WorldWideScience

Sample records for thick fully-depleted ccds

  1. Improved Spatial Resolution in Thick, Fully-Depleted CCDs with Enhanced Red Sensitivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fairfield, Jessamyn A.

    2005-01-01

    The point spread function (PSF) is an important measure of spatial resolution in CCDs for point-like objects, since it can affect use in imaging and spectroscopic applications. We present new data and theoretical developments in the study of lateral charge diffusion in thick, fully-depleted charge-coupled devices (CCDs) developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Because they are fully depleted, the LBNL devices have no field-free region, and diffusion can be controlled through the application of an external bias voltage. We give results for a 3512x3512 format, 10.5 ?m pixel back-illuminated p-channel CCD developed for the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP), a proposed satellite-based experiment designed to study dark energy. The PSF was measured at substrate bias voltages between 3 V and 115 V. At a bias voltage of 115V, we measure an rms diffusion of 3.7 ± 0.2 (micro)m. Lateral charge diffusion in LBNL CCDs is thus expected to meet the SNAP requirements

  2. Improved Spatial Resolution in Thick, Fully-Depleted CCDs withEnhanced Red Sensitivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fairfield, Jessamyn A.; Groom, Donald E.; Bailey, Stephen J.; Bebek, Christopher J.; Holland, Stephen E.; Karcher, Armin; Kolbe,William F.; Lorenzon, Wolfgang; Roe, Natalie A.

    2006-03-09

    The point spread function (PSF) is an important measure of spatial resolution in CCDs for point-like objects, since it affects image quality and spectroscopic resolution. We present new data and theoretical developments for lateral charge diffusion in thick, fully-depleted charge-coupled devices (CCDs) developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Because they can be over-depleted, the LBNL devices have no field-free region and diffusion is controlled through the application of an external bias voltage. We give results for a 3512 x 3512 format, 10.5 {micro}m pixel back-illuminated p-channel CCD developed for the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP), a proposed satellite-based experiment designed to study dark energy. The PSF was measured at substrate bias voltages between 3 V and 115 V. At a bias voltage of 115 V, we measure an rms diffusion of 3.7 {+-} 0.2 {micro}m. Lateral charge diffusion in LBNL CCDs will meet the SNAP requirements.

  3. Improved Spatial Resolution in Thick, Fully-Depleted CCDs withEnhanced Red Sensitivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fairfield, Jessamyn A.

    2005-11-10

    The point spread function (PSF) is an important measure ofspatial resolution in CCDs for point-like objects, since it can affectuse in imaging and spectroscopic applications. We present new data andtheoretical developments in the study of lateral charge diffusion inthick, fully-depleted charge-coupled devices (CCDs) developed at LawrenceBerkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Because they are fully depleted, theLBNL devices have no field-free region, and diffusion can be controlledthrough the application of an external bias voltage. We give results fora 3512x3512 format, 10.5 ?m pixel back-illuminated p-channel CCDdeveloped for the SuperNova/ Acceleration Probe (SNAP), a proposedsatellite-based experiment designed to study dark energy. The PSF wasmeasured at substrate bias voltages between 3 V and 115 V. At a biasvoltage of 115V, we measure an rms diffusion of 3.7 +- 0.2 ?m. Lateralcharge diffusion in LBNL CCDs is thus expected to meet the SNAPrequirements.

  4. Measurement of lateral charge diffusion in thick, fully depleted, back-illuminated CCDs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karcher, Armin; Bebek, Christopher J.; Kolbe, William F.; Maurath, Dominic; Prasad, Valmiki; Uslenghi, Michela; Wagner, Martin

    2004-06-30

    Lateral charge diffusion in back-illuminated CCDs directly affects the point spread function (PSF) and spatial resolution of an imaging device. This can be of particular concern in thick, back-illuminated CCDs. We describe a technique of measuring this diffusion and present PSF measurements for an 800 x 1100, 15 mu m pixel, 280 mu m thick, back-illuminated, p-channel CCD that can be over-depleted. The PSF is measured over a wavelength range of 450 nm to 650 nm and at substrate bias voltages between 6 V and 80 V.

  5. Physics of fully depleted CCDs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holland, S E; Bebek, C J; Kolbe, W F; Lee, J S

    2014-01-01

    In this work we present simple, physics-based models for two effects that have been noted in the fully depleted CCDs that are presently used in the Dark Energy Survey Camera. The first effect is the observation that the point-spread function increases slightly with the signal level. This is explained by considering the effect on charge-carrier diffusion due to the reduction in the magnitude of the channel potential as collected signal charge acts to partially neutralize the fixed charge in the depleted channel. The resulting reduced voltage drop across the carrier drift region decreases the vertical electric field and increases the carrier transit time. The second effect is the observation of low-level, concentric ring patterns seen in uniformly illuminated images. This effect is shown to be most likely due to lateral deflection of charge during the transit of the photo-generated carriers to the potential wells as a result of lateral electric fields. The lateral fields are a result of space charge in the fully depleted substrates arising from resistivity variations inherent to the growth of the high-resistivity silicon used to fabricate the CCDs

  6. Fully Depleted Charge-Coupled Devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holland, Stephen E.

    2006-01-01

    We have developed fully depleted, back-illuminated CCDs that build upon earlier research and development efforts directed towards technology development of silicon-strip detectors used in high-energy-physics experiments. The CCDs are fabricated on the same type of high-resistivity, float-zone-refined silicon that is used for strip detectors. The use of high-resistivity substrates allows for thick depletion regions, on the order of 200-300 um, with corresponding high detection efficiency for near-infrared and soft x-ray photons. We compare the fully depleted CCD to the p-i-n diode upon which it is based, and describe the use of fully depleted CCDs in astronomical and x-ray imaging applications

  7. Model-Independent Characterization of Charge Diffusion in Thick Fully Depleted CCDs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Connor, P.; Takacs, P.; Lawrence, D.; Frank, J.

    2011-01-01

    We present a new method to measure charge diffusion in charge-coupled devices (CCDs). The method is based on a statistical characterization of the shapes of charge clouds produced by low-energy X-rays using known properties of the two-dimensional Gaussian point-spread function (PSF). The algorithm produces reliable upper and lower bounds on the size of the PSF for photons converting near the entrance window of a device. It is optimally suited to the case of thick back-illuminated CCDs where the X-ray absorption length is smaller than the silicon thickness and the diffusion scale is of the same order as the pixel size. The only assumptions are that the charge cloud width is a monotonically increasing function of distance from the conversion point to the buried channel, and that the conversion probability is peaked at the surface. Otherwise, no physical models of carrier transport or knowledge of the electric field profile in the CCD are needed. In suboptimal conditions, the upper bound increases and the lower bound is unaffected, so confidence in the correctness of results is retained. The new method has been benchmarked against Monte Carlo simulations and tested on X-ray images measured on thick high-resistivity prototype CCDs for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. In Monte Carlo simulations of noiseless images having the optimal diffusion scale, the upper bound approximated the true PSF within 5%, increasing to 10% in simulations with added noise. Even with severely undersampled or truncated PSFs, the method brackets the true value to within 25%. Our method is accurate and computationally efficient and offers a fast and simple experimental setup.

  8. Precision astronomy with imperfect fully depleted CCDs — an introduction and a suggested lexicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stubbs, C W

    2014-01-01

    This paper summarizes the introductory presentation for a workshop (held Nov 18, 19 2013 at Brookhaven National Laboratory) that explored the challenges associated with making precision astronomical measurements using deeply depleted = '''thick'' =''high-ρ'' CCDs. While thick CCDs do provide definite advantages in terms of increased quantum efficiency at wavelengths 700 nm < λ < 1.1 μm and reduced fringing from atmospheric emission lines, these devices also exhibit undesirable features that pose a challenge to precision determination of the positions, fluxes, and shapes of astronomical objects, and for the precision extraction of features in astronomical spectra. For example, the assumptions of a perfectly rectilinear pixel grid and of an intensity-independent point spread function become increasingly invalid as we push to higher precision measurements. Many of the effects seen in these devices arise from lateral electrical fields within the detector, that produce charge transport anomalies that have been previously misinterpreted as quantum efficiency variations. Performing simplistic flat-fielding therefore introduces systematic errors in the image processing pipeline. One measurement challenge we face is devising a combination of calibration methods and algorithms that can distinguish genuine quantum efficiency variations from charge transport effects. These device imperfections also confront spectroscopic applications, such as line centroid determination for precision radial velocity studies. Given the scientific benefits of improving both the precision and accuracy of astronomical measurements, we need to identify, characterize, and overcome these various detector artifacts. In retrospect, many of the detector features first identified in thick CCDs also afflict measurements made with more traditional CCD detectors, albeit often at a reduced level since the photocharge is subject to the perturbing influence of

  9. Back-illuminated, fully-depleted CCD image sensors for use in optical and near-IR astronomy

    CERN Document Server

    Groom, D E; Levi, M E; Palaio, N P; Perlmutter, S; Stover, R J; Wei, M

    2000-01-01

    Charge-coupled devices (CCDs) of novel design have been fabricated at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and the first large-format science-grade chips for astronomical imaging are now being characterized at Lick Observatory. They are made on 300-mu m thick n-type high-resistivity (approx 10 000 OMEGA cm) silicon wafers, using a technology developed at LBNL to fabricate low-leakage silicon microstrip detectors for high-energy physics. A bias voltage applied via a transparent contact on the back side fully depletes the substrate, making the entire volume photosensitive and ensuring that charge reaches the potential wells with minimal lateral diffusion. The development of a thin, transparent back-side contact compatible with fully depleted operation permits blue response comparable to that obtained with thinned CCDs. Since the entire region is active, high quantum efficiency is maintained to nearly lambda=1000 nm, above which the silicon band gap effectively truncates photoproduction. Early character...

  10. Radiation-tolerant, red-sensitive CCDs for dark energy investigations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roe, N.A.; Bebek, C.J.; Dawson, K.S.; Emes, J.H.; Fabricius, M.H.; Fairfield, J.A.; Groom, D.E.; Holland, S.E.; Karcher, A.; Kolbe, W.F.; Palaio, N.P.; Wang, G.

    2007-01-01

    We describe the development of thick (200-300 μm), fully depleted p-channel, charge-coupled devices (CCDs). The advantages of these CCDs relative to conventional thin, n-channel CCDs include: high quantum efficiency over a wide range of wavelengths, extending into the near-infrared; negligible fringing at long (∼900-1000 nm) wavelengths; improved radiation tolerance; and a small point-spread function controlled through the application of the bias voltage. These visible-to-near-infrared light detectors are good candidates for the next generation of large focal-plane mosaics under development for dark energy measurements. The Dark Energy Survey has selected these CCDs for the focal plane of a new camera being designed for the Blanco 4 m telescope at CTIO in Chile. They also meet all the requirements for the visible-light detectors for the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe, a satellite-based experiment designed to make precision measurements of dark energy

  11. Point-spread function in depleted and partially depleted CCDs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Groom, D.E.; Eberhard, P.H.; Holland, S.E.; Levi, M.E.; Palaio, N.P.; Perlmutter, S.; Stover, R.J.; Wei, M.

    1999-01-01

    The point spread function obtainable in an astronomical instrument using CCD readout is limited by a number of factors, among them the lateral diffusion of charge before it is collected in the potential wells. They study this problem both theoretically and experimentally, with emphasis on the thick CCDs on high-resistivity n-type substrates being developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  12. Charge Diffusion Variations in Pan-STARRS1 CCDs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magnier, Eugene A.; Tonry, J. L.; Finkbeiner, D.; Schlafly, E.; Burgett, W. S.; Chambers, K. C.; Flewelling, H. A.; Hodapp, K. W.; Kaiser, N.; Kudritzki, R.-P.; Metcalfe, N.; Wainscoat, R. J.; Waters, C. Z.

    2018-06-01

    Thick back-illuminated deep-depletion CCDs have superior quantum efficiency over previous generations of thinned and traditional thick CCDs. As a result, they are being used for wide-field imaging cameras in several major projects. We use observations from the Pan-STARRS 3π survey to characterize the behavior of the deep-depletion devices used in the Pan-STARRS 1 Gigapixel Camera. We have identified systematic spatial variations in the photometric measurements and stellar profiles that are similar in pattern to the so-called “tree rings” identified in devices used by other wide-field cameras (e.g., DECam and Hypersuprime Camera). The tree-ring features identified in these other cameras result from lateral electric fields that displace the electrons as they are transported in the silicon to the pixel location. In contrast, we show that the photometric and morphological modifications observed in the GPC1 detectors are caused by variations in the vertical charge transportation rate and resulting charge diffusion variations.

  13. Commissioning of the new GMOS-N Hamamatsu CCDs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scharwaechter, Julia; Chiboucas, Kristin; Gimeno, German; Boucher, Luc; White, John; Tapia, Eduardo; Lundquist, Michael; Rippa, Mathew; Labrie, Kathleen; Murowinski, Richard; Lazo, Manuel; Miller, Jennifer

    2017-06-01

    We report on the commissioning of the new Hamamatsu fully-depleted CCDs for GMOS-N, installed in the instrument in February 2017. The Hamamatsu detectors replace the e2v deep depletion devices which had been in operation since 2011. The new GMOS-N detector array is expected to provide improved red sensitivity compared to the e2v devices at wavelengths longer than ~900 nm. The commissioning of the new detector array for GMOS-N marks the final step in upgrading the two GMOS instruments at Gemini North and South with Hamamatsu detectors.

  14. Fabrication, test and performance of very large X-ray CCDs designed for astrophysical applications

    CERN Document Server

    Soltau, H; Meidinger, N; Stoetter, D; Strüder, L; Trümper, J E; Zanthier, C V; Braeuniger, H; Briel, U; Carathanassis, D; Dennerl, K; Engelhard, S; Haberl, F; Hartmann, R; Hartner, G; Hauff, D; Hippmann, H; Holl, P; Kendziorra, E; Krause, N; Lechner, P; Pfeffermann, E; Popp, M; Reppin, C; Seitz, H; Solc, P; Stadlbauer, T; Weber, U; Weichert, U

    2000-01-01

    A 6x6 cm sup 2 large X-ray CCD has been developed and fabricated at the Semiconductor Laboratory of the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik. The CCD has been designed for the focal plane cameras of two satellite missions. The concept is a fully depleted pn-CCD which is sensitive over the whole wafer thickness of about 300 mu m. It has been especially developed for X-ray detection delivering a high quantum efficiency over the energy range between 0.2 and 15 keV. A production yield of 27% was achieved. Seven good (almost) defect-free wafers were produced within the performance requirements, i.e. for temperatures below 180 K they show a homogeneous noise level smaller than 5 e sup - , a uniform spectral response with an energy resolution of 130 eV for Mn-K subalpha and a reduction of the sensitive area due to defects by less than 0.3%. Three CCDs have now been integrated in the flight cameras. The presentation comprises special aspects related with the fabrication of very large CCDs, a summary of ...

  15. Transverse electric fields' effects in the Dark Energy Camera CCDs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plazas, A A; Sheldon, E S; Bernstein, G M

    2014-01-01

    Spurious electric fields transverse to the surface of thick CCDs displace the photo-generated charges, effectively modifying the pixel area and producing noticeable signals in astrometric and photometric measurements. We use data from the science verification period of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) to characterize these effects in the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) CCDs, where the transverse fields manifest as concentric rings (impurity gradients or ''tree rings'') and bright stripes near the boundaries of the detectors (''edge distortions'') with relative amplitudes of about 1% and 10%, respectively. Using flat-field images, we derive templates in the five DES photometric bands (grizY) for the tree rings and the edge distortions as a function of their position on each DECam detector. Comparison of the astrometric and photometric residuals confirms their nature as pixel-size variations. The templates are directly incorporated into the derivation of photometric and astrometric residuals. The results presented in these proceedings are a partial report of analysis performed before the workshop ''Precision Astronomy with Fully depleted CDDs'' at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Additional work is underway, and the final results and analysis will be published elsewhere (Plazas, Bernstein and Sheldon 2014, in prep.)

  16. Dielectric response of fully and partially depleted ferroelectric thin films and inversion of the thickness effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Misirlioglu, I B; Yildiz, M

    2013-01-01

    We study the effect of full and partial depletion on the dielectric response characteristics of ferroelectric thin films with impurities via a computational approach. Using a thermodynamic approach along with the fundamental equations for semiconductors, we show that films with partial depletion display unique features and an enhanced dielectric response compared with those fully depleted. We find that the capacitance peak at switching can be significantly suppressed in the case of high impurity densities (>10 25 m −3 ) with relatively low ionization energy, of the order of 0.5 eV. For conserved number of species in films, electromigration of ionized impurities at room temperature is negligible and has nearly no effect on the dielectric response. In films with high impurity density, the dielectric response at zero bias is enhanced with respect to charge-free films or those with relatively low impurity density ( 24 m −3 ). We demonstrate that partially depleted films should be expected to exhibit peculiar capacitance–voltage characteristics at low and high bias and that the thickness effect probed in experiments in ferroelectric thin films could be entirely inverted in thin films with depletion charges where a higher dielectric response can be measured in thicker films. Therefore, depletion charge densities in ferroelectric thin films should be estimated before size-effect-related studies. Finally, we noted that these findings are in good qualitative agreement with dielectric measurements carried out on PbZr x Ti 1−x O 3 . (paper)

  17. A new memory effect (MSD) in fully depleted SOI MOSFETs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bawedin, M.; Cristoloveanu, S.; Yun, J. G.; Flandre, D.

    2005-09-01

    We demonstrate that the transconductance and drain current of fully depleted MOSFETs can display an interesting time-dependent hysteresis. This new memory effect, called meta-stable dip (MSD), is mainly due to the long carrier generation lifetime in the silicon film. Our parametric analysis shows that the memory window can be adjusted in view of practical applications. Various measurement conditions and devices with different doping, front oxide and silicon film thicknesses are systematically explored. The MSD effect can be generalized to several fully depleted CMOS technologies. The MSD mechanism is discussed and validated by two-dimensional simulations results.

  18. First tests with fully depleted PN-CCD's

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strueder, L.; Lutz, G.; Sterzik, M.; Holl, P.; Kemmer, J.; Prechtel, U.; Ziemann, T.; Rehak, P.

    1987-01-01

    We have fabricated 280 μm thick fully depletable pn CCD's on high resistivity silicon (/rho/ ∼ 2.5 kΩcm). Its operation is based on the semiconductor drift chamber principle proposed by Gatti and Rheak. They are designed as energy and position sensitive radiation detector for (minimum) ionizing particles and X-ray imaging. Two dimensional semiconductor device modeling demonstrates the basic charge transer mechanisms. Prototypes of the detectors have been tested in static and dynamic conditions. A preliminary charge transfer inefficiency was determined to 6 x 10/sup/minus/3/. The charge loss during the transfer is discussed and as a consequence we have developed an improved design for a second fabrication iteration which is now being produced. 4 refs., 15 figs

  19. Performance of back supportless CCDs for the NeXT mission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takagi, Shin-ichiro; Go Tsuru, Takeshi; Matsumoto, Hironori; Koyama, Katsuji; Tsunemi, Hiroshi; Miyata, Emi; Miyazaki, Satoshi; Kamata, Yukiko; Muramatsu, Masaharu; Suzuki, Hisanori; Miyaguchi, Kazuhisa

    2005-01-01

    New X-ray Telescope (NeXT) will be the next Japanese X-ray astronomical satellite, which will be launched around 2010. A multilayer super mirror will give NeXT a large effective area across the 0.1-80keV band. This wide bandpass requires a focal plane detector that is also sensitive along the entire energy band. As the focal plane detector for NeXT, we have been developing a Wideband hybrid X-ray Imager (WXI) consisting of X-ray CCDs and pixelized CdTe detector. The X-ray CCD of the WXI is required to maintain high quantum efficiency up to the high-energy band while allowing hard X-rays to pass undetected through the depletion (sensitive) layer. In order to meet these requirements, we have been developing a back supportless CCD (BS-CCD) which has a thick depletion layer, a thinned Si wafer and a back supportless structure. As the first step, we manufactured a test model of BS-CCD in order to (1) learn the handling and thinning process and (2) confirm that there is no change of the performance. For the mechanical strength and the safe handling of the wafer, we decided to thin the wafer to ∼200μm. We verified the thickness of the depletion layer and wafer of the BS-CCD to be about 70 and 190μm, respectively. The energy resolution at 5.9keV of 144eV and the read-out noise of 7 electrons (rms) are equal to those of an un-thinned CCD, hence, we confirmed that our thinning process has no effect on the performance

  20. Escape peak ratios in silicon X-ray charge coupled devices (CCDs)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCarthy, K.J.; Owens, A.; Keay, A.

    1997-01-01

    The intensity of the escape peak from the CCDs developed for the Joint European X-ray Telescope (JET-X) has been investigated over the energy range 2-10 keV. Both measured and calculated escape peak ratios (i.e., the ratio of counts in the escape peak to the sum of the counts in the escape and main peaks) are found to be in excellent agreement for all event sizes (i.e., single pixel events, 1 and 2 pixel events, etc.). Using a Monte Carlo simulation the escape peak ratio has been investigated as a function of pixel size and depletion depth. For completeness, we list the energy dependent parameterised forms for five CCDs used in three major astronomy missions. (orig.)

  1. Anomalous DIBL Effect in Fully Depleted SOI MOSFETs Using Nanoscale Gate-Recessed Channel Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avi Karsenty

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Nanoscale Gate-Recessed Channel (GRC Fully Depleted- (FD- SOI MOSFET device with a silicon channel thickness (tSi as low as 2.2 nm was first tested at room temperature for functionality check and then tested at low temperature (77 K for I-V characterizations. In spite of its FD-SOI nanoscale thickness and long channel feature, the device has surprisingly exhibited a Drain-Induced Barrier Lowering (DIBL effect at RT. However, this effect was suppressed at 77 K. If the apparition of such anomalous effect can be explained by a parasitic short channel transistor located at the edges of the channel, its suppression is explained by the decrease of the potential barrier between the drain and the channel when lowering the temperature.

  2. Characterising CCDs with cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fisher-Levine, M.; Nomerotski, A.

    2015-01-01

    The properties of cosmic ray muons make them a useful probe for measuring the properties of thick, fully depleted CCD sensors. The known energy deposition per unit length allows measurement of the gain of the sensor's amplifiers, whilst the straightness of the tracks allows for a crude assessment of the static lateral electric fields at the sensor's edges. The small volume in which the muons deposit their energy allows measurement of the contribution to the PSF from the diffusion of charge as it drifts across the sensor. In this work we present a validation of the cosmic ray gain measurement technique by comparing with radioisotope gain measurments, and calculate the charge diffusion coefficient for prototype LSST sensors

  3. Fully depleted back-illuminated p-channel CCD development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bebek, Chris J.; Bercovitz, John H.; Groom, Donald E.; Holland, Stephen E.; Kadel, Richard W.; Karcher, Armin; Kolbe, William F.; Oluseyi, Hakeem M.; Palaio, Nicholas P.; Prasad, Val; Turko, Bojan T.; Wang, Guobin

    2003-07-08

    An overview of CCD development efforts at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is presented. Operation of fully-depleted, back-illuminated CCD's fabricated on high resistivity silicon is described, along with results on the use of such CCD's at ground-based observatories. Radiation damage and point-spread function measurements are described, as well as discussion of CCD fabrication technologies.

  4. X-ray CCD image sensor with a thick depletion region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saito, Hirobumi; Watabe, Hiroshi.

    1984-01-01

    To develop a solid-state image sensor for high energy X-ray above 1 -- 2 keV, basic studies have been made on the CCD (charge coupled device) with a thick depletion region. A method of super-imposing a high DC bias voltage on low voltage signal pulses was newly proposed. The characteristics of both SCCD and BCCD were investigated, and their ability as X-ray sensors was compared. It was found that a depletion region of 60 μm thick was able to be obtained with ordinary doping density of 10 20 /m 3 , and that even thicker over 1 mm depletion region was able to be obtained with doping density of about 10 18 /m 3 , and a high bias voltage above 1 kV was able to be applied. It is suggested that the CCD image sensors for 8 keV or 24 keV X-ray can be realized since the absorption length of these X-ray in Si is about 60 μm and 1 mm, respectively. As for the characteristics other than the depletion thickness, the BCCD is preferable to SCCD for the present purpose because of lower noise and dark current. As for the transfer method, the frame-transfer method is recommended. (Aoki, K.)

  5. CCD Development Progress at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

    OpenAIRE

    Kolbe, W.F.; Holland, S.E.; Bebek, C.J.

    2006-01-01

    P-channel CCD imagers, 200-300um thick, fully depleted, and back-illuminat ed are being developed for scientific applications including ground- and space-based astronomy and x-ray detection. These thick devices have extended IR response, good point-spread function (PSF) and excellent radiation tolerance. Initially, these CCDs were made in-house at LBNL using 100 mm diameter wafers. Fabrication on high-resistivity 150 mm wafers is now proceeding according to a model in which the wafers are fir...

  6. Anomalous radiation effects in fully depleted SOI MOSFETs fabricated on SIMOX

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ying; Niu, Guofu; Cressler, J. D.; Patel, J.; Marshall, C. J.; Marshall, P. W.; Kim, H. S.; Reed, R. A.; Palmer, M. J.

    2001-12-01

    We investigate the proton tolerance of fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFETs with H-gate and regular-gate structural configurations. For the front-gate characteristics, the H-gate does not show the edge leakage observed in the regular-gate transistor. An anomalous kink in the back-gate linear I/sub D/-V/sub GS/ characteristics of the fully depleted SOI nFETs has been observed at high radiation doses. This kink is attributed to charged traps generated in the bandgap at the buried oxide/silicon film interface during irradiation. Extensive two-dimensional simulations with MEDICI were used to understand the physical origin of this kink. We also report unusual self-annealing effects in the devices when they are cooled to liquid nitrogen temperature.

  7. Special Issue: Planar Fully-Depleted SOI technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allibert, F.; Hiramoto, T.; Nguyen, B. Y.

    2016-03-01

    We are in the era of mobile computing with smart handheld devices and remote data storage "in the cloud," with devices that are almost always on and driven by needs of high data transmission rate, instant access/connection and long battery life. With all the ambitious requirements for better performance with lower power consumption, the SoC solution must also be cost-effective in order to capture the large, highly-competitive consumer mobile and wearable markets. The Fully-Depleted SOI device/circuit is a unique option that can satisfy all these requirements and has made tremendous progress in development for various applications and adoption by foundries, integrated device manufacturers (IDM), and fabless companies in the last 3 years.

  8. New Insights into Fully-Depleted SOI Transistor Response During Total Dose Irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burns, J.A.; Dodd, P.E.; Keast, C.L.; Schwank, J.R.; Shaneyfelt, M.R.; Wyatt, P.W.

    1999-01-01

    Worst-case bias configuration for total-dose testing fully-depleted SOI transistors was found to be process dependent. No evidence was found for total-dose induced snap back. These results have implications for hardness assurance testing

  9. New insights into fully-depleted SOI transistor response during total-dose irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwank, J.R.; Shaneyfelt, M.R.; Dodd, P.E.; Burns, J.A.; Keast, C.L.; Wyatt, P.W.

    1999-01-01

    In this paper, we present irradiation results on 2-fully depleted processes (HYSOI6, RKSOI) that show SOI (silicon on insulator) device response can be more complicated than originally suggested by others. The major difference between the 2 process versions is that the RKSOI process incorporates special techniques to minimize pre-irradiation parasitic leakage current from trench sidewalls. Transistors were irradiated at room temperature using 10 keV X-ray source. Worst-case bias configuration for total-dose testing fully-depleted SOI transistors was found to be process dependent. It appears that the worst-case bias for HYPOI6 process is the bias that causes the largest increase in sidewall leakage. The RKSOI process shows a different response during irradiation, the transition response appears to be dominated by charge trapping in the buried oxide. These results have implications for hardness assurance testing. (A.C.)

  10. Characterization of orthogonal transfer array CCDs for the WIYN one degree imager

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesser, Michael; Ouellette, David; Boroson, Todd; Harbeck, Daniel; Martin, Pierre; Jacoby, George; Cavin, John; Sawyer, David; Boggs, Kasey; Bredthauer, Richard

    2012-03-01

    The WIYN One Degree Imager (ODI) will provide a one degree field of view for the WIYN 3.5 m telescope located on Kitt Peak near Tucson, Arizona. Its focal plane consists of an 8x8 grid of Orthogonal Transfer Array (OTA) CCD detectors. These detectors are the STA2200 OTA CCDs designed and fabricated by Semiconductor Technology Associates, Inc. and backside processed at the University of Arizona Imaging Technology Laboratory. Several lot runs of the STA2200 detectors have been fabricated. We have backside processed devices from these different lots and provide detector performance characterization, including noise, CTE, cosmetics, quantum efficiency, and some orthogonal transfer characteristics. We discuss the performance differences for the devices with different silicon thickness and resistivity. A fully buttable custom detector package has been developed for this project which allows hybridization of the silicon detectors directly onto an aluminum nitride substrate with an embedded pin grid array. This package is mounted on a silicon-aluminum alloy which provides a flat imaging surface of less than 20 microns peakvalley at the -100 C operating temperature. Characterization of the package performance, including low temperature profilometry, is described in this paper.

  11. X-ray analysis of fully depleted CCDs with small pixel size

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kotov, I.V.; Haupt, J.; Kubánek, Petr; O'Connor, P.; Takacs, P.

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 787, Jul (2015), s. 12-19 ISSN 0168-9002 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : charge diffusion * Charge transfer efficiency * CTE * CCD Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics OBOR OECD: Astronomy (including astrophysics,space science) Impact factor: 1.200, year: 2015

  12. Speckle Imaging of Binary Stars with Large-Format CCDs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horch, E.; Ninkov, Z.; Slawson, R. W.; van Altena, W. F.; Meyer, R. D.; Girard, T. M.

    1997-12-01

    In the past, bare (unintensified) CCDs have not been widely used in speckle imaging for two main reasons: 1) the readout rate of most scientific-grade CCDs is too slow to be able to observe at the high frame rates necessary to capture speckle patterns efficiently, and 2) the read noise of CCDs limits the detectability of fainter objects where it becomes difficult to distinguish between speckles and noise peaks in the image. These facts have led to the current supremacy of intensified imaging systems (such as intensified-CCDs) in this field, which can typically be read out at video rates or faster. We have developed a new approach that uses a large format CCD not only to detect the incident photons but also to record many speckle patterns before the chip is read out. This approach effectively uses the large area of the CCD as a physical ``memory cache'' of previous speckle data frames. The method is described, and binary star observations from the University of Toronto Southern Observatory 60-cm telescope and the Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-NOAO (WIYN) 3.5-m telescope are presented. Plans for future observing and instrumentation improvements are also outlined.

  13. Fully depleted CMOS pixel sensor development and potential applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baudot, J.; Kachel, M. [Universite de Strasbourg, IPHC, 23 rue du Loess 67037 Strasbourg (France); CNRS, UMR7178, 67037 Strasbourg (France)

    2015-07-01

    CMOS pixel sensors are often opposed to hybrid pixel sensors due to their very different sensitive layer. In standard CMOS imaging processes, a thin (about 20 μm) low resistivity epitaxial layer acts as the sensitive volume and charge collection is mostly driven by thermal agitation. In contrast, the so-called hybrid pixel technology exploits a thick (typically 300 μm) silicon sensor with high resistivity allowing for the depletion of this volume, hence charges drift toward collecting electrodes. But this difference is fading away with the recent availability of some CMOS imaging processes based on a relatively thick (about 50 μm) high resistivity epitaxial layer which allows for full depletion. This evolution extents the range of applications for CMOS pixel sensors where their known assets, high sensitivity and granularity combined with embedded signal treatment, could potentially foster breakthrough in detection performances for specific scientific instruments. One such domain is the Xray detection for soft energies, typically below 10 keV, where the thin sensitive layer was previously severely impeding CMOS sensor usage. Another application becoming realistic for CMOS sensors, is the detection in environment with a high fluence of non-ionizing radiation, such as hadron colliders. However, when considering highly demanding applications, it is still to be proven that micro-circuits required to uniformly deplete the sensor at the pixel level, do not mitigate the sensitivity and efficiency required. Prototype sensors in two different technologies with resistivity higher than 1 kΩ, sensitive layer between 40 and 50 μm and featuring pixel pitch in the range 25 to 50 μm, have been designed and fabricated. Various biasing architectures were adopted to reach full depletion with only a few volts. Laboratory investigations with three types of sources (X-rays, β-rays and infrared light) demonstrated the validity of the approach with respect to depletion, keeping a

  14. 500 MHz transient digitizers based on GaAs CCDs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bryman, D A; Constable, M; Cresswell, J V; Daviel, A; LeNoble, M; Mildenberger, J; Poutissou, R

    1996-11-01

    A system of 500 MHz transient digitizers based on gallium arsenide resistive gate charged coupled devices has been developed for an experiment studying rare K decays. CCDs with dynamic range of 8-bits and 128 or 320 pixels are used as analog pipelines. The CCD`s are driven by a single phase transport system. Data readout and manipulation occurs at 15.6 MHz. (authors). 12 refs., 15 figs.

  15. Gamma noise in CCDs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Autio, G.W.; Bafico, M.A.

    1975-01-01

    The overall results indicated that charge coupled devices (CCD) used to read out detector signals or as signal processing electronics in future space sensors can operate real time in a high ionising radiation environment. Future work should be directed towards hardening the CCDs during the fabrication processes in order that they may survive total radiation doses up to 1 x 10 6 Rad (Si) and toward investigating ionising radiation effects in CCDs that are coupled with i.r. detectors. CCD devices employed to read out detector signals can be made capable of handling radiation induced excess noise and high false alarm rates generated in the detector elements. Ionising radiation effects induced in the detectors are expected to dominate those generated directly in the CCD readout structure; how much depends on the relative size of the detector. The low frequency γ induced excess noise measured in the CCD/MOSFET structure could cause problems for space sensors required to operate in real time only at the very high γ flux levels. Discrimination and circumvention techniques at the CCD ERO output are possible. γ pulses measured at the CCD ERO output were distributed in amplitude and exhibited variable pulse widths (some were many times a clock period). (author)

  16. Density dependence of electron mobility in the accumulation mode for fully depleted SOI films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Naumova, O. V., E-mail: naumova@isp.nsc.ru; Zaitseva, E. G.; Fomin, B. I.; Ilnitsky, M. A.; Popov, V. P. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Siberian Branch (Russian Federation)

    2015-10-15

    The electron mobility µ{sub eff} in the accumulation mode is investigated for undepleted and fully depleted double-gate n{sup +}–n–n{sup +} silicon-on-insulator (SOI) metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET). To determine the range of possible values of the mobility and the dominant scattering mechanisms in thin-film structures, it is proposed that the field dependence of the mobility µ{sub eff} be replaced with the dependence on the density N{sub e} of induced charge carriers. It is shown that the dependences µ{sub eff}(N{sub e}) can be approximated by the power functions µ{sub eff}(N{sub e}) ∝ N{sub e}{sup -n}, where the exponent n is determined by the chargecarrier scattering mechanism as in the mobility field dependence. The values of the exponent n in the dependences µ{sub eff}(N{sub e}) are determined when the SOI-film mode near one of its surfaces varies from inversion to accumulation. The obtained results are explained from the viewpoint of the electron-density redistribution over the SOI-film thickness and changes in the scattering mechanisms.

  17. Characterization of Prototype LSST CCDs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    OCONNOR,P.; FRANK, J.; GEARY, J.C.; GILMORE, D.K.; KOTOV, I.; RADEKA, V.; TAKACS, P.; TYSON, J.A.

    2008-06-23

    a number of new devices produced specifically to address LSST's performance goals, including flatness, QE, PSF, dark current, read noise, CTE, cosmetics, and crosstalk. The results indicate that commercially produced, thick n-channel over-depleted CCDs with excellent red response can achieve tight PSF at moderate applied substrate bias with no evidence of persistent image artifacts. We will also report ongoing studies of mosaic assembly techniques to achieve chip-to-chip co-planarity, high fill factor, and thermal stability.

  18. Band to Band Tunneling (BBT) Induced Leakage Current Enhancement in Irradiated Fully Depleted SOI Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adell, Phillipe C.; Barnaby, H. J.; Schrimpf, R. D.; Vermeire, B.

    2007-01-01

    We propose a model, validated with simulations, describing how band-to-band tunneling (BBT) affects the leakage current degradation in some irradiated fully-depleted SOI devices. The dependence of drain current on gate voltage, including the apparent transition to a high current regime is explained.

  19. Investigation of veritcal graded channel doping in nanoscale fully-depleted SOI-MOSFET

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramezani, Zeinab; Orouji, Ali A.

    2016-10-01

    For achieving reliable transistor, we investigate an amended channel doping (ACD) engineering which improves the electrical and thermal performances of fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFET. We have called the proposed structure with the amended channel doping engineering as ACD-SOI structure and compared it with a conventional fully-depleted SOI MOSFET (C-SOI) with uniform doping distribution using 2-D ATLAS simulator. The amended channel doping is a vertical graded doping that is distributed from the surface of structure with high doping density to the bottom of channel, near the buried oxide, with low doping density. Short channel effects (SCEs) and leakage current suppress due to high barrier height near the source region and electric field modification in the ACD-SOI in comparison with the C-SOI structure. Furthermore, by lower electric field and electron temperature near the drain region that is the place of hot carrier generation, we except the improvement of reliability and gate induced drain lowering (GIDL) in the proposed structure. Undesirable Self heating effect (SHE) that become a critical challenge for SOI MOSFETs is alleviated in the ACD-SOI structure because of utilizing low doping density near the buried oxide. Thus, refer to accessible results, the ACD-SOI structure with graded distribution in vertical direction is a reliable device especially in low power and high temperature applications.

  20. Development of CCDs for REXIS on OSIRIS-REx

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryu, Kevin K.; Burke, Barry E.; Clark, Harry R.; Lambert, Renee D.; O'Brien, Peter; Suntharalingam, Vyshnavi; Ward, Christopher M.; Warner, Keith; Bautz, Mark W.; Binzel, Richard P.; Kissel, Steven E.; Masterson, Rebecca A.

    2014-07-01

    The Regolith x-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) is a coded-aperture soft x-ray imaging instrument on the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to be launched in 2016. The spacecraft will fly to and orbit the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, while REXIS maps the elemental distribution on the asteroid using x-ray fluorescence. The detector consists of a 2×2 array of backilluminated 1k×1k frame transfer CCDs with a flight heritage to Suzaku and Chandra. The back surface has a thin p+-doped layer deposited by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) for maximum quantum efficiency and energy resolution at low x-ray energies. The CCDs also feature an integrated optical-blocking filter (OBF) to suppress visible and near-infrared light. The OBF is an aluminum film deposited directly on the CCD back surface and is mechanically more robust and less absorptive of x-rays than the conventional free-standing aluminum-coated polymer films. The CCDs have charge transfer inefficiencies of less than 10-6, and dark current of 1e-/pixel/second at the REXIS operating temperature of -60 °C. The resulting spectral resolution is 115 eV at 2 KeV. The extinction ratio of the filter is ~1012 at 625 nm.

  1. Investigation of terbium scandate as an alternative gate dielectric in fully depleted transistors

    OpenAIRE

    Roeckerath, M.; Lopes, J. M. J.; Durgun Özben, E.; Urban, C.; Schubert, J.; Mantl, S.; Jia, Y.; Schlom, D.G.

    2010-01-01

    Terbium scandate thin films were deposited by e-gun evaporation on (100) silicon substrates. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and x-ray diffraction studies revealed homogeneous chemical compositions of the films. A dielectric constant of 26 and CV-curves with small hystereses were measured as well as low leakage current densities of < 1 nA/cm(2). Fully depleted n-type field-effect transistors on thin silicon-on-insulator substrates with terbium scandate gate dielectrics were fabricated ...

  2. Analytical Subthreshold Current and Subthreshold Swing Models for a Fully Depleted (FD) Recessed-Source/Drain (Re-S/D) SOI MOSFET with Back-Gate Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saramekala, Gopi Krishna; Tiwari, Pramod Kumar

    2017-08-01

    Two-dimensional (2D) analytical models for the subthreshold current and subthreshold swing of the back-gated fully depleted recessed-source/drain (Re-S/D) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) are presented. The surface potential is determined by solving the 2D Poisson equation in both channel and buried-oxide (BOX) regions, considering suitable boundary conditions. To derive closed-form expressions for the subthreshold characteristics, the virtual cathode potential expression has been derived in terms of the minimum of the front and back surface potentials. The effect of various device parameters such as gate oxide and Si film thicknesses, thickness of source/drain penetration into BOX, applied back-gate bias voltage, etc. on the subthreshold current and subthreshold swing has been analyzed. The validity of the proposed models is established using the Silvaco ATLAS™ 2D device simulator.

  3. Consensus coding sequence (CCDS) database: a standardized set of human and mouse protein-coding regions supported by expert curation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pujar, Shashikant; O'Leary, Nuala A; Farrell, Catherine M; Loveland, Jane E; Mudge, Jonathan M; Wallin, Craig; Girón, Carlos G; Diekhans, Mark; Barnes, If; Bennett, Ruth; Berry, Andrew E; Cox, Eric; Davidson, Claire; Goldfarb, Tamara; Gonzalez, Jose M; Hunt, Toby; Jackson, John; Joardar, Vinita; Kay, Mike P; Kodali, Vamsi K; Martin, Fergal J; McAndrews, Monica; McGarvey, Kelly M; Murphy, Michael; Rajput, Bhanu; Rangwala, Sanjida H; Riddick, Lillian D; Seal, Ruth L; Suner, Marie-Marthe; Webb, David; Zhu, Sophia; Aken, Bronwen L; Bruford, Elspeth A; Bult, Carol J; Frankish, Adam; Murphy, Terence; Pruitt, Kim D

    2018-01-04

    The Consensus Coding Sequence (CCDS) project provides a dataset of protein-coding regions that are identically annotated on the human and mouse reference genome assembly in genome annotations produced independently by NCBI and the Ensembl group at EMBL-EBI. This dataset is the product of an international collaboration that includes NCBI, Ensembl, HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee, Mouse Genome Informatics and University of California, Santa Cruz. Identically annotated coding regions, which are generated using an automated pipeline and pass multiple quality assurance checks, are assigned a stable and tracked identifier (CCDS ID). Additionally, coordinated manual review by expert curators from the CCDS collaboration helps in maintaining the integrity and high quality of the dataset. The CCDS data are available through an interactive web page (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CCDS/CcdsBrowse.cgi) and an FTP site (ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/CCDS/). In this paper, we outline the ongoing work, growth and stability of the CCDS dataset and provide updates on new collaboration members and new features added to the CCDS user interface. We also present expert curation scenarios, with specific examples highlighting the importance of an accurate reference genome assembly and the crucial role played by input from the research community. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research 2017.

  4. An Analytical Threshold Voltage Model of Fully Depleted (FD) Recessed-Source/Drain (Re-S/D) SOI MOSFETs with Back-Gate Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saramekala, Gopi Krishna; Tiwari, Pramod Kumar

    2016-10-01

    This paper presents an analytical threshold voltage model for back-gated fully depleted (FD), recessed-source drain silicon-on-insulator metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Analytical surface potential models have been developed at front and back surfaces of the channel by solving the two-dimensional (2-D) Poisson's equation in the channel region with appropriate boundary conditions assuming a parabolic potential profile in the transverse direction of the channel. The strong inversion criterion is applied to the front surface potential as well as on the back one in order to find two separate threshold voltages for front and back channels of the device, respectively. The device threshold voltage has been assumed to be associated with the surface that offers a lower threshold voltage. The developed model was analyzed extensively for a variety of device geometry parameters like the oxide and silicon channel thicknesses, the thickness of the source/drain extension in the buried oxide, and the applied bias voltages with back-gate control. The proposed model has been validated by comparing the analytical results with numerical simulation data obtained from ATLAS™, a 2-D device simulator from SILVACO.

  5. Molecular sensing using monolayer floating gate, fully depleted SOI MOSFET acting as an exponential transducer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takulapalli, Bharath R

    2010-02-23

    Field-effect transistor-based chemical sensors fall into two broad categories based on the principle of signal transduction-chemiresistor or Schottky-type devices and MOSFET or inversion-type devices. In this paper, we report a new inversion-type device concept-fully depleted exponentially coupled (FDEC) sensor, using molecular monolayer floating gate fully depleted silicon on insulator (SOI) MOSFET. Molecular binding at the chemical-sensitive surface lowers the threshold voltage of the device inversion channel due to a unique capacitive charge-coupling mechanism involving interface defect states, causing an exponential increase in the inversion channel current. This response of the device is in opposite direction when compared to typical MOSFET-type sensors, wherein inversion current decreases in a conventional n-channel sensor device upon addition of negative charge to the chemical-sensitive device surface. The new sensor architecture enables ultrahigh sensitivity along with extraordinary selectivity. We propose the new sensor concept with the aid of analytical equations and present results from our experiments in liquid phase and gas phase to demonstrate the new principle of signal transduction. We present data from numerical simulations to further support our theory.

  6. Improving quantum efficiency and spectral resolution of a CCD through direct manipulation of the depletion region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Craig; Ambrosi, Richard M.; Abbey, Tony; Godet, Olivier; O'Brien, R.; Turner, M. J. L.; Holland, Andrew; Pool, Peter J.; Burt, David; Vernon, David

    2008-07-01

    Future generations of X-ray astronomy instruments will require position sensitive detectors in the form of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) for X-ray spectroscopy and imaging with the ability to probe the X-ray universe with greater efficiency. This will require the development of CCDs with structures that will improve their quantum efficiency over the current state of the art. The quantum efficiency improvements would have to span a broad energy range (0.2 keV to >15 keV). These devices will also have to be designed to withstand the harsh radiation environments associated with orbits that extend beyond the Earth's magnetosphere. This study outlines the most recent work carried out at the University of Leicester focused on improving the quantum efficiency of an X-ray sensitive CCD through direct manipulation of the device depletion region. It is also shown that increased spectral resolution is achieved using this method due to a decrease in the number of multi-pixel events. A Monte Carlo and analytical models of the CCD have been developed and used to determine the depletion depths achieved through variation of the device substrate voltage, Vss. The models are also used to investigate multi-pixel event distributions and quantum efficiency as a function of depletion depth.

  7. Depletion of solar wind plasma near a planetary boundary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zwan, B.J.; Wolf, R.A.

    1976-01-01

    A mathematical model is presented that describes the squeezing of solar wind plasma out along interplanetary magnetic field lines in the region between the bow shock and the effective planetary boundary (in the case of the earth, the magnetopause). In the absence of local magnetic merging the squeezing process should create a 'depletion layer,' a region of very low plasma density just outside the magnetopause. Numerical solutions are obtained for the dimensionless magnetohydrodynamic equations describing this depletion process for the case where the solar wind magnetic field is perpendicular to the solar wind flow direction. For the case of the earth with a magnetopause standoff distance of 10 R/subE/, the theory predicts that the density should be reduced by a factor > or =2 in a layer about 700--1300 km thick if M/subA/, the Alfven Mach number in the solar wind, is equal to 8. The layer thickness should vary as M/subA/ -2 and should be approximately uniform for a large area of the magnetopause around the subsolar point. Computed layer thicknesses are somewhat smaller than those derived from Lees' axisymmetric model. Depletion layers should develop fully only where magnetic merging is locally unimportant. Scaling of the model calculations to Venus and Mars suggest layer thicknesses about 1/10 and 1/15 those of the earth, respectively, neglecting diffusion and ionospheric effects

  8. Surrounding rock abutment pressure distribution and thickness effect of dynamic catastrophic in fully mechanized sublevel mining stope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xie, G.; Yang, K.; Chang, J.; Wang, L. [Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan (China)

    2006-12-15

    Numerical simulation was carried out to analyse the distribution of surrounding rock stress with coal seams of different thickness (3.0, 5.4, 8.0, 12.0 m) based on engineering geology and exploitation technology of the 151(3) fully mechanized sublevel caving face in Xieqiao colliery. The research indicates that the variation of abutment pressure has obvious difference in coal seams of different thickness. The effect of abutment pressure distribution in seams of different thickness on coal-methane outbursts was analysed. With an increase in thickness of the caving seam, the research illustrates that the elastic energy resilience is reduced and the capability of resisting damage and deformation is strengthened in coal around the stope. The results show that fully mechanized sublevel caving slows down dynamic catastrophes. 7 refs., 4 figs.

  9. Investigation of terbium scandate as an alternative gate dielectric in fully depleted transistors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roeckerath, M.; Lopes, J. M. J.; Özben, E. Durǧun; Urban, C.; Schubert, J.; Mantl, S.; Jia, Y.; Schlom, D. G.

    2010-01-01

    Terbium scandate thin films were deposited by e-gun evaporation on (100) silicon substrates. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and x-ray diffraction studies revealed homogeneous chemical compositions of the films. A dielectric constant of 26 and CV-curves with small hystereses were measured as well as low leakage current densities of <1 nA/cm2. Fully depleted n-type field-effect transistors on thin silicon-on-insulator substrates with terbium scandate gate dielectrics were fabricated with a gate-last process. The devices show inverse subthreshold slopes of 80 mV/dec and a carrier mobility for electrons of 225 cm2/V•s was extracted.

  10. 500 MHz transient digitizers based on GaAs CCDs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryman, D.; Cresswell, J.V.; LeNoble, M.; Poutissou, R.

    1990-10-01

    A wide bandwidth transient digitizer based on a recently produced gallium arsenide charged coupled device is under development. The CCDs have 128 pixels and operate at 500 MHz. Initial testing of prototype modules in Experiment 787 at Brookhaven National Laboratory is reported. (Author) (8 refs., 10 figs.)

  11. Heterojunction fully depleted SOI-TFET with oxide/source overlap

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chander, Sweta; Bhowmick, B.; Baishya, S.

    2015-10-01

    In this work, a hetero-junction fully depleted (FD) Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) Tunnel Field Effect Transistor (TFET) nanostructure with oxide overlap on the Germanium-source region is proposed. Investigations using Synopsys Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) simulation tools reveal that the simple oxide overlap on the Germanium-source region increases the tunneling area as well as the tunneling current without degrading the band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) and improves the device performance. More importantly, the improvement is independent of gate overlap. Simulation study shows improvement in ON current, subthreshold swing (SS), OFF current, ION/IOFF ration, threshold voltage and transconductance. The proposed device with hafnium oxide (HfO2)/Aluminium Nitride (AlN) stack dielectric material offers an average subthreshold swing of 22 mV/decade and high ION/IOFF ratio (∼1010) at VDS = 0.4 V. Compared to conventional TFET, the Miller capacitance of the device shows the enhanced performance. The impact of the drain voltage variation on different parameters such as threshold voltage, subthreshold swing, transconductance, and ION/IOFF ration are also found to be satisfactory. From fabrication point of view also it is easy to utilize the existing CMOS process flows to fabricate the proposed device.

  12. A simple relation for the concentration dependence of osmotic pressure and depletion thickness in polymer solutions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fleer, G.J.; Skvortsov, A.M.; Tuinier, R.

    2007-01-01

    We propose simple expressions II/IIo = 1 + and (omega/omega(ex))(3 alpha-1) and (delta(0)/delta)(2) = 1 + (omega/omega(ex))(2 alpha) for the osmotic pressure II and the depletion thickness 6 as a function of the polymer concentration omega. Here, IIo and delta 0 correspond to the dilute limit, and

  13. Synthesis and characterization of C@CdS dots in aqueous solution and their application in labeling human gastric carcinoma cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dong, Wei, E-mail: dongwei5873@126.com [Shenyang Medical College, Department of Chemistry (China); Zhou, Siqi [Fengtian Hospital Affiliated to Shenyang Medical College, ICU (China); Dong, Yan [Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Experiment Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine Department (China); Wang, Jingwen; Liu, Shuang; Zhu, Pengxia [Shenyang Medical College, Department of Chemistry (China)

    2015-03-15

    Colloidal carbon spheres coated with cadmium sulfide nanoparticle quantum dots (C@CdS dots) with the particle size smaller than 50 nm were synthesized by an aqueous approach. The effects of different reaction times, temperatures, and pH values were carefully investigated to optimize the synthesis conditions. The as-prepared C@CdS dots were linked with mouse anti-human carcinoembryonic antigen antibody and goat anti-mouse immunoglobulin (IgG) to directly and indirectly label fixed human gastric carcinoma cells, respectively. The cytotoxicity of the C@CdS dots was also tested using the human gastric carcinoma cells. No apparent cytotoxicity was observed, which suggested the potential application of the as-prepared C@CdS dots in bioimaging.

  14. Depleted Monolithic Pixels (DMAPS) in a 150 nm technology: lab and beam results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obermann, T.; Hemperek, T.; Hügging, F.; Krüger, H.; Pohl, D.-L.; Wermes, N.; Schwenker, B.

    2017-01-01

    The fully depleted monolithic active pixel sensor (DMAPS) is a new concept integrating full CMOS circuitry onto a fully depletable silicon substrate wafer. The realization of prototypes of the DMAPS concept relies on the availability of multiple well CMOS processes and high resistive substrates. The CMOS foundry ESPROS Photonics offers both and was chosen for prototyping. Two prototypes, EPCB01 and EPCB02, were developed in a 150 nm process on a high resistive n-type wafer of 50 μm thickness. The prototypes have 352 square pixels of 40 μm pitch and small n-well charge collection node with very low capacitance (n + -implantation size: 5 μm by 5 μm) and about 150 transistors per pixel (CSA and discriminator plus a small digital part).

  15. Performance evaluation of a fully depleted monolithic pixel detector chip in 150 nm CMOS technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obermann, Theresa

    2017-06-01

    The depleted monolithic active pixel sensor (DMAPS) is a new concept integrating full CMOS circuitry onto a (fully) depletable silicon substrate wafer. The realization of prototypes of the DMAPS concept relies on the availability of multiple well CMOS processes and highly resistive substrates. The CMOS foundry ESPROS Photonics offers both and was chosen for prototyping. Two prototypes, EPCB01 and EPCB02, developed in a 150 nm process on a highly resistive n-type wafer of 50 μm thickness, were characterized. The prototypes have 352 square pixels of 40 μm pitch and a small n-well charge collection node with very low capacitance of 5 fF (n + -implantation size: 5 μm x 5 μm) and about 150 transistors per pixel (CSA and discriminator plus a small digital part). The characterization of the prototypes demonstrates the proof of principle of the concept. Prior to irradiation the prototypes show a signal from a minimum ionizing particle ranging from 2400 e - to 3000 e - while the noise is 30 e - due to the low capacitance. After the irradiation of the prototypes with neutrons up to a fluence of 5 x 10 14 neutrons/cm 2 the performance suffers from the radiation damage leading to a signal of 1000 e - and a higher noise of 60 e - due to the increase of the leakage current. The detection efficiency of the prototypes reduces from 94 % to 26 % after the fluence of 5 x 10 14 particles/cm 2 . Due to the small fill factor the detection efficiency shows are strong dependence on the position within the pixel after irradiation. Thus the DMAPS concept with low fill factor can be used for precise vertex reconstruction in High Energy Physics experiments without severe performance loss up to moderate fluences (< 1 x 10 14 particles/cm 2 ). The expected particle fluences inside of the volume of the upgrade of the ATLAS pixel detector exceed this limit. However, possible applications could be at future linear collider (ILC or CLIC) experiments and B-factories where the low material budget

  16. Soft X-ray radiation damage in EM-CCDs used for Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gopinath, D.; Soman, M.; Holland, A.; Keelan, J.; Hall, D.; Holland, K.; Colebrook, D.

    2018-02-01

    Advancement in synchrotron and free electron laser facilities means that X-ray beams with higher intensity than ever before are being created. The high brilliance of the X-ray beam, as well as the ability to use a range of X-ray energies, means that they can be used in a wide range of applications. One such application is Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS). RIXS uses the intense and tuneable X-ray beams in order to investigate the electronic structure of materials. The photons are focused onto a sample material and the scattered X-ray beam is diffracted off a high resolution grating to disperse the X-ray energies onto a position sensitive detector. Whilst several factors affect the total system energy resolution, the performance of RIXS experiments can be limited by the spatial resolution of the detector used. Electron-Multiplying CCDs (EM-CCDs) at high gain in combination with centroiding of the photon charge cloud across several detector pixels can lead to sub-pixel spatial resolution of 2-3 μm. X-ray radiation can cause damage to CCDs through ionisation damage resulting in increases in dark current and/or a shift in flat band voltage. Understanding the effect of radiation damage on EM-CCDs is important in order to predict lifetime as well as the change in performance over time. Two CCD-97s were taken to PTB at BESSY II and irradiated with large doses of soft X-rays in order to probe the front and back surfaces of the device. The dark current was shown to decay over time with two different exponential components to it. This paper will discuss the use of EM-CCDs for readout of RIXS spectrometers, and limitations on spatial resolution, together with any limitations on instrument use which may arise from X-ray-induced radiation damage.

  17. 500 MHz transient digitizers based on GaAs CCDs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryman, D.A.; Constable, M.; Cresswell, J.V.; Daviel, A.; LeNoble, M.; Mildenberger, J.; Poutissou, R.

    1996-11-01

    A system of 500 MHz transient digitizers based on gallium arsenide resistive gate charged coupled devices has been developed for an experiment studying rare K decays. CCDs with dynamic range of 8-bits and 128 or 320 pixels are used as analog pipelines. The CCD's are driven by a single phase transport system. Data readout and manipulation occurs at 15.6 MHz. (authors)

  18. Electron mobility in the inversion layers of fully depleted SOI films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zaitseva, E. G., E-mail: ZaytsevaElza@yandex.ru; Naumova, O. V.; Fomin, B. I. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Siberian Branch (Russian Federation)

    2017-04-15

    The dependences of the electron mobility μ{sub eff} in the inversion layers of fully depleted double–gate silicon-on-insulator (SOI) metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) transistors on the density N{sub e} of induced charge carriers and temperature T are investigated at different states of the SOI film (inversion–accumulation) from the side of one of the gates. It is shown that at a high density of induced charge carriers of N{sub e} > 6 × 10{sup 12} cm{sup –2} the μeff(T) dependences allow the components of mobility μ{sub eff} that are related to scattering at surface phonons and from the film/insulator surface roughness to be distinguished. The μ{sub eff}(N{sub e}) dependences can be approximated by the power functions μ{sub eff}(N{sub e}) ∝ N{sub e}{sup −n}. The exponents n in the dependences and the dominant mechanisms of scattering of electrons induced near the interface between the SOI film and buried oxide are determined for different N{sub e} ranges and film states from the surface side.

  19. Status of the DAMIC Direct Dark Matter Search Experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aguilar-Arevalo, A.; et al.

    2015-09-30

    The DAMIC experiment uses fully depleted, high resistivity CCDs to search for dark matter particles. With an energy threshold $\\sim$50 eV$_{ee}$, and excellent energy and spatial resolutions, the DAMIC CCDs are well-suited to identify and suppress radioactive backgrounds, having an unrivaled sensitivity to WIMPs with masses $<$6 GeV/$c^2$. Early results motivated the construction of a 100 g detector, DAMIC100, currently being installed at SNOLAB. This contribution discusses the installation progress, new calibration efforts near the threshold, a preliminary result with 2014 data, and the prospects for physics results after one year of data taking.

  20. Improvement of thick a-Si radiation detectors by field profile tailoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drewery, J.S.; Cho, G.; Jing, T.; Kaplan, S.N.; Mireshghi, A.; Perez-Mendez, V.; Wildermuth, D.

    1992-04-01

    Application of thick (∼50 μm) a-Si p-i-n diodes as a direct radiation detector for minimum ionizing particles is hampered by the need to apply large bias voltages in order fully to deplete the detecting intrinsic layer, which typically contains 5 - 10 x 10 14 ionizable dangling bonds per CM 3 . By insertion of thin p-type layers at intervals within the intrinsic layer, the required depletion voltage can be reduced by a factor of at least 1/(n+l) where n is the number of layers inserted. This principle is demonstrated for devices approximately 12μm in thickness. It is shown that electron losses within the p type layer can be kept to minimum by choice of a low doping concentration for the introduced players

  1. The Dark Energy Survey instrument design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Flaugher, B.; Fermilab

    2006-01-01

    We describe a new project, the Dark Energy Survey (DES), aimed at measuring the dark energy equation of state parameter, w, to a statistical precision of ∼5%, with four complementary techniques. The survey will use a new 3 sq. deg. mosaic camera (DECam) mounted at the prime focus of the Blanco 4m telescope at the Cerro-Tololo International Observatory (CTIO). DECam includes a large mosaic camera, a five element optical corrector, four filters (g,r,i,z), and the associated infrastructure for operation in the prime focus cage. The focal plane consists of 62 2K x 4K CCD modules (0.27''/pixel) arranged in a hexagon inscribed within the 2.2 deg. diameter field of view. We plan to use the 250 micron thick fully-depleted CCDs that have been developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). At Fermilab, we will establish a packaging factory to produce four-side buttable modules for the LBNL devices, as well as to test and grade the CCDs. R and D is underway and delivery of DECam to CTIO is scheduled for 2009

  2. Performance evaluation of a fully depleted monolithic pixel detector chip in 150 nm CMOS technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Obermann, Theresa

    2017-06-15

    The depleted monolithic active pixel sensor (DMAPS) is a new concept integrating full CMOS circuitry onto a (fully) depletable silicon substrate wafer. The realization of prototypes of the DMAPS concept relies on the availability of multiple well CMOS processes and highly resistive substrates. The CMOS foundry ESPROS Photonics offers both and was chosen for prototyping. Two prototypes, EPCB01 and EPCB02, developed in a 150 nm process on a highly resistive n-type wafer of 50 μm thickness, were characterized. The prototypes have 352 square pixels of 40 μm pitch and a small n-well charge collection node with very low capacitance of 5 fF (n{sup +}-implantation size: 5 μm x 5 μm) and about 150 transistors per pixel (CSA and discriminator plus a small digital part). The characterization of the prototypes demonstrates the proof of principle of the concept. Prior to irradiation the prototypes show a signal from a minimum ionizing particle ranging from 2400 e{sup -} to 3000 e{sup -} while the noise is 30 e{sup -} due to the low capacitance. After the irradiation of the prototypes with neutrons up to a fluence of 5 x 10{sup 14} neutrons/cm{sup 2} the performance suffers from the radiation damage leading to a signal of 1000 e{sup -} and a higher noise of 60 e{sup -} due to the increase of the leakage current. The detection efficiency of the prototypes reduces from 94 % to 26 % after the fluence of 5 x 10{sup 14} particles/cm{sup 2}. Due to the small fill factor the detection efficiency shows are strong dependence on the position within the pixel after irradiation. Thus the DMAPS concept with low fill factor can be used for precise vertex reconstruction in High Energy Physics experiments without severe performance loss up to moderate fluences (< 1 x 10{sup 14} particles/cm{sup 2}). The expected particle fluences inside of the volume of the upgrade of the ATLAS pixel detector exceed this limit. However, possible applications could be at future linear collider (ILC or CLIC

  3. Planar Fully-Depleted-Silicon-On-Insulator technologies: Toward the 28 nm node and beyond

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doris, B.; DeSalvo, B.; Cheng, K.; Morin, P.; Vinet, M.

    2016-03-01

    This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the research done in the last decade on planar Fully-Depleted-Silicon-On-Insulator (FDSOI) technologies in the frame of the joint development program between IBM, ST Microelectronics and CEA-LETI. In particular, we review the technological developments ranging from substrate engineering to process modules that enable functionality and improve FDSOI performance over several generations. Various multi Vt integration schemes to maximize the benefits of the thin BOX FDSOI platform are discussed. Manufacturability as well as scalability concerns are highlighted and addressed. In addition, this work provides understanding of the performance/power trade-offs for FDSOI circuits and device variability. Finally, clear directions for future application-specific products are given, demonstrating that FDSOI is an attractive CMOS option for next generation high performance and low-power applications.

  4. Stress intensity magnification factors for fully circumferential cracks in valve bodies (thick cylinders)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toor, P.M.

    1998-01-01

    The stress intensity solutions presented herein were obtained using an energy method in conjunction with a two-dimensional finite element program in order to explicitly account for curvature effect for fully circumferential cracks. The magnification factors for a specific crack depth were calculated by successively loading the crack surface by a uniform, linear, quadratic, and a cubic loading distribution. The magnification factors can be used to calculate the stress intensity factors by superposition method. The functions for each load condition in terms of radius to thickness ratio (R/t) and a fractional distance in terms of crack depth to thickness ratio (a/t) were developed. The validity of these functions is R/t = 1.5 to 10.0 and for 0.0125 ≤ a/t ≤ 0.8125. The functions agree to within 1% of the finite elements solutions for most magnification factors

  5. Proof of the identity between the depletion layer thickness and half the average span for an arbitrary polymer chain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Yanwei; Peters, Günther H.J.; Hansen, Flemming Yssing

    2008-01-01

    point in the polymer chain (such as the center of mass, middle segment, and end segments) can be computed as a function of the confinement size solely based on a single sampling of the configuration space of a polymer chain in bulk. Through a simple analysis based on the CABS approach in the case...... of a single wall, we prove rigorously that (i) the depletion layer thickness delta is the same no matter which reference point is used to describe the depletion profile and (ii) the value of delta equals half the average span (the mean projection onto a line) of the macromolecule in free solution. Both...

  6. LePix-A high resistivity, fully depleted monolithic pixel detector

    CERN Document Server

    Giubilato, P; Mugnier, H; Bisello, D; Marchioro, A; Snoeys, W; Denes, P; Pantano, D; Rousset, J; Mattiazzo, S; Kloukinas, K; Potenza, A; Rivetti, A; Chalmet, P

    2013-01-01

    The LePix project explores monolithic pixel sensors fabricated in a 90 nm CMOS technology built over a lightly doped substrate. This approach keeps the advantages usually offered by Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS), like a low input capacitance, having a single piece detector and using a standard CMOS production line, and adds the benefit of charge collection by drift from a depleted region several tens of microns deep into the substrate, therefore providing an excellent signal to noise ratio and a radiation tolerance superior to conventional un-depleted MAPS. Such sensors are expected to offer significant cost savings and reduction of power consumption for the same performance, leading to the use of much less material in the detector (less cooling and less copper), addressing one of the main limitations of present day particle tracking systems. The latest evolution of the project uses detectors thinned down to 50 mu m to obtain back illuminated sensors operated in full depletion mode. By back processin...

  7. Modeling and analysis of surface potential of single gate fully depleted SOI MOSFET using 2D-Poisson's equation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mani, Prashant; Tyagi, Chandra Shekhar; Srivastav, Nishant

    2016-03-01

    In this paper the analytical solution of the 2D Poisson's equation for single gate Fully Depleted SOI (FDSOI) MOSFET's is derived by using a Green's function solution technique. The surface potential is calculated and the threshold voltage of the device is minimized for the low power consumption. Due to minimization of threshold voltage the short channel effect of device is suppressed and after observation we obtain the device is kink free. The structure and characteristics of SingleGate FDSOI MOSFET were matched by using MathCAD and silvaco respectively.

  8. Correlation between active layer thickness and ambient gas stability in IGZO thin-film transistors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Xu; Mao, Bao-Hua; Wang, Sui-Dong; Lin, Meng-Fang; Shimizu, Maki; Mitoma, Nobuhiko; Kizu, Takio; Ou-Yang, Wei; Tsukagoshi, Kazuhito; Nabatame, Toshihide; Liu, Zhi

    2017-01-01

    Decreasing the active layer thickness has been recently reported as an alternative way to achieve fully depleted oxide thin-film transistors for the realization of low-voltage operations. However, the correlation between the active layer thickness and device resistivity to environmental changes is still unclear, which is important for the optimized design of oxide thin-film transistors. In this work, the ambient gas stability of IGZO thin-film transistors is found to be strongly correlated to the IGZO thickness. The TFT with the thinnest IGZO layer shows the highest intrinsic electron mobility in a vacuum, which is greatly reduced after exposure to O 2 /air. The device with a thick IGZO layer shows similar electron mobility in O 2 /air, whereas the mobility variation measured in the vacuum is absent. The thickness dependent ambient gas stability is attributed to a high-mobility region in the IGZO surface vicinity with less sputtering-induced damage, which will become electron depleted in O 2 /air due to the electron transfer to adsorbed gas molecules. The O 2 adsorption and deduced IGZO surface band bending is demonstrated by the ambient-pressure x-ray photoemission spectroscopy results. (paper)

  9. Fabrication of Fully Inkjet-Printed Vias and SIW Structures on Thick Polymer Substrates

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Sangkil; Shamim, Atif; Georgiadis, Apostolos; Aubert, Herve; Tentzeris, Manos M.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, a novel fully inkjet-printed via fabrication technology and various inkjet-printed substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) structures on thick polymer substrates are presented. The electrical properties of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) are thoroughly studied up to 8 GHz utilizing the T-resonator method, and inkjet-printable silver nanoparticle ink on PMMA is characterized. A long via fabrication process up to 1 mm utilizing inkjet-printing technology is demonstrated, and its characteristics are presented for the first time. The inkjet-printed vias on 0.8-mm-thick substrate have a resistance of ∼ 0.2~ Ω . An equivalent circuit model of the inkjet-printed stepped vias is also discussed. An inkjet-printed microstrip-to-SIW interconnect and an SIW cavity resonator utilizing the proposed inkjet-printed via fabrication process are also presented. The design of the components and the fabrication steps are discussed, and the measured performances over the microwave frequency range of the prototypes are presented.

  10. Fabrication of Fully Inkjet-Printed Vias and SIW Structures on Thick Polymer Substrates

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Sangkil

    2016-02-11

    In this paper, a novel fully inkjet-printed via fabrication technology and various inkjet-printed substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) structures on thick polymer substrates are presented. The electrical properties of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) are thoroughly studied up to 8 GHz utilizing the T-resonator method, and inkjet-printable silver nanoparticle ink on PMMA is characterized. A long via fabrication process up to 1 mm utilizing inkjet-printing technology is demonstrated, and its characteristics are presented for the first time. The inkjet-printed vias on 0.8-mm-thick substrate have a resistance of ∼ 0.2~ Ω . An equivalent circuit model of the inkjet-printed stepped vias is also discussed. An inkjet-printed microstrip-to-SIW interconnect and an SIW cavity resonator utilizing the proposed inkjet-printed via fabrication process are also presented. The design of the components and the fabrication steps are discussed, and the measured performances over the microwave frequency range of the prototypes are presented.

  11. System Architecture of the Dark Energy Survey Camera Readout Electronics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shaw, Theresa; /FERMILAB; Ballester, Otger; Cardiel-Sas, Laia; Castilla, Javier; /Barcelona, IFAE; Chappa, Steve; /Fermilab; de Vicente, Juan; /Madrid, CIEMAT; Holm, Scott; Huffman, Dave; Kozlovsky, Mark; /Fermilab; Martinez, Gustavo; /Madrid, CIEMAT; Moore, Todd; /Madrid, CIEMAT /Fermilab /Illinois U., Urbana /Fermilab

    2010-05-27

    The Dark Energy Survey makes use of a new camera, the Dark Energy Camera (DECam). DECam will be installed in the Blanco 4M telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). DECam is presently under construction and is expected to be ready for observations in the fall of 2011. The focal plane will make use of 62 2Kx4K and 12 2kx2k fully depleted Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs) for guiding, alignment and focus. This paper will describe design considerations of the system; including, the entire signal path used to read out the CCDs, the development of a custom crate and backplane, the overall grounding scheme and early results of system tests.

  12. Gadolinium oxide coated fully depleted silicon-on-insulator transistors for thermal neutron dosimetry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vitale, Steven A., E-mail: steven.vitale@ll.mit.edu; Gouker, Pascale M.

    2013-09-01

    Fully depleted silicon-on-insulator transistors coated with gadolinium oxide are shown to be effective thermal neutron dosimeters. The theoretical neutron detection efficiency is calculated to be higher for Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} than for other practical converter materials. Proof-of-concept dosimeter devices were fabricated and tested during thermal neutron irradiation. The transistor current changes linearly with neutron dose, consistent with increasing positive charge in the SOI buried oxide layer generated by ionization from high energy {sup 157}Gd(n,γ){sup 158}Gd conversion electrons. The measured neutron sensitivity is approximately 1/6 the maximum theoretical value, possibly due to electron–hole recombination or conversion electron loss in interconnect wiring above the transistors. -- Highlights: • A novel Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} coated FDSOI MOSFET thermal neutron dosimeter is presented. • Dosimeter can detect charges generated from {sup 157}Gd(n,γ){sup 158}Gd conversion electrons. • Measured neutron sensitivity is comparable to that calculated theoretically. • Dosimeter requires zero power during operation, enabling new application areas.

  13. LePix—A high resistivity, fully depleted monolithic pixel detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giubilato, P.; Bisello, D.; Chalmet, P.; Denes, P.; Kloukinas, K.; Mattiazzo, S.; Marchioro, A.; Mugnier, H.; Pantano, D.; Potenza, A.; Rivetti, A.; Rousset, J.; Snoeys, W.; Tindall, C.

    2013-01-01

    The LePix project explores monolithic pixel sensors fabricated in a 90 nm CMOS technology built over a lightly doped substrate. This approach keeps the advantages usually offered by Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS), like a low input capacitance, having a single piece detector and using a standard CMOS production line, and adds the benefit of charge collection by drift from a depleted region several tens of microns deep into the substrate, therefore providing an excellent signal to noise ratio and a radiation tolerance superior to conventional un-depleted MAPS. Such sensors are expected to offer significant cost savings and reduction of power consumption for the same performance, leading to the use of much less material in the detector (less cooling and less copper), addressing one of the main limitations of present day particle tracking systems. The latest evolution of the project uses detectors thinned down to 50 μm to obtain back illuminated sensors operated in full depletion mode. By back-processing the chip and collecting the charge from the full substrate it is hence possible to efficiently detect soft X-rays up to 10 keV. Test results from first successfully processed detectors will be presented and discussed

  14. Advanced TEM Characterization for the Development of 28-14nm nodes based on fully-depleted Silicon-on-Insulator Technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Servanton, G; Clement, L; Lepinay, K; Lorut, F; Pantel, R; Pofelski, A; Bicais, N

    2013-01-01

    The growing demand for wireless multimedia applications (smartphones, tablets, digital cameras) requires the development of devices combining both high speed performances and low power consumption. A recent technological breakthrough making a good compromise between these two antagonist conditions has been proposed: the 28-14nm CMOS transistor generations based on a fully-depleted Silicon-on-Insulator (FD-SOI) performed on a thin Si film of 5-6nm. In this paper, we propose to review the TEM characterization challenges that are essential for the development of extremely power-efficient System on Chip (SoC)

  15. Unified analytical threshold voltage model for non-uniformly doped dual metal gate fully depleted silicon-on-insulator MOSFETs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, Rathnamala; Katti, Guruprasad; Havaldar, Dnyanesh S.; DasGupta, Nandita; DasGupta, Amitava

    2009-03-01

    The paper describes the unified analytical threshold voltage model for non-uniformly doped, dual metal gate (DMG) fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) MOSFETs based on the solution of 2D Poisson's equation. 2D Poisson's equation is solved analytically for appropriate boundary conditions using separation of variables technique. The solution is then extended to obtain the threshold voltage of the FDSOI MOSFET. The model is able to handle any kind of non-uniform doping, viz. vertical, lateral as well as laterally asymetric channel (LAC) profile in the SOI film in addition to the DMG structure. The analytical results are validated with the numerical simulations using the device simulator MEDICI.

  16. Depleted fully monolithic CMOS pixel detectors using a column based readout architecture for the ATLAS Inner Tracker upgrade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, T.; Barbero, M.; Berdalovic, I.; Bespin, C.; Bhat, S.; Breugnon, P.; Caicedo, I.; Cardella, R.; Chen, Z.; Degerli, Y.; Egidos, N.; Godiot, S.; Guilloux, F.; Hemperek, T.; Hirono, T.; Krüger, H.; Kugathasan, T.; Hügging, F.; Marin Tobon, C. A.; Moustakas, K.; Pangaud, P.; Schwemling, P.; Pernegger, H.; Pohl, D.-L.; Rozanov, A.; Rymaszewski, P.; Snoeys, W.; Wermes, N.

    2018-03-01

    Depleted monolithic active pixel sensors (DMAPS), which exploit high voltage and/or high resistivity add-ons of modern CMOS technologies to achieve substantial depletion in the sensing volume, have proven to have high radiation tolerance towards the requirements of ATLAS in the high-luminosity LHC era. DMAPS integrating fast readout architectures are currently being developed as promising candidates for the outer pixel layers of the future ATLAS Inner Tracker, which will be installed during the phase II upgrade of ATLAS around year 2025. In this work, two DMAPS prototype designs, named LF-Monopix and TJ-Monopix, are presented. LF-Monopix was fabricated in the LFoundry 150 nm CMOS technology, and TJ-Monopix has been designed in the TowerJazz 180 nm CMOS technology. Both chips employ the same readout architecture, i.e. the column drain architecture, whereas different sensor implementation concepts are pursued. The paper makes a joint description of the two prototypes, so that their technical differences and challenges can be addressed in direct comparison. First measurement results for LF-Monopix will also be shown, demonstrating for the first time a fully functional fast readout DMAPS prototype implemented in the LFoundry technology.

  17. Convenient synthesis of magnetically recyclable Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@C@CdS photocatalysts by depositing CdS nanocrystals on carbonized ferrocene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Dan [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004 (China); Xie, Jianjian [Department of Materials Physics, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004 (China); Zhang, Yong; Qiao, Ru [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004 (China); Li, Sheng [Department of Materials Physics, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004 (China); Li, Zhengquan, E-mail: zqli@zjnu.edu.cn [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004 (China); Department of Materials Physics, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004 (China)

    2015-10-15

    Development of magnetic visible-light-driven photocatalysts is desirable to the practical application of photocatalyts for collection and recycling use. Here we present a facile approach to synthesize Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@C@CdS magnetic photocatalysts which can avoid multi-step preparation process. Through one-step solvothermal carbonization of ferrocene, the produced carbon-coated Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} clusters can serve as both magnetic cores and deposition substrates for in situ generating crystalline CdS nanocrystals on them by rapid microwave irradiation. The prepared Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@C@CdS nanoparticles exhibit a uniform core–shell structure and display good photocatalytic activity and recyclability in the degradation of organic dyes. These magnetic photocatalysts may find potential application in wastewater treatment for the future environment remedy. - Highlights: • A rapid strategy is presented to obtain multifunctional core–shell nanostructures. • Magnetic visible-light-driven Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@C@CdS nanophotocatalysts are synthesized. • Carbonized ferrocene can provide both magnetic cores and good deposition substrate. • Photocatalytic and recyclable properties of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@C@CdS nanoparticles are explored.

  18. Mechanism of floating body effect mitigation via cutting off source injection in a fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Pengcheng; Chen Shuming; Chen Jianjun

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, the effect of floating body effect (FBE) on a single event transient generation mechanism in fully depleted (FD) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology is investigated using three-dimensional technology computer-aided design (3D-TCAD) numerical simulation. The results indicate that the main SET generation mechanism is not carrier drift/diffusion but floating body effect (FBE) whether for positive or negative channel metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS or NMOS). Two stacking layout designs mitigating FBE are investigated as well, and the results indicate that the in-line stacking (IS) layout can mitigate FBE completely and is area penalty saving compared with the conventional stacking layout. (paper)

  19. Neutron irradiation test of depleted CMOS pixel detector prototypes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mandić, I.; Cindro, V.; Gorišek, A.; Hiti, B.; Kramberger, G.; Mikuž, M.; Zavrtanik, M.; Hemperek, T.; Daas, M.; Hügging, F.; Krüger, H.; Pohl, D.-L.; Wermes, N.; Gonella, L.

    2017-01-01

    Charge collection properties of depleted CMOS pixel detector prototypes produced on p-type substrate of 2 kΩ cm initial resistivity (by LFoundry 150 nm process) were studied using Edge-TCT method before and after neutron irradiation. The test structures were produced for investigation of CMOS technology in tracking detectors for experiments at HL-LHC upgrade. Measurements were made with passive detector structures in which current pulses induced on charge collecting electrodes could be directly observed. Thickness of depleted layer was estimated and studied as function of neutron irradiation fluence. An increase of depletion thickness was observed after first two irradiation steps to 1 · 10 13 n/cm 2 and 5 · 10 13 n/cm 2 and attributed to initial acceptor removal. At higher fluences the depletion thickness at given voltage decreases with increasing fluence because of radiation induced defects contributing to the effective space charge concentration. The behaviour is consistent with that of high resistivity silicon used for standard particle detectors. The measured thickness of the depleted layer after irradiation with 1 · 10 15 n/cm 2 is more than 50 μm at 100 V bias. This is sufficient to guarantee satisfactory signal/noise performance on outer layers of pixel trackers in HL-LHC experiments.

  20. The CONNIE experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aguilar-Arevalo, A.; et al.

    2016-10-19

    The CONNIE experiment uses fully depleted, high resistivity CCDs as particle detectors in an attempt to measure for the first time the Coherent Neutrino-Nucleus Elastic Scattering of antineutrinos from a nuclear reactor with silicon nuclei.This talk, given at the XV Mexican Workshop on Particles and Fields (MWPF), discussed the potential of CONNIE to perform this measurement, the installation progress at the Angra dos Reis nuclear power plant, as well as the plans for future upgrades.

  1. Experimental and theoretical study of the signal electron motion in fully depleted silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kimmel, N.; Andritschke, R.; Hartmann, R.; Holl, P.; Meidinger, N.; Richter, R.; Strueder, L.

    2010-01-01

    Imaging spectrometers based on a fully depleted silicon substrate are sensitive over the whole device volume. Therefore, a high detection efficiency for X-rays of up to 20 keV is achieved. Our experimental method facilitates measurements of the detected signal pulse height in a pixel as a function of the photon conversion position in the pixel array. Further analysis of the measurements delivers the size of a signal electron cloud after its drift from the photon conversion position to the storage cells. These results can be used to reconstruct the conversion position of each detected X-ray photon. A reconstruction accuracy of 1μm can be achieved with a pixel size of 51μm. Complementary to the measurements, we have created a physical model of the signal electron collection process. The change of the drift mobility with the electric drift field strength in the detection volume is considered in order to correctly describe the drift speed of the charge cloud. The electric field values and the values of the charge density in the detector volume are delivered by numerical device simulations with the software package 'TeSCA'. Comparisons of the simulations with the measurements confirmed the correctness of the applied physical model. We have thus established a method which enables device designers to simulate the process of signal charge collection in future detector concepts.

  2. Cooling out the radiation damage on the XMM-Newton EPIC MOS CCDs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abbey, A.F. E-mail: afa@star.le.ac.uk; Bennie, P.J.; Turner, M.J.L.; Altieri, B.; Rives, S

    2003-11-01

    The X-ray astronomy satellite XMM-Newton has been in an orbit taking it through the trapped radiation belts and direct solar proton flux during the peak of the current solar cycle for over two and a half years. The MOS CCD detectors (E2 V CCD22's) have degraded in charge transfer efficiency (CTE) as a result of damage created by high energy protons. Corrections for CTE in ground software have managed to restore most of the energy loss generated by the trapping sites, but the detector energy resolution has widened due to imperfect correction methods and the statistical noise generated by charge trapping. The detectors have been at -100 deg. C since launch, and they are qualified to operate down to -130 deg. C. Similar CCDs have been irradiated on the ground with 10 MeV protons and it was believed that the devices in orbit, although irradiated by much lower fluxes for longer times should exhibit the same improved CTE at lower temperatures. There was also concern that contrary to test devices on the ground, the devices in orbit had been almost continually cold for over 2 years and many bright pixels had developed giving a signal even at -100 deg. C, due possibly to radiation and the impact of micro-meteoroids. Cooling the CCDs in XMM to -120 deg. C demonstrated the expected improvement, and we intend to run both MOS cameras at the new temperature later in the year.

  3. Cooled CCDs for recording data from electron microscopes

    CERN Document Server

    Faruqi, A R

    2000-01-01

    A cooled-CCD camera based on a low-noise scientific grade device is described in this paper used for recording images in a 120 kV electron microscope. The primary use of the camera is for recording electron diffraction patterns from two-dimensionally ordered arrays of proteins at liquid-nitrogen temperatures leading to structure determination at atomic or near-atomic resolution. The traditional method for recording data in the microscope is with electron sensitive film but electronic detection methods offer the following advantages over film methods: the data is immediately available in a digital format which can be displayed on a monitor screen for visual inspection whereas a film record needs to be developed and digitised, a lengthy process taking at least several hours, prior to inspection; the dynamic range of CCD detectors is about two orders of magnitude greater with better linearity. The accuracy of measurements is also higher for CCDs, particularly for weak signals due to inherent fog levels in film. ...

  4. Tensile test of a silicon microstructure fully coated with submicrometer-thick diamond like carbon film using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wenlei; Uesugi, Akio; Hirai, Yoshikazu; Tsuchiya, Toshiyuki; Tabata, Osamu

    2017-06-01

    This paper reports the tensile properties of single-crystal silicon (SCS) microstructures fully coated with sub-micrometer thick diamond like carbon (DLC) film using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). To minimize the deformations or damages caused by non-uniform coating of DLC, which has high compression residual stress, released SCS specimens with the dimensions of 120 µm long, 4 µm wide, and 5 µm thick were coated from the top and bottom side simultaneously. The thickness of DLC coating is around 150 nm and three different bias voltages were used for deposition. The tensile strength improved from 13.4 to 53.5% with the increasing of negative bias voltage. In addition, the deviation in strength also reduced significantly compared to bare SCS sample.

  5. Filler-depletion layer adjacent to interface impacts performance of thermal interface material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susumu Yada

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available When installing thermal interface material (TIM between heat source and sink to reduce contact thermal resistance, the interfacial thermal resistance (ITR between the TIM and heat source/sink may become important, especially when the TIM thickness becomes smaller in the next-generation device integration. To this end, we have investigated ITR between TIM and aluminum surface by using the time-domain thermoreflectance method. The measurements reveal large ITR attributed to the depletion of filler particles in TIM adjacent to the aluminum surface. The thickness of the depletion layer is estimated to be about 100 nm. As a consequence, the fraction of ITR to the total contact thermal resistance becomes about 20% when the TIM thickness is about 50 μm (current thickness, and it exceeds 50% when the thickness is smaller than 10 μm (next-generation thickness.

  6. Development and flight testing of UV optimized Photon Counting CCDs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamden, Erika T.

    2018-06-01

    I will discuss the latest results from the Hamden UV/Vis Detector Lab and our ongoing work using a UV optimized EMCCD in flight. Our lab is currently testing efficiency and performance of delta-doped, anti-reflection coated EMCCDs, in collaboration with JPL. The lab has been set-up to test quantum efficiency, dark current, clock-induced-charge, and read noise. I will describe our improvements to our circuit boards for lower noise, updates from a new, more flexible NUVU controller, and the integration of an EMCCD in the FIREBall-2 UV spectrograph. I will also briefly describe future plans to conduct radiation testing on delta-doped EMCCDs (both warm, unbiased and cold, biased configurations) thus summer and longer term plans for testing newer photon counting CCDs as I move the HUVD Lab to the University of Arizona in the Fall of 2018.

  7. ANATOMY OF DEPLETED INTERPLANETARY CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kocher, M.; Lepri, S. T.; Landi, E.; Zhao, L.; Manchester, W. B. IV, E-mail: mkocher@umich.edu [Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143 (United States)

    2017-01-10

    We report a subset of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) containing distinct periods of anomalous heavy-ion charge state composition and peculiar ion thermal properties measured by ACE /SWICS from 1998 to 2011. We label them “depleted ICMEs,” identified by the presence of intervals where C{sup 6+}/C{sup 5+} and O{sup 7+}/O{sup 6+} depart from the direct correlation expected after their freeze-in heights. These anomalous intervals within the depleted ICMEs are referred to as “Depletion Regions.” We find that a depleted ICME would be indistinguishable from all other ICMEs in the absence of the Depletion Region, which has the defining property of significantly low abundances of fully charged species of helium, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. Similar anomalies in the slow solar wind were discussed by Zhao et al. We explore two possibilities for the source of the Depletion Region associated with magnetic reconnection in the tail of a CME, using CME simulations of the evolution of two Earth-bound CMEs described by Manchester et al.

  8. The Binary Offset Effect in CCDs: an Anomalous Readout Artifact Affecting Most Astronomical CCDs in Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boone, Kyle Robert; Aldering, Gregory; Copin, Yannick; Dixon, Samantha; Domagalski, Rachel; Gangler, Emmanuel; Pecontal, Emmanuel; Perlmutter, Saul; Nearby Supernova Factory Collaboration

    2018-01-01

    We discovered an anomalous behavior of CCD readout electronics that affects their use in many astronomical applications, which we call the “binary offset effect”. Due to feedback in the readout electronics, an offset is introduced in the values read out for each pixel that depends on the binary encoding of the previously read-out pixel values. One consequence of this effect is that a pathological local background offset can be introduced in images that only appears where science data are present on the CCD. The amplitude of this introduced offset does not scale monotonically with the amplitude of the objects in the image, and can be up to 4.5 ADU per pixel for certain instruments. Additionally, this background offset will be shifted by several pixels from the science data, potentially distorting the shape of objects in the image. We tested 22 instruments for signs of the binary offset effect and found evidence of it in 16 of them, including LRIS and DEIMOS on the Keck telescopes, WFC3-UVIS and STIS on HST, MegaCam on CFHT, SNIFS on the UH88 telescope, GMOS on the Gemini telescopes, HSC on Subaru, and FORS on VLT. A large amount of archival data is therefore affected by the binary offset effect, and conventional methods of reducing CCD images do not measure or remove the introduced offsets. As a demonstration of how to correct for the binary offset effect, we have developed a model that can accurately predict and remove the introduced offsets for the SNIFS instrument on the UH88 telescope. Accounting for the binary offset effect is essential for precision low-count astronomical observations with CCDs.

  9. Modeling charge collection efficiency degradation in partially depleted GaAs photodiodes using the 1- and 2-carrier Hecht equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auden, E.C.; Vizkelethy, G.; Serkland, D.K.; Bossert, D.J.; Doyle, B.L.

    2017-01-01

    The Hecht equation can be used to model the nonlinear degradation of charge collection efficiency (CCE) in response to radiation-induced displacement damage in both fully and partially depleted GaAs photodiodes. CCE degradation is measured for laser-generated photocurrent as a function of fluence and bias in Al_0_._3Ga_0_._7As/GaAs/Al_0_._2_5Ga_0_._7_5As p-i-n photodiodes which have been irradiated with 12 MeV C and 7.5 MeV Si ions. CCE is observed to degrade more rapidly with fluence in partially depleted photodiodes than in fully depleted photodiodes. When the intrinsic GaAs layer is fully depleted, the 2-carrier Hecht equation describes CCE degradation as photogenerated electrons and holes recombine at defect sites created by radiation damage in the depletion region. If the GaAs layer is partially depleted, CCE degradation is more appropriately modeled as the sum of the 2-carrier Hecht equation applied to electrons and holes generated within the depletion region and the 1-carrier Hecht equation applied to minority carriers that diffuse from the field-free (non-depleted) region into the depletion region. Enhanced CCE degradation is attributed to holes that recombine within the field-free region of the partially depleted intrinsic GaAs layer before they can diffuse into the depletion region.

  10. Modeling charge collection efficiency degradation in partially depleted GaAs photodiodes using the 1- and 2-carrier Hecht equations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Auden, E.C., E-mail: eauden@sandia.gov; Vizkelethy, G.; Serkland, D.K.; Bossert, D.J.; Doyle, B.L.

    2017-05-15

    The Hecht equation can be used to model the nonlinear degradation of charge collection efficiency (CCE) in response to radiation-induced displacement damage in both fully and partially depleted GaAs photodiodes. CCE degradation is measured for laser-generated photocurrent as a function of fluence and bias in Al{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}As/GaAs/Al{sub 0.25}Ga{sub 0.75}As p-i-n photodiodes which have been irradiated with 12 MeV C and 7.5 MeV Si ions. CCE is observed to degrade more rapidly with fluence in partially depleted photodiodes than in fully depleted photodiodes. When the intrinsic GaAs layer is fully depleted, the 2-carrier Hecht equation describes CCE degradation as photogenerated electrons and holes recombine at defect sites created by radiation damage in the depletion region. If the GaAs layer is partially depleted, CCE degradation is more appropriately modeled as the sum of the 2-carrier Hecht equation applied to electrons and holes generated within the depletion region and the 1-carrier Hecht equation applied to minority carriers that diffuse from the field-free (non-depleted) region into the depletion region. Enhanced CCE degradation is attributed to holes that recombine within the field-free region of the partially depleted intrinsic GaAs layer before they can diffuse into the depletion region.

  11. Quantification of common carotid artery and descending aorta vessel wall thickness from MR vessel wall imaging using a fully automated processing pipeline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Shan; van 't Klooster, Ronald; Brandts, Anne; Roes, Stijntje D; Alizadeh Dehnavi, Reza; de Roos, Albert; Westenberg, Jos J M; van der Geest, Rob J

    2017-01-01

    To develop and evaluate a method that can fully automatically identify the vessel wall boundaries and quantify the wall thickness for both common carotid artery (CCA) and descending aorta (DAO) from axial magnetic resonance (MR) images. 3T MRI data acquired with T 1 -weighted gradient-echo black-blood imaging sequence from carotid (39 subjects) and aorta (39 subjects) were used to develop and test the algorithm. The vessel wall segmentation was achieved by respectively fitting a 3D cylindrical B-spline surface to the boundaries of lumen and outer wall. The tube-fitting was based on the edge detection performed on the signal intensity (SI) profile along the surface normal. To achieve a fully automated process, Hough Transform (HT) was developed to estimate the lumen centerline and radii for the target vessel. Using the outputs of HT, a tube model for lumen segmentation was initialized and deformed to fit the image data. Finally, lumen segmentation was dilated to initiate the adaptation procedure of outer wall tube. The algorithm was validated by determining: 1) its performance against manual tracing; 2) its interscan reproducibility in quantifying vessel wall thickness (VWT); 3) its capability of detecting VWT difference in hypertensive patients compared with healthy controls. Statistical analysis including Bland-Altman analysis, t-test, and sample size calculation were performed for the purpose of algorithm evaluation. The mean distance between the manual and automatically detected lumen/outer wall contours was 0.00 ± 0.23/0.09 ± 0.21 mm for CCA and 0.12 ± 0.24/0.14 ± 0.35 mm for DAO. No significant difference was observed between the interscan VWT assessment using automated segmentation for both CCA (P = 0.19) and DAO (P = 0.94). Both manual and automated segmentation detected significantly higher carotid (P = 0.016 and P = 0.005) and aortic (P < 0.001 and P = 0.021) wall thickness in the hypertensive patients. A reliable and reproducible pipeline for fully

  12. A two dimensional analytical modeling of surface potential in triple metal gate (TMG) fully-depleted Recessed-Source/Drain (Re-S/D) SOI MOSFET

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priya, Anjali; Mishra, Ram Awadh

    2016-04-01

    In this paper, analytical modeling of surface potential is proposed for new Triple Metal Gate (TMG) fully depleted Recessed-Source/Dain Silicon On Insulator (SOI) Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET). The metal with the highest work function is arranged near the source region and the lowest one near the drain. Since Recessed-Source/Drain SOI MOSFET has higher drain current as compared to conventional SOI MOSFET due to large source and drain region. The surface potential model developed by 2D Poisson's equation is verified by comparison to the simulation result of 2-dimensional ATLAS simulator. The model is compared with DMG and SMG devices and analysed for different device parameters. The ratio of metal gate length is varied to optimize the result.

  13. Coherent optical adaptive technique improves the spatial resolution of STED microscopy in thick samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Wei; Yang, Yanlong; Tan, Yu; Chen, Xun; Li, Yang; Qu, Junle; Ye, Tong

    2018-01-01

    Stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED) is one of far-field optical microscopy techniques that can provide sub-diffraction spatial resolution. The spatial resolution of the STED microscopy is determined by the specially engineered beam profile of the depletion beam and its power. However, the beam profile of the depletion beam may be distorted due to aberrations of optical systems and inhomogeneity of specimens’ optical properties, resulting in a compromised spatial resolution. The situation gets deteriorated when thick samples are imaged. In the worst case, the sever distortion of the depletion beam profile may cause complete loss of the super resolution effect no matter how much depletion power is applied to specimens. Previously several adaptive optics approaches have been explored to compensate aberrations of systems and specimens. However, it is hard to correct the complicated high-order optical aberrations of specimens. In this report, we demonstrate that the complicated distorted wavefront from a thick phantom sample can be measured by using the coherent optical adaptive technique (COAT). The full correction can effectively maintain and improve the spatial resolution in imaging thick samples. PMID:29400356

  14. Dietary phosphorus depletion in sheep: Longterm effects on bone structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Breves, G.; Prokop, M.

    1990-01-01

    Experiments were performed on 6 sheep from 8 months old to study effects of dietary phosphorus depletion on bone structure. Sheep were given a semisynthetic diet of chopped straw and pellets for 38 weeks. Mean daily P in the diet was 0.97 g and 3 sheep were given additional NaH2PO4.H2O, increasing daily P supply to 4.5 g (controls). Bone density was estimated photometrically within the laterodistal metaphysis of the foreleg and standardized by a copper step wedge. Metacarpal cortical thickness was also measured. Cortical thickness and bone density started to decrease about 4 weeks after start of P depletion. The trabecular structure of the distal radius was coarser and less dense with reduced cross-linking between trabeculae

  15. A Novel Fully Depleted Air AlN Silicon-on-Insulator Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan, Yang; Yong, Gao; Peng-Liang, Gong

    2008-01-01

    A novel fully depleted air AlN silicon-on-insulator (SOI) metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOS-FET) is presented, which can eliminate the self-heating effect and solve the problem that the off-state current of SOI MOSFETs increases and the threshold voltage characteristics become worse when employing a high thermal conductivity material as a buried layer. The simulation results reveal that the lattice temperature in normal SOI devices is 75 K higher than the atmosphere temperature, while the lattice temperature is just 4K higher than the atmosphere temperature resulting in less severe self-heating effect in air AlN SOI MOSFETs and AlN SOI MOSFETs. The on-state current of air AlN SOI MOSFETs is similar to the AlN SOI structure, and improves 12.3% more than that of normal SOI MOSFETs. The off-state current of AlN SOI is 6.7 times of normal SOI MOSFETs, while the counterpart of air AlN SOI MOSFETs is lower than that of SOI MOSFETs by two orders of magnitude. The threshold voltage change of air AlN SOI MOSFETs with different drain voltage is much less than that of AlN SOI devices, when the drain voltage is biased at 0.8 V, this difference is 28mV, so the threshold voltage change induced by employing high thermal conductivity material is cured. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  16. Podocyte Depletion in Thin GBM and Alport Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wickman, Larysa; Hodgin, Jeffrey B; Wang, Su Q; Afshinnia, Farsad; Kershaw, David; Wiggins, Roger C

    2016-01-01

    The proximate genetic cause of both Thin GBM and Alport Syndrome (AS) is abnormal α3, 4 and 5 collagen IV chains resulting in abnormal glomerular basement membrane (GBM) structure/function. We previously reported that podocyte detachment rate measured in urine is increased in AS, suggesting that podocyte depletion could play a role in causing progressive loss of kidney function. To test this hypothesis podometric parameters were measured in 26 kidney biopsies from 21 patients aged 2-17 years with a clinic-pathologic diagnosis including both classic Alport Syndrome with thin and thick GBM segments and lamellated lamina densa [n = 15] and Thin GBM cases [n = 6]. Protocol biopsies from deceased donor kidneys were used as age-matched controls. Podocyte depletion was present in AS biopsies prior to detectable histologic abnormalities. No abnormality was detected by light microscopy at 70% podocyte depletion. Low level proteinuria was an early event at about 25% podocyte depletion and increased in proportion to podocyte depletion. These quantitative data parallel those from model systems where podocyte depletion is the causative event. This result supports a hypothesis that in AS podocyte adherence to the GBM is defective resulting in accelerated podocyte detachment causing progressive podocyte depletion leading to FSGS-like pathologic changes and eventual End Stage Kidney Disease. Early intervention to reduce podocyte depletion is projected to prolong kidney survival in AS.

  17. Large depletion region at the epitaxial n-ZnSe/GaAs heterointerface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frey, A; Lehmann, F; Grabs, P; Gould, C; Schmidt, G; Brunner, K; Molenkamp, L W

    2009-01-01

    The extent of the depletion region at an n-ZnSe/GaAs heterointerface in MBE grown epilayers has been investigated by thickness-dependent Hall measurements. Exceptionally large depletion widths of up to 110 nm have been found on the ZnSe side. The depletion cannot be caused by charge transfer or interface states alone, but is attributed to compensation due to large scale atomic interdiffusion across the heterointerface. A II–VI buffer layer structure is demonstrated to shield the effects of the depletion from sensitive device layers grown on top, and to prevent parallel conduction by lateral and vertical transport through the substrate and the lower-lying buffer layers

  18. A novel mouse model of creatine transporter deficiency [v1; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/4f8

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Baroncelli

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Mutations in the creatine (Cr transporter (CrT gene lead to cerebral creatine deficiency syndrome-1 (CCDS1, an X-linked metabolic disorder characterized by cerebral Cr deficiency causing intellectual disability, seizures, movement  and behavioral disturbances, language and speech impairment ( OMIM #300352. CCDS1 is still an untreatable pathology that can be very invalidating for patients and caregivers. Only two murine models of CCDS1, one of which is an ubiquitous knockout mouse, are currently available to study the possible mechanisms underlying the pathologic phenotype of CCDS1 and to develop therapeutic strategies. Given the importance of validating phenotypes and efficacy of promising treatments in more than one mouse model we have generated a new murine model of CCDS1 obtained by ubiquitous deletion of 5-7 exons in the Slc6a8 gene. We showed a remarkable Cr depletion in the murine brain tissues and cognitive defects, thus resembling the key features of human CCDS1. These results confirm that CCDS1 can be well modeled in mice. This CrT−/y murine model will provide a new tool for increasing the relevance of preclinical studies to the human disease.

  19. A novel mouse model of creatine transporter deficiency [v2; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/4zb

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Baroncelli

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Mutations in the creatine (Cr transporter (CrT gene lead to cerebral creatine deficiency syndrome-1 (CCDS1, an X-linked metabolic disorder characterized by cerebral Cr deficiency causing intellectual disability, seizures, movement  and behavioral disturbances, language and speech impairment ( OMIM #300352. CCDS1 is still an untreatable pathology that can be very invalidating for patients and caregivers. Only two murine models of CCDS1, one of which is an ubiquitous knockout mouse, are currently available to study the possible mechanisms underlying the pathologic phenotype of CCDS1 and to develop therapeutic strategies. Given the importance of validating phenotypes and efficacy of promising treatments in more than one mouse model we have generated a new murine model of CCDS1 obtained by ubiquitous deletion of 5-7 exons in the Slc6a8 gene. We showed a remarkable Cr depletion in the murine brain tissues and cognitive defects, thus resembling the key features of human CCDS1. These results confirm that CCDS1 can be well modeled in mice. This CrT−/y murine model will provide a new tool for increasing the relevance of preclinical studies to the human disease.

  20. Spectral re-distribution and surface loss effects in Swift XRT (XMM-Newton EPIC) MOS CCDs

    CERN Document Server

    Short, A D; Turner, M J L

    2002-01-01

    In the course of testing and selecting the EPIC MOS CCDs for the XMM-Newton observatory, the developed a Monte-Carlo model of the CCD response. Among other things, this model was used to investigate surface loss effects evident at low energies. By fitting laboratory data, these losses were characterised as a simple function of X-ray interaction depth and this result enabled the spectral re-distribution itself to be modelled as a simple analytical function. Subsequently, this analytical function has been used to generate the response matrix for the EPIC MOS instruments and will now be employed to model the spectral re-distribution for the Swift XRT CCD.

  1. The moderating role of cognitive control deficits in the link from emotional dissonance to burnout symptoms and absenteeism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diestel, Stefan; Schmidt, Klaus-Helmut

    2011-07-01

    The present study examines whether cognitive control deficits (CCDs) as a personal vulnerability factor amplify the relationship between emotional dissonance (ED; perceived discrepancy between felt and expressed emotions) and burnout symptoms (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) as well as absenteeism. CCDs refer to daily failures and impairments of attention regulation, impulse control, and memory. The prediction of the moderator effect of CCDs draws on the argument that portraying emotions which are not genuinely felt is a form of self-regulation taxing and depleting a limited resource capacity. Interindividual differences in the resource capacity are reflected by the measure of CCDs. Drawing on two German samples (one cross-sectional and one longitudinal sample; NTOTAL = 645) of service employees, the present study analyzed interactive effects of ED and CCDs on exhaustion, depersonalization, and two indicators of absenteeism. As was hypothesized, latent moderated structural equation modeling revealed that the adverse impacts of ED on both burnout symptoms and absence behavior were amplified as a function of CCDs. Theoretical and practical implications of the present results will be discussed.

  2. MCNP evaluation of top node control rod depletion below the core in KKL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beran, Tâm; Seltborg, Per; Lindahl, Sten-Örjan; Bieli, Roger; Ledergerber, Guido

    2014-01-01

    In previous studies, there has been identified a significant discrepancy in the BWR control rod top node depletion between the two core simulator nodal codes POLCA7 and PRESTO-2, which indicates that there is a large general uncertainty in nodal codes in calculating the top node depletion of fully withdrawn control rods. In this study, the stochastic Monte Carlo code MCNP has been used to calculate the top node control rod depletion for benchmarking the nodal codes. By using the TIP signal obtained from an extended TIP campaign below the core performed in the KKL reactor, the MCNP model has been verified by comparing the axial profile between the TIP data and the gamma flux calculated by MCNP. The MCNP results have also been compared with calculations from POLCA7, which was found to yield slightly higher depletion rates than MCNP. It was also found that the 10 B depletion in the top node is very sensitive to the exact axial location of the control rod top when it is fully withdrawn. By using the MCNP results, the neutron flux model below the core in the nodal codes can be improved by implementing an exponential function for the neutron flux. (author)

  3. Depleted uranium determination at the Novi Sad low level facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bikit, I.; Slivka, J.; Krmar, M.; Veskovic, M.; Conkic, Lj.; Varga, E.

    2002-01-01

    Natural uranium determination in environmental samples at the low-level gamma-spectroscopy laboratory of the Faculty of Science in Novi Sad has more than 20 years long tradition. When the issue of depleted uranium emerged the experimental advantages of the measuring equipment (GMX type of HPGe detector with enhanced efficiency below 100 keV, and iron low level shielding) where fully exploited. A detection technique selective for depleted uranium was developed. The details of this method together with the results for about 100 samples (soil, plants, water, food) are presented, and discussed. (author)

  4. Residual stress analysis in thick uranium films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hodge, A.M.; Foreman, R.J.; Gallegos, G.F.

    2005-01-01

    Residual stress analysis was performed on thick, 1-25 μm, depleted uranium (DU) films deposited on an Al substrate by magnetron sputtering. Two distinct characterization techniques were used to measure substrate curvature before and after deposition. Stress evaluation was performed using the Benabdi/Roche equation, which is based on beam theory of a bi-layer material. The residual stress evolution was studied as a function of coating thickness and applied negative bias voltage (0, -200, -300 V). The stresses developed were always compressive; however, increasing the coating thickness and applying a bias voltage presented a trend towards more tensile stresses and thus an overall reduction of residual stresses

  5. Energy measurement and fragment identification using digital signals from partially depleted Si detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasquali, G.; Pastore, G.; Barlini, S.; Bini, M.; Poggi, G.; Stefanini, A.A.; Valdre, S.; Le Neindre, N.; Bougault, R.; Lopez, O.; Vient, E.; Ademard, G.; Borderie, B.; Edelbruck, P.; Rivet, M.F.; Salomon, F.; Bonnet, E.; Chbihi, A.; Frankland, J.D.; Gruyer, D.; Casini, G.; Olmi, A.; Piantelli, S.; Cinausero, M.; Gramegna, F.; Marchi, T.; Duenas, J.A.; Kordyasz, A.; Kozik, T.; Twarog, T.; Morelli, L.; Ordine, A.; Parlog, M.; Rosato, E.; Spadaccini, G.; Alba, R.; Maiolino, C.; Santonocito, D.

    2014-01-01

    A study of identification properties of a Si-Si ΔE-E telescope exploiting an underdepleted residual-energy detector has been performed. Five different bias voltages have been used, one corresponding to full depletion, the others associated with a depleted layer ranging from 90% to 60% of the detector thickness. Fragment identification has been performed using either the ΔE-E technique or the Pulse Shape Analysis (PSA). Both detectors are reverse mounted: particles enter from the low field side, to enhance the PSA performance. The achieved charge and mass resolution has been quantitatively expressed using a Figure of Merit (FoM). Charge collection efficiency has been evaluated and the possibility of energy calibration corrections has been considered. We find that the ΔE-E performance is not affected by incomplete depletion even when only 60% of the wafer is depleted. Isotopic separation capability improves at lower bias voltages with respect to full depletion, though charge identification thresholds are higher than at full depletion. Good isotopic identification via PSA has been obtained from a partially depleted detector, whose doping uniformity is not good enough for isotopic identification at full depletion. (orig.)

  6. Energy measurement and fragment identification using digital signals from partially depleted Si detectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pasquali, G.; Pastore, G.; Barlini, S.; Bini, M.; Poggi, G.; Stefanini, A.A.; Valdre, S. [Universita di Firenze, Dipartimento di Fisica, Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); Le Neindre, N.; Bougault, R.; Lopez, O.; Vient, E. [ENSICAEN et Universite de Caen, LPC, IN2P3-CNRS, Caen-Cedex (France); Ademard, G.; Borderie, B.; Edelbruck, P.; Rivet, M.F.; Salomon, F. [Universite Paris-Sud 11, Institut de Physique Nucleaire, CNRS/IN2P3, Orsay cedex (France); Bonnet, E.; Chbihi, A.; Frankland, J.D.; Gruyer, D. [CEA/DSM-CNRS/IN2P3, GANIL, B.P. 5027, Caen cedex (France); Casini, G.; Olmi, A.; Piantelli, S. [INFN, Sezione di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); Cinausero, M.; Gramegna, F.; Marchi, T. [INFN-LNL Legnaro, Legnaro (Padova) (Italy); Duenas, J.A. [FCCEE Universidad de Huelva, Departamento de Fisica Aplicada, Huelva (Spain); Kordyasz, A. [University of Warsaw, Heavy Ion Laboratory, Warsaw (Poland); Kozik, T.; Twarog, T. [Institute of Nuclear Physics IFJ-PAN, Jagiellonian University, Krakow (Poland); Morelli, L. [INFN, Bologna (Italy); Universita di Bologna, Bologna (Italy); Ordine, A. [INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Napoli (Italy); Parlog, M. [ENSICAEN et Universite de Caen, LPC, IN2P3-CNRS, Caen-Cedex (France); ' ' Horia Hulubei' ' National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Bucharest (Romania); Rosato, E.; Spadaccini, G. [INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Napoli (Italy); Universita di Napoli ' ' Federico II' ' , Dipartimento di Fisica, Napoli (Italy); Alba, R.; Maiolino, C.; Santonocito, D. [INFN-LNS Catania, Catania (Italy); Collaboration: FAZIA Collaboration

    2014-05-15

    A study of identification properties of a Si-Si ΔE-E telescope exploiting an underdepleted residual-energy detector has been performed. Five different bias voltages have been used, one corresponding to full depletion, the others associated with a depleted layer ranging from 90% to 60% of the detector thickness. Fragment identification has been performed using either the ΔE-E technique or the Pulse Shape Analysis (PSA). Both detectors are reverse mounted: particles enter from the low field side, to enhance the PSA performance. The achieved charge and mass resolution has been quantitatively expressed using a Figure of Merit (FoM). Charge collection efficiency has been evaluated and the possibility of energy calibration corrections has been considered. We find that the ΔE-E performance is not affected by incomplete depletion even when only 60% of the wafer is depleted. Isotopic separation capability improves at lower bias voltages with respect to full depletion, though charge identification thresholds are higher than at full depletion. Good isotopic identification via PSA has been obtained from a partially depleted detector, whose doping uniformity is not good enough for isotopic identification at full depletion. (orig.)

  7. The ultimate disposition of depleted uranium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1990-12-01

    Significant amounts of the depleted uranium (DU) created by past uranium enrichment activities have been sold, disposed of commercially, or utilized by defense programs. In recent years, however, the demand for DU has become quite small compared to quantities available, and within the US Department of Energy (DOE) there is concern for any risks and/or cost liabilities that might be associated with the ever-growing inventory of this material. As a result, Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (Energy Systems), was asked to review options and to develop a comprehensive plan for inventory management and the ultimate disposition of DU accumulated at the gaseous diffusion plants (GDPs). An Energy Systems task team, under the chairmanship of T. R. Lemons, was formed in late 1989 to provide advice and guidance for this task. This report reviews options and recommends actions and objectives in the management of working inventories of partially depleted feed (PDF) materials and for the ultimate disposition of fully depleted uranium (FDU). Actions that should be considered are as follows. (1) Inspect UF{sub 6} cylinders on a semiannual basis. (2) Upgrade cylinder maintenance and storage yards. (3) Convert FDU to U{sub 3}O{sub 8} for long-term storage or disposal. This will include provisions for partial recovery of costs to offset those associated with DU inventory management and the ultimate disposal of FDU. Another recommendation is to drop the term tails'' in favor of depleted uranium'' or DU'' because the tails'' label implies that it is waste.'' 13 refs.

  8. Behaviour of Viscoelastic - Viscoplastic Spheres and Cylinders - Fully Plastic Vessel Walls

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ottosen, N. Saabye

    1985-01-01

    The material model consists of a viscoelastic Burgers element and an additional viscoplastic Bingham element when the effective stress exceeds the yield stress. For fully plastic vessel walls, exact closed-form expressions arc derived for the stress and strain state in pressurised or relaxation...... loaded thick-walled cylinders in plane strain and spheres. For the spherical problem, the material compressibility is accounted for. The influence of the different material parameters on the behaviour of the vessels is evaluated. It is shown that the magnitude of the Maxwell viscosity is of major...... importance for the long-term behaviour of thick-walled fully plastic vessels....

  9. Applications of a pnCCD detector coupled to columnar structure CsI(Tl) scintillator system in ultra high energy X-ray Laue diffraction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shokr, M.; Schlosser, D.; Abboud, A.; Algashi, A.; Tosson, A.; Conka, T.; Hartmann, R.; Klaus, M.; Genzel, C.; Strüder, L.; Pietsch, U.

    2017-12-01

    Most charge coupled devices (CCDs) are made of silicon (Si) with typical active layer thicknesses of several microns. In case of a pnCCD detector the sensitive Si thickness is 450 μm. However, for silicon based detectors the quantum efficiency for hard X-rays drops significantly for photon energies above 10 keV . This drawback can be overcome by combining a pixelated silicon-based detector system with a columnar scintillator. Here we report on the characterization of a low noise, fully depleted 128×128 pixels pnCCD detector with 75×75 μm2 pixel size coupled to a 700 μm thick columnar CsI(Tl) scintillator in the photon range between 1 keV to 130 keV . The excellent performance of the detection system in the hard X-ray range is demonstrated in a Laue type X-ray diffraction experiment performed at EDDI beamline of the BESSY II synchrotron taken at a set of several GaAs single crystals irradiated by white synchrotron radiation. With the columnar structure of the scintillator, the position resolution of the whole system reaches a value of less than one pixel. Using the presented detector system and considering the functional relation between indirect and direct photon events Laue diffraction peaks with X-ray energies up to 120 keV were efficiently detected. As one of possible applications of the combined CsI-pnCCD system we demonstrate that the accuracy of X-ray structure factors extracted from Laue diffraction peaks can be significantly improved in hard X-ray range using the combined CsI(Tl)-pnCCD system compared to a bare pnCCD.

  10. Depleted uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huffer, E.; Nifenecker, H.

    2001-02-01

    This document deals with the physical, chemical and radiological properties of the depleted uranium. What is the depleted uranium? Why do the military use depleted uranium and what are the risk for the health? (A.L.B.)

  11. Processing and Applications of Depleted Uranium Alloy Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    1976-09-01

    ammunition, weapons, gyrorotors, and ballast. Depleted uranium used in fly- wheel devices, nuclear fuel casks, and ammunition could consume a significant...from straight in the range of 0,002 to 0.060-inch TIR (total indicated runout ) with an average of 0.025-inch TIR.* Solution heat treatment of the as-cast...an envelope thickness of 0.050 inch to allow for runout and to clean up surface imperfections. The runout resulting from heat treatment was in the

  12. Application of Industrial XRF Coating Thickness Analyzer for Phosphate Coating Thickness on Steel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksandr Sokolov

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The results of industrial application of an online X-ray fluorescence coating thickness analyzer for measuring the thickness of phosphate coatings on moving steel strips are considered in the article. The target range of coating thickness to be measured is from tens to hundreds of mg/m2 in a measurement time of 10 s. The measurement accuracy observed during long-duration factory acceptance test was 10–15%. The coating thickness analyzer consists of two XRF gauges, mounted above and below the steel strip and capable of moving across the moving strip system for their suspension and relocation and electronic control unit. Fully automated software was developed to automatically and continuously (24/7 control both gauges, scanning both sides of the steel strip, and develop and test methods for measuring new coatings. It allows performing offline storage and retrieval of the measurement results, remotely controlling the analyzer components and measurement modes from a control room. The developed XRF coating thickness analyzer can also be used for real-time measurement of other types of coatings, both metallic and non-metallic.

  13. Surface functionalization by fine ultraviolet-patterning of nanometer-thick liquid lubricant films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Renguo; Zhang, Hedong; Komada, Suguru; Mitsuya, Yasunaga; Fukuzawa, Kenji; Itoh, Shintaro

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We present fine UV-patterning of nm-thick liquid films for surface functionalization. • The patterned films exhibit both a morphological pattern and a functional pattern of different surface properties. • The finest pattern linewidth was 0.5 μm. • Fine patterning is crucial for improving surface and tribological properties. - Abstract: For micro/nanoscale devices, surface functionalization is essential to achieve function and performance superior to those that originate from the inherent bulk material properties. As a method of surface functionalization, we dip-coated nanometer-thick liquid lubricant films onto solid surfaces and then patterned the lubricant films with ultraviolet (UV) irradiation through a photomask. Surface topography, adhesion, and friction measurements demonstrated that the patterned films feature a concave–convex thickness distribution with thicker lubricant in the irradiated regions and a functional distribution with lower adhesion and friction in the irradiated convex regions. The pattern linewidth ranged from 100 to as fine as 0.5 μm. The surface functionalization effect of UV-patterning was investigated by measuring the water contact angles, surface energies, friction forces, and depletion of the patterned, as-dipped, and full UV-irradiated lubricant films. The full UV-irradiated lubricant film was hydrophobic with a water contact angle of 102.1°, and had lower surface energy, friction, and depletion than the as-dipped film, which was hydrophilic with a water contact angle of 80.7°. This demonstrates that UV irradiation substantially improves the surface and tribological properties of the nanometer-thick liquid lubricant films. The UV-patterned lubricant films exhibited superior surface and tribological properties than the as-dipped film. The water contact angle increased and the surface energy, friction, and depletion decreased as the pattern linewidth decreased. In particular, the 0.5-μm patterned lubricant

  14. Thick and large area PIN diodes for hard X-ray astronomy

    CERN Document Server

    Ota, N; Sugizaki, M; Kaneda, M; Tamura, T; Ozawa, H; Kamae, T; Makishima, K; Takahashi, T; Tashiro, M; Fukazawa, Y; Kataoka, J; Yamaoka, K; Kubo, S; Tanihata, C; Uchiyama, Y; Matsuzaki, K; Iyomoto, N; Kokubun, M; Nakazawa, T; Kubota, A; Mizuno, T; Matsumoto, Y; Isobe, N; Terada, Y; Sugiho, M; Onishi, T; Kubo, H; Ikeda, H; Nomachi, M; Ohsugi, T; Muramatsu, M; Akahori, H

    1999-01-01

    Thick and large area PIN diodes for the hard X-ray astronomy in the 10-60 keV range are developed. To cover this energy range in a room temperature and in a low background environment, Si PIN junction diodes of 2 mm in thickness with 2.5 cm sup 2 in effective area were developed, and will be used in the bottom of the Phoswich Hard X-ray Detector (HXD), on-board the ASTRO-E satellite. Problems related to a high purity Si and a thick depletion layer during our development and performance of the PIN diodes are presented in detail.

  15. Annealing bounds to prevent further Charge Transfer Inefficiency increase of the Chandra X-ray CCDs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Monmeyran, Corentin, E-mail: comonmey@mit.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Patel, Neil S., E-mail: neilp@mit.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Bautz, Mark W., E-mail: mwb@space.mit.edu [Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Grant, Catherine E., E-mail: cgrant@space.mit.edu [Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Prigozhin, Gregory Y., E-mail: gyp@space.mit.edu [Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Agarwal, Anuradha, E-mail: anu@mit.edu [Microphotonics Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Kimerling, Lionel C., E-mail: lckim@mit.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Microphotonics Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

    2016-12-15

    After the front-illuminated CCDs on board the X-ray telescope Chandra were damaged by radiation after launch, it was decided to anneal them in an effort to remove the defects introduced by the irradiation. The annealing led to an unexpected increase of the Charge Transfer Inefficiency (CTI). The performance degradation is attributed to point defect interactions in the devices. Specifically, the annealing at 30 °C activated the diffusion of the main interstitial defect in the device, the carbon interstitial, which led to its association with a substitutional impurity, ultimately resulting in a stable and electrically active defect state. Because the formation reaction of this carbon interstitial and substitutional impurity associate is diffusion limited, we recommend a higher upper bound for the annealing temperature and duration of any future CCD anneals, that of −50 °C for one day or −60 °C for a week, to prevent further CTI increase.

  16. Methods to examine reproductive biology in free-ranging, fully-marine mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanyon, Janet M; Burgess, Elizabeth A

    2014-01-01

    Historical overexploitation of marine mammals, combined with present-day pressures, has resulted in severely depleted populations, with many species listed as threatened or endangered. Understanding breeding patterns of threatened marine mammals is crucial to assessing population viability, potential recovery and conservation actions. However, determining reproductive parameters of wild fully-marine mammals (cetaceans and sirenians) is challenging due to their wide distributions, high mobility, inaccessible habitats, cryptic lifestyles and in many cases, large body size and intractability. Consequently, reproductive biologists employ an innovative suite of methods to collect useful information from these species. This chapter reviews historic, recent and state-of-the-art methods to examine diverse aspects of reproduction in fully-aquatic mammals.

  17. A Preliminary Assessment of the Adjuster Rod Depletion Effect in the CANDU Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Yonghee; Roh, Gyuhong; Kim, Won Young; Kim, Hak Sung; Park, Joo Hwan

    2008-01-01

    Lifetime of the Wolsong-1 CANDU reactor, which will be shutdown in April, 2009. Major reactor components such as the pressure tube are to be replaced and it is expected that the CANDU reactor can be operated for additional 25-30 years. Meanwhile, all the reactivity devices including the adjuster rods (ADJ) are supposed to be continuously used without any change. In the CANDU reactor, 21 stainless steel (SS) ADJs are used to control the core power distribution and compensate for some reactivity loss during several abnormal cases. The ADJs are normally fully inserted and the SS absorber should undergo a slow depletion through neutron irradiation for a long time. In April, 2009, the accumulated FPY (Full Power Day) of Wolsong-1 is about 23 years. Depletion of ADJs should result in a smaller ADJ worth and a higher fuel burnup and the core power distribution should also be affected by the ADJ depletion. In this work, the effects of the ADJ depletion have been assessed in terms of ADJ worth, time-average core characteristics

  18. Sensibility analysis of fuel depletion using different nuclear fuel depletion codes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martins, F.; Velasquez, C.E.; Castro, V.F.; Pereira, C.; Silva, C. A. Mello da, E-mail: felipmartins94@gmail.com, E-mail: carlosvelcab@hotmail.com, E-mail: victorfariascastro@gmail.com, E-mail: claubia@nuclear.ufmg.br, E-mail: clarysson@nuclear.ufmg.br [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear

    2017-07-01

    Nowadays, the utilization of different nuclear codes to perform the depletion and criticality calculations has been used to simulated nuclear reactors problems. Therefore, the goal is to analyze the sensibility of the fuel depletion of a PWR assembly using three different nuclear fuel depletion codes. The burnup calculations are performed using the codes MCNP5/ORIGEN2.1 (MONTEBURNS), KENO-VI/ORIGEN-S (TRITONSCALE6.0) and MCNPX (MCNPX/CINDER90). Each nuclear code performs the burnup using different depletion codes. Each depletion code works with collapsed energies from a master library in 1, 3 and 63 groups, respectively. Besides, each code uses different ways to obtain neutron flux that influences the depletions calculation. The results present a comparison of the neutronic parameters and isotopes composition such as criticality and nuclides build-up, the deviation in results are going to be assigned to features of the depletion code in use, such as the different radioactive decay internal libraries and the numerical method involved in solving the coupled differential depletion equations. It is also seen that the longer the period is and the more time steps are chosen, the larger the deviation become. (author)

  19. Sensibility analysis of fuel depletion using different nuclear fuel depletion codes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martins, F.; Velasquez, C.E.; Castro, V.F.; Pereira, C.; Silva, C. A. Mello da

    2017-01-01

    Nowadays, the utilization of different nuclear codes to perform the depletion and criticality calculations has been used to simulated nuclear reactors problems. Therefore, the goal is to analyze the sensibility of the fuel depletion of a PWR assembly using three different nuclear fuel depletion codes. The burnup calculations are performed using the codes MCNP5/ORIGEN2.1 (MONTEBURNS), KENO-VI/ORIGEN-S (TRITONSCALE6.0) and MCNPX (MCNPX/CINDER90). Each nuclear code performs the burnup using different depletion codes. Each depletion code works with collapsed energies from a master library in 1, 3 and 63 groups, respectively. Besides, each code uses different ways to obtain neutron flux that influences the depletions calculation. The results present a comparison of the neutronic parameters and isotopes composition such as criticality and nuclides build-up, the deviation in results are going to be assigned to features of the depletion code in use, such as the different radioactive decay internal libraries and the numerical method involved in solving the coupled differential depletion equations. It is also seen that the longer the period is and the more time steps are chosen, the larger the deviation become. (author)

  20. Measuring the Flatness of Focal Plane for Very Large Mosaic CCD Camera

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hao, Jiangang; Estrada, Juan; Cease, Herman; Diehl, H.Thomas; Flaugher, Brenna L.; Kubik, Donna; Kuk, Keivin; Kuropatkine, Nickolai; Lin, Huan; Montes, Jorge; Scarpine, Vic; /Fermilab

    2010-06-08

    Large mosaic multiCCD camera is the key instrument for modern digital sky survey. DECam is an extremely red sensitive 520 Megapixel camera designed for the incoming Dark Energy Survey (DES). It is consist of sixty two 4k x 2k and twelve 2k x 2k 250-micron thick fully-depleted CCDs, with a focal plane of 44 cm in diameter and a field of view of 2.2 square degree. It will be attached to the Blanco 4-meter telescope at CTIO. The DES will cover 5000 square-degrees of the southern galactic cap in 5 color bands (g, r, i, z, Y) in 5 years starting from 2011. To achieve the science goal of constraining the Dark Energy evolution, stringent requirements are laid down for the design of DECam. Among them, the flatness of the focal plane needs to be controlled within a 60-micron envelope in order to achieve the specified PSF variation limit. It is very challenging to measure the flatness of the focal plane to such precision when it is placed in a high vacuum dewar at 173 K. We developed two image based techniques to measure the flatness of the focal plane. By imaging a regular grid of dots on the focal plane, the CCD offset along the optical axis is converted to the variation the grid spacings at different positions on the focal plane. After extracting the patterns and comparing the change in spacings, we can measure the flatness to high precision. In method 1, the regular dots are kept in high sub micron precision and cover the whole focal plane. In method 2, no high precision for the grid is required. Instead, we use a precise XY stage moves the pattern across the whole focal plane and comparing the variations of the spacing when it is imaged by different CCDs. Simulation and real measurements show that the two methods work very well for our purpose, and are in good agreement with the direct optical measurements.

  1. Toxicity of Depleted Uranium Dust Particles: Results of a New Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zucchetti, M.

    2013-01-01

    Depleted uranium (DU) is mostly composed of U-238, a naturally radioactive isotope. Concerning chemical toxicity, uranium, being a heavy metal, is known to have toxic effects on specific organs in the body, the kidneys in particular. Its effects are similar to those of other heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium. Scientific evidence resulting both from in vitro and in vivo analyses shows that current models of the mechanisms of toxicity of uranium dust are not fully satisfactory. They should be refined in order to obtain more effective responses and predictions regarding health effects. In particular, radiotoxicity potential of Depleted Uranium dust originated by military use of this material for ammunition must be re-evaluated taking into account the bystander effect, the dose enhancing effect and other minor phenomena. Uranium dust has both chemical and radiological toxicity: the synergistic aspect of the two effects has to be accounted for, in order to arrive to a complete description of the phenomenon. The combination of the two different toxicities (chemical and radiological) of depleted uranium is attempted here for the first time, approaching the long-term effects of Depleted Uranium, and in particular the carcinogenetic effects. A case study (Balkan war, 1999) is discussed. (Author)

  2. "When the going gets tough, who keeps going?" Depletion sensitivity moderates the ego-depletion effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon, Stefanie J; Adriaanse, Marieke A; De Vet, Emely; Fennis, Bob M; De Ridder, Denise T D

    2014-01-01

    Self-control relies on a limited resource that can get depleted, a phenomenon that has been labeled ego-depletion. We argue that individuals may differ in their sensitivity to depleting tasks, and that consequently some people deplete their self-control resource at a faster rate than others. In three studies, we assessed individual differences in depletion sensitivity, and demonstrate that depletion sensitivity moderates ego-depletion effects. The Depletion Sensitivity Scale (DSS) was employed to assess depletion sensitivity. Study 1 employs the DSS to demonstrate that individual differences in sensitivity to ego-depletion exist. Study 2 shows moderate correlations of depletion sensitivity with related self-control concepts, indicating that these scales measure conceptually distinct constructs. Study 3 demonstrates that depletion sensitivity moderates the ego-depletion effect. Specifically, participants who are sensitive to depletion performed worse on a second self-control task, indicating a stronger ego-depletion effect, compared to participants less sensitive to depletion.

  3. When the Going Gets Tough, Who Keeps Going? Depletion Sensitivity Moderates the Ego-Depletion Effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanie J. Salmon

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Self-control relies on a limited resource that can get depleted, a phenomenon that has been labeled ego-depletion. We argue that individuals may differ in their sensitivity to depleting tasks, and that consequently some people deplete their self-control resource at a faster rate than others. In three studies, we assessed individual differences in depletion sensitivity, and demonstrate that depletion sensitivity moderates ego-depletion effects. The Depletion Sensitivity Scale (DSS was employed to assess depletion sensitivity. Study 1 employs the DSS to demonstrate that individual differences in sensitivity to ego-depletion exist. Study 2 shows moderate correlations of depletion sensitivity with related self-control concepts, indicating that these scales measure conceptually distinct constructs. Study 3 demonstrates that depletion sensitivity moderates the ego-depletion effect. Specifically, participants who are sensitive to depletion performed worse on a second self-control task, indicating a stronger ego-depletion effect, compared to participants less sensitive to depletion.

  4. Impact of oxygen-depleted water on the vertical distribution of chaetognaths in the northeastern Arabian Sea

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Kusum, K.K.; Vineetha, G.; Raveendran, T.V.; Muraleedharan, K.R.; Nair, M.; Achuthankutty, C.T.

    The influence of a thick layer of oxygen-depleted water (<0.2 ml l sup(-1)) on the abundance and distribution of chaetognaths was investigated in the northeastern Arabian Sea (NEAS), a natural oxygen-deficient system in the global ocean. The species...

  5. Rifting Thick Lithosphere - Canning Basin, Western Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czarnota, Karol; White, Nicky

    2016-04-01

    The subsidence histories and architecture of most, but not all, rift basins are elegantly explained by extension of ~120 km thick lithosphere followed by thermal re-thickening of the lithospheric mantle to its pre-rift thickness. Although this well-established model underpins most basin analysis, it is unclear whether the model explains the subsidence of rift basins developed over substantially thick lithosphere (as imaged by seismic tomography beneath substantial portions of the continents). The Canning Basin of Western Australia is an example where a rift basin putatively overlies lithosphere ≥180 km thick, imaged using shear wave tomography. Subsidence modelling in this study shows that the entire subsidence history of the account for the observed subsidence, at standard crustal densities, the lithospheric mantle is required to be depleted in density by 50-70 kg m-3, which is in line with estimates derived from modelling rare-earth element concentrations of the ~20 Ma lamproites and global isostatic considerations. Together, these results suggest that thick lithosphere thinned to > 120 km is thermally stable and is not accompanied by post-rift thermal subsidence driven by thermal re-thickening of the lithospheric mantle. Our results show that variations in lithospheric thickness place a fundamental control on basin architecture. The discrepancy between estimates of lithospheric thickness derived from subsidence data for the western Canning Basin and those derived from shear wave tomography suggests that the latter technique currently is limited in its ability to resolve lithospheric thickness variations at horizontal half-wavelength scales of <300 km.

  6. A mouse model for creatine transporter deficiency reveals early onset cognitive impairment and neuropathology associated with brain aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baroncelli, Laura; Molinaro, Angelo; Cacciante, Francesco; Alessandrì, Maria Grazia; Napoli, Debora; Putignano, Elena; Tola, Jonida; Leuzzi, Vincenzo; Cioni, Giovanni; Pizzorusso, Tommaso

    2016-10-01

    Mutations in the creatine (Cr) transporter (CrT) gene lead to cerebral creatine deficiency syndrome-1 (CCDS1), an X-linked metabolic disorder characterized by cerebral Cr deficiency causing intellectual disability, seizures, movement and autistic-like behavioural disturbances, language and speech impairment. Since no data are available about the neural and molecular underpinnings of this disease, we performed a longitudinal analysis of behavioural and pathological alterations associated with CrT deficiency in a CCDS1 mouse model. We found precocious cognitive and autistic-like defects, mimicking the early key features of human CCDS1. Moreover, mutant mice displayed a progressive impairment of short and long-term declarative memory denoting an early brain aging. Pathological examination showed a prominent loss of GABAergic synapses, marked activation of microglia, reduction of hippocampal neurogenesis and the accumulation of autofluorescent lipofuscin. Our data suggest that brain Cr depletion causes both early intellectual disability and late progressive cognitive decline, and identify novel targets to design intervention strategies aimed at overcoming brain CCDS1 alterations. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Design and theoretical calculation of novel GeSn fully-depleted n-tunneling FET with quantum confinement model for suppression on GIDL effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiangyu; Hu, Huiyong; Wang, Meng; Miao, Yuanhao; Han, Genquan; Wang, Bin

    2018-06-01

    In this paper, a novel fully-depleted Ge1-xSnx n-Tunneling FET (FD Ge1-xSnx nTFET) with field plate is investigated theoretically based on the experiment previously published. The energy band structures of Ge1-xSnx are calculated by EMP and the band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) parameters of Ge1-xSnx are calculated by Kane's model. The electrical characteristics of FD Ge1-xSnx nTFET and FD Ge1-xSnx nTFET with field plate (FD-FP Ge1-xSnx nTFET) having various Sn compositions are investigated and simulated with quantum confinement model. The results indicated that the GIDL effect is serious in FD Ge1-xSnx nTFET. By employing the field plate structure, the GIDL effect of FD-FP Ge1-xSnx nTFET is suppressed and the off-state current Ioff is decreased more than 2 orders of magnitude having Sn compositions from 0 to 0.06 compared with FD Ge1-xSnx nTFET. The impact of the difference of work function between field plate metal and channel Φfps is also studied. With the optimized Φfps = 0.0 eV, the on-state current Ion = 4.6 × 10-5 A/μm, the off-state current Ioff = 1.6 × 10-13 A/μm and the maximum on/off ration Ion/Ioff = 2.9 × 108 are achieved.

  8. Positron annihilation studies in the field induced depletion regions of metal-oxide-semiconductor structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asoka-Kumar, P.; Leung, T. C.; Lynn, K. G.; Nielsen, B.; Forcier, M. P.; Weinberg, Z. A.; Rubloff, G. W.

    1992-06-01

    The centroid shifts of positron annihilation spectra are reported from the depletion regions of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors at room temperature and at 35 K. The centroid shift measurement can be explained using the variation of the electric field strength and depletion layer thickness as a function of the applied gate bias. An estimate for the relevant MOS quantities is obtained by fitting the centroid shift versus beam energy data with a steady-state diffusion-annihilation equation and a derivative-gaussian positron implantation profile. Inadequacy of the present analysis scheme is evident from the derived quantities and alternate methods are required for better predictions.

  9. Positron annihilation studies in the field induced depletion regions of metal-oxide-semiconductor structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asoka-Kumar, P.; Leung, T.C.; Lynn, K.G.; Nielsen, B.; Forcier, M.P.; Weinberg, Z.A.; Rubloff, G.W.

    1992-01-01

    The centroid shifts of positron annihilation spectra are reported from the depletion regions of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors at room temperature and at 35 K. The centroid shift measurement can be explained using the variation of the electric field strength and depletion layer thickness as a function of the applied gate bias. An estimate for the relevant MOS quantities is obtained by fitting the centroid shift versus beam energy data with a steady-state diffusion-annihilation equation and a derivative-gaussian positron implantation profile. Inadequacy of the present analysis scheme is evident from the derived quantities and alternate methods are required for better predictions

  10. Deuterium-depleted water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stefanescu, Ion; Steflea, Dumitru; Saros-Rogobete, Irina; Titescu, Gheorghe; Tamaian, Radu

    2001-01-01

    Deuterium-depleted water represents water that has an isotopic content smaller than 145 ppm D/(D+H) which is the natural isotopic content of water. Deuterium depleted water is produced by vacuum distillation in columns equipped with structured packing made from phosphor bronze or stainless steel. Deuterium-depleted water, the production technique and structured packing are patents of National Institute of Research - Development for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies at Rm. Valcea. Researches made in the last few years showed the deuterium-depleted water is a biological active product that could have many applications in medicine and agriculture. (authors)

  11. Effective radiation attenuation calibration for breast density: compression thickness influences and correction

    OpenAIRE

    Thomas Jerry A; Cao Ke; Heine John J

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Background Calibrating mammograms to produce a standardized breast density measurement for breast cancer risk analysis requires an accurate spatial measure of the compressed breast thickness. Thickness inaccuracies due to the nominal system readout value and compression paddle orientation induce unacceptable errors in the calibration. Method A thickness correction was developed and evaluated using a fully specified two-component surrogate breast model. A previously developed calibrat...

  12. Ego depletion in visual perception: Ego-depleted viewers experience less ambiguous figure reversal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wimmer, Marina C; Stirk, Steven; Hancock, Peter J B

    2017-10-01

    This study examined the effects of ego depletion on ambiguous figure perception. Adults (N = 315) received an ego depletion task and were subsequently tested on their inhibitory control abilities that were indexed by the Stroop task (Experiment 1) and their ability to perceive both interpretations of ambiguous figures that was indexed by reversal (Experiment 2). Ego depletion had a very small effect on reducing inhibitory control (Cohen's d = .15) (Experiment 1). Ego-depleted participants had a tendency to take longer to respond in Stroop trials. In Experiment 2, ego depletion had small to medium effects on the experience of reversal. Ego-depleted viewers tended to take longer to reverse ambiguous figures (duration to first reversal) when naïve of the ambiguity and experienced less reversal both when naïve and informed of the ambiguity. Together, findings suggest that ego depletion has small effects on inhibitory control and small to medium effects on bottom-up and top-down perceptual processes. The depletion of cognitive resources can reduce our visual perceptual experience.

  13. A modern depleted uranium manufacturing facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zagula, T.A.

    1995-07-01

    The Specific Manufacturing Capabilities (SMC) Project located at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) and operated by Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Co. (LMIT) for the Department of Energy (DOE) manufactures depleted uranium for use in the U.S. Army MIA2 Abrams Heavy Tank Armor Program. Since 1986, SMC has fabricated more than 12 million pounds of depleted uranium (DU) products in a multitude of shapes and sizes with varying metallurgical properties while maintaining security, environmental, health and safety requirements. During initial facility design in the early 1980's, emphasis on employee safety, radiation control and environmental consciousness was gaining momentum throughout the DOE complex. This fact coupled with security and production requirements forced design efforts to focus on incorporating automation, local containment and computerized material accountability at all work stations. The result was a fully automated production facility engineered to manufacture DU armor packages with virtually no human contact while maintaining security, traceability and quality requirements. This hands off approach to handling depleted uranium resulted in minimal radiation exposures and employee injuries. Construction of the manufacturing facility was complete in early 1986 with the first armor package certified in October 1986. Rolling facility construction was completed in 1987 with the first certified plate produced in the fall of 1988. Since 1988 the rolling and manufacturing facilities have delivered more than 2600 armor packages on schedule with 100% final product quality acceptance. During this period there was an annual average of only 2.2 lost time incidents and a single individual maximum radiation exposure of 150 mrem. SMC is an example of designing and operating a facility that meets regulatory requirements with respect to national security, radiation control and personnel safety while achieving production schedules and product quality

  14. Depletion of CpG Dinucleotides in Papillomaviruses and Polyomaviruses: A Role for Divergent Evolutionary Pressures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Upadhyay, Mohita; Vivekanandan, Perumal

    2015-01-01

    Papillomaviruses and polyomaviruses are small ds-DNA viruses infecting a wide-range of vertebrate hosts. Evidence supporting co-evolution of the virus with the host does not fully explain the evolutionary path of papillomaviruses and polyomaviruses. Studies analyzing CpG dinucleotide frequencies in virus genomes have provided interesting insights on virus evolution. CpG dinucleotide depletion has not been extensively studied among papillomaviruses and polyomaviruses. We sought to analyze the relative abundance of dinucleotides and the relative roles of evolutionary pressures in papillomaviruses and polyomaviruses. We studied 127 full-length sequences from papillomaviruses and 56 full-length sequences from polyomaviruses. We analyzed the relative abundance of dinucleotides, effective codon number (ENC), differences in synonymous codon usage. We examined the association, if any, between the extent of CpG dinucleotide depletion and the evolutionary lineage of the infected host. We also investigated the contribution of mutational pressure and translational selection to the evolution of papillomaviruses and polyomaviruses. All papillomaviruses and polyomaviruses are CpG depleted. Interestingly, the evolutionary lineage of the infected host determines the extent of CpG depletion among papillomaviruses and polyomaviruses. CpG dinucleotide depletion was more pronounced among papillomaviruses and polyomaviruses infecting human and other mammals as compared to those infecting birds. Our findings demonstrate that CpG depletion among papillomaviruses is linked to mutational pressure; while CpG depletion among polyomaviruses is linked to translational selection. We also present evidence that suggests methylation of CpG dinucleotides may explain, at least in part, the depletion of CpG dinucleotides among papillomaviruses but not polyomaviruses. The extent of CpG depletion among papillomaviruses and polyomaviruses is linked to the evolutionary lineage of the infected host. Our

  15. “When the going gets tough, who keeps going?” Depletion sensitivity moderates the ego-depletion effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon, Stefanie J.; Adriaanse, Marieke A.; De Vet, Emely; Fennis, Bob M.; De Ridder, Denise T. D.

    2014-01-01

    Self-control relies on a limited resource that can get depleted, a phenomenon that has been labeled ego-depletion. We argue that individuals may differ in their sensitivity to depleting tasks, and that consequently some people deplete their self-control resource at a faster rate than others. In three studies, we assessed individual differences in depletion sensitivity, and demonstrate that depletion sensitivity moderates ego-depletion effects. The Depletion Sensitivity Scale (DSS) was employed to assess depletion sensitivity. Study 1 employs the DSS to demonstrate that individual differences in sensitivity to ego-depletion exist. Study 2 shows moderate correlations of depletion sensitivity with related self-control concepts, indicating that these scales measure conceptually distinct constructs. Study 3 demonstrates that depletion sensitivity moderates the ego-depletion effect. Specifically, participants who are sensitive to depletion performed worse on a second self-control task, indicating a stronger ego-depletion effect, compared to participants less sensitive to depletion. PMID:25009523

  16. Effect of ZnO channel thickness on the device behaviour of nonvolatile memory thin film transistors with double-layered gate insulators of Al2O3 and ferroelectric polymer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoon, Sung-Min; Yang, Shin-Hyuk; Ko Park, Sang-Hee; Jung, Soon-Won; Cho, Doo-Hee; Byun, Chun-Won; Kang, Seung-Youl; Hwang, Chi-Sun; Yu, Byoung-Gon

    2009-01-01

    Poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene) and ZnO were employed for nonvolatile memory thin film transistors as ferroelectric gate insulator and oxide semiconducting channel layers, respectively. It was proposed that the thickness of the ZnO layer be carefully controlled for realizing the lower programming voltage, because the serially connected capacitor by the formation of a fully depleted ZnO channel had a critical effect on the off programming voltage. The fabricated memory transistor with Al/P(VDF-TrFE) (80 nm)/Al 2 O 3 (4 nm)/ZnO (5 nm) exhibits encouraging behaviour such as a memory window of 3.8 V at the gate voltage of -10 to 12 V, and 10 7 on/off ratio, and a gate leakage current of 10 -11 A.

  17. Development of a Depleted Monolithic CMOS Sensor in a 150 nm CMOS Technology for the ATLAS Inner Tracker Upgrade

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, T.

    2017-01-01

    The recent R&D focus on CMOS sensors with charge collection in a depleted zone has opened new perspectives for CMOS sensors as fast and radiation hard pixel devices. These sensors, labelled as depleted CMOS sensors (DMAPS), have already shown promising performance as feasible candidates for the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk) upgrade, possibly replacing the current passive sensors. A further step to exploit the potential of DMAPS is to investigate the suitability of equipping the outer layers of the ATLAS ITk upgrade with fully monolithic CMOS sensors. This paper presents the development of a depleted monolithic CMOS pixel sensor designed in the LFoundry 150 nm CMOS technology, with the focus on design details and simulation results.

  18. Depletion of gamma-glutamylcyclotransferase in cancer cells induces autophagy followed by cellular senescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taniguchi, Keiko; Matsumura, Kengo; Ii, Hiromi; Kageyama, Susumu; Ashihara, Eishi; Chano, Tokuhiro; Kawauchi, Akihiro; Yoshiki, Tatsuhiro; Nakata, Susumu

    2018-01-01

    Gamma-glutamylcyclotransferase (GGCT) was originally identified as a protein highly expressed in bladder cancer tissues by proteomic analysis, and its higher expression in a variety of cancers compared to normal tissues have been shown. Depletion of GGCT in various cancer cells results in antiproliferative effects both in vitro and in vivo ; thus it is considered a promising therapeutic target. Although it has been shown that knockdown of GGCT induces cellular senescence and non-apoptotic cell death, associated with upregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKIs) including p21 WAF1/CIP1 , the cellular events that follow GGCT depletion are not fully understood. Here, we show that GGCT depletion induced autophagy in MCF7 breast and PC3 prostate cancer cells. Conversely, overexpression of GGCT in NIH3T3 fibroblast under conditions of serum deprivation inhibited autophagy and increased proliferation. Simultaneous knockdown of autophagy related-protein 5, a critical effector of autophagy, along with GGCT in MCF7 and PC3 cells led to significant attenuation of the multiple cellular responses, including upregulation of CDKIs, increased numbers of senescence-associated β-galactosidase positive senescent cells, and growth inhibition. Furthermore, we show that autophagy-promoting signaling cascades including activation of the AMPK-ULK1 pathway and/or inactivation of the mTORC2-Akt pathway were triggered in GGCT-depleted cells. These results indicate that autophagy plays an important role in the growth inhibition of cancer cells caused by GGCT depletion.

  19. Space- and time-resolved resistive measurements of liquid metal wall thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mirhoseini, S. M. H.; Volpe, F. A., E-mail: fvolpe@columbia.edu [Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)

    2016-11-15

    In a fusion reactor internally coated with liquid metal, it will be important to diagnose the thickness of the liquid at various locations in the vessel, as a function of time, and possibly respond to counteract undesired bulging or depletion. The electrical conductance between electrodes immersed in the liquid metal can be used as a simple proxy for the local thickness. Here a matrix of electrodes is shown to provide spatially and temporally resolved measurements of liquid metal thickness in the absence of plasma. First a theory is developed for m × n electrodes, and then it is experimentally demonstrated for 3 × 1 electrodes, as the liquid stands still or is agitated by means of a shaker. The experiments were carried out with Galinstan, but are easily extended to lithium or other liquid metals.

  20. Space- and time-resolved resistive measurements of liquid metal wall thickness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirhoseini, S. M. H.; Volpe, F. A.

    2016-01-01

    In a fusion reactor internally coated with liquid metal, it will be important to diagnose the thickness of the liquid at various locations in the vessel, as a function of time, and possibly respond to counteract undesired bulging or depletion. The electrical conductance between electrodes immersed in the liquid metal can be used as a simple proxy for the local thickness. Here a matrix of electrodes is shown to provide spatially and temporally resolved measurements of liquid metal thickness in the absence of plasma. First a theory is developed for m × n electrodes, and then it is experimentally demonstrated for 3 × 1 electrodes, as the liquid stands still or is agitated by means of a shaker. The experiments were carried out with Galinstan, but are easily extended to lithium or other liquid metals.

  1. Effects of Interfacial Charge Depletion in Organic Thin-Film Transistors with Polymeric Dielectrics on Electrical Stability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaehoon Park

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the electrical stabilities of two types of pentacene-based organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs with two different polymeric dielectrics: polystyrene (PS and poly(4-vinyl phenol (PVP, in terms of the interfacial charge depletion. Under a short-term bias stress condition, the OTFT with the PVP layer showed a substantial increase in the drain current and a positive shift of the threshold voltage, while the PS layer case exhibited no change. Furthermore, a significant increase in the off-state current was observed in the OTFT with the PVP layer which has a hydroxyl group. In the presence of the interfacial hydroxyl group in PVP, the holes are not fully depleted during repetitive operation of the OTFT with the PVP layer and a large positive gate voltage in the off-state regime is needed to effectively refresh the electrical characteristics. It is suggested that the depletion-limited holes at the interface, i.e., interfacial charge depletion, between the PVP layer and the pentacene layer play a critical role on the electrical stability during operation of the OTFT.

  2. Halo Star Lithium Depletion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pinsonneault, M. H.; Walker, T. P.; Steigman, G.; Narayanan, Vijay K.

    1999-01-01

    The depletion of lithium during the pre-main-sequence and main-sequence phases of stellar evolution plays a crucial role in the comparison of the predictions of big bang nucleosynthesis with the abundances observed in halo stars. Previous work has indicated a wide range of possible depletion factors, ranging from minimal in standard (nonrotating) stellar models to as much as an order of magnitude in models that include rotational mixing. Recent progress in the study of the angular momentum evolution of low-mass stars permits the construction of theoretical models capable of reproducing the angular momentum evolution of low-mass open cluster stars. The distribution of initial angular momenta can be inferred from stellar rotation data in young open clusters. In this paper we report on the application of these models to the study of lithium depletion in main-sequence halo stars. A range of initial angular momenta produces a range of lithium depletion factors on the main sequence. Using the distribution of initial conditions inferred from young open clusters leads to a well-defined halo lithium plateau with modest scatter and a small population of outliers. The mass-dependent angular momentum loss law inferred from open cluster studies produces a nearly flat plateau, unlike previous models that exhibited a downward curvature for hotter temperatures in the 7Li-Teff plane. The overall depletion factor for the plateau stars is sensitive primarily to the solar initial angular momentum used in the calibration for the mixing diffusion coefficients. Uncertainties remain in the treatment of the internal angular momentum transport in the models, and the potential impact of these uncertainties on our results is discussed. The 6Li/7Li depletion ratio is also examined. We find that the dispersion in the plateau and the 6Li/7Li depletion ratio scale with the absolute 7Li depletion in the plateau, and we use observational data to set bounds on the 7Li depletion in main-sequence halo

  3. Impact of measuring electron tracks in high-resolution scientific charge-coupled devices within Compton imaging systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chivers, D.H.; Coffer, A.; Plimley, B.; Vetter, K.

    2011-01-01

    We have implemented benchmarked models to determine the gain in sensitivity of electron-tracking based Compton imaging relative to conventional Compton imaging by the use of high-resolution scientific charge-coupled devices (CCD). These models are based on the recently demonstrated ability of electron-tracking based Compton imaging by using fully depleted scientific CCDs. Here we evaluate the gain in sensitivity by employing Monte Carlo simulations in combination with advanced charge transport models to calculate two-dimensional charge distributions corresponding to experimentally obtained tracks. In order to reconstruct the angle of the incident γ-ray, a trajectory determination algorithm was used on each track and integrated into a back-projection routine utilizing a geodesic-vertex ray tracing technique. Analysis was performed for incident γ-ray energies of 662 keV and results show an increase in sensitivity consistent with tracking of the Compton electron to approximately ±30 o .

  4. CO Depletion: A Microscopic Perspective

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cazaux, S. [Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands); Martín-Doménech, R.; Caro, G. M. Muñoz; Díaz, C. González [Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Ctra. de Ajalvir, km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, E-28850 Madrid (Spain); Chen, Y. J. [Department of Physics, National Central University, Jhongli City, 32054, Taoyuan County, Taiwan (China)

    2017-11-10

    In regions where stars form, variations in density and temperature can cause gas to freeze out onto dust grains forming ice mantles, which influences the chemical composition of a cloud. The aim of this paper is to understand in detail the depletion (and desorption) of CO on (from) interstellar dust grains. Experimental simulations were performed under two different (astrophysically relevant) conditions. In parallel, Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations were used to mimic the experimental conditions. In our experiments, CO molecules accrete onto water ice at temperatures below 27 K, with a deposition rate that does not depend on the substrate temperature. During the warm-up phase, the desorption processes do exhibit subtle differences, indicating the presence of weakly bound CO molecules, therefore highlighting a low diffusion efficiency. IR measurements following the ice thickness during the TPD confirm that diffusion occurs at temperatures close to the desorption. Applied to astrophysical conditions, in a pre-stellar core, the binding energies of CO molecules, ranging between 300 and 850 K, depend on the conditions at which CO has been deposited. Because of this wide range of binding energies, the depletion of CO as a function of A{sub V} is much less important than initially thought. The weakly bound molecules, easily released into the gas phase through evaporation, change the balance between accretion and desorption, which result in a larger abundance of CO at high extinctions. In addition, weakly bound CO molecules are also more mobile, and this could increase the reactivity within interstellar ices.

  5. Depleted-heterojunction colloidal quantum dot photovoltaics employing low-cost electrical contacts

    KAUST Repository

    Debnath, Ratan

    2010-01-01

    With an aim to reduce the cost of depleted-heterojunction colloidal quantum dot solar cells, we describe herein a strategy that replaces costly Au with a low-cost Ni-based Ohmic contact. The resultant devices achieve 3.5% Air Mass 1.5 power conversion efficiency. Only by incorporating a 1.2-nm-thick LiF layer between the PbS quantum dot film and Ni, we were able to prevent undesired reactions and degradation at the metal-semiconductor interface. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.

  6. Automatic optimized reload and depletion method for a pressurized water reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, D.H.; Levene, S.H.

    1985-01-01

    A new method has been developed to automatically reload and deplete a pressurized water reactor (PWR) so that both the enriched inventory requirements during the reactor cycle and the cost of reloading the core are minimized. This is achieved through four stepwise optimization calculations: (a) determination of the minimum fuel requirement for an equivalent three-region core model, (b) optimal selection and allocation of fuel assemblies for each of the three regions to minimize the reload cost, (c) optimal placement of fuel assemblies to conserve regionwise optimal conditions, and (d) optimal control through poison management to deplete individual fuel assemblies to maximize end-of-cycle k /SUB eff/ . The new method differs from previous methods in that the optimization process automatically performs all tasks required to reload and deplete a PWR. In addition, the previous work that developed optimization methods principally for the initial reactor cycle was modified to handle subsequent cycles with fuel assemblies having burnup at beginning of cycle. Application of the method to the fourth reactor cycle at Three Mile Island Unit 1 has shown that both the enrichment and the number of fresh reload fuel assemblies can be decreased and fully amortized fuel assemblies can be reused to minimize the fuel cost of the reactor

  7. "When the going gets tough, who keeps going?" Depletion sensitivity moderates the ego-depletion effect

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Salmon, Stefanie J.; Adriaanse, Marieke A.; De Vet, Emely; Fennis, Bob M.; De Ridder, Denise T D

    2014-01-01

    Self-control relies on a limited resource that can get depleted, a phenomenon that has been labeled ego-depletion. We argue that individuals may differ in their sensitivity to depleting tasks, and that consequently some people deplete their self-control resource at a faster rate than others. In

  8. "When the going gets tough, who keeps going?" : Depletion sensitivity moderates the ego-depletion effect

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Salmon, Stefanie J.; Adriaanse, Marieke A.; De Vet, Emely; Fennis, Bob M.; De Ridder, Denise T. D.

    2014-01-01

    Self-control relies on a limited resource that can get depleted, a phenomenon that has been labeled ego-depletion. We argue that individuals may differ in their sensitivity to depleting tasks, and that consequently some people deplete their self-control resource at a faster rate than others. In

  9. The modality effect of ego depletion: Auditory task modality reduces ego depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qiong; Wang, Zhenhong

    2016-08-01

    An initial act of self-control that impairs subsequent acts of self-control is called ego depletion. The ego depletion phenomenon has been observed consistently. The modality effect refers to the effect of the presentation modality on the processing of stimuli. The modality effect was also robustly found in a large body of research. However, no study to date has examined the modality effects of ego depletion. This issue was addressed in the current study. In Experiment 1, after all participants completed a handgrip task, one group's participants completed a visual attention regulation task and the other group's participants completed an auditory attention regulation task, and then all participants again completed a handgrip task. The ego depletion phenomenon was observed in both the visual and the auditory attention regulation task. Moreover, participants who completed the visual task performed worse on the handgrip task than participants who completed the auditory task, which indicated that there was high ego depletion in the visual task condition. In Experiment 2, participants completed an initial task that either did or did not deplete self-control resources, and then they completed a second visual or auditory attention control task. The results indicated that depleted participants performed better on the auditory attention control task than the visual attention control task. These findings suggest that altering task modality may reduce ego depletion. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Film thickness degradation of Au/GaN Schottky contact characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, K.; Wang, R.X.; Fung, S.; Beling, C.D.; Chen, X.D.; Huang, Y.; Li, S.; Xu, S.J.; Gong, M.

    2005-01-01

    Electrical characteristics of Au/n-GaN Schottky contacts with different Au film thicknesses up to 1300 A, have been investigated using current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) techniques. Results show a steady decrease in the quality of the Schottky diodes for increasing Au film thickness. I-V measurements indicate that thin ( 500 A). Depth profiling Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) shows that the width of the Au/GaN junction interface increases with increasing Au thickness, suggesting considerable inter-mixing of Au, Ga and N. The results have been interpreted in terms of Ga out-diffusion from the GaN giving rise to gallium vacancies that in turn act as sites for electron-hole pair generation within the depletion region. The study supports the recent suggestion that gallium vacancies associated with threaded dislocations are playing an important role in junction breakdown

  11. The Toxicity of Depleted Uranium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wayne Briner

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Depleted uranium (DU is an emerging environmental pollutant that is introduced into the environment primarily by military activity. While depleted uranium is less radioactive than natural uranium, it still retains all the chemical toxicity associated with the original element. In large doses the kidney is the target organ for the acute chemical toxicity of this metal, producing potentially lethal tubular necrosis. In contrast, chronic low dose exposure to depleted uranium may not produce a clear and defined set of symptoms. Chronic low-dose, or subacute, exposure to depleted uranium alters the appearance of milestones in developing organisms. Adult animals that were exposed to depleted uranium during development display persistent alterations in behavior, even after cessation of depleted uranium exposure. Adult animals exposed to depleted uranium demonstrate altered behaviors and a variety of alterations to brain chemistry. Despite its reduced level of radioactivity evidence continues to accumulate that depleted uranium, if ingested, may pose a radiologic hazard. The current state of knowledge concerning DU is discussed.

  12. 800-MeV proton irradiation of thorium and depleted uranium targets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Russell, G.J.; Brun, T.O.; Pitcher, E.J. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States)] [and others

    1995-10-01

    As part of the Los Alamos Fertile-to-Fissile-Conversion (FERFICON) program in the late 1980`s, thick targets of the fertile materials thorium and depleted uranium were bombarded by 800-MeV protons to produce the fissile materials {sup 233}U and {sup 239}Pu, respectively. The amount of {sup 233}U made was determined by measuring the {sup 233}Pa activity, and the yield of {sup 239}Pu was deduced by measuring the activity of {sup 239}Np. For the thorium target, 4 spallation products and 34 fission products were also measured. For the depleted uranium target, 3 spallation products and 16 fission products were also measured. The number of fissions in each target was deduced from fission product mass-yield curves. In actuality, axial distributions of the products were measured, and the distributions were then integrated over the target volume to obtain the total number of products for each reaction.

  13. Teratogenicity of depleted uranium aerosols: A review from an epidemiological perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Panikkar Bindu

    2005-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Depleted uranium is being used increasingly often as a component of munitions in military conflicts. Military personnel, civilians and the DU munitions producers are being exposed to the DU aerosols that are generated. Methods We reviewed toxicological data on both natural and depleted uranium. We included peer reviewed studies and gray literature on birth malformations due to natural and depleted uranium. Our approach was to assess the "weight of evidence" with respect to teratogenicity of depleted uranium. Results Animal studies firmly support the possibility that DU is a teratogen. While the detailed pathways by which environmental DU can be internalized and reach reproductive cells are not yet fully elucidated, again, the evidence supports plausibility. To date, human epidemiological data include case examples, disease registry records, a case-control study and prospective longitudinal studies. Discussion The two most significant challenges to establishing a causal pathway between (human parental DU exposure and the birth of offspring with defects are: i distinguishing the role of DU from that of exposure to other potential teratogens; ii documentation on the individual level of extent of parental DU exposure. Studies that use biomarkers, none yet reported, can help address the latter challenge. Thoughtful triangulation of the results of multiple studies (epidemiological and other of DU teratogenicity contributes to disentangling the roles of various potentially teratogenic parental exposures. This paper is just such an endeavor. Conclusion In aggregate the human epidemiological evidence is consistent with increased risk of birth defects in offspring of persons exposed to DU.

  14. Management of depleted uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    Large stocks of depleted uranium have arisen as a result of enrichment operations, especially in the United States and the Russian Federation. Countries with depleted uranium stocks are interested in assessing strategies for the use and management of depleted uranium. The choice of strategy depends on several factors, including government and business policy, alternative uses available, the economic value of the material, regulatory aspects and disposal options, and international market developments in the nuclear fuel cycle. This report presents the results of a depleted uranium study conducted by an expert group organised jointly by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency. It contains information on current inventories of depleted uranium, potential future arisings, long term management alternatives, peaceful use options and country programmes. In addition, it explores ideas for international collaboration and identifies key issues for governments and policy makers to consider. (authors)

  15. Comparative Analysis of VERA Depletion Problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jinsu; Kim, Wonkyeong; Choi, Sooyoung; Lee, Hyunsuk; Lee, Deokjung

    2016-01-01

    Each code has its own solver for depletion, which can produce different depletion calculation results. In order to produce reference solutions for depletion calculation comparison, sensitivity studies should be preceded for each depletion solver. The sensitivity tests for burnup interval, number of depletion zones, and recoverable energy per fission (Q-value) were performed in this paper. For the comparison of depletion calculation results, usually the multiplication factors are compared as a function of burnup. In this study, new comparison methods have been introduced by using the number density of isotope or element, and a cumulative flux instead of burnup. In this paper, optimum depletion calculation options are determined through the sensitivity study of the burnup intervals and the number of depletion intrazones. Because the depletion using CRAM solver performs well for large burnup intervals, smaller number of burnup steps can be used to produce converged solutions. It was noted that the depletion intra-zone sensitivity is only pin-type dependent. The 1 and 10 depletion intra-zones for the normal UO2 pin and gadolinia rod, respectively, are required to obtain the reference solutions. When the optimized depletion calculation options are used, the differences of Q-values are found to be a main cause of the differences of solutions. In this paper, new comparison methods were introduced for consistent code-to-code comparisons even when different kappa libraries were used in the depletion calculations

  16. Reduction in total plasma ghrelin levels following catecholamine depletion: relation to bulimic and depressive symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homan, Philipp; Grob, Simona; Milos, Gabriella; Schnyder, Ulrich; Hasler, Gregor

    2013-09-01

    There is increasing preclinical and clinical evidence of the important role played by the gastric peptide hormone ghrelin in the pathogenesis of symptoms of depression and eating disorders. To investigate the role of ghrelin and its considered counterpart, peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY), in the development of bulimic and depressive symptoms induced by catecholamine depletion, we administered the tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor alpha-methyl-paratyrosine (AMPT) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover, single-site experimental trial to 29 healthy controls and 20 subjects with fully recovered bulimia nervosa (rBN). We found a decrease between preprandial and postprandial plasma ghrelin levels (psymptoms (psymptoms induced by catecholamine depletion. These findings suggest a relationship between catecholamines and ghrelin with depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Multi-wavelength imaging observations of plasma depletions over Kavalur, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. S. S. Sinha

    2001-09-01

    Full Text Available Observations of ionospheric plasma depletions were made over Kavalur (12.56° N, 78.8° E, Mag. Lat 4.6° N, India during March–pril 1998 using an all sky optical imaging system operating at 630 nm, 777.4 nm and 557.7 nm. Out of 14 nights of observations, plasma depletions were seen only on 9 nights. Except for 21 March 1998, which was a magnetically disturbed period, all other nights belonged to a magnetically quiet period. Some of the important results obtained from these observations are: (a After the onset of the equatorial spread F (ESF, plasma depletions take typically about 2 hrs 40 min to come to a fully developed state, (b There are three distinct types of plasma depletions: type 1 have an east-west (e–w extent of 250–350 km with an inter-depletion distance (IDD of 125–300 km; Type 2 have an e–w extent of 100–150 km and IDD of 50–150 km; Type 3 have smallest the e–w extent (40–100 km and IDD of 20–60 km, (c Most of the observed plasma depletions (> 82% had their eastward velocity in the range of 25–125 ms–1. Almost stationary plasma depletions (0–25 ms–1 were observed on one night, which was magnetically disturbed. These very slow moving depletions appear to be the result of a modification of the F-region dynamo field due to direct penetration of the electric field and/or changes in the neutral winds induced by the magnetic disturbance, (d On the night of 21/22 March 1998, which was a magnetically disturbed period, plasma depletions could be seen simultaneously in all three observing wavelengths, i.e. in 630 nm, 777.4 nm and 557.7 nm. It is believed that this simultaneous occurrence was due to neutral density modifications as a result of enhanced magnetic activity. (e Well developed brightness patterns were observed for the first time in 777.4 nm images. Earlier, such brightness patterns were observed only in 630 nm and 557.7 nm images. These brightness patterns initially appear as very small regions in the

  18. Age shall not weary us: deleterious effects of self-regulation depletion are specific to younger adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Theresa Dahm

    Full Text Available Self-regulation depletion (SRD, or ego-depletion, refers to decrements in self-regulation performance immediately following a different self-regulation-demanding activity. There are now over a hundred studies reporting SRD across a broad range of tasks and conditions. However, most studies have used young student samples. Because prefrontal brain regions thought to subserve self-regulation do not fully mature until 25 years of age, it is possible that SRD effects are confined to younger populations and are attenuated or disappear in older samples. We investigated this using the Stroop color task as an SRD induction and an autobiographical memory task as the outcome measure. We found that younger participants (<25 years were susceptible to depletion effects, but found no support for such effects in an older group (40-65 years. This suggests that the widely-reported phenomenon of SRD has important developmental boundary conditions casting doubt on claims that it represents a general feature of human cognition.

  19. Ozone depletion following future volcanic eruptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eric Klobas, J.; Wilmouth, David M.; Weisenstein, Debra K.; Anderson, James G.; Salawitch, Ross J.

    2017-07-01

    While explosive volcanic eruptions cause ozone loss in the current atmosphere due to an enhancement in the availability of reactive chlorine following the stratospheric injection of sulfur, future eruptions are expected to increase total column ozone as halogen loading approaches preindustrial levels. The timing of this shift in the impact of major volcanic eruptions on the thickness of the ozone layer is poorly known. Modeling four possible climate futures, we show that scenarios with the smallest increase in greenhouse gas concentrations lead to the greatest risk to ozone from heterogeneous chemical processing following future eruptions. We also show that the presence in the stratosphere of bromine from natural, very short-lived biogenic compounds is critically important for determining whether future eruptions will lead to ozone depletion. If volcanic eruptions inject hydrogen halides into the stratosphere, an effect not considered in current ozone assessments, potentially profound reductions in column ozone would result.

  20. Depleted CMOS pixels for LHC proton–proton experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wermes, N.

    2016-01-01

    While so far monolithic pixel detectors have remained in the realm of comparatively low rate and radiation applications outside LHC, new developments exploiting high resistivity substrates with three or four well CMOS process options allow reasonably large depletion depths and full CMOS circuitry in a monolithic structure. This opens up the possibility to target CMOS pixel detectors also for high radiation pp-experiments at the LHC upgrade, either in a hybrid-type fashion or even fully monolithic. Several pixel matrices have been prototyped with high ohmic substrates, high voltage options, and full CMOS electronics. They were characterized in the lab and in test beams. An overview of the necessary development steps and different approaches as well as prototype results are presented in this paper.

  1. Ozone-depleting Substances (ODS)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This site includes all of the ozone-depleting substances (ODS) recognized by the Montreal Protocol. The data include ozone depletion potentials (ODP), global warming...

  2. Compensation of propagation loss of surface plasmon polaritons with a finite-thickness dielectric gain layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Xin; Liu, Haitao; Zhong, Ying

    2012-01-01

    We theoretically study the compensation of propagation loss of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) with the use of a finite-thickness dielectric layer with optical gain. The impacts of the gain coefficient, the gain-layer thickness and the wavelength on the loss compensation and the field distribution of the SPP mode are systematically explored with a fully vectorial method. Abnormal behaviors for the loss compensation as the gain-layer thickness increases are found and explained. Critical values of the gain coefficient and of the corresponding gain-layer thickness for just compensating the propagation loss are provided. Our results show that as the SPP propagation loss is fully compensated with a gain coefficient at a reasonably low level, the gain layer is still thin enough to ensure a large exterior SPP field at the gain-layer/air interface, which is important for achieving a strong light–matter interaction for applications such as bio-chemical sensing. (paper)

  3. Magma Supply of Southwest Indian Ocean: Implication from Crustal Thickness Anomalies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiheng, L.; Jianghai, L.; Huatian, Z.; Qingkai, F.

    2017-12-01

    The Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) is one of the world's slowest spreading ridges with a full spreading rate of 14mm a-1, belonging to ultraslow spreading ridge, which are a novel class of spreading centers symbolized by non-uniform magma supply and crustal accretion. Therefore, the crustal thickness of Southwest Indian Ocean is a way to explore the magmatic and tectonic process of SWIR and the hotspots around it. Our paper uses Residual Mantle Bouguer Anomaly processed with the latest global public data to invert the relative crustal thickness and correct it according to seismic achievements. Gravity-derived crustal thickness model reveals a huge range of crustal thickness in Southwest Indian Ocean from 0.04km to 24km, 7.5km of average crustal thickness, and 3.5km of standard deviation. In addition, statistics data of crustal thickness reveal the frequency has a bimodal mixed skewed distribution, which indicates the crustal accretion by ridge and ridge-plume interaction. Base on the crustal thickness model, we divide three types of crustal thickness in Southwest Indian Ocean. About 20.31% of oceanic crust is 9.8km thick as thick crust. Furthermore, Prominent thin crust anomalies are associated with the trend of most transform faults, but thick crust anomalies presents to northeast of Andrew Bain transform fault. Cold and depleted mantle are also the key factors to form the thin crust. The thick crust anomalies are constrained by hotspots, which provide abundant heat to the mantle beneath mid-ocean ridge or ocean basin. Finally, we roughly delineate the range of ridge-plume interaction and transform fault effect.

  4. Study of 50 GeV proton ionization loss by semiconductor detector with smoothly tunable thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nazhmudinov, R.M.; Kubankin, A.S. [Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod (Russian Federation); P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation); Shchagin, A.V., E-mail: shchagin@kipt.kharkov.ua [Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod (Russian Federation); Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology, Kharkov (Ukraine); Shul' ga, N.F.; Trofymenko, S.V. [Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology, Kharkov (Ukraine); Kharkov National University, Kharkov (Ukraine); Britvich, G.I.; Durum, A.A.; Kostin, M. Yu.; Maisheev, V.A.; Chesnokov, Yu.A.; Yanovich, A.A. [Institute for High Energy Physics in National Research Centre Kurchatov Institute, Protvino (Russian Federation)

    2017-01-15

    The possibility of the measurement of proton ionization loss in the Silicon (Si) layer of smoothly tunable thickness was demonstrated in an experiment with a 50-GeV proton beam. The Si surface-barrier detector with the depleted layer thickness controlled by the value of high-voltage power supply was used in the experiment. The measured spectra of ionization loss are discussed and compared with the calculated spectra. The possibilities of research of the evolution of electromagnetic field of ultrarelativistic particles traversing the media interface and the study of dynamics of particles moving in the channeling regime or the volume reflection regime with the use of detectors with smoothly tunable thickness are indicated.

  5. Serotonin depletion increases seizure susceptibility and worsens neuropathological outcomes in kainate model of epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maia, Gisela H; Brazete, Cátia S; Soares, Joana I; Luz, Liliana L; Lukoyanov, Nikolai V

    2017-09-01

    Serotonin is implicated in the regulation of seizures, but whether or not it can potentiate the effects of epileptogenic factors is not fully established. Using the kainic acid model of epilepsy in rats, we tested the effects of serotonin depletion on (1) susceptibility to acute seizures, (2) development of spontaneous recurrent seizures and (3) behavioral and neuroanatomical sequelae of kainic acid treatment. Serotonin was depleted by pretreating rats with p-chlorophenylalanine. In different groups, kainic acid was injected at 3 different doses: 6.5mg/kg, 9.0mg/kg or 12.5mg/kg. A single dose of 6.5mg/kg of kainic acid reliably induced status epilepticus in p-chlorophenylalanine-pretreated rats, but not in saline-pretreated rats. The neuroexcitatory effects of kainic acid in the p-chlorophenylalanine-pretreated rats, but not in saline-pretreated rats, were associated with the presence of tonic-clonic convulsions and high lethality. Compared to controls, a greater portion of serotonin-depleted rats showed spontaneous recurrent seizures after kainic acid injections. Loss of hippocampal neurons and spatial memory deficits associated with kainic acid treatment were exacerbated by prior depletion of serotonin. The present findings are of particular importance because they suggest that low serotonin activity may represent one of the major risk factors for epilepsy and, thus, offer potentially relevant targets for prevention of epileptogenesis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Asteroseismology of pulsating DA white dwarfs with fully evolutionary models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Althaus L.G.

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available We present a new approach for asteroseismology of DA white dwarfs that consists in the employment of a large set of non-static, physically sound, fully evolutionary models representative of these stars. We already have applied this approach with success to pulsating PG1159 stars (GW Vir variables. Our white dwarf models, which cover a wide range of stellar masses, effective temperatures, and envelope thicknesses, are the result of fully evolutionary computations that take into account the complete history of the progenitor stars from the ZAMS. In particular, the models are characterized by self-consistent chemical structures from the centre to the surface, a crucial aspect of white dwarf asteroseismology. We apply this approach to an ensemble of 44 bright DAV (ZZ Ceti stars.

  7. First tests of a novel radiation hard CMOS sensor process for Depleted Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pernegger, H.; Bates, R.; Buttar, C.; Dalla, M.; van Hoorne, J. W.; Kugathasan, T.; Maneuski, D.; Musa, L.; Riedler, P.; Riegel, C.; Sbarra, C.; Schaefer, D.; Schioppa, E. J.; Snoeys, W.

    2017-06-01

    The upgrade of the ATLAS [1] tracking detector for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN requires novel radiation hard silicon sensor technologies. Significant effort has been put into the development of monolithic CMOS sensors but it has been a challenge to combine a low capacitance of the sensing node with full depletion of the sensitive layer. Low capacitance brings low analog power. Depletion of the sensitive layer causes the signal charge to be collected by drift sufficiently fast to separate hits from consecutive bunch crossings (25 ns at the LHC) and to avoid losing the charge by trapping. This paper focuses on the characterization of charge collection properties and detection efficiency of prototype sensors originally designed in the framework of the ALICE Inner Tracking System (ITS) upgrade [2]. The prototypes are fabricated both in the standard TowerJazz 180nm CMOS imager process [3] and in an innovative modification of this process developed in collaboration with the foundry, aimed to fully deplete the sensitive epitaxial layer and enhance the tolerance to non-ionizing energy loss. Sensors fabricated in standard and modified process variants were characterized using radioactive sources, focused X-ray beam and test beams before and after irradiation. Contrary to sensors manufactured in the standard process, sensors from the modified process remain fully functional even after a dose of 1015neq/cm2, which is the the expected NIEL radiation fluence for the outer pixel layers in the future ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk) [4].

  8. First tests of a novel radiation hard CMOS sensor process for Depleted Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pernegger, H.; Hoorne, J.W. van; Kugathasan, T.; Musa, L.; Riedler, P.; Riegel, C.; Schaefer, D.; Schioppa, E.J.; Snoeys, W.; Bates, R.; Buttar, C.; Maneuski, D.; Dalla, M.; Sbarra, C.

    2017-01-01

    The upgrade of the ATLAS [1] tracking detector for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN requires novel radiation hard silicon sensor technologies. Significant effort has been put into the development of monolithic CMOS sensors but it has been a challenge to combine a low capacitance of the sensing node with full depletion of the sensitive layer. Low capacitance brings low analog power. Depletion of the sensitive layer causes the signal charge to be collected by drift sufficiently fast to separate hits from consecutive bunch crossings (25 ns at the LHC) and to avoid losing the charge by trapping. This paper focuses on the characterization of charge collection properties and detection efficiency of prototype sensors originally designed in the framework of the ALICE Inner Tracking System (ITS) upgrade [2]. The prototypes are fabricated both in the standard TowerJazz 180nm CMOS imager process [3] and in an innovative modification of this process developed in collaboration with the foundry, aimed to fully deplete the sensitive epitaxial layer and enhance the tolerance to non-ionizing energy loss. Sensors fabricated in standard and modified process variants were characterized using radioactive sources, focused X-ray beam and test beams before and after irradiation. Contrary to sensors manufactured in the standard process, sensors from the modified process remain fully functional even after a dose of 10"1"5 n _e_q/cm"2, which is the the expected NIEL radiation fluence for the outer pixel layers in the future ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk) [4].

  9. A Case Study of Effective Support Working Resistance and Roof Support Technology in Thick Seam Fully-Mechanized Face Mining with Hard Roof Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei-bin Guo

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the engineering geological properties and roof control tecnology for a thick coal seam fully-mechanized face mining with hard roof conditions (THC at the Jinhuagong Coal Mine (JCM, northwest China. The effective support working resistance and appropriate roof control technology are two critical factors for safe and productive mining in the THC. The load-estimate-method (LOEM is the effective method to determine the support working resistance for normal working conditions (the mining height less than 3.5 m. In order to prevent support crushing accidents from happening and to ensure the safety and high-efficiency in the THC, the LOEM was modified based on the structure of the overlying strata in the THC. The strata which can form the voussoir beam structure in normal working conditions and will break in the form of cantilever beam in the THC is defined as the key strata in the immediate roof. Therefore, the hanging length of the key strata in the immediate roof was considered in the LOEM. Furthermore, a method for calculating the hanging length of the key strata in the immediate roof and its influencing factors were proposed using cantilever beam theory analysis of the structure of the overlying strata. Moreover, in order to fully fill the goaf area with caving roof to reduce the energy accumulation of main roof movement, it was decided to apply destress blasting technique (DEBT at the JCM to control the large hanging length of the hard roof, so as to reduce the impact of the hard main roof movement on the working face. The key technique parameters of the roof caving borehole were also proposed. The obtained results demonstrated that the theoretical analysis is reasonable, and the chosen support type and the DEBT could meet the roof control requirements. The THC has achieved safety and high-efficiency mining.

  10. “When the going gets tough, who keeps going?” Depletion sensitivity moderates the ego-depletion effect

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Salmon, S.J.; Adriaanse, M.A.; Vet, de E.W.M.L.; Fennis, B.M.; Ridder, de D.T.D.

    2014-01-01

    Self-control relies on a limited resource that can get depleted, a phenomenon that has been labeled ego-depletion. We argue that individuals may differ in their sensitivity to depleting tasks, and that consequently some people deplete their self-control resource at a faster rate than others. In

  11. Simulation of the depletion voltage evolution of the ATLAS Pixel Detector

    CERN Document Server

    Beyer, Julien-christopher; The ATLAS collaboration

    2017-01-01

    The ATLAS Pixel detector has been operating since 2010 and consists of hybrid pixel modules where the sensitive elements are planar n-in-n sensors. In order to investigate and predict the evolution of the depletion voltage and of the leakage current in the different layers, a fully analytical implementation of the Hamburg model was derived. The parameters of the model, describing the dependence of the depletion voltage (U_depl) on fluence, temperature and time were tuned with a fit to the available measurements of Udepl in the last years of operation. A particular emphasis is put on the B-Layer, where the highest fluence has been accumulated up to now. A precise input of temperature and radiation dose is generated from the on-module temperature monitoring and the luminosity data. The analysis is then also extended to the Insertable B-Layer (IBL), installed at the end of Run-1, where we expect the fastest evolution of the radiation damage with luminosity, due to its closer position to the interaction point. Di...

  12. Ego Depletion Impairs Implicit Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Kelsey R.; Sanchez, Daniel J.; Wesley, Abigail H.; Reber, Paul J.

    2014-01-01

    Implicit skill learning occurs incidentally and without conscious awareness of what is learned. However, the rate and effectiveness of learning may still be affected by decreased availability of central processing resources. Dual-task experiments have generally found impairments in implicit learning, however, these studies have also shown that certain characteristics of the secondary task (e.g., timing) can complicate the interpretation of these results. To avoid this problem, the current experiments used a novel method to impose resource constraints prior to engaging in skill learning. Ego depletion theory states that humans possess a limited store of cognitive resources that, when depleted, results in deficits in self-regulation and cognitive control. In a first experiment, we used a standard ego depletion manipulation prior to performance of the Serial Interception Sequence Learning (SISL) task. Depleted participants exhibited poorer test performance than did non-depleted controls, indicating that reducing available executive resources may adversely affect implicit sequence learning, expression of sequence knowledge, or both. In a second experiment, depletion was administered either prior to or after training. Participants who reported higher levels of depletion before or after training again showed less sequence-specific knowledge on the post-training assessment. However, the results did not allow for clear separation of ego depletion effects on learning versus subsequent sequence-specific performance. These results indicate that performance on an implicitly learned sequence can be impaired by a reduction in executive resources, in spite of learning taking place outside of awareness and without conscious intent. PMID:25275517

  13. Ego depletion impairs implicit learning.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kelsey R Thompson

    Full Text Available Implicit skill learning occurs incidentally and without conscious awareness of what is learned. However, the rate and effectiveness of learning may still be affected by decreased availability of central processing resources. Dual-task experiments have generally found impairments in implicit learning, however, these studies have also shown that certain characteristics of the secondary task (e.g., timing can complicate the interpretation of these results. To avoid this problem, the current experiments used a novel method to impose resource constraints prior to engaging in skill learning. Ego depletion theory states that humans possess a limited store of cognitive resources that, when depleted, results in deficits in self-regulation and cognitive control. In a first experiment, we used a standard ego depletion manipulation prior to performance of the Serial Interception Sequence Learning (SISL task. Depleted participants exhibited poorer test performance than did non-depleted controls, indicating that reducing available executive resources may adversely affect implicit sequence learning, expression of sequence knowledge, or both. In a second experiment, depletion was administered either prior to or after training. Participants who reported higher levels of depletion before or after training again showed less sequence-specific knowledge on the post-training assessment. However, the results did not allow for clear separation of ego depletion effects on learning versus subsequent sequence-specific performance. These results indicate that performance on an implicitly learned sequence can be impaired by a reduction in executive resources, in spite of learning taking place outside of awareness and without conscious intent.

  14. Ego depletion impairs implicit learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Kelsey R; Sanchez, Daniel J; Wesley, Abigail H; Reber, Paul J

    2014-01-01

    Implicit skill learning occurs incidentally and without conscious awareness of what is learned. However, the rate and effectiveness of learning may still be affected by decreased availability of central processing resources. Dual-task experiments have generally found impairments in implicit learning, however, these studies have also shown that certain characteristics of the secondary task (e.g., timing) can complicate the interpretation of these results. To avoid this problem, the current experiments used a novel method to impose resource constraints prior to engaging in skill learning. Ego depletion theory states that humans possess a limited store of cognitive resources that, when depleted, results in deficits in self-regulation and cognitive control. In a first experiment, we used a standard ego depletion manipulation prior to performance of the Serial Interception Sequence Learning (SISL) task. Depleted participants exhibited poorer test performance than did non-depleted controls, indicating that reducing available executive resources may adversely affect implicit sequence learning, expression of sequence knowledge, or both. In a second experiment, depletion was administered either prior to or after training. Participants who reported higher levels of depletion before or after training again showed less sequence-specific knowledge on the post-training assessment. However, the results did not allow for clear separation of ego depletion effects on learning versus subsequent sequence-specific performance. These results indicate that performance on an implicitly learned sequence can be impaired by a reduction in executive resources, in spite of learning taking place outside of awareness and without conscious intent.

  15. Exposure to nature counteracts aggression after depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yan; She, Yihan; Colarelli, Stephen M; Fang, Yuan; Meng, Hui; Chen, Qiuju; Zhang, Xin; Zhu, Hongwei

    2018-01-01

    Acts of self-control are more likely to fail after previous exertion of self-control, known as the ego depletion effect. Research has shown that depleted participants behave more aggressively than non-depleted participants, especially after being provoked. Although exposure to nature (e.g., a walk in the park) has been predicted to replenish resources common to executive functioning and self-control, the extent to which exposure to nature may counteract the depletion effect on aggression has yet to be determined. The present study investigated the effects of exposure to nature on aggression following depletion. Aggression was measured by the intensity of noise blasts participants delivered to an ostensible opponent in a competition reaction-time task. As predicted, an interaction occurred between depletion and environmental manipulations for provoked aggression. Specifically, depleted participants behaved more aggressively in response to provocation than non-depleted participants in the urban condition. However, provoked aggression did not differ between depleted and non-depleted participants in the natural condition. Moreover, within the depletion condition, participants in the natural condition had lower levels of provoked aggression than participants in the urban condition. This study suggests that a brief period of nature exposure may restore self-control and help depleted people regain control over aggressive urges. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Semiconductor detector with smoothly tunable effective thickness for the study of ionization loss by moderately relativistic electrons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shchagin, A.V., E-mail: shchagin@kipt.kharkov.ua [Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology, Kharkov (Ukraine); Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod (Russian Federation); Shul’ga, N.F.; Trofymenko, S.V. [Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology, Kharkov (Ukraine); Kharkov National University, Kharkov (Ukraine); Nazhmudinov, R.M.; Kubankin, A.S. [Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod (Russian Federation); P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2016-11-15

    The possibility of measurement of electrons ionization loss in Si layer of smoothly tunable thickness is shown in the proof-of-principle experiment. The Si surface-barrier detector with the depleted layer thickness controlled by the value of high voltage power supply has been used. Ionization loss spectra for electrons emitted by radioactive source {sup 207}Bi are presented and discussed. Experimental results for the most probable ionization loss in the Landau spectral peak are compared with theoretical calculations. The possibility of research of evolution of electromagnetic field of ultra-relativistic particles traversing media interface with the use of detectors with smoothly tunable thickness is proposed.

  17. Laser-accelerated proton conversion efficiency thickness scaling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hey, D. S.; Foord, M. E.; Key, M. H.; LePape, S. L.; Mackinnon, A. J.; Patel, P. K.; Ping, Y.; Akli, K. U.; Stephens, R. B.; Bartal, T.; Beg, F. N.; Fedosejevs, R.; Friesen, H.; Tiedje, H. F.; Tsui, Y. Y.

    2009-01-01

    The conversion efficiency from laser energy into proton kinetic energy is measured with the 0.6 ps, 9x10 19 W/cm 2 Titan laser at the Jupiter Laser Facility as a function of target thickness in Au foils. For targets thicker than 20 μm, the conversion efficiency scales approximately as 1/L, where L is the target thickness. This is explained by the domination of hot electron collisional losses over adiabatic cooling. In thinner targets, the two effects become comparable, causing the conversion efficiency to scale weaker than 1/L; the measured conversion efficiency is constant within the scatter in the data for targets between 5 and 15 μm, with a peak conversion efficiency of 4% into protons with energy greater than 3 MeV. Depletion of the hydrocarbon contaminant layer is eliminated as an explanation for this plateau by using targets coated with 200 nm of ErH 3 on the rear surface. The proton acceleration is modeled with the hybrid-particle in cell code LSP, which reproduced the conversion efficiency scaling observed in the data.

  18. In situ depletion of CD4(+) T cells in human skin by Zanolimumab

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Villadsen, L.S.; Skov, L.; Dam, T.N.

    2007-01-01

    CD4(+) T cells, in activated or malignant form, are involved in a number of diseases including inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis, and T cell lymphomas such as the majority of cutaneous T cell lymphomas (CTCL). Targeting CD4 with an antibody that inhibits and/or eliminates disease......-driving T cells in situ may therefore be a useful approach in the treatment of inflammatory and malignant skin diseases. Depletion of CD4(+) T cells in intact inflamed human skin tissue by Zanolimumab, a fully human therapeutic monoclonal antibody (IgG1, kappa) against CD4, was studied in a human psoriasis......(+), but not CD8(+) CD3(+) T cells. The capacity of Zanolimumab to deplete the CD4(+) T cells in the skin may be of importance in diseases where CD4(+) T cells play a central role. Indeed, in a phase II clinical trial Zanolimumab has shown a dose-dependent clinical response in patients with CTCL and the antibody...

  19. Kinetics of depletion interactions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vliegenthart, G.A.; Schoot, van der P.P.A.M.

    2003-01-01

    Depletion interactions between colloidal particles dispersed in a fluid medium are effective interactions induced by the presence of other types of colloid. They are not instantaneous but built up in time. We show by means of Brownian dynamics simulations that the static (mean-field) depletion force

  20. Deuterium - depleted water. Achievements and perspectives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Titescu, Gh.; Stefanescu, I.; Saros-Rogobete, I.

    2001-01-01

    Deuterium - depleted water represents water that has an isotopic content lower than 145 ppm D/(D+H) which is the natural isotopic content of water. The research conducted at ICSI Ramnicu Valcea, regarding deuterium - depleted water were completed by the following patents: - technique and installation for deuterium - depleted water production; - distilled water with low deuterium content; - technique and installation for the production of distilled water with low deuterium content; - mineralized water with low deuterium content and technique to produce it. The gold and silver medals won at international salons for inventions confirmed the novelty of these inventions. Knowing that deuterium content of water has a big influence on living organisms, beginning with 1996, the ICSI Ramnicu Valcea, deuterium - depleted water producer, co-operated with Romanian specialized institutes for biological effects' evaluation of deuterium - depleted water. The role of natural deuterium in living organisms was examined by using deuterium - depleted water instead of natural water. These investigations led to the following conclusions: 1. deuterium - depleted water caused a tendency towards the increase of the basal tone, accompanied by the intensification of the vasoconstrictor effects of phenylefrine, noradrenaline and angiotensin; the increase of the basal tone and vascular reactivity produced by the deuterium - depleted water persists after the removal of the vascular endothelium; -2. animals treated with deuterium - depleted water showed an increase of the resistance both to sublethal and to lethal gamma radiation doses, suggesting a radioprotective action by the stimulation of non-specific immune defence mechanism; 3, deuterium - depleted water stimulates immune defence reactions, represented by the opsonic, bactericidal and phagocyte capacity of the immune system, together with increase in the numbers of polymorphonuclear neutrophils; 4. investigations regarding artificial

  1. Simulations and observations of plasma depletion, ion composition, and airglow emissions in two auroral ionospheric depletion experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yau, A.W.; Whalen, B.A.; Harris, F.R.; Gattinger, R.L.; Pongratz, M.B.; Bernhardt, P.A.

    1985-01-01

    In an ionospheric depletion experiment where chemically reactive vapors such as H 2 O and CO 2 are injected into the O + dominant F region to accelerate the plasma recombination rate and to reduce the plasma density, the ion composition in the depleted region is modified, and photometric emissions are produced. We compare in situ ion composition, density, and photometric measurements from two ionospheric depletion experiments with predictions from chemical modeling. The two injections, Waterhole I and III, were part of an auroral perturbation experiment and occurred in different ambient conditions. In both injections a core region of greater than fivefold plasma depletion was observed over roughly-equal5-km diameter within seconds of the injection, surrounded by an outer region of less drastic and slower depletion. In Waterhole I the plasma density was depleted tenfold over a 30-km diamter region after 2 min. The ambient O + density was drastically reduced, and the molecular O + 2 abundance was enhanced fivehold in the depletion region. OH airglow emission associated with the depletion was observed with a peak emission intensity of roughly-equal1 kR. In Waterhole III the ambient density was a decade lower, and the plasma depletion was less drastic, being twofold over 30 km after 2 min. The airglow emissions were also much less intense and below measurement sensitivity (30 R for the OH 306.4-nm emission; 50 R for the 630.0-nm emission)

  2. Too Depleted to Try? Testing the Process Model of Ego Depletion in the Context of Unhealthy Snack Consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haynes, Ashleigh; Kemps, Eva; Moffitt, Robyn

    2016-11-01

    The process model proposes that the ego depletion effect is due to (a) an increase in motivation toward indulgence, and (b) a decrease in motivation to control behaviour following an initial act of self-control. In contrast, the reflective-impulsive model predicts that ego depletion results in behaviour that is more consistent with desires, and less consistent with motivations, rather than influencing the strength of desires and motivations. The current study sought to test these alternative accounts of the relationships between ego depletion, motivation, desire, and self-control. One hundred and fifty-six undergraduate women were randomised to complete a depleting e-crossing task or a non-depleting task, followed by a lab-based measure of snack intake, and self-report measures of motivation and desire strength. In partial support of the process model, ego depletion was related to higher intake, but only indirectly via the influence of lowered motivation. Motivation was more strongly predictive of intake for those in the non-depletion condition, providing partial support for the reflective-impulsive model. Ego depletion did not affect desire, nor did depletion moderate the effect of desire on intake, indicating that desire may be an appropriate target for reducing unhealthy behaviour across situations where self-control resources vary. © 2016 The International Association of Applied Psychology.

  3. The Toxicity of Depleted Uranium

    OpenAIRE

    Briner, Wayne

    2010-01-01

    Depleted uranium (DU) is an emerging environmental pollutant that is introduced into the environment primarily by military activity. While depleted uranium is less radioactive than natural uranium, it still retains all the chemical toxicity associated with the original element. In large doses the kidney is the target organ for the acute chemical toxicity of this metal, producing potentially lethal tubular necrosis. In contrast, chronic low dose exposure to depleted uranium may not produce a c...

  4. Design of an Image-Servo Mask Alignment System Using Dual CCDs with an XXY Stage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chih-Jer Lin

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Mask alignment of photolithography technology is used in many applications, such as micro electro mechanical systems’ semiconductor process, printed circuits board, and flat panel display. As the dimensions of the product are getting smaller and smaller, the automatic mask alignment of photolithography is becoming more and more important. The traditional stacked XY-Θz stage is heavy and it has cumulative flatness errors due to its stacked assembly mechanism. The XXY stage has smaller cumulative error due to its coplanar design and it can move faster than the traditional XY-Θz stage. However, the relationship between the XXY stage’s movement and the commands of the three motors is difficult to compute, because the movements of the three motors on the same plane are coupling. Therefore, an artificial neural network is studied to establish a nonlinear mapping from the desired position and orientation of the stage to three motors’ commands. Further, this paper proposes an image-servo automatic mask alignment system, which consists of a coplanar XXY stage, dual GIGA-E CCDs with lens and a programmable automatic controller (PAC. Before preforming the compensation, a self-developed visual-servo provides the positioning information which is obtained from the image processing and pattern recognition according to the specified fiducial marks. To obtain better precision, two methods including the center of gravity method and the generalize Hough Transformation are studied to correct the shift positioning error.

  5. Estimation of Shielding Thickness for a Prototype Department of Energy National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program Transport Cask

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    SANCHEZ,LAWRENCE C.; MCCONNELL,PAUL E.

    2000-07-01

    Preliminary shielding calculations were performed for a prototype National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program (NSNFP) transport cask. This analysis is intended for use in the selection of cask shield material type and preliminary estimate of shielding thickness. The radiation source term was modeled as cobalt-60 with radiation exposure strength of 100,000 R/hr. Cobalt-60 was chosen as a surrogate source because it simultaneous emits two high-energy gammas, 1.17 MeV and 1.33 MeV. This gamma spectrum is considered to be large enough that it will upper bound the spectra of all the various spent nuclear fuels types currently expected to be shipped within the prototype cask. Point-kernel shielding calculations were performed for a wide range of shielding thickness of lead and depleted uranium material. The computational results were compared to three shielding limits: 200 mrem/hr dose rate limit at the cask surface, 50 mR/hr exposure rate limit at one meter from the cask surface, and 10 mrem/hr limit dose rate at two meters from the cask surface. The results obtained in this study indicated that a shielding thickness of 13 cm is required for depleted uranium and 21 cm for lead in order to satisfy all three shielding requirements without taking credit for stainless steel liners. The system analysis also indicated that required shielding thicknesses are strongly dependent upon the gamma energy spectrum from the radiation source term. This later finding means that shielding material thickness, and hence cask weight, can be significantly reduced if the radiation source term can be shown to have a softer, lower energy, gamma energy spectrum than that due to cobalt-60.

  6. Deuterium-depleted water. Romanian achievements and perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stefanescu, Ion; Saros-Rogobete, Irina; Titescu, Gheorghe

    2001-01-01

    Deuterium-depleted water has an isotopic content smaller than 145 ppm D/(D+H) which is the natural isotopic content of water. Beginning with 1996 ICSI Rm. Valcea, deuterium-depleted water producer, co-operated with Romanian specialized institutes for biological effect's evaluation of deuterium-depleted water. These investigations lead to the following conclusions: - Deuterium-depleted water caused a tendency towards the increase of the basal tonus, accompanied by the intensification of the vasoconstrictor effects of phenylefrine, noradrenaline and angiotensin; the increase of the basal tonus and vascular reactivity produced by the deuterium-depleted water persist after the removal of the vascular endothelium; - Animals treated with deuterium-depleted water showed an increase of the resistance both to sublethal and to lethal gamma radiation doses, suggesting a radioprotective action; - Deuterium-depleted water stimulates immune defence reactions and increases the numbers of polymorphonuclear neutrophils; - Investigations regarding artificial reproduction of fish with deuterium-depleted water fecundated solutions confirmed favourable influence in embryo growth stage and resistance in subsequent growth stages; - It was studied germination, growth and quantitative character's variability in plants; one can remark the favourable influence of deuterium-depleted water on biological process in plants in various ontogenetic stages; - The deuterium depletion in seawater produces the diminution of the water spectral energy related to an increased metabolism of Tetraselmis Suecica. (authors)

  7. Analysis of the thickness-dependent electrical characteristics in pentacene field-effect devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Dongwook; Shin, Hyunji; Choi, Jongsun; Zhang, Xue; Park, Jiho; Baang, Sungkeun; Park, Jaehoon

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we report on the important relationship among the capacitance-voltage (C - V) characteristics of metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitors, the output currents of pentacene based organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), and the semiconductor layer's thickness. The effect of the semiconductor layer's thickness on the effective channel capacitance, when the MIS capacitors are fully accumulated with sufficient negative bias, was observed to be directly correlated with the magnitude of the saturated output current. The variation in accumulation capacitance of MIS capacitors due to changes in layer thickness is shown to indicate the existence of a channel capacitance. This determines the output currents in the saturation region. Furthermore, the accumulation capacitance appears to decrease notably when the thickness of the pentacene layer is reduced below 20 nm.

  8. Analysis of the thickness-dependent electrical characteristics in pentacene field-effect devices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Dongwook; Shin, Hyunji; Choi, Jongsun [Hongik University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Zhang, Xue; Park, Jiho; Baang, Sungkeun; Park, Jaehoon [Hallym University, Chuncheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-07-15

    In this paper, we report on the important relationship among the capacitance-voltage (C - V) characteristics of metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitors, the output currents of pentacene based organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), and the semiconductor layer's thickness. The effect of the semiconductor layer's thickness on the effective channel capacitance, when the MIS capacitors are fully accumulated with sufficient negative bias, was observed to be directly correlated with the magnitude of the saturated output current. The variation in accumulation capacitance of MIS capacitors due to changes in layer thickness is shown to indicate the existence of a channel capacitance. This determines the output currents in the saturation region. Furthermore, the accumulation capacitance appears to decrease notably when the thickness of the pentacene layer is reduced below 20 nm.

  9. Decommissioning plan depleted uranium manufacturing facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernhardt, D.E.; Pittman, J.D.; Prewett, S.V.

    1987-01-01

    Aerojet Ordnance Tennessee, Inc. (Aerojet) is decommissioning its California depleted uranium (DU) manufacturing facility. Aerojet has conducted manufacturing and research and development activities at the facility since 1977 under a State of California Source Materials License. The decontamination is being performed by a contractor selector for technical competence through competitive bid. Since the facility will be released for uncontrolled use it will be decontaminated to levels as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). In order to fully apply the principles of ALARA, and ensure the decontamination is in full compliance with appropriate guides, Aerojet has retained Rogers and Associaties Engineering Corporation (RAE) to assist in the decommissioning. RAE has assisted in characterizing the facility and preparing contract bid documents and technical specifications to obtain a qualified decontamination contractor. RAE will monitor the decontamination work effort to assure the contractor's performance complies with the contract specifications and the decontamination plan. The specifications require a thorough cleaning and decontamination of the facility, not just sufficient cleaning to meet the numeric cleanup criteria

  10. Statistical implications in Monte Carlo depletions - 051

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhiwen, Xu; Rhodes, J.; Smith, K.

    2010-01-01

    As a result of steady advances of computer power, continuous-energy Monte Carlo depletion analysis is attracting considerable attention for reactor burnup calculations. The typical Monte Carlo analysis is set up as a combination of a Monte Carlo neutron transport solver and a fuel burnup solver. Note that the burnup solver is a deterministic module. The statistical errors in Monte Carlo solutions are introduced into nuclide number densities and propagated along fuel burnup. This paper is towards the understanding of the statistical implications in Monte Carlo depletions, including both statistical bias and statistical variations in depleted fuel number densities. The deterministic Studsvik lattice physics code, CASMO-5, is modified to model the Monte Carlo depletion. The statistical bias in depleted number densities is found to be negligible compared to its statistical variations, which, in turn, demonstrates the correctness of the Monte Carlo depletion method. Meanwhile, the statistical variation in number densities generally increases with burnup. Several possible ways of reducing the statistical errors are discussed: 1) to increase the number of individual Monte Carlo histories; 2) to increase the number of time steps; 3) to run additional independent Monte Carlo depletion cases. Finally, a new Monte Carlo depletion methodology, called the batch depletion method, is proposed, which consists of performing a set of independent Monte Carlo depletions and is thus capable of estimating the overall statistical errors including both the local statistical error and the propagated statistical error. (authors)

  11. Comparison of functional parameters of CsI:Tl crystals and thick films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fedorov, A.; Gektin, A.; Lebedynskiy, A.; Mateychenko, P.; Shkoropatenko, A.

    2013-01-01

    500 mkm thick CsI:Tl columnar films can be produced using thermal evaporation in vacuum by sublimation of the same bulk crystal. Comparison of afterglow and radiation stability of deposited CsI:Tl films with source crystal was the aim of current work. It is shown that the afterglow in the films is always below its level in initial single crystal. It was ascertained that the annealing atmospheres influence the processes leading to the activator depletion of the films during the thermal processing. -- Highlights: ► Thick CsI:Tl columnar films were obtained by thermal evaporation in vacuum. ► Radiation stability of such CsI:Tl films appears to be better than that of crystal. ► CsI:Tl film parameters can be modified by annealing in different atmospheres

  12. Depletion of elements in shock-driven gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gondhalekar, P.M.

    1985-01-01

    The depletion of elements in shocked gas in supernova remnants and in interstellar bubbles is examined. It is shown that elements are depleted in varying degrees in gas filaments shocked to velocities up to 200 km s -1 and that large differences in depletions are observed in gas filaments shocked to similar velocities. In the shocked gas the depletion of an element appears to be correlated with the electron density (or the neutral gas density) in the filaments. This correlation, if confirmed, is similar to the correlation between depletion and mean density of gas in the clouds in interstellar space. (author)

  13. Depleted uranium: A DOE management guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-10-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has a management challenge and financial liability in the form of 50,000 cylinders containing 555,000 metric tons of depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) that are stored at the gaseous diffusion plants. The annual storage and maintenance cost is approximately $10 million. This report summarizes several studies undertaken by the DOE Office of Technology Development (OTD) to evaluate options for long-term depleted uranium management. Based on studies conducted to date, the most likely use of the depleted uranium is for shielding of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) or vitrified high-level waste (HLW) containers. The alternative to finding a use for the depleted uranium is disposal as a radioactive waste. Estimated disposal costs, utilizing existing technologies, range between $3.8 and $11.3 billion, depending on factors such as applicability of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the location of the disposal site. The cost of recycling the depleted uranium in a concrete based shielding in SNF/HLW containers, although substantial, is comparable to or less than the cost of disposal. Consequently, the case can be made that if DOE invests in developing depleted uranium shielded containers instead of disposal, a long-term solution to the UF 6 problem is attained at comparable or lower cost than disposal as a waste. Two concepts for depleted uranium storage casks were considered in these studies. The first is based on standard fabrication concepts previously developed for depleted uranium metal. The second converts the UF 6 to an oxide aggregate that is used in concrete to make dry storage casks

  14. The mobility of growth twins synthesized by sputtering: Tailoring the twin thickness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Velasco, Leonardo; Hodge, Andrea M.

    2016-01-01

    The current work presents a protean twin thickness contour zone map that illustrates how the nucleation and the mobility of twin boundaries affects the twin thickness of sputtered films. The twin thickness contour zone map can be used as a versatile guide to synthesize fully nanotwinned films with tailored twin thicknesses in materials with a wide range of stacking fault energies. The nucleation and mobility of twin boundaries was studied in four Cu alloys of different compositions (Cu-6wt.%Al, Cu-4wt.%Al, Cu-2wt.%Al, and Cu-10wt.%Ni), having stacking fault energies ranging from 6 mJ/m 2 to 60 mJ/m 2 . The films were synthesized by magnetron sputtering and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, where the twin thickness varied from 2 nm to 35 nm. Our experimental results show that it is possible to control the twin thickness. Three main mechanisms are explained to describe twin nucleation and twin boundary mobility, which are correlated to the interplay of specific sputtering conditions and the deposition temperature.

  15. Are relative depletions altered inside diffuse clouds?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joseph, C.L.

    1988-01-01

    The data of Jenkins, Savage, and Spitzer (1986) were used to analyze interstellar abundances and depletions of Fe, P, Mg, and Mn toward 37 stars, spanning nearly 1.0 (dex) in mean line-of-sight depletion. It was found that the depletions of these elements are linearly correlated and do not show evidence of differences in the rates of depletion or sputtering from one element to another. For a given level of overall depletion, the sightline-to-sightline rms variance in the depletion for each of these elements was less than 0.16 (dex), which is significantly smaller than is the element-to-element variance. The results suggest that, for most diffuse lines of sight, the relative abundances of these elements are set early in the lifetime of the grains and are not altered significantly thereafter. 53 references

  16. Nitrite uptake by nitrogen-depleted wheat seedlings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jackson, W A; Johnson, R E; Volk, R J

    1974-01-01

    Intact, 14-day-old nitrogen-depleted wheat (Triticum vulgare cv. Blueboy) seedlings were exposed to solutions of 0.5 mM KNO/sub 2/, 0.05 mM CaSO/sub 4/ and 1 mM sodium 2-(N-morpholino)-ethanesulfonate, pH 6.1. Nitrite uptake was determined from depletion of the ambient solution or from incorporation of /sup 15/N in the tissue. An initial nitrite uptake shoulder was followed by a relatively slow uptake rate which subsequently increased to a substantially greater rate. This accelerated phase was maintained through 24 h. Nitrite accumulated to a slight extent in the root tissues during the first few hours but declined to low values when the accelerated rate was fully developed, indicating an increase in nitrite reductase activity paralleling the increase in nitrite uptake capacity. About 50% of the nitrogen absorbed as nitrite was translocated to the shoots by 9 to 12 h. Development of the accelerated nitrite uptake rate was restricted in excised roots, in intact plants kept in darkness, by 400 ..mu..g puromycin ml/sup -1/ and by 1 mM L-ethionine. When puromycin and L-ethionine were added after the accelerated phase had been initiated, their effects were not as detrimental as when they were added at first exposure to KNO/sub 2/. The two inhibitors restricted translocation more than uptake. The data indicate an involvement of protein synthesis and a requirement for movement of a substance from shoots to roots for maximal development of the accelerated nitrite uptake phase. A requirement for protein synthesis in the transport of soluble organic nitrogen from roots to shoots is also suggested.

  17. Specificity of the Acute Tryptophan and Tyrosine plus Phenylalanine Depletion and Loading Tests Part II:

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdulla A.-B. Badawy

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Current formulations for acute tryptophan (Trp or tyrosine (Tyr plus phenylalanine (Phe depletion and loading cause undesirable decreases in ratios of Trp or Tyr + Phe to competing amino acids (CAA, thus undermining the specificities of these tests. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA cause these unintended decreases, and lowering their content in a new balanced control formulation in the present study led to normalization of all ratios. Four groups (n = 12 each of adults each received one of four 50 g control formulations, with 0% (traditional, 20%, 30%, or 40% less of the BCAA. The free and total [Trp]/[CAA] and [Phe + Tyr]/[BCAA+ Trp] ratios all decreased significantly during the first 5 h following the traditional formulation, but were fully normalized by the formulation containing 40% less of the BCAA. We recommend the latter as a balanced control formulation and propose adjustments in the depletion and loading formulations to enhance their specificities for 5-HT and the catecholamines.

  18. Interstellar depletion anomalies and ionization potentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tabak, R.G.

    1979-01-01

    Satellite observations indicate that (1) most elements are depleted from the gas phase when compared to cosmic abundances, (2) some elements are several orders of magnitude more depleted than others, and (3) these depletions vary from cloud to cloud. Since the most likely possibility is that the 'missing' atoms are locked into grains, depletions occur either by accretion onto core particles in interstellar clouds or earlier, during the period of primary grain formation. If the latter mechanism is dominant, then the most important depletion parameter is the condensation temperature of the elements and their various compounds. However, this alone is not sufficient to explain all the observed anomalies. It is shown that electrostatic effects - under a wide variety of conditions- can enormously enhance the capture cross-section of the grain. It is suggested that this mechanism can also account for such anomalies as the apparent 'overabundance' of the alkali metals in the gas phase. (orig.)

  19. The Chemistry and Toxicology of Depleted Uranium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sidney A. Katz

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Natural uranium is comprised of three radioactive isotopes: 238U, 235U, and 234U. Depleted uranium (DU is a byproduct of the processes for the enrichment of the naturally occurring 235U isotope. The world wide stock pile contains some 1½ million tons of depleted uranium. Some of it has been used to dilute weapons grade uranium (~90% 235U down to reactor grade uranium (~5% 235U, and some of it has been used for heavy tank armor and for the fabrication of armor-piercing bullets and missiles. Such weapons were used by the military in the Persian Gulf, the Balkans and elsewhere. The testing of depleted uranium weapons and their use in combat has resulted in environmental contamination and human exposure. Although the chemical and the toxicological behaviors of depleted uranium are essentially the same as those of natural uranium, the respective chemical forms and isotopic compositions in which they usually occur are different. The chemical and radiological toxicity of depleted uranium can injure biological systems. Normal functioning of the kidney, liver, lung, and heart can be adversely affected by depleted uranium intoxication. The focus of this review is on the chemical and toxicological properties of depleted and natural uranium and some of the possible consequences from long term, low dose exposure to depleted uranium in the environment.

  20. Time-on-task effects in children with and without ADHD: depletion of executive resources or depletion of motivation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dekkers, Tycho J; Agelink van Rentergem, Joost A; Koole, Alette; van den Wildenberg, Wery P M; Popma, Arne; Bexkens, Anika; Stoffelsen, Reino; Diekmann, Anouk; Huizenga, Hilde M

    2017-12-01

    Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are characterized by deficits in their executive functioning and motivation. In addition, these children are characterized by a decline in performance as time-on-task increases (i.e., time-on-task effects). However, it is unknown whether these time-on-task effects should be attributed to deficits in executive functioning or to deficits in motivation. Some studies in typically developing (TD) adults indicated that time-on-task effects should be interpreted as depletion of executive resources, but other studies suggested that they represent depletion of motivation. We, therefore, investigated, in children with and without ADHD, whether there were time-on-task effects on executive functions, such as inhibition and (in)attention, and whether these were best explained by depletion of executive resources or depletion of motivation. The stop-signal task (SST), which generates both indices of inhibition (stop-signal reaction time) and attention (reaction time variability and errors), was administered in 96 children (42 ADHD, 54 TD controls; aged 9-13). To differentiate between depletion of resources and depletion of motivation, the SST was administered twice. Half of the participants was reinforced during second task performance, potentially counteracting depletion of motivation. Multilevel analyses indicated that children with ADHD were more affected by time-on-task than controls on two measures of inattention, but not on inhibition. In the ADHD group, reinforcement only improved performance on one index of attention (i.e., reaction time variability). The current findings suggest that time-on-task effects in children with ADHD occur specifically in the attentional domain, and seem to originate in both depletion of executive resources and depletion of motivation. Clinical implications for diagnostics, psycho-education, and intervention are discussed.

  1. New Development in Selective Laser Melting of Ti-6Al-4V: A Wider Processing Window for the Achievement of Fully Lamellar α + β Microstructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lui, E. W.; Xu, W.; Pateras, A.; Qian, M.; Brandt, M.

    2017-12-01

    Recent progress has shown that Ti-6Al-4V fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) can achieve a fully lamellar α + β microstructure using 60 µm layer thickness in the as-built state via in situ martensite decomposition by manipulating the processing parameters. The potential to broaden the processing window was explored in this study by increasing the layer thickness to the less commonly used 90 µm. Fully lamellar α + β microstructures were produced in the as-built state using inter-layer times in the range of 1-12 s. Microstructural features such as the α-lath thickness and morphology were sensitive to both build height and inter-layer time. The α-laths produced using the inter-layer time of 1 s were much coarser than those produced with the inter-layer time of 12 s. The fine fully lamellar α + β structure resulted in tensile ductility of 11% and yield strength of 980 MPa. The tensile properties can be further improved by minimizing the presence of process-induced defects.

  2. Asymptotical construction of a fully coupled, Reissner–Mindlin model for piezoelectric composite plates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liao Lin; Yu Wenbin

    2008-01-01

    The variational asymptotic method is used to construct a fully coupled Reissner–Mindlin model for piezoelectric composite plates with some surfaces parallel to the reference surface coated with electrodes. Taking advantage of the smallness of the plate thickness, we asymptotically split the original three-dimensional electromechanical problem into a one-dimensional through-the-thickness analysis and a two-dimensional plate analysis. The through-the-thickness analysis serves as a link between the original three-dimensional analysis and the plate analysis by providing a constitutive model for the plate analysis and recovering the three-dimensional field variables in terms of two-dimensional plate global responses. The present theory is implemented into the computer program VAPAS (variational asymptotic plate and shell analysis). The resulting model is as simple as an equivalent single-layer, first-order shear deformation theory with accuracy comparable to higher-order layerwise theories. Various numerical examples have been used to validate the present model

  3. Thickness dependence of light transmittance, translucency and opalescence of a ceria-stabilized zirconia/alumina nanocomposite for dental applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiraishi, Takanobu; Watanabe, Ikuya

    2016-05-01

    This study was conducted to investigate thickness dependence of light transmittance, translucency and opalescence of a commercially available fully-sintered ceria-stabilized zirconia/alumina nanocomposite for dental all-ceramic restorations. Three disk samples of 16 mm in diameter and thickness ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 mm with 0.1 mm increment each were cut from a fully-sintered rod-shaped Ce-TZP/alumina nanocomposite (NANOZR, Panasonic Healthcare, Japan) and polished flat by using diamond slurry. Spectral light transmittance data under the CIE standard illuminant D65 were recorded at 10nm intervals from 360 to 740 nm using a computer-controlled spectrophotometer. Average transmittance, translucency and opalescence parameters were determined as a function of sample thickness. Optical properties of a fully-sintered yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Cercon(®) base, DeguDent GmbH, Germany) were also investigated as a reference. Two-way ANOVA was performed to determine the significant differences in various optical parameters among types of ceramic and thicknesses at α=0.05. Results of the two-way ANOVA showed that the average transmittance, translucency and opalescence parameters of both ceramic materials were significantly influenced by the type of ceramic and thickness (popalescence parameters exceeding 20 CIE units when the sample thickness was nearly 0.3 mm. The prominent characteristics of high opalescence and low transmittance of light in the NANOZR was considered to be caused by its specific very fine interpenetrated intragranular microstructure and by a large difference of refractive indices of Ce-TZP and alumina components. High opalescence and low transmittance of light of the ceria-stabilized zirconia/alumina nanocomposite (NANOZR) are attractive properties for use as a substructure in fabricating porcelain-veneering-type esthetic all-ceramic restorations. Copyright © 2016 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All

  4. Effective radiation attenuation calibration for breast density: compression thickness influences and correction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Jerry A

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Calibrating mammograms to produce a standardized breast density measurement for breast cancer risk analysis requires an accurate spatial measure of the compressed breast thickness. Thickness inaccuracies due to the nominal system readout value and compression paddle orientation induce unacceptable errors in the calibration. Method A thickness correction was developed and evaluated using a fully specified two-component surrogate breast model. A previously developed calibration approach based on effective radiation attenuation coefficient measurements was used in the analysis. Water and oil were used to construct phantoms to replicate the deformable properties of the breast. Phantoms consisting of measured proportions of water and oil were used to estimate calibration errors without correction, evaluate the thickness correction, and investigate the reproducibility of the various calibration representations under compression thickness variations. Results The average thickness uncertainty due to compression paddle warp was characterized to within 0.5 mm. The relative calibration error was reduced to 7% from 48-68% with the correction. The normalized effective radiation attenuation coefficient (planar representation was reproducible under intra-sample compression thickness variations compared with calibrated volume measures. Conclusion Incorporating this thickness correction into the rigid breast tissue equivalent calibration method should improve the calibration accuracy of mammograms for risk assessments using the reproducible planar calibration measure.

  5. Specification for the VERA Depletion Benchmark Suite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Kang Seog [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2015-12-17

    CASL-X-2015-1014-000 iii Consortium for Advanced Simulation of LWRs EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The CASL neutronics simulator MPACT is under development for the neutronics and T-H coupled simulation for the pressurized water reactor. MPACT includes the ORIGEN-API and internal depletion module to perform depletion calculations based upon neutron-material reaction and radioactive decay. It is a challenge to validate the depletion capability because of the insufficient measured data. One of the detoured methods to validate it is to perform a code-to-code comparison for benchmark problems. In this study a depletion benchmark suite has been developed and a detailed guideline has been provided to obtain meaningful computational outcomes which can be used in the validation of the MPACT depletion capability.

  6. Development of the point-depletion code DEPTH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    She, Ding; Wang, Kan; Yu, Ganglin

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► The DEPTH code has been developed for the large-scale depletion system. ► DEPTH uses the data library which is convenient to couple with MC codes. ► TTA and matrix exponential methods are implemented and compared. ► DEPTH is able to calculate integral quantities based on the matrix inverse. ► Code-to-code comparisons prove the accuracy and efficiency of DEPTH. -- Abstract: The burnup analysis is an important aspect in reactor physics, which is generally done by coupling of transport calculations and point-depletion calculations. DEPTH is a newly-developed point-depletion code of handling large burnup depletion systems and detailed depletion chains. For better coupling with Monte Carlo transport codes, DEPTH uses data libraries based on the combination of ORIGEN-2 and ORIGEN-S and allows users to assign problem-dependent libraries for each depletion step. DEPTH implements various algorithms of treating the stiff depletion systems, including the Transmutation trajectory analysis (TTA), the Chebyshev Rational Approximation Method (CRAM), the Quadrature-based Rational Approximation Method (QRAM) and the Laguerre Polynomial Approximation Method (LPAM). Three different modes are supported by DEPTH to execute the decay, constant flux and constant power calculations. In addition to obtaining the instantaneous quantities of the radioactivity, decay heats and reaction rates, DEPTH is able to calculate the integral quantities by a time-integrated solver. Through calculations compared with ORIGEN-2, the validity of DEPTH in point-depletion calculations is proved. The accuracy and efficiency of depletion algorithms are also discussed. In addition, an actual pin-cell burnup case is calculated to illustrate the DEPTH code performance in coupling with the RMC Monte Carlo code

  7. Erythrocyte depletion from bone marrow: performance evaluation after 50 clinical-scale depletions with Spectra Optia BMC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim-Wanner, Soo-Zin; Bug, Gesine; Steinmann, Juliane; Ajib, Salem; Sorg, Nadine; Poppe, Carolin; Bunos, Milica; Wingenfeld, Eva; Hümmer, Christiane; Luxembourg, Beate; Seifried, Erhard; Bonig, Halvard

    2017-08-11

    Red blood cell (RBC) depletion is a standard graft manipulation technique for ABO-incompatible bone marrow (BM) transplants. The BM processing module for Spectra Optia, "BMC", was previously introduced. We here report the largest series to date of routine quality data after performing 50 clinical-scale RBC-depletions. Fifty successive RBC-depletions from autologous (n = 5) and allogeneic (n = 45) BM transplants were performed with the Spectra Optia BMC apheresis suite. Product quality was assessed before and after processing for volume, RBC and leukocyte content; RBC-depletion and stem cell (CD34+ cells) recovery was calculated there from. Clinical engraftment data were collected from 26/45 allogeneic recipients. Median RBC removal was 98.2% (range 90.8-99.1%), median CD34+ cell recovery was 93.6%, minimum recovery being 72%, total product volume was reduced to 7.5% (range 4.7-23.0%). Products engrafted with expected probability and kinetics. Performance indicators were stable over time. Spectra Optia BMC is a robust and efficient technology for RBC-depletion and volume reduction of BM, providing near-complete RBC removal and excellent CD34+ cell recovery.

  8. The effect of unilateral partial edentulism to muscle thickness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koca-Ceylan, Golzem; Guler, Ahmet U.; Taskay-Yelmir, Nergiz; Lutfi, Incesu; Aksoz, Tolga

    2003-01-01

    Teeth and muscle play a very important role for occlusal equilibrium and function.when tooth loss begins ,it may also effect the function of muscle tissues. The thickness of masseter and anterior temporalis muscles were measured bilaterally in 30 healthy fully dentate adults and in 30 unilateral edentulous patients by using ultrasonographic imaging. All scans were carried out by the same radiologist to eliminate the inter-observer difference, using a real time scanner (Toshiba SSA -270A,Japan). A 7.5 MHz linear transducer was used. The effect of age, sex, duration of partial edentulism, unilateral chewing habits of the individuals to the muscle thickness were also evaluated. In all subjects,facial proportion index was also determined. Main purpose of this study was to compare and establish the differences of muscle thickness between dentate and edentulous side in unilateral partial edentulous patients with ultrasonography and to test whether the variation in the thickness of the muscle is related to the variation in the facial and morphology. Ultrasonography revealed a large variation in the thickness of the masseter and temporolis muscles in experimental and controlled groups ,both relaxed and contracted conditions.The thickness of muscles in females was less in both conditions.In experimental group, a high negative correlation was found between the thickness of the masseter muscle and Facial Proportion Index ( FPI) in the females ,however, the statistical analysis showed no significant difference in the males. Also a high negative correlation was found in female control group. There was no statistically significant relationship between unilateral chewing habits and muscle thickness .In this study the duration of partial edentulism did not affect the thickness of the muscle.Further research is required to study muscular atrophy for comparison with total edentulism. (author)

  9. Wireless Performance of a Fully Passive Neurorecording Microsystem Embedded in Dispersive Human Head Phantom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwerdt, Helen N.; Chae, Junseok; Miranda, Felix A.

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports the wireless performance of a biocompatible fully passive microsystem implanted in phantom media simulating the dispersive dielectric properties of the human head, for potential application in recording cortical neuropotentials. Fully passive wireless operation is achieved by means of backscattering electromagnetic (EM) waves carrying 3rd order harmonic mixing products (2f(sub 0) plus or minus f(sub m)=4.4-4.9 GHZ) containing targeted neuropotential signals (fm approximately equal to 1-1000 Hz). The microsystem is enclosed in 4 micrometer thick parylene-C for biocompatibility and has a footprint of 4 millimeters x 12 millimeters x 500 micrometers. Preliminary testing of the microsystem implanted in the lossy biological simulating media results in signal-to-noise ratio's (SNR) near 22 (SNR approximately equal to 38 in free space) for millivolt level neuropotentials, demonstrating the potential for fully passive wireless microsystems in implantable medical applications.

  10. Tryptophan depletion affects compulsive behaviour in rats

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Merchán, A; Navarro, S V; Klein, A B

    2017-01-01

    investigated whether 5-HT manipulation, through a tryptophan (TRP) depletion by diet in Wistar and Lister Hooded rats, modulates compulsive drinking in schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP) and locomotor activity in the open-field test. The levels of dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin and its metabolite were......-depleted HD Wistar rats, while the LD Wistar and the Lister Hooded rats did not exhibit differences in SIP. In contrast, the TRP-depleted Lister Hooded rats increased locomotor activity compared to the non-depleted rats, while no differences were found in the Wistar rats. Serotonin 2A receptor binding...

  11. Revisiting Antarctic Ozone Depletion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grooß, Jens-Uwe; Tritscher, Ines; Müller, Rolf

    2015-04-01

    Antarctic ozone depletion is known for almost three decades and it has been well settled that it is caused by chlorine catalysed ozone depletion inside the polar vortex. However, there are still some details, which need to be clarified. In particular, there is a current debate on the relative importance of liquid aerosol and crystalline NAT and ice particles for chlorine activation. Particles have a threefold impact on polar chlorine chemistry, temporary removal of HNO3 from the gas-phase (uptake), permanent removal of HNO3 from the atmosphere (denitrification), and chlorine activation through heterogeneous reactions. We have performed simulations with the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS) employing a recently developed algorithm for saturation-dependent NAT nucleation for the Antarctic winters 2011 and 2012. The simulation results are compared with different satellite observations. With the help of these simulations, we investigate the role of the different processes responsible for chlorine activation and ozone depletion. Especially the sensitivity with respect to the particle type has been investigated. If temperatures are artificially forced to only allow cold binary liquid aerosol, the simulation still shows significant chlorine activation and ozone depletion. The results of the 3-D Chemical Transport Model CLaMS simulations differ from purely Lagrangian longtime trajectory box model simulations which indicates the importance of mixing processes.

  12. Biomixing generated by benthic filterfeeders: A diffusion model for near-bottom phytoplankton depletion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scheel Larsen, Poul; Riisgård, H.U.

    1997-01-01

    -feeders, the polychaete Nereis diversicolor and the ascidian Ciona intestinalis, respectively. The model is based on sinks located at inhalant openings and Fick's law with an effective diffusivity that decreases with distance above the bottom due to the biomixing generated by exhalant and inhalant feeding currents. For N....... intestinalis, having inhalant and exhalant openings situated about 0.05-0.1 m above the bottom and a higher and inclined exhalant jet velocity of about 0.1-0.2 m s-1, the concentration distributions show a nearly uniform depletion over a layer reaching a thickness of 0.2-0.3 m above the bottom due to high...

  13. Effect of boundary layer thickness on the flow characteristics around a rectangular prism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ji, Ho Seong; Kim, Kyung Chun

    2001-01-01

    Effect of boundary layer thickness on the flow characteristics around a rectangular prism has been investigated by using a PIV(Particle Image Velocimetry) technique. Three different boundary layers (thick, medium and thin) were generated in the atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel at Pusan National University. The thick boundary layer having 670mm thickness was generated by using spires and roughness elements. The medium thickness of boundary layer(δ=270mm) was the natural turbulent boundary layer at the test section with fully long developing length(18m). The thin boundary layer with 36.5mm thickness was generated by on a smooth panel elevated 70cm from the wind tunnel floor. The Reynolds number based on the free stream velocity and the height of the model was 7.9X10 3 . The mean velocity vector fields and turbulent kinetic energy distribution were measured and compared. The effect of boundary layer thickness is clearly observed not only in the length of separation bubble but also in the reattachment points. The thinner boundary layer thickness, the higher turbulent kinetic energy peak around the model roof. It is strongly recommended that the height ratio between model and approaching boundary layer thickness should be a major parameter

  14. Creep mechanisms of fully-lamellar TiAl based upon interface sliding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsiung, L.M.; Nieh, T.G.

    1999-01-01

    Deformation mechanisms of fully lamellar TiAl with a refined microstructure (γ lamellae: 100 approximately 300 nm thick, α 2 lamellae: 10 approximately 50 nm thick) crept at 760 C have been investigated. As a result of a fine structure, the motion and multiplication of lattice dislocations within both γ and α 2 lamellae are limited at low creep stresses ( 2 and γ/γ interfaces (i.e., interface sliding) is proposed to be the dominant deformation mechanism at low stresses. Lattice dislocations impinged on lamellar interfaces are found to be the major obstacles impeding the motion of interfacial dislocations. The number of impinged lattice dislocations increases as the applied stress increases and, subsequently, causes the pileup of interfacial dislocations along the interfaces. Accordingly, deformation twinning activated by the pileup of interfacial dislocations is proposed to be the dominant deformation mechanism at high stresses (>400 MPa)

  15. Recurrence formulas for evaluating expansion series of depletion functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vukadin, Z.

    1991-01-01

    A high-accuracy analytical method for solving the depletion equations for chains of radioactive nuclides is based on the formulation of depletion functions. When all the arguments of the depletion function are too close to each other, series expansions of the depletion function have to be used. However, the high-accuracy series expressions for the depletion functions of high index become too complicated. Recursion relations are derived which enable an efficient high-accuracy evaluation of the depletion functions with high indices. (orig.) [de

  16. Miniaturized, Planar Ion-selective Electrodes Fabricated by Means of Thick-film Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Koncki

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Various planar technologies are employed for developing solid-state sensorshaving low cost, small size and high reproducibility; thin- and thick-film technologies aremost suitable for such productions. Screen-printing is especially suitable due to itssimplicity, low-cost, high reproducibility and efficiency in large-scale production. Thistechnology enables the deposition of a thick layer and allows precise pattern control.Moreover, this is a highly economic technology, saving large amounts of the used inks. Inthe course of repetitions of the film-deposition procedure there is no waste of material dueto additivity of this thick-film technology. Finally, the thick films can be easily and quicklydeposited on inexpensive substrates. In this contribution, thick-film ion-selective electrodesbased on ionophores as well as crystalline ion-selective materials dedicated forpotentiometric measurements are demonstrated. Analytical parameters of these sensors arecomparable with those reported for conventional potentiometric electrodes. All mentionedthick-film strip electrodes have been totally fabricated in only one, fully automated thick-film technology, without any additional manual, chemical or electrochemical steps. In allcases simple, inexpensive, commercially available materials, i.e. flexible, plastic substratesand easily cured polymer-based pastes were used.

  17. Regulation of depletion layer width in Pb(Zr,Ti)O3/Nb:SrTiO3 heterostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Yu; Jie Wang, Zhan; Cui, Jian Zhong; Zhang, Zhi Dong

    2018-05-01

    Improving the tunability of depletion layer width (DLW) in ferroelectric/semiconductor heterostructures is important for the performance of some devices. In this work, 200-nm-thick Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 (PZT) films were deposited on different Nb-doped SrTiO3 (NSTO) substrates, and the tunability of DLW at PZT/NSTO interfaces were studied. Our results showed that the maximum tunability of the DLW was achieved at the NSTO substrate with 0.5 wt% Nb. On the basis of the modified capacitance model and the ferroelectric semiconductor theory, we suggest that the tunability of the DLW in PZT/NSTO heterostructures can be attributed to a delicate balance of the depletion layer charge and the ferroelectric polarization charge. Therefore, the performance of some devices related to the tunability of DLW in ferroelectric/semiconductor heterostructures can be improved by modulating the doping concentration in semiconducting electrode materials.

  18. Transient Treg depletion enhances therapeutic anti‐cancer vaccination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aston, Wayne J.; Chee, Jonathan; Khong, Andrea; Cleaver, Amanda L.; Solin, Jessica N.; Ma, Shaokang; Lesterhuis, W. Joost; Dick, Ian; Holt, Robert A.; Creaney, Jenette; Boon, Louis; Robinson, Bruce; Lake, Richard A.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Introduction Regulatory T cells (Treg) play an important role in suppressing anti‐ immunity and their depletion has been linked to improved outcomes. To better understand the role of Treg in limiting the efficacy of anti‐cancer immunity, we used a Diphtheria toxin (DTX) transgenic mouse model to specifically target and deplete Treg. Methods Tumor bearing BALB/c FoxP3.dtr transgenic mice were subjected to different treatment protocols, with or without Treg depletion and tumor growth and survival monitored. Results DTX specifically depleted Treg in a transient, dose‐dependent manner. Treg depletion correlated with delayed tumor growth, increased effector T cell (Teff) activation, and enhanced survival in a range of solid tumors. Tumor regression was dependent on Teffs as depletion of both CD4 and CD8 T cells completely abrogated any survival benefit. Severe morbidity following Treg depletion was only observed, when consecutive doses of DTX were given during peak CD8 T cell activation, demonstrating that Treg can be depleted on multiple occasions, but only when CD8 T cell activation has returned to base line levels. Finally, we show that even minimal Treg depletion is sufficient to significantly improve the efficacy of tumor‐peptide vaccination. Conclusions BALB/c.FoxP3.dtr mice are an ideal model to investigate the full therapeutic potential of Treg depletion to boost anti‐tumor immunity. DTX‐mediated Treg depletion is transient, dose‐dependent, and leads to strong anti‐tumor immunity and complete tumor regression at high doses, while enhancing the efficacy of tumor‐specific vaccination at low doses. Together this data highlight the importance of Treg manipulation as a useful strategy for enhancing current and future cancer immunotherapies. PMID:28250921

  19. Caving thickness effects of surrounding rocks macro stress shell evolving characteristics

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    XIE Guang-xiang; YANG Ke

    2009-01-01

    In order to explore the influence of different caving thicknesses on the MSS dis-tribution and evolving characteristics of surrounding rocks in unsymmetrical disposal and fully mechanized top-coal caving (FMTC), based on unsymmetrical disposal characteris-tics, the analyses of numerical simulation, material simulation and in-situ observation were synthetically applied according to the geological and technical conditions of the 1151(3) working face in Xieqiao Mine. The results show that the stress peak value of the MSS-base and the ratio of MSS-body height to caving thickness are nonlinear and inversely proportional to the caving thickness. The MSS-base width, the MSS-body height, the MSS-base distance to working face wall and the rise distance of MSS-base beside coal pillar are nonlinear and directly proportional to the caving thickness. The characteristics of MSS distribution and its evolving rules of surrounding rocks and the integrated caving thickness effects are obtained. The investigations will provide lots of theoretic references to the surrounding rocks' stability control of the working face and roadway, roadway layout, gas extraction and exploitation, and efficiency of caving, etc.

  20. EPRI depletion benchmark calculations using PARAGON

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kucukboyaci, Vefa N.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • PARAGON depletion calculations are benchmarked against the EPRI reactivity decrement experiments. • Benchmarks cover a wide range of enrichments, burnups, cooling times, and burnable absorbers, and different depletion and storage conditions. • Results from PARAGON-SCALE scheme are more conservative relative to the benchmark data. • ENDF/B-VII based data reduces the excess conservatism and brings the predictions closer to benchmark reactivity decrement values. - Abstract: In order to conservatively apply burnup credit in spent fuel pool criticality analyses, code validation for both fresh and used fuel is required. Fresh fuel validation is typically done by modeling experiments from the “International Handbook.” A depletion validation can determine a bias and bias uncertainty for the worth of the isotopes not found in the fresh fuel critical experiments. Westinghouse’s burnup credit methodology uses PARAGON™ (Westinghouse 2-D lattice physics code) and its 70-group cross-section library, which have been benchmarked, qualified, and licensed both as a standalone transport code and as a nuclear data source for core design simulations. A bias and bias uncertainty for the worth of depletion isotopes, however, are not available for PARAGON. Instead, the 5% decrement approach for depletion uncertainty is used, as set forth in the Kopp memo. Recently, EPRI developed a set of benchmarks based on a large set of power distribution measurements to ascertain reactivity biases. The depletion reactivity has been used to create 11 benchmark cases for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 GWd/MTU and 3 cooling times 100 h, 5 years, and 15 years. These benchmark cases are analyzed with PARAGON and the SCALE package and sensitivity studies are performed using different cross-section libraries based on ENDF/B-VI.3 and ENDF/B-VII data to assess that the 5% decrement approach is conservative for determining depletion uncertainty

  1. An analytical threshold voltage model for a short-channel dual-metal-gate (DMG) recessed-source/drain (Re-S/D) SOI MOSFET

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saramekala, G. K.; Santra, Abirmoya; Dubey, Sarvesh; Jit, Satyabrata; Tiwari, Pramod Kumar

    2013-08-01

    In this paper, an analytical short-channel threshold voltage model is presented for a dual-metal-gate (DMG) fully depleted recessed source/drain (Re-S/D) SOI MOSFET. For the first time, the advantages of recessed source/drain (Re-S/D) and of dual-metal-gate structure are incorporated simultaneously in a fully depleted SOI MOSFET. The analytical surface potential model at Si-channel/SiO2 interface and Si-channel/buried-oxide (BOX) interface have been developed by solving the 2-D Poisson’s equation in the channel region with appropriate boundary conditions assuming parabolic potential profile in the transverse direction of the channel. Thereupon, a threshold voltage model is derived from the minimum surface potential in the channel. The developed model is analyzed extensively for a variety of device parameters like the oxide and silicon channel thicknesses, thickness of source/drain extension in the BOX, control and screen gate length ratio. The validity of the present 2D analytical model is verified with ATLAS™, a 2D device simulator from SILVACO Inc.

  2. Depletion sensitivity predicts unhealthy snack purchases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon, Stefanie J; Adriaanse, Marieke A; Fennis, Bob M; De Vet, Emely; De Ridder, Denise T D

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the present research is to examine the relation between depletion sensitivity - a novel construct referring to the speed or ease by which one's self-control resources are drained - and snack purchase behavior. In addition, interactions between depletion sensitivity and the goal to lose weight on snack purchase behavior were explored. Participants included in the study were instructed to report every snack they bought over the course of one week. The dependent variables were the number of healthy and unhealthy snacks purchased. The results of the present study demonstrate that depletion sensitivity predicts the amount of unhealthy (but not healthy) snacks bought. The more sensitive people are to depletion, the more unhealthy snacks they buy. Moreover, there was some tentative evidence that this relation is more pronounced for people with a weak as opposed to a strong goal to lose weight, suggesting that a strong goal to lose weight may function as a motivational buffer against self-control failures. All in all, these findings provide evidence for the external validity of depletion sensitivity and the relevance of this construct in the domain of eating behavior. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Isotopic depletion with Monte Carlo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, W.R.; Rathkopf, J.A.

    1996-06-01

    This work considers a method to deplete isotopes during a time- dependent Monte Carlo simulation of an evolving system. The method is based on explicitly combining a conventional estimator for the scalar flux with the analytical solutions to the isotopic depletion equations. There are no auxiliary calculations; the method is an integral part of the Monte Carlo calculation. The method eliminates negative densities and reduces the variance in the estimates for the isotope densities, compared to existing methods. Moreover, existing methods are shown to be special cases of the general method described in this work, as they can be derived by combining a high variance estimator for the scalar flux with a low-order approximation to the analytical solution to the depletion equation

  4. Microscopic to macroscopic depletion model development for FORMOSA-P

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noh, J.M.; Turinsky, P.J.; Sarsour, H.N.

    1996-01-01

    Microscopic depletion has been gaining popularity with regard to employment in reactor core nodal calculations, mainly attributed to the superiority of microscopic depletion in treating spectral history effects during depletion. Another trend is the employment of loading pattern optimization computer codes in support of reload core design. Use of such optimization codes has significantly reduced design efforts to optimize reload core loading patterns associated with increasingly complicated lattice designs. A microscopic depletion model has been developed for the FORMOSA-P pressurized water reactor (PWR) loading pattern optimization code. This was done for both fidelity improvements and to make FORMOSA-P compatible with microscopic-based nuclear design methods. Needless to say, microscopic depletion requires more computational effort compared with macroscopic depletion. This implies that microscopic depletion may be computationally restrictive if employed during the loading pattern optimization calculation because many loading patterns are examined during the course of an optimization search. Therefore, the microscopic depletion model developed here uses combined models of microscopic and macroscopic depletion. This is done by first performing microscopic depletions for a subset of possible loading patterns from which 'collapsed' macroscopic cross sections are obtained. The collapsed macroscopic cross sections inherently incorporate spectral history effects. Subsequently, the optimization calculations are done using the collapsed macroscopic cross sections. Using this approach allows maintenance of microscopic depletion level accuracy without substantial additional computing resources

  5. Exact solution of the optical response of thick slabs in the discrete dipole approach".

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Poppe, G.P.M.; Poppe, G.P.M.; Wijers, Christianus M.J.

    1990-01-01

    The recently developed double cell technique, which describes the optical response of an arbitrary semi-infinite dielectric crystal taking into account internal field effects, is extended to include the response of thick slabs. The surface sensitivity of the first technique is fully retained. The

  6. Depleted depletion drives polymer swelling in poor solvent mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherji, Debashish; Marques, Carlos M; Stuehn, Torsten; Kremer, Kurt

    2017-11-09

    Establishing a link between macromolecular conformation and microscopic interaction is a key to understand properties of polymer solutions and for designing technologically relevant "smart" polymers. Here, polymer solvation in solvent mixtures strike as paradoxical phenomena. For example, when adding polymers to a solvent, such that all particle interactions are repulsive, polymer chains can collapse due to increased monomer-solvent repulsion. This depletion induced monomer-monomer attraction is well known from colloidal stability. A typical example is poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in water or small alcohols. While polymer collapse in a single poor solvent is well understood, the observed polymer swelling in mixtures of two repulsive solvents is surprising. By combining simulations and theoretical concepts known from polymer physics and colloidal science, we unveil the microscopic, generic origin of this collapse-swelling-collapse behavior. We show that this phenomenon naturally emerges at constant pressure when an appropriate balance of entropically driven depletion interactions is achieved.

  7. Is Ego Depletion Real? An Analysis of Arguments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friese, Malte; Loschelder, David D; Gieseler, Karolin; Frankenbach, Julius; Inzlicht, Michael

    2018-03-01

    An influential line of research suggests that initial bouts of self-control increase the susceptibility to self-control failure (ego depletion effect). Despite seemingly abundant evidence, some researchers have suggested that evidence for ego depletion was the sole result of publication bias and p-hacking, with the true effect being indistinguishable from zero. Here, we examine (a) whether the evidence brought forward against ego depletion will convince a proponent that ego depletion does not exist and (b) whether arguments that could be brought forward in defense of ego depletion will convince a skeptic that ego depletion does exist. We conclude that despite several hundred published studies, the available evidence is inconclusive. Both additional empirical and theoretical works are needed to make a compelling case for either side of the debate. We discuss necessary steps for future work toward this aim.

  8. Depletion-induced biaxial nematic states of boardlike particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belli, S; Van Roij, R; Dijkstra, M

    2012-01-01

    With the aim of investigating the stability conditions of biaxial nematic liquid crystals, we study the effect of adding a non-adsorbing ideal depletant on the phase behavior of colloidal hard boardlike particles. We take into account the presence of the depletant by introducing an effective depletion attraction between a pair of boardlike particles. At fixed depletant fugacity, the stable liquid-crystal phase is determined through a mean-field theory with restricted orientations. Interestingly, we predict that for slightly elongated boardlike particles a critical depletant density exists, where the system undergoes a direct transition from an isotropic liquid to a biaxial nematic phase. As a consequence, by tuning the depletant density, an easy experimental control parameter, one can stabilize states of high biaxial nematic order even when these states are unstable for pure systems of boardlike particles. (paper)

  9. Self-Regulatory Capacities Are Depleted in a Domain-Specific Manner.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Rui; Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Rzepus, Anneka; Beste, Christian

    2017-01-01

    Performing an act of self-regulation such as making decisions has been suggested to deplete a common limited resource, which impairs all subsequent self-regulatory actions (ego depletion theory). It has however remained unclear whether self-referred decisions truly impair behavioral control even in seemingly unrelated cognitive domains, and which neurophysiological mechanisms are affected by these potential depletion effects. In the current study, we therefore used an inter-individual design to compare two kinds of depletion, namely a self-referred choice-based depletion and a categorization-based switching depletion, to a non-depleted control group. We used a backward inhibition (BI) paradigm to assess the effects of depletion on task switching and associated inhibition processes. It was combined with EEG and source localization techniques to assess both behavioral and neurophysiological depletion effects. The results challenge the ego depletion theory in its current form: Opposing the theory's prediction of a general limited resource, which should have yielded comparable effects in both depletion groups, or maybe even a larger depletion in the self-referred choice group, there were stronger performance impairments following a task domain-specific depletion (i.e., the switching-based depletion) than following a depletion based on self-referred choices. This suggests at least partly separate and independent resources for various cognitive control processes rather than just one joint resource for all self-regulation activities. The implications are crucial to consider for people making frequent far-reaching decisions e.g., in law or economy.

  10. Fabrication and characterization of MEMS-based PZT/PZT bimorph thick film vibration energy harvesters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, Ruichao; Lei, Anders; Dahl-Petersen, Christian

    2012-01-01

    We describe the fabrication and characterization of a significantly improved version of a microelectromechanical system-based PZT/PZT thick film bimorph vibration energy harvester with an integrated silicon proof mass; the harvester is fabricated in a fully monolithic process. The main advantage...... yield of 98%. The robust fabrication process allowed a high pressure treatment of the screen printed PZT thick films prior to sintering. The high pressure treatment improved the PZT thick film performance and increased the harvester power output to 37.1 μW at 1 g root mean square acceleration. We also...... characterize the harvester performance when only one of the PZT layers is used while the other is left open or short circuit....

  11. Film Thickness and Friction Relationship in Grease Lubricated Rough Contacts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Gonçalves

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The relationship between the film generation and the coefficient of friction in grease lubricated contacts was investigated. Ball-on-disc tests were performed under different operating conditions: entrainment speed, lubricant temperature and surface roughness. The tests were performed with fully formulated greases and their base oils. The greases were formulated with different thickener types and also different base oils natures and viscosities. Film thickness measurements were performed in ball-on-glass disc tests, and Stribeck curves were measured in ball-on-steel disc tests with discs of different roughness. The role of the thickener and the base oil nature/viscosity on the film thickness and coefficient of friction was addressed and the greases’ performance was compared based on their formulation.

  12. Histone h1 depletion impairs embryonic stem cell differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yunzhe; Cooke, Marissa; Panjwani, Shiraj; Cao, Kaixiang; Krauth, Beth; Ho, Po-Yi; Medrzycki, Magdalena; Berhe, Dawit T; Pan, Chenyi; McDevitt, Todd C; Fan, Yuhong

    2012-01-01

    Pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are known to possess a relatively open chromatin structure; yet, despite efforts to characterize the chromatin signatures of ESCs, the role of chromatin compaction in stem cell fate and function remains elusive. Linker histone H1 is important for higher-order chromatin folding and is essential for mammalian embryogenesis. To investigate the role of H1 and chromatin compaction in stem cell pluripotency and differentiation, we examine the differentiation of embryonic stem cells that are depleted of multiple H1 subtypes. H1c/H1d/H1e triple null ESCs are more resistant to spontaneous differentiation in adherent monolayer culture upon removal of leukemia inhibitory factor. Similarly, the majority of the triple-H1 null embryoid bodies (EBs) lack morphological structures representing the three germ layers and retain gene expression signatures characteristic of undifferentiated ESCs. Furthermore, upon neural differentiation of EBs, triple-H1 null cell cultures are deficient in neurite outgrowth and lack efficient activation of neural markers. Finally, we discover that triple-H1 null embryos and EBs fail to fully repress the expression of the pluripotency genes in comparison with wild-type controls and that H1 depletion impairs DNA methylation and changes of histone marks at promoter regions necessary for efficiently silencing pluripotency gene Oct4 during stem cell differentiation and embryogenesis. In summary, we demonstrate that H1 plays a critical role in pluripotent stem cell differentiation, and our results suggest that H1 and chromatin compaction may mediate pluripotent stem cell differentiation through epigenetic repression of the pluripotency genes.

  13. Maximizing percentage depletion in solid minerals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tripp, J.; Grove, H.D.; McGrath, M.

    1982-01-01

    This article develops a strategy for maximizing percentage depletion deductions when extracting uranium or other solid minerals. The goal is to avoid losing percentage depletion deductions by staying below the 50% limitation on taxable income from the property. The article is divided into two major sections. The first section is comprised of depletion calculations that illustrate the problem and corresponding solutions. The last section deals with the feasibility of applying the strategy and complying with the Internal Revenue Code and appropriate regulations. Three separate strategies or appropriate situations are developed and illustrated. 13 references, 3 figures, 7 tables

  14. Long-term groundwater depletion in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konikow, Leonard F.

    2015-01-01

    The volume of groundwater stored in the subsurface in the United States decreased by almost 1000 km3 during 1900–2008. The aquifer systems with the three largest volumes of storage depletion include the High Plains aquifer, the Mississippi Embayment section of the Gulf Coastal Plain aquifer system, and the Central Valley of California. Depletion rates accelerated during 1945–1960, averaging 13.6 km3/year during the last half of the century, and after 2000 increased again to about 24 km3/year. Depletion intensity is a new parameter, introduced here, to provide a more consistent basis for comparing storage depletion problems among various aquifers by factoring in time and areal extent of the aquifer. During 2001–2008, the Central Valley of California had the largest depletion intensity. Groundwater depletion in the United States can explain 1.4% of observed sea-level rise during the 108-year study period and 2.1% during 2001–2008. Groundwater depletion must be confronted on local and regional scales to help reduce demand (primarily in irrigated agriculture) and/or increase supply.

  15. Depletion sensitivity predicts unhealthy snack purchases

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Salmon, Stefanie J.; Adriaanse, Marieke A.; Fennis, Bob M.; De Vet, Emely; De Ridder, Denise T D

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the present research is to examine the relation between depletion sensitivity - a novel construct referring to the speed or ease by which one's self-control resources are drained - and snack purchase behavior. In addition, interactions between depletion sensitivity and the goal to lose

  16. Real depletion in nodal diffusion codes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petkov, P.T.

    2002-01-01

    The fuel depletion is described by more than one hundred fuel isotopes in the advanced lattice codes like HELIOS, but only a few fuel isotopes are accounted for even in the advanced steady-state diffusion codes. The general assumption that the number densities of the majority of the fuel isotopes depend only on the fuel burnup is seriously in error if high burnup is considered. The real depletion conditions in the reactor core differ from the asymptotic ones at the stage of lattice depletion calculations. This study reveals which fuel isotopes should be explicitly accounted for in the diffusion codes in order to predict adequately the real depletion effects in the core. A somewhat strange conclusion is that if the real number densities of the main fissionable isotopes are not explicitly accounted for in the diffusion code, then Sm-149 should not be accounted for either, because the net error in k-inf is smaller (Authors)

  17. Gas generation matrix depletion quality assurance project plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is to provide the necessary expertise, experience, equipment and instrumentation, and management structure to: Conduct the matrix depletion experiments using simulated waste for quantifying matrix depletion effects; and Conduct experiments on 60 cylinders containing simulated TRU waste to determine the effects of matrix depletion on gas generation for transportation. All work for the Gas Generation Matrix Depletion (GGMD) experiment is performed according to the quality objectives established in the test plan and under this Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPjP)

  18. Hsp90 depletion goes wild

    OpenAIRE

    Siegal, Mark L; Masel, Joanna

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Hsp90 reveals phenotypic variation in the laboratory, but is Hsp90 depletion important in the wild? Recent work from Chen and Wagner in BMC Evolutionary Biology has discovered a naturally occurring Drosophila allele that downregulates Hsp90, creating sensitivity to cryptic genetic variation. Laboratory studies suggest that the exact magnitude of Hsp90 downregulation is important. Extreme Hsp90 depletion might reactivate transposable elements and/or induce aneuploidy, in addition to r...

  19. Regret causes ego-depletion and finding benefits in the regrettable events alleviates ego-depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Hongmei; Zhang, Yan; Wang, Fang; Xu, Yan; Hong, Ying-Yi; Jiang, Jiang

    2014-01-01

    This study tested the hypotheses that experiencing regret would result in ego-depletion, while finding benefits (i.e., "silver linings") in the regret-eliciting events counteracted the ego-depletion effect. Using a modified gambling paradigm (Experiments 1, 2, and 4) and a retrospective method (Experiments 3 and 5), five experiments were conducted to induce regret. Results revealed that experiencing regret undermined performance on subsequent tasks, including a paper-and-pencil calculation task (Experiment 1), a Stroop task (Experiment 2), and a mental arithmetic task (Experiment 3). Furthermore, finding benefits in the regret-eliciting events improved subsequent performance (Experiments 4 and 5), and this improvement was mediated by participants' perceived vitality (Experiment 4). This study extended the depletion model of self-regulation by considering emotions with self-conscious components (in our case, regret). Moreover, it provided a comprehensive understanding of how people felt and performed after experiencing regret and after finding benefits in the events that caused the regret.

  20. Thickness dependence of electrical properties in (0 0 1) oriented lead zirconate titanate films by laser ablation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, T.J.; Lu, L.; Lai, M.O.; Soh, A.K.

    2007-01-01

    Highly (0 0 1)-oriented Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 (PZT) thin films with LaNiO 3 (LNO) bottom electrodes have been fabricated on amorphous TiN buffered Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The polarization-electric field (P-E) hysteresis of the deposited PZT films with different thickness ranging from 25 to 850 nm was measured. Results showed that the coercive field increases with the film thickness scaling down. No P-E loops could be obtained for the film of thickness of 25 nm. The deterioration of ferroelectric property in the thinnest film was attributed to extrinsic effect other than intrinsic size effect. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics measurement showed the increase in leakage current of the PZT films with the decrease in the thickness of the films under the same bias voltage. At a high field regime, the leakage current of the PZT films of 25 nm thickness remained unchanged with increasing applied voltage. A totally depleted back-to-back Shottky barrier model was used to explain the effect of electrode interfaces on leakage current in the PZT films. It is believed that ferroelectric/electrode interfaces play an important role in the electrical properties of ferroelectric thin films with thickness at nanometer level

  1. Is gas in the Orion nebula depleted

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aiello, S.; Guidi, I.

    1978-01-01

    Depletion of heavy elements has been recognized to be important in the understanding of the chemical composition of the interstellar medium. This problem is also relevant to the study of H II regions. In this paper the gaseous depletion in the physical conditions of the Orion nebula is investigated. The authors reach the conclusion that very probably no depletion of heavy elements, due to sticking on dust grains, took place during the lifetime of the Orion nebula. (Auth.)

  2. Solar ultraviolet radiation and ozone depletion-driven climate change: effects on terrestrial ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bornman, J F; Barnes, P W; Robinson, S A; Ballaré, C L; Flint, S D; Caldwell, M M

    2015-01-01

    In this assessment we summarise advances in our knowledge of how UV-B radiation (280-315 nm), together with other climate change factors, influence terrestrial organisms and ecosystems. We identify key uncertainties and knowledge gaps that limit our ability to fully evaluate the interactive effects of ozone depletion and climate change on these systems. We also evaluate the biological consequences of the way in which stratospheric ozone depletion has contributed to climate change in the Southern Hemisphere. Since the last assessment, several new findings or insights have emerged or been strengthened. These include: (1) the increasing recognition that UV-B radiation has specific regulatory roles in plant growth and development that in turn can have beneficial consequences for plant productivity via effects on plant hardiness, enhanced plant resistance to herbivores and pathogens, and improved quality of agricultural products with subsequent implications for food security; (2) UV-B radiation together with UV-A (315-400 nm) and visible (400-700 nm) radiation are significant drivers of decomposition of plant litter in globally important arid and semi-arid ecosystems, such as grasslands and deserts. This occurs through the process of photodegradation, which has implications for nutrient cycling and carbon storage, although considerable uncertainty exists in quantifying its regional and global biogeochemical significance; (3) UV radiation can contribute to climate change via its stimulation of volatile organic compounds from plants, plant litter and soils, although the magnitude, rates and spatial patterns of these emissions remain highly uncertain at present. UV-induced release of carbon from plant litter and soils may also contribute to global warming; and (4) depletion of ozone in the Southern Hemisphere modifies climate directly via effects on seasonal weather patterns (precipitation and wind) and these in turn have been linked to changes in the growth of plants

  3. Tolerance, immunocompetence, and secondary disease in fully allogeneic radiation chimeras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rayfield, L.S.; Brent, L.

    1983-01-01

    The aim of this study was to ascertain the extent to which secondary disease and mortality in fully allogeneic chimeras (C57BL leads to CBA) is caused (if at all) by a delayed graft-versus-host reaction. Adult CBA males were thymectomized, irradiated, and reconstituted with T-lymphocyte-depleted C57BL or CBA bone marrow cells (BMC), followed three weeks after irradiation by implantation under the kidney capsule of thymic lobes from C57BL or CBA fetal or adult donors. These mice were observed for the development of secondary disease for periods in excess of 250 days, and they were examined at 5 weeks or 4 months for T lymphocyte reactivity and tolerance to alloantigens, using the cell-mediated lympholysis assay (CML). The following results were obtained. First, removal of T lymphocytes with anti-Thy 1 antibody and complement from allogeneic bone marrow did not prevent wasting and eventual death, although it prolonged the lifespan of mice substantially. Second, T lymphocytes generated from bone marrow-derived precursor cells became tolerant of the histocompatibility antigens of the thymus donor strain but remained normally reactive to third-party antigens. Third, allogeneic radiation chimeras did not survive as well as animals reconstituted with syngeneic cells, even when they were demonstrably tolerant in CML. Fourth, C57BL BMC maturing in a CBA host equipped with a C57BL thymus graft did not become tolerant of host antigens, indicating that extra-thymic tolerance does not occur in fully allogeneic--as opposed to semiallogeneic--chimeras. It is argued that the function of B lymphocytes and/or accessory cells is impaired in fully allogeneic radiation chimeras, and that the mortality observed was directly related to the resulting immunodeficiency. The relevance of the results described in this paper to clinical bone marrow transplantation is discussed

  4. Transpassive electrodissolution of depleted uranium in alkaline electrolytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weisbrod, K.R.; Schake, A.R.; Morgan, A.N.; Purdy, G.M.; Martinez, H.E.; Nelson, T.O.

    1998-03-01

    To aid in removal of oralloy from the nuclear weapons stockpile, scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Facility are decontaminating oralloy parts by electrodissolution in neutral to alkaline electrolytes composed of sodium nitrate and sodium sulfate. To improve the process, electrodissolution experiments were performed with depleted uranium to understand the effects of various operating parameters. Sufficient precipitate was also produced to evaluate the feasibility of using ultrafiltration to separate the uranium oxide precipitates from the electrolyte before it enters the decontamination fixture. In preparation for the experiments, a potential-pH diagram for uranium was constructed from thermodynamic data for fully hydrated species. Electrodissolution in unstirred solutions showed that uranium dissolution forms two layers, an acidic bottom layer rich in uranium and an alkaline upper layer. Under stirred conditions results are consistent with the formation of a yellow precipitate of composition UO 3 ·2H 2 O, a six electron process. Amperometric experiments showed that current efficiency remained near 100% over a wide range of electrolytes, electrolyte concentrations, pH, and stirring conditions

  5. Nutrient depletion in Bacillus subtilis biofilms triggers matrix production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Wenbo; Seminara, Agnese; Suaris, Melanie; Angelini, Thomas E; Brenner, Michael P; Weitz, David A

    2014-01-01

    Many types of bacteria form colonies that grow into physically robust and strongly adhesive aggregates known as biofilms. A distinguishing characteristic of bacterial biofilms is an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrix that encases the cells and provides physical integrity to the colony. The EPS matrix consists of a large amount of polysaccharide, as well as protein filaments, DNA and degraded cellular materials. The genetic pathways that control the transformation of a colony into a biofilm have been widely studied, and yield a spatiotemporal heterogeneity in EPS production. Spatial gradients in metabolites parallel this heterogeneity in EPS, but nutrient concentration as an underlying physiological initiator of EPS production has not been explored. Here, we study the role of nutrient depletion in EPS production in Bacillus subtilis biofilms. By monitoring simultaneously biofilm size and matrix production, we find that EPS production increases at a critical colony thickness that depends on the initial amount of carbon sources in the medium. Through studies of individual cells in liquid culture we find that EPS production can be triggered at the single-cell level by reducing nutrient concentration. To connect the single-cell assays with conditions in the biofilm, we calculate carbon concentration with a model for the reaction and diffusion of nutrients in the biofilm. This model predicts the relationship between the initial concentration of carbon and the thickness of the colony at the point of internal nutrient deprivation. (paper)

  6. Nature gives us strength: exposure to nature counteracts ego-depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chow, Jason T; Lau, Shun

    2015-01-01

    Previous research rarely investigated the role of physical environment in counteracting ego-depletion. In the present research, we hypothesized that exposure to natural environment counteracts ego-depletion. Three experiments were conducted to test this hypothesis. In Experiment 1, initially depleted participants who viewed pictures of nature scenes showed greater persistence on a subsequent anagram task than those who were given a rest period. Experiment 2 expanded upon this finding by showing that natural environment enhanced logical reasoning performance after ego-depleting task. Experiment 3 adopted a two- (depletion vs. no-depletion) -by-two (nature exposure vs. urban exposure) factorial design. We found that nature exposure moderated the effect of depletion on anagram task performance. Taken together, the present studies offer a viable and novel strategy to mitigate the negative impacts of ego-depletion.

  7. Characterization of depleted uranium oxides fabricated using different processing methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hastings, E.P.; Lewis, C.; FitzPatrick, J.; Rademacher, D.; Tandon, L.

    2008-01-01

    Identifying both physical and chemical characteristics of Special Nuclear Material (SNM) production processes is the corner stone of nuclear forensics. Typically, processing markers are based on measuring an interdicted sample's bulk chemical properties, such as the elemental or isotopic composition, or focusing on the chemical and physical morphology of only a few particles. Therefore, it is imperative that known SNM processes be fully characterized from bulk to trace level for each particle size range. This report outlines a series of particle size measurements and fractionation techniques that can be applied to a bulk SNM powders, categorizing both chemical and physical properties in discrete particle size fractions. This will be demonstrated by characterizing the process signatures of a series of different depleted uranium oxides prepared at increasing firing temperatures (350-1100 deg C). Results will demonstrate how each oxides' material density, particle size distribution, and morphology varies. (author)

  8. Lithium depletion and rotation in main-sequence stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balachandran, S.

    1990-01-01

    Lithium abundances were measured in nearly 200 old disk-population F stars to examine the effects of rotational braking on the depletion of Li. The sample was selected to be slightly evolved off the main sequence so that the stars have completed all the Li depletion they will undergo on the main sequence. A large scatter in Li abundances in the late F stars is found, indicating that the Li depletion is not related to age and spectral type alone. Conventional depletion mechanisms like convective overshoot and microscopic diffusion are unable to explain Li depletion in F stars with thin convective envelopes and are doubly taxed to explain such a scatter. No correlation is found between Li abundance and the present projected rotational velocity and some of the most rapid rotators are undepleted, ruling out meridional circulation as the cause of Li depletion. There is a somewhat larger spread in Li abundances in the spun-down late F stars compared to the early F stars which should remain rotationally unaltered on the main sequence. 85 refs

  9. Department of Energy depleted uranium recycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosinski, F.E.; Butturini, W.G.; Kurtz, J.J.

    1994-01-01

    With its strategic supply of depleted uranium, the Department of Energy is studying reuse of the material in nuclear radiation shields, military hardware, and commercial applications. the study is expected to warrant a more detailed uranium recycle plan which would include consideration of a demonstration program and a program implementation decision. Such a program, if implemented, would become the largest nuclear material recycle program in the history of the Department of Energy. The bulk of the current inventory of depleted uranium is stored in 14-ton cylinders in the form of solid uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ). The radioactive 235 U content has been reduced to a concentration of 0.2% to 0.4%. Present estimates indicate there are about 55,000 UF 6 -filled cylinders in inventory and planned operations will provide another 2,500 cylinders of depleted uranium each year. The United States government, under the auspices of the Department of Energy, considers the depleted uranium a highly-refined strategic resource of significant value. A possible utilization of a large portion of the depleted uranium inventory is as radiation shielding for spent reactor fuels and high-level radioactive waste. To this end, the Department of Energy study to-date has included a preliminary technical review to ascertain DOE chemical forms useful for commercial products. The presentation summarized the information including preliminary cost estimates. The status of commercial uranium processing is discussed. With a shrinking market, the number of chemical conversion and fabrication plants is reduced; however, the commercial capability does exist for chemical conversion of the UF 6 to the metal form and for the fabrication of uranium radiation shields and other uranium products. Department of Energy facilities no longer possess a capability for depleted uranium chemical conversion

  10. Depleted UF6 programmatic environmental impact statement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    The US Department of Energy has developed a program for long-term management and use of depleted uranium hexafluoride, a product of the uranium enrichment process. As part of this effort, DOE is preparing a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the depleted UF 6 management program. This report duplicates the information available at the web site (http://www.ead.anl.gov/web/newduf6) set up as a repository for the PEIS. Options for the web site include: reviewing recent additions or changes to the web site; learning more about depleted UF 6 and the PEIS; browsing the PEIS and related documents, or submitting official comments on the PEIS; downloading all or part of the PEIS documents; and adding or deleting one's name from the depleted UF 6 mailing list

  11. Radiosensitization of CHO cells by the combination of glutathione depletion and low concentrations of oxygen: The effect of different levels of GSH depletion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clark, E.P.; Epp, E.R.; Zachgo, E.A.; Biaglow, J.E.

    1984-01-01

    Recently, the authors have examined the effect of GSH depletion by BSO on CHO cells equilibrated with oxygen at various concentrations (0.05-4.0%) and irradiated with 50 kVp x-rays. This is of interest because of the uncertain radiosensitizing effect GSH depletion may have on cells equilibrated with low oxygen concentrations. GSH depletion (0.1 mM BSO/24 hrs reduced [GSH] ≅ 10% of control) enhanced the radiosensitizing action of moderate (0.4-4.0%) concentrations of oxygen, i.e., GSH depletion reduced the [O/sub 2/] necessary to achieve an equivalent ER by ≅ 2-3 fold. However, GSH depletion was much more effective as a rediosensitizer when cells were equilibrated with low (<0.4%) concentrations of oxygen, i.e., GSH depletion reduced the [O/sub 2/] necessary to achieve an equivalent ER by 8-10 fold. Furthermore, while the addition of exogenous 5 mM GSH restored the ER to that observed when GSH was not depleted, the intracellular [GSH] was not increased. The results of these studies carried out at different levels of GSH depletion are presented

  12. Fully relaxed low-mismatched InAlAs layer on an InP substrate by using a two step buffer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Plissard, S.R.; Coinon, C.; Androussi, Y.; Wallart, X.

    2010-01-01

    The strain relaxation in low mismatched InxAl1-xAs layers has been studied by triple axis x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence. Using a two step buffer, a fully relaxed top layer has been grown by adapting the composition and thickness of a first "strained

  13. In situ non-destructive measurement of biofilm thickness and topology in an interferometric optical microscope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larimer, Curtis; Suter, Jonathan D; Bonheyo, George; Addleman, Raymond Shane

    2016-06-01

    Biofilms are ubiquitous and impact the environment, human health, dental hygiene, and a wide range of industrial processes. Biofilms are difficult to characterize when fully hydrated, especially in a non-destructive manner, because of their soft structure and water-like bulk properties. Herein a method of measuring and monitoring the thickness and topology of live biofilms of using white light interferometry is described. Using this technique, surface morphology, surface roughness, and biofilm thickness were measured over time without while the biofilm continued to grow. The thickness and surface topology of a P. putida biofilm were monitored growing from initial colonization to a mature biofilm. Measured thickness followed expected trends for bacterial growth. Surface roughness also increased over time and was a leading indicator of biofilm growth. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. How Ego Depletion Affects Sexual Self-Regulation: Is It More Than Resource Depletion?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nolet, Kevin; Rouleau, Joanne-Lucine; Benbouriche, Massil; Carrier Emond, Fannie; Renaud, Patrice

    2015-12-21

    Rational thinking and decision making are impacted when in a state of sexual arousal. The inability to self-regulate arousal can be linked to numerous problems, like sexual risk taking, infidelity, and sexual coercion. Studies have shown that most men are able to exert voluntary control over their sexual excitation with various levels of success. Both situational and dispositional factors can influence self-regulation achievement. The goal of this research was to investigate how ego depletion, a state of low self-control capacity, interacts with personality traits-propensities for sexual excitation and inhibition-and cognitive absorption, to cause sexual self-regulation failure. The sexual responses of 36 heterosexual males were assessed using penile plethysmography. They were asked to control their sexual arousal in two conditions, with and without ego depletion. Results suggest that ego depletion has opposite effects based on the trait sexual inhibition, as individuals moderately inhibited showed an increase in performance while highly inhibited ones showed a decrease. These results challenge the limited resource model of self-regulation and point to the importance of considering how people adapt to acute and high challenging conditions.

  15. Tuning the thickness of electrochemically grafted layers in large area molecular junctions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fluteau, T.; Bessis, C.; Barraud, C., E-mail: clement.barraud@univ-paris-diderot.fr; Della Rocca, M. L.; Lafarge, P. [Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, MPQ, UMR 7162, CNRS, 75205 Paris Cedex 13 (France); Martin, P.; Lacroix, J.-C. [Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, ITODYS, UMR 7086, CNRS, 15 rue J.-A. de Baïf, 75205 Paris Cedex 13 (France)

    2014-09-21

    We have investigated the thickness, the surface roughness, and the transport properties of oligo(1-(2-bisthienyl)benzene) (BTB) thin films grafted on evaporated Au electrodes, thanks to a diazonium-based electro-reduction process. The thickness of the organic film is tuned by varying the number of electrochemical cycles during the growth process. Atomic force microscopy measurements reveal the evolution of the thickness in the range of 2–27 nm. Its variation displays a linear dependence with the number of cycles followed by a saturation attributed to the insulating behavior of the organic films. Both ultrathin (2 nm) and thin (12 and 27 nm) large area BTB-based junctions have then been fabricated using standard CMOS processes and finally electrically characterized. The electronic responses are fully consistent with a tunneling barrier in case of ultrathin BTB film whereas a pronounced rectifying behavior is reported for thicker molecular films.

  16. Full reflector thickness and isolation thickness on neutron transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakai, Tomohiro; Naito, Yoshitaka; Komuro, Yuichi.

    1988-08-01

    A method to determine ''full reflector thickness'' and ''isolation thickness'', which is utilized for criticality safety evaluation on nuclear fuel facilities, was proposed in this paper. Firstly, a calculation was tryed to obtain the two kinds of thicknesses from the result of criticality calculations for a specific case. Then, two simple equations which calculates the two kinds of thicknesses were made from the relation between reflector (or isolator) thickness and k eff , and one-group diffusion theory. Finally, we proposed a new method to determine the thicknesses. From the method we proposed, ''full reflector thickness'' and ''isolation thickness'' can be obtain using the equations and migration length of the reflector (or isolator) and infinite and effective multiplication factor of the fuel. (author)

  17. Challenges for precision shape measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jarvis, M

    2014-01-01

    We discuss a number of physical effects about deeply depleted CCDs that have a significant impact on shape estimation. In particular, the focus is on issues related to measuring accurate shear values of galaxies for weak lensing science. There are three types of effects we discuss: effects related to the world coordinate system (WCS), the so-called brighter-fatter relation, and variable pixel size. In each case, we describe the effect, explain the impact on shape measurements, and propose possible solutions

  18. The new MCNP6 depletion capability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fensin, M. L.; James, M. R.; Hendricks, J. S.; Goorley, J. T.

    2012-01-01

    The first MCNP based in-line Monte Carlo depletion capability was officially released from the Radiation Safety Information and Computational Center as MCNPX 2.6.0. Both the MCNP5 and MCNPX codes have historically provided a successful combinatorial geometry based, continuous energy, Monte Carlo radiation transport solution for advanced reactor modeling and simulation. However, due to separate development pathways, useful simulation capabilities were dispersed between both codes and not unified in a single technology. MCNP6, the next evolution in the MCNP suite of codes, now combines the capability of both simulation tools, as well as providing new advanced technology, in a single radiation transport code. We describe here the new capabilities of the MCNP6 depletion code dating from the official RSICC release MCNPX 2.6.0, reported previously, to the now current state of MCNP6. NEA/OECD benchmark results are also reported. The MCNP6 depletion capability enhancements beyond MCNPX 2.6.0 reported here include: (1) new performance enhancing parallel architecture that implements both shared and distributed memory constructs; (2) enhanced memory management that maximizes calculation fidelity; and (3) improved burnup physics for better nuclide prediction. MCNP6 depletion enables complete, relatively easy-to-use depletion calculations in a single Monte Carlo code. The enhancements described here help provide a powerful capability as well as dictate a path forward for future development to improve the usefulness of the technology. (authors)

  19. The New MCNP6 Depletion Capability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fensin, Michael Lorne; James, Michael R.; Hendricks, John S.; Goorley, John T.

    2012-01-01

    The first MCNP based inline Monte Carlo depletion capability was officially released from the Radiation Safety Information and Computational Center as MCNPX 2.6.0. Both the MCNP5 and MCNPX codes have historically provided a successful combinatorial geometry based, continuous energy, Monte Carlo radiation transport solution for advanced reactor modeling and simulation. However, due to separate development pathways, useful simulation capabilities were dispersed between both codes and not unified in a single technology. MCNP6, the next evolution in the MCNP suite of codes, now combines the capability of both simulation tools, as well as providing new advanced technology, in a single radiation transport code. We describe here the new capabilities of the MCNP6 depletion code dating from the official RSICC release MCNPX 2.6.0, reported previously, to the now current state of MCNP6. NEA/OECD benchmark results are also reported. The MCNP6 depletion capability enhancements beyond MCNPX 2.6.0 reported here include: (1) new performance enhancing parallel architecture that implements both shared and distributed memory constructs; (2) enhanced memory management that maximizes calculation fidelity; and (3) improved burnup physics for better nuclide prediction. MCNP6 depletion enables complete, relatively easy-to-use depletion calculations in a single Monte Carlo code. The enhancements described here help provide a powerful capability as well as dictate a path forward for future development to improve the usefulness of the technology.

  20. Plasmonic Nanoprobes for Stimulated Emission Depletion Nanoscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortés, Emiliano; Huidobro, Paloma A; Sinclair, Hugo G; Guldbrand, Stina; Peveler, William J; Davies, Timothy; Parrinello, Simona; Görlitz, Frederik; Dunsby, Chris; Neil, Mark A A; Sivan, Yonatan; Parkin, Ivan P; French, Paul M W; Maier, Stefan A

    2016-11-22

    Plasmonic nanoparticles influence the absorption and emission processes of nearby emitters due to local enhancements of the illuminating radiation and the photonic density of states. Here, we use the plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles in order to enhance the stimulated depletion of excited molecules for super-resolved nanoscopy. We demonstrate stimulated emission depletion (STED) nanoscopy with gold nanorods with a long axis of only 26 nm and a width of 8 nm. These particles provide an enhancement of up to 50% of the resolution compared to fluorescent-only probes without plasmonic components irradiated with the same depletion power. The nanoparticle-assisted STED probes reported here represent a ∼2 × 10 3 reduction in probe volume compared to previously used nanoparticles. Finally, we demonstrate their application toward plasmon-assisted STED cellular imaging at low-depletion powers, and we also discuss their current limitations.

  1. Ecological considerations of natural and depleted uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanson, W.C.

    1980-01-01

    Depleted 238 U is a major by-product of the nuclear fuel cycle for which increasing use is being made in counterweights, radiation shielding, and ordnance applications. This paper (1) summarizes the pertinent literature on natural and depleted uranium in the environment, (2) integrates results of a series of ecological studies conducted at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) in New Mexico where 70,000 kg of depleted and natural uranium has been expended to the environment over the past 34 years, and (3) synthesizes the information into an assessment of the ecological consequences of natural and depleted uranium released to the environment by various means. Results of studies of soil, plant, and animal communities exposed to this radiation and chemical environment over a third of a century provide a means of evaluating the behavior and effects of uranium in many contexts

  2. Mantle depletion and metasomatism recorded in orthopyroxene in highly depleted peridotites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scott, James; Liu, Jingao; Pearson, D. Graham

    2016-01-01

    Although trace element concentrations in clinopyroxene serve as a useful tool for assessing the depletion and enrichment history of mantle peridotites, this is not applicable for peridotites in which the clinopyroxene component has been consumed (~ 25% partial melting). Orthopyroxene persists in ...

  3. NOMAD: a nodal microscopic analysis method for nuclear fuel depletion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajic, H.L.; Ougouag, A.M.

    1987-01-01

    Recently developed assembly homogenization techniques made possible very efficient global burnup calculations based on modern nodal methods. There are two possible ways of modeling the global depletion process: macroscopic and microscopic depletion models. Using a microscopic global depletion approach NOMAD (NOdal Microscopic Analysis Method for Nuclear Fuel Depletion), a multigroup, two- and three-dimensional, multicycle depletion code was devised. The code uses the ILLICO nodal diffusion model. The formalism of the ILLICO methodology is extended to treat changes in the macroscopic cross sections during a depletion cycle without recomputing the coupling coefficients. This results in a computationally very efficient method. The code was tested against a well-known depletion benchmark problem. In this problem a two-dimensional pressurized water reactor is depleted through two cycles. Both cycles were run with 1 x 1 and 2 x 2 nodes per assembly. It is obvious that the one node per assembly solution gives unacceptable results while the 2 x 2 solution gives relative power errors consistently below 2%

  4. The study of necessity of verification-methods for Depleted Uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, J. B.; Ahn, S. H.; Ahn, G. H.; Chung, S. T.; Shin, J. S.

    2006-01-01

    ROK has tried to establish management system for depleted uranium from 2004, and ROK achieved some results in this field including management software, management skill, and the list of company using the nuclear material. But, the studies for the depleted uranium are insufficient exclude the studies of KAERI. In terms of SSAC, we have to study more about whether the depleted uranium is really dangerous material or not and how is the depleted uranium diverted to the nuclear weapon. The depleted uranium was controlled by the item counting in the national system for the small quantity nuclear material. We don't have unique technical methods to clarify the depleted uranium on-the-spot inspection not laboratory scale. Therefore, I would like to suggest of the necessity of the verification methods for depleted uranium. Furthermore, I would like to show you the methods of the verification of the depleted uranium in national system up to now

  5. Excavation and internment of depleted uranium and thorium soils, AHMC Jonesboro, Tennessee

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernhardt, D.E.; Prewett, S.V.; Boddy, J.R.

    1986-01-01

    This report describes the construction activities for the rockfilled berm and the excavation and disposal of contaminated soil, and the activities to certify the adequacy of the remedial activities. It focuses on the final closure. Mishu and Prewett in a paper in this proceeding provide additional information of the rockfilled wall. The final phase of the remedial program, referred to as the pond closure project, encompassed excavation of contaminated soil from the pond site and entombment of the waste in an encapsulating clay cell. The disposal cell was located at the pond site, and was situated above the level of the projected 100- and 500-year floods from Little Limestone Creek, which is adjacent to the site. The cell was built by completely enclosing the contaminated soil in a compacted clay liner and covering it with a compacted clay cap, each having a minimum thickness of four feet. Contaminated soil from the pond area and Aerojet Heavy Metals Company (AHMC) completed the remedial program for an inactive evaporation pond at its facility near Jonesboro, Tennessee during the summer of 1985. The pond had been used for process liquid wastes containing depleted uranium and thorium. Depleted uranium is a by-product of uranium richment, does not refer to use in a reactor, and does not contain Ra-226 or the associated decay products

  6. The enhancements and testing for the MCNPX depletion capability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fensin, M. L.; Hendricks, J. S.; Anghaie, S.

    2008-01-01

    Monte Carlo-linked depletion methods have gained recent interest due to the ability to more accurately model true system physics and better track the evolution of temporal nuclide inventory by simulating the actual physical process. The integration of INDER90 into the MCNPX Monte Carlo radiation transport code provides a completely self-contained Monte- Carlo-linked depletion capability in a single Monte Carlo code that is compatible with most nuclear criticality (KCODE) particle tracking features in MCNPX. MCNPX depletion tracks all necessary reaction rates and follows as many isotopes as cross section data permits in order to achieve a highly accurate temporal nuclide inventory solution. We describe here the depletion methodology dating from the original linking of MONTEBURNS and MCNP to the first public release of the integrated capability (MCNPX 2. 6.B, June, 2006) that has been reported previously. Then we further detail the many new depletion capability enhancements since then leading to the present capability. The H.B. Robinson benchmark calculation results are also reported. The new MCNPX depletion capability enhancements include: (1) allowing the modeling of as large a system as computer memory capacity permits; (2) tracking every fission product available in ENDF/B VII. 0; (3) enabling depletion in repeated structures geometries such as repeated arrays of fuel pins; (4) including metastable isotopes in burnup; and (5) manually changing the concentrations of key isotopes during different time steps to simulate changing reactor control conditions such as dilution of poisons to maintain criticality during burnup. These enhancements allow better detail to model the true system physics and also improve the robustness of the capability. The H.B. Robinson benchmark calculation was completed in order to determine the accuracy of the depletion solution. Temporal nuclide computations of key actinide and fission products are compared to the results of other

  7. High-throughput characterization of film thickness in thin film materials libraries by digital holographic microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lai Yiuwai; Hofmann, Martin R; Ludwig, Alfred; Krause, Michael; Savan, Alan; Thienhaus, Sigurd; Koukourakis, Nektarios

    2011-01-01

    A high-throughput characterization technique based on digital holography for mapping film thickness in thin-film materials libraries was developed. Digital holographic microscopy is used for fully automatic measurements of the thickness of patterned films with nanometer resolution. The method has several significant advantages over conventional stylus profilometry: it is contactless and fast, substrate bending is compensated, and the experimental setup is simple. Patterned films prepared by different combinatorial thin-film approaches were characterized to investigate and demonstrate this method. The results show that this technique is valuable for the quick, reliable and high-throughput determination of the film thickness distribution in combinatorial materials research. Importantly, it can also be applied to thin films that have been structured by shadow masking.

  8. High-throughput characterization of film thickness in thin film materials libraries by digital holographic microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Yiu Wai; Krause, Michael; Savan, Alan; Thienhaus, Sigurd; Koukourakis, Nektarios; Hofmann, Martin R; Ludwig, Alfred

    2011-10-01

    A high-throughput characterization technique based on digital holography for mapping film thickness in thin-film materials libraries was developed. Digital holographic microscopy is used for fully automatic measurements of the thickness of patterned films with nanometer resolution. The method has several significant advantages over conventional stylus profilometry: it is contactless and fast, substrate bending is compensated, and the experimental setup is simple. Patterned films prepared by different combinatorial thin-film approaches were characterized to investigate and demonstrate this method. The results show that this technique is valuable for the quick, reliable and high-throughput determination of the film thickness distribution in combinatorial materials research. Importantly, it can also be applied to thin films that have been structured by shadow masking.

  9. Ego Depletion Does Not Interfere With Working Memory Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Ranjit K; Göritz, Anja S

    2018-01-01

    Ego depletion happens if exerting self-control reduces a person's capacity to subsequently control themselves. Previous research has suggested that ego depletion not only interferes with subsequent self-control but also with working memory. However, recent meta-analytical evidence casts doubt onto this. The present study tackles the question if ego depletion does interfere with working memory performance. We induced ego depletion in two ways: using an e-crossing task and using a Stroop task. We then measured working memory performance using the letter-number sequencing task. There was no evidence of ego depletion interfering with working memory performance. Several aspects of our study render this null finding highly robust. We had a large and heterogeneous sample of N = 1,385, which provided sufficient power. We deployed established depletion tasks from two task families (e-crossing task and Stroop), thus making it less likely that the null finding is due to a specific depletion paradigm. We derived several performance scores from the working memory task and ran different analyses to maximize the chances of finding an effect. Lastly, we controlled for two potential moderators, the implicit theories about willpower and dispositional self-control capacity, to ensure that a possible effect on working memory is not obscured by an interaction effect. In sum, this experiment strengthens the position that ego depletion works but does not affect working memory performance.

  10. Semiconductor drift chamber: an application of a novel charge transport scheme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gatti, E.; Rehak, P.

    1983-08-01

    The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel charge tranport scheme in semiconductors in which the field responsible for the charge transport is independent of the depletion field. The application of the novel charge transport scheme leads to the following new semiconductor detectors: (1) Semiconductor Draft Chamber; (2) Ultra low capacitance - large semiconductor x-ray spectrometers and photodiodes; and (3) Fully depleted thick CCD. Special attention is paid to the concept of the Semiconductor Draft Chamber as a position sensing detector for high energy charged particles. Position resolution limiting factors are considered, and the values of the resolutions are given

  11. 26 CFR 1.611-1 - Allowance of deduction for depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Allowance of deduction for depletion. 1.611-1... depletion. (a) Depletion of mines, oil and gas wells, other natural deposits, and timber—(1) In general... mines, oil and gas wells, other natural deposits, and timber, a reasonable allowance for depletion. In...

  12. The Abiotic Depletion Potential: Background, Updates, and Future

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lauran van Oers

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Depletion of abiotic resources is a much disputed impact category in life cycle assessment (LCA. The reason is that the problem can be defined in different ways. Furthermore, within a specified problem definition, many choices can still be made regarding which parameters to include in the characterization model and which data to use. This article gives an overview of the problem definition and the choices that have been made when defining the abiotic depletion potentials (ADPs for a characterization model for abiotic resource depletion in LCA. Updates of the ADPs since 2002 are also briefly discussed. Finally, some possible new developments of the impact category of abiotic resource depletion are suggested, such as redefining the depletion problem as a dilution problem. This means taking the reserves in the environment and the economy into account in the reserve parameter and using leakage from the economy, instead of extraction rate, as a dilution parameter.

  13. Hsp90 depletion goes wild

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siegal Mark L

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Hsp90 reveals phenotypic variation in the laboratory, but is Hsp90 depletion important in the wild? Recent work from Chen and Wagner in BMC Evolutionary Biology has discovered a naturally occurring Drosophila allele that downregulates Hsp90, creating sensitivity to cryptic genetic variation. Laboratory studies suggest that the exact magnitude of Hsp90 downregulation is important. Extreme Hsp90 depletion might reactivate transposable elements and/or induce aneuploidy, in addition to revealing cryptic genetic variation. See research article http://wwww.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/12/25

  14. Groundwater Depletion Embedded in International Food Trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalin, Carole; Wada, Yoshihide; Kastner, Thomas; Puma, Michael J.

    2017-01-01

    Recent hydrological modeling and Earth observations have located and quantified alarming rates of groundwater depletion worldwide. This depletion is primarily due to water withdrawals for irrigation, but its connection with the main driver of irrigation, global food consumption, has not yet been explored. Here we show that approximately eleven per cent of non-renewable groundwater use for irrigation is embedded in international food trade, of which two-thirds are exported by Pakistan, the USA and India alone. Our quantification of groundwater depletion embedded in the world's food trade is based on a combination of global, crop-specific estimates of non-renewable groundwater abstraction and international food trade data. A vast majority of the world's population lives in countries sourcing nearly all their staple crop imports from partners who deplete groundwater to produce these crops, highlighting risks for global food and water security. Some countries, such as the USA, Mexico, Iran and China, are particularly exposed to these risks because they both produce and import food irrigated from rapidly depleting aquifers. Our results could help to improve the sustainability of global food production and groundwater resource management by identifying priority regions and agricultural products at risk as well as the end consumers of these products.

  15. Groundwater depletion embedded in international food trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalin, Carole; Wada, Yoshihide; Kastner, Thomas; Puma, Michael J.

    2017-03-01

    Recent hydrological modelling and Earth observations have located and quantified alarming rates of groundwater depletion worldwide. This depletion is primarily due to water withdrawals for irrigation, but its connection with the main driver of irrigation, global food consumption, has not yet been explored. Here we show that approximately eleven per cent of non-renewable groundwater use for irrigation is embedded in international food trade, of which two-thirds are exported by Pakistan, the USA and India alone. Our quantification of groundwater depletion embedded in the world’s food trade is based on a combination of global, crop-specific estimates of non-renewable groundwater abstraction and international food trade data. A vast majority of the world’s population lives in countries sourcing nearly all their staple crop imports from partners who deplete groundwater to produce these crops, highlighting risks for global food and water security. Some countries, such as the USA, Mexico, Iran and China, are particularly exposed to these risks because they both produce and import food irrigated from rapidly depleting aquifers. Our results could help to improve the sustainability of global food production and groundwater resource management by identifying priority regions and agricultural products at risk as well as the end consumers of these products.

  16. Doped organic transistors operating in the inversion and depletion regime

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lüssem, Björn; Tietze, Max L.; Kleemann, Hans; Hoßbach, Christoph; Bartha, Johann W.; Zakhidov, Alexander; Leo, Karl

    2013-01-01

    The inversion field-effect transistor is the basic device of modern microelectronics and is nowadays used more than a billion times on every state-of-the-art computer chip. In the future, this rigid technology will be complemented by flexible electronics produced at extremely low cost. Organic field-effect transistors have the potential to be the basic device for flexible electronics, but still need much improvement. In particular, despite more than 20 years of research, organic inversion mode transistors have not been reported so far. Here we discuss the first realization of organic inversion transistors and the optimization of organic depletion transistors by our organic doping technology. We show that the transistor parameters—in particular, the threshold voltage and the ON/OFF ratio—can be controlled by the doping concentration and the thickness of the transistor channel. Injection of minority carriers into the doped transistor channel is achieved by doped contacts, which allows forming an inversion layer. PMID:24225722

  17. Angular sensitivity of modeled scientific silicon charge-coupled devices to initial electron direction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Plimley, Brian, E-mail: brian.plimley@gmail.com [Nuclear Engineering Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Coffer, Amy; Zhang, Yigong [Nuclear Engineering Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Vetter, Kai [Nuclear Engineering Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Nuclear Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2016-08-11

    Previously, scientific silicon charge-coupled devices (CCDs) with 10.5-μm pixel pitch and a thick (650 μm), fully depleted bulk have been used to measure gamma-ray-induced fast electrons and demonstrate electron track Compton imaging. A model of the response of this CCD was also developed and benchmarked to experiment using Monte Carlo electron tracks. We now examine the trade-off in pixel pitch and electronic noise. We extend our CCD response model to different pixel pitch and readout noise per pixel, including pixel pitch of 2.5 μm, 5 μm, 10.5 μm, 20 μm, and 40 μm, and readout noise from 0 eV/pixel to 2 keV/pixel for 10.5 μm pixel pitch. The CCD images generated by this model using simulated electron tracks are processed by our trajectory reconstruction algorithm. The performance of the reconstruction algorithm defines the expected angular sensitivity as a function of electron energy, CCD pixel pitch, and readout noise per pixel. Results show that our existing pixel pitch of 10.5 μm is near optimal for our approach, because smaller pixels add little new information but are subject to greater statistical noise. In addition, we measured the readout noise per pixel for two different device temperatures in order to estimate the effect of temperature on the reconstruction algorithm performance, although the readout is not optimized for higher temperatures. The noise in our device at 240 K increases the FWHM of angular measurement error by no more than a factor of 2, from 26° to 49° FWHM for electrons between 425 keV and 480 keV. Therefore, a CCD could be used for electron-track-based imaging in a Peltier-cooled device.

  18. Glutathione depletion in tissues after administration of buthionine sulphoximine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minchinton, A.I.; Rojas, A.; Smith, A.; Soranson, J.A.; Shrieve, D.C.; Jones, N.R.; Bremner, J.C.

    1984-01-01

    Buthionine sulphoximine (BSO) an inhibitor of glutathione (GSH) biosynthesis, was administered to mice in single and repeated doses. The resultant pattern of GSH depletion was studied in liver, kidney, skeletal muscle and three types of murine tumor. Liver and kidney exhibited a rapid depletion of GSH. Muscle was depleted to a similar level, but at a slower rate after a single dose. All three tumors required repeated administration of BSO over several days to obtain a similar degree of depletion to that shown in the other tissues

  19. Interfacial push-out measurements of fully-bonded SiC/SiC composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snead, L.L.; Steiner, D.; Zinkle, S.J.

    1990-01-01

    The direct measurement of interfacial bond strength and frictional resistance to sliding in a fully-bonded SiC/SiC composite is measured. It is shown that a fiber push-out technique can be utilized for small diameter fibers and very thin composite sections. Results are presented for a 22 micron thick section for which 37 out of 44 Nicalon fibers tested were pushed-out within the maximum nanoindentor load of 120 mN. Fiber interfacial yielding, push-out and sliding resistance were measured for each fiber. The distribution of interfacial strengths is treated as being Weibull in form. 14 refs., 5 figs

  20. Lithium Depletion in Solar-like Stars: Effect of Overshooting Based on Realistic Multi-dimensional Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baraffe, I.; Pratt, J.; Goffrey, T.; Constantino, T.; Folini, D.; Popov, M. V.; Walder, R.; Viallet, M.

    2017-08-01

    We study lithium depletion in low-mass and solar-like stars as a function of time, using a new diffusion coefficient describing extra-mixing taking place at the bottom of a convective envelope. This new form is motivated by multi-dimensional fully compressible, time-implicit hydrodynamic simulations performed with the MUSIC code. Intermittent convective mixing at the convective boundary in a star can be modeled using extreme value theory, a statistical analysis frequently used for finance, meteorology, and environmental science. In this Letter, we implement this statistical diffusion coefficient in a one-dimensional stellar evolution code, using parameters calibrated from multi-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of a young low-mass star. We propose a new scenario that can explain observations of the surface abundance of lithium in the Sun and in clusters covering a wide range of ages, from ˜50 Myr to ˜4 Gyr. Because it relies on our physical model of convective penetration, this scenario has a limited number of assumptions. It can explain the observed trend between rotation and depletion, based on a single additional assumption, namely, that rotation affects the mixing efficiency at the convective boundary. We suggest the existence of a threshold in stellar rotation rate above which rotation strongly prevents the vertical penetration of plumes and below which rotation has small effects. In addition to providing a possible explanation for the long-standing problem of lithium depletion in pre-main-sequence and main-sequence stars, the strength of our scenario is that its basic assumptions can be tested by future hydrodynamic simulations.

  1. Lithium Depletion in Solar-like Stars: Effect of Overshooting Based on Realistic Multi-dimensional Simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baraffe, I.; Pratt, J.; Goffrey, T.; Constantino, T.; Viallet, M.; Folini, D.; Popov, M. V.; Walder, R.

    2017-01-01

    We study lithium depletion in low-mass and solar-like stars as a function of time, using a new diffusion coefficient describing extra-mixing taking place at the bottom of a convective envelope. This new form is motivated by multi-dimensional fully compressible, time-implicit hydrodynamic simulations performed with the MUSIC code. Intermittent convective mixing at the convective boundary in a star can be modeled using extreme value theory, a statistical analysis frequently used for finance, meteorology, and environmental science. In this Letter, we implement this statistical diffusion coefficient in a one-dimensional stellar evolution code, using parameters calibrated from multi-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of a young low-mass star. We propose a new scenario that can explain observations of the surface abundance of lithium in the Sun and in clusters covering a wide range of ages, from ∼50 Myr to ∼4 Gyr. Because it relies on our physical model of convective penetration, this scenario has a limited number of assumptions. It can explain the observed trend between rotation and depletion, based on a single additional assumption, namely, that rotation affects the mixing efficiency at the convective boundary. We suggest the existence of a threshold in stellar rotation rate above which rotation strongly prevents the vertical penetration of plumes and below which rotation has small effects. In addition to providing a possible explanation for the long-standing problem of lithium depletion in pre-main-sequence and main-sequence stars, the strength of our scenario is that its basic assumptions can be tested by future hydrodynamic simulations.

  2. Lithium Depletion in Solar-like Stars: Effect of Overshooting Based on Realistic Multi-dimensional Simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baraffe, I.; Pratt, J.; Goffrey, T.; Constantino, T.; Viallet, M. [Astrophysics Group, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QL (United Kingdom); Folini, D.; Popov, M. V.; Walder, R., E-mail: i.baraffe@ex.ac.uk [Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CRAL, UMR CNRS 5574, F-69364 Lyon Cedex 07 (France)

    2017-08-10

    We study lithium depletion in low-mass and solar-like stars as a function of time, using a new diffusion coefficient describing extra-mixing taking place at the bottom of a convective envelope. This new form is motivated by multi-dimensional fully compressible, time-implicit hydrodynamic simulations performed with the MUSIC code. Intermittent convective mixing at the convective boundary in a star can be modeled using extreme value theory, a statistical analysis frequently used for finance, meteorology, and environmental science. In this Letter, we implement this statistical diffusion coefficient in a one-dimensional stellar evolution code, using parameters calibrated from multi-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of a young low-mass star. We propose a new scenario that can explain observations of the surface abundance of lithium in the Sun and in clusters covering a wide range of ages, from ∼50 Myr to ∼4 Gyr. Because it relies on our physical model of convective penetration, this scenario has a limited number of assumptions. It can explain the observed trend between rotation and depletion, based on a single additional assumption, namely, that rotation affects the mixing efficiency at the convective boundary. We suggest the existence of a threshold in stellar rotation rate above which rotation strongly prevents the vertical penetration of plumes and below which rotation has small effects. In addition to providing a possible explanation for the long-standing problem of lithium depletion in pre-main-sequence and main-sequence stars, the strength of our scenario is that its basic assumptions can be tested by future hydrodynamic simulations.

  3. Ego depletion decreases trust in economic decision making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ainsworth, Sarah E.; Baumeister, Roy F.; Vohs, Kathleen D.; Ariely, Dan

    2014-01-01

    Three experiments tested the effects of ego depletion on economic decision making. Participants completed a task either requiring self-control or not. Then participants learned about the trust game, in which senders are given an initial allocation of $10 to split between themselves and another person, the receiver. The receiver receives triple the amount given and can send any, all, or none of the tripled money back to the sender. Participants were assigned the role of the sender and decided how to split the initial allocation. Giving less money, and therefore not trusting the receiver, is the safe, less risky response. Participants who had exerted self-control and were depleted gave the receiver less money than those in the non-depletion condition (Experiment 1). This effect was replicated and moderated in two additional experiments. Depletion again led to lower amounts given (less trust), but primarily among participants who were told they would never meet the receiver (Experiment 2) or who were given no information about how similar they were to the receiver (Experiment 3). Amounts given did not differ for depleted and non-depleted participants who either expected to meet the receiver (Experiment 2) or were led to believe that they were very similar to the receiver (Experiment 3). Decreased trust among depleted participants was strongest among neurotics. These results imply that self-control facilitates behavioral trust, especially when no other cues signal decreased social risk in trusting, such as if an actual or possible relationship with the receiver were suggested. PMID:25013237

  4. Ly6G-mediated depletion of neutrophils is dependent on macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruhn, Kevin W; Dekitani, Ken; Nielsen, Travis B; Pantapalangkoor, Paul; Spellberg, Brad

    2016-01-01

    Antibody-mediated depletion of neutrophils is commonly used to study neutropenia. However, the mechanisms by which antibodies deplete neutrophils have not been well defined. We noticed that mice deficient in complement and macrophages had blunted neutrophil depletion in response to anti-Ly6G monoclonal antibody (MAb) treatment. In vitro, exposure of murine neutrophils to anti-Ly6G MAb in the presence of plasma did not result in significant depletion of cells, either in the presence or absence of complement. In vivo, anti-Ly6G-mediated neutrophil depletion was abrogated following macrophage depletion, but not complement depletion, indicating a requirement for macrophages to induce neutropenia by this method. These results inform the use and limitations of anti-Ly6G antibody as an experimental tool for depleting neutrophils in various immunological settings.

  5. 26 CFR 1.613-1 - Percentage depletion; general rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Percentage depletion; general rule. 1.613-1... TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) Natural Resources § 1.613-1 Percentage depletion; general rule. (a) In general. In the case of a taxpayer computing the deduction for depletion under section 611...

  6. Issues in Stratospheric Ozone Depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lloyd, Steven Andrew

    Following the announcement of the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in 1985 there have arisen a multitude of questions pertaining to the nature and consequences of polar ozone depletion. This thesis addresses several of these specific questions, using both computer models of chemical kinetics and the Earth's radiation field as well as laboratory kinetic experiments. A coupled chemical kinetic-radiative numerical model was developed to assist in the analysis of in situ field measurements of several radical and neutral species in the polar and mid-latitude lower stratosphere. Modeling was used in the analysis of enhanced polar ClO, mid-latitude diurnal variation of ClO, and simultaneous measurements of OH, HO_2, H_2 O and O_3. Most importantly, such modeling was instrumental in establishing the link between the observed ClO and BrO concentrations in the Antarctic polar vortex and the observed rate of ozone depletion. The principal medical concern of stratospheric ozone depletion is that ozone loss will lead to the enhancement of ground-level UV-B radiation. Global ozone climatology (40^circS to 50^ circN latitude) was incorporated into a radiation field model to calculate the biologically accumulated dosage (BAD) of UV-B radiation, integrated over days, months, and years. The slope of the annual BAD as a function of latitude was found to correspond to epidemiological data for non-melanoma skin cancers for 30^circ -50^circN. Various ozone loss scenarios were investigated. It was found that a small ozone loss in the tropics can provide as much additional biologically effective UV-B as a much larger ozone loss at higher latitudes. Also, for ozone depletions of > 5%, the BAD of UV-B increases exponentially with decreasing ozone levels. An important key player in determining whether polar ozone depletion can propagate into the populated mid-latitudes is chlorine nitrate, ClONO_2 . As yet this molecule is only indirectly accounted for in computer models and field

  7. Irradiation of tungsten with metallic diatomic molecular ions: atomic-resolution observations of depleted zones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pramanik, D.; Seidman, D.N.

    1982-08-01

    Direct evidence, on an atomic scale, is presented for the enhancement of damage production per projectile ion in diatomic metallic molecular ion (dimer) irradiations of tungsten as compared to monatomic metallic ion (monomer) irradiations. Irradiations were performed in situ at less than or equal to 10 K, in a field-ion microscope, employing 20 keV Ag + or W + monomer ions and the results are compared with 40 keV W 2 + or Ag 2 + dimer ion bombardments; the average energy per ion was 20 keV. First, in the near-surface region the depleted zones produced by the W 2 + dimer ions give rise to void-like contrast effects. The W + monomer ions do not produce this void-like damage. The existence of voids was explained employing a nucleation and diffusion-limited growth model which suggests that the growth can occur on a time scale -9 s, if the effective diffusivity of an atom in the fully-developed collision cascade is > 3 x 10 -4 cm 2 s -1 . Second, by counting the number of vacancies in individual depleted zones, produced by the different ions, it was demonstrated that the number of vacancies produced per incoming ion of the dimer is 1.55 times greater than the number of vacancies produced per monomer ion

  8. PENBURN - A 3-D Zone-Based Depletion/Burnup Solver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manalo, Kevin; Plower, Thomas; Rowe, Mireille; Mock, Travis; Sjoden, Glenn E.

    2008-01-01

    PENBURN (Parallel Environment Burnup) is a general depletion/burnup solver which, when provided with zone-based reaction rates, computes time-dependent isotope concentrations for a set of actinides and fission products. Burnup analysis in PENBURN is performed with a direct Bateman-solver chain solution technique. Specifically, in tandem with PENBURN is the use of PENTRAN, a parallel multi-group anisotropic Sn code for 3-D Cartesian geometries. In PENBURN, the linear chain method is actively used to solve individual isotope chains which are then fully attributed by the burnup code to yield integrated isotope concentrations for each nuclide specified. Included with the discussion of code features, a single PWR fuel pin calculation with the burnup code is performed and detailed with a benchmark comparison to PIE (Post-Irradiation Examination) data within the SFCOMPO (Spent Fuel Composition / NEA) database, and also with burnup codes in SCALE5.1. Conclusions within the paper detail, in PENBURN, the accuracy of major actinides, flux profile behavior as a function of burnup, and criticality calculations for the PWR fuel pin model. (authors)

  9. Importance of energetic solar protons in ozone depletion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stephenson, J A.E.; Scourfield, M W.J. [Natal Univ., Durban (South Africa). Space Physics Research Inst.

    1991-07-11

    CHLORINE-catalysed depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer has commanded considerable attention since 1985, when Farman et al. observed a decrease of 50% in the total column ozone over Antarctica in the austral spring. Here we examine the depletion of stratospheric ozone caused by the reaction of ozone with nitric oxide generated by energetic solar protons, associated with solar flares. During large solar flares in March 1989, satellite observations indicated that total column ozone was depleted by {approx} 9% over {approx} 20% of the total area between the South Pole and latitude 70{sup o}S. Chlorine-catalysed ozone depletion takes place over a much larger area, but our results indicate that the influence of solar protons on atmospheric ozone concentrations should not be ignored. (author).

  10. Importance of energetic solar protons in ozone depletion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephenson, J.A.E.; Scourfield, M.W.J.

    1991-01-01

    CHLORINE-catalysed depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer has commanded considerable attention since 1985, when Farman et al. observed a decrease of 50% in the total column ozone over Antarctica in the austral spring. Here we examine the depletion of stratospheric ozone caused by the reaction of ozone with nitric oxide generated by energetic solar protons, associated with solar flares. During large solar flares in March 1989, satellite observations indicated that total column ozone was depleted by ∼ 9% over ∼ 20% of the total area between the South Pole and latitude 70 o S. Chlorine-catalysed ozone depletion takes place over a much larger area, but our results indicate that the influence of solar protons on atmospheric ozone concentrations should not be ignored. (author)

  11. 26 CFR 1.642(e)-1 - Depreciation and depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Depreciation and depletion. 1.642(e)-1 Section 1... (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Estates, Trusts, and Beneficiaries § 1.642(e)-1 Depreciation and depletion. An estate or trust is allowed the deductions for depreciation and depletion, but only to the extent the...

  12. [Acute tryptophan depletion in eating disorders].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz-Marsa, M; Lozano, C; Herranz, A S; Asensio-Vegas, M J; Martín, O; Revert, L; Saiz-Ruiz, J; Carrasco, J L

    2006-01-01

    This work describes the rational bases justifying the use of acute tryptophan depletion technique in eating disorders (ED) and the methods and design used in our studies. Tryptophan depletion technique has been described and used in previous studies safely and makes it possible to evaluate the brain serotonin activity. Therefore it is used in the investigation of hypotheses on serotonergic deficiency in eating disorders. Furthermore, and given the relationship of the dysfunctions of serotonin activity with impulsive symptoms, the technique may be useful in biological differentiation of different subtypes, that is restrictive and bulimic, of ED. 57 female patients with DSM-IV eating disorders and 20 female controls were investigated with the tryptophan depletion test. A tryptophan-free amino acid solution was administered orally after a two-day low tryptophan diet to patients and controls. Free plasma tryptophan was measured at two and five hours following administration of the drink. Eating and emotional responses were measured with specific scales for five hours following the depletion. A study of the basic characteristics of the personality and impulsivity traits was also done. Relationship of the response to the test with the different clinical subtypes and with the temperamental and impulsive characteristics of the patients was studied. The test was effective in considerably reducing plasma tryptophan in five hours from baseline levels (76%) in the global sample. The test was well tolerated and no severe adverse effects were reported. Two patients withdrew from the test due to gastric intolerance. The tryptophan depletion test could be of value to study involvement of serotonin deficits in the symptomatology and pathophysiology of eating disorders.

  13. Human podocyte depletion in association with older age and hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puelles, Victor G; Cullen-McEwen, Luise A; Taylor, Georgina E; Li, Jinhua; Hughson, Michael D; Kerr, Peter G; Hoy, Wendy E; Bertram, John F

    2016-04-01

    Podocyte depletion plays a major role in the development and progression of glomerulosclerosis. Many kidney diseases are more common in older age and often coexist with hypertension. We hypothesized that podocyte depletion develops in association with older age and is exacerbated by hypertension. Kidneys from 19 adult Caucasian American males without overt renal disease were collected at autopsy in Mississippi. Demographic data were obtained from medical and autopsy records. Subjects were categorized by age and hypertension as potential independent and additive contributors to podocyte depletion. Design-based stereology was used to estimate individual glomerular volume and total podocyte number per glomerulus, which allowed the calculation of podocyte density (number per volume). Podocyte depletion was defined as a reduction in podocyte number (absolute depletion) or podocyte density (relative depletion). The cortical location of glomeruli (outer or inner cortex) and presence of parietal podocytes were also recorded. Older age was an independent contributor to both absolute and relative podocyte depletion, featuring glomerular hypertrophy, podocyte loss, and thus reduced podocyte density. Hypertension was an independent contributor to relative podocyte depletion by exacerbating glomerular hypertrophy, mostly in glomeruli from the inner cortex. However, hypertension was not associated with podocyte loss. Absolute and relative podocyte depletion were exacerbated by the combination of older age and hypertension. The proportion of glomeruli with parietal podocytes increased with age but not with hypertension alone. These findings demonstrate that older age and hypertension are independent and additive contributors to podocyte depletion in white American men without kidney disease. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

  14. The depletion potential in one, two and three dimensions

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Abstract. We study the behavior of the depletion potential in binary mixtures of hard particles in one, two, and three dimensions within the framework of a general theory for depletion potential using density functional theory. By doing so we extend earlier studies of the depletion potential in three dimensions to the cases of d ...

  15. NKT cell depletion in humans during early HIV infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez, Caroline S; Kelleher, Anthony D; Finlayson, Robert; Godfrey, Dale I; Kent, Stephen J

    2014-08-01

    Natural killer T (NKT) cells bridge across innate and adaptive immune responses and have an important role in chronic viral infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). NKT cells are depleted during chronic HIV infection, but the timing, drivers and implications of this NKT cell depletion are poorly understood. We studied human peripheral blood NKT cell levels, phenotype and function in 31 HIV-infected subjects not on antiretroviral treatment from a mean of 4 months to 2 years after HIV infection. We found that peripheral CD4(+) NKT cells were substantially depleted and dysfunctional by 4 months after HIV infection. The depletion of CD4(+) NKT cells was more marked than the depletion of total CD4(+) T cells. Further, the early depletion of NKT cells correlated with CD4(+) T-cell decline, but not HIV viral levels. Levels of activated CD4(+) T cells correlated with the loss of NKT cells. Our studies suggest that the early loss of NKT cells is associated with subsequent immune destruction during HIV infection.

  16. Addressing Ozone Layer Depletion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Access information on EPA's efforts to address ozone layer depletion through regulations, collaborations with stakeholders, international treaties, partnerships with the private sector, and enforcement actions under Title VI of the Clean Air Act.

  17. Threshold stoichiometry for beam induced nitrogen depletion of SiN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Timmers, H.; Weijers, T.D.M.; Elliman, R.G.; Uribasterra, J.; Whitlow, H.J.; Sarwe, E.-L.

    2002-01-01

    Measurements of the stoichiometry of silicon nitride films as a function of the number of incident ions using heavy ion elastic recoil detection (ERD) show that beam-induced nitrogen depletion depends on the projectile species, the beam energy, and the initial stoichiometry. A threshold stoichiometry exists in the range 1.3>N/Si≥1, below which the films are stable against nitrogen depletion. Above this threshold, depletion is essentially linear with incident fluence. The depletion rate correlates non-linearly with the electronic energy loss of the projectile ion in the film. Sufficiently long exposure of nitrogen-rich films renders the mechanism, which prevents depletion of nitrogen-poor films, ineffective. Compromising depth-resolution, nitrogen depletion from SiN films during ERD analysis can be reduced significantly by using projectile beams with low atomic numbers

  18. Depleted Nanocrystal-Oxide Heterojunctions for High-Sensitivity Infrared Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-08-28

    Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited Final Report: 4.3 Electronic Sensing - Depleted Nanocrystal- Oxide Heterojunctions for High...reviewed journals: Final Report: 4.3 Electronic Sensing - Depleted Nanocrystal- Oxide Heterojunctions for High-Sensitivity Infrared Detection Report Title...PERCENT_SUPPORTEDNAME FTE Equivalent: Total Number: 1 1 Final Progress Report Project title: Depleted Nanocrystal- Oxide Heterojunctions for High

  19. The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) for the ASTRO-H Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Takaaki; Tsunemi, Hiroshi; Hayashida, Kiyoshi; Tsuru, Takeshi G.; Dotani, Tadayasu; Nakajima, Hiroshi; Anabuki, Naohisa; Nagino, Ryo; Uchida, Hiroyuki; Nobukawa, Masayoshi; Ozaki, Masanobu; Natsukari, Chikara; Tomida, Hiroshi; Ueda, Shutaro; Kimura, Masashi; Hiraga, Junko S.; Kohmura, Takayoshi; Murakami, Hiroshi; Mori, Koji; Yamauchi, Makoto; Hatsukade, Isamu; Nishioka, Yusuke; Bamba, Aya; Doty, John P.

    2015-09-01

    The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) is an X-ray CCD camera onboard the ASTRO-H X-ray observatory. The CCD chip used is a P-channel back-illuminated type, and has a 200-µm thick depletion layer, with which the SXI covers the energy range between 0.4 keV and 12 keV. Its imaging area has a size of 31 mm x 31 mm. We arrange four of the CCD chips in a 2 by 2 grid so that we can cover a large field-of-view of 38' x 38'. We cool the CCDs to -120 °C with a single-stage Stirling cooler. As was done for the CCD camera of the Suzaku satellite, XIS, artificial charges are injected to selected rows in order to recover charge transfer inefficiency due to radiation damage caused by in-orbit cosmic rays. We completed fabrication of flight models of the SXI and installed them into the satellite. We verified the performance of the SXI in a series of satellite tests. On-ground calibrations were also carried out and detailed studies are ongoing.

  20. Health and environmental impact of depleted uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furitsu, Katsumi

    2010-01-01

    Depleted Uranium (DU) is 'nuclear waste' produced from the enrichment process and is mostly made up of 238 U and is depleted in the fissionable isotope 235 U compared to natural uranium (NU). Depleted uranium has about 60% of the radioactivity of natural uranium. Depleted uranium and natural uranium are identical in terms of the chemical toxicity. Uranium's high density gives depleted uranium shells increased range and penetrative power. This density, combined with uranium's pyrophoric nature, results in a high-energy kinetic weapon that can punch and burn through armour plating. Striking a hard target, depleted uranium munitions create extremely high temperatures. The uranium immediately burns and vaporizes into an aerosol, which is easily diffused in the environment. People can inhale the micro-particles of uranium oxide in an aerosol and absorb them mainly from lung. Depleted uranium has both aspects of radiological toxicity and chemical toxicity. The possible synergistic effect of both kinds of toxicities is also pointed out. Animal and cellular studies have been reported the carcinogenic, neurotoxic, immuno-toxic and some other effects of depleted uranium including the damage on reproductive system and foetus. In addition, the health effects of micro/ nano-particles, similar in size of depleted uranium aerosols produced by uranium weapons, have been reported. Aerosolized DU dust can easily spread over the battlefield spreading over civilian areas, sometimes even crossing international borders. Therefore, not only the military personnel but also the civilians can be exposed. The contamination continues after the cessation of hostilities. Taking these aspects into account, DU weapon is illegal under international humanitarian laws and is considered as one of the inhumane weapons of 'indiscriminate destruction'. The international society is now discussing the prohibition of DU weapons based on 'precautionary principle'. The 1991 Gulf War is reportedly the first

  1. Depleted Hydrocarbon Reservoirs Present a Safe and Practical Burial Solution for Graphite Waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahmani, L.

    2016-01-01

    A solution for graphite waste is proposed that combines reliance on thick impermeable host rock that is needed to confine the long-life radioactivity content of most irradiated graphite with low capitalistic and operational unit volume costs that are required to render this bulky waste form manageable. The solution, uniquely applicable to irradiated graphite due to its low dose rates, moderate mechanical strength and light density, consists in three steps: first, graphite is fine-crushed under water; second, it is made in an aqueous suspension; third, the suspension is injected into a deep, disused hydrocarbon reservoir. Each of these steps only involves well mastered techniques. Regulatory changes that may allow this solution to be added to the gamut of available waste routes, geochemical issues, availability of depleted reservoirs and cost projections are presented. (author)

  2. Molecular beam epitaxy of large-area SnSe2 with monolayer thickness fluctuation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Young Woon; Jerng, Sahng-Kyoon; Jeon, Jae Ho; Roy, Sanjib Baran; Akbar, Kamran; Kim, Jeong; Sim, Yumin; Seong, Maeng-Je; Kim, Jung Hwa; Lee, Zonghoon; Kim, Minju; Yi, Yeonjin; Kim, Jinwoo; Noh, Do Young; Chun, Seung-Hyun

    2017-03-01

    The interest in layered materials is largely based on the expectation that they will be beneficial for a variety of applications, from low-power-consuming, wearable electronics to energy harvesting. However, the properties of layered materials are highly dependent on thickness, and the difficulty of controlling thickness over a large area has been a bottleneck for commercial applications. Here, we report layer-by-layer growth of SnSe2, a layered semiconducting material, via van der Waals epitaxy. The films were fabricated on insulating mica substrates with substrate temperatures in the range of 210 °C-370 °C. The surface consists of a mixture of N and (N ± 1) layers, showing that the thickness of the film can be defined with monolayer accuracy (±0.6 nm). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals a polycrystalline film with a grain size of ˜100 nm and clear Moiré patterns from overlapped grains with similar thickness. We also report field effect mobility values of 3.7 cm2 V-1 s-1 and 6.7 cm2 V-1 s-1 for 11 and 22 nm thick SnSe2, respectively. SnSe2 films with customizable thickness can provide valuable platforms for industry and academic researchers to fully exploit the potential of layered materials.

  3. Barium depletion study on impregnated cathodes and lifetime prediction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roquais, J.M.; Poret, F.; Doze, R. le; Ricaud, J.L.; Monterrin, A.; Steinbrunn, A.

    2003-01-01

    In the thermionic cathodes used in cathode ray-tubes (CRTs), barium is the key element for the electronic emission. In the case of the dispenser cathodes made of a porous tungsten pellet impregnated with Ba, Ca aluminates, the evaporation of Ba determines the cathode lifetime with respect to emission performance in the CRT. The Ba evaporation results in progressive depletion of the impregnating material inside the pellet. In the present work, the Ba depletion with time has been extensively characterized over a large range of cathode temperature. Calculations using the depletion data allowed modeling of the depletion as a function of key parameters. The link between measured depletion and emission in tubes has been established, from which an end-of-life criterion was deduced. Taking modeling into account, predicting accelerated life-tests were performed using high-density maximum emission current (MIK)

  4. Meta-analysis of depleted uranium levels in the Balkan region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Besic, Larisa; Muhovic, Imer; Asic, Adna; Kurtovic-Kozaric, Amina

    2017-06-01

    In recent years, contradicting data has been published on the connection between the presence of depleted uranium and an increased cancer incidence among military personnel deployed in the Balkans during the 1992-1999 wars. This has led to numerous research articles investigating possible depleted uranium contamination of the afflicted regions of the Balkan Peninsula, namely Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro. The aim of this study was to collect data from previously published reports investigating the levels of depleted uranium in the Balkans and to present the data in the form of a meta-analysis. This would provide a clear image of the extent of depleted uranium contamination after the Balkan conflict. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that there is a correlation between the levels of depleted uranium and the assumed depleted uranium-related health effects. Our results suggest that the majority of the examined sites contain natural uranium, while the area of Kosovo appears to be most heavily afflicted by depleted uranium pollution, followed by Bosnia & Herzegovina. Furthermore, the results indicate that it is not possible to make a valid correlation between the health effects and depleted uranium-contaminated areas. We therefore suggest a structured collaborative plan of action where long-term monitoring of the residents of depleted uranium-afflicted areas would be performed. In conclusion, while the possibility of depleted uranium toxicity in post-conflict regions appears to exist, there currently exists no definitive proof of such effects, due to insufficient studies of potentially afflicted populations, in addition to the lack of a common epidemiological approach in the reviewed literature. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Operation of heavily irradiated silicon detectors in non-depletion mode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verbitskaya, E.; Eremin, V.; Ilyashenko, I.; Li, Z.; Haerkoenen, J.; Tuovinen, E.; Luukka, P.

    2006-01-01

    The non-depletion detector operation mode has generally been disregarded as an option in high-energy physics experiments. In this paper, the non-depletion operation is examined by detailed analysis of the electric field distribution and the current pulse response of heavily irradiated silicon (Si) detectors. The previously reported model of double junction in heavily irradiated Si detector is further developed and a simulation of the current pulse response has been performed. It is shown that detectors can operate in a non-depletion mode due to the fact that the value of the electric field in a non-depleted region is high enough for efficient carrier drift. This electric field originates from the current flow through the detector and a consequent drop of the potential across high-resistivity bulk of a non-depleted region. It is anticipated that the electric field in a non-depleted region, which is still electrically neutral, increases with fluence that improves the non-depleted detector operation. Consideration of the electric field in a non-depleted region allows the explanation of the recorded double-peak current pulse shape of heavily irradiated Si detectors and definition of the requirements for the detector operational conditions. Detailed reconstruction of the electric field distribution gives new information on radiation effects in Si detectors

  6. Increased physical activity severely induces osteoarthritic changes in knee joints with papain induced sulfate-glycosaminoglycan depleted cartilage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siebelt, Michiel; Groen, Harald C; Koelewijn, Stuart J; de Blois, Erik; Sandker, Marjan; Waarsing, Jan H; Müller, Cristina; van Osch, Gerjo J V M; de Jong, Marion; Weinans, Harrie

    2014-01-29

    Articular cartilage needs sulfated-glycosaminoglycans (sGAGs) to withstand high pressures while mechanically loaded. Chondrocyte sGAG synthesis is regulated by exposure to compressive forces. Moderate physical exercise is known to improve cartilage sGAG content and might protect against osteoarthritis (OA). This study investigated whether rat knee joints with sGAG depleted articular cartilage through papain injections might benefit from moderate exercise, or whether this increases the susceptibility for cartilage degeneration. sGAGs were depleted from cartilage through intraarticular papain injections in the left knee joints of 40 Wistar rats; their contralateral joints served as healthy controls. Of the 40 rats included in the study, 20 rats remained sedentary, and the other 20 were subjected to a moderately intense running protocol. Animals were longitudinally monitored for 12 weeks with in vivo micro-computed tomography (μCT) to measure subchondral bone changes and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT to determine synovial macrophage activation. Articular cartilage was analyzed at 6 and 12 weeks with ex vivo contrast-enhanced μCT and histology to measure sGAG content and cartilage thickness. All outcome measures were unaffected by moderate exercise in healthy control joints of running animals compared with healthy control joints of sedentary animals. Papain injections in sedentary animals resulted in severe sGAG-depleted cartilage, slight loss of subchondral cortical bone, increased macrophage activation, and osteophyte formation. In running animals, papain-induced sGAG-depleted cartilage showed increased cartilage matrix degradation, sclerotic bone formation, increased macrophage activation, and more osteophyte formation. Moderate exercise enhanced OA progression in papain-injected joints and did not protect against development of the disease. This was not restricted to more-extensive cartilage damage, but also resulted in pronounced

  7. Increased physical activity severely induces osteoarthritic changes in knee joints with papain induced sulfate-glycosaminoglycan depleted cartilage

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Introduction Articular cartilage needs sulfated-glycosaminoglycans (sGAGs) to withstand high pressures while mechanically loaded. Chondrocyte sGAG synthesis is regulated by exposure to compressive forces. Moderate physical exercise is known to improve cartilage sGAG content and might protect against osteoarthritis (OA). This study investigated whether rat knee joints with sGAG depleted articular cartilage through papain injections might benefit from moderate exercise, or whether this increases the susceptibility for cartilage degeneration. Methods sGAGs were depleted from cartilage through intraarticular papain injections in the left knee joints of 40 Wistar rats; their contralateral joints served as healthy controls. Of the 40 rats included in the study, 20 rats remained sedentary, and the other 20 were subjected to a moderately intense running protocol. Animals were longitudinally monitored for 12 weeks with in vivo micro-computed tomography (μCT) to measure subchondral bone changes and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT to determine synovial macrophage activation. Articular cartilage was analyzed at 6 and 12 weeks with ex vivo contrast-enhanced μCT and histology to measure sGAG content and cartilage thickness. Results All outcome measures were unaffected by moderate exercise in healthy control joints of running animals compared with healthy control joints of sedentary animals. Papain injections in sedentary animals resulted in severe sGAG-depleted cartilage, slight loss of subchondral cortical bone, increased macrophage activation, and osteophyte formation. In running animals, papain-induced sGAG-depleted cartilage showed increased cartilage matrix degradation, sclerotic bone formation, increased macrophage activation, and more osteophyte formation. Conclusions Moderate exercise enhanced OA progression in papain-injected joints and did not protect against development of the disease. This was not restricted to more-extensive cartilage

  8. Thickness and clearance visualization based on distance field of 3D objects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masatomo Inui

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a novel method for visualizing the thickness and clearance of 3D objects in a polyhedral representation. The proposed method uses the distance field of the objects in the visualization. A parallel algorithm is developed for constructing the distance field of polyhedral objects using the GPU. The distance between a voxel and the surface polygons of the model is computed many times in the distance field construction. Similar sets of polygons are usually selected as close polygons for close voxels. By using this spatial coherence, a parallel algorithm is designed to compute the distances between a cluster of close voxels and the polygons selected by the culling operation so that the fast shared memory mechanism of the GPU can be fully utilized. The thickness/clearance of the objects is visualized by distributing points on the visible surfaces of the objects and painting them with a unique color corresponding to the thickness/clearance values at those points. A modified ray casting method is developed for computing the thickness/clearance using the distance field of the objects. A system based on these algorithms can compute the distance field of complex objects within a few minutes for most cases. After the distance field construction, thickness/clearance visualization at a near interactive rate is achieved.

  9. Challenges dealing with depleted uranium in Germany - Reuse or disposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moeller, Kai D.

    2007-01-01

    During enrichment large amounts of depleted Uranium are produced. In Germany every year 2.800 tons of depleted uranium are generated. In Germany depleted uranium is not classified as radioactive waste but a resource for further enrichment. Therefore since 1996 depleted Uranium is sent to ROSATOM in Russia. However it still has to be dealt with the second generation of depleted Uranium. To evaluate the alternative actions in case a solution has to be found in Germany, several studies have been initiated by the Federal Ministry of the Environment. The work that has been carried out evaluated various possibilities to deal with depleted uranium. The international studies on this field and the situation in Germany have been analyzed. In case no further enrichment is planned the depleted uranium has to be stored. In the enrichment process UF 6 is generated. It is an international consensus that for storage it should be converted to U 3 O 8 . The necessary technique is well established. If the depleted Uranium would have to be characterized as radioactive waste, a final disposal would become necessary. For the planned Konrad repository - a repository for non heat generating radioactive waste - the amount of Uranium is limited by the licensing authority. The existing license would not allow the final disposal of large amounts of depleted Uranium in the Konrad repository. The potential effect on the safety case has not been roughly analyzed. As a result it may be necessary to think about alternatives. Several possibilities for the use of depleted uranium in the industry have been identified. Studies indicate that the properties of Uranium would make it useful in some industrial fields. Nevertheless many practical and legal questions are open. One further option may be the use as shielding e.g. in casks for transport or disposal. Possible techniques for using depleted Uranium as shielding are the use of the metallic Uranium as well as the inclusion in concrete. Another

  10. Evaluation 2 of B10 depletion in the WH PWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Sang Won; Woo, Hae Suk; Kim, Sun Doo; Chae, Hee Dong; Myung, Sun Yup; Jang, Ju Kyung

    2001-01-01

    This paper presents the methodology to evaluate the B 10 depletion behavior in the pressurized water reactor. And B 10 depletion evaluation is performed based on the prediction program and the measured data of B 10 . The result shows that B 10 depletion during normal operation is not negligible. Therefore, adjustments for this depletion effect should be made to calculate the estimated critical postion(ECP) and determine the boron concentration required to maintain the specified shutdown margin

  11. Uncertainty Propagation in Monte Carlo Depletion Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shim, Hyung Jin; Kim, Yeong-il; Park, Ho Jin; Joo, Han Gyu; Kim, Chang Hyo

    2008-01-01

    A new formulation aimed at quantifying uncertainties of Monte Carlo (MC) tallies such as k eff and the microscopic reaction rates of nuclides and nuclide number densities in MC depletion analysis and examining their propagation behaviour as a function of depletion time step (DTS) is presented. It is shown that the variance of a given MC tally used as a measure of its uncertainty in this formulation arises from four sources; the statistical uncertainty of the MC tally, uncertainties of microscopic cross sections and nuclide number densities, and the cross correlations between them and the contribution of the latter three sources can be determined by computing the correlation coefficients between the uncertain variables. It is also shown that the variance of any given nuclide number density at the end of each DTS stems from uncertainties of the nuclide number densities (NND) and microscopic reaction rates (MRR) of nuclides at the beginning of each DTS and they are determined by computing correlation coefficients between these two uncertain variables. To test the viability of the formulation, we conducted MC depletion analysis for two sample depletion problems involving a simplified 7x7 fuel assembly (FA) and a 17x17 PWR FA, determined number densities of uranium and plutonium isotopes and their variances as well as k ∞ and its variance as a function of DTS, and demonstrated the applicability of the new formulation for uncertainty propagation analysis that need be followed in MC depletion computations. (authors)

  12. Depleted uranium. A post-war disaster for environment and health

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diehl, P.; Fahey, D.; Bertell, R.; Robicheau, D.; Bristow, R.; Arbuthnot, F.; Van der Keur, H.

    1999-05-01

    In the course of the preparations for the The Hague Appeal for Peace '99 conference in the Netherlands, Laka decided to make a brochure about the use of depleted uranium in conventional weaponry and its consequences. The idea was born because of the short time reserved during the session for the presentation of all details about depleted uranium (DU). Although the word 'depleted uranium' may suggest no harmful impact from radiation, this brochure will clarify the real radiotoxic (and chemotoxic) properties of DU. Laka asked several 'insiders' to take part in the completion of the brochure. Thanks to their efforts, we have been able to present well-documented articles for activists, scientists, scholars and students to share with them valuable information about the hazardous impact of DU contamination and its consequences on human health and the environment. Taking notice of the growing military use of DU, we must consider not only the increased threats of radioactive battlefields but also the whole dirty cycle in the uranium industry connected with the DU technology and its impact on health and the environment in the surroundings of test areas and in the uranium industry itself. The contents of all the contributions are under the responsibility of the authors.The titles of the contributions are (1) Depleted uranium. A by-product of the nuclear chain; (2) Depleted uranium weapons. Lessons from the 1991 Gulf War; (3) Gulf War veterans and depleted uranium; (4) The next testing site for depleted uranium weaponry; (5) Depleted uranium. The thoughts of the first British Gulf War veteran to be tested for, and found to be poisoned with depleted uranium; (6) The health of the Iraqi people; (7) Uranium pollution from the amsterdam 1992 plane crash; and (8) an overview od organizations involved in campaigns against depleted uranium. refs

  13. CCD developed for scientific application by Hamamatsu

    CERN Document Server

    Miyaguchi, K; Dezaki, J; Yamamoto, K

    1999-01-01

    We have developed CCDs for scientific applications that feature a low readout noise of less than 5 e-rms and low dark current of 10-25 pA/cm sup 2 at room temperature. CCDs with these characteristics will prove extremely useful in applications such as spectroscopic measurement and dental radiography. In addition, a large-area CCD of 2kx4k pixels and 15 mu m square pixel size has recently been completed for optical use in astronomical observations. Applications to X-ray astronomy require the most challenging device performance in terms of deep depletion, high CTE, and focal plane size, among others. An abuttable X-ray CCD, having 1024x1024 pixels and 24 mu m square pixel size, is to be installed in an international space station (ISS). We are now striving to achieve the lowest usable cooling temperature by means of a built-in TEC with limited power consumption. Details on the development status are described in this report. We would also like to present our future plans for a large active area and deep depleti...

  14. Fully printable, strain-engineered electronic wrap for customizable soft electronics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byun, Junghwan; Lee, Byeongmoon; Oh, Eunho; Kim, Hyunjong; Kim, Sangwoo; Lee, Seunghwan; Hong, Yongtaek

    2017-03-24

    Rapid growth of stretchable electronics stimulates broad uses in multidisciplinary fields as well as industrial applications. However, existing technologies are unsuitable for implementing versatile applications involving adaptable system design and functions in a cost/time-effective way because of vacuum-conditioned, lithographically-predefined processes. Here, we present a methodology for a fully printable, strain-engineered electronic wrap as a universal strategy which makes it more feasible to implement various stretchable electronic systems with customizable layouts and functions. The key aspects involve inkjet-printed rigid island (PRI)-based stretchable platform technology and corresponding printing-based automated electronic functionalization methodology, the combination of which provides fully printed, customized layouts of stretchable electronic systems with simplified process. Specifically, well-controlled contact line pinning effect of printed polymer solution enables the formation of PRIs with tunable thickness; and surface strain analysis on those PRIs leads to the optimized stability and device-to-island fill factor of strain-engineered electronic wraps. Moreover, core techniques of image-based automated pinpointing, surface-mountable device based electronic functionalizing, and one-step interconnection networking of PRIs enable customized circuit design and adaptable functionalities. To exhibit the universality of our approach, multiple types of practical applications ranging from self-computable digital logics to display and sensor system are demonstrated on skin in a customized form.

  15. Fully printable, strain-engineered electronic wrap for customizable soft electronics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byun, Junghwan; Lee, Byeongmoon; Oh, Eunho; Kim, Hyunjong; Kim, Sangwoo; Lee, Seunghwan; Hong, Yongtaek

    2017-03-01

    Rapid growth of stretchable electronics stimulates broad uses in multidisciplinary fields as well as industrial applications. However, existing technologies are unsuitable for implementing versatile applications involving adaptable system design and functions in a cost/time-effective way because of vacuum-conditioned, lithographically-predefined processes. Here, we present a methodology for a fully printable, strain-engineered electronic wrap as a universal strategy which makes it more feasible to implement various stretchable electronic systems with customizable layouts and functions. The key aspects involve inkjet-printed rigid island (PRI)-based stretchable platform technology and corresponding printing-based automated electronic functionalization methodology, the combination of which provides fully printed, customized layouts of stretchable electronic systems with simplified process. Specifically, well-controlled contact line pinning effect of printed polymer solution enables the formation of PRIs with tunable thickness; and surface strain analysis on those PRIs leads to the optimized stability and device-to-island fill factor of strain-engineered electronic wraps. Moreover, core techniques of image-based automated pinpointing, surface-mountable device based electronic functionalizing, and one-step interconnection networking of PRIs enable customized circuit design and adaptable functionalities. To exhibit the universality of our approach, multiple types of practical applications ranging from self-computable digital logics to display and sensor system are demonstrated on skin in a customized form.

  16. Self-regulation, ego depletion, and inhibition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumeister, Roy F

    2014-12-01

    Inhibition is a major form of self-regulation. As such, it depends on self-awareness and comparing oneself to standards and is also susceptible to fluctuations in willpower resources. Ego depletion is the state of reduced willpower caused by prior exertion of self-control. Ego depletion undermines inhibition both because restraints are weaker and because urges are felt more intensely than usual. Conscious inhibition of desires is a pervasive feature of everyday life and may be a requirement of life in civilized, cultural society, and in that sense it goes to the evolved core of human nature. Intentional inhibition not only restrains antisocial impulses but can also facilitate optimal performance, such as during test taking. Self-regulation and ego depletion- may also affect less intentional forms of inhibition, even chronic tendencies to inhibit. Broadly stated, inhibition is necessary for human social life and nearly all societies encourage and enforce it. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Fully Automatic Spot Welding System for Application in Automotive Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Puschner

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract A Virtual Machine has led to a fully automatic spot welding system. All necessary parameters are created by measuring systems and algorithms running in the Virtual Machine. A hybrid operating circuit allows the Virtual Machine to read the exact process voltage between the tips of the electrodes every 50 µs. Actual welding voltage and current allow for the first time reading process impedance, electric power and total energy being transferred to the spot weld. Necessary energy input is calculated by a calorimetric model after measuring the total thickness of the materials to be welded as soon as the welding gun is positioned at the workpiece. A precision potentiometer implemented in the gun delivers the total material thickness within the 0.1 mm range during the pre-pressure phases. The internal databank of the Virtual Machine controls all essential parameters to guide the total welding process. Special generator characteristics of the welding power unit are created by the Virtual Machine just during the upslope and the welding phases. So the process will be initialized in differentiating the kind of material, mild steel or high strengthen steel. This will affect the kind of energy input and current decrease during the upslope and downslope phases.

  18. Depleted Bulk Heterojunction Colloidal Quantum Dot Photovoltaics

    KAUST Repository

    Barkhouse, D. Aaron R.

    2011-05-26

    The first solution-processed depleted bulk heterojunction colloidal quantum dot solar cells are presented. The architecture allows for high absorption with full depletion, thereby breaking the photon absorption/carrier extraction compromise inherent in planar devices. A record power conversion of 5.5% under simulated AM 1.5 illumination conditions is reported. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. Bond rupture between colloidal particles with a depletion interaction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Whitaker, Kathryn A.; Furst, Eric M., E-mail: furst@udel.edu [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Center for Molecular and Engineering Thermodynamics, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716 (United States)

    2016-05-15

    The force required to break the bonds of a depletion gel is measured by dynamically loading pairs of colloidal particles suspended in a solution of a nonadsorbing polymer. Sterically stabilized poly(methyl methacrylate) colloids that are 2.7 μm diameter are brought into contact in a solvent mixture of cyclohexane-cyclohexyl bromide and polystyrene polymer depletant. The particle pairs are subject to a tensile load at a constant loading rate over many approach-retraction cycles. The stochastic nature of the thermal rupture events results in a distribution of bond rupture forces with an average magnitude and variance that increases with increasing depletant concentration. The measured force distribution is described by the flux of particle pairs sampling the energy barrier of the bond interaction potential based on the Asakura–Oosawa depletion model. A transition state model demonstrates the significance of lubrication hydrodynamic interactions and the effect of the applied loading rate on the rupture force of bonds in a depletion gel.

  20. Selective T-cell depletion targeting CD45RA reduces viremia and enhances early T-cell recovery compared with CD3-targeted T-cell depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Triplett, Brandon M; Muller, Brad; Kang, Guolian; Li, Ying; Cross, Shane J; Moen, Joseph; Cunningham, Lea; Janssen, William; Mamcarz, Ewelina; Shook, David R; Srinivasan, Ashok; Choi, John; Hayden, Randall T; Leung, Wing

    2018-02-01

    T-cell depletion (TCD) effectively reduces severe graft-versus-host disease in recipients of HLA-mismatched allografts. However, TCD is associated with delayed immune recovery and increased infections. We hypothesized that specific depletion of CD45RA+ naive T cells, rather than broad depletion of CD3+ T cells, can preserve memory-immunity in the allografts and confer protection against important viral infections in the early post-transplant period. Sixty-seven patients who received TCD haploidentical donor transplantation for hematologic malignancy on 3 consecutive trials were analyzed. Patients receiving CD45RA-depleted donor grafts had 2000-fold more donor T cells infused, significantly higher T-cell counts at Day +30 post transplant (550/μL vs 10/μL; P depleted grafts were more likely to experience adenovirus viremia (27% vs 4%, P = .02). CD45RA-depletion provided a large number of donor memory T cells to the recipients and was associated with enhanced early T-cell recovery and protection against viremia. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Research on using depleted uranium as nuclear fuel for HWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Jiahua; Chen Zhicheng; Bao Borong

    1999-01-01

    The purpose of our work is to find a way for application of depleted uranium in CANDU reactor by using MOX nuclear fuel of depleted U and Pu instead of natural uranium. From preliminary evaluation and calculation, it was shown that MOX nuclear fuel consisting of depleted uranium enrichment tailings (0.25% 235 U) and plutonium (their ratio 99.5%:0.5%) could replace natural uranium in CANDU reactor to sustain chain reaction. The prospects of application of depleted uranium in nuclear energy field are also discussed

  2. Yield, utilization, storage and ultimate storage of depleted uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aumueller, L.; Hermann, J.

    1977-11-01

    More than 80% of the uranium leaving uranium enrichment plants is depleted to a residual content of about 0,25% U 235. Due to the present ineconomical further depletion to the technically possible residual content of 0,1% U 235, the so-called 'tails' are first of all stored. The quantity of stored depleted uranium in the FRG should be about 100.000 t by the year 2000. It represents a strategic reserve for future energy supply regardless of profitableness. The study analysis the conceivable possible uses for the tails quantity considered. These are, besides further depletion whose profitableness is considered, also the use as breeder material in breeder reactors and the use in the non-nuclear field. The main part of the study deals with the various storage possibilities of the depleted uranium in oxidic or fluoride form. A comparison of costs of alternative storage concepts showed a clear advantage for the storage of UF 6 in 48 inch containers already in use. The conceivable accidents in storing are analyzed and measures to reduce the consequences are discussed. Finally, the problems of ultimate storage for the remaining waste after further depletion or use are investigated and the costs arising here are also estimated. (RB) [de

  3. Assessment Of Depleted Uranium Contamination In Selective IRAQI Soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohammed, A.A.; Hussien, A.Sh.M.; Tawfiq, N.F.

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this research was to measure the radiation exposure rates in three selected Locations in southren part of Iraq (two in Nassireya, and one in Amara) resulted from the existence of depleted uranium in soil and metal pieces have been taken from destroyed tank and study mathmatically the concentration of Depleted Uranium by its dispersion from soil surface by winds and rains from 2003 to 2007. The exposure rates were measured using inspector device, while depleted uranium concentration in soil samples and tank's matal pieces were detected with Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors(SSNTDs). The wind and rain effects were considered in the calculation of dispersion effect on depleted uranium concentration in soil, where the wind effect were calculated with respect to the sites nature and soil conditions, and rain effect with respect to dispersive-convective equation for radionuclide in soil. The results obtained for the exposure rates were high near the penetrated surfac, moderate and low in soil and metal pices. The Depleted Uranium concentration in soil and metal pieces have the highest value in Nassireya. The results from dispersion calculation (wind & rain) showed that the depleted uranium concentration in 2008 will be less than the danger level and in allowable contamination range

  4. Optimal Allocation of Sampling Effort in Depletion Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    We consider the problem of designing a depletion or removal survey as part of estimating animal abundance for populations with imperfect capture or detection rates. In a depletion survey, animals are captured from a given area, counted, and withheld from the population. This proc...

  5. Towards modeling of nonlinear laser-plasma interactions with hydrocodes: The thick-ray approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colaïtis, A.; Duchateau, G.; Nicolaï, P.; Tikhonchuk, V.

    2014-03-01

    This paper deals with the computation of laser beam intensity in large-scale radiative hydrocodes applied to the modeling of nonlinear laser-plasma interactions (LPIs) in inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The paraxial complex geometrical optics (PCGO) is adapted for light waves in an inhomogeneous medium and modified to include the inverse bremsstrahlung absorption and the ponderomotive force. This thick-ray model is compared to the standard ray-tracing (RT) approach, both in the chic code. The PCGO model leads to different power deposition patterns and better diffraction modeling compared to standard RT codes. The intensity-reconstruction technique used in RT codes to model nonlinear LPI leads to artificial filamentation and fails to reproduce realistic ponderomotive self-focusing distances, intensity amplifications, and density channel depletions, whereas PCGO succeeds. Bundles of Gaussian thick rays can be used to model realistic non-Gaussian ICF beams. The PCGO approach is expected to improve the accuracy of ICF simulations and serve as a basis to implement diverse LPI effects in large-scale hydrocodes.

  6. Material parameters in a thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon detector and their effect on signal collection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qureshi, S.; Perez-Mendez, V.; Kaplan, S.N.; Fujieda, I.; Cho, G.; Street, R.A.

    1989-04-01

    Transient photoconductivity and ESR measurements were done to relate the ionized dangling bond density of thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) detectors. We found that only a fraction (/approximately/30--35%) of the total defect density as measured by ESR is ionized when the detector is biased into deep depletion. The measurements on annealed samples also show that this fraction is about 0.3. An explanation based on the shift of the Fermi energy is given. The measurements show that the time dependence of relaxation is a stretched exponential. 8 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

  7. Multipartite fully nonlocal quantum states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almeida, Mafalda L.; Cavalcanti, Daniel; Scarani, Valerio; Acin, Antonio

    2010-01-01

    We present a general method for characterizing the quantum correlations obtained after local measurements on multipartite systems. Sufficient conditions for a quantum system to be fully nonlocal according to a given partition, as well as being (genuinely) multipartite fully nonlocal, are derived. These conditions allow us to identify all completely connected graph states as multipartite fully nonlocal quantum states. Moreover, we show that this feature can also be observed in mixed states: the tensor product of five copies of the Smolin state, a biseparable and bound entangled state, is multipartite fully nonlocal.

  8. Comments on the Huang and Taylor model of ion-implanted silicon-gate depletion-mode IGFET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marciniak, W.; Madura, H.

    1985-01-01

    Recently the Huang and Taylor model (HT model) of built-in channel MOS transistors has been widely used in the analysis of electronic circuits because of its relative simplicity. Huang and Taylor assumed that the effects of the finite channel thickness may be represented by an average semiconductor capacitance in series with the gate oxide capacitance. The derivation of the current-voltage characteristics is based on a linear equation of surface depleted charge density Qsub(s), which is calculated as the sheet charge of constant capacitance C-bar. This is done instead of using the exact solution of the Poisson equation, which has a rather complex form of nonlinear relationship between the charge Qsub(s) and the gate voltage. The basic equation is given. (author)

  9. The reports of thick discs' deaths are greatly exaggerated. Thick discs are NOT artefacts caused by diffuse scattered light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comerón, S.; Salo, H.; Knapen, J. H.

    2018-02-01

    Recent studies have made the community aware of the importance of accounting for scattered light when examining low-surface-brightness galaxy features such as thick discs. In our past studies of the thick discs of edge-on galaxies in the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies - the S4G - we modelled the point spread function as a Gaussian. In this paper we re-examine our results using a revised point spread function model that accounts for extended wings out to more than 2\\farcm5. We study the 3.6 μm images of 141 edge-on galaxies from the S4G and its early-type galaxy extension. Thus, we more than double the samples examined in our past studies. We decompose the surface-brightness profiles of the galaxies perpendicular to their mid-planes assuming that discs are made of two stellar discs in hydrostatic equilibrium. We decompose the axial surface-brightness profiles of galaxies to model the central mass concentration - described by a Sérsic function - and the disc - described by a broken exponential disc seen edge-on. Our improved treatment fully confirms the ubiquitous occurrence of thick discs. The main difference between our current fits and those presented in our previous papers is that now the scattered light from the thin disc dominates the surface brightness at levels below μ 26 mag arcsec-2. We stress that those extended thin disc tails are not physical, but pure scattered light. This change, however, does not drastically affect any of our previously presented results: 1) Thick discs are nearly ubiquitous. They are not an artefact caused by scattered light as has been suggested elsewhere. 2) Thick discs have masses comparable to those of thin discs in low-mass galaxies - with circular velocities vc< 120 km s-1 - whereas they are typically less massive than the thin discs in high-mass galaxies. 3) Thick discs and central mass concentrations seem to have formed at the same epoch from a common material reservoir. 4) Approximately 50% of the up

  10. Enhanced Monte-Carlo-Linked Depletion Capabilities in MCNPX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fensin, Michael L.; Hendricks, John S.; Anghaie, Samim

    2006-01-01

    As advanced reactor concepts challenge the accuracy of current modeling technologies, a higher-fidelity depletion calculation is necessary to model time-dependent core reactivity properly for accurate cycle length and safety margin determinations. The recent integration of CINDER90 into the MCNPX Monte Carlo radiation transport code provides a completely self-contained Monte-Carlo-linked depletion capability. Two advances have been made in the latest MCNPX capability based on problems observed in pre-released versions: continuous energy collision density tracking and proper fission yield selection. Pre-released versions of the MCNPX depletion code calculated the reaction rates for (n,2n), (n,3n), (n,p), (n,a), and (n,?) by matching the MCNPX steady-state 63-group flux with 63-group cross sections inherent in the CINDER90 library and then collapsing to one-group collision densities for the depletion calculation. This procedure led to inaccuracies due to the miscalculation of the reaction rates resulting from the collapsed multi-group approach. The current version of MCNPX eliminates this problem by using collapsed one-group collision densities generated from continuous energy reaction rates determined during the MCNPX steady-state calculation. MCNPX also now explicitly determines the proper fission yield to be used by the CINDER90 code for the depletion calculation. The CINDER90 code offers a thermal, fast, and high-energy fission yield for each fissile isotope contained in the CINDER90 data file. MCNPX determines which fission yield to use for a specified problem by calculating the integral fission rate for the defined energy boundaries (thermal, fast, and high energy), determining which energy range contains the majority of fissions, and then selecting the appropriate fission yield for the energy range containing the majority of fissions. The MCNPX depletion capability enables complete, relatively easy-to-use depletion calculations in a single Monte Carlo code

  11. Evaluation of the Westinghouse 10B depletion for BWR control rods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vallgren, Christina

    2008-03-01

    The aim of this work was to establish the 10 B depletion model for CR 99 control rods by using the latest version of POLCA7. In order to obtain an understanding of the differences between the currently used 10 B depletion models implemented in POLCA4 at O3 and in SIMULATE-3 at OL1, and the latest improved model implemented in the latest POLCA7, this work has been performed in three different parts. The first part of the work was to find out how large differences there exist in 10 B depletion between the calculated data by using the latest core monitoring system (POLCA7 version 4.10.0) and the measured data obtained in the hot-cell laboratory in Studsvik. It was found that the 10 B depletion computed by the latest POLCA7 version is in good agreement with the measured data from Studsvik. A poor agreement with a conservative overestimation in 10 B depletion was also found between the old model and the measured data. The aim of the second part of the work was to compare the calculated 10 B depletion values for two CR 99 rods from Olkiluoto 1 with the calculated 10 B depletion value for a CR 99 rod from Oskarshamn 3, by using the new 10 B depletion model implemented in the latest POLCA7 version. Swelling measurements of the boron carbide pins, used as absorber material, have indicated that the 10 B depletion should be of similar magnitude for the rods in Olkiluoto 1 and the rod in Oskarshamn 3, whereas the calculated values by using the earlier 10 B depletion models on the process computers showed a difference of about 20 %. By using the new 10 B depletion model m POLCA7, it was found that the 10 B depletion in the two studied cases was similar to each other and, thus, the hypothesis of a linear relationship between B 4 C swelling and thermal neutron fluence was supported. This third part of the work was carried out at KKL, Switzerland, and focused on comparing the B depletion models used in Westinghouse/POLCA7 and KKL/PRESTO-2. It was found that there is a slight

  12. Evaluation of the Westinghouse 10B depletion for BWR control rods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vallgren, Christina

    2008-03-15

    The aim of this work was to establish the 10B depletion model for CR 99 control rods by using the latest version of POLCA7. In order to obtain an understanding of the differences between the currently used 10B depletion models implemented in POLCA4 at O3 and in SIMULATE-3 at OL1, and the latest improved model implemented in the latest POLCA7, this work has been performed in three different parts. The first part of the work was to find out how large differences there exist in 10B depletion between the calculated data by using the latest core monitoring system (POLCA7 version 4.10.0) and the measured data obtained in the hot-cell laboratory in Studsvik. It was found that the 10B depletion computed by the latest POLCA7 version is in good agreement with the measured data from Studsvik. A poor agreement with a conservative overestimation in 10B depletion was also found between the old model and the measured data. The aim of the second part of the work was to compare the calculated 10B depletion values for two CR 99 rods from Olkiluoto 1 with the calculated 10B depletion value for a CR 99 rod from Oskarshamn 3, by using the new 10B depletion model implemented in the latest POLCA7 version. Swelling measurements of the boron carbide pins, used as absorber material, have indicated that the 10B depletion should be of similar magnitude for the rods in Olkiluoto 1 and the rod in Oskarshamn 3, whereas the calculated values by using the earlier 10B depletion models on the process computers showed a difference of about 20 %. By using the new 10B depletion model m POLCA7, it was found that the 10B depletion in the two studied cases was similar to each other and, thus, the hypothesis of a linear relationship between B{sub 4}C swelling and thermal neutron fluence was supported. This third part of the work was carried out at KKL, Switzerland, and focused on comparing the B depletion models used in Westinghouse/POLCA7 and KKL/PRESTO-2. It was found that there is a slight difference in

  13. Quality control of a 2 m{sup 2} Micromegas detector for the ATLAS muon spectrometer upgrade project using contact CCDs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biebel, Otmar; Hertenberger, Ralf; Wagner-Kuhr, Jeannine [LMU, Munich (Germany); Wellenstein, Hermann [Brandeis University, Waltham (United States)

    2016-07-01

    The inner endcap region of the ATLAS muon spectrometer, the Small Wheel, will be upgraded in 2019 using Micromegas detectors to retain the tracking performance after the LHC luminosity upgrade. In the new Small Wheel Micromegas detectors will be arranged in trapezoidal quadruplets of four active layers each and 2-3 m{sup 2} in size. Guaranteeing the design spatial resolution of 100 μm poses a huge challenge for the mechanical precision of each readout plane and the alignment between the 4 planes. We report about a novel optical alignment tool based on Contact CCDs and coded masks which will be used for the quality control during the construction of the Micromegas detectors. Using pictures of an arbitrary cutout of a coded mask on a readout board taken by a Contact CCD the relative position of the mask with respect to the center of the Contact-CCD can be determined on sub μm accuracy. Together with a calibrated reference device the position of masks within a single plane but also within a quadruplet can be measured with high precision allowing to monitor the relative position of the 3 PowerCircuitBoards within a single plane and the relative alignment between the different planes in a quadruplet. In this presentation the ideas of this new optical alignment tool are shown as well as first quality control studies using a Contact-CCD.

  14. Coupling effects of depletion interactions in a three-sphere colloidal system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Ze-Shun; Dai Gang; Gao Hai-Xia; Xiao Chang-Ming

    2013-01-01

    In a three-sphere system, the middle sphere is acted upon by two opposite depletion forces from the other two spheres. It is found that, in this system, the two depletion forces are coupled with each other and result in a strengthened depletion force. So the difference of the depletion forces of the three-sphere system and its corresponding two two-sphere systems is introduced to describe the coupling effect of the depletion interactions. The numerical results obtained by Monte-Carlo simulations show that this coupling effect is affected by both the concentration of small spheres and the geometrical confinement. Meanwhile, it is also found that the mechanisms of the coupling effect and the effect on the depletion force from the geometry factor are the same. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

  15. Examining depletion theories under conditions of within-task transfer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewer, Gene A; Lau, Kevin K H; Wingert, Kimberly M; Ball, B Hunter; Blais, Chris

    2017-07-01

    In everyday life, mental fatigue can be detrimental across many domains including driving, learning, and working. Given the importance of understanding and accounting for the deleterious effects of mental fatigue on behavior, a growing body of literature has studied the role of motivational and executive control processes in mental fatigue. In typical laboratory paradigms, participants complete a task that places demand on these self-control processes and are later given a subsequent task. Generally speaking, decrements to subsequent task performance are taken as evidence that the initial task created mental fatigue through the continued engagement of motivational and executive functions. Several models have been developed to account for negative transfer resulting from this "ego depletion." In the current study, we provide a brief literature review, specify current theoretical approaches to ego-depletion, and report an empirical test of current models of depletion. Across 4 experiments we found minimal evidence for executive control depletion along with strong evidence for motivation mediated ego depletion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Genetics Home Reference: MPV17-related hepatocerebral mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... DNA depletion syndrome MPV17-related hepatocerebral mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome Printable PDF Open All Close All Enable ... collapse boxes. Description MPV17 -related hepatocerebral mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome is an inherited disorder that can cause ...

  17. Stimulated emission depletion following two photon excitation

    OpenAIRE

    Marsh, R. J.; Armoogum, D. A.; Bain, A. J.

    2002-01-01

    The technique of stimulated emission depletion of fluorescence (STED) from a two photon excited molecular population is demonstrated in the S, excited state of fluorescein in ethylene glycol and methanol. Two photon excitation (pump) is achieved using the partial output of a regeneratively amplified Ti:Sapphire laser in conjunction with an optical parametric amplifier whose tuneable output provides a synchronous depletion (dump) pulse. Time resolved fluorescence intensity and anisotropy measu...

  18. Design and characterization of a fully differential MEMS accelerometer fabricated using MetalMUMPs technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Peng; Qu, Hongwei

    2013-05-02

    This paper presents a fully differential single-axis accelerometer fabricated using the MetalMUMPs process. The unique structural configuration and common-centriod wiring of the metal electrodes enables a fully differential sensing scheme with robust metal sensing structures. CoventorWare is used in structural and electrical design and simulation of the fully differential accelerometer. The MUMPs foundry fabrication process of the sensor allows for high yield, good process consistency and provides 20 μm structural thickness of the sensing element, which makes the capacitive sensing eligible. In device characterization, surface profile of the fabricated device is measured using a Veeco surface profilometer; and mean and gradient residual stress in the nickel structure are calculated as approximately 94.7 MPa and -5.27 MPa/μm, respectively. Dynamic characterization of the sensor is performed using a vibration shaker with a high-end commercial calibrating accelerometer as reference. The sensitivity of the sensor is measured as 0.52 mV/g prior to off-chip amplification. Temperature dependence of the sensing capacitance is also characterized. A -0.021fF/°C is observed. The findings in the presented work will provide useful information for design of sensors and actuators such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and electrothermal actuators that are to be fabricated using MetalMUMPs technology.

  19. Semi-automated Digital Imaging and Processing System for Measuring Lake Ice Thickness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Preetpal

    to detect equipment failure and identify defective products at the assembly line. The research work in this thesis combines machine vision and image processing technology to build a digital imaging and processing system for monitoring and measuring lake ice thickness in real time. An ultra-compact USB camera is programmed to acquire and transmit high resolution imagery for processing with MATLAB Image Processing toolbox. The image acquisition and transmission process is fully automated; image analysis is semi-automated and requires limited user input. Potential design changes to the prototype and ideas on fully automating the imaging and processing procedure are presented to conclude this research work.

  20. Bullet scintigraphy: can gamma camera be used for depleted uranium accident measurements?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spaic, R.; Markovic, S.; Pavlovic, S.; Radic, Z.; Pavlovic, R.; Ajdinovic, B.; Baskot, B.; Djurovic, B.

    2002-01-01

    The aim of this study was to see could gamma cameras be used for measurement of internal contamination with depleted uranium. Radioactive waste depleted uranium, which is by-product from the production of enriched fuel for nuclear rectors and weapons now, is used for manufacture bullets, which are used in Iraq, Republic of Srpska and Yugoslavia. In this paper is measured minimum detectable activity (MDA) of gamma cameras for depleted uranium, iodine and technetium. For detection of the depleted uranium are used low energy X-rays, energy of 100 keV with 20% windows width. About 40% of gamma emissions of the depleted uranium are in these limits. Measured MDA activities 50-100 Bq for depleted uranium, iodine and technetium are about then times more then same for WBC (5 Bq). Gamma cameras can be used for relatively measurement of depleted uranium activity, what can be used for absorbed dose estimation. Detection of low level internal contamination with depleted uranium can be done with gamma cameras. (authors)

  1. Improved radiation tolerance of MAPS using a depleted epitaxial layer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dorokhov, A., E-mail: Andrei.Dorokhov@IReS.in2p3.f [Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), 23 rue du loess, BP 28, 67037 Strasbourg (France); Bertolone, G.; Baudot, J.; Brogna, A.S.; Colledani, C.; Claus, G.; De Masi, R. [Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), 23 rue du loess, BP 28, 67037 Strasbourg (France); Deveaux, M. [Goethe-Universitaet Frankfurt am Main, Senckenberganlage 31, 60325 Frankfurt am Main (Germany); Doziere, G.; Dulinski, W. [Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), 23 rue du loess, BP 28, 67037 Strasbourg (France); Fontaine, J.-C. [Groupe de Recherche en Physique des Hautes Energies (GRPHE), Universite de Haute Alsace, 61, rue Albert Camus, 68093 Mulhouse (France); Goffe, M.; Himmi, A.; Hu-Guo, Ch.; Jaaskelainen, K.; Koziel, M.; Morel, F.; Santos, C.; Specht, M.; Valin, I. [Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), 23 rue du loess, BP 28, 67037 Strasbourg (France)

    2010-12-11

    Tracking performance of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) developed at IPHC (Turchetta, et al., 2001) have been extensively studied (Winter, et al., 2001; Gornushkin, et al., 2002) . Numerous sensor prototypes, called MIMOSA, were fabricated and tested since 1999 in order to optimise the charge collection efficiency and power dissipation, to minimise the noise and to increase the readout speed. The radiation tolerance was also investigated. The highest fluence tolerable for a 10{mu}m pitch device was found to be {approx}10{sup 13}n{sub eq}/cm{sup 2}, while it was only 2x10{sup 12}n{sub eq}/cm{sup 2} for a 20{mu}m pitch device. The purpose of this paper is to show that the tolerance to non-ionising radiation may be extended up to O(10{sup 14}) n{sub eq}/cm{sup 2}. This goal relies on a fabrication process featuring a 15{mu}m thin, high resistivity ({approx}1k{Omega}cm) epitaxial layer. A sensor prototype (MIMOSA-25) was fabricated in this process to explore its detection performance. The depletion depth of the epitaxial layer at standard CMOS voltages (<5V) is similar to the layer thickness. Measurements with m.i.p.s show that the charge collected in the seed pixel is at least twice larger for the depleted epitaxial layer than for the undepleted one, translating into a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of {approx}50. Tests after irradiation have shown that this excellent performance is maintained up to the highest fluence considered (3x10{sup 13}n{sub eq}/cm{sup 2}), making evidence of a significant extension of the radiation tolerance limits of MAPS.

  2. Analysis and Application of Whey Protein Depleted Skim Milk Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Hanne

    homogenisation (UHPH). The microfiltration will result in a milk fraction more or less depleted from whey protein, and could probably in combination with UHPH treatment contribute to milk fractions and cheeses with novel micro and macrostructures. These novel fractions could be used as new ingredients to improve......-destructive methods for this purpose. A significant changed structure was observed in skim milk depleted or partly depleted for whey protein, acidified and UHPH treated. Some of the properties of the UHPH treated skim milk depleted from whey protein observed in this study support the idea, that UHPH treatment has...... this. LF-NMR relaxation were utilised to obtain information about the water mobility (relaxation time), in diluted skim milk systems depleted from whey protein. Obtained results indicate that measuring relaxation times with LF-NMR could be difficult to utilize, since no clear relationship between...

  3. Evolution of depleted mantle: The lead perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilton, George R.

    1983-07-01

    Isotopic data have established that, compared to estimated bulk earth abundances, the sources of oceanic basaltic lavas have been depleted in large ion lithophile elements for at least several billions of years. Various data on the Tertiary-Mesozoic Gorgona komatiite and Cretaceous Oka carbonatite show that those rocks also sample depleted mantle sources. This information is used by analogy to compare Pb isotopic data from 2.6 billion year old komatiite and carbonatite from the Suomussalmi belt of eastern Finland and Munro Township, Ontario that are with associated granitic rocks and ores that should contain marked crustal components. Within experimental error no differences are detected in the isotopic composition of initial Pb in either of the rock suites. These observations agree closely with Sr and Nd data from other laboratories showing that depleted mantle could not have originated in those areas more than a few tenths of billions of years before the rocks were emplaced. On a world-wide basis the Pb isotope data are consistent with production of depleted mantle by continuous differentiation processes acting over approximately the past 3 billion years. The data show that Pb evolution is more complex than the simpler models derived from the Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd systems. The nature of the complexity is still poorly understood.

  4. Application of backtracking algorithm to depletion calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Mingyu; Wang Shixi; Yang Yong; Zhang Qiang; Yang Jiayin

    2013-01-01

    Based on the theory of linear chain method for analytical depletion calculations, the burnup matrix is decoupled by the divide and conquer strategy and the linear chain with Markov characteristic is formed. The density, activity and decay heat of every nuclide in the chain then can be calculated by analytical solutions. Every possible reaction path of the nuclide must be considered during the linear chain establishment process. To confirm the calculation precision and efficiency, the algorithm which can cover all the reaction paths and search the paths automatically according to the problem description and precision restrictions should be found. Through analysis and comparison of several kinds of searching algorithms, the backtracking algorithm was selected to establish and calculate the linear chains in searching process using depth first search (DFS) method, forming an algorithm which can solve the depletion problem adaptively and with high fidelity. The complexity of the solution space and time was analyzed by taking into account depletion process and the characteristics of the backtracking algorithm. The newly developed depletion program was coupled with Monte Carlo program MCMG-Ⅱ to calculate the benchmark burnup problem of the first core of China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) and the preliminary verification and validation of the program were performed. (authors)

  5. Associative Interactions in Crowded Solutions of Biopolymers Counteract Depletion Effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groen, Joost; Foschepoth, David; te Brinke, Esra; Boersma, Arnold J; Imamura, Hiromi; Rivas, Germán; Heus, Hans A; Huck, Wilhelm T S

    2015-10-14

    The cytosol of Escherichia coli is an extremely crowded environment, containing high concentrations of biopolymers which occupy 20-30% of the available volume. Such conditions are expected to yield depletion forces, which strongly promote macromolecular complexation. However, crowded macromolecule solutions, like the cytosol, are very prone to nonspecific associative interactions that can potentially counteract depletion. It remains unclear how the cytosol balances these opposing interactions. We used a FRET-based probe to systematically study depletion in vitro in different crowded environments, including a cytosolic mimic, E. coli lysate. We also studied bundle formation of FtsZ protofilaments under identical crowded conditions as a probe for depletion interactions at much larger overlap volumes of the probe molecule. The FRET probe showed a more compact conformation in synthetic crowding agents, suggesting strong depletion interactions. However, depletion was completely negated in cell lysate and other protein crowding agents, where the FRET probe even occupied slightly more volume. In contrast, bundle formation of FtsZ protofilaments proceeded as readily in E. coli lysate and other protein solutions as in synthetic crowding agents. Our experimental results and model suggest that, in crowded biopolymer solutions, associative interactions counterbalance depletion forces for small macromolecules. Furthermore, the net effects of macromolecular crowding will be dependent on both the size of the macromolecule and its associative interactions with the crowded background.

  6. Depleted uranium and the Gulf War syndrome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    Some military personnel involved in the 1991Gulf War have complained of continuing stress-like symptoms for which no obvious cause has been found. These symptoms have at times been attributed to the use of depleted uranium (DU) in shell casings which are believed to have caused toxic effects. Depleted uranium is natural uranium which is depleted in the rarer U-235 isotope. It is a heavy metal and in common with other heavy metals is chemically toxic. It is also slightly radioactive and could give rise to a radiological hazard if dispersed in finely divided form so that it was inhaled. In response to concerns, the possible effects of DU have been extensively studied along with other possible contributors to G ulf War sickness . This article looks at the results of some of the research that has been done on DU. (author)

  7. Ozone depleting substances management inventory system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felix Ivan Romero Rodríguez

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Context: The care of the ozone layer is an activity that contributes to the planet's environmental stability. For this reason, the Montreal Protocol is created to control the emission of substances that deplete the ozone layer and reduce its production from an organizational point of view. However, it is also necessary to have control of those that are already circulating and those present in the equipment that cannot be replaced yet because of the context of the companies that keep it. Generally, the control mechanisms for classifying the type of substances, equipment and companies that own them, are carried in physical files, spreadsheets and text documents, which makes it difficult to control and manage the data stored in them. Method: The objective of this research is to computerize the process of control of substances that deplete the ozone layer. An evaluation and description of all process to manage Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS, and its alternatives, is done. For computerization, the agile development methodology SCRUM is used, and for the technological solution tools and free open source technologies are used. Result: As a result of the research, a computer tool was developed that automates the process of control and management of substances that exhaust the ozone layer and its alternatives. Conclusions: The developed computer tool allows to control and manage the ozone-depleting substances and the equipment that use them. It also manages the substances that arise as alternatives to be used for the protection of the ozone layer.

  8. The Influence of Chronic Ego Depletion on Goal Adherence: An Experience Sampling Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ligang; Tao, Ting; Fan, Chunlei; Gao, Wenbin; Wei, Chuguang

    2015-01-01

    Although ego depletion effects have been widely observed in experiments in which participants perform consecutive self-control tasks, the process of ego depletion remains poorly understood. Using the strength model of self-control, we hypothesized that chronic ego depletion adversely affects goal adherence and that mental effort and motivation are involved in the process of ego depletion. In this study, 203 students reported their daily performance, mental effort, and motivation with respect to goal directed behavior across a 3-week time period. People with high levels of chronic ego depletion were less successful in goal adherence than those with less chronic ego depletion. Although daily effort devoted to goal adherence increased with chronic ego depletion, motivation to adhere to goals was not affected. Participants with high levels of chronic ego depletion showed a stronger positive association between mental effort and performance, but chronic ego depletion did not play a regulatory role in the effect of motivation on performance. Chronic ego depletion increased the likelihood of behavior regulation failure, suggesting that it is difficult for people in an ego-depletion state to adhere to goals. We integrate our results with the findings of previous studies and discuss possible theoretical implications.

  9. Lead Thickness Measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rucinski, R.

    1998-01-01

    The preshower lead thickness applied to the outside of D-Zero's superconducting solenoid vacuum shell was measured at the time of application. This engineering documents those thickness measurements. The lead was ordered in sheets 0.09375-inch and 0.0625-inch thick. The tolerance on thickness was specified to be +/- 0.003-inch. The sheets all were within that thickness tolerance. The nomenclature for each sheet was designated 1T, 1B, 2T, 2B where the numeral designates it's location in the wrap and 'T' or 'B' is short for 'top' or 'bottom' half of the solenoid. Micrometer measurements were taken at six locations around the perimeter of each sheet. The width,length, and weight of each piece was then measured. Using an assumed pure lead density of 0.40974 lb/in 3 , an average sheet thickness was calculated and compared to the perimeter thickness measurements. In every case, the calculated average thickness was a few mils thinner than the perimeter measurements. The ratio was constant, 0.98. This discrepancy is likely due to the assumed pure lead density. It is not felt that the perimeter is thicker than the center regions. The data suggests that the physical thickness of the sheets is uniform to +/- 0.0015-inch.

  10. Free vibration of fully functionally graded carbon nanotube reinforced graphite/epoxy laminates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Shih-Yao

    2018-03-01

    This study provides the first-known vibration analysis of fully functionally graded carbon nanotube reinforced hybrid composite (FFG-CNTRHC) laminates. CNTs are non-uniformly distributed to reinforce the graphite/epoxy laminates. Some CNT distribution functions in the plane and thickness directions are proposed to more efficiently increase the stiffening effect. The rule of mixtures is modified by considering the non-homogeneous material properties of FFG-CNTRHC laminates. The formulation of the location dependent stiffness matrix and mass matrix is derived. The effects of CNT volume fraction and distribution on the natural frequencies of FFG-CNTRHC laminates are discussed. The results reveal that the FFG layout may significantly increase the natural frequencies of FFG-CNTRHC laminate.

  11. Depleted uranium hexafluoride: Waste or resource?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwertz, N.; Zoller, J.; Rosen, R.; Patton, S.; Bradley, C.; Murray, A.

    1995-07-01

    The US Department of Energy is evaluating technologies for the storage, disposal, or re-use of depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ). This paper discusses the following options, and provides a technology assessment for each one: (1) conversion to UO 2 for use as mixed oxide duel, (2) conversion to UO 2 to make DUCRETE for a multi-purpose storage container, (3) conversion to depleted uranium metal for use as shielding, (4) conversion to uranium carbide for use as high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel. In addition, conversion to U 3 O 8 as an option for long-term storage is discussed

  12. Muscle glycogen depletion patterns during draught work in Standardbred horses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gottlieb, M

    1989-03-01

    Muscle fibre recruitment was investigated during draught loaded exercise by studying glycogen depletion patterns from histochemical stains of muscle biopsies from the gluteus and semitendinosus muscles. Three Standardbred trotters performed several intervals of draught loaded exercise on a treadmill with 34 kp at a trot (7 m/sec) and with 34 and 80 kp, respectively at a walk (2m/sec). Exercise was continued until the horses were unwilling to continue. Glycogen depletion was seen in all three fibre types when trotting with 34 kp for 5 or 10 mins. When an equal weight resistance was pulled at a walk, glycogen depletion was first seen in type I fibres only, then followed by a small percentage of type IIA fibres after at least 1 h. When 80 kp was pulled at a walk both type I and IIA fibres showed glycogen depletion, and after at least 30 mins exercise a small percentage of type IIB fibres was also depleted. These results indicate that the muscle fibres are depleted, in order, from type I through IIA to IIB as the intensity or duration of draught work increases.

  13. Monte Carlo simulation in UWB1 depletion code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lovecky, M.; Prehradny, J.; Jirickova, J.; Skoda, R.

    2015-01-01

    U W B 1 depletion code is being developed as a fast computational tool for the study of burnable absorbers in the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic. In order to achieve higher precision, the newly developed code was extended by adding a Monte Carlo solver. Research of fuel depletion aims at development and introduction of advanced types of burnable absorbers in nuclear fuel. Burnable absorbers (BA) allow the compensation of the initial reactivity excess of nuclear fuel and result in an increase of fuel cycles lengths with higher enriched fuels. The paper describes the depletion calculations of VVER nuclear fuel doped with rare earth oxides as burnable absorber based on performed depletion calculations, rare earth oxides are divided into two equally numerous groups, suitable burnable absorbers and poisoning absorbers. According to residual poisoning and BA reactivity worth, rare earth oxides marked as suitable burnable absorbers are Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho and Er, while poisoning absorbers include Sc, La, Lu, Y, Ce, Pr and Tb. The presentation slides have been added to the article

  14. Depletion and capture: revisiting "the source of water derived from wells".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konikow, L F; Leake, S A

    2014-09-01

    A natural consequence of groundwater withdrawals is the removal of water from subsurface storage, but the overall rates and magnitude of groundwater depletion and capture relative to groundwater withdrawals (extraction or pumpage) have not previously been well characterized. This study assesses the partitioning of long-term cumulative withdrawal volumes into fractions derived from storage depletion and capture, where capture includes both increases in recharge and decreases in discharge. Numerical simulation of a hypothetical groundwater basin is used to further illustrate some of Theis' (1940) principles, particularly when capture is constrained by insufficient available water. Most prior studies of depletion and capture have assumed that capture is unconstrained through boundary conditions that yield linear responses. Examination of real systems indicates that capture and depletion fractions are highly variable in time and space. For a large sample of long-developed groundwater systems, the depletion fraction averages about 0.15 and the capture fraction averages about 0.85 based on cumulative volumes. Higher depletion fractions tend to occur in more arid regions, but the variation is high and the correlation coefficient between average annual precipitation and depletion fraction for individual systems is only 0.40. Because 85% of long-term pumpage is derived from capture in these real systems, capture must be recognized as a critical factor in assessing water budgets, groundwater storage depletion, and sustainability of groundwater development. Most capture translates into streamflow depletion, so it can detrimentally impact ecosystems. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  15. Coordinated airborne and satellite measurements of equatorial plasma depletions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weber, E.J.; Brinton, H.C.; Buchau, J.; Moore, J.G.

    1982-01-01

    A series of experiments was conducted in December 1979 to investigate the structure of plasma depletions in the low latitude, nightime ionosphere. The measurements included all sky imaging photometer (ASIP), ionosonde and amplitude scintillation observations from the AFGL Airborne Ionospheric Observatory (AIO), and in situ ion density measurements from the Atmosphere Explorer (AE-E) Bennett Ion Mass Spectrometer (BIMS). The AIO performed two flights along the Ascension Island (-18 0 MLAT) magnetic meridian: one in the southern hemisphere and one near the Ascension conjugate point in the northern hemisphere. During these flights, measurements from the AE-E satellite at 434 km altitude are compared with simultaneous remote ionospheric measurements from the AIO. Density biteouts of approximately one order of magnitude in the dominant ion O + , were mapped to lower altitudes along magnetic field lines for comparison with 6300-A and 7774-A O I airglow depletions. Because of the different airglow production mechanisms (dissociative recombination of O +2 for 6300 A and radiative recombination of O + for 7774 A) the 6300-A depletions reflect plasma depletions near the bottomside of the F layer, while those at 7774 A are located near the peak of the layer. The O + biteouts map directly into the 7774-A airglow depletions in the same hemisphere and also when traced into the opposite hemisphere, which indicates magnetic flux tube alignment over north-south distances of approx.2220 km. The 6300-A (bottomside) depletions are wider in longitude than the 7774-A (F-peak) depletions near the equatorward edge of the Appleton anomaly. This difference in topside and bottomside structure is used to infer large-scale structure near the anomaly and to relate this to structure, commonly observed near the magnetic equator by the ALTAIR radar

  16. Depletion interaction measured by colloidal probe atomic force microscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijting, W.K.; Knoben, W.; Besseling, N.A.M.; Leermakers, F.A.M.; Cohen Stuart, M.A.

    2004-01-01

    We investigated the depletion interaction between stearylated silica surfaces in cyclohexane in the presence of dissolved polydimethylsiloxane by means of colloidal probe atomic force microscopy. We found that the range of the depletion interaction decreases with increasing concentration.

  17. Self-Control Strength Depletion Reduces Self-Efficacy and Impairs Exercise Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Jeffrey D; Bray, Steven R

    2015-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of task self-efficacy as a psychological factor involved in the relationship between self-control depletion and physical endurance. Participants (N = 37) completed two isometric handgrip endurance trials, separated by a Stroop task, which was either congruent (control) or incongruent (causing depletion). Task self-efficacy for the second endurance trial was measured following the Stroop task. Participants in the depletion condition reported lower task self-efficacy and showed a greater reduction in performance on the second endurance trial when compared with controls. Task self-efficacy also mediated the relationship between self-control depletion and endurance performance. The results of this study provide evidence that task self-efficacy is negatively affected following self-control depletion. We recommend that task self-efficacy be further investigated as a psychological factor accounting for the negative change in self-control performance of physical endurance and sport tasks following self-control strength depletion.

  18. Depletion interactions in two-dimensional colloid-polymer mixtures: molecular dynamics simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Soon-Chul; Seong, Baek-Seok; Suh, Soong-Hyuck

    2009-01-01

    The depletion interactions acting between two hard colloids immersed in a bath of polymers, in which the interaction potentials include the soft repulsion/attraction, are extensively studied by using the molecular dynamics simulations. The collision frequencies and collision angle distributions for both incidental and reflection conditions are computed to study the dynamic properties of the colloidal mixtures. The depletion effect induced by the polymer-polymer and colloid-polymer interactions are investigated as well as the size ratio of the colloid and polymer. The simulated results show that the strong depletion interaction between two hard colloids appears for the highly asymmetric hard-disc mixtures. The attractive depletion force at contact becomes deeper and the repulsive barrier becomes wider as the asymmetry in size ratio increases. The strong polymer-polymer attraction leads to the purely attractive depletion interaction between two hard colloids, whereas the purely repulsive depletion interaction is induced by the strong colloid-polymer attraction.

  19. Design and Performance of a Pinned Photodiode CMOS Image Sensor Using Reverse Substrate Bias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stefanov, Konstantin D; Clarke, Andrew S; Ivory, James; Holland, Andrew D

    2018-01-03

    A new pinned photodiode (PPD) CMOS image sensor with reverse biased p-type substrate has been developed and characterized. The sensor uses traditional PPDs with one additional deep implantation step to suppress the parasitic reverse currents, and can be fully depleted. The first prototypes have been manufactured on an 18 µm thick, 1000 Ω·cm epitaxial silicon wafers using 180 nm PPD image sensor process. Both front-side illuminated (FSI) and back-side illuminated (BSI) devices were manufactured in collaboration with Teledyne e2v. The characterization results from a number of arrays of 10 µm and 5.4 µm PPD pixels, with different shape, the size and the depth of the new implant are in good agreement with device simulations. The new pixels could be reverse-biased without parasitic leakage currents well beyond full depletion, and demonstrate nearly identical optical response to the reference non-modified pixels. The observed excessive charge sharing in some pixel variants is shown to not be a limiting factor in operation. This development promises to realize monolithic PPD CIS with large depleted thickness and correspondingly high quantum efficiency at near-infrared and soft X-ray wavelengths.

  20. Control of Single Molecule Fluorescence Dynamics by Stimulated Emission Depletion

    OpenAIRE

    Marsh, R. J.; Osborne, M. A.; Bain, A. J.

    2003-01-01

    The feasibility of manipulating the single molecule absorption-emission cycle using picosecond stimulated emission depletion (STED) is investigated using a stochastic computer simulation. In the simulation the molecule is subjected to repeated excitation and depletion events using time delayed pairs of excitation (PUMP) and depletion (DUMP) pulses derived from a high repetition rate pulsed laser system. The model is used to demonstrate that a significant and even substantial reduction in the ...

  1. Development of a Fully-Automated Monte Carlo Burnup Code Monteburns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poston, D.I.; Trellue, H.R.

    1999-01-01

    Several computer codes have been developed to perform nuclear burnup calculations over the past few decades. In addition, because of advances in computer technology, it recently has become more desirable to use Monte Carlo techniques for such problems. Monte Carlo techniques generally offer two distinct advantages over discrete ordinate methods: (1) the use of continuous energy cross sections and (2) the ability to model detailed, complex, three-dimensional (3-D) geometries. These advantages allow more accurate burnup results to be obtained, provided that the user possesses the required computing power (which is required for discrete ordinate methods as well). Several linkage codes have been written that combine a Monte Carlo N-particle transport code (such as MCNP TM ) with a radioactive decay and burnup code. This paper describes one such code that was written at Los Alamos National Laboratory: monteburns. Monteburns links MCNP with the isotope generation and depletion code ORIGEN2. The basis for the development of monteburns was the need for a fully automated code that could perform accurate burnup (and other) calculations for any 3-D system (accelerator-driven or a full reactor core). Before the initial development of monteburns, a list of desired attributes was made and is given below. o The code should be fully automated (that is, after the input is set up, no further user interaction is required). . The code should allow for the irradiation of several materials concurrently (each material is evaluated collectively in MCNP and burned separately in 0RIGEN2). o The code should allow the transfer of materials (shuffling) between regions in MCNP. . The code should allow any materials to be added or removed before, during, or after each step in an automated fashion. . The code should not require the user to provide input for 0RIGEN2 and should have minimal MCNP input file requirements (other than a working MCNP deck). . The code should be relatively easy to use

  2. Barium depletion in hollow cathode emitters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polk, James E.; Mikellides, Ioannis G.; Katz, Ira; Capece, Angela M.

    2016-01-01

    Dispenser hollow cathodes rely on a consumable supply of Ba released by BaO-CaO-Al 2 O 3 source material in the pores of a tungsten matrix to maintain a low work function surface. The examination of cathode emitters from long duration tests shows deposits of tungsten at the downstream end that appear to block the flow of Ba from the interior. In addition, a numerical model of Ba transport in the cathode plasma indicates that the Ba partial pressure in the insert may exceed the equilibrium vapor pressure of the dominant Ba-producing reaction, and it was postulated previously that this would suppress Ba loss in the upstream part of the emitter. New measurements of the Ba depletion depth from a cathode insert operated for 8200 h reveal that Ba loss is confined to a narrow region near the downstream end, confirming this hypothesis. The Ba transport model was modified to predict the depletion depth with time. A comparison of the calculated and measured depletion depths gives excellent qualitative agreement, and quantitative agreement was obtained assuming an insert temperature 70 °C lower than measured beginning-of-life values

  3. Depleted uranium hexafluoride: Waste or resource?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schwertz, N.; Zoller, J.; Rosen, R.; Patton, S. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States); Bradley, C. [USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, Technology, Washington, DC (United States); Murray, A. [SAIC (United States)

    1995-07-01

    the US Department of Energy is evaluating technologies for the storage, disposal, or re-use of depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF{sub 6}). This paper discusses the following options, and provides a technology assessment for each one: (1) conversion to UO{sub 2} for use as mixed oxide duel, (2) conversion to UO{sub 2} to make DUCRETE for a multi-purpose storage container, (3) conversion to depleted uranium metal for use as shielding, (4) conversion to uranium carbide for use as high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel. In addition, conversion to U{sub 3}O{sub 8} as an option for long-term storage is discussed.

  4. Depleted uranium processing and fluorine extraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laflin, S.T.

    2010-01-01

    Since the beginning of the nuclear era, there has never been a commercial solution for the large quantities of depleted uranium hexafluoride generated from uranium enrichment. In the United States alone, there is already in excess of 1.6 billion pounds (730 million kilograms) of DUF_6 currently stored. INIS is constructing a commercial uranium processing and fluorine extraction facility. The INIS facility will convert depleted uranium hexafluoride and use it as feed material for the patented Fluorine Extraction Process to produce high purity fluoride gases and anhydrous hydrofluoric acid. The project will provide an environmentally friendly and commercially viable solution for DUF_6 tails management. (author)

  5. International aspects of restrictions of ozone-depleting substances

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDonald, S.C.

    1989-10-01

    This report summarizes international efforts to protect stratospheric ozone. Also included in this report is a discussion of activities in other countries to meet restrictions in the production and use of ozone-depleting substances. Finally, there is a brief presentation of trade and international competitiveness issues relating to the transition to alternatives for the regulated chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons. The stratosphere knows no international borders. Just as the impact of reduced stratospheric ozone will be felt internationally, so protection of the ozone layer is properly an international effort. Unilateral action, even by a country that produces and used large quantities of ozone-depleting substances, will not remedy the problem of ozone depletion if other countries do not follow suit. 32 refs., 7 tabs.

  6. Benefits of the delta K of depletion benchmarks for burnup credit validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lancaster, D.; Machiels, A.

    2012-01-01

    Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) burnup credit validation is demonstrated using the benchmarks for quantifying fuel reactivity decrements, published as 'Benchmarks for Quantifying Fuel Reactivity Depletion Uncertainty,' EPRI Report 1022909 (August 2011). This demonstration uses the depletion module TRITON available in the SCALE 6.1 code system followed by criticality calculations using KENO-Va. The difference between the predicted depletion reactivity and the benchmark's depletion reactivity is a bias for the criticality calculations. The uncertainty in the benchmarks is the depletion reactivity uncertainty. This depletion bias and uncertainty is used with the bias and uncertainty from fresh UO 2 critical experiments to determine the criticality safety limits on the neutron multiplication factor, k eff . The analysis shows that SCALE 6.1 with the ENDF/B-VII 238-group cross section library supports the use of a depletion bias of only 0.0015 in delta k if cooling is ignored and 0.0025 if cooling is credited. The uncertainty in the depletion bias is 0.0064. Reliance on the ENDF/B V cross section library produces much larger disagreement with the benchmarks. The analysis covers numerous combinations of depletion and criticality options. In all cases, the historical uncertainty of 5% of the delta k of depletion ('Kopp memo') was shown to be conservative for fuel with more than 30 GWD/MTU burnup. Since this historically assumed burnup uncertainty is not a function of burnup, the Kopp memo's recommended bias and uncertainty may be exceeded at low burnups, but its absolute magnitude is small. (authors)

  7. On the estimation of ice thickness from scattering observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, T. D.; Squire, V. A.

    2010-04-01

    This paper is inspired by the proposition that it may be possible to extract descriptive physical parameters - in particular the ice thickness, of a sea-ice field from ocean wave information. The motivation is that mathematical theory describing wave propagation in such media has reached a point where the inherent heterogeneity, expressed as pressure ridge keels and sails, leads, thickness variations and changes of material property and draught, can be fully assimilated exactly or through approximations whose limitations are understood. On the basis that leads have the major wave scattering effect for most sea-ice [Williams, T.D., Squire, V.A., 2004. Oblique scattering of plane flexural-gravity waves by heterogeneities in sea ice. Proc. R. Soc. Lon. Ser.-A 460 (2052), 3469-3497], a model two dimensional sea-ice sheet composed of a large number of such features, randomly dispersed, is constructed. The wide spacing approximation is used to predict how wave trains of different period will be affected, after first establishing that this produces results that are very close to the exact solution. Like Kohout and Meylan [Kohout, A.L., Meylan, M.H., 2008. An elastic plate model for wave attenuation and ice floe breaking in the marginal ice zone. J. Geophys. Res. 113, C09016, doi:10.1029/2007JC004434], we find that on average the magnitude of a wave transmitted by a field of leads decays exponentially with the number of leads. Then, by fitting a curve based on this assumption to the data, the thickness of the ice sheet is obtained. The attenuation coefficient can always be calculated numerically by ensemble averaging but in some cases more rapidly computed approximations work extremely well. Moreover, it is found that the underlying thickness can be determined to good accuracy by the method as long as Archimedean draught is correctly provided for, suggesting that waves can indeed be effective as a remote sensing agent to measure ice thickness in areas where pressure ridges

  8. Effect of greenhouse gas emissions on stratospheric ozone depletion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Velders GJM; LLO

    1997-01-01

    The depletion of the ozone layer is caused mainly by the increase in emissions of chlorine- and bromine-containing compounds like CFCs, halons, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform and methyl bromide. Emissions of greenhouse gases can affect the depletion of the ozone layer through atmospheric

  9. Choroidal thickness in Malaysian eyes with full-thickness macular holes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chew Y Tan

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To compare choroidal thickness at the macula in eyes with unilateral idiopathic full-thickness macular holes(FTMHwith that of unaffected fellow eyes, and eyes of normal control patients.METHODS: Cross-sectional study. Thirty patients with unilateral idiopathic FTMH and thirty age, sex, and race-matched controls were recruited. Axial lengths were measured using laser interferometry. Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography images were obtained using Heidelberg spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Choroidal thickness was measured at the fovea, and at 1 mm and 2 mm nasally, temporally, superiorly and inferiorly from the center of the fovea. Statistical analysis was performed using independent and paired t-tests, chi-square tests, and Pearson correlation tests(PRESULTS: The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness was 201.0±44.0 μm in the FTMH group, 225.3±51.4 μm in the fellow eye group and 262.3±70.3 μm in the control group. The choroid was thinner in FTMH eyes at all locations when compared to control eyes(PPP>0.05. Choroidal thickness was generally highest subfoveally and lowest nasally. Subfoveal choroidal thickness was negatively correlated with age(r=-0.278, P=0.032, and axial length(r=-0.328, P=0.011.CONCLUSION: Choroidal thickness is lower in both eyes of patients with unilateral FTMH compared to healthy control eyes.

  10. Comparative evaluation of seven commercial products for human serum enrichment/depletion by shotgun proteomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pisanu, Salvatore; Biosa, Grazia; Carcangiu, Laura; Uzzau, Sergio; Pagnozzi, Daniela

    2018-08-01

    Seven commercial products for human serum depletion/enrichment were tested and compared by shotgun proteomics. Methods were based on four different capturing agents: antibodies (Qproteome Albumin/IgG Depletion kit, ProteoPrep Immunoaffinity Albumin and IgG Depletion Kit, Top 2 Abundant Protein Depletion Spin Columns, and Top 12 Abundant Protein Depletion Spin Columns), specific ligands (Albumin/IgG Removal), mixture of antibodies and ligands (Albumin and IgG Depletion SpinTrap), and combinatorial peptide ligand libraries (ProteoMiner beads), respectively. All procedures, to a greater or lesser extent, allowed an increase of identified proteins. ProteoMiner beads provided the highest number of proteins; Albumin and IgG Depletion SpinTrap and ProteoPrep Immunoaffinity Albumin and IgG Depletion Kit resulted the most efficient in albumin removal; Top 2 and Top 12 Abundant Protein Depletion Spin Columns decreased the overall immunoglobulin levels more than other procedures, whereas specifically gamma immunoglobulins were mostly removed by Albumin and IgG Depletion SpinTrap, ProteoPrep Immunoaffinity Albumin and IgG Depletion Kit, and Top 2 Abundant Protein Depletion Spin Columns. Albumin/IgG Removal, a resin bound to a mixture of protein A and Cibacron Blue, behaved less efficiently than the other products. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Design and Characterization of a Fully Differential MEMS Accelerometer Fabricated Using MetalMUMPs Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongwei Qu

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a fully differential single-axis accelerometer fabricated using the MetalMUMPs process. The unique structural configuration and common-centriod wiring of the metal electrodes enables a fully differential sensing scheme with robust metal sensing structures. CoventorWare is used in structural and electrical design and simulation of the fully differential accelerometer. The MUMPs foundry fabrication process of the sensor allows for high yield, good process consistency and provides 20 μm structural thickness of the sensing element, which makes the capacitive sensing eligible. In device characterization, surface profile of the fabricated device is measured using a Veeco surface profilometer; and mean and gradient residual stress in the nickel structure are calculated as approximately 94.7 MPa and −5.27 MPa/μm, respectively. Dynamic characterization of the sensor is performed using a vibration shaker with a high-end commercial calibrating accelerometer as reference. The sensitivity of the sensor is measured as 0.52 mV/g prior to off-chip amplification. Temperature dependence of the sensing capacitance is also characterized. A −0.021fF/°C is observed. The findings in the presented work will provide useful information for design of sensors and actuators such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and electrothermal actuators that are to be fabricated using MetalMUMPs technology.

  12. Vitamin D depletion aggravates hypertension and target-organ damage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Louise Bjørkholt; Przybyl, Lukasz; Haase, Nadine

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: We tested the controversial hypothesis that vitamin D depletion aggravates hypertension and target-organ damage by influencing renin. METHODS AND RESULTS: Four-week-old double-transgenic rats (dTGR) with excess angiotensin (Ang) II production due to overexpression of the human renin (h......REN) and angiotensinogen (hAGT) genes received vitamin D-depleted (n=18) or standard chow (n=15) for 3 weeks. The depleted group had very low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels (mean±SEM; 3.8±0.29 versus 40.6±1.19 nmol/L) and had higher mean systolic BP at week 5 (158±3.5 versus 134.6±3.7 mm Hg, P....6±3.3 versus 162.3±3.8 mm Hg, PVitamin D depletion led to increased relative heart weights and increased serum creatinine concentrations. Furthermore, the mRNAs of natriuretic peptides, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, hREN, and r...

  13. Compared studies of natural and artificial deuterium depleted water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butnaru, Gallia; Mihacea, Sorina; Sirbovan, Alina; Butnariu, H.; Titescu, Gh.

    2001-01-01

    The biological influence of the deuterium on animals was studied insensitively in the last years. When animal cell cultures were analyzed it turned out an inhibition of the development, due to the reduced deuterium concentration. In the in vivo experiments a decreasing of the number of tumoral cells was pointed out when performing the depleted water treatment. It is obvious that the presence of deuterium in water is necessary for the development, especially for the tumoral cell proliferation. The aim of this work was to establish influence of the natural and artificial deuterium depleted water on the vegetal organisms development. For this purpose, the developmental stages of Lactuca sativa L. growth were followed. The experimental data were compared with the data obtained with distilled water. The birch, wine sap and some fruit juices are considered 'natural depleted' water sources because their deuterium content is smaller in comparison to natural water (D 2 =150 ppm). The effect of artificial deuterium depleted water (29 ppm D 2 ) was analyzed in comparison to three types of wine saps, which also have a reduced deuterium concentration (125-130 ppm D 2 ). If the deuterium depleted water was used, the germination percent and the root and shoot length were higher compared to control in the first stages. In wine sap it had a negative effect on germination and development. After three days the plants were transferred to soil and their development was followed. The foliage area was larger for all of the experimental variants compared to control. The differences were without significance when deuterium depleted water was tested but they were high and very significant in case of wine sap. The experiment pointed out a stimulative effect of the artificial deuterium depleted water. In case of wine sap the effect was negative when the contact was direct, but the growth was stimulated after the stress cessation. The first ontogenetic stages were represented by direct action

  14. Effects of depletion of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase on focus formation and RPA phosphorylation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Someya, Masanori; Sakata, Koh-ichi; Matsumoto, Yoshihisa; Tauchi, Hiroshi; Kai, Masahiro; Hareyama, Masato; Fukushima, Masakazu

    2012-01-01

    Gimeracil, an inhibitor of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD), partially inhibits homologous recombination (HR) repair and has a radiosensitizing effect as well as enhanced sensitivity to Camptothecin (CPT). DPYD is the target protein for radiosensitization by Gimeracil. We investigated the mechanisms of sensitization of radiation and CPT by DPYD inhibition using DLD-1 cells treated with siRNA for DPYD. We investigated the focus formation of various kinds of proteins involved in HR and examined the phosphorylation of RPA by irradiation using Western blot analysis. DPYD depletion by siRNA significantly restrained the formation of radiation-induced foci of Rad51 and RPA, whereas it increased the number of foci of NBS1. The numbers of colocalization of NBS1 and RPA foci in DPYD-depleted cells after radiation were significantly smaller than in the control cells. These results suggest that DPYD depletion is attributable to decreased single-stranded DNA generated by the Mre11/Rad50/NBS1 complex-dependent resection of DNA double-strand break ends. The phosphorylation of RPA by irradiation was partially suppressed in DPYD-depleted cells, suggesting that DPYD depletion may partially inhibit DNA repair with HR by suppressing phosphorylation of RPA. DPYD depletion showed a radiosensitizing effect as well as enhanced sensitivity to CPT. The radiosensitizing effect of DPYD depletion plus CPT was the additive effect of DPYD depletion and CPT. DPYD depletion did not have a cell-killing effect, suggesting that DPYD depletion may not be so toxic. Considering these results, the combination of CPT and drugs that inhibit DPYD may prove useful for radiotherapy as a method of radiosensitization.

  15. Depletion and capture: revisiting “The source of water derived from wells"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konikow, Leonard F.; Leake, Stanley A.

    2014-01-01

    A natural consequence of groundwater withdrawals is the removal of water from subsurface storage, but the overall rates and magnitude of groundwater depletion and capture relative to groundwater withdrawals (extraction or pumpage) have not previously been well characterized. This study assesses the partitioning of long-term cumulative withdrawal volumes into fractions derived from storage depletion and capture, where capture includes both increases in recharge and decreases in discharge. Numerical simulation of a hypothetical groundwater basin is used to further illustrate some of Theis' (1940) principles, particularly when capture is constrained by insufficient available water. Most prior studies of depletion and capture have assumed that capture is unconstrained through boundary conditions that yield linear responses. Examination of real systems indicates that capture and depletion fractions are highly variable in time and space. For a large sample of long-developed groundwater systems, the depletion fraction averages about 0.15 and the capture fraction averages about 0.85 based on cumulative volumes. Higher depletion fractions tend to occur in more arid regions, but the variation is high and the correlation coefficient between average annual precipitation and depletion fraction for individual systems is only 0.40. Because 85% of long-term pumpage is derived from capture in these real systems, capture must be recognized as a critical factor in assessing water budgets, groundwater storage depletion, and sustainability of groundwater development. Most capture translates into streamflow depletion, so it can detrimentally impact ecosystems.

  16. Development of a phantom to test fully automated breast density software – A work in progress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waade, G.G.; Hofvind, S.; Thompson, J.D.; Highnam, R.; Hogg, P.

    2017-01-01

    Objectives: Mammographic density (MD) is an independent risk factor for breast cancer and may have a future role for stratified screening. Automated software can estimate MD but the relationship between breast thickness reduction and MD is not fully understood. Our aim is to develop a deformable breast phantom to assess automated density software and the impact of breast thickness reduction on MD. Methods: Several different configurations of poly vinyl alcohol (PVAL) phantoms were created. Three methods were used to estimate their density. Raw image data of mammographic images were processed using Volpara to estimate volumetric breast density (VBD%); Hounsfield units (HU) were measured on CT images; and physical density (g/cm 3 ) was calculated using a formula involving mass and volume. Phantom volume versus contact area and phantom volume versus phantom thickness was compared to values of real breasts. Results: Volpara recognized all deformable phantoms as female breasts. However, reducing the phantom thickness caused a change in phantom density and the phantoms were not able to tolerate same level of compression and thickness reduction experienced by female breasts during mammography. Conclusion: Our results are promising as all phantoms resulted in valid data for automated breast density measurement. Further work should be conducted on PVAL and other materials to produce deformable phantoms that mimic female breast structure and density with the ability of being compressed to the same level as female breasts. Advances in knowledge: We are the first group to have produced deformable phantoms that are recognized as breasts by Volpara software. - Highlights: • Several phantoms of different configurations were created. • Three methods to assess phantom density were implemented. • All phantoms were identified as breasts by the Volpara software. • Reducing phantom thickness caused a change in phantom density.

  17. OZONE DEPLETING SUBSTANCES ELIMINATION MANAGEMENT: THE SUCCESS STORY OF MACEDONIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margarita Matlievska

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Man, with its activities, produces and uses substances that have negative impact on the environment and the human health, and can cause an economic damage. Consequently, they have a great impact on quality of life. Among the most harmful chemicals are Ozone Depleting Substances that are subject of regulation with international conventions. This Paper supports the fact that each country has to undertake national efforts for ozone depleting substances reduction and elimination. In that respect, the general objective of the Paper is to present the Macedonian unique experience regarding its efforts to reduce or eliminate these substances. The following two aspects were subject to the research: national legislation which regulates the Ozone Depleting Substances import and export as well as the implementation of the projects that resulted with the elimination of Ozone Depleting Substances quantities in the period 1995 – 2010. The research outcomes confirm the starting research hypothesis i.e. that with adequately created and implemented national action, the amount of Ozone Depleting Substances consumption can dramatically fall.

  18. Relapse of nephrotic syndrome during post-rituximab peripheral blood B-lymphocyte depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Mai; Kamei, Koichi; Ogura, Masao; Ishikura, Kenji; Ito, Shuichi

    2018-02-01

    Rituximab is effective against complicated childhood steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (SDNS). Peripheral blood B-lymphocyte (B-cell) depletion is strongly correlated with persistent remission, relapse rarely occurring during B-cell depletion; however, we have encountered several such patients. We retrospectively analyzed the characteristics and clinical course of 82 patients with SDNS treated with rituximab from January 2007 to December 2012 in our institution. Six of 82 patients (7.3%) had relapses during B-cell depletion after receiving rituximab (relapsed group). The remaining 76 patients did not have relapses during B-cell depletion (non-relapsed group). The median time to initial relapse during B-cell depletion was 85 days after receiving rituximab, which is significantly shorter than in the non-relapsed group (410 days, p = 0.0003). The median annual numbers of relapses after receiving rituximab were 2.5 and 0.9 in the relapsed and non-relapsed groups, respectively (p depletion did not differ between the two groups. Relapse during B-cell depletion after receiving rituximab suggests that various pathophysiological mechanisms play a part in childhood nephrotic syndrome.

  19. Electrophoretic analysis of cyanide depletion by Pseudomonas alcaligenes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaugg, S E; Davidson, R A; Walker, J C; Walker, E B

    1997-02-01

    Bacterial-facilitated depletion of cyanide is under development for remediation of heap leach operations in the gold mining industry. Capillary electrophoresis was found to be a powerful tool for quantifying cyanide depletion. Changes in cyanide concentration in aqueous suspensions of Pseudomonas alcaligenes bacteria and cyanide at elevated pH were easily monitored by capillary electrophoresis. The resulting data can be used to study rates of cyanide depletion by this strain of bacteria. Concentrations of these bacteria at 10(5) cells/mL were found to reduce cyanide from 100 ppm to less than 8 ppm in four days. In addition, other ions of interest in cyanide metabolism, such as formate, can be simultaneously analyzed. Direct UV detection of cyanide at 192 nm further simplifies the analytical method for these ions.

  20. Global depletion of groundwater resources

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wada, Y.; Beek, L.P.H. van; van Kempen, C.M.; Reckman, J.W.T.M.; Vasak, S.; Bierkens, M.F.P.

    2010-01-01

    In regions with frequent water stress and large aquifer systems groundwater is often used as an additional water source. If groundwater abstraction exceeds the natural groundwater recharge for extensive areas and long times, overexploitation or persistent groundwater depletion occurs. Here we

  1. Impact of mineral resource depletion

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Brent, AC

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available In a letter to the editor, the authors comment on BA Steen's article on "Abiotic Resource Depletion: different perceptions of the problem with mineral deposits" published in the special issue of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment...

  2. Electrochemical corrosion behavior of MSIP Ni coating on depleted uranium surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Lin; Li Kexue; Wang Qingfu; Wang Xiaohong; Guan Weijun

    2014-01-01

    The Ni film was prepared by magnetron sputtering ion plating to improve the corrosion resistance of depleted uranium. The corrosion resistance of the Ni film was examined by electrochemical corrosion station. The results show that the Ni film corrosion potential is -100.8 mV, whereas it is -641.2 mV for depleted uranium in 50 μg/g KCl solution. The Ni film is a barrier to protect the depleted uranium substrate avoiding the corrosive media attack. The Ni film polarization resistance and impedance are much higher, while the corrosion current density is much lower contrast with depleted uranium. None crack or flake is found through 70 h corrosion. The corrosion resistance and corrosion current keep stable. It is indicated that the corrosion resistance of depleted uranium is effectively improved after deposited Ni film by magnetron sputtering ion plating. (authors)

  3. The first back-side illuminated types of Kyoto's X-ray astronomy SOIPIX

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Itou, Makoto, E-mail: itou@cr.scphys.kyoto-u.ac [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Tsuru, Takeshi Go; Tanaka, Takaaki; Takeda, Ayaki; Matsumura, Hideaki; Ohmura, Shunichi; Uchida, Hiroyuki [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Nakashima, Shinya [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS)/JAXA, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Arai, Yasuo; Kurachi, Ikuo [Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies, High Energy Accelerator Research Org., KEK, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba 305-0801 (Japan); Mori, Koji; Takenaka, Ryota; Nishioka, Yusuke [Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering, University of Miyazaki,1-1 Gakuen Kibana-dai Nishi, Miyazaki 889-2192 (Japan); Kohmura, Takayoshi; Tamasawa, Koki [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510 (Japan); Tindall, Craig [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

    2016-09-21

    We have been developing Kyoto's X-ray astronomy SOI pixel sensors, called “XRPIX”, aiming to extend the frontiers of X-ray astronomy with the wide-band imaging spectroscopy in the 0.5–40 keV band. A dead layer on the X-ray incident surface should ideally be as thin as possible to achieve a high sensitivity below 1 keV, and the depletion layer is required to be thick enough to detect 40 keV X-rays. Thus, we have started developing fully-depleted back-side illuminated (BI) types of XRPIXs. This paper reports on our first two BI devices and their X-ray evaluation (2.6–12 keV). The device named “XRPIX2b-FZ-LA” successfully reaches a full depletion with a thickness of 500 μm. On the other hand, it has a dead layer with a thickness of 1.1–1.5 μm and struggles to achieve the requirement of 1.0 μm. The other device named “XRPIX2b-CZ-PZ”, which is applied with a thin Si sensor-layer and an improved back-side process, is found to satisfy the requirement with its thickness of 0.9–1.0 μm, including Al optical blocking filter of 0.2 μm, although the Si sensor-layer is rather thin with 62 μm. We also describe in this paper the X-ray calibration system that we have built for the X-ray evaluation of XRPIXs.

  4. Depletion policies for oil-exporting developing economies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stournaras, Y A

    1984-01-01

    The fact that most oil-exporting countries are developing economies has important implications for oil supply which have not been properly taken into account in the literature on exhaustible resource depletion. The way in which depletion policies are affected by trade uncertainty, given the high degree of the major oil exporters' 'dependence' on crude oil revenues, by investment time lags which delay the exploitation of (some of) these countries' comparative advantage in a petroleum based development, and by ideological objections to the ideal of a rentier society and to foreign capital are examined.

  5. The Chemistry and Toxicology of Depleted Uranium

    OpenAIRE

    Sidney A. Katz

    2014-01-01

    Natural uranium is comprised of three radioactive isotopes: 238U, 235U, and 234U. Depleted uranium (DU) is a byproduct of the processes for the enrichment of the naturally occurring 235U isotope. The world wide stock pile contains some 1½ million tons of depleted uranium. Some of it has been used to dilute weapons grade uranium (~90% 235U) down to reactor grade uranium (~5% 235U), and some of it has been used for heavy tank armor and for the fabrication of armor-piercing bullets and missiles....

  6. Depletion interaction of casein micelles and an exocellular polysaccharide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuinier, R.; Ten Grotenhuis, E.; Holt, C.; Timmins, P. A.; de Kruif, C. G.

    1999-07-01

    Casein micelles become mutually attractive when an exocellular polysaccharide produced by Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris NIZO B40 (hereafter called EPS) is added to skim milk. The attraction can be explained as a depletion interaction between the casein micelles induced by the nonadsorbing EPS. We used three scattering techniques (small-angle neutron scattering, turbidity measurements, and dynamic light scattering) to measure the attraction. In order to connect the theory of depletion interaction with experiment, we calculated structure factors of hard spheres interacting by a depletion pair potential. Theoretical predictions and all the experiments showed that casein micelles became more attractive upon increasing the EPS concentration.

  7. Characterisation of a novel reverse-biased PPD CMOS image sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stefanov, K. D.; Clarke, A. S.; Ivory, J.; Holland, A. D.

    2017-11-01

    A new pinned photodiode (PPD) CMOS image sensor (CIS) has been developed and characterised. The sensor can be fully depleted by means of reverse bias applied to the substrate, and the principle of operation is applicable to very thick sensitive volumes. Additional n-type implants under the pixel p-wells, called Deep Depletion Extension (DDE), have been added in order to eliminate the large parasitic substrate current that would otherwise be present in a normal device. The first prototype has been manufactured on a 18 μm thick, 1000 Ω .cm epitaxial silicon wafers using 180 nm PPD image sensor process at TowerJazz Semiconductor. The chip contains arrays of 10 μm and 5.4 μm pixels, with variations of the shape, size and the depth of the DDE implant. Back-side illuminated (BSI) devices were manufactured in collaboration with Teledyne e2v, and characterised together with the front-side illuminated (FSI) variants. The presented results show that the devices could be reverse-biased without parasitic leakage currents, in good agreement with simulations. The new 10 μm pixels in both BSI and FSI variants exhibit nearly identical photo response to the reference non-modified pixels, as characterised with the photon transfer curve. Different techniques were used to measure the depletion depth in FSI and BSI chips, and the results are consistent with the expected full depletion.

  8. Hyperspectral stimulated emission depletion microscopy and methods of use thereof

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timlin, Jerilyn A; Aaron, Jesse S

    2014-04-01

    A hyperspectral stimulated emission depletion ("STED") microscope system for high-resolution imaging of samples labeled with multiple fluorophores (e.g., two to ten fluorophores). The hyperspectral STED microscope includes a light source, optical systems configured for generating an excitation light beam and a depletion light beam, optical systems configured for focusing the excitation and depletion light beams on a sample, and systems for collecting and processing data generated by interaction of the excitation and depletion light beams with the sample. Hyperspectral STED data may be analyzed using multivariate curve resolution analysis techniques to deconvolute emission from the multiple fluorophores. The hyperspectral STED microscope described herein can be used for multi-color, subdiffraction imaging of samples (e.g., materials and biological materials) and for analyzing a tissue by Forster Resonance Energy Transfer ("FRET").

  9. Mechanism-based biomarker gene sets for glutathione depletion-related hepatotoxicity in rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Weihua; Mizukawa, Yumiko; Nakatsu, Noriyuki; Minowa, Yosuke; Yamada, Hiroshi; Ohno, Yasuo; Urushidani, Tetsuro

    2010-01-01

    Chemical-induced glutathione depletion is thought to be caused by two types of toxicological mechanisms: PHO-type glutathione depletion [glutathione conjugated with chemicals such as phorone (PHO) or diethyl maleate (DEM)], and BSO-type glutathione depletion [i.e., glutathione synthesis inhibited by chemicals such as L-buthionine-sulfoximine (BSO)]. In order to identify mechanism-based biomarker gene sets for glutathione depletion in rat liver, male SD rats were treated with various chemicals including PHO (40, 120 and 400 mg/kg), DEM (80, 240 and 800 mg/kg), BSO (150, 450 and 1500 mg/kg), and bromobenzene (BBZ, 10, 100 and 300 mg/kg). Liver samples were taken 3, 6, 9 and 24 h after administration and examined for hepatic glutathione content, physiological and pathological changes, and gene expression changes using Affymetrix GeneChip Arrays. To identify differentially expressed probe sets in response to glutathione depletion, we focused on the following two courses of events for the two types of mechanisms of glutathione depletion: a) gene expression changes occurring simultaneously in response to glutathione depletion, and b) gene expression changes after glutathione was depleted. The gene expression profiles of the identified probe sets for the two types of glutathione depletion differed markedly at times during and after glutathione depletion, whereas Srxn1 was markedly increased for both types as glutathione was depleted, suggesting that Srxn1 is a key molecule in oxidative stress related to glutathione. The extracted probe sets were refined and verified using various compounds including 13 additional positive or negative compounds, and they established two useful marker sets. One contained three probe sets (Akr7a3, Trib3 and Gstp1) that could detect conjugation-type glutathione depletors any time within 24 h after dosing, and the other contained 14 probe sets that could detect glutathione depletors by any mechanism. These two sets, with appropriate scoring

  10. Cask size and weight reduction through the use of depleted uranium dioxide-concrete material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lobach, S.Yu.; Haire, J.M.

    2007-01-01

    Newly developed depleted uranium (DU) composite materials enable fabrication of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) transport and storage casks that are smaller and lighter in weight than casks made with conventional materials. One such material is DU dioxide (DUO2)-concrete, so-called DUCRETE TM . This paper examines the radiation shielding efficiency of DUCRETE as compared with that of a conventional concrete cask that holds 32 pressurized-water-reactor SNF assemblies. In this analysis, conventional concrete shielding material is replaced with DUCRETE. The thickness of the DUCRETE shielding is adjusted to give the same radiation surface dose, 200 mrem/h (2 mSv/hr), as the conventional concrete cask. It was found that the concrete shielding thickness decreased from 71 to 20 cm and that the cask radial cross-section shielding area was reduced approx 50 %. The weight was reduced approx 21 %, from 154 to approx 127 tons. Should one choose to add an extra outer ring of SNF assemblies, the number of such assemblies would increase from 32 to 52. In this case, the outside cask diameter would still decrease, from 169 to 137 cm. However, the weight would increase somewhat from 156 to 177 tons. Neutron cask surface dose is only approx 10 % of the gamma dose. These reduced sizes and weights will significantly influence the design of next-generation SNF casks

  11. 76 FR 36176 - Fully Developed Claim (Fully Developed Claims-Applications for Compensation, Pension, DIC, Death...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900-0747] Fully Developed Claim (Fully Developed Claims--Applications for Compensation, Pension, DIC, Death Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits); Correction AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Notice; correction...

  12. Effect of intratracheally instilled depleted uranium on immunological function of rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    You Hanhu; Yang Zhihua; Cao Zhenshan; Zhu Maoxiang; Liu Xingrong

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To study immunological effects of depleted uranium in rats. Methods: Wistar rats were exposed to depleted uranium by single intratracheal instillation. Body weight and peripheral blood cells were measured weekly and immunological functions were evaluated by weight coefficient of immune organs, plague forming cells of splenocytes, total and subpopulation counts of lymphocytes in thymus. Results: Early after administration, body weight decreased and red blood cells as well as platelets reduced while white blood cells increased, which returned to normal within 1 or 2 months. Immunological functions of splenocytes and thymocytes were affected dose-dependently by depleted uranium. Conclusion: Depleted uranium induces immunological dysfunction in rats. (authors)

  13. Depletion length and space charge layer capacitance in doped semiconductor nanoshpere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nersesyan, S R; Petrosyan, S G

    2012-01-01

    The depletion length in a semiconductor nanosphere depends not only on the material parameters but on the nanosphere radius as well. For this reason, the depletion length does not present a universal characteristic length for all spherical interfaces. The difference from the standard flat model caused by the surface curvature is significant for a structure with the depletion length comparable to the radius of a nanosphere. We show that the depletion layer capacitance in a nanosphere becomes quite sensitive to the light intensity when, as a result of increasing optical generation rate, the surface potential barrier height is decreased and becomes very small. (paper)

  14. Fully filamentized HTS coated conductor via striation and selective electroplating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kesgin, Ibrahim; Majkic, Goran [Department of Mechanical Engineering and Texas Center for Superconductivity, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204 (United States); Selvamanickam, Venkat, E-mail: selva@uh.edu [Department of Mechanical Engineering and Texas Center for Superconductivity, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204 (United States)

    2013-03-15

    Highlights: ► Fully-filamentized coated conductor with 13-fold reduction in ac losses. ► Selective electroplating for filamentization of thick copper stabilizer. ► A twofold decrease in ac loss by filamentization of copper stabilizer. ► Absence of appreciable coupling loss contribution from electroplating. -- Abstract: A simple, cost-effective method involving top-down mechanical scribing, oxidation and bottom-up electroplating has been successfully developed to fabricate fully filamentized HTS coated conductors. The copper stabilizer layer is selectively electroplated on the superconducting filaments while the striations remain copper-free due to the formation of a resistive oxide layer in between filaments by oxidation of the striated grooves at elevated temperature in oxygen atmosphere. Magnetization AC loss measurements, performed in a frequency range of 45–500 Hz at 77 K, confirmed the expected N-fold reduction in AC loss of the filamentized tapes with no significant degradation in critical current beyond that due to the material removal from the striations (N – number of filaments). A considerable reduction in coupling AC loss was observed after high temperature annealing/oxidation of the striated tapes. Furthermore, a significant reduction in eddy current loss was achieved with selective copper electroplating, as evidenced by analyzing the field and frequency dependence of magnetization AC loss, as well as by comparing the AC loss performance of striated samples to that of non-striated samples after electroplating of copper stabilizer.

  15. Fully filamentized HTS coated conductor via striation and selective electroplating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kesgin, Ibrahim; Majkic, Goran; Selvamanickam, Venkat

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Fully-filamentized coated conductor with 13-fold reduction in ac losses. ► Selective electroplating for filamentization of thick copper stabilizer. ► A twofold decrease in ac loss by filamentization of copper stabilizer. ► Absence of appreciable coupling loss contribution from electroplating. -- Abstract: A simple, cost-effective method involving top-down mechanical scribing, oxidation and bottom-up electroplating has been successfully developed to fabricate fully filamentized HTS coated conductors. The copper stabilizer layer is selectively electroplated on the superconducting filaments while the striations remain copper-free due to the formation of a resistive oxide layer in between filaments by oxidation of the striated grooves at elevated temperature in oxygen atmosphere. Magnetization AC loss measurements, performed in a frequency range of 45–500 Hz at 77 K, confirmed the expected N-fold reduction in AC loss of the filamentized tapes with no significant degradation in critical current beyond that due to the material removal from the striations (N – number of filaments). A considerable reduction in coupling AC loss was observed after high temperature annealing/oxidation of the striated tapes. Furthermore, a significant reduction in eddy current loss was achieved with selective copper electroplating, as evidenced by analyzing the field and frequency dependence of magnetization AC loss, as well as by comparing the AC loss performance of striated samples to that of non-striated samples after electroplating of copper stabilizer

  16. Comparison of Depletion Strategies for the Enrichment of Low-Abundance Proteins in Urine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filip, Szymon; Vougas, Konstantinos; Zoidakis, Jerome; Latosinska, Agnieszka; Mullen, William; Spasovski, Goce; Mischak, Harald; Vlahou, Antonia; Jankowski, Joachim

    2015-01-01

    Proteome analysis of complex biological samples for biomarker identification remains challenging, among others due to the extended range of protein concentrations. High-abundance proteins like albumin or IgG of plasma and urine, may interfere with the detection of potential disease biomarkers. Currently, several options are available for the depletion of abundant proteins in plasma. However, the applicability of these methods in urine has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we compared different, commercially available immunodepletion and ion-exchange based approaches on urine samples from both healthy subjects and CKD patients, for their reproducibility and efficiency in protein depletion. A starting urine volume of 500 μL was used to simulate conditions of a multi-institutional biomarker discovery study. All depletion approaches showed satisfactory reproducibility (n=5) in protein identification as well as protein abundance. Comparison of the depletion efficiency between the unfractionated and fractionated samples and the different depletion strategies, showed efficient depletion in all cases, with the exception of the ion-exchange kit. The depletion efficiency was found slightly higher in normal than in CKD samples and normal samples yielded more protein identifications than CKD samples when using both initial as well as corresponding depleted fractions. Along these lines, decrease in the amount of albumin and other targets as applicable, following depletion, was observed. Nevertheless, these depletion strategies did not yield a higher number of identifications in neither the urine from normal nor CKD patients. Collectively, when analyzing urine in the context of CKD biomarker identification, no added value of depletion strategies can be observed and analysis of unfractionated starting urine appears to be preferable.

  17. Treg depletion inhibits efficacy of cancer immunotherapy: implications for clinical trials.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James F Curtin

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Regulatory T lymphocytes (Treg infiltrate human glioblastoma (GBM; are involved in tumor progression and correlate with tumor grade. Transient elimination of Tregs using CD25 depleting antibodies (PC61 has been found to mediate GBM regression in preclinical models of brain tumors. Clinical trials that combine Treg depletion with tumor vaccination are underway to determine whether transient Treg depletion can enhance anti-tumor immune responses and improve long term survival in cancer patients.Using a syngeneic intracrabial glioblastoma (GBM mouse model we show that systemic depletion of Tregs 15 days after tumor implantation using PC61 resulted in a decrease in Tregs present in tumors, draining lymph nodes and spleen and improved long-term survival (50% of mice survived >150 days. No improvement in survival was observed when Tregs were depleted 24 days after tumor implantation, suggesting that tumor burden is an important factor for determining efficacy of Treg depletion in clinical trials. In a T cell dependent model of brain tumor regression elicited by intratumoral delivery of adenoviral vectors (Ad expressing Fms-like Tyrosine Kinase 3 ligand (Flt3L and Herpes Simplex Type 1-Thymidine Kinase (TK with ganciclovir (GCV, we demonstrate that administration of PC61 24 days after tumor implantation (7 days after treatment inhibited T cell dependent tumor regression and long term survival. Further, depletion with PC61 completely inhibited clonal expansion of tumor antigen-specific T lymphocytes in response to the treatment.Our data demonstrate for the first time, that although Treg depletion inhibits the progression/eliminates GBM tumors, its efficacy is dependent on tumor burden. We conclude that this approach will be useful in a setting of minimal residual disease. Further, we also demonstrate that Treg depletion, using PC61 in combination with immunotherapy, inhibits clonal expansion of tumor antigen-specific T cells, suggesting that new, more

  18. Depletion field focusing in semiconductors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Prins, M.W.J.; Gelder, Van A.P.

    1996-01-01

    We calculate the three-dimensional depletion field profile in a semiconductor, for a planar semiconductor material with a spatially varying potential upon the surface, and for a tip-shaped semiconductor with a constant surface potential. The nonuniform electric field gives rise to focusing or

  19. Pump depletion effects in thermal degenerate four-wave mixing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guha, S.; Chen, W.

    1987-01-01

    Characteristics such as a large magnitude of nonlinearity, fast response, broadband operation, and easy availability make absorbing liquids attractive candidates for performing phase conjugation of optical beams by degenerate four-wave mixing. The coupled-wave equations describing the interaction of four optical fields in an absorbing medium have been solved previously for the case of no pump depletion and no self-action of any of the beams. When studying phase conjugation oscillation, however, the effect of depletion of the pump beams on the phase conjugate reflectivity must be considered. Moreover, in absorbing media the self-action effects are always present. The coupled-wave equations, including the self-action terms for all four waves involved, are derived here for the first time to the authors' knowledge. For the case of small absorption, these equations are solved analytically, and the effect of pump depletion on phase conjugate reflectivity R is determined. In the absence of the pump depletion, R is proportional to tan 2 (Ql), where Ql is a dimensionless gain parameter characterizing the nonlinear medium and the input pump power. When pump depletion and self-action are included, R does not go to infinity when Ql equals odd multiples of π2. Instead R takes on values dependent on the probe ratio q 1 , which is the ratio of the input probe irradiance to the input pump irradiance. The authors find that the maximum value for R is 1q 1 . They also find that for Ql close to odd multiples of π2, the reflectivity is significantly reduced from the value obtained by ignoring pump depletion, even for probe ratios as small as one-tenth of 1%. Experimental confirmation of this theory, using an argon-ion laser as the pump and carbon tetrachloride mixed with a dye as the absorbing medium, is in progress and is reported

  20. Depletion optimization of lumped burnable poisons in pressurized water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kodah, Z.H.

    1982-01-01

    Techniques were developed to construct a set of basic poison depletion curves which deplete in a monotonical manner. These curves were combined to match a required optimized depletion profile by utilizing either linear or non-linear programming methods. Three computer codes, LEOPARD, XSDRN, and EXTERMINATOR-2 were used in the analyses. A depletion routine was developed and incorporated into the XSDRN code to allow the depletion of fuel, fission products, and burnable poisons. The Three Mile Island Unit-1 reactor core was used in this work as a typical PWR core. Two fundamental burnable poison rod designs were studied. They are a solid cylindrical poison rod and an annular cylindrical poison rod with water filling the central region.These two designs have either a uniform mixture of burnable poisons or lumped spheroids of burnable poisons in the poison region. Boron and gadolinium are the two burnable poisons which were investigated in this project. Thermal self-shielding factor calculations for solid and annular poison rods were conducted. Also expressions for overall thermal self-shielding factors for one or more than one size group of poison spheroids inside solid and annular poison rods were derived and studied. Poison spheroids deplete at a slower rate than the poison mixture because each spheroid exhibits some self-shielding effects of its own. The larger the spheroid, the higher the self-shielding effects due to the increase in poison concentration

  1. Optical properties and light irradiance of monolithic zirconia at variable thicknesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sulaiman, Taiseer A; Abdulmajeed, Aous A; Donovan, Terrence E; Ritter, André V; Vallittu, Pekka K; Närhi, Timo O; Lassila, Lippo V

    2015-10-01

    The aims of this study were to: (1) estimate the effect of polishing on the surface gloss of monolithic zirconia, (2) measure and compare the translucency of monolithic zirconia at variable thicknesses, and (3) determine the effect of zirconia thickness on irradiance and total irradiant energy. Four monolithic partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ) brands; Prettau® (PRT, Zirkonzahn), Bruxzir® (BRX, Glidewell), Zenostar® (ZEN, Wieland), Katana® (KAT, Noritake), and one fully stabilized zirconia (FSZ); Prettau Anterior® (PRTA, Zirkonzahn) were used to fabricate specimens (n=5/subgroup) with different thicknesses (0.5, 0.7, 1.0, 1.2, 1.5, and 2.0mm). Zirconia core material ICE® Zircon (ICE, Zirkonzahn) was used as a control. Surface gloss and translucency were evaluated using a reflection spectrophotometer. Irradiance and total irradiant energy transmitted through each specimen was quantified using MARC® Resin Calibrator. All specimens were then subjected to a standardized polishing method and the surface gloss, translucency, irradiance, and total irradiant energy measurements were repeated. Statistical analysis was performed using two-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey's tests (pgloss was significantly affected by polishing (p<0.05), regardless of brand and thickness. Translucency values ranged from 5.65 to 20.40 before polishing and 5.10 to 19.95 after polishing. The ranking from least to highest translucent (after polish) was: BRX=ICE=PRTthickness of zirconia and the amount was brand dependent (p<0.05). Brand selection, thickness, and polishing of monolithic zirconia can affect the ultimate clinical outcome of the optical properties of zirconia restorations. FSZ is relatively more polishable and translucent than PSZ. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Dental Materials

  2. Local condensate depletion at trap center under strong interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yukalov, V. I.; Yukalova, E. P.

    2018-04-01

    Cold trapped Bose-condensed atoms, interacting via hard-sphere repulsive potentials are considered. Simple mean-field approximations show that the condensate distribution inside a harmonic trap always has the shape of a hump with the maximum condensate density occurring at the trap center. However, Monte Carlo simulations at high density and strong interactions display the condensate depletion at the trap center. The explanation of this effect of local condensate depletion at trap center is suggested in the frame of self-consistent theory of Bose-condensed systems. The depletion is shown to be due to the existence of the anomalous average that takes into account pair correlations and appears in systems with broken gauge symmetry.

  3. Depleting high-abundant and enriching low-abundant proteins in human serum: An evaluation of sample preparation methods using magnetic nanoparticle, chemical depletion and immunoaffinity techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Jesus, Jemmyson Romário; da Silva Fernandes, Rafael; de Souza Pessôa, Gustavo; Raimundo, Ivo Milton; Arruda, Marco Aurélio Zezzi

    2017-08-01

    The efficiency of three different depletion methods to remove the most abundant proteins, enriching those human serum proteins with low abundance is checked to make more efficient the search and discovery of biomarkers. These methods utilize magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), chemical reagents (sequential application of dithiothreitol and acetonitrile, DTT/ACN), and commercial apparatus based on immunoaffinity (ProteoMiner, PM). The comparison between methods shows significant removal of abundant protein, remaining in the supernatant at concentrations of 4.6±0.2, 3.6±0.1, and 3.3±0.2µgµL -1 (n=3) for MNPs, DTT/ACN and PM respectively, from a total protein content of 54µgµL -1 . Using GeLC-MS/MS analysis, MNPs depletion shows good efficiency in removing high molecular weight proteins (>80kDa). Due to the synergic effect between the reagents DTT and ACN, DTT/ACN-based depletion offers good performance in the depletion of thiol-rich proteins, such as albumin and transferrin (DTT action), as well as of high molecular weight proteins (ACN action). Furthermore, PM equalization confirms its efficiency in concentrating low-abundant proteins, decreasing the dynamic range of protein levels in human serum. Direct comparison between the treatments reveals 72 proteins identified when using MNP depletion (43 of them exclusively by this method), but only 20 proteins using DTT/ACN (seven exclusively by this method). Additionally, after PM treatment 30 proteins were identified, seven exclusively by this method. Thus, MNPs and DTT/ACN depletion can be simple, quick, cheap, and robust alternatives for immunochemistry-based protein depletion, providing a potential strategy in the search for disease biomarkers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Accelerated cellular senescence phenotype of GAPDH-depleted human lung carcinoma cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Phadke, Manali; Krynetskaia, Natalia [Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA 19140 (United States); Mishra, Anurag [Jayne Haines Center for Pharmacogenomics, Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA 19140 (United States); Krynetskiy, Evgeny, E-mail: ekrynets@temple.edu [Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA 19140 (United States); Jayne Haines Center for Pharmacogenomics, Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA 19140 (United States)

    2011-07-29

    Highlights: {yields} We examined the effect of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (GAPDH) depletion on proliferation of human carcinoma A549 cells. {yields} GAPDH depletion induces accelerated senescence in tumor cells via AMPK network, in the absence of DNA damage. {yields} Metabolic and genetic rescue experiments indicate that GAPDH has regulatory functions linking energy metabolism and cell cycle. {yields} Induction of senescence in LKB1-deficient lung cancer cells via GAPDH depletion suggests a novel strategy to control tumor cell proliferation. -- Abstract: Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is a pivotal glycolytic enzyme, and a signaling molecule which acts at the interface between stress factors and the cellular apoptotic machinery. Earlier, we found that knockdown of GAPDH in human carcinoma cell lines resulted in cell proliferation arrest and chemoresistance to S phase-specific cytotoxic agents. To elucidate the mechanism by which GAPDH depletion arrests cell proliferation, we examined the effect of GAPDH knockdown on human carcinoma cells A549. Our results show that GAPDH-depleted cells establish senescence phenotype, as revealed by proliferation arrest, changes in morphology, SA-{beta}-galactosidase staining, and more than 2-fold up-regulation of senescence-associated genes DEC1 and GLB1. Accelerated senescence following GAPDH depletion results from compromised glycolysis and energy crisis leading to the sustained AMPK activation via phosphorylation of {alpha} subunit at Thr172. Our findings demonstrate that GAPDH depletion switches human tumor cells to senescent phenotype via AMPK network, in the absence of DNA damage. Rescue experiments using metabolic and genetic models confirmed that GAPDH has important regulatory functions linking the energy metabolism and the cell cycle networks. Induction of senescence in LKB1-deficient non-small cell lung cancer cells via GAPDH depletion suggests a novel strategy to control tumor cell proliferation.

  5. MCOR - Monte Carlo depletion code for reference LWR calculations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Puente Espel, Federico, E-mail: fup104@psu.edu [Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University (United States); Tippayakul, Chanatip, E-mail: cut110@psu.edu [Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University (United States); Ivanov, Kostadin, E-mail: kni1@psu.edu [Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University (United States); Misu, Stefan, E-mail: Stefan.Misu@areva.com [AREVA, AREVA NP GmbH, Erlangen (Germany)

    2011-04-15

    Research highlights: > Introduction of a reference Monte Carlo based depletion code with extended capabilities. > Verification and validation results for MCOR. > Utilization of MCOR for benchmarking deterministic lattice physics (spectral) codes. - Abstract: The MCOR (MCnp-kORigen) code system is a Monte Carlo based depletion system for reference fuel assembly and core calculations. The MCOR code is designed as an interfacing code that provides depletion capability to the LANL Monte Carlo code by coupling two codes: MCNP5 with the AREVA NP depletion code, KORIGEN. The physical quality of both codes is unchanged. The MCOR code system has been maintained and continuously enhanced since it was initially developed and validated. The verification of the coupling was made by evaluating the MCOR code against similar sophisticated code systems like MONTEBURNS, OCTOPUS and TRIPOLI-PEPIN. After its validation, the MCOR code has been further improved with important features. The MCOR code presents several valuable capabilities such as: (a) a predictor-corrector depletion algorithm, (b) utilization of KORIGEN as the depletion module, (c) individual depletion calculation of each burnup zone (no burnup zone grouping is required, which is particularly important for the modeling of gadolinium rings), and (d) on-line burnup cross-section generation by the Monte Carlo calculation for 88 isotopes and usage of the KORIGEN libraries for PWR and BWR typical spectra for the remaining isotopes. Besides the just mentioned capabilities, the MCOR code newest enhancements focus on the possibility of executing the MCNP5 calculation in sequential or parallel mode, a user-friendly automatic re-start capability, a modification of the burnup step size evaluation, and a post-processor and test-matrix, just to name the most important. The article describes the capabilities of the MCOR code system; from its design and development to its latest improvements and further ameliorations. Additionally

  6. MCOR - Monte Carlo depletion code for reference LWR calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puente Espel, Federico; Tippayakul, Chanatip; Ivanov, Kostadin; Misu, Stefan

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → Introduction of a reference Monte Carlo based depletion code with extended capabilities. → Verification and validation results for MCOR. → Utilization of MCOR for benchmarking deterministic lattice physics (spectral) codes. - Abstract: The MCOR (MCnp-kORigen) code system is a Monte Carlo based depletion system for reference fuel assembly and core calculations. The MCOR code is designed as an interfacing code that provides depletion capability to the LANL Monte Carlo code by coupling two codes: MCNP5 with the AREVA NP depletion code, KORIGEN. The physical quality of both codes is unchanged. The MCOR code system has been maintained and continuously enhanced since it was initially developed and validated. The verification of the coupling was made by evaluating the MCOR code against similar sophisticated code systems like MONTEBURNS, OCTOPUS and TRIPOLI-PEPIN. After its validation, the MCOR code has been further improved with important features. The MCOR code presents several valuable capabilities such as: (a) a predictor-corrector depletion algorithm, (b) utilization of KORIGEN as the depletion module, (c) individual depletion calculation of each burnup zone (no burnup zone grouping is required, which is particularly important for the modeling of gadolinium rings), and (d) on-line burnup cross-section generation by the Monte Carlo calculation for 88 isotopes and usage of the KORIGEN libraries for PWR and BWR typical spectra for the remaining isotopes. Besides the just mentioned capabilities, the MCOR code newest enhancements focus on the possibility of executing the MCNP5 calculation in sequential or parallel mode, a user-friendly automatic re-start capability, a modification of the burnup step size evaluation, and a post-processor and test-matrix, just to name the most important. The article describes the capabilities of the MCOR code system; from its design and development to its latest improvements and further ameliorations

  7. Depletion interactions in lyotropic nematics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schoot, van der P.P.A.M.

    2000-01-01

    A theoretical study of depletion interactions between pairs of small, globular colloids dispersed in a lyotropic nematic of hard, rodlike particles is presented. We find that both the strength and range of the interaction crucially depends on the configuration of the spheres relative to the nematic

  8. Capital expenditure and depletion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rech, O.; Saniere, A.

    2003-01-01

    In the future, the increase in oil demand will be covered for the most part by non conventional oils, but conventional sources will continue to represent a preponderant share of the world oil supply. Their depletion represents a complex challenge involving technological, economic and political factors. At the same time, there is reason for concern about the decrease in exploration budgets at the major oil companies. (author)

  9. Capital expenditure and depletion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rech, O.; Saniere, A

    2003-07-01

    In the future, the increase in oil demand will be covered for the most part by non conventional oils, but conventional sources will continue to represent a preponderant share of the world oil supply. Their depletion represents a complex challenge involving technological, economic and political factors. At the same time, there is reason for concern about the decrease in exploration budgets at the major oil companies. (author)

  10. 26 CFR 1.612-3 - Depletion; treatment of bonus and advanced royalty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Depletion; treatment of bonus and advanced... (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) Natural Resources § 1.612-3 Depletion; treatment... the payee as a cost depletion deduction in respect of the bonus an amount equal to that proportion of...

  11. Estimating a relationship between aerosol optical thickness and surface wind speed over the ocean

    OpenAIRE

    Glantz , P.; Nilsson , D. E.; Von Hoyningen-Huene , W.

    2006-01-01

    International audience; Retrieved aerosol optical thickness (AOT) based on data obtained by the Sea viewing Wide Field Sensor (SeaWiFS) is combined with surface wind speed, obtained at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWFs), over the North Pacific for September 2001. In this study a cloud screening approach is introduced in an attempt to exclude pixels partly or fully covered by clouds. The relatively broad swath width for which the nadir looking SeaWiFS instrument sc...

  12. Evaluation of three high abundance protein depletion kits for umbilical cord serum proteomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nie Jing

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background High abundance protein depletion is a major challenge in the study of serum/plasma proteomics. Prior to this study, most commercially available kits for depletion of highly abundant proteins had only been tested and evaluated in adult serum/plasma, while the depletion efficiency on umbilical cord serum/plasma had not been clarified. Structural differences between some adult and fetal proteins (such as albumin make it likely that depletion approaches for adult and umbilical cord serum/plasma will be variable. Therefore, the primary purposes of the present study are to investigate the efficiencies of several commonly-used commercial kits during high abundance protein depletion from umbilical cord serum and to determine which kit yields the most effective and reproducible results for further proteomics research on umbilical cord serum. Results The immunoaffinity based kits (PROTIA-Sigma and 5185-Agilent displayed higher depletion efficiency than the immobilized dye based kit (PROTBA-Sigma in umbilical cord serum samples. Both the PROTIA-Sigma and 5185-Agilent kit maintained high depletion efficiency when used three consecutive times. Depletion by the PROTIA-Sigma Kit improved 2DE gel quality by reducing smeared bands produced by the presence of high abundance proteins and increasing the intensity of other protein spots. During image analysis using the identical detection parameters, 411 ± 18 spots were detected in crude serum gels, while 757 ± 43 spots were detected in depleted serum gels. Eight spots unique to depleted serum gels were identified by MALDI- TOF/TOF MS, seven of which were low abundance proteins. Conclusions The immunoaffinity based kits exceeded the immobilized dye based kit in high abundance protein depletion of umbilical cord serum samples and dramatically improved 2DE gel quality for detection of trace biomarkers.

  13. MOx Depletion Calculation Benchmark

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    San Felice, Laurence; Eschbach, Romain; Dewi Syarifah, Ratna; Maryam, Seif-Eddine; Hesketh, Kevin

    2016-01-01

    Under the auspices of the NEA Nuclear Science Committee (NSC), the Working Party on Scientific Issues of Reactor Systems (WPRS) has been established to study the reactor physics, fuel performance, radiation transport and shielding, and the uncertainties associated with modelling of these phenomena in present and future nuclear power systems. The WPRS has different expert groups to cover a wide range of scientific issues in these fields. The Expert Group on Reactor Physics and Advanced Nuclear Systems (EGRPANS) was created in 2011 to perform specific tasks associated with reactor physics aspects of present and future nuclear power systems. EGRPANS provides expert advice to the WPRS and the nuclear community on the development needs (data and methods, validation experiments, scenario studies) for different reactor systems and also provides specific technical information regarding: core reactivity characteristics, including fuel depletion effects; core power/flux distributions; Core dynamics and reactivity control. In 2013 EGRPANS published a report that investigated fuel depletion effects in a Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR). This was entitled 'International Comparison of a Depletion Calculation Benchmark on Fuel Cycle Issues' NEA/NSC/DOC(2013) that documented a benchmark exercise for UO 2 fuel rods. This report documents a complementary benchmark exercise that focused on PuO 2 /UO 2 Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel rods. The results are especially relevant to the back-end of the fuel cycle, including irradiated fuel transport, reprocessing, interim storage and waste repository. Saint-Laurent B1 (SLB1) was the first French reactor to use MOx assemblies. SLB1 is a 900 MWe PWR, with 30% MOx fuel loading. The standard MOx assemblies, used in Saint-Laurent B1 reactor, include three zones with different plutonium enrichments, high Pu content (5.64%) in the center zone, medium Pu content (4.42%) in the intermediate zone and low Pu content (2.91%) in the peripheral zone

  14. Metabolite Depletion Affects Flux Profiling of Cell Lines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nilsson, A.; Haanstra, J. R.; Teusink, B.

    2018-01-01

    Quantifying the rate of consumption and release of metabolites (i.e., flux profiling) has become integral to the study of cancer. The fluxes as well as the growth of the cells may be affected by metabolite depletion during cultivation.......Quantifying the rate of consumption and release of metabolites (i.e., flux profiling) has become integral to the study of cancer. The fluxes as well as the growth of the cells may be affected by metabolite depletion during cultivation....

  15. Differential Membrane Dipolar Orientation Induced by Acute and Chronic Cholesterol Depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkar, Parijat; Chakraborty, Hirak; Chattopadhyay, Amitabha

    2017-06-30

    Cholesterol plays a crucial role in cell membrane organization, dynamics and function. Depletion of cholesterol represents a popular approach to explore cholesterol-sensitivity of membrane proteins. An emerging body of literature shows that the consequence of membrane cholesterol depletion often depends on the actual process (acute or chronic), although the molecular mechanism underlying the difference is not clear. Acute depletion, using cyclodextrin-type carriers, is faster relative to chronic depletion, in which inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis are used. With the overall goal of addressing molecular differences underlying these processes, we monitored membrane dipole potential under conditions of acute and chronic cholesterol depletion in CHO-K1 cells, using a voltage-sensitive fluorescent dye in dual wavelength ratiometric mode. Our results show that the observed membrane dipole potential exhibits difference under acute and chronic cholesterol depletion conditions, even when cholesterol content was identical. To the best of our knowledge, these results provide, for the first time, molecular insight highlighting differences in dipolar reorganization in these processes. A comprehensive understanding of processes in which membrane cholesterol gets modulated would provide novel insight in its interaction with membrane proteins and receptors, thereby allowing us to understand the role of cholesterol in cellular physiology associated with health and disease.

  16. Total dose induced latch in short channel NMOS/SOI transistors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferlet-Cavrois, V.; Quoizola, S.; Musseau, O.; Flament, O.; Leray, J.L.; Pelloie, J.L.; Raynaud, C.; Faynot, O.

    1998-01-01

    A latch effect induced by total dose irradiation is observed in short channel SOI transistors. This effect appears on NMOS transistors with either a fully or a partially depleted structure. It is characterized by a hysteresis behavior of the Id-Vg characteristics at high drain bias for a given critical dose. Above this dose, the authors still observe a limited leakage current at low drain bias (0.1 V), but a high conduction current at high drain bias (2 V) as the transistor should be in the off-state. The critical dose above which the latch appears strongly depends on gate length, transistor structure (fully or partially depleted), buried oxide thickness and supply voltage. Two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulations indicate that the parasitic condition is due to the latch of the back gate transistor triggered by charge trapping in the buried oxide. To avoid the latch induced by the floating body effect, different techniques can be used: doping engineering, body contacts, etc. The study of the main parameters influencing the latch (gate length, supply voltage) shows that the scaling of technologies does not necessarily imply an increased latch sensitivity. Some technological parameters like the buried oxide hardness and thickness can be used to avoid latch, even at high cumulated dose, on highly integrated SOI technologies

  17. Characterization and Processing of Non-Uniformities in Back-Illuminated CCDs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemm, Alia D.; Della-Rose, Devin J.; Maddocks, Sally

    2018-01-01

    In astronomical photometry, Charged Coupled Device (CCD) detectors are used to achieve high precision photometry and must be properly calibrated to correct for noise and pixel non-uniformities. Uncalibrated images may contain bias offset, dark current, bias structure and uneven illumination. In addition, standard data reduction is often not sufficient to “normalize” imagery to single-digit millimagnitude (mmag) precision. We are investigating an apparent non-uniformity, or interference pattern, in a back-illuminated sensor, the Alta U-47, attached to a DFM Engineering 41-cm Ritchey-Chrétien f/8 telescope. Based on the amplitude of this effect, we estimate that instrument magnitude peak-to-valley deviations of 50 mmag or more may result. Our initial testing strongly suggests that reflected skylight from high pressure sodium city lights may be the cause of this interference pattern. Our research goals are twofold: to fully characterize this non-uniformity and to determine the best method to remove this interference pattern from our reduced CCD images.

  18. Pre-main-sequence depletion of Li-6 and Li-7

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Proffitt, C.R.; Michaud, G.

    1989-01-01

    Depletion of Li-6 and Li-7 during premain-sequence contraction has been calculated for several evolutionary sequences. Slightly greater Li-7 depletion was found than by other recent workers. On the premain sequence, Li-6 is depleted by a factor of at least 10 in the present models for stars with T(eff) lower than 6800 K on the main sequence. Because of the shorter destruction time scale for Li-6 as compared to Li-7, the determination of the abundances of these two isotopes would place strict constraints on the structure of premain-sequence stars. 39 refs

  19. Enhanced J/psi suppression due to gluon depletion

    OpenAIRE

    Hwa, R. C.; Pisut, J.; Pisutova, N.

    1997-01-01

    The nonlinear effect of gluon depletion in the collision of large nuclei can be large. It is due to multiple scatterings among comoving partons initiated by primary scattering of partons in the colliding nuclei. The effect can give rise to substantial suppression of $J/\\psi$ production in very large nuclei, even if the linear depletion effect is insignificant for the collisions of nuclei of smaller sizes. This mechanism offers a natural explanation of the enhanced suppression in the Pb-Pb dat...

  20. Achieving high-efficiency emission depletion nanoscopy by employing cross relaxation in upconversion nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhan, Qiuqiang; Liu, Haichun; Wang, Baoju; Wu, Qiusheng; Pu, Rui; Zhou, Chao; Huang, Bingru; Peng, Xingyun; Ågren, Hans; He, Sailing

    2017-10-20

    Stimulated emission depletion microscopy provides a powerful sub-diffraction imaging modality for life science studies. Conventionally, stimulated emission depletion requires a relatively high light intensity to obtain an adequate depletion efficiency through only light-matter interaction. Here we show efficient emission depletion for a class of lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles with the assistance of interionic cross relaxation, which significantly lowers the laser intensity requirements of optical depletion. We demonstrate two-color super-resolution imaging using upconversion nanoparticles (resolution ~ 66 nm) with a single pair of excitation/depletion beams. In addition, we show super-resolution imaging of immunostained cytoskeleton structures of fixed cells (resolution ~ 82 nm) using upconversion nanoparticles. These achievements provide a new perspective for the development of photoswitchable luminescent probes and will broaden the applications of lanthanide-doped nanoparticles for sub-diffraction microscopic imaging.

  1. Study and application of microscopic depletion model in core simulator of COSINE project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu Xiaoyu; Wang Su; Yan Yuhang; Liu Zhanquan; Chen Yixue; Huang Kai

    2013-01-01

    Microscopic depletion correction is one of the commonly used techniques that could improve the historical effect and attain higher precision of diffusion calculation and alleviate the inaccuracy caused by historical effect. Core simulator of COSINE project (core and system integrated engine for design and analysis) has developed a hybrid macroscopic-microscopic depletion model to track important isotopes during each depletion history and correct the macro cross sections. The basic theory was discussed in this paper. The effect and results of microscopic depletion correction were also analyzed. The preliminary test results demonstrate that the microscopic depletion model is effective and practicable for improving the precision of core calculation. (authors)

  2. Effects of Acute Tryptophan Depletion on Three Different Types of Behavioral Impulsivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donald M. Dougherty

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction While central nervous system serotonin has been implicated in a variety of problematic impulsive behaviors, biological manipulation of brain serotonin using acute tryptophan depletion for studying changes in impulsive behavior has received little attention. Methods Using identical treatment conditions, we examined the effects of reduced serotonin synthesis for each of three matched groups using acute tryptophan depletion. Thirty healthy men and women (ages 18–45 were assigned to perform one of three tasks assessing different types of behavioral impulsivity: response initiation, response inhibition, and consequence sensitivity ( N = 90. Participants completed two experimental days during which each consumed either a tryptophan-depletion or balanced-placebo amino-acid formulation and completed 5 sessions of their respective tasks at 0.25 h before and 1.5, 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0 h after beverage consumption. Results During peak effectiveness (5.0 h to 6.0 h following amino-acid consumption, depletion produced selective differences dependent on the type of impulsivity being tested. Specifically, relative to baseline testing (pre-depletion, response initiation impulsivity was significantly increased during the peak effects of depletion. And, when compared to placebo control, both response initiation and consequence sensitivity impulsivity were increased during the peak effects of depletion. Conclusion Though response initiation and consequence sensitivity impulsivity were affected by tryptophan depletion, response inhibition impulsivity was not, suggesting that other biological processes may underlie this specific component of impulsivity. Future research in other populations or using different pharmacological agents is warranted to further examine the biological processes underlying these components of impulsivity.

  3. Effects of Acute Tryptophan Depletion on Three Different Types of Behavioral Impulsivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donald M. Dougherty

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: While central nervous system serotonin has been implicated in a variety of problematic impulsive behaviors, biological manipulation of brain serotonin using acute tryptophan depletion for studying changes in impulsive behavior has received little attention. Methods: Using identical treatment conditions, we examined the effects of reduced serotonin synthesis for each of three matched groups using acute tryptophan depletion. Thirty healthy men and women (ages 18–45 were assigned to perform one of three tasks assessing different types of behavioral impulsivity: response initiation, response inhibition, and consequence sensitivity (N = 90. Participants completed two experimental days during which each consumed either a tryptophan-depletion or balanced-placebo amino-acid formulation and completed 5 sessions of their respective tasks at 0.25 h before and 1.5, 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0 h after beverage consumption. Results: During peak effectiveness (5.0 h to 6.0 h following amino-acid consumption, depletion produced selective differences dependent on the type of impulsivity being tested. Specifically, relative to baseline testing (pre-depletion, response initiation impulsivity was significantly increased during the peak effects of depletion. And, when compared to placebo control, both response initiation and consequence sensitivity impulsivity were increased during the peak effects of depletion. Conclusion: Though response initiation and consequence sensitivity impulsivity were affected by tryptophan depletion, response inhibition impulsivity was not, suggesting that other biological processes may underlie this specific component of impulsivity. Future research in other populations or using different pharmacological agents is warranted to further examine the biological processes underlying these components of impulsivity.

  4. Energizing and depletion of neutrals by a collisional plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fruchtman, A

    2008-01-01

    Neutral depletion can significantly affect the steady state of low temperature plasmas. Recent theoretical analyses predicted previously unexpected effects of neutral depletion in both collisional and collisionless regimes. In this paper we address the effect of the energy deposited in the neutral gas by a collisional plasma. The fraction of power deposited in the neutrals is shown to be independent of the amount of power. The first case we address is of a thermalized neutral gas. It is shown that a low heat conductivity of the neutral gas is followed by a high neutral temperature that results in a high neutral depletion even if the plasma pressure is small. In the second case neutrals are accelerated through charge exchange with ions leading to what we call neutral pumping, which is equivalent to ion pumping in a collisionless plasma. Neutral depletion is found in the second case for both a closed system (no net mass flow) and an open system (a finite mass flow). A thruster that employs a collisional plasma and pumped neutrals is compared with the thruster analyzed before that employs collisionless plasma.

  5. Feeling depleted and powerless: the construal-level mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Junha; Lee, Sujin; Rua, Tuvana

    2015-04-01

    Individuals exercise self-control daily to achieve desired goals; at the same time, people engage in social interaction daily and influence (feel powerful) or are influenced (feel powerless) by others. Does controlling the self have an unforeseen consequence for people's perception of their capacity to control others? Five studies-one correlational and four experimental-demonstrate that ego depletion from prior self-control determines one's personal sense of power; low-level, concrete mental construals account for this relationship. Our results showed that people with higher trait self-control reported a greater sense of power (Study 1). People who had depleted their self-control-related regulatory resources (vs. those who had not) experienced a lower sense of power (Study 2). The relationship between ego depletion and low sense of power was mediated by construal level (Study 3) and observed only when low-level, concrete construals were present, but not under high-level, abstract construals (Studies 4 and 5). © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  6. Emittance increase caused by core depletion in collisions

    CERN Document Server

    Bruce, R

    2009-01-01

    A new effect is presented, which changes the emittance during colliding-beam operation in circular colliders. If the initial transverse distribution is Gaussian, the collision probability is much higher for particles in the core of the beam than in the tails. When small-amplitude particles are removed, the remaining ones therefore have a larger transverse emittance. This effect, called core depletion, may cause a decrease in luminosity. An approximate analytic model is developed to study the effect and benchmarked against a multiparticle tracking simulation. Finally, the time evolution of the intensity and emittances of a Pb bunch in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is calculated, taking into account also other processes than collisions. The results show that integrated luminosity drops by 3--4% if core depletion is taken into account. It is also found that core depletion causes the transverse emittance to be larger when more experiments are active. This observation could be checked against experimenta...

  7. Simulation of Halocarbon Production and Emissions and Effects on Ozone Depletion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes; Ellis

    1997-09-01

    / This paper describes an integrated model that simulates future halocarbon production/emissions and potential ozone depletion. Applications and historical production levels for various halocarbons are discussed first. A framework is then presented for modeling future halocarbon impacts incorporating differences in underlying demands, applications, regulatory mandates, and environmental characteristics. The model is used to simulate the potential impacts of several prominent issues relating to halocarbon production, regulation, and environmental interactions, notably: changes in agricultural methyl bromide use, increases in effectiveness of bromine for ozone depletion, modifications to the elimination schedule for HCFCs, short-term expansion of CFC demand in low use compliance countries, and delays in Russian Federation compliance. Individually, each issue does not unequivocally represent a significant likely increase in long-term atmospheric halogen loading and stratospheric ozone depletion. In combination, however, these impacts could increase peak halogen concentrations and long-term integral halogen loading, resulting in higher levels of stratospheric ozone depletion and longer exposure to increased levels of UV radiation.KEY WORDS: Halocarbons; Ozone depletion; Montreal Protocol; Integrated assessment

  8. The depletion properties of silicon microstrip detectors with variable strip pitch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krizmanic, J.F.

    1994-01-01

    We have investigated the depletion properties of trapezoidal shaped silicon microstrip detectors which have variable strip pitch. Four types of detectors were examined: three detectors have constant strip width and a fourth has a varying strip width. The detectors are single sided with readout performed via p + strips. The depletion properties of the devices were measured using two different methods. The first used capacitance versus voltage measurements, while the second used a 1060 nm wavelength laser coupled to a single mode fiber with a mode field diameter less than 10 μm. The small laser spot size allowed for the depletion depth to be measured in a localized area of the detector. The laser induced charge on an electrode was measured as a function of reverse bias voltage using a sensitive charge preamplifier. The depletion voltages of the detectors demonstrate a strong dependence upon the ratio of strip width to strip pitch. Moreover, these measurements show that a large value of this ratio yields a lower depletion voltage and vice versa. (orig.)

  9. In situ non-destructive measurement of biofilm thickness and topology in an interferometric optical microscope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larimer, Curtis [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Battelle for the USDOE, PO Box 999, MSIN P7-50 Richland WA 99354 USA; Suter, Jonathan D. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Battelle for the USDOE, PO Box 999, MSIN P7-50 Richland WA 99354 USA; Bonheyo, George [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Battelle for the USDOE, PO Box 999, MSIN P7-50 Richland WA 99354 USA; Addleman, Raymond Shane [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Battelle for the USDOE, PO Box 999, MSIN P7-50 Richland WA 99354 USA

    2016-03-15

    Biofilms are ubiquitous and deleteriously impact a wide range of industrial processes, medical and dental health issues, and environmental problems such as transport of invasive species and the fuel efficiency of ocean going vessels. Biofilms are difficult to characterize when fully hydrated, especially in a non-destructive manner, because of their soft structure and water-like bulk properties. Herein we describe a non-destructive high resolution method of measuring and monitoring the thickness and topology of live biofilms of using white light interferometric optical microscopy. Using this technique, surface morphology, surface roughness, and biofilm thickness can be measured non-destructively and with high resolution as a function of time without disruption of the biofilm activity and processes. The thickness and surface topology of a P. putida biofilm were monitored growing from initial colonization to a mature biofilm. Typical bacterial growth curves were observed. Increase in surface roughness was a leading indicator of biofilm growth.

  10. Development of an Application Programming Interface for Depletion Analysis (APIDA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lago, Daniel; Rahnema, Farzad

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • APIDA an Application Programming Interface tool for Depletion Analysis. • APIDA employs a matrix exponential method and a linear chain method. • A burnup solver to couple to neutron transport solvers in lattice depletion or reactor core analysis codes. - Abstract: A new utility has been developed with extensive capabilities in identifying nuclide decay and transmutation characteristics, allowing for accurate and efficient tracking of the change in isotopic concentrations in nuclear reactor fuel over time when coupled with a transport solution method. This tool, named the Application Programming Interface for Depletion Analysis (APIDA), employs both a matrix exponential method and a linear chain method to solve for the end-of-time-step nuclide concentrations for all isotopes relevant to nuclear reactors. The Chebyshev Rational Approximation Method (CRAM) was utilized to deal with the ill-conditioned matrices generated during lattice depletion calculations, and a complex linear chain solver was developed to handle isotopes reduced from the burnup matrix due to either radioactive stability or a sufficiently low neutron-induced reaction cross section. The entire tool is housed in a robust but simple application programming interface (API). The development of this API allows other codes, particularly numerical neutron transport solvers, to incorporate APIDA as the burnup solver in a lattice depletion code or reactor core analysis code in memory, without the need to write or read from the hard disk. The APIDA code was benchmarked using several decay and transmutation chains. Burnup solutions produced by APIDA were shown to provide material concentrations comparable to the analytically solved Bateman equations – well below 0.01% relative error for even the most extreme cases using isotopes with vastly different decay constants. As a first order demonstration of the API, APIDA was coupled with the transport solver in the SERPENT code for a fuel pin

  11. Depletion of compounds from thin oil films in seawater

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brakstad, O.G.; Faksness, L.G.; Melbye, A.G.

    2002-01-01

    When oil is spilled on water, the oil compounds distribute between droplets and water-soluble phases in the water column. Some small organic acids, phenols, BTEX, and aromatic compounds will dissolve completely, but larger polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and alkanes will remain in the droplet fraction. The biodegradation of droplets occurs at the oil-water interface. A method for immobilizing the oil films onto hydrophobic surfaces was developed in order to obtain a stable oil surface during the biodegradation period. A test system was also established to determine the depletion of oil compounds from the oil phase, including both abiotic and biotic processes. Three North Sea oils were used in the study. Two were paraffinic oils rich in n-alkanes and aromatic compounds, and one was asphalthenic which was richer in branched alkanes and PAH. The biodegradation period was 2 months at 13 degrees C. Samples from the water and thin film on the fabric was analyzed for carbon 10 and carbon 36 by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection. Semi-volatile organic compounds were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results indicated that the depletion process for alkanes was completely caused by biodegradation, while aromatic compounds were depleted by abiotic dissolution as well as by biodegradation. The system has potential for determining oil depletion processes under controlled surface-to-volume conditions, such as thin oil films and dispersed oil droplets. In addition, the system can be used to determine the depletion process in flow-through systems. 13 refs., 3 tabs., 9 figs

  12. Characteristics of low-latitude ionospheric depletions and enhancements during solar minimum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haaser, R. A.; Earle, G. D.; Heelis, R. A.; Klenzing, J.; Stoneback, R.; Coley, W. R.; Burrell, A. G.

    2012-10-01

    Under the waning solar minimum conditions during 2009 and 2010, the Ion Velocity Meter, part of the Coupled Ion Neutral Dynamics Investigation aboard the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System satellite, is used to measure in situ nighttime ion densities and drifts at altitudes between 400 and 550 km during the hours 21:00-03:00 solar local time. A new approach to detecting and classifying well-formed ionospheric plasma depletions and enhancements (bubbles and blobs) with scale sizes between 50 and 500 km is used to develop geophysical statistics for the summer, winter, and equinox seasons during the quiet solar conditions. Some diurnal and seasonal geomagnetic distribution characteristics confirm previous work on equatorial irregularities and scintillations, while other elements reveal new behaviors that will require further investigation before they may be fully understood. Events identified in the study reveal very different and often opposite behaviors of bubbles and blobs during solar minimum. In particular, more bubbles demonstrating deeper density fluctuations and faster perturbation plasma drifts typically occur earlier near the magnetic equator, while blobs of similar magnitude occur more often far away from the geomagnetic equator closer to midnight.

  13. Surface proton transport of fully protonated poly(aspartic acid) thin films on quartz substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nagao, Yuki, E-mail: ynagao@jaist.ac.jp; Kubo, Takahiro

    2014-12-30

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Proton transport of fully protonated poly(aspartic acid) thin film was investigated. • The thin film structure differed greatly from the partially protonated one. • Proton transport occurs on the surface, not inside of the thin film. • This result contributes to biological transport systems such as bacteriorhodopsin. - Abstract: Thin film structure and the proton transport property of fully protonated poly(aspartic acid) (P-Asp100) have been investigated. An earlier study assessed partially protonated poly(aspartic acid), highly oriented thin film structure and enhancement of the internal proton transport. In this study of P-Asp100, IR p-polarized multiple-angle incidence resolution (P-MAIR) spectra were measured to investigate the thin film structure. The obtained thin films, with thicknesses of 120–670 nm, had no oriented structure. Relative humidity dependence of the resistance, proton conductivity, and normalized resistance were examined to ascertain the proton transport property of P-Asp100 thin films. The obtained data showed that the proton transport of P-Asp100 thin films might occur on the surface, not inside of the thin film. This phenomenon might be related with the proton transport of the biological system.

  14. Surface proton transport of fully protonated poly(aspartic acid) thin films on quartz substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagao, Yuki; Kubo, Takahiro

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Proton transport of fully protonated poly(aspartic acid) thin film was investigated. • The thin film structure differed greatly from the partially protonated one. • Proton transport occurs on the surface, not inside of the thin film. • This result contributes to biological transport systems such as bacteriorhodopsin. - Abstract: Thin film structure and the proton transport property of fully protonated poly(aspartic acid) (P-Asp100) have been investigated. An earlier study assessed partially protonated poly(aspartic acid), highly oriented thin film structure and enhancement of the internal proton transport. In this study of P-Asp100, IR p-polarized multiple-angle incidence resolution (P-MAIR) spectra were measured to investigate the thin film structure. The obtained thin films, with thicknesses of 120–670 nm, had no oriented structure. Relative humidity dependence of the resistance, proton conductivity, and normalized resistance were examined to ascertain the proton transport property of P-Asp100 thin films. The obtained data showed that the proton transport of P-Asp100 thin films might occur on the surface, not inside of the thin film. This phenomenon might be related with the proton transport of the biological system

  15. Muscle Mass Depletion Associated with Poor Outcome of Sepsis in the Emergency Department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, YoonJe; Park, Hyun Kyung; Kim, Won Young; Kim, Myung Chun; Jung, Woong; Ko, Byuk Sung

    2018-05-08

    Muscle mass depletion has been suggested to predict morbidity and mortality in various diseases. However, it is not well known whether muscle mass depletion is associated with poor outcome in sepsis. We hypothesized that muscle mass depletion is associated with poor outcome in sepsis. Retrospective observational study was conducted in an emergency department during a 9-year period. Medical records of 627 patients with sepsis were reviewed. We divided the patients into 2 groups according to 28-day mortality and compared the presence of muscle mass depletion assessed by the cross-sectional area of the psoas muscle at the level of the third lumbar vertebra on abdomen CT scans. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of scarcopenia on the outcome of sepsis. A total of 274 patients with sepsis were finally included in the study: 45 (16.4%) did not survive on 28 days and 77 patients (28.1%) were identified as having muscle mass depletion. The presence of muscle mass depletion was independently associated with 28-day mortality on multivariate logistic analysis (OR 2.79; 95% CI 1.35-5.74, p = 0.01). Muscle mass depletion evaluated by CT scan was associated with poor outcome of sepsis patients. Further studies on the appropriateness of specific treatment for muscle mass depletion with sepsis are needed. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  16. Observations and Simulations of Formation of Broad Plasma Depletions Through Merging Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chao-Song; Retterer, J. M.; Beaujardiere, O. De La; Roddy, P. A.; Hunton, D.E.; Ballenthin, J. O.; Pfaff, Robert F.

    2012-01-01

    Broad plasma depletions in the equatorial ionosphere near dawn are region in which the plasma density is reduced by 1-3 orders of magnitude over thousands of kilometers in longitude. This phenomenon is observed repeatedly by the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite during deep solar minimum. The plasma flow inside the depletion region can be strongly upward. The possible causal mechanism for the formation of broad plasma depletions is that the broad depletions result from merging of multiple equatorial plasma bubbles. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of the merging mechanism with new observations and simulations. We present C/NOFS observations for two cases. A series of plasma bubbles is first detected by C/NOFS over a longitudinal range of 3300-3800 km around midnight. Each of the individual bubbles has a typical width of approx 100 km in longitude, and the upward ion drift velocity inside the bubbles is 200-400 m/s. The plasma bubbles rotate with the Earth to the dawn sector and become broad plasma depletions. The observations clearly show the evolution from multiple plasma bubbles to broad depletions. Large upward plasma flow occurs inside the depletion region over 3800 km in longitude and exists for approx 5 h. We also present the numerical simulations of bubble merging with the physics-based low-latitude ionospheric model. It is found that two separate plasma bubbles join together and form a single, wider bubble. The simulations show that the merging process of plasma bubbles can indeed occur in incompressible ionospheric plasma. The simulation results support the merging mechanism for the formation of broad plasma depletions.

  17. Partitioning ratio of depleted uranium during a melt decontamination by arc melting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Min, Byeong Yeon; Choi, Wang Kyu; Oh, Won Zin; Jung, Chong Hun

    2008-01-01

    In a study of the optimum operational condition for a melting decontamination, the effects of the basicity, slag type and slag composition on the distribution of depleted uranium were investigated for radioactively contaminated metallic wastes of iron-based metals such as stainless steel (SUS 304L) in a direct current graphite arc furnace. Most of the depleted uranium was easily moved into the slag from the radioactive metal waste. The partitioning ratio of the depleted uranium was influenced by the amount of added slag former and the slag basicity. The composition of the slag former used to capture contaminants such as depleted uranium during the melt decontamination process generally consists of silica (SiO 2 ), calcium oxide (CaO) and aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ). Furthermore, calcium fluoride (CaF 2 ), magnesium oxide (MgO), and ferric oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ) were added to increase the slag fluidity and oxidative potential. The partitioning ratio of the depleted uranium was increased as the amount of slag former was increased. Up to 97% of the depleted uranium was captured between the ingot phase and the slag phase. The partitioning ratio of the uranium was considerably dependent on the basicity and composition of the slag. The optimum condition for the removal of the depleted uranium was a basicity level of about 1.5. The partitioning ratio of uranium was high, exceeding 5.5x10 3 . The slag formers containing calcium fluoride (CaF 2 ) and a high amount of silica proved to be more effective for a melt decontamination of stainless steel wastes contaminated with depleted uranium

  18. Parametric investigations on the saturation intensity of Coumarin 102 for stimulated emission depletion application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, H-Y; Zhao, W-X; Zhao, W; Zhang, C; Feng, X-Q; Liu, S-P; Wang, K-G

    2018-04-23

    Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy performed using continuous-wave (CW) lasers has been investigated and developed by Willig et al. (Nature Methods, 2007, 4(11):915) for nearly a decade. Kuang et al. (Review of Scientific Instruments, 2010, 81:053709) developed the CW STED microscopy technique with 405 nm excitation and 532 nm depletion beams. In their research, Coumarin 102 dye was adopted and was found to be depletable. In this study, a parametric investigation of the depletion of Coumarin 102 dye is carried out experimentally. The influence of the excitation and depletion beam intensities and dye concentrations on the depletion efficiency are studied in detail. The results indicate the following: (1) The highest depletion occurs for the 100 μM Coumarin 102 solution, with a 1.4 μW excitation beam and a 115.3 mW depletion beam. (2) The minimum saturation intensity (Is) of STED, that is 13 MW cm -2 , is observed when the Coumarin 102 solution concentration is 10 μM. (3) Is values calculated directly from the depletion power derived with the cross-sectional area due to the full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) of the depletion beam show poor accuracy, where Is may be overestimated. Thus, a correction factor for the cross-sectional area is proposed. We also find that Is is not exactly constant for a fixed excitation beam power and dye concentration. This trend indicates that the conventional suppression function η(x)=e- ln (2)ISTED(x)/Is derived from picosecond STED may cause errors in evaluating the depletion process in CW STED microscopy. © 2018 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2018 Royal Microscopical Society.

  19. The fully Mobile City Government Project (MCity)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scholl, Hans; Fidel, Raya; Mai, Jens Erik

    2006-01-01

    The Fully Mobile City Government Project, also known as MCity, is an interdisciplinary research project on the premises, requirements, and effects of fully mobile, wirelessly connected applications (FWMC). The project will develop an analytical framework for interpreting the interaction and inter......The Fully Mobile City Government Project, also known as MCity, is an interdisciplinary research project on the premises, requirements, and effects of fully mobile, wirelessly connected applications (FWMC). The project will develop an analytical framework for interpreting the interaction...

  20. Field ion microscopy study of depleted zones in tungsten after proton irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farnum, D.J.; Sommer, W.F.; Inal, O.T.; Yu, J.

    1986-01-01

    Depleted zones in tungsten, that resulted from medium-energy proton irradiations, were studied using the Field Ion Microscope (FIM). The shapes and sizes of depleted zones is an important aspect of basic radiation damage. These data can be compared to models that have been suggested as well as aid development of new models. These depleted volumes are of interest not only for an understanding of basic radiation effects, but also because they affect material properties and can act as nucleation sites for voids or gas bubbles. Depleted zones were produced in annealed tungsten wires by irradiation with 600 to 800 MeV protons at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility. The defects observed in the irradiated samples included vacancies, depleted zones, grain boundaries, and dislocations. Single vacancies were the most commonly observed defect. Of the samples ''imaged,'' over 50 depleted zones were found within the area of high resolution in the area between the prominent [112] poles in a [110] oriented sample. The number of layers photographed in each sample was dependent upon the initial shape of the tip and ranged from 60 to 200 [110] sequential layers

  1. CRDIAC: Coupled Reactor Depletion Instrument with Automated Control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logan, Steven K.

    2012-01-01

    When modeling the behavior of a nuclear reactor over time, it is important to understand how the isotopes in the reactor will change, or transmute, over that time. This is especially important in the reactor fuel itself. Many nuclear physics modeling codes model how particles interact in the system, but do not model this over time. Thus, another code is used in conjunction with the nuclear physics code to accomplish this. In our code, Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) codes and the Multi Reactor Transmutation Analysis Utility (MRTAU) were chosen as the codes to use. In this way, MCNP would produce the reaction rates in the different isotopes present and MRTAU would use cross sections generated from these reaction rates to determine how the mass of each isotope is lost or gained. Between these two codes, the information must be altered and edited for use. For this, a Python 2.7 script was developed to aid the user in getting the information in the correct forms. This newly developed methodology was called the Coupled Reactor Depletion Instrument with Automated Controls (CRDIAC). As is the case in any newly developed methodology for modeling of physical phenomena, CRDIAC needed to be verified against similar methodology and validated against data taken from an experiment, in our case AFIP-3. AFIP-3 was a reduced enrichment plate type fuel tested in the ATR. We verified our methodology against the MCNP Coupled with ORIGEN2 (MCWO) method and validated our work against the Post Irradiation Examination (PIE) data. When compared to MCWO, the difference in concentration of U-235 throughout Cycle 144A was about 1%. When compared to the PIE data, the average bias for end of life U-235 concentration was about 2%. These results from CRDIAC therefore agree with the MCWO and PIE data, validating and verifying CRDIAC. CRDIAC provides an alternative to using ORIGEN-based methodology, which is useful because CRDIAC's depletion code, MRTAU, uses every available isotope in its depletion

  2. Impact of Wildfire Emissions on Chloride and Bromide Depletion in Marine Aerosol Particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braun, Rachel A; Dadashazar, Hossein; MacDonald, Alexander B; Aldhaif, Abdulamonam M; Maudlin, Lindsay C; Crosbie, Ewan; Aghdam, Mojtaba Azadi; Hossein Mardi, Ali; Sorooshian, Armin

    2017-08-15

    This work examines particulate chloride (Cl - ) and bromide (Br - ) depletion in marine aerosol particles influenced by wildfires at a coastal California site in the summers of 2013 and 2016. Chloride exhibited a dominant coarse mode due to sea salt influence, with substantially diminished concentrations during fire periods as compared to nonfire periods. Bromide exhibited a peak in the submicrometer range during fire and nonfire periods, with an additional supermicrometer peak in the latter periods. Chloride and Br - depletions were enhanced during fire periods as compared to nonfire periods. The highest observed %Cl - depletion occurred in the submicrometer range, with maximum values of 98.9% (0.32-0.56 μm) and 85.6% (0.56-1 μm) during fire and nonfire periods, respectively. The highest %Br - depletion occurred in the supermicrometer range during fire and nonfire periods with peak depletion between 1.8-3.2 μm (78.8% and 58.6%, respectively). When accounting for the neutralization of sulfate by ammonium, organic acid particles showed the greatest influence on Cl - depletion in the submicrometer range. These results have implications for aerosol hygroscopicity and radiative forcing in areas with wildfire influence owing to depletion effects on composition.

  3. Energetic magnetospheric protons in the plasma depletion layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuselier, S.A.

    1992-01-01

    Interplanetary magnetic field draping against the Earth's dayside subsolar magnetopause creates a region of reduced plasma density and increased magnetic field called the plasma depletion layer. In this region, leakage of energetic ions from the Earth's magnetosphere onto magnetic field lines in the plasma depletion layer can be studied without interference from ions accelerated at the Earth's quasi-parallel bow shock. Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Experiment/Charge Composition Explorer (AMPTE/CCE) observations for 13 plasma depletion layer events are used to determine the characteristics of energetic protons between a few keV/e and ∼100keV/e leaked from the magnetosphere. Results indicate that the leaked proton distributions resemble those in the magnetosphere except that they have lower densities and temperatures and much higher velocities parallel (or antiparallel) and perpendicular to the magnetic field. Compared to the low-energy magnetosheath proton distributions present in the depletion layer, the leaked energetic proton distributions typically have substantially higher flow velocities along the magnetic field indicate that the leaked energetic proton distributions to contribute to the energetic proton population seen upstream and downstream from the quasi-parallel bow shock. However, their contribution is small compared to the contribution from acceleration of protons at the bow shock because the leaked proton densities are on the order of 10 times smaller than the energetic proton densities typically observed in the vicinity of the quasi-parallel bow shock

  4. Sodium nitroprusside induces autophagic cell death in glutathione-depleted osteoblasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Min Jeong; Lee, Seong-Beom; Byun, Yu Jeong; Lee, Hwa Ok; Kim, Ho-Shik; Kwon, Oh-Joo; Jeong, Seong-Whan

    2010-01-01

    Previous studies reported that high levels of nitric oxide (NO) induce apoptotic cell death in osteoblasts. We examined molecular mechanisms of cytotoxic injury induced by sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a NO donor, in both glutathione (GSH)-depleted and control U2-OS osteoblasts. Cell viability was reduced by much lower effective concentrations of SNP in GSH-depleted cells compared to normal cells. The data suggest that the level of intracellular GSH is critical in SNP-induced cell death processes of osteoblasts. The level of oxidative stress due to SNP treatments doubled in GSH-depleted cells when measured with fluorochrome H2DCFDA. Pretreatment with the NO scavenger PTIO preserved the viability of cells treated with SNP. Viability of cells treated with SNP was recovered by pretreatment with Wortmannin, an autophagy inhibitor, but not by pretreatment with zVAD-fmk, a pan-specific caspase inhibitor. Large increases of LC3-II were shown by immunoblot analysis of the SNP-treated cells, and the increase was blocked by pretreatment with PTIO or Wortmannin; this implies that under GSH-depleted conditions SNP induces different molecular signaling that lead to autophagic cell death. The ultrastructural morphology of SNP-treated cells in transmission electron microscopy showed numerous autophagic vacuoles. These data suggest NO produces oxidative stress and cellular damage that culminate in autophagic cell death of GSH-depleted osteoblasts. Copyright 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Depletion of interstellar elements and the interaction between gas and dust in space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snow, T.P. Jr.

    1975-01-01

    Recent data obtained with Copernicus, combined with new results from the literature, indicate that the depletions of interstellar elements may depend on cloud density in a simple way. This is expected if the depletions are due to accretion of gas particles onto grains under presently existing conditions, but is not expected if the depletions take place during the grain formation process, before mixing into the interstellar medium. The suggestion that depletion occurs via accretion may be supported by the existence of a good correlation between depletions and first ionization potentials of the elements, since the latter quantity determines to a great extent the chemical and physical properties, and hence possibly the sticking coefficient, of each species. If the grains do not carry large positive charges, then ion-grain encounters may be important not only in creating the depletions, but also in determining ionization equilibrium, particularly if a large population of very small grains is present

  6. On the mechanism of crack propagation resistance of fully lamellar TiAl alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, R.; Yao, H.J.; Chen, J.H.; Zhang, J.

    2006-01-01

    The study was done using notched two-colony thick tensile specimens of a directionally solidified cast fully lamellar TiAl alloy. In-situ observations of fracture processes in scanning electron microscope (SEM) were combined with section-to-section related observations of fracture surfaces to investigate the crack growth process. Finite element method (FEM) calculations are carried out to evaluate the stresses for propagating cracks. The results reveal that: (1) the reason why enhancement of applied load is required to propagate the main crack, was attributed to that the main crack observed at the surface did not extend all the way through the specimen's thickness thus the stress field was still controlled by the notch, in which a definite stress required for extending a crack tip should be kept by increasing the applied load. (2) Crack propagation resistance is enhanced at colony boundaries, only when a change occurs from an inter-lamellar propagation to a trans-lamellar propagation (3) Ligament bridging toughening phenomena can be integrated into aforementioned mechanism. As a whole the processes of new crack nucleation with bridging ligament formation decreases the crack propagation resistance rather than increasing it. (4) In case the majority of microcracks are surface cracks, the effect of microcrack shielding is not obvious

  7. Static and dynamic through thickness lamina properties of thick laminates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lahuerta, F.; Nijssen, R.P.L.; Van der Meer, F.P.; Sluys, L.J.

    2015-01-01

    Thick laminates are increasingly present in large composites structures such as wind turbine blades. Different factors are suspected to be involved in the decreased static and dynamic performance of thick laminates. These include the effect of self-heating, the scaling effect, and the manufacturing

  8. Phenomenological Evidence for Gluon Depletion in pA Collisions

    OpenAIRE

    Hwa, R. C.; Pisut, J.; Pisutova, N.

    2000-01-01

    The data of J/psi suppression at large x_F in pA collisions are used to infer the existence of gluon depletion as the projectile proton traverses the nucleus. The modification of the gluon distribution is studied by use of a convolution equation whose non-perturbative splitting function is determined phenomenologically. The depletion factor at x_1=0.8 is found to be about 25% at A=100.

  9. A Three-Year Program of Micro- and Nano-System Technology Development for X-Ray Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canizares, Claude R.

    1997-01-01

    For many years the work at MIT aimed at the development of new concepts and technologies for space experiments in high-energy astrophysics, but not explicitly supported by flight programs, has been supported. This work has yielded new devices and techniques for X-ray astronomy, primarily low-noise, deep-depletion charge-coupled devices (CCDS) for spectrally-resolved X-ray imaging, and high-performance transmission gratings for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. Among the most significant recent achievements have been the development by G. Ricker and associates of the X-ray CCD camera flying on ASCA, and currently in development for AXAF and Astro-E, and the development by C. Canizares and associates of thick, 200 nm-period transmission gratings employing the phenomenon of phase shifting for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy up to energies of 8- 1 0 keV that is essential for the operation of the AXAF High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS). Through the current SR&T grant, the latter technology is now being extended successfully to the fabrication of 100 nm-period transmission gratings, which have twice the dispersion of the AXAF gratings. We note that, among other outcomes, the modest investments of past SR&T Grants at MIT resulted in the development of the key technologies for fully one-half of the scientific instrumentation on AXAF. In addition, NASA flight programs that have benefited from previous SR&T support at MIT include the SAS 3 X-ray Observatory, which carried the first rotation modulation collimator, the Focal Plane Crystal Spectrometer (FPCS) on the Einstein Observatory, the CCD cameras on ASCA and planned for Astro-E, the High Energy Transient Experiment (HETE), the Solar EUV Monitor on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the Medium Energy Neutral Atom imager (MENA) on the Image for Magnetopause-to-aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) mission, and the recently-approved Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-atom Spectrometers (TWINS

  10. Nuclear data for actinide production and depletion calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benjamin, R.W.

    1978-01-01

    The status of nuclear cross section data required for actinide depletion calculations in thermal reactors is summarized, and recommendations are made for future work. The primary fertile and fissile nuclides ( 232 Th, 233 U, 235 U, 238 U, and 239 Pu) are not reviewed. Nuclear data for the transactinium mass region are, with few exceptions, reasonably complete and adequate for current thermal-reactor depletion calculations. There is a real need, however, for well-documented reactor production studies to use as benchmarks for data testing. 3 figures, 6 tables

  11. Producing, Importing, and Exporting Ozone-Depleting Substances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overview page provides links to information on producing, importing, and exporting ozone-depleting substances, including information about the HCFC allowance system, importing, labeling, recordkeeping and reporting.

  12. Both cladribine and alemtuzumab may effect MS via B-cell depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, David; Herrod, Samuel S; Alvarez-Gonzalez, Cesar; Zalewski, Lukasz; Albor, Christo; Schmierer, Klaus

    2017-07-01

    To understand the efficacy of cladribine (CLAD) treatment in MS through analysis of lymphocyte subsets collected, but not reported, in the pivotal phase III trials of cladribine and alemtuzumab induction therapies. The regulatory submissions of the CLAD Tablets Treating Multiple Sclerosis Orally (CLARITY) (NCT00213135) cladribine and Comparison of Alemtuzumab and Rebif Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis, study one (CARE-MS I) (NCT00530348) alemtuzumab trials were obtained from the European Medicine Agency through Freedom of Information requests. Data were extracted and statistically analyzed. Either dose of cladribine (3.5 mg/kg; 5.25 mg/kg) tested in CLARITY reduced the annualized relapse rate to 0.16-0.18 over 96 weeks, and both doses were similarly effective in reducing the risk of MRI lesions and disability. Surprisingly, however, T-cell depletion was rather modest. Cladribine 3.5 mg/kg depleted CD4 + cells by 40%-45% and CD8 + cells by 15%-30%, whereas alemtuzumab suppressed CD4 + cells by 70%-95% and CD8 + cells by 47%-55%. However, either dose of cladribine induced 70%-90% CD19 + B-cell depletion, similar to alemtuzumab (90%). CD19 + cells slowly repopulated to 15%-25% of baseline before cladribine redosing. However, alemtuzumab induced hyperrepopulation of CD19 + B cells 6-12 months after infusion, which probably forms the substrate for B-cell autoimmunities associated with alemtuzumab. Cladribine induced only modest depletion of T cells, which may not be consistent with a marked influence on MS, based on previous CD4 + T-cell depletion studies. The therapeutic drug-response relationship with cladribine is more consistent with lasting B-cell depletion and, coupled with the success seen with monoclonal CD20 + depletion, suggests that B-cell suppression could be the major direct mechanism of action.

  13. Efficient characterization of fuel depletion in boiling water reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, S.H.

    1980-01-01

    An efficient fuel depletion method for boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel assemblies has been developed for fuel cycle analysis. A computer program HISTORY based on this method was designed to carry out accurate and rapid fuel burnup calculation for the fuel assembly. It has been usefully employed to study the depletion characteristics of the fuel assemblies for the preparation of nodal code input data and the fuel management study. The adequacy and the effectiveness of the assessment of this method used in HISTORY were demonstrated by comparing HISTORY results with more detailed CASMO results. The computing cost of HISTORY typically has been less than one dollar for the fuel assembly-level depletion calculations over the full life of the assembly, in contrast to more than $1000 for CASMO. By combining CASMO and HISTORY, a large number of expensive CASMO calculations can be replaced by inexpensive HISTORY. For the depletion calculations via CASMO/HISTORY, CASMO calculations are required only for the reference conditions and just at the beginning of life for other cases such as changes in void fraction, control rod condition and temperature. The simple and inexpensive HISTORY is sufficienty accurate and fast to be used in conjunction with CASMO for fuel cycle analysis and some BWR design calculations

  14. Optimal reload and depletion method for pressurized water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, D.H.

    1984-01-01

    A new method has been developed to automatically reload and deplete a PWR so that both the enriched inventory requirements during the reactor cycle and the cost of reloading the core are minimized. This is achieved through four stepwise optimization calculations: 1) determination of the minimum fuel requirement for an equivalent three-region core model, 2) optimal selection and allocation of fuel requirement for an equivalent three-region core model, 2) optimal selection and allocation of fuel assemblies for each of the three regions to minimize the cost of the fresh reload fuel, 3) optimal placement of fuel assemblies to conserve regionwise optimal conditions and 4) optimal control through poison management to deplete individual fuel assemblies to maximize EOC k/sub eff/. Optimizing the fuel cost of reloading and depleting a PWR reactor cycle requires solutions to two separate optimization calculations. One of these minimizes the enriched fuel inventory in the core by optimizing the EOC k/sub eff/. The other minimizes the cost of the fresh reload cost. Both of these optimization calculations have now been combined to provide a new method for performing an automatic optimal reload of PWR's. The new method differs from previous methods in that the optimization process performs all tasks required to reload and deplete a PWR

  15. Depleted uranium: an explosive dossier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barrillot, B.

    2001-01-01

    This book relates the history of depleted uranium, contemporaneous with the nuclear bomb history. Initially used in nuclear weapons and in experiments linked with nuclear weapons development, this material has been used also in civil industry, in particular in aeronautics. However, its properties made it interesting for military applications all along the 'cold war'. (J.S.)

  16. 26 CFR 1.1502-44 - Percentage depletion for independent producers and royalty owners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 12 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Percentage depletion for independent producers...-44 Percentage depletion for independent producers and royalty owners. (a) In general. The sum of the percentage depletion deductions for the taxable year for all oil or gas property owned by all members, plus...

  17. Influence of calcium depletion on iron-binding properties of milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mittal, V A; Ellis, A; Ye, A; Das, S; Singh, H

    2015-04-01

    We investigated the effects of calcium depletion on the binding of iron in milk. A weakly acidic cation-exchange resin was used to remove 3 different levels (18-22, 50-55, and 68-72%) of calcium from milk. Five levels of iron (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 mM) were added to each of these calcium-depleted milks (CDM) and the resultant milks were analyzed for particle size, microstructure, and the distribution of protein and minerals between the colloidal and soluble phases. The depletion of calcium affected the distribution of protein and minerals in normal milk. Iron added to normal milk and low-CDM (~20% calcium depletion) bound mainly to the colloidal phase (material sedimented at 100,000 × g for 1 h at 20 °C), with little effect on the integrity of the casein micelles. Depletion of ~70% of the calcium from milk resulted in almost complete disintegration of the casein micelles, as indicated by all the protein remaining in the soluble phase upon ultracentrifugation. Addition of up to ~20 mM iron to high CDM resulted in the formation of small fibrous structures that remained in the soluble phase of milk. It appeared that the iron bound to soluble (nonsedimentable) caseins in high-CDM. We observed a decrease in the aqueous phosphorus content of all milks upon iron addition, irrespective of their calcium content. We considered the interaction between aqueous phosphorus and added iron to be responsible for the high iron-binding capacity of the proteins in milk. The soluble protein-iron complexes formed in high-CDM (~70% calcium depletion) could be used as an effective iron fortificant for a range of food products because of their good solubility characteristics. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Characteristics of Solar Wind Density Depletions During Solar Cycles 23 and 24

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keunchan Park

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Solar wind density depletions are phenomena that solar wind density is rapidly decreased and keep the state. They are generally believed to be caused by the interplanetary (IP shocks. However, there are other cases that are hardly associated with IP shocks. We set up a hypothesis for this phenomenon and analyze this study. We have collected the solar wind parameters such as density, speed and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF data related to the solar wind density depletion events during the period from 1996 to 2013 that are obtained with the advanced composition explorer (ACE and the Wind satellite. We also calculate two pressures (magnetic, dynamic and analyze the relation with density depletion. As a result, we found total 53 events and the most these phenomena’s sources caused by IP shock are interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME. We also found that solar wind density depletions are scarcely related with IP shock’s parameters. The solar wind density is correlated with solar wind dynamic pressure within density depletion. However, the solar wind density has an little anti-correlation with IMF strength during all events of solar wind density depletion, regardless of the presence of IP shocks. Additionally, In 47 events of IP shocks, we find 6 events that show a feature of blast wave. The quantities of IP shocks are weaker than blast wave from the Sun, they are declined in a short time after increasing rapidly. We thus argue that IMF strength or dynamic pressure are an important factor in understanding the nature of solar wind density depletion. Since IMF strength and solar wind speed varies with solar cycle, we will also investigate the characteristics of solar wind density depletion events in different phases of solar cycle as an additional clue to their physical nature.

  19. Thickness dependence of the levitation performance of double-layer high-temperature superconductor bulks above a magnetic rail

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, R.X.; Zheng, J.; Liao, X.L.; Che, T.; Gou, Y.F.; He, D.B.; Deng, Z.G.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Thickness optimization of double-layer bulk HTSC arrangement is studied. • The new bulk HTSC arrangement makes better use of the flux distribution of the magnetic rails. • Levitation performance can be enhanced with the optimization. • The optimization can meet large levitation force requirements for HTS Maglev system. - Abstract: A double-layer high-temperature superconductor (HTSC) arrangement was proposed and proved to be able to bring improvements to both levitation force and guidance force compared with present single-layer HTSC arrangement. To fully exploit the applied magnetic field by a magnetic rail, the thickness dependence of a double-layer HTSC arrangement on the levitation performance was further investigated in the paper. In this study, the lower-layer bulk was polished step by step to different thicknesses, and the upper-layer bulk with constant thickness was directly superimposed on the lower-layer one. The levitation force and the force relaxation of the double-layer HTSC arrangement were measured above a Halbach magnetic rail. Experimental result shows that a bigger levitation force and a less levitation force decay could be achieved by optimizing the thickness of the lower-layer bulk HTSC. This thickness optimization method could be applied together with former reported double-layer HTSC arrangement method with aligned growth sector boundaries pattern. This series of study on the optimized combination method do bring a significant improvement on the levitation performance of present HTS maglev systems

  20. Thickness dependence of the levitation performance of double-layer high-temperature superconductor bulks above a magnetic rail

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, R.X.; Zheng, J.; Liao, X.L.; Che, T.; Gou, Y.F.; He, D.B.; Deng, Z.G., E-mail: zgdeng@gmail.com

    2014-10-15

    Highlights: • Thickness optimization of double-layer bulk HTSC arrangement is studied. • The new bulk HTSC arrangement makes better use of the flux distribution of the magnetic rails. • Levitation performance can be enhanced with the optimization. • The optimization can meet large levitation force requirements for HTS Maglev system. - Abstract: A double-layer high-temperature superconductor (HTSC) arrangement was proposed and proved to be able to bring improvements to both levitation force and guidance force compared with present single-layer HTSC arrangement. To fully exploit the applied magnetic field by a magnetic rail, the thickness dependence of a double-layer HTSC arrangement on the levitation performance was further investigated in the paper. In this study, the lower-layer bulk was polished step by step to different thicknesses, and the upper-layer bulk with constant thickness was directly superimposed on the lower-layer one. The levitation force and the force relaxation of the double-layer HTSC arrangement were measured above a Halbach magnetic rail. Experimental result shows that a bigger levitation force and a less levitation force decay could be achieved by optimizing the thickness of the lower-layer bulk HTSC. This thickness optimization method could be applied together with former reported double-layer HTSC arrangement method with aligned growth sector boundaries pattern. This series of study on the optimized combination method do bring a significant improvement on the levitation performance of present HTS maglev systems.

  1. Methods To Determine the Silicone Oil Layer Thickness in Sprayed-On Siliconized Syringes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loosli, Viviane; Germershaus, Oliver; Steinberg, Henrik; Dreher, Sascha; Grauschopf, Ulla; Funke, Stefanie

    2018-01-01

    The silicone lubricant layer in prefilled syringes has been investigated with regards to siliconization process performance, prefilled syringe functionality, and drug product attributes, such as subvisible particle levels, in several studies in the past. However, adequate methods to characterize the silicone oil layer thickness and distribution are limited, and systematic evaluation is missing. In this study, white light interferometry was evaluated to close this gap in method understanding. White light interferometry demonstrated a good accuracy of 93-99% for MgF 2 coated, curved standards covering a thickness range of 115-473 nm. Thickness measurements for sprayed-on siliconized prefilled syringes with different representative silicone oil distribution patterns (homogeneous, pronounced siliconization at flange or needle side, respectively) showed high instrument (0.5%) and analyst precision (4.1%). Different white light interferometry instrument parameters (autofocus, protective shield, syringe barrel dimensions input, type of non-siliconized syringe used as base reference) had no significant impact on the measured average layer thickness. The obtained values from white light interferometry applying a fully developed method (12 radial lines, 50 mm measurement distance, 50 measurements points) were in agreement with orthogonal results from combined white and laser interferometry and 3D-laser scanning microscopy. The investigated syringe batches (lot A and B) exhibited comparable longitudinal silicone oil layer thicknesses ranging from 170-190 nm to 90-100 nm from flange to tip and homogeneously distributed silicone layers over the syringe barrel circumference (110- 135 nm). Empty break-loose (4-4.5 N) and gliding forces (2-2.5 N) were comparably low for both analyzed syringe lots. A silicone oil layer thickness of 100-200 nm was thus sufficient for adequate functionality in this particular study. Filling the syringe with a surrogate solution including short

  2. Evaluation of a hybrid photon counting pixel detector for X-ray polarimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michel, T.; Durst, J.

    2008-01-01

    It has already been shown in literature that X-ray sensitive CCDs can be used to measure the degree of linear polarization of X-rays using the effect that photoelectrons are emitted with a non-isotropic angular distribution in respect to the orientation of the electric field vector of impinging photons. Up to now hybrid semiconductor pixel detectors like the Timepix-detector have never been used for X-ray polarimetry. The main reason for this is that the pixel pitch is large compared to CCDs which results in a much smaller analyzing power. On the other hand, the active thickness of the sensor layer can be larger than in CCDs leading to an increased efficiency. Therefore hybrid photon counting pixel detectors may be used for imaging and polarimetry at higher photon energies. For irradiation with polarized X-ray photons we were able to measure an asymmetry between vertical and horizontal double hit events in neighboring pixels of the hybrid photon counting Timepix-detector at room temperature. For the specific spectrum used in our experiment an average polarization asymmetry of (0.96±0.02)% was measured. Additionally, the Timepix-detector with its spectroscopic time-over-threshold-mode was used to measure the dependence of the polarization asymmetry on energy deposition in the detector. Polarization asymmetries between 0.2% at 29 keV and 3.4% at 78 keV energy deposition were determined. The results can be reproduced with our EGS4-based Monte-Carlo simulation

  3. MEASURING Be DEPLETION IN COOL STARS WITH EXOPLANETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delgado Mena, E.; Israelian, G.; Gonzalez Hernandez, J. I.; Rebolo, R.; Santos, N. C.

    2011-01-01

    We present new UVES spectra of a sample of 14 mostly cool unevolved stars with planetary companions with the aim of studying possible differences in Be abundance with respect to stars without detected planets. We determine Be abundances for these stars that show an increase in Be depletion as we move to lower temperatures. We carry out a differential analysis of spectra of analog stars with and without planets to establish a possible difference in Be content. While for hot stars no measurable difference is found in Be, for the only cool (T eff ∼ 5000 K) planet-host star with several analogs in the sample we find enhanced Be depletion by 0.25 dex. This is a first indication that the extra-depletion of Li in solar-type stars with planets may also happen for Be, but shifted toward lower temperatures (T eff < 5500 K) due to the depth of the convective envelopes. The processes that take place in the formation of planetary systems may affect the mixing of material inside their host stars and hence the abundances of light elements.

  4. The influence of ego depletion on sprint start performance in athletes without track and field experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Englert, Chris; Persaud, Brittany N; Oudejans, Raôul R D; Bertrams, Alex

    2015-01-01

    We tested the assumption that ego depletion would affect the sprint start in a sample of N = 38 athletes without track and field experience in an experiment by applying a mixed between- (depletion vs. non-depletion) within- (T1: before manipulation of ego depletion vs. T2: after manipulation of ego depletion) subjects design. We assumed that ego depletion would increase the possibility for a false start, as regulating the impulse to initiate the sprinting movement too soon before the starting signal requires self-control. In line with our assumption, we found a significant interaction as there was only a significant increase in the number of false starts from T1 to T2 for the depletion group while this was not the case for the non-depletion group. We conclude that ego depletion has a detrimental influence on the sprint start in athletes without track and field experience.

  5. Reverse ego-depletion: Acts of self-control can improve subsequent performance in Indian cultural contexts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savani, Krishna; Job, Veronika

    2017-10-01

    The strength model of self-control has been predominantly tested with people from Western cultures. The present research asks whether the phenomenon of ego-depletion generalizes to a culture emphasizing the virtues of exerting mental self-control in everyday life. A pilot study found that whereas Americans tended to believe that exerting willpower on mental tasks is depleting, Indians tended to believe that exerting willpower is energizing. Using dual task ego-depletion paradigms, Studies 1a, 1b, and 1c found reverse ego-depletion among Indian participants, such that participants exhibited better mental self-control on a subsequent task after initially working on strenuous rather than nonstrenuous cognitive tasks. Studies 2 and 3 found that Westerners exhibited the ego-depletion effect whereas Indians exhibited the reverse ego-depletion effect on the same set of tasks. Study 4 documented the causal effect of lay beliefs about whether exerting willpower is depleting versus energizing on reverse ego-depletion with both Indian and Western participants. Together, these studies reveal the underlying basis of the ego-depletion phenomenon in culturally shaped lay theories about willpower. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Through thickness property variations in a thick plate AA7050 friction stir welded joint

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canaday, Clinton T.; Moore, Matthew A.; Tang, Wei; Reynolds, A.P.

    2013-01-01

    In this study, moderately thick (32 mm) AA7050 plates were joined by friction stir welding (FSW). Various methods were used to characterize the welded joints, including nugget grain size measurements at different locations through the thickness, micro-hardness indentation through nugget, thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ), and heat affected zone (HAZ) at different cross section heights, and residual stress measurement using the cut compliance method with full thickness and partial thickness specimens. All testing results are consistent with the presence of a strong gradient in peak temperature through the plate thickness during FSW.

  7. Top-gate organic depletion and inversion transistors with doped channel and injection contact

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Xuhai; Kasemann, Daniel, E-mail: daniel.kasemann@iapp.de; Leo, Karl [Institut für Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universität Dresden, George-Bähr-Strasse 1, 01069 Dresden (Germany)

    2015-03-09

    Organic field-effect transistors constitute a vibrant research field and open application perspectives in flexible electronics. For a commercial breakthrough, however, significant performance improvements are still needed, e.g., stable and high charge carrier mobility and on-off ratio, tunable threshold voltage, as well as integrability criteria such as n- and p-channel operation and top-gate architecture. Here, we show pentacene-based top-gate organic transistors operated in depletion and inversion regimes, realized by doping source and drain contacts as well as a thin layer of the transistor channel. By varying the doping concentration and the thickness of the doped channel, we control the position of the threshold voltage without degrading on-off ratio or mobility. Capacitance-voltage measurements show that an inversion channel can indeed be formed, e.g., an n-doped channel can be inverted to a p-type inversion channel with highly p-doped contacts. The Cytop polymer dielectric minimizes hysteresis, and the transistors can be biased for prolonged cycles without a shift of threshold voltage, indicating excellent operation stability.

  8. Macroinvertebrate short-term responses to flow variation and oxygen depletion: A mesocosm approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calapez, Ana R; Branco, Paulo; Santos, José M; Ferreira, Teresa; Hein, Thomas; Brito, António G; Feio, Maria João

    2017-12-01

    In Mediterranean rivers, water scarcity is a key stressor with direct and indirect effects on other stressors, such as water quality decline and inherent oxygen depletion associated with pollutants inputs. Yet, predicting the responses of macroinvertebrates to these stressors combination is quite challenging due to the reduced available information, especially if biotic and abiotic seasonal variations are taken under consideration. This study focused on the response of macroinvertebrates by drift to single and combined effects of water scarcity and dissolved oxygen (DO) depletion over two seasons (winter and spring). A factorial design of two flow velocity levels - regular and low (vL) - with three levels of oxygen depletion - normoxia, medium depletion (dM) and higher depletion (dH) - was carried out in a 5-artificial channels system, in short-term experiments. Results showed that both stressors individually and together had a significant effect on macroinvertebrate drift ratio for both seasons. Single stressor effects showed that macroinvertebrate drift decreased with flow velocity reduction and increased with DO depletion, in both winter and spring experiments. Despite single stressors opposing effects in drift ratio, combined stressors interaction (vL×dM and vL×dH) induced a positive synergistic drift effect for both seasons, but only in winter the drift ratio was different between the levels of DO depletion. Stressors interaction in winter seemed to intensify drift response when reached lower oxygen saturation. Also, drift patterns were different between seasons for all treatments, which may depend on individual's life stage and seasonal behaviour. Water scarcity seems to exacerbate the oxygen depletion conditions resulting into a greater drifting of invertebrates. The potential effects of oxygen depletion should be evaluated when addressing the impacts of water scarcity on river ecosystems, since flow reductions will likely contribute to a higher oxygen

  9. Depleted uranium plasma reduction system study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rekemeyer, P.; Feizollahi, F.; Quapp, W.J.; Brown, B.W.

    1994-12-01

    A system life-cycle cost study was conducted of a preliminary design concept for a plasma reduction process for converting depleted uranium to uranium metal and anhydrous HF. The plasma-based process is expected to offer significant economic and environmental advantages over present technology. Depleted Uranium is currently stored in the form of solid UF 6 , of which approximately 575,000 metric tons is stored at three locations in the U.S. The proposed system is preconceptual in nature, but includes all necessary processing equipment and facilities to perform the process. The study has identified total processing cost of approximately $3.00/kg of UF 6 processed. Based on the results of this study, the development of a laboratory-scale system (1 kg/h throughput of UF6) is warranted. Further scaling of the process to pilot scale will be determined after laboratory testing is complete

  10. Implantation of a new calculation method of fuel depletion in the CITHAM code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alvarenga, M.A.B.

    1985-01-01

    It is evaluated the accuracy of the linear aproximation method used in the CITHAN code to obtain the solution of depletion equations. Results are compared with the Benchmark problem. The convenience of depletion chain before criticality calculations is analysed. The depletion calculation was modified using linear combination technic of linear chains. (M.C.K.) [pt

  11. Determining Mass and Persistence of a Reactive Brominated-Solvent DNAPL Source Using Mass Depletion-Mass Flux Reduction Relationships During Pumping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, C. D.; Davis, G. B.; Bastow, T.; Annable, M. D.; Trefry, M. G.; Furness, A.; Geste, Y.; Woodbury, R.; Rhodes, S.

    2011-12-01

    Measures of the source mass and depletion characteristics of recalcitrant dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) contaminants are critical elements for assessing performance of remediation efforts. This is in addition to understanding the relationships between source mass depletion and changes to dissolved contaminant concentration and mass flux in groundwater. Here we present results of applying analytical source-depletion concepts to pumping from within the DNAPL source zone of a 10-m thick heterogeneous layered aquifer to estimate the original source mass and characterise the time trajectory of source depletion and mass flux in groundwater. The multi-component, reactive DNAPL source consisted of the brominated solvent tetrabromoethane (TBA) and its transformation products (mostly tribromoethene - TriBE). Coring and multi-level groundwater sampling indicated the DNAPL to be mainly in lower-permeability layers, suggesting the source had already undergone appreciable depletion. Four simplified source dissolution models (exponential, power function, error function and rational mass) were able to describe the concentration history of the total molar concentration of brominated organics in extracted groundwater during 285 days of pumping. Approximately 152 kg of brominated compounds were extracted. The lack of significant kinetic mass transfer limitations in pumped concentrations was notable. This was despite the heterogeneous layering in the aquifer and distribution of DNAPL. There was little to choose between the model fits to pumped concentration time series. The variance of groundwater velocities in the aquifer determined during a partitioning inter-well tracer test (PITT) were used to parameterise the models. However, the models were found to be relatively insensitive to this parameter. All models indicated an initial source mass around 250 kg which compared favourably to an estimate of 220 kg derived from the PITT. The extrapolated concentrations from the

  12. Effect of selective T cell depletion of host and/or donor bone marrow on lymphopoietic repopulation, tolerance, and graft-vs-host disease in mixed allogeneic chimeras (B10 + B10.D2----B10)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ildstad, S.T.; Wren, S.M.; Bluestone, J.A.; Barbieri, S.A.; Stephany, D.; Sachs, D.H.

    1986-01-01

    Reconstitution of lethally irradiated mice with a mixture of T cell-depleted syngeneic plus T cell-depleted allogeneic bone marrow (B10 + B10.D2----B10) leads to the induction of mixed lymphopoietic chimerism, excellent survivals, specific in vivo transplantation tolerance to subsequent donor strain skin grafts, and specific in vitro unresponsiveness to allogeneic donor lymphoid elements as assessed by mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) proliferative and cell-mediated lympholysis (CML) cytotoxicity assays. When B10 recipient mice received mixed marrow inocula in which the syngeneic component had not been T cell depleted, whether or not the allogeneic donor marrow was treated, they repopulated exclusively with host-type cells, promptly rejected donor-type skin allografts, and were reactive in vitro to the allogeneic donor by CML and MLR assays. In contrast, T cell depletion of the syngeneic component of the mixed marrow inocula resulted in specific acceptance of allogeneic donor strain skin grafts. Such animals were specifically unreactive to allogeneic donor lymphoid elements in vitro by CML and MLR, but were reactive to third party. When both the syngeneic and allogeneic marrow were T cell depleted, variable percentages of host- and donor-type lymphoid elements were detected in the mixed reconstituted host. When only the syngeneic bone marrow was T cell depleted, animals repopulated exclusively with donor-type cells. Although these animals had detectable in vitro anti-host (B10) reactivity by CML and MLR and reconstituted as fully allogeneic chimeras, they exhibited excellent survival and had no in vivo evidence for graft-vs-host disease. Experiments in which untreated donor spleen cells were added to the inocula in this last group suggest that the presence of T cell-depleted syngeneic bone marrow cells diminishes graft-vs-host disease and the mortality from it

  13. Global analysis of depletion and recovery of seabed biota after bottom trawling disturbance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiddink, Jan Geert; Jennings, Simon; Sciberras, Marija; Szostek, Claire L; Hughes, Kathryn M; Ellis, Nick; Rijnsdorp, Adriaan D; McConnaughey, Robert A; Mazor, Tessa; Hilborn, Ray; Collie, Jeremy S; Pitcher, C Roland; Amoroso, Ricardo O; Parma, Ana M; Suuronen, Petri; Kaiser, Michel J

    2017-08-01

    Bottom trawling is the most widespread human activity affecting seabed habitats. Here, we collate all available data for experimental and comparative studies of trawling impacts on whole communities of seabed macroinvertebrates on sedimentary habitats and develop widely applicable methods to estimate depletion and recovery rates of biota after trawling. Depletion of biota and trawl penetration into the seabed are highly correlated. Otter trawls caused the least depletion, removing 6% of biota per pass and penetrating the seabed on average down to 2.4 cm, whereas hydraulic dredges caused the most depletion, removing 41% of biota and penetrating the seabed on average 16.1 cm. Median recovery times posttrawling (from 50 to 95% of unimpacted biomass) ranged between 1.9 and 6.4 y. By accounting for the effects of penetration depth, environmental variation, and uncertainty, the models explained much of the variability of depletion and recovery estimates from single studies. Coupled with large-scale, high-resolution maps of trawling frequency and habitat, our estimates of depletion and recovery rates enable the assessment of trawling impacts on unprecedented spatial scales.

  14. The Physical Origin of Long Gas Depletion Times in Galaxies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Semenov, Vadim A.; Kravtsov, Andrey V.; Gnedin, Nickolay Y.

    2017-08-18

    We present a model that elucidates why gas depletion times in galaxies are long compared to the time scales of the processes driving the evolution of the interstellar medium. We show that global depletion times are not set by any "bottleneck" in the process of gas evolution towards the star-forming state. Instead, depletion times are long because star-forming gas converts only a small fraction of its mass into stars before it is dispersed by dynamical and feedback processes. Thus, complete depletion requires that gas transitions between star-forming and non-star-forming states multiple times. Our model does not rely on the assumption of equilibrium and can be used to interpret trends of depletion times with the properties of observed galaxies and the parameters of star formation and feedback recipes in galaxy simulations. In particular, the model explains the mechanism by which feedback self-regulates star formation rate in simulations and makes it insensitive to the local star formation efficiency. We illustrate our model using the results of an isolated $L_*$-sized disk galaxy simulation that reproduces the observed Kennicutt-Schmidt relation for both molecular and atomic gas. Interestingly, the relation for molecular gas is close to linear on kiloparsec scales, even though a non-linear relation is adopted in simulation cells. This difference is due to stellar feedback, which breaks the self-similar scaling of the gas density PDF with the average gas surface density.

  15. A Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor for ionizing radiation using a 180 nm HV-SOI process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hemperek, Tomasz, E-mail: hemperek@uni-bonn.de; Kishishita, Tetsuichi; Krüger, Hans; Wermes, Norbert

    2015-10-01

    An improved SOI-MAPS (Silicon On Insulator Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor) for ionizing radiation based on thick-film High Voltage SOI technology (HV-SOI) has been developed. Similar to existing Fully Depleted SOI-based (FD-SOI) MAPS, a buried silicon oxide inter-dielectric (BOX) layer is used to separate the CMOS electronics from the handle wafer which is used as a depleted charge collection layer. FD-SOI MAPS suffers from radiation damage such as transistor threshold voltage shifts due to charge traps in the oxide layers and charge states created at the silicon oxide boundaries (back gate effect). The X-FAB 180-nm HV-SOI technology offers an additional isolation by deep non-depleted implant between the BOX layer and the active circuitry which mitigates this problem. Therefore we see in this technology a high potential to implement radiation-tolerant MAPS with fast charge collection property. The design and measurement results from a first prototype are presented including charge collection in neutron irradiated samples.

  16. Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Management Program. The technology assessment report for the long-term management of depleted uranium hexafluoride. Volume 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zoller, J.N.; Rosen, R.S.; Holliday, M.A.

    1995-01-01

    With the publication of a Request for Recommendations and Advance Notice of Intent in the November 10, 1994 Federal Register, the Department of Energy initiated a program to assess alternative strategies for the long-term management or use of depleted uranium hexafluoride. This Request was made to help ensure that, by seeking as many recommendations as possible, Department management considers reasonable options in the long-range management strategy. The Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Management Program consists of three major program elements: Engineering Analysis, Cost Analysis, and an Environmental Impact Statement. This Technology Assessment Report is the first part of the Engineering Analysis Project, and assesses recommendations from interested persons, industry, and Government agencies for potential uses for the depleted uranium hexafluoride stored at the gaseous diffusion plants in Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, and at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. Technologies that could facilitate the long-term management of this material are also assessed. The purpose of the Technology Assessment Report is to present the results of the evaluation of these recommendations. Department management will decide which recommendations will receive further study and evaluation

  17. Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Management Program. The technology assessment report for the long-term management of depleted uranium hexafluoride. Volume 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zoller, J.N.; Rosen, R.S.; Holliday, M.A. [and others

    1995-06-30

    With the publication of a Request for Recommendations and Advance Notice of Intent in the November 10, 1994 Federal Register, the Department of Energy initiated a program to assess alternative strategies for the long-term management or use of depleted uranium hexafluoride. This Request was made to help ensure that, by seeking as many recommendations as possible, Department management considers reasonable options in the long-range management strategy. The Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Management Program consists of three major program elements: Engineering Analysis, Cost Analysis, and an Environmental Impact Statement. This Technology Assessment Report is the first part of the Engineering Analysis Project, and assesses recommendations from interested persons, industry, and Government agencies for potential uses for the depleted uranium hexafluoride stored at the gaseous diffusion plants in Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, and at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. Technologies that could facilitate the long-term management of this material are also assessed. The purpose of the Technology Assessment Report is to present the results of the evaluation of these recommendations. Department management will decide which recommendations will receive further study and evaluation.

  18. Non-contact radiation thickness gauge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsujii, T.; Okino, T.

    1983-01-01

    A noncontact thickness gauge system for measuring the thickness of a material comprising a source of radiation, a detector for detecting the amount of radiation transmitted through the material which is a function of the absorptance and thickness of the material, a memory for storing the output signals of the detector and curve-defining parameters for a plurality of quadratic calibration curves which correspond to respective thickness ranges, and a processor for processing the signals and curve defining parameters to determine the thickness of the material. Measurements are made after precalibration to obtain calibration curves and these are stored in the memory, providing signals representative of a nominal thickness and an alloy compensation coefficient for the material. The calibration curve corresponding to a particular thickness range is selected and the curve compensated for drift; the material is inserted into the radiation path and the detector output signal processed with the compensated calibration curve to determine the thickness of the material. (author)

  19. Age-related mitochondrial DNA depletion and the impact on pancreatic Beta cell function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nile, Donna L; Brown, Audrey E; Kumaheri, Meutia A; Blair, Helen R; Heggie, Alison; Miwa, Satomi; Cree, Lynsey M; Payne, Brendan; Chinnery, Patrick F; Brown, Louise; Gunn, David A; Walker, Mark

    2014-01-01

    Type 2 diabetes is characterised by an age-related decline in insulin secretion. We previously identified a 50% age-related decline in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number in isolated human islets. The purpose of this study was to mimic this degree of mtDNA depletion in MIN6 cells to determine whether there is a direct impact on insulin secretion. Transcriptional silencing of mitochondrial transcription factor A, TFAM, decreased mtDNA levels by 40% in MIN6 cells. This level of mtDNA depletion significantly decreased mtDNA gene transcription and translation, resulting in reduced mitochondrial respiratory capacity and ATP production. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was impaired following partial mtDNA depletion, but was normalised following treatment with glibenclamide. This confirms that the deficit in the insulin secretory pathway precedes K+ channel closure, indicating that the impact of mtDNA depletion is at the level of mitochondrial respiration. In conclusion, partial mtDNA depletion to a degree comparable to that seen in aged human islets impaired mitochondrial function and directly decreased insulin secretion. Using our model of partial mtDNA depletion following targeted gene silencing of TFAM, we have managed to mimic the degree of mtDNA depletion observed in aged human islets, and have shown how this correlates with impaired insulin secretion. We therefore predict that the age-related mtDNA depletion in human islets is not simply a biomarker of the aging process, but will contribute to the age-related risk of type 2 diabetes.

  20. Dopaminergic modulation of striatal acetylcholine release in rats depleted of dopamine as neonates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, B J; Bruno, J P

    1995-02-01

    A repeated sessions, in vivo microdialysis design was used to determine the D1- and D2-like receptor modulation of striatal ACh efflux in intact adult rats and those depleted of DA on postnatal Day 3. Systemic administration of the D1-like agonist SKF 38393 (1.0 or 10.0 mg/kg, or the D2-like antagonist clebopride (1.0 or 10.0 mg/kg) increased ACh efflux in both controls and DA-depleted animals. Systemic administration of the D1-like antagonist SCH 23390 (0.05 or 0.2 mg/kg) or D2-like agonist quinpirole (0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg) decreased ACh efflux in both groups of animals. DA-depleted animals exhibited a larger response than did controls to the lower doses of these drugs. Intrastriatal administration of clebopride (10 microM) increased ACh efflux in DA-depleted animals. Finally, basal and clebopride-stimulated ACh efflux were unaffected by the repeated microdialysis sessions. These data demonstrate that the reciprocal modulation of striatal ACh efflux, seen in controls and in rats depleted of DA as adults, is also present in adults depleted of DA as neonates. Because the roles of D1- and D2-receptors in the expression of motor behavior differ between rats depleted of DA as adults vs as neonates, these data suggest that alterations in the dopaminergic modulation of striatal ACh release do not underlie the sparing from motoric deficits seen in animals depleted of DA as neonates.

  1. Self-Guiding of Ultrashort Relativistically Intense Laser Pulses to the Limit of Nonlinear Pump Depletion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ralph, J. E.; Marsh, K. A.; Pak, A. E.; Lu, W.; Clayton, C. E.; Fang, F.; Joshi, C.; Tsung, F. S.; Mori, W. B.

    2009-01-01

    A study of self-guiding of ultra short, relativistically intense laser pulses is presented. Here, the laser pulse length is on the order of the nonlinear plasma wavelength and the normalized vector potential is greater than one. Self-guiding of ultrashort laser pulses over tens of Rayliegh lengths is possible when driving a highly nonlinear wake. In this case, self-guiding is limited by nonlinear pump depletion. Erosion of the pulse due to diffraction at the head of the laser pulse is minimized for spot sizes close to the blow-out radius. This is due to the slowing of the group velocity of the photons at the head of the laser pulse. Using an approximately 10 TW Ti:Sapphire laser with a pulse length of approximately 50 fs, experimental results are presented showing self-guiding over lengths exceeding 30 Rayliegh lengths in various length Helium gas jets. Fully explicit 3D PIC simulations supporting the experimental results are also presented.

  2. The depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabogal Nelson

    2000-01-01

    The protection of the Earth's ozone layer is of the highest importance to mankind. The dangers of its destruction are by now well known. The depletion of that layer has reached record levels. The Antarctic ozone hole covered this year a record area. The ozone layer is predicted to begin recovery in the next one or two decades and should be restored to pre-1980 levels by 2050. This is the achievement of the regime established by the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The regime established by these two agreements has been revised, and made more effective in London (1990), Copenhagen (1992), Vienna (1995), and Beijing (1999)

  3. Local depletion of glycogen with supramaximal exercise in human skeletal muscle fibres.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gejl, Kasper D; Ørtenblad, Niels; Andersson, Erik; Plomgaard, Peter; Holmberg, Hans-Christer; Nielsen, Joachim

    2017-05-01

    Glycogen is stored in local spatially distinct compartments within skeletal muscle fibres and is the main energy source during supramaximal exercise. Using quantitative electron microscopy, we show that supramaximal exercise induces a differential depletion of glycogen from these compartments and also demonstrate how this varies with fibre types. Repeated exercise alters this compartmentalized glycogen depletion. The results obtained in the present study help us understand the muscle metabolic dynamics of whole body repeated supramaximal exercise, and suggest that the muscle has a compartmentalized local adaptation to repeated exercise, which affects glycogen depletion. Skeletal muscle glycogen is heterogeneously distributed in three separated compartments (intramyofibrillar, intermyofibrillar and subsarcolemmal). Although only constituting 3-13% of the total glycogen volume, the availability of intramyofibrillar glycogen is of particular importance to muscle function. The present study aimed to investigate the depletion of these three subcellular glycogen compartments during repeated supramaximal exercise in elite athletes. Ten elite cross-country skiers (aged 25 ± 4 years, V̇O2 max : 65 ± 4 ml kg -1  min -1 ; mean ± SD) performed four ∼4 min supramaximal sprint time trials (STT 1-4) with 45 min of recovery. The subcellular glycogen volumes in musculus triceps brachii were quantified from electron microscopy images before and after both STT 1 and 4. During STT 1, the depletion of intramyofibrillar glycogen was higher in type 1 fibres [-52%; (-89:-15%)] than type 2 fibres [-15% (-52:22%)] (P = 0.02), whereas the depletion of intermyofibrillar glycogen [main effect: -19% (-33:0%), P = 0.006] and subsarcolemmal glycogen [main effect: -35% (-66:0%), P = 0.03] was similar between fibre types. By contrast, only intermyofibrillar glycogen volume was significantly reduced during STT 4, in both fibre types [main effect: -31% (-50:-11%), P = 0

  4. Unable to resist temptation : How self-control depletion promotes unethical behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gino, F.; Schweitzer, M.; Mead, N.L.; Ariely, D.

    2011-01-01

    Across four experimental studies, individuals who were depleted of their self-regulatory resources by an initial act of self-control were more likely to “impulsively cheat” than individuals whose self-regulatory resources were intact. Our results demonstrate that individuals depleted of self-control

  5. Comparative study of heavy and deuterium-depleted water on platelet aggregation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haulica, I.; Neagu, B.; Boisteanu, C.P.; Bild, W.; Mihaila, C.; Bajenariu, M.

    2000-01-01

    The effects of timed incubation of PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) with various concentrations of deuterium-depleted or deuterated water were tested. Aggregation curves were obtained under constant stirring at 20 deg.C and at 37 deg.C, using 5 - 10 μM ADP as aggregation trigger, using a Specord photo colorimeter. Incubation with 10 % deuterated water showed a significant decrease in the aggregation curves, an effect consistent with the data in the literature. Incubation with deuterium depleted water in the same conditions showed a marked increase in the aggregation curves, which suggests a powerful pro-aggregating effect of deuterium depleted water. (authors)

  6. Thickness filters for gradient based multi-material and thickness optimization of laminated composite structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Rene; Lund, Erik

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a new gradient based method for performing discrete material and thickness optimization of laminated composite structures. The novelty in the new method lies in the application of so-called casting constraints, or thickness filters in this context, to control the thickness...... variation throughout the laminate. The filters replace the layerwise density variables with a single continuous through-the-thickness design variable. Consequently, the filters eliminate the need for having explicit constraints for preventing intermediate void through the thickness of the laminate....... Therefore, the filters reduce both the number of constraints and design variables in the optimization problem. Based upon a continuous approximation of a unit step function, the thickness filters are capable of projecting discrete 0/1 values to the underlying layerwise or ”physical” density variables which...

  7. Resource depletion promotes automatic processing: implications for distribution of practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheel, Matthew H

    2010-12-01

    Recent models of cognition include two processing systems: an automatic system that relies on associative learning, intuition, and heuristics, and a controlled system that relies on deliberate consideration. Automatic processing requires fewer resources and is more likely when resources are depleted. This study showed that prolonged practice on a resource-depleting mental arithmetic task promoted automatic processing on a subsequent problem-solving task, as evidenced by faster responding and more errors. Distribution of practice effects (0, 60, 120, or 180 sec. between problems) on rigidity also disappeared when groups had equal time on resource-depleting tasks. These results suggest that distribution of practice effects is reducible to resource availability. The discussion includes implications for interpreting discrepancies in the traditional distribution of practice effect.

  8. Stochastic interactions of two Brownian hard spheres in the presence of depletants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karzar-Jeddi, Mehdi; Fan, Tai-Hsi; Tuinier, Remco; Taniguchi, Takashi

    2014-01-01

    A quantitative analysis is presented for the stochastic interactions of a pair of Brownian hard spheres in non-adsorbing polymer solutions. The hard spheres are hypothetically trapped by optical tweezers and allowed for random motion near the trapped positions. The investigation focuses on the long-time correlated Brownian motion. The mobility tensor altered by the polymer depletion effect is computed by the boundary integral method, and the corresponding random displacement is determined by the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. From our computations it follows that the presence of depletion layers around the hard spheres has a significant effect on the hydrodynamic interactions and particle dynamics as compared to pure solvent and uniform polymer solution cases. The probability distribution functions of random walks of the two interacting hard spheres that are trapped clearly shift due to the polymer depletion effect. The results show that the reduction of the viscosity in the depletion layers around the spheres and the entropic force due to the overlapping of depletion zones have a significant influence on the correlated Brownian interactions

  9. VERA Pin and Fuel Assembly Depletion Benchmark Calculations by McCARD and DeCART

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Ho Jin; Cho, Jin Young [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    Monte Carlo (MC) codes have been developed and used to simulate a neutron transport since MC method was devised in the Manhattan project. Solving the neutron transport problem with the MC method is simple and straightforward to understand. Because there are few essential approximations for the 6- dimension phase of a neutron such as the location, energy, and direction in MC calculations, highly accurate solutions can be obtained through such calculations. In this work, the VERA pin and fuel assembly (FA) depletion benchmark calculations are performed to examine the depletion capability of the newly generated DeCART multi-group cross section library. To obtain the reference solutions, MC depletion calculations are conducted using McCARD. Moreover, to scrutinize the effect by stochastic uncertainty propagation, uncertainty propagation analyses are performed using a sensitivity and uncertainty (S/U) analysis method and stochastic sampling (S.S) method. It is still expensive and challenging to perform a depletion analysis by a MC code. Nevertheless, many studies and works for a MC depletion analysis have been conducted to utilize the benefits of the MC method. In this study, McCARD MC and DeCART MOC transport calculations are performed for the VERA pin and FA depletion benchmarks. The DeCART depletion calculations are conducted to examine the depletion capability of the newly generated multi-group cross section library. The DeCART depletion calculations give excellent agreement with the McCARD reference one. From the McCARD results, it is observed that the MC depletion results depend on how to split the burnup interval. First, only to quantify the effect of the stochastic uncertainty propagation at 40 DTS, the uncertainty propagation analyses are performed using the S/U and S.S. method.

  10. Effect of indomethacin and salt depletion on renal proton MR imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heyman, S.N.; Mammen, M.

    1991-01-01

    Blockade of the synthesis of vasodilating prostaglandins with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) renders the renal medulla susceptible to hypoxic injury with reduced renal function, especially in clinical conditions characterized by volume depletion. Alterations in renal hemodynamics and urine production may effect renal MR imaging under these circumstances. We injected salt-depleted and control rats undergoing proton MR imaging with indomethacin 10 mg/kg. Indomethacin abolished the cortico-medullary T2-gradient and markedly diminished the overall renal signal in salt-depleted rats only. These changes, which progressed over a period of 40 min after indomethacin was injected, probably result from renal oligemia and decreased urine production, with an associated decrease in T2-values. We suggest that a history of consumption of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be obtained and taken into account in the evaluation of renal proton MR imaging, especially in the presence of salt and volume depletion. (orig.)

  11. Sweetened blood sweetens behavior. Ego depletion, glucose, guilt, and prosocial behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Hanyi; Bègue, Laurent; Sauve, Laure; Bushman, Brad J

    2014-10-01

    Although guilt feels bad to the individual, it is good for society because guilty feelings can prompt people to perform good deeds. Previous research shows that fatigue decreases guilty feelings and helpful behavior. This present research tests whether glucose restores guilty feelings and increases helpful behavior. Depleted participants watched a movie about butchering animals for their meat or skin and were told to express no emotions, whereas non-depleted participants watched the same movie, but could express their emotions. Afterwards they drank a glucose or placebo beverage. Having participants play a game in which another person was punished for their errors induced guilt. Finally, participants played a dictator game in which they could leave lottery tickets for the next participant. Depleted participants felt less guilty and helped less than non-depleted participants, and those who consumed a placebo beverage felt less guilt and helped less than those who consumed a glucose beverage. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Comparison of 120- and 140-μm SMILE Cap Thickness Results in Eyes With Thick Corneas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Manli; Zhou, Yugui; Wu, Xianghua; Ye, Tiantian; Liu, Quan

    2016-10-01

    To evaluate clinical outcomes after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) with different cap thicknesses in thick corneas. Forty patients with central corneal thickness of more than 560 μm were recruited in this prospective, randomized, masked, paired-eye study. Patients were randomized to receive SMILE with a 120-μm cap thickness in 1 eye and 140-μm cap thickness in the other. Uncorrected and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), contrast sensitivity (CS), higher-order aberrations (HOAs), and morphologic modifications of corneal architecture were measured during the 3-month follow-up period. Postoperative refractive outcomes, visual outcomes, CS, and the changes in HOAs were similar between both groups. The persistence of brightly reflective particles in the corneal interface layer was 1388.6 ± 219.5/mm in eyes with 120-μm cap thickness and 54.7 ± 8.6/mm in eyes with 140-μm cap thickness (P line at the interface layer almost disappeared in all eyes with 140-μm cap thickness, and it still persisted in 43% of the fellow eyes at 3 months postoperatively. The anterior surfaces of lenticules in the 140-μm cap thickness group exhibited more smoothness than in the 120-μm cap thickness group. There was a lower level corneal wound-healing response after SMILE with a 140-μm cap thickness than with a 120-μm cap thickness, although the thickness of cap creation did not affect visual outcomes by 3 months postoperatively.

  13. The depletion of aqueous nitrous acid in packed towers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Counce, R.M.; Crawford, D.B.

    1987-01-01

    The depletion of aqueous nitrous acid was studied at 298 0 K and at slightly greater than atmospheric pressure. Solutions containing nitrous and nitric acids were contacted with nitrogen in towers packed with 6- and 13-mm Intalox saddles. The results indicate the existence of two depletion mechanisms for the conditions studied - liquid-phase decomposition and direct desorption of nitrous acid. Models based on mass-transfer and chemical-kinetic information are presented to explain the experimental results. 24 refs., 8 figs., 3 tabs

  14. Evaluation of acute tryptophan depletion and sham depletion with a gelatin-based collagen peptide protein mixture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stenbæk, Dea Siggaard; Einarsdottir, H S; Goregliad-Fjaellingsdal, T

    2016-01-01

    Acute Tryptophan Depletion (ATD) is a dietary method used to modulate central 5-HT to study the effects of temporarily reduced 5-HT synthesis. The aim of this study is to evaluate a novel method of ATD using a gelatin-based collagen peptide (CP) mixture. We administered CP-Trp or CP+Trp mixtures...

  15. Reactor fuel depletion benchmark of TINDER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, W.J.; Oliveira, C.R.E. de; Hecht, A.A.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A reactor burnup benchmark of TINDER, coupling MCNP6 to CINDER2008, was performed. • TINDER is a poor candidate for fuel depletion calculations using its current libraries. • Data library modification is necessary if fuel depletion is desired from TINDER. - Abstract: Accurate burnup calculations are key to proper nuclear reactor design, fuel cycle modeling, and disposal estimations. The TINDER code, originally designed for activation analyses, has been modified to handle full burnup calculations, including the widely used predictor–corrector feature. In order to properly characterize the performance of TINDER for this application, a benchmark calculation was performed. Although the results followed the trends of past benchmarked codes for a UO 2 PWR fuel sample from the Takahama-3 reactor, there were obvious deficiencies in the final result, likely in the nuclear data library that was used. Isotopic comparisons versus experiment and past code benchmarks are given, as well as hypothesized areas of deficiency and future work

  16. Effect of condensed corn distillers solubles concentration on lactation performance of Holstein cows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCormick, M E; Forbes, S; Moreira, V R; Blouin, D C; Han, K J

    2015-03-01

    Forty-eight Holstein cows (32 multiparous and 16 primiparous) in mid to late lactation averaging 219±71 days in milk and 30.5±6.6 kg/d of 3.5% fat-corrected milk were used in a 56-d completely randomized design experiment to evaluate condensed corn distillers solubles (CCDS) inclusion in high-fiber total mixed rations (TMR). Inclusion rates evaluated were 0, 6.6, 13.2, and 19.8% CCDS as a percentage of dry matter (DM). Distiller solubles substituted for soybean meal, corn grain, and whole cottonseed such that diets were similar in protein (16.6%) and fat (4.50%). Water was added to 0, 6.6, and 13.2% CCDS treatments so that final TMR DM concentrations (47.8%) were similar across diets. The forage portion of the diet was kept constant at 19.6% annual ryegrass hay and 26.0% sorghum baleage. Diet in vitro true digestibility tended to increase as CCDS addition increased, but neutral detergent fiber digestibility trended lower in CCDS diets. Percent P (0.39, 0.55, 0.69, and 0.73%) and S (0.32, 0.35, 0.39, and 0.42%) in TMR increased as CCDS concentration increased. Milk yield (23.5, 24.7, 25.5, and 24.8 kg/d of 3.5% fat-corrected milk) was similar for control and CCDS diets. Milk fat (3.88, 3.73, 3.78, and 3.68%), protein (3.28, 3.27, 3.31, and 3.31%), and lactose (4.61, 4.66, 4.69, and 4.77) percentages were similar across diets. Milk urea nitrogen (16.60, 15.58, 15.43, and 14.75 mg/dL) declined with increasing CCDS addition. Animal activity, body weight, body condition scores, and locomotion scores were not influenced by CCDS. Day 28 poststudy locomotion scores were similar across diets. Ruminal acetate concentrations did not differ among diets, but propionate and butyrate concentrations were elevated in rumen fluid of cows receiving 19.6% CCDS. Although rumen fluid pH values were similar (6.5, 6.4, 6.3, and 6.2), the two highest CCDS diets exhibited depressed acetate:propionate ratios relative to controls. The results from this study indicate that CCDS may be

  17. Use of gamma camera for measurement of the internal contamination with depleted uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spaic, R.; Markovic, S.; Pavlovic, S.; Pavlovic, R.; Ajdinovic, B.; Baskot, B.; Djurovic, B.

    2000-01-01

    Depleted uranium from radioactive wastes is used for manufacturing bullets used in Iraq, Republic of Serbia and Yugoslavia. These bullets are extremely dense and capable of penetrating heavily armored vehicles. Their medical importance lies in the fact that the bullets contain seventy percent depleted uranium which creates aerosolized particles less than five microns in diameter, small enough to be inhaled, after spontaneous bullet burn at impact. Nuclear medicine scientists must be aware of this and be prepared to measure internal contamination of persons exposed to this radioactive material. Whole body counters (WBC) represent appropriate equipment for this purpose but their availability in developing countries is not sufficient. Gamma camera is an alternative. The minimum detectable activity (MDA) of depleted uranium, iodine and technetium for gamma cameras was measured in this paper. Low energy X-ray 100 KeV with 20% windows are used for the depleted uranium detection. About 40% gamma emissions from depleted uranium fall within these limits. The activities measured (50-100 Bq) are about ten times higher then on WBC (5 Bq). This does not limit the use of gamma cameras for measurement of lung or whole body internal contamination with depleted uranium. (author)

  18. Large-format, high-speed, X-ray pnCCDs combined with electron and ion imaging spectrometers in a multipurpose chamber for experiments at 4th generation light sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strueder, Lothar; Epp, Sascha; Rolles, Daniel; Hartmann, Robert; Holl, Peter; Lutz, Gerhard; Soltau, Heike; Eckart, Rouven; Reich, Christian; Heinzinger, Klaus; Thamm, Christian; Rudenko, Artem; Krasniqi, Faton; Kuehnel, Kai-Uwe; Bauer, Christian; Schroeter, Claus-Dieter; Moshammer, Robert; Techert, Simone; Miessner, Danilo; Porro, Matteo

    2010-01-01

    Fourth generation accelerator-based light sources, such as VUV and X-ray Free Electron Lasers (FEL), deliver ultra-brilliant (∼10 12 -10 13 photons per bunch) coherent radiation in femtosecond (∼10-100 fs) pulses and, thus, require novel focal plane instrumentation in order to fully exploit their unique capabilities. As an additional challenge for detection devices, existing (FLASH, Hamburg) and future FELs (LCLS, Menlo Park; SCSS, Hyogo and the European XFEL, Hamburg) cover a broad range of photon energies from the EUV to the X-ray regime with significantly different bandwidths and pulse structures reaching up to MHz micro-bunch repetition rates. Moreover, hundreds up to trillions of fragment particles, ions, electrons or scattered photons can emerge when a single light flash impinges on matter with intensities up to 10 22 W/cm 2 . In order to meet these challenges, the Max Planck Advanced Study Group (ASG) within the Center for Free Electron Laser Science (CFEL) has designed the CFEL-ASG MultiPurpose (CAMP) chamber. It is equipped with specially developed photon and charged particle detection devices dedicated to cover large solid-angles. A variety of different targets are supported, such as atomic, (aligned) molecular and cluster jets, particle injectors for bio-samples or fixed target arrangements. CAMP houses 4π solid-angle ion and electron momentum imaging spectrometers ('reaction microscope', REMI, or 'velocity map imaging', VMI) in a unique combination with novel, large-area, broadband (50 eV-25 keV), high-dynamic-range, single-photon-counting and imaging X-ray detectors based on the pnCCDs. This instrumentation allows a new class of coherent diffraction experiments in which both electron and ion emission from the target may be simultaneously monitored. This permits the investigation of dynamic processes in this new regime of ultra-intense, high-energy radiation-matter interaction. After an introduction into the salient features of the CAMP chamber and

  19. Ego depletion--is it all in your head? implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Job, Veronika; Dweck, Carol S; Walton, Gregory M

    2010-11-01

    Much recent research suggests that willpower--the capacity to exert self-control--is a limited resource that is depleted after exertion. We propose that whether depletion takes place or not depends on a person's belief about whether willpower is a limited resource. Study 1 found that individual differences in lay theories about willpower moderate ego-depletion effects: People who viewed the capacity for self-control as not limited did not show diminished self-control after a depleting experience. Study 2 replicated the effect, manipulating lay theories about willpower. Study 3 addressed questions about the mechanism underlying the effect. Study 4, a longitudinal field study, found that theories about willpower predict change in eating behavior, procrastination, and self-regulated goal striving in depleting circumstances. Taken together, the findings suggest that reduced self-control after a depleting task or during demanding periods may reflect people's beliefs about the availability of willpower rather than true resource depletion.

  20. Performance of 3-D architecture silicon sensors after intense proton irradiation

    CERN Document Server

    Parker, S I

    2001-01-01

    Silicon detectors with a three-dimensional architecture, in which the n- and p-electrodes penetrate through the entire substrate, have been successfully fabricated. The electrodes can be separated from each other by distances that are less than the substrate thickness, allowing short collection paths, low depletion voltages, and large current signals from rapid charge collection. While no special hardening steps were taken in this initial fabrication run, these features of three dimensional architectures produce an intrinsic resistance to the effects of radiation damage. Some performance measurements are given for detectors that are fully depleted and working after exposures to proton beams with doses equivalent to that from slightly more than ten years at the B-layer radius (50 mm) in the planned Atlas detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. (41 refs).