Wind turbines and seismic hazard: a state-of-the-art review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Katsanos, Evangelos; Thöns, Sebastian; Georgakis, Christos T.

2016-01-01

, India, Southern Europe and East Asia) highlight the necessity for thorough consideration of the seismic implications on these energy harnessing systems. Along these lines, this state-of-the-art paper presents a comparative survey of the published research relevant to the seismic analysis, design......Wind energy is a rapidly growing field of renewable energy, and as such, intensive scientific and societal interest has been already attracted. Research on wind turbine structures has been mostly focused on the structural analysis, design and/or assessment of wind turbines mainly against normal...... and assessment of wind turbines. Based on numerical simulation, either deterministic or probabilistic approaches are reviewed, because they have been adopted to investigate the sensitivity of wind turbines’ structural capacity and reliability in earthquake-induced loading. The relevance of seismic hazard...

Non-EEG seizure detection systems and potential SUDEP prevention: State of the art: Review and update.

Science.gov (United States)

Van de Vel, Anouk; Cuppens, Kris; Bonroy, Bert; Milosevic, Milica; Jansen, Katrien; Van Huffel, Sabine; Vanrumste, Bart; Cras, Patrick; Lagae, Lieven; Ceulemans, Berten

2016-10-01

Detection of, and alarming for epileptic seizures is increasingly demanded and researched. Our previous review article provided an overview of non-invasive, non-EEG (electro-encephalography) body signals that can be measured, along with corresponding methods, state of the art research, and commercially available systems. Three years later, many more studies and devices have emerged. Moreover, the boom of smart phones and tablets created a new market for seizure detection applications. We performed a thorough literature review and had contact with manufacturers of commercially available devices. This review article gives an updated overview of body signals and methods for seizure detection, international research and (commercially) available systems and applications. Reported results of non-EEG based detection devices vary between 2.2% and 100% sensitivity and between 0 and 3.23 false detections per hour compared to the gold standard video-EEG, for seizures ranging from generalized to convulsive or non-convulsive focal seizures with or without loss of consciousness. It is particularly interesting to include monitoring of autonomic dysfunction, as this may be an important pathophysiological mechanism of SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy), and of movement, as many seizures have a motor component. Comparison of research results is difficult as studies focus on different seizure types, timing (night versus day) and patients (adult versus pediatric patients). Nevertheless, we are convinced that the most effective seizure detection systems are multimodal, combining for example detection methods for movement and heart rate, and that devices should especially take into account the user's seizure types and personal preferences. Copyright © 2016 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Review of state-of-the-art decision support systems (DSSs) for prevention and suppression of forest fires

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Stavros Sakellariou; Stergios Tampekis; Fani Samara; Athanassios Sfougaris; Olga Christopoulou

2017-01-01

Forest ecosystems are our priceless natural resource and are a key component of the global carbon budget. Forest fires can be a hazard to the viability and sustainable management of forests with consequences for natural and cultural environments, economies, and the life quality of local and regional populations. Thus, the selec-tion of strategies to manage forest fires, while considering both functional and economic efficiency, is of primary importance. The use of decision support systems (DSSs) by managers of forest fires has rapidly increased. This has strengthened capacity to prevent and suppress forest fires while protecting human lives and property. DSSs are a tool that can benefit incident management and decision making and policy, especially for emergencies such as natural disasters. In this study we reviewed state-of-the-art DSSs that use:database management systems and mathematical/economic algorithms for spatial optimization of firefighting forces; forest fire simulators and satellite technology forimmediate detection and prediction of evolution of forest fires; GIS platforms that incorporate several tools to manipulate, process and analyze geographic data and develop strategic and operational plans.

The state-of-the-art report for flow and pressure measurement techniques in the piping system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Jin Ho; Lee, Jeong Han; Kim, Bong Soo; Kim, Jong Man; Choi, Jong Hyun

2002-12-01

The sodium is widely used as one of the coolants in the liquid metal reactor system since it has important safety features such as a long thermal response time, a large margin to coolant boiling, and operating in near atmospheric pressure, etc. The state-of-the-art on the flow and pressure measurement techniques in the piping system worldwide is investigated and reviewed to utilize it as a basis for developing a new technique applying for the high temperature sodium flow environment.

State-of-the-art Versus Time-triggered Object Tracking in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moritz Koplin

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Most state-of-the-art driver assistance systems cannot guarantee that real-time images of object states are updated within a given time interval, because the object state observations are typically sampled by uncontrolled sensors and transmitted via an indeterministic bus system such as CAN. To overcome this shortcoming, a paradigm shift toward time-triggered advanced driver assistance systems based on a deterministic bus system, such as FlexRay, is under discussion. In order to prove the feasibility of this paradigm shift, this paper develops different models of a state-of-the-art and a time-triggered advanced driver assistance system based on multi-sensor object tracking and compares them with regard to their mean performance. The results show that while the state-of-the-art model is advantageous in scenarios with low process noise, it is outmatched by the time-triggered model in the case of high process noise, i.e., in complex situations with high dynamic.

Global Software Development: A Review of the State-Of-The-Art (2007-2011)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ali Babar, Muhammad; Zahedi, Mansooreh

a state-of-the-art review of the GSD research literature published in the main venue of Global Software Engineering in order to identify the main research trends and gaps that needs to be filled by future research. We were also interested placing the findings of our review with respect to a practice......-driven GSD research agenda. Method: We used structured literature review methodology for which we decided to select and review the recently published research papers (i.e., 2007 - 2011) from the International Conference in Global Software Engineering (ICGSE). We used a framework for organizing GSD research...... challenges and threats and a practice-driven research agenda for extracting and organizing the data from the reviewed papers. We used theoretical reasoning for classifying the reviewed papers under different categories, which were mainly based on the framework, a decision that also enabled us to propose...

EVALUATION OF THE STATE-OF-THE-ART CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT TRANSPORT AND FATE MODELING SYSTEM

Science.gov (United States)

Modeling approaches for evaluating the transport and fate of sediment and associated contaminants are briefly reviewed. The main emphasis is on: 1) the application of EFDC (Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code), the state-of-the-art contaminated sediment transport and fate public do...

The state-of-the-art of ART sealants.

Science.gov (United States)

Frencken, Jo E

2014-03-01

Sealing caries-prone pits and fissure systems is an effective caries-preventive measure. There are basically two types of sealant materials: glass-ionomer and resin-based materials. Low- and medium-viscosity glass-ionomers were initially used and showed a low level of retention. With the advent of the ART approach in the mid-nineties, high-viscosity glass-ionomers were introduced as sealant material and the retention rate of ART sealants increased substantially. As the effectiveness of a sealant is measured by its capacity to prevent (dentine) carious lesion development, sealant retention is considered a surrogate endpoint. The ART sealant protocol is described. Systematic reviews and meta-analysis covering low- medium- and high-viscosity glass-ionomer (ART) sealants have concluded that there is no evidence that either glass-ionomer or resin-based sealants prevent dentine carious lesions better. The annual dentine carious lesion development in teeth with high-viscosity glass-ionomer ART sealants over the first three years is 1%. These ART sealants have a high capacity of preventing carious lesion development. Because no electricity and running water is required, ART sealants can be placed both inside and outside the dental surgery. High-viscosity glass-ionomer ART sealants can be used alongside resin-based sealants.41:119-124

Selected examples of intelligent (micro) sensor systems: state-of-the-art and tendencies

Science.gov (United States)

Hauptmann, Peter R.

2006-03-01

The capability of intelligent sensors to have more intelligence built into them continues to drive their application in areas including automotive, aerospace and defense, industrial, intelligent house and wear, medical and homeland security. In principle it is difficult to overestimate the importance of intelligent (micro) sensors or sensor systems within advanced societies but one characteristic feature is the global market for sensors, which is now about 20 billion annually. Therefore sensors or sensor systems play a dominant role in many fields from the macro sensor in manufacturing industry down to the miniaturized sensor for medical applications. The diversity of sensors precludes a complete description of the state-of-the-art; selected examples will illustrate the current situation. MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) devices are of special interest in the context of micro sensor systems. In past the main requirements of a sensor were in terms of metrological performance. The electrical (or optical) signal produced by the sensor needed to match the measure relatively accurately. Such basic functionality is no longer sufficient. Data processing near the sensor, the extraction of more information than just the direct sensor information by signal analysis, system aspects and multi-sensor information are the new demands. A shifting can be observed away from aiming to design perfect single-function transducers and towards the utilization of system-based sensors as system components. In the ideal case such systems contain sensors, actuators and electronics. They can be realized in monolithic, hybrid or discrete form—which kind is used depends on the application. In this article the state-of-the-art of intelligent sensors or sensor systems is reviewed using selected examples. Future trends are deduced.

State of the Art Review on Theoretical Tribology of Fluid Power Displacement Machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cerimagic, Remzija; Johansen, Per; Andersen, Torben O.

2016-01-01

machines, and also the work done to validate the theoretical models. This review is not a complete historical account, but aim to describe current trends in fluid power displacement machine tribology. The review considers the rheological models used in the theoretical approaches, the modeling...... and wear mechanisms in the lubricating gaps in fluid power machines is confined to simulation models, as experimental treatments of these mechanisms are very difficult. The aim of this paper is a state of the art review on the theoretical work for the design and optimization of fluid power displacement...... of elastohydrodynamic effects, the modeling of thermal effects, and finally the experimental validation of the theoretical models....

State-of-the-art Review : Vol. 2A. Responsive Building Elements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blümel, Ernst; Haghighat, Fariborz; Li, Yuguo

This report resumes and presents the activity done in Subtask A of IEA-ECBCS Annex 44 “Integrating Environmentally Responsive Elements in Buildings” concerning the state of the art review of Responsive Building Elements. It is based on the contributions from the participating countries...... at researchers in the field and gives an overview of how these elements work together with available performance data. It is hoped, that this report will be helpful for researchers in their search for new solutions to the problem of designing and constructing sustainable buildings....

State-of-the-art review of sodium fire analysis and current notions for improvements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tasi, S.S.

1978-01-01

Sodium releases from postulated pipe ruptures, as well as failures of sodium handling equipment in liquid metal fast breeder reactors, may lead to substantial pressure-temperature transients in the sodium system cells, as well as in the reactor containment building. Sodium fire analyses are currently performed with analytical tools, such as the SPRAY, SOMIX, SPOOL-FIRE and SOFIRE-II codes. A review and evaluation of the state-of-the-art in sodium fire analysis is presented, and suggestions for further improvements are made. This work is based, in part, on studies made at Brookhaven National Laboratory during the past several years in the areas of model development and improvement associated with the accident analyses of LMFBRs

Chernobyl - state of the art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souza, Daiane C.B. de; Vicente, Roberto; Rostelato, Maria Elisa C.M.; Borges, Jessica F.; Tiezzi, Rodrigo; Peleias Junior, Fernando S.; Souza, Carla D.; Rodrigues, Bruna T.; Benega, Marcos A.G.; Souza, Anderson S. de; Silva, Thais H. da

2014-01-01

This article aims to analyze what has been done so far in relation to damage caused by the accident and the state of art in Chernobyl, as well as the impact on radiation protection applied safety nuclear power plants. In the first part of the work a data survey was done through a bibliographic review and the in the second part data was collected during a visit, in June 2013 at the crash site, when was observed dose values in the affected areas and the works of repairs that have been made in the sarcophagus and surroundings as well as in official reports available through active international bodies. The main results indicate significant improvements in radiation protection systems

Establishment of database and network for research of stream generator and state of the art technology review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Jae Bong; Hur, Nam Su; Moon, Seong In; Seo, Hyeong Won; Park, Bo Kyu; Park, Sung Ho; Kim, Hyung Geun [Sungkyunkwan Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2004-02-15

A significant number of steam generator tubes are defective and are removed from service or repaired world widely. This wide spread damage has been caused by diverse degradation mechanisms, some of which are difficult to detect and predict. Regarding domestic nuclear power plants, also, the increase of number of operating nuclear power plants and operating periods may result in the increase of steam generator tube failure. So, it is important to carry out the integrity evaluation process to prevent the steam generator tube damage. There are two objectives of this research. The one is to make database for the research of steam generator at domestic research institution. It will increase the efficiency and capability of limited domestic research resources by sharing data and information through network organization. Also, it will enhance the current standard of integrity evaluation procedure that is considerably conservative but can be more reasonable. The second objective is to establish the standard integrity evaluation procedure for steam generator tube by reviewing state of the art technology. The research resources related to steam generator tubes are managed by the established web-based database system. The following topics are covered in this project: development of web-based network for research on steam generator tubes review of state of the art technology.

Establishment of database and network for research of stream generator and state of the art technology review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jae Bong; Hur, Nam Su; Moon, Seong In; Seo, Hyeong Won; Park, Bo Kyu; Park, Sung Ho; Kim, Hyung Geun

2004-02-01

A significant number of steam generator tubes are defective and are removed from service or repaired world widely. This wide spread damage has been caused by diverse degradation mechanisms, some of which are difficult to detect and predict. Regarding domestic nuclear power plants, also, the increase of number of operating nuclear power plants and operating periods may result in the increase of steam generator tube failure. So, it is important to carry out the integrity evaluation process to prevent the steam generator tube damage. There are two objectives of this research. The one is to make database for the research of steam generator at domestic research institution. It will increase the efficiency and capability of limited domestic research resources by sharing data and information through network organization. Also, it will enhance the current standard of integrity evaluation procedure that is considerably conservative but can be more reasonable. The second objective is to establish the standard integrity evaluation procedure for steam generator tube by reviewing state of the art technology. The research resources related to steam generator tubes are managed by the established web-based database system. The following topics are covered in this project: development of web-based network for research on steam generator tubes review of state of the art technology

The state-of-the-art of ART restorations.

Science.gov (United States)

Frencken, Jo E

2014-04-01

ART is less anxiety- and pain-provoking than traditional restorative treatments; administration of local anaesthesia is rarely required. Systematic reviews have provided evidence of the high level of effectiveness of high-viscosity glass-ionomer ART restoration in restoring single-surface cavities, both in primary and permanent posterior teeth, but its survival rates in restoring multiple-surface cavities in primary posterior teeth needs to be improved. Insufficient information is available regarding the survival rates of multiple-surface ART restorations in permanent teeth. Evidence from these reviews indicates no difference in the survival rates of single-surface high-viscosity glass-ionomer ART restorations and amalgam restorations in primary and permanent posterior teeth. Where indicated, high-viscosity glass-ionomer ART restorations can be used alongside traditional restorations. ART provides a much more acceptable introduction to dental restorative care than the traditional 'injection, drill and fill'.

An Assessment of the State of the Art of Curriculum Materials and a Status Assessment of Training Programs for Robotics/Automated Systems Technicians. Task Analysis and Descriptions of Required Job Competencies of Robotics/Automated Systems Technicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Hull, Daniel M.; Lovett, James E.

This report presents the results of research conducted to determine the current state of the art of robotics/automated systems technician (RAST) training offered in the United States. Section I discusses the RAST curriculum project, of which this state-of-the-art review is a part, and offers a RAST job description. Section II describes the…

State of the art-hydraulic yaw systems for wind turbines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stubkier, Søren; Pedersen, Henrik C.; Andersen, Torben Ole

2011-01-01

This paper addresses the yawing systems of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT’s). HAWT’s represents close to all of the commercial large wind turbines sold today and must be considered state-of-the art within wind turbine technology. Two choices exists when considering components for the active ...

Ascertaining the international state of the art of PSA methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linden, J. von

1998-01-01

Plant-specific PSAs, to be performed within the framework of the Periodic Safety Review of German Nuclear Power Plants require further development of the methodology. For that purpose foreign PSA-guidelines and PSA-reviewes as well as relevant literature are examined and appropriate insights are adopted within task A.2 of project SR 2096. The main goal of these activities is to achieve a comparison of the state of the art of PSA-methodologies applied abroad and in Germany. The German state of the art refers to the extent as is documented in the German PSA Guide (Leitfaden Probabilistische Sicherheitsanalyse /PSUe97/) which has to be used for the Periodic Safety Review of German Nuclear Power Plants. The structure for the evaluation is based on the working steps of a PSA. In total, according to the objectives of the Periodic Safety Review the German approach for plant-specific PSAs based on the German PSA Guide is conform to the state of the art abroad. Identified deviations in some details are evaluated reflecting the view of GRS. Particular aspects resulting from the evaluation should be considered for further development of the German PSA Guide. (orig.) [de

State of the art review of biofuels production from lignocellulose by thermophilic bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Yujia; Xin, Fengxue; Lu, Jiasheng; Dong, Weiliang; Zhang, Wenming; Zhang, Min; Wu, Hao; Ma, Jiangfeng; Jiang, Min

2017-12-01

Biofuels, including ethanol and butanol, are mainly produced by mesophilic solventogenic yeasts and Clostridium species. However, these microorganisms cannot directly utilize lignocellulosic materials, which are abundant, renewable and non-compete with human demand. More recently, thermophilic bacteria show great potential for biofuels production, which could efficiently degrade lignocellulose through the cost effective consolidated bioprocessing. Especially, it could avoid contamination in the whole process owing to its relatively high fermentation temperature. However, wild types thermophiles generally produce low levels of biofuels, hindering their large scale production. This review comprehensively summarizes the state of the art development of biofuels production by reported thermophilic microorganisms, and also concludes strategies to improve biofuels production including the metabolic pathways construction, co-culturing systems and biofuels tolerance. In addition, strategies to further improve butanol production are proposed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fabricating biomedical origami: a state-of-the-art review.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Meredith; Chen, Yue; Hovet, Sierra; Xu, Sheng; Wood, Bradford; Ren, Hongliang; Tokuda, Junichi; Tse, Zion Tsz Ho

2017-11-01

Origami-based biomedical device design is an emerging technology due to its ability to be deployed from a minimal foldable pattern to a larger volume. This paper aims to review state-of-the-art origami structures applied in the medical device field. Publications and reports of origami structure related to medical device design from the past 10 years are reviewed and categorized according to engineering specifications, including the application field, fabrication material, size/volume, deployment method, manufacturability, and advantages. This paper presents an overview of the biomedical applications of devices based on origami structures, including disposable sterilization covers, cardiac catheterization, stent grafts, encapsulation and microsurgery, gastrointestinal microsurgery, laparoscopic surgical grippers, microgrippers, microfluidic devices, and drug delivery. Challenges in terms of materials and fabrication, assembly, modeling and computation design, and clinical adoptability are discussed at the end of this paper to provide guidance for future origami-based design in the medical device field. Concepts from origami can be used to design and develop novel medical devices. Origami-based medical device design is currently progressing, with researchers improving design methods, materials, fabrication techniques, and folding efficiency.

Zirconia powders production by precipitation: state-of-art review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, Ana Paula Almeida de; Torem, Mauricio Leonardo

1994-01-01

The important role played by zirconia in advanced ceramics can be attributed to its excellent wear and corrosion resistance and refractory character. The polymorphic nature of zirconia made the controlled addition of stabilizing oxides or the constraining effect of a dense ceramics matrix necessary to maintain high parameters had a significant influence on powder properties and on compacted powder behaviour in sintering. Particle shape and size, purity and crystalline structure were specially influenced by precipitation parameters. Therefore, this work presented a review of the state of the art in zirconia powder production and in the recent research on precipitation of that powder. (author)

State of the art in microfabrication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schmitz, Jurriaan

2014-01-01

In this review paper the state of the art in microfabrication is presented. The focus is on trends in integrated circuit fabrication by mainstream industrial players. The article starts with Moore’s Law, describing its inception as well as the evolution of Moore’s metric of the number of components

Chernobyl - state of the art; Chernobyl - o estado da arte

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Souza, Daiane C.B. de; Vicente, Roberto; Rostelato, Maria Elisa C.M.; Borges, Jessica F.; Tiezzi, Rodrigo; Peleias Junior, Fernando S.; Souza, Carla D.; Rodrigues, Bruna T.; Benega, Marcos A.G.; Souza, Anderson S. de; Silva, Thais H. da, E-mail: dcsouza@ipen.br, E-mail: rvicente@ipen.br, E-mail: elisaros@ipen.br, E-mail: rtiezzi@ipen.br, E-mail: carladdsouza@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: marcosagbenega@ipen.br, E-mail: bteigarodrigues@gmail.com, E-mail: thaishunk@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2014-07-01

This article aims to analyze what has been done so far in relation to damage caused by the accident and the state of art in Chernobyl, as well as the impact on radiation protection applied safety nuclear power plants. In the first part of the work a data survey was done through a bibliographic review and the in the second part data was collected during a visit, in June 2013 at the crash site, when was observed dose values in the affected areas and the works of repairs that have been made in the sarcophagus and surroundings as well as in official reports available through active international bodies. The main results indicate significant improvements in radiation protection systems.

A Review of Wireless Sensor Technologies and Applications in Agriculture and Food Industry: State of the Art and Current Trends

OpenAIRE

Ruiz-Garcia, Luis; Lunadei, Loredana; Barreiro, Pilar; Robla, Jose Ignacio

2009-01-01

The aim of the present paper is to review the technical and scientific state of the art of wireless sensor technologies and standards for wireless communications in the Agri- Food sector. These technologies are very promising in several fields such as environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, cold chain control or traceability. The paper focuses on WSN (Wireless Sensor Networks) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), presenting the different systems available, recent developments a...

A State of the Art Overview

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jahangiri, Tohid; Bak, Claus Leth; Silva, Filipe Miguel Faria da

2015-01-01

The first EHV composite cross-arms have been used since late 1990's in Switzerland. It was the first step to the compaction of towers sizes. Since then, significant advances have been made in composite cross-arms technology while the lattice construction technique has not been seriously challenged...... of EHV composite cross-arms and lightning protection methods are reviewed based on the state of the art review and subsequently some solutions are presented to overcome the two main challenges....

Waste management state-of-the-art review for mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodsum, H.C.; Goodman, J.

1977-11-01

This report provides a state-of-the-art review of the waste management for mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facilities. The intent of this report is to focus on those processes and regulatory issues which have a direct bearing on existing and anticipated future management of transuranic (TRU) wastes from a commercial MOX fuel fabrication faciity. Recent government agency actions are reviewed with regard to their impact on existing and projected waste management regulations; and it is concluded that acceleration in the development of regulations, standards, and criteria is one of the most important factors in the implementation of improved MOX plant waste management techniques. ERDA development programs pertaining to the management of TRU wastes have been reviewed and many promising methods for volume reduction of both solid and liquid wastes are discussed. For solid wastes, these methods include compaction, shredding and baling, combustion, acid digestion, and decontamination by electropolishing or by electrolytic treatment. For liquid wastes, treatment options include evaporation, drying, calcination, flocculation, ion exchange, filtration, reverse osmosis, combustion (of combustible organics), and bioprocessing. Based on this review, it is recommended that ERDA continue with its combustible solid waste volume reduction program and complete these development activities by 1979. Following this, a critical evaluation of solid waste volume reduction techniques should be made to select the most promising systems for a commercial MOX fuel facility

Summary of State-of-the-Art Power Conversion Systems for Energy Storage Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Atcitty, S.; Gray-Fenner, A.; Ranade, S.

1998-09-01

The power conversion system (PCS) is a vital part of many energy storage systems. It serves as the interface between the storage device, an energy source, and an AC load. This report summarizes the results of an extensive study of state-of-the-art power conversion systems used for energy storage applications. The purpose of the study was to investigate the potential for cost reduction and performance improvement in these power conversion systems and to provide recommendations for fiture research and development. This report provides an overview of PCS technology, a description of several state-of-the-art power conversion systems and how they are used in specific applications, a summary of four basic configurations for l:he power conversion systems used in energy storage applications, a discussion of PCS costs and potential cost reductions, a summary of the stancku-ds and codes relevant to the technology, and recommendations for future research and development.

A state-of-the-art passive gamma-ray assay system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sampson, T.E.; Parker, J.L.; Cowder, L.R.; Kern, E.A.; Garcia, D.L.; Ensslin, N.

1987-01-01

We report details of the development of a high-accuracy, high-precision system for the non-destructive assay of 235 U in solution. The system can measure samples with concentrations ranging from 0.0001 to 500 g 235 U/l using 200-ml samples at low concentrations, 30-ml samples at high concentrations, and 1000-s measurement times. The accuracy and precision goals of 0.1% were essentially attained for concentrations above 100 g/l. This at-line system, designed for a production plant environment, represents a significant improvement in the state of the art

State of the art survey of network operating systems development

Science.gov (United States)

1985-01-01

The results of the State-of-the-Art Survey of Network Operating Systems (NOS) performed for Goddard Space Flight Center are presented. NOS functional characteristics are presented in terms of user communication data migration, job migration, network control, and common functional categories. Products (current or future) as well as research and prototyping efforts are summarized. The NOS products which are revelant to the space station and its activities are evaluated.

A state of the art review of vitrification of high level waste in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heimerl, W.

This paper gives a review of the state-of-the-art of the development and demonstration of vitrification processes for high level radioactive waste solutions on an industrial scale in four European countries (France, United Kingdom, Federal Republic of Germany and Belgium). Historical development, experiences and operations present status and future plans are presented. Three of the processes which seem to be of major importance are described (AVM-France, HARVEST-United Kingdom, PAMELA Germany/Belgium). (author)

Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and Nature Therapy: A State-of-the-Art Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Margaret M; Jones, Reo; Tocchini, Kirsten

2017-07-28

Current literature supports the comprehensive health benefits of exposure to nature and green environments on human systems. The aim of this state-of-the-art review is to elucidate empirical research conducted on the physiological and psychological effects of Shinrin-Yoku (or Forest Bathing) in transcontinental Japan and China. Furthermore, we aim to encourage healthcare professionals to conduct longitudinal research in Western cultures regarding the clinically therapeutic effects of Shinrin-Yoku and, for healthcare providers/students to consider practicing Shinrin-Yoku to decrease undue stress and potential burnout. A thorough review was conducted to identify research published with an initial open date range and then narrowing the collection to include papers published from 2007 to 2017. Electronic databases (PubMed, PubMed Central, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Scopus) and snowball references were used to cull papers that evaluated the use of Shinrin-Yoku for various populations in diverse settings. From the 127 papers initially culled using the Boolean phrases: "Shinrin-yoku" AND/OR "forest bathing" AND/OR "nature therapy", 64 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this summary review and then divided into "physiological," "psychological," "sensory metrics" and "frameworks" sub-groups. Human health benefits associated with the immersion in nature continue to be currently researched. Longitudinal research, conducted worldwide, is needed to produce new evidence of the relationships associated with Shinrin-Yoku and clinical therapeutic effects. Nature therapy as a health-promotion method and potential universal health model is implicated for the reduction of reported modern-day "stress-state" and "technostress.".

State-of-the-art review of brine migration studies in salt. Technical memorandum report RSI-0075

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gnirk, P.F.; Krause, W.B.; Fossum, A.F.

1981-09-01

This report provides a state-of-the-art review of brine migration studies in rock salt. Emphasis is placed on the review of literature relating to brine migration phenomena around nuclear waste canisters. This review includes experimental work which has been conducted in the laboratory and in the field. In addition to the literature review, some additional thoughts on brine migration are given and a series of laboratory experiments is proposed. The proposed laboratory experiments are designed to determine whether or not a relationship exists between brine migration and temperature, temperature gradient and stress in rock salt. 34 references, 9 figures, 3 tables

A State-of-the-Art Review of Cloud Forensics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sameera Abdulrahman Almulla

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Cloud computing and digital forensics are emerging fields of technology. Unlike traditional digital forensics where the target environment can be almost completely acquired, isolated and can be under the investigators control; in cloud environments, the distribution of computation and storage poses unique and complex challenges to the investigators.Recently, the term "cloud forensics" has an increasing presence in the field of digital forensics. In this state-of-the-art review, we included the most recent research efforts that used "cloud forensics" as a keyword and then classify the literature in to three dimensions, (1 survey-based, (2 technology-based and (3 forensics procedural-based.We discuss widely accepted international standard bodies and their efforts to cope with the current trend of cloud forensics. Our aim is not only to reference related work based on the discussed dimensions, but also to analyze them and generate a mind map that will help in identifying research gaps. Finally, we summarize existing digital forensics tools and, the available simulation environments that can be used for evidence acquisition, examination and cloud forensics test purposes.

Digital Breast Tomosynthesis: State of the Art

Science.gov (United States)

Vedantham, Srinivasan; Vijayaraghavan, Gopal R.; Kopans, Daniel B.

2015-01-01

This topical review on digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is provided with the intent of describing the state of the art in terms of technology, results from recent clinical studies, advanced applications, and ongoing efforts to develop multimodality imaging systems that include DBT. Particular emphasis is placed on clinical studies. The observations of increase in cancer detection rates, particularly for invasive cancers, and the reduction in false-positive rates with DBT in prospective trials indicate its benefit for breast cancer screening. Retrospective multireader multicase studies show either noninferiority or superiority of DBT compared with mammography. Methods to curtail radiation dose are of importance. © RSNA, 2015 PMID:26599926

Nuclear scanning microprobe: state of the art, applications and progress trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponomarev, A.G.

2011-01-01

The physical principles of nuclear scanning microprobe are considered. The analysis of state of the art of the microprobe setup from point of view of its spatial resolution and sensitivity of microanalysis techniques is given. The regions of nuclear microprobe applications are reviewed. The ways of spatial resolution and data acquisition system improvement under consideration of microprobe setup progress trends are considered. (authors)

A State-of-the-Art Review: Personalization of Tinnitus Sound Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Searchfield, Grant D; Durai, Mithila; Linford, Tania

2017-01-01

Background: There are several established, and an increasing number of putative, therapies using sound to treat tinnitus. There appear to be few guidelines for sound therapy selection and application. Aim: To review current approaches to personalizing sound therapy for tinnitus. Methods: A "state-of-the-art" review (Grant and Booth, 2009) was undertaken to answer the question: how do current sound-based therapies for tinnitus adjust for tinnitus heterogeneity? Scopus, Google Scholar, Embase and PubMed were searched for the 10-year period 2006-2016. The search strategy used the following key words: "tinnitus" AND "sound" AND "therapy" AND "guidelines" OR "personalized" OR "customized" OR "individual" OR "questionnaire" OR "selection." The results of the review were cataloged and organized into themes. Results: In total 165 articles were reviewed in full, 83 contained sufficient details to contribute to answering the study question. The key themes identified were hearing compensation, pitched-match therapy, maskability, reaction to sound and psychosocial factors. Although many therapies mentioned customization, few could be classified as being personalized. Several psychoacoustic and questionnaire-based methods for assisting treatment selection were identified. Conclusions: Assessment methods are available to assist clinicians to personalize sound-therapy and empower patients to be active in therapy decision-making. Most current therapies are modified using only one characteristic of the individual and/or their tinnitus.

The "State of Art" of Organisational Blogging

Science.gov (United States)

Baxter, Gavin J.; Connolly, Thomas M.

2013-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the "state of art" of organisational blogging. It also aims to provide a critical review of the literature on organisational blogging and propose recommendations on how to advance the subject area in terms of academic research. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review…

Flow-induced vibration in LMFBR steam generators: a state-of-the-art review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Y.S.; Wambsganss, M.W.

1975-05-01

This state-of-the-art review identifies and discusses existing methods of flow-induced vibration analysis applicable to steam generators, their limitations, and base-technology needs. Also included are discussions of five different LMFBR steam-generator configurations and important design considerations, failure experiences, possible flow-induced excitation mechanisms, vibration testing, and available methods of vibration analysis. The objectives are to aid LMFBR steam-generator designers in making the best possible evaluation of potential vibration in steam-generator internals, and to provide the basis for development of design guidelines to avoid detrimental flow-induced vibration

Leadless Pacemakers: State of the Art and Future Perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Della Rocca, Domenico G; Gianni, Carola; Di Biase, Luigi; Natale, Andrea; Al-Ahmad, Amin

2018-03-01

Leadless pacemaker therapy is a new technology that aims at avoiding lead- and pocket-related complications of conventional transvenous and epicardial pacing. To date, 2 self-contained leadless pacemakers for right ventricular pacing have been clinically available: the Nanostim Leadless Pacemaker System and the Micra Transcatheter Pacing System. Additionally, a new multicomponent leadless pacemaker for endocardial left ventricular pacing has been proposed as an alternative choice for cardiac resynchronization therapy. In this review, we describe the state of the art of leadless pacing and compare the currently available devices with traditional transvenous leadless pacemakers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nuclear power plant decommissioning: state-of-the-art review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, D.H.

1984-01-01

A brief orientation to the state-of-the-art of nuclear power plant decommissioning discusses the related areas of experience, tools and techniques, and planning. There have been 68 nuclear reactor decommissionings to date, including 9 power plants, some of which were mothballed. The picture suggests that the term art may be misapplied since decommissioning is now more of a mature commercial industrial than a research and development endeavor. It also suggests that the nuclear industry has shown foresight by preparing for it before a crisis situation developed. Some of this has already influenced operators of coal power plants, especially where hazardous materials may be involved. 33 references, 1 table

State of the art review of radioactive waste volume reduction techniques for commercial nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-04-01

A review is made of the state of the art of volume reduction techniques for low level liquid and solid radioactive wastes produced as a result of: (1) operation of commercial nuclear power plants, (2) storage of spent fuel in away-from-reactor facilities, and (3) decontamination/decommissioning of commercial nuclear power plants. The types of wastes and their chemical, physical, and radiological characteristics are identified. Methods used by industry for processing radioactive wastes are reviewed and compared to the new techniques for processing and reducing the volume of radioactive wastes. A detailed system description and report on operating experiences follow for each of the new volume reduction techniques. In addition, descriptions of volume reduction methods presently under development are provided. The Appendix records data collected during site surveys of vendor facilities and operating power plants. A Bibliography is provided for each of the various volume reduction techniques discussed in the report

State-of-the-art radioecological models implemented in decision support systems for the management of the fresh water environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monte, Luigi

2007-01-01

The present lecture summarises the main results of a review and assessment of state-of-the-art models implemented in computerised decision support systems aimed at assisting the management of fresh water ecosystems contaminated by radioactive substances. The approaches of the various models to simulate the complex behaviour of radionuclides in the aquatic environment were discussed. A critical analysis of the whole sector was carried out in order to frame in a comprehensive perspective several complementary issues: model uncertainty, environmental variability, information incompleteness, multi-model approach, use of models for the decision making. (author)

Enhancing Successful Outcomes of Wiki-Based Collaborative Writing: A State-of-the-Art Review of Facilitation Frameworks

Science.gov (United States)

Stoddart, Andrew; Chan, Joe Yong-Yi; Liu, Gi-Zen

2016-01-01

This state-of-the-art review research undertook a survey of a variety of studies regarding wiki-based collaborative writing projects and from this body of work extracted the best practices tenets of facilitation. Wiki-based collaborative writing projects are becoming more common in second language (L2) pedagogy. Such projects have multiple aims.…

State of the art report on design for X

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Papanikolaou, Apostolos; Andersen, Poul; Kristensen, Hans Otto Holmegaard

2009-01-01

The present State of the Art report aims at defining and reviewing the curent state of the ship design process in the frame of a holistic approach, accounting for various objectives and constraints. The report addresses mainly the design of transportation carriers, though some covered aspects...

Denoising of Microscopy Images: A Review of the State-of-the-Art, and a New Sparsity-Based Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Meiniel, William; Olivo-Marin, Jean-Christophe; Angelini, Elsa D

2018-08-01

This paper reviews the state-of-the-art in denoising methods for biological microscopy images and introduces a new and original sparsity-based algorithm. The proposed method combines total variation (TV) spatial regularization, enhancement of low-frequency information, and aggregation of sparse estimators and is able to handle simple and complex types of noise (Gaussian, Poisson, and mixed), without any a priori model and with a single set of parameter values. An extended comparison is also presented, that evaluates the denoising performance of the thirteen (including ours) state-of-the-art denoising methods specifically designed to handle the different types of noises found in bioimaging. Quantitative and qualitative results on synthetic and real images show that the proposed method outperforms the other ones on the majority of the tested scenarios.

Demagnetization fault diagnosis in permanent magnet synchronous motors: A review of the state-of-the-art

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moosavi, S.S., E-mail: anchepoli@gmail.com [University of Technology Belfort Montbeliard (UTBM), Laboratory of IRTES-SET, Belfort (France); Engineering Department, Amol University of Special Modern Technology, Amol (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Djerdir, A. [University of Technology Belfort Montbeliard (UTBM), Laboratory of IRTES-SET, Belfort (France); Amirat, Y.Ait. [Laboratory of Femto-ST, University of Franche-Comte (France); Khaburi, D.A. [Center of Excellence for Power System Automation and Operation, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2015-10-01

There are a lot of research activities on developing techniques to detect permanent magnet (PM) demagnetization faults (DF). These faults decrease the performance, the reliability and the efficiency of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive systems. In this work, we draw a broad perspective on the status of these studies. The advantages, disadvantages of each method, a deeper view investigated and a comprehensive list of references are reported. - Highlights: • A review of state of the art on demagnetization fault diagnosis was studied deeply. • Critical points in fault diagnosis are discussed aiming to safety and cost management. • Critical comparison on all existent demagnetization diagnosis methods was done. • It is proved that DE and UL have the same signature frequencies as partial demagnetization. • MCSA have some limitations in frequency component under uniform demagnetization.

Demagnetization fault diagnosis in permanent magnet synchronous motors: A review of the state-of-the-art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moosavi, S.S.; Djerdir, A.; Amirat, Y.Ait.; Khaburi, D.A.

2015-01-01

There are a lot of research activities on developing techniques to detect permanent magnet (PM) demagnetization faults (DF). These faults decrease the performance, the reliability and the efficiency of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive systems. In this work, we draw a broad perspective on the status of these studies. The advantages, disadvantages of each method, a deeper view investigated and a comprehensive list of references are reported. - Highlights: • A review of state of the art on demagnetization fault diagnosis was studied deeply. • Critical points in fault diagnosis are discussed aiming to safety and cost management. • Critical comparison on all existent demagnetization diagnosis methods was done. • It is proved that DE and UL have the same signature frequencies as partial demagnetization. • MCSA have some limitations in frequency component under uniform demagnetization

Multimodal Dialogue Management - State of the art

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bui Huu Trung, B.H.T.

This report is about the state of the art in dialogue management. We first introduce an overview of a multimodal dialogue system and its components. Second, four main approaches to dialogue management are described (finite-state and frame-based, information-state based and probabilistic, plan-based,

Leadership and Fairness: The state of the art.

OpenAIRE

van Knippenberg, D.; de Cremer, D.; van Knippenberg, B.M.

2007-01-01

textabstractResearch in leadership effectiveness has paid less to the role of leader fairness than probably it should have. More recently, this has started to change. To capture this development, we review the empirical literature in leadership and fairness to define the field of leadership and fairness, to assess the state of the art, and to identify a research agenda for future efforts in the field. The review shows that leader distributive, procedural, and especially interactional fairness...

Computerized systems for on-line management of failures: a state-of-the-art discussion of alarm systems and diagnostic systems applied in the nuclear industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, I.S.

1994-01-01

It is now well perceived in the nuclear industry that improving plant information systems is vital for enhancing the operational safety of nuclear power plants. Considerable work is underway worldwide to support operators' decision-making, particularly in their difficult tasks of managing process anomalies on-line. The work includes development of (1) advanced alarm systems, such as various kinds of computer-based alarm processing systems, Critical Function Monitoring System, Success Path Monitoring System and Safety Assessment System II, and (2) real-timer diagnostic systems, such as Disturbance Analysis System, Maryland Operator Advisory System II, Model-Integrated Diagnostic Analysis System, Diagnosis System using Knowledge Engineering Technique, Detailed Diagnosis, and Operator Advisor System. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of plant information systems for on-line management of failures in nuclear power plants, focusing on the methodological features of computerized alarm systems and diagnostic systems. (author)

The state-of-the-art Model M-2 Maintenance System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herndon, J.N.; Martin, H.L.; Satterlee, P.E. Jr.; Jelatis, D.G.; Jennrich, C.E.

1984-01-01

The Model M-2 Maintenance System is part of an ongoing program within the Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program (CFRP) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to improve remote manipulation technology for future nuclear fuel reprocessing and other remote applications. Techniques, equipment, and guidelines which can improve the efficiency of remote maintenance are being developed. The Model M-2 Maintenance System, installed in the Integrated Equipment Test (IET) Facility at ORNL, provides a complete, integrated remote maintenance system for the demonstration and development of remote maintenance techniques. The system comprises a pair of force-reflecting servomanipulator arms, television viewing, lighting, and auxiliary lifting capabilities, thereby allowing manlike maintenance operations to be executed remotely within the remote cell mockup area in the IET. The Model M-2 Maintenance System incorporates an upgraded version of the proven Central Research Laboratories' Model M servomanipulator. Included are state-of-the-art brushless dc servomotors for improved performance, remotely removable wrist assemblies, geared azimuth drive, and a distributed microprocessor-based digital control system

Aircraft wake vortices : a state-of-the-art review of the United States R&D program

Science.gov (United States)

1977-02-28

The report summarizes the current state-of-the-art understanding : of the aircraft wake vortex phenomenon and the results of the United : States program to minimize the restrictions caused by aircraft wake : vortices in the terminal environment. The ...

State of the States, 2012: Arts Education State Policy Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Arts Education Partnership (NJ1), 2012

2012-01-01

The "State of the States 2012" summarizes state policies for arts education identified in statute or code for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Information is based primarily on results from the AEP Arts Education State Policy Survey conducted in 2010-11, and updated in April 2012.

State of the art in semiconductor detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehak, P.; Gatti, E.

1990-01-01

The state of the art in semiconductor detectors for elementary particle physics and X-ray astronomy is briefly reviewed. Semiconductor detectors are divided into two groups; i) classical semiconductor diode detectors and ii) semiconductor memory detectors. Principles of signal formation for both groups of detectors are described and their performance is compared. New developments of silicon detectors are reported here. (orig.)

State of the art in semiconductor detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehak, P.; Gatti, E.

1989-01-01

The state of the art in semiconductor detectors for elementary particle physics and x-ray astronomy is briefly reviewed. Semiconductor detectors are divided into two groups; classical semiconductor diode detectors; and semiconductor memory detectors. Principles of signal formation for both groups of detectors are described and their performance is compared. New developments of silicon detectors are reported here. 13 refs., 8 figs

State-of-the-art Model M-2 Maintenance System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herndon, J.N.; Martin, H.L.; Satterlee, P.E. Jr.; Jelatis, D.G.; Jennrich, C.E.

1984-04-01

The Model M-2 Maintenance System is part of an ongoing program within the Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program (CFRP) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to improve remote manipulation technology for future nuclear fuel reprocessing and other remote applications. Techniques, equipment, and guidelines which can improve the efficiency of remote maintenance are being developed. The Model M-2 Maintenance System, installed in the Integrated Equipment Test (IET) Facility at ORNL, provides a complete, integrated remote maintenance system for the demonstration and development of remote maintenance techniques. The system comprises a pair of force-reflecting servomanipulator arms, television viewing, lighting, and auxiliary lifting capabilities, thereby allowing manlike maintenance operations to be executed remotely within the remote cell mockup area in the IET. The Model M-2 Maintenance System incorporates an upgraded version of the proven Central Research Laboratories' Model M servomanipulator. Included are state-of-the-art brushless dc servomotors for improved performance, remotely removable wrist assemblies, geared azimuth drive, and a distributed microprocessor-based digital control system. 5 references, 8 figures

State-of-the-art in Heterogeneous Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andre R. Brodtkorb

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Node level heterogeneous architectures have become attractive during the last decade for several reasons: compared to traditional symmetric CPUs, they offer high peak performance and are energy and/or cost efficient. With the increase of fine-grained parallelism in high-performance computing, as well as the introduction of parallelism in workstations, there is an acute need for a good overview and understanding of these architectures. We give an overview of the state-of-the-art in heterogeneous computing, focusing on three commonly found architectures: the Cell Broadband Engine Architecture, graphics processing units (GPUs, and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs. We present a review of hardware, available software tools, and an overview of state-of-the-art techniques and algorithms. Furthermore, we present a qualitative and quantitative comparison of the architectures, and give our view on the future of heterogeneous computing.

Analysis of Respiratory Sounds: State of the Art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Reichert

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Objective This paper describes state of the art, scientific publications and ongoing research related to the methods of analysis of respiratory sounds. Methods and material Review of the current medical and technological literature using Pubmed and personal experience. Results The study includes a description of the various techniques that are being used to collect auscultation sounds, a physical description of known pathologic sounds for which automatic detection tools were developed. Modern tools are based on artificial intelligence and on technics such as artificial neural networks, fuzzy systems, and genetic algorithms… Conclusion The next step will consist in finding new markers so as to increase the efficiency of decision aid algorithms and tools.

2008 State-of-the-Art : High Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities and Project Review of Proceding Countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Heui Joo; Choi, Jong Won; Lee, Jong Youl; Jung, Jong Tae; Kim, Sung Ki; Lee, Min Soo; Cho, Dong Keun; Kook, Dong Hak

2008-11-15

High level radioactive waste disposal system project for advanced nuclear fuel cycle produced this report which are dealing with the repository status of proceding countries as of 2008. This report has brief review on disposal facilities which are operating and will be operating and on future plan of those nations. The other report 'Development of the Geological Disposal System for High Level Waste' which was produced like this report time and this report would help the readers grasp the current repository status. Because our country is a latecomer in the HLW disposal world, it is strongly recommended to catch up with advanced disposal system and concepts of developed nations and this report is expected to make it possible. There are several nations which were the main survey target; Finland, USA, Sweden, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Japan. Recent information was applied to this report and our project team will produce annual state-of-the-art report with continuous updates.

Nickel-base superalloy powder metallurgy: state-of-the-art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, M.M.; Athey, R.L.; Moore, J.B.

1975-01-01

Development of powder metallurgical methods for fabrication of Ni-base superalloy turbine engine disks is reviewed. Background studies are summarized and current state-of-art is discussed for the F100 jet engine, advanced applications, and forging processes

State of the art of superconducting fault current limiters and their application to the electric power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morandi, Antonio

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► The state of the art of superconducting fault current limiters is reviewed. ► An innovative concept of FCL is discussed and the potential of MgB 2 is outlined. ► The use of FCL to allow more interconnection of MV bus-bar is discussed. ► The use of FCL to increase the immunity from voltage dips is discussed. ► The use of FCL to integrate more distributed generation is pointed out. -- Abstract: Modern electric power systems are becoming more and more complex in order to meet new needs. Nowadays a high power quality is mandatory and there is the need to integrate increasing amounts of on-site generation. All this translates in more sophisticated electric network with intrinsically high short circuit rate. This network is vulnerable in case of fault and special protection apparatus and procedures needs to be developed in order to avoid costly or even irreversible damage. A superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) is a device with a negligible impedance in normal operating conditions that reliably switches to a high impedance state in case of extra-current. Such a device is able to increase the short circuit power of an electric network and to contemporarily eliminate the hazard during the fault. It can be regarded as a key component for future electric power systems. In this paper the state of the art of superconducting fault current limiters mature for applications is briefly resumed and the potential impact of this device on the paradigm of design and operation of power systems is analyzed. In particular the use of the FCL as a mean to allow more interconnection of MV bus-bars as well an increased immunity with respect to the voltage disturbances induced by critical customer is discussed. The possibility to integrate more distributed generation in the distribution grid is also considered

CEN standards for solar thermal systems - State of the art and expectted impact

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ree, B.G.C. van der; Pauschinger, Th.

1996-01-01

Since 1994, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee TC 312 has been active in producing European Standards for thermal solar energy systems and components. In this paper, an overview of the present State of the Art of the draft standards is presented. These standards

Solar water detoxification: state of the art of the research in Spain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez Martinez, M.; Cuesta Santianes, J.; Cabrera Jimenez, J. A.; Garcia Garcia, D.; Trevino Sanchez, A. C.; Berges Garcia, A.

2010-01-01

The CIEMAT's Foresight and Technology Watch Unit, whose technology watch management system is certified by Aenor as per standards UNE 16006:2006, has developed this study in order to review the state of the art of national research on solar water detoxification. to reach this goal, data bases of scientific publications, research projects and patents have been used. The technology watch information management solution VICUBO, developed by E-intelligent, was used as support tool for the afore-mentioned standard. (Author) 3 refs.

A state-of-the-art review of recent advances in supercritical natural circulation loops for nuclear applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarkar, Milan K.S.; Tilak, Abhilash K.; Basu, Dipankar N.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Review of state-of-the-art on supercritical natural circulation loops. • Summarization of steady-state thermalhydraulic behavior for nuclear applications. • Survey of non-linear and linear stability analyses and parametric effects. • Details of experimental investigations and critical findings form each. • Emphasis on need of further experimentation in future. - Abstract: The concept of supercritical natural circulation loop (SCNCL) is an important inclusion in Generation-IV nuclear reactors. Use of supercritical fluids promises a simplified design, along with higher thermal efficiency for heat transport systems. Characteristics of such loops are markedly different from its single-phase and two-phase counterparts, while carrying quite a few similarities with both as well. Therefore significant number of research studies is carried out on SCNCL in the present millennium and current work presents a state-of-the-art summary of all associated observations. Most of the reported studies are theoretical in nature, with only a limited number of experimental works being reported. A number of indigenous computation codes were developed, while use of commercial software can also be found. Thermal–hydraulic and heat transfer aspects are discussed in details, showing the gradual growth of knowledge and comprehending the influence of various geometric and operating variables on steady-state profile. Water and carbon dioxide are identified as the only fluids considered for analysis both numerically and experimentally. Both time-domain and frequency-domain approach of stability analysis are discussed meticulously. Available experimental works are described, with exhaustive discussion on the novelty of the concerned facility and major observations. Finally a few topics are ear-marked as the possible guidelines for future research

A Review of Wireless Sensor Technologies and Applications in Agriculture and Food Industry: State of the Art and Current Trends

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Garcia, Luis; Lunadei, Loredana; Barreiro, Pilar; Robla, Jose Ignacio

2009-01-01

The aim of the present paper is to review the technical and scientific state of the art of wireless sensor technologies and standards for wireless communications in the Agri-Food sector. These technologies are very promising in several fields such as environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, cold chain control or traceability. The paper focuses on WSN (Wireless Sensor Networks) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), presenting the different systems available, recent developments and examples of applications, including ZigBee based WSN and passive, semi-passive and active RFID. Future trends of wireless communications in agriculture and food industry are also discussed. PMID:22408551

A Review of Wireless Sensor Technologies and Applications in Agriculture and Food Industry: State of the Art and Current Trends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ignacio Robla

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of the present paper is to review the technical and scientific state of the art of wireless sensor technologies and standards for wireless communications in the Agri-Food sector. These technologies are very promising in several fields such as environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, cold chain control or traceability. The paper focuses on WSN (Wireless Sensor Networks and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification, presenting the different systems available, recent developments and examples of applications, including ZigBee based WSN and passive, semi-passive and active RFID. Future trends of wireless communications in agriculture and food industry are also discussed.

State of the art magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weissman, J.D.

1987-01-01

In less than a decade Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has evolved from a laboratory demonstration to a safe and effective technique for clinical diagnosis. This evolutionary process continues. At this time 2-D and 3-D imaging of the head and body is firmly established in clinical use. Surface coil imaging, two-component chemical shift imaging, in-vivo spectroscopy and flow imaging are currently in various stages of development. The present state of the art of MRI is a function of an array of technologies: magnet, Rf coil, Rf pulse amplifier, gradient coil and driver, pulse programmer, A/D converter, computer system architecture, array processors and mass storage (both magnetic and optical). The overall product design is the result of a complex process which balances the advantages and disadvantages of each component for optimal system performance and flexibility. The author discusses the organization of a state-of-the-art MRI system. Several examples of the kinds of system interactions affecting design choices are given. (Auth.)

Theory and state-of-the-art technology of software reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzudo, Tomoaki; Watanabe, Norio

1999-11-01

Since FY 1997 , the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute has been conducting a project , Study on Reliability of Digital I and C Systems. As part of the project , the methodologies and tools to improve software reliability were reviewed in order to examine the theory and the state-of-the-art technology in this field. It is surmised, as results from the review, that computerized software design and implementation tool (CASE tool), algebraic analysis to ensure the consistency between software requirement framework and its detailed design specification, and efficient test method using the internal information of the software (white-box test) at the validation phase just before the completion of the development will play a key role to enhance software reliability in the future. (author)

Paediatric thoracoscopy: State of the art | Van Niekerk | South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Many advanced procedures, including lobectomy, repair of tracheo-oesophageal fistula, excision of mediastinal tumours and diaphragmatic hernia repairs, are being done routinely in paediatric surgery centres around the world. This article reviews the state of the art of thoracoscopic surgery in children. The author selected ...

Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing and Nature Therapy: A State-of-the-Art Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margaret M. Hansen

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Current literature supports the comprehensive health benefits of exposure to nature and green environments on human systems. The aim of this state-of-the-art review is to elucidate empirical research conducted on the physiological and psychological effects of Shinrin-Yoku (or Forest Bathing in transcontinental Japan and China. Furthermore, we aim to encourage healthcare professionals to conduct longitudinal research in Western cultures regarding the clinically therapeutic effects of Shinrin-Yoku and, for healthcare providers/students to consider practicing Shinrin-Yoku to decrease undue stress and potential burnout. Methods: A thorough review was conducted to identify research published with an initial open date range and then narrowing the collection to include papers published from 2007 to 2017. Electronic databases (PubMed, PubMed Central, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Scopus and snowball references were used to cull papers that evaluated the use of Shinrin-Yoku for various populations in diverse settings. Results: From the 127 papers initially culled using the Boolean phrases: “Shinrin-yoku” AND/OR “forest bathing” AND/OR “nature therapy”, 64 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this summary review and then divided into “physiological,” “psychological,” “sensory metrics” and “frameworks” sub-groups. Conclusions: Human health benefits associated with the immersion in nature continue to be currently researched. Longitudinal research, conducted worldwide, is needed to produce new evidence of the relationships associated with Shinrin-Yoku and clinical therapeutic effects. Nature therapy as a health-promotion method and potential universal health model is implicated for the reduction of reported modern-day “stress-state” and “technostress.”.

Coupled thermohydraulic-neutronic instabilities in boiling water nuclear reactors: a review of the state of the art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

March-Leuba, J.; Rey, J.M.

1992-01-01

This paper provides a review of the current state of the art on the topic of coupled neutronic-thermohydraulic instabilities in boiling water nuclear reactors (BWRs). The topic of BWR instabilities is of great current relevance since it affects the operation of a large number of commercial nuclear reactors. The recent trends towards introduction of high efficiency fuels that permit reactor operation at higher power densities with increased void reactivity feedback and decreased response times, has resulted in a decrease of the stability margin in the low-flow, high-power region of the operating map. This trend has resulted in a number of 'unexpected' instability events. For instance, United States plants have experienced two instability events recently, one of them resulted in an automatic reactor scram; in Spain, two BWR plants have experienced unstable limit cycle oscillations that required operator action to suppress. Similar events have been experienced in other European countries. In recent years, BWR instabilities has been one of the more exciting topics of work in the area of transient thermohydraulics. As a result, significant advances in understanding the physics behind these events have occurred, and a 'new and improved' state of the art has emerged recently. (authors). 6 figs., 57 refs., 1 appendix

Myoelectric control of prosthetic hands: state-of-the-art review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geethanjali P

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Purushothaman Geethanjali School of Electrical Engineering Department of Control and Automation VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India Abstract: Myoelectric signals (MES have been used in various applications, in particular, for identification of user intention to potentially control assistive devices for amputees, orthotic devices, and exoskeleton in order to augment capability of the user. MES are also used to estimate force and, hence, torque to actuate the assistive device. The application of MES is not limited to assistive devices, and they also find potential applications in teleoperation of robots, haptic devices, virtual reality, and so on. The myoelectric control-based prosthetic hand aids to restore activities of daily living of amputees in order to improve the self-esteem of the user. All myoelectric control-based prosthetic hands may not have similar operations and exhibit variation in sensing input, deciphering the signals, and actuating prosthetic hand. Researchers are focusing on improving the functionality of prosthetic hand in order to suit the user requirement with the different operating features. The myoelectric control differs in operation to accommodate various external factors. This article reviews the state of the art of myoelectric prosthetic hand, giving description of each control strategy. Keywords: EMG, assistive device, amputee, myoelectric control, electric powered, body ­powered, bioelectric signal control

State-of-the-art

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pecher, Arthur; Kofoed, Jens Peter

This report presents a short overview on the state-of-the-art of wave tank testing of wave energy converters (WEC). Here for, it focuses mainly on the Phase 1 and 2 development phases of wave energy converters, as these are done in the wave tank (WEC), while the other development phases are perfo......This report presents a short overview on the state-of-the-art of wave tank testing of wave energy converters (WEC). Here for, it focuses mainly on the Phase 1 and 2 development phases of wave energy converters, as these are done in the wave tank (WEC), while the other development phases...

State-of-the-art review of some artificial intelligence applications in pile foundations

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Mohamed A. Shahin

2016-01-01

Geotechnical engineering deals with materials (e.g. soil and rock) that, by their very nature, exhibit varied and uncertain behavior due to the imprecise physical processes associated with the formation of these materials. Modeling the behavior of such materials in geotechnical engineering applications is complex and sometimes beyond the ability of most traditional forms of physically-based engineering methods. Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more popular and particularly amenable to modeling the complex behavior of most geotechnical engineering applications because it has demonstrated superior predictive ability compared to traditional methods. This paper provides state-of-the-art review of some selected AI techniques and their applications in pile foundations, and presents the salient features associated with the modeling development of these AI techniques. The paper also discusses the strength and limitations of the selected AI techniques compared to other available modeling approaches.

MECHANISMS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY: Diabetic cardiomyopathy: pathophysiology and potential metabolic interventions state of the art review.

Science.gov (United States)

Levelt, Eylem; Gulsin, Gaurav; Neubauer, Stefan; McCann, Gerry P

2018-04-01

Heart failure is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes contributes to the development of heart failure through a variety of mechanisms, including disease-specific myocardial structural, functional and metabolic changes. This review will focus on the contemporary contributions of state of the art non-invasive technologies to our understanding of diabetic cardiomyopathy, including data on cardiac disease phenotype, cardiac energy metabolism and energetic deficiency, ectopic and visceral adiposity, diabetic liver disease, metabolic modulation strategies and cardiovascular outcomes with new classes of glucose-lowering therapies. © 2018 The authors.

State Arts Policy: Trends and Future Prospects

Science.gov (United States)

Lowell, Julia F.

2008-01-01

State arts agencies (SAAs)--key players within the U.S. system of public support for the arts--face growing economic, political, and demographic challenges to the roles and missions they adopted when founded in the mid-1960s. This report, the fourth and final in a multiyear study, looks at state arts agencies' efforts to rethink their roles and…

IBA's state of art Proton Therapy System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ternier, Sonja

2001-01-01

Full text: In recent years, IBA has developed a state-of-the-art Proton Therapy System that is currently being implemented at the Northeast Proton Therapy Center in Boston. First patient treatment is predicted for the fourth quarter of 2001. The IBA Proton Therapy System consists of a 230 MeV accelerator (a fixed energy isochronous cyclotron), an Energy Selection System that can decrease the energy down to 70 MeV and up to five treatment rooms. There are two types of treatment rooms. A gantry treatment room in which a patient can be treated from virtually any angle or a fixed horizontal beam line aimed at treatments of the of the head and neck. The system is equipped with a Therapy Control System and a Global Safety Management System. The Integrated Therapy Control System is an integrated system ensuring the control of the treatment sessions through independent but networked therapy control units and, therefore, the control of each equipment subsystem. The integrated safety management system, independent of the Therapy Control System, includes a set of hard-wired safety devices, ensuring the safety of the patient and personnel. The system will be capable of delivering proton treatments in four-treatment modes: Double Scattering, Single Scattering, Wobbling and Pencil Beam Scanning. The presentation will show the most important subsystems and treatment modes capabilities as well as the most recent advances in the technology. (author)

Development of a state-of-the-art solid waste characterisation facility at JRC ISPRA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huhtiniemi, I.; Anselmi, M.; Hubert, P.; Vassallo, G.

2003-01-01

This paper will review the development and construction of a state-of-the-art waste characterisation facility that represents a fundamental element in the JRC's strategy to characterise radioactive wastes originating from four decades of nuclear research activities conducted at the Ispra Site. The state-of-the-art NDA measurement solution selected by JRC-Ispra will be presented in the light of special requirements imposed by applicable Italian legislation, norms and the qualities of the waste packages. The intended plant combines the state-of-the-art-measurement solution with comprehensive process automation in an industrial environment and is therefore of significant interest to the radioactive waste management community. (orig.)

Methodologies and applications for critical infrastructure protection: State-of-the-art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yusta, Jose M.; Correa, Gabriel J.; Lacal-Arantegui, Roberto

2011-01-01

This work provides an update of the state-of-the-art on energy security relating to critical infrastructure protection. For this purpose, this survey is based upon the conceptual view of OECD countries, and specifically in accordance with EU Directive 114/08/EC on the identification and designation of European critical infrastructures, and on the 2009 US National Infrastructure Protection Plan. The review discusses the different definitions of energy security, critical infrastructure and key resources, and shows some of the experie'nces in countries considered as international reference on the subject, including some information-sharing issues. In addition, the paper carries out a complete review of current methodologies, software applications and modelling techniques around critical infrastructure protection in accordance with their functionality in a risk management framework. The study of threats and vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure systems shows two important trends in methodologies and modelling. A first trend relates to the identification of methods, techniques, tools and diagrams to describe the current state of infrastructure. The other trend accomplishes a dynamic behaviour of the infrastructure systems by means of simulation techniques including systems dynamics, Monte Carlo simulation, multi-agent systems, etc. - Highlights: → We examine critical infrastructure protection experiences, systems and applications. → Some international experiences are reviewed, including EU EPCIP Plan and the US NIPP programme. → We discuss current methodologies and applications on critical infrastructure protection, with emphasis in electric networks.

State-of-the-art review of some artificial intelligence applications in pile foundations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed A. Shahin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Geotechnical engineering deals with materials (e.g. soil and rock that, by their very nature, exhibit varied and uncertain behavior due to the imprecise physical processes associated with the formation of these materials. Modeling the behavior of such materials in geotechnical engineering applications is complex and sometimes beyond the ability of most traditional forms of physically-based engineering methods. Artificial intelligence (AI is becoming more popular and particularly amenable to modeling the complex behavior of most geotechnical engineering applications because it has demonstrated superior predictive ability compared to traditional methods. This paper provides state-of-the-art review of some selected AI techniques and their applications in pile foundations, and presents the salient features associated with the modeling development of these AI techniques. The paper also discusses the strength and limitations of the selected AI techniques compared to other available modeling approaches.

Solar heating systems: state-of-the-art and prospects for the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frei, U.

2001-01-01

This article discusses the development of the use of solar collectors over their past 30 years of history and describes today's state-of-the-art for solar installations that are used for hot water preparation and space heating. Advances made in storage technology, in the dimensioning of installations and in the operation of the systems are discussed in detail. The importance of low-flow operation for hot water installations is emphasised. Also, the integration of solar and conventional heating systems is looked at and questions regarding further factors such as those encountered in low-energy-consumption buildings are discussed. Future developments in the product and market areas are looked at, including new forms of storage as well as solar cooling and air-conditioning

Evaluation of State-of-the-Art Acoustic Feedback Cancellation Systems for Hearing Aids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Meng; Jensen, Søren Holdt; Jensen, Jesper

2013-01-01

This research evaluates four state-of-the-art acoustic feedback cancellation systems in hearing aids in terms of the cancellation performance, sound quality degradation, and computational complexity. The authors compared a traditional full-band system to a system with a prediction error method...... in a full band, a subband system, a subband system with frequency shifting, and a recently proposed subband system with a novel probe noise deployment. All systems outperformed the traditional full-band system in cancellation performance, especially the subband system with probe noise is most effective...... for cancellation. However, in all cases there was a trade-off between performance and computational cost. With a 3-times increase in computation load, the probe noise based cancellation system can be realized that functions even in the most challenging feedback situation....

Global and Mexican analytical review of the state of the art on Ecosystem and Environmental services: A geographical approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Perevochtchikova

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The term Ecosystem Services (ES was introduced in the Rio Declaration in 1992, within a strong international movement for sustainable natural resource management. Back then, the innovative principle concerned the environmental functions that maintain life support systems. To illustrate this further, pollination, oxygen production, temperature regulation, water storage, filtering and distribution, among others, were listed and previously taken for granted until human action contested them. The first compensation schemes for Environmental Services were proposed in 1997 as one of the tools of the new environmental policy directed towards the principles of sustainable development. Since then, the topic of ES has received remarkable global response, which is reflected by the implementation of payment programs and by the development of research in many countries worldwide. This paper analyses the state of the art of the research carried out so far on ES and Environmental Services from the global and the Mexican perspectives. It is based upon the review of 1,781 scientific papers published in international peer reviewed journals between 1992 and 2012. Furthermore, the present study provides a sound geographical overview of the main ES topics studied and of the relative emission of papers per region, country or state. Results are finally presented and discussed in the light of their deficits and of the challenges ahead.

Accuracy of human motion capture systems for sport applications; state-of-the-art review.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Kruk, Eline; Reijne, Marco M

2018-05-09

Sport research often requires human motion capture of an athlete. It can, however, be labour-intensive and difficult to select the right system, while manufacturers report on specifications which are determined in set-ups that largely differ from sport research in terms of volume, environment and motion. The aim of this review is to assist researchers in the selection of a suitable motion capture system for their experimental set-up for sport applications. An open online platform is initiated, to support (sport)researchers in the selection of a system and to enable them to contribute and update the overview. systematic review; Method: Electronic searches in Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar were performed, and the reference lists of the screened articles were scrutinised to determine human motion capture systems used in academically published studies on sport analysis. An overview of 17 human motion capture systems is provided, reporting the general specifications given by the manufacturer (weight and size of the sensors, maximum capture volume, environmental feasibilities), and calibration specifications as determined in peer-reviewed studies. The accuracy of each system is plotted against the measurement range. The overview and chart can assist researchers in the selection of a suitable measurement system. To increase the robustness of the database and to keep up with technological developments, we encourage researchers to perform an accuracy test prior to their experiment and to add to the chart and the system overview (online, open access).

Cultivating Demand for the Arts: Arts Learning, Arts Engagement, and State Arts Policy. Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Zakaras, Laura; Lowell, Julia F.

2008-01-01

The findings summarized in this report are intended to shed light on what it means to cultivate demand for the arts, why it is necessary and important to cultivate this demand, and what state arts agencies (SAAs) and other arts and education policymakers can do to help. The research considered only the benchmark arts central to public policy:…

State-of-the-art of liquid waste disposal for geothermal energy systems: 1979. Report PNL-2404

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Defferding, L.J.

1980-06-01

The state-of-the-art of geothermal liquid waste disposal is reviewed and surface and subsurface disposal methods are evaluated with respect to technical, economic, legal, and environmental factors. Three disposal techniques are currently in use at numerous geothermal sites around the world: direct discharge into surface waters; deep-well injection; and ponding for evaporation. The review shows that effluents are directly discharged into surface waters at Wairakei, New Zealand; Larderello, Italy; and Ahuachapan, El Salvador. Ponding for evaporation is employed at Cerro Prieto, Mexico. Deep-well injection is being practiced at Larderello; Ahuachapan; Otake and Hatchobaru, Japan; and at The Geysers in California. All sites except Ahuachapan (which is injecting only 30% of total plant flow) have reported difficulties with their systems. Disposal techniques used in related industries are also reviewed. The oil industry's efforts at disposal of large quantities of liquid effluents have been quite successful as long as the effluents have been treated prior to injection. This study has determined that seven liquid disposal methods - four surface and three subsurface - are viable options for use in the geothermal energy industry. However, additional research and development is needed to reduce the uncertainties and to minimize the adverse environmental impacts of disposal. (MHR)

Review of the state of the art and future prospects of the ground-based GNSS meteorology in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Guerova

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs have revolutionised positioning, navigation, and timing, becoming a common part of our everyday life. Aside from these well-known civilian and commercial applications, GNSS is now an established atmospheric observing system, which can accurately sense water vapour, the most abundant greenhouse gas, accounting for 60–70 % of atmospheric warming. In Europe, the application of GNSS in meteorology started roughly two decades ago, and today it is a well-established field in both research and operation. This review covers the state of the art in GNSS meteorology in Europe. The advances in GNSS processing for derivation of tropospheric products, application of GNSS tropospheric products in operational weather prediction and application of GNSS tropospheric products for climate monitoring are discussed. The GNSS processing techniques and tropospheric products are reviewed. A summary of the use of the products for validation and impact studies with operational numerical weather prediction (NWP models as well as very short weather prediction (nowcasting case studies is given. Climate research with GNSSs is an emerging field of research, but the studies so far have been limited to comparison with climate models and derivation of trends. More than 15 years of GNSS meteorology in Europe has already achieved outstanding cooperation between the atmospheric and geodetic communities. It is now feasible to develop next-generation GNSS tropospheric products and applications that can enhance the quality of weather forecasts and climate monitoring. This work is carried out within COST Action ES1206 advanced global navigation satellite systems tropospheric products for monitoring severe weather events and climate (GNSS4SWEC, http://gnss4swec.knmi.nl.

A state-of-the-art review of interoperability amongst heterogeneous software systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Mario Zapata Jaramillo

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Information systems are sets of interacting elements aimed at supporting entrepreneurial or business activities; they cannot thus coexist in an isolated way but require their data to be shared so as to increase their productivity. Such systems’ interoperability is normally accomplished through mark-up standards, query languages and web services. The literature contains work related to software system interoperability; however, it presents some difficulties, such as the need for using the same platforms and different programming languages, the use of read only languages and the deficiencies in the formalism used for achieving it. This paper presents a critical review of the advances made regarding heterogeneous software systems’ interoperability.

A study of the state of the art on the determination of the threshold values of the performance indicators for safety systems and initiating events of nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, D. I.; Kim, K. Y.; Hwang, M. J.; Park, J. H.; Ha, J. J

2004-02-01

The threshold values of Korean Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) Performance Indicators (PIs)' determining the safety class of initiating events and safety systems can not sufficiently reflect the operating experience and PSA results of domestic NPPs. Therefore, the state of arts on the PI study of domestic and foreign countries is analyzed in order to reflect the operating experience and PSA results of domestic NPPs in the determination of the threshold values of the PIs for safety systems and initiating events of domestic NPPs. We identified the state of arts of PIs through reviewing the objectives and types of WANO, IAEA, NRC, OECD/NEA and domestic PIs, and the technical issues of the threshold values of SECY 99-007 and NUREG-1753. We also, identified the current status of recently developed MSPI (Mitigating System Performance Index) and IIIEI (Integrated Industry Initiating Event Indicator). From this study of the state of the arts on the PIs, we expect that if the NRC's MSPI and a PI similar to NRC's IIIEI would be introduced into the KINS, it is not necessary to determine the threshold values of PIs applied to the safety systems and initiating events of entire domestic NPPs. Otherwise the threshold values of PIs applied to the individual NPP should be developed using PSA models of typical reactor types. For the active development and use of the risk informed PIs for the domestic NPPs, we expect that the system and component reliability analysis and initiating events analysis for the domestic NPPs, MSPI, IIIEI, and PSA requirements for the PIs be further studied.

On the state of the art: risk communication to decision-makers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bier, V.M.

2001-01-01

This paper reviews the state of the art on risk communication to decision-makers, with an emphasis on issues involved in communicating technical results. In particular, the paper discusses the treatment of uncertainty, variability, and dependence. It also reviews suggestions from the literature regarding the appropriate format of risk communication messages to decision-makers. Due to the lack of detailed empirical investigations and definitive results about this topic, the paper is not intended to be a comprehensive review, but rather as an exploration of key issues in this area

Support for Arts Education. State Arts Agency Fact Sheet

Science.gov (United States)

National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 2011

2011-01-01

Supporting lifelong learning in the arts is a top priority for state arts agencies. By supporting arts education in the schools, state arts agencies foster young imaginations, address core academic standards, and promote the critical thinking and creativity skills essential to a 21st century work force. State arts agencies also support…

State Arts Agency Fact Sheet: Support for Arts Education

Science.gov (United States)

Online Submission, 2015

2015-01-01

This national overview of state arts agency grants and services for arts education includes summary statistics and geographic distribution. The fact sheet uses data from Final Descriptive Reports of state arts agency grant-making activities submitted annually to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) and the National Endowment for…

Antiphospholipid Syndrome during pregnancy: the state of the art

Science.gov (United States)

Di Prima, Fosca A. F.; Valenti, Oriana; Hyseni, Entela; Giorgio, Elsa; Faraci, Marianna; Renda, Eliana; De Domenico, Roberta; Monte, Santo

2011-01-01

Obstetric complications are the hallmark of antiphospholipid syndrome. Recurrent miscarriage, early delivery, oligohydramnios, prematurity, intrauterine growth restriction, fetal distress, fetal or neonatal thrombosis, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, HELLP syndrome, arterial or venous thrombosis and placental insufficiency are the most severe APS-related complication for pregnant women. Antiphospholipid antibodies promote activation of endothelial cells, monocytes and platelets, causing an overproduction of tissue factor and thromboxane A2. Complement activation might have a central pathogenetic role. These factors, associated with the typical changes in the hemostatic system during normal pregnancy, result in a hypercoagulable state. This is responsible of thrombosis that is presumed to provoke many of the pregnancy complications associated with APS. Obstetric care is based on combined medical-obstetric high-risk management and treatment with the association between aspirin and heparin. This review aims to deter- mine the current state of the art of APS by investigating the knowledge achievements of recent years, to provide the most appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic management for pregnant women suffering from this syndrome. PMID:22439075

Localized excitations in nonlinear complex systems current state of the art and future perspectives

CERN Document Server

Cuevas-Maraver, Jesús; Frantzeskakis, Dimitri; Karachalios, Nikos; Kevrekidis, Panayotis; Palmero-Acebedo, Faustino

2014-01-01

The study of nonlinear localized excitations is a long-standing challenge for research in basic and applied science, as well as engineering, due to their importance in understanding and predicting phenomena arising in nonlinear and complex systems, but also due to their potential for the development and design of novel applications. This volume is a compilation of chapters representing the current state-of-the-art on the field of localized excitations and their role in the dynamics of complex physical systems.

Management and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations: a state of the art review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wedzicha Jadwiga A

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD are important events in the natural history of this prevalent and devastating condition. This review provides a concise, state of the art summary on prevention and management of exacerbations. Considerable new data underpins evidence in support of many preventative interventions, pharmacological and non-pharmacological, that are now available. Challenges remain in developing new approaches, and delivering those that already exist to the right patient at the right time. Management of an exacerbation remains stepwise according to clinical severity, but there is now additional focus on addressing comorbidities and taking the opportunity at acute events to optimise preventative strategies for the future. Ultimately, exacerbations are heterogeneous events in a heterogeneous disease, and an individualised approach is paramount.

Contemporary Romanian Art in the United States1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Altman Dana

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the recent international interest in contemporary Romanian art and its growth in market share, with a focus on the United States. The theme is followed thorough in numerous museum exhibitions, increased collector following, art fair presence, gallery representation and auction activity initially in Europe and the United States. The phenomenon is discussed both in the context of the larger international movement conducive to the contemporary art price bubble, and in that of the local socio-economic changes. My chief interest lies in the factors leading up to the entry of post 1989 Romanian art in the global arena as a manifestation of market forces in the field. The analysis follows its grass roots local emergence through non-profit institutions, individual artists, small publications, low budget galleries, as well as the lack of contribution (with few notable exceptions of state institutions, while pointing out the national context of increasing deregulation of social support systems resulting in lack of focus on cultural manifestations. The conclusion is that the recent ascent of contemporary Romanian art (and coincidentally, the award winning contemporary Romanian cinematography is a fortuitous convergence of various factors, among which, increased international mobility and sharing. At the same time, it is also the result of the evolution of various individual artists that pursued a form of art rooted in Romanian artistic tradition but with a focus on the symbolic figurative. The result is a personal semiotics of raising the mundane to extraordinary levels that reconfigured the anxiety of entering a new system into an unmistakable and lasting visual language.

The state-of-the-art of HSR in Europe.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hansen, J.

2009-01-01

In this section of the workshop we present an overview based on mapping the current state-of-the-art concerning various fields of health services research, addressing the different levels of analysis in HSR. (1) HSR at the level of health care systems, being national or sometimes regional entities,

Stratification issues in the primary system. Review of available validation experiments and State-of-the-Art in modelling capabilities (StratRev)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Westin, J.; Henriksson, M.; Paettikangas, T.; Toppila, T.; Raemae, T.; Kudinov, P.; Anglart, H.

2009-08-01

The objective of the present report is to review available validation experiments and State-of-the-Art in modelling of stratification and mixing in the primary system of Light Water Reactors. A topical workshop was arranged in Aelvkarleby in June 2008 within the framework of BWR-OG, and the presentations from various utilities showed that stratification issues are not unusual and can cause costly stops in the production. It is desirable to take actions in order to reduce the probability for stratification to occur, and to develop well-validated and accepted tools and procedures for analyzing upcoming stratification events. A research plan covering the main questions is outlined, and a few suggestions regarding more limited research activities are given. Since many of the stratification events results in thermal loads that are localized in time and space, CFD is a suitable tool. However, the often very large and complex geometry posses a great challenge to CFD, and it is important to perform a step-by-step increase in complexity with intermediate validation versus relevant experimental data. The ultimate goal is to establish Best Practice Guidelines that can be followed both by utilities and authorities in case of an event including stratification and thermal loads. An extension of the existing Best Practice Guidelines for CFD in nuclear safety applications developed by OECD/NEA is thus suggested as a relevant target for a continuation project. (au)

Stratification issues in the primary system. Review of available validation experiments and State-of-the-Art in modelling capabilities (StratRev)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Westin, J.; Henriksson, M. (Vattenfall Research and Development AB (Sweden)); Paettikangas, T. (VTT (Finland)); Toppila, T.; Raemae, T. (Fortum Nuclear Services Ltd (Finland)); Kudinov, P. (KTH Nuclear Power Safety (Sweden)); Anglart, H. (KTH Nuclear Reactor Technology (Sweden))

2009-08-15

The objective of the present report is to review available validation experiments and State-of-the-Art in modelling of stratification and mixing in the primary system of Light Water Reactors. A topical workshop was arranged in AElvkarleby in June 2008 within the framework of BWR-OG, and the presentations from various utilities showed that stratification issues are not unusual and can cause costly stops in the production. It is desirable to take actions in order to reduce the probability for stratification to occur, and to develop well-validated and accepted tools and procedures for analyzing upcoming stratification events. A research plan covering the main questions is outlined, and a few suggestions regarding more limited research activities are given. Since many of the stratification events results in thermal loads that are localized in time and space, CFD is a suitable tool. However, the often very large and complex geometry posses a great challenge to CFD, and it is important to perform a step-by-step increase in complexity with intermediate validation versus relevant experimental data. The ultimate goal is to establish Best Practice Guidelines that can be followed both by utilities and authorities in case of an event including stratification and thermal loads. An extension of the existing Best Practice Guidelines for CFD in nuclear safety applications developed by OECD/NEA is thus suggested as a relevant target for a continuation project. (au)

Review and assessment of information kiosk systems

Science.gov (United States)

1997-03-01

This report reviews the current state-of-the-art and assesses the progress that is being made, in Kiosk Information Systems. This information will be used in developing a kiosk system for the Metro Dade Transit Agency (MDTA), which has recently been ...

An update on synthetic dyes adsorption onto clay based minerals: A state-of-art review

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ngulube, T

2017-04-01

Full Text Available of Environmental Management An update on synthetic dyes adsorption onto clay based minerals: A state- of-art review Tholiso Ngulube a,*, Jabulani Ray Gumbo b, Vhahangwele Masindi c,d, Arjun Maity e a Department of Ecology and Resources Management..., University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950, Limpopo, South Africa b Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950, Limpopo, South Africa c Council...

Assessment of the State of the Art of Flight Control Technologies as Applicable to Adverse Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Reveley, Mary s.; Briggs, Jeffrey L.; Leone, Karen M.; Kurtoglu, Tolga; Withrow, Colleen A.

2010-01-01

Literature from academia, industry, and other Government agencies was surveyed to assess the state of the art in current Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) aircraft technologies. Over 100 papers from 25 conferences from the time period 2004 to 2009 were reviewed. An assessment of the general state of the art in adaptive flight control is summarized first, followed by an assessment of the state of the art as applicable to 13 identified adverse conditions. Specific areas addressed in the general assessment include flight control when compensating for damage or reduced performance, retrofit software upgrades to flight controllers, flight control through engine response, and finally test and validation of new adaptive controllers. The state-of-the-art assessment applicable to the adverse conditions include technologies not specifically related to flight control, but may serve as inputs to a future flight control algorithm. This study illustrates existing gaps and opportunities for additional research by the NASA IRAC Project

Technology in precision viticulture: a state of the art review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matese A

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Alessandro Matese,1 Salvatore Filippo Di Gennaro1,2 1Institute of Biometeorology, National Research Council (IBIMET-CNR, Florence, Italy; 2Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy Abstract: Precision viticulture aims to maximize the oenological potential of vineyards. This is especially true in regions where the high quality standards of wine production justify the adoption of site-specific management practices to simultaneously increase both quality and yield. The introduction of new technologies for supporting vineyard management allows the efficiency and quality of production to be improved and, at the same time, reduces the environmental impact. The rapid evolution of information communication technologies and geographical science offers enormous potential for the development of optimized solutions for distributed information for precision viticulture. Recent technological developments have allowed useful tools to be elaborated that help in the monitoring and control of many aspects of vine growth. Precision viticulture thus seeks to exploit the widest range of available observations to describe the vineyard spatial variability with high resolution, and provide recommendations to improve management efficiency in terms of quality, production, and sustainability. This review presents a brief outline of state of the art of technologies in precision viticulture. It is divided in two sections, the first focusing on monitoring technologies such as geolocating and remote and proximal sensing; the second focuses on variable-rate technologies and the new agricultural robots. Keywords: remote sensing, proximal sensing, variable-rate technology, robot 

State-of-the-art report on the theoretical modeling of interfacial area concentration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Won Jae; Euh, Dong Jin

1998-03-01

Classical approaches based on experimental correlations and the mechanistic approaches based on the interfacial area concentration were reviewed. The study focuses on the state-of-the-art researches based on the mechanistic modeling of the interfacial area concentration. The investigation is performed by classifying the mechanistic modeling approaches into those using the number density transport equations supported with a simple algebraic relation for obtaining interfacial area concentration and those using the direct interfacial area transport equations. The modeling approaches are subdivided into one group and multi-group models. The state-of-the-art source terms of transport equations are also investigated for their applicability and limitations. (author). 62 refs., 6 tabs., 49 figs

State of the art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lederman, L.M.

1983-01-01

There is a large body of experience in high luminosity data taking in fixed target research. We try to consider a wide variety of high rate experiments which were limited by the detector (not by available beam) to a preset number of collisions per second. We then attempt to translate these state-of-the-art experiments to effective collider experiments. To this end, we extend the chosen detector to a comparison 4π collider detector operating near 1 TeV. There are several issues: (1) effective solid angle must be translated to approx. = 4π, (2) environments may be quite different, e.g., beam dump near fixed target or beam halo muons vs. collider backgrounds, (3) the multiplicity varies over the experiments selected and (4) we have to treat open vs closed geometries. The large variety of experiments selected is designed to average over the causes for detector limitation. Finally we chose detectors which have produced physics in order to gauge the state of the art

A quick guide to wind power forecating : state-of-the-art 2009.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monteiro, C.; Keko, H.; Bessa, R.; Miranda, V.; Botterud, A.; Wang, J.; Conzelmann, G.; Decision and Information Sciences; INESC Porto

2009-11-20

This document contains a summary of the main findings from our full report entitled 'Wind Power Forecasting: State-of-the-Art 2009'. The aims of this document are to provide guidelines and a quick overview of the current state-of-the-art in wind power forecasting (WPF) and to point out lines of research in the future development of forecasting systems.

Research Ethics: Institutional Review Board Oversight of Art Therapy Research

Science.gov (United States)

Deaver, Sarah P.

2011-01-01

By having their research proposals reviewed and approved by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), art therapists meet important ethical principles regarding responsibility to research participants. This article provides an overview of the history of human subjects protections in the United States; underlying ethical principles and their application…

Primary system fission product release and transport. A state-of-the-art report to the committee on the safety of nuclear installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, A.L.

1994-06-01

This report presents a summary of the status of research activities associated with fission product behavior (release and transport) under severe accident conditions within the primary systems of water-moderated and water-cooled nuclear reactors. For each of the areas of fission product release and fission product transport, the report summarizes relevant information on important phenomena, major experiments performed, relevant computer models and codes, comparisons of computer code calculations with experimental results, and general conclusions on the overall state of the art. Finally, the report provides an assessment of the overall importance and knowledge of primary system release and transport phenomena and presents major conclusions on the state of the art

Primary system fission product release and transport: A state-of-the-art report to the committee on the safety of nuclear installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, A.L.

1994-06-01

This report presents a summary of the status of research activities associated with fission product behavior (release and transport) under severe accident conditions within the primary systems of water-moderated and water-cooled nuclear reactors. For each of the areas of fission product release and fission product transport, the report summarizes relevant information on important phenomena, major experiments performed, relevant computer models and codes, comparisons of computer code calculations with experimental results, and general conclusions on the overall state of the art. Finally, the report provides an assessment of the overall importance and knowledge of primary system release and transport phenomena and presents major conclusions on the state of the art

Primary system fission product release and transport: A state-of-the-art report to the committee on the safety of nuclear installations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wright, A.L. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1994-06-01

This report presents a summary of the status of research activities associated with fission product behavior (release and transport) under severe accident conditions within the primary systems of water-moderated and water-cooled nuclear reactors. For each of the areas of fission product release and fission product transport, the report summarizes relevant information on important phenomena, major experiments performed, relevant computer models and codes, comparisons of computer code calculations with experimental results, and general conclusions on the overall state of the art. Finally, the report provides an assessment of the overall importance and knowledge of primary system release and transport phenomena and presents major conclusions on the state of the art.

Robotic-Assisted Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty: State-of-the Art and Review of the Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Christ, Alexander B; Pearle, Andrew D; Mayman, David J; Haas, Steven B

2018-03-16

Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty is a successful treatment for unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis that has lower complication rates, faster recovery, and a more natural feeling knee compared to total knee arthroplasty. However, long-term survival has been a persistent concern. As more surgeon-controlled variables have been linked to survival, interest in robotic-assisted surgery has continued to grow. A review and synthesis of the literature on the subject of robotic-assisted unicompartmental knee arthroplasty was performed. We present the driving factors behind the development of robotic-assisted techniques in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and the current state-of-the art. The ability of surgeons to achieve intraoperative targets with robotic assistance and the outcomes of robotic-assisted surgery are also described. Robotic-assisted surgery has become increasingly popular in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, as it allows surgeons to more accurately and reproducibly plan and achieve operative targets during surgery. Cost remains a concern, and it remains to be seen whether robotic-assisted surgery will improve long-term survivorship after unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

State-of-the-art of fiber-reinforced polymers in additive manufacturing technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hofstätter, Thomas; Pedersen, David Bue; Tosello, Guido

2017-01-01

Additive manufacturing technologies have received a lot of attention in recent years for their use in multiple materials such as metals, ceramics, and polymers. The aim of this review article is to analyze the technology of fiber-reinforced polymers and its implementation with additive...... manufacturing. This article reviews recent developments, ideas, and state-of-the-art technologies in this field. Moreover, it gives an overview of the materials currently available for fiber-reinforced material technology....

State-of-the-art techniques for inventory of Great Lakes aquatic habitats and resources

Science.gov (United States)

Edsall, Thomas A.; Brock, R.H.; Bukata, R.P.; Dawson, J.J.; Horvath, F.J.; Busch, W.-Dieter N.; Sly, Peter G.

1992-01-01

This section of the Classification and Inventory of Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat report was prepared as a series of individually authored contributions that describe, in various levels of detail, state-of-the-art techniques that can be used alone or in combination to inventory aquatic habitats and resources in the Laurentian Great Lakes system. No attempt was made to review and evaluate techniques that are used routinely in limnological and fisheries surveys and inventories because it was felt that users of this document would be familiar with them.

State of the art on historic building insulation materials and retrofit strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blumberga, Andra; Kass, Kristaps; Kamendere, Edite

2016-01-01

This report provides an analysis and evaluation of a state-of-the-art of internal insulation materials and methods for application in historic buildings, and review on methods, tools and guidelines used as decision making tools for implementation of internal insulation in historic buildings. Hist...

Link Prediction in Social Networks: the State-of-the-Art

OpenAIRE

Wang, Peng; Xu, Baowen; Wu, Yurong; Zhou, Xiaoyu

2014-01-01

In social networks, link prediction predicts missing links in current networks and new or dissolution links in future networks, is important for mining and analyzing the evolution of social networks. In the past decade, many works have been done about the link prediction in social networks. The goal of this paper is to comprehensively review, analyze and discuss the state-of-the-art of the link prediction in social networks. A systematical category for link prediction techniques and problems ...

Preliminary power train design for a state-of-the-art electric vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, J. A.; Wooldridge, G. A.

1978-01-01

The state-of-the-art (SOTA) of electric vehicles built since 1965 was reviewed to establish a base for the preliminary design of a power train for a SOTA electric vehicle. The performance of existing electric vehicles were evaluated to establish preliminary specifications for a power train design using state-of-the-art technology and commercially available components. Power train components were evaluated and selected using a computer simulation of the SAE J227a Schedule D driving cycle. Predicted range was determined for a number of motor and controller combinations in conjunction with the mechanical elements of power trains and a battery pack of sixteen lead-acid batteries - 471.7 kg at 0.093 MJ/Kg (1040 lbs. at 11.7 Whr/lb). On the basis of maximum range and overall system efficiency using the Schedule D cycle, an induction motor and 3 phase inverter/controller was selected as the optimum combination when used with a two-speed transaxle and steel belted radial tires. The predicted Schedule D range is 90.4 km (56.2 mi). Four near term improvements to the SOTA were identified, evaluated, and predicted to increase range approximately 7%.

Review: Semen sexing - current state of the art with emphasis on bovine species.

Science.gov (United States)

Vishwanath, R; Moreno, J F

2018-06-01

It is approaching three decades since the first public evidence of sex-sorting of semen. The technology has progressed considerably since then with a number of institutions and researchers collaborating to eventually bring this to application. The technical challenges have been quite substantial and in the early years the application was limited to only heifer inseminations. Comparable fertility of sex-sorted semen with conventional semen has been an aspirational benchmark for the industry for many years. Significant investment in research in the primary biology of sex-sorted sperm and associated sorting equipment ensured steady progress over the years and current methods particularly the new SexedULTRA-4M™ seems to have now mostly bridged this fertility gap. The dairy and beef industry have adopted this technology quite rapidly. Other animal industries are progressively testing it for application in their specific niches and environments. The current state of the art in the fundamentals of sex-sorting, the biology of the process as well as new developments in machinery are described in this review.

State-of-the-art research: optimal investment in market-based electric power systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hope, Einar; Skjeret, Frode

2008-04-15

The purpose of this state-of-the-art research paper is to surveying the literature on investment in market based electric power systems as a background for identifying and discussing some important issues in the optimal design and operation of such systems. A fundamental distinction has to be made between investment in the competitive part of the power system (generation and trading) on the one hand and the natural monopoly part (network infrastructure) on the other. The paper starts with a listing and discussion on market characteristics and properties of electric power and goes on to discussing performance criteria and potential sources of market failure for optimal electric power investment. After the literature survey there is a discussion of conditions under which optimal investment may occur. (author). 78 refs., figs

The role of physical processes controlling the behaviour of radionuclide contaminants in the aquatic environment: a review of state-of-the-art modelling approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monte, Luigi; Perianez, Raul; Boyer, Patrick; Smith, Jim T.; Brittain, John E.

2009-01-01

This paper is aimed at presenting and discussing the methodologies implemented in state-of-the-art models for predicting the physical processes of radionuclide migration through the aquatic environment, including transport due to water currents, diffusion, settling and re-suspension. Models are briefly described, model parameter values reviewed and values recommended. The different modelling approaches are briefly classified and the advantages and disadvantages of the various model approaches and methodologies are assessed.

Microencapsulation by solvent extraction/evaporation: reviewing the state of the art of microsphere preparation process technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Freitas, Sergio; Merkle, Hans P; Gander, Bruno

2005-02-02

The therapeutic benefit of microencapsulated drugs and vaccines brought forth the need to prepare such particles in larger quantities and in sufficient quality suitable for clinical trials and commercialisation. Very commonly, microencapsulation processes are based on the principle of so-called "solvent extraction/evaporation". While initial lab-scale experiments are frequently performed in simple beaker/stirrer setups, clinical trials and market introduction require more sophisticated technologies, allowing for economic, robust, well-controllable and aseptic production of microspheres. To this aim, various technologies have been examined for microsphere preparation, among them are static mixing, extrusion through needles, membranes and microfabricated microchannel devices, dripping using electrostatic forces and ultrasonic jet excitation. This article reviews the current state of the art in solvent extraction/evaporation-based microencapsulation technologies. Its focus is on process-related aspects, as described in the scientific and patent literature. Our findings will be outlined according to the four major substeps of microsphere preparation by solvent extraction/evaporation, namely, (i) incorporation of the bioactive compound, (ii) formation of the microdroplets, (iii) solvent removal and (iv) harvesting and drying the particles. Both, well-established and more advanced technologies will be reviewed.

The State of the Art of the Borehole Disposal Concept for High Level Radioactive Waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji, Sung Hoon; Koh, Yong Kwon; Choi, Jong Won

2012-01-01

As an alternative of the high-level radioactive waste disposal in the subsurface repository, a deep borehole disposal is reviewed by several nuclear advanced countries. In this study, the state of the art on the borehole disposal researches was reviewed, and the possibility of borehole disposal in Korean peninsula was discussed. In the deep borehole disposal concept radioactive waste is disposed at the section of 3 - 5 km depth in a deep borehole, and it has known that it has advantages in performance and cost due to the layered structure of deep groundwater and small surface disposal facility. The results show that it is necessary to acquisite data on deep geologic conditions of Korean peninsula, and to research the engineering barrier system, numerical modeling tools and disposal techniques for deep borehole disposal.

Digital Airborne Photogrammetry—A New Tool for Quantitative Remote Sensing?—A State-of-the-Art Review On Radiometric Aspects of Digital Photogrammetric Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolaj Veje

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The transition from film imaging to digital imaging in photogrammetric data capture is opening interesting possibilities for photogrammetric processes. A great advantage of digital sensors is their radiometric potential. This article presents a state-of-the-art review on the radiometric aspects of digital photogrammetric images. The analysis is based on a literature research and a questionnaire submitted to various interest groups related to the photogrammetric process. An important contribution to this paper is a characterization of the photogrammetric image acquisition and image product generation systems. The questionnaire revealed many weaknesses in current processes, but the future prospects of radiometrically quantitative photogrammetry are promising.

Current State-of-the-Art MRI for Comprehensive Evaluation of Potential Living Liver Donors.

Science.gov (United States)

Jhaveri, Kartik S; Guo, Lijun; Guimarães, Luís

2017-07-01

This review focuses on the role of state-of-the-art MRI-based techniques for comprehensive evaluation of living donors providing single-visit assessment of the liver vasculature via MR angiography, of the biliary tract via conventional T2-weighted MR cholangiography and T1-weighted gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR cholangiography, and of hepatic steatosis via T2*-corrected multiecho chemical shift-based water-fat separation MRI and high-speed T2-corrected multiecho MR spectroscopy. By using current state-of-the-art techniques, MRI can provide a one-stop-shop method for evaluation of the potential living liver donors.

The Art of the Renaissance Capitalist State

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebeka Vidrih

2007-12-01

This article also highlights the fact that the concept of art developed in Florence – a city-state that played an important role in the early-capitalist world of the Renaissance, but never assumed a leading role like Venice and Genoa. »Art« was thus created through Florence’s efforts to demonstrate its equality and importance and, although it failed to achieve this in the field of the (capitalist economy, it at least succeeded in the field of the (absolutist state that was subordinate to this economy.

Ecological effects assessment: requirements vs state-of-the-art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKenzie, D.H.; Thomas, J.M.; Eberhardt, L.L.

1981-05-01

Concerns for environmental quality, the ecologist's understanding of ecosystems, and the ability to quantitatively sample and evaluate hypotheses have contributed to current requirements and the state-of-the-art in ecological effects assessments in refard to nuclear power plants. The current cooling system approaches, data collection programs, and ecological effects assessments reflect these contributions. Over a decade of experience provides the basis for a timely review and evaluation of current proactice. The magnitude of economic and environmental resources being committed to cooling system alternatives mandates that the decision-making process result in as many optimal choices as possible. In addition, the resources being devoted to environmental data collection and integration provide considerable motivation for providing meaningful input to the decision-making process. It is maintained that the input should be as quantitative and as free from subjective content as is reasonably possible. An alternative viewpoint suggests that the past several decades of experience be considered but a first step, and the current task to be one of designing a second step

Orphan diseases: state of the drug discovery art.

Science.gov (United States)

Volmar, Claude-Henry; Wahlestedt, Claes; Brothers, Shaun P

2017-06-01

Since 1983 more than 300 drugs have been developed and approved for orphan diseases. However, considering the development of novel diagnosis tools, the number of rare diseases vastly outpaces therapeutic discovery. Academic centers and nonprofit institutes are now at the forefront of rare disease R&D, partnering with pharmaceutical companies when academic researchers discover novel drugs or targets for specific diseases, thus reducing the failure risk and cost for pharmaceutical companies. Considerable progress has occurred in the art of orphan drug discovery, and a symbiotic relationship now exists between pharmaceutical industry, academia, and philanthropists that provides a useful framework for orphan disease therapeutic discovery. Here, the current state-of-the-art of drug discovery for orphan diseases is reviewed. Current technological approaches and challenges for drug discovery are considered, some of which can present somewhat unique challenges and opportunities in orphan diseases, including the potential for personalized medicine, gene therapy, and phenotypic screening.

Conservation physiology of marine fishes: state of the art and prospects for policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mckenzie, David J.; Axelsson, Michael; Chabot, Denis; Claireaux, Guy; Cooke, Steven J.; Corner, Richard A.; Boeck, De Gudrun; Domenici, Paolo; Guerreiro, Pedro M.; Hamer, Bojan; Jørgensen, Christian; Killen, Shaun S.; Lefevre, Sjannie; Marras, Stefano; Michaelidis, Basile; Nilsson, Göran E.; Peck, Myron A.; Perez-Ruzafa, Angel; Rijnsdorp, Adriaan D.; Shiels, Holly A.; Steffensen, John F.; Svendsen, Jon C.; Svendsen, Morten B.S.; Teal, Lorna R.; Meer, Van Der Jaap; Wang, Tobias; Wilson, Jonathan M.; Wilson, Rod W.; Metcalfe, Julian D.

2016-01-01

The state of the art of research on the environmental physiology of marine fishes is reviewed from the perspective of how it can contribute to conservation of knowledge for conservation of marine fishes is the limited knowledge base; international collaboration is needed to study the environmental

Conservation physiology of marine fishes: state of the art and prospects for policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McKenzie, David J.; Axelsson, Michael; Chabot, Denis

2016-01-01

The state of the art of research on the environmental physiology of marine fishes is reviewed from the perspective of how it can contribute to conservation of biodiversity and fishery resources. A major constraint to application of physiological knowledge for conservation of marine fishes is the ...

Catalytic Reforming of Oxygenates: State of the Art and Future Prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Di; Li, Xinyu; Gong, Jinlong

2016-10-12

This Review describes recent advances in the design, synthesis, reactivity, selectivity, structural, and electronic properties of the catalysts for reforming of a variety of oxygenates (e.g., from simple monoalcohols to higher polyols, then to sugars, phenols, and finally complicated mixtures like bio-oil). A comprehensive exploration of the structure-activity relationship in catalytic reforming of oxygenates is carried out, assisted by state-of-the-art characterization techniques and computational tools. Critical emphasis has been given on the mechanisms of these heterogeneous-catalyzed reactions and especially on the nature of the active catalytic sites and reaction pathways. Similarities and differences (reaction mechanisms, design and synthesis of catalysts, as well as catalytic systems) in the reforming process of these oxygenates will also be discussed. A critical overview is then provided regarding the challenges and opportunities for research in this area with a focus on the roles that systems of heterogeneous catalysis, reaction engineering, and materials science can play in the near future. This Review aims to present insights into the intrinsic mechanism involved in catalytic reforming and provides guidance to the development of novel catalysts and processes for the efficient utilization of oxygenates for energy and environmental purposes.

Management of HIV-associated tuberculosis in resource-limited settings: a state-of-the-art review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawn, Stephen D; Meintjes, Graeme; McIlleron, Helen; Harries, Anthony D; Wood, Robin

2013-12-02

The HIV-associated tuberculosis (TB) epidemic remains a huge challenge to public health in resource-limited settings. Reducing the nearly 0.5 million deaths that result each year has been identified as a key priority. Major progress has been made over the past 10 years in defining appropriate strategies and policy guidelines for early diagnosis and effective case management. Ascertainment of cases has been improved through a twofold strategy of provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling in TB patients and intensified TB case finding among those living with HIV. Outcomes of rifampicin-based TB treatment are greatly enhanced by concurrent co-trimoxazole prophylaxis and antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART reduces mortality across a spectrum of CD4 counts and randomized controlled trials have defined the optimum time to start ART. Good outcomes can be achieved when combining TB treatment with first-line ART, but use with second-line ART remains challenging due to pharmacokinetic drug interactions and cotoxicity. We review the frequency and spectrum of adverse drug reactions and immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) resulting from combined treatment, and highlight the challenges of managing HIV-associated drug-resistant TB.

Performance evaluation of a state-of-the-art solar air-heating system with auxiliary heat pump

Science.gov (United States)

1980-01-01

The system in Solar House 2 consists of 57.9 sq. m. of Solaron Series 300 Collectors, 10.3 cu. m. of pebble bed storage, domestic water preheating capability and a Carrier air-to-air heat pump as an auxiliary heater. Although the control subsystem was specially constructed to facilitate experimental changes and data reduction, the balance of the solar system was assembled with off-the-shelf components. Since all components of the system are commercially available the system is considered to be a state of the art solar air-heating system. The system design is one that is recommended for residential and small office buildings.

Computational methods for metabolomic data analysis of ion mobility spectrometry data-reviewing the state of the art

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hauschild, Anne-Christin; Schneider, Till; Pauling, Josch

2012-01-01

that MCC/IMS coupled with sophisticated computational methods has the potential to successfully address a broad range of biomedical questions. While we can solve most of the data pre-processing steps satisfactorily, some computational challenges with statistical learning and model validation remain.......Ion mobility spectrometry combined with multi-capillary columns (MCC/IMS) is a well known technology for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We may utilize MCC/IMS for scanning human exhaled air, bacterial colonies or cell lines, for example. Thereby we gain information about the human...... of computational approaches for analyzing the huge amount of emerging data sets. Here, we will review the state of the art and highlight existing challenges. First, we address methods for raw data handling, data storage and visualization. Afterwards we will introduce de-noising, peak picking and other pre...

The LIFE Laser Design in Context: A Comparison to the State-of-the-Art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deri, R.J.; Bayramian, A.J.; Erlandson, A.C.

2011-01-01

The current point design for the LIFE laser leverages decades of solid-state laser development in order to achieve the performance and attributes required for inertial fusion energy. This document provides a brief comparison of the LIFE laser point design to other state-of-the-art solid-state lasers. Table I compares the attributes of the current LIFE laser point design to other systems. the state-of-the-art for single-shot performance at fusion-relevant beamline energies is exemplified by performance observed on the National Ignition Facility. The state-of-the-art for high average power is exemplified by the Northrup Grumman JHPSSL laser. Several items in Table I deal with the laser efficiency; a more detailed discussion of efficiency can be found in reference 5. The electrical-to-optical efficiency of the LIFE design exceeds that of reference 4 due to the availability of higher efficiency laser diode pumps (70% vs. ∼50% used in reference 4). LIFE diode pumps are discussed in greater detail in reference 6. The 'beam steering' state of the art is represented by the deflection device that will be used in the LIFE laser, not a laser system. Inspection of Table I shows that most LIFE laser attributes have already been experimentally demonstrated. The two cases where the LIFE design is somewhat better than prior experimental work do not involve the development of new concepts: beamline power is increased simply by increasing aperture (as demonstrated by the power/aperture comparison in Table I), and efficiency increases are achieved by employing state-of-the-art diode pumps. In conclusion, the attributes anticipated for the LIFE laser are consistent with the demonstrated performance of existing solid-state lasers.

Mechanical Ventilation: State of the Art.

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Tài; Brochard, Laurent J; Slutsky, Arthur S

2017-09-01

Mechanical ventilation is the most used short-term life support technique worldwide and is applied daily for a diverse spectrum of indications, from scheduled surgical procedures to acute organ failure. This state-of-the-art review provides an update on the basic physiology of respiratory mechanics, the working principles, and the main ventilatory settings, as well as the potential complications of mechanical ventilation. Specific ventilatory approaches in particular situations such as acute respiratory distress syndrome and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are detailed along with protective ventilation in patients with normal lungs. We also highlight recent data on patient-ventilator dyssynchrony, humidified high-flow oxygen through nasal cannula, extracorporeal life support, and the weaning phase. Finally, we discuss the future of mechanical ventilation, addressing avenues for improvement. Copyright © 2017 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Zirconia powders production by precipitation: state-of-art review; Producao de pos de zirconia por precipitacao - revisao do estado da arte

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oliveira, Ana Paula Almeida de; Torem, Mauricio Leonardo [Pontificia Univ. Catolica do Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Dept. de Ciencia dos Materiais e Metalurgia

1994-12-31

The important role played by zirconia in advanced ceramics can be attributed to its excellent wear and corrosion resistance and refractory character. The polymorphic nature of zirconia made the controlled addition of stabilizing oxides or the constraining effect of a dense ceramics matrix necessary to maintain high parameters had a significant influence on powder properties and on compacted powder behaviour in sintering. Particle shape and size, purity and crystalline structure were specially influenced by precipitation parameters. Therefore, this work presented a review of the state of the art in zirconia powder production and in the recent research on precipitation of that powder. (author) 15 refs., 5 figs., 2 tabs.

State of the art on fault-tolerant real time distributed systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levkov, V.

1992-06-01

The integration of new computerized functions in power plant, and especially nuclear power plant, control and instrumentation systems implies more and more stringent requirements as to communication system reliability. For if an item of equipment, or even a computer program, can be validated and qualified, no formal qualification procedure is presently imposed on communication networks. This is certainly due to the relative immaturity of these networks, but also to their complexity. It is for this reason that, in the context of preparation for the future PWR 2000 standardized nuclear plants, it would seem appropriate to take a look at fault-tolerant communication systems. Since C and I type applications (in the control room) are divided between several computers and are required to contend with extremely severe time constraints, EDF has undertaken investigation of fault-tolerant, real time distributed systems. This paper summarized the state of the art in the field as it appears from discussion with computer manufacturers, academics and research workers on related projects. The results obtained were then used to determine trends as to ''promising'' solutions. The paper concludes with recommended study programs for the PCC department of EDF/R and DD for the next few years. (author), 9 figs., 10 refs., 2 annexes

Digital radiography of the chest: state of the art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souto, M.; Malagari, K.S.; Tucker, D.; Tahoces, P.G.; Correa, J.; Benakis, V.S.; Roussos, C.; Strigaris, K.A.; Vidal, J.J.; Barnes, G.T.; Fraser, R.G.

1994-01-01

Digital image acquisition possesses a number of advantages over conventional systems in radiographic examination of the chest, the most important of which is its greater dynamic range. In addition, once digital images are acquired, they can be processed by computer in ways that cannot be rivalled by conventional analog techniques. Finally, digital images can be stored, retrieved and transmitted to local or remote sites. Here the status of the different digital systems employed in chest radiology and commonly used image processing techniques are reviewed. Also discussed are the current clinical applications of integrating digital chest radiography with a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) along with the difficulties typically encountered. Studies with a variety of digital techniques have been carried out on several fronts. Computed radiography based on photostimulable phosphor (CR) has replaced screen-film imaging in certain applications (i.e. bedside imaging). However, CR has limitations, namely its poor X-ray utilisation efficiency at high X-ray tube voltages and sensitivity to scatter; therefore, it is not ideal for all applications. Recently, a dedicated digital chest unit with excellent X-ray utilisation efficiency at high X-ray tube potentials has been introduced. On the basis of the state-of-the-art capabilities and research during the past decade, recommendations are made regarding the most desirable equipment specifications for dedicated and bedside digital chest radiography. (orig.)

Review of Current State of the Art and Key Design Issues With Potential Solutions for Liquid Hydrogen Cryogenic Storage Tank Structures for Aircraft Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Mital, Subodh K.; Gyekenyesi, John Z.; Arnold, Steven M.; Sullivan, Roy M.; Manderscheid, Jane M.; Murthy, Pappu L. N.

2006-01-01

Due to its high specific energy content, liquid hydrogen (LH2) is emerging as an alternative fuel for future aircraft. As a result, there is a need for hydrogen tank storage systems, for these aircraft applications, that are expected to provide sufficient capacity for flight durations ranging from a few minutes to several days. It is understood that the development of a large, lightweight, reusable cryogenic liquid storage tank is crucial to meet the goals of and supply power to hydrogen-fueled aircraft, especially for long flight durations. This report provides an annotated review (including the results of an extensive literature review) of the current state of the art of cryogenic tank materials, structural designs, and insulation systems along with the identification of key challenges with the intent of developing a lightweight and long-term storage system for LH2. The broad classes of insulation systems reviewed include foams (including advanced aerogels) and multilayer insulation (MLI) systems with vacuum. The MLI systems show promise for long-term applications. Structural configurations evaluated include single- and double-wall constructions, including sandwich construction. Potential wall material candidates are monolithic metals as well as polymer matrix composites and discontinuously reinforced metal matrix composites. For short-duration flight applications, simple tank designs may suffice. Alternatively, for longer duration flight applications, a double-wall construction with a vacuum-based insulation system appears to be the most optimum design. The current trends in liner material development are reviewed in the case that a liner is required to minimize or eliminate the loss of hydrogen fuel through permeation.

State of the Art in Pediatric Lung Transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lancaster, Timothy S; Eghtesady, Pirooz

2018-04-24

Pediatric lung transplantation is a highly specialized therapy for end stage pulmonary disease in children, performed in only a handful of transplant centers around the world. Advancement in the field has been made on many fronts in recent years, including in public policy and organ allocation strategies, donor selection and management, emerging technologies for donor lung rehabilitation and bridge-to-transplant support of listed candidates, and ongoing refinement of surgical techniques. Despite this progress, children continue to suffer discrepant waitlist mortality and longer waiting times than their adult counterparts, and face special challenges of donor availability and size matching. Here we review the current state of the art in pediatric lung transplantation, reviewing progress made to date and further opportunities to improve care for this unique group of patients. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Virtual microscopy and digital cytology: state of the art.

Science.gov (United States)

Giansanti, Daniele; Grigioni, Mauro; D'Avenio, Giuseppe; Morelli, Sandra; Maccioni, Giovanni; Bondi, Arrigo; Giovagnoli, Maria Rosaria

2010-01-01

The paper approaches a new technological scenario relevant for the introduction of the digital cytology (D-CYT) in the health service. A detailed analysis of the state of the art on the status of the introduction of D-CYT in the hospital and more in general in the dispersed territory has been conducted. The analysis was conducted in a form of review and was arranged into two parts: the first part focused on the technological tools needed to carry out a successful service (client server architectures, e-learning, quality assurance issues); the second part focused on issues oriented to help the introduction and evaluation of the technology (specific training in D-CYT, health technology assessment in-routine application, data format standards and picture archiving computerized systems (PACS) implementation, image quality assessment, strategies of navigation, 3D-virtual-reality potentialities). The work enlightens future scenarios of actions relevant for the introduction of the technology.

Virtual microscopy and digital cytology: state of the art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Giansanti

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The paper approaches a new technological scenario relevant for the introduction of the digital cytology (D-CYT in the health service. A detailed analysis of the state of the art on the status of the introduction of D-CYT in the hospital and more in general in the dispersed territory has been conducted. The analysis was conducted in a form of review and was arranged into two parts: the first part focused on the technological tools needed to carry out a successful service (client server architectures, e-learning, quality assurance issues; the second part focused on issues oriented to help the introduction and evaluation of the technology (specific training in D-CYT, health technology assessment in-routine application, data format standards and picture archiving computerized systems (PACS implementation, image quality assessment, strategies of navigation, 3D-virtual-reality potentialities. The work enlightens future scenarios of actions relevant for the introduction of the technology.

The state of the art of numerical modeling of thermohydrologic flow in fractured rock masses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, J.S.Y.; Sterbentz, R.A.; Tsang, C.F.

1982-01-01

The state of the art of numerical modeling of thermohydrologic flow in fractured rock masses is reviewed and a comparative study is made of several models which have been developed in nuclear waste isolation, geothermal energy, ground water hydrology, petroleum engineering, and other geologic fields. The general review is followed by individual summaries of each model and the main characteristics of its governing equations, numerical solutions, computer codes, validations, and applications

Building Applications, Opportunities and Challenges of Active Shading Systems: A State-of-the-Art Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joud Al Dakheel

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Active shading systems in buildings have emerged as a high performing shading solution that selectively and optimally controls daylight and heat gains. Active shading systems are increasingly used in buildings, due to their ability to mainly improve the building environment, reduce energy consumption and in some cases generate energy. They may be categorized into three classes: smart glazing, kinetic shading and integrated renewable energy shading. This paper reviews the current status of the different types in terms of design principle and working mechanism of the systems, performance, control strategies and building applications. Challenges, limitations and future opportunities of the systems are then discussed. The review highlights that despite its high initial cost, the electrochromic (EC glazing is the most applied smart glazing due to the extensive use of glass in buildings under all climatic conditions. In terms of external shadings, the rotating shading type is the predominantly used one in buildings due to its low initial cost. Algae façades and folding shading systems are still emerging types, with high initial and maintenance costs and requiring specialist installers. The algae façade systems and PV integrated shading systems are a promising solution due to their dual benefits of providing shading and generating electricity. Active shading systems were found to save 12 to 50% of the building cooling electricity consumption.

The state-of-the-art in short-term prediction of wind power. A literature overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giebel, G.; Draxl, C. (Risoe DTU, Roskilde (Denmark)); Brownsword, R. (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), Oxford (United Kingdom)); Kariniotakis, G. (ARMINES, Paris (France)); Denhard, M. (ECMWF, Reading (United Kingdom))

2011-01-15

This Deliverable of ANEMOS.plus (Advanced Tools for the Management of Electricity Grids with Large-Scale Wind Generation) and SafeWind projects presents the state of the art in wind power forecasting. More than 380 references of journal and conference papers have been reviewed. (LN)

Text Generation: The State of the Art and the Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, William C.; And Others

This report comprises two documents which describe the state of the art of computer generation of natural language text. Both were prepared by a panel of individuals who are active in research on text generation. The first document assesses the techniques now available for use in systems design, covering all of the technical methods by which…

A state of the art on penetration failure estimation under external vessel cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Min, B. T.; Park, R. J.; Kang, K. H.; Cho, Y. R.; Kim, J. W.; Kim, S. B.; Park, S. Y.; Lee, K. Y.

2000-04-01

A state of the art on penetration failure was reviewed and analyzed to establish the direction of the experimental program in the KNGR and to decide the test section design. The interaction between the corium and the reactor vessel and the corium behavior in the lower plenum of the reactor vessel were analyzed to investigate the penetration effect on severe accident progression, and the TMI-2 accident was investigated in the point of penetration failure. Theoretical model and experiment results on penetration failure under the severe accident were investigated and reviewed to establish the direction of the experimental program on the estimation of the penetration failure in the KNGR. These results were compared with the TMI-2 results. The existing test facilities on penetration failure were investigated and reviewed to decide the test section design. It can be said from the state of the art review that penetration in the lower plenum of the reactor vessel is a week point in the reactor vessel failure under the severe accident, but the reactor vessel may not be failed by penetration failure in condition with the coolant supply to the penetration. Since the penetration is different with reactor types and there is no study on estimation of the penetration welding, it is necessary to investigate failure or not of the penetration in condition with external vessel cooling to maintain the reactor vessel integrity in KNGR. In the present experimental program on the integrity estimation of the KNGR penetration, the aluminum oxide melt by thermite reaction and the test section with one penetration of the real size and real material were selected. The melt mass, the pressure of the system, and the vessel geometry were selected as an experimental parameter. (author)

State-of-the-art report on radioactive waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsson, A.

1989-01-01

In view of the considerable work required to develop repositories for radioactive waste, an extensive international co-operation has evolved within the area. The work has also engaged the IAEA to a great extent. The Agency has published a number of reports, covering different aspects of waste disposal. Following a recommendation by its Technical Review Committee on Underground Disposal (TRCUD) the Agency will publish a ''state-of-the-art'' report on radioactive waste disposal. The report is still in the preparation stage. In this article the principal subjects of the future report are discussed

State-of-the-Art Highly Insulating Window Frames - Research and Market Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gustavsen, Arild; Jelle, Bjorn Petter; Arasteh, Dariush; Kohler, Christian

2007-01-01

This document reports the findings of a market and research review related to state-of-the-art highly insulating window frames. The market review focuses on window frames that satisfy the Passivhaus requirements (window U-value less or equal to 0.8 W/m{sup 2}K ), while other examples are also given in order to show the variety of materials and solutions that may be used for constructing window frames with a low thermal transmittance (U-value). The market search shows that several combinations of materials are used in order to obtain window frames with a low U-value. The most common insulating material seems to be Polyurethane (PUR), which is used together with most of the common structural materials such as wood, aluminum, and PVC. The frame research review also shows examples of window frames developed in order to increase the energy efficiency of the frames and the glazings which the frames are to be used together with. The authors find that two main tracks are used in searching for better solutions. The first one is to minimize the heat losses through the frame itself. The result is that conductive materials are replaced by highly thermal insulating materials and air cavities. The other option is to reduce the window frame area to a minimum, which is done by focusing on the net energy gain by the entire window (frame, spacer and glazing). Literature shows that a window with a higher U-value may give a net energy gain to a building that is higher than a window with a smaller U-value. The net energy gain is calculated by subtracting the transmission losses through the window from the solar energy passing through the windows. The net energy gain depends on frame versus glazing area, solar factor, solar irradiance, calculation period and U-value. The frame research review also discusses heat transfer modeling issues related to window frames. Thermal performance increasing measures, surface modeling, and frame cavity modeling are among the topics discussed. The

State of the art of numerical modeling of thermohydrologic flow in fractured rock mass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, J.S.Y.; Tsang, C.F.; Sterbentz, R.A.

1983-01-01

The state of the art of numerical modeling of thermohydrologic flow in fractured rock masses is reviewed and a comparative study is made of several models which have been developed in nuclear waste isolation, geothermal energy, ground-water hydrology, petroleum engineering, and other geologic fields. The general review is followed by separate summaries of the main characteristics of the governing equations, numerical solutions, computer codes, validations, and applications for each model

The Impact of ART on Live Birth Outcomes: Differing Experiences across Three States.

Science.gov (United States)

Luke, Sabrina; Sappenfield, William M; Kirby, Russell S; McKane, Patricia; Bernson, Dana; Zhang, Yujia; Chuong, Farah; Cohen, Bruce; Boulet, Sheree L; Kissin, Dmitry M

2016-05-01

Research has shown an association between assisted reproductive technology (ART) and adverse birth outcomes. We identified whether birth outcomes of ART-conceived pregnancies vary across states with different maternal characteristics, insurance coverage for ART services, and type of ART services provided. CDC's National ART Surveillance System data were linked to Massachusetts, Florida, and Michigan vital records from 2000 through 2006. Maternal characteristics in ART- and non-ART-conceived live births were compared between states using chi-square tests. We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses and calculated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) to assess associations between ART use and singleton preterm delivery (birth. ART use in Massachusetts was associated with significantly lower odds of twins as well as triplets and higher order births compared to Florida and Michigan (aOR 22.6 vs. 30.0 and 26.3, and aOR 37.6 vs. 92.8 and 99.2, respectively; Pinteraction order gestations per cycle was lower in Massachusetts, which may be due to the availability of insurance coverage for ART in Massachusetts. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A review and comparison of fault detection and diagnosis methods for squirrel-cage induction motors: State of the art.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yiqi; Bazzi, Ali M

2017-09-01

Preventing induction motors (IMs) from failure and shutdown is important to maintain functionality of many critical loads in industry and commerce. This paper provides a comprehensive review of fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) methods targeting all the four major types of faults in IMs. Popular FDD methods published up to 2010 are briefly introduced, while the focus of the review is laid on the state-of-the-art FDD techniques after 2010, i.e. in 2011-2015 and some in 2016. Different FDD methods are introduced and classified into four categories depending on their application domains, instead of on fault types like in many other reviews, to better reveal hidden connections and similarities of different FDD methods. Detailed comparisons of the reviewed papers after 2010 are given in tables for fast referring. Finally, a dedicated discussion session is provided, which presents recent developments, trends and remaining difficulties regarding to FDD of IMs, to inspire novel research ideas and new research possibilities. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection: state of the art in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Palermo, G D; O'Neill, C L; Chow, S; Cheung, S; Parrella, A; Pereira, N; Rosenwaks, Z

2017-12-01

Among infertile couples, 25% involve both male and female factors, while male factor alone accounts for another 25% due to oligo-, astheno-, teratozoospermia, a combination of the three, or even a complete absence of sperm cells in the ejaculate and can lead to a poor prognosis even with the help of assisted reproductive technology (ART). Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has been with us now for a quarter of a century and in spite of the controversy generated since its inception, it remains in the forefront of the techniques utilized in ART. The development of ICSI in 1992 has drastically decreased the impact of male factor, resulting in millions of pregnancies worldwide for couples who, without ICSI, would have had little chance of having their own biological child. This review focuses on the state of the art of ICSI regarding utility of bioassays that evaluate male factor infertility beyond the standard semen analysis and describes the current application and advances in regard to ICSI, particularly the genetic and epigenetic characteristics of spermatozoa and their impact on reproductive outcome. © 2017 Society for Reproduction and Fertility.

STATE-OF-THE-ART TASKS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF PARALINGUISTIC SPEECH ANALYSIS SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Karpov

2016-07-01

Full Text Available We present analytical survey of state-of-the-art actual tasks in the area of computational paralinguistics, as well as the recent achievements of automatic systems for paralinguistic analysis of conversational speech. Paralinguistics studies non-verbal aspects of human communication and speech such as: natural emotions, accents, psycho-physiological states, pronunciation features, speaker’s voice parameters, etc. We describe architecture of a baseline computer system for acoustical paralinguistic analysis, its main components and useful speech processing methods. We present some information on an International contest called Computational Paralinguistics Challenge (ComParE, which is held each year since 2009 in the framework of the International conference INTERSPEECH organized by the International Speech Communication Association. We present sub-challenges (tasks that were proposed at the ComParE Challenges in 2009-2016, and analyze winning computer systems for each sub-challenge and obtained results. The last completed ComParE-2015 Challenge was organized in September 2015 in Germany and proposed 3 sub-challenges: 1 Degree of Nativeness (DN sub-challenge, determination of nativeness degree of speakers based on acoustics; 2 Parkinson's Condition (PC sub-challenge, recognition of a degree of Parkinson’s condition based on speech analysis; 3 Eating Condition (EC sub-challenge, determination of the eating condition state during speaking or a dialogue, and classification of consumed food type (one of seven classes of food by the speaker. In the last sub-challenge (EC, the winner was a joint Turkish-Russian team consisting of the authors of the given paper. We have developed the most efficient computer-based system for detection and classification of the corresponding (EC acoustical paralinguistic events. The paper deals with the architecture of this system, its main modules and methods, as well as the description of used training and evaluation

State-of-the-art assessment of requirements for attachments of WiFi equipments to electric utility facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2009-07-01

Electric utilities are receiving a growing number of requests to attach WiFi equipment to their systems. However, many utilities are not prepared to meet these requests because they have not had enough time to formally review and comment on the particular issues associated with Wi-Fi attachments. Although electric utilities are required to allow the attachments, there is no uniform standard to govern those attachments. This paper discussed the state-of-the-art philosophies and requirements of electric utilities who have allowed WiFi equipment on their systems. The advantages and limitations of each philosophy or practice were also discussed. The requirements for codes and standards in the United States and Canada for high voltage construction were also evaluated.

Radioactive waste management: State of the art in the world. Part 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pahissa Campa, Jaime; Pahissa, Marta H. de

2001-01-01

In the former number of this publication, the management of low and intermediate level wastes (LILW) was described as well as an overview of the state of art in the world. This report summarizes the strategies for high level waste management including final disposal. What is being done on an international basis in this field in different countries will be described in the next number of this review. (author)

Integrated Simulation for HVAC Performance Prediction: State-of-the-Art Illustration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hensen, J.L.M.; Clarke, J.A.

2000-01-01

This paper aims to outline the current state-of-the-art in integrated building simulation for performance prediction of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. The ESP-r system is used as an example where integrated simulation is a core philosophy behind the development. The

Visual art in hospitals: case studies and review of the evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Lankston, Louise; Cusack, Pearce; Fremantle, Chris; Isles, Chris

2010-12-01

In 2006 a Department of Health Working Group on Arts and Health reported that the arts have 'a clear contribution to make and offer major opportunities in the delivery of better health, wellbeing and improved experience for patients, service users and staff alike'. In this review we examine the evidence underpinning this statement and evaluate the visual art of three of Scotland's newest hospitals: the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, the new Stobhill Hospital, and the new Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow. We conclude that art in hospitals is generally viewed positively by both patients and staff, but that the quality of the evidence is not uniformly high. Effects may be mediated by psychological responses to colour hue, brightness and saturation. Colours that elicit high levels of pleasure with low levels of arousal are most likely to induce a state of calm, while those causing displeasure and high levels of arousal may provoke anxiety. The fact that patients frequently express a preference for landscape and nature scenes is consistent with this observation and with evolutionary psychological theories which predict positive emotional responses to flourishing natural environments. Contrary to a view which may prevail among some contemporary artists, patients who are ill or stressed about their health may not always be comforted by abstract art, preferring the positive distraction and state of calm created by the blues and greens of landscape and nature scenes instead.

Visual art in hospitals: case studies and review of the evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Lankston, Louise; Cusack, Pearce; Fremantle, Chris; Isles, Chris

2010-01-01

Summary In 2006 a Department of Health Working Group on Arts and Health reported that the arts have ‘a clear contribution to make and offer major opportunities in the delivery of better health, wellbeing and improved experience for patients, service users and staff alike’. In this review we examine the evidence underpinning this statement and evaluate the visual art of three of Scotland's newest hospitals: the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, the new Stobhill Hospital, and the new Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow. We conclude that art in hospitals is generally viewed positively by both patients and staff, but that the quality of the evidence is not uniformly high. Effects may be mediated by psychological responses to colour hue, brightness and saturation. Colours that elicit high levels of pleasure with low levels of arousal are most likely to induce a state of calm, while those causing displeasure and high levels of arousal may provoke anxiety. The fact that patients frequently express a preference for landscape and nature scenes is consistent with this observation and with evolutionary psychological theories which predict positive emotional responses to flourishing natural environments. Contrary to a view which may prevail among some contemporary artists, patients who are ill or stressed about their health may not always be comforted by abstract art, preferring the positive distraction and state of calm created by the blues and greens of landscape and nature scenes instead. PMID:21127332

Peer review and competition in the Art Exhibition Game.

Science.gov (United States)

Balietti, Stefano; Goldstone, Robert L; Helbing, Dirk

2016-07-26

To investigate the effect of competitive incentives under peer review, we designed a novel experimental setup called the Art Exhibition Game. We present experimental evidence of how competition introduces both positive and negative effects when creative artifacts are evaluated and selected by peer review. Competition proved to be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, it fosters innovation and product diversity, but on the other hand, it also leads to more unfair reviews and to a lower level of agreement between reviewers. Moreover, an external validation of the quality of peer reviews during the laboratory experiment, based on 23,627 online evaluations on Amazon Mechanical Turk, shows that competition does not significantly increase the level of creativity. Furthermore, the higher rejection rate under competitive conditions does not improve the average quality of published contributions, because more high-quality work is also rejected. Overall, our results could explain why many ground-breaking studies in science end up in lower-tier journals. Differences and similarities between the Art Exhibition Game and scholarly peer review are discussed and the implications for the design of new incentive systems for scientists are explained.

MRI Sequences in Head & Neck Radiology - State of the Art.

Science.gov (United States)

Widmann, Gerlig; Henninger, Benjamin; Kremser, Christian; Jaschke, Werner

2017-05-01

Background  Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an essential imaging modality for the evaluation of head & neck pathologies. However, the diagnostic power of MRI is strongly related to the appropriate selection and interpretation of imaging protocols and sequences. The aim of this article is to review state-of-the-art sequences for the clinical routine in head & neck MRI and to describe the evidence for which medical question these sequences and techniques are useful. Method  Literature review of state-of-the-art sequences in head & neck MRI. Results and Conclusion  Basic sequences (T1w, T2w, T1wC+) and fat suppression techniques (TIRM/STIR, Dixon, Spectral Fat sat) are important tools in the diagnostic workup of inflammation, congenital lesions and tumors including staging. Additional sequences (SSFP (CISS, FIESTA), SPACE, VISTA, 3D-FLAIR) are used for pathologies of the cranial nerves, labyrinth and evaluation of endolymphatic hydrops in Menière's disease. Vessel and perfusion sequences (3D-TOF, TWIST/TRICKS angiography, DCE) are used in vascular contact syndromes, vascular malformations and analysis of microvascular parameters of tissue perfusion. Diffusion-weighted imaging (EPI-DWI, non-EPI-DWI, RESOLVE) is helpful in cholesteatoma imaging, estimation of malignancy, and evaluation of treatment response and posttreatment recurrence in head & neck cancer. Understanding of MRI sequences and close collaboration with referring physicians improves the diagnostic confidence of MRI in the daily routine and drives further research in this fascinating image modality. Key Points:   · Understanding of MRI sequences is essential for the correct and reliable interpretation of MRI findings.. · MRI protocols have to be carefully selected based on relevant clinical information.. · Close collaboration with referring physicians improves the output obtained from the diagnostic possibilities of MRI.. Citation Format · Widmann G, Henninger B, Kremser C et�

The Use of Video Games as a Teaching Tool to Improve Teaching-Learning: State of the Art Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angie Paola Roncancio-Ortiz

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In this new era of the 21st century when societies are constantly changing, education is the cornerstone to provide the people not only with the basic knowledge and tools, but also with the required skills for facing the challenges in a globalized world. Thus, video games have evolved from distractive activities, to more valuable tools. These tools can play a leading role in education-related processes, for example, supporting teaching tasks. The aim of this article is to present a state of art review on several particular experiences in which video games have been incorporated into teaching and learning activities. As a result, video games can be used as didactic mechanisms that help students, among other things, to solve learning problems, to improve motor and cognitive skills, and to foster creativity.

Wind power forecasting : state-of-the-art 2009.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monteiro, C.; Bessa, R.; Miranda, V.; Botterud, A.; Wang, J.; Conzelmann, G.; Decision and Information Sciences; INESC Porto

2009-11-20

uncertainty in wind power and to more efficiently operate power systems with large wind power penetrations. Moreover, in a market environment, the wind power contribution to the generation portofolio becomes important in determining the daily and hourly prices, as variations in the estimated wind power will influence the clearing prices for both energy and operating reserves. With the increasing penetration of wind power, WPF is quickly becoming an important topic for the electric power industry. System operators (SOs), generating companies (GENCOs), and regulators all support efforts to develop better, more reliable and accurate forecasting models. Wind farm owners and operators also benefit from better wind power prediction to support competitive participation in electricity markets against more stable and dispatchable energy sources. In general, WPF can be used for a number of purposes, such as: generation and transmission maintenance planning, determination of operating reserve requirements, unit commitment, economic dispatch, energy storage optimization (e.g., pumped hydro storage), and energy trading. The objective of this report is to review and analyze state-of-the-art WPF models and their application to power systems operations. We first give a detailed description of the methodologies underlying state-of-the-art WPF models. We then look at how WPF can be integrated into power system operations, with specific focus on the unit commitment problem.

A Comparative Analysis of Internal Communication and Public Relations Audits. State of the Art.

Science.gov (United States)

Dozier, David M.; Hellweg, Susan A.

A review of current literature regarding the state of the art in the conduct of internal communication and public relations audits by public relations practitioners reveals that these two related measurement activities are of considerable importance to the practice of public relations. Public relations audits are concerned with exploratory…

Artificial intelligence in conceptual design of intelligent manufacturing systems: A state of the art review

OpenAIRE

Petrović, Milica M.; Miljković, Zoran Đ.; Babić, Bojan R.

2013-01-01

Intelligent manufacturing systems (IMS), as the highest class of flexible manufacturing systems, are able to adapt to market changes applying methods of artificial intelligence. This paper presents a detailed review of the following IMS functions: (i) process planning optimization, (ii) scheduling optimization, (iii) integrated process planning and scheduling, and (iv) mobile robot scheduling for internal material transport tasks. The research presented in this paper shows that improved perfo...

School, teaching, and system effectiveness: some comments on three state-of-the-art reviews

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scheerens, Jaap

2014-01-01

In this commentary, the 3 review papers by Reynolds et al. (this issue), Muijs et al. (this issue), and Hopkins, Stringfield, Harris, Stoll, and Mackay (this issue) on “educational effectiveness”, “teaching effectiveness”, and “school and system improvement” are discussed. In the text, the 3 papers

State-of-the-art inventory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhagen, H.J.; Van Gerven, K.A.J.; Akkerman, G.J.

2005-01-01

The present report provides a state-of-the-art inventory of relevant information and technical concepts for the ComCoast project, being the first phase of the research stages of Work Package 3 (WP3). This project was assigned to Royal Haskoning by CUR. The information scan was set-up in a systematic

42 CFR 403.320 - CMS review and monitoring of State systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false CMS review and monitoring of State systems. 403.320 Section 403.320 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... Systems § 403.320 CMS review and monitoring of State systems. (a) General rule. The State must submit an...

Fuel cells: state of the art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campanari, S.; Casalegno, A.

2007-01-01

This paper deals with the main features at present state-of-the-art fuel cell and hybrid cycle technologies, discussing their actual performance, possible applications, market entry perspectives and potential development [it

A Systematic Review of Health System Barriers and Enablers for Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) for HIV-Infected Pregnant and Postpartum Women

Science.gov (United States)

Colvin, Christopher J.; Konopka, Sarah; Chalker, John C.; Jonas, Edna; Albertini, Jennifer; Amzel, Anouk; Fogg, Karen

2014-01-01

Background Despite global progress in the fight to reduce maternal mortality, HIV-related maternal deaths remain persistently high, particularly in much of Africa. Lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) appears to be the most effective way to prevent these deaths, but the rates of three key outcomes—ART initiation, retention in care, and long-term ART adherence—remain low. This systematic review synthesized evidence on health systems factors affecting these outcomes in pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV. Methods Searches were conducted for studies addressing the population of interest (HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women), the intervention of interest (ART), and the outcomes of interest (initiation, adherence, and retention). Quantitative and qualitative studies published in English since January 2008 were included. A four-stage narrative synthesis design was used to analyze findings. Review findings from 42 included studies were categorized according to five themes: 1) models of care, 2) service delivery, 3) resource constraints and governance challenges, 4) patient-health system engagement, and 5) maternal ART interventions. Results Low prioritization of maternal ART and persistent dropout along the maternal ART cascade were key findings. Service delivery barriers included poor communication and coordination among health system actors, poor clinical practices, and gaps in provider training. The few studies that assessed maternal ART interventions demonstrated the importance of multi-pronged, multi-leveled interventions. Conclusions There has been a lack of emphasis on the experiences, needs and vulnerabilities particular to HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women. Supporting these women to successfully traverse the maternal ART cascade requires carefully designed and targeted interventions throughout the steps. Careful design of integrated service delivery models is of critical importance in this effort. Key knowledge gaps and research

Spectrum of Art Therapy Practice: Systematic Literature Review of "Art Therapy," 1983-2014

Science.gov (United States)

Potash, Jordan S.; Mann, Sarah M.; Martinez, Johanna C.; Roach, Ann B.; Wallace, Nina M.

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine art therapists' fit in the continuum of health delivery services defined by behavioral health. All publications in "Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art" Therapy Association from 1983 (Volume 1) to 2014 (Volume 31) were systematically reviewed to understand how art therapy has been…

Robot-assisted gait training for stroke patients: current state of the art and perspectives of robotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Morone, Giovanni; Paolucci, Stefano; Cherubini, Andrea; De Angelis, Domenico; Venturiero, Vincenzo; Coiro, Paola; Iosa, Marco

2017-01-01

In this review, we give a brief outline of robot-mediated gait training for stroke patients, as an important emerging field in rehabilitation. Technological innovations are allowing rehabilitation to move toward more integrated processes, with improved efficiency and less long-term impairments. In particular, robot-mediated neurorehabilitation is a rapidly advancing field, which uses robotic systems to define new methods for treating neurological injuries, especially stroke. The use of robots in gait training can enhance rehabilitation, but it needs to be used according to well-defined neuroscientific principles. The field of robot-mediated neurorehabilitation brings challenges to both bioengineering and clinical practice. This article reviews the state of the art (including commercially available systems) and perspectives of robotics in poststroke rehabilitation for walking recovery. A critical revision, including the problems at stake regarding robotic clinical use, is also presented.

Heteronomy in the arts field: state funding and British arts organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Victoria D

2018-03-01

For Bourdieu, the field of cultural production is comprised of an autonomous and a heteronomous sector. A heteronomous sector is one that is interpenetrated by the commercial field. I discuss an arena that, until recently, was part of the relatively autonomous sector in the field of cultural production - the supported arts sector in the United Kingdom - and argue that it became more heteronomous, due to the penetration by the state. Heteronomy due to the commercial field is present but secondary to, and driven by, the actions of the state. Political parties' attempts to diffuse and legitimate a particular economic ideology have led to state demands that arts institutions adopt neoliberal business practices in exchange for funding. Government giving to the arts, previously at arm's length, proved to be a Faustian bargain that demanded significant repayment in the form of lost autonomy. Coercive pressures from the state, enacted over time, show how the domination of one field over another can occur, even when the domination is resisted. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

State of the art undersøgelse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Nils

1998-01-01

Dette skrift omhandler nogle af de erfaringer der til dato er opnået i forbindelse med standby projektets udførelse. Hovedtemaet er en “State of the art undersøgelse” der omhandler standby-spændingsforsyninger, samt komponenter der kan anvendes til konstruktion af dem......Dette skrift omhandler nogle af de erfaringer der til dato er opnået i forbindelse med standby projektets udførelse. Hovedtemaet er en “State of the art undersøgelse” der omhandler standby-spændingsforsyninger, samt komponenter der kan anvendes til konstruktion af dem...

A state-of-the-art review on nitrous oxide control from waste treatment and industrial sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Frutos, Osvaldo D; Quijano, Guillermo; Aizpuru, Aitor; Muñoz, Raúl

2018-03-20

This review aims at holistically analyzing the environmental problems associated with nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions by evaluating the most important sources of N 2 O and its environmental impacts. Emissions from wastewater treatment processes and the industrial production of nitric and adipic acid represent nowadays the most important anthropogenic point sources of N 2 O. Therefore, state-of-the-art strategies to mitigate the generation and release to the atmosphere of this greenhouse and O 3 -depleting gas in the waste treatment and industrial sectors are also reviewed. An updated review of the end-of-the-pipe technologies for N 2 O abatement, both in the waste treatment and industrial sectors, is herein presented and critically discussed for the first time. Despite the consistent efforts recently conducted in the development of cost-efficient and eco-friendly N 2 O abatement technologies, physical/chemical technologies still constitute the most popular treatments for the control of industrial N 2 O emissions at commercial scale. The recent advances achieved on biological N 2 O abatement based on heterotrophic denitrification have opened new opportunities for the development of eco-friendly alternatives for the treatment of N 2 O emissions. Finally, the main limitations and challenges faced by these novel N 2 O abatement biotechnologies are identified in order to pave the way for market implementation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Where is your state of the art?

Science.gov (United States)

Ríos Gaona, Manuel

2015-04-01

Beyond the purposes of publishing, questioning and/or hypothesizing, every research has the noble aim to quench the constant human need of pushing farther away the boundaries of knowledge, may such frontier exist. The state of the art is the generic expression coined to limit the whereabouts of any particular knowledge. We use it just like a compass, it tells us how far we are, what has been done and where we should go. Take for instance quantum field theory, the state of the art in particle physics will tell you that everything that exists in this universe is made of bosons, quarks and leptons. What!?. Hold on, I was taught (and luckily maybe you weren't) that the fundamental particles were electrons, neutrons and protons, right?. Indeed, that is the state of the art but from almost one century ago. So, if I may ask... where is your state of the art? This is not about quantum physics; it is not even about hydrology; it is about everything. Today, everybody doing or not a PhD fiercely believes that their research is important, extremely unique, life changing (and help us God if we are wrong); but how can you be so sure that what you do, isn't already done?. We live in a modern world, cool environmental scientists now have tagged this era as the Anthropocene; globalization is everywhere and of course knowledge has not escaped to it. Not only knowledge is now global but is totally diversified, any crazy idea you can think of (or actually you can't) it is very likely that somebody already has his/hers hands on it. Nevertheless, this is a good thing, isn't it?. Well, that is the whole point. Every time I should write my research's state of the art, I always get overwhelmed because it actually is pretty difficult to establish, and later when I think I get it, it seems that I am solving issues that somebody already bothered to solve 30 years ago. Therefore, does it really have some purpose to be swimming in a huge pool of knowledge, not knowing where exactly I am? or

Composite tube cracking in kraft recovery boilers: A state-of-the-art review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singbeil, D.L.; Prescott, R. [Pulp and Paper Research Inst. of Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada); Keiser, J.R.; Swindeman, R.W. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1997-07-01

Beginning in the mid-1960s, increasing energy costs in Finland and Sweden made energy recovery more critical to the cost-effective operation of a kraft pulp mill. Boiler designers responded to this need by raising the steam operating pressure, but almost immediately the wall tubes in these new boilers began to corrode rapidly. Test panels installed in the walls of the most severely corroding boiler identified austenitic stainless steel as sufficiently resistant to the new corrosive conditions, and discussions with Sandvik AB, a Swedish tube manufacturer, led to the suggestion that coextruded tubes be used for water wall service in kraft recovery boilers. Replacement of carbon steel by coextruded tubes has solved most of the corrosion problems experienced by carbon steel wall tubes, however, these tubes have not been problem-free. Beginning in early 1995, a multidisciplinary research program funded by the US Department of Energy was established to investigate the cause of cracking in coextruded tubes and to develop improved materials for use in water walls and floors of kraft recovery boilers. One portion of that program, a state-of-the-art review of public- and private-domain documents related to coextruded tube cracking in kraft recovery boilers is reported here. Sources of information that were consulted for this review include the following: tube manufacturers, boiler manufacturers, public-domain literature, companies operating kraft recovery boilers, consultants and failure analysis laboratories, and failure analyses conducted specifically for this project. Much of the information contained in this report involves cracking problems experienced in recovery boiler floors and those aspects of spout and air-port-opening cracking not readily attributable to thermal fatigue. 61 refs.

State-of-the-art MRI techniques in neuroradiology: principles, pitfalls, and clinical applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Viallon, Magalie [Universite de Lyon, CREATIS, UMR CNRS 5220 - INSERM U1044, INSA de Lyon, Lyon (France); Universite de Lyon-Saint-Etienne, Department of Radiology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint-Etienne, Saint Etienne (France); Cuvinciuc, Victor; Barnaure-Nachbar, Isabelle; Lovblad, Karl-Olof; Haller, Sven [University Hospital of Geneva, Department of Neuroradiology, Geneva (Switzerland); Delattre, Benedicte; Toso-Patel, Seema; Becker, Minerva [University Hospital of Geneva, Department of Radiology, Geneva (Switzerland); Merlini, Laura [University Hospital of Geneva, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Geneva (Switzerland)

2015-05-01

This article reviews the most relevant state-of-the-art magnetic resonance (MR) techniques, which are clinically available to investigate brain diseases. MR acquisition techniques addressed include notably diffusion imaging (diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI)) as well as perfusion imaging (dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC), arterial spin labeling (ASL), and dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE)). The underlying models used to process these images are described, as well as the theoretic underpinnings of quantitative diffusion and perfusion MR imaging-based methods. The technical requirements and how they may help to understand, classify, or follow-up neurological pathologies are briefly summarized. Techniques, principles, advantages but also intrinsic limitations, typical artifacts, and alternative solutions developed to overcome them are discussed. In this article, we also review routinely available three-dimensional (3D) techniques in neuro MRI, including state-of-the-art and emerging angiography sequences, and briefly introduce more recently proposed 3D quantitative neuro-anatomy sequences, and new technology, such as multi-slice and multi-transmit imaging. (orig.)

State-of-the-art MRI techniques in neuroradiology: principles, pitfalls, and clinical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viallon, Magalie; Cuvinciuc, Victor; Barnaure-Nachbar, Isabelle; Lovblad, Karl-Olof; Haller, Sven; Delattre, Benedicte; Toso-Patel, Seema; Becker, Minerva; Merlini, Laura

2015-01-01

This article reviews the most relevant state-of-the-art magnetic resonance (MR) techniques, which are clinically available to investigate brain diseases. MR acquisition techniques addressed include notably diffusion imaging (diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI)) as well as perfusion imaging (dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC), arterial spin labeling (ASL), and dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE)). The underlying models used to process these images are described, as well as the theoretic underpinnings of quantitative diffusion and perfusion MR imaging-based methods. The technical requirements and how they may help to understand, classify, or follow-up neurological pathologies are briefly summarized. Techniques, principles, advantages but also intrinsic limitations, typical artifacts, and alternative solutions developed to overcome them are discussed. In this article, we also review routinely available three-dimensional (3D) techniques in neuro MRI, including state-of-the-art and emerging angiography sequences, and briefly introduce more recently proposed 3D quantitative neuro-anatomy sequences, and new technology, such as multi-slice and multi-transmit imaging. (orig.)

Processing emotional body expressions: state-of-the-art.

Science.gov (United States)

Enea, Violeta; Iancu, Sorina

2016-10-01

Processing emotional body expressions has become recently an important topic in affective and social neuroscience along with the investigation of facial expressions. The objective of the study is to review the literature on emotional body expressions in order to discuss the current state of knowledge on this topic and identify directions for future research. The following electronic databases were searched: PsychINFO, Ebsco, ERIC, ProQuest, Sagepub, and SCOPUS using terms such as "body," "bodily expression," "body perception," "emotions," "posture," "body recognition" and combinations of them. The synthesis revealed several research questions that were addressed in neuroimaging, electrophysiological and behavioral studies. Among them, one important question targeted the neural mechanisms of emotional processing of body expressions to specific subsections regarding the time course for the integration of emotional signals from face and body, as well as the role of context in the perception of emotional signals. Processing bodily expression of emotion is similar to processing facial expressions, and the holistic processing is extended to the whole person. The current state-of-the-art in processing emotional body expressions may lead to a better understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of social behavior. At the end of the review, suggestions for future research directions are presented.

State of the Art in the Cramer Classification Scheme and ...

Science.gov (United States)

Slide presentation at the SOT FDA Colloquium on State of the Art in the Cramer Classification Scheme and Threshold of Toxicological Concern in College Park, MD. Slide presentation at the SOT FDA Colloquium on State of the Art in the Cramer Classification Scheme and Threshold of Toxicological Concern in College Park, MD.

Pyrolysis characteristics and kinetics of microalgae via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA): A state-of-the-art review.

Science.gov (United States)

Bach, Quang-Vu; Chen, Wei-Hsin

2017-12-01

Pyrolysis is a promising route for biofuels production from microalgae at moderate temperatures (400-600°C) in an inert atmosphere. Depending on the operating conditions, pyrolysis can produce biochar and/or bio-oil. In practice, knowledge for thermal decomposition characteristics and kinetics of microalgae during pyrolysis is essential for pyrolyzer design and pyrolysis optimization. Recently, the pyrolysis kinetics of microalgae has become a crucial topic and received increasing interest from researchers. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) has been employed as a proven technique for studying microalgae pyrolysis in a kinetic control regime. In addition, a number of kinetic models have been applied to process the TGA data for kinetic evaluation and parameters estimation. This paper aims to provide a state-of-the art review on recent research activities in pyrolysis characteristics and kinetics of various microalgae. Common kinetic models predicting the thermal degradation of microalgae are examined and their pros and cons are illustrated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Equity, the Arts, and Urban Education: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Kraehe, Amelia M.; Acuff, Joni B.; Travis, Sarah

2016-01-01

This review examines empirical studies of educational equity in and through the arts with broad implications for urban education. It extends the literature by (a) describing the interrelated spaces of urban education and the arts, (b) integrating knowledge of arts education across formal and informal learning environments, and (c) examining the…

Mathematical E-Learning: State of the Art and Experiences at the Open University of Catalonia

Science.gov (United States)

Juan, A.; Huertas, A.; Steegmann, C.; Corcoles, C.; Serrat, C.

2008-01-01

In this article we present a review of the state of the art in mathematical e-learning and some personal experiences on this area developed during the last eleven years at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), a completely online university located in Spain. The article discusses important aspects related to online mathematics courses offered in…

State-of-the-art report of spent fuel management technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ro, S. G.; Park, S. W.; Shin, Y. J. and others

1998-06-01

Essential technologies for a long-term management of domestic nuclear fuel have been described in this report. The technologies of interest are advanced processes for spent fuel management, spent fuel examination technology, evaluation of radiation effect on equipment, chemical characterization of spent fuel, and hot cell-related technology state of the art for the above-mentioned technologies has been reviewed and analyzed in detail. As a result, a future R and D direction that seems to be appropriate for us is drawn up in due consideration of in- and out-circumstances encountered with. (author). 304 refs., 28 tabs., 43 figs

A state-of-the-art report on international nuclear information system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sung Ho; Keum, Jong Yong

1997-02-01

INIS (International Nuclear Information System) established in 1969 by IAEA, is the world's leading information system for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in collaboration with its 98 member states and 17 international organizations. As a member state, Korea has participated in the INIS activities from the beginning of INIS establishment. The technical information department of KAERI plays the role of the National Center of the Republic of Korea. The purpose of this study is to prepare the method for the activation of domestic INIS operation. To accomplish the purpose, we investigated and analyzed the status of INIS, domestic INIS activities, and the recent INIS projects. Especially some projects are expected to influence domestic INIS activities deeply in the near future. The analyzed results show that for better INIS activities in Korea, we need to review politically and technically on the methods to amplify the rate of the INIS input, to construct and manage the INIS local host, and to use the source documents on CD-ROMs. (author). 24 refs., 6 tabs., 6 figs

Guide to state-of-the-art electron devices

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

Concise, high quality and comparative overview of state-of-the-art electron device development, manufacturing technologies and applications Guide to State-of-the-Art Electron Devices marks the 60th anniversary of the IEEE Electron Devices Committee and the 35th anniversary of the IEEE Electron Devices Society, as such it defines the state-of-the-art of electron devices, as well as future directions across the entire field. Spans full range of electron device types such as photovoltaic devices, semiconductor manufacturing and VLSI technology and circuits, covered by IEEE Electron and Devices Society Contributed by internationally respected members of the electron devices community A timely desk reference with fully-integrated colour and a unique lay-out with sidebars to highlight the key terms Discusses the historical developments and speculates on future trends to give a more rounded picture of the topics covered A valuable resource R&D managers; engineers in the semiconductor industry; applied scientists...

A state-of-the-art review on hybrid heat pipe latent heat storage systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naghavi, M.S.; Ong, K.S.; Mehrali, M.; Badruddin, I.A.; Metselaar, H.S.C.

2015-01-01

The main advantage of latent heat thermal energy storage systems is the capability to store a large quantity of thermal energy in an isothermal process by changing phase from solid to liquid, while the most important weakness of these systems is low thermal conductivity that leads to unsuitable charging/discharging rates. Heat pipes are used in many applications – as one of the most efficient heat exchanger devices – to amplify the charging/discharging processes rate and are used to transfer heat from a source to the storage or from the storage to a sink. This review presents and critically discusses previous investigations and analysis on the incorporation of heat pipe devices into latent heat thermal energy storage with heat pipe devices. This paper categorizes different applications and configurations such as low/high temperature solar, heat exchanger and cooling systems, analytical approaches and effective parameters on the performance of hybrid HP–LHTES systems.

Groundwater movements around a repository. Phase 1, State of the art and detailed study plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindblom, U.

1977-02-01

The report was prepared as the first phase of a study of the groundwater movements around a repository for spent nuclear fuel in the precambrian bedrock of Sweden. The objectives of these studies are to provide a state of the art review of groundwater slow in the region of a repository in granitic rock, in order to provide a basis for long term containment assessments and to prepare a detailed study plan for the continuation of the project. The different processes affecting the groundwater situation for containment are given. A state of the art review of the fluid flow, geochemical, heat transfer and rock mechanics processes as they relate to containment is presented. A detailed study plan to provide a comprehensive assessment of the hydrogeological regime around the repository during its lifetime is also presented. The groundwater flow fields will provide a basis for subsequent long term containment studies. (L.B.)

Review of state-of-the-art of solar collector corrosion processes. Task 1 of solar collector studies for solar heating and cooling applications. Final technical progress report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clifford, J E; Diegle, R B

1980-04-11

The state-of-the-art of solar collector corrosion processes is reviewed, and Task 1 of a current research program on use of aqueous heat transfer fluids for solar heating and cooling is summarized. The review of available published literature has indicated that lack of quantitative information exists relative to collector corrosion at the present time, particularly for the higher temperature applications of solar heating and cooling compared to domestic water heating. Solar collector systems are reviewed from the corrosion/service life viewpoint, with emphasis on various applications, collector design, heat transfer fluids, and freeze protection methods. Available information (mostly qualitative) on collector corrosion technology is reviewed to indicate potential corrosion problem areas and corrosion prevention practices. Sources of limited quantitative data that are reviewed are current solar applications, research programs on collector corrosion, and pertinent experience in related applications of automotive cooling and non-solar heating and cooling. A data bank was developed to catalog corrosion information. Appendix A of this report is a bibliography of the data bank, with abstracts reproduced from presently available literature accessions (about 220). This report is presented as a descriptive summary of information that is contained in the data bank.

Preliminary Radiation Testing of a State-of-the-Art Commercial 14nm CMOS Processor/System-on-a-Chip

Science.gov (United States)

Szabo, Carl M., Jr.; Duncan, Adam; LaBel, Kenneth A.; Kay, Matt; Bruner, Pat; Krzesniak, Mike; Dong, Lei

2015-01-01

Hardness assurance test results of Intel state-of-the-art 14nm “Broadwell” U-series processor / System-on-a-Chip (SoC) for total ionizing dose (TID) are presented, along with exploratory results from trials at a medical proton facility. Test method builds upon previous efforts [1] by utilizing commercial laptop motherboards and software stress applications as opposed to more traditional automated test equipment (ATE).

Preliminary Radiation Testing of a State-of-the-Art Commercial 14nm CMOS Processor - System-on-a-Chip

Science.gov (United States)

Szabo, Carl M., Jr.; Duncan, Adam; LaBel, Kenneth A.; Kay, Matt; Bruner, Pat; Krzesniak, Mike; Dong, Lei

2015-01-01

Hardness assurance test results of Intel state-of-the-art 14nm Broadwell U-series processor System-on-a-Chip (SoC) for total dose are presented, along with first-look exploratory results from trials at a medical proton facility. Test method builds upon previous efforts by utilizing commercial laptop motherboards and software stress applications as opposed to more traditional automated test equipment (ATE).

The Effectiveness of Art Therapy in the Treatment of Traumatized Adults: A Systematic Review on Art Therapy and Trauma

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schouten, K.A.; Niet, G.J. De; Knipscheer, J.W.; Kleber, R.J.; Hutschemaekers, G.J.M.

2015-01-01

Art therapy has often been applied in the treatment of traumatized adults, and good results in clinical practice have been reported. However, although art therapy experts underline these benefits, the effectiveness of art therapy in trauma treatment has not been established by systematic review. The

[Injuries in the Martial Arts Judo, Taekwondo and Wrestling - A Systematic Review].

Science.gov (United States)

Jäggi, U; Joray, C P; Brülhart, Y; Luijckx, E; Rogan, S

2015-12-01

Martial arts such as judo, taekwondo and wrestling are regulated, usually athletic duels. The aim is to score better than your opponent or to win. As with any type of sport, athletes in martial arts sustain minor and major injuries, which may have many negative consequences. In addition, sports injuries and their rehabilitation generate high costs to the healthcare system. In contrast to the FIFA 11+ warm-up program, no preventive programs have been postulated for injury prevention in these martial arts. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to summarise the latest research findings and to evaluate whether initial recommendations can be given for the reduction of injuries in the martial arts judo, wrestling and taekwondo. To gain an overview of the latest research findings, we searched for systematic reviews in PEDro, PubMed, Cochrane and the internet search engine Google Scholar. The methodological quality of these reviews was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Tool for a Systematic Review (CASP), and data was extracted on the risk of injury, injury location and injury type. It was found that all three review articles are of low to moderate methodological quality. Regarding injury location, it became evident that the extremities are particularly vulnerable to injury in all three martial arts. Effusion was observed to be the most common type of injury. Due to the moderate methodological quality and the injury type of effusion, it is not possible to formulate recommendations for injury prevention. Moreover, uniform definitions should be developed to describe sports injuries. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Implementation and Use of State-of-the-Art, Cell-Based In Vitro Assays.

Science.gov (United States)

Langer, Gernot

2016-01-01

assay results in a systematic fashion and a timely manner. This microplate-based assay development strategy should result in the setting up of more robust and reliable test systems that ensure and increase the confidence in the statistical significance of the actual data generated. And, although assay miniaturisation is essential in order to achieve this, most, if not all, cell-based assays can be easily reformatted and adapted to be used in this format in a straightforward manner. This synopsis aims at summarising valuable, general observations made when implementing a diverse set of functional cellular in vitro assays at Bayer Pharma AG without claiming to deeply review all of the literature available in each and every detail. In addition, phenotypic assays (Moffat et al. 2014) or label-free detection methods (Minor 2008) are not discussed. Although this essay tries to cover the most relevant technological developments in the field, it nevertheless may express personal preferences and peculiarities of the author's approach to state-of-the-art cell-based assay development. For additional reviews covering the actual field, see Wunder et al. (2008) and Michelini et al. (2010).

Congenital pulmonary airway malformations: state-of-the-art review for pediatrician's use.

Science.gov (United States)

Leblanc, Claire; Baron, Marguerite; Desselas, Emilie; Phan, Minh Hanh; Rybak, Alexis; Thouvenin, Guillaume; Lauby, Clara; Irtan, Sabine

2017-12-01

Congenital pulmonary airway malformations or CPAM are rare developmental lung malformations, leading to cystic and/or adenomatous pulmonary areas. Nowadays, CPAM are diagnosed prenatally, improving the prenatal and immediate postnatal care and ultimately the knowledge on CPAM pathophysiology. CPAM natural evolution can lead to infections or malignancies, whose exact prevalence is still difficult to assess. The aim of this "state-of-the-art" review is to cover the recently published literature on CPAM management whether the pulmonary lesion was detected during pregnancy or after birth, the current indications of surgery or surveillance and finally its potential evolution to pleuro-pulmonary blastoma. Surgery remains the cornerstone treatment of symptomatic lesions but the postnatal management of asymptomatic CPAM remains controversial. There are pros and cons of surgical resection, as increasing rate of infections over time renders the surgery more difficult after months or years of evolution, as well as risk of malignancy, though exact incidence is still unknown. What is known: • Congenital pulmonary airway malformations (CPAM) are rare developmental lung malformations mainly antenatally diagnosed. • While the neonatal management of symptomatic CPAM is clear and includes prompt surgery, controversies remain for asymptomatic CPAM due to risk of infections and malignancies. What is new: • Increased rate of infection over time renders the surgery more difficult after months or years of evolution and pushes for recommendation of early elective surgery. • New molecular or pathological pathways may help in the distinction of type 4 CPAM from type I pleuropulmonary blastoma.

Information fusion in aquaculture: a state-of the art review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahbaz Gul HASSAN,Murtaza HASAN,Daoliang LI

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Efficient fish feeding is currently one of biggest challenges in aquaculture to enhance the production of fish quality and quantity. In this review, an information fusion approach was used to integrate multi-sensor and computer vision techniques to make fish feeding more efficient and accurate. Information fusion is a well-known technology that has been used in different fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, image processing, computer vision, sensors and wireless sensor networks. Information fusion in aquaculture is a growing field of research that is used to enhance the performance of an industrialized ecosystem. This review study surveys different fish feeding systems using multi-sensor data fusion, computer vision technology, and different food intake models. In addition, different fish behavior monitoring techniques are discussed, and the parameters of water, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, temperature etc., necessary for the fish feeding process, are examined. Moreover, the different waste management and fish disease diagnosis techniques using different technologies, expert systems and modeling are also reviewed.

Automatic liquid handling for life science: a critical review of the current state of the art.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Fanwei; Yuan, Liang; Zheng, Yuan F; Chen, Weidong

2012-06-01

Liquid handling plays a pivotal role in life science laboratories. In experiments such as gene sequencing, protein crystallization, antibody testing, and drug screening, liquid biosamples frequently must be transferred between containers of varying sizes and/or dispensed onto substrates of varying types. The sample volumes are usually small, at the micro- or nanoliter level, and the number of transferred samples can be huge when investigating large-scope combinatorial conditions. Under these conditions, liquid handling by hand is tedious, time-consuming, and impractical. Consequently, there is a strong demand for automated liquid-handling methods such as sensor-integrated robotic systems. In this article, we survey the current state of the art in automatic liquid handling, including technologies developed by both industry and research institutions. We focus on methods for dealing with small volumes at high throughput and point out challenges for future advancements.

State-of-the-Art Materials for Ultrasound-Triggered Drug Delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Sirsi, Shashank; Borden, Mark

2014-01-01

Ultrasound is a unique and exciting theranostic modality that can be used to track drug carriers, trigger drug release and improve drug deposition with high spatial precision. In this review, we briefly describe the mechanisms of interaction between drug carriers and ultrasound waves, including cavitation, streaming and hyperthermia, and how those interactions can promote drug release and tissue uptake. We then discuss the rational design of some state-of-the-art materials for ultrasound-triggered drug delivery and review recent progress for each drug carrier, focusing on the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin. These materials include nanocarrier formulations, such as liposomes and micelles, designed specifically for ultrasound-triggered drug release, as well as microbubbles, microbubble-nanocarrier hybrids, microbubble-seeded hydrogels and phase-change agents. PMID:24389162

The backstroke swimming start: state of the art.

Science.gov (United States)

de Jesus, Karla; de Jesus, Kelly; Fernandes, Ricardo J; Vilas-Boas, João Paulo; Sanders, Ross

2014-09-29

As sprint swimming events can be decided by margins as small as .01 s, thus, an effective start is essential. This study reviews and discusses the 'state of the art' literature regarding backstroke start biomechanics from 23 documents. These included two swimming specific publications, eight peer-reviewed journal articles, three from the Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming Congress series, eight from the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports Conference Proceedings, one from a Biomechanics Congress and one academic (PhD) thesis. The studies had diverse aims, including swimmers' proficiency levels and data collection settings. There was no single consensus for defining phase descriptions; and kinematics, kinetics and EMG approaches were implemented in laboratory settings. However, researchers face great challenges in improving methods of quantifying valid, reliable and accurate data between laboratory and competition conditions. For example, starting time was defined from the starting signal to distances as disparate as ∼5 m to 22.86 m in several studies. Due to recent rule changes, some of the research outcomes now refer to obsolete backstroke start techniques, and only a few studies considered the actual international rules. This literature review indicated that further research is required, in both laboratory and competition settings focusing on the combined influences of the current rules and block configuration on backstroke starting performances.

One Step Closer to the Marketplace for State-of-the-Art Wind Turbine

Science.gov (United States)

Drivetrain | News | NREL One Step Closer to the Marketplace for State-of-the-Art Wind Turbine Drivetrain One Step Closer to the Marketplace for State-of-the-Art Wind Turbine Drivetrain April 1, 2016 modeling, and testing in state-of-the-art facilities designed to put the drivetrain through its paces

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD and Electrical Overstress (EOS: The state of the art in components to systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven H. Voldman

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Electrostatic Discharge (ESD, Electrical Overstress (EOS and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC continue to impact semiconductor manufacturing, semiconductor components and systems as technologies scale from micro- to nano-electronics. The range of concern for components include semiconductor components, magnetic recording industry, MEMs, and for products from disk drives, cell phones, notebooks, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. The objective of this lecture is to address the state of the art of electrostatic discharge (ESD and electrical overstress (EOS in today’s electronic components and systems. The tutorial provides a clear picture of ESD, EOS and EMC phenomena, sources, physics, failure mechanisms, testing and qualification of components and systems. The conclusion of this talk is that ESD and EOS continue to be a concern in technologies from micro-electronics to nano-structures, and will remain a reliability and quality issue in the future.

State-of-the-Art Techniques in Treating Peripheral Nerve Injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Kubiak, Carrie A; Kung, Theodore A; Brown, David L; Cederna, Paul S; Kemp, Stephen W P

2018-03-01

Peripheral nerve injuries remain a major clinical concern, as they often lead to chronic disability and significant health care expenditures. Despite advancements in microsurgical techniques to enhance nerve repair, biological approaches are needed to augment nerve regeneration and improve functional outcomes after injury. Presented herein is a review of the current literature on state-of-the-art techniques to enhance functional recovery for patients with nerve injury. Four categories are considered: (1) electroceuticals, (2) nerve guidance conduits, (3) fat grafting, and (4) optogenetics. Significant study results are highlighted, focusing on histologic and functional outcome measures. This review documents the current state of the literature. Advancements in neuronal stimulation, tissue engineering, and cell-based therapies demonstrate promise with regard to augmenting nerve regeneration and appropriate rehabilitation. The future of treating peripheral nerve injury will include multimodality use of electroconductive conduits, fat grafting, neuronal stimulation, and optogenetics. Further clinical investigation is needed to confirm the efficacy of these technologies on peripheral nerve recovery in humans, and how best to implement this treatment for a diverse population of nerve-injured patients.

The State of Comic Art Bibliography in North America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Rhode

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Within the past two decades, several American bibliographies of comic art have been published to aid in research on comics and cartooning. Professor John Lent’s ten-volume Comic Art Bibliographies is one of the largest such projects and he began it with a self-published volume in 1986. Librarian Randy Scott published The Comic Art Collection Catalog: An Author, Artist, Title and Subject Catalog Of The Comic Art Collection, Special Collections Division, Michigan State University Libraries, whi...

MRI sequences in head and neck radiology. State of the art

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Widmann, Gerlig; Henninger, Benjamin; Kremser, Christian; Jaschke, Werner [Medical Univ. of Innsbruck (Austria). Dept. of Radiology

2017-05-15

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an essential imaging modality for the evaluation of head and neck pathologies. However, the diagnostic power of MRI is strongly related to the appropriate selection and interpretation of imaging protocols and sequences. The aim of this article is to review state-of-the-art sequences for the clinical routine in head and neck MRI and to describe the evidence for which medical question these sequences and techniques are useful. Literature review of state-of-the-art sequences in head and neck MRI. Basic sequences (T1w, T2w, T1wC+) and fat suppression techniques (TIRM/STIR, Dixon, Spectral Fat sat) are important tools in the diagnostic workup of inflammation, congenital lesions and tumors including staging. Additional sequences (SSFP (CISS, FIESTA), SPACE, VISTA, 3D-FLAIR) are used for pathologies of the cranial nerves, labyrinth and evaluation of endolymphatic hydrops in Meniere's disease. Vessel and perfusion sequences (3D-TOF, TWIST/TRICKS angiography, DCE) are used in vascular contact syndromes, vascular malformations and analysis of microvascular parameters of tissue perfusion. Diffusion-weighted imaging (EPI-DWI, non-EPI-DWI, RESOLVE) is helpful in cholesteatoma imaging, estimation of malignancy, and evaluation of treatment response and posttreatment recurrence in head and neck cancer. Understanding of MRI sequences and close collaboration with referring physicians improves the diagnostic confidence of MRI in the daily routine and drives further research in this fascinating image modality.

MRI sequences in head and neck radiology. State of the art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Widmann, Gerlig; Henninger, Benjamin; Kremser, Christian; Jaschke, Werner

2017-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an essential imaging modality for the evaluation of head and neck pathologies. However, the diagnostic power of MRI is strongly related to the appropriate selection and interpretation of imaging protocols and sequences. The aim of this article is to review state-of-the-art sequences for the clinical routine in head and neck MRI and to describe the evidence for which medical question these sequences and techniques are useful. Literature review of state-of-the-art sequences in head and neck MRI. Basic sequences (T1w, T2w, T1wC+) and fat suppression techniques (TIRM/STIR, Dixon, Spectral Fat sat) are important tools in the diagnostic workup of inflammation, congenital lesions and tumors including staging. Additional sequences (SSFP (CISS, FIESTA), SPACE, VISTA, 3D-FLAIR) are used for pathologies of the cranial nerves, labyrinth and evaluation of endolymphatic hydrops in Meniere's disease. Vessel and perfusion sequences (3D-TOF, TWIST/TRICKS angiography, DCE) are used in vascular contact syndromes, vascular malformations and analysis of microvascular parameters of tissue perfusion. Diffusion-weighted imaging (EPI-DWI, non-EPI-DWI, RESOLVE) is helpful in cholesteatoma imaging, estimation of malignancy, and evaluation of treatment response and posttreatment recurrence in head and neck cancer. Understanding of MRI sequences and close collaboration with referring physicians improves the diagnostic confidence of MRI in the daily routine and drives further research in this fascinating image modality.

The impact of mobility scooters on their users. Does their usage help or hinder?: A state of the art review.

Science.gov (United States)

Thoreau, Roselle

2015-06-01

As older people start to have difficulty in walking many choose to use a mobility scooter to help them move around. Benefitting from improved design, mobility scooters are becoming an increasingly popular mobility device and are a common sight on many streets. However, very little is known about their usage or their impact in terms of either quality of life or functional health. Whilst mobility scooters may help to improve the quality of life of their users, it is also possible that the sedentary nature of their usage results in a decline of physical functionality and therefore reduced capabilities. Before any substantial research can be carried out it is crucial to understand the importance of a mobility scooter on the lives of the people that use them and to review the initial research published on the effect of scooter use on physical health. This paper is a state-of-the-art review. It describes the current research knowledge on mobility scooters, shows where gaps in knowledge exist and where future research needs to focus.

Fatigue of Nitinol: The state-of-the-art and ongoing challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahtabi, M J; Shamsaei, Nima; Mitchell, M R

2015-10-01

Nitinol, a nearly equiatomic alloy of nickel and titanium, has been considered for a wide range of applications including medical and dental devices and implants as well as aerospace and automotive components and structures. The realistic loading condition in many of these applications is cyclic; therefore, fatigue is often the main failure mode for such components and structures. The fatigue behavior of Nitinol involves many more complexities compared with traditional metal alloys arising from its uniqueness in material properties such as superelasticity and shape memory effects. In this paper, a review of the present state-of-the-art on the fatigue behavior of superelastic Nitinol is presented. Various aspects of fatigue of Nitinol are discussed and microstructural effects are explained. Effects of material preparation and testing conditions are also reviewed. Finally, several conclusions are made and recommendations for future works are offered. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

State-of-the-art of home networking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koonen, A.M.J.; Popov, M.

2012-01-01

To introduce the Symposium on "Indoor Optical Networks: a Promising Way to a Converged Service Delivery", this presentation will give a brief overview of state-of-the-art home networking architectures, technologies and applications covering both technical and techno-economic aspects.

INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL, A STATE-OF-THE-ART REPORT

Science.gov (United States)

The objective of the study was to compile relevant background and interpretive material and prepare a state-of-the-art report which would put the...to-person communications. Section III presents basic IS and R concepts and techniques. It traces the history of traditional librarianship through...the process of communication between the originators and users of information. Section V categorizes the information system operations required to