Wide-range voltage modulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rust, K.R.; Wilson, J.M.

1992-06-01

The Superconducting Super Collider's Medium Energy Booster Abort (MEBA) kicker modulator will supply a current pulse to the abort magnets which deflect the proton beam from the MEB ring into a designated beam stop. The abort kicker will be used extensively during testing of the Low Energy Booster (LEB) and the MEB rings. When the Collider is in full operation, the MEBA kicker modulator will abort the MEB beam in the event of a malfunction during the filling process. The modulator must generate a 14-μs wide pulse with a rise time of less than 1 μs, including the delay and jitter times. It must also be able to deliver a current pulse to the magnet proportional to the beam energy at any time during ramp-up of the accelerator. Tracking the beam energy, which increases from 12 GeV at injection to 200 GeV at extraction, requires the modulator to operate over a wide range of voltages (4 kV to 80 kV). A vacuum spark gap and a thyratron have been chosen for test and evaluation as candidate switches for the abort modulator. Modulator design, switching time delay, jitter and pre-fire data are presented

Issues surrounding orphan disease and orphan drug policies in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Denis, Alain; Mergaert, Lut; Fostier, Christel; Cleemput, Irina; Simoens, Steven

2010-01-01

An orphan disease is a disease with a very low prevalence. Although there are 5000-7000 orphan diseases, only 50 orphan drugs (i.e. drugs developed to treat orphan diseases) were marketed in the EU by the end of 2008. In 2000, the EU implemented policies specifically designed to stimulate the development of orphan drugs. While decisions on orphan designation and the marketing authorization of orphan drugs are made at the EU level, decisions on drug reimbursement are made at the member state level. The specific features of orphan diseases and orphan drugs make them a high-priority issue for policy makers. The aim of this article is to identify and discuss several issues surrounding orphan disease and drug policies in Europe. The present system of orphan designation allows for drugs for non-orphan diseases to be designated as orphan drugs. The economic factors underlying orphan designation can be questioned in some cases, as a low prevalence of a certain indication does not equal a low return on investment for the drug across its indications. High-quality evidence about the clinical added value of orphan drugs is rarely available at the time of marketing authorization, due to the low number of patients. A balance must be struck between ethical and economic concerns. To this effect, there is a need to initiate a societal dialogue on this issue, to clarify what society wants and accepts in terms of ethical and economic consequences. The growing budgetary impact of orphan drugs puts pressure on drug expenditure. Indications can be extended for an orphan drug and the total prevalence across indications is not considered. Finally, cooperation needs to be fostered in the EU, particularly through a standardized approach to the creation and use of registries. These issues require further attention from researchers, policy makers, health professionals, patients, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders with a view to optimizing orphan disease and drug policies in

Non-uniform sampling and wide range angular spectrum method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yong-Hae; Byun, Chun-Won; Oh, Himchan; Lee, JaeWon; Pi, Jae-Eun; Heon Kim, Gi; Lee, Myung-Lae; Ryu, Hojun; Chu, Hye-Yong; Hwang, Chi-Sun

2014-01-01

A novel method is proposed for simulating free space field propagation from a source plane to a destination plane that is applicable for both small and large propagation distances. The angular spectrum method (ASM) was widely used for simulating near field propagation, but it caused a numerical error when the propagation distance was large because of aliasing due to under sampling. Band limited ASM satisfied the Nyquist condition on sampling by limiting a bandwidth of a propagation field to avoid an aliasing error so that it could extend the applicable propagation distance of the ASM. However, the band limited ASM also made an error due to the decrease of an effective sampling number in a Fourier space when the propagation distance was large. In the proposed wide range ASM, we use a non-uniform sampling in a Fourier space to keep a constant effective sampling number even though the propagation distance is large. As a result, the wide range ASM can produce simulation results with high accuracy for both far and near field propagation. For non-paraxial wave propagation, we applied the wide range ASM to a shifted destination plane as well. (paper)

Logarithmic circuit with wide dynamic range

Science.gov (United States)

Wiley, P. H.; Manus, E. A. (Inventor)

1978-01-01

A circuit deriving an output voltage that is proportional to the logarithm of a dc input voltage susceptible to wide variations in amplitude includes a constant current source which forward biases a diode so that the diode operates in the exponential portion of its voltage versus current characteristic, above its saturation current. The constant current source includes first and second, cascaded feedback, dc operational amplifiers connected in negative feedback circuit. An input terminal of the first amplifier is responsive to the input voltage. A circuit shunting the first amplifier output terminal includes a resistor in series with the diode. The voltage across the resistor is sensed at the input of the second dc operational feedback amplifier. The current flowing through the resistor is proportional to the input voltage over the wide range of variations in amplitude of the input voltage.

Soil Compressibility Models for a Wide Stress Range

KAUST Repository

Chong, Song-Hun; Santamarina, Carlos

2016-01-01

Soil compressibility models with physically correct asymptotic void ratios are required to analyze situations that involve a wide stress range. Previously suggested models and other functions are adapted to satisfy asymptotic void ratios at low

High voltage wide range marx generator design and construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, J.E.

1976-01-01

A wide range, long pulse, Marx generator has been designed and constructed for the purpose of exciting a thermionic electron gun utilized for quasi-cw gas laser medium ionization. The Marx generator has been specifically designed to operate over a voltage range variable from 100 kV to 200 kV into a resistive load of between 83 kΩ and open circuit. This wide operating range, both in voltage and load impedance, was obtained using interstage coupling capacitors to assure overvoltage and subsequent breakdown of the three element spark gap switches used. This paper will discuss the motivation and specific application for the Marx generator and will present the relevant design procedure with particular emphasis on the interstage coupling and triggering techniques employed. Experimental data regarding the measured Marx generator performance will also be presented

Adaptive and freeze-tolerant heteronetwork organohydrogels with enhanced mechanical stability over a wide temperature range

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Hainan; Zhao, Ziguang; Cai, Yudong; Zhou, Jiajia; Hua, Wenda; Chen, Lie; Wang, Li; Zhang, Jianqi; Han, Dong; Liu, Mingjie; Jiang, Lei

2017-06-01

Many biological organisms with exceptional freezing tolerance can resist the damages to cells from extra-/intracellular ice crystals and thus maintain their mechanical stability at subzero temperatures. Inspired by the freezing tolerance mechanisms found in nature, here we report a strategy of combining hydrophilic/oleophilic heteronetworks to produce self-adaptive, freeze-tolerant and mechanically stable organohydrogels. The organohydrogels can simultaneously use water and oil as a dispersion medium, and quickly switch between hydrogel- and organogel-like behaviours in response to the nature of the surrounding phase. Accordingly, their surfaces display unusual adaptive dual superlyophobic in oil/water system (that is, they are superhydrophobic under oil and superoleophobic under water). Moreover, the organogel component can inhibit the ice crystallization of the hydrogel component, thus enhancing the mechanical stability of organohydrogel over a wide temperature range (-78 to 80 °C). The organohydrogels may have promising applications in complex and harsh environments.

Soil Compressibility Models for a Wide Stress Range

KAUST Repository

Chong, Song-Hun

2016-03-03

Soil compressibility models with physically correct asymptotic void ratios are required to analyze situations that involve a wide stress range. Previously suggested models and other functions are adapted to satisfy asymptotic void ratios at low and high stress levels; all updated models involve four parameters. Compiled consolidation data for remolded and natural clays are used to test the models and to develop correlations between model parameters and index properties. Models can adequately fit soil compression data for a wide range of stresses and soil types; in particular, models that involve the power of the stress σ\\'β display higher flexibility to capture the brittle response of some natural soils. The use of a single continuous function avoids numerical discontinuities or the need for ad hoc procedures to determine the yield stress. The tangent stiffness-readily computed for all models-should not be mistaken for the small-strain constant-fabric stiffness. © 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Doped silicene: Evidence of a wide stability range

KAUST Repository

Cheng, Yingchun; Zhu, Zhiyong; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

2011-01-01

to the carrier concentration, it is stable in a wide doping range. The frequencies of the E2g-Γ and A′-K Raman modes can be used to probe the carrier concentration. In addition, the phonon dispersion displays Kohn anomalies at the Γ and K points which are reduced

Rapid response and wide range neutronic power measuring systems for fast pulsed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumita, Kenji; Iida, Toshiyuki; Wakayama, Naoaki.

1976-01-01

This paper summarizes our investigation on design principles of the rapid, stable and wide range neutronic power measuring system for fast pulsed reactors. The picoammeter, the logarithmic amplifier, the reactivity meter and the neutron current chamber are the items of investigation. In order to get a rapid response, the method of compensation for the stray capacitance of the feedback circuits and the capacitance of signal cables is applied to the picoammeter, the logarithmic amplifier and the reactivity meter with consideration for the stability margin of a whole detecting system. The response of an ionization current chamber and the method for compensating the ion component of the chamber output to get optimum responses high pass filters are investigated. Statistical fluctuations of the current chamber output are also considered in those works. The optimum thickness of the surrounding moderator of the neutron detector is also discussed from the viewpoint of the pulse shape deformation and the neutron sensitivity increase. The experimental results are reported, which were observed in the pulse operations of the one shot fast pulsed reactor ''YAYOI'' and the one shot TRIGA ''NSRR'' with the measuring systems using those principles. (auth.)

Differentiation in native as well as introduced ranges: germination reflects mean and variance in cover of surrounding vegetation.

Science.gov (United States)

Heger, Tina; Nikles, Gabriele; Jacobs, Brooke S

2018-02-01

Germination, a crucial phase in the life cycle of a plant, can be significantly influenced by competition and facilitation. The aim of this study was to test whether differences in cover of surrounding vegetation can lead to population differentiation in germination behaviour of an annual grassland species, and if so, whether such a differentiation can be found in the native as well as in the introduced range. We used maternal progeny of Erodium cicutarium previously propagated under uniform conditions that had been collected in multiple populations in the native and two introduced ranges, in populations representing extremes in terms of mean and variability of the cover of surrounding vegetation. In the first experiment, we tested the effect of germination temperature and mean cover at the source site on germination, and found interlinked effects of these factors. In seeds from one of the introduced ranges (California), we found indication for a 2-fold dormancy, hindering germination at high temperatures even if physical dormancy was broken and water was available. This behaviour was less strong in high cover populations, indicating cross-generational facilitating effects of dense vegetation. In the second experiment, we tested whether spatial variation in cover of surrounding vegetation has an effect on the proportion of dormant seeds. Contrary to our expectations, we found that across source regions, high variance in cover was associated with higher proportions of seeds germinating directly after storage. In all three regions, germination seemed to match the local environment in terms of climate and vegetation cover. We suggest that this is due to a combined effect of introduction of preadapted genotypes and local evolutionary processes.

Regulatory Issues Surrounding Merchant Interconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuijlaars, Kees-Jan; Zwart, Gijsbert

2003-11-01

We discussed various issues concerning the regulatory perspective on private investment in interconnectors. One might claim that leaving investment in transmission infrastructure to competing market parties is more efficient than relying on regulated investment only (especially in the case of long (DC) lines connecting previously unconnected parts of the grids, so that externalities from e.g. loop flows do not play a significant role). We considered that some aspects of interconnection might reduce these market benefits. In particular, the large fixed costs of interconnection construction may lead to significant under investment (due to both first mover monopoly power and the fact that part of generation cost efficiencies realised by interconnection are not captured by the investor itself, and remain external to the investment decision). Second, merchant ownership restricts future opportunities for adaptation of regulation, as would be required e.g. for introduction of potentially more sophisticated methods of congestion management or market splitting. Some of the disadvantages of merchant investment may be mitigated however by a suitable regulatory framework, and we discussed some views in this direction. The issues we discussed are not intended to give a complete framework, and detailed regulation will certainly involve many more specific requirements. Areas we did not touch upon include e.g. the treatment of deep connection costs, rules for operation and maintenance of the line, and impact on availability of capacity on other interconnections

Regulatory Issues Surrounding Merchant Interconnection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuijlaars, Kees-Jan; Zwart, Gijsbert [Office for Energy Regulation (DTe), The Hague (Netherlands)

2003-11-01

We discussed various issues concerning the regulatory perspective on private investment in interconnectors. One might claim that leaving investment in transmission infrastructure to competing market parties is more efficient than relying on regulated investment only (especially in the case of long (DC) lines connecting previously unconnected parts of the grids, so that externalities from e.g. loop flows do not play a significant role). We considered that some aspects of interconnection might reduce these market benefits. In particular, the large fixed costs of interconnection construction may lead to significant under investment (due to both first mover monopoly power and the fact that part of generation cost efficiencies realised by interconnection are not captured by the investor itself, and remain external to the investment decision). Second, merchant ownership restricts future opportunities for adaptation of regulation, as would be required e.g. for introduction of potentially more sophisticated methods of congestion management or market splitting. Some of the disadvantages of merchant investment may be mitigated however by a suitable regulatory framework, and we discussed some views in this direction. The issues we discussed are not intended to give a complete framework, and detailed regulation will certainly involve many more specific requirements. Areas we did not touch upon include e.g. the treatment of deep connection costs, rules for operation and maintenance of the line, and impact on availability of capacity on other interconnections.

Marine: a new wide range neutron monitoring system concept

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trama, J.C.; Lescop, B.; Lefevre, J.; Nguyen, T.; Sudres, C. [CEA Saclay, 91 - Gif sur Yvette (France). Dept. d' Electronique et d' Instrumentation Nucleaire; Pasdeloup, P. [Technicatome, 13 - Les Milles (France)

2001-07-01

In a Nuclear Power Plant, the developed power is proportional to the emitted neutron flux. The 10 to 11 decades measurement range from source to power generally needs 3 distinct neutron measurement chains to be monitored. A wide range neutron monitoring system may cover this range with only one sensor followed by adequate electronics. In the past this concept has been developed with an analogue technology which was presenting some drawbacks (slow log amplifier, components perenniality). In this paper, we introduce a completely new design, that makes use of a recent technology, including full linear input electronics, and advanced digital signal processing. As far as the sensor is concerned, both a well known commercial fission chamber, or an innovative wide range sensor presenting a high sensitivity may be used. The basic concept is that the single signal is continuously processed by three different electronic stages, each one being dedicated to approximately one third of the full range: pulse, Campbelling and current modes. After amplification, appropriate shaping, this signal is numerically filtered by a Kalman filter algorithm to compute the neutron flux as well as the reactor period. A specifically developed test module allows the surveillance of the sensor and the electronics via stimuli injections and characteristic curves plotting. A computerised simulation of the whole chain is used to validate the signal processing algorithms evolutions. In the paper we will specifically develop the metrological performances of this chain and the general agreement that exists between simulated and measured values. (authors)

Note: A wide temperature range MOKE system with annealing capability.

Science.gov (United States)

Chahil, Narpinder Singh; Mankey, G J

2017-07-01

A novel sample stage integrated with a longitudinal MOKE system has been developed for wide temperature range measurements and annealing capabilities in the temperature range 65 K temperatures without adversely affecting the cryostat and minimizes thermal drift in position. In this system the hysteresis loops of magnetic samples can be measured simultaneously while annealing the sample in a magnetic field.

Wide-Range Probing of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Duck-Ho; Yoo, Sang-Cheol; Kim, Dae-Yun; Min, Byoung-Chul; Choe, Sug-Bong

2017-03-01

The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in magnetic objects is of enormous interest, because it generates built-in chirality of magnetic domain walls (DWs) and topologically protected skyrmions, leading to efficient motion driven by spin-orbit torques. Because of its importance for both potential applications and fundamental research, many experimental efforts have been devoted to DMI investigation. However, current experimental probing techniques cover only limited ranges of the DMI strength and have specific sample requirements. Thus, there are no versatile methods to quantify DMI over a wide range of values. Here, we present such an experimental scheme, which is based on the angular dependence of asymmetric DW motion. This method can be used to determine values of DMI much larger than the maximum strength of the external magnetic field strength, which demonstrates that various DMI strengths can be quantified with a single measurement setup. This scheme may thus prove essential to DMI-related emerging fields in nanotechnology.

An emittance measurement system for a wide range of bunch charges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunham, B.; Engwall, D.; Hofler, A.; Keesee, M.; Legg, R.

1997-01-01

As a part of the emittance measurements planned for the FEL injector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab), the authors have developed an emittance measurement system that covers the wide dynamic range of bunch charges necessary to fully characterize the high-DC-voltage photocathode gun. The measurements are carried out with a variant of the classical two-slit method using a slit to sample the beam in conjunction with a wire scanner to measure the transmitted beam profile. The use of commercial, ultra-low noise picoammeters makes it possible to cover the wide range of desired bunch charges, with the actual measurements made over the range of 0.25 pC to 125 pC. The entire system, including its integration into the EPICS control system, is discussed

Wide Range Portable Radiation Survey Meter for Emergency Monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gangadharan, P.; Bhave, D. G.; Gokarn, R. S.; Khadake, R. G. [Directorate Of Radiation Protection, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Bombay (India)

1969-05-15

The paper describes a portable battery-operated radiation survey meter for monitoring a wide range of X- and gamma-ray exposure rates from 1 mR/h to 100 R/h. The instrument Incorporates a halogen GM tube as the detector and a count-rate meter for indication. A transistorized d.c. -d.c. converter supplies the necessary high voltage to the GM counter. The instrument response has been made energy independent in the energy range 80 keV to 1.25 MeV. Further, the response is linear over the entire range of exposure rates. Suitable extension rods have been designed to provide sufficient separation between the probe and the meter in cases where remote monitoring is necessary because of high fields. (author)

Wide range optofluidically tunable multimode interference fiber laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonio-Lopez, J E; LiKamWa, P; Sanchez-Mondragon, J J; May-Arrioja, D A

2014-01-01

An optofluidically tunable fiber laser based on multimode interference (MMI) effects with a wide tuning range is proposed and demonstrated. The tunable mechanism is based on an MMI fiber filter fabricated using a special fiber known as no-core fiber, which is a multimode fiber (MMF) without cladding. Therefore, when the MMI filter is covered by liquid the optical properties of the no-core fiber are modified, which allow us to tune the peak wavelength response of the MMI filter. Rather than applying the liquid on the entire no-core fiber, we change the liquid level along the no-core fiber, which provides a highly linear tuning response. In addition, by selecting the adequate refractive index of the liquid we can also choose the tuning range. We demonstrate the versatility of the optofluidically tunable MMI filter by wavelength tuning two different gain media, erbium doped fiber and a semiconductor optical amplifier, achieving tuning ranges of 55 and 90 nm respectively. In both cases, we achieve side-mode suppression ratios (SMSR) better than 50 dBm with output power variations of less than 0.76 dBm over the whole tuning range. (paper)

High speed, wide dynamic range analog signal processing for avalanche photodiode

CERN Document Server

Walder, J P; Pangaud, P

2000-01-01

A wide dynamic range multi-gain analog transimpedance amplifier integrated circuit has been developed for avalanche photodiode signal processing. The 96 dB input dynamic range is divided into four ranges of 12-bits each in order to provide 40 MHz analog sampled data to a 12-bits ADC. This concept which has been integrated in both BiCMOS and full complementary bipolar technology along with fitted design techniques will be presented.

High speed, wide dynamic range analog signal processing for avalanche photodiode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walder, J.P.; El Mamouni, Houmani; Pangaud, Patrick

2000-01-01

A wide dynamic range multi-gain analog transimpedance amplifier integrated circuit has been developed for avalanche photodiode signal processing. The 96 dB input dynamic range is divided into four ranges of 12-bits each in order to provide 40 MHz analog sampled data to a 12-bits ADC. This concept which has been integrated in both BiCMOS and full complementary bipolar technology along with fitted design techniques will be presented

High speed, wide dynamic range analog signal processing for avalanche photodiode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walder, J.P. E-mail: walder@in2p3.fr; El Mamouni, Houmani; Pangaud, Patrick

2000-03-11

A wide dynamic range multi-gain analog transimpedance amplifier integrated circuit has been developed for avalanche photodiode signal processing. The 96 dB input dynamic range is divided into four ranges of 12-bits each in order to provide 40 MHz analog sampled data to a 12-bits ADC. This concept which has been integrated in both BiCMOS and full complementary bipolar technology along with fitted design techniques will be presented.

Development of a wide-range tritium-concentration detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jun, F.; Zhe, L.; Shicheng, L.; Jiangfeng, S.; Deli, L.

2015-01-01

According to the requirements of the tritium related systems of the TBM (Test Blanket Module) for monitoring the on-line tritium concentration, a wide-range tritium-concentration detector has been developed to measure the tritium concentration in the range of 10 4 Bq/ml - 5*10 8 Bq/ml. This detector is combined with a low-memory helium ionization chamber. The weak current signal collected in the ionization chamber is converted to the voltage signal by an I-V converter. The minimum weak current which the detector could be measured is 10 -14 A. The performance of the background current and the current response linearity of the prototype have been tested. The test result indicates that the linear response of the current signal of the prototype without connecting the ionization chamber is good. The linear correlation coefficient is R 2 = 0.998

A Wide Lock-Range Referenceless CDR with Automatic Frequency Acquisition

OpenAIRE

Seon-Kyoo Lee; Young-Sang Kim; Hong-June Park; Jae-Yoon Sim

2011-01-01

A wide lock-range referenceless CDR circuit is proposed with an automatic tracking of data rate. For efficient frequency acquisition, a DLL-based loop is used with a simple phase/frequency detector to extract 1-bit period of input data stream. The CDR, implemented in a 65 nm CMOS, shows a lock range of 650 Mb/s-to-8 Gb/s and BER of less than 10-12 at 8 Gb/s with low power consumption.

A Wide Lock-Range Referenceless CDR with Automatic Frequency Acquisition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seon-Kyoo Lee

2011-01-01

Full Text Available A wide lock-range referenceless CDR circuit is proposed with an automatic tracking of data rate. For efficient frequency acquisition, a DLL-based loop is used with a simple phase/frequency detector to extract 1-bit period of input data stream. The CDR, implemented in a 65 nm CMOS, shows a lock range of 650 Mb/s-to-8 Gb/s and BER of less than 10-12 at 8 Gb/s with low power consumption.

Wide Operating Voltage Range Fuel Cell Battery Charger

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hernandez Botella, Juan Carlos; Mira Albert, Maria del Carmen; Sen, Gokhan

2014-01-01

DC-DC converters for fuel cell applications require wide voltage range operation due to the unique fuel cell characteristic curve. Primary parallel isolated boost converter (PPIBC) is a boost derived topology for low voltage high current applications reaching an efficiency figure up to 98...... by two the converter input-to-output voltage gain. This allows covering the conditions when the fuel cell stack operates in the activation region (maximum output voltage) and increases the degrees of freedom for converter optimization. The transition between operating modes is studied because represents...

CFD comparison with centrifugal compressor measurements on a wide operating range

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnou D.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Centrifugal compressors are widely used in industrial applications thanks to their high efficiency. They are able to provide a wide operating range before reaching the flow barrier or surge limits. Performances and range are described by compressor maps obtained experimentally. After a description of performance test rig, this article compares measured centrifugal compressor performances with computational fluid dynamics results. These computations are performed at steady conditions with R134a refrigerant as fluid. Navier-Stokes equations, coupled with k-ε turbulence model, are solved by the commercial software ANSYS-CFX by means of volume finite method. Input conditions are varied in order to calculate several speed lines. Theoretical isentropic efficiency and theoretical surge line are finally compared to experimental data.

Development of a wide-range tritium-concentration detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jun, F.; Zhe, L.; Shicheng, L.; Jiangfeng, S.; Deli, L. [China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang (China)

2015-03-15

According to the requirements of the tritium related systems of the TBM (Test Blanket Module) for monitoring the on-line tritium concentration, a wide-range tritium-concentration detector has been developed to measure the tritium concentration in the range of 10{sup 4} Bq/ml - 5*10{sup 8} Bq/ml. This detector is combined with a low-memory helium ionization chamber. The weak current signal collected in the ionization chamber is converted to the voltage signal by an I-V converter. The minimum weak current which the detector could be measured is 10{sup -14} A. The performance of the background current and the current response linearity of the prototype have been tested. The test result indicates that the linear response of the current signal of the prototype without connecting the ionization chamber is good. The linear correlation coefficient is R{sup 2} = 0.998.

Morphostructural characterization of the Charco basin and its surrounding areas in the Chihuahua segment of north Mexican Basin and Range Province

Science.gov (United States)

Troiani, Francesco; Menichetti, Marco

2014-05-01

The Chihuahua Basin and Range (CBR) is the eastern branch of the northern Mexican Basin and Range Province that, from a morphostructural point of view, presently is one amongst the lesser-known zones of the southern portion of the North America Basin and Range Province. The study area covers an approximately 800 km2-wide portion of the CBR and encompasses the fault-bounded Charco basin and its surrounding areas. The bedrock of the area pertains to the large siliceous-igneous province of the Sierra Madre Occidental and consists of volcanoclastic rocks including Oligocene dacite, rhyolite, rhyolitic tuffs, and polimitic conglomerates. The region is characterized by a series of NW-SE oriented valleys delimited by tilted monoclinal blocks bounded by high angle, SW-dipping, normal faults. Abrupt changes in elevation, alternating between narrow faulted mountain chains and flat arid valleys or basins are the main morphological elements of the area. The valleys correspond to structural grabens filled with Plio-Pleistocene continental sediments. These grabens are about 10 km wide, while the extensional fault system extend over a distance of more than 15 km. The mountain ranges are in most cases continuous over distances that range from 10 to 70 km including different branches of the extensional and transfer faults. The morphogenesis is mainly erosive in character: erosional landforms (such as rocky scarps, ridges, strath-terraces, erosional pediment, reverse slopes, landslide scar zones, litho-structural flat surfaces) dominate the landscape. In contrast, Quaternary depositional landforms are mainly concentrated within the flat valleys or basins. The Quaternary deposits consist of wide alluvial fans extending to the foot of the main ridges, fluvial and debris-slope deposits. The morphostructural characterization of the area integrated different methodologies, including: i) geomorphological and structural field analyses; ii) remote sensing and geo-morphometric investigations

Multi-input wide dynamic range ADC system for use with nuclear detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Austin, R W [National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, Ala. (USA). George C. Marshall Space Flight Center

1976-04-15

A wide dynamic range, eight input analog-to-digital converter system has been developed for use in nuclear experiments. The system consists of eight dual-range sample and hold modules, an eight input multiplexer, a ten-bit analog-to-digital converter, and the associated control logic.

Novel methodology for wide-ranged multistage morphing waverider based on conical theory

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhen; Liu, Jun; Ding, Feng; Xia, Zhixun

2017-11-01

This study proposes the wide-ranged multistage morphing waverider design method. The flow field structure and aerodynamic characteristics of multistage waveriders are also analyzed. In this method, the multistage waverider is generated in the same conical flowfield, which contains a free-stream surface and different compression-stream surfaces. The obtained results show that the introduction of the multistage waverider design method can solve the problem of aerodynamic performance deterioration in the off-design state and allow the vehicle to always maintain the optimal flight state. The multistage waverider design method, combined with transfiguration flight strategy, can lead to greater design flexibility and the optimization of hypersonic wide-ranged waverider vehicles.

Multi-stage LLC resonant converters designed for wide output voltage ranges

OpenAIRE

Tsang, C.-W.; Bingham, C. M.; Foster, M. P.; Stone, D. A.; Leech, J. M.

2016-01-01

The paper describes a novel multi-stage LLC resonant converter topology for facilitating wide output voltage ranges. This is achieved by combining the gain range of a capacitor-diode clamped LLC resonant converter with that of a traditional LLC resonant converter. A prototype converter is designed and commissioned to illustrate the design procedure and demonstrate resulting operational characteristics. Experimental results are used to show operational characteristics of the proposed conver...

Collaborative Russian-US work in nuclear material protection, control and accounting at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering. 3: Emphasis on site-wide issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzin, V.V.; Pshakin, G.M.; Belov, A.P.

1997-07-01

During 1997, collaborative Russian-US nuclear material protection, control, and accounting (MPC and A) tasks at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE) in Obninsk, Russia are focusing increasingly on site-wide issues, though there is continued work at several major facilities: the Fast Critical Facility, the Technological Laboratory for Fuel Fabrication, and the (new and existing) Central Storage Facility. The collaborative work is being done with US Department of Energy National Laboratories. IPPE's emphasis on site-wide issues has resulted in the formation of a separate division for MPC and A. This new division reports directly to the IPPE Chief Engineer. It is a separate scientific and engineering operating division responsible for coordination and harmonization of MPC and A at IPPE, as well as for audit, assessment and inspection. By virtue of the organizational independence of this new division, IPPE has significantly strengthened the role of MPC and A. Two specific site-wide accomplishments are the consolidation of nuclear material from many buildings to a smaller number, and, as a major part of this strategy, the construction of a nuclear island surrounding the Fast Critical Facility and the new Central Storage Facility. Most of IPPE's weapons-grade nuclear materials will be concentrated within the nuclear island. The paper summarizes the following technical elements: computerized accounting, bar coding, weight measurements, gamma-ray measurements, tamper indicating devices, procedures for physical inventory taking and material balance closure, and video monitoring systems for storage and critical assembly areas

Doped silicene: Evidence of a wide stability range

KAUST Repository

Cheng, Yingchun

2011-06-17

The effects of doping on the lattice structure, electronic structure, phonon spectrum, and electron-phonon coupling of low-buckling silicene are studied by first-principles calculations. Although the lattice is found to be very sensitive to the carrier concentration, it is stable in a wide doping range. The frequencies of the E2g-Γ and A′-K Raman modes can be used to probe the carrier concentration. In addition, the phonon dispersion displays Kohn anomalies at the Γ and K points which are reduced by doping. This implies that the electron-phonon coupling cannot be neglected in field-effect transistor applications. Copyright © 2011 EPLA.

A wide range and high speed automatic gain control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tacconi, E.; Christiansen, C.

1993-05-01

Automatic gain control (AGC) techniques have been largely used since the beginning of electronics, but in most of the applications the dynamic response is slow compared with the carrier frequency. The problem of developing an automatic gain control with high dynamic response and wide control range simultaneously is analyzed in this work. An ideal gain control law, with the property that the total loop gain remains constant independent of the carrier amplitude, is obtained. The resulting AGC behavior is compared by computer simulations with a linear multiplier AGC. The ideal gain control law can be approximated using a transconductance amplifier. A practical circuit that has been used at CERN in the radio frequency loops of the Booster Synchrotron is presented. The circuit has high speed and 80-dB gain control range

A wide range gamma monitor with digital display for remote monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Risbud, V.H.; Thiagarajan, A.; Gangadharan, P.

1976-01-01

A wide range gamma monitor designed for remote monitoring in nuclear facilities is described. The instrument consists of two GM detectors and pre-amplifiers connected by a long coaxial cable to the power supply, scalers and timers and display devices. Automatic selection of detectors range of exposure rate and display (nixie) are achieved with this set up, radiation levels in active areas can easily be displayed in the control room. Other advantages are also pointed out. (A.K.)

Cobalt catalyzed hydroesterification of a wide range of olefins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Rensburg, H.; Hanton, M.; Tooze, R.P.; Foster, D.F. [Sasol Technology UK, St Andrews (United Kingdom)

2011-07-01

Petrochemical raw materials are an essential raw material for the production of detergents with a substantial portion of synthetic fatty alcohols being produced via hydroformylation of oil or coal derived olefins. Carbonylation processes other than hydroformylation have to date not been commercially employed for the production of fatty esters or alcohols. In this document we highlight the opportunities of converting olefins to esters using cobalt catalyzed alkoxycarbonylation. This process is highly versatile and applicable to a wide range of olefins, linear or branched, alpha or internal in combination with virtually any chain length primary or secondary alcohol allowing the synthesis of a diverse array of compounds such as ester ethoxylated surfactants, methyl branched detergents, lubricants and alkyl propanoates. Furthermore, alkoxycarbonylation of a broad olefin/paraffin hydrocarbon range could be used to produce the corresponding broad cut detergent alcohols. (orig.)

Preliminary assessment of the ecological risks to wide-ranging wildlife species on the Oak Ridge Reservation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sample, B.E.; Baron, L.A.; Jackson, B.L.

1995-08-01

Historically, ecological risk assessment at CERCLA sites [such as the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR)], has focused on species that may be definitively associated with a contaminated area or source operable unit. Consequently the species that are generally considered are those with home ranges small enough such that multiple individuals or a distinct population can be expected to reside within the boundaries of the contaminated site. This approach is adequate for sites with single, discrete areas of contamination that only provide habitat for species with limited requirements. This approach is not adequate however for large sites with multiple, spatially separated contaminated areas that provide habitat for wide-ranging wildlife species. Because wide-ranging wildlife species may travel between and use multiple contaminated sites they may be exposed to and be at risk from contaminants from multiple locations. Use of a particular contaminated site by wide-ranging species will be dependent upon the amount of suitable habitat available at that site. Therefore to adequately evaluate risks to wide-ranging species at the ORR-wide scale, the use of multiple contaminated sites must be weighted by the amount of suitable habitat on OUs. This reservation-wide ecological risk assessment is intended to identify which endpoints are significantly at risk; which contaminants are responsible for this risk; and which OUs significantly contribute to risk.

An Optimized Control for LLC Resonant Converter with Wide Load Range

Science.gov (United States)

Xi, Xia; Qian, Qinsong

2017-05-01

This paper presents an optimized control which makes LLC resonant converters operate with a wider load range and provides good closed-loop performance. The proposed control employs two paralleled digital compensations to guarantee the good closed-loop performance in a wide load range during the steady state, an optimized trajectory control will take over to change the gate-driving signals immediately at the load transients. Finally, the proposed control has been implemented and tested on a 150W 200kHz 400V/24V LLC resonant converter and the result validates the proposed method.

Simultaneous wide-range stopping power determination for several ions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alanko, T. E-mail: tommi.alanko@phys.jyu.fi; Trzaska, W.H.; Lyapin, V.; Raeisaenen, J.; Tiourine, G.; Virtanen, A

2002-05-01

A new procedure to extract simultaneously continuous stopping power curves for several ions and several absorbers over a wide energy range and with statistical errors reduced to negligible level is presented. The method combines our novel time-of-flight based method with the capability of our K130 cyclotron and ECR ion-source to produce the so-called ion cocktails. The potential of the method is demonstrated with a 6.0 MeV/u cocktail consisting of {sup 16}O{sup 4+}, {sup 28}Si{sup 7+} and {sup 40}Ar{sup 10+} ions. The stopping power in polycarbonate in the energy range of 0.35-5 MeV/u has been determined with absolute uncertainty of less than 2.3% and with relative below 0.2%. The results are compared with literature data and with SRIM2000 parameterisation including cores and bonds corrections.

Development of wide range charge integration application specified integrated circuit for photo-sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katayose, Yusaku, E-mail: katayose@ynu.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 240-8501 (Japan); Ikeda, Hirokazu [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS)/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Tanaka, Manobu [National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, KEK, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801 (Japan); Shibata, Makio [Department of Physics, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 240-8501 (Japan)

2013-01-21

A front-end application specified integrated circuit (ASIC) is developed with a wide dynamic range amplifier (WDAMP) to read-out signals from a photo-sensor like a photodiode. The WDAMP ASIC consists of a charge sensitive preamplifier, four wave-shaping circuits with different amplification factors and Wilkinson-type analog-to-digital converter (ADC). To realize a wider range, the integrating capacitor in the preamplifier can be changed from 4 pF to 16 pF by a two-bit switch. The output of a preamplifier is shared by the four wave-shaping circuits with four gains of 1, 4, 16 and 64 to adapt the input range of ADC. A 0.25-μm CMOS process (of UMC electronics CO., LTD) is used to fabricate the ASIC with four-channels. The dynamic range of four orders of magnitude is achieved with the maximum range over 20 pC and the noise performance of 0.46 fC + 6.4×10{sup −4} fC/pF. -- Highlights: ► A front-end ASIC is developed with a wide dynamic range amplifier. ► The ASIC consists of a CSA, four wave-shaping circuits and pulse-height-to-time converters. ► The dynamic range of four orders of magnitude is achieved with the maximum range over 20 pC.

A high linearity current mode multiplier/divider with a wide dynamic range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao Pengfei; Luo Ping; Zhang Bo; Li Zhaoji

2012-01-01

A high linearity current mode multiplier/divider (CMM/D) with a wide dynamic range is presented. The proposed CMM/D is based on the voltage—current characteristic of the diode, thus wide dynamic range is achieved. In addition, high linearity is achieved because high accuracy current mirrors are adopted and the output current is insensitive to the temperature and device parameters of the fabrication process. Furthermore, no extra bias current for all input signals is required and thus power saving is realized. With proper selection of establishing the input terminal, the proposed circuit can perform as a multifunction circuit to be operated as a multiplier/divider, without changing its topology. The proposed circuit is implemented in a 0.25 μm BCD process and the chip area is 0.26 × 0.24 mm 2 . The simulation and measurement results show that the maximum static linearity error is ±1.8% and the total harmonic distortion is 0.4% while the input current ranges from 0 to 200 μA. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Ethical issues surrounding e-gambling data collection

OpenAIRE

Griffiths, MD; Whitty, M

2011-01-01

Online gambling data collection is becoming a focus of interest for various stakeholders in the online gaming industry, since it is relevant for advertising, attracting new players, exploring new markets and trying out new products. Mark Griffiths, of Nottingham Trent University, and Monica Whitty, of the University of Leicester, give an overview of some of the ethical issues raised by data collection in the gaming industry and research undertaken in the gambling studies field.

Range-wide assessment of livestock grazing across the sagebrush biome

Science.gov (United States)

Veblen, Kari E.; Pyke, David A.; Jones, Christopher A.; Casazza, Michael L.; Assal, Timothy J.; Farinha, Melissa A.

2011-01-01

Domestic livestock grazing occurs in virtually all sagebrush habitats and is a prominent disturbance factor. By affecting habitat condition and trend, grazing influences the resources required by, and thus, the distribution and abundance of sagebrush-obligate wildlife species (for example, sage-grouse Centrocercus spp.). Yet, the risks that livestock grazing may pose to these species and their habitats are not always clear. Although livestock grazing intensity and associated habitat condition may be known in many places at the local level, we have not yet been able to answer questions about use, condition, and trend at the landscape scale or at the range-wide scale for wildlife species. A great deal of information about grazing use, management regimes, and ecological condition exists at the local level (for individual livestock management units) under the oversight of organizations such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). However, the extent, quality, and types of existing data are unknown, which hinders the compilation, mapping, or analysis of these data. Once compiled, these data may be helpful for drawing conclusions about rangeland status, and we may be able to identify relationships between those data and wildlife habitat at the landscape scale. The overall objective of our study was to perform a range-wide assessment of livestock grazing effects (and the relevant supporting data) in sagebrush ecosystems managed by the BLM. Our assessments and analyses focused primarily on local-level management and data collected at the scale of BLM grazing allotments (that is, individual livestock management units). Specific objectives included the following: 1. Identify and refine existing range-wide datasets to be used for analyses of livestock grazing effects on sagebrush ecosystems. 2. Assess the extent, quality, and types of livestock grazing-related natural resource data collected by BLM range-wide (i.e., across allotments, districts and regions). 3. Compile and

Robust wide-range control of nuclear reactors by using the feedforward-feedback concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weng, C.K.; Edwards, R.M.; Ray, A.

1994-01-01

A robust feedforward-feedback controller is proposed for wide-range operations of nuclear reactors. This control structure provides (a) optimized performance over a wide operating range resulting form the feedforward element and (b) guaranteed robust stability and performance resulting from the feedback element. The feedforward control law is synthesized via nonlinear programming, which generates an optimal control sequence over a finite-time horizon under specified constraints. The feedback control is synthesized via the structured singular value μ approach to guarantee robustness in the presence of disturbances and modeling uncertainties. The results of simulation experiments are presented to demonstrate efficacy of the proposed control structure for a large rapid power reduction to avoid unnecessary plant trips

Motor Integrated Permanent Magnet Gear with a Wide Torque-Speed Range

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Peter Omand; Matzen, Torben N.; Jahns, T. M.

2009-01-01

This paper present a new motor integrated permanent magnet gear with a wide torque-speed range. In the paper a 35 kW permanent magnet motor with a base speed of 4000 rpm and a top speed of 14000 rpm is integrated into a permanent magnetic gear with a gearing ratio of 8.67. The design process...

Non-sticky translocation of bio-molecules through Tween 20-coated solid-state nanopores in a wide pH range

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaoqing; Hu, Rui; Li, Ji; Tong, Xin; Diao, J. J.; Yu, Dapeng; Zhao, Qing

2016-10-01

Nanopore-based sensing technology is considered high-throughput and low-cost for single molecule detection, but solid-state nanopores have suffered from pore clogging issues. A simple Tween 20 coating method is applied to ensure long-term (several hours) non-sticky translocation of various types of bio-molecules through SiN nanopores in a wide pH range (4.0-13.0). We also emphasize the importance of choosing appropriate concentration of Tween 20 coating buffer for desired effect. By coating nanopores with a Tween 20 layer, we are able to differentiate between single-stranded DNA and double-stranded DNA, to identify drift-dominated domain for single-stranded DNA, to estimate BSA volume and to observe the shape of individual nucleosome translocation event without non-specific adsorption. The wide pH endurance from 4.0 to 13.0 and the broad types of detection analytes including nucleic acids, proteins, and biological complexes highlight the great application potential of Tween 20-coated solid-state nanopores.

A high speed, wide dynamic range digitizer circuit for photomultiplier tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yarema, R.J.; Foster, G.W.; Knickerbocker, K.; Sarraj, M.; Tschirhart, R.; Whitmore, J.; Zimmerman, T.; Lindgren, M.

1995-01-01

A circuit has been designed for digitizing PMT signals over a wide dynamic range (17-18 bits) with 8 bits of resolution at rates up to 53 MHz. Output from the circuit is in a floating point format with a 4 bit exponent and an 8 bit mantissa. The heart of the circuit is a full custom integrated circuit called the QIE (Charge Integrator and Encoder). The design of the QIE and associated circuitry reported here permits operation over a 17 bit dynamic range. Test results of a multirange device are presented for the first time. (orig.)

Ethical, social, and legal issues surrounding studies of susceptible populations and individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Soskolne, C L

1997-01-01

Calls for professional accountability have resulted in the development of ethics guidelines by numerous specialty and subspecialty groups of scientists. Indeed, guidelines among some health professions now address vulnerable and dependent groups: but these are silent on issues related to biomarkers. In parallel, attention has been drawn to human rights concerns associated with attempts to detect hypersusceptible workers, especially in democratic countries. Despite this, concern for vulnerable populations grows as advances in biomarker technology make the identification of genetic predisposition and susceptibility markers of both exposure and outcome more attainable. In this article, the principles derived from the ethical theory of utilitarianism provide the basis for principle-based ethical analysis. In addition, the four principles of biomedical ethics--respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and social justice--are considered for biomarker studies. The need for a context in which ethical analysis is conducted and from which prevailing social values are shown to drive decisions of an ethical nature is emphasized; these include statutory regulation and law. Because biomarker studies can result in more harm than good, special precautions to inform research participants prior to any involvement in the use of biomarkers are needed. In addition, safeguards to maintain the privacy of data derived from biomarker studies must be developed and implemented prior to the application of these new technologies. Guidelines must be expanded to incorporate ethical, social, and legal considerations surrounding the introduction of new technologies for studying susceptible populations and individuals who may be vulnerable to environmental exposures. PMID:9255569

Low-power wide-locking-range injection-locked frequency divider for OFDM UWB systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yin Jiangwei; Li Ning; Zheng Renliang; Li Wei; Ren Junyan, E-mail: lining@fudan.edu.c [State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203 (China)

2009-05-01

This paper describes a divide-by-two injection-locked frequency divider (ILFD) for frequency synthesizers as used in multiband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) ultra-wideband (UWB) systems. By means of dual-injection technique and other conventional tuning techniques, such as DCCA and varactor tuning, the divider demonstrates a wide locking range while consuming much less power. The chip was fabricated in the Jazz 0.18 mum RF CMOS process. The measurement results show that the divider achieves a locking range of 4.85 GHz (6.23 to 11.08 GHz) at an input power of 8 dBm. The core circuit without the test buffer consumes only 3.7 mA from a 1.8 V power supply and has a die area of 0.38 x 0.28 mm{sup 2}. The wide locking range combined with low power consumption makes the ILFD suitable for its application in UWB systems.

Low-power wide-locking-range injection-locked frequency divider for OFDM UWB systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin Jiangwei; Li Ning; Zheng Renliang; Li Wei; Ren Junyan

2009-01-01

This paper describes a divide-by-two injection-locked frequency divider (ILFD) for frequency synthesizers as used in multiband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) ultra-wideband (UWB) systems. By means of dual-injection technique and other conventional tuning techniques, such as DCCA and varactor tuning, the divider demonstrates a wide locking range while consuming much less power. The chip was fabricated in the Jazz 0.18 μm RF CMOS process. The measurement results show that the divider achieves a locking range of 4.85 GHz (6.23 to 11.08 GHz) at an input power of 8 dBm. The core circuit without the test buffer consumes only 3.7 mA from a 1.8 V power supply and has a die area of 0.38 x 0.28 mm 2 . The wide locking range combined with low power consumption makes the ILFD suitable for its application in UWB systems.

An ultrasensitive strain sensor with a wide strain range based on graphene armour scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yi-Fan; Tao, Lu-Qi; Pang, Yu; Tian, He; Ju, Zhen-Yi; Wu, Xiao-Ming; Yang, Yi; Ren, Tian-Ling

2018-06-12

An ultrasensitive strain sensor with a wide strain range based on graphene armour scales is demonstrated in this paper. The sensor shows an ultra-high gauge factor (GF, up to 1054) and a wide strain range (ε = 26%), both of which present an advantage compared to most other flexible sensors. Moreover, the sensor is developed by a simple fabrication process. Due to the excellent performance, this strain sensor can meet the demands of subtle, large and complex human motion monitoring, which indicates its tremendous application potential in health monitoring, mechanical control, real-time motion monitoring and so on.

Wide-Range Adaptive RF-to-DC Power Converter for UHF RFIDs

KAUST Repository

Ouda, Mahmoud H.

2016-07-27

A wide-range, differential, cross-coupled rectifier is proposed with an extended dynamic range of input RF power that enables wireless powering from varying distances. The proposed architecture mitigates the reverse-leakage problem in conven- tional, cross-coupled rectifiers without degrading sensitivity. A prototype is designed for UHF RFID applications, and is imple- mented using 0.18 μ m CMOS technology. On-chip measurements demonstrate a sensitivity of − 18 dBm for 1 V output over a 100 k Ω load and a peak RF-to-DC power conversion efficiency of 65%. A conventional, fully cross-coupled rectifier is fabricated along- side for comparison and the proposed rectifier shows more than 2 × increase in dynamic range and a 25% boosting in output voltage than the conventional rectifier

Ozone formation in pulsed SDBD in a wide pressure range

Science.gov (United States)

Starikovskiy, Andrey; Nudnova, Maryia; mipt Team

2011-10-01

Ozone concentration in surface anode-directed DBD for wide pressure range (150 - 1300 torr) was experimentally measured. Voltage and pressure effect were investigated. Reduced electric field was measured for anode-directed and cathode-directed SDBD. E/n values in cathode-directed SDBD is higher than in cathode-directed on 50 percent at atmospheric pressure. E/n value increase leads to decrease the rate of oxygen dissociation and Ozone formation at lower pressures. Radiating region thickness of sliding discharge was measured. Typical thickness of radiating zone is 0.4-1.0 mm within pressure range 220-740 torr. It was shown that high-voltage pulsed nanosecond discharge due to high E/n value produces less Ozone with compare to other discharges. Kinetic model was proposed to describe Ozone formation in the pulsed nanosecond SDBD.

Rapid qualitative review of ethical issues surrounding healthcare for pregnant women or women of reproductive age in epidemic outbreaks.

Science.gov (United States)

Hummel, Patrik; Saxena, Abha; Klingler, Corinna

2018-01-01

This article describes, categorizes, and discusses the results of a rapid literature review aiming to provide an overview of the ethical issues and corresponding solutions surrounding pregnancies in epidemic outbreaks. The review was commissioned by the World Health Organization to inform responses to the Zika outbreak that began in 2015. Due to the urgency of the response efforts that needed to be informed by the literature search, a rapid qualitative review of the literature published in PubMed was conducted. The search and analysis were based on the operationalization of 3 key concepts: ethics, pregnancy, and epidemic outbreak. Ethical issues and solutions were interpreted within a principlist framework. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The search identified 259 publications, of which the full text of 23 papers was read. Of those, 20 papers contained a substantive part devoted to the topic of interest and were therefore analyzed further. We clustered the ethical issues and solutions around 4 themes: uncertainty, harms, autonomy/liberty, and effectiveness. Recognition of the identified ethical issues and corresponding solutions can inform and improve response efforts, public health planning, policies, and decision-making, as well as the activities of medical staff and counselors who practice before, during, or after an epidemic outbreak that affects pregnant women or those of reproductive age. The rapid review format proved to be useful despite its limited data basis and expedited review process.

Wearable Wide-Range Strain Sensors Based on Ionic Liquids and Monitoring of Human Activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shao-Hui Zhang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Wearable sensors for detection of human activities have encouraged the development of highly elastic sensors. In particular, to capture subtle and large-scale body motion, stretchable and wide-range strain sensors are highly desired, but still a challenge. Herein, a highly stretchable and transparent stain sensor based on ionic liquids and elastic polymer has been developed. The as-obtained sensor exhibits impressive stretchability with wide-range strain (from 0.1% to 400%, good bending properties and high sensitivity, whose gauge factor can reach 7.9. Importantly, the sensors show excellent biological compatibility and succeed in monitoring the diverse human activities ranging from the complex large-scale multidimensional motions to subtle signals, including wrist, finger and elbow joint bending, finger touch, breath, speech, swallow behavior and pulse wave.

Transport properties of gaseous ions over a wide energy range, IV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viehland, L.A.; Mason, E.A.

1995-01-01

This paper updates three previous papers entitled open-quotes Transport Properties of Gaseous Ions over a Wide Energy Range.close quotes. These papers referred to as Parts I, II, and III, were by H.W.Ellis, P.Y. Pai, E.W. McDaniel, E.A. Mason, and L.A. Viehland, S.L. Lin, M.G. Thackston. Part IV contains compilations of experimental data on ionic mobilities and diffusion coefficients (both longitudinal and transverse) for ions in neutral gases in an externally applied electrostatic field, at various gas temperatures; the data are tabulated as a function of the ionic energy parameter E/N, where E is the electric field strength and N is the number density of the neutral gas. Part IV also contains a locator key to ionic mobilities and diffusion coefficients compiled in Parts I-IV. The coverage of the literature extends into 1994. The criteria for selection of the data are; (1) the measurements must cover a reasonably wide range of E/N; (2) the identity of the ions must be well established; and (3) the accuracy of the data must be good. 26 refs., 6 tabs

Genetically encoded ratiometric fluorescent thermometer with wide range and rapid response.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masahiro Nakano

Full Text Available Temperature is a fundamental physical parameter that plays an important role in biological reactions and events. Although thermometers developed previously have been used to investigate several important phenomena, such as heterogeneous temperature distribution in a single living cell and heat generation in mitochondria, the development of a thermometer with a sensitivity over a wide temperature range and rapid response is still desired to quantify temperature change in not only homeotherms but also poikilotherms from the cellular level to in vivo. To overcome the weaknesses of the conventional thermometers, such as a limitation of applicable species and a low temporal resolution, owing to the narrow temperature range of sensitivity and the thermometry method, respectively, we developed a genetically encoded ratiometric fluorescent temperature indicator, gTEMP, by using two fluorescent proteins with different temperature sensitivities. Our thermometric method enabled a fast tracking of the temperature change with a time resolution of 50 ms. We used this method to observe the spatiotemporal temperature change between the cytoplasm and nucleus in cells, and quantified thermogenesis from the mitochondria matrix in a single living cell after stimulation with carbonyl cyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone, which was an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation. Moreover, exploiting the wide temperature range of sensitivity from 5°C to 50°C of gTEMP, we monitored the temperature in a living medaka embryo for 15 hours and showed the feasibility of in vivo thermometry in various living species.

Using dogs to find cats: detection dogs as a survey method for wide-ranging cheetah

OpenAIRE

Becker, M. S.; Durant, S. M.; Watson, F. G. R.; Parker, M.; Gottelli, D.; M Soka, J.; Droge, E.; Nyirenda, M.; Schuette, P.; Dunkley, P.; Brummer, R.

2017-01-01

Rapid global large carnivore declines make evaluations of remaining populations critical. Yet landscape-scale evaluations of presence, abundance and distribution are difficult, as many species are wide-ranging, occur only at low densities and are elusive. Insufficient information-gathering tools for many large carnivore species compounds these challenges. Specially trained detection dogs have demonstrated effectiveness for carnivore surveys, but are untested on extremely sparse, wide-ranging ...

Boost Half-Bridge DC-DC Converter with Reconfigurable Rectifier for Ultra-Wide Input Voltage Range Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinnikov, Dmitri; Chub, Andrii; Liivik, Elizaveta

2018-01-01

This paper introduces a novel galvanically isolated boost half-bridge dc-dc converter intended for modern power electronic applications where ultra-wide input voltage regulation range is needed. A reconfigurable output rectifier stage performs a transition between the voltage doubler and the full......-bridge diode rectifiers and, by this means, extends the regulation range significantly. The converter features a low number of components and resonant soft switching of semiconductors, which result in high power conversion efficiency over a wide input voltage and load range. The paper presents the operating...

Wide-range stiffness gradient PVA/HA hydrogel to investigate stem cell differentiation behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Se Heang; An, Dan Bi; Kim, Tae Ho; Lee, Jin Ho

2016-04-15

Although stiffness-controllable substrates have been developed to investigate the effect of stiffness on cell behavior and function, the use of separate substrates with different degrees of stiffness, substrates with a narrow range stiffness gradient, toxicity of residues, different surface composition, complex fabrication procedures/devices, and low cell adhesion are still considered as hurdles of conventional techniques. In this study, a cylindrical polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel with a wide-range stiffness gradient (between ∼20kPa and ∼200kPa) and cell adhesiveness was prepared by a liquid nitrogen (LN2)-contacting gradual freezing-thawing method that does not use any additives or specific devices to produce the stiffness gradient hydrogel. From an in vitro cell culture using the stiffness gradient PVA/HA hydrogel, it was observed that human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have favorable stiffness ranges for induction of differentiation into specific cell types (∼20kPa for nerve cell, ∼40kPa for muscle cell, ∼80kPa for chondrocyte, and ∼190kPa for osteoblast). The PVA/HA hydrogel with a wide range of stiffness spectrum can be a useful tool for basic studies related with the stem cell differentiation, cell reprogramming, cell migration, and tissue regeneration in terms of substrate stiffness. It is postulated that the stiffness of the extracellular matrix influences cell behavior. To prove this concept, various techniques to prepare substrates with a stiffness gradient have been developed. However, the narrow ranges of stiffness gradient and complex fabrication procedures/devices are still remained as limitations. Herein, we develop a substrate (hydrogel) with a wide-range stiffness gradient using a gradual freezing-thawing method which does not need specific devices to produce a stiffness gradient hydrogel. From cell culture experiments using the hydrogel, it is observed that human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have

A high gain wide dynamic range transimpedance amplifier for optical receivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Lianxi; Zou Jiao; Liu Shubin; Niu Yue; Zhu Zhangming; Yang Yintang; En Yunfei

2014-01-01

As the front-end preamplifiers in optical receivers, transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) are commonly required to have a high gain and low input noise to amplify the weak and susceptible input signal. At the same time, the TIAs should possess a wide dynamic range (DR) to prevent the circuit from becoming saturated by high input currents. Based on the above, this paper presents a CMOS transimpedance amplifier with high gain and a wide DR for 2.5 Gbit/s communications. The TIA proposed consists of a three-stage cascade pull push inverter, an automatic gain control circuit, and a shunt transistor controlled by the resistive divider. The inductive-series peaking technique is used to further extend the bandwidth. The TIA proposed displays a maximum transimpedance gain of 88.3 dBΩ with the −3 dB bandwidth of 1.8 GHz, exhibits an input current dynamic range from 100 nA to 10 mA. The output voltage noise is less than 48.23 nV/√Hz within the −3 dB bandwidth. The circuit is fabricated using an SMIC 0.18 μm 1P6M RFCMOS process and dissipates a dc power of 9.4 mW with 1.8 V supply voltage. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Surface impedance of superconductors in wide frequency ranges for wake field calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidovskii, V.G.

2006-01-01

The problem of the surface impedance of superconductors in wide frequency ranges for calculations of wake fields, generated by bunches of charged particles moving axially inside a metallic vacuum chambers, is solved. The case of specular electron reflection at the superconductor surface is considered. The expression for the surface impedance of superconductors suitable for numerical computation is derived [ru

Practice of building production planning system of company with a wide range of products - case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Łukasz Hadaś

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Background: The complexity of the manufacturing environments of today's mechanical engineering companies and the number of both internal and external restrictions affecting to need of building tailored production planning and control systems. This statement is particularly important in conditions of companies with a wide range of products and different customer service strategies (different locations of the logistics decoupling point otherwise called "order penetration point". Streams of materials in these conditions require different management what is the main reason for carrying out research in business conditions by the authors. Material and methods: The research was carried out in industrial engineering in complex environmental conditions of production. This was a specializing in technology, multi-departments environment, with multiple streams of values and a wide range of products (about 500 items. The work was carried out under the transformation of the production system from the "push" logic of flow to "pull" logic of flow and building a dedicated system based on the best practice approach. Results: The paper describes the process of building tailored hybrid systems in the area of planning and shop flow control of production. The authors present the theoretical considerations on the issue and practical experiences. The authors present factors of selection of the transformation path and its road map. The article describes the part of the authors' own experience in the work on the methodology of transformation of Polish companies in the running business condition. Conclusions: Establishing the methodology of transformation of the production system is not a simple task. This paper presents only selected aspects of complex decision-making process. However, the authors presented work shows the important aspect of the transformation of production systems for these organizational conditions.

Wide range neutron monitoring device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okido, Fumiyasu; Arita, Setsuo; Ishii, Kazuhiko; Matsumiya, Shoichi; Furusato, Ken-ichiro; Nishida, Akira.

1994-01-01

The present invention has a function of reliably switching measuring values between a pulse method and a Cambel method even if noise level and saturated level are fluctuated. That is, a proportional range judging means always monitors neutron flux measuring values in a start-up region and neutron flux measuring values in an intermediate power region, so that the proportional range is detected depending on whether the difference or a variation coefficient of both of the measured values is constant or not. A switching value determining means determines a switching value by the result of judgement of the proportional range judging means. A selection/output means selects and outputs measuring signals at a neutron flux level in the start-up region or the intermediate power region by the output of the switching value determining means. With such procedures, since the measuring value is switched after confirming that arrival at the proportional range where the difference or a variation coefficient of the measured value between the pulse processing method and the measured value by the Cambel method is constant, an accurate neutron flux level containing neither noise level nor saturated level can be outputted. (I.S.)

A Bidirectional Resonant DC-DC Converter Suitable for Wide Voltage Gain Range

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shen, Yanfeng; Wang, Huai; Al-Durra, Ahmed

2018-01-01

This paper proposes a new bidirectional resonant dc-dc converter suitable for wide voltage gain range applications (e.g., energy storage systems). The proposed converter overcomes the narrow voltage gain range of conventional resonant dc-dc converters, and meanwhile achieves high efficiency...... losses. The operation principles and characteristics of the proposed converter are firstly analyzed in this paper. Then the analytical solutions for the voltage gain, soft-switching, and rms currents are derived, which facilitates the parameters design and optimization. Finally, the proposed topology...... and analysis are verified with experimental results obtained from a 1-kW converter prototype....

Modal density of rectangular structures in a wide frequency range

Science.gov (United States)

Parrinello, A.; Ghiringhelli, G. L.

2018-04-01

A novel approach to investigate the modal density of a rectangular structure in a wide frequency range is presented. First, the modal density is derived, in the whole frequency range of interest, on the basis of sound transmission through the infinite counterpart of the structure; then, it is corrected by means of the low-frequency modal behavior of the structure, taking into account actual size and boundary conditions. A statistical analysis reveals the connection between the modal density of the structure and the transmission of sound through its thickness. A transfer matrix approach is used to compute the required acoustic parameters, making it possible to deal with structures having arbitrary stratifications of different layers. A finite element method is applied on coarse grids to derive the first few eigenfrequencies required to correct the modal density. Both the transfer matrix approach and the coarse grids involved in the finite element analysis grant high efficiency. Comparison with alternative formulations demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Response to issues on GM agriculture in Africa: Are transgenic crops safe?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adenle Ademola A

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract The controversies surrounding transgenic crops, often called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs, call for a need to raise the level of public awareness of Genetic Modification (GM technology in Africa. This should be accomplished by educating the public about the potential benefits and risks that may be associated with this new technology. In the last 15 years, GM crop producing countries have benefited from adoption of this new technology in the form of improved crop productivity, food security, and quality of life. The increased income to resource-poor farmers is a key benefit at the individual level especially as most countries using this technology are in the developing world, including three African countries (South Africa, Burkina Faso and Egypt. Despite clear benefits to countries and farmers who grow GMOs, many people are concerned about suspected potential risks associated with GMOs. This sparks debate as to whether GM technology should be adopted or not. Given the concerns regarding the safety of GMO products, thorough scientific investigation of safe application of GMOs is required. The objective of this paper is to respond to the issues of GM agriculture in Africa and some of the issues surrounding the adoption of GM crops between developed and developing countries. In this article, I analyse relevant papers relating to the adoption of GM technology particularly in developing countries including the few African countries that have adopted GM crops. The issues discussed span a wide range including: safety; potential benefits and risks; disputes between the United States of America (USA and the European Union (EU over adoption of GM crops with a focus on Africa continent. This article is concluded by summarising the issues raised and how GM technology can be adopted for agricultural development in Africa.

Response to issues on GM agriculture in Africa: Are transgenic crops safe?

Science.gov (United States)

Adenle, Ademola A

2011-10-08

The controversies surrounding transgenic crops, often called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), call for a need to raise the level of public awareness of Genetic Modification (GM) technology in Africa. This should be accomplished by educating the public about the potential benefits and risks that may be associated with this new technology. In the last 15 years, GM crop producing countries have benefited from adoption of this new technology in the form of improved crop productivity, food security, and quality of life. The increased income to resource-poor farmers is a key benefit at the individual level especially as most countries using this technology are in the developing world, including three African countries (South Africa, Burkina Faso and Egypt). Despite clear benefits to countries and farmers who grow GMOs, many people are concerned about suspected potential risks associated with GMOs. This sparks debate as to whether GM technology should be adopted or not. Given the concerns regarding the safety of GMO products, thorough scientific investigation of safe application of GMOs is required. The objective of this paper is to respond to the issues of GM agriculture in Africa and some of the issues surrounding the adoption of GM crops between developed and developing countries. In this article, I analyse relevant papers relating to the adoption of GM technology particularly in developing countries including the few African countries that have adopted GM crops. The issues discussed span a wide range including: safety; potential benefits and risks; disputes between the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU) over adoption of GM crops with a focus on Africa continent. This article is concluded by summarising the issues raised and how GM technology can be adopted for agricultural development in Africa.

A digitized wide range channel for new instrumentation and control system of PUSPATI TRIGA Reactor (RTP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zareen Khan Abdul Jalil Khan; Izhar Abu Hussin; Mohd Idris Taib; Nurfarhana Ayuni Joha; Roslan Md Dan

2010-01-01

Wide Range Channel is one of very important part of Reactor Instrumentation and Control system. Current system is using all analog system. The main functions of the new system are to provide Wide-log power and Multi-range linear power. The other functions are to provide Percent power and Power rate of change. The linear power level range is up to 125 % and the log power system to cover from below source level to 150 %. The main function of digital signal processor is for pulse shaping, pulse counting and root mean square signal processing. The system employs automatic on-line self diagnostics and calibration verification. (author)

Wide Temperature Range DC-DC Boost Converters for Command/Control/Drive Electronics, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We shall develop wide temperature range DC-DC boost converters that can be fabricated using commercial CMOS foundries. The boost converters will increase the low...

Issues surrounding the classification of accounting information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huibrecht Van der Poll

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The act of classifying information created by accounting practices is ubiquitous in the accounting process; from recording to reporting, it has almost become second nature. The classification has to correspond to the requirements and demands of the changing environment in which it is practised. Evidence suggests that the current classification of items in financial statements is not keeping pace with the needs of users and the new financial constructs generated by the industry. This study addresses the issue of classification in two ways: by means of a critical analysis of classification theory and practices and by means of a questionnaire that was developed and sent to compilers and users of financial statements. A new classification framework for accounting information in the balance sheet and income statement is proposed.

GaN-based High Power High Frequency Wide Range LLC Resonant Converter, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — SET Group will design, build and demonstrate a Gallium Nitride (GaN) based High Power High Frequency Wide Range LLC Resonant Converter capable of handling high power...

A Fixed-Frequency Bidirectional Resonant DC-DC Converter Suitable for Wide Voltage Gain Range

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shen, Yanfeng; Wang, Huai; Blaabjerg, Frede

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a new bidirectional resonant dc-dc converter suitable for wide voltage gain range applications (e.g., energy storage systems). The proposed converter overcomes the narrow voltage gain range of conventional resonant DC-DC converters, and meanwhile achieves high efficiency...... and characteristics of the proposed converter are analyzed. Finally, a 1-kW converter prototype is built and the experimental results verify the theoretical analyses....

Trade issues and area-wide pest management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griffin, Robert L.

2000-01-01

Food security and economic security are unarguably desirable objectives for all nations - indeed for the world. Equally important is the sustainability of designs that achieve these objectives without disadvantaging others or damaging the environment. Considering area-wide pest management in the context of these interrelated global policy forces is essential to fully understand its role in both the protection of plant resources and in facilitation of trade. The case for food security begins with the realisation that there are currently about 800 million people in the world who are suffering from malnutrition due to lack of food. The World Food Summit, convened in November 1996, urgently called for coordinated world-wide action to ensure 'food for all'. A key strategy for realising this goal is reducing losses due to plant pests. In this light, area-wide pest management can be viewed as a valuable addition to the toolbox of pest management strategies. It can also be one of the most sustainable and cost-effective options to consider for pest management. However, just as the problem of world hunger is not solved by a single farmer, area-wide pest management cannot be successful at the individual level. It requires commitment and cooperation to make it feasible - the same type of commitment and cooperation that was expressed at the World Food Summit. Where economic security is concerned, one need not look far to see a world of growing economic integration and widening circles of development. As the World Trade Organisation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the rules-based trading system which began with the GATT after World War II, it is clear that globalisation and the liberalisation of trade have become permanent fixtures in international policy formulation and are integral to the economic security of all nations. Now, more than ever before, the world's prosperity rests on maintaining an open international economy based on commonly agreed rules. The significance of

An abundance of small exoplanets around stars with a wide range of metallicities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buchhave, Lars A.; Latham, David W.; Johansen, Anders

2012-01-01

of the host stars of 226 small exoplanet candidates discovered by NASAs Kepler mission, including objects that are comparable in size to the terrestrial planets in the Solar System. We find that planets with radii less than four Earth radii form around host stars with a wide range of metallicities (but...

A sub-circuit MOSFET model with a wide temperature range including cryogenic temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jia Kan; Sun Weifeng; Shi Longxing, E-mail: jiakan.01@gmail.com [National ASIC System Engineering Research Center, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China)

2011-06-15

A sub-circuit SPICE model of a MOSFET for low temperature operation is presented. Two resistors are introduced for the freeze-out effect, and the explicit behavioral models are developed for them. The model can be used in a wide temperature range covering both cryogenic temperature and regular temperatures. (semiconductor devices)

Wide Input Range Power Converters Using a Variable Turns Ratio Transformer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ouyang, Ziwei; Andersen, Michael A. E.

2016-01-01

A new integrated transformer with variable turns ratio is proposed to enable dc-dc converters operating over a wide input voltage range. The integrated transformer employs a new geometry of magnetic core with “four legs”, two primary windings with orthogonal arrangement, and “8” shape connection...... of diagonal secondary windings, in order to make the transformer turns ratio adjustable by controlling the phase between the two current excitations subjected to the two primary windings. Full-bridge boost dc-dc converter is employed with the proposed transformer to demonstrate the feasibility of the variable...

Lithium-ion battery dynamic model for wide range of operating conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stroe, Ana-Irina; Stroe, Daniel-Ioan; Swierczynski, Maciej Jozef

2017-01-01

In order to analyze the dynamic behavior of a Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery and to determine their suitability for various applications, battery models are needed. An equivalent electrical circuit model is the most common way of representing the behavior of a Li-ion battery. There are different...... characterization tests performed for a wide range of operating conditions (temperature, load current and state-of-charge) on a commercial available 13Ah high-power lithium titanate oxide battery cell. The obtained results were used to parametrize the proposed dynamic model of the battery cell. To assess...

Precise digital integration in wide time range: theory and realization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batrakov, A.M.; Pavlenko, A.V.

2017-01-01

The digital integration method based on using high-speed precision analog-to-digital converters (ADC) has become widely used over the recent years. The paper analyzes the limitations of this method that are caused by the signal properties, ADC sampling rate and noise spectral density of the ADC signal path. This analysis allowed creating digital integrators with accurate synchronization and achieving an integration error of less than 10 −5 in the time range from microseconds to tens of seconds. The structure of the integrator is described and its basic parameters are presented. The possibilities of different ADC chips in terms of their applicability to digital integrators are discussed. A comparison with other integrating devices is presented.

Comparison of Socioeconomic Factors between Surrounding and Non-Surrounding Areas of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway before and after Its Construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shicheng Li

2016-08-01

Full Text Available As the world’s highest railway, and the longest highland railway, the Qinghai–Tibet Railway (QTR has been paid considerable attention by researchers. However, most attention has been paid to the ecological and environmental issues affecting it, and sustainable ecological, social, and economic development-related studies of the QTR are rare. In this study, by analyzing the passenger traffic, freight traffic, passenger-kilometers, and freight-kilometers of the QTR for the period 1982–2013 and the transport structure of the Tibetan Plateau (TP for 1990–2013, the evolutionary process of the transport system in the TP following the construction of the QTR has been revealed. Subsequently, by comparing Gross Domestic Product (GDP, population, industrial structure, and urbanization level at the county and 1 km scales between surrounding and non-surrounding areas of the QTR, the differences in socioeconomic performance before and after its construction were detected. The results show that (1 in the TP, the highway-dominated transport system will break up and an integrated and sustainable transport system will form; (2 at the county scale, the annual growth rates of GDP of counties surrounding the QTR were greater than those of non-surrounding counties for the period 2000–2010. At the 1 km scale, following the opening of the completed line, the GDP of surrounding areas had a greater growth rate than before; (3 analysis at the county and 1 km scales indicated that population was not aggregated into the surrounding areas of the QTR in the period 2000–2010; (4 in terms of industrial structure, the proportion of primary industry decreased continuously, while the proportion of secondary and tertiary industries increased overall in the period 1984–2012. The QTR had no obvious impact on changes in the urbanization level of its surrounding areas.

Telepresence Robots in the Wide Wild World

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bruijnes, Merijn; van Delden, Robby; Vroon, Jered Hendrik

2017-01-01

Mobile remote presence systems (MRPs) are the logical next step in telepresence, but what are the ethical, social, legal, and technical implications of such systems going into the wide wild world? We explored these potential issues by immersing ourselves in a range of possible applications by

Energy loss, range, and bremsstrahlung yield for 10-keV to 100-MeV electrons in various elements and chemical compounds

Science.gov (United States)

Pages, Lucien; Bertel, Evelyne; Joffre, Henri; Sklavenitis, Laodamas

2012-12-01

Even though the United States lacks a national climate policy, significant action has occurred at the local and regional levels. Some of the most aggressive climate change policies have occurred at the state and local levels and in interagency cooperation on specific management issues. While there is a long history of partnerships in dealing with a wide variety of policy issues, the uncertainty and the political debate surrounding climate change has generated new challenges to establishing effective policy networks. This paper investigates the formation of climate policy networks in the State of Nevada. It presents a methodology based on social network analysis for assessing the structure and function of local policy networks across a range of substantive climate impacted resources (water, landscape management, conservation, forestry and others). It draws from an emerging literature on federalism and climate policy, public sector innovation, and institutional analysis in socio-ecological systems. Comparisons across different policy issue networks in the state are used to highlight the influence of network structure, connectivity, bridging across vertical and horizontal organizational units, organizational diversity, and flows between organizational nodes.

Robust brightness enhancement across a luminance range of the glare illusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamura, Hideki; Nakauchi, Shigeki; Koida, Kowa

2016-01-01

The glare illusion refers to brightness enhancement and the perception of a self-luminous appearance that occurs when a central region is surrounded by a luminance gradient. The center region appears to be a light source, with its light dispersing into the surrounding region. If the luminous edge is critical for generating the illusion, modulating the perceived luminance of the image, and switching its appearance from luminous to nonluminous, would have a strong impact on lightness and brightness estimation. Here, we quantified the illusion in two ways, by assessing brightness enhancement and examining whether the center region appeared luminous. Thus, we could determine whether the two effects occurred jointly or independently. We examined a wide luminance range of center regions, from 0 to 200% relative to background. Brightness enhancement in the illusion was observed for a wide range of luminances (20% to 200% relative to background), while a luminous-white appearance was observed when the center region luminance was 145% of the background. These results exclude the possibility that brightness enhancement occurs because the stimuli appear self-luminous. We suggest that restoring the original image intensity precedes the perceptual process of lightness estimation.

Modifications to JLab 12 GeV Refrigerator and Wide Range Mix Mode Performance Testing Results

Science.gov (United States)

Knudsen, P.; Ganni, V.; Hasan, N.; Dixon, K.; Norton, R.; Creel, J.

2017-02-01

Analysis of data obtained during the spring 2013 commissioning of the new 4.5 K refrigeration system at Jefferson Lab (JLab) for the 12 GeV upgrade indicated a wide capacity range with good efficiency and minimal operator interaction. Testing also showed that the refrigerator required higher liquid nitrogen (LN) consumption for its pre-cooler than anticipated by the design. This does not affect the capacity of the refrigerator, but it does result in an increased LN utility cost. During the summer of 2015 the modifications were implemented by the cold box manufacturer, according to a design similar to the JLab 12 GeV cold box specification. Subsequently, JLab recommissioned the cold box and performed extensive performance testing, ranging from 20% to 100% of the design maximum capacity, and in various modes of operation, ranging from pure refrigeration, pure liquefaction, half-and-half mix mode and at selected design modes using the Floating Pressure - Ganni Cycle. The testing demonstrated that the refrigerator system has a good and fairly constant performance over a wide capacity range and different modes of operation. It also demonstrated the modifications resulted in a LN consumption that met the design for the pure refrigeration mode (which is the most demanding) and was lower than the design for the nominal and maximum capacity modes. In addition, a pulsed-load test, similar to what is expected for cryogenic systems supporting fusion experiments, was conducted to observe the response using the Floating Pressure - Ganni Cycle, which was stable and robust. This paper will discuss the results and analysis of this testing pertaining to the LN consumption, the system efficiency over a wide range of capacity and different modes and the behaviour of the system to a pulsed load.

Clustering of quasars in a wide luminosity range at redshift 4 with Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam Wide-field imaging

Science.gov (United States)

He, Wanqiu; Akiyama, Masayuki; Bosch, James; Enoki, Motohiro; Harikane, Yuichi; Ikeda, Hiroyuki; Kashikawa, Nobunari; Kawaguchi, Toshihiro; Komiyama, Yutaka; Lee, Chien-Hsiu; Matsuoka, Yoshiki; Miyazaki, Satoshi; Nagao, Tohru; Nagashima, Masahiro; Niida, Mana; Nishizawa, Atsushi J.; Oguri, Masamune; Onoue, Masafusa; Oogi, Taira; Ouchi, Masami; Schulze, Andreas; Shirasaki, Yuji; Silverman, John D.; Tanaka, Manobu M.; Tanaka, Masayuki; Toba, Yoshiki; Uchiyama, Hisakazu; Yamashita, Takuji

2018-01-01

We examine the clustering of quasars over a wide luminosity range, by utilizing 901 quasars at \\overline{z}_phot˜ 3.8 with -24.73 Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) S16A Wide2 date release and 342 more luminous quasars at 3.4 Digital Sky Survey that fall in the HSC survey fields. We measure the bias factors of two quasar samples by evaluating the cross-correlation functions (CCFs) between the quasar samples and 25790 bright z ˜ 4 Lyman break galaxies in M1450 < -21.25 photometrically selected from the HSC dataset. Over an angular scale of 10.0" to 1000.0", the bias factors are 5.93+1.34-1.43 and 2.73+2.44-2.55 for the low- and high-luminosity quasars, respectively, indicating no significant luminosity dependence of quasar clustering at z ˜ 4. It is noted that the bias factor of the luminous quasars estimated by the CCF is smaller than that estimated by the auto-correlation function over a similar redshift range, especially on scales below 40.0". Moreover, the bias factor of the less-luminous quasars implies the minimal mass of their host dark matter halos is 0.3-2 × 1012 h-1 M⊙, corresponding to a quasar duty cycle of 0.001-0.06.

Autonomous Vehicles Have a Wide Range of Possible Energy Impacts (Poster)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, A.; Repac, B.; Gonder, J.

2013-07-01

This poster presents initial estimates of the net energy impacts of automated vehicles (AVs). Automated vehicle technologies are increasingly recognized as having potential to decrease carbon dioxide emissions and petroleum consumption through mechanisms such as improved efficiency, better routing, lower traffic congestion, and by enabling advanced technologies. However, some effects of AVs could conceivably increase fuel consumption through possible effects such as longer distances traveled, increased use of transportation by underserved groups, and increased travel speeds. The net effect on petroleum use and climate change is still uncertain. To make an aggregate system estimate, we first collect best estimates for the energy impacts of approximately ten effects of AVs. We then use a modified Kaya Identity approach to estimate the range of aggregate effects and avoid double counting. We find that depending on numerous factors, there is a wide range of potential energy impacts. Adoption of automated personal or shared vehicles can lead to significant fuel savings but has potential for backfire.

Diffuse radiation models and monthly-average, daily, diffuse data for a wide latitude range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gopinathan, K.K.; Soler, A.

1995-01-01

Several years of measured data on global and diffuse radiation and sunshine duration for 40 widely spread locations in the latitude range 36° S to 60° N are used to develop and test models for estimating monthly-mean, daily, diffuse radiation on horizontal surfaces. Applicability of the clearness-index (K) and sunshine fraction (SSO) models for diffuse estimation and the effect of combining several variables into a single multilinear equation are tested. Correlations connecting the diffuse to global fraction (HdH) with K and SSO predict Hd values more accurately than their separate use. Among clearness-index and sunshine-fraction models, SSO models are found to have better accuracy if correlations are developed for wide latitude ranges. By including a term for declinations in the correlation, the accuracy of the estimated data can be marginally improved. The addition of latitude to the equation does not help to improve the accuracy further. (author)

X-γ dose rate continuous monitor with wide range based on single-chip microcomputer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Debo; Ling Qiu; Guo Lanying; Yang Binhua

2007-01-01

This paper describes a concept about circuit designing of X-γ dose rate continuous monitor with wide range based on single-chip microcomputer, and also presents the design procedure of hardware and software, and gives several methods for solving the design procedure of hardware and software with emphasis. (authors)

A wide temperature range irradiation cryostat for reasearch on solid state targets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reeve, Scott; Dutz, Hartmut; Goertz, Stefan; Runkel, Stefan; Voge, Thomas [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Bonn (Germany)

2012-07-01

To qualitatively improve the data obtained in asymmetry measurements of scattering experiments the figure of merit (FOM) plays a major role and can reduce the data acquisition time when a certain precision in the measurement is needed. One of the defining factors for the improvement of the polarised experiment lies in the target choice and preparation, in particular the method employed to introduce the paramagnetic defects for the use of dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP). To this end the Polarized Target Group in Bonn has developed a wide range temperature cryostat for the irradiation of potential target materials in which materials can be irradiated to varying doses at specified temperatures. The stable irradiation temperature of the materials can be controlled to within {+-}1 K over a range of 90 K

High Precision Sunphotometer using Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) Camera Tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Liss, J.; Dunagan, S. E.; Johnson, R. R.; Chang, C. S.; LeBlanc, S. E.; Shinozuka, Y.; Redemann, J.; Flynn, C. J.; Segal-Rosenhaimer, M.; Pistone, K.; Kacenelenbogen, M. S.; Fahey, L.

2016-12-01

High Precision Sunphotometer using Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) Camera TrackingThe NASA Ames Sun-photometer-Satellite Group, DOE, PNNL Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, and NASA Goddard's AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) team recently collaborated on the development of a new airborne sunphotometry instrument that provides information on gases and aerosols extending far beyond what can be derived from discrete-channel direct-beam measurements, while preserving or enhancing many of the desirable AATS features (e.g., compactness, versatility, automation, reliability). The enhanced instrument combines the sun-tracking ability of the current 14-Channel NASA Ames AATS-14 with the sky-scanning ability of the ground-based AERONET Sun/sky photometers, while extending both AATS-14 and AERONET capabilities by providing full spectral information from the UV (350 nm) to the SWIR (1,700 nm). Strengths of this measurement approach include many more wavelengths (isolated from gas absorption features) that may be used to characterize aerosols and detailed (oversampled) measurements of the absorption features of specific gas constituents. The Sky Scanning Sun Tracking Airborne Radiometer (3STAR) replicates the radiometer functionality of the AATS-14 instrument but incorporates modern COTS technologies for all instruments subsystems. A 19-channel radiometer bundle design is borrowed from a commercial water column radiance instrument manufactured by Biospherical Instruments of San Diego California (ref, Morrow and Hooker)) and developed using NASA funds under the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. The 3STAR design also incorporates the latest in robotic motor technology embodied in Rotary actuators from Oriental motor Corp. having better than 15 arc seconds of positioning accuracy. Control system was designed, tested and simulated using a Hybrid-Dynamical modeling methodology. The design also replaces the classic quadrant detector tracking sensor with a

The use of new facility by means internal balance with sting support for wide range Angle of Attack aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Subagyo; Daryanto, Yanto; Risnawan, Novan

2018-04-01

The development of facilities for the testing of wide range angle of attack aircraft in the wind tunnel at subsonic regime has done and implemented. Development required to meet the test at an angle of attack from -20 ° to 40 °. Testing the wide range angle of attack aircraft with a wide variation of the angle of attack become important needs. This can be done simply by using the sting support-equipped by internal balance to measure the forces and moments component aerodynamics. The results of development and use on the wide range angle of attack aircraft testing are aerodynamics characteristics in the form of the coefficient three components forces and the three components of the moment. A series of test aircraft was successfully carried out and the results are shown in the form of graphs of characteristic of aerodynamics at wind speed 70 m/s.

Automatic Generation of Wide Dynamic Range Image without Pseudo-Edge Using Integration of Multi-Steps Exposure Images

Science.gov (United States)

Migiyama, Go; Sugimura, Atsuhiko; Osa, Atsushi; Miike, Hidetoshi

Recently, digital cameras are offering technical advantages rapidly. However, the shot image is different from the sight image generated when that scenery is seen with the naked eye. There are blown-out highlights and crushed blacks in the image that photographed the scenery of wide dynamic range. The problems are hardly generated in the sight image. These are contributory cause of difference between the shot image and the sight image. Blown-out highlights and crushed blacks are caused by the difference of dynamic range between the image sensor installed in a digital camera such as CCD and CMOS and the human visual system. Dynamic range of the shot image is narrower than dynamic range of the sight image. In order to solve the problem, we propose an automatic method to decide an effective exposure range in superposition of edges. We integrate multi-step exposure images using the method. In addition, we try to erase pseudo-edges using the process to blend exposure values. Afterwards, we get a pseudo wide dynamic range image automatically.

Thermotaxis of human sperm cells in extraordinarily shallow temperature gradients over a wide range.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anat Bahat

Full Text Available On the basis of the finding that capacitated (ready to fertilize rabbit and human spermatozoa swim towards warmer temperatures by directing their movement along a temperature gradient, sperm thermotaxis has been proposed to be one of the processes guiding these spermatozoa to the fertilization site. Although the molecular mechanism underlying sperm thermotaxis is gradually being revealed, basic questions related to this process are still open. Here, employing human spermatozoa, we addressed the questions of how wide the temperature range of thermotaxis is, whether this range includes an optimal temperature or whether spermatozoa generally prefer swimming towards warmer temperatures, whether or not they can sense and respond to descending temperature gradients, and what the minimal temperature gradient is to which they can thermotactically respond. We found that human spermatozoa can respond thermotactically within a wide temperature range (at least 29-41°C, that within this range they preferentially accumulate in warmer temperatures rather than at a single specific, preferred temperature, that they can respond to both ascending and descending temperature gradients, and that they can sense and thermotactically respond to temperature gradients as low as <0.014°C/mm. This temperature gradient is astonishingly low because it means that as a spermatozoon swims through its entire body length (46 µm it can sense and respond to a temperature difference of <0.0006°C. The significance of this surprisingly high temperature sensitivity is discussed.

Comprehensive Measurement of Atmospheric Aerosols with a Wide Range Aerosol Spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keck, L; Pesch, M; Grimm, H

2011-01-01

A wide range aerosol spectrometer (WRAS) was used for comprehensive long term measurements of aerosol size distributions. The system combines the results of an optical aerosol spectrometer with the results of a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) to record essentially the full size range (5 nm - 32 μm) of atmospheric particles in 72 channels. Measurements were carried out over one year (2009) at the Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW)-Station Hohenpeissenberg, Bavaria. Total particle number concentrations obtained from the aerosol size distributions were compared to the total number concentrations measured by a Condensation Particle Counter (CPC). The comparison showed an excellent agreement of the data. The high time resolution of 5 minutes allows the combination of the measured size distributions with meteorological data and correlations to gaseous pollutants (CO, NOx and SO2). A good correlation of particle number and CO concentrations was found for long distance transported small particles, which were probably mainly soot particles. Correlations to NOx were observed for aerosols from local sources such as traffic emissions. The formation of secondary aerosols from gaseous precursors was also observed. Episodes of relatively high concentration of particles in the range of 2-3 μm were probably caused by pollen.

Electrolytes for Use in High Energy Lithium-ion Batteries with Wide Operating Temperature Range

Science.gov (United States)

Smart, Marshall C.; Ratnakumar, B. V.; West, W. C.; Whitcanack, L. D.; Huang, C.; Soler, J.; Krause, F. C.

2012-01-01

Met programmatic milestones for program. Demonstrated improved performance with wide operating temperature electrolytes containing ester co-solvents (i.e., methyl butyrate) containing electrolyte additives in A123 prototype cells: Previously demonstrated excellent low temperature performance, including 11C rates at -30 C and the ability to perform well down to -60 C. Excellent cycle life at room temperature has been displayed, with over 5,000 cycles being demonstrated. Good high temperature cycle life performance has also been achieved. Demonstrated improved performance with methyl propionate-containing electrolytes in large capacity prototype cells: Demonstrated the wide operating temperature range capability in large cells (12 Ah), successfully scaling up technology from 0.25 Ah size cells. Demonstrated improved performance at low temperature and good cycle life at 40 C with methyl propionate-based electrolyte containing increasing FEC content and the use of LiBOB as an additive. Utilized three-electrode cells to investigate the electrochemical characteristics of high voltage systems coupled with wide operating temperature range electrolytes: From Tafel polarization measurements on each electrode, it is evident the NMC-based cathode displays poor lithium kinetics (being the limiting electrode). The MB-based formulations containing LiBOB delivered the best rate capability at low temperature, which is attributed to improved cathode kinetics. Whereas, the use of lithium oxalate as an additive lead to the highest reversible capacity and lower irreversible losses.

Methane fluxes from tropical coastal lagoons surrounded by mangroves, Yucatán, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Chuang, P.-C.; Young, M. B.; Dale, A. W.; Miller, L. G.; Herrera-Silveira, J. A.; Paytan, A.

2017-05-01

Methane concentrations in the water column and emissions to the atmosphere were determined for three tropical coastal lagoons surrounded by mangrove forests on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Surface water dissolved methane was sampled at different seasons over a period of 2 years in areas representing a wide range of salinities and anthropogenic impacts. The highest surface water methane concentrations (up to 8378 nM) were measured in a polluted canal associated with Terminos Lagoon. In Chelem Lagoon, methane concentrations were typically lower, except in the polluted harbor area (1796 nM). In the relatively pristine Celestún Lagoon, surface water methane concentrations ranged from 41 to 2551 nM. Methane concentrations were negatively correlated with salinity in Celestún, while in Chelem and Terminos high methane concentrations were associated with areas of known pollution inputs, irrespective of salinity. The diffusive methane flux from surface lagoon water to the atmosphere ranged from 0.0023 to 15 mmol CH4 m-2 d-1. Flux chamber measurements revealed that direct methane release as ebullition was up to 3 orders of magnitude greater than measured diffusive flux. Coastal mangrove lagoons may therefore be an important natural source of methane to the atmosphere despite their relatively high salinity. Pollution inputs are likely to substantially enhance this flux. Additional statistically rigorous data collected globally are needed to better consider methane fluxes from mangrove-surrounded coastal areas in response to sea level changes and anthropogenic pollution in order to refine projections of future atmospheric methane budgets.

The French 35-hour workweek: a wide-ranging social change.

Science.gov (United States)

Prunier-Poulmaire, S; Gadbois, C

2001-12-01

The reduction of the legal working week to 35 hours in France has generated wide-ranging social change. We examine the resulting changes in working-time patterns as well as their repercussions on the use of the time gained and on the quality of life and health. To compensate the reduction in the length of the working week, companies have modified the working-time patterns, by extending operation time (shiftwork, atypical schedules) and by matching the on-site workforce to production requirements (flexible working hours). They have sought to make more efficient use of working time: job intensification or job compression. The effects on the off-the-job life and health are linked to the shiftwork and atypical schedules designed to increase the company's operating time, and adjustments to the company's need for flexibilization impose working time/free time patterns that are at odds with biological rhythms and social life patterns. Changes to working-time patterns have unexpected consequences for work organization: heightened difficulties for the individual and the crew. These changes may generate a range of health problems related to overwork and stress. The way some companies have adapted may call into question the usefulness of work done by employees, thus damaging their social identity and mental well-being.

Real time analysis of electromagnetic radiation in a very wide frequency range

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peralta, J.A.; Reyes L, P.; Yepez, E. [Escuela Superior de Fisica y Matematicas, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Edificio 9, U.P. Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Zacatenco, 07738 Mexico D.F. (Mexico)

2001-07-01

In this work, we present an electronic apparatus that facilitates the monitoring and analysis of electromagnetic radiation in a very wide frequency range. The device is a combination of real and virtual instruments, taking advantage of new hardware and software; the measurable range of frequencies depends on the speed of an analog/digital converter, reaching tens of Megahertz. The device has been successfully used to monitor the environmental electromagnetic radiation at very low frequency, a very useful parameter in the research of electromagnetic precursors of earthquakes. The apparatus is a new configuration and has advantages with respect to those previously used: when the attached computer is fast, Fourier analysis can be done in real time, can display simultaneously several bands, the digitized data allow a variety of methods of analysis, and the apparatus is very cheap. (Author)

Real time analysis of electromagnetic radiation in a very wide frequency range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peralta, J.A.; Reyes L, P.; Yepez, E.

2001-01-01

In this work, we present an electronic apparatus that facilitates the monitoring and analysis of electromagnetic radiation in a very wide frequency range. The device is a combination of real and virtual instruments, taking advantage of new hardware and software; the measurable range of frequencies depends on the speed of an analog/digital converter, reaching tens of Megahertz. The device has been successfully used to monitor the environmental electromagnetic radiation at very low frequency, a very useful parameter in the research of electromagnetic precursors of earthquakes. The apparatus is a new configuration and has advantages with respect to those previously used: when the attached computer is fast, Fourier analysis can be done in real time, can display simultaneously several bands, the digitized data allow a variety of methods of analysis, and the apparatus is very cheap. (Author)

Properties of Wide-dose-range GafChromic Films for Synchrotron Radiation Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nariyama, Nobuteru

2007-01-01

GafChromic films have been used at SPring-8 to detect the intensively irradiated parts and protect them from damage by being covered with shield or moved. To extend the usable dose range more widely, a new type of sensitive film EBT was investigated for the introduction. Calibration curves were obtained irradiated with 60Co γ rays and compared with those of other GafChromic films. For the application, these films were set in the white x-ray hutch and the dose distribution was measured. Ratio of doses given by EBT and XT-R indicated the degree of the photon spectrum hardness, which depended on the positions. As a result, dose range from 50 mGy to 300 kGy became available for dose distribution measurements, and a set of films having different energy responses was found to give information of photon spectra

Generalized weighted ratio method for accurate turbidity measurement over a wide range.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hongbo; Yang, Ping; Song, Hong; Guo, Yilu; Zhan, Shuyue; Huang, Hui; Wang, Hangzhou; Tao, Bangyi; Mu, Quanquan; Xu, Jing; Li, Dejun; Chen, Ying

2015-12-14

Turbidity measurement is important for water quality assessment, food safety, medicine, ocean monitoring, etc. In this paper, a method that accurately estimates the turbidity over a wide range is proposed, where the turbidity of the sample is represented as a weighted ratio of the scattered light intensities at a series of angles. An improvement in the accuracy is achieved by expanding the structure of the ratio function, thus adding more flexibility to the turbidity-intensity fitting. Experiments have been carried out with an 850 nm laser and a power meter fixed on a turntable to measure the light intensity at different angles. The results show that the relative estimation error of the proposed method is 0.58% on average for a four-angle intensity combination for all test samples with a turbidity ranging from 160 NTU to 4000 NTU.

Quantum conductance of carbon nanotubes in a wide energy range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yong

2015-01-01

The differential conductance of armchair and zigzag carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a wide energy range has been numerically calculated by using the tight-binding model and the Green’s function method. The effects of the contact coupling between CNTs and electrodes on conductance have been explored. The ballistic conductance is proportional to the band numbers and has a ladder-like feature. As the increase of the contact coupling, the conductance oscillations appear and they are robust against the coupling. More importantly, on the first step of the conductance ladder, the armchair CNTs have two quasi-periodic conductance oscillations, i.e. a rapid conductance oscillation superimposed on a slow fluctuation background; while the zigzag CNTs have only one conductance oscillation. But on the second conductance step, all CNTs have two quasi-periodic conductance oscillations. The physical origin of the conductance oscillations has been revealed

Effective inactivation of a wide range of viruses by pasteurization.

Science.gov (United States)

Gröner, Albrecht; Broumis, Connie; Fang, Randel; Nowak, Thomas; Popp, Birgit; Schäfer, Wolfram; Roth, Nathan J

2018-01-01

Careful selection and testing of plasma reduces the risk of blood-borne viruses in the starting material for plasma-derived products. Furthermore, effective measures such as pasteurization at 60°C for 10 hours have been implemented in the manufacturing process of therapeutic plasma proteins such as human albumin, coagulation factors, immunoglobulins, and enzyme inhibitors to inactivate blood-borne viruses of concern. A comprehensive compilation of the virus reduction capacity of pasteurization is presented including the effect of stabilizers used to protect the therapeutic protein from modifications during heat treatment. The virus inactivation kinetics of pasteurization for a broad range of viruses were evaluated in the relevant intermediates from more than 15 different plasma manufacturing processes. Studies were carried out under the routine manufacturing target variables, such as temperature and product-specific stabilizer composition. Additional studies were also performed under robustness conditions, that is, outside production specifications. The data demonstrate that pasteurization inactivates a wide range of enveloped and nonenveloped viruses of diverse physicochemical characteristics. After a maximum of 6 hours' incubation, no residual infectivity could be detected for the majority of enveloped viruses. Effective inactivation of a range of nonenveloped viruses, with the exception of nonhuman parvoviruses, was documented. Pasteurization is a very robust and reliable virus inactivation method with a broad effectiveness against known blood-borne pathogens and emerging or potentially emerging viruses. Pasteurization has proven itself to be a highly effective step, in combination with other complementary safety measures, toward assuring the virus safety of final product. © 2017 The Authors Transfusion published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of AABB.

Post-glacial phylogeography and evolution of a wide-ranging highly-exploited keystone forest tree, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) in North America: single refugium, multiple routes.

Science.gov (United States)

Zinck, John W R; Rajora, Om P

2016-03-02

Knowledge of the historical distribution and postglacial phylogeography and evolution of a species is important to better understand its current distribution and population structure and potential fate in the future, especially under climate change conditions, and conservation of its genetic resources. We have addressed this issue in a wide-ranging and heavily exploited keystone forest tree species of eastern North America, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). We examined the range-wide population genetic structure, tested various hypothetical population history and evolutionary scenarios and inferred the location of glacial refugium and post-glacial recolonization routes. Our hypothesis was that eastern white pine survived in a single glacial refugium and expanded through multiple post-glacial recolonization routes. We studied the range-wide genetic diversity and population structure of 33 eastern white pine populations using 12 nuclear and 3 chloroplast microsatellite DNA markers. We used Approximate Bayesian Computation approach to test various evolutionary scenarios. We observed high levels of genetic diversity, and significant genetic differentiation (F ST = 0.104) and population structure among eastern white pine populations across its range. A south to north trend of declining genetic diversity existed, consistent with repeated founder effects during post-glaciation migration northwards. We observed broad consensus from nuclear and chloroplast genetic markers supporting the presence of two main post-glacial recolonization routes that originated from a single southern refugium in the mid-Atlantic plain. One route gave rise to populations at the western margin of the species' range in Minnesota and western Ontario. The second route gave rise to central-eastern populations, which branched into two subgroups: central and eastern. We observed minimal sharing of chloroplast haplotypes between recolonization routes but there was evidence of admixture between the

Current issues surrounding the definition of trans-fatty acids: implications for health, industry and food labels.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ye; Proctor, Spencer D

2013-10-01

The definition of trans-fatty acids (TFA) was established by the Codex Alimentarius to guide nutritional and legislative regulations to reduce TFA consumption. Currently, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is excluded from the TFA definition based on evidence (primarily preclinical studies) implying health benefits on weight management and cancer prevention. While the efficacy of CLA supplements remains inconsistent in randomised clinical trials, evidence has emerged to associate supplemental CLA with negative health outcomes, including increased subclinical inflammation and oxidative stress (particularly at high doses). This has resulted in concerns regarding the correctness of excluding CLA from the TFA definition. Here we review recent clinical and preclinical literature on health implications of CLA and ruminant TFA, and highlight several issues surrounding the current Codex definition of TFA and how it may influence interpretation for public health. We find that CLA derived from ruminant foods differ from commercial CLA supplements in their isomer composition/distribution, consumption level and bioactivity. We conclude that health concerns associated with the use of supplemental CLA do not repudiate the exclusion of all forms of CLA from the Codex TFA definition, particularly when using the definition for food-related purposes. Given the emerging differential bioactivity of TFA from industrial v. ruminant sources, we advocate that regional nutrition guidelines/policies should focus on eliminating industrial forms of trans-fat from processed foods as opposed to all TFA per se.

The mechanical behavior of metal alloys with grain size distribution in a wide range of strain rates

Science.gov (United States)

Skripnyak, V. A.; Skripnyak, V. V.; Skripnyak, E. G.

2017-12-01

The paper discusses a multiscale simulation approach for the construction of grain structure of metals and alloys, providing high tensile strength with ductility. This work compares the mechanical behavior of light alloys and the influence of the grain size distribution in a wide range of strain rates. The influence of the grain size distribution on the inelastic deformation and fracture of aluminium and magnesium alloys is investigated by computer simulations in a wide range of strain rates. It is shown that the yield stress depends on the logarithm of the normalized strain rate for light alloys with a bimodal grain distribution and coarse-grained structure.

Identification of β-SiC surrounded by relatable surrounding diamond ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

β-SiC is identified in the presence of a relatable surrounding diamond medium using subtle, but discernible Raman ... Change in the nature of the surrounding material structure and its .... intensity implies very low graphite content in thin film. In.

Issues Surrounding the Use of Virtual Reality in Geographic Education

Science.gov (United States)

Lisichenko, Richard

2015-01-01

As with all classroom innovations intended to improve geographic education, the adoption of virtual reality (VR) poses issues for consideration prior to endorsing its use. Of these, effectiveness, implementation, and safe use need to be addressed. Traditionally, sense of place, geographic knowledge, and firsthand experiences provided by field…

Issues surrounding biomass energy use in non-OECD countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diouf, M. Mines and Industry.

1997-01-01

The problem of energy-supply of Senegal is described by the Minister of Energy of Senegal. The destruction and degradation of forests in Senegal is a major risk because of the high demographic growth, the extensive agriculture and poverty. New policies are required that guarantee a sustainable energy supply to populations, and conserve the fragile environment. The biomass issue is to be incorporated into an overall development policy that effectively combines strategies relating to forestry, agriculture, rearing and resource management but also to population, poverty elimination, urban development and decentralization. (K.A.)

Modelling of monovacancy diffusion in W over wide temperature range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bukonte, L.; Ahlgren, T.; Heinola, K.

2014-01-01

The diffusion of monovacancies in tungsten is studied computationally over a wide temperature range from 1300 K until the melting point of the material. Our modelling is based on Molecular Dynamics technique and Density Functional Theory. The monovacancy migration barriers are calculated using nudged elastic band method for nearest and next-nearest neighbour monovacancy jumps. The diffusion pre-exponential factor for monovacancy diffusion is found to be two to three orders of magnitude higher than commonly used in computational studies, resulting in attempt frequency of the order 10 15 Hz. Multiple nearest neighbour jumps of monovacancy are found to play an important role in the contribution to the total diffusion coefficient, especially at temperatures above 2/3 of T m , resulting in an upward curvature of the Arrhenius diagram. The probabilities for different nearest neighbour jumps for monovacancy in W are calculated at different temperatures

Development of GM tube electronic personal dosimeter with wide range and multi-purposes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Jing; Weng Puyu; Chen Mingjun; Hu Zunsu; Huang Chenguang; Lei Jindian

2003-01-01

This paper describes the main design features and basic properties of a GM tube electronic personal dosimeter with wide range and multi-purposes. the dosimeter can display dose-rate or accumulative dose or the maximum dose-rate, record accumulative dose and the maximum dose-rate as well as the time of its appearance and at most 160 historical dose values within 8 h. All recorded data can directly be sent to PC by the infrared communication

Interactions between vegetation, atmospheric turbulence and clouds under a wide range of background wind conditions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sikma, M.; Ouwersloot, H.G.; Pedruzo-Bagazgoitia, X.; Heerwaarden, van C.C.; Vilà-Guerau de Arellano, J.

2018-01-01

The effects of plant responses to cumulus (Cu) cloud shading are studied from free convective to shear-driven boundary-layer conditions. By using a large-eddy simulation (LES) coupled to a plant physiology embedded land-surface submodel, we study the vegetation-cloud feedbacks for a wide range (44)

Electron response of some low-Z scintillators in wide energy range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swiderski, L; Marcinkowski, R; Moszynski, M; Czarnacki, W; Szawlowski, M; Szczesniak, T; Pausch, G; Plettner, C; Roemer, K

2012-01-01

Light yield nonproportionality and the intrinsic resolution of some low atomic number scintillators were studied by means of the Wide Angle Compton Coincidence (WACC) technique. The plastic and liquid scintillator response to Compton electrons was measured in the energy range of 10 keV up to 4 MeV, whereas a CaF 2 :Eu sample was scanned from 3 keV up to 1 MeV. The nonproportionality of the CaF 2 :Eu light yield has characteristics typical for inorganic scintillators of the multivalent halides group, whereas tested organic scintillators show steeply increasing nonproportionality without saturation point. This is in contrast to the behavior of all known inorganic scintillators having their nonproportionality curves at saturation above energies between tens and several hundred keV.

Electron response of some low-Z scintillators in wide energy range

Science.gov (United States)

Swiderski, L.; Marcinkowski, R.; Moszynski, M.; Czarnacki, W.; Szawlowski, M.; Szczesniak, T.; Pausch, G.; Plettner, C.; Roemer, K.

2012-06-01

Light yield nonproportionality and the intrinsic resolution of some low atomic number scintillators were studied by means of the Wide Angle Compton Coincidence (WACC) technique. The plastic and liquid scintillator response to Compton electrons was measured in the energy range of 10 keV up to 4 MeV, whereas a CaF2:Eu sample was scanned from 3 keV up to 1 MeV. The nonproportionality of the CaF2:Eu light yield has characteristics typical for inorganic scintillators of the multivalent halides group, whereas tested organic scintillators show steeply increasing nonproportionality without saturation point. This is in contrast to the behavior of all known inorganic scintillators having their nonproportionality curves at saturation above energies between tens and several hundred keV.

Fast, High Resolution, and Wide Modulus Range Nanomechanical Mapping with Bimodal Tapping Mode.

Science.gov (United States)

Kocun, Marta; Labuda, Aleksander; Meinhold, Waiman; Revenko, Irène; Proksch, Roger

2017-10-24

Tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM), also known as amplitude modulated (AM) or AC mode, is a proven, reliable, and gentle imaging mode with widespread applications. Over the several decades that tapping mode has been in use, quantification of tip-sample mechanical properties such as stiffness has remained elusive. Bimodal tapping mode keeps the advantages of single-frequency tapping mode while extending the technique by driving and measuring an additional resonant mode of the cantilever. The simultaneously measured observables of this additional resonance provide the additional information necessary to extract quantitative nanomechanical information about the tip-sample mechanics. Specifically, driving the higher cantilever resonance in a frequency modulated (FM) mode allows direct measurement of the tip-sample interaction stiffness and, with appropriate modeling, the set point-independent local elastic modulus. Here we discuss the advantages of bimodal tapping, coined AM-FM imaging, for modulus mapping. Results are presented for samples over a wide modulus range, from a compliant gel (∼100 MPa) to stiff materials (∼100 GPa), with the same type of cantilever. We also show high-resolution (subnanometer) stiffness mapping of individual molecules in semicrystalline polymers and of DNA in fluid. Combined with the ability to remain quantitative even at line scan rates of nearly 40 Hz, the results demonstrate the versatility of AM-FM imaging for nanomechanical characterization in a wide range of applications.

Wide wavelength range tunable one-dimensional silicon nitride nano-grating guided mode resonance filter based on azimuthal rotation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryoji Yukino

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We describe wavelength tuning in a one dimensional (1D silicon nitride nano-grating guided mode resonance (GMR structure under conical mounting configuration of the device. When the GMR structure is rotated about the axis perpendicular to the surface of the device (azimuthal rotation for light incident at oblique angles, the conditions for resonance are different than for conventional GMR structures under classical mounting. These resonance conditions enable tuning of the GMR peak position over a wide range of wavelengths. We experimental demonstrate tuning over a range of 375 nm between 500 nm˜875 nm. We present a theoretical model to explain the resonance conditions observed in our experiments and predict the peak positions with show excellent agreement with experiments. Our method for tuning wavelengths is simpler and more efficient than conventional procedures that employ variations in the design parameters of structures or conical mounting of two-dimensional (2D GMR structures and enables a single 1D GMR device to function as a high efficiency wavelength filter over a wide range of wavelengths. We expect tunable filters based on this technique to be applicable in a wide range of fields including astronomy and biomedical imaging.

Low-Voltage, Low-Power, and Wide-Tuning-Range Ring-VCO for Frequency ΔΣ Modulator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tuan Vu, Cao; Wisland, Dag T.; Lande, Tor Sverre

A low-voltage, low-power, and wide-tuning-range VCO which converts an analog input voltage to phase information for a frequency ΔΣ modulator is proposed in this paper. The VCO is based on a differential ring oscillator, which is improved with modified symmetric load and a positive feedback...

An experimental investigation of transient heat transfer in surrounding rock mass of high geothermal roadway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Yuan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A self-designed experimental installation for transient heat transfer in the modelling surrounding rock mass of high geothermal roadways was elaborated in this paper. By utilizing the new installation, the temperature variation rules in surrounding rock mass of the high geothermal roadway during mechanical ventilation were studied. The results show that the roadway wall temperature decreases dramatically at the early stage of ventilation, and the temperature at every position of the surrounding rock mass is decreasing constantly with time passing by. From roadway wall to deep area, the temperature gradually increases until reaching original rock temperature. The relationship between dimensionless temperature and dimensionless radius demonstrates approximately exponential function. Meanwhile, the temperature disturbance range in the simulated surrounding rock mass extends gradually from the roadway wall to deep area in the surrounding rock mass. Besides, as the air velocity increases, heat loss in the surrounding rock mass rises and the ratio of temperature reduction becomes larger, the speed of disturbance range expansion also gets faster.

Optic issues in ongoing ERL projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, S.L.; Muratori, B.D.; Owen, H.L.; Hoffstaetter, G.H.; Litvinenko, V.N.; Ben-Zvi, I.; Bai, M.; Beebe-Wang, J.; Blaskiewicz, M.; Calaga, R.; Fischer, W.; Chang, X.Y.; Kayran, D.; Kewisch, J.; MacKay, W.W.; Montag, C.; Parker, B.; Ptitsyn, V.; Roser, T.; Ruggiero, A.; Satogata, T.; Surrow, B.; Tepikian, S.; Trbojevic, D.; Yakimenko, V.; Zhang, S.Y.; Piot, Ph.

2006-01-01

A wide range of optics issues for energy recovery linac (ERL)-based projects are illustrated through the presentation of ongoing projects covering both light sources, at Cornell and Daresbury and high energy and nuclear physics accelerators at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. This presented range of projects demonstrates how the different designs teams see the challenges of studying and solving optics issues for their particular project's ERLs, with studies appropriate to the stage of maturity of the project. Finally, as an illustration of the complexity and detail behind a single aspect of ERL optics design we present an overview of the highly important generic topic of longitudinal phase space evolution in ERLs

Research and Development Issues for Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Ricci, Katrina

2002-01-01

.... While there is a wide range of research issues associated with technical manuals, the focus of the Intelligent Performance Support and Training effort is the development and evaluation of various...

An operating principle of the turtle utricle to detect wide dynamic range.

Science.gov (United States)

Nam, Jong-Hoon

2018-03-01

The utricle encodes both static information such as head orientation, and dynamic information such as vibrations. It is not well understood how the utricle can encode both static and dynamic information for a wide dynamic range (from 2 times the gravitational acceleration; from DC to > 1000 Hz vibrations). Using computational models of the hair cells in the turtle utricle, this study presents an explanation on how the turtle utricle encodes stimulations over such a wide dynamic range. Two hair bundles were modeled using the finite element method-one representing the striolar hair cell (Cell S), and the other representing the medial extrastriolar hair cell (Cell E). A mechano-transduction (MET) channel model was incorporated to compute MET current (i MET ) due to hair bundle deflection. A macro-mechanical model of the utricle was used to compute otoconial motions from head accelerations (a Head ). According to known anatomical data, Cell E has a long kinocilium that is embedded into the stiff otoconial layer. Unlike Cell E, the hair bundle of Cell S falls short of the otoconial layer. Considering such difference in the mechanical connectivity between the hair cell bundle and the otoconial layer, three cases were simulated: Cell E displacement-clamped, Cell S viscously-coupled, and Cell S displacement-clamped. Head accelerations at different amplitude levels and different frequencies were simulated for the three cases. When a realistic head motion was simulated, Cell E was responsive to head orientation, while the viscously-coupled Cell S was responsive to fast head motion imitating the feeding strike of a turtle. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Natural selection constrains neutral diversity across a wide range of species.

Science.gov (United States)

Corbett-Detig, Russell B; Hartl, Daniel L; Sackton, Timothy B

2015-04-01

The neutral theory of molecular evolution predicts that the amount of neutral polymorphisms within a species will increase proportionally with the census population size (Nc). However, this prediction has not been borne out in practice: while the range of Nc spans many orders of magnitude, levels of genetic diversity within species fall in a comparatively narrow range. Although theoretical arguments have invoked the increased efficacy of natural selection in larger populations to explain this discrepancy, few direct empirical tests of this hypothesis have been conducted. In this work, we provide a direct test of this hypothesis using population genomic data from a wide range of taxonomically diverse species. To do this, we relied on the fact that the impact of natural selection on linked neutral diversity depends on the local recombinational environment. In regions of relatively low recombination, selected variants affect more neutral sites through linkage, and the resulting correlation between recombination and polymorphism allows a quantitative assessment of the magnitude of the impact of selection on linked neutral diversity. By comparing whole genome polymorphism data and genetic maps using a coalescent modeling framework, we estimate the degree to which natural selection reduces linked neutral diversity for 40 species of obligately sexual eukaryotes. We then show that the magnitude of the impact of natural selection is positively correlated with Nc, based on body size and species range as proxies for census population size. These results demonstrate that natural selection removes more variation at linked neutral sites in species with large Nc than those with small Nc and provides direct empirical evidence that natural selection constrains levels of neutral genetic diversity across many species. This implies that natural selection may provide an explanation for this longstanding paradox of population genetics.

Wide range radiation monitoring apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldstein, N.P.

1983-01-01

There is described a simple and rugged detector capable of measuring radiation fields over the range of 0.02 R/hr up to 10/8 R/hr or higher. The device consists of an emitter element of high atomic number material which is connected to the center conductor of a signal cable. This emitter element is positioned in a spaced-apart relationship between collector element of a low atomic number material with a gap region between the emitter element and the adjacent collector elements

Tribological behavior and self-healing functionality of TiNbCN-Ag coatings in wide temperature range

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bondarev, A.V., E-mail: abondarev88@gmail.com; Kiryukhantsev-Korneev, Ph.V.; Levashov, E.A.; Shtansky, D.V., E-mail: shtansky@shs.misis.ru

2017-02-28

Highlights: • TiNbCN–Ag coatings for wide temperature range tribological applications. • Alloying with Nb and Ag improve tribological properties and oxidation resistance. • Ag-rich TiNbCN coatings show friction coefficient below 0.45 in range of 25–700 °C. • Ag-doped coatings show active oxidation protection and self-healing functionality. - Abstract: Ag- and Nb-doped TiCN coatings with about 2 at.% of Nb and Ag contents varied between 4.0 and 15.1 at.% were designed as promising materials for tribological applications in a wide temperature range. We report on the structure, mechanical, and tribological properties of TiNbCN-Ag coatings fabricated by simultaneous co-sputtering of TiC{sub 0.5} + 10%Nb{sub 2}C and Ag targets in comparison with those of Ag-free coating. The tribological characteristics were evaluated during constant-temperature tests both at room temperature and 300 °C, as well as during dynamic temperature ramp tests in the range of 25–700 °C. The coating structure and elemental composition were studied by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy. The coating microstructures and elemental compositions inside wear tracks, as well as the wear products, were examined by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. We demonstrate that simultaneous alloying with Nb and Ag permits to overcome the main drawbacks of TiCN coatings such as their relatively high values of friction coefficient at elevated temperatures and low oxidation resistance. It is shown that a relatively high amount of Ag (15 at.%) is required to provide enhanced tribological behavior in a wide temperature range of 25–700 °C. In addition, the prepared Ag-doped coatings demonstrated active oxidation protection and self-healing functionality due to the segregation of Ag metallic particles in damage areas such as cracks, pin-holes, or oxidation sites.

Integrated arrays of air-dielectric graphene transistors as transparent active-matrix pressure sensors for wide pressure ranges.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Sung-Ho; Ji, Sangyoon; Choi, Seiho; Pyo, Kyoung-Hee; Wan An, Byeong; Park, Jihun; Kim, Joohee; Kim, Ju-Young; Lee, Ki-Suk; Kwon, Soon-Yong; Heo, Jaeyeong; Park, Byong-Guk; Park, Jang-Ung

2017-03-31

Integrated electronic circuitries with pressure sensors have been extensively researched as a key component for emerging electronics applications such as electronic skins and health-monitoring devices. Although existing pressure sensors display high sensitivities, they can only be used for specific purposes due to the narrow range of detectable pressure (under tens of kPa) and the difficulty of forming highly integrated arrays. However, it is essential to develop tactile pressure sensors with a wide pressure range in order to use them for diverse application areas including medical diagnosis, robotics or automotive electronics. Here we report an unconventional approach for fabricating fully integrated active-matrix arrays of pressure-sensitive graphene transistors with air-dielectric layers simply formed by folding two opposing panels. Furthermore, this realizes a wide tactile pressure sensing range from 250 Pa to ∼3 MPa. Additionally, fabrication of pressure sensor arrays and transparent pressure sensors are demonstrated, suggesting their substantial promise as next-generation electronics.

Wide-range nuclear reactor temperature control using automatically tuned fuzzy logic controller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramaswamy, P.; Edwards, R.M.; Lee, K.Y.

1992-01-01

In this paper, a fuzzy logic controller design for optimal reactor temperature control is presented. Since fuzzy logic controllers rely on an expert's knowledge of the process, they are hard to optimize. An optimal controller is used in this paper as a reference model, and a Kalman filter is used to automatically determine the rules for the fuzzy logic controller. To demonstrate the robustness of this design, a nonlinear six-delayed-neutron-group plant is controlled using a fuzzy logic controller that utilizes estimated reactor temperatures from a one-delayed-neutron-group observer. The fuzzy logic controller displayed good stability and performance robustness characteristics for a wide range of operation

Wide-Range Highly-Efficient Wireless Power Receivers for Implantable Biomedical Sensors

KAUST Repository

Ouda, Mahmoud

2016-11-01

Wireless power transfer (WPT) is the key enabler for a myriad of applications, from low-power RFIDs, and wireless sensors, to wirelessly charged electric vehicles, and even massive power transmission from space solar cells. One of the major challenges in designing implantable biomedical devices is the size and lifetime of the battery. Thus, replacing the battery with a miniaturized wireless power receiver (WPRx) facilitates designing sustainable biomedical implants in smaller volumes for sentient medical applications. In the first part of this dissertation, we propose a miniaturized, fully integrated, wirelessly powered implantable sensor with on-chip antenna, designed and implemented in a standard 0.18μm CMOS process. As a batteryless device, it can be implanted once inside the body with no need for further invasive surgeries to replace batteries. The proposed single-chip solution is designed for intraocular pressure monitoring (IOPM), and can serve as a sustainable platform for implantable devices or IoT nodes. A custom setup is developed to test the chip in a saline solution with electrical properties similar to those of the aqueous humor of the eye. The proposed chip, in this eye-like setup, is wirelessly charged to 1V from a 5W transmitter 3cm away from the chip. In the second part, we propose a self-biased, differential rectifier with enhanced efficiency over an extended range of input power. A prototype is designed for the medical implant communication service (MICS) band at 433MHz. It demonstrates an efficiency improvement of more than 40% in the rectifier power conversion efficiency (PCE) and a dynamic range extension of more than 50% relative to the conventional cross-coupled rectifier. A sensitivity of -15.2dBm input power for 1V output voltage and a peak PCE of 65% are achieved for a 50k load. In the third part, we propose a wide-range, differential RF-to-DC power converter using an adaptive, self-biasing technique. The proposed architecture doubles

Dosimetric properties of the 'Pille' portable, wide dose range TLD reader

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szabo, P.P.; Feher, I.; Deme, S.; Szabo, B.; Vagvoelgyi, J.

1986-01-01

The dosimetric properties of a portable TLD reader are described. The TLD system named 'Pille' or 'moth' consists of a lightweight battery-operated portable TLD reader and its CaSO 4 :Dy bulb dosemeters. The reproducibility of the TLD system at constant temperature was found to be better than + -2%, and the mean time between failures exceeded 5 years. The dose range of the system is wide, covering more than 6 orders of magnitude, from 5 μGy to 10 Gy. The energy dependence of the CaSO 4 :Dy bulb dosemeters is less than + - 20% above 100 keV in the energy compensation capsules. Without additional annealing, the bulb dosemeters can be re-used at least 100 times, which is an important aspect during in situ measurements. (author)

Moral and Legal Issues Surrounding Terminal Sedation and Physician Assisted Suicide

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Bradley, Constance

2002-01-01

Assisted suicide has been an issue for terminally ill patients for many years. This is because patients who suffer from terminal illnesses are forced to make difficult choices at the end of their lives...

Neural network for adapting nuclear power plant control for wide-range operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ku, C.C.; Lee, K.Y.; Edwards, R.M.

1991-01-01

A new concept of using neural networks has been evaluated for optimal control of a nuclear reactor. The neural network uses the architecture of a standard backpropagation network; however, a new dynamic learning algorithm has been developed to capture the underlying system dynamics. The learning algorithm is based on parameter estimation for dynamic systems. The approach is demonstrated on an optimal reactor temperature controller by adjusting the feedback gains for wide-range operation. Application of optimal control to a reactor has been considered for improving temperature response using a robust fifth-order reactor power controller. Conventional gain scheduling can be employed to extend the range of good performance to accommodate large changes in power where nonlinear characteristics significantly modify the dynamics of the power plant. Gain scheduling is developed based on expected parameter variations, and it may be advantageous to further adapt feedback gains on-line to better match actual plant performance. A neural network approach is used here to adapt the gains to better accommodate plant uncertainties and thereby achieve improved robustness characteristics

The United Kingdom: Issues for the United States

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Archick, Kristin

2007-01-01

.... This perception stems from a combination of factors: a shared sense of history and culture; the extensive bilateral cooperation on a wide range of foreign policy, defense, and intelligence issues that has developed over the course of many decades...

Surrounding rock stress analysis of underground high level waste repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Wengang; Wang Ju; Wang Guangdi

2006-01-01

During decay of nuclear waste, enormous energy was released, which results in temperature change of surrounding rock of depository. Thermal stress was produced because thermal expansion of rock was controlled. Internal structure of surrounding rock was damaged and strength of rock was weakened. So, variation of stress was a dynamic process with the variation of temperature. BeiShan region of Gansu province was determined to be the depository field in the future, it is essential to make research on granite in this region. In the process of experiment, basic physical parameters of granite were analyzed preliminary with MTS. Long range temperature and stress filed was simulated considering the damage effect of surrounding rock, and rules of temperature and stress was achieved. (authors)

Demands for improvement in working surroundings for older workers in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shizawa, Yasuhiro; Sakuda, Hiroshi; Ohashi, Tomoki

2003-01-01

Workers in three nuclear power plants belonging to Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. were asked to complete a questionnaire. According to the accident reports, workers aged 50 or older had more accidents than those in 30s or 40s. Moreover, it is predicted that the average age of workers in Japan will increase during the first half of the 21st century. Therefore, investigations into working surroundings in which older workers can better perform their work would be useful. To this end, a questionnaire addressing issues related to working surroundings was conducted among workers in nuclear power plants and the demands for improvement of working surroundings for older workers are summarized. The demands of 'better lighting', 'making things less heavy', and installation of an elevator' were correlated with age, indicating that younger people have a tendency not to notice these issues. Thus, if the authority deciding on improvements in working surroundings is not an older worker, it is especially important that lighting, the weights of objects to be moved, and methods of moving between floors is taken into account. Findings specific to nuclear power plants were also reported. For example, employees who worked in the non-radiation controlled area demanded the installation of air conditioning and those who worked in the radiation controlled area demanded the establishment of a rest area. Further, we have developed a guidebook entitled 'a guidebook supporting workers' cooperation among all generations' to promote cooperation between older and younger workers. (author)

Electrochemical reduction of oxygen catalyzed by a wide range of bacteria including Gram-positive

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cournet, Amandine [Universite de Toulouse, UPS, LU49, Adhesion Bacterienne et Formation de Biofilms, 35 chemin des Maraichers, 31 062 Toulouse cedex 09 (France); Laboratoire de Genie Chimique CNRS, Universite de Toulouse, 4 allee Emile Monso, BP 84234, 31432 Toulouse cedex 04 (France); Delia, Marie-Line; Bergel, Alain [Laboratoire de Genie Chimique CNRS, Universite de Toulouse, 4 allee Emile Monso, BP 84234, 31432 Toulouse cedex 04 (France); Roques, Christine; Berge, Mathieu [Universite de Toulouse, UPS, LU49, Adhesion Bacterienne et Formation de Biofilms, 35 chemin des Maraichers, 31 062 Toulouse cedex 09 (France)

2010-04-15

Most bacteria known to be electrochemically active have been harvested in the anodic compartments of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and are able to use electrodes as electron acceptors. The reverse phenomenon, i.e. using solid electrodes as electron donors, is not so widely studied. To our knowledge, most of the electrochemically active bacteria are Gram-negative. The present study implements a transitory electrochemical technique (cyclic voltammetry) to study the microbial catalysis of the electrochemical reduction of oxygen. It is demonstrated that a wide range of aerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria are able to catalyze oxygen reduction. Among these electroactive bacteria, several were Gram-positive. The transfer of electrons was direct since no activity was obtained with the filtrate. These findings, showing a widespread property among bacteria including Gram-positive ones, open new and interesting routes in the field of electroactive bacteria research. (author)

Experimental Investigation of Muon-Catalyzed $dt$ Fusion in Wide Ranges of $D/T$ Mixture Conditions

CERN Document Server

Bom, V R; Demin, D L; van Eijk, C W E; Faifman, M P; Filchenkov, V V; Golubkov, A N; Grafov, N N; Grishenchkin, S K; Gritsaj, K I; Klevtsov, V G; Konin, A D; Kuryakin, A V; Medved', S V; Musyaev, R K; Perevozchikov, V V; Rudenko, A I; Sadetsky, S M; Vinogradov, Yu I; Yukhimchuk, A A; Yukhimchuk, S A; Zinov, V G; Zlatoustovskii, S V

2004-01-01

A vast program of the experimental investigation of muon-catalyzed $dt$ fusion was performed at the JINR Phasotron. Parameters of the $dt$ cycle were obtained in a wide range of $D/T$ mixture conditions: temperatures of $20\\div 800$ K, densities of $0.2\\div1.2$ LHD and tritium concentrations of $15\\div 86\\%$. The results obtained are summarized.

The influence of the surrounding gas on drop impact onto a wet substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Deegan, Robert; Zhang, Li; Toole, Jameson

2011-11-01

The impact of a droplet with a wet or solid substrate creates a spray of secondary droplets. The effect of the surrounding gas on this process was widely neglected prior to the work of Xu, Zhang, & Nagel which showed that lowering the gas pressure suppresses splashing for impact with a dry solid substrate. Here we present the results of our experimental investigation of the effect of the surrounding gas on the evolution of splashes from a wet substrate. We varied the density and pressure of the surrounding gas. We find quantitative changes to the onset thresholds of splashing and on the size distribution of, but no qualitative changes. The effects are most pronounced on the evolution of the ejecta sheet.

Efficient Wide Range Converters (EWiRaC): A new family of high efficient AC-DC Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Lars; Andersen, Michael Andreas E.

2006-01-01

The performance in terms of efficiency of the existing power supplies used for PFC is very dependent on the input voltage range. The boost converter is the most commonly used PFC converter because of its simplicity and high efficiency. But, the boost converter as well as other known converters...... suffers a major penalty in efficiency when used at the low end of the voltage range (90VAC) in a universal voltage range application (90-270VAC). This paper addresses this problem by suggesting a new family of converters that effectively reduces the apparent voltage range with a factor of 2 by changing...... the converter topology according to the input voltage. This new converter type has been named: efficient wide range converter (EWiRaC). The performance of the EWiRaC is experimental verified in a universal input range (90-270VAC) application with an output voltage of 185VDC capable of 500W output power. The EWi...

Modelling plastic deformation of metals over a wide range of strain rates using irreversible thermodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Mingxin; Rivera-Diaz-del-Castillo, Pedro E J; Zwaag, Sybrand van der; Bouaziz, Olivier

2009-01-01

Based on the theory of irreversible thermodynamics, the present work proposes a dislocation-based model to describe the plastic deformation of FCC metals over wide ranges of strain rates. The stress-strain behaviour and the evolution of the average dislocation density are derived. It is found that there is a transitional strain rate (∼ 10 4 s -1 ) over which the phonon drag effects appear, resulting in a significant increase in the flow stress and the average dislocation density. The model is applied to pure Cu deformed at room temperature and at strain rates ranging from 10 -5 to 10 6 s -1 showing good agreement with experimental results.

Design and operation of the wide angular-range chopper spectrometer ARCS at the Spallation Neutron Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abernathy, D. L.; Stone, M. B.; Loguillo, M. J.; Lucas, M. S.; Delaire, O.; Tang, X.; Lin, J. Y. Y.; Fultz, B.

2012-01-01

The wide angular-range chopper spectrometer ARCS at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is optimized to provide a high neutron flux at the sample position with a large solid angle of detector coverage. The instrument incorporates modern neutron instrumentation, such as an elliptically focused neutron guide, high speed magnetic bearing choppers, and a massive array of 3 He linear position sensitive detectors. Novel features of the spectrometer include the use of a large gate valve between the sample and detector vacuum chambers and the placement of the detectors within the vacuum, both of which provide a window-free final flight path to minimize background scattering while allowing rapid changing of the sample and sample environment equipment. ARCS views the SNS decoupled ambient temperature water moderator, using neutrons with incident energy typically in the range from 15 to 1500 meV. This range, coupled with the large detector coverage, allows a wide variety of studies of excitations in condensed matter, such as lattice dynamics and magnetism, in both powder and single-crystal samples. Comparisons of early results to both analytical and Monte Carlo simulation of the instrument performance demonstrate that the instrument is operating as expected and its neutronic performance is understood. ARCS is currently in the SNS user program and continues to improve its scientific productivity by incorporating new instrumentation to increase the range of science covered and improve its effectiveness in data collection.

Climate driven range divergence among host species affects range-wide patterns of parasitism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard E. Feldman

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Species interactions like parasitism influence the outcome of climate-driven shifts in species ranges. For some host species, parasitism can only occur in that part of its range that overlaps with a second host species. Thus, predicting future parasitism may depend on how the ranges of the two hosts change in relation to each other. In this study, we tested whether the climate driven species range shift of Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer accounts for predicted changes in parasitism of two other species from the family Cervidae, Alces alces (moose and Rangifer tarandus (caribou, in North America. We used MaxEnt models to predict the recent (2000 and future (2050 ranges (probabilities of occurrence of the cervids and a parasite Parelaphostrongylus tenuis (brainworm taking into account range shifts of the parasite’s intermediate gastropod hosts. Our models predicted that range overlap between A. alces/R. tarandus and P. tenuis will decrease between 2000 and 2050, an outcome that reflects decreased overlap between A. alces/R. tarandus and O. virginianus and not the parasites, themselves. Geographically, our models predicted increasing potential occurrence of P. tenuis where A. alces/R. tarandus are likely to decline, but minimal spatial overlap where A. alces/R. tarandus are likely to increase. Thus, parasitism may exacerbate climate-mediated southern contraction of A. alces and R. tarandus ranges but will have limited influence on northward range expansion. Our results suggest that the spatial dynamics of one host species may be the driving force behind future rates of parasitism for another host species.

Gamma compensated pulsed ionization chamber wide range neutron/reactor power measurement system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellis, W.H.

1975-01-01

An improved method and system of pulsed mode operation of ionization chambers is described in which a single sensor system with gamma compensation is provided by sampling, squaring, automatic gate selector, and differential amplifier circuit means, employed in relation to chambers sensitized to neutron plus gamma and gamma only to subtract out the gamma component, wherein squaring functions circuits, a supplemental high performance pulse rate system, and operational and display mode selection and sampling gate circuits are utilized to provide automatic wide range linear measurement capability for neutron flux and reactor power. Neon is employed as an additive in the ionization chambers to provide independence of ionized gas kinetics temperature effects, and the pulsed mode of operation provide independence of high temperature insulator leakage effects. (auth)

Influence of Surrounding Colors in the Illuminant-Color Mode on Color Constancy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazuho Fukuda

2011-05-01

Full Text Available On color constancy, we showed that brighter surrounding colors had greater influence than dim colors (Uchikawa, Kitazawa, MacLeod, Fukuda, 2010 APCV. Increasing luminance of a stimulus causes the change in appearance from the surface-color to the illuminant-color mode. However it is unknown whether the visual system considers such color appearance mode of surrounding colors to achieve color constancy. We investigated the influence of surrounding colors that appeared illuminant on color constancy. The stimulus was composed of a central test stimulus and surrounding six colors: bright and dim red, green and blue. The observers adjusted the chromaticity of the test stimulus to be appeared as an achromatic surface. The luminance balance of three bright surrounding colors was equalized with that of the optimal colors in three illuminant conditions, then, the luminance of one of the three bright colors was varied in the range beyond the critical luminance of color appearance mode transition. The results showed that increasing luminance of a bright surrounding color shifted the observers' achromatic setting toward its chromaticity, but this effect diminished for the surrounding color in the illuminant-color mode. These results suggest that the visual system considers color appearance mode of surrounding colors to accomplish color constancy.

Continuous fast focusing in trapezoidal void channel based on bidirectional isotachophoresis in wide pH range

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Šťastná, Miroslava; Šlais, Karel

2015-01-01

Roč. 36, č. 20 (2015), s. 2579-2586 ISSN 0173-0835 R&D Projects: GA MV VG20112015021 Institutional support: RVO:68081715 Keywords : bidirectional isotachophoresis * trapezoidal void channel * wide pH range * proteins Subject RIV: CB - Analytical Chemistry, Separation Impact factor: 2.482, year: 2015 http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0250164

Regional deposition of nasal sprays in adults: A wide ranging computational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiaee, Milad; Wachtel, Herbert; Noga, Michelle L; Martin, Andrew R; Finlay, Warren H

2018-05-01

The present work examines regional deposition within the nose for nasal sprays over a large and wide ranging parameter space by using numerical simulation. A set of 7 realistic adult nasal airway geometries was defined based on computed tomography images. Deposition in 6 regions of each nasal airway geometry (the vestibule, valve, anterior turbinate, posterior turbinate, olfactory, and nasopharynx) was determined for varying particle diameter, spray cone angle, spray release direction, particle injection speed, and particle injection location. Penetration of nasal spray particles through the airway geometries represented unintended lung exposure. Penetration was found to be relatively insensitive to injection velocity, but highly sensitive to particle size. Penetration remained at or above 30% for particles exceeding 10 μm in diameter for several airway geometries studied. Deposition in the turbinates, viewed as desirable for both local and systemic nasal drug delivery, was on average maximized for particles ranging from ~20 to 30 μm in diameter, and for low to zero injection velocity. Similar values of particle diameter and injection velocity were found to maximize deposition in the olfactory region, a potential target for nose-to-brain drug delivery. However, olfactory deposition was highly variable between airway geometries, with maximum olfactory deposition ranging over 2 orders of magnitude between geometries. This variability is an obstacle to overcome if consistent dosing between subjects is to be achieved for nose-to-brain drug delivery. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Current Therapeutic Cannabis Controversies and Clinical Trial Design Issues

OpenAIRE

Russo, Ethan B.

2016-01-01

This overview covers a wide range of cannabis topics, initially examining issues in dispensaries and self-administration, plus regulatory requirements for production of cannabis-based medicines, particularly the Food and Drug Administration “Botanical Guidance.” The remainder pertains to various cannabis controversies that certainly require closer examination if the scientific, consumer, and governmental stakeholders are ever to reach consensus on safety issues, specifically: whether botanica...

Improved Models and Tools for Prediction of Radiation Effects on Space Electronics in Wide Temperature Range, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — All NASA exploration systems operate in the extreme environments of space and require reliable electronics capable of handling a wide temperature range (-180ºC to...

Ethical Issues Surrounding the Use of Modern Human Remains for Research in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Briers, N; Dempers, J J

2017-02-01

Chapter 8 of the South African National Health Act 61 of 2003 (NHA) that deals with the donation of human tissue was promulgated in 2012. The new Act is perceived to impose restrictions on low-risk research involving human remains. This study aimed to identify the issues raised by a research ethics committee (REC) when reviewing protocols where human remains are used as data source. REC minutes from 2009 to 2014 were reviewed, and issues raised by the committee were categorized. In total, 127 protocols submitted to the committee over 6 years involved human remains. Queries relating to science (22.2%) and administration (18.9%) were the most common, whereas queries relating to legal issues constituted only 10.2%. Ethical issues centered on informed consent regarding sensitive topics such as HIV, DNA, and deceased children. The change in legislation did not change the number or type of legal issues identified by the REC.

Geology and stratigraphy of the San Lorenzo Tezonco deep well and its correlation to surrounding ranges, Mexico Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Arce, J. L.; Layer, P. W.; Morales-Casique, E.; Benowitz, J.

2014-12-01

The San Lorenzo Tezonco deep well stratigraphy records intense episodic volcanic activity in the Mexico Basin and surroundings during the past 20 Ma. The 2008-m deep lithological column is dominated by volcanic material, either as lava flows or pyroclastic deposits (97%), and only the upper most 70 m are composed of lacustrine deposits (3%). Based on geochronology and geochemistry, the lower part of the drill core is represented by rocks correlating to the Tepoztlán Formation (876-2008 m deep) that vary in composition from basaltic-andesite to rhyolite, and ages ranging from 13 to 21.2 Ma. On the surface this formation outcrops near the towns of Malinalco and Tepoztlán, ~43 km south of the deep well. Between depths of 581 and 875 m, volcanic rocks were recovered and are interpreted as lavas from the Sierra de las Cruces that vary in composition from andesite to dacite and range in age from 0.9 Ma to 5 Ma. Additionally, we documented rocks belonging to the Xochitepec Formation, outcropping around Xochimilco, in the Mexico City, with ages ranging from 1.2 and 1.7 Ma, in contrast with the Oligocene age proposed in previous works for these rocks. These new ages plus the chemical composition data, allow us to correlate the Xochitepec rocks with Sierra de las Cruces. Upward in the drill core (510-580 m) there are andesitic rocks that correlate with the 0.25 Ma Cerro de la Estrella volcanic center. The last volcanic package found in the well is correlated to the Santa Catarina basaltic andesites (70-120 m) that are younger than 0.25 Ma, and probably Holocene. Lacustrine deposits crown the stratigraphic column of the drill core with ages probably younger than 34 ka. The San Lorenzo Tezonco well is in a graben-like structure that was filled with more than 1900 m of volcanic products, suggesting that volcanism were intense in the Miocene to the Recent, and the south drainage of the Mexico Basin was closed probably in the early Pleistocene.

Effects of Surrounding Information and Line Length on Text Comprehension from the Web

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jess McMullin

2002-02-01

Full Text Available The World Wide Web (Web is becoming a popular medium for transmission of information and online learning. We need to understand how people comprehend information from the Web to design Web sites that maximize the acquisition of information. We examined two features of Web page design that are easily modified by developers, namely line length and the amount of surrounding information, or whitespace. Undergraduate university student participants read text and answered comprehension questions on the Web. Comprehension was affected by whitespace; participants had better comprehension for information surrounded by whitespace than for information surrounded by meaningless information. Participants were not affected by line length. These findings demonstrate that reading from the Web is not the same as reading print and have implications for instructional Web design.

Stability diagrams for continuous wide-range control of two mutually delay-coupled semiconductor lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Junges, Leandro; Gallas, Jason A C

2015-01-01

The dynamics of two mutually delay-coupled semiconductor lasers has been frequently studied experimentally, numerically, and analytically either for weak or strong detuning between the lasers. Here, we present a systematic numerical investigation spanning all detuning ranges. We report high-resolution stability diagrams for wide ranges of the main control parameters of the laser, as described by the Lang–Kobayashi model. In particular, we detail the parameter influence on dynamical performance and map the distribution of chaotic pulsations and self-generated periodic spiking with arbitrary periodicity. Special attention is given to the unfolding of regular pulse packages for both symmetric and non-symmetric configurations with respect to detuning. The influence of the delay –time on the self-organization of periodic and chaotic laser phases as a function of the coupling and detuning is also described in detail. (paper)

/sup 210/Po in marine organisms: a wide range of natural radiation dose domains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carvalho, F P

1988-01-01

Marine biota is able to concentrate /sup 210/Po to high levels, as 10/sup 3/-10/sup 5/ relative to sea water concentration. /sup 210/Po concentrations in mixed zooplankton reaches 34-51 Bq.kg/sup -1/ (fresh wt), special groups such as copepods reaching even higher concentrations /similar to/ 90 Bq.kg/sup -1/, whereas gelatinous zooplankton display /similar to/ 1 Bq.kg/sup -1/. Epipelagic teleosts feeding on plankton displayed the highest concentrations found in fish muscle, 2-21 Bq.kg/sup -1/. Contrasting with this, demersal teleosts and elasmobranchs display lower /sup 210/Po concentrations, in the ranges 0.5-7 Bq.kg/sup -1/ and 0.2-1.7 Bq.kg/sup -1/, respectively. Much higher concentrations can, however, be measured in fish liver, gonad, bone and piloric caecca, and small mesopelagic fish can reach /similar to/ 800 Bq.kg/sup -1/ on a whole-body basis. Due to these /sup 210/Po activity concentrations, dose equivalent rates delivered to biological tissues in marine organisms can vary widely, from 0.4 mSv.y/sup -1/ in gelatinous plankton up to 5.6 x 10/sup 3/ mSv.y/sup -1/ in the gut wall of sardines. It is concluded that in organisms living in the same ocean layer a wide range of internal radiation doses exists and it is essentially sustained by /sup 210/Po food-chain transfer. (author).

101-SY Dome pressure issues surrounding mitigation pump decontamination during removal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaw, S.W.

1995-01-01

This document addresses issues related to use of the spraywands and ring used to decontaminate the mitigation pump installed in 101-SY. It has been determined that use of the wands will influence tank dome pressures as a function of ventilation system configuration, spray drop size, rinse water temperature, and rate at which spraywand flows are established

Transport properties of gaseous ions over a wide energy range. Part III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellis, H.W.; Thackston, M.G.; McDaniel, E.W.; Mason, E.A.

1984-01-01

This paper updates and extends in scope our two previous papers entitled ''Transport Properties of Gaseous Ions over a Wide Energy Range.'' The references to the earlier publications (referred to as ''Part I'' and ''Part II'') are I, H. W. Ellis, R. Y. Pai, E. W. McDonald, E. A. Mason, and L. A. Viehland, ATOMIC DATA AND NUCLEAR DATA TABLES 17, 177--210 (19876); and II, H. W. Ellis, E. W. McDaniel, D. L. Albritton, L. A. Veihland, S. L. Lin, and E. A. Mason, ATOMIC DATA AND NUCLEAR DATA TABLES 22, 179--217 (1978). Parts I and II contained compilations of experimental data on ionic mobilities and diffusion coefficients (both longitudinal and transverse) for ions in neutral gase (almost exclusively at room temperature) in an externally applied electric field

Time biases in laser ranging observations: A concerning issue of Space Geodesy

Science.gov (United States)

Exertier, Pierre; Belli, A.; Lemoine, J. M.

2017-09-01

Time transfer by Laser Ranging (LR) recently demonstrated a remarkable stability (a few ps over ∼1000 s) and accuracy (synchronizing both space and ground clocks over distances from a few thousands to tens of thousands kilometers. Given its potential role in navigation, fundamental physics and metrology, it is crucial that synergy between laser ranging and Time&Frequency (T/F) technologies improves to meet the present and future space geodesy requirements. In this article, we examine the behavior of T/F systems that are used in LR tracking stations of the international laser ranging service. The approach we investigate is to compute time synchronization between clocks used at LR stations using accurate data of the Time Transfer by Laser Link (T2L2) experiment onboard the satellite Jason-2 (Samain et al., 2014). Systematic time biases are estimated against the UTC time scale for a set of 22 observing stations in 2013, in the range of zero to a few μ s. Our results suggest that the ILRS network suffers from accuracy issues, due to time biases in the laser ranging observations. We discuss how these systematic effects impact the precise orbit determination of LAGEOS geodetic satellites over a 1-year analysis, and additionally give a measure of the local effect into station coordinates, regarding in particular the effect in the east-west component that is of 2-6 mm for a typical systematic time bias of one μ s.

Two wide-angle imaging neutral-atom spectrometers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McComas, D.J.

1997-12-31

The Two Wide-angle Imaging Neutral-atom Spectrometers (TWINS) mission provides a new capability for stereoscopically imaging the magnetosphere. By imaging the charge exchange neutral atoms over a broad energy range (1 < E , {approximately} 100 keV) using two identical instruments on two widely-spaced high-altitude, high-inclination spacecraft, TWINS will enable the 3-dimensional visualization and the resolution of large scale structures and dynamics within the magnetosphere for the first time. These observations will provide a leap ahead in the understanding of the global aspects of the terrestrial magnetosphere and directly address a number of critical issues in the ``Sun-Earth Connections`` science theme of the NASA Office of Space Science.

Two wide-angle imaging neutral-atom spectrometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McComas, D.J.

1997-01-01

The Two Wide-angle Imaging Neutral-atom Spectrometers (TWINS) mission provides a new capability for stereoscopically imaging the magnetosphere. By imaging the charge exchange neutral atoms over a broad energy range (1 < E , ∼ 100 keV) using two identical instruments on two widely-spaced high-altitude, high-inclination spacecraft, TWINS will enable the 3-dimensional visualization and the resolution of large scale structures and dynamics within the magnetosphere for the first time. These observations will provide a leap ahead in the understanding of the global aspects of the terrestrial magnetosphere and directly address a number of critical issues in the ''Sun-Earth Connections'' science theme of the NASA Office of Space Science

ISSUES OF COMPATIBILITY HUMAN RIGHTS AND ISLAM: The Experience of Egypt and Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sus Eko Ernada

2007-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the plurality of Muslim responses to the modern conce­p­tion of human rights, drawing in particular on Muslim interpretations of key human rights issues in the dis­cour­se of human rights and Islam -women’s rights, reli­gious free­dom and minority rights, and corporal punishment- in Egypt and Indonesia. The case stu­dies of Egypt and Indonesia point to wide range of responses among Muslims to these issues, but also suggest that Islam is not incompatible with the modern conception of human rights. This paper argues that on the issues of human rights, Muslims do not share a single, monolithic stance. Instead, there is a variety of arguments based on various Islamic schools of thought and Islamic reli­gious groups. As a result, the issues of human rights and their implementation have elicited a wide range of responses among Muslims.

Participatory heritage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This new book provides a wide range of international guidance and perspectives on the issues surrounding the preservation of local cultural heritage, ranging from formal cultural heritage institutions to individual community members in the associated processes of creation, organization, access, use...... and preservation. Participatory Heritage explores issues including, how to manage copyright, ownership, orphan works, open data access to heritage representations and artefacts, crowdsourcing, cultural heritage amateurs, information as a commodity or information as public domain, sustainable preservation...

System Wide Information Management (SWIM)

Science.gov (United States)

Hritz, Mike; McGowan, Shirley; Ramos, Cal

2004-01-01

This viewgraph presentation lists questions regarding the implementation of System Wide Information Management (SWIM). Some of the questions concern policy issues and strategies, technology issues and strategies, or transition issues and strategies.

Handling long timescales: approaches and issues in the context of geological disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preter, P. de; Smith, P.; Voinis, S.

2005-01-01

Geologic repositories are sited, designed and operated to protect humans and the environment from the hazards associated with radioactive waste. Most challengingly, they are required to provide protection after their closure and over timescales that are considerably in excess of those commonly considered in most engineering projects, often up to several thousand or even a million years. This requirement is laid down in international guidance and in many national regulations. Various processes and events will drive the evolution of a repository and its environment, and hence could affect the containment and lead to possible release of radioactive substances from the repository and their migration to the surface. These processes and events are characterised by timescales ranging from a few tens or hundreds of years for transient processes associated with, for example, the re-saturation of the repository and its immediate surroundings following closure, to perhaps millions of years for changes in the geological environment. Safety assessments must consider consequences of releases of radioactive substances and verify that targets set by regulation are complied with. In order to evaluate compliance with dose or risk criteria, assumptions must be made regarding the habits of potentially exposed groups (e.g., diet, lifestyle and land use), and these may change over timescales of just a few years. The need to deal with such a wide range of timescales gives rise to a range of issues related to the methods and presentation of safety assessments and of safety cases. (author)

Development of a Piezoelectric Vacuum Sensing Component for a Wide Pressure Range

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bing-Yu Wang

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In this study, we develop a clamped–clamped beam-type piezoelectric vacuum pressure sensing element. The clamped–clamped piezoelectric beam is composed of a PZT layer and a copper substrate. A pair of electrodes is set near each end. An input voltage is applied to a pair of electrodes to vibrate the piezoelectric beam, and the output voltage is measured at the other pair. Because the viscous forces on the piezoelectric beam vary at different air pressures, the vibration of the beam depends on the vacuum pressure. The developed pressure sensor can sense a wide range of pressure, from 6.5 × 10−6 to 760 Torr. The experimental results showed that the output voltage is inversely proportional to the gas damping ratio, and thus, the vacuum pressure was estimated from the output voltage.

Intelligibility and Clarity of Reverberant Speech: Effects of Wide Dynamic Range Compression Release Time and Working Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Reinhart, Paul N.; Souza, Pamela E.

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of varying wide dynamic range compression (WDRC) release time on intelligibility and clarity of reverberant speech. The study also considered the role of individual working memory. Method: Thirty older listeners with mild to moderately-severe sloping sensorineural hearing loss…

Logistic regression accuracy across different spatial and temporal scales for a wide-ranging species, the marbled murrelet

Science.gov (United States)

Carolyn B. Meyer; Sherri L. Miller; C. John Ralph

2004-01-01

The scale at which habitat variables are measured affects the accuracy of resource selection functions in predicting animal use of sites. We used logistic regression models for a wide-ranging species, the marbled murrelet, (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in a large region in California to address how much changing the spatial or temporal scale of...

Integrating stakeholders' issues and concerns into Nirex's technical research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atherton, Elisabeth

2004-01-01

This note outlines some of the activities that Nirex has undertaken to try and integrate stakeholders' issues and concerns into the technical research we have undertaken and how we are attempting to address their issues. Nirex arranges a range of dialogue activities including workshops, meetings, interviews and focus groups with a wide range of stakeholders. These events are coordinated under what is called the Nirex Involvement Programme. The feedback and inputs we have received at these events have been used to influence the work that we undertake. Nirex's interactions with stakeholders, particularly members of the public and local councillors in the aftermath of losing the 1997 rock characterisation facility public inquiry at Sellafield, has been fundamental to changing our whole approach. We are now trying to understand people's issues and recognising that Nirex is accountable to a wide constituency of stakeholders, but particularly the general public and their elected representatives. It has also enabled Nirex to attempt to integrate people's issues and concerns into its work programmes. Specific examples of where stakeholders' issues have impacted on the technical work Nirex undertakes are outlined. (author)

Parametrization of the average ionization and radiative cooling rates of carbon plasmas in a wide range of density and temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gil, J.M.; Rodriguez, R.; Florido, R.; Rubiano, J.G.; Mendoza, M.A.; Nuez, A. de la; Espinosa, G.; Martel, P.; Minguez, E.

2013-01-01

In this work we present an analysis of the influence of the thermodynamic regime on the monochromatic emissivity, the radiative power loss and the radiative cooling rate for optically thin carbon plasmas over a wide range of electron temperature and density assuming steady state situations. Furthermore, we propose analytical expressions depending on the electron density and temperature for the average ionization and cooling rate based on polynomial fittings which are valid for the whole range of plasma conditions considered in this work. -- Highlights: ► We compute the average ionization, cooling rates and emissivities of carbon plasmas. ► We compare LTE and NLTE calculations of these magnitudes. ► We perform a parametrization of these magnitudes in a wide range of plasma conditions. ► We provide information about where LTE regime assumption is accurate

Study of the wide area of a lake with remote sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Lazaridou, Maria A.; Karagianni, Aikaterini C.

2016-08-01

Water bodies are particularly important for environment and development issues. Their study requires multiple information. Remote sensing has been proven useful in the above study. This paper concerns the wide area of Lake Orestiada in the region of Western Macedonia in Greece. The area is of particular interest because Lake Orestiada is included in the Natura 2000 network and is surrounded by diverse landcovers as built up areas and agricultural land. Multispectral and thermal Landsat 5 satellite images of two time periods are being used. Their processing is being done by Erdas Imagine software. The general physiognomy of the area and the lake shore are examined after image enhancement techniques and image interpretation. Directions of the study concern geomorphological aspects, land covers, estimation of surface temperature as well as changes through time.

Inferentialism in mathematics education : introduction to a special issue

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bakker, Arthur; Hußmann, Stephan

2017-01-01

Inferentialism, as developed by the philosopher Robert Brandom (1994, 2000), is a theory of meaning. The theory has wide-ranging implications in various fields but this special issue concentrates on the use and content of concepts. The key idea, relevant to mathematics education research, is that

Diversity in Information Technology Education: Issues and Controversies

Science.gov (United States)

Trajkovski, Goran, Ed.

2006-01-01

"Diversity in Information Technology Education: Issues and Controversies" sheds light on the status of diversity in the field of IT education. It identifies a wide range of problems that educators face on a daily basis, and gives practical, applicable solutions, mainly by showcasing successful and replicable examples. The chapters in "Diversity in…

Determining the bounds of skilful forecast range for probabilistic prediction of system-wide wind power generation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dirk Cannon

2017-06-01

Full Text Available State-of-the-art wind power forecasts beyond a few hours ahead rely on global numerical weather prediction models to forecast the future large-scale atmospheric state. Often they provide initial and boundary conditions for nested high resolution simulations. In this paper, both upper and lower bounds on forecast range are identified within which global ensemble forecasts provide skilful information for system-wide wind power applications. An upper bound on forecast range is associated with the limit of predictability, beyond which forecasts have no more skill than predictions based on climatological statistics. A lower bound is defined at the lead time beyond which the resolved uncertainty associated with estimating the future large-scale atmospheric state is larger than the unresolved uncertainty associated with estimating the system-wide wind power response to a given large-scale state.The bounds of skilful ensemble forecast range are quantified for three leading global forecast systems. The power system of Great Britain (GB is used as an example because independent verifying data is available from National Grid. The upper bound defined by forecasts of GB-total wind power generation at a specific point in time is found to be 6–8 days. The lower bound is found to be 1.4–2.4 days. Both bounds depend on the global forecast system and vary seasonally. In addition, forecasts of the probability of an extreme power ramp event were found to possess a shorter limit of predictability (4.5–5.5 days. The upper bound on this forecast range can only be extended by improving the global forecast system (outside the control of most users or by changing the metric used in the probability forecast. Improved downscaling and microscale modelling of the wind farm response may act to decrease the lower bound. The potential gain from such improvements have diminishing returns beyond the short-range (out to around 2 days.

Practical Wide-speed-range Sensorless Control System for Permanent Magnet Reluctance Synchronous Motor Drives via Active Flux Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ancuti, Mihaela Codruta; Tutelea, Lucian; Andreescu, Gheorghe-Daniel

2014-01-01

This article introduces a control strategy to obtain near-maximum available torque in a wide speed range with sensorless operation via the active flux concept for permanent magnet-reluctance synchronous motor drives. A new torque dq current reference calculator is proposed, with reference torque...

Regulatory issues and assumptions associated with barriers in the vadose zone surrounding buried waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siskind, B.; Heiser, J.

1993-02-01

One of the options for control of contaminant migration from buried waste sites is the construction of a subsurface barrier that consists of a wall of low permeability material. The barrier material should be compatible with soil and waste conditions specific to the site and have as low an effective diffusivity as is reasonably achievable to minimize or inhibit transport of moisture and contaminants. This report addresses the regulatory issues associated with the use of non-traditional organic polymer barriers as well as the use of soil-bentonite or cement-bentonite mixtures for such barriers, considering barriers constructed from these latter materials to be a regulatory baseline. The regulatory issues fall into two categories. The first category consists of issues associated with the acceptability of such barriers to the EPA as a method for achieving site or performanceimprovement. The second category encompasses those regulatory issues concerning health, safety and the environment which must be addressed regarding barrier installation and performance, especially if non-traditional materials are to be used

A wide-range embrittlement trend curve for western RPV steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirk, M.T.

2011-01-01

Embrittlement trend curves (ETCs) are used to estimate neutron irradiation embrittlement as a function of both exposure (fluence, flux, temperature, ...) and composition variables. ETCs provide information needed to assess the structural integrity of operating nuclear reactors, and to determine their suitability for continued safe operation. Past efforts on ETC development in the United States have used data drawn from domestic licensees. While this approach has addressed past needs well, future needs such as power up-rates, license extensions to 60 years and beyond, and the use of low copper materials in new reactors produce future operating conditions for the US reactor fleet that may differ from past experience, suggesting that data from sources other than licensee surveillance programs may be needed. In this paper we draw together embrittlement data expressed in terms of ΔT41J and ΔYS from a wide variety of data sources as a first step in examining future embrittlement trends. We develop a 'wide range' ETC based on a collection of over 2500 data. We assess how well this ETC models the whole database, as well as significant data subsets. Comparisons presented herein indicate that a single algebraic model, denoted WR-C(5), represents reasonably well both the trends evident in the data overall as well as trends exhibited by four special data subsets. The WR-C(5) model indicates the existence of trends in high fluence data (Φ > 2-3*10 19 n/cm 2 , E > 1 MeV) that are not as apparent in the US surveillance data due to the limited quantity of ΔT30 data measured at high fluence in this dataset. Additionally, WR-C(5) models well the trends in both test and power reactor data despite the fact it has not term to account for flux. It is suggested that one appropriate use of the WR-C(5) trend curve may include the design irradiation studies to validate or refute the findings presented herein. Additionally, WR-C(5) could be used, along with other information (e.g., other

Generating debate on issues surrounding the venting of containment in the event of LOCA to ensure an optimised safe outcome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chadwick, Chris; Jahouel, Xavier; Swain, Adam

2014-01-01

Following the incidents at the Japanese Fukushima Nuclear facility, when three units experienced LOCA, the consequences of those events have caused ripples across the world. Regulators around the world are examining the need to prevent excessive pressurisation of NPP Containment, and safely evacuate the gaseous consequences of LOCA, there is a need to return to fundamental principles and examine each putative set of data derived from the various models describing the consequence of LOCA and other events, a LOCA being a 'Loss Of Coolant Accident', and represents the outcome from a range of incidents ranging from fuel pellets being exposed to cooling (heat exchange) water, to a complete melt down of the fuel load with consequence evaporation of the concrete structures of the reactor containment buildings. Clearly it would be highly desirable in both economic and safety terms to minimise the external impact of these events inside the containment. Since one of the results of a LOCA is the pressurisation of the internal space of the containment building, regulators and the industry are looking at the mandatory installation of suitable vent systems to vent the pressure building up inside the containment, whilst ensuring the minimum impact on the surrounding environment. This is clearly a filtration/separation/recombination issue, and as an expert engineering company in the nuclear industry, Porvair has concerns that the issues of Containment Venting are not being addressed by expert filter companies, but by expert nuclear engineering companies with only a superficial knowledge of the complexities and nuances on filtration processes. The paper will describe in depth and detail the individual consequences of each particular aspect of the modelled data. Looking at flowing conditions (pressure, temperature, gas constituents including water vapour and Caesium and Iodine compounds), vent pressure philosophy, deposition of solids (size, type and quantity), decay heat

A wide dynamic range BF3 neutron monitor with front-end electronics based on a logarithmic amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrarini, M.; Varoli, V.; Favalli, A.; Caresana, M.; Pedersen, B.

2010-01-01

This paper describes a wide dynamic range neutron monitor based on a BF 3 neutron detector. The detector is used in current mode, and front-end electronics based on a logarithmic amplifier are used in order to have a measurement capability ranging over many orders of magnitude. The system has been calibrated at the Polytechnic of Milan, CESNEF, with an AmBe neutron source, and has been tested in a pulsed field at the PUNITA facility at JRC, Ispra. The detector has achieved a dynamic range of over 6 orders of magnitude, being able to measure single neutron pulses and showing saturation-free response for a reaction rate up to 10 6 s -1 . It has also proved effective in measuring the PUNITA facility pulse integral fluence.

Fast negative feedback enables mammalian auditory nerve fibers to encode a wide dynamic range of sound intensities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Ospeck

Full Text Available Mammalian auditory nerve fibers (ANF are remarkable for being able to encode a 40 dB, or hundred fold, range of sound pressure levels into their firing rate. Most of the fibers are very sensitive and raise their quiescent spike rate by a small amount for a faint sound at auditory threshold. Then as the sound intensity is increased, they slowly increase their spike rate, with some fibers going up as high as ∼300 Hz. In this way mammals are able to combine sensitivity and wide dynamic range. They are also able to discern sounds embedded within background noise. ANF receive efferent feedback, which suggests that the fibers are readjusted according to the background noise in order to maximize the information content of their auditory spike trains. Inner hair cells activate currents in the unmyelinated distal dendrites of ANF where sound intensity is rate-coded into action potentials. We model this spike generator compartment as an attenuator that employs fast negative feedback. Input current induces rapid and proportional leak currents. This way ANF are able to have a linear frequency to input current (f-I curve that has a wide dynamic range. The ANF spike generator remains very sensitive to threshold currents, but efferent feedback is able to lower its gain in response to noise.

Tribological behavior and self-healing functionality of TiNbCN-Ag coatings in wide temperature range

Science.gov (United States)

Bondarev, A. V.; Kiryukhantsev-Korneev, Ph. V.; Levashov, E. A.; Shtansky, D. V.

2017-02-01

Ag- and Nb-doped TiCN coatings with about 2 at.% of Nb and Ag contents varied between 4.0 and 15.1 at.% were designed as promising materials for tribological applications in a wide temperature range. We report on the structure, mechanical, and tribological properties of TiNbCN-Ag coatings fabricated by simultaneous co-sputtering of TiC0.5 + 10%Nb2C and Ag targets in comparison with those of Ag-free coating. The tribological characteristics were evaluated during constant-temperature tests both at room temperature and 300 °C, as well as during dynamic temperature ramp tests in the range of 25-700 °C. The coating structure and elemental composition were studied by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy. The coating microstructures and elemental compositions inside wear tracks, as well as the wear products, were examined by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. We demonstrate that simultaneous alloying with Nb and Ag permits to overcome the main drawbacks of TiCN coatings such as their relatively high values of friction coefficient at elevated temperatures and low oxidation resistance. It is shown that a relatively high amount of Ag (15 at.%) is required to provide enhanced tribological behavior in a wide temperature range of 25-700 °C. In addition, the prepared Ag-doped coatings demonstrated active oxidation protection and self-healing functionality due to the segregation of Ag metallic particles in damage areas such as cracks, pin-holes, or oxidation sites.

A wide range and highly sensitive optical fiber pH sensor using polyacrylamide hydrogel

Science.gov (United States)

Pathak, Akhilesh Kumar; Singh, Vinod Kumar

2017-12-01

In the present study we report the fabrication and characterization of no-core fiber sensor (NCFS) using smart hydrogel coating for pH measurement. The no-core fiber (NCF) is stubbed between two single-mode fibers with SMA connector before immobilizing of smart hydrogel. The wavelength interrogation technique is used to calculate the sensitivity of the proposed sensor. The result shows a high sensitivity of 1.94 nm/pH for a wide range of pH values varied from 3 to 10 with a good linear response. In addition to high sensitivity, the fabricated sensor provides a fast response time with a good stability, repeatability and reproducibility.

A liquid crystalline medium for measuring residual dipolar couplings over a wide range of temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Hong; Eberstadt, Matthias; Olejniczak, Edward T.; Meadows, Robert P.; Fesik, Stephen W. [Abbott Laboratories (United States)

1998-10-15

A mixture of dilauroyl phosphatidylcholine (DLPC) and 3-(cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio-2-hydroxyl-1-propane sulfonate (CHAPSO) in water forms disc shaped bicelles that become ordered at high magnetic fields over a wide range of temperatures. As illustrated for the FK506 binding protein (FKBP), large residual dipolar couplings can be measured for proteins dissolved in low concentrations (5% w/v) of a DLPC/CHAPSO medium at a molar ratio of 4.2:1. This system is especially useful for measuring residual dipolar couplings for molecules that are only stable at low temperatures.

International Policy Framework for Protecting Critical Information Infrastructure: A Discussion Paper Outlining Key Policy Issues

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brown, B.; Goetz, E.; Verhoest, P.; Helmus, S.; Luiijf, H.A.M.; Bruce, R.; Dynes, S.; Brechbuhl, H.

2005-01-01

Cyber security is a uniquely challenging policy issue with a wide range of public and private stakeholders within countries and beyond national boundaries. This executive summary and the full discussion paper delineate the need on a high priority basis to address cyber security issues and develop an

Novel Cross-Type Network for Wide-Tuning-Range Reconfigurable Multiband Antennas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chieh-Sen Lee

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a cross-type network design with a novel reconfigurable functionality to realize a tunable multiband antenna. By attaching a reconfigurable network at the feeding port of a broadband antenna, multi-input impedance adjustment enables the production of multimatching operating bands. Each band can be independently controlled by a single component with a considerably wide tuning range and high selectivity. The experiments in this study involved using an ultra-wideband (UWB antenna connected to the proposed cross-type network. The tunable antenna operates in a dual band of fL (1.39 to 2.34 GHz and fH (2.1 to 3.6 GHz with tunable frequency ratios of 168% and 132%, respectively. The average bandwidths at fL and fH are approximately 50 MHz and 148 MHz, respectively, implying narrowband operation. The measured radiation pattern revealed that the tunable antenna exhibits a nearly omnidirectional radiation pattern at both 1.8 and 3.5 GHz. The network circuit architecture can be extended to the multiband function type by adopting this matching approach. The amount of shunt matches determines the number of operation bands.

Impedance function study for cylindrical tanks surrounded by an earthen embankment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houston, T.W.; Mertz, G.E.

1995-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) operates many which are used to store radioactive waste material. The original design of the tanks was often based on criteria which did not meet current seismic codes. As a result DOE is undertaking a comprehensive review of the adequacy of these structures to meet current seismic standards. This comprehensive review includes an evaluation of soil-structure interaction. One method available for performing soil structure interaction analyses of structures couples a discrete model of the structure to a lumped parameter model of the soil. This method requires the knowledge of the expected dynamic stiffness and damping functions of the rigid, massless structure resting on the soil. These are commonly referred to as the impedance functions. Lumped parameter analysis is cost effective for the surface and embedded structure cases where impedance functions are available in the literature. For a complex case with the structure located on the surface surrounded by an embankment, the impedance functions must be established prior to using a lumped parameter model approach. The present paper describes the development of horizontal impedance functions for the structure surrounded by an embankment which are developed using a finite element approach as implemented by SASSI. Impedance functions for vertical, torsional, and rocking degrees of freedom can be developed in a similar manner. These functions are easily incorporated into simple models which provide conceptual and physical insight to the response of structures. These models provide both a check of more sophisticated methods, and, due to their simplicity, permit assessment of a wide range of site and structural parameters that my affect the dynamic response of structural systems

Development of a wide range vortex shedding flowmeter for high temperature helium gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, S.P.; Ennis, R.M. Jr.; Herndon, P.G.

1981-07-01

A flowmeter was required to measure recirculating helium gas flow over a wide range of conditions in a gas-cooled fast reactor (GCFR) core flow simulator, the ORNL Core Flow Test Loop (CFTL). The flow measurement requirements of the CFTL exceeded the proven performance of any single conventional flowmeter. Therefore, a special purpose vortex shedding flowmeter (VSFM) was developed. A single flowmeter capable of meeting all the CFTL requirements would provide significant economic and performance advantages in the operation of the loop. The development, conceptual design, and final design of a modified VSFM are described. The results of extensive flow calibration of the flowmeter at the Colorado Engineering Experiment Station (CEES) are presented. The report closes with recommendations for application of the VSFM to the CFTL and for future development work.

Smart Surroundings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Havinga, Paul J.M.; Jansen, P.G.; Lijding, M.E.M.; Scholten, Johan

2004-01-01

Ambient systems are networked embedded systems integrated with everyday environments and supporting people in their activities. These systems will create a Smart Surrounding for people to facilitate and enrich daily life and increase productivity at work. Such systems will be quite different from

A Matrix-Based Structure for Vario-Scale Vector Representation over a Wide Range of Map Scales : The Case of River Network Data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huang, L.; Ai, Tinghua; van Oosterom, P.J.M.; Yan, Xiongfeng; Yang, Min

2017-01-01

The representation of vector data at variable scales has been widely applied in geographic information systems and map-based services. When the scale changes across a wide range, a complex generalization that involves multiple operations is required to transform the data. To present such complex

Structure and ionic conductivity of block copolymer electrolytes over a wide salt concentration range

Science.gov (United States)

Chintapalli, Mahati; Le, Thao; Venkatesan, Naveen; Thelen, Jacob; Rojas, Adriana; Balsara, Nitash

Block copolymer electrolytes are promising materials for safe, long-lasting lithium batteries because of their favorable mechanical and ion transport properties. The morphology, phase behavior, and ionic conductivity of a block copolymer electrolyte, SEO mixed with LiTFSI was studied over a wide, previously unexplored salt concentration range using small angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry and ac impedance spectroscopy, respectively. SEO exhibits a maximum in ionic conductivity at twice the salt concentration that PEO, the homopolymer analog of the ion-containing block, does. This finding is contrary to prior studies that examined a more limited range of salt concentrations. In SEO, the phase behavior of the PEO block and LiTFSI closely resembles the phase behavior of homopolymer PEO and LiTFSI. The grain size of the block copolymer morphology was found to decrease with increasing salt concentration, and the ionic conductivity of SEO correlates with decreasing grain size. Structural effects impact the ionic conductivity-salt concentration relationship in block copolymer electrolytes. SEO: polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide); also PS-PEO LiTFSI: lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl imide

A Wide-Range Tunable Level-Keeper Using Vertical Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors for Current-Reuse Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Tanoi, Satoru; Endoh, Tetsuo

2012-04-01

A wide-range tunable level-keeper using vertical metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) is proposed for current-reuse analog systems. The design keys for widening tunable range of the operation are a two-path feed-back and a vertical MOSFET with back-bias-effect free. The proposed circuit with the vertical MOSFETs shows the 1.23-V tunable-range of the input level with the 2.4-V internal-supply voltage (VDD) in the simulation. This tunable-range of the proposed circuit is 4.7 times wider than that of the conventional. The achieved current efficiency of the proposed level-keeper is 66% at the 1.2-V output with the 2.4-V VDD. This efficiency of the proposed circuit is twice higher than that of the traditional voltage down converter.

Information consumerism on the World Wide Web: implications for dermatologists and patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Travers, Robin L

2002-09-01

The World Wide Web (WWW) is continuing to grow exponentially both in terms of numbers of users and numbers of web pages. There is a trend toward the increasing use of the WWW for medical educational purposes, both among physicians and patients alike. The multimedia capabilities of this evolving medium are particularly relevant to visual medical specialties such as dermatology. The origins of information consumerism on the WWW are examined, and the public health issues surrounding dermatologic information and misinformation, and how consumers navigate through the WWW are reviewed. The economic realities of medical information as a "capital good," and the impact this has on dermatologic information sources on the WWW are also discussed.Finally, strategies for guiding consumers and ourselves toward credible medical information sources on the WWW are outlined.

Characterization of motor units in behaving adult mice shows a wide primary range.

Science.gov (United States)

Ritter, Laura K; Tresch, Matthew C; Heckman, C J; Manuel, Marin; Tysseling, Vicki M

2014-08-01

The mouse is essential for genetic studies of motor function in both normal and pathological states. Thus it is important to consider whether the structure of motor output from the mouse is in fact analogous to that recorded in other animals. There is a striking difference in the basic electrical properties of mouse motoneurons compared with those in rats, cats, and humans. The firing evoked by injected currents produces a unique frequency-current (F-I) function that emphasizes recruitment of motor units at their maximum force. These F-I functions, however, were measured in anesthetized preparations that lacked two key components of normal synaptic input: high levels of synaptic noise and neuromodulatory inputs. Recent studies suggest that the alterations in the F-I function due to these two components are essential for recreating firing behavior of motor units in human subjects. In this study we provide the first data on firing patterns of motor units in the awake mouse, focusing on steady output in quiet stance. The resulting firing patterns did not match the predictions from the mouse F-I behaviors but instead revealed rate modulation across a remarkably wide range (10-60 Hz). The low end of the firing range may be due to changes in the F-I relation induced by synaptic noise and neuromodulatory inputs. The high end of the range may indicate that, unlike other species, quiet standing in the mouse involves recruitment of relatively fast-twitch motor units. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

Issues relating to airborne applications of HTS SQUIDs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foley, C P; Leslie, K E; Binks, R A; Lam, S H K; Du, J; Tilbrook, D L; Mitchell, E E; Macfarlane, J C; Lee, J B; Turner, R; Downey, M; Maddever, A

2002-01-01

Airborne application of HTS SQUIDs is the most difficult environment for their successful deployment. In order to operate with the sensitivity required for a particular application, there are many issues to be addressed such as the need for very wide dynamic range electronics, motion noise elimination, immunity to large changing magnetic fields and cultural noise sources. This paper reviews what is necessary to achieve an airborne system giving examples in geophysical mineral exploration. It will consider issues relating to device design and fabrication, electronics, dewar design, suspension system requirements and noise elimination methods

Issues relating to airborne applications of HTS SQUIDs

CERN Document Server

Foley, C P; Binks, R A; Lam, S H K; Du, J; Tilbrook, D L; Mitchell, E E; MacFarlane, J C; Lee, J B; Turner, R; Downey, M; Maddever, A

2002-01-01

Airborne application of HTS SQUIDs is the most difficult environment for their successful deployment. In order to operate with the sensitivity required for a particular application, there are many issues to be addressed such as the need for very wide dynamic range electronics, motion noise elimination, immunity to large changing magnetic fields and cultural noise sources. This paper reviews what is necessary to achieve an airborne system giving examples in geophysical mineral exploration. It will consider issues relating to device design and fabrication, electronics, dewar design, suspension system requirements and noise elimination methods.

Subdigital setae of chameleon feet: friction-enhancing microstructures for a wide range of substrate roughness.

Science.gov (United States)

Spinner, Marlene; Westhoff, Guido; Gorb, Stanislav N

2014-06-27

Hairy adhesive systems of microscopic setae with triangular flattened tips have evolved convergently in spiders, insects and arboreal lizards. The ventral sides of the feet and tails in chameleons are also covered with setae. However, chameleon setae feature strongly elongated narrow spatulae or fibrous tips. The friction enhancing function of these microstructures has so far only been demonstrated in contact with glass spheres. In the present study, the frictional properties of subdigital setae of Chamaeleo calyptratus were measured under normal forces in the physical range on plane substrates having different roughness. We showed that chameleon setae maximize friction on a wide range of substrate roughness. The highest friction was measured on asperities of 1 μm. However, our observations of the climbing ability of Ch. calyptratus on rods of different diameters revealed that also claws and grasping feet are additionally responsible for the force generation on various substrates during locomotion.

Surrogate runner model for draft tube losses computation within a wide range of operating points

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Susan-Resiga, R; Ciocan, T; Muntean, S; De Colombel, T; Leroy, P

2014-01-01

We introduce a quasi two-dimensional (Q2D) methodology for assessing the swirling flow exiting the runner of hydraulic turbines at arbitrary operating points, within a wide operating range. The Q2D model does not need actual runner computations, and as a result it represents a surrogate runner model for a-priori assessment of the swirling flow ingested by the draft tube. The axial, radial and circumferential velocity components are computed on a conical section located immediately downstream the runner blades trailing edge, then used as inlet conditions for regular draft tube computations. The main advantage of our model is that it allows the determination of the draft tube losses within the intended turbine operating range in the early design stages of a new or refurbished runner, thus providing a robust and systematic methodology to meet the optimal requirements for the flow at the runner outlet

Particle identification in a wide dynamic range based on pulse-shape analysis with solid-state detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pausch, G.; Hilscher, D.; Ortlepp, H.G.

1994-04-01

Heavy ions detected in a planar silicon detector were identified by exploiting a recently proposed combination of the pulse-shape and the time-of-flight techniques. We were able to resolve charge numbers up to Z = 16 within a wide dynamic range of ∼ 1:5, and to identify even isotopes for the elements up to Magnesium. The simple scheme of signal processing is based on conventional electronics and cheap enough to be exploited in large multidetector arrays. (orig.)

Radiation-Hardening of Best-In-Class SiGe Mixed-Signal and RF Electronics for Ultra-Wide Temperature Range, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Innovative, reliable, low-power, and low-noise electronics that can operate over a wide temperature range and high radiation are critical for future NASA missions....

Wide-spectral/dynamic-range skin-compatible phototransistors enabled by floated heterojunction structures with surface functionalized SWCNTs and amorphous oxide semiconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Insik; Kim, Jaehyun; Lee, Minkyung; Lee, Min-Wook; Kim, Hee-Joong; Kwon, Hyuck-In; Hwang, Do Kyung; Kim, Myunggil; Yoon, Haeyoung; Kim, Yong-Hoon; Park, Sung Kyu

2017-11-09

Purified semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (sc-SWCNTs) have been researched for optoelectronic applications due to their high absorption coefficient from the visible to even the near-infrared (NIR) region. Nevertheless, the insufficient electrical characteristics and incompatibility with conventional CMOS processing have limited their wide utilization in this emerging field. Here, we demonstrate highly detective and wide spectral/dynamic range phototransistors incorporating floated heterojunction active layers which are composed of low-temperature sol-gel processed n-type amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) stacked with a purified p-type sc-SWCNT layer. To achieve a high and broad spectral/dynamic range photo-response of the heterogeneous transistors, photochemically functionalized sc-SWCNT layers were carefully implemented onto the a-IGZO channel area with a floating p-n heterojunction active layer, resulting in the suppression of parasitic charge leakage and good bias driven opto-electrical properties. The highest photosensitivity (R) of 9.6 × 10 2 A W -1 and a photodetectivity (D*) of 4 × 10 14 Jones along with a dynamic range of 100-180 dB were achieved for our phototransistor in the spectral range of 400-780 nm including continuous and minimal frequency independent behaviors. More importantly, to demonstrate the diverse application of the ultra-flexible hybrid photosensor platform as skin compatible electronics, the sc-SWCNT/a-IGZO phototransistors were fabricated on an ultra-thin (∼1 μm) polyimide film along with a severe static and dynamic electro-mechanical test. The skin-like phototransistors showed excellent mechanical stability such as sustainable good electrical performance and high photosensitivity in a wide dynamic range without any visible cracks or damage and little noise interference after being rolled-up on the 150 μm-thick optical fiber as well as more than 1000 times cycling.

Recommended methods for range-wide monitoring of prairie dogs in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Lyman L.; Stanley, Thomas R.; Otis, David L.; Biggins, Dean E.; Stevens, Patricia D.; Koprowski, John L.; Ballard, Warren

2011-01-01

One of the greatest challenges for conserving grassland, prairie scrub, and shrub-steppe ecosystems is maintaining prairie dog populations across the landscape. Of the four species of prairie dogs found in the United States, the Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens) is listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as threatened, the Gunnison's prairie dog (C. gunnisoni) is a candidate for listing in a portion of its range, and the black-tailed prairie dog (C. ludovicianus) and white-tailed prairie dog (C. leucurus) have each been petitioned for listing at least once in recent history. Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) determined listing is not warranted for either the black-tailed prairie dog or white-tailed prairie dog, the petitions and associated reviews demonstrated the need for the States to monitor and manage for self-sustaining populations. In response to these findings, a multi-State conservation effort was initiated for the nonlisted species which included the following proposed actions: (1) completing an assessment of each prairie dog species in each State, (2) developing a range-wide monitoring protocol for each species using a statistically valid sampling procedure that would allow comparable analyses across States, and (3) monitoring prairie dog status every 3-5 years depending upon the species. To date, each State has completed an assessment and currently is monitoring prairie dog status; however, for some species, the inconsistency in survey methodology has made it difficult to compare data year-to-year or State-to-State. At the Prairie Dog Conservation Team meeting held in November 2008, there was discussion regarding the use of different methods to survey prairie dogs. A recommendation from this meeting was to convene a panel in a workshop-type forum and have the panel review the different methods being used and provide recommendations for range-wide monitoring protocols for each species of prairie dog. Consequently, the Western

Ebola and other issues in the health sector in Africa

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In this September issue of African Health Sciences we bring you diverse articles with wide ranging themes. In general, they encompass infectious disease, glucose me- tabolism, newborn care, non communicable diseases and health systems. We have added a special article[1] on viral hemorrhagic fevers especially Ebola ...

Gene therapy: theoretical and bioethical concepts.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Kevin R

2003-01-01

Gene therapy holds great promise. Somatic gene therapy has the potential to treat a wide range of disorders, including inherited conditions, cancers, and infectious diseases. Early progress has already been made in the treatment of a range of disorders. Ethical issues surrounding somatic gene therapy are primarily those concerned with safety. Germline gene therapy is theoretically possible but raises serious ethical concerns concerning future generations.

Model Study of Wave Overtopping of Marine Structure for a Wide Range of Geometric Parameters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Jens Peter

2000-01-01

The objective of the study described in this paper is to enable estimation of wave overtopping rates for slopes/ramps given by a wide range of geometric parameters when subjected to varying wave conditions. To achieve this a great number of model tests are carried out in a wave tank using irregul...... 2-D waves. On the basis of the first part of these tests an exponential overtopping expression for a linear slope, including the effect of limited draught and varying slope angle, is presented. The plans for further tests with other slope geometries are described....

Wide-range scintillation spectrometer of fast neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blinov, M.V.; Gavrilov, B.P.; Ivannikova, L.L.; Kozulin, Eh.M.; Mozhaev, A.N.; Saidgareev, V.M.; Tyurin, G.P.

1984-01-01

A spectrometer of fast neutrons developed on the base of stilbene crystas and permitting to detect neutrons simultaneously by time-of-flight and recoil protons with analysis of pulse shape in the 0.5-50 MeV energy range is described. The detecting part is performed in the CAMAC standard. The ''Minsk-32'' computer was used for data storage and preliminary processing

Political Justice, Schooling and Issues of Group Identity

Science.gov (United States)

Keddie, Amanda

2014-01-01

This article explores issues associated with schooling and political justice. Such issues are understood in light of the contention surrounding how Western schooling contexts might best represent marginalised groups--in ways that accord them a political voice. The significance of group identity politics is explored drawing on international debates…

Wide-range frequency selectivity in an acoustic sensor fabricated using a microbeam array with non-uniform thickness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shintaku, Hirofumi; Kotera, Hidetoshi; Kobayashi, Takayuki; Zusho, Kazuki; Kawano, Satoyuki

2013-01-01

In this study, we have demonstrated the fabrication of a microbeam array (MBA) with various thicknesses and investigated the suitability it for an acoustic sensor with wide-range frequency selectivity. For this, an MBA composed of 64 beams, with thicknesses varying from 2.99–142 µm, was fabricated by using single gray-scale lithography and a thick negative photoresist. The vibration of the beams in air was measured using a laser Doppler vibrometer; the resonant frequencies of the beams were measured to be from 11.5 to 290 kHz. Lastly, the frequency range of the MBA with non-uniform thickness was 10.9 times that of the MBA with uniform thickness. (paper)

Universal dispersion model for characterization of optical thin films over wide spectral range: Application to magnesium fluoride

Science.gov (United States)

Franta, Daniel; Nečas, David; Giglia, Angelo; Franta, Pavel; Ohlídal, Ivan

2017-11-01

Optical characterization of magnesium fluoride thin films is performed in a wide spectral range from far infrared to extreme ultraviolet (0.01-45 eV) utilizing the universal dispersion model. Two film defects, i.e. random roughness of the upper boundaries and defect transition layer at lower boundary are taken into account. An extension of universal dispersion model consisting in expressing the excitonic contributions as linear combinations of Gaussian and truncated Lorentzian terms is introduced. The spectral dependencies of the optical constants are presented in a graphical form and by the complete set of dispersion parameters that allows generating tabulated optical constants with required range and step using a simple utility in the newAD2 software package.

A Facile Approach to Preparing Molecularly Imprinted Chitosan for Detecting 2,4,6-Tribromophenol with a Widely Linear Range

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Limei Huang

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The environmental pollution of 2,4,6-tribromophenol (TBP has attracted attention. Based on an urgent need for the better provision of clean water, in situ determination of TBP is of great importance. Here, a facile and effective approach for detecting TBP is developed, based on coupling molecular imprinting technique with electrodeposition of chitosan (CS on the gold electrode. The TBP imprinting CS film was fabricated by using CS as functional material and TBP as template molecule. The experiments show that the morphologies and electrochemical properties of the imprinted film sensor was different from non-imprinted film electrode. The current of the imprinted film was linearly proportional to the TBP concentration, with a wide linear range of 1.0 × 10−7 mol•L−1 to 1.0 × 10−3 mol•L−1. By selecting drop-coating method as a reference for controlled trials with the same functional material, the results illustrated that the electrodeposition enjoyed a widely linear range advantage.

Impedance Based Analysis and Design of Harmonic Resonant Controller for a Wide Range of Grid Impedance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kwon, Jun Bum; Wang, Xiongfei; Blaabjerg, Frede

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the effect of grid impedance variation on harmonic resonant current controllers for gridconnected voltage source converters by means of impedance-based analysis. It reveals that the negative harmonic resistances tend to be derived from harmonic resonant controllers...... in the closed-loop output admittance of converter. Such negative resistances may interact with the grid impedance resulting in steady state error or unstable harmonic compensation. To deal with this problem, a design guideline for harmonic resonant controllers under a wide range of grid impedance is proposed...

Integration issues of high-k and metal gate into conventional CMOS technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, S.C.; Zhang, Z.; Huffman, C.; Bae, S.H.; Sim, J.H.; Kirsch, P.; Majhi, P.; Moumen, N.; Lee, B.H.

2006-01-01

Issues surrounding the integration of Hf-based high-k dielectrics with metal gates in a conventional CMOS flow are discussed. The careful choice of a gate stack process as well as optimization of other CMOS process steps enables robust CMOSFETs with a wide process latitude. HfO 2 of a 2 nm physical thickness shows complete suppression of transient charge trapping resulting from a significant reduction in film volume as well as kinetically suppressed crystallization. Metal thickness is also critical when optimizing physical stress effects and minimizing dopant diffusion. A high temperature anneal after source and drain implantation in a conventional CMOSFET process reduces the interface state density and improves electron mobility

Critical Issues in the Lives of Children and Youth Who Are Deafblind

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Catherine; Bruce, Susan M.

2016-01-01

The coeditors of an "American Annals of the Deaf" special issue on deafblindness introduce readers to critical issues surrounding children and youth who are deafblind. These issues--early identification, communication, social-emotional needs, family and multicultural issues, universal design and assistive technology, transition planning,…

Wide Range Vacuum Pumps for the SAM Instrument on the MSL Curiosity Rover

Science.gov (United States)

Sorensen, Paul; Kline-Schoder, Robert; Farley, Rodger

2014-01-01

Creare Incorporated and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center developed and space qualified two wide range pumps (WRPs) that were included in the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument. This instrument was subsequently integrated into the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) "Curiosity Rover," launched aboard an Atlas V rocket in 2011, and landed on August 6, 2012, in the Gale Crater on Mars. The pumps have now operated for more than 18 months in the Gale Crater and have been evacuating the key components of the SAM instrument: a quadrupole mass spectrometer, a tunable laser spectrometer, and six gas chromatograph columns. In this paper, we describe the main design challenges and the ways in which they were solved. This includes the custom design of a miniaturized, high-speed motor to drive the turbo drag pump rotor, analysis of rotor dynamics for super critical operation, and bearing/lubricant design/selection.

Characterization of a wide dynamic-range, radiation-tolerant charge-digitizer asic for monitoring of Beam losses

CERN Document Server

Guido Venturini, G G; Dehning, B; Kayal, M

2012-01-01

An Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) has been designed and fabricated to provide a compact solution to digitize current signals from ionization chambers and diamond detectors, employed as beam loss monitors at CERN and several other high energy physics facilities. The circuit topology has been devised to accept positive and negative currents, to have a wide dynamic range (above 120 dB), withstand radiation levels over 10 Mrad and offer different modes of operation, covering a broad range of applications. Furthermore, an internal conversion reference is employed in the digitization, to provide an accurate absolute measurement. This paper discusses the detailed characterization of the first prototype: linearity, radiation tolerance and temperature dependence of the conversion, as well as implications and system-level considerations regarding its use for beam instrumentation applications in a high energy physics facility.

Wide Dynamic Range Multiband Infrared Radiometer for In-Fire Measurements of Wildland Fire Radiant Flux Density

Science.gov (United States)

Kremens, R.; Dickinson, M. B.; Hardy, C.; Skowronski, N.; Ellicott, E. A.; Schroeder, W.

2016-12-01

We have developed a wide dynamic range (24-bit) data acquisition system for collection of radiant flux density (FRFD) data from wildland fires. The data collection subsystem was designed as an Arduino `shield' and incorporates a 24-bit analog-to-digital converter, precision voltage reference, real time clock, microSD card interface, audible annuciator and interface for various digital communication interfaces (RS232, I2C, SPI, etc.). The complete radiometer system consists of our custom-designed `shield', a commercially available Arduino MEGA computer circuit board and a thermopile sensor -amplifier daughter board. Software design and development is greatly assisted by the availability of a library of public-domain, user-implemented software. The daughter board houses a 5-band radiometer using thermopiles designed for this experiment (Dexter Research Corp., Dexter, MI) to allow determination of the total FRFD from the fire (using a wide band thermopile with a KRS-5 window, 0.1 - 30 um), the FRFD as would be received by an orbital asset like MODIS (3.95 um center wavelength (CWL) and 10.95 CWL, corresponding to MODIS bands 21/22 and 31, respectively) and wider bandpass (0.1-5.5 um and 8-14 um) corresponding to the FRFD recorded by `MWIR' and `LWIR' imaging systems. We required a very wide dynamic range system in order to be able to record the flux density from `cold' ground before the fire, through the `hot' flaming combustion stage, to the `cool' phase after passage of the fire front. The recording dynamic range required (with reasonable resolution at the lowest temperatures) is on the order of 106, which is not currently available in commercial instrumentation at a price point, size or feature set that is suitable for wildland fire investigations. The entire unit, along with rechargeable battery power supply is housed in a fireproof aluminum chassis box, which is then mounted on a mast at a height of 5 - 7 m above the fireground floor. We will report initial

Wide range noble gas radiation monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuhlman, H.S. III; Wyvill, J.R.

1984-01-01

The present invention contemplates providing a sample system for effluent from a nuclear process wherein the effluent in a first mode passes through a sample chamber whose noble gases are quantitatively detected. The sample of the first mode is continued until the detector count rate reaches a predetermined maximum. The detector establishes a control signal which is applied to terminate the first mode effluent flow to the chamber, evacuate the chamber to a predetermined value of vacuum and connect the effluent into the sample chamber with a predetermined mode of flow rate different from the rate of the first mode to establish a sample concentration in the chamber within the range of the detector. A subsequent predetermined minimum rate will generate a signal to reconnect the sample chamber to the first mode connection and thereby cycle the system back to its first mode of operation

Parametrization of the average ionization and radiative cooling rates of carbon plasmas in a wide range of density and temperature

OpenAIRE

Gil de la Fe, Juan Miguel; Rodriguez Perez, Rafael; Florido, Ricardo; Garcia Rubiano, Jesus; Mendoza, M.A.; Nuez, A. de la; Espinosa, G.; Martel Escobar, Carlos; Mínguez Torres, Emilio

2013-01-01

In this work we present an analysis of the influence of the thermodynamic regime on the monochromatic emissivity, the radiative power loss and the radiative cooling rate for optically thin carbon plasmas over a wide range of electron temperature and density assuming steady state situations. Furthermore, we propose analytical expressions depending on the electron density and temperature for the average ionization and cooling rate based on polynomial fittings which are valid for the whole range...

A wide dynamic range BF{sub 3} neutron monitor with front-end electronics based on a logarithmic amplifier

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferrarini, M., E-mail: michele.ferrarini@polimi.i [Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento Energia, via G. Ponzio 34/3, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Fondazione CNAO, via Caminadella 16, 20123 Milano (Italy); Varoli, V. [Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento Energia, via G. Ponzio 34/3, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Favalli, A. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of Citizen, TP 800, Via E. Fermi, 21027 Ispra (Vatican City State, Holy See) (Italy); Caresana, M. [Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento Energia, via G. Ponzio 34/3, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Pedersen, B. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of Citizen, TP 800, Via E. Fermi, 21027 Ispra (Italy)

2010-02-01

This paper describes a wide dynamic range neutron monitor based on a BF{sub 3} neutron detector. The detector is used in current mode, and front-end electronics based on a logarithmic amplifier are used in order to have a measurement capability ranging over many orders of magnitude. The system has been calibrated at the Polytechnic of Milan, CESNEF, with an AmBe neutron source, and has been tested in a pulsed field at the PUNITA facility at JRC, Ispra. The detector has achieved a dynamic range of over 6 orders of magnitude, being able to measure single neutron pulses and showing saturation-free response for a reaction rate up to 10{sup 6} s{sup -1}. It has also proved effective in measuring the PUNITA facility pulse integral fluence.

Highly Sensitive and Wide-Dynamic-Range Multichannel Optical-Fiber pH Sensor Based on PWM Technique

OpenAIRE

Md. Rajibur Rahaman Khan; Shin-Won Kang

2016-01-01

In this study, we propose a highly sensitive multichannel pH sensor that is based on an optical-fiber pulse width modulation (PWM) technique. According to the optical-fiber PWM method, the received sensing signal?s pulse width changes when the optical-fiber pH sensing-element of the array comes into contact with pH buffer solutions. The proposed optical-fiber PWM pH-sensing system offers a linear sensing response over a wide range of pH values from 2 to 12, with a high pH-sensing ability. The...

Menopause: Salient Issues for Counselors.

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Marilyn M.; Lynch, Ann Q.

1988-01-01

Discusses issues surrounding menopause, with the idea that counselors are in an ideal position to help change attitudes toward viewing menopause as a time of positive change rather than a time of psychological distress. Reviews historical, sociological, psychological, and attitudinal factors that account for negative responses associated with…

Psychosocial Issues in Pediatric Oncology

Science.gov (United States)

Marcus, Joel

2012-01-01

Psychosocial oncology, a relatively new discipline, is a multidisciplinary application of the behavioral and social sciences, and pediatric psychosocial oncology is an emerging subspecialty within the domain of psychosocial oncology. This review presents a brief overview of some of the major clinical issues surrounding pediatric psychosocial oncology. PMID:23049457

Preliminary assessment of the ecological risks to wide-ranging wildlife species on the Oak Ridge Reservation. 1996 update

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sample, B.E.; Hinzman, R.L.; Jackson, B.L.; Baron, L.

1996-09-01

More than approximately 50 years of operations, storage, and disposal of wastes generated by the three facilities on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) (the Oak Ridge K-25 Site, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant) has resulted in a mosaic of uncontaminated property and lands that are contaminated to varying degrees. This contaminated property includes source areas and the terrestrial and aquatic habitats down gradient from these source areas. Although the integrator OUs generally contain considerable habitat for biota, the source OUs provide little or no suitable habitat. Historically, ecological risk assessment at Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) sites has focused on species that may be definitively associated with a contaminated area or source OU. Endpoints considered in source OUs include plants, soil/litter invertebrates and processes, aquatic biota found in on-OU sediments and surface waters, and small herbivorous, omnivorous, and vermivorous (i.e., feeding on ground, litter, or soil invertebrates) wildlife. All of these endpoints have limited spatial distributions or home ranges such that numerous individuals or a distinct population can be expected to reside within the boundaries of the source OU. Most analyses are not adequate for large sites with multiple, spatially separated contaminated areas such as the ORR that provide habitat for wide-ranging wildlife species. This report is a preliminary response to a plan for assessing risks to wide-ranging species.

Preliminary assessment of the ecological risks to wide-ranging wildlife species on the Oak Ridge Reservation. 1996 update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sample, B.E.; Hinzman, R.L.; Jackson, B.L.; Baron, L.

1996-09-01

More than approximately 50 years of operations, storage, and disposal of wastes generated by the three facilities on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) (the Oak Ridge K-25 Site, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant) has resulted in a mosaic of uncontaminated property and lands that are contaminated to varying degrees. This contaminated property includes source areas and the terrestrial and aquatic habitats down gradient from these source areas. Although the integrator OUs generally contain considerable habitat for biota, the source OUs provide little or no suitable habitat. Historically, ecological risk assessment at Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) sites has focused on species that may be definitively associated with a contaminated area or source OU. Endpoints considered in source OUs include plants, soil/litter invertebrates and processes, aquatic biota found in on-OU sediments and surface waters, and small herbivorous, omnivorous, and vermivorous (i.e., feeding on ground, litter, or soil invertebrates) wildlife. All of these endpoints have limited spatial distributions or home ranges such that numerous individuals or a distinct population can be expected to reside within the boundaries of the source OU. Most analyses are not adequate for large sites with multiple, spatially separated contaminated areas such as the ORR that provide habitat for wide-ranging wildlife species. This report is a preliminary response to a plan for assessing risks to wide-ranging species

Solar tri-diurnal variation of cosmic rays in a wide range of rigidity

Science.gov (United States)

Mori, S.; Ueno, H.; Fujii, Z.; Morishita, I.; Nagashima, K.

1985-01-01

Solar tri-diurnal variations of cosmic rays have been analyzed in a wide range of rigidity, using data from neutron monitors, and the surface and underground muon telescopes for the period 1978-1983. The rigidity spectrum of the anisotropy in space is assumed to be of power-exponential type as (P/gamma P sub o) to the gamma exp (gamma-P/P sub o). By means of the best-fit method between the observed and the expected variations, it is obtained that the spectrum has a peak at P (=gamma P sub o) approx = 90 GV, where gamma=approx 3.0 and P sub o approx. 30 GV. The phase in space of the tri-diurnal variation is also obtained as 7.0 hr (15 hr and 23 hr LT), which is quite different from that of approx. 1 hr. arising from the axisymmetric distribution of cosmic rays with respect to the IMF.

The role of environment and core-margin effects on range-wide phenotypic variation in a montane grasshopper.

Science.gov (United States)

Noguerales, V; García-Navas, V; Cordero, P J; Ortego, J

2016-11-01

The integration of genetic information with ecological and phenotypic data constitutes an effective approach to gain insight into the mechanisms determining interpopulation variability and the evolutionary processes underlying local adaptation and incipient speciation. Here, we use the Pyrenean Morales grasshopper (Chorthippus saulcyi moralesi) as study system to (i) analyse the relative role of genetic drift and selection in range-wide patterns of phenotypic differentiation and (ii) identify the potential selective agents (environment, elevation) responsible for variation. We also test the hypothesis that (iii) the development of dispersal-related traits is associated with different parameters related to population persistence/turnover, including habitat suitability stability over the last 120 000 years, distance to the species distribution core and population genetic variability. Our results indicate that selection shaped phenotypic differentiation across all the studied morphological traits (body size, forewing length and shape). Subsequent analyses revealed that among-population differentiation in forewing length was significantly explained by a temperature gradient, suggesting an adaptive response to thermoregulation or flight performance under contrasting temperature regimes. We found support for our hypothesis predicting a positive association between the distance to the species distribution core and the development of dispersal-related morphology, which suggests an increased dispersal capability in populations located at range edges that, in turn, exhibit lower levels of genetic variability. Overall, our results indicate that range-wide patterns of phenotypic variation are partially explained by adaptation in response to local environmental conditions and differences in habitat persistence between core and peripheral populations. © 2016 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2016 European Society For Evolutionary

INTERACTIONS OF THE INFRARED BUBBLE N4 WITH ITS SURROUNDINGS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Hong-Li; Li, Jin-Zeng; Yuan, Jing-Hua; Huang, Maohai; Huang, Ya-Fang; Zhang, Si-Ju [National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012 (China); Wu, Yuefang [Department of Astronomy, Peking University, 100871 Beijing (China); Liu, Tie [Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute 776, Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-348 (Korea, Republic of); Dubner, G.; Paron, S.; Ortega, M. E. [1Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio (IAFE, CONICET-UBA), CC 67, Suc. 28, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Molinari, Sergio [Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali—IAPS, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica—INAF, via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Zavagno, Annie; Samal, Manash R., E-mail: hlliu@nao.cas.cn [Aix Marseille Universit, CNRS, LAM (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille) UMR 7326, F-13388, Marseille (France)

2016-02-10

The physical mechanisms that induce the transformation of a certain mass of gas in new stars are far from being well understood. Infrared bubbles associated with H ii regions have been considered to be good samples for investigating triggered star formation. In this paper we report on the investigation of the dust properties of the infrared bubble N4 around the H ii region G11.898+0.747, analyzing its interaction with its surroundings and star formation histories therein, with the aim of determining the possibility of star formation triggered by the expansion of the bubble. Using Herschel PACS and SPIRE images with a wide wavelength coverage, we reveal the dust properties over the entire bubble. Meanwhile, we are able to identify six dust clumps surrounding the bubble, with a mean size of 0.50 pc, temperature of about 22 K, mean column density of 1.7 × 10{sup 22} cm{sup −2}, mean volume density of about 4.4 × 10{sup 4} cm{sup −3}, and a mean mass of 320 M{sub ⊙}. In addition, from PAH emission seen at 8 μm, free–free emission detected at 20 cm, and a probability density function in special regions, we could identify clear signatures of the influence of the H ii region on the surroundings. There are hints of star formation, though further investigation is required to demonstrate that N4 is the triggering source.

Special issue on the spectroscopy of transient plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, James; Hoarty, David; Mancini, Roberto; Yoneda, Hitoki

2015-01-01

Experimental and theoretical papers are invited for a special issue of Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics on Spectroscopy of Transient Plasmas, covering plasma conditions produced by pulsed laboratory sources including for example, short and long pulse lasers; pulsed power devices; FELs; XFELs and ion beams. The full range of plasma spectroscopy from the optical range up to high energy bremsstrahlung radiation will be covered. The deadline for submitting to this special issue is 1 March 2015. (Expected web publication: autumn 2015). Late submissions will be considered for the journal, but may not be included in the special issue. All submitted articles will be fully refereed to the journal's usual high standards. Upon publication, the issue will be widely promoted to the atomic, molecular and optical physics community, ensuring that your work receives maximum visibility. Articles should be submitted at http://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/jphysb-iop. Should you have any questions regarding the preparation of manuscripts or the suitability of your work for this Issue, please do not hesitate to contact the J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Editorial team (jphysb@iop.org). We look forward to hearing from you and hope that we can welcome you as a contributing author.

Simple Wide Frequency Range Impedance Meter Based on AD5933 Integrated Circuit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chabowski Konrad

2015-03-01

Full Text Available As it contains elements of complete digital impedance meter, the AD5933 integrated circuit is an interesting solution for impedance measurements. However, its use for measurements in a wide range of impedances and frequencies requires an additional digital and analogue circuitry. This paper presents the design and performance of a simple impedance meter based on the AD5933 IC. Apart from the AD5933 IC it consists of a clock generator with a programmable prescaler, a novel DC offset canceller for the excitation signal based on peak detectors and a current to voltage converter with switchable conversion ratios. The authors proposed a simple method for choosing the measurement frequency to minimalize errors resulting from the spectral leakage and distortion caused by a lack of an anti-aliasing filter in the DDS generator. Additionally, a novel method for the AD5933 IC calibration was proposed. It consists in a mathematical compensation of the systematic error occurring in the argument of the value returned from the AD5933 IC as a result. The performance of the whole system is demonstrated in an exemplary measurement.

Raman spectroscopic characterization of CH4 density over a wide range of temperature and pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Linbo; Chou, I-Ming; Burruss, Robert; Hu, Ruizhong; Bi, Xianwu

2014-01-01

The positions of the CH4 Raman ν1 symmetric stretching bands were measured in a wide range of temperature (from −180 °C to 350 °C) and density (up to 0.45 g/cm3) using high-pressure optical cell and fused silica capillary capsule. The results show that the Raman band shift is a function of both methane density and temperature; the band shifts to lower wavenumbers as the density increases and the temperature decreases. An equation representing the observed relationship among the CH4 ν1 band position, temperature, and density can be used to calculate the density in natural or synthetic CH4-bearing inclusions.

Antibiotics in typical marine aquaculture farms surrounding Hailing Island, South China: Occurrence, bioaccumulation and human dietary exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Hui; Liu, Shan; Xu, Xiang-Rong; Liu, Shuang-Shuang; Zhou, Guang-Jie; Sun, Kai-Feng; Zhao, Jian-Liang; Ying, Guang-Guo

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Thirty-seven antibiotics were systematically investigated in typical marine aquaculture farms. • Enrofloxacin was widely detected in the feed samples (16.6–31.8 ng/g). • ETM-H 2 O in the adult shrimp samples may pose a potential risk to human safety. • TMP was bioaccumulative in fish muscles. • Antibiotics were weakly bioaccumulated in mollusks. - Abstract: The occurrence, bioaccumulation, and human dietary exposure via seafood consumption of 37 antibiotics in six typical marine aquaculture farms surrounding Hailing Island, South China were investigated in this study. Sulfamethoxazole, salinomycin and trimethoprim were widely detected in the water samples (0.4–36.9 ng/L), while oxytetracycline was the predominant antibiotic in the water samples of shrimp larvae pond. Enrofloxacin was widely detected in the feed samples (16.6–31.8 ng/g) and erythromycin–H 2 O was the most frequently detected antibiotic in the sediment samples (0.8–4.8 ng/g). Erythromycin–H 2 O was the dominant antibiotic in the adult Fenneropenaeus penicillatus with concentrations ranging from 2498 to 15,090 ng/g. In addition, trimethoprim was found to be bioaccumulative in young Lutjanus russelli with a median bioaccumulation factor of 6488 L/kg. Based on daily intake estimation, the erythromycin–H 2 O in adult F. penicillatus presented a potential risk to human safety

Krsko: A case study for western nuclear power issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bizal, M.R.

1996-01-01

This article is a review of issues surrounding the operation of the Krsko reactor in the former Yugoslav state of Slovenia. This reactor, a Westinghouse-supplied 632-MWe PWR, supplies 25% of Slovenia's electrical energy and is therefore a major element in the country's energy mix. There are environmental issues and political issues noted, and the project is currently evaluating the need for costly steam generator replacement

Performance of a 100V Half-Bridge MOSFET Driver, Type MIC4103, Over a Wide Temperature Range

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Richard L.; Hammoud, Ahmad

2011-01-01

The operation of a high frequency, high voltage MOSFET (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors) driver was investigated over a wide temperature regime that extended beyond its specified range. The Micrel MIC4103 is a 100V, non-inverting, dual driver that is designed to independently drive both high-side and low-side N-channel MOSFETs. It features fast propagation delay times and can drive 1000 pF load with 10ns rise times and 6 ns fall times [1]. The device consumes very little power, has supply under-voltage protection, and is rated for a -40 C to +125 C junction temperature range. The floating high-side driver of the chip can sustain boost voltages up to 100 V. Table I shows some of the device manufacturer s specification.

Resolution of issues with renewable energy penetration in a long-range power system demand-supply planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogimoto, Kazuhiko; Ikeda, Yuichi; Kataoka, Kazuto; Ikegami, Takashi; Nonaka, Shunsuke; Azuma, Hitoshi

2012-01-01

Under the anticipated high penetration of variable renewable energy generation such as photovoltaic, the issue of supply demand balance should be evaluated and fixed. Technologies such as demand activation, and energy storage are expected to solve the issue. Under the situation, a long-range power system supply demand analysis should have the capability for the evaluation in its analysis steps of demand preparation, maintenance scheduling, and economic dispatch analysis. This paper presents results of a parametric analysis of the reduction of PV and Wind generation curtailment reduction by deployment of batteries. Based on a set of scenarios of the prospects of Japan's 10 power system demand-supply condition in 2030, the demand-supply balance capability are analyzed assuming PV and wind generation variation, demand activation and dispatchable batteries. (author)

Regulatory issues and assumptions associated with polymers for subsurface barriers surrounding buried waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heiser, J.; Siskind, B.

1993-01-01

One of the options for control of contaminant migration from buried waste sites is the construction of a subsurface barrier that consists of a wall of low permeability material. Subsurface barriers will improve remediation performance by removing pathways for contaminant transport due to groundwater movement, meteorological water infiltration, vapor- and gas-phase transport, transpiration, etc. Subsurface barriers may be used to open-quotes directclose quotes contaminant movement to collection sumps/lysimeters in cases of unexpected remediation failures or transport mechanisms, to contain leakage from underground storage tanks, and to restrict in-situ soil cleanup operation and chemicals. Brookhaven National Laboratory is currently investigating advanced polymer materials for subsurface barriers. This report addresses the regulatory aspects of using of non-traditional polymer materials as well as soil-bentonite or cement-bentonite mixtures for such barriers. The regulatory issues fall into two categories. The first category consists of issues associated with the acceptability of subsurface barriers to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a method for achieving waste site performance improvement. The second category encompasses those regulatory issues concerning health, safety and the environment which must be addressed regarding barrier installation and performance, especially if non-traditional materials are to be used. Since many of EPA's concerns regarding subsurface barriers focus on the chemicals used during installation of these barriers the authors discuss the results of a search of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations for references in Titles 29 and 40 pertaining to key chemicals likely to be utilized in installing non-traditional barrier materials. The use of polymeric materials in the construction industry has been accomplished with full compliance with the applicable health, safety, and environmental regulations

Scale issues in tourism development

Science.gov (United States)

Sinji Yang; Lori Pennington-Gray; Donald F. Holecek

1998-01-01

Proponents of Alternative Tourism overwhelmingly believe that alternative forms of tourism development need to be small in scale. Inasmuch as tourists' demand has great power to shape the market, the issues surrounding the tourism development scale deserve further consideration. This paper discusses the implications and effects of the tourism development scale on...

Economic and Time-Sensitive Issues Surrounding CCS: A Policy Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Maddali, Vijay; Tularam, Gurudeo Anand; Glynn, Patrick

2015-08-04

Are the existing global policies on combating global warming via the carbon capture and storage (CCS) method significant enough to curtail the temperature rise on time? We argue that it is already too late to have any reliance on CCS. The current status of CCS is that it is plagued by technical uncertainties, infrastructure, financial, and regulatory issues. The technology is far from maturity and, hence, commercialization. Simulations conducted in this work suggest that the relevance of CCS is completely defied if the annual emission growth rate is in excess of 2% between the years of 2015 and 2040. At such a growth rate, the annual emissions reduction between 2040 and 2100 will need to be in the vicinity of 5.5% by the year 2100. Considering an average annual emissions growth rate of 2.5% over the past decade, it seems unlikely that the emissions could be contained to a 2% growth level. CCS in its current shape and form is at odds with the economics of its implementation and the time in hand with which to play a significant role in a carbon mitigation strategy. There is an urgent need to rethink policies and strategies to combat global warming to at least some degree.

Ecological and political issues surrounding decommissioning of offshore oil facilities in the Southern California Bight

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, Donna M.; Love, Milton S.

2004-01-01

To aid legislators, resource managers, and the general public, this paper summarizes and clarifies some of the issues and options that the federal government and the state of California face in decommissioning offshore oil and gas production platforms, particularly as these relate to platform ecology. Both local marine ecology and political climate play a role in decommissioning offshore oil production platforms. Compared to the relatively supportive political climate in the Gulf of Mexico for “rigs-to-reefs” programs, conflicting social values among stakeholders in Southern California increases the need for understanding ecological impacts of various decommissioning alternatives (which range from total removal to allowing some or all of platform structure to remain in the ocean). Additional scientific needs in the decommissioning process include further assessment of platform habitat quality, estimation of regional impacts of decommissioning alternatives to marine populations, and determination of biological effects of any residual contaminants. The principal management need is a ranking of environmental priorities (e.g. species-of-interest and marine habitats). Because considerable numbers of economically important species reside near oil platforms, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries should consider the consequences of decommissioning alternatives in their overall management plans. Management strategies could include designating reefed platforms as marine protected areas. The overarching conclusion from both ecological and political perspectives is that decommissioning decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis.

Overview of geologic and geohydrologic conditions at the Finnsjoen site and its surroundings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahlbom, K.; Tiren, S.

1991-01-01

The geologic and tectonic conditions of the Finnsjoen site and its surroundings have been studied on several scales ranging from regional to site scale. The Finnsjoen study is situated within a 50 square km shear lens. This lens is a part of a regional, c.20-30 km wide, WNW trending shear belt that was developed 1600-1800 million years ago. The final repository for reactor waste at Forsmark is also situated within this shear belt. The Finnsjoen Rock Block, bounded by regional and semi-regional fracture zones, constitute the main part of the Finnsjoen site. The size of the block is about 6 square km. A northeasterly trending fracture zone, Zone 1, divides this block into two lower order blocks, the northern and the southern block. In general, interpreted fracture zones, as well as the rock mass in general, are far better known in the northern Finnsjoen block compared to the southern block. This is due to extensive and detailed investigations of a gently dipping fracture zone, Zone 2, in the northern block. A tectonic model including 14 fracture zones is suggested for the Finnsjoen site and its surroundings. These zones have mainly been interpreted from lineament maps and to some extent from borehole measurements. The lack of borehole data implies that many of interpreted fracture zones, especially in the southern block outside the Finnsjoen site, should be regarded as tentative. The good general knowledge of the geologic and geohydrologic conditions in the northern Finnsjoen block, and possible stagnant groundwater conditions below Zone 2, makes the northern block the most suitable location for the generic repository at the Finnsjoen site. (authors)

Impact Response Comparison Between Parametric Human Models and Postmortem Human Subjects with a Wide Range of Obesity Levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Kai; Cao, Libo; Wang, Yulong; Hwang, Eunjoo; Reed, Matthew P; Forman, Jason; Hu, Jingwen

2017-10-01

Field data analyses have shown that obesity significantly increases the occupant injury risks in motor vehicle crashes, but the injury assessment tools for people with obesity are largely lacking. The objectives of this study were to use a mesh morphing method to rapidly generate parametric finite element models with a wide range of obesity levels and to evaluate their biofidelity against impact tests using postmortem human subjects (PMHS). Frontal crash tests using three PMHS seated in a vehicle rear seat compartment with body mass index (BMI) from 24 to 40 kg/m 2 were selected. To develop the human models matching the PMHS geometry, statistical models of external body shape, rib cage, pelvis, and femur were applied to predict the target geometry using age, sex, stature, and BMI. A mesh morphing method based on radial basis functions was used to rapidly morph a baseline human model into the target geometry. The model-predicted body excursions and injury measures were compared to the PMHS tests. Comparisons of occupant kinematics and injury measures between the tests and simulations showed reasonable correlations across the wide range of BMI levels. The parametric human models have the capability to account for the obesity effects on the occupant impact responses and injury risks. © 2017 The Obesity Society.

Assessment of ecological risks to wide-ranging wildlife species on the Oak Ridge Reservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sample, B.

1995-01-01

Ecological risk assessment at CERCLA sites generally focuses on species that may be definitively associated with a contaminated area. While appropriate for sites with single, discrete areas of contamination, this approach is not adequate for sites with multiple, spatially separated contaminated areas such as the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). Wide-ranging wildlife species may travel between and use multiple contaminated sites. These species may therefore be exposed to and be at risk from contaminants from multiple locations. Use of a site (and therefore exposure and risk) by wildlife is dependent upon the availability of habitat. Availability and distribution of habitat on the ORR was determined using satellite imagery. The proportion of habitat within contaminated areas was then determined by overlaying boundaries of contaminated areas (Operable Units or OUs) on the ORR habitat map. The likelihood of contaminant exposure was estimated by comparing the habitat requirements for wildlife species to the proportion of suitable habitat within OUs. OU-specific contaminant concentrations in surface water, soil, or biota were used to estimate the magnitude of risk presented by each DU. The proportion of ORR-wide population likely to be exposed was estimated using literature-derived population density data for each endpoint. At present, due to major data gaps (i.e., lack of data for all OUs, site-specific population density or habitat use data, etc.) uncertainty associated with conclusions is high. Results of this assessment must therefore be considered to be preliminary

Design Issues and Inference in Experimental L2 Research

Science.gov (United States)

Hudson, Thom; Llosa, Lorena

2015-01-01

Explicit attention to research design issues is essential in experimental second language (L2) research. Too often, however, such careful attention is not paid. This article examines some of the issues surrounding experimental L2 research and its relationships to causal inferences. It discusses the place of research questions and hypotheses,…

A CEO View of Key Issues in Australian Information Systems Management - 1997

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graham Pervan

1998-05-01

Full Text Available As part of a research programme on key information systems management issues, a survey of Australasia's largest 500 organisations was conducted to identify which issues were perceived by their chief executive officers (CEOs as being important, problematic and critical over the next three to five years. The results reported are based on a relatively low response rate (though perhaps reasonable for the target group so should be regarded as only exploratory. The most critical issues were revealed to be a mix of technology management issues (IT infrastructure, disaster recovery, strategic management issues (BPR, competitive advantage, information architecture, people management issues (organisational learning, systems development and data management issues (effective use of the data resource, effectiveness/productivity of IS, effectiveness of software development, and their own support systems (EIS/DSS. This reflects their interest in a wide range of issues, but all with an organisation-wide focus. Non-critical issues were mostly related to the individual technologies and the place and role of IS in the organisation. While the CEOs showed some agreement with their chief information officers (CIOs on issues such as the IT infrastructure, competitive advantage, and organisational learning some distinct differences exist, particularly in relation to the quality and effectiveness of systems and processes and also how CEOs and CIOs perceive each other.

Conditioning of BPM pickup signals for operations of the Duke storage ring with a wide range of single-bunch current

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wei; Li, Jing-Yi; Huang, Sen-Lin; Z. Wu, W.; Hao, H.; P., Wang; K. Wu, Y.

2014-10-01

The Duke storage ring is a dedicated driver for the storage ring based oscillator free-electron lasers (FELs), and the High Intensity Gamma-ray Source (HIGS). It is operated with a beam current ranging from about 1 mA to 100 mA per bunch for various operations and accelerator physics studies. High performance operations of the FEL and γ-ray source require a stable electron beam orbit, which has been realized by the global orbit feedback system. As a critical part of the orbit feedback system, the electron beam position monitors (BPMs) are required to be able to precisely measure the electron beam orbit in a wide range of the single-bunch current. However, the high peak voltage of the BPM pickups associated with high single-bunch current degrades the performance of the BPM electronics, and can potentially damage the BPM electronics. A signal conditioning method using low pass filters is developed to reduce the peak voltage to protect the BPM electronics, and to make the BPMs capable of working with a wide range of single-bunch current. Simulations and electron beam based tests are performed. The results show that the Duke storage ring BPM system is capable of providing precise orbit measurements to ensure highly stable FEL and HIGS operations.

A novel chitosan-tussah silk fibroin/nano-hydroxyapatite composite bone scaffold platform with tunable mechanical strength in a wide range.

Science.gov (United States)

Ran, Jiabing; Hu, Jingxiao; Sun, Guanglin; Chen, Si; Jiang, Pei; Shen, Xinyu; Tong, Hua

2016-12-01

Currently, great efforts have been made to enhance the mechanical strength of bone tissue engineering (BTE) scaffolds, which are composed of biopolymeric matrices and inorganic nano-fillers. But the tunability of mechanical strength in a wide range for BTE scaffolds has seldom been investigated in spite of the great importance of this performance. In this work, a chitosan-tussah silk fibroin/hydroxyapatite (CS-TSF/HAp) hydrogel was synthesized by using a novel in situ precipitation method. Through in situ inducing the conformation transition of TSF in the CS-TSF/HAp hydrogel, which could be monitored by XRD, FT-IR, TGA, and DTA, the elastic modulus and fracture strength of the final CS-TSF/HAp composite could be tailored in a wide range without changing its composition, morphology, roughness, and crystal structures. The elastic modulus of the CS-TSF/HAp composite ranged from ∼250 to ∼400MPa while its fracture strength ranged from ∼45 to ∼100MPa. In order to clarify the rationale behind this process, a speculative explanation was provided. In vitro cell culture indicated that MC3T3-E1 cells cultured on the CS-TSF/HAp composite had positive adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation potential. We believed that the CS-TSF/HAp composite could be used as an ideal scaffold platform for cell culture and implantation of bone reconstruction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bobcats (Lynx rufus) as a Model Organism to Investigate the Effects of Roads on Wide-Ranging Carnivores.

Science.gov (United States)

Litvaitis, John A; Reed, Gregory C; Carroll, Rory P; Litvaitis, Marian K; Tash, Jeffrey; Mahard, Tyler; Broman, Derek J A; Callahan, Catherine; Ellingwood, Mark

2015-06-01

We are using bobcats (Lynx rufus) as a model organism to examine how roads affect the abundance, distribution, and genetic structure of a wide-ranging carnivore. First, we compared the distribution of bobcat-vehicle collisions to road density and then estimated collision probabilities for specific landscapes using a moving window with road-specific traffic volume. Next, we obtained incidental observations of bobcats from the public, camera-trap detections, and locations of bobcats equipped with GPS collars to examine habitat selection. These data were used to generate a cost-surface map to investigate potential barrier effects of roads. Finally, we have begun an examination of genetic structure of bobcat populations in relation to major road networks. Distribution of vehicle-killed bobcats was correlated with road density, especially state and interstate highways. Collision models suggested that some regions may function as demographic sinks. Simulated movements in the context of the cost-surface map indicated that some major roads may be barriers. These patterns were supported by the genetic structure of bobcats. The sharpest divisions among genetically distinct demes occurred along natural barriers (mountains and large lakes) and in road-dense regions. In conclusion, our study has demonstrated the utility of using bobcats as a model organism to understand the variety of threats that roads pose to a wide-ranging species. Bobcats may also be useful as one of a group of focal species while developing approaches to maintain existing connectivity or mitigate the negative effects of roads.

Complexity and wide range of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders: more than typical manifestations

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jinming; Yang, Meng-ge; Zhu, Jie; Jin, Tao

2017-01-01

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO), considered to be mediated by autoantibodies, often cause severely disabling disorders of the central nervous system, and predominantly cause optic nerve damage and longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis. Remarkable progress has been made in deciphering NMO pathogenesis during the past decade. In 2015, the International Panel for NMO Diagnosis proposed the unifying term “NMO spectrum disorders” (NMOSD) and the updated NMOSD criteria reflects a wide range of disease and maintains reasonable specificity. Moreover, cumulative findings have indicated that NMOSD are frequently associated with multiple autoimmune diseases, thereby presenting complex clinical symptoms that make this disease more difficult to recognize. Notably, most neurologists do not heed these symptoms or comorbid conditions in patients with NMOSD. Whereas previous reviews have focused on pathogenesis, treatment, and prognosis in NMOSD, we summarize the present knowledge with particular emphasis on atypical manifestations and autoimmune comorbidities in patients with NMOSD. Furthermore, we emphasized the identification of these atypical characteristics to enable a broader and better understanding of NMOSD, and improve early accurate diagnosis and therapeutic decision making. PMID:29118581

Introduction to the Special Issue on “Optomechatronics”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander W. Koch

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The field of optomechatronics combines the synergistic effects of optics, mechanics and electronics for efficient sensor development. Optical sensors for the measurement of mechanical quantities, equipped with appropriate electronic signal (preprocessing have a wide range of applications, from surface testing, stress monitoring, and thin film analysis to biochemical sensing. The aim of this special issue is to provide an overview of current research and innovative applications of optomechatronics in sensors.

Trophodynamics of inorganic pollutants in a wide-range feeder: The relevance of dietary inputs and biomagnification in the Yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramos, Raül; Ramírez, Francisco; Jover, Lluís

2013-01-01

The suitability of sentinel species to monitor environmental pollution is often hampered by an insufficient knowledge on pollutant trophodynamics. We simultaneously evaluated the influence of individuals' trophic position (as revealed by δ 15 N values) and dietary exploitation of particular systems (using δ 13 C and δ 34 S as proxies) on inorganic pollutant concentrations measured on fledglings' feathers of a wide-range feeder, the Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis), sampled at four locations throughout the Western Mediterranean. Concentrations of total Hg and Se in fledgling feathers (2.43 ± 1.30 and 1.16 ± 0.43 μg/g, respectively) were under the threshold points for deleterious effects on seabirds. On the contrary, alarming Pb concentrations were found in one colony (mean: 1.57 ± 2.46 μg/g, range: 0.16–12.13). With the exception of Pb, pollutant concentrations were positively influenced by consumption of marine resources (as suggested by the positive relationship with δ 34 S values), whereas trophic position played a minor role in determining pollutant body burdens. - Graphical abstract: Individual feeding behaviours in wide-range feeders may represent unavoidable knowledge for an appropriate understanding of contaminant acquisition, adding complexity to the study of the dynamic of contaminants throughout food chains. In this case study, pollutant body burden of Yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) chicks was highly influenced by dietary exposure, whereas the influence of trophic position was relatively low. Display Omitted Highlights: ► Diet origin (δ 34 S) and trophic position (δ 15 N) were tested relative to Hg, Se, and Pb levels. ► Hg and Se concentrations in gull feathers were highly influenced by δ 34 S signatures. ► Exploited habitat influenced pollutant levels to a greater extent than trophic position. ► Biomagnification processes contribute less to contamination exposure in wide-range feeders. - Pollutant body burden of a wide-range

Genome-Wide Scan for Adaptive Divergence and Association with Population-Specific Covariates.

Science.gov (United States)

Gautier, Mathieu

2015-12-01

In population genomics studies, accounting for the neutral covariance structure across population allele frequencies is critical to improve the robustness of genome-wide scan approaches. Elaborating on the BayEnv model, this study investigates several modeling extensions (i) to improve the estimation accuracy of the population covariance matrix and all the related measures, (ii) to identify significantly overly differentiated SNPs based on a calibration procedure of the XtX statistics, and (iii) to consider alternative covariate models for analyses of association with population-specific covariables. In particular, the auxiliary variable model allows one to deal with multiple testing issues and, providing the relative marker positions are available, to capture some linkage disequilibrium information. A comprehensive simulation study was carried out to evaluate the performances of these different models. Also, when compared in terms of power, robustness, and computational efficiency to five other state-of-the-art genome-scan methods (BayEnv2, BayScEnv, BayScan, flk, and lfmm), the proposed approaches proved highly effective. For illustration purposes, genotyping data on 18 French cattle breeds were analyzed, leading to the identification of 13 strong signatures of selection. Among these, four (surrounding the KITLG, KIT, EDN3, and ALB genes) contained SNPs strongly associated with the piebald coloration pattern while a fifth (surrounding PLAG1) could be associated to morphological differences across the populations. Finally, analysis of Pool-Seq data from 12 populations of Littorina saxatilis living in two different ecotypes illustrates how the proposed framework might help in addressing relevant ecological issues in nonmodel species. Overall, the proposed methods define a robust Bayesian framework to characterize adaptive genetic differentiation across populations. The BayPass program implementing the different models is available at http://www1.montpellier

Preface to the Focus Issue: Chaos Detection Methods and Predictability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gottwald, Georg A.; Skokos, Charalampos

2014-01-01

This Focus Issue presents a collection of papers originating from the workshop Methods of Chaos Detection and Predictability: Theory and Applications held at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden, June 17–21, 2013. The main aim of this interdisciplinary workshop was to review comprehensively the theory and numerical implementation of the existing methods of chaos detection and predictability, as well as to report recent applications of these techniques to different scientific fields. The collection of twelve papers in this Focus Issue represents the wide range of applications, spanning mathematics, physics, astronomy, particle accelerator physics, meteorology and medical research. This Preface surveys the papers of this Issue

Preface to the Focus Issue: chaos detection methods and predictability.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottwald, Georg A; Skokos, Charalampos

2014-06-01

This Focus Issue presents a collection of papers originating from the workshop Methods of Chaos Detection and Predictability: Theory and Applications held at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden, June 17-21, 2013. The main aim of this interdisciplinary workshop was to review comprehensively the theory and numerical implementation of the existing methods of chaos detection and predictability, as well as to report recent applications of these techniques to different scientific fields. The collection of twelve papers in this Focus Issue represents the wide range of applications, spanning mathematics, physics, astronomy, particle accelerator physics, meteorology and medical research. This Preface surveys the papers of this Issue.

The Effect of Smartphones on Human Health Relative to User's Addiction: A Study on a Wide Range of Audiences in Jordan

OpenAIRE

T. Qasim; M. Obeidat; S. Al-Sharairi

2017-01-01

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the excessive use of smartphones. Smartphones have enormous effects on the human body in that some musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and health problems might evolve. These days, there is a wide use of the smartphones among all age groups of society, thus, the focus on smartphone effects on human behavior and health, especially on the young and elderly people, becomes a crucial issue. This study was conducted in Jordan on smartphone u...

Accuracy of the WatchBP office ABI device for office blood pressure measurement over a wide range of arm sizes.

Science.gov (United States)

Palatini, Paolo; Fania, Claudio; Gasparotti, Federica

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of the WatchBP Office ABI monitor for office blood pressure measurement over a wide range of arm circumferences using the ANSI/AAMI/ISO 81060-2:2013 protocol. The device accuracy was tested in 88 participants whose mean±SD age was 54.5±17.6 years, whose arm circumference was 30.6±8.3 cm (range: 15-46 cm), and whose entry blood pressure (BP) was 138.3±23.4 mmHg for systolic and 83.7±14.6 mmHg for diastolic BP. Four cuffs (small, standard, large, and extra-large) suitable for arm circumferences ranging from 14.0 to 52.0 cm were used. The mean device-observer difference in the 264 separate BP data pairs was 0.7±3.8 mmHg for systolic BP and was 0.0±3.7 mmHg for diastolic BP. These data were in agreement with criterion 1 of the ANSI/AAMI/ISO 81060-2:2013 standard requirements (≤5±8 mmHg). Moreover, criterion 2 was satisfied, the mean±SD device-observer difference of the 88 participants being 0.7±3.1 and 0.0±3.2 mmHg, respectively, for systolic and diastolic BP. Good agreement between observer and device was present across the whole range of arm circumferences. These data show that the Microlife WatchBP Office ABI monitor satisfied the ANSI/AAMI/ISO 81060-2:2013 standard requirements across a wide range of arm sizes.

Changes in unique hues induced by chromatic surrounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Klauke, Susanne; Wachtler, Thomas

2016-03-01

A chromatic surround can have a strong influence on the perceived hue of a stimulus. We investigated whether chromatic induction has similar effects on the perception of colors that appear pure and unmixed (unique red, green, blue, and yellow) as on other colors. Subjects performed unique hue settings of stimuli in isoluminant surrounds of different chromaticities. Compared with the settings in a neutral gray surround, unique hue settings altered systematically with chromatic surrounds. The amount of induced hue shift depended on the difference between stimulus and surround hues, and was similar for unique hue settings as for settings of nonunique hues. Intraindividual variability in unique hue settings was roughly twice as high as for settings obtained in asymmetric matching experiments, which may reflect the presence of a reference stimulus in the matching task. Variabilities were also larger with chromatic surrounds than with neutral gray surrounds, for both unique hue settings and matching of nonunique hues. The results suggest that the neural representations underlying unique hue percepts are influenced by the same neural processing mechanisms as the percepts of other colors.

Three-dimensional numerical analysis of stress and deformation of surrounding soil in safety construction of metro station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fung, I W H; Wang, J A; Au, A S K; Zhou, Y F

2008-01-01

Utilizing underground spaces synthetically has become an important task in urban planning and civil engineering in this century. Due to the complexity and uncertainty of technical issues in underground construction and soil engineering, construction safety arouses a great concern in underground construction industry. This paper focused on construction of an underground metro station, numerical analyses are carried out to estimate the possible stresses and deformations of surrounding soil and underground structures under the worse loading conditions to assess the structural design and construction safety. Influences of pit excavation on existing tunnel and surrounding spaces are discussed and the stability of main structure of metro station will be analyzed

Ethical issues with colorectal cancer screening-a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmann, Bjørn

2017-06-01

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is widely recommended and implemented. However, sometimes CRC screening is not implemented despite good evidence, and some types of CRC screening are implemented despite lack of evidence. The objective of this article is to expose and elucidate relevant ethical issues in the literature on CRC screening that are important for open and transparent deliberation on CRC screening. An axiological question-based method is used for exposing and elucidating ethical issues relevant in HTA. A literature search in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed Bioethics subset, ISI Web of Knowledge, Bioethics Literature Database (BELIT), Ethics in Medicine (ETHMED), SIBIL Base dati di bioetica, LEWI Bibliographic Database on Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities, and EUROETHICS identified 870 references of which 114 were found relevant according to title and abstract. The content of the included papers were subject to ethical analysis to highlight the ethical issues, concerns, and arguments. A wide range of important ethical issues were identified. The main benefits are reduced relative CRC mortality rate, and potentially incidence rate, but there is no evidence of reduced absolute mortality rate. Potential harms are bleeding, perforation, false test results, overdetection, overdiagnosis, overtreatment (including unnecessary removal of polyps), and (rarely) death. Other important issues are related to autonomy and informed choice equity, justice, medicalization, and expanding disease. A series of important ethical issues have been identified and need to be addressed in open and transparent deliberation on CRC screening. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Degradation of potassium rock by earthworms and responses of bacterial communities in its gut and surrounding substrates after being fed with mineral.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Dianfeng; Lian, Bin; Wang, Bin; Jiang, Guofang

2011-01-01

Earthworms are an ecosystem's engineers, contributing to a wide range of nutrient cycling and geochemical processes in the ecosystem. Their activities can increase rates of silicate mineral weathering. Their intestinal microbes usually are thought to be one of the key drivers of mineral degradation mediated by earthworms,but the diversities of the intestinal microorganisms which were relevant with mineral weathering are unclear. In this report, we show earthworms' effect on silicate mineral weathering and the responses of bacterial communities in their gut and surrounding substrates after being fed with potassium-bearing rock powder (PBRP). Determination of water-soluble and HNO(3)-extractable elements indicated some elements such as Al, Fe and Ca were significantly released from mineral upon the digestion of earthworms. The microbial communities in earthworms' gut and the surrounding substrates were investigated by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) and the results showed a higher bacterial diversity in the guts of the earthworms fed with PBRP and the PBRP after being fed to earthworms. UPGMA dendrogram with unweighted UniFrac analysis, considering only taxa that are present, revealed that earthworms' gut and their surrounding substrate shared similar microbiota. UPGMA dendrogram with weighted UniFrac, considering the relative abundance of microbial lineages, showed the two samples from surrounding substrate and the two samples from earthworms' gut had similarity in microbial community, respectively. Our results indicated earthworms can accelerate degradation of silicate mineral. Earthworms play an important role in ecosystem processe since they not only have some positive effects on soil structure, but also promote nutrient cycling of ecosystem by enhancing the weathering of minerals.

Degradation of potassium rock by earthworms and responses of bacterial communities in its gut and surrounding substrates after being fed with mineral.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dianfeng Liu

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Earthworms are an ecosystem's engineers, contributing to a wide range of nutrient cycling and geochemical processes in the ecosystem. Their activities can increase rates of silicate mineral weathering. Their intestinal microbes usually are thought to be one of the key drivers of mineral degradation mediated by earthworms,but the diversities of the intestinal microorganisms which were relevant with mineral weathering are unclear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this report, we show earthworms' effect on silicate mineral weathering and the responses of bacterial communities in their gut and surrounding substrates after being fed with potassium-bearing rock powder (PBRP. Determination of water-soluble and HNO(3-extractable elements indicated some elements such as Al, Fe and Ca were significantly released from mineral upon the digestion of earthworms. The microbial communities in earthworms' gut and the surrounding substrates were investigated by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA and the results showed a higher bacterial diversity in the guts of the earthworms fed with PBRP and the PBRP after being fed to earthworms. UPGMA dendrogram with unweighted UniFrac analysis, considering only taxa that are present, revealed that earthworms' gut and their surrounding substrate shared similar microbiota. UPGMA dendrogram with weighted UniFrac, considering the relative abundance of microbial lineages, showed the two samples from surrounding substrate and the two samples from earthworms' gut had similarity in microbial community, respectively. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicated earthworms can accelerate degradation of silicate mineral. Earthworms play an important role in ecosystem processe since they not only have some positive effects on soil structure, but also promote nutrient cycling of ecosystem by enhancing the weathering of minerals.

Wide-range vortex shedding flowmeter for high-temperature helium gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, S.P.; Herndon, P.G.; Ennis, R.M. Jr.

1983-01-01

The existing design of a commercially available vortex shedding flowmeter (VSFM) was modified and optimized to produce three 4-in. and one 6-in. high-performance VSFMs for measuring helium flow in a gas-cooled fast reactor (GCFR) test loop. The project was undertaken because of the significant economic and performance advantages to be realized by using a single flowmeter capable of covering the 166:1 flow range (at 350/sup 0/C and 45:1 pressure range) of the tests. A detailed calibration in air and helium at the Colorado Engineering Experiment Station showed an accuracy of +-1% of reading for a 100:1 helium flow range and +-1.75% of reading for a 288:1 flow range in both helium and air. At an extended gas temperature of 450/sup 0/C, water cooling was necessary for reliable flowmeter operation.

Theory of mass-discrimination effects in ion extraction from a plasma of wide pressure range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, J.-S.; Kodera, K.

1979-01-01

Mass-discrimination effects in stagnation-point ion extraction are treated for a plasma with a wide range of Knudsen number, i.e. when the charged particle's mean free path 3 , ion Schmidt numbers, from 0 to 10 4 , the effective Knudsen number K from 0 to infinity, and the Debye ratio Rsub(p)/lambdasub(D) from 0 to 10 -1 . Numerical results show that: (1) for a non-flowing plasma, mass-discrimination effects increase with increasing effective Knudsen number (or gas pressure) and decreasing sampling potential; (2) for a non-flowing plasma, no significant effect of the Debye ratio on mass-discrimination was found; (3) for a flowing plasma, mass-discrimination effects decrease with increasing Reynolds number (or flow velocity) and ion Schmidt number, and with decreasing sampling potential and effective Knudsen number. (Auth.)

Toward a procedure for integrating moral issues in health technology assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmann, Bjørn

2005-01-01

Although ethics has been on the agenda in health technology assessment (HTA) since its inception, the integration of moral issues is still not standard and is performed in a vast variety of ways. Therefore, there is a need for a procedure for integrating moral issues in HTA. Literature review of existing approaches together with application of various theories in moral philosophy and axiology. The article develops a set of questions that addresses a wide range of moral issues related to the assessment and implementation of health technology. The issues include general moral issues and moral issues related to stakeholders, methodology, characteristics of technology, and to the HTA process itself. The questions form a kind of checklist for use in HTAs. The presented approach for integrating moral issues in HTA has a broad theoretical foundation and has shown to be useful in practice. Integrating ethical issues in HTAs can be of great importance with respect to the dissemination of HTA results and in efficient health policy making.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF EXPATRIATE LEADERS IN CORPORATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anona F. Armstrong

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This paper draws upon theories of leadership and ethics to add to the understanding of ethical and cultural factors that impact on expatriates’ experiences. The paper discusses issues for expatriates, particularly relevant for those who are appointed as leaders of corporations in other countries. The paper addresses a wide range of cultural issues and how expatriates might manage the conflicts and risks emerging from different cultural values, attitudes and practices. Examples of the difficulties faced are given, as are consequences. The article concludes with some general observations, particularly relevant to those people employed as corporate expatriate managers.

A computer code simulating multistage chemical exchange column under wide range of operating conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamanishi, Toshihiko; Okuno, Kenji

1996-09-01

A computer code has been developed to simulate a multistage CECE(Combined Electrolysis Chemical Exchange) column. The solution of basic equations can be found out by the Newton-Raphson method. The independent variables are the atom fractions of D and T in each stage for the case where H is dominant within the column. These variables are replaced by those of H and T under the condition that D is dominant. Some effective techniques have also been developed to get a set of solutions of the basic equations: a setting procedure of initial values of the independent variables; and a procedure for the convergence of the Newton-Raphson method. The computer code allows us to simulate the column behavior under a wide range of the operating conditions. Even for a severe case, where the dominant species changes along the column height, the code can give a set of solutions of the basic equations. (author)

A study on the excore neutron flux monitoring system for the wide range measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Sang Jun; Jeong, Dae Won; Baek, Kwang Il; Lee, Jeong Yang; Ha, Jae Hong

1995-11-01

This paper describes a study in which only one kind of neutron detector were used in the advanced ENFMS. The conceptual design was performed for overall system with unified fission chamber. The system consists of detector, junction box, wide-range amplifier and signal processing device. Also the requirements of 10CFR50 App. R were considered in design. On the other hand, through computer simulation, the characteristics of pulse-count mode and MSV mode was scrutinized and each noise withstanding capability was analyzed. The results say that 3rd moment has the more stable characteristics to background noise than MSV method. Also, to remain the integrity of information against noise, during installation and operation, the overall system of KSNP was analyzed from a view of noise. By administration for the cause of noise and noise-coupling paths, through the full understanding of noise characteristics, the transfer of the noise source can be minimized. (Author)

Summary of panel session 3 -- Environmental issues affecting CCT deployment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hausker, K. [Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC (United States)

1997-12-31

The panelists discussed a variety of environmental issues that affect CCT deployment, and more broadly speaking, power development in general. The issues were both international and domestic in nature. The author summarizes the issues discussed. A summary is also presented which highlights ideas from the panelists that could be characterized as solutions to the demand for improved environmental performance and the surrounding uncertainties. The author offers some personal comments and observations.

A Range-Wide Experiment to Investigate Nutrient and Soil Moisture Interactions in Loblolly Pine Plantations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodney E. Will

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The future climate of the southeastern USA is predicted to be warmer, drier and more variable in rainfall, which may increase drought frequency and intensity. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda is the most important commercial tree species in the world and is planted on ~11 million ha within its native range in the southeastern USA. A regional study was installed to evaluate effects of decreased rainfall and nutrient additions on loblolly pine plantation productivity and physiology. Four locations were established to capture the range-wide variability of soil and climate. Treatments were initiated in 2012 and consisted of a factorial combination of throughfall reduction (approximate 30% reduction and fertilization (complete suite of nutrients. Tree and stand growth were measured at each site. Results after two growing seasons indicate a positive but variable response of fertilization on stand volume increment at all four sites and a negative effect of throughfall reduction at two sites. Data will be used to produce robust process model parameterizations useful for simulating loblolly pine growth and function under future, novel climate and management scenarios. The resulting improved models will provide support for developing management strategies to increase pine plantation productivity and carbon sequestration under a changing climate.

Optimization of nonimaging focusing heliostat in dynamic correction of astigmatism for a wide range of incident angles.

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Kok-Keong

2010-05-15

To overcome astigmatism has always been a great challenge in designing a heliostat capable of focusing the sunlight on a small receiver throughout the year. In this Letter, a nonimaging focusing heliostat with a dynamic adjustment of facet mirrors in a group manner has been analyzed for optimizing the astigmatic correction in a wide range of incident angles. This what is to the author's knowledge a new heliostat is not only designed to serve the purpose of concentrating sunlight to several hundreds of suns, but also to significantly reduce the variation of the solar flux distribution with the incident angle.

Musical Instrument-Associated Health Issues and Their Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Okoshi, Kae; Minami, Taro; Kikuchi, Masahiro; Tomizawa, Yasuko

2017-09-01

Playing musical instruments can bring joy to people, but can also cause a wide variety of health issues that range from mild disorders to potentially fatal conditions. Although sports medicine is an established medical subspecialty, relatively few studies have investigated the health issues associated with musical instruments. Here we present an overview of these health issues. These include infections due to microorganisms, allergic reactions, as well as mechanical injuries from sustained high pressures within the oral, mediastinal, thoracic, and abdominal cavities. For example, wind instruments can potentially harbor thousands of pathogenic organisms. If several players share the same instrument, these instruments present potential hazards in the spread of infections. A fatal case of hypersensitivity pneumonitis in a bagpiper is particularly noteworthy. Similarly, a case of gastrointestinal anthrax in an animal-hide drummer is a reminder of this rare but highly fatal disease. Although not fatal, hearing-related disorders, neuromuscular issues, musculoskeletal problems, and contact dermatitis are also very common among instrumentalists. This review aims to illuminate these under-recognized health issues by highlighting both the common conditions and the rare but fatal cases.

Accurate dew-point measurement over a wide temperature range using a quartz crystal microbalance dew-point sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Su-Yong; Kim, Jong-Chul; Choi, Buyng-Il

2008-11-01

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) dew-point sensors are based on frequency measurement, and so have fast response time, high sensitivity and high accuracy. Recently, we have reported that they have the very convenient attribute of being able to distinguish between supercooled dew and frost from a single scan through the resonant frequency of the quartz resonator as a function of the temperature. In addition to these advantages, by using three different types of heat sinks, we have developed a QCM dew/frost-point sensor with a very wide working temperature range (-90 °C to 15 °C). The temperature of the quartz surface can be obtained effectively by measuring the temperature of the quartz crystal holder and using temperature compensation curves (which showed a high level of repeatability and reproducibility). The measured dew/frost points showed very good agreement with reference values and were within ±0.1 °C over the whole temperature range.

Accurate dew-point measurement over a wide temperature range using a quartz crystal microbalance dew-point sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Su-Yong; Kim, Jong-Chul; Choi, Buyng-Il

2008-01-01

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) dew-point sensors are based on frequency measurement, and so have fast response time, high sensitivity and high accuracy. Recently, we have reported that they have the very convenient attribute of being able to distinguish between supercooled dew and frost from a single scan through the resonant frequency of the quartz resonator as a function of the temperature. In addition to these advantages, by using three different types of heat sinks, we have developed a QCM dew/frost-point sensor with a very wide working temperature range (−90 °C to 15 °C). The temperature of the quartz surface can be obtained effectively by measuring the temperature of the quartz crystal holder and using temperature compensation curves (which showed a high level of repeatability and reproducibility). The measured dew/frost points showed very good agreement with reference values and were within ±0.1 °C over the whole temperature range

And the Breast is History: Issues Surrounding FDA Regulation of Silicone Breast Implants

OpenAIRE

Simme, Jodi L.

1995-01-01

The breast implant crisis has raised serious issues for women. On one hand, it is difficult to argue against giving women the right to choose, especially when the choice involves their own bodies. Restricting freedom in that realm is politically unpopular these days. On the other hand, women have been harmed by the lack of conclusive health information and by deceptive and coercive messages sent by media, implant manufacturers and plastic surgeons. For women to benefit from their right to cho...

Hurricane Dennis Aerial Photography: Draft Image Mosaics of the Florida Panhandle and Surrounding Regions After Landfall

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The imagery posted on this site is of the Florida panhandle and surrounding regions after Hurricane Dennis made landfall. The regions photographed range from...

Both life-history plasticity and local adaptation will shape range-wide responses to climate warming in the tundra plant Silene acaulis.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Megan L; Doak, Daniel F; Morris, William F

2018-04-01

Many predictions of how climate change will impact biodiversity have focused on range shifts using species-wide climate tolerances, an approach that ignores the demographic mechanisms that enable species to attain broad geographic distributions. But these mechanisms matter, as responses to climate change could fundamentally differ depending on the contributions of life-history plasticity vs. local adaptation to species-wide climate tolerances. In particular, if local adaptation to climate is strong, populations across a species' range-not only those at the trailing range edge-could decline sharply with global climate change. Indeed, faster rates of climate change in many high latitude regions could combine with local adaptation to generate sharper declines well away from trailing edges. Combining 15 years of demographic data from field populations across North America with growth chamber warming experiments, we show that growth and survival in a widespread tundra plant show compensatory responses to warming throughout the species' latitudinal range, buffering overall performance across a range of temperatures. However, populations also differ in their temperature responses, consistent with adaptation to local climate, especially growing season temperature. In particular, warming begins to negatively impact plant growth at cooler temperatures for plants from colder, northern populations than for those from warmer, southern populations, both in the field and in growth chambers. Furthermore, the individuals and maternal families with the fastest growth also have the lowest water use efficiency at all temperatures, suggesting that a trade-off between growth and water use efficiency could further constrain responses to forecasted warming and drying. Taken together, these results suggest that populations throughout species' ranges could be at risk of decline with continued climate change, and that the focus on trailing edge populations risks overlooking the largest

Design Considerations for Autocalibrations of Wide-Band ΔΣ Fractional-N PLL Synthesizers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaewook Shin

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Autocalibration of VCO frequency and loop gain is an essential process in PLL frequency synthesizers. In a wide tuning-range fractional-N PLL frequency synthesizer, high-speed and high-precision automatic calibration is especially important for shortening the lock time and improving the phase noise. This paper reviews the design issues of the PLL auto-calibration and discusses on the limitations of the previous techniques. A very simple and efficient auto-calibration method based on a high-speed frequency-to-digital converter (FDC is proposed and verified through simulations. The proposed method is highly suited for a very wide-band ΔΣ fractional-N PLL.

Electrical, optical, and electronic properties of Al:ZnO films in a wide doping range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valenti, Ilaria; Valeri, Sergio; Benedetti, Stefania; Bona, Alessandro di; Lollobrigida, Valerio; Perucchi, Andrea; Di Pietro, Paola; Lupi, Stefano; Torelli, Piero

2015-01-01

The combination of photoemission spectroscopies, infrared and UV-VIS absorption, and electric measurements has allowed to clarify the mechanisms governing the conductivity and the electronic properties of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films in a wide doping range. The contribution of defect-related in-gap states to conduction has been excluded in optimally doped films (around 4 at. %). The appearance of gap states at high doping, the disappearance of occupied DOS at Fermi level, and the bands evolution complete the picture of electronic structure in AZO when doped above 4 at. %. In this situation, compensating defects deplete the conduction band and increase the electronic bandgap of the material. Electrical measurements and figure of merit determination confirm the high quality of the films obtained by magnetron sputtering, and thus allow to extend their properties to AZO films in general

Electrical, optical, and electronic properties of Al:ZnO films in a wide doping range

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valenti, Ilaria; Valeri, Sergio [CNR, Istituto Nanoscienze, S3, Via G. Campi 213/a, 41125 Modena (Italy); Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Informatiche e Matematiche, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via G. Campi 213/a, 41125 Modena (Italy); Benedetti, Stefania, E-mail: stefania.benedetti@unimore.it; Bona, Alessandro di [CNR, Istituto Nanoscienze, S3, Via G. Campi 213/a, 41125 Modena (Italy); Lollobrigida, Valerio [Dipartimento di Scienze, Università Roma Tre, I-00146 Rome, Italy and Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università Roma Tre, I-00146 Rome (Italy); Perucchi, Andrea; Di Pietro, Paola [INSTM Udr Trieste-ST and Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., Area Science Park, I-34012 Trieste (Italy); Lupi, Stefano [CNR-IOM and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro 2, I-00185 Roma (Italy); Torelli, Piero [Laboratorio TASC, IOM-CNR, S.S. 14 km 163.5, Basovizza, I-34149 Trieste (Italy)

2015-10-28

The combination of photoemission spectroscopies, infrared and UV-VIS absorption, and electric measurements has allowed to clarify the mechanisms governing the conductivity and the electronic properties of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films in a wide doping range. The contribution of defect-related in-gap states to conduction has been excluded in optimally doped films (around 4 at. %). The appearance of gap states at high doping, the disappearance of occupied DOS at Fermi level, and the bands evolution complete the picture of electronic structure in AZO when doped above 4 at. %. In this situation, compensating defects deplete the conduction band and increase the electronic bandgap of the material. Electrical measurements and figure of merit determination confirm the high quality of the films obtained by magnetron sputtering, and thus allow to extend their properties to AZO films in general.

Lipophilic polyelectrolyte gel derived from phosphonium borate can absorb a wide range of organic solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Sunaga, Sokuro; Kokado, Kenta; Sada, Kazuki

2018-01-24

Herein, we demonstrate a polyelectrolyte gel which can absorb a wide range of organic solvents from dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO, permittivity: ε = 47.0) to tetrahydrofuran (ε = 5.6). The gel consists of polystyrene chains with small amounts (∼5 mol%) of lipophilic electrolytes derived from triphenylphosphonium tetraaryl borate. The swelling ability of the polyelectrolyte gel was higher than that of the alkyl ammonium tetraaryl borate previously reported by us, and this is attributed to the higher compatibility with organic solvents, as well as the higher dissociating ability, of the triphenyl phosphonium salt. The role of the ionic moieties was additionally confirmed by post modification of the polyelectrolyte gel via a conventional Wittig reaction, resulting in a nonionic gel. Our findings introduced here will lead to a clear-cut molecular design for polyelectrolyte gels which absorb all solvents.

Forest Fragments Surrounded by Sugar Cane Are More Inhospitable to Terrestrial Amphibian Abundance Than Fragments Surrounded by Pasture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Eveline Ribeiro D’Anunciação

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, there has been increasing interest in matrix-type influence on forest fragments. Terrestrial amphibians are good bioindicators for this kind of research because of low vagility and high philopatry. This study compared richness, abundance, and species composition of terrestrial amphibians through pitfall traps in two sets of semideciduous seasonal forest fragments in southeastern Brazil, according to the predominant surrounding matrix (sugar cane and pasture. There were no differences in richness, but fragments surrounded by sugar cane had the lowest abundance of amphibians, whereas fragments surrounded by pastures had greater abundance. The most abundant species, Rhinella ornata, showed no biometric differences between fragment groups but like many other amphibians sampled showed very low numbers of individuals in fragments dominated by sugar cane fields. Our data indicate that the sugar cane matrix negatively influences the community of amphibians present in fragments surrounded by this type of land use.

Hurricane Ivan Aerial Photography: High-Resolution Imagery of the Florida Panhandle and Surrounding Regions After Landfall

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The imagery posted on this site is of the Florida panhandle and surrounding regions after Hurricane Ivan made landfall. The regions photographed range from Gulf...

Lack of parental rule-setting on eating is associated with a wide range of adolescent unhealthy eating behaviour both for boys and girls

OpenAIRE

Holubcikova, Jana; Kolarcik, Peter; Madarasova Geckova, Andrea; van Dijk, Jitse P.; Reijneveld, Sijmen A.

2016-01-01

Abstract Background Unhealthy eating habits in adolescence lead to a wide variety of health problems and disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of absence of parental rules on eating and unhealthy eating behaviour and to explore the relationships between parental rules on eating and a wide range of unhealthy eating habits of boys and girls. We also explored the association of sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, family affluence or parental education with ea...

Results of an Advanced Fan Stage Operating Over a Wide Range of Speed and Bypass Ratio. Part 1; Fan Stage Design and Experimental Results

Science.gov (United States)

Suder, Kenneth L.; Prahst, Patricia S.; Thorp, Scott A.

2011-01-01

NASA s Fundamental Aeronautics Program is investigating turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) propulsion systems for access to space because it provides the potential for aircraft-like, space-launch operations that may significantly reduce launch costs and improve safety. To this end, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and General Electric (GE) teamed to design a Mach 4 variable cycle turbofan/ramjet engine for access to space. To enable the wide operating range of a Mach 4+ variable cycle turbofan ramjet required the development of a unique fan stage design capable of multi-point operation to accommodate variations in bypass ratio (10 ), fan speed (7 ), inlet mass flow (3.5 ), inlet pressure (8 ), and inlet temperature (3 ). In this paper, NASA has set out to characterize a TBCC engine fan stage aerodynamic performance and stability limits over a wide operating range including power-on and hypersonic-unique "windmill" operation. Herein, we will present the fan stage design, and the experimental test results of the fan stage operating from 15 to 100 percent corrected design speed. Whereas, in the companion paper, we will provide an assessment of NASA s APNASA code s ability to predict the fan stage performance and operability over a wide range of speed and bypass ratio.

A lack of standardization: the basis for the ethical issues surrounding quality and performance reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Suchy, Kirsten

2010-01-01

Consumers in the United States are taking advantage of the proliferation of publicly available, internet-based performance reports and quality appraisals of health plans, healthcare organizations, hospitals, and physicians to aid in their healthcare decision making. However, these appraisal practices have given rise to controversy and debate over certain distinctive ethical issues. This article advocates a standardized ethical framework to guide current and future development and implementation of performance reports. This framework, which would resolve a number of the major issues, includes the following ethical principles to guide the practice of public reporting on the Internet and facilitate enhanced quality improvement in the healthcare industry: legitimacy, data integrity and quality, transparency, informed understanding, equity, privacy and confidentiality, collaboration, accountability, and evaluation and continuous improvement.

Characterization of advanced piezoelectric materials in the wide temperature range

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burianova, L.; Kopal, A.; Nosek, J

2003-05-25

We report about methods and results of our measurements of piezoelectric, dielectric and elastic properties of piezoelectric materials like crystals, ceramics, composites, polymers and thin layer composites. Among the methods, used in our laboratories are: the resonance method working in the temperature range 208-358 K, hydrostatic methods, both static and dynamic in the range 273-333 K, laser interferometric methods, using single and double-beam interferometer, working at room temperature, single and double-beam micro-interferometers, working inside of optical cryostat in the range 150-330 K, and pulse echo method for measurements of elastic coefficients, using ultrasonic set, working at room temperature. In our earlier papers we reported about some of our results of piezoelectric measurements of PZT ceramics using resonance method and laser interferometric method. The results of both methods were in good agreement. Now, the measurements are realized on 0-3 ceramic-polymer composites and thin layer composites. It is well known, that both intrinsic (material) and extrinsic (domain structure) contributions to properties of ferroelectric samples have characteristic, sometimes rather strong, temperature dependence. Therefore, any extension of temperature range of the above mentioned methods is welcomed.

The impacts of nuclear facilities on property values and other factors in the surrounding communities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bezdek, R.H.; Wendling, R.M.

2006-01-01

This paper addresses the issue of the impact of the siting of nuclear facilities on the adjacent communities. It reviews previous studies on the issue and then empirically examines the impacts of seven major nuclear facilities located throughout the USA on the surrounding communities. The analysis focuses on the effects on local property values, economic growth, tax revenues, public services, community development, jobs and employment, and schools. Using published data, economic and statistical analyses, literature reviews and interviews, it finds that the impacts of these facilities have been largely positive. The findings are placed in perspective, caveats are noted concerning the generalisation of the conclusions derived and recommendations for required further research are provided. (author)

Combined Flux Observer With Signal Injection Enhancement for Wide Speed Range Sensorless Direct Torque Control of IPMSM Drives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blaabjerg, Frede; Andreescu, G.-D.; Pitic, C.I.

2008-01-01

voltage-current model with PI compensator for low-speed operations. As speed increases, the observer switches gradually to a PI compensated closed-loop voltage model, which is solely used at high speeds. High-frequency rotating-voltage injection with a single D-module bandpass vector filter and a phase......This paper proposes a motion-sensorless control system using direct torque control with space vector modulation for interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) drives, for wide speed range operation, including standstill. A novel stator flux observer with variable structure uses a combined...

Special issue on asteroids - Introduction

Science.gov (United States)

Novaković, Bojan; Hsieh, Henry H.; Gronchi, Giovanni F.

2018-04-01

The articles in this special issue are devoted to asteroids, small solar system bodies that primarily populate a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, known as the asteroid belt, but can also be found throughout the Solar System. Asteroids are considered to be a key to understanding the formation and evolution of our planetary system. Their properties allow us to test current theoretical models and develop new theoretical concepts pertaining to evolutionary processes in the Solar System. There have been major advances in asteroid science in the last decade, and that trend continues. Eighteen papers accepted for this special issue cover a wide range of asteroid-related subjects, pushing the boundaries of our understanding of these intriguing objects even further. Here we provide the reader with a brief overview of these thrilling papers, with an invitation for interested scientists to read each work in detail for a better understanding of these recent cutting edge results. As many topics in asteroid science remain open challenges, we hope that this special issue will be an important reference point for future research on this compelling topic.

ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS OF TERRESTRIAL EXOPLANETS OVER A WIDE RANGE OF ORBITAL AND ATMOSPHERIC PARAMETERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaspi, Yohai [Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl st., 76100, Rehovot (Israel); Showman, Adam P., E-mail: yohai.kaspi@weizmann.ac.il [Department of Planetary Sciences and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona, 1629 University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

2015-05-01

The recent discoveries of terrestrial exoplanets and super-Earths extending over a broad range of orbital and physical parameters suggest that these planets will span a wide range of climatic regimes. Characterization of the atmospheres of warm super-Earths has already begun and will be extended to smaller and more distant planets over the coming decade. The habitability of these worlds may be strongly affected by their three-dimensional atmospheric circulation regimes, since the global climate feedbacks that control the inner and outer edges of the habitable zone—including transitions to Snowball-like states and runaway-greenhouse feedbacks—depend on the equator-to-pole temperature differences, patterns of relative humidity, and other aspects of the dynamics. Here, using an idealized moist atmospheric general circulation model including a hydrological cycle, we study the dynamical principles governing the atmospheric dynamics on such planets. We show how the planetary rotation rate, stellar flux, atmospheric mass, surface gravity, optical thickness, and planetary radius affect the atmospheric circulation and temperature distribution on such planets. Our simulations demonstrate that equator-to-pole temperature differences, meridional heat transport rates, structure and strength of the winds, and the hydrological cycle vary strongly with these parameters, implying that the sensitivity of the planet to global climate feedbacks will depend significantly on the atmospheric circulation. We elucidate the possible climatic regimes and diagnose the mechanisms controlling the formation of atmospheric jet streams, Hadley and Ferrel cells, and latitudinal temperature differences. Finally, we discuss the implications for understanding how the atmospheric circulation influences the global climate.

ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS OF TERRESTRIAL EXOPLANETS OVER A WIDE RANGE OF ORBITAL AND ATMOSPHERIC PARAMETERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaspi, Yohai; Showman, Adam P.

2015-01-01

The recent discoveries of terrestrial exoplanets and super-Earths extending over a broad range of orbital and physical parameters suggest that these planets will span a wide range of climatic regimes. Characterization of the atmospheres of warm super-Earths has already begun and will be extended to smaller and more distant planets over the coming decade. The habitability of these worlds may be strongly affected by their three-dimensional atmospheric circulation regimes, since the global climate feedbacks that control the inner and outer edges of the habitable zone—including transitions to Snowball-like states and runaway-greenhouse feedbacks—depend on the equator-to-pole temperature differences, patterns of relative humidity, and other aspects of the dynamics. Here, using an idealized moist atmospheric general circulation model including a hydrological cycle, we study the dynamical principles governing the atmospheric dynamics on such planets. We show how the planetary rotation rate, stellar flux, atmospheric mass, surface gravity, optical thickness, and planetary radius affect the atmospheric circulation and temperature distribution on such planets. Our simulations demonstrate that equator-to-pole temperature differences, meridional heat transport rates, structure and strength of the winds, and the hydrological cycle vary strongly with these parameters, implying that the sensitivity of the planet to global climate feedbacks will depend significantly on the atmospheric circulation. We elucidate the possible climatic regimes and diagnose the mechanisms controlling the formation of atmospheric jet streams, Hadley and Ferrel cells, and latitudinal temperature differences. Finally, we discuss the implications for understanding how the atmospheric circulation influences the global climate

Internet and The World Wide Web

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 2; Issue 2. Internet and The World Wide Web. Neelima Shrikhande. General Article Volume 2 Issue 2 February 1997 pp 64-74. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/002/02/0064-0074 ...

Enhancement of Afterimage Colors by Surrounding Contours

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takao Sato

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Presenting luminance contours surrounding the adapted areas in test phase enhances color afterimages in both duration and color appearance. The presence of surrounding contour is crucial to some color phenomenon such as van Lier's afterimage, but the contour-effect itself has not been seriously examined. In this paper, we compared the contour-effect to color afterimages and to actually colored patches to examine the nature of color information subserving color-aftereffect. In the experiment, observers were adapted for 1 sec to a small colored square (red, green, yellow, or blue presented on a gray background. Then, a test field either with or without surrounding contour was presented. Observers matched the color of a test-patch located near the afterimage to the color of afterimage. It was found that the saturation of negative afterimage was almost doubled by the presence of surrounding contours. There was no effect of luminance contrast or polarity of contours. In contrast, no enhancement of saturation by surrounding contours was observed for actually colored patches even though the colors of patches were equalized to that of afterimage without contours. This dissociation in the contour-effect demonstrates the crucial difference between the color information for aftereffects and for ordinary bottom-up color perception.

Predicting sorption of organic acids to a wide range of carbonized sorbents

Science.gov (United States)

Sigmund, Gabriel; Kah, Melanie; Sun, Huichao; Hofmann, Thilo

2016-04-01

Many contaminants and infochemicals are organic acids that undergo dissociation under environmental conditions. The sorption of dissociated anions to biochar and other carbonized sorbents is typically lower than that of neutral species. It is driven by complex processes that are not yet fully understood. It is known that predictive approaches developed for neutral compounds are unlikely to be suitable for organic acids, due to the effects of dissociation on sorption. Previous studies on the sorption of organic acids to soils have demonstrated that log Dow, which describes the decrease in hydrophobicity of acids upon dissociation, is a useful alternative to log Kow. The aim of the present study was to adapt a log Dow based approach to describe the sorption of organic acids to carbonized sorbents. Batch experiments were performed with a series of 9 sorbents (i.e., carbonized wood shavings, pig manure, and sewage sludge, carbon nanotubes and activated carbon), and four acids commonly used for pesticidal and biocidal purposes (i.e., 2,4-D, MCPA, 2,4-DB, and triclosan). Sorbents were comprehensively characterized, including by N2 and CO2 physisorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The wide range of sorbents considered allows (i) discussing the mechanisms driving the sorption of neutral and anionic species to biochar, and (ii) their dependency on sorbate and sorbent properties. Results showed that the sorption of the four acids was influenced by factors that are usually not considered for neutral compounds (i.e., pH, ionic strength). Dissociation affected the sorption of the four compounds, and sorption of the anions ranged over five orders of magnitude, thus substantially contributing to sorption in some cases. For prediction purposes, most of the variation in sorption to carbonized sorbents (89%) could be well described with a two-parameter regression equation including log Dow and sorbent specific surface area. The proposed model

School Counselors: A Review of Contemporary Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Bain, Steve F.

2012-01-01

This article seeks to review the topic of school counselors and the contemporary issues surrounding this profession. An introduction to the profession and overview of its history provides a comprehensive basis on which to understand today's school counseling profession. An examination of contemporary themes of school counseling will include job…

Wide-range screening of psychoactive substances by FIA-HRMS: identification strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Alechaga, Élida; Moyano, Encarnación; Galceran, Maria Teresa

2015-06-01

Recreational drugs (illicit drugs, human and veterinary medicines, legal highs, etc.) often contain lacing agents and adulterants which are not related to the main active ingredient. Serious side effects and even the death of the consumer have been related to the consumption of mixtures of psychoactive substances and/or adulterants, so it is important to know the actual composition of recreational drugs. In this work, a method based on flow injection analysis (FIA) coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) is proposed for the fast identification of psychoactive substances in recreational drugs and legal highs. The FIA and HRMS working conditions were optimized in order to detect a wide range of psychoactive compounds. As most of the psychoactive substances are acid-base compounds, methanol-0.1 % aqueous formic acid (1:1 v/v) as a carrier solvent and electrospray in both positive ion mode and negative ion mode were used. Two data acquisition modes, full scan at high mass resolution (HRMS) and data-dependent tandem mass spectrometry (ddMS/HRMS) with a quadrupole-Orbitrap mass analyzer were used, resulting in sufficient selectivity for identification of the components of the samples. A custom-made database containing over 450 substances, including psychoactive compounds and common adulterants, was built to perform a high-throughput target and suspect screening. Moreover, online accurate mass databases and mass fragmenter software were used to identify unknowns. Some examples, selected among the analyzed samples of recreational drugs and legal highs using the FIA-HRMS(ddMS/HRMS) method developed, are discussed to illustrate the screening strategy used in this study. The results showed that many of the analyzed samples were adulterated, and in some cases the sample composition did not match that of the supposed marketed substance.

An environmental pollution study of Indian metropolitan cities and industrial surroundings by INAA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garg, A.N.; Chutke, N.L.; Ambulkar, M.N.

1995-01-01

The process of urbanization and industrialization during last two decades has resulted in increased level of air pollution causing hazards to human health. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) using short and long term irradiation has been employed for the determination of more than 30 elements in suspended particulate matter (SPM) from six metropolitan cities and three industrial surroundings. A comparison of mean elemental contents in dust particulates from commercial, industrial and residential zones of Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, Cochin, Bombay and Nagpur cities has shown wide variation in toxic pollutant (As, Br, Cr, Cu, Hg and Sb) concentrations. Coastal areas have shown higher concentrations of Na, K, Cl and Br. Highly industrialized Bombay showed highest levels of Br, Cl, Cr, Fe, Mg, P, Rb and Sc. Mean elemental contents in fugitive and ambient dust of a cement factory and thermal power station (both in central India) are widely different. SPM levels in fugitive dust of the two industrial surroundings are higher by an order of magnitude compared to ambient air. Analysis of ambient air dust from a paper mill showed highest concentrations of Hg, Sb and Zn. Elemental data have been compared with those of Urban Particulate Matter (SRM 1648), Coal Fly Ash (SRM 1633a) and Vehicle Exhaust Particulate (NIES No. 8) which were analysed for quality control. An attempt has been made to attribute the elemental contents to possible sources of origin. (author) 26 refs.; 3 figs.; 3 tabs

Chromatic induction from surrounding stimuli under perceptual suppression.

Science.gov (United States)

Horiuchi, Koji; Kuriki, Ichiro; Tokunaga, Rumi; Matsumiya, Kazumichi; Shioiri, Satoshi

2014-11-01

The appearance of colors can be affected by their spatiotemporal context. The shift in color appearance according to the surrounding colors is called color induction or chromatic induction; in particular, the shift in opponent color of the surround is called chromatic contrast. To investigate whether chromatic induction occurs even when the chromatic surround is imperceptible, we measured chromatic induction during interocular suppression. A multicolor or uniform color field was presented as the surround stimulus, and a colored continuous flash suppression (CFS) stimulus was presented to the dominant eye of each subject. The subjects were asked to report the appearance of the test field only when the stationary surround stimulus is invisible by interocular suppression with CFS. The resulting shifts in color appearance due to chromatic induction were significant even under the conditions of interocular suppression for all surround stimuli. The magnitude of chromatic induction differed with the surround conditions, and this difference was preserved regardless of the viewing conditions. The chromatic induction effect was reduced by CFS, in proportion to the magnitude of chromatic induction under natural (i.e., no-CFS) viewing conditions. According to an analysis with linear model fitting, we revealed the presence of at least two kinds of subprocesses for chromatic induction that reside at higher and lower levels than the site of interocular suppression. One mechanism yields different degrees of chromatic induction based on the complexity of the surround, which is unaffected by interocular suppression, while the other mechanism changes its output with interocular suppression acting as a gain control. Our results imply that the total chromatic induction effect is achieved via a linear summation of outputs from mechanisms that reside at different levels of visual processing.

Enterprise wide transparent information access

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, J.

1995-05-01

The information management needs of the Department of Energy (DOE) represents a fertile domain for the development of highly sophisticated yet intuitive enterprise-wide computing solutions. These solutions must support business operations, research agendas, technology development efforts, decision support, and other application areas with a user base ranging from technical staff to the highest levels of management. One area of primary interest is in the Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Branch of DOE. In this arena, the issue of tracking and managing nuclear waste related to the long legacy of prior defense production and research programs is one of high visibility and great concern. The Tank Waste Information Network System (TWINS) application has been created by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the DOE to assist in managing and accessing the information related to this mission. The TWINS solution addresses many of the technical issues faced by other efforts to provide integrated information access to a wide variety of stakeholders. TWINS provides secure transparent access to distributed heterogeneous multimedia information sources from around the DOE complex. The users interact with the information through a consistent user interface that presents the desired data in a common format regardless of the structure of the source information. The solutions developed by the TWINS project represent an integration of several technologies and products that can be applied to other mission areas within DOE and other government agencies. These solutions are now being applied to public and private sector problem domains as well. The successful integration and inter-operation of both commercial and custom modules into a flexible and extensible information architecture will help ensure that new problems facing DOE and other clients can be addressed more rapidly in the future by re-use of existing tools and techniques proven viable through the TWINS efforts

Experimental validation of the intrinsic spatial efficiency method over a wide range of sizes for cylindrical sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortiz-Ramŕez, Pablo, E-mail: rapeitor@ug.uchile.cl; Larroquette, Philippe [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile (Chile); Camilla, S. [Departamento de Física, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana (Chile)

2016-07-07

The intrinsic spatial efficiency method is a new absolute method to determine the efficiency of a gamma spectroscopy system for any extended source. In the original work the method was experimentally demonstrated and validated for homogeneous cylindrical sources containing {sup 137}Cs, whose sizes varied over a small range (29.5 mm radius and 15.0 to 25.9 mm height). In this work we present an extension of the validation over a wide range of sizes. The dimensions of the cylindrical sources vary between 10 to 40 mm height and 8 to 30 mm radius. The cylindrical sources were prepared using the reference material IAEA-372, which had a specific activity of 11320 Bq/kg at july 2006. The obtained results were better for the sources with 29 mm radius showing relative bias lesser than 5% and for the sources with 10 mm height showing relative bias lesser than 6%. In comparison with the obtained results in the work where we present the method, the majority of these results show an excellent agreement.

Linking student performance in Massachusetts elementary schools with the "greenness" of school surroundings using remote sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chih-Da; McNeely, Eileen; Cedeño-Laurent, J G; Pan, Wen-Chi; Adamkiewicz, Gary; Dominici, Francesca; Lung, Shih-Chun Candice; Su, Huey-Jen; Spengler, John D

2014-01-01

Various studies have reported the physical and mental health benefits from exposure to "green" neighborhoods, such as proximity to neighborhoods with trees and vegetation. However, no studies have explicitly assessed the association between exposure to "green" surroundings and cognitive function in terms of student academic performance. This study investigated the association between the "greenness" of the area surrounding a Massachusetts public elementary school and the academic achievement of the school's student body based on standardized tests with an ecological setting. Researchers used the composite school-based performance scores generated by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) to measure the percentage of 3rd-grade students (the first year of standardized testing for 8-9 years-old children in public school), who scored "Above Proficient" (AP) in English and Mathematics tests (Note: Individual student scores are not publically available). The MCAS results are comparable year to year thanks to an equating process. Researchers included test results from 2006 through 2012 in 905 public schools and adjusted for differences between schools in the final analysis according to race, gender, English as a second language (proxy for ethnicity and language facility), parent income, student-teacher ratio, and school attendance. Surrounding greenness of each school was measured using satellite images converted into the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in March, July and October of each year according to a 250-meter, 500-meter, 1,000-meter, and 2000-meter circular buffer around each school. Spatial Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) estimated the impacts of surrounding greenness on school-based performance. Overall the study results supported a relationship between the "greenness" of the school area and the school-wide academic performance. Interestingly, the results showed a consistently positive significant association between the

A fully integrated, wide-load-range, high-power-conversion-efficiency switched capacitor DC-DC converter with adaptive bias comparator for ultra-low-power power management integrated circuit

Science.gov (United States)

Asano, Hiroki; Hirose, Tetsuya; Kojima, Yuta; Kuroki, Nobutaka; Numa, Masahiro

2018-04-01

In this paper, we present a wide-load-range switched-capacitor DC-DC buck converter with an adaptive bias comparator for ultra-low-power power management integrated circuit. The proposed converter is based on a conventional one and modified to operate in a wide load range by developing a load current monitor used in an adaptive bias comparator. Measurement results demonstrated that our proposed converter generates a 1.0 V output voltage from a 3.0 V input voltage at a load of up to 100 µA, which is 20 times higher than that of the conventional one. The power conversion efficiency was higher than 60% in the load range from 0.8 to 100 µA.

The Older Employee as a Resource: Issues for Personnel.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyons, Morgan

1981-01-01

This article looks at some of the issues surrounding a potentially older workforce and reports on some of the creative solutions currently being advanced by employers, including (1) redesigning work schedules, (2) redesigning jobs, and (3) alternative assignments. (LRA)

Lithological and land-use based assessment of heavy metal pollution in soils surrounding a cement plant in SW Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Cutillas-Barreiro, Laura; Pérez-Rodríguez, Paula; Gómez-Armesto, Antía; Fernández-Sanjurjo, María José; Álvarez-Rodríguez, Esperanza; Núñez-Delgado, Avelino; Arias-Estévez, Manuel; Nóvoa-Muñoz, Juan Carlos

2016-08-15

We study the influence of phasing out a cement plant on the heavy metal (Hg, Pb and Cr) content in the surrounding soils, taking into account factors often neglected, such as contributions due to local lithology or land use. The range of total Hg was 10-144µg kg(-1), reaching up to 41 and 145mgkg(-1) for total contents of Pb and Cr, respectively. Forest soils showed higher concentration of Hg than prairie soils, indicating the importance of land use on the accumulation of volatile heavy metals in soils. In forest soils, total Hg showed a trend to decrease with soil depth, whereas in prairie soils the vertical pattern of heavy metal concentrations was quite homogeneous. In most cases, the distance to the cement plant was not a factor of influence in the soils content of the analyzed heavy metals. Total Pb and Cr contents in soils nearby the cement plant were quite similar to those found in the local lithology, resulting in enrichment factor values (EF's) below 2. This suggests that soil parent material is the main source of these heavy metals in the studied soils, while the contribution of the cement plant to Pb and Cr soil pollution was almost negligible. On the contrary, the soils surrounding the cement plant accumulate a significant amount of Hg, compared to the underlying lithology. This was especially noticeable in forest soils, where Hg EF achieved values up to 36. These results are of relevance, bearing in mind that Hg accumulation in soils may be an issue of environmental concern, particularly in prairie soils, where temporal flooding can favor Hg transformation to highly toxic methyl-Hg. In addition, the concurrence of acid soils and total-Cr concentrations in the range of those considered phytotoxic should be also stressed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Screening variability and change of soil moisture under wide-ranging climate conditions: Snow dynamics effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Verrot, Lucile; Destouni, Georgia

2015-01-01

Soil moisture influences and is influenced by water, climate, and ecosystem conditions, affecting associated ecosystem services in the landscape. This paper couples snow storage-melting dynamics with an analytical modeling approach to screening basin-scale, long-term soil moisture variability and change in a changing climate. This coupling enables assessment of both spatial differences and temporal changes across a wide range of hydro-climatic conditions. Model application is exemplified for two major Swedish hydrological basins, Norrström and Piteälven. These are located along a steep temperature gradient and have experienced different hydro-climatic changes over the time period of study, 1950-2009. Spatially, average intra-annual variability of soil moisture differs considerably between the basins due to their temperature-related differences in snow dynamics. With regard to temporal change, the long-term average state and intra-annual variability of soil moisture have not changed much, while inter-annual variability has changed considerably in response to hydro-climatic changes experienced so far in each basin.

Mercury's interior, surface, and surrounding environment latest discoveries

CERN Document Server

Clark, Pamela Elizabeth

2015-01-01

This SpringerBrief details the MESSENGER Mission, the findings of which present challenges to widely held conventional views and remaining mysteries surrounding the planet. The work answers the question of why Mercury is so dense, and the implications from geochemical data on its planetary formation. It summarizes imaging and compositional data from the terrestrial planet surface processes and explains the geologic history of Mercury.  It also discusses the lack of southern hemisphere coverage. Our understanding of the planet Mercury has been in a transitional phase over the decades since Mariner 10. The influx of new data from the NASA MESSENGER Mission since it was inserted into the orbit of Mercury in March of 2011 has greatly accelerated that shift. The combined compositional data of relatively high volatiles (S, K), relatively low refractories (Al, Ca), and low crustal iron, combined with an active, partially molten iron rich core, has major implications for Mercury and Solar System formation. From a s...

Using Range-Wide Abundance Modeling to Identify Key Conservation Areas for the Micro-Endemic Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cinthya A Ureña-Aranda

Full Text Available A widespread biogeographic pattern in nature is that population abundance is not uniform across the geographic range of species: most occurrence sites have relatively low numbers, whereas a few places contain orders of magnitude more individuals. The Bolson tortoise Gopherus flavomarginatus is endemic to a small region of the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico, where habitat deterioration threatens this species with extinction. In this study we combined field burrows counts and the approach for modeling species abundance based on calculating the distance to the niche centroid to obtain range-wide abundance estimates. For the Bolson tortoise, we found a robust, negative relationship between observed burrows abundance and distance to the niche centroid, with a predictive capacity of 71%. Based on these results we identified four priority areas for the conservation of this microendemic and threatened tortoise. We conclude that this approach may be a useful approximation for identifying key areas for sampling and conservation efforts in elusive and rare species.

An ultra-wide bandwidth-based range/GPS tight integration approach for relative positioning in vehicular ad hoc networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Feng; Cheong, Joon Wayn; Dempster, Andrew G

2015-01-01

Relative position awareness is a vital premise for the implementation of emerging intelligent transportation systems, such as collision warning. However, commercial global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) receivers do not satisfy the requirements of these applications. Fortunately, cooperative positioning (CP) techniques, through sharing the GNSS measurements between vehicles, can improve the performance of relative positioning in a vehicular ad hoc network (VANET). In this paper, while assuming there are no obstacles between vehicles, a new enhanced tightly coupled CP technique is presented by adding ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB)-based inter-vehicular range measurements. In the proposed CP method, each vehicle fuses the GPS measurements and the inter-vehicular range measurements. Based on analytical and experimental results, in the full GPS coverage environment, the new tight integration CP method outperforms the INS-aided tight CP method, tight CP method, and DGPS by 11%, 15%, and 24%, respectively; in the GPS outage scenario, the performance improvement achieves 60%, 65%, and 73%, respectively. (paper)

Market-wide price co-movement around crashes in the Tokyo Stock Exchange

OpenAIRE

Jun-ichi Maskawa; Joshin Murai; Koji Kuroda

2013-01-01

As described in this paper, we study market-wide price co-movements around crashes by analyzing a dataset of high-frequency stock returns of the constituent issues of Nikkei 225 Index listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for the three years during 2007--2009. Results of day-to-day principal component analysis of the time series sampled at the 1 min time interval during the continuous auction of the daytime reveal the long range up to a couple of months significant auto-correlation of the maximu...

A Wide Linearity Range Method for the Determination of Lenalidomide in Plasma by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography: Application to Pharmacokinetic Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Guglieri-López, Beatriz; Pérez-Pitarch, Alejandro; Martinez-Gómez, Maria Amparo; Porta-Oltra, Begoña; Climente-Martí, Mónica; Merino-Sanjuán, Matilde

2016-12-01

A wide linearity range analytical method for the determination of lenalidomide in patients with multiple myeloma for pharmacokinetic studies is required. Plasma samples were ultrasonicated for protein precipitation. A solid-phase extraction was performed. The eluted samples were evaporated to dryness under vacuum, and the solid obtained was diluted and injected into the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system. Separation of lenalidomide was performed on an Xterra RP C18 (250 mm length × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 µm) using a mobile phase consisting of phosphate buffer/acetonitrile (85:15, v/v, pH 3.2) at a flow rate of 0.5 mL · min -1 The samples were monitored at a wavelength of 311 nm. A linear relationship with good correlation coefficient (r = 0.997, n = 9) was found between the peak area and lenalidomide concentrations in the range of 100 to 950 ng · mL -1 The limits of detection and quantitation were 28 and 100 ng · mL -1 , respectively. The intra- and interassay precisions were satisfactory, and the accuracy of the method was proved. In conclusion, the proposed method is suitable for the accurate quantification of lenalidomide in human plasma with a wide linear range, from 100 to 950 ng · mL -1 This is a valuable method for pharmacokinetic studies of lenalidomide in human subjects. © 2016 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

Determination of the pollution with lead in the batteries factory in Al-Saffera (Aleppo) and surrounding area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Oudat, M.; Al-Kharfan, K.; Al-Shamali, K.

2007-10-01

The study aimed to determine the lead concentrations in the ecosystem surrounding the batteries factory in Al-Saffera. The results showed that the lead levels were very high in both factory area and the surrounding agricultural area. Lead levels in air varied between 12 and 34 μg/m3 in the area outside the factory. The same trends were in both soil and plant samples, and normal washing does not decrease the lead level in plant samples to acceptable levels. Mean lead levels in blood was also high and ranged between 55 and 28 μg /dl for factory workers and village inhabitants respectively. In conclusion the authorities administration must take all necessary procedures to reduce the lead levels in the factory area and in the surrounding area.(Author)

Determination of the pollution with lead in the batteries factory in Al-Saffera (Aleppo) and surrounding area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Oudat, M; Al-Kharfan, K; Al-Shamali, K [Atomic Energy Commission, Damascus (Syrian Arab Republic), Dept. of Protection and Safety

2007-10-15

The study aimed to determine the lead concentrations in the ecosystem surrounding the batteries factory in Al-Saffera. The results showed that the lead levels were very high in both factory area and the surrounding agricultural area. Lead levels in air varied between 12 and 34 {mu}g/m3 in the area outside the factory. The same trends were in both soil and plant samples, and normal washing does not decrease the lead level in plant samples to acceptable levels. Mean lead levels in blood was also high and ranged between 55 and 28 {mu}g /dl for factory workers and village inhabitants respectively. In conclusion the authorities administration must take all necessary procedures to reduce the lead levels in the factory area and in the surrounding area.(Author)

Understanding Price Elasticities to Inform Public Health Research and Intervention Studies: Key Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Nghiem, Nhung; Genç, Murat; Blakely, Tony

2013-01-01

Pricing policies such as taxes and subsidies are important tools in preventing and controlling a range of threats to public health. This is particularly so in tobacco and alcohol control efforts and efforts to change dietary patterns and physical activity levels as a means of addressing increases in noncommunicable diseases. To understand the potential impact of pricing policies, it is critical to understand the nature of price elasticities for consumer products. For example, price elasticities are key parameters in models of any food tax or subsidy that aims to quantify health impacts and cost-effectiveness. We detail relevant terms and discuss key issues surrounding price elasticities to inform public health research and intervention studies. PMID:24028228

Understanding price elasticities to inform public health research and intervention studies: key issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Nghiem, Nhung; Wilson, Nick; Genç, Murat; Blakely, Tony

2013-11-01

Pricing policies such as taxes and subsidies are important tools in preventing and controlling a range of threats to public health. This is particularly so in tobacco and alcohol control efforts and efforts to change dietary patterns and physical activity levels as a means of addressing increases in noncommunicable diseases. To understand the potential impact of pricing policies, it is critical to understand the nature of price elasticities for consumer products. For example, price elasticities are key parameters in models of any food tax or subsidy that aims to quantify health impacts and cost-effectiveness. We detail relevant terms and discuss key issues surrounding price elasticities to inform public health research and intervention studies.

Constitutive modeling of polycarbonate over a wide range of strain rates and temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Haitao; Zhou, Huamin; Huang, Zhigao; Zhang, Yun; Zhao, Xiaoxuan

2017-02-01

The mechanical behavior of polycarbonate was experimentally investigated over a wide range of strain rates (10^{-4} to 5× 103 s^{-1}) and temperatures (293 to 353 K). Compression tests under these conditions were performed using a SHIMADZU universal testing machine and a split Hopkinson pressure bar. Falling weight impact testing was carried out on an Instron Dynatup 9200 drop tower system. The rate- and temperature-dependent deformation behavior of polycarbonate was discussed in detail. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests were utilized to observe the glass (α ) transition and the secondary (β ) transition of polycarbonate. The DMA results indicate that the α and β transitions have a dramatic influence on the mechanical behavior of polycarbonate. The decompose/shift/reconstruct (DSR) method was utilized to decompose the storage modulus into the α and β components and extrapolate the entire modulus, the α-component modulus and the β-component modulus. Based on three previous models, namely, Mulliken-Boyce, G'Sell-Jonas and DSGZ, an adiabatic model is proposed to predict the mechanical behavior of polycarbonate. The model considers the contributions of both the α and β transitions to the mechanical behavior, and it has been implemented in ABAQUS/Explicit through a user material subroutine VUMAT. The model predictions are proven to essentially coincide with the experimental results during compression testing and falling weight impact testing.

Influence of sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) on the hydrothermal synthesis of YVO4:Eu3+ crystals in a wide pH range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Juan; Xu Yunhua; Hojamberdiev, Mirabbos; Zhu Gangqiang

2009-01-01

In this work, a facile hydrothermal route has been proposed for the morphology-controllable preparation of Eu-doped yttrium orthovanadate (YVO 4 :Eu 3+ ) powders in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) as a template in a wide pH range. The structure, composition, morphology, and optical properties of the final products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), respectively. It was found that single phase YVO 4 :Eu 3+ micro- and nanocrystals with different shapes can be fabricated at 180 deg. C for 24 h with suitable amount of SDS in a wide pH range. The formation mechanism and the influence of SDS on the morphology of YVO 4 :Eu 3+ micro- and nanocrystals were investigated as a function of pH value. The PL measurement revealed that the samples with different morphologies exhibited different values for optical properties, especially soybean-like nanopowders showed a higher intensity compared to other samples with different morphologies due mainly to their high packing densities and low scattering of light.

Peru's Amazonian oil and gas industry: Risks, interests and the politics of grievance surrounding the development of block 76, Madre de Dios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haselip, James Arthur; Romera, B. Martinez

2011-01-01

This article contributes to academic literature on conflict risk surrounding the exploration and exploitation of natural resources in Less Developed Countries. The research presented here considers this issue in the context of the Peruvian government's policy to increase foreign and private inves...

Wide angular range study of the reaction /sup 16/O( pi /sup -/, 2n) /sup 14/N with stopped pions

CERN Document Server

Bassalleck, B; Furic, M; Klotz, W D; Lewis, C W; Takeutchi, F; Ullrich, H

1980-01-01

A first kinematically complete investigation of the reaction /sup 16/O ( pi /sup -/, 2n)/sup 14/N with stopped pions has been performed at the CERN SC over a wide angular range. Measured distributions in excitation energy of the residual nucleus, recoil momentum, and angle between the two neutrons are presented. They are compared with theoretical predictions on two-hole states and with detailed calculations on the quasi-free two-nucleon absorption process. (34 refs).

IOT Overview: Wide-Field Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Selman, F. J.

The Wide Field Imager (WFI) instrument at La Silla has been the workhorse of wide-field imaging instruments at ESO for several years. In this contribution I will summarize the issues relating to its productivity for the community both in terms of the quality and quantity of data that has come out of it. Although only surveys of limited scope have been completed using WFI, it is ESO's stepping-stone to the new generation of survey telescopes.

Issues surrounding the money laundering crime

OpenAIRE

Rodrigues, Liliana

2016-01-01

Money laundering took advantage of the increasing openness and expanding markets to improve their techniques, taking advantage of the vulnerability of the weaker countries. In an evolutionary perspective, we understand how this phenomenon has progressed and how countries and referenced organizations have an important role to play in its prevention. This crime was defined and framed in an evolutionary perspective, whether legislative, or jurisprudential doctrine in order to better understand t...

Linking Student Performance in Massachusetts Elementary Schools with the “Greenness” of School Surroundings Using Remote Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chih-Da; McNeely, Eileen; Cedeño-Laurent, J. G.; Pan, Wen-Chi; Adamkiewicz, Gary; Dominici, Francesca; Lung, Shih-Chun Candice; Su, Huey-Jen; Spengler, John D.

2014-01-01

Various studies have reported the physical and mental health benefits from exposure to “green” neighborhoods, such as proximity to neighborhoods with trees and vegetation. However, no studies have explicitly assessed the association between exposure to “green” surroundings and cognitive function in terms of student academic performance. This study investigated the association between the “greenness” of the area surrounding a Massachusetts public elementary school and the academic achievement of the school’s student body based on standardized tests with an ecological setting. Researchers used the composite school-based performance scores generated by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) to measure the percentage of 3rd-grade students (the first year of standardized testing for 8–9 years-old children in public school), who scored “Above Proficient” (AP) in English and Mathematics tests (Note: Individual student scores are not publically available). The MCAS results are comparable year to year thanks to an equating process. Researchers included test results from 2006 through 2012 in 905 public schools and adjusted for differences between schools in the final analysis according to race, gender, English as a second language (proxy for ethnicity and language facility), parent income, student-teacher ratio, and school attendance. Surrounding greenness of each school was measured using satellite images converted into the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in March, July and October of each year according to a 250-meter, 500-meter, 1,000-meter, and 2000-meter circular buffer around each school. Spatial Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) estimated the impacts of surrounding greenness on school-based performance. Overall the study results supported a relationship between the “greenness” of the school area and the school-wide academic performance. Interestingly, the results showed a consistently positive significant

A NASA-wide approach toward cost-effective, high-quality software through reuse

Science.gov (United States)

Scheper, Charlotte O. (Editor); Smith, Kathryn A. (Editor)

1993-01-01

NASA Langley Research Center sponsored the second Workshop on NASA Research in Software Reuse on May 5-6, 1992 at the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The workshop was hosted by the Research Triangle Institute. Participants came from the three NASA centers, four NASA contractor companies, two research institutes and the Air Force's Rome Laboratory. The purpose of the workshop was to exchange information on software reuse tool development, particularly with respect to tool needs, requirements, and effectiveness. The participants presented the software reuse activities and tools being developed and used by their individual centers and programs. These programs address a wide range of reuse issues. The group also developed a mission and goals for software reuse within NASA. This publication summarizes the presentations and the issues discussed during the workshop.

Taeniasis and its socio-economic implication in Awassa town and its surroundings, Southern Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Abunna, F; Tilahun, G; Megersa, B; Regassa, A

2007-10-01

The study was conducted between October 2005 and April 2006 in Awassa town and its surroundings to investigate the status of T. saginata taeniasis, its socio-economic importance and potential risk factors. Questionnaire survey was conducted on 120 volunteer individuals selected at random. Additionally, retrospective study on taenicidal drugs inventories at 12 pharmaceutical shops was conducted. T. saginata taeniasis was a wide spread problem in the town and its surroundings with overall prevalence of 64.2% (77 out of 120) and maximum infection frequencies of five times per year. The prevalence of taeniasis was significantly varied between religion, occupation, raw meat consumption and use of spices with raw meat. Accordingly, Christian communities (OR = 5.2, 95% CI = 1.20-22.50), high-risk groups (OR = 4.05, 95% CI = 1.27-12.93), raw meat consumers (OR = 7.9, 95% CI = 2.46-5.66), and spices users (OR = 11.6, 95% CI = 2.85-47.28) had higher likelihood of acquiring taeniasis than Muslim communities, low risk groups, cooked meat eaters and non-spices users, respectively. Conversely, prevalence was not varied between sex, age, marital status and educational backgrounds of the respondents. Respondents' preferences to available taenicidal drugs had strong linear relationship with drug dose sold (R2 = 0.92), and showed that Niclosamide (46.8%) was the drug of first choice while Praziquantel (13%) was the least preferred drug. The taenicidal drug doses and treatment cost from 2002 to 2005 were estimated to be 4,913,346 adult doses and 820,343 USD (7,219,021 Eth. Birr as per rate of 2006). Taeniasis was a wide spread problem with higher prevalence and frequent infections in the town and its surroundings. Sociocultural conditions and occupation were the major risk factors for the occurrence of the disease. Hence, owing to its public health and economic importance, taeniasis deserves serious attention in order to safeguard the public health.

Ab initio calculation of the shear viscosity of neon in the liquid and hypercritical state over a wide pressure and temperature range

Science.gov (United States)

Eggenberger, Rolf; Gerber, Stefan; Huber, Hanspeter; Searles, Debra; Welker, Marc

1992-08-01

The shear viscosity is calculated ab initio for the liquid and hypercritical state, i.e. a previously published potential for Ne 2, obtained from ab initio calculations including electron correlation, is used in classical equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to obtain the shear viscosity from a Green-Kubo integral. The quality of the results is quite uniform over a large pressure range up to 1000 MPa and a wide temperature range from 26 to 600 K. In most cases the calculated shear viscosity deviates by less than 10% from the experimental value, in general the error being only a few percent.

Monitoring program of surrounding of the NPP SE-EBO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dobis, L.; Kostial, J.

1997-01-01

The paper dealt with monitoring program of radiation control of surrounding of the NPP Bohunice, which has the aim: (1) to ensure the control of influence of work of the NPP Bohunice on the environment in their surrounding; (2) to ensure the back-ground for regular brief of control and supervisory organs about condition of the environment in surrounding of the NPP Bohunice; (3) to maintain the expected technical level of control of the NPP Bohunice and to exploit optimally the technical means; (4) to solicit permanently the data about the radioactivity of environment in surrounding of the NPP Bohunice for forming of files of the data; (5) to exploit purposefully the technical equipment, technical workers and to maintain their in permanent emergency and technical eligibility for the case of the breakdown; (6) to obtain permanently the files of the values for qualification of the reference levels. This program of monitoring includes the radiation control of surrounding of the NPP Bohunice, in the time of normal work of power-station's blocks, inclusively of all types of trouble-shooting and repairer works in surrounding of the NPP Bohunice, up to distance 20 km from power-station. The monitoring includes: outlets from the NPP Bohunice, monitoring of radiation characteristics in surrounding of the NPP Bohunice, (aerosols, fall-outs, soil), the links of food chains: (grass and fodder, milk, agriculture products), hydrosphere in surrounding (surface waters, drink water, bores of radiation control in complex of the NPP Bohunice, components of the hydrosphere), measurement of radiation from external sources (measurement of the dose rates, measurement of the doses [sk

The management issues of implementing telecommuting: a case study

OpenAIRE

Bane, Chuck Howard, Jr.

1993-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. This thesis is a case study of the implementation of telecommuting by CalComp at the Telecommuting Workcenter of Riverside County and is a real life example of the management issues that surround telecommuting. The issues brought forth in this study will enable those responsible for implementing a telecommuting program to better understand the impact of this change on their organization and how a telecommuting center may be used in th...

Wide-Field Imaging Using Nitrogen Vacancies

Science.gov (United States)

Englund, Dirk Robert (Inventor); Trusheim, Matthew Edwin (Inventor)

2017-01-01

Nitrogen vacancies in bulk diamonds and nanodiamonds can be used to sense temperature, pressure, electromagnetic fields, and pH. Unfortunately, conventional sensing techniques use gated detection and confocal imaging, limiting the measurement sensitivity and precluding wide-field imaging. Conversely, the present sensing techniques do not require gated detection or confocal imaging and can therefore be used to image temperature, pressure, electromagnetic fields, and pH over wide fields of view. In some cases, wide-field imaging supports spatial localization of the NVs to precisions at or below the diffraction limit. Moreover, the measurement range can extend over extremely wide dynamic range at very high sensitivity.

An introduction to dento-legal issues and risks in orthodontics.

Science.gov (United States)

Ireland, A J; Willmot, D; Hunt, N P

2015-02-16

Orthodontic treatment is not without risk. This article aims to look at some of the dento-legal issues surrounding orthodontic treatment, the risks to both the clinician and the patient, and how some of these risks can be mitigated.

Highly Sensitive and Wide-Dynamic-Range Multichannel Optical-Fiber pH Sensor Based on PWM Technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Md Rajibur Rahaman; Kang, Shin-Won

2016-11-09

In this study, we propose a highly sensitive multichannel pH sensor that is based on an optical-fiber pulse width modulation (PWM) technique. According to the optical-fiber PWM method, the received sensing signal's pulse width changes when the optical-fiber pH sensing-element of the array comes into contact with pH buffer solutions. The proposed optical-fiber PWM pH-sensing system offers a linear sensing response over a wide range of pH values from 2 to 12, with a high pH-sensing ability. The sensitivity of the proposed pH sensor is 0.46 µs/pH, and the correlation coefficient R² is approximately 0.997. Additional advantages of the proposed optical-fiber PWM pH sensor include a short/fast response-time of about 8 s, good reproducibility properties with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of about 0.019, easy fabrication, low cost, small size, reusability of the optical-fiber sensing-element, and the capability of remote sensing. Finally, the performance of the proposed PWM pH sensor was compared with that of potentiometric, optical-fiber modal interferometer, and optical-fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer pH sensors with respect to dynamic range width, linearity as well as response and recovery times. We observed that the proposed sensing systems have better sensing abilities than the above-mentioned pH sensors.

Highly Sensitive and Wide-Dynamic-Range Multichannel Optical-Fiber pH Sensor Based on PWM Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Md. Rajibur Rahaman; Kang, Shin-Won

2016-01-01

In this study, we propose a highly sensitive multichannel pH sensor that is based on an optical-fiber pulse width modulation (PWM) technique. According to the optical-fiber PWM method, the received sensing signal’s pulse width changes when the optical-fiber pH sensing-element of the array comes into contact with pH buffer solutions. The proposed optical-fiber PWM pH-sensing system offers a linear sensing response over a wide range of pH values from 2 to 12, with a high pH-sensing ability. The sensitivity of the proposed pH sensor is 0.46 µs/pH, and the correlation coefficient R2 is approximately 0.997. Additional advantages of the proposed optical-fiber PWM pH sensor include a short/fast response-time of about 8 s, good reproducibility properties with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of about 0.019, easy fabrication, low cost, small size, reusability of the optical-fiber sensing-element, and the capability of remote sensing. Finally, the performance of the proposed PWM pH sensor was compared with that of potentiometric, optical-fiber modal interferometer, and optical-fiber Fabry–Perot interferometer pH sensors with respect to dynamic range width, linearity as well as response and recovery times. We observed that the proposed sensing systems have better sensing abilities than the above-mentioned pH sensors. PMID:27834865

Surrounding circumstances and custom: Extrinsic evidence in the interpretation of oil and gas industry agreements in Alberta

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hardy, D.E. (Ballem, McDill, MacInnes and Eden, Calgary, AB (Canada))

1989-01-01

The oil and gas industry is built on agreements. When the inevitable disuputes arise as to the rights and obligations of the parties under these agreements, the courts are often called upon to construe the agreements. During such litigation, an issue which often arises is the extent to which evidence outside the agreement can be used as an aid to interpretation. The courts use the parol evidence rule to determine this issue. The purpose of this paper is to consider two exceptions to the parole evidence rule, the exceptions for surrounding circumstances and for custom, which are argued frequently in oil and gas industry litigation as grounds for the admission of extrinsic evidence to aid in the interpretation of written agreements. While the issue of whether or not evidence is admissible under one or both of these exceptions is rarely the central issue in a case, it often plays a significant role in how a court construes a written agreement. The purpose of this paper, then, is to explain the basis for these two exceptions, discover the principles which have developed regarding their application in Alberta courts, and describe some of the difficulties which may be encountered in their application. As well as illustrating the principles governing the application of the surrounding circumstances and custom exceptions, the case authority surveyed in this paper illustrates two important facts about the application of these exceptions to the parol evidence rule. The first is that a court's decision on whether or not to admit evidence under one of these exceptions can have a significant impact on how that court construes an agreement and, therefore, on the outcome of a dispute. The second is that difficulties exist in the way in which some courts have applied the exceptions.

The nuclear safety regulation in Japan and the response to changes of circumstances surrounding the nuclear electricity generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hombu, K.; Hirota, M.; Taniguchi, T.; Tanaka, N.; Akimoto, S.

2001-01-01

The influences of external factors on nuclear safety are discussed in this paper, based on the views on the circumstances of nuclear electricity generation. The following external factors, which might have some potential impacts on nuclear safety, are selected for discussion: (1) The deregulation in the electricity generation industry; (2) The modification of approval/certification system in the regulation of electricity generation; (3) The influences on social atmosphere due to the occurrence of a series of troubles; (4) The government reform and the structural adjustment of industry and (5) Others. Our further discussion seems to focus on the following 2 issues: (a) Whether nuclear power and the other electrical sources should compete with each other for short term economical cost, or whether factors of cost stability and competitiveness as well as longer term energy supply security and global environmental issues ranging over several decades should be considered; (b) How to realize the appropriate regulation from the perspective of public acceptance and confidence (when a series of troubles occur) without imposing unnecessary burdens on industry and without jeopardizing safety. These issues may be common among many countries and can be widely discussed. (author)

Study on the Environmental Tritium in Surrounding of Bantar Gebang - Bekasi and Leuwigajah - Bandung Landfill Areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satrio; Syafalni; Evarista Ristin

2004-01-01

The investigation of environmental tritium distribution in surrounding of Bantar Gebang - Bekasi and Leuwigajah landfill areas has been carried out. The aim of this investigation was to know tritium concentration in surrounding of both landfill areas. Normally, tritium concentration in the nature is around 0-5 TU. The results of this investigation showed that the tritium concentration in both shallow groundwater of both landfill areas were still in the range of its normal limit, whereas tritium concentration in stream along both landfill areas and leached water showed higher value. Tritium concentration in deep groundwater of Bantar Gebang landfill showed about the zero value, it means is the normal condition. (author)

The Effects of GH Transgenic Goats on the Microflora of the Intestine, Feces and Surrounding Soil.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zekun Bao

Full Text Available The development of genetically engineered animals has brought with it increasing concerns about biosafety issues. We therefore evaluated the risks of growth hormone from transgenic goats, including the probability of horizontal gene transfer and the impact on the microbial community of the goats' gastrointestinal tracts, feces and the surrounding soil. The results showed that neither the GH nor the neoR gene could be detected in the samples. Moreover, there was no significant change in the microbial community of the gastrointestinal tracts, feces and soil, as tested with PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 16S rDNA sequencing. Finally, phylogenetic analysis showed that the intestinal content, feces and soil samples all contained the same dominant group of bacteria. These results demonstrated that expression of goat growth hormone in the mammary of GH transgenic goat does not influence the microflora of the intestine, feces and surrounding soil.

Wide-range particle characterization and elemental concentration in Beijing aerosol during the 2013 Spring Festival.

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, Hui; Li, Yu-Feng; Zhao, Jiating; Li, Bai; Sun, Jialong; Chen, Rui; Gao, Yuxi; Chen, Chunying

2014-09-01

The number and mass concentration, size distribution, and the concentration of 16 elements were studied in aerosol samples during the Spring Festival celebrations in 2013 in Beijing, China. Both the number and mass concentration increased sharply in a wide range from 10 nm to 10 μm during the firecrackers and fireworks activities. The prominent increase of the number concentration was in 50 nm-500 nm with a peak of 1.7 × 10(5)/cm(3) at 150 nm, which is 8 times higher than that after 1.5 h. The highest mass concentration was in 320-560 nm, which is 4 times higher than the control. K, Mg, Sr, Ba and Pb increased sharply during the firework activities in PM10. Although the aerosol emission from firework activities is a short-term air quality degradation event, there may be a substantial hazard arising from the chemical composition of the emitted particles. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Giant elastocaloric effect covering wide temperature range in columnar-grained Cu71.5Al17.5Mn11 shape memory alloy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheng Xu

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The elastocaloric effect in a columnar-grained Cu71.5Al17.5Mn11 shape memory alloy fabricated by directional solidification was investigated. A large entropy change of 25.0 J/kg K generated by the reversible martensitic transformation was demonstrated. The adiabatic temperature change of 12-13 K was directly measured, covering a wide temperature range of more than 100 K. The low applied stress with a specific elastocaloric ability of 100.8 K/GPa was identified and the potentially attainable operational temperature window as wide as more than 215 K was also discussed. The outstanding elastocaloric refrigeration capability, together with the low applying stress and uniform phase transformation, makes the columnar-grained Cu–Al–Mn shape memory alloy a promising material for solid-state refrigeration.

Cyberspace in the Curricula: New Legal and Ethical Issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Smethers, J. Steven

1998-01-01

Finds that most journalism and mass communication programs integrate legal and ethical issues surrounding cyberspace and interactive media into existing courses, especially into ethics and communication law courses, but also into introductory survey courses, communication technology, and reporting classes. Details reasons why some programs do not…

A wide range ultra-low power Phase-Locked Loop with automatic frequency setting in 130 nm CMOS technology for data serialisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Firlej, M.; Fiutowski, T.; Idzik, M.; Moroń, J.; Świentek, K.

2015-01-01

The design and measurements results of a wide frequency range ultra-low power Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) for applications in readout systems of particle physics detectors are presented. The PLL was fabricated in a 130 nm CMOS technology. To allow the implementation of different data serialisation schemes multiple division factors (6, 8, 10, 16) were implemented in the PLL feedback loop. The main PLL block—VCO works in 16 frequency ranges/modes, switched either manually or automatically. A dedicated automatic frequency mode switching circuit was developed to allow simple frequency tuning. Although the PLL was designed and simulated for a frequency range of 30 MHz–3 GHz, due to the SLVS interface limits, the measurements were done only up to 1.3 GHz. The full PLL functionality was experimentally verified, confirming a very low and frequency scalable power consumption (0.7 mW at 1 GHz)

A wide range ultra-low power Phase-Locked Loop with automatic frequency setting in 130 nm CMOS technology for data serialisation

Science.gov (United States)

Firlej, M.; Fiutowski, T.; Idzik, M.; Moroń, J.; Świentek, K.

2015-12-01

The design and measurements results of a wide frequency range ultra-low power Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) for applications in readout systems of particle physics detectors are presented. The PLL was fabricated in a 130 nm CMOS technology. To allow the implementation of different data serialisation schemes multiple division factors (6, 8, 10, 16) were implemented in the PLL feedback loop. The main PLL block—VCO works in 16 frequency ranges/modes, switched either manually or automatically. A dedicated automatic frequency mode switching circuit was developed to allow simple frequency tuning. Although the PLL was designed and simulated for a frequency range of 30 MHz-3 GHz, due to the SLVS interface limits, the measurements were done only up to 1.3 GHz. The full PLL functionality was experimentally verified, confirming a very low and frequency scalable power consumption (0.7 mW at 1 GHz).

Stimulus size dependence of hue changes induced by chromatic surrounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Kellner, Christian Johannes; Wachtler, Thomas

2016-03-01

A chromatic surround induces a change in the perceived hue of a stimulus. This shift in hue depends on the chromatic difference between the stimulus and the surround. We investigated how chromatic induction varies with stimulus size and whether the size dependence depends on the surround hue. Subjects performed asymmetric matching of color stimuli with different sizes in surrounds of different chromaticities. Generally, induced hue shifts decreased with increasing stimulus size. This decrease was quantitatively different for different surround hues. However, when size effects were normalized to an overall induction strength, the chromatic specificity was largely reduced. The separability of inducer chromaticity and stimulus size suggests that these effects are mediated by different neural mechanisms.

Effects of chiral three-nucleon forces on 4He-nucleus scattering in a wide range of incident energies

Science.gov (United States)

Toyokawa, Masakazu; Yahiro, Masanobu; Matsumoto, Takuma; Kohno, Michio

2018-02-01

An important current subject is to clarify the properties of chiral three-nucleon forces (3NFs) not only in nuclear matter but also in scattering between finite-size nuclei. Particularly for elastic scattering, this study has just started and the properties are not understood for a wide range of incident energies (E_in). We investigate basic properties of chiral 3NFs in nuclear matter with positive energies by using the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock method with chiral two-nucleon forces at N3LO and 3NFs at NNLO, and analyze the effects of chiral 3NFs on 4He elastic scattering from targets ^{208}Pb, ^{58}Ni, and ^{40}Ca over a wide range of 30 ≲ E_in/A_P ≲ 200 MeV by using the g-matrix folding model, where A_P is the mass number of the projectile. In symmetric nuclear matter with positive energies, chiral 3NFs make the single-particle potential less attractive and more absorptive. The effects mainly come from the Fujita-Miyazawa 2π-exchange 3NF and become slightly larger as E_in increases. These effects persist in the optical potentials of 4He scattering. As for the differential cross sections of 4He scattering, chiral-3NF effects are large for E_in/A_P ≳ 60 MeV and improve the agreement of the theoretical results with the measured ones. Particularly for E_in/A_P ≳ 100 MeV, the folding model reproduces measured differential cross sections pretty well. Cutoff (Λ) dependence is investigated for both nuclear matter and 4He scattering by considering two cases of Λ=450 and 550 MeV. The uncertainty coming from the dependence is smaller than chiral-3NF effects even at E_in/A_P=175 MeV.

Talk with Your Kids...before Everyone Else Does: Talking with Kids about Tough Issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Children Now, Oakland, CA.

Parents are challenged daily with a wide range of disturbing issues that are difficult for children to understand and for adults to explain. This booklet offers practical, concrete tips and techniques for talking easily and openly with 8- to 12-year-olds about sex, HIV/AIDS, violence, drugs, and alcohol. The book is divided into five parts. Part 1…

A CMOS frontend chip for implantable neural recording with wide voltage supply range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Jialin; Zhang Xu; Hu Xiaohui; Li Peng; Liu Ming; Chen Hongda; Guo Yatao; Li Bin

2015-01-01

A design for a CMOS frontend integrated circuit (chip) for neural signal acquisition working at wide voltage supply range is presented in this paper. The chip consists of a preamplifier, a serial instrumental amplifier (IA) and a cyclic analog-to-digital converter (CADC). The capacitive-coupled and capacitive-feedback topology combined with MOS-bipolar pseudo-resistor element is adopted in the preamplifier to create a −3 dB upper cut-off frequency less than 1 Hz without using a ponderous discrete device. A dual-amplifier instrumental amplifier is used to provide a low output impedance interface for ADC as well as to boost the gain. The preamplifier and the serial instrumental amplifier together provide a midband gain of 45.8 dB and have an input-referred noise of 6.7 μV rms integrated from 1 Hz to 5 kHz. The ADC digitizes the amplified signal at 12-bits precision with a highest sampling rate of 130 kS/s. The measured effective number of bits (ENOB) of the ADC is 8.7 bits. The entire circuit draws 165 to 216 μA current from the supply voltage varied from 1.34 to 3.3 V. The prototype chip is fabricated in the 0.18-μm CMOS process and occupies an area of 1.23 mm 2 (including pads). In-vitro recording was successfully carried out by the proposed frontend chip. (paper)

Linearity improvement on wide-range log signal of neutron measurement system for HANARO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Young-Ki; Tuetken, Jeffrey S.

1998-01-01

This paper discusses engineering activities for improving the linearity characteristics of the Log Power signal from the neutron measurement system for HANARO. This neutron measurement system uses a fission chamber based detector which covers 10.3 decade-wide range from 10 -8 % full power(FP) up to 200%FP, The Log Power signal is designed to control the reactor at low power levels where most of the reactor physics tests are carried out. Therefore, the linearity characteristics of the Log Power signal is the major factor for accurate reactor power control. During the commissioning of the neutron measurement system, it was found that the linearity characteristics of the Log Power signal, especially near 10 -2 %FP, were not accurate enough for controlling the reactor during physics testing. Analysis of the system linearity data directly measured with reactor operating determined that the system was not operating per the design characteristics established from previous installations. The linearity data, which were taken as the reactor was increased in power, were sent to manufacturer's engineering group and a follow-up measures based on the analysis were then fed back to the field. Through step by step trouble-shooting activities, which included minor circuit modifications and alignment procedure changes, the linearity characteristics have been successfully improved and now exceed minimum performance requirements. This paper discusses the trouble-shooting techniques applied, the changes in the linearity characteristics, special circumstances in the HANARO application and the final resolution. (author)

Explaining preferences for home surroundings and locations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Hans Skifter

2011-01-01

This article is based on a survey carried out in Denmark that asked a random sample of the population about their preferences for home surroundings and locations. It shows that the characteristics of social surroundings are very important and can be divided into three independent dimensions......: avoiding social nuisances, preferring social homogeneity and living close to one’s social network and place of origin. The study shows that most people have many detailed preferences, whereas some have very few. This confirms an earlier theory that some people are very connected to certain places...... with given characteristics and thus do not have priorities regarding home surroundings and locations. For others, mostly young people and singles, home is just a place to sleep and relax, whereas life is lived elsewhere. For this group, there are only preferences for location and there are few specific...

Charged-particle multiplicity distributions over a wide pseudorapidity range in proton-proton collisions at root s=0.9, 7, and 8 TeV

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Acharya, S.; Adamova, D.; Adolfsson, J.; Aggarwal, M. M.; AglieriRinella, G.; Agnello, M.; Agrawal, N.; Ahammed, Z.; Ahmad, N.; Ahn, S. U.; Aiola, S.; Akindinov, A.; Alam, S. N.; Alba, J. L. B.; Albuquerque, D. S. D.; Aleksandrov, D.; Alessandro, B.; AlfaroMolina, R.; Alici, A.; Alkin, A.; Alme, J.; Alt, T.; Altenkamper, L.; Altsybeev, I.; Alves GarciaPrado, C.; Janssen, M M; Andrei, C.; Andreou, D.; Andrews, H. A.; Andronic, A.; Anguelov, V.; Anson, C. D.; Anticic, T.; Antinori, F.; Antonioli, P.; Anwar, R.; Aphecetche, L.; Appelshaeuser, H.; Arcelli, S.; Arnaldi, R.; Arnold, O. W.; Arsene, I. C.; Arslandok, M.; Audurier, B.; Augustinus, A.; Averbeck, R.; Azmi, M. D.; Badala, A.; Baek, Y. W.; Bagnasco, S.; Bailhache, R.; Bala, R.; Baldisseri, A.; Ball, M.C.; Baral, R. C.; Barbano, A. M.; Barbera, R.; Barile, F.; Barioglio, L.; Barnafoldi, G. G.; Barnby, L. S.; Barret, V.; Bartalini, P.; Barth, K.; Bartsch, E.; Basile, M.; Bastid, N.; Basu, S.; Bathen, B.; Batigne, G.; Camejo, A. Batista; Batyunya, B.; Batzing, P. C.; Bearden, I. G.; Beck, H.; Bedda, C.; Behera, N. K.; Belikov, I.; Bellini, F.; Bello Martinez, H.; Bellwied, R.; Beltran, L. G. E.; Belyaev, V.; Bencedi, G.; Beole, S.; Bercuci, A.; Berdnikov, Y.; Berenyi, D.; Bertens, R. A.; Berzano, D.; Betev, L.; Bhasin, A.; Bhat, I. R.; Bhati, A. K.; Bhattacharjee, B.; Bhom, J.; Bianchi, L.; Bianchi, N.; Bianchin, C.; Bielcik, J.; Bielcikova, J.; Bilandzic, A.; Biswas, R.; Biswas, S.; Blair, J. T.; Blau, D.; Blume, C.; Boca, G.; Bock, F.; Bogdanov, A.; Boldizsar, L.; Bombara, M.; Bonomi, G.; Bonora, M.; Book, J.; Borel, H.; Borissov, A.; Borri, M.; Botta, E.; Bourjau, C.; Braun-Munzinger, P.; Bregant, M.; Broker, T. A.; Browning, T. A.; Broz, M.; Brucken, E. J.; Bruna, E.; Bruno, G. E.; Budnikov, D.; Buesching, H.; Bufalino, S.; Buhler, P.; Buncic, P.; Busch, O.; Buthelezi, Z.; Butt, J. B.; Buxton, J. T.; Cabala, J.; Caffarri, D.; Caines, H.; Caliva, A.; Calvo Villar, E.; Camerini, P.; Capon, A. A.; Carena, F.; Carena, W.; Carnesecchi, F.; Castellanos, J. Castillo; Castro, A. J.; Casula, E. A R; Ceballos Sanchez, C.; Cerello, P.; Chandra, S.; Chang, B.; Chapeland, S.; Chartier, M.; Charvet, J. L.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chauvin, A.; Cherney, M.; Cheshkov, C.; Cheynis, B.; Barroso, V. Chibante; Chinellato, D. D.; Cho, Sukhee; Chochula, P.; Choi, K.; Chojnacki, M.; Choudhury, S.; Chowdhury, T.; Christakoglou, P.; Christensen, C. H.; Christiansen, P.; Chujo, T.; Chung, S. U.; Cicalo, C.; Cifarelli, L.; Cindolo, F.; Cleymans, J.; Colamaria, F.; Colella, D.; Collu, A.; Colocci, M.; Concas, M.; Balbastre, G. Conesa; Del Valle, Z. Conesa; Connors, M. E.; Contreras, J. G.; Cormier, T. M.; Morales, Y. Corrales; Cortes Maldonado, I.; Cortese, P.; Cosentino, M. R.; Costa, F.; Costanza, S.; Crkovska, J.; Crochet, P.; Cuautle, E.; Cunqueiro, L.; Dahms, T.; Dainese, A.; Danisch, M. C.; Danu, A.; Das, D.; Das, I.; Das, S.; Dash, A.; Dash, S.; Dasgupta, S. S.; DeCaro, A.; De Cataldo, G.; De Conti, C.; De Cuveland, J.; De Falco, A.; De Gruttola, D.; De Marco, N.; De Pasquale, S.; De Souza, R. Derradi; Degenhardt, H. F.; Deisting, A.; Deloff, A.; Deplano, C.; Dhankher, P.; Di Bari, D.; Di Mauro, A.; Di Nezza, P.; Di Ruzza, B.; Diakonov, I.; Diaz Corchero, M. A.; Dietel, T.; Dillenseger, P.; Divia, R.; Djuvsland, O.; Dobrin, A.; Domenicis Gimenez, D.; Doenigus, B.; Dordic, O.; Doremalen, L. V. V.; Drozhzhova, T.; Dubey, A. K.; Dubla, A.; Ducroux, L.; Duggal, A. K.; Dupieux, P.; Ehlers, R. J.; Elia, D.; Endress, E.; Engel, H.; Epple, E.; Erazmus, B.; Erhardt, F.; Espagnon, B.; Esumi, S.; Eulisse, G.; Eum, J.; Evans, D.; Evdokimov, S.; Fabbietti, L.; Faivre, J.; Fantoni, A.; Fasel, M.; Feldkamp, L.; Feliciello, A.; Feofilov, G.; Ferencei, J.; FernandezTellez, A.; Ferreiro, E. G.; Ferretti, A.; Festanti, A.; Feuillard, V. J. G.; Figiel, J.; Figueredo, M. A S; Filchagin, S.; Finogeev, D.; Fionda, F. M.; Fiore, E. M.; Floris, M.; Foertsch, S.; Foka, P.; Fokin, S.; Fragiacomo, E.; Francescon, A.; De Francisco, A.; Frankenfeld, U.; Fronze, G. G.; Fuchs, U.; Furget, C.; Furs, A.; Girard, M. Fusco; Gaardhoje, J. J.; Gagliardi, M.; Gago, A. M.; Gajdosova, K.; Gallio, M.; Galvan, C. D.; Ganoti, P.; Gao, C.; Garabatos, C.; Garcia-Solis, E.; Garg, K.; Garg, P.; Gargiulo, C.; Gasik, P.; Gauger, E. F.; Ducati, M. B. Gay; Germain, M.; Ghosh, J.; Ghosh, P.; Ghosh, S. K.; Gianotti, P.; Giubellino, P.; Giubilato, P.; Gladysz-Dziadus, E.; Glaessel, P.; GomezCoral, D. M.; Ramirez, A. Gomez; Gonzalez, A. S.; Gonzalez, V; Gonzalez-Zamora, P.; Gorbunov, S.; Goerlich, L.; Gotovac, S.; Grabski, V.; Graczykowski, L. K.; Graham, K. L.; Greiner, L. C.; Grelli, A.; Grigoras, C.; Grigoriev, V.; Grigoryan, A.; Guber, F.; Guernane, R.; Guerzoni, B.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gunji, T.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, R.; Guzman, I. B.; Haake, R.; Hadjidakis, C.; Hamagaki, H.; Hamar, G.; Hamon, J. C.; Harris, J. W.; Harton, A.; Hasan, H.; Hatzifotiadou, D.; Hayashi, S.; Heckel, S. T.; Hellbaer, E.; Helstrup, H.; Herghelegiu, A.; HerreraCorral, G.; Herrmann, F.; Hess, B. A.; Hetland, K. F.; Hillemanns, H.; Hills, C.; Hippolyte, B.; Hladky, J.; Hohlweger, B.; Horak, D.; Sorkine-Hornung, Olga; Hosokawa, R.; Hristov, P.; Hughes, C.W.; Humanic, T. J.; Hussain, N.; Hussain, T.; Hutter, D.; Hwang, D. S.; Iga Buitron, S. A.; Ilkaev, R.; Inaba, M.; Ippolitov, M.; Irfan, M.; Isakov, V.; Ivanov, M.; Ivanov, V.; Izucheev, V.; Jacak, B.; Jacazio, N.; Jacholkowski, A.; Jacobs, P. M.; Jadhav, M. B.; Jadlovska, S.; Jadlovsky, J.; Jaelani, S.; Jahnke, C.; Jakubowska, M. J.; Janik, M. A.; Jayarathna, P. H S Y; Jena, C.; Jena, S.; Jeric, M.; Bustamante, R. T Jimenez; Jones, P. G.; Jusko, A.; Kalinak, P.; Kalweit, A.; Kang, J. H.; Kaplin, V.; Kar, S.; Uysal, A. Karasu; Karavichev, O.; Karavicheva, T.; Karayan, L.; Karpechev, E.; Kebschull, U.; Keidel, R.; Keijdener, D. L. D.; Keil, M.; Ketzer, B.; Khan, P.M.; Khan, Shfaqat A.; Khanzadeev, A.; Kharlov, Y.; Khatun, A.; Khuntia, A.; Kielbowicz, M. M.; Kileng, B.; Kim, D.-S.; Kim, D. W.; Kim, D. J.; Kim, H.; Kim, J. S.; Kim, J.; Kim, M.; Kim, M.; Kim, S.; Kim, T.; Kirsch, S.; Kisel, I.; Kiselev, S.; Kisiel, A.; Kiss, G.; Klay, J. L.; Klein, C; Klein, J.; Klein-Boeing, C.; Klewin, S.; Kluge, A.; Knichel, M. L.; Knospe, A. G.; Kobdaj, C.; Kofarago, M.; Kollegger, T.; Kolojvari, A.; Kondratiev, V.; Kondratyeva, N.; Kondratyuk, E.; Konevskikh, A.; Konyushikhin, M.; Kopcik, M.; Kour, M.; Kouzinopoulos, C.; Kovalenko, O.; Kovalenko, V.; Kowalski, M.L.; Meethaleveedu, G. Koyithatta; Kralik, I.; Kravcakova, A.; Krivda, M.; Krizek, F.; Kryshen, E.; Krzewicki, M.; Kubera, A. M.; Kucera, V.; Kuhn, C.; Kuijer, P. G.; Kumar, A.; Kumar, J.; Kumar, L.; Kumar, S.; Kundu, Seema; Kurashvili, P.; Kurepin, A.; Kurepin, A. B.; Kuryakin, A.; Kushpil, S.; Kweon, M. J.; Kwon, Y.; La Pointe, S. L.; La Rocca, P.; Lagana Fernandes, C.; Lai, Y. S.; Lakomov, I.; Langoy, R.; Lapidus, K.; Lara, C.; Lardeux, A.; Lattuca, A.; Laudi, E.; Lavicka, R.; Lazaridis, L.; Lea, R.; Leardini, L.; Lee, S.; Lehas, F.; Strunz-Lehner, Christine; Lehrbach, J.; Lemmon, R. C.; Lenti, V.; Leogrande, E.; Leon Monzon, I.; Levai, P.; Li, S.; Li, X.; Lien, J.; Lietava, R.; Lim, B.; Lindal, S.; Lindenstruth, V.; Lindsay, S. W.; Lippmann, C.; Lisa, M. A.; Litichevskyi, V.; Ljunggren, H. M.; Llope, W. J.; Lodato, D. F.; Loenne, P. I.; Loginov, V.; Loizides, C.; Loncar, P.; Lopez, X.; Lopez Torres, E.; Lowe, A.; Luettig, P.; Lunardon, M.; Luparello, G.; Lupi, M.; Lutz, T. H.; Maevskaya, A.; Mager, M.; Mahajan, S.; Mahmood, S. M.; Maire, A.; Majka, R. D.; Malaev, M.; Malinina, L.; Mal'kevich, D.; Malzacher, P.; Mamonov, A.; Manko, V.; Manso, F.; Manzari, V.; Mao, Y.; Marchisone, M.; Mares, J.; Margagliotti, G. V.; Margotti, A.; Margutti, J.; Marin, A.; Markert, C.; Marquard, M.; Martin, N. A.; Martinengo, P.; Martinez, J. A. L.; Martinez, M. I.; Garcia, G. Martinez; Pedreira, M. Martinez; Mas, A.; Masciocchi, S.; Masera, M.; Masoni, A.; Masson, E.; Mastroserio, A.; Mathis, A. M.; Matyja, A.; mayer, C.; Mazer, J.; Mazzilli, M.; Mazzoni, M. A.; Meddi, F.; Melikyan, Y.; Menchaca-Rocha, A.; Meninno, E.; Mercado Perez, J.; Meres, M.; Mhlanga, S.; Miake, Y.; Mieskolainen, M. M.; Mihaylov, D. L.; Mihaylov, D. L.; Milano, L.; Milosevic, J.; Mischke, A.; Mishra, A. N.; Miskowiec, D.; Mitra, J.; Mitu, C. M.; Mohammadi, N.; Mohanty, B.; Khan, M. Mohisin; Montes, E.; De Godoy, D. A Moreira; Moreno, L. A. P.; Moretto, S.; Morreale, A.; Morsch, A.; Muccifora, V.; Mudnic, E.; Muehlheim, D.; Muhuri, S.; Mukherjee, M.; Mulligan, J. D.; Munhoz, M. G.; Muenning, K.; Munzer, R. H.; Murakami, H.; Murray, S.; Musa, L.; Musinsky, J.; Myers, C. J.; Myrcha, J. W.; Naik, B.; Nair, Rajiv; Nandi, B. K.; Nania, R.; Nappi, E.; Narayan, A.; Naru, M. U.; daLuz, H. Natal; Nattrass, C.; Navarro, S. R.; Nayak, K.; Nayak, R.; Nayak, T. K.; Nazarenko, S.; Nedosekin, A.; De Oliveira, R. A. Negrao; Nellen, L.; Nesbo, S. V.; Ng, F.; Nicassio, M.; Niculescu, M.; Niedziela, J.; Nielsen, B. S.; Nikolaev, S.; Nikulin, S.; Nikulin, V.; Nobuhiro, A.; Noferini, F.; Nomokonov, P.; Nooren, G.; Noris, J. C. C.; Norman, J.; Nyanin, A.; Nystrand, J.; Oeschler, H.; Oh, S.; Ohlson, A.; Okubo, T.; Olah, L.; Oleniacz, J.; Oliveira Da Silva, A. C.; Oliver, M. H.; Onderwaater, J.; Oppedisano, C.; Orava, R.; Oravec, M.; Ortiz Velasquez, A.; Oskarsson, A.; Otwinowski, J.; Oyama, K.; Pachmayer, Y.; Pacik, V.; Pagano, D.; Pagano, P.; Paic, G.; Palni, P.; Pan, J.; Pandey, A. K.; Panebianco, S.; Papikyan, V.; Pappalardo, G. S.; Pareek, P.; Park, J.; Parmar, S.; Passfeld, A.; Pathak, S. P.; Paticchio, V.; Patra, R. N.; Paul, B.; Pei, H.; Peitzmann, T.; Peng, X.; Pereira, L. G.; Da Costa, H. Pereira; Peresunko, D.; Lezama, E. Perez; Peskov, V.; Pestov, Y.; Petracek, V.; Petrov, V.; Petrovici, M.; Petta, C.; Pezzi, R. P.; Piano, S.; Pikna, M.; Pillot, P.; Pimentel, L. O. D. L.; Pinazza, O.; Pinsky, L.; Piyarathna, D. B.; Ploskon, M.; Planinic, M.; Pliquett, F.; Pluta, J.; Pochybova, S.; Podesta-Lerma, P. L M; Poghosyan, M. G.; Polichtchouk, B.; Poljak, N.; Poonsawat, W.; Pop, A.; Poppenborg, H.; Porteboeuf-Houssais, S.; Porter, J.; Pozdniakov, V.; Prasad, S. K.; Preghenella, R.; Prino, F.; Pruneau, C. A.; Pshenichnov, I.; Puccio, M.; Puddu, G.; Pujahari, P.; Punin, V.; Putschke, J.; Rachevski, A.; Raha, S.; Rajput, S.; Rak, J.; Rakotozafindrabe, A.; Ramello, L.; Rami, F.; Rana, D. B.; Raniwala, R.; Raniwala, S.; Rasanen, S. S.; Rascanu, B. T.; Rathee, D.; Ratza, V.; Ravasenga, I.; Read, K. F.; Redlich, K.; Rehman, A.; Reichelt, P.; Reidt, F.; Ren, X.; Renfordt, R.; Reolon, A. R.; Reshetin, A.; Reygers, K.; Riabov, V.; Ricci, R. A.; Richert, T.; Richter, M.; Riedler, P.; Riegler, W.; Riggi, F.; Ristea, C.; Rodriguez Cahuantzi, M.; Roed, K.; Rogochaya, E.; Rohr, D.; Rohrich, D.; Rokita, P. S.; Ronchetti, F.; Rosnet, P.; Rossi, A.; Rotondi, A.; Roukoutakis, F.; Roy, A.; Roy, C.; Roy, P.; Rubio Montero, A. J.; Rueda, O. V.; Rui, R.; Russo, R.; Rustamov, A.; Ryabinkin, E.; Ryabov, Y.; Rybicki, A.; Saarinen, S.; Sadhu, S.; Sadovsky, S.; Safarik, K.; Saha, S. K.; Sahlmuller, B.; Sahoo, B.; Sahoo, P.; Sahoo, R.; Sahoo, S.; Sahu, P. K.; Saini, J.; Sakai, S.; Saleh, M. A.; Salzwedel, J.; Sambyal, S.; Samsonov, V.; Sandoval, A.; Sarkar, D.; Sarkar, N.; Sarma, P.; Sas, M. H. P.; Scapparone, E.; Scarlassara, F.; Scharenberg, R. P.; Scheid, H. S.; Schiaua, C.; Schicker, R.; Schmidt, C.; Schmidt, H. R.; Schmidt, M. O.; Schmidt, M.; Schuchmann, S.; Schukraft, J.; Schutz, Y.; Schwarz, K.; Schweda, K.; Scioli, G.; Scomparin, E.; Scott, R.; Sefcik, M.; Seger, J. E.; Sekiguchi, Y.; Sekihata, D.; Selyuzhenkov, I.; Senosi, K.; Senyukov, S.; Serradilla, E.; Sett, P.; Sevcenco, A.; Shabanov, A.; Shabetai, A.; Shahoyan, R.; Shaikh, W.; Shangaraev, A.; Sharma, A.; Sharma, A.; Sharma, M.; Sharma, M.; Sharma, N.; Sheikh, A. I.; Shigaki, K.; Shou, Q. Y.; Shtejer, K.; Sibiriak, Y.; Siddhanta, S.; Sielewicz, K. M.; Siemiarczuk, T.; Silvermyr, D.; Silvestre, C.; Simatovic, G.; Simonetti, G.; Singaraju, R.; Singh, R; Singhal, V.; Sinha, T.; Sitar, B.; Sitta, M.; Skaali, T. B.; Slupecki, M.; Smirnov, N.; Snellings, R. J. M.; Snellman, T. W.; Song, J.; Song, M.; Soramel, F.; Sorensen, S.; Sozzi, F.; Spiriti, E.; Sputowska, I.; Srivastava, B. K.; Stachel, J.; Stan, I.; Stankus, P.; Stenlund, E.; Stocco, D.; Strmen, P.; Suaide, A. A P; Sugitate, T.; Suire, C.; Suleymanov, M.; Suljic, M.; Sultanov, R.; Sumbera, M.; Sumowidagdo, S.; Suzuki, K.; Swain, S.; Szabo, A.; Szarka, I.; Szczepankiewicz, A.; Tabassam, U.; Takahashi, J.; Tambave, G. J.; Tanaka, N.; Tarhini, M.; Tariq, M.; Tarzila, M. G.; Tauro, A.; Tejeda Munoz, G.; Telesca, A.; Terasaki, K.; Terrevoli, C.; Teyssier, B.; Thakur, D.; Thakur, J. S.; Thomas, D.; Tieulent, R.; Tikhonov, A.; Timmins, A. R.; Toia, A.; tripathy, S.; Trogolo, S.; Trombetta, G.; Tropp, Linda; Trubnikov, V.; Trzaska, W. H.; Trzeciak, B. A.; Tsuji, T.; Tumkin, A.; Turrisi, R.; Tveter, T. S.; Ullaland, K.; Umaka, E. N.; Uras, A.; Usai, G. L.; Utrobicic, A.; Vala, M.; Van der Maarel, J.; Van Hoorne, J. W.; van Leeuwen, M.; Vanat, T.; Vyvre, P. Vande; Varga, D.; Vargas, A.; Vargyas, M.; Varma, R.; Vasileiou, M.; Vasiliev, A.; Vauthier, A.; Doce, O. Vazquez; Vechernin, V.; Veen, A. M.; Velure, A.; Vercellin, E.; Vergara Limon, S.; Vernet, R.; Vertesi, R.; Vickovic, L.; Vigolo, S.; Viinikainen, J.; Vilakazi, Z.; Baillie, O. Villalobos; Villatoro Tello, A.; Vinogradov, A.; Vinogradov, L.; Virgili, T.; Vislavicius, V.; Vodopyanov, A.; Voelkl, M. A.; Voloshin, K.; Voloshin, S. A.; Volpe, G.; Haller, B.; Vorobyev, I.; Voscek, D.; Vranic, D.; Vrlakova, J.; Wagner, B.; Wagner, J.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Watanabe, D.; Watanabe, Y.; Weber, M.; Weber, S. G.; Weiser, D. F.; Wenzel, S. C.; Wessels, J. P.; Westerhoff, U.; Whitehead, A. M.; Wiechula, J.; Wikne, J.; Wilk, G.; Wilkinson, J.; Willems, G. A.; Williams, M. C S; Willsher, E.; Windelband, B.; Witt, W. E.; Yalcin, S.; Yamakawa, K.; Yang, P.; Yano, S.; Yin, Z.; Yokoyama, H.; Yoo, I. K.; Yoon, J. H.; Yurchenko, V.; Zaccolo, V.; Zaman, A.; Zampolli, C.; Zanoli, H. J. C.; Zardoshti, N.; Zarochentsev, A.; Zavada, P.; Zaviyalov, N.; Zbroszczyk, H.; Zhalov, M.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, C.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, C.; Zhigareva, N.; Zhou, D.; Zhou, Y.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, H.; Zhu, J.; Zhu, X.; Zichichi, A.; Zimmermann, A.; Zimmermann, M. B.; Zinovjev, G.; Zmeskal, J.; Zou, Shui

2017-01-01

We present the charged-particle multiplicity distributions over a wide pseudorapidity range ( −3.4<η<5.0 ) for pp collisions at s√=0.9,7 , and 8 TeV at the LHC. Results are based on information from the Silicon Pixel Detector and the Forward Multiplicity Detector of ALICE, extending the

HIV behavioural surveillance among refugees and surrounding host ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

We used a standardised behavioural surveillance survey (BSS), modified to be directly relevant to populations in conflict and post-conflict settings as well as to their surrounding host populations, to survey the populations of a refugee settlement in south-western Uganda and its surrounding area. Two-stage probability ...

Photopolarimetric properties of leaf and vegetation covers over a wide range of measurement directions

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Zhongqiu; Peng, Zhiyan; Wu, Di; Lv, Yunfeng

2018-02-01

The optical scattering property of the target is the essential signal for passive remote sensing applications. To deepen our understanding of the light reflected from vegetation, we present results of photopolarimetric laboratory measurements from single leaf and two vegetation covers (planophile and erectophile) over a wide range of viewing directions. The bidirectional polarized reflectance factor (BPRF) was used to characterize the polarization property of our samples. We observed positive and negative polarization (-BPRFQ) of all samples in the forward scattering and backward scattering directions, respectively. Based on the comparison of the BPRF among single leaf, planophile vegetation and erectophile vegetation, our measurements demonstrate that the orientation of the leaf is a key factor in describing the amount of polarization in the forward scattering direction. Our measurements also validated certain model results stating that (1) specular reflection generates a portion of polarization in the forward scattering direction and diffuses scattering of polarized light in all hemisphere directions, (2) BPRFU is anti-symmetric in the principal plane from a recent study in which the authors simulated the polarized reflectance of vegetation cover using the vector radiative transfer theory. These photopolarimetric measurement results, which can be completely explained by the theoretical results, are useful in remote sensing applications to vegetation.

A wide-range model of two-group gross sections in the dynamics code HEXTRAN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaloinen, E.; Peltonen, J.

2002-01-01

In dynamic analyses the thermal hydraulic conditions within the reactor core may have a large variation, which sets a special requirement on the modeling of cross sections. The standard model in the dynamics code HEXTRAN is the same as in the static design code HEXBU-3D/MODS. It is based on a linear and second order fitting of two-group cross sections on fuel and moderator temperature, moderator density and boron density. A new, wide-range model of cross sections developed in Fortum Nuclear Services for HEXBU-3D/MOD6 has been included as an option into HEXTRAN. In this model the nodal cross sections are constructed from seven state variables in a polynomial of more than 40 terms. Coefficients of the polynomial are created by a least squares fitting to the results of a large number of fuel assembly calculations. Depending on the choice of state variables for the spectrum calculations, the new cross section model is capable to cover local conditions from cold zero power to boiling at full power. The 5. dynamic benchmark problem of AER is analyzed with the new option and results are compared to calculations with the standard model of cross sections in HEXTRAN (Authors)

Multibloc system electronic equipment: D.C. linear - logarithmic amplifier and periodmeter and wide range (pulses, fluctuations and direct current) measuring set

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerre, J.; Plaige, Y.; Vaux, C.

1974-01-01

The requirements which have led to the design of a specific equipment for reactor neutron control (Multibloc system) are briefly recalled. It is shown how, for reasons of saving the cost of installation, the development tended towards a multifunction performance from signals delivered by one detector. Two major achievments in accordance with the above trend are described: the D.C. linear - logarithmic amplifier and periodmeter, and the wide dynamics range measuring set [fr

Ethical Issues of Reproductive Technologies: Legal and Ethical.

Science.gov (United States)

Kammler, Kim

Ethical issues which surround the reproductive technologies being used to assist infertile couples include social impact, surrogacy, access to service and confidentiality. The use of reproductive technologies does not appear to cause harm, and often does a lot of good for the family and society. Surrogacy could be a valuable tool for the infertile…

A low-power wide range transimpedance amplifier for biochemical sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Villegas, Esther

2007-01-01

This paper presents a novel low voltage and low power transimpedance amplifier for amperometric potentiostats. The power is optimized by having three different gain settings for different current ranges, which can be programmed with a biasing current. The voltage ranges have been optimized by using FGMOS transistors in a second voltage amplification stage that simultaneously allow for offset calibration as well as independent biasing of the gates. The circuit operates with input currents from 1 pA to 1 microA, with a maximum power supply voltage of 1.5 V and consumes 82.5 nW, 9.825 microW, 47.325 microW for currents varying from (1 pA, 0.25 nA), (0.25 nA, 62.5 nA) and (62.5 nA, 1 microA) respectively.

دور أدوات الحوكمة في تنظيم الرقابة الشرعية و تطويرها

OpenAIRE

Elasrag, Hussein

2014-01-01

At present in line with shariah principles several Islamic financial institutions are engaged in product development activities globally to cater the needs of a wide range of parties. However, considering the essentiality for these institutions to innovate and operate within the ambits of shariah, need of the shariah supervision cannot be over stated. This research is focused on the topic of Governance Shariah supervisory system. Among the main issues surround corporate governance in Islamic ...

Fast, Highly-Sensitive, and Wide-Dynamic-Range Interdigitated Capacitor Glucose Biosensor Using Solvatochromic Dye-Containing Sensing Membrane.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Md Rajibur Rahaman; Khalilian, Alireza; Kang, Shin-Won

2016-02-20

In this paper, we proposed an interdigitated capacitor (IDC)-based glucose biosensor to measure different concentrations of glucose from 1 μM to 1 M. We studied four different types of solvatochromic dyes: Auramine O, Nile red, Rhodamine B, and Reichardt's dye (R-dye). These dyes were individually incorporated into a polymer [polyvinyl chloride (PVC)] and N,N-Dimethylacetamide (DMAC) solution to make the respective dielectric/sensing materials. To the best of our knowledge, we report for the first time an IDC glucose biosensing system utilizing a solvatochromic-dye-containing sensing membrane. These four dielectric or sensing materials were individually placed into the interdigitated electrode (IDE) by spin coating to make four IDC glucose biosensing elements. The proposed IDC glucose biosensor has a high sensing ability over a wide dynamic range and its sensitivity was about 23.32 mV/decade. It also has fast response and recovery times of approximately 7 s and 5 s, respectively, excellent reproducibility with a standard deviation of approximately 0.023, highly stable sensing performance, and real-time monitoring capabilities. The proposed IDC glucose biosensor was compared with an IDC, potentiometric, FET, and fiber-optic glucose sensor with respect to response time, dynamic range width, sensitivity, and linearity. We observed that the designed IDC glucose biosensor offered excellent performance.

Dielectric relaxation in solid collagen over a wide temperature range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Muhammad Abdullah; Rizvi, Tasneem Zahra; Janjua, Khalid Mehmood; Zaheer, Muhammad Yar

2001-07-01

Dielectric constant ε' and loss factor ε'' have been measured in bovine tendon collagen in the frequency range 30 Hz - 3 MHz and temperature range 30 deg. C to 200 deg. C. Frequency dependence curve of ε'' shows a low frequency strong α-dispersion attributed to phonon assisted proton hopping between localized sites and a weak high frequency. α 2 - dispersion attributed to reorientation of polar components of collagen molecules. Temperature dependence of the dielectric data show release of bound moisture as a three step process with discrete peaks at 50 deg. C, 90 deg. C and 125 deg. C. These peaks have been attributed to release of adsorbed surface water, water bound to exposed polar sites and strongly bound internal moisture respectively. A peak observed at 160 deg. C has been attributed to thermally induced helix-coil transition of collagen molecules. (author)

Insights Gained from the Dehalococcoides ethenogenes Strain 195’s Transcriptome Responding to a Wide Range of Respiration Rates and Substrate Types

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-01

fermented yeast , pure hydrogen, or endogenous biomass decay). When similarly respiring (~120 ?eeq PCE/(L-hr)) batch and PSS cultures were contrasted, the...REPORT Insights gained from the “Dehalococcoides ethenogenes” strain 195?s transcriptome responding to a wide range of respiration rates and substrate...types. 14. ABSTRACT 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: Bacteria of the group “Dehalococcoides” display the ability to respire recalcitrant chlorinated

Precise predictions of H2O line shapes over a wide pressure range using simulations corrected by a single measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Ngo, N. H.; Nguyen, H. T.; Tran, H.

2018-03-01

In this work, we show that precise predictions of the shapes of H2O rovibrational lines broadened by N2, over a wide pressure range, can be made using simulations corrected by a single measurement. For that, we use the partially-correlated speed-dependent Keilson-Storer (pcsdKS) model whose parameters are deduced from molecular dynamics simulations and semi-classical calculations. This model takes into account the collision-induced velocity-changes effects, the speed dependences of the collisional line width and shift as well as the correlation between velocity and internal-state changes. For each considered transition, the model is corrected by using a parameter deduced from its broadening coefficient measured for a single pressure. The corrected-pcsdKS model is then used to simulate spectra for a wide pressure range. Direct comparisons of the corrected-pcsdKS calculated and measured spectra of 5 rovibrational lines of H2O for various pressures, from 0.1 to 1.2 atm, show very good agreements. Their maximum differences are in most cases well below 1%, much smaller than residuals obtained when fitting the measurements with the Voigt line shape. This shows that the present procedure can be used to predict H2O line shapes for various pressure conditions and thus the simulated spectra can be used to deduce the refined line-shape parameters to complete spectroscopic databases, in the absence of relevant experimental values.

Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and beyond: Lessons for Ontario? Current issue paper 117

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yeager, K L

1991-03-01

This current issue paper reviews major accidents which have occurred at commercial and military nuclear facilities, and provides basic background on nuclear power and reactor design features to assist the novice in understanding the very complex technical issues surrounding these events. Above all, the role of human factors in the prevention of potential accident situations is emphasized. (author).

Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and beyond: Lessons for Ontario? Current issue paper 117

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeager, K.L.

1991-03-01

This current issue paper reviews major accidents which have occurred at commercial and military nuclear facilities, and provides basic background on nuclear power and reactor design features to assist the novice in understanding the very complex technical issues surrounding these events. Above all, the role of human factors in the prevention of potential accident situations is emphasized. (author)

Wide-range neutron dose determination with CR-39

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arneja, A.R.; Waker, A.J.

1995-01-01

Optical density measurements of CR-30 irradiated with 252 Cf neutrons and chemically etched with 6.5 N KOH solution have been used to determine neutron absorbed doses between 0.1 and 10 Gy. Optimum etching conditions will depend upon the absorbed dose. Since it is not always possible to know the range of absorbed dose on a CR-39 dosemeter collected from personnel and area monitor stations in a criticality accident situation, a three-step two-hour chemical etch at 60 o C has been found to be appropriate. If after a total of six hours of chemical etching the optical density is found to be below 0.04 for 500 nm light (transmission > 90%) then further treatment in the form of electrochemical etching can be carried out to determine the lower absorbed dose. In this manner, absorbed doses below 0.1 Gy can be determined by counting tracks over a unit area. (author)

Ethics teaching on 'Beginning of Life' issues in UK medical schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Oldroyd, Christopher; Fialova, Lydie

2014-12-01

Medical ethics forms an essential component of an undergraduate medical programme. In the UK the Institute of Medical Ethics has released a consensus statement detailing its recommendations for a minimum curriculum for ethics. One important issue it highlights for inclusion is 'Beginning of Life', which includes a wide range of themes. This paper presents an evaluation of the current teaching and assessment of these important issues in UK medical schools, complemented by a specific analysis of students' reaction to the teaching they received at the University of Edinburgh as part of their Obstetrics and Gynaecology rotation. Schools which responded to the survey reported a wide range of teaching and assessment methods. While there was a good overall coverage of topics, only one of them was covered by every institution and the religious/cultural elements of those topics were often neglected. The medical schools viewed better clinical integration of ethics teaching as the best route to improvement, but the students reported a desire for more ethics teaching in the form of specific tutorials, lectures or discussions. It is likely that a combination of these approaches will lead to significant improvements in the delivery of ethics teaching in this area and in others. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Circumstances surrounding aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schievink, W. I.; Karemaker, J. M.; Hageman, L. M.; van der Werf, D. J.

1989-01-01

The circumstances surrounding aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage were investigated in a group of 500 consecutive patients admitted to a neurosurgical center. Subarachnoid hemorrhage occurred during stressful events in 42.8% of the patients, during nonstrenuous activities in 34.4%, and during rest or

Community perspectives on the ethical issues surrounding adolescent HIV vaccine trials in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaspan, Heather B; Soka, Nosiphiwo F; Strode, Ann E; Mathews, Catherine; Mark, Daniella; Flisher, Alan J; Wood, Robin; Bekker, Linda-Gail

2008-10-23

Adolescents globally are at high risk for HIV acquisition and are the targets of HIV prevention interventions such as HIV vaccines. In order to understand stakeholders' attitudes towards the ethical issues of adolescent involvement in HIV vaccine trials, we conducted focus group discussions with key members of a semi-urban, informal Cape Town community with high HIV prevalence in which HIV vaccine trials are taking place. Themes were identified from focus group transcripts by four researchers, and included necessity of guardian consent, age of independent consent, and confidentiality of in-trial medical results. In general, ethical adolescent HIV vaccine trials will be feasible in this community.

Perylene Diimide Based Fluorescent Dyes for Selective Sensing of Nitroaromatic Compounds: Selective Sensing in Aqueous Medium Across Wide pH Range.

Science.gov (United States)

Hariharan, P S; Pitchaimani, J; Madhu, Vedichi; Anthony, Savarimuthu Philip

2016-03-01

Water soluble perylenediimide based fluorophore salt, N,N'-bis(ethelenetrimethyl ammoniumiodide)-perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylicbisimide (PDI-1), has been used for selective fluorescence sensing of picric acid (PA) and 4-nitroaniline (4-NA) in organic as well as aqueous medium across wide pH range (1.0 to 10.0). PDI-1 showed strong fluorescence in dimethylformamide (DMF) (Φf = 0.26 (DMF) and moderate fluorescence in water. Addition of picric acid (PA) and 4-nitroaniline (4-NA) into PDI-1 in DMF/aqueous solution selectively quenches the fluorescence. The concentration dependent studies showed decrease of fluorescence linearly with increase of PA and 4-NA concentration. The interference studies demonstrate high selectivity for PA and 4-NA. Interestingly, PDI-1 showed selective fluorescence sensing of PA and 4-NA across wide pH range (1.0 to 10.0). Selective fluorescence sensing of PA and 4-NA has also been observed with trifluoroacetate (PDI-2), sulfate (PDI-3) salt of PDI-1 as well as octyl chain substituted PDI (PDI-4) without amine functionality. These studies suggest that PA and 4-NA might be having preferential interaction with PDI aromatic core and quenches the fluorescence. Thus PDI based dyes have been used for selective fluorescent sensing of explosive NACs for the first time to the best our knowledge.

The wide range in-core neutron measurement system used in the Windscale AGR concluding experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodings, A.; Budd, J.; Wilson, I.

1982-06-01

The Windscale AGR Concluding Experiments included a comparison of theoretical and experimental power transients and required measurements of neutron flux as a function of position and time within the reactor core. These measurements were specified to cover as wide as possible working range and had to be made against the in-core gamma background of up to 4 x 10 7 R(hr) - 1 . The detectors were required to operate in special, channels cooled by reactor inlet carbon dioxide and the overall system needed a response time such that it could follow transients with doubling times down to 2s with an accuracy of 2 or 3%. These problems were solved by the use of gas ion fission chambers operating in the current fluctuation or Campbelling mode with unusually low filling pressures and fitted with special trilaminax mineral insulated cables. Ten detectors were built and nine were installed in the reactor, three in each of three special stringers at different radial positions. The paper describes the specification against which this system was built, the design process for the detectors, and commissioning experiments together with some of the problems which were encountered. (U.K.)

Weapons dismantlement issues in independent Ukraine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zack, N.R.

1995-01-01

The American Association for the Advancement of Science sponsored a seminar during September 1993 in Kiev, Ukraine, titled, ''Toward a Nuclear-Free Future--Barriers and Problems.'' It brought together Ukrainians, Belarusians and Americans to discuss the legal, political, economic, technical, and safeguards and security dimensions of nuclear weapons dismantlement and destruction. US representatives initiated discussions on legal and treaty requirements and constraints, safeguards and security issues surrounding dismantlement, storage and disposition of nuclear materials, warhead transportation, and economic considerations. Ukrainians gave presentations on arguments for and against the Ukraine keeping nuclear weapons, the Ukrainian Parliament's nonapproval of START 1, alternative strategies for dismantling silos and launchers, and economic and security implications of nuclear weapons removal from the Ukraine. Participants from Belarus discussed proliferation and control regime issues. This paper will highlight and detail the issues, concerns and possible impacts of the Ukraine's dismantlement of its nuclear weapons

A range-wide synthesis and timeline for phylogeographic events in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes).

Science.gov (United States)

Kutschera, Verena E; Lecomte, Nicolas; Janke, Axel; Selva, Nuria; Sokolov, Alexander A; Haun, Timm; Steyer, Katharina; Nowak, Carsten; Hailer, Frank

2013-06-05

Many boreo-temperate mammals have a Pleistocene fossil record throughout Eurasia and North America, but only few have a contemporary distribution that spans this large area. Examples of Holarctic-distributed carnivores are the brown bear, grey wolf, and red fox, all three ecological generalists with large dispersal capacity and a high adaptive flexibility. While the two former have been examined extensively across their ranges, no phylogeographic study of the red fox has been conducted across its entire Holarctic range. Moreover, no study included samples from central Asia, leaving a large sampling gap in the middle of the Eurasian landmass. Here we provide the first mitochondrial DNA sequence data of red foxes from central Asia (Siberia), and new sequences from several European populations. In a range-wide synthesis of 729 red fox mitochondrial control region sequences, including 677 previously published and 52 newly obtained sequences, this manuscript describes the pattern and timing of major phylogeographic events in red foxes, using a Bayesian coalescence approach with multiple fossil tip and root calibration points. In a 335 bp alignment we found in total 175 unique haplotypes. All newly sequenced individuals belonged to the previously described Holarctic lineage. Our analyses confirmed the presence of three Nearctic- and two Japan-restricted lineages that were formed since the Mid/Late Pleistocene. The phylogeographic history of red foxes is highly similar to that previously described for grey wolves and brown bears, indicating that climatic fluctuations and habitat changes since the Pleistocene had similar effects on these highly mobile generalist species. All three species originally diversified in Eurasia and later colonized North America and Japan. North American lineages persisted through the last glacial maximum south of the ice sheets, meeting more recent colonizers from Beringia during postglacial expansion into the northern Nearctic. Both brown

The ethics of animal research: a UK perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Pauline

2007-01-01

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics, an independent body in the United Kingdom, has published a 2005 report titled The Ethics of Research Involving Animals. The Report, produced by a Working Party that represented a wide range of views, seeks to clarify the debate that surrounds this topic and aims to help people identify and analyze the relevant scientific and ethical issues. The Working Party considered the arguments surrounding whether animal research yields useful results, and recommends that its predictability and transferability should be evaluated more fully, particularly in controversial areas. Commonly encountered ethical questions and arguments were considered in order to understand what lies behind disagreement on the moral justification of animal research. Four possible ethical positions on animal research, which represent points on a continuum, are described. Despite the range of views that exist among members of the Working Party, the Report presents a "Consensus Statement" that identifies agreement on several important issues. Building on this statement, recommendations are made for improving the quality of the debate and promoting the 3Rs (refinement, reduction, and replacement).

ZnO core spike particles and nano-networks and their wide range of applications

Science.gov (United States)

Wille, S.; Mishra, Y. K.; Gedamu, D.; Kaps, S.; Jin, X.; Koschine, T.; Bathnagar, A.; Adelung, R.

2011-05-01

In our approach we are producing a polymer composite material with ZnO core spike particles as concave fillers. The core spike particles are synthesized by a high throughput method. Using PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) as a matrix material the core spike particles achieve not only a high mechanical reinforcement but also influence other material properties in a very interesting way, making such a composite very interesting for a wide range of applications. In a very similar synthesis route a nanoscopic ZnO-network is produced. As a ceramic this network can withstand high temperatures like 1300 K. In addition this material is quite elastic. To find a material with these two properties is a really difficult task, as polymers tend to decompose already at lower temperatures and metals melt. Especially under ambient conditions, often oxygen creates a problem for metals at these temperatures. If this material is at the same time a semiconductor, it has a high potential as a multifunctional material. Ceramic or classical semiconductors like III-V or IIVI type are high temperature stable, but typically brittle. This is different on the nanoscale. Even semiconductor wires like silicon with a very small diameter do not easily built up enough stress that leads to a failure while being bent, because in a first order approximation the maximum stress of a fiber scales with its diameter.

A “twisted” microfluidic mixer suitable for a wide range of flow rate applications

KAUST Repository

Sivashankar, Shilpa

2016-06-27

This paper proposes a new “twisted” 3D microfluidic mixer fabricated by a laser writing/microfabrication technique. Effective and efficient mixing using the twisted micromixers can be obtained by combining two general chaotic mixing mechanisms: splitting/recombining and chaotic advection. The lamination of mixer units provides the splitting and recombination mechanism when the quadrant of circles is arranged in a two-layered serial arrangement of mixing units. The overall 3D path of the microchannel introduces the advection. An experimental investigation using chemical solutions revealed that these novel 3D passive microfluidic mixers were stable and could be operated at a wide range of flow rates. This micromixer finds application in the manipulation of tiny volumes of liquids that are crucial in diagnostics. The mixing performance was evaluated by dye visualization, and using a pH test that determined the chemical reaction of the solutions. A comparison of the tornado-mixer with this twisted micromixer was made to evaluate the efficiency of mixing. The efficiency of mixing was calculated within the channel by acquiring intensities using ImageJ software. Results suggested that efficient mixing can be obtained when more than 3 units were consecutively placed. The geometry of the device, which has a length of 30 mm, enables the device to be integrated with micro total analysis systems and other lab-on-chip devices.

Short-range order in Fe-based metallic glasses: Wide-angle X-ray scattering studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babilas, Rafał; Hawełek, Łukasz; Burian, Andrzej

2014-01-01

The local atomic structure of the Fe 80 B 20 , Fe 70 Nb 10 B 20 and Fe 62 Nb 8 B 30 glasses prepared in the form of ribbons has been studied by wide-angle X-ray scattering. Structural information about the amorphous ribbons has been derived from analysis of the radial distribution functions using the least-squares curve-fitting method. The obtained structural parameters indicate that Fe–Fe, Fe–B, Fe–Nb and Nb–B contributions are involved in the near-neighbor coordination spheres. The possible similarities of the local atomic arrangement in the investigated glasses and the crystalline Fe 3 B, Fe 23 B 6 and bcc Fe structures are also discussed. - Graphical abstract: Pair distribution functions (a) and best-fit model and experimental radial distribution functions for Fe 80 B 20 (b), Fe 70 Nb 10 B 20 (c) and Fe 62 Nb 8 B 30 (d) metallic glasses. - Highlights: • The short-range ordering in the Fe-based metallic glasses is presented. • The results of RDF function have been analyzed using the least-squares method. • The Fe–Fe, Fe–B, Fe–Nb or Nb–B contributions are involved in coordination spheres. • The structural unit is distorted triangular prism containing B, Fe or Nb atoms. • Similarities of atomic arrangement in glassy and crystalline structures are discussed

Genome-wide signatures of flowering adaptation to climate temperature: Regional analyses in a highly diverse native range of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabas-Madrid, Daniel; Méndez-Vigo, Belén; Arteaga, Noelia; Marcer, Arnald; Pascual-Montano, Alberto; Weigel, Detlef; Xavier Picó, F; Alonso-Blanco, Carlos

2018-03-08

Current global change is fueling an interest to understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms of plant adaptation to climate. In particular, altered flowering time is a common strategy for escape from unfavourable climate temperature. In order to determine the genomic bases underlying flowering time adaptation to this climatic factor, we have systematically analysed a collection of 174 highly diverse Arabidopsis thaliana accessions from the Iberian Peninsula. Analyses of 1.88 million single nucleotide polymorphisms provide evidence for a spatially heterogeneous contribution of demographic and adaptive processes to geographic patterns of genetic variation. Mountains appear to be allele dispersal barriers, whereas the relationship between flowering time and temperature depended on the precise temperature range. Environmental genome-wide associations supported an overall genome adaptation to temperature, with 9.4% of the genes showing significant associations. Furthermore, phenotypic genome-wide associations provided a catalogue of candidate genes underlying flowering time variation. Finally, comparison of environmental and phenotypic genome-wide associations identified known (Twin Sister of FT, FRIGIDA-like 1, and Casein Kinase II Beta chain 1) and new (Epithiospecifer Modifier 1 and Voltage-Dependent Anion Channel 5) genes as candidates for adaptation to climate temperature by altered flowering time. Thus, this regional collection provides an excellent resource to address the spatial complexity of climate adaptation in annual plants. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Space Station power system issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giudici, R.J.

1985-01-01

Issues governing the selection of power systems for long-term manned Space Stations intended solely for earth orbital missions are covered briefly, drawing on trade study results from both in-house and contracted studies that have been conducted over nearly two decades. An involvement, from the Program Development Office at MSFC, with current Space Station concepts began in late 1982 with the NASA-wide Systems Definition Working Group and continued throughout 1984 in support of various planning activities. The premise for this discussion is that, within the confines of the current Space Station concept, there is good reason to consider photovoltaic power systems to be a venerable technology option for both the initial 75 kW and 300 kW (or much greater) growth stations. The issue of large physical size required by photovoltaic power systems is presented considering mass, atmospheric drag, launch packaging and power transmission voltage as being possible practicality limitations. The validity of searching for a cross-over point necessitating the introduction of solar thermal or nuclear power system options as enabling technologies is considered with reference to programs ranging from the 4.8 kW Skylab to the 9.5 gW Space Power Satellite

Accuracy evaluation of contour next compared with five blood glucose monitoring systems across a wide range of blood glucose concentrations occurring in a clinical research setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Klaff, Leslie J; Brazg, Ronald; Hughes, Kristen; Tideman, Ann M; Schachner, Holly C; Stenger, Patricia; Pardo, Scott; Dunne, Nancy; Parkes, Joan Lee

2015-01-01

This study evaluated the accuracy of Contour(®) Next (CN; Bayer HealthCare LLC, Diabetes Care, Whippany, NJ) compared with five blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMSs) across a wide range of clinically occurring blood glucose levels. Subjects (n=146) were ≥ 18 years and had type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Subjects' glucose levels were safely lowered or raised to provide a wide range of glucose values. Capillary blood samples were tested on six BGMSs and a YSI glucose analyzer (YSI Life Sciences, Inc., Yellow Springs, OH) as the reference. Extreme glucose values were achieved by glucose modification of the blood sample. System accuracy was assessed by mean absolute difference (MAD) and mean absolute relative difference (MARD) across several glucose ranges, with glucose range (Abbott Diabetes Care, Inc., Alameda, CA), 2.77 mg/dL; OneTouch(®) Ultra(®) 2 (LifeScan, Inc., Milpitas, CA), 10.20 mg/dL; OneTouch(®) Verio(®) Pro (LifeScan, Inc.), 4.53 mg/dL; and Truetrack(®) (Nipro Diagnostics, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, FL), 11.08 mg/dL. The lowest MAD in the low glucose range, from CN, was statistically significantly lower than those of the other BGMSs with the exception of the FSL. CN also had a statistically significantly lower MARD than all other BGMSs in the low glucose range. In the overall glucose range (21-496 mg/dL), CN yielded the lowest MAD and MARD values, which were statistically significantly lower in comparison with the other BGMSs. When compared with other BGMSs, CN demonstrated the lowest mean deviation from the reference value (by MAD and MARD) across multiple glucose ranges.

Grasping the TLRP Nettle: Preliminary Analysis and Some Enduring Issues Surrounding the Improvement of Learning Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

James, Mary; Brown, Sally

2005-01-01

The ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme is the largest ever programme of educational research in the UK. This article reports the purposes, processes, outcomes and issues arising from cross-programme thematic work on the conceptualization of, and research into, 'enhancing learning outcomes' which is a key aim of the programme. Early…

Fast, Highly-Sensitive, and Wide-Dynamic-Range Interdigitated Capacitor Glucose Biosensor Using Solvatochromic Dye-Containing Sensing Membrane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Rajibur Rahaman Khan

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we proposed an interdigitated capacitor (IDC-based glucose biosensor to measure different concentrations of glucose from 1 μM to 1 M. We studied four different types of solvatochromic dyes: Auramine O, Nile red, Rhodamine B, and Reichardt’s dye (R-dye. These dyes were individually incorporated into a polymer [polyvinyl chloride (PVC] and N,N-Dimethylacetamide (DMAC solution to make the respective dielectric/sensing materials. To the best of our knowledge, we report for the first time an IDC glucose biosensing system utilizing a solvatochromic-dye-containing sensing membrane. These four dielectric or sensing materials were individually placed into the interdigitated electrode (IDE by spin coating to make four IDC glucose biosensing elements. The proposed IDC glucose biosensor has a high sensing ability over a wide dynamic range and its sensitivity was about 23.32 mV/decade. It also has fast response and recovery times of approximately 7 s and 5 s, respectively, excellent reproducibility with a standard deviation of approximately 0.023, highly stable sensing performance, and real-time monitoring capabilities. The proposed IDC glucose biosensor was compared with an IDC, potentiometric, FET, and fiber-optic glucose sensor with respect to response time, dynamic range width, sensitivity, and linearity. We observed that the designed IDC glucose biosensor offered excellent performance.

Wide-range measurement of thermal effusivity using molybdenum thin film with low thermal conductivity for thermal microscopes

Science.gov (United States)

Miyake, Shugo; Matsui, Genzou; Ohta, Hiromichi; Hatori, Kimihito; Taguchi, Kohei; Yamamoto, Suguru

2017-07-01

Thermal microscopes are a useful technology to investigate the spatial distribution of the thermal transport properties of various materials. However, for high thermal effusivity materials, the estimated values of thermophysical parameters based on the conventional 1D heat flow model are known to be higher than the values of materials in the literature. Here, we present a new procedure to solve the problem which calculates the theoretical temperature response with the 3D heat flow and measures reference materials which involve known values of thermal effusivity and heat capacity. In general, a complicated numerical iterative method and many thermophysical parameters are required for the calculation in the 3D heat flow model. Here, we devised a simple procedure by using a molybdenum (Mo) thin film with low thermal conductivity on the sample surface, enabling us to measure over a wide thermal effusivity range for various materials.

Global Issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seitz, J.L.

2001-10-15

Global Issues is an introduction to the nature and background of some of the central issues - economic, social, political, environmental - of modern times. This new edition of this text has been fully updated throughout and features expanded sections on issues such as global warming, biotechnology, and energy. Fully updated throughout and features expanded sections on issues such as global warming, biotechnology, and energy. An introduction to the nature and background of some of the central issues - economic, social, political, environmental - of modern times. Covers a range of perspectives on a variety of societies, developed and developing. Extensively illustrated with diagrams and photographs, contains guides to further reading, media, and internet resources, and includes suggestions for discussion and studying the material. (author)

Current Therapeutic Cannabis Controversies and Clinical Trial Design Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, Ethan B.

2016-01-01

This overview covers a wide range of cannabis topics, initially examining issues in dispensaries and self-administration, plus regulatory requirements for production of cannabis-based medicines, particularly the Food and Drug Administration “Botanical Guidance.” The remainder pertains to various cannabis controversies that certainly require closer examination if the scientific, consumer, and governmental stakeholders are ever to reach consensus on safety issues, specifically: whether botanical cannabis displays herbal synergy of its components, pharmacokinetics of cannabis and dose titration, whether cannabis medicines produce cyclo-oxygenase inhibition, cannabis-drug interactions, and cytochrome P450 issues, whether cannabis randomized clinical trials are properly blinded, combatting the placebo effect in those trials via new approaches, the drug abuse liability (DAL) of cannabis-based medicines and their regulatory scheduling, their effects on cognitive function and psychiatric sequelae, immunological effects, cannabis and driving safety, youth usage, issues related to cannabis smoking and vaporization, cannabis concentrates and vape-pens, and laboratory analysis for contamination with bacteria and heavy metals. Finally, the issue of pesticide usage on cannabis crops is addressed. New and disturbing data on pesticide residues in legal cannabis products in Washington State are presented with the observation of an 84.6% contamination rate including potentially neurotoxic and carcinogenic agents. With ongoing developments in legalization of cannabis in medical and recreational settings, numerous scientific, safety, and public health issues remain. PMID:27683558

Current Therapeutic Cannabis Controversies and Clinical Trial Design Issues.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ethan Budd Russo

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This overview covers a wide range of cannabis topics, initially examining issue in dispensaries and self-administration, plus regulatory requirement for production of cannabis-based medicines, particularly the Food and Drug Administration Botanical Guidance. The remainder pertains to various cannabis controversies that certainly require closer examination if the scientific, consumer and governmental stakeholders are ever to reach consensus on safety issues, specifically: whether botanical cannabis displays herbal synergy of its components, pharmacokinetics of cannabis and dose titration, whether cannabis medicines produce cyclo-oxygenase inhibition, cannabis-drug interactions and cytochrome P450 issues, whether cannabis randomized clinical trials are properly blinded, combatting the placebo effect in those trials via new approaches, the drug abuse liability of cannabis-based medicines and their regulatory scheduling, their effects on cognitive function and psychiatric sequelae, immunological effects, cannabis and driving safety, youth usage, issues related to cannabis smoking and vaporization, cannabis concentrates and vape-pens, and laboratory analysis for contamination with bacteria and heavy metals. Finally, the issue of pesticide usage on cannabis crops is addressed. New and disturbing data on pesticide residues in legal cannabis products in Washington State are presented with the observation of an 84.6% contamination rate including potentially neurotoxic and carcinogenic agents. With ongoing developments in legalization of cannabis in medical and recreational settings, numerous scientific, safety and public health issues remain.

NIRS determination of non-structural carbohydrates, water soluble carbohydrates and other nutritive quality traits in whole plant maize with wide range variability

OpenAIRE

L. Campo; A. B. Monteagudo; B. Salleres; P. Castro; J. Moreno-Gonzalez

2013-01-01

The aim of this work was to study the potential of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to predict non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), in vitro organic dry matter digestibility (IVOMD), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and starch in samples of whole plant maize with a wide range of variability. The samples were analyzed in reflectance mode by a spectrophotometer FOSS NIRSystems 6500. ...

MRI of normal pituitary glands and their surrounding structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Yoshiyuki

1991-01-01

Normal MRI appearances of the pituitary glands and their surrounding structures were evaluated in 332 patients without sellar and parasellar diseases. The height of the pituitary gland was maximum at 10-19 years of age reflecting hormonal activity. The width of the pituitary gland decreased, while that of the cavernous sinus increased with aging. This is probably due to atherosclerotic change of the internal carotid artery. Females younger than 30 years of age tended to show a convex upper surface of the pituitary gland and the displacement of the pituitary stalk was common after 50 years of age. Almost all of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland showed isointensity relative to the pons or cerebral cortex and the majority (85.1%) of the posterior lobe showed hyperintensity. However, the anterior lobe in 2 newborns showed hyperintensity similar to the normal posterior lobe in adults. The posterior lobe was located off the midline in 19.1% of the subjects. One case of pars intermedia cyst was discovered among 14 subjects who were administered Gd-DTPA. The dural membrane between the pituitary gland and cavernous sinus was recognizable only in 8.6% on the right side and 7.5% on the left side. Primary empty sella was identified in 4.5%. Knowledge of the above normal ranges and variations of the pituitary gland and its surrounding structures is important in diagnosing sellar and parasellar lesions. (author) 52 refs

Gynaecological issues affecting the obese adolescent.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Paul L; Bauman, Dvora

2015-05-01

The implications of obesity in childhood and adolescence resonate into adulthood and have implications at different levels that include psychosocial and health issues that impact beyond reproductive performance. This chapter explores the various facets and consequences on gynaecological issues of increased Body Mass Index in childhood, including the link with puberty, pubertal menorrhagia (also affecting children with complex needs) and the all too common problems surrounding hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance and the polycystic ovarian syndrome in particular which need to be seen in the specific context of the adolescent years. The wider ramifications of obesity on the psychosocial welfare of adolescents merits special attention. Finally management strategies are considered in the context of the needs of adolescents. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Regional Issue Identification and Assessment (RIIA): an analysis of the mid-range projection, Series C Scenario

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Honea, B.; Hillsman, E.

1979-10-01

The Department of Energy has hypothesized a number of alternate energy futures as part of its energy planning and analysis programs. How a proposed energy future called the Mid-Range Projection Series C Scenario would affect Federal Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico) is examined in this report. This scenario assumes a medium supply and a medium demand for fuel through 1990, and it incorporates the fuel-switching provisions of the Energy Supply and Environmental Coordination Act. The report portrays the major regional environmental, human health and safety, socioeconomic, and institutional effects that might result from the realization of the Series C Scenario. This discussion should serve as a basis for further assessments, as it identifies some issues of major concern for Region VI that must be addressed in more depth.

Lifespan of mountain ranges scaled by feedbacks between landsliding and erosion by rivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Egholm, David L; Knudsen, Mads F; Sandiford, Mike

2013-06-27

An important challenge in geomorphology is the reconciliation of the high fluvial incision rates observed in tectonically active mountain ranges with the long-term preservation of significant mountain-range relief in ancient, tectonically inactive orogenic belts. River bedrock erosion and sediment transport are widely recognized to be the principal controls on the lifespan of mountain ranges. But the factors controlling the rate of erosion and the reasons why they seem to vary significantly as a function of tectonic activity remain controversial. Here we use computational simulations to show that the key to understanding variations in the rate of erosion between tectonically active and inactive mountain ranges may relate to a bidirectional coupling between bedrock river incision and landslides. Whereas fluvial incision steepens surrounding hillslopes and increases landslide frequency, landsliding affects fluvial erosion rates in two fundamentally distinct ways. On the one hand, large landslides overwhelm the river transport capacity and cause upstream build up of sediment that protects the river bed from further erosion. On the other hand, in delivering abrasive agents to the streams, landslides help accelerate fluvial erosion. Our models illustrate how this coupling has fundamentally different implications for rates of fluvial incision in active and inactive mountain ranges. The coupling therefore provides a plausible physical explanation for the preservation of significant mountain-range relief in old orogenic belts, up to several hundred million years after tectonic activity has effectively ceased.

Cholinergic enhancement reduces orientation-specific surround suppression but not visual crowding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna A. Kosovicheva

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Acetylcholine (ACh reduces the spatial spread of excitatory fMRI responses in early visual cortex and the receptive field sizes of V1 neurons. We investigated the perceptual consequences of these physiological effects of ACh with surround suppression and crowding, two tasks that involve spatial interactions between visual field locations. Surround suppression refers to the reduction in perceived stimulus contrast by a high-contrast surround stimulus. For grating stimuli, surround suppression is selective for the relative orientations of the center and surround, suggesting that it results from inhibitory interactions in early visual cortex. Crowding refers to impaired identification of a peripheral stimulus in the presence of flankers and is thought to result from excessive integration of visual features. We increased synaptic ACh levels by administering the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil to healthy human subjects in a placebo-controlled, double-blind design. In Exp. 1, we measured surround suppression of a central grating using a contrast discrimination task with three conditions: 1 surround grating with the same orientation as the center (parallel, 2 surround orthogonal to the center, or 3 no surround. Contrast discrimination thresholds were higher in the parallel than in the orthogonal condition, demonstrating orientation-specific surround suppression (OSSS. Cholinergic enhancement reduced thresholds only in the parallel condition, thereby reducing OSSS. In Exp. 2, subjects performed a crowding task in which they reported the identity of a peripheral letter flanked by letters on either side. We measured the critical spacing between the target and flanking letters that allowed reliable identification. Cholinergic enhancement had no effect on critical spacing. Our findings suggest that ACh reduces spatial interactions in tasks involving segmentation of visual field locations but that these effects may be limited to early visual cortical

2.5 Gbit/s Optical Receiver Front-End Circuit with High Sensitivity and Wide Dynamic Range

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Tiezhu; Mo, Taishan; Ye, Tianchun

2017-12-01

An optical receiver front-end circuit is designed for passive optical network and fabricated in a 0.18 um CMOS technology. The whole circuit consists of a transimpedance amplifier (TIA), a single-ended to differential amplifier and an output driver. The TIA employs a cascode stage as the input stage and auxiliary amplifier to reduce the miller effect. Current injecting technique is employed to enlarge the input transistor's transconductance, optimize the noise performance and overcome the lack of voltage headroom. To achieve a wide dynamic range, an automatic gain control circuit with self-adaptive function is proposed. Experiment results show an optical sensitivity of -28 dBm for a bit error rate of 10-10 at 2.5 Gbit/s and a maxim input optical power of 2 dBm using an external photodiode. The chip occupies an area of 1×0.9 mm2 and consumes around 30 mW from single 1.8 V supply. The front-end circuit can be used in various optical receivers.

Availability of limited service food outlets surrounding schools in British Columbia.

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Jennifer L; Day, Meghan

2012-06-05

The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive profile of the availability of limited service food outlets surrounding public schools in British Columbia, Canada. Data from the 2010 Canadian Business Data Files were used to identify limited service food outlets including fast food outlets, beverage and snack food stores, delis and convenience stores. The number of food outlets within 800 metres of 1,392 public schools and the distance from schools to the nearest food outlets were assessed. Multivariate regression models examined the associations between food outlet availability and school-level characteristics. In 2010, over half of the public schools in BC (54%) were located within a 10-12 minute walk from at least one limited service food outlet. The median closest distance to a food outlet was just over 1 km (1016 m). Schools comprised of students living in densely populated urban neighbourhoods and neighbourhoods characterized by lower socio-economic status were more likely to have access to limited service food outlets within walking distance. After adjusting for school-level median family income and population density, larger schools had higher odds of exposure to food vendors compared to schools with fewer students. The availability of and proximity to limited service food outlets vary widely across schools in British Columbia and school-level characteristics are significantly associated with food outlet availability. Additional research is needed to understand how food environment exposures inside and surrounding schools impact students' attitudes, food choices and dietary quality.

MAPPING THE SURROUNDINGS AS A REQUIREMENT FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Steininger

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Motivated by the hype around driverless cars and the challenges of the sensor integration and data processing, this paper presents a model for using a XBox One Microsoft Kinect stereo camera as sensor for mapping the surroundings. Today, the recognition of the environment of the car is mostly done by a mix of sensors like LiDAR, RADAR and cameras. In the case of the outdoor delivery challenge Robotour 2016 with model cars in scale 1:5, it is our goal to solve the task with one camera only. To this end, a three-stage approach was developed. The test results show that our approach can detect and locate objects at a range of up to eight meters in order to incorporate them as barriers in the navigation process.

Electron-impact rotationally elastic total cross sections for H2CO and HCOOH over a wide range of incident energy (0.01-2000 eV)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vinodkumar, Minaxi; Bhutadia, Harshad; Antony, Bobby; Mason, Nigel

2011-01-01

This paper reports computational results of the total cross sections for electron impact on H 2 CO and HCOOH over a wide range of electron impact energies from 0.01 eV to 2 keV. The total cross section is presented as sum of the elastic and electronic excitation cross sections for incident energies. The calculation uses two different methodologies, below the ionization threshold of the target the cross section is calculated using the UK molecular R-matrix code through the Quantemol-N software package while cross sections at higher energies are evaluated using the spherical complex optical potential formalism. The two methods are found to be consistent at the transition energy (∼15 eV). The present results are, in general, found to be in good agreement with previous experimental and theoretical results (wherever available) and, thus, the present results can serve as a benchmark for the cross section over a wide range of energy.

A CMOS frontend chip for implantable neural recording with wide voltage supply range

Science.gov (United States)

Jialin, Liu; Xu, Zhang; Xiaohui, Hu; Yatao, Guo; Peng, Li; Ming, Liu; Bin, Li; Hongda, Chen

2015-10-01

A design for a CMOS frontend integrated circuit (chip) for neural signal acquisition working at wide voltage supply range is presented in this paper. The chip consists of a preamplifier, a serial instrumental amplifier (IA) and a cyclic analog-to-digital converter (CADC). The capacitive-coupled and capacitive-feedback topology combined with MOS-bipolar pseudo-resistor element is adopted in the preamplifier to create a -3 dB upper cut-off frequency less than 1 Hz without using a ponderous discrete device. A dual-amplifier instrumental amplifier is used to provide a low output impedance interface for ADC as well as to boost the gain. The preamplifier and the serial instrumental amplifier together provide a midband gain of 45.8 dB and have an input-referred noise of 6.7 μVrms integrated from 1 Hz to 5 kHz. The ADC digitizes the amplified signal at 12-bits precision with a highest sampling rate of 130 kS/s. The measured effective number of bits (ENOB) of the ADC is 8.7 bits. The entire circuit draws 165 to 216 μA current from the supply voltage varied from 1.34 to 3.3 V. The prototype chip is fabricated in the 0.18-μm CMOS process and occupies an area of 1.23 mm2 (including pads). In-vitro recording was successfully carried out by the proposed frontend chip. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61474107, 61372060, 61335010, 61275200, 61178051) and the Key Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KJZD-EW-L11-01).

On the issues of resolving a low melting combination as a definite ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

On the issues of resolving a low melting combination as a definite eutectic or an elusive cocrystal: A critical .... and external (surroundings - temperature, pressure, sol- vent, kinetics, etc.) ...... Chem. Res. 39 2068; (d) Urbanus J, Roelands C P M,.

In This Issue

Science.gov (United States)

1996-08-01

Coda This issue of the Journal, the last to be produced by the editorial staff in Austin, is remarkable only in the sense that each issue of this Journal is remarkable. In it teachers of chemistry share information, advice, and ideas that encompass a range as wide as chemistry itself. The Journal has always been a venue where the only important thread of commonalty was the goal of helping teachers--providing a "living textbook of chemistry", as it was dubbed by its founders. This textbook is different, however--it is written by its own readers and it has a new "edition" each month. This month's edition typifies the range of topics and issues found important by our readers (and authors): information about new ideas and research advances, new ways to look at and present the information we have, experiments and demonstrations to give students a first-hand exposure to chemistry, computer exercises to introduce those things that cannot be (or are too dangerous to be) presented first-hand, and ideas for better teaching techniques and classroom organization. With such a purview, it is no wonder that the articles in this issue range from the second law of thermodynamics (Frohlich, page 716) to building a Tesla coil from a car coil (Hall and Battino, page 817) and touch on such consequential topics as mimicking nature (Dennison and Harrowven, page 697) and the search for a silicon-based LED (Swisher, Richmond, and Sercel, page 738). New information about research is represented by part III of the series on electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (Hop and Bakhtiar, page A162). Senozan and Devore (page 767) look at data already long known about carbon monoxide poisoning and present a more subtle and complex explanation of the process than is usually seen in introductory texts. A really new way of looking at what we already know is the unique approach that Ginebreda (page 708) takes to waste recovery, applying the formalisms of thermodynamics to economic considerations

Critical human-factors issues in nuclear-power regulation and a recommended comprehensive human-factors long-range plan. Executive summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopkins, C.O.; Snyder, H.L.; Price, H.E.; Hornick, R.J.; Mackie, R.R.; Smillie, R.J.; Sugarman, R.C.

1982-08-01

This comprehensive long-range human factors plan for nuclear reactor regulation was developed by a Study Group of the Human Factors Society, Inc. This Study Group was selected by the Executive Council of the Society to provide a balanced, experienced human factors perspective to the applications of human factors scientific and engineering knowledge to nuclear power generation. The report is presented in three volumes. Volume 1 contains an Executive Summary of the 18-month effort and its conclusions. Volume 2 summarizes all known nuclear-related human factors activities, evaluates these activities wherever adequate information is available, and describes the recommended long-range (10-year) plan for human factors in regulation. Volume 3 elaborates upon each of the human factors issues and areas of recommended human factors involvement contained in the plan, and discusses the logic that led to the recommendations

Complex governance system issues for transportation renewal projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelly Strong

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The use of public–private partnerships (PPPs is growing in the United States in response to reductions in funding combined with an aging highway transportation infrastructure. Many other countries have longer experience with PPP and a greater understanding of the issues surrounding their use. The main governance issues to be addressed in PPPs deal with risk-sharing, relationships, contracts, and legal framework, and standard processes within dedicated organizational units. These governance issues are examined in the context of a case study for the US 36 Phase II PPP in Colorado. Findings suggest that for the US Phase II project, governance issues are resolved through more relational forms than prescriptive contractual language. Colorado has established a dedicated organizational unit to facilitate the use of PPPs, but there exist no standards or best practices in the United States for procurement, concession terms, or risk-sharing.

Psychosocial Studies of Migration and Community: Introduction to the Special Issue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas D. Perkins

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Introducing the special issue on psychosocial studies of migration and community, we briefly reflect on the global increase in, and issues related to, both international and domestic migration, particularly from rural areas of less developed countries, which has fueled rapid urbanization and intercultural tensions in both post-industrial and developing countries. Topics covered in the issue are summarized, including an Italian study of the emotional impact of discrimination against immigrant adolescents; acculturation, integration and adaptation of Muslim immigrant youth in New Zealand; perceptions of human trafficking in Moldova; Chinese migrant workers´ social networks, life satisfaction and political participation; physician brain drain from sub-Saharan Africa; and a critical analysis of the oppressive and liberating impact of organizations on immigrants, multiculturalism, and social justice. The issue concludes with commentary articles by four leading international scholars of migration and community. The breadth of topics helps to address wide-ranging gaps in the literature, but more psychological and social research must connect ecologically across multiple levels and to cultural, political, economic, and environmental studies of migration and community.

Placental vascular responses are dependent on surrounding tissue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brøgger, Torbjørn Halle

-depth understanding of the mechanism regulating blood flow and perfusion is necessary if we are to come up with new ideas for intervention and treatment. Method: From fresh born placentas stem villi arteries were carefully dissected. The artery branches were divided. The surrounding tissue was removed from one end...... and was left untouched in the other end. Then using wire myography they were investigated in terms of contractility and sensitivity to physiological relevant human-like agonists. Results: Sensitivity to PGF2α, Tx-analog, 5-HT and endothelin-1 was significantly lower in arteries with intact surrounding tissue...... compared to arteries stripped of the tissue. The maximal force development was also significantly lower in arteries with surrounding tissue, when they were depolarized high extracellular [K+] or stimulated with PGF2α or endotheline-1. Conclusion: The perivascular tissue significantly alters stem villi...

Placental vascular responses are dependent on surrounding tissue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brøgger, Torbjørn Halle

. Materials and methods. From fresh born placentas, stem villi arteries were carefully dissected. The artery branches were divided. The surrounding tissue was removed from one end and was left untouched in the other end.Then, using wire myography, they were investigated in terms of contractility...... and sensitivity to physiological relevant human-like agonists. Results. Sensitivity to PGF2α, Tx-analog, 5-HT and endothelin-1 was significantly lower in arteries with intact surrounding tissue compared to arteries stripped of the tissue. The maximal force development was also significantly lower in arteries...... with surrounding tissue when they were depolarized high extracellular [K+] or stimulated with PGF2α or endotheline-1. Conclusion. The perivascular tissue significantly alters stem villi arteries' sensitivity and force development in a suppressive way. This implicates a new aspect of blood flow regulation...

The vascular flora of a section of the transformed Piwonia River channel - the surrounding ditch on Lake Bikcze (Łęczna-Włodawa Lakeland - in relation to habitat conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magdalena Pogorzelec

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In the period 2007-2009, floristic, habitat and physico- chemical analysis was made of the hydraulically improved surrounding ditch of Lake Bikcze in the Łęczna-Włodawa Lakeland. Hemicryptophytes, with a large proportion of geophytes as well as hydrophytes and helophytes, were the main component of the flora of the studied section of the transformed Piwonia River channel. In terms of historical-geographical classification, spontaneophytes were predominant, and apophytes among them, whereas anthropophytes were poorly represented, which was confirmed by the correspondingly high values of the synanthropization and apophytization indices (> 50% as well as the low value of the anthropophytization index (approx. 2%. In the aspect of the range of occurrence, Euro-Siberian and cosmopolitan species were predominant, which are classified in terms of the indicator values as hygrophilous plants, neutral to continentality, living in moderately cool or moderately warm climatic conditions, characterized by a wide range of tolerance to the trophic state index and to soil acidity. An analysis of the values of the basic physico-chemical factors of the stagnant water in the surrounding ditch showed variations in the value of pH, electrolytic conductivity and the value of the concentration of organic and ammonium nitrogen as well as of organic phosphorus and phosphates. In spite of the anthropogenic nature of the studied watercourse, the qualitative and quantitative proportions of the flora species indicated the natural state of the flora based on the native vegetation, characteristic of the study area.

Key issues in the prevention of obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, T P

1997-01-01

Obesity is a serious, chronic medical condition which is associated with a wide range of debilitating and life-threatening conditions. It imposes huge financial burdens on health care systems and the community at large. Obesity develops over time and once it has done so, is difficult to treat. Therefore, the prevention of weight gain offers the only truly effective means of controlling obesity. Very little research has directly addressed the issue of obesity prevention and previous efforts to prevent obesity amongst individuals, groups or whole communities have had very limited success. However, we have learned sufficient from past preventive activities to realise that the management of obesity will require a comprehensive range of strategies with actions that target those with existing weight problems, those at high risk of developing obesity as well as the community as a whole. The prevention and management of obesity in children should be considered a priority as there is a high risk of persistence into adulthood.

Wide-range light-harvesting donor-acceptor assemblies through specific intergelator interactions via self-assembly.

Science.gov (United States)

Samanta, Suman K; Bhattacharya, Santanu

2012-12-03

We have synthesized two new low-molecular-mass organogelators based on tri-p-phenylene vinylene derivatives, one of which could be designated as the donor whereas the other one is an acceptor. These were prepared specifically to show the intergelator interactions at the molecular level by using donor-acceptor self-assembly to achieve appropriate control over their macroscopic properties. Intermolecular hydrogen-bonding, π-stacking, and van der Waals interactions operate for both the individual components and the mixtures, leading to the formation of gels in the chosen organic solvents. Evidence for intergelator interactions was acquired from various spectroscopic, microscopic, thermal, and mechanical investigations. Due to the photochromic nature of these molecules, interesting photophysical properties, such as solvatochromism and J-type aggregation, were clearly observed. An efficient energy transfer was exhibited by the mixture of donor-acceptor assemblies. An array of four chromophores was built up by inclusion of two known dyes (anthracene and rhodamine 6G) for the energy-transfer studies. Interestingly, an energy-transfer cascade was observed in the assembly of four chromophores in a particular order (anthracene-donor-acceptor-rhodamine 6G), and if one of the components was removed from the assembly the energy transfer process was discontinued. This allowed the build up of a light-harvesting process with a wide range. Excitation at one end produces an emission at the other end of the assembly. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A synchronous surround increases the motion strength gain of motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Linares, Daniel; Nishida, Shin'ya

2013-11-12

Coherent motion detection is greatly enhanced by the synchronous presentation of a static surround (Linares, Motoyoshi, & Nishida, 2012). To further understand this contextual enhancement, here we measured the sensitivity to discriminate motion strength for several pedestal strengths with and without a surround. We found that the surround improved discrimination of low and medium motion strengths, but did not improve or even impaired discrimination of high motion strengths. We used motion strength discriminability to estimate the perceptual response function assuming additive noise and found that the surround increased the motion strength gain, rather than the response gain. Given that eye and body movements continuously introduce transients in the retinal image, it is possible that this strength gain occurs in natural vision.

Thermal effects of an ICL-based mid-infrared CH4 sensor within a wide atmospheric temperature range

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Weilin; Zheng, Chuantao; Sanchez, Nancy P.; Girija, Aswathy V.; He, Qixin; Zheng, Huadan; Griffin, Robert J.; Tittel, Frank K.

2018-03-01

The thermal effects of an interband cascade laser (ICL) based mid-infrared methane (CH4) sensor that uses long-path absorption spectroscopy were studied. The sensor performance in the laboratory at a constant temperature of ∼25 °C was measured for 5 h and its Allan deviation was ∼2 ppbv with a 1 s averaging time. A LabVIEW-based simulation program was developed to study thermal effects on infrared absorption and a temperature compensation technique was developed to minimize these effects. An environmental test chamber was employed to investigate the thermal effects that occur in the sensor system with variation of the test chamber temperature between 10 and 30 °C. The thermal response of the sensor in a laboratory setting was observed using a 2.1 ppm CH4 standard gas sample. Indoor/outdoor CH4 measurements were conducted to evaluate the sensor performance within a wide atmospheric temperature range.

Current Economic Issues in Employee Benefits. Background Paper No. 39.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodbury, Stephen A.

A multitude of public policy issues currently surround the tax treatment of employee benefits, particularly since the tax-favored status of employer contributions to pensions and health insurance has been blamed for a shrinking tax base that has exacerbated the federal budget deficit, an inefficient and bloated health-care sector, overinsurance by…

Cytoplasmic movement profiles of mouse surrounding nucleolus and not-surrounding nucleolus antral oocytes during meiotic resumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Bui, Thi Thu Hien; Belli, Martina; Fassina, Lorenzo; Vigone, Giulia; Merico, Valeria; Garagna, Silvia; Zuccotti, Maurizio

2017-05-01

Full-grown mouse antral oocytes are classified as surrounding nucleolus (SN) or not-surrounding nucleolus (NSN), depending on the respective presence or absence of a ring of Hoechst-positive chromatin surrounding the nucleolus. In culture, both types of oocytes resume meiosis and reach the metaphase II (MII) stage, but following insemination, NSN oocytes arrest at the two-cell stage whereas SN oocytes may develop to term. By coupling time-lapse bright-field microscopy with image analysis based on particle image velocimetry, we provide the first systematic measure of the changes to the cytoplasmic movement velocity (CMV) occurring during the germinal vesicle-to-MII (GV-to-MII) transition of these two types of oocytes. Compared to SN oocytes, NSN oocytes display a delayed GV-to-MII transition, which can be mostly explained by retarded germinal vesicle break down and first polar body extrusion. SN and NSN oocytes also exhibit significantly different CMV profiles at four main time-lapse intervals, although this difference was not predictive of SN or NSN oocyte origin because of the high variability in CMV. When CMV profile was analyzed through a trained artificial neural network, however, each single SN or NSN oocyte was blindly identified with a probability of 92.2% and 88.7%, respectively. Thus, the CMV profile recorded during meiotic resumption may be exploited as a cytological signature for the non-invasive assessment of the oocyte developmental potential, and could be informative for the analysis of the GV-to-MII transition of oocytes of other species. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Surrounding Moving Obstacle Detection for Autonomous Driving Using Stereo Vision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Sun

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Detection and tracking surrounding moving obstacles such as vehicles and pedestrians are crucial for the safety of mobile robotics and autonomous vehicles. This is especially the case in urban driving scenarios. This paper presents a novel framework for surrounding moving obstacles detection using binocular stereo vision. The contributions of our work are threefold. Firstly, a multiview feature matching scheme is presented for simultaneous stereo correspondence and motion correspondence searching. Secondly, the multiview geometry constraint derived from the relative camera positions in pairs of consecutive stereo views is exploited for surrounding moving obstacles detection. Thirdly, an adaptive particle filter is proposed for tracking of multiple moving obstacles in surrounding areas. Experimental results from real-world driving sequences demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed framework.

Development of a Compact Wide-Slot Antenna for Early Stage Breast Cancer Detection Featuring Circular Array Full-View Geometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. S. Tiang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A novel planar type antenna printed on a high permittivity Rogers’ substrate is proposed for early stage microwave breast cancer detection. The design is based on a p-shaped wide-slot structure with 50 Ω microstrip feeding circuit to eliminate losses of transmission. The design parameters are optimized resulting in a good reflection coefficient at −10 dB from 4.5 to 10.9 GHz. Imaging result using inhomogeneous breast phantom indicates that the proposed antenna is capable of detecting a 5 mm size cancerous tumor embedded inside the fibroglandular region with dielectric contrast between the target and the surrounding materials ranging from 1.7 : 1 to 3.6 : 1.

Electrochemistry in light water reactors reference electrodes, measurement, corrosion and tribocorrosion issues

CERN Document Server

Bosch, R -W; Celis, Jean-Pierre

2007-01-01

There has long been a need for effective methods of measuring corrosion within light water nuclear reactors. This important volume discusses key issues surrounding the development of high temperature reference electrodes and other electrochemical techniques. The book is divided into three parts with part one reviewing the latest developments in the use of reference electrode technology in both pressurised water and boiling water reactors. Parts two and three cover different types of corrosion and tribocorrosion and ways they can be measured using such techniques as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Topics covered across the book include in-pile testing, modelling techniques and the tribocorrosion behaviour of stainless steel under reactor conditions. Electrochemistry in light water reactors is a valuable reference for all those concerned with corrosion problems in this key technology for the power industry. Discusses key issues surrounding the development of high temperature reference eletrodes A valuab...

The Kubo-Greenwood calculation of conductivity of the simple and non-simple liquid metals in a wide temperature range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobolev, A N; Mirzoev, A A

2008-01-01

We calculated the temperature dependences of electroconductivity for the different metals, such as alkalis (caesium), transition metals (iron), and mercury by Kubo-Greenwood formula. Atomic models of 1000-4000 atoms were obtained by Shommers method using the data of diffractional experiments for the wide temperature range. The electronic structure and interaction parameters for supercells of 30-50 atoms were got by LMTO method. The recursion method was used for the calculation of DOS and diffusivity quotients. The lowering of the DOS at the Fermi level was carefully examined. The results obtained are in good agreement with other authors' in views on the nature of the metal-nonmetal transition in different liquid metals. The calculated DOS and conductivity for all metals match the experimental data well

Titanium carbide nanocube core induced interfacial growth of crystalline polypyrrole/polyvinyl alcohol lamellar shell for wide-temperature range supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Weng, Yu-Ting; Pan, Hsiao-An; Wu, Nae-Lih; Chen, Geroge Zheng

2015-01-01

This is the first investigation on electrically conducting polymers-based supercapacitor electrodes over a wide temperature range, from -18 °C to 60 °C. A high-performance supercapacitor electrode material consisting of TiC nanocube core and conformal crystalline polypyrrole (PPy)/poly-vinyl-alcohol (PVA) lamellar shell has been synthesized by heterogeneous nucleation-induced interfacial crystallization. PPy is induced to crystallize on the negatively charged TiC nanocube surfaces via strong interfacial interactions. In this organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposite, the long chain PVA enables enhanced cycle life due to improved mechanical properties, and the TiC nanocube not only contributes to electron conduction, but also dictates the PPy morphology/crystallinity for maximizing the charging-discharging performance. The crystalline PPy/PAV layer on the TiC nanocube offers unprecedented high capacity (>350 F g-1-PPy at 300 mV s-1 with ΔV = 1.6 V) and cycling stability in a temperature range from -18 °C to 60 °C. The presented hybrid-filler and interfacial crystallization strategies can be applied to the exploration of new-generation high-power conducting polymer-based supercapacitor materials.

Gender-Based Pay Disparities in Intercollegiate Coaching: The Legal Issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaal, John; Glazier, Michael S.; Evans, Thomas S.

2002-01-01

Explores the legal issues surrounding pay disparities between men and women in intercollegiate coaching, including how courts have treated disparate wage claims under the Equal Pay Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Title IX, and the defenses used by institutions. Offers suggestions for defending claims and a detailed review of…

Peer-led team learning in an online course on controversial medication issues and the US healthcare system.

Science.gov (United States)

Pittenger, Amy L; LimBybliw, Amy L

2013-09-12

To implement peer-led team learning in an online course on controversial issues surrounding medications and the US healthcare system. The course was delivered completely online using a learning management system. Students participated in weekly small-group discussions in online forums, completed 3 reflective writing assignments, and collaborated on a peer-reviewed grant proposal project. In a post-course survey, students reported that the course was challenging but meaningful. Final projects and peer-reviewed assignments demonstrated that primary learning goals for the course were achieved and students were empowered to engage in the healthcare debate. A peer-led team-learning is an effective strategy for an online course offered to a wide variety of student learners. By shifting some of the learning and grading responsibility to students, the instructor workload for the course was rendered more manageable.

Eucalyptus beyond its native range: Environmental issues in exotic bioenergy plantations

Science.gov (United States)

John A. Stanturf; Eric D. Vance; Thomas R. Fox; Matias Kirst

2013-01-01

The genus Eucalyptus is native to Australia and Indonesia but has been widely planted in many countries. Eucalyptus has proven to be particularly successful in tropical and subtropical regions. Several species are also successful in some temperate regions, but problems with sudden and severe frosts pose limitations. Current...

Chinese college students’ understanding of Internet ethical issues: A survey of awareness

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yuelin; LI; Ying; LI; Ang; LI

2014-01-01

Purpose: This study examines Chinese college students’ awareness of ethical issues surrounding the use of information resources and the Internet and their attitude to these issues. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted. Two hundred questionnaires were distributed to students of 9 universities at different levels in Tianjin, China; 171 were returned. Descriptive statistics were performed to analyze the data. Findings: The results indicate that Chinese college students usually ignored the negative influence of fake or pornographic or other indecent information, invasion of privacy and theft of confidential information, and violation of intellectual property rights. Although they could distinguish to some extent between ethical and unethical behavior, they were not concerned about others’ unethical behavior on the Web. The study also indicates that gender, age, academic major and expertise in using computers were related to the students’ awareness of ethical issues relating to the use of the Internet and their attitude to these issues.Research limitations: The sample is limited to the universities in Tianjin. A larger sample, which includes colleges and universities in the western or other developing areas in China, is needed to further validate our findings.Practical implications: The study helps educators and academic librarians better understand Chinese college students’ awareness of and attitude to ethical issues surrounding the use of the Internet. It thus could assist them in the improvement of information ethics education for college students.Originality/value: This study was one of the first empirical studies to investigate the factors influencing Chinese college students’ awareness of and attitude to Internet ethical issues.

Nontechnical issues in waste management: ethical, institutional, and political concerns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hebert, J.A.; Rankin, W.L.; Brown, P.G.; Schuller, C.R; Smith, R.F.; Goodnight, J.A.; Lippek, H.E.

1978-05-01

The report consists of a presentation and distillation of major nontechnical issues surrounding commercial waste management, followed by ethical, institutional, and political analyses of these issues. The ethical analysis consists of a discusson of what is meant by ''ethics'' and ''morality'' in the waste management context and an illustrative attempt at an ethical analysis of the commercial nuclear waste problem. Two institutional analyses are presented: one is an analysis of the possible problems of long-term human institutions in waste management; the other is a presentation of institutional arrangements for the short term. A final chapter discusses issues and concerns involving intergovernmental relations--that is, local, state, and federal interface problems in waste management

Ethical Issues with Genetic Testing for Tay-Sachs.

Science.gov (United States)

Clayton, Tricia

Several genetic disorders are specific to Jewish heritage; one of the most devastating is Tay-Sachs disease.Tay-Sachs is a fatal hereditary disease, causing progressive neurological problems for which there is no cure. Ethical issues surrounding genetic testing for Tay-Sachs within the Jewish community continue to be complex and multifaceted. A perspective of Tay-Sachs, using rights-based ethics and virtue ethics as a theoretical framework, is explored.

Variations in stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in atmospheric water vapor in the marine boundary layer across a wide latitude range.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jingfeng; Xiao, Cunde; Ding, Minghu; Ren, Jiawen

2014-11-01

The newly-developed cavity ring-down laser absorption spectroscopy analyzer with special calibration protocols has enabled the direct measurement of atmospheric vapor isotopes at high spatial and temporal resolution. This paper presents real-time hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope data for atmospheric water vapor above the sea surface, over a wide range of latitudes spanning from 38°N to 69°S. Our results showed relatively higher values of δ(18)O and δ(2)H in the subtropical regions than those in the tropical and high latitude regions, and also a notable decreasing trend in the Antarctic coastal region. By combining the hydrogen and oxygen isotope data with meteoric water line and backward trajectory model analysis, we explored the kinetic fractionation caused by subsiding air masses and related saturated vapor pressure in the subtropics, and the evaporation-driven kinetic fractionation in the Antarctic region. Simultaneous observations of meteorological and marine variables were used to interpret the isotopic composition characteristics and influential factors, indicating that d-excess is negatively correlated with humidity across a wide range of latitudes and weather conditions worldwide. Coincident with previous studies, d-excess is also positively correlated with sea surface temperature and air temperature (Tair), with greater sensitivity to Tair. Thus, atmospheric vapor isotopes measured with high accuracy and good spatial-temporal resolution could act as informative tracers for exploring the water cycle at different regional scales. Such monitoring efforts should be undertaken over a longer time period and in different regions of the world. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Ultra-compact and wide-spectrum-range thermo-optic switch based on silicon coupled photonic crystal microcavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xingyu; Chung, Chi-Jui; Pan, Zeyu; Yan, Hai; Chakravarty, Swapnajit; Chen, Ray T.

2015-01-01

We design, fabricate, and experimentally demonstrate a compact thermo-optic gate switch comprising a 3.78 μm-long coupled L0-type photonic crystal microcavities on a silicon-on-insulator substrate. A nanohole is inserted in the center of each individual L0 photonic crystal microcavity. Coupling between identical microcavities gives rise to bonding and anti-bonding states of the coupled photonic molecules. The coupled photonic crystal microcavities are numerically simulated and experimentally verified with a 6 nm-wide flat-bottom resonance in its transmission spectrum, which enables wider operational spectrum range than microring resonators. An integrated micro-heater is in direct contact with the silicon core to efficiently drive the device. The thermo-optic switch is measured with an optical extinction ratio of 20 dB, an on-off switching power of 18.2 mW, a thermo-optic tuning efficiency of 0.63 nm/mW, a rise time of 14.8 μs, and a fall time of 18.5 μs. The measured on-chip loss on the transmission band is as low as 1 dB

Resources for our Future. Key issues and best practices in resource efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weterings, R.; Bastein, T.; Tukker, A. [TNO, Delft (Netherlands); Rademaker, M.; De Ridder, M. [The Hague Centre for Strategic studies HCSS, Den Haag (Netherlands)

2013-08-15

This book provides an analysis of the issues surrounding international resources and inspiring accounts of industrial best practices. The book consists of two distinct parts. The first part of the book brings together the results of years of research into the geopolitical, economic and ecological dimensions of material scarcity and resource efficiency. Chapter 2 discusses the main challenges and constraints related to the use of energy resources, water and land, industrial and metallic minerals, construction minerals and biotic resources, including water use and ecosystem degradation. The chapter also addresses important linkages between these various resources. Chapter 3 describes the international trends that are shaping the geopolitics of natural resources and looks at the implications for Europe and the Netherlands. Chapter 4 presents a wide range of strategies by which governments, producers and consumers may contribute to the more sustainable use of natural resources. The second part of the book describes 21 inspiring best practices in resource efficiency in a variety of industrial sectors. Based on a series of interviews with industrial pioneers, these chapters relate their first-hand experiences in improving resource efficiency. These business cases demonstrate that innovation and entrepreneurship can result in substantial improvements in resource efficiency. Chapter 5 focuses on best practices in the built environment, where substantial amounts of energy and minerals are used. Chapter 6 presents four ambitious strategies to promote sustainable food production and consumption. Chapter 7 describes recent developments in the chemical process industry, which produces most of the ingredients, compounds and semi-products for the vast range of products used by society. Chapter 8 provides four examples of the state-of-the-art in resource efficiency in the metal and high-tech industries. This chapter presents four business cases highlighting the benefits of the

P1-13: Color Induction from Surround Color under Interocular Suppression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ichiro Kuriki

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The effect of surround colors on color appearance is known to subserve color constancy in humans, but how multiple mechanisms in the visual system are involved in this effect is controversial. We used an interocular-suppression technique to examine how the effect occurs at the level higher than the interaction of binocular information. A test color chip (1.7 × 1.7 deg visual angle was presented in a static surround either with continuous-flash suppression in the dominant eye (CFS condition to make the surround inperceptible or without the suppression (no-CFS condition. The surround stimulus was either a Mondrian or a uniform field of the same mean chromaticity. Stimuli were simulated OSA color chips under red, white (D65, or green illuminant color and were presented on a CRT display. Unique yellows were measured by asking the subjects to judge whether the test stimulus appeared reddish or greenish. Two sizes of the surround stimuli (widths of 1 deg and 4 deg were used. Results showed significant shifts in unique yellow even under the CFS conditions, except for the 1 deg uniform-surround condition. Under the no-CFS condition, the shifts showed remarkable difference between subjects, except for the 4 deg Mondrian-surround condition. Interestingly, trends of the shifts showed high consistency within each subject, across conditions. These results indicate that mechanisms at both higher and lower levels than the neuronal site of interocular suppression are involved, and that the color shifts follow each subject's strategy in the higher-order mechanisms when only insufficient clues are available in the surround to estimate illuminant color.

Confronting, Confirming, and Dispelling Myths Surrounding ERP-in-the-Cloud

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beaulieu, Tanya; C. Martin, Todd; Sarker, Saonee

2015-01-01

on the topic, there is substantial uncertainty surrounding the benefits and challenges of ERP cloud computing. Consequently, as often is the case with new technologies, popular myths surrounding the technology are used to make adoption and implementation decisions. As a first step toward providing an informed...... with stakeholders related to an ERP cloud-based solution. Our results dispel some of the myths, while supporting others, and highlight how ERP vendors work around the different types of challenges surrounding this technology. Our study also helps understand the benefits of ERP cloud computing, and informs about how...

Issues surrounding end-of-life decision-making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tejwani V

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Vickram Tejwani,1,* YiFan Wu,1,* Sabrina Serrano,2 Luis Segura,2 Michael Bannon,3 Qi Qian1 1Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, 2Mayo Graduate School, 3Department of Trauma, Critical Care, and General Surgery, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: End-of-life decision-making is a complex process that can be extremely challenging. We describe a 42-year-old woman in an irreversible coma without an advance directive. The case serves to illustrate the complications that can occur in end-of-life decision-making and challenges in resolving difficult futility disputes. We review the role of advance directives in planning end-of-life care, the responsibility and historical performance of patient surrogates, the genesis of futility disputes, and approaches to resolving disputes. Keywords: end-of-life care, advance directive, surrogate, futility dispute, conflict resolution

Involvement of TRPM2 in a wide range of inflammatory and neuropathic pain mouse models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kanako So

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Recent evidence suggests a role of transient receptor potential melastatin 2 (TRPM2 in immune and inflammatory responses. We previously reported that TRPM2 deficiency attenuated inflammatory and neuropathic pain in some pain mouse models, including formalin- or carrageenan-induced inflammatory pain, and peripheral nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain models, while it had no effect on the basal mechanical and thermal nociceptive sensitivities. In this study, we further explored the involvement of TRPM2 in various pain models using TRPM2-knockout mice. There were no differences in the chemonociceptive behaviors evoked by intraplantar injection of capsaicin or hydrogen peroxide between wildtype and TRPM2-knockout mice, while acetic acid-induced writhing behavior was significantly attenuated in TRPM2-knockout mice. In the postoperative incisional pain model, no difference in mechanical allodynia was observed between the two genotypes. By contrast, mechanical allodynia in the monosodium iodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis pain model and the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model were significantly attenuated in TRPM2-knockout mice. Furthermore, mechanical allodynia in paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy and streptozotocin-induced painful diabetic neuropathy models were significantly attenuated in TRPM2-knockout mice. Taken together, these results suggest that TRPM2 plays roles in a wide range of pathological pain models based on peripheral and central neuroinflammation, rather than physiological nociceptive pain.

Concentrations, sources and spatial distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils from Beijing, Tianjin and surrounding areas, North China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Wentao; Massey Simonich, Staci L.; Xue Miao; Zhao Jingyu; Zhang Na; Wang Rong; Cao Jun; Tao Shu

2010-01-01

The concentrations, profiles, sources and spatial distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in 40 surface soil samples collected from Beijing, Tianjin and surrounding areas, North China in 2007, and all sampling sites were far from industrial areas, roadsides and other pollution sources, and across a range of soil types in remote, rural villages and urban areas. The total concentrations of 16 PAHs ranged from 31.6 to 1475.0 ng/g, with an arithmetic average of 336.4 ng/g. The highest PAH concentrations were measured in urban soils, followed by rural village soils and soils from remote locations. The remote-rural village-urban PAH concentration gradient was related to population density, gross domestic product (GDP), long-range atmospheric transport and different types of land use. In addition, the PAH concentration was well correlated with the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration of the soil. The PAH profile suggested that coal combustion and biomass burning were primary PAH sources. - The concentration, profiles and possible sources of PAHs in Beijing, Tianjin and surrounding area soils were studied and related to population density and gross domestic product (GDP).

Luminescence of high density electron-hole plasma in CdS and CdSe in a wide temperature range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, H.; Shionoya, S.

1983-01-01

Time-resolved spectra of the spontaneous luminescence of the high density electron-hole plasma (EHP) in CdS and CdSe are observed in a wide range of temperature which is surely higher than the calculated critical temperature for electron-hole liquid formation, in order to carry forward discussion on dynamic nature of the EHP previously observed in 4.2 K experiments. Spectra in the late stage are analyzed, and obtained values of the reduced bandgap energy and chemical potential are compared with those theoretically calculated for higher temperatures. The aspects of the change of the spectral shape in the late stage are hard to understand. Unfortunately no clear conclusion is drawn on the nature of the EHP produced at 4.2 K. The only thing one can say is that the condensed electron-hole liquid state, which is in equilibrium with the exciton state, is not realized. (author)

Combustion and emission characteristics of Multiple Premixed Compression Ignition (MPCI) fuelled with naphtha and gasoline in wide load range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Buyu; Wang, Zhi; Shuai, Shijin; Yang, Hongqiang; Wang, Jianxin

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Naphtha MPCI can operate stably in wide load range from 0.4 MPa to 1.4 MPa of IMEP. • Naphtha MPCI can achieve high thermal efficiency due to low exhaust loss. • Gasoline MPCI has low heat transfer loss than CDC and naphtha MPCI. • MPCI can produce low NO x emissions (<0.4 g/kW h) with the EGR ratio less than 30%. - Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of naphtha (RON = 65.6) and commercial gasoline (RON = 94.0) on Multiple Premixed Compression Ignition (MPCI) mode. The experiment is conducted on a single cylinder research diesel engine with compression ratio of 16.7. The engine is operated at an engine speed of 1600 rpm for the IMEP from 0.4 to 1.4 MPa. Commercial diesel (CN = 56.5) is also tested in Conventional Diesel Combustion (CDC) mode as a baseline. At each operating point, the injection strategy and intake conditions are adjusted to meet with the criteria (NO x < 0.4 g/kW h, soot < 0.06 m −1 , MPRR < 1 MPa/deg and CA50 < 20 CAD ATDC). The typical two-stage combustion characteristics of MPCI are obtained in both naphtha and gasoline. Stable combustion is achieved by naphtha in wide load range, while the engine fuelled with gasoline cannot operate stably at 0.4 MPa IMEP. The COV of IMEP of gasoline MPCI is higher than that of naphtha and diesel. However, gasoline has the low MPRR and the retarded CA50 at medium and high loads due to its longest ignition delay. As a result of low exhaust loss for naphtha and low heat transfer loss for gasoline, the thermal efficiencies are higher for both naphtha and gasoline in MPCI mode than diesel in CDC mode, even though diesel has the highest combustion efficiency. The separated combustion in MPCI leads to low cylinder temperature, and moderate EGR ratio (less than 30%) is needed to control NO x emissions under the limit of EURO VI

Electrolytes for Low Impedance, Wide Operating Temperature Range Lithium-Ion Battery Module

Science.gov (United States)

Hallac, Boutros (Inventor); Krause, Frederick C. (Inventor); Jiang, Junwei (Inventor); Smart, Marshall C. (Inventor); Metz, Bernhard M. (Inventor); Bugga, Ratnakumar V. (Inventor)

2018-01-01

A lithium ion battery cell includes a housing, a cathode disposed within the housing, wherein the cathode comprises a cathode active material, an anode disposed within the housing, wherein the anode comprises an anode active material, and an electrolyte disposed within the housing and in contact with the cathode and anode. The electrolyte consists essentially of a solvent mixture, a lithium salt in a concentration ranging from approximately 1.0 molar (M) to approximately 1.6 M, and an additive mixture. The solvent mixture includes a cyclic carbonate, an non-cyclic carbonate, and a linear ester. The additive mixture consists essentially of lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (LiDFOB) in an amount ranging from approximately 0.5 weight percent to approximately 2.0 weight percent based on the weight of the electrolyte, and vinylene carbonate (VC) in an amount ranging from approximately 0.5 weight percent to approximately 2.0 weight percent based on the weight of the electrolyte.

Investigations into stress shell characteristics of surrounding rock in fully mechanized top-coal caving face

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2009-01-15

A key issue in underground mining is to understand and master the evolving patterns of stress induced by mining, and to control and utilize the action of rock pressure. Numerical and physical modeling tests have been carried out to investigate the distribution patterns of stress in the rock surrounding a fully mechanized top-coal caving (FMTC) face. The results showed that a macro-stress shell composed of high stress exists in the rock surrounding an FMTC face. The stress of the shell is higher than its internal and external stress and the stresses at its skewback producing abutment pressure for the surrounding rock. The stress shell lies in the virgin coal and rock mass in the vicinity of the face and its sagging zone. The stress shell, which bears and transfers the loads of overlying strata, acts as the primary supporting system of forces, and is the corpus of characterizing three-dimensional and macro-rock pressure distribution of mining face. Its external and internal shape changes with the variations in the working face structure as the face advances. Within the low-stress zone inside the stress shell, another structure, i.e. voussoir beam, which only bears parts of the load from the lower-lying strata, will produce periodic pressures on the face instead of great dynamic pressure even if the beam ruptures and loses stability. The results show that the FMTC face is situated within the lower-stress zone, which is protected by the stress shell of the overlying surrounding rock. We give an explanation of lower occurrence of rock pressure on FMTC faces, and reveal the mechanical nature of the top coal of an FMTC face acting as a 'cushion'. The strata behaviors of the face and its neighboring gates are under control of the stress shell. Drastic rock pressure in mine may occur when the balance of the stress shell is destruction or the forces system of the stress shell transfers. Crown Copyright

Introduction to focus issue: intrinsic and designed computation: information processing in dynamical systems--beyond the digital hegemony.

Science.gov (United States)

Crutchfield, James P; Ditto, William L; Sinha, Sudeshna

2010-09-01

How dynamical systems store and process information is a fundamental question that touches a remarkably wide set of contemporary issues: from the breakdown of Moore's scaling laws--that predicted the inexorable improvement in digital circuitry--to basic philosophical problems of pattern in the natural world. It is a question that also returns one to the earliest days of the foundations of dynamical systems theory, probability theory, mathematical logic, communication theory, and theoretical computer science. We introduce the broad and rather eclectic set of articles in this Focus Issue that highlights a range of current challenges in computing and dynamical systems.

REMOTE SENSING EFFICIENCY FOR URBAN ANALYSIS OF MECCA AND SURROUNDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Imam

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Situated in the southwest of Saudi Arabia, Mecca is considered the spiritual capital of one and a half billion worldwide Muslims. The city is visited by millions of pilgrims every year. It has undergone significant changes in land cover (LC since the government first embarked on a series of ambitious development projects 20 years ago to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims and citizens. The main objective of our study is to detect, identify, analyze and measure the evolving land cover and urban morphology composition from multi-temporal satellite images. To characterize the morphological change during a period of twenty years, four satellite images, acquired in 1998 by Landsat TM and in 2003, 2008 and 2013 by Landsat ETM+, were classified into five main categories: Urban, Street, Soil and Vegetation. In addition, DEM has been extracted and included as Mountain. Change detection (CD analysis is applied using post-classification comparison and GIS. As part of the study, morphological index, such as, Entropy is included for better understanding of urban structures behaviour. Mecca and its surroundings show a noticeable increase in urban and vegetation cover. Urban cover (UC changes were divided into five radial directions: Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, East, and Northwest. These changes are influenced by mountain ranges surrounding the city and the highways. These revelations can play a significant role towards future planning and development activities, which may further promote urban growth.

Remote Sensing Efficiency for Urban Analysis of Mecca and Surrounds

Science.gov (United States)

Imam, Ayman; Alhaddad, Bahaa; Roca, Josep

2016-06-01

Situated in the southwest of Saudi Arabia, Mecca is considered the spiritual capital of one and a half billion worldwide Muslims. The city is visited by millions of pilgrims every year. It has undergone significant changes in land cover (LC) since the government first embarked on a series of ambitious development projects 20 years ago to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims and citizens. The main objective of our study is to detect, identify, analyze and measure the evolving land cover and urban morphology composition from multi-temporal satellite images. To characterize the morphological change during a period of twenty years, four satellite images, acquired in 1998 by Landsat TM and in 2003, 2008 and 2013 by Landsat ETM+, were classified into five main categories: Urban, Street, Soil and Vegetation. In addition, DEM has been extracted and included as Mountain. Change detection (CD) analysis is applied using post-classification comparison and GIS. As part of the study, morphological index, such as, Entropy is included for better understanding of urban structures behaviour. Mecca and its surroundings show a noticeable increase in urban and vegetation cover. Urban cover (UC) changes were divided into five radial directions: Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, East, and Northwest. These changes are influenced by mountain ranges surrounding the city and the highways. These revelations can play a significant role towards future planning and development activities, which may further promote urban growth.

Salting-out-enhanced ionic liquid microextraction with a dual-role solvent for simultaneous determination of trace pollutants with a wide polarity range in aqueous samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Man; Qu, Jingang; Chen, Kai; Jin, Lide; Dahlgren, Randy Alan; Wang, Huili; Tan, Chengxia; Wang, Xuedong

2017-11-01

In real aquatic environments, many occupational pollutants with a wide range of polarities coexist at nanogram to milligram per liter levels. Most reported microextraction methods focus on extracting compounds with similar properties (e.g., polarity or specific functional groups). Herein, we developed a salting-out-enhanced ionic liquid microextraction based on a dual-role solvent (SILM-DS) for simultaneous detection of tetracycline, doxycycline, bisphenol A, triclosan, and methyltriclosan, with log K ow ranging from -1.32 to 5.40 in complex milk and environmental water matrices. The disperser in the ionic-liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction was converted to the extraction solvent in the subsequent salting-out-assisted microextraction procedures, and thus a single solvent performed a dual role as both extractant and disperser in the SILM-DS process. Acetonitrile was selected as the dual-role solvent because of its strong affinity for both ionic liquids and water, as well as the extractant in the salting-out step. Optimized experimental conditions were 115 μL [C 8 MIM][PF 6 ] as extractor, 1200 μL acetonitrile as dual-role solvent, pH 2.0, 5.0 min ultrasound extraction time, 3.0 g Na 2 SO 4 , and 3.0 min vortex extraction time. Under optimized conditions, the recoveries of the five pollutants ranged from 74.5 to 106.9%, and their LODs were 0.12-0.75 μg kg -1 in milk samples and 0.11-0.79 μg L -1 in environmental waters. Experimental precision based on relative standard deviation was 1.4-6.4% for intraday and 2.3-6.5% for interday analyses. Compared with previous methods, the prominent advantages of the newly developed method are simultaneous determination of pollutants with a wide range of polarities and a substantially reduced workload for ordinary environmental monitoring and food tests. Therefore, the new method has great application potential for simultaneous determination of trace pollutants with strongly contrasting polarities in several

Ecological mechanisms linking protected areas to surrounding lands.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Andrew J; DeFries, Ruth

2007-06-01

Land use is expanding and intensifying in the unprotected lands surrounding many of the world's protected areas. The influence of this land use change on ecological processes is poorly understood. The goal of this paper is to draw on ecological theory to provide a synthetic framework for understanding how land use change around protected areas may alter ecological processes and biodiversity within protected areas and to provide a basis for identifying scientifically based management alternatives. We first present a conceptual model of protected areas embedded within larger ecosystems that often include surrounding human land use. Drawing on case studies in this Invited Feature, we then explore a comprehensive set of ecological mechanisms by which land use on surrounding lands may influence ecological processes and biodiversity within reserves. These mechanisms involve changes in ecosystem size, with implications for minimum dynamic area, species-area effect, and trophic structure; altered flows of materials and disturbances into and out of reserves; effects on crucial habitats for seasonal and migration movements and population source/sink dynamics; and exposure to humans through hunting, poaching, exotics species, and disease. These ecological mechanisms provide a basis for assessing the vulnerability of protected areas to land use. They also suggest criteria for designing regional management to sustain protected areas in the context of surrounding human land use. These design criteria include maximizing the area of functional habitats, identifying and maintaining ecological process zones, maintaining key migration and source habitats, and managing human proximity and edge effects.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Marketing and Operations Management Interfaces and Coordination

OpenAIRE

Teck H. Ho; Christopher S. Tang

2004-01-01

This special issue, by addressing problems surrounding marketing and operations management, depicts state-of-the-art approaches, methodologies, and insights to improve a firm's or supply chain's overall performance. Top scholars in the field address many of the ways in which companies can synchronize their marketing and operations departments or their supply chain partners to improve competitiveness and profit. The information in this issue should be of interest both to academics and managers...

Introduction to the Issue on Current Trends in Terahertz Photonics and Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2013-01-01

Since the last special issue on terahertz science and technology, nearly three years have been passed. During this period, while there have been further developments in terahertz (THz) sources, detectors, materials, and applications, there have been new discoveries. The purpose of this issue of t...... reviews on recent THz research, the contributed papers cover a wide range of the cutting-edge research in the topics described earlier....... of the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics (JSTQE) is to highlight the advances in materials, devices, and applications and new directions in the THz domain within the last three years. Broad technical areas include: 1) materials; 2) matamaterials, plasmonics, and plasmons; 3) techniques...... and effects; 4) generation and power scaling; 5) detectors; 6) devices; 7) applications. These key THz topics are discussed in both invited and contributed papers published in this issue, providing comprehensive overviews of the current status and future directions as well as publishing original results...

Assessing range-wide habitat suitability for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken

Science.gov (United States)

Jarnevich, Catherine S.; Holcombe, Tracy R.; Grisham, Blake A.; Timmer, Jennifer M.; Boal, Clint W.; Butler, Matthew; Pitman, James C.; Kyle, Sean; Klute, David; Beauprez, Grant M.; Janus, Allan; Van Pelt, William E.

2016-01-01

Population declines of many wildlife species have been linked to habitat loss incurred through land-use change. Incorporation of conservation planning into development planning may mitigate these impacts. The threatened Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is experiencing loss of native habitat and high levels of energy development across its multijurisdictional range. Our goal was to explore relationships of the species occurrence with landscape characteristics and anthropogenic effects influencing its distribution through evaluation of habitat suitability associated with one particular habitat usage, lekking. Lekking has been relatively well-surveyed, though not consistently, in all jurisdictions. All five states in which Lesser Prairie-Chickens occur cooperated in development of a Maxent habitat suitability model. We created two models, one with state as a factor and one without state. When state was included it was the most important predictor, followed by percent of land cover consisting of known or suspected used vegetation classes within a 5000 m area around a lek. Without state, land cover was the most important predictor of relative habitat suitability for leks. Among the anthropogenic predictors, landscape condition, a measure of human impact integrated across several factors, was most important, ranking third in importance without state. These results quantify the relative suitability of the landscape within the current occupied range of Lesser Prairie-Chickens. These models, combined with other landscape information, form the basis of a habitat assessment tool that can be used to guide siting of development projects and targeting of areas for conservation.

Extending the molecular application range of gas chromatography

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaal, E.; Janssen, H.-G.

2008-01-01

Gas chromatography is an important analytical technique for qualitative and quantitative analysis in a wide range of application areas. It is fast, provides a high peak capacity, is sensitive and allows combination with a wide range of selective detection methods including mass spectrometry.

The nature of surround-induced depolarizing responses in goldfish cones

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kraaij, D. A.; Spekreijse, H.; Kamermans, M.

2000-01-01

Cones in the vertebrate retina project to horizontal and bipolar cells and the horizontal cells feedback negatively to cones. This organization forms the basis for the center/surround organization of the bipolar cells, a fundamental step in the visual signal processing. Although the surround

Investigation of the readout electronics of DELPHI surround muon chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khovanskij, N.; Krumshtejn, Z.; Ol'shevskij, A.; Sadovskij, A.; Sedykh, Yu.; Molnar, J.; Sicho, P.; Tomsa, Z.

1995-01-01

The characteristics of the readout electronics of the DELPHI surround muon chambers with various AMPLEX chips (AMPLEX 16 and AMPLEX-SICAL) are presented. This electronics is studied in a cosmic rays test of the real surround muon chamber model. 4 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab

Slurry pipelines: economic and political issues. A review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banks, W. F.

1977-11-30

In the controversy surrounding the proposal to grant Federal eminent domain to coal-slurry pipelines, the fundamental issue is whether, on balance, such a grant is in the national interest. The principal subissues (peripheral issues) of economics, water supply and disposal, energy consumption and conservation, employment, safety, and environmental impact are analyzed. It is found that, as compared with unit trains, which are the only immediate alternative for movement of large quantities of Western coal, the pipelines are not against the national interest, except in the case of employment. It is concluded that, on balance, the pipelines are in the national interest and should be granted the power of Federal eminent domain.

Radio Emission from Pulsar Wind Nebulae without Surrounding Supernova Ejecta: Application to FRB 121102

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dai, Z. G.; Wang, J. S. [School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Yu, Y. W., E-mail: dzg@nju.edu.cn [Institute of Astrophysics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079 (China)

2017-03-20

In this paper, we propose a new scenario in which a rapidly rotating strongly magnetized pulsar without any surrounding supernova ejecta repeatedly produces fast radio bursts (FRBs) via a range of possible mechanisms; simultaneously, an ultra-relativistic electron/positron pair wind from the pulsar sweeps up its ambient dense interstellar medium, giving rise to a non-relativistic pulsar wind nebula (PWN). We show that the synchrotron radio emission from such a PWN is bright enough to account for the recently discovered persistent radio source associated with the repeating FRB 121102 within reasonable ranges of the model parameters. Our PWN scenario is consistent with the non-evolution of the dispersion measure inferred from all of the repeating bursts observed in four years.

Radio Emission from Pulsar Wind Nebulae without Surrounding Supernova Ejecta: Application to FRB 121102

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai, Z. G.; Wang, J. S.; Yu, Y. W.

2017-01-01

In this paper, we propose a new scenario in which a rapidly rotating strongly magnetized pulsar without any surrounding supernova ejecta repeatedly produces fast radio bursts (FRBs) via a range of possible mechanisms; simultaneously, an ultra-relativistic electron/positron pair wind from the pulsar sweeps up its ambient dense interstellar medium, giving rise to a non-relativistic pulsar wind nebula (PWN). We show that the synchrotron radio emission from such a PWN is bright enough to account for the recently discovered persistent radio source associated with the repeating FRB 121102 within reasonable ranges of the model parameters. Our PWN scenario is consistent with the non-evolution of the dispersion measure inferred from all of the repeating bursts observed in four years.

Special issue - Applying the accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1995-01-01

T'he CERN Courier is the international journal of high energy physics, covering current developments in and around this branch of basic science. A recurrent theme is applying the technology developed for particle accelerators, the machines which produce beams of high energy particles for physics experiments. Twentieth-century science is full of similar examples of applications derived from pure research. This special issue of the CERN Courier is given over to one theme - the applications of accelerators. Accelerator systems and facilities are normally associated with highenergy particle physics research, the search for fundamental particles and the quest to understand the physics of the Big Bang. To the layman, accelerator technology has become synonymous with large and expensive machines, exploiting the most modern technology for basic research. In reality, the range of accelerators and their applications is much broader. A vast number of accelerators, usually much smaller and operating for specific applications, create wealth and directly benefit the population, particularly in the important areas of healthcare, energy and the environment. There are well established applications in diagnostic and therapeutic medicine for research and routine clinical treatments. Accelerators and associated technologies are widely employed by industry for manufacturing and process control. In fundamental and applied research, accelerator systems are frequently used as tools. The biennial conference on the Applications of Accelerators in Industry and Research at Denton, Texas, attracts a thousand participants. This special issue of the CERN Courier includes articles on major applications, reflecting the diversity and value of accelerator technology. Under Guest Editor Dewi Lewis of Amersham International, contributions from leading international specialists with experience of the application end of the accelerator chain describe their fields of direct interest. The

Special issue - Applying the accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

1995-07-15

T'he CERN Courier is the international journal of high energy physics, covering current developments in and around this branch of basic science. A recurrent theme is applying the technology developed for particle accelerators, the machines which produce beams of high energy particles for physics experiments. Twentieth-century science is full of similar examples of applications derived from pure research. This special issue of the CERN Courier is given over to one theme - the applications of accelerators. Accelerator systems and facilities are normally associated with highenergy particle physics research, the search for fundamental particles and the quest to understand the physics of the Big Bang. To the layman, accelerator technology has become synonymous with large and expensive machines, exploiting the most modern technology for basic research. In reality, the range of accelerators and their applications is much broader. A vast number of accelerators, usually much smaller and operating for specific applications, create wealth and directly benefit the population, particularly in the important areas of healthcare, energy and the environment. There are well established applications in diagnostic and therapeutic medicine for research and routine clinical treatments. Accelerators and associated technologies are widely employed by industry for manufacturing and process control. In fundamental and applied research, accelerator systems are frequently used as tools. The biennial conference on the Applications of Accelerators in Industry and Research at Denton, Texas, attracts a thousand participants. This special issue of the CERN Courier includes articles on major applications, reflecting the diversity and value of accelerator technology. Under Guest Editor Dewi Lewis of Amersham International, contributions from leading international specialists with experience of the application end of the accelerator chain describe their fields of direct interest. The contributions

Measurement of vortex velocities over a wide range of vortex age, downstream distance and free stream velocity

Science.gov (United States)

Rorke, J. B.; Moffett, R. C.

1977-01-01

A wind tunnel test was conducted to obtain vortex velocity signatures over a wide parameter range encompassing the data conditions of several previous researchers while maintaining a common instrumentation and test facility. The generating wing panel was configured with both a revolved airfoil tip shape and a square tip shape and had a semispan aspect of 4.05/1.0 with a 121.9 cm span. Free stream velocity was varied from 6.1 m/sec to 76.2 m/sec and the vortex core velocities were measured at locations 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 chordlengths downstream of the wing trailing edge, yielding vortex ages up to 2.0 seconds. Wing pitch angles of 6, 8, 9 and 12 deg were investigated. Detailed surface pressure distributions and wing force measurements were obtained for each wing tip configuration. Correlation with vortex velocity data taken in previous experiments is good. During the rollup process, vortex core parameters appear to be dependent primarily on vortex age. Trending in the plateau and decay regions is more complex and the machanisms appear to be more unstable.

Just how wide should 'wide reading' be?

Science.gov (United States)

Lipscomb, Martin

2015-10-01

Educationalists introduce students to literature search strategies that, with rare exceptions, focus chiefly on the location of primary research reports and systematic reviews of those reports. These sources are, however, unlikely to adequately address the normative and/or metaphysical questions that nurses frequently and legitimately interest themselves in. To meet these interests, non-research texts exploring normative and/or metaphysical topics might and perhaps should, in some situations, be deemed suitable search targets. This seems plausible and, moreover, students are encouraged to 'read widely'. Yet accepting this proposition creates significant difficulties. Specifically, if non-research scholarly sources and artistic or literary (humanities) products dealing with normative/metaphysical issues were included in what are, at present, scientifically orientated searches, it is difficult to draw boundaries around what--if anything--is to be excluded. Engaging with this issue highlights problems with qualitative scholarship's designation as 'evidence'. Thus, absurdly, if qualitative scholarship's findings are labelled evidence because they generate practice-relevant understanding/insight, then any literary or artistic artefact (e.g. a throwaway lifestyle magazine) that generates kindred understandings/insights is presumably also evidence? This conclusion is rejected and it is instead proposed that while artistic, literary, and qualitative inquiries can provide practitioners with powerful and stimulating non-evidential understanding, these sources are not evidence as commonly conceived. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Differences in HIV-related behaviors at Lugufu refugee camp and surrounding host villages, Tanzania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mbaruku Godfrey

2008-10-01

a protective factor. Most respondents knew where to go for HIV testing (84% of refugee respondents and 78% of respondents in surrounding villages, while more refugees than respondents from villages had ever been tested (42% vs. 22%, χ2 63.69, p = .000. Conclusion This research has important programmatic implications. Regardless of differences between camp and village populations, study results point to the need for targeted activities within each population. Services should include youth education and life skills programs emphasizing the benefits of delayed sexual initiation and the risks involved in transactional sex, especially in the camp where greater proportions of youth are affected by these issues relative to the surrounding host villages. As well, programs should stress the importance of correct and consistent condom use to increase usage in both populations. Further investigation into forced sex within regular partnerships, and programs that encourage male involvement in addressing this issue are needed. Program managers should verify that current commodity distribution systems ensure vulnerable women's access to resources, and consider additional program responses.

Internal transport barriers: critical physics issues?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Litaudon, X [Association Euratom-CEA, DSM, Departement de Recherches sur La Fusion Controlee, Centre d' Etudes de Cadarache, F-13108 Saint-Paul-Lez-Durance (France)

2006-05-15

Plasmas regimes with improved core energy confinement properties, i.e. with internal transport barriers (ITB), provide a possible route towards simultaneous high fusion performance and continuous tokamak reactor operation in a non-inductive current drive state. High core confinement regimes should be made compatible with a dominant fraction of the plasma current self-generated (pressure-driven) by the bootstrap effect while operating at high normalized pressure and moderate current. Furthermore, ITB regimes with 'non-stiff' plasma core pressure break the link observed in standard inductive operation between fusion performances and plasma pressure at the edge, thus offering a new degree of freedom in the tokamak operational space. Prospects and critical issues for using plasmas with enhanced thermal core insulation as a basis for steady tokamak reactor operation are reviewed in the light of the encouraging experimental and modelling results obtained recently (typically in the last two years). An extensive set of data from experiments carried out worldwide has been gathered on ITB regimes covering a wide range of parameters (q-profile, T{sub i}/T{sub e}, gradient length, shaping, normalized toroidal Larmor radius, collisionality, Mach number, etc). In the light of the progress made recently, the following critical physics issues relevant to the extrapolation of ITB regimes to next-step experiments, such as ITER, are addressed: 1. conditions for ITB formation and existence of a power threshold,; 2. ITB sustainment at T{sub i} {approx} T{sub e}, with low toroidal torque injection, low central particle fuelling but at high density and low impurity concentration,; 3. control of confinement for sustaining wide ITBs that encompass a large volume at high {beta}{sub N},; 4. real time profile control (q and pressure) with high bootstrap current and large fraction of alpha-heating and; 5. compatibility of core with edge transport barriers or with external core

Analysis of loss distribution of Conventional Boost, Z-source and Y-source Converters for wide power and voltage range

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gadalla, Brwene Salah Abdelkarim; Schaltz, Erik; Siwakoti, Yam Prasad

2017-01-01

Boost converters are needed in many applications which require the output voltage to be higher than the input voltage. Recently, boost type converters have been applied for industrial applications, and hence it has become an interesting topic of research. Many researchers proposed different...... impedance source converters with their unique advantages as having a high voltage gain in a small range of duty cycle ratio. However, the thermal behaviour of the semiconductor devices and passive elements in the impedance source converter is an important issue from a reliability point of view and it has...... not been investigated yet. Therefore, this paper presents a comparison between the conventional boost, the Z-source, and the Y-source converters based on a thermal evaluation of the semiconductors. In addition, the three topologies are also compared with respect to their efficiency. In this study...

Depletion of eIF4G from yeast cells narrows the range of translational efficiencies genome-wide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hinnebusch Alan G

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4G (eIF4G is thought to influence the translational efficiencies of cellular mRNAs by its roles in forming an eIF4F-mRNA-PABP mRNP that is competent for attachment of the 43S preinitiation complex, and in scanning through structured 5' UTR sequences. We have tested this hypothesis by determining the effects of genetically depleting eIF4G from yeast cells on global translational efficiencies (TEs, using gene expression microarrays to measure the abundance of mRNA in polysomes relative to total mRNA for ~5900 genes. Results Although depletion of eIF4G is lethal and reduces protein synthesis by ~75%, it had small effects (less than a factor of 1.5 on the relative TE of most genes. Within these limits, however, depleting eIF4G narrowed the range of translational efficiencies genome-wide, with mRNAs of better than average TE being translated relatively worse, and mRNAs with lower than average TE being translated relatively better. Surprisingly, the fraction of mRNAs most dependent on eIF4G display an average 5' UTR length at or below the mean for all yeast genes. Conclusions This finding suggests that eIF4G is more critical for ribosome attachment to mRNAs than for scanning long, structured 5' UTRs. Our results also indicate that eIF4G, and the closed-loop mRNP it assembles with the m7 G cap- and poly(A-binding factors (eIF4E and PABP, is not essential for translation of most (if not all mRNAs but enhances the differentiation of translational efficiencies genome-wide.

Low threshold lasing of bubble-containing glass microspheres by non-whispering gallery mode excitation over a wide wavelength range

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumagai, Tsutaru, E-mail: kumagai.t.af@m.titech.ac.jp; Kishi, Tetsuo; Yano, Tetsuji [Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550 (Japan)

2015-03-21

Bubble-containing Nd{sup 3+}-doped tellurite glass microspheres were fabricated by localized laser heating technique to investigate their optical properties for use as microresonators. Fluorescence and excitation spectra measurements were performed by pumping with a tunable CW-Ti:Sapphire laser. The excitation spectra manifested several sharp peaks due to the conventional whispering gallery mode (WGM) when the pumping laser was irradiated to the edge part of the microsphere. However, when the excitation light was irradiated on the bubble position inside the microsphere, “non-WGM excitation” was induced, giving rise to numerous peaks at a broad wavelength range in the excitation spectra. Thus, efficient excitation was achieved over a wide wavelength range. Lasing threshold excited at the bubble position was much lower than that for the excitation at the edges of the microsphere. The lowest value of the laser threshold was 34 μW for a 4 μm sphere containing a 0.5 μm bubble. Efficiency of the excitation at the bubble position with broadband light was calculated to be 5 times higher than that for the edge of the microsphere. The bubble-containing microsphere enables efficient utilization of broadband light excitation from light-emitting diodes and solar light.

Sn-doped polyhedral In2O3 particles: Synthesis, characterization, and origins of luminous emission in wide visible range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Yunqing; Chen Yiqing

2012-01-01

Sn-doped octahedronal and tetrakaidecahedronal In 2 O 3 particles were successfully synthesized by simple thermal evaporation of indium grains using SnO as dopant. Structural characterization results demonstrated that the Sn-doped tetrakaidecahedronal In 2 O 3 particle had additional six {001} crystal surfaces compared with the octahedronal one. The luminous properties of both samples were characterized by photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy. A broad visible luminous emission around 570 nm was observed. Studies revealed that the emission consisted of three peaks of 511 nm, 564 nm, and 622 nm, which were attributed to radioactive recombination centers such as single ionized oxygen vacancy, indium interstitial, and antisite oxygen, respectively. We believe that the Sn donor level plays an important role in the visible luminous emission. - Graphical abstract: With more oxygen vacancies and tin doping. ITO particles can exhibit a better CL performance. Sn donor level near the conduction band edge plays an important role in luminous emission in wide visible range. Highlights: ► Polyhedral ITO particles synthesized by thermal evaporation using SnO as dopant. ► Broad visible luminous emission around 570 nm. ► Sn donor level plays an important role in the visible emission. ► ITO particles with more oxygen vacancies have better CL performance in visible range.

Nontechnical issues in waste management: ethical, institutional, and political concerns

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hebert, J.A.; Rankin, W.L.; Brown, P.G.; Schuller, C.R; Smith, R.F.; Goodnight, J.A.; Lippek, H.E.

1978-05-01

The report consists of a presentation and distillation of major nontechnical issues surrounding commercial waste management, followed by ethical, institutional, and political analyses of these issues. The ethical analysis consists of a discusson of what is meant by ''ethics'' and ''morality'' in the waste management context and an illustrative attempt at an ethical analysis of the commercial nuclear waste problem. Two institutional analyses are presented: one is an analysis of the possible problems of long-term human institutions in waste management; the other is a presentation of institutional arrangements for the short term. A final chapter discusses issues and concerns involving intergovernmental relations--that is, local, state, and federal interface problems in waste management.

The Development and Evaluation of a Multimedia Resource To Support ICT Training: Design Issues, Training Processes and User Experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Tearle, Penni; Dillon, Patrick

2001-01-01

Addresses issues surrounding the process of information and communications technology training (ICT), and the application of training outcomes in the workplace. Provides an overview of content and design features of the multimedia resource "Ensuring Effectiveness of ICT Training" and reports on its evaluation. Discusses design issues, training…

Religion's relationship with social boundaries surrounding gender ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Religion's relationship with social boundaries surrounding gender. ... is associated with segregation, marginalization and differentiation between men and women. ... are necessary in the society it should not be mistaken for gender inequality.

GeoCENS: a geospatial cyberinfrastructure for the world-wide sensor web.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Steve H L; Huang, Chih-Yuan

2013-10-02

The world-wide sensor web has become a very useful technique for monitoring the physical world at spatial and temporal scales that were previously impossible. Yet we believe that the full potential of sensor web has thus far not been revealed. In order to harvest the world-wide sensor web's full potential, a geospatial cyberinfrastructure is needed to store, process, and deliver large amount of sensor data collected worldwide. In this paper, we first define the issue of the sensor web long tail followed by our view of the world-wide sensor web architecture. Then, we introduce the Geospatial Cyberinfrastructure for Environmental Sensing (GeoCENS) architecture and explain each of its components. Finally, with demonstration of three real-world powered-by-GeoCENS sensor web applications, we believe that the GeoCENS architecture can successfully address the sensor web long tail issue and consequently realize the world-wide sensor web vision.

The Interaction of Cognition and Affect: The Issue of Free Trade.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Fred A.

In determining whether an increase in student cognitions in the content area of international trade is correlated with an attitudinal change toward policy issues surrounding that subject, a microeconomics principles class at Riverside City College was used to test the hypothesis that a change in the cognitive component will cause a change in the…

Experimental Issues in Testing a Semiactive Technique to Control Earthquake Induced Vibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola Caterino

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This work focuses on the issues to deal with when approaching experimental testing of structures equipped with semiactive control (SA systems. It starts from practical experience authors gained in a recent wide campaign on a large scale steel frame structure provided with a control system based on magnetorheological dampers. The latter are special devices able to achieve a wide range of physical behaviours using low-power electrical currents. Experimental activities involving the use of controllable devices require special attention in solving specific aspects that characterize each of the three phases of the SA control loop: acquisition, processing, and command. Most of them are uncommon to any other type of structural testing. This paper emphasizes the importance of the experimental assessment of SA systems and shows how many problematic issues likely to happen in real applications are also present when testing these systems experimentally. This paper highlights several problematic aspects and illustrates how they can be addressed in order to achieve a more realistic evaluation of the effectiveness of SA control solutions. Undesired and unavoidable effects like delays and control malfunction are also remarked. A discussion on the way to reduce their incidence is also offered.

Vasculature surrounding a nodule: A novel lung cancer biomarker.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaohua; Leader, Joseph K; Wang, Renwei; Wilson, David; Herman, James; Yuan, Jian-Min; Pu, Jiantao

2017-12-01

To investigate whether the vessels surrounding a nodule depicted on non-contrast, low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) can discriminate benign and malignant screen detected nodules. We collected a dataset consisting of LDCT scans acquired on 100 subjects from the Pittsburgh Lung Screening study (PLuSS). Fifty subjects were diagnosed with lung cancer and 50 subjects had suspicious nodules later proven benign. For the lung cancer cases, the location of the malignant nodule in the LDCT scans was known; while for the benign cases, the largest nodule in the LDCT scan was used in the analysis. A computer algorithm was developed to identify surrounding vessels and quantify the number and volume of vessels that were connected or near the nodule. A nonparametric receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed based on a single nodule per subject to assess the discriminability of the surrounding vessels to provide a lung cancer diagnosis. Odds ratio (OR) were computed to determine the probability of a nodule being lung cancer based on the vessel features. The areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) for vessel count and vessel volume were 0.722 (95% CI=0.616-0.811, plung cancer group 9.7 (±9.6) compared to the non-lung cancer group 4.0 (±4.3) CONCLUSION: Our preliminary results showed that malignant nodules are often surrounded by more vessels compared to benign nodules, suggesting that the surrounding vessel characteristics could serve as lung cancer biomarker for indeterminate nodules detected during LDCT lung cancer screening using only the information collected during the initial visit. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

REGIONAL ISSUES IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

African Journals Online (AJOL)

and decision-making on a broad range of environmental ... systems seek changes in awareness, knDwledge. attitudes ... "infusion method" whereby environmental issues are dealt ... teachers on energy, water and population issues that will ...

Long-range surface polaritons in thin layers of absorbing materials

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhang, Y.

2011-01-01

Long-range surface polaritons (LRSPs) are electromagnetic surface modes confined at the interfaces of an thin film surrounded by a homogeneous dielectric. These modes are generally characterized by the subwavelength confinement and the long propagation length. In case of a metallic thin film, the

Utilization of the world wide web

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohr, P.; Mallard, G.; Ralchenko, U.; Schultz, D.

1998-01-01

Two aspects of utilization of the World Wide Web are examined: (i) the communication of technical data through web cites that provide repositories of atomic and molecular data accessible through searchable databases; and (ii) the communication about issues of mutual concern among data producers, data compilers and evaluators, and data users. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

Optimization of statistical methods for HpGe gamma-ray spectrometer used in wide count rate ranges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gervino, G., E-mail: gervino@to.infn.it [UNITO - Università di Torino, Dipartimento di Fisica, Turin (Italy); INFN - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sez. Torino, Turin (Italy); Mana, G. [INRIM - Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, Turin (Italy); Palmisano, C. [UNITO - Università di Torino, Dipartimento di Fisica, Turin (Italy); INRIM - Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, Turin (Italy)

2016-07-11

The need to perform γ-ray measurements with HpGe detectors is a common technique in many fields such as nuclear physics, radiochemistry, nuclear medicine and neutron activation analysis. The use of HpGe detectors is chosen in situations where isotope identification is needed because of their excellent resolution. Our challenge is to obtain the “best” spectroscopy data possible in every measurement situation. “Best” is a combination of statistical (number of counts) and spectral quality (peak, width and position) over a wide range of counting rates. In this framework, we applied Bayesian methods and the Ellipsoidal Nested Sampling (a multidimensional integration technique) to study the most likely distribution for the shape of HpGe spectra. In treating these experiments, the prior information suggests to model the likelihood function with a product of Poisson distributions. We present the efforts that have been done in order to optimize the statistical methods to HpGe detector outputs with the aim to evaluate to a better order of precision the detector efficiency, the absolute measured activity and the spectra background. Reaching a more precise knowledge of statistical and systematic uncertainties for the measured physical observables is the final goal of this research project.

Childhood Suicide and Myths Surrounding It.

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Dorothea B.

1994-01-01

Dispels five misconceptions surrounding the suicide of children: that children under the age of six do not commit suicide; that suicide in latency years is extremely rare; that psychodynamically and developmentally true depression is not possible in childhood; that child cannot understand finality of death; and that children are cognitively and…

A wide-frequency range AC magnetometer to measure the specific absorption rate in nanoparticles for magnetic hyperthermia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garaio, E.; Collantes, J.M.; Garcia, J.A.; Plazaola, F.; Mornet, S.; Couillaud, F.; Sandre, O.

2014-01-01

Measurement of specific absorption rate (SAR) of magnetic nanoparticles is crucial to assert their potential for magnetic hyperthermia. To perform this task, calorimetric methods are widely used. However, those methods are not very accurate and are difficult to standardize. In this paper, we present AC magnetometry results performed with a lab-made magnetometer that is able to obtain dynamic hysteresis-loops in the AC magnetic field frequency range from 50 kHz to 1 MHz and intensities up to 24 kA m −1 . In this work, SAR values of maghemite nanoparticles dispersed in water are measured by AC magnetometry. The so-obtained values are compared with the SAR measured by calorimetric methods. Both measurements, by calorimetry and magnetometry, are in good agreement. Therefore, the presented AC magnetometer is a suitable way to obtain SAR values of magnetic nanoparticles. - Highlights: • We propose AC magnetometry as a method to measure the specific absorption rate (SAR) of magnetic nanoparticles suitable for magnetic hyperthermia therapy. • We have built a lab-made AC magnetometer, which is able to measure magnetic dynamic hysteresis-loops of nanoparticle dispersions. • The device works with AC magnetic field intensities up to 24 kA m −1 in a frequency range from 75 kHz to 1 MHz. • The SAR values of maghemite nanoparticles around 12 nm in magnetic diameter dispersed in water are measured by the lab-made magnetometer and different calorimetric methods. • Although all methods are in good agreement, several factors (probe location, thermal inertia, losses, etc.) make calorimetric method less accurate than AC magnetometry

From Genome-Wide Association Study to Phenome-Wide Association Study: New Paradigms in Obesity Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y-P; Zhang, Y-Y; Duan, D D

2016-01-01

Obesity is a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated over an extent that increases the risk of many chronic diseases. The current clinical classification of obesity is based on measurement of body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio, and body fat percentage. However, these measurements do not account for the wide individual variations in fat distribution, degree of fatness or health risks, and genetic variants identified in the genome-wide association studies (GWAS). In this review, we will address this important issue with the introduction of phenome, phenomics, and phenome-wide association study (PheWAS). We will discuss the new paradigm shift from GWAS to PheWAS in obesity research. In the era of precision medicine, phenomics and PheWAS provide the required approaches to better definition and classification of obesity according to the association of obese phenome with their unique molecular makeup, lifestyle, and environmental impact. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of molecular surrounding to spectral characteristics of chlorophylls - the perspective photodynamic therapy photosensitizers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zakhidov, E. A.; Kokhkharov, A. M.; Nematov, Sh. Q.

2011-01-01

In the paper the absorption and fluorescence spectra of biomolecules of natural origin a chlorophyll and bacteriochlorophyll have been analysed. The possibility of gigantic (up to several thousand sm -1 ) frequency shifts of the maxima of absorption and fluorescence bands of these molecules depending on physical characteristics their molecular surrounding is shown. Expressions describing dependence of the frequency shift from electron polarizability and ionization potentials of the molecules are discussed. The molecules studied are considered as effective photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy in long wavelength range of the spectra. (authors)

Models, simulation, and experimental issues in structural mechanics

CERN Document Server

Maceri, Franco; Vairo, Giuseppe

2017-01-01

The reader aware in Structural Mechanics will find in this book a source of fruitful knowledge and effective tools useful for imagining, creating, and promoting novel and challenging developments. It addresses a wide range of topics, such as mechanics and geotechnics, vibration and damping, damage and friction, experimental methods, and advanced structural materials. It also discusses analytical, experimental and numerical findings, focusing on theoretical and practical issues, and leading to innovations in the field. Collecting some of the latest results from the Lagrange Laboratory, a European scientific research group, mainly consisting of Italian and French engineers, mechanicians and mathematicians, the book presents the most recent example of the long-term scientific cooperation between well-established French and Italian Mechanics, Mathematics and Engineering Schools. .

Licensing and Environmental Issues of Wave Energy Projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Neumann, Frank; Tedd, James; Prado, Miguel

2006-01-01

a special standing or facilitated access to operating licenses due to their experimental character, the move of wave energy projects towards commercial applications implies complex procedures for obtaining licenses both with respect to the construction and deployment and operation phases, as well......The major non-technical barrier for large-scale wave energy implementation is the wide range of licensing issues and potential environmental concerns, in addition to significant National/regional differences in licensing procedures and permit requirements. Whereas some pilot plants have had...... as concerning ocean space use and environmental concerns. Despite recent efforts to streamline European EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) in general, potential project developers are far from having a clear view of present and future requirements concerning these barriers on a trans-national level...

RF-field generation in wide frequency range by electron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogdanovich, B.; Nesterovich, A.; Minaev, S.

1996-01-01

A simple device for generating powerful RF oscillations in the frequency range of 100-250 MHz is considered. The two-gaps cavity is based on the quarter-wavelength coaxial line loaded by drift tubes. Frequency tuning is accomplished by using the movable shorting plunger. A permanent electron beam being modulated at the first gap return the energy at the second one. The additional tube with the permanent decelerating potential, introduced into the main drift tube, allows to decrease the drift tube length and keep the excitation conditions in frequency tuning. Both autogeneration and amplification modes are under consideration. RF-parameters of the cavity and experimental results are described. (author)

Effects of surrounding powder in sintering process on the properties of Sb and Mn- doped barium-strontium titanate PTCR ceramics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pornsuda Bomlai

2006-05-01

Full Text Available In this research, the effects of surrounding powder used during sintering of Sb and Mn doped bariumstrontium titanate (BST ceramics were studied. The ceramic samples were prepared by a conventional mixed-oxide method and placed on different powders during sintering. Phase formation, microstructure and PTCR behavior of the samples were then observed. Microstructures and PTCR behavior varied with the type of surrounding powder, whereas the crystal structure did not change. The surrounding powder has more effects on the shape of the grain than on the size. The grain size of samples was in the range of 5-20 μm. The most uniform grain size and the highest increase of the ratio of ρmax/ρRT were found to be about 106 for samples which had been sintered on Sb-doped BST powder. This value was an order of magnitude greater than for samples sintered on a powder of the equivalent composition to that of the sample pellet.

Wired in the Ivory Tower: Access and Copyright Issues Surrounding the Internet and Higher Education in North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Shade, Leslie Regan

1995-01-01

Examines issues of access, copyright, and intellectual property in the global information infrastructure. Highlights include policy application to higher education; policy platforms; access and gender equity; copyright and intellectual property; the National Information Infrastructure; digital libraries and electronic publishing; and balancing the…

Room-temperature wide-range luminescence and structural, optical, and electrical properties of SILAR deposited Cu-Zn-S nano-structured thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Jose, Edwin; Kumar, M. C. Santhosh

2016-09-01

We report the deposition of nanostructured Cu-Zn-S composite thin films by Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method on glass substrates at room temperature. The structural, morphological, optical, photoluminescence and electrical properties of Cu-Zn-S thin films are investigated. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy studies indicate that the films exhibit a ternary Cu-Zn-S structure rather than the Cu xS and ZnS binary composite. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies show that the Cu-Zn-S films are covered well over glass substrates. The optical band gap energies of the Cu-Zn-S films are calculated using UV-visible absorption measurements, which are found in the range of 2.2 to 2.32 eV. The room temperature photoluminescence studies show a wide range of emissions from 410 nm to 565 nm. These emissions are mainly due to defects and vacancies in the composite system. The electrical studies using Hall effect measurements show that the Cu-Zn-S films are having p-type conductivity.

Ethical Issues Relative to Autonomy and Personal Control in Independent and Cognitively Impaired Elders.

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, Virginia Hill; And Others

1997-01-01

Discusses ethical issues surrounding health care for independent elders, those in long-term care, and those with cognitive impairments, as well as death, dying, euthanasia, and assisted suicide. Suggests that nurses should focus on older adults' choice, autonomy, and personal control. (SK)

GeoCENS: A Geospatial Cyberinfrastructure for the World-Wide Sensor Web

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steve H.L. Liang

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The world-wide sensor web has become a very useful technique for monitoring the physical world at spatial and temporal scales that were previously impossible. Yet we believe that the full potential of sensor web has thus far not been revealed. In order to harvest the world-wide sensor web’s full potential, a geospatial cyberinfrastructure is needed to store, process, and deliver large amount of sensor data collected worldwide. In this paper, we first define the issue of the sensor web long tail followed by our view of the world-wide sensor web architecture. Then, we introduce the Geospatial Cyberinfrastructure for Environmental Sensing (GeoCENS architecture and explain each of its components. Finally, with demonstration of three real-world powered-by-GeoCENS sensor web applications, we believe that the GeoCENS architecture can successfully address the sensor web long tail issue and consequently realize the world-wide sensor web vision.

The railroad perspective: Issues behind the issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furber, C.P.; Brobst, W.A.

1986-01-01

Rail transportation is a vital segment of DOE's spent fuel program. Most of the shipments from reactors to a repository or to a Monitored Retrievable Storage facility will be by rail, and essentially all of the shipments from an MRS to a repository. Casks must move economically and efficiently, while at the same time providing adequate safety to the public and transport workers, and meeting the legal/institutional constraints. Shippers are faced with the problem of procuring transportation services in a safe manner at a reasonable cost, trying to balance freight charges against cask inventory costs. Carriers are cautious about accepting potentially high hazard materials in routine service, and are worried about uninsured losses in case of accidents. Both shippers and carriers operate under different scheduling and operational criteria. Technical and institutional constraints add to the complexity of the operation. Standardization of shipping casks and rail car design will ease the resolution of the complex problems now existent. This paper discusses the economic, safety, operational, and legal issues surrounding rail transportation

Comparison of radiation measurements and calculations of reactor surroundings for skyshine analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsubosaka, A.; Nomura, Y. [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Kawabe, T. [Japan Research Institute, Limited, Osaka (Japan); Zharkov, V.P.; Kartashev, I.A.; Netecha, M.E.; Orlov, Y.V. [Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2000-03-01

ISTC Project 'Experimental Studies of Radiation Scattering in the Atmosphere' were conducted using the IVG-1M and RA reactors by RDIPE in collaboration with IAE NNC RK and JAERI during 1996-1998. The radial distributions of fast neutron flux, thermal neutron flux and gamma radiation dose rate were measured above these two reactors at three heights. Neutron spectra above these two reactors and thermal and fast neutron fluxes over the hollow pipe height in the IVG-1M reactor were also measured in order to determine the radiation characteristics for skyshine analysis. For verifying the computer codes the calculations of reactor surroundings were performed using MCNP and DORT/DOT-3.5. The comparisons between the measurements and the calculations show that MCNP and DORT/DOT-3.5 codes can be widely applied to the shielding problems by selecting properly the calculation conditions. (author)

Public libraries in the 21 st century: issues for concern in Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Issues surrounding the establishment and development of public libraries in Nigeria are captured in this piece of writing. The paper particularly discusses the origin and growth of public libraries, objectives and role of public libraries in Nigeria. It further looked at public libraries in the 21st century; problems and prospects of ...

Designing double-gap linear accelerators for a wide mass range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lysenko, W.P.; Wadlinger, E.A.; Rusnak, B.; Krawczyk, F.; Saadatmand, K.; Wan, Z.

1998-01-01

For applications like ion implantation, rf linacs using double-gap structures with external resonators can be used because they are practical at low frequencies. However, since the two gaps associated with a given resonator cannot be individually phased, it is not obvious how to build a linac that can efficiently accelerate particles having different mass/charge ratios. This paper describes the beam dynamics of double-gap rf linacs and shows how to maximize the range of mass/charge ratios. The theory also tells one how to rescale a linac tune (i.e., reset the voltages and phases) so that a new particle, having a different mass or charge, will behave similarly to the original particle

Evaluating the impact of a wide range of vegetation densities on river channel pattern

Science.gov (United States)

Pattison, Ian; Roucou, Ron

2016-04-01

develop a simple conceptual model to explain the observations along the wide range of vegetation densities investigated. At low plant densities, each plant acted independently and caused flow separation and convergence around each plant, similar to in the Coulthard (2005] experiment. At medium densities, individual plants start to interact together with narrow channels developing longitudinally between vegetative bars. Finally at very high densities, there was both lateral and longitudinal interaction between plants meaning that flow was diverted around them forming wandering, meandering channels. In summary, the relationship between vegetation density and channel braiding is more complex than previous thought, taking a parabolic shape, with maximum braiding occurring at medium vegetation densities.

Does this range suit me? Range satisfaction of battery electric vehicle users.

Science.gov (United States)

Franke, Thomas; Günther, Madlen; Trantow, Maria; Krems, Josef F

2017-11-01

User satisfaction is a vital design criterion for sustainable systems. The present research aimed to understand factors relating to individually perceived range satisfaction of battery electric vehicle (BEV) users. Data from a large-scale BEV field trial (N = 72) were analyzed. Apart from an initial drop in range satisfaction, increasing practical experience was related to increased range satisfaction. Classical indicators of users' mobility profiles (daily travel distances) were only weakly related to lower range satisfaction (not significant), after controlling for practical experience and preferred coverage of mobility needs. The regularity/predictability of users' mobility patterns, the percentage of journeys not coverable because of range issues, and users' individual comfortable range accounted for variance in range satisfaction. Finally, range satisfaction was related to key indicators of general BEV acceptance (e.g., purchase intentions). These results underline the complex dynamics involved in individual range satisfaction, as well as its central role for BEV acceptance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reactivity of chars prepared from the pyrolysis of a Victorian lignite under a wide range of conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, H.; Mody, D.; Li, C.; Hayashi, J.; Chiba, T. [Monash University, Vic. (Australia). CRC for Clean Power from Lignite, Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2000-07-01

A Loy Yang lignite sample was pyrolysed under a wide range of experimental conditions using a wire-mesh reactor, a fluidised-bed reactor, a drop-tube reformer and a thermogravimetric analyser (TGA). The reactivity of these char samples in CO{sub 2} and air was measured in the TGA as well as in the fluidised-bed reactor. A sample prepared by the physical impregnation of NaCl into the lignite was also used in order to investigate the effect of NaCl in the lignite on the reactivity of the resulting char. Our experimental results indicate that, due to the volatilisation of a substantial fraction of Na in the lignite substrate during pyrolysis, the true catalytic activity of the Na in the lignite substrate should be evaluated by measuring the sodium content in the char after pyrolysis. The char reactivity measured in situ in the fluidised-bed reactor was compared with that of the same char measured separately in the TGA after re-heating the char sample to the same temperature as that in the fluidised-bed. It was found that the re-heating of the char in the TGA reduced the char reactivity.

Liquid-phase turbulence measurements in air-water two-phase flows over a wide range of void fractions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Xinquan [Nuclear Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University, 201 W. 19th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Sun, Xiaodong, E-mail: sun.200@osu.edu [Nuclear Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University, 201 W. 19th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Liu, Yang [Nuclear Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, 635 Prices Fork Road, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (United States)

2016-12-15

This paper focuses on liquid-phase turbulence measurements in air-water two-phase flows over a wide range of void fractions and flow regimes, spanning from bubbly, cap-bubbly, slug, to churn-turbulent flows. The measurements have been conducted in two test facilities, the first one with a circular test section and the second one with a rectangular test section. A particle image velocimetry-planar laser-induced fluorescence (PIV-PLIF) system was used to acquire local liquid-phase turbulence information, including the time-averaged velocity and velocity fluctuations in the streamwise and spanwise directions, and Reynolds stress. An optical phase separation method using fluorescent particles and optical filtration technique was adopted to extract the liquid-phase velocity information. An image pre-processing scheme was imposed on the raw PIV images acquired to remove noise due to the presence of bubble residuals and optically distorted particles in the raw PIV images. Four-sensor conductivity probes and high-speed images were also used to acquire the gas-phase information, which was aimed to understand the flow interfacial structure. The highest area-averaged void fraction covered in the measurements for the circular and rectangular test sections was about 40%.

Liquid-phase turbulence measurements in air-water two-phase flows over a wide range of void fractions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Xinquan; Sun, Xiaodong; Liu, Yang

2016-01-01

This paper focuses on liquid-phase turbulence measurements in air-water two-phase flows over a wide range of void fractions and flow regimes, spanning from bubbly, cap-bubbly, slug, to churn-turbulent flows. The measurements have been conducted in two test facilities, the first one with a circular test section and the second one with a rectangular test section. A particle image velocimetry-planar laser-induced fluorescence (PIV-PLIF) system was used to acquire local liquid-phase turbulence information, including the time-averaged velocity and velocity fluctuations in the streamwise and spanwise directions, and Reynolds stress. An optical phase separation method using fluorescent particles and optical filtration technique was adopted to extract the liquid-phase velocity information. An image pre-processing scheme was imposed on the raw PIV images acquired to remove noise due to the presence of bubble residuals and optically distorted particles in the raw PIV images. Four-sensor conductivity probes and high-speed images were also used to acquire the gas-phase information, which was aimed to understand the flow interfacial structure. The highest area-averaged void fraction covered in the measurements for the circular and rectangular test sections was about 40%.

Radiation-induced polymerization of water-saturated styrene in a wide range of dose rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takezaki, J.; Okada, T.; Sakurada, I.

1978-01-01

Radiation-induced polymerization of water-saturated styrene (water content 3.5 x 10 -2 mole/liter) was carried out in a wide range of dose rate between 1.2 x 10 3 and 1.8 x 10 7 rad/sec, and compared with the polymerization of the moderately dried styrene (water content 3.2 x 10 -3 mole/liter). Molecular weight distribution curves of the polymerization products showed that they were generally consisted of four parts, namely, oligomers, radical, cationic, and super polymers. Contributions of the four constituents to the polymerization and the number average degrees of polymerization (DP) of the four kinds of polymers were calculated by the graphical analysis of the curves. The rate of radical polymerization and DP of radical polymers are independent of the water content; the dose rate dependences of the polymerization rate and DP agree with the well known square root and inverse square root laws, respectively, of the radical polymerization of styrene. The rate of ionic polymerization is directly proportional to the dose rate, but it decreases, at a given dose rate, inversely proportional to the water content of styrene. DP of ionic polymer is independent of the dose rate but decreases with increasing water content. The super polymer of DP about 10 4 is not formed in the case of the moderately dried styrene. G values for the initiating radical and ion formation are calculated to be independently of the dose rate and water content, 0.66 and 0.027, respectively. It was suggested that oligomer was formed in the early stage by the interaction of cation with anion and only those cations which had survived underwent polymerization. 10 figures, 4 tables

Economy-wide Estimates of the Implications of Climate Change - A Rejoinder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosello, F.; Roson, R.; Tol, R.S.J.

2008-01-01

[Ackermann, F., Stanton, E., 2008-this issue. A comment on economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change: human health. Ecological Economics. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.10.006] criticise our recent paper [Bosello, F., Roson, R., Tol, R.S.J., 2006. Economy-wide estimates of the