Large volume axionic Swiss cheese inflation

Science.gov (United States)

Misra, Aalok; Shukla, Pramod

2008-09-01

Continuing with the ideas of (Section 4 of) [A. Misra, P. Shukla, Moduli stabilization, large-volume dS minimum without anti-D3-branes, (non-)supersymmetric black hole attractors and two-parameter Swiss cheese Calabi Yau's, arXiv: 0707.0105 [hep-th], Nucl. Phys. B, in press], after inclusion of perturbative and non-perturbative α corrections to the Kähler potential and (D1- and D3-) instanton generated superpotential, we show the possibility of slow roll axionic inflation in the large volume limit of Swiss cheese Calabi Yau orientifold compactifications of type IIB string theory. We also include one- and two-loop corrections to the Kähler potential but find the same to be subdominant to the (perturbative and non-perturbative) α corrections. The NS NS axions provide a flat direction for slow roll inflation to proceed from a saddle point to the nearest dS minimum.

Large volume axionic Swiss cheese inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misra, Aalok; Shukla, Pramod

2008-01-01

Continuing with the ideas of (Section 4 of) [A. Misra, P. Shukla, Moduli stabilization, large-volume dS minimum without anti-D3-branes, (non-)supersymmetric black hole attractors and two-parameter Swiss cheese Calabi-Yau's, (arXiv: 0707.0105 [hep-th]), Nucl. Phys. B, in press], after inclusion of perturbative and non-perturbative α ' corrections to the Kaehler potential and (D1- and D3-) instanton generated superpotential, we show the possibility of slow roll axionic inflation in the large volume limit of Swiss cheese Calabi-Yau orientifold compactifications of type IIB string theory. We also include one- and two-loop corrections to the Kaehler potential but find the same to be subdominant to the (perturbative and non-perturbative) α ' corrections. The NS-NS axions provide a flat direction for slow roll inflation to proceed from a saddle point to the nearest dS minimum

Risk sectors for undesirable behaviour and mobbing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hubert, A.B.; Veldhoven, M.J.P.M. van

2001-01-01

The aim of this short note was to get an impression of risk sectors for the prevalence of undesirable behaviour and mobbing in The Netherlands. Data were collected from 1995 to 1999 with the Questionnaire on The Assessment and Experience of Work (Vragenlijst Beleving en Beoordeling van de Arbeid;

Large Volume, Behaviorally-relevant Illumination for Optogenetics in Non-human Primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Acker, Leah C; Pino, Erica N; Boyden, Edward S; Desimone, Robert

2017-10-03

This protocol describes a large-volume illuminator, which was developed for optogenetic manipulations in the non-human primate brain. The illuminator is a modified plastic optical fiber with etched tip, such that the light emitting surface area is > 100x that of a conventional fiber. In addition to describing the construction of the large-volume illuminator, this protocol details the quality-control calibration used to ensure even light distribution. Further, this protocol describes techniques for inserting and removing the large volume illuminator. Both superficial and deep structures may be illuminated. This large volume illuminator does not need to be physically coupled to an electrode, and because the illuminator is made of plastic, not glass, it will simply bend in circumstances when traditional optical fibers would shatter. Because this illuminator delivers light over behaviorally-relevant tissue volumes (≈ 10 mm 3 ) with no greater penetration damage than a conventional optical fiber, it facilitates behavioral studies using optogenetics in non-human primates.

Free-Will and the Undesirability of Moral Education

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, David

1975-01-01

This paper makes two arguments: (1) that education does not imply determinism; and (2) that if one takes the libertarian position with regard to the free-will/determinism issue, one is forced to the conclusion that moral education is undesirable. (RC)

Higgs, moduli problem, baryogenesis and large volume compactifications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Higaki, Tetsutaro [RIKEN Nishina Center, Saitama (Japan). Mathematical Physics Lab.; Kamada, Kohei [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Takahashi, Fuminobu [Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan). Dept. of Physics

2012-07-15

We consider the cosmological moduli problem in the context of high-scale supersymmetry breaking suggested by the recent discovery of the standard-model like Higgs boson. In order to solve the notorious moduli-induced gravitino problem, we focus on the LARGE volume scenario, in which the modulus decay into gravitinos can be kinematically forbidden. We then consider the Affleck-Dine mechanism with or without an enhanced coupling with the inflaton, taking account of possible Q-ball formation. We show that the baryon asymmetry of the present Universe can be generated by the Affleck-Dine mechanism in LARGE volume scenario, solving the moduli and gravitino problems.

Higgs, moduli problem, baryogenesis and large volume compactifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Higaki, Tetsutaro; Takahashi, Fuminobu

2012-07-01

We consider the cosmological moduli problem in the context of high-scale supersymmetry breaking suggested by the recent discovery of the standard-model like Higgs boson. In order to solve the notorious moduli-induced gravitino problem, we focus on the LARGE volume scenario, in which the modulus decay into gravitinos can be kinematically forbidden. We then consider the Affleck-Dine mechanism with or without an enhanced coupling with the inflaton, taking account of possible Q-ball formation. We show that the baryon asymmetry of the present Universe can be generated by the Affleck-Dine mechanism in LARGE volume scenario, solving the moduli and gravitino problems.

Calibration of a large volume argon-41 gas-effluent monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, William E.; Lovas, Thomas A.

1976-01-01

In September of 1975, a large volume Argon-41 sampler was calibrated using a series connected calibration chamber of known sensitivity and a constant flow of activated Argon gas. The calibration included analysis of the effects of flow rate through the large volume sampler and yielded a calibration constant of 2.34 x 10 -8 μc/cm 3 /CPM. (author)

Center-stabilized Yang-Mills Theory:Confinement and Large N Volume Independence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unsal, Mithat; Yaffe, Laurence G.

2008-01-01

We examine a double trace deformation of SU(N) Yang-Mills theory which, for large N and large volume, is equivalent to unmodified Yang-Mills theory up to O(1/N 2 ) corrections. In contrast to the unmodified theory, large N volume independence is valid in the deformed theory down to arbitrarily small volumes. The double trace deformation prevents the spontaneous breaking of center symmetry which would otherwise disrupt large N volume independence in small volumes. For small values of N, if the theory is formulated on R 3 x S 1 with a sufficiently small compactification size L, then an analytic treatment of the non-perturbative dynamics of the deformed theory is possible. In this regime, we show that the deformed Yang-Mills theory has a mass gap and exhibits linear confinement. Increasing the circumference L or number of colors N decreases the separation of scales on which the analytic treatment relies. However, there are no order parameters which distinguish the small and large radius regimes. Consequently, for small N the deformed theory provides a novel example of a locally four-dimensional pure gauge theory in which one has analytic control over confinement, while for large N it provides a simple fully reduced model for Yang-Mills theory. The construction is easily generalized to QCD and other QCD-like theories

Center-stabilized Yang-Mills theory: Confinement and large N volume independence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uensal, Mithat; Yaffe, Laurence G.

2008-01-01

We examine a double trace deformation of SU(N) Yang-Mills theory which, for large N and large volume, is equivalent to unmodified Yang-Mills theory up to O(1/N 2 ) corrections. In contrast to the unmodified theory, large N volume independence is valid in the deformed theory down to arbitrarily small volumes. The double trace deformation prevents the spontaneous breaking of center symmetry which would otherwise disrupt large N volume independence in small volumes. For small values of N, if the theory is formulated on R 3 xS 1 with a sufficiently small compactification size L, then an analytic treatment of the nonperturbative dynamics of the deformed theory is possible. In this regime, we show that the deformed Yang-Mills theory has a mass gap and exhibits linear confinement. Increasing the circumference L or number of colors N decreases the separation of scales on which the analytic treatment relies. However, there are no order parameters which distinguish the small and large radius regimes. Consequently, for small N the deformed theory provides a novel example of a locally four-dimensional pure-gauge theory in which one has analytic control over confinement, while for large N it provides a simple fully reduced model for Yang-Mills theory. The construction is easily generalized to QCD and other QCD-like theories.

A Case of Undesired Bleb Developed After Penetrating Injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cem Ozgonul

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Eighty-year-old male patient was admitted to our policlinic with stinging, burning and itching in both eyes. Ophthalmological examination revealed avascular undesired bleb that releated with anterior chamber at 2-3 hour quadrant nasal limbus with the surrounding corneal and conjunctival epithelium was vascularized and the dimension was 3x3x3 mm. Towards these findings, we questioned the patient again and we found that, 40 years ago, a broken part of the shaving razor had injured his eye. After penetrating injury of the eye, because of the sutured wound leakage, undesired bleb formations can be seen. We suggest that kind of patient shold be followed up to prevent late complications of penetrating injury.

Negative symbolic aspects in destination branding: exploring the role of the 'undesired self' on web-based vacation information search intentions among potential first-time visitors

OpenAIRE

Bosnjak, Michael

2010-01-01

Tourist destination choices depend, among other factors, on the match between the destination’s personality image and consumers’ self-concept, in line with self-image congruence theory. Motives also mediate this relationship, yet tourism research largely neglects the influence of avoidance motives. This study applies the product-based construct of undesired congruity, or consumers’ tendency to avoid undesired stereotypical images, to the context of web-based vacation destination information s...

Desirable and undesirable future thoughts call for different scene construction processes.

Science.gov (United States)

de Vito, S; Neroni, M A; Gamboz, N; Della Sala, S; Brandimonte, M A

2015-01-01

Despite the growing interest in the ability of foreseeing (episodic future thinking), it is still unclear how healthy people construct possible future scenarios. We suggest that different future thoughts require different processes of scene construction. Thirty-five participants were asked to imagine desirable and less desirable future events. Imagining desirable events increased the ease of scene construction, the frequency of life scripts, the number of internal details, and the clarity of sensorial and spatial temporal information. The initial description of general personal knowledge lasted longer in undesirable than in desirable anticipations. Finally, participants were more prone to explicitly indicate autobiographical memory as the main source of their simulations of undesirable episodes, whereas they equally related the simulations of desirable events to autobiographical events or semantic knowledge. These findings show that desirable and undesirable scenarios call for different mechanisms of scene construction. The present study emphasizes that future thinking cannot be considered as a monolithic entity.

Enhanced DEA model with undesirable output and interval data for rice growing farmers performance assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khan, Sahubar Ali Mohd. Nadhar, E-mail: sahubar@uum.edu.my; Ramli, Razamin, E-mail: razamin@uum.edu.my; Baten, M. D. Azizul, E-mail: baten-math@yahoo.com [School of Quantitative Sciences, UUM College of Arts and Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah (Malaysia)

2015-12-11

Agricultural production process typically produces two types of outputs which are economic desirable as well as environmentally undesirable outputs (such as greenhouse gas emission, nitrate leaching, effects to human and organisms and water pollution). In efficiency analysis, this undesirable outputs cannot be ignored and need to be included in order to obtain the actual estimation of firms efficiency. Additionally, climatic factors as well as data uncertainty can significantly affect the efficiency analysis. There are a number of approaches that has been proposed in DEA literature to account for undesirable outputs. Many researchers has pointed that directional distance function (DDF) approach is the best as it allows for simultaneous increase in desirable outputs and reduction of undesirable outputs. Additionally, it has been found that interval data approach is the most suitable to account for data uncertainty as it is much simpler to model and need less information regarding its distribution and membership function. In this paper, an enhanced DEA model based on DDF approach that considers undesirable outputs as well as climatic factors and interval data is proposed. This model will be used to determine the efficiency of rice farmers who produces undesirable outputs and operates under uncertainty. It is hoped that the proposed model will provide a better estimate of rice farmers’ efficiency.

Enhanced DEA model with undesirable output and interval data for rice growing farmers performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Sahubar Ali Mohd. Nadhar; Ramli, Razamin; Baten, M. D. Azizul

2015-01-01

Agricultural production process typically produces two types of outputs which are economic desirable as well as environmentally undesirable outputs (such as greenhouse gas emission, nitrate leaching, effects to human and organisms and water pollution). In efficiency analysis, this undesirable outputs cannot be ignored and need to be included in order to obtain the actual estimation of firms efficiency. Additionally, climatic factors as well as data uncertainty can significantly affect the efficiency analysis. There are a number of approaches that has been proposed in DEA literature to account for undesirable outputs. Many researchers has pointed that directional distance function (DDF) approach is the best as it allows for simultaneous increase in desirable outputs and reduction of undesirable outputs. Additionally, it has been found that interval data approach is the most suitable to account for data uncertainty as it is much simpler to model and need less information regarding its distribution and membership function. In this paper, an enhanced DEA model based on DDF approach that considers undesirable outputs as well as climatic factors and interval data is proposed. This model will be used to determine the efficiency of rice farmers who produces undesirable outputs and operates under uncertainty. It is hoped that the proposed model will provide a better estimate of rice farmers’ efficiency

Enhanced DEA model with undesirable output and interval data for rice growing farmers performance assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Sahubar Ali Mohd. Nadhar; Ramli, Razamin; Baten, M. D. Azizul

2015-12-01

Agricultural production process typically produces two types of outputs which are economic desirable as well as environmentally undesirable outputs (such as greenhouse gas emission, nitrate leaching, effects to human and organisms and water pollution). In efficiency analysis, this undesirable outputs cannot be ignored and need to be included in order to obtain the actual estimation of firms efficiency. Additionally, climatic factors as well as data uncertainty can significantly affect the efficiency analysis. There are a number of approaches that has been proposed in DEA literature to account for undesirable outputs. Many researchers has pointed that directional distance function (DDF) approach is the best as it allows for simultaneous increase in desirable outputs and reduction of undesirable outputs. Additionally, it has been found that interval data approach is the most suitable to account for data uncertainty as it is much simpler to model and need less information regarding its distribution and membership function. In this paper, an enhanced DEA model based on DDF approach that considers undesirable outputs as well as climatic factors and interval data is proposed. This model will be used to determine the efficiency of rice farmers who produces undesirable outputs and operates under uncertainty. It is hoped that the proposed model will provide a better estimate of rice farmers' efficiency.

Effect of large volume paracentesis on plasma volume--a cause of hypovolemia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kao, H.W.; Rakov, N.E.; Savage, E.; Reynolds, T.B.

1985-01-01

Large volume paracentesis, while effectively relieving symptoms in patients with tense ascites, has been generally avoided due to reports of complications attributed to an acute reduction in intravascular volume. Measurements of plasma volume in these subjects have been by indirect methods and have not uniformly confirmed hypovolemia. We have prospectively evaluated 18 patients (20 paracenteses) with tense ascites and peripheral edema due to chronic liver disease undergoing 5 liter paracentesis for relief of symptoms. Plasma volume pre- and postparacentesis was assessed by a 125 I-labeled human serum albumin dilution technique as well as by the change in hematocrit and postural blood pressure difference. No significant change in serum sodium, urea nitrogen, hematocrit or postural systolic blood pressure difference was noted at 24 or 48 hr after paracentesis. Serum creatinine at 24 hr after paracentesis was unchanged but a small but statistically significant increase in serum creatinine was noted at 48 hr postparacentesis. Plasma volume changed -2.7% (n = 6, not statistically significant) during the first 24 hr and -2.8% (n = 12, not statistically significant) during the 0- to 48-hr period. No complications from paracentesis were noted. These results suggest that 5 liter paracentesis for relief of symptoms is safe in patients with tense ascites and peripheral edema from chronic liver disease

Exploring Dutch surgeons' views on volume-based policies: a qualitative interview study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mesman, Roos; Faber, Marjan J; Westert, Gert P; Berden, Bart

2018-01-01

Objective In many countries, the evidence for volume-outcome associations in surgery has been transferred into policy. Despite the large body of research that exists on the topic, qualitative studies aimed at surgeons' views on, and experiences with, these volume-based policies are lacking. We interviewed Dutch surgeons to gain more insight into the implications of volume-outcome policies for daily clinical practice, as input for effective surgical quality improvement. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 purposively selected surgeons from a stratified sample for hospital type and speciality. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and underwent inductive content analysis. Results Two overarching themes were inductively derived from the data: (1) minimum volume standards and (2) implications of volume-based policies. Although surgeons acknowledged the premise 'more is better', they were critical about the validity and underlying evidence for minimum volume standards. Patients often inquire about caseload, which is met with both understanding and discomfort. Surgeons offered many examples of controversies surrounding the process of determining thresholds as well as the ways in which health insurers use volume as a purchasing criterion. Furthermore, being held accountable for caseload may trigger undesired strategic behaviour, such as unwarranted operations. Volume-based policies also have implications for the survival of low-volume providers and affect patient travel times, although the latter is not necessarily problematic in the Dutch context. Conclusions Surgeons in this study acknowledged that more volume leads to better quality. However, validity issues, undesired strategic behaviour and the ways in which minimum volume standards are established and applied have made surgeons critical of current policy practice. These findings suggest that volume remains a controversial quality measure and causes polarization that is not

Nonperturbative volume reduction of large-N QCD with adjoint fermions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bringoltz, Barak; Sharpe, Stephen R.

2009-01-01

We use nonperturbative lattice techniques to study the volume-reduced 'Eguchi-Kawai' version of four-dimensional large-N QCD with a single adjoint Dirac fermion. We explore the phase diagram of this single-site theory in the space of quark mass and gauge coupling using Wilson fermions for a number of colors in the range 8≤N≤15. Our evidence suggests that these values of N are large enough to determine the nature of the phase diagram for N→∞. We identify the region in the parameter space where the (Z N ) 4 center symmetry is intact. According to previous theoretical work using the orbifolding paradigm, and assuming that translation invariance is not spontaneously broken in the infinite-volume theory, in this region volume reduction holds: the single-site and infinite-volume theories become equivalent when N→∞. We find strong evidence that this region includes both light and heavy quarks (with masses that are at the cutoff scale), and our results are consistent with this region extending toward the continuum limit. We also compare the action density and the eigenvalue density of the overlap Dirac operator in the fundamental representation with those obtained in large-N pure-gauge theory.

A two stage data envelopment analysis model with undesirable output

Science.gov (United States)

Shariff Adli Aminuddin, Adam; Izzati Jaini, Nur; Mat Kasim, Maznah; Nawawi, Mohd Kamal Mohd

2017-09-01

The dependent relationship among the decision making units (DMU) is usually assumed to be non-existent in the development of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. The dependency can be represented by the multi-stage DEA model, where the outputs from the precedent stage will be the inputs for the latter stage. The multi-stage DEA model evaluate both the efficiency score for each stages and the overall efficiency of the whole process. The existing multi stage DEA models do not focus on the integration with the undesirable output, in which the higher input will generate lower output unlike the normal desirable output. This research attempts to address the inclusion of such undesirable output and investigate the theoretical implication and potential application towards the development of multi-stage DEA model.

Geophysics Under Pressure: Large-Volume Presses Versus the Diamond-Anvil Cell

Science.gov (United States)

Hazen, R. M.

2002-05-01

Prior to 1970, the legacy of Harvard physicist Percy Bridgman dominated high-pressure geophysics. Massive presses with large-volume devices, including piston-cylinder, opposed-anvil, and multi-anvil configurations, were widely used in both science and industry to achieve a range of crustal and upper mantle temperatures and pressures. George Kennedy of UCLA was a particularly influential advocate of large-volume apparatus for geophysical research prior to his death in 1980. The high-pressure scene began to change in 1959 with the invention of the diamond-anvil cell, which was designed simultaneously and independently by John Jamieson at the University of Chicago and Alvin Van Valkenburg at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, DC. The compact, inexpensive diamond cell achieved record static pressures and had the advantage of optical access to the high-pressure environment. Nevertheless, members of the geophysical community, who favored the substantial sample volumes, geothermally relevant temperature range, and satisfying bulk of large-volume presses, initially viewed the diamond cell with indifference or even contempt. Several factors led to a gradual shift in emphasis from large-volume presses to diamond-anvil cells in geophysical research during the 1960s and 1970s. These factors include (1) their relatively low cost at time of fiscal restraint, (2) Alvin Van Valkenburg's new position as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation in 1964 (when George Kennedy's proposal for a Nation High-Pressure Laboratory was rejected), (3) the development of lasers and micro-analytical spectroscopic techniques suitable for analyzing samples in a diamond cell, and (4) the attainment of record pressures (e.g., 100 GPa in 1975 by Mao and Bell at the Geophysical Laboratory). Today, a more balanced collaborative approach has been adopted by the geophysics and mineral physics community. Many high-pressure laboratories operate a new generation of less expensive

SparseLeap: Efficient Empty Space Skipping for Large-Scale Volume Rendering

KAUST Repository

Hadwiger, Markus; Al-Awami, Ali K.; Beyer, Johanna; Agus, Marco; Pfister, Hanspeter

2017-01-01

Recent advances in data acquisition produce volume data of very high resolution and large size, such as terabyte-sized microscopy volumes. These data often contain many fine and intricate structures, which pose huge challenges for volume rendering, and make it particularly important to efficiently skip empty space. This paper addresses two major challenges: (1) The complexity of large volumes containing fine structures often leads to highly fragmented space subdivisions that make empty regions hard to skip efficiently. (2) The classification of space into empty and non-empty regions changes frequently, because the user or the evaluation of an interactive query activate a different set of objects, which makes it unfeasible to pre-compute a well-adapted space subdivision. We describe the novel SparseLeap method for efficient empty space skipping in very large volumes, even around fine structures. The main performance characteristic of SparseLeap is that it moves the major cost of empty space skipping out of the ray-casting stage. We achieve this via a hybrid strategy that balances the computational load between determining empty ray segments in a rasterization (object-order) stage, and sampling non-empty volume data in the ray-casting (image-order) stage. Before ray-casting, we exploit the fast hardware rasterization of GPUs to create a ray segment list for each pixel, which identifies non-empty regions along the ray. The ray-casting stage then leaps over empty space without hierarchy traversal. Ray segment lists are created by rasterizing a set of fine-grained, view-independent bounding boxes. Frame coherence is exploited by re-using the same bounding boxes unless the set of active objects changes. We show that SparseLeap scales better to large, sparse data than standard octree empty space skipping.

SparseLeap: Efficient Empty Space Skipping for Large-Scale Volume Rendering

KAUST Repository

Hadwiger, Markus

2017-08-28

Recent advances in data acquisition produce volume data of very high resolution and large size, such as terabyte-sized microscopy volumes. These data often contain many fine and intricate structures, which pose huge challenges for volume rendering, and make it particularly important to efficiently skip empty space. This paper addresses two major challenges: (1) The complexity of large volumes containing fine structures often leads to highly fragmented space subdivisions that make empty regions hard to skip efficiently. (2) The classification of space into empty and non-empty regions changes frequently, because the user or the evaluation of an interactive query activate a different set of objects, which makes it unfeasible to pre-compute a well-adapted space subdivision. We describe the novel SparseLeap method for efficient empty space skipping in very large volumes, even around fine structures. The main performance characteristic of SparseLeap is that it moves the major cost of empty space skipping out of the ray-casting stage. We achieve this via a hybrid strategy that balances the computational load between determining empty ray segments in a rasterization (object-order) stage, and sampling non-empty volume data in the ray-casting (image-order) stage. Before ray-casting, we exploit the fast hardware rasterization of GPUs to create a ray segment list for each pixel, which identifies non-empty regions along the ray. The ray-casting stage then leaps over empty space without hierarchy traversal. Ray segment lists are created by rasterizing a set of fine-grained, view-independent bounding boxes. Frame coherence is exploited by re-using the same bounding boxes unless the set of active objects changes. We show that SparseLeap scales better to large, sparse data than standard octree empty space skipping.

Large-volume injection in gas chromatographic trace analysis using temperature-programmable (PTV) injectors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mol, J.G.J.; Janssen, J.G.M.; Cramers, C.A.M.G.; Brinkman, U.A.T.

1996-01-01

The use of programmed-temperature vaporising (PTV) injectors for large-volume injection in capillary gas chromatography is briefly reviewed. The principles and optimisation of large-volume PTV injection are discussed. Guidelines are given for selection of the PTV conditions and injection mode for

Data Envelopment Analysis with Fixed Inputs, Undesirable Outputs and Negative Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Seyed Esmaeili

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA, different models have been measured to evaluate the performance of decision making units with multiple inputs and outputs. Revised model of Slack-based measures known as MBSM of collective models family has been introduced by Sharp et al. Slack-based measure has been introduced by Ton. In this study, a model is proposed that is able to estimate the efficiency when a number of outputs of decision making units are undesirable, inputs are fixed and some of outputs and inputs are negative. So that, level of undesirable output is reduced at the constant level of inputs in the evaluation unit and by conserving the efficiency.

Refined universal laws for hull volumes and perimeters in large planar maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guitter, Emmanuel

2017-01-01

We consider ensembles of planar maps with two marked vertices at distance k from each other, and look at the closed line separating these vertices and lying at distance d from the first one ( d   <   k ). This line divides the map into two components, the hull at distance d which corresponds to the part of the map lying on the same side as the first vertex and its complementary. The number of faces within the hull is called the hull volume, and the length of the separating line the hull perimeter. We study the statistics of the hull volume and perimeter for arbitrary d and k in the limit of infinitely large planar quadrangulations, triangulations and Eulerian triangulations. We consider more precisely situations where both d and k become large with the ratio d / k remaining finite. For infinitely large maps, two regimes may be encountered: either the hull has a finite volume and its complementary is infinitely large, or the hull itself has an infinite volume and its complementary is of finite size. We compute the probability for the map to be in either regime as a function of d / k as well as a number of universal statistical laws for the hull perimeter and volume when maps are conditioned to be in one regime or the other. (paper)

Operation condition for continuous anti-solvent crystallization of CBZ-SAC cocrystal considering deposition risk of undesired crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Nishimaru, Momoko; Nakasa, Miku; Kudo, Shoji; Takiyama, Hiroshi

2017-07-01

Crystallization operation of cocrystal production has deposition risk of undesired crystals. Simultaneously, continuous manufacturing processes are focused on. In this study, conditions for continuous cocrystallization considering risk reduction of undesired crystals deposition were investigated on the view point of thermodynamics and kinetics. The anti-solvent cocrystallization was carried out in four-component system of carbamazepine, saccharin, methanol and water. From the preliminary batch experiment, the relationships among undesired crystal deposition, solution composition decided by mixing ratio of solutions, and residence time for the crystals were considered, and then the conditions of continuous experiment were decided. Under these conditions, the continuous experiment was carried out. The XRD patterns of obtained crystals in the continuous experiment showed that desired cocrystals were obtained without undesired crystals. This experimental result was evaluated by using multi-component phase diagrams from the view point of the operation point's movement. From the evaluation, it was found that there is a certain operation condition which the operation point is fixed with time in the specific domain without the deposition risk of undesired single component crystals. It means the possibility of continuous production of cocrystals without deposition risk of undesired crystals was confirmed by using multi-component phase diagrams.

Undesirable substances in vegetable oils: anything to declare?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lacoste Florence

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The presence of undesirable compounds in vegetable and animal oils and fats may have many different origins. Although the potential toxicity of most of these undesirable compounds is real, poisoning risks are rather limited due to the efficient elimination during oil-refining steps, careful conditioning, choice of efficient packaging and industrial quality control management. However the research of contaminants is part of multiple controls conducted by fat and oil industry to verify the conformity of products placed on the market in relation to regulations such as the European commission regulation EC No. 1881/2006 setting maximum levels for some contaminants in food as lead, some mycotoxins, dioxins, polychlorobiphenyls, benzo[a]pyrene. In the absence of regulation, the detection of contaminants must be addressed in partnership with authorities according to the toxicity of molecules. The controls are not confined to environmental contaminants. They also include compounds that can be formed during the production process of vegetable oils such as esters of 3-monochloropropanediol. This article focuses more particularly on heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, mineral oils, phthalates and 3-MCPD or glycidyl esters. Aspects such as methods for analysis, limits fixed by EC regulation and occurrence in vegetable oils are discussed.

Ranking of bank branches with undesirable and fuzzy data: A DEA-based approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sohrab Kordrostami

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Banks are one of the most important financial sectors in order to the economic development of each country. Certainly, efficiency scores and ranks of banks are significant and effective aspects towards future planning. Sometimes the performance of banks must be measured in the presence of undesirable and vague factors. For these reasons in the current paper a procedure based on data envelopment analysis (DEA is introduced for evaluating the efficiency and complete ranking of decision making units (DMUs where undesirable and fuzzy measures exist. To illustrate, in the presence of undesirable and fuzzy measures, DMUs are evaluated by using a fuzzy expected value approach and DMUs with similar efficiency scores are ranked by using constraints and the Maximal Balance Index based on the optimal shadow prices. Afterwards, the efficiency scores of 25 branches of an Iranian commercial bank are evaluated using the proposed method. Also, a complete ranking of bank branches is presented to discriminate branches.

Coupling of RF antennas to large volume helicon plasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Chang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Large volume helicon plasma sources are of particular interest for large scale semiconductor processing, high power plasma propulsion and recently plasma-material interaction under fusion conditions. This work is devoted to studying the coupling of four typical RF antennas to helicon plasma with infinite length and diameter of 0.5 m, and exploring its frequency dependence in the range of 13.56-70 MHz for coupling optimization. It is found that loop antenna is more efficient than half helix, Boswell and Nagoya III antennas for power absorption; radially parabolic density profile overwhelms Gaussian density profile in terms of antenna coupling for low-density plasma, but the superiority reverses for high-density plasma. Increasing the driving frequency results in power absorption more near plasma edge, but the overall power absorption increases with frequency. Perpendicular stream plots of wave magnetic field, wave electric field and perturbed current are also presented. This work can serve as an important reference for the experimental design of large volume helicon plasma source with high RF power.

Novel regenerative large-volume immobilized enzyme reactor: preparation, characterization and application.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruan, Guihua; Wei, Meiping; Chen, Zhengyi; Su, Rihui; Du, Fuyou; Zheng, Yanjie

2014-09-15

A novel large-volume immobilized enzyme reactor (IMER) on small column was prepared with organic-inorganic hybrid silica particles and applied for fast (10 min) and oriented digestion of protein. At first, a thin enzyme support layer was formed in the bottom of the small column by polymerization with α-methacrylic acid and dimethacrylate. After that, amino SiO2 particles was prepared by the sol-gel method with tetraethoxysilane and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. Subsequently, the amino SiO2 particles were activated by glutaraldehyde for covalent immobilization of trypsin. Digestive capability of large-volume IMER for proteins was investigated by using bovine serum albumin (BSA), cytochrome c (Cyt-c) as model proteins. Results showed that although the sequence coverage of the BSA (20%) and Cyt-c (19%) was low, the large-volume IMER could produce peptides with stable specific sequence at 101-105, 156-160, 205-209, 212-218, 229-232, 257-263 and 473-451 of the amino sequence of BSA when digesting 1mg/mL BSA. Eight of common peptides were observed during each of the ten runs of large-volume IMER. Besides, the IMER could be easily regenerated by reactivating with GA and cross-linking with trypsin after breaking the -C=N- bond by 0.01 M HCl. The sequence coverage of BSA from regenerated IMER increased to 25% comparing the non-regenerated IMER (17%). 14 common peptides. accounting for 87.5% of first use of IMER, were produced both with IMER and regenerated IMER. When the IMER was applied for ginkgo albumin digestion, the sequence coverage of two main proteins of ginkgo, ginnacin and legumin, was 56% and 55%, respectively. (Reviewer 2) Above all, the fast and selective digestion property of the large-volume IMER indicated that the regenerative IMER could be tentatively used for the production of potential bioactive peptides and the study of oriented protein digestion. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

32 CFR 887.7 - Persons separated under other than honorable conditions (undesirable or bad conduct) or...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Persons separated under other than honorable conditions (undesirable or bad conduct) or dishonorable discharge. 887.7 Section 887.7 National Defense... honorable conditions (undesirable or bad conduct) or dishonorable discharge. Those persons whose character...

21 CFR 201.323 - Aluminum in large and small volume parenterals used in total parenteral nutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Aluminum in large and small volume parenterals... for Specific Drug Products § 201.323 Aluminum in large and small volume parenterals used in total parenteral nutrition. (a) The aluminum content of large volume parenteral (LVP) drug products used in total...

Worry and perceived threat of proximal and distal undesirable outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Bredemeier, Keith; Berenbaum, Howard; Spielberg, Jeffrey M

2012-04-01

Individuals who are prone to worry tend to overestimate the likelihoods and costs of future undesirable outcomes. However, it is unclear whether these relations vary as a function of the timeframe of the event in question. In the present study, 342 undergraduate students completed a self-report measure of worry and rated the perceived probabilities and costs of 40 undesirable outcomes. Specifically, each participant estimated the probability that each of these outcomes would occur within three different timeframes: the next month, the next year, and the next 10 years. We found that the strength of the association between worry and probability estimates was strongest for the most proximal timeframe. Probability estimates were more strongly associated with worry for participants with elevated cost estimates, and this interactive effect was strongest for the most distal timeframe. Implications of these findings for understanding the etiology and treatment of excessive worry are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Large-Scale Multi-Resolution Representations for Accurate Interactive Image and Volume Operations

KAUST Repository

Sicat, Ronell B.

2015-11-25

The resolutions of acquired image and volume data are ever increasing. However, the resolutions of commodity display devices remain limited. This leads to an increasing gap between data and display resolutions. To bridge this gap, the standard approach is to employ output-sensitive operations on multi-resolution data representations. Output-sensitive operations facilitate interactive applications since their required computations are proportional only to the size of the data that is visible, i.e., the output, and not the full size of the input. Multi-resolution representations, such as image mipmaps, and volume octrees, are crucial in providing these operations direct access to any subset of the data at any resolution corresponding to the output. Despite its widespread use, this standard approach has some shortcomings in three important application areas, namely non-linear image operations, multi-resolution volume rendering, and large-scale image exploration. This dissertation presents new multi-resolution representations for large-scale images and volumes that address these shortcomings. Standard multi-resolution representations require low-pass pre-filtering for anti- aliasing. However, linear pre-filters do not commute with non-linear operations. This becomes problematic when applying non-linear operations directly to any coarse resolution levels in standard representations. Particularly, this leads to inaccurate output when applying non-linear image operations, e.g., color mapping and detail-aware filters, to multi-resolution images. Similarly, in multi-resolution volume rendering, this leads to inconsistency artifacts which manifest as erroneous differences in rendering outputs across resolution levels. To address these issues, we introduce the sparse pdf maps and sparse pdf volumes representations for large-scale images and volumes, respectively. These representations sparsely encode continuous probability density functions (pdfs) of multi-resolution pixel

Role of Fault Attributions and Other Factors in Adults' Attitudes Toward Hypothetical Children With an Undesirable Characteristic.

Science.gov (United States)

Wadian, Taylor W; Sonnentag, Tammy L; Jones, Tucker L; Barnett, Mark A

2018-01-01

A total of 184 adults read descriptions of six hypothetical children with various undesirable characteristics (i.e., being extremely overweight, extremely aggressive, extremely shy, a poor student, a poor athlete, displaying symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Following each description, the participants were asked to rate how much they disagree or agree that the child, the child's parents, and the child's biological condition (i.e., "something wrong inside the child's body or brain") are at fault for the onset and the perpetuation of the undesirable characteristic. In addition, the participants were asked to rate their attitude toward each child using a 100-point "feeling thermometer." Analyses of the participants' various fault attribution ratings revealed that they tended to agree more strongly that a child's parents and his/her biological condition are at fault for the onset and the perpetuation of the child's undesirable characteristic than is the child him/herself. Despite the participants' reluctance to blame a hypothetical child for his/her undesirable characteristic, regression analyses revealed that, in general, the more they blamed the child for the onset of his/her undesirable characteristic, the more negative their attitude was toward the child. However, the participants' ratings of the extent to which the child's parents or biological condition are at fault for the onset and the perpetuation of the child's undesirable characteristic were not found to be associated with their attitude toward any of the children. Similarities and differences between the present findings and those reported in prior studies involving younger individuals are addressed.

The undesirable effects of neuromuscular blocking drugs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Claudius, C; Garvey, L H; Viby-Mogensen, J

2009-01-01

Neuromuscular blocking drugs are designed to bind to the nicotinic receptor at the neuromuscular junction. However, they also interact with other acetylcholine receptors in the body. Binding to these receptors causes adverse effects that vary with the specificity for the cholinergic receptor...... in question. Moreover, all neuromuscular blocking drugs may cause hypersensitivity reactions. Often the symptoms are mild and self-limiting but massive histamine release can cause systematic reactions with circulatory and respiratory symptoms and signs. At the end of anaesthesia, no residual effect...... of a neuromuscular blocking drug should be present. However, the huge variability in response to neuromuscular blocking drugs makes it impossible to predict which patient will suffer postoperative residual curarization. This article discusses the undesirable effects of the currently available neuromuscular blocking...

Radiation from Large Gas Volumes and Heat Exchange in Steam Boiler Furnaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Makarov, A. N., E-mail: tgtu-kafedra-ese@mail.ru [Tver State Technical University (Russian Federation)

2015-09-15

Radiation from large cylindrical gas volumes is studied as a means of simulating the flare in steam boiler furnaces. Calculations of heat exchange in a furnace by the zonal method and by simulation of the flare with cylindrical gas volumes are described. The latter method is more accurate and yields more reliable information on heat transfer processes taking place in furnaces.

“Finite” non-Gaussianities and tensor-scalar ratio in large volume Swiss-cheese compactifications

Science.gov (United States)

Misra, Aalok; Shukla, Pramod

2009-03-01

Developing on the ideas of (Section 4 of) [A. Misra, P. Shukla, Moduli stabilization, large-volume dS minimum without anti-D3-branes, (non-)supersymmetric black hole attractors and two-parameter Swiss cheese Calabi-Yau's, Nucl. Phys. B 799 (2008) 165-198, arXiv: 0707.0105] and [A. Misra, P. Shukla, Large volume axionic Swiss-cheese inflation, Nucl. Phys. B 800 (2008) 384-400, arXiv: 0712.1260 [hep-th

State-of-the-Art in GPU-Based Large-Scale Volume Visualization

KAUST Repository

Beyer, Johanna

2015-05-01

This survey gives an overview of the current state of the art in GPU techniques for interactive large-scale volume visualization. Modern techniques in this field have brought about a sea change in how interactive visualization and analysis of giga-, tera- and petabytes of volume data can be enabled on GPUs. In addition to combining the parallel processing power of GPUs with out-of-core methods and data streaming, a major enabler for interactivity is making both the computational and the visualization effort proportional to the amount and resolution of data that is actually visible on screen, i.e. \\'output-sensitive\\' algorithms and system designs. This leads to recent output-sensitive approaches that are \\'ray-guided\\', \\'visualization-driven\\' or \\'display-aware\\'. In this survey, we focus on these characteristics and propose a new categorization of GPU-based large-scale volume visualization techniques based on the notions of actual output-resolution visibility and the current working set of volume bricks-the current subset of data that is minimally required to produce an output image of the desired display resolution. Furthermore, we discuss the differences and similarities of different rendering and data traversal strategies in volume rendering by putting them into a common context-the notion of address translation. For our purposes here, we view parallel (distributed) visualization using clusters as an orthogonal set of techniques that we do not discuss in detail but that can be used in conjunction with what we present in this survey. © 2015 The Eurographics Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

State-of-the-Art in GPU-Based Large-Scale Volume Visualization

KAUST Repository

Beyer, Johanna; Hadwiger, Markus; Pfister, Hanspeter

2015-01-01

This survey gives an overview of the current state of the art in GPU techniques for interactive large-scale volume visualization. Modern techniques in this field have brought about a sea change in how interactive visualization and analysis of giga-, tera- and petabytes of volume data can be enabled on GPUs. In addition to combining the parallel processing power of GPUs with out-of-core methods and data streaming, a major enabler for interactivity is making both the computational and the visualization effort proportional to the amount and resolution of data that is actually visible on screen, i.e. 'output-sensitive' algorithms and system designs. This leads to recent output-sensitive approaches that are 'ray-guided', 'visualization-driven' or 'display-aware'. In this survey, we focus on these characteristics and propose a new categorization of GPU-based large-scale volume visualization techniques based on the notions of actual output-resolution visibility and the current working set of volume bricks-the current subset of data that is minimally required to produce an output image of the desired display resolution. Furthermore, we discuss the differences and similarities of different rendering and data traversal strategies in volume rendering by putting them into a common context-the notion of address translation. For our purposes here, we view parallel (distributed) visualization using clusters as an orthogonal set of techniques that we do not discuss in detail but that can be used in conjunction with what we present in this survey. © 2015 The Eurographics Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Rice growing farmers efficiency measurement using a slack based interval DEA model with undesirable outputs

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Sahubar Ali Mohd. Nadhar; Ramli, Razamin; Baten, M. D. Azizul

2017-11-01

In recent years eco-efficiency which considers the effect of production process on environment in determining the efficiency of firms have gained traction and a lot of attention. Rice farming is one of such production processes which typically produces two types of outputs which are economic desirable as well as environmentally undesirable. In efficiency analysis, these undesirable outputs cannot be ignored and need to be included in the model to obtain the actual estimation of firm's efficiency. There are numerous approaches that have been used in data envelopment analysis (DEA) literature to account for undesirable outputs of which directional distance function (DDF) approach is the most widely used as it allows for simultaneous increase in desirable outputs and reduction of undesirable outputs. Additionally, slack based DDF DEA approaches considers the output shortfalls and input excess in determining efficiency. In situations when data uncertainty is present, the deterministic DEA model is not suitable to be used as the effects of uncertain data will not be considered. In this case, it has been found that interval data approach is suitable to account for data uncertainty as it is much simpler to model and need less information regarding the underlying data distribution and membership function. The proposed model uses an enhanced DEA model which is based on DDF approach and incorporates slack based measure to determine efficiency in the presence of undesirable factors and data uncertainty. Interval data approach was used to estimate the values of inputs, undesirable outputs and desirable outputs. Two separate slack based interval DEA models were constructed for optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. The developed model was used to determine rice farmers efficiency from Kepala Batas, Kedah. The obtained results were later compared to the results obtained using a deterministic DDF DEA model. The study found that 15 out of 30 farmers are efficient in all cases. It

Enhanced FIB-SEM systems for large-volume 3D imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, C Shan; Hayworth, Kenneth J; Lu, Zhiyuan; Grob, Patricia; Hassan, Ahmed M; García-Cerdán, José G; Niyogi, Krishna K; Nogales, Eva; Weinberg, Richard J; Hess, Harald F

2017-01-01

Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) can automatically generate 3D images with superior z-axis resolution, yielding data that needs minimal image registration and related post-processing. Obstacles blocking wider adoption of FIB-SEM include slow imaging speed and lack of long-term system stability, which caps the maximum possible acquisition volume. Here, we present techniques that accelerate image acquisition while greatly improving FIB-SEM reliability, allowing the system to operate for months and generating continuously imaged volumes > 106 µm3. These volumes are large enough for connectomics, where the excellent z resolution can help in tracing of small neuronal processes and accelerate the tedious and time-consuming human proofreading effort. Even higher resolution can be achieved on smaller volumes. We present example data sets from mammalian neural tissue, Drosophila brain, and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to illustrate the power of this novel high-resolution technique to address questions in both connectomics and cell biology. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.25916.001 PMID:28500755

GPU-Based 3D Cone-Beam CT Image Reconstruction for Large Data Volume

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xing Zhao

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Currently, 3D cone-beam CT image reconstruction speed is still a severe limitation for clinical application. The computational power of modern graphics processing units (GPUs has been harnessed to provide impressive acceleration of 3D volume image reconstruction. For extra large data volume exceeding the physical graphic memory of GPU, a straightforward compromise is to divide data volume into blocks. Different from the conventional Octree partition method, a new partition scheme is proposed in this paper. This method divides both projection data and reconstructed image volume into subsets according to geometric symmetries in circular cone-beam projection layout, and a fast reconstruction for large data volume can be implemented by packing the subsets of projection data into the RGBA channels of GPU, performing the reconstruction chunk by chunk and combining the individual results in the end. The method is evaluated by reconstructing 3D images from computer-simulation data and real micro-CT data. Our results indicate that the GPU implementation can maintain original precision and speed up the reconstruction process by 110–120 times for circular cone-beam scan, as compared to traditional CPU implementation.

A self-sampling method to obtain large volumes of undiluted cervicovaginal secretions.

Science.gov (United States)

Boskey, Elizabeth R; Moench, Thomas R; Hees, Paul S; Cone, Richard A

2003-02-01

Studies of vaginal physiology and pathophysiology sometime require larger volumes of undiluted cervicovaginal secretions than can be obtained by current methods. A convenient method for self-sampling these secretions outside a clinical setting can facilitate such studies of reproductive health. The goal was to develop a vaginal self-sampling method for collecting large volumes of undiluted cervicovaginal secretions. A menstrual collection device (the Instead cup) was inserted briefly into the vagina to collect secretions that were then retrieved from the cup by centrifugation in a 50-ml conical tube. All 16 women asked to perform this procedure found it feasible and acceptable. Among 27 samples, an average of 0.5 g of secretions (range, 0.1-1.5 g) was collected. This is a rapid and convenient self-sampling method for obtaining relatively large volumes of undiluted cervicovaginal secretions. It should prove suitable for a wide range of assays, including those involving sexually transmitted diseases, microbicides, vaginal physiology, immunology, and pathophysiology.

Feasibility of large volume casting cementation process for intermediate level radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Zhuying; Chen Baisong; Zeng Jishu; Yu Chengze

1988-01-01

The recent tendency of radioactive waste treatment and disposal both in China and abroad is reviewed. The feasibility of the large volume casting cementation process for treating and disposing the intermediate level radioactive waste from spent fuel reprocessing plant in shallow land is assessed on the basis of the analyses of the experimental results (such as formulation study, solidified radioactive waste properties measurement ect.). It can be concluded large volume casting cementation process is a promising, safe and economic process. It is feasible to dispose the intermediate level radioactive waste from reprocessing plant it the disposal site chosen has resonable geological and geographical conditions and some additional effective protection means are taken

Development of large-volume rhyolitic ignibrites (LRI'S): The Chalupas Caldera, an example from Ecuador

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hammersley, L.; DePaolo, D.J; Beate, B

2001-01-01

The mechanisms responsible for the generation of large volumes of silicic magma and the eruption of large-volume rhyolitic ignimbrites (LRI's) remain poorly understood. Of particular interest are the relative roles of crustal assimilation, fractional crystallization and magma supply and the processes by which large volumes of magma accumulate in crustal chambers rather than erupt in smaller batches. Isotope geochemistry, combined with study of major and trace element variations of lavas, can be used to infer the relative contribution of crustal material and continued magmatic supply. Timescales for the accumulation of magma can be estimated using detailed geochronology. Magma supply rates can be estimated from eruption rates of nearby volcanoes. In this study we investigate the evolution of the Chalupas LRI, a caldera system in the Ecuadorian Andes where LRI's are rare in comparison to the Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ) of South America (au)

Measurement of Atmospheric Neutrino Oscillations with Very Large Volume Neutrino Telescopes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. P. Yáñez

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Neutrino oscillations have been probed during the last few decades using multiple neutrino sources and experimental set-ups. In the recent years, very large volume neutrino telescopes have started contributing to the field. First ANTARES and then IceCube have relied on large and sparsely instrumented volumes to observe atmospheric neutrinos for combinations of baselines and energies inaccessible to other experiments. Using this advantage, the latest result from IceCube starts approaching the precision of other established technologies and is paving the way for future detectors, such as ORCA and PINGU. These new projects seek to provide better measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters and eventually determine the neutrino mass ordering. The results from running experiments and the potential from proposed projects are discussed in this review, emphasizing the experimental challenges involved in the measurements.

High Energy Performance Tests of Large Volume LaBr{sub 3}:Ce Detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naqvi, A.A.; Gondal, M.A.; Khiari, F.Z.; Dastageer, M.A. [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Maslehuddin, M.M. [Center for Engineering Research, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Al-Amoudi, O.S.B. [Department of Civil Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia)

2015-07-01

High energy prompt gamma ray tests of a large volume cylindrical 100 mm x 100 mm (height x diameter) LaBr{sub 3}:Ce detector were carried out using a portable neutron generator-based Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) setup. In this study prompt gamma-rays yield were measured from water samples contaminated with toxic elements such nickel, chromium and mercury compounds with gamma ray energies up to 10 MeV. The experimental yield of prompt gamma-rays from toxic elements were compared with the results of Monte Carlo calculations. In spite of its higher intrinsic background due to its larger volume, an excellent agreement between the experimental and calculated yields of high energy gamma-rays from Ni, Cr and Hg samples has been achieved for the large volume LaBr{sub 3}:Ce detector. (authors)

The parallel volume at large distances

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampf, Jürgen

In this paper we examine the asymptotic behavior of the parallel volume of planar non-convex bodies as the distance tends to infinity. We show that the difference between the parallel volume of the convex hull of a body and the parallel volume of the body itself tends to . This yields a new proof...... for the fact that a planar body can only have polynomial parallel volume, if it is convex. Extensions to Minkowski spaces and random sets are also discussed....

The parallel volume at large distances

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampf, Jürgen

In this paper we examine the asymptotic behavior of the parallel volume of planar non-convex bodies as the distance tends to infinity. We show that the difference between the parallel volume of the convex hull of a body and the parallel volume of the body itself tends to 0. This yields a new proof...... for the fact that a planar body can only have polynomial parallel volume, if it is convex. Extensions to Minkowski spaces and random sets are also discussed....

Removal of rare gases from large volume airstreams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopke, P.K.; Leong, K.H.; Stukel, J.J.; Lewis, C.; Jebackumar, R.; Illinois Univ., Urbana; Illinois Univ., Urbana

1986-01-01

The cost-effective removal of low levels of rare gases and particularly radon from large volume air flows is a difficult problem. The use of various scrubbing systems using non-conventional fluids has been studied. The parameters for both a packed tower absorber and a gas scrubber have been calculated for a system using perfluorobenzene as the fluid. Based on these parameters, a packed bed tower of conventional proportions is feasible for the removal of >95% of 37 Bq/m 3 of radon from a flow of 4.7 m 3 /second. (author)

Adsorption of transuranic elements from large volume sea water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holm, E.; Ballestra, S.

1976-01-01

Some years ago a sampler for concentrating radionuclides from large volumes of sea water was developed by Silker et al. of the Battelle Northwest Laboratories. They used pure A1 2 O 3 as the adsorbent. The device has been applied successfully to the determination of 238 Pu and 239 Pu in several sea water samples. Our experience on the application of an identical system for the determination of transuranics in Mediterranean sea water was not quite as satisfactory as we had hoped. The chemistry involved in leaching up to 1 kg Al 2 O 3 . with acid, followed by removal of dissolved aluminium from the transuranic fraction, is rather tedious and time-consuming for routine use. The adsorption efficiency of transuranics, checked by dual-bed adsorption did not give consistent results. However, since the principle of the device is attractive enough for handling large volume water samples, it was felt that it was worthwhile to test other types of adsorbents which are easier to handle than Al 2 O 3 . For this purpose, chitosan and manganese dioxide were chosen and series of experiments were conducted in order to examine the suitability of these materials as an adsorbent in the system

Rejecting escape events in large volume Ge detectors by a pulse shape selection procedure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Zoppo, A.; Agodi, C.; Alba, R.; Bellia, G.; Coniglione, R.; Loukachine, K.; Maiolino, C.; Migneco, E.; Piattelli, P.; Santonocito, D.; Sapienza, P.

1993-01-01

The dependence of the response to γ-rays of a large volume Ge detector on the interval width of a selected initial rise pulse slope is investigated. The number of escape events associated with a small pulse slope is found to be greater than the corresponding number of full energy events. An escape event rejection procedure based on the observed correlation between energy deposition and pulse shape is discussed. Such a procedure seems particularly suited for the design of highly granular large volume Ge detector arrays. (orig.)

Evaluation of input output efficiency of oil field considering undesirable output —A case study of sandstone reservoir in Xinjiang oilfield

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shuying; Wu, Xuquan; Li, Deshan; Xu, Yadong; Song, Shulin

2017-06-01

Based on the input and output data of sandstone reservoir in Xinjiang oilfield, the SBM-Undesirable model is used to study the technical efficiency of each block. Results show that: the model of SBM-undesirable to evaluate its efficiency and to avoid defects caused by traditional DEA model radial angle, improve the accuracy of the efficiency evaluation. by analyzing the projection of the oil blocks, we find that each block is in the negative external effects of input redundancy and output deficiency benefit and undesirable output, and there are greater differences in the production efficiency of each block; the way to improve the input-output efficiency of oilfield is to optimize the allocation of resources, reduce the undesirable output and increase the expected output.

Capillary gas chromatographic analysis of nerve agents using large volume injections

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Degenhardt, C.E.A.M.; Kientz, C.E.

1996-01-01

The use of large volume injections has been studied for the verification of intact organophosphorus chemical warfare agents in water samples. As the use of ethyl acetate caused severe detection problems new potential solvents were evaluated. With the developed procedure, the nerve agents sarin,

Broadband frequency ECR ion source concepts with large resonant plasma volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alton, G.D.

1995-01-01

New techniques are proposed for enhancing the performances of ECR ion sources. The techniques are based on the use of high-power, variable-frequency, multiple-discrete-frequency, or broadband microwave radiation, derived from standard TWT technology, to effect large resonant ''volume'' ECR sources. The creation of a large ECR plasma ''volume'' permits coupling of more power into the plasma, resulting in the heating of a much larger electron population to higher energies, the effect of which is to produce higher charge state distributions and much higher intensities within a particular charge state than possible in present forms of the ECR ion source. If successful, these developments could significantly impact future accelerator designs and accelerator-based, heavy-ion-research programs by providing multiply-charged ion beams with the energies and intensities required for nuclear physics research from existing ECR ion sources. The methods described in this article can be used to retrofit any ECR ion source predicated on B-minimum plasma confinement techniques

Experimental investigation of undesired stable equilibria in pumpkin shape super-pressure balloon designs

Science.gov (United States)

Schur, W. W.

2004-01-01

Excess in skin material of a pneumatic envelope beyond what is required for minimum enclosure of a gas bubble is a necessary but by no means sufficient condition for the existence of multiple equilibrium configurations for that pneumatic envelope. The very design of structurally efficient super-pressure balloons of the pumpkin shape type requires such excess. Undesired stable equilibria in pumpkin shape balloons have been observed on experimental pumpkin shape balloons. These configurations contain regions with stress levels far higher than those predicted for the cyclically symmetric design configuration under maximum pressurization. Successful designs of pumpkin shape super-pressure balloons do not allow such undesired stable equilibria under full pressurization. This work documents efforts made so far and describes efforts still underway by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Balloon Program Office to arrive on guidance on the design of pumpkin shape super-pressure balloons that guarantee full and proper deployment.

Numerical simulation of seismic wave propagation from land-excited large volume air-gun source

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, W.; Zhang, W.

2017-12-01

The land-excited large volume air-gun source can be used to study regional underground structures and to detect temporal velocity changes. The air-gun source is characterized by rich low frequency energy (from bubble oscillation, 2-8Hz) and high repeatability. It can be excited in rivers, reservoirs or man-made pool. Numerical simulation of the seismic wave propagation from the air-gun source helps to understand the energy partitioning and characteristics of the waveform records at stations. However, the effective energy recorded at a distance station is from the process of bubble oscillation, which can not be approximated by a single point source. We propose a method to simulate the seismic wave propagation from the land-excited large volume air-gun source by finite difference method. The process can be divided into three parts: bubble oscillation and source coupling, solid-fluid coupling and the propagation in the solid medium. For the first part, the wavelet of the bubble oscillation can be simulated by bubble model. We use wave injection method combining the bubble wavelet with elastic wave equation to achieve the source coupling. Then, the solid-fluid boundary condition is implemented along the water bottom. And the last part is the seismic wave propagation in the solid medium, which can be readily implemented by the finite difference method. Our method can get accuracy waveform of land-excited large volume air-gun source. Based on the above forward modeling technology, we analysis the effect of the excited P wave and the energy of converted S wave due to different water shapes. We study two land-excited large volume air-gun fields, one is Binchuan in Yunnan, and the other is Hutubi in Xinjiang. The station in Binchuan, Yunnan is located in a large irregular reservoir, the waveform records have a clear S wave. Nevertheless, the station in Hutubi, Xinjiang is located in a small man-made pool, the waveform records have very weak S wave. Better understanding of

Undesirable Behaviors Elementary School Classroom Teachers Encounter in the Classroom and Their Reasons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E.G. Balcik

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The present study aims to determine how often elementary school teachers encounter undesirable behaviors in the classroom and what their thoughts regarding possible reasons of these behaviors are. The teachers’ opininon about the prevalence of these behaviors and their possible reasons were evaluated according to gender, marital status, level of class being taught, size of class being taught and it was tried to be determined if there were significant differences between variables. The measurement tool was applied to a total of 54 teachers at 5 schools in Gölcük district of the Kocaeli province. The data collection tool is composed of three sections. The first section is for establishing teachers’ personal information. In this study, as a data collection tool, a questionnaire was used. When preparing questions for the questionnaire, following the examination of resources available, the questionnaire prepared by Aksoy (1999 and used in the thesis study entitled “Classroom Management and Student Discipline in Elementary Schools of Ankara” and also used in the thesis study by Boyraz (2007 entitled “Discipline Problems that Candidate Teachers Servicing at Elementary Schools Encounter in the Classroom” was employed. Although the validity and reliability of the questionnaire was tested by Aksoy (1999 and Boyraz (2007, the reliability study for the questionnaire was retested and found to be 0,9. The questionnaire include 42 items. 19 of them are related to the reasons of undesirable behaviors observed in the classroom and 23 of them are related to undesirable behaviors observed in the classroom.

Doping the 1 kton Large Volume Detector with Gd

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruno, Gianmarco; Fulgione, Walter; Porta, Amanda; Machado, Ana Amelia Bergamini; Mal'gin, Alexei; Molinario, Andrea; Vigorito, Carlo

2011-01-01

The Large Volume Detector (LVD) in the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), Italy, is a ν observatory which has been monitoring the Galaxy since June 1992 to study neutrinos from core collapse supernovae. The experiment in the present configuration is made by 840 scintillator detectors, for a total active mass of 1000 tons. The detector sensitivity to neutrino bursts due to a core collapse supernova has been already discussed in term of maximum detectable distance. In this paper we evaluate the improvements that LVD could obtain if all its active scintillator mass was doped with a small amount (0.14% in weight) of Gadolinium. We simulated neutron captures following ν-bar e inverse beta decay reactions in one LVD counter (1.2 ton) with Gd doped liquid scintillator obtaining an efficiency for the detection of this process of η n | Gd = 80% and a mean capture time τ = 25μs, in good agreement with the results obtained by the measures. This implies a gain of a factor ∼ 20 in the signal to noise ratio for neutron capture detection with respect to the undoped liquid scintillator. We discuss how the captures of neutrons from rock radioactivity on Gd modify the background conditions of the detector and we calculate the curves expressing the sensitivity to a ν-bar e burst from core collapse supernovae depending on the distance of the collapsing star. It results that doping the 1 kton Large Volume Detector with Gd would assure a 90% detection efficiency at the distance of the Large Magellanic Cloud (50 kpc), an achievement which is equivalent to that obtained by doubling the number of counters in LVD

[Feasibility, in general practice, to give to the patients clear, loyal and appropriate information about the undesirable side effects of the medicines prescribed. EICLAT study].

Science.gov (United States)

Arnould, Pascale; Raineri, François; Hebbrecht, Gilles; Duhot, Didier

2011-12-01

Drug prescription in general practice is present in 78 to 83% of consultations; practitioners must give to their patient clear loyal and appropriate information about the undesirable side effects of the medicines prescribed. The object of the EICLAT study was to give some light on the feasibility to respect this obligation. To that effect the study evaluates, for a normal prescription activity, the average number of potential undesirable side effects (USE) in relation with the number of lines of different medicines prescribed in each doctor's prescription. A total of 8,382 doctor's prescriptions, generating 34,427 lines of prescriptions given by 175 general practitioners, were analysed. Amongst these prescriptions, 11% included only one line, 55% from 2 to 4 lines and 34% 5 lines or more. The average doctor's prescription was of 4 lines of medicines generating 407 potential USE, of which 194 were different (the same undesirable effect may be present twice or more in the same doctor's prescription), and 293 frequent or serious potential USE, of which 166 were different. The patent medicines with a major or important added medical value (AMV), present in 7,840 doctor's prescriptions for a total of 24,127 lines exposed the patient, in the average, to 151 frequent or serious USE different. The patent medicines with an insufficient AMV, present in 2,292 prescriptions for a total of 3,887 lines, exposed the patient to 37 frequent and/or serious potential USE. Supposing that the information provided by the legal authority is sufficiently adequate, precise and exhaustive, the volume of information that must be given to the patient is not compatible with the present conditions of exercise of the profession.

F-term stabilization of odd axions in LARGE volume scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, Xin; Shukla, Pramod

2014-01-01

In the context of the LARGE volume scenario, stabilization of axionic moduli is revisited. This includes both even and odd axions with their scalar potential being generated by F-term contributions via various tree-level and non-perturbative effects like fluxed E3-brane instantons and fluxed poly-instantons. In all the cases, we estimate the decay constants and masses of the axions involved

Absorption and scattering coefficient dependence of laser-Doppler flowmetry models for large tissue volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binzoni, T; Leung, T S; Ruefenacht, D; Delpy, D T

2006-01-01

Based on quasi-elastic scattering theory (and random walk on a lattice approach), a model of laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF) has been derived which can be applied to measurements in large tissue volumes (e.g. when the interoptode distance is >30 mm). The model holds for a semi-infinite medium and takes into account the transport-corrected scattering coefficient and the absorption coefficient of the tissue, and the scattering coefficient of the red blood cells. The model holds for anisotropic scattering and for multiple scattering of the photons by the moving scatterers of finite size. In particular, it has also been possible to take into account the simultaneous presence of both Brownian and pure translational movements. An analytical and simplified version of the model has also been derived and its validity investigated, for the case of measurements in human skeletal muscle tissue. It is shown that at large optode spacing it is possible to use the simplified model, taking into account only a 'mean' light pathlength, to predict the blood flow related parameters. It is also demonstrated that the 'classical' blood volume parameter, derived from LDF instruments, may not represent the actual blood volume variations when the investigated tissue volume is large. The simplified model does not need knowledge of the tissue optical parameters and thus should allow the development of very simple and cost-effective LDF hardware

The use of cosmic muons in detecting heterogeneities in large volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grabski, V.; Reche, R.; Alfaro, R.; Belmont-Moreno, E.; Martinez-Davalos, A.; Sandoval, A.; Menchaca-Rocha, A.

2008-01-01

The muon intensity attenuation method to detect heterogeneities in large matter volumes is analyzed. Approximate analytical expressions to estimate the collection time and the signal to noise ratio, are proposed and validated by Monte Carlo simulations. Important parameters, including point spread function and coordinate reconstruction uncertainty are also estimated using Monte Carlo simulations

Doping the 1 kton Large Volume Detector with Gd

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruno, Gianmarco [University of L' Aquila, Via Vetoio snc, 67100 Coppito (AQ) Italy (Italy); Fulgione, Walter; Porta, Amanda [Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario, INAF, Corso Fiume 4, Torino (Italy); Machado, Ana Amelia Bergamini [Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, INFN, s.s. 17bis Km 18-10, Assergi (AQ) (Italy); Mal' gin, Alexei [Institute for Nuclear Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. Shestidesyatiletiya Oktyabrya 7a, Moscow, 117312 (Russian Federation); Molinario, Andrea; Vigorito, Carlo, E-mail: bruno@to.infn.it, E-mail: fulgione@to.infn.it, E-mail: ana.machado@lngs.infn.it, E-mail: malgin@lngs.infn.it, E-mail: amolinar@to.infn.it, E-mail: Amanda.Porta@subatech.in2p3.fr, E-mail: vigorito@to.infn.it [INFN, Via Pietro Giuria 1, Torino (Italy)

2011-06-01

The Large Volume Detector (LVD) in the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), Italy, is a ν observatory which has been monitoring the Galaxy since June 1992 to study neutrinos from core collapse supernovae. The experiment in the present configuration is made by 840 scintillator detectors, for a total active mass of 1000 tons. The detector sensitivity to neutrino bursts due to a core collapse supernova has been already discussed in term of maximum detectable distance. In this paper we evaluate the improvements that LVD could obtain if all its active scintillator mass was doped with a small amount (0.14% in weight) of Gadolinium. We simulated neutron captures following ν-bar {sub e} inverse beta decay reactions in one LVD counter (1.2 ton) with Gd doped liquid scintillator obtaining an efficiency for the detection of this process of η{sub n}|{sub Gd} = 80% and a mean capture time τ = 25μs, in good agreement with the results obtained by the measures. This implies a gain of a factor ∼ 20 in the signal to noise ratio for neutron capture detection with respect to the undoped liquid scintillator. We discuss how the captures of neutrons from rock radioactivity on Gd modify the background conditions of the detector and we calculate the curves expressing the sensitivity to a ν-bar {sub e} burst from core collapse supernovae depending on the distance of the collapsing star. It results that doping the 1 kton Large Volume Detector with Gd would assure a 90% detection efficiency at the distance of the Large Magellanic Cloud (50 kpc), an achievement which is equivalent to that obtained by doubling the number of counters in LVD.

Assembly, operation and disassembly manual for the Battelle Large Volume Water Sampler (BLVWS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, V.W.; Campbell, R.M.

1984-12-01

Assembly, operation and disassembly of the Battelle Large Volume Water Sampler (BLVWS) are described in detail. Step by step instructions of assembly, general operation and disassembly are provided to allow an operator completely unfamiliar with the sampler to successfully apply the BLVWS to his research sampling needs. The sampler permits concentration of both particulate and dissolved radionuclides from large volumes of ocean and fresh water. The water sample passes through a filtration section for particle removal then through sorption or ion exchange beds where species of interest are removed. The sampler components which contact the water being sampled are constructed of polyvinylchloride (PVC). The sampler has been successfully applied to many sampling needs over the past fifteen years. 9 references, 8 figures

Toxicity Profile With a Large Prostate Volume After External Beam Radiotherapy for Localized Prostate Cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinkawa, Michael; Fischedick, Karin; Asadpour, Branka; Gagel, Bernd; Piroth, Marc D.; Nussen, Sandra; Eble, Michael J.

2008-01-01

Purpose: To assess the impact of prostate volume on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) before and at different intervals after radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: A group of 204 patients was surveyed prospectively before (Time A), at the last day (Time B), 2 months after (Time C), and 16 months (median) after (Time D) radiotherapy, with a validated questionnaire (Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite). The group was divided into subgroups with a small (11-43 cm 3 ) and a large (44-151 cm 3 ) prostate volume. Results: Patients with large prostates presented with lower urinary bother scores (median 79 vs. 89; p = 0.01) before treatment. Urinary function/bother scores for patients with large prostates decreased significantly compared to patients with small prostates due to irritative/obstructive symptoms only at Time B (pain with urination more than once daily in 48% vs. 18%; p 3 vs. 47 cm 3 ; p < 0.01). Conclusions: Patients with a large prostate volume have a great risk of irritative/obstructive symptoms (particularly dysuria) in the acute radiotherapy phase. These symptoms recover rapidly and do not influence long-term HRQOL

Rapid estimate of solid volume in large tuff cores using a gas pycnometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thies, C.; Geddis, A.M.; Guzman, A.G.

1996-09-01

A thermally insulated, rigid-volume gas pycnometer system has been developed. The pycnometer chambers have been machined from solid PVC cylinders. Two chambers confine dry high-purity helium at different pressures. A thick-walled design ensures minimal heat exchange with the surrounding environment and a constant volume system, while expansion takes place between the chambers. The internal energy of the gas is assumed constant over the expansion. The ideal gas law is used to estimate the volume of solid material sealed in one of the chambers. Temperature is monitored continuously and incorporated into the calculation of solid volume. Temperature variation between measurements is less than 0.1 degrees C. The data are used to compute grain density for oven-dried Apache Leap tuff core samples. The measured volume of solid and the sample bulk volume are used to estimate porosity and bulk density. Intrinsic permeability was estimated from the porosity and measured pore surface area and is compared to in-situ measurements by the air permeability method. The gas pycnometer accommodates large core samples (0.25 m length x 0.11 m diameter) and can measure solid volume greater than 2.20 cm 3 with less than 1% error

Children's Perceptions of Hypothetical Peers With Undesirable Characteristics: Role of the Peers' Desire to Change, Source of Effort to Change, and Outcome.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnett, Mark A; Sonnentag, Tammy L; Wadian, Taylor W; Jones, Tucker L; Langley, Courtney A

2015-01-01

The present study, involving sixth- to eighth-grade students, is an extension of a prior investigation (Barnett, Livengood, Sonnentag, Barlett, & Witham, 2010) that examined children's perceptions of hypothetical peers with various undesirable characteristics. Results indicate that children's perceptions of hypothetical peers with an undesirable characteristic are influenced by the peers' desire to change, the source of effort to change, and the peers' success or failure in changing the characteristic. The children anticipated responding more favorably to peers who were successful in overcoming an undesirable characteristic than peers who were unsuccessful. Regardless of the peers' outcome, the children anticipated responding more favorably to peers who tried to change than peers who relied on the effort of adult authorities to motivate change. The children perceived successful peers as experiencing more positive affect than their unsuccessful counterparts, especially if the success was presented as a fulfillment of the peers' desire to change their undesirable characteristic. Finally, the children's ratings reflected the belief that, among peers who failed to change their undesirable characteristic, lacking the desire to change increases the relative likelihood that the characteristic will be permanent.

Large-volume static compression using nano-polycrystalline diamond for opposed anvils in compact cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okuchi, T; Sasaki, S; Ohno, Y; Osakabe, T; Odake, S; Kagi, H

2010-01-01

In order to extend the pressure regime of intrinsically low-sensitivity methods of measurement, such as neutron scattering and NMR, sample volume to be compressed in compact opposed-anvil cells is desired to be significantly increased. We hereby conducted a series of experiments using two types of compact cells equipped with enforced loading mechanisms. Super-hard nano-polycrystalline diamond (NPD) anvils were carefully prepared for large-volume compression in these cells. These anvils are harder, larger and stronger than single crystal diamond anvils, so that they could play an ideal role to accept the larger forces. Supported and unsupported anvil geometries were separately tested to evaluate this expectation. In spite of insufficient support to the anvils, pressures to 14 GPa were generated for the sample volume of > 0.1 mm 3 , without damaging the NPD anvils. These results demonstrate a large future potential of compact cells equipped with NPD anvils and enforced loading mechanism.

Management of Large Volumes of Waste Arising in a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-10-01

This publication, prepared in light of the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety developed after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, addresses the management of large volumes of radioactive waste arising in a nuclear or radiological emergency, as part of overall emergency preparedness. The management of large volumes of waste will be one of many efforts to be dealt with to allow recovery of affected areas, to support return of evacuated or relocated populations and preparations for normal social and economic activities, and/or to mitigate additional environmental impacts. The publication is intended to be of use to national planners and policy makers, facility and programme managers, and other professionals responsible for developing and implementing national plans and strategies to manage radioactive waste arising from nuclear or radiological emergencies.

SUSY’s Ladder: reframing sequestering at Large Volume

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reece, Matthew [Department of Physics, Harvard University,Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Xue, Wei [Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

2016-04-07

Theories with approximate no-scale structure, such as the Large Volume Scenario, have a distinctive hierarchy of multiple mass scales in between TeV gaugino masses and the Planck scale, which we call SUSY’s Ladder. This is a particular realization of Split Supersymmetry in which the same small parameter suppresses gaugino masses relative to scalar soft masses, scalar soft masses relative to the gravitino mass, and the UV cutoff or string scale relative to the Planck scale. This scenario has many phenomenologically interesting properties, and can avoid dangers including the gravitino problem, flavor problems, and the moduli-induced LSP problem that plague other supersymmetric theories. We study SUSY’s Ladder using a superspace formalism that makes the mysterious cancelations in previous computations manifest. This opens the possibility of a consistent effective field theory understanding of the phenomenology of these scenarios, based on power-counting in the small ratio of string to Planck scales. We also show that four-dimensional theories with approximate no-scale structure enforced by a single volume modulus arise only from two special higher-dimensional theories: five-dimensional supergravity and ten-dimensional type IIB supergravity. This gives a phenomenological argument in favor of ten dimensional ultraviolet physics which is different from standard arguments based on the consistency of superstring theory.

Undesirable Effects of Media on Children: Why Limitation is Necessary?

Science.gov (United States)

Karaagac, Aysu Turkmen

2015-06-01

Pervasive media environment is a social problem shared by most of the countries around the world. Several studies have been performed to highlight the undesired effects of media on children. Some of these studies have focused on the time spent by children watching television, playing with computers or using mobile media devices while some others have tried to explain the associations between the obesity, postural abnormalities or psychological problems of children, and their media use. This article discusses the recent approaches to curb influence of media on children, and the importance of family media literacy education programs with particular relevance to developing countries.

Rapid estimate of solid volume in large tuff cores using a gas pycnometer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thies, C. [ed.; Geddis, A.M.; Guzman, A.G. [and others

1996-09-01

A thermally insulated, rigid-volume gas pycnometer system has been developed. The pycnometer chambers have been machined from solid PVC cylinders. Two chambers confine dry high-purity helium at different pressures. A thick-walled design ensures minimal heat exchange with the surrounding environment and a constant volume system, while expansion takes place between the chambers. The internal energy of the gas is assumed constant over the expansion. The ideal gas law is used to estimate the volume of solid material sealed in one of the chambers. Temperature is monitored continuously and incorporated into the calculation of solid volume. Temperature variation between measurements is less than 0.1{degrees}C. The data are used to compute grain density for oven-dried Apache Leap tuff core samples. The measured volume of solid and the sample bulk volume are used to estimate porosity and bulk density. Intrinsic permeability was estimated from the porosity and measured pore surface area and is compared to in-situ measurements by the air permeability method. The gas pycnometer accommodates large core samples (0.25 m length x 0.11 m diameter) and can measure solid volume greater than 2.20 cm{sup 3} with less than 1% error.

Large electrically induced height and volume changes in poly(3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene) /poly(styrenesulfonate) thin films

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Charrier, D.S.H.; Janssen, R.A.J.; Kemerink, M.

2010-01-01

We demonstrate large, partly reversible height and volume changes of thin films of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) on the anode of interdigitating gold electrodes under ambient conditions by applying an electrical bias. The height and volume changes were monitored

Naturally light hidden photons in LARGE volume string compactifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodsell, M.; Jaeckel, J.; Redondo, J.; Ringwald, A.

2009-09-01

Extra ''hidden'' U(1) gauge factors are a generic feature of string theory that is of particular phenomenological interest. They can kinetically mix with the Standard Model photon and are thereby accessible to a wide variety of astrophysical and cosmological observations and laboratory experiments. In this paper we investigate the masses and the kinetic mixing of hidden U(1)s in LARGE volume compactifications of string theory. We find that in these scenarios the hidden photons can be naturally light and that their kinetic mixing with the ordinary electromagnetic photon can be of a size interesting for near future experiments and observations. (orig.)

ESB application for effective synchronization of large volume measurements data

CERN Document Server

Wyszkowski, Przemysław Michał

2011-01-01

The TOTEM experiment at CERN aims at measurement of total cross section, elastic scattering and diffractive processes of colliding protons in the Large Hadron Collider. In order for the research to be possible, it is necessary to process huge amounts of data coming from variety of sources: TOTEM detectors, CMS detectors, measurement devices around the Large Hadron Collider tunnel and many other external systems. Preparing final results involves also calculating plenty of intermediate figures, which also need to be stored. In order for the work of the scientist to be effective and convenient it is crucial to provide central point for the data storage, where all raw and intermediate figures will be stored. This thesis aims at presenting the usage of Enterprise Service Bus concept in building software infrastructure for transferring large volume of measurements data. Topics discussed here include technologies and mechanisms realizing the concept of integration bus, model of data transferring system based on ...

School Social Workers' Perceived Efficacy at Tasks Related to Curbing Suspension and Undesirable Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Teasley, Martell L.; Miller, Christina R.

2011-01-01

This study explores school social workers' perceptions of their ability to successfully engage in practice tasks that reduce the likelihood of school suspension and undesirable behaviors among racial and ethnic groups within diverse geographical locations (urban, suburban, and rural). Using survey research methods with a convenience sample, 201…

Dilute scintillators for large-volume tracking detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reeder, R.A. (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)); Dieterle, B.D. (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)); Gregory, C. (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)); Schaefer, F. (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)); Schum, K. (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)); Strossman, W. (University of California, Riverside, CA (United States)); Smith, D. (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ., Prescott, AZ (United States)); Christofek, L. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)); Johnston, K. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)); Louis, W.C. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)); Schillaci, M. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)); Volta, M. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)); White, D.H. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)); Whitehouse, D. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)); Albert, M. (University of Pennsylvania, Phi

1993-10-01

Dilute scintillation mixtures emit isotropic light for both fast and slow particles, but retain the Cherenkov light cone from fast particles. Large volume detectors using photomultipliers to reconstruct relativistic tracks will also be sensitive to slow particles if they are filled with these mixtures. Our data show that 0.03 g/l of b-PBD in mineral oil has a 2.4:1 ratio (in the first 12 ns) of isotropic light to Cherenkov light for positron tracks. The light attenuation length is greater than 15 m for wavelength above 400 nm, and the scintillation decay time is about 2 ns for the fast component. There is also a slow isotropic light component that is larger (relative to the fast component) for protons than for electrons. This effect allows particle identification by a technique similar to pulse shape discrimination. These features will be utilized in LSND, a neutrino detector at LAMPF. (orig.)

Large volumes and spectroscopy of walking theories

CERN Document Server

Del Debbio, L; Patella, A; Pica, C; Rago, A

2016-01-01

A detailed investigation of finite size effects is performed for SU(2) gauge theory with two fermions in the adjoint representation, which previous lattice studies have shown to be inside the conformal window. The system is investigated with different spatial and temporal boundary conditions on lattices of various spatial and temporal extensions, for two values of the bare fermion mass representing a {\\em heavy} and {\\em light} fermion regime. Our study shows that the infinite volume limit of masses and decay constants in the mesonic sector is reached only when the mass of the pseudoscalar particle $M_\\mathrm{PS}$ and the spatial lattice size $L$ satisfy the relation $L M_\\mathrm{PS} \\ge 15$. This bound, which is at least a factor of three higher than what observed in QCD, is a likely consequence of the different spectral signatures of the two theories, with the scalar isosinglet ($0^{++}$ glueball) being the lightest particle in our model. In addition to stressing the importance of simulating large lattice s...

A digital gain stabilizer for large volume organic scintillation detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braunsfurth, J.; Geske, K.

1976-01-01

A digital gain stabilizer is described, optimized for use with photomultipliers mounted on large volume organic scintillators, or other radiation detectors, which exhibit no prominent peaks in their amplitude spectra. As applications of this kind usually involve many phototubes or detectors, circuit simplicity, production reproduceability, and the possibility of computer controlled operation were major design criteria. Two versions were built, the first one using standard TTL-SSI and MSI circuitry, the second one - to reduce power requirements - using a mixture of TTL- and CMOS-LSI circuits. (Auth.)

Biological intrusion barriers for large-volume waste-disposal sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hakonson, T.E.; Cline, J.F.; Rickard, W.H.

1982-01-01

intrusion of plants and animals into shallow land burial sites with subsequent mobilization of toxic and radiotoxic materials has occured. Based on recent pathway modeling studies, such intrusions can contribute to the dose received by man. This paper describes past work on developing biological intrusion barrier systems for application to large volume waste site stabilization. State-of-the-art concepts employing rock and chemical barriers are discussed relative to long term serviceability and cost of application. The interaction of bio-intrusion barrier systems with other processes affecting trench cover stability are discussed to ensure that trench cover designs minimize the potential dose to man. 3 figures, 6 tables

Array diagnostics, spatial resolution, and filtering of undesired radiation with the 3D reconstruction algorithm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cappellin, C.; Pivnenko, Sergey; Jørgensen, E.

2013-01-01

This paper focuses on three important features of the 3D reconstruction algorithm of DIATOOL: the identification of array elements improper functioning and failure, the obtainable spatial resolution of the reconstructed fields and currents, and the filtering of undesired radiation and scattering...

Absolute activity determinations on large volume geological samples independent of self-absorption effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, W.E.

1980-01-01

This paper describes a method for measuring the absolute activity of large volume samples by γ-spectroscopy independent of self-absorption effects using Ge detectors. The method yields accurate matrix independent results at the expense of replicative counting of the unknown sample. (orig./HP)

UNDESIRED REACTIONS AT THE UROGRAPHY IN THE CORRELATION OF THE IODIC AND THE NON-TODIC CONTRAST MEDIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rade R. Babić

2000-07-01

Full Text Available The paper analyzes the undesired reactions at 6053 urographies (IVU in thecorrelation of the iodic and the non-iodic contrast media (ICM.Depending on the allergological status the ICM (iodic or non-iodic is chosenfor the sake of carrying out an urographic examination as well as the necessarypremedication measures.The undesired reactions to the TCM are registered in 4,87% (1:20 TVU,namely in 5,6% (1:17 TVU to the iodic and in 2,39% (1:41 IVU to the non-iodicICM.At the intravenous application of the iodic ICM at the IVU the undesiredreactions are registered for2,4 times more often than at the application of the non-iodicICM.

A survey on the presence of undesirable botanical substances in feed in the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van Raamsdonk LWD.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 May 2002 on undesirable substances in animal feed lists a range of substances from botanical origin (weed seeds and additionally some chemical compounds directly originating from specific weeds. In order to examine the actual status of enforcement and of the present occurrence of these botanical substances, a survey was carried out. A questionnaire was sent to 103 laboratories, including official control labs from all member states of the European Union. The results, indicating the frequency of occurrence as far as reported, are compared to the publications of the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF. A total of 44 questionnaires was returned (42.7% from 22 member states. Ten member states predominantly from north-western Europe appeared to have an active monitoring of botanical undesirable substances. The questionnaire results did not indicate that the other member states enforce this part of Directive 2002/32/EC. Reports on the frequency of occurrence include: a few to 25-50% of the samples contain traces of ergot (8 member states, a few to 24% contain at least some traces of thorn apple (6 member states, zero to 17% contain some castor oil plant seeds (3 member states, zero to a few samples contain Crotalaria seeds (3 member states, and zero to 6% contain traces of Sareptian mustard (4 member states. One member state conducted extra surveillance since several cases of animal intoxications have been reported. In some cases a coincidence with undesirable botanical substances was found.

Large volume syringe pump extruder for desktop 3D printers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kira Pusch

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Syringe pump extruders are required for a wide range of 3D printing applications, including bioprinting, embedded printing, and food printing. However, the mass of the syringe becomes a major challenge for most printing platforms, requiring compromises in speed, resolution and/or volume. To address these issues, we have designed a syringe pump large volume extruder (LVE that is compatible with low-cost, open source 3D printers, and herein demonstrate its performance on a PrintrBot Simple Metal. Key aspects of the LVE include: (1 it is open source and compatible with open source hardware and software, making it inexpensive and widely accessible to the 3D printing community, (2 it utilizes a standard 60 mL syringe as its ink reservoir, effectively increasing print volume of the average bioprinter, (3 it is capable of retraction and high speed movements, and (4 it can print fluids using nozzle diameters as small as 100 μm, enabling the printing of complex shapes/objects when used in conjunction with the freeform reversible embedding of suspended hydrogels (FRESH 3D printing method. Printing performance of the LVE is demonstrated by utilizing alginate as a model biomaterial ink to fabricate parametric CAD models and standard calibration objects. Keywords: Additive manufacturing, 3D bioprinting, Embedded printing, FRESH, Soft materials extrusion

Studies on a pulse shaping system for fast coincidence with very large volume HPGe detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bose, S.; Chatterjee, M.B.; Sinha, B.K.; Bhattacharya, R.

1987-01-01

A variant of the leading edge timing (LET) has been proposed which compensates the ''walk'' due to risetime spread in very large volume (∝100 cm 3 ) HPGe detectors. The method - shape compensated leading edge timing (SCLET) - can be used over a wide dynamic range of energies with 100% efficiency and has been compared with the LET and ARC methods. A time resolution of 10 ns fwhm and 21 ns fwtm has been obtained with 22 Na gamma rays and two HPGe detectors of 96 and 114 cm 3 volume. This circuit is easy to duplicate and use can be a low cost alternative to commercial circuits in experiments requiring a large number of detectors. (orig.)

Electro-mechanical probe positioning system for large volume plasma device

Science.gov (United States)

Sanyasi, A. K.; Sugandhi, R.; Srivastava, P. K.; Srivastav, Prabhakar; Awasthi, L. M.

2018-05-01

An automated electro-mechanical system for the positioning of plasma diagnostics has been designed and implemented in a Large Volume Plasma Device (LVPD). The system consists of 12 electro-mechanical assemblies, which are orchestrated using the Modbus communication protocol on 4-wire RS485 communications to meet the experimental requirements. Each assembly has a lead screw-based mechanical structure, Wilson feed-through-based vacuum interface, bipolar stepper motor, micro-controller-based stepper drive, and optical encoder for online positioning correction of probes. The novelty of the system lies in the orchestration of multiple drives on a single interface, fabrication and installation of the system for a large experimental device like the LVPD, in-house developed software, and adopted architectural practices. The paper discusses the design, description of hardware and software interfaces, and performance results in LVPD.

APPHi: Automated Photometry Pipeline for High Cadence Large Volume Data

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez, E.; Castro, J.; Silva, J.; Hernández, J.; Reyes, M.; Hernández, B.; Alvarez, F.; García T.

2018-04-01

APPHi (Automated Photometry Pipeline) carries out aperture and differential photometry of TAOS-II project data. It is computationally efficient and can be used also with other astronomical wide-field image data. APPHi works with large volumes of data and handles both FITS and HDF5 formats. Due the large number of stars that the software has to handle in an enormous number of frames, it is optimized to automatically find the best value for parameters to carry out the photometry, such as mask size for aperture, size of window for extraction of a single star, and the number of counts for the threshold for detecting a faint star. Although intended to work with TAOS-II data, APPHi can analyze any set of astronomical images and is a robust and versatile tool to performing stellar aperture and differential photometry.

Effect, Feasibility, and Clinical Relevance of Cell Enrichment in Large Volume Fat Grafting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Bo Sonnich; Lykke Sørensen, Celine; Vester-Glowinski, Peter Viktor

2017-01-01

Large volume fat grafting is limited by unpredictable volume loss; therefore, methods of improving graft retention have been developed. Fat graft enrichment with either stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells or adipose tissue-derived stem/stromal cells (ASCs) has been investigated in several animal...... and human studies, and significantly improved graft retention has been reported. Improvement of graft retention and the feasibility of these techniques are equally important in evaluating the clinical relevance of cell enrichment. We conducted a systematic search of PubMed to identify studies on fat graft...... enrichment that used either SVF cells or ASCs, and only studies reporting volume assessment were included. A total of 38 articles (15 human and 23 animal) were included to investigate the effects of cell enrichment on graft retention as well as the feasibility and clinical relevance of cell-enriched fat...

Large-volume paracentesis with indwelling peritoneal catheter and albumin infusion: a community hospital study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel K. Martin

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Background: The management of ascites can be problematic. This is especially true in patients with diuretic refractory ascites who develop a tense abdomen. This often results in hypotension and decreased venous return with resulting renal failure. In this paper, we further examine the risks and benefits of utilizing an indwelling peritoneal catheter to remove large-volume ascites over a 72-h period while maintaining intravascular volume and preventing renal failure. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed charts and identified 36 consecutive patients undergoing continuous large-volume paracentesis with an indwelling peritoneal catheter. At the time of drain placement, no patients had signs or laboratory parameters suggestive of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. The patients underwent ascitic fluid removal through an indwelling peritoneal catheter and were supported with scheduled albumin throughout the duration. The catheter was used to remove up to 3 L every 8 h for a maximum of 72 h. Regular laboratory and ascitic fluid testing was performed. All patients had a clinical follow-up within 3 months after the drain placement. Results: An average of 16.5 L was removed over the 72-h time frame of indwelling peritoneal catheter maintenance. The albumin infusion utilized correlated to 12 mg/L removed. The average creatinine trend improved in a statistically significant manner from 1.37 on the day of admission to 1.21 on the day of drain removal. No patients developed renal failure during the hospital course. There were no documented episodes of neutrocytic ascites or bacterial peritonitis throughout the study review. Conclusion: Large-volume peritoneal drainage with an indwelling peritoneal catheter is safe and effective for patients with tense ascites. Concomitant albumin infusion allows for maintenance of renal function, and no increase in infectious complications was noted.

Large volume liquid silicone injection in the upper thighs : a never ending story

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hofer, SOP; Damen, A; Nicolai, JPA

This report concerns a 26-year-old male-to-female transsexual who had received a large volume liquid silicone injection of unknown grade into her upper lateral thighs to gain female contour. She presented at our outpatient clinic 4 years after the silicone injection with complaints of pain and

DEREGULATION, FINANCIAL CRISIS, AND BANK EFFICIENCY IN TAIWAN: AN ESTIMATION OF UNDESIRABLE OUTPUTS

OpenAIRE

Liao, Chang-Sheng

2018-01-01

Purpose- This study investigates the undesirable impacts of outputson bank efficiency and contributes to the literature by assessing howregulation policies and other events impact bank efficiency in Taiwan inregards to deregulation, financial crisis, and financial reform from 1993 to2011. Methodology- In order to effectively deal with both undesirableand desirable outputs, this study follows Seiford and Zhu (2002), who recommendusing the standard data envelopment analysis model to measure per...

Does Size Really Matter? Analysis of the Effect of Large Fibroids and Uterine Volumes on Complication Rates of Uterine Artery Embolisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parthipun, A. A.; Taylor, J.; Manyonda, I.; Belli, A. M.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a correlation between large uterine fibroid diameter, uterine volume, number of vials of embolic agent used and risk of complications from uterine artery embolisation (UAE). This was a prospective study involving 121 patients undergoing UAE embolisation for symptomatic uterine fibroids at a single institution. Patients were grouped according to diameter of largest fibroid and uterine volume. Results were also stratified according to the number of vials of embolic agent used and rate of complications. No statistical difference in complication rate was demonstrated between the two groups according to diameter of the largest fibroid (large fibroids were classified as ≥10 cm; Fisher's exact test P = 1.00), and no statistical difference in complication rate was demonstrated according to uterine volume (large uterine volume was defined as ≥750 cm 3 ; Fisher's exact test P = 0.70). 84 of the 121 patients had documentation of the number of vials used during the procedure. Patients were divided into two groups, with ≥4 used defined as a large number of embolic agent. There was no statistical difference between these two groups and no associated increased risk of developing complications. This study showed no increased incidence of complications in women with large-diameter fibroids or uterine volumes as defined. In addition, there was no evidence of increased complications according to quantity of embolic material used. Therefore, UAE should be offered to women with large fibroids and uterine volumes.

Development of Data Envelopment Analysis for the Performance Evaluation of Green Supply Chain with Undesirable Outputs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alireza Alinezhad

2016-08-01

Full Text Available A fundamental problem is the use of DEA in multistep or multilevel processes such as supply chain, lack of attention to processes’ internal communications in a way that the recent studies on DEA in the context of serial processes have focused on closed systems that the outputs of one level become the inputs of the next level and none of the inputs enter the mediator process. The present study aimed to examine the general dimensions of an open multilevel process. Here, some of the data such as inputs and outputs are supposed to leave the system while other outputs turn into the inputs of the next level. The new inputs can enter the next level as well. We expand this mode for network structures. The overall performance of such a structure is considered as a weighted average of sectors’ performance or distinct steps. Therefore, this suggested model in this study, not only provides the possibility to evaluate the performance of the entire network, but creates the performance analysis for each of the sub-processes. On the other hand, considering the data with undesirable structure leads to more correct performance estimation. In the real world, all productive processes do not comprise desirable factors. Therefore, presenting a structure that is capable of taking into account the undesirable structure is of crucial importance. In this study, a new model in the DEA by network structure is offered that can analyze the performance considering undesirable factors.

An annular BF3 counter of large sensitive volume

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janardhanan, S.; Swaminathan, N.

1975-01-01

An annular neutron counter having a large sensitive volume with inner and outer diameter 31 cms with multiple electrode system fabricated especially to measure the neutron output from fissile region of standard fast reactor fuel of length nearly equivalent to 500 cms is described. The counter efficiency is nearly 0.3% for neutron and sensitivity 0.0018 counts/neutron for (alpha, neutron) and spontaneous fission source. Its other potential applications which are indicated are : (1) quality control of fast reactor fuel pins (2) fuel inventory (3) assessing radioactivity of solid waste packets containing PuO 2 (4) uniformity of fuel loading of a reactor and (5) neutron monitoring in a fuel plant. (M.G.B.)

SDSS Log Viewer: visual exploratory analysis of large-volume SQL log data

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jian; Chen, Chaomei; Vogeley, Michael S.; Pan, Danny; Thakar, Ani; Raddick, Jordan

2012-01-01

User-generated Structured Query Language (SQL) queries are a rich source of information for database analysts, information scientists, and the end users of databases. In this study a group of scientists in astronomy and computer and information scientists work together to analyze a large volume of SQL log data generated by users of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data archive in order to better understand users' data seeking behavior. While statistical analysis of such logs is useful at aggregated levels, efficiently exploring specific patterns of queries is often a challenging task due to the typically large volume of the data, multivariate features, and data requirements specified in SQL queries. To enable and facilitate effective and efficient exploration of the SDSS log data, we designed an interactive visualization tool, called the SDSS Log Viewer, which integrates time series visualization, text visualization, and dynamic query techniques. We describe two analysis scenarios of visual exploration of SDSS log data, including understanding unusually high daily query traffic and modeling the types of data seeking behaviors of massive query generators. The two scenarios demonstrate that the SDSS Log Viewer provides a novel and potentially valuable approach to support these targeted tasks.

Intraoperative ventilation: incidence and risk factors for receiving large tidal volumes during general anesthesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernandez-Bustamante Ana

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a growing concern of the potential injurious role of ventilatory over-distention in patients without lung injury. No formal guidelines exist for intraoperative ventilation settings, but the use of tidal volumes (VT under 10 mL/kg predicted body weight (PBW has been recommended in healthy patients. We explored the incidence and risk factors for receiving large tidal volumes (VT > 10 mL/kg PBW. Methods We performed a cross-sectional analysis of our prospectively collected perioperative electronic database for current intraoperative ventilation practices and risk factors for receiving large tidal volumes (VT > 10 mL/kg PBW. We included all adults undergoing prolonged (≥ 4 h elective abdominal surgery and collected demographic, preoperative (comorbidities, intraoperative (i.e. ventilatory settings, fluid administration and postoperative (outcomes information. We compared patients receiving exhaled tidal volumes > 10 mL/kg PBW with those that received 8-10 or Results Ventilatory settings were non-uniform in the 429 adults included in the analysis. 17.5% of all patients received VT > 10 mL/kg PBW. 34.0% of all obese patients (body mass index, BMI, ≥ 30, 51% of all patients with a height T > 10 mL/kg PBW. Conclusions Ventilation with VT > 10 mL/kg PBW is still common, although poor correlation with PBW suggests it may be unintentional. BMI ≥ 30, female gender and height

A survey on the presence of undesirable botanical substances in feed in the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Raamsdonk, van L.W.D.; Vancutsem, J.; Jorgensen, J.S.

2009-01-01

Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 May 2002 on undesirable substances in animal feed lists a range of substances from botanical origin (weed seeds) and additionally some chemical compounds directly originating from specific weeds. In order to examine the actual

Performance of large electron energy filter in large volume plasma device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, S. K.; Srivastava, P. K.; Awasthi, L. M.; Mattoo, S. K.; Sanyasi, A. K.; Kaw, P. K.; Singh, R.

2014-01-01

This paper describes an in-house designed large Electron Energy Filter (EEF) utilized in the Large Volume Plasma Device (LVPD) [S. K. Mattoo, V. P. Anita, L. M. Awasthi, and G. Ravi, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 72, 3864 (2001)] to secure objectives of (a) removing the presence of remnant primary ionizing energetic electrons and the non-thermal electrons, (b) introducing a radial gradient in plasma electron temperature without greatly affecting the radial profile of plasma density, and (c) providing a control on the scale length of gradient in electron temperature. A set of 19 independent coils of EEF make a variable aspect ratio, rectangular solenoid producing a magnetic field (B x ) of 100 G along its axis and transverse to the ambient axial field (B z ∼ 6.2 G) of LVPD, when all its coils are used. Outside the EEF, magnetic field reduces rapidly to 1 G at a distance of 20 cm from the center of the solenoid on either side of target and source plasma. The EEF divides LVPD plasma into three distinct regions of source, EEF and target plasma. We report that the target plasma (n e ∼ 2 × 10 11  cm −3 and T e ∼ 2 eV) has no detectable energetic electrons and the radial gradients in its electron temperature can be established with scale length between 50 and 600 cm by controlling EEF magnetic field. Our observations reveal that the role of the EEF magnetic field is manifested by the energy dependence of transverse electron transport and enhanced transport caused by the plasma turbulence in the EEF plasma

A simple method for the production of large volume 3D macroporous hydrogels for advanced biotechnological, medical and environmental applications

Science.gov (United States)

Savina, Irina N.; Ingavle, Ganesh C.; Cundy, Andrew B.; Mikhalovsky, Sergey V.

2016-02-01

The development of bulk, three-dimensional (3D), macroporous polymers with high permeability, large surface area and large volume is highly desirable for a range of applications in the biomedical, biotechnological and environmental areas. The experimental techniques currently used are limited to the production of small size and volume cryogel material. In this work we propose a novel, versatile, simple and reproducible method for the synthesis of large volume porous polymer hydrogels by cryogelation. By controlling the freezing process of the reagent/polymer solution, large-scale 3D macroporous gels with wide interconnected pores (up to 200 μm in diameter) and large accessible surface area have been synthesized. For the first time, macroporous gels (of up to 400 ml bulk volume) with controlled porous structure were manufactured, with potential for scale up to much larger gel dimensions. This method can be used for production of novel 3D multi-component macroporous composite materials with a uniform distribution of embedded particles. The proposed method provides better control of freezing conditions and thus overcomes existing drawbacks limiting production of large gel-based devices and matrices. The proposed method could serve as a new design concept for functional 3D macroporous gels and composites preparation for biomedical, biotechnological and environmental applications.

Topologically-based visualization of large-scale volume data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeshima, Y.; Tokunaga, M.; Fujishiro, I.; Takahashi, S.

2004-01-01

Due to the recent progress in the performance of computing/measurement environments and the advent of ITBL environments, volume datasets have become larger and more complicated. Although computer visualization is one of the tools to analyze such datasets effectively, it is almost impossible to adjust the visualization parameter value by trial and error without taking the feature of a given volume dataset into consideration. In this article, we introduce a scheme of topologically-based volume visualization, which is intended to choose appropriate visualization parameter values automatically through topological volume skeletonization. (author)

Undesirable Behaviors Elementary School Classroom Teachers Encounter in the Classroom and Their Reasons

OpenAIRE

E.G. Balcik; S. Gulec

2011-01-01

The present study aims to determine how often elementary school teachers encounter undesirable behaviors in the classroom and what their thoughts regarding possible reasons of these behaviors are. The teachers’ opininon about the prevalence of these behaviors and their possible reasons were evaluated according to gender, marital status, level of class being taught, size of class being taught and it was tried to be determined if there were significant differences between variables. The measure...

Chromatographic lipophilicity determination using large volume injections of the solvents non-miscible with the mobile phase.

Science.gov (United States)

Sârbu, Costel; Naşcu-Briciu, Rodica Domnica; Casoni, Dorina; Kot-Wasik, Agata; Wasik, Andrzej; Namieśnik, Jacek

2012-11-30

A new perspective in the lipophilicity evaluation through RP-HPLC is permitted by analysis of the retention factor (k) obtained by injecting large volumes of test samples prepared in solvents immiscible with mobile phase. The experiment is carried out on representative groups of compounds with increased toxicity (mycotoxins and alkaloids) and amines with important biological activity (naturally occurring monoamine compounds and related drugs), which are covering a large interval of lipophilicity. The stock solution of each compound was prepared in hexane and the used mobile phases were mixtures of methanol or acetonitrile and water, in suited volume ratio. The injected volume was between 10 and 100 μL, while the used stationary phases were RP-18 and RP-8. On both reverse stationary phases the retention factors were linearly decreasing while the injection volume was increasing. In all cases, the linear models were highly statistically significant. On the basis of the obtained results new lipophilicity indices were purposed and discussed. The developed lipophilicity indices and the computationally expressed ones are correlated at a high level of statistical significance. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Safe total corporal contouring with large-volume liposuction for the obese patient.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhami, Lakshyajit D; Agarwal, Meenakshi

2006-01-01

The advent of the tumescent technique in 1987 allowed for safe total corporal contouring as an ambulatory, single-session megaliposuction with the patient under regional anesthesia supplemented by local anesthetic only in selected areas. Safety and aesthetic issues define large-volume liposuction as having a 5,000-ml aspirate, mega-volume liposuction as having an 8,000-ml aspirate, and giganto-volume liposuction as having an aspirate of 12,000 ml or more. Clinically, a total volume comprising 5,000 ml of fat and wetting solution aspirated during the procedure qualifies for megaliposuction/large-volume liposuction. Between September 2000 and August 2005, 470 cases of liposuction were managed. In 296 (63%) of the 470 cases, the total volume of aspirate exceeded 5 l (range, 5,000-22,000 ml). Concurrent limited or total-block lipectomy was performed in 70 of 296 cases (23.6%). Regional anesthesia with conscious sedation was preferred, except where liposuction targeted areas above the subcostal region (the upper trunk, lateral chest, gynecomastia, breast, arms, and face), or when the patient so desired. Tumescent infiltration was achieved with hypotonic lactated Ringer's solution, adrenalin, triamcinalone, and hyalase in all cases during the last one year of the series. This approach has clinically shown less tissue edema in the postoperative period than with conventional physiologic saline used in place of the Ringer's lactate solution. The amount injected varied from 1,000 to 8,000 ml depending on the size, site, and area. Local anesthetic was included only for the terminal portion of the tumescent mixture, wherever the subcostal regions were infiltrated. The aspirate was restricted to the unstained white/yellow fat, and the amount of fat aspirated did not have any bearing on the amount of solution infiltrated. There were no major complications, and no blood transfusions were administered. The hospital stay ranged from 8 to 24 h for both liposuction and liposuction

Capillary gas chromatographic analysis of nerve agents using large volume injections. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deinum, T.; Nieuwenhuy, C.

1994-11-01

The procedure developed at TNO-Prins Maurits Laboratory (TNO-PML) for the verification of intact organophosphorus chemical warfare agents in water samples was improved. The last step in this procedure, the laborious and non-reproducible transfer of an ethyl acetate extract onto a Tenax-adsorption tube followed by thermal desorption of the Tenax-tube, was replaced by large volume injection of the extract onto a capillary gas chromatographic system. The parameters controlling the injection of a large volume of an extract (200 ul) were investigated and optimized. As ethyl acetate caused severe problems, potential new solvents were evaluated. With the improved procedure, the nerve agents sarin, tabun, soman, diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) and VX could be determined in freshly prepared water samples at pg/ml (ppt) levels. The fate of the nerve agents under study in water at two pH`s (4.8 and 6) was investigated. For VX, the pH should be adjusted before extraction. Moreover, it is worthwhile to acidify water samples to diminish hydrolysis.

Productivity Growth-Accounting for Undesirable Outputs and Its Influencing Factors: The Case of China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junfeng Zhang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Presently, China’s social development is facing the dilemma of supporting economic growth and reducing emissions. Therefore, it is crucial to analyse productivity growth and examine its relationship with influencing factors in China. This study evaluated the total factor productivity (TFP growth of 30 provinces in China by adopting the Malmquist-Luenberger (ML productivity index and incorporating undesirable outputs from 2011–2014. Then, a Tobit regression model was employed to explore the factors that influence China’s TFP growth. The results show that the average annual growth of the Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index was lower than that of the traditional Malmquist (M productivity index growth during the research period. The findings reveal several key conclusions: First, the true TFP growth in China will be overestimated if undesirable outputs are ignored. Second, technical changes are the main contributor to TFP growth. Third, there are huge regional disparities of productivity growth in China. Fourth, coal intensity, environmental regulations, and industrial structure have significantly negative effects on productivity growth, while real per capita gross domestic product (GDP and foreign direct investment (FDI have strongly positive effects on productivity growth.

Pig herd monitoring and undesirable tripping and stepping prevention

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gronskyte, Ruta; Clemmensen, Line Katrine Harder; Hviid, Marchen Sonja

2015-01-01

Humane handling and slaughter of livestock are of major concern in modern societies. Monitoring animal wellbeing in slaughterhouses is critical in preventing unnecessary stress and physical damage to livestock, which can also affect the meat quality. The goal of this study is to monitor pig herds...... at the slaughterhouse and identify undesirable events such as pigs tripping or stepping on each other. In this paper, we monitor pig behavior in color videos recorded during unloading from transportation trucks. We monitor the movement of a pig herd where the pigs enter and leave a surveyed area. The method is based...... on optical flow, which is not well explored for monitoring all types of animals, but is the method of choice for human crowd monitoring. We recommend using modified angular histograms to summarize the optical flow vectors. We show that the classification rate based on support vector machines is 93% of all...

A comparative analysis of China’s regional energy and emission performance: Which is the better way to deal with undesirable outputs?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Ke; Wei Yiming; Zhang Xian

2012-01-01

Measuring and improving the energy performance with considering emission constraints is an important issue for China’s energy conservation, pollutant emissions reduction and environment protection. This study utilizes several data envelopment analysis (DEA) based models to evaluate the total-factor energy and emission performance of China’s 30 regions within a joint production framework of considering desirable and undesirable outputs as well as separated energy and non-energy inputs. DEA window analysis is applied in this study to deal with cross-sectional and time-varying data, so as to measure the performance during the period of 2000–2009. Two treatments for undesirable outputs are combined with DEA models and the associated indicators for simplex energy performance and unified energy and emission performance measurement are proposed and compared. The evaluation results indicate that the treatment of undesirable outputs transformation is more appropriate for China’s regional energy and emission performance evaluation because it has stronger discriminating power and can provide more reasonable evaluation results that characterize China’s regions. The empirical result shows that east China has the highest and the most balanced energy and emission performance. The energy and emission performance of China remained stable during 2000–2003, decreased slightly during 2004–2006, and has continuously increased since 2007. - Highlights: ► We evaluate China’s regional energy and emission performance using DEA based models. ► We compare two undesirable outputs treatments according to the evaluation results. ► To treat undesirable outputs as inputs has weaker discriminating power in evaluation. ► Simplex energy performance, without environmental factors, is a biased evaluation. ► China’s energy and emission performance is approximately stable during study period.

Relationships between College Students' Credit Card Debt, Undesirable Academic Behaviors and Cognitions, and Academic Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Hogan, Eileen A.; Bryant, Sarah K.; Overymyer-Day, Leslie E.

2013-01-01

The acquisition of credit card debt by college students has long been a topic of concern. This study explores relationships among debt, undesirable academic behaviors and cognitions, and academic performance, through surveys of 338 students in a public university, replicating two past measures of credit card debt and creating new measures of…

Characterization of segmented large volume, high purity germanium detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruyneel, B.

2006-01-01

γ-ray tracking in future HPGe arrays like AGATA will rely on pulse shape analysis (PSA) of multiple γ-interactions. For this purpose, a simple and fast procedure was developed which enabled the first full characterization of a segmented large volume HPGe detector. An analytical model for the hole mobility in a Ge crystal lattice was developed to describe the hole drift anisotropy with experimental velocity values along the crystal axis as parameters. The new model is based on the drifted Maxwellian hole distribution in Ge. It is verified by reproducing successfully experimental longitudinal hole anisotropy data. A comparison between electron and hole mobility shows large differences for the longitudinal and tangential velocity anisotropy as a function of the electrical field orientation. Measurements on a 12 fold segmented, n-type, large volume, irregular shaped HPGe detector were performed in order to determine the parameters of anisotropic mobility for electrons and holes as charge carriers created by γ-ray interactions. To characterize the electron mobility the complete outer detector surface was scanned in small steps employing photopeak interactions at 60 keV. A precise measurement of the hole drift anisotropy was performed with 356 keV rays. The drift velocity anisotropy and crystal geometry cause considerable rise time differences in pulse shapes depending on the position of the spatial charge carrier creation. Pulse shapes of direct and transient signals are reproduced by weighting potential calculations with high precision. The measured angular dependence of rise times is caused by the anisotropic mobility, crystal geometry, changing field strength and space charge effects. Preamplified signals were processed employing digital spectroscopy electronics. Response functions, crosstalk contributions and averaging procedures were taken into account implying novel methods due to the segmentation of the Ge-crystal and the digital electronics. The results are

Characterization of segmented large volume, high purity germanium detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruyneel, B. [Koeln Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Kernphysik

2006-07-01

{gamma}-ray tracking in future HPGe arrays like AGATA will rely on pulse shape analysis (PSA) of multiple {gamma}-interactions. For this purpose, a simple and fast procedure was developed which enabled the first full characterization of a segmented large volume HPGe detector. An analytical model for the hole mobility in a Ge crystal lattice was developed to describe the hole drift anisotropy with experimental velocity values along the crystal axis as parameters. The new model is based on the drifted Maxwellian hole distribution in Ge. It is verified by reproducing successfully experimental longitudinal hole anisotropy data. A comparison between electron and hole mobility shows large differences for the longitudinal and tangential velocity anisotropy as a function of the electrical field orientation. Measurements on a 12 fold segmented, n-type, large volume, irregular shaped HPGe detector were performed in order to determine the parameters of anisotropic mobility for electrons and holes as charge carriers created by {gamma}-ray interactions. To characterize the electron mobility the complete outer detector surface was scanned in small steps employing photopeak interactions at 60 keV. A precise measurement of the hole drift anisotropy was performed with 356 keV rays. The drift velocity anisotropy and crystal geometry cause considerable rise time differences in pulse shapes depending on the position of the spatial charge carrier creation. Pulse shapes of direct and transient signals are reproduced by weighting potential calculations with high precision. The measured angular dependence of rise times is caused by the anisotropic mobility, crystal geometry, changing field strength and space charge effects. Preamplified signals were processed employing digital spectroscopy electronics. Response functions, crosstalk contributions and averaging procedures were taken into account implying novel methods due to the segmentation of the Ge-crystal and the digital electronics

Resuscitation of a Polytraumatized Patient with Large Volume Crystalloid-Colloid Infusions – Correlation Between Global and Regional Hemodynamics: Case Report

OpenAIRE

Lončarić-Katušin, Mirjana; Belavić, Matija; Žunić, Josip; Gučanin, Snježana; Žilić, Antonio; Korać, Želimir

2010-01-01

Aggressive large volume resuscitation is obligatory to achieve necessary tissue oxygenation. An adequate venous preload normalizes global hemodynamics and avoids multiorgan failure (MOF) and death in patients with multiple injuries. Large volume resuscitation is associated with complications in minimally monitored patients. A properly guided resuscitation procedure will finally prevent MOF and patient death. Transpulmonary thermodilution technique and gastric tonometry are used in venous prel...

A New Electropositive Filter for Concentrating Enterovirus and Norovirus from Large Volumes of Water - MCEARD

Science.gov (United States)

The detection of enteric viruses in environmental water usually requires the concentration of viruses from large volumes of water. The 1MDS electropositive filter is commonly used for concentrating enteric viruses from water but unfortunately these filters are not cost-effective...

Hierarchical imaging: a new concept for targeted imaging of large volumes from cells to tissues.

Science.gov (United States)

Wacker, Irene; Spomer, Waldemar; Hofmann, Andreas; Thaler, Marlene; Hillmer, Stefan; Gengenbach, Ulrich; Schröder, Rasmus R

2016-12-12

Imaging large volumes such as entire cells or small model organisms at nanoscale resolution seemed an unrealistic, rather tedious task so far. Now, technical advances have lead to several electron microscopy (EM) large volume imaging techniques. One is array tomography, where ribbons of ultrathin serial sections are deposited on solid substrates like silicon wafers or glass coverslips. To ensure reliable retrieval of multiple ribbons from the boat of a diamond knife we introduce a substrate holder with 7 axes of translation or rotation specifically designed for that purpose. With this device we are able to deposit hundreds of sections in an ordered way in an area of 22 × 22 mm, the size of a coverslip. Imaging such arrays in a standard wide field fluorescence microscope produces reconstructions with 200 nm lateral resolution and 100 nm (the section thickness) resolution in z. By hierarchical imaging cascades in the scanning electron microscope (SEM), using a new software platform, we can address volumes from single cells to complete organs. In our first example, a cell population isolated from zebrafish spleen, we characterize different cell types according to their organelle inventory by segmenting 3D reconstructions of complete cells imaged with nanoscale resolution. In addition, by screening large numbers of cells at decreased resolution we can define the percentage at which different cell types are present in our preparation. With the second example, the root tip of cress, we illustrate how combining information from intermediate resolution data with high resolution data from selected regions of interest can drastically reduce the amount of data that has to be recorded. By imaging only the interesting parts of a sample considerably less data need to be stored, handled and eventually analysed. Our custom-designed substrate holder allows reproducible generation of section libraries, which can then be imaged in a hierarchical way. We demonstrate, that EM

Analysis of regional total factor energy efficiency in China under environmental constraints: based on undesirable-minds and DEA window model

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shuying; Li, Deshan; Li, Shuangqiang; Jiang, Hanyu; Shen, Yuqing

2017-06-01

With China’s entrance into the new economy, the improvement of energy efficiency has become an important indicator to measure the quality of ecological civilization construction and economic development. According to the panel data of Chinese regions in 1996-2014, the nearest distance to the efficient frontier of Undesirable-MinDS Xeon model and DEA window model have been used to calculate the total factor energy efficiency of China’s regions. Study found that: Under environmental constraints, China’s total factor energy efficiency has increased after the first drop in the overall 1996-2014, and then increases again. And the difference between the regions is very large, showing a characteristic of “the east is the highest, the west is lower, and lowest is in the central” finally, this paper puts forward relevant policy suggestions.

The position response of a large-volume segmented germanium detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Descovich, M.; Nolan, P.J.; Boston, A.J.; Dobson, J.; Gros, S.; Cresswell, J.R.; Simpson, J.; Lazarus, I.; Regan, P.H.; Valiente-Dobon, J.J.; Sellin, P.; Pearson, C.J.

2005-01-01

The position response of a large-volume segmented coaxial germanium detector is reported. The detector has 24-fold segmentation on its outer contact. The output from each contact was sampled with fast digital signal processing electronics in order to determine the position of the γ-ray interaction from the signal pulse shape. The interaction position was reconstructed in a polar coordinate system by combining the radial information, contained in the rise-time of the pulse leading edge, with the azimuthal information, obtained from the magnitude of the transient charge signals induced on the neighbouring segments. With this method, a position resolution of 3-7mm is achieved in both the radial and the azimuthal directions

The position response of a large-volume segmented germanium detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Descovich, M. [Oliver Lodge Laboratory, Physics Department, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE (United Kingdom)]. E-mail: mdescovich@lbl.gov; Nolan, P.J. [Oliver Lodge Laboratory, Physics Department, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE (United Kingdom); Boston, A.J. [Oliver Lodge Laboratory, Physics Department, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE (United Kingdom); Dobson, J. [Oliver Lodge Laboratory, Physics Department, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE (United Kingdom); Gros, S. [Oliver Lodge Laboratory, Physics Department, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE (United Kingdom); Cresswell, J.R. [Oliver Lodge Laboratory, Physics Department, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE (United Kingdom); Simpson, J. [CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory, Daresbury, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 4AD (United Kingdom); Lazarus, I. [CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory, Daresbury, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 4AD (United Kingdom); Regan, P.H. [Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Valiente-Dobon, J.J. [Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Sellin, P. [Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Pearson, C.J. [Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom)

2005-11-21

The position response of a large-volume segmented coaxial germanium detector is reported. The detector has 24-fold segmentation on its outer contact. The output from each contact was sampled with fast digital signal processing electronics in order to determine the position of the {gamma}-ray interaction from the signal pulse shape. The interaction position was reconstructed in a polar coordinate system by combining the radial information, contained in the rise-time of the pulse leading edge, with the azimuthal information, obtained from the magnitude of the transient charge signals induced on the neighbouring segments. With this method, a position resolution of 3-7mm is achieved in both the radial and the azimuthal directions.

[Undesired treatment effects in behavior group therapy: Frequency and spectrum].

Science.gov (United States)

Linden, M; Walter, M; Fritz, K; Muschalla, B

2015-11-01

Psychotherapy not only has positive but also negative effects, which is especially true for group psychotherapy due to psychodynamic and interactional processes. Using the UE-G questionnaire 71 patients who participated in cognitive behavioral group psychotherapy reported on negative experiences in the context of the group therapy. The answers were then validated in a qualitative interview. Of the patients 98.6% reported about at least one negative experience and 43.7% about severe or extremely severe negative experiences. Most prominent was the induction of hopelessness and demoralization by what patients saw and heard from other patients in the group. Burdensome and therefore undesired treatment effects are regularly seen in group psychotherapy, because of treatment or patient related factors. In any case they must be taken into account during treatment, in the training of group psychotherapists and in quality control.

Fan-beam scanning laser optical computed tomography for large volume dosimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Dekker, K. H.; Battista, J. J.; Jordan, K. J.

2017-05-01

A prototype scanning-laser fan beam optical CT scanner is reported which is capable of high resolution, large volume dosimetry with reasonable scan time. An acylindrical, asymmetric aquarium design is presented which serves to 1) generate parallel-beam scan geometry, 2) focus light towards a small acceptance angle detector, and 3) avoid interference fringe-related artifacts. Preliminary experiments with uniform solution phantoms (11 and 15 cm diameter) and finger phantoms (13.5 mm diameter FEP tubing) demonstrate that the design allows accurate optical CT imaging, with optical CT measurements agreeing within 3% of independent Beer-Lambert law calculations.

Fan-beam scanning laser optical computed tomography for large volume dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dekker, K H; Battista, J J; Jordan, K J

2017-01-01

A prototype scanning-laser fan beam optical CT scanner is reported which is capable of high resolution, large volume dosimetry with reasonable scan time. An acylindrical, asymmetric aquarium design is presented which serves to 1) generate parallel-beam scan geometry, 2) focus light towards a small acceptance angle detector, and 3) avoid interference fringe-related artifacts. Preliminary experiments with uniform solution phantoms (11 and 15 cm diameter) and finger phantoms (13.5 mm diameter FEP tubing) demonstrate that the design allows accurate optical CT imaging, with optical CT measurements agreeing within 3% of independent Beer-Lambert law calculations. (paper)

The impact of large tidal volume ventilation on the absorption of inhaled insulin in rabbits

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Astrid Heide; Laursen, Torben; Ahrén, Bo

2007-01-01

Previous studies have shown that ventilation patterns affect absorption of inhaled compounds. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of large tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) on the absorption of inhaled insulin in rabbits. Mechanically ventilated rabbits were given human insulin...

Dark Radiation predictions from general Large Volume Scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Hebecker, Arthur; Mangat, Patrick; Rompineve, Fabrizio; Witkowski, Lukas T.

2014-09-01

Recent observations constrain the amount of Dark Radiation (Δ N eff ) and may even hint towards a non-zero value of Δ N eff . It is by now well-known that this puts stringent constraints on the sequestered Large Volume Scenario (LVS), i.e. on LVS realisations with the Standard Model at a singularity. We go beyond this setting by considering LVS models where SM fields are realised on 7-branes in the geometric regime. As we argue, this naturally goes together with high-scale supersymmetry. The abundance of Dark Radiation is determined by the competition between the decay of the lightest modulus to axions, to the SM Higgs and to gauge fields, and leads to strict constraints on these models. Nevertheless, these constructions can in principle meet current DR bounds due to decays into gauge bosons alone. Further, a rather robust prediction for a substantial amount of Dark Radiation can be made. This applies both to cases where the SM 4-cycles are stabilised by D-terms and are small `by accident', i.e. tuning, as well as to fibred models with the small cycles stabilised by loops. In these constructions the DR axion and the QCD axion are the same field and we require a tuning of the initial misalignment to avoid Dark Matter overproduction. Furthermore, we analyse a closely related setting where the SM lives at a singularity but couples to the volume modulus through flavour branes. We conclude that some of the most natural LVS settings with natural values of model parameters lead to Dark Radiation predictions just below the present observational limits. Barring a discovery, rather modest improvements of present Dark Radiation bounds can rule out many of these most simple and generic variants of the LVS.

Method of eliminating undesirable gaseous products resulting in underground uranium ore leaching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krizek, J.; Dedic, K.; Johann, J.; Haas, F.; Sokola, K.

1980-01-01

The method described is characteristic of the fact that gases being formed or dissolved are oxidized using a combined oxidation-reduction system consisting of airborne oxygen, oxygen carriers and a strong irreversible oxidant. The oxygen carrier system consists of a mixture of Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ cations or of Cu + and Cu 2+ cations introduced in solutions in form of iron salts at a concentration of 0.0001 to 0.003 M, or copper salts maximally of 0.0003 M. The irreversible oxidant shows a standard redox potential of at least +1.0 V. In addition to undesirable product elimination, the method allows increasing the leaching process yield. (J.B.)

Optimization of Large Volume Injection for Improved Detection of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) in Mussels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duedahl-Olesen, Lene; Ghorbani, Faranak

2008-01-01

Detection of PAH of six benzene rings is somewhat troublesome and lowering the limits of detection (LODs) for these compounds in food is necessary. For this purpose, we optimized a Programmable-Temperature-Vaporisation (PTV) injection with Large Volume Injection (LVI) with regard to the GC-MS det...

Forced transport of thermal energy in magmatic and phreatomagmatic large volume ignimbrites: Paleomagnetic evidence from the Colli Albani volcano, Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Trolese, Matteo; Giordano, Guido; Cifelli, Francesca; Winkler, Aldo; Mattei, Massimo

2017-11-01

Few studies have detailed the thermal architecture of large-volume pyroclastic density current deposits, although such work has a clear importance for understanding the dynamics of eruptions of this magnitude. Here we examine the temperature of emplacement of large-volume caldera-forming ignimbrites related to magmatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions at the Colli Albani volcano, Italy, by using thermal remanent magnetization analysis on both lithic and juvenile clasts. Results show that all the magmatic ignimbrites were deposited at high temperature, between the maximum blocking temperature of the magnetic carrier (600-630 °C) and the glass transition temperature (about 710 °C). Temperature estimations for the phreatomagmatic ignimbrite range between 200 and 400 °C, with most of the clasts emplaced between 200 and 320 °C. Because all the investigated ignimbrites, magmatic and phreatomagmatic, share similar magma composition, volume and mobility, we attribute the temperature difference to magma-water interaction, highlighting its pronounced impact on thermal dissipation, even in large-volume eruptions. The homogeneity of the deposit temperature of each ignimbrite across its areal extent, which is maintained across topographic barriers, suggests that these systems are thermodynamically isolated from the external environment for several tens of kilometers. Based on these findings, we propose that these large-volume ignimbrites are dominated by the mass flux, which forces the lateral transport of mass, momentum, and thermal energy for distances up to tens of kilometers away from the vent. We conclude that spatial variation of the emplacement temperature can be used as a proxy for determining the degree of forced-convection flow.

Periodic large-amplitude thermal oscillations occurring in a buoyant plume

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oras, J.J.; Kasza, K.E.

1983-01-01

Reactor events such as N-1 loop operation in conjunction with a leaky check valve in the down loop can cause flow to be convected back into the reactor outlet nozzle/piping region and to be back-flushed into the reactor outlet plenum. The preceding results in a temperature difference between pipe inflow and plenum. This temperature difference causes buoyancy forces which if large enough can cause: a pipe backflow and recirculation loop; and a thermal plume in the plenum. Both phenomena are being studied because they can produce undesirable pipe, nozzle and plenum wall thermal distributions, and hence undesirable thermal stresses. This paper discusses some features of the plume

Investigation of a large volume negative hydrogen ion source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courteille, C.; Bruneteau, A.M.; Bacal, M.

1995-01-01

The electron and negative ion densities and temperatures are reported for a large volume hybrid multicusp negative ion source. Based on the scaling laws an analysis is made of the plasma formation and loss processes. It is shown that the positive ions are predominantly lost to the walls, although the observed scaling law is n + ∝I 0.57 d . However, the total plasma loss scales linearly with the discharge current, in agreement with the theoretical model. The negative ion formation and loss is also discussed. It is shown that at low pressure (1 mTorr) the negative ion wall loss becomes a significant part of the total loss. The dependence of n - /n e versus the electron temperature is reported. When the negative ion wall loss is negligible, all the data on n - /n e versus the electron temperatures fit a single curve. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics

Are undesirable contact kinematics minimized after kinematically aligned total knee arthroplasty? An intersurgeon analysis of consecutive patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Howell, Stephen M; Hodapp, Esther E; Vernace, Joseph V; Hull, Maury L; Meade, Thomas D

2013-10-01

Tibiofemoral contact kinematics or knee implant motions have a direct influence on patient function and implant longevity and should be evaluated for any new alignment technique such as kinematically aligned total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Edge loading of the tibial liner and external rotation (reverse of normal) and adduction of the tibial component on the femoral component are undesirable contact kinematics that should be minimized. Accordingly, this study determined whether the overall prevalence of undesirable contact kinematics during standing, mid kneeling near 90 degrees and full kneeling with kinematically aligned TKA are minimal and not different between groups of consecutive patients treated by different surgeons. Three surgeons were asked to perform cemented, kinematically aligned TKA with patient-specific guides in a consecutive series of patients with their preferred cruciate-retaining (CR) implant. In vivo tibiofemoral contact positions were obtained using a 3- to 2-dimensional image registration technique in 69 subjects (Vanguard CR-TKA N = 22, and Triathlon CR-TKA N = 47). Anterior or posterior edge loading of the tibial liner was not observed. The overall prevalence of external rotation of the tibial component on the femoral component of 6 % was low and not different between surgeons (n.s.). The overall prevalence of adduction of the tibial component on the femoral component of 4 % was low and not different between surgeons (n.s.). Kinematically aligned TKA minimized the undesirable contact kinematics of edge loading of the tibial liner, and external rotation and adduction of the tibial component on the femoral component during standing and kneeling, which suggests an optimistic prognosis for durable long-term function. III.

Successful Large-volume Leukapheresis for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Collection in a Very-low-weight Brain Tumor Infant with Coagulopathy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Mei Liao

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Peripheral apheresis has become a safe procedure to collect hematopoietic stem cells, even in pediatric patients and donors. However, the apheresis procedure for small and sick children is more complicated due to difficult venous access, relatively large extracorporeal volume, toxicity of citrate, and unstable hemostasis. We report a small and sick child with refractory medulloblastoma, impaired liver function, and coagulopathy after several major cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy. She successfully received large-volume leukapheresis for hematopoietic stem cell collection, although the patient experienced severe coagulopathy during the procedures. Health care providers should be alert to this potential risk.

On the undesired frequency chirping in photonic time-stretch systems

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yuxiao; Chi, Hao; Jin, Tao; Zheng, Shilie; Jin, Xiaofeng; Zhang, Xianmin

2017-12-01

The technique of photonic time stretch (PTS) has been intensively investigated in the past decade due to its potential in the acquisition of ultra-high speed signals. The frequency-related RF power fading in the PTS systems with double sideband (DSB) modulation has been well-known, which limits the maximum modulation frequency. Some solutions have been proposed to solve this problem. In this paper, we report another effect, i.e., undesired frequency chirping, which also relates to the performance degradation of PTS systems with DSB modulation, for the first time to our knowledge. Distinct from the nonlinearities caused by nonlinear modulation and square-law photodetection, which is common in radio frequency analog optical links, this frequency chirping originates from the addition of two beating signals with a relative delay after photodetection. A theoretical model for exactly describing the frequency chirping is presented, and is then verified by simulations. Discussion on the method to avoid the frequency chirping is also presented.

Cycles of undesirable substances in the food chain; Kreislaeufe unerwuenschter Stoffe in der Lebensmittelkette

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-12-15

The working group ''Carry over of undesirable substances in animal feed'' at the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry (BMELV) in cooperation with the Institute of Animal Nutrition of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI) performed on 27 and 28 October 2011 in Braunschweig a workshop on ''cycles of undesirable substances in Food Chain ''. The aim of the workshop was to present the latest findings of research and Carry over Recommendations of the Carry over - Working Group on undesirable substances in feed and production processes of the feed industry, to evaluate and discuss about this with representatives from science, business and management and to work out the further research and action need. The focus of the considerations were the pathways, the carry over and the Exposure to dioxins and other halogenated hydrocarbons, the effects of Mycotoxins in feed and starting points for preventive measures, the soil contamination and the exposure of humans and animals by cadmium and case studies on Nitrite in feed, antibiotics in plants and residues of pesticides and radionuclides in feed. Furthermore the risks associated with specified manufacturing processes of feed are considered, especially the used materials that come into contact with animal feed, and the risks from nanotechnology. [German] Die Arbeitsgruppe ''Carry over unerwuenschter Stoffe in Futtermitteln'' beim Bundesministerium fuer Ernaehrung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten (BMELV) hat in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Institut fuer Tierernaehrung des Friedrich-Loeffler-Instituts (FLI) am 27. und 28. Oktober 2011 in Braunschweig einen Workshop zum Thema ''Kreislaeufe unerwuenschter Stoffe in der Lebensmittelkette'' durchgefuehrt. Ziel des Workshops war es, die aktuellen Erkenntnisse der Carry over Forschung und die Empfehlungen der Carry over - Arbeitsgruppe zu unerwuenschten Stoffen in Futtermitteln und Produktionsverfahren in

First results on material identification and imaging with a large-volume muon tomography prototype

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pesente, S. [INFN Sezione di Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy); Vanini, S. [University of Padova and INFN Sezione di Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy)], E-mail: sara.vanini@pd.infn.it; Benettoni, M. [INFN Sezione di Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy); Bonomi, G. [University of Brescia, via Branze 38, 25123 Brescia and INFN Sezione di Pavia, via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Calvini, P. [University of Genova and INFN Sezione di Genova, via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova (Italy); Checchia, P.; Conti, E.; Gonella, F.; Nebbia, G. [INFN Sezione di Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy); Squarcia, S. [University of Genova and INFN Sezione di Genova, via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova (Italy); Viesti, G. [University of Padova and INFN Sezione di Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy); Zenoni, A. [University of Brescia, via Branze 38, 25123 Brescia and INFN Sezione di Pavia, via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Zumerle, G. [University of Padova and INFN Sezione di Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy)

2009-06-11

The muon tomography technique, based on the Multiple Coulomb Scattering of cosmic ray muons, has been proposed recently as a tool to perform non-destructive assays of large-volume objects without any radiation hazard. In this paper we discuss experimental results obtained with a scanning system prototype, assembled using two large-area CMS Muon Barrel drift chambers. The capability of the apparatus to produce 3D images of objects and to classify them according to their density is presented. We show that the absorption of low-momentum muons in the scanned objects produces an underestimate of their scattering density, making the discrimination of materials heavier than lead more difficult.

First results on material identification and imaging with a large-volume muon tomography prototype

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Viesti, G. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Padova, via Marzolo 8, I-35131 Padova (Italy); Pesente, S.; Benettoni, M.; Checchia, P.; Conti, E.; Gonella, F.; Nebbia, G. [INFN, Sez. di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, I-35131 Padova (Italy); Vanini, S.; Viesti, G.; Zumerle, G. [Dip. di Fisica G. Galilei, Universita di Padova, I-35131 Padova (Italy); INFN, Sez. di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, I-35131 Padova (Italy); Bonomi, G.; Zenoni, A. [Universita di Brescia, I-25133 Brescia (Italy); INFN, Sez. di Pavia, Via Valotti 9, I-25133 Brescia (Italy); Calvini, P.; Squarcia, S. [Dip. di Fisica, Universita di Genova, Genova (Italy); INFN, Sez. di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, I-16146 Genova (Italy)

2009-07-01

The muon tomography technique, based on the multiple Coulomb scattering of cosmic ray muons, has been proposed recently as a tool to perform non-destructive assays of large volume objects without any radiation hazard. In this paper we present the experimental results obtained with a scanning system prototype, assembled using two large area CMS Muon Barrel drift chambers. The imaging capability of the apparatus is shown, and the possibility to discriminate among different materials is discussed in a specific case of detecting lead objects inside a metal matrix. This specific case is dictated by a need in safely handling scrap metal cargoes in the steel industry. (authors)

Colloids Versus Albumin in Large Volume Paracentesis to Prevent Circulatory Dysfunction: Evidence-based Case Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Widjaja, Felix F; Khairan, Paramita; Kamelia, Telly; Hasan, Irsan

2016-04-01

Large volume paracentesis may cause paracentesis induced circulatory dysfunction (PICD). Albumin is recommended to prevent this abnormality. Meanwhile, the price of albumin is too expensive and there should be another alternative that may prevent PICD. This report aimed to compare albumin to colloids in preventing PICD. Search strategy was done using PubMed, Scopus, Proquest, dan Academic Health Complete from EBSCO with keywords of "ascites", "albumin", "colloid", "dextran", "hydroxyethyl starch", "gelatin", and "paracentesis induced circulatory dysfunction". Articles was limited to randomized clinical trial and meta-analysis with clinical question of "In hepatic cirrhotic patient undergone large volume paracentesis, whether colloids were similar to albumin to prevent PICD". We found one meta-analysis and four randomized clinical trials (RCT). A meta analysis showed that albumin was still superior of which odds ratio 0.34 (0.23-0.51). Three RCTs showed the same results and one RCT showed albumin was not superior than colloids. We conclude that colloids could not constitute albumin to prevent PICD, but colloids still have a role in patient who undergone paracentesis less than five liters.

The Emperor’s New Clothing: National Responses to “Undesirable and Unreturnable” Aliens under Asylum and Immigration Law

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cantor, David James; van Wijk, J.; Singer, Sarah; Bolhuis, M.P.

2017-01-01

The “scandal” of foreign criminals whom our governments cannot send back to their own countries has become something of a tabloid obsession. Yet, while suspected or convicted of serious crimes or considered to pose a danger to society, such “undesirable and unreturnable” aliens equally often

Process automation system for integration and operation of Large Volume Plasma Device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugandhi, R.; Srivastava, P.K.; Sanyasi, A.K.; Srivastav, Prabhakar; Awasthi, L.M.; Mattoo, S.K.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Analysis and design of process automation system for Large Volume Plasma Device (LVPD). • Data flow modeling for process model development. • Modbus based data communication and interfacing. • Interface software development for subsystem control in LabVIEW. - Abstract: Large Volume Plasma Device (LVPD) has been successfully contributing towards understanding of the plasma turbulence driven by Electron Temperature Gradient (ETG), considered as a major contributor for the plasma loss in the fusion devices. Large size of the device imposes certain difficulties in the operation, such as access of the diagnostics, manual control of subsystems and large number of signals monitoring etc. To achieve integrated operation of the machine, automation is essential for the enhanced performance and operational efficiency. Recently, the machine is undergoing major upgradation for the new physics experiments. The new operation and control system consists of following: (1) PXIe based fast data acquisition system for the equipped diagnostics; (2) Modbus based Process Automation System (PAS) for the subsystem controls and (3) Data Utilization System (DUS) for efficient storage, processing and retrieval of the acquired data. In the ongoing development, data flow model of the machine’s operation has been developed. As a proof of concept, following two subsystems have been successfully integrated: (1) Filament Power Supply (FPS) for the heating of W- filaments based plasma source and (2) Probe Positioning System (PPS) for control of 12 number of linear probe drives for a travel length of 100 cm. The process model of the vacuum production system has been prepared and validated against acquired pressure data. In the next upgrade, all the subsystems of the machine will be integrated in a systematic manner. The automation backbone is based on 4-wire multi-drop serial interface (RS485) using Modbus communication protocol. Software is developed on LabVIEW platform using

Process automation system for integration and operation of Large Volume Plasma Device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sugandhi, R., E-mail: ritesh@ipr.res.in; Srivastava, P.K.; Sanyasi, A.K.; Srivastav, Prabhakar; Awasthi, L.M.; Mattoo, S.K.

2016-11-15

Highlights: • Analysis and design of process automation system for Large Volume Plasma Device (LVPD). • Data flow modeling for process model development. • Modbus based data communication and interfacing. • Interface software development for subsystem control in LabVIEW. - Abstract: Large Volume Plasma Device (LVPD) has been successfully contributing towards understanding of the plasma turbulence driven by Electron Temperature Gradient (ETG), considered as a major contributor for the plasma loss in the fusion devices. Large size of the device imposes certain difficulties in the operation, such as access of the diagnostics, manual control of subsystems and large number of signals monitoring etc. To achieve integrated operation of the machine, automation is essential for the enhanced performance and operational efficiency. Recently, the machine is undergoing major upgradation for the new physics experiments. The new operation and control system consists of following: (1) PXIe based fast data acquisition system for the equipped diagnostics; (2) Modbus based Process Automation System (PAS) for the subsystem controls and (3) Data Utilization System (DUS) for efficient storage, processing and retrieval of the acquired data. In the ongoing development, data flow model of the machine’s operation has been developed. As a proof of concept, following two subsystems have been successfully integrated: (1) Filament Power Supply (FPS) for the heating of W- filaments based plasma source and (2) Probe Positioning System (PPS) for control of 12 number of linear probe drives for a travel length of 100 cm. The process model of the vacuum production system has been prepared and validated against acquired pressure data. In the next upgrade, all the subsystems of the machine will be integrated in a systematic manner. The automation backbone is based on 4-wire multi-drop serial interface (RS485) using Modbus communication protocol. Software is developed on LabVIEW platform using

Aerodynamics of the Large-Volume, Flow-Through Detector System. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reed, H.; Saric, W.; Laananen, D.; Martinez, C.; Carrillo, R.; Myers, J.; Clevenger, D.

1996-03-01

The Large-Volume Flow-Through Detector System (LVFTDS) was designed to monitor alpha radiation from Pu, U, and Am in mixed-waste incinerator offgases; however, it can be adapted to other important monitoring uses that span a number of potential markets, including site remediation, indoor air quality, radon testing, and mine shaft monitoring. Goal of this effort was to provide mechanical design information for installation of LVFTDS in an incinerator, with emphasis on ability to withstand the high temperatures and high flow rates expected. The work was successfully carried out in three stages: calculation of pressure drop through the system, materials testing to determine surrogate materials for wind-tunnel testing, and wind-tunnel testing of an actual configuration

Evaluation of a laser scanner for large volume coordinate metrology: a comparison of results before and after factory calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrucci, M; Muralikrishnan, B; Sawyer, D; Phillips, S; Petrov, P; Yakovlev, Y; Astrelin, A; Milligan, S; Palmateer, J

2014-01-01

Large volume laser scanners are increasingly being used for a variety of dimensional metrology applications. Methods to evaluate the performance of these scanners are still under development and there are currently no documentary standards available. This paper describes the results of extensive ranging and volumetric performance tests conducted on a large volume laser scanner. The results demonstrated small but clear systematic errors that are explained in the context of a geometric error model for the instrument. The instrument was subsequently returned to the manufacturer for factory calibration. The ranging and volumetric tests were performed again and the results are compared against those obtained prior to the factory calibration. (paper)

"Should I or shouldn't I?" Imitation of undesired versus allowed actions from peer and adult models by 18- and 24-month-old toddlers.

Science.gov (United States)

Seehagen, Sabine; Schneider, Silvia; Miebach, Kristin; Frigge, Katharina; Zmyj, Norbert

2017-11-01

Imitation is a common way of acquiring novel behaviors in toddlers. However, little is known about toddlers' imitation of undesired actions. Here we investigated 18- and 24-month-olds' (N=110) imitation of undesired and allowed actions from televised peer and adult models. Permissiveness of the demonstrated actions was indicated by the experimenter's response to their execution (angry or neutral). Analyses revealed that toddlers' imitation scores were higher after demonstrations of allowed versus undesired actions, regardless of the age of the model. In agreement with prior research, these results suggest that third-party reactions to a model's actions can be a powerful cue for toddlers to engage in or refrain from imitation. In the context of the present study, third-party reactions were more influential on imitation than the model's age. Considering the relative influence of different social cues for imitation can help to gain a fuller understanding of early observational learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Percutaneous Image-Guided Cryoablation of Challenging Mediastinal Lesions Using Large-Volume Hydrodissection: Technical Considerations and Outcomes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garnon, Julien, E-mail: juliengarnon@gmail.com; Koch, Guillaume, E-mail: Guillaume.koch@gmail.com; Caudrelier, Jean, E-mail: caudjean@yahoo.fr [University Hospital of Strasbourg, Department of Interventional Radiology (France); Ramamurthy, Nitin, E-mail: Nitin-ramamurthy@hotmail.com [Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Department of Radiology (United Kingdom); Rao, Pramod, E-mail: pramodrao@me.com [University of Strasbourg, ICube (France); Tsoumakidou, Georgia, E-mail: Georgia.tsoumakidou@chru-strasbourg.fr; Cazzato, Roberto Luigi, E-mail: cazzatorobertoluigi@gmail.com; Gangi, Afshin, E-mail: Afshin.gangi@chru-strasbourg.fr [University Hospital of Strasbourg, Department of Interventional Radiology (France)

2016-11-15

ObjectiveThis study was designed to describe the technique of percutaneous image-guided cryoablation with large-volume hydrodissection for the treatment of challenging mediastinal lesions.MethodsBetween March 2014 and June 2015, three patients (mean age 62.7 years) with four neoplastic anterior mediastinal lesions underwent five cryoablation procedures using large-volume hydrodissection. Procedures were performed under general anaesthesia using CT guidance. Lesion characteristics, hydrodissection and cryoablation data, technical success, complications, and clinical outcomes were assessed using retrospective chart review.ResultsLesions (mean size 2.7 cm; range 2–4.3 cm) were in contact with great vessels (n = 13), trachea (n = 3), and mediastinal nerves (n = 6). Hydrodissection was performed intercostally (n = 4), suprasternally (n = 2), transsternally (n = 1), or via the sternoclavicular joint (n = 1) using 1–3 spinal needles over 13.4 (range 7–26) minutes; 450 ml of dilute contrast was injected (range 300–600 ml) and increased mean lesion-collateral structure distance from 1.9 to 7.7 mm. Vulnerable mediastinal nerves were identified in four of five procedures. Technical success was 100 %, with one immediate complication (recurrent laryngeal nerve injury). Mean follow-up period was 15 months. One lesion demonstrated residual disease on restaging PET-CT and was retreated to achieve complete ablation. At last follow-up, two patients remained disease-free, and one patient developed distant disease after 1 year without local recurrence.ConclusionsCryoablation using large-volume hydrodissection is a feasible technique, enabling safe and effective treatment of challenging mediastinal lesions.

Complex Security System for Premises Under Conditions of Large Volume of Passenger Traffic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yakubov Vladimir

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Subsystems of the design of a complex security system for premises under conditions of large volume of passenger traffic are considered. These subsystems provide video- and thermal imaging control, radio wave tomography, and gas analysis. Simultaneous application of all examined variants will essentially increase the probability of timely prevention of dangerous situations with the probability of false alarm as low as possible. It is important that finally, this will provide protection of population and will facilitate the work of intelligence services.

Open loop control of filament heating power supply for large volume plasma device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sugandhi, R., E-mail: ritesh@ipr.res.in [Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382428 (India); Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400094 (India); Srivastava, P.K.; Sanyasi, A.K. [Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400094 (India); Srivastav, Prabhakar [Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382428 (India); Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400094 (India); Awasthi, L.M., E-mail: kushagra.lalit@gmail.com [Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382428 (India); Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400094 (India); Mattoo, S.K. [Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400094 (India)

2017-02-15

A power supply (20 V, 10 kA) for powering the filamentary cathode has been procured, interfaced and integrated with the centralized control system of Large Volume Plasma Device (LVPD). Software interface has been developed on the standard Modbus RTU communication protocol. It facilitates the dashboard for configuration, on line status monitoring, alarm management, data acquisition, synchronization and controls. It has been tested for stable operation of the power supply for the operational capabilities. The paper highlights the motivation, interface description, implementation and results obtained.

Open loop control of filament heating power supply for large volume plasma device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugandhi, R.; Srivastava, P.K.; Sanyasi, A.K.; Srivastav, Prabhakar; Awasthi, L.M.; Mattoo, S.K.

2017-01-01

A power supply (20 V, 10 kA) for powering the filamentary cathode has been procured, interfaced and integrated with the centralized control system of Large Volume Plasma Device (LVPD). Software interface has been developed on the standard Modbus RTU communication protocol. It facilitates the dashboard for configuration, on line status monitoring, alarm management, data acquisition, synchronization and controls. It has been tested for stable operation of the power supply for the operational capabilities. The paper highlights the motivation, interface description, implementation and results obtained.

Temperature monitoring in large volume spread footing foundations: case study "Parque da Cidade" - São Paulo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Couto

Full Text Available ABSTRACT In recent years, the construction of foundation elements from large-volume reinforced concrete is becoming increasingly common. This implies a potential increase in the risk of cracks of thermal origin, due to the heat of hydration of cement. Under these circumstances, these concrete elements need to be treated using the mass concrete theory, widespread in dam construction, but little used when designing buildings. This paper aims to present a case study about the procedures and problems involved in the construction of a spread footing with a volume of approximately 800m³ designed for the foundation of a shopping center in São Paulo, Brazil.

A model for steady-state large-volume plasma generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uhm, H.S.; Miller, J.D.; Schneider, R.F.

1991-01-01

In this paper, a simple, new scheme to generate a uniform, steady-state, large-volume plasma is presented. The weakly magnetized plasma is created by direct ionization of the background gas by low-energy electrons generated from thermionic filaments. An annular arrangement of the filaments ensures a uniform plasma density in the radial direction as predicted by theory. Experiments have been performed to characterize the plasma generated in such a configuration. In order to explain the experimental observation, we develop a bulk plasma theory based on plasma transport via cross-field diffusion. As assumed in the theoretical model, the experimental measurements indicate a uniform plasma density along the axis. Both the theory and experiment indicate that the plasma density is a function of the square of the external magnetic field. The theory also predicts the plasma density to be proportional to the neutral density to the two-thirds power in agreement with the experimental data. We also observe the experimental data to agree remarkably well with theoretical prediction for a broad range of system parameters

Mass anomalous dimension of Adjoint QCD at large N from twisted volume reduction

CERN Document Server

Pérez, Margarita García; Keegan, Liam; Okawa, Masanori

2015-01-01

In this work we consider the $SU(N)$ gauge theory with two Dirac fermions in the adjoint representation, in the limit of large $N$. In this limit the infinite-volume physics of this model can be studied by means of the corresponding twisted reduced model defined on a single site lattice. Making use of this strategy we study the reduced model for various values of $N$ up to 289. By analyzing the eigenvalue distribution of the adjoint Dirac operator we test the conformality of the theory and extract the corresponding mass anomalous dimension.

Mass anomalous dimension of adjoint QCD at large N from twisted volume reduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pérez, Margarita García [Instituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Nicolás Cabrera 13-15, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid,E-28049-Madrid (Spain); González-Arroyo, Antonio [Instituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Nicolás Cabrera 13-15, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid,E-28049-Madrid (Spain); Departamento de Física Teórica, C-XI, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid,E-28049-Madrid (Spain); Keegan, Liam [PH-TH, CERN,CH-1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Okawa, Masanori [Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University,Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan); Core of Research for the Energetic Universe, Hiroshima University,Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan)

2015-08-07

In this work we consider the SU(N) gauge theory with two Dirac fermions in the adjoint representation, in the limit of large N. In this limit the infinite-volume physics of this model can be studied by means of the corresponding twisted reduced model defined on a single site lattice. Making use of this strategy we study the reduced model for various values of N up to 289. By analyzing the eigenvalue distribution of the adjoint Dirac operator we test the conformality of the theory and extract the corresponding mass anomalous dimension.

In vitro validation of a Pitot-based flow meter for the measurement of respiratory volume and flow in large animal anaesthesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Moens, Yves P S; Gootjes, Peter; Ionita, Jean-Claude; Heinonen, Erkki; Schatzmann, Urs

2009-05-01

To remodel and validate commercially available monitors and their Pitot tube-based flow sensors for use in large animals, using in vitro techniques. Prospective, in vitro experiment. Both the original and the remodelled sensor were studied with a reference flow generator. Measurements were taken of the static flow-pressure relationship and linearity of the flow signal. Sensor airway resistance was calculated. Following recalibration of the host monitor, volumes ranging from 1 to 7 L were generated by a calibration syringe, and bias and precision of spirometric volume was determined. Where manual recalibration was not available, a conversion factor for volume measurement was determined. The influence of gas composition mixture and peak flow on the conversion factor was studied. Both the original and the remodelled sensor showed similar static flow-pressure relationships and linearity of the flow signal. Mean bias (%) of displayed values compared with the reference volume of 3, 5 and 7 L varied between -0.4% and +2.4%, and this was significantly smaller than that for 1 L (4.8% to +5.0%). Conversion factors for 3, 5 and 7 L were very similar (mean 6.00 +/- 0.2, range 5.91-6.06) and were not significantly influenced by the gas mixture used. Increasing peak flow caused a small decrease in the conversion factor. Volume measurement error and conversion factors for inspiration and expiration were close to identity. The combination of the host monitor with the remodelled flow sensor allowed accurate in vitro measurement of flows and volumes in a range expected during large animal anaesthesia. This combination has potential as a reliable spirometric monitor for use during large animal anaesthesia.

BETWEEN THE RIGHT AND THE COMMON. HOW GROUPS REACT TO SOCIALLY UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOUR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Komendant-Brodowska Agata

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to analyse the relationship between group characteristics and the scope of reaction of the group to socially undesirable behaviour. Sometimes small groups or communities fail to react to undesirable or violent behaviour and their apathy can have devastating consequences. Such a situation can occur among co-workers witnessing workplace mobbing, or neighbours who do not react to a suspicion of domestic violence. Reasons for their inaction are diverse and can include fear, doubts concerning the necessity of such a reaction, and also conformity. In the paper I examine a seemingly favourable situation: I assume that reaction is costless and all the members of the group would like to react (internalised norm, but they also want to conform. In order to analyse the factors that can influence the scope of group reaction, a structurally embedded sequential coordination game was played for different initial conditions. Computer simulations were conducted for networks of a specific type (Erd¨os-R´enyi random graph. The main aim of the analysis was to identify non-structural and structural features of the group that can impede or even block the intervention of the group. There is a positive relationship between the scope of group reaction and the strength of the internalized norm, whereas the level of conformity affects the chances of group intervention in a negative way. Heterogeneity of the group is an important factor - the scope of reaction is higher when members of the group have different levels of norm internalisation and conformity. There is a non-linear relationship between network density and the scope of reaction. Both low and high density can make it harder for people to act.

Ultra-large scale AFM of lipid droplet arrays: investigating the ink transfer volume in dip pen nanolithography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Förste, Alexander; Pfirrmann, Marco; Sachs, Johannes; Gröger, Roland; Walheim, Stefan; Brinkmann, Falko; Hirtz, Michael; Fuchs, Harald; Schimmel, Thomas

2015-01-01

There are only few quantitative studies commenting on the writing process in dip-pen nanolithography with lipids. Lipids are important carrier ink molecules for the delivery of bio-functional patters in bio-nanotechnology. In order to better understand and control the writing process, more information on the transfer of lipid material from the tip to the substrate is needed. The dependence of the transferred ink volume on the dwell time of the tip on the substrate was investigated by topography measurements with an atomic force microscope (AFM) that is characterized by an ultra-large scan range of 800 × 800 μm 2 . For this purpose arrays of dots of the phospholipid1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine were written onto planar glass substrates and the resulting pattern was imaged by large scan area AFM. Two writing regimes were identified, characterized of either a steady decline or a constant ink volume transfer per dot feature. For the steady state ink transfer, a linear relationship between the dwell time and the dot volume was determined, which is characterized by a flow rate of about 16 femtoliters per second. A dependence of the ink transport from the length of pauses before and in between writing the structures was observed and should be taken into account during pattern design when aiming at best writing homogeneity. The ultra-large scan range of the utilized AFM allowed for a simultaneous study of the entire preparation area of almost 1 mm 2 , yielding good statistic results. (paper)

Ultra-large scale AFM of lipid droplet arrays: investigating the ink transfer volume in dip pen nanolithography

Science.gov (United States)

Förste, Alexander; Pfirrmann, Marco; Sachs, Johannes; Gröger, Roland; Walheim, Stefan; Brinkmann, Falko; Hirtz, Michael; Fuchs, Harald; Schimmel, Thomas

2015-05-01

There are only few quantitative studies commenting on the writing process in dip-pen nanolithography with lipids. Lipids are important carrier ink molecules for the delivery of bio-functional patters in bio-nanotechnology. In order to better understand and control the writing process, more information on the transfer of lipid material from the tip to the substrate is needed. The dependence of the transferred ink volume on the dwell time of the tip on the substrate was investigated by topography measurements with an atomic force microscope (AFM) that is characterized by an ultra-large scan range of 800 × 800 μm2. For this purpose arrays of dots of the phospholipid1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine were written onto planar glass substrates and the resulting pattern was imaged by large scan area AFM. Two writing regimes were identified, characterized of either a steady decline or a constant ink volume transfer per dot feature. For the steady state ink transfer, a linear relationship between the dwell time and the dot volume was determined, which is characterized by a flow rate of about 16 femtoliters per second. A dependence of the ink transport from the length of pauses before and in between writing the structures was observed and should be taken into account during pattern design when aiming at best writing homogeneity. The ultra-large scan range of the utilized AFM allowed for a simultaneous study of the entire preparation area of almost 1 mm2, yielding good statistic results.

Dosimetric Comparison of Split Field and Fixed Jaw Techniques for Large IMRT Target Volumes in the Head and Neck

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srivastava, Shiv P.; Das, Indra J.; Kumar, Arvind; Johnstone, Peter A.S.

2011-01-01

Some treatment planning systems (TPSs), when used for large-field (>14 cm) intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), create split fields that produce excessive multiple-leaf collimator segments, match-line dose inhomogeneity, and higher treatment times than nonsplit fields. A new method using a fixed-jaw technique (FJT) forces the jaw to stay at a fixed position during optimization and is proposed to reduce problems associated with split fields. Dosimetric comparisons between split-field technique (SFT) and FJT used for IMRT treatment is presented. Five patients with head and neck malignancies and regional target volumes were studied and compared with both techniques. Treatment planning was performed on an Eclipse TPS using beam data generated for Varian 2100C linear accelerator. A standard beam arrangement consisting of nine coplanar fields, equally spaced, was used in both techniques. Institutional dose-volume constraints used in head and neck cancer were kept the same for both techniques. The dosimetric coverage for the target volumes between SFT and FJT for head and neck IMRT plan is identical within ±1% up to 90% dose. Similarly, the organs at risk (OARs) have dose-volume coverage nearly identical for all patients. When the total monitor unit (MU) and segments were analyzed, SFT produces statistically significant higher segments (17.3 ± 6.3%) and higher MU (13.7 ± 4.4%) than the FJT. There is no match line in FJT and hence dose uniformity in the target volume is superior to the SFT. Dosimetrically, SFT and FJT are similar for dose-volume coverage; however, the FJT method provides better logistics, lower MU, shorter treatment time, and better dose uniformity. The number of segments and MU also has been correlated with the whole body radiation dose with long-term complications. Thus, FJT should be the preferred option over SFT for large target volumes.

Large volume serial section tomography by Xe Plasma FIB dual beam microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burnett, T.L.; Kelley, R.; Winiarski, B.; Contreras, L.; Daly, M.; Gholinia, A.; Burke, M.G.; Withers, P.J.

2016-01-01

Ga + Focused Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscopes (FIB-SEM) have revolutionised the level of microstructural information that can be recovered in 3D by block face serial section tomography (SST), as well as enabling the site-specific removal of smaller regions for subsequent transmission electron microscope (TEM) examination. However, Ga + FIB material removal rates limit the volumes and depths that can be probed to dimensions in the tens of microns range. Emerging Xe + Plasma Focused Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscope (PFIB-SEM) systems promise faster removal rates. Here we examine the potential of the method for large volume serial section tomography as applied to bainitic steel and WC–Co hard metals. Our studies demonstrate that with careful control of milling parameters precise automated serial sectioning can be achieved with low levels of milling artefacts at removal rates some 60× faster. Volumes that are hundreds of microns in dimension have been collected using fully automated SST routines in feasible timescales (<24 h) showing good grain orientation contrast and capturing microstructural features at the tens of nanometres to the tens of microns scale. Accompanying electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) maps show high indexing rates suggesting low levels of surface damage. Further, under high current Ga + FIB milling WC–Co is prone to amorphisation of WC surface layers and phase transformation of the Co phase, neither of which have been observed at PFIB currents as high as 60 nA at 30 kV. Xe + PFIB dual beam microscopes promise to radically extend our capability for 3D tomography, 3D EDX, 3D EBSD as well as correlative tomography. - Highlights: • The uptake of dual beam FIBs has been rapid but long milling times have limited imaged volumes to tens of micron dimensions. • Emerging plasma Xe + PFIB-SEM technology offers materials removal rates at least 60× greater than conventional Ga + FIB systems with comparable or less damage. • The

The BREAST-V: a unifying predictive formula for volume assessment in small, medium, and large breasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Longo, Benedetto; Farcomeni, Alessio; Ferri, Germano; Campanale, Antonella; Sorotos, Micheal; Santanelli, Fabio

2013-07-01

Breast volume assessment enhances preoperative planning of both aesthetic and reconstructive procedures, helping the surgeon in the decision-making process of shaping the breast. Numerous methods of breast size determination are currently reported but are limited by methodologic flaws and variable estimations. The authors aimed to develop a unifying predictive formula for volume assessment in small to large breasts based on anthropomorphic values. Ten anthropomorphic breast measurements and direct volumes of 108 mastectomy specimens from 88 women were collected prospectively. The authors performed a multivariate regression to build the optimal model for development of the predictive formula. The final model was then internally validated. A previously published formula was used as a reference. Mean (±SD) breast weight was 527.9 ± 227.6 g (range, 150 to 1250 g). After model selection, sternal notch-to-nipple, inframammary fold-to-nipple, and inframammary fold-to-fold projection distances emerged as the most important predictors. The resulting formula (the BREAST-V) showed an adjusted R of 0.73. The estimated expected absolute error on new breasts is 89.7 g (95 percent CI, 62.4 to 119.1 g) and the expected relative error is 18.4 percent (95 percent CI, 12.9 to 24.3 percent). Application of reference formula on the sample yielded worse predictions than those derived by the formula, showing an R of 0.55. The BREAST-V is a reliable tool for predicting small to large breast volumes accurately for use as a complementary device in surgeon evaluation. An app entitled BREAST-V for both iOS and Android devices is currently available for free download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Diagnostic, II.

Soft SUSY breaking parameters and RG running of squark and slepton masses in large volume Swiss Cheese compactifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misra, Aalok; Shukla, Pramod

2010-01-01

We consider type IIB large volume compactifications involving orientifolds of the Swiss Cheese Calabi-Yau WCP 4 [1,1,1,6,9] with a single mobile space-time filling D3-brane and stacks of D7-branes wrapping the 'big' divisor Σ B (as opposed to the 'small' divisor usually done in the literature thus far) as well as supporting D7-brane fluxes. After reviewing our proposal of (Misra and Shukla, 2010) for resolving a long-standing tension between large volume cosmology and phenomenology pertaining to obtaining a 10 12 GeV gravitino in the inflationary era and a TeV gravitino in the present era, and summarizing our results of (Misra and Shukla, 2010) on soft supersymmetry breaking terms and open-string moduli masses, we discuss the one-loop RG running of the squark and slepton masses in mSUGRA-like models (using the running of the gaugino masses) to the EW scale in the large volume limit. Phenomenological constraints and some of the calculated soft SUSY parameters identify the D7-brane Wilson line moduli as the first two generations/families of squarks and sleptons and the D3-brane (restricted to the big divisor) position moduli as the two Higgses for MSSM-like models at TeV scale. We also discuss how the obtained open-string/matter moduli make it easier to impose FCNC constraints, as well as RG flow of off-diagonal squark mass(-squared) matrix elements.

Soft SUSY breaking parameters and RG running of squark and slepton masses in large volume Swiss Cheese compactifications

Science.gov (United States)

Misra, Aalok; Shukla, Pramod

2010-03-01

We consider type IIB large volume compactifications involving orientifolds of the Swiss Cheese Calabi-Yau WCP[1,1,1,6,9] with a single mobile space-time filling D3-brane and stacks of D7-branes wrapping the “big” divisor ΣB (as opposed to the “small” divisor usually done in the literature thus far) as well as supporting D7-brane fluxes. After reviewing our proposal of [1] (Misra and Shukla, 2010) for resolving a long-standing tension between large volume cosmology and phenomenology pertaining to obtaining a 10 GeV gravitino in the inflationary era and a TeV gravitino in the present era, and summarizing our results of [1] (Misra and Shukla, 2010) on soft supersymmetry breaking terms and open-string moduli masses, we discuss the one-loop RG running of the squark and slepton masses in mSUGRA-like models (using the running of the gaugino masses) to the EW scale in the large volume limit. Phenomenological constraints and some of the calculated soft SUSY parameters identify the D7-brane Wilson line moduli as the first two generations/families of squarks and sleptons and the D3-brane (restricted to the big divisor) position moduli as the two Higgses for MSSM-like models at TeV scale. We also discuss how the obtained open-string/matter moduli make it easier to impose FCNC constraints, as well as RG flow of off-diagonal squark mass(-squared) matrix elements.

System of large transport containers for waste from dismantling light water and gas-cooled nuclear reactors. Volume 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, M.S.T.; Lafontaine, I.

1985-01-01

The purpose of this volume is to assess the means of transportation of decommissioning wastes, costs of transport, radiological detriment attributable to transport and develops conceptual designs of large transport containers. The document ends with Conclusions and Recommendations

'Finite' non-Gaussianities and tensor-scalar ratio in large volume Swiss-cheese compactifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misra, Aalok; Shukla, Pramod

2009-01-01

Developing on the ideas of (Section 4 of) [A. Misra, P. Shukla, Moduli stabilization, large-volume dS minimum without anti-D3-branes, (non-)supersymmetric black hole attractors and two-parameter Swiss cheese Calabi-Yau's, Nucl. Phys. B 799 (2008) 165-198, (arXiv: 0707.0105)] and [A. Misra, P. Shukla, Large volume axionic Swiss-cheese inflation, Nucl. Phys. B 800 (2008) 384-400, (arXiv: 0712.1260 [hep-th])] and using the formalisms of [S. Yokoyama, T. Suyama, T. Tanaka, Primordial non-Gaussianity in multi-scalar slow-roll inflation, (arXiv: 0705.3178 [astro-ph]); S. Yokoyama, T. Suyama, T. Tanaka, Primordial non-Gaussianity in multi-scalar inflation, Phys. Rev. D 77 (2008) 083511, (arXiv: 0711.2920 [astro-ph])], after inclusion of perturbative and non-perturbative α' corrections to the Kaehler potential and (D1- and D3-)instanton generated superpotential, we show the possibility of getting finite values for the non-linear parameter f NL while looking for non-Gaussianities in type IIB compactifications on orientifolds of the Swiss cheese Calabi-Yau WCP 4 [1,1,1,6,9] in the L(arge) V(olume) S(cenarios) limit. We show the same in two contexts. First is multi-field slow-roll inflation with D3-instanton contribution coming from a large number of multiple wrappings of a single (Euclidean) D3-brane around the 'small' divisor yielding f NL ∼O(1). The second is when the slow-roll conditions are violated and for the number of the aforementioned D3-instanton wrappings being of O(1) but more than one, yielding f NL ∼O(1). Based on general arguments not specific to our (string-theory) set-up, we argue that requiring curvature perturbations not to grow at horizon crossing and at super-horizon scales, automatically picks out hybrid inflationary scenarios which in our set up can yield f NL ∼O(1) and tensor-scalar ratio of O(10 -2 ). For all our calculations, the world-sheet instanton contributions to the Kaehler potential coming from the non-perturbative α ' corrections

Flow-through electroporation based on constant voltage for large-volume transfection of cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Geng, Tao; Zhan, Yihong; Wang, Hsiang-Yu; Witting, Scott R; Cornetta, Kenneth G; Lu, Chang

2010-05-21

Genetic modification of cells is a critical step involved in many cell therapy and gene therapy protocols. In these applications, cell samples of large volume (10(8)-10(9)cells) are often processed for transfection. This poses new challenges for current transfection methods and practices. Here we present a novel flow-through electroporation method for delivery of genes into cells at high flow rates (up to approximately 20 mL/min) based on disposable microfluidic chips, a syringe pump, and a low-cost direct current (DC) power supply that provides a constant voltage. By eliminating pulse generators used in conventional electroporation, we dramatically lowered the cost of the apparatus and improved the stability and consistency of the electroporation field for long-time operation. We tested the delivery of pEFGP-C1 plasmids encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells in the devices of various dimensions and geometries. Cells were mixed with plasmids and then flowed through a fluidic channel continuously while a constant voltage was established across the device. Together with the applied voltage, the geometry and dimensions of the fluidic channel determined the electrical parameters of the electroporation. With the optimal design, approximately 75% of the viable CHO cells were transfected after the procedure. We also generalize the guidelines for scaling up these flow-through electroporation devices. We envision that this technique will serve as a generic and low-cost tool for a variety of clinical applications requiring large volume of transfected cells. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Construction and Start-up of a Large-Volume Thermostat for Dielectric-Constant Gas Thermometry

Science.gov (United States)

Merlone, A.; Moro, F.; Zandt, T.; Gaiser, C.; Fellmuth, B.

2010-07-01

A liquid-bath thermostat with a volume of about 800 L was designed to provide a suitable thermal environment for a dielectric-constant gas thermometer (DCGT) in the range from the triple point of mercury to the melting point of gallium. In the article, results obtained with the unique, huge thermostat without the DCGT measuring chamber are reported to demonstrate the capability of controlling the temperature of very large systems at a metrological level. First tests showed that the bath together with its temperature controller provide a temperature variation of less than ±0.5mK peak-to-peak. This temperature instability could be maintained over a period of several days. In the central working volume (diameter—500mm, height—650mm), in which the vacuum chamber containing the measuring system of the DCGT will be placed later, the temperature inhomogeneity has been demonstrated to be also well below 1mK.

Research on volume metrology method of large vertical energy storage tank based on internal electro-optical distance-ranging method

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Huadong; Shi, Haolei; Yi, Pengju; Liu, Ying; Li, Cunjun; Li, Shuguang

2018-01-01

A Volume Metrology method based on Internal Electro-optical Distance-ranging method is established for large vertical energy storage tank. After analyzing the vertical tank volume calculation mathematical model, the key processing algorithms, such as gross error elimination, filtering, streamline, and radius calculation are studied for the point cloud data. The corresponding volume values are automatically calculated in the different liquids by calculating the cross-sectional area along the horizontal direction and integrating from vertical direction. To design the comparison system, a vertical tank which the nominal capacity is 20,000 m3 is selected as the research object, and there are shown that the method has good repeatability and reproducibility. Through using the conventional capacity measurement method as reference, the relative deviation of calculated volume is less than 0.1%, meeting the measurement requirements. And the feasibility and effectiveness are demonstrated.

Systems and methods for the detection of low-level harmful substances in a large volume of fluid

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Michael V.; Roybal, Lyle G.; Lindquist, Alan; Gallardo, Vincente

2016-03-15

A method and device for the detection of low-level harmful substances in a large volume of fluid comprising using a concentrator system to produce a retentate and analyzing the retentate for the presence of at least one harmful substance. The concentrator system performs a method comprising pumping at least 10 liters of fluid from a sample source through a filter. While pumping, the concentrator system diverts retentate from the filter into a container. The concentrator system also recirculates at least part of the retentate in the container again through the filter. The concentrator system controls the speed of the pump with a control system thereby maintaining a fluid pressure less than 25 psi during the pumping of the fluid; monitors the quantity of retentate within the container with a control system, and maintains a reduced volume level of retentate and a target volume of retentate.

Environmentally Clean Mitigation of Undesirable Plant Life Using Lasers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rubenchik, A M; McGrann, T J; Yamamoto, R M; Parker, J M

2009-07-01

This concept comprises a method for environmentally clean destruction of undesirable plant life using visible or infrared radiation. We believe that during the blossom stage, plant life is very sensitive to electromagnetic radiation, with an enhanced sensitivity to specific spectral ranges. Small doses of irradiation can arrest further plant growth, cause flower destruction or promote plant death. Surrounding plants, which are not in the blossoming stage, should not be affected. Our proposed mechanism to initiate this effect is radiation produced by a laser. Tender parts of the blossom possess enhanced absorptivity in some spectral ranges. This absorption can increase the local tissue temperature by several degrees, which is sufficient to induce bio-tissue damage. In some instances, the radiation may actually stimulate plant growth, as an alternative for use in increased crop production. This would be dependent on factors such as plant type, the wavelength of the laser radiation being used and the amount of the radiation dose. Practical, economically viable realization of this concept is possible today with the advent of high efficiency, compact and powerful laser diodes. The laser diodes provide an efficient, environmentally clean source of radiation at a variety of power levels and radiation wavelengths. Figure 1 shows the overall concept, with the laser diodes mounted on a movable platform, traversing and directing the laser radiation over a field of opium poppies.

Material properties of large-volume cadmium zinc telluride crystals and their relationship to nuclear detector performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James, R.B.; Lund, J.; Yoon, H.

1997-01-01

The material showing the greatest promise today for production of large-volume gamma-ray spectrometers operable at room temperature is cadmium zinc telluride (CZT). Unfortunately, because of deficiencies in the quality of the present material, high-resolution CZT spectrometers have thus far been limited to relatively small dimensions, which makes them inefficient at detecting high photon energies and ineffective for weak radiation signals except in near proximity. To exploit CZT fully, it will be necessary to make substantial improvements in the material quality. Improving the material involves advances in the purity, crystallinity, and control of the electrical compensation mechanism. Sandia National Laboratories, California, in close collaboration with US industry and academia, has initiated efforts to develop a detailed understanding of the underlying material problems limiting the performance of large volume gamma-ray spectrometers and to overcome them through appropriate corrections therein. A variety of analytical and numerical techniques are employed to quantify impurities, compositional and stoichiometric variations, crystallinity, strain, bulk and surface defect states, carrier mobilities and lifetimes, electric field distributions, and contact chemistry. Data from these measurements are correlated with spatial maps of the gamma-ray and alpha particle spectroscopic response to determine improvements in the material purification, crystal growth, detector fabrication, and surface passivation procedures. The results of several analytical techniques will be discussed. The intended accomplishment of this work is to develop a low-cost, high-efficiency CZT spectrometer with an active volume of 5 cm 3 and energy resolution of 1--2% (at 662 keV), which would give the US a new field capability for screening radioactive substances

Analytical and Experimental Investigation of Mixing in Large Passive Containment Volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peterson, Per F.

2002-01-01

This final report details results from the past three years of the three-year UC Berkeley NEER investigation of mixing phenomena in large-scale passive reactor containments. We have completed all of our three-year deliverables specified in our proposal, as summarized for each deliverable in the body of this report, except for the experiments of steam condensation in the presence of noncondensable gas. We have particularly exiting results from the experiments studying the mixing in large insulated containment with a vertical cooling plate. These experiments now have shown why augmentation has been observed in wall-condensation experiments due to the momentum of the steam break-flow entering large volumes. More importantly, we also have shown that the forced-jet augmentation can be predicted using relatively simple correlations, and that it is independent of the break diameter and depends only on the break flow orientation, location, and momentum. This suggests that we will now be able to take credit for this augmentation in reactor safety analysis, improving safety margins for containment structures. We have finished the version 1 of 1-D Lagrangian flow and heat transfer code BMIX++. This version has ability to solve many complex stratified problems, such as multi-components problems, multi-enclosures problems (two enclosures connected by one connection for the current version), incompressible and compressible problems, multi jets, plumes, sinks in one enclosure problems, problems with wall conduction, and the combinations of the above problems. We believe the BMIX++ code is a very powerful computation tool to study stratified enclosures mixing problems

Back-end interconnection. A generic concept for high volume manufacturing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bosman, J.; Budel, T.; De Kok, C.J.G.M.

2013-10-15

The general method to realize series connection in thin film PV modules is monolithical interconnection through a sequence of laser scribes (P1, P2 and P3) and layer depositions. This method however implies that the deposition processes are interrupted several times, an undesirable situation in high volume processing. In order to eliminate this drawback we focus our developments on the so called 'back-end interconnection concept' in which series interconnection takes place AFTER the deposition of the functional layers of the thin film PV device. The process of making a back-end interconnection combines laser scribing, curing, sintering and inkjet processes. These different processes interacts with each other and are investigated in order to create processing strategies that are robust to ensure high volume production. The generic approach created a technology base that can be applied to any thin film PV technology.

Large volume serial section tomography by Xe Plasma FIB dual beam microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Burnett, T L; Kelley, R; Winiarski, B; Contreras, L; Daly, M; Gholinia, A; Burke, M G; Withers, P J

2016-02-01

Ga(+) Focused Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscopes (FIB-SEM) have revolutionised the level of microstructural information that can be recovered in 3D by block face serial section tomography (SST), as well as enabling the site-specific removal of smaller regions for subsequent transmission electron microscope (TEM) examination. However, Ga(+) FIB material removal rates limit the volumes and depths that can be probed to dimensions in the tens of microns range. Emerging Xe(+) Plasma Focused Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscope (PFIB-SEM) systems promise faster removal rates. Here we examine the potential of the method for large volume serial section tomography as applied to bainitic steel and WC-Co hard metals. Our studies demonstrate that with careful control of milling parameters precise automated serial sectioning can be achieved with low levels of milling artefacts at removal rates some 60× faster. Volumes that are hundreds of microns in dimension have been collected using fully automated SST routines in feasible timescales (<24h) showing good grain orientation contrast and capturing microstructural features at the tens of nanometres to the tens of microns scale. Accompanying electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) maps show high indexing rates suggesting low levels of surface damage. Further, under high current Ga(+) FIB milling WC-Co is prone to amorphisation of WC surface layers and phase transformation of the Co phase, neither of which have been observed at PFIB currents as high as 60nA at 30kV. Xe(+) PFIB dual beam microscopes promise to radically extend our capability for 3D tomography, 3D EDX, 3D EBSD as well as correlative tomography. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Large volume serial section tomography by Xe Plasma FIB dual beam microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burnett, T.L. [School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); FEI Company, Achtseweg Noord 5, Bldg, 5651 GG, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Kelley, R. [FEI Company, 5350 NE Dawson Creek Drive, Hillsboro, OR 97124 (United States); Winiarski, B. [School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); FEI Company, Achtseweg Noord 5, Bldg, 5651 GG, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Contreras, L. [FEI Company, 5350 NE Dawson Creek Drive, Hillsboro, OR 97124 (United States); Daly, M.; Gholinia, A.; Burke, M.G. [School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Withers, P.J., E-mail: P.J.Withers@manchester.ac.uk [School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); BP International Centre for Advanced Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom)

2016-02-15

Ga{sup +} Focused Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscopes (FIB-SEM) have revolutionised the level of microstructural information that can be recovered in 3D by block face serial section tomography (SST), as well as enabling the site-specific removal of smaller regions for subsequent transmission electron microscope (TEM) examination. However, Ga{sup +} FIB material removal rates limit the volumes and depths that can be probed to dimensions in the tens of microns range. Emerging Xe{sup +} Plasma Focused Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscope (PFIB-SEM) systems promise faster removal rates. Here we examine the potential of the method for large volume serial section tomography as applied to bainitic steel and WC–Co hard metals. Our studies demonstrate that with careful control of milling parameters precise automated serial sectioning can be achieved with low levels of milling artefacts at removal rates some 60× faster. Volumes that are hundreds of microns in dimension have been collected using fully automated SST routines in feasible timescales (<24 h) showing good grain orientation contrast and capturing microstructural features at the tens of nanometres to the tens of microns scale. Accompanying electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) maps show high indexing rates suggesting low levels of surface damage. Further, under high current Ga{sup +} FIB milling WC–Co is prone to amorphisation of WC surface layers and phase transformation of the Co phase, neither of which have been observed at PFIB currents as high as 60 nA at 30 kV. Xe{sup +} PFIB dual beam microscopes promise to radically extend our capability for 3D tomography, 3D EDX, 3D EBSD as well as correlative tomography. - Highlights: • The uptake of dual beam FIBs has been rapid but long milling times have limited imaged volumes to tens of micron dimensions. • Emerging plasma Xe{sup +} PFIB-SEM technology offers materials removal rates at least 60× greater than conventional Ga{sup +} FIB systems with

Volume Visualization and Compositing on Large-Scale Displays Using Handheld Touchscreen Interaction

KAUST Repository

Gastelum, Cristhopper Jacobo Armenta

2011-07-27

Advances in the physical sciences have progressively delivered ever increasing, already extremely large data sets to be analyzed. High performance volume rendering has become critical to the scientists for a better understanding of the massive amounts of data to be visualized. Cluster based rendering systems have become the base line to achieve the power and flexibility required to perform such task. Furthermore, display arrays have become the most suitable solution to display these data sets at their natural size and resolution which can be critical for human perception and evaluation. The work in this thesis aims at improving the scalability and usability of volume rendering systems that target visualization on display arrays. The first part deals with improving the performance by introducing the implementations of two parallel compositing algorithms for volume rendering: direct send and binary swap. The High quality Volume Rendering (HVR) framework has been extended to accommodate parallel compositing where previously only serial compositing was possible. The preliminary results show improvements in the compositing times for direct send even for a small number of processors. Unfortunately, the results of binary swap exhibit a negative behavior. This is due to the naive use of the graphics hardware blending mechanism. The expensive transfers account for the lengthy compositing times. The second part targets the development of scalable and intuitive interaction mechanisms. It introduces the development of a new client application for multitouch tablet devices, like the Apple iPad. The main goal is to provide the HVR framework, that has been extended to use tiled displays, a more intuitive and portable interaction mechanism that can get advantage of the new environment. The previous client is a PC application for the typical desktop settings that use a mouse and keyboard as sources of interaction. The current implementation of the client lets the user steer and

Large-signal stability analysis of PWM converters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huynh, P.T. [Philips Labs., Briarcliff Manor, NY (United States); Cho, B.H. [Seoul National Univ. (Korea, Republic of). Dept. of Electrical Engineering

1995-12-31

Investigation of the effects of existing nonlinearities on the stability of PWM converters is performed. The bilinear structure, the duty cycle saturation, and the opamp saturation are the principal nonlinearities in PWM converters. These nonlinearities are incorporated in the large-signal analytical models of PWM converters, and the basic input-output stability theory is applied to analyze their stability. Design and optimization of the small-signal loop gains to counteract the undesirable nonlinear effects are also discussed.

Removing undesirable color and boosting biological activity in red beet extracts using gamma irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Seung Sik; Lee, Eun Mi; Hong, Sung Hyun; Bai, Hyoung Woo; Chung, Byung Yeoup [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, In Chul [Youngdong University, Youngdong (Korea, Republic of)

2011-10-15

Red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is a traditional and popular vegetable distributed in many part of the world and has been used as a natural colorant in many dairy products, beverages, candies and cattle products. Red beet roots contain two groups of betalain pigments, redviolet betacyanins and yellow betaxanthins. Betalains possess several biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and anticancer properities. Recent trend of using natural products in industries tends toward multifunctional, high quality, and highpriced value foods and cosmetics. To meet the needs of consumers, cosmetics, medicine, and foods should contain the proper amount of natural products. Although the color removal processes such as filtration and absorption by clay are still useful, these procedures are difficult, time-consuming and costly. To overcome this problem, the radiation technology has emerged as a new way. Radiation technology has been applied to the decomposition and decoloration of pigment and is an efficient technique for inactivating pathogens, removing undesirable color in biomaterial extracts and improving or maintaining biological activities. Gamma-irradiation and electron beamirradiation techniques in previous reports were applied in order to remove any undesirable color and to improve or maintain biological activities of various extracts such as green tea leaves, licorice root, and S. chinensis fruits. Latorre et al. reported that betacyanin concentration decreased with the irradiation dose and significantly, in 35%, after 2.0 kGy of gamma-ray, whereas betaxathin concentration increased (about 11%-ratio with respect to control) after 1 kGy but decreased (about 19%) after 2 kGy. However, they did not try to analysis for completed removal of red beet pigments. Therefore, it is necessary to find the optimum irradiation dose for entirely removing red pigments in red beet. The aim of this work was to address the effects of the color removal and

Removing undesirable color and boosting biological activity in red beet extracts using gamma irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Seung Sik; Lee, Eun Mi; Hong, Sung Hyun; Bai, Hyoung Woo; Chung, Byung Yeoup; Lee, In Chul

2011-01-01

Red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is a traditional and popular vegetable distributed in many part of the world and has been used as a natural colorant in many dairy products, beverages, candies and cattle products. Red beet roots contain two groups of betalain pigments, redviolet betacyanins and yellow betaxanthins. Betalains possess several biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and anticancer properities. Recent trend of using natural products in industries tends toward multifunctional, high quality, and highpriced value foods and cosmetics. To meet the needs of consumers, cosmetics, medicine, and foods should contain the proper amount of natural products. Although the color removal processes such as filtration and absorption by clay are still useful, these procedures are difficult, time-consuming and costly. To overcome this problem, the radiation technology has emerged as a new way. Radiation technology has been applied to the decomposition and decoloration of pigment and is an efficient technique for inactivating pathogens, removing undesirable color in biomaterial extracts and improving or maintaining biological activities. Gamma-irradiation and electron beamirradiation techniques in previous reports were applied in order to remove any undesirable color and to improve or maintain biological activities of various extracts such as green tea leaves, licorice root, and S. chinensis fruits. Latorre et al. reported that betacyanin concentration decreased with the irradiation dose and significantly, in 35%, after 2.0 kGy of gamma-ray, whereas betaxathin concentration increased (about 11%-ratio with respect to control) after 1 kGy but decreased (about 19%) after 2 kGy. However, they did not try to analysis for completed removal of red beet pigments. Therefore, it is necessary to find the optimum irradiation dose for entirely removing red pigments in red beet. The aim of this work was to address the effects of the color removal and

When carbon nanotubes encounter the immune system: desirable and undesirable effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Dumortier, Hélène

2013-12-01

The role of our immune system is to bring efficient protection against invasion by foreign elements, not only pathogens but also any material it may be in contact with. Nanoparticles may enter the body and encounter the immune system either intentionally (e.g. administration for biomedical application) or not (e.g. respiratory occupational exposure). Therefore, it is of fundamental importance to get a thorough knowledge of the way they interact with immune cells and all related consequences. Among nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are of special interest because of their tremendous field of applications. Consequently, their increasing production, processing and eventual incorporation into new types of composites and/or into biological systems have raised fundamental issues regarding their potential impact on health. This review aims at giving an overview of the known desirable and undesirable effects of CNTs on the immune system, i.e. beneficial modulation of immune cells by CNTs engineered for biomedical applications versus toxicity, inflammation and unwanted immune reactions triggered by CNTs themselves. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization of large volume HPGe detectors. Part II: Experimental results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruyneel, Bart; Reiter, Peter; Pascovici, Gheorghe

2006-01-01

Measurements on a 12-fold segmented, n-type, large volume, irregular shaped HPGe detector were performed in order to determine the parameters of anisotropic mobility for electrons and holes as charge carriers created by γ-ray interactions. To characterize the electron mobility the complete outer detector surface was scanned in small steps employing photopeak interactions at 60keV. A precise measurement of the hole drift anisotropy was performed with 356keV γ-rays. The drift velocity anisotropy and crystal geometry cause considerable rise time differences in pulse shapes depending on the position of the spatial charge carrier creation. Pulse shapes of direct and transient signals are reproduced by weighting potential calculations with high precision. The measured angular dependence of rise times is caused by the anisotropic mobility, crystal geometry, changing field strength and space charge effects. Preamplified signals were processed employing digital spectroscopy electronics. Response functions, crosstalk contributions and averaging procedures were taken into account implying novel methods due to the segmentation of the Ge-crystal and digital signal processing electronics

Rugged Large Volume Injection for Sensitive Capillary LC-MS Environmental Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanne Roberg-Larsen

2017-08-01

Full Text Available A rugged and high throughput capillary column (cLC LC-MS switching platform using large volume injection and on-line automatic filtration and filter back-flush (AFFL solid phase extraction (SPE for analysis of environmental water samples with minimal sample preparation is presented. Although narrow columns and on-line sample preparation are used in the platform, high ruggedness is achieved e.g., injection of 100 non-filtrated water samples did not result in a pressure rise/clogging of the SPE/capillary columns (inner diameter 300 μm. In addition, satisfactory retention time stability and chromatographic resolution were also features of the system. The potential of the platform for environmental water samples was demonstrated with various pharmaceutical products, which had detection limits (LOD in the 0.05–12.5 ng/L range. Between-day and within-day repeatability of selected analytes were <20% RSD.

Cavourography in children with large and giant omphalocele

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazur, V.G.

1995-01-01

The paper presents the results of using a cavourographic procedure in 37 children with large and giant omphalocele prior to the radical operation displacement of organs from hernial protrusion into the abdominal cavity. High percentages (54 and 96 %) of changes in the vena cava und urinary tract, respectively, make the author recommend this procedure for all children with this congenital anomaly. The findings help surgeons choose treatment policy and avoid undesirable complications [ru

Study on water boiling noises in a large volume

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masagutov, R.F.; Krivtsov, V.A.

1977-01-01

Presented are the results of measurement of the noise spectra during boiling of water in a large volume at the pressure of 1 at. Boiling of the distilled water has been accomplished with the use of the heaters made of the Kh18N10T steel, 50 mm in length, 2 mm in the outside diameter, with the wall thickness of 0.1 mm. The degree of water under heating changed during the experiments from 0 to 80 deg C, and the magnitude of the specific heat flux varied from o to 0.7 - 0.9 qsup(x), where qsup(x) was the specific heat flux of the tube burn-out. The noise spectrum of the boiling water was analyzed at frequencies of 0.5 to 200 kHz. The submerge-type pressure-electric transmitters were used for measurements. At underheating boiling during the experiment the standing waves have formed which determine the structure of the measured spectra. During saturated boiling of water no standing waves were revealed. At underheating over 15 - 20 deg C the water boiling process is accompanied by the noises within the ultrasonic frequency range. The maximum upper boundary of the noise in the experiments amounts to 90 - 100 kHz

Material properties of large-volume cadmium zinc telluride crystals and their relationship to nuclear detector performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

James, R.B.; Lund, J. [Sandia National Labs., Livermore, CA (United States); Yoon, H. [Sandia National Labs., Livermore, CA (United States)]|[Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)] [and others

1997-09-01

The material showing the greatest promise today for production of large-volume gamma-ray spectrometers operable at room temperature is cadmium zinc telluride (CZT). Unfortunately, because of deficiencies in the quality of the present material, high-resolution CZT spectrometers have thus far been limited to relatively small dimensions, which makes them inefficient at detecting high photon energies and ineffective for weak radiation signals except in near proximity. To exploit CZT fully, it will be necessary to make substantial improvements in the material quality. Improving the material involves advances in the purity, crystallinity, and control of the electrical compensation mechanism. Sandia National Laboratories, California, in close collaboration with US industry and academia, has initiated efforts to develop a detailed understanding of the underlying material problems limiting the performance of large volume gamma-ray spectrometers and to overcome them through appropriate corrections therein. A variety of analytical and numerical techniques are employed to quantify impurities, compositional and stoichiometric variations, crystallinity, strain, bulk and surface defect states, carrier mobilities and lifetimes, electric field distributions, and contact chemistry. Data from these measurements are correlated with spatial maps of the gamma-ray and alpha particle spectroscopic response to determine improvements in the material purification, crystal growth, detector fabrication, and surface passivation procedures. The results of several analytical techniques will be discussed. The intended accomplishment of this work is to develop a low-cost, high-efficiency CZT spectrometer with an active volume of 5 cm{sup 3} and energy resolution of 1--2% (at 662 keV), which would give the US a new field capability for screening radioactive substances.

New methods to interpolate large volume of data from points or particles (Mesh-Free) methods application for its scientific visualization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reyes Lopez, Y.; Yervilla Herrera, H.; Viamontes Esquivel, A.; Recarey Morfa, C. A.

2009-01-01

In the following paper we developed a new method to interpolate large volumes of scattered data, focused mainly on the results of the Mesh free Methods, Points Methods and the Particles Methods application. Through this one, we use local radial basis function as interpolating functions. We also use over-tree as the data structure that allows to accelerate the localization of the data that influences to interpolate the values at a new point, speeding up the application of scientific visualization techniques to generate images from large data volumes from the application of Mesh-free Methods, Points and Particle Methods, in the resolution of diverse models of physics-mathematics. As an example, the results obtained after applying this method using the local interpolation functions of Shepard are shown. (Author) 22 refs

Onco plastic volume replacement with latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap in patients with large ptotic breasts. Is it feasible?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Marakby, H.H.; Kotb, M.H.

2011-01-01

Onco plastic breast conservative surgery has evolved as a safe alternative to the standard mastectomy in the treatment of early breast cancer. The procedure involves tumour resection with an adequate safety margin and either breast reshaping with volume displacement procedures (large or pt otic breasts) or volume replacement with latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap (LDF) (small to medium sized non-ptotic breasts). A contra lateral mastopexy procedure is usually necessary with the volume displacement Onco plastic surgery, a procedure that is often rejected by a significant number of patients. This limits the choice of the reconstruction of breast defects in such patients to autologous tissues i.e. LDF. Aim: Aim is to evaluate the feasibility of volume replacement onco plastic breast conservative surgery with lemmatise dorsi myocutaneous flaps for patients with large ptotic breasts. This involves testing the oncologic safety in terms of adequate safety margin, the complications rate and the final cosmetic outcome. The loco regional recurrence rate will be recorded and compared with oncoplastic volume displacement for similar sized breast defects. Patients and methods: A group of 50 female patients with early breast cancers (T2) who presented to the department of surgery at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo, Egypt in the period between carried out in all patient groups and was used to annually follow up the patients. All patients were detected with T2 NO breast cancer by both clinical and radiological examinations. All patients underwent partial mastectomy was and reconstruction with LDFs. Results: The average age at presentation was 46.5 ± 9 years and the range was 26-65 years. Most of the patients were subjected to partial mastectomy in 30 patients (60%), excision of a single quadrant from the four major quadrants was carried out in 15 patients (30%) where skin sparing wide local excision was carried out in only five patients (10%). The safety margin ranged from

Improved tolerance of abdominal large-volume radiotherapy due to ornithine aspartate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuttig, H.

1983-01-01

The influence of ornithine aspartate on supporting the hepatic function was investigated in a group of 47 patients with tumour dissemination in the pelvic and abdominal region, randomised on the basis of the progress of the serum enzymes GOT, GPT, LAD, LDH, LAP and the alkaline phosphatase during and following completion of a course of large-volume radiotherapy. The adjuvant therapy with ornithine aspartate resulted in reduced enzyme movement with an earlier tendency to normalisation. The results, which are borne out by statistics, clearly show an improvement in the hepatic function on detoxication of toxic degradation products of radiotherapy with reduced impairment of the body's own defence mechanisms. Subjectively too, the course of treatment with ornithine aspartate showed a reduced ratio of side effects as regards lassitude and impairment of the patient's general well-being as compared with the group of patients to whom ornithine aspartate was not simultaneously administered. (orig.) [de

Development of metallic molds for the large volume plastic scintillator fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calvo, Wilson A.P.; Vieira, Jose M.; Rela, Paulo R.; Bruzinga, Wilson A.; Araujo, Eduardo P.; Costa Junior, Nelson P.; Hamada, Margarida M.

1997-01-01

The plastic scintillators are radiation detectors made of organic fluorescent compounds dissolved in a solidified polymer matrix. The manufacturing process of large volume detectors (55 liters) at low cost, by polymerization of the styrene monomer plus PPO and POPOP scintillators, was studied in this paper. Metallic molds of ASTM 1200 aluminum and AISI 304 stainless steel were produced by TIG welding process since the polymerization reaction is very exothermic. The measurements of transmittance, luminescence, X-ray fluorescence and light output were carried out in the plastic scintillators made using different metallic molds. The characterization results of the detectors produced in an open system using ASTM 1200 aluminum mold show that there is not quality change in the scintillator, even with aluminum being considered as unstable for styrene monomer. Therefore, the ASTM 1200 aluminum was found to be the best alternative to produce the detector by an open system polymerization. (author). 11 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab

Carbon nanofiber supercapacitors with large areal capacitances

KAUST Repository

McDonough, James R.

2009-01-01

We develop supercapacitor (SC) devices with large per-area capacitances by utilizing three-dimensional (3D) porous substrates. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) functioning as active SC electrodes are grown on 3D nickel foam. The 3D porous substrates facilitate a mass loading of active electrodes and per-area capacitance as large as 60 mg/ cm2 and 1.2 F/ cm2, respectively. We optimize SC performance by developing an annealing-free CNF growth process that minimizes undesirable nickel carbide formation. Superior per-area capacitances described here suggest that 3D porous substrates are useful in various energy storage devices in which per-area performance is critical. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

Effects of large volume injection of aliphatic alcohols as sample diluents on the retention of low hydrophobic solutes in reversed-phase liquid chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

David, Victor; Galaon, Toma; Aboul-Enein, Hassan Y

2014-01-03

Recent studies showed that injection of large volume of hydrophobic solvents used as sample diluents could be applied in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC). This study reports a systematic research focused on the influence of a series of aliphatic alcohols (from methanol to 1-octanol) on the retention process in RP-LC, when large volumes of sample are injected on the column. Several model analytes with low hydrophobic character were studied by RP-LC process, for mobile phases containing methanol or acetonitrile as organic modifiers in different proportions with aqueous component. It was found that starting with 1-butanol, the aliphatic alcohols can be used as sample solvents and they can be injected in high volumes, but they may influence the retention factor and peak shape of the dissolved solutes. The dependence of the retention factor of the studied analytes on the injection volume of these alcohols is linear, with a decrease of its value as the sample volume is increased. The retention process in case of injecting up to 200μL of upper alcohols is dependent also on the content of the organic modifier (methanol or acetonitrile) in mobile phase. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SyPRID sampler: A large-volume, high-resolution, autonomous, deep-ocean precision plankton sampling system

Science.gov (United States)

Billings, Andrew; Kaiser, Carl; Young, Craig M.; Hiebert, Laurel S.; Cole, Eli; Wagner, Jamie K. S.; Van Dover, Cindy Lee

2017-03-01

The current standard for large-volume (thousands of cubic meters) zooplankton sampling in the deep sea is the MOCNESS, a system of multiple opening-closing nets, typically lowered to within 50 m of the seabed and towed obliquely to the surface to obtain low-spatial-resolution samples that integrate across 10 s of meters of water depth. The SyPRID (Sentry Precision Robotic Impeller Driven) sampler is an innovative, deep-rated (6000 m) plankton sampler that partners with the Sentry Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to obtain paired, large-volume plankton samples at specified depths and survey lines to within 1.5 m of the seabed and with simultaneous collection of sensor data. SyPRID uses a perforated Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight (UHMW) plastic tube to support a fine mesh net within an outer carbon composite tube (tube-within-a-tube design), with an axial flow pump located aft of the capture filter. The pump facilitates flow through the system and reduces or possibly eliminates the bow wave at the mouth opening. The cod end, a hollow truncated cone, is also made of UHMW plastic and includes a collection volume designed to provide an area where zooplankton can collect, out of the high flow region. SyPRID attaches as a saddle-pack to the Sentry vehicle. Sentry itself is configured with a flight control system that enables autonomous survey paths to low altitudes. In its verification deployment at the Blake Ridge Seep (2160 m) on the US Atlantic Margin, SyPRID was operated for 6 h at an altitude of 5 m. It recovered plankton samples, including delicate living larvae, from the near-bottom stratum that is seldom sampled by a typical MOCNESS tow. The prototype SyPRID and its next generations will enable studies of plankton or other particulate distributions associated with localized physico-chemical strata in the water column or above patchy habitats on the seafloor.

Left ventricular volume analysis as a basic tool to describe cardiac function.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerkhof, Peter L M; Kuznetsova, Tatiana; Ali, Rania; Handly, Neal

2018-03-01

The heart is often regarded as a compression pump. Therefore, determination of pressure and volume is essential for cardiac function analysis. Traditionally, ventricular performance was described in terms of the Starling curve, i.e., output related to input. This view is based on two variables (namely, stroke volume and end-diastolic volume), often studied in the isolated (i.e., denervated) heart, and has dominated the interpretation of cardiac mechanics over the last century. The ratio of the prevailing coordinates within that paradigm is termed ejection fraction (EF), which is the popular metric routinely used in the clinic. Here we present an insightful alternative approach while describing volume regulation by relating end-systolic volume (ESV) to end-diastolic volume. This route obviates the undesired use of metrics derived from differences or ratios, as employed in previous models. We illustrate basic principles concerning ventricular volume regulation by data obtained from intact animal experiments and collected in healthy humans. Special attention is given to sex-specific differences. The method can be applied to the dynamics of a single heart and to an ensemble of individuals. Group analysis allows for stratification regarding sex, age, medication, and additional clinically relevant covariates. A straightforward procedure derives the relationship between EF and ESV and describes myocardial oxygen consumption in terms of ESV. This representation enhances insight and reduces the impact of the metric EF, in favor of the end-systolic elastance concept advanced 4 decades ago.

Major risk from rapid, large-volume landslides in Europe (EU Project RUNOUT)

Science.gov (United States)

Kilburn, Christopher R. J.; Pasuto, Alessandro

2003-08-01

Project RUNOUT has investigated methods for reducing the risk from large-volume landslides in Europe, especially those involving rapid rates of emplacement. Using field data from five test sites (Bad Goisern and Köfels in Austria, Tessina and Vajont in Italy, and the Barranco de Tirajana in Gran Canaria, Spain), the studies have developed (1) techniques for applying geomorphological investigations and optical remote sensing to map landslides and their evolution; (2) analytical, numerical, and cellular automata models for the emplacement of sturzstroms and debris flows; (3) a brittle-failure model for forecasting catastrophic slope failure; (4) new strategies for integrating large-area Global Positioning System (GPS) arrays with local geodetic monitoring networks; (5) methods for raising public awareness of landslide hazards; and (6) Geographic Information System (GIS)-based databases for the test areas. The results highlight the importance of multidisciplinary studies of landslide hazards, combining subjects as diverse as geology and geomorphology, remote sensing, geodesy, fluid dynamics, and social profiling. They have also identified key goals for an improved understanding of the physical processes that govern landslide collapse and runout, as well as for designing strategies for raising public awareness of landslide hazards and for implementing appropriate land management policies for reducing landslide risk.

A Monte-Carlo code for neutron efficiency calculations for large volume Gd-loaded liquid scintillation detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trzcinski, A.; Zwieglinski, B. [Soltan Inst. for Nuclear Studies, Warsaw (Poland); Lynen, U. [Gesellschaft fuer Schwerionenforschung mbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Pochodzalla, J. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)

1998-10-01

This paper reports on a Monte-Carlo program, MSX, developed to evaluate the performance of large-volume, Gd-loaded liquid scintillation detectors used in neutron multiplicity measurements. The results of simulations are presented for the detector intended to count neutrons emitted by the excited target residue in coincidence with the charged products of the projectile fragmentation following relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The latter products could be detected with the ALADIN magnetic spectrometer at GSI-Darmstadt. (orig.) 61 refs.

Tumor Volume Decrease via Feeder Occlusion for Treating a Large, Firm Trigone Meningioma.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakashima, Takuma; Hatano, Norikazu; Kanamori, Fumiaki; Muraoka, Shinsuke; Kawabata, Teppei; Takasu, Syuntaro; Watanabe, Tadashi; Kojima, Takao; Nagatani, Tetsuya; Seki, Yukio

2018-01-01

Trigone meningiomas are considered a surgical challenge, as they tend to be considerably large and hypervascularized at the time of presentation. We experienced a case of a large and very hard trigone meningioma that was effectively treated using initial microsurgical feeder occlusion followed by surgery in stages. A 19-year-old woman who presented with loss of consciousness was referred to our hospital for surgical treatment of a brain tumor. Radiological findings were compatible with a left ventricular trigone meningioma extending laterally in proximity to the Sylvian fissure. At initial surgery using the transsylvian approach, main feeders originating from the anterior and lateral posterior choroidal arteries were occluded at the inferior horn; however, only a small section of the tumor could initially be removed because of its firmness. Over time, feeder occlusion resulted in tumor necrosis and a 20% decrease in its diameter; the mass effect was alleviated within 1 year. The residual meningioma was then totally excised in staged surgical procedures after resection became more feasible owing to ischemia-induced partial softening of the tumor. When a trigone meningioma is large and very hard, initial microsurgical feeder occlusion in the inferior horn can be a safe and effective option, and can lead to necrosis, volume decrease, and partial softening of the residual tumor to allow for its staged surgical excision.

Large volume TENAX {sup registered} extraction of the bioaccessible fraction of sediment-associated organic compounds for a subsequent effect-directed analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schwab, K.; Brack, W. [UFZ - Helmholtz Centre or Environmental Research, Leipzig (Germany). Dept. of Effect-Directed Analysis

2007-06-15

Background, Aim and Scope: Effect-directed analysis (EDA) is a powerful tool for the identification of key toxicants in complex environmental samples. In most cases, EDA is based on total extraction of organic contaminants leading to an erroneous prioritization with regard to hazard and risk. Bioaccessibility-directed extraction aims to discriminate between contaminants that take part in partitioning between sediment and biota in a relevant time frame and those that are enclosed in structures, that do not allow rapid desorption. Standard protocols of targeted extraction of rapidly desorbing, and thus bioaccessible fraction using TENAX {sup registered} are based only on small amounts of sediment. In order to get sufficient amounts of extracts for subsequent biotesting, fractionation, and structure elucidation a large volume extraction technique needs to be developed applying one selected extraction time and excluding toxic procedural blanks. Materials and Methods: Desorption behaviour of sediment contaminants was determined by a consecutive solid-solid extraction of sediment using TENAX {sup registered} fitting a tri-compartment model on experimental data. Time needed to remove the rapidly desorbing fraction trap was calculated to select a fixed extraction time for single extraction procedures. Up-scaling by about a factor of 100 provided a large volume extraction technique for EDA. Reproducibility and comparability to small volume approach were proved. Blanks of respective TENAX {sup registered} mass were investigated using Scenedesmus vacuolatus and Artemia salina as test organisms. Results: Desorption kinetics showed that 12 to 30 % of sediment associated pollutants are available for rapid desorption. t{sub r}ap is compound dependent and covers a range of 2 to 18 h. On that basis a fixed extraction time of 24 h was selected. Validation of large volume approach was done by the means of comparison to small method and reproducibility. The large volume showed a good

Development of a spatially uniform fast ionization wave in a large-volume discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zatsepin, D.V.; Starikovskaya, S.M.; Starikovskii, A.Yu.

1998-01-01

A study is made of a high-voltage nanosecond breakdown in the form of a fast ionization wave produced in a large-volume (401) discharge chamber. The propagation speed of the wave front and the integral energy deposition in a plasma are measured for various regimes of the air discharge at pressures of 10 -2 -4 Torr. A high degree of both the spatial uniformity of the discharge and the reproducibility of the discharge parameters is obtained. The possibility of the development of a fast ionization wave in an electrodeless system is demonstrated. A transition of the breakdown occurring in the form of a fast ionization wave into the streamer breakdown is observed. It is shown that such discharges are promising for technological applications

Characteristics of the NE-213 large-volume neutron counters for muon catalyzed fusion investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bystritsky, V.M.; Wozniak, J.; Zinov, V.G.

1984-01-01

The Monte-Carlo method was used to establish the properties and feasibility of a large-volume NE-213 scin illator as an efficient neutron detector. The recoil proton spectra, calculated efficiencies for different detection thresholds and scintillator sizes are presented for the neutron energy up to 15 MeV. The time characteristics, e. g., time resolution, are discussed. It is also shown that no strong influence of light attenuation by the scintilla or itself on calculated efficiencies is observed, when gamma-calibration technique is used. The detector vol me of approximately 100 l is suggested for application in investigations of μ-atom and μ-molecular processes

Prognostic value of defining the systemic tumor volume with FDG-PET in diffuse large b cell lymphoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Byun, Byung Hyun; Lim, Sang Moo; Cheon, Gi Jeong; Choi, Chang Woon; Kang, Hye Jin; Na, Im Il; Ryoo, Baek Yeol; Yang, Sung Hyun

2007-01-01

We measured the systemic tumor volume using FDG-PET in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBL). We also investigated its prognostic role, and compared it with that of other prognostic factors. FDG PET was performed in 38 newly diagnosed DLBL patients (20 men, 18 women, age 55.715.1 years) at pre-treatment of chemotherapy. Clinical staging of lymphoma was evaluated by Ann Arbor system. On each FDG PET scan, we acquired volume of interest (VOl) at the cut-off value of SUV=2.5 in every measurable tumor by the automatic edge detection software. According to the VOI, we measured the metabolic volume and mean SUV, and estimated volume-activity indexes (SUV Vol) as mean SUV times metabolic volume. And then, we calculated the summed metabolic volume (VOLsum) and summed SUV Vol (SUV Volsum) in every FDG PET scan. Maximum SUV of involved lesion (SUVmax) was also acquired on each FDG PET scan. Time to treatment failure (TTF) was compared among VOLsum (median), SUV Volsum (median), SUVmax (median), clinical stage, gender, age, LDH, and performance status-assigned response designations by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Initial stages of DLBL patients were stage I in 4, II in 14, III in 15, and IV in 4 by Ann Arbor system. Median follow up period was 15.5months, and estimated mean TTF was 22.3 months. Univariate analysis demonstrated that TTF is statistically significantly reduced in those with high VOLsum (>215.1cm2, p=0.004), high SUV Volsum (>1577.5, p=0.003), and increased LDH (p=0.036). TTF did not correlate with SUVmax (p=0.571), clinical stage (p=0.194), gender (p=0.549), and age (p=0.128), and performance status =2 (p=0.074). Multivariate analysis using VOLsum, SUV Volsum, LDH, and performance status demonstrated no statistically significant predictor of TTF (p>0.05). Systemic tumor volume measurement using FDG-PET is suggestive to be the significant prognostic factor in patients with DLBL

Tracking Progress in Improving Diagnosis: A Framework for Defining Undesirable Diagnostic Events.

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Andrew P J; Graber, Mark L; Singh, Hardeep

2018-01-29

Diagnostic error is a prevalent, harmful, and costly phenomenon. Multiple national health care and governmental organizations have recently identified the need to improve diagnostic safety as a high priority. A major barrier, however, is the lack of standardized, reliable methods for measuring diagnostic safety. Given the absence of reliable and valid measures for diagnostic errors, we need methods to help establish some type of baseline diagnostic performance across health systems, as well as to enable researchers and health systems to determine the impact of interventions for improving the diagnostic process. Multiple approaches have been suggested but none widely adopted. We propose a new framework for identifying "undesirable diagnostic events" (UDEs) that health systems, professional organizations, and researchers could further define and develop to enable standardized measurement and reporting related to diagnostic safety. We propose an outline for UDEs that identifies both conditions prone to diagnostic error and the contexts of care in which these errors are likely to occur. Refinement and adoption of this framework across health systems can facilitate standardized measurement and reporting of diagnostic safety.

Preface to the volume Large Rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Latrubesse, Edgardo M.; Abad, Jorge D.

2018-02-01

The study and knowledge of the geomorphology of large rivers increased significantly during the last years and the factors that triggered these advances are multiple. On one hand, modern technologies became more accessible and their disseminated usage allowed the collection of data from large rivers as never seen before. The generalized use of high tech data collection with geophysics equipment such as acoustic Doppler current profilers-ADCPs, multibeam echosounders, plus the availability of geospatial and computational tools for morphodynamics, hydrological and hydrosedimentological modeling, have accelerated the scientific production on the geomorphology of large rivers at a global scale. Despite the advances, there is yet a lot of work ahead. Good parts of the large rivers are in the tropics and many are still unexplored. The tropics also hold crucial fluvial basins that concentrate good part of the gross domestic product of large countries like the Parana River in Argentina and Brazil, the Ganges-Brahmaputra in India, the Indus River in Pakistan, and the Mekong River in several countries of South East Asia. The environmental importance of tropical rivers is also outstanding. They hold the highest biodiversity of fluvial fauna and alluvial vegetation and many of them, particularly those in Southeast Asia, are among the most hazardous systems for floods in the entire world. Tropical rivers draining mountain chains such as the Himalaya, the Andes and insular Southeast Asia are also among the most heavily sediment loaded rivers and play a key role in both the storage of sediment at continental scale and the transference of sediments from the continent to the Ocean at planetary scale (Andermann et al., 2012; Latrubesse and Restrepo, 2014; Milliman and Syvitski, 1992; Milliman and Farsnworth, 2011; Sinha and Friend, 1994).

Qualitative screening of undesirable compounds from feeds to fish by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Nácher-Mestre, Jaime; Ibáñez, María; Serrano, Roque; Pérez-Sánchez, Jaume; Hernández, Félix

2013-03-06

This paper describes the development, validation, and application of a rapid screening method for the detection and identification of undesirable organic compounds in aquaculture products. A generic sample treatment was applied without any purification or preconcentration step. After extraction of the samples with acetonitrile/water 80:20 (0.1% formic acid), the extracts were centrifuged and directly injected in the LC-HRMS system, consisting of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF MS). A qualitative validation was carried out for over 70 representative compounds, including antibiotics, pesticides, and mycotoxins, in fish feed and fish fillets spiked at 20 and 100 μg/kg. At the highest level, the great majority of compounds were detected (using the most abundant ion, typically the protonated molecule) and unequivocally identified (on the basis of the presence of two accurate-mass measured ions). At the 20 μg/kg level, many contaminants could already be detected, although identification using two ions was not fully reached for some of them, mainly in fish feed due to the complexity of this matrix. Subsequent application of this screening methodology to aquaculture samples made it possible to find several compounds from the target list, such as the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, the insecticide pirimiphos-methyl, and the mycotoxins fumonisin B2 and zearalenone. A retrospective analysis of accurate-mass full-spectrum acquisition data provided by QTOF MS was also made, without either reprocessing or injecting the samples. This allowed the detection and tentative identification of other organic undesirables different from those included in the validated list.

Active species in a large volume N2-O2 post-discharge reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kutasi, K; Pintassilgo, C D; Loureiro, J; Coelho, P J

2007-01-01

A large volume post-discharge reactor placed downstream from a flowing N 2 -O 2 microwave discharge is modelled using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The density distributions of the most populated active species present in the reactor-O( 3 P), O 2 (a 1 Δ g ), O 2 (b 1 Σ g + ), NO(X 2 Π), NO(A 2 Σ + ), NO(B 2 Π), NO 2 (X), O 3 , O 2 (X 3 Σ g - ) and N( 4 S)-are calculated and the main source and loss processes for each species are identified for two discharge conditions: (i) p = 2 Torr, f = 2450 MHz, and (ii) p = 8 Torr, f = 915 MHz; in the case of a N 2 -2%O 2 mixture composition and gas flow rate of 2 x 10 3 sccm. The modification of the species relative densities by changing the oxygen percentage in the initial gas mixture composition, in the 0.2%-5% range, are presented. The possible tuning of the species concentrations in the reactor by changing the size of the connecting afterglow tube between the active discharge and the large post-discharge reactor is investigated as well

Radio-chemical dosage of 90Sr in large volumes of drinking water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeanmaire, L.; Patti, F.; Bullier, D.

1965-01-01

I. Principle of the method: 1. Fixing on a resin of all the cations present in the water. 2. Elution using 5 N nitric acid and precipitation of strontium as the carbonate. 3. Concentration of the strontium using the fuming nitric acid method. 4. Purification of the strontium on a resin by selective elution with ammonium citrate. 5. The strontium-90 is measured by separation at the 90 Y equilibrium in the form of the oxalate which is then counted. II. Advantages of the method The concentration of the radio-activity starting from large volumes (100 l) is generally tedious but this method which makes use of a fixation on a cationic resin makes it very simple. The rest of the method consists of a series of simple chemical operations using ion-exchange on resins and coprecipitation. Finally, it is possible to dose stable strontium. (authors) [fr

A new large-volume metal reference standard for radioactive waste management.

Science.gov (United States)

Tzika, F; Hult, M; Stroh, H; Marissens, G; Arnold, D; Burda, O; Kovář, P; Suran, J; Listkowska, A; Tyminski, Z

2016-03-01

A new large-volume metal reference standard has been developed. The intended use is for calibration of free-release radioactivity measurement systems and is made up of cast iron tubes placed inside a box of the size of a Euro-pallet (80 × 120 cm). The tubes contain certified activity concentrations of (60)Co (0.290 ± 0.006 Bq g(-1)) and (110m)Ag (3.05 ± 0.09 Bq g(-1)) (reference date: 30 September 2013). They were produced using centrifugal casting from a smelt into which (60)Co was first added and then one piece of neutron irradiated silver wire was progressively diluted. The iron castings were machined to the desirable dimensions. The final material consists of 12 iron tubes of 20 cm outer diameter, 17.6 cm inner diameter, 40 cm length/height and 245.9 kg total mass. This paper describes the reference standard and the process of determining the reference activity values. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

Power-output regularization in global sound equalization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stefanakis, Nick; Sarris, J.; Cambourakis, G.

2008-01-01

The purpose of equalization in room acoustics is to compensate for the undesired modification that an enclosure introduces to signals such as audio or speech. In this work, equalization in a large part of the volume of a room is addressed. The multiple point method is employed with an acoustic...

Cross-correlations in volume space: Differences between buy and sell volumes

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sun Young; Hwang, Dong Il; Kim, Min Jae; Koh, In Gyu; Kim, Soo Yong

2011-03-01

We study the cross-correlations of buy and sell volumes on the Korean stock market in high frequency. We observe that the pulling effects of volumes are as small as that of returns. The properties of the correlations of buy and sell volumes differ. They are explained by the degree of synchronization of stock volumes. Further, the pulling effects on the minimal spanning tree are studied. In minimal spanning trees with directed links, the large pulling effects are clustered at the center, not uniformly distributed. The Epps effect of buy and sell volumes are observed. The reversal of the cross-correlations of buy and sell volumes is also detected.

the Preliminary Research Based on Seismic Signals Generated by Hutubi Transmitting Seismic Station with One Large-volume Airgun Array

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Q.; Su, J.; Wei, Y.; Zhang, W.; Wang, H.; Wang, B.; Ji, Z.

2017-12-01

For studying the subsurface structure and its subtle changes, we built the Hutubi transmitting seismic station with one large-volume airgun array at one artificial water pool in the northern segment of Tianshan mountain, where earthquakes occurred frequently. The airgun array consists of six airguns with every airgun capacity of 2000in3, and the artificial water pool with the top diameter of 100m, bottom diameter of 20m and the depth of 18m.We started the regular excitation experiment with the large-volume airgun source every week since June, 2013. Using seismic signals geneated by the Hutubi airgun source, we made the preliminary research on the airgun source, waveform characteristics and the subsurface velocity changes in the northern Tiansh mountain. The results are as follows: The seismic signal exited by the airgun source is characteristic of low-frequency ,and the dominant frequency is in the range of 2 6Hz. The Hutubi transmitting seismic station can continuously generate long-distance detectable and highly repeatable signals, and the correlation coefficient of sigals is greater than 0.95; and the longest propagation distance arrives to 380km, in addition, the 5000-shot stacked sigal using the phase weighted stack technique can be identified in the station, which is about 1300km from the Hutubi transmitting seismic station. Hutubi large-volume airgun source is fitted to detect and monitor the regional-scale subsurface stress state. Applying correlation test method, we measured weak subsurface velocity changes in the northern Tianshan mountain, and found that the several stations, which are within 150km from the the Hutubi transmitting seismic station, appeared 0.1 0.2% relative velocity changes before the Hutubi MS6.2 earthquake on Dec.8, 2016.

Prospects for accelerator neutron sources for large volume minerals analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clayton, C.G.; Spackman, R.

1988-01-01

The electron Linac can be regarded as a practical source of thermal neutrons for activation analysis of large volume mineral samples. With a suitable target and moderator, a neutron flux of about 10 10 n/cm/s over 2-3 kg of rock can be generated. The proton Linac gives the possibility of a high neutron yield (> 10 12 n/s) of fast neutrons at selected energies. For the electron Linac, targets of W-U and W-Be are discussed. The advantages and limitations of the system are demonstrated for the analysis of gold in rocks and ores and for platinum in chromitite. These elements were selected as they are most likely to justify an accelerator installation at the present time. Errors due to self shielding in gold particles for thermal neutrons are discussed. The proton Linac is considered for neutrons generated from a lithium target through the 7 Li(p, n) 7 Be reaction. The analysis of gold by fast neutron activation is considered. This approach avoids particle self-absorption and, by appropriate proton energy selection, avoids potentially dominating interfering reactions. The analysis of 235 U in the presence of 238 U and 232 Th is also considered. (author)

Annealing as grown large volume CZT single crystals for increased spectral resolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Longxia

2008-01-01

The spectroscopic performance of current large-volume Cadmium 10% Zinc Telluride, Cd 0.9 Zn 0.1 Te, (CZT) detectors is impaired by cumulative effect of tellurium precipitates (secondary phases) presented in CZT single-crystal grown by low-pressure Bridgman techniques(1). This statistical effect may limit the energy resolution of large-volume CZT detectors (typically 2-5% at 662 keV for 12-mm thick devices). The stochastic nature of the interaction prevents the use of any electronic or digital charge correction techniques without a significant reduction in the detector efficiency. This volume constraint hampers the utility of CZT since the detectors are inefficient at detecting photons >1MeV and/or in low fluency situations. During the project, seven runs CZT ingots have been grown, in these ingots the indium dopant concentrations have been changed in the range between 0.5ppm to 6ppm. The I-R mapping imaging method has been employed to study the Te-precipitates. The Teprecipitates in as-grown CZT wafers, and after annealing wafers have been systematically studied by using I-R mapping system (home installed, resolution of 1.5 (micro)m). We employed our I-R standard annealing CZT (Zn=4%) procedure or two-steps annealing into radiation CZT (Zn=10%), we achieved the 'non'-Te precipitates (size 10 9-10 (Omega)-cm. We believe that the Te-precipitates are the p-type defects, its reducing number causes the CZT became n+-type, therefore we varied or reduced the indium dapant concentration during the growth and changed the Te-precipitates size and density by using different Cd-temperature and different annealing procedures. We have made the comparisons among Te-precipitates size, density and Indium dopant concentrations, and we found that the CZT with smaller size of Te-precipitates is suitable for radiation uses but non-Te precipitates is impossible to be used in the radiation detectors, because the CZT would became un-dopant or 'intrinsic' with non radiation affection (we

SU-F-T-538: CyberKnife with MLC for Treatment of Large Volume Tumors: A Feasibility Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bichay, T; Mayville, A [Mercy Health, Saint Mary’s, Grand Rapids, MI (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: CyberKnife is a well-documented modality for SRS and SBRT treatments. Typical tumors are small and 1–5 fractions are usually used. We determined the feasibility of using CyberKnife, with an InCise multileaf collimator option, for larger tumors undergoing standard dose and fractionation. The intent was to understand the limitation of using this modality for other external beam radiation treatments. Methods: Five tumors from different anatomical sites with volumes from 127.8 cc to 1,320.5 cc were contoured and planned on a Multiplan V5.1 workstation. The target average diameter ranged from 7 cm to 13 cm. The dose fractionation was 1.8–2.0 Gy/fraction and 25–45 fractions for total doses of 45–81 Gy. The sites planned were: pancreas, head and neck, prostate, anal, and esophagus. The plans were optimized to meet conventional dose constraints based on various RTOG protocols for conventional fractionation. Results: The Multiplan treatment planning system successfully generated clinically acceptable plans for all sites studied. The resulting dose distributions achieved reasonable target coverage, all greater than 95%, and satisfactory normal tissue sparing. Treatment times ranged from 9 minutes to 38 minutes, the longest being a head and neck plan with dual targets receiving different doses and with multiple adjacent critical structures. Conclusion: CyberKnife, with the InCise multileaf collimation option, can achieve acceptable dose distributions in large volume tumors treated with conventional dose and fractionation. Although treatment times are greater than conventional accelerator time; target coverage and dose to critical structures can be kept within a clinically acceptable range. While time limitations exist, when necessary CyberKnife can provide an alternative to traditional treatment modalities for large volume tumors.

A retrospective analysis of complications of large volume liposuction; local perspective from a third world country

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arshad, S.M.; Latif, S.; Altaf, H.N.

2017-01-01

This study was aimed at evaluating the complications that occurred in patients undergoing large volume liposuction and to see if there was a correlation between amount of aspirate and the rate of complications. Methodology: A detailed history, complete physical examination, BMI, and anthropometric measurements were documented for all patients. All patients under went liposuction using tumescent technique under general anesthesia in Yusra General Hospital. Patients were discharged home after 24 to 48 hours. Pressure garments were advised for 6 weeks and were called for weekly follow up for 6 weeks. Pressure garments were advised for 6 weeks. Complications were documented. SPSS version 20 was used for analysis of data. Results: Out of 217 patients, 163 (75%) were female and 54 male. Mean age was 37.1 SD+-6.7 years. Bruising and seroma were most common complications; 4.1% and 2.3%, respectively. The incidence of infection was 0.9%. One patient had over-correction and four patients (1.8%) had under-correction. Significant blood loss was encountered in one patient. Two patients (0.9%) had pulmonary embolism and 2(0.9%) suffered from necrotizing fasciitis. None of our patients undergoing large volume liposuction had fat embolism and there was no mortality. Conclusion: Careful patient selection and strict adherence to guidelines can ensure a good outcome and can minimize risk of complications. Both physicians and patients should be educated to have realistic expectations to avoid complications and improve patient safety. (author)

Sparse PDF Volumes for Consistent Multi-Resolution Volume Rendering

KAUST Repository

Sicat, Ronell Barrera

2014-12-31

This paper presents a new multi-resolution volume representation called sparse pdf volumes, which enables consistent multi-resolution volume rendering based on probability density functions (pdfs) of voxel neighborhoods. These pdfs are defined in the 4D domain jointly comprising the 3D volume and its 1D intensity range. Crucially, the computation of sparse pdf volumes exploits data coherence in 4D, resulting in a sparse representation with surprisingly low storage requirements. At run time, we dynamically apply transfer functions to the pdfs using simple and fast convolutions. Whereas standard low-pass filtering and down-sampling incur visible differences between resolution levels, the use of pdfs facilitates consistent results independent of the resolution level used. We describe the efficient out-of-core computation of large-scale sparse pdf volumes, using a novel iterative simplification procedure of a mixture of 4D Gaussians. Finally, our data structure is optimized to facilitate interactive multi-resolution volume rendering on GPUs.

Dosimetric Coverage of the Prostate, Normal Tissue Sparing, and Acute Toxicity with High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy for Large Prostate Volumes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George Yang

2015-06-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTPurposeTo evaluate dosimetric coverage of the prostate, normal tissue sparing, and acute toxicity with HDR brachytherapy for large prostate volumes.Materials and MethodsOne hundred and two prostate cancer patients with prostate volumes >50 mL (range: 5-29 mL were treated with high-dose-rate (HDR brachytherapy ± intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT to 4,500 cGy in 25 daily fractions between 2009 and 2013. HDR brachytherapy monotherapy doses consisted of two 1,350-1,400 cGy fractions separated by 2-3 weeks, and HDR brachytherapy boost doses consisted of two 950-1,150 cGy fractions separated by 4 weeks. Twelve of 32 (38% unfavorable intermediate risk, high risk, and very high risk patients received androgen deprivation therapy. Acute toxicity was graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE version 4.ResultsMedian follow-up was 14 months. Dosimetric goals were achieved in over 90% of cases. Three of 102 (3% patients developed Grade 2 acute proctitis. No variables were significantly associated with Grade 2 acute proctitis. Seventeen of 102 (17% patients developed Grade 2 acute urinary retention. American Urological Association (AUA symptom score was the only variable significantly associated with Grade 2 acute urinary retention (p=0.04. There was no ≥ Grade 3 acute toxicity.ConclusionsDosimetric coverage of the prostate and normal tissue sparing were adequate in patients with prostate volumes >50 mL. Higher pre-treatment AUA symptom scores increased the relative risk of Grade 2 acute urinary retention. However, the overall incidence of acute toxicity was acceptable in patients with large prostate volumes.

Dosimetric coverage of the prostate, normal tissue sparing, and acute toxicity with high-dose-rate brachytherapy for large prostate volumes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, George; Strom, Tobin J.; Shrinath, Kushagra; Mellon, Eric A.; Fernandez, Daniel C.; Biagioli, Matthew C. [Department of Radiation Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL (United States); Wilder, Richard B., E-mail: mcbiagioli@yahoo.com [Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Newnan, GA (United States)

2015-05-15

Purpose: to evaluate dosimetric coverage of the prostate, normal tissue sparing, and acute toxicity with HDR brachytherapy for large prostate volumes. Materials and methods: one hundred and two prostate cancer patients with prostate volumes >50 mL (range: 5-29 mL) were treated with high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy ± intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to 4,500 cGy in 25 daily fractions between 2009 and 2013. HDR brachytherapy monotherapy doses consisted of two 1,350-1,400 cGy fractions separated by 2-3 weeks, and HDR brachytherapy boost doses consisted of two 950-1,150 cGy fractions separated by 4 weeks. Twelve of 32 (38%) unfavorable intermediate risk, high risk, and very high risk patients received androgen deprivation therapy. Acute toxicity was graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 4. Results: median follow-up was 14 months. Dosimetric goals were achieved in over 90% of cases. Three of 102 (3%) patients developed Grade 2 acute proctitis. No variables were significantly associated with Grade 2 acute proctitis. Seventeen of 102 (17%) patients developed Grade 2 acute urinary retention. American Urological Association (AUA) symptom score was the only variable significantly associated with Grade 2 acute urinary retention (p-0.04). There was no ≥ Grade 3 acute toxicity. Conclusions: dosimetric coverage of the prostate and normal tissue sparing were adequate in patients with prostate volumes >50 mL. Higher pre-treatment AUA symptom scores increased the relative risk of Grade 2 acute urinary retention. However, the overall incidence of acute toxicity was acceptable in patients with large prostate volumes. (author)

Dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation and stable performance

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Hang; Qu, Shao-Bo; Peng, Wei-Dong; Lin, Bao-Qin; Wang, Jia-Fu; Ma, Hua; Zhang, Jie-Qiu; Bai, Peng; Wang, Xu-Hua; Xu, Zhuo

2012-05-01

A new technique of designing a dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation is presented. This technique is based on a delicately designed topology of L- and Ku-band microwave filters. The two band-pass responses are generated by a capacitively-loaded square-loop frequency selective surface and an aperture-coupled frequency selective surface, respectively. A Faraday cage is located between the two frequency selective surface structures to eliminate undesired couplings. Based on this technique, a dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation is designed, which possesses large band separation, high selectivity, and stable performance under various incident angles and different polarizations.

Volume changes of extremely large and giant intracranial aneurysms after treatment with flow diverter stents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carneiro, Angelo; Byrne, James V. [ohn Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford Neurovascular and Neuroradiology Research Unit, Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, Oxford (United Kingdom); Rane, Neil; Kueker, Wilhelm; Cellerini, Martino; Corkill, Rufus [John Radcliffe Hospital, Department of Neuroradiology, Oxford (United Kingdom)

2014-01-15

This study assessed volume changes of unruptured large and giant aneurysms (greatest diameter >20 mm) after treatment with flow diverter (FD) stents. Clinical audit of the cases treated in a single institution, over a 5-year period. Demographic and clinical data were retrospectively collected from the hospital records. Aneurysm volumes were measured by manual outlining at sequential slices using computerised tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) angiography data. The audit included eight patients (seven females) with eight aneurysms. Four aneurysms involved the cavernous segment of the internal carotid artery (ICA), three the supraclinoid ICA and one the basilar artery. Seven patients presented with signs and symptoms of mass effect and one with seizures. All but one aneurysm was treated with a single FD stent; six aneurysms were also coiled (either before or simultaneously with FD placement). Minimum follow-up time was 6 months (mean 20 months). At follow-up, three aneurysms decreased in size, three were unchanged and two increased. Both aneurysms that increased in size showed persistent endosaccular flow at follow-up MR; in one case, failure was attributed to suboptimal position of the stent; in the other case, it was attributed to persistence of a side branch originating from the aneurysm (similar to the endoleak phenomenon of aortic aneurysms). At follow-up, five aneurysms were completely occluded; none of these increased in volume. Complete occlusion of the aneurysms leads, in most cases, to its shrinkage. In cases of late aneurysm growth or regrowth, consideration should be given to possible endoleak as the cause. (orig.)

A large volume uniform plasma generator for the experiments of electromagnetic wave propagation in plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Min; Li Xiaoping; Xie Kai; Liu Donglin; Liu Yanming

2013-01-01

A large volume uniform plasma generator is proposed for the experiments of electromagnetic (EM) wave propagation in plasma, to reproduce a “black out” phenomenon with long duration in an environment of the ordinary laboratory. The plasma generator achieves a controllable approximate uniform plasma in volume of 260 mm× 260 mm× 180 mm without the magnetic confinement. The plasma is produced by the glow discharge, and the special discharge structure is built to bring a steady approximate uniform plasma environment in the electromagnetic wave propagation path without any other barriers. In addition, the electron density and luminosity distributions of plasma under different discharge conditions were diagnosed and experimentally investigated. Both the electron density and the plasma uniformity are directly proportional to the input power and in roughly reverse proportion to the gas pressure in the chamber. Furthermore, the experiments of electromagnetic wave propagation in plasma are conducted in this plasma generator. Blackout phenomena at GPS signal are observed under this system and the measured attenuation curve is of reasonable agreement with the theoretical one, which suggests the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Undesired small RNAs originate from an artificial microRNA precursor in transgenic petunia (Petunia hybrida.

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Yulong Guo

Full Text Available Although artificial microRNA (amiRNA technology has been used frequently in gene silencing in plants, little research has been devoted to investigating the accuracy of amiRNA precursor processing. In this work, amiRNAchs1 (amiRchs1, based on the Arabidopsis miR319a precursor, was expressed in order to suppress the expression of CHS genes in petunia. The transgenic plants showed the CHS gene-silencing phenotype. A modified 5' RACE technique was used to map small-RNA-directed cleavage sites and to detect processing intermediates of the amiRchs1 precursor. The results showed that the target CHS mRNAs were cut at the expected sites and that the amiRchs1 precursor was processed from loop to base. The accumulation of small RNAs in amiRchs1 transgenic petunia petals was analyzed using the deep-sequencing technique. The results showed that, alongside the accumulation of the desired artificial microRNAs, additional small RNAs that originated from other regions of the amiRNA precursor were also accumulated at high frequency. Some of these had previously been found to be accumulated at low frequency in the products of ath-miR319a precursor processing and some of them were accompanied by 3'-tailing variant. Potential targets of the undesired small RNAs were discovered in petunia and other Solanaceae plants. The findings draw attention to the potential occurrence of undesired target silencing induced by such additional small RNAs when amiRNA technology is used. No appreciable production of secondary small RNAs occurred, despite the fact that amiRchs1 was designed to have perfect complementarity to its CHS-J target. This confirmed that perfect pairing between an amiRNA and its targets is not the trigger for secondary small RNA production. In conjunction with the observation that amiRNAs with perfect complementarity to their target genes show high efficiency and specificity in gene silencing, this finding has an important bearing on future applications of ami

Undesired small RNAs originate from an artificial microRNA precursor in transgenic petunia (Petunia hybrida).

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yulong; Han, Yao; Ma, Jing; Wang, Huiping; Sang, Xianchun; Li, Mingyang

2014-01-01

Although artificial microRNA (amiRNA) technology has been used frequently in gene silencing in plants, little research has been devoted to investigating the accuracy of amiRNA precursor processing. In this work, amiRNAchs1 (amiRchs1), based on the Arabidopsis miR319a precursor, was expressed in order to suppress the expression of CHS genes in petunia. The transgenic plants showed the CHS gene-silencing phenotype. A modified 5' RACE technique was used to map small-RNA-directed cleavage sites and to detect processing intermediates of the amiRchs1 precursor. The results showed that the target CHS mRNAs were cut at the expected sites and that the amiRchs1 precursor was processed from loop to base. The accumulation of small RNAs in amiRchs1 transgenic petunia petals was analyzed using the deep-sequencing technique. The results showed that, alongside the accumulation of the desired artificial microRNAs, additional small RNAs that originated from other regions of the amiRNA precursor were also accumulated at high frequency. Some of these had previously been found to be accumulated at low frequency in the products of ath-miR319a precursor processing and some of them were accompanied by 3'-tailing variant. Potential targets of the undesired small RNAs were discovered in petunia and other Solanaceae plants. The findings draw attention to the potential occurrence of undesired target silencing induced by such additional small RNAs when amiRNA technology is used. No appreciable production of secondary small RNAs occurred, despite the fact that amiRchs1 was designed to have perfect complementarity to its CHS-J target. This confirmed that perfect pairing between an amiRNA and its targets is not the trigger for secondary small RNA production. In conjunction with the observation that amiRNAs with perfect complementarity to their target genes show high efficiency and specificity in gene silencing, this finding has an important bearing on future applications of amiRNAs in gene

P08.52 Proton therapy re-Irradiation in large-volume recurrent glioblastoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Amelio, D.; Widesott, L.; Vennarini, S.; Fellin, F.; Maines, F.; Righetto, R.; Lorentini, S.; Farace, P.; Schwarz, M.; Amichetti, M.

2016-01-01

Abstract Purpose: To report preliminary results of re-irradiation with proton therapy (PT) in large-volume recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM). Matherial/Methods: Between January and December 2015 ten patients (pts) with rGBM were re-irradiated with PT. All pts were previously treated with photon radiotherapy (60 Gy) with concomitant and adjuvant TMZ for 1–20 cycles (median, 7). Seven pts were re-irradiated at first relapse/progression. Four patients were re-irradiated after partial tumor resection. Median age and Karnofsky performance status at re-irradiation were 57 years (range, 41–68) and 80%, (range, 70–100), respectively. Median time between prior radiotherapy and PT was 9 months (range, 5–24). Target definition was based on CT, MR, and 18F-DOPA PET imaging. GTV included any area of contrast enhancement after contrast medium administration plus any pathological PET uptake regions. CTV was generated by adding to GTV a 3-mm uniform margin manually corrected in proximity of anatomical barriers. CTV was expanded by 4 mm to create PTV. Median PTV volume was 90 cc (range, 46–231). All pts received 36 GyRBE in 18 fractions. Four pts also received concomitant temozolomide (75 mg/m2/die, 7 days/week). All pts were treated with active beam scanning PT using 2–3 fields with single field optimization technique. Results: All pts completed the treatment without breaks. Registered acute side effects (according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0 - CTCAE) include grade 1–2 skin erythema, alopecia, fatigue, conjunctivitis, concentration impairment, dysphasia, and headache. There were no grade 3 or higher toxicities. One patient developed grade 1 neutropenia. Five pts started PT under steroids (2–7 mg/daily); two of them reduced the dose during PT, while three kept the same steroids dose. None of remaining pts needed steroids therapy. Registered late side effects (according to CTCAE version 4.0) include grade 1–2 alopecia, fatigue

Recurrence interval analysis of trading volumes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Fei; Zhou, Wei-Xing

2010-06-01

We study the statistical properties of the recurrence intervals τ between successive trading volumes exceeding a certain threshold q. The recurrence interval analysis is carried out for the 20 liquid Chinese stocks covering a period from January 2000 to May 2009, and two Chinese indices from January 2003 to April 2009. Similar to the recurrence interval distribution of the price returns, the tail of the recurrence interval distribution of the trading volumes follows a power-law scaling, and the results are verified by the goodness-of-fit tests using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) statistic, the weighted KS statistic and the Cramér-von Mises criterion. The measurements of the conditional probability distribution and the detrended fluctuation function show that both short-term and long-term memory effects exist in the recurrence intervals between trading volumes. We further study the relationship between trading volumes and price returns based on the recurrence interval analysis method. It is found that large trading volumes are more likely to occur following large price returns, and the comovement between trading volumes and price returns is more pronounced for large trading volumes.

Volume and Surface-Enhanced Volume Negative Ion Sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stockli, M P

2013-01-01

H - volume sources and, especially, caesiated H - volume sources are important ion sources for generating high-intensity proton beams, which then in turn generate large quantities of other particles. This chapter discusses the physics and technology of the volume production and the caesium-enhanced (surface) production of H - ions. Starting with Bacal's discovery of the H - volume production, the chapter briefly recounts the development of some H - sources, which capitalized on this process to significantly increase the production of H - beams. Another significant increase was achieved in the 1990s by adding caesiated surfaces to supplement the volume-produced ions with surface-produced ions, as illustrated with other H - sources. Finally, the focus turns to some of the experience gained when such a source was successfully ramped up in H - output and in duty factor to support the generation of 1 MW proton beams for the Spallation Neutron Source. (author)

PVR: Patch-to-Volume Reconstruction for Large Area Motion Correction of Fetal MRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Alansary, Amir; Rajchl, Martin; McDonagh, Steven G; Murgasova, Maria; Damodaram, Mellisa; Lloyd, David F A; Davidson, Alice; Rutherford, Mary; Hajnal, Joseph V; Rueckert, Daniel; Kainz, Bernhard

2017-10-01

In this paper, we present a novel method for the correction of motion artifacts that are present in fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the whole uterus. Contrary to current slice-to-volume registration (SVR) methods, requiring an inflexible anatomical enclosure of a single investigated organ, the proposed patch-to-volume reconstruction (PVR) approach is able to reconstruct a large field of view of non-rigidly deforming structures. It relaxes rigid motion assumptions by introducing a specific amount of redundant information that is exploited with parallelized patchwise optimization, super-resolution, and automatic outlier rejection. We further describe and provide an efficient parallel implementation of PVR allowing its execution within reasonable time on commercially available graphics processing units, enabling its use in the clinical practice. We evaluate PVR's computational overhead compared with standard methods and observe improved reconstruction accuracy in the presence of affine motion artifacts compared with conventional SVR in synthetic experiments. Furthermore, we have evaluated our method qualitatively and quantitatively on real fetal MRI data subject to maternal breathing and sudden fetal movements. We evaluate peak-signal-to-noise ratio, structural similarity index, and cross correlation with respect to the originally acquired data and provide a method for visual inspection of reconstruction uncertainty. We further evaluate the distance error for selected anatomical landmarks in the fetal head, as well as calculating the mean and maximum displacements resulting from automatic non-rigid registration to a motion-free ground truth image. These experiments demonstrate a successful application of PVR motion compensation to the whole fetal body, uterus, and placenta.

Charging in the environment of large spacecraft

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai, S.T.

1993-01-01

This paper discusses some potential problems of spacecraft charging as a result of interactions between a large spacecraft, such as the Space Station, and its environment. Induced electric field, due to VXB effect, may be important for large spacecraft at low earth orbits. Differential charging, due to different properties of surface materials, may be significant when the spacecraft is partly in sunshine and partly in shadow. Triple-root potential jump condition may occur because of differential charging. Sudden onset of severe differential charging may occur when an electron or ion beam is emitted from the spacecraft. The beam may partially return to the ''hot spots'' on the spacecraft. Wake effects, due to blocking of ambient ion trajectories, may result in an undesirable negative potential region in the vicinity of a large spacecraft. Outgassing and exhaust may form a significant spacecraft induced environment; ionization may occur. Spacecraft charging and discharging may affect the electronic components on board

The core collapse supernova rate from 24 years of data of the Large Volume Detector

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Bruno, G.; Fulgione, W.; Molinario, A.; Vigorito, C.; LVD Collaboration

2017-09-01

The Large Volume Detector (LVD) at INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy is a 1 kt liquid scintillator neutrino observatory mainly designed to study low energy neutrinos from Gravitational Stellar Collapses (GSC) with 100% efficiency over the entire Galaxy. Here we summarize the results of the search for supernova neutrino bursts over the full data set lasting from June 1992 to May 2016 for a total live time of 8211 days. In the lack of a positive observation, either in standalone mode or in coincidence with other experiments, we establish the upper limit to the rate of GSC event in the Milky Way: 0.1 year-1 at 90% c.l..

The application of game theory and cognitive economy to analyze the problem of undesired location

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villani, S.

2008-01-01

The analysts of the processes of public bodies decision - taking have long been discussing on the establishment of proper strategies to manage environmental conflicts - above all the so-called problems of undesired location of public works and facilities - efficiently (i.e. on a short-period basis so as to grant decision and agreement stability) and fairly (the parties' satisfaction is itself a further guarantee of decision and agreement stability). Each strategy, anyway, is still in progress, like a universe to create and explore. Therefore, in this paper, we will focus on the analysis of the problem and provide as well some theoretical proposals to arrange a new interpreting model of public bodies decision-taking processes based on the achievements of two new subject-matters: evolutionary game theory and cognitive economy. Both sciences share their investigation field with law and economic science. [it

Analysis of plant hormones by microemulsion electrokinetic capillary chromatography coupled with on-line large volume sample stacking.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zongbao; Lin, Zian; Zhang, Lin; Cai, Yan; Zhang, Lan

2012-04-07

A novel method of microemulsion electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEEKC) coupled with on-line large volume sample stacking was developed for the analysis of six plant hormones including indole-3-acetic acid, indole-3-butyric acid, indole-3-propionic acid, 1-naphthaleneacetic acid, abscisic acid and salicylic acid. Baseline separation of six plant hormones was achieved within 10 min by using the microemulsion background electrolyte containing a 97.2% (w/w) 10 mM borate buffer at pH 9.2, 1.0% (w/w) ethyl acetate as oil droplets, 0.6% (w/w) sodium dodecyl sulphate as surfactant and 1.2% (w/w) 1-butanol as cosurfactant. In addition, an on-line concentration method based on a large volume sample stacking technique and multiple wavelength detection was adopted for improving the detection sensitivity in order to determine trace level hormones in a real sample. The optimal method provided about 50-100 fold increase in detection sensitivity compared with a single MEEKC method, and the detection limits (S/N = 3) were between 0.005 and 0.02 μg mL(-1). The proposed method was simple, rapid and sensitive and could be applied to the determination of six plant hormones in spiked water samples, tobacco leaves and 1-naphthylacetic acid in leaf fertilizer. The recoveries ranged from 76.0% to 119.1%, and good reproducibilities were obtained with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 6.6%.

High failure rates after (131)I therapy in Graves hyperthyroidism patients with large thyroid volumes, high iodine uptake, and high iodine turnover.

Science.gov (United States)

de Jong, Jeroen A F; Verkooijen, Helena M; Valk, Gerlof D; Zelissen, Pierre M J; de Keizer, Bart

2013-06-01

The objective of this study was to identify patient characteristics positively and independently associated with I-iodide treatment failure in a large cohort of patients with Graves hyperthyroidism treated with either a calculated "standard" activity of 3.7 MBq/mL (0.1 mCi) or 7.4 MBq/mL (0.2 mCi) of thyroid volume. Data on 385 consecutive patients were prospectively collected. Clinical treatment outcome up to 1 year in relation to thyroid volume, 5- and 24-hour I uptake, 5/24-hour I uptake ratio, and the administered activity of radioiodine were analyzed. Overall treatment results were hypothyroidism in 46%, euthyroidism in 29%, and recurrent hyperthyroidism in 26% of patients. Thyroid volume (P = 0.000), 5/24-hour uptake ratio (P = 0.000), and 5- and 24-hour uptake alone (respectively, P = 0.000 and P = 0.002) were significantly associated with therapy outcome. Patients with a combination of a thyroid volume greater than 50 mL and a 5/24-hour uptake ratio 0.8 or greater showed treatment failure in 70% and 42% (respectively, 3.7 MBq/mL, n = 20; and 7.4 MBq/mL, n = 41).Thyroid volume and 5/24-hour uptake ratio were positively and independently associated with recurrent hyperthyroidism (respectively, odds ratio [OR], 5.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.39-11.76; and OR, 2.97; 95% CI, 1.59-5.59). Higher activities of 7.4 MBq/mL I were associated with a lower risk of treatment failure (OR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.18-0.62). Large thyroid volumes and high 5/24-hour uptake ratios are positively and independently associated with recurrent hyperthyroidism following I therapy in Graves hyperthyroidism. Higher success rates can be achieved when account is taken of these poor prognostic factors. In consequence, these patients should be treated with activities greater than 7.4 MBq/mL.

Dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation and stable performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Hang; Qu Shao-Bo; Lin Bao-Qin; Wang Jia-Fu; Ma Hua; Zhang Jie-Qiu; Peng Wei-Dong; Bai Peng; Wang Xu-Hua; Xu Zhuo

2012-01-01

A new technique of designing a dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation is presented. This technique is based on a delicately designed topology of L- and Ku-band microwave filters. The two band-pass responses are generated by a capacitively-loaded square-loop frequency selective surface and an aperture-coupled frequency selective surface, respectively. A Faraday cage is located between the two frequency selective surface structures to eliminate undesired couplings. Based on this technique, a dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation is designed, which possesses large band separation, high selectivity, and stable performance under various incident angles and different polarizations. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

Implication on the core collapse supernova rate from 21 years of data of the Large Volume Detector

CERN Document Server

Agafonova, N Y; Antonioli, P; Ashikhmin, V V; Badino, G.; Bari, G; Bertoni, R; Bressan, E; Bruno, G; Dadykin, V L; Dobrynina, E A; Enikeev, R I; Fulgione, W; Galeotti, P; Garbini, M; Ghia, P L; Giusti, P; Gomez, F; Kemp, E; Malgin, A S; Molinario, A; Persiani, R; Pless, I A; Porta, A; Ryasny, V G; Ryazhskaya, O G; Saavedra, O; Sartorelli, G; Shakiryanova, I R; Selvi, M; Trinchero, G C; Vigorito, C; Yakushev, V F; Zichichi, A

2015-01-01

The Large Volume Detector (LVD) has been continuously taking data since 1992 at the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory. LVD is sensitive to neutrino bursts from gravitational stellar collapses with full detection probability over the Galaxy. We have searched for neutrino bursts in LVD data taken in 7335 days of operation. No evidence of neutrino signals has been found between June 1992 and December 2013. The 90% C.L. upper limit on the rate of core-collapse and failed supernova explosions out to distances of 25 kpc is found to be 0.114/y.

Effect of crowd size on patient volume at a large, multipurpose, indoor stadium.

Science.gov (United States)

De Lorenzo, R A; Gray, B C; Bennett, P C; Lamparella, V J

1989-01-01

A prediction of patient volume expected at "mass gatherings" is desirable in order to provide optimal on-site emergency medical care. While several methods of predicting patient loads have been suggested, a reliable technique has not been established. This study examines the frequency of medical emergencies at the Syracuse University Carrier Dome, a 50,500-seat indoor stadium. Patient volume and level of care at collegiate basketball and football games as well as rock concerts, over a 7-year period were examined and tabulated. This information was analyzed using simple regression and nonparametric statistical methods to determine level of correlation between crowd size and patient volume. These analyses demonstrated no statistically significant increase in patient volume for increasing crowd size for basketball and football events. There was a small but statistically significant increase in patient volume for increasing crowd size for concerts. A comparison of similar crowd size for each of the three events showed that patient frequency is greatest for concerts and smallest for basketball. The study suggests that crowd size alone has only a minor influence on patient volume at any given event. Structuring medical services based solely on expected crowd size and not considering other influences such as event type and duration may give poor results.

Large-volume constant-concentration sampling technique coupling with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for rapid on-site gas analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhuomin; Zhan, Yisen; Huang, Yichun; Li, Gongke

2017-08-05

In this work, a portable large-volume constant-concentration (LVCC) sampling technique coupling with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was developed for the rapid on-site gas analysis based on suitable derivatization methods. LVCC sampling technique mainly consisted of a specially designed sampling cell including the rigid sample container and flexible sampling bag, and an absorption-derivatization module with a portable pump and a gas flowmeter. LVCC sampling technique allowed large, alterable and well-controlled sampling volume, which kept the concentration of gas target in headspace phase constant during the entire sampling process and made the sampling result more representative. Moreover, absorption and derivatization of gas target during LVCC sampling process were efficiently merged in one step using bromine-thiourea and OPA-NH 4 + strategy for ethylene and SO 2 respectively, which made LVCC sampling technique conveniently adapted to consequent SERS analysis. Finally, a new LVCC sampling-SERS method was developed and successfully applied for rapid analysis of trace ethylene and SO 2 from fruits. It was satisfied that trace ethylene and SO 2 from real fruit samples could be actually and accurately quantified by this method. The minor concentration fluctuations of ethylene and SO 2 during the entire LVCC sampling process were proved to be gas targets from real samples by SERS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Plasma response to electron energy filter in large volume plasma device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanyasi, A. K.; Awasthi, L. M.; Mattoo, S. K.; Srivastava, P. K.; Singh, S. K.; Singh, R.; Kaw, P. K.

2013-01-01

An electron energy filter (EEF) is embedded in the Large Volume Plasma Device plasma for carrying out studies on excitation of plasma turbulence by a gradient in electron temperature (ETG) described in the paper of Mattoo et al. [S. K. Mattoo et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 255007 (2012)]. In this paper, we report results on the response of the plasma to the EEF. It is shown that inhomogeneity in the magnetic field of the EEF switches on several physical phenomena resulting in plasma regions with different characteristics, including a plasma region free from energetic electrons, suitable for the study of ETG turbulence. Specifically, we report that localized structures of plasma density, potential, electron temperature, and plasma turbulence are excited in the EEF plasma. It is shown that structures of electron temperature and potential are created due to energy dependence of the electron transport in the filter region. On the other hand, although structure of plasma density has origin in the particle transport but two distinct steps of the density structure emerge from dominance of collisionality in the source-EEF region and of the Bohm diffusion in the EEF-target region. It is argued and experimental evidence is provided for existence of drift like flute Rayleigh-Taylor in the EEF plasma

Numerical Study for a Large Volume Droplet on the Dual-rough Surface: Apparent Contact Angle, Contact Angle Hysteresis and Transition Barrier.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Jian; Jin, Yanli; Dong, He; Liu, Jiawei; Ye, Senbin

2018-06-14

The profile, apparent contact angle (ACA), contact angle hysteresis (CAH) and wetting state transmission energy barrier (WSTEB) are important static and dynamic properties of a large volume droplet on the hierarchical surface. Understanding them can provide us with important insights to functional surfaces and promote the application in corresponding areas. In this paper, we established three theoretical models (Model 1, Model 2 and Model 3) and corresponding numerical methods, which were obtained by the free energy minimization and the nonlinear optimization algorithm, to predict the profile, ACA, CAH and WSTEB of a large volume droplet on the horizontal regular dual-rough surface. In consideration of the gravity, the energy barrier on the contact circle, the dual heterogenous structures and their roughness on the surface, the models are more universal and accurate than previous models. It showed that the predictions of the models were in good agreement with the results from the experiment or literature. The models are promising to become novel design approaches of functional surfaces, which are frequently applied in microfluidic chips, water self-catchment system and dropwise condensation heat transfer system.

Solid phase extraction of large volume of water and beverage samples to improve detection limits for GC-MS analysis of bisphenol A and four other bisphenols.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Xu-Liang; Popovic, Svetlana

2018-01-01

Solid phase extraction (SPE) of large volumes of water and beverage products was investigated for the GC-MS analysis of bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol AF (BPAF), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol E (BPE), and bisphenol B (BPB). While absolute recoveries of the method were improved for water and some beverage products (e.g. diet cola, iced tea), breakthrough may also have occurred during SPE of 200 mL of other beverages (e.g. BPF in cola). Improvements in method detection limits were observed with the analysis of large sample volumes for all bisphenols at ppt (pg/g) to sub-ppt levels. This improvement was found to be proportional to sample volumes for water and beverage products with less interferences and noise levels around the analytes. Matrix effects and interferences were observed during SPE of larger volumes (100 and 200 mL) of the beverage products, and affected the accurate analysis of BPF. This improved method was used to analyse bisphenols in various beverage samples, and only BPA was detected, with levels ranging from 0.022 to 0.030 ng/g for products in PET bottles, and 0.085 to 0.32 ng/g for products in cans.

Inverse optimization of objective function weights for treatment planning using clinical dose-volume histograms

Science.gov (United States)

Babier, Aaron; Boutilier, Justin J.; Sharpe, Michael B.; McNiven, Andrea L.; Chan, Timothy C. Y.

2018-05-01

We developed and evaluated a novel inverse optimization (IO) model to estimate objective function weights from clinical dose-volume histograms (DVHs). These weights were used to solve a treatment planning problem to generate ‘inverse plans’ that had similar DVHs to the original clinical DVHs. Our methodology was applied to 217 clinical head and neck cancer treatment plans that were previously delivered at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Canada. Inverse plan DVHs were compared to the clinical DVHs using objective function values, dose-volume differences, and frequency of clinical planning criteria satisfaction. Median differences between the clinical and inverse DVHs were within 1.1 Gy. For most structures, the difference in clinical planning criteria satisfaction between the clinical and inverse plans was at most 1.4%. For structures where the two plans differed by more than 1.4% in planning criteria satisfaction, the difference in average criterion violation was less than 0.5 Gy. Overall, the inverse plans were very similar to the clinical plans. Compared with a previous inverse optimization method from the literature, our new inverse plans typically satisfied the same or more clinical criteria, and had consistently lower fluence heterogeneity. Overall, this paper demonstrates that DVHs, which are essentially summary statistics, provide sufficient information to estimate objective function weights that result in high quality treatment plans. However, as with any summary statistic that compresses three-dimensional dose information, care must be taken to avoid generating plans with undesirable features such as hotspots; our computational results suggest that such undesirable spatial features were uncommon. Our IO-based approach can be integrated into the current clinical planning paradigm to better initialize the planning process and improve planning efficiency. It could also be embedded in a knowledge-based planning or adaptive radiation therapy framework to

A Parallel, Finite-Volume Algorithm for Large-Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Flows

Science.gov (United States)

Bui, Trong T.

1999-01-01

A parallel, finite-volume algorithm has been developed for large-eddy simulation (LES) of compressible turbulent flows. This algorithm includes piecewise linear least-square reconstruction, trilinear finite-element interpolation, Roe flux-difference splitting, and second-order MacCormack time marching. Parallel implementation is done using the message-passing programming model. In this paper, the numerical algorithm is described. To validate the numerical method for turbulence simulation, LES of fully developed turbulent flow in a square duct is performed for a Reynolds number of 320 based on the average friction velocity and the hydraulic diameter of the duct. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) results are available for this test case, and the accuracy of this algorithm for turbulence simulations can be ascertained by comparing the LES solutions with the DNS results. The effects of grid resolution, upwind numerical dissipation, and subgrid-scale dissipation on the accuracy of the LES are examined. Comparison with DNS results shows that the standard Roe flux-difference splitting dissipation adversely affects the accuracy of the turbulence simulation. For accurate turbulence simulations, only 3-5 percent of the standard Roe flux-difference splitting dissipation is needed.

Translational and Brownian motion in laser-Doppler flowmetry of large tissue volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binzoni, T; Leung, T S; Seghier, M L; Delpy, D T

2004-01-01

This study reports the derivation of a precise mathematical relationship existing between the different p-moments of the power spectrum of the photoelectric current, obtained from a laser-Doppler flowmeter (LDF), and the red blood cell speed. The main purpose is that both the Brownian (defining the 'biological zero') and the translational movements are taken into account, clarifying in this way what the exact contribution of each parameter is to the LDF derived signals. The derivation of the equations is based on the quasi-elastic scattering theory and holds for multiple scattering (i.e. measurements in large tissue volumes and/or very high red blood cell concentration). The paper also discusses why experimentally there exists a range in which the relationship between the first moment of the power spectrum and the average red blood cells speed may be considered as 'linear' and what are the physiological determinants that can result in nonlinearity. A correct way to subtract the biological zero from the LDF data is also proposed. The findings should help in the design of improved LDF instruments and in the interpretation of experimental data

Large volume unresectable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer: acute toxicity and initial outcome results with rapid arc

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fogliata Antonella

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To report acute toxicity, initial outcome results and planning therapeutic parameters in radiation treatment of advanced lung cancer (stage III with volumetric modulated arcs using RapidArc (RA. Methods Twenty-four consecutive patients were treated with RA. All showed locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer with stage IIIA-IIIB and with large volumes (GTV:299 ± 175 cm3, PTV:818 ± 206 cm3. Dose prescription was 66Gy in 33 fractions to mean PTV. Delivery was performed with two partial arcs with a 6 MV photon beam. Results From a dosimetric point of view, RA allowed us to respect most planning objectives on target volumes and organs at risk. In particular: for GTV D1% = 105.6 ± 1.7%, D99% = 96.7 ± 1.8%, D5%-D95% = 6.3 ± 1.4%; contra-lateral lung mean dose resulted in 13.7 ± 3.9Gy, for spinal cord D1% = 39.5 ± 4.0Gy, for heart V45Gy = 9.0 ± 7.0Gy, for esophagus D1% = 67.4 ± 2.2Gy. Delivery time was 133 ± 7s. At three months partial remission > 50% was observed in 56% of patients. Acute toxicities at 3 months showed 91% with grade 1 and 9% with grade 2 esophageal toxicity; 18% presented grade 1 and 9% with grade 2 pneumonia; no grade 3 acute toxicity was observed. The short follow-up does not allow assessment of local control and progression free survival. Conclusions RA proved to be a safe and advantageous treatment modality for NSCLC with large volumes. Long term observation of patients is needed to assess outcome and late toxicity.

Effect, Feasibility, and Clinical Relevance of Cell Enrichment in Large Volume Fat Grafting: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rasmussen, Bo Sonnich; Lykke Sørensen, Celine; Vester-Glowinski, Peter Viktor; Herly, Mikkel; Trojahn Kølle, Stig-Frederik; Fischer-Nielsen, Anne; Drzewiecki, Krzysztof Tadeusz

2017-07-01

Large volume fat grafting is limited by unpredictable volume loss; therefore, methods of improving graft retention have been developed. Fat graft enrichment with either stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells or adipose tissue-derived stem/stromal cells (ASCs) has been investigated in several animal and human studies, and significantly improved graft retention has been reported. Improvement of graft retention and the feasibility of these techniques are equally important in evaluating the clinical relevance of cell enrichment. We conducted a systematic search of PubMed to identify studies on fat graft enrichment that used either SVF cells or ASCs, and only studies reporting volume assessment were included. A total of 38 articles (15 human and 23 animal) were included to investigate the effects of cell enrichment on graft retention as well as the feasibility and clinical relevance of cell-enriched fat grafting. Improvements in graft retention, the SVF to fat (SVF:fat) ratio, and the ASC concentration used for enrichment were emphasized. We proposed an increased retention rate greater than 1.5-fold relative to nonenriched grafts and a maximum SVF:fat ratio of 1:1 as the thresholds for clinical relevance and feasibility, respectively. Nine studies fulfilled these criteria, whereof 6 used ASCs for enrichment. We found no convincing evidence of a clinically relevant effect of SVF enrichment in humans. ASC enrichment has shown promising results in enhancing graft retention, but additional clinical trials are needed to substantiate this claim and also determine the optimal concentration of SVF cells/ASCs for enrichment. 4. © 2017 The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Inc. Reprints and permission: journals.permissions@oup.com.

No evidence of a threshold in traffic volume affecting road-kill mortality at a large spatio-temporal scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grilo, Clara, E-mail: clarabentesgrilo@gmail.com [Departamento de Biología de la Conservación, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Calle Américo Vespucio s/n, E-41092 Sevilla (Spain); Centro Brasileiro de Estudos em Ecologia de Estradas, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus Universitário, 37200-000 Lavras, Minas Gerais (Brazil); Ferreira, Flavio Zanchetta; Revilla, Eloy [Departamento de Biología de la Conservación, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Calle Américo Vespucio s/n, E-41092 Sevilla (Spain)

2015-11-15

Previous studies have found that the relationship between wildlife road mortality and traffic volume follows a threshold effect on low traffic volume roads. We aimed at evaluating the response of several species to increasing traffic intensity on highways over a large geographic area and temporal period. We used data of four terrestrial vertebrate species with different biological and ecological features known by their high road-kill rates: the barn owl (Tyto alba), hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Additionally, we checked whether road-kill likelihood varies when traffic patterns depart from the average. We used annual average daily traffic (AADT) and road-kill records observed along 1000 km of highways in Portugal over seven consecutive years (2003–2009). We fitted candidate models using Generalized Linear Models with a binomial distribution through a sample unit of 1 km segments to describe the effect of traffic on the probability of finding at least one victim in each segment during the study. We also assigned for each road-kill record the traffic of that day and the AADT on that year to test for differences using Paired Student's t-test. Mortality risk declined significantly with traffic volume but varied among species: the probability of finding road-killed red foxes and rabbits occurs up to moderate traffic volumes (< 20,000 AADT) whereas barn owls and hedgehogs occurred up to higher traffic volumes (40,000 AADT). Perception of risk may explain differences in responses towards high traffic highway segments. Road-kill rates did not vary significantly when traffic intensity departed from the average. In summary, we did not find evidence of traffic thresholds for the analysed species and traffic intensities. We suggest mitigation measures to reduce mortality be applied in particular on low traffic roads (< 5000 AADT) while additional measures to reduce barrier effects should take into

No evidence of a threshold in traffic volume affecting road-kill mortality at a large spatio-temporal scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grilo, Clara; Ferreira, Flavio Zanchetta; Revilla, Eloy

2015-01-01

Previous studies have found that the relationship between wildlife road mortality and traffic volume follows a threshold effect on low traffic volume roads. We aimed at evaluating the response of several species to increasing traffic intensity on highways over a large geographic area and temporal period. We used data of four terrestrial vertebrate species with different biological and ecological features known by their high road-kill rates: the barn owl (Tyto alba), hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Additionally, we checked whether road-kill likelihood varies when traffic patterns depart from the average. We used annual average daily traffic (AADT) and road-kill records observed along 1000 km of highways in Portugal over seven consecutive years (2003–2009). We fitted candidate models using Generalized Linear Models with a binomial distribution through a sample unit of 1 km segments to describe the effect of traffic on the probability of finding at least one victim in each segment during the study. We also assigned for each road-kill record the traffic of that day and the AADT on that year to test for differences using Paired Student's t-test. Mortality risk declined significantly with traffic volume but varied among species: the probability of finding road-killed red foxes and rabbits occurs up to moderate traffic volumes (< 20,000 AADT) whereas barn owls and hedgehogs occurred up to higher traffic volumes (40,000 AADT). Perception of risk may explain differences in responses towards high traffic highway segments. Road-kill rates did not vary significantly when traffic intensity departed from the average. In summary, we did not find evidence of traffic thresholds for the analysed species and traffic intensities. We suggest mitigation measures to reduce mortality be applied in particular on low traffic roads (< 5000 AADT) while additional measures to reduce barrier effects should take into

The presence of undesirable mould species on the surface of dry sausages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vesković-Moračanin Slavica M.

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Transition from manufacture to the industrial way of meat production and processing, as well as contemporary concept of food quality and safety, have led to the application of starter cultures. Their application leads towards the streamlining of the production process in the desired direction, quality improvement and its harmonization, and thereby to its standardization. Application of moulds in the meat industry is based on positive effects of their proteolytic and lipolytic egzoenzymes which, as a consequence, leads to the creation of characteristic sensory properties ('flavor' of fermented products. Penicillium nalgiovense is a typical representative of moulds used in the production of fermented sausages-salamis from our region. Samples of 'zimska salama' (dry sausage, produced with Penicillium nalgiovense, were evaluated as hygienically unacceptable. Their sensory properties changed due to contamination of this mould during the ripening process. Micological analysis discovered the presence of Penicillium aurantiogriseum, which is a frequent mould contaminant in the meat industry. At the same time, thin layer chromatography revealed no possibility of metabolic activity of this mould in the creation of mycotoxins. However, the presence of this mould on the surface of 'zimska salama' is considered as undesirable due to formation of 'off flavor' in products. Such product is considered as hygienically unacceptable and cannot be used for the human consumption.

Large-Animal Biventricular Working Heart Perfusion System with Low Priming Volume-Comparison between in vivo and ex vivo Cardiac Function.

Science.gov (United States)

Abicht, Jan-Michael; Mayr, Tanja Axinja Jelena; Jauch, Judith; Guethoff, Sonja; Buchholz, Stefan; Reichart, Bruno; Bauer, Andreas

2018-01-01

Existing large-animal, ex vivo, cardiac perfusion models are restricted in their ability to establish an ischemia/reperfusion condition as seen in cardiac surgery or transplantation. Other working heart systems only challenge one ventricle or require a substantially larger priming volume. We describe a novel biventricular cardiac perfusion system with reduced priming volume. Juvenile pig hearts were cardiopleged, explanted, and reperfused ex vivo after 150 minutes of cold ischemia. Autologous whole blood was used as perfusate (minimal priming volume 350 mL). After 15 minutes of Langendorff perfusion (LM), the system was switched into a biventricular working mode (WM) and studied for 3 hours. During reperfusion, complete unloading of both ventricles and constant-pressure coronary perfusion was achieved. During working mode perfusion, the preload and afterload pressure of both ventricles was controlled within the targeted physiologic range. Functional parameters such as left ventricular work index were reduced in ex vivo working mode (in vivo: 787 ± 186 vs. 1 h WM 498 ± 66 mm Hg·mL/g·min; p  hours while functional and blood parameters are easily accessible. Moreover, because of the minimal priming volume, the novel ex vivo cardiac perfusion circuit allows for autologous perfusion, using the limited amount of blood available from the organ donating animal. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Albumin infusion in patients undergoing large-volume paracentesis: a meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernardi, Mauro; Caraceni, Paolo; Navickis, Roberta J; Wilkes, Mahlon M

2012-04-01

Albumin infusion reduces the incidence of postparacentesis circulatory dysfunction among patients with cirrhosis and tense ascites, as compared with no treatment. Treatment alternatives to albumin, such as artificial colloids and vasoconstrictors, have been widely investigated. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine whether morbidity and mortality differ between patients receiving albumin versus alternative treatments. The meta-analysis included randomized trials evaluating albumin infusion in patients with tense ascites. Primary endpoints were postparacentesis circulatory dysfunction, hyponatremia, and mortality. Eligible trials were sought by multiple methods, including computer searches of bibliographic and abstract databases and the Cochrane Library. Results were quantitatively combined under a fixed-effects model. Seventeen trials with 1,225 total patients were included. There was no evidence of heterogeneity or publication bias. Compared with alternative treatments, albumin reduced the incidence of postparacentesis circulatory dysfunction (odds ratio [OR], 0.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.27-0.55). Significant reductions in that complication by albumin were also shown in subgroup analyses versus each of the other volume expanders tested (e.g., dextran, gelatin, hydroxyethyl starch, and hypertonic saline). The occurrence of hyponatremia was also decreased by albumin, compared with alternative treatments (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.39-0.87). In addition, mortality was lower in patients receiving albumin than alternative treatments (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.41-0.98). This meta-analysis provides evidence that albumin reduces morbidity and mortality among patients with tense ascites undergoing large-volume paracentesis, as compared with alternative treatments investigated thus far. Copyright © 2011 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

MR-guided noninvasive thermal coagulation of in-vivo liver tissue using ultrasonic phased array

Science.gov (United States)

Daum, Douglas R.; Smith, Nadine; McDannold, Nathan; Hynynen, Kullervo H.

1999-05-01

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was used to guide and monitor the thermal tissue coagulation of in vivo porcine tissue using a 256 element ultrasonic phased array. The array could coagulate tissue volumes greater than 2 cm3 in liver and 0.5 cm3 in kidney using a single 20 second sonication. This sonication used multiple focus fields which were temporally cycled to heat large tissue volumes simultaneously. Estimates of the coagulated tissue using a thermal dose threshold compare well with T2-weighted images of post sonication lesions. The overlapping large focal volumes could aid in the treatment of large tumor volumes which require multiple overlapping sonications. The ability of MR to detect the presence and undesirable thermal increases at acoustic obstacle such as cartilaginous and bony ribs is demonstrated. This could have a significant impact on the ability to monitor thermal treatments of the liver and other organs which are acoustically blocked.

Insufficient evidence of benefit regarding mortality due to albumin substitution in HCC-free cirrhotic patients undergoing large volume paracentesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kütting, Fabian; Schubert, Jens; Franklin, Jeremy; Bowe, Andrea; Hoffmann, Vera; Demir, Muenevver; Pelc, Agnes; Nierhoff, Dirk; Töx, Ulrich; Steffen, Hans-Michael

2017-02-01

Current guidelines for clinical practice recommend the infusion of human albumin after large volume paracentesis. After inspecting the current evidence behind this recommendation, we decided to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis in order to address the effect of albumin on mortality and morbidity in the context of large volume paracentesis. We performed a comprehensive search of large databases and abstract books of conference proceedings up to March 15th 2016 for randomized controlled trials, testing the infusion of human albumin against alternatives (vs no treatment, vs plasma expanders; vs vasoconstrictors) in HCC-free patients suffering from cirrhosis. We analyzed these trials with regard to mortality, changes in plasma renin activity (PRA), hyponatremia, renal impairment, recurrence of ascites with consequential re-admission into hospital and additional complications. We employed trial sequential analysis in order to calculate the number of patients required in controlled trials to be able to determine a statistically significant advantage of the administration of one agent over another with regard to mortality. We were able to include 21 trials totaling 1277 patients. While the administration of albumin prevents a rise in PRA as well as hyponatremia, no improvement in strong clinical endpoints such as mortality could be demonstrated. Trial sequential analysis showed that at least 1550 additional patients need to be recruited into RCTs and analyzed with regard to this question in order to detect or disprove a 25% mortality effect. There is insufficient evidence that the infusion of albumin after LVP significantly lowers mortality in HCC-free patients with advanced liver disease. © 2016 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Low Energy Neutrino Astronomy in the future large-volume liquid-scintillator detector LENA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wurm, Michael; Feilitzsch, F V; Goeger-Neff, M; Lewke, T; Undagoitia, T Marrodan; Oberauer, L; Potzel, W; Todor, S; Winter, J

2008-01-01

The recent successes in neutrino physics prove that liquid-scintillator detectors allow to combine high energy resolution, efficient means of background reduction, and a large detection volume. In the planned LENA (Low Energy Neutrino Astronomy) experiment, a target mass of 50 kt will enable the investigation of a variety of terrestrial and astrophysical neutrino sources. The high-statistics spectroscopy of geoneutrinos, solar neutrinos and supernova neutrinos will provide new insights in the heat production processes of Earth and Sun, and the workings of a gravitational collapse. The same measurements will as well investigate neutrino properties as oscillation parameters and mass hierarchy. A first spectroscopic measurement of the low flux of diffuse supernova neutrino background is within the sensitivity of the LENA detector. Finally, a life-time limit of several 1034 years can be set to the proton decay into proton and anti-neutrino, testing the predictions of SUSY theory. The present contribution includes a review of the scientific studies that were performed in the last years as well as a report on currently on-going R and D activities.

Low Energy Neutrino Astronomy in the future large-volume liquid-scintillator detector LENA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wurm, Michael; Feilitzsch, F V; Goeger-Neff, M; Lewke, T; Undagoitia, T Marrodan; Oberauer, L; Potzel, W; Todor, S; Winter, J [E15 Chair for Astroparticle Physics, Technische Universitat Miinchen, Physik Department, James-Franck-Str., D-85748 Garching (Germany)

2008-11-01

The recent successes in neutrino physics prove that liquid-scintillator detectors allow to combine high energy resolution, efficient means of background reduction, and a large detection volume. In the planned LENA (Low Energy Neutrino Astronomy) experiment, a target mass of 50 kt will enable the investigation of a variety of terrestrial and astrophysical neutrino sources. The high-statistics spectroscopy of geoneutrinos, solar neutrinos and supernova neutrinos will provide new insights in the heat production processes of Earth and Sun, and the workings of a gravitational collapse. The same measurements will as well investigate neutrino properties as oscillation parameters and mass hierarchy. A first spectroscopic measurement of the low flux of diffuse supernova neutrino background is within the sensitivity of the LENA detector. Finally, a life-time limit of several 1034 years can be set to the proton decay into proton and anti-neutrino, testing the predictions of SUSY theory. The present contribution includes a review of the scientific studies that were performed in the last years as well as a report on currently on-going R and D activities.

Enrichment of circulating tumor cells from a large blood volume using leukapheresis and elutriation: proof of concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Eifler, Robert L; Lind, Judith; Falkenhagen, Dieter; Weber, Viktoria; Fischer, Michael B; Zeillinger, Robert

2011-03-01

The aim of this study was to determine the applicability of a sequential process using leukapheresis, elutriation, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to enrich and isolate circulating tumor cells from a large blood volume to allow further molecular analysis. Mononuclear cells were collected from 10 L of blood by leukapheresis, to which carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester prelabeled CaOV-3 tumor cells were spiked at a ratio of 26 to 10⁶ leukocytes. Elutriation separated the spiked leukapheresates primarily by cell size into distinct fractions, and leukocytes and tumor cells, characterized as carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester positive, EpCAM positive and CD45 negative events, were quantified by flow cytometry. Tumor cells were isolated from the last fraction using FACS or anti-EpCAM coupled immunomagnetic beads, and their recovery and purity determined by fluorescent microscopy and real-time PCR. Leukapheresis collected 13.5 x 10⁹ mononuclear cells with 87% efficiency. In total, 53 to 78% of spiked tumor cells were pre-enriched in the last elutriation fraction among 1.6 x 10⁹ monocytes. Flow cytometry predicted a circulating tumor cell purity of ~90% giving an enrichment of 100,000-fold following leukapheresis, elutriation, and FACS, where CaOV-3 cells were identified as EpCAM positive and CD45 negative events. FACS confirmed this purity. Alternatively, immunomagnetic bead adsorption recovered 10% of tumor cells with a median purity of 3.5%. This proof of concept study demonstrated that elutriation and FACS following leukapheresis are able to enrich and isolate tumor cells from a large blood volume for molecular characterization. Copyright © 2010 International Clinical Cytometry Society.

Large parallel volumes of finite and compact sets in d-dimensional Euclidean space

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampf, Jürgen; Kiderlen, Markus

The r-parallel volume V (Cr) of a compact subset C in d-dimensional Euclidean space is the volume of the set Cr of all points of Euclidean distance at most r > 0 from C. According to Steiner’s formula, V (Cr) is a polynomial in r when C is convex. For finite sets C satisfying a certain geometric...

Detecting Boosted Dark Matter from the Sun with Large Volume Neutrino Detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berger, Joshua; /SLAC; Cui, Yanou; /Perimeter Inst. Theor. Phys.; Zhao, Yue; /Stanford U., ITP /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.

2015-04-02

We study novel scenarios where thermal dark matter (DM) can be efficiently captured in the Sun and annihilate into boosted dark matter. In models with semi-annihilating DM, where DM has a non-minimal stabilization symmetry, or in models with a multi-component DM sector, annihilations of DM can give rise to stable dark sector particles with moderate Lorentz boosts. We investigate both of these possibilities, presenting concrete models as proofs of concept. Both scenarios can yield viable thermal relic DM with masses O(1)-O(100) GeV. Taking advantage of the energetic proton recoils that arise when the boosted DM scatters off matter, we propose a detection strategy which uses large volume terrestrial detectors, such as those designed to detect neutrinos or proton decays. In particular, we propose a search for proton tracks pointing towards the Sun. We focus on signals at Cherenkov-radiation-based detectors such as Super-Kamiokande (SK) and its upgrade Hyper-Kamiokande (HK). We find that with spin-dependent scattering as the dominant DM-nucleus interaction at low energies, boosted DM can leave detectable signals at SK or HK, with sensitivity comparable to DM direct detection experiments while being consistent with current constraints. Our study provides a new search path for DM sectors with non-minimal structure.

Floating substructure flexibility of large-volume 10MW offshore wind turbine platforms in dynamic calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borg, Michael; Hansen, Anders Melchior; Bredmose, Henrik

2016-01-01

Designing floating substructures for the next generation of 10MW and larger wind turbines has introduced new challenges in capturing relevant physical effects in dynamic simulation tools. In achieving technically and economically optimal floating substructures, structural flexibility may increase to the extent that it becomes relevant to include in addition to the standard rigid body substructure modes which are typically described through linear radiation-diffraction theory. This paper describes a method for the inclusion of substructural flexibility in aero-hydro-servo-elastic dynamic simulations for large-volume substructures, including wave-structure interactions, to form the basis of deriving sectional loads and stresses within the substructure. The method is applied to a case study to illustrate the implementation and relevance. It is found that the flexible mode is significantly excited in an extreme event, indicating an increase in predicted substructure internal loads. (paper)

Large-volume constant-concentration sampling technique coupling with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for rapid on-site gas analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhuomin; Zhan, Yisen; Huang, Yichun; Li, Gongke

2017-08-01

In this work, a portable large-volume constant-concentration (LVCC) sampling technique coupling with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was developed for the rapid on-site gas analysis based on suitable derivatization methods. LVCC sampling technique mainly consisted of a specially designed sampling cell including the rigid sample container and flexible sampling bag, and an absorption-derivatization module with a portable pump and a gas flowmeter. LVCC sampling technique allowed large, alterable and well-controlled sampling volume, which kept the concentration of gas target in headspace phase constant during the entire sampling process and made the sampling result more representative. Moreover, absorption and derivatization of gas target during LVCC sampling process were efficiently merged in one step using bromine-thiourea and OPA-NH4+ strategy for ethylene and SO2 respectively, which made LVCC sampling technique conveniently adapted to consequent SERS analysis. Finally, a new LVCC sampling-SERS method was developed and successfully applied for rapid analysis of trace ethylene and SO2 from fruits. It was satisfied that trace ethylene and SO2 from real fruit samples could be actually and accurately quantified by this method. The minor concentration fluctuations of ethylene and SO2 during the entire LVCC sampling process were proved to be samples were achieved in range of 95.0-101% and 97.0-104% respectively. It is expected that portable LVCC sampling technique would pave the way for rapid on-site analysis of accurate concentrations of trace gas targets from real samples by SERS.

Plasma properties in a large-volume, cylindrical and asymmetric radio-frequency capacitively coupled industrial-prototype reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazović, Saša; Puač, Nevena; Spasić, Kosta; Malović, Gordana; Petrović, Zoran Lj; Cvelbar, Uroš; Mozetič, Miran; Radetić, Maja

2013-01-01

We have developed a large-volume low-pressure cylindrical plasma reactor with a size that matches industrial reactors for treatment of textiles. It was shown that it efficiently produces plasmas with only a small increase in power as compared with a similar reactor with 50 times smaller volume. Plasma generated at 13.56 MHz was stable from transition to streamers and capable of long-term continuous operation. An industrial-scale asymmetric cylindrical reactor of simple design and construction enabled good control over a wide range of active plasma species and ion concentrations. Detailed characterization of the discharge was performed using derivative, Langmuir and catalytic probes which enabled determination of the optimal sets of plasma parameters necessary for successful industry implementation and process control. Since neutral atomic oxygen plays a major role in many of the material processing applications, its spatial profile was measured using nickel catalytic probe over a wide range of plasma parameters. The spatial profiles show diffusion profiles with particle production close to the powered electrode and significant wall losses due to surface recombination. Oxygen atom densities range from 10 19 m −3 near the powered electrode to 10 17 m −3 near the wall. The concentrations of ions at the same time are changing from 10 16 to the 10 15 m −3 at the grounded chamber wall. (paper)

On Assumptions in Development of a Mathematical Model of Thermo-gravitational Convection in the Large Volume Process Tanks Taking into Account Fermentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. M. Shkapov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The paper provides a mathematical model of thermo-gravity convection in a large volume vertical cylinder. The heat is removed from the product via the cooling jacket at the top of the cylinder. We suppose that a laminar fluid motion takes place. The model is based on the NavierStokes equation, the equation of heat transfer through the wall, and the heat transfer equation. The peculiarity of the process in large volume tanks was the distribution of the physical parameters of the coordinates that was taken into account when constructing the model. The model corresponds to a process of wort beer fermentation in the cylindrical-conical tanks (CCT. The CCT volume is divided into three zones and for each zone model equations was obtained. The first zone has an annular cross-section and it is limited to the height by the cooling jacket. In this zone the heat flow from the cooling jacket to the product is uppermost. Model equation of the first zone describes the process of heat transfer through the wall and is presented by linear inhomogeneous differential equation in partial derivatives that is solved analytically. For the second and third zones description there was a number of engineering assumptions. The fluid was considered Newtonian, viscous and incompressible. Convective motion considered in the Boussinesq approximation. The effect of viscous dissipation is not considered. The topology of fluid motion is similar to the cylindrical Poiseuille. The second zone model consists of the Navier-Stokes equations in cylindrical coordinates with the introduction of a simplified and the heat equation in the liquid layer. The volume that is occupied by an upward convective flow pertains to the third area. Convective flows do not mix and do not exchange heat. At the start of the process a medium has the same temperature and a zero initial velocity in the whole volume that allows us to specify the initial conditions for the process. The paper shows the

Rapid detection of undesired cosmetic ingredients by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Ouyang, Jie; An, Dongli; Chen, Tengteng; Lin, Zhiwei

2017-10-01

In recent years, cosmetic industry profits soared due to the widespread use of cosmetics, which resulted in illicit manufacturers and products of poor quality. Therefore, the rapid and accurate detection of the composition of cosmetics has become crucial. At present, numerous methods, such as gas chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, were available for the analysis of cosmetic ingredients. However, these methods present several limitations, such as failure to perform comprehensive and rapid analysis of the samples. Compared with other techniques, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry offered the advantages of wide detection range, fast speed and high accuracy. In this article, we briefly summarized how to select a suitable matrix and adjust the appropriate laser energy. We also discussed the rapid identification of undesired ingredients, focusing on antibiotics and hormones in cosmetics.

Characterization of large volume CdZnTe detectors with a quad-grid structure for the COBRA experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rohatsch, Katja [TU Dresden, Institut fuer Kern- und Teilchenphysik, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Collaboration: COBRA-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The COBRA experiment uses room temperature semiconductor detectors made of Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride, which contains several double beta isotopes, to search for neutrinoless double beta-decay. To compensate for poor hole transport in CdZnTe the detectors are equipped with a coplanar grid (CPG) instead of a planar anode. Currently, a demonstrator setup consisting of 64 1 cm{sup 3} CPG-detectors is in operation at the LNGS in Italy to prove the concept and to determine the long-term stability of the detectors and the instrumentation. For a future large scale experiment it is planned to use larger CdZnTe detectors with a volume of 6 cm{sup 3}, because of the better surface-to-volume ratio and the higher full energy detection efficiency. This will also reduce the background contribution of surface contaminations. Before the installation at the LNGS the new detector design is validated and studied in detail. This talk presents a laboratory experiment for the characterization with γ-radiation of 6 cm{sup 3} CdZnTe quad-grid detectors. The anode of such a detector is divided into four sub-CPGs. The characterization routine consists of the determination of the optimal working point and two-dimensional spatially resolved scans with a highly collimated γ-source.

Large-volume injection of sample diluents not miscible with the mobile phase as an alternative approach in sample preparation for bioanalysis: an application for fenspiride bioequivalence.

Science.gov (United States)

Medvedovici, Andrei; Udrescu, Stefan; Albu, Florin; Tache, Florentin; David, Victor

2011-09-01

Liquid-liquid extraction of target compounds from biological matrices followed by the injection of a large volume from the organic layer into the chromatographic column operated under reversed-phase (RP) conditions would successfully combine the selectivity and the straightforward character of the procedure in order to enhance sensitivity, compared with the usual approach of involving solvent evaporation and residue re-dissolution. Large-volume injection of samples in diluents that are not miscible with the mobile phase was recently introduced in chromatographic practice. The risk of random errors produced during the manipulation of samples is also substantially reduced. A bioanalytical method designed for the bioequivalence of fenspiride containing pharmaceutical formulations was based on a sample preparation procedure involving extraction of the target analyte and the internal standard (trimetazidine) from alkalinized plasma samples in 1-octanol. A volume of 75 µl from the octanol layer was directly injected on a Zorbax SB C18 Rapid Resolution, 50 mm length × 4.6 mm internal diameter × 1.8 µm particle size column, with the RP separation being carried out under gradient elution conditions. Detection was made through positive ESI and MS/MS. Aspects related to method development and validation are discussed. The bioanalytical method was successfully applied to assess bioequivalence of a modified release pharmaceutical formulation containing 80 mg fenspiride hydrochloride during two different studies carried out as single-dose administration under fasting and fed conditions (four arms), and multiple doses administration, respectively. The quality attributes assigned to the bioanalytical method, as resulting from its application to the bioequivalence studies, are highlighted and fully demonstrate that sample preparation based on large-volume injection of immiscible diluents has an increased potential for application in bioanalysis.

Large-volume excitation of air, argon, nitrogen and combustible mixtures by thermal jets produced by nanosecond spark discharges

Science.gov (United States)

Stepanyan, Sergey; Hayashi, Jun; Salmon, Arthur; Stancu, Gabi D.; Laux, Christophe O.

2017-04-01

This work presents experimental observations of strong expanding thermal jets following the application of nanosecond spark discharges. These jets propagate in a toroidal shape perpendicular to the interelectrode axis, with high velocities of up to 30 m s-1 and over distances of the order of a cm. Their propagation length is much larger than the thermal expansion region produced by the conventional millisecond sparks used in car engine ignition, thus greatly improving the volumetric excitation of gas mixtures. The shape and velocity of the jets is found to be fairly insensitive to the shape of the electrodes. In addition, their spatial extent is found to increase with the number of nanosecond sparks and with the discharge voltage, and to decrease slightly with the pressure between 1 and 7 atm at constant applied voltage. Finally, this thermal jet phenomenon is observed in experiments conducted with many types of gas mixtures, including air, nitrogen, argon, and combustible CH4/air mixtures. This makes nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharges particularly attractive for aerodynamic flow control or plasma-assisted combustion because of their ability to excite large volumes of gas, typically about 100 times the volume of the discharge.

Pretherapy metabolic tumour volume is an independent predictor of outcome in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sasanelli, Myriam; Meignan, Michel; Haioun, Corinne; Itti, Emmanuel [Paris-Est University, Nuclear Medicine and Lymphoid Malignancies Unit, Henri Mondor Hospital, Creteil (France); Berriolo-Riedinger, Alina; Casasnovas, Rene-Olivier [Nuclear Medicine and Hematology, Georges-Francois Leclerc Center, Le Bocage Hospital, Dijon (France); Biggi, Alberto; Gallamini, Andrea [Nuclear Medicine and Hematology, Santa Croce e Carle Hospital, Cuneo (Italy); Siegel, Barry A.; Cashen, Amanda F. [Washington University School of Medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Oncology, Siteman Cancer Center, St. Louis, MO (United States); Vera, Pierre; Tilly, Herve [Nuclear Medicine and Hematology, Henri Becquerel Center, Rouen (France); Versari, Annibale [Nuclear Medicine, Santa Maria Nuova Hospital-IRCCS, Reggio Emilia (Italy)

2014-11-15

We investigated the prognostic value of total metabolic tumour volume (TMTV) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). TMTV was measured in 114 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL who underwent {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT at baseline before immunochemotherapy. TMTV was computed by summing the volumes of all lymphomatous lesions after applying the local SUVmax threshold of 41 % using semiautomatic software. Prognostic value was assessed by Kaplan-Meier estimates of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Median follow-up was 39 months. Average pretherapy TMTV was 509 ± 568 cm{sup 3}. The 3-year estimates of PFS were 77 % in the low metabolic burden group (TMTV ≤550 cm{sup 3}) and 60 % in the high metabolic burden group (TMTV >550 cm{sup 3}, p = 0.04), and prediction of OS was even better (87 % vs. 60 %, p = 0.0003). Cox regression showed independence of TMTV for OS prediction (p = 0.002) compared with other pretherapy indices of tumour burden, such as tumour bulk and the International Prognostic Index. Pretherapy TMTV is an independent predictor of outcome in patients with DLBCL. (orig.)

Addressing challenges in bar-code scanning of large-volume infusion bags.

Science.gov (United States)

Raman, Kirthana; Heelon, Mark; Kerr, Gary; Higgins, Thomas L

2011-08-01

A hospital pharmacy's efforts to identify and address challenges with bedside scanning of bar codes on large-volume parenteral (LVP) infusion bags are described. Bar-code-assisted medication administration (BCMA) has been shown to reduce medication errors and improve patient safety. After the pilot implementation of a BCMA system and point-of-care scanning procedures at a medical center's intensive care unit, it was noted that nurses' attempted bedside scans of certain LVP bags for product identification purposes often were not successful. An investigation and root-cause analysis, including observation of nurses' scanning technique by a multidisciplinary team, determined that the scanning failures stemmed from the placement of two bar-code imprints-one with the product identification code and another, larger imprint with the expiration date and lot number-adjacently on the LVP bags. The nursing staff was educated on a modified scanning technique, which resulted in significantly improved success rates in the scanning of the most commonly used LVP bags. Representatives of the LVP bag manufacturer met with hospital staff to discuss the problem and corrective measures. As part of a subsequent infusion bag redesign, the manufacturer discontinued the use of the bar-code imprint implicated in the scanning failures. Failures in scanning LVP bags were traced to problematic placement of bar-code imprints on the bags. Interdisciplinary collaboration, consultation with the bag manufacturer, and education of the nursing and pharmacy staff resulted in a reduction in scanning failures and the manufacturer's removal of one of the bar codes from its LVP bags.

High-Dimensional Function Approximation With Neural Networks for Large Volumes of Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Andras, Peter

2018-02-01

Approximation of high-dimensional functions is a challenge for neural networks due to the curse of dimensionality. Often the data for which the approximated function is defined resides on a low-dimensional manifold and in principle the approximation of the function over this manifold should improve the approximation performance. It has been show that projecting the data manifold into a lower dimensional space, followed by the neural network approximation of the function over this space, provides a more precise approximation of the function than the approximation of the function with neural networks in the original data space. However, if the data volume is very large, the projection into the low-dimensional space has to be based on a limited sample of the data. Here, we investigate the nature of the approximation error of neural networks trained over the projection space. We show that such neural networks should have better approximation performance than neural networks trained on high-dimensional data even if the projection is based on a relatively sparse sample of the data manifold. We also find that it is preferable to use a uniformly distributed sparse sample of the data for the purpose of the generation of the low-dimensional projection. We illustrate these results considering the practical neural network approximation of a set of functions defined on high-dimensional data including real world data as well.

Large-Scale Context-Aware Volume Navigation using Dynamic Insets

KAUST Repository

Al-Awami, Ali

2012-07-01

Latest developments in electron microscopy (EM) technology produce high resolution images that enable neuro-scientists to identify and put together the complex neural connections in a nervous system. However, because of the massive size and underlying complexity of this kind of data, processing, navigation and analysis suffer drastically in terms of time and effort. In this work, we propose the use of state-of- the-art navigation techniques, such as dynamic insets, built on a peta-scale volume visualization framework to provide focus and context-awareness to help neuro-scientists in their mission to analyze, reconstruct, navigate and explore EM neuroscience data.

A State-of-the-Art Report on Technologies of Volume Reduction and Self-Disposal for Large Metal Wastes including the Steam Generator of Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kune Woo; Choi, W. K.; Kim, G. Y.

2009-06-01

This report focuses on technologies of volume reduction and self-disposal for large metal wastes including the steam generator of nuclear power plants. This report consists of the cases of treatments and foreign and domestic technologies for steam generator replacement

Dynamic illumination of spatially restricted or large brain volumes via a single tapered optical fiber.

Science.gov (United States)

Pisanello, Ferruccio; Mandelbaum, Gil; Pisanello, Marco; Oldenburg, Ian A; Sileo, Leonardo; Markowitz, Jeffrey E; Peterson, Ralph E; Della Patria, Andrea; Haynes, Trevor M; Emara, Mohamed S; Spagnolo, Barbara; Datta, Sandeep Robert; De Vittorio, Massimo; Sabatini, Bernardo L

2017-08-01

Optogenetics promises precise spatiotemporal control of neural processes using light. However, the spatial extent of illumination within the brain is difficult to control and cannot be adjusted using standard fiber optics. We demonstrate that optical fibers with tapered tips can be used to illuminate either spatially restricted or large brain volumes. Remotely adjusting the light input angle to the fiber varies the light-emitting portion of the taper over several millimeters without movement of the implant. We use this mode to activate dorsal versus ventral striatum of individual mice and reveal different effects of each manipulation on motor behavior. Conversely, injecting light over the full numerical aperture of the fiber results in light emission from the entire taper surface, achieving broader and more efficient optogenetic activation of neurons, compared to standard flat-faced fiber stimulation. Thus, tapered fibers permit focal or broad illumination that can be precisely and dynamically matched to experimental needs.

Heterogeneous asymmetric recombinase polymerase amplification (haRPA) for rapid hygiene control of large-volume water samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Elsäßer, Dennis; Ho, Johannes; Niessner, Reinhard; Tiehm, Andreas; Seidel, Michael

2018-04-01

Hygiene of drinking water is periodically controlled by cultivation and enumeration of indicator bacteria. Rapid and comprehensive measurements of emerging pathogens are of increasing interest to improve drinking water safety. In this study, the feasibility to detect bacteriophage PhiX174 as a potential indicator for virus contamination in large volumes of water is demonstrated. Three consecutive concentration methods (continuous ultrafiltration, monolithic adsorption filtration, and centrifugal ultrafiltration) were combined to concentrate phages stepwise from 1250 L drinking water into 1 mL. Heterogeneous asymmetric recombinase polymerase amplification (haRPA) is applied as rapid detection method. Field measurements were conducted to test the developed system for hygiene online monitoring under realistic conditions. We could show that this system allows the detection of artificial contaminations of bacteriophage PhiX174 in drinking water pipelines. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Considerations in reviewing the waste volume reduction program in a large utility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohout, R.; Calzolari, L.M.

1987-01-01

A program is underway at Ontario Hydro to establish a desirable future scheme for central processing/volume reduction of solid radioactive Low-Level Wastes (LLW) prior to their placement into the centralized storage, and in the future into a disposal facility. The approach being investigated is to furnish the current Waste Volume Reduction Facility (WVRF) with state-of-art processes, reclassify the waste categories and segregate the wastes such that each volume reduction (VR) process is then applied where it would be most effective. The ''optimized'' approach is then compared with other, specific schemes, which basically differ in that each scheme omits one of the major VR processes, thus allowing the next most effective process to take over its role. Each scheme is assessed quantitatively from the viewpoint of cost and VR effectiveness, and qualitatively from the viewpoint of resultant waste form. The economic assessments take into consideration the long term (20 year) impact of selected VR schemes on the overall waste management cost, including construction and operation of the storage facility. This paper highlights the overall study, includes the major results, and identifies aspects that need to be addressed in the selection of a desirable combination of VR processes in absence of knowledge of future waste disposal costs

The Viking viewer for connectomics: scalable multi-user annotation and summarization of large volume data sets.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, J R; Mohammed, S; Grimm, B; Jones, B W; Koshevoy, P; Tasdizen, T; Whitaker, R; Marc, R E

2011-01-01

Modern microscope automation permits the collection of vast amounts of continuous anatomical imagery in both two and three dimensions. These large data sets present significant challenges for data storage, access, viewing, annotation and analysis. The cost and overhead of collecting and storing the data can be extremely high. Large data sets quickly exceed an individual's capability for timely analysis and present challenges in efficiently applying transforms, if needed. Finally annotated anatomical data sets can represent a significant investment of resources and should be easily accessible to the scientific community. The Viking application was our solution created to view and annotate a 16.5 TB ultrastructural retinal connectome volume and we demonstrate its utility in reconstructing neural networks for a distinctive retinal amacrine cell class. Viking has several key features. (1) It works over the internet using HTTP and supports many concurrent users limited only by hardware. (2) It supports a multi-user, collaborative annotation strategy. (3) It cleanly demarcates viewing and analysis from data collection and hosting. (4) It is capable of applying transformations in real-time. (5) It has an easily extensible user interface, allowing addition of specialized modules without rewriting the viewer. © 2010 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2010 The Royal Microscopical Society.

SU-E-T-480: Radiobiological Dose Comparison of Single Fraction SRS, Multi-Fraction SRT and Multi-Stage SRS of Large Target Volumes Using the Linear-Quadratic Formula

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, C; Hrycushko, B; Jiang, S; Meyer, J; Timmerman, R

2014-01-01

Purpose: To compare the radiobiological effect on large tumors and surrounding normal tissues from single fraction SRS, multi-fractionated SRT, and multi-staged SRS treatment. Methods: An anthropomorphic head phantom with a centrally located large volume target (18.2 cm 3 ) was scanned using a 16 slice large bore CT simulator. Scans were imported to the Multiplan treatment planning system where a total prescription dose of 20Gy was used for a single, three staged and three fractionated treatment. Cyber Knife treatment plans were inversely optimized for the target volume to achieve at least 95% coverage of the prescription dose. For the multistage plan, the target was segmented into three subtargets having similar volume and shape. Staged plans for individual subtargets were generated based on a planning technique where the beam MUs of the original plan on the total target volume are changed by weighting the MUs based on projected beam lengths within each subtarget. Dose matrices for each plan were export in DICOM format and used to calculate equivalent dose distributions in 2Gy fractions using an alpha beta ratio of 10 for the target and 3 for normal tissue. Results: Singe fraction SRS, multi-stage plan and multi-fractionated SRT plans had an average 2Gy dose equivalent to the target of 62.89Gy, 37.91Gy and 33.68Gy, respectively. The normal tissue within 12Gy physical dose region had an average 2Gy dose equivalent of 29.55Gy, 16.08Gy and 13.93Gy, respectively. Conclusion: The single fraction SRS plan had the largest predicted biological effect for the target and the surrounding normal tissue. The multi-stage treatment provided for a more potent biologically effect on target compared to the multi-fraction SRT treatments with less biological normal tissue than single-fraction SRS treatment

Nanofluids and chemical highly retentive hydrogels for controlled and selective removal of overpaintings and undesired graffiti from street art.

Science.gov (United States)

Giorgi, Rodorico; Baglioni, Michele; Baglioni, Piero

2017-06-01

One of the main problems connected to the conservation of street art is the selective removal of overlying undesired graffiti, i.e., drawings and tags. Unfortunately, selective and controlled removal of graffiti and overpaintings from street art is almost unachievable using traditional methodologies. Recently, the use of nanofluids confined in highly retentive pHEMA/PVP semi-interpenetrated polymer networks was proposed. Here, we report on the selective removal of acrylic overpaintings from a layer of acrylic paint on mortar mockups in laboratory tests. The results of the cleaning tests were characterized by visual and photographic observation, optical microscopy, and FT-IR microreflectance investigation. It was shown that this methodology represents a major advancement with respect to the use of nonconfined neat solvents.

Moduli stabilization, large-volume dS minimum without D3-branes, (non-)supersymmetric black hole attractors and two-parameter Swiss cheese Calabi–Yau’s

CERN Document Server

Misra, A

2008-01-01

We consider two sets of issues in this paper. The first has to do with moduli stabilization, existence of “area codes” [A. Giryavets, New attractors and area codes, JHEP 0603 (2006) 020, hep-th/0511215] and the possibility of getting a non-supersymmetric dS minimum without the addition of -branes as in KKLT for type II flux compactifications. The second has to do with the “inverse problem” [K. Saraikin, C. Vafa, Non-supersymmetric black holes and topological strings, hep-th/0703214] and “fake superpotentials” [A. Ceresole, G. Dall'Agata, Flow equations for non-BPS extremal black holes, JHEP 0703 (2007) 110, hep-th/0702088] for extremal (non-)supersymmetric black holes in type II compactifications. We use (orientifold of) a “Swiss cheese” Calabi–Yau [J.P. Conlon, F. Quevedo, K. Suruliz, Large-volume flux compactifications: Moduli spectrum and D3/D7 soft supersymmetry breaking, JHEP 0508 (2005) 007, hep-th/0505076] expressed as a degree-18 hypersurface in WCP4[1,1,1,6,9] in the “large-volume...

Type IIB orientifolds, D-brane instantons and the large volume scenario

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plauschinn, Erik

2009-07-28

This thesis is concerned with a branch of research in String Theory called String Phenomenology which aims for a better understanding of the connection between String Theory and Particle Physics. In particular, in this work we cover three topics which are important in order to establish this connection. The first topic is about String Theory model building in the context of so-called type IIB orientifolds with orientifold three- and seven-planes. After giving a brief overview, we work out in detail an important consistency condition for String Theory constructions, the so-called tadpole cancellation condition, and we verify explicitly that chiral anomalies are cancelled via the generalised Green-Schwarz mechanism. The second topic is concerned with so-called D-brane instantons which are nonperturbative effects in type II String Theory constructions. We recall the instanton calculus for such configurations, we derive the so-called A eck-Dine-Seiberg superpotential in String Theory and we develop an important constraint, a chiral zero-mode constraint, for instanton contributions in the presence of a realistic Particle Physics sector. The third topic is about moduli stabilisation in type IIB string compactifications. More concretely, we review the so-called KKLT as well as Large Volume Scenario, and we construct and study a model for the latter scenario where the constraint mentioned above has been taken into account explicitly. Although the three topics studied in this thesis are slightly different in nature, there is nevertheless a complex interplay between them with many interrelations. In order to uncover these connections, a detailed study of each individual subject has been performed which has led to new results such as the chiral zero-mode constraint. (orig.)

Type IIB orientifolds, D-brane instantons and the large volume scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plauschinn, Erik

2009-01-01

This thesis is concerned with a branch of research in String Theory called String Phenomenology which aims for a better understanding of the connection between String Theory and Particle Physics. In particular, in this work we cover three topics which are important in order to establish this connection. The first topic is about String Theory model building in the context of so-called type IIB orientifolds with orientifold three- and seven-planes. After giving a brief overview, we work out in detail an important consistency condition for String Theory constructions, the so-called tadpole cancellation condition, and we verify explicitly that chiral anomalies are cancelled via the generalised Green-Schwarz mechanism. The second topic is concerned with so-called D-brane instantons which are nonperturbative effects in type II String Theory constructions. We recall the instanton calculus for such configurations, we derive the so-called A eck-Dine-Seiberg superpotential in String Theory and we develop an important constraint, a chiral zero-mode constraint, for instanton contributions in the presence of a realistic Particle Physics sector. The third topic is about moduli stabilisation in type IIB string compactifications. More concretely, we review the so-called KKLT as well as Large Volume Scenario, and we construct and study a model for the latter scenario where the constraint mentioned above has been taken into account explicitly. Although the three topics studied in this thesis are slightly different in nature, there is nevertheless a complex interplay between them with many interrelations. In order to uncover these connections, a detailed study of each individual subject has been performed which has led to new results such as the chiral zero-mode constraint. (orig.)

Effect of NaOH on large-volume sample stacking of haloacetic acids in capillary zone electrophoresis with a low-pH buffer.

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Chuanhong; Zhu, Lingyan; Ang, Chay Hoon; Lee, Hian Kee

2003-06-01

Large-volume sample stacking (LVSS) is an effective on-capillary sample concentration method in capillary zone electrophoresis, which can be applied to the sample in a low-conductivity matrix. NaOH solution is commonly used to back-extract acidic compounds from organic solvent in sample pretreatment. The effect of NaOH as sample matrix on LVSS of haloacetic acids was investigated in this study. It was found that the presence of NaOH in sample did not compromise, but rather help the sample stacking performance if a low pH background electrolyte (BGE) was used. The sensitivity enhancement factor was higher than the case when sample was dissolved in pure water or diluted BGE. Compared with conventional injection (0.4% capillary volume), 97-120-fold sensitivity enhancement in terms of peak height was obtained without deterioration of separation with an injection amount equal to 20% of the capillary volume. This method was applied to determine haloacetic acids in tap water by combination with liquid-liquid extraction and back-extraction into NaOH solution. Limits of detection at sub-ppb levels were obtained for real samples with direct UV detection.

Cavourography in children with large and giant omphalocele; Kavaurografiya u detej pri bol'shikh i gigantskikh omfalotsele

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mazur, V G [Sannkt-Peterburgskaya Pediatricheskaya Meditsinskaya Akademiya, Kafedra Luchevoj Diagnostiki i Luchevoj Terapii, S.-Peterburg (Russian Federation)

1995-12-01

The paper presents the results of using a cavourographic procedure in 37 children with large and giant omphalocele prior to the radical operation displacement of organs from hernial protrusion into the abdominal cavity. High percentages (54 and 96 %) of changes in the vena cava und urinary tract, respectively, make the author recommend this procedure for all children with this congenital anomaly. The findings help surgeons choose treatment policy and avoid undesirable complications.

THE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN THE MANAGEMENT AND PROCESSING OF LARGE DATA VOLUMES IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CARINA-ELENA STEGĂROIU

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Under a computerized society, technological resources become a source of identification for any community, institution or country. Globalization of information becomes a reality, all the resources having entered into a relationship of subordination with the World Wide Web, the information highways and the Internet. "Information technology - with its most important branch, data management computer science - enters a new era, in which the computer leads to the benefit of a navigable and transparent communication space, focusing on information". Therefore, in an information-based economy, information systems have been established which, based on management systems through the methods of algebra, with applications in economic engineering, have come to manage and process large volumes of data, especially in public institutions. Consequently, the Ministry of Public Affairs has implemented the “Increasing the public administration’s responsibility by modernising the information systems for generating the reports of the financial situations of public institutions” project (FOREXEBUG”, cod SMIS 34952, for which it received in 2012 non-refundable financing from the European Social Fund through the Operational Program for Developing the Administrative Capacity 2007-2013, based on which this paper will analyse the usefulness of implementing such a program in public institutions. Such a system aims to achieve a new form of reporting of budget execution and financial statements (including information related to legal commitments submitted monthly by each public institution in electronic, standardized, secure form, with increasing the reliability of data collected by cross-checking data from the treasury and providing reliable information for use by the Ministry of Finance, public institutions, other relevant institutions and the public, both at the level of detail and the consolidation possibilities at various levels, in parallel with their use for

Spatial and temporal distribution of pore gas concentrations during mainstream large-scale trough composting in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Jianfei; Shen, Xiuli; Sun, Xiaoxi; Liu, Ning; Han, Lujia; Huang, Guangqun

2018-05-01

With the advantages of high treatment capacity and low operational cost, large-scale trough composting has become one of the mainstream composting patterns in composting plants in China. This study measured concentrations of O 2 , CO 2 , CH 4 and NH 3 on-site to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of pore gas concentrations during mainstream large-scale trough composting in China. The results showed that the temperature in the center of the pile was obviously higher than that in the side of the pile. Pore O 2 concentration rapidly decreased and maintained composting process during large-scale trough composting when the pile was naturally aerated, which will contribute to improving the current undesirable atmosphere environment in China. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time varying, multivariate volume data reduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahrens, James P [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Fout, Nathaniel [UC DAVIS; Ma, Kwan - Liu [UC DAVIS

2010-01-01

Large-scale supercomputing is revolutionizing the way science is conducted. A growing challenge, however, is understanding the massive quantities of data produced by large-scale simulations. The data, typically time-varying, multivariate, and volumetric, can occupy from hundreds of gigabytes to several terabytes of storage space. Transferring and processing volume data of such sizes is prohibitively expensive and resource intensive. Although it may not be possible to entirely alleviate these problems, data compression should be considered as part of a viable solution, especially when the primary means of data analysis is volume rendering. In this paper we present our study of multivariate compression, which exploits correlations among related variables, for volume rendering. Two configurations for multidimensional compression based on vector quantization are examined. We emphasize quality reconstruction and interactive rendering, which leads us to a solution using graphics hardware to perform on-the-fly decompression during rendering. In this paper we present a solution which addresses the need for data reduction in large supercomputing environments where data resulting from simulations occupies tremendous amounts of storage. Our solution employs a lossy encoding scheme to acrueve data reduction with several options in terms of rate-distortion behavior. We focus on encoding of multiple variables together, with optional compression in space and time. The compressed volumes can be rendered directly with commodity graphics cards at interactive frame rates and rendering quality similar to that of static volume renderers. Compression results using a multivariate time-varying data set indicate that encoding multiple variables results in acceptable performance in the case of spatial and temporal encoding as compared to independent compression of variables. The relative performance of spatial vs. temporal compression is data dependent, although temporal compression has the

Bulk-volume behavior of pressure-densified amorphous polymers and free-volume behavior by positron annihilation lifetime measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagiwara, K.; Ougizawa, T.; Inoue, T.; Hirata, K.; Kobayashi, Y.

2001-01-01

In order to study the nature of amorphous polymers, the free volume contribution on the bulk volume change was investigated on the basis of the relationship between the bulk volume behavior by PVT (pressure-volume-temperature) measurement and the free volume behavior by PALS (positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy) measurement. A densified glass, prepared by cooling at constant rate from the melt state temperature to room temperature under 200 MPa, showed smaller bulk volume and free volume than non-densified glass. And the densified glass showed not only the same glass transition temperature (Tg) as non-densified glass but also another transition at lower temperature around (Tg-30 C). In this glass-glass transition, both the bulk volume and free volume of densified glass recovered to those of non-densified glass. Moreover the densified glass showed different thermal behavior from the glass which was enthalpy-relaxed under atmospheric pressure. From those results, it was considered that the free volume behavior largely related to the behavior of amorphous polymers. (orig.)

New large volume Calabi-Yau threefolds

Science.gov (United States)

Altman, Ross; He, Yang-Hui; Jejjala, Vishnu; Nelson, Brent D.

2018-02-01

In previous work, we have commenced the task of unpacking the 473 800 776 reflexive polyhedra by Kreuzer and Skarke into a database of Calabi-Yau threefolds [R. Altman et al. J. High Energy Phys. 02 (2015) 158., 10.1007/JHEP02(2015)158] (see www.rossealtman.com). In this paper, following a pedagogical introduction, we present a new algorithm to isolate Swiss cheese solutions characterized by "holes," or small 4-cycles, descending from the toric divisors inherent to the original four dimensional reflexive polyhedra. Implementing these methods, we find 2268 explicit Swiss cheese manifolds, over half of which have h1 ,1=6 . Many of our solutions have multiple large cycles. Such Swiss cheese geometries facilitate moduli stabilization in string compactifications and provide flat directions for cosmological inflation.

Robotic Assisted Simple Prostatectomy versus Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Patients with Large Volume Prostate: A Comparative Analysis from a High Volume Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Umari, Paolo; Fossati, Nicola; Gandaglia, Giorgio; Pokorny, Morgan; De Groote, Ruben; Geurts, Nicolas; Goossens, Marijn; Schatterman, Peter; De Naeyer, Geert; Mottrie, Alexandre

2017-04-01

We report a comparative analysis of robotic assisted simple prostatectomy vs holmium laser enucleation of the prostate in patients who had benign prostatic hyperplasia with a large volume prostate (greater than 100 ml). A total of 81 patients underwent robotic assisted simple prostatectomy and 45 underwent holmium laser enucleation of the prostate in a 7-year period. Patients were preoperatively assessed with transrectal ultrasound and uroflowmetry. Functional parameters were assessed postoperatively during followup. Perioperative outcomes included operative time, postoperative hemoglobin, catheterization time and hospitalization. Complications were reported according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. Compared to the holmium laser enucleation group, patients treated with prostatectomy were significantly younger (median age 69 vs 74 years, p = 0.032) and less healthy (Charlson comorbidity index 2 or greater in 62% vs 29%, p = 0.0003), and had a lower rate of suprapubic catheterization (23% vs 42%, p = 0.028) and a higher preoperative I-PSS (International Prostate Symptom Score) (25 vs 21, p = 0.049). Both groups showed an improvement in the maximum flow rate (15 vs 11 ml per second, p = 0.7), and a significant reduction in post-void residual urine (-73 vs -100 ml, p = 0.4) and I-PSS (-20 vs -18, p = 0.8). Median operative time (105 vs 105 minutes, p = 0.9) and postoperative hemoglobin (13.2 vs 13.8 gm/dl, p = 0.08) were similar for robotic assisted prostatectomy and holmium laser enucleation, respectively. Median catheterization time (3 vs 2 days, p = 0.005) and median hospitalization (4 vs 2 days, p = 0.0001) were slightly shorter in the holmium laser group. Complication rates were similar with no Clavien grade greater than 3 in either group. Our results from a single center suggest comparable outcomes for robotic assisted simple prostatectomy and holmium laser enucleation of the prostate in patients with a large volume prostate. These findings require

Diamagnetic composite material structure for reducing undesired electromagnetic interference and eddy currents in dielectric wall accelerators and other devices

Science.gov (United States)

Caporaso, George J.; Poole, Brian R.; Hawkins, Steven A.

2015-06-30

The devices, systems and techniques disclosed here can be used to reduce undesired effects by magnetic field induced eddy currents based on a diamagnetic composite material structure including diamagnetic composite sheets that are separated from one another to provide a high impedance composite material structure. In some implementations, each diamagnetic composite sheet includes patterned conductor layers are separated by a dielectric material and each patterned conductor layer includes voids and conductor areas. The voids in the patterned conductor layers of each diamagnetic composite sheet are arranged to be displaced in position from one patterned conductor layer to an adjacent patterned conductor layer while conductor areas of the patterned conductor layers collectively form a contiguous conductor structure in each diamagnetic composite sheet to prevent penetration by a magnetic field.

Transform coding for hardware-accelerated volume rendering.

Science.gov (United States)

Fout, Nathaniel; Ma, Kwan-Liu

2007-01-01

Hardware-accelerated volume rendering using the GPU is now the standard approach for real-time volume rendering, although limited graphics memory can present a problem when rendering large volume data sets. Volumetric compression in which the decompression is coupled to rendering has been shown to be an effective solution to this problem; however, most existing techniques were developed in the context of software volume rendering, and all but the simplest approaches are prohibitive in a real-time hardware-accelerated volume rendering context. In this paper we present a novel block-based transform coding scheme designed specifically with real-time volume rendering in mind, such that the decompression is fast without sacrificing compression quality. This is made possible by consolidating the inverse transform with dequantization in such a way as to allow most of the reprojection to be precomputed. Furthermore, we take advantage of the freedom afforded by off-line compression in order to optimize the encoding as much as possible while hiding this complexity from the decoder. In this context we develop a new block classification scheme which allows us to preserve perceptually important features in the compression. The result of this work is an asymmetric transform coding scheme that allows very large volumes to be compressed and then decompressed in real-time while rendering on the GPU.

Reduction of undesired lateral forces acting on the flapper of a flapper–nozzle pilot valve by using an innovative flapper shape

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Shengzhuo; Aung, Nay Zar; Li, Songjing

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The simulated flow rate and main flow force show a good agreement with experiments. • The innovative flapper has little influence on the flow-pressure characteristics. • The innovative flapper can greatly reduce the Y direction force on the upper part. • The innovative flapper reduces both the X and Z direction forces on the lower part. - Abstract: The stability and dynamic performance of a flapper–nozzle pilot valve significantly depend on the flow forces acting on the flapper. Due to the shape of the flapper and flow structure in the flapper–nozzle pilot valve there are undesired lateral forces acting on the flapper, which are very potential to interfere with the stability of the flapper. Aiming to reduce these undesired lateral forces, an innovative flapper shape is proposed and a comparative study of flow forces acting on the two different flapper shapes is conducted. A simple rectangle shape is selected as the innovative flapper shape. The flow forces acting on the traditional flapper shape and innovative flapper shape are evaluated by means of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations and verified with the results from the semi-experimental approach. The evaluation of the flow forces is performed for each flapper shape with two different flapper–nozzle clearances of 0.10 mm and 0.05 mm under seven different flow conditions with the variation of inlet pressures from 1 MPa to 7 MPa. A good agreement between CFD results and semi-experimental results shows that the proposed innovative flapper shape has no effect on flow control characteristics since it is giving approximately the same flow rate and main flow force as the traditional flapper shape at every flow condition. Meanwhile the innovative flapper shape effectively reduces the undesired lateral forces acting on the flapper by altering the flow structure and reducing the strength of the jet flow and cavitation occurred in the flow field of flapper–nozzle pilot valve. At the

Large Deployable Reflector (LDR) system concept and technology definition study. Volume 1: Executive summary, analyses and trades, and system concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Agnew, Donald L.; Jones, Peter A.

1989-01-01

A study was conducted to define reasonable and representative large deployable reflector (LDR) system concepts for the purpose of defining a technology development program aimed at providing the requisite technological capability necessary to start LDR development by the end of 1991. This volume includes the executive summary for the total study, a report of thirteen system analysis and trades tasks (optical configuration, aperture size, reflector material, segmented mirror, optical subsystem, thermal, pointing and control, transportation to orbit, structures, contamination control, orbital parameters, orbital environment, and spacecraft functions), and descriptions of three selected LDR system concepts. Supporting information is contained in appendices.

Coupled Finite Volume and Finite Element Method Analysis of a Complex Large-Span Roof Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Szafran, J.; Juszczyk, K.; Kamiński, M.

2017-12-01

The main goal of this paper is to present coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics and structural analysis for the precise determination of wind impact on internal forces and deformations of structural elements of a longspan roof structure. The Finite Volume Method (FVM) serves for a solution of the fluid flow problem to model the air flow around the structure, whose results are applied in turn as the boundary tractions in the Finite Element Method problem structural solution for the linear elastostatics with small deformations. The first part is carried out with the use of ANSYS 15.0 computer system, whereas the FEM system Robot supports stress analysis in particular roof members. A comparison of the wind pressure distribution throughout the roof surface shows some differences with respect to that available in the engineering designing codes like Eurocode, which deserves separate further numerical studies. Coupling of these two separate numerical techniques appears to be promising in view of future computational models of stochastic nature in large scale structural systems due to the stochastic perturbation method.

Development of large-volume, high-resolution tracking detectors based on capillaries filled with liquid scintillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buontempo, S.; Fabre, J.P.; Frenkel, A.; Gregoire, G.; Hoepfner, K.; Konijn, J.; Kozarenko, E.; Kreslo, I.; Kushnirenko, A.; Martellotti, G.; Michel, L.; Mondardini, M.R.; Penso, G.; Siegmund, W.P.; Strack, R.; Tyukov, V.; Vasilchenko, V.; Vilain, P.; Wilquet, G.; Winter, K.; Wong, H.; Zymin, K.

1995-01-01

Searches for the decay of short-lived particles require real time, high-resolution tracking in active targets, which in the case of neutrino physics should be of large volume. The possibility of achieving this by using glass capillaries filled with organic liquid scintillator is being investigated in the framework of the CHORUS experiment at CERN. In this paper, after outlining the application foreseen, advances in the tracking technique are discussed and results from tests are reported. An active target of dimensions 180x2x2 cm 3 has been assembled from capillaries with 20 μm diameter pores. The readout scheme currently in operation allows the reading of similar 5x10 5 channels using a single chain of image intensifiers having a resolution of σ similar 20 μm. Following the development of new liquid scintillators and purification methods an attenuation length of similar 3 m has been obtained. This translates into a hit density of 3.5 per mm for a minimum-ionizing particle that crosses the active target at a distance of 1 m from the readout end. (orig.)

A critical assessment for the value of markers to gate-out undesired events in HLA-peptide multimer staining protocols

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Odunsi Kunle

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The introduction of antibody markers to identify undesired cell populations in flow-cytometry based assays, so called DUMP channel markers, has become a practice in an increasing number of labs performing HLA-peptide multimer assays. However, the impact of the introduction of a DUMP channel in multimer assays has so far not been systematically investigated across a broad variety of protocols. Methods The Cancer Research Institute's Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium (CRI-CIC conducted a multimer proficiency panel with a specific focus on the impact of DUMP channel use. The panel design allowed individual laboratories to use their own protocol for thawing, staining, gating, and data analysis. Each experiment was performed twice and in parallel, with and without the application of a dump channel strategy. Results The introduction of a DUMP channel is an effective measure to reduce the amount of non-specific MULTIMER binding to T cells. Beneficial effects for the use of a DUMP channel were observed across a wide range of individual laboratories and for all tested donor-antigen combinations. In 48% of experiments we observed a reduction of the background MULTIMER-binding. In this subgroup of experiments the median background reduction observed after introduction of a DUMP channel was 0.053%. Conclusions We conclude that appropriate use of a DUMP channel can significantly reduce background staining across a large fraction of protocols and improve the ability to accurately detect and quantify the frequency of antigen-specific T cells by multimer reagents. Thus, use of a DUMP channel may become crucial for detecting low frequency antigen-specific immune responses. Further recommendations on assay performance and data presentation guidelines for publication of MULTIMER experimental data are provided.

HARNESSING BIG DATA VOLUMES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogdan DINU

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Big Data can revolutionize humanity. Hidden within the huge amounts and variety of the data we are creating we may find information, facts, social insights and benchmarks that were once virtually impossible to find or were simply inexistent. Large volumes of data allow organizations to tap in real time the full potential of all the internal or external information they possess. Big data calls for quick decisions and innovative ways to assist customers and the society as a whole. Big data platforms and product portfolio will help customers harness to the full the value of big data volumes. This paper deals with technical and technological issues related to handling big data volumes in the Big Data environment.

Formation of undesired by-products in deNO{sub x} catalysis by hydrocarbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radtke, Frank; Koeppel, Rene A; Baiker, Alfons [Department of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH-Zentrum, Zuerich (Switzerland)

1995-11-20

The catalytic performance of Cu/ZSM-5 and {gamma}-alumina in the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides by alkenes in excess oxygen and the formation of potentially harmful by-products such as hydrogen cyanide, cyanic acid, ammonia, nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide have been studied by means of FT-IR-gas phase analysis. Over Cu/ZSM-5 the reduction activity was strongly influenced by the type of hydrocarbon, while there was no significant difference when starting from NO or NO{sub 2}. In contrast, with {gamma}-alumina NO{sub 2} was reduced more efficiently than NO with both reductants. Water addition strongly suppressed the catalytic activity of {gamma}-alumina. Regarding the formation of undesired by-products, substantial amounts of carbon monoxide were observed in all experiments, independently of the feed composition. The type of catalyst, the use of either NO or NO{sub 2}, the alkene used as a reductant and water strongly influenced the formation of other by-products. With alumina ethene showed a lower tendency to form HCN as compared to propene and water addition further suppressed by-product formation. This contrasts the findings with Cu/ZSM-5, where HCN production was not significantly altered by the presence of water. On this catalyst HNCO was found additionally for dry feeds, whereas ammonia appeared in the presence of water in the same temperature range. Under special feed gas compositions further by-products, formaldehyde and hydrocarbons, were found over Cu/ZSM-5, whereas none of these compounds were observed over {gamma}-alumina

A 5 kA pulsed power supply for inductive and plasma loads in large volume plasma device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Srivastava, P. K., E-mail: pkumar@ipr.res.in; Singh, S. K.; Sanyasi, A. K.; Awasthi, L. M., E-mail: kushagra.lalit@gmail.com; Mattoo, S. K. [Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar (India)

2016-07-15

This paper describes 5 kA, 12 ms pulsed power supply for inductive load of Electron Energy Filter (EEF) in large volume plasma device. The power supply is based upon the principle of rapid sourcing of energy from the capacitor bank (2.8 F/200 V) by using a static switch, comprising of ten Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs). A suitable mechanism is developed to ensure equal sharing of current and uniform power distribution during the operation of these IGBTs. Safe commutation of power to the EEF is ensured by the proper optimization of its components and by the introduction of over voltage protection (>6 kV) using an indigenously designed snubber circuit. Various time sequences relevant to different actions of power supply, viz., pulse width control and repetition rate, are realized through optically isolated computer controlled interface.

A pomegranate-inspired nanoscale design for large-volume-change lithium battery anodes

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Nian; Lu, Zhenda; Zhao, Jie; McDowell, Matthew T.; Lee, Hyun-Wook; Zhao, Wenting; Cui, Yi

2014-03-01

Silicon is an attractive material for anodes in energy storage devices, because it has ten times the theoretical capacity of its state-of-the-art carbonaceous counterpart. Silicon anodes can be used both in traditional lithium-ion batteries and in more recent Li-O2 and Li-S batteries as a replacement for the dendrite-forming lithium metal anodes. The main challenges associated with silicon anodes are structural degradation and instability of the solid-electrolyte interphase caused by the large volume change (~300%) during cycling, the occurrence of side reactions with the electrolyte, and the low volumetric capacity when the material size is reduced to a nanometre scale. Here, we propose a hierarchical structured silicon anode that tackles all three of these problems. Our design is inspired by the structure of a pomegranate, where single silicon nanoparticles are encapsulated by a conductive carbon layer that leaves enough room for expansion and contraction following lithiation and delithiation. An ensemble of these hybrid nanoparticles is then encapsulated by a thicker carbon layer in micrometre-size pouches to act as an electrolyte barrier. As a result of this hierarchical arrangement, the solid-electrolyte interphase remains stable and spatially confined, resulting in superior cyclability (97% capacity retention after 1,000 cycles). In addition, the microstructures lower the electrode-electrolyte contact area, resulting in high Coulombic efficiency (99.87%) and volumetric capacity (1,270 mAh cm-3), and the cycling remains stable even when the areal capacity is increased to the level of commercial lithium-ion batteries (3.7 mAh cm-2).

AGN Populations in Large-volume X-Ray Surveys: Photometric Redshifts and Population Types Found in the Stripe 82X Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Ananna, Tonima Tasnin; Salvato, Mara; LaMassa, Stephanie; Urry, C. Megan; Cappelluti, Nico; Cardamone, Carolin; Civano, Francesca; Farrah, Duncan; Gilfanov, Marat; Glikman, Eilat; Hamilton, Mark; Kirkpatrick, Allison; Lanzuisi, Giorgio; Marchesi, Stefano; Merloni, Andrea; Nandra, Kirpal; Natarajan, Priyamvada; Richards, Gordon T.; Timlin, John

2017-11-01

Multiwavelength surveys covering large sky volumes are necessary to obtain an accurate census of rare objects such as high-luminosity and/or high-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Stripe 82X is a 31.3 X-ray survey with Chandra and XMM-Newton observations overlapping the legacy Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82 field, which has a rich investment of multiwavelength coverage from the ultraviolet to the radio. The wide-area nature of this survey presents new challenges for photometric redshifts for AGNs compared to previous work on narrow-deep fields because it probes different populations of objects that need to be identified and represented in the library of templates. Here we present an updated X-ray plus multiwavelength matched catalog, including Spitzer counterparts, and estimated photometric redshifts for 5961 (96% of a total of 6181) X-ray sources that have a normalized median absolute deviation, σnmad=0.06, and an outlier fraction, η = 13.7%. The populations found in this survey and the template libraries used for photometric redshifts provide important guiding principles for upcoming large-area surveys such as eROSITA and 3XMM (in X-ray) and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (optical).

Transporting large volumes of residual radioactive material: FUSRAP solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pressnell, T.; McDaniel, P.; Darby, J.

1997-01-01

During the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, many sites in the United States were used by the Manhattan Engineer District and the Atomic Energy Commission for processing and storing uranium and thorium ores and metals. Some of the sites were owned by the federal government; others were owned by universities or other institutions; and still others, such as chemical plants, were privately owned. The Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) is one of several U.S. Department of Energy programs created to address radioactive contamination in excess of guidelines at these sites. FUSRAP currently includes 46 sites in 14 states. This article includes the following topics in describing FUSRAP work: Logistics challenges; engineering challenges (package inspection, equipment compatability, moisture content requirements, waste volume estimation); Traffic management

Characterization of Pliocene and Miocene Formations in the Wilmington Graben, Offshore Los Angeles, for Large-Scale Geologic Storage of CO₂

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruno, Michael [Geomechanics Technologies, Incorporated, Monrovia, CA (United States)

2014-12-08

Geomechanics Technologies has completed a detailed characterization study of the Wilmington Graben offshore Southern California area for large-scale CO₂ storage. This effort has included: an evaluation of existing wells in both State and Federal waters, field acquisition of about 175 km (109 mi) of new seismic data, new well drilling, development of integrated 3D geologic, geomechanics, and fluid flow models for the area. The geologic analysis indicates that more than 796 MMt of storage capacity is available within the Pliocene and Miocene formations in the Graben for midrange geologic estimates (P50). Geomechanical analyses indicate that injection can be conducted without significant risk for surface deformation, induced stresses or fault activation. Numerical analysis of fluid migration indicates that injection into the Pliocene Formation at depths of 1525 m (5000 ft) would lead to undesirable vertical migration of the CO₂ plume. Recent well drilling however, indicates that deeper sand is present at depths exceeding 2135 m (7000 ft), which could be viable for large volume storage. For vertical containment, injection would need to be limited to about 250,000 metric tons per year per well, would need to be placed at depths greater than 7000ft, and would need to be placed in new wells located at least 1 mile from any existing offset wells. As a practical matter, this would likely limit storage operations in the Wilmington Graben to about 1 million tons per year or less. A quantitative risk analysis for the Wilmington Graben indicate that such large scale CO₂ storage in the area would represent higher risk than other similar size projects in the US and overseas.

Combined low-volume polyethylene glycol solution plus stimulant laxatives versus standard-volume polyethylene glycol solution: A prospective, randomized study of colon cleansing before colonoscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Hookey, Lawrence C; Depew, William T; Vanner, Stephen J

2006-01-01

INTRODUCTION The effectiveness of polyethylene glycol solutions (PEG) for colon cleansing is often limited by the inability of patients to drink adequate portions of the 4 L solution. The aim of the present study was to determine whether a reduced volume of PEG combined with stimulant laxatives would be better tolerated and as or more effective than the standard dose. METHODS Patients undergoing outpatient colonoscopy were randomly assigned to receive either low-volume PEG plus sennosides (120 mg oral sennosides syrup followed by 2 L PEG) or the standard volume preparation (4 L PEG). The subjects rated the tolerability of the preparations and their symptoms. Colonoscopists were blind to the colonic cleansing preparation and graded the cleansing efficacy using a validated tool (the Ottawa scale). RESULTS The low-volume PEG plus sennosides preparation was significantly better tolerated than the standard large volume PEG (Psennosides preparation was better tolerated, it was not as effective as standard large-volume PEG. However, in view of the significant difference in tolerance, further research investigating possible improvements in the reduced-volume regimen seems warranted. PMID:16482236

Protecting Privacy in Shared Photos via Adversarial Examples Based Stealth

OpenAIRE

Liu, Yujia; Zhang, Weiming; Yu, Nenghai

2017-01-01

Online image sharing in social platforms can lead to undesired privacy disclosure. For example, some enterprises may detect these large volumes of uploaded images to do users’ in-depth preference analysis for commercial purposes. And their technology might be today’s most powerful learning model, deep neural network (DNN). To just elude these automatic DNN detectors without affecting visual quality of human eyes, we design and implement a novel Stealth algorithm, which makes the automatic det...

Large deviations

CERN Document Server

Deuschel, Jean-Dominique; Deuschel, Jean-Dominique

2001-01-01

This is the second printing of the book first published in 1988. The first four chapters of the volume are based on lectures given by Stroock at MIT in 1987. They form an introduction to the basic ideas of the theory of large deviations and make a suitable package on which to base a semester-length course for advanced graduate students with a strong background in analysis and some probability theory. A large selection of exercises presents important material and many applications. The last two chapters present various non-uniform results (Chapter 5) and outline the analytic approach that allow

Large eight.cylinder Stirling engine for biofuels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carlsen, Henrik; Biedermann, F.; Bovin, Jonas Kabell

2003-01-01

A large Stirling engine with an electric power output of 70 kW has been developed for small-scale CHP using wood chips and other sorts of biomass as fuel. The development of the engine is based on the results from the development of a four-cylinder Stirling engine with a power output of 35 k...... in the hot end connecting the expansion space with the hot end of the regenerator through the heater panel. However, this has resulted in comparably large dead volumes and flow losses in the connections between the heater and the regenerator/expansion volume. For the new eight-cylinder engine the design...... of the connections between the heater and the regenerator/expansion volume have been improved considerably, reducing the flow losses and internal dead volume. Results from simulations indicate an improvement of power output and efficiency of about 10%. A four cylinder double acting Stirling engine is basically...

Commercial Bank Efficiency Evaluation in Consideration of the Undesirable Output and Its Link with Stakeholders Relationship: An Application of China’s Commercial Banks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianyue Ji

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Based on the modern contract theory, expectancy theory, and stakeholder theory, this paper analyzes how stakeholders relationship influences the efficiency of commercial banks and finds that the efficiency is a function of stakeholders relationship. A DEA model with Seiford's linear transformation function is developed to evaluate the efficiency in consideration of the undesirable output. The panel Tobit model is established to conduct empirical research with data of 14 Chinese commercial banks from 2004 to 2012. The study finds that except for business customer relation, stakeholder relationship is the key variable that influences comprehensive efficiency of commercial banks.

Use of nitrogen to remove solvent from through oven transfer adsorption desorption interface during analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by large volume injection in gas chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Áragón, Alvaro; Toledano, Rosa M; Cortés, José M; Vázquez, Ana M; Villén, Jesús

2014-04-25

The through oven transfer adsorption desorption (TOTAD) interface allows large volume injection (LVI) in gas chromatography and the on-line coupling of liquid chromatography and gas chromatography (LC-GC), enabling the LC step to be carried out in normal as well as in reversed phase. However, large amounts of helium, which is both expensive and scarce, are necessary for solvent elimination. We describe how slight modification of the interface and the operating mode allows nitrogen to be used during the solvent elimination steps. In order to evaluate the performance of the new system, volumes ranging from 20 to 100μL of methanolic solutions of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were sampled. No significant differences were found in the repeatability and sensitivity of the analyses of standard PAH solutions when using nitrogen or helium. The performance using the proposed modification was similar and equally satisfactory when using nitrogen or helium for solvent elimination in the TOTAD interface. In conclusion, the use of nitrogen will make analyses less expensive. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Intersection layout, traffic volumes and accidents.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poppe, F.

1988-01-01

This paper reports on the accident research carried out as a part of a large project started in 1983. For this accident research an inventory was made of a large number of intersections.Recorded were layout features, accident data and estimates of traffic volumes. Attention will be given to the

Multi-hadron spectroscopy in a large physical volume

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bulava, John; Hörz, Ben; Morningstar, Colin

2018-01-01

We demonstrate the effcacy of the stochastic LapH method to treat all-toall quark propagation on a Nf = 2 + 1 CLS ensemble with large linear spatial extent L = 5:5 fm, allowing us to obtain the benchmark elastic isovector p-wave pion-pion scattering amplitude to good precision already on a relati...

Large volume recycling of oceanic lithosphere over short time scales: geochemical constraints from the Caribbean Large Igneous Province

Science.gov (United States)

Hauff, F.; Hoernle, K.; Tilton, G.; Graham, D. W.; Kerr, A. C.

2000-01-01

isochron diagrams suggests that the age of separation of enriched and depleted components from the depleted MORB source mantle could have been ≤500 Ma before CLIP formation and interpreted to reflect the recycling time of the CLIP source. Mantle plume heads may provide a mechanism for transporting large volumes of possibly young recycled oceanic lithosphere residing in the lower mantle back into the shallow MORB source mantle.

Comparison of pathogen DNA isolation methods from large volumes of whole blood to improve molecular diagnosis of bloodstream infections.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne J M Loonen

Full Text Available For patients suffering from bloodstream infections (BSI molecular diagnostics from whole blood holds promise to provide fast and adequate treatment. However, this approach is hampered by the need of large blood volumes. Three methods for pathogen DNA isolation from whole blood were compared, i.e. an enzymatic method (MolYsis, 1-5 ml, the novel non-enzymatic procedure (Polaris, 1-5 ml, and a method that does not entail removal of human DNA (Triton-Tris-EDTA EasyMAG, 200 µl. These methods were evaluated by processing blood spiked with 0-1000 CFU/ml of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. Downstream detection was performed with real-time PCR assays. Polaris and MolYsis processing followed by real-time PCRs enabled pathogen detection at clinically relevant concentrations of 1-10 CFU/ml blood. By increasing sample volumes, concurrent lower cycle threshold (Ct values were obtained at clinically relevant pathogen concentrations, demonstrating the benefit of using larger blood volumes. A 100% detection rate at a concentration of 10 CFU/ml for all tested pathogens was obtained with the Polaris enrichment, whereas comparatively lower detection rates were measured for MolYsis (50-67% and EasyMAG (58-79%. For the samples with a concentration of 1 CFU/ml Polaris resulted in most optimal detection rates of 70-75% (MolYsis 17-50% and TTE-EasyMAG 20-36%. The Polaris method was more reproducible, less labour intensive, and faster (45 minutes (including Qiagen DNA extraction vs. 2 hours (MolYsis. In conclusion, Polaris and MolYsis enrichment followed by DNA isolation and real-time PCR enables reliable and sensitive detection of bacteria and fungi from 5 ml blood. With Polaris results are available within 3 hours, showing potential for improved BSI diagnostics.

Stereological analysis of nuclear volume in recurrent meningiomas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, C; Schrøder, H D

1994-01-01

A stereological estimation of nuclear volume in recurrent and non-recurrent meningiomas was made. The aim was to investigate whether this method could discriminate between these two groups. We found that the mean nuclear volumes in recurrent meningiomas were all larger at debut than in any...... of the control tumors. The mean nuclear volume of the individual recurrent tumors appeared to change with time, showing a tendency to diminish. A relationship between large nuclear volume at presentation and number of or time interval between recurrences was not found. We conclude that measurement of mean...... nuclear volume in meningiomas might help identify a group at risk of recurrence....

Determination of average fission fraction produced by 14 MeV neutrons in assemblies with large volume of depleted uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Dalun; Li Benci; Wang Xiuchun; Li Yijun; Zhang Shaohua; He Yongwu

1991-07-01

The average fission fraction of 238 U caused by 14 MeV neutrons in assemblies with large volume depleted uranium has been determined. The measured value of p f 238U (R ∞ depleted ) 14 was 0.897 ± 0.036. Measurements were also completed for neutron flux distribution and average fission fraction of 235 U isotope in depleted uranium sphere. Values of p f 238U (R depleted ) have been obtained by using a series of uranium spheres. For a sphere with Φ 600 the p f 23 '8 U (R 300 depleted ) is 0.823 ± 0.041, the density of depleted uranium assembly is 18.8g/cm 3 and total weight of assembly is about 2.8t

Natural look in volume restoration.

Science.gov (United States)

Lupo, Mary P

2008-09-01

Filling and volumizing injection procedures are currently widely used for facial augmentation and re-establishing a youthful appearance. Aesthetic physicians have advanced from the practice of treating single lines and wrinkles towards filling large facial areas to globally restore natural facial contours and meet patient demand for nonsurgical rejuvenation. This review describes the different categories of fillers and volumizers based on their duration of action and ability to create a natural looking effect; they can be broadly classified as temporary or long-lasting biodegradable agents, or permanent nonbiodegradable agents. Temporary fillers are effective to correct lines and wrinkles, but may not adequately meet the need for global facial rejuvenation and volume replacement in a long-term, cost-efficient manner. Permanent fillers for global restoration pose the issue of long-term safety, and may not be compatible with changes in facial architecture with continued aging. Longer lasting volumizers provide patients with a durable, effective option for the restoration of facial volume and the re-establishment of youthful facial contours. Temporary fillers and volumizers may also be used in combination to provide a wide source of options for the global restoration and rejuvenation of the face.

THE EVALUATION OF SOIL EROSION OFF-SITES EFFECTS IN LARGE BASINS: THE STUDYCASE OF LERMA-CHAPALA WATERSHED, MEXICO

OpenAIRE

Helena Cotler A.; Susana Gutierrez D.; Carlos Enriquez G.; Arturo Garrido P.

2005-01-01

One of the primary global concerns during the new millennium is the assessment of the impact of accelerated soil erosion on the economy and the environment (Pimentel et al. 1995; Lal, 1995). Erosion damages the site on which it occurs and also has undesirable effects off-site in the larger environment. Erosion moves sediments and nutrients out of the land, creating the two most widespread water pollution problems in the rivers, lakes and dams. The nutrients impact water quality largely throug...

Study of n-γ discrimination by digital charge comparison method for a large volume liquid scintillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moszynski, M.; Costa, G.J.; Guillaume, G.; Heusch, B.; Huck, A.; Ring, C.; Bizard, G.; Durand, D.; Peter, J.; Tamain, B.; El Masri, Y.; Hanappe, F.

1992-01-01

The study of the n-γ discrimination for a large 41 volume BC501A liquid scintillator coupled to a 130 mm diameter XP4512B photomultiplier was carried out by digital charge comparison method. A very good n-γ discrimination down to 100 keV of recoil electron energy was achieved. The measured relative intensity of the charge integrated at the slow component of the scintillation pulse and the photoelectron yield of the tested counter allow the factor of merit of the n-γ discrimination spectra to be calculated and to be compared with those measured experimentally. This shows that the main limitation of the n-γ discrimination is associated with the statistical fluctuation of the photoelectron number at the slow component. A serious effect of the distortion in the cable used to send the photomultiplier pulse to the electronics for the n-γ discrimination was studied. This suggests that the length of RG58 cable should be limited to about 40 m to preserve a high quality n-γ discrimination. (orig.)

A Brief History of the Development of Blasting and the Modern Theory of Rock Breaking

OpenAIRE

Kirsanov, A K; Vokhmin, S A; Kurchin, G S

2016-01-01

The article is devoted to the task today to improve the effectiveness of blasting during construction of horizontal and inclined mine excavations. Construction of new and reconstruction of existing mines requires large volume of excavation works, which length can reach tens of kilometers for only one project. Drilling and blasting workings allow not only to break out rocks from a frontal part of an excavation, but also cause an internal effect, which can lead to undesired damage that, in turn...

Reduced Albumin Dosing During Large-Volume Paracentesis Is Not Associated with Adverse Clinical Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Kara B; Mueller, Jessica L; Simon, Tracey G; Zheng, Hui; King, Lindsay Y; Makar, Robert S; Gervais, Debra A; Chung, Raymond T

2015-07-01

LVP is used to manage diuretic-resistant ascites in cirrhotic patients. Albumin administration prevents complications including acute kidney injury and paracentesis-induced circulatory dysfunction, but the optimal dose is unclear. We sought to assess adherence to guidelines enacted in July 2011 at our center for reducing the albumin dose administered at large-volume paracentesis (LVP) and evaluate the cost and rate of complications of LVPs before and after guideline enactment. All LVPs performed on cirrhotic patients in our center's Department of Radiology between July 2009 and January 2014 were studied. Outcomes included adherence to guidelines, LVP complications, and administered albumin cost. Groups were compared using Student's t tests for continuous data and Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests for categorical data. A repeated measurements model accounted for patients with multiple LVPs. Of the 935 LVPs, 288 occurred before guideline implementation (group 1) and 647 occurred after (group 2). The mean dose of albumin administered was 13.7 g/L of ascites removed in group 1 versus 10.3 g/L in group 2 (p albumin administration and associated cost savings was still observed. There was no increase in LVP-related complications after guideline implementation or in the adherent group, suggesting that albumin dose can be safely reduced. Future efforts should be directed at enhancing guideline adherence and potentially further reducing albumin dosing.

Study on Operator Actions during the Occurrences of Undesirable Events in PUSPATI TRIGA Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tom, P.P.; Nurul Husna Zainal Abidin; Lanyau, T.A.; Zaredah Hashim

2016-01-01

Due to the recent Fukushima accident, the potential risks at one and only nuclear research reactor in the country, which is the PUSPATI TRIGA Reactor (RTP), has increasingly gain concerns and an attempt on the development of Level 1 Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) for this reactor has been commenced. The preliminary scope of the PSA is to analyse the risk of core degradation during normal daily operation due to the random component failure and human error. SPAR-H and THERP method is used for quantifying human error probability (HEP). However, the scopes of this study only cover the qualitative parts that use interview/questionnaire method. The objectives of the questionnaire are to identify the main action for RTP operators when any undesired incident occurs during full power operation that might be caused by random component failures. From the questionnaires that have been conducted, the respondents consisted of 4 licensed operators and 9 trainee operators. All licensed operators have experience of operating reactor for more than 15 years while the trainee operator have been operate the reactor with experience of less than 10 years. Generally, in the event of an abnormal condition involving the reactor, an operator whether a licensed operator or the trainee does not have to ask permission in advance from the top individuals to carry out scram. This is to prevent the situation becoming increasingly severe if the reactor is still operating. With complete training and knowledge derived from the management, an operator can act efficiently in any emergency case. (author)

Understanding the heterogeneity in volume overload and fluid distribution in decompensated heart failure is key to optimal volume management: role for blood volume quantitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Wayne L; Mullan, Brian P

2014-06-01

This study sought to quantitate total blood volume (TBV) in patients hospitalized for decompensated chronic heart failure (DCHF) and to determine the extent of volume overload, and the magnitude and distribution of blood volume and body water changes following diuretic therapy. The accurate assessment and management of volume overload in patients with DCHF remains problematic. TBV was measured by a radiolabeled-albumin dilution technique with intravascular volume, pre-to-post-diuretic therapy, evaluated at hospital admission and at discharge. Change in body weight in relation to quantitated TBV was used to determine interstitial volume contribution to total fluid loss. Twenty-six patients were prospectively evaluated. Two patients had normal TBV at admission. Twenty-four patients were hypervolemic with TBV (7.4 ± 1.6 liters) increased by +39 ± 22% (range, +9.5% to +107%) above the expected normal volume. With diuresis, TBV decreased marginally (+30 ± 16%). Body weight declined by 6.9 ± 5.2 kg, and fluid intake/fluid output was a net negative 8.4 ± 5.2 liters. Interstitial compartment fluid loss was calculated at 6.2 ± 4.0 liters, accounting for 85 ± 15% of the total fluid reduction. TBV analysis demonstrated a wide range in the extent of intravascular overload. Dismissal measurements revealed marginally reduced intravascular volume post-diuretic therapy despite large reductions in body weight. Mobilization of interstitial fluid to the intravascular compartment with diuresis accounted for this disparity. Intravascular volume, however, remained increased at dismissal. The extent, composition, and distribution of volume overload are highly variable in DCHF, and this variability needs to be taken into account in the approach to individualized therapy. TBV quantitation, particularly serial measurements, can facilitate informed volume management with respect to a goal of treating to euvolemia. Copyright © 2014 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published

Do new anesthesia ventilators deliver small tidal volumes accurately during volume-controlled ventilation?

Science.gov (United States)

Bachiller, Patricia R; McDonough, Joseph M; Feldman, Jeffrey M

2008-05-01

During mechanical ventilation of infants and neonates, small changes in tidal volume may lead to hypo- or hyperventilation, barotrauma, or volutrauma. Partly because breathing circuit compliance and fresh gas flow affect tidal volume delivery by traditional anesthesia ventilators in volume-controlled ventilation (VCV) mode, pressure-controlled ventilation (PCV) using a circle breathing system has become a common approach to minimizing the risk of mechanical ventilation for small patients, although delivered tidal volume is not assured during PCV. A new generation of anesthesia machine ventilators addresses the problems of VCV by adjusting for fresh gas flow and for the compliance of the breathing circuit. In this study, we evaluated the accuracy of new anesthesia ventilators to deliver small tidal volumes. Four anesthesia ventilator systems were evaluated to determine the accuracy of volume delivery to the airway during VCV at tidal volume settings of 100, 200, and 500 mL under different conditions of breathing circuit compliance (fully extended and fully contracted circuits) and lung compliance. A mechanical test lung (adult and infant) was used to simulate lung compliances ranging from 0.0025 to 0.03 L/cm H(2)O. Volumes and pressures were measured using a calibrated screen pneumotachograph and custom software. We tested the Smartvent 7900, Avance, and Aisys anesthesia ventilator systems (GE Healthcare, Madison, WI) and the Apollo anesthesia ventilator (Draeger Medical, Telford, PA). The Smartvent 7900 and Avance ventilators use inspiratory flow sensors to control the volume delivered, whereas the Aisys and Apollo ventilators compensate for the compliance of the circuit. We found that the anesthesia ventilators that use compliance compensation (Aisys and Apollo) accurately delivered both large and small tidal volumes to the airway of the test lung under conditions of normal and low lung compliance during VCV (ranging from 95.5% to 106.2% of the set tidal volume

GPU-based large-scale visualization

KAUST Repository

Hadwiger, Markus

2013-11-19

Recent advances in image and volume acquisition as well as computational advances in simulation have led to an explosion of the amount of data that must be visualized and analyzed. Modern techniques combine the parallel processing power of GPUs with out-of-core methods and data streaming to enable the interactive visualization of giga- and terabytes of image and volume data. A major enabler for interactivity is making both the computational and the visualization effort proportional to the amount of data that is actually visible on screen, decoupling it from the full data size. This leads to powerful display-aware multi-resolution techniques that enable the visualization of data of almost arbitrary size. The course consists of two major parts: An introductory part that progresses from fundamentals to modern techniques, and a more advanced part that discusses details of ray-guided volume rendering, novel data structures for display-aware visualization and processing, and the remote visualization of large online data collections. You will learn how to develop efficient GPU data structures and large-scale visualizations, implement out-of-core strategies and concepts such as virtual texturing that have only been employed recently, as well as how to use modern multi-resolution representations. These approaches reduce the GPU memory requirements of extremely large data to a working set size that fits into current GPUs. You will learn how to perform ray-casting of volume data of almost arbitrary size and how to render and process gigapixel images using scalable, display-aware techniques. We will describe custom virtual texturing architectures as well as recent hardware developments in this area. We will also describe client/server systems for distributed visualization, on-demand data processing and streaming, and remote visualization. We will describe implementations using OpenGL as well as CUDA, exploiting parallelism on GPUs combined with additional asynchronous

Nuclear-pumped lasers for large-scale applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, R.E.; Leonard, E.M.; Shea, R.F.; Berggren, R.R.

1989-05-01

Efficient initiation of large-volume chemical lasers may be achieved by neutron induced reactions which produce charged particles in the final state. When a burst mode nuclear reactor is used as the neutron source, both a sufficiently intense neutron flux and a sufficiently short initiation pulse may be possible. Proof-of-principle experiments are planned to demonstrate lasing in a direct nuclear-pumped large-volume system; to study the effects of various neutron absorbing materials on laser performance; to study the effects of long initiation pulse lengths; to demonstrate the performance of large-scale optics and the beam quality that may be obtained; and to assess the performance of alternative designs of burst systems that increase the neutron output and burst repetition rate. 21 refs., 8 figs., 5 tabs

Radio-chemical dosage of {sup 90}Sr in large volumes of drinking water; Dosage radiochimique du {sup 90}Sr sur des volumes importants d'eaux potables

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeanmaire, L; Patti, F; Bullier, D [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Fontenay-aux-Roses (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1965-07-01

I. Principle of the method: 1. Fixing on a resin of all the cations present in the water. 2. Elution using 5 N nitric acid and precipitation of strontium as the carbonate. 3. Concentration of the strontium using the fuming nitric acid method. 4. Purification of the strontium on a resin by selective elution with ammonium citrate. 5. The strontium-90 is measured by separation at the {sup 90}Y equilibrium in the form of the oxalate which is then counted. II. Advantages of the method The concentration of the radio-activity starting from large volumes (100 l) is generally tedious but this method which makes use of a fixation on a cationic resin makes it very simple. The rest of the method consists of a series of simple chemical operations using ion-exchange on resins and coprecipitation. Finally, it is possible to dose stable strontium. (authors) [French] I. Principe du dosage 1. Fixation sur resine de tous les cations presents dans l'eau, 2. Elution par l'acide nitrique 5 N et precipitation du strontium sous forme de carbonate. 3. Concentration du strontium par la methode a l'acide nitrique fumant. 4. Purification du strontium sur resine par elution selective au citrate d'ammonium. 5. Le strontium-90 est dose par separation a l'equilibre du {sup 90}Y sous forme d'oxalate qui est compte. II. Interet de la methode La concentration de la radioactivite a partir de volumes importants (100 l) est generalement fastidieuse, la technique proposee rend cette phase tres simple en utilisant une fixation sur resine cationique. Le reste de la technique est une suite d'operations chimiques simples a realiser, faisant appel a l'echange d'ions sur resine et a la coprecipitation. Enfin, il est possible de realiser le dosage du strontium stable. (auteurs)

Development of a unified sizing method for gas radiation heating facilities used in large-volume buildings; Developpement d'une methode de dimensionnement unifiee d'installations de chauffage radiant gaz pour les batiments de grand volume

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jimenez, M.; Bego, L.; Douls, Y.; Le Dean, P.; Paradowski, V. [Gaz de France, GDF, Dir. de la Recherche, 75 - Paris (France)

2000-07-01

Builders now have perfect command of the natural gas heating technique used for large-volume buildings. However, the sizing of heating facilities still leaves grounds for discussion, whatever the energies actually used. Accordingly, between 1997 and 1999, the ATG (technical association of the Gas industry in France), seven French manufacturers of 'large volume' heating equipment, the Chaleur Et Rayonnement (CER) association and Gaz de France decided to collaborate and develop a 'unified sizing method' for heating facilities using radiating emitters. During the first year of the study, the above partners worked on the said method (theoretical thermal study of the radiative phenomena, and then adaptation to the methods currently used by the various manufacturers). In 1998, with the support of the ADEME (the French environment and energy control agency), the partners tested the method on five industrial buildings (studying the thermal behavior and making air renewal measurements with search gases). This work made it possible to either confirm or adapt the theoretical evaluations which had been made originally. In 1999, a software program was produced to make the developed method more user friendly. The program can be used to determine the power to be installed, but also to assess the quality of the chosen configuration of the emitters (unit power, inclination, orientation) for optimum customer comfort. (authors)

Field tests of an acephate baiting system designed for eradicating undesirable honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Danka, R G; Williams, J L; Sugden, E A; Rivera, R

1992-08-01

Field evaluations were made of a baiting system designed for use by regulatory agencies in suppressing populations of undesirable feral honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (e.g., bees posing hazards [especially Africanized bees] and colonies infested with parasitic mites). Bees from feral or simulated feral (hived) colonies were lured with honey and Nasonov pheromone components to feeders dispensing sucrose-honey syrup. After 1-3 wk of passive training to feeders, colonies were treated during active foraging by replacing untreated syrup with syrup containing 500 ppm (mg/liter) acephate (Orthene 75 S). In four trials using hived colonies on Grant Terre Island, LA., 21 of 29 colonies foraged actively enough at baits to be treated, and 20 of the 22 treated were destroyed. In the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas (two trials at each of two trials), treatments killed 11 of 16 colonies (6 of 10 hived; 50 of 6 feral). Overall results showed that all 11 colonies that collected greater than 25 mg acephate died, whereas 3 of 10 colonies receiving less than 25 mg survived. Delivering adequate doses required a minimum of approximately 100 bees per target colony simultaneously collecting treated syrup. The system destroyed target colonies located up to nearly 700 m away from baits. Major factors limiting efficacy were conditions inhibiting foraging at baits (e.g., competing natural nectar sources and temperatures and winds that restricted bee flight).

Large-volume heat storage tank made of GFK; Grosswaermespeichertank aus GFK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buehl, J.; Schultheis, P. [Technische Univ. Ilmenau (Germany). Fachgebiet Technische Thermodynamik

1998-12-31

The Technical University of Ilmenau, the company Verbundwerkstoff- und Kunststoffanwendungstechnik Schoenbrunn, the Institute for Aerospace and Light-weight construction of Dresden University with its approved testing facilities for plastics and the Institute for Construction Engineering in Berlin and several other institutions co-operated since 1996 in developing a concept for a series of long-term heat storage tanks up to 6,000 cubic metres storage volume made of plastic (GFK components) with a combined thermal insulation. A model tank (sandwich body with proportional thermal insulation layer and selected mixed laminates) with a volume of 1.5 cubic metres was built and installed in November 1996. The tank has been continuously operated at various test levels. The experiment proves the longevity of the materials used. (orig.) [Deutsch] In Zusammenarbeit der TU Ilmenau mit der Fa. Verbundwerkstoff - und Kunststoffanwendungstechnik Schoenbrunn und dem Institut fuer Luftfahrttechnik und Leichtbau Dresden, seiner akkredierten Pruefstelle fuer Kunststoffe, in Abstimmung mit dem Institut fuer Bautechnik Berlin und weiteren Einrichtungen und Partnern wird seit 1996 an einem Konzept fuer eine Typenreihe Langzeitwaermespeicher bis vorerst 6.000 m{sup 3} Speichervolumen aus Kunststoff (GFK-Komponenten) und kombinierter integrierter thermischer Isolation gearbeitet. Im Vorfeld dieser Entwicklung wurde auf der Basis vorausgewaehlter Materialien und Kompositionen ein Musterspeicher (ein Sandwich - Modellkoerper mit proportionaler Waermedaemmschicht sowie ausgewaehlten Mischlaminaten) mit einem Speichervolumen von 1,5 m{sup 3} realisiert. Dieser Musterspeicher wurde im November 1996 installiert und wird seither kontinuierlich in den entsprechenden Erprobungsstufen betrieben. Der Nachweis der Langlebigkeit der eingesetzten Materialien wurde experimentell erbracht. (orig.)

3D rendering and interactive visualization technology in large industry CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao Yongshun; Zhang Li; Chen Zhiqiang; Kang Kejun

2002-01-01

The author introduces the applications of interactive 3D rendering technology in the large ICT. It summarizes and comments on the iso-surfaces rendering and the direct volume rendering methods used in ICT. The author emphasizes on the technical analysis of the 3D rendering process of ICT volume data sets, and summarizes the difficulties of the inspection subsystem design in large ICT

3D rendering and interactive visualization technology in large industry CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao Yongshun; Zhang Li; Chen Zhiqiang; Kang Kejun

2001-01-01

This paper introduces the applications of interactive 3D rendering technology in the large ICT. It summarizes and comments on the iso-surfaces rendering and the direct volume rendering methods used in ICT. The paper emphasizes on the technical analysis of the 3D rendering process of ICT volume data sets, and summarizes the difficulties of the inspection subsystem design in large ICT

Physics with large extra dimensions

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics; Volume 62; Issue 2 ... The recent understanding of string theory opens the possibility that the string scale can be as ... by the existence of large internal dimensions, in the sub-millimeter region.

An immunomagnetic separator for concentration of pathogenic micro-organisms from large volume samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rotariu, Ovidiu; Ogden, Iain D.; MacRae, Marion; Badescu, Vasile; Strachan, Norval J.C.

2005-01-01

The standard method of immunomagnetic separation of pathogenic bacteria from food and environmental matrices processes 1 ml volumes. Pathogens present at low levels ( 50 ml). Preliminary results show that between 70 and 113 times more Escherchia coli O157 are recovered compared with the standard 1 ml method

Mix design and properties of fly ash waste lightweight aggregates in structural lightweight concrete

OpenAIRE

Manu S. Nadesan; P. Dinakar

2017-01-01

Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials and has the ability to consume industrial wastes in high volume. As the demand for concrete is increasing, one of the effective ways to reduce the undesirable environmental impact of the concrete is by the use of waste and by-product materials as cement and aggregate substitutes in concrete. One such waste material is fly ash, which is produced in large quantities from thermal power plants as a by-product. A substantial amount of ...

A robust and high-performance queue management controller for large round trip time networks

Science.gov (United States)

Khoshnevisan, Ladan; Salmasi, Farzad R.

2016-05-01

Congestion management for transmission control protocol is of utmost importance to prevent packet loss within a network. This necessitates strategies for active queue management. The most applied active queue management strategies have their inherent disadvantages which lead to suboptimal performance and even instability in the case of large round trip time and/or external disturbance. This paper presents an internal model control robust queue management scheme with two degrees of freedom in order to restrict the undesired effects of large and small round trip time and parameter variations in the queue management. Conventional approaches such as proportional integral and random early detection procedures lead to unstable behaviour due to large delay. Moreover, internal model control-Smith scheme suffers from large oscillations due to the large round trip time. On the other hand, other schemes such as internal model control-proportional integral and derivative show excessive sluggish performance for small round trip time values. To overcome these shortcomings, we introduce a system entailing two individual controllers for queue management and disturbance rejection, simultaneously. Simulation results based on Matlab/Simulink and also Network Simulator 2 (NS2) demonstrate the effectiveness of the procedure and verify the analytical approach.

Non-equilibrium Inertial Separation Array for High-throughput, Large-volume Blood Fractionation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mutlu, Baris R; Smith, Kyle C; Edd, Jon F; Nadar, Priyanka; Dlamini, Mcolisi; Kapur, Ravi; Toner, Mehmet

2017-08-30

Microfluidic blood processing is used in a range of applications from cancer therapeutics to infectious disease diagnostics. As these applications are being translated to clinical use, processing larger volumes of blood in shorter timescales with high-reliability and robustness is becoming a pressing need. In this work, we report a scaled, label-free cell separation mechanism called non-equilibrium inertial separation array (NISA). The NISA mechanism consists of an array of islands that exert a passive inertial lift force on proximate cells, thus enabling gentler manipulation of the cells without the need of physical contact. As the cells follow their size-based, deterministic path to their equilibrium positions, a preset fraction of the flow is siphoned to separate the smaller cells from the main flow. The NISA device was used to fractionate 400 mL of whole blood in less than 3 hours, and produce an ultrapure buffy coat (96.6% white blood cell yield, 0.0059% red blood cell carryover) by processing whole blood at 3 mL/min, or ∼300 million cells/second. This device presents a feasible alternative for fractionating blood for transfusion, cellular therapy and blood-based diagnostics, and could significantly improve the sensitivity of rare cell isolation devices by increasing the processed whole blood volume.

Modeling Approach for Estimating Co-Produced Water Volumes and Saltwater Disposal Volumes in Oklahoma

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, K. E.

2016-12-01

Management of produced fluids has become an important issue in Oklahoma because large volumes of saltwater are co-produced with oil and gas, and disposed into saltwater disposal wells at high rates. Petroleum production increased from 2009-2015, especially in central and north-central Oklahoma where the Mississippian and Hunton zones were redeveloped using horizontal wells and dewatering techniques that have led to a disproportional increase in produced water volumes. Improved management of co-produced water, including desalination for beneficial reuse and decreased saltwater disposal volumes, is only possible if spatial and temporal trends can be defined and related to the producing zones. It is challenging to quantify the volumes of co-produced water by region or production zone because co-produced water volumes are generally not reported. Therefore, the goal of this research is to estimate co-produced water volumes for 2008-present with an approach that can be replicated as petroleum production shifts to other regions. Oil and gas production rates from subsurface zones were multiplied by ratios of H2O:oil and H2O:gas for the respective zones. Initial H2O:oil and H2O:gas ratios were adjusted/calibrated, by zone, to maximize correlation of county-scale produced H2O estimates versus saltwater disposal volumes from 2013-2015. These calibrated ratios were then used to compute saltwater disposal volumes from 2008-2012 because of apparent data gaps in reported saltwater disposal volumes during that timeframe. This research can be used to identify regions that have the greatest need for produced water treatment systems. The next step in management of produced fluids is to explore optimal energy-efficient strategies that reduce deleterious effects.

Fractals and the Large-Scale Structure in the Universe

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 7; Issue 4. Fractals and the Large-Scale Structure in the Universe - Is the Cosmological Principle Valid? A K Mittal T R Seshadri. General Article Volume 7 Issue 4 April 2002 pp 39-47 ...

Data summary of municipal solid waste management alternatives. Volume 3, Appendix A: Mass burn technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1992-10-01

This appendix on Mass Burn Technologies is the first in a series designed to identify, describe and assess the suitability of several currently or potentially available generic technologies for the management of municipal solid waste (MSW). These appendices, which cover eight core thermoconversion, bioconversion and recycling technologies, reflect public domain information gathered from many sources. Representative sources include: professional journal articles, conference proceedings, selected municipality solid waste management plans and subscription technology data bases. The information presented is intended to serve as background information that will facilitate the preparation of the technoeconomic and life cycle mass, energy and environmental analyses that are being developed for each of the technologies. Mass burn has been and continues to be the predominant technology in Europe for the management of MSW. In the United States, the majority of the existing waste-to-energy projects utilize this technology and nearly 90 percent of all currently planned facilities have selected mass burn systems. Mass burning generally refers to the direct feeding and combustion of municipal solid waste in a furnace without any significant waste preprocessing. The only materials typically removed from the waste stream prior to combustion are large bulky objects and potentially hazardous or undesirable wastes. The technology has evolved over the last 100 or so years from simple incineration to the most highly developed and commercially proven process available for both reducing the volume of MSW and for recovering energy in the forms of steam and electricity. In general, mass burn plants are considered to operate reliably with high availability.

Large volumes and spectroscopy of walking theories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Del Debbio, L.; Lucini, B.; Patella, A.

2016-01-01

A detailed investigation of finite-size effects is performed for SU(2) gauge theory with two fermions in the adjoint representation, which previous lattice studies have shown to be inside the conformal window. The system is investigated with different spatial and temporal boundary conditions...... and the spatial lattice size L satisfy the relation LMPS≥15. This bound, which is at least a factor of three higher than what is observed in QCD, is a likely consequence of the different spectral signatures of the two theories, with the scalar isosinglet (0++ glueball) being the lightest particle in our model....... In addition to stressing the importance of simulating large lattice sizes, our analysis emphasizes the need to understand quantitatively the full spectrum of the theory rather than just the spectrum in the mesonic isotriplet sector. While for the lightest fermion measuring masses from gluonic operators proves...

Solid-Phase Extraction and Large-Volume Sample Stacking-Capillary Electrophoresis for Determination of Tetracycline Residues in Milk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela Islas

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Solid-phase extraction in combination with large-volume sample stacking-capillary electrophoresis (SPE-LVSS-CE was applied to measure chlortetracycline, doxycycline, oxytetracycline, and tetracycline in milk samples. Under optimal conditions, the proposed method had a linear range of 29 to 200 µg·L−1, with limits of detection ranging from 18.6 to 23.8 µg·L−1 with inter- and intraday repeatabilities < 10% (as a relative standard deviation in all cases. The enrichment factors obtained were from 50.33 to 70.85 for all the TCs compared with a conventional capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE. This method is adequate to analyze tetracyclines below the most restrictive established maximum residue limits. The proposed method was employed in the analysis of 15 milk samples from different brands. Two of the tested samples were positive for the presence of oxytetracycline with concentrations of 95 and 126 µg·L−1. SPE-LVSS-CE is a robust, easy, and efficient strategy for online preconcentration of tetracycline residues in complex matrices.

Integers without Large Prime Factors in Short Intervals: Conditional ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

... Public Lectures · Lecture Workshops · Refresher Courses · Symposia · Live Streaming. Home; Journals; Proceedings – Mathematical Sciences; Volume 120; Issue 5. Integers without Large Prime Factors in Short Intervals: Conditional Results. Goutam Pal Satadal Ganguly. Volume 120 Issue 5 November 2010 pp 515-524 ...

An evaluation on the design optimization of large capacity tanks in the chemical and volume control system for YGN 3 and 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Byung Ho; Kim, Eun Ki; Ko, Deuk Yoon; Ko, Yong Sang; Kim, Seok Bum

1996-06-01

The design of Yonggwang nuclear power plant units 3 and 4 (YGN 3 and 4) is referenced to that of Palo Verde nuclear power plant (Palo Verde NPP) in Arizona, USA. The reactor vessel and steam generator of YGN 3 and 4 are smaller than that of Palo Verde NPP because Palo Verde NPP produces 1,300 Mw electricity, on the other hand, YGN 3 and 4 produces 1,000 Mw electricity. However, other components and systems of YGN 3 and 4 are the same as those of Palo verde NPP. The oversized system components may be considered to ensure the safety and operability by providing sufficient design margin, but it requires unnecessary cost burden to the owner of the plant. This report focuses on the optimization of the volume of the large tanks (i.e., above 400,000 gallons) in CVCS. These tanks are refueling water tank (RWT), reactor makeup water tank (RMWT) and holdup tank (HT). It has been performed that the calculation on the required tank volume based on design requirements, comparison on the calculation results with as-built design, and estimation on the instrumentation setpoint. 19 tabs., 12 figs., 13 refs. (Author)

Future hydrogen markets for large-scale hydrogen production systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forsberg, Charles W.

2007-01-01

The cost of delivered hydrogen includes production, storage, and distribution. For equal production costs, large users (>10 6 m 3 /day) will favor high-volume centralized hydrogen production technologies to avoid collection costs for hydrogen from widely distributed sources. Potential hydrogen markets were examined to identify and characterize those markets that will favor large-scale hydrogen production technologies. The two high-volume centralized hydrogen production technologies are nuclear energy and fossil energy with carbon dioxide sequestration. The potential markets for these technologies are: (1) production of liquid fuels (gasoline, diesel and jet) including liquid fuels with no net greenhouse gas emissions and (2) peak electricity production. The development of high-volume centralized hydrogen production technologies requires an understanding of the markets to (1) define hydrogen production requirements (purity, pressure, volumes, need for co-product oxygen, etc.); (2) define and develop technologies to use the hydrogen, and (3) create the industrial partnerships to commercialize such technologies. (author)

Cell volumes of marine phytoplankton from globally distributed coastal data sets

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Harrison, P.J; Zingone, A.; Mickelson, M.J; Lehtinen, S.; Ramaiah, N.; Kraberg, A.C; Sun, J; McQuatters-Gollop, A.; Jakobsen, H.H.

volumes are the single largest source of uncertainty in community phytoplankton carbon estimates and greatly exceeds the uncertainty associated with the different volume to carbon estimates. Small diatoms have 10 times more carbon density than large...

Atmospheric Gaseous Plasma with Large Dimensions

Science.gov (United States)

Korenev, Sergey

2012-10-01

The forming of atmospheric plasma with large dimensions using electrical discharge typically uses the Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD). The study of atmospheric DBD was shown some problems related to homogeneous volume plasma. The volume of this plasma determines by cross section and gas gap between electrode and dielectric. The using of electron beam for volume ionization of air molecules by CW relativistic electron beams was shown the high efficiency of this process [1, 2]. The main advantage of this approach consists in the ionization of gas molecules by electrons in longitudinal direction determines by their kinetic energy. A novel method for forming of atmospheric homogeneous plasma with large volume dimensions using ionization of gas molecules by pulsed non-relativistic electron beams is presented in the paper. The results of computer modeling for delivered doses of electron beams in gases and ionization are discussed. The structure of experimental bench with plasma diagnostics is considered. The preliminary results of forming atmospheric plasma with ionization gas molecules by pulsed nanosecond non-relativistic electron beam are given. The analysis of potential applications for atmospheric volume plasma is presented. Reference: [1] S. Korenev. ``The ionization of air by scanning relativistic high power CW electron beam,'' 2002 IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. May 2002, Alberta, Canada. [2] S. Korenev, I. Korenev. ``The propagation of high power CW scanning electron beam in air.'' BEAMS 2002: 14th International Conference on High-Power Particle Beams, Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA), June 2002, AIP Conference Proceedings Vol. 650(1), pp. 373-376. December 17.

Morphological pyramids in multiresolution MIP rendering of large volume data : Survey and new results

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roerdink, J.B.T.M.

We survey and extend nonlinear signal decompositions based on morphological pyramids, and their application to multiresolution maximum intensity projection (MIP) volume rendering with progressive refinement and perfect reconstruction. The structure of the resulting multiresolution rendering

The Undesirable Behaviors of Students in Academic Classrooms, and the Discipline Strategies Used by Faculty Members to Control Such Behaviors from the Perspective of the College of Education Students in King Saud University

Science.gov (United States)

Al Qahtani, Norah Saad Sultan

2016-01-01

This study aimed to identify the undesirable students' behaviors in academic classrooms, and the disciplinary, preventive and therapeutic strategies that will be used by faculty members to control those behaviors from the perspective of the College of Education's students in King Saud University. The results of the study has shown that the…

Herniation despite Decompressive Hemicraniectomy in Large Hemispherical Ischemic Strokes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hinduja, Archana; Samant, Rohan; Feng, Dongxia; Hannawi, Yousef

2018-02-01

Despite decompressive hemicraniectomy (DHC), progressive herniation resulting in death has been reported following middle cerebral artery (MCA) strokes. We aimed to determine the surgical parameters measured on brain computed tomography (CT) scan that are associated with progressive herniation despite DHC in large MCA strokes. Retrospective chart review of medical records of patients with malignant hemispheric infarction who underwent DHC for cerebral edema was performed. Infarct volume was calculated on CT scans obtained within 24 hours of ictus. Radiological parameters of craniectomy bone flap size, brain volume protruding out of the skull, adequate centering of the craniectomy over the stroke bed, and the infarct volume outside the craniectomy bed (volume not centered [VNC]) were measured on the postoperative brain CT. Of 41 patients who underwent DHC, 7 had progressive herniation leading to death. Radiographic parameters significantly associated with progressive herniation included insufficient centering of craniectomy bed on the stroke bed (P = .03), VNC (P = .011), additional anterior cerebral artery infarction (P = .047), and smaller craniectomy length (P = .05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis for progressive herniation using craniectomy length and VNC as independent variables demonstrated that a higher VNC was significantly associated with progressive herniation despite surgery (P = .029). In large MCA strokes, identification of large infarct volume outside the craniectomy bed was associated with progressive herniation despite surgery. These results will need to be verified in larger prospective studies. Copyright © 2018 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Some aspects of the relation between the volume of prostate carcinoma and its interstitial BT volume

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zivanovic, A; Babic, J; Erak, M.; Dabic, K.; Donat, D.; Kuzmanovic, Z.; Savic, D.

1996-01-01

It is a fact that the volume achieved by the interstitial procedure during the brachy treatment of prostate carcinoma is several times smaller than the one we get in, so called, external beam therapy. Furthermore, interstitial brachytherapy offers the possibility to apply large dose into the small volume. However, both dose and volume are at the same time the factors that limit the therapy and the main technical offenders in case of therapy failure. We tried, through a strong individual approach, to compare the volume obtained mathematically and the volume obtained by planning (TPS). By means of clinical examinations and CT scans we conceived a prostate as half of the volume of ellipsoid under one condition only: the magnification of the prostate has to be a symmetrical one. Finally, we applied the following formula: V prostate=(1(2)) ellipsoid=2.09·a/2·e/2·b where a=(1(2)) of sagittal diameter b=prostate height (from apex to base) c=(1(2)) of transversal diameter Each volume obtained in the this way has been taken into account during the application of interstitial needles which in their own way and in accordance to a routine planning, form an active therapeutic interstitial volume. The obtained data showed differences between these two types of volumes. From the statistical point of view, mathematically obtained volume of CV was 16.6% while interstitial volume was 14.9%. T-test was 3.9. On average, mathematical volume is lower and this balance is a desirable one because it means a smaller possibility for potential positive biopsy as a result of a 'rest' tumour. If on the other hand, positive biopsy is a result of the 'rest' tumour and our interpretation has been a contradictory one, precious time with disappointing results will be lost. At the end we achieved: a) double checked control of the embraced volumes, b) stronger fulcrum for the next step: dose-fraction balance

Potential conflict between TRIPS and GATT concerning parallel importation of drugs and possible solution to prevent undesirable market segmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Chang-Fa

2011-01-01

From international perspective, parallel importation, especially with respect to drugs, has to do with the exhaustion principle in Article 6 of the TRIPS Agreement and the general exception in Article XX of the GATT 1994. Issues concerning the TRIPS Agreement have been constant topics of discussion. However, parallel importation in relation to the general rules of the GATT 1994 as well as to its exceptions provided in Article XX was not seriously discussed. In the view of the paper, there is a conflict between the provisions in these two agreements. The paper explains such conflict and tries to propose a method of interpretation to resolve the conflict between GATT Article XX and TRIPS Article 6 concerning parallel importation for the purpose of reducing the possible undesirable market segmentation in pharmaceutical sector. The method suggested in the paper is a proper application of good faith principle in the Vienna Convention to interpret GATT Article XX, so that there could be some flexibility for those prohibitions of parallel importation which have positive effect on international trade.

Small-Volume Injections: Evaluation of Volume Administration Deviation From Intended Injection Volumes.

Science.gov (United States)

Muffly, Matthew K; Chen, Michael I; Claure, Rebecca E; Drover, David R; Efron, Bradley; Fitch, William L; Hammer, Gregory B

2017-10-01

In the perioperative period, anesthesiologists and postanesthesia care unit (PACU) nurses routinely prepare and administer small-volume IV injections, yet the accuracy of delivered medication volumes in this setting has not been described. In this ex vivo study, we sought to characterize the degree to which small-volume injections (≤0.5 mL) deviated from the intended injection volumes among a group of pediatric anesthesiologists and pediatric postanesthesia care unit (PACU) nurses. We hypothesized that as the intended injection volumes decreased, the deviation from those intended injection volumes would increase. Ten attending pediatric anesthesiologists and 10 pediatric PACU nurses each performed a series of 10 injections into a simulated patient IV setup. Practitioners used separate 1-mL tuberculin syringes with removable 18-gauge needles (Becton-Dickinson & Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ) to aspirate 5 different volumes (0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 mL) of 0.25 mM Lucifer Yellow (LY) fluorescent dye constituted in saline (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) from a rubber-stoppered vial. Each participant then injected the specified volume of LY fluorescent dye via a 3-way stopcock into IV tubing with free-flowing 0.9% sodium chloride (10 mL/min). The injected volume of LY fluorescent dye and 0.9% sodium chloride then drained into a collection vial for laboratory analysis. Microplate fluorescence wavelength detection (Infinite M1000; Tecan, Mannedorf, Switzerland) was used to measure the fluorescence of the collected fluid. Administered injection volumes were calculated based on the fluorescence of the collected fluid using a calibration curve of known LY volumes and associated fluorescence.To determine whether deviation of the administered volumes from the intended injection volumes increased at lower injection volumes, we compared the proportional injection volume error (loge [administered volume/intended volume]) for each of the 5 injection volumes using a linear

Gravimetric gas determinations for volume calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibbs, P.W.

1991-01-01

Gravimetric measurements of gases is one of the methods available for calibrating gas volumes. By inputting a known quantity of gas and measuring the resulting pressure and temperature, the system volume can be calculated using gas law principles. Historically, this method has been less accurate due to the difficulty in the mass determination. This difficulty comes from several sources. Two examples are the large tare weight of the gas container relative to the weight of gas and the external volume of the gas container relative to the standards. The application of a gravimetric gas determination to tank volume calibrations at the savannah River Site is discussed. Mass determinations on a 25,00 gram gas container were such that a 1500 gram quantity of gas was routinely determined to within ±0.2 gram at the 99% confidence level. In this paper the weighting design and the methods used to address the difficulties of the mass determination are detailed

Influence of an additional ballast volume on a pulsed ICP discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogdanov, E A; Jr, C A DeJoseph; Demidov, V I; Kudryavtsev, A A; Serditov, K Yu

2007-01-01

A spatial and temporal numerical simulation has been carried out of a pulsed (100% modulated), rf inductively coupled plasma discharge in argon, connected to an additional (ballast) diffusion chamber of much larger volume. It is demonstrated that during the active phase, the presence of the large ballast volume has a small impact on the parameters of the plasma in the smaller discharge chamber. In this case the plasma parameters in the discharge chamber can be estimated separately from the diffusion chamber by a standard method using the characteristic ambipolar diffusion time (for example, using a global model). However, during the afterglow phase, the situation is changed significantly. In the afterglow, the densities of charged particles in the discharge chamber become lower than in the large ballast chamber due to more rapid diffusion loss. As a result, the reverse of the active phase situation occurs, namely, the plasma does not flow from the small to the large chamber, but in the opposite direction, from diffusive to discharge volume, and both the plasma density gradient and the self-consistent ambipolar electric field in the small chamber change directions. This phenomenon leads to new effects in the discharge volume, in particular a decreasing rate of decay of densities of charged particles and electron temperature. Thus, in the afterglow the presence of a large additional ballast volume has a significant impact on the plasma transport. In this case, a simple treatment of the plasma in the discharge chamber in the framework of a spatially averaged model (for example, the global model) is inadequate

Large Multinodular Toxic Goiter: Is Surgery Always Necessary?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Negro

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Patients suffering from multinodular toxic goiter (MNTG are candidates to thyroidectomy or radioiodine 131I (131I therapy. Thyroidectomy may be preferable especially when the volume of hyperfunctioning tissue is so large that a single administration of 131I is unlikely to cure the patient in terms of nodule’s volume reduction and thyroid function. We describe the case of a 71-year-old man suffering from thyrotoxic state for the presence of two large hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules. As the patient refused surgery, at first we administered 600 MBq dose of 131I, which was unable to solve hyperthyroidism and local compressive symptoms. Then, before administering another 131I dose, the patient underwent a laser ablation treatment (LAT in both nodules. After a significant shrinkage due to LAT, the patient received 400 MBq 131I. This procedure was able to definitely cure hyperthyroidism, to induce a significant reduction of nodules’ volume, and to render the patient asymptomatic for compressive symptoms. This case demonstrates that 131I preceded by LAT represents a valid alternative strategy to surgery, even in the presence of two large coexistent hot nodules.

Public-Private Partnership: Joint recommendations to improve downloads of large Earth observation data

Science.gov (United States)

Ramachandran, R.; Murphy, K. J.; Baynes, K.; Lynnes, C.

2016-12-01

With the volume of Earth observation data expanding rapidly, cloud computing is quickly changing the way Earth observation data is processed, analyzed, and visualized. The cloud infrastructure provides the flexibility to scale up to large volumes of data and handle high velocity data streams efficiently. Having freely available Earth observation data collocated on a cloud infrastructure creates opportunities for innovation and value-added data re-use in ways unforeseen by the original data provider. These innovations spur new industries and applications and spawn new scientific pathways that were previously limited due to data volume and computational infrastructure issues. NASA, in collaboration with Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, have jointly developed a set of recommendations to enable efficient transfer of Earth observation data from existing data systems to a cloud computing infrastructure. The purpose of these recommendations is to provide guidelines against which all data providers can evaluate existing data systems and be used to improve any issues uncovered to enable efficient search, access, and use of large volumes of data. Additionally, these guidelines ensure that all cloud providers utilize a common methodology for bulk-downloading data from data providers thus preventing the data providers from building custom capabilities to meet the needs of individual cloud providers. The intent is to share these recommendations with other Federal agencies and organizations that serve Earth observation to enable efficient search, access, and use of large volumes of data. Additionally, the adoption of these recommendations will benefit data users interested in moving large volumes of data from data systems to any other location. These data users include the cloud providers, cloud users such as scientists, and other users working in a high performance computing environment who need to move large volumes of data.

Size exclusion chromatography of lignin: The mechanistic aspects and elimination of undesired secondary interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrianova, Anastasia A; Yeudakimenka, Natallia A; Lilak, Samuel L; Kozliak, Evguenii I; Ugrinov, Angel; Sibi, Mukund P; Kubátová, Alena

2018-01-26

Characterization of lignin and its degradation products, more specifically determination of their molecular weight (MW) distribution, is essential for assessment and applications of these potentially renewable phenolics. Several representative gel filtration and gel permeation systems were evaluated in this work focusing on understanding of undesired secondary non-SEC interactions while utilizing four sets of commercially available polymeric standards as well as low-MW lignin model compounds including diarene standards synthesized in-house. The gel permeation column with a nonpolar highly cross-linked porous polystyrene/divinylbenzene-based stationary phase provided the most effective separation by MW for both low and high MW model compounds. Notably, the column with a higher pore and lower particle size provided a better resolution towards polymeric standards, even though the particle size effect was downplayed in the earlier SEC studies of lignin. For two other evaluated gel filtration and gel permeation columns, the separation was strongly affected by functionalities of the analytes and correlated with the compounds' pK a rather than MW. We showed that the separation on the stationary phases featuring polar hydroxyl groups led to specific column-analyte secondary interactions, perhaps based on their hydrogen bonding with lignin. Further, the SEC column evaluation yielded similar results with two sets of chemically different standards. This setup may be used as a general approach to selecting an applicable column for lignin SEC analysis. We confirmed the obtained results with a different independent method implementing a novel approach for lignin number-average MW (M n ) calculation based on laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LDI-TOF-MS) data. The determined M n corroborated the SEC results. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of elemental impurities in polymer materials of electrical cables for use in safety systems of nuclear power plants and for data transfer in the Large Hadron Collider by instrumental neutron activation analysis

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kučera, Jan; Cabalka, M.; Ferencei, Jozef; Kubešová, Marie; Strunga, Vladimír

2016-01-01

Roč. 309, č. 3 (2016), s. 1341-1348 ISSN 0236-5731 R&D Projects: GA TA ČR TA02010218; GA MŠk(CZ) LM2011019 Institutional support: RVO:61389005 Keywords : instrumental neutron activation analysis * polymer materials * undesired elements * nuclear power plant * Large Hadron Collider Subject RIV: CB - Analytical Chemistry, Separation Impact factor: 1.282, year: 2016

Extending the imaging volume for biometric iris recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Narayanswamy, Ramkumar; Johnson, Gregory E; Silveira, Paulo E X; Wach, Hans B

2005-02-10

The use of the human iris as a biometric has recently attracted significant interest in the area of security applications. The need to capture an iris without active user cooperation places demands on the optical system. Unlike a traditional optical design, in which a large imaging volume is traded off for diminished imaging resolution and capacity for collecting light, Wavefront Coded imaging is a computational imaging technology capable of expanding the imaging volume while maintaining an accurate and robust iris identification capability. We apply Wavefront Coded imaging to extend the imaging volume of the iris recognition application.

Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific Report 1998. Volume VI: Large Research Facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, Guenter; Bercher, Renate; Buechli, Carmen; Foroughi, Fereydoun; Meyer, Rosa

1999-01-01

The department GFA (Grossforschungsanlagen, Large Research Facilities) has been established in October 1998 and its main duty is operation, maintenance and development of the PSI accelerators, the spallation neutron source and the beam transport systems for pions and muons. A large effort of this group concerns the planning and co-ordination of the assembly of the Swiss Light Source (SLS). (author)

APS 6BM-B Large Volume High Pressure Beamline: A Workhorse for Rock and Mineral Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, H.; Whitaker, M. L.; Baldwin, K. J.; Huebsch, W. R.; Vaughan, M. T.; Weidner, D. J.

2017-12-01

With the inheritance of decades of technical innovations at the NSLS X17B2 Beamline, APS 6BM-B Beamline was established in 2015 and is a dedicated beamline for synchrotron-based large volume high pressure research in earth sciences, especially rock and mineral physics. Currently a 250-ton hydraulic press equipped with a D-DIA module is installed and a Rotational Drickamer Apparatus from Yale University is hosted every cycle, covering a pressure range from crust to lower mantle. 6BM-B operates in white beam mode with an effective energy range of 20-100 keV. Energy dispersive X-ray diffraction data is collected using a 10-element solid state Ge array detector arranged in a circular geometry to allow for the real time assessment of stress. Direct radiographic imaging using Prosillica CCD camera and scintillating YAG crystals yields sample strain and strain rate. In addition to applications in phase transitions, equation of states measurements, sound velocity measurements, this setup is ideal for studies of steady state and dynamic deformation process. In this presentation, technical features and strengths of 6BM-B will be discussed. Most recent progress and science highlights of our user community will be showcased.

[Target volume margins for lung cancer: internal target volume/clinical target volume].

Science.gov (United States)

Jouin, A; Pourel, N

2013-10-01

The aim of this study was to carry out a review of margins that should be used for the delineation of target volumes in lung cancer, with a focus on margins from gross tumour volume (GTV) to clinical target volume (CTV) and internal target volume (ITV) delineation. Our review was based on a PubMed literature search with, as a cornerstone, the 2010 European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) recommandations by De Ruysscher et al. The keywords used for the search were: radiotherapy, lung cancer, clinical target volume, internal target volume. The relevant information was categorized under the following headings: gross tumour volume definition (GTV), CTV-GTV margin (first tumoural CTV then nodal CTV definition), in field versus elective nodal irradiation, metabolic imaging role through the input of the PET scanner for tumour target volume and limitations of PET-CT imaging for nodal target volume definition, postoperative radiotherapy target volume definition, delineation of target volumes after induction chemotherapy; then the internal target volume is specified as well as tumoural mobility for lung cancer and respiratory gating techniques. Finally, a chapter is dedicated to planning target volume definition and another to small cell lung cancer. For each heading, the most relevant and recent clinical trials and publications are mentioned. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier SAS.

Nuclear waste calorimeter for very large drums with 385 litres sample volume

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jossens, G.; Mathonat, C. [SETARAM Instrumentation, Caluire (France); Bachelet, F. [CEA Valduc, Is sur Tille (France)

2015-03-15

Calorimetry is a very precise and well adapted tool for the classification of drums containing nuclear waste material depending on their level of activities (low, medium, high). A new calorimeter has been developed by SETARAM Instrumentation and the CEA Valduc in France. This new calorimeter is designed for drums having a volume bigger than 100 liters. It guarantees high operator safety by optimizing drum handling and air circulation for cooling, and optimized software for direct measurement of the quantity of nuclear material. The LVC1380 calorimeter makes it possible to work over the range 10 to 3000 mW, which corresponds to approximately 0.03 to 10 g of tritium or 3 to 955 g of {sup 241}Pu in a volume up to 385 liters. This calorimeter is based on the heat flow measurement using Peltier elements which surround the drum in the 3 dimensions and therefore measure all the heat coming from the radioactive stuff whatever its position inside the drum. Calorimeter's insulating layers constitute a thermal barrier designed to filter disturbances until they represent less than 0.001 Celsius degrees and to eliminate long term disturbances associated, for example, with laboratory temperature variations between day and night. A calibration device based on Joule effect has also been designed. Measurement time has been optimized but remains long compared with other methods of measurement such as gamma spectrometry but its main asset is to have a good accuracy for low level activities.

State of art data acquisition system for large volume plasma device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugandhi, Ritesh; Srivastava, Pankaj; Sanyasi, Amulya Kumar; Srivastav, Prabhakar; Awasthi, Lalit Mohan; Mattoo, Shiban Krishna; Parmar, Vijay; Makadia, Keyur; Patel, Ishan; Shah, Sandeep

2015-01-01

The Large volume plasma device (LVPD) is a cylindrical device (ϕ = 2m, L = 3m) dedicated for carrying out investigations on plasma physics problems ranging from excitation of whistler structures to plasma turbulence especially, exploring the linear and nonlinear aspects of electron temperature gradient(ETG) driven turbulence, plasma transport over the entire cross section of LVPD. The machine operates in a pulsed mode with repetition cycle of 1 Hz and acquisition pulse length of duration of 15 ms, presently, LVPD has VXI data acquisition system but this is now in phasing out mode because of non-functioning of its various amplifier stages, expandability and unavailability of service support. The VXI system has limited capabilities to meet new experimental requirements in terms of numbers of channel (16), bit resolutions (8 bit), record length (30K points) and calibration support. Recently, integration of new acquisition system for simultaneous sampling of 40 channels of data, collected over multiple time scales with high speed is successfully demonstrated, by configuring latest available hardware and in-house developed software solutions. The operational feasibility provided by LabVIEW platform is not only for operating DAQ system but also for providing controls to various subsystems associated with the device. The new system is based on PXI express instrumentation bus and supersedes the existing VXI based data acquisition system in terms of instrumentation capabilities. This system has capability to measure 32 signals at 60 MHz sampling frequency and 8 signals with 1.25 GHz with 10 bit and 12 bit resolution capability for amplitude measurements. The PXI based system successfully addresses and demonstrate the issues concerning high channel count, high speed data streaming and multiple I/O modules synchronization. The system consists of chassis (NI 1085), 4 high sampling digitizers (NI 5105), 2 very high sampling digitizers (NI 5162), data streaming RAID drive (NI

Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific Report 1998. Volume VI: Large Research Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bauer, Guenter; Bercher, Renate; Buechli, Carmen; Foroughi, Fereydoun; Meyer, Rosa [eds.

1999-09-01

The department GFA (Grossforschungsanlagen, Large Research Facilities) has been established in October 1998 and its main duty is operation, maintenance and development of the PSI accelerators, the spallation neutron source and the beam transport systems for pions and muons. A large effort of this group concerns the planning and co-ordination of the assembly of the Swiss Light Source (SLS). (author) figs., tabs., refs.

Environmental gamma radiation monitoring system with a large volume air ionization chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duftschmid, K.E.; Strachotinsky, C.; Witzani, J.

1986-01-01

An improved environmental monitoring system has been designed and tested consisting of an ionization chamber with 120 l sensitive volume, operated at atmospheric pressure, and a commercial electrometer amplifier with digital voltmeter. The system is controlled by a desk calculator with printer for automated operation and calculation of dose and doserate. The ionization chamber provides superior dosimetric performance as compared to usual GM-counters and high pressure chambers. The system has been field-tested during the 'European Intercomparison Programme for Environmental Monitoring Instruments' organized by the Commission of the European Communities. (Author)

Highly selective solid-phase extraction and large volume injection for the robust gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of TCA and TBA in wines.

Science.gov (United States)

Insa, S; Anticó, E; Ferreira, V

2005-09-30

A reliable solid-phase extraction (SPE) method for the simultaneous determination of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) and 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) in wines has been developed. In the proposed procedure 50 mL of wine are extracted in a 1 mL cartridge filled with 50 mg of LiChrolut EN resins. Most wine volatiles are washed up with 12.5 mL of a water:methanol solution (70%, v/v) containing 1% of NaHCO3. Analytes are further eluted with 0.6 mL of dichloromethane. A 40 microL aliquot of this extract is directly injected into a PTV injector operated in the solvent split mode, and analysed by gas chromatography (GC)-ion trap mass spectrometry using the selected ion storage mode. The solid-phase extraction, including sample volume and rinsing and elution solvents, and the large volume GC injection have been carefully evaluated and optimized. The resulting method is precise (RSD (%) TBA, respectively), robust (the absolute recoveries of both analytes are higher than 80% and consistent wine to wine) and friendly to the GC-MS system (the extract is clean, simple and free from non-volatiles).

Dose fractionated gamma knife radiosurgery for large arteriovenous malformations on daily or alternate day schedule outside the linear quadratic model: Proof of concept and early results. A substitute to volume fractionation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, Kanchan Kumar; Kumar, Narendra; Tripathi, Manjul; Oinam, Arun S; Ahuja, Chirag K; Dhandapani, Sivashanmugam; Kapoor, Rakesh; Ghoshal, Sushmita; Kaur, Rupinder; Bhatt, Sandeep

2017-01-01

To evaluate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of dose fractionated gamma knife radiosurgery (DFGKRS) on a daily schedule beyond the linear quadratic (LQ) model, for large volume arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Between 2012-16, 14 patients of large AVMs (median volume 26.5 cc) unsuitable for surgery or embolization were treated in 2-3 of DFGKRS sessions. The Leksell G frame was kept in situ during the whole procedure. 86% (n = 12) patients had radiologic evidence of bleed, and 43% (n = 6) had presented with a history of seizures. 57% (n = 8) patients received a daily treatment for 3 days and 43% (n = 6) were on an alternate day (2 fractions) regimen. The marginal dose was split into 2 or 3 fractions of the ideal prescription dose of a single fraction of 23-25 Gy. The median follow up period was 35.6 months (8-57 months). In the three-fraction scheme, the marginal dose ranged from 8.9-11.5 Gy, while in the two-fraction scheme, the marginal dose ranged from 11.3-15 Gy at 50% per fraction. Headache (43%, n = 6) was the most common early postoperative complication, which was controlled with short course steroids. Follow up evaluation of at least three years was achieved in seven patients, who have shown complete nidus obliteration in 43% patients while the obliteration has been in the range of 50-99% in rest of the patients. Overall, there was a 67.8% reduction in the AVM volume at 3 years. Nidus obliteration at 3 years showed a significant rank order correlation with the cumulative prescription dose (p 0.95, P value 0.01), with attainment of near-total (more than 95%) obliteration rates beyond 29 Gy of the cumulative prescription dose. No patient receiving a cumulative prescription dose of less than 31 Gy had any severe adverse reaction. In co-variate adjusted ordinal regression, only the cumulative prescription dose had a significant correlation with common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE) severity (P value 0.04), independent of age, AVM volume

Volume rendering in treatment planning for moving targets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gemmel, Alexander [GSI-Biophysics, Darmstadt (Germany); Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (United States); Wolfgang, John A.; Chen, George T.Y. [Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (United States)

2009-07-01

Advances in computer technologies have facilitated the development of tools for 3-dimensional visualization of CT-data sets with volume rendering. The company Fovia has introduced a high definition volume rendering engine (HDVR trademark by Fovia Inc., Palo Alto, USA) that is capable of representing large CT data sets with high user interactivity even on standard PCs. Fovia provides a software development kit (SDK) that offers control of all the features of the rendering engine. We extended the SDK by functionalities specific to the task of treatment planning for moving tumors. This included navigation of the patient's anatomy in beam's eye view, fast point-and-click measurement of lung tumor trajectories as well as estimation of range perturbations due to motion by calculation of (differential) water equivalent path lengths for protons and carbon ions on 4D-CT data sets. We present patient examples to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of volume rendered images as compared to standard 2-dimensional axial plane images. Furthermore, we show an example of a range perturbation analysis. We conclude that volume rendering is a powerful technique for the representation and analysis of large time resolved data sets in treatment planning.

TomoEED: Fast Edge-Enhancing Denoising of Tomographic Volumes.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno, J J; Martínez-Sánchez, A; Martínez, J A; Garzón, E M; Fernández, J J

2018-05-29

TomoEED is an optimized software tool for fast feature-preserving noise filtering of large 3D tomographic volumes on CPUs and GPUs. The tool is based on the anisotropic nonlinear diffusion method. It has been developed with special emphasis in the reduction of the computational demands by using different strategies, from the algorithmic to the high performance computing perspectives. TomoEED manages to filter large volumes in a matter of minutes in standard computers. TomoEED has been developed in C. It is available for Linux platforms at http://www.cnb.csic.es/%7ejjfernandez/tomoeed. gmartin@ual.es, JJ.Fernandez@csic.es. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Determining volume sensitive waters in Beaufort County, SC tidal creeks

Science.gov (United States)

Andrew Tweel; Denise Sanger; Anne Blair; John Leffler

2016-01-01

Non-point source pollution from stormwater runoff associated with large-scale land use changes threatens the integrity of ecologically and economically valuable estuarine ecosystems. Beaufort County, SC implemented volume-based stormwater regulations on the rationale that if volume discharge is controlled, contaminant loading will also be controlled.

Subcortical intelligence: caudate volume predicts IQ in healthy adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Grazioplene, Rachael G; G Ryman, Sephira; Gray, Jeremy R; Rustichini, Aldo; Jung, Rex E; DeYoung, Colin G

2015-04-01

This study examined the association between size of the caudate nuclei and intelligence. Based on the central role of the caudate in learning, as well as neuroimaging studies linking greater caudate volume to better attentional function, verbal ability, and dopamine receptor availability, we hypothesized the existence of a positive association between intelligence and caudate volume in three large independent samples of healthy adults (total N = 517). Regression of IQ onto bilateral caudate volume controlling for age, sex, and total brain volume indicated a significant positive correlation between caudate volume and intelligence, with a comparable magnitude of effect across each of the three samples. No other subcortical structures were independently associated with IQ, suggesting a specific biological link between caudate morphology and intelligence. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Anomalous atomic volume of alpha-Pu

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kollar, J.; Vitos, Levente; Skriver, Hans Lomholt

1997-01-01

We have performed full charge-density calculations for the equilibrium atomic volumes of the alpha-phase light actinide metals using the local density approximation (LDA) and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The average deviation between the experimental and the GGA atomic radii is 1.......3%. The comparison between the LDA and GGA results show that the anomalously large atomic volume of alpha-Pu relative to alpha-Np can be ascribed to exchange-correlation effects connected with the presence of low coordinated sites in the structure where the f electrons are close to the onset of localization...

The design and performance of a large-volume spherical CsI(Tl) scintillation counter for gamma-ray spectroscopy

CERN Document Server

Meng, L J; Chirkin, V M; Potapov, V N; Ivanov, O P; Ignatov, S M

2002-01-01

This paper presents details of the design and performance of a prototype large-volume scintillation detector used for gamma-ray spectroscopy. In this detector, a spherical CsI(Tl) scintillation crystal having a diameter of 5.7 cm was polished and packed in dry MgO powder. The scintillation light from the crystal was viewed using a single 1x1 cm sup 2 silicon PIN diode. A low-noise preamplifier was also integrated within the detector housing. The measured noise level was equivalent to approx 800 electrons (FWHM). Such a configuration provided a very good light collection efficiency, which resulted in an average of 20 electrons being generated per keV of energy deposited in the crystal. One of the key features of the detector design is that it minimises spatial variations in the light collection efficiency throughout the detector. Compared with a standard 3 in. NaI scintillation counter, this feature leads to a much-improved energy resolution, particularly for photon energies above 1 MeV. The results presented ...

Open Data, Jupyter Notebooks and Geospatial Data Standards Combined - Opening up large volumes of marine and climate data to other communities

Science.gov (United States)

Clements, O.; Siemen, S.; Wagemann, J.

2017-12-01

The EU-funded Earthserver-2 project aims to offer on-demand access to large volumes of environmental data (Earth Observation, Marine, Climate data and Planetary data) via the interface standard Web Coverage Service defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium. Providing access to data via OGC web services (e.g. WCS and WMS) has the potential to open up services to a wider audience, especially to users outside the respective communities. Especially WCS 2.0 with its processing extension Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS) is highly beneficial to make large volumes accessible to non-expert communities. Users do not have to deal with custom community data formats, such as GRIB for the meteorological community, but can directly access the data in a format they are more familiar with, such as NetCDF, JSON or CSV. Data requests can further directly be integrated into custom processing routines and users are not required to download Gigabytes of data anymore. WCS supports trim (reduction of data extent) and slice (reduction of data dimension) operations on multi-dimensional data, providing users a very flexible on-demand access to the data. WCPS allows the user to craft queries to run on the data using a text-based query language, similar to SQL. These queries can be very powerful, e.g. condensing a three-dimensional data cube into its two-dimensional mean. However, the more processing-intensive the more complex the query. As part of the EarthServer-2 project, we developed a python library that helps users to generate complex WCPS queries with Python, a programming language they are more familiar with. The interactive presentation aims to give practical examples how users can benefit from two specific WCS services from the Marine and Climate community. Use-cases from the two communities will show different approaches to take advantage of a Web Coverage (Processing) Service. The entire content is available with Jupyter Notebooks, as they prove to be a highly beneficial tool

A uniform laminar air plasma plume with large volume excited by an alternating current voltage

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xuechen; Bao, Wenting; Chu, Jingdi; Zhang, Panpan; Jia, Pengying

2015-12-01

Using a plasma jet composed of two needle electrodes, a laminar plasma plume with large volume is generated in air through an alternating current voltage excitation. Based on high-speed photography, a train of filaments is observed to propagate periodically away from their birth place along the gas flow. The laminar plume is in fact a temporal superposition of the arched filament train. The filament consists of a negative glow near the real time cathode, a positive column near the real time anode, and a Faraday dark space between them. It has been found that the propagation velocity of the filament increases with increasing the gas flow rate. Furthermore, the filament lifetime tends to follow a normal distribution (Gaussian distribution). The most probable lifetime decreases with increasing the gas flow rate or decreasing the averaged peak voltage. Results also indicate that the real time peak current decreases and the real time peak voltage increases with the propagation of the filament along the gas flow. The voltage-current curve indicates that, in every discharge cycle, the filament evolves from a Townsend discharge to a glow one and then the discharge quenches. Characteristic regions including a negative glow, a Faraday dark space, and a positive column can be discerned from the discharge filament. Furthermore, the plasma parameters such as the electron density, the vibrational temperature and the gas temperature are investigated based on the optical spectrum emitted from the laminar plume.

Unraveling The Connectome: Visualizing and Abstracting Large-Scale Connectomics Data

KAUST Repository

Al-Awami, Ali K.

2017-01-01

-user system seamlessly integrates a diverse set of tools. Our system provides support for the management, provenance, accountability, and auditing of large-scale segmentations. Finally, we present a novel architecture to render very large volumes interactively

Data acquisition system issues for large experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siskind, E.J.

2007-01-01

This talk consists of personal observations on two classes of data acquisition ('DAQ') systems for Silicon trackers in large experiments with which the author has been concerned over the last three or more years. The first half is a classic 'lessons learned' recital based on experience with the high-level debug and configuration of the DAQ system for the GLAST LAT detector. The second half is concerned with a discussion of the promises and pitfalls of using modern (and future) generations of 'system-on-a-chip' ('SOC') or 'platform' field-programmable gate arrays ('FPGAs') in future large DAQ systems. The DAQ system pipeline for the 864k channels of Si tracker in the GLAST LAT consists of five tiers of hardware buffers which ultimately feed into the main memory of the (two-active-node) level-3 trigger processor farm. The data formats and buffer volumes of these tiers are briefly described, as well as the flow control employed between successive tiers. Lessons learned regarding data formats, buffer volumes, and flow control/data discard policy are discussed. The continued development of platform FPGAs containing large amounts of configurable logic fabric, embedded PowerPC hard processor cores, digital signal processing components, large volumes of on-chip buffer memory, and multi-gigabit serial I/O capability permits DAQ system designers to vastly increase the amount of data preprocessing that can be performed in parallel within the DAQ pipeline for detector systems in large experiments. The capabilities of some currently available FPGA families are reviewed, along with the prospects for next-generation families of announced, but not yet available, platform FPGAs. Some experience with an actual implementation is presented, and reconciliation between advertised and achievable specifications is attempted. The prospects for applying these components to space-borne Si tracker detectors are briefly discussed

Ribbon scanning confocal for high-speed high-resolution volume imaging of brain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan M Watson

Full Text Available Whole-brain imaging is becoming a fundamental means of experimental insight; however, achieving subcellular resolution imagery in a reasonable time window has not been possible. We describe the first application of multicolor ribbon scanning confocal methods to collect high-resolution volume images of chemically cleared brains. We demonstrate that ribbon scanning collects images over ten times faster than conventional high speed confocal systems but with equivalent spectral and spatial resolution. Further, using this technology, we reconstruct large volumes of mouse brain infected with encephalitic alphaviruses and demonstrate that regions of the brain with abundant viral replication were inaccessible to vascular perfusion. This reveals that the destruction or collapse of large regions of brain micro vasculature may contribute to the severe disease caused by Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus. Visualization of this fundamental impact of infection would not be possible without sampling at subcellular resolution within large brain volumes.

Mass spectrometry of large molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Facchetti, S.

1985-01-01

The lectures in this volume were given at a course on mass spectrometry of large molecules, organized within the framework of the Training and Education programme of the Joint Research Centre of the European Communities. Although first presented in 1983, most of the lectures have since been updated by their authors. (orig.)

Large scale inverse problems computational methods and applications in the earth sciences

CERN Document Server

Scheichl, Robert; Freitag, Melina A; Kindermann, Stefan

2013-01-01

This book is thesecond volume of three volume series recording the ""Radon Special Semester 2011 on Multiscale Simulation & Analysis in Energy and the Environment"" taking place in Linz, Austria, October 3-7, 2011. The volume addresses the common ground in the mathematical and computational procedures required for large-scale inverse problems and data assimilation in forefront applications.

The rationale and technique of staged-volume arteriovenous malformation radiosurgery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollock, Bruce E.; Kline, Robert W.; Stafford, Scott L.; Foote, Robert L.; Schomberg, Paula J.

2000-01-01

Purpose: Stereotactic radiosurgery is an effective management strategy for properly selected arteriovenous malformation (AVM) patients. However, the risk of postradiosurgical radiation-related injury generally limits this procedure to patients with AVMs of an average diameter of 3 cm or less. Radiosurgery of large AVMs in a planned staged fashion was undertaken to limit the radiation exposure to the surrounding normal brain. Methods and Materials: Between April 1997 and December 1999, 10 patients with a median AVM volume of 17.4 cm 3 (range, 7.4-53.3 cm 3 ) underwent staged-volume radiosurgery (23 procedures). At the first radiosurgical procedure, the total volume of the AVM is estimated and a dose plan calculated that covers 10 cm 3 -15 cm 3 , or one-half the nidus volume if the AVM is critically located (brainstem, thalamus, or basal ganglia). At 6-month intervals thereafter, radiosurgery was repeated to different portions of the AVM with the previous dose plan(s) being re-created utilizing intracranial landmarks to minimize radiation overlap. Radiosurgical procedures were continued until the entire malformation has been irradiated. Results: The radiation dosimetry of staged-volume AVM radiosurgery was compared to hypothetical single-session procedures for the 10 patients. Staged-volume radiosurgery decreased the 12-Gy volume by an average of 11.1% (range, 4.9-21%) (p < 0.001). The non-AVM 12-Gy volume was reduced by an average of 27.2% (range, 12.5-51.3%) (p < 0.001). Discussion: Staged-volume radiosurgery of large AVMs results in less radiation exposure to the adjacent brain. Further follow-up is needed to determine whether this technique provides a high rate of AVM obliteration while maintaining an acceptable rate of radiation-related complications

Portable waveguide display system with a large field of view by integrating freeform elements and volume holograms.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jian; Liu, Juan; Yao, Xincheng; Wang, Yongtian

2015-02-09

A compact waveguide display system integrating freeform elements and volume holograms is presented here for the first time. The use of freeform elements can broaden the field of view, which limits the applications of a holographic waveguide. An optimized system can achieve a diagonal field of view of 45° when the thickness of the waveguide planar is 3mm. Freeform-elements in-coupler and the volume holograms out-coupler were designed in detail in our study, and the influence of grating configurations on diffraction efficiency was analyzed thoroughly. The off-axis aberrations were well compensated by the in-coupler and the diffraction efficiency of the optimized waveguide display system could reach 87.57%. With integrated design, stability and reliability of this monochromatic display system were achieved and the alignment of the system was easily controlled by the record of the volume holograms, which makes mass production possible.

Quark-gluon plasma at finite baryons density and in limit of large Nc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azakov, S.I.

1987-01-01

Study of thermodynamics of ideal colourless quark-gluon (QG) gas in limit of large N C is carried out. Consideration of this limit much simplifies the problem on calculation of such system statsum. Unlike the papers where the properties of ideal colourless QG-gas were defined in approximation valid at large V volumes, in the given calculations the volume may be arbitrary. The ideal QG gas is considered in a final volume. Phase transition is shown to be absent in the problem more relativistic from the physical view point, when conservation of the baryon charge is taken into account

Large-volume multi-tined expandable RF ablation in pig livers: comparison of 2D and volumetric measurements of the ablation zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bangard, Christopher; Roesgen, Silvia; Lackner, Klaus J.; Wahba, Roger; Stippel, Dirk L.; Wiemker, Rafael; Hellmich, Martin; Reiter, Hannah; Fischer, Juergen H.

2010-01-01

To compare two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) measurements of ablation zones (AZs) related to the shaft of two different large-volume monopolar multi-tined expandable electrodes. Percutaneous radiofrequency (RF) ablation was performed in 12 pigs (81.6±7.8 kg) using two electrodes (LeVeen 5 cm, Rita XL 5 cm; n=6 in each group). Contrast-enhanced CT with the electrode shaft in place evaluated the AZ. The largest sphere centred on the electrode shaft within the AZ was calculated (1) based on the 2D axial CT image in the plane of the shaft assuming rotational symmetry of the AZ and (2) using prototype software and the 3D volume data of the AZ measured with CT. The mean largest diameter of a sphere centred on the electrode shaft was always smaller using the 3D data of the AZ than using 2D CT measurements assuming rotational symmetry of the AZ (3D vs 2D): LeVeen 18.2±4.8 mm; 24.5 ±3.1 mm; p=0.001; Rita XL 20.0±3.7 mm; 28.8±4.9 mm; p=0.0002. All AZ showed indentations around the tines. Two-dimensional CT measurements assuming rotational symmetry of the AZ overestimate the largest ablated sphere centred on the electrode shaft compared with 3D CT measurements. (orig.)

High-Volume Production of Lightweight Multijunction Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Youtsey, Christopher

2015-01-01

MicroLink Devices, Inc., has transitioned its 6-inch epitaxial lift-off (ELO) solar cell fabrication process into a manufacturing platform capable of sustaining large-volume production. This Phase II project improves the ELO process by reducing cycle time and increasing the yield of large-area devices. In addition, all critical device fabrication processes have transitioned to 6-inch production tool sets designed for volume production. An emphasis on automated cassette-to-cassette and batch processes minimizes operator dependence and cell performance variability. MicroLink Devices established a pilot production line capable of at least 1,500 6-inch wafers per month at greater than 80 percent yield. The company also increased the yield and manufacturability of the 6-inch reclaim process, which is crucial to reducing the cost of the cells.

The effects of intracranial volume adjustment approaches on multiple regional MRI volumes in healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga eVoevodskaya

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In neurodegeneration research, normalization of regional volumes by intracranial volume (ICV is important to estimate the extent of disease-driven atrophy. There is little agreement as to whether raw volumes, volume-to-ICV fractions or regional volumes from which the ICV factor has been regressed out should be used for volumetric brain imaging studies. Using multiple regional cortical and subcortical volumetric measures generated by Freesurfer (51 in total, the main aim of this study was to elucidate the implications of these adjustment approaches. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI data were analyzed from two large cohorts, the population-based PIVUS cohort (N=406, all subjects age 75 and the Alzheimer disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI cohort (N=724. Further, we studied whether the chosen ICV normalization approach influenced the relationship between hippocampus and cognition in the three diagnostic groups of the ADNI cohort (Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment and healthy individuals. The ability of raw vs adjusted hippocampal volumes to predict diagnostic status was also assessed. In both cohorts raw volumes correlate positively with ICV, but do not scale directly proportionally with it. The correlation direction is reversed for all volume-to-ICV fractions, except the lateral and third ventricles. Most grey matter fractions are larger in females, while lateral ventricle fractions are greater in males. Residual correction effectively eliminated the correlation between the regional volumes and ICV and removed gender differences. The association between hippocampal volumes and cognition was not altered by ICV normalization. Comparing prediction of diagnostic status using the different approaches, small but significant differences were found. The choice of normalization approach should be carefully considered when designing a volumetric brain imaging study.

Functionality and Performance Visualization of the Distributed High Quality Volume Renderer (HVR)

KAUST Repository

Shaheen, Sara

2012-07-01

Volume rendering systems are designed to provide means to enable scientists and a variety of experts to interactively explore volume data through 3D views of the volume. However, volume rendering techniques are computationally intensive tasks. Moreover, parallel distributed volume rendering systems and multi-threading architectures were suggested as natural solutions to provide an acceptable volume rendering performance for very large volume data sizes, such as Electron Microscopy data (EM). This in turn adds another level of complexity when developing and manipulating volume rendering systems. Given that distributed parallel volume rendering systems are among the most complex systems to develop, trace and debug, it is obvious that traditional debugging tools do not provide enough support. As a consequence, there is a great demand to provide tools that are able to facilitate the manipulation of such systems. This can be achieved by utilizing the power of compute graphics in designing visual representations that reflect how the system works and that visualize the current performance state of the system.The work presented is categorized within the field of software Visualization, where Visualization is used to serve visualizing and understanding various software. In this thesis, a number of visual representations that reflect a number of functionality and performance aspects of the distributed HVR, a high quality volume renderer system that uses various techniques to visualize large volume sizes interactively. This work is provided to visualize different stages of the parallel volume rendering pipeline of HVR. This is along with means of performance analysis through a number of flexible and dynamic visualizations that reflect the current state of the system and enables manipulation of them at runtime. Those visualization are aimed to facilitate debugging, understanding and analyzing the distributed HVR.

Dynamic modelling and simulation of complex drive systems of large belt conveyors; Dynamische Modellierung und Simulation komplexer Antriebssysteme von Grossbandanlagen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burgwinkel, Paul; Vreydal, Daniel; Eltaliawi, Gamil; Vijayakumar, Nandhakumar [RWTH Aachen (DE). Inst. fuer Maschinentechnik der Rohstoffindustrie (IMR)

2010-09-15

For the first time the Co-simulation method was successfully used for full representation of a large belt conveyor for an open cast mine in a simulation model at the Institute for Mechanical Engineering in the Raw Materials Industry at Rhineland-Westphalia Technological University in Aachen. The aim of this project was the development of an electro-mechanical simulation model, which represents all components of a large belt conveyor from the drive motor to the conveyor belt in one simulation model and thus makes the interactions between the individual assemblies verifiable by calculations. With the aid of the developed model it was possible to determine critical operating speeds of the represented large belt conveyor and derive suitable measures to combat undesirable resonance states in the drive assembly. Furthermore it was possible to clarify the advantage of the full numerical representation of an electromechanical drive system. (orig.)

Process Improvement to Enhance Quality in a Large Volume Labor and Birth Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Ashley M; Bohannon, Jessica; Porthouse, Lisa; Thompson, Heather; Vago, Tony

using the Lean process, frontline clinicians identified areas that needed improvement, developed and implemented successful strategies that addressed each gap, and enhanced the quality and safety of care for a large volume perinatal service.

Multi-staged robotic stereotactic radiosurgery for large cerebral arteriovenous malformations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, Chuxiong; Solberg, Timothy D.; Hrycushko, Brian; Medin, Paul; Whitworth, Louis; Timmerman, Robert D.

2013-01-01

Purpose: To investigate a multi-staged robotic stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) delivery technique for the treatment of large cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). The treatment planning process and strategies to optimize both individual and composite dosimetry are discussed. Methods: Eleven patients with large (30.7 ± 19.2 cm 3 ) AVMs were selected for this study. A fiducial system was designed for fusion of targets between planar angiograms and simulation CT scans. AVMs were contoured based on single contrast CT, MRI and orthogonal angiogram images. AVMs were divided into 3–8 sub-target volumes (3–7 cm 3 ) for sequential treatment at 1–4 week intervals to a prescription dose of 16–20 Gy. Forward and inversely developed treatment plans were optimized for 95% coverage of the total AVM volume by dose summation from each sub-volume, while minimizing dose to surrounding tissues. Dose-volume analysis was used to evaluate the PTV coverage, dose conformality (CI), and R 50 and V 12Gy parameters. Results: The treatment workflow was commissioned and able to localize within 1 mm. Inverse optimization outperformed forward planning for most patients for each index considered. Dose conformality was shown comparable to staged Gamma Knife treatments. Conclusion: The CyberKnife system is shown to be a practical delivery platform for multi-staged treatments of large AVMs using forward or inverse planning techniques

Quantifying the Impact of Immediate Reconstruction in Postmastectomy Radiation: A Large, Dose-Volume Histogram-Based Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohri, Nisha [Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (United States); Cordeiro, Peter G. [Department of Plastic Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (United States); Keam, Jennifer [Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (United States); Ballangrud, Ase [Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (United States); Shi Weiji; Zhang Zhigang [Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (United States); Nerbun, Claire T.; Woch, Katherine M.; Stein, Nicholas F.; Zhou Ying [Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (United States); McCormick, Beryl; Powell, Simon N. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (United States); Ho, Alice Y., E-mail: HoA1234@mskcc.org [Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (United States)

2012-10-01

Purpose: To assess the impact of immediate breast reconstruction on postmastectomy radiation (PMRT) using dose-volume histogram (DVH) data. Methods and Materials: Two hundred forty-seven women underwent PMRT at our center, 196 with implant reconstruction and 51 without reconstruction. Patients with reconstruction were treated with tangential photons, and patients without reconstruction were treated with en-face electron fields and customized bolus. Twenty percent of patients received internal mammary node (IMN) treatment. The DVH data were compared between groups. Ipsilateral lung parameters included V20 (% volume receiving 20 Gy), V40 (% volume receiving 40 Gy), mean dose, and maximum dose. Heart parameters included V25 (% volume receiving 25 Gy), mean dose, and maximum dose. IMN coverage was assessed when applicable. Chest wall coverage was assessed in patients with reconstruction. Propensity-matched analysis adjusted for potential confounders of laterality and IMN treatment. Results: Reconstruction was associated with lower lung V20, mean dose, and maximum dose compared with no reconstruction (all P<.0001). These associations persisted on propensity-matched analysis (all P<.0001). Heart doses were similar between groups (P=NS). Ninety percent of patients with reconstruction had excellent chest wall coverage (D95 >98%). IMN coverage was superior in patients with reconstruction (D95 >92.0 vs 75.7%, P<.001). IMN treatment significantly increased lung and heart parameters in patients with reconstruction (all P<.05) but minimally affected those without reconstruction (all P>.05). Among IMN-treated patients, only lower lung V20 in those without reconstruction persisted (P=.022), and mean and maximum heart doses were higher than in patients without reconstruction (P=.006, P=.015, respectively). Conclusions: Implant reconstruction does not compromise the technical quality of PMRT when the IMNs are untreated. Treatment technique, not reconstruction, is the primary

Radionuclides and particles in seawater with the large volume in situ filtration and concentration system in the coastal waters off Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aono, Tatsuo; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Okubo, Ayako; Zheng, Jian; Yamada, Masatoshi; Kusakabe, Masashi

2008-01-01

It is necessary to determine the radionuclides in dissolved and particulate state in order to clarify the distributions and behavior of these in seawater. Because the concentrations of radionuclides and particles are very low in the ocean, it is difficult to concentrate and fractionate the particulate matters with the filtration systems in seawater. The large volume in situ filtration and concentration system (LV-FiCS) was developed to collect various forms of trace radionuclides and particles in seawater. The LV-FiCS has been operated during several cruises in the coastal waters off Japan, and several m 3 of seawaters were filtered through different kinds of filters and then pass through the adsorbents to concentrate radionuclides simultaneously. This system could be shown the vertical profiles of thorium with the size-fractionated method and the behavior of these nuclides in the ocean. (author)

Special Properties of Coherence Scanning Interferometers for large Measurement Volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, W

2011-01-01

In contrast to many other optical methods the uncertainty of Coherence Scanning Interferometer (CSI) in vertical direction is independent from the field of view. Therefore CSIs are ideal instruments for measuring 3D-profiles of larger areas (36x28mm 2 , e.g.) with high precision. This is of advantage for the determination of form parameters like flatness, parallelism and steps heights within a short time. In addition, using a telecentric beam path allows measurements of deep lying surfaces (<70mm) and the determination of form parameters with large step-heights. The lateral and spatial resolution, however, are reduced. In this presentation different metrological characteristics together with their potential errors are analyzed for large-scale measuring CSIs. Therefore these instruments are ideal tools in quality control for good/bad selections, e.g. The consequences for the practical use in industry and for standardization are discussed by examples of workpieces of automotive suppliers or from the steel industry.

Divided attention: an undesirable difficulty in memory retention.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspelin, Nicholas; Ruthruff, Eric; Pashler, Harold

2013-10-01

How can we improve memory retention? A large body of research has suggested that difficulty encountered during learning, such as when practice sessions are distributed rather than massed, can enhance later memory performance (see R. A. Bjork & E. L. Bjork, 1992). Here, we investigated whether divided attention during retrieval practice can also constitute a desirable difficulty. Following two initial study phases and one test phase with Swahili-English word pairs (e.g., vuvi-snake), we manipulated whether items were tested again under full or divided attention. Two days later, participants were brought back for a final cued-recall test (e.g., vuvi-?). Across three experiments (combined N = 122), we found no evidence that dividing attention while practicing retrieval enhances memory retention. This finding raises the question of why many types of difficulty during practice do improve long-term retention, but dividing attention does not.

Evaluation of thermal stress in the anode chamber wall of a large volume magnetic bucket ion source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wells, Russell; Horiike, Hiroshi; Kuriyama, Masaaki; Ohara, Yoshihiro

1984-02-01

Thermal stress analysis was performed on the plasma chamber of the Large Volume Magnetic Multipole Bucket Ion Source (LVB) designed for use on the JT-60 NBI system. The energy absorbed by the walls of the plasma chambers of neutral beam injectors is of the order of 1% of the accelerator electrical drain power. A previous study indicates that a moderately high heat flux, of about 600W/cm 2 , is concentrated on the magnetic field cusp lines during normal full power operation. Abnormal arc discharges during conditioning of a stainless steel LVB produced localized melting of the stainless steel at several locations near the cusps lines. The power contained in abnormal arc discharges (arc spots) was estimated from the observed melting. Thermal stress analysis was performed numerically on representative sections of the copper LVB design for both stable and abnormal arc discharge conditions. Results show that this chamber should not fail due to thermal fatigue stesses arising from normal arc discharges. However, fatigue failure may occur after several hundred to a few thousand arc spots of 30mS duration at any one location. Limited arc discharge operation of the copper bucket was performed to partially verify the chamber's durability. (author)

Volume 10 No. 9 September 2010 4079 DEVELOPMENT AND ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

2010-09-09

Sep 9, 2010 ... Traditional non-alcoholic beverages play vital roles in the lives ... Wine was produced from various extracts of tamarind pulp, using traditional processing .... Soaking, for example, may encourage fermentation, which is undesirable .... Johnson JR, Braddock RJ and CS Chen Kinetics of ascorbic acid loss and.

Large Sample Neutron Activation Analysis: A Challenge in Cultural Heritage Studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stamatelatos, I.E.; Tzika, F.

2007-01-01

Large sample neutron activation analysis compliments and significantly extends the analytical tools available for cultural heritage and authentication studies providing unique applications of non-destructive, multi-element analysis of materials that are too precious to damage for sampling purposes, representative sampling of heterogeneous materials or even analysis of whole objects. In this work, correction factors for neutron self-shielding, gamma-ray attenuation and volume distribution of the activity in large volume samples composed of iron and ceramic material were derived. Moreover, the effect of inhomogeneity on the accuracy of the technique was examined

Mechanical vibration compensation method for 3D+t multi-particle tracking in microscopic volumes.

Science.gov (United States)

Pimentel, A; Corkidi, G

2009-01-01

The acquisition and analysis of data in microscopic systems with spatiotemporal evolution is a very relevant topic. In this work, we describe a method to optimize an experimental setup for acquiring and processing spatiotemporal (3D+t) data in microscopic systems. The method is applied to a three-dimensional multi-tracking and analysis system of free-swimming sperm trajectories previously developed. The experimental set uses a piezoelectric device making oscillate a large focal-distance objective mounted on an inverted microscope (over its optical axis) to acquire stacks of images at a high frame rate over a depth on the order of 250 microns. A problem arise when the piezoelectric device oscillates, in such a way that a vibration is transmitted to the whole microscope, inducing undesirable 3D vibrations to the whole set. For this reason, as a first step, the biological preparation was isolated from the body of the microscope to avoid modifying the free swimming pattern of the microorganism due to the transmission of these vibrations. Nevertheless, as the image capturing device is mechanically attached to the "vibrating" microscope, the resulting acquired data are contaminated with an undesirable 3D movement that biases the original trajectory of these high speed moving cells. The proposed optimization method determines the functional form of these 3D oscillations to neutralize them from the original acquired data set. Given the spatial scale of the system, the added correction increases significantly the data accuracy. The optimized system may be very useful in a wide variety of 3D+t applications using moving optical devices.

Large-eddy simulations of 3D Taylor-Green vortex: comparison of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics, Lattice Boltzmann and Finite Volume methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kajzer, A; Pozorski, J; Szewc, K

2014-01-01

In the paper we present Large-eddy simulation (LES) results of 3D Taylor- Green vortex obtained by the three different computational approaches: Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) and Finite Volume Method (FVM). The Smagorinsky model was chosen as a subgrid-scale closure in LES for all considered methods and a selection of spatial resolutions have been investigated. The SPH and LBM computations have been carried out with the use of the in-house codes executed on GPU and compared, for validation purposes, with the FVM results obtained using the open-source CFD software OpenFOAM. A comparative study in terms of one-point statistics and turbulent energy spectra shows a good agreement of LES results for all methods. An analysis of the GPU code efficiency and implementation difficulties has been made. It is shown that both SPH and LBM may offer a significant advantage over mesh-based CFD methods.

A system for accurate and automated injection of hyperpolarized substrate with minimal dead time and scalable volumes over a large range

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, Steven; Bucur, Adriana; Port, Michael; Alizadeh, Tooba; Kazan, Samira M.; Tozer, Gillian M.; Paley, Martyn N. J.

2014-02-01

Over recent years hyperpolarization by dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization has become an established technique for studying metabolism in vivo in animal models. Temporal signal plots obtained from the injected metabolite and daughter products, e.g. pyruvate and lactate, can be fitted to compartmental models to estimate kinetic rate constants. Modeling and physiological parameter estimation can be made more robust by consistent and reproducible injections through automation. An injection system previously developed by us was limited in the injectable volume to between 0.6 and 2.4 ml and injection was delayed due to a required syringe filling step. An improved MR-compatible injector system has been developed that measures the pH of injected substrate, uses flow control to reduce dead volume within the injection cannula and can be operated over a larger volume range. The delay time to injection has been minimized by removing the syringe filling step by use of a peristaltic pump. For 100 μl to 10.000 ml, the volume range typically used for mice to rabbits, the average delivered volume was 97.8% of the demand volume. The standard deviation of delivered volumes was 7 μl for 100 μl and 20 μl for 10.000 ml demand volumes (mean S.D. was 9 ul in this range). In three repeat injections through a fixed 0.96 mm O.D. tube the coefficient of variation for the area under the curve was 2%. For in vivo injections of hyperpolarized pyruvate in tumor-bearing rats, signal was first detected in the input femoral vein cannula at 3-4 s post-injection trigger signal and at 9-12 s in tumor tissue. The pH of the injected pyruvate was 7.1 ± 0.3 (mean ± S.D., n = 10). For small injection volumes, e.g. less than 100 μl, the internal diameter of the tubing contained within the peristaltic pump could be reduced to improve accuracy. Larger injection volumes are limited only by the size of the receiving vessel connected to the pump.

PROGRAM HTVOL: The Determination of Tree Crown Volume by Layers

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph C. Mawson; Jack Ward Thomas; Richard M. DeGraaf

1976-01-01

A FORTRAN IV computer program calculates, from a few field measurements, the volume of tree crowns. This volume is in layers of a specified thickness of trees or large shrubs. Each tree is assigned one of 15 solid forms, formed by using one of five side shapes (a circle, an ellipse, a neiloid, a triangle, or a parabolalike shape), and one of three bottom shapes (a...

Novel genetic loci underlying human intracranial volume identified through genome-wide association

OpenAIRE

Adams, Hieab HH; Hibar, Derrek P; Chouraki, Vincent; Stein, Jason L; Nyquist, Paul A; Renter��a, Miguel E; Trompet, Stella; Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro; Seshadri, Sudha; Desrivi��res, Sylvane; Beecham, Ashley H; Jahanshad, Neda; Wittfeld, Katharina; Van der Lee, Sven J; Abramovic, Lucija

2016-01-01

Intracranial volume reflects the maximally attained brain size during development, and remains stable with loss of tissue in late life. It is highly heritable, but the underlying genes remain largely undetermined. In a genome-wide association study of 32,438 adults, we discovered five previously unknown loci for intracranial volume and confirmed two known signals. Four of the loci were also associated with adult human stature, but these remained associated with intracranial volume after adjus...

Pre-column dilution large volume injection ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of multi-class pesticides in cabbages.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Qisheng; Shen, Lingling; Liu, Jiaqi; Yu, Dianbao; Li, Siming; Yao, Jinting; Zhan, Song; Huang, Taohong; Hashi, Yuki; Kawano, Shin-ichi; Liu, Zhaofeng; Zhou, Ting

2016-04-15

Pre-column dilution large volume injection (PD-LVI), a novel sample injection technique for reverse phase ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS), was developed in this study. The PD-LVI UHPLC-MS/MS system was designed by slightly modifying the commercial UHPLC-MS/MS equipment with a mixer chamber. During the procedure of PD-LVI, sample solution of 200μL was directly carried by the organic mobile phase to the mixer and diluted with the aqueous mobile phase. After the mixture was introduced to the UHPLC column in a mobile phase of acetonitrile-water (15/85, v/v), the target analytes were stacked on the head of the column until following separation. Using QuEChERS extraction, no additional steps such as solvent evaporation or residue redissolution were needed before injection. The features of PD-LVI UHPLC-MS/MS system were systematically investigated, including the injection volume, the mixer volume, the precondition time and the gradient elution. The efficiency of this approach was demonstrated by direct analysis of 24 pesticides in cabbages. Under the optimized conditions, low limits of detection (0.00074-0.8 ng/kg) were obtained. The recoveries were in the range of 63.3-109% with relative standard deviations less than 8.1%. Compared with common UHPLC-MS/MS technique, PD-LVI UHPLC-MS/MS showed significant advantages such as excellent sensitivity and reliability. The mechanism of PD-LVI was demonstrated to be based on the column-head stacking effect with pre-column dilution. Based on the results, PD-LVI as a simple and effective sample injection technique of reverse phase UHPLC-MS/MS for the analysis of trace analytes in complex samples showed a great promising prospect. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Under conditions of large geometric miss, tumor control probability can be higher for static gantry intensity-modulated radiation therapy compared to volume-modulated arc therapy for prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balderson, Michael; Brown, Derek; Johnson, Patricia; Kirkby, Charles

2016-01-01

The purpose of this work was to compare static gantry intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with volume-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in terms of tumor control probability (TCP) under scenarios involving large geometric misses, i.e., those beyond what are accounted for when margin expansion is determined. Using a planning approach typical for these treatments, a linear-quadratic–based model for TCP was used to compare mean TCP values for a population of patients who experiences a geometric miss (i.e., systematic and random shifts of the clinical target volume within the planning target dose distribution). A Monte Carlo approach was used to account for the different biological sensitivities of a population of patients. Interestingly, for errors consisting of coplanar systematic target volume offsets and three-dimensional random offsets, static gantry IMRT appears to offer an advantage over VMAT in that larger shift errors are tolerated for the same mean TCP. For example, under the conditions simulated, erroneous systematic shifts of 15 mm directly between or directly into static gantry IMRT fields result in mean TCP values between 96% and 98%, whereas the same errors on VMAT plans result in mean TCP values between 45% and 74%. Random geometric shifts of the target volume were characterized using normal distributions in each Cartesian dimension. When the standard deviations were doubled from those values assumed in the derivation of the treatment margins, our model showed a 7% drop in mean TCP for the static gantry IMRT plans but a 20% drop in TCP for the VMAT plans. Although adding a margin for error to a clinical target volume is perhaps the best approach to account for expected geometric misses, this work suggests that static gantry IMRT may offer a treatment that is more tolerant to geometric miss errors than VMAT.

Navy Coalescence Test on Petroleum F-76 Fuel with FAME Additive at 1%

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-20

sponsored studies have shown that in many countries there is an undesirable concentration of Fatty Acid Methyl - Ester ( FAME ) present in the F-76. This...have shown that in many countries there may be an undesirable concentration of Fatty Acid Methyl - Ester ( FAME ) present in the F-76. This study was...Acid Methyl - Ester DEFINITIONS Turnover ..................amount of time it takes to flow the entire volume of fluid in a container, also

Partial drift volume due to a self-propelled swimmer

Science.gov (United States)

Chisholm, Nicholas G.; Khair, Aditya S.

2018-01-01

We assess the ability of a self-propelled swimmer to displace a volume of fluid that is large compared to its own volume via the mechanism of partial drift. The swimmer performs rectilinear locomotion in an incompressible, unbounded Newtonian fluid. The partial drift volume D is the volume of fluid enclosed between the initial and final profiles of an initially flat circular disk of marked fluid elements; the disk is initially aligned perpendicular to the direction of locomotion and subsequently distorted due to the passage of the swimmer, which travels a finite distance. To focus on the possibility of large-scale drift, we model the swimmer simply as a force dipole aligned with the swimming direction. At zero Reynolds number (Re =0 ), we demonstrate that D grows without limit as the radius of the marked fluid disk h is made large, indicating that a swimmer at Re =0 can generate a partial drift volume much larger than its own volume. Next, we consider a steady swimmer at small Re , which is modeled as the force-dipole solution to Oseen's equation. Here, we find that D no longer diverges with h , which is due to inertial screening of viscous forces, and is effectively proportional to the magnitude of the force dipole exerted by the swimmer. The validity of this result is extended to Re ≥O (1 ) —the realm of intermediate-Re swimmers such as copepods—by taking advantage of the fact that, in this case, the flow is also described by Oseen's equations at distances much larger than the characteristic linear dimension of the swimmer. Next, we utilize an integral momentum balance to demonstrate that our analysis for a steady inertial swimmer also holds, in a time-averaged sense, for an unsteady swimmer that does not experience a net acceleration over a stroke cycle. Finally, we use experimental data to estimate D for a few real swimmers. Interestingly, we find that D depends heavily on the kinematics of swimming, and, in certain cases, D can be significantly greater

A robotic approach to 4D real-time tumor tracking for radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buzurovic, I; Yu, Y; Huang, K; Podder, T K

2011-01-01

Respiratory and cardiac motions induce displacement and deformation of the tumor volumes in various internal organs. To accommodate this undesired movement and other errors, physicians incorporate a large margin around the tumor to delineate the planning target volume, so that the clinical target volume receives the prescribed radiation dose under any scenario. Consequently, a large volume of healthy tissue is irradiated and sometimes it is difficult to spare critical organs adjacent to the tumor. In this study we have proposed a novel approach to the 4D active tracking and dynamic delivery incorporating the tumor motion prediction technique. This method has been applied to the two commercially available robotic treatment couches. The proposed algorithm can predict the tumor position and the robotic systems are able to continuously track the tumor during radiation dose delivery. Therefore a precise dose is given to a moving target while the dose to the nearby critical organs is reduced to improve the patient treatment outcome. The efficacy of the proposed method has been investigated by extensive computer simulation. The tumor tracking method is simulated for two couches: HexaPOD robotic couch and ELEKTA Precise Table. The comparison results have been presented in this paper. In order to assess the clinical significance, dosimetric effects of the proposed method have been analyzed.

Analysis of the Environmental Efficiency of the Chinese Transportation Sector Using an Undesirable Output Slacks-Based Measure Data Envelopment Analysis Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaowei Song

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Many countries are attempting to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions while increasing the productivity and efficiency of their industries. An undesirable-output-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA model with slacks-based measure (SBM was used to evaluate the changes in the environmental efficiency of the transportation sector in 30 Chinese provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions between 2003 and 2012. The potential for decreasing CO2 emissions and energy saving was also assessed. Transportation was found to be inefficient in most of the provinces and the average environmental efficiency was low (0.45. The overall average efficiency reached a maximum in 2005 and continually decreased until a minimum was reached in 2009; since then, it has increased. In general, transportation is more efficient in eastern than in central or western China. A sensitivity analysis was also carried out on the input and output indicators. Based on these findings, some policies are proposed to improve the environmental efficiency of the transportation sector in China.

An analytical model to predict the volume of sand during drilling and production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raoof Gholami

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Sand production is an undesired phenomenon occurring in unconsolidated formations due to shear failure and hydrodynamic forces. There have been many approaches developed to predict sand production and prevent it by changing drilling or production strategies. However, assumptions involved in these approaches have limited their applications to very specific scenarios. In this paper, an elliptical model based on the borehole shape is presented to predict the volume of sand produced during the drilling and depletion stages of oil and gas reservoirs. A shape factor parameter is introduced to estimate the changes in the geometry of the borehole as a result of shear failure. A carbonate reservoir from the south of Iran with a solid production history is used to show the application of the developed methodology. Deriving mathematical equations for determination of the shape factor based on different failure criteria indicate that the effect of the intermediate principal stress should be taken into account to achieve an accurate result. However, it should be noticed that the methodology presented can only be used when geomechanical parameters are accurately estimated prior to the production stage when using wells and field data.

Bridge deck concrete volume change : final contract report.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-01

Concrete structures such as bridge decks, with large surface area relative to volume, shrink and crack, thus reducing service life performance and increasing operation costs. The project evaluated the early, first 24 hours, and long-term, 180 days, s...

Large Deviations and Asymptotic Methods in Finance

CERN Document Server

Gatheral, Jim; Gulisashvili, Archil; Jacquier, Antoine; Teichmann, Josef

2015-01-01

Topics covered in this volume (large deviations, differential geometry, asymptotic expansions, central limit theorems) give a full picture of the current advances in the application of asymptotic methods in mathematical finance, and thereby provide rigorous solutions to important mathematical and financial issues, such as implied volatility asymptotics, local volatility extrapolation, systemic risk and volatility estimation. This volume gathers together ground-breaking results in this field by some of its leading experts. Over the past decade, asymptotic methods have played an increasingly important role in the study of the behaviour of (financial) models. These methods provide a useful alternative to numerical methods in settings where the latter may lose accuracy (in extremes such as small and large strikes, and small maturities), and lead to a clearer understanding of the behaviour of models, and of the influence of parameters on this behaviour. Graduate students, researchers and practitioners will find th...

On 'light' fermions and proton stability in 'big divisor' D3/D7 large volume compactifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misra, Aalok; Shukla, Pramod

2011-01-01

Building on our earlier work (Misra and Shukla, Nucl. Phys. B 827:112, 2010; Phys. Lett. B 685:347-352, 2010), we show the possibility of generating ''light'' fermion mass scales of MeV-GeV range (possibly related to the first two generations of quarks/leptons) as well as eV (possibly related to first two generations of neutrinos) in type IIB string theory compactified on Swiss-Cheese orientifolds in the presence of a mobile space-time filling D3-brane restricted to (in principle) stacks of fluxed D7-branes wrapping the ''big'' divisor Σ B . This part of the paper is an expanded version of the latter half of Sect. 3 of a published short invited review (Misra, Mod. Phys. Lett. A 26:1, 2011) written by one of the authors [AM ]. Further, we also show that there are no SUSY GUT-type dimension-five operators corresponding to proton decay, and we estimate the proton lifetime from a SUSY GUT-type four-fermion dimension-six operator to be 10 61 years. Based on GLSM calculations in (Misra and Shukla, Nucl. Phys. B 827:112, 2010) for obtaining the geometric Kaehler potential for the ''big divisor,'' using further the Donaldson's algorithm, we also briefly discuss in the first of the two appendices the metric for the Swiss-Cheese Calabi-Yau used, which we obtain and which becomes Ricci flat in the large-volume limit. (orig.)

On `light' fermions and proton stability in `big divisor' D3/ D7 large volume compactifications

Science.gov (United States)

Misra, Aalok; Shukla, Pramod

2011-06-01

Building on our earlier work (Misra and Shukla, Nucl. Phys. B 827:112, 2010; Phys. Lett. B 685:347-352, 2010), we show the possibility of generating "light" fermion mass scales of MeV-GeV range (possibly related to the first two generations of quarks/leptons) as well as eV (possibly related to first two generations of neutrinos) in type IIB string theory compactified on Swiss-Cheese orientifolds in the presence of a mobile space-time filling D3-brane restricted to (in principle) stacks of fluxed D7-branes wrapping the "big" divisor Σ B . This part of the paper is an expanded version of the latter half of Sect. 3 of a published short invited review (Misra, Mod. Phys. Lett. A 26:1, 2011) written by one of the authors [AM]. Further, we also show that there are no SUSY GUT-type dimension-five operators corresponding to proton decay, and we estimate the proton lifetime from a SUSY GUT-type four-fermion dimension-six operator to be 1061 years. Based on GLSM calculations in (Misra and Shukla, Nucl. Phys. B 827:112, 2010) for obtaining the geometric Kähler potential for the "big divisor," using further the Donaldson's algorithm, we also briefly discuss in the first of the two appendices the metric for the Swiss-Cheese Calabi-Yau used, which we obtain and which becomes Ricci flat in the large-volume limit.

Large single-crystal diamond substrates for ionizing radiation detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Girolami, Marco; Bellucci, Alessandro; Calvani, Paolo; Trucchi, Daniele M. [Istituto di Struttura della Materia (ISM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Sede Secondaria di Montelibretti, Monterotondo Stazione, Roma (Italy)

2016-10-15

The need for large active volume detectors for ionizing radiations and particles, with both large area and thickness, is becoming more and more compelling in a wide range of applications, spanning from X-ray dosimetry to neutron spectroscopy. Recently, 8.0 x 8.0 mm{sup 2} wide and 1.2 mm thick single-crystal diamond plates have been put on the market, representing a first step to the fabrication of large area monolithic diamond detectors with optimized charge transport properties, obtainable up to now only with smaller samples. The more-than-double thickness, if compared to standard plates (typically 500 μm thick), demonstrated to be effective in improving the detector response to highly penetrating ionizing radiations, such as γ-rays. Here we report on the first measurements performed on large active volume single-crystal diamond plates, both in the dark and under irradiation with optical wavelengths (190-1100 nm), X-rays, and radioactive γ-emitting sources ({sup 57}Co and {sup 22}Na). (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Comparison of blood volume pulse and skin conductance responses to mental and affective stimuli at different anatomical sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kushki, Azadeh; Fairley, Jillian; Merja, Satyam; King, Gillian; Chau, Tom

2011-01-01

Measurements of blood volume pulse (BVP) and skin conductance are commonly used as indications of psychological arousal in affective computing and human–machine interfaces. To date, palmar surfaces remain the primary site for these measurements. Placement of sensors on palmar surfaces, however, is undesirable when recordings are fraught with motion and pressure artifacts. These artifacts are frequent when the human participant has involuntary movements as in hyperkinetic cerebral palsy. This motivates the use of alternative measurement sites. The present study examined the correlation between measurements of blood volume pulse and skin conductance obtained from three different sites on the body (fingers, toes and ear for BVP; fingers, toes and arch of the foot for skin conductance) in response to cognitive and affective stimuli. The results of this pilot study indicated significant inter-site correlation among signal features derived from different sites, with the exception of BVP amplitude, the number of electrodermal reactions and the slope of the electrodermal activity response. We attribute these differences in part to inter-site discrepancies in local skin conditions, such as skin temperature. Despite these differences, significant changes from baseline were present in the responses to the cognitive and affective stimuli at non-palmar sites, suggesting that these sites may provide viable signal measurements for use in affective computing and human–machine interface applications

Gamma Knife radiosurgery for large vestibular schwannomas greater than 3 cm in diameter.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Cheng-Wei; Tu, Hsien-Tang; Chuang, Chun-Yi; Chang, Cheng-Siu; Chou, Hsi-Hsien; Lee, Ming-Tsung; Huang, Chuan-Fu

2018-05-01

OBJECTIVE Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is an important alternative management option for patients with small- and medium-sized vestibular schwannomas (VSs). Its use in the treatment of large tumors, however, is still being debated. The authors reviewed their recent experience to assess the potential role of SRS in larger-sized VSs. METHODS Between 2000 and 2014, 35 patients with large VSs, defined as having both a single dimension > 3 cm and a volume > 10 cm 3 , underwent Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS). Nine patients (25.7%) had previously undergone resection. The median total volume covered in this group of patients was 14.8 cm 3 (range 10.3-24.5 cm 3 ). The median tumor margin dose was 11 Gy (range 10-12 Gy). RESULTS The median follow-up duration was 48 months (range 6-156 months). All 35 patients had regular MRI follow-up examinations. Twenty tumors (57.1%) had a volume reduction of greater than 50%, 5 (14.3%) had a volume reduction of 15%-50%, 5 (14.3%) were stable in size (volume change 3 cm and a volume > 10 cm 3 and tolerable mass effect can be managed satisfactorily with GKRS. Tumor volume ≥ 15 cm 3 is a significant factor predicting poor tumor control following GKRS.

Critical evaluation of blood volume measurements during hemodialysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dasselaar, Judith J; van der Sande, Frank M; Franssen, Casper F M

2012-01-01

Devices that continuously measure relative blood volume (RBV) changes during hemodialysis (HD) are increasingly used for the prevention of dialysis hypotension and fine-tuning of dry weight. However, RBV measurements are subject to various limitations. First, RBV devices provide information on relative blood volume changes but not on absolute blood volume. Since blood volume varies with the hydration status, identical reductions of RBV may result in very different absolute blood volumes at the end of HD. Second, RBV changes underestimate the change of total blood volume due to translocation of lower-hematocrit blood from the microcirculation to the central circulation. Third, changes in posture before and during HD, food intake, exercise, and administration of intravenous fluids may influence the validity of the RBV measurement. Fourth, results obtained by various RBV devices show large interdevice differences. Finally, although a fall in blood volume is an important factor in dialysis hypotension, frank dialysis hypotension only occurs when the cardiovascular compensatory mechanisms can no longer compensate for the reduction in blood volume. Therefore, the dialysis staff should not exclusively focus on RBV, but also search for opportunities in the dialysis prescription to facilitate cardiovascular compensatory mechanisms, e.g. by lowering dialysate temperature. In the opinion of the authors, routine RBV monitoring should be used with caution until the major conceptual and methodological problems that are inherent to the indirect RBV estimation are clarified. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Extraction and LOD control of colored interval volumes

Science.gov (United States)

Miyamura, Hiroko N.; Takeshima, Yuriko; Fujishiro, Issei; Saito, Takafumi

2005-03-01

Interval volume serves as a generalized isosurface and represents a three-dimensional subvolume for which the associated scalar filed values lie within a user-specified closed interval. In general, it is not an easy task for novices to specify the scalar field interval corresponding to their ROIs. In order to extract interval volumes from which desirable geometric features can be mined effectively, we propose a suggestive technique which extracts interval volumes automatically based on the global examination of the field contrast structure. Also proposed here is a simplification scheme for decimating resultant triangle patches to realize efficient transmission and rendition of large-scale interval volumes. Color distributions as well as geometric features are taken into account to select best edges to be collapsed. In addition, when a user wants to selectively display and analyze the original dataset, the simplified dataset is restructured to the original quality. Several simulated and acquired datasets are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the present methods.

Moduli stabilization, large-volume dS minimum without D3-bar branes, (non-)supersymmetric black hole attractors and two-parameter Swiss cheese Calabi-Yau's

CERN Document Server

Misra, Aalok

2008-01-01

We consider issues of moduli stabilization and "area codes" for type II flux compactifications, and the "Inverse Problem" and "Fake Superpotentials" for extremal (non)supersymmetric black holes in type II compactifications on (orientifold of) a compact two-parameter Calabi-Yau expressed as a degree-18 hypersurface in WCP^4[1,1,1,6,9] which has multiple singular loci in its moduli space. We argue the existence of extended "area codes" [1] wherein for the same set of large NS-NS and RR fluxes, one can stabilize all the complex structure moduli and the axion-dilaton modulus (to different sets of values) for points in the moduli space away as well as near the different singular conifold loci leading to the existence of domain walls. By including non-perturbative alpha' and instanton corrections in the Kaehler potential and superpotential [2], we show the possibility of getting a large-volume non-supersymmetric (A)dS minimum. Further, using techniques of [3] we explicitly show that given a set of moduli and choice...

ArCLight—A Compact Dielectric Large-Area Photon Detector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Auger

2018-02-01

Full Text Available ArgonCube Light readout system (ArCLight is a novel device for detecting scintillation light over large areas with Photon Detection Efficiency (PDE of the order of a few percent. Its robust technological design allows for efficient use in large-volume particle detectors, such as Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs or liquid scintillator detectors. Due to its dielectric structure it can be placed inside volumes with high electric field. It could potentially replace vacuum PhotoMultiplier Tubes (PMTs in applications where high PDE is not required. The photon detection efficiency for a 10 × 10 cm2 detector prototype was measured to be in the range of 0.8% to 2.2% across the active area.

Accuracy of cancellous bone volume fraction measured by micro-CT scanning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ding, Ming; Odgaard, A; Hvid, I

1999-01-01

Volume fraction, the single most important parameter in describing trabecular microstructure, can easily be calculated from three-dimensional reconstructions of micro-CT images. This study sought to quantify the accuracy of this measurement. One hundred and sixty human cancellous bone specimens...... which covered a large range of volume fraction (9.8-39.8%) were produced. The specimens were micro-CT scanned, and the volume fraction based on Archimedes' principle was determined as a reference. After scanning, all micro-CT data were segmented using individual thresholds determined by the scanner...

Large area solid target neutron source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crawford, J.C.; Bauer, W.

1974-01-01

A potentially useful neutron source may result from the combination of a solid deuterium-tritium loaded target with the large area, high energy ion beams from ion sources being developed for neutral beam injection. The resulting neutron source would have a large radiating area and thus produce the sizable experimental volume necessary for future studies of bulk and synergistic surface radiation effects as well as experiments on engineering samples and small components. With a 200 keV D + T + beam and 40 kW/cm 2 power dissipation on a 200 cm 2 target spot, a total neutron yield of about 4 x 10 15 n/sec may be achieved. Although the useable neutron flux from this source is limited to 1 to 2 x 10 13 n/cm 2 /sec, this flux can be produced 3 cm in front of the target and over about 300 cm 3 of experimental volume. Problems of total power dissipation, sputtering, isotopic flushing and thermal dissociation are reviewed. Neutron flux profiles and potential experimental configurations are presented and compared to other neutron source concepts. (U.S.)

Molar excess volumes of liquid hydrogen and neon mixtures from path integral simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Challa, S.R.; Johnson, J.K.

1999-01-01

Volumetric properties of liquid mixtures of neon and hydrogen have been calculated using path integral hybrid Monte Carlo simulations. Realistic potentials have been used for the three interactions involved. Molar volumes and excess volumes of these mixtures have been evaluated for various compositions at 29 and 31.14 K, and 30 atm. Significant quantum effects are observed in molar volumes. Quantum simulations agree well with experimental molar volumes. Calculated excess volumes agree qualitatively with experimental values. However, contrary to the existing understanding that large positive deviations from ideal mixtures are caused due to quantum effects in Ne - H 2 mixtures, both classical as well as quantum simulations predict the large positive deviations from ideal mixtures. Further investigations using two other Ne - H 2 potentials of Lennard - Jones (LJ) type show that excess volumes are very sensitive to the cross-interaction potential. We conclude that the cross-interaction potential employed in our simulations is accurate for volumetric properties. This potential is more repulsive compared to the two LJ potentials tested, which have been obtained by two different combining rules. This repulsion and a comparatively lower potential well depth can explain the positive deviations from ideal mixing. copyright 1999 American Institute of Physics

Liquid volumes measurements by isotopic dilution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrera M, J.M.

1981-01-01

By the nuclear technique, isotopic dilution industrial liquid volumes may be measured in large size recipients of irregular shapes using radiotracers. In the present work laboratory and pilot test are made with 2 radiotracers for optimizing the technique and later done on an industrial scale, obtaining a maximum deviation of +-2%, some recommendations are given to improve the performance of the technique. (author)

Assembling large, complex environmental metagenomes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howe, A. C. [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences; Jansson, J. [USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Earth Sciences Division; Malfatti, S. A. [USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Tringe, S. G. [USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Tiedje, J. M. [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences; Brown, C. T. [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Computer Science and Engineering

2012-12-28

The large volumes of sequencing data required to sample complex environments deeply pose new challenges to sequence analysis approaches. De novo metagenomic assembly effectively reduces the total amount of data to be analyzed but requires significant computational resources. We apply two pre-assembly filtering approaches, digital normalization and partitioning, to make large metagenome assemblies more computationaly tractable. Using a human gut mock community dataset, we demonstrate that these methods result in assemblies nearly identical to assemblies from unprocessed data. We then assemble two large soil metagenomes from matched Iowa corn and native prairie soils. The predicted functional content and phylogenetic origin of the assembled contigs indicate significant taxonomic differences despite similar function. The assembly strategies presented are generic and can be extended to any metagenome; full source code is freely available under a BSD license.

Challenges in Accommodating Volume Change of Si Anodes for Li-Ion Batteries.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Minseong; Chae, Sujong; Cho, Jaephil

2015-11-01

Si has been considered as a promising alternative anode for next-generation Li-ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high theoretical energy density, relatively low working potential, and abundance in nature. However, Si anodes exhibit rapid capacity decay and an increase in the internal resistance, which are caused by the large volume changes upon Li insertion and extraction. This unfortunately limits their practical applications. Therefore, managing the total volume change remains a critical challenge for effectively alleviating the mechanical fractures and instability of solid-electrolyte-interphase products. In this regard, we review the recent progress in volume-change-accommodating Si electrodes and investigate their ingenious structures with significant improvements in the battery performance, including size-controlled materials, patterned thin films, porous structures, shape-preserving shell designs, and graphene composites. These representative approaches potentially overcome the large morphologic changes in the volume of Si anodes by securing the strain relaxation and structural integrity in the entire electrode. Finally, we propose perspectives and future challenges to realize the practical application of Si anodes in LIB systems.

Reirradiation of Large-Volume Recurrent Glioma With Pulsed Reduced-Dose-Rate Radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adkison, Jarrod B.; Tome, Wolfgang; Seo, Songwon; Richards, Gregory M.; Robins, H. Ian; Rassmussen, Karl; Welsh, James S.; Mahler, Peter A.; Howard, Steven P.

2011-01-01

Purpose: Pulsed reduced-dose-rate radiotherapy (PRDR) is a reirradiation technique that reduces the effective dose rate and increases the treatment time, allowing sublethal damage repair during irradiation. Patients and Methods: A total of 103 patients with recurrent glioma underwent reirradiation using PRDR (86 considered to have Grade 4 at PRDR). PRDR was delivered using a series of 0.2-Gy pulses at 3-min intervals, creating an apparent dose rate of 0.0667 Gy/min to a median dose of 50 Gy (range, 20-60) delivered in 1.8-2.0-Gy fractions. The mean treatment volume was 403.5 ± 189.4 cm 3 according to T 2 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging and a 2-cm margin. Results: For the initial or upgraded Grade 4 cohort (n = 86), the median interval from the first irradiation to PRDR was 14 months. Patients undergoing PRDR within 14 months of the first irradiation (n = 43) had a median survival of 21 weeks. Those treated ≥14 months after radiotherapy had a median survival of 28 weeks (n = 43; p = 0.004 and HR = 1.82 with a 95% CI ranging from 1.25 to 3.10). These data compared favorably to historical data sets, because only 16% of the patients were treated at first relapse (with 46% treated at the second relapse, 32% at the third or fourth relapse, and 4% at the fourth or fifth relapse). The median survival since diagnosis and retreatment was 6.3 years and 11.4 months for low-grade, 4.1 years and 5.6 months for Grade 3, and 1.6 years and 5.1 months for Grade 4 tumors, respectively, according to the initial histologic findings. Multivariate analysis revealed age at the initial diagnosis, initial low-grade disease, and Karnofsky performance score of ≥80 to be significant predictors of survival after initiation of PRDR. Conclusion: PRDR allowed for safe retreatment of larger volumes to high doses with palliative benefit.

Large poroelastic deformation of a soft material

Science.gov (United States)

MacMinn, Christopher W.; Dufresne, Eric R.; Wettlaufer, John S.

2014-11-01

Flow through a porous material will drive mechanical deformation when the fluid pressure becomes comparable to the stiffness of the solid skeleton. This has applications ranging from hydraulic fracture for recovery of shale gas, where fluid is injected at high pressure, to the mechanics of biological cells and tissues, where the solid skeleton is very soft. The traditional linear theory of poroelasticity captures this fluid-solid coupling by combining Darcy's law with linear elasticity. However, linear elasticity is only volume-conservative to first order in the strain, which can become problematic when damage, plasticity, or extreme softness lead to large deformations. Here, we compare the predictions of linear poroelasticity with those of a large-deformation framework in the context of two model problems. We show that errors in volume conservation are compounded and amplified by coupling with the fluid flow, and can become important even when the deformation is small. We also illustrate these results with a laboratory experiment.

Modern algorithms for large sparse eigenvalue problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, A.

1987-01-01

The volume is written for mathematicians interested in (numerical) linear algebra and in the solution of large sparse eigenvalue problems, as well as for specialists in engineering, who use the considered algorithms in the investigation of eigenoscillations of structures, in reactor physics, etc. Some variants of the algorithms based on the idea of a gradient-type direction of movement are presented and their convergence properties are discussed. From this, a general strategy for the direct use of preconditionings for the eigenvalue problem is derived. In this new approach the necessity of the solution of large linear systems is entirely avoided. Hence, these methods represent a new alternative to some other modern eigenvalue algorithms, as they show a slightly slower convergence on the one hand but essentially lower numerical and data processing problems on the other hand. A brief description and comparison of some well-known methods (i.e. simultaneous iteration, Lanczos algorithm) completes this volume. (author)

Web tools for large-scale 3D biological images and atlases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Husz Zsolt L

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Large-scale volumetric biomedical image data of three or more dimensions are a significant challenge for distributed browsing and visualisation. Many images now exceed 10GB which for most users is too large to handle in terms of computer RAM and network bandwidth. This is aggravated when users need to access tens or hundreds of such images from an archive. Here we solve the problem for 2D section views through archive data delivering compressed tiled images enabling users to browse through very-large volume data in the context of a standard web-browser. The system provides an interactive visualisation for grey-level and colour 3D images including multiple image layers and spatial-data overlay. Results The standard Internet Imaging Protocol (IIP has been extended to enable arbitrary 2D sectioning of 3D data as well a multi-layered images and indexed overlays. The extended protocol is termed IIP3D and we have implemented a matching server to deliver the protocol and a series of Ajax/Javascript client codes that will run in an Internet browser. We have tested the server software on a low-cost linux-based server for image volumes up to 135GB and 64 simultaneous users. The section views are delivered with response times independent of scale and orientation. The exemplar client provided multi-layer image views with user-controlled colour-filtering and overlays. Conclusions Interactive browsing of arbitrary sections through large biomedical-image volumes is made possible by use of an extended internet protocol and efficient server-based image tiling. The tools open the possibility of enabling fast access to large image archives without the requirement of whole image download and client computers with very large memory configurations. The system was demonstrated using a range of medical and biomedical image data extending up to 135GB for a single image volume.

A dosimetric comparison of 3D-CRT, IMRT, and static tomotherapy with an SIB for large and small breast volumes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michalski, Andrea [Department of Health Science (MRS), The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, New South Wales (Australia); Central Coast Cancer Centre, Gosford Hospital, Gosford, New South Wales (Australia); Atyeo, John, E-mail: john.atyeo@sydney.edu.au [Department of Health Science (MRS), The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, New South Wales (Australia); Cox, Jennifer [Department of Health Science (MRS), The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, New South Wales (Australia); Department of Radiation Oncology, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, New South Wales (Australia); Rinks, Marianne [Department of Health Science (MRS), The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, New South Wales (Australia); Radiation Oncology, Cancer Services, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, Wollongong, New South Wales (Australia); Morgia, Marita; Lamoury, Gillian [Department of Radiation Oncology, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, New South Wales (Australia)

2014-07-01

Radiation therapy to the breast is a complex task, with many different techniques that can be employed to ensure adequate dose target coverage while minimizing doses to the organs at risk. This study compares the dose planning outcomes of 3 radiation treatment modalities, 3 dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), and static tomotherapy, for left-sided whole-breast radiation treatment with a simultaneous integrated boost (SIB). Overall, 20 patients with left-sided breast cancer were separated into 2 cohorts, small and large, based on breast volume. Dose plans were produced for each patient using 3D-CRT, IMRT, and static tomotherapy. All patients were prescribed a dose of 45 Gy in 20 fractions to the breast with an SIB of 56 Gy in 20 fractions to the tumor bed and normalized so that D{sub 98%} > 95% of the prescription dose. Dosimetric comparisons were made between the 3 modalities and the interaction of patient size. All 3 modalities offered adequate planning target volume (PTV) coverage with D{sub 98%} > 95% and D{sub 2%} < 107%. Static tomotherapy offered significantly improved (p = 0.006) dose homogeneity to the PTV{sub boost} {sub eval} (0.079 ± 0.011) and breast minus the SIB volume (Breast{sub SIB}) (p < 0.001, 0.15 ± 0.03) compared with the PTV{sub boost} {sub eval} (0.085 ± 0.008, 0.088 ± 0.12) and Breast{sub SIB} (0.22 ± 0.05, 0.23 ± 0.03) for IMRT and 3D-CRT, respectively. Static tomotherapy also offered statistically significant reductions (p < 0.001) in doses to the ipsilateral lung mean dose of 6.79 ± 2.11 Gy compared with 7.75 ± 2.54 Gy and 8.29 ± 2.76 Gy for IMRT and 3D-CRT, respectively, and significantly (p < 0.001) reduced heart doses (mean = 2.83 ± 1.26 Gy) compared to both IMRT and 3D-CRT (mean = 3.70 ± 1.44 Gy and 3.91 ± 1.58 Gy). Static tomotherapy is the dosimetrically superior modality for the whole breast with an SIB compared with IMRT and 3D-CRT. IMRT is superior to 3D

Influence of bladder and rectal volume on spatial variability of a bladder tumor during radical radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pos, Floris J.; Koedooder, Kees; Hulshof, Maarten C.C.M.; Tienhoven, Geertjan van; Gonzalez Gonzalez, Dionisio

2003-01-01

Purpose: To assess the spatial variability of a bladder tumor relative to the planning target volume boundaries during radical radiotherapy, and furthermore to develop strategies to reduce spatial variability. Methods and Materials: Seventeen patients with solitary T2-T4N0M0 bladder cancer were treated with a technique delivering 40 Gy/2 Gy in 20 fractions to the whole bladder with a concomitant boost to the bladder tumor of 20 Gy in 1 Gy fractions in an overall time of 4 weeks. CT scans were made weekly, immediately after treatment, and matched with the planning CT scan. Spatial variability of the tumor, as well as bladder volume and rectal diameter, were scored for each patient each week. Results: In 65% of patients, a part of the tumor appeared outside the planning target volume boundaries at least one time during the course of radiotherapy. No consistent relation of this variability with time was found. Bladder volumes and rectal diameters showed marked variability during the course of treatment. A large initial bladder volume and rectal diameter predicted a large volume variation and a large tumor spatial variability. Conclusion: In this study, a margin of 1.5 to 2 cm seemed to be inadequate in 65% of the patients with respect to spatial variability. Bladder volume and rectal diameter were found to be predictive for spatial variability of a bladder tumor during concomitant boost radiotherapy

Influence of bladder and rectal volume on spatial variability of a bladder tumor during radical radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pos, Floris J; Koedooder, Kees; Hulshof, Maarten C.C.M.; Tienhoven, Geertjan van; Gonzalez Gonzalez, Dionisio

2003-03-01

Purpose: To assess the spatial variability of a bladder tumor relative to the planning target volume boundaries during radical radiotherapy, and furthermore to develop strategies to reduce spatial variability. Methods and Materials: Seventeen patients with solitary T2-T4N0M0 bladder cancer were treated with a technique delivering 40 Gy/2 Gy in 20 fractions to the whole bladder with a concomitant boost to the bladder tumor of 20 Gy in 1 Gy fractions in an overall time of 4 weeks. CT scans were made weekly, immediately after treatment, and matched with the planning CT scan. Spatial variability of the tumor, as well as bladder volume and rectal diameter, were scored for each patient each week. Results: In 65% of patients, a part of the tumor appeared outside the planning target volume boundaries at least one time during the course of radiotherapy. No consistent relation of this variability with time was found. Bladder volumes and rectal diameters showed marked variability during the course of treatment. A large initial bladder volume and rectal diameter predicted a large volume variation and a large tumor spatial variability. Conclusion: In this study, a margin of 1.5 to 2 cm seemed to be inadequate in 65% of the patients with respect to spatial variability. Bladder volume and rectal diameter were found to be predictive for spatial variability of a bladder tumor during concomitant boost radiotherapy.

Percutaneous ethanol injection of large autonomous hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarantino, L; Giorgio, A; Mariniello, N; de Stefano, G; Perrotta, A; Aloisio, V; Tamasi, S; Forestieri, M C; Esposito, F; Esposito, F; Finizia, L; Voza, A

2000-01-01

To verify the effectiveness of percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) in the treatment of large (>30-mL) hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules. Twelve patients (eight women, four men; age range, 26-76 years) with a large hyperfunctioning thyroid nodule (volume range, 33-90 mL; mean, 46.08 mL) underwent PEI treatment under ultrasonographic (US) guidance. US was used to calculate the volume of the nodules and to assess the diffusion of the ethanol in the lesions during the procedure. When incomplete necrosis of the nodule was depicted at scintigraphy performed 3 months after treatment, additional PEI sessions were performed. Four to 11 PEI sessions (mean, seven) were performed in each patient, with an injection of 3-14 mL of 99.8% ethanol per session (total amount of ethanol per patient, 30-108 mL; mean, 48.5 mL). At scintigraphy after treatment in all patients, recovery of extranodular uptake, absence of uptake in the nodule, and normalization of thyroid-stimulating hormone (thyrotropin) levels were observed. In all patients, US showed volume reductions of 30%-50% after 3 months and 40%-80% after 6-9 months. Side effects were self-limiting in all patients. During the 6-48-month follow-up, no recurrence was observed. PEI is an effective and safe technique for the treatment of large hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules.

Safety Analysis in Large Volume Vacuum Systems Like Tokamak: Experiments and Numerical Simulation to Analyze Vacuum Ruptures Consequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Malizia

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The large volume vacuum systems are used in many industrial operations and research laboratories. Accidents in these systems should have a relevant economical and safety impact. A loss of vacuum accident (LOVA due to a failure of the main vacuum vessel can result in a fast pressurization of the vessel and consequent mobilization dispersion of hazardous internal material through the braches. It is clear that the influence of flow fields, consequence of accidents like LOVA, on dust resuspension is a key safety issue. In order to develop this analysis an experimental facility is been developed: STARDUST. This last facility has been used to improve the knowledge about LOVA to replicate a condition more similar to appropriate operative condition like to kamaks. By the experimental data the boundary conditions have been extrapolated to give the proper input for the 2D thermofluid-dynamics numerical simulations, developed by the commercial CFD numerical code. The benchmark of numerical simulation results with the experimental ones has been used to validate and tune the 2D thermofluid-dynamics numerical model that has been developed by the authors to replicate the LOVA conditions inside STARDUST. In present work, the facility, materials, numerical model, and relevant results will be presented.

Water pollution screening by large-volume injection of aqueous samples and application to GC/MS analysis of a river Elbe sample

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, S.; Efer, J.; Engewald, W. [Leipzig Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Analytische Chemie

1997-03-01

The large-volume sampling of aqueous samples in a programmed temperature vaporizer (PTV) injector was used successfully for the target and non-target analysis of real samples. In this still rarely applied method, e.g., 1 mL of the water sample to be analyzed is slowly injected direct into the PTV. The vaporized water is eliminated through the split vent. The analytes are concentrated onto an adsorbent inside the insert and subsequently thermally desorbed. The capability of the method is demonstrated using a sample from the river Elbe. By means of coupling this method with a mass selective detector in SIM mode (target analysis) the method allows the determination of pollutants in the concentration range up to 0.01 {mu}g/L. Furthermore, PTV enrichment is an effective and time-saving method for non-target analysis in SCAN mode. In a sample from the river Elbe over 20 compounds were identified. (orig.) With 3 figs., 2 tabs.

Large-bore pipe decontamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebadian, M.A.

1998-01-01

The decontamination and decommissioning (D and D) of 1200 buildings within the US Department of Energy-Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) Complex will require the disposition of miles of pipe. The disposition of large-bore pipe, in particular, presents difficulties in the area of decontamination and characterization. The pipe is potentially contaminated internally as well as externally. This situation requires a system capable of decontaminating and characterizing both the inside and outside of the pipe. Current decontamination and characterization systems are not designed for application to this geometry, making the direct disposal of piping systems necessary in many cases. The pipe often creates voids in the disposal cell, which requires the pipe to be cut in half or filled with a grout material. These methods are labor intensive and costly to perform on large volumes of pipe. Direct disposal does not take advantage of recycling, which could provide monetary dividends. To facilitate the decontamination and characterization of large-bore piping and thereby reduce the volume of piping required for disposal, a detailed analysis will be conducted to document the pipe remediation problem set; determine potential technologies to solve this remediation problem set; design and laboratory test potential decontamination and characterization technologies; fabricate a prototype system; provide a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed system; and transfer the technology to industry. This report summarizes the activities performed during fiscal year 1997 and describes the planned activities for fiscal year 1998. Accomplishments for FY97 include the development of the applicable and relevant and appropriate regulations, the screening of decontamination and characterization technologies, and the selection and initial design of the decontamination system

The origin and crust/mantle mass balance of Central Andean ignimbrite magmatism constrained by oxygen and strontium isotopes and erupted volumes

Science.gov (United States)

Freymuth, Heye; Brandmeier, Melanie; Wörner, Gerhard

2015-06-01

Volcanism during the Neogene in the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) of the Andes produced (1) stratovolcanoes, (2) rhyodacitic to rhyolitic ignimbrites which reach volumes of generally less than 300 km3 and (3) large-volume monotonous dacitic ignimbrites of up to several thousand cubic kilometres. We present models for the origin of these magma types using O and Sr isotopes to constrain crust/mantle proportions for the large-volume ignimbrites and explore the relationship to the evolution of the Andean crust. Oxygen isotope ratios were measured on phenocrysts in order to avoid the effects of secondary alteration. Our results show a complete overlap in the Sr-O isotope compositions of lavas from stratovolcanoes and low-volume rhyolitic ignimbrites as well as older (>9 Ma) large-volume dacitic ignimbrites. This suggests that the mass balance of crustal and mantle components are largely similar. By contrast, younger (estimated the volume of these ignimbrite deposits throughout the Central Andes during the Neogene and examined the spatiotemporal pattern of so-called ignimbrite flare-ups. We observe a N-S migration of maximum ages of the onset of large-volume "ignimbrite pulses" through time: Major pulses occurred at 19-24 Ma (e.g. Oxaya, Nazca Group), 13-14 Ma (e.g. Huaylillas and Altos de Pica ignimbrites) and 70 km3 Ma-1 km-1 (assuming plutonic/volcanic ratios of 1:5) which are additional to, but within the order of, the arc background magmatic flux. Comparing our results to average shortening rates observed in the Andes, we observe a "lag-time" with large-volume eruptions occurring after accelerated shortening. A similar delay exists between the ignimbrite pulses and the subduction of the Juan Fernandez ridge. This is consistent with the idea that large-volume ignimbrite eruptions occurred in the wake of the N-S passage of the ridge after slab steepening has allowed hot asthenospheric mantle to ascend into and cause the melting of the mantle wedge. In our model, the

Full-scale borehole sealing test in salt under simulated downhole conditions. Volume 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheetz, B.E.; Licastro, P.H.; Roy, D.M.

1986-05-01

Large-scale testing of the permeability by brine of a salt/grout sample designed to simulate a borehole plug was conducted. The results of these tests showed that a quantity of fluid equivalent to a permeability of 3 microdarcys was collected during the course of the test. This flow rate was used to estimate the smooth bore aperture. Details of this test ware presented in Volume 1 of this report. This report, Volume 2, covers post-test characterization including a detailed study of the salt/grout interface, as well as determination of the physical/mechanical properties of grout samples molded at Terra Tek, Inc. at the time of the large-scale test. Additional studies include heat of hydration, radial stress, and longitudinal volume changes for an equivalent grout mixture

Free volume from positron lifetime and pressure-volume-temperature experiments in relation to structural relaxation of van der Waals molecular glass-forming liquids.

Science.gov (United States)

Dlubek, G; Shaikh, M Q; Rätzke, K; Paluch, M; Faupel, F

2010-06-16

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) is employed to characterize the temperature dependence of the free volume in two van der Waals liquids: 1, 1'-bis(p-methoxyphenyl)cyclohexane (BMPC) and 1, 1'-di(4-methoxy-5-methylphenyl)cyclohexane (BMMPC). From the PALS spectra analysed with the routine LifeTime9.0, the size (volume) distribution of local free volumes (subnanometer size holes), its mean, [v(h)], and mean dispersion, σ(h), were calculated. A comparison with the macroscopic volume from pressure-volume-temperature (PV T) experiments delivered the hole density and the specific hole free volume and a complete characterization of the free volume microstructure in that sense. These data are used in correlation with structural (α) relaxation data from broad-band dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) in terms of the Cohen-Grest and Cohen-Turnbull free volume models. An extension of the latter model allows us to quantify deviations between experiments and theory and an attempt to systematize these in terms of T(g) or of the fragility. The experimental data for several fragile and less fragile glass formers are involved in the final discussion. It was concluded that, for large differences in the fragility of different glass formers, the positron lifetime mirrors clearly the different character of these materials. For small differences in the fragility, additional properties like the character of bonds and chemical structure of the material may affect size, distribution and thermal behaviour of the free volume.

Free volume from positron lifetime and pressure-volume-temperature experiments in relation to structural relaxation of van der Waals molecular glass-forming liquids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dlubek, G [ITA Institute for Innovative Technologies, Koethen/Halle, Wiesenring 4, D-06120 Lieskau (Germany); Shaikh, M Q; Raetzke, K; Faupel, F [Faculty of Engineering, Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Kaiserstrasse 2, D-24143 Kiel (Germany); Paluch, M, E-mail: guenter.dlubek@gmx.d [Institute of Physics, Silesian University, Uniwersytecka 4, 40-007 Katowice (Poland)

2010-06-16

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) is employed to characterize the temperature dependence of the free volume in two van der Waals liquids: 1, 1'-bis(p-methoxyphenyl)cyclohexane (BMPC) and 1, 1'-di(4-methoxy-5-methylphenyl)cyclohexane (BMMPC). From the PALS spectra analysed with the routine LifeTime9.0, the size (volume) distribution of local free volumes (subnanometer size holes), its mean, (v{sub h}), and mean dispersion, {sigma}{sub h}, were calculated. A comparison with the macroscopic volume from pressure-volume-temperature (PV T) experiments delivered the hole density and the specific hole free volume and a complete characterization of the free volume microstructure in that sense. These data are used in correlation with structural ({alpha}) relaxation data from broad-band dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) in terms of the Cohen-Grest and Cohen-Turnbull free volume models. An extension of the latter model allows us to quantify deviations between experiments and theory and an attempt to systematize these in terms of T{sub g} or of the fragility. The experimental data for several fragile and less fragile glass formers are involved in the final discussion. It was concluded that, for large differences in the fragility of different glass formers, the positron lifetime mirrors clearly the different character of these materials. For small differences in the fragility, additional properties like the character of bonds and chemical structure of the material may affect size, distribution and thermal behaviour of the free volume.

Rain Characteristics and Large-Scale Environments of Precipitation Objects with Extreme Rain Volumes from TRMM Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yaping; Lau, William K M.; Liu, Chuntao

2013-01-01

This study adopts a "precipitation object" approach by using 14 years of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Feature (PF) and National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data to study rainfall structure and environmental factors associated with extreme heavy rain events. Characteristics of instantaneous extreme volumetric PFs are examined and compared to those of intermediate and small systems. It is found that instantaneous PFs exhibit a much wider scale range compared to the daily gridded precipitation accumulation range. The top 1% of the rainiest PFs contribute over 55% of total rainfall and have 2 orders of rain volume magnitude greater than those of the median PFs. We find a threshold near the top 10% beyond which the PFs grow exponentially into larger, deeper, and colder rain systems. NCEP reanalyses show that midlevel relative humidity and total precipitable water increase steadily with increasingly larger PFs, along with a rapid increase of 500 hPa upward vertical velocity beyond the top 10%. This provides the necessary moisture convergence to amplify and sustain the extreme events. The rapid increase in vertical motion is associated with the release of convective available potential energy (CAPE) in mature systems, as is evident in the increase in CAPE of PFs up to 10% and the subsequent dropoff. The study illustrates distinct stages in the development of an extreme rainfall event including: (1) a systematic buildup in large-scale temperature and moisture, (2) a rapid change in rain structure, (3) explosive growth of the PF size, and (4) a release of CAPE before the demise of the event.

Very Large Data Volumes Analysis of Collaborative Systems with Finite Number of States

Science.gov (United States)

Ivan, Ion; Ciurea, Cristian; Pavel, Sorin

2010-01-01

The collaborative system with finite number of states is defined. A very large database is structured. Operations on large databases are identified. Repetitive procedures for collaborative systems operations are derived. The efficiency of such procedures is analyzed. (Contains 6 tables, 5 footnotes and 3 figures.)

MEAN PLATELET VOLUME AND RISK OF THROMBOTIC STROKE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prasantha Kumar Thankappan

2017-07-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Stroke is a major cause of long term morbidity and mortality. Several factors are known to increase the liability to stroke. Platelets play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic complications, contributing to thrombus formation. Platelet size (mean platelet volume, MPV is a marker and possible determinant of platelet function, large platelets being potentially more reactive. Hence an attempt has-been made to study the association if any between mean platelet volume and thrombotic stroke. The aim of this study was to determine whether an association exists between Mean Platelet Volume (MPV and thrombotic stroke. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study is a case control study and data was collected at Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam, Kerala a tertiary care referral centre. The study was carried out among fifty patients diagnosed with thrombotic stroke and presenting to the hospital within forty eight hours of onset of symptoms. Fifty age group and sex matched controls were also recruited. Mean platelet volume was obtained using a SYSMEX automated analyser. RESULTS This study has shown a statistically significant relation between mean platelet volume and risk of thrombotic stroke but no statistically significant correlation between clinical severity of stroke and mean platelet volume. CONCLUSION This study has shown an elevation of MPV in acute phase of thrombotic stroke. Platelet mass was found to be more or less a constant. This study did not find a statistically significant correlation between clinical severity of stroke and mean platelet volume.

When high-volume PCI operators in high-volume hospitals move to lower volume hospitals-Do they still maintain high volume and quality of outcomes?

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Tsung-Hsueh; Li, Sheng-Tun; Liang, Fu-Wen; Lee, Jo-Chi; Yin, Wei-Hsian

2017-10-31

The aim of this quasi-experimental study was to examine whether high-volume percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) operators still maintain high volume and quality of outcomes when they moved to lower volume hospitals. Systematic reviews have indicated that high-volume PCI operators and hospitals have higher quality outcomes. However, little is known on whether high PCI volume and high quality outcomes are mainly due to operator characteristics (i.e., skill and experience) and is portable across organizations or whether it is due to hospital characteristics (i.e., equipment, team, and management system) and is less portable. We used Taiwan National Health Insurance claims data 2000-2012 to identify 98 high-volume PCI operators, 10 of whom moved from one hospital to another during the study period. We compared the PCI volume, risk-adjusted mortality ratio, and major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) ratio before and after moving. Of the 10 high-volume operators who moved, 6 moved from high- to moderate- or low-volume hospitals, with median annual PCI volumes (interquartile range) of 130 (117-165) in prior hospitals and 54 (46-84) in subsequent hospitals (the hospital the operator moved to), and the remaining 4 moved from high to high-volume hospitals, with median annual PCI volumes (interquartile range) of 151 (133-162) in prior hospitals and 193 (178-239) in subsequent hospitals. No significant differences were observed in the risk-adjusted mortality ratios and MACE ratios between high-volume operators and matched controls before and after moving. High-volume operators cannot maintain high volume when they moved from high to moderate or low-volume hospitals; however, the quality of care is maintained. High PCI volume and high-quality outcomes are less portable and more hospital bound. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Large increase in nest size linked to climate change: an indicator of life history, senescence and condition.

Science.gov (United States)

Møller, Anders Pape; Nielsen, Jan Tøttrup

2015-11-01

Many animals build extravagant nests that exceed the size required for successful reproduction. Large nests may signal the parenting ability of nest builders suggesting that nests may have a signaling function. In particular, many raptors build very large nests for their body size. We studied nest size in the goshawk Accipiter gentilis, which is a top predator throughout most of the Nearctic. Both males and females build nests, and males provision their females and offspring with food. Nest volume in the goshawk is almost three-fold larger than predicted from their body size. Nest size in the goshawk is highly variable and may reach more than 600 kg for a bird that weighs ca. 1 kg. While 8.5% of nests fell down, smaller nests fell down more often than large nests. There was a hump-shaped relationship between nest volume and female age, with a decline in nest volume late in life, as expected for senescence. Clutch size increased with nest volume. Nest volume increased during 1977-2014 in an accelerating fashion, linked to increasing spring temperature during April, when goshawks build and start reproduction. These findings are consistent with nest size being a reliable signal of parental ability, with large nest size signaling superior parenting ability and senescence, and also indicating climate warming.

Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific and Technical Report 1999. Volume VI: Large Research Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foroughi, Fereydoun; Bercher, Renate; Buechli, Carmen; Meyer, Rosa [eds.

2000-07-01

The department GFA (Grossforschungsanlagen, Large Research Facilities) has been established in October 1998. Its main duty is operation, maintenance and development of the PSI accelerators, the spallation neutron source and the beam transport systems for pions and muons. A large effort of this group concerns the planning and co-ordination of new projects like e.g. the assembly of the synchrotron light source (SLS), design studies of a new proton therapy facility, the ultracold neutron source and a new intensive secondary beam line for low energy muons. A large fraction of this report is devoted to research especially in the field of materials Science. The studies include large scale molecular dynamics computer simulations on the elastic and plastic behavior of nanostructured metals, complemented by experimental mechanical testing using micro-indentation and miniaturized tensile testing, as well as microstructural characterisation and strain field mapping of metallic coatings and thin ceramic layers, the latter done with synchrotron radiation.

Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific and Technical Report 1999. Volume VI: Large Research Facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foroughi, Fereydoun; Bercher, Renate; Buechli, Carmen; Meyer, Rosa

2000-01-01

The department GFA (Grossforschungsanlagen, Large Research Facilities) has been established in October 1998. Its main duty is operation, maintenance and development of the PSI accelerators, the spallation neutron source and the beam transport systems for pions and muons. A large effort of this group concerns the planning and co-ordination of new projects like e.g. the assembly of the synchrotron light source (SLS), design studies of a new proton therapy facility, the ultracold neutron source and a new intensive secondary beam line for low energy muons. A large fraction of this report is devoted to research especially in the field of materials Science. The studies include large scale molecular dynamics computer simulations on the elastic and plastic behavior of nanostructured metals, complemented by experimental mechanical testing using micro-indentation and miniaturized tensile testing, as well as microstructural characterisation and strain field mapping of metallic coatings and thin ceramic layers, the latter done with synchrotron radiation

Volume-based Representation of the Magnetic Field

CERN Document Server

Amapane, N; Drollinger, V; Karimäki, V; Klyukhin, V; Todorov, T

2005-01-01

Simulation and reconstruction of events in high-energy experiments require the knowledge of the value of the magnetic field at any point within the detector. The way this information is extracted from the actual map of the magnetic field and served to simulation and reconstruction applications has a large impact on accuracy and performance in terms of speed. As an example, the CMS high level trigger performs on-line tracking of muons within the magnet yoke, where the field is discontinuous and largely inhomogeneous. In this case the high level trigger execution time is dominated by the time needed to access the magnetic field map.For this reason, an optimized approach for the access to the CMS field was developed, based on a dedicated representation of thedetector geometry. The detector is modeled in terms of volumes, constructed in such a way that their boundaries correspond to the fiel d discontinuities due to changes in the magnetic permeability of the materials. The field within each volume is therefore c...

Quantification of Protozoa and Viruses from Small Water Volumes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Alfredo Bonilla

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Large sample volumes are traditionally required for the analysis of waterborne pathogens. The need for large volumes greatly limits the number of samples that can be processed. The aims of this study were to compare extraction and detection procedures for quantifying protozoan parasites and viruses from small volumes of marine water. The intent was to evaluate a logistically simpler method of sample collection and processing that would facilitate direct pathogen measures as part of routine monitoring programs. Samples were collected simultaneously using a bilayer device with protozoa capture by size (top filter and viruses capture by charge (bottom filter. Protozoan detection technologies utilized for recovery of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. were qPCR and the more traditional immunomagnetic separation—IFA-microscopy, while virus (poliovirus detection was based upon qPCR versus plaque assay. Filters were eluted using reagents consistent with the downstream detection technologies. Results showed higher mean recoveries using traditional detection methods over qPCR for Cryptosporidium (91% vs. 45% and poliovirus (67% vs. 55% whereas for Giardia the qPCR-based methods were characterized by higher mean recoveries (41% vs. 28%. Overall mean recoveries are considered high for all detection technologies. Results suggest that simultaneous filtration may be suitable for isolating different classes of pathogens from small marine water volumes. More research is needed to evaluate the suitability of this method for detecting pathogens at low ambient concentration levels.

On the volatility-volume relationship in energy futures markets using intra-day data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chevallier, Julien; Sevi, Benoit

2011-01-01

This paper investigates the relationship between trading volume and price volatility in the crude oil and natural gas futures markets when using high-frequency data. By regressing various realized volatility measures (with/without jumps) on trading volume and trading frequency, our results feature a contemporaneous and largely positive relationship. Furthermore, we test whether the volatility-volume relationship is symmetric for energy futures by considering positive and negative realized semi-variance. We show that (i) an asymmetric volatility-volume relationship indeed exists, (ii) trading volume and trading frequency significantly affect negative and positive realized semi-variance, and (iii) the information content of negative realized semi-variance is higher than for positive realized semi-variance. (authors)

Change of tumor target volume during waiting time for intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Bo; Yi Junlin; Gao Li; Xu Guozhen; Huang Xiaodong; Zhang Zhong; Luo Jingwei; Li Suyan

2007-01-01

Objective: To determine the influence of change in tumor target volume of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) while waiting for intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Methods: From March 2005 to December 2005, 31 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma received IMRT as the initial treatment at the Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academic of Medical Sciences. The original simulation CT scan was acquired before IMRT planning. A second CT scan was acquired before the start of radiotherapy. Wait- ing time was defined as the duration between CT simulation and start of radiotherapy. CT-CT fusion was used to minimize the error of delineation between the first tumor target volume (GTV) and the second tumor target volume (sGTV). Tumor target volume was calculated by treatment planning system. T test was carried out to analyse the difference between GTV and sGTV. Pearson correlation and multivariate linear regression was used to analyse the influence factor of the change betweent GTV and sGTV. Results: Median waiting time was 18 days (range, 9-27 days). There were significant differences between GTV and sGTV of both primary tumor (P=0.009) and metastatic lymphoma (P=0.005 ). Both Pearson correlation and multivariate linear regression showed that the change of primary tumor target volume had significant correlation with the first tumor target volume but had no significant correlation with the waiting time, sex, age, T stage and N stage (1992 Chinese Fuzhou Staging Classification). Conclusions: Within the range of the waiting time ob- served in our study, large volume primary tumor would have had a significant increase in volume, but whether the therapeutic effect would be influenced or not would need to be proved by study of large number of cases. Patients with large volume tumor should be considered to reduce the influence of waiting time by enlarging gross target volume and clinical targe volume and by neoadjuveant chemotherapy. For avoiding the unnecessary high-dose to normal

Inward flux of lactate⁻ through monocarboxylate transporters contributes to regulatory volume increase in mouse muscle fibres.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael I Lindinger

Full Text Available Mouse and rat skeletal muscles are capable of a regulatory volume increase (RVI after they shrink (volume loss resultant from exposure to solutions of increased osmolarity and that this RVI occurs mainly by a Na-K-Cl-Cotransporter (NKCC-dependent mechanism. With high-intensity exercise, increased extracellular osmolarity is accompanied by large increases in extracellular [lactate⁻]. We hypothesized that large increases in [lactate⁻] and osmolarity augment the NKCC-dependent RVI response observed with a NaCl (or sucrose-induced increase in osmolarity alone; a response that is dependent on lactate⁻ influx through monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs. Single mouse muscle fibres were isolated and visualized under light microscopy under varying osmolar conditions. When solution osmolarity was increased by adding NaLac by 30 or 60 mM, fibres lost significantly less volume and regained volume sooner compared to when NaCl was used. Phloretin (MCT1 inhibitor accentuated the volume loss compared to both NaLac controls, supporting a role for MCT1 in the RVI response in the presence of elevated [lactate⁻]. Inhibition of MCT4 (with pCMBS resulted in a volume loss, intermediate to that seen with phloretin and NaLac controls. Bumetanide (NKCC inhibitor, in combination with pCMBS, reduced the magnitude of volume loss, but volume recovery was complete. While combined phloretin-bumetanide also reduced the magnitude of the volume loss, it also largely abolished the cell volume recovery. In conclusion, RVI in skeletal muscle exposed to raised tonicity and [lactate⁻] is facilitated by inward flux of solute by NKCC- and MCT1-dependent mechanisms. This work demonstrates evidence of a RVI response in skeletal muscle that is facilitated by inward flux of solute by MCT-dependent mechanisms. These findings further expand our understanding of the capacities for skeletal muscle to volume regulate, particularly in instances of raised tonicity and lactate�

Under conditions of large geometric miss, tumor control probability can be higher for static gantry intensity-modulated radiation therapy compared to volume-modulated arc therapy for prostate cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Balderson, Michael; Brown, Derek; Johnson, Patricia; Kirkby, Charles

2016-01-01

The purpose of this work was to compare static gantry intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with volume-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in terms of tumor control probability (TCP) under scenarios involving large geometric misses, i.e., those beyond what are accounted for when margin expansion is determined. Using a planning approach typical for these treatments, a linear-quadratic-based model for TCP was used to compare mean TCP values for a population of patients who experiences a geometric miss (i.e., systematic and random shifts of the clinical target volume within the planning target dose distribution). A Monte Carlo approach was used to account for the different biological sensitivities of a population of patients. Interestingly, for errors consisting of coplanar systematic target volume offsets and three-dimensional random offsets, static gantry IMRT appears to offer an advantage over VMAT in that larger shift errors are tolerated for the same mean TCP. For example, under the conditions simulated, erroneous systematic shifts of 15mm directly between or directly into static gantry IMRT fields result in mean TCP values between 96% and 98%, whereas the same errors on VMAT plans result in mean TCP values between 45% and 74%. Random geometric shifts of the target volume were characterized using normal distributions in each Cartesian dimension. When the standard deviations were doubled from those values assumed in the derivation of the treatment margins, our model showed a 7% drop in mean TCP for the static gantry IMRT plans but a 20% drop in TCP for the VMAT plans. Although adding a margin for error to a clinical target volume is perhaps the best approach to account for expected geometric misses, this work suggests that static gantry IMRT may offer a treatment that is more tolerant to geometric miss errors than VMAT. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Medical Dosimetrists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Indigenous high volume air sampler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotrappa, P.; Setty, N.P.N.; Raghunath, B.; Sivasubrahmanyam, P.S.

1978-01-01

A high volume air sampler for use in assessing concentrations of low levels of air borne particulates has been fabricated. The sampler will be of use in radioactive installations, conventional industries and environmental pollution analysis. It is comparable in performance with the imported Staplex air samplers. A turbine and motor system similar to the one found in conventional vacuum cleaners is used in its design. The sampler units can be produced in large numbers. (M.G.B.)

Exploring the connectome: Petascale volume visualization of microscopy data streams

KAUST Repository

Beyer, Johanna; Hadwiger, Markus; Al-Awami, Ali K.; Jeong, Wonki; Kasthuri, Narayanan; Lichtman, Jeff W M D; Pfister, Hanspeter

2013-01-01

Recent advances in high-resolution microscopy let neuroscientists acquire neural-tissue volume data of extremely large sizes. However, the tremendous resolution and the high complexity of neural structures present big challenges to storage, processing, and visualization at interactive rates. A proposed system provides interactive exploration of petascale (petavoxel) volumes resulting from high-throughput electron microscopy data streams. The system can concurrently handle multiple volumes and can support the simultaneous visualization of high-resolution voxel segmentation data. Its visualization-driven design restricts most computations to a small subset of the data. It employs a multiresolution virtual-memory architecture for better scalability than previous approaches and for handling incomplete data. Researchers have employed it for a 1-teravoxel mouse cortex volume, of which several hundred axons and dendrites as well as synapses have been segmented and labeled. © 1981-2012 IEEE.

Exploring the connectome: Petascale volume visualization of microscopy data streams

KAUST Repository

Beyer, Johanna

2013-07-01

Recent advances in high-resolution microscopy let neuroscientists acquire neural-tissue volume data of extremely large sizes. However, the tremendous resolution and the high complexity of neural structures present big challenges to storage, processing, and visualization at interactive rates. A proposed system provides interactive exploration of petascale (petavoxel) volumes resulting from high-throughput electron microscopy data streams. The system can concurrently handle multiple volumes and can support the simultaneous visualization of high-resolution voxel segmentation data. Its visualization-driven design restricts most computations to a small subset of the data. It employs a multiresolution virtual-memory architecture for better scalability than previous approaches and for handling incomplete data. Researchers have employed it for a 1-teravoxel mouse cortex volume, of which several hundred axons and dendrites as well as synapses have been segmented and labeled. © 1981-2012 IEEE.

Large floating structures technological advances

CERN Document Server

Wang, BT

2015-01-01

This book surveys key projects that have seen the construction of large floating structures or have attained detailed conceptual designs. This compilation of key floating structures in a single volume captures the innovative features that mark the technological advances made in this field of engineering, and will provide a useful reference for ideas, analysis, design, and construction of these unique and emerging urban projects to offshore and marine engineers, urban planners, architects and students.

Intralesional and metastatic heterogeneity in malignant melanomas demonstrated by stereologic estimates of nuclear volume

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Flemming Brandt; Erlandsen, M

1990-01-01

Regional variability of nuclear 3-dimensional size can be estimated objectively using point-sampled intercepts obtained from different, defined zones within individual neoplasms. In the present study, stereologic estimates of the volume-weighted mean nuclear volume, nuclear vv, within peripheral...... melanomas showed large interindividual variation. This finding emphasizes that unbiased estimates of nuclear vv are robust to regional heterogeneity of nuclear volume and thus suitable for purposes of objective, quantitative malignancy grading of melanomas....

Urban Run-off Volumes Dependency on Rainfall Measurement Method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, L.; Jensen, N. E.; Rasmussen, Michael R.

2005-01-01

Urban run-off is characterized with fast response since the large surface run-off in the catchments responds immediately to variations in the rainfall. Modeling such type of catchments is most often done with the input from very few rain gauges, but the large variation in rainfall over small areas...... resolutions and single gauge rainfall was fed to a MOUSE run-off model. The flow and total volume over the event is evaluated....

Toepassingsmogelijkheden van groot-volume-injectie gaschromatografie met infraroodspectrometrische detectie

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Visser T; Vredenbregt MJ; Hankemeier Th; Hooischuur E; Laan R van der; LOC; VU, vakgroep Analytische Chemie, Amsterdam

1997-01-01

Research has been carried out to enlarge the analyte detectability of gaschromatography with infrared spectrometric detection (GC-IR) by techniques that allow injection of large volumes of liquid samples (100 ul typical). Two techniques have been investigated; loop-type and on-column interfacing.

Towards large volume big divisor D3/D7 " μ-split supersymmetry" and Ricci-flat Swiss-cheese metrics, and dimension-six neutrino mass operators

Science.gov (United States)

Dhuria, Mansi; Misra, Aalok

2012-02-01

We show that it is possible to realize a " μ-split SUSY" scenario (Cheng and Cheng, 2005) [1] in the context of large volume limit of type IIB compactifications on Swiss-cheese Calabi-Yau orientifolds in the presence of a mobile space-time filling D3-brane and a (stack of) D7-brane(s) wrapping the "big" divisor. For this, we investigate the possibility of getting one Higgs to be light while other to be heavy in addition to a heavy higgsino mass parameter. Further, we examine the existence of long lived gluino that manifests one of the major consequences of μ-split SUSY scenario, by computing its decay width as well as lifetime corresponding to the three-body decays of the gluino into either a quark, a squark and a neutralino or a quark, squark and goldstino, as well as two-body decays of the gluino into either a neutralino and a gluon or a goldstino and a gluon. Guided by the geometric Kähler potential for Σ obtained in Misra and Shukla (2010) [2] based on GLSM techniques, and the Donaldson's algorithm (Barun et al., 2008) [3] for obtaining numerically a Ricci-flat metric, we give details of our calculation in Misra and Shukla (2011) [4] pertaining to our proposed metric for the full Swiss-cheese Calabi-Yau (the geometric Kähler potential being needed to be included in the full moduli space Kähler potential in the presence of the mobile space-time filling D3-brane), but for simplicity of calculation, close to the big divisor, which is Ricci-flat in the large volume limit. Also, as an application of the one-loop RG flow solution for the higgsino mass parameter, we show that the contribution to the neutrino masses at the EW scale from dimension-six operators arising from the Kähler potential, is suppressed relative to the Weinberg-type dimension-five operators.

High volume tidal or current flow harnessing system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gorlov, A.M.

1984-08-07

Apparatus permitting the utilization of large volumes of water in the harnessing and extracting of a portion of the power generated by the rise and fall of ocean tides, ocean currents, or flowing rivers includes the provision of a dam, and a specialized single cavity chamber of limited size as compared with the water head enclosed by the dam, and an extremely high volume gating system in which all or nearly all of the water between the high and low levels on either side of the dam is cyclically gated through the single chamber from one side of the dam to the other so as to alternately provide positive air pressure and a partial vacuum within the single chamber. In one embodiment, the specialized chamber has a barrier at the bottom which divides the bottom of the chamber in half, large ports at the bottom of the chamber to permit inflow and outflow of high volumes of water, and ganged structures having a higher total area than that of corresponding ports, in which the structures form sluice gates to selectively seal off and open different sets of ports. In another embodiment, a single chamber is used without a barrier. In this embodiment, vertical sluice gates are used which may be activated automatically by pressures acting on the sluice gates as a result of ingested and expelled water.

Altitude Acclimatization and Blood Volume: Effects of Exogenous Erythrocyte Volume Expansion

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sawka, M

1996-01-01

...: (a) altitude acclimatization effects on erythrocyte volume and plasma volume; (b) if exogenous erythrocyte volume expansion alters subsequent erythrocyte volume and plasma volume adaptations; (c...

Animal experiments in radiotherapy. II. Large animals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Probert, J C; Hughes, D B

1975-03-01

A review has been made of factors of importance when using large animals for organ or partial body irradiation research. The problem has been considered from the viewpoint of the clinician. The rabbit, cat, dog, pig and monkey have been examined in detail for suitability as laboratory animals. Dosimetric and volume features have been reviewed.

Optimal models of extreme volume-prices are time-dependent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rocha, Paulo; Boto, João Pedro; Raischel, Frank; Lind, Pedro G

2015-01-01

We present evidence that the best model for empirical volume-price distributions is not always the same and it strongly depends in (i) the region of the volume-price spectrum that one wants to model and (ii) the period in time that is being modelled. To show these two features we analyze stocks of the New York stock market with four different models: Γ, Γ-inverse, log-normal, and Weibull distributions. To evaluate the accuracy of each model we use standard relative deviations as well as the Kullback-Leibler distance and introduce an additional distance particularly suited to evaluate how accurate are the models for the distribution tails (large volume-price). Finally we put our findings in perspective and discuss how they can be extended to other situations in finance engineering

Anatomically guided voxel-based partial volume effect correction in brain PET : Impact of MRI segmentation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gutierrez, Daniel; Montandon, Marie-Louise; Assal, Frederic; Allaoua, Mohamed; Ratib, Osman; Loevblad, Karl-Olof; Zaidi, Habib

2012-01-01

Partial volume effect is still considered one of the main limitations in brain PET imaging given the limited spatial resolution of current generation PET scanners. The accuracy of anatomically guided partial volume effect correction (PVC) algorithms in brain PET is largely dependent on the

Automatic delineation of functional lung volumes with 68Ga-ventilation/perfusion PET/CT.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Roux, Pierre-Yves; Siva, Shankar; Callahan, Jason; Claudic, Yannis; Bourhis, David; Steinfort, Daniel P; Hicks, Rodney J; Hofman, Michael S

2017-10-10

Functional volumes computed from 68 Ga-ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) PET/CT, which we have shown to correlate with pulmonary function test parameters (PFTs), have potential diagnostic utility in a variety of clinical applications, including radiotherapy planning. An automatic segmentation method would facilitate delineation of such volumes. The aim of this study was to develop an automated threshold-based approach to delineate functional volumes that best correlates with manual delineation. Thirty lung cancer patients undergoing both V/Q PET/CT and PFTs were analyzed. Images were acquired following inhalation of Galligas and, subsequently, intravenous administration of 68 Ga-macroaggreted-albumin (MAA). Using visually defined manual contours as the reference standard, various cutoff values, expressed as a percentage of the maximal pixel value, were applied. The average volume difference and Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) were calculated, measuring the similarity of the automatic segmentation and the reference standard. Pearson's correlation was also calculated to compare automated volumes with manual volumes, and automated volumes optimized to PFT indices. For ventilation volumes, mean volume difference was lowest (- 0.4%) using a 15%max threshold with Pearson's coefficient of 0.71. Applying this cutoff, median DSC was 0.93 (0.87-0.95). Nevertheless, limits of agreement in volume differences were large (- 31.0 and 30.2%) with differences ranging from - 40.4 to + 33.0%. For perfusion volumes, mean volume difference was lowest and Pearson's coefficient was highest using a 15%max threshold (3.3% and 0.81, respectively). Applying this cutoff, median DSC was 0.93 (0.88-0.93). Nevertheless, limits of agreement were again large (- 21.1 and 27.8%) with volume differences ranging from - 18.6 to + 35.5%. Using the 15%max threshold, moderate correlation was demonstrated with FEV1/FVC (r = 0.48 and r = 0.46 for ventilation and perfusion images, respectively

Partial molar volume of n-alcohols at infinite dilution in water calculated by means of scaled particle theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Graziano, Giuseppe

2006-04-07

The partial molar volume of n-alcohols at infinite dilution in water is smaller than the molar volume in the neat liquid phase. It is shown that the formula for the partial molar volume at infinite dilution obtained from the scaled particle theory equation of state for binary hard sphere mixtures is able to reproduce in a satisfactory manner the experimental data over a large temperature range. This finding implies that the packing effects play the fundamental role in determining the partial molar volume at infinite dilution in water also for solutes, such as n-alcohols, forming H bonds with water molecules. Since the packing effects in water are largely related to the small size of its molecules, the latter feature is the ultimate cause of the decrease in partial molar volume associated with the hydrophobic effect.