrated with field traffic volume and traffic signal data of Caochangmen Boulevard in Nanjing, China. The optimized TSP-based phasing plans result in the reduced delay and improved reliability, compared with the non-TSP scenario under the different traffic flow conditions in the morning peak hour. The evaluation results indicate the promising performance of the proposed optimization framework in reducing the passenger delay and improving the bus schedule adherence for the urban transit system.

Bubble formation after a 20-m dive: deep-stop vs. shallow-stop decompression profiles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schellart, Nico A. M.; Corstius, Jan-Jaap Brandt; Germonpré, Peter; Sterk, Wouter

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVES: It is claimed that performing a "deep stop," a stop at about half of maximal diving depth (MDD), can reduce the amount of detectable precordial bubbles after the dive and may thus diminish the risk of decompression sickness. In order to ascertain whether this reduction is caused by the

An immune basis for lung parenchymal destruction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Grumelli

2004-10-01

Full Text Available Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema are a frequent result of long-term smoking, but the exact mechanisms, specifically which types of cells are associated with the lung destruction, are unclear.We studied different subsets of lymphocytes taken from portions of human lungs removed surgically to find out which lymphocytes were the most frequent, which cell-surface markers these lymphocytes expressed, and whether the lymphocytes secreted any specific factors that could be associated with disease. We found that loss of lung function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema was associated with a high percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes that expressed chemokine receptors CCR5 and CXCR3 (both markers of T helper 1 cells, but not CCR3 or CCR4 (markers of T helper 2 cells. Lung lymphocytes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema secrete more interferon gamma--often associated with T helper 1 cells--and interferon-inducible protein 10 and monokine induced by interferon, both of which bind to CXCR3 and are involved in attracting T helper 1 cells. In response to interferon-inducible protein 10 and monokine induced by interferon, but not interferon gamma, lung macrophages secreted macrophage metalloelastase (matrix metalloproteinase-12, a potent elastin-degrading enzyme that causes tissue destruction and which has been linked to emphysema.These data suggest that Th1 lymphoctytes in the lungs of people with smoking-related damage drive progression of emphysema through CXCR3 ligands, interferon-inducible protein 10, and monokine induced by interferon.

Role of immune system modulation in prevention of type 1 diabetes mellitus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gamal Abdulrhman Hassan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available An increased incidence of Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM is expected worldwide. Eventually, T1DM is fatal unless treated with insulin. The expansion of interventions to prevent diabetes and the use of alternative treatments to insulin is a dream to be fulfilled. The pathophysiology in T1DM is basically a destruction of beta cells in the pancreas, regardless of which risk factors or causative entities have been present. Individual risk factors can have separate patho-physiological processes to, in turn, cause this beta cell destruction. Currently, autoimmunity is considered the major factor in the pathophysiology of T1DM. In a genetically susceptible individual, viral infection may stimulate the production of antibodies against a viral protein that trigger an autoimmune response against antigenically similar beta cell molecules. Many components of the immune system have been implicated in autoimmunity leading to β-cell destruction, including cytotoxic and helper T-cells, B-cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. The inflammatory process in early diabetes is thought to be initiated and propagated by the effect of Th1-secreted cytokines (e.g. g interferon and suppressed by Th2-secreted antiinflammatory cytokines (interleukins. Structure and function of β-cell may be modulated by using Th1/Th2-secreted cytokines. Several experimental and clinical trials of applying GAD65, Hsp60, peptide-MHC, pepetide-277 immunization, anti-CD3 infusion, and interleukins to modulate immune response in T1DM were done. Applying such trials in patients with prediabetes, will most likely be the future key in preventing Type 1 autoimmune diabetes.

Optimal Stopping and Policyholder Behaviour in Life Insurance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gad, Kamille Sofie Tågholt

. Below, I give a brief overview of the results of each of the chapters. A more thorough overview is presented in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2 we consider a general geometric Lévy process and solve the non-linear optimal stopping problem of maximizing the variance at the stopping time. For solving this problem...... we solve an auxiliary quadratic optimal stopping problem. We show that the solution to maximizing variance depends on whether randomized stopping times are included in the set of stopping times we maximize over. For some problems the inclusion of randomized stopping times increase the value function...... and for some it does not. Even when the value function is not affected by inclusion of randomized stopping times, a solution may be easier to identify when they are. In Chapter 3 we consider the non-linear optimal stopping problem of maximizing the mean minus a positive constant times the variance...

Methamphetamine, d-amphetamine and p-chloroamphetamine induced neurotoxicity differentially effect impulsive responding on the stop-signal task in rats

Science.gov (United States)

Furlong, Teri M.; Leavitt, Lee S.; Keefe, Kristen A.; Son, Jong-Hyun

2016-01-01

Abused amphetamines, such as d-amphetamine (AMPH) and methamphetamine (METH), are highly addictive and destructive to health and productive lifestyles. The abuse of these drugs is associated with impulsive behavior, which is likely to contribute to addiction. The amphetamines also differentially damage dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) systems, which regulate impulsive behavior; therefore, exposure to these drugs may differentially alter impulsive behavior to effect the progression of addiction. We examined the impact of neurotoxicity induced by three amphetamines on impulsive action using a stop-signal task in rats. Animals were rewarded with a food pellet after lever pressing (i.e. a go trial), unless an auditory cue was presented and withholding lever press gained reward (i.e. a stop trial). Animals were trained on the task and then exposed to a neurotoxic regimen of either AMPH, p-chloroamphetamine (PCA), or METH. These regimens preferentially reduced DA transporter levels in striatum, 5-HT transporter levels in prefrontal cortex, or both, respectively. Assessment of performance on the stop-signal task beginning one week after the treatment revealed that AMPH produced a deficit in go-trial performance, whereas PCA did not alter performance on either trial type. In contrast, METH produced a deficit in stop-trial performance (i.e. impulsive action) but not go-trial performance. These findings suggest that the different neurotoxic consequences of substituted amphetamines are associated with different effects on inhibitory control over behavior. Thus, the course of addiction and maladaptive behavior resulting from exposure to these substances is likely to differ. PMID:26846719

Optimally Stopped Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Vinci, Walter; Lidar, Daniel

We combine the fields of heuristic optimization and optimal stopping. We propose a strategy for benchmarking randomized optimization algorithms that minimizes the expected total cost for obtaining a good solution with an optimal number of calls to the solver. To do so, rather than letting the objective function alone define a cost to be minimized, we introduce a further cost-per-call of the algorithm. We show that this problem can be formulated using optimal stopping theory. The expected cost is a flexible figure of merit for benchmarking probabilistic solvers that can be computed when the optimal solution is not known, and that avoids the biases and arbitrariness that affect other measures. The optimal stopping formulation of benchmarking directly leads to a real-time, optimal-utilization strategy for probabilistic optimizers with practical impact. We apply our formulation to benchmark the performance of a D-Wave 2X quantum annealer and the HFS solver, a specialized classical heuristic algorithm designed for low tree-width graphs. On a set of frustrated-loop instances with planted solutions defined on up to N = 1098 variables, the D-Wave device is between one to two orders of magnitude faster than the HFS solver.

Non-destructive inservice inspections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kauppinen, P.; Sarkimo, M.; Lahdenperae, K.

1998-01-01

In order to assess the possible damages occurring in the components and structures of operating nuclear power plants during service the main components and structures are periodically inspected by non-destructive testing techniques. The reliability of non-destructive testing techniques applied in these inservice inspections is of major importance because the decisions concerning the needs for repair of components are mainly based on the results of inspections. One of the targets of this research program has been to improve the reliability of non-destructive testing. This has been addressed in the sub-projects which are briefly summarised here. (author)

Simulating fail-stop in asynchronous distributed systems

Science.gov (United States)

Sabel, Laura; Marzullo, Keith

1994-01-01

The fail-stop failure model appears frequently in the distributed systems literature. However, in an asynchronous distributed system, the fail-stop model cannot be implemented. In particular, it is impossible to reliably detect crash failures in an asynchronous system. In this paper, we show that it is possible to specify and implement a failure model that is indistinguishable from the fail-stop model from the point of view of any process within an asynchronous system. We give necessary conditions for a failure model to be indistinguishable from the fail-stop model, and derive lower bounds on the amount of process replication needed to implement such a failure model. We present a simple one-round protocol for implementing one such failure model, which we call simulated fail-stop.

Comparison of immunization strategies in geographical networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Bing; Aihara, Kazuyuki [Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan)] [ERATO Aihara Complexity Modelling Project, JST, Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8505 (Japan); Kim, Beom Jun, E-mail: beomjun@skku.ed [BK21 Physics Research Division and Department of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of)] [Department of Computational Biology, School of Computer Science and Communication, Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)

2009-10-12

The epidemic spread and immunizations in geographically embedded scale-free (SF) and Watts-Strogatz (WS) networks are numerically investigated. We make a realistic assumption that it takes time which we call the detection time, for a vertex to be identified as infected, and implement two different immunization strategies: one is based on connection neighbors (CN) of the infected vertex with the exact information of the network structure utilized and the other is based on spatial neighbors (SN) with only geographical distances taken into account. We find that the decrease of the detection time is crucial for a successful immunization in general. Simulation results show that for both SF networks and WS networks, the SN strategy always performs better than the CN strategy, especially for more heterogeneous SF networks at long detection time. The observation is verified by checking the number of the infected nodes being immunized. We found that in geographical space, the distance preferences in the network construction process and the geographically decaying infection rate are key factors that make the SN immunization strategy outperforms the CN strategy. It indicates that even in the absence of the full knowledge of network connectivity we can still stop the epidemic spread efficiently only by using geographical information as in the SN strategy, which may have potential applications for preventing the real epidemic spread.

Comparison of immunization strategies in geographical networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Bing; Aihara, Kazuyuki; Kim, Beom Jun

2009-01-01

The epidemic spread and immunizations in geographically embedded scale-free (SF) and Watts-Strogatz (WS) networks are numerically investigated. We make a realistic assumption that it takes time which we call the detection time, for a vertex to be identified as infected, and implement two different immunization strategies: one is based on connection neighbors (CN) of the infected vertex with the exact information of the network structure utilized and the other is based on spatial neighbors (SN) with only geographical distances taken into account. We find that the decrease of the detection time is crucial for a successful immunization in general. Simulation results show that for both SF networks and WS networks, the SN strategy always performs better than the CN strategy, especially for more heterogeneous SF networks at long detection time. The observation is verified by checking the number of the infected nodes being immunized. We found that in geographical space, the distance preferences in the network construction process and the geographically decaying infection rate are key factors that make the SN immunization strategy outperforms the CN strategy. It indicates that even in the absence of the full knowledge of network connectivity we can still stop the epidemic spread efficiently only by using geographical information as in the SN strategy, which may have potential applications for preventing the real epidemic spread.

Efficacy of romiplostim in patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura : a double-blind randomised controlled trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuter, David J.; Bussel, James B.; Lyons, Roger M.; Pullarkat, Vinod; Gernsheimer, Terry B.; Senecal, Francis M.; Aledort, Louis M.; George, James N.; Kessler, Craig M.; Sanz, Miguel A.; Liebman, Howard A.; Slovick, Frank T.; de Wolf, J. Th M.; Bourgeois, Emmanuelle; Guthrie, Troy H.; Newland, Adrian; Wasser, Jeffrey S.; Hamburg, Solomon I.; Grande, Carlos; Lefrere, Francois; Lichtin, Alan Eli; Tarantino, Michael D.; Terebelo, Howard R.; Viallard, Jean-Francois; Cuevas, Francis J.; Go, Ronald S.; Henry, David H.; Redner, Robert L.; Rice, Lawrence; Schipperus, Martin R.; Guo, D. Matthew; Nichol, Janet L.

2008-01-01

Background Chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is characterised by accelerated platelet destruction and decreased platelet production. Short-term administration of the thrombopoiesis-stimulating protein, romiplostim, has been shown to increase platelet counts in most patients with chronic

The placental barrier in allogenic immune conflict in spontaneous early abortions: immunohistochemical and morphological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurevich, Pavel; Elhayany, Asher; Milovanov, Andrey P; Halperin, Reuvit; Kaganovsky, Ella; Zusman, Itzhak; Ben-Hur, Herzel

2007-11-01

Morphologic changes in the placental barrier in spontaneous early abortions under the maternal-embryonic immune conflict, and the role of maternal immunoglobulins (Igs) in these changes. We examined chorionic villi and other tissues obtained from 54 aborts between weeks 3.5 and 8 of pregnancy. Material was divided into two groups. Group 1 (control) contained 15 medically recommended and spontaneous early aborts with no signs of inflammations or pathologic immune processes. Group 2 contained 39 spontaneous early aborts with acute chorionic villitis. Immunohistochemical and morphometric methods were used to study the Igs, different types of immunocompetent cells, and apoptosis-related components of the placental barrier. Acute villitis was found to be characterized by the destruction of all components of the chorionic villi, thrombovasculitis with apoptosis of the endothelium of capillaries and erythroblasts, mucous swelling of the basal membrane, and coagulation of the blood proteins. Due to destruction of the capillaries, the number of avasculate villi increased, and the average number of capillaries per villus decreased. The extremely high number of phagolysosomes with IgG and IgA in the villous monocytes in the group 2 indicates an increase in the phagocytic activity of monocytes against maternal Igs and may reflect the presence of mother-embryo immune conflict. Apoptosis of monocytes and a high number of promonocytes were seen accompanied by a high concentration of p53 protein. A large disturbance in the trophoblast occurred with disappearance of bcl-2 and the appearance of Fas ligand. Massive destruction of maternal Igs in embryonic monocytes and acute villitis in the placental barrier are manifested during the mother-embryo immune conflict, and this may be one of the reasons of spontaneous early abortions.

Frame by frame stop motion non-traditional approaches to stop motion animation

CERN Document Server

Gasek, Tom

2011-01-01

In a world that is dominated by computer images, alternative stop motion techniques like pixilation, time-lapse photography and down-shooting techniques combined with new technologies offer a new, tangible and exciting approach to animation. With over 25 years professional experience, industry veteran, Tom Gasek presents a comprehensive guide to stop motion animation without the focus on puppetry or model animation. With tips, tricks and hands-on exercises, Frame by Frame will help both experienced and novice filmmakers get the most effective results from this underutilized branch of animation

A light sneutrino rescues the light stop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chala, M. [Departament de Física Tèorica, Universitat de València and IFIC, Universitat de València-CSIC,Dr. Moliner 50, E-46100 Burjassot (València) (Spain); Delgado, A. [Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Nardini, G. [Albert Einstein Center (AEC), Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP), University of Bern,Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern (Switzerland); Quirós, M. [Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST),Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats - ICREA, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain)

2017-04-18

Stop searches in supersymmetric frameworks with R-parity conservation usually assume the lightest neutralino to be the lightest supersymmetric particle. In this paper we consider an alternative scenario in which the left-handed tau sneutrino is lighter than neutralinos and stable at collider scales, but possibly unstable at cosmological scales. Moreover the (mostly right-handed) stop t̃ is lighter than all electroweakinos, and heavier than the scalars of the third generation lepton doublet, whose charged component, τ̃, is heavier than the neutral one, ν̃. The remaining supersymmetric particles are decoupled from the stop phenomenology. In most of the parameter space, the relevant stop decays are only into tτ̃τ, tν̃ν and bν̃τ via off-shell electroweakinos. We constrain the branching ratios of these decays by recasting the most sensitive stop searches. Due to the “double invisible” kinematics of the t̃→tν̃ν process, and the low efficiency in tagging the tτ̃τ decay products, light stops are generically allowed. In the minimal supersymmetric standard model with ∼ 100 GeV sneutrinos, stops with masses as small as ∼ 350 GeV turn out to be allowed at 95% CL.

Role of periodontal pathogenic bacteria in RANKL-mediated bone destruction in periodontal disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Kajiya, Mikihito; Giro, Gabriela; Taubman, Martin A; Han, Xiaozhe; Mayer, Marcia P A; Kawai, Toshihisa

2010-11-08

Accumulated lines of evidence suggest that hyperimmune responses to periodontal bacteria result in the destruction of periodontal connective tissue and alveolar bone. The etiological roles of periodontal bacteria in the onset and progression of periodontal disease (PD) are well documented. However, the mechanism underlying the engagement of periodontal bacteria in RANKL-mediated alveolar bone resorption remains unclear. Therefore, this review article addresses three critical subjects. First, we discuss earlier studies of immune intervention, ultimately leading to the identification of bacteria-reactive lymphocytes as the cellular source of osteoclast-induction factor lymphokine (now called RANKL) in the context of periodontal bone resorption. Next, we consider (1) the effects of periodontal bacteria on RANKL production from a variety of adaptive immune effector cells, as well as fibroblasts, in inflamed periodontal tissue and (2) the bifunctional roles (upregulation vs. downregulation) of LPS produced from periodontal bacteria in a RANKL-induced osteoclast-signal pathway. Future studies in these two areas could lead to new therapeutic approaches for the management of PD by down-modulating RANKL production and/or RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis in the context of host immune responses against periodontal pathogenic bacteria.

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Mohs AUC MyDermPath+ Psoriasis Patient education resources ... Try to gradually stop biting your nails: Some doctors recommend taking a gradual approach to break the habit. Try to stop biting ...

Immunization strategy for epidemic spreading on multilayer networks

Science.gov (United States)

Buono, C.; Braunstein, L. A.

2015-01-01

In many real-world complex systems, individuals have many kinds of interactions among them, suggesting that it is necessary to consider a layered-structure framework to model systems such as social interactions. This structure can be captured by multilayer networks and can have major effects on the spreading of process that occurs over them, such as epidemics. In this letter we study a targeted immunization strategy for epidemic spreading over a multilayer network. We apply the strategy in one of the layers and study its effect in all layers of the network disregarding degree-degree correlation among layers. We found that the targeted strategy is not as efficient as in isolated networks, due to the fact that in order to stop the spreading of the disease it is necessary to immunize more than 80% of the individuals. However, the size of the epidemic is drastically reduced in the layer where the immunization strategy is applied compared to the case with no mitigation strategy. Thus, the immunization strategy has a major effect on the layer were it is applied, but does not efficiently protect the individuals of other layers.

Adoptively transferred immune T cells eradicate established tumors in spite of cancer-induced immune suppression

Science.gov (United States)

Arina, Ainhoa; Schreiber, Karin; Binder, David C.; Karrison, Theodore; Liu, Rebecca B.; Schreiber, Hans

2014-01-01

Myeloid-derived CD11b+Gr1+ suppressor cells (MDSC) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) are considered a major obstacle for effective adoptive T cell therapy. Myeloid cells suppress naive T cell proliferation ex vivo and can prevent the generation of T cell responses in vivo. We find, however, that immune T cells adoptively transferred eradicate well-established tumors in the presence of MDSC and TAM which are strongly immunosuppressive ex vivo. These MDSC and TAM were comparable in levels and immunosuppression among different tumor models. Longitudinal microscopy of tumors in vivo revealed that after T cell transfer tumor vasculature and cancer cells disappeared simultaneously. During T-cell mediated tumor destruction, the tumor stroma contained abundant myeloid cells (mainly TAM) that retained their suppressive properties. Preimmunized but not naive mice resisted immune suppression caused by an unrelated tumor-burden supporting the idea that in vivo, myeloid immunosuppressive cells can suppress naive but not memory T cell responses. PMID:24367029

Immune thrombocytopenia. Use of a Coombs antiglobulin test to detect IgG and C3 on platelets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cines, D.B.; Schreiber, A.D.

1979-01-01

We applied a radiolabeled Coombs antiglobulin test to the diagnosis and management of immune thrombocytopenia in adults and children. This assay substantiated that the majority of patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura have increased levels of IgG on their platelets. Platelets from a patient with the post-transfusion-purpura syndrome also carried increased IgG, indicating a role for IgG antibody or IgG-containing immune complexes in the destruction of host platelets in this disease. The radiolabeled Coombs test provides a general means to help diagnose, manage, and study immune platelet disorders

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... your fingers and from your nails to your face and mouth. To help you stop biting your ... re inclined to bite may help solve the problem. Try to gradually stop biting your nails: Some ...

Application of the RADTRAN 5 stop model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neuhauser, K.S.; Kanipe, R.L.; Weiner, R.F.

1997-01-01

A number of environmental impact analyses with the RADTRAN computer code have shown that dose to persons at stops is one of the largest components of incident-free dose during overland carriage of spent fuel and other radioactive materials (e.g., USDOE, 1994). The input data used in these analyses were taken from a 1983 study that reports actual observations of spent fuel shipments by truck. Early RADTRAN stop models, however, were insufficiently flexible to take advantage of the detailed information in the study. A more recent study of gasoline service stations that specialize in servicing large trucks, which are the most likely stop locations for shipments of Type B packages in the United States, has provided additional, detailed data on refueling/meal stops. The RADTRAN 5 computer code for transportation risk analysis allows exposures at stops to be more fully modeled than have previous releases of the code and is able to take advantage of detailed data. It is the intent of this paper first to compare results from RADTRAN and RADTRAN 5 for the old, low-resolution form of input data, and then to demonstrate what effect the new data and input format have on stop-dose estimates for an individual stop and for a hypothetical shipment route. Finally, these estimated public doses will be contrasted with doses calculated for a special population group -- inspectors

Application of the radtran 5 stop model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neuhauser, K.S.; Kanipe, R.L.; Weiner, R.F.

1998-01-01

A number of environmental impact analyzes with the RADTRAN computer code have shown that dose to persons at stops is one of the largest components of incident-free dose during overland carriage of spent fuel and other radioactive materials. The input data used in these analyses were taken from a 1983 study that reports actual observations of spent fuel shipments by truck. Early RADTRAN stop models, however, were insufficiently flexible to take advantage of the detailed information in the study. A more recent study of gasoline service stations that specialize in servicing large trucks, which are the most likely stop locations for shipments of Type B packages in the United States, has provided additional, detailed data on refueling/meal stops. The RADTRAN 5 computer code for transportation risk analysis allows exposures at stops to be more fully modelled than have previous releases of the code and is able to take advantage of detailed data. It is the intent of this paper first to compare results from RADTRAN 4 and RADTRAN 5 for the old, low-resolution form of input data, and then to demonstrate what effect the new data and input format have on stop-dose estimates for an individual stop and for a hypothetical shipment route. Finally, these estimated public doses will be contrasted with doses calculated for a special population group-inspectors. (authors)

Lifespan changes in global and selective stopping and performance adjustments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Christina Van De Laar

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This study examined stopping and performance adjustments in four age groups (M ages: 8, 12, 21, and 76 years. All participants performed on three tasks, a standard two-choice task and the same task in which stop-signal trials were inserted requiring either the suppression of the response activated by the choice stimulus (global stop task or the suppression of the response when one stop signal was presented but not when the other stop signal occurred (selective stop task. The results showed that global stopping was faster than selective stopping in all age groups. Global stopping matured more rapidly than selective stopping. The developmental gain in stopping was considerably more pronounced compared to the loss observed during senescence. All age groups slowed the response on trials without a stop signal in the stop task compared to trials in the choice task, the elderly in particular. In addition, all age groups slowed on trials following stop-signal trials, except the elderly who did not slow following successful inhibits. By contrast, the slowing following failed inhibits was disproportionally larger in the elderly compared to young adults. Finally, sequential effects did not alter the pattern of performance adjustments. The results were interpreted in terms of developmental change in the balance between proactive and reactive control.

Lifespan Changes in Global and Selective Stopping and Performance Adjustments

Science.gov (United States)

van de Laar, Maria C.; van den Wildenberg, Wery P. M.; van Boxtel, Geert J. M.; van der Molen, Maurits W.

2011-01-01

This study examined stopping and performance adjustments in four age groups (M ages: 8, 12, 21, and 76 years). All participants performed on three tasks, a standard two-choice task and the same task in which stop-signal trials were inserted requiring either the suppression of the response activated by the choice stimulus (global stop task) or the suppression of the response when one stop-signal was presented but not when the other stop-signal occurred (selective stop task). The results showed that global stopping was faster than selective stopping in all age groups. Global stopping matured more rapidly than selective stopping. The developmental gain in stopping was considerably more pronounced compared to the loss observed during senescence. All age groups slowed the response on trials without a stop-signal in the stop task compared to trials in the choice task, the elderly in particular. In addition, all age groups slowed on trials following stop-signal trials, except the elderly who did not slow following successful inhibits. By contrast, the slowing following failed inhibits was disproportionally larger in the elderly compared to young adults. Finally, sequential effects did not alter the pattern of performance adjustments. The results were interpreted in terms of developmental change in the balance between proactive and reactive control. PMID:22180746

Note on measuring electronic stopping of slow ions

Science.gov (United States)

Sigmund, P.; Schinner, A.

2017-11-01

Extracting stopping cross sections from energy-loss measurements requires careful consideration of the experimental geometry. Standard procedures for separating nuclear from electronic stopping treat electronic energy loss as a friction force, ignoring its dependence on impact parameter. In the present study we find that incorporating this dependence has a major effect on measured stopping cross sections, in particular for light ions at low beam energies. Calculations have been made for transmission geometry, nuclear interactions being quantified by Bohr-Williams theory of multiple scattering on the basis of a Thomas-Fermi-Molière potential, whereas electronic interactions are characterized by Firsov theory or PASS code. Differences between the full and the restricted stopping cross section depend on target thickness and opening angle of the detector and need to be taken into account in comparisons with theory as well as in applications of stopping data. It follows that the reciprocity principle can be violated when checked on restricted instead of full electronic stopping cross sections. Finally, we assert that a seeming gas-solid difference in stopping of low-energy ions is actually a metal-insulator difference. In comparisons with experimental results we mostly consider proton data, where nuclear stopping is only a minor perturbation.

Stop searches in flavourful supersymmetry

CERN Document Server

Crivellin, Andreas; Tunstall, Lewis C.

2016-01-01

Natural realisations of supersymmetry require light stops ${\\tilde t}_1$, making them a prime target of LHC searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. Depending on the kinematic region, the main search channels are ${\\tilde t_1}\\to t \\tilde \\chi^0_1$, ${\\tilde t_1}\\to W b \\tilde \\chi^0_1$ and ${\\tilde t_1}\\to c \\tilde \\chi^0_1$. We first examine the interplay of these decay modes with ${\\tilde c_1}\\to c \\tilde \\chi^0_1$ in a model-independent fashion, revealing the existence of large regions in parameter space which are excluded for any ${\\tilde t_1}\\to c \\tilde \\chi^0_1$ branching ratio. This effect is then illustrated for scenarios with stop-scharm mixing in the right-handed sector, where it has previously been observed that the stop mass limits can be significantly weakened for large mixing. Our analysis shows that once the LHC bounds from ${\\tilde c_1}\\to c \\tilde \\chi^0_1$ searches are taken into account, non-zero stop-scharm mixing leads only to a modest increase in the allowed regions of parameter...

Stopping power for heavy ions in low energy region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitagawa, Mitsuo

1983-01-01

Review is made for the study on the power for stopping heavy ions. The studies on the power for stopping heavy ions passing through materials have been developed in the last twenty years due to the accuracy improvement in the data analysis of the power for stopping light ions, the requirement of data establishment on the power for stopping heavy ions from fusion research and the development of the experimental studies by heavy-ion accelerators. The relation between the analysis of the power for stopping heavy ions and the power for stopping light ions is described from the standpoint that the results on the power for stopping light ions serve as the guide for the study on the power for stopping heavy ions. Both at present and in future. The analysis of stopping power data with the accuracy from +-10 to 20 % is possible from the theoretical analysis of effective electric charge and its systematic table of the numerical data. The outline of the scaling rule on effective electric charge is discussed. The deviation of the experimental data from the scaling rule is discussed by comparing with the measured values of effective electric charge ratio. Various analyses of the power for stopping heavy ions are summarized. (Asami, T.)

Hiding in plain sight: immune evasion by the staphylococcal protein SdrE.

Science.gov (United States)

Herr, Andrew B; Thorman, Alexander W

2017-05-10

The human immune system is responsible for identification and destruction of invader cells, such as the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus In response, S. aureus brings to the fight a large number of virulence factors, including several that allow it to evade the host immune response. The staphylococcal surface protein SdrE was recently reported to bind to complement Factor H, an important regulator of complement activation. Factor H attaches to the surface of host cells to inhibit complement activation and amplification, preventing the destruction of the host cell. SdrE binding to Factor H allows S. aureus to mimic a host cell and reduces bacterial killing by granulocytes. In a new study published in Biochemical Journal , Zhang et al. describe crystal structures of SdrE and its complex with the C-terminal portion of Factor H. The structure of SdrE and its interaction with the Factor H peptide closely resemble a family of surface proteins that recognize extracellular matrix components such as fibrinogen. However, unbound SdrE forms a novel 'Closed' conformation with an occluded peptide-binding groove. These structures reveal a fascinating mechanism for immune evasion and provide a potential avenue for the development of novel antimicrobial agents to target SdrE. © 2017 The Author(s); published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Sweet Spots and Door Stops

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Michael; Tsui, Stella; Leung, Chi Fan

2011-01-01

A sweet spot is referred to in sport as the perfect place to strike a ball with a racquet or bat. It is the point of contact between bat and ball where maximum results can be produced with minimal effort from the hand of the player. Similar physics can be applied to the less inspiring examples of door stops; the perfect position of a door stop is…

Comparative study of destructive and non-destructive methods in the activation analysis of rocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasconcellos, M.B.A.

1978-01-01

A comparative study between non-destructive thermal neutron activation analysis and activation analysis with radiochemical group separation is made Both methods are applied to the determination of trace elements minor and major elements in rocks. The treatment of the rocks, with special reference to the problems related to grinding and contamination by foreign elements is described. The choice of standards for multielement trace activation analysis is discussed. Two types of computer programs for the evalution of data obtained through Ge-li detector counting are used. All the phases of the destructive and non destructive analysis are described. In the destructive analysis, an adaptation of the group separation scheme developed by Morrison et al for the activation analysis of geological samples is made. The changes introduced make the radiochemical separation simpler and more rapid. Both destructive and non destructive methods are tested by means of the analysis of the United States Geological Survey standard rock AGV-1, which has been analysed by many authors. The same procedure is then applied to some alcaline rocks taken from the apatite mine of Jacupiranga, in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The knowledge of the trace element concentration in these rocks is important for geochemical studies. A detailed study of the possible interferences encountered in the neutron activation analysis of these rocks is made, considering the interferences due to major activities, and to the proximity of the several gamma ray energies of the radioisotopes produced. Finally, the comparative study between the two methods is presented, using statistical tests for the quantitative evalution of results. (Author) [pt

Intelligent Bus Stops in the Flexible Bus Systems

OpenAIRE

Razi Iqbal; Muhammad Usman Ghani

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss Intelligent Bus Stops in a special Demand Responsive Transit (DRT), the Flexible Bus System. These Intelligent Bus Stops are more efficient and information rich than Traditional Bus Stops. The real time synchronization of the Flexible Bus System makes it unique as compared to Traditional Bus Systems. The Main concern is to make Bus Stops intelligent and information rich. Buses are informed about the no. of passengers waiting at the upcoming ...

Inertial-confinement-fusion applications of ion-stopping theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

More, R.M.; Lee, Y.T.; Bailey, D.S.

1982-01-01

Methods were developed to calculate: (1) the stopping power of a hot plasma target, (2) the charge-state of a fast ion projectile, and (3) the final disposition of the deposited energy. The first issue refers to the stopping power for protons. The proton stopping power is altered in high-density or high-temperature targets, especially at velocities below the stopping peak. The second issue concerns the application of a proton stopping curve to the arbitrary projectile. The third topic is more specialized to inertial fusion and concerns the partition of deposited energy between ion (nuclear motion) degrees of freedom and those corresponding to bound and free electrons. The question here is whether a thermal equilibrium plasma is produced

A comparison between destructive and non-destructive techniques in determining coating thickness

Science.gov (United States)

Haider, F. I.; Suryanto; Ani, M. H.; Mahmood, M. H.

2018-01-01

Measuring coating thickness is an important part in research works related to coating applications. In general, techniques for measuring coating thickness may be divided into destructive and non-destructive methods which are commonly used depending on the applications. The objective of this study is to compare two methods measuring the coating thickness of electroplating copper coating on the austenitic stainless-steel substrate. The electroplating was carried out in a solution containing 200 g/L CuSO4, 100 g/L H2SO4 at room temperature and current of 40mA/cm2 during 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 mins as coating periods. And the coating thickness was measured by two methods, cross sectional analysis as a destructive technique and weight gain as a non-destructive technique. The results show that at 20 mins coating time interval, the thickness measured by cross sectional method was 16.67 μm and by weight gain method was 17.37 μm, with difference of 0.7 μm and percentage error of 4.11%. This error increased to 5.27% at 100mins time interval, where the values of the thickness measured by cross sectional and weight gain were 86.33 μm and 81.9 μm respectively, and the difference was 4.43 μm. Moreover, though the weight gain method is fast and gives the indication for the termination of a coating process, information regarding the uniformity, porosity and the presence of cracks cannot be obtained. On the other hand, determining the coating thickness using destructive method will damage the sample.

Empirical stopping powers for ions in solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ziegler, J.F.; Biersack, J.P.; Littmark, U.

1983-01-01

The work of Brandt and collaborators on low energy ion stopping powers has been extended to create an empirical formulation for the stopping of ions in solids. The result is a simple computer program (about 60 lines of code) which calculates stopping powers from zero to 100 MeV/amu for all ions in all elemental solids. This code has been compared to the data in about 2000 papers, and has a standard error of 9% for energies above keV/amu. This approach includes high energy relativistic effects and shell-corrections. In the medium energy range it uses stopping theory based on the local-density approximation and Lindhard stopping in a free electron gas. This is applied to realistic Hartree-Fock charge distributions for crystalline solids. In the low energy range it uses the Brandt concepts of ion stripping relative to the Fermi velocity of solids, and also his formalism for the relation of projectile ionization to its effective charge. The details of the calculation are presented, and a broad comparison is shown with experiment. Special comparative examples are shown of both the low energy stopping power oscillations which depend on the atomic number of the ion, and also of the target

Herpesvirus microRNAs for use in gene therapy immune-evasion strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bots, S T F; Hoeben, R C

2017-07-01

Transplantation of allogeneic cells as well as of genetically corrected autologous cells are potent approaches to restore cellular functions in patients suffering from genetic diseases. The recipient's immune responses against non-self-antigens may compromise the survival of the grafted cells. Recipients of the graft may therefore require lifelong treatment with immunosuppressive drugs. An alternative approach to reduce graft rejection could involve the use of immune-evasion molecules. Expression of such molecules in cells of the graft may subvert recognition by the host's immune system. Viruses in particular are masters of exploitation and modulation of their hosts immune response. The Herpesviridae family provides a proof of concept for this as these viruses are capable to establish latency and a lifelong persistence in the infected hosts. While several viral proteins involved in immune evasion have been characterized, the Herpesviridae also encode a multitude of viral microRNA (miRNAs). Several of these miRNAs have been demonstrated to reduce the sensitivity of the infected cells to the destructive action of the host's immune cells. In this review, the miRNAs of some common herpesviruses that are associated with immune modulation will be discussed with a focus on their potential use in strategies aiming at generating non-immunogenic cells for transplantation.

Nuclear stopping in transmission experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glazov, Lev G.; Sigmund, Peter

2003-01-01

Energy-loss spectra, mean and peak energy loss, and straggling due to elastic nuclear scattering have been studied theoretically as a function of target thickness and deflection angle of an initially monochromatic and well-collimated ion beam. The goal of this work has been to provide a generally valid scheme for nuclear-stopping corrections, allowing to determine electronic-stopping forces from energy-loss spectra measured in transmission geometry. Calculations have been based on the generalized Bothe-Landau theory of energy loss and multiple scattering. Our peak energy losses at zero emergence angle show close (∼10%) agreement with predictions of Fastrup et al. on the basis of the Bohr-Williams theory. However, predicted mean and peak energy losses are found to more sensitively depend on the underlying interatomic potential than unrestricted, i.e. angle-integrated mean or peak energy losses. Both elastic energy loss and multiple scattering are known to obey scaling laws involving only two combinations of the pertinent variables and atomic parameters. The dependence on deflection angle and foil thickness of mean and peak energy loss obeys a simple combination of these scaling laws. Comments are made on potential errors due to uncertainties in the nuclear-stopping correction applied in the literature with specific reference to central papers in low-velocity stopping

Correlated ion stopping in plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zwicknagel, G.; Deutsch, C.

1997-01-01

The basic features of correlated ion stopping in plasmas are demonstrated by employing two opposite extremes of cluster structures, a statistical model with a spatial ion distribution of Gaussian shape and the highly regular configuration of N-ion chains and cubic boxes. In the case of the ion chains the resonant character of correlated stopping due to the interference of the excited wake fields is discussed in detail. The general behavior of correlation effects is summarized and its dependence on the ratio of cluster size and interion spacing to the screening length in the plasma, as well as the ratio of the cluster velocity to the mean electron velocity in the target, is stressed out. The validity and applicability of the dielectric response formalism used for describing correlated stopping is critically reviewed. A scheme is presented to extend the linear formalism to weak nonlinear situations that occur, in particular, for small highly charged clusters at moderate or low velocities. For the Gaussian cluster a fit formula is given, which allows a fast and accurate calculation of the enhancement of stopping due to correlation effects and applies for all degrees of degeneracy of the electrons and arbitrary cluster velocities. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

Destructive distillation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cosden, S; Cosden, J S

1937-09-08

A means and process are described for the destructive distillation of solid carbonaceous materials in which the process comprises charging the material, in a finely divided condition into a stream of hot combustion gases, and allows the hot gases to act pyrolytically on the organic compounds contained in the material, separating the volatile liberated constituents from residuary constituents. Hot reaction gases are generated by fuel ignition means in a generator and are immediately intermingled with comminuted carbonaceous material from a hopper, in a narrow conduit. The mixture of material and reaction fluid is then passed through an elongated confined path, which is exteriorly heated by the combustion chamber of the furnace, where the destructive distillation is effected. Volatile and solid constituents are separated in the chamber, and the volatile constituents are fractionated and condensed.

Stop Negative Thinking Effects for Drug Dependence

OpenAIRE

Windiarti, Sri Endang; Indriati, Indriati; Surachmi, Fajar

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of therapy stop thinking negatively against drug addiction in Rehabilitation Orphanage Rumah Damai Gunung Pati Semarang. This research is quasy experiment with pretest - posttes without the control group design. Thirty respondents were taken to the reseach sujects. Stop thinking negative therapy before and after thebehavior of drug addiction there are differences (t = 0.00), so it can be stated that the therapy stop thinking negatively inf...

"Stop Diabetes Now!"

Science.gov (United States)

... of this page please turn Javascript on. Feature: Diabetes "Stop Diabetes Now!" Past Issues / Fall 2009 Table of Contents ... Tips for Seniors at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Lifestyle changes that lead to weight loss—such ...

The Effect of Simulated Flash-Heat Pasteurization on Immune Components of Human Milk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brodie Daniels

2017-02-01

Full Text Available A pasteurization temperature monitoring system has been designed using FoneAstra, a cellphone-based networked sensing system, to monitor simulated flash-heat (FH pasteurization. This study compared the effect of the FoneAstra FH (F-FH method with the Sterifeed Holder method currently used by human milk banks on human milk immune components (immunoglobulin A (IgA, lactoferrin activity, lysozyme activity, interleukin (IL-8 and IL-10. Donor milk samples (N = 50 were obtained from a human milk bank, and pasteurized. Concentrations of IgA, IL-8, IL-10, lysozyme activity and lactoferrin activity were compared to their controls using the Student’s t-test. Both methods demonstrated no destruction of interleukins. While the Holder method retained all lysozyme activity, the F-FH method only retained 78.4% activity (p < 0.0001, and both methods showed a decrease in lactoferrin activity (71.1% Holder vs. 38.6% F-FH; p < 0.0001 and a decrease in the retention of total IgA (78.9% Holder vs. 25.2% F-FH; p < 0.0001. Despite increased destruction of immune components compared to Holder pasteurization, the benefits of F-FH in terms of its low cost, feasibility, safety and retention of immune components make it a valuable resource in low-income countries for pasteurizing human milk, potentially saving infants’ lives.

The Skin Microbiome: Is It Affected by UV-induced Immune Suppression?

Science.gov (United States)

Patra, VijayKumar; Byrne, Scott N.; Wolf, Peter

2016-01-01

Human skin apart from functioning as a physical barricade to stop the entry of pathogens, also hosts innumerable commensal organisms. The skin cells and the immune system constantly interact with microbes, to maintain cutaneous homeostasis, despite the challenges offered by various environmental factors. A major environmental factor affecting the skin is ultraviolet radiation (UV-R) from sunlight. UV-R is well known to modulate the immune system, which can be both beneficial and deleterious. By targeting the cells and molecules within skin, UV-R can trigger the production and release of antimicrobial peptides, affect the innate immune system and ultimately suppress the adaptive cellular immune response. This can contribute to skin carcinogenesis and the promotion of infectious agents such as herpes simplex virus and possibly others. On the other hand, a UV-established immunosuppressive environment may protect against the induction of immunologically mediated skin diseases including some of photodermatoses such as polymorphic light eruption. In this article, we share our perspective about the possibility that UV-induced immune suppression may alter the landscape of the skin’s microbiome and its components. Alternatively, or in concert with this, direct UV-induced DNA and membrane damage to the microbiome may result in pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that interfere with UV-induced immune suppression. PMID:27559331

The skin microbiome: Is it affected by UV-induced immune suppression?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vijaykumar Patra

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Human skin apart from functioning as a physical barricade to stop the entry of pathogens, also hosts innumerable commensal organisms. The skin cells and the immune system constantly interact with microbes, to maintain cutaneous homeostasis, despite the challenges offered by various environmental factors. A major environmental factor affecting the skin is ultraviolet radiation UV-R from sunlight. UV-R is well known to modulate the immune system, which can be both beneficial and deleterious. By targeting the cells and molecules within skin, UV-R can trigger the production and release of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs, affect the innate immune system and ultimately suppress the adaptive cellular immune response. This can contribute to skin carcinogenesis and the promotion of infectious agents such as herpes simplex virus and possibly others. On the other hand, a UV-established immunosuppressive environment may protect against the induction of immunologically mediated skin diseases including some of photodermatoses such as polymorphic light eruption. In this article, we share our perspective about the possibility that UV-induced immune suppression may alter the landscape of the skin's microbiome and its components. Alternatively, or in concert with this, direct UV-induced DNA and membrane damage to the microbiome may result in pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs that interfere with UV-induced immune suppression.

Multi-arm group sequential designs with a simultaneous stopping rule.

Science.gov (United States)

Urach, S; Posch, M

2016-12-30

Multi-arm group sequential clinical trials are efficient designs to compare multiple treatments to a control. They allow one to test for treatment effects already in interim analyses and can have a lower average sample number than fixed sample designs. Their operating characteristics depend on the stopping rule: We consider simultaneous stopping, where the whole trial is stopped as soon as for any of the arms the null hypothesis of no treatment effect can be rejected, and separate stopping, where only recruitment to arms for which a significant treatment effect could be demonstrated is stopped, but the other arms are continued. For both stopping rules, the family-wise error rate can be controlled by the closed testing procedure applied to group sequential tests of intersection and elementary hypotheses. The group sequential boundaries for the separate stopping rule also control the family-wise error rate if the simultaneous stopping rule is applied. However, we show that for the simultaneous stopping rule, one can apply improved, less conservative stopping boundaries for local tests of elementary hypotheses. We derive corresponding improved Pocock and O'Brien type boundaries as well as optimized boundaries to maximize the power or average sample number and investigate the operating characteristics and small sample properties of the resulting designs. To control the power to reject at least one null hypothesis, the simultaneous stopping rule requires a lower average sample number than the separate stopping rule. This comes at the cost of a lower power to reject all null hypotheses. Some of this loss in power can be regained by applying the improved stopping boundaries for the simultaneous stopping rule. The procedures are illustrated with clinical trials in systemic sclerosis and narcolepsy. © 2016 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2016 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Are Stopped Strings Preferred in Sad Music?

OpenAIRE

David Huron; Caitlyn Trevor

2017-01-01

String instruments may be played either with open strings (where the string vibrates between the bridge and a hard wooden nut) or with stopped strings (where the string vibrates between the bridge and a performer's finger pressed against the fingerboard). Compared with open strings, stopped strings permit the use of vibrato and exhibit a darker timbre. Inspired by research on the timbre of sad speech, we test whether there is a tendency to use stopped strings in nominally sad music. Specifica...

Non-destructive determination of trace-element concentrations. Annual progress report, September 1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gordon, G.E.; Zoller, W.H.; Walters, W.B.

1977-01-01

Equipment has been assembled at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) reactor by the University of Maryland group in cooperation with the NBS staff in order to initiate studies of a new analytical technique, neutron-capture prompt γ-ray activation analysis. According to this technique one observes prompt γ-rays while the sample is under neutron bombardment, rather than observing γ rays from decay of radioactive species produced. It is expected that this technique will make possible the non-destructive determination of a number of elements in several classes of samples that cannot be measured by present analytical methods. A beam thimble has been built for insertion into the reactor. A beam stop and target holder have been designed and are under construction. The detection system has been designed and is on order. The pulse-height analyzer system has been obtained and debugged and most of the software needed has been written

How does ionizing irradiation contribute to the induction of anti-tumor immunity?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yvonne eRubner

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Radiotherapy (RT with ionizing irradiation is commonly used to locally attack tumors. It induces a stop of cancer cell proliferation and finally leads to tumor cell death. During the last years it has become more and more evident that besides a timely and locally restricted radiation-induced immune suppression, a specific immune activation against the tumor and its metastases is achievable by rendering the tumor cells visible for immune attack. The immune system is involved in tumor control and we here outline how RT induces anti-inflammation when applied in low doses and contributes in higher doses to the induction of anti-tumor immunity. We especially focus on how local irradiation induces abscopal effects. The latter are partly mediated by a systemic activation of the immune system against the individual tumor cells. Dendritic cells are the key players in the initiation and regulation of adaptive anti-tumor immune responses. They have to take up tumor antigens and consecutively present tumor peptides in the presence of appropriate co-stimulation. We review how combinations of RT with further immune stimulators such as AnnexinA5 and hyperthermia foster the dendritic cell-mediated induction of anti-tumor immune responses and present reasonable combination schemes of standard tumor therapies with immune therapies. It can be concluded that RT leads to targeted killing of the tumor cells and additionally induces non-targeted systemic immune effects. Multimodal tumor treatments should therefore tend to induce immunogenic tumor cell death forms within a tumor microenvironment that stimulates immune cells.

How Does Ionizing Irradiation Contribute to the Induction of Anti-Tumor Immunity?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rubner, Yvonne; Wunderlich, Roland; Rühle, Paul-Friedrich; Kulzer, Lorenz; Werthmöller, Nina; Frey, Benjamin; Weiss, Eva-Maria; Keilholz, Ludwig; Fietkau, Rainer; Gaipl, Udo S.

2012-01-01

Radiotherapy (RT) with ionizing irradiation is commonly used to locally attack tumors. It induces a stop of cancer cell proliferation and finally leads to tumor cell death. During the last years it has become more and more evident that besides a timely and locally restricted radiation-induced immune suppression, a specific immune activation against the tumor and its metastases is achievable by rendering the tumor cells visible for immune attack. The immune system is involved in tumor control and we here outline how RT induces anti-inflammation when applied in low doses and contributes in higher doses to the induction of anti-tumor immunity. We especially focus on how local irradiation induces abscopal effects. The latter are partly mediated by a systemic activation of the immune system against the individual tumor cells. Dendritic cells are the key players in the initiation and regulation of adaptive anti-tumor immune responses. They have to take up tumor antigens and consecutively present tumor peptides in the presence of appropriate co-stimulation. We review how combinations of RT with further immune stimulators such as AnnexinA5 and hyperthermia foster the dendritic cell-mediated induction of anti-tumor immune responses and present reasonable combination schemes of standard tumor therapies with immune therapies. It can be concluded that RT leads to targeted killing of the tumor cells and additionally induces non-targeted systemic immune effects. Multimodal tumor treatments should therefore tend to induce immunogenic tumor cell death forms within a tumor microenvironment that stimulates immune cells.

Quality evaluation of soil-cement-plant residue bricks by the combination of destructive and non-destructive tests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regis de C. Ferreira

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Residues from agricultural activity can be used to improve the quality of soil-based bricks, constituting an interesting alternative for their destination. The technical quality of soil-cement-plant residue bricks was evaluated by the combination of non-destructive and destructive methods. A predominant clayey soil, Portland cement and residues of husks of both rice and Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40%, in mass, in substitution to the 10% cement content were used. The bricks were submitted to destructive (water absorption and compressive strength and nondestructive (ultrasound tests for their physical and mechanical characterization. Results from both destructive and non-destructive tests were combined to determine the quantitative parameter named “anisotropic resistance” in order to evaluate the quality of the bricks. The addition that promoted best technical quality was 10% residue content, regardless of the residue type. The anisotropic resistance proved to be adequate for the technical quality evaluation of the bricks.

49 CFR 392.22 - Emergency signals; stopped commercial motor vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... REGULATIONS DRIVING OF COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES Stopped Commercial Motor Vehicles § 392.22 Emergency signals; stopped commercial motor vehicles. (a) Hazard warning signal flashers. Whenever a commercial motor vehicle... than necessary traffic stops, the driver of the stopped commercial motor vehicle shall immediately...

Persisting roughness when deposition stops.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Moshe; Edwards, S F

2004-12-01

Useful theories for growth of surfaces under random deposition of material have been developed by several authors. The simplest theory is that introduced by Edwards and Wilkinson (EW), which is linear and soluble. Its nonlinear generalization by Kardar, Parisi, and Zhang (KPZ) resulted in many subsequent studies. Yet both EW and KPZ theories contain an unphysical feature. When deposition of material is stopped, both theories predict that as time tends to infinity, the surface becomes flat. In fact, of course, the final surface is not flat, but simply has no gradients larger than the gradient related to the angle of repose. We modify the EW and KPZ theories to accommodate this feature and study the consequences for the simpler system which is a modification of the EW equation. In spite of the fact that the equation describing the evolution of the surface is not linear, we find that the steady state in the presence of noise is not very different in the long-wavelength limit from that of the linear EW equation. The situation is quite different from that of EW when deposition stops. Initially there is still some rearrangement of the surface, but that stops as everywhere on the surface the gradient is less than that related to the angle of repose. The most interesting feature observed after deposition stops is the emergence of history-dependent steady-state distributions.

Targeting innate immunity to downmodulate adaptive immunity and reverse type 1 diabetes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Itoh A

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Arata Itoh, William M Ridgway Division of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA Abstract: Type 1 diabetes (T1D is characterized by specific destruction of pancreatic insulin-producing beta cells accompanied by evidence of beta-cell-directed autoimmunity such as autoreactive T cells and islet autoantibodies (IAAs. Currently, T1D cannot be prevented or reversed in humans. T1D is easy to prevent in the nonobese diabetic (NOD spontaneous mouse model but reversing new-onset T1D in mice is more difficult. Since the discovery of the T-cell receptor in the 1980s and the subsequent identification of autoreactive T cells directed toward beta-cell antigens (eg, insulin, glutamic acid decarboxylase, the dream of antigen-specific immunotherapy has dominated the field with its promise of specificity and limited side effects. While such approaches have worked in the NOD mouse, however, dozens of human trials have failed. Broader immunosuppressive approaches (originally cyclosporine, subsequently anti-CD3 antibody have shown partial successes (e.g., prolonged C peptide preservation but no major therapeutic efficacy or disease reversal. Human prevention trials have failed, despite the ease of such approaches in the NOD mouse. In the past 50 years, the incidence of T1D has increased dramatically, and one explanation is the “hygiene hypothesis”, which suggests that decreased exposure of the innate immune system to environmental immune stimulants (e.g., bacterial products such as Toll-like receptor (TLR 4-stimulating lipopolysaccharide [LPS] dramatically affects the adaptive immune system and increases subsequent autoimmunity. We have tested the role of innate immunity in autoimmune T1D by treating acute-onset T1D in NOD mice with anti-TLR4/MD-2 agonistic antibodies and have shown a high rate of disease reversal. The TLR4 antibodies do not directly stimulate T cells but induce tolerogenic

The Immune System in Obesity: Developing Paradigms Amidst Inconvenient Truths.

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Madhur; Kern, Philip A; Nikolajczyk, Barbara S

2017-08-15

Adipose tissue (AT) houses both innate and adaptive immune systems that are crucial for preserving AT function and metabolic homeostasis. In this review, we summarize recent information regarding progression of obesity-associated AT inflammation and insulin resistance. We additionally consider alterations in AT distribution and the immune system in males vs. females and among different racial populations. Innate and adaptive immune cell-derived inflammation drives insulin resistance both locally and systemically. However, new evidence also suggests that the immune system is equally vital for adipocyte differentiation and protection from ectopic lipid deposition. Furthermore, roles of anti-inflammatory immune cells such as regulatory T cells, "M2-like" macrophages, eosinophils, and mast cells are being explored, primarily due to promise of immunotherapeutic applications. Both immune responses and AT distribution are strongly influenced by factors like sex and race, which have been largely underappreciated in the field of metabolically-associated inflammation, or meta-flammation. More studies are required to recognize factors that switch inflammation from controlled to uncontrolled in obesity-associated pathogenesis and to integrate the combined effects of meta-flammation and immunometabolism. It is critical to recognize that the AT-associated immune system can be alternately beneficial and destructive; therefore, simply blocking immune responses early in obesity may not be the best clinical approach. The dearth of information on gender and race-associated disparities in metabolism, AT distribution, and the immune system suggest that a greater understanding of such differences will be critical to develop personalized treatments for obesity and the associated metabolic dysfunction.

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... of hangnails, or other triggers, such as boredom, stress, or anxiety. By figuring out what causes you to bite your nails, you can figure out how to avoid these situations and develop a plan to stop. Just knowing when you’re inclined to bite may help solve the problem. Try to gradually stop biting ...

Leptonic mono-top from single stop production at the LHC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duan, Guang Hua [CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100190 (China); Hikasa, Ken-ichi [Department of Physics, Tohoku University,Sendai 980-8578 (Japan); Wu, Lei [Department of Physics and Institute of Theoretical Physics, Nanjing Normal University,Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023 (China); ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Terascale,School of Physics, The University of Sydney,NSW 2006 (Australia); Yang, Jin Min [CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100190 (China); Department of Physics, Tohoku University,Sendai 980-8578 (Japan); Zhang, Mengchao [Center for Theoretical Physics and Universe, Institute for Basic Science (IBS),Daejeon 34051 (Korea, Republic of)

2017-03-16

Top squark (stop) can be produced via QCD interaction but also the electroweak interaction at the LHC. In this paper, we investigate the observability of the associated production of stop and chargino, pp→t̃{sub 1}χ̃{sub 1}{sup −}, in compressed electroweakino scenarios at 14 TeV LHC. Due to small mass splitting between the lightest neutralino (χ̃{sub 1}{sup 0}) and chargino (χ̃{sub 1}{sup −}), the single stop production can give the mono-top signature through the stop decay t̃{sub 1}→tχ̃{sub 1}{sup 0}. We analyze the leptonic mono-top channel of the single stop production and propose a lab-frame observable cos θ{sub bℓ} to reduce the SM backgrounds. We find that such leptonic mono-top events from the single stop production can be probed at 2σ level at the HL-LHC if m{sub t̃{sub 1}}<760 GeV and m{sub χ̃{sub 1{sup 0}}}<150 GeV. Given a discovery of the stop and a measurement of the single stop production cross section, the stop mixing angle can also be determined from the single stop production at the HL-LHC.

Innovation in Non Destructive Testing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wassink, C.H.P.

2012-01-01

In many established companies the pace of innovation is low. The Non-Destructive Testing sector is an example of a sector where the pace of innovation is very slow. Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) refers to the set of non-invasive activities used to determine the condition of objects or installations

On poisson-stopped-sums that are mixed poisson

OpenAIRE

Valero Baya, Jordi; Pérez Casany, Marta; Ginebra Molins, Josep

2013-01-01

Maceda (1948) characterized the mixed Poisson distributions that are Poisson-stopped-sum distributions based on the mixing distribution. In an alternative characterization of the same set of distributions here the Poisson-stopped-sum distributions that are mixed Poisson distributions is proved to be the set of Poisson-stopped-sums of either a mixture of zero-truncated Poisson distributions or a zero-modification of it. Peer Reviewed

Electron stopping powers for transport calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berger, M.J.

1988-01-01

The reliability of radiation transport calculations depends on the accuracy of the input cross sections. Therefore, it is essential to review and update the cross sections from time to time. Even though the main interest of the author's group at NBS is in transport calculations and their applications, the group spends almost as much time on the analysis and preparation of cross sections as on the development of transport codes. Stopping powers, photon attenuation coefficients, bremsstrahlung cross sections, and elastic-scattering cross sections in recent years have claimed attention. This chapter deals with electron stopping powers (with emphasis on collision stopping powers), and reviews the state of the art as reflected by Report 37 of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements

Unmanned Ground Vehicle for Autonomous Non-Destructive Testing of FRP Bridge Decks

Science.gov (United States)

Klinkhachorn, P.; Mercer, A. Scott; Halabe, Udaya B.; GangaRao, Hota V. S.

2007-03-01

Current non-destructive techniques for defect analysis of FRP bridge decks have a narrow scope. These techniques are very good at detecting certain types of defects but are not robust enough to detect all defects by themselves. For example, infrared thermography (IRT) can detect air filled defects and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is good at detecting water filled ones. These technologies can be combined to create a more robust defect detection scheme. To accomplish this, an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) has been designed that incorporates both IR and GPR analysis to create a comprehensive defect map of a bridge deck. The UGV autonomously surveys the deck surface and acquires data. The UGV has two 1.5 GHz ground coupled GPR antennas that are mounted on the front of the UGV to collect GPR data. It also incorporates an active heating source and a radiometric IR camera to capture IR images of the deck, even in less than ideal weather scenarios such as cold cloudy days. The UGV is designed so that it can collect data in an assembly line fashion. It moves in 1 foot increments. When moving, it collects GPR data from the two antennas. When it stops it heats a section of the deck. The next time it stops to heat a section, the IR camera is analyzing the preheated deck section while preparing for the next section. Because the data is being continually collected using this method, the UGV can survey the entire deck in an efficient and timely manner.

Stop search in the compressed region via semileptonic decays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, Hsin-Chia; Gao, Christina; Li, Lingfeng; Neill, Nicolás A. [Department of Physics, University of California,Davis, California 95616 (United States)

2016-05-05

In supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model, the superpartners of the top quark (stops) play the crucial role in addressing the naturalness problem. For direct pair-production of stops with each stop decaying into a top quark plus the lightest neutralino, the standard stop searches have difficulty finding the stop for a compressed spectrum where the mass difference between the stop and the lightest neutralino is close to the top quark mass, because the events look too similar to the large tt̄ background. With an additional hard ISR jet, the two neutralinos from the stop decays are boosted in the opposite direction and they can give rise to some missing transverse energy. This may be used to distinguish the stop decays from the backgrounds. In this paper we study the semileptonic decay of such signal events for the compressed mass spectrum. Although the neutrino from the W decay also produces some missing transverse energy, its momentum can be reconstructed from the kinematic assumptions and mass-shell conditions. It can then be subtracted from the total missing transverse momentum to obtain the neutralino contribution. Because it suffers from less backgrounds, we show that the semileptonic decay channel has a better discovery reach than the fully hadronic decay channel along the compressed line m{sub t̃}−m{sub χ̃}≈m{sub t}. With 300 fb{sup −1}, the 13 TeV LHC can discover the stop up to 500 GeV, covering the most natural parameter space region.

STARCODES, Stopping Power and Ranges for Electrons, Protons, He

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: The 'STAR CODES', ESTAR, PSTAR, and ASTAR, calculate stopping-power and range tables for electrons, protons, and helium ions (alphas), according to methods described in ICRU Reports 37 and 39. 2 - Method of solution: Collision stopping powers are calculated from the theory of Bethe (1930, 1932), with a density-effect correction evaluated according to Sternheimer (1952, 1982). The stopping-power formula contains an important parameter, the mean excitation energy (I-value), which characterizes the stopping properties of a material. The codes provide output for electrons in any stopping material (279 provided) and for protons and helium ions in 74 materials. The calculations include the 1) Collision stopping power, 2) Radiative stopping power (electrons only), 3) Nuclear stopping power (protons and helium ions), 4) Total stopping power, 5) CSDA range, 6) Projected range (protons and helium ions), 7) Density effect parameter (electrons), 8) Radiation yield (electrons), and 9) Detour factor (protons and helium ions). Standard energy grids and files of elements w/ionization-excitation information are included with lookup table capabilities. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: The minimum energies used in the calculations are at 1 KeV (protons and helium ions) and 10 KeV (electrons), and the maximum are 1 GeV. The standard energy grids are set at 81 for electrons, equally spaced (logarithmically), 133 for protons, and 122 for helium ions. The lower energy electron calculations (< 10 KeV) have up to 5-10% errors and are considered too fallable

Immune evasion in cancer: Mechanistic basis and therapeutic strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Vinay, Dass S; Ryan, Elizabeth P; Pawelec, Graham; Talib, Wamidh H; Stagg, John; Elkord, Eyad; Lichtor, Terry; Decker, William K; Whelan, Richard L; Kumara, H M C Shantha; Signori, Emanuela; Honoki, Kanya; Georgakilas, Alexandros G; Amin, Amr; Helferich, William G; Boosani, Chandra S; Guha, Gunjan; Ciriolo, Maria Rosa; Chen, Sophie; Mohammed, Sulma I; Azmi, Asfar S; Keith, W Nicol; Bilsland, Alan; Bhakta, Dipita; Halicka, Dorota; Fujii, Hiromasa; Aquilano, Katia; Ashraf, S Salman; Nowsheen, Somaira; Yang, Xujuan; Choi, Beom K; Kwon, Byoung S

2015-12-01

Cancer immune evasion is a major stumbling block in designing effective anticancer therapeutic strategies. Although considerable progress has been made in understanding how cancers evade destructive immunity, measures to counteract tumor escape have not kept pace. There are a number of factors that contribute to tumor persistence despite having a normal host immune system. Immune editing is one of the key aspects why tumors evade surveillance causing the tumors to lie dormant in patients for years through "equilibrium" and "senescence" before re-emerging. In addition, tumors exploit several immunological processes such as targeting the regulatory T cell function or their secretions, antigen presentation, modifying the production of immune suppressive mediators, tolerance and immune deviation. Besides these, tumor heterogeneity and metastasis also play a critical role in tumor growth. A number of potential targets like promoting Th1, NK cell, γδ T cell responses, inhibiting Treg functionality, induction of IL-12, use of drugs including phytochemicals have been designed to counter tumor progression with much success. Some natural agents and phytochemicals merit further study. For example, use of certain key polysaccharide components from mushrooms and plants have shown to possess therapeutic impact on tumor-imposed genetic instability, anti-growth signaling, replicative immortality, dysregulated metabolism etc. In this review, we will discuss the advances made toward understanding the basis of cancer immune evasion and summarize the efficacy of various therapeutic measures and targets that have been developed or are being investigated to enhance tumor rejection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Model for the Stop Planning and Timetables of Customized Buses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jihui Ma

Full Text Available Customized buses (CBs are a new mode of public transportation and an important part of diversified public transportation, providing advanced, attractive and user-led service. The operational activity of a CB is planned by aggregating space-time demand and similar passenger travel demands. Based on an analysis of domestic and international research and the current development of CBs in China and considering passenger travel data, this paper studies the problems associated with the operation of CBs, such as stop selection, line planning and timetables, and establishes a model for the stop planning and timetables of CBs. The improved immune genetic algorithm (IIGA is used to solve the model with regard to the following: 1 multiple population design and transport operator design, 2 memory library design, 3 mutation probability design and crossover probability design, and 4 the fitness calculation of the gene segment. Finally, a real-world example in Beijing is calculated, and the model and solution results are verified and analyzed. The results illustrate that the IIGA solves the model and is superior to the basic genetic algorithm in terms of the number of passengers, travel time, average passenger travel time, average passenger arrival time ahead of schedule and total line revenue. This study covers the key issues involving operational systems of CBs, combines theoretical research and empirical analysis, and provides a theoretical foundation for the planning and operation of CBs.

Ready to stop

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Molitoris, Joseph; Dribe, Martin

2016-01-01

the Roteman Database for Stockholm, Sweden between 1878 and 1926 to examine the association of socioeconomic status and fertility and the adoption of stopping behaviour during the city's transition. Using piecewise constant hazard models and logistic regression, we find that a clear class pattern arises...

DESTRUCTIVE EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES AT UNIVERSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Андрей Владимирович Феоктистов

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to problems of origin and development of destructive educational practices at university. The authors focus on complex of interactions that disturb the existing in the academic environment norms and ethical principles. The most vivid evidence of destructive educational practice is the corruption issue. On the basis of the analyzed publications dealing with dynamics of corruption in the Russian higher education and the results of the survey by questionnaire, carried out at the technical university, the complex of recommendations has been prepared and suggested that is directed at minimization of destructive behavior at university.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-4-28

Inferring Stop-Locations from WiFi.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Kofoed Wind

Full Text Available Human mobility patterns are inherently complex. In terms of understanding these patterns, the process of converting raw data into series of stop-locations and transitions is an important first step which greatly reduces the volume of data, thus simplifying the subsequent analyses. Previous research into the mobility of individuals has focused on inferring 'stop locations' (places of stationarity from GPS or CDR data, or on detection of state (static/active. In this paper we bridge the gap between the two approaches: we introduce methods for detecting both mobility state and stop-locations. In addition, our methods are based exclusively on WiFi data. We study two months of WiFi data collected every two minutes by a smartphone, and infer stop-locations in the form of labelled time-intervals. For this purpose, we investigate two algorithms, both of which scale to large datasets: a greedy approach to select the most important routers and one which uses a density-based clustering algorithm to detect router fingerprints. We validate our results using participants' GPS data as well as ground truth data collected during a two month period.

Money Creation and Destruction

OpenAIRE

Faure, Salomon; Gersbach, Hans

2017-01-01

We study money creation and destruction in today’s monetary architecture and examine the impact of monetary policy and capital regulation in a general equilibrium setting. There are two types of money created and destructed: bank deposits, when banks grant loans to firms or to other banks and central bank money, when the central bank grants loans to private banks. We show that equilibria yield the first-best level of money creation and lending when prices are flexible, regardless of the monet...

Light stops and fine-tuning in MSSM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cici, Ali; Kirca, Zerrin; Uen, Cem Salih [Uludag Univ., Department of Physics, Bursa (Turkey)

2018-01-15

We discuss the fine-tuning issue within the MSSM framework. Following the idea that the fine-tuning can measure effects of some missing mechanism, we impose non-universal gaugino masses at the GUT scale, and explore the low scale implications. We realize that the fine-tuning parametrized with Δ{sub EW} can be as low as zero. We consider the stop mass with a special importance and focus on the mass scales as m{sub t} ≤ 700 GeV, which are excluded by the current experiments when the stop decays into a neutralino along with a top quark or a chargino along with a bottom quark. We find that the stop mass can be as low as about 250 GeV with Δ{sub EW} ∝ 50. We find that the solutions in this region can be excluded only up to 60% when stop decays into a neutralino-top quark, and 50% when it decays into a chargino-b quark. Setting 65% CL to be potential exclusion and 95% to be pure exclusion limit such solutions will be tested in near future experiments, which are conducted with higher luminosity. In addition to stop, the region with low fine-tuning and light stops predicts masses for the other supersymmetric particles such as m{sub b} >or similar 700 GeV, m{sub τ} >or similar 1 TeV, m{sub χ{sub 1}{sup {sub ±}}} >or similar 120 GeV. The details for the mass scales and decay rates are also provided by tables of benchmark points. (orig.)

Light stops and fine-tuning in MSSM

Science.gov (United States)

Çiçi, Ali; Kırca, Zerrin; Ün, Cem Salih

2018-01-01

We discuss the fine-tuning issue within the MSSM framework. Following the idea that the fine-tuning can measure effects of some missing mechanism, we impose non-universal gaugino masses at the GUT scale, and explore the low scale implications. We realize that the fine-tuning parametrized with Δ _{EW} can be as low as zero. We consider the stop mass with a special importance and focus on the mass scales as m_{\\tilde{t}} ≤ 700 GeV, which are excluded by the current experiments when the stop decays into a neutralino along with a top quark or a chargino along with a bottom quark. We find that the stop mass can be as low as about 250 GeV with Δ _{EW} ˜ 50. We find that the solutions in this region can be exluded only up to 60% when stop decays into a neutralino-top quark, and 50% when it decays into a chargino-b quark. Setting 65% CL to be potential exclusion and 95% to be pure exclusion limit such solutions will be tested in near future experiments, which are conducted with higher luminosity. In addition to stop, the region with low fine-tuning and light stops predicts masses for the other supersymmetric particles such as m_{\\tilde{b}} ≳ 700 GeV, m_{\\tilde{τ }} ≳ 1 TeV, m_{\\tilde{χ }1^{± }} ≳ 120 GeV. The details for the mass scales and decay rates are also provided by tables of benchmark points.

Effect of oxygen-breathing during a decompression-stop on bubble-induced platelet activation after an open-sea air dive: oxygen-stop decompression.

Science.gov (United States)

Pontier, J-M; Lambrechts, K

2014-06-01

We highlighted a relationship between decompression-induced bubble formation and platelet micro-particle (PMP) release after a scuba air-dive. It is known that decompression protocol using oxygen-stop accelerates the washout of nitrogen loaded in tissues. The aim was to study the effect of oxygen deco-stop on bubble formation and cell-derived MP release. Healthy experienced divers performed two scuba-air dives to 30 msw for 30 min, one with an air deco-stop and a second with 100% oxygen deco-stop at 3 msw for 9 min. Bubble grades were monitored with ultrasound and converted to the Kisman integrated severity score (KISS). Blood samples for cell-derived micro-particle analysis (AnnexinV for PMP and CD31 for endothelial MP) were taken 1 h before and after each dive. Mean KISS bubble score was significantly lower after the dive with oxygen-decompression stop, compared to the dive with air-decompression stop (4.3 ± 7.3 vs. 32.7 ± 19.9, p air-breathing decompression stop, we observed an increase of the post-dive mean values of PMP (753 ± 245 vs. 381 ± 191 ng/μl, p = 0.003) but no significant change in the oxygen-stop decompression dive (329 ± 215 vs. 381 +/191 ng/μl, p = 0.2). For the post-dive mean values of endothelial MP, there was no significant difference between both the dives. The Oxygen breathing during decompression has a beneficial effect on bubble formation accelerating the washout of nitrogen loaded in tissues. Secondary oxygen-decompression stop could reduce bubble-induced platelet activation and the pro-coagulant activity of PMP release preventing the thrombotic event in the pathogenesis of decompression sickness.

Design of permanent block stopping to resist strata convergence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ray, R.E.

1985-11-01

Conventional concrete block plastered with a cementitious coating is the most common material used in the construction of permanent stoppings to direct airflow in underground mines in the US. All mines experience various degrees of strata convergence depending on depth of overburden, geological conditions, and type of roof support employed. Strata convergence will cause cracks and joint openings in masonry stoppings, resulting in significant air leakage losses. Where strata convergence is severe, complete structural failure of the stopping can ultimately occur. Reconstruction of damaged or destroyed stoppings adds expensive overheads to mining operations, and even greater expenses are incurred from the additional fan horsepower required to overcome leakage losses. Ideally, a stopping should maintain high resistance to airflow while yielding to strata convergence. By properly incorporating a polyisocyanurate rigid foam material within the masonry block structure, stopping service life can be increased in mines experiencing strata convergence problems such as floor heave, roof loading, and lateral rib movement.

Non-destructive and destructive examination of the retired North Anna 2 Reactor Pressure Vessel Head

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahluwalia, Kawaljit; Barnes, Robert; Rao, Gutti; Cattant, Francois; Peat, Noel

2006-09-01

Stress corrosion cracking of Alloy 600 and nickel-based weld materials has been the single biggest challenge facing the PWR industry. A fundamental and thorough knowledge was needed to properly explain this phenomenon and develop appropriate mitigation strategies. Non Destructive Examination (NDE) of the North Anna Unit 2 Reactor Vessel Head (RVH) during the 2002 fall outage identified widespread crack indications in the Alloy 600 CRDM penetrations and associated Alloy 182 and 82 J-groove attachment welds. When the Utility decided to replace the RVH, a rare opportunity was provided to the industry to undertake in-depth studies of representative defective CRDM penetrations from a retired RVH. Accordingly, the Materials Reliability Program, undertook a two-phase program on the retired North Anna 2 Alloy 600 RVH. The first phase involved selection and removal of six penetrations from the RVH and penetration decontamination, replication and laboratory NDE. The second phase consisted of a detailed destructive examination of penetration number 54. This paper provides a summary of work undertaken during this program. Criteria for selection of penetrations for removal and procedures used in removal of the penetrations are described. Extreme care was undertaken in decontamination of the penetrations to facilitate laboratory NDE. Penetration number 54 was then subjected to destructive examination to establish a correlation between NDE findings (from both field and laboratory inspections) and actual flaws. Additional objectives of the destructive examination included mechanistic assessment of defect formation and investigation of the annulus environment and wastage characterization. Data obtained from these studies is invaluable in validating safety assessment statements by developing the correlation between field NDE and actual defects. In addition, information gathered from non-destructive and destructive examinations is used to assess accuracy of the NDE techniques

Stop. Write! Writing Grounded Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barney G. Glaser, PhD, Hon. PhD

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The message in this book, the dictum in this book, is to stop and write when the Grounded Theory (GT methodology puts you in that ready position. Stop unending conceptualization, unending data coverage, and unending listening to others who would egg you on with additional data, ideas and/or requirements or simply wait too long. I will discuss these ideas in detail. My experience with PhD candidates is that for the few who write when ready, many do not and SHOULD. Simply put, many write-up, but many more should.

Could stops lighten the top?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilal, A.; Ellis, J.; Fogli, G.L.

1990-01-01

The analysis of the presently available electroweak data including radiative corrections in the standard model suggests that the top quark weighs more than the Z 0 . We examine whether squark loops in the minimal supersymmetric model, particularly those involving stops (partners of the top quark), could reduce substantially the preferred range of top quark masses. Given the present lower bounds on squark masses, we find that stop effects can reduce the central value of m t by at most a few GeV, although they do make a very heavy top quark increasingly unlikely. (orig.)

Stopping test of iterative methods for solving PDE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Bangrong

1991-01-01

In order to assure the accuracy of the numerical solution of the iterative method for solving PDE (partial differential equation), the stopping test is very important. If the coefficient matrix of the system of linear algebraic equations is strictly diagonal dominant or irreducible weakly diagonal dominant, the stopping test formulas of the iterative method for solving PDE is proposed. Several numerical examples are given to illustrate the applications of the stopping test formulas

Stopping power, its meaning, and its general characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inokuti, Mitio.

1995-01-01

This essay presents remarks on the meaning of stopping, power and of its magnitude. More precisely, the first set of remarks concerns the connection of stopping power with elements of particle-transport theory, which describes particle transport and its consequences in full detail, including its stochastic aspects. The second set of remarks concerns the magnitude of the stopping power of a material and its relation with the material's electronic structure and other properties

STOP4-7 Nederland. Resultaten 2010-2011

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geijsen, L.; Veerman, J.W.; Bastiaanssen, I.L.W.

2011-01-01

STOP4-7 is een multimodale interventie voor kinderen van 4 tot 7 jaar met ernstige externaliserende gedragsproblemen en hun opvoeders en leerkrachten. Het doel van STOP4-7 is het aanleren en versterken van sociale en probleemoplossende vaardigheden en het verminderen van ongewenst gedrag. Daarvoor

Collision-induced destructive quantum interference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Xihua; Sun Zhenrong; Zhang Shi'an; Ding Liang'en; Wang Zugeng

2005-01-01

We conduct theoretical studies on the collision-induced destructive quantum interference of two-colour two-photon transitions in an open rhomb-type five-level system with a widely separated doublet by the density matrix approach. The effects of the collision-induced decay rates, the ratio of the transition dipole moments and the energy separation of the doublet on the interference are analysed. It is shown that a narrow dip appears in the excitation spectrum due to the collision-induced destructive interference, and that the narrow interference dip still exists even when the collision broadening is comparable to the energy separation of the doublet. The physical origin of the collision-induced destructive quantum interference is analysed in the dressed-atom picture

Research of the stopping distance for different road conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel LYUBENOV

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper a modern method for determination of stopping distance is represented. Application of the non-contact VBOX 3i 100Hz GPS Data Logger speed and distance measurement system is represented. A description of the total stopping distance of vehicle main components - driver reaction time, vehicle reaction time and vehicle braking capability has been made. Research of the total stopping distance of a vehicle for different road conditions has been made. The results for the stopping distance can be very useful in the expert practice.

Nonlinear effects contributing to hand-stopping tones in a horn.

Science.gov (United States)

Ebihara, Takayasu; Yoshikawa, Shigeru

2013-05-01

Hand stopping is a technique for playing the French horn while closing the bell relatively tightly using the right hand. The resulting timbre is called "penetrating" and "metallic." The effect of hand stopping on the horn input impedance has been studied, but the tone quality has hardly ever been considered. In the present paper, the dominant physical cause of the stopped-tone quality is discussed in detail. Numerical calculations of the transmission function of the stopped-horn model and the measurements of both sound pressure and wall vibration in hand stopping are carried out. They strongly suggest that the metallicness of the stopped tone is characterized by the generation of higher harmonics extending over 10 kHz due to the rapidly corrugating waveform and that the associated wall vibration on the bell may be responsible for this higher harmonic generation. However, excitation experiments and immobilization experiments performed to elucidate the relationship between sound radiation and wall vibration deny their correlation. Instead, the measurement result of the mouthpiece pressure in hand stopping suggests that minute wave corrugations peculiar to the metallic stopped tones are probably formed by nonlinear sound propagation along the bore.

Collisional destruction of fast hydrogen Rydberg atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, M.R.

1984-01-01

A new modulated electric field technique was developed to study Rydberg atom destruction processes in a fast beam. The process of destruction of a band of Rydberg atom destruction of a band of Rydberg atoms through the combined processes of ionization, excitation, and deexcitation was studied for collisions with gas targets. Rydberg atoms of hydrogen were formed by electron capture, and detected by field ionization. The modulated field technique described proved to be an effective technique for producing a large signal for accurate cross section measurements. The independent particle model for Rydberg atom destruction processes was found to hold well for collisions with molecular nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide. The resonances in the cross sections for the free electron scattering with these targets were found to also occur in Rydberg destruction. Suggestions for future investigations of Rydberg atom collision processes in the fast beam regime are given

Destructive distillation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allison, C A

1906-05-22

The invention relates to an apparatus in which the destructive distillation or coking of coal, peat, shale, etc., is carried out by means of a current of hot gases at a temperature of 700--800/sup 0/F., as described in Specification No. 11,925, A.D. 1906.

Can I Stop Myself From Having a Wet Dream? (For Teens)

Science.gov (United States)

... Can I Stop Myself From Having a Wet Dream? KidsHealth / For Teens / Can I Stop Myself From Having a Wet Dream? Print Can I stop myself from having a wet dream? – Tom* You really can't stop wet dreams, ...

Verification of Chemical Weapons Destruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lodding, J.

2010-01-01

The Chemical Weapons Convention is the only multilateral treaty that bans completely an entire category of weapons of mass destruction under international verification arrangements. Possessor States, i.e. those that have chemical weapons stockpiles at the time of becoming party to the CWC, commit to destroying these. All States undertake never to acquire chemical weapons and not to help other States acquire such weapons. The CWC foresees time-bound chemical disarmament. The deadlines for destruction for early entrants to the CWC are provided in the treaty. For late entrants, the Conference of States Parties intervenes to set destruction deadlines. One of the unique features of the CWC is thus the regime for verifying destruction of chemical weapons. But how can you design a system for verification at military sites, while protecting military restricted information? What degree of assurance is considered sufficient in such circumstances? How do you divide the verification costs? How do you deal with production capability and initial declarations of existing stockpiles? The founders of the CWC had to address these and other challenges in designing the treaty. Further refinement of the verification system has followed since the treaty opened for signature in 1993 and since inspection work was initiated following entry-into-force of the treaty in 1997. Most of this work concerns destruction at the two large possessor States, Russia and the United States. Perhaps some of the lessons learned from the OPCW experience may be instructive in a future verification regime for nuclear weapons. (author)

Development and psychometric properties of the Suicidality: Treatment Occurring in Paediatrics (STOP) Suicidality Assessment Scale (STOP-SAS) in children and adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Flamarique, I; Santosh, P; Zuddas, A; Arango, C; Purper-Ouakil, D; Hoekstra, P J; Coghill, D; Schulze, U; Dittmann, R W; Buitelaar, J K; Lievesley, K; Frongia, R; Llorente, C; Méndez, I; Sala, R; Fiori, F; Castro-Fornieles, J

2016-12-13

To create a self-reported, internet-based questionnaire for the assessment of suicide risk in children and adolescents. As part of the EU project 'Suicidality: Treatment Occurring in Paediatrics' (STOP project), we developed web-based Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for children and adolescents and for proxy reports by parents and clinicians in order to assess suicidality. Based on a literature review, expert panels and focus groups of patients, we developed the items of the STOP Suicidality Assessment Scale (STOP-SAS) in Spanish and English, translated it into four more languages, and optimized it for web-based presentation using the HealthTracker TM platform. Of the total 19 questions developed for the STOP-SAS, four questions that assess low-level suicidality were identified as screening questions (three of them for use with children, and all four for use with adolescents, parents and clinicians). A total of 395 adolescents, 110 children, 637 parents and 716 clinicians completed the questionnaire using the HealthTracker TM , allowing us to evaluate the internal consistency and convergent validity of the STOP-SAS with the clinician-rated Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Validity was also assessed with the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) area of the STOP-SAS with the C-SSRS. The STOP-SAS comprises 19 items in its adolescent, parent, and clinician versions, and 14 items in its children's version. Good internal consistency was found for adolescents (Cronbach's alpha: 0.965), children (Cronbach's alpha: 0.922), parents (Cronbach's alpha: 0.951) and clinicians (Cronbach's alpha: 0.955) versions. A strong correlation was found between the STOP-SAS and the C-SSRS for adolescents (r:0.670), parents (r:0.548), clinicians (r:0.863) and children (r:0.654). The ROC area was good for clinicians' (0.917), adolescents' (0.834) and parents' (0.756) versions but only fair (0.683) for children's version. The STOP-SAS is a comprehensive, web

Non-destructive controls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nouvet, A.

1978-01-01

The non-destructive controls permit, while respecting their integrity, the direct and individual examination of parts or complete objects as they are manufactured, as well as to follow the evolution of their eventual defects while in operation. The choice of control methods depends on the manufacturing process and shapes of parts, on the physical properties of their components as well as the nature, position and size of the defects which are likely to be detected. Whether it is a question of controls by means of ionizing radiation, flux of neutrons, ultrasons, acoustic source, sweating, magnetoscopy. Foucault currents, thermography, detection of leaks or non-destructive metallography, each has a limited field of application such that they are less competitive than complementary [fr

Start-Stop Test Procedures on the PEMFC Stack Level

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mitzel, Jens; Nygaard, Frederik; Veltzé, Sune

The test is addressed to investigate the influence on stack durability of a long stop followed by a restart of a stack. Long stop should be defined as a stop in which the anodic compartment is fully filled by air due to stack leakages. In systems, leakage level of the stack is low and time to fil...

The forms of destructive behavior in the workplace

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D A Narozhnaia

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Personnel have become a key resource of organizations in the contemporary society for the way personnel fulfills its work functions can provide important advantages in the competitive market. However, despite the fact that organizations’ management pays great attention to the development of the constructive forms of work behavior, various forms of destructive behavior in the workplace are quite widespread nowadays. The author uses the concept “destructive labor behavior” to denote such observable actions of employees that hinder achieving organizations’ aims and entail negative consequences. The article analyzes relationships between concepts “destructive labor behavior”, “social behavior” and “organizational behavior”; identifies the most common types of destructive labor behavior, such as absenteeism, theft, sabotage, lowered labor activity, and their key features; considers their negative consequences, such as decreased production, decline in the quality of products or services, conflicts in the team, tensions between workers and employers; analyzes different classifications of the destructive forms of labor behavior. The author concludes that we need a general classification of the destructive forms of labor behavior based on their grouping on three grounds: the essence of the negative consequences of the destructive behavior; the violated legal norms; the causes of the destructive behavior. Moreover, the article identifies three groups of organizational factors that can generate destructive forms of labor behavior - production factors (content, organization and conditions of work, social factors (group relations and psychological (personal characteristics of employees - and provides recommendations to reduce their impact on the organization.

CDC Vital Signs: New Hope for Stopping HIV

Science.gov (United States)

... 27 MB] Read the MMWR Science Clips New Hope for Stopping HIV Testing and Medical Care Save ... acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and early death. There's new hope today for stopping HIV in the US. Medicines ( ...

Stopping power for particle therapy: the generic library libdEdx and clinically relevant stopping-power ratios for light ions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lühr, Armin Christian; Toftegaard, Jakob; Kantemiris, Ioannis

2012-01-01

to be known accurately for dosimetry. Methods: An open-source computer library called libdEdx (library for energy loss per unit path length, dE/dx, calculations) is developed, providing stopping-power data from data tables and computer programs as well as a stopping-power formula comprising a large list...

Depression - stopping your medicines

Science.gov (United States)

... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000570.htm Depression - stopping your medicines To use the sharing features ... prescription medicines you may take to help with depression, anxiety, or pain. Like any medicine, there are ...

7 CFR 160.9 - Destructively distilled wood turpentine.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Destructively distilled wood turpentine. 160.9 Section... REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS FOR NAVAL STORES General § 160.9 Destructively distilled wood turpentine. The designation “destructively distilled wood turpentine” shall refer to the kind of spirits of turpentine...

Are Stopped Strings Preferred in Sad Music?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Huron

2017-01-01

Full Text Available String instruments may be played either with open strings (where the string vibrates between the bridge and a hard wooden nut or with stopped strings (where the string vibrates between the bridge and a performer's finger pressed against the fingerboard. Compared with open strings, stopped strings permit the use of vibrato and exhibit a darker timbre. Inspired by research on the timbre of sad speech, we test whether there is a tendency to use stopped strings in nominally sad music. Specifically, we compare the proportion of potentially open-to-stopped strings in a sample of slow, minor-mode movements with matched major-mode movements. By way of illustration, a preliminary analysis of Samuel Barber's famous Adagio from his Opus 11 string quartet shows that the selected key (B-flat minor provides the optimum key for minimizing open string tones. However, examination of a broader controlled sample of quartet movements by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven failed to exhibit the conjectured relationship. Instead, major-mode movements were found to avoid possible open strings more than slow minor-mode movements.

Neem leaf glycoprotein prophylaxis transduces immune dependent stop signal for tumor angiogenic switch within tumor microenvironment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saptak Banerjee

Full Text Available We have reported that prophylactic as well as therapeutic administration of neem leaf glycoprotein (NLGP induces significant restriction of solid tumor growth in mice. Here, we investigate whether the effect of such pretreatment (25µg/mice; weekly, 4 times benefits regulation of tumor angiogenesis, an obligate factor for tumor progression. We show that NLGP pretreatment results in vascular normalization in melanoma and carcinoma bearing mice along with downregulation of CD31, VEGF and VEGFR2. NLGP pretreatment facilitates profound infiltration of CD8+ T cells within tumor parenchyma, which subsequently regulates VEGF-VEGFR2 signaling in CD31+ vascular endothelial cells to prevent aberrant neovascularization. Pericyte stabilization, VEGF dependent inhibition of VEC proliferation and subsequent vascular normalization are also experienced. Studies in immune compromised mice confirmed that these vascular and intratumoral changes in angiogenic profile are dependent upon active adoptive immunity particularly those mediated by CD8+ T cells. Accumulated evidences suggest that NLGP regulated immunomodulation is active in tumor growth restriction and normalization of tumor angiogenesis as well, thereby, signifying its clinical translation.

Electrochemical destruction of nitrosamines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lejen, T; Volchek, K; Ladanowski, C; Velicogna, D; Whittaker, H [Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada). Emergencies Engineering Div.

1996-09-01

Treatment conditions for the electrolytic destruction of nitrosamines were studied. The joint investigation between Canada and the Ukraine was part of an assessment of hazardous contaminants at former Soviet ICBM missile sites. The electrochemical destruction of N-dimethylnitrosamines (NDMA) on carbon/platinum electrodes was studied under basic and acidic conditions by UV spectroscopy, gas chromatography, mass spectroscopy, and colorimetry. Experiments with a 100 ppm NDMA solution showed that electrolytic-reduction was pH sensitive within a range of pH 0.5 to 4.0. Electrolysis was effective for the reduction of NDMA in strong acidic conditions. 30 refs., 1 tab., 4 figs.

Involvement of interleukin 1 and interleukin 1 antagonist in pancreatic beta-cell destruction in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mandrup-Poulsen, T; Zumsteg, U; Reimers, J

1993-01-01

In this review we propose that the balance between the action of interleukin 1 (IL-1) and its natural antagonist IL-1ra on the level of the insulin-producing pancreatic beta-cell may play a decisive role in the pathogenesis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). We argue that IL-1...... potentiated by other cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha, interferon gamma) is an important effector molecule involved in both early and late events in the immune-mediated process that leads to beta-cell destruction and IDDM. We also point out that surprisingly high molar excesses of IL-1ra over IL-1...... are necessary to block the action of IL-1 on islet beta-cells compared to islet alpha-cells in vitro and in animals. We suggest that the selectivity of beta-cell destruction in IDDM may be conferred on several levels: (1) homing of beta-cell antigen specific T cells, (2) targeted delivery of cytokines...

Protective immune mechanisms against pre-erythrocytic forms of Plasmodium berghei depend on the target antigen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elke S. Bergmann-Leitner

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccines are believed to either stop the injected sporozoites from reaching the liver or to direct cellular immune responses towards eliminating infected hepatocytes. The present study reveals for the first time the anatomical sites at which these immune mechanisms act against the malaria parasites. To determine the mechanisms leading to protection mediated by two previously characterized vaccines against either the circumsporozoite protein (CSP or the cell traversal protein for ookinetes and sporozoites (CelTOS, mice were immunized and subsequently challenged by subcutaneous injection of salivary gland sporozoites of luciferase-transgenic Plasmodium berghei parasites. The In Vivo Imaging System (IVIS was used to identify the anatomical site where the vaccine-induced immune response eliminates sporozoites after injection. The data demonstrate that CSP-based immunity acts at the site of infection (skin whereas CelTOS-based immunity is only partially efficient in the skin and allows reduced levels of liver infection that can be subsequently cleared. The results of this study challenge assumptions regarding CSP-mediated immune mechanisms and call into question the validity of some commonly used assays to evaluate anti-CSP immune responses. The knowledge of the mechanism and events leading to infection or immune defense will guide supportive treatment with drugs or combination therapies and thus accelerate the development of effective antimalarial strategies.

Facing towards or Turning away from Destructive Narcissism

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, Denis; Skogstad, Helga

2006-01-01

This paper presents a detailed theoretical discussion of destructive narcissism in relation to Freud and Rosenfeld and later theorists. In destructive narcissism, the destructiveness is itself idealised and overrides "the vital functions which serve the purpose of self-preservation" (Freud, S., 1914, "On narcissism" S.E. 14: 87)--a feature which…

Stopping power. Projectile and target modeled as oscillators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevanovic, N.; Nikezic, D.

2005-01-01

In this Letter the collision of two quantum harmonic oscillators was considered. The oscillators interact through the Coulomb interaction. Stopping power of projectile was calculated assuming that both, target and projectile may be excited. It has been shown that the frequency of the projectile oscillation, ω p influences on stopping power, particularly in the region of Bragg peak. If, ω p ->0 is substitute in the expression for stopping power derived in this Letter, then it comes to the form when the projectile has been treated as point like charged particle

Can non-destructive inspection be reliable

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silk, M.G.; Stoneham, A.M.; Temple, J.A.G.

1988-01-01

The paper on inspection is based on the book ''The reliability of non-destructive inspection: assessing the assessment of structures under stress'' by the present authors (published by Adam Hilger 1987). Emphasis is placed on the reliability of inspection and whether cracks in welds or flaws in components can be detected. The need for non-destructive testing and the historical attitudes to non-destructive testing are outlined, along with the case of failure. Factors influencing reliable inspection are discussed, and defect detection trials involving round robin tests are described. The development of reliable inspection techniques and the costs of reliability and unreliability are also examined. (U.K.)

Selective destruction of mouse islet beta cells by human T lymphocytes in a newly-established humanized type 1 diabetic model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Yong, E-mail: yongzhao@uic.edu [Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 (United States); Guo, Chengshan; Hwang, David; Lin, Brian; Dingeldein, Michael; Mihailescu, Dan; Sam, Susan; Sidhwani, Seema [Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 (United States); Zhang, Yongkang [Department of Pharmacology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 (United States); Jain, Sumit [Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 (United States); Skidgel, Randal A. [Department of Pharmacology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 (United States); Prabhakar, Bellur S. [Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 (United States); Mazzone, Theodore [Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 (United States); Holterman, Mark J. [Department of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 (United States)

2010-09-03

Research highlights: {yields} Establish a human immune-mediated type 1 diabetic model in NOD-scid IL2r{gamma}{sup null} mice. {yields} Using the irradiated diabetic NOD mouse spleen mononuclear cells as trigger. {yields} The islet {beta} cells were selectively destroyed by infiltrated human T cells. {yields} The model can facilitate translational research to find a cure for type 1 diabetes. -- Abstract: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is caused by a T cell-mediated autoimmune response that leads to the loss of insulin-producing {beta} cells. The optimal preclinical testing of promising therapies would be aided by a humanized immune-mediated T1D model. We develop this model in NOD-scid IL2r{gamma}{sup null} mice. The selective destruction of pancreatic islet {beta} cells was mediated by human T lymphocytes after an initial trigger was supplied by the injection of irradiated spleen mononuclear cells (SMC) from diabetic nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. This resulted in severe insulitis, a marked loss of total {beta}-cell mass, and other related phenotypes of T1D. The migration of human T cells to pancreatic islets was controlled by the {beta} cell-produced highly conserved chemokine stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) and its receptor C-X-C chemokine receptor (CXCR) 4, as demonstrated by in vivo blocking experiments using antibody to CXCR4. The specificity of humanized T cell-mediated immune responses against islet {beta} cells was generated by the local inflammatory microenvironment in pancreatic islets including human CD4{sup +} T cell infiltration and clonal expansion, and the mouse islet {beta}-cell-derived CD1d-mediated human iNKT activation. The selective destruction of mouse islet {beta} cells by a human T cell-mediated immune response in this humanized T1D model can mimic those observed in T1D patients. This model can provide a valuable tool for translational research into T1D.

PROBLEMS IN TESTING DIGITAL PROTECTIVE RELAY FOR IMMUNITY TO INTENTIONAL DESTRUCTIVE ELECTROMAGNETIC IMPACTS. CONTINUATION OF THE THEME

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir I. Gurevich

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article is the continuation of the theme highlighted in the previous article with same title. The new article evaluates the results of digital protective relays (DPR testing for immunity to the E1 component of High-altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP and to Intentional Electromagnetic Interferences (IEMI impacts, conducted by some independent American organizations; discusses the features of relay protection devices as well as clarifies and supplements the procedure for testing these devices. Due to methodology errors during the DPR tests conducted by mentioned organizations earlier, they cannot be considered as satisfactory and their results as meaningful. At the moment there are no reliable data on the level of DPR immunity to IDEI, which suggests that the test should be conducted further.

On NonAsymptotic Optimal Stopping Criteria in Monte Carlo Simulations

KAUST Repository

Bayer, Christian; Hoel, Hakon; von Schwerin, Erik; Tempone, Raul

2014-01-01

We consider the setting of estimating the mean of a random variable by a sequential stopping rule Monte Carlo (MC) method. The performance of a typical second moment based sequential stopping rule MC method is shown to be unreliable in such settings both by numerical examples and through analysis. By analysis and approximations, we construct a higher moment based stopping rule which is shown in numerical examples to perform more reliably and only slightly less efficiently than the second moment based stopping rule.

Destruction as a Step in Heidegger's Phenomenology

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M.J Safian

2014-08-01

Full Text Available One of the most controversial issues in Heidegger’s philosophy is his claim that western philosophy tradition has overlooked the issue of Being. Heidegger’s attempt is to reveal the origins of this negligence by means of destruction. However, it seems that through such claim Heidegger aims to destroy and disvalue this tradition. In addition to defining and explaining destruction, our purpose in this article is to show that Heidegger’s goal is not to destroy the tradition of philosophy but the term destruction refers to a process which is a step in Heidegger’s phenomenology by means of which one can conceive and perceive Being better because only through such destruction ontology can fully assure itself in a phenomenological way of the genuine character of its concepts. The necessity of doing destruction in Heidegger’s thought has also been discussed and his persistence on it has been shown in two of his works, one belongs to early and another to later Heidegger.

New Perspectives on the Role of Vitiligo in Immune Responses to Melanoma

Science.gov (United States)

Byrne, Katelyn T.; Turk, Mary Jo

2011-01-01

Melanoma-associated vitiligo is the best-studied example of the linkage between tumor immunity and autoimmunity. Although vitiligo is an independent positive prognostic factor for melanoma patients, the autoimmune destruction of melanocytes was long thought to be merely a side effect of robust anti-tumor immunity. However, new data reveal a key role for vitiligo in supporting T cell responses to melanoma. This research perspective reviews the history of melanoma-associated vitiligo in patients, the experimental studies that form the basis for understanding this relationship, and the unique characteristics of melanoma-specific CD8 T cells found in hosts with vitiligo. We also discuss the implications of our recent findings for the interpretation of patient responses, and the design of next-generation cancer immunotherapies. PMID:21911918

High fluence effects on ion implantation stopping and range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selvi, S.; Tek, Z.; Oeztarhan, A.; Akbas, N.; Brown, I.G.

2005-01-01

We have developed a code STOPPO which can be used to modify the more-widely used ion implantation codes to more accurately predict the mean nuclear and electronic stopping power, preferential sputtering and range of heavy ions in monatomic target materials. In our simulations an effective atomic number and effective atomic mass are introduced into conveniently available analytical stopping cross-sections and a better fitting function for preferential sputtering yield is carefully evaluated for each ion implantation. The accuracy of the code confirmed experimentally by comparison with measured Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) concentration profiles for 130 keV Zr ions implanted into Be to fluences of 1 x 10 17 , 2 x 10 17 and 4 x 10 17 ions/cm 2 . We find a steady increase in the mean nuclear and electronic stopping powers of the target; the increase in nuclear stopping power is much greater than the increase in electronic stopping power

Electron and Positron Stopping Powers of Materials

Science.gov (United States)

SRD 7 NIST Electron and Positron Stopping Powers of Materials (PC database for purchase)   The EPSTAR database provides rapid calculations of stopping powers (collisional, radiative, and total), CSDA ranges, radiation yields and density effect corrections for incident electrons or positrons with kinetic energies from 1 keV to 10 GeV, and for any chemically defined target material.

Addressing production stops in the food industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Zaza Nadja Lee; Herbert, Luke Thomas; Jacobsen, Peter

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the challenges in the food industry which causes the production lines to stop, illustrated by a case study of an SME size company in the baked goods sector in Denmark. The paper proposes key elements this sector needs to be aware of to effectively address production stops......, and gives examples of the unique challenges faced by the SME food industry....

Expression, purification and crystallization of the Cmi immunity protein from Escherichia coli

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Römer, Christin; Patzer, Silke I.; Albrecht, Reinhard; Zeth, Kornelius; Braun, Volkmar

2011-01-01

The colicin M immunity protein Cmi protects E. coli cells against killing by colicin M. The Cmi protein was produced for structure determination and crystals were obtained which diffracted to high resolution. Many bacteria kill related bacteria by secretion of bacteriocins. In Escherichia coli, the colicin M protein kills E. coli after uptake into the periplasm. Self-protection from destruction is provided by the co-expressed immunity protein. The colicin M immunity protein (Cmi) was cloned, overexpressed and purified to homogeneity. The correct fold of purified Cmi was analyzed by activity tests and circular-dichroism spectroscopy. Crystallization trials yielded crystals, one of which diffracted to a resolution of 1.9 Å in the orthorhombic space group C222 1 . The crystal packing, with unit-cell parameters a = 66.02, b = 83.47, c = 38.30 Å, indicated the presence of one monomer in the asymmetric unit with a solvent content of 53%

The stopping rules for winsorized tree

Science.gov (United States)

Ch'ng, Chee Keong; Mahat, Nor Idayu

2017-11-01

Winsorized tree is a modified tree-based classifier that is able to investigate and to handle all outliers in all nodes along the process of constructing the tree. It overcomes the tedious process of constructing a classical tree where the splitting of branches and pruning go concurrently so that the constructed tree would not grow bushy. This mechanism is controlled by the proposed algorithm. In winsorized tree, data are screened for identifying outlier. If outlier is detected, the value is neutralized using winsorize approach. Both outlier identification and value neutralization are executed recursively in every node until predetermined stopping criterion is met. The aim of this paper is to search for significant stopping criterion to stop the tree from further splitting before overfitting. The result obtained from the conducted experiment on pima indian dataset proved that the node could produce the final successor nodes (leaves) when it has achieved the range of 70% in information gain.

The Destructive/Non-Destructive Identification of Enameled Pottery, Glass Artifacts and Associated Pigments—A Brief Overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philippe Colomban

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The birth of Chemistry can be found in two main practices: (i the Arts du feu (ceramic and glass, metallurgy, i.e., inorganic and solid state chemistry and (ii the preparation of remedies, alcohols and perfumes, dyes, i.e., organic and liquid state chemistry. After a brief survey of the history of (glazed pottery and (enameled glass artifacts, the development of destructive and non-destructive analytical techniques during the last few centuries is reviewed. Emphasis is put on mobile non-destructive Raman microspectroscopy of pigments and their glass/glaze host matrices for chronological/technological expertise. The techniques of white opacification, blue, yellow, green, red, and black coloring, are used as examples to point out the interest of pigments as chronological/technological markers.

Dismantlement and destruction of chemical, nuclear and conventional weapons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulte, N.T.

1997-01-01

The safe destruction and dismantling of chemical, nuclear and conventional weapons is of fundamental importance to the security of all countries represented in this volume. Expertise in the field is not confined to one country or organisation: all can benefit from each other. There is an ever present danger of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: approximately two dozen countries have ongoing programmes to develop or acquire such weapons, and many are also gaining the capability to build air-surface delivery systems. But much can be done to prevent proliferation by reducing leakage of materials and know-how and by solving the problems of the destruction of surplus weapons systems, which has now come to be a key issue. In 13 sessions of the workshop attention was paid to (1) Dismantlement and Destruction of Chemical, Nuclear and Conventional Weapons; (2) Status of Implementation of Arms Control Treaties and Voluntary Commitments; (3) National Perspectives on Cooperation in Disarmament; (4) Stocktaking of National and Bilateral Disposal/Destruction Programmes: Chemical Weapons; (5) Stocktaking of National and Bilateral Disposal/Destruction Programmes: Nuclear Weapons; (6) Stocktaking of National and Bilateral Disposal/Destruction Programmes: Conventional Weapons. Session; (7) Experience with Currently Employed Chemical Destruction Technologies; (8) Alternative Chemical Destruction Technologies; (9) Deactivation, Dismantlement and Destruction of Delivery Systems and Infrastructure for Nuclear Weapons; (10) Storage, Safeguarding and Disposition of Fissile Materials; (11) Technologies for Conversion and Civil Use of Demilitarized Materials; (12) International Organizations; and (13) Environmental Challenges Posed by Chemical and Nuclear Disarmament

Modulation of Caenorhabditis elegans immune response and modification of Shigella endotoxin upon interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Kesika, Periyanaina; Prasanth, Mani Iyer; Balamurugan, Krishnaswamy

2015-04-01

To analyze the pathogenesis at both physiological and molecular level using the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans at different developmental stages in response to Shigella spp. and its pathogen associated molecular patterns such as lipopolysaccharide. The solid plate and liquid culture-based infection assays revealed that Shigella spp. infects C. elegans and had an impact on the brood size and pharyngeal pumping rate. LPS of Shigella spp. was toxic to C. elegans. qPCR analysis revealed that host innate immune genes have been modulated upon Shigella spp. infections and its LPS challenges. Non-destructive analysis was performed to kinetically assess the alterations in LPS during interaction of Shigella spp. with C. elegans. The modulation of innate immune genes attributed the surrendering of host immune system to Shigella spp. by favoring the infection. LPS appeared to have a major role in Shigella-mediated pathogenesis and Shigella employs a tactic behavior of modifying its LPS content to escape from the recognition of host immune system. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

One-stop endoscopic hernia surgery: efficient and satisfactory.

Science.gov (United States)

Voorbrood, C E H; Burgmans, J P J; Clevers, G J; Davids, P H P; Verleisdonk, E J M M; Schouten, N; van Dalen, T

2015-06-01

One-stop surgery offers patients diagnostic work-up and subsequent surgical treatment on the same day. In the present study, patient satisfaction and efficiency from an institutional perspective were evaluated in patients who were referred for one-stop endoscopic inguinal hernia repair. In a high-volume inguinal hernia clinic, all consecutive patients referred for one-stop surgical treatment, were registered prospectively. An instructed secretary screened patients for eligibility for the one-stop option when the appointment was made. Totally extraperitoneal hernia repair under general anaesthesia was the preferred operative technique. Patient's satisfaction, successful day surgery and institutional efficiency were evaluated. Between January 2010 and January 2012 a total of 349 patients (17 % of all patients in the hernia clinic) were referred for one-stop hernia repair. Mean age was 47.5 years and 96.3 % were males. Three hundred thirty-six patients underwent hernia surgery on the same day (96.3 %). In thirteen patients (3.7 %) no operative repair was done on the day of presentation due to an incorrect diagnosis (n = 7), a watchful waiting policy for asymptomatic hernia (n = 3), rescheduling due to a large scrotal hernia, and there were two "no shows". Following hernia repair 97 % of the patients were discharged on the same day, while ten patients required hospitalization. Based on the questionnaires the main satisfaction score among patients was 9.0 (8.89-9.17 95 % CI) on a scale ranging from 0 to 10. One-stop hernia surgery is feasible and satisfactory from an institutional as well as from a patient's perspective.

Cellular Automata Based Modeling for Evaluating Different Bus Stop Designs in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haoyang Ding

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A cellular automaton model is proposed to simulate mixed traffic flow composed of motor vehicles and bicycles near bus stops. Three typical types of bus stops which are common in China are considered in the model, including two types of curbside bus stops and one type of bus bay stops. Passenger transport capacity of three types of bus stops, which is applied to evaluate the bus stop design, is calculated based on the corresponding traffic flow rate. According to the simulation results, the flow rates of both motor vehicles and bicycles exhibit phase transition from free flow to the saturation one at the critical point. The results also show that the larger the interaction between motor vehicle and bicycle flow is near curbside bus stops, the more the value of saturated flows drops. Curbside bus stops are more suitable when the conflicts between two flows are small and the inflow rate of motor vehicles is low. On the contrary, bus bay stops should be applied due to their ability to reduce traffic conflicts. Findings of this study can provide useful suggestions on bus stop selection considering different inflow rate of motor vehicles and bicycles simultaneously.

Simulation on effect of stopping nuclear power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yajima, Masayuki; Kumakura, Osamu; Sakurai, Norihisa; Nagata, Yutaka; Hattori, Tsuneaki

1990-01-01

The effects that the stopping of nuclear power generation exerts on the price of primary energy such as petroleum, LNG and coal and the trend of Japanese energy and economy are analyzed by using the medium term economy forecasting system. In the simulation, the case of stopping nuclear power generation in seven countries of OECD is supposed, and as for the process of stopping, two cases of immediate stopping and stopping by gradual reduction are set up. The models used for the simulation are the world energy model, the competition among energies model and the multiple category model. By the decrease of nuclear power generation, thermal power generation increases, and the demand of fossil fuel increases. As the result, the price of fossil fuel rises (the world energy model), and the price of fossil fuel imported to Japan rises. Also the quantity of fossil fuel import to Japan increase. These price rise and quantity increase exert deflation effect to Japanese economy (the multiple category model). The price rise of fossil fuel affects the competition among energies in Japan through the relative change of secondary energy price (the competition among energies model). The impact to the world and to Japan is discussed. (K.I.)

When to stop drying fruit: Insights from hygrothermal modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Defraeye, Thijs

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Partial dehydration reduces energy consumption and processing time and improves product quality. • This study gives a quantitative insight in when fruit drying should be stopped. • Decrease in dryer residence time of 2%, 24% and 70% are found for different stopping criteria. - Abstract: Stopping the drying process prior to complete dehydration reduces energy consumption and processing time but can also improve product quality. Using hygrothermal simulations, different stopping criteria are evaluated, which are based on the final water activity and residual moisture content in the fruit. Their impact on drying time and moisture redistribution kinetics inside fruit is quantified. One of the variants leads to a significant reduction in residence time in the dryer (24%), compared to full dehydration. For this variant, drying is stopped when the average moisture content in the sample reaches the value corresponding to an equilibrium water activity of 60% in the sample, as determined from the sorption isotherm. At the same time, this variant does not induce problems with fruit spoilage, as a sufficiently low water activity is reached after moisture redistribution during relaxation in the ambient environment. In addition, the relation of the drying time to the drying air temperature was quantified for all stopping criteria, as well as the impact of the humidity of the ambient environment in which the dried fruits are placed afterwards. This study gives a better quantitative insight in when fruit drying should be stopped, given specific drying conditions, without having to compromise food safety.

Stopping the unstoppable

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

How do you stop two very high energy proton beams circulating in opposite directions around a 27-kilometre ring? The answer is the beam dumps. Two tunnels, pointing in opposite directions, are being constructed at point 6 of the LHC. These will allow the beams to be directed into two large beam dumps housed at the ends of the tunnels.

Cellular Immunity State of Protein-deficient Rats with the Toxic Liver Injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O.N. Voloshchuk

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Studies on the role of immunity mechanisms in the emergence and maintenance of inflammatory and destructive processes in the liver under toxic hepatitis and nutrient deficiency are topical. The aim of research – to study the quantitative content and functional activity of leukocytes under the conditions of acetaminophen-induced hepatitis on the background of nutritional protein deficiency. The most pronounced changes in cell-mediated immunity are observed in protein-deficient animals with toxic hepatitis. The pronounced defects of both specific and non-specific cellular immunity were manifested by the leukocytosis, increase number of segmented neutrophils in blood serum against decrease their phagocytic index and phagocytic number, reduction of total lymphocyte number, and simultaneously lowering of T- and B-lymphocytes was established under the conditions of acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity on the background of protein deficiency. Installed changes indicate the defective formation of functional immunity state which can manifest by decrease the body’s ability to carry out the reaction of cellular and humoral immunity. Research results may be used for the rationale of therapeutic approaches to the elimination and correction of the consequences of immunological status disturbances under the conditions of acetaminophen-induced hepatitis, aggravated by the alimentary protein deprivation.

Non-destructive testing at Chalk River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilborn, J.W.

1976-01-01

In 1969 CRNL recognized the need for a strong group skilled in non-destructive test procedures. Within two years a new branch called Quality Control Branch was staffed and working. This branch engages in all aspects of non-destructive testing including development of new techniques, new applications of known technology, and special problems in support of operating reactors. (author)

Seismic stops for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cloud, R.L.; Leung, J.S.M.; Anderson, P.H.

1989-01-01

In the regulated world of nuclear power, the need to have analytical proof of performance in hypothetical design-basis events such as earth quakes has placed a premium on design configurations that are mathematically tractable and easily analyzed. This is particularly true for the piping design. Depending on how the piping analyses are organized and on how old the plant is, there may be from 200 to 1000 separate piping runs to be designed, analyzed, and qualified. In this situation, the development of snubbers seemed like the answer to a piping engineer's prayer. At any place where seismic support was required but thermal motion had to be accommodated, a snubber could be specified. But, as experience has now shown, the program was solved only on paper. This article presents an alternative to conventional snubbers. These new devices, termed Seismic Stops are designed to replace snubbers directly and look like snubbers on the outside. But their design is based on a completely different principle. The original concept has adapted from early seismic-resistant pipe support designs used on fossil power plants in California. The fundamental idea is to provide a space envelope in which the pipe can expand freely between the hot and cold positions, but cannot move outside the envelope. Seismic Stops are designed to transmit any possible impact load, as would occur in an earthquake, away from the pipe itself to the Seismic Stop. The Seismic Stop pipe support is shown

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

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Arun; Singh, Tiratha Raj

2013-02-23

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

Theoretical model for calculation of molecular stopping power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Y.J.

1984-01-01

A modified local plasma model based on the work of Linhard-Winther, Bethe, Brown, and Walske is established. The Gordon-Kim's molecular charged density model is employed to obtain a formula to evaluate the stopping power of many useful molecular systems. The stopping power of H 2 and He gas was calculated for incident proton energy ranging from 100 KeV to 2.5 MeV. The stopping power of O 2 , N 2 , and water vapor was also calculated for incident proton energy ranging from 40 keV to 2.5 MeV. Good agreement with experimental data was obtained. A discussion of molecular effects leading to departure from Bragg's rule is presented. The equipartition rule and the effect of nuclear momentum recoiling in stopping power are also discussed in the appendix. The calculation procedure presented hopefully can easily be extended to include the most useful organic systems such as the molecules composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen which are useful in radiation protection field

Higgs-Stoponium Mixing Near the Stop-Antistop Threshold

CERN Document Server

Bodwin, Geoffrey T; Wagner, Carlos E M

2016-01-01

Supersymmetric extensions of the standard model contain additional heavy neutral Higgs bosons that are coupled to heavy scalar top quarks (stops). This system exhibits interesting field theoretic phenomena when the Higgs mass is close to the stop-antistop production threshold. Existing work in the literature has examined the digluon-to-diphoton cross section near threshold and has focused on enhancements in the cross section that might arise either from the perturbative contributions to the Higgs-to-digluon and Higgs-to-diphoton form factors or from mixing of the Higgs boson with stoponium states. Near threshold, enhancements in the relevant amplitudes that go as inverse powers of the stop-antistop relative velocity require resummations of perturbation theory and/or nonperturbative treatments. We present a complete formulation of threshold effects at leading order in the stop-antistop relative velocity in terms of nonrelativistic effective field theory. We give detailed numerical calculations for the case in ...

Empirical analysis of the types of destructiveness of law enforcement officers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zlokazov K.V.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The variety of existing scientific concepts of the problem of personality destructiveness is shown. The character of such general conclusions does not facilitate the cognition and prediction of destructive phenomena. The author proves the necessity to develop psychological theory of destructiveness which methodologically unites well-known but separate phenomena of psychological life of an individual. The fundamental propositions of this theory are argued: destructiveness is an active behaviour; it is aimed at perceived goal and formed on the basis of need perceived by an individual. The following features of destructiveness are distinguished: individual typological, regulatory, value characteristics of personality; peculiarities of person’s attitude to significant aspects of life – to the self, society and professional activity. The author proposes his own method of destructiveness diagnostics aimed at describing destructive and constructive components of social and professional activity of a person. Diagnostics indicators are the following: typological preconditions of destructiveness; features of regulation of activity and relations; value characteristics of individuals related to destructiveness. Indicators, describing the level of personal disadaptation, are provided. Personality destructiveness indicators of 211 law enforcement officers (93 % – males, mean age – 34 were analyzed, which allowed to group and describe psychological characteristics of 4 types of destructiveness. They are: socially alienated – 31 % of respondents, socially destructive – 29 %, asocially destructive – 23 %, asocially alienated – 17 %. This typology allows to generalize psychological preconditions of destructive and constructive behaviour of law enforcement officers. The author proposes further analyzing the provisions of conception of personality destructiveness.

27 CFR 25.223 - Destruction of beer off brewery premises.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Destruction of beer off... TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS BEER Voluntary Destruction § 25.223 Destruction of beer off brewery premises. (a) Destruction without supervision. A brewer may destroy beer without...

Indirect self-destructiveness in individuals with schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konstantinos Tsirigotis

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: To explore the indirect self-destructiveness syndrome in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Two hundred individuals with paranoid schizophrenia (117 men and 83 women, mean age 37.15 years, all in remission, were examined using the Polish version of the Chronic Self-Destructiveness Scale. Two hundred well-matched healthy individuals served as a control group. Results: The intensity of indirect self-destructiveness was greater in the schizophrenia group than in controls. The intensity of each manifestation was as follows (in decreasing order: helplessness and passiveness in the face of difficulties (A5, personal and social neglects (A3, lack of planfulness (A4, poor health maintenance (A2, transgression and risk (A1. Conclusion: Patients with schizophrenia displayed more behaviors that were indirectly self-destructive than healthy controls; they scored better than healthy controls only on caring for their own health. The patients showed the lowest intensity of behaviors connected with the active form of indirect self-destructiveness, and the highest intensity of behaviors connected with the passive form. These findings may enable delivery of more effective forms of pharmacological and psychosocial help to patients with schizophrenia.

Thermal and mechanical high-intensity focused ultrasound: perspectives on tumor ablation, immune effects and combination strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

van den Bijgaart, Renske J E; Eikelenboom, Dylan C; Hoogenboom, Martijn; Fütterer, Jurgen J; den Brok, Martijn H; Adema, Gosse J

2017-02-01

Tumor ablation technologies, such as radiofrequency-, cryo- or high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation will destroy tumor tissue in a minimally invasive manner. Ablation generates large volumes of tumor debris in situ, releasing multiple bio-molecules like tumor antigens and damage-associated molecular patterns. To initiate an adaptive antitumor immune response, antigen-presenting cells need to take up tumor antigens and, following activation, present them to immune effector cells. The impact of the type of tumor ablation on the precise nature, availability and suitability of the tumor debris for immune response induction, however, is poorly understood. In this review, we focus on immune effects after HIFU-mediated ablation and compare these to findings using other ablation technologies. HIFU can be used both for thermal and mechanical destruction of tissue, inducing coagulative necrosis or subcellular fragmentation, respectively. Preclinical and clinical results of HIFU tumor ablation show increased infiltration and activation of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. As previously observed for other types of tumor ablation technologies, however, this ablation-induced enhanced infiltration alone appears insufficient to generate consistent protective antitumor immunity. Therapies combining ablation with immune stimulation are therefore expected to be key to boost HIFU-induced immune effects and to achieve systemic, long-lasting, antitumor immunity.

The good, the (not so) bad and the ugly of immune homeostasis in melanoma.

Science.gov (United States)

da Gama Duarte, Jessica; Woods, Katherine; Andrews, Miles C; Behren, Andreas

2018-02-02

Within the immune system multiple mechanisms balance the need for efficient pathogen recognition and destruction with the prevention of tissue damage by excessive, inappropriate or even self-targeting (auto)immune reactions. This immune homeostasis is a tightly regulated system which fails during tumor development, often due to the hijacking of its essential self-regulatory mechanisms by cancer cells. It is facilitated not only by tumor intrinsic properties, but also by the microbiome, host genetics and other factors. In certain ways many cancers can therefore be considered a rare failure of immune control rather than an uncommon or rare disease of the tissue of origin, as the acquisition of potentially oncogenic traits through mutation occurs constantly in most tissues during proliferation. Normally, aberrant cells are well-controlled by cell intrinsic (repair or apoptosis) and extrinsic (immune) mechanisms. However, occasionally oncogenic cells survive and escape control. Melanoma is one of the first cancer types where treatments aimed at restoring and enhancing an immune response to regain control over the tumor have been used with various success rates. With the advent of "modern" immunotherapeutics such as anti-CTLA-4 or anti-PD-1 antibodies that both target negative immune-regulatory pathways on immune cells resulting in durable responses in a proportion of patients, the importance of the interplay between the immune system and cancer has been established beyond doubt. © 2017 Australasian Society for Immunology Inc.

B cells as a target of immune modulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hawker Kathleen

2009-01-01

Full Text Available B cells have recently been identified as an integral component of the immune system; they play a part in autoimmunity through antigen presentation, antibody secretion, and complement activation. Animal models of multiple sclerosis (MS suggest that myelin destruction is partly mediated through B cell activation (and plasmablasts. MS patients with evidence of B cell involvement, as compared to those without, tend to have a worse prognosis. Finally, the significant decrease in new gadolinium-enhancing lesions, new T2 lesions, and relapses in MS patients treated with rituximab (a monoclonal antibody against CD20 on B cells leads us to the conclusion that B cells play an important role in MS and that immune modulation of these cells may ameliorate the disease. This article will explore the role of B cells in MS and the rationale for the development of B cell-targeted therapeutics. MS is an immune-mediated disease that affects over 2 million people worldwide and is the number one cause of disability in young patients. Most therapeutic targets have focused on T cells; however, recently, the focus has shifted to the role of B cells in the pathogenesis of MS and the potential of B cells as a therapeutic target.

Stopping time of a one-dimensional bounded quantum walk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo Hao; Zhang Peng; Zhan Xiang; Xue Peng

2016-01-01

The stopping time of a one-dimensional bounded classical random walk (RW) is defined as the number of steps taken by a random walker to arrive at a fixed boundary for the first time. A quantum walk (QW) is a non-trivial generalization of RW, and has attracted a great deal of interest from researchers working in quantum physics and quantum information. In this paper, we develop a method to calculate the stopping time for a one-dimensional QW. Using our method, we further compare the properties of stopping time for QW and RW. We find that the mean value of the stopping time is the same for both of these problems. However, for short times, the probability for a walker performing a QW to arrive at the boundary is larger than that for a RW. This means that, although the mean stopping time of a quantum and classical walker are the same, the quantum walker has a greater probability of arriving at the boundary earlier than the classical walker. (paper)

Control of trunk motion following sudden stop perturbations during cart pushing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yun-Ju; Hoozemans, Marco J M; van Dieën, Jaap H

2011-01-04

External perturbations during pushing tasks have been suggested to be a risk factor for low-back symptoms. An experiment was designed to investigate whether self-induced and externally induced sudden stops while pushing a high inertia cart influence trunk motions, and how flexor and extensor muscles counteract these perturbations. Twelve healthy male participants pushed a 200 kg cart at shoulder height and hip height. Pushing while walking was compared to situations in which participants had to stop the cart suddenly (self-induced stop) or in which the wheels of the cart were unexpectedly blocked (externally induced stop). For the perturbed conditions, the peak values and the maximum changes from the reference condition (pushing while walking) of the external moment at L5/S1, trunk inclination and electromyographic amplitudes of trunk muscles were determined. In the self-induced stop, a voluntary trunk extension occurred. Initial responses in both stops consisted of flexor and extensor muscle cocontraction. In self-induced stops this was followed by sustained extensor activity. In the externally induced stops, an external extension moment caused a decrease in trunk inclination. The opposite directions of the internal moment and trunk motion in the externally induced stop while pushing at shoulder height may indicate insufficient active control of trunk posture. Consequently, sudden blocking of the wheels in pushing at shoulder height may put the low back at risk of mechanical injury. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Why do People Stop Playing On-Line Games?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sudzina, Frantisek; Razmerita, Liana

2012-01-01

The recent initial public offering of shares of Zynga, probably the most important on-line game provider, drew interest of potential investors but also of general public to their business model. What the most interested people learned so far is that if Zynga had not changed their accounting...... practice, they would be in red numbers for several months already. This is most likely caused by people stopping to play their games. This paper provides an estimate of what proportion of people, who played on-line games, already stopped playing them. Additionally, it analyzed the reasons why people...... stopped playing on-line games. It also compares Facebook and other on-line games....

ELectron stopping of heavy ions in a matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhiezer, I.A.; Davydov, L.N.

1978-01-01

The theory of heavy ion stopping by electrons in solids is analyzed with an aim to establish which physical mechanisms are of importance at different ion velocity values v. The theory is presented for deep inelastic collisions taking the main part in stopping at v > Zsub(1)sup(1/3) v 0 (z 1 is the atomic number of the ion, v 0 is the Bohr velocity). Elastic scattering (relative to the incident ion) are investigated. It is shown that the contribution from these processes to the stopping cross-section is predominant at Zsub(1)sup(1/3) v 0 > v > Zsub(1)sup(2/3) v 0

The stability of locus equation slopes across stop consonant voicing/aspiration

Science.gov (United States)

Sussman, Harvey M.; Modarresi, Golnaz

2004-05-01

The consistency of locus equation slopes as phonetic descriptors of stop place in CV sequences across voiced and voiceless aspirated stops was explored in the speech of five male speakers of American English and two male speakers of Persian. Using traditional locus equation measurement sites for F2 onsets, voiceless labial and coronal stops had significantly lower locus equation slopes relative to their voiced counterparts, whereas velars failed to show voicing differences. When locus equations were derived using F2 onsets for voiced stops that were measured closer to the stop release burst, comparable to the protocol for measuring voiceless aspirated stops, no significant effects of voicing/aspiration on locus equation slopes were observed. This methodological factor, rather than an underlying phonetic-based explanation, provides a reasonable account for the observed flatter locus equation slopes of voiceless labial and coronal stops relative to voiced cognates reported in previous studies [Molis et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 95, 2925 (1994); O. Engstrand and B. Lindblom, PHONUM 4, 101-104]. [Work supported by NIH.

The destruction of organic matter

CERN Document Server

Gorsuch, T T

1970-01-01

International Series of Monographs in Analytical Chemistry, Volume 39: The Destruction of Organic Matter focuses on the identification of trace elements in organic compounds. The monograph first offers information on the processes involved in the determination of trace elements in organic matters, as well as the methods not involving complete destruction of these elements. The text surveys the sources of errors in the processes responsible in pinpointing elements in organic compounds. These processes include sampling, disruption of the samples, manipulation, and measurements. The book

Running the Stop Sign: Readthrough of a Premature UAG Termination Signal in the Translation of a Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Taurine Biosynthetic Enzyme.

Science.gov (United States)

Larkin, Mary E M; Place, Allen R

2017-06-03

The UAG termination codon is generally recognized as the least efficient and least frequently used of the three universal stop codons. This is substantiated by numerous studies in an array of organisms. We present here evidence of a translational readthrough of a mutant nonsense UAG codon in the transcript from the cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase ( csad ) gene (ENSDARG00000026348) in zebrafish. The csad gene encodes the terminal enzyme in the taurine biosynthetic pathway. Taurine is a critical amino acid for all animals, playing several essential roles throughout the body, including modulation of the immune system. The sa9430 zebrafish strain (ZDB-ALT-130411-5055) has a point mutation leading to a premature stop codon (UAG) 20 amino acids 5' of the normal stop codon, UGA. Data from immunoblotting, enzyme activity assays, and mass spectrometry provide evidence that the mutant is making a CSAD protein identical to that of the wild-type (XP_009295318.1) in terms of size, activity, and amino acid sequence. UAG readthrough has been described in several species, but this is the first presentation of a case in fish. Also presented are the first data substantiating the ability of a fish CSAD to utilize cysteic acid, an alternative to the standard substrate cysteine sulfinic acid, to produce taurine.

Help Stop the Flu | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

Science.gov (United States)

... page please turn Javascript on. Feature: Flu Shot Help Stop the Flu Past Issues / Winter 2011 Table ... CDC recommends that Americans do the following to help stop the flu: Cover nose and mouth with ...

Lactoferrin: A Modulator for Immunity against Tuberculosis Related Granulomatous Pathology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey K. Actor

2015-01-01

Full Text Available There is great need for a therapeutic that would limit tuberculosis related pathology and thus curtail spread of disease between individuals by establishing a “firebreak” to slow transmission. A promising avenue to increase current therapeutic efficacy may be through incorporation of adjunct components that slow or stop development of aggressive destructive pulmonary pathology. Lactoferrin, an iron-binding glycoprotein found in mucosal secretions and granules of neutrophils, is just such a potential adjunct therapeutic agent. The focus of this review is to explore the utility of lactoferrin to serve as a therapeutic tool to investigate “disruption” of the mycobacterial granuloma. Proposed concepts for mechanisms underlying lactoferrin efficacy to control immunopathology are supported by data generated based on in vivo models using nonpathogenic trehalose 6,6′-dimycolate (TDM, cord factor.

Destruction as a Step in Heidegger\\'s Phenomenology

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M.J Safian

2014-09-01

Full Text Available One of the most controversial issues in Heidegger’s philosophy is his claim that western philosophy tradition has overlooked the issue of Being. Heidegger’s attempt is to reveal the origins of this negligence by means of destruction. However, it seems that through such claim Heidegger aims to destroy and disvalue this tradition. In addition to defining and explaining destruction, our purpose in this article is to show that Heidegger’s goal is not to destroy the tradition of philosophy but the term destruction refers to a process which is a step in Heidegger’s phenomenology by means of which one can conceive and perceive Being better because only through such destruction ontology can fully assure itself in a phenomenological way of the genuine character of its concepts. The necessity of doing destruction in Heidegger’s thought has also been discussed and his persistence on it has been shown in two of his works, one belongs to early and another to later Heidegger.

Epidemic spreading and immunization strategy in multiplex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez Zuzek, Lucila G.; Buono, Camila; Braunstein, Lidia A.

2015-09-01

A more connected world has brought major consequences such as facilitate the spread of diseases all over the world to quickly become epidemics, reason why researchers are concentrated in modeling the propagation of epidemics and outbreaks in multilayer networks. In this networks all nodes interact in different layers with different type of links. However, in many scenarios such as in the society, a multiplex network framework is not completely suitable since not all individuals participate in all layers. In this paper, we use a partially overlapped, multiplex network where only a fraction of the individuals are shared by the layers. We develop a mitigation strategy for stopping a disease propagation, considering the Susceptible-Infected- Recover model, in a system consisted by two layers. We consider a random immunization in one of the layers and study the effect of the overlapping fraction in both, the propagation of the disease and the immunization strategy. Using branching theory, we study this scenario theoretically and via simulations and find a lower epidemic threshold than in the case without strategy.

The extent of the stop coannihilation strip

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ellis, John [King' s College London, Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology Group, Department of Physics, London (United Kingdom); CERN, Theory Division, Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Olive, Keith A. [University of Minnesota, School of Physics and Astronomy, Minneapolis, MN (United States); University of Minnesota, William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, Minneapolis, MN (United States); Zheng, Jiaming [University of Minnesota, School of Physics and Astronomy, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

2014-07-15

Many supersymmetric models such as the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (CMSSM) feature a strip in parameter space where the lightest neutralino χ is identified as the lightest supersymmetric particle, the lighter stop squark t{sub 1} is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP), and the relic χ cold darkmatter density is brought into the range allowed by astrophysics and cosmology by coannihilation with the lighter stop squark t{sub 1} NLSP. We calculate the stop coannihilation strip in the CMSSM, incorporating Sommerfeld enhancement effects, and we explore the relevant phenomenological constraints and phenomenological signatures. In particular, we show that the t{sub 1} may weigh several TeV, and its lifetime may be in the nanosecond range, features that are more general than the specific CMSSM scenarios that we study in this paper. (orig.)

Aesthetics of destruction in contemporary science fiction cinema

OpenAIRE

Warton, John Phillips

2015-01-01

Mass destruction imagery within the science fiction film genre is not a new cinematic development. However, a swell of destruction-centred films has emerged since the proliferation of digital technologies and computer-generated imagery that reflect concerns that extend beyond notions of spectacle. Through illusionistic realism techniques, the aesthetics of mass destruction imagery within science fiction cinema can be seen as appropriating the implied veracity of other film trad...

GMSB with Light Stops

CERN Document Server

Delgado, Antonio; Quiros, Mariano

2015-01-01

Gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking (GMSB) is an elegant mechanism to transmit supersymmetry breaking from the hidden to the MSSM observable sector, which solves the supersymmetric flavor problem. However the smallness of the generated stop mixing requires superheavy stops to reproduce the experimental value of the Higgs mass. Two possible ways out are: i) To extend GMSB by direct superpotential messenger-MSSM Yukawa couplings to generate sizeable mixing, thus reintroducing the flavor problem; ii) To extend the MSSM Higgs sector with singlets and/or triplets providing extra tree-level corrections to the Higgs mass. Singlets will not get any soft mass from GMSB and triplets will contribute to the $\\rho$ parameter which could be an issue. In this paper we explore the second way by introducing extra supersymmetric triplets with hypercharges $Y=(0,\\pm 1)$, with a tree-level custodial $SU(2)_L\\otimes SU(2)_R$ global symmetry in the Higgs sector protecting the $\\rho$ parameter: a supersymmetric generalization of ...

Destructive electronics from electrochemical-mechanically triggered chemical dissolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sim, Kyoseung; Wang, Xu; Yu, Cunjiang; Li, Yuhang; Linghu, Changhong; Song, Jizhou; Gao, Yang

2017-01-01

The considerable need to enhance data and hardware security suggest one possible future for electronics where it is possible to destroy them and even make them disappear physically. This paper reports a type of destructive electronics which features fast transience from chemical dissolution on-demand triggered in an electrochemical-mechanical manner. The detailed materials, mechanics, and device construction of the destructive electronics are presented. Experiment and analysis of the triggered releasing and transience study of electronic materials, resistors and metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors illustrate the key aspects of the destructive electronics. The reported destructive electronics is useful in a wide range of areas from security and defense, to medical applications (paper)

Motor Preparation Disrupts Proactive Control in the Stop Signal Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wuyi Wang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In a study of the stop signal task (SST we employed Bayesian modeling to compute the estimated likelihood of stop signal or P(Stop trial by trial and identified regional processes of conflict anticipation and response slowing. A higher P(Stop is associated with prolonged go trial reaction time (goRT—a form of sequential effect—and reflects proactive control of motor response. However, some individuals do not demonstrate a sequential effect despite similar go and stop success (SS rates. We posited that motor preparation may disrupt proactive control more in certain individuals than others. Specifically, the time interval between trial and go signal onset—the fore-period (FP—varies across trials and a longer FP is associated with a higher level of motor preparation and shorter goRT. Greater motor preparatory activities may disrupt proactive control. To test this hypothesis, we compared brain activations and Granger causal connectivities of 81 adults who demonstrated a sequential effect (SEQ and 35 who did not (nSEQ. SEQ and nSEQ did not differ in regional activations to conflict anticipation, motor preparation, goRT slowing or goRT speeding. In contrast, SEQ and nSEQ demonstrated different patterns of Granger causal connectivities. P(Stop and FP activations shared reciprocal influence in SEQ but FP activities Granger caused P(Stop activities unidirectionally in nSEQ, and FP activities Granger caused goRT speeding activities in nSEQ but not SEQ. These findings support the hypothesis that motor preparation disrupts proactive control in nSEQ and provide direct neural evidence for interactive go and stop processes.

Ab initio electronic stopping power in materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shukri, Abdullah-Atef

2015-01-01

The average energy loss of an ion per unit path length when it is moving through the matter is named the stopping power. The knowledge of the stopping power is essential for a variety of contemporary applications which depend on the transport of ions in matter, especially ion beam analysis techniques and ion implantation. Most noticeably, the use of proton or heavier ion beams in radiotherapy requires the knowledge of the stopping power. Whereas experimental data are readily available for elemental solids, the data are much more scarce for compounds. The linear response dielectric formalism has been widely used in the past to study the electronic stopping power. In particular, the famous pioneering calculations due to Lindhard evaluate the electronic stopping power of a free electron gas. In this thesis, we develop a fully ab initio scheme based on linear response time-dependent density functional theory to predict the impact parameter averaged quantity named the random electronic stopping power (RESP) of materials without any empirical fitting. The purpose is to be capable of predicting the outcome of experiments without any knowledge of target material besides its crystallographic structure. Our developments have been done within the open source ab initio code named ABINIT, where two approximations are now available: the Random-Phase Approximation (RPA) and the Adiabatic Local Density Approximation (ALDA). Furthermore, a new method named 'extrapolation scheme' have been introduced to overcome the stringent convergence issues we have encountered. These convergence issues have prevented the previous studies in literature from offering a direct comparison to experiment. First of all, we demonstrate the importance of describing the realistic ab initio electronic structure by comparing with the historical Lindhard stopping power evaluation. Whereas the Lindhard stopping power provides a first order description that captures the general features of the

Non-destructive testing. V. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farley, J.M.; Nichols, R.W.

1988-01-01

The book entitled 'Non-destructive Testing' Volume 2, contains the proceedings of the fourth European Conference, organized by the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing and held in London, September 1987. The volume contains seven chapters which examine the reliability of NDT, the economics of NDT and the use of NDT in:- civil engineering; oil, gas, coal and petrochemical industries; iron and steel industries; aerospace industry; and the nuclear and electricity supply industries. The seven chapters contain 78 papers, of which 19 are selected for INIS and indexed separately. (U.K.)

SUSY Higgs at the LHC large stop mixing effects and associated production

CERN Document Server

Bélanger, G; Sridhar, K

2000-01-01

We revisit the effect of the large stop mixing on the decay and production of the lightest SUSY Higgs at the LHC. We stress that whenever the inclusive 2-photon signature is substantially reduced, associated production, $Wh$ and $t\\bar t h$, with the subsequent decay of the Higgs into photons is enhanced and becomes an even more important discovery channel. We also point out that these reductions in the inclusive channel do not occur for the smallest Higgs mass where the significance is known to be lowest. We show that in such scenarios the Higgs can be produced in the decay of the heaviest stop. For not too heavy masses of the pseudo-scalar Higgs where the inclusive channel is even further reduced, we show that large stop mixing also allows the production of the pseudo-scalar Higgs through stop decays. These large mixing scenarios therefore offer much better prospects than previously thought. As a by-product we have recalculated stop1-stop1-h production at the LHC and give a first evaluation of stop1-stop1-Z...

The IAEA stopping power database, following the trends in stopping power of ions in matter

Science.gov (United States)

Montanari, C. C.; Dimitriou, P.

2017-10-01

The aim of this work is to present an overview of the state of art of the energy loss of ions in matter, based on the new developments in the stopping power database of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This exhaustive collection of experimental data, graphs, programs and comparisons, is the legacy of Helmut Paul, who made it accessible to the global scientific community, and has been extensively employed in theoretical and experimental research during the last 25 years. The field of stopping power in matter is evolving, with new trends in materials of interest, including oxides, nitrides, polymers, and biological targets. Our goal is to identify areas of interest and emerging data needs to meet the requirements of a continuously developing user community.

Ball Screw Actuator Including an Axial Soft Stop

Science.gov (United States)

Wingett, Paul T. (Inventor); Forrest, Steven Talbert (Inventor); Abel, Steve (Inventor); Woessner, George (Inventor); Hanlon, Casey (Inventor)

2016-01-01

An actuator includes an actuator housing, a ball screw, and an axial soft stop assembly. The ball screw extends through the actuator housing and has a first end and a second end. The ball screw is coupled to receive a drive force and is configured, upon receipt of the drive force, to selectively move in a retract direction and an extend direction. The axial soft stop assembly is disposed within the actuator housing. The axial soft stop assembly is configured to be selectively engaged by the ball screw and, upon being engaged thereby, to translate, with compliance, a predetermined distance in the extend direction, and to prevent further movement of the ball screw upon translating the predetermined distance.

GMSB with light stops

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Delgado, Antonio [Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame,225 Nieuwland Science Hall, IN 46556, Notre Dame (United States); Theory Division, Physics Department CERN,CH-1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Garcia-Pepin, Mateo [Institut de Física d’Altes Energies, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain); Quiros, Mariano [ICREA at Institut de Física d’Altes Energies, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain)

2015-08-31

Gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking (GMSB) is an elegant mechanism to transmit supersymmetry breaking from the hidden to the MSSM observable sector, which solves the supersymmetric flavor problem. However, the smallness of the generated stop mixing requires superheavy stops to reproduce the experimental value of the Higgs mass. A possible way out is to extend the MSSM Higgs sector with singlets and/or triplets providing extra tree-level corrections to the Higgs mass. Singlets will not get any soft mass from GMSB and triplets will contribute to the ρ parameter which could be an issue. In this paper we explore the second possibility by introducing extra supersymmetric triplets with hypercharges Y=(0,±1), with a tree-level custodial SU(2){sub L}⊗SU(2){sub R} global symmetry in the Higgs sector protecting the ρ parameter: a supersymmetric generalization of the Georgi-Machacek model, dubbed as supersymmetric custodial triplet model (SCTM). The renormalization group running from the messenger to the electroweak scale mildly breaks the custodial symmetry. We will present realistic low-scale scenarios (with the NLSP being a Bino-like neutralino or the right-handed stau) based on general (non-minimal) gauge mediation and consistent with all present experimental data. Their main features are: i) Light (∼1 TeV) stops; ii) Exotic couplings (H{sup ±}W{sup ∓}Z and H{sup ±±}W{sup ∓}W{sup ∓}) absent in the MSSM and proportional to the triplets VEV, v{sub Δ}; and, iii) A possible (measurable) universality breaking of the Higgs couplings λ{sub WZ}=r{sub WW}/r{sub ZZ}≠1.

Exploring the nearly degenerate stop region with sbottom decays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An, Haipeng [Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology,1200 E. California Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 91125 (United States); Gu, Jiayin [Center for Future High Energy Physics, Institute of High Energy Physics,19B YuquanLu, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 (China); DESY,Notkestraße 85, Hamburg, D-22607 (Germany); Wang, Lian-Tao [Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago,5640 S Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL, 60637 (United States); Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago,5640 S Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL, 60637 (United States)

2017-04-13

A light stop with mass almost degenerate with the lightest neutralino has important connections with both naturalness and dark matter relic abundance. This region is also very hard to probe at colliders. In this paper, we demonstrate the potential of searching for such stop particles at the LHC from sbottom decays, focusing on two channels with final states 2ℓ+E{sub T}{sup miss} and 1b1ℓ+E{sub T}{sup miss}. We found that, if the lightest sbottom has mass around or below 1 TeV and has a significant branching ratio to decay to stop and W (b̃→t̃ W), a stop almost degenerate with neutralino can be excluded up to about 500–600 GeV at the 13 TeV LHC with 300 fb{sup −1} data. The searches we propose are complementary to other SUSY searches at the LHC and could have the best sensitivity to the stop-bino coannihilation region. Since they involve final states which have already been used in LHC searches, a reinterpretation of the search results already has sensitivity. Further optimization could deliver the full potential of these channels.

Exploring the nearly degenerate stop region with sbottom decays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An, Haipeng [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States). Walter Burke Inst. for Theoretical Physics; Gu, Jiayin [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China). Inst. of High Energy Physics; Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Wang, Lian-Tao [Chicago Univ., IL (United States). Enrico Fermi Inst.; Chicago Univ., IL (United States). Kavli Inst. for Cosmological Physics

2016-11-15

A light stop with mass almost degenerate with the lightest neutralino has important connections with both naturalness and dark matter relic abundance. This region is also very hard to probe at colliders. In this paper, we demonstrate the potential of searching for such stop particles at the LHC from sbottom decays, focusing on two channels with final states 2l+E{sup miss}{sub T} and 1b1l+E{sup miss}{sub T}. We found that, if the lightest sbottom has mass around or below 1 TeV and has a significant branching ratio to decay to stop and W (b→tW), a stop almost degenerate with neutralino can be excluded up to about 500-600 GeV at the 13 TeV LHC with 300 fb{sup -1} data. The searches we propose are complementary to other SUSY searches at the LHC and could have the best sensitivity to the stop-bino coannihilation region. Since they involve final states which have already been used in LHC searches, a reinterpretation of the search results already has sensitivity. Further optimization could deliver the full potential of these channels.

A Phonemic and Acoustic Analysis of Hindko Oral Stops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haroon Ur RASHID

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Hindko is an Indo-Aryan language that is mainly spoken in Khyber Pukhtoonkhaw province of Pakistan. This work aims to identify the oral stops of Hindko and determine the intrinsic acoustic cues for them. The phonemic analysis is done with the help of minimal pairs and phoneme distribution in contrastive environments which reveals that Hindko has twelve oral stops with three way series. The acoustic analysis of these segments shows that intrinsically voice onset time (VOT, closure duration and burst are reliable and distinguishing cues of stops in Hindko.

49 CFR 37.201 - Intermediate and rest stops.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... wheelchair, shall be permitted to leave and return to the bus on the same basis as other passengers. The... passenger to get on and off the bus at the stop (e.g., operate the lift and provide assistance with... DISABILITIES (ADA) Over-the-Road Buses (OTRBs) § 37.201 Intermediate and rest stops. (a) Whenever an OTRB makes...

Physiological and pathophysiological bone turnover - role of the immune system.

Science.gov (United States)

Weitzmann, M Neale; Ofotokun, Ighovwerha

2016-09-01

Osteoporosis develops when the rate of osteoclastic bone breakdown (resorption) exceeds that of osteoblastic bone formation, which leads to loss of BMD and deterioration of bone structure and strength. Osteoporosis increases the risk of fragility fractures, a cause of substantial morbidity and mortality, especially in elderly patients. This imbalance between bone formation and bone resorption is brought about by natural ageing processes, but is frequently exacerbated by a number of pathological conditions. Of importance to the aetiology of osteoporosis are findings over the past two decades attesting to a deep integration of the skeletal system with the immune system (the immuno-skeletal interface (ISI)). Although protective of the skeleton under physiological conditions, the ISI might contribute to bone destruction in a growing number of pathophysiological states. Although numerous research groups have investigated how the immune system affects basal and pathological osteoclastic bone resorption, recent findings suggest that the reach of the adaptive immune response extends to the regulation of osteoblastic bone formation. This Review examines the evolution of the field of osteoimmunology and how advances in our understanding of the ISI might lead to novel approaches to prevent and treat bone loss, and avert fractures.

STUDY OF IMMUNITY TO POLIOVIRUSES ON CERTAIN "SILENT" TERRITORIES OF RUSSIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. I. Romanenkova

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract. The degree of immunity to polioviruses of three serotypes among children of different ages was analysed on certain "controlled" and "silent" territories of Russia in different periods of Polio Eradication Initiative. It was shown that the levels of immunity of children’s population to polioviruses on "controlled" and "silent" territories had no significant difference. It was stated that on the phase which preceded the certification for the absence of circulation of wild polioviruses, when the National Immunisation Days were conducted in the country, the percentage of eronegative children to polioviruses of different serotypes was low on all the territories of Russia. After Russia as a part of the WHO European region was certified as a polio free country and mass immunisation was stopped thepercentage of seronegative children increased, especially to poliovirus of serotype 3, both on the "controlled" and on the "silent" territories.

49 CFR 236.335 - Dogs, stops and trunnions of mechanical locking.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Dogs, stops and trunnions of mechanical locking..., AND APPLIANCES Interlocking Rules and Instructions § 236.335 Dogs, stops and trunnions of mechanical locking. Driving pieces, dogs, stops and trunnions shall be rigidly secured to locking bars. Swing dogs...

Responding to Destructive Interpersonal Interactions: A way forward ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Responding to Destructive Interpersonal Interactions: A way forward for ... cultural intolerance and other destructive interpersonal interactions and relationships clearly ... This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Guidebook on destructive examination of water reactor fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

As a result of common efforts of fuel vendors, utilities and research institutes the average burnup pf design batch fuels was increased for both PWRs and BWRs and the fuel failure rate has been reduced. The previously published Guidebook on Non-Destructive Examination of Water Reactor Fuel recommended that more detailed destructive techniques are required for complete understanding of fuel performance. On the basis of contributions of the 14 participants in the ED-WARF-II CRP and proceedings of IAEA Technical Committee on Recent Developments in Post-irradiation Examination Techniques for Water Reactor Fuel this guidebook was compiled. It gives a complete survey of destructive techniques available to date worldwide. The following examination techniques are described in detailed including major principles of equipment design: microstructural studies; elemental analysis; isotopic analysis; measurement of physical properties; measurement of mechanical properties. Besides the examination techniques, methods for refabrication of experimental rods from high burnup power reactor rods as well as methods for verification of non-destructive techniques by using destructive techniques is included

Osteoclast inhibition impairs chondrosarcoma growth and bone destruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Otero, Jesse E; Stevens, Jeff W; Malandra, Allison E; Fredericks, Douglas C; Odgren, Paul R; Buckwalter, Joseph A; Morcuende, Jose

2014-12-01

Because Chondrosarcoma is resistant to available chemotherapy and radiation regimens, wide resection is the mainstay in treatment, which frequently results in high morbidity and which may not prevent local recurrence. There is a clear need for improved adjuvant treatment of this malignancy. We have observed the presence of osteoclasts in the microenvironment of chondrosarcoma in human pathological specimens. We utilized the Swarm rat chondrosarcoma (SRC) model to test the hypothesis that osteoclasts affect chondrosarcoma pathogenesis. We implanted SRC tumors in tibia of Sprague-Dawley rats and analyzed bone histologically and radiographically for bone destruction and tumor growth. At three weeks, tumors invaded local bone causing cortical disruption and trabecular resorption. Bone destruction was accompanied by increased osteoclast number and resorbed bone surface. Treatment of rats with the zoledronic acid prevented cortical destruction, inhibited trabecular resorption, and resulted in decreased tumor volume in bone. To confirm that inhibition of osteoclasts per se, and not off-target effects of drug, was responsible for the prevention of tumor growth and bone destruction, we implanted SRC into osteopetrotic rat tibia. SRC-induced bone destruction and tumor growth were impaired in osteopetrotic bone compared with control bone. The results from our animal model demonstrate that osteoclasts contribute to chondrosarcoma-mediated bone destruction and tumor growth and may represent a therapeutic target in particular chondrosarcoma patients. © 2014 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Destruction of high explosives and wastes containing high explosives using the molten salt destruction process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Upadhye, R.S.; Brummond, W.A.; Pruneda, C.O.

1992-01-01

This paper reports the Molten Salt Destruction (MSD) Process which has been demonstrated for the destruction of HE and HE-containing wastes. MSD has been used by Rockwell International and by Anti-Pollution Systems to destroy hazardous wastes. MSD converts the organic constituents (including the HE) of the waste into non-hazardous substances such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water. In the case of HE-containing mixed wastes, any actinides in the waste are retained in the molten salt, thus converting the mixed wastes into low-level wastes. (Even though the MSD process is applicable to mixed wastes, this paper will emphasize HE-treatment.) The destruction of HE is accomplished by introducing it, together with oxidant gases, into a crucible containing a molten salt, such as sodium carbonate, or a suitable mixture of the carbonates of sodium, potassium, lithium and calcium. The temperature of the molten salt can be between 400 to 900 degrees C. The combustible organic components of the waste react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, nitrogen and steam

Corrections to di-Higgs boson production with light stops and modified Higgs couplings

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Peisi; Joglekar, Aniket; Li, Min; Wagner, Carlos E. M.

2018-04-01

The Higgs pair production in gluon fusion is a sensitive probe of beyond-standard model (BSM) phenomena and its detection is a major goal for the LHC and higher energy hadron collider experiments. In this work we reanalyze the possible modifications of the Higgs pair production cross section within low energy supersymmetry models. We show that the supersymmetric contributions to the Higgs pair production cross section are strongly correlated with the ones of the single Higgs production in the gluon fusion channel. Motivated by the analysis of ATLAS and CMS Higgs production data, we show that the scalar superpartners' contributions may lead to significant modification of the di-Higgs production rate and invariant mass distribution with respect to the SM predictions. We also analyze the combined effects on the di-Higgs production rate of a modification of the Higgs trilinear and top-quark Yukawa couplings in the presence of light stops. In particular, we show that due to the destructive interference of the triangle and box amplitude contributions to the di-Higgs production cross section, even a small modification of the top-quark Yukawa coupling can lead to a significant increase of the di-Higgs production rate.

Postradiation destruction of dextran in solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bondarenko, N.T.; Sharpatyj, V.A.

1989-01-01

Methods of pH-metry, UV absorption and ESR spectroscopy were used to study the oxidation destruction of dextran solutions, stored in the air after gamma irradiation ( 60 Co) bydoses of up to 200 kGy. It is shown that polymer destruction under mentioned conditions is initiated by hydroperoxide decomposition with successive radical transformation into peroxides. Experimentally observed periodical change of acidity of irradiated dextran solutions is also explained by transformations of peroxy radicals

Who stops selling? A systematic analysis of ex-tobacco retailers.

Science.gov (United States)

Feletto, Eleonora; Burton, Suzan; Williams, Kelly; Fry, Rae; Sutton, Clare; Bagus, Lachlan; Egger, Sam

2016-03-09

There is evidence that wide distribution of cigarettes contributes to smoking, and multiple commentators have called for a review of tobacco retailing. This study analyses retailers who stop selling cigarettes, why they do so, and discusses the implications for tobacco control. An audit of tobacco retailers in the Australian state of NSW was used to identify retailers who had stopped selling tobacco, and they were then compared with current retailers to determine how many, and what types of outlets stop selling tobacco. Attempts were made to contact and interview all former tobacco retailers identified in three audited regions. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 ex-tobacco retailers, or 31% of the subset of ex-tobacco retailers. Low-volume outlet types were over-represented as a proportion of retailers exiting the market, and some had resumed selling within 18 months of the audit. Low profits were often cited as a contributor to stopping; however, in all but one case, the decision to stop selling was also influenced by a significant change in business circumstances-either legislative or other business changes. Few retailers stop selling tobacco while continuing in the same business, and those who stop disproportionately represent retailer types with low sales volume. The results suggest that legislative changes provide a window where retailers could be prompted to exit the market. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Fricative-stop coarticulation: acoustic and perceptual evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Repp, B H; Mann, V A

1982-06-01

Eight native speakers of American English each produced ten tokens of all possible CV, FCV, and VFCV utterances with V = [a] or [u], F = [s] or [integral of], and C = [t] or [k]. Acoustic analysis showed that the formant transition onsets following the stop consonant release were systematically influenced by the preceding fricative, although there were large individual differences. In particular, F3 and F4 tended to be higher following [s] than following [integral of]. The coarticulatory effects were equally large in FCV (e.g.,/sta/) and VFCV (e.g.,/asda/) utterances; that is, they were not reduced when a syllable boundary intervened between fricative and stop. In a parallel perceptual study, the CV portions of these utterances (with release bursts removed to provoke errors) were presented to listeners for identification of the stop consonant. The pattern of place-of-articulation confusions, too, revealed coarticulatory effects due to the excised fricative context.

Stopping and energy deposition of hadrons in target nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strugalski, Z.

1983-01-01

In an analysis of pion-xenon nucleus collisions at 2.34-9 GeV/c momentum events are identified in which incident pions were completely stopped and deposited their energy in target nucleus. Probability of appearance of such ''stopped'' events among any-type pion-xenon collision events depends on the incident pion momentum and is: approximately 0.15 at 2.34 GeV/c, approximately 0.02 at 3.5 GeV/c, and approximately 0 at higher momenta. Formula expressing probability of appearance of the ''stopped'' events is derived. Range-energy relation in nuclear matter for pions and protons is given

IMPACTS OF BUS STOP IMPROVEMENTS

Science.gov (United States)

2018-03-23

Improving bus stops by providing shelters, seating, signage, and sidewalks is relatively inexpensive and popular among riders and local officials. Making such improvements, however, is not often a priority for U.S. transit providers because of compet...

Status report on the destructive and non-destructive examinations of U-bends removed from Trojan steam generator D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aspden, R.G.

1981-01-01

The last status report on the non-destructive examination of U-bends removed from Trojan steam generator D was dated July 7, 1980. As part of this activity, the measurement of wall thicknesses on selected U-bends was planned using an ultrasonic gage. These readings were not made because reproducible results could not be obtained using water as the coupling fluid which was necessary to avoid contamination. Three tubes from the same heat were selected for destructive examination at Westinghouse: one leaking U-bend (R1-C6) and two tubes with no indications (R1-C10 and R1-C22). Results of the examination procedure are presented. The non-destructive examination results from the July 7, 1980 report for 29 U-bends are included

Physical basis of destruction of concrete and other building materials

Science.gov (United States)

Suleymanova, L. A.; Pogorelova, I. A.; Kirilenko, S. V.; Suleymanov, K. A.

2018-03-01

In the article the scientifically-grounded views of authors on the physical essence of destruction process of concrete and other materials are stated; it is shown that the mechanism of destruction of materials is similar in its essence during the mechanical, thermal, physical-chemical and combined influences, and that in its basis Newton's third law lays. In all cases destruction consists in decompaction of structures, loosening of the internal bonds in materials, in the further integrity damage and their division into separate loosely-bound (full destruction) and unbound with each other (incomplete destruction) elements, which depends on the kind of external influence and perfection of materials structure.

27 CFR 24.294 - Destruction of wine.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Destruction of wine. 24..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS WINE Removal, Return and Receipt of Wine Removals Without Payment of Tax § 24.294 Destruction of wine. (a) General. Wine on bonded wine premises may be destroyed on or off wine...

Ombuds’ corner: “I want it to stop!”

CERN Multimedia

Vincent Vuillemin

2013-01-01

Most people that seek help from the Ombuds just want that their dispute ended, so they can get back to work in normal, respectful conditions. They clearly express it when I ask them what they want: “I want it to stop!” How should it stop? And who should stop it?   Ideally the interpersonal issues between the people working at or on behalf of CERN should be resolved between the colleagues concerned. This should really be expected in cases where the colleagues are part of the senior staff, for two main reasons: first, their high accountability to the institution should prevent them from falling into ineffective disputes; second, they are in charge of fostering dialogue among their supervisees and should not present such a detrimental image of fighting against each other. Where conflict arises between a manager and a supervisee, and mutual understanding cannot be reached, their management should act and stop the fight right away to prevent further escalation of the dispute. ...

Modeling Stop-and-Go Waves in Pedestrian Dynamics

OpenAIRE

Portz, Andrea; Seyfried, Armin

2010-01-01

Several spatially continuous pedestrian dynamics models have been validated against empirical data. We try to reproduce the experimental fundamental diagram (velocity versus density) with simulations. In addition to this quantitative criterion, we tried to reproduce stop-and-go waves as a qualitative criterion. Stop-and-go waves are a characteristic phenomenon for the single file movement. Only one of three investigated models satisfies both criteria.

Roles and Regulation of Gastrointestinal Eosinophils in Immunity and Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, YunJae; Rothenberg, Marc E.

2014-01-01

Eosinophils have been considered to be destructive end-stage effector cells that have a role in parasitic infections and allergy reactions by the release of their granule-derived cytotoxic proteins. However, an increasing number of experimental observations indicate that eosinophils also are multifunctional leukocytes involved in diverse inflammatory and physiologic immune responses. Under homeostatic conditions, eosinophils are particularly abundant in the lamina propria of the gastrointestinal tract where their involvement in various biological processes within the gastrointestinal tract has been posited. In this review, we summarize the molecular steps involved in eosinophil development and describe eosinophil trafficking to the gastrointestinal tract. We synthesize the current findings on the phenotypic and functional properties of gastrointestinal eosinophils and the accumulating evidence that they have a contributory role in gastrointestinal disorders, with a focus on primary eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders. Finally, we discuss the potential role of eosinophils as modulators of the intestinal immune system. PMID:25049430

The calculation of proton and secondary electron stopping powers in liquid water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marouane, Abdelhak; Inchaouh, Jamal; Ouaskit, Said; Fathi, Ahmed

2012-01-01

The stopping power of energetic protons in liquid water has been calculated using a new model based on different theoretical and semi-empirical approaches. In this model, we consider the relativistic corrections along with the electronic and nuclear stopping power. The present work accounts for the different interactions made with electrons and nuclei inside the target. Interactions of the incident particle with the target's electrons dominate in the high energy regime; in the low energy regime, the interactions of the projectile with the target nuclei contribute importantly and are included in the calculation. We also compute the stopping cross sections and the stopping power of secondary electrons ejected from proton and hydrogen ionization impact, and generated by hydrogen electron loss processes. The consideration of secondary electrons' stopping power can contribute to the study of nano-dosimetry. Our results are in good agreement with existing experimental data. This calculation model can be useful for different applications in medical physics and space radiation health, such as hadron therapy for cancer treatment or radiation protection for astronauts. - Highlights: ► We discussed the stopping cross sections at the Bragg peak region of primary and secondary processes. ► We considered the corrections of incident particle energy focusing on the Rudds semi-empirical model. ► We calculated the electronic and nuclear stopping power, and we deduced the total stopping power. ► We calculated the stopping power of the secondary electrons.

The control of deliberate waiting strategies in a stop-signal task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.P. Sylwan

2004-06-01

Full Text Available To inhibit an ongoing flow of thoughts or actions has been largely considered to be a crucial executive function, and the stop-signal paradigm makes inhibitory control measurable. Stop-signal tasks usually combine two concurrent tasks, i.e., manual responses to a primary task (go-task are occasionally countermanded by a stimulus which signals participants to inhibit their response in that trial (stop-task. Participants are always instructed not to wait for the stop-signal, since waiting strategies cause the response times to be unstable, invalidating the data. The aim of the present study was to experimentally control the strategies of waiting deliberately for the stop-signal in a stop-task by means of an algorithm that measured the variation in the reaction times to go-stimuli on-line, and displayed a warning legend urging participants to be faster when their reaction times were more than two standard deviations of the mean. Thirty-four university students performed a stop-task with go- and stop-stimuli, both of which were delivered in the visual modality and were lateralized within the visual field. The participants were divided into two groups (group A, without the algorithm, vs group B, with the algorithm. Group B exhibited lower variability of reaction times to go-stimuli, whereas no significant between-group differences were found in any of the measures of inhibitory control, showing that the algorithm succeeded in controlling the deliberate waiting strategies. Differences between deliberate and unintentional waiting strategies, and anxiety as a probable factor responsible for individual differences in deliberate waiting behavior, are discussed.

A Pause-then-Cancel model of stopping: evidence from basal ganglia neurophysiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Robert; Berke, Joshua D

2017-04-19

Many studies have implicated the basal ganglia in the suppression of action impulses ('stopping'). Here, we discuss recent neurophysiological evidence that distinct hypothesized processes involved in action preparation and cancellation can be mapped onto distinct basal ganglia cell types and pathways. We examine how movement-related activity in the striatum is related to a 'Go' process and how going may be modulated by brief epochs of beta oscillations. We then describe how, rather than a unitary 'Stop' process, there appear to be separate, complementary 'Pause' and 'Cancel' mechanisms. We discuss the implications of these stopping subprocesses for the interpretation of the stop-signal reaction time-in particular, some activity that seems too slow to causally contribute to stopping when assuming a single Stop processes may actually be fast enough under a Pause-then-Cancel model. Finally, we suggest that combining complementary neural mechanisms that emphasize speed or accuracy respectively may serve more generally to optimize speed-accuracy trade-offs.This article is part of the themed issue 'Movement suppression: brain mechanisms for stopping and stillness'. © 2017 The Author(s).

A Conceptual Approach for Optimising Bus Stop Spacing

Science.gov (United States)

Johar, Amita; Jain, S. S.; Garg, P. k.

2017-06-01

An efficient public transportation system is essential of any country. The growth, development and shape of the urban areas are mainly due to availability of good transportation (Shah et al. in Inst Town Plan India J 5(3):50-59, 1). In developing countries, like India, travel by local bus in a city is very common. The accidents, congestion, pollution and appropriate location of bus stops are the major problems arising in metropolitan cities. Among all the metropolitan cities in India, Delhi has highest percentage of growth of population and vehicles. Therefore, it is important to adopt efficient and effective ways to improve mobility in different metropolitan cities in order to overcome the problem and to reduce the number of private vehicles on the road. The primary objective of this paper is to present a methodology for developing a model for optimum bus stop spacing (OBSS). It describes the evaluation of existing urban bus route, data collection, development of model for optimizing urban bus route and application of model. In this work, the bus passenger generalized cost method is used to optimize the spacing between bus stops. For the development of model, a computer program is required to be written. The applicability of the model has been evaluated by taking the data of urban bus route of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) in Excel sheet in first phase. Later on, it is proposed to develop a programming in C++ language. The developed model is expected to be useful to transport planner for rational design of the spacing of bus stops to save travel time and to generalize operating cost. After analysis it is found that spacing between the bus stop comes out to be between 250 and 500 m. The Proposed Spacing of bus stops is done considering the points that they don't come nearer to metro/rail station, entry or exit of flyover and near traffic signal.

Synchro-Betatron Stop-Bands Due to a Single Crab Cavity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chao, A

2004-06-17

We analyze the stop-band due to crab cavities for horizontal tunes that are either close to integers or close to half integers. The latter case is relevant for today's electron/positron colliders. We compare this stop-band to that created by dispersion in an accelerating cavity and show that a single typical crab cavity creates larger stop-bands than a typical dispersion at an accelerating cavity. We furthermore analyze whether it is beneficial to place the crab cavity at a position where the dispersion and its slope vanish. We find that this choice is worth while if the horizontal tune is close to a half integer, but not if it is close to an integer. Furthermore we find that stop-bands can be avoided when the horizontal tune is located at a favorable side of the integer or the half integer. While we are here concerned with the installation of a single crab cavity in a storage ring, we show that the stop-bands can be weakened, although not eliminated, significantly when two crab cavities per ring are chosen suitably.

New developments in stopping power for fast ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paul, Helmut

2007-01-01

We discuss the available stopping power tables and codes, and new experimental methods. Among the semi-empirical stopping power tables, SRIM and MSTAR describe experimental data best. Of the recent theoretical stopping codes CasP, PASS, TCS and dielectric formalism, all describe some data well. PASS is the only theoretical code with an extended table for many ions and targets, but on the average, its predictive value at low energies is less than that of SRIM or MSTAR. The first-principle extended classical trajectory Monte Carlo method is very promising. The ToF-E ERDA arrangements have made it possible to produce accurate data for many ion-target combinations. A new liquid jet target method promises data for liquid water which is an important substance for medical dosimetry

Immune thrombocytopenia in two unrelated Fanconi anemia patients – a mere coincidence?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna eKarastaneva

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Thrombocytopenia and pancytopenia, occurring in patients with Fanconi anemia (FA, are interpreted either as progression to bone marrow failure or as developing myelodysplasia. On the other hand, immune thrombocytopenia (ITP represents an acquired and often self-limiting benign hematologic disorder, associated with peripheral, immune-mediated, platelet destruction requiring different management modalities than those used in congenital bone marrow failure syndromes, including FA. Here we describe the clinical course of two independent FA patients with atypical - namely immune - thrombocytopenia. While in one patient belonging to complementation group FA-A, the ITP started at 17 months of age and showed a chronically persisting course with severe purpura, responding well to intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG and later also danazol, a synthetic androgen, the other patient (of complementation group FA-D2 had a self-limiting course that resolved after one administration of IVIG. No cytogenetic aberrations or bone marrow abnormalities other than FA-typical mild dysplasia were detected. Our data show that acute and chronic ITP may occur in FA patients and impose individual diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in this rare congenital bone marrow failure / tumor predisposition syndrome. The management and a potential context of immune pathogenesis with the underlying marrow disorder are discussed.

Immune Thrombocytopenia in Two Unrelated Fanconi Anemia Patients – A Mere Coincidence?

Science.gov (United States)

Karastaneva, Anna; Lanz, Sofia; Wawer, Angela; Behrends, Uta; Schindler, Detlev; Dietrich, Ralf; Burdach, Stefan; Urban, Christian; Benesch, Martin; Seidel, Markus G.

2015-01-01

Thrombocytopenia and pancytopenia, occurring in patients with Fanconi anemia (FA), are interpreted either as progression to bone marrow failure or as developing myelodysplasia. On the other hand, immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) represents an acquired and often self-limiting benign hematologic disorder, associated with peripheral, immune-mediated, platelet destruction requiring different management modalities than those used in congenital bone marrow failure syndromes, including FA. Here, we describe the clinical course of two independent FA patients with atypical – namely immune – thrombocytopenia. While in one patient belonging to complementation group FA-A, the ITP started at 17 months of age and showed a chronically persisting course with severe purpura, responding well to intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) and later also danazol, a synthetic androgen, the other patient (of complementation group FA-D2) had a self-limiting course that resolved after one administration of IVIG. No cytogenetic aberrations or bone marrow abnormalities other than FA-typical mild dysplasia were detected. Our data show that acute and chronic ITP may occur in FA patients and impose individual diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in this rare congenital bone marrow failure/tumor predisposition syndrome. The management and a potential context of immune pathogenesis with the underlying marrow disorder are discussed. PMID:26106590

Complex multicellular functions at a unicellular eukaryote level: Learning, memory, and immunity.

Science.gov (United States)

Csaba, György

2017-06-01

According to experimental data, eukaryote unicellulars are able to learn, have immunity and memory. Learning is carried out in a very primitive form, and the memory is not neural but an epigenetic one. However, this epigenetic memory, which is well justified by the presence and manifestation of hormonal imprinting, is strong and permanent in the life of cell and also in its progenies. This memory is epigenetically executed by the alteration and fixation of methylation pattern of genes without changes in base sequences. The immunity of unicellulars is based on self/non-self discrimination, which leads to the destruction of non-self invaders and utilization of them as nourishment (by phagocytosis). The tools of learning, memory, and immunity of unicellulars are uniformly found in plasma membrane receptors, which formed under the effect of dynamic receptor pattern generation, suggested by Koch et al., and this is the basis of hormonal imprinting, by which the encounter between a chemical substance and the cell is specifically memorized. The receptors and imprinting are also used in the later steps of evolution up to mammals (including man) in each mentioned functions. This means that learning, memory, and immunity can be deduced to a unicellular eukaryote level.

Big Data Discovery and Access Services through NOAA OneStop

Science.gov (United States)

Casey, K. S.; Neufeld, D.; Ritchey, N. A.; Relph, J.; Fischman, D.; Baldwin, R.

2017-12-01

The NOAA OneStop Project was created as a pathfinder effort to to improve the discovery of, access to, and usability of NOAA's vast and diverse collection of big data. OneStop is led by the NOAA/NESDIS National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), and is seen as a key NESDIS contribution to NOAA's open data and data stewardship efforts. OneStop consists of an entire framework of services, from storage and interoperable access services at the base, through metadata and catalog services in the middle, to a modern user interface experience at the top. Importantly, it is an open framework where external tools and services can connect at whichever level is most appropriate. Since the beta release of the OneStop user interface at the 2016 Fall AGU meeting, significant progress has been made improving and modernizing many NOAA data collections to optimize their use within the framework. In addition, OneStop has made progress implementing robust metadata management and catalog systems at the collection and granule level and improving the user experience with the web interface. This progress will be summarized and the results of extensive user testing including professional usability studies will be reviewed. Key big data technologies supporting the framework will be presented and a community input sought on the future directions of the OneStop Project.

Effect of Weight Transfer on a Vehicle's Stopping Distance.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitmire, Daniel P.; Alleman, Timothy J.

1979-01-01

An analysis of the minimum stopping distance problem is presented taking into account the effect of weight transfer on nonskidding vehicles and front- or rear-wheels-skidding vehicles. Expressions for the minimum stopping distances are given in terms of vehicle geometry and the coefficients of friction. (Author/BB)

Ion Stopping Powers and Ranges Whenever You Need Them

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bassler, Niels; Christensen, Casper; Tørresø, Jesper Rosholm

A new app "Electronic Stopping Power" for Android mobile phones and tablets, looks up stopping powers using the ICRU 49 (protons and alphas) and the revised ICRU 73 (lithium and heavier ions) tables. In addition, also MSTAR and an implementation of the Bethe equation expanded to low energies...

Inorganic nanoparticles and the immune system: detection, selective activation and tolerance

Science.gov (United States)

Bastús, Neus G.; Sánchez-Tilló, Ester; Pujals, Silvia; Comenge, Joan; Giralt, Ernest; Celada, Antonio; Lloberas, Jorge; Puntes, Victor F.

2012-03-01

The immune system is the responsible for body integrity and prevention of external invasion. On one side, nanoparticles are no triggers that the immune system is prepared to detect, on the other side it is known that foreign bodies, not only bacteria, viruses and parasites, but also inorganic matter, can cause various pathologies such as silicosis, asbestosis or inflammatory reactions. Therefore, nanoparticles entering the body, after interaction with proteins, will be either recognized as self-agents or detected by the immune system, encompassing immunostimulation or immunosuppression responses. The nature of these interactions seems to be dictated not specially by the composition of the material but by modifications of NP coating (composition, surface charge and structure). Herein, we explore the use of gold nanoparticles as substrates to carry multifunctional ligands to manipulate the immune system in a controlled manner, from undetection to immunostimulation. Murine bone marrow macrophages can be activated with artificial nanometric objects consisting of a gold nanoparticle functionalized with peptides. In the presence of some conjugates, macrophage proliferation was stopped and pro-inflammatory cytokines were induced. The biochemical type of response depended on the type of conjugated peptide and was correlated with the degree of ordering in the peptide coating. These findings help to illustrate the basic requirements involved in medical NP conjugate design to either activate the immune system or hide from it, in order to reach their targets before being removed by phagocytes. Additionally, it opens up the possibility to modulate the immune response in order to suppress unwanted responses resulting from autoimmunity, or allergy or to stimulate protective responses against pathogens.

DESTRUCTION OF INTERSTELLAR DUST IN EVOLVING SUPERNOVA REMNANT SHOCK WAVES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slavin, Jonathan D.; Dwek, Eli; Jones, Anthony P.

2015-01-01

Supernova generated shock waves are responsible for most of the destruction of dust grains in the interstellar medium (ISM). Calculations of the dust destruction timescale have so far been carried out using plane parallel steady shocks, however, that approximation breaks down when the destruction timescale becomes longer than that for the evolution of the supernova remnant (SNR) shock. In this paper we present new calculations of grain destruction in evolving, radiative SNRs. To facilitate comparison with the previous study by Jones et al., we adopt the same dust properties as in that paper. We find that the efficiencies of grain destruction are most divergent from those for a steady shock when the thermal history of a shocked gas parcel in the SNR differs significantly from that behind a steady shock. This occurs in shocks with velocities ≳200 km s −1 for which the remnant is just beginning to go radiative. Assuming SNRs evolve in a warm phase dominated ISM, we find dust destruction timescales are increased by a factor of ∼2 compared to those of Jones et al., who assumed a hot gas dominated ISM. Recent estimates of supernova rates and ISM mass lead to another factor of ∼3 increase in the destruction timescales, resulting in a silicate grain destruction timescale of ∼2–3 Gyr. These increases, while not able to resolve the problem of the discrepant timescales for silicate grain destruction and creation, are an important step toward understanding the origin and evolution of dust in the ISM

Unceratainty of Heisenberg in Universe Destruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sri Jumini

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The Qur'an is a guidence which explaines all about the universe to human being. The discovery of science has been able to explain the truth of the Qur'an scientifically. One of which is the principle of Heisenberg's uncertainty in the event of the universe destruction. The purpose of this research is to know: 1 Science's view of the event of the universe destruction (Big Crunch in Qur’an [Al Infithaar]: 1-3, and How the relation of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principles and the law of thermodynamics II toward  the collapse of the universe (Big Crunch based on Scientific views and the Quran. This research is a qualitative research using library research method which analyzes the related books directly or indirectly. The results of the analysis stated that: 1 The concentration of mass, which is big enough, relates to some of the laws of physics, those are: Relativity, Heisenberg's uncertainty principles, and the law of Thermodynamic II; 2 The universe will return at its sole point, i.e; the absence of the universe; 3 The destruction of the universe is the destruction of the order of the universe which then the stars fall scatteredly because of the gravitational force that prevents them disappears, the balance of the universe diminishes, decreases and becomes uncertain, and eventually disappears.

Destruction of metallic foils under laser radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khokhlov, N.P.; Lisitsyn, Yu.V.; Mineev, V.N.; Ivanov, A.G.

1975-01-01

Experimental results are presented which illustrate the process of destruction of aluminium, lead and tantalum foils under irradiation of a neodymium laser, working in free generation regime with a power density varying from 5.10 5 - 5.10 6 wt/sq.cm. Calorimeters and photocells sensitive to the radiation with lambda=1.06 have been used for measuring the energy and recording the shape of the radiation pulse incident onto the target and passing through the disintegration products. The weight of the target has been determined prior to and after the experiment to find out the weight of Δm material expelled from the target. Rates of product scattering and a target destruction period, an amount of the material expelled and parameters of the radiation passing through the disintegration products have been determined as a function of the power density and an angle of the radiation incidence on the surface of the specimens. Average densities and absorption coefficients of the disintegration products of the foils under study have been assessed. A comparison of the characteristics of the metal foil (t 1 j) destruction in Pb-Ta-Al series with the metal thermal properties in this series shows that the destruction characteristics periodically vary as heat capacity, thermal conduction, evaporation heat and melting heat alter. A period of the target destruction becomes longer and the expelled mass smaller as the aforesaid thermal properties of the metals in Pb-Ta-Al series intensity [ru

Effect of passenger position on fear of danger experienced during sudden bus stops.

Science.gov (United States)

Aoki, Takeo; Uetake, Teruo; Shimoda, Masahiro

2009-06-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of bus passengers' positions on their fear of danger when a bus stopped suddenly. A temporary bus running course with one bus stop was set up on the campus of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT). The bus ran the course 14 times with the bus stopping twice during the course, once at the bus stop and again just after re-starting from the bus stop. The driver was asked to brake more strongly than usual when stopping. Sixteen students (15 males and 1 female) between the ages of 18 and 21 years participated. In turn, all participants were asked to take 14 different postures in the bus. Participants were also asked to report their level of fear on a rating scale each time the bus stopped. The study showed that (1) passengers' fear of danger at the first sudden stop was typically higher than that at the second stop, (2) standing passengers who held hand straps experienced more fear than those who held fixed safety devices, (3) bus passengers sitting on the centre of the rear seat had a great risk of injury if the bus stopped suddenly, and (4) when passengers faced the window and stood transversely with respect to from the moving direction of the bus and the bus stopped suddenly, passengers' fear of danger was affected by the side of the bus on which they stood as well as which hand they used to grasp a safety device.

Grain destruction in interstellar shocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seab, C.G.; Shull, J.M.

1984-01-01

One of the principal methods for removing grains from the Interstellar Medium is to destroy them in shock waves. Previous theoretical studies of shock destruction have generally assumed only a single size and type of grain; most do not account for the effect of the grain destruction on the structure of the shock. Earlier calculations have been improved in three ways: first, by using a ''complete'' grain model including a distribution of sizes and types of grains; second, by using a self-consistent shock structure that incorporates the changing elemental depletions as the grains are destroyed; and third, by calculating the shock-processed ultraviolet extinction curves for comparison with observations. (author)

Stopping Power Measurements: Implications in Nuclear Astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carmen Angulo; Thierry Delbar; Jean-Sebastien Graulich; Pierre Leleux

1999-01-01

The stopping powers of C, CH 2 , Al, Ni, and polyvinylchloride (PVC) for several light ions ( 9 Be, 11 B, 12 C, 14 N, 16 O, 19 F, 20 Ne) with an incident energy of 1 MeV/amu have been measured at the Louvain-la-Neuve cyclotron facility. Stopping powers are given relative to the one for 5.5 MeV 4 He ions with an uncertainty of less than 1%. We compare our results with two widely used semiempirical models and we discuss some implications in nuclear astrophysics studies

Genome-wide characterization and expression profiling of immune genes in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Xiaofeng; Yu, Liying; Xue, Minqian; Yu, Xiaoqiang; Vasseur, Liette; Gurr, Geoff M; Baxter, Simon W; Lin, Hailan; Lin, Junhan; You, Minsheng

2015-05-06

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), is a destructive pest that attacks cruciferous crops worldwide. Immune responses are important for interactions between insects and pathogens and information on these underpins the development of strategies for biocontrol-based pest management. Little, however, is known about immune genes and their regulation patterns in P. xylostella. A total of 149 immune-related genes in 20 gene families were identified through comparison of P. xylostella genome with the genomes of other insects. Complete and conserved Toll, IMD and JAK-STAT signaling pathways were found in P. xylostella. Genes involved in pathogen recognition were expanded and more diversified than genes associated with intracellular signal transduction. Gene expression profiles showed that the IMD pathway may regulate expression of antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes in the midgut, and be related to an observed down-regulation of AMPs in experimental lines of insecticide-resistant P. xylostella. A bacterial feeding study demonstrated that P. xylostella could activate different AMPs in response to bacterial infection. This study has established a framework of comprehensive expression profiles that highlight cues for immune regulation in a major pest. Our work provides a foundation for further studies on the functions of P. xylostella immune genes and mechanisms of innate immunity.

The CD47-SIRPα signaling axis as an innate immune checkpoint in cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Matlung, Hanke L; Szilagyi, Katka; Barclay, Neil A; van den Berg, Timo K

2017-03-01

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, including those targeting CTLA-4/B7 and the PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitory pathways, are now available for clinical use in cancer patients, with other interesting checkpoint inhibitors being currently in development. Most of these have the purpose to promote adaptive T cell-mediated immunity against cancer. Here, we review another checkpoint acting to potentiate the activity of innate immune cells towards cancer. This innate immune checkpoint is composed of what has become known as the 'don't-eat me' signal CD47, which is a protein broadly expressed on normal cells and often overexpressed on cancer cells, and its counter-receptor, the myeloid inhibitory immunoreceptor SIRPα. Blocking CD47-SIRPα interactions has been shown to promote the destruction of cancer cells by phagocytes, including macrophages and neutrophils. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that targeting of the CD47-SIRPα axis may also promote antigen-presenting cell function and thereby stimulate adaptive T cell-mediated anti-cancer immunity. The development of CD47-SIRPα checkpoint inhibitors and the potential side effects that these may have are discussed. Collectively, this identifies the CD47-SIRPα axis as a promising innate immune checkpoint in cancer, and with data of the first clinical studies with CD47-SIRPα checkpoint inhibitors expected within the coming years, this is an exciting and rapidly developing field. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Intravascular Immune Surveillance by CXCR6+ NKT Cells Patrolling Liver Sinusoids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geissmann Frederic

2005-01-01

Full Text Available We examined the in vivo behavior of liver natural killer T cells (NKT cells by intravital fluorescence microscopic imaging of mice in which a green fluorescent protein cDNA was used to replace the gene encoding the chemokine receptor CXCR6. NKT cells, which account for most CXCR6+ cells in liver, were found to crawl within hepatic sinusoids at 10-20 µm/min and to stop upon T cell antigen receptor activation. CXCR6-deficient mice exhibited a selective and severe reduction of CD1d-reactive NKT cells in the liver and decreased susceptibility to T-cell-dependent hepatitis. CXCL16, the cell surface ligand for CXCR6, is expressed on sinusoidal endothelial cells, and CXCR6 deficiency resulted in reduced survival, but not in altered speed or pattern of patrolling of NKT cells. Thus, NKT cells patrol liver sinusoids to provide intravascular immune surveillance, and CXCR6 contributes to liver-based immune responses by regulating their abundance.

Stop grating for perfect replication of micro Fresnel lens by thermal imprinting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, Yulong; Lin, Jie; Jin, Peng; Tan, Jiubin; Davies, Graham; Prewett, Philip D

2012-01-01

A stop grating concept is proposed to improve polymer filling in the thermal imprinting of a micro Fresnel lens structure. The stop grating consists of line and space structures outside the Fresnel lens pattern zone area. The experimental results have proved that the stop grating can help to achieve the complete filling of a mold, at the same time acting as a stop to prevent possible damage to the mold surface relief structures during imprinting press. A computer simulation was carried out to identify the phenomena of micro-holes at the edge of imprinted pattern. By removing the cavity between the pattern area and stop grating, perfect imprinting results have been achieved. (paper)

STOP-EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS FROM INTRACRANIAL ELECTRODES REVEAL A KEY ROLE OF PREMOTOR AND MOTOR CORTICES IN STOPPING ONGOING MOVEMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maurizio eMattia

2012-06-01

Full Text Available In humans, the ability to withhold manual motor responses seems to rely on a right-lateralized frontal–basal ganglia–thalamic network, including the pre-supplementary motor area and the inferior frontal gyrus. These areas should drive subthalamic nuclei to implement movement inhibition via the hyperdirect pathway. The output of this network is expected to influence those cortical areas underlying limb movement preparation and initiation, i.e. premotor (PMA and primary motor (M1 cortices. Electroencephalographic (EEG studies have shown an enhancement of the N200/P300 complex in the event-related potentials (ERPs when a planned reaching movement is successfully stopped after the presentation of an infrequent stop-signal. PMA and M1 have been suggested as possible neural sources of this ERP complex but, due to the limited spatial resolution of scalp EEG, it is not yet clear which cortical areas contribute to its generation. To elucidate the role of motor cortices, we recorded epicortical ERPs from the lateral surface of the fronto-temporal lobes of five pharmacoresistant epileptic patients performing a reaching version of the countermanding task while undergoing presurgical monitoring. We consistently found a stereotyped ERP complex on a single-trial level when a movement was successfully cancelled. These ERPs were selectively expressed in M1, PMA and Brodmann's area (BA 9 and their onsets preceded the end of the stop process, suggesting a causal involvement in this executive function. Such ERPs also occurred in unsuccessful-stop trials, that is, when subjects moved despite the occurrence of a stop-signal, mostly when they had long reaction times. These findings support the hypothesis that motor cortices are the final target of the inhibitory command elaborated by the frontal–basal ganglia–thalamic network.

Towards a model-based cognitive neuroscience of stopping - a neuroimaging perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Sebastian, Alexandra; Forstmann, Birte U; Matzke, Dora

2018-07-01

Our understanding of the neural correlates of response inhibition has greatly advanced over the last decade. Nevertheless the specific function of regions within this stopping network remains controversial. The traditional neuroimaging approach cannot capture many processes affecting stopping performance. Despite the shortcomings of the traditional neuroimaging approach and a great progress in mathematical and computational models of stopping, model-based cognitive neuroscience approaches in human neuroimaging studies are largely lacking. To foster model-based approaches to ultimately gain a deeper understanding of the neural signature of stopping, we outline the most prominent models of response inhibition and recent advances in the field. We highlight how a model-based approach in clinical samples has improved our understanding of altered cognitive functions in these disorders. Moreover, we show how linking evidence-accumulation models and neuroimaging data improves the identification of neural pathways involved in the stopping process and helps to delineate these from neural networks of related but distinct functions. In conclusion, adopting a model-based approach is indispensable to identifying the actual neural processes underlying stopping. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Trade-off between cellular immunity and life span in mealworm beetles Tenebrio molitor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Indrikis KRAMS, Janīna DAUKŠTE, Inese KIVLENIECE, Ants KAASIK, Tatjana KRAMA, Todd M. REEBERG, Markus J. RANTALA

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Encapsulation is a nonspecific, cellular response through which insects defend themselves against multicellular pathogens. During this immune reaction, haemocytes recognize an object as foreign and cause other haemocytes to aggregate and form a capsule around the object, often consisting of melanized cells. The process of melanisation is accompanied by the formation of potentially toxic reactive oxygen species, which can kill not only pathogens but also host cells. In this study we tested whether the encapsulation response is costly in mealworm beetles Tenebrio molitor. We found a negative relationship between the duration of implantation via a nylon monofilament and remaining life span. We also found a negative relationship between the strength of immune response and remaining life span, suggesting that cellular immunity is costly in T. molitor, and that there is a trade-off between immune response and remaining life span. However, this relationship disappeared at 31-32 hours of implantation at 25 ± 2℃. As the disappearance of a relationship between duration of implantation and lifespan coincided with the highest values of encapsulation response, we concluded that the beetles stopped investment in the production of melanotic cells, as the implant, a synthetic parasite, was fully isolated from the host’s tissues [Current Zoology 59 (3: 340–346, 2013].

Tourette Syndrome: Help Stop Bullying

Science.gov (United States)

... work on Tourette Syndrome Tourette Association information on bullying What it’s like to have Tourette – Mary tells her story What children wish people knew about Tourette Syndrome CDC Children’s Mental Health StopBullying.gov Features Media Sign up for Features ...

Stop researching transformational leadership! Now!

NARCIS (Netherlands)

L.G. Tummers (Lars)

2013-01-01

markdownabstract__Intro__ Researchers all over the world, stop with your research on transformational leadership! Now! This could be the provocative conclusion after reading the recent article of Profs. Daan van Knippenberg and Sim Sitkin in The Academy of Management Annals (2013). These

Stop-loss premiums under dependence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Albers, Willem/Wim

1999-01-01

Stop-loss premiums are typically calculated under the assumption that the insured lives in the underlying portfolio are independent. Here we study the effects of small departures from this assumption. Using Edgeworth expansions, it is made transparent which configurations of dependence parameters

Destructive distillation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1938-07-05

A process and apparatus for the destructive distillation at low temperature of mineral or organic material particularly oil shale, is given in which the process comprises distilling the material in a horizontal gaseous stream, subjecting the hot residues to the action of a gaseous stream containing a predetermined amount of oxygen so as to burn, at least partly, the carbon-containing substances, and the process uses the gases from this combustion for the indirect heating of the gases serving for the distillation.

[Acute renal pain as an adverse reaction of the rabies immunization].

Science.gov (United States)

Lalosević, Dusan

2009-01-01

HRIG is the best preparate in rabies prophylaxis, and it's considered that optimal dose is 20 international units per kilogram and must not been reduced or overdosed. HRIG have to be injected infiltrative around bite wounds, and if after that remains a part of the dose, it has to be given in gluteal muscle. Application only in gluteus is vitium artis. At one patient immunized against rabies has occured acute bilateral renal pain and fever at time of immunization against rabies, and because of that vaccination must been stopped after the 3rd dose of vaccine. Patient was a 26-year-old female without significant pre-existing disease, bitten by stray dog. After the start of immunization, because the wrong direction, she received about 2.5 more amount of human rabies immunoglobuline (HRIG) then is recommended on declaration at etiquette of ampoule, and only in gluteus in quantity of 10.5 ml. Glomerulonephritis after rabies vaccination until now was described just once by Singhal et al. in 1981. year. Acute renal pain, after rabies vaccine, which aggravated after repeated vaccine doses in our patient who received overdosed HRIG, may be explained by immunopathological mechanism, rather with formation of circulating immune complexes, their precipitation on the glomerular basement membrane and developing glomerulonephritis. Low weight soluble molecular immune complexes formed when antigen is in excess, as in case after repeated doses of rabies vaccine, circulate and precipitate on glomerular membrane and causes glomerulonephritis. As contribution to this explanation, is that symptoms as renal pain disappeared after interrupting vaccination protocol in our patient.

Stopping powers of energetic electrons penetrating condensed matter-theory and application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan Zhenyu; Xia Yueyuan

2004-01-01

In this review article, the motivation of studying inelastic energy loss for energetic electrons penetrating through matter and the corresponding technological importance have been outlined. The theoretical development and method for the calculation of stopping powers are described. The stopping power data tables for a group of polymers and bioorganic compounds are presented, and the application aspects of the stopping power data are briefly discussed. (authors)

Weapons of mass destruction - current security threat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durdiak, J.; Gafrik, A.; Pulis, P.; Susko, M.

2005-01-01

This publication brings a complex and comprehensive view of the weapons of mass destruction phenomenon in the context of present military and political situation. It emphasizes the threat posed by proliferation of these destructive devices and their carriers as well as the threat present in their possession by unpredictable totalitarian regimes or terrorist groups. The publication is structured into four basic parts: Introduction Into The Topic, Nuclear Weapons, Chemical Weapons and Biological Weapons. The Introduction reflects the latest developments on the field of military technologies, which lead to the development of new destructive devices with characteristics comparable to basic types of WMDs - nuclear, chemical and biological. Based on the definition of WMD as 'weapon systems with enormous impact causing mass destruction, population, equipment and material losses', the modern mass destruction devices are assorted here, such as ecological, radiological and beam weapons, aerosol and container intelligent ammunition, the outburst of dangerous chemical substances from infrastructure, non-conventional weapons and military devices. The Nuclear Weapons part depicts the most destructive device of mass destruction mankind ever invented in close detail. It maps the history of most significant discoveries in nuclear physics, development and construction of the first nuclear weapons, accumulation of nuclear warheads and their carriers in the Cold war era, attempts of nuclear disarmament and reducing the number of nuclear weapons in possession of superpowers and their proliferation in the world's crisis regions including North Korea and Iran. The chapters devoted to theoretical grounds and physical principles of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons' functioning, the main categories and types, as well as destructive effects and consequences of use contain an adequate mathematical apparatus. This chapter's conclusion brings the overview of nuclear armament of states that

Statin-associated immune-mediated myopathy: biology and clinical implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher-Stine, Lisa; Basharat, Pari

2017-04-01

In the last 6 years, our understanding of statin-associated myopathy expanded to include not only a toxic myopathy with limited and reversible side-effects but also an autoimmune variety in which statins likely induce an autoimmune myopathy that is both associated with a specific autoantibody and responsive to immunosuppression and immune modulation. This review widens the reader's understanding of statin myopathy to include an autoimmune process. Statin-associated immune-mediated myopathy provides an example of an environmental trigger (statins) directly implicated in an autoimmune disease associated with a genetic predisposition as well as potential risk factors including concomitant diseases and specific statins. Given a median exposure to statins of 38 months, providers should be aware that anti-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) myopathy may occur even after several years of statin exposure. It is important for the reader to understand the clinical presentation of statin-associated immune-mediated myopathy and the difference in its clinical presentation to that of statins as direct myotoxins. Prompt recognition of such an entity allows the clinician to immediately stop the offending agent if it has not already been discontinued as well as to recognize that statin rechallenge is not a likely option, and that prompt treatment with immunosuppression and/or immunomodulation is usually of enormous benefit to the patient in restoring muscle strength and physical function. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

The results of cutting disks testing for rock destruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khoreshok Aleksey

2017-01-01

Full Text Available To determine the rational order of disk tools placement on the working body is necessary to know the maximum amount of rock, destroyed by the disk tool in benching cutting mode depending on the tool geometry parameters, physical and mechanical parameters of rocks. The article contains the definition of rational parameters of cutting disk tools as well as power and energy parameters of the destruction process by cutting disks and by executive body of the coal cutter. The rational geometric parameters of cutting discs are specified. It was found that each step of cutting with a minimum depth of penetration has its own maximum height of bench outcrop. The dependence of the volumes of large items destroyed by the disk tool on the cutting step height was determined. The existence of the cyclic alternation of destruction phases, regardless the fracture parameters, the height of the ledge outcrop, and tools like free cutting geometry were found. In contrast to the free cutting in benching mode of destruction two large fragments of rocks in one cycle were observed. Consequently, the cyclical nature of the destruction process in the benching mode will be characterized by two chips and crushing, and this cycling repeats throughout the destruction process with the same parameters of destruction.

The frequentist implications of optional stopping on Bayesian hypothesis tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanborn, Adam N; Hills, Thomas T

2014-04-01

Null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) is the most commonly used statistical methodology in psychology. The probability of achieving a value as extreme or more extreme than the statistic obtained from the data is evaluated, and if it is low enough, the null hypothesis is rejected. However, because common experimental practice often clashes with the assumptions underlying NHST, these calculated probabilities are often incorrect. Most commonly, experimenters use tests that assume that sample sizes are fixed in advance of data collection but then use the data to determine when to stop; in the limit, experimenters can use data monitoring to guarantee that the null hypothesis will be rejected. Bayesian hypothesis testing (BHT) provides a solution to these ills because the stopping rule used is irrelevant to the calculation of a Bayes factor. In addition, there are strong mathematical guarantees on the frequentist properties of BHT that are comforting for researchers concerned that stopping rules could influence the Bayes factors produced. Here, we show that these guaranteed bounds have limited scope and often do not apply in psychological research. Specifically, we quantitatively demonstrate the impact of optional stopping on the resulting Bayes factors in two common situations: (1) when the truth is a combination of the hypotheses, such as in a heterogeneous population, and (2) when a hypothesis is composite-taking multiple parameter values-such as the alternative hypothesis in a t-test. We found that, for these situations, while the Bayesian interpretation remains correct regardless of the stopping rule used, the choice of stopping rule can, in some situations, greatly increase the chance of experimenters finding evidence in the direction they desire. We suggest ways to control these frequentist implications of stopping rules on BHT.

Radiation, chemical and biological protection. Mass destruction weapons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janasek, D.; Svetlik, J.

2005-01-01

In this text-book mass destruction weapons and radiation, chemical and biological protection are reviewed. The text-book contains the following chapter: (1) Mass destruction weapons; (2) Matter and material; (3) Radioactive materials; (4) Toxic materials; (5) Biological resources; (6) Nuclear energetic equipment; Appendices; References.

Uncover compressed supersymmetry via boosted bosons from the heavier stop/sbottom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Zhaofeng; Li, Jinmian [Korea Institute for Advanced Study, School of Physics, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Zhang, Mengchao [Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Center for Theoretical Physics of the Universe, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2017-06-15

A light stop around the weak scale is a hopeful messenger of natural supersymmetry (SUSY), but it has not shown up at the current stage of LHC. Such a situation raises the question of the fate of natural SUSY. Actually, a relatively light stop can easily be hidden in a compressed spectra such as mild mass degeneracy between stop and neutralino plus top quark. Searching for such a stop at the LHC is a challenge. On the other hand, in terms of the argument of natural SUSY, other members in the stop sector, including a heavier stop t{sub 2} and lighter sbottom b{sub 1} (both assumed to be left-handed-like), are also supposed to be relatively light and therefore searching for them would provide an alternative method to probe natural SUSY with a compressed spectra. In this paper we consider quasi-natural SUSY which tolerates relatively heavy colored partners near the TeV scale, with a moderately large mass gap between the heavier members and the lightest stop. Then W/Z/h as companions of t{sub 2} and b{sub 1} decaying into t{sub 1} generically are well boosted, and they, along with other visible particles from t{sub 1} decay, are a good probe to study compressed SUSY. We find that the resulting search strategy with boosted bosons can have better sensitivity than those utilizing multi-leptons. (orig.)

Station Stopping of Freight Trains with Pneumatic Braking

OpenAIRE

Yun Bai; Baohua Mao; Tinkin Ho; Yu Feng; Shaokuan Chen

2014-01-01

In Chinese mainline railway, freight trains need to stop within passenger stations at times because of the delayed passenger trains. Without any decision-support system, it is very difficult for drivers to stop trains within stations with consistency in one braking action. The reasons are that braking performance of train changes with the conditions of braking equipment and the drivers’ subjective evaluations of track profiles and braking distance are vague and imprecise. This paper presents ...

Unsure When to Stop? Ask Your Semantic Neighbors

OpenAIRE

Gonçalves, Ivo; Silva, Sara; Fonseca, Carlos M.; Castelli, Mauro

2017-01-01

In iterative supervised learning algorithms it is common to reach a point in the search where no further induction seems to be possible with the available data. If the search is continued beyond this point, the risk of overfitting increases significantly. Following the recent developments in inductive semantic stochastic methods, this paper studies the feasibility of using information gathered from the semantic neighborhood to decide when to stop the search. Two semantic stopping criteria are...

Broadcasting a Common Message with Variable-Length Stop-Feedback codes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trillingsgaard, Kasper Fløe; Yang, Wei; Durisi, Giuseppe

2015-01-01

We investigate the maximum coding rate achievable over a two-user broadcast channel for the scenario where a common message is transmitted using variable-length stop-feedback codes. Specifically, upon decoding the common message, each decoder sends a stop signal to the encoder, which transmits...... itself in the absence of a square-root penalty in the asymptotic expansion of the maximum coding rate for large blocklengths, a result also known as zero dispersion. In this paper, we show that this speed-up does not necessarily occur for the broadcast channel with common message. Specifically...... continuously until it receives both stop signals. For the point-to-point case, Polyanskiy, Poor, and Verdú (2011) recently demonstrated that variable-length coding combined with stop feedback significantly increases the speed at which the maximum coding rate converges to capacity. This speed-up manifests...

Analysis and enhancement of flexural wave stop bands in 2D periodic plates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Yubao [Laboratory of Science and Technology on Integrated Logistics Support, National University of Defense Technology, 410073 Changsha (China); The Marcus Wallenberg Laboratory for Sound and Vibration Research, KTH – The Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm (Sweden); Feng, Leping [The Marcus Wallenberg Laboratory for Sound and Vibration Research, KTH – The Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm (Sweden); Wen, Jihong, E-mail: wenjihong_nudt1@vip.sina.com [Laboratory of Science and Technology on Integrated Logistics Support, National University of Defense Technology, 410073 Changsha (China); Yu, Dianlong; Wen, Xisen [Laboratory of Science and Technology on Integrated Logistics Support, National University of Defense Technology, 410073 Changsha (China)

2015-07-17

The band structure and enhancement of flexural wave stop bands in a 2D periodic plate are investigated. A unified method for analysing and designing the stop band of the plates with various attached structures is proposed. The effect of attached structures is considered based on their equivalent parameters (added equivalent mass and equivalent moment of inertia). The influences of the equivalent parameters on the band structures are studied. Three cases are considered: adding pure equivalent mass, pure equivalent moment of inertia and the combination of these two. The stop bands are enhanced via the multi interaction between the host plate and the attached structure. The enhancement pattern is determined, and several ways to obtain a wider combined stop band are presented. The frequency response functions of corresponding finite periodic plates are calculated to verify the stop bands and their enhancement in a number of typical cases. - Highlights: • A unified method for studying the stop band of the plates with various simplified attached structures is proposed. • The enhancement of flexural wave stop bands in a 2D phononic plate is investigated. • The stop bands are widened via multi interaction between the host plate and the attached structure. • The enhancement pattern is determined and several ways to get a wider stop band are presented.

INTERSECTION DETECTION BASED ON QUALITATIVE SPATIAL REASONING ON STOPPING POINT CLUSTERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Zourlidou

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to propose and test a method for detecting intersections by analysing collectively acquired trajectories of moving vehicles. Instead of solely relying on the geometric features of the trajectories, such as heading changes, which may indicate turning points and consequently intersections, we extract semantic features of the trajectories in form of sequences of stops and moves. Under this spatiotemporal prism, the extracted semantic information which indicates where vehicles stop can reveal important locations, such as junctions. The advantage of the proposed approach in comparison with existing turning-points oriented approaches is that it can detect intersections even when not all the crossing road segments are sampled and therefore no turning points are observed in the trajectories. The challenge with this approach is that first of all, not all vehicles stop at the same location – thus, the stop-location is blurred along the direction of the road; this, secondly, leads to the effect that nearby junctions can induce similar stop-locations. As a first step, a density-based clustering is applied on the layer of stop observations and clusters of stop events are found. Representative points of the clusters are determined (one per cluster and in a last step the existence of an intersection is clarified based on spatial relational cluster reasoning, with which less informative geospatial clusters, in terms of whether a junction exists and where its centre lies, are transformed in more informative ones. Relational reasoning criteria, based on the relative orientation of the clusters with their adjacent ones are discussed for making sense of the relation that connects them, and finally for forming groups of stop events that belong to the same junction.

Non-destructive control of castings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boutault, J.; Mascre, C.

1978-01-01

The object of non-destructive control in foundries is to verify the metal structure, the absence of unacceptable discontinuity, total tightness, etc. This leads to a range of very varied controls according to the importance of the series, the quality level required by the specifications, the nature of the alloy. The originality of the solutions which are imperative for castings is shown through examples: casting of high quality complex forms in short series; very thick unit parts; very large series of parts requiring on efficient automation of non-destructive control. Lastly the publishing of testing methods and interpretating rules, which are the base of a friendly understanding between constructors and founders are recalled [fr

32 CFR 644.494 - Donation, abandonment or destruction.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Donation, abandonment or destruction. 644.494 Section 644.494 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) REAL... Land) § 644.494 Donation, abandonment or destruction. (a) General. Improvements may be abandoned...

Nuclear stopping power at high energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Date, S.; Gyulassy, M.; Sumiyoshi, H.

1985-03-01

Recent p + A → p + X data are analyzed within the context of the multi-chain and additive quark models. We deduce the average energy loss of a baryon as a function of distance traversed in nuclear matter. Consistency of the multi-chain model is checked by comparing the predictions for p + A → π +- + X with data. We discuss the space-time development of baryon stopping and show how longitudinal growth limits the energy deposition per unit length. Predictions are made for the proton spectra to be measured in nucleus-nucleus collisions at CERN and BNL. Finally, we conclude that the stopping domain for central collisions of heavy ions extends up to center of mass kinetic energies KEsub(em) asymptotically equals 3 +- 1 AGev. (author)

Induction of regulatory T cells by high-dose gp96 suppresses murine liver immune hyperactivation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinghui Li

Full Text Available Immunization with high-dose heat shock protein gp96, an endoplasmic reticulum counterpart of the Hsp90 family, significantly enhances regulatory T cell (Treg frequency and suppressive function. Here, we examined the potential role and mechanism of gp96 in regulating immune-mediated hepatic injury in mice. High-dose gp96 immunization elicited rapid and long-lasting protection of mice against concanavalin A (Con A-and anti-CD137-induced liver injury, as evidenced by decreased alanine aminotransaminase (ALT levels, hepatic necrosis, serum pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-6, and number of IFN-γ (+ CD4(+ and IFN-γ (+ CD8(+ T cells in the spleen and liver. In contrast, CD4(+CD25(+Foxp3(+ Treg frequency and suppressive function were both increased, and the protective effect of gp96 could be generated by adoptive transfer of Treg cells from gp96-immunized mice. In vitro co-culture experiments demonstrated that gp96 stimulation enhanced Treg proliferation and suppressive function, and up-regulation of Foxp3, IL-10, and TGF-β1 induced by gp96 was dependent on TLR2- and TLR4-mediated NF-κB activation. Our work shows that activation of Tregs by high-dose gp96 immunization protects against Con A- and anti-CD137-induced T cell-hepatitis and provides therapeutic potential for the development of a gp96-based anti-immune hyperactivation vaccine against immune-mediated liver destruction.

Orbital roof encephalocele mimicking a destructive neoplasm.

Science.gov (United States)

Alsuhaibani, Adel H; Hitchon, Patrick W; Smoker, Wendy R K; Lee, Andrew G; Nerad, Jeffrey A

2011-01-01

The purpose of this case report is to report an orbital roof encephalocele mimicking a destructive orbital neoplasm. Orbital roof encephalocele is uncommon but can mimic neoplasm. One potential mechanism for the orbital roof destruction is a post-traumatic "growing orbital roof fracture." The growing fracture has been reported mostly in children but can occur in adults. Alternative potential etiologies for the encephalocele are discussed, including Gorham syndrome. Orbital roof encephalocele is uncommon in adults, and the findings can superficially resemble an orbital neoplasm. Radiographic and clinical features that might suggest the correct diagnosis include a prior history of trauma, overlying frontal lobe encephalomalacia without significant mass effect or edema, and an orbital roof defect. The "growing fracture" mechanism may be a potential explanation for the orbital roof destruction in some cases.

Adaptive immunity in autoimmune hepatitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Longhi, Maria Serena; Ma, Yun; Mieli-Vergani, Giorgina; Vergani, Diego

2010-01-01

The histological lesion of interface hepatitis, with its dense portal cell infiltrate consisting of lymphocytes, monocytes/macrophages and plasma cells, was the first to suggest an autoaggressive cellular immune attack in the pathogenesis of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Immunohistochemical studies, focused on the phenotype of inflammatory cells infiltrating the liver parenchyma, have shown a predominance of alphabeta-T cells. Amongst these cells, the majority have been CD4 helper/inducers, while a sizeable minority have consisted of CD8 cytotoxic/suppressors. Lymphocytes on non-T cell lineage included natural killer cells, monocytes/macrophages and B lymphocytes. For autoimmunity to arise, the self-antigenic peptide, embraced by an human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II molecule, must be presented to an uncommitted T helper (T(H)0) lymphocyte by professional antigen-presenting cells. Once activated and according to the presence in the milieu of interleukin 12 (IL-12) or IL-4, T(H)0 lymphocytes can differentiate into T(H)1 cells, which are pivotal to macrophage activation; enhance HLA class I expression, rendering liver cells vulnerable to CD8 T-cell attack; and induce HLA class II expression on hepatocytes; or they can differentiate into T(H)2 cells, which produce IL-4, IL-10 and IL-13, cytokines favouring autoantibody production by B lymphocytes. Autoantigen recognition is tightly controlled by regulatory mechanisms, such as those exerted by CD4+CD25(high) regulatory T cells. Numerical and functional regulatory T cell impairment characterises AIH and permits the perpetuation of effector immune responses with ensuing persistent liver destruction. Advances in the study of autoreactive T cells stem mostly from AIH type 2, where the main autoantigen, cytochrome P450IID6 (CYP2D6), is known to enable characterisation of antigen-specific immune responses. Copyright 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Destructive analysis and evaluation services

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuhn, E.; Lemaire, R.; Wenzel, U.; Aigner, H.; Bagliano, G.; Deron, S.; Jordan, L.

1986-07-01

This manual describes the procedures for independent verification measurements by Destructive Analysis as required by the Divisions of Operations. It includes the relevant instructions and information necessary to achieve the verification from sampling through final use of the evaluation results. It is a working/reference document for the Inspectors and for the supporting units, as well as a training manual for Inspectors which brings together all the necessary information for verification by Destructive Analysis. This manual gives information essential to the Inspector and to the units of the Safeguards Analytical Services (SAS) in the following areas: material stratification, sampling, sample conditioning and data collection; packaging, transporting, tracking, receipt and analysis of samples; and evaluation and final use of the evaluation results. This information is provided as: specific instructions and/or examples; summaries of relevant, existing documents; and references to existing documents. Forms are available for sample, item and stratum data collection as well as for transfer of samples and for the reporting of results. A complete typical example package of the documents related to the verification by Destructive Analysis is included. In addition, summaries of the analytical procedures used at the Safeguards Analytical Laboratory (SAL) of the IAEA and the expected measurement performance for element assay and isotopic abundance are provided. (author)

Elevance of PCDD/PCDF formation for the evaluation of POPs destruction technologies. PCB destruction over a TiO2-based V2O5-WO3 catalyst

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weber, R. [Tuebingen Univ. (Germany)

2004-09-15

PCDDs/PCDFs and PCBs in off-gas from municipal waste incinerators. At higher temperatures, the catalyst can also be used for POPs (and VOC) destruction. In this respect Hagenmaier investigated different oxidation catalysts for PCB destruction efficiency and found superior destruction properties for the TiO2-based V{sub 2}O{sub 5}-WO{sub 3} catalyst. PCB destruction exhibits a special challenge because they are PCDF precursors and n easily be oxidised into the more toxic PCDFs. Therefore, the formation of PCDDs/PCDFs during destruction of PCBs (POPs) is one important criterion for the evaluation of a PCB (POPs) destruction technology. The relevance of PCDF formation during destruction of PCBs was demonstrated e.g. for the supercritical water oxidation technology (SCWO), a technology listed in the highest rank of non-combustion technologies from the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), where PCDFs were formed in the %-range. Therefore the present study evaluates the relevance of PCDF formation during catalytic destruction of PCBs on a TiO{sub 2}-based V{sub 2}O{sub 5}-WO{sub 3} catalyst. The study aims to give an example of how an assessment of PCDF formation as a function of operation conditions for PCB (POPs) destruction might be performed for the evaluation of a PCB (POPs) destruction technology. Further, the results demonstrate that for the catalytic oxidation over TiO{sub 2}-based V{sub 2}O{sub 5}-WO{sub 3} catalyst, the problem of PCDF formation can be overcome.

Manifestations of Indirect Self-Destructiveness and Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsirigotis, Konstantinos; Łuczak, Joanna

2016-09-01

While indirect self-destructiveness exerts a rather negative influence on the life and psychological and social functioning of the individual, emotional intelligence may have a favourable effect. The aim of this study has been to explore possible relationships between manifestations of indirect self-destructiveness and dimensions of emotional intelligence. A population of 260 individuals (130 females and 130 males) aged 20-30 (mean age of 24.5) was studied by using the Polish version of the Chronic Self-Destructiveness Scale and INTE, i.e., the Polish version of the Assessing Emotions Scale. Manifestations of indirect self-destructiveness show many significant correlations with variables of the INTE, and those correlations are negative. Generally, it can be said that low emotional intelligence is associated with poor psychosocial and social functioning, which, in turn, is associated with indirect self-destructiveness and its manifestations. It seems advisable to use emotional intelligence in the prophylactic and therapeutic work with individuals suffering from various types of disorders, especially the syndrome of indirect self-destructiveness.

Non-destructive testing of electronic parts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Widenhorn, G.

1980-01-01

The requirements on quality, safety, faultlessness and reliability of electric components increase because of the high complexity of the appliances in which they are used. By means of examples a survey is given on the common non-destructive testing methods, testing operation and evaluation of test results on electric components which must meet in their application high requirements on quality and reliability. Defective components, especially those with hidden failures are sorted out by non-destructive testing and the failure frequency of the appliances and plants in testing and operation is greatly reduced. (orig.) [de

European Non Destructive Examination Forum (ENDEF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deffrennes, M.; Engl, G.; Estorff, U. von

1998-01-01

Non destructive examination (NDE) during fabrication, Pre-service inspection (PSI) and In service inspection (ISI) are considered key issues for the safe use of nuclear energy. They are important elements of plant lifetime management which is a critical item in decision making on nuclear policies. The European non destructive examination forum (ENDEF) founded by European Commission provides a platform for open discussion between representatives of the European industries with the purpose to establish cooperation between EU, Central and Eastern European Countries and New Independent States in the field of NDE and ISI

Reparametrizations with given stop data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raussen, Martin

2009-01-01

In [1] we performed a systematic investigation of reparametrizations of continuous paths in a Hausdorff space that relies crucially on a proper understanding of stop data of a (weakly increasing) reprametrizations of the unit interval. I am grateful to Marco Grandis (Genova) for pointing out to me...

Reparametrizations with given stop data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raussen, Martin

In [1], we performed a systematic investigation of reparametrizations of continuous paths in a Hausdorff space that relies crucially on a proper understanding of stop data of a (weakly increasing) reparametrization of the unit interval. I am indebted to Marco Grandis (Genova) for pointing out tome...

Mechanical stop mechanism for overcoming MEMS fabrication tolerances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussein, Hussein; Bourbon, Gilles; Le Moal, Patrice; Lutz, Philippe; Haddab, Yassine

2017-01-01

A mechanical stop mechanism is developed in order to compensate MEMS fabrication tolerances in discrete positioning. The mechanical stop mechanism is designed to be implemented on SOI wafers using a common DRIE etching process. The various fabrication tolerances obtained due to the etching process are presented and discussed in the paper. The principle and design of the mechanism are then presented. Finally, experiments on microfabricated positioning prototypes show accurate steps unaffected by the fabrication tolerances. (technical note)

STOP-Bang Questionnaire in Patients with Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ki-Hwan Ji

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background and Objective The snoring, tiredness, observed apnea, and high blood pressure– body mass index, age, neck circumference, and gender (STOP-Bang questionnaire is known as a simple but useful tool for the diagnosis of high-risk obstructive sleep apnea (OSA. However, the utility of STOP-Bang questionnaire in rapid eye movement (REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD populations is not validated. This study aimed to determine the diagnostic value of the STOP-Bang questionnaire in patients with RBD at high risk for OSA. Methods We collected data from 65 consecutive patients who were diagnosed with RBD in a tertiary sleep center (20 women; mean age, 64.3 ± 12.5 years. All the patients visited sleep center with complaints of abnormal behavior during sleep, and underwent testing with STOP-Bang questionnaire and polysomnography. The diagnosis of RBD was based on the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, second edition. We diagnosed OSA when apnea-hypopnea index (AHI was at least 5/h. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC curves were plotted. Results The mean AHI was 18.2 ± 16.5/h, and 75.4% (n = 49 had an AHI ≥ 5. The STOP-Bang (threshold ≥ 3 identified 70.7% of patients as high risk for OSA, and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 81.6, 62.5, 87, and 52.6%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve (AUC was 0.79 (p < 0.001. The STOP (threshold ≥ 2 identified 70.7% of patients at high risk for OSA, and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 75.5, 87.5, 94.9, and 53.8%, respectively. The AUC was 0.86 (p < 0.001. A pairwise comparison of ROC curve between STOP-Bang and STOP was insignificant (p = 0.145. Conclusions In RBD population, the STOP-Bang or STOP questionnaire is a useful screening tool to identify patients at high risk for OSA.

Hamster and Murine Models of Severe Destructive Lyme Arthritis

Science.gov (United States)

Munson, Erik; Nardelli, Dean T.; Du Chateau, Brian K.; Callister, Steven M.; Schell, Ronald F.

2012-01-01

Arthritis is a frequent complication of infection in humans with Borrelia burgdorferi. Weeks to months following the onset of Lyme borreliosis, a histopathological reaction characteristic of synovitis including bone, joint, muscle, or tendon pain may occur. A subpopulation of patients may progress to a chronic, debilitating arthritis months to years after infection which has been classified as severe destructive Lyme arthritis. This arthritis involves focal bone erosion and destruction of articular cartilage. Hamsters and mice are animal models that have been utilized to study articular manifestations of Lyme borreliosis. Infection of immunocompetent LSH hamsters or C3H mice results in a transient synovitis. However, severe destructive Lyme arthritis can be induced by infecting irradiated hamsters or mice and immunocompetent Borrelia-vaccinated hamsters, mice, and interferon-gamma- (IFN-γ-) deficient mice with viable B. burgdorferi. The hamster model of severe destructive Lyme arthritis facilitates easy assessment of Lyme borreliosis vaccine preparations for deleterious effects while murine models of severe destructive Lyme arthritis allow for investigation of mechanisms of immunopathology. PMID:22461836

Principles and approaches to the treatment of immune-mediated movement disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammad, Shekeeb S; Dale, Russell C

2018-03-01

Immune mediated movement disorders include movement disorders in the context of autoimmune encephalitis such as anti-NMDAR encephalitis, post-infectious autoimmune movement disorders such as Sydenham chorea, paraneoplastic autoimmune movement disorders such as opsoclonus myoclonus ataxia syndrome, and infection triggered conditions such as paediatric acute neuropsychiatric syndrome. This review focuses on the approach to treatment of immune mediated movement disorders, which requires an understanding of the immunopathogenesis, whether the disease is destructive or 'altering', and the natural history of disease. Factors that can influence outcome include the severity of disease, the delay before starting therapy, use of multimodal therapy and whether the course is monophasic or relapsing. Although the four main conditions listed above have different pathophysiological processes, there are general themes that broadly apply including: early diagnosis and treatment is better, minimise the severity of disease, escalate treatment if the patient is not responding to initial treatments, and minimise relapse. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Optimal Locations of Bus Stops Connecting Subways near Urban Intersections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan Cui

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Unsuitable locations of bus stops which provide feeder transportation connecting subways near urban intersections usually lead to the low efficiency of public transport and level of passenger service. A multiobjective optimization model to distribute such stop locations is proposed to attain the shortest total walk distance of passengers and minimum delay time of cars through intersections and travel time of buses. The Pareto frontier and optimal solutions for the proposed model are given by the distance-based and enumerative methods. The Xizhimen bus stop is selected to implement case studies for verifying the validity of the proposed model. The analysis of sensitivity on possible solutions is also carried out in the case studies. The results show that the proposed model is capable of optimizing the locations of bus stops connecting subways near intersections and helpful to improve the level of passengers service and operational efficiency of public transportation.

Density dependence of stopping cross sections measured in liquid ethane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Both, G.; Krotz, R.; Lohmer, K.; Neuwirth, W.

1983-01-01

Electronic stopping cross sections for 7 Li projectiles (840--175 keV) have been measured with the inverted Doppler-shift attenuation method in liquid ethane (C 2 H 6 ) at two different densities. The density of the target has been varied by changing the temperature, and measurements have been performed at 0.525 g/cm 3 (199 K) and 0.362 g/cm 3 (287 K). At the higher density the stopping cross section is about 2% smaller. This result agrees with a calculation of the stopping cross section of liquid ethane, applying Lindhard's theory in the local-density approximation using a simple model of the liquid. It is also in agreement with various observations of the so-called physical-state effect, which show that the stopping cross section of the same substance is smaller in a condensed phase than in the gaseous one

Analysis of Radiation Accident of Non-destructive Inspection and Rational Preparing Bills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bae, Junwoo; Yoo, Donghan; Kim, Hee Reyoung

2013-01-01

After 2006, according to enactment of Non-destructive Inspection Promotion Act, the number of non-destructive inspection companies and corresponding accident is increased sharply. In this research, it includes characteristic analysis of field of the non-destructive inspection. And from the result of analysis, the purpose of this research is discovering reason for 'Why there is higher accident ratio in non-destructive inspection field, relatively' and preparing effective bill for reducing radiation accidents. The number of worker for non-destructive inspect is increased steadily and non-destructive inspect worker take highest dose. Corresponding to these, it must be needed to prepare bills to protect non-destructive inspect workers. By analysis of accident case, there are many case of carelessness that tools are too heavy to carry it everywhere workers go. And there are some cases caused by deficiency of education that less understanding of radiation and poor operation by less understanding of structure of tools. Also, there is no data specialized to non-destructive inspect field. So, it has to take information from statistical data. Because of this, it is hard to analyze nondestructive inspect field accurately. So, it is required to; preparing rational bills to protect non-destructive inspect workers nondestructive inspect instrument lightening and easy manual which can understandable for low education background people accurate survey data from real worker. To accomplish these, we needs to do; analyze and comprehend the present law about non-destructive inspect worker understand non-destructive inspect instruments accurately and conduct research for developing material developing rational survey to measuring real condition for non-destructive inspect workers

Reasons for starting and stopping electronic cigarette use.

Science.gov (United States)

Pepper, Jessica K; Ribisl, Kurt M; Emery, Sherry L; Brewer, Noel T

2014-10-03

The aim of our study was to explore reasons for starting and then stopping electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use. Among a national sample of 3878 U.S. adults who reported ever trying e-cigarettes, the most common reasons for trying were curiosity (53%); because a friend or family member used, gave, or offered e-cigarettes (34%); and quitting or reducing smoking (30%). Nearly two-thirds (65%) of people who started using e-cigarettes later stopped using them. Discontinuation was more common among those whose main reason for trying was not goal-oriented (e.g., curiosity) than goal-oriented (e.g., quitting smoking) (81% vs. 45%, p reasons for stopping e-cigarette use were that respondents were just experimenting (49%), using e-cigarettes did not feel like smoking cigarettes (15%), and users did not like the taste (14%). Our results suggest there are two categories of e-cigarette users: those who try for goal-oriented reasons and typically continue using and those who try for non-goal-oriented reasons and then typically stop using. Research should distinguish e-cigarette experimenters from motivated users whose decisions to discontinue relate to the utility or experience of use. Depending on whether e-cigarettes prove to be effective smoking cessation tools or whether they deter cessation, public health programs may need distinct strategies to reach and influence different types of users.

Stopping power of K electrons at extreme relativistic energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leung, P.T.; Rustgi, M.L.

1983-01-01

The recent work of Anholt on K-vacancy production by relativistic projectiles has been applied to calculate the stopping power of the K electrons. The results show that for protons of energy approx.10 3 GeV and heavy target elements, the relativistic contributions to the stopping power amount to several times the resuls due to the longitudinal terms obtained from Walske's work

Non-Human Primate Models of Orthopoxvirus Infections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Schmitt

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Smallpox, one of the most destructive diseases, has been successfully eradicated through a worldwide vaccination campaign. Since immunization programs have been stopped, the number of people with vaccinia virus induced immunity is declining. This leads to an increase in orthopoxvirus (OPXV infections in humans, as well as in animals. Additionally, potential abuse of Variola virus (VARV, the causative agent of smallpox, or monkeypox virus, as agents of bioterrorism, has renewed interest in development of antiviral therapeutics and of safer vaccines. Due to its high risk potential, research with VARV is restricted to two laboratories worldwide. Therefore, numerous animal models of other OPXV infections have been developed in the last decades. Non-human primates are especially suitable due to their close relationship to humans. This article provides a review about on non-human primate models of orthopoxvirus infections.

Stop valve with automatic control and locking for nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, D.K.

1980-01-01

This invention generally concerns an automatic control and locking stop valve. Specifically it relates to the use of such a valve in a nuclear reactor of the type containing absorber elements supported by a fluid and intended for stopping the reactor in complete safety [fr

Proposal for a CINDA-type stopping data bibliography (CISDA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivascu, M.; Bucurescu, D.; Avrigeanu, V.

1980-11-01

The present status and requirements of stopping power data (SD) are reviewed, by considering the significant trends in applications of nuclear data. The need of centralized information on SD is emphasized. If the establishing of compiled and evaluated SD libraries format is possible only through an internationally co-ordinated action, to produce a computerized index to bibliographic references on SD is an easier task. One describes a plan of a CINDA-type SD bibliography (named CISDA - Computer Index of Stopping Data) containing experimental, theoretical and evaluated works for stopping powers, range, energy and range straggling of ions with atomic mass and charge both larger than or equal to 1. The index organization and detailed field descriptions of reference records are presented. (author)

Optimized Skip-Stop Metro Line Operation Using Smart Card Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peitong Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Skip-stop operation is a low cost approach to improving the efficiency of metro operation and passenger travel experience. This paper proposes a novel method to optimize the skip-stop scheme for bidirectional metro lines so that the average passenger travel time can be minimized. Different from the conventional “A/B” scheme, the proposed Flexible Skip-Stop Scheme (FSSS can better accommodate spatially and temporally varied passenger demand. A genetic algorithm (GA based approach is then developed to efficiently search for the optimal solution. A case study is conducted based on a real world bidirectional metro line in Shenzhen, China, using the time-dependent passenger demand extracted from smart card data. It is found that the optimized skip-stop operation is able to reduce the average passenger travel time and transit agencies may benefit from this scheme due to energy and operational cost savings. Analyses are made to evaluate the effects of that fact that certain number of passengers fail to board the right train (due to skip operation. Results show that FSSS always outperforms the all-stop scheme even when most passengers of the skipped OD pairs are confused and cannot get on the right train.

Imagine stopping the progression of Alzheimer's

Science.gov (United States)

... Issue Past Issues Imagine stopping the progression of Alzheimer's Past Issues / Fall 2006 Table of Contents For ... I have friends and loved ones suffering from Alzheimer's. But I can imagine… and hope for… a ...

27 CFR 25.221 - Voluntary destruction of beer.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... beer. 25.221 Section 25.221 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS BEER Voluntary Destruction § 25.221 Voluntary destruction of beer. (a) On brewery premises. (1) A brewer may destroy, at the brewery, beer on which the tax has not...

19 CFR 191.44 - Destruction under Customs supervision.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Destruction under Customs supervision. 191.44 Section 191.44 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) DRAWBACK Rejected Merchandise § 191.44 Destruction under Customs supervision. A claimant may destroy merchandise an...

19 CFR 191.37 - Destruction under Customs supervision.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Destruction under Customs supervision. 191.37 Section 191.37 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) DRAWBACK Unused Merchandise Drawback § 191.37 Destruction under Customs supervision. A claimant may destroy...

19 CFR 191.25 - Destruction under Customs supervision.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Destruction under Customs supervision. 191.25 Section 191.25 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) DRAWBACK Manufacturing Drawback § 191.25 Destruction under Customs supervision. A claimant may destroy merchandise...

Mtb-specific CD27low CD4 T cells as markers of lung tissue destruction during pulmonary tuberculosis in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Nikitina, Irina Yu; Kondratuk, Natalya A; Kosmiadi, George A; Amansahedov, Rasul B; Vasilyeva, Irina A; Ganusov, Vitaly V; Lyadova, Irina V

2012-01-01

Effector CD4 T cells represent a key component of the host's anti-tuberculosis immune defense. Successful differentiation and functioning of effector lymphocytes protects the host against severe M. tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. On the other hand, effector T cell differentiation depends on disease severity/activity, as T cell responses are driven by antigenic and inflammatory stimuli released during infection. Thus, tuberculosis (TB) progression and the degree of effector CD4 T cell differentiation are interrelated, but the relationships are complex and not well understood. We have analyzed an association between the degree of Mtb-specific CD4 T cell differentiation and severity/activity of pulmonary TB infection. The degree of CD4 T cell differentiation was assessed by measuring the percentages of highly differentiated CD27(low) cells within a population of Mtb- specific CD4 T lymphocytes ("CD27(low)IFN-γ(+)" cells). The percentages of CD27(low)IFN-γ+ cells were low in healthy donors (median, 33.1%) and TB contacts (21.8%) but increased in TB patients (47.3%, p76%), but varied in blood (12-92%). The major correlate for the accumulation of CD27(low)IFN-γ(+) cells in blood was lung destruction (r = 0.65, p = 2.7 × 10(-7)). A cutoff of 47% of CD27(low)IFN-γ(+) cells discriminated patients with high and low degree of lung destruction (sensitivity 89%, specificity 74%); a decline in CD27(low)IFN-γ(+)cells following TB therapy correlated with repair and/or reduction of lung destruction (ppulmonary TB. Accumulation of CD27(low)IFN-γ(+) cells in the blood is associated with lung destruction. The findings indicate that there is no deficiency in CD4 T cell differentiation during TB; evaluation of CD27(low)IFN-γ(+) cells provides a valuable means to assess TB activity, lung destruction, and tissue repair following TB therapy.

On plasma coupling and turbulence effects in low velocity stopping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurilenkov, Yu K [Unified Institute for High Temperatures of Russian Academy of Sciences, 13/19 Izhorskaya Str., 125412 Moscow (Russian Federation); Maynard, G [Laboratoire de Physique des Gaz et des Plasmas, UMR-8578, Bat. 210, Universite Paris XI, F-91405 Orsay (France); Barriga-Carrasco, M D [Laboratoire de Physique des Gaz et des Plasmas, UMR-8578, Bat. 210, Universite Paris XI, F-91405 Orsay (France); Valuev, A A [Unified Institute for High Temperatures of Russian Academy of Sciences, 13/19 Izhorskaya Str., 125412 Moscow (Russian Federation)

2006-04-28

The problem of stopping power (SP) for projectile ions is analysed in terms of the dielectric function and effective collision frequency for moderately dense and strongly coupled plasmas (SCP). We consider several issues regarding the calculation of stopping power for correlated ensembles of particles and oscillators. In particular, effects of group (few particle) modes, transition from positive to negative dispersion and excitation of collective modes up to suprathermal level at plasma targets are addressed. Linear SP of dense suprathermal (nonlinear) plasma targets at different levels of target plasma turbulence is estimated. The force of suprathermal plasma oscillations on the projectile ions is mostly in the nature of increased frictional drag. The results obtained show the possibility of increasing low velocity stopping (up to 'turbulent' values) in comparison with losses in equilibrium dense plasma targets. Experimental conditions to create specific turbulent targets as well as some connection between stopping phenomena and SCP transport properties are discussed briefly.

On plasma coupling and turbulence effects in low velocity stopping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurilenkov, Yu K; Maynard, G; Barriga-Carrasco, M D; Valuev, A A

2006-01-01

The problem of stopping power (SP) for projectile ions is analysed in terms of the dielectric function and effective collision frequency for moderately dense and strongly coupled plasmas (SCP). We consider several issues regarding the calculation of stopping power for correlated ensembles of particles and oscillators. In particular, effects of group (few particle) modes, transition from positive to negative dispersion and excitation of collective modes up to suprathermal level at plasma targets are addressed. Linear SP of dense suprathermal (nonlinear) plasma targets at different levels of target plasma turbulence is estimated. The force of suprathermal plasma oscillations on the projectile ions is mostly in the nature of increased frictional drag. The results obtained show the possibility of increasing low velocity stopping (up to 'turbulent' values) in comparison with losses in equilibrium dense plasma targets. Experimental conditions to create specific turbulent targets as well as some connection between stopping phenomena and SCP transport properties are discussed briefly

Stopping powers of solids for low-energy protons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashley, J.C.; Ritchie, R.H.

1984-01-01

Electron gas models are useful approximations for describing the valence electron response of a solid to the passage of a charged particle. A simple free-electron gas model was used by Fermi and Teller to estimate the time required for a mesotron to be stopped in various solids. More recent work has employed the Lindhard dielectric response function, or approximations thereto, for calculations of the valence electron contributions to energy loss per unit pathlength for protons. Such calculations have generally shown rather poor agreement with experimental data for low-energy protons (velocity small compared to the Fermi velocity, v<< v/sub F/). The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to a recent calculation of the stopping power for slow protons using a density-functional formalism. These new results have been shown to give good agreement with experimental data and thus should provide valuable theoretical guidance in estimating stopping powers of solids for which no experimental data are available

A clinically parameterized mathematical model of Shigella immunity to inform vaccine design.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Courtney L Davis

Full Text Available We refine and clinically parameterize a mathematical model of the humoral immune response against Shigella, a diarrheal bacteria that infects 80-165 million people and kills an estimated 600,000 people worldwide each year. Using Latin hypercube sampling and Monte Carlo simulations for parameter estimation, we fit our model to human immune data from two Shigella EcSf2a-2 vaccine trials and a rechallenge study in which antibody and B-cell responses against Shigella's lipopolysaccharide (LPS and O-membrane proteins (OMP were recorded. The clinically grounded model is used to mathematically investigate which key immune mechanisms and bacterial targets confer immunity against Shigella and to predict which humoral immune components should be elicited to create a protective vaccine against Shigella. The model offers insight into why the EcSf2a-2 vaccine had low efficacy and demonstrates that at a group level a humoral immune response induced by EcSf2a-2 vaccine or wild-type challenge against Shigella's LPS or OMP does not appear sufficient for protection. That is, the model predicts an uncontrolled infection of gut epithelial cells that is present across all best-fit model parameterizations when fit to EcSf2a-2 vaccine or wild-type challenge data. Using sensitivity analysis, we explore which model parameter values must be altered to prevent the destructive epithelial invasion by Shigella bacteria and identify four key parameter groups as potential vaccine targets or immune correlates: 1 the rate that Shigella migrates into the lamina propria or epithelium, 2 the rate that memory B cells (BM differentiate into antibody-secreting cells (ASC, 3 the rate at which antibodies are produced by activated ASC, and 4 the Shigella-specific BM carrying capacity. This paper underscores the need for a multifaceted approach in ongoing efforts to design an effective Shigella vaccine.

A clinically parameterized mathematical model of Shigella immunity to inform vaccine design.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Courtney L; Wahid, Rezwanul; Toapanta, Franklin R; Simon, Jakub K; Sztein, Marcelo B

2018-01-01

We refine and clinically parameterize a mathematical model of the humoral immune response against Shigella, a diarrheal bacteria that infects 80-165 million people and kills an estimated 600,000 people worldwide each year. Using Latin hypercube sampling and Monte Carlo simulations for parameter estimation, we fit our model to human immune data from two Shigella EcSf2a-2 vaccine trials and a rechallenge study in which antibody and B-cell responses against Shigella's lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and O-membrane proteins (OMP) were recorded. The clinically grounded model is used to mathematically investigate which key immune mechanisms and bacterial targets confer immunity against Shigella and to predict which humoral immune components should be elicited to create a protective vaccine against Shigella. The model offers insight into why the EcSf2a-2 vaccine had low efficacy and demonstrates that at a group level a humoral immune response induced by EcSf2a-2 vaccine or wild-type challenge against Shigella's LPS or OMP does not appear sufficient for protection. That is, the model predicts an uncontrolled infection of gut epithelial cells that is present across all best-fit model parameterizations when fit to EcSf2a-2 vaccine or wild-type challenge data. Using sensitivity analysis, we explore which model parameter values must be altered to prevent the destructive epithelial invasion by Shigella bacteria and identify four key parameter groups as potential vaccine targets or immune correlates: 1) the rate that Shigella migrates into the lamina propria or epithelium, 2) the rate that memory B cells (BM) differentiate into antibody-secreting cells (ASC), 3) the rate at which antibodies are produced by activated ASC, and 4) the Shigella-specific BM carrying capacity. This paper underscores the need for a multifaceted approach in ongoing efforts to design an effective Shigella vaccine.

Stop researching transformational leadership! Now!

OpenAIRE

Tummers, Lars

2013-01-01

markdownabstract__Intro__ Researchers all over the world, stop with your research on transformational leadership! Now! This could be the provocative conclusion after reading the recent article of Profs. Daan van Knippenberg and Sim Sitkin in The Academy of Management Annals (2013). These leadership professors write about the problems surrounding transformational leadership.

Effect of STOP technique on safety climate in a construction company.

Science.gov (United States)

Darvishi, Ebrahim; Maleki, Afshin; Dehestaniathar, Saeed; Ebrahemzadih, Mehrzad

2015-01-01

Safety programs are a core part of safety management in workplaces that can reduce incidents and injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of Safety Training Observation Program (STOP) technique as a behavior modification program on safety climate in a construction company. This cross-sectional study was carried out on workers of the Petrochemical Construction Company, western Iran. In order to improve safety climate, an unsafe behavior modification program entitled STOP was launched among workers of project during 12 months from April 2013 and April 2014. The STOP technique effectiveness in creating a positive safety climate was evaluated using the Safety Climate Assessment Toolkit. 76.78% of total behaviors were unsafe. 54.76% of total unsafe acts/ at-risk behaviors were related to the fall hazard. The most cause of unsafe behaviors was associated with habit and unavailability of safety equipment. After 12 month of continuous implementation the STOP technique, 55.8% of unsafe behaviors reduced among workers. The average score of safety climate evaluated using of the Toolkit, before and after the implementation of the STOP technique was 5.77 and 7.24, respectively. The STOP technique can be considered as effective approach for eliminating at-risk behavior, reinforcing safe work practices, and creating a positive safety climate in order to reduction incidents/injuries.

Shelter from the Storm: Optimizing Distribution of Bus Stop Shelters in Los Angeles

OpenAIRE

Law, Philip; Taylor, Brian D.

2010-01-01

The functions of bus stop shelters and factors affecting their placement at stops in transit systems are analyzed. Drawing on information from a variety of sources, current shelter placement policy in Los Angeles was found to be guided principally by the revenue-generating potential of shelter advertisements, secondarily by political concerns over geographic equity, and only peripherally on the basis of bus stop use. Using data on shelter and stop locations, boardings, and headways, a methodo...

Stashing the stops in multijet events at the LHC

Science.gov (United States)

Diglio, Sara; Feligioni, Lorenzo; Moultaka, Gilbert

2017-09-01

While the presence of a light stop is increasingly disfavored by the experimental limits set on R-parity conserving scenarios, the naturalness of supersymmetry could still be safely concealed in the more challenging final states predicted by the existence of non-null R-parity violating couplings. Although R-parity violating signatures are extensively looked for at the Large Hadron Collider, these searches mostly assume 100% branching ratios for the direct decays of supersymmetric particles into Standard Model ones. In this paper we scrutinize the implications of relaxing this assumption by focusing on one motivated scenario where the lightest stop is heavier than a chargino and a neutralino. Considering a class of R-parity baryon number violating couplings, we show on general grounds that while the direct decay of the stop into Standard Model particles is dominant for large values of these couplings, smaller values give rise, instead, to the dominance of a plethora of longer decay chains and richer final states that have been so far barely analyzed at the LHC, thus weakening the impact of the present experimental stop mass limits. We characterize the case for R-parity baryon number violating couplings in the 10-7-10-1 range, in two different benchmark points scenarios within the model-independent setting of the low-energy phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We identify the different relevant experimental signatures from stop pair production and decays, estimate the corresponding proton-proton cross sections at √{s }=14 TeV and discuss signal versus background issues.

Self-Destructive Behavior in People with Dissociative Disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Saxe, Glenn N.; Chawla, Neharika; Van der Kolk, Bessel

2002-01-01

Study assesses self-destructive behavior in a group of inpatients who have dissociative disorders compared to those who report few dissociative symptoms. Results reveal that these patients more frequently engage in self-destructive behaviors, use more methods of self-injury, and begin to injure themselves at an earlier age then patients who do not…

Destructive Leadership: The Hatfield and McCoy Feud

Science.gov (United States)

Sparks, George; Wolf, Patricia; Zurick, Andryce M.

2015-01-01

This paper explores the phenomenon of destructive leadership using the historical case study of the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys. The characteristics of destructive leadership as well as the consequences of this leadership style are reviewed, examined and analyzed. Utilizing a case from history to shine light on a contemporary problem,…

Constructive Deviance, Destructive Deviance and Personality: How do they interrelate?

OpenAIRE

Bodankin, Moran; Tziner, Aharon

2009-01-01

In recent years deviant behavior in organizations has drawn increasing attention. However, surprisingly little research has focused on constructive rather than destructive deviance. In an attempt to bridge this gap, the present study investigated both constructive and destructive deviance at work and their relationship to employee personality. Using 89 hitech employees, constructive and destructive (interpersonal and organizational) deviance were regressed on the big-five factors of personali...

Influence of Kaolin in Fly Ash Based Geopolymer Concrete: Destructive and Non-Destructive Testing

Science.gov (United States)

Yahya, Z.; Abdullah, M. M. A. B.; Ramli, N. Mohd; Burduhos-Nergis, D. D.; Razak, R. Abd

2018-06-01

Development of geopolymer concrete is mainly to reduce the production of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) that adverse the natural effect. Fly ash is a by-product collected from electrical generating power plant which resulted from burning pulverized coal. Since fly ash is waste materials, it can be recycled for future advantages particularly as pozzolanic materials in construction industry. This study focused on the feasibility of fly ash based geopolymer concrete to which kaolin has been added. The main constituents of geopolymer production for this study were class F fly ash, sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution. The concentration of NaOH solution was fixed at 12 Molar, ratio of fly ash/alkaline activator and sodium silicate/NaOH fixed at 1.5 and 2.5, respectively. Kaolin was added in range 5% to 15% from the mass of fly ash and all the samples were cured at room temperature. Destructive and non-destructive test were performed on geopolymer concrete to evaluate the best mix proportions that yield the highest strength as well as the quality of the concrete. Compressive strength, flexural strength, rebound hammer and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) result have been obtained. It shown that 5% replacement of kaolin contributed to maximum compressive strength and flexural strength of 40.4 MPa and 12.35 MPa at 28 days. These result was supported by non-destructive test for the same mix proportion.

Overriding actions in Parkinson’s disease : Impaired stopping and changing of motor responses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Wildenberg, W.P.M.; Ridderinkhof, K.R.; van Wouwe, N.C.; Neimat, J.S.; Bashore, T.R.; Wylie, S.A.

2017-01-01

We administered a stop-change paradigm, an extended version of the stop task that requires (a) stopping an ongoing motor response and (b) changing to an alternative (change) response. Performance of a group of patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) and taking dopaminergic medication was

Advanced non-destructive methods for an efficient service performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rauschenbach, H.; Clossen-von Lanken Schulz, M.; Oberlin, R.

2015-01-01

Due to the power generation industry's desire to decrease outage time and extend inspection intervals for highly stressed turbine parts, advanced and reliable Non-destructive methods were developed by Siemens Non-destructive laboratory. Effective outage performance requires the optimized planning of all outage activities as well as modern Non-destructive examination methods, in order to examine the highly stressed components (turbine rotor, casings, valves, generator rotor) reliably and in short periods of access. This paper describes the experience of Siemens Energy with an ultrasonic Phased Array inspection technique for the inspection of radial entry pinned turbine blade roots. The developed inspection technique allows the ultrasonic inspection of steam turbine blades without blade removal. Furthermore advanced Non-destructive examination methods for joint bolts will be described, which offer a significant reduction of outage duration in comparison to conventional inspection techniques. (authors)

Search for stop production in R-parity-violating supersymmetry at HERA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chekanov, S.; Derrick, M.; Magill, S.

2006-11-01

A search for stop production in R-parity-violating supersymmetry has been performed in e + p interactions with the ZEUS detector at HERA, using an integrated luminosity of 65 pb -1 . At HERA, the R-parity-violating coupling λ' allows resonant squark production, e + d→q. Since the lowest-mass squark state in most supersymmetry models is the light stop, t, this search concentrated on production of t, followed either by a direct R-parity-violating decay, or by the gauge decay to b χ 1 + . No evidence for stop production was found and limits were set on λ 131 ' as a function of the stop mass in the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. The results have also been interpreted in terms of constraints on the parameters of the minimal Supergravity model. (orig.)

Contribution of inner shell electrons to position-dependent stopping powers of a crystal surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narumi, Kazumasa; Fujii, Yoshikazu; Kishine, Keiji; Kurakake, Hiroshi; Kimura, Kenji; Mannami, Michi-hiko

1994-01-01

Position-dependent stopping powers of the (001) surface of SnTe single crystal for specularly reflected 15 - 200 keV H + ions are studied. The position dependence of the experimental stopping powers varies with the energy of ions. From the comparison with the theoretical stopping powers based on both the single ion-electron collision and the collective excitation of the valence electrons, it is concluded that the observed change in the position-dependent stopping powers with energy of H + is due to the variation of contribution of inner shell electrons to stopping. (author)

Schumpeter's process of creative destruction and the Scandinavian systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Esben Sloth; Dahl, Michael Slavensky; Lundvall, Bengt-Åke

The paper studies of the process of creative destruction according to Schumpeter's programme of making a 'Theoretical, Historical, and Statistical Analysis of the Capitalist Process'. He had both a Mark I and a Mark II of concept of creative destruction, and they are important for understanding...... the coevolution between economic life and socio-political life. A method for partitioning of evolutionary change into a selection effect and an innovation effect is described, and sketches of the historical experience of Denmark and Sweden are made accordingly. Finally, a statistical study of creative destruction...

Low-bias flat band-stop filter based on velocity modulated gaussian graphene superlattice

Science.gov (United States)

Sattari-Esfahlan, S. M.; Shojaei, S.

2018-05-01

Transport properties of biased planar Gaussian graphene superlattice (PGGSL) with Fermi velocity barrier is investigated by transfer matrix method (TMM). It is observed that enlargement of bias voltage over miniband width breaks the miniband to WSLs leads to suppressing resonant tunneling. Transmission spectrum shows flat wide stop-band property controllable by external bias voltage with stop-band width of near 200 meV. The simulations demonstrate that strong velocity barriers prevent tunneling of Dirac electrons leading to controllable enhancement of stop-band width. By increasing ratio of Fermi velocity in barriers to wells υc stop-band width increase. As wide transmission stop-band width (BWT) of filter is tunable from 40 meV to 340 meV is obtained by enhancing ratio of υc from 0.2 to 1.5, respectively. Proposed structure suggests easy tunable wide band-stop electronic filter with a modulated flat stop-band characteristic by height of electrostatic barrier and structural parameters. Robust sensitivity of band width to velocity barrier intensity in certain bias voltages and flat band feature of proposed filter may be opens novel venue in GSL based flat band low noise filters and velocity modulation devices.

Remote Shutoff Stops Runaway Lawnmower

Science.gov (United States)

Grambo, Alan A.

2007-01-01

In this article, the author describes how electronics students at Central Nine Career Center designed a kill switch circuit to stop a runaway lawnmower. This project is ideal for a career center since the electronics/robotics, small engines and horticulture classes can all work together on their respective parts of the modification, installation…

Revised emission factors for gas engines including start/stop emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nielsen, Malene; Boll Illerup, J.; Birr-Petersen, K.

2008-06-15

Liberalisation of the electricity market has led to Danish gas engine plants increasingly converting to the spot and regulating power markets. In order to offer regulating power, plants need to be able to start and stop the engines at the plants quickly. The liberalisation causes a considerable change of operation practice of the engines e.g. less full load operation hours /year. The project provides an inventory determining the scale of the emissions during the start and stop sequence as well as proposals for engine modifications aimed at reducing start/stop emissions. This report includes calculation of emission factors as well as an inventory of total emissions and reduction potentials. (au)

A video-based system for hand-driven stop-motion animation.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Xiaoguang; Fu, Hongbo; Zheng, Hanlin; Liu, Ligang; Wang, Jue

2013-01-01

Stop-motion is a well-established animation technique but is often laborious and requires craft skills. A new video-based system can animate the vast majority of everyday objects in stop-motion style, more flexibly and intuitively. Animators can perform and capture motions continuously instead of breaking them into increments and shooting one still picture per increment. More important, the system permits direct hand manipulation without resorting to rigs, achieving more natural object control for beginners. The system's key component is two-phase keyframe-based capturing and processing, assisted by computer vision techniques. With this system, even amateurs can generate high-quality stop-motion animations.

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... and away from your mouth. Identify your triggers: These could be physical triggers, such as the presence ... nails, you can figure out how to avoid these situations and develop a plan to stop. Just ...

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... figure out how to avoid these situations and develop a plan to stop. Just knowing when you’ ... a doctor. If you bite your nails and develop a skin or nail infection, consult a board- ...

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... your nails to your face and mouth. To help you stop biting your nails, dermatologists recommend the ... stress ball or silly putty instead. This will help keep your hands busy and away from your ...

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Skin dictionary Camp Discovery Good Skin Knowledge lesson plans and activities Video library Find a dermatologist Why ... how to avoid these situations and develop a plan to stop. Just knowing when you’re inclined ...

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Part 2: Origin Part 3: Function Textbook Study notes Image library 3-D animated image library Board ... gradually stop biting your nails: Some doctors recommend taking a gradual approach to break the habit. Try ...

Subshell stopping power of the elements for protons in the Born approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGuire, E.J.

1982-01-01

The generalized oscillator-strength formulation of the Born approximation was used to generate a large sample of subshell excitation and ionization generalized oscillator strengths across the periodic table. These were used to calculate the excitation and ionization contributions to the proton stopping power by individual subshells. The subshell ionization stopping powers are expressed in scaled form, depending on the subshell ionization energy. Detailed comparison of the calculated total proton stopping power is in good agreement with experiment across the periodic table. Detailed calculations show the importance of outer-shell ionization and excitation to the total stopping power for protons with energy less than 10 MeV

Development of hotcell non-destructive examination techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Young Uhn; Yu, S. C.; Kang, B. S.; Byun, K. S. [Chungbuk National University, Chungju (Korea)

2002-01-01

The purpose of this project is to establish non-destructive examination techniques which needs to determine the status of spent nuclear fuel and/or bundles. Through the project, we will establish an image reconstruction tomography which is a kind of non-destructive techniques in Hotcell. The tomography technique can be used to identify the 2-dimensional density distribution of fission products in the spent fuel rods and/or bundles. And form results of the measurement and analysis of magnetic properties of neutron irradiated material in the press vessel and reactor, we will develop some techniques to test its hardness and defects. In 2001, the first year, we have established mathematical background and necessary data and informations to develop the techniques. We will try to find some experimental results that are necessary in developing the Hotcell non-destructive examination techniques in the coming year. 14 refs., 65 figs., 5 tabs. (Author)

Anti-RANKL treatment inhibits erosive joint destruction and lowers inflammation but has no effect on bone formation in the delayed-type hypersensitivity arthritis (DTHA) model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Atkinson, Sara Marie; Bleil, Janine; Maier, Rene

2016-01-01

. Periarticular bone formation was observed from day 10. Induction of new bone formation indicated by enhanced Runx2, collagen X, osteocalcin, MMP2, MMP9, and MMP13 mRNA expression was observed only between days 8 and 11. Anti-RANKL treatment resulted in a modest reduction in paw and ankle swelling...... and bone formation were analyzed by mRNA deep sequencing. Serum concentrations of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b, carboxy-terminal telopeptide I (CTX-I), matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3), and serum amyloid P component (SAP) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Anti......-RANKL monoclonal antibody treatment was initiated at the time of immunization. Results: Bone destruction (MMP3 serum levels, cathepsin B activity, and RANKL mRNA) peaked at day 3 after arthritis induction, followed by a peak in cartilage destruction and bone erosion on day 5 after arthritis induction...

Reasons for Starting and Stopping Electronic Cigarette Use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica K. Pepper

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of our study was to explore reasons for starting and then stopping electronic cigarette (e-cigarette use. Among a national sample of 3878 U.S. adults who reported ever trying e-cigarettes, the most common reasons for trying were curiosity (53%; because a friend or family member used, gave, or offered e-cigarettes (34%; and quitting or reducing smoking (30%. Nearly two-thirds (65% of people who started using e-cigarettes later stopped using them. Discontinuation was more common among those whose main reason for trying was not goal-oriented (e.g., curiosity than goal-oriented (e.g., quitting smoking (81% vs. 45%, p < 0.001. The most common reasons for stopping e-cigarette use were that respondents were just experimenting (49%, using e-cigarettes did not feel like smoking cigarettes (15%, and users did not like the taste (14%. Our results suggest there are two categories of e-cigarette users: those who try for goal-oriented reasons and typically continue using and those who try for non-goal-oriented reasons and then typically stop using. Research should distinguish e-cigarette experimenters from motivated users whose decisions to discontinue relate to the utility or experience of use. Depending on whether e-cigarettes prove to be effective smoking cessation tools or whether they deter cessation, public health programs may need distinct strategies to reach and influence different types of users.

Spectroscopy of hypernuclei with stopped kaons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamura, H.; Brueckner, W.; Doebbeling, H.

1987-09-01

Pion momentum spectra from K - absorption at rest on various nuclear targets were measured by means of a magnetic spectrometer with wide momentum range (100 ∼ 300 MeV/c). The ground state of Σ - hypernucleus, if well bound with a narrow width, is expected to be populated in 12 C(stopped K - , π + ) inclusive (untagged) spectrum, but such a peak was not observed. The spectrum is compared with the DWIA calculations by Morimatsu and Yazaki, indicating that the depth of the nuclear potential of Σ - is shallower than 12 MeV, and that its imaginary part is larger than 5 MeV if the potential depth is about 10 MeV. In the 12 C(stopped K - , π - ) spectrum, the ground state ((p3/2) n -1 (s1/2) Λ ) and the excited states ((p3/2) n -1 (p) Λ ) of Λ 12 C were observed, and their formation probabilities were roughly in agreement with the results of DWIA calculations. In the π - spectra on 12 C, 9 Be, and 7 Li targets a distinct peak was observed at 132.1 ± 0.7 MeV/c. It is ascribed to π - from the mesic decay of Λ 4 H; Λ 4 H → 4 He π - . The formation probability of Λ 4 H on C, Be, or Li target is much larger than those of the discrete states of Λ 12 C via the direct (stopped K - , π - ) reaction. (author)

Stopping power of degenerate electron liquid at metallic densities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Shigenori; Ichimaru, Setsuo

1985-01-01

We calculate the stopping power of the degenerate electron liquid at metallic densities in the dielectric formalism. The strong Coulomb-coupling effects beyond the random-phase approximation are taken into account through the static and dynamic local-field corrections. It is shown that those strong-coupling and dynamic effects act to enhance the stopping power substantially in the low-velocity regime, leading to an improved agreement with experimental data. (author)

Immunity peculiarities of neonates in case of perinatal pathology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

О. S. Godovanets

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The immune system as one of the regulating systems of the body determined peculiarities of child adaptation after birth stipulating physiology of adaptation or perinatal pathology formation. Objective: to study peculiarities of immunological indices in case of neonates’ perinatal pathology to detect their role in pathogenesis and formation of diseases severity. Materials and methods. The group of term infants with clinical signs of perinatal pathology (173 individuals was examined. They were divided into two groups: group A included those with diagnosed severe forms of diseases (121 individuals, and group B included 52 infants with general moderate severity of perinatal pathology. The group of comparison included 82 newborns without substantial adaptive deviations after birth. IL1 and IL6 levels were examined by means of immunofluorescence method “Clonospectr” using the reagents produced by “ProCon”. Absolute and relative amount of СD2+-associated Т and NK-lymphocytes, СD14+-associated monocytes, СD15+-associated neutrophils, СD19+-associated В-lymphocytes and СD54+-associated ІСАМ-1 cells were determined by means of immunofluorescence method “Status” using the set of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies produced by “Sorbent”. The data obtained were statistically processed with the application of applied programs package used for medical-biological studies “Statgraphics Centurion XVI.I” [2011] on the personal computer Pentium MMX CPU. Results. The results obtained were indicative of considerable changes in the immune system indices in newborns under conditions of birth stress and hypoxia. It has been found that a term newborn has a special different from that of adults biologically mediated state of immune system, that can determine both the development of physiological adaptation and under certain circumstances excessive reactions of systemic inflammation, autoimmune processes and destruction of tissues. One

Single start multiple stop time digitizer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deshpande, P.A.; Mukhopadhyay, P.K.; Gopalakrishnan, K.R.

1997-01-01

A single start multiple stop time digitizer has been developed which can digitize the time between a start pulse and multiple stop pulses. The system has been designed as a PC add on card. The resolution of the instrument is 10 nSecs and the maximum length of time that it can measure is 1.28 milliseconds. Apart from time digitization, it can also resolve the height of the incoming pulses into 64 levels. After each input pulse the system dead time is less than 300 nSecs. The driver software for this card has been developed on DOS platform. It uses graphical user interface to provide a user friendly environment. The system is intended to be used in time of flight mass spectroscopy experiments. It can also be used for time of flight experiments in nuclear physics. (author). 2 figs

Stopping-power ratios for dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreo, P.

1988-01-01

The determination of the absorbed dose at a specified location in a medium irradiated with an electron or photon beam normally consists of two steps: (1) the determination of the mean absorbed dose to a detector by using a calibration factor or performing an absolute measurement, (2) the determination of the absorbed dose to the medium at the point of interest by calculations based on the knowledge of the absorbed dose to the detector and the different stopping and scattering properties of the medium and the detector material. When the influence of the detector is so small that the electron fluence in the medium is not modified, the ratio of the mass collision stopping power of the two materials accounts for the differences in energy deposition, and provides a conversion factor to relate the absorbed dose in both materials. Today, all national and international dosimetry protocols and codes of practice are based on such procedures, and the user easily can carry out these steps using tabulated data to convert a measured quantity to absorbed dose in the irradiated medium at the location of interest. Effects due to the spatial extension of the detector are taken into account using perturbation correction factors. The Monte Carlo method has become the most common and powerful calculational technique for determining the electron fluence (energy spectra) under different irradiation conditions. Cavity theory is then used to calculate stopping-power ratios. In this chapter, the different steps needed to evaluate s-ratios will be considered, emphasizing the different types of cavity-theory integrals and the Monte Carlo techniques used to derive the necessary electron spectra in the range of energies commonly used in radiation dosimetry, i.e., photon and electron beams with energies up to 50 MeV

Measurement of the Barkas effect around the stopping-power maximum for light and heavy targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moeller, S.P.; Knudsen, H.; Mikkelsen, U.; Paludan, K.; Morenzoni, E.

1997-01-01

The first direct measurements of antiproton stopping powers around the stopping power maximum are presented. The LEAR antiproton-beam of 5.9 MeV is degraded to 50-700 keV, and the energy-loss is found by measuring the antiproton velocity before and after the target. The antiproton stopping powers of Si and Au are found to be reduced by 30 and 40% near the electronic stopping power maximum as compared to the equivalent proton stopping power. The Barkas effect, that is the stopping power difference between protons and antiprotons, is extracted and compared to theoretical estimates. (orig.)

Plagiarism: Can It Be Stopped?

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, G. Jay

2011-01-01

Plagiarism can be controlled, not stopped. The more appropriate question to ask is: What can be done to encourage students to "cheat" correctly by doing the assignment the way it was intended? Cheating by college students continues to reach epidemic proportions on selected campuses, as witnessed by the recent episode at Central Florida University,…

Relativistic theory of stopping for heavy ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindhard, J.; So/rensen, A.H.

1996-01-01

We calculate the electronic stopping power and the corresponding straggling for ions of arbitrary charge number, penetrating matter at any relativistic energy. The stopping powers are calculated by a simple method. Its starting point is the deviation of the precise theory from first-order quantum perturbation. We show that this deviation can be expressed in terms of the transport cross section, σ tr , for scattering of a free electron by the ion. In the nonrelativistic case the deviation is precisely the Bloch correction to Bethe close-quote s formula; we look into the nonrelativistic case in order to clarify both some features of our method and a seeming paradox in Rutherford scattering. The corresponding relativistic correction is obtained from σ tr for scattering of a Dirac electron in the ion potential. Here, the major practical advantage of the method shows up; we need not find the scattering distribution, but merely a single quantity, σ tr , determined by differences of successive phase shifts. For a point nucleus our results improve and extend those of Ahlen. Our final results, however, are based on atomic nuclei with standard radii. Thereby, the stopping is changed substantially already for moderate values of γ=(1-v 2 /c 2 ) -1/2 . An asymptotic saturation in stopping is obtained. Because of finite nuclear size, recoil corrections remain negligible at all energies. The average square fluctuation in energy loss is calculated as a simple fluctuation cross section for a free electron. The fluctuation in the relativistic case is generally larger than that of the perturbation formula, by a factor of ∼2 endash 3 for heavy ions. But the finite nuclear radius leads to a strong reduction at high energies and the elimination of the factor γ 2 belonging to point nuclei. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Optimal Stopping with Information Constraint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lempa, Jukka

2012-01-01

We study the optimal stopping problem proposed by Dupuis and Wang (Adv. Appl. Probab. 34:141–157, 2002). In this maximization problem of the expected present value of the exercise payoff, the underlying dynamics follow a linear diffusion. The decision maker is not allowed to stop at any time she chooses but rather on the jump times of an independent Poisson process. Dupuis and Wang (Adv. Appl. Probab. 34:141–157, 2002), solve this problem in the case where the underlying is a geometric Brownian motion and the payoff function is of American call option type. In the current study, we propose a mild set of conditions (covering the setup of Dupuis and Wang in Adv. Appl. Probab. 34:141–157, 2002) on both the underlying and the payoff and build and use a Markovian apparatus based on the Bellman principle of optimality to solve the problem under these conditions. We also discuss the interpretation of this model as optimal timing of an irreversible investment decision under an exogenous information constraint.

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Mohs AUC MyDermPath+ Psoriasis Patient education resources Practice Management Center Coding and reimbursement Coding MACRA Fee schedule ... your nails: Some doctors recommend taking a gradual approach to break the habit. Try to stop biting ...

Positron stopping in elemental systems: Monte Carlo calculations and scaling properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, V.J.; Aers, G.C.

1995-01-01

The scaling of positron-implantation (stopping) profiles has been reported by Ghosh et al., who used the BNL Monte Carlo scheme to generate stopping profiles in semi-infinite elemental metals. A simple scaling relationship reduced the stopping profiles of positrons implanted at different energies (ranging from 1--10 keV) onto a single universal curve for that particular metal. We have confirmed that the scaling relationship also applies to the quite different Jensen and Walker Monte Carlo scheme, for more materials, and over an expanded energy range of 1--25 keV. The mean depths of the stopping profiles calculated by the two Monte Carlo schemes are found to be different, mainly due to differences in the inelastic mean free paths and the energy-loss functions. However, after scaling, the profiles generated by the two schemes can be superimposed onto a single curve which can be appropriately parametrized. The scaled profiles are found to be only weakly material dependent. The mean depths, backscattered fractions, and scaled stopping profiles are fitted to simple parametric functions, and the values of these parameters are obtained for several elements

Simulations of enhanced ion stopping power experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehlhorn, T.A.; Maenchen, J.E.; Olsen, J.N.; Johnson, D.J.

1984-01-01

As the material in an ICF target is heated and ionized by an intense ion beam, the ion stopping power changes from that of neutral atoms. This changes the energy deposition characteristics of the ion beam and thereby can profoundly influence the target dynamics. An accurate ion energy deposition model is important for designing ICF targets that perform in an optimal fashion. An experiment to measure a time-resolved ion stopping power history in a partially ionized target is being fielded on the PROTO I accelerator at Sandia Labs. This experiment utilizes a voltage ramped Thomson parabola to provide a time-history of the ion energy incident upon and exiting from a cylindrical target foil

The effect of hydration state and energy balance on innate immunity of a desert reptile.

Science.gov (United States)

Moeller, Karla T; Butler, Michael W; Denardo, Dale F

2013-05-04

Immune function is a vital physiological process that is often suppressed during times of resource scarcity due to investments in other physiological systems. While energy is the typical currency that has been examined in such trade-offs, limitations of other resources may similarly lead to trade-offs that affect immune function. Specifically, water is a critical resource with profound implications for organismal ecology, yet its availability can fluctuate at local, regional, and even global levels. Despite this, the effect of osmotic state on immune function has received little attention. Using agglutination and lysis assays as measures of an organism's plasma concentration of natural antibodies and capacity for foreign cell destruction, respectively, we tested the independent effects of osmotic state, digestive state, and energy balance on innate immune function in free-ranging and laboratory populations of the Gila monster, Heloderma suspectum. This desert-dwelling lizard experiences dehydration and energy resource fluctuations on a seasonal basis. Dehydration was expected to decrease innate immune function, yet we found that dehydration increased lysis and agglutination abilities in both lab and field studies, a relationship that was not simply an effect of an increased concentration of immune molecules. Laboratory-based differences in digestive state were not associated with lysis or agglutination metrics, although in our field population, a loss of fat stores was correlated with an increase in lysis. Depending on the life history of an organism, osmotic state may have a greater influence on immune function than energy availability. Thus, consideration of osmotic state as a factor influencing immune function will likely improve our understanding of ecoimmunology and the disease dynamics of a wide range of species.

Ball Screw Actuator Including a Compliant Ball Screw Stop

Science.gov (United States)

Wingett, Paul T. (Inventor); Hanlon, Casey (Inventor)

2017-01-01

An actuator includes a ball nut, a ball screw, and a ball screw stop. The ball nut is adapted to receive an input torque and in response rotates and supplies a drive force. The ball screw extends through the ball nut and has a first end and a second end. The ball screw receives the drive force from the ball nut and in response selectively translates between a retract position and a extend position. The ball screw stop is mounted on the ball screw proximate the first end to translate therewith. The ball screw stop engages the ball nut when the ball screw is in the extend position, translates, with compliance, a predetermined distance toward the first end upon engaging the ball nut, and prevents further rotation of the ball screw upon translating the predetermined distance.

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... gloves to prevent biting. Replace the nail-biting habit with a good habit: When you feel like biting your nails, try ... recommend taking a gradual approach to break the habit. Try to stop biting one set of nails, ...

The effect of facial makeup on the frequency of drivers stopping for hitchhikers.

Science.gov (United States)

Guéguen, Nicolas; Lamy, Lubomir

2013-08-01

Judgments of photographs have shown that makeup enhances ratings of women's facial attractiveness. The present study assessed whether makeup affects the stopping behavior of drivers in response to a hitchhiker's signal. Four 20- to 22-year-old female confederates wore facial makeup, or not, while pretending to be hitchhiking. Frequency of stopping was compared in 1,600 male and female drivers. Facial makeup was associated with an increase in the number of male drivers who stopped to offer a ride. Makeup did not affect frequency of stopping by female drivers.

Drinking and driving behavior at stop signs and red lights.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Jingyan; Wu, Changxu; Zhang, Yiqi; Houston, Rebecca J; Chen, Chang Wen; Chanawangsa, Panya

2017-07-01

Alcohol is one of the principal risk factors for motor vehicle crashes. One factor that contributes to vehicle crashes is noncompliance with stop signs and red lights. The present experiment investigated the effects of alcohol and drinking patterns on driving behavior at stop signs and red lights. 28 participants participated in drinking and simulated driving sessions during which they received a moderate dose of alcohol (0.08% BAC) or a placebo. Simulated driving tasks measured participants' driving performance at stop signs and red lights in response to each dose. Results suggested that alcohol impaired the driver control of speed and direction and prolonged their simple and complex reaction time, which were exhibited by impaired speed and lateral control, longer reaction time when the lights turned yellow, and lower deceleration towards stop signs and red lights. Visual degradation may also occur under alcohol intake. It was also suggested that alcohol impaired non-binge drinkers more severely. To be specific, higher acceleration was observed in impaired non-binge drinkers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ODS Destruction in the United States and Abroad - February 2018

Science.gov (United States)

This technical report provides information on sources, destruction technologies, and best practices for recovery, collection, transport, and destruction of ozone-depleting substances and other fluorinated compounds such as HFCs

Modelling, simulation and visualisation for electromagnetic non-destructive testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ilham Mukriz Zainal Abidin; Abdul Razak Hamzah

2010-01-01

This paper reviews the state-of-the art and the recent development of modelling, simulation and visualization for eddy current Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) technique. Simulation and visualization has aid in the design and development of electromagnetic sensors and imaging techniques and systems for Electromagnetic Non-Destructive Testing (ENDT); feature extraction and inverse problems for Quantitative Non-Destructive Testing (QNDT). After reviewing the state-of-the art of electromagnetic modelling and simulation, case studies of Research and Development in eddy current NDT technique via magnetic field mapping and thermography for eddy current distribution are discussed. (author)

Stopping Power for Degenerate Electrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singleton, Jr., Robert [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-05-16

This is a first attempt at calculating the BPS stopping power with electron degeneracy corrections. Section I establishes some notation and basic facts. Section II outlines the basics of the calculation, and in Section III contains some brief notes on how to proceed with the details of the calculation. The remaining work for the calculation starts with Section III.

Conceptualizing Chronic Self-Destructiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelley, Kathryn

Self-destructiveness can be viewed in two ways: as performing an act which one knows cognitively is not conducive to one's welfare but nonetheless leads to some pleasurable affect (e.g., overeating, smoking); or not performing an act one knows one should perform but which has some negative affective consequences (e.g., dental checkups, saving…

9 CFR 2.129 - Confiscation and destruction of animals.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Confiscation and destruction of animals. 2.129 Section 2.129 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ANIMAL WELFARE REGULATIONS Miscellaneous § 2.129 Confiscation and destruction of...

Self-Destructing Dark Matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grossman, Yuval [Cornell U., LEPP; Harnik, Roni [Fermilab; Telem, Ofri [Cornell U., LEPP; Zhang, Yue [Northwestern U.

2017-12-01

We present Self-Destructing Dark Matter (SDDM), a new class of dark matter models which are detectable in large neutrino detectors. In this class of models, a component of dark matter can transition from a long-lived state to a short-lived one by scattering off of a nucleus or an electron in the Earth. The short-lived state then decays to Standard Model particles, generating a dark matter signal with a visible energy of order the dark matter mass rather than just its recoil. This leads to striking signals in large detectors with high energy thresholds. We present a few examples of models which exhibit self destruction, all inspired by bound state dynamics in the Standard Model. The models under consideration exhibit a rich phenomenology, possibly featuring events with one, two, or even three lepton pairs, each with a fixed invariant mass and a fixed energy, as well as non-trivial directional distributions. This motivates dedicated searches for dark matter in large underground detectors such as Super-K, Borexino, SNO+, and DUNE.

A life cycle assessment of destruction of ammunition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alverbro, K.; Bjoerklund, A.; Finnveden, G.; Hochschorner, E.; Haegvall, J.

2009-01-01

The Swedish Armed Forces have large stocks of ammunition that were produced at a time when decommissioning was not considered. This ammunition will eventually become obsolete and must be destroyed, preferably with minimal impact on the environment and in a safe way for personnel. The aim of this paper is to make a comparison of the environmental impacts in a life cycle perspective of three different methods of decommissioning/destruction of ammunition, and to identify the environmental advantages and disadvantages of each of these destruction methods: open detonation; static kiln incineration with air pollution control combined with metal recycling, and a combination of incineration with air pollution control, open burning, recovery of some energetic material and metal recycling. Data used are for the specific processes and from established LCA databases. Recycling the materials in the ammunition and minimising the spread of airborne pollutants during incineration were found to be the most important factors affecting the life cycle environmental performance of the compared destruction methods. Open detonation with or without metal recycling proved to be the overall worst alternative from a life cycle perspective. The results for the static kiln and combination treatment indicate that the kind of ammunition and location of the destruction plant might determine the choice of method, since the environmental impacts from these methods are of little difference in the case of this specific grenade. Different methods for destruction of ammunition have previously been discussed from a risk and safety perspective. This is however to our knowledge the first study looking specifically on environmentally aspect in a life cycle perspective.

Chondrule destruction in nebular shocks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jacquet, Emmanuel; Thompson, Christopher, E-mail: ejacquet@mnhn.fr [Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 60 St George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H8 (Canada)

2014-12-10

Chondrules are millimeter-sized silicate spherules ubiquitous in primitive meteorites, but whose origin remains mysterious. One of the main proposed mechanisms for producing them is melting of solids in shock waves in the gaseous protoplanetary disk. However, evidence is mounting that chondrule-forming regions were enriched in solids well above solar abundances. Given the high velocities involved in shock models, destructive collisions would be expected between differently sized grains after passage of the shock front as a result of differential drag. We investigate the probability and outcome of collisions of particles behind a one-dimensional shock using analytic methods as well as a full integration of the coupled mass, momentum, energy, and radiation equations. Destruction of protochondrules seems unavoidable for solid/gas ratios ε ≳ 0.1, and possibly even for solar abundances because of 'sandblasting' by finer dust. A flow with ε ≳ 10 requires much smaller shock velocities (∼2 versus 8 km s{sup –1}) in order to achieve chondrule-melting temperatures, and radiation trapping allows slow cooling of the shocked fragments. Initial destruction would still be extensive; although re-assembly of millimeter-sized particles would naturally occur by grain sticking afterward, the compositional heterogeneity of chondrules may be difficult to reproduce. We finally note that solids passing through small-scale bow shocks around few kilometer-sized planetesimals might experience partial melting and yet escape fragmentation.

Review of stopping power and Coulomb explosion for molecular ion in plasmas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guiqiu Wang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available We summarize our theoretical studies for stopping power of energetic heavy ion, diatomic molecular ions and small clusters penetrating through plasmas. As a relevant research field for the heavy ion inertial confinement fusion (HICF, we lay the emphasis on the dynamic polarization and correlation effects of the constituent ion within the molecular ion and cluster for stopping power in order to disclose the role of the vicinage effect on the Coulomb explosion and energy deposition of molecules and clusters in plasma. On the other hand, as a promising scheme for ICF, both a strong laser field and an intense ion beam are used to irradiate a plasma target. So the influence of a strong laser field on stopping power is significant. We discussed a large range of laser and plasma parameters on the coulomb explosion and stopping power for correlated-ion cluster and C60 cluster. Furthermore, in order to indicate the effects of different cluster types and sizes on the stopping power, a comparison is made for hydrogen and carbon clusters. In addition, the deflection of molecular axis for diatomic molecules during the Coulomb explosion is also given for the cases both in the presence of a laser field and laser free. Finally, a future experimental scheme is put forward to measure molecular ion stopping power in plasmas in Xi'an Jiaotong University of China. Keywords: Molecules, Stopping power, Coulomb explosion, Vicinage effect, Laser, PACS Codes: 34.50.Bw, 52.40.Mj, 61.85.+p, 34.50.Dy

Evaluation of destructive methods for managing decontamination wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piciulo, P.L.; Adams, J.W.

1986-01-01

Results are discussed of a laboratory evaluation of destructive methods for processing chemical decontamination wastes. Incineration, acid digestion and wet-air oxidation are capable of degrading decontamination reagents and organic ion-exchange resins. The extent of destruction as a function of operating parameters was waste specific. The reagents used in the testing were: EDTA, oxalic acid, citric acid, picolinic acid and LND-101A

Reciprocity in the electronic stopping of slow ions in matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sigmund, P.

2008-01-01

The principle of reciprocity, i.e., the invariance of the inelastic excitation in ion-atom collisions against interchange of projectile and target, has been applied to the electronic stopping cross section of low-velocity ions and tested empirically on ion-target combinations supported by a more or less adequate amount of experimental data. Reciprocity is well obeyed (within ∼10%) for many systems studied, and deviations exceeding ∼20% are exceptional. Systematic deviations such as gas-solid or metal-insulator differences have been looked for but not identified on the present basis. A direct consequence of reciprocity is the equivalence of Z 1 with Z 2 structure for random slowing down. This feature is reasonably well supported empirically for ion-target combinations involving carbon, nitrogen, aluminium and argon. Reciprocity may be utilized as a criterion to reject questionable experimental data. In cases where a certain stopping cross section has not been or cannot be measured, the stopping cross section for the inverted system may be available and serve as a first estimate. It is suggested to build in reciprocity as a fundamental requirement into empirical interpolation schemes directed at the stopping of low-velocity ions. Examination of the SRIM and MSTAR codes reveals cases where reciprocity is obeyed accurately, but deviations of up to a factor of two are common. In case of heavy ions such as gold, electronic stopping cross sections predicted by SRIM are asserted to be almost an order of magnitude too high. (authors)

Reciprocity in the electronic stopping of slow ions in matter

Science.gov (United States)

Sigmund, P.

2008-04-01

The principle of reciprocity, i.e., the invariance of the inelastic excitation in ion-atom collisions against interchange of projectile and target, has been applied to the electronic stopping cross section of low-velocity ions and tested empirically on ion-target combinations supported by a more or less adequate amount of experimental data. Reciprocity is well obeyed (within ~10%) for many systems studied, and deviations exceeding ~20% are exceptional. Systematic deviations such as gas-solid or metal-insulator differences have been looked for but not identified on the present basis. A direct consequence of reciprocity is the equivalence of Z1 with Z2 structure for random slowing down. This feature is reasonably well supported empirically for ion-target combinations involving carbon, nitrogen, aluminium and argon. Reciprocity may be utilized as a criterion to reject questionable experimental data. In cases where a certain stopping cross section has not been or cannot be measured, the stopping cross section for the inverted system may be available and serve as a first estimate. It is suggested to build in reciprocity as a fundamental requirement into empirical interpolation schemes directed at the stopping of low-velocity ions. Examination of the SRIM and MSTAR codes reveals cases where reciprocity is obeyed accurately, but deviations of up to a factor of two are common. In case of heavy ions such as gold, electronic stopping cross sections predicted by SRIM are asserted to be almost an order of magnitude too high.

In Vivo Dual Fluorescence Imaging to Detect Joint Destruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Hongsik; Bhatti, Fazal-Ur-Rehman; Lee, Sangmin; Brand, David D; Yi, Ae-Kyung; Hasty, Karen A

2016-10-01

Diagnosis of cartilage damage in early stages of arthritis is vital to impede the progression of disease. In this regard, considerable progress has been made in near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) optical imaging technique. Arthritis can develop due to various mechanisms but one of the main contributors is the production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), enzymes that can degrade components of the extracellular matrix. Especially, MMP-1 and MMP-13 have main roles in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis because they enhance collagen degradation in the process of arthritis. We present here a novel NIRF imaging strategy that can be used to determine the activity of MMPs and cartilage damage simultaneously by detection of exposed type II collagen in cartilage tissue. In this study, retro-orbital injection of mixed fluorescent dyes, MMPSense 750 FAST (MMP750) dye and Alexa Fluor 680 conjugated monoclonal mouse antibody immune-reactive to type II collagen, was administered in the arthritic mice. Both dyes were detected with different intensity according to degree of joint destruction in the animal. Thus, our dual fluorescence imaging method can be used to detect cartilage damage as well as MMP activity simultaneously in early stage arthritis. © 2016 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Search for stop production in R-parity-violating supersymmetry at HERA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chekanov, S.; Derrick, M.; Magill, S. [Argonne National Laboratory, IL (US)] (and others)

2006-11-15

A search for stop production in R-parity-violating supersymmetry has been performed in e{sup +}p interactions with the ZEUS detector at HERA, using an integrated luminosity of 65 pb{sup -1}. At HERA, the R-parity-violating coupling {lambda}' allows resonant squark production, e{sup +}d{yields}q. Since the lowest-mass squark state in most supersymmetry models is the light stop, t, this search concentrated on production of t, followed either by a direct R-parity-violating decay, or by the gauge decay to b{sub {chi}{sub 1}}{sup +}. No evidence for stop production was found and limits were set on {lambda}{sub 131}' as a function of the stop mass in the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. The results have also been interpreted in terms of constraints on the parameters of the minimal Supergravity model. (orig.)

9 CFR 54.7 - Procedures for destruction of animals.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Procedures for destruction of animals. 54.7 Section 54.7 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT... SCRAPIE Scrapie Indemnification Program § 54.7 Procedures for destruction of animals. (a) Scrapie-positive...

Leadership by fragmented destruction after a merger: an example from a facility of acute psychiatry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorid Grimeland

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Hospitals are labor intensive facilities based on highly skilled employees. A merger of hospitals is an effort to increase and rationalize this production. Decisions behind a merger are made at the top leadership level. How this might be done is demonstrated by examples from a 36 bed acute psychiatric facility. The aim of the study was to calculate the hidden costs of fragmented destruction of parts of a total hospital supply to patients after a merger. Fragmented destruction is the deliberate stopping of activities deemed not part of the core activities of the hospital without due consideration of the impact on core activities. The proposed changes to operational expenses at a single acute psychiatric hospital were materials for the study. The changes included activities as a reduction in local laboratory service, cleaning services, closure of physiotherapy unit, closing of cultural activities and reduced productivity. The selected activities are calculated as giving an imputed gain of € 630,000 as indicated by the leadership. The not calculated costs of reducing or removing the selected activities are estimated at € 1,955,640. The cost of staff disappointment after a merger is difficult to assess, but is probably higher than assumed in the present calculations. Imputed cost containment is not attained. The calculations indicate that implemented changes may increase cost, contrary to the belief of the leadership at both the hospital level and further up in the hospital trust. Arguments in favor of a merger have to be scrutinized thoroughly for optimistic neglect of uncalculated costs of mergers. Future hospital mergers and selected fragmentation of productive tasks at ward or hospital levels should include calculations of unavoidable costs as shown in the present paper.

Estimation of the effectiveness of the destruction of natural stone oversized by a hydraulic hammer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.G. Kravets

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The experience of mining operations shows that even with the application of progressive methods of drilling, it is impossible to completely exclude the output of a large fraction (oversized. The percentage of oversized mass emissions from the blasting mass depending on the mining and geological conditions may vary from 5 to 20 percent. Catching an oversized piece into the receiving slit of the main crusher is associated with stopping the whole technological chain of the enterprise. Sharpening of oversized pieces of the work area during conducting of extraction or overturning works leads to a decrease in the efficiency of mining operations. Crushing of oversized materials to the required sizes can be carried out in an explosive way (by a bore or overhead charge or by non-explosive methods, most of which are based on mechanical destruction under the action of local dynamic stresses that cause stress exceeding the resistance of internal bonds in the rock. To date, manufacturers are offered many types of shock mechanisms, based on the transformation of various types of energy (from gravitational, to the energy of chemical processes into mechanical. For a number of reasons, mostly economic, to date, the most common way is the mechanical method of the destruction of oversized beams using hydraulic and hydro pneumatic hammer. That is why the work considers the main factors influencing the performance of the hydraulic hammer, among which – the specific energy consumption of the oversize and the main parameters of the hydraulic engine passport on the basis of the excavator. In the publication the power law of the hydraulic hammer changes in dependence of the size of the oversized. Also, the basic parameters of the JCB JS235 HD excavator passport are defined in the work with the use of the INDECO HP 1500 hammer hammer.

Introduction to Stopping Time in Stochastic Finance Theory. Part II

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaeger Peter

2017-12-01

Full Text Available We start proceeding with the stopping time theory in discrete time with the help of the Mizar system [1], [4]. We prove, that the expression for two stopping times k1 and k2 not always implies a stopping time (k1 + k2 (see Theorem 6 in this paper. If you want to get a stopping time, you have to cut the function e.g. (k1 + k2 ⋂ T (see [2, p. 283 Remark 6.14]. Next we introduce the stopping time in continuous time. We are focused on the intervals [0, r] where r ∈ ℝ. We prove, that for I = [0, r] or I = [0,+∞[ the set {A ⋂ I : A ∈ Borel-Sets} is a σ-algebra of I (see Definition 6 in this paper, and more general given in [3, p.12 1.8e]. The interval I can be considered as a timeline from now to some point in the future. This set is necessary to define our next lemma. We prove the existence of the σ-algebra of the τ -past, where τ is a stopping time (see Definition 11 in this paper and [6, p.187, Definition 9.19]. If τ1 and τ2 are stopping times with τ1 is smaller or equal than τ2 we can prove, that the σ-algebra of the τ1-past is a subset of the σ-algebra of the τ2-past (see Theorem 9 in this paper and [6, p.187 Lemma 9.21]. Suppose, that you want to use Lemma 9.21 with some events, that never occur, see as a comparison the paper [5] and the example for ST(1={+∞} in the Summary. We don’t have the element +1 in our above-mentioned time intervals [0, r[ and [0,+1[. This is only possible if we construct a new σ-algebra on ℝ {−∞,+∞}. This construction is similar to the Borel-Sets and we call this σ-algebra extended Borel sets (see Definition 13 in this paper and [3, p. 21]. It can be proved, that {+∞} is an Element of extended Borel sets (see Theorem 21 in this paper. Now we use the interval [0,+∞] as a basis. We construct a σ-algebra on [0,+∞] similar to the book ([3, p. 12 18e], see Definition 18 in this paper, and call it extended Borel subsets. We prove for stopping times with this given σ-algebra, that

Book Review: Stop, Write!

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans Thulesius

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This book on writing grounded theory is intended for the empirical GT researcher who wants to pursue his/her research until publication. It is the first book devoted entirely to such a crucial issue as writing grounded theory. Thus, Stop, Write: Writing Grounded Theory, is a practical book that fills a gap in GT methodology. In the first chapter of the book, Dr. Glaser says, “Stop unending conceptualization, unending data coverage, and unending listening to others who would egg you on with additional data, ideas and/or requirements or simply wait too long”. The book teaches the reader how to actually write a grounded theory by “simply” writing up the sorted memos. This requires efficient sorting that is dealt with in chapter two on Sorting Memos, which includes precious repetition from Theoretical Sensitivity (1978. How writing can be done effectively is outlined in chapter three The Working Paper. Then follows chapter four on how to rework the first draft with the different tasks of editing for language and professionalism. Thereafter Dr. Glaser discusses Writing Problems in chapter five where he gives useful guidance on how to overcome writing blocks and problems with supervisors and dissertation committees. The book also deals with publishing and with collaboration as experienced between Barney Glaser and the cofounder of grounded theory, Anselm Strauss.

Chronic destructive pulmonary tuberculosis: assessment of disease activity by computed tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nam, Kyung Jin; Jeong, Yeon Joo [Dept. of Radiology, Pusan National Univ. Hospital, Pusan National Univ. School of Medicine and Medical Research Inst., Pusan (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: jeongyj@pusan.ac.kr; Kim, Yeong Dae; I, Hoseok [Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Pusan National Univ. Hospital, Pusan National Univ. School of Medicine and Medical Research Inst., Pusan (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Kun-Il; Lee, Jun Woo [Dept. of Radiology, Pusan National Univ. Yangsan Hospital, Pusan National Univ. School of Medicine, Pusan (Korea, Republic of); Park, Hye Kyung [Internal Medicine, and Pusan National Univ. Hospital, Pusan National Univ. School of Medicine and Medical Research Inst., Pusan (Korea, Republic of)

2012-11-15

Background Determination of disease activity of chronic destructive pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) on imaging studies can be difficult because several imaging findings due to disease chronicity such as a residual cavity can be misinterpreted as an active disease. Purpose To evaluate computed tomography (CT) findings to predict active disease in patients with chronic destructive pulmonary TB. Material and Methods CT findings of 36 patients with chronic active destructive pulmonary TB and 78 patients with chronic inactive destructive pulmonary TB were reviewed and their patterns of lung lesions were compared. Statistical comparisons were performed using chi-square and Student's T tests for univariate analyses, and a stepwise logistic regression method was used for multivariate analysis. Results Based on univariate analyses, cavitary destruction (P = 0.015), non-branching centrilobular nodules (P < 0.001), tree-in-bud pattern (P < 0.001), airspace nodules (P < 0.001), and cavities in other lobes (P = 0.001) were more frequently seen in chronic active destructive pulmonary TB. A stepwise logistic regression analysis demonstrated that tree-in-bud pattern (odds ratio, 52.3; 95% confidence interval, 6.2-437.2; P < 0.001) were significant CT findings associated with active disease. Conclusion Tree-in-bud pattern were the most characteristic CT findings to predict active disease in patients with chronic destructive pulmonary TB.

DESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION OF SHIPPING PACKAGE 9975-06100

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daugherty, W.

2014-11-07

Destructive and non-destructive examinations have been performed on specified components of shipping package 9975-06100. This package was selected for examination based on several characteristics: - This was the first destructively examined package in which the fiberboard assembly was fabricated from softwood fiberboard. - The package contained a relatively high heat load to contribute to internal temperature, which is a key environmental factor for fiberboard degradation. - The package has been stored in the middle or top of a storage array since its receipt in K- Area, positions that would contribute to increased service temperatures. No significant changes were observed for attributes that were measured during both field surveillance and destructive examination. Except for the axial gap, all observations and test results met identified criteria, or were collected for information and trending purposes. The axial gap met the 1 inch maximum criterion during field surveillance, but was just over the criterion during SRNL measurements. When re-measured at a later date, it again met the criterion. The bottom of the lower fiberboard assembly and the drum interior had two small stains at matching locations, suggestive of water intrusion. However, the fiberboard assembly did not contain any current evidence of excess moisture. No evidence of a degraded condition was found in this package. Despite exposure to the elevated temperatures of this higher-then-average wattage package, properties of the fiberboard and O-rings are consistent with those of new packages.

Anatomy of maximal stop mixing in the MSSM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruemmer, Felix; Kraml, Sabine; Kulkarni, Suchita

2012-05-01

A Standard Model-like Higgs near 125 GeV in the MSSM requires multi-TeV stop masses, or a near-maximal contribution to its mass from stop mixing. We investigate the maximal mixing scenario, and in particular its prospects for being realized it in potentially realistic GUT models. We work out constraints on the possible GUT-scale soft terms, which we compare with what can be obtained from some well-known mechanisms of SUSY breaking mediation. Finally, we analyze two promising scenarios in detail, namely gaugino mediation and gravity mediation with non-universal Higgs masses.

International Symposium of Scientists for Nuclear test Stopping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1986-01-01

Problems discussed at International Symposium of Scientists for Nuclear Test Stopping in July 1986 in Moscow were considered. Scientists discussed complex of possible measures directed at strengthening of peace supporting mechanism, spoke in support of prohibition of all nuclear weapon tests. Necessity of measures preventing the weapon delivery to space, construction of the regime of using cosmic equipment exclusively for peace was noted. Attention was paid to the problem of control for test stopping (by means of sattelites and seismic methods), cooperation establishment between the USSR Academy of Sciences and the Council for the protection of the USA Natural Resources

Anatomy of maximal stop mixing in the MSSM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruemmer, Felix [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Kraml, Sabine; Kulkarni, Suchita [CNRS/IN2P3, INPG, Grenoble (France). Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie

2012-05-15

A Standard Model-like Higgs near 125 GeV in the MSSM requires multi-TeV stop masses, or a near-maximal contribution to its mass from stop mixing. We investigate the maximal mixing scenario, and in particular its prospects for being realized it in potentially realistic GUT models. We work out constraints on the possible GUT-scale soft terms, which we compare with what can be obtained from some well-known mechanisms of SUSY breaking mediation. Finally, we analyze two promising scenarios in detail, namely gaugino mediation and gravity mediation with non-universal Higgs masses.

Maintenance cost savings - snubber elimination with limit stops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cloud, R.L.; Taylor, W.H.

1993-01-01

'Active' snubbers can be replaced with 'passive' Limit Stops using two separate strategies. One is a straightforward piping re-analysis to optimize the number of dynamic supports and replace remaining snubbers with Limit Stops. A second approach is to take implicit advantage of the margins afforded by the ASME Code Case N-411 reduced damping ratios and simply replace snubbers one-for-one with no re-analysis. Both methods result in major maintenance cost savings and both have been discussed with the NRC. Approaches to maintenance cost reduction using these strategies are discussed in this paper

Coherent resonance stop bands in alternating gradient beam transport

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, K.; Okamoto, H.; Tokashiki, Y.; Fukushima, K.

2017-06-01

An extensive experimental study is performed to confirm fundamental resonance bands of an intense hadron beam propagating through an alternating gradient linear transport channel. The present work focuses on the most common lattice geometry called "FODO" or "doublet" that consists of two quadrupoles of opposite polarities. The tabletop ion-trap system "S-POD" (Simulator of Particle Orbit Dynamics) developed at Hiroshima University is employed to clarify the parameter-dependence of coherent beam instability. S-POD can provide a non-neutral plasma physically equivalent to a charged-particle beam in a periodic focusing potential. In contrast with conventional experimental approaches relying on large-scale machines, it is straightforward in S-POD to control the doublet geometry characterized by the quadrupole filling factor and drift-space ratio. We verify that the resonance feature does not essentially change depending on these geometric factors. A few clear stop bands of low-order resonances always appear in the same pattern as previously found with the sinusoidal focusing model. All stop bands become widened and shift to the higher-tune side as the beam density is increased. In the space-charge-dominated regime, the most dangerous stop band is located at the bare betatron phase advance slightly above 90 degrees. Experimental data from S-POD suggest that this severe resonance is driven mainly by the linear self-field potential rather than by nonlinear external imperfections and, therefore, unavoidable at high beam density. The instability of the third-order coherent mode generates relatively weak but noticeable stop bands near the phase advances of 60 and 120 degrees. The latter sextupole stop band is considerably enhanced by lattice imperfections. In a strongly asymmetric focusing channel, extra attention may have to be paid to some coupling resonance lines induced by the Coulomb potential. Our interpretations of experimental data are supported by theoretical

Animal Spirits Meets Creative Destruction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Francois, P.; Lloyd-Ellis, H.

2001-01-01

We show how a Schumpeterian process of creative destruction can induce coordination in the timing of entrepreneurial activities across diverse sectors of the economy.Consequently, a multi-sector economy, in which sector-specific, productivity improvements are made by independent, profit-seeking

Dynamic Scoring Through Creative Destruction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Oudheusden, P.

2012-01-01

Abstract: We examine the dynamic feedback effects of fiscal policies on the government budget and economy activity in a calibrated general equilibrium framework featuring endogenous growth through creative destruction. For several European countries, we find that making tax incentives with respect

Destructive spondyloarthropathy and radiographic follow-up in hemodialysis patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orzincolo, C.; Cardona, P.; Bedani, P.L.; Gilli, P.; Scutellari, P.N.; Trotta, F.

1990-01-01

Nine patients undergoing regular dialytic treatment for more than 60 months showed clinical and radiologic features of a noninfective and destructive spondyloarthropathy. Typically, radiographs and CT scans revealed narrowing of intervertebral spaces, with destruction or sclerosis of the subchondral bone of the vertebral plate. A radiographic follow-up of the cervical spine was performed in seven patients after a period of 12 months and showed that the bone destruction in DSA is very rapid and progressive. The lower biocompatibility of the cuprophan membranes of dialyzers is probably the factor most responsible for hyperproduction of β 2 -m and subsequently osteoarticular deposition of a new type of amyloidosis. (orig./DG)

Brownian Optimal Stopping and Random Walks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamberton, D.

2002-01-01

One way to compute the value function of an optimal stopping problem along Brownian paths consists of approximating Brownian motion by a random walk. We derive error estimates for this type of approximation under various assumptions on the distribution of the approximating random walk

Empirical Analysis and Modeling of Stop-Line Crossing Time and Speed at Signalized Intersections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keshuang Tang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In China, a flashing green (FG indication of 3 s followed by a yellow (Y indication of 3 s is commonly applied to end the green phase at signalized intersections. Stop-line crossing behavior of drivers during such a phase transition period significantly influences safety performance of signalized intersections. The objective of this study is thus to empirically analyze and model drivers’ stop-line crossing time and speed in response to the specific phase transition period of FG and Y. High-resolution trajectories for 1465 vehicles were collected at three rural high-speed intersections with a speed limit of 80 km/h and two urban intersections with a speed limit of 50 km/h in Shanghai. With the vehicle trajectory data, statistical analyses were performed to look into the general characteristics of stop-line crossing time and speed at the two types of intersections. A multinomial logit model and a multiple linear regression model were then developed to predict the stop-line crossing patterns and speeds respectively. It was found that the percentage of stop-line crossings during the Y interval is remarkably higher and the stop-line crossing time is approximately 0.7 s longer at the urban intersections, as compared with the rural intersections. In addition, approaching speed and distance to the stop-line at the onset of FG as well as area type significantly affect the percentages of stop-line crossings during the FG and Y intervals. Vehicle type and stop-line crossing pattern were found to significantly influence the stop-line crossing speed, in addition to the above factors. The red-light-running seems to occur more frequently at the large intersections with a long cycle length.

Optimal Stopping Problems Driven by Lévy Processes and Pasting Principles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Surya, B.A.

2007-01-01

Solving optimal stopping problems driven by Lévy processes has been a challenging task and has found many applications in modern theory of mathematical finance. For example situations in which optimal stopping typically arise include the problem of finding the arbitrage-free price of the American

Tolerance of the High Energy X-ray Imaging Technology ASIC to potentially destructive radiation processes in Earth-orbit-equivalent environments

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, D. F.; Baumgartner, W. H.; Wilson, M.; Benmoussa, A.; Campola, M.; Christe, S. D.; Gissot, S.; Jones, L.; Newport, J.; Prydderch, M.; Richards, S.; Seller, P.; Shih, A. Y.; Thomas, S.

2018-02-01

The High Energy X-ray Imaging Technology (HEXITEC) ASIC is designed on a 0.35 μm CMOS process to read out CdTe or CZT detectors and hence provide fine-pixellated spectroscopic imaging in the range 2-200 keV. In this paper, we examine the tolerance of HEXITEC to both potentially destructive cumulative and single event radiation effects. Bare ASICs are irradiated with X-rays up to a total ionising dose (TID) of 1 Mrad (SiO2) and bombarded with heavy ions with linear energy transfer (LET) up to 88.3 MeV mg-1 cm-2. HEXITEC is shown to operate reliably below a TID of 150 krad, have immunity to fatal single event latchup (SEL) and have high tolerance to non-fatal SEL up to LETs of at least 88.3 MeV mg-1 cm-2. The results are compared to predictions of TID and SELs for various Earth-orbits and aluminium shielding thicknesses. It is found that HEXITEC's radiation tolerance to both potentially destructive cumulative and single event effects is sufficient to reliably operate in these environments with moderate shielding.

DETERMINANTS DESTRUCTIVE TO BUSINESS CONDUCT TRANSPORT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Anatol’evna Loginova

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article examines the determinants of destructive behavior in the transport business with the aim to identify their causes and to clarify the features of influence on them by all business stakeholders in transport. It is shown that the key determinants are: submission to the will of one business entity to another, the implementation of state support only in distressed periods of functioning of transport organizations, business obligations to the state are often perceived as a back-breaking businessmen, unfair, unnecessary. The main conclusions of the work are reduced to the following recommendations: to form a focused pulse of the state in support of the transport business; improve enforcement culture; more efficient use of the transport business capital. The goal – to identify the cause of the destructive business behavior and clarify the characteristics of their research on the part of all stakeholders in the transport sector. Method or methodology of work: in the article used analytical methods, and statistical analysis methods. Results for: received informative pictures that describe deterministic minanaty-destructive conduct business on the road, on the basis of which developed recommendations to neutralize their influence on the behavior of entrepreneurs. Application of results: the results the expediency applied differently businesses and government agencies operating in the field of transport.

Modelling the Immune Response to Cancer: An Individual-Based Approach Accounting for the Difference in Movement Between Inactive and Activated T Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Macfarlane, Fiona R; Lorenzi, Tommaso; Chaplain, Mark A J

2018-06-01

A growing body of experimental evidence indicates that immune cells move in an unrestricted search pattern if they are in the pre-activated state, whilst they tend to stay within a more restricted area upon activation induced by the presence of tumour antigens. This change in movement is not often considered in the existing mathematical models of the interactions between immune cells and cancer cells. With the aim to fill such a gap in the existing literature, in this work we present a spatially structured individual-based model of tumour-immune competition that takes explicitly into account the difference in movement between inactive and activated immune cells. In our model, a Lévy walk is used to capture the movement of inactive immune cells, whereas Brownian motion is used to describe the movement of antigen-activated immune cells. The effects of activation of immune cells, the proliferation of cancer cells and the immune destruction of cancer cells are also modelled. We illustrate the ability of our model to reproduce qualitatively the spatial trajectories of immune cells observed in experimental data of single-cell tracking. Computational simulations of our model further clarify the conditions for the onset of a successful immune action against cancer cells and may suggest possible targets to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Overall, our theoretical work highlights the importance of taking into account spatial interactions when modelling the immune response to cancer cells.

The metabolic cost of mounting an immune response in male brown anoles (Anolis sagrei).

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Christian L; Peaden, Robert T; Cox, Robert M

2015-09-09

The tradeoff between reproduction and survival is central to life-history theory and is thought to reflect underlying energetic tradeoffs between reproduction and self-maintenance. Immune responses to parasites and pathogens are important components of self-maintenance in many species, but whether these defenses impose significant energetic costs has only been tested in a handful of organisms. We tested for a metabolic cost of mounting an immune response in the male brown anole (Anolis sagrei), a lizard in which we have previously shown that reproduction causes a marked reduction in immune response to the novel antigen phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). We treated captive male anoles with a subcutaneous injection of either PHA, which induces an immune response that manifests as localized swelling, or saline vehicle as a control. Prior to injection and at 24, 48, and 72 hr post-injection, we measured swelling at the site of injection and whole-animal resting metabolic rate (RMR) using stop-flow respirometry. Although we detected a robust swelling response to PHA at 24, 48, and 72 hr post-injection, mean RMR did not differ between treatments at any of these time points. However, within the PHA treatment group, RMR increased with the extent of swelling, suggesting a variable metabolic cost that scales with the magnitude of the induced immune response. Although individual anoles varied considerably in the extent to which they responded to PHA challenge, our results suggest that an immune response can impose a substantial metabolic cost (potentially as much as 63% above baseline RMR) for individuals that do respond maximally. J. Exp. Zool. 9999A:XX-XX, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Destructiveness criteria for seismic risk evaluation of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saragoni, G.R.

1995-01-01

Two criteria of destructiveness for seismic risk evaluation of nuclear power plant are presented. The first one is a simple linear criterion that allows to compute average response spectra in terms of earthquake accelerogram characteristics. The second defines the destructiveness potential factor P D which measures the capacity of earthquake to produce nonlinear damage. This second criterion that shows large differences of destructiveness capacity for earthquake accelerograms of different seismic environment, specially between subductive and transcursive, is strongly recommended. (author). 8 refs., 1 fig. 1 tab

"Cold combustion" as a new method of toxic waste destruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Екатерина Юрьевна Ткаченко

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This article describes a promising new method for the destruction of toxic industrial waste, obsolete pesticides and military poisons and explosives. The proposed method can be used to create mobile modular units that will produce the destruction of the "field", to clean the soil and water containing low concentrations of a pollutant, to solve the problem of disposal of explosives, which is often accompanied by the destruction of uncontrolled detonation. The proposed method is environmentally friendly, using ice as the working body

Nurses' perceptions of conflict as constructive or destructive.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Wonsun Sunny; Nicotera, Anne M; McNulty, Julie

2015-09-01

The aim of this study was to examine nurses' perceptions of constructive and destructive conflicts and their management among nurses. Conflict among nurses is common and has been associated with lack of collaboration, lack of communication and disruptive behaviour, with the potential to have negative impact teamwork. However, unlike the broader social science literature, positive views of conflict are scarce in the nursing literature. Given the various functions of conflict and the high stakes of ineffective conflict management in nursing, it is necessary to examine how nurses understand both sides of conflict: constructive and destructive. A qualitative descriptive design. Data were collected from 34 full time nurses as part of a conflict skills training course offered over 6 months beginning in October 2009. Each participant was asked to write a weekly journal about conflicts in his/her work place. Data yielded 163 entries (82 classified as constructive and 81 as destructive). Results showed that quality patient care and cooperative communication contributed to the perception that conflict is constructive in nature. The central underlying themes in nurses' perceptions of destructive conflict were time constraints, role conflict and power differences that are not managed through communication. This article helps to identify nursing perceptions of constructive and destructive conflict and to understand complexities nurses face during their interactions with other nurses, physicians and patients. The insight that constructive views are related to constructive processes provides an excellent opportunity for an educational intervention, so that we can educate nurses to analyse problems and learn how to manage conflict with effective collaborative processes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Effect of Simulated Flash-Heat Pasteurization on Immune Components of Human Milk.

Science.gov (United States)

Daniels, Brodie; Schmidt, Stefan; King, Tracy; Israel-Ballard, Kiersten; Amundson Mansen, Kimberly; Coutsoudis, Anna

2017-02-22

A pasteurization temperature monitoring system has been designed using FoneAstra, a cellphone-based networked sensing system, to monitor simulated flash-heat (FH) pasteurization. This study compared the effect of the FoneAstra FH (F-FH) method with the Sterifeed Holder method currently used by human milk banks on human milk immune components (immunoglobulin A (IgA), lactoferrin activity, lysozyme activity, interleukin (IL)-8 and IL-10). Donor milk samples ( N = 50) were obtained from a human milk bank, and pasteurized. Concentrations of IgA, IL-8, IL-10, lysozyme activity and lactoferrin activity were compared to their controls using the Student's t -test. Both methods demonstrated no destruction of interleukins. While the Holder method retained all lysozyme activity, the F-FH method only retained 78.4% activity ( p pasteurization, the benefits of F-FH in terms of its low cost, feasibility, safety and retention of immune components make it a valuable resource in low-income countries for pasteurizing human milk, potentially saving infants' lives.

Approximations for stop-loss reinsurance premiums

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reijnen, Rajko; Albers, Willem/Wim; Kallenberg, W.C.M.

2005-01-01

Various approximations of stop-loss reinsurance premiums are described in literature. For a wide variety of claim size distributions and retention levels, such approximations are compared in this paper to each other, as well as to a quantitative criterion. For the aggregate claims two models are

Computational prediction of muon stopping sites using ab initio random structure searching (AIRSS)

Science.gov (United States)

Liborio, Leandro; Sturniolo, Simone; Jochym, Dominik

2018-04-01

The stopping site of the muon in a muon-spin relaxation experiment is in general unknown. There are some techniques that can be used to guess the muon stopping site, but they often rely on approximations and are not generally applicable to all cases. In this work, we propose a purely theoretical method to predict muon stopping sites in crystalline materials from first principles. The method is based on a combination of ab initio calculations, random structure searching, and machine learning, and it has successfully predicted the MuT and MuBC stopping sites of muonium in Si, diamond, and Ge, as well as the muonium stopping site in LiF, without any recourse to experimental results. The method makes use of Soprano, a Python library developed to aid ab initio computational crystallography, that was publicly released and contains all the software tools necessary to reproduce our analysis.

Total destruction of PCB transformers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, D.S.

1991-01-01

This paper reports that if elimination of PCB liability, including lingering liabilities, is the goal, then landfilling cannot be and option. The law is clear that the generator of PCB waste is responsible for that waste until this destruction. Landfilling is not destruction. Retrofilling as askarel units will not get rid of all PCB liabilities, either. Askarel retrofilling can only make this claim when it can give a lifetime guaranty of no detectable PCBs. States like Washington and California regulate, as hazardous waste, fluids which contain greater than 2 and 5 ppm PCB, respectively. There is no guarantee that your state will not so regulate PCBs in the future or that the federal laws might tighten up. Therefore, replacement and disposal by Resource Recovery constitutes the only lifetime guarantee on the market that the PCBs in your askarel transformers will never come back to haunt you

Correlated stopping, proton clusters and higher order proton cumulants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bzdak, Adam [AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, Krakow (Poland); Koch, Volker [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Nuclear Science Division, Berkeley, CA (United States); Skokov, Vladimir [RIKEN/BNL, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States)

2017-05-15

We investigate possible effects of correlations between stopped nucleons on higher order proton cumulants at low energy heavy-ion collisions. We find that fluctuations of the number of wounded nucleons N{sub part} lead to rather nontrivial dependence of the correlations on the centrality; however, this effect is too small to explain the large and positive four-proton correlations found in the preliminary data collected by the STAR collaboration at √(s) = 7.7 GeV. We further demonstrate that, by taking into account additional proton clustering, we are able to qualitatively reproduce the preliminary experimental data. We speculate that this clustering may originate either from collective/multi-collision stopping which is expected to be effective at lower energies or from a possible first-order phase transition, or from (attractive) final state interactions. To test these ideas we propose to measure a mixed multi-particle correlation between stopped protons and a produced particle (e.g. pion, antiproton). (orig.)

Potential information and stopping power from channeling in diamond

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edge, R.D.; Derry, J.E.; Fearick, R.W.; Sellschop, J.P.F.

1983-01-01

When a carefully cleaned diamond crystal was bombarded with helium nuclei parallel to a low index plane, up to seven peaks in the energy spectrum of backscattered ions were seen. These arose from particles oscillating to and fro across the channel as they progressed along it. Spectra taken with ions incident in different directions in the same plane allowed both the wavelengths of the oscillations in the channel, lambda, and the stopping power within the channel to be obtained. The character of the oscillations changed as the beam deviated from exact alignment with the channel, giving the highest maximum at an angle /psi/ /SUB m/ to the channel. Calculations based on those of Barrett employing lambda, /psi/ /SUB m/, and the stopping power showed a smoother potential for the (111) planar channel, which has a larger spacing, than (100) and (110). The energy dependence of the stopping power and oscillation wavelength was also determined from 0.2 to 1.2 MeV for the (110) planar channel

Port Authority of Allegheny County Transit Stops

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — All transit stops within the Port Authority of Allegheny County's service area for the November 20, 2016 - March (TBD) 2017 schedule period.

Experience destructive therapy anogenital warts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. R. Rahmatulina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To assess the efficiency and tolerability of the Mardil Zinc Max, solution for external application, in topical therapy of patients with anogenital warts. Materials and methods. The study involved 58 women and 12 men at the age of 18 to 57 years old, suffering from anogenital warts. the diagnosis was confirmed by identification of human papillomavirus by the polymerase chain reaction in real time. All the patients were treated by the chemical destruction of anogenital warts with the 1.5% solution of zinc chloropropionate in 50% 2-chloropropionic acid (Mardil Zinc Max by a single application of the solution on the pathological eruptions. The results of treatment were assessed in 2 weeks, in 1, 3, 6 and 9 months after the destructive therapy. Results. In 2 weeks 62 (88.6% patients showed a clinical cure with complete tissue regeneration in the lesions, in 8 (11,4% cases in areas of the preparation erosions were visualized in the epithelialization phase, and they completely resolved within 1 week. recurrences of anogenital warts were detected in 1 (1,4% patient in the observation period up to 3 months and in 2 (2,8% patients during 9 months after carrying out the destruction. Adverse drug events have not been identified in the course of therapy and follow-up. Conclusions. As a result of the treatment of anogenital warts with the Mardil Zinc Max high rate of performance and security was set (100%, as well as the low percentage (4,2% of development of relapses.

50 CFR 28.43 - Destruction of dogs and cats.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Destruction of dogs and cats. 28.43 Section 28.43 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... VIOLATIONS OF PARTS 25, 26, AND 27 Impoundment Procedures § 28.43 Destruction of dogs and cats. Dogs and cats...

Adaptive weak approximation of reflected and stopped diffusions

KAUST Repository

Bayer, Christian

2010-01-01

We study the weak approximation problem of diffusions, which are reflected at a subset of the boundary of a domain and stopped at the remaining boundary. First, we derive an error representation for the projected Euler method of Costantini, Pacchiarotti and Sartoretto [Costantini et al., SIAM J. Appl. Math., 58(1):73-102, 1998], based on which we introduce two new algorithms. The first one uses a correction term from the representation in order to obtain a higher order of convergence, but the computation of the correction term is, in general, not feasible in dimensions d > 1. The second algorithm is adaptive in the sense of Moon, Szepessy, Tempone and Zouraris [Moon et al., Stoch. Anal. Appl., 23:511-558, 2005], using stochastic refinement of the time grid based on a computable error expansion derived from the representation. Regarding the stopped diffusion, it is based in the adaptive algorithm for purely stopped diffusions presented in Dzougoutov, Moon, von Schwerin, Szepessy and Tempone [Dzougoutov et al., Lect. Notes Comput. Sci. Eng., 44, 59-88, 2005]. We give numerical examples underlining the theoretical results. © de Gruyter 2010.

Automatic generation of stop word lists for information retrieval and analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Stuart J

2013-01-08

Methods and systems for automatically generating lists of stop words for information retrieval and analysis. Generation of the stop words can include providing a corpus of documents and a plurality of keywords. From the corpus of documents, a term list of all terms is constructed and both a keyword adjacency frequency and a keyword frequency are determined. If a ratio of the keyword adjacency frequency to the keyword frequency for a particular term on the term list is less than a predetermined value, then that term is excluded from the term list. The resulting term list is truncated based on predetermined criteria to form a stop word list.

Car Stopping Distance on a Tabletop

Science.gov (United States)

Haugland, Ole Anton

2013-01-01

Stopping distances in car braking can be an intriguing topic in physics teaching. It illustrates some basic principles of physics, and sheds valuable light on students' attitude towards aggressive driving. Due to safety considerations, it can be difficult to make experiments with actual car braking. (Contains 2 figures.)

Maintenance cost savings - snubber elimination with limit stops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monette, P.; Baltus, R.; Cloud, R.L.

1995-01-01

''Active'' snubbers can be replaced with ''passive'' Limit Stops using two separate strategies. One is a straightforward piping re-analysis to optimize the number of dynamics supports and replace remaining snubbers with Limit Stops. A second approach is to take implicit advantage of the margins afforded by the ASME Code Case N-411 damping ratios and simply replace snubbers one-for-one with no re-analysis. Both methods result in major maintenance cost savings and both have been received favorably by the USNRC (United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission). Approaches to maintenance cost reduction using these strategies are discussed in this paper. (Author). 11 refs., 4 figs

Measurement of stopping power of light ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakamoto, Naoki

1981-01-01

The stopping power of light ions penetrating various materials has been measured. The data of proton stopping power and the mean ionization potentials are presented. The experiments were made by using the 6.75 MeV protons from a cyclotron and the protons in the energy range from 3 to 9 MeV from a tandem Van de Graaff. The windows with and without sample-foils were rotated in front of a semiconductor detector, and the measured energy loss and the thickness of the sample foils were used to estimate the energy loss at the mean energy of protons in the samples. The analyses were made by considering the inner shell correction, Z 1 3 correction and the Bloch correction. The mean ionization potentials were derived from the data. (Kato, T.)

Economic importance of non-destructive testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loebert, P.

1979-01-01

On May 21 to 23, 1979, the annual meeting of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Zerstoerungsfreie Pruefung took place in Lindau near the Bodensee lake. About 600 experts from Germany and abroad participated in the meeting, whose general subject was 'The Economic Importance of Non-Destructive Testing'. Theoretical problems and practical investigations were discussed in a number of papers on special subjects. Apart from the 33 papers, there was also a poster show with 53 stands with texts, drawings, diagrams, and figures where the authors informed those interested on the latest state of knowledge in testing. The short papers were read in six sessions under the headings of rentability of non-destructive testing, X-ray methods, electromagnetic methods, and ultrasonic methods 1 and 2. (orig.) [de

Extreme control of light in metamaterials: Complete and loss-free stopping of light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsakmakidis, Kosmas L.; Hess, Ortwin

2012-01-01

We present an overview of recent advances within the field of slow- and stopped-light in metamaterial and plasmonic waveguides. We start by elucidating the mechanisms by which these configurations can enable complete stopping of light. Decoherence mechanisms may destroy the zero-group-velocity condition for real-frequency/complex-wavevector modes, but we show that metamaterial and nanoplasmonic waveguides also support complex-frequency/real-wavevector modes that uphold the light-stopping condition. A further point of focus is how, by using gain, dissipative losses can be overcome in the slow- and stopped-light regimes. To this end, on the basis of full-wave finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations and analytic transfer-matrix calculations, we show that the incorporation of thin layers made of an active medium, placed adjacently to the core layer of a negative-refractive-index waveguide, can fully remove dissipative losses - in a slow- or stopped-light regime where the effective index of the guided lightwave remains negative.

Issues of weapons of mass destruction non-proliferation in Tajikistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mirsaidov, U.M.

2010-01-01

This article is devoted to issues of weapons of mass destruction non-proliferation in Tajikistan. Over a period of 20 century, starting from First World War, the weapons of mass destruction arouse serious concern of world community. Geneva protocol of 1925 prohibits the use of chemical and biological weapons. Once nuclear weapon was created, the weapons of mass destruction distributions become the subject of high concern. Besides, during the end of 'cold war', regional conflicts, collapse of Soviet Union, as well as access to sensitive technologies considerably increase the danger of weapons of mass destruction distribution. More than 10 countries have active programs, relating to weapons of mass destruction and, possibly, more than ten countries have potential to start implementing such kinds of programs. Nowadays, trans national organized criminal groups and international terrorist networks are appeared in the world scene, which show interest in obtaining an access to sensitive materials, technologies, weapons and their distribution. After 11 September events, the risk of such weapons of mass destruction components use by such forces for Governments blackmail become real scene, which, despite of low possibility of this threat implementation, could have very serious and disastrous consequences. International community responded to these problems and challenges, basically through the following actions, which is detailed regime development of multilateral international treaties, directed to weapons of mass destruction distribution prevention. Non-proliferation treaty of nuclear weapons, Convention on prohibition of chemical weapons and Convention on prohibition of biological and toxin weapons are some of them. As it is known, Tajikistan signed all these treaties. For different reasons these treaties were subject of serious tests. Nuclear weapons tests in India and Pakistan in 1998 year, actual Israel status as state having nuclear weapon and North Korean program on

Stress, Nutrition, and Intestinal Immune Responses in Pigs — A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

In Kyu Lee

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Modern livestock production became highly intensive and large scaled to increase production efficiency. This production environment could add stressors affecting the health and growth of animals. Major stressors can include environment (air quality and temperature, nutrition, and infection. These stressors can reduce growth performance and alter immune systems at systemic and local levels including the gastrointestinal tract. Heat stress increases the permeability, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses in the gut. Nutritional stress from fasting, antinutritional compounds, and toxins induces the leakage and destruction of the tight junction proteins in the gut. Fasting is shown to suppress pro-inflammatory cytokines, whereas deoxynivalenol increases the recruitment of intestinal pro-inflammatory cytokines and the level of lymphocytes in the gut. Pathogenic and viral infections such as Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus can lead to loosening the intestinal epithelial barrier. On the other hand, supplementation of Lactobacillus or Saccharaomyces reduced infectious stress by ETEC. It was noted that major stressors altered the permeability of intestinal barriers and profiles of genes and proteins of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in mucosal system in pigs. However, it is not sufficient to fully explain the mechanism of the gut immune system in pigs under stress conditions. Correlation and interaction of gut and systemic immune system under major stressors should be better defined to overcome aforementioned obstacles.

Thermographic and potentiometric research on thermal destruction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mel' nichuk, A.Yu.; Fialkov, B.S.; Zazharov, A.G.; Lemke, E.R.

1981-03-01

Analyses of thermal effects and electric potential during the thermal destruction of various types of solid fuels were conducted by means of thermography and electron-ion phenomena determination. The characteristics of coals of various ranks, and of graphite and coke are presented. Thermograms and potential curves are graphed. The studies showed a certain correlation between the thermograms and potential change curves of the solid phase. The character of the potential curves and intensity of their peaks depends on the type of sample and makes an evaluation on the charged state of the products of destruction possible. (8 refs.) (In Russian)

Measurements of Ion Stopping around the Bragg Peak in High-Energy-Density Plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Frenje, Johan

2015-11-01

Over the last few decades, ion stopping in weakly- to strongly-coupled High-Energy-Density (HED) plasmas has been subject to extensive analytical and numerical studies, but only a limited set of experimental data exists to check the validity of these theories. Most of these experiments also did not probe the detailed characteristics of the Bragg peak (peak ion stopping) where the ion velocity is similar to the average thermal electron velocity. To the best of our knowledge, only one exploratory attempt to do this was conducted by Hicks et al., who were able to describe qualitatively the behavior of the Bragg peak for one plasma condition. The work described in this presentation makes significant advances over previous experimental efforts by quantitatively assessing the characteristics of the ion stopping, ranging from low-velocity stopping, through the Bragg peak, to high-velocity stopping for different HED plasma conditions. This was achieved by measuring the energy loss of DD-tritons, D3He-alphas, DD-protons and D3He-protons, with distinctly different velocities, and the results indicate that the stopping power varies strongly with Te and ne. This effort represents the first experimental test of state-of-art plasma-stopping-power theories around the Bragg peak, which is an important first step in our efforts of getting a fundamental understanding of DT-alpha stopping in HED plasmas, a prerequisite for understanding ignition margins in various implosion designs with varying hot spot areal density at the National Ignition Facility. The work described here was performed in part at the LLE National Laser User's Facility (NLUF), and was supported in part by US DOE (Grant No. DE-FG03- 03SF22691), LLNL (subcontract Grant No. B504974) and LLE (subcontract Grant No. 412160-001G).

Electroweak baryogenesis and Higgs and stop searches at LEP and the Tevatron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carena, M.; Quiros, M.; Wagner, C.E.M.

1998-01-01

It has been recently shown that the observed baryon number may originate at the electroweak phase transition, provided that the Higgs boson and the lightest stop are sufficiently light. In this work, we perform a detailed analysis, including all dominant two-loop finite-temperature corrections to the Higgs effective potential, as well as the non-trivial effects proceeding from the mixing in the stop sector, to define the region of parameter space for which electroweak baryogenesis can happen. The limits on the stop and Higgs masses are obtained by taking into account the experimental bounds on these quantities, as well as those coming from the requirement of avoiding dangerous color breaking minima. We find for the Higgs mass m h < or∼105 GeV, while the stop mass may be close to the present experimental bound and must be smaller than, or of the order of, the top quark mass. These results provide a very strong motivation for further non-perturbative analysis of the electroweak phase transition, as well as for the search for Higgs and stop particles at the LEP and Tevatron colliders. (orig.)

Spread the Word: The Stop.Think.Connect.[TM] Community Outreach Guide

Science.gov (United States)

US Department of Homeland Security, 2013

2013-01-01

The "Stop.Think.Connect. Community Outreach Toolkit" was adapted from the Federal Trade Commission's "OnGuardOnline.gov," a project that provides practical tips to help guard against Internet fraud and protect your privacy. The kit will help you offer your community information about protecting kids online. It includes "Stop.Think.Connect.," a…

Optimal design of a beam stop for Indus-2 using finite element heat

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The radiation source impinges ∼ 1 kW power on the beam stop and the heat transfer capabilities of the beam stop have been evaluated. Temperature distribution in the beam stop has been obtained under various cooling conditions using the finite element analysis calculations with ANSYS software. Design parameters of ...

Stress proteins and the immune response.

Science.gov (United States)

Moseley, P

2000-07-25

, 243-282.]. This importance in immune regulation is best addressed using Matzinger's model of the immune response - The Danger Theory of Immunity [Matzinger, P., Fuchs, E.J., 1996. Beyond self and non-self: immunity is a conversation, not a war. J. NIH Res. 8, 35-39.]. Matzinger suggests that an immune system model based on the differentiation between "self and non-self" does not easily account for the changes that occur in the organism with growth and development. Why, for example does an organism not self-destruct when the immune system encounters the myriad of new peptides generated at puberty? Instead, she proposes a model of immune function based on the ability to detect and address dangers. This model states that the basic function of all cells of the organism is appropriately timed death "from natural causes". This type of cell death, or apoptosis, generates no stress signals. If, on the other hand, a cell is "murdered" by an infectious agent or dies an untimely death due to necrosis or ischemia, the cell undergoes a stress response with the liberation of stress protein-peptide complexes into the extracellular environment upon cell lysis. Not only do they serve as a "danger signal" to alert the immune system to the death of a cell under stress, but their role as protein carriers allows the immune effector cells to survey the peptides released by this stressed cell and to activate against new or unrecognized peptides carried by the stress protein. Matzinger bases the Danger Theory of Immunity on three "Laws of Lymphotics". These laws state that: (1) resting T lymphocytes require both antigen stimulation by an antigen-presenting cell (APC) and co-stimulation with a danger signal to become activated; (2) the co-stimulatory signal must be received through the APC; and (3) T cells receiving only antigen stimulation without the co-stimulatory signal undergo apoptosis. The Danger Theory gives a simple model for both tolerance and activation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)

Immunological tumor destruction in a murine melanoma model by targeted LTalpha independent of secondary lymphoid tissue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schrama, D.; Voigt, H.; Eggert, A.O.

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: We previously demonstrated that targeting lymphotoxin alpha (LTalpha) to the tumor evokes its immunological destruction in a syngeneic B16 melanoma model. Since treatment was associated with the induction of peritumoral tertiary lymphoid tissue, we speculated that the induced immune...... response was initiated at the tumor site. METHODS AND RESULTS: In order to directly test this notion, we analyzed the efficacy of tumor targeted LTalpha in LTalpha knock-out (LTalpha(-/-)) mice which lack peripheral lymph nodes. To this end, we demonstrate that tumor-targeted LTalpha mediates the induction...... of specific T-cell responses even in the absence of secondary lymphoid organs. In addition, this effect is accompanied by the initiation of tertiary lymphoid tissue at the tumor site in which B and T lymphocytes are compartmentalized in defined areas and which harbor expanded numbers of tumor specific T cells...

Bus Stops and Pedestrian-Motor Vehicle Collisions in Lima, Peru: A Matched Case-Control Study

Science.gov (United States)

Quistberg, D. Alex; Koepsell, Thomas D.; Johnston, Brian D.; Boyle, Linda Ng; Miranda, J. Jaime; Ebel, Beth E.

2015-01-01

Objective To evaluate the relationship between bus stop characteristics and pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions. Design Matched case-control study where the units of study were pedestrian crossing. Setting Random sample of 11 police commissaries in Lima, Peru. Data collection occurred from February, 2011 to September, 2011. Participants 97 intersection cases representing 1,134 collisions and 40 mid-block cases representing 469 collisions that occurred between October, 2010 and January, 2011 and their matched controls. Main Exposures Presence of a bus stop and specific bus stop characteristics. Main Outcome Occurrence of a pedestrian-motor vehicle collision. Results Intersections with bus stops were three times more likely to have a pedestrian-vehicle collision (OR 3.28, 95% CI 1.53-7.03), relative to intersections without bus stops. Both formal and informal bus stops were associated with a higher odds of a collision at intersections (OR 6.23, 95% CI 1.76-22.0 and OR 2.98, 1.37-6.49). At mid-block sites, bus stops on a bus-dedicated transit lane were also associated with collision risk (OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.02-5.42). All bus stops were located prior to the intersection, contrary to practices in most high income countries. Conclusions In urban Lima, the presence of a bus stop was associated with a three-fold increase in risk of a pedestrian collision. The highly competitive environment among bus companies may provide an economic incentive for risky practices such as dropping off passengers in the middle of traffic and jockeying for position with other buses. Bus stop placement should be considered to improve pedestrian safety. PMID:24357516

Maternal exposure to hurricane destruction and fetal mortality.

Science.gov (United States)

Zahran, Sammy; Breunig, Ian M; Link, Bruce G; Snodgrass, Jeffrey G; Weiler, Stephan; Mielke, Howard W

2014-08-01

The majority of research documenting the public health impacts of natural disasters focuses on the well-being of adults and their living children. Negative effects may also occur in the unborn, exposed to disaster stressors when critical organ systems are developing and when the consequences of exposure are large. We exploit spatial and temporal variation in hurricane behaviour as a quasi-experimental design to assess whether fetal death is dose-responsive in the extent of hurricane damage. Data on births and fetal deaths are merged with Parish-level housing wreckage data. Fetal outcomes are regressed on housing wreckage adjusting for the maternal, fetal, placental and other risk factors. The average causal effect of maternal exposure to hurricane destruction is captured by difference-in-differences analyses. The adjusted odds of fetal death are 1.40 (1.07-1.83) and 2.37 (1.684-3.327) times higher in parishes suffering 10-50% and >50% wreckage to housing stock, respectively. For every 1% increase in the destruction of housing stock, we observe a 1.7% (1.1-2.4%) increase in fetal death. Of the 410 officially recorded fetal deaths in these parishes, between 117 and 205 may be attributable to hurricane destruction and postdisaster disorder. The estimated fetal death toll is 17.4-30.6% of the human death toll. The destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita imposed significant measurable losses in terms of fetal death. Postdisaster migratory dynamics suggest that the reported effects of maternal exposure to hurricane destruction on fetal death may be conservative. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Socioeconomic differences in outdoor food advertising at public transit stops across Melbourne suburbs.

Science.gov (United States)

Settle, Philippa J; Cameron, Adrian J; Thornton, Lukar E

2014-10-01

To assess and compare the number and type of outdoor food advertisements at public transit stops within suburbs of varying levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. An observational audit tool was developed and implemented to assess the number and type of food advertisements at public transit stops within Melbourne, Victoria. A total of 20 Melbourne neighbourhoods (suburbs) from across the least and the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas were selected. All public transit stops, including train stations and bus and tram stops with a shelter were audited.  A similar proportion of transit stops in the least and most-disadvantaged suburbs displayed food advertisements (total n=203). However, some differences in the type of advertisements across suburbs were noted with advertisements for fast food restaurants, flavoured milk and fruit juice more common in the most-disadvantaged neighbourhoods (all padvertisements for diet soft drink, tea, coffee and convenience stores more common in the least-disadvantaged neighbourhoods (all padvertising at Melbourne transit stops found 30% displayed food advertisements, with those in more disadvantaged suburbs more frequently promoting chain-brand fast food and less frequently promoting diet varieties of soft drinks. These findings may help raise awareness of unhealthy environmental exposures. © 2014 Public Health Association of Australia.

Immune responses of Helicoverpa armigera to different kinds of pathogens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhao Xiao-Fan

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Insects react against pathogens through innate immunity. The cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (H. armigera is an important defoliator and an extremely destructive pest insect of many crops. The elucidation of the mechanism of the immune response of H. armigera to various pathogens can provide a theoretical basis for new approaches to biologically control this pest. Results Four kinds of pathogens Bacillus thuringiensis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Candida albicans, and Autographa californica multiple nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus harbored green fluorescence protein and polyhedron (AcMNPV-GFP were used to challenge the insect. The cellular and humoral immune responses to the pathogens were analyzed in the challenged H. armigera. The results show that in the five kinds of haemocytes, only granulocytes phagocytized the Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and fungi. All haemocytes can be infected by AcMNPV. Fourteen immune-related genes including pattern recognition receptors (PRRs such as peptidoglycan recognition proteins (HaPGRP and HaPGRP C and Gram-Negative Bacteria-Binding Protein (HaGNBP, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs such as cecropin-1, 2 and 3 (HaCec-1, 2 and 3, lysozyme (HaLys, attacin (HaAtt, gallerimycin-like (HaGall, gloverin-like (HaGlo, moricin-like (HaMor, cobatoxin-like (HaCob, galiomicin-like (HaGali, and immune inducible protein (HaIip appeared in different expression profiles to different pathogen infections. The transcripts of 13 immune related genes (except HaPGRPC are obviously up-regulated by Gram-positive bacteria. HaCec-1 and 3, HaMor, HaAtt, HaLys, HaIip, HaPGRP and HaGNBP are greatly up-regulated after fungal infection. HaGNBP, HaCec-2, HaGall, HaGlo, HaMor, HaCob, HaGali obviously increased in Gram-negative bacterial infection. Only five genes, HaGNBP, HaCec-1, HaGali, HaGlo, and HaLys, are weakly up-regulated after viral infection. The AMP transcripts had higher expression levels than the

Enhanced stopping of macro-particles in particle-in-cell simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

May, J.; Tonge, J.; Ellis, I.; Mori, W. B.; Fiuza, F.; Fonseca, R. A.; Silva, L. O.; Ren, C.

2014-01-01

We derive an equation for energy transfer from relativistic charged particles to a cold background plasma appropriate for finite-size particles that are used in particle-in-cell simulation codes. Expressions for one-, two-, and three-dimensional particles are presented, with special attention given to the two-dimensional case. This energy transfer is due to the electric field of the wake set up in the background plasma by the relativistic particle. The enhanced stopping is dependent on the q 2 /m, where q is the charge and m is the mass of the relativistic particle, and therefore simulation macro-particles with large charge but identical q/m will stop more rapidly. The stopping power also depends on the effective particle shape of the macro-particle. These conclusions are verified in particle-in-cell simulations. We present 2D simulations of test particles, relaxation of high-energy tails, and integrated fast ignition simulations showing that the enhanced drag on macro-particles may adversely affect the results of these simulations in a wide range of high-energy density plasma scenarios. We also describe a particle splitting algorithm which can potentially overcome this problem and show its effect in controlling the stopping of macro-particles

Roentgenoendovascular destruction of the adrenals in Icenko-Cushing's diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yugrinov, O.G.; Komissarenko, I.V.; Cheban, A.K.; Rybakov, S.I.; Eremenko, V.N.; Makarenko, G.I.; Sheptukha, A.I.; Chernij, Ya.M.

1986-01-01

The principle of nonoperative adrenalectomy by means of the destruction of the adrenals with the help of roentgenoendovascular intervention was developed. It was based on a transcatheter transvenous route of delivery of a radiopaque agent which was used to control on X-ray screen mechanical damage of the adrenal structural elements (destruction) at the expense of artificial exceeding of the capacity of its venous bed. Excess of the radiopaque agent was deposited in the paravasal spaces of the adrenal on its entire length. Transcatheter transvenous destruction of the adrenals (TTDA) was performed in 97 patients: unilateral TTDA in 62, bilateral in 35. TTDA is a method of choice in the treatment of Icenko-Cushing's disease, in some patients it is an alternative to surgery

Stopping single photons in one-dimensional circuit quantum electrodynamics systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, J.-T.; Povinelli, M. L.; Sandhu, Sunil; Fan Shanhui

2007-01-01

We propose a mechanism to stop and time reverse single photons in one-dimensional circuit quantum electrodynamics systems. As a concrete example, we exploit the large tunability of the superconducting charge quantum bit (charge qubit) to predict one-photon transport properties in multiple-qubit systems with dynamically controlled transition frequencies. In particular, two qubits coupled to a waveguide give rise to a single-photon transmission line shape that is analogous to electromagnetically induced transparency in atomic systems. Furthermore, by cascading double-qubit structures to form an array and dynamically controlling the qubit transition frequencies, a single photon can be stopped, stored, and time reversed. With a properly designed array, two photons can be stopped and stored in the system at the same time. Moreover, the unit cell of the array can be designed to be of deep subwavelength scale, miniaturizing the circuit

Immune responses of poultry to Newcastle disease virus.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapczynski, Darrell R; Afonso, Claudio L; Miller, Patti J

2013-11-01

Newcastle disease (ND) remains a constant threat to poultry producers worldwide, in spite of the availability and global employment of ND vaccinations since the 1950s. Strains of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) belong to the order Mononegavirales, family Paramyxoviridae, and genus Avulavirus, are contained in one serotype and are also known as avian paramyxovirus serotype-1 (APMV-1). They are pleomorphic in shape and are single-stranded, non-segmented, negative sense RNA viruses. The virus has been reported to infect most orders of birds and thus has a wide host range. Isolates are characterized by virulence in chickens and the presence of basic amino acids at the fusion protein cleavage site. Low virulent NDV typically produce subclinical disease with some morbidity, whereas virulent isolates can result in rapid, high mortality of birds. Virulent NDV are listed pathogens that require immediate notification to the Office of International Epizootics and outbreaks typically result in trade embargos. Protection against NDV is through the use of vaccines generated with low virulent NDV strains. Immunity is derived from neutralizing antibodies formed against the viral hemagglutinin and fusion glycoproteins, which are responsible for attachment and spread of the virus. However, new techniques and technologies have also allowed for more in depth analysis of the innate and cell-mediated immunity of poultry to NDV. Gene profiling experiments have led to the discovery of novel host genes modulated immediately after infection. Differences in virus virulence alter host gene response patterns have been demonstrated. Furthermore, the timing and contributions of cell-mediated immune responses appear to decrease disease and transmission potential. In view of recent reports of vaccine failure from many countries on the ability of classical NDV vaccines to stop spread of disease, renewed interest in a more complete understanding of the global immune response of poultry to NDV will be

Exergy destruction in ammonia scrubbers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zisopoulos, Filippos K.; Goot, van der Atze Jan; Boom, Remko M.

2018-01-01

A theoretical ammonia scrubbing process by sulfuric acid solution is assessed with the concept of exergy. The exergy destruction of chemical neutralization is mainly (75–94%) due to changes in the chemical exergy of streams and thermal effects from the reaction while mixing effects have a limited

High dose Intravenous Anti-D Immune Globulin is More Effective and Safe in Indian Paediatric Patients of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura.

Science.gov (United States)

Swain, Trupti Rekha; Jena, Rabindra Kumar; Swain, Kali Prasanna

2016-12-01

Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) is characterised by an autoimmune antibody-mediated destruction of platelets and impaired platelet production. Few controlled trials exist to guide management of patients with ITP in Indian scenario for which patients require an individualized approach. Anti-D (Rho (D) immune globulin) at a higher dose can prove to be a cost effective and safe alternative for Indian patients with ITP. To compare the safety and efficacy of higher dose (75μg/kg) intravenous Anti-D immune globulin against the standard dose of 50μg/kg for the management of ITP in Indian patients. One hundred and sixty four children with newly diagnosed ITP between 4-14 years were randomly selected for inclusion and were treated with 50μg/kg (standard dose) or 75μg /kg (higher dose) of Anti-D to compare the efficacy and safety of higher dose intravenous anti-D immune globulin. Efficacy of Anti-D was measured in terms of rate of response and median time to response for increase in platelet counts. Any adverse event was noted. A decrease in haemoglobin concentration suggested accompanying haemolysis. Seventy one out of 84 patients treated with Anti-D at 75μg/kg produced complete response (85%) with median time of response being 2.5 days. On the contrary, 45 patients (70%) patients treated with 50μg/kg had complete response. However, there was no significant increase in haemolysis with higher dose. A significant correlation was found between dose and peak increase in platelet count measured at 7 th day following administration. However, there was no relationship between the decrease in haemoglobin and the dose given, or between the increase in platelet count and fall in haemoglobin. A 75μg/kg dose of Anti-D is more effective with acceptable side effect in comparison to 50μg dose for treatment of newly diagnosed Indian patients of ITP.

Inferring Stop-Locations from WiFi

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wind, David Kofoed; Sapiezynski, Piotr; Furman, Magdalena Anna

2016-01-01

methods are based exclusively on WiFi data. We study two months of WiFi data collected every two minutes by a smartphone, and infer stop-locations in the form of labelled time-intervals. For this purpose, we investigate two algorithms, both of which scale to large datasets: a greedy approach to select...

Brazil may stop HIV drug access; problems also reported from Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

1999-09-03

Brazil's financial crisis is threatening its HIV treatment programs, as well as programs for other diseases such as hemophilia, tuberculosis, diabetes, and malaria. The government is expected to stop providing antiretroviral therapy through the public health system in October. Meanwhile, the Argentine government stopped providing antiretroviral medications in August. Drug recycling programs are also discussed. Contact information is provided.

Proliferation of massive destruction weapons: fantasy or reality?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duval, M.

2001-01-01

This article evaluates the threat of massive destruction weapons (nuclear, chemical, biological) for Europe and recalls the existing safeguards against the different forms of nuclear proliferation: legal (non-proliferation treaty (NPT), comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty (CTBT), fissile material cut off treaty (FMCT) etc..), technical (fabrication of fissile materials, delays). However, all these safeguards can be overcome as proven by the activities of some countries. The situation of proliferation for the other type of massive destruction weapons is presented too. (J.S.)

Stopped-pipe wind instruments: Acoustics of the panpipes

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, N. H.

2005-01-01

Stopped-pipe jet-excited musical instruments are known in many cultures, those best-known today being the panpipes or syrinx of Eastern Europe and of the Peruvian Andes. Although the playing style differs, in each case the instrument consists of a set of graduated bamboo pipes excited by blowing across the open tops. Details of the excitation aerodynamics warrant examination, particularly as the higher notes contain amplitudes of the even harmonics approaching those of the odd harmonics expected from a stopped pipe. Analysis shows that the jet offset is controlled by the fluid dynamics of the jet, and is such that appreciable even-harmonic excitation is generated. The theory is largely confirmed by measurements on a player. .

High post-movement parietal low-beta power during rhythmic tapping facilitates performance in a stop task.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Petra; Tan, Huiling; Pogosyan, Alek; Brown, Peter

2016-09-01

Voluntary movements are followed by a post-movement electroencephalography (EEG) beta rebound, which increases with practice and confidence in a task. We hypothesized that greater beta modulation reflects less load on cognitive resources and may thus be associated with faster reactions to new stimuli. EEG was recorded in 17 healthy subjects during rhythmically paced index finger tapping. In a STOP condition, participants had to interrupt the upcoming tap in response to an auditory cue, which was timed such that stopping was successful only in ~ 50% of all trials. In a second condition, participants carried on tapping twice after the stop signal (CONTINUE condition). Thus the conditions were distinct in whether abrupt stopping was required as a second task. Modulation of 12-20 Hz power over motor and parietal areas developed with time on each trial and more so in the CONTINUE condition. Reduced modulation in the STOP condition went along with reduced negative mean asynchronies suggesting less confident anticipation of the timing of the next tap. Yet participants were more likely to stop when beta modulation prior to the stop cue was more pronounced. In the STOP condition, expectancy of the stop signal may have increased cognitive load during movement execution given that the task might have to be stopped abruptly. However, within this condition, stopping ability was increased if the preceding tap was followed by a relatively larger beta increase. Significant, albeit weak, correlations confirmed that increased post-movement beta power was associated with faster reactions to new stimuli, consistent with reduced cognitive load. © 2016 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience published by Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pancreatic Tissue Transplanted in TheraCyte Encapsulation Devices Is Protected and Prevents Hyperglycemia in a Mouse Model of Immune-Mediated Diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Boettler, Tobias; Schneider, Darius; Cheng, Yang; Kadoya, Kuniko; Brandon, Eugene P; Martinson, Laura; von Herrath, Matthias

2016-01-01

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is characterized by destruction of glucose-responsive insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells and exhibits immune infiltration of pancreatic islets, where CD8 lymphocytes are most prominent. Curative transplantation of pancreatic islets is seriously hampered by the persistence of autoreactive immune cells that require high doses of immunosuppressive drugs. An elegant approach to confer graft protection while obviating the need for immunosuppression is the use of encapsulation devices that allow for the transfer of oxygen and nutrients, yet prevent immune cells from making direct contact with the islet grafts. Here we demonstrate that macroencapsulation devices (TheraCyte) loaded with neonatal pancreatic tissue and transplanted into RIP-LCMV.GP mice prevented disease onset in a model of virus-induced diabetes mellitus. Histological analyses revealed that insulin-producing cells survived within the device in animal models of diabetes. Our results demonstrate that these encapsulation devices can protect from an immune-mediated attack and can contain a sufficient amount of insulin-producing cells to prevent overt hyperglycemia.

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.

Early MRI findings of rapidly destructive coxarthrosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Wataru; Itoi, Eiji; Yamada, Shin

2002-01-01

Rapidly destructive coxarthrosis (RDC) is known to affect elderly women, but its etiology is unknown. This is the first report to our knowledge, based on a search of the English literature, that reveals the entire process of hip destruction from the onset to the terminal stage of RDC, in an 80-year-old woman. Radiographic evaluation showed subchondral insufficiency fracture of the femoral head at an early stage of this disease. An MRI examination within a month of the onset of hip pain showed the entire femoral head with low intensity on T1-weighted images and high intensity on T2-weighted images, and a small low-intensity band at the subchondral area of the lateral weight-bearing portion of the head. These findings are consistent with subchondral insufficiency fracture and associated bone marrow edema. The lesion developed into a deep and large erosion at the superolateral portion of the femoral head, the process being observed on both roentgenograms and MRI. These findings were confirmed during total hip arthroplasty. This case suggests that subchondral insufficiency fracture of the femoral head may be a preceding sign of destruction of the femoral head. (orig.)

Non-destructive nuclear forensics of radioactive samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rogge, R.B. [Canadian Neutron Beam Centre, Chalk River, ON (Canada); Alexander, Q.; Bentoumi, G.; Dimayuga, F. [Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River, ON (Canada); Flacau, R. [Canadian Neutron Beam Centre, Chalk River, ON (Canada); Li, G.; Li, L.; Sur, B. [Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River, ON (Canada)

2014-07-01

It is a matter of public safety and security to be able to examine suspicious packages of unknown origin. If the package is radioactive and sealed (i.e., the radioactive materials contained in the package, including their chemical and physical forms, are unknown), there is a significant risk on how to handle the package and eventually safely dispose of its contents. Within the context of nuclear security, nuclear forensics helps address the key issue of identifying the nature and origin of radioactive and nuclear material in order to improve physical protection measures and prevent future theft or diversion of these materials. Nuclear forensics utilizes analytical techniques, destructive and non-destructive, developed for applications related to nuclear fuel cycles. This paper demonstrates the non-destructive examination techniques that can be used to inspect encapsulated radioactive samples. Results of γ spectroscopy, X-ray spectroscopy, neutron imaging, neutron diffraction, and delayed neutron analysis as applied to an examination of sealed capsules containing unknown radioactive materials are presented. The paper also highlights the value of these techniques to the overall nuclear forensic investigation to determine the origin of these unknown radioactive materials. (author)

When can immunotherapy for insect sting allergy be stopped?

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Ulrich R; Ring, Johannes

2015-01-01

Stings by Hymenoptera (honey bees, vespids, ants) can cause systemic allergic reactions (SARs). Venom immunotherapy (VIT) is highly effective and reduces an allergic patient's risk of a recurrent SAR to less than 5-20%. The risk of a recurrent SAR to a re-sting decreases the longer VIT is continued. The recommended duration of VIT is at least 3 to 5 years. Risk factors for recurrent SARs to a sting after stopping VIT have been identified and discussed: Recommendations concerning stopping VIT: For patients without any of the identified risk factors, VIT should be continued for 5 rather than 3 years. In patients with definite risk factors, a longer duration of VIT has to be discussed before stopping it. In mast cell disorders, VIT for life is recommended. Because of the residual risk of SARs after VIT, all patients are advised to carry an epinephrine autoinjector indefinitely and to continue to take measures to avoid Hymenoptera stings. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Non-destructive microstructural analysis with depth resolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zolotoyabko, E. E-mail: zloto@tx.technion.ac.il; Quintana, J.P

2003-01-01

A depth-sensitive X-ray diffraction technique has been developed with the aim of studying microstructural modifications in inhomogeneous polycrystalline materials. In that method, diffraction profiles are measured at different X-ray energies varied by small steps. X-rays at higher energies probe deeper layers of material. Depth-resolved structural information is retrieved by comparing energy-dependent diffraction profiles. The method provides non-destructive depth profiling of the preferred orientation, grain size, microstrain fluctuations and residual strains. This technique is applied to the characterization of seashells. Similarly, energy-variable X-ray diffraction can be used for the non-destructive characterization of different laminated structures and composite materials.

Skin Immunization Obviates Alcohol-Related Immune Dysfunction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rhonda M. Brand

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Alcoholics suffer from immune dysfunction that can impede vaccine efficacy. If ethanol (EtOH-induced immune impairment is in part a result of direct exposure of immune cells to EtOH, then reduced levels of exposure could result in less immune dysfunction. As alcohol ingestion results in lower alcohol levels in skin than blood, we hypothesized that the skin immune network may be relatively preserved, enabling skin-targeted immunizations to obviate the immune inhibitory effects of alcohol consumption on conventional vaccines. We employed the two most common chronic EtOH mouse feeding models, the liver-damaging Lieber-DeCarli (LD and liver-sparing Meadows-Cook (MC diets, to examine the roles of EtOH and/or EtOH-induced liver dysfunction on alcohol related immunosuppression. Pair-fed mice were immunized against the model antigen ovalbumin (OVA by DNA immunization or against flu by administering the protein-based influenza vaccine either systemically (IV, IM, directly to liver (hydrodynamic, or cutaneously (biolistic, ID. We measured resulting tissue EtOH levels, liver stress, regulatory T cell (Treg, and myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC populations. We compared immune responsiveness by measuring delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH, antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL, and antibody induction as a function of delivery route and feeding model. We found that, as expected, and independent of the feeding model, EtOH ingestion inhibits DTH, CTL lysis, and antigen-specific total IgG induced by traditional systemic vaccines. On the other hand, skin-targeted vaccines were equally immunogenic in alcohol-exposed and non-exposed subjects, suggesting that cutaneous immunization may result in more efficacious vaccination in alcohol-ingesting subjects.

Recent canadian experience in chemical warfare agent destruction. An overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McAndless, J.M.

1995-09-01

A Canadian chemical warfare agent destruction project (Swiftsure) was recently completed in which stockpiles of aged mustard, lewisite, nerve agents and contaminated scrap metal were incinerated or chemically neutralized in a safe, environmentally-responsible manner. The project scope, destruction technologies, environmental monitoring and public consultation programs are described.

One Stop Post Op cardiac surgery recovery--a proven success.

Science.gov (United States)

Joyce, L; Pandolph, P

2001-01-01

The One Stop Post Op model for open heart surgery recovery is an innovative approach to post op care utilized in only a few facilities in the country. This model calls for an integration of acute ICU and step-down phases of care, thus changing the paradigm for nursing care of the open heart surgery patient. Typically, hospitals incur inefficiencies transferring the patient through multiple levels of care, thus resulting in a "disconnect" as new caregivers relearn the patient's care requirements and special needs. The construction of a "one stop" unit allows the patient to remain stationary while the service level changes to accommodate changing care needs. The cardiac "one stop" model is similar to the LDRP concept for obstetrical care. The One Stop Post Op patient rooms are designed to accommodate every level of patient acuity. All rooms meet the regulations for critical care room design, however this is where the aesthetic similarity ends. The patient environment looks more like hotel rooms rather than the traditional ICU setting. Cabinets designed to cover medical gases, in the room's private bathrooms and comfortable furnishings help to create a patient focused environment conducive to recovery. This model has been utilized by several facilities and has demonstrated clear clinical and economic advantages for patients, families, and health care providers. Implementing an open heart surgery (OHS) program presents the opportunity for several community based hospitals to challenge the way they have been providing patient care and establish an innovative approach to post surgery patient care. The One Stop Post Op cardiovascular recovery unit is designed to receive the OHS patient directly from the operating room and to be the "care unit" for the patient's entire stay. Patient flow, quality monitoring and caregiver acceptance in this unit requires new paradigms from the traditional two or three step post OHS care delivery process. The One Stop Post Op model focuses

A methodology for rearranging transit stops for enhancing transit users generalized travel time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Nurul Hassan

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This study develops a methodology to consolidate transit stops. It develops a mathematical model and a program which takes stop consolidation decision(s according to users generalized travel time savings and desired accessibility. The model iterates until the users generalized travel time savings are maximized. The study tests this mathematical model in different hypothetical scenarios. Six factors (distance between stops, passenger activity, average cruising speed, maximum walking distance, service frequency, and percentage of decreased passengers with multiple levels were set to build the scenarios. Three responses (percentage of consolidated stops, percentages of travel time and operating time savings were observed. The findings showed that the distance between the stops the passenger activity, and the probable demand change (or the percentage of decreased passengers are the most influential factors. The frequency of service was found to be influential as well. The average cruising speed has very little influence on the response variables. Finally, the model is tested on two routes (route 900 and 930 of Al Ain City public bus service. It shows that 22 and 32 out of 98 and 126 stops can be consolidated in route 900 and 930 respectively. This can save considerable amounts of users travel and operating times. In monetary values, the savings are about $329,827 and $491,094 per year for routes 900 and 930, respectively.

A Bayesian approach for estimating the probability of trigger failures in the stop-signal paradigm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Matzke, D.; Love, J.; Heathcote, A.

Response inhibition is frequently investigated using the stop-signal paradigm, where participants perform a two-choice response time task that is occasionally interrupted by a stop signal instructing them to withhold their response. Stop-signal performance is formalized as a race between a go and a

Inefficient Job Destructions and Training with Hold-up

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chéron, Arnaud; Rouland, Benedicte

2011-01-01

This paper develops an equilibrium search model with endogenous job destructions and where firms decide at the time of job entry how much to invest in match-specific human capital. We first show that job destruction and training investment decisions are strongly complementary. It is possible...... that there are no firings at equilibrium. Further, training investments are confronted to a hold-up problem making the decentralized equilibrium always inefficient. We show therefore that both training subsidies and firing taxes must be implemented to bring back efficiency....

Recent Canadian experience in chemical warfare agent destruction: An overview. Suffield report No. 626

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McAndless, J.M.

1995-12-31

This paper reviews a project in which stockpiles of aged mustard (bis-2-chloroethyl sulfide), lewisite (2-chlorovinyl-dichloro arsine), nerve agents, and contaminated scrap metal were incinerated or chemically neutralized in a safe, environmentally responsible manner. Sections of the paper describe the public consultation program conducted prior to destruction operations, the environmental assessment of the destruction projects, the environmental protection plan implemented to eliminate or mitigate risks with respect to the installation and operation of the destruction equipment, the environmental monitoring procedures, the agent destruction operations, and the destruction process performance, including incinerator emissions.

Good news is bad news: Leverage cycles and sudden stops

OpenAIRE

Akinci, Ozge; Chahrour, Ryan

2015-01-01

We show that a model with imperfectly forecastable changes in future productivity and an occasionally binding collateral constraint can match a set of stylized facts about “sudden stop” events. “Good” news about future productivity raises leverage during times of expansion, increasing the probability that the constraint binds, and a sudden stop occurs, in future periods. The economy exhibits a boom period in the run-up to the sudden stop, with output, consumption, and investment all above tre...

Biomechanical evaluation of the X-Stop device for surgical treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Zongmiao; Wang, Shaobai; Kozánek, Michal; Passias, Peter G; Mansfield, Frederick L; Wood, Kirkham B; Li, Guoan

2012-10-01

Controlled experimental study. To evaluate the kinematical effects of X-Stop device on the spinal process at the operated and the adjacent segments before and after X-Stop surgeries during various weight-bearing postures in elderly patients with lumbar spine stenosis. The mechanism of interspinous process (ISP) devices is to directly distract the ISP of the implanted level to indirectly decompress the intervertebra foramen and spinal canal. Few studies have investigated the changes of ISP gap caused by X-Stop implantation using magnetic resonance imaging or radiography, but the effect of X-Stop surgery on the kinematics of spinous processes during functional activities is still unclear. Eight patients were tested before and, on average, 7 months after surgical implantation of the X-Stop devices using a combined computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging and dual fluoroscopic imaging system during weight-bearing standing, flexion-extension, left-right bending, and left-right twisting positions of the torso. The shortest distances of the ISPs at the operated and the adjacent levels were measured using iterative closest point method and was dissected into vertical (gap) and horizontal (lateral translation) components. At the operated levels, the shortest vertical ISP distances (gap) significantly (P0.05) in right twist, left bend, and right bend after the X-Stop implantation. The lateral translations were not significantly affected. At both cephalad and caudad adjacent levels, the ISP distances (vertical and horizontal) were not significantly affected during all postures after X-Stop implantation. The findings of this study indicate that implantation of the X-Stop devices can effectively distract the ISP space at the diseased level without causing apparent kinematic changes at the adjacent segments during the studied postures.

Non destructive nuclear measurements for control and characterization purpose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyoussi, Abdallah

2002-01-01

In this report for accreditation to supervise researches, the author proposes a large and rather precise overview of his research works which dealt with the upstream and downstream parts of the nuclear fuel cycle. After having discussed the different needs associated with non destructive nuclear measurements during the fuel cycle, the author describes his past research activities. In the following parts, he discusses control and characterization methods associated with the upstream and downstream parts of the fuel cycle: fuel density variation measurement, non destructive control of uranium-235 content of enriched uranium ingots, examination of induced photo-fissions in radioactive waste parcels, use of electron accelerator for simultaneous neutron and photon examination, measurement of the spatial distribution of the photonic component from the Mini Linatron, association of non destructive measurement techniques

Cooperation enhanced by habitat destruction in Prisoner's Dilemma Games

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiqing; Wang, Wanxiong; Zhang, Feng; Qiao, Hongqiang

2017-11-01

The emergence and maintenance of cooperation is a fundamental problem within groups of selfish individuals, whereby we introduce a model of replicator equations based on the Prisoner's Dilemma game. In the present work, the effect of habitat destruction on the evolution of cooperation will be taken into account. Our results show that cooperators can receive the biggest boost for a moderate value of habitat destruction, and more serious habitat destruction will lead to lower levels of cooperation until zero. Moreover, we also reach the conclusion that the cooperation level decreases monotonously with the increasing of the ratio of cooperative cost to benefit but increases monotonously with the increasing of the encounter probability. Our findings can help to further understand the evolution of cooperation under the harsh external environment.

Technology of Rock Destruction by Combined Explosion-Mechanical Load

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleg M. Terentiev

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background. Rock drilling is characterized by an energy capacity of more than 120 kWh/m3. This is due to the fact that about 90 % of the energy is expended on the “preparation” of rocks for destruction. This study proposes to combine explosive and mechanical loads to reduce specific energy consumption of rock destruction. Objective. The aim of the paper is energy effective technology development for rock destruction by combined explosive-mechanical loads. Methods. Analytical studies; regression analysis; math modeling; experimental research; technical and economic analysis. Results. Specific energy decreasing for explosive-mechanical rock drilling by 4–16 % was experimentally proved. Conclusions. As a result of the implementation of explosive-mechanical rock drilling on the created full-sized experimental device, the efficiency coefficient increased from 77 to 80 %.

Distillation, destructive

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walton, G

1865-05-16

A retort for the destructive distillation of coal, shale, whereby hydrocarbons are produced, is described. The vertical retort is provided with a charging door, a discharging door, an outlet leading to the condensing plant, an inclined bottom, and a perforated cage to facilitate the escape of the vapor and to regulate the amount of materials operated upon in the retort. The upper part of the cage is conical to deflect the materials fed in by the door and the lower part is also slightly conical to facilitate emptying the retort. The bottom may incline from both back and front, and also from the sides to the center. The apparatus is heated from below, and the flues pass all round the lower part of the retort.

Immunization with a Neural-Derived Peptide Protects the Spinal Cord from Apoptosis after Traumatic Injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roxana Rodríguez-Barrera

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Apoptosis is one of the most destructive mechanisms that develop after spinal cord (SC injury. Immunization with neural-derived peptides (INDPs such as A91 has shown to reduce the deleterious proinflammatory response and the amount of harmful compounds produced after SC injury. With the notion that the aforementioned elements are apoptotic inducers, we hypothesized that INDPs would reduce apoptosis after SC injury. In order to test this assumption, adult rats were subjected to SC contusion and immunized either with A91 or phosphate buffered saline (PBS; control group. Seven days after injury, animals were euthanized to evaluate the number of apoptotic cells at the injury site. Apoptosis was evaluated using DAPI and TUNEL techniques; caspase-3 activity was also evaluated. To further elucidate the mechanisms through which A91 exerts this antiapoptotic effects we quantified tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α. To also demonstrate that the decrease in apoptotic cells correlated with a functional improvement, locomotor recovery was evaluated. Immunization with A91 significantly reduced the number of apoptotic cells and decreased caspase-3 activity and TNF-α concentration. Immunization with A91 also improved the functional recovery of injured rats. The present study shows the beneficial effect of INDPs on preventing apoptosis and provides more evidence on the neuroprotective mechanisms exerted by this strategy.

Maternal immunity enhances systemic recall immune responses upon oral immunization of piglets with F4 fimbriae.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Ut V; Melkebeek, Vesna; Devriendt, Bert; Goetstouwers, Tiphanie; Van Poucke, Mario; Peelman, Luc; Goddeeris, Bruno M; Cox, Eric

2015-06-23

F4 enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) cause diarrhoea and mortality in piglets leading to severe economic losses. Oral immunization of piglets with F4 fimbriae induces a protective intestinal immune response evidenced by an F4-specific serum and intestinal IgA response. However, successful oral immunization of pigs with F4 fimbriae in the presence of maternal immunity has not been demonstrated yet. In the present study we aimed to evaluate the effect of maternal immunity on the induction of a systemic immune response upon oral immunization of piglets. Whereas F4-specific IgG and IgA could be induced by oral immunization of pigs without maternal antibodies and by intramuscular immunization of pigs with maternal antibodies, no such response was seen in the orally immunized animals with maternal antibodies. Since maternal antibodies can mask an antibody response, we also looked by ELIspot assays for circulating F4-specific antibody secreting cells (ASCs). Enumerating the F4-specific ASCs within the circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and the number of F4-specific IgA ASCs within the circulating IgA(+) B-cells revealed an F4-specific immune response in the orally immunized animals with maternal antibodies. Interestingly, results suggest a more robust IgA booster response by oral immunization of pigs with than without maternal antibodies. These results demonstrate that oral immunization of piglets with F4-specific maternal antibodies is feasible and that these maternal antibodies seem to enhance the secondary systemic immune response. Furthermore, our ELIspot assay on enriched IgA(+) B-cells could be used as a screening procedure to optimize mucosal immunization protocols in pigs with maternal immunity.

U.S. Immunization program adult immunization activities and resources

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, LaDora O.; Bridges, Carolyn B.; Graitcer, Samuel B.; Lamont, Brock

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Adults are recommended to receive vaccines based on their age, medical conditions, prior vaccinations, occupation and lifestyle. However, adult immunization coverage is low in the United States and lags substantially below Healthy People 2020 goals. To assess activities and resources designated for adult immunization programs by state and local health department immunization programs in the United States, we analyzed 2012 and 2013 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Program Annual Reports and Progress Assessments (PAPA) survey of CDC-funded immunization programs. Fifty-six of 64 funded US immunization programs' responses were included in the analysis. Eighty-two percent of (n = 46) programs reported having a designated adult immunization coordinator in 2012 and 73% (n = 41) in 2013. Of the 46 coordinators reported in 2012, 30% (n = 14) spent more than 50% of their time on adult immunization activities, and only 24% (n = 10) of the 41 adult coordinators in 2013 spent more than 50% of their time on adult immunization activities. In 2012, 23% (n = 13) of the 56 programs had a separate immunization coalition for adults and 68% (n = 38) included adult issues in their overall immunization program coalition. In 2013, 25% (n = 14) had a separate adult immunization coalition while 57% (n = 32) incorporated adult immunizations into their overall immunization program coalition. The results indicate substantial variation across the US in public health infrastructure to support adult immunizations. Continued assessment of adult immunization resources and activities will be important in improving adult immunization coverage levels though program support. With many programs having limited resources dedicated to improving adult immunization rates in the in US, efforts by the health departments to collaborate with providers and other partners in their jurisdictions to increase awareness, increase the use of proven strategies to improve

Depressed immune surveillance against cancer: role of deficient T cell: extracellular matrix interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Górski, A; Castronovo, V; Stepień-Sopniewska, B; Grieb, P; Ryba, M; Mrowiec, T; Korczak-Kowalska, G; Wierzbicki, P; Matysiak, W; Dybowska, B

1994-07-01

Although T cells infiltrate malignant tumors, the local immune response is usually inefficient and tumors escape destruction. While extracellular matrix proteins strongly costimulate T cell responses in normal individuals, our studies indicate that peripheral blood T cells from cancer patients and tumor infiltrating cells respond poorly or are resistant to stimulative signals mediated by collagen I and IV and fibronectin. Moreover, the adhesive properties of cancer T cells are markedly depressed. Those functional deficiencies are paralleled by variable deficits in integrin and non-integrin T cell receptors for extracellular matrix. Immunotherapy with BCG causes a dramatic but transient increase in T cell: ECM interactions.

27 CFR 19.315 - Removal or destruction of distilling material.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Removal or destruction of distilling material. 19.315 Section 19.315 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND...) spirits, (2) alcoholic beverages, or (3) vinegar by the vaporizing process; or (c) for destruction. The...