Ultracapacitor-Based Uninterrupted Power Supply System

Science.gov (United States)

Eichenberg, Dennis J.

2011-01-01

The ultracapacitor-based uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system enhances system reliability; reduces life-of-system, maintenance, and downtime costs; and greatly reduces environmental impact when compared to conventional UPS energy storage systems. This design provides power when required and absorbs power when required to smooth the system load and also has excellent low-temperature performance. The UPS used during hardware tests at Glenn is an efficient, compact, maintenance-free, rack-mount, pure sine-wave inverter unit. The UPS provides a continuous output power up to 1,700 W with a surge rating of 1,870 W for up to one minute at a nominal output voltage of 115 VAC. The ultracapacitor energy storage system tested in conjunction with the UPS is rated at 5.8 F. This is a bank of ten symmetric ultracapacitor modules. Each module is actively balanced using a linear voltage balancing technique in which the cell-to-cell leakage is dependent upon the imbalance of the individual cells. The ultracapacitors are charged by a DC power supply, which can provide up to 300 VDC at 4 A. A constant-voltage, constant-current power supply was selected for this application. The long life of ultracapacitors greatly enhances system reliability, which is significant in critical applications such as medical power systems and space power systems. The energy storage system can usually last longer than the application, given its 20-year life span. This means that the ultracapacitors will probably never need to be replaced and disposed of, whereas batteries require frequent replacement and disposal. The charge-discharge efficiency of rechargeable batteries is approximately 50 percent, and after some hundreds of charges and discharges, they must be replaced. The charge-discharge efficiency of ultracapacitors exceeds 90 percent, and can accept more than a million charges and discharges. Thus, there is a significant energy savings through the efficiency improvement, and there is far less

Proposal for the award of a contract, without competitive tendering, for the maintenance of uninterruptable power supply systems

CERN Document Server

2003-01-01

This document concerns the award of a contract, without competitive tendering, for the maintenance of uninterruptable power supply systems. The Finance Committee is invited to agree to the negotiation of a contract, without competitive tendering, for the maintenance of uninterruptable power supply systems with MGE (FR) for a total amount of 575 000 euros (911 000 Swiss francs), covering an initial period of five years, subject to revision for inflation after 1 January 2007. The contract will include options for two one-year extensions beyond the initial five-year period. The amount in Swiss francs has been calculated using the present rate of exchange. The firm has indicated the following distribution by country of the contract value covered by this adjudication proposal: FR - 100%.

Aging Management Guideline for commercial nuclear power plants: Battery chargers, inverters and uninterruptible power supplies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berg, R.; Stroinski, M.; Giachetti, R.

1994-02-01

This Aging Management Guideline (AMG) describes recommended methods for effective detection and mitigation of age-related degradation mechanisms in BWR and PWR commercial nuclear power plant battery chargers, inverters and uninterruptible power supplies important to license renewal. The intent of this AMG is to assist plant maintenance and operations personnel in maximizing the safe, useful life of these components. It also supports the documentation of effective aging management programs required under the License Renewal Rule 10 CFR Part 54. This AMG is presented in a manner that allows personnel responsible for performance analysis and maintenance to compare their plant-specific aging mechanisms (expected or already, experienced) and aging management program activities to the more generic results and recommendations presented herein

Fuji Electric`s line of uninterruptible power systems; Muteiden dengen sochi no seihin keiretsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kobata, S.; Ishikawa, Y.; Yokoyama, T. [Fuji Electric Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1997-08-10

Uninterruptible power systems (UPSs) are widely used in financial institutions, utility services, totalizator systems, traffic control systems, plants, new media, medical systems, and information processing services. These are highly reliable power supply systems to protect computer-aided information and communication systems from power failure or defects. Described herein is the company`s line of UPSs developed by integrating power electronics, and digital and high-frequency switching techniques. The major components of a UPS are rectifier, inverter and battery. Power is supplied by commercial or inverter system. The former is widely used by plants because of its low loss and high efficiency, although distorted output waves or instantaneous power failure may occur when the power source is switched in the case of power failure. The latter is suited for computer systems, because of its ability of stably supplying power, without being affected by the disturbances which may occur in the commercial system. 7 figs., 2 tabs.

Design and Application of a Power Unit to Use Plug-In Electric Vehicles as an Uninterruptible Power Supply

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gorkem Sen

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Grid-enabled vehicles (GEVs such as plug-in electric vehicles present environmental and energy sustainability advantages compared to conventional vehicles. GEV runs solely on power generated by its own battery group, which supplies power to its electric motor. This battery group can be charged from external electric sources. Nowadays, the interaction of GEV with the power grid is unidirectional by the charging process. However, GEV can be operated bi-directionally by modifying its power unit. In such operating conditions, GEV can operate as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS and satisfy a portion or the total energy demand of the consumption center independent from utility grid, which is known as vehicle-to-home (V2H. In this paper, a power unit is developed for GEVs in the laboratory to conduct simulation and experimental studies to test the performance of GEVs as a UPS unit in V2H mode at the time of need. The activation and deactivation of the power unit and islanding protection unit are examined when energy is interrupted.

Virtual resistance-based control strategy for DC link regeneration protection and current sharing in uninterruptible power supply

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lu, Jinghang; Guan, Yajuan; Savaghebi, Mehdi

2017-01-01

To address the DC link voltage regeneration issue in parallel Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system, a DC link voltage protection (DCVP) method through online virtual resistance regulation is proposed. The proposed control strategy is able to protect the DC link from overvoltage that may...... trigger the protection mechanism of the UPS system. Moreover, a current sharing control strategy by regulating the virtual resistance is proposed to address the circulating current caused by the active power feeding. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed method is verified by experimental results from...

Uninterrupted thermoelectric energy harvesting using temperature-sensor-based maximum power point tracking system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jae-Do; Lee, Hohyun; Bond, Matthew

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Feedforward MPPT scheme for uninterrupted TEG energy harvesting is suggested. • Temperature sensors are used to avoid current measurement or source disconnection. • MPP voltage reference is generated based on OCV vs. temperature differential model. • Optimal operating condition is maintained using hysteresis controller. • Any type of power converter can be used in the proposed scheme. - Abstract: In this paper, a thermoelectric generator (TEG) energy harvesting system with a temperature-sensor-based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method is presented. Conventional MPPT algorithms for photovoltaic cells may not be suitable for thermoelectric power generation because a significant amount of time is required for TEG systems to reach a steady state. Moreover, complexity and additional power consumption in conventional circuits and periodic disconnection of power source are not desirable for low-power energy harvesting applications. The proposed system can track the varying maximum power point (MPP) with a simple and inexpensive temperature-sensor-based circuit without instantaneous power measurement or TEG disconnection. This system uses TEG’s open circuit voltage (OCV) characteristic with respect to temperature gradient to generate a proper reference voltage signal, i.e., half of the TEG’s OCV. The power converter controller maintains the TEG output voltage at the reference level so that the maximum power can be extracted for the given temperature condition. This feedforward MPPT scheme is inherently stable and can be implemented without any complex microcontroller circuit. The proposed system has been validated analytically and experimentally, and shows a maximum power tracking error of 1.15%

A dual mode operated boost inverter and its control strategy for ripple current reduction in single-phase uninterruptible power supplies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tang, Y.; Yao, W.; Blaabjerg, Frede

2015-01-01

In single-phase uninterruptible power supply (UPS) applications, it is well known that the AC side instantaneous power is not constant by nature. The resulting input current from the DC source side will inevitably contain low frequency ripple components that may largely deteriorate the system...... as active power conversion, while its CM operation is controlled in such a way that the low frequency ripple current on the DC side can be maintained in a minimum level. The proposed ripple current reduction method may not only work with linear loads, but also nonlinear loads, where more sophisticated...

High-Performance Control of Paralleled Three-Phase Inverters for Residential Microgrid Architectures Based on Online Uninterruptable Power Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Chi; Guerrero, Josep M.; Vasquez, Juan Carlos

2015-01-01

In this paper, a control strategy for the parallel operation of three-phase inverters forming an online uninterruptible power system (UPS) is presented. The UPS system consists of a cluster of paralleled inverters with LC filters directly connected to an AC critical bus and an AC/DC forming a DC...... bus. The proposed control scheme is performed on two layers: (i) a local layer that contains a “reactive power vs phase” in order to synchronize the phase angle of each inverter and a virtual resistance loop that guarantees equal power sharing among inverters; (ii) a central controller that guarantees...... synchronization with an external real/fictitious utility, and critical bus voltage restoration. Constant transient and steady-state frequency, active, reactive and harmonic power sharing, and global phase-locked loop resynchronization capability are achieved. Detailed system topology and control architecture...

An investigation of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) based on supercapacitor and liquid nitrogen hybridization system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xinjing; Xue, Haobai; Xu, Yujie; Chen, Haisheng; Tan, Chunqing

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A hybrid UPS based on supercapacitor and liquid nitrogen engine is proposed. • The dynamic modelling of the hybrid UPS system is conducted. • The dynamic working performance is obtained and analysed based on the simulation. • The hybrid UPS enjoys environmental benignity, long life and easy maintenance. • It is a highly possible solution to replace conventional UPS systems. - Abstract: An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system based on supercapacitor and liquid nitrogen (LN 2 ) hybridization is first introduced in this paper. Of the newly designed UPS, the supercapacitor reacts instantaneously once the main supply fails, and it also starts the LN 2 power system to produce continuing electricity for the customer. This hybrid UPS system is of environment cleanness, long life time, easy maintenaince, etc. A 10 kW model is analyzed in this study. A two-stage nitrogen expander is designed with the rated speed of 900 rpm as the long time power generation device of the LN 2 cycle. The UPS starting process calculation is carried out. The results reveal that commercial supercapacitors could fulfill this request. This UPS could be a competent choice for the UPS application. Further discussion indicates the LN 2 power system could be used widely from UPS to low carbon vehicles

Safety of atrial fibrillation ablation with novel multi-electrode array catheters on uninterrupted anticoagulation-a single-center experience.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Hayes, Christopher Ruslan

2012-02-01

INTRODUCTION: A recent single-center report indicated that the performance of atrial fibrillation ablation in patients on uninterrupted warfarin using a conventional deflectable tip electrode ablation catheter may be as safe as periprocedural discontinuation of warfarin and bridging with heparin. Novel multi-electrode array catheters for atrial fibrillation ablation are currently undergoing clinical evaluation. While offering the possibility of more rapid atrial fibrillation ablation, they are stiffer and necessitate the deployment of larger deflectable transseptal sheaths, and it remains to be determined if they increase the risk of cardiac perforation and vascular injury. Such potential risks would have implications for a strategy of uninterrupted periprocedural anticoagulation. METHOD AND RESULTS: We audited the safety outcomes of our atrial fibrillation ablation procedures using multi-electrode array ablation catheters in patients on uninterrupted warfarin (CHADS2 score>or=2) and in patients not on warfarin (uninterrupted aspirin). Two bleeding complications occurred in 49 patients on uninterrupted warfarin, both of which were managed successfully without longterm sequelae, and no bleeding complication occurred in 32 patients not on warfarin (uninterrupted aspirin). There were no thromboembolic events or other complication with either anticoagulant regimen. CONCLUSION: Despite the larger diameter and increased stiffness of multi-electrode array catheters and their deflectable transseptal sheaths, their use for catheter ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation on uninterrupted warfarin in this single-center experience does not appear to be unsafe, and thus, an adequately powered multicenter prospective randomized controlled trial should be considered.

20-kW solar photovoltaic flat-panel power system for an uninterruptible power-system load in El Paso, Texas. Phase II. System fabrication. Final report October 1, 1979-May 31, 1981

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Risser, V.V.

1981-12-01

The system plans, construction, integration and test, and performance evaluation are discussed for the photovoltaic power supply at the Newman Power Station in El Paso, Texas. The system consists of 64 parallel-connected panels, each panel containing nine series-connected photovoltaic modules. The system is connected, through power monitoring equipment, to an existing DC bus that supplies uninterruptible power to a computer that controls the power generating equipment. The site is described and possible environmental hazards are assessed. Site preparation and the installation of the photovoltaic panels, electrical cabling, and instrumentation subsystems are described. System testing includes initial system checkout, module performance test, control system test. A training program for operators and maintenance personnel is briefly described, including visual aids. Performance data collection and analysis are described, and actual data are compared with a computer simulation. System drawings are included. (LEW)

Line-Interactive Transformerless Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS with a Fuel Cell as the Primary Source

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Iftikhar

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents line-interactive transformerless Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS with a fuel cell as the prime energy source. The proposed UPS consists of three major parts (i.e., an output inverter, a unidirectional DC–DC converter, and a battery charger/discharger. Non-isolated topologies of both the unidirectional converter and battery charger/discharger ensure transformerless operation of the UPS system. A new topology of high gain converter is employed for boosting the low voltage of the fuel cell to a higher DC link voltage, with minimum semiconductor count, and high efficiency. A high-gain battery charger/discharger realizes the bidirectional operation between the DC link and the battery bank. Besides, it regulates the DC link voltage during the cold start of fuel cells and keeps the battery bank voltage to only 24 V. A new inverter control scheme is introduced that regulates the output voltage and minimizes the total harmonic distortion for non-linear loading condition. The proposed control scheme integrates proportional-resonant control with slide mode control, which improves the controller’s performance in transient conditions. The proposed UPS system is validated by developing a 1-kVA experimental prototype.

Operating experiences on the co-generation system (CGS) as an uninterruptible power source (UPS) for the super-sized accelerator facility, RIBF of RIKEN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujinawa, Tadashi; Yano, Yasushige

2011-01-01

The RI Beam Factory (RIBF) of RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, which succeeded in extracting first beam on December 28th 2006 as scheduled, is currently conducting nuclear physics experiments. The RIBF has six accelerators, one of which is the world's biggest and most powerful superconducting ring cyclotron (SRC). The accelerators require not only a huge amount of electricity but also a reliable power supply for the He-cryogenic system, vacuum system and superconducting magnet systems. For this purpose, the co-generation system (CGS) was introduced. A gas turbine generates 6.5 MW of power from liquid natural gas (LNG) and supplies it to the systems mentioned above as an uninterruptible power source (UPS). By utilizing gas heat exhaust from the gas turbine, the CGS will also supply cooled water to the cooling system of the RIBF accelerators as well as to the air-conditioning system for the bending. The CGS plant was completed on the 1st floor of the RIBF accelerator building and it began operating in April 2003. This paper covers the merits and demerits. (author)

Vascular access site complication in transfemoral coronary angiography between uninterrupted warfarin and heparin bridging.

Science.gov (United States)

Wongcharoen, Wanwarang; Pinyosamosorn, Kittipong; Gunaparn, Siriluck; Boonnayhun, Suchada; Thonghong, Tasalak; Suwannasom, Pannipa; Phrommintikul, Arintaya

2017-08-01

Warfarin discontinuation with heparin bridging is a common practice in patients receiving warfarin prior to elective coronary angiography (CAG). The uninterrupted warfarin strategy has been suggested to be alternative option for patients with high thromboembolic risk. Therefore, we aimed to assess the safety of elective transfemoral CAG during uninterrupted warfarin therapy compared to heparin bridging. This study was a randomized open-label design with blinded event evaluation. The 110 consecutive patients (age ≥ 18 years) receiving warfarin before the planned transfemoral CAG were randomly assigned to either heparin bridging or uninterrupted warfarin with targeted INR (2.0-3.0). The primary outcome was the incidence of major vascular access site complications. The baseline characteristics were comparable between two groups (mean age was 60.1 ± 7.8 years, 49 males). The mean INR on the day of CAG of heparin bridging and uninterrupted warfarin groups was 1.2 ± 0.3 and 2.2 ± 0.5 (P warfarin patients (P = 0.243). The total vascular access site complications occurred in 6 (10.9%) heparin-bridging and one (1.8%) uninterrupted warfarin patients (P = 0.113). No patient developed either other bleeding or thromboembolic events during 7 days after CAG. We demonstrated that an uninterrupted warfarin strategy did not increase vascular access site complications in patients undergoing transfemoral CAG compared to heparin bridging therapy. Due to the safety and the ease of uninterrupted warfarin strategy, this approach should be encouraged in patients receiving long-term warfarin who undergo elective transfemoral CAG. © 2017, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Design and implementation of embedded un-interruptible power supply system (EUPSS) for web-based mobile application

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, De-gan; Zhang, Xiao-dan

2012-11-01

With the growth of the amount of information manipulated by embedded application systems, which are embedded into devices and offer access to the devices on the internet, the requirements of saving the information systemically is necessary so as to fulfil access from the client and the local processing more efficiently. For supporting mobile applications, a design and implementation solution of embedded un-interruptible power supply (UPS) system (in brief, EUPSS) is brought forward for long-distance monitoring and controlling of UPS based on Web. The implementation of system is based on ATmega161, RTL8019AS and Arm chips with TCP/IP protocol suite for communication. In the embedded UPS system, an embedded file system is designed and implemented which saves the data and index information on a serial EEPROM chip in a structured way and communicates with a microcontroller unit through I2C bus. By embedding the file system into UPS system or other information appliances, users can access and manipulate local data on the web client side. Embedded file system on chips will play a major role in the growth of IP networking. Based on our experiment tests, the mobile users can easily monitor and control UPS in different places of long-distance. The performance of EUPSS has satisfied the requirements of all kinds of Web-based mobile applications.

Performance test of uninterruptible power system of PIEF

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Jong Chae; Kim, Eun Ka; Chun, Yong Bum; Park, Dea Gyu; Chu, Yong Sun; Bae, Sang Min; Koo, Dae Seo

1998-02-01

Because of the special features of post-irradiation examination (PIE) facility to handle very high radioactive materials like spent nuclear fuels, the electric system of the facility was designed and constructed according to a very strict requirement which is applied to nuclear power plant. A safety grade of Class 1E was adopted in the power utility system of PIEF to guarantee stable power supply to the facility without any expected interruption. In order cope with a emergency condition like a power interruption of KEPCO, a emergency power supplying system consisting of a diesel generator (3-phase, 6600/440, 1,000 kW) and uninterruptibel power supply (UPS) system was installed in PIEF. UPS power is connected to the radiation monitoring system and several other main safety devices to assure of normal operations of them for not less than 30 minutes. According to the recommendations and regulations in nuclear law, a monthly and yearly regular inspection for the UPS and emergency power supplying system are performed. In this report, a brief description to establish self-inspection technology and procedures for the above mentioned electric power supplying system at PIEF, including a principle of operation, inspection scheme, trouble shooting, and performance test techniques were made. (author). 8 refs., 3 tabs., 4 figs.

Hollow-core fibers for high power pulse delivery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michieletto, Mattia; Lyngsø, Jens K.; Jakobsen, Christian

2016-01-01

We investigate hollow-core fibers for fiber delivery of high power ultrashort laser pulses. We use numerical techniques to design an anti-resonant hollow-core fiber having one layer of non-touching tubes to determine which structures offer the best optical properties for the delivery of high power...... picosecond pulses. A novel fiber with 7 tubes and a core of 30 mu m was fabricated and it is here described and characterized, showing remarkable low loss, low bend loss, and good mode quality. Its optical properties are compared to both a 10 mu m and a 18 mu m core diameter photonic band gap hollow......-core fiber. The three fibers are characterized experimentally for the delivery of 22 picosecond pulses at 1032nm. We demonstrate flexible, diffraction limited beam delivery with output average powers in excess of 70W. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America...

Effect of global warming on willingness to pay for uninterrupted electricity supply in European nations

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Jed; Moeltner, Klaus; Reichl, Johannes; Schmidthaler, Michael

2018-01-01

Predicted changes in temperature and other weather events may damage the electricity grid and cause power outages. Understanding the costs of power outages and how these costs change over time with global warming can inform outage-mitigation-investment decisions. Here we show that across 19 EU nations the value of uninterrupted electricity supply is strongly related to local temperatures, and will increase as the climate warms. Bayesian hierarchical modelling of data from a choice experiment and respondent-specific temperature measures reveals estimates of willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid an hour of power outage between €0.32 and €1.86 per household. WTP varies on the basis of season and is heterogeneous between European nations. Winter outages currently cause larger per household welfare losses than summer outages per hour of outage. However, this dynamic will begin to shift under plausible future climates, with summer outages becoming substantially more costly and winter outages becoming slightly less costly on a per-household, per-hour basis.

On-chip power delivery and management

CERN Document Server

Vaisband, Inna P; Popovich, Mikhail; Mezhiba, Andrey V; Köse, Selçuk; Friedman, Eby G

2016-01-01

This book describes methods for distributing power in high speed, high complexity integrated circuits with power levels exceeding many tens of watts and power supplies below a volt. It provides a broad and cohesive treatment of power delivery and management systems and related design problems, including both circuit network models and design techniques for on-chip decoupling capacitors, providing insight and intuition into the behavior and design of on-chip power distribution systems. Organized into subareas to provide a more intuitive flow to the reader, this fourth edition adds more than a hundred pages of new content, including inductance models for interdigitated structures, design strategies for multi-layer power grids, advanced methods for efficient power grid design and analysis, and methodologies for simultaneously placing on-chip multiple power supplies and decoupling capacitors. The emphasis of this additional material is on managing the complexity of on-chip power distribution networks.

Wireless power delivery for retinal prostheses.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, David C; Williams, Chris E; Allen, Penny J; Bai, Shun; Boyd, Clive S; Meffin, Hamish; Halpern, Mark E; Skafidas, Efstratios

2011-01-01

Delivering power to an implanted device located deep inside the body is not trivial. This problem is made more challenging if the implanted device is in constant motion. This paper describes two methods of transferring power wirelessly by means of magnetic induction coupling. In the first method, a pair of transmit and receive coils is used for power transfer over a large distance (compared to their diameter). In the second method, an intermediate pair of coils is inserted in between transmit and receive coils. Comparison between the power transfer efficiency with and without the intermediate coils shows power transfer efficiency to be 11.5 % and 8.8 %, respectively. The latter method is especially suitable for powering implanted devices in the eye due to immunity to movements of the eye and ease of surgery. Using this method, we have demonstrated wireless power delivery into an animal eye.

High-power picosecond pulse delivery through hollow core photonic band gap fibers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michieletto, Mattia; Johansen, Mette Marie; Lyngsø, Jens Kristian

2015-01-01

We demonstrated robust and bend insensitive fiber delivery of high power pulsed laser with diffraction limited beam quality for two different kind of hollow core photonic band gap fibers......We demonstrated robust and bend insensitive fiber delivery of high power pulsed laser with diffraction limited beam quality for two different kind of hollow core photonic band gap fibers...

Control Architecture for Parallel-Connected Inverters in Uninterruptible Power Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Chi; Guerrero, Josep M.; Quintero, Juan Carlos Vasquez

2016-01-01

bus. The proposed control scheme comprises two layers: (i) a local layer that contains a “reactive power-to-phase droop” in order to synchronize the phase angle of each inverter and a virtual resistance loop that guarantees equal power sharing among inverters; and (ii) a central controller...... that guarantees synchronization with an external real/fictitious utility, and critical bus voltage amplitude restoration. Improved transient and steady-state frequency, active, reactive and harmonic power sharing, and global phase-locked loop resynchronization capability are achieved. Detailed system topology...

Through-Metal-Wall Power Delivery and Data Transmission for Enclosed Sensors: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ding-Xin Yang

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this review was to assess the current viable technologies for wireless power delivery and data transmission through metal barriers. Using such technologies sensors enclosed in hermetical metal containers can be powered and communicate through exterior power sources without penetration of the metal wall for wire feed-throughs. In this review, we first discuss the significant and essential requirements for through-metal-wall power delivery and data transmission and then we: (1 describe three electromagnetic coupling based techniques reported in the literature, which include inductive coupling, capacitive coupling, and magnetic resonance coupling; (2 present a detailed review of wireless ultrasonic through-metal-wall power delivery and/or data transmission methods; (3 compare various ultrasonic through-metal-wall systems in modeling, transducer configuration and communication mode with sensors; (4 summarize the characteristics of electromagnetic-based and ultrasound-based systems, evaluate the challenges and development trends. We conclude that electromagnetic coupling methods are suitable for through thin non-ferromagnetic metal wall power delivery and data transmission at a relatively low data rate; piezoelectric transducer-based ultrasonic systems are particularly advantageous in achieving high power transfer efficiency and high data rates; the combination of more than one single technique may provide a more practical and reliable solution for long term operation.

Diamond encapsulated photovoltaics for transdermal power delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahnood, A; Fox, K E; Apollo, N V; Lohrmann, A; Garrett, D J; Nayagam, D A X; Karle, T; Stacey, A; Abberton, K M; Morrison, W A; Blakers, A; Prawer, S

2016-03-15

A safe, compact and robust means of wireless energy transfer across the skin barrier is a key requirement for implantable electronic devices. One possible approach is photovoltaic (PV) energy delivery using optical illumination at near infrared (NIR) wavelengths, to which the skin is highly transparent. In the work presented here, a subcutaneously implantable silicon PV cell, operated in conjunction with an external NIR laser diode, is developed as a power delivery system. The biocompatibility and long-term biostability of the implantable PV is ensured through the use of an hermetic container, comprising a transparent diamond capsule and platinum wire feedthroughs. A wavelength of 980 nm is identified as the optimum operating point based on the PV cell's external quantum efficiency, the skin's transmission spectrum, and the wavelength dependent safe exposure limit of the skin. In bench-top experiments using an external illumination intensity of 0.7 W/cm(2), a peak output power of 2.7 mW is delivered to the implant with an active PV cell dimension of 1.5 × 1.5 × 0.06 mm(3). This corresponds to a volumetric power output density of ~20 mW/mm(3), significantly higher than power densities achievable using inductively coupled coil-based approaches used in other medical implant systems. This approach paves the way for further ministration of bionic implants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Acceptance test report: Backup power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cole, D.B.

1996-01-01

Acceptance Test Report for construction functional testing of Project W-030 Backup Power System. Project W-030 provides a ventilation upgrade for the four Aging Waste Facility tanks. Backup power includes a single 125 KW diesel generator, three 10-kva uninterruptible power supply units, and all necessary control

Improving the reliability of Class 1E power distribution to instrumentation and control cabinets on nuclear power plants in the USA. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brennen, M.B.

1995-09-01

This study was conducted to explore nontraditional electric power distribution concepts to improve the reliability of uninterruptible power to vital Instrumentation and Control (I and C) cabinets in future US nuclear power plants. The study incorporated comparative technical and economic evaluations of existing and nontraditional uninterruptible power supply (UPS) concepts. All nontraditional distribution concepts were based on available or already emerging components or semiconductor devices. Another purpose of the study was to reduce the cost and complexity of present power distribution and to lower maintenance, replacement, degradation and fault location requirements. The possible reduction of distribution losses, especially during operation under battery power, was also evaluated. The study indicates that direct current distribution at 48 or 125 Vdc levels would have more than an order of magnitude improvement over the reliability of present alternating current supplies at comparable cost. Furthermore, losses under battery power could be reduced significantly with respect to present distribution losses. An inherent advantage of DC distribution is that power transfer from the failed power bus to an operational bus occurs naturally and instantaneously via two simple and reliable semiconductor diodes. AC distribution, on the other hand, requires complex synchronization, decision making and gated semiconductor switching devices for power bus transfer all of which could be eliminated. Some of the concepts presented may also be applied to make existing vital (Class 1E) uninterruptible power supplies in US nuclear plants more reliable

Eventual Suicide in Interrupted and Uninterrupted Attempters: A Challenge to the Cry-for-Help Hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Steer, Robert A.; And Others

1988-01-01

Followed patients (N=499) hospitalized for suicide attempts (attempters) between 1970 and 1975 until 1982. Found under six percent eventually committed suicide. Found the interrupted attempters were approximately three times more likely to commit suicide than were the uninterrupted attempters. (Author/ABL)

Effect of volatile compounds on excimer laser power delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Horn, Stewart D; Hovanesian, John A; Maloney, Robert K

2002-01-01

To determine whether vapors from perfume, hairspray, oil-based paint, or water-based paint affect excimer laser beam power delivery at the corneal surface. We measured the power delivery of an Apex Plus laser before, during, and after exposure to vapors from the following volatile compounds: three types of perfume, hair spray, an oil-based paint, and a water-based paint. A digital calorimeter was used to measure the steady-state beam power of the laser during laser discharge at the corneal plane. Multiple trials were run with each compound, and the change in laser energy over time was examined to determine if any of the compounds caused degradation of the laser optics. The presence of a volatile compound in the room caused no change in mean laser energy in comparison to before and after the compound was present. However, perfumes caused a progressive decline in laser beam power throughout the trials. Controlling for this progressive decline, there was no significant difference from perfume to perfume. None of the compounds tested caused a decline in laser beam power while present in the room. However, the presence of any perfume caused a deterioration in beam power over time, suggesting a degradation of the laser optics for all perfumes. Laser centers should consider advising their patients and staff to not wear perfumes in the laser suite.

Improved data acquisition methods for uninterrupted signal monitoring and ultra-fast plasma diagnostics in LHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakanishi, Hideya; Imazu, Setsuo; Ohsuna, Masaki

2012-01-01

To deal with endless data streams acquired in LHD steady-state experiments, the LHD data acquisition system was designed with a simple concept that divides a long pulse into a consecutive series of 10-s “subshots”. Latest digitizers applying high-speed PCI-Express technology, however, output nonstop gigabyte per second data streams whose subshot intervals would be extremely long if 10-s rule was applied. These digitizers need shorter subshot intervals, less than 10-s long. In contrast, steady-state fusion plants need uninterrupted monitoring of the environment and device soundness. They adopt longer subshot lengths of either 10 min or 1 day. To cope with both uninterrupted monitoring and ultra-fast diagnostics, the ability to vary the subshot length according to the type of operation is required. In this study, a design modification that enables variable subshot lengths was implemented and its practical effectiveness in LHD was verified. (author)

QoE Power-Efficient Multimedia Delivery Method for LTE-A

OpenAIRE

Mushtaq, M. Sajid; Mellouk, Abdelhamid; Augustin, Brice; Fowler, Scott

2016-01-01

The fastest growing of multimedia services overfuture wireless communication system demand more networkresources, efficient delivery of multimedia service with highusers satisfaction, and power optimization of User Equipments(UEs). The resources and power optimization are significant infuture mobile computing systems, because emerging multimediaservices consume more resources and power. The 4G standard ofLTE-A wireless system has adopted the Discontinuous Reception(DRX) method to extend and o...

Enhancing power density of biophotovoltaics by decoupling storage and power delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Saar, Kadi L.; Bombelli, Paolo; Lea-Smith, David J.; Call, Toby; Aro, Eva-Mari; Müller, Thomas; Howe, Christopher J.; Knowles, Tuomas P. J.

2018-01-01

Biophotovoltaic devices (BPVs), which use photosynthetic organisms as active materials to harvest light, have a range of attractive features relative to synthetic and non-biological photovoltaics, including their environmentally friendly nature and ability to self-repair. However, efficiencies of BPVs are currently lower than those of synthetic analogues. Here, we demonstrate BPVs delivering anodic power densities of over 0.5 W m-2, a value five times that for previously described BPVs. We achieved this through the use of cyanobacterial mutants with increased electron export characteristics together with a microscale flow-based design that allowed independent optimization of the charging and power delivery processes, as well as membrane-free operation by exploiting laminar flow to separate the catholyte and anolyte streams. These results suggest that miniaturization of active elements and flow control for decoupled operation and independent optimization of the core processes involved in BPV design are effective strategies for enhancing power output and thus the potential of BPVs as viable systems for sustainable energy generation.

Addressing Pricing Power in Integrated Delivery: The Limits of Antitrust.

Science.gov (United States)

Berenson, Robert

2015-08-01

Prices are the major driver of why the United States spends so much more on health care than other countries do. The pricing power that hospitals have garnered recently has resulted from consolidated delivery systems and concentrated markets, leading to enhanced negotiating leverage. But consolidation may be the wrong frame for viewing the problem of high and highly variable prices; many "must-have" hospitals achieve their pricing power from sources other than consolidation, for example, reputation. Further, the frame of consolidation leads to unrealistic expectations for what antitrust's role in addressing pricing power should be, especially because in the wake of two periods of merger "manias" and "frenzies" many markets already lack effective competition. It is particularly challenging for antitrust to address extant monopolies lawfully attained. New payment and delivery models being pioneered in Medicare, especially those built around accountable care organizations (ACOs), offer an opportunity to reduce pricing power, but only if they are implemented with a clear eye on the impact on prices in commercial insurance markets. This article proposes approaches that public and private payers should consider to complement the role of antitrust to assure that ACOs will actually help control costs in commercial markets as well as in Medicare and Medicaid. Copyright © 2015 by Duke University Press.

A fast fault protection based on direction of bus-side capacitor discharge current for a high-surety power supply

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Haijin; Chen, Min; Yang, Boping

2017-01-01

A short-circuit fault protection strategy based on the direction of bus-side capacitor discharge current for a high-surety power supply, known as Super Uninterruptable Power Supply (Super UPS), is studied in this paper. It consists of multiple energy sources and storage components. All energy...... strategy is necessary to keep the uninterruptable power for the critical load. In this paper, the characteristics of the short-circuit fault are analyzed first. Then, a fast short-circuit fault locating and isolating strategy based on the direction of the discharge current of the busside capacitors...

High-power picosecond pulse delivery through hollow core photonic band gap fibers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michieletto, Mattia; Johansen, Mette Marie; Lyngsø, Jens Kristian

2016-01-01

We demonstrated robust and bend insensitive fiber delivery of high power laser with diffraction limited beam quality for two different kinds of hollow core band gap fibers. The light source for this experiment consists of ytterbium-doped double clad fiber aeroGAIN-ROD-PM85 in a high power amplifier...

Measurement of laser power for photo-triggered drug delivery in vivo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, R.; Zhang, X. L.; Liu, F.; Zhang, Z. L.; Chen, Y. J.; Zhao, E. M.; Liu, L., E-mail: liulu@hrbeu.edu.cn [Key Lab of In-Fiber Integrated Optics, Ministry Education of China, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001 (China); School of Science, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001 (China)

2016-07-14

Thus far, despite many investigations have been carried out for photo-triggered drug delivery systems, most of them suffer from an intrinsic drawback of without real-time monitoring mechanism. Incident intensity of light is a feasible parameter to monitor the drug release profiles. However, it is difficult to measure the incident laser power irradiated onto the photo-triggered carriers in drug delivery systems during in vivo therapy. We design an online measurement method based on the fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) technique through upconversion nanoparticles. FIR value varies with temperature of sample due to the thermal effect induced by the incident laser, which validates the laser power measurement. Effects of rare earth doping concentration, as well as experimental conditions including laser spots and wavelengths on the measurement behavior were also investigated.

Naval Open Architecture Machinery Control Systems for Next Generation Integrated Power Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-01

MTGs/ATGs Energy Storage Modules (ESMs) Regenerative Drives Ship Service Loads Propulsion Drives Mission Systems Emergency DGs Shore Power Weapon...delivering power, and acting as a power source when discharging, spinning down, or regeneratively braking . Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS...RESERVES REGENERATIVE VARIABLE SPEED DRIVES NON- REGENERATIVE VARIABLE SPEED DRIVES HYBRID ELECTRIC DRIVES SYSTEMS W/SPECIAL POWER CHARACTERISTICS

Design of an AC/DC power supply for telecom applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suntio, T.; Vallittu, P.; Laurinen, T.; Ikonen, M. [Efore Oy, Espoo (Finland)

1997-12-31

Typical Telecom uninterruptible power supply system (UPS) comprises of parallel connected rectifiers and storage batteries supplying DC power for Telecom switching systems on fixed or mobile telephone networks. The requirement is most often of total uninterruptibility meaning high reliability and availability performance as a vital design and development goal. The Telecom systems must also meet stringent noise emission and immunity requirements stipulated by EMC and Low Voltage Directives, European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI) as well as other global and local standards depending on the area they are to be used. This paper will describe in practice the vital features the rectifiers should contain as well as presents results from a practical equipment of 48 V, 500 W. (orig.) 27 refs.

Flexible power delivery system and its intelligent functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glamochanin, Vlastimir; Andonov, Dragan

1996-01-01

This paper presents some of the features and capabilities of the novel energy distribution system called FRIENDS. The main FRIENDS objective is distribution system reliability, with flexible system structure reconfiguration, inclusion of dispersed energy generation systems. Altogether, it represents a new concept of reliable and economic electric power delivery to end users. The FRIENDS project is a challenge for future research and development, including new technology and devices for the implementation of such an integrated system. (author)

A review and design of power electronics converters for fuel cell hybrid system applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Zhe; Pittini, Riccardo; Andersen, Michael A. E.

2012-01-01

This paper presents an overview of most promising power electronics topologies for a fuel cell hybrid power conversion system which can be utilized in many applications such as hybrid electrical vehicles (HEV), distributed generations (DG) and uninterruptible-power-supply (UPS) systems. Then...

Acoustic power delivery to pipeline monitoring wireless sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiziroglou, M E; Boyle, D E; Wright, S W; Yeatman, E M

2017-05-01

The use of energy harvesting for powering wireless sensors is made more challenging in most applications by the requirement for customization to each specific application environment because of specificities of the available energy form, such as precise location, direction and motion frequency, as well as the temporal variation and unpredictability of the energy source. Wireless power transfer from dedicated sources can overcome these difficulties, and in this work, the use of targeted ultrasonic power transfer as a possible method for remote powering of sensor nodes is investigated. A powering system for pipeline monitoring sensors is described and studied experimentally, with a pair of identical, non-inertial piezoelectric transducers used at the transmitter and receiver. Power transmission of 18mW (Root-Mean-Square) through 1m of a118mm diameter cast iron pipe, with 8mm wall thickness is demonstrated. By analysis of the delay between transmission and reception, including reflections from the pipeline edges, a transmission speed of 1000m/s is observed, corresponding to the phase velocity of the L(0,1) axial and F(1,1) radial modes of the pipe structure. A reduction of power delivery with water-filling is observed, yet over 4mW of delivered power through a fully-filled pipe is demonstrated. The transmitted power and voltage levels exceed the requirements for efficient power management, including rectification at cold-starting conditions, and for the operation of low-power sensor nodes. The proposed powering technique may allow the implementation of energy autonomous wireless sensor systems for monitoring industrial and network pipeline infrastructure. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A new MV bus transfer scheme for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, C.K.

2015-01-01

The auxiliary power system of many generating stations consists of offsite power supply system and onsite power supply system, including emergency diesel generators (EDG) to provide secure power to auxiliary loads. If a normal power supply fails to supply power, then the power source is transferred to a standby power supply. In the case of nuclear power plants (NPP), the unit auxiliary transformer (UAT) and standby auxiliary transformer (SAT) - or station service transformer - are installed and powered from 2 offsite power circuits to meet regulatory requirements. The transfer methods of a motor bus from a normal source to a standby source used in power generating stations are fast bus transfer, in-phase transfer, or residual transfer. Fast bus transfer method is the most popular and residual voltage transfer method that is used as a backup in medium voltage buses in general. The use of the advanced technology like open circuit voltage prediction and digital signal processing algorithms can improve the reliability of fast transfer scheme. However, according to the survey results of the recent operation records in nuclear power plants, there were many instances where the fast transfer scheme has failed. To assure bus transfer in any conditions and circumstances, un-interruptible bus transfer scheme utilizing the state of the art medium voltage UPS (Un-interruptible Power Supply) is discussed and elaborated

Regulation for delivery of subsidies for urgent safety measures for atomic power generating facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

This rule is established under the provisions of the law for the proper enforcement of subsidy budgets and the ordinance for the execution of this law and to practice these provisions. It is applied to the delivery of subsidies for the expenses of the measures taken beforehand for the security of inhabitants in the surrounding areas of atomic power generating facilities in the emergency time of hazard or the danger of the occurrence of hazard by such facilities. Basic terms are defined, such as atomic power generating facilities and others, prefecture concerned, cities, towns and villages concerned, emergency communication network arrangement business, emergency medical facility arrangement business, business of holding hazard prevention course and expected date of beginning operation. Directors of ministries and agencies concerned deliver, if necessary, to prefectures concerned subsidies for all or a part of the expenses needed for the businesses of emergency communication network arrangement, emergency medical facility arrangement and holding hazard prevention course. The terms of delivery and the amounts of subsidies vary according to the kinds of businesses. Prefectures which intend to apply for the delivery of subsidies shall file to the director of the ministry or agency concerned the specified application attaching the operation plans of businesses and the general explanation of atomic power generating facilities, etc. The decision and conditions of delivery, reports on the situations and results of businesses and other related matters are defined, respectively. (Okada, K.)

Multicoil resonance-based parallel array for smart wireless power delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirbozorgi, S A; Sawan, M; Gosselin, B

2013-01-01

This paper presents a novel resonance-based multicoil structure as a smart power surface to wirelessly power up apparatus like mobile, animal headstage, implanted devices, etc. The proposed powering system is based on a 4-coil resonance-based inductive link, the resonance coil of which is formed by an array of several paralleled coils as a smart power transmitter. The power transmitter employs simple circuit connections and includes only one power driver circuit per multicoil resonance-based array, which enables higher power transfer efficiency and power delivery to the load. The power transmitted by the driver circuit is proportional to the load seen by the individual coil in the array. Thus, the transmitted power scales with respect to the load of the electric/electronic system to power up, and does not divide equally over every parallel coils that form the array. Instead, only the loaded coils of the parallel array transmit significant part of total transmitted power to the receiver. Such adaptive behavior enables superior power, size and cost efficiency then other solutions since it does not need to use complex detection circuitry to find the location of the load. The performance of the proposed structure is verified by measurement results. Natural load detection and covering 4 times bigger area than conventional topologies with a power transfer efficiency of 55% are the novelties of presented paper.

Locality-Driven Parallel Static Analysis for Power Delivery Networks

KAUST Repository

Zeng, Zhiyu

2011-06-01

Large VLSI on-chip Power Delivery Networks (PDNs) are challenging to analyze due to the sheer network complexity. In this article, a novel parallel partitioning-based PDN analysis approach is presented. We use the boundary circuit responses of each partition to divide the full grid simulation problem into a set of independent subgrid simulation problems. Instead of solving exact boundary circuit responses, a more efficient scheme is proposed to provide near-exact approximation to the boundary circuit responses by exploiting the spatial locality of the flip-chip-type power grids. This scheme is also used in a block-based iterative error reduction process to achieve fast convergence. Detailed computational cost analysis and performance modeling is carried out to determine the optimal (or near-optimal) number of partitions for parallel implementation. Through the analysis of several large power grids, the proposed approach is shown to have excellent parallel efficiency, fast convergence, and favorable scalability. Our approach can solve a 16-million-node power grid in 18 seconds on an IBM p5-575 processing node with 16 Power5+ processors, which is 18.8X faster than a state-of-the-art direct solver. © 2011 ACM.

The Impact of the Delivery of Prepared Power Point Presentations on the Learning Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Auksė Marmienė

2011-04-01

Full Text Available This article describes the process of the preparation and delivery of Power Point presentations and how it can be used by teachers as a resource for classroom teaching. The advantages of this classroom activity covering some of the problems and providing a few suggestions for dealing with those difficulties are also outlined. The major objective of the present paper is to investigate the students ability to choose the material and the content of Power Point presentations on professional topics via the Internet as well as the ability to prepare and deliver the presentation in front of the audience. The factors which determine the choice of the presentation subject are also analysed in this paper. After the delivery students were requested to self- and peer-assess the difficulties they faced in preparation and performance of the presentations by writing the reports. Learners’ attitudes to the choice of the topic of Power Point presentations were surveyed by administering a self-assessment questionnaire.

Performance evaluation of time-delay control schemes for uninterruptible power supplies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Loh, P.C; Tang, Y.; Blaabjerg, Frede

2008-01-01

a more powerful processor. Avoiding these added complexities, this paper presents and compares a number of time-delay control schemes for UPS control, where the main building blocks needed are readily available memory storages and simple transfer functions formulated with either no or at least one......-matching characteristic, the presented control schemes are expected to be more robust and less sensitive to implementation noises. In addition, the presented control schemes are deduced to have fast dynamic response, implying that the supplypsilas output voltage is virtually not influenced by any transient load...

Performance Availability Assessment of Combined Multi Power Source Traction Drive Considering Real Operational Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frenkel Ilia

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The present paper deals with the vehicle’s traction electric drive, consisting of several various electric power sources. One of the main requirements for such systems are the safety and sustainable operations, achieved largely the implementation of an uninterrupted supply of the vehicle’s propulsion system with an electric power.

Novel electric power-driven hydrodynamic injection system for gene delivery: safety and efficacy of human factor IX delivery in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Yokoo, T; Kamimura, K; Suda, T; Kanefuji, T; Oda, M; Zhang, G; Liu, D; Aoyagi, Y

2013-08-01

The development of a safe and reproducible gene delivery system is an essential step toward the clinical application of the hydrodynamic gene delivery (HGD) method. For this purpose, we have developed a novel electric power-driven injection system called the HydroJector-EM, which can replicate various time-pressure curves preloaded into the computer program before injection. The assessment of the reproducibility and safety of gene delivery system in vitro and in vivo demonstrated the precise replication of intravascular time-pressure curves and the reproducibility of gene delivery efficiency. The highest level of luciferase expression (272 pg luciferase per mg of proteins) was achieved safely using the time-pressure curve, which reaches 30 mm Hg in 10 s among various curves tested. Using this curve, the sustained expression of a therapeutic level of human factor IX protein (>500 ng ml(-1)) was maintained for 2 months after the HGD of the pBS-HCRHP-FIXIA plasmid. Other than a transient increase in liver enzymes that recovered in a few days, no adverse events were seen in rats. These results confirm the effectiveness of the HydroJector-EM for reproducible gene delivery and demonstrate that long-term therapeutic gene expression can be achieved by automatic computer-controlled hydrodynamic injection that can be performed by anyone.

HARMONICS ANALYSIS OF SYSTEM USING SHUNT ACTIVE POWER FILTER BY MATLAB SIMULATION

OpenAIRE

VAISHALI PARDHI; Dr.A K KORI

2017-01-01

The widely use of nonlinear loads, such as diode and thyristor, rectifiers, computers, consumer electronics, uninterruptible power supplies and adjustable speed drives results in the distorted current waveforms in the electrical distribution systems. Harmonics is a major problem in power systems that have become serious recently owing to the wide use of power electronics-related equipment. The input power factor of most of these equipments is poor. There is a great need to reduce these harmon...

On-Chip Laser-Power Delivery System for Dielectric Laser Accelerators

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Tyler W.; Tan, Si; Zhao, Zhexin; Sapra, Neil V.; Leedle, Kenneth J.; Deng, Huiyang; Miao, Yu; Black, Dylan S.; Solgaard, Olav; Harris, James S.; Vuckovic, Jelena; Byer, Robert L.; Fan, Shanhui; England, R. Joel; Lee, Yun Jo; Qi, Minghao

2018-05-01

We propose an on-chip optical-power delivery system for dielectric laser accelerators based on a fractal "tree-network" dielectric waveguide geometry. This system replaces experimentally demanding free-space manipulations of the driving laser beam with chip-integrated techniques based on precise nanofabrication, enabling access to orders-of-magnitude increases in the interaction length and total energy gain for these miniature accelerators. Based on computational modeling, in the relativistic regime, our laser delivery system is estimated to provide 21 keV of energy gain over an acceleration length of 192 μ m with a single laser input, corresponding to a 108-MV/m acceleration gradient. The system may achieve 1 MeV of energy gain over a distance of less than 1 cm by sequentially illuminating 49 identical structures. These findings are verified by detailed numerical simulation and modeling of the subcomponents, and we provide a discussion of the main constraints, challenges, and relevant parameters with regard to on-chip laser coupling for dielectric laser accelerators.

DC in urban areas distribution power systems and microgrids; Tasajaennite taajaman saehkoenjakelussa ja mikroverkoissa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kylkisalo, T.; Alanen, R.

2007-09-15

This study deals with the utilization of DC distribution power systems and energy storages in urban areas. The properties and the components, that make the DC distribution power systems possible, are specifically examined from the perspective of the power system's control topology. The role of the energy storages as a part of the DC distribution power system and a tool of power quality control was also discussed. Using PSCAD/EMTDC simulation program two different concepts of the DC distribution power systems were simulated. Both low and medium voltage networks were designed as microgrids, which were capable operation without medium voltage feeder from the outside network as the entity of energy storages, auxiliary power source and loads. It emerged from the simulation that DC distribution power systems are capable to provide an uninterruptible delivery of current. In addition the effects on energy management of the DC distribution power systems, which include energy storages, were studied. Also a hierarchical principle was brought out, which could make an efficient interaction between electricity market and distributed power systems. Economical studies of the simplified 10 kV distribution system were done and the costs of AC and DC networks were compared. At 10 kV level AC system was found to be more economically efficient but DC network is more energy efficient because of remarkable smaller losses. Based on this study it can be said, that if the investment costs of the DC power systems can be reduced it could be a strong competitor to conventional AC power systems. (orig.)

Multimode power processor

Science.gov (United States)

O'Sullivan, George A.; O'Sullivan, Joseph A.

1999-01-01

In one embodiment, a power processor which operates in three modes: an inverter mode wherein power is delivered from a battery to an AC power grid or load; a battery charger mode wherein the battery is charged by a generator; and a parallel mode wherein the generator supplies power to the AC power grid or load in parallel with the battery. In the parallel mode, the system adapts to arbitrary non-linear loads. The power processor may operate on a per-phase basis wherein the load may be synthetically transferred from one phase to another by way of a bumpless transfer which causes no interruption of power to the load when transferring energy sources. Voltage transients and frequency transients delivered to the load when switching between the generator and battery sources are minimized, thereby providing an uninterruptible power supply. The power processor may be used as part of a hybrid electrical power source system which may contain, in one embodiment, a photovoltaic array, diesel engine, and battery power sources.

DC systems design and research of Hainan Changjiang nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Qingshui; Wang Yuhan

2014-01-01

Hainan Changjiang nuclear power plant is different from the referent power plant, the DC and 220 V AC uninterrupted systems of the nuclear island have been changed since the control system use DCS. It has different design on DC systems, power supply, selectivity of breakers, capacity of equipments and layout. We optimize the design of DC systems at the basement of Fuqing and Fangjiashan project. These are good experiments for the three generation nuclear power project about DC systems design of ACP1000. (authors)

Siemens's spectrum of deliveries and services for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

In 2001, Siemens and Framatome merged their nuclear activities in the present Areva NP joint venture. Siemens has since focused on the construction and further development of conventional power plants and on the so-called conventional island (CI), the non-nuclear part of a nuclear power plant, i.e. the steam turbine, generator, and plant I and C systems, and also on service for the conventional part of nuclear power plants. Its role as a minority shareholder in Areva NP constrained Siemens. For this reason, the company in January 2009 decided to terminate its interest in Areva NP effective January 30, 2012. By January 2012 at the latest, Siemens will transfer to the majority shareholder Areva, holding 66 percent of the shares, its interest in the joint venture. For the time being, the joint venture still entails certain limitations to Siemens's activities in the nuclear field. Its delivery of the conventional island for the Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) nuclear power plant in Finland confirms the company's know-how in power plant construction. When commissioned, its 1,720 MW power will make OL3 the world's largest nuclear generating unit. The turbo-generator of the CI comprises a double-flow HP turbine and a 6-flow LP turbine. The driven 4-pole generator with a power of up to 2,200 MVA consists of a water-cooled stator and a hydrogen-cooled rotor. (orig.)

Columnar transmitter based wireless power delivery system for implantable device in freely moving animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Eom, Kyungsik; Jeong, Joonsoo; Lee, Tae Hyung; Lee, Sung Eun; Jun, Sang Bum; Kim, Sung June

2013-01-01

A wireless power delivery system is developed to deliver electrical power to the neuroprosthetic devices that are implanted into animals freely moving inside the cage. The wireless powering cage is designed for long-term animal experiments without cumbersome wires for power supply or the replacement of batteries. In the present study, we propose a novel wireless power transmission system using resonator-based inductive links to increase power efficiency and to minimize the efficiency variations. A columnar transmitter coil is proposed to provide lateral uniformity of power efficiency. Using this columnar transmitter coil, only 7.2% efficiency fluctuation occurs from the maximum transmission efficiency of 25.9%. A flexible polymer-based planar type receiver coil is fabricated and assembled with a neural stimulator and an electrode. Using the designed columnar transmitter coil, the implantable device successfully operates while it moves freely inside the cage.

Investigation And Mitigation Techniques Of Power Quality Problems In Nuclear Installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayad, N.; Elsherbiny, E.; Eleissawi, H.; Zaher, M.; AbdelSalam, G.

2013-01-01

The electrical power systems are exposed to different types of power quality disturbances problems. Investigation and monitoring of power quality is necessary to maintain accurate operation of sensitive equipment especially for nuclear installations. The present research discusses investigation and monitoring of power quality problems for the electrical sources of nuclear installations. Field power quality data is collected by power analyzer and analyzed with reference to power quality standards. There were several disturbances exceeded the thresholds, they were voltage harmonics and voltage flicker. Mitigation techniques were suggested to install a passive filter at low voltage side and all sensitive and critical loads should be isolated and fed through uninterruptible power supply (UPS)

Maximizing direct current power delivery from bistable vibration energy harvesting beams subjected to realistic base excitations

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Quanqi; Harne, Ryan L.

2017-04-01

Effective development of vibration energy harvesters is required to convert ambient kinetic energy into useful electrical energy as power supply for sensors, for example in structural health monitoring applications. Energy harvesting structures exhibiting bistable nonlinearities have previously been shown to generate large alternating current (AC) power when excited so as to undergo snap-through responses between stable equilibria. Yet, most microelectronics in sensors require rectified voltages and hence direct current (DC) power. While researchers have studied DC power generation from bistable energy harvesters subjected to harmonic excitations, there remain important questions as to the promise of such harvester platforms when the excitations are more realistic and include both harmonic and random components. To close this knowledge gap, this research computationally and experimentally studies the DC power delivery from bistable energy harvesters subjected to such realistic excitation combinations as those found in practice. Based on the results, it is found that the ability for bistable energy harvesters to generate peak DC power is significantly reduced by introducing sufficient amount of stochastic excitations into an otherwise harmonic input. On the other hand, the elimination of a low amplitude, coexistent response regime by way of the additive noise promotes power delivery if the device was not originally excited to snap-through. The outcomes of this research indicate the necessity for comprehensive studies about the sensitivities of DC power generation from bistable energy harvester to practical excitation scenarios prior to their optimal deployment in applications.

Powering the Future Data Centre

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Zhe

2010-01-01

of the characteristics of these two power sources: long warm-up stage and low dynamics for fuel cell, and variable terminal voltage for supercapacitors. The motivation for this project was to find ways which can overcome those limitations to integrate fuel cells and supercapcitors to the system with high efficiency......The extended run Uninterruptible Power Supply system (UPSs) which powered by fuel cells and supercapcitors, is a promising solution for future data centre to obtain environmentfriendly energy efficient and cost effective. There are many challenges in power electronic interface circuits, because......: • Optimized design method for dual active bridge (DAB) converter and its derived circuits; • A novel hybrid dc-dc converter and its corresponding optimal design method are proposed; • An improved dual input current-fed DC-DC converter with bidirectional power conversion ability is investigated; • Extend...

Efficacy and Safety of Uninterrupted Low-Intensity Warfarin for Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation in the Elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Yangbo; Xu, Buyun; Xu, Chao; Peng, Fang; Yang, Biao; Qiu, Yufang; Sun, Yong; Wang, Shengkai; Guo, Hangyuan

2017-09-01

No previous studies exist investigating the optimal intensity of uninterrupted anticoagulation with warfarin during radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) in the elderly. Evaluate the efficacy and safety of continuous low-intensity warfarin therapy throughout the periprocedural period of RFCA for AF in the elderly. This is a prospective randomized study. We enrolled AF patients (age ≥ 70 years) who underwent first-time RFCA for AF. Enrolled patients were randomized to group A and group B. The international normalized ratios before ablation were maintained at 1.5 to 2.0 and 2.0 to 2.5 in group A and B, respectively. Primary end points were periprocedural thromboembolic complications and major bleeding. Secondary end points included periprocedural asymptomatic cerebral emboli (ACE) and minor bleeding. A total of 101 patients were enrolled in our study (group A: 52; group B: 49). Baseline characteristics were well balanced between the 2 groups. Only 1 patient suffered from stroke in group B. No major bleeding events occurred in either group. The incidence of new ACE lesions was comparable between the 2 groups (11.5% vs 8.2%, P = 0.82). Minor bleeding occurred in 1 of 52 (1.9%) patients in group A and in 5 of 49 (10.2%) patients in group B ( P = 0.10). Uninterrupted low-intensity warfarin for RFCA of AF might be as effective as standard-intensity warfarin in preventing periprocedural thromboembolic complications and might be associated with fewer bleeding events in the elderly.

In vivo demonstration of ultrasound power delivery to charge implanted medical devices via acute and survival porcine studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Radziemski, Leon; Makin, Inder Raj S

2016-01-01

Animal studies are an important step in proving the utility and safety of an ultrasound based implanted battery recharging system. To this end an Ultrasound Electrical Recharging System (USER™) was developed and tested. Experiments in vitro demonstrated power deliveries at the battery of up to 600 mW through 10-15 mm of tissue, 50 mW of power available at tissue depths of up to 50 mm, and the feasibility of using transducers bonded to titanium as used in medical implants. Acute in vivo studies in a porcine model were used to test reliability of power delivery, temperature excursions, and cooling techniques. The culminating five-week survival study involved repeated battery charging, a total of 10.5h of ultrasound exposure of the intervening living tissue, with an average RF input to electrical charging efficiency of 20%. This study was potentially the first long term cumulative living-tissue exposure using transcutaneous ultrasound power transmission to an implanted receiver in situ. Histology of the exposed tissue showed changes attributable primarily due to surgical implantation of the prototype device, and no damage due to the ultrasound exposure. The in vivo results are indicative of the potential safe delivery of ultrasound energy for a defined set of source conditions for charging batteries within implants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Harnessing hospital purchase power to design safe care delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Ebben, Steven F; Gieras, Izabella A; Gosbee, Laura Lin

2008-01-01

Since the Institute of Medicine's well-publicized 1999 report To Err is Human, the healthcare patient safety movement has grown at an exponential pace. However, much more can be done to advance patient safety from a care process design vantage point-improving safety through effective care processes and technology integration. While progress is being made, the chasm between technology developers and caregivers remains a profound void. Why hasn't more been done to expand our view of patient safety to include technology design? Healthcare organizations have not consolidated their purchasing power to expect improved designs. This article will (1) provide an assessment of the present state of healthcare technology management and (2) provide recommendations for collaborative design of safe healthcare delivery systems.

Health care delivery to personnel of nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michalek, V.; Kubat, M.

1989-01-01

An overview is presented of the system of health care delivery to the personnel of nuclear power plants in Temelin and Dukovany, Czechoslovakia. The system of curative and preventivd care is described in detail, including preventive examinations, rehabilitation and spa treatment. The organisational structure is also described of health care institutions and the tasks are outlined of the works health care centres. (L.O.)

Power supply in a wire mill; Energiefuehrungen sind schwer auf Draht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roth-Stahl, Ingelore [Kabelschlepp GmbH, Wenden-Gerlingen (Germany). International Fairs and Public Relation

2009-09-15

Near Rotterdam, steel producer Ovako operates a wire mill including a coating and pickling unit. The pickling unit has a capacity of 450,000 tpa of wire and is one of the biggest of its kind. The cranes and lifting gear for transporting wire coils and operating the dipping tanks have plastic power tracks for uninterrupted operation. (orig.)

Bargaining power within couples and use of prenatal and delivery care in Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Beegle, K; Frankenberg, E; Thomas, D

2001-06-01

Indonesian women's power relative to that of their husbands is examined to determine how it affects use of prenatal and delivery care. Holding household resources constant, a woman's control over economic resources affects the couple's decision-making. Compared with a woman with no assets that she perceives as being her own, a woman with some share of household assets influences reproductive health decisions. Evidence suggests that her influence on service use also varies if a woman is better educated than her husband, comes from a background of higher social status than her husband's, or if her father is better educated than her father-in-law. Therefore, both economic and social dimensions of the distribution of power between spouses influence use of services, and conceptualizing power as multidimensional is useful for understanding couples' behavior.

The regulation for delivery of subsidies for measures of promoting power source location for nuclear power generating facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

The regulation is defined under the law for arrangement of surrounding areas of power generating facilities and the law concerning subsidies and others. Limits of the subsidies are stipulated respectively for establishment of a unit and simultaneous construction of more than 2 units of power generating facilities in the area of self-governing bodies concerned. Limits of the subsidies for an arrangement business out of the area of self-governing bodies where the facilities are set up shall be equal to those of the subsidies for such bodies. The Director General of Science and Technology Agency and the Minister of International Trade and Industry may make the amounts otherwise determined the limits of the subsidies, when considered necessary successfully to build the facilities. The term of delivery is from a fiscal year in which a later one of either the day of beginning of the construction concerned or the day of acknowledgment of the arrangement program of the business is included, through a fiscal year when the work finishes. An application for subsidies shall be filed to the head of the authorities concerned with gists of the business according to the forms attached. Receiving the application, the head of the authorities shall examine it and notify to the applicant without delay in writing the decision of delivery and its conditions, when such settlement is made. (Okada, K.)

Assessment of the Electrical Power Requirements for Continued Safe Storage and Waste Feed Delivery Phase One

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MAY, T.H.

2000-01-01

This study evaluated the ability of the electrical distribution system to support safe storage as well as the first phase of the Waste Feed Delivery. Several recommendations are made to improve the electrical system. The ability to assure adequate Waste Feed Delivery (WFD) to the Privatization Contractor's vitrification facility is a key element in the overall Hanford cleanup schedule. An important aspect of this WFD is the availability of sufficient and appropriate electrical power in the single- and double-shell tank farms. The methodology for performing this review and the results are described

Modular Online Uninterruptible Power System Plug’n’Play Control and Stability Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Chi; Coelho, Ernane A. A.; Guerrero, Josep M.

2016-01-01

In this paper, a plug`n'play control strategy proposed for modular online UPS system is presented, which allows to plug the UPS modules in or out randomly. This provides a less difficulty for the maintenance of the whole system. A two-level control scheme was proposed, including local controllers...... to achieve active and reactive power sharing and central controllers to maintain synchronization capability, which allows the online UPS modular system having faster dynamic performance according to the Standard IEC 62040-3. A detailed small signal mathematical model was developed in order to analyze...... the proposed modular online UPS system. Experimental results and data are presented to validate the stability analysis and support the proposed plug`n'play control feasibility....

Modular Power Electronic Converters in the Power Range 1 to 10 kW

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klimczak, Pawel

Thanks to CO2 emission reduction policies and increasing prices of fossil fuels a significant growth in field of sustainable energy sources (SES) is being observed during last decade. A government support and take-off projects in Europe and US shall ensure an increasing trend in future too. Some...... of SES based plants , like hydro-, geothermal-, biofuel-plants, use synchronous generators directly connected to the grid. But some other SES technologies, like fuel cell or photovoltaic, require a power electronic converter between the energy source and the load or the grid. Work presented...... in this thesis concentrates on dc-dc non-isolated converters suitable for high voltage gain applications, like uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and some of sustainable energy sources. A special attention is on reduction of power losses and efficiency improvements in non-isolated dc-dc step-up converters...

How does variability in input load relate to the probability of critically delayed delivery in a simple Multipart Re-entrant Flow-line problem?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Erland Hejn

2003-01-01

of the estimation of the probability of critically delayed delivery beyond a specified threshold value given a certain production batch size and try to establish a relation to certain parameters that can be linked to the degree of regularity of the arrival stream of parts to the job/flow-shop. This last aspect...... relates remotely to the Lean Thinking philosophy that praises the smooth and uninterrupted production flow to be beneficial to the overall operation of productive plants in general, and we will link our findings to this discussion as well....

The risks at nuclear power stations and their insurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schludi, H.N.

1994-01-01

Insurance can offer an uninterrupted insurance cover from start-up-to shut-down of a nuclear power station. This is assured by the insurance for the erection, for the nuclear liability, for the nuclear/fire, for the engines, for operational interruptions and for the transport. For each of the above mentioned insurance branches, essential characteristic features, such as risk carrier, protection range and insurance costs, are given. (orig.) [de

Controlled power delivery for super-resolution imaging of biological samples using digital micromirror device

Science.gov (United States)

Valiya Peedikakkal, Liyana; Cadby, Ashley

2017-02-01

Localization based super resolution images of a biological sample is generally achieved by using high power laser illumination with long exposure time which unfortunately increases photo-toxicity of a sample, making super resolution microscopy, in general, incompatible with live cell imaging. Furthermore, the limitation of photobleaching reduces the ability to acquire time lapse images of live biological cells using fluorescence microscopy. Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology can deliver light at grey scale levels by flickering digital micromirrors at around 290 Hz enabling highly controlled power delivery to samples. In this work, Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) is implemented in an inverse Schiefspiegler telescope setup to control the power and pattern of illumination for super resolution microscopy. We can achieve spatial and temporal patterning of illumination by controlling the DMD pixel by pixel. The DMD allows us to control the power and spatial extent of the laser illumination. We have used this to show that we can reduce the power delivered to the sample to allow for longer time imaging in one area while achieving sub-diffraction STORM imaging in another using higher power densities.

Antenatal care and women's decision making power as determinants of institutional delivery in rural area of Western Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Tekelab, Tesfalidet; Yadecha, Birhanu; Melka, Alemu Sufa

2015-12-11

Delivery by skilled birth attendance serves as an indicator of progress towards reducing maternal mortality. In Ethiopia, the proportions of births attended by skilled personnel were very low 15 % and Oromia region 14.7 %. The current study identified factors associated with utilization of institutional delivery among married women in rural area of Western Ethiopia. A community based cross-sectional study was employed from January 2 to January 31, 2015 among mothers who gave birth in the last 2 years in rural area of East Wollega Zone. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 798 study participants. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data and female high school graduates data collectors were involved in the data collection process. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression model was fit and statistical significance was determined through a 95 % confidence level. The study revealed that 39.7 % of the mothers delivered in health facilities. Age 15-24 years (AOR 4.20, 95 % CI 2.07-8.55), 25-34 years (AOR 2.21, 95 % CI 1.32-3.69), women's educational level (AOR 2.00, 95 % CI 1.19-3.34), women's decision making power (AOR 2.11, 95 % CI 1.54-2.89), utilization of antenatal care (ANC) during the index pregnancy (AOR 1.56, 95 % CI 1.08-2.23) and parity one (AOR 2.20, 95 % CI 1.10-4.38) showed significant positive association with utilization of institutional delivery. In this study proportion of institutional delivery were low (39.7 %). Age, women's literacy status, women's decision making power, ANC practice and numbers of live birth were found important predictors of institutional delivery. The findings of current study highlight the importance of boosting women involvement in formal education and decision making power. Moreover since ANC is big pillar for the remaining maternal health services effort should be there to increase ANC service utilization.

Active and reactive power sharing and frequency restoration in a distributed power system consisting of two UPS units

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parlak, Koray Sener; Oezdemir, Mehmet [Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Firat University, Elazig, 23119 (Turkey); Aydemir, M. Timur [Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Gazi University, Maltepe-Ankara 06570 (Turkey)

2009-06-15

A distributed power system consisting of two uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) is investigated in this paper. Parallel operation of the two sources increases the established power rating of the system. One of the sources can supply the system even when the other system is disconnected due to some faults, and this is an important feature. The control algorithm makes sure that the total load is shared between the supplies in accordance with their rated power levels, and the frequency of the supplies are restored to the rated values after the transitions. As the UPSs operate at an optimum power level, losses and faults due to overloading are prevented. The units safely operate without any means of communication between each other. The focus of the work is on the inverter stages of the UPSs. Simulations performed in Matlab Simulink environment have been verified with experimental work via DS1103 controller card. (author)

The regulation for delivery of subsidies for measures of promoting power source location for nuclear power generating facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

The Regulation is based on the prescriptions of the Enforcement Order for the Law for Arrangement of Surrounding Areas of Power Generating Facilities, the Law for Proper Budget Enforcement Concerning Subsidies and its Enforcement Order. These rules apply to the subsidies concerning nuclear power generating facilities, reprocessing facilities and test and examination facilities for nuclear fuel materials used for power generating reactors, reactors used for research on the safety of power generating reactors, and experimental reactors for fast breeder reactors. The limits of subsidies are specified respectively for the cases that a unit of power generating facility or two and more units of such facilities are set up in a local municipality. The subsidies are delivered for the expenses occurred in the period, beginning from the fiscal year when construction of the generating facility concerned starts or the arrangement plan of the concerned project is approved, and ending in the fiscal year when such construction comes to an end. The subsidies are given as evenly as possible in each fiscal year. The applicants of the subsidies file the applications attached with the explanations of the projects to the chief of the competent ministry (Director General of the Science and Technology Agency or the Minister of International Trade and Industry). Terms of delivery, reports submitted by the receivers of the subsidies and other related matters are specified. (Okada, K.)

18 CFR 157.211 - Delivery points.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Delivery points. 157... for Certain Transactions and Abandonment § 157.211 Delivery points. (a) Construction and operation—(1... delivery point, excluding the construction of certain delivery points subject to the prior notice...

Increased power delivery from the DIII-D neutral beam injection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colleraine, A.P.; Callis, R.W.; Hong, R.M.; Kellman, D.H.; Kim, J.; Langhorn, A.R.; Lee, R.; Phillips, J.C.; Wight, J.J.

1989-12-01

The neutral beam system installed on the DIII-D tokamak employs eight 80 kV Long Pulse Sources (LPS) mounted on four beamlines and was originally designed to deliver a nominal 12 MW of H degree power to a plasma for pulses of up to 5 sec duration. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory designed the LPS for the US Fusion Program to fill the requirements of both the DIII-D and the TFTR machines. Essentially all source components are of a common design; the DIII-D version is therefore conservative in its rated parameters. Recently a neutron shield has been constructed around the torus hall allowing D degree injection to become routine. Because deuterium beams have a better neutralization efficiency, the nominal power delivery per source has been measured to be approximately 2 MW (for a total of 16 MW) without any modifications. However, by reoptimizing the voltage gradients in the source, the perveance can be increased without degrading the optics. A change of gradient grid voltage from 0.83 V accel to 0.79 V accel raises the perveance from 2.5 to 3.0 μPerv with a corresponding gain in beam power of about 20%. The arc power required also must be increased to the range of 100 to 120 kW but this is well within the design limits of the LPS. Further studies of our systems are now underway to assess the possibilities of raising V accel above 80 kV. An additional gain in power is possible by this technique. 6 refs., 6 figs

Design, Microfabrication and Characterization of a Power Delivery System for new Biomedical Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CARUSO Massimo

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the design, microfabrication and characterization of a wireless power delivery system capable of driving a surface acoustic wave sensor (SAW for biomedical applications. The system consists of two planar, spiral-square microcoils, which have been geometrically optimized in order to maximize the quality factor Q. The integration of the SAW - microcoil system into artificial implant sites will allow a real-time biofilm growth monitoring and treatment, providing countless advantages to the related medical applications.

An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Solar Power on Navy Surface Combatants

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-01

Delivering boost acceleration to automobiles in a process known as regenerative braking . • Serving as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to data...exchange membrane fuel cell, showing major components. From [12] .........................45 Figure 23. Depiction of a generic regenerative fuel cell...the highest three categories of annual sunlight. The majority of forward navy bases, as well as many ports that surface combatants pull into, are

Auxiliary System Load Schemes in Large Thermal and Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzle, I.; Bosnjak, D.; Pandzic, H.

2010-01-01

Uninterrupted auxiliary system power supply in large power plants is a key factor for normal operation, transient states, start-ups and shutdowns and particularly during fault conditions. Therefore, there are many challenges in designing the main electrical system as well as the auxiliary systems power supply. Depending upon the type of fuel used and the environmental control system required, a thermal power plant may consume as much as 10% of its total generation for auxiliary power, while a nuclear power plant may require only 4 - 6% auxiliaries. In general, the larger the power generating plant, the higher the voltage selected for the AC auxiliary electric system. Most stations in the 75 to 500 MW range utilize 4,2 kV as the base auxiliary system voltage. Large generating stations 500 - 1000 MW and more use voltage levels of 6,9 kV and more. Some single dedicated loads such as electric driven boiler feed pumps are supplied ba a 13,8 kV bus. While designing the auxiliary electric system, the following areas must be considered: motor starting requirements, voltage regulation requirements, short-circuit duty requirements, economic considerations, reliability and alternate sources. Auxiliary power supply can't be completely generalized and each situation should be studied on its own merits to determine the optimal solution. Naturally, nuclear power plants have more reliability requirements and safety design criteria. Main coolant-pump power supply and continuity of service to other vital loads deserve special attention. This paper presents an overview of some up-to-date power plant auxiliary load system concepts. The main types of auxiliary loads are described and the electric diagrams of the modern auxiliary system supply concepts are given. Various alternative sources of auxiliary electrical supply are considered, the advantages and disadvantages of these are compared and proposals are made for high voltage distribution systems around the thermal and nuclear plant

Optimal Power Cost Management Using Stored Energy in Data Centers

OpenAIRE

Urgaonkar, Rahul; Urgaonkar, Bhuvan; Neely, Michael J.; Sivasubramaniam, Anand

2011-01-01

Since the electricity bill of a data center constitutes a significant portion of its overall operational costs, reducing this has become important. We investigate cost reduction opportunities that arise by the use of uninterrupted power supply (UPS) units as energy storage devices. This represents a deviation from the usual use of these devices as mere transitional fail-over mechanisms between utility and captive sources such as diesel generators. We consider the problem of opportunistically ...

Control system and method for a power delivery system having a continuously variable ratio transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, Andrew A.

1984-01-01

A control system and method for a power delivery system, such as in an automotive vehicle, having an engine coupled to a continuously variable ratio transmission (CVT). Totally independent control of engine and transmission enable the engine to precisely follow a desired operating characteristic, such as the ideal operating line for minimum fuel consumption. CVT ratio is controlled as a function of commanded power or torque and measured load, while engine fuel requirements (e.g., throttle position) are strictly a function of measured engine speed. Fuel requirements are therefore precisely adjusted in accordance with the ideal characteristic for any load placed on the engine.

The electrical system of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Firman Silitonga; Gunarwan Prayitno

2009-01-01

In these system, electrical power system is supplied from two-offsite transmission system respective main transformer and house service transformer; and reserve transformer. The electrical load in these system consist of safety electrical system and non-safety electrical system, The safety electrical and non safety electrical systems consist of four 6,9 kV AC medium voltage bus and 480 V AC low voltage bus system. The DC power system consist of four safety 125 V DC power system and the two non-safety 125 DC power systems. The equipment in these electrical system is main turbine-generator; GTG safety; GTG alternate; uninterrupted power supply (UPS) and battery system. To protect electrical equipment and building to direct stroke and non direct stroke disturbances is installed netral grounding system and lightning protection and protection the personnel to touch-voltage is installed equipment grounding system and station grounding. The lightning arrester system is connected to station station grounding system. (author)

Defence in depth for electric power supplies in Indian nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, S.K.; Srivasista, K.; Solanki, R.B.

2009-01-01

The purpose of electric power supply system in a nuclear power plant is to supply and distribute reliable electric power to safety related systems and systems important to safety in various forms, arrangements and combinations of redundancy and diversity in order to perform safety functions required during operational states and design basis events (DBE) such as shutting down the reactor, maintaining the reactor in safe shutdown state, containment isolation and reactor core cooling preventing significant release of radioactive material to the environment. Hence the design basis of electric power supply systems includes identification of DBE that require power supplies, adequacy of redundancy and diversity, environmental conditions to which electric equipment are qualified, identification of loads requiring interrupted and uninterrupted power supplies, time sequence in which emergency loads are to be supplied in case of interruption, provisions for maintaining and testing, consideration for minimum duration capability of emergency power supplies during station blackout etc. Based on operation experience, results of probability safety assessment and certain weaknesses noticed in defence in depth of electric power supply systems, several continuous design improvements have been made in Indian nuclear power plants during operating phase and life extension. Instituting various tests during initial commissioning, subsequent operation and life extension has ensured high standards of performance of electric power supplies. Some of these aspects are highlighted in this paper

Power generation using photovoltaic induction in an isolated power network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalantar, M.; Jiang, J.

2001-01-01

Owing to increased emphasis on renewable resources, the development of suitable isolated power generators driven by energy sources, the development of suitable isolated power generators driven by energy sources such as photovoltaic, wind, small hydroelectric, biogas and etc. has recently assumed greater significance. A single phase capacitor self excited induction generator has emerged as a suitable candidate of isolated power sources. This paper presents performance analysis of a single phase self-excited induction generator driven by photovoltaic (P V) system for low power isolated stand-alone applications. A single phase induction machine can work as a self-excited induction generator when its rotor is driven at suitable speed by an photovoltaic powered do motor. Its excitation is provided by connecting a single phase capacitor bank at a stator terminals. Either to augment grid power or to get uninterrupted power during grid failure stand-alone low capacity ac generators are used. These are driven by photovoltaic, wind power or I C engines using kerosene, diesel, petrol or biogas as fuel. Self-excitation with capacitors at the stator terminals of the stator terminals of the induction machines is well demonstrated experimentally on a P V powered dc motor-induction machine set. The parameters and the excitation requirements of the induction machine run in self-excited induction generator mode are determined. The effects of variations in prime mover speed,terminal capacitance and load power factor on the machine terminal voltage are studied

MANAGEMENT BOARD OF 20 NOVEMBER 06 (MB99)

CERN Multimedia

Low Voltage/SLHC All Low Voltage Power supply orders have now been placed and the issue is prioritising the deliveries, both within CMS and across all LHC detectors. An LHC-wide schedule has been agreed for November-January 2007 and those for further periods will be negotiated. The first agreed cross-detector model was pro-rata sharing of the production based on the total number required. Monthly meetings with CAEN continue and steps are being taken to increase the delivery rate. A draft delivery schedule to CMS sub-detectors is available, but that for the Muon systems should be reviewed and priorities decided. Commissioning the Uninterruptible Power Supplies will start on December 15th and power to the underground systems at point 5 will be delivered in March 2007. It has been agreed to hold an SLHC Workshop jointly with ATLAS on March 19-21 2007 at CERN. Comments on the SLHC EOI before the December CMS Week are still welcome. ESRs for the ECAL Selective Readout Processor and the Global Calorimeter Trigge...

High Efficiency Three-phase Power Factor Correction Rectifier using Wide Band-Gap Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kouchaki, Alireza

Improving the conversion efficiency of power factor correction (PFC) rectifiers has become compelling due to their wide applications such as adjustable speed drives, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), and battery chargers for electric vehicles (EVs). The attention to PFCs has increased even more....... Therefore, current controllers are also important to be investigated in this project. In this PhD research work, a comprehensive design of a two-level three-phase PFC rectifier using silicon-carbide (SiC) switches to achieve high efficiency is presented. The work is divided into two main parts: 1) Optimum...

Overvoltage and Insulation Coordination of Overhead Lines in Multiple-Terminal MMC-HVDC Link for Wind Power Delivery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huiwen He

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The voltage-sourced converter-based HVDC link, including the modular multilevel converter (MMC configuration, is suitable for wind power, photovoltaic energy, and other kinds of new energy delivery and grid-connection. Current studies are focused on the MMC principles and controls and few studies have been done on the overvoltage of transmission line for the MMC-HVDC link. The main reason is that environmental factors have little effect on DC cables and the single-phase/pole fault rate is low. But if the cables were replaced by the overhead lines, although the construction cost of the project would be greatly reduced, the single-pole ground fault rate would be much higher. This paper analyzed the main overvoltage types in multiple-terminal MMC-HVDC network which transmit electric power by overhead lines. Based on ±500 kV multiple-terminal MMC-HVDC for wind power delivery project, the transient simulation model was built and the overvoltage types mentioned above were studied. The results showed that the most serious overvoltage was on the healthy adjacent line of the faulty line caused by the fault clearing of DC breaker. Then the insulation coordination for overhead lines was conducted according to the overvoltage level. The recommended clearance values were given.

Keeping the LHC in power

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2013-01-01

The critical safety equipment around the LHC, including the machine protection systems, is connected to Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS).  In case of mains failure, the UPS systems continue to power, for a limited time, these critical systems and ensure a safe shutdown of the accelerator. This week, work began to upgrade and replace over 100 UPS systems in the LHC.   The new UPS installations. For the LHC, even a perturbation on the mains is more than just an inconvenience: it often results in beam dumps and, in some cases, requires an energy extraction from superconducting circuits. When this occurs, machine protection systems, and in particular the Quench Protection System, must remain active to correctly carry out the shutdown procedure. With the UPS systems, 10 minutes of crucial power can be provided to the protection systems during this critical phase. There are currently two UPS systems in place in each one of the 32 LHC UPS zones. Originally one was used as a backup if ...

Implementation of wireless power transfer and communications for an implantable ocular drug delivery system.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, T B; Smith, S; Flynn, B W; Stevenson, J T M; Gundlach, A M; Reekie, H M; Murray, A F; Renshaw, D; Dhillon, B; Ohtori, A; Inoue, Y; Terry, J G; Walton, A J

2008-09-01

A wireless power transfer and communication system based on near-field inductive coupling has been designed and implemented. The feasibility of using such a system to remotely control drug release from an implantable drug delivery system is addressed. The architecture of the wireless system is described and the signal attenuation over distance in both water and phosphate buffered saline is studied. Additionally, the health risk due to exposure to radio frequency (RF) radiation is examined using a biological model. The experimental results demonstrate that the system can trigger the release of drug within 5 s, and that such short exposure to RF radiation does not produce any significant (delivery.

Transdermal power transfer for recharging implanted drug delivery devices via the refill port.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Allan T; Chiravuri, Srinivas; Gianchandani, Yogesh B

2010-04-01

This paper describes a system for transferring power across a transdermal needle into a smart refill port for recharging implantable drug delivery systems. The device uses a modified 26 gauge (0.46 mm outer diameter) Huber needle with multiple conductive elements designed to couple with mechanical springs in the septum of the refill port of a drug delivery device to form an electrical connection that can sustain the current required to recharge a battery during a reservoir refill session. The needle is fabricated from stainless steel coated with Parylene, and the refill port septum is made from micromachined stainless steel contact springs and polydimethylsiloxane. The device properties were characterized with dry and wet ambient conditions. The needle and port pair had an average contact resistance of less than 2 Omega when mated in either environment. Electrical isolation between the system, the liquid in the needle lumen, and surrounding material has been demonstrated. The device was used to recharge a NiMH battery with currents up to 500 mA with less than 15 degrees C of resistive heating. The system was punctured 100 times to provide preliminary information with regard to device longevity, and exhibited about 1 Omega variation in contact resistance. The results suggest that this needle and refill port system can be used in an implant to enable battery recharging. This allows for smaller batteries to be used and ultimately increases the volume efficiency of an implantable drug delivery device.

Adaptations to the coping power program's structure, delivery settings, and clinician training.

Science.gov (United States)

Lochman, John E; Powell, Nicole; Boxmeyer, Caroline; Andrade, Brendan; Stromeyer, Sara L; Jimenez-Camargo, Luis Alberto

2012-06-01

This article describes the conceptual framework for the Coping Power program that has focused on proximal risk factors that can actively alter preadolescent children's aggressive behavior. The results of initial controlled efficacy trials are summarized. However, consistent with the theme of this special section, some clinicians and workshop participants have indicated barriers to the implementation of the Coping Power program in their service settings. In response to these types of concerns, three key areas of programmatic adaptation of the program that serve to address these concerns are then described in the article. First, existing and in-process studies of variations in how the program can be delivered are presented. Existing findings indicate how the child component fares when delivered by itself without the parent component, how simple monthly boosters affect intervention effects, and whether the program can be reduced by a third of its length and still be effective. Research planned or in progress on program variations examines whether group versus individual delivery of the program affects outcomes, whether the program can be adapted for early adolescents, whether the program can be delivered in an adaptive manner with the use of the Family Check Up, and whether a brief, efficient version of the program in conjunction with Internet programming can be developed and be effective. Second, the program has been and is being developed for use in different settings, other than the school-based delivery in the efficacy trials. Research has examined its use with aggressive deaf youth in a residential setting, with Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder children in outpatient clinics, and in after-school programs. Third, the article reports how variations in training clinicians affect their ability to effectively use the program. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Design and optimization of resonance-based efficient wireless power delivery systems for biomedical implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramrakhyani, A K; Mirabbasi, S; Mu Chiao

2011-02-01

Resonance-based wireless power delivery is an efficient technique to transfer power over a relatively long distance. This technique typically uses four coils as opposed to two coils used in conventional inductive links. In the four-coil system, the adverse effects of a low coupling coefficient between primary and secondary coils are compensated by using high-quality (Q) factor coils, and the efficiency of the system is improved. Unlike its two-coil counterpart, the efficiency profile of the power transfer is not a monotonically decreasing function of the operating distance and is less sensitive to changes in the distance between the primary and secondary coils. A four-coil energy transfer system can be optimized to provide maximum efficiency at a given operating distance. We have analyzed the four-coil energy transfer systems and outlined the effect of design parameters on power-transfer efficiency. Design steps to obtain the efficient power-transfer system are presented and a design example is provided. A proof-of-concept prototype system is implemented and confirms the validity of the proposed analysis and design techniques. In the prototype system, for a power-link frequency of 700 kHz and a coil distance range of 10 to 20 mm, using a 22-mm diameter implantable coil resonance-based system shows a power-transfer efficiency of more than 80% with an enhanced operating range compared to ~40% efficiency achieved by a conventional two-coil system.

Power delivery in the 21. century : part 1, getting electricity from the point of generation to the point of use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Douglas, J.

2000-01-01

The challenges facing the U.S. electric power industry in meeting the power quality demands of a digital society were discussed. The management of power delivery will become increasingly difficult as power loading continues to grow with deregulation. The 1992 Energy Policy Act required open access to utility transmission lines, while Orders 888 and 889 of the Federal Regulatory Commission ruled for wholesale power dealing. This stimulated such a growth that almost half of U.S. domestic power is sold in the wholesale electricity market, but operators are close to their stability limits. The recent and costly outages in western U.S. suggest that more transmission capacity is needed, but obtaining permits is difficult and an adequate rate of return on investment is uncertain. Some states are further complicating the issue by implementing retail access to provide consumers a choice among service providers. Concerns over transmission system integrity are founded in the fact that various infrastructures such as transportation, telecommunications, oil and gas, and financial systems, rely on the electric power infrastructure. If power failure occurs in one sector, it can readily propagate to another, multiplying the damage. The President's Council on Critical Infrastructure Protection has identified some policy objectives to ensure the development of effective technology responses to policy concerns to improve the reliability and security of the power system. Advanced control technologies such as High-voltage electronic FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission System), WAMS (Wide-Area Measurement System) and the use of high-temperature super-conducting materials created from ceramic oxides will be instrumental to upgrading the power delivery system which will be the key to U.S. economic growth. These advanced technologies could be in widespread use by 2005-2010. 1 fig

Power Distribution at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Illumination through Affordable and Sustainable Solution of Gram Power

Science.gov (United States)

Pandey, Nisha; Sarswat, Prashant

2016-03-01

Energy plays a vital role in the socio -economic development, mainly due to the dependency of indispensable amenities on electricity. However, a matter of concern is developing country domestic power needs and inadequate supply. One of the cases is Indian subcontinent, where more than 50,000 villages still not have access to uninterrupted electric power. `Power theft' is a major challenge due to the lack of adequate energy supply and the financial constraints. Long distances, inaccurate and inflated electricity bills are the other issues lead to default on payments. Gram Power, a social enterprise, is providing a smart metering and affordable solution in areas where the extension of existing grid supply is economically not viable. India's first solar powered micro-grid (centralized array of solar panels) in Rajasthan was established by this initiative. The core innovation is a smart distribution technology that consists of smart meters with recharging facility and grid monitoring, to provide on-demand, theft-proof power through centralized servers with a pay-as-you-use schedule. The details of the changes, socio-economic transformation, and operational sustainability of such a community engagement model will be discussed in this study.

Innovative Free-range Resonant Electrical Energy Delivery system (FREE-D System) for a ventricular assist device using wireless power.

Science.gov (United States)

Waters, Benjamin H; Smith, Joshua R; Bonde, Pramod

2014-01-01

Technological innovation of a smaller, single moving part has an advantage over earlier large pulsatile ventricular assist devices (VADs) prone to mechanical failure. Drivelines limit the potential for extended patient survival durations with newer pumps and act as source for infection, increased morbidity, rehospitalizations, and reduced quality of life. The Free-range Resonant Electrical Energy Delivery (FREE-D) wireless power system uses magnetically coupled resonators to efficiently transfer power. We demonstrate the efficiency over distance of this system. The experimental setup consists of an radiofrequency amplifier and control board which drives the transmit resonator coil, and a receiver unit consisting of a resonant coil attached to a radiofrequency rectifier and power management module. The power management module supplies power to the axial pump, which was set at 9,600 rpm. To achieve a seamless wireless delivery in any room size, we introduced a third relay coil. This relay coil can be installed throughout a room, whereas a single relay coil could be built into a jacket worn by the patient, which would always be within range of the receive coil implanted in the patient's body. The power was delivered over a meter distance without interruptions or fluctuations with coil, rectifier, and regulator efficiency more than 80% and overall system efficiency of 61%. The axial pump worked well throughout the 8 hours of continuous operation. Having same setup on the opposite side can double the distance. A tether-free operation of a VAD can be achieved by FREE-D system in room-size distances. It has the potential to make the VAD therapy more acceptable from the patient perspective.

Material shielding of power frequency magnetic fields: Research and testing results from the EPRI Power Delivery Center-Lenox. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, C.B.

1998-06-01

Extensive investigations of a variety of material shielding methods have been performed at the EPRI Power Delivery Center--Lenox, Massachusetts. This work is part of a larger shielding investigation being done for EPRI by Electric Research and Management, Inc. (ERM) as part of the Magnetic Field Management Target in the EPRI Environment Group. Part of this work, involving cylinders of material, is to be included in a shielding handbook being prepared by ERM. Material shielding tests, not included in the handbook, as well as additional material shielding research, including testing, analyses, and computer simulations performed at the EPRI Power Delivery Center--Lenox are documented here. One of the major complications of using materials to shield magnetic fields is the mathematical complexity of the phenomenon involved. The result is that analytical solutions exist only for a very small number of simple geometries such as spheres, infinitely long cylinders, and infinite sheets. In practice, the materials typically come in the form of sheets. At present, there are no analytical methods for directly determining the shielding effectiveness of finite sheets of material, however, EPRI is sponsoring work in this area. There are some methods based on conformal mapping which can provide a solution for simple two-dimensional sheets. While such methods are useful in gaining insight into the mechanisms of shielding, they are not realistic enough to provide accurate shielding estimates. Empirical techniques are still required to determine the shielding effectiveness of material sheets. The material shielding tests and computer simulations are described in the report. The results of these tests and simulations have been used to develop a number of material shielding design rules for use in practical applications

The North American power delivery system: Balancing market restructuring and environmental economics with infrastructure security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massoud Amin, S.; Gellings, Clark W.

2006-01-01

The North American electric power system was developed over the last 100 years without a conscious awareness and analysis of the system-wide implications of its current evolution under the forces of deregulation, system complexity, power-market impacts, terrorism, and human error. The possibility of power delivery beyond neighboring areas was a distant secondary consideration. Today, the North American power network may realistically be considered to be the largest machine in the world. With the advent of deregulation and competition in the electric power industry, new ways are being sought to improve the efficiency of that network without seriously diminishing its reliability and security. Controlling a heterogeneous, widely dispersed, yet globally interconnected system is a serious technological problem in any case. It is even more complex and difficult to control it for optimal efficiency and maximum benefit to the ultimate consumers while still allowing all its business components to compete fairly and freely. In this paper we present an overview of key issues and the context in which the electricity infrastructure is being operated under the above forces along with a strategic vision extending to a decade, or longer, that would enable more secure and robust systems operation, security monitoring, and efficient energy markets. (author)

High Power Spark Delivery System Using Hollow Core Kagome Lattice Fibers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciprian Dumitrache

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This study examines the use of the recently developed hollow core kagome lattice fibers for delivery of high power laser pulses. Compared to other photonic crystal fibers (PCFs, the hollow core kagome fibers have larger core diameter (~50 µm, which allows for higher energy coupling in the fiber while also maintaining high beam quality at the output (M2 = 1.25. We have conducted a study of the maximum deliverable energy versus laser pulse duration using a Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm. Pulse energies as high as 30 mJ were transmitted for 30 ns pulse durations. This represents, to our knowledge; the highest laser pulse energy delivered using PCFs. Two fiber damage mechanisms were identified as damage at the fiber input and damage within the bulk of the fiber. Finally, we have demonstrated fiber delivered laser ignition on a single-cylinder gasoline direct injection engine.

The Level of Power Quality Measurement and Evaluation in A Stone Crusher Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa ŞEKKELİ

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Both electric utilities and end users of electric power are becoming increasingly concerned about the quality of electric power. Quality of electrical energy in the electrical system that is requested continuous power (uninterrupted power, constant frequency and with constant amplitude can be explained by sinusoidal voltage. Deformation of voltage in the form of sinusoidal waveform is explained as a harmonic. Harmonics are most important factors in decreasing quality of energy in the electrical system. In industrial plants, existence of harmocins and voltage drop, causes serious problems both in plant and network. This problem affects the cost. In this study, a power quality measurements are carried out in stone crusher plant. Harmonics and voltage drop has been measured and evaluated with the power analyzer. In the power quality measurements, harmonic level of the plant is not so bad. However, it is recommended that compensation system with harmonic elimination can be established in plant.

Reliability Issues in Stirling Radioisotope Power Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Schreiber, Jeffrey; Shah, Ashwin

2005-01-01

Stirling power conversion is a potential candidate for use in a Radioisotope Power System (RPS) for space science missions because it offers a multifold increase in the conversion efficiency of heat to electric power and reduced requirement of radioactive material. Reliability of an RPS that utilizes Stirling power conversion technology is important in order to ascertain long term successful performance. Owing to long life time requirement (14 years), it is difficult to perform long-term tests that encompass all the uncertainties involved in the design variables of components and subsystems comprising the RPS. The requirement for uninterrupted performance reliability and related issues are discussed, and some of the critical areas of concern are identified. An overview of the current on-going efforts to understand component life, design variables at the component and system levels, and related sources and nature of uncertainties are also discussed. Current status of the 110 watt Stirling Radioisotope Generator (SRG110) reliability efforts is described. Additionally, an approach showing the use of past experience on other successfully used power systems to develop a reliability plan for the SRG110 design is outlined.

Direct current power delivery system and method

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Di; Garces, Luis Jose; Dai, Jian; Lai, Rixin

2016-09-06

A power transmission system includes a first unit for carrying out the steps of receiving high voltage direct current (HVDC) power from an HVDC power line, generating an alternating current (AC) component indicative of a status of the first unit, and adding the AC component to the HVDC power line. Further, the power transmission system includes a second unit for carrying out the steps of generating a direct current (DC) voltage to transfer the HVDC power on the HVDC power line, wherein the HVDC power line is coupled between the first unit and the second unit, detecting a presence or an absence of the added AC component in the HVDC power line, and determining the status of the first unit based on the added AC component.

Increasing the reliability of electricity supply of industrial enterprises for the account of application of a quick-running redundant power supply

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vertugin A.A.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available One of the main tasks to be performed when organizing the operation of the energy system is to ensure high-quality and uninterrupted power supply to consumers. Dips, interruptions and voltage surges of the electrical network are the most common causes of malfunctions in industrial plants and damage to household equipment, causing significant economic damage to both consumers and electricity suppliers.

Advanced SLARette delivery machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bodner, R.R.

1995-01-01

SLARette 1 equipment, comprising of a SLARette Delivery Machine, SLAR Tools, SLAR power supplies and SLAR Inspection Systems was designed, developed and manufactured to service fuel channels of CANDU 6 stations during the regular yearly station outages. The Mark 2 SLARette Delivery Machine uses a Push Tube system to provide the axial and rotary movements of the SLAR Tool. The Push Tubes are operated remotely but must be attached and removed manually. Since this operation is performed at the Reactor face, there is radiation dose involved for the workers. An Advanced SLARette Delivery Machine which incorporates a computer controlled telescoping Ram in the place of the Push Tubes has been recently designed and manufactured. Utilization of the Advanced SLARette Delivery Machine significantly reduces the amount of radiation dose picked up by the workers because the need to have workers at the face of the Reactor during the SLARette operation is greatly reduced. This paper describes the design, development and manufacturing process utilized to produce the Advanced SLARette Delivery Machine and the experience gained during the Gentilly-2 NGS Spring outage. (author)

Characterization and design of a low-power wireless power delivery system

Science.gov (United States)

Falkenstein, Erez Avigdor

There is an increased demand for wireless sensors for data gathering and transmission where running wires to power a device or changing/charging batteries is difficult. Often the data is gathered at locations that are difficult to access, that need to be covert, and/or where the sensors cannot be easily maintained. Some examples are implanted sensors for medical diagnostics and therapy, structural monitoring sensors, sensors inside hazardous manufacturing or other hazardous environments, etc. For any low power sensor that operates at a low duty cycle, and in an environment with low levels of light or vibration, RF wireless powering offers the potential for maintenance-free operation. The thesis focuses on a design methodology for low-power non-directional far-field wireless powering. The power receiver consists of one or more antennae which receive plane waves transmitted by the powering source, and deliver the RF power to a rectifying element. The resulting DC power is optimally transferred to the electronic application via a power management circuit. The powering is independent of the electronic application which can include wireless transmission of sensor data. The design and implementation of an integrated rectifier-antenna at low incident power densities (from 25--200 muW/cm2) is presented. Nonlinear source-pull measurements and harmonic balance simulations are used for finding the optimal rectifying device RF and DC impedances for efficient rectification. Experimental results show that an antenna design with a specific complex impedance reaches the highest rectification efficiency. Several examples of the design methodology will be shown. In specific, characterization of a rectifying patch antenna at frequency of 2.45GHz will be detailed, with an optimal RF impedance of 137+j149O and an optimal DC load of 365O resulting in RF to DC conversion efficiency of 63% for the rectifier alone and 56% for the total rectifying antenna.

A Case of Bilateral Pigment Dispersion Syndrome Following Many Years of Uninterrupted Treatment With Atropine 1% for Bilateral Congenital Cataracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Gizzi, Corrado; Mohamed-Noriega, Jibran; Murdoch, Ian

2017-10-01

Describe an unusual case of bilateral pigment dispersion syndrome (PDS) following years of uninterrupted treatment with atropine 1% for bilateral congenital cataracts, speculate on potential mechanisms leading to this condition. This is a case report. A 45-year-old white patient on long-term treatment with atropine 1% ointment since his infancy for bilateral congenital cataracts developed PDS with secondary ocular hypertension. The patient showed all the hallmarks of PDS with secondary ocular hypertension. An anterior segment Swept-Source optical coherence tomography was obtained to review the iris profile. The patient showed good pressure response to topical prostaglandin therapy. This is the second case report of PDS in a patient with chronic use of topical atropine. The proposed mechanisms for pigment dispersion are discussed and the possibility raised of dispersion being a potential side effect of the drug.

The Use of the UPS Systems in the CERN Power Distribution

CERN Document Server

Pedersen, J

2000-01-01

The un-interruptible power supply (UPS) provides an increased supply reliability. It provides a no-break commutation to a battery in case of mains fault, and it provides a defined time for shut-down of critical installations. UPS systems are in service all over CERN, mainly supplying computer systems, control systems and other systems linked to safety. For the LHC the systems protecting the machine in case of quenching of supraconducting elements will require practically fail-safe installations. The desired degree of reliability and availability will be achieved by the use of UPS systems, grouped to assure a sufficient level of redundancy.

Inhibited-coupling HC-PCF based beam-delivery-system for high power green industrial lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Chafer, M.; Gorse, A.; Beaudou, B.; Lekiefs, Q.; Maurel, M.; Debord, B.; Gérôme, F.; Benabid, F.

2018-02-01

We report on an ultra-low loss Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fiber (HC-PCF) beam delivery system (GLO-GreenBDS) for high power ultra-short pulse lasers operating in the green spectral range (including 515 nm and 532 nm). The GLOBDS- Green combines ease-of-use, high laser-coupling efficiency, robustness and industrial compatible cabling. It comprises a pre-aligned laser-injection head, a sheath-cable protected HC-PCF and a modular fiber-output head. It enables fiber-core gas loading and evacuation in a hermetic fashion. A 5 m long GLO-BDS were demonstrated for a green short pulse laser with a transmission coefficient larger than 80%, and a laser output profile close to single-mode (M2 <1.3).

Development of an uninterrupted solar powered traffic light from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Advances in transport technology have brought benefits, but growing vehicular traffic and increased fossil fuel use have created problems. In view of these, the need to address the shortage of important infrastructures such as traffic light systems in most cities of Nigeria is imperative. This paper aims at designing, ...

Multi-mode operations for on-line uninterruptible power supply

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lu, Jinghang; Savaghebi, Mehdi; Guan, Yajuan

2018-01-01

In this paper, the multi-mode operation of the on-line UPS system is investigated and corresponding control strategies are proposed. The proposed control strategies are able to achieve the seamless transition in traditional normal mode, PV-aided normal mode, enhanced eco-mode and burn-in test mod...

Second Order Washout filter based Power Sharing Strategy for Uninterruptible Power Supply

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lu, Jinghang; Savaghebi, Mehdi; Guerrero, Josep M.

2017-01-01

In this paper, first, the existing frequency and voltage amplitude restoration control strategies are reviewed. Moreover, the proposed second order washout filter control strategy is proposed to enhance the dynamic response under load disturbance. The physical parameter of the proposed method is ...

Dynamic Prediction of Power Storage and Delivery by Data-Based Fractional Differential Models of a Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunfeng Jiang

2016-07-01

Full Text Available A fractional derivative system identification approach for modeling battery dynamics is presented in this paper, where fractional derivatives are applied to approximate non-linear dynamic behavior of a battery system. The least squares-based state-variable filter (LSSVF method commonly used in the identification of continuous-time models is extended to allow the estimation of fractional derivative coefficents and parameters of the battery models by monitoring a charge/discharge demand signal and a power storage/delivery signal. In particular, the model is combined by individual fractional differential models (FDMs, where the parameters can be estimated by a least-squares algorithm. Based on experimental data, it is illustrated how the fractional derivative model can be utilized to predict the dynamics of the energy storage and delivery of a lithium iron phosphate battery (LiFePO 4 in real-time. The results indicate that a FDM can accurately capture the dynamics of the energy storage and delivery of the battery over a large operating range of the battery. It is also shown that the fractional derivative model exhibits improvements on prediction performance compared to standard integer derivative model, which in beneficial for a battery management system.

System for energy harvesting and/or generation, storage, and delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Trainor, John T. (Inventor); Fleig, Patrick Franz (Inventor); Lakeman, Charles D. E. (Inventor); DeGreeff, Jenniffer Leigh (Inventor)

2011-01-01

A device and method for harvesting, generating, storing, and delivering energy to a load, particularly for remote or inaccessible applications. The device preferably comprises one or more energy sources, at least one supercapacitor, at least one rechargeable battery, and a controller. The charging of the energy storage devices and the delivery of power to the load is preferably dynamically varied to maximize efficiency. A low power consumption charge pump circuit is preferably employed to collect power from low power energy sources while also enabling the delivery of higher voltage power to the load. The charging voltage is preferably programmable, enabling one device to be used for a wide range of specific applications.

Endotracheal Intubation Using the Macintosh Laryngoscope or KingVision Video Laryngoscope during Uninterrupted Chest Compression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ewelina Gaszynska

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. Advanced airway management, endotracheal intubation (ETI, during CPR is more difficult than, for example, during anesthesia. However, new devices such as video laryngoscopes should help in such circumstances. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of the KingVision video laryngoscopes in a manikin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR scenario. Methods. Thirty students enrolled in the third year of paramedic school took part in the study. The simulated CPR scenario was ETI using the standard laryngoscope with a Macintosh blade (MCL and ETI using the KingVision video laryngoscope performed during uninterrupted chest compressions. The primary endpoints were the time needed for ETI and the success ratio. Results. The mean time required for intubation was similar for both laryngoscopes: 16.6 (SD 5.11, median 15.64, range 7.9–27.9 seconds versus 17.91 (SD 5.6, median 16.28, range 10.6–28.6 seconds for the MCL and KingVision, respectively (P=0.1888. On the first attempt at ETI, the success rate during CPR was comparable between the evaluated laryngoscopes: P=0.9032. Conclusion. The KingVision video laryngoscope proves to be less superior when used for endotracheal intubation during CPR compared to the standard laryngoscope with a Mackintosh blade. This proves true in terms of shortening the time needed for ETI and increasing the success ratio.

Reliability considerations of a fuel cell backup power system for telecom applications

Science.gov (United States)

Serincan, Mustafa Fazil

2016-03-01

A commercial fuel cell backup power unit is tested in real life operating conditions at a base station of a Turkish telecom operator. The fuel cell system responds to 256 of 260 electric power outages successfully, providing the required power to the base station. Reliability of the fuel cell backup power unit is found to be 98.5% at the system level. On the other hand, a qualitative reliability analysis at the component level is carried out. Implications of the power management algorithm on reliability is discussed. Moreover, integration of the backup power unit to the base station ecosystem is reviewed in the context of reliability. Impact of inverter design on the stability of the output power is outlined. Significant current harmonics are encountered when a generic inverter is used. However, ripples are attenuated significantly when a custom design inverter is used. Further, fault conditions are considered for real world case studies such as running out of hydrogen, a malfunction in the system, or an unprecedented operating scheme. Some design guidelines are suggested for hybridization of the backup power unit for an uninterrupted operation.

A cyclically actuated electrolytic drug delivery device

KAUST Repository

Yi, Ying

2015-01-01

This work, focusing on an implantable drug delivery system, presents the first prototype electrolytic pump that combines a catalytic reformer and a cyclically actuated mode. These features improve the release performance and extend the lifetime of the device. Using our platinum (Pt)-coated carbon fiber mesh that acts as a catalytic reforming element, the cyclical mode is improved because the faster recombination rate allows for a shorter cycling time for drug delivery. Another feature of our device is that it uses a solid-drug-in-reservoir (SDR) approach, which allows small amounts of a solid drug to be dissolved in human fluid, forming a reproducible drug solution for long-term therapies. We have conducted proof-of-principle drug delivery studies using such an electrolytic pump and solvent blue 38 as the drug substitute. These tests demonstrate power-controlled and pulsatile release profiles of the chemical substance, as well as the feasibility of this device. A drug delivery rate of 11.44 ± 0.56 μg min-1 was achieved by using an input power of 4 mW for multiple pulses, which indicates the stability of our system. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.

First commercial fuel cells in emergency power supplies; Erste kommerzielle Brennstoffzellen im Notstrombereich. Praxistest als USV fuer eine Mobilfunkbasisstation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trachte, U.

2008-07-01

This article takes a look at the testing of a fuel-cell-based uninterruptible power supply for a cell-phone base station. The working principles of various types of fuel cell are examined and their areas of application are discussed. The use of polymer-electrolyte-membrane (PEM) fuel cells as a back-up power supply for a cell-phone base station was examined by the University of Applied Sciences in Lucerne, Switzerland. Several designs and models of fuel cells were examined. The installation of the cell-phone station is described and experience gained from the use of fuel cells in practice is presented and discussed.

"I Have Good News and Bad News:" The Effects of Power Imbalances and Physical Distance on News-givers' Use of Blended News Delivery

OpenAIRE

Legg, Angela M.

2013-01-01

People dislike giving bad news, and one strategy they use to ease the process is to pair bad news with some good news, a phenomenon called blended news delivery. Often, blended news arrives from people in power positions such as physicians, managers, or teachers. But followers also find themselves needing to give bad news to those in higher power positions. Similarly, people can choose how they deliver bad news, such as in person or over email. The current study brings much needed empirical a...

Price signals in the power market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

Which price signals should be given to the players in the power market to promote a socio-economic power supply in the short term and the long term? In a model with perfect competition, without problems involving delivery quality, and with free scalable capacity in both transmission and production, price signals that reflect marginal losses and shortage of transmission capacity are all that is needed. Stepwise investments create a need for measures that are specific to the situation. Price signals reflecting delivery reliability are probably too weak today. Market power may create a need for greater transmission capacity, but gives no reason for new price signals. Tariffs that reduce installed capacity weakens delivery quality and increases the probability of market power

Excimer laser beam delivery systems for medical applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kubo, Uichi; Hashishin, Yuichi; Okada, Kazuyuki; Tanaka, Hiroyuki

1993-05-01

We have been doing the basic experiments of UV laser beams and biotissue interaction with both KrF and XeCl lasers. However, the conventional optical fiber can not be available for power UV beams. So we have been investigating about UV power beam delivery systems. These experiments carry on with the same elements doped quartz fibers and the hollow tube. The doped elements are OH ion, chlorine and fluorine. In our latest work, we have tried ArF excimer laser and biotissue interactions, and the beam delivery experiments. From our experimental results, we found that the ArF laser beam has high incision ability for hard biotissue. For example, in the case of the cow's bone incision, the incision depth by ArF laser was ca.15 times of KrF laser. Therefore, ArF laser would be expected to harden biotissue therapy as non-thermal method. However, its beam delivery is difficult to work in this time. We will develop ArF laser beam delivery systems.

Mini Solar and Sea Current Power Generation System

Science.gov (United States)

Almenhali, Abdulrahman; Alshamsi, Hatem; Aljunaibi, Yaser; Almussabi, Dheyab; Alshehhi, Ahmed; Hilal, Hassan Bu

2017-07-01

The power demand in United Arab Emirates is increased so that there is a consistent power cut in our region. This is because of high power consumption by factories and also due to less availability of conventional energy resources. Electricity is most needed facility for the human being. All the conventional energy resources are depleting day by day. So we have to shift from conventional to non-conventional energy resources. In this the combination of two energy resources is takes place i.e. wind and solar energy. This process reviles the sustainable energy resources without damaging the nature. We can give uninterrupted power by using hybrid energy system. Basically this system involves the integration of two energy system that will give continuous power. Solar panels are used for converting solar energy and wind turbines are used for converting wind energy into electricity. This electrical power can utilize for various purpose. Generation of electricity will be takes place at affordable cost. This paper deals with the generation of electricity by using two sources combine which leads to generate electricity with affordable cost without damaging the nature balance. The purpose of this project was to design a portable and low cost power system that combines both sea current electric turbine and solar electric technologies. This system will be designed in efforts to develop a power solution for remote locations or use it as another source of green power.

Power-over-ethernet for remote measurement and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behera, Rajendra Prasad; Murali, N.

2011-01-01

Power-Over-Ethernet (PoE) technology (IEEE standard 802.3af) allows Remote Measurement and Control in harsh environment where human access is difficult in various nuclear research fields. The terminal measurement and control unit receives power for its operation and communicates data over the same LAN cable, without needing to provide power supplies from different source. Almost all data acquisition systems require both data connectivity and a power supply. In a familiar example, telephones are powered from the telephone exchange through the same twisted pair that carries the voice. Now we can do the same thing with Ethernet devices by combining power and data. Only one set of wires is required to bring to the end measurement and control unit which will simplify installation and save space. Remote unit can be easily moved, to wherever a LAN cable can be laid with minimal disruption to the workplace. It is safer as no mains supply is required. Uninterrupted power supply can be guaranteed to the terminal unit during mains power failure. The terminal unit can be shut down and reset remotely without needing for a reset button and power switch. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) can be used to monitor and control the remote unit. PoE will enable to deploy many more embedded systems in nuclear and other industry like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Security Camera, Tele-information System, Remote Access Control System, Intruder Detection System, and Tele-Medicine System, etc. (author)

A novel intranasal breath-powered delivery system for sumatriptan: a review of technology and clinical application of the investigational product AVP-825 in the treatment of migraine.

Science.gov (United States)

Cady, Roger

2015-01-01

AVP-825, formerly 'OptiNose Sumatriptan,' is an investigational Breath-Powered(TM) Bi-Directional(TM) intranasal delivery system containing low-dose sumatriptan (22 mg intranasal powder) that avoids limitations of other types of intranasal administration by taking advantage of unique features of nasal anatomy and physiology. This review summarizes intranasal drug delivery for migraine, how the breath-powered technology works, and AVP-825 pharmacokinetic, efficacy and safety/tolerability findings. To identify AVP-825 clinical studies, a PubMed/MEDLINE database search was conducted with the terms AVP-825, OptiNose, OptiNose Sumatriptan, Breath-Powered Nasal Delivery or sumatriptan powder. Of 20 articles, 5 clinical studies were identified, including the head-to-head comparative COMPASS trial (AVP-825 vs oral sumatriptan) and two placebo-controlled studies. AVP-825 has faster sumatriptan absorption versus oral tablets or traditional liquid nasal spray. In Phase II/III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, AVP-825 produced early and sustained efficacy with minimal triptan-related adverse effects. In COMPASS, AVP-825 produced earlier reduction of migraine pain intensity and migraine-associated symptoms than 100 mg oral sumatriptan, and higher early rates of pain relief and pain freedom, similar sustained efficacy, and fewer atypical sensations. AVP-825 has the potential to provide migraine patients with improved intranasal administration of sumatriptan that may enhance efficacy and tolerability.

Nuclear safeguards control in nuclear power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boedege, R.; Braatz, U.; Heger, H.

1976-01-01

The execution of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has initiated a third phase in the efforts taken to ensure peace by limiting the number of atomic powers. In this phase it is important, above all, to turn into workable systems the conditions imposed upon technology by the different provisions of the Verification Agreement of the NPT. This is achieved mainly by elaborating annexes to the Agreement specifically geared to certain model plants, typical representatives selected for LWR power stations being the plants at Garigliano, Italy (BWR), and Stade, Federal Republic of Germany (PWR). The surveillance measures taken to prevent any diversion of special nuclear material for purposes of nuclear weapons manufacture must be effective in achieving their specific objective and must not impede the circumspect management of operations of the plants concerned. A VDEW working party has studied the technical details of the planned surveillance measures in nuclear power stations in the Federal Republic of Germany and now presents a concept of material balancing by units which meets the conditions imposed by the inspection authority and could also be accepted by the operators of nuclear power stations. The concept provides for uninterrupted control of the material balance areas of the nuclear power stations concerned, allows continuous control of the whole nuclear fuel cycle, is based exclusively on existing methods and facilities, and can be implemented at low cost. (orig.) [de

Fuel Cell/ Super-capacitor power management system assessment and Lifetime Cost study in a 500kVA UPS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Imen Ben Amira

2018-03-01

Full Text Available A 500 KVA Uninterruptible power supply (UPS using Fuel Cells (FC and super-capacitors (SCs was studied with the worst case of 10 minutes and eight hours of interruption per day. A power management system was established to control the FC and the SCs in order to extract the hybridization benefits with a comparison between a Proton exchange membrane FC (PEMFC working alone and another combined with SCs. Moreover, possible FC degradations were discussed. The start/stop cycling, the high-power loads and load changes degradations were taken into consideration in order to estimate the FC lifetime span using a prediction formula. Besides, the FC costs were studied to estimate the best average cost. Finally, the SCs filter constant time and their charging currents were revealed.

Operational experience of air washer based ventilation system for power conditioning system of Indus-2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pandey, R.M.; Baghel, S.L.; Parate, J.K.; Ahlawat, Sandeep; Rawlani, B.K.; Chouksey, Sanjay

2015-01-01

Indus-2 Synchrotron Accelerator requires high quality conditioned uninterrupted AC mains power for their smooth and reliable operation. Three units of 1670 kVA and one unit of 1100 kVA capacity rotary uninterruptible power conditioning systems (UPS) were installed and commissioned. These UPS units require dust free and cool ambient conditions for smooth operation. In order to meet the ventilation requirements, an evaporative cooling system of 80000 cubic meter/hour capacity with filtration units was designed, installed and commissioned in February 2011 and is operational on round-the-clock basis. Evaporative cooling scheme was chosen as has various advantages over a refrigerated system like lower initial capital costs, lower energy usage, lower running costs, less greenhouse gas and it does not contribute to ozone depletion. The ventilation system filters the environment air in stages up to 5 micron level and being conditioned with an automatic controlled soft water circulating system with cooling pads. An instrumentation and control scheme is included in the system to provide the automation requirements for operating 24 x 7 through the year. All the mechanical, hydraulic and electrical devices are maintained by providing preventive maintenance work without affecting the accelerator machine operation. Availability and reliability of the system was analysed based on the failure data. In Year 2014, the ventilation system was upgraded to accommodate standby blower unit, coupling unit and improved quality of supply air with new air conditioning devices. The control panel monitors the condition of air in the UPS hall and maintainsup to 28°C air temperature and 85% maximum relative humidity in round-the clock shift with more than 98% operational reliability. In this paper, we present design philosophy, installation, instrumentation, testing, operation experience and availability of the ventilation system for Power Conditioning System, Indus complex. (author)

Improved assay to detect Plasmodium falciparum using an uninterrupted, semi-nested PCR and quantitative lateral flow analysis

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background A rapid, non-invasive, and inexpensive point-of-care (POC) diagnostic for malaria followed by therapeutic intervention would improve the ability to control infection in endemic areas. Methods A semi-nested PCR amplification protocol is described for quantitative detection of Plasmodium falciparum and is compared to a traditional nested PCR. The approach uses primers that target the P. falciparum dihydrofolate reductase gene. Results This study demonstrates that it is possible to perform an uninterrupted, asymmetric, semi-nested PCR assay with reduced assay time to detect P. falciparum without compromising the sensitivity and specificity of the assay using saliva as a testing matrix. Conclusions The development of this PCR allows nucleic acid amplification without the need to transfer amplicon from the first PCR step to a second reaction tube with nested primers, thus reducing both the chance of contamination and the time for analysis to PCR amplicon yield was adapted to lateral flow detection using the quantitative up-converting phosphor (UCP) reporter technology. This approach provides a basis for migration of the assay to a POC microfluidic format. In addition the assay was successfully evaluated with oral samples. Oral fluid collection provides a simple non-invasive method to collect clinical samples. PMID:23433252

Standby-battery autonomy versus power quality

Science.gov (United States)

Bitterlin, Ian F.

Batteries are used in a wide variety of applications as an energy store to bridge gaps in the primary source of supplied power for a given period of time. In some cases this bridging time, the battery's "autonomy", is fixed by local legislation but it is also often set by historically common practices. However, even if common practice dictates a long autonomy time, we are entering a new era of "cost and benefit realism" underpinned by environmentally friendly policies and we should challenge these historical practices at every opportunity if it can lead to resource and cost savings. In some cases the application engineer has no choice in the design autonomy; either follow a piece of local legislation (e.g. 4 h autonomy for a "life safety" application), or actually work out what is needed! An example of the latter would be for a remote site, off-grid, using integrated wind/solar power (without emergency generator back-up) where you may have to design-in several days' battery autonomy. This short paper proposes that a battery's autonomy should be related to the time expected for the system to be without the primary power source, balanced by the capital costs and commercial risk of power failure. To discuss this we shall consider the factors in selecting the autonomy time and other related aspects for high voltage battery systems used in facility-wide uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems.

Safe delivery, Service utilization, Metekel Zone

African Journals Online (AJOL)

decision making power of subjects were found to have a statistically significant association with preference of safe delivery ... Studies that focused on maternal mortality and proportion of ...... Anna M, Hannekee M, Frank Odhiambo et.al. Use.

High impact data visualization with Power View, Power Map, and Power BI

CERN Document Server

Aspin, Adam

2014-01-01

High Impact Data Visualization with Power View, Power Map, and Power BI helps you take business intelligence delivery to a new level that is interactive, engaging, even fun, all while driving commercial success through sound decision-making. Learn to harness the power of Microsoft's flagship, self-service business intelligence suite to deliver compelling and interactive insight with remarkable ease. Learn the essential techniques needed to enhance the look and feel of reports and dashboards so that you can seize your audience's attention and provide them with clear and accurate information. Al

Development of Power Supply Management Module for Radio Signal Repeaters of Automatic Metering Reading System in Variable Solar Density Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kondratjevs K.

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In recent years, there has been significant research focus that revolves around harvesting and minimising energy consumption by wireless sensor network nodes. When a sensor node is depleted of energy, it becomes unresponsive and disconnected from the network that can significantly influence the performance of the whole network. The purpose of the present research is to create a power supply management module in order to provide stable operating voltage for autonomous operations of radio signal repeaters, sensors or gateways of WSN. The developed management module is composed of a solar panel, lithium battery and power supply management module. The novelty of the research is the management module, which ensures stable and uninterrupted operations of electronic equipment in various power supply modes in different situations, simultaneously ensuring energy protection and sustainability of the module components. The management module is able to provide power supply of 5 V for electronics scheme independently, without power interruption switching between power sources and power flows in different directions.

Development of Power Supply Management Module for Radio Signal Repeaters of Automatic Metering Reading System in Variable Solar Density Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Kondratjevs, K.; Zabasta, A.; Selmanovs-Pless, V.

2016-02-01

In recent years, there has been significant research focus that revolves around harvesting and minimising energy consumption by wireless sensor network nodes. When a sensor node is depleted of energy, it becomes unresponsive and disconnected from the network that can significantly influence the performance of the whole network. The purpose of the present research is to create a power supply management module in order to provide stable operating voltage for autonomous operations of radio signal repeaters, sensors or gateways of WSN. The developed management module is composed of a solar panel, lithium battery and power supply management module. The novelty of the research is the management module, which ensures stable and uninterrupted operations of electronic equipment in various power supply modes in different situations, simultaneously ensuring energy protection and sustainability of the module components. The management module is able to provide power supply of 5 V for electronics scheme independently, without power interruption switching between power sources and power flows in different directions.

Power quality assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fathi, H.M.E.

2012-01-01

source has bad power quality. There are several and regular disturbances, which exceeded the thresholds. They were voltage sag, voltage swell, under-voltage, temporary outage, voltage transient and flicker. Mitigation techniques were suggested to install passive harmonic filter to mitigate harmonic distortion, install a dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) to mitigate voltage disturbances and isolate all the sensitive and critical loads of nuclear installations and feed them via uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). The thesis ends with the conclusion and recommendation of the effective/economic mitigation techniques and the need for further studies in the discipline.

Electricity Delivery and its Environmental Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Explains electricity delivery in the U.S. and its impacts on the environment. After a centralized power plant generates electricity, the electricity must be delivered to the end-user. Follow the path of electricity through transmission, substation, and dis

Soil erosion and sediment delivery issues in a large hydro-electric power reservoir catchment, Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Nebiyu, Amsalu; Dume, Bayu; Bode, Samuel; Ram, Hari; Boeckx, Pascal

2017-04-01

Land degradation and associated processes such as gullying, flooding and sedimentation, are among the developmental challenges in many countries and HEP reservoirs in the Gilgel Gibe catchment, Ethiopia, are under threat from siltation. Soil erosion is one of the biggest global environmental problems resulting in both on-site and offsite effects which have economic implications and an essential actor in assessing ecosystem health and function. Sediment supply in a catchment is heterogeneous in time and space depending on climate, land use and a number of landscape characteristics such as slope, topography, soil type, vegetation and drainage conditions. In the Ethiopian highlands, sediment delivery depends on discharge, the onset of rainfall, land use and land cover, which varies between rainfall seasons. There is also a variation among catchments in suspended sediment concentration due to the variation in the catchments characteristics in Ethiopia. Rainfall-runoff relationship, sediment production and delivery to rivers or dams is variable and poorly understood; due to heterogeneous lithology; various climatic conditions across small spatial scales; land use and land management practices in Ethiopia. Spatial variation in sediment yield in Africa varies to differences in seismic activity, topography, vegetation cover and annual runoff depth. In the Gilgel-Gibe catchment, the annual sediment load of the Gilgel-Gibe River has been estimated to be about 4.5×107 tons taking the contribution of sheet erosion alone. Also, the suspended sediment yield of the tributaries in Gilgel-Gibe catchment has been estimated to be in the range of 0.4-132.1 tons per hectare per year. The soil loss due to landslide alone in the past 20 years in the catchment was about 11 t/ha/yr. Heavy rainfall, bank erosion and river incisions have been indicated as the main triggering factors for landslides and the associated sediment delivery in the Gilgel-Gibe catchment. Approaches for catchment

Solar electric power for instruments at remote sites

Science.gov (United States)

McChesney, P.J.

2000-01-01

Small photovoltaic (PV) systems are the preferred method to power instruments operating at permanent locations away from the electric power grid. The low-power PV power system consists of a solar panel or small array of panels, lead-acid batteries, and a charge controller. Even though the small PV power system is simple, the job of supplying power at a remote site can be very demanding. The equipment is often exposed to harsh conditions. The site may be inaccessible part of the year or difficult and expensive to reach at any time. Yet the system must provide uninterrupted power with minimum maintenance at low cost. This requires good design. Successful small PV systems often require modifications by a knowledgeable fieldworker to adapt to conditions at the site. Much information is available in many places about solar panels, lead-acid batteries, and charging systems but very little of it applies directly to low power instrument sites. The discussion here aims to close some of the gap. Each of the major components is described in terms of this application with particular attention paid to batteries. Site problems are investigated. Finally, maintenance and test procedures are given. This document assumes that the reader is engaged in planning or maintaining low-power PV sites and has basic electrical and electronic knowledge. The area covered by the discussion is broad. To help the reader with the many terms and acronyms used, they are shown in bold when first used and a glossary is provided at the end of the paper.

Efficiency limits of laser power converters for optical power transfer applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukherjee, J; Jarvis, S; Sweeney, S J; Perren, M

2013-01-01

We have developed III–V-based high-efficiency laser power converters (LPCs), optimized specifically for converting monochromatic laser radiation at the eye-safe wavelength of 1.55 µm into electrical power. The applications of these photovoltaic cells include high-efficiency space-based and terrestrial laser power transfer and subsequent conversion to electrical power. In addition, these cells also find use in fibre-optic power delivery, remote powering of subcutaneous equipment and several other optical power delivery applications. The LPC design is based on lattice-matched InGaAsP/InP and incorporates elements for photon-recycling and contact design for efficient carrier extraction. Here we compare results from electro-optical design simulations with experimental results from prototype devices studied both in the lab and in field tests. We analyse wavelength and temperature dependence of the LPC characteristics. An experimental conversion efficiency of 44.6% [±1%] is obtained from the prototype devices under monochromatic illumination at 1.55 µm (illumination power density of 1 kW m −2 ) at room temperature. Further design optimization of our LPC is expected to scale the efficiency beyond 50% at 1 kW m −2 . (paper)

Efficiency limits of laser power converters for optical power transfer applications

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, J.; Jarvis, S.; Perren, M.; Sweeney, S. J.

2013-07-01

We have developed III-V-based high-efficiency laser power converters (LPCs), optimized specifically for converting monochromatic laser radiation at the eye-safe wavelength of 1.55 µm into electrical power. The applications of these photovoltaic cells include high-efficiency space-based and terrestrial laser power transfer and subsequent conversion to electrical power. In addition, these cells also find use in fibre-optic power delivery, remote powering of subcutaneous equipment and several other optical power delivery applications. The LPC design is based on lattice-matched InGaAsP/InP and incorporates elements for photon-recycling and contact design for efficient carrier extraction. Here we compare results from electro-optical design simulations with experimental results from prototype devices studied both in the lab and in field tests. We analyse wavelength and temperature dependence of the LPC characteristics. An experimental conversion efficiency of 44.6% [±1%] is obtained from the prototype devices under monochromatic illumination at 1.55 µm (illumination power density of 1 kW m-2) at room temperature. Further design optimization of our LPC is expected to scale the efficiency beyond 50% at 1 kW m-2.

Electromagnetically powered electrolytic pump and thermo-responsive valve for drug delivery

KAUST Repository

Yi, Ying; Zaher, Amir; Yassine, Omar; Buttner, Ulrich; Kosel, Jü rgen; Foulds, Ian G.

2015-01-01

A novel drug delivery device is presented, implementing an electrolytic pump and a thermo-responsive valve. The device is remotely operated by an AC electromagnetic field (40.5∼58.5 mT, 450 kHz) that provides the power for the pump and the valve. It is suitable for long-term therapy applications, which use a solid drug in reservoir (SDR) approach and avoids unwanted drug diffusion. When the electromagnetic field is on, the electrolytic pump drives the drug towards the valve. The valve is made of a magnetic composite consisting of a smart hydrogel: Poly (N-Isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) and iron powder. The heat generated in the iron powder via magnetic losses causes the PNIPAm to shrink, allowing the drug to flow past it. When the electromagnetic field is off, the PNIPAm swells, sealing the outlet. In the meantime, the bubbles generated by electrolysis recombine into water, causing a pressure reduction in the pumping chamber. This draws fresh fluid from outside the pump into the drug reservoir before the valve is fully sealed. The recombination can be accelerated by a platinum (Pt) coated catalytic reformer, allowing more fluid to flow back to the drug reservoir and dissolve the drug. By repeatedly turning on and off the magnetic field, the drug solution can be delivered cyclically. © 2015 IEEE.

Electromagnetically powered electrolytic pump and thermo-responsive valve for drug delivery

KAUST Repository

Yi, Ying

2015-04-01

A novel drug delivery device is presented, implementing an electrolytic pump and a thermo-responsive valve. The device is remotely operated by an AC electromagnetic field (40.5∼58.5 mT, 450 kHz) that provides the power for the pump and the valve. It is suitable for long-term therapy applications, which use a solid drug in reservoir (SDR) approach and avoids unwanted drug diffusion. When the electromagnetic field is on, the electrolytic pump drives the drug towards the valve. The valve is made of a magnetic composite consisting of a smart hydrogel: Poly (N-Isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) and iron powder. The heat generated in the iron powder via magnetic losses causes the PNIPAm to shrink, allowing the drug to flow past it. When the electromagnetic field is off, the PNIPAm swells, sealing the outlet. In the meantime, the bubbles generated by electrolysis recombine into water, causing a pressure reduction in the pumping chamber. This draws fresh fluid from outside the pump into the drug reservoir before the valve is fully sealed. The recombination can be accelerated by a platinum (Pt) coated catalytic reformer, allowing more fluid to flow back to the drug reservoir and dissolve the drug. By repeatedly turning on and off the magnetic field, the drug solution can be delivered cyclically. © 2015 IEEE.

Proglacial lake sediments – a basis for uninterrupted chronicles of the Holocene glacier variations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Y. Alexandrin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article covers the origin of paleolimnological method in glaciology, concerns the theoretical background of the approach, and focuses on the principal methods of analysis of the lake sediments and creating the sedimentary age-depth models. Lake sediments can provide a basis for creating uninterrupted reconstructions of the Holocene glacier variations with high resolution. The fundament of paleolimnological method is based on the differences between glacial and non-glacial components of the bottom sediments of proglacial lakes. The glacial signal in the lake sediments was originally distinguished by measuring the organic content of the sediment (normally with loss-on-ignition and the magnetic properties of the sediment. Subsequent methods of analysis could yield more precision and normally include geochemical composition (with the use of high-resolution scanning x-ray fluorescence analysis, use of biogenic indicators (such as pollen and diatoms contained in the sediment and more. Obtaining the most accurate age of the sediment is a crucial question in subsequent application of the sediment parameters for reconstruction of glacier variability. The article covers various methods of dating the lake sediment – radiocarbon, Cs- and Pb-isotope dating, varve counting. Techniques of creating age-depth models are taken into account. A state-of-the-art application of sedimentary properties in paleoglaciology yields a reconstruction of a former equilibrium line altitude – ELA. The article focuses on the basis of the ELA reconstruction approach. Successful examples of reconstructions of glacier variations based on the lake sediments can be found throughout the majority of the glaciated regions of the planet. The article states the most prominent of them and gives an update on the current progress in paleolimnological research in the Caucasus Mountains.

Regenerative electronic load for electric power sources tests using capacitive idling converter; Carga eletronica regenerativa para testes de fontes de energia eletrica utilizando conversor com capacitor flutuante

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vendrusculo, Edson Adriano

1996-07-01

The conventional method for testing power supplies, batteries, uninterruptible power supply and other sources of electric power uses resistors as load. This results in wasted heat and increases the equipment production cost. This work presents a Regenerative electronic Load to substitute those resistors. The basic topology is a capacitive idling Cuk converter. This converter allows to control independently the input current and permits to provide a sinusoidal output current. An appropriate gate command allows to have some soft-commutation without the use of any auxiliary circuit. The same converter, with input and output changed, can operate as a Power Supply with Input Power Factor Correction. The characteristics of soft-commutation and high efficiency are maintained. A simple high-efficiency transformer allows output isolation. All theoretical results are experimentally verified. (author)

Microgrids: Reliable power in a small package

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krotz, D.

2003-01-01

A new approach to power generation in which a cluster of small, on-site generators serve office buildings, industrial parks and homes, is being developed by scientists at the University of California's Berkeley Campus. Called microgrid, the system may well be the answer to satisfying the growing thirst for electricity without the danger of overburdening the aging transmission lines, or building 1,000 new power plants that would be required to meet the ever-growing demand. The new approach relies on small generators such as ordinary reciprocating engines, microturbines, fuel cells, and photovoltaic systems. This microgrid of small generators appears to the main grid as just an ordinary customer. When the grid offers cheap electricity, the microgrid can purchase it, but when prices rise, or when there is a power failure, the microgrid can isolate itself, ensuring uninterrupted power to critical equipment such as computers, communications infrastructure and control systems. The idea is that if sensitive equipment can be powered locally, the vulnerable centralized power system becomes much less critical. The microgrid could be powered by recovered waste heat, a currently wasted by-product of power generation. Waste heat could also cool and dehumidify buildings using thermally activated processes. Microgrids also have the potential to introduce real competition into the electricity market by offering customers a choice; this is expected to have the effect of imposing competitive discipline on power companies. To extend the potential even farther, it is considered well within the realm of possibility that by introducing fuel cell-powered cars into the microgrid, the car could be used as a source of power by simply parking it and plugging it in to supply electricity to the home or the office

Hydrogen storage and delivery system development: Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Handrock, J.L. [Sandia National Labs., Livermore, CA (United States)

1996-10-01

Hydrogen storage and delivery is an important element in effective hydrogen utilization for energy applications and is an important part of the FY1994-1998 Hydrogen Program Implementation Plan. This project is part of the Field Work Proposal entitled Hydrogen Utilization in Internal Combustion Engines (ICE). The goal of the Hydrogen Storage and Delivery System Development Project is to expand the state-of-the-art of hydrogen storage and delivery system design and development. At the foundation of this activity is the development of both analytical and experimental evaluation platforms. These tools provide the basis for an integrated approach for coupling hydrogen storage and delivery technology to the operating characteristics of potential hydrogen energy use applications. Results of the analytical model development portion of this project will be discussed. Analytical models have been developed for internal combustion engine (ICE) hybrid and fuel cell driven vehicles. The dependence of hydride storage system weight and energy use efficiency on engine brake efficiency and exhaust temperature for ICE hybrid vehicle applications is examined. Results show that while storage system weight decreases with increasing engine brake efficiency energy use efficiency remains relatively unchanged. The development, capability, and use of a recently developed fuel cell vehicle storage system model will also be discussed. As an example of model use, power distribution and control for a simulated driving cycle is presented. Model calibration results of fuel cell fluid inlet and exit temperatures at various fuel cell idle speeds, assumed fuel cell heat capacities, and ambient temperatures are presented. The model predicts general increases in temperature with fuel cell power and differences between inlet and exit temperatures, but under predicts absolute temperature values, especially at higher power levels.

Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Opportunities in Power Electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Das, Sujit [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Marlino, Laura D. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Armstrong, Kristina O. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2018-01-01

The report objective is to explore the Wide Bandgap (WBG) Power Electronics (PE) market, applications, and potential energy savings in order to identify key areas where further resources and investments of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE EERE) would have the most impact on U.S. competiveness. After considering the current market, several potential near-term application areas were identified as having significant market and energy savings potential with respect to clean energy applications: (1) data centers (uninterruptible power supplies and server power supplies); (2) renewable energy generation (photovoltaic-solar and wind); (3) motor drives (industrial, commercial and residential); (4) rail traction; and, (5) hybrid and electric vehicles (traction and charging). After the initial explorative analyses, it became clear that, SiC, not GaN, would be the principal WBG power device material for the chosen markets in the near future. Therefore, while GaN is discussed when appropriate, this report focuses on SiC devices, other WBG applications (e.g., solid-state transformers, combined heat and power, medical, and wireless power), the GaN market, and GaN specific applications (e.g., LiDAR, 5G) will be explored at a later date. In addition to the market, supply and value chain analyses addressed in Section 1 of this report, a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis and potential energy savings analysis was conducted for each application area to identify the major potential WBG application area(s) with a U.S. competitiveness opportunity in the future.

Market system infrastructure: a major issue for the power system reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passelergue, J.Ch.

2005-01-01

The restructuring and opening of the electricity market made more complex the power system operation. While the system operator does not own anymore the generation assets, a perfect coordination with the market players is critical to guarantee the power system operation reliability. The market platforms, which are the main links between the system operator and the market players, must include communication means guaranteeing an uninterrupted service. The data-processing infrastructure must thus be designed to ensure the market system accessibility, as well as the effective exchange of data. Moreover, the market systems must facilitate the market operation and monitoring. They must allow the definition of a business process that, on the one hand, allows sequencing the users' actions, and that, on the other hand, provides the errors detected during the data-processing. Lastly, the market systems must facilitate the putting in place and follow-up by the market operator of operational procedures covering all the situations the operator can have to face. (author)

FINANCE BOARD, MANAGEMENT BOARD AND COLLABORATION BOARD

CERN Multimedia

M. Della Negra

Common Meeting FB/MB/CB (FMC20) Electronics Issues The key dates for the Low Voltage Power distribution were presented. It is critical that the uninterruptible power supply be installed. There is a programme of installation underground leading up to the start of commissioning underground in March 2007, when all detectors should be read out underground. The overall status of the Electronics production was presented. The Low Voltage power supplies remain a concern and close cooperation with the manufacturers will be essential to have deliveries as needed. The failure of some components are mostly understood now. There are new proposals for the SLHC machine parameters, where it is essential that CMS give feed-back. A CMS Expression of Interest is almost complete and will be circulated to the Collaboration the following week. It will be submitted to the LHCC in December 2006. The Letter of Intent, a larger document, will be submitted in summer 2007. Technical Issues The main issue is the schedule, which h...

Performance of electric forklift with low-temperature polymer exchange membrane fuel cell power module and metal hydride hydrogen storage extension tank

Science.gov (United States)

Lototskyy, Mykhaylo V.; Tolj, Ivan; Parsons, Adrian; Smith, Fahmida; Sita, Cordellia; Linkov, Vladimir

2016-06-01

We present test results of a commercial 3-tonne electric forklift (STILL) equipped with a commercial fuel cell power module (Plug Power) and a MH hydrogen storage tank (HySA Systems and TF Design). The tests included: (i) performance evaluation of "hybrid" hydrogen storage system during refuelling at low (fuel cell power module (alone) - power module with integrated MH tank; and (iii) performance tests of the forklift during its operation under working conditions. It was found that (a) the forklift with power module and MH tank can achieve 83% of maximum hydrogen storage capacity during 6 min refuelling (for full capacity 12-15 min); (b) heavy-duty operation of the forklift is characterised by 25% increase in energy consumption, and during system operation more uniform power distribution occurs when operating in the fuel cell powering mode with MH, in comparison to the battery powering mode; (c) use of the fully refuelled fuel cell power module with the MH extension tank allows for uninterrupted operation for 3 h 6 min and 7 h 15 min, for heavy- and light-duty operation, respectively.

Porous silicon advances in drug delivery and immunotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Savage, David J; Liu, Xuewu; Curley, Steven A; Ferrari, Mauro; Serda, Rita E

2013-10-01

Biomedical applications of porous silicon include drug delivery, imaging, diagnostics and immunotherapy. This review summarizes new silicon particle fabrication techniques, dynamics of cellular transport, advances in the multistage vector approach to drug delivery, and the use of porous silicon as immune adjuvants. Recent findings support superior therapeutic efficacy of the multistage vector approach over single particle drug delivery systems in mouse models of ovarian and breast cancer. With respect to vaccine development, multivalent presentation of pathogen-associated molecular patterns on the particle surface creates powerful platforms for immunotherapy, with the porous matrix able to carry both antigens and immune modulators. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DC-DC Type High-Frequency Link DC for Improved Power Quality of Cascaded Multilevel Inverter

Science.gov (United States)

Sadikin, Muhammad; Senjyu, Tomonobu; Yona, Atsushi

2013-06-01

Multilevel inverters are emerging as a new breed of power converter options for power system applications. Recent advances in power switching devices enabled the suitability of multilevel inverters for high voltage and high power applications because they are connecting several devices in series without the need of component matching. Usually, a transformerless battery energy storage system, based on a cascaded multilevel inverter, is used as a measure for voltage and frequency deviations. System can be reduced in size, weight, and cost of energy storage system. High-frequency link circuit topology is advantageous in realizing compact and light-weight power converters for uninterruptible power supply systems, new energy systems using photovoltaic-cells, fuel-cells and so on. This paper presents a DC-DC type high-frequency link DC (HFLDC) cascaded multilevel inverter. Each converter cell is implemented a control strategy for two H-bridge inverters that are controlled with the same multicarrier pulse width modulation (PWM) technique. The proposed cascaded multilevel inverter generates lower voltage total harmonic distortion (THD) in comparison with conventional cascaded multilevel inverter. Digital simulations are carried out using PSCAD/EMTDC to validate the performance of the proposed cascaded multilevel inverter.

British power generation/delivery handbook

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bagley, R.

1986-01-01

Describes the British electricity-supply system and covers: the CEGB, nuclear power - AGR design, boiler plant development coal-fired boilers and oil-fired boilers, steam turbine/generators, boiler-feed pumps, pumped storage, gas turbine plants, transmission system including the link to France, the Sizewell-BPWR, future AGR development, future coal-fired stations, fluidized bed combustion, coal gasification, and wind energy developments. Also included is a list of British equipment suppliers to the electricity supply industry, and a buyer's guide to British equipment and services.

Regulation for delivery of subsidies for public relations and safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

This rule is established under the provisions of the law for the proper enforcement of subsidy budgets and the ordinance for the execution of this law, and to practice these provisions. It is applied to subsidies for the expenses of popularizing the knowledge of atomic power generation to inhabitants in the surrounding areas of atomic power generating facilities, investigation on the security of inhabitants in these areas, communication and coordination concerning the safety of such facilities during and after their installation and other expenses of establishing the facilities for public relations to inhabitants in the surrounding areas of these facilities. Basic terms are defined, such as atomic power generating facility, facility related to atomic power generation, and place of business. Subsidies are delivered to prefectures, cities, towns and villages where atomic power generating facilities are or are expected to be set up, prefectures including cities, towns and villages adjacent to those where such facilities are or are expected to be established, and prefectures which include the surrounding areas of those facilities. The limits of subsidies are stipulated in the lists attached. The terms of delivery vary according to the kinds of atomic power generating facilities and related facilities. Prefectures or cities, towns and villages which intend to apply for the delivery of subsidies shall file specified applications attached with the explanation of subsidy business outlines to the director of the ministry or agency concerned. Decision and conditions of delivery, reports on the situations and results of business and other concerned matters are defined, respectively. (Okada, K.)

Free-Piston Diesel-Fueled Linear Alternator for Auxiliary Power Unit Applications

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Atkinson, Christopher

1999-01-01

.... Previous studies of free-piston engine designs have indicated that they would be useful where linear power delivery could be used, such as in fluid power delivery, or in electrical energy applications.

A Standalone Solar Photovoltaic Power Generation using Cuk Converter and Single Phase Inverter

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, A. K.; Singh, B.; Kaushika, S. C.

2013-03-01

In this paper, a standalone solar photovoltaic (SPV) power generating system is designed and modeled using a Cuk dc-dc converter and a single phase voltage source inverter (VSI). In this system, a dc-dc boost converter boosts a low voltage of a PV array to charge a battery at 24 V using a maximum power point tracking control algorithm. To step up a 24 V battery voltage to 360 V dc, a high frequency transformer based isolated dc-dc Cuk converter is used to reduce size, weight and losses. The dc voltage of 360 V is fed to a single phase VSI with unipolar switching to achieve a 230 Vrms, 50 Hz ac. The main objectives of this investigation are on efficiency improvement, reduction in cost, weight and size of the system and to provide an uninterruptible power to remotely located consumers. The complete SPV system is designed and it is modeled in MATLAB/Simulink. The simulated results are presented to demonstrate its satisfactory performance for validating the proposed design and control algorithm.

Design Provisions for Station Blackout at Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duchac, Alexander

2015-01-01

A station blackout (SBO) is generally known as 'a plant condition with complete loss of all alternating current (AC) power from off-site sources, from the main generator and from standby AC power sources important to safety to the essential and nonessential switchgear buses. Direct current (DC) power supplies and un-interruptible AC power supplies may be available as long as batteries can supply the loads. Alternate AC power supplies are available'. A draft Safety Guide DS 430 'Design of Electrical Power Systems for Nuclear Power Plants' provides recommendations regarding the implementation of Specific Safety Requirements: Design: Requirement 68 for emergency power systems. The Safety Guide outlines several design measures which are possible as a means of increasing the capability of the electrical power systems to cope with a station blackout, without providing detailed implementation guidance. A committee of international experts and advisors from numerous countries is currently working on an IAEA Technical Document (TECDOC) whose objective is to provide a common international technical basis from which the various criteria for SBO events need to be established, to support operation under design basis and design extension conditions (DEC) at nuclear power plants, to document in a comprehensive manner, all relevant aspects of SBO events at NPPs, and to outline critical issues which reflect the lessons learned from the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident. This paper discusses the commonly encountered difficulties associated with establishing the SBO criteria, shares the best practices, and current strategies used in the design and implementation of SBO provisions and outline the structure of the IAEA's SBO TECDOC under development. (author)

Environmental feasibility study for deployment and construction of mobile gas turbine power plants in urbanized areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bryukhan Fedor

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the view of current electrical shortage in some regions of Russia, mobile gas turbine power plants (MGTPP have become urgent in recent years. Usually they are used as back-up power sources to cover peak loads in power networks and to ensure uninterrupted power supply to consumers. This paper deals with environmental feasibility study for deployment and construction of the MGTPP in an urban setting. Technogehic factors of the MGTPP impact on the environment have been assessed and possibility of the MGTPP deployment at various sites in different regions of Russia has been identified. The necessity of using the technology of water injection into the gas turbine units combustion chamber to suppress nitrogen oxides in some cases is mentioned. Quantitative assessments of the MGTPP technogehic impact on the environment components have been performed using standard techniques. The calculations have revealed that the MGTPP specifications ensure the levels of technogehic impacts within the standard limits. The results have ensured preparation of pre-design and design documentation related to protection of the environment against the MGTPP complex technogehic impact.

A wireless power transmission system for implantable devices in freely moving rodents.

Science.gov (United States)

Eom, Kyungsik; Jeong, Joonsoo; Lee, Tae Hyung; Kim, Jinhyung; Kim, Junghoon; Lee, Sung Eun; Kim, Sung June

2014-08-01

Reliable wireless power delivery for implantable devices in animals is highly desired for safe and effective experimental use. Batteries require frequent replacement; wired connections are inconvenient and unsafe, and short-distance inductive coupling requires the attachment of an exterior transmitter to the animal's body. In this article, we propose a solution by which animals with implantable devices can move freely without attachments. Power is transmitted using coils attached to the animal's cage and is received by a receiver coil implanted in the animal. For a three-dimensionally uniform delivery of power, we designed a columnar dual-transmitter coil configuration. A resonator-based inductive link was adopted for efficient long-range power delivery, and we used a novel biocompatible liquid crystal polymer substrate as the implantable receiver device. Using this wireless power delivery system, we obtain an average power transfer efficiency of 15.2% (minimum efficiency of 10% and a standard deviation of 2.6) within a cage of 15×20×15 cm3.

Cryogenic control system of the large COMPASS polarized target

CERN Document Server

Gautheron, F; Baum, G; Berglund, P; Doshita, N; Görtz, S; Gustafsson, K K; Horikawa, N; Kisselev, Yu V; Koivuniemi, J H; Kondo, K; Meyer, Werner T; Reicherz, G

2004-01-01

The dilution refrigerator used to cool the large COMPASS polarized target is monitored through a PC running LabVIEW trademark 6.1 under Windows 2000 trademark . About 60 parameters of the target (temperatures, pressures, flow rates) are continuously plotted and checked. They are periodically recorded in an Oracle trademark database and in a data file. An alarm for every parameter can be individually activated and optionally connected to a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) delivery message system. A web server receives and publishes the online status of the target with online tables and graphics on a dedicated COMPASS polarized target information web site. A Siemens programmable logic controller (PLC) powered by an uninterruptable source keeps the cryogenic system safe and stable during the long beam periods by controlling valves and interlocks. This safety feature protects the dilution refrigerator against potential damages in case of power failure.

A pulsed mode electrolytic drug delivery device

KAUST Repository

Yi, Ying

2015-09-14

This paper reports the design of a proof-of-concept drug delivery device that is actuated using the bubbles formed during electrolysis. The device uses a platinum (Pt) coated nickel (Ni) metal foam and a solid drug in reservoir (SDR) approach to improve the device\\'s performance. This electrochemically-driven pump has many features that are unlike conventional drug delivery devices: it is capable of pumping periodically and being refilled automatically; it features drug release control; and it enables targeted delivery. Pt-coated metal foam is used as a catalytic reforming element, which reduces the period of each delivery cycle. Two methods were used for fabricating the Pt-coated metal: sputtering and electroplating. Of these two methods, the sputtered Pt-coated metal foam has a higher pumping rate; it also has a comparable recombination rate when compared to the electroplated Pt-coated metal foam. The only drawback of this catalytic reformer is that it consumes nickel scaffold. Considering long-term applications, the electroplated Pt metal foam was selected for drug delivery, where a controlled drug release rate of 2.2 μg ± 0.3 μg per actuation pulse was achieved using 4 mW of power.

Is Cesarean Delivery Preferable in Twin Pregnancies at >=36 Weeks Gestation?

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Yu; Luo, Zhong-Cheng; Yang, Zu-Jing; Chen, Lu; Guo, Yu-Na; Branch, Ware; Zhang, Jun; Huang, Hong

2016-01-01

Background The optimal mode of delivery in twin pregnancies remains controversial. A recent randomized trial did not find any benefit of planned cesarean vs. vaginal delivery at 32–38 weeks gestation, but the trial was not powered to detect a moderate effect. We aimed to evaluate the impact of cesarean delivery on perinatal mortality and severe neonatal morbidity in twin pregnancies at ≥32 weeks through a large database exploration approach with the power to detect moderate risk differences. Methods In a retrospective birth cohort study using the U.S. matched multiple births, 1995–2000 (the available largest multiple birth dataset), we compared perinatal outcomes in twins (n = 181,810 pregnancies) delivered at 32–41 weeks gestation without congenital anomalies. The primary outcome was a composite of perinatal death and severe neonatal morbidity. Cox regression was used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) controlling for the propensity to cesarean delivery, fetal characteristics (sex, birth weight, birth weight discordance, same-sex twin or not) and twin-cluster level dependence. Prospective risks were calculated using the fetuses-at-risk denominators. Results The overall rates of the primary outcome were slightly lower in intended cesarean (6.20%) vs. vaginal (6.45%) deliveries. The aHRs of the primary outcome were in favor of vaginal delivery at 32 (aHR = 1.06, p = 0.03) or 33 (aHR = 1.22, pcesarean delivery at 36 (aHR = 0.94, p = 0.004), 37, 38 and 39+ weeks (aHR: 0.72 to 0.78, all pcesarean vs. vaginal deliveries at 36+ weeks of gestation remained when the analyses were restricted to different-sex (dichorionic) twins (aHR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.80–0.88). Conclusion Cesarean delivery may be beneficial for perinatal outcomes overall in twin pregnancies at ≥36 weeks gestation. PMID:27227678

Transformer failure and common-mode loss of instrument power at Nine Mile Point Unit 2 on August 13, 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-10-01

On August 13, 1991, at Nine Mile Point Unit 2 nuclear power plant, located near Scriba, New York, on Lake Ontario, the main transformer experienced an internal failure that resulted in degraded voltage which caused the simultaneous loss of five uninterruptible power supplies, which in turn caused the loss of several nonsafety systems, including reactor control rod position indication, some reactor power and water indication, control room annunciators, the plant communications system, the plant process computer, and lighting at some locations. The reactor was subsequently brought to a safe shutdown. Following this event, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission dispatched an Incident Investigation Team to the site to determine what happened, to identify the probable causes, and to make appropriate findings and conclusions. This report describes the incident, the methodology used by the team in its investigation, and presents and the team's findings and conclusions. 59 figs., 14 tabs.

Transformer failure and common-mode loss of instrument power at Nine Mile Point Unit 2 on August 13, 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-10-01

On August 13, 1991, at Nine Mile Point Unit 2 nuclear power plant, located near Scriba, New York, on Lake Ontario, the main transformer experienced an internal failure that resulted in degraded voltage which caused the simultaneous loss of five uninterruptible power supplies, which in turn caused the loss of several nonsafety systems, including reactor control rod position indication, some reactor power and water indication, control room annunciators, the plant communications system, the plant process computer, and lighting at some locations. The reactor was subsequently brought to a safe shutdown. Following this event, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission dispatched an Incident Investigation Team to the site to determine what happened, to identify the probable causes, and to make appropriate findings and conclusions. This report describes the incident, the methodology used by the team in its investigation, and presents and the team's findings and conclusions. 59 figs., 14 tabs

Aging management guidelines for commercial nuclear power plant equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakos, J.T.; Gazdzinski, R.F.; Toman, G.J.

1994-01-01

The US Department of Energy, in cooperation with the Electric Power Research Institute and nuclear power plant utilities, has prepared ''Aging Management Guidelines'' (AMGs) for commodity types of equipment (e.g., pumps, electrical switchgear) important to license renewal. For the most part, this is also consistent with the Maintenance Rule, 10 CFR 50.65 (1991). AMGs concentrate on technical, (not licensing) issues and are directed toward systems engineers and plant maintenance staff. AMGs include a detailed summary of operating history, stressors, aging mechanisms, and various types of maintenance practices that can be combined to create effective programs that manage aging. All aging mechanisms were addressed; no attempt was made to limit the evaluation to aging mechanisms ''unique to license renewal,'' as defined in the License Renewal Rule, 10 CFR 54 (1991). The first AMG on Electrical Switchgear was published in July 1993. Six (6) additional AMGs will be published by the first quarter of calendar year 1994. It is anticipated that two more AMGs will be started in 1994. The seven ongoing AMG topics are as follows: (1) battery chargers, inverters and uninterruptible power supplies; (2) batteries, stationary; (3) heat exchangers; (4) motor control centers; (5) pumps; (6) switchgear, electric; (7) transformers, power and distribution. In Section 7, industry feedback regarding AMGs is discussed. Overall, the response has been very positive

Power system reliability analysis using fault trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volkanovski, A.; Cepin, M.; Mavko, B.

2006-01-01

The power system reliability analysis method is developed from the aspect of reliable delivery of electrical energy to customers. The method is developed based on the fault tree analysis, which is widely applied in the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA). The method is adapted for the power system reliability analysis. The method is developed in a way that only the basic reliability parameters of the analysed power system are necessary as an input for the calculation of reliability indices of the system. The modeling and analysis was performed on an example power system consisting of eight substations. The results include the level of reliability of current power system configuration, the combinations of component failures resulting in a failed power delivery to loads, and the importance factors for components and subsystems. (author)

Amendment of the assured delivery provisions of BPA's Long-Term Intertie Access Policy and increased assured delivery: Access for non-scheduling utilities. Record of decision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-06-01

Bonneville Power Administration's BPA's preferred alternative for providing non-Federal Pacific Northwest-Pacific Southwest (PNW-PSW) Intertie access is to adopt the Capacity Ownership alternative combined with the Increased Assured Delivery--Access for Non-Scheduling Utilities alternative. BPA's decision to offer Capacity Ownership was documented in a March 1994 Non-Federal Capacity Ownership Record of Decision (ROD). This ROD documents BPA's decision to facilitate PNW-PSW Intertie access by proceeding with (1) bidirectional Increased Assured Delivery--Access for Non Scheduling Utilities; and (2) amending the Assured Delivery provisions of BPA's Long-Term Intertie Access Policy (LTIAP). Given that the various non-Federal PNW-PSW Intertie access alternatives in the NFP EIS all allowed for different types of contracts, little environmental impact difference among the alternatives was found. Rather, environmental impact was found to be associated with whether exchange contracts or firm power sales contracts would predominate. Such impacts and related environmental analysis are discussed further in section 3.0 of this ROD

R&D program benefits estimation: DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

2006-12-04

The overall mission of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is to lead national efforts to modernize the electric grid, enhance the security and reliability of the energy infrastructure, and facilitate recovery from disruptions to the energy supply. In support of this mission, OE conducts a portfolio of research and development (R&D) activities to advance technologies to enhance electric power delivery. Multiple benefits are anticipated to result from the deployment of these technologies, including higher quality and more reliable power, energy savings, and lower cost electricity. In addition, OE engages State and local government decision-makers and the private sector to address issues related to the reliability and security of the grid, including responding to national emergencies that affect energy delivery. The OE R&D activities are comprised of four R&D lines: High Temperature Superconductivity (HTS), Visualization and Controls (V&C), Energy Storage and Power Electronics (ES&PE), and Distributed Systems Integration (DSI).

Simulated earthquake testing of naturally aged C and D LCU-13 station battery cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tulk, J.D.; Black, D.A.; Janis, W.J.; Royce, C.J.

1985-03-01

A sample of 10-year-old lead-acid storage batteries from the North Anna Nuclear Power Station (Virginia Electric and Power Company) were tested on a shaker table. Seven cells were subjected to simulated earthquakes with a ZPA of approximately 1.5 g. All seven delivered uninterrupted power during the shaker tests and were able to pass a post-seismic capacity test. Two cells were shaken to higher intensities (ZPA approximately equal to 2 g). These cells provided uninterrupted power during the shaker tests, but had post-seismic capacities that were below the required level for Class1E battery cells. After the tests, several cells were disassembled and examined. Internal components were in good condition with limited oxidization and plate cracking

Phased antenna arrays for fast wave power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bosia, G.; Jacquinot, J.

1991-01-01

A method for the generation of travelling waves in the Ion Cyclotron frequency range in JET is presented. The success of the method relies on the control of the array toroidal current, which in turn, is obtained by a coordinated vectorial control of the array power sources and tuning networks. This method has general application to present and future ICRF arrays. For uninterrupted, periodically fed and resonant toroidal arrays, phased operation requires only conventional tuning devices. For localised arrays, phased operation is inefficient at low plasma coupling. This inefficiency can be however removed with the addition of external coupling structures either at the antenna or at the generator ends. The performances of JET A1 antennae in phased operation is presented. The design philosophy for the JET A2 phased arrays is also discussed. These methods are applicable and extensible to Next Step Devices design

A multifunctional energy-storage system with high-power lead-acid batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, R.; Schroeder, M.; Stephanblome, T.; Handschin, E.

A multifunctional energy storage system is presented which is used to improve the utilization of renewable energy supplies. This system includes three different functions: (i) uninterruptible power supply (UPS); (ii) improvement of power quality; (iii) peak-load shaving. The UPS application has a long tradition and is used whenever a reliable power supply is needed. Additionally, nowadays, there is a growing demand for high quality power arising from an increase of system perturbation of electric grids. Peak-load shaving means in this case the use of renewable energy stored in a battery for high peak-load periods. For such a multifunctional application large lead-acid batteries with high power and good charge acceptance, as well as good cycle life are needed. OCSM batteries as with positive tubular plates and negative copper grids have been used successfully for a multitude of utility applications. This paper gives two examples where multifunctional energy storage systems have started operation recently in Germany. One system was installed in combination with a 1 MW solar plant in Herne and another one was installed in combination with a 2 MW wind farm in Bocholt. At each place, a 1.2 MW h (1 h-rate) lead-acid battery has been installed. The batteries consist of OCSM cells with the standard design but modified according to the special demand of a multifunctional application.

Ultra-short pulse delivery at high average power with low-loss hollow core fibers coupled to TRUMPF's TruMicro laser platforms for industrial applications

Science.gov (United States)

Baumbach, S.; Pricking, S.; Overbuschmann, J.; Nutsch, S.; Kleinbauer, J.; Gebs, R.; Tan, C.; Scelle, R.; Kahmann, M.; Budnicki, A.; Sutter, D. H.; Killi, A.

2017-02-01

Multi-megawatt ultrafast laser systems at micrometer wavelength are commonly used for material processing applications, including ablation, cutting and drilling of various materials or cleaving of display glass with excellent quality. There is a need for flexible and efficient beam guidance, avoiding free space propagation of light between the laser head and the processing unit. Solid core step index fibers are only feasible for delivering laser pulses with peak powers in the kW-regime due to the optical damage threshold in bulk silica. In contrast, hollow core fibers are capable of guiding ultra-short laser pulses with orders of magnitude higher peak powers. This is possible since a micro-structured cladding confines the light within the hollow core and therefore minimizes the spatial overlap between silica and the electro-magnetic field. We report on recent results of single-mode ultra-short pulse delivery over several meters in a lowloss hollow core fiber packaged with industrial connectors. TRUMPF's ultrafast TruMicro laser platforms equipped with advanced temperature control and precisely engineered opto-mechanical components provide excellent position and pointing stability. They are thus perfectly suited for passive coupling of ultra-short laser pulses into hollow core fibers. Neither active beam launching components nor beam trackers are necessary for a reliable beam delivery in a space and cost saving packaging. Long term tests with weeks of stable operation, excellent beam quality and an overall transmission efficiency of above 85 percent even at high average power confirm the reliability for industrial applications.

A remotely operated drug delivery system with dose control

KAUST Repository

Yi, Ying

2017-05-08

“On demand” implantable drug delivery systems can provide optimized treatments, due to their ability to provide targeted, flexible and precise dose release. However, two important issues that need to be carefully considered in a mature device include an effective actuation stimulus and a controllable dose release mechanism. This work focuses on remotely powering an implantable drug delivery system and providing a high degree of control over the released dose. This is accomplished by integration of a resonance-based wireless power transfer system, a constant voltage control circuit and an electrolytic pump. Upon the activation of the wireless power transfer system, the electrolytic actuator is remotely powered by a constant voltage regardless of movements of the device within an effective range of translation and rotation. This in turn contributes to a predictable dose release rate and greater flexibility in the positioning of external powering source. We have conducted proof-of-concept drug delivery studies using the liquid drug in reservoir approach and the solid drug in reservoir approach, respectively. Our experimental results demonstrate that the range of flow rate is mainly determined by the voltage controlled with a Zener diode and the resistance of the implantable device. The latter can be adjusted by connecting different resistors, providing control over the flow rate to meet different clinical needs. The flow rate can be maintained at a constant level within the effective movement range. When using a solid drug substitute with a low solubility, solvent blue 38, the dose release can be kept at 2.36μg/cycle within the effective movement range by using an input voltage of 10Vpp and a load of 1.5 kΩ, which indicates the feasibility and controllability of our system without any complicated closed-loop sensor.

Identifying Issues in Applying Integrated Project Delivery to Domestic Nuclear Power Plant Construction Projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Young Joo [Korean Nuclear Society, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is defined as that people, systems, business structures, and practices of key stakeholders are incorporated into a single-team, with a single process, which executes a project in a way of optimizing the project's outcome, increasing values delivered to the end user, reducing waste, and maximizing efficiency throughout the phases of engineering to construction. The researcher had carried out literature review in terms of IPD to identify major characteristics of IPD which are presented in the following section and had compared such characteristics against peculiarities of nuclear power plant (NPP) construction projects in order to shed light on obstacles in possible application of IPD method to domestic NPP construction projects in the coming days. In this research, three (3) major characteristics of IPD were identified: 1) key stakeholders signing one balanced contract, forming de facto one body, sharing risk and reward 2) an integrated project team being formed in the early stage of a project and providing input to minimize time and cost loss from rework downstream 3) team members co-locating, having open and direct communication, making decisions on time, and pursuing the success of the project itself.

Marketing CE approved off-the-shelf FC-operated power backup units for the telecom industry at competitive prices : a continuing success story

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mortensen, P. [Dantherm Power, Skive (Denmark)

2009-07-01

Dantherm Power receives a steady supply of fuel cell stacks packed on pallets at its factory in Denmark. Once unpacked, they go to an assembly line to be integrated into power modules designed for telecom- and IT network-base-stations around the world. The CE approved units are designed and tested to meet current telecom standards. Customers can purchase the off-the-shelf units at competitive prices. Dantherm Power has brought fuel-cell technology beyond the research and development stage. Since 2005, the company has sold backup units providing uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to the telecom industry on standard commercial terms. Their fuel cell-based-solutions have proven to be successful. The company began in 2003 as a research and development project within Dantherm Air Handling A/S. Development was driven by the idea that a UPS-system based on hydrogen and fuel-cell-technology may be better solution than traditional battery and diesel driven backup for many of the company's existing clients.

Silica hollow core microstructured fibers for beam delivery in industrial and medical applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan Dale Shephard

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The focus of this review is our recent work to develop microstructured hollow core fibers for two applications where the flexible delivery of a single mode beam is desired. Also, a review of other fiber based solutions is included.High power, short-pulsed lasers are widely used for micro-machining, providing high precision and high quality. However, the lack of truly flexible beam delivery systems limits their application to the processing of relatively small planar components. To address this, we developed hollow-core optical fibers for the 1 μm and green wavelength ranges. The hollow core overcomes the power delivery limitations of conventional silica fibers arising from nonlinear effects and material damage in the solid core. We have characterized such fibers in terms of power handling capability, damage threshold, bend loss and dispersion, and practically demonstrated delivery of high peak power pulses from the nanosecond to the femtosecond regime. Such fibers are ideal candidates for industrial laser machining applications.In laser surgical applications, meanwhile, an Er:YAG laser (2.94 μm is frequently the laser of choice because the water contained in tissue strongly absorbs this wavelength. If this laser beam is precisely delivered damage to surrounding tissue can be minimized. A common delivery method of surgical lasers, for use in the operating theatre, is articulated arms that are bulky, cumbersome and unsuitable for endoscopic procedures. To address this need for flexible mid-IR delivery we developed silica based hollow core fibers. By minimizing the overlap of the light with glass it is possible to overcome the material absorption limits of silica and achieve low attenuation. Additionally, it is possible to deliver pulse energies suitable for the ablation of both hard and soft tissue even with very small bend radii. The flexibility and small physical size of systems based on these fibers will enable new minimally invasive surgical

A pulsed mode electrolytic drug delivery device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi, Ying; Foulds, Ian G; Buttner, Ulrich; Carreno, Armando A A; Conchouso, David

2015-01-01

This paper reports the design of a proof-of-concept drug delivery device that is actuated using the bubbles formed during electrolysis. The device uses a platinum (Pt) coated nickel (Ni) metal foam and a solid drug in reservoir (SDR) approach to improve the device’s performance. This electrochemically-driven pump has many features that are unlike conventional drug delivery devices: it is capable of pumping periodically and being refilled automatically; it features drug release control; and it enables targeted delivery. Pt-coated metal foam is used as a catalytic reforming element, which reduces the period of each delivery cycle. Two methods were used for fabricating the Pt-coated metal: sputtering and electroplating. Of these two methods, the sputtered Pt-coated metal foam has a higher pumping rate; it also has a comparable recombination rate when compared to the electroplated Pt-coated metal foam. The only drawback of this catalytic reformer is that it consumes nickel scaffold. Considering long-term applications, the electroplated Pt metal foam was selected for drug delivery, where a controlled drug release rate of 2.2 μg  ±  0.3 μg per actuation pulse was achieved using 4 mW of power. (paper)

Persuading Iranian Women toward Normal Vaginal Delivery: Using Pictorial Perception of the Labour Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Safieh Kananikandeh

2018-06-01

CONCLUSION: Pictorial education could be effective on the intention of women to choose natural vaginal delivery among pregnant women, and it can be used as an effective training technique for developing health literacy, enhancing self-efficacy and decision-making power of women in the delivery.

The sustainability indicators of power production systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onat, Nevzat [Vocational School of Technical Studies, Marmara University, Istanbul 34722 (Turkey); Bayar, Haydar [Technical Education Faculty, Marmara University, Istanbul 34722 (Turkey)

2010-12-15

One of the most important elements of economical and social development is to provide uninterrupted electric energy to consumers. The increasing world population and technological developments rapidly increase the demand on electric energy. In order to meet the increasing demand for sustainable development, it is necessary to use the consumable resources of the world in the most productive manner and minimum level and to keep its negative effects on human health and environment in the lowest level as much as possible. In this study, alignment of hydrogen fuel cells, hydroelectric, wind, solar and geothermal sourced electric energy systems, in addition to fossil fueled coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants, in respect to sustainability parameters such as CO{sub 2} emission, land use, energy output, fresh water consumption and environmental and social effects is researched. Consequently, it has been determined that the wind and nuclear energy power plants have the highest sustainability indicators. The fuel cells that use hydrogen obtained by using coal and natural gas are determined as the most disadvantageous transformation technologies in respect to sustainability. This study contains an alignment related to today's technologies. Using of renewable energy resources especially in production of hydrogen, output increases to be ensured with nanotechnology applications in photovoltaic systems may change this alignment. (author)

An implantable thermoresponsive drug delivery system based on Peltier device.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Rongbing; Gorelov, Alexander V; Aldabbagh, Fawaz; Carroll, William M; Rochev, Yury

2013-04-15

Locally dropping the temperature in vivo is the main obstacle to the clinical use of a thermoresponsive drug delivery system. In this paper, a Peltier electronic element is incorporated with a thermoresponsive thin film based drug delivery system to form a new drug delivery device which can regulate the release of rhodamine B in a water environment at 37 °C. Various current signals are used to control the temperature of the cold side of the Peltier device and the volume of water on top of the Peltier device affects the change in temperature. The pulsatile on-demand release profile of the model drug is obtained by turning the current signal on and off. The work has shown that the 2600 mAh power source is enough to power this device for 1.3 h. Furthermore, the excessive heat will not cause thermal damage in the body as it will be dissipated by the thermoregulation of the human body. Therefore, this simple novel device can be implanted and should work well in vivo. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

AC electrokinetic drug delivery in dentistry using an interdigitated electrode assembly powered by inductive coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanoff, Chris S; Wu, Jie Jayne; Mirzajani, Hadi; Cheng, Cheng; Yuan, Quan; Kevorkyan, Stepan; Gaydarova, Radostina; Tomlekova, Desislava

2016-10-01

AC electrokinetics (ACEK) has been shown to deliver certain drugs into human teeth more effectively than diffusion. However, using electrical wires to power intraoral ACEK devices poses risks to patients. The study demonstrates a novel interdigitated electrode arrays (IDE) assembly powered by inductive coupling to induce ACEK effects at appropriate frequencies to motivate drugs wirelessly. A signal generator produces the modulating signal, which multiplies with the carrier signal to produce the amplitude modulated (AM) signal. The AM signal goes through the inductive link to appear on the secondary coil, then rectified and filtered to dispose of its carrier signal, and the positive half of the modulating signal appears on the load. After characterizing the device, the device is validated under light microscopy by motivating carboxylate-modified microspheres, tetracycline, acetaminophen, benzocaine, lidocaine and carbamide peroxide particles with induced ACEK effects. The assembly is finally tested in a common dental bleaching application. After applying 35 % carbamide peroxide to human teeth topically or with the IDE at 1200 Hz, 5 Vpp for 20 min, spectrophotometric analysis showed that compared to diffusion, the IDE enhanced whitening in specular optic and specular optic excluded modes by 215 % and 194 % respectively. Carbamide peroxide absorbance by the ACEK group was two times greater than diffusion as measured by colorimetric oxidation-reduction and UV-Vis spectroscopy at 550 nm. The device motivates drugs of variable molecular weight and structure wirelessly. Wireless transport of drugs to intraoral targets under ACEK effects may potentially improve the efficacy and safety of drug delivery in dentistry.

A remotely operated drug delivery system with dose control

KAUST Repository

Yi, Ying; Kosel, Jü rgen

2017-01-01

include an effective actuation stimulus and a controllable dose release mechanism. This work focuses on remotely powering an implantable drug delivery system and providing a high degree of control over the released dose. This is accomplished by integration

Swallowable smart pills for local drug delivery: present status and future perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Goffredo, Rosa; Accoto, Dino; Guglielmelli, Eugenio

2015-01-01

Smart pills were originally developed for diagnosis; however, they are increasingly being applied to therapy - more specifically drug delivery. In addition to smart drug delivery systems, current research is also looking into localization systems for reaching the target areas, novel locomotion mechanisms and positioning systems. Focusing on the major application fields of such devices, this article reviews smart pills developed for local drug delivery. The review begins with the analysis of the medical needs and socio-economic benefits associated with the use of such devices and moves onto the discussion of the main implemented technological solutions with special attention given to locomotion systems, drug delivery systems and power supply. Finally, desired technical features of a fully autonomous robotic capsule for local drug delivery are defined and future research trends are highlighted.

Optimal electricity market for wind power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holttinen, H.

2005-01-01

This paper is about electricity market operation when looking from the wind power producers' point of view. The focus in on market time horizons: how many hours there is between the closing and delivering the bids. The case is for the Nordic countries, the Nordpool electricity market and the Danish wind power production. Real data from year 2001 was used to study the benefits of a more flexible market to wind power producer. As a result of reduced regulating market costs from better hourly predictions to the market, wind power producer would gain up to 8% more if the time between market bids and delivery was shortened from the day ahead Elspot market (hourly bids by noon for 12-36 h ahead). An after sales market where surplus or deficit production could be traded 2 h before delivery could benefit the producer almost as much, gaining 7%

The role of government in a competitive power market : strategic behaviors and regulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, N.Y. [Korea Energy Economics Institute, Euiwang (Korea)

2001-12-01

Restructuring in the Korean power industry has fundamentally changed the role of government. The role of government in a new environment may include : (1) promoting competition (2) prohibiting collusion or unfair trade practices (3) securing uninterrupted power supply (4) providing universal services to consumers (5) implementing appropriate price regulation. Focusing on the first two issues, this report has analyzed anti-competitive strategic behaviors and an impact of market power and tried to provide regulatory guidelines. This report surveyed three types of theoretical models analyzing a bidding behavior in an electric power market. The Cournot model is applied to the Korean electricity market. The following policy implications are derived. (1) The Cournot-Nash equilibrium price can be regarded as a threshold in market surveillance. (2) Had the fossil stations been divided among six instead of five companies, then market power would have been weakened in a reasonable degree. This finding also renders some implications with respect to business permission, divestiture, and merger. Among those, it is argued that a large new entrant rather than small IPPs contributes to increasing competition and lowering market power. (3) Increase in responsiveness of final demand to wholesale price fluctuation is an important factor to lower the Cournot equilibrium price and so market power. Therefore, appropriate regulatory system should be arranged to make power demand more elastic. (4) Activating contract markets such as CfD and introducing the capacity credit market can greatly help to lower market power. (author). 36 refs., 26 figs., 4 tabs.

A distributed control approach for power and energy management in a notional shipboard power system

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Qunying

of power supply (in terms of quality of service) is developed. This module can supply uninterruptible power to the mission critical loads. In addition, a multi-agent system (MAS) based framework is proposed to implement the PCON based PEMS through a hardware setup that is composed of MAMBA boards and FPGA interface. Agents are implemented using Java Agent DEvelopment Framework (JADE). Various test scenarios were tested to validate the approach.

Continuity of care: some experiences and thoughts.

Science.gov (United States)

Volpe, F J

1994-09-01

Continuity of health care is a goal to be achieved. Most are for it. Many claim to provide it. But how do we know we have it? What are the key features of continuity? While dictionaries do not define the phrase "continuity of health care," we do find definitions of "continuity." The Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, includes in its definitions: "the state or quality of being uninterrupted in sequence or succession, or in essence or idea; connectedness, coherence, unbroken..." Stedman's Medical Dictionary includes: "absence of interruption, a succession of parts intimately united..." These definitions stress an uninterrupted succession and include the concept that there needs to be a connection to the parts. Without that connection, continuity, in health care delivery or elsewhere, does not exist.

Inductor-Free Wireless Energy Delivery via Maxwell's Displacement Current from an Electrodeless Triboelectric Nanogenerator.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Xia; Zhang, Meng; Huang, Jinrong; Jiang, Tao; Zou, Jingdian; Wang, Ning; Wang, Zhong Lin

2018-02-01

Wireless power delivery has been a dream technology for applications in medical science, security, radio frequency identification (RFID), and the internet of things, and is usually based on induction coils and/or antenna. Here, a new approach is demonstrated for wireless power delivery by using the Maxwell's displacement current generated by an electrodeless triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that directly harvests ambient mechanical energy. A rotary electrodeless TENG is fabricated using the contact and sliding mode with a segmented structure. Due to the leakage of electric field between the segments during relative rotation, the generated Maxwell's displacement current in free space is collected by metal collectors. At a gap distance of 3 cm, the output wireless current density and voltage can reach 7 µA cm -2 and 65 V, respectively. A larger rotary electrodeless TENG and flexible wearable electrodeless TENG are demonstrated to power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) through wireless energy delivery. This innovative discovery opens a new avenue for noncontact, wireless energy transmission for applications in portable and wearable electronics. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Laser-assisted delivery of topical methotrexate - in vitro investigations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taudorf, Elisabeth Hjardem

2016-01-01

of the correlation between laser parameters and tissue effects was used to deliver methotrexate (MTX) topically through microscopic ablation zones (MAZs) of precise dimensions. MTX is a well-known chemotherapeutic and anti-inflammatory drug that may cause systemic adverse effects, and topical delivery is thus......Ablative fractional lasers (AFXL) are increasingly used to treat dermatological disorders and to facilitate laser-assisted topical drug delivery. In this thesis, laser-tissue interactions generated by stacked pulses with a miniaturized low-power 2,940 nm AFXL were characterized (study I). Knowledge...... zones of varying thickness. The ratio of skin deposition versus transdermal permeation was constant, regardless of MAZ depth. Impact of transport kinetics on AFXL-assisted topical MTX delivery: MTX accumulated rapidly in AFXL-processed skin. MTX was detectable in mid-dermis after 15 min. and saturated...

Design of a Front– End Amplifier for the Maximum Power Delivery and Required Noise by HBMO with Support Vector Microstrip Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Guneş

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Honey Bee Mating Optimization (HBMO is a recent swarm-based optimization algorithm to solve highly nonlinear problems, whose based approach combines the powers of simulated annealing, genetic algorithms, and an effective local search heuristic to search for the best possible solution to the problem under investigation within a reasonable computing time. In this work, the HBMO- based design is carried out for a front-end amplifier subject to be a subunit of a radar system in conjunction with a cost effective 3-D SONNET-based Support Vector Regression Machine (SVRM microstrip model. All the matching microstrip widths, lengths are obtained on a chosen substrate to satisfy the maximum power delivery and the required noise over the required bandwidth of a selected transistor. The proposed HBMO- based design is applied to the design of a typical ultra-wide-band low noise amplifier with NE3512S02 on a substrate of Rogers 4350 for the maximum output power and the noise figure F(f=1dB within the 5-12 GHz using the T- type of microstrip matching circuits. Furthermore, the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed HBMO based design are manifested by comparing it with the Genetic Algorithm (GA, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO and the simple HBMO based designs.

Valveless piezoelectric micropump for fuel delivery in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Tao; Wang, Qing-Ming [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PA 15261 (United States)

2005-01-10

Fuel cells are being considered as an important technology that can be used for various power applications. For portable electronic devices such as laptops, digital cameras, cell phone, etc., the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is a very promising candidate as a power source. Compared with conventional batteries, DMFC can provide a higher power density with a long-lasting life and recharging which is almost instant. However, many issues related to the design, fabrication and operation of miniaturized DMFC power systems still remain unsolved. Fuel delivery is one of the key issues that will determine the performance of the DMFC. To maintain a desired performance, an efficient fuel delivery system is required to provide an adequate amount of fuel for consumption and remove carbon dioxide generated from fuel cell devices at the same time. In this paper, a novel fuel delivery system combined with a miniaturized DMFC is presented. The core component of this system is a piezoelectric valveless micropump that can convert the reciprocating movement of a diaphragm activated by a piezoelectric actuator into a pumping effect. Nozzle/diffuser elements are used to direct the flow from inlet to outlet. As for DMFC devices, the micropump system needs to meet some specific requirements: low energy consumption but a sufficient fuel flow rate. Based on theoretical analysis, the effect of piezoelectric materials properties, driving voltage, driving frequency, nozzle/diffuser dimension, and other factors on the performance of the whole fuel cell system will be discussed. As a result, a viable design of a micropump system for fuel delivery can be achieved and some simulation results will be presented as well. (author)

Hollow-duct radiation delivery system investigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kramer D.

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Investigation of hollow-duct structure for high-power laser-diode-array radiation delivery into the end-pumped large-aperture gain media is reported. A ray tracing method has been used to evaluate the performance of the structure designed for maximum transmission efficiency and output beam profile homogeneity. Variable hollow-duct lengths as well as emanating angles of laser-diode-array have been taken into account.

Peptide and protein delivery using new drug delivery systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Ashish; Jain, Aviral; Gulbake, Arvind; Shilpi, Satish; Hurkat, Pooja; Jain, Sanjay K

2013-01-01

Pharmaceutical and biotechnological research sorts protein drug delivery systems by importance based on their various therapeutic applications. The effective and potent action of the proteins/peptides makes them the drugs of choice for the treatment of numerous diseases. Major research issues in protein delivery include the stabilization of proteins in delivery devices and the design of appropriate target-specific protein carriers. Many efforts have been made for effective delivery of proteins/peptidal drugs through various routes of administrations for successful therapeutic effects. Nanoparticles made of biodegradable polymers such as poly lactic acid, polycaprolactone, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), the poly(fumaric-co-sebacic) anhydride chitosan, and modified chitosan, as well as solid lipids, have shown great potential in the delivery of proteins/peptidal drugs. Moreover, scientists also have used liposomes, PEGylated liposomes, niosomes, and aquasomes, among others, for peptidal drug delivery. They also have developed hydrogels and transdermal drug delivery systems for peptidal drug delivery. A receptor-mediated delivery system is another attractive strategy to overcome the limitation in drug absorption that enables the transcytosis of the protein across the epithelial barrier. Modification such as PEGnology is applied to various proteins and peptides of the desired protein and peptides also increases the circulating life, solubility and stability, pharmacokinetic properties, and antigenicity of protein. This review focuses on various approaches for effective protein/peptidal drug delivery, with special emphasis on insulin delivery.

Wood chip delivery and research project at Mikkeli region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saksa, T.; Auvinen, P.

1995-01-01

In 1994, a large-scale energywood production chain was started as a co-operation project by the Mikkeli city forest office and local forestry societies. Over 60 000 m 3 (about 46 000 MWh of energy) of forest processed chips were delivered to Pursiala heat and power plant in Mikkeli. About 60 % of these chips was whole tree chips from improvement cuttings of young forest stands and the rest was logging waste chips from regeneration cutting areas. The average total delivery costs of forest processed chips after reduction of energywood and other subsidies were approximately 51 FIM/m 3 (68 FIM/MWh) for the whole tree chips and 40 FIM/m 3 (53 FIM/MWh) for logging waste chips. The delivery costs of wood chips could compete with those of fuel peat only in the most favourable cases. The resources of forest processed chips were studied on the basis of forestry plans. According to the study, there is enough raw material for permanent, large-scale delivery of forest processed chips (up to 250 000 m 3 /a) in the forests located at a distance of under 40 road kilometers from the Pursiala heat and power plant. The following project stages will involve further development of the wood chip delivery chain logistics, as well as improvement of logging and chipping equipment and methods in energywood and logging waste production. Also the effects of wood energy production on the economy and environment of the whole Mikkeli region will be studied. (author)

Research of Ultrasound-Mediated Transdermal Drug Delivery System Using Cymbal-Type Piezoelectric Composite Transducer

Science.gov (United States)

Huan, Huiting; Gao, Chunming; Liu, Lixian; Sun, Qiming; Zhao, Binxing; Yan, Laijun

2015-06-01

Transdermal drug delivery (TDD) implemented by especially low-frequency ultrasound is generally known as sonophoresis or phonophoresis which has drawn considerable wide attention. However, TDD has not yet achieved its full potential as an alternative to conventional drug delivery methods due to its bulky instruments. In this paper, a cymbal-type piezoelectric composite transducer (CPCT) which has advantages over a traditional ultrasound generator in weight, flexibility, and power consumption, is used as a substitute ultrasonicator to realize TDD. First, theoretical research on a CPCT based on the finite element analysis was carried out according to which a series of applicable CPCTs with bandwidths of 20 kHz to 100 kHz were elaborated. Second, a TDD experimental setup was built with previously fabricated CPCTs aimed at the administration of glucose. Finally, the TDD performance of glucose molecule transport in porcine skin was measured in vitro by quantifying the concentration of glucose, and the time variation curves were subsequently obtained. During the experiment, the driving wave form, frequency, and power consumption of the transducers were selected as the main elements which determined the efficacy of glucose delivery. The results indicate that the effectiveness of the CPCT-based delivery is constrained more by the frequency and intensity of ultrasound rather than the driving waveform. The light-weight, flexibility, and low-power consumption of a CPCT can potentially achieve effective TDD.

Power system optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogdan, Zeljko; Cehil, Mislav

2007-01-01

Long-term gas purchase contracts usually determine delivery and payment for gas on the regular hourly basis, independently of demand side consumption. In order to use fuel gas in an economically viable way, optimization of gas distribution for covering consumption must be introduced. In this paper, a mathematical model of the electric utility system which is used for optimization of gas distribution over electric generators is presented. The utility system comprises installed capacity of 1500 MW of thermal power plants, 400 MW of combined heat and power plants, 330 MW of a nuclear power plant and 1600 MW of hydro power plants. Based on known demand curve the optimization model selects plants according to the prescribed criteria. Firstly it engages run-of-river hydro plants, then the public cogeneration plants, the nuclear plant and thermal power plants. Storage hydro plants are used for covering peak load consumption. In case of shortage of installed capacity, the cross-border purchase is allowed. Usage of dual fuel equipment (gas-oil), which is available in some thermal plants, is also controlled by the optimization procedure. It is shown that by using such a model it is possible to properly plan the amount of fuel gas which will be contracted. The contracted amount can easily be distributed over generators efficiently and without losses (no breaks in delivery). The model helps in optimizing of fuel gas-oil ratio for plants with combined burners and enables planning of power plants overhauls over a year in a viable and efficient way. (author)

Antares laser power amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stine, R.D.; Ross, G.F.; Silvernail, C.

1979-01-01

The overall design of the Antares laser power amplifier is discussed. The power amplifier is the last stage of amplification in the 100-kJ Antares laser. In the power amplifier a single, cylindrical, grid-controlle, cold-cathode electron gun is surrounded by 12 large-aperture CO 2 electron-beam sustained laser discharge sectors. Each power amplifier will deliver 18 kJ and the six modules used in Antares will produce the required 100 kJ for delivery to the target. A large-scale interaction between optical, mechanical, and electrical disciplines is required to meet the design objectives. Significant component advances required by the power amplifier design are discussed

The outlook for application of powerful nuclear thermionic reactor -powered space electric jet propulsion engines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Semyonov, Y.P.; Bakanov, Y.A.; Synyavsky, V.V.; Yuditsky, V.D.

1997-01-01

This paper summarizes main study results for application of powerful space electric jet propulsion unit (EJPUs) which is powered by Nuclear Thermionic Power Unit (NTPU). They are combined in Nuclear Power/Propulsion Unit (NPPU) which serves as means of spacecraft equipment power supply and spacecraft movement. Problems the paper deals with are the following: information satellites delivery and their on-orbit power supply during 10-15 years, removal of especially hazardous nuclear wastes, mining of asteroid resources and others. Evaluations on power/time/mass relationship for this type of mission are given. EJPU parameters are compatible with Russian existent or being under development launch vehicle. (author)

Delivery presentations

Science.gov (United States)

Pregnancy - delivery presentation; Labor - delivery presentation; Occiput posterior; Occiput anterior; Brow presentation ... The mother can walk, rock, and try different delivery positions during labor to help encourage the baby ...

Active photonic sensor communication cable for field application of optical data and power transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Suthau, Eike; Rieske, Ralf; Zerna, Thomas

2014-10-01

Omitting electrically conducting wires for sensor communication and power supply promises protection for sensor systems and monitored structures against lightning or high voltages, prevention of explosion hazards, and reduction of susceptibility to tampering. The ability to photonically power remote systems opens up the full range of electrical sensors. Power-over-fiber is an attractive option in electromagnetically sensitive environments, particularly for longterm, maintenance-free applications. It can deliver uninterrupted power sufficient for elaborate sensors, data processing or even actuators alongside continuous high speed data communication for remote sensor application. This paper proposes an active photonic sensor communication system, which combines the advantages of optical data links in terms of immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI), high bandwidth, hardiness against tampering or eavesdropping, and low cable weight with the robustness one has come to expect from industrial or military electrical connectors. An application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is presented that implements a closed-loop regulation of the sensor power supply to guarantee continuous, reliable data communications while maintaining a highly efficient, adaptive sensor supply scheme. It is demonstrated that the resulting novel photonic sensor communication cable can handle sensors and actuators differing orders of magnitude with respect to power consumption. The miniaturization of the electro-optical converters and driving electronics is as important to the presented development as the energy efficiency of the detached, optically powered sensor node. For this reason, a novel photonic packaging technology based on wafer-level assembly of the laser power converters by means of passive alignment will be disclosed in this paper.

Optical fiber array for the delivery of high peak-power laser pulses for fluid flow measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parry, Jonathan P.; Shephard, Jonathan D.; Thomson, Martin J.; Taghizadeh, Mohammad R.; Jones, Julian D. C.; Hand, Duncan P.

2007-01-01

Fiber delivery of 64.7 mJ laser pulses (∼6 ns duration) from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laseroperating at532 nm is demonstrated. A custom diffractive optical element was used toshape the laser beam and facilitate coupling into a linear fiber array. This launcharrangement achieves an improvement in launch efficiency compared with a circular fiberbundle evaluated in previous work and the delivery of higher pulse energies isdemonstrated. The bundle is capable of delivering light of sufficient pulse energy and,importantly, with suitable focusability, to generate a thin light sheet for the fluid flowmeasurement technique of particle image velocimetry (PIV). Fiber delivery offers anadvantage, in terms of optical access, for the application of PIV to enclosed measurementvolumes, such as the cylinder of a combustion engine

Older adults and the emerging digital service delivery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siren, Anu; Knudsen, Sine Grønborg

2017-01-01

Based on data from a survey (n = 3291) and 14 qualitative interviews among Danish older adults, this study investigated the use of, and attitudes toward, information communications technology (ICT) and the digital delivery of public services. While age, gender, and socioeconomic status were...... associated with use of ICT, these determinants lost their explanatory power when we controlled for attitudes and experiences. We identified three segments that differed in their use of ICT and attitudes toward digital service delivery. As nonuse of ICT often results from the lack of willingness to use...... it rather than from material or cognitive deficiencies, policy measures for bridging the digital divide should focus on skills and confidence rather than on access or ability....

A control strategy for grid-side converter of DFIG under unbalanced condition based on Dig SILENT/Power Factory

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Pingping; Zhang, Haitian; Chen, Lingqi; Zhang, Xiaoan

2018-01-01

The models of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) and its grid-side converter (GSC) are established under unbalanced grid condition based on DIgSILENT/PowerFactory. According to the mathematical model, the vector equations of positive and negative sequence voltage and current are deduced in the positive sequence synchronous rotating reference frame d-q-0 when the characteristics of the simulation software are considered adequately. Moreover, the reference value of current component of GSC in the positive sequence frame d-q-0 under unbalanced condition can be obtained to improve the traditional control of GSC when the national issue of unbalanced current limits is combined. The simulated results indicate that the control strategy can restrain negative sequence current and the two times frequency power wave of GSC’s ac side effectively. The voltage of DC bus can be maintained a constant to ensure the uninterrupted operation of DFIG under unbalanced grid condition eventually.

A low-frequency versatile wireless power transfer technology for biomedical implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Hao; Zhang, Junmin; Lan, Di; Chao; Liou, Shyshenq; Shahnasser, Hamid; Fechter, Richard; Hirose, Shinjiro; Harrison, Michael; Roy, Shuvo

2013-08-01

Implantable biomedical sensors and actuators are highly desired in modern medicine. In many cases, the implant's electrical power source profoundly determines its overall size and performance . The inductively coupled coil pair operating at the radio-frequency (RF) has been the primary method for wirelessly delivering electrical power to implants for the last three decades . Recent designs significantly improve the power delivery efficiency by optimizing the operating frequency, coil size and coil distance . However, RF radiation hazard and tissue absorption are the concerns in the RF wireless power transfer technology (RF-WPTT) , . Also, it requires an accurate impedance matching network that is sensitive to operating environments between the receiving coil and the load for efficient power delivery . In this paper, a novel low-frequency wireless power transfer technology (LF-WPTT) using rotating rare-earth permanent magnets is demonstrated. The LF-WPTT is able to deliver 2.967 W power at  ∼ 180 Hz to an 117.1 Ω resistor over 1 cm distance with 50% overall efficiency. Because of the low operating frequency, RF radiation hazard and tissue absorption are largely avoided, and the power delivery efficiency from the receiving coil to the load is independent of the operating environment. Also, there is little power loss observed in the LF-WPTT when the receiving coil is enclosed by non-magnetic implant-grade stainless steel.

Ultrasound mediated nanoparticle drug delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Mullin, Lee B.

Ultrasound is not only a powerful diagnostic tool, but also a promising therapeutic technology that can be used to improve localized drug delivery. Microbubble contrast agents are micron sized encapsulated gas filled bubbles that are administered intravenously. Originally developed to enhance ultrasound images, microbubbles are highly echogenic due to the gas core that provides a detectable impedance difference from the surrounding medium. The core also allows for controlled response of the microbubbles to ultrasound pulses. Microbubbles can be pushed using acoustic radiation force and ruptured using high pressures. Destruction of microbubbles can increase permeability at the cellular and vascular level, which can be advantageous for drug delivery. Advances in drug delivery methods have been seen with the introduction of nanoparticles, nanometer sized objects often carrying a drug payload. In chemotherapy, nanoparticles can deliver drugs to tumors while limiting systemic exposure due to abnormalities in tumor vasculature such large gaps between endothelial cells that allow nanoparticles to enter into the interstitial space; this is referred to as the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. However, this effect may be overestimated in many tumors. Additionally, only a small percentage of the injected dose accumulates in the tumor, which most the nanoparticles accumulating in the liver and spleen. It is hypothesized that combining the acoustic activity of an ultrasound contrast agent with the high payload and extravasation ability of a nanoparticle, localized delivery to the tumor with reduced systemic toxicity can be achieved. This method can be accomplished by either loading nanoparticles onto the shell of the microbubble or through a coadministration method of both nanoparticles and microbubbles. The work presented in this dissertation utilizes novel and commercial nanoparticle formulations, combined with microbubbles and a variety of ultrasound systems

Transdermal drug delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Prausnitz, Mark R.; Langer, Robert

2009-01-01

Transdermal drug delivery has made an important contribution to medical practice, but has yet to fully achieve its potential as an alternative to oral delivery and hypodermic injections. First-generation transdermal delivery systems have continued their steady increase in clinical use for delivery of small, lipophilic, low-dose drugs. Second-generation delivery systems using chemical enhancers, non-cavitational ultrasound and iontophoresis have also resulted in clinical products; the ability of iontophoresis to control delivery rates in real time provides added functionality. Third-generation delivery systems target their effects to skin’s barrier layer of stratum corneum using microneedles, thermal ablation, microdermabrasion, electroporation and cavitational ultrasound. Microneedles and thermal ablation are currently progressing through clinical trials for delivery of macromolecules and vaccines, such as insulin, parathyroid hormone and influenza vaccine. Using these novel second- and third-generation enhancement strategies, transdermal delivery is poised to significantly increase impact on medicine. PMID:18997767

Multi-port power router and its impact on resilient power grid systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kado, Yuichi; Iwatsuki, Katsumi; Wada, Keiji

2016-02-01

We propose a Y-configuration power router as a unit cell to easily construct a power delivery system that can meet many types of user requirements. The Y-configuration power router controls the direction and magnitude of power flow among three ports regardless of DC and AC. We constructed a prototype three-way isolated DC/DC converter that is the core unit of the Y-configuration power router and tested the power flow control operation. Experimental results revealed that our methodology based on the governing equation was appropriate for the power flow control of the three-way DC/DC converter. In addition, the hexagonal distribution network composed of the power routers has the ability to easily interchange electric power between autonomous microgrid cells. We also explored the requirements for communication between energy routers to achieve dynamic adjustments of energy flow in a coordinated manner and its impact on resilient power grid systems.

ASSET MANAGEMENT STANDARD FOR THE WIND POWER INDUSTRY

OpenAIRE

Frank, Fabian

2016-01-01

The consolidation of the wind power industry in the last years requires companies to optimize their performance of the delivery of the wind energy asset’s lifecycle they cover in order to stay in the market. The Asset Management Standard ISO 55000 is a general framework applicable for companies which work with infrastructure assets. As the delivery of wind energy assets is very specific in all aspects of its lifecycle delivery, the Thesis identifies that there is a need for an Asset Managemen...

Assisted Vaginal Delivery

Science.gov (United States)

... Education & Events Advocacy For Patients About ACOG Assisted Vaginal Delivery Home For Patients Search FAQs Assisted Vaginal ... Vaginal Delivery FAQ192, February 2016 PDF Format Assisted Vaginal Delivery Labor, Delivery, and Postpartum Care What is ...

TIMELY DELIVERY OF LASER INERTIAL FUSION ENERGY (LIFE)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunne, A M

2010-11-30

The National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world's largest and most energetic laser system, is now operational at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. A key goal of the NIF is to demonstrate fusion ignition for the first time in the laboratory. Its flexibility allows multiple target designs (both indirect and direct drive) to be fielded, offering substantial scope for optimization of a robust target design. In this paper we discuss an approach to generating gigawatt levels of electrical power from a laser-driven source of fusion neutrons based on these demonstration experiments. This 'LIFE' concept enables rapid time-to-market for a commercial power plant, assuming success with ignition and a technology demonstration program that links directly to a facility design and construction project. The LIFE design makes use of recent advances in diode-pumped, solid-state laser technology. It adopts the paradigm of Line Replaceable Units utilized on the NIF to provide high levels of availability and maintainability and mitigate the need for advanced materials development. A demonstration LIFE plant based on these design principles is described, along with the areas of technology development required prior to plant construction. A goal-oriented, evidence-based approach has been proposed to allow LIFE power plant rollout on a time scale that meets policy imperatives and is consistent with utility planning horizons. The system-level delivery builds from our prior national investment over many decades and makes full use of the distributed capability in laser technology, the ubiquity of semiconductor diodes, high volume manufacturing markets, and U.S. capability in fusion science and nuclear engineering. The LIFE approach is based on the ignition evidence emerging from NIF and adopts a line-replaceable unit approach to ensure high plant availability and to allow evolution from available technologies and materials. Utilization of a proven physics platform for the

Self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems for oral insulin delivery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Ping; Tan, Angel; Prestidge, Clive A

2014-01-01

This study aims at evaluating the combination of self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) and enteric-coated capsules as a potential delivery strategy for oral delivery of insulin. The SNEDDS preconcentrates, loaded with insulin-phospholipid complex at different levels (0, 2.5 and 10% w...

Cavitation-enhanced delivery of a replicating oncolytic adenovirus to tumors using focused ultrasound.

Science.gov (United States)

Bazan-Peregrino, Miriam; Rifai, Bassel; Carlisle, Robert C; Choi, James; Arvanitis, Costas D; Seymour, Leonard W; Coussios, Constantin C

2013-07-10

Oncolytic viruses (OV) and ultrasound-enhanced drug delivery are powerful novel technologies. OV selectively self-amplify and kill cancer cells but their clinical use has been restricted by limited delivery from the bloodstream into the tumor. Ultrasound has been previously exploited for targeted release of OV in vivo, but its use to induce cavitation, microbubble oscillations, for enhanced OV tumor extravasation and delivery has not been previously reported. By identifying and optimizing the underlying physical mechanism, this work demonstrates that focused ultrasound significantly enhances the delivery and biodistribution of systemically administered OV co-injected with microbubbles. Up to a fiftyfold increase in tumor transgene expression was achieved, without any observable tissue damage. Ultrasound exposure parameters were optimized as a function of tumor reperfusion time to sustain inertial cavitation, a type of microbubble activity, throughout the exposure. Passive detection of acoustic emissions during treatment confirmed inertial cavitation as the mechanism responsible for enhanced delivery and enabled real-time monitoring of successful viral delivery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transdermal drug delivery

OpenAIRE

Prausnitz, Mark R.; Langer, Robert

2008-01-01

Transdermal drug delivery has made an important contribution to medical practice, but has yet to fully achieve its potential as an alternative to oral delivery and hypodermic injections. First-generation transdermal delivery systems have continued their steady increase in clinical use for delivery of small, lipophilic, low-dose drugs. Second-generation delivery systems using chemical enhancers, non-cavitational ultrasound and iontophoresis have also resulted in clinical products; the ability ...

Designing a nation-wide network of solar and wind-assisted parks for Nigeria and for Ghana

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ikejemba, Eugene Chidiebere; Schuur, Peter

2016-01-01

The further development of sub-Saharan Africa is hinged on the possibility of the provision of uninterrupted power supply. Agriculture, education, and the economy in general are greatly affected by the power outage that has become difficult to comprehend. The energy system is inauspicious that only

A new on-chip all-digital three-phase full-bridge dc/ac power inverter with feedforward and frequency control techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jiann-Jong; Kung, Che-Min

2010-09-01

The communication speed between components is far from satisfactory. To achieve high speed, simple control system configuration, and low cost, a new on-chip all-digital three-phase dc/ac power inverter using feedforward and frequency control techniques is proposed. The controller of the proposed power inverter, called the shift register, consists of six-stage D-latch flip-flops with a goal of achieving low-power consumption and area efficiency. Variable frequency is achieved by controlling the clocks of the shift register. One advantage regarding the data signal (D) and the common clock (CK) is that, regardless of the phase difference between the two, all of the D-latch flip-flops are capable of delaying data by one CK period. To ensure stability, the frequency of CK must be six times higher than that of D. The operation frequency of the proposed power inverter ranges from 10 Hz to 2 MHz, and the maximum output loading current is 0.8 A. The prototype of the proposed circuit has been fabricated with TSMC 0.35 μm 2P4M CMOS processes. The total chip area is 2.333 x 1.698 mm2. The three-phase dc/ac power inverter is applicable in uninterrupted power supplies, cold cathode fluorescent lamps, and motors, because of its ability to convert the dc supply voltage into the three-phase ac power sources.

Application of mathematical modeling in sustained release delivery systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Grassi, Mario; Grassi, Gabriele

2014-08-01

This review, presenting as starting point the concept of the mathematical modeling, is aimed at the physical and mathematical description of the most important mechanisms regulating drug delivery from matrix systems. The precise knowledge of the delivery mechanisms allows us to set up powerful mathematical models which, in turn, are essential for the design and optimization of appropriate drug delivery systems. The fundamental mechanisms for drug delivery from matrices are represented by drug diffusion, matrix swelling, matrix erosion, drug dissolution with possible recrystallization (e.g., as in the case of amorphous and nanocrystalline drugs), initial drug distribution inside the matrix, matrix geometry, matrix size distribution (in the case of spherical matrices of different diameter) and osmotic pressure. Depending on matrix characteristics, the above-reported variables may play a different role in drug delivery; thus the mathematical model needs to be built solely on the most relevant mechanisms of the particular matrix considered. Despite the somewhat diffident behavior of the industrial world, in the light of the most recent findings, we believe that mathematical modeling may have a tremendous potential impact in the pharmaceutical field. We do believe that mathematical modeling will be more and more important in the future especially in the light of the rapid advent of personalized medicine, a novel therapeutic approach intended to treat each single patient instead of the 'average' patient.

Sonographic prediction of outcome of vacuum deliveries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kahrs, Birgitte H; Usman, Sana; Ghi, Tullio

2017-01-01

of vacuum extraction in relation to ultrasound measured head-perineum distance with a predefined cut-off of 25 mm, and 220 women were needed to discriminate between groups using a hazard ratio of 1.5 with 80% power and alpha 5%. Secondary outcomes were delivery mode and umbilical artery cord blood samples...... outcome in nulliparous women with prolonged second stage of labor. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a prospective cohort study in nulliparous women at term with prolonged second stage of labor in 7 European maternity units from 2013 through 2016. Fetal head position and station were determined using...... after birth. The time interval was evaluated using survival analyses, and the outcomes of delivery were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves and descriptive statistics. Results were analyzed according to intention to treat. RESULTS: The study population comprised 222 women...

An optimal power management system for a regenerative auxiliary power system for delivery refrigerator trucks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohagheghi Fard, Soheil; Khajepour, Amir

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A new anti-idling system for refrigerator trucks is proposed. • This system enables regenerative braking. • An innovative two-level controller is proposed for the power management system. • A fast dynamic programming technique to find real-time SOC trajectory is proposed. • In addition to idling elimination, this system reduces fuel consumption. - Abstract: Engine idling of refrigerator trucks during loading and unloading contributes to greenhouse gas emissions due to their increased fuel consumption. This paper proposes a new anti-idling system that uses two sources of power, battery and engine-driven generator, to run the compressor of the refrigeration system. Therefore, idling can be eliminated because the engine is turned OFF and the battery supplies auxiliary power when the vehicle is stopped for loading or unloading. This system also takes advantage of regenerative braking for increased fuel savings. The power management of this system needs to satisfy two requirements: it must minimize fuel consumption in the whole cycle and must ensure that the battery has enough energy for powering the refrigeration system when the engine is OFF. To meet these objectives, a two-level controller is proposed. In the higher level of this controller, a fast dynamic programming technique that utilizes extracted statistical features of drive and duty cycles of a refrigerator truck is used to find suboptimal values of the initial and final SOC of any two consecutive loading/unloading stops. The lower level of the controller employs an adaptive equivalent fuel consumption minimization (A-ECMS) to determine the split ratio of auxiliary power between the generator and battery for each segment with initial and final SOC obtained by the high-level controller. The simulation results confirm that this new system can eliminate idling of refrigerator trucks and reduce their fuel consumption noticeably such that the cost of replacing components is recouped in a

Grizzli mobile systems and LPG delivery management; Grizzli mobile systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

2000-07-01

AE Windows CE device. It is set into a Grizzli Mobile Systems onboard communications cradle that provides automatic connections to the vehicle power supply; the serial port and USB port and provides a stable support for the Pen Centra. The Pen Centra can be taken out of the cradle and used for all out of vehicle activities. Once in the cradle it is linked to all the vehicle peripherals via the H AWK, an on-board peripheral interface installed in the cabin and powered by the vehicle power supply. The peripherals can include a GSM telephone, a modem, a GPS- 8 channels minimum, a 60-column printer, a payment terminal, a hands free kit, a meter and other electronic vehicle peripherals. With this powerful tool on board, the driver can control deliveries, print invoices on site, and receive payments whilst constantly updating the main frame at headquarters. Grizzli Mobile Systems (ex IMS) established in 1993 and situated in Vienne, France has wide experience in the Mobile Computing field. Purchased recently by Grizzli Systems, a European group of companies involved in data communications and system solutions, the systems developed by the various subsidiaries are totally complementary and have permitted the group to offer a complete LPG delivery solution to their clients in the petrol industry. PenCentra is a trademark of Fujitsu Personal Systems Inc. Windows CE is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation. (authors)

Development of wood fuel delivery logistics; Puupolttoaineiden hankintalogistiikan kehittaeminen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laitinen, H

1997-12-31

The main aim of the project is to model the energy wood business and total logistics in a certain large region. First, wood utilisation locations inside this area are examined; the most important ones are the wood processing factories, and the heating- and power plants. After that, wood potentials in the forests of the area are evaluated in sub-areas suitable in size and sufficiently detailed for further evaluations. For that purpose, the most valuable source data are forest management plans, up to ten years forward, on which basis the wood fuel potentials can be evaluated following sustainable development. In Finland there are extensive and detailed data bases storing forest information and it is possible to collect necessary data for a data base applicable to our calculations. In logistical sense it is important to know, by which delivery chains the economically best and desired results are achieved. The software prototype based on data base is modelled and developed at VTT Energy, for facilitating these planning activities. The starting point of the planning system in delivery logistics is the implementation of an easy tool for versatile planning so that with this tool model different delivery chains can be flexiblyed, create usage scenarios, make alternative examinations, and calculate impacts of different factors on energy wood amounts yielded and delivery costs. With planning system in delivery logistics we calculate production costs and amounts delivered to different utilisation locations. The system offers tools for definitions of utilisation locations, calculation parameters, and delivery chains

Development of wood fuel delivery logistics; Puupolttoaineiden hankintalogistiikan kehittaeminen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laitinen, H.

1996-12-31

The main aim of the project is to model the energy wood business and total logistics in a certain large region. First, wood utilisation locations inside this area are examined; the most important ones are the wood processing factories, and the heating- and power plants. After that, wood potentials in the forests of the area are evaluated in sub-areas suitable in size and sufficiently detailed for further evaluations. For that purpose, the most valuable source data are forest management plans, up to ten years forward, on which basis the wood fuel potentials can be evaluated following sustainable development. In Finland there are extensive and detailed data bases storing forest information and it is possible to collect necessary data for a data base applicable to our calculations. In logistical sense it is important to know, by which delivery chains the economically best and desired results are achieved. The software prototype based on data base is modelled and developed at VTT Energy, for facilitating these planning activities. The starting point of the planning system in delivery logistics is the implementation of an easy tool for versatile planning so that with this tool model different delivery chains can be flexiblyed, create usage scenarios, make alternative examinations, and calculate impacts of different factors on energy wood amounts yielded and delivery costs. With planning system in delivery logistics we calculate production costs and amounts delivered to different utilisation locations. The system offers tools for definitions of utilisation locations, calculation parameters, and delivery chains

Design and characterization of an ultrasonic lamb-wave power delivery system.

Science.gov (United States)

Kural, Aleksander; Pullin, Rhys; Holford, Karen; Lees, Jonathan; Naylon, Jack; Paget, Christophe; Featherston, Carol

2013-06-01

In this paper, a novel design for an ultrasonic power transmission system designed for use in aircraft structural monitoring systems is described. The prototype system uses ultrasonic Lamb waves to carry energy along plates, such as those used in aircraft structures, and commercially available piezoelectric patch transducers as the transmitter and receiver. This sets it apart from other acoustic power transmission systems reported to date. The optimum configuration transmitted 12.7 mW of power across a distance of 54 cm in a 1.5-mm-thick aluminum plate, while being driven by a 20-Vpp, 35-kHz sinusoidal electric signal. This is in the same order of magnitude as the power required by the wireless sensors nodes of a structural health monitoring system currently being developed by Cardiff University and its partners. Thus, the power transmission system can be considered a viable component of the power source combination considered for the sensor nodes, which will also include vibration and thermal energy harvesting. The paper describes the design and optimization of the transmission and reception circuits with the use of inductive compensation. The use of laser vibrometry to characterize the transducers and to understand the signal propagation between them is also reported.

Newborn Analgesia Mediated by Oxytocin during Delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzuca, Michel; Minlebaev, Marat; Shakirzyanova, Anastasia; Tyzio, Roman; Taccola, Giuliano; Janackova, Sona; Gataullina, Svetlana; Ben-Ari, Yehezkel; Giniatullin, Rashid; Khazipov, Rustem

2011-01-01

The mechanisms controlling pain in newborns during delivery are poorly understood. We explored the hypothesis that oxytocin, an essential hormone for labor and a powerful neuromodulator, exerts analgesic actions on newborns during delivery. Using a thermal tail-flick assay, we report that pain sensitivity is two-fold lower in rat pups immediately after birth than 2 days later. Oxytocin receptor antagonists strongly enhanced pain sensitivity in newborn, but not in 2-day-old rats, whereas oxytocin reduced pain at both ages suggesting an endogenous analgesia by oxytocin during delivery. Similar analgesic effects of oxytocin, measured as attenuation of pain-vocalization induced by electrical whisker pad stimulation, were also observed in decerebrated newborns. Oxytocin reduced GABA-evoked calcium responses and depolarizing GABA driving force in isolated neonatal trigeminal neurons suggesting that oxytocin effects are mediated by alterations of intracellular chloride. Unlike GABA signaling, oxytocin did not affect responses mediated by P2X3 and TRPV1 receptors. In keeping with a GABAergic mechanism, reduction of intracellular chloride by the diuretic NKCC1 chloride co-transporter antagonist bumetanide mimicked the analgesic actions of oxytocin and its effects on GABA responses in nociceptive neurons. Therefore, endogenous oxytocin exerts an analgesic action in newborn pups that involves a reduction of the depolarizing action of GABA on nociceptive neurons. Therefore, the same hormone that triggers delivery also acts as a natural pain killer revealing a novel facet of the protective actions of oxytocin in the fetus at birth. PMID:21519396

The regulations for delivery of subsidies to radiation monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

The regulations are defined under the law concerning subsidies and the provisions of the order for execution of the law. Basic terms are explained, such as: nuclear power generating facilities; arrangement business of radiation monitoring facilities; pre-research business of radiation monitoring; radiation monitoring business; place of enterprise; and expected time of beginning of the use. The Director General of Science and Technology Agency delivers subsidies to those prefectures where nuclear power generating facilities are or are expected to be established, or their neighboring prefectures. Subsidies are paid for each place of enterprise to support all or a part of expenses necessary for arrangement, pre-research or radiation monitoring business. Limits of subsidies for a place of enterprise in a prefecture are 155.6 million yen for a term for arrangement business, 16 million yen for each fiscal year for pre-research and 16 million yen for each fiscal year for radiation monitoring. An application for subsidies shall be filed by a prefecture to the Director General with the business program and gists of nuclear power generating facilities according to the forms attached. Receiving the application, the Director General shall examine it and notify without delay to the applicant the decision of delivery and its conditions in writing, when such settlement is made. Terms and conditions of delivery and reports, etc. are prescribed respectively. (Okada, K.)

experimental implementation of single-phase, three-level, sinusoidal

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Page 1 ... of many multilevel inverter configurations. This paper presents an experimental report of a simplified topology for single-phase, SPWM, three-level voltage source inverter wit R-L load. To keep the power circuit ... employed in many industrial applications such as variable speed drives, uninterruptible power sup-.

Small Scale Air Driven Generator

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-01

ESOI energy stored on invested IC integrated circuit RC radio controlled RPM revolutions per minute UPS uninterruptible power supply...used in microgrid systems. The additional electrical power produced could be enough to offset the power required to start up heavy machinery, or power...include automobile 3 turbochargers and small permanent magnet motors commonly used in remote controlled devices. The pairing of these two technologies

A Comparative Analysis of the Environmental Benefits of Drone-Based Delivery Services in Urban and Rural Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiyoon Park

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV, drones used as delivery vehicles have received increasing attention due to their mobility and accessibility to remote areas. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the environmental impacts of drone versus motorcycle delivery and to compare the expected environmental improvements due to drone delivery in urban and rural areas. In addition, the potential environmental contributions of electric motorcycles were assessed to determine the effects of introducing this new type of vehicle. Changes in the national electricity generation plan were also examined. The results showed that global warming potential (GWP per 1 km delivery by drone was one-sixth that of motorcycle delivery, and the particulates produced by drone delivery were half that of motorcycle delivery. The actual environmental impact reduction in consideration of the delivery distance was 13 times higher in a rural area than in an urban area. Increasing the use of environmentally friendly electricity systems, such as solar and wind power, would further enhance the environmental effects of a drone delivery system.

Evaluation of power plants in Turkey using Analytic Network Process (ANP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atmaca, Ediz; Basar, Hasan Burak

2012-01-01

Energy is one of the most important parameters of the development of societies. Low cost, clean and secure energy supply is a common issue for all countries. Every country spends commercial and political effort to avoid not having sufficient energy and to ensure an uninterrupted energy supply. This study attempts to determine the suitability of existing power plants in Turkey and the plants that are being considered for establishment in the near future. The alternatives which are being considered are natural gas, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and coal/lignite energy plants as well as nuclear energy plants. By using the multi-criteria decision making technique of Analytic Network Process (ANP), a multi-criteria evaluations of six different energy plants were performed with respect to the major criteria such as technology and sustainability, economical suitability, life quality and socio-economic impacts. -- Highlights: ► The study attempted to lay out the criteria based on which power plant investments are evaluated. ► In the energy industry in Turkey and in the world, it is considerably difficult to access data on energy. ► This study will provide significant support for people working in the energy area and related decision makers in Turkey. ► The study is also thought to provide benefit decision makers in the world energy industry. ► It can provide great benefit in ensuring the security of the energy to be produced from power plant investments.

Test report light duty utility arm power distribution system (PDS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, D.A.

1996-01-01

The Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA) Power Distribution System has completed vendor and post-delivery acceptance testing. The Power Distribution System has been found to be acceptable and is now ready for integration with the overall LDUA system

Design and construction of a low cost 50-watt capacity ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper describes the design and construction of a stand-by mode 50-Watt Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) as an alternative power supply for electrical and electronic appliances from local materials. The development of this UPS system (a system consisting of battery source, inverter, and switching unit) is to provide ...

The Diels-Alder reaction: A powerful tool for the design of drug delivery systems and biomaterials.

Science.gov (United States)

Gregoritza, Manuel; Brandl, Ferdinand P

2015-11-01

Click reactions have the potential to greatly facilitate the development of drug delivery systems and biomaterials. These reactions proceed under mild conditions, give high yields, and form only inoffensive by-products. The Diels-Alder cycloaddition is one of the click reactions that do not require any metal catalyst; it is one of the most useful reactions in synthetic organic chemistry and material design. Herein, we highlight possible applications of the Diels-Alder reaction in pharmaceutics and biomedical engineering. Particular focus is placed on the synthesis of polymers and dendrimers for drug delivery, the preparation of functionalized surfaces, bioconjugation techniques, and applications of the Diels-Alder reaction in nanotechnology. Moreover, applications of the reaction for the preparation of hydrogels for drug delivery and tissue engineering are reviewed. A general introduction to the Diels-Alder reaction is presented, along with a discussion of potential pitfalls and challenges. At the end of the article, we provide a set of tools that may facilitate the application of the Diels-Alder reaction to solve important pharmaceutical or biomedical problems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Osmotically driven drug delivery through remote-controlled magnetic nanocomposite membranes

KAUST Repository

Zaher, A.

2015-09-29

Implantable drug delivery systems can provide long-term reliability, controllability, and biocompatibility, and have been used in many applications, including cancer pain and non-malignant pain treatment. However, many of the available systems are limited to zero-order, inconsistent, or single burst event drug release. To address these limitations, we demonstrate prototypes of a remotely operated drug delivery device that offers controllability of drug release profiles, using osmotic pumping as a pressure source and magnetically triggered membranes as switchable on-demand valves. The membranes are made of either ethyl cellulose, or the proposed stronger cellulose acetate polymer, mixed with thermosensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel and superparamagnetic iron oxide particles. The prototype devices\\' drug diffusion rates are on the order of 0.5–2 μg/h for higher release rate designs, and 12–40 ng/h for lower release rates, with maximum release ratios of 4.2 and 3.2, respectively. The devices exhibit increased drug delivery rates with higher osmotic pumping rates or with magnetically increased membrane porosity. Furthermore, by vapor deposition of a cyanoacrylate layer, a drastic reduction of the drug delivery rate from micrograms down to tens of nanograms per hour is achieved. By utilizing magnetic membranes as the valve-control mechanism, triggered remotely by means of induction heating, the demonstrated drug delivery devices benefit from having the power source external to the system, eliminating the need for a battery. These designs multiply the potential approaches towards increasing the on-demand controllability and customizability of drug delivery profiles in the expanding field of implantable drug delivery systems, with the future possibility of remotely controlling the pressure source.

Osmotically driven drug delivery through remote-controlled magnetic nanocomposite membranes

KAUST Repository

Zaher, Amir; Li, S.; Wolf, K. T.; Pirmoradi, F. N.; Yassine, Omar; Lin, L.; Khashab, Niveen M.; Kosel, Jü rgen

2015-01-01

Implantable drug delivery systems can provide long-term reliability, controllability, and biocompatibility, and have been used in many applications, including cancer pain and non-malignant pain treatment. However, many of the available systems are limited to zero-order, inconsistent, or single burst event drug release. To address these limitations, we demonstrate prototypes of a remotely operated drug delivery device that offers controllability of drug release profiles, using osmotic pumping as a pressure source and magnetically triggered membranes as switchable on-demand valves. The membranes are made of either ethyl cellulose, or the proposed stronger cellulose acetate polymer, mixed with thermosensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel and superparamagnetic iron oxide particles. The prototype devices' drug diffusion rates are on the order of 0.5–2 μg/h for higher release rate designs, and 12–40 ng/h for lower release rates, with maximum release ratios of 4.2 and 3.2, respectively. The devices exhibit increased drug delivery rates with higher osmotic pumping rates or with magnetically increased membrane porosity. Furthermore, by vapor deposition of a cyanoacrylate layer, a drastic reduction of the drug delivery rate from micrograms down to tens of nanograms per hour is achieved. By utilizing magnetic membranes as the valve-control mechanism, triggered remotely by means of induction heating, the demonstrated drug delivery devices benefit from having the power source external to the system, eliminating the need for a battery. These designs multiply the potential approaches towards increasing the on-demand controllability and customizability of drug delivery profiles in the expanding field of implantable drug delivery systems, with the future possibility of remotely controlling the pressure source.

Interdelivery weight gain and risk of cesarean delivery following a prior vaginal delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Dude, Annie M; Lane-Cordova, Abbi D; Grobman, William A

2017-09-01

Approximately one third of all deliveries in the United States are via cesarean. Previous research indicates weight gain during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of cesarean delivery. It remains unclear, however, whether and to what degree weight gain between deliveries (ie, interdelivery weight gain) is associated with cesarean delivery in a subsequent pregnancy following a vaginal delivery. The objective of the study was to determine whether interdelivery weight gain is associated with an increased risk of intrapartum cesarean delivery following a vaginal delivery. This was a case-control study of women who had 2 consecutive singleton births of at least 36 weeks' gestation between 2005 and 2016, with a vaginal delivery in the index pregnancy. Women were excluded if they had a contraindication to a trial of labor (eg, fetal malpresentation or placenta previa) in the subsequent pregnancy. Maternal characteristics and delivery outcomes for both pregnancies were abstracted from the medical record. Maternal weight gain between deliveries was measured as the change in body mass index at delivery. Women who underwent a subsequent cesarean delivery were compared with those who had a repeat vaginal delivery using χ 2 statistics for categorical variables and Student t tests or analysis of variance for continuous variables. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine whether interdelivery weight gain remained independently associated with intrapartum cesarean delivery after adjusting for potential confounders. Of 10,396 women who met eligibility criteria and had complete data, 218 (2.1%) had a cesarean delivery in the subsequent pregnancy. Interdelivery weight gain was significantly associated with cesarean delivery and remained significant in multivariable analysis for women with a body mass index increase of at least 2 kg/m 2 (adjusted odds ratio, 1.53, 95% confidence interval, 1.03-2.27 for a body mass index increase of 2 kg/m 2 to gained 2 kg

A Circulating-Current Suppression Method for Parallel-Connected Voltage-Source Inverters With Common DC and AC Buses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wei, Baoze; Guerrero, Josep M.; Quintero, Juan Carlos Vasquez

2017-01-01

This paper presents a theoretical study with experimental validation of a circulating-current suppression method for parallel operation of three-phase voltage source inverters (VSI), which may be suitable for modular parallel uninterruptible power supply systems or hybrid AC/DC microgrid applicat......This paper presents a theoretical study with experimental validation of a circulating-current suppression method for parallel operation of three-phase voltage source inverters (VSI), which may be suitable for modular parallel uninterruptible power supply systems or hybrid AC/DC microgrid......, and added into the conventional droop plus virtual impedance control. In the control architecture, the reference voltages of the inverters are generated by the primary control loop which consists of a droop control and a virtual impedance. The secondary control is used to compensate the voltage drop...

eDelivery

Data.gov (United States)

US Agency for International Development — eDelivery provides the electronic packaging and delivery of closed and complete OPM investigation files to government agencies, including USAID, in a secure manner....

A non-Gaussian Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model for pricing wind power futures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Benth, Fred Espen; Pircalabu, Anca

2018-01-01

generated assuming a recent level of installed capacity. Also, based on one year of observed prices for wind power futures with different delivery periods, we study the market price of risk. Generally, we find a negative risk premium whose magnitude decreases as the length of the delivery period increases....

Wireless implantable chip with integrated nitinol-based pump for radio-controlled local drug delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Fong, Jeffrey; Xiao, Zhiming; Takahata, Kenichi

2015-02-21

We demonstrate an active, implantable drug delivery device embedded with a microfluidic pump that is driven by a radio-controlled actuator for temporal drug delivery. The polyimide-packaged 10 × 10 × 2 mm(3) chip contains a micromachined pump chamber and check valves of Parylene C to force the release of the drug from a 76 μL reservoir by wirelessly activating the actuator using external radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields. The rectangular-shaped spiral-coil actuator based on nitinol, a biocompatible shape-memory alloy, is developed to perform cantilever-like actuation for pumping operation. The nitinol-coil actuator itself forms a passive 185 MHz resonant circuit that serves as a self-heat source activated via RF power transfer to enable frequency-selective actuation and pumping. Experimental wireless operation of fabricated prototypes shows successful release of test agents from the devices placed in liquid and excited by radiating tuned RF fields with an output power of 1.1 W. These tests reveal a single release volume of 219 nL, suggesting a device's capacity of ~350 individual ejections of drug from its reservoir. The thermal behavior of the activated device is also reported in detail. This proof-of-concept prototype validates the effectiveness of wireless RF pumping for fully controlled, long-lasting drug delivery, a key step towards enabling patient-tailored, targeted local drug delivery through highly miniaturized implants.

A Culture-Based Model for Strategic Implementation of Virtual Education Delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Burn, Janice; Thongprasert, Nalinee

2005-01-01

This study was designed to examine the critical success factors for implementing Virtual Education Delivery (VED) in Thailand, and to identify ways to facilitate such adoption and lead to effective outcomes. The study incorporated an analysis of three specific factors related to Thai culture: high power distance "Bhun Khun", uncertainty…

UAV Delivery Monitoring System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

San Khin Thida

2018-01-01

Full Text Available UAV-based delivery systems are increasingly being used in the logistics field, particularly to achieve faster last-mile delivery. This study develops a UAV delivery system that manages delivery order assignments, autonomous flight operation, real time control for UAV flights, and delivery status tracking. To manage the delivery item assignments, we apply the concurrent scheduler approach with a genetic algorithm. The present paper describes real time flight data based on a micro air vehicle communication protocol (MAVLink. It also presents the detailed hardware components used for the field tests. Finally, we provide UAV component analysis to choose the suitable components for delivery in terms of battery capacity, flight time, payload weight and motor thrust ratio.

Synthesizing modeling of power generation and power limits in energy systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sieniutycz, Stanislaw

2015-01-01

Applying the common mathematical procedure of thermodynamic optimization the paper offers a synthesizing or generalizing modeling of power production in various energy generators, such as thermal, solar and electrochemical engines (fuel cells). Static and dynamical power systems are investigated. Dynamical models take into account the gradual downgrading of a resource, caused by power delivery. Analytical modeling includes conversion efficiencies expressed in terms of driving fluxes. Products of efficiencies and driving fluxes determine the power yield and power maxima. While optimization of static systems requires using of differential calculus and Lagrange multipliers, dynamic optimization involves variational calculus and dynamic programming. In reacting mixtures balances of mass and energy serve to derive power yield in terms of an active part of chemical affinity. Power maximization approach is also applied to fuel cells treated as flow engines driven by heat flux and fluxes of chemical reagents. The results of power maxima provide limiting indicators for thermal, solar and SOFC generators. They are more exact than classical reversible limits of energy transformation. - Highlights: • Systematic evaluation of power limits by optimization. • Common thermodynamic methodology for engine systems. • Original, in-depth study of power maxima. • Inclusion of fuel cells to a class of thermodynamic power systems

Public-Private Leadership Forum; 21st Century Power Partnership

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2015-05-14

The PPLF convenes stakeholders from across the power sector, spanning electricity supply, delivery, and end-use, and plays a key role in guiding the strategic direction of the Power Partnership. In addition, PPLF members support the implementation of activities set out in the Power Partnership Program of Work. Taken together, the activities of the PPLF span the dynamic landscape of power challenges and opportunities, with a focus on business models, ?nancial tools, and regulatory frameworks.

Laser applications in nuclear power plants

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2014-01-09

Jan 9, 2014 ... Keywords. Nd:YAG laser; fibre-optic beam delivery; laser cutting; laser welding; nuclear reactor. ... Author Affiliations. D N Sanyal1. Remote Tooling Section, Technology Development Group, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd., Mumbai 400 094, India ...

Outcome of deliveries in healthy but obese women: obesity and delivery outcome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaplan-Sturk Rebecka

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Obesity among fertile women is a global problem. 25% of pregnant Swedish women are overweight at admission to the antenatal clinic and 12% of them are considered as obese. Previous studies have shown an increased risk of delivery complications with an elevated maternal BMI. The aim of this study was to evaluate delivery outcomes in relation to maternal BMI on admission to the antenatal clinic. A healthy group of 787 women with full-term pregnancies and spontaneous onset of labor were included in the study. Delivery outcome was assessed in relation to maternal BMI when attending the antenatal clinic. Results The results indicated that in deliveries where the maternal BMI was >30 a high frequency of abnormal CTG trace during the last 30 minutes of labor was shown. A blood sample for evaluation of risk of fetal hypoxia was performed in only eight percent of these deliveries. A spontaneous vaginal delivery without intervention was noted in 85.7%, and 12% of neonates were delivered with an adverse fetal outcome compared to 2.8% in the group with a maternal BMI Conclusion These results indicate an increased risk at delivery for healthy, but obese women in labor. Furthermore, the delivery management may not always be optimal in these deliveries.

Educating the delivery of bad news in medicine: Preceptorship versus simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacques, Andrew P; Adkins, Eric J; Knepel, Sheri; Boulger, Creagh; Miller, Jessica; Bahner, David P

2011-07-01

Simulation experiences have begun to replace traditional education models of teaching the skill of bad news delivery in medical education. The tiered apprenticeship model of medical education emphasizes experiential learning. Studies have described a lack of support in bad news delivery and inadequacy of training in this important clinical skill as well as poor familial comprehension and dissatisfaction on the part of physicians in training regarding the resident delivery of bad news. Many residency training programs lacked a formalized training curriculum in the delivery of bad news. Simulation teaching experiences may address these noted clinical deficits in the delivery of bad news to patients and their families. Unique experiences can be role-played with this educational technique to simulate perceived learner deficits. A variety of scenarios can be constructed within the framework of the simulation training method to address specific cultural and religious responses to bad news in the medical setting. Even potentially explosive and violent scenarios can be role-played in order to prepare physicians for these rare and difficult situations. While simulation experiences cannot supplant the model of positive, real-life clinical teaching in the delivery of bad news, simulation of clinical scenarios with scripting, self-reflection, and peer-to-peer feedback can be powerful educational tools. Simulation training can help to develop the skills needed to effectively and empathetically deliver bad news to patients and families in medical practice.

Timing of delivery after external cephalic version and the risk for cesarean delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Kabiri, Doron; Elram, Tamar; Aboo-Dia, Mushira; Elami-Suzin, Matan; Elchalal, Uriel; Ezra, Yossef

2011-08-01

To estimate the association between time of delivery after external cephalic version at term and the risk for cesarean delivery. This retrospective cohort study included all successful external cephalic versions performed in a tertiary center between January 1997 and January 2010. Stepwise logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for cesarean delivery. We included 483 external cephalic versions in this study, representing 53.1% of all external cephalic version attempts. The incidence of cesarean delivery for 139 women (29%) who gave birth less than 96 hours from external cephalic version was 16.5%; for 344 women (71%) who gave birth greater than 96 hours from external cephalic version, the incidence of cesarean delivery was 7.8% (P = .004). The adjusted OR for cesarean delivery was 2.541 (95% confidence interval 1.36-4.72). When stratified by parity, the risk for cesarean delivery when delivery occurred less than 96 hours after external cephalic version was 2.97 and 2.28 for nulliparous and multiparous women, respectively. Delivery at less than 96 hours after successful external cephalic version was associated with an increased risk for cesarean delivery. III.

Advanced, High Power, Next Scale, Wave Energy Conversion Device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mekhiche, Mike [Principal Investigator; Dufera, Hiz [Project Manager; Montagna, Deb [Business Point of Contact

2012-10-29

The project conducted under DOE contract DE‐EE0002649 is defined as the Advanced, High Power, Next Scale, Wave Energy Converter. The overall project is split into a seven‐stage, gated development program. The work conducted under the DOE contract is OPT Stage Gate III work and a portion of Stage Gate IV work of the seven stage product development process. The project effort includes Full Concept Design & Prototype Assembly Testing building on our existing PowerBuoy technology to deliver a device with much increased power delivery. Scaling‐up from 150kW to 500kW power generating capacity required changes in the PowerBuoy design that addressed cost reduction and mass manufacturing by implementing a Design for Manufacturing (DFM) approach. The design changes also focused on reducing PowerBuoy Installation, Operation and Maintenance (IO&M) costs which are essential to reducing the overall cost of energy. In this design, changes to the core PowerBuoy technology were implemented to increase capability and reduce both CAPEX and OPEX costs. OPT conceptually envisaged moving from a floating structure to a seabed structure. The design change from a floating structure to seabed structure would provide the implementation of stroke‐ unlimited Power Take‐Off (PTO) which has a potential to provide significant power delivery improvement and transform the wave energy industry if proven feasible.

Verification of Safety Margins of Battery Banks Capacity of Class 1E DC System in a Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lukman, Abdulrauf; Zhu, Oon-Pyo

2015-01-01

According to Ref 'Station blackout (SBO) is generally a plant condition with complete loss of all alternating current (AC) power from off-site sources, from the main generator and from standby AC power sources important to safety to the essential and nonessential switchgear buses. Direct current (DC) power supplies and uninterruptible AC power supplies may be available as long as batteries can supply the loads, alternate AC power supplies are available'. The above IAEA document indicated the importance of batteries during SBO. Prior to the Fukushima accident, most batteries might be designed with coping capability of four hours. However, the accident showed the need for the coping capability to be increased to at least eight hours. The purpose of this research is to verify the safety capacity margin of the nuclear qualified battery banks of class 1E DC system and test the response to SBO using the load profile of a Korean design nuclear power plant (NPP). The capacity margins of class 1E batteries of DC power system batteries in a nuclear power plant were determined using the load profile of the plant. It was observed that if appropriate manufacturer Kt data are not available, the accuracy of the battery capacity might not be accurately calculated. The result obtained shows that the batteries have the coping capability of two hours for channel A and B, and eight hours for channel C and D. Also capacity margin as show in figure show a reasonable margin for each batteries of the DC system

Turbine-generators for 400 mw coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engelke, W.; Bergmann, D.; Boer, J.; Termuehlen, H.

1991-01-01

This paper reports that presently, standard coal-fired power plant concepts including flue gas desulfurization (FGD) and DENO x systems are in the design stage to be built on relatively short delivery schedules. The rating in the 400 MW range has generally been selected, because such small power plant units with short delivery times cause a minimum financial burden during planning, delivery and installation. They also follow more closely the growth of electric energy demand at specific locations. However economical considerations could lead to larger unit ratings, since the planning and building process of higher capacity plants is not significantly different but specific plant costs are certainly smaller with increased unit size. Historically large tandem-compound steam turbine-generators have been built and have proven reliable operation with ratings in excess of 800 MW. Already in the late 1950's main steam pressures and temperatures as high as 4,500 psig and 1,200 degrees F respectively were successfully used for smaller steam turbines

A closed Brayton power conversion unit concept for nuclear electric propulsion for deep space missions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joyner, Claude Russell II; Fowler, Bruce; Matthews, John

2003-01-01

In space, whether in a stable satellite orbit around a planetary body or traveling as a deep space exploration craft, power is just as important as the propulsion. The need for power is especially important for in-space vehicles that use Electric Propulsion. Using nuclear power with electric propulsion has the potential to provide increased payload fractions and reduced mission times to the outer planets. One of the critical engineering and design aspects of nuclear electric propulsion at required mission optimized power levels is the mechanism that is used to convert the thermal energy of the reactor to electrical power. The use of closed Brayton cycles has been studied over the past 30 or years and shown to be the optimum approach for power requirements that range from ten to hundreds of kilowatts of power. It also has been found to be scalable to higher power levels. The Closed Brayton Cycle (CBC) engine power conversion unit (PCU) is the most flexible for a wide range of power conversion needs and uses state-of-the-art, demonstrated engineering approaches. It also is in use with many commercial power plants today. The long life requirements and need for uninterrupted operation for nuclear electric propulsion demands high reliability from a CBC engine. A CBC engine design for use with a Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) system has been defined based on Pratt and Whitney's data from designing long-life turbo-machines such as the Space Shuttle turbopumps and military gas turbines and the use of proven integrated control/health management systems (EHMS). An integrated CBC and EHMS design that is focused on using low-risk and proven technologies will over come many of the life-related design issues. This paper will discuss the use of a CBC engine as the power conversion unit coupled to a gas-cooled nuclear reactor and the design trends relative to its use for powering electric thrusters in the 25 kWe to 100kWe power level

Improving Delivery of Photosynthetic Reducing Power to Cytochrome P450s

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mellor, Silas Busck

at sustainable production of high-value and commodity products. Cytochrome P450 enzymes play key roles in the biosynthesis of important natural products. The electron carrier ferredoxin can couple P450s non-natively to photosynthetic electron supply, providing ample reducing power for catalysis. However......, photosynthetic reducing power feeds into both central and specialized metabolism, which leads to a fiercely competitive system from which to siphon reductant. This thesis explores the optimization of light-driven P450 activity, and proposes strategies to overcome the limitations imposed by competition...... for photosynthetic reducing power. Photosynthetic electron carrier proteins interact with widely different partners because they use relatively non-specific interactions. The mechanistic basis of these interactions and its impact on natural electron transfer complexes is discussed. This particular type...

Safety Research Experiment Facility Project. Conceptual design report. Volume III. Utilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-12-01

The SAREF Electric Power System supplies and distributes power from the EBR-II switchgear for operation of all normal facilities on the site, from an on-site Experiment Diesel Generator for operation of all experiment related loads, and from an emergency engine generator and/or an uninterruptible power supply for operation of all essential and critical loads during a failure of both of the other two systems

Emergency and backup power supplies at Department of Energy facilities: Augmented Evaluation Team -- Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-11-01

This report documents the results of the Defense Programs (DP) Augmented Evaluation Team (AET) review of emergency and backup power supplies (i.e., generator, uninterruptible power supply, and battery systems) at DP facilities. The review was conducted in response to concerns expressed by former Secretary of Energy James D. Watkins over the number of incidents where backup power sources failed to provide electrical power during tests or actual demands. The AET conducted a series of on-site reviews for the purpose of understanding the design, operation, maintenance, and safety significance of emergency and backup power (E&BP) supplies. The AET found that the quality of programs related to maintenance of backup power systems varies greatly among the sites visited, and often among facilities at the same site. No major safety issues were identified. However, there are areas where the AET believes the reliability of emergency and backup power systems can and should be improved. Recommendations for improving the performance of E&BP systems are provided in this report. The report also discusses progress made by Management and Operating (M&O) contractors to improve the reliability of backup sources used in safety significant applications. One area that requires further attention is the analysis and understanding of the safety implications of backup power equipment. This understanding is needed for proper graded-approach implementation of Department of Energy (DOE) Orders, and to help ensure that equipment important to the safety of DOE workers, the public, and the environment is identified, classified, recognized, and treated as such by designers, users, and maintainers. Another area considered important for improving E&BP system performance is the assignment of overall ownership responsibility and authority for ensuring that E&BP equipment performs adequately and that reliability and availability are maintained at acceptable levels.

Harnessing the capacity of cell-penetrating peptides for drug delivery to the central nervous system.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Ting; Gao, Xiaoling; Chen, Jun

2014-01-01

The existence of blood-brain barrier (BBB) represents the most formidable challenge for drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS). Modern breakthrough in biology offers multiple choices for overcoming this barrier but yields modest outcomes for clinical application due to various problems such as safety concerns, insufficient delivery efficiency and poor penetration. Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) possessing powerful transmembrane capacity have been shown to be effective transport vectors for bioactive molecules and an attractive alternative to traditional active targeting approaches. However, the non-specificity of CPPs has hindered them from targeting a desired site of action. Promisingly, design of novel CPP-mediated nanoparticulate delivery systems with specific targeting property may extricate CPPs from the dilemma. In this review, both the traditional and novel applications of CPPs-based strategies for CNS drug delivery will be discussed.

Improved overall delivery documentation following implementation of a standardized shoulder dystocia delivery form

Science.gov (United States)

Moragianni, Vasiliki A.; Hacker, Michele R.; Craparo, Frank J.

2013-01-01

Objective Our objective was to evaluate whether using a standardized shoulder dystocia delivery form improved documentation. A standardized delivery form was added to our institution’s obstetrical record in August 2003. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted comparing 100 vaginal deliveries complicated by shoulder dystocia before, and 81 after implementation of the standardized delivery form. The two groups were compared in terms of obstetric characteristics, neonatal outcomes and documentation components. Results Charts that included the standardized delivery form were more likely to contain documentation of estimated fetal weight (82.7% vs. 39.0% without the form, Pdystocia, and second stage duration. Conclusions Inclusion of a standardized form in the delivery record improves the rate of documentation of both shoulder dystocia-specific and general delivery components. PMID:22017330

Validation of a Portable Low-Power Deep Brain Stimulation Device Through Anxiolytic Effects in a Laboratory Rat Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Kouzani, Abbas Z; Kale, Rajas P; Zarate-Garza, Pablo Patricio; Berk, Michael; Walder, Ken; Tye, Susannah J

2017-09-01

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices deliver electrical pulses to neural tissue through an electrode. To study the mechanisms and therapeutic benefits of deep brain stimulation, murine preclinical research is necessary. However, conducting naturalistic long-term, uninterrupted animal behavioral experiments can be difficult with bench-top systems. The reduction of size, weight, power consumption, and cost of DBS devices can assist the progress of this research in animal studies. A low power, low weight, miniature DBS device is presented in this paper. This device consists of electronic hardware and software components including a low-power microcontroller, an adjustable current source, an n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor, a coin-cell battery, electrode wires and a software program to operate the device. Evaluation of the performance of the device in terms of battery lifetime and device functionality through bench and in vivo tests was conducted. The bench test revealed that this device can deliver continuous stimulation current pulses of strength [Formula: see text], width [Formula: see text], and frequency 130 Hz for over 22 days. The in vivo tests demonstrated that chronic stimulation of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) with this device significantly increased psychomotor activity, together with a dramatic reduction in anxiety-like behavior in the elevated zero-maze test.

Fiscal 2000 survey report. Development of novel battery power storage system (Development of distributed power storage technology - Marketability of lithium storage battery); 2000 nendo gyomu hokokusho. Shingata denchi denryoku chozo system kaihatsu - Bunsangata denryoku chozo gijutsu kaihatu (Ritium niji denchi no shijosei chosa)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

A survey is conducted of the current status of storage batteries and the marketability of the lithium ion battery. In the study of future marketability of storage batteries for electric vehicles, the small vehicle Hypermini currently loaded with a lithium ion battery is taken up and it is assumed that each carries a 10 kWh battery, and then it is estimated that there will be an approximately 2200 times 10{sup 3} kWh market in Japan in 2020. As for hybrid vehicles each loaded with a 1 kWh battery, it is estimated that 3997 times 10{sup 3} kWh will be on the market in 2020. For the fuel cell powered vehicle, similarly, there will be approximately 2,500 times 10{sup 3} kWh on the market in 2020. As for power storage facilities for power load shaving, the demand for cells in 2020 is estimated at 1,032-3,924 times 10{sup 3} kWh on the assumption that they operate 4 hours in the daytime. As for the uninterruptible power supply, it is estimated that 800 times 10{sup 3} kWh will be required by those installed at data centers in 2020. It is also estimated that 252 times 10{sup 3} kWh will be necessary in the form of storage batteries for motored wheelchairs in 2020. As for distributed power source systems such as those dealing with wind power or photovoltaic power, there are a number of technical problems that have to be settled. (NEDO)

Case Study on Economic Return on Investments for Safety and Emergency Lighting in Road Tunnels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ferdinando Salata

2015-07-01

Full Text Available While planning a double-hole road tunnel with a length higher than one km, it is important to pay attention to the safety factor if an accident occurs. If there is a power outage, in order to avoid critical situations that could jeopardize the safety of the people present (facilitating the stream coming out from the tunnel and the arrival of the emergency personnel, it is really important to guarantee uninterrupted lighting of roadways, mandatory emergency lay-bys, and ways of escape. Uninterrupted service of the lighting systems supply must be guaranteed, in accordance with the current regulations, through the exertion of UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply and power units. During tunnel construction, such devices represent a cost that must be amortized. In this case study, which takes into consideration a section of a road tunnel characterized by emergency lay-bys and ways of escape, emergency and security lighting were planned and installation and management costs were evaluated. The goal of this research was the creation of a cash flow thanks to the energy generated by photovoltaic panels, in a way that the service life of the system (25 years coincided with the amortization of the costs of the backup electrical equipment installation (complying with the regulations. The possibility of over-dimensioning the UPS and providing it with a proper photovoltaic panel surface (235 kWp to generate and exchange electric energy with the grid was taken into consideration.

Analysis of the efficiency of the Iberian power futures market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Capitan Herraiz, Alvaro; Rodriguez Monroy, Carlos

2009-01-01

Market efficiency is analysed for the Iberian Power Futures Market and other European Power Markets, as well as other fuel markets through evaluation of ex-post Forward Risk Premium. The equilibrium price from compulsory call auctions for distribution companies within the framework of the Iberian Power Futures Market is not optimal for remuneration purposes as it seems to be slightly upward biased. In the period considered (August 2006-July 2008), monthly futures contracts behave similarly to quarterly contracts. Average risk premia have been positive in power and natural gas markets but negative in oil and coal markets. Different hypotheses are tested regarding increasing volatility with maturity and regarding Forward Risk Premium variations (decreasing with variance of spot prices during delivery period and increasing with skewness of spot prices during delivery period). Enlarged data sets are recommended for stronger test results. Energy markets tend to show limited levels of market efficiency. Regarding the emerging Iberian Power Futures Market, price efficiency is improved with market development of all the coexistent forward contracting mechanisms and with further integration of European Regional Electricity Markets. (author)

Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery Applications Imaging, Targeting, and Delivery

CERN Document Server

Prud'homme, Robert

2012-01-01

This book clearly demonstrates the progression of nanoparticle therapeutics from basic research to applications. Unlike other books covering nanoparticles used in medical applications, Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery Applications presents the medical challenges that can be reduced or even overcome by recent advances in nanoscale drug delivery. Each chapter highlights recent progress in the design and engineering of select multifunctional nanoparticles with topics covering targeting, imaging, delivery, diagnostics, and therapy.

Research and Development of Zinc Air Fuel Cell To Achieve Commercialization Final Report CRADA No. TC-1544-98

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cooper, J. F. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Haley, H. D. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2017-09-28

The specific goal of this project was to advance the development of the zinc air fuel cell (ZAFC) towards commercial readiness in different mobile applications, including motor bikes, passenger cars, vans, buses and off-road vehicles (golf carts, factory equipment), and different stationary applications including generator sets, uninterruptible power systems and electric utility loading leveling and distributive power.

Information Power Goes Online: Teaching Information Literacy to Distance Learners.

Science.gov (United States)

Parise, Pierina

1998-01-01

Describes how a course, "Information Power," at Marylhurst University (Oregon) was developed into an online version. Presents an overview of Web access in distance learning. Discusses instructional delivery through the WebCT software program; specific components of the online Information Power class; measuring learning outcomes; and pros and cons…

Fundamentals of power integrity for computer platforms and systems

CERN Document Server

DiBene, Joseph T

2014-01-01

An all-encompassing text that focuses on the fundamentals of power integrity Power integrity is the study of power distribution from the source to the load and the system level issues that can occur across it. For computer systems, these issues can range from inside the silicon to across the board and may egress into other parts of the platform, including thermal, EMI, and mechanical. With a focus on computer systems and silicon level power delivery, this book sheds light on the fundamentals of power integrity, utilizing the author's extensive background in the power integrity industry and un

Development of Czechoslovak nuclear power engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keher, J.

1985-01-01

The output of Czechoslovak nuclear power plants is envisaged at 2200 MW by 1985, 4400 MW by 1990 and 10,280 MW by the year 2000. The operation so far is assessed of Bohunice V-1 and Bohunice V-2 power plants as is the construction of the Dukovany nuclear power plant. International cooperation in the fulfilment of the nuclear power programme is based on the General Agreement on Cooperation in the Prospective Development and Interlinkage of CMEA Power Systems to the year 1990, the Agreement on Multilateral International Specialization and Cooperation of Production and on Mutual Deliveries of Nuclear Power Plant Equipment. The most important factor in international cooperation is the Programme of Cooperation between the CSSR and the USSR. The primary target in the coming period is the Temelin nuclear power plant project and the establishment of unified control of the nuclear power complex. (M.D.)

Colloidal drug delivery system: amplify the ocular delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Javed; Fazil, Mohd; Qumbar, Mohd; Khan, Nazia; Ali, Asgar

2016-01-01

The ocular perceivers are the most voluntarily accessible organs in terms of location in the body, yet drug distribution to these tissues is one of the most intriguing and challenging endeavors and problematic to the pharmaceutical scientist. The most of ocular diseases are treated with topical application of conventional formulation, i.e. solutions, suspensions and ointment. Typically on installation of these conventional formulations, only <5% of the applied dose penetrates the cornea and reaches intraocular tissues, while a major fraction of the instilled dose is wastage due to the presence of many ocular barriers like external barriers, rapid loss of the instilled solution from the precorneal area and nasolacrimal drainage system. Systemic absorption caused systemic side effects varying from mild to life-threatening events. The main objective of this review is to explore the role of colloidal delivery of drug to minimize the drawbacks associated with them. This review provides an insight into the various constraints associated with ocular drug delivery, summarizes recent findings and applications of colloidal delivery systems, i.e. nanoparticles, nanosuspensions, liposomes, niosomes, dendrimers and contact lenses containing nanoparticles have the capacity to distribute ocular drugs to categorical target sites and hold promise to revolutionize the therapy of many ocular perceiver diseases and minimized the circumscription of conventional delivery. Form the basis of literature review, it has been found that the novel delivery system have greater impact to maximize ocular drug absorption, and minimize systemic absorption and side effects.

Valving for controlling a fluid-driven reciprocating apparatus

Science.gov (United States)

Whitehead, John C.

1995-01-01

A pair of control valve assemblies for alternately actuating a pair of fluid-driven free-piston devices by using fluid pressure communication therebetween. Each control valve assembly is switched by a pressure signal depending on the state of its counterpart's piston. The communication logic is arranged to provide overlap of the forward strokes of the pistons, so that at least one of the pair will always be pressurized. Thus, uninterrupted pumping of liquid is made possible from a pair of free-piston pumps. In addition, the speed and frequency of piston stroking is entirely dependent on the mechanical power load applied. In the case of a pair of pumps, this enables liquid delivery at a substantially constant pressure over the full range of flow rates, from zero to maximum flow. Each of the valve assemblies uses an intake-exhaust valve and a signal valve with the signal valve of one pump being connected to be pressure responsive to the piston of the opposite cylinder or pump.

Attribution mechanisms for ancillary service costs induced by variability in power delivery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bona, Francesca; Gast, Nicolas; Le Boudec, Jean-Yves

2017-01-01

The increased penetration of renewable energy sources in existing power systems has led to necessary developments in electricity market mechanisms. Most importantly, renewable energy generation is increasingly made accountable for deviations between scheduled and actual energy generation. However......, there is no mechanism to enforce accountability for the additional costs induced by power fluctuations. These costs are socialized and eventually supported by electricity customers. We propose some metrics for assessing the contribution of all market participants to power regulation needs, as well as an attribution...

Neonatal outcomes and operative vaginal delivery versus cesarean delivery.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Contag, Stephen A

2010-06-01

We compared outcomes for neonates with forceps-assisted, vacuum-assisted, or cesarean delivery in the second stage of labor. This is a secondary analysis of a randomized trial in laboring, low-risk, nulliparous women at >or=36 weeks\\' gestation. Neonatal outcomes after use of forceps, vacuum, and cesarean were compared among women in the second stage of labor at station +1 or below (thirds scale) for failure of descent or nonreassuring fetal status. Nine hundred ninety women were included in this analysis: 549 (55%) with an indication for delivery of failure of descent and 441 (45%) for a nonreassuring fetal status. Umbilical cord gases were available for 87% of neonates. We found no differences in the base excess (P = 0.35 and 0.78 for failure of descent and nonreassuring fetal status) or frequencies of pH below 7.0 (P = 0.73 and 0.34 for failure of descent and nonreassuring fetal status) among the three delivery methods. Birth outcomes and umbilical cord blood gas values were similar for those neonates with a forceps-assisted, vacuum-assisted, or cesarean delivery in the second stage of labor. The occurrence of significant fetal acidemia was not different among the three delivery methods regardless of the indication.

Assisted delivery with forceps

Science.gov (United States)

... page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000509.htm Assisted delivery with forceps To use the sharing features on ... called vacuum assisted delivery . When is a Forceps Delivery Needed? Even after your cervix is fully dilated ( ...

TRANSDERMAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM: REVIEW

OpenAIRE

Vishvakarama Prabhakar; Agarwal Shivendra; Sharma Ritika; Saurabh Sharma

2012-01-01

Various new technologies have been developed for the transdermal delivery of some important drugs. Today about 74% of drugs are taken orally and are found not to be as effective as desired. To improve such characters transdermal drug delivery system was emerged. Drug delivery through the skin to achieve a systemic effect of a drug is commonly known as transdermal drug delivery and differs from traditional topical drug delivery. Transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS) are dosage forms involve...

Ethical issues in cesarean delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Chervenak, Frank A; McCullough, Laurence B

2017-08-01

Cesarean delivery is the most common and important surgical intervention in obstetric practice. Ethics provides essential guidance to obstetricians for offering, recommending, recommending against, and performing cesarean delivery. This chapter provides an ethical framework based on the professional responsibility model of obstetric ethics. This framework is then used to address two especially ethically challenging clinical topics in cesarean delivery: patient-choice cesarean delivery and trial of labor after cesarean delivery. This chapter emphasizes a preventive ethics approach, designed to prevent ethical conflict in clinical practice. To achieve this goal, a preventive ethics approach uses the informed consent process to offer cesarean delivery as a medically reasonable alternative to vaginal delivery, to recommend cesarean delivery, and to recommend against cesarean delivery. The limited role of shared decision making is also described. The professional responsibility model of obstetric ethics guides this multi-faceted preventive ethics approach. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

VGB-requirements regarding technical data for power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richnow, Joerg

2009-01-01

Much of the technical plant data resulting from the planning, construction and start-up of power plants is needed for subsequent management and maintenance. Because of this, VGB has taken the initiative and has defined standard minimum requirements from power plant operators for technical plant data. They relate to the details and structure of this data, the definition of material classes and characteristics for the main power plant components and IT implementation for delivery of the technical plant data. (orig.)

The U.S. Twin Delivery Volume and Association with Cesarean Delivery Rates: A Hospital-Level Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Easter, Sarah Rae; Robinson, Julian N; Carusi, Daniela; Little, Sarah E

2018-03-01

 The objective of this study was to test whether hospitals experienced in twin delivery have lower rates of cesarean delivery for twins.  We divided obstetric hospitals in the 2011 National Inpatient Sample by quartile of annual twin deliveries and compared twin cesarean delivery rates between hospitals with weighted linear regression. We used Pearson's coefficients to correlate a hospital's twin cesarean delivery rate to its overall cesarean delivery and vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) rates.  Annual twin delivery volume ranged from 1 to 506 across the 547 analyzed hospitals with a median of 10 and mode of 3. Adjusted rates of cesarean delivery were independent of delivery volume with a rate of 75.5 versus 74.8% in the lowest and highest volume hospitals ( p  = 0.09 across quartiles). A hospital's cesarean delivery rate for twins moderately correlated with the overall cesarean rate ( r  = 0.52, p  < 0.01) and inversely correlated with VBAC rate ( r  =  - 0.42, p  < 0.01).  Most U.S. obstetrical units perform a low volume of twin deliveries with no decrease in cesarean delivery rates at higher volume hospitals. Twin cesarean delivery rates correlate with other obstetric parameters such as singleton cesarean delivery and VBAC rates suggesting twin cesarean delivery rate is more closely related to a hospital's general obstetric practice than its twin delivery volume. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Development of portable laser peening systems for nuclear power reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chida, Itaru; Uehara, Takuya; Yoda, Masaki; Miyasaka, Hiroyuki; Kato, Hiromi

2009-01-01

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is the major factor to reduce the reliability of aged reactor components. Toshiba has developed various laser-based maintenance and repair technologies and applied them to existing nuclear power plants. Laser-based technology is considered to be the best tool for remote processing in nuclear power plants, and particularly so for the maintenance and repair of reactor core components. Accessibility could be drastically improved by a simple handling system owing to the absence of reactive force against laser irradiation and the flexible optical fiber. For the preventive maintenance, laser peening technology was developed and applied to reactor components in operating BWRs and PWRs. Laser peening is a novel process to improve residual stress from tensile to compressive on material surface layer by irradiating focused high-power laser pulses in water without any surface preparations. Laser peening systems, which deliver laser pulses with mirrors or through an optical fiber, were developed and have been applied to preventive maintenance against SCC in nuclear power reactors since 1999. Each system was composed of laser oscillators, a beam delivery system, a laser irradiation head, remote handling equipment and a monitor/control system. Beam delivery with mirrors was accomplished through alignment/tracking functions with sufficient accuracy. Reliable fiber-delivery was attained by the development of a novel input coupling optics and an irradiation head with auto-focusing. Recently, we have developed portable laser peening (PLP) system which could employ both mirror- and fiber- delivery technologies. Size and weight of the PLP system for BWR bottom was almost 1/25 compared to the previous system. PLP system would be the applicable to both BWRs and PWRs as one of the maintenance technologies. (author)

Reliability Evaluation for Optimizing Electricity Supply in a Developing Country

OpenAIRE

Mark Ndubuka NWOHU

2007-01-01

The reliability standards for electricity supply in a developing country, like Nigeria, have to be determined on past engineering principles and practice. Because of the high demand of electrical power due to rapid development, industrialization and rural electrification; the economic, social and political climate in which the electric power supply industry now operates should be critically viewed to ensure that the production of electrical power should be augmented and remain uninterrupted. ...

Integrated Inverter And Battery Charger

Science.gov (United States)

Rippel, Wally E.

1988-01-01

Circuit combines functions of dc-to-ac inversion (for driving ac motor in battery-powered vehicle) and ac-to-dc conversion (for charging battery from ac line when vehicle not in use). Automatically adapts to either mode. Design of integrated inverter/charger eliminates need for duplicate components, saves space, reduces weight and cost of vehicle. Advantages in other applications : load-leveling systems, standby ac power systems, and uninterruptible power supplies.

Normal Range of Head-to-body Delivery Interval by Two-step Delivery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong-Yu Zhang

2016-01-01

Conclusions: The average time of head-to-body delivery interval was longer than 60 s by two-step delivery. Majority shoulders were delivered at the first contraction. Majority shoulders emerged from perineum rather from under pubic arch. The routine one-step method of shoulder delivery where the downward force applied is not necessary and is not the right direction. Baby's breath, making faces, sucking, bubble from noses and mouth, and the light blue color of the faces, all those signs during shoulder delivery indicated a normal live birth.

Sodium dependent multivitamin transporter (SMVT): a potential target for drug delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Vadlapudi, Aswani Dutt; Vadlapatla, Ramya Krishna; Mitra, Ashim K

2012-06-01

Sodium dependent multivitamin transporter (SMVT; product of the SLC5A6 gene) is an important transmembrane protein responsible for translocation of vitamins and other essential cofactors such as biotin, pantothenic acid and lipoic acid. Hydropathy plot (Kyte-Dolittle algorithm) revealed that human SMVT protein consists of 635 amino acids and 12 transmembrane domains with both amino and carboxyl termini oriented towards the cytoplasm. SMVT is expressed in various tissues such as placenta, intestine, brain, liver, lung, kidney, cornea, retina and heart. This transporter displays broad substrate specificity and excellent capacity for utilization in drug delivery. Drug absorption is often limited by the presence of physiological (epithelial tight junctions), biochemical (efflux transporters and enzymatic degradation) and chemical (size, lipophilicity, molecular weight, charge etc.) barriers. These barriers may cause many potential therapeutics to be dropped from the preliminary screening portfolio and subsequent entry into the market. Transporter targeted delivery has become a powerful approach to deliver drugs to target tissues because of the ability of the transporter to translocate the drug to intracellular organelles at a higher rate. This review highlights studies employing SMVT transporter as a target for drug delivery to improve bioavailability and investigate the feasibility of developing SMVT targeted drug delivery systems.

Levodopa delivery systems: advancements in delivery of the gold standard.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngwuluka, Ndidi; Pillay, Viness; Du Toit, Lisa C; Ndesendo, Valence; Choonara, Yahya; Modi, Girish; Naidoo, Dinesh

2010-02-01

Despite the fact that Parkinson's disease (PD) was discovered almost 200 years ago, its treatment and management remain immense challenges because progressive loss of dopaminergic nigral neurons, motor complications experienced by the patients as the disease progresses and drawbacks of pharmacotherapeutic management still persist. Various therapeutic agents have been used in the management of PD, including levodopa (l-DOPA), selegiline, amantadine, bromocriptine, entacapone, pramipexole dihydrochloride and more recently istradefylline and rasagiline. Of all agents, l-DOPA although the oldest, remains the most effective. l-DOPA is easier to administer, better tolerated, less expensive and is required by almost all PD patients. However, l-DOPA's efficacy in advanced PD is significantly reduced due to metabolism, subsequent low bioavailability and irregular fluctuations in its plasma levels. Significant strides have been made to improve the delivery of l-DOPA in order to enhance its bioavailability and reduce plasma fluctuations as well as motor complications experienced by patients purportedly resulting from pulsatile stimulation of the striatal dopamine receptors. Drug delivery systems that have been instituted for the delivery of l-DOPA include immediate release formulations, liquid formulations, dispersible tablets, controlled release formulations, dual-release formulations, microspheres, infusion and transdermal delivery, among others. In this review, the l-DOPA-loaded drug delivery systems developed over the past three decades are elaborated. The ultimate aim was to assess critically the attempts made thus far directed at improving l-DOPA absorption, bioavailability and maintenance of constant plasma concentrations, including the drug delivery technologies implicated. This review highlights the fact that neuropharmaceutics is at a precipice, which is expected to spur investigators to take that leap to enable the generation of innovative delivery systems for the

Reduction of treatment delivery variances with a computer-controlled treatment delivery system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fraass, B.A.; Lash, K.L.; Matrone, G.M.; Lichter, A.S.

1997-01-01

Purpose: To analyze treatment delivery variances for 3-D conformal therapy performed at various levels of treatment delivery automation, ranging from manual field setup to virtually complete computer-controlled treatment delivery using a computer-controlled conformal radiotherapy system. Materials and Methods: All external beam treatments performed in our department during six months of 1996 were analyzed to study treatment delivery variances versus treatment complexity. Treatments for 505 patients (40,641 individual treatment ports) on four treatment machines were studied. All treatment variances noted by treatment therapists or quality assurance reviews (39 in all) were analyzed. Machines 'M1' (CLinac (6(100))) and 'M2' (CLinac 1800) were operated in a standard manual setup mode, with no record and verify system (R/V). Machines 'M3' (CLinac 2100CD/MLC) and ''M4'' (MM50 racetrack microtron system with MLC) treated patients under the control of a computer-controlled conformal radiotherapy system (CCRS) which 1) downloads the treatment delivery plan from the planning system, 2) performs some (or all) of the machine set-up and treatment delivery for each field, 3) monitors treatment delivery, 4) records all treatment parameters, and 5) notes exceptions to the electronically-prescribed plan. Complete external computer control is not available on M3, so it uses as many CCRS features as possible, while M4 operates completely under CCRS control and performs semi-automated and automated multi-segment intensity modulated treatments. Analysis of treatment complexity was based on numbers of fields, individual segments (ports), non-axial and non-coplanar plans, multi-segment intensity modulation, and pseudo-isocentric treatments (and other plans with computer-controlled table motions). Treatment delivery time was obtained from the computerized scheduling system (for manual treatments) or from CCRS system logs. Treatment therapists rotate among the machines, so this analysis

Lactoferrin modified graphene oxide iron oxide nanocomposite for glioma-targeted drug delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Meng-Meng; Xu, Huai-Liang; Liang, Jun-Xing; Xiang, Hui-Hui; Liu, Rui; Shen, Yu-Xian

2017-08-01

Targeting delivery of drugs in a specific manner represents a potential powerful technology in gliomas. Herein, we prepared a multifunctional targeted delivery system based on graphene oxide (GO) that contains a molecular bio-targeting ligand and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles on the surface of GO for magnetic targeting. Superparamagnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles was loaded on the surface of GO via chemical precipitation method to form GO@Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposites. Lactoferrin (Lf), an iron-transporting serum glycoprotein that binds to receptors overexpressed at the surface of glioma cells and vascular endothelial cell of the blood brain barrier, was chosen as the targeted ligand to construct the targeted delivery system Lf@GO@Fe 3 O 4 through EDC/NHS chemistry. With the confirmation of TEM, DLS and VSM, the resulting Lf@GO@Fe 3 O 4 had a size distribution of 200-1000nm and exhibited a superparamagnetic behavior. The nano delivery system had a high loading capacity and exhibited a pH-dependent release behavior. Compared with free DOX and DOX@GO@Fe 3 O 4 , Lf@GO@Fe 3 O 4 @DOX displayed greater intracellular delivery efficiency and stronger cytotoxicity against C6 glioma cells. The results demonstrated the potential utility of Lf conjugated GO@Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposites for therapeutic application in the treatment of gliomas. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Plasmon resonant liposomes for controlled drug delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Knights-Mitchell, Shellie S.; Romanowski, Marek

2015-03-01

Nanotechnology use in drug delivery promotes a reduction in systemic toxicity, improved pharmacokinetics, and better drug bioavailability. Liposomes continue to be extensively researched as drug delivery systems (DDS) with formulations such as Doxil® and Ambisome® approved by FDA and successfully marketed in the United States. However, the limited ability to precisely control release of active ingredients from these vesicles continues to challenge the broad implementation of this technology. Moreover, the full potential of the carrier to sequester drugs until it can reach its intended target has yet to be realized. Here, we describe a liposomal DDS that releases therapeutic doses of an anticancer drug in response to external stimulus. Earlier, we introduced degradable plasmon resonant liposomes. These constructs, obtained by reducing gold on the liposome surface, facilitate spatial and temporal release of drugs upon laser light illumination that ultimately induces an increase in temperature. In this work, plasmon resonant liposomes have been developed to stably encapsulate and retain doxorubicin at physiological conditions represented by isotonic saline at 37o C and pH 7.4. Subsequently, they are stimulated to release contents either by a 5o C increase in temperature or by laser illumination (760 nm and 88 mW/cm2 power density). Successful development of degradable plasmon resonant liposomes responsive to near-infrared light or moderate hyperthermia can provide a new delivery method for multiple lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs with pharmacokinetic profiles that limit clinical utility.

Is it possible to design a portable power generator based on micro-solid oxide fuel cells? A finite volume analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Pla, D.; Sánchez-González, A.; Garbayo, I.; Salleras, M.; Morata, A.; Tarancón, A.

2015-10-01

The inherent limited capacity of current battery technology is not sufficient for covering the increasing power requirements of widely extended portable devices. Among other promising alternatives, recent advances in the field of micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (μ-SOFCs) converted this disruptive technology into a serious candidate to power next generations of portable devices. However, the implementation of single cells in real devices, i.e. μ-SOFC stacks coupled to the required balance-of-plant elements like fuel reformers or post combustors, still remains unexplored. This work aims addressing this system-level research by proposing a new compact design of a vertically stacked device fuelled with ethanol. The feasibility and design optimization for achieving a thermally self-sustained regime and a rapid and low-power consuming start-up is studied by finite volume analysis. An optimal thermal insulation strategy is defined to maintain the steady-state operation temperature of the μ-SOFC at 973 K and an external temperature lower than 323 K. A hybrid start-up procedure, based on heaters embedded in the μ-SOFCs and heat released by chemical reactions in the post-combustion unit, is analyzed allowing start-up times below 1 min and energy consumption under 500 J. These results clearly demonstrate the feasibility of high temperature μ-SOFC power systems fuelled with hydrocarbons for portable applications, therefore, anticipating a new family of mobile and uninterrupted power generators.

Risk factors for cesarean delivery and adverse neonatal outcome in twin pregnancies attempting vaginal delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Schachter-Safrai, Natali; Karavani, Gilad; Haj-Yahya, Rani; Ofek Shlomai, Noa; Porat, Shay

2018-02-24

Twin vaginal delivery presents a unique clinical challenge for obstetricians. The Twin Birth Study demonstrated the safety of planned vaginal delivery regarding neonatal outcomes. However, that study lacked a description of the risk factors associated with and the outcome of unplanned cesarean section. The aim of this study is to identify potential risk factors for cesarean section and delivery related neonatal morbidity and mortality in women with twin pregnancy attempting vaginal delivery. A retrospective cohort study including 1070 women with twin pregnancy that underwent a trial of labor between 2003 and 2015. The study population was divided according to the mode of delivery: vaginal delivery, combined vaginal-cesarean and intrapartum cesarean delivery of both twins. Several risk factors and neonatal outcomes were examined by both univariate analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis. The rate of vaginal delivery of both twins was 88.3%, whereas the rates of combined vaginal cesarean and unplanned cesarean delivery were 4.6% and 7.1%, respectively. Nulliparity and nonvertex presentation of twin B were found to be independently associated with cesarean delivery for both twins. Additionally, nonvertex presentation of twin B was independently associated with combined vaginal-cesarean delivery. The proportion of neonates with Apgar score cesarean group compared with those delivered by the vaginal route alone. Nulliparity and nonvertex presentation of twin B were found to be associated with intrapartum cesarean delivery in twin pregnancies. © 2018 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Empirical evaluation of the efficiency of the Iberian power futures market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Álvaro Capitán Herráiz

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Market efficiency is analysed for the Iberian Power Futures Market and other European Power Markets, as well as other fuel markets through evaluation of ex-post Forward Risk Premium. The equilibrium price from compulsory call auctions for distribution companies within the framework of the Iberian Power Futures Market is not optimal for remuneration purposes as it seems to be slightly upward biased, though such a premium is not significant (only around 2% above the average of Settlement Prices. In the period considered (August 2006 to September 2008, monthly futures contracts behave similarly to quarterly contracts. Average risk premia have been positive in power and natural gas markets but negative in oil and coal markets. Different hypotheses are tested regarding increasing volatility with maturity and regarding Forward Risk Premium correlations (negative with variance of spot prices during delivery period and positive with skewness of spot prices during delivery period. Enlarged data sets are recommended for stronger test results. Energy markets tend to show limited levels of market efficiency. Regarding the emerging Iberian Power Futures Market, price efficiency is improved with market development and with further integration of European Regional Power Markets.

Improved model predictive control for high voltage quality in microgrid applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dragicevic, T.; Al hasheem, Mohamed; Lu, M.

2017-01-01

This paper proposes an improvement of the finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) strategy for enhancing the voltage regulation performance of a voltage source converter (VSC) used for standalone microgrid and uninterrupted power supply (UPS) applications. The modification is based...

Demand management through centralized control system using power line communication for existing buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Mulla, A.; ElSherbini, A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A pilot system was developed for demand management of equipment in buildings. • The networking was based on LonWorks platform and power line communication. • Demand strategies led to load reductions up to 74% and energy savings up to 25%. • The peak load reduction is expected to reach 3.44 GW by the year 2030. - Abstract: Managing peak demand efficiently is vital for maintaining uninterrupted supply of electrical power by utility providers. In this work, a pilot system was developed for managing and controlling the demand of major power consuming equipment in buildings from a central server, while relying mostly on existing infrastructure and maintaining consumer comfort. The system was successfully demonstrated on a selected group of buildings using the LonWorks networking platform. At the building level, the system utilized power line and twisted pair communication to control the thermostats of air-conditioning (A/C) units. The higher level communication was executed through extensible markup language (XML) and simple object access protocol (SOAP). The system provided control capabilities based on A/C unit priority, thermostat temperature, building type and geographic location. The development and execution of demand management strategies for selected buildings led to peak load reductions up to 74%, in addition to energy savings up to 25%. Implementing such a system at a national level in Kuwait is estimated to reduce peak demand by 3.44 GW, amounting to capital savings of $4.13 billion. The use of existing infrastructure reduced the cost and installation time of the system. Based on the successful testing of this pilot system, a larger-scale system is being developed

MRI in ocular drug delivery

OpenAIRE

Li, S. Kevin; Lizak, Martin J.; Jeong, Eun-Kee

2008-01-01

Conventional pharmacokinetic methods for studying ocular drug delivery are invasive and cannot be conveniently applied to humans. The advancement of MRI technology has provided new opportunities in ocular drug-delivery research. MRI provides a means to non-invasively and continuously monitor ocular drug-delivery systems with a contrast agent or compound labeled with a contrast agent. It is a useful technique in pharmacokinetic studies, evaluation of drug-delivery methods, and drug-delivery de...

Development of a lightweight electric urban delivery truck

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gillespie, G.; Martin, R.; Vader, S. [Unicell Ltd., Toronto, ON (Canada)

2007-07-15

A study was conducted to develop a lightweight urban parcel delivery vehicle that features a composite material, monocoque low-floor body and a zero-emission electric drive system. The long-term goal of project was to produce a vehicle with an energy efficiency that was nearly 90 per cent better than a conventional delivery vehicle. The objectives of the development phase were to complete the structural design of the composite, monocoque low-floor body. Electric drive options were explored to confirm the feasibility in terms of vehicle range, zero emissions and energy efficiency. This involved characterization of the vehicle duty cycle, development of a computer model of the electric powertrain, and simulations to confirm the vehicle's power and energy requirements. The design of the prototype was validated through testing in accordance with recognized vehicle performance tests and an in-service trial by Purolator Courier Ltd., a major Canadian courier service. Testing of the QuickSider delivery truck included vehicle dynamics, energy consumption, safety compliance, and in-service evaluation. No unacceptable stresses, deflections or resonances were identified in the structure. The vehicle's performance was found to be consistent with design expectations. Dynamometer tests have indicated that the ZEV range of the prototype is greater than the targeted 120 km. The overall energy efficiency of the vehicle was 50 per cent, as compared 11 per cent for a conventional diesel delivery truck. It was concluded that an overall energy efficiency of 75 per cent is achievable in production vehicles if improvements are made to the battery system, drive train, regenerative braking and auxiliary systems. 29 figs., 2 appendices.

75 FR 75994 - Application To Export Electric Energy; NRG Power Marketing LLC

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-07

... Marketing LLC AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE. ACTION: Notice of application. SUMMARY: NRG Power Marketing LLC (NRGPML) has applied to renew its authority to transmit electric... to Canada would be surplus energy purchased from electric utilities, Federal power marketing agencies...

Vacuum-assisted delivery

Science.gov (United States)

... medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000514.htm Vacuum-assisted delivery To use the sharing features on this page, ... through the birth canal. When is Vacuum-assisted Delivery Needed? Even after your cervix is fully dilated ( ...

Delivery and installation of PC/FRAM at the PNC Tokai Works

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sampson, T.E.; Kelley, T.A.; Kroncke, K.E.; Menlove, H.O.; Baca, J.; Asano, Takashi; Terakado, Shigeru; Goto, Yasushi; Kogawa, Noboru

1997-11-01

The authors report on the assembly, testing, delivery, installation, and initial testing of three PC/FRAM plutonium isotopic analysis systems at the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation's Tokai Works. These systems are intended to measure the isotopic composition and 235 U/plutonium of mixed oxide (MOX) waste in 200-L waste drums. These systems provide capability for performing measurements on lead-lined drums

A novel minimum cost maximum power algorithm for future smart home energy management.

Science.gov (United States)

Singaravelan, A; Kowsalya, M

2017-11-01

With the latest development of smart grid technology, the energy management system can be efficiently implemented at consumer premises. In this paper, an energy management system with wireless communication and smart meter are designed for scheduling the electric home appliances efficiently with an aim of reducing the cost and peak demand. For an efficient scheduling scheme, the appliances are classified into two types: uninterruptible and interruptible appliances. The problem formulation was constructed based on the practical constraints that make the proposed algorithm cope up with the real-time situation. The formulated problem was identified as Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) problem, so this problem was solved by a step-wise approach. This paper proposes a novel Minimum Cost Maximum Power (MCMP) algorithm to solve the formulated problem. The proposed algorithm was simulated with input data available in the existing method. For validating the proposed MCMP algorithm, results were compared with the existing method. The compared results prove that the proposed algorithm efficiently reduces the consumer electricity consumption cost and peak demand to optimum level with 100% task completion without sacrificing the consumer comfort.

Microgrids : a look into the power delivery system of the future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Domijan, A.Jr.; Hernandez Torres, F. [Univ. of South Florida, Tampa, FL (United States); Alvarez Bel, C. [Polytechnical Univ. of Valencia (Spain). Dept. of Engineering

2007-07-01

The recent technical advances in the field of communications and computations has affected the structure of the electric power industry which is now more decentralized due to the connection of generation sources at the mid voltage (MV) level. It is expected that in the future, microgrids may be established at the low voltage (LV) level. This paper described the current situation of microgrids as an integrated energy system in distribution networks. The technical and economical issues associated with microgrids were discussed along with the difficulties and potential drawbacks that hinder their development. This study focused on the different components of a microgrid system and on its two operating scenarios. The new concept of smart grids, which combine communications and electricity, was reviewed along with recent efforts made in the United States to develop this innovative and progressive technology. The technical and economical advantages that microgrids can provide to the electric power industry were presented with reference to environmental issues; operational issues; power reliability and quality issues; and, market issues. Some of the challenges include the fact that the high cost of distributed energy resources requires some kind of subsidy to induce investment, particularly during a transition period. Other barriers include an absence of well established standards and the need for more research in dispatch real time models, dynamics models and simulation of real time operations. One of the most advantageous aspects of a microgrid network is the ability to separate, or island, from the grid when a power outage occurs to the local loads. 8 refs., 1 fig.

Passivity-Based Automated Design of Stable Multi-Feedback Distributed Power Delivery Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-01

power ility criterion tomated desi designing a shown in Fig gulator is syn ogy and desig is used durin ber and lo upplies in th stem. During livery...Nu co ,736 318 578 776 ng scenario i y system. Th ted system i rent loads. I power supplie ocation of th fies the qualit the distribute tomated

Laser beam uniformity and stability using homogenizer-based fiber optic launch method: square core fiber delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Lizotte, Todd E.

2011-03-01

Over the years, technological achievements within the laser medical diagnostic, treatment, and therapy markets have led to ever increasing requirements for greater control of critical laser beam parameters. Increased laser power/energy stabilization, temporal and spatial beam shaping and flexible laser beam delivery systems with ergonomic focusing or imaging lens systems are sought by leading medical laser system producers. With medical procedures that utilize laser energy, there is a constant emphasis on reducing adverse effects that come about by the laser itself or its optical system, but even when these variables are well controlled the medical professional will still need to deal with the multivariate nature of the human body. Focusing on the variables that can be controlled, such as accurate placement of the laser beam where it will expose a surface being treated as well as laser beam shape and uniformity is critical to minimizing adverse conditions. This paper covers the use of fiber optic beam delivery as a means of defining the beam shape (intensity/power distribution uniformity) at the target plane as well as the use of fiber delivery as a means to allow more flexible articulation of the laser beam over the surface being treated. The paper will present a new concept of using a square core fiber beam delivery design utilizing a unique micro lens array (MLA) launch method that improves the overall stability of the system, by minimizing the impact of the laser instability. The resulting performance of the prototype is presented to demonstrate its stability in comparison to simple lens launch techniques, with an emphasis on homogenization and articulated fiber delivery.

Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Systems for Controlled Protein and Peptide Delivery: Future Implications for Ocular Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahlumba, Pakama; Choonara, Yahya E; Kumar, Pradeep; du Toit, Lisa C; Pillay, Viness

2016-07-30

Therapeutic proteins and peptides have become notable in the drug delivery arena for their compatibility with the human body as well as their high potency. However, their biocompatibility and high potency does not negate the existence of challenges resulting from physicochemical properties of proteins and peptides, including large size, short half-life, capability to provoke immune responses and susceptibility to degradation. Various delivery routes and delivery systems have been utilized to improve bioavailability, patient acceptability and reduce biodegradation. The ocular route remains of great interest, particularly for responsive delivery of macromolecules due to the anatomy and physiology of the eye that makes it a sensitive and complex environment. Research in this field is slowly gaining attention as this could be the breakthrough in ocular drug delivery of macromolecules. This work reviews stimuli-responsive polymeric delivery systems, their use in the delivery of therapeutic proteins and peptides as well as examples of proteins and peptides used in the treatment of ocular disorders. Stimuli reviewed include pH, temperature, enzymes, light, ultrasound and magnetic field. In addition, it discusses the current progress in responsive ocular drug delivery. Furthermore, it explores future prospects in the use of stimuli-responsive polymers for ocular delivery of proteins and peptides. Stimuli-responsive polymers offer great potential in improving the delivery of ocular therapeutics, therefore there is a need to consider them in order to guarantee a local, sustained and ideal delivery of ocular proteins and peptides, evading tissue invasion and systemic side-effects.

Welding with high power fiber lasers - A preliminary study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quintino, L.; Costa, A.; Miranda, R.; Yapp, D.; Kumar, V.; Kong, C.J.

2007-01-01

The new generation of high power fiber lasers presents several benefits for industrial purposes, namely high power with low beam divergence, flexible beam delivery, low maintenance costs, high efficiency and compact size. This paper presents a brief review of the development of high power lasers, and presents initial data on welding of API 5L: X100 pipeline steel with an 8 kW fiber laser. Weld bead geometry was evaluated and transition between conduction and deep penetration welding modes was investigated

Necessity of nuclear power engineering development in Kazakstan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takibaev, Zh.S.; Cherepnin, Yu.S.

1996-01-01

Kazakstan is a great land country. Mining and delivery of great coal amount to power facilities will require to rise prices for electrical power. High expenditures for energy will lead to rising prime cost of every industry production unit produced in the country. If all power supply in the country is obtained from solid fuel, than geographical factor would be a heavy weight for it economy that would be not able to produce competition able. There is no doubt, that Kazakstan coal power supply will be prevailing electric power source for a long period of future. But it is urgently necessary consider and develop alternative conceptions for development of young country. There are a number of favourable reasons for atomic power engineering development

Emerging Frontiers in Drug Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Tibbitt, Mark W; Dahlman, James E; Langer, Robert

2016-01-27

Medicine relies on the use of pharmacologically active agents (drugs) to manage and treat disease. However, drugs are not inherently effective; the benefit of a drug is directly related to the manner by which it is administered or delivered. Drug delivery can affect drug pharmacokinetics, absorption, distribution, metabolism, duration of therapeutic effect, excretion, and toxicity. As new therapeutics (e.g., biologics) are being developed, there is an accompanying need for improved chemistries and materials to deliver them to the target site in the body, at a therapeutic concentration, and for the required period of time. In this Perspective, we provide an historical overview of drug delivery and controlled release followed by highlights of four emerging areas in the field of drug delivery: systemic RNA delivery, drug delivery for localized therapy, oral drug delivery systems, and biologic drug delivery systems. In each case, we present the barriers to effective drug delivery as well as chemical and materials advances that are enabling the field to overcome these hurdles for clinical impact.

Active and reactive power control schemes for distributed generation systems under voltage dips

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, F.; Duarte, J.L.; Hendrix, M.A.M.

2009-01-01

During voltage dips continuous power delivery from distributed generation systems to the grid is desirable for the purpose of grid support. In order to facilitate the control of distributed generation systems adapted to the expected change of grid requirements, generalized power control schemes

Global Delivery Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manning, Stephan; Larsen, Marcus M.; Bharati, Pratyush

2013-01-01

This article examines antecedents and performance implications of global delivery models (GDMs) in global business services. GDMs require geographically distributed operations to exploit both proximity to clients and time-zone spread for efficient service delivery. We propose and empirically show...

Smart Inulin-Based Polycationic Nanodevices for siRNA Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavallaro, G; Sardo, C; Scialabba, C; Licciardi, M; Giammona, G

2017-01-01

The advances of short interfering RNA (siRNA) mediated therapy provide a powerful option for the treatment of many diseases by silencing the expression of targeted genes including cancer development and progression. Inulin is a very simple and biocompatible polysaccharide proposed by our groups to produce interesting delivery systems for Nucleic Acid Based Drugs (NABDs), such as siRNA, either as polycations able to give polyplexes and polymeric coatings for nanosystems having a metallic core. In this research field, different functionalizing groups were linked to the inulin backbone with specific aims including oligoamine such as Ethylendiammine (EDA), Diethylediamine (DETA), Spermine, (SPM) etc. In this contribution the main Inulin-based nanodevices for the delivery of siRNA have been reported, analysed and compared with particular reference to their chemical design and structure, biocompatibility, siRNA complexing ability, silencing ability. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

A Design of Wireless Sensor Networks for a Power Quality Monitoring System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanggil Kang

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Power grids deal with the business of generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power. Recently, interest in power quality in electrical distribution systems has increased rapidly. In Korea, the communication network to deliver voltage, current, and temperature measurements gathered from pole transformers to remote monitoring centers employs cellular mobile technology. Due to high cost of the cellular mobile technology, power quality monitoring measurements are limited and data gathering intervals are large. This causes difficulties in providing the power quality monitoring service. To alleviate the problems, in this paper we present a communication infrastructure to provide low cost, reliable data delivery. The communication infrastructure consists of wired connections between substations and monitoring centers, and wireless connections between pole transformers and substations. For the wireless connection, we employ a wireless sensor network and design its corresponding data forwarding protocol to improve the quality of data delivery. For the design, we adopt a tree-based data forwarding protocol in order to customize the distribution pattern of the power quality information. We verify the performance of the proposed data forwarding protocol quantitatively using the NS-2 network simulator.

A design of wireless sensor networks for a power quality monitoring system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Yujin; Kim, Hak-Man; Kang, Sanggil

2010-01-01

Power grids deal with the business of generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power. Recently, interest in power quality in electrical distribution systems has increased rapidly. In Korea, the communication network to deliver voltage, current, and temperature measurements gathered from pole transformers to remote monitoring centers employs cellular mobile technology. Due to high cost of the cellular mobile technology, power quality monitoring measurements are limited and data gathering intervals are large. This causes difficulties in providing the power quality monitoring service. To alleviate the problems, in this paper we present a communication infrastructure to provide low cost, reliable data delivery. The communication infrastructure consists of wired connections between substations and monitoring centers, and wireless connections between pole transformers and substations. For the wireless connection, we employ a wireless sensor network and design its corresponding data forwarding protocol to improve the quality of data delivery. For the design, we adopt a tree-based data forwarding protocol in order to customize the distribution pattern of the power quality information. We verify the performance of the proposed data forwarding protocol quantitatively using the NS-2 network simulator.

Designing and assessing a sustainable networked delivery (SND) system: hybrid business-to-consumer book delivery case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Junbeum; Xu, Ming; Kahhat, Ramzy; Allenby, Braden; Williams, Eric

2009-01-01

We attempted to design and assess an example of a sustainable networked delivery (SND) system: a hybrid business-to-consumer book delivery system. This system is intended to reduce costs, achieve significant reductions in energy consumption, and reduce environmental emissions of critical local pollutants and greenhouse gases. The energy consumption and concomitant emissions of this delivery system compared with existing alternative delivery systems were estimated. We found that regarding energy consumption, an emerging hybrid delivery system which is a sustainable networked delivery system (SND) would consume 47 and 7 times less than the traditional networked delivery system (TND) and e-commerce networked delivery system (END). Regarding concomitant emissions, in the case of CO2, the SND system produced 32 and 7 times fewer emissions than the TND and END systems. Also the SND system offer meaningful economic benefit such as the costs of delivery and packaging, to the online retailer, grocery, and consumer. Our research results show that the SND system has a lot of possibilities to save local transportation energy consumption and delivery costs, and reduce environmental emissions in delivery system.

Mode of delivery following successful external cephalic version: comparison with spontaneous cephalic presentations at delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuppens, Simone M I; Hutton, Eileen K; Hasaart, Tom H M; Aichi, Nassira; Wijnen, Henrica A; Pop, Victor J M

2013-10-01

To compare the obstetric outcomes of pregnant women after successful external cephalic version (ECV) (cases) with a large group of pregnant women with a spontaneously occurring cephalic fetal position at delivery (controls). We conducted a retrospective matched cohort study in a teaching hospital in the Netherlands. Delivery outcomes of women with a successful ECV were compared with those of women with spontaneously occurring cephalic presentations, controlling for maternal age, parity, gestational age at delivery, and onset of labour (spontaneous or induced). Exclusion criteria were a history of Caesarean section, delivery at < 35 weeks, and elective Caesarean section. The primary outcome was the prevalence of Caesarean section and instrumental delivery in both groups; secondary outcomes were the characteristics of cases requiring intervention such as Caesarean section or instrumental delivery. Women who had a successful ECV had a significantly higher Caesarean section rate than the women in the control group (33/220 [15%] vs. 62/1030 [6.0 %]; P < 0.001). There was no difference in the incidence of instrumental delivery (20/220 [9.1%] vs. 103/1030 [10%]). Comparison of characteristics of women in the cases group showed that nulliparity, induction of labour, and occiput posterior presentation were associated with Caesarean section and instrumental deliveries. Compared with delivery of spontaneous cephalic presenta-tions, delivery of cephalic presenting babies following successful ECV is associated with an increased rate of Caesarean section, especially in nulliparous women and women whose labour is induced.

Articulating feedstock delivery device

Science.gov (United States)

Jordan, Kevin

2013-11-05

A fully articulable feedstock delivery device that is designed to operate at pressure and temperature extremes. The device incorporates an articulating ball assembly which allows for more accurate delivery of the feedstock to a target location. The device is suitable for a variety of applications including, but not limited to, delivery of feedstock to a high-pressure reaction chamber or process zone.

Future steps toward a Danish power system with 50% wind power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, Jacob; Ackermann, Thomas; Bach, Poul-Frederik

.dk. The objective of EcoGrid work package 5 is to suggest future research and development activities in EcoGrid.dk. The future activities will consist of related activities of which some should be directed within an EU framework (EcoGridEU). The delivery of phase 1 work package 5 is a packet of proposals to be used......This report is part of the EcoGrid.dk project phase 1 initiated by Energinet.dk and the result of work package 5 dealing with proposals for future steps toward a Danish power system with 50% wind power. The EcoGrid.dk project has the objective to develop new long term technologies and market...... power system with increased volumes of RE. - Phase 2: Specific projects, analyses and recommendations to Energinet.dk with main focus on research activities - Phase 3: Technologies are implemented in real environment and demonstrated with subsequent adoption and implementation in Energinet...

Polymer nanoparticles for drug and small silencing RNA delivery to treat cancers of different phenotypes

Science.gov (United States)

Devulapally, Rammohan; Paulmurugan, Ramasamy

2013-01-01

Advances in nanotechnology have provided powerful and efficient tools in development of cancer diagnosis and therapy. There are numerous nanocarriers that are currently approved for clinical use in cancer therapy. In recent years, biodegradable polymer nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted a considerable attention for their ability to function as a possible carrier for target-specific delivery of various drugs, genes, proteins, peptides, vaccines, and other biomolecules in humans without much toxicity. This review will specifically focus on the recent advances in polymer-based nanocarriers for various drugs and small silencing RNA’s loading and delivery to treat different types of cancer. PMID:23996830

Author Correction: Energy use and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of drones for commercial package delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Stolaroff, Joshuah K; Samaras, Constantine; O'Neill, Emma R; Lubers, Alia; Mitchell, Alexandra S; Ceperley, Daniel

2018-03-08

In the original version of this Article, the first sentence of the sixth paragraph of the "Comparing emissions" section, the Results originally incorrectly read as 'In the base case, delivery of a small (0.5 kg) package with the small quadrotor drone has lower impacts than delivery by diesel truck, ranging from a 59% reduction in GHGs in California, to a 17% reduction in Missouri'. The correct version states '54%' instead of '59%' and '23%' instead of '17%'.The fourth sentence of the same paragraph originally incorrectly read as 'In the base case, delivery of a medium-sized (8 kg) package has 17% lower GHGs than delivery by truck in California, is about equivalent to delivery trucks for the U.S. average electricity mix, but has 77% higher GHGs than truck delivery in Missouri, which has a carbon-intensive electricity grid'. The correct version states 'In the base case, delivery of a medium-sized (8 kg) package has 9% lower GHGs than delivery by truck in California, is about 24% higher than delivery trucks for the U.S. average electricity mix, and has 50% higher GHGs than truck delivery in Missouri, which has a carbon-intensive electricity grid.The last sentence of the seventh paragraph of the same section originally incorrectly read as 'Because of the importance of electricity used to power the octocopter, charging with low-carbon electricity of 200 g GHG/kWh can reduce delivered package GHGs by 34% compared to diesel trucks'. The correct version states '37%' instead of '34%'.These errors have been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

Optimization of lens layout for THz signal free-space delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jimmy; Zhou, Wen

2018-03-01

We investigate how to extend the air-space distance for Terahertz (THz) signal by using optimized lens layout. After a delivery over 129.6 cm air-space we realize the BER of 10 Gb/s QPSK signal at 450 GHz smaller than 1 ×10-4 with this optimized lens layout. If only two lenses are employed, the BER is higher than forward error correction (FEC) threshold at the input power of 15 dBm into the photodiode.

Industrial applications of high-average power high-peak power nanosecond pulse duration Nd:YAG lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Paul M.; Ellwi, Samir

2009-02-01

Within the vast range of laser materials processing applications, every type of successful commercial laser has been driven by a major industrial process. For high average power, high peak power, nanosecond pulse duration Nd:YAG DPSS lasers, the enabling process is high speed surface engineering. This includes applications such as thin film patterning and selective coating removal in markets such as the flat panel displays (FPD), solar and automotive industries. Applications such as these tend to require working spots that have uniform intensity distribution using specific shapes and dimensions, so a range of innovative beam delivery systems have been developed that convert the gaussian beam shape produced by the laser into a range of rectangular and/or shaped spots, as required by demands of each project. In this paper the authors will discuss the key parameters of this type of laser and examine why they are important for high speed surface engineering projects, and how they affect the underlying laser-material interaction and the removal mechanism. Several case studies will be considered in the FPD and solar markets, exploring the close link between the application, the key laser characteristics and the beam delivery system that link these together.

Study Protocol. IDUS -- Instrumental delivery & ultrasound. A multi-centre randomised controlled trial of ultrasound assessment of the fetal head position versus standard care as an approach to prevent morbidity at instrumental delivery

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Murphy, Deirdre J

2012-09-13

AbstractBackgroundInstrumental deliveries are commonly performed in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with rates of 12 – 17% in most centres. Knowing the exact position of the fetal head is a pre-requisite for safe instrumental delivery. Traditionally, diagnosis of the fetal head position is made on transvaginal digital examination by delineating the suture lines of the fetal skull and the fontanelles. However, the accuracy of transvaginal digital examination can be unreliable and varies between 20% and 75%. Failure to identify the correct fetal head position increases the likelihood of failed instrumental delivery with the additional morbidity of sequential use of instruments or second stage caesarean section. The use of ultrasound in determining the position of the fetal head has been explored but is not part of routine clinical practice.Methods\\/DesignA multi-centre randomised controlled trial is proposed. The study will take place in two large maternity units in Ireland with a combined annual birth rate of 13,500 deliveries. It will involve 450 nulliparous women undergoing instrumental delivery after 37 weeks gestation. The main outcome measure will be incorrect diagnosis of the fetal head position. A study involving 450 women will have 80% power to detect a 10% difference in the incidence of inaccurate diagnosis of the fetal head position with two-sided 5% alpha.DiscussionIt is both important and timely to evaluate the use of ultrasound to diagnose the fetal head position prior to instrumental delivery before routine use can be advocated. The overall aim is to reduce the incidence of incorrect diagnosis of the fetal head position prior to instrumental delivery and improve the safety of instrumental deliveries.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN72230496

Stoppage - Vat Return and Accounting Practice in Re-Delivery of a Delivery Subject to Stoppage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmet Yanık

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Value Added Tax (VAT is calculated based on the goods and service delivery costs realized by the corporations. Unless this VAT is subject to stoppage, seller takes the VAT from the purchaser in delivery of goods or services and then the corporate pays this amount to the tax office or sets off through the VAT he paid for his service or goods procurement. However, in some cases, Ministry of Finance holds not those providing the delivery or service but those purchasing or procuring the goods or services responsible partly or fully for the tax calculated based on the delivery or service fee. The purpose of this paper is to reveal VAT stoppage, accounting entries with regards to the corporation accepting the delivery and re-delivering it, VAT set off and VAT return in the re-delivery of a delivery subject to stoppage pursuant to General Communiqué of VAT Serial No 117

Plasma membrane temperature gradients and multiple cell permeabilization induced by low peak power density femtosecond lasers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allen L. Garner

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Calculations indicate that selectively heating the extracellular media induces membrane temperature gradients that combine with electric fields and a temperature-induced reduction in the electropermeabilization threshold to potentially facilitate exogenous molecular delivery. Experiments by a wide-field, pulsed femtosecond laser with peak power density far below typical single cell optical delivery systems confirmed this hypothesis. Operating this laser in continuous wave mode at the same average power permeabilized many fewer cells, suggesting that bulk heating alone is insufficient and temperature gradients are crucial for permeabilization. This work suggests promising opportunities for a high throughput, low cost, contactless method for laser mediated exogenous molecule delivery without the complex optics of typical single cell optoinjection, for potential integration into microscope imaging and microfluidic systems.

Development of high-power dye laser chain

Science.gov (United States)

Konagai, Chikara; Kimura, Hironobu; Fukasawa, Teruichiro; Seki, Eiji; Abe, Motohisa; Mori, Hideo

2000-01-01

Copper vapor laser (CVL) pumped dye laser (DL) system, both in a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) configuration, has been developed for Atomic Vapor Isotope Separation program in Japan. Dye laser output power of about 500 W has been proved in long-term operations over 200 hours. High power fiber optic delivery system is utilized in order to efficiently transport kilowatt level CVL beams to the DL MOPA. Single model CVL pumped DL oscillator has been developed and worked for 200 hours within +/- 0.1 pm wavelength stability. Phase modulator for spreading spectrum to the linewidth of hyperfine structure has been developed and demonstrated.

The impact of treatment complexity and computer-control delivery technology on treatment delivery errors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fraass, Benedick A.; Lash, Kathy L.; Matrone, Gwynne M.; Volkman, Susan K.; McShan, Daniel L.; Kessler, Marc L.; Lichter, Allen S.

1998-01-01

Purpose: To analyze treatment delivery errors for three-dimensional (3D) conformal therapy performed at various levels of treatment delivery automation and complexity, ranging from manual field setup to virtually complete computer-controlled treatment delivery using a computer-controlled conformal radiotherapy system (CCRS). Methods and Materials: All treatment delivery errors which occurred in our department during a 15-month period were analyzed. Approximately 34,000 treatment sessions (114,000 individual treatment segments [ports]) on four treatment machines were studied. All treatment delivery errors logged by treatment therapists or quality assurance reviews (152 in all) were analyzed. Machines 'M1' and 'M2' were operated in a standard manual setup mode, with no record and verify system (R/V). MLC machines 'M3' and 'M4' treated patients under the control of the CCRS system, which (1) downloads the treatment delivery plan from the planning system; (2) performs some (or all) of the machine set up and treatment delivery for each field; (3) monitors treatment delivery; (4) records all treatment parameters; and (5) notes exceptions to the electronically-prescribed plan. Complete external computer control is not available on M3; therefore, it uses as many CCRS features as possible, while M4 operates completely under CCRS control and performs semi-automated and automated multi-segment intensity modulated treatments. Analysis of treatment complexity was based on numbers of fields, individual segments, nonaxial and noncoplanar plans, multisegment intensity modulation, and pseudoisocentric treatments studied for a 6-month period (505 patients) concurrent with the period in which the delivery errors were obtained. Treatment delivery time was obtained from the computerized scheduling system (for manual treatments) or from CCRS system logs. Treatment therapists rotate among the machines; therefore, this analysis does not depend on fixed therapist staff on particular

Global Delivery Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manning, Stephan; Møller Larsen, Marcus; Bharati, Pratyush

-zone spread allowing for 24/7 service delivery and access to resources. Based on comprehensive data we show that providers are likely to establish GDM configurations when clients value access to globally distributed talent pools and speed of service delivery, and in particular when services are highly...

Global On-Chip Differential Interconnects with Optimally-Placed Twists

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mensink, E.; Schinkel, Daniel; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; van Tuijl, Adrianus Johannes Maria; Nauta, Bram

2005-01-01

Global on-chip communication is receiving quite some attention as global interconnects are rapidly becoming a speed, power and reliability bottleneck for digital CMOS systems. Recently, we proposed a bus-transceiver test chip in 0.13 μm CMOS using 10 mm long uninterrupted differential interconnects

Cell-based delivery of oncolytic viruses: a new strategic alliance for a biological strike against cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Power, Anthony T; Bell, John C

2007-04-01

Recent years have seen tremendous advances in the development of exquisitely targeted replicating virotherapeutics that can safely destroy malignant cells. Despite this promise, clinical advancement of this powerful and unique approach has been hindered by vulnerability to host defenses and inefficient systemic delivery. However, it now appears that delivery of oncolytic viruses within carrier cells may offer one solution to this critical problem. In this review, we compare the advantages and limitations of the numerous cell lineages that have been investigated as delivery platforms for viral therapeutics, and discuss examples showing how combined cell-virus biotherapeutics can be used to achieve synergistic gains in antitumor activity. Finally, we highlight avenues for future preclinical research that might be taken in order to refine cell-virus biotherapeutics in preparation for human trials.

What Is a Cesarean Delivery?

Science.gov (United States)

... Twitter Pinterest Email Print What is a cesarean delivery? A cesarean delivery is a surgical procedure in which a fetus ... 32.2% of U.S. births were by cesarean delivery. 2 The CDC also found that the number ...

Synthetic sustained gene delivery systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Agarwal, Ankit; Mallapragada, Surya K

2008-01-01

Gene therapy today is hampered by the need of a safe and efficient gene delivery system that can provide a sustained therapeutic effect without cytotoxicity or unwanted immune responses. Bolus gene delivery in solution results in the loss of delivered factors via lymphatic system and may cause undesired effects by the escape of bioactive molecules to distant sites. Controlled gene delivery systems, acting as localized depot of genes, provide an extended sustained release of genes, giving prolonged maintenance of the therapeutic level of encoded proteins. They also limit the DNA degradation in the nuclease rich extra-cellular environment. While attempts have been made to adapt existing controlled drug delivery technologies, more novel approaches are being investigated for controlled gene delivery. DNA encapsulated in nano/micro spheres of polymers have been administered systemically/orally to be taken up by the targeted tissues and provide sustained release once internalized. Alternatively, DNA entrapped in hydrogels or scaffolds have been injected/implanted in tissues/cavities as platforms for gene delivery. The present review examines these different modalities for sustained delivery of viral and non-viral gene-delivery vectors. Design parameters and release mechanisms of different systems made with synthetic or natural polymers are presented along with their prospective applications and opportunities for continuous development.

Project delivery system (PDS)

CERN Document Server

2001-01-01

As business environments become increasingly competitive, companies seek more comprehensive solutions to the delivery of their projects. "Project Delivery System: Fourth Edition" describes the process-driven project delivery systems which incorporates the best practices from Total Quality and is aligned with the Project Management Institute and ISO Quality Standards is the means by which projects are consistently and efficiently planned, executed and completed to the satisfaction of clients and customers.

Supplier Cooperation in Drone Delivery

OpenAIRE

Sawadsitang, Suttinee; Niyato, Dusit; Siew, Tan Puay; Wang, Ping

2018-01-01

Recently, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, has emerged as an efficient and cost-effective solution for package delivery. Especially, drones are expected to incur lower cost, and achieve fast and environment friendly delivery. While most of existing drone research concentrates on surveillance applications, few works studied the drone package delivery planning problem. Even so, the previous works only focus on the drone delivery planning of a single supplier. In this paper...

Noninvasive ocular drug delivery: potential transcorneal and other alternative delivery routes for therapeutic molecules in glaucoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Foldvari, Marianna

2014-01-01

Drug delivery to the eye is made difficult by multiple barriers (such as the tear film, cornea, and vitreous) between the surface of the eye and the treatment site. These barriers are difficult to surmount for the purposes of drug delivery without causing toxicity. Using nanotechnology tools to control, manipulate, and study delivery systems, new approaches to delivering drugs, genes, and antigens that are effective and safe can be developed. Topical administration to the ocular surface would be the safest method for delivery, as it is noninvasive and painless compared with other delivery methods. However, there is only limited success using topical delivery methods, especially for gene therapy. Current thinking on treatments of the future enabled by nanodelivery systems and the identification of target specificity parameters that require deeper understanding to develop successful topical delivery systems for glaucoma is highlighted.

6. Home deliveries

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sitwala

determine factors associated with home deliveries. Main outcome ... deliver at home than a health facility compared to those who .... regression analysis, women who had four years of schooling or .... by report bias, the burden of home deliveries is a real challenge .... Journal of Econometrics 1987; 36: 185-204. 14. Michelo ...

[Fathers of first infants--preparatory courses about delivery, experience of delivery and paternity leave].

Science.gov (United States)

Aagaard, J; Dueholm, M; Nielsen, K T; Wiese, J; Strand, J E; Jangaard, J K

1989-05-22

In the Central Hospital in Randers, 233 fathers of first infants replied to a questionnaire which illustrated their attitudes to the preparatory courses about delivery, experience of delivery and attitudes to paternity leave. 65% of the fathers participated in the course and 74% stated that they considered that this had been profitable. Where 77% of the men were concerned, these considered that participation in delivery had been a positive experience. 73% of the men had planned paternity leave around the time of delivery, which emphasizes the need for this arrangement.

Target isolation system, high power laser and laser peening method and system using same

Science.gov (United States)

Dane, C. Brent; Hackel, Lloyd A.; Harris, Fritz

2007-11-06

A system for applying a laser beam to work pieces, includes a laser system producing a high power output beam. Target delivery optics are arranged to deliver the output beam to a target work piece. A relay telescope having a telescope focal point is placed in the beam path between the laser system and the target delivery optics. The relay telescope relays an image between an image location near the output of the laser system and an image location near the target delivery optics. A baffle is placed at the telescope focal point between the target delivery optics and the laser system to block reflections from the target in the target delivery optics from returning to the laser system and causing damage.

On the concavity of delivery games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hamers, H.J.M.

1995-01-01

Delivery games, introduced by Hamers, Borm, van de Leensel and Tijs (1994), are combinatorial optimization games that arise from delivery problems closely related to the Chinese postman problem (CPP). They showed that delivery games are not necessarily balanced. For delivery problems corresponding

Study Protocol. IDUS – Instrumental delivery & ultrasound. A multi-centre randomised controlled trial of ultrasound assessment of the fetal head position versus standard care as an approach to prevent morbidity at instrumental delivery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murphy Deirdre J

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Instrumental deliveries are commonly performed in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with rates of 12 – 17% in most centres. Knowing the exact position of the fetal head is a pre-requisite for safe instrumental delivery. Traditionally, diagnosis of the fetal head position is made on transvaginal digital examination by delineating the suture lines of the fetal skull and the fontanelles. However, the accuracy of transvaginal digital examination can be unreliable and varies between 20% and 75%. Failure to identify the correct fetal head position increases the likelihood of failed instrumental delivery with the additional morbidity of sequential use of instruments or second stage caesarean section. The use of ultrasound in determining the position of the fetal head has been explored but is not part of routine clinical practice. Methods/Design A multi-centre randomised controlled trial is proposed. The study will take place in two large maternity units in Ireland with a combined annual birth rate of 13,500 deliveries. It will involve 450 nulliparous women undergoing instrumental delivery after 37 weeks gestation. The main outcome measure will be incorrect diagnosis of the fetal head position. A study involving 450 women will have 80% power to detect a 10% difference in the incidence of inaccurate diagnosis of the fetal head position with two-sided 5% alpha. Discussion It is both important and timely to evaluate the use of ultrasound to diagnose the fetal head position prior to instrumental delivery before routine use can be advocated. The overall aim is to reduce the incidence of incorrect diagnosis of the fetal head position prior to instrumental delivery and improve the safety of instrumental deliveries. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN72230496

Prenatal attitudes toward vaginal delivery and actual delivery mode: Variation by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Science.gov (United States)

Attanasio, Laura B; Hardeman, Rachel R; Kozhimannil, Katy B; Kjerulff, Kristen H

2017-12-01

Researchers documenting persistent racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status disparities in chances of cesarean delivery have speculated that women's birth attitudes and preferences may partially explain these differences, but no studies have directly tested this hypothesis. We examined whether women's prenatal attitudes toward vaginal delivery differed by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status, and whether attitudes were differently related to delivery mode depending on race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Data were from the First Baby Study, a cohort of 3006 women who gave birth to a first baby in Pennsylvania between 2009 and 2011. We used regression models to examine (1) predictors of prenatal attitudes toward vaginal delivery, and (2) the association between prenatal attitudes and actual delivery mode. To assess moderation, we estimated models adding interaction terms. Prenatal attitudes toward vaginal delivery were not associated with race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Positive attitudes toward vaginal delivery were associated with lower odds of cesarean delivery (AOR=0.60, P socioeconomic status women may be more able to realize their preferences in childbirth. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Role of dominant versus non-dominant hand position during uninterrupted chest compression CPR by novice rescuers: a randomized double-blind crossover study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nikandish, Reza; Shahbazi, Sharbanoo; Golabi, Sedigheh; Beygi, Najimeh

2008-02-01

Previous research has suggested improved quality of chest compressions when the dominant hand was in contact with the sternum. However, the study was in health care professionals and during conventional chest compression-ventilation CPR. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis, in null form, that the quality of external chest compressions (ECC) in novice rescuers during 5min of uninterrupted chest compression CPR (UCC-CPR) is independent of the hand in contact with the sternum. Confirmation of the hypothesis would allow the use of either hand by the novice rescuers during UCC-CPR. Fifty-nine first year public heath students participated in this randomised double-blind crossover study. After completion of a standard adult BLS course, they performed single rescuer adult UCC-CPR for 5 min on a recording Resusci Anne. One week later they changed the hand of contact with the sternum while performing ECC. The quality of ECC was recorded by the skill meter for the dominant and non-dominant hand during 5 min ECC. The total number of correct chest compressions in the dominant hand group (DH), mean 183+/-152, was not statistically different from the non-dominant hand group (NH), mean 152+/-135 (P=0.09). The number of ECC with inadequate depth in the DH group, mean 197+/-174 and NH group, mean 196+/-173 were comparable (P=0.1). The incidence of ECC exceeding the recommended depth in the DH group, mean 51+/-110 and NH group, mean 32+/-75 were comparable (P=0.1). Although there is a trend to increased incidence of correct chest compressions with positioning the dominant hand in contact with the sternum, it does not reach statistical significance during UCC-CPR by the novice rescuers for 5 min.

Innovative polymeric system (IPS) for solvent-free lipophilic drug transdermal delivery via dissolving microneedles.

Science.gov (United States)

Dangol, Manita; Yang, Huisuk; Li, Cheng Guo; Lahiji, Shayan Fakhraei; Kim, Suyong; Ma, Yonghao; Jung, Hyungil

2016-02-10

Lipophilic drugs are potential drug candidates during drug development. However, due to the need for hazardous organic solvents for their solubilization, these drugs often fail to reach the pharmaceutical market, and in doing so highlight the importance of solvent free systems. Although transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDSs) are considered prospective safe drug delivery routes, a system involving lipophilic drugs in solvent free or powder form has not yet been described. Here, we report, for the first time, a novel approach for the delivery of every kind of lipophilic drug in powder form based on an innovative polymeric system (IPS). The phase transition of powder form of lipophilic drugs due to interior chemical bonds between drugs and biodegradable polymers and formation of nano-sized colloidal structures allowed the fabrication of dissolving microneedles (DMNs) to generate a powerful TDDS. We showed that IPS based DMN with powder capsaicin enhances the therapeutic effect for treatment of the rheumatic arthritis in a DBA/1 mouse model compared to a solvent-based system, indicating the promising potential of this new solvent-free platform for lipophilic drug delivery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization of particulate drug delivery systems for oral delivery of Peptide and protein drugs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christophersen, Philip Carsten; Fano, Mathias; Saaby, Lasse

2015-01-01

Oral drug delivery is a preferred route because of good patient compliance. However, most peptide/ protein drugs are delivered via parenteral routes because of the absorption barriers in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract such as enzymatic degradation by proteases and low permeability acrossthe...... delivery of peptide/protein drugs and to provide an overview of formulationand characterization strategies. For a better understanding of the challenges in oral delivery of peptide/protein drugs, the composition of GI fluids and the digestion processes of different kinds of excipients in the GI tract...... biological membranes. To overcome these barriers, different formulation strategies for oral delivery of biomacromolecules have been proposed, including lipid based formulations and polymer-based particulate drug delivery systems (DDS). The aim of this review is to summarize the existing knowledge about oral...

Efficiency and economics of hydrogen delivery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Y.; Bharadwaj, R.; Balan, C.; Garces, L.; Smith, D.

2003-01-01

The viability and penetration of fuel cell based electricity production will be mainly determined by the efficient, cost effective production and delivery of hydrogen. This study focuses on the transportation efficiency and cost of hydrogen delivery for both centrally produced hydrogen as well as electricity scenarios. The efficiency and economics of energy delivery depend on the quantity of energy to be transported and transportation distance. Energy delivery models were developed for Hydrogen delivery as compressed gas or cryogenic liquid using truck or pipeline. For comparison, models were also developed for high voltage AC electricity transmission. Major parameters that influence the performance of the energy transmission systems under normal operating conditions were modeled. The models use energy transported and delivery distance as independent variables. The results were validated against similar reports, government surveys and other publications. Energy delivery efficiency and costs were used to compare and evaluate the different delivery options. Effect of uncertainty and sensitivity of parameters on modeling results were also studied. The systems were compared on an equivalent basis. The analysis also identifies the trade-offs for electricity transmission and electrolysis application at the point of use for Hydrogen delivery. These results provide a consistent framework for evaluation of delivery options on energy efficiency basis. (author)

38 CFR 21.4505 - Check delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Check delivery. 21.4505...) VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AND EDUCATION Education Loans § 21.4505 Check delivery. (a) General. Education... surviving spouse is enrolled for delivery by the educational institution. (b) Delivery and certification. (1...

A Three-Phase Boost DC-AC Converter | Odeh | Nigerian Journal of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sliding mode controllers are designed to perform a robust control for the three boost dc-dc converters. Computer simulations and spectral analysis demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed three-phase inverter. The inverter is intended to be used in three-phase electric drives and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) ...

Sadhana | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

This system utilizes the renewable energy; accordingly saves the energy and provides the uninterruptable power supply to critical/sensitive load, through the PV array/battery bank during both day time and night time. An experimental model was established and results were obtained, which indicated the capability of the ...

Hydraulic Hybrid and Conventional Parcel Delivery Vehicles' Measured Laboratory Fuel Economy on Targeted Drive Cycles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lammert, M. P.; Burton, J.; Sindler, P.; Duran, A.

2014-10-01

This research project compares laboratory-measured fuel economy of a medium-duty diesel powered hydraulic hybrid vehicle drivetrain to both a conventional diesel drivetrain and a conventional gasoline drivetrain in a typical commercial parcel delivery application. Vehicles in this study included a model year 2012 Freightliner P100H hybrid compared to a 2012 conventional gasoline P100 and a 2012 conventional diesel parcel delivery van of similar specifications. Drive cycle analysis of 484 days of hybrid parcel delivery van commercial operation from multiple vehicles was used to select three standard laboratory drive cycles as well as to create a custom representative cycle. These four cycles encompass and bracket the range of real world in-use data observed in Baltimore United Parcel Service operations. The NY Composite cycle, the City Suburban Heavy Vehicle Cycle cycle, and the California Air Resources Board Heavy Heavy-Duty Diesel Truck (HHDDT) cycle as well as a custom Baltimore parcel delivery cycle were tested at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Renewable Fuels and Lubricants Laboratory. Fuel consumption was measured and analyzed for all three vehicles. Vehicle laboratory results are compared on the basis of fuel economy. The hydraulic hybrid parcel delivery van demonstrated 19%-52% better fuel economy than the conventional diesel parcel delivery van and 30%-56% better fuel economy than the conventional gasoline parcel delivery van on cycles other than the highway-oriented HHDDT cycle.

Business administration of PET facilities. A cost analysis of three facilities utilizing delivery FDG

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitsutake, Naohiro; Oku, Shinya; Fujii, Ryo; Furui, Yuji; Yasunaga, Hideo

2008-01-01

PET (positron emission tomography) has been proved to be a powerful imaging tool in clinical oncology. The number of PET facilities in Japan has remarkably increased over the last decade. Furthermore, the approval of delivery fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in 2005 resulted in a tremendous expansion of the PET institutions without a cyclotron facility. The aim of this study was to conduct a cost analysis of PET institutions that utilized delivery FDG. Three PET facilities using delivery FDG were investigated about the costs for PET service. Fixed costs included depreciation costs for construction and medical equipments such as positron camera. Variable costs consisted of costs for medical materials including delivery FDG. The break-even point was analyzed in each of three institutions. In the three hospitals (A, B and C), the annual number of PET scan was 1,591, 1,637 and 914, while cost per scan was accounted as 110,262 yen, 111,091 yen, and 134,192 yen, respectively. The break-even point was calculated to be 2,583, 2,679 and 2,081, respectively. PET facilities utilizing delivery FDG seemed to have difficulty in business administration. Such a situation suggests the possibility that the current supply of PET facilities might exceed actual demand for the service. The efficiency of resource allocation should be taken into consideration in the future health service researches on PET. (author)

Development of a RAMI model for LANSCE and high power APT accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tallerico, P.J.

1994-01-01

Assessment of the reliability, availability, maintainability and inspectability (RAMI) of all high power, high cost systems is important to justify and improve the cost effectiveness of these systems. For the very large (over 100 MW) accelerator systems associated with APT, a RAMI model is very valuable in guiding the design and allocation of resources. A RAMI model of an existing machine is also valuable, since machine improvement funds must be allocated to increase the availability by the largest amount. The authors have developed a RAMI model using the critical subsystems of the LANSCE accelerator and beam delivery complex as an example and to evaluate the effectiveness for estimating reliability and beam availability. LAMPF and LANSCE together provide most of the features required for the accelerator and beam delivery part of a high-power APT machine, but LANSCE is pulsed, rather than CW. This complex is capable of a 1-MW average power H - beam, and it is the most powerful proton accelerator in the US built to date

Implementing Cyber Security Requirements and Mechanisms in Microgrids

OpenAIRE

Mohan , Apurva; Khurana , Himanshu

2015-01-01

Part 4: INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY; International audience; A microgrid is a collection of distributed energy resources, storage and loads under common coordination and control that provides a single functional interface to enable its management as a single unit. Microgrids provide several advantages such as power quality control, uninterrupted power supply and integration of renewable resources. However, microgrids are increasingly connected to the Internet for remote control and management, wh...

19 CFR 10.101 - Immediate delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Immediate delivery. 10.101 Section 10.101 Customs... Importations § 10.101 Immediate delivery. (a) Shipments entitled to immediate delivery. Shipments consigned to... as shipments the immediate delivery of which is necessary within the purview of section 448(b...

Characterization of particulate drug delivery systems for oral delivery of Peptide and protein drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Christophersen, Philip Carsten; Fano, Mathias; Saaby, Lasse; Yang, Mingshi; Nielsen, Hanne Mørck; Mu, Huiling

2015-01-01

Oral drug delivery is a preferred route because of good patient compliance. However, most peptide/ protein drugs are delivered via parenteral routes because of the absorption barriers in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract such as enzymatic degradation by proteases and low permeability acrossthe biological membranes. To overcome these barriers, different formulation strategies for oral delivery of biomacromolecules have been proposed, including lipid based formulations and polymer-based particulate drug delivery systems (DDS). The aim of this review is to summarize the existing knowledge about oral delivery of peptide/protein drugs and to provide an overview of formulationand characterization strategies. For a better understanding of the challenges in oral delivery of peptide/protein drugs, the composition of GI fluids and the digestion processes of different kinds of excipients in the GI tract are summarized. Additionally, the paper provides an overview of recent studies on characterization of solid drug carriers for peptide/protein drugs, drug distribution in particles, drug release and stability in simulated GI fluids, as well as the absorption of peptide/protein drugs in cell-based models. The use of biorelevant media when applicable can increase the knowledge about the quality of DDS for oral protein delivery. Hopefully, the knowledge provided in this review will aid the establishment of improved biorelevant models capable of forecasting the performance of particulate DDS for oral peptide/protein delivery.

Pregnancy week at delivery and the risk of shoulder dystocia: a population study of 2,014,956 deliveries.

Science.gov (United States)

Øverland, E A; Vatten, L J; Eskild, A

2014-01-01

To study whether pregnancy week at delivery is an independent risk factor for shoulder dystocia. Population study. Medical Birth Registry of Norway. All vaginal deliveries of singleton offspring in cephalic presentation in Norway during 1967 through 2009 (n = 2,014,956). The incidence of shoulder dystocia was calculated according to pregnancy week at delivery. The associations of pregnancy week at delivery with shoulder dystocia were estimated as crude and adjusted odds ratios using logistic regression analyses. We repeated the analyses in pregnancies with and without maternal diabetes. Shoulder dystocia at delivery. The overall incidence of shoulder dystocia was 0.73% (n = 14,820), and the incidence increased by increasing pregnancy week at delivery. Birthweight was strongly associated with shoulder dystocia. After adjustment for birthweight, induction of labour, use of epidural analgesia at delivery, prolonged labour, forceps-assisted and vacuum-assisted delivery, parity, period of delivery and maternal age in multivariable analyses, the adjusted odds ratios for shoulder dystocia were 1.77 (1.42-2.20) for deliveries at 32-35 weeks of gestation, and 0.84 (0.79-0.88) at 42-43 weeks of gestation, using weeks 40-41 as the reference. In pregnancies affected by diabetes (n = 11,188), the incidence of shoulder dystocia was 3.95%, and after adjustment for birthweight the adjusted odds ratio for shoulder dystocia was 2.92 (95% CI 1.54-5.52) for deliveries at weeks 32-35 of gestation, and 0.91 (95% CI 0.50-1.66) at 42-43 weeks of gestation. The risk of shoulder dystocia was associated with increased birthweight, diabetes, induction of labour, use of epidural analgesia at delivery, prolonged labour, forceps-assisted and vacuum-assisted delivery, parity and period of delivery but not with post-term delivery. © 2013 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Delivery of HIV care during the 2007 post-election crisis in Kenya: a case study analyzing the response of the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) program.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodrich, Suzanne; Ndege, Samson; Kimaiyo, Sylvester; Some, Hosea; Wachira, Juddy; Braitstein, Paula; Sidle, John E; Sitienei, Jackline; Owino, Regina; Chesoli, Cleophas; Gichunge, Catherine; Komen, Fanice; Ojwang, Claris; Sang, Edwin; Siika, Abraham; Wools-Kaloustian, Kara

2013-12-01

Widespread violence followed the 2007 presidential elections in Kenya resulting in the deaths of a reported 1,133 people and the displacement of approximately 660,000 others. At the time of the crisis the United States Agency for International Development-Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (USAID-AMPATH) Partnership was operating 17 primary HIV clinics in western Kenya and treating 59,437 HIV positive patients (23,437 on antiretroviral therapy (ART)). This case study examines AMPATH's provision of care and maintenance of patients on ART throughout the period of disruption. This was accomplished by implementing immediate interventions including rapid information dissemination through the media, emergency hotlines and community liaisons; organization of a Crisis Response leadership team; the prompt assembly of multidisciplinary teams to address patient care, including psychological support staff (in clinics and in camps for internally displaced persons (IDP)); and the use of the AMPATH Medical Records System to identify patients on ART who had missed clinic appointments. These interventions resulted in the opening of all AMPATH clinics within five days of their scheduled post-holiday opening dates, 23,949 patient visits in January 2008 (23,259 previously scheduled), uninterrupted availability of antiretrovirals at all clinics, treatment of 1,420 HIV patients in IDP camps, distribution of basic provisions, mobilization of outreach services to locate missing AMPATH patients and delivery of psychosocial support to 300 staff members and 632 patients in IDP camps. Key lessons learned in maintaining the delivery of HIV care in a crisis situation include the importance of advance planning to develop programs that can function during a crisis, an emphasis on a rapid programmatic response, the ability of clinics to function autonomously, patient knowledge of their disease, the use of community and patient networks, addressing staff needs and developing effective

Integration of High-Tc Superconducting Cables in the Dutch Power Grid of the Future

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zuijderduin, R.

2016-01-01

Worldwide there is an increasing need for a more sustainable form of electrical power delivery with a growing share of renewable energy generation. In the distribution and transmission network, large-scale and small-scale wind and solar power plants will be introduced, in proportion to the annual

Delivery Models for Decentralised Rural Electrification Case studies in Nepal, Peru and Kenya

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yadoo, Annabel

2012-06-15

Access to affordable, reliable and clean energy is fundamental for poverty reduction and sustainable development; without it, the Millennium Development Goals cannot be achieved. Electrification, along with access to modern cooking fuels and mechanical power, is a catalyst for improvements in the fields of poverty reduction, food security, health, education and gender equality. Nevertheless, 1.3 billion people still lack access to electricity, over 95 per cent living in sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia and 84 per cent of them living in rural areas. There are many different ways to electrify rural areas, not only with regard to the different technologies used, but also to the types of delivery models applied. Common rural electrification technologies include grid extension, community mini-grids, stand-alone household systems, multifunctional platforms, and central charging stations with battery banks. This report will focus on the delivery models used for community mini-grids, as there is evidence to show that mini-grids can be one of the cheaper forms of electrification (on a per unit basis, calculated over the system's lifetime) and also potentially offer a 24 hour AC service that can power a wide range of appliances.

Hydrogen-fuel-powered bell segments of biomimetic jellyfish

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tadesse, Yonas; Villanueva, Alex; Priya, Shashank; Haines, Carter; Novitski, David; Baughman, Ray

2012-01-01

Artificial muscles powered by a renewable energy source are desired for joint articulation in bio-inspired autonomous systems. In this study, a robotic underwater vehicle, inspired by jellyfish, was designed to be actuated by a chemical fuel source. The fuel-powered muscles presented in this work comprise nano-platinum catalyst-coated multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) sheets, wrapped on the surface of nickel–titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA). As a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen gases makes contact with the platinum, the resulting exothermic reaction activates the nickel–titanium (NiTi)-based SMA. The MWCNT sheets serve as a support for the platinum particles and enhance the heat transfer due to the high thermal conductivity between the composite and the SMA. A hydrogen and oxygen fuel source could potentially provide higher power density than electrical sources. Several vehicle designs were considered and a peripheral SMA configuration under the robotic bell was chosen as the best arrangement. Constitutive equations combined with thermodynamic modeling were developed to understand the influence of system parameters that affect the overall actuation behavior of the fuel-powered SMA. The model is based on the changes in entropy of the hydrogen and oxygen fuel on the composite actuator within a channel. The specific heat capacity is the dominant factor controlling the width of the strain for various pulse widths of fuel delivery. Both theoretical and experimental strains for different diameter (100 and 150 µm) SMA/MWCNT/Pt fuel-powered muscles with dead weight attached at the end exhibited the highest magnitude under 450 ms of fuel delivery within 1.6 mm diameter conduit size. Fuel-powered bell deformation of 13.5% was found to be comparable to that of electrically powered (29%) and natural jellyfish (42%). (paper)

Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Delivery: Deciding on a Trial of Labor After a Cesarean Delivery (TOLAC)

Science.gov (United States)

f AQ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FAQ070 LABOR, DELIVERY, AND POSTPARTUM CARE Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Delivery • What is a vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC)? • What is a trial of labor ...

H2T liquid hydrogen delivery system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, S.

2002-01-01

This Power Point presentation provides a preliminary evaluation of the cost of delivering liquid hydrogen produced in Quebec to hydrogen fuelled cars in Germany. The presentation describes the chain of events regarding liquid hydrogen delivery, beginning with the production of hydrogen from an initial source of hydro power. Water passes through an electrolyzer where hydrogen is liquefied and then placed into a container which is transported to market via truck, rail or tanker. Once transported, the hydrogen fuel is made available for consumers at refueling stations. The paper lists the costs related to transportation with reference to safety rules, pure transportation costs, leasing fees for the containers, and permission of customs duties for the import of hydrogen and export of empty containers between Quebec and Germany. A graph depicting a typical refueling station in Germany and the refueling events per hour was presented. For safety reasons, refueling is performed by a refueling robot. A blueprint of safety and protection distances at a refueling station was also presented. tabs., figs

Floating Microparticulate Oral Diltiazem Hydrochloride Delivery ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Delivery System for Improved Delivery to Heart ... Conclusion: Microparticulate floating (gastroretentive) oral drug delivery system of diltiazem prepared ..... treatment of cardiac disease. ... hydrochloride-loaded mucoadhesive microspheres.

Treatment delivery software for a new clinical grade ultrasound system for thermoradiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Novák, Petr; Moros, Eduardo G; Straube, William L; Myerson, Robert J

2005-11-01

A detailed description of a clinical grade Scanning Ultrasound Reflector Linear Array System (SURLAS) applicator was given in a previous paper [Med. Phys. 32, 230-240 (2005)]. In this paper we concentrate on the design, development, and testing of the personal computer (PC) based treatment delivery software that runs the therapy system. The SURLAS requires the coordinated interaction between the therapy applicator and several peripheral devices for its proper and safe operation. One of the most important tasks was the coordination of the input power sequences for the elements of two parallel opposed ultrasound arrays (eight 1.5 cm x 2 cm elements/array, array 1 and 2 operate at 1.9 and 4.9 MHz, respectively) in coordination with the position of a dual-face scanning acoustic reflector. To achieve this, the treatment delivery software can divide the applicator's treatment window in up to 64 sectors (minimum size of 2 cm x 2 cm), and control the power to each sector independently by adjusting the power output levels from the channels of a 16-channel radio-frequency generator. The software coordinates the generator outputs with the position of the reflector as it scans back and forth between the arrays. Individual sector control and dual frequency operation allows the SURLAS to adjust power deposition in three dimensions to superficial targets coupled to its treatment window. The treatment delivery software also monitors and logs several parameters such as temperatures acquired using a 16-channel thermocouple thermometry unit. Safety (in particular to patients) was the paramount concern and design criterion. Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) was applied to the applicator as well as to the entire therapy system in order to identify safety issues and rank their relative importance. This analysis led to the implementation of several safety mechanisms and a software structure where each device communicates with the controlling PC independently of the others. In case

Manufacture and Drug Delivery Applications of Silk Nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Wongpinyochit, Thidarat; Johnston, Blair F; Seib, F Philipp

2016-10-08

Silk is a promising biopolymer for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications due to its outstanding mechanical properties, biocompatibility and biodegradability, as well its ability to protect and subsequently release its payload in response to a trigger. While silk can be formulated into various material formats, silk nanoparticles are emerging as promising drug delivery systems. Therefore, this article covers the procedures for reverse engineering silk cocoons to yield a regenerated silk solution that can be used to generate stable silk nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are subsequently characterized, drug loaded and explored as a potential anticancer drug delivery system. Briefly, silk cocoons are reverse engineered first by degumming the cocoons, followed by silk dissolution and clean up, to yield an aqueous silk solution. Next, the regenerated silk solution is subjected to nanoprecipitation to yield silk nanoparticles - a simple but powerful method that generates uniform nanoparticles. The silk nanoparticles are characterized according to their size, zeta potential, morphology and stability in aqueous media, as well as their ability to entrap a chemotherapeutic payload and kill human breast cancer cells. Overall, the described methodology yields uniform silk nanoparticles that can be readily explored for a myriad of applications, including their use as a potential nanomedicine.

Diseño estático de un convertidor DC/DC reductor-elevador bidireccional

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcela González Valencia

2010-06-01

Full Text Available This paper shows a buck-boost converter static design with 3 switches and cascade connection. The main application of the converter is the battery management on uninterruptible power supplies, cotrolling energy flow and regulating the DC supply voltage for the different battery operation modes as source and sink.

Drug delivery device including electrolytic pump

KAUST Repository

Foulds, Ian G.; Buttner, Ulrich; Yi, Ying

2016-01-01

Systems and methods are provided for a drug delivery device and use of the device for drug delivery. In various aspects, the drug delivery device combines a “solid drug in reservoir” (SDR) system with an electrolytic pump. In various aspects an improved electrolytic pump is provided including, in particular, an improved electrolytic pump for use with a drug delivery device, for example an implantable drug delivery device. A catalytic reformer can be incorporated in a periodically pulsed electrolytic pump to provide stable pumping performance and reduced actuation cycle.

Drug delivery device including electrolytic pump

KAUST Repository

Foulds, Ian G.

2016-03-31

Systems and methods are provided for a drug delivery device and use of the device for drug delivery. In various aspects, the drug delivery device combines a “solid drug in reservoir” (SDR) system with an electrolytic pump. In various aspects an improved electrolytic pump is provided including, in particular, an improved electrolytic pump for use with a drug delivery device, for example an implantable drug delivery device. A catalytic reformer can be incorporated in a periodically pulsed electrolytic pump to provide stable pumping performance and reduced actuation cycle.

Early elective cesarean delivery before 36 weeks vs late spontaneous delivery in infants with gastroschisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadidi, Ahmed; Subotic, Ulrike; Goeppl, Maximilian; Waag, Karl-L

2008-07-01

The aim of this study is to assess the value of early elective cesarean delivery for patients with gastroschisis in comparison with late spontaneous delivery. Analysis of infants with gastroschisis admitted between 1986 and 2006 at a tertiary care center was performed. The findings were analyzed statistically. Eighty-six patients were involved in the study. This included 15 patients who underwent emergency cesarean delivery (EM CD group) because of fetal distress and/or bowel ischemia. The remaining 71 patients born electively were stratified into 4 groups. The early elective cesarean delivery (ECD) group included 23 patients born by ECD before 36 weeks; late vaginal delivery (LVD) group included 23 patients who had LVD after 36 weeks; 24 patients had LCD after 36 weeks because of delayed diagnosis that resulted in late referral; and 1 patient had early spontaneous vaginal delivery (EVD group) before 36 weeks. The mean time to start oral feeding, incidence of complications, and primary closure were significantly better in the ECD group than in the LVD group. The duration of ventilation and the length of stay were shorter in ECD group, but the difference was not statistically significant. Elective cesarean delivery before 36 weeks allows earlier enteral feeding and is associated with less complications and higher incidence of primary closure (statistically significant).

Compact reactor/ORC power source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meier, K.L.; Kirchner, W.L.; Willcutt, G.J.

1986-01-01

A compact power source that combines an organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) electric generator with a nuclear reactor heat source is being designed and fabricated. Incorporating existing ORC technology with proven reactor technology, the compact reactor/ORC power source offers high reliability while minimizing the need for component development. Thermal power at 125 kWt is removed from the coated particle fueled, graphite moderated reactor by heat pipes operating at 500 0 C. Outside the reactor vessel and connected to the heat pipes are vaporizers in which the toluene ORC working fluid is heated to 370 0 C. In the turbine-alternator-pump (TAP) combined-rotating unit, the thermal energy of the toluene is converted to 25 kWe of electric power. Lumped parameter systems analyses combined with a finite element thermal analysis have aided in the power source design. The analyses have provided assurance of reliable multiyear normal operation as well as full power operation with upset conditions, such as failed heat pipes and inoperative ORC vaporizers. Because of inherent high reliability, long life, and insensitivity to upset conditions, this power source is especially suited for use in remote, inaccessible locations where fuel delivery and maintenance costs are high. 10 refs

A novel minimum cost maximum power algorithm for future smart home energy management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Singaravelan

2017-11-01

Full Text Available With the latest development of smart grid technology, the energy management system can be efficiently implemented at consumer premises. In this paper, an energy management system with wireless communication and smart meter are designed for scheduling the electric home appliances efficiently with an aim of reducing the cost and peak demand. For an efficient scheduling scheme, the appliances are classified into two types: uninterruptible and interruptible appliances. The problem formulation was constructed based on the practical constraints that make the proposed algorithm cope up with the real-time situation. The formulated problem was identified as Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP problem, so this problem was solved by a step-wise approach. This paper proposes a novel Minimum Cost Maximum Power (MCMP algorithm to solve the formulated problem. The proposed algorithm was simulated with input data available in the existing method. For validating the proposed MCMP algorithm, results were compared with the existing method. The compared results prove that the proposed algorithm efficiently reduces the consumer electricity consumption cost and peak demand to optimum level with 100% task completion without sacrificing the consumer comfort.

Energy-Efficient Caching for Mobile Edge Computing in 5G Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhaohui Luo

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Mobile Edge Computing (MEC, which is considered a promising and emerging paradigm to provide caching capabilities in proximity to mobile devices in 5G networks, enables fast, popular content delivery of delay-sensitive applications at the backhaul capacity of limited mobile networks. Most existing studies focus on cache allocation, mechanism design and coding design for caching. However, grid power supply with fixed power uninterruptedly in support of a MEC server (MECS is costly and even infeasible, especially when the load changes dynamically over time. In this paper, we investigate the energy consumption of the MECS problem in cellular networks. Given the average download latency constraints, we take the MECS’s energy consumption, backhaul capacities and content popularity distributions into account and formulate a joint optimization framework to minimize the energy consumption of the system. As a complicated joint optimization problem, we apply a genetic algorithm to solve it. Simulation results show that the proposed solution can effectively determine the near-optimal caching placement to obtain better performance in terms of energy efficiency gains compared with conventional caching placement strategies. In particular, it is shown that the proposed scheme can significantly reduce the joint cost when backhaul capacity is low.

Using matrix organization to manage health care delivery organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Allcorn, S

1990-01-01

Matrix organization can provide health care organization managers enhanced information processing, faster response times, and more flexibility to cope with greater organization complexity and rapidly changing operating environments. A review of the literature informed by work experience reveals that the use of matrix organization creates hard-to-manage ambiguity and balances of power in addition to providing positive benefits for health care organization managers. Solutions to matrix operating problems generally rely on the use of superior information and decision support systems and extensive staff training to develop attitudes and behavior consistent with the more collegial matrix organization culture. Further improvement in understanding the suitability of matrix organization for managing health care delivery organizations will involve appreciating the impact of partial implementation of matrix organization, temporary versus permanent uses of matrix organization, and the impact of the ambiguity created by dual lines of authority upon the exercise of power and authority.

Fluid-driven reciprocating apparatus and valving for controlling same

Science.gov (United States)

Whitehead, John C.; Toews, Hans G.

1993-01-01

A control valve assembly for alternately actuating a pair of fluid-driven free-piston devices by using fluid pressure communication therebetween. Each control valve is switched by a pressure signal depending on the state of its counterpart's piston. The communication logic is arranged to provide overlap of the forward strokes of the pistons, so that at least one of the pair will always be pressurized. Thus, uninterrupted pumping of liquid is made possible from a pair of free-piston pumps. In addition, the speed and frequency of piston stroking is entirely dependent on the mechanical power load applied. In the case of a pair of pumps, this enables liquid delivery at a substantially constant pressure over the full range of flow rates, from zero to maximum flow. One embodiment of the invention utilized two pairs of fluid-driven free-piston devices whereby a bipropellant liquid propulsion system may be operated, so as to provide continuous flow of both fuel and oxidizer liquids when used in rocket applications, for example.

Well-defined polypeptide-based systems as non-viral vectors for cytosolic delivery

OpenAIRE

Niño Pariente, Amaya

2017-01-01

A convenient cytosolic drug delivery constitutes a very powerful tool for the treatment and/or prevention of several relevant human diseases. Along with recent advances in therapeutic technologies based on biomacromolecules (e.g. oligonucleotides or proteins), we also require the development of technologies which improve the transport of therapeutic molecules to the cell of choice. This has led to the emergence of a variety of promising methods over the last 20 years. Despite significant prog...

[The development of novel tumor targeting delivery strategy].

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Hui-le; Jiang, Xin-guo

2016-02-01

Tumor is one of the most serious threats for human being. Although many anti-tumor drugs are approved for clinical use, the treatment outcome is still modest because of the poor tumor targeting efficiency and low accumulation in tumor. Therefore, it is important to deliver anti-tumor drug into tumor efficiently, elevate drug concentration in tumor tissues and reduce the drug distribution in normal tissues. And it has been one of the most attractive directions of pharmaceutical academy and industry. Many kinds of strategies, especially various nanoparticulated drug delivery systems, have been developed to address the critical points of complex tumor microenvironment, which are partially or mostly satisfied for tumor treatment. In this paper, we carefully reviewed the novel targeting delivery strategies developed in recent years. The most powerful method is passive targeting delivery based on the enhanced permeability and retention(EPR) effect, and most commercial nanomedicines are based on the EPR effect. However, the high permeability and retention require different particle sizes, thus several kinds of size-changeable nanoparticles are developed, such as size reducible particles and assemble particles, to satisfy the controversial requirement for particle size and enhance both tumor retention and penetration. Surface charge reversible nanoparticles also shows a high efficiency because the anionic charge in blood circulation and normal organs decrease the unintended internalization. The charge can change into positive in tumor microenvironment, facilitating drug uptake by tumor cells. Additionally, tumor microenvironment responsive drug release is important to decrease drug side effect, and many strategies are developed, such as p H sensitive release and enzyme sensitive release. Except the responsive nanoparticles, shaping tumor microenvironment could attenuate the barriers in drug delivery, for example, decreasing tumor collagen intensity and normalizing tumor

Privatization of Electricity Service Delivery in Developing Nations: Issues and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olamide Eniola Victor

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The provision of public utilities and infrastructures particularly electricity by the public sector (Government especially in the Developing Nations has been heavily criticized. This has been attributed to many reasons including poor electricity supply, poor distribution of service delivery of electricity due to the absence of spatial planning, insufficient government investment into the power industry, ineptitude operation on the part of the technicians, poor administration and managerial control. However, efforts to move away from government ownership, control or participation in this sector of economy towards free enterprise and increased inclusive private sector participation known as privatization, has been adopted as one of the solutions. This paper presents a critical review of privatization practices of alternative Service Delivery approach of selected Asian and African nations. The paper would elicit the common variants of privatization models adopted by these nations and the different implementation strategies which resulted in divergence in effectiveness and efficiency in the service delivery of electricity. The selected Asian countries are; Malaysia, India, and China, while the selected African nations are Nigeria, Cameroun and South Africa. The paper will draw from the literatures the various approaches, concepts adopted, practices, issues and challenges faced by these countries.

Feasibility Analysis and Simulation of a Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Energy System for Electricity Generation and Environmental Sustainability – Equivalent to 650VA Fuel-Powered Generator – Popularly Known as “I Pass My Neighbour”

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ani, Vincent Anayochukwu

2015-01-01

Photovoltaic (PV) power system can be used to replace wholly 650VA generator for electricity generation for household use in Nigeria. This paper presented the feasibility analysis of load data and simulation study of a stand-alone PV power system that produced the electrical needs of a household. This study is based on designing of PV energy system for household use. The patterns of load consumption within the household were studied and suitably modeled for simulation. The simulation study indicates that energy requirements to provide electricity, which is equivalent to 650VA generator for household use in Nigeria, can be accomplished by 520 W solar PV array, 2312 Ah nominal capacity battery, and a 1 kW DC/AC inverter. This would be suitable for deployment of 100% clean energy for environmental sustainability and uninterruptable power performance in the household. The results of this research show that, with a low-power consuming appliances, it is possible to meet the entire annual electricity demand of a single household solely through a stand-alone PV energy supply. Installing solar panels by most Nigerian home can significantly reduce home reliance on government power thereby reduce the strain on the current capacity of our power generation infrastructure. A detailed design and description of the system were presented in this paper.

Feasibility Analysis and Simulation of a Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Energy System for Electricity Generation and Environmental Sustainability – Equivalent to 650VA Fuel-Powered Generator – Popularly Known as “I Pass My Neighbour”

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ani, Vincent Anayochukwu, E-mail: vincent_ani@yahoo.com [Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nsukka (Nigeria)

2015-09-11

Photovoltaic (PV) power system can be used to replace wholly 650VA generator for electricity generation for household use in Nigeria. This paper presented the feasibility analysis of load data and simulation study of a stand-alone PV power system that produced the electrical needs of a household. This study is based on designing of PV energy system for household use. The patterns of load consumption within the household were studied and suitably modeled for simulation. The simulation study indicates that energy requirements to provide electricity, which is equivalent to 650VA generator for household use in Nigeria, can be accomplished by 520 W solar PV array, 2312 Ah nominal capacity battery, and a 1 kW DC/AC inverter. This would be suitable for deployment of 100% clean energy for environmental sustainability and uninterruptable power performance in the household. The results of this research show that, with a low-power consuming appliances, it is possible to meet the entire annual electricity demand of a single household solely through a stand-alone PV energy supply. Installing solar panels by most Nigerian home can significantly reduce home reliance on government power thereby reduce the strain on the current capacity of our power generation infrastructure. A detailed design and description of the system were presented in this paper.

Co-ordinated voltage control of DFIG wind turbines in uninterrupted operation during grid faults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anca Daniela; Michalke, G.; Sørensen, Poul Ejnar

2007-01-01

Emphasis in this article is on the design of a co-ordinated voltage control strategy for doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbines that enhances their capability to provide grid support during grid faults. In contrast to its very good performance in normal operation, the DFIG wind turbine...... concept is quite sensitive to grid faults and requires special power converter protection. The fault ride-through and grid support capabilities of the DFIG address therefore primarily the design of DFIG wind turbine control with special focus on power converter protection and voltage control issues....... A voltage control strategy is designed and implemented in this article, based on the idea that both converters of the DFIG (i.e. rotor-side converter and grid-side converter) participate in the grid voltage control in a co-ordinated manner. By default the grid voltage is controlled by the rotor...

Estudio comparativo de las diferentes tecnologías de celdas de combustible

OpenAIRE

Alvarado-Flores, J.

2013-01-01

Fuel cells generate electricity and heat during electrochemical reaction which happens between the oxygen and hydrogen to form the water. Fuel cell technology is a promising way to provide energy for rural areas where there is no access to the public grid or where there is a huge cost of wiring and transferring electricity. In addition, applications with essential secure electrical energy requirement such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), power generation stations and distributed syste...

Web-Based Learning Enhancements: Video Lectures through Voice-Over PowerPoint in a Majors-Level Biology Course

Science.gov (United States)

Lents, Nathan H.; Cifuentes, Oscar E.

2009-01-01

This study is an experimental introduction of web-based lecture delivery into a majors-level introductory biology course. Web-based delivery, achieved through the use of prerecorded Voice-Over PowerPoint video lectures, was introduced on a limited basis to an experimental section while a control group, with the same instructor, received standard…

Electric Power Infrastructure Reliability And Security Research And Development Initiative. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dale, S.; Meeker, R.; Steurer, M.; Li, H.; Pamidi, S.; Rodrigo, H.; Suryanarayanan, S.; Cartes, D.; Ordonez, J.; Domijan, A.; Liu, W.; Cox, D.; McLaren, P.; Hovsapian, R.; Edwards, D.; Simmons, S.; Wilde, N.; Woodruff, S.; Kopriva, D.; Hussaini, Y.; Mohammed, O.; Zheng, J.; Baldwin, T.L.

2008-01-01

This is the final scientific/technical report for the Electric Power Infrastructure Reliability and Security R and D Initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, under award number DE-FG02-05CH11292. This report covers results from the FSU-led, multi-institution effort conducted over the period 8/15/05 to 10/14/2007. Building upon existing infrastructure for power systems research, modeling, and simulation, the Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS) at Florida State University (FSU) is developing world-class programs in electric power systems research and education to support future electric power system needs and challenges. With U.S. Department of Energy Support, FSU CAPS has engaged in a multi-faceted effort to conduct basic and applied research towards understanding, developing, and deploying technologies and approaches that can lead to improved reliability and security of the North American electric power generation and delivery infrastructure. This wide-reaching project, through a number of carefully selected thrusts cutting across several research disciplines, set out to address key terrestrial electric utility power system issues and challenges. The challenges and the thrusts to address them were arrived at through analysis of a number of national reports and recommendations combined with input from an experienced multi-disciplined team of power systems research staff and faculty at FSU CAPS. The resulting project effort can be grouped into four major areas: - Power Systems and New Technology Insertion - Controls, Protection, and Security - Simulation Development - High Temperature Superconductivity (HTS)

Power Line Communications for Smart Grid Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lars Torsten Berger

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Power line communication, that is, using the electricity infrastructure for data transmission, is experiencing a renaissance in the context of Smart Grid. Smart Grid objectives include the integration of intermittent renewable energy sources into the electricity supply chain, securing reliable electricity delivery, and using the existing electrical infrastructure more efficiently. This paper surveys power line communications (PLCs in the context of Smart Grid. The specifications G3-PLC, PRIME, HomePlug Green PHY, and HomePlug AV2, and the standards IEEE 1901/1901.2 and ITU-T G.hn/G.hnem are discussed.

Maximizing Output Power of a Solar Panel via Combination of Sun Tracking and Maximum Power Point Tracking by Fuzzy Controllers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohsen Taherbaneh

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In applications with low-energy conversion efficiency, maximizing the output power improves the efficiency. The maximum output power of a solar panel depends on the environmental conditions and load profile. In this paper, a method based on simultaneous use of two fuzzy controllers is developed in order to maximize the generated output power of a solar panel in a photovoltaic system: fuzzy-based sun tracking and maximum power point tracking. The sun tracking is performed by changing the solar panel orientation in horizontal and vertical directions by two DC motors properly designed. A DC-DC converter is employed to track the solar panel maximum power point. In addition, the proposed system has the capability of the extraction of solar panel I-V curves. Experimental results present that the proposed fuzzy techniques result in increasing of power delivery from the solar panel, causing a reduction in size, weight, and cost of solar panels in photovoltaic systems.

Microfabrication for Drug Delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Brendan; Rubino, Ilaria; Quan, Fu-Shi; Yoo, Bongyoung; Choi, Hyo-Jick

2016-01-01

This review is devoted to discussing the application of microfabrication technologies to target challenges encountered in life processes by the development of drug delivery systems. Recently, microfabrication has been largely applied to solve health and pharmaceutical science issues. In particular, fabrication methods along with compatible materials have been successfully designed to produce multifunctional, highly effective drug delivery systems. Microfabrication offers unique tools that can tackle problems in this field, such as ease of mass production with high quality control and low cost, complexity of architecture design and a broad range of materials. Presented is an overview of silicon- and polymer-based fabrication methods that are key in the production of microfabricated drug delivery systems. Moreover, the efforts focused on studying the biocompatibility of materials used in microfabrication are analyzed. Finally, this review discusses representative ways microfabrication has been employed to develop systems delivering drugs through the transdermal and oral route, and to improve drug eluting implants. Additionally, microfabricated vaccine delivery systems are presented due to the great impact they can have in obtaining a cold chain-free vaccine, with long-term stability. Microfabrication will continue to offer new, alternative solutions for the development of smart, advanced drug delivery systems. PMID:28773770

Protein nanoparticles for therapeutic protein delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Herrera Estrada, L P; Champion, J A

2015-06-01

Therapeutic proteins can face substantial challenges to their activity, requiring protein modification or use of a delivery vehicle. Nanoparticles can significantly enhance delivery of encapsulated cargo, but traditional small molecule carriers have some limitations in their use for protein delivery. Nanoparticles made from protein have been proposed as alternative carriers and have benefits specific to therapeutic protein delivery. This review describes protein nanoparticles made by self-assembly, including protein cages, protein polymers, and charged or amphipathic peptides, and by desolvation. It presents particle fabrication and delivery characterization for a variety of therapeutic and model proteins, as well as comparison of the features of different protein nanoparticles.

Pectin-based colon-specific drug delivery

OpenAIRE

Shailendra Shukla; Deepak Jain; Kavita Verma; Shiddarth Verma

2011-01-01

Colon-specific drug delivery have a great importance in the delivery of drugs for the treatment of local colonic, as well as systemic diseases like Crohn′s disease, ulcerative colitis, colorectal cancer, amoebiasis, asthma, arthritis and inflammation which can be achieved by targeted delivery of drug to colon. Specific systemic absorption in the colon gave interesting possibilities for the delivery of protein and peptides. It contains relatively less proteolytic enzyme activities in the colon...

Low-Radiation Cellular Inductive Powering of Rodent Wireless Brain Interfaces: Methodology and Design Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Soltani, Nima; Aliroteh, Miaad S; Salam, M Tariqus; Perez Velazquez, Jose Luis; Genov, Roman

2016-08-01

This paper presents a general methodology of inductive power delivery in wireless chronic rodent electrophysiology applications. The focus is on such systems design considerations under the following key constraints: maximum power delivery under the allowable specific absorption rate (SAR), low cost and spatial scalability. The methodology includes inductive coil design considerations within a low-frequency ferrite-core-free power transfer link which includes a scalable coil-array power transmitter floor and a single-coil implanted or worn power receiver. A specific design example is presented that includes the concept of low-SAR cellular single-transmitter-coil powering through dynamic tracking of a magnet-less receiver spatial location. The transmitter coil instantaneous supply current is monitored using a small number of low-cost electronic components. A drop in its value indicates the proximity of the receiver due to the reflected impedance of the latter. Only the transmitter coil nearest to the receiver is activated. Operating at the low frequency of 1.5 MHz, the inductive powering floor delivers a maximum of 15.9 W below the IEEE C95 SAR limit, which is over three times greater than that in other recently reported designs. The power transfer efficiency of 39% and 13% at the nominal and maximum distances of 8 cm and 11 cm, respectively, is maintained.

Optimization for set-points and robust model predictive control for steam generator in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osgouee, Ahmad

2010-01-01

Full Text: Nuclear power plants will be needed for future energy demands, which are expected to grow at different rates around the world. Lower operating cost is one of the major benefits of nuclear power plants over fossil power plants. Also, the plant availability is a key factor to economic index of a nuclear power plant. The opportunities for building new nuclear power plants around the world will depend on the need for clean energy with zero, or minimal emissions to support healthy communities, supply reliable energy with stable prices, and issues related to global warming and climate change. Compared to other types of power plants, nuclear power plants are preferred for their numerous advantages, including low operating costs, emission free operation with no smog, no acid rain, and no effect on global warming. Economic feasibility of a nuclear power plant requires for smooth and uninterrupted plant operation during electrical power demand variations. The steam generator (SG) in a nuclear power plant plays an important role in cooling of the reactor, balancing energy between reactor and turbine and producing steam for the turbine-generators. SG acts as an additional safety barrier between the nuclear reactor and the outside world also. As a result, control of the water inventory in the SG is very important to ensure continuous cooling of the nuclear reactor core, plant protection and at the same time, to prevent the SG tubes and turbine blades failure. A review of past nuclear power plant operation experiences indicates that unplanned reactor trips due to steam generator level (SGL) control have been significant contributors to plant unavailability. During low power operation, the level control is complicated by the thermal reverse effects known as 'shrink and swell'. Manual operator intervention to the SGL control system at low reactor power and to the unit upset conditions has been identified as an operator response in most nuclear power plants. In spite of

Preterm delivery predicted by soluble CD163 and CRP in women with symptoms of preterm delivery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vogel, Ida; Grove, Jakob; Thorsen, Poul

2005-01-01

: High levels of sCD163 or CRP are associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery in women with symptoms of delivery. Good prediction of preterm delivery before 34 weeks of gestation was obtained by a combination of preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM), overweight, relaxin, CRP and s...

Drug delivery and formulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Breitkreutz, Jörg; Boos, Joachim

2011-01-01

Paediatric drug delivery is a major challenge in drug development. Because of the heterogeneous nature of the patient group, ranging from newborns to adolescents, there is a need to use appropriate excipients, drug dosage forms and delivery devices for different age groups. So far, there is a lack of suitable and safe drug formulations for children, especially for the very young and seriously ill patients. The new EU legislation will enforce paediatric clinical trials and drug development. Current advances in paediatric drug delivery include interesting new concepts such as fast-dissolving drug formulations, including orodispersible tablets and oral thin strips (buccal wafers), and multiparticulate dosage forms based on mini-tabletting or pelletization technologies. Parenteral administration is likely to remain the first choice for children in the neonatal period and for emergency cases. Alternative routes of administration include transdermal, pulmonary and nasal drug delivery systems. A few products are already available on the market, but others still need further investigations and clinical proof of concept.

Active Intracellular Delivery of a Cas9/sgRNA Complex Using Ultrasound-Propelled Nanomotors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen-Bruhn, Malthe; de Ávila, Berta Esteban-Fernández; Beltrán-Gastélum, Mara; Zhao, Jing; Ramírez-Herrera, Doris E; Angsantikul, Pavimol; Vesterager Gothelf, Kurt; Zhang, Liangfang; Wang, Joseph

2018-03-01

Direct and rapid intracellular delivery of a functional Cas9/sgRNA complex using ultrasound-powered nanomotors is reported. The Cas9/sgRNA complex is loaded onto the nanomotor surface through a reversible disulfide linkage. A 5 min ultrasound treatment enables the Cas9/sgRNA-loaded nanomotors to directly penetrate through the plasma membrane of GFP-expressing B16F10 cells. The Cas9/sgRNA is released inside the cells to achieve highly effective GFP gene knockout. The acoustic Cas9/sgRNA-loaded nanomotors display more than 80 % GFP knockout within 2 h of cell incubation compared to 30 % knockout using static nanowires. More impressively, the nanomotors enable highly efficient knockout with just 0.6 nm of the Cas9/sgRNA complex. This nanomotor-based intracellular delivery method thus offers an attractive route to overcome physiological barriers for intracellular delivery of functional proteins and RNAs, thus indicating considerable promise for highly efficient therapeutic applications. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Preparing and evaluating delivery systems for proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jorgensen, L; Moeller, E H; van de Weert, M

2006-01-01

From a formulation perspective proteins are complex and therefore challenging molecules to develop drug delivery systems for. The success of a formulation depends on the ability of the protein to maintain the native structure and activity during preparation and delivery as well as during shipping...... and long-term storage of the formulation. Therefore, the development and evaluation of successful and promising drug delivery systems is essential. In the present review, some of the particulate drug delivery systems for parenteral delivery of protein are presented and discussed. The challenge...... for incorporation of protein in particulate delivery systems is exemplified by water-in-oil emulsions....

Transcutaneous drug delivery by liposomes using fractional laser technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujimoto, Takahiro; Wang, Jian; Baba, Kazuki; Oki, Yuka; Hiruta, Yuki; Ito, Masayuki; Ito, Shinobu; Kanazawa, Hideko

2017-07-01

Transdermal delivery of hydrophilic peptides remains a challenge due to their poor cellular uptake and transdermal penetration. We hypothesize that combination of a CO 2 fractional laser to enhance percutaneous absorption and liposomes as transdermal carriers would improve skin penetration of hydrophilic drugs. NA. Liposomes were prepared using membrane fusion lipid dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine, and used to deliver 5-carboxyfluorescein (CF) and fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated ovalbumin (OVA-FITC) as model hydrophilic peptide drugs. Liposome size was estimated by dynamic light scattering. Liposome uptake into murine macrophage cells and penetration or permeation into Yucatan micropig skin after irradiation by CO 2 fractional laser at varying energy levels (laser power and exposure duration) were investigated using Franz cell and fluorescence microscopy. Oxidative damage to the irradiated mouse skin was assessed by electron spin resonance. Size of CF and OVA-FITC encapsulated liposomes was 324 ± 75 nm. Cellular uptake of OVA-FITC delivered by liposomes was 10-fold higher (1,370 relative fluorescence units, RFU) than delivered in solution form (130 RFU). Fractional laser irradiation increased skin permeation rate of CF liposomes (0-10%) and OVA-FITC liposomes (4-40%) in a dose-dependent manner. Although peeling off the stratum corneum facilitated CF liposome penetration at low energy levels (2.69-3.29 J/cm 2 ; 10-20 W for 500 μs), drug permeation was similar (7-8%) in peeled or untreated skin at higher laser energy levels (6.06 J/cm 2 ; 20 W for 1,500 μs). FITC penetrated deeper in the skin after laser irradiation. However, OH, O2-, and VC reactive oxygen species were generated upon irradiation of the skin with a fractional CO 2 laser. Increasing laser power and irradiation, time increased liposome uptake by cells and penetration of peptide drugs across the skin in a dose-dependent manner. High-energy CO 2 fractional laser overcomes the

Electrical supervisory control and data acquisition system for Power Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Facility (PREFRE-II) at Tarapur

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, V.K.; Kaushik, S.; Haneef, K.K.M.

2014-01-01

Power Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Facility (PREFRE II) is a radio-chemical plant located at Tarapur. The electric power supply to PREFRE-II plant has been provided from a 33 KV Sub-station located in PREFRE-II complex to meet the O and M requirement of plant. The major equipment of the substation includes HT switch board, dry type transformer, LT switch board, Diesel Generator (DG) set and Un-interrupted Power Supply (UPS) System. The power supply to the plant is provided at 415 V voltage level with the help of Power Distribution Boards (PDBs) and Motor Control Centres (MCCs) located at different floors of the plant. The parameters of the electrical equipment of substation and plant are recorded in each shift in the log-book, manually by the operator. To maintain the log-book, the operator needs to go closer to the individual equipment in radioactive area of the plant to read the parameters. The log-book method of monitoring is a cumbersome method and does not include fault event records, trends and diagnostic behavior of the equipment. Electrical Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (E-SCADA) system has been increasingly used in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) for control and monitoring of electrical parameters of plant and switchyard equipment. E-SCADA system has been designed, developed and implemented for PREFRE-II plant for remote monitoring of parameters of electrical equipment. E-SCADA system provides monitoring of electrical equipment and renders complete guidance and information with the help of Graphical User Interface (GUI) to the operator to take necessary action during normal and abnormal conditions. E-SCADA with intelligent communication features helps in reducing cabling from field equipment which enhances the fire safety of plant. As a result engineering, operation and maintenance efforts for monitoring are reduced considerably in terms of requirement of skilled man power and accurate data logging of electrical parameters. This system also helps to

Power quality requirements and responsibilities at the point of connection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bhattacharyya, S.

2011-01-01

In the present power delivery environment, electricity as a product has become more competitive than before. Modern electrical devices are complex in terms of their functionalities and are more sensitive to the quality of the supplied electricity. A disturbance in supply voltage can cause

Ultrasound-guided drug delivery in cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chowdhury, Sayan Mullick; Lee, Tae Hwa; Willmann, Jugen K. [Dept. of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford (United States)

2017-07-15

Recent advancements in ultrasound and microbubble (USMB) mediated drug delivery technology has shown that this approach can improve spatially confined delivery of drugs and genes to target tissues while reducing systemic dose and toxicity. The mechanism behind enhanced delivery of therapeutics is sonoporation, the formation of openings in the vasculature, induced by ultrasound-triggered oscillations and destruction of microbubbles. In this review, progress and challenges of USMB mediated drug delivery are summarized, with special focus on cancer therapy.

Fiber coupled optical spark delivery system

Science.gov (United States)

Yalin, Azer; Willson, Bryan; Defoort, Morgan

2008-08-12

A spark delivery system for generating a spark using a laser beam is provided, the spark delivery system including a laser light source and a laser delivery assembly. The laser delivery assembly includes a hollow fiber and a launch assembly comprising launch focusing optics to input the laser beam in the hollow fiber. In addition, the laser delivery assembly includes exit focusing optics that demagnify an exit beam of laser light from the hollow fiber, thereby increasing the intensity of the laser beam and creating a spark. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the assembly may be used to create a spark in a combustion engine. In accordance with other embodiments of the present invention, a method of using the spark delivery system is provided. In addition, a method of choosing an appropriate fiber for creating a spark using a laser beam is also presented.

Quasistatic Cavity Resonance for Ubiquitous Wireless Power Transfer.

Science.gov (United States)

Chabalko, Matthew J; Shahmohammadi, Mohsen; Sample, Alanson P

2017-01-01

Wireless power delivery has the potential to seamlessly power our electrical devices as easily as data is transmitted through the air. However, existing solutions are limited to near contact distances and do not provide the geometric freedom to enable automatic and un-aided charging. We introduce quasistatic cavity resonance (QSCR), which can enable purpose-built structures, such as cabinets, rooms, and warehouses, to generate quasistatic magnetic fields that safely deliver kilowatts of power to mobile receivers contained nearly anywhere within. A theoretical model of a quasistatic cavity resonator is derived, and field distributions along with power transfer efficiency are validated against measured results. An experimental demonstration shows that a 54 m3 QSCR room can deliver power to small coil receivers in nearly any position with 40% to 95% efficiency. Finally, a detailed safety analysis shows that up to 1900 watts can be transmitted to a coil receiver enabling safe and ubiquitous wireless power.

Quasistatic Cavity Resonance for Ubiquitous Wireless Power Transfer.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew J Chabalko

Full Text Available Wireless power delivery has the potential to seamlessly power our electrical devices as easily as data is transmitted through the air. However, existing solutions are limited to near contact distances and do not provide the geometric freedom to enable automatic and un-aided charging. We introduce quasistatic cavity resonance (QSCR, which can enable purpose-built structures, such as cabinets, rooms, and warehouses, to generate quasistatic magnetic fields that safely deliver kilowatts of power to mobile receivers contained nearly anywhere within. A theoretical model of a quasistatic cavity resonator is derived, and field distributions along with power transfer efficiency are validated against measured results. An experimental demonstration shows that a 54 m3 QSCR room can deliver power to small coil receivers in nearly any position with 40% to 95% efficiency. Finally, a detailed safety analysis shows that up to 1900 watts can be transmitted to a coil receiver enabling safe and ubiquitous wireless power.

Quasistatic Cavity Resonance for Ubiquitous Wireless Power Transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Shahmohammadi, Mohsen; Sample, Alanson P.

2017-01-01

Wireless power delivery has the potential to seamlessly power our electrical devices as easily as data is transmitted through the air. However, existing solutions are limited to near contact distances and do not provide the geometric freedom to enable automatic and un-aided charging. We introduce quasistatic cavity resonance (QSCR), which can enable purpose-built structures, such as cabinets, rooms, and warehouses, to generate quasistatic magnetic fields that safely deliver kilowatts of power to mobile receivers contained nearly anywhere within. A theoretical model of a quasistatic cavity resonator is derived, and field distributions along with power transfer efficiency are validated against measured results. An experimental demonstration shows that a 54 m3 QSCR room can deliver power to small coil receivers in nearly any position with 40% to 95% efficiency. Finally, a detailed safety analysis shows that up to 1900 watts can be transmitted to a coil receiver enabling safe and ubiquitous wireless power. PMID:28199321

Resuscitation of newborn in high risk deliveries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yousaf, U.F.; Hayat, S.

2015-01-01

High risk deliveries are usually associated with increased neonatal mortality and morbidity. Neonatal resuscitation can appreciably affect the outcome in these types of deliveries. Presence of personnel trained in basic neonatal resuscitation at the time of delivery can play an important role in reducing perinatal complications in neonates at risk. The study was carried out to evaluate the effects of newborn resuscitation on neonatal outcome in high risk deliveries. Methods: This descriptive case series was carried out at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. Ninety consecutive high risk deliveries were included and attended by paediatricians trained in newborn resuscitation. Babies delivered by elective Caesarean section, normal spontaneous vaginal deliveries and still births were excluded. Neonatal resuscitation was performed in babies who failed to initiate breathing in the first minute after birth. Data was analyzed using SPSS-16.0. Results: A total of 90 high risk deliveries were included in the study. Emergency caesarean section was the mode of delivery in 94.4% (n=85) cases and spontaneous vaginal delivery in 5.6% (n=5). Preterm pregnancy was the major high risk factor. Newborn resuscitation was required in 37.8% (n=34) of all high risk deliveries (p=0.013). All the new-borns who required resuscitation survived. Conclusion: New-born resuscitation is required in high risk pregnancies and personnel trained in newborn resuscitation should be available at the time of delivery. (author)

The regulation for delivery of subsidies for measures of promoting power source location for nuclear power generating facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

According to the law for the arrangement of surrounding areas of power generating facilities, the regulations concern the allocation of subsidies to promote the most efficient way of siting nuclear power facilities. The contents consist of the following: limits on the subsidies, terms of subsidy allocations, the sum of subsidies for each respective year, applications for subsidies, determination of subsidy allocations, withdrawal of applications, the conditions attached to the allocations, a report on the work proceedings, a report on the results, confirmation on the sum of the subsidies, withdrawal of the decision for subsidies, limitations for disposal of the properties, payment of subsidies, accounting of the subsidy operations, a record of the subsidies, and the chief in the governmental office concerned. (Mori, K.)

Ceramic drug-delivery devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Lasserre, A; Bajpai, P K

1998-01-01

A variety of ceramics and delivery systems have been used to deliver chemicals, biologicals, and drugs at various rates for desired periods of time from different sites of implantation. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that ceramics can successfully be used as drug-delivery devices. Matrices, inserts, reservoirs, cements, and particles have been used to deliver a large variety of therapeutic agents such as antibiotics, anticancer drugs, anticoagulants, analgesics, growth factors, hormones, steroids, and vaccines. In this article, the advantages and disadvantages of conventional drug-delivery systems and the different approaches used to deliver chemical and biological agents by means of ceramic systems will be reviewed.

Aerosol delivery of Akt controls protein translation in the lungs of dual luciferase reporter mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Tehrani, A M; Hwang, S-K; Kim, T-H; Cho, C-S; Hua, J; Nah, W-S; Kwon, J-T; Kim, J-S; Chang, S-H; Yu, K-N; Park, S-J; Bhandari, D R; Lee, K-H; An, G-H; Beck, G R; Cho, M-H

2007-03-01

Lung cancer has emerged as a leading cause of cancer death in the world; however, most of the current conventional therapies are not sufficiently effective in altering the progression of disease. Therefore, development of novel treatment approaches is needed. Although several genes and methods have been used for cancer gene therapy, a number of problems such as specificity, efficacy and toxicity reduce their application. This has led to re-emergence of aerosol gene delivery as a noninvasive method for lung cancer treatment. In this study, nano-sized glucosylated polyethyleneimine (GPEI) was used as a gene delivery carrier to investigate the effects of Akt wild type (WT) and kinase deficient (KD) on Akt-related signaling pathways and protein translation in the lungs of CMV- LucR-cMyc-IRES-LucF dual reporter mice. These mice are a powerful tool for the discrimination between cap-dependent/-independent protein translation. Aerosols containing self-assembled nano-sized GPEI/Akt WT or GPEI/Akt KD were delivered into the lungs of reporter mice through nose-only-inhalation-chamber with the aid of nebulizer. Aerosol delivery of Akt WT caused the increase of protein expression levels of Akt-related signals, whereas aerosol delivery of Akt KD did not. Furthermore, dual luciferase activity assay showed that aerosol delivery of Akt WT enhanced cap-dependent protein translation, whereas a reduction in cap-dependent protein translation by Akt KD was observed. Our results clearly showed that targeting Akt may be a good strategy for prevention as well as treatment of lung cancer. These studies suggest that our aerosol delivery is compatible for in vivo gene delivery which could be used as a noninvasive gene therapy in the future.

Vaginal delivery versus cesarean section for term breech delivery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babović Ivana

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim. The optimal method of delivery for breech presentation at term still remains a matter of controversy. This is probably due to the fact that the skills of vaginal breech delivery are being lost. The aim of this study was to examine risk factors: mother's age, parity, labor's duration, estimated neonatal birth weight for the mode of breech presentation delivery at term as well as the influence of the delivery mode on neonatal outcome. Methods. A retrospective study of 401 terms (more than 37 week's gestation breech deliveries at the Institute of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Belgrade, from 2007 to 2008 was made. The following groups with respect to mode of delivery were included: the group I - vaginal delivery (VD in 139 patients; the group II - urgent cesarean section (UCS in 128 patients; and the group III - elective cesarean section (ECS in 134 patients. Mother's age, parity, duration of VD, neonatal birth weight (BW, the Apgar score at 5th minute, and duration of stay in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU vere determined. Neonatal mortality and major neonatal morbidity were compared according to the route of delivery. Fetuses and neonates with hemolytic disease and fetal and neonatal anomalies were excluded from the study. For statistical analyses we performed Student's t test, χ2 likelihood ratio, Kruskall-Wallis test, Mann Whitney test, and ANOVA. Results. The mean age of patients in the group I was 28.29 ± 4.97 years, in the group II 29.68 ± 5.92 years and in the group III 30.06 ± 5.41 years. Difference in mother's age between the group I and III was significant (p = 0.022. In the group III there were 73.9% nuliparous similarly to the gropu II (73.4%. We performed ECS in 54.6% of the nuliparous older than 35 years, and 54.4% multiparous younger than 35 years were delivered by VD. The use of oxytocin for stimulation of vaginal labor was not associated with its duration (p = 0.706. Lowset maneuver was performed in 88.5% of

Ultrasound-guided drug delivery in cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sayan Mullick Chowdhury

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Recent advancements in ultrasound and microbubble (USMB mediated drug delivery technology has shown that this approach can improve spatially confined delivery of drugs and genes to target tissues while reducing systemic dose and toxicity. The mechanism behind enhanced delivery of therapeutics is sonoporation, the formation of openings in the vasculature, induced by ultrasound-triggered oscillations and destruction of microbubbles. In this review, progress and challenges of USMB mediated drug delivery are summarized, with special focus on cancer therapy.

Integration of wide scale renewable resources into the power delivery system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

The CD includes the 60 papers presented and discussed, which cover the following: - National experiences with wind power; - Impact of wind generation on planning; - Rules for connection of wind generation; grid codes; - Impact on operation: Forecasting wind generation; Stability, control; - Research, fields and labs; Modelling and simulation; Micro-grids; - Economics on integrating renewables and other general issues

Health care delivery systems.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stevens, F.; Zee, J. van der

2007-01-01

A health care delivery system is the organized response of a society to the health problems of its inhabitants. Societies choose from alternative health care delivery models and, in doing so, they organize and set goals and priorities in such a way that the actions of different actors are effective,

Intracellular Delivery of Nanomaterials via an Inertial Microfluidic Cell Hydroporator.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Yanxiang; Kizer, Megan; Rada, Miran; Sage, Jessica; Wang, Xing; Cheon, Dong-Joo; Chung, Aram J

2018-04-11

The introduction of nanomaterials into cells is an indispensable process for studies ranging from basic biology to clinical applications. To deliver foreign nanomaterials into living cells, traditionally endocytosis, viral and lipid nanocarriers or electroporation are mainly employed; however, they critically suffer from toxicity, inconsistent delivery, and low throughput and are time-consuming and labor-intensive processes. Here, we present a novel inertial microfluidic cell hydroporator capable of delivering a wide range of nanomaterials to various cell types in a single-step without the aid of carriers or external apparatus. The platform inertially focuses cells into the channel center and guides cells to collide at a T-junction. Controlled compression and shear forces generate transient membrane discontinuities that facilitate passive diffusion of external nanomaterials into the cell cytoplasm while maintaining high cell viability. This hydroporation method shows superior delivery efficiency, is high-throughput, and has high controllability; moreover, its extremely simple and low-cost operation provides a powerful and practical strategy in the applications of cellular imaging, biomanufacturing, cell-based therapies, regenerative medicine, and disease diagnosis.

The Mitigation of Radio Noise from External Sources at Receiving Sites

Science.gov (United States)

2007-05-01

53 3.1.7 Underground Distribution Lines...available newer models were preferred for laboratory measurements of time- stable signals and noise. 9 An ELF Engineering Model 7200B 3-Axis... communications terminal was located about 1 km from an HF and VHF receiving site. The satellite terminal was equipped with an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS

A portable pulmonary delivery system for nano engineered DNA vaccines driven by surface acoustic wave devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajapaksa, A.E.; Qi, Aisha; Yeo, L.; Friend, J.

2010-01-01

Full text: The increase in the need for effective delivery of potelll vaccines against infectious diseases, require robust yet straightforward pro duction of encapsulated DNA-laden aerosols. Aerosol delivery of drugs represents the next generation of vaccine delivery where the drug is deposited into the lung, which provides an ideal, non-invasive route. Moreover, several features of D A vaccines make them more attractive than conventional vaccines; thus, DNA vaccines have gained global interest for a variety of applications. However, several limitations such as ineffective cellular uptake and intracellular delivery, and degradation of DNA need to be overcome before clin ical applications. In this study, a novel and scalable engineered technique has been developed to create a biodegradable polymer system, which enables controlled delivery of a well designed DNA vaccine for immuno-therapeutics. Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) atomisation has been found as useful mechanism for atomising fluid samples for medical and industrial devices. It is a straightforward method for synthesising un-agglomerated biodegradable nanoparti cles (<250 nm) in the absence of organic solvents which would represent a major breakthrough for biopharmaceutical encapsulation and delivery. Nano-scale polymer particles for DNA vaccines deliv ery were obtained through an evaporative process of the initial aerosol created by surface acoustic waves at 8-150 MHz, the final size of which could be controlled by modifying the initial polymer concen tration and solid contents. Thus, SAW atomiser represents a promising alternative for the development of a low power device for producing nano-engineered vaccines with a controlled and narrow size distribution as delivery system for genetic immuno-therapeutics.

20 CFR 628.405 - Service delivery areas.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Service delivery areas. 628.405 Section 628... TITLE II OF THE JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT Local Service Delivery System § 628.405 Service delivery... evaluate the degree to which a proposed service delivery area meets criteria established by the Governor...

Microspheres and Nanotechnology for Drug Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Jóhannesson, Gauti; Stefánsson, Einar; Loftsson, Thorsteinn

2016-01-01

Ocular drug delivery to the posterior segment of the eye can be accomplished by invasive drug injections into different tissues of the eye and noninvasive topical treatment. Invasive treatment involves the risks of surgical trauma and infection, and conventional topical treatments are ineffective in delivering drugs to the posterior segment of the eye. In recent years, nanotechnology has become an ever-increasing part of ocular drug delivery. In the following, we briefly review microspheres and nanotechnology for drug delivery to the eye, including different forms of nanotechnology such as nanoparticles, microparticles, liposomes, microemulsions and micromachines. The permeation barriers and anatomical considerations linked to ocular drug delivery are discussed and a theoretical overview on drug delivery through biological membranes is given. Finally, in vitro, in vivo and human studies of x03B3;-cyclodextrin nanoparticle eyedrop suspensions are discussed as an example of nanotechnology used for drug delivery to the eye. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Oral delivery of anticancer drugs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thanki, Kaushik; Gangwal, Rahul P; Sangamwar, Abhay T

2013-01-01

The present report focuses on the various aspects of oral delivery of anticancer drugs. The significance of oral delivery in cancer therapeutics has been highlighted which principally includes improvement in quality of life of patients and reduced health care costs. Subsequently, the challenges...... incurred in the oral delivery of anticancer agents have been especially emphasized. Sincere efforts have been made to compile the various physicochemical properties of anticancer drugs from either literature or predicted in silico via GastroPlus™. The later section of the paper reviews various emerging...... trends to tackle the challenges associated with oral delivery of anticancer drugs. These invariably include efflux transporter based-, functional excipient- and nanocarrier based-approaches. The role of drug nanocrystals and various others such as polymer based- and lipid based...

Route of delivery following successful external cephalic version.

Science.gov (United States)

Policiano, Catarina; Costa, Ana; Valentim-Lourenço, Alexandre; Clode, Nuno; Graça, Luís M

2014-09-01

To evaluate the delivery route and the indications for cesarean delivery after successful external cephalic version (ECV). A retrospective matched case-control study was conducted at a hospital in Lisbon, Portugal, between 2002 and 2012. Each woman who underwent successful ECV (n = 44) was compared with the previous and next women who presented for labor management and who had the same parity and a singleton vertex pregnancy at term (n = 88). The outcome measures were route of delivery, indications for cesarean delivery, and incidence of nonreassuring fetal status. Attempts at ECV were successful in 62 (46%) of 134 women, and 44 women whose fetuses remained in a cephalic presentation until delivery were included in the study. The rates of intrapartum cesarean delivery and operative vaginal delivery did not differ significantly between cases and controls (intrapartum cesarean delivery, 9 [20%] vs 16 [18%], P = 0.75; operative vaginal delivery, 14 [32%] vs 19 [22%], P = 0.20). The indications for cesarean delivery after successful ECV did not differ; in both groups, cesarean delivery was mainly performed for labor arrest disorders (cases, 6 [67%] vs controls, 13 [81%]; P = 0.63). Successful ECV was not associated with increased rates of intrapartum cesarean delivery or operative vaginal delivery. Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

US effort on HTS power transformers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mehta, S., E-mail: shirish.pmehta@spx.com [Waukesha Electric Systems, 400 S. Praire Avenue, Waukesha, WI 53186 (United States)

2011-11-15

Fault Current Limiting HTS Transformer development program plan is presented. Benefits of FCL HTS Transformers for power delivery system. Independent program review process is described. Transformer specifications, site requirement described. Waukesha Electric Systems has been working in HTS power transformers development program under the auspices of US Government Department of Energy since 1994. This presentation will describe various milestones for this program and program history along with the lessons learned along the way. Our motivations for working on this development program based on man benefits offered by HTS power transformers to power delivery systems will be discussed. Based on various issues encountered during execution of many HTS projects, DOE has set up an independent program review process that is lead by team of experts. This team reviews are integral part of all DOE HTS projects. Success of all projects would be greatly enhanced by identifying critical issues early in the program. Requiring appropriate actions to mitigate the issues before processing further will lead to proactive interrogation and incorporation of expert's ideas in the project plans. Working of this review process will be also described in this presentation. Waukesha Electric Systems team including: Superpower-Inc, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Houston Center for Superconductivity and Southern California Edison company was awarded a cost share grant by US Government in 2010 for development of a fault current limiting HTS power transformer. This multi year's program will require design, manufacture, installation, and monitoring of a 28 MVA tree phase transformer installed at Irvine CA. Smart Grid demonstration site. Transformer specifications along with requirements for fault current limiting and site requirement will be discussed. Design and development of various sub systems in support of this program including: HTS conductor performance specification

US effort on HTS power transformers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehta, S.

2011-01-01

Fault Current Limiting HTS Transformer development program plan is presented. Benefits of FCL HTS Transformers for power delivery system. Independent program review process is described. Transformer specifications, site requirement described. Waukesha Electric Systems has been working in HTS power transformers development program under the auspices of US Government Department of Energy since 1994. This presentation will describe various milestones for this program and program history along with the lessons learned along the way. Our motivations for working on this development program based on man benefits offered by HTS power transformers to power delivery systems will be discussed. Based on various issues encountered during execution of many HTS projects, DOE has set up an independent program review process that is lead by team of experts. This team reviews are integral part of all DOE HTS projects. Success of all projects would be greatly enhanced by identifying critical issues early in the program. Requiring appropriate actions to mitigate the issues before processing further will lead to proactive interrogation and incorporation of expert's ideas in the project plans. Working of this review process will be also described in this presentation. Waukesha Electric Systems team including: Superpower-Inc, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Houston Center for Superconductivity and Southern California Edison company was awarded a cost share grant by US Government in 2010 for development of a fault current limiting HTS power transformer. This multi year's program will require design, manufacture, installation, and monitoring of a 28 MVA tree phase transformer installed at Irvine CA. Smart Grid demonstration site. Transformer specifications along with requirements for fault current limiting and site requirement will be discussed. Design and development of various sub systems in support of this program including: HTS conductor performance specification

Exploiting ancillary services from distributed generation - perspectives for the Danish power system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nyeng, Preben; Pedersen, Knud Ole Helgesen; Østergaard, Jacob

2007-01-01

The share of the electric power production originating from distributed energy resources has rapidly increased during the recent past. However when it comes to ancillary services necessary to ensure the stability and appropriate operation of the power system, the distributed energy resources take...... a very passive role. This paper outlines suggestions on how to activate the potential of ancillary services from distributed energy resources, thereby exploiting their ability to contribute to power system operation. Furthermore, methods for integrating the ancillary service delivery into a deregulated...

A real-time virtual delivery system for photon radiotherapy delivery monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Shi

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Treatment delivery monitoring is important for radiotherapy, which enables catching dosimetric error at the earliest possible opportunity. This project develops a virtual delivery system to monitor the dose delivery process of photon radiotherapy in real-time using GPU-based Monte Carlo (MC method.Methods: The simulation process consists of 3 parallel CPU threads. A thread T1 is responsible for communication with a linac, which acquires a set of linac status parameters, e.g. gantry angles, MLC configurations, and beam MUs every 20 ms. Since linac vendors currently do not offer interface to acquire data in real time, we mimic this process by fetching information from a linac dynalog file at the set frequency. Instantaneous beam fluence map (FM is calculated based. A FM buffer is also created in T1 and the instantaneous FM is accumulated to it. This process continues, until a ready signal is received from thread T2 on which an in-house developed MC dose engine executes on GPU. At that moment, the accumulated FM is transferred to T2 for dose calculations, and the FM buffer in T1 is cleared. Once the dose calculation finishes, the resulting 3D dose distribution is directed to thread T3, which displays it in three orthogonal planes in color wash overlaid on the CT image. This process continues to monitor the 3D dose distribution in real-time.Results: An IMRT and a VMAT cases used in our patient-specific QA are studied. Maximum dose differences between our system and treatment planning system are 0.98% and 1.58% for the IMRT and VMAT cases, respectively. The update frequency is >10Hz and the relative uncertainty level is 2%.Conclusion: By embedding a GPU-based MC code in a novel data/work flow, it is possible to achieve real-time MC dose calculations to monitor delivery process.------------------------------Cite this article as: Shi F, Gu X, Graves YJ, Jiang S, Jia X. A real-time virtual delivery system for photon radiotherapy delivery

Oral delivery of peptides and proteins using lipid-based drug delivery systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ping; Nielsen, Hanne Mørck; Müllertz, Anette

2012-10-01

In order to successfully develop lipid-based drug delivery systems (DDS) for oral administration of peptides and proteins, it is important to gain an understanding of the colloid structures formed by these DDS, the mode of peptide and protein incorporation as well as the mechanism by which intestinal absorption of peptides and proteins is promoted. The present paper reviews the literature on lipid-based DDS, employed for oral delivery of peptides and proteins and highlights the mechanisms by which the different lipid-based carriers are expected to overcome the two most important barriers (extensive enzymatic degradation and poor transmucosal permeability). This paper also gives a clear-cut idea about advantages and drawbacks of using different lipidic colloidal carriers ((micro)emulsions, solid lipid core particles and liposomes) for oral delivery of peptides and proteins. Lipid-based DDS are safe and suitable for oral delivery of peptides and proteins. Significant progress has been made in this area with several technologies on clinical trials. However, a better understanding of the mechanism of action in vivo is needed in order to improve the design and development of lipid-based DDS with the desired bioavailability and therapeutic profile.

Cesarean deliveries and maternal weight retention.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapinos, Kandice A; Yakusheva, Olga; Weiss, Marianne

2017-10-04

Cesarean delivery accounts for nearly one-third of all births in the U.S. and contributes to an additional $38 billion in healthcare costs each year. Although Cesarean delivery has a long record of improving maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity, increased utilization over time has yielded public health concerns and calls for reductions. Observational evidence suggests Cesarean delivery is associated with increased maternal postpartum weight, which may have significant implications for the obesity epidemic. Previous literature, however, typically does not address selection biases stemming from correlations of pre-pregnancy weight and reproductive health with Cesarean delivery. We used fetal malpresentation as a natural experiment as it predicts Cesarean delivery but is uncorrelated with pre-pregnancy weight or maternal health. We used hospital administrative data (including fields used in vital birth record) from the state of Wisconsin from 2006 to 2013 to create a sample of mothers with at least two births. Using propensity score methods, we compared maternal weight prior to the second pregnancy of mothers who delivered via Cesarean due to fetal malpresentation to mothers who deliver vaginally. We found no evidence that Cesarean delivery in the first pregnancy causally leads to greater maternal weight, BMI, or movement to a higher BMI classification prior to the second pregnancy. After accounting for correlations between pre-pregnancy weight, gestational weight gain, and mode of delivery, there is no evidence of a causal link between Cesarean delivery and maternal weight retention.

Advanced Space Transportation Concepts and Propulsion Technologies for a New Delivery Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, John W.; McCleskey, Carey M.; Rhodes, Russel E.; Lepsch, Roger A.; Henderson, Edward M.; Joyner, Claude R., III; Levack, Daniel J. H.

2013-01-01

This paper describes Advanced Space Transportation Concepts and Propulsion Technologies for a New Delivery Paradigm. It builds on the work of the previous paper "Approach to an Affordable and Productive Space Transportation System". The scope includes both flight and ground system elements, and focuses on their compatibility and capability to achieve a technical solution that is operationally productive and also affordable. A clear and revolutionary approach, including advanced propulsion systems (advanced LOX rich booster engine concept having independent LOX and fuel cooling systems, thrust augmentation with LOX rich boost and fuel rich operation at altitude), improved vehicle concepts (autogeneous pressurization, turbo alternator for electric power during ascent, hot gases to purge system and keep moisture out), and ground delivery systems, was examined. Previous papers by the authors and other members of the Space Propulsion Synergy Team (SPST) focused on space flight system engineering methods, along with operationally efficient propulsion system concepts and technologies. This paper continues the previous work by exploring the propulsion technology aspects in more depth and how they may enable the vehicle designs from the previous paper. Subsequent papers will explore the vehicle design, the ground support system, and the operations aspects of the new delivery paradigm in greater detail.

SimWIND: A geospatial infrastructure model for optimizing wind power generation and transmission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, Benjamin R.; Middleton, Richard S.

2012-01-01

Wind is a clean, enduring energy resource with the capacity to satisfy 20% or more of U.S. electricity demand. Presently, wind potential is limited by a paucity of electrical transmission lines and/or capacity between promising wind resources and primary load centers. We present the model SimWIND to address this shortfall. SimWIND is an integrated optimization model for the geospatial arrangement and cost minimization of wind-power generation–transmission–delivery infrastructure. Given a set of possible wind-farm sites, the model simultaneously determines (1) where and how much power to generate and (2) where to build new transmission infrastructure and with what capacity in order to minimize the cost for delivering a targeted amount of power to load. Costs and routing of transmission lines consider geographic and social constraints as well as electricity losses. We apply our model to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Interconnection, considering scenarios that deliver up to 20 GW of new wind power. We show that SimWIND could potentially reduce ERCOT's projected ∼$5B transmission network upgrade line length and associated costs by 50%. These results suggest that SimWIND's coupled generation–transmission–delivery modeling approach could play a critical role in enhancing planning efforts and reducing costs for wind energy integration. - Highlights: ► Wind power is limited by transmission capacity between resources and demands. ► SimWIND is a coupled generation-transmission-delivery model for wind infrastructure. ► The model minimizes costs considering realistic transmission routing and networking. ► We show that SimWIND could save 50% of $5B costs for expanding the Texas grid. ► Results suggest SimWIND may play a critical role in enhancings wind planning efforts.

STRATEGIES AND PROSPECTS OF NASAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS

OpenAIRE

Gannu Praveen Kumar

2012-01-01

The recent advancement of nasal drug delivery systems has increased enormously and is gaining significant importance. Intranasal therapy has been an accepted form of treatment in the Ayurvedic system of Indian Medicine. The non-invasive delivery of nasal drug delivery systems made to exploit for the development of successful treatment. The advantages, disadvantages, mechanism of action and application of nasal drug delivery system in local delivery, systematic delivery, nasal vaccines and CNS...

Line-Interactive UPS for Microgrids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abusara, Mohammad; Guerrero, Josep M.; Sharkh, Suleiman

2014-01-01

Line interactive Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) systems are good candidates for providing energy storage within a microgrid to help improve its reliability, economy and efficiency. In grid-connected mode, power can be imported from the grid by the UPS to charge its battery. Power can also...... drooping technique to ensure seamless transfer between grid-connected and stand-alone parallel modes of operation. The drooping coefficients are chosen to limit the energy imported by the USP when re-connecting to the grid and to give good transient response. Experimental results of a microgrid consisting...

A compact reactor/ORC power source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meier, K.L.; Kirchner, W.L.; Willcutt, G.J.

1986-01-01

A compact power source that combines an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) electric generator with a nuclear reactor heat source is being designed and fabricated. Incorporating existing ORC technology with proven reactor technology, the compact reactor/ORC power source offers high reliability while minimizing the need for componenet development. Thermal power at 125 kWt is removed from the coated particle fueled, graphite moderated reactor by heat pipes operating at 500 0 C. Outside the reactor vessel and connected to the heat pipes are vaporizers in which the toluene ORC working fluid is heated to 370 0 C. In the turbine-alternator-pump (TAP) combined-rotating unit, the thermal energy of the toluene is converted to 25 kWe of electric power. Lumped parameter systems analyses combined with a finite element thermal analyses combined with a finite element thermal analysis have aided in the power source design. The analysis have provided assurance of reliable multiyear normal operation as well as full power operation with upset conditions, such as failed heat pipes and inoperative ORC vaporizers. Because of inherent high reliability, long life, and insensitivity to upset conditions, this power source is especially suited for use in remote, inaccessible locations where fuel delivery and maintenance costs are high

48 CFR 52.211-8 - Time of Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Time of Delivery. 52.211-8... Delivery. As prescribed in 11.404(a)(2), insert the following clause: Time of Delivery (JUN 1997) (a) The Government requires delivery to be made according to the following schedule: REQUIRED DELIVERY SCHEDULE...

Simulation based medical education; teaching normal delivery on intermediate fidelity simulator to medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Nighat; Baig, Lubna; Shah, Nusrat; Hussain, Riffat; Aly, Syed Moyn

2017-10-01

To assess the effectiveness of medium fidelity simulator in teaching normal vaginal delivery to medical students. The quasi-experimental study was conducted at the professional development centre of the Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, from June to December 2015, and comprised medical students. Third-year medical students were included. They were divided into two groups. Group A was taught normal delivery through traditional PowerPoint and group B through simulator. The instruments used for assessing knowledge were pre-test and post-test, for skills of labour/delivery checklist of performance was used, and perception forms were filled to evaluate workshops/learning environment by students. Of the 76 participants, there were 36(47.4%) in group A and 40(52.6%) in group B. The overall mean age of the participants was 20.86±0.76 years in group B and 20.60±0.95 years in group A (p=0.19). The mean grade point average of the participants was 2.89±0.47 in group A and 2.87±0.48 in group B (p=0.81).Group B performed much better in skill of delivery having a mean score of 8.91±3.20compared to group A which had mean of 5.67±1.84 (pSimulation-based skill learning showed significantly better results.

Nanoscale drug delivery for targeted chemotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Xin, Yong; Huang, Qian; Tang, Jian-Qin; Hou, Xiao-Yang; Zhang, Pei; Zhang, Long Zhen; Jiang, Guan

2016-08-28

Despite significant improvements in diagnostic methods and innovations in therapies for specific cancers, effective treatments for neoplastic diseases still represent major challenges. Nanotechnology as an emerging technology has been widely used in many fields and also provides a new opportunity for the targeted delivery of cancer drugs. Nanoscale delivery of chemotherapy drugs to the tumor site is highly desirable. Recent studies have shown that nanoscale drug delivery systems not only have the ability to destroy cancer cells but may also be carriers for chemotherapy drugs. Some studies have demonstrated that delivery of chemotherapy via nanoscale carriers has greater therapeutic benefit than either treatment modality alone. In this review, novel approaches to nanoscale delivery of chemotherapy are described and recent progress in this field is discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nanoparticles for intracellular-targeted drug delivery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paulo, Cristiana S O; Pires das Neves, Ricardo; Ferreira, Lino S

2011-01-01

Nanoparticles (NPs) are very promising for the intracellular delivery of anticancer and immunomodulatory drugs, stem cell differentiation biomolecules and cell activity modulators. Although initial studies in the area of intracellular drug delivery have been performed in the delivery of DNA, there is an increasing interest in the use of other molecules to modulate cell activity. Herein, we review the latest advances in the intracellular-targeted delivery of short interference RNA, proteins and small molecules using NPs. In most cases, the drugs act at different cellular organelles and therefore the drug-containing NPs should be directed to precise locations within the cell. This will lead to the desired magnitude and duration of the drug effects. The spatial control in the intracellular delivery might open new avenues to modulate cell activity while avoiding side-effects.

Drug delivery across length scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Delcassian, Derfogail; Patel, Asha K; Cortinas, Abel B; Langer, Robert

2018-02-20

Over the last century, there has been a dramatic change in the nature of therapeutic, biologically active molecules available to treat disease. Therapies have evolved from extracted natural products towards rationally designed biomolecules, including small molecules, engineered proteins and nucleic acids. The use of potent drugs which target specific organs, cells or biochemical pathways, necessitates new tools which can enable controlled delivery and dosing of these therapeutics to their biological targets. Here, we review the miniaturisation of drug delivery systems from the macro to nano-scale, focussing on controlled dosing and controlled targeting as two key parameters in drug delivery device design. We describe how the miniaturisation of these devices enables the move from repeated, systemic dosing, to on-demand, targeted delivery of therapeutic drugs and highlight areas of focus for the future.

Short Hairpin RNA (shRNA): Design, Delivery, and Assessment of Gene Knockdown

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Chris B.; Guthrie, Elizabeth H.; Huang, Max Tze-Han; Taxman, Debra J.

2013-01-01

Shortly after the cellular mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi) was first described, scientists began using this powerful technique to study gene function. This included designing better methods for the successful delivery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) into mammalian cells. While the simplest method for RNAi is the cytosolic delivery of siRNA oligonucleotides, this technique is limited to cells capable of transfection and is primarily utilized during transient in vitro studies. The introduction of shRNA into mammalian cells through infection with viral vectors allows for stable integration of shRNA and long-term knockdown of the targeted gene; however, several challenges exist with the implementation of this technology. Here we describe some well-tested protocols which should increase the chances of successful design, delivery, and assessment of gene knockdown by shRNA. We provide suggestions for designing shRNA targets and controls, a protocol for sequencing through the secondary structure of the shRNA hairpin structure, and protocols for packaging and delivery of shRNA lentiviral particles. Using real-time PCR and functional assays we demonstrate the successful knockdown of ASC, an inflammatory adaptor molecule. These studies demonstrate the practicality of including two shRNAs with different efficacies of knockdown to provide an additional level of control and to verify dose dependency of functional effects. Along with the methods described here, as new techniques and algorithms are designed in the future, shRNA is likely to include further promising application and continue to be a critical component of gene discovery. PMID:20387148

Effect of induction-delivery and uterine-delivery on apgar scoring of the newborn.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamat S

1991-07-01

Full Text Available Very short or prolonged induction-delivery interval (i.e. less than 5 minutes or more than 15 minutes and uterine-delivery interval of more than 90 seconds has a definite effect on the apgar scoring of a newborn especially when general anaesthesia is administered as compared to regional anaesthesia for caesarean section.

[Beneficial effect of maternity leave on delivery].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Qian; Séguin, Louise; Goulet, Lise

2002-01-01

To identify the contribution of the duration of the prenatal maternity leave on term delivery. Characteristics of the prenatal maternity leave and delivery among 363 working women who had delivered a full-term infant at 1 of 4 hospitals in Montreal during 1996 were studied. The presence of an intervention or complication during delivery was observed in 68.9% of the participants. The average duration of the prenatal maternity leave was about 8 weeks (SD = 7). The adjusted risk of a difficult delivery decreased significantly with the duration of the prenatal maternity leave (OR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.93-0.99). The duration of the maternity leave before delivery is associated with an easier term delivery for working women.

Comparison of Power Control Strategies for DFIG Wind Turbines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teodorescu, Remus; Luna, A.; Rodríguez, P.

2008-01-01

The classical control techniques for regulating the active and reactive power delivery in doubly fed induction generators (DFIG), for wind power applications, are normally based on voltage oriented control (VOC) strategies. Among these algorithms, those that work in a synchronous reference frame...... VOC strategy able to control the operation of a DFIG in the αβ reference frame, with no need of flux position estimation, something that conducts to a more simple and robust algorithm. In order to evaluate the advantages of this new control proposal, namely VOC-RRF, their performance will be compared...

Lessons learned from the NREL village power program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, R.W. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

1998-09-01

Renewable energy solutions for village power applications can be economical, functional, and sustainable. Pilot projects are an appropriate step in the development of a commercially viable market for rural renewable energy solutions. Moreover, there are a significant number of rural electrification projects under way that employ various technologies, delivery mechanisms, and financing arrangements. These projects, if properly evaluated, communicated, and their lessons incorporated in future projects and programs, can lead the way to a future that includes a robust opportunity for cost-effective, renewable-based village power systems. This paper summarizes some of NREL`s recent experiences and lessons learned.

Lessons Learned from the NREL Village Power Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, R.

1998-07-01

Renewable energy solutions for village power applications can be economical, functional, and sustainable. Pilot projects are an appropriate step in the development of a commercially viable market for rural renewable energy solutions. Moreover, there are a significant number of rural electrification projects under way that employ various technologies, delivery mechanisms, and financing arrangements. These projects, if properly evaluated, communicated, and their lessons incorporated in future projects and programs, can lead the way to a future that includes a robust opportunity for cost-effective, renewable-based village power systems. This paper summarizes some of NRELs recent experiences and lessons learned.

Redefining continuing education delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlton, K H

1997-01-01

Just as technology is transforming the delivery of education, the Internet and advanced telecommunication applications are changing the "face" of CE and the connotation of "lifelong learning." As late as the mid-1980s, a discussion of computer applications in nursing CE focused on the "timely" transition to microcomputers as tools for the enhancement of managerial tasks for increased productivity. Even as recently as 1990, there seemed to be "time" for those providers who were "slower to adopt innovation" to "catch up." Now, the CE provider who does not integrate the microcomputer and advanced telecommunications as an integral component of their delivery modalities may be outsourced rapidly by an educational or commercial competitive unit that is able to utilize the communication medium, mergers and partnerships, enterprise, and individual lifestyle and learning patterns that will epitomize the CE unit of the 21st century. As with the "re-engineering" of nursing education, the "re-engineered" delivery modalities of evolving CE entity might now best be conceptualized on a continuum from the traditional mode that time and place dependent to a mode of synchronous and asynchronous data and advanced telecommunication. Delivery methods will need to be selected according to the target populations, content, and situation. The health-care educational provider may discover, as in other industries, that a combination of distance and residential offerings will be the most successful medium for the delivery of CE to the progressively more "information and technologically savvy" lifelong learner of the 21st century. In addressing the dramatic effects of the information technology era on the refocused multimedia/interactive delivery method for student education, educators amply quoted Bob Dylan's phrase of the 1960s, "The times, they are a-changing." And so, we see that the times are also changing at an astronomical rate for the health-care educational provider as well as the

The regulating power market on the Nordic power exchange Nord Pool. An econometric analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skytte, K.

1999-08-01

What differentiates the structure of Nord Pool from other power exchanges around the world is the way the balance from the spot market is maintained until the actual, physical delivery takes place, via the regulating power market in Norway. This paper reveals the pattern of the prices on the regulating power market, by analysing the cost of being unable to fulfil the commitments made on the spot market. Some power producers with unpredictable fluctuations (e.g. wind) will need to buy regulation services. The disclosed pattern implies that these producers must pay a limited premium of readiness in addition to the spot price; this premium is independent of the amount of regulation. The level of the premium of readiness for down-regulation is shown to be strongly influenced by the level of the spot price. On the other hand, it is demonstrated that the premium for up-regulation is less correlated to the spot price. Furthermore, it is found that the amount of regulation affects the price of regulating power for up-regulation more strongly than it does for down-regulation. The disclosed cost of using the regulating power market is a quadratic function of the amount of regulation. This asymmetric cost may encourage bidders with fluctuating production to be more strategic in their way of bidding on the spot market. By using such strategies the extra costs (for example wind power) needed to counter unpredictable fluctuations may be limited. 12 refs

Permeation enhancer strategies in transdermal drug delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Marwah, Harneet; Garg, Tarun; Goyal, Amit K; Rath, Goutam

2016-01-01

Today, ∼74% of drugs are taken orally and are not found to be as effective as desired. To improve such characteristics, transdermal drug delivery was brought to existence. This delivery system is capable of transporting the drug or macromolecules painlessly through skin into the blood circulation at fixed rate. Topical administration of therapeutic agents offers many advantages over conventional oral and invasive techniques of drug delivery. Several important advantages of transdermal drug delivery are prevention from hepatic first pass metabolism, enhancement of therapeutic efficiency and maintenance of steady plasma level of the drug. Human skin surface, as a site of drug application for both local and systemic effects, is the most eligible candidate available. New controlled transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS) technologies (electrically-based, structure-based and velocity-based) have been developed and commercialized for the transdermal delivery of troublesome drugs. This review article covers most of the new active transport technologies involved in enhancing the transdermal permeation via effective drug delivery system.

Enhancement of therapeutic drug and DNA delivery into cells by electroporation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rabussay, Dietmar [Genetronics, Inc., Department of Research and Development, 11199 Sorrento Valley Road, San Diego, CA (United States); Dev, Nagendu B [Genetronics, Inc., Department of Research and Development, 11199 Sorrento Valley Road, San Diego, CA (United States); Fewell, Jason [Valentis, Inc., 8301 New Trails Drive, The Woodlands, TX (United States); Smith, Louis C [Valentis, Inc., 8301 New Trails Drive, The Woodlands, TX (United States); Widera, Georg [Genetronics, Inc., Department of Research and Development, 11199 Sorrento Valley Road, San Diego, CA (United States); Zhang Lei [Genetronics, Inc., Department of Research and Development, 11199 Sorrento Valley Road, San Diego, CA (United States)

2003-02-21

The effectiveness of potentially powerful therapeutics, including DNA, is often limited by their inability to permeate the cell membrane efficiently. Electroporation (EP) also referred to as 'electropermeabilization' of the outer cell membrane renders this barrier temporarily permeable by inducing 'pores' across the lipid bilayer. For in vivo EP, the drug or DNA is delivered into the interstitial space of the target tissue by conventional means, followed by local EP. EP pulses of micro- to millisecond duration and field strengths of 100-1500 V cm{sup -1} generally enhance the delivery of certain chemotherapeutic drugs by three to four orders of magnitude and intracellular delivery of DNA several hundred-fold. We have used EP in clinical studies for human cancer therapy and in animals for gene therapy and DNA vaccination. Late stage squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck were treated with intratumoural injection of bleomycin and subsequent EP. Of the 69 tumours treated, 25% disappeared completely and another 32% were reduced in volume by more than half. Residence time of bleomycin in electroporated tumours was significantly greater than in non-electroporated lesions. Histological findings and gene expression patterns after bleomycin-EP treatment indicated rapid apoptosis of the majority of tumour cells. In animals, we demonstrated the usefulness of EP for enhanced DNA delivery by achieving normalization of blood clotting times in haemophilic dogs, and by substantially increasing transgene expression in smooth muscle cells of arterial walls using a novel porous balloon EP catheter. Finally, we have found in animal experiments that the immune response to DNA vaccines can be dramatically enhanced and accelerated by EP and co-injection of micron-sized particles. We conclude that EP represents an effective, economical and safe approach to enhance the intracellular delivery, and thus potency, of important drugs and genes for therapeutic purposes