Sample records for acceleration pga peak

  1. Prediction of spectral acceleration response ordinates based on PGA attenuation

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Graizer, V.; Kalkan, E.

    2009-01-01

    Developed herein is a new peak ground acceleration (PGA)-based predictive model for 5% damped pseudospectral acceleration (SA) ordinates of free-field horizontal component of ground motion from shallow-crustal earthquakes. The predictive model of ground motion spectral shape (i.e., normalized spectrum) is generated as a continuous function of few parameters. The proposed model eliminates the classical exhausted matrix of estimator coefficients, and provides significant ease in its implementation. It is structured on the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) database with a number of additions from recent Californian events including 2003 San Simeon and 2004 Parkfield earthquakes. A unique feature of the model is its new functional form explicitly integrating PGA as a scaling factor. The spectral shape model is parameterized within an approximation function using moment magnitude, closest distance to the fault (fault distance) and VS30 (average shear-wave velocity in the upper 30 m) as independent variables. Mean values of its estimator coefficients were computed by fitting an approximation function to spectral shape of each record using robust nonlinear optimization. Proposed spectral shape model is independent of the PGA attenuation, allowing utilization of various PGA attenuation relations to estimate the response spectrum of earthquake recordings.

  2. Estimation of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) for Peninsular Malaysia using geospatial approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nouri Manafizad, Amir; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Abdullahi, Saleh

    2016-06-01

    Among the various types of natural disasters, earthquake is considered as one of the most destructive events which impose a great amount of human fatalities and economic losses. Visualization of earthquake events and estimation of peak ground motions provides a strong tool for scientists and authorities to predict and mitigate the aftereffects of earthquakes. In addition it is useful for some businesses like insurance companies to evaluate the amount of investing risk. Although Peninsular Malaysian is situated in the stable part of Sunda plate, it is seismically influenced by very active earthquake sources of Sumatra's fault and subduction zones. This study modelled the seismic zones and estimates maximum credible earthquake (MCE) based on classified data for period 1900 to 2014. The deterministic approach was implemented for the analysis. Attenuation equations were used for two zones. Results show that, the PGA produced from subduction zone is from 2-64 (gal) and from the fault zone varies from 1-191(gal). In addition, the PGA generated from fault zone is more critical than subduction zone for selected seismic model.

  3. The dependence of PGA and PGV on distance and magnitude inferred from Northern California ShakeMap data

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Boatwright, J.; Bundock, H.; Luetgert, J.; Seekins, L.; Gee, L.; Lombard, P.

    2003-01-01

    We analyze peak ground velocity (PGV) and peak ground acceleration (PGA) data from 95 moderate (3.5 ??? M 100 km, the peak motions attenuate more rapidly than a simple power law (that is, r-??) can fit. Instead, we use an attenuation function that combines a fixed power law (r-0.7) with a fitted exponential dependence on distance, which is estimated as expt(-0.0063r) and exp(-0.0073r) for PGV and PGA, respectively, for moderate earthquakes. We regress log(PGV) and log(PGA) as functions of distance and magnitude. We assume that the scaling of log(PGV) and log(PGA) with magnitude can differ for moderate and large earthquakes, but must be continuous. Because the frequencies that carry PGV and PGA can vary with earthquake size for large earthquakes, the regression for large earthquakes incorporates a magnitude dependence in the exponential attenuation function. We fix the scaling break between moderate and large earthquakes at M 5.5; log(PGV) and log(PGA) scale as 1.06M and 1.00M, respectively, for moderate earthquakes and 0.58M and 0.31M for large earthquakes.

  4. Strong correlation between stress drop and peak ground acceleration for recent M1–4 earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Area

    DOE PAGES

    Trugman, Daniel Taylor; Shearer, Peter M.

    2018-03-06

    Theoretical and observational studies suggest that between-event variability in the median ground motions of larger ( M≥5 ) earthquakes is controlled primarily by the dynamic properties of the earthquake source, such as Brune-type stress drop. Analogous results remain equivocal for smaller events due to the lack of comprehensive and overlapping ground-motion and source-parameter datasets in this regime. Here in this paper, we investigate the relationship between peak ground acceleration (PGA) and dynamic stress drop for a new dataset of 5297 earthquakes that occurred in the San Francisco Bay area from 2002 through 2016. For each event, we measure PGA onmore » horizontal-component channels of stations within 100 km and estimate stress drop from P-wave spectra recorded on vertical-component channels of the same stations. We then develop a nonparametric ground-motion prediction equation (GMPE) applicable for the moderate (M 1–4) earthquakes in our study region, using a mixed-effects generalization of the Random Forest algorithm. We use the Random Forest GMPE to model the joint influence of magnitude, distance, and near-site effects on observed PGA. We observe a strong correlation between dynamic stress drop and the residual PGA of each event, with the events with higher-than-expected PGA associated with higher values of stress drop. The strength of this correlation increases as a function of magnitude but remains significant even for smaller magnitude events with corner frequencies that approach the observable bandwidth of the acceleration records. Mainshock events are characterized by systematically higher stress drop and PGA than aftershocks of equivalent magnitude. Coherent local variations in the distribution of dynamic stress drop provide observational constraints to support the future development of nonergodic GMPEs that account for variations in median stress drop at different source locations.« less

  5. Strong correlation between stress drop and peak ground acceleration for recent M1–4 earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Area

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Trugman, Daniel Taylor; Shearer, Peter M.

    Theoretical and observational studies suggest that between-event variability in the median ground motions of larger ( M≥5 ) earthquakes is controlled primarily by the dynamic properties of the earthquake source, such as Brune-type stress drop. Analogous results remain equivocal for smaller events due to the lack of comprehensive and overlapping ground-motion and source-parameter datasets in this regime. Here in this paper, we investigate the relationship between peak ground acceleration (PGA) and dynamic stress drop for a new dataset of 5297 earthquakes that occurred in the San Francisco Bay area from 2002 through 2016. For each event, we measure PGA onmore » horizontal-component channels of stations within 100 km and estimate stress drop from P-wave spectra recorded on vertical-component channels of the same stations. We then develop a nonparametric ground-motion prediction equation (GMPE) applicable for the moderate (M 1–4) earthquakes in our study region, using a mixed-effects generalization of the Random Forest algorithm. We use the Random Forest GMPE to model the joint influence of magnitude, distance, and near-site effects on observed PGA. We observe a strong correlation between dynamic stress drop and the residual PGA of each event, with the events with higher-than-expected PGA associated with higher values of stress drop. The strength of this correlation increases as a function of magnitude but remains significant even for smaller magnitude events with corner frequencies that approach the observable bandwidth of the acceleration records. Mainshock events are characterized by systematically higher stress drop and PGA than aftershocks of equivalent magnitude. Coherent local variations in the distribution of dynamic stress drop provide observational constraints to support the future development of nonergodic GMPEs that account for variations in median stress drop at different source locations.« less

  6. A comparative study of different PGA attenuation and error models: Case of 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mebarki, Ahmed

    2009-03-01

    In order to evaluate the horizontal peak ground acceleration (HPGA) during earthquakes, the author studies the respective efficiency of two existing attenuation models [Mébarki, A., 2003a, Risques sismiques: aléas, vulnérabilité et aide à la décision par cartes SIG. Proceedings of International Conference on "Risks, Vulnerability and Reliability in Construction. Towards a reduction of disasters". ISBN: 9961-891-01-5, pp. 82-97. Algiers, October 11-12, Mébarki, A., 2003b. Proposal of a parametric attenuation model and comparison with some worldwide earthquakes. VII o Congreso Venezolano de Sismologia y Ingenieria Sísmica, Barquisimeto, Venezuela. November 12-13, (CD-ROM), Mébarki A., 2004. Modèle d'atténuation sismique: prédiction probabiliste des pics d'accélération, RFGC — Revue Française de Génie Civil, Hermès Ed., 8 (9-10), 1071-1086]. A comparative study of their performances is done in the case of 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake (Taiwan). The reported PGA (Peak Ground Accelerations) values correspond to hypocentral distances ranging from 15 up to 180 km with observed acceleration peaks ranging from (0.04 g) up to (1.16 g). The author considers two kinds of probabilistic distributions for the error model in order to describe the uncertainty and the variability that affect the values of the PGA: a Gamma distribution and a Log-normal distribution. The adopted error models assume that the variability of the PGA is such that its coefficient of variation is equal to 55% [Mébarki, A., 2003a. Risques sismiques: aléas, vulnérabilité et aide à la décision par cartes SIG. Proceedings of International Conference on "Risks, Vulnerability and Reliability in Construction. Towards a reduction of disasters". ISBN: 9961-891-01-5, pp. 82-97. Algiers, October 11-12, Mébarki, A., 2003b. Proposal of a parametric attenuation model and comparison with some worldwide earthquakes. VII o Congreso Venezolano de Sismologia y Ingenieria Sísmica, Barquisimeto, Venezuela

  7. B-value and slip rate sensitivity analysis for PGA value in Lembang fault and Cimandiri fault area

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pratama, Cecep; Ito, Takeo; Meilano, Irwan; Nugraha, Andri Dian

    2017-07-01

    We examine slip rate and b-value contribution of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), in probabilistic seismic hazard maps (10% probability of exceedence in 50 years or 500 years return period). Hazard curve of PGA have been investigated for Sukabumi and Bandung using a PSHA (Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis). We observe that the most influence in the hazard estimate is crustal fault. Monte Carlo approach has been developed to assess the sensitivity. Uncertainty and coefficient of variation from slip rate and b-value in Lembang and Cimandiri Fault area have been calculated. We observe that seismic hazard estimates are sensitive to fault slip rate and b-value with uncertainty result are 0.25 g dan 0.1-0.2 g, respectively. For specific site, we found seismic hazard estimate are 0.49 + 0.13 g with COV 27% and 0.39 + 0.05 g with COV 13% for Sukabumi and Bandung, respectively.

  8. Empirical equations for the prediction of PGA and pseudo spectral accelerations using Iranian strong-motion data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zafarani, H.; Luzi, Lucia; Lanzano, Giovanni; Soghrat, M. R.

    2018-01-01

    A recently compiled, comprehensive, and good-quality strong-motion database of the Iranian earthquakes has been used to develop local empirical equations for the prediction of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and 5%-damped pseudo-spectral accelerations (PSA) up to 4.0 s. The equations account for style of faulting and four site classes and use the horizontal distance from the surface projection of the rupture plane as a distance measure. The model predicts the geometric mean of horizontal components and the vertical-to-horizontal ratio. A total of 1551 free-field acceleration time histories recorded at distances of up to 200 km from 200 shallow earthquakes (depth < 30 km) with moment magnitudes ranging from Mw 4.0 to 7.3 are used to perform regression analysis using the random effects algorithm of Abrahamson and Youngs (Bull Seism Soc Am 82:505-510, 1992), which considers between-events as well as within-events errors. Due to the limited data used in the development of previous Iranian ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) and strong trade-offs between different terms of GMPEs, it is likely that the previously determined models might have less precision on their coefficients in comparison to the current study. The richer database of the current study allows improving on prior works by considering additional variables that could not previously be adequately constrained. Here, a functional form used by Boore and Atkinson (Earthquake Spect 24:99-138, 2008) and Bindi et al. (Bull Seism Soc Am 9:1899-1920, 2011) has been adopted that allows accounting for the saturation of ground motions at close distances. A regression has been also performed for the V/H in order to retrieve vertical components by scaling horizontal spectra. In order to take into account epistemic uncertainty, the new model can be used along with other appropriate GMPEs through a logic tree framework for seismic hazard assessment in Iran and Middle East region.

  9. Seismic Intensity, PGA and PGV for the South Napa Earthquake, August 24, 2014

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, S.; Pickering, A.; Mooney, W. D.; Crewdson, E.

    2014-12-01

    Numerous studies have investigated the statistical relationship between Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) and peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV). The Mw 6.0 South Napa (California) earthquake of August 24, 2014 provides valuable data to examine these relationships for both urban and rural environments within northern California. The finite fault model (D. Dreger, 2014) indicates that the fault rupture propagated predominantly NNW and up-dip from a 11-km-deep hypocenter. The epicentral location was 8 km SSW of downtown Napa. Recorded PGA north of the epicenter is as high as 600 cm/s2 and PGV locally reaches 80 cm/s. Field studies by two teams of investigators were conducted on August 24-26 and September 8-11, 2014 to assign MMI values at 108 sites. The highest MMI values are strongly localized along the NNW-SSE rupture trend north of the epicenter. Parts of the city of Napa and some communities several km farther north on Dry Creek Road were found to have experienced shaking intensities of MMI VII to VIII. The observed effects include houses moved off their foundations, chimney collapse or damage, cracked foundations and/or interior walls, broken windows, and the lateral displacement of heavy furniture. Communities to the east and west of this zone of high seismic intensity reported significantly lower values of MMI, typically IV and V even at distances as close as 10 km from the mapped surface rupture. In comparison with previous estimates by Wald et al. (1999) and Dangkua and Cramer (2011), we find that MMI III-VIII uniformly correspond to significantly larger (>150%) PGA and PGV values, as reported by the Center for Engineering Strong Motion Data (2014). We attribute this observation to two primary factors: (1) improved earthquake engineering in the post-Loma Prieta earthquake era that has led to building construction, both new and retrofitted, that is more resistant to earthquake strong ground motions; and (2) a frequency band relevant

  10. Earthquake Macro-zonation Based Peak Ground Acceleration, Modified Mercalli Intensity, And Type of Rocks around Matano Fault

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karnaen, Muh; Suriamihardja, D. A.; Maulana, A.; Jaya, A.

    2018-03-01

    This study aims to determine earthquake vulnerable zones. We conducted research on earthquake macro-zonation based on PGA, Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI), and type of rocks around Matano Fault in the area of 1.60 S to 2.990 S and 120.50 E to 122.470 E. We have acquired Maximum PGA and Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) for each observation point on the ground from the four major earthquake events. The empirical model is used due to lack of acceleration data recorded. We tried some empirical methods, but the McGuire method is found to be acceptable for this area. The result gives the maximum variation of PGA which is ranged between 18.40 - 363.54 gals. While the variation of MMI using empirical Wald attenuation gives values ranging from 2.9 - 7.7 MMI. The most vulnerable zone is located around Sorowako city with PGA value of 326.55 gals and MMI value of 7.5 MMI. This area is between ultra-basic rock and metamorphic rock formation. The vulnerable zone is near largest earthquake 6.2 M on 15-02-2011.

  11. Peak impact accelerations during track and treadmill running.

    PubMed

    Bigelow, Erin M R; Elvin, Niell G; Elvin, Alex A; Arnoczky, Steven P

    2013-10-01

    To determine whether peak vertical and horizontal impact accelerations were different while running on a track or on a treadmill, 12 healthy subjects (average age 32.8 ± 9.8 y), were fitted with a novel, wireless accelerometer capable of recording triaxial acceleration over time. The accelerometer was attached to a custom-made acrylic plate and secured at the level of the L5 vertebra via a tight fitting triathlon belt. Each subject ran 4 miles on a synthetic, indoor track at a self-selected pace and accelerations were recorded on three perpendicular axes. Seven days later, the subjects ran 4 miles on a treadmill set at the individual runner's average pace on the track and the peak vertical and horizontal impact magnitudes between the track and treadmill were compared. There was no difference (P = .52) in the average peak vertical impact accelerations between the track and treadmill over the 4 mile run. However, peak horizontal impact accelerations were greater (P = .0012) on the track when compared with the treadmill. This study demonstrated the feasibility for long-term impact accelerations monitoring using a novel wireless accelerometer.

  12. Martial arts striking hand peak acceleration, accuracy and consistency.

    PubMed

    Neto, Osmar Pinto; Marzullo, Ana Carolina De Miranda; Bolander, Richard P; Bir, Cynthia A

    2013-01-01

    The goal of this paper was to investigate the possible trade-off between peak hand acceleration and accuracy and consistency of hand strikes performed by martial artists of different training experiences. Ten male martial artists with training experience ranging from one to nine years volunteered to participate in the experiment. Each participant performed 12 maximum effort goal-directed strikes. Hand acceleration during the strikes was obtained using a tri-axial accelerometer block. A pressure sensor matrix was used to determine the accuracy and consistency of the strikes. Accuracy was estimated by the radial distance between the centroid of each subject's 12 strikes and the target, whereas consistency was estimated by the square root of the 12 strikes mean squared distance from their centroid. We found that training experience was significantly correlated to hand peak acceleration prior to impact (r(2)=0.456, p =0.032) and accuracy (r(2)=0. 621, p=0.012). These correlations suggest that more experienced participants exhibited higher hand peak accelerations and at the same time were more accurate. Training experience, however, was not correlated to consistency (r(2)=0.085, p=0.413). Overall, our results suggest that martial arts training may lead practitioners to achieve higher striking hand accelerations with better accuracy and no change in striking consistency.

  13. Non-woven PGA/PVA fibrous mesh as an appropriate scaffold for chondrocyte proliferation.

    PubMed

    Rampichová, M; Koštáková, E; Filová, E; Prosecká, E; Plencner, M; Ocheretná, L; Lytvynets, A; Lukáš, D; Amler, E

    2010-01-01

    Non-woven textile mesh from polyglycolic acid (PGA) was found as a proper material for chondrocyte adhesion but worse for their proliferation. Neither hyaluronic acid nor chitosan nor polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) increased chondrocyte adhesion. However, chondrocyte proliferation suffered from acidic byproducts of PGA degradation. However, the addition of PVA and/or chitosan into a wet-laid non-woven textile mesh from PGA improved chondrocyte proliferation seeded in vitro on the PGA-based composite scaffold namely due to a diminished acidification of their microenvironment. This PVA/PGA composite mesh used in combination with a proper hydrogel minimized the negative effect of PGA degradation without dropping positive parameters of the PGA wet-laid non-woven textile mesh. In fact, presence of PVA and/or chitosan in the PGA-based wet-laid non-woven textile mesh even advanced the PGA-based wet-laid non-woven textile mesh for chondrocyte seeding and artificial cartilage production due to a positive effect of PVA in such a scaffold on chondrocyte proliferation.

  14. Ground-motion prediction equations for the average horizontal component of PGA, PGV, and 5%-damped PSA at spectral periods between 0.01 s and 10.0 s

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Boore, D.M.; Atkinson, G.M.

    2008-01-01

    This paper contains ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) for average horizontal-component ground motions as a function of earthquake magnitude, distance from source to site, local average shear-wave velocity, and fault type. Our equations are for peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV), and 5%-damped pseudo-absolute-acceleration spectra (PSA) at periods between 0.01 s and 10 s. They were derived by empirical regression of an extensive strong-motion database compiled by the 'PEER NGA' (Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center's Next Generation Attenuation) project. For periods less than 1 s, the analysis used 1,574 records from 58 mainshocks in the distance range from 0 km to 400 km (the number of available data decreased as period increased). The primary predictor variables are moment magnitude (M), closest horizontal distance to the surface projection of the fault plane (RJB), and the time-averaged shear-wave velocity from the surface to 30 m (VS30). The equations are applicable for M=5-8, RJB<200 km, and VS30= 180-1300 m/s. ?? 2008, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.

  15. Effect of γ-PGA on the formation of collagen fibrils in vitro.

    PubMed

    Ding, Cuicui; Zheng, Zhigong; Liu, Xinzhong; Li, Hengda; Zhang, Min

    2016-07-01

    The effect of γ-poly(glutamic acid) (γ-PGA) on the self-assembly of collagen was studied. Under physiological conditions, the kinetic curves for fibril formation showed that the turbidity of collagen/γ-PGA blends at 313 nm was increased with the addition of γ-PGA. Furthermore, it was shown using both field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) that fibrils with a larger diameter were obtained following the addition of γ-PGA, probably due to the electrostatic and hydrogen bond interactions between collagen and γ-PGA, which promoted the lateral association of collagen molecules. In addition, both the thermal stability and viscoelastic properties of the hybrid hydrogels, which were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry and rheological measurements, respectively, were improved by the addition of γ-PGA.

  16. γ-PGA Hydrolases of Phage Origin in Bacillus subtilis and Other Microbial Genomes.

    PubMed

    Mamberti, Stefania; Prati, Paola; Cremaschi, Paolo; Seppi, Claudio; Morelli, Carlo F; Galizzi, Alessandro; Fabbi, Massimo; Calvio, Cinzia

    2015-01-01

    Poly-γ-glutamate (γ-PGA) is an industrially interesting polymer secreted mainly by members of the class Bacilli which forms a shield able to protect bacteria from phagocytosis and phages. Few enzymes are known to degrade γ-PGA; among them is a phage-encoded γ-PGA hydrolase, PghP. The supposed role of PghP in phages is to ensure access to the surface of bacterial cells by dismantling the γ-PGA barrier. We identified four unannotated B. subtilis genes through similarity of their encoded products to PghP; in fact these genes reside in prophage elements of B. subtilis genome. The recombinant products of two of them demonstrate efficient polymer degradation, confirming that sequence similarity reflects functional homology. Genes encoding similar γ-PGA hydrolases were identified in phages specific for the order Bacillales and in numerous microbial genomes, not only belonging to that order. The distribution of the γ-PGA biosynthesis operon was also investigated with a bioinformatics approach; it was found that the list of organisms endowed with γ-PGA biosynthetic functions is larger than expected and includes several pathogenic species. Moreover in non-Bacillales bacteria the predicted γ-PGA hydrolase genes are preferentially found in species that do not have the genetic asset for polymer production. Our findings suggest that γ-PGA hydrolase genes might have spread across microbial genomes via horizontal exchanges rather than via phage infection. We hypothesize that, in natural habitats rich in γ-PGA supplied by producer organisms, the availability of hydrolases that release glutamate oligomers from γ-PGA might be a beneficial trait under positive selection.

  17. Summary of the GK15 ground‐motion prediction equation for horizontal PGA and 5% damped PSA from shallow crustal continental earthquakes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Graizer, Vladimir;; Kalkan, Erol

    2016-01-01

    We present a revised ground‐motion prediction equation (GMPE) for computing medians and standard deviations of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and 5% damped pseudospectral acceleration (PSA) response ordinates of the horizontal component of randomly oriented ground motions to be used for seismic‐hazard analyses and engineering applications. This GMPE is derived from the expanded Next Generation Attenuation (NGA)‐West 1 database (see Data and Resources; Chiou et al., 2008). The revised model includes an anelastic attenuation term as a function of quality factor (Q0) to capture regional differences in far‐source (beyond 150 km) attenuation, and a new frequency‐dependent sedimentary‐basin scaling term as a function of depth to the 1.5  km/s shear‐wave velocity isosurface to improve ground‐motion predictions at sites located on deep sedimentary basins. The new Graizer–Kalkan 2015 (GK15) model, developed to be simple, is applicable for the western United States and other similar shallow crustal continental regions in active tectonic environments for earthquakes with moment magnitudes (M) 5.0–8.0, distances 0–250 km, average shear‐wave velocities in the upper 30 m (VS30) 200–1300  m/s, and spectral periods (T) 0.01–5 s. Our aleatory variability model captures interevent (between‐event) variability, which decreases with magnitude and increases with distance. The mixed‐effect residuals analysis reveals that the GK15 has no trend with respect to the independent predictor parameters. Compared to our 2007–2009 GMPE, the PGA values are very similar, whereas spectral ordinates predicted are larger at T<0.2  s and they are smaller at longer periods.

  18. Comparative Analysis of Peak Ground Acceleration Before and After Padang Earthquake 2009 Using Mc. Guirre Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ayu Rahmalia, Diah; Nilamprasasti, Hesti

    2017-04-01

    We have analyzed the earthquakes data in West Sumatra province to determine peak ground acceleration value. The peak ground acceleration is a parameter that describes the strength of the tremor that ever happened. This paper aims to compare the value of the peak ground acceleration by considering the b-value before and after the Padang earthquake 2009. This research was carried out in stages, starting by taking the earthquake data in West Sumatra province with boundary coordinates 0.923° LU - 2.811° LS and 97.075° - 102.261° BT, before and after the 2009 Padang earthquake with a magnitude ≥ 3 and depth of ≤ 300 km, calculation of the b-value, and ended by creating peak ground acceleration map based on Mc. Guirre empirical formula with Excel and Surfer software. Based on earthquake data from 2002 until before Padang earthquake 2009, the b-value is 0.874 while the b-value after the Padang earthquake in 2009 to 2016 is 0.891. Considering b value, it can be known that peak ground acceleration before and after the 2009 Padang earthquake might be different. Based on the seismic data before 2009, the peak ground acceleration value of West Sumatra province is ranged from 7,002 to 308.875 gal. This value will be compared by the value of the peak ground acceleration after the Padang earthquake in 2009 which ranged from 7,946 to 372,736 gal.

  19. Tunnel flexibility effect on the ground surface acceleration response

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baziar, Mohammad Hassan; Moghadam, Masoud Rabeti; Choo, Yun Wook; Kim, Dong-Soo

    2016-09-01

    Flexibility of underground structures relative to the surrounding medium, referred to as the flexibility ratio, is an important factor that influences their dynamic interaction. This study investigates the flexibility effect of a box-shaped subway tunnel, resting directly on bedrock, on the ground surface acceleration response using a numerical model verified against dynamic centrifuge test results. A comparison of the ground surface acceleration response for tunnel models with different flexibility ratios revealed that the tunnels with different flexibility ratios influence the acceleration response at the ground surface in different ways. Tunnels with lower flexibility ratios have higher acceleration responses at short periods, whereas tunnels with higher flexibility ratios have higher acceleration responses at longer periods. The effect of the flexibility ratio on ground surface acceleration is more prominent in the high range of frequencies. Furthermore, as the flexibility ratio of the tunnel system increases, the acceleration response moves away from the free field response and shifts towards the longer periods. Therefore, the flexibility ratio of the underground tunnels influences the peak ground acceleration (PGA) at the ground surface, and may need to be considered in the seismic zonation of urban areas.

  20. Lack of the PGA exopolysaccharide in Salmonella as an adaptive trait for survival in the host

    PubMed Central

    Echeverz, Maite; García, Begoña; Sabalza, Amaia; Valle, Jaione; Lasa, Iñigo

    2017-01-01

    Many bacteria build biofilm matrices using a conserved exopolysaccharide named PGA or PNAG (poly-β-1,6-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine). Interestingly, while E. coli and other members of the family Enterobacteriaceae encode the pgaABCD operon responsible for PGA synthesis, Salmonella lacks it. The evolutionary force driving this difference remains to be determined. Here, we report that Salmonella lost the pgaABCD operon after the divergence of Salmonella and Citrobacter clades, and previous to the diversification of the currently sequenced Salmonella strains. Reconstitution of the PGA machinery endows Salmonella with the capacity to produce PGA in a cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) dependent manner. Outside the host, the PGA polysaccharide does not seem to provide any significant benefit to Salmonella: resistance against chlorine treatment, ultraviolet light irradiation, heavy metal stress and phage infection remained the same as in a strain producing cellulose, the main biofilm exopolysaccharide naturally produced by Salmonella. In contrast, PGA production proved to be deleterious to Salmonella survival inside the host, since it increased susceptibility to bile salts and oxidative stress, and hindered the capacity of S. Enteritidis to survive inside macrophages and to colonize extraintestinal organs, including the gallbladder. Altogether, our observations indicate that PGA is an antivirulence factor whose loss may have been a necessary event during Salmonella speciation to permit survival inside the host. PMID:28542593

  1. The evaluation of speed skating helmet performance through peak linear and rotational accelerations.

    PubMed

    Karton, Clara; Rousseau, Philippe; Vassilyadi, Michael; Hoshizaki, Thomas Blaine

    2014-01-01

    Like many sports involving high speeds and body contact, head injuries are a concern for short track speed skating athletes and coaches. While the mandatory use of helmets has managed to nearly eliminate catastrophic head injuries such as skull fractures and cerebral haemorrhages, they may not be as effective at reducing the risk of a concussion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance characteristics of speed skating helmets with respect to managing peak linear and peak rotational acceleration, and to compare their performance against other types of helmets commonly worn within the speed skating sport. Commercially available speed skating, bicycle and ice hockey helmets were evaluated using a three-impact condition test protocol at an impact velocity of 4 m/s. Two speed skating helmet models yielded mean peak linear accelerations at a low-estimated probability range for sustaining a concussion for all three impact conditions. Conversely, the resulting mean peak rotational acceleration values were all found close to the high end of a probability range for sustaining a concussion. A similar tendency was observed for the bicycle and ice hockey helmets under the same impact conditions. Speed skating helmets may not be as effective at managing rotational acceleration and therefore may not successfully protect the user against risks associated with concussion injuries.

  2. Peak ground motion predictions with empirical site factors using Taiwan Strong Motion Network recordings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chung, Jen-Kuang

    2013-09-01

    A stochastic method called the random vibration theory (Boore, 1983) has been used to estimate the peak ground motions caused by shallow moderate-to-large earthquakes in the Taiwan area. Adopting Brune's ω-square source spectrum, attenuation models for PGA and PGV were derived from path-dependent parameters which were empirically modeled from about one thousand accelerograms recorded at reference sites mostly located in a mountain area and which have been recognized as rock sites without soil amplification. Consequently, the predicted horizontal peak ground motions at the reference sites, are generally comparable to these observed. A total number of 11,915 accelerograms recorded from 735 free-field stations of the Taiwan Strong Motion Network (TSMN) were used to estimate the site factors by taking the motions from the predictive models as references. Results from soil sites reveal site amplification factors of approximately 2.0 ~ 3.5 for PGA and about 1.3 ~ 2.6 for PGV. Finally, as a result of amplitude corrections with those empirical site factors, about 75% of analyzed earthquakes are well constrained in ground motion predictions, having average misfits ranging from 0.30 to 0.50. In addition, two simple indices, R 0.57 and R 0.38, are proposed in this study to evaluate the validity of intensity map prediction for public information reports. The average percentages of qualified stations for peak acceleration residuals less than R 0.57 and R 0.38 can reach 75% and 54%, respectively, for most earthquakes. Such a performance would be good enough to produce a faithful intensity map for a moderate scenario event in the Taiwan region.

  3. Production of Poly-γ-Glutamate (PGA) Biopolymer by Batch and Semicontinuous Cultures of Immobilized Bacilluslicheniformis strain-R

    PubMed Central

    Berekaa, Mahmoud M.; El Aassar, Samy A.; El-Sayed, Samia M.; EL Borai, Aliaa M.

    2009-01-01

    Production of Polyglutamate (PGA) biopolymer by immobilized Bacillus licheniformis strain-R was intensively investigated. Preliminary experiments were carried out to address the most suitable immobilization methodology. Entrapment of Bacillus cells in alginate–agar led optimal PGA production (36.75 g/l), with 1.32-and 2.18-fold increase in comparison with alginate-or K-carrageenan-immobilized cells, respectively. During semicontinuous cultivation of agar-alginate gel-cell mixture, production of PGA by 10 ml mixture was increased from 2nd to 3rd run whereas, increased till the 4th run using 15ml mixture. Adsorption was the most suitable immobilization technique for production of PGA and the sponge cubes was the preferred matrix recording 43.2 g/l of PGA with the highest cell adsorption. Furthermore, no PGA was detected when B. licheniformis cells were adsorbed on wood and pumice. Although luffa pulp-adsorbed cells recorded the highest PGA production (50.4 g/l), cell adsorption was the lowest. Semicontinuous cultivation of B. licheniformis cells adsorbed on sponge led to increase of PGA production till the 3rd run and reached 55.5 g/l then slightly decreased in the 4th run. The successful use of fixed-bed bioreactor for semicontinuous cultivation of B. licheniformis cells held on sponge cubes (3 runs, 96 hours/run) provides insight for the potential biotechnological production of PGA by immobilized cells. PMID:24031418

  4. GLAST answers about high-energy peaked BL Lacs: double-humped {gamma}-ray peak and extreme accelerators?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Costamante, L.; Aharonian, F.; Khangulyan, D.

    2007-07-12

    An often overlooked fact is that the MeV-GeV emission from High-energy peaked BL Lacs (HBL) is basically unknown: there are only 3 objects of this type among all EGRET identified blazars with measured spectra. GLAST will be able to measure the spectrum for many of them, in particular TeV-blazars, and surprises are expected. GLAST will tell if the {gamma}-ray peak in some HBL is actually a ''double peak'', as suggested by the comparison of EGRET and HESS data in PKS 2155-304, We also remind and argue that a new class of BL Lacs could exist, where particles are shock-accelerated nearmore » the maximum possible rate, characterized by the synchrotron emission peaking in the GLAST band (100 MeV - few GeV). Such objects could easily have escaped detection or identification so far, and could now be unveiled by GLAST.« less

  5. Relationship between SEP Peak intensity and CME Acceleration, Speed and Width

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xie, H.; St Cyr, O. C.; Makela, P. A.; Gopalswamy, N.

    2017-12-01

    We study the large solar energetic particle (SEP) events that were detected by GOES in the >10 MeV energy channel during December 2006 to January 2016. Data used in this study includes the Solar Electron Proton Telescope (SEPT) and High Energy Telescopes (HET) on STEREO A and B, the Electron, Proton, and Alpha Monitor (EPAM) on ACE, and the Energetic and Relativistic Nuclei and Electron instrument (ERNE) on SOHO. By choosing the smallest connection angles between SEP solar locations and magnetic foot-points of each spacecraft, we divide SEP events as SOHO SEPs or STEREO SEPs. We then compute the SEP peak intensity I0 at the center of the Gausssian using the Gausssian expression from Richardson et al. (2014) and study the relationship between SEP electron and proton peak intensity and CME acceleration, speed and width. By using I0 derived from multi-spacecraft observations we found that the correlations between SEP peak intensity and CME acceleration and speed improved. We also found that this correlation can be further improved by taking into account the effects of CME width and its solar source latitude. The implication for the SEP forecast of our obtained results will be discussed.

  6. Turbulence Hazard Metric Based on Peak Accelerations for Jetliner Passengers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stewart, Eric C.

    2005-01-01

    Calculations are made of the approximate hazard due to peak normal accelerations of an airplane flying through a simulated vertical wind field associated with a convective frontal system. The calculations are based on a hazard metric developed from a systematic application of a generic math model to 1-cosine discrete gusts of various amplitudes and gust lengths. The math model simulates the three degree-of- freedom longitudinal rigid body motion to vertical gusts and includes (1) fuselage flexibility, (2) the lag in the downwash from the wing to the tail, (3) gradual lift effects, (4) a simplified autopilot, and (5) motion of an unrestrained passenger in the rear cabin. Airplane and passenger response contours are calculated for a matrix of gust amplitudes and gust lengths. The airplane response contours are used to develop an approximate hazard metric of peak normal accelerations as a function of gust amplitude and gust length. The hazard metric is then applied to a two-dimensional simulated vertical wind field of a convective frontal system. The variations of the hazard metric with gust length and airplane heading are demonstrated.

  7. Proteomic analysis of the signaling pathway mediated by the heterotrimeric Gα protein Pga1 of Penicillium chrysogenum.

    PubMed

    Carrasco-Navarro, Ulises; Vera-Estrella, Rosario; Barkla, Bronwyn J; Zúñiga-León, Eduardo; Reyes-Vivas, Horacio; Fernández, Francisco J; Fierro, Francisco

    2016-10-06

    The heterotrimeric Gα protein Pga1-mediated signaling pathway regulates the entire developmental program in Penicillium chrysogenum, from spore germination to the formation of conidia. In addition it participates in the regulation of penicillin biosynthesis. We aimed to advance the understanding of this key signaling pathway using a proteomics approach, a powerful tool to identify effectors participating in signal transduction pathways. Penicillium chrysogenum mutants with different levels of activity of the Pga1-mediated signaling pathway were used to perform comparative proteomic analyses by 2D-DIGE and LC-MS/MS. Thirty proteins were identified which showed differences in abundance dependent on Pga1 activity level. By modifying the intracellular levels of cAMP we could establish cAMP-dependent and cAMP-independent pathways in Pga1-mediated signaling. Pga1 was shown to regulate abundance of enzymes in primary metabolic pathways involved in ATP, NADPH and cysteine biosynthesis, compounds that are needed for high levels of penicillin production. An in vivo phosphorylated protein containing a pleckstrin homology domain was identified; this protein is a candidate for signal transduction activity. Proteins with possible roles in purine metabolism, protein folding, stress response and morphogenesis were also identified whose abundance was regulated by Pga1 signaling. Thirty proteins whose abundance was regulated by the Pga1-mediated signaling pathway were identified. These proteins are involved in primary metabolism, stress response, development and signal transduction. A model describing the pathways through which Pga1 signaling regulates different cellular processes is proposed.

  8. The pgaABCD Locus of Escherichia coli Promotes the Synthesis of a Polysaccharide Adhesin Required for Biofilm Formation

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Xin; Preston, James F.; Romeo, Tony

    2004-01-01

    Production of a polysaccharide matrix is a hallmark of bacterial biofilms, but the composition of matrix polysaccharides and their functions are not widely understood. Previous studies of the regulation of Escherichia coli biofilm formation suggested the involvement of an unknown adhesin. We now establish that the pgaABCD (formerly ycdSRQP) locus affects biofilm development by promoting abiotic surface binding and intercellular adhesion. All of the pga genes are required for optimal biofilm formation under a variety of growth conditions. A pga-dependent cell-bound polysaccharide was isolated and determined by nuclear magnetic resonance analyses to consist of unbranched β-1,6-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine, a polymer previously unknown from the gram-negative bacteria but involved in adhesion by staphylococci. The pga genes are predicted to encode envelope proteins involved in synthesis, translocation, and possibly surface docking of this polysaccharide. As predicted, if poly-β-1,6-GlcNAc (PGA) mediates cohesion, metaperiodate caused biofilm dispersal and the release of intact cells, whereas treatment with protease or other lytic enzymes had no effect. The pgaABCD operon exhibits features of a horizontally transferred locus and is present in a variety of eubacteria. Therefore, we propose that PGA serves as an adhesin that stabilizes biofilms of E. coli and other bacteria. PMID:15090514

  9. Properties of starch-polyglutamic acid (PGA) graft copolymer prepared by microwave irradiation - Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and rheology studies

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The rheological properties of waxy starch-'-polygutamic acid (PGA) graft copolymers were investigated. Grafting was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. The starch-PGA copolymers absorbed water and formed gels, which exhibited concentration-dependent viscoelastic solid properties. Higher starch-PGA conce...

  10. A Novel Chitosan-γPGA Polyelectrolyte Complex Hydrogel Promotes Early New Bone Formation in the Alveolar Socket Following Tooth Extraction

    PubMed Central

    Chang, Hao-Hueng; Wang, Yin-Lin; Chiang, Yu-Chih; Chen, Yen-Liang; Chuang, Yu-Horng; Tsai, Shang-Jye; Heish, Kuo-Huang; Lin, Feng-Huei; Lin, Chun-Pin

    2014-01-01

    A novel chitosan-γPGA polyelectrolyte complex hydrogel (C-PGA) has been developed and proven to be an effective dressing for wound healing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if C-PGA could promote new bone formation in the alveolar socket following tooth extraction. An animal model was proposed using radiography and histomorphology simultaneously to analyze the symmetrical sections of Wistar rats. The upper incisors of Wistar rats were extracted and the extraction sockets were randomly treated with gelatin sponge, neat chitosan, C-PGA, or received no treatment. The extraction sockets of selected rats from each group were evaluated at 1, 2, 4, or 6 wk post-extraction. The results of radiography and histopathology indicated that the extraction sockets treated with C-PGA exhibited lamellar bone formation (6.5%) as early as 2 wk after the extraction was performed. Moreover, the degree of new bone formation was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the extraction sockets treated with C-PGA at 6 wk post-extraction than that in the other study groups. In this study, we demonstrated that the proposed animal model involving symmetrical sections and simultaneous radiography and histomorphology evaluation is feasible. We also conclude that the novel C-PGA has great potential for new bone formation in the alveolar socket following tooth extraction. PMID:24658174

  11. Evaluation of PEG and mPEG-co-(PGA-co-PDL) microparticles loaded with sodium diclofenac

    PubMed Central

    Tawfeek, Hesham M.

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to synthesize and evaluate novel biodegradable polyesters namely; poly(ethylene glycol)-Poly(glycerol adipate-co-ω-pentadecalactone), PEG-PGA-co-PDL-PEG, and poly(ethylene glycol methyl ether)-Poly(glycerol adipate-co-ω-pentadecalactone), PGA-co-PDL-PEGme as an alternative sustained release carrier for lung delivery compared with non-PEG containing polymer PGA-co-PDL. The co-polymers were synthesized through lipase catalysis ring opening polymerization reaction and characterized using GPC, FT-IR, 1H-NMR and surface contact angle. Furthermore, microparticles containing a model hydrophilic drug, sodium diclofenac, were prepared via spray drying from a modified single emulsion and characterized for their encapsulation efficiency, geometrical particle size, zeta potential, tapped density, primary aerodynamic diameter, amorphous nature, morphology, in vitro release and the aerosolization performance. Microparticles fabricated from mPEG-co-polymer can be targeted to the lung periphery with an optimum in vitro deposition. Furthermore, a significantly higher in vitro release (p > 0.05, ANOVA/Dunnett’s) was observed with the PEG and mPEG-co-polymers compared to PGA-co-PDL. In addition, these co-polymers have a good safety profile upon testing on human bronchial epithelial, 16HBE14o- cell lines. PMID:24227959

  12. Fokker-Planck-Based Acceleration for SN Equations with Highly Forward Peaked Scattering in Slab Geometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Patel, Japan

    Short mean free paths are characteristic of charged particles. High energy charged particles often have highly forward peaked scattering cross sections. Transport problems involving such charged particles are also highly optically thick. When problems simultaneously have forward peaked scattering and high optical thickness, their solution, using standard iterative methods, becomes very inefficient. In this dissertation, we explore Fokker-Planck-based acceleration for solving such problems.

  13. An analytical reconstruction model of the spread-out Bragg peak using laser-accelerated proton beams.

    PubMed

    Tao, Li; Zhu, Kun; Zhu, Jungao; Xu, Xiaohan; Lin, Chen; Ma, Wenjun; Lu, Haiyang; Zhao, Yanying; Lu, Yuanrong; Chen, Jia-Er; Yan, Xueqing

    2017-07-07

    With the development of laser technology, laser-driven proton acceleration provides a new method for proton tumor therapy. However, it has not been applied in practice because of the wide and decreasing energy spectrum of laser-accelerated proton beams. In this paper, we propose an analytical model to reconstruct the spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) using laser-accelerated proton beams. Firstly, we present a modified weighting formula for protons of different energies. Secondly, a theoretical model for the reconstruction of SOBPs with laser-accelerated proton beams has been built. It can quickly calculate the number of laser shots needed for each energy interval of the laser-accelerated protons. Finally, we show the 2D reconstruction results of SOBPs for laser-accelerated proton beams and the ideal situation. The final results show that our analytical model can give an SOBP reconstruction scheme that can be used for actual tumor therapy.

  14. Bacterial-Derived Polymer Poly-y-Glutamic Acid (y-PGA)-Based Micro/Nanoparticles as a Delivery System for Antimicrobials and Other Biomedical Applications.

    PubMed

    Khalil, Ibrahim R; Burns, Alan T H; Radecka, Iza; Kowalczuk, Marek; Khalaf, Tamara; Adamus, Grazyna; Johnston, Brian; Khechara, Martin P

    2017-02-02

    In the past decade, poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA)-based micro/nanoparticles have garnered remarkable attention as antimicrobial agents and for drug delivery, owing to their controlled and sustained-release properties, low toxicity, as well as biocompatibility with tissue and cells. γ-PGA is a naturally occurring biopolymer produced by several gram-positive bacteria that, due to its biodegradable, non-toxic and non-immunogenic properties, has been used successfully in the medical, food and wastewater industries. Moreover, its carboxylic group on the side chains can offer an attachment point to conjugate antimicrobial and various therapeutic agents, or to chemically modify the solubility of the biopolymer. The unique characteristics of γ-PGA have a promising future for medical and pharmaceutical applications. In the present review, the structure, properties and micro/nanoparticle preparation methods of γ-PGA and its derivatives are covered. Also, we have highlighted the impact of micro/nanoencapsulation or immobilisation of antimicrobial agents and various disease-related drugs on biodegradable γ-PGA micro/nanoparticles.

  15. Colonic delivery of indometacin loaded PGA-co-PDL microparticles coated with Eudragit L100-55 from fast disintegrating tablets.

    PubMed

    Tawfeek, Hesham M; Abdellatif, Ahmed A H; Dennison, Thomas J; Mohammed, Afzal R; Sadiq, Younis; Saleem, Imran Y

    2017-10-05

    The aim of this work was to investigate the efficient targeting and delivery of indometacin (IND), as a model anti-inflammatory drug to the colon for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. We prepared fast disintegrating tablets (FDT) containing IND encapsulated within poly(glycerol-adipate-co-ɷ-pentadecalactone), PGA-co-PDL, microparticles and coated with Eudragit L100-55 at different ratios (1:1.5, 1:1, 1:0.5). Microparticles encapsulated with IND were prepared using an o/w single emulsion solvent evaporation technique and coated with Eudragit L-100-55 via spray drying. The produced coated microparticles (PGA-co-PDL-IND/Eudragit) were formulated into optimised FTD using a single station press. The loading, in vitro release, permeability and transport of IND from PGA-co-PDL-IND/Eudragit microparticles was studied in Caco-2 cell lines. IND was efficiently encapsulated (570.15±4.2μg/mg) within the PGA-co-PDL microparticles. In vitro release of PGA-co-PDL-IND/Eudragit microparticles (1:1.5) showed significantly (p<0.05, ANOVA/Tukey) lower release of IND 13.70±1.6 and 56.46±3.8% compared with 1:1 (89.61±2.5, 80.13±2.6%) and 1:0.5 (39.46±0.9 & 43.38±3.12) after 3 and 43h at pH 5.5 and 6.8, respectively. The permeability and transport studies indicated IND released from PGA-co-PDL-IND/Eudragit microparticles had a lower permeability coefficient of 13.95±0.68×10 -6 cm/s compared to free IND 23.06±3.56×10 -6 cm/s. These results indicate the possibility of targeting anti-inflammatory drugs to the colon using FDTs containing microparticles coated with Eudragit. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Bacterial-Derived Polymer Poly-γ-Glutamic Acid (γ-PGA)-Based Micro/Nanoparticles as a Delivery System for Antimicrobials and Other Biomedical Applications

    PubMed Central

    Khalil, Ibrahim R.; Burns, Alan T. H.; Radecka, Iza; Kowalczuk, Marek; Khalaf, Tamara; Adamus, Grazyna; Johnston, Brian; Khechara, Martin P.

    2017-01-01

    In the past decade, poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA)-based micro/nanoparticles have garnered remarkable attention as antimicrobial agents and for drug delivery, owing to their controlled and sustained-release properties, low toxicity, as well as biocompatibility with tissue and cells. γ-PGA is a naturally occurring biopolymer produced by several gram-positive bacteria that, due to its biodegradable, non-toxic and non-immunogenic properties, has been used successfully in the medical, food and wastewater industries. Moreover, its carboxylic group on the side chains can offer an attachment point to conjugate antimicrobial and various therapeutic agents, or to chemically modify the solubility of the biopolymer. The unique characteristics of γ-PGA have a promising future for medical and pharmaceutical applications. In the present review, the structure, properties and micro/nanoparticle preparation methods of γ-PGA and its derivatives are covered. Also, we have highlighted the impact of micro/nanoencapsulation or immobilisation of antimicrobial agents and various disease-related drugs on biodegradable γ-PGA micro/nanoparticles. PMID:28157175

  17. Effects of different computer typing speeds on acceleration and peak contact pressure of the fingertips during computer typing.

    PubMed

    Yoo, Won-Gyu

    2015-01-01

    [Purpose] This study showed the effects of different computer typing speeds on acceleration and peak contact pressure of the fingertips during computer typing. [Subjects] Twenty-one male computer workers voluntarily consented to participate in this study. They consisted of 7 workers who could type 200-300 characteristics/minute, 7 workers who could type 300-400 characteristics/minute, and 7 workers who could type 400-500 chracteristics/minute. [Methods] This study was used to measure the acceleration and peak contact pressure of the fingertips for different typing speed groups using an accelerometer and CONFORMat system. [Results] The fingertip contact pressure was increased in the high typing speed group compared with the low and medium typing speed groups. The fingertip acceleration was increased in the high typing speed group compared with the low and medium typing speed groups. [Conclusion] The results of the present study indicate that a fast typing speed cause continuous pressure stress to be applied to the fingers, thereby creating pain in the fingers.

  18. γ-PGA and MTGase improve the formation of ε-(γ-glutamyl) lysine cross-links within hairtail (Trichiurus haumela) surimi protein.

    PubMed

    Hu, Yaqin; Shao, Ying; Wu, Chunhua; Yuan, Chunhong; Ishimura, Gakushi; Liu, Wenjuan; Chen, Shiguo

    2018-03-01

    The present study investigated the mechanism of ε-(γ-glutamyl) lysine cross-links within hairtail (Trichiurus haumela) surimi protein via γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) and MTGase. The results indicated that the addition of MTGase and γ-PGA markedly improved the gelation properties of hairtail surimi protein, including its maximum breaking force and deformation, water holding capacity and gel strength. The maximum improvements were achieved by adding 0.5units MTGase/g meat paste in combination with 0.06% γ-PGA. SDS-PAGE showed that the band intensity of cross-linked proteins increased, whereas that of myosin heavy chain decreased after treatments. Further scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed the formation of a denser gel matrix, which was caused by much stronger and more inter- and intra-molecular cross-linking of proteins, via MTGase catalysing ε-(γ-glutamyl) lysine cross-links formed between lysine residues in the gel protein and glutamic residues in the hydrolytic γ-PGA. The results provide reliable guidance for the improvement of hairtail surimi protein gelation properties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Analysis of the possibility of a PGA309 integrated circuit application in pressure sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Walendziuk, Wojciech; Baczewski, Michal; Idzkowski, Adam

    2016-09-01

    This article present the results of research concerning the analysis of the possibilities of applying a PGA309 integrated circuit in transducers used for pressure measurement. The experiments were done with the use of a PGA309EVM-USB evaluation circuit with a BD|SENSORS pressure sensor. A specially prepared MATLAB script was used in the process of the calibration setting choice and the results analysis. The article discusses the worked out algorithm that processes the measurement results, i.e. the algorithm which calculates the desired gain and the offset adjustment voltage of the transducer measurement bridge in relation to the input signal range of the integrated circuit and the temperature of the environment (temperature compensation). The checking procedure was conducted in a measurement laboratory and the obtained result were analyzed and discussed.

  20. Novel electrochemical immune sensor based on Hep-PGA-PPy nanoparticles for detection of α-Fetoprotein in whole blood.

    PubMed

    Xu, Tingting; Chi, Bo; Gao, Jian; Chu, Meilin; Fan, Wenlu; Yi, Meihui; Xu, Hong; Mao, Chun

    2017-07-18

    A simple and accurate immune sensor for quantitative detection of α-Fetoprotein (AFP) was developed based on the immobilization of antigen on the surface of Hep-PGA-PPy nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrodes (GCE). The obtained Hep-PGA-PPy nanoparticles were characterized by fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). And the blood compatibility of Hep-PGA-PPy nanoparticles was investigated by in vitro coagulation tests, hemolysis assay and whole blood adhesion tests. Combining the conductive property of polypyrrole (PPy) and the biocompatibility of heparin (Hep), the Hep-PGA-PPy nanoparticles could improve not only the anti-biofouling effect the electrode, but also improved the electrochemical properties of the immune sensor. Under optimal conditions, the proposed immune sensor could detect AFP in a linear range from 0.1 to 100 ng mL -1 with a detection limit of 0.099 ng mL -1 at the signal-to-noise ratio of 3, and it also possessed good reproducibility and storage stability. Furthermore, the detection of AFP in five human blood samples also showed satisfactory accuracy with low relative errors. Thus, the developed immune sensor which showed acceptable reproducibility, selectivity, stability and accuracy could be potentially used for the detection of whole blood samples directly. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  1. Earthquake response of storey building in Jakarta using accelerographs data analysis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Julius, Admiral Musa, E-mail: admiralmusajulius@yahoo.com; Jakarta Geophysics Observatory, Indonesia Agency of Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics; Sunardi, Bambang, E-mail: b.sunardi@gmail.com

    As seismotectonic, the Jakarta city will be greatly affected by the earthquake which originated from the subduction zone of the Sunda Strait and south of Java. Some occurrences of earthquakes in these location are often perceived by the occupants in the upper floors of multi-storey buildings in Jakarta but was not perceived by the occupants on the ground floor. The case shows the difference in ground-motion parameters on each floor height. The analysis of the earthquake data recorded by accelerographs on different floors need to be done to know the differences in ground-motion parameters. Data used in this research ismore » accelerograph data installed on several floors in the main building of Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency with a case study of Kebumen earthquake on January 25{sup th} 2014. Parameters analyzed include the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), Peak Ground Displacement (PGD), Peak Spectral Acceleration (PSA), Amplification (Ag), and the Effective Duration of earthquake (t{sub e}). Research stages include accelerographs data acquisition in three (3) different floors, conversion and data partition for each component, conversion to units of acceleration, determination of PGA, PGD, PSA, Ag and t{sub e} as well as data analysis. The study shows the value of PGA on the ground floor, 7{sup th} floor and 15{sup th} floors, respectively are 0.016 g, 0.053 g and 0.116 g. PGD on the ground floor, 7{sup th} floor and 15{sup th} floor respectively are 2.15 cm, 2.98 cm and 4.92 cm. PSA on the ground floor, 7{sup th} floor and 15{sup th} floor respectively are 0.067 g, 0.308 g and 0.836 g. Amplification of the peak acceleration value on the ground floor, 7{sup th} floor and 15{sup th} floor to the surface rock are 4.37, 6.07 and 7.30. Effective duration of the earthquake on the ground floor, 7{sup th} floor and 15{sup th} floor respectively are 222.28 s, 202.28 s and 91.58 s. In general, with increasing floor of the building, the value

  2. A Moment Rate Function Deduced from Peak Ground Motions from M 3.3-5.3 Earthquakes: Implications for Scaling, Corner Frequency and Stress Drop

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Archuleta, R. J.; Ji, C.

    2016-12-01

    Based on 3827 records of peak horizontal ground motions in the NGA-West2 database we computed linear regressions for Log PGA, Log PGV and the ratio PGA/2πPGV (which we call dominant frequency, DomF) versus moment magnitude for M 3.3-5.3 earthquakes. The slopes are nearly one for Log PGA and Log PGV and negative one for PGA/PGV. For magnitudes 5.3 and smaller the source can be treated as a point source. Using these regressions and an expression between the half peak-to-peak amplitude of Wood Anderson records (PWA) and moment magnitude, we have deduced an `apparent' moment rate function (aMRF) that increases quadratically in time until it reaches its maximum at time tp after which it decays linearly until a final duration td. For t*=0.054 s and with parameters tp and td scaling with seismic moment, tp(M0) = 0.03[M0/ M0(M=3.3)]1/7.0 and td(M0) = 0.31[M0/ M0(M=3.3)]1/3.3 . all the magnitude dependence within M 3.3-5.3 can be explained. The Fourier amplitude spectrum (FAS) of the aMRF has two corner frequencies connected by an intermediate slope of f-1. The smaller corner frequency fC 1/ td, i.e., a corner frequency related to the full duration. Stress drop associated with the average over the fault scales weakly with seismic moment Δσ M00.09. The larger corner frequency is proportional to 1/ tp. We also find that DomF ≈ 1/[2.2(tp(M0) + t*)], thus there is a strong tradeoff between tp and t*. The higher corner frequency and the intermediate slope in the spectrum could be completely obscured by t* for t* 0.04-0.06 s, producing a Brune-type spectrum. If so, it will be practically impossible to retrieve the true spectrum. Because the fC derived from the spectrum is controlled by td while PGA and PGV are controlled mostly by the time scale tp, this aMRF could explain the difference in uncertainty of the mean stress drop inferred from peak ground motion data and that inferred from displacement amplitude spectra. This aMRF is consistent with a rupture that initiates from

  3. Strong ground motion from the November 12, 2017, M 7.3 Kermanshah earthquake in western Iran

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Babaie Mahani, Alireza; Kazemian, Javad

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, we analyzed the strong ground motion from the November 12, 2017, Kermanshah earthquake in western Iran with moment magnitude (M) of 7.3. Nonlinear and linear amplification of ground motion amplitudes were observed at stations with soft soil condition at hypocentral distances below and above 100 km, respectively. Observation of large ground motion amplitudes dominated with long-period pulses on the strike-normal component of the velocity time series suggests a right-lateral component of movement and propagation of rupture towards southeast. Comparison of the horizontal peak ground acceleration (PGA) from the M 7.3 earthquake with global PGA values showed a similar decay in ground motion amplitudes, although it seems that PGA from the M 7.3 Kermanshah earthquake is higher than global values for NEHRP site class B. We also found that the bracketed duration (D b) was higher in the velocity domain than in the acceleration domain for the same modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) threshold. For example, D b reached 30 s at the maximum PGA while it was 50 s at the maximum peak ground velocity above the threshold of MMI = 5. Although the standard design spectrum from Iranian Code of Practice for Seismic Resistant Design of Buildings (standard No. 2800) seems to include appropriate values for the design of structures with fundamental period of 1 s and higher, it is underestimated for near-field ground motions at lower periods.

  4. Calibrating accelerometer sensor on android phone with Accelerograph TDL 303 QS for earthquake online recorder

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Riantana, R.; Darsono, D.; Triyono, A.; Azimut, H. B.

    2016-11-01

    Calibration of the android censor was done by placing the device in a mounting at side of accelerograph TDL 303 QS that will be a means of comparison. Leveling of both devices was set same, so that the state of the device can be assumed same anyway. Then applied vibrations in order to have the maximum amplitude value of both censor, so it can be found equality of the coefficient of proportionality both of them. The results on both devices obtain the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) as follows, on the x axis (EW) android censor is obtained PGA -2.4478145 gal than at TDL 303 QS obtained PGA -2.5504 gal, the y-axis (NS) on the censor android obtained PGA 3.0066964 gal than at TDL 303 QS obtained PGA 3.2073 gal, the z-axis (UD) on the android censor obtained PGA -14.0702377 gal than at TDL 303 QS obtained PGA -13.2927 gal, A correction value for android accelerometer censor is ± 0.1 gal for the x-axis (EW), ± 0.2 gal for the y-axis (NS), and ± 0.7 gal for the z-axis (UD).

  5. The Cation-Responsive Protein NhaR of Escherichia coli Activates pgaABCD Transcription, Required for Production of the Biofilm Adhesin Poly-β-1,6-N-Acetyl-d-Glucosamine▿

    PubMed Central

    Goller, Carlos; Wang, Xin; Itoh, Yoshikane; Romeo, Tony

    2006-01-01

    The pgaABCD operon of Escherichia coli is required for production of the biofilm adhesin poly-β-1,6-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (PGA). We establish here that NhaR, a DNA-binding protein of the LysR family of transcriptional regulators, activates transcription of this operon. Disruption of the nhaR gene decreased biofilm formation without affecting planktonic growth. PGA production was undetectable in an nhaR mutant strain. Expression of a pgaA′-′lacZ translational fusion was induced by NaCl and alkaline pH, but not by CaCl2 or sucrose, in an nhaR-dependent fashion. Primer extension and quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR analyses further revealed that NhaR affects the steady-state level of pga mRNA. A purified recombinant NhaR protein bound specifically and with high affinity within the pgaABCD promoter region; one apparent binding site overlaps the −35 element, and a second site lies immediately upstream of the first. This protein was necessary and sufficient for activation of in vitro transcription from the pgaA promoter. These results define a novel mechanism for regulation of biofilm formation in response to environmental conditions and suggest an expanded role for NhaR in promoting bacterial survival. PMID:16997959

  6. Moment rate scaling for earthquakes 3.3 ≤ M ≤ 5.3 with implications for stress drop

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Archuleta, Ralph J.; Ji, Chen

    2016-12-01

    We have determined a scalable apparent moment rate function (aMRF) that correctly predicts the peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV), local magnitude, and the ratio of PGA/PGV for earthquakes 3.3 ≤ M ≤ 5.3. Using the NGA-West2 database for 3.0 ≤ M ≤ 7.7, we find a break in scaling of LogPGA and LogPGV versus M around M 5.3 with nearly linear scaling for LogPGA and LogPGV for 3.3 ≤ M ≤ 5.3. Temporal parameters tp and td—related to rise time and total duration—control the aMRF. Both scale with seismic moment. The Fourier amplitude spectrum of the aMRF has two corners between which the spectrum decays f- 1. Significant attenuation along the raypath results in a Brune-like spectrum with one corner fC. Assuming that fC ≅ 1/td, the aMRF predicts non-self-similar scaling M0∝fC3.3 and weak stress drop scaling Δσ∝M00.091. This aMRF can explain why stress drop is different from the stress parameter used to predict high-frequency ground motion.

  7. Application of Gumbel I and Monte Carlo methods to assess seismic hazard in and around Pakistan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rehman, Khaista; Burton, Paul W.; Weatherill, Graeme A.

    2018-05-01

    A proper assessment of seismic hazard is of considerable importance in order to achieve suitable building construction criteria. This paper presents probabilistic seismic hazard assessment in and around Pakistan (23° N-39° N; 59° E-80° E) in terms of peak ground acceleration (PGA). Ground motion is calculated in terms of PGA for a return period of 475 years using a seismogenic-free zone method of Gumbel's first asymptotic distribution of extreme values and Monte Carlo simulation. Appropriate attenuation relations of universal and local types have been used in this study. The results show that for many parts of Pakistan, the expected seismic hazard is relatively comparable with the level specified in the existing PGA maps.

  8. Increasing the bioflocculant production and identifying the effect of overexpressing epsB on the synthesis of polysaccharide and γ-PGA in Bacillus licheniformis.

    PubMed

    Liu, Peize; Chen, Zhen; Yang, Lijie; Li, Qingbiao; He, Ning

    2017-09-26

    Polysaccharides and poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) are biomacromolecules that have been reported as bioflocculants, and they exhibit high flocculating activity in many industrial applications. Bacillus licheniformis CGMCC 2876 can produce polysaccharide and γ-PGA bioflocculants under different culture conditions. Several key genes are involved in the metabolic pathway of polysaccharides in B. licheniformis, but the impacts of the regulation of these genes on the production of polysaccharide bioflocculants have not been illustrated completely. To increase the bioflocculant production and identify the correlation between the synthesis of polysaccharides and γ-PGA in B. licheniformis, a few key genes were investigated to explore their influence on the synthesis of the bioflocculants. Overexpressing epsB from the eps gene cluster not only improved the bioflocculant crude yield by 13.98% but also enhanced the flocculating activity by 117.92%. The composition of the bioflocculant from the epsB recombinant strain was 28.95% total sugar, 3.464% protein and 44.03% γ-PGA, while in the original strain, these components represented 53.67%, 3.246% and 34.13%, respectively. In combination with an analysis of the transcriptional levels of several key genes involved in γ-PGA synthesis in B. licheniformis, we inferred that epsB played a key role in the synthesis of both polysaccharide and γ-PGA. The bioflocculant production of the epsB recombinant strain was further evaluated during batch fermentation in a 2 L fermenter; the flocculating activity reached 9612.75 U/mL, and the bioflocculant yield reached 10.26 g/L after 72 h, representing increases of 224% and 36.62%, respectively, compared with the original strain. Moreover, we found that the tandem expression of phosphoglucomutase (pgcA) and UTP-glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase (gtaB1) could enhance the crude yield of the bioflocculant by 20.77% and that the overexpression of epsA could enhance the bioflocculant

  9. Development of a Low Cost Earthquake Early Warning System in Taiwan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Y. M.

    2017-12-01

    The National Taiwan University (NTU) developed an earthquake early warning (EEW) system for research purposes using low-cost accelerometers (P-Alert) since 2010. As of 2017, a total of 650 stations have been deployed and configured. The NTU system can provide earthquake information within 15 s of an earthquake occurrence. Thus, this system may provide early warnings for cities located more than 50 km from the epicenter. Additionally, the NTU system also has an onsite alert function that triggers a warning for incoming P-waves greater than a certain magnitude threshold, thus providing a 2-3 s lead time before peak ground acceleration (PGA) for regions close to an epicenter. Detailed shaking maps are produced by the NTU system within one or two minutes after an earthquake. Recently, a new module named ShakeAlarm has been developed. Equipped with real-time acceleration signals and the time-dependent anisotropic attenuation relationship of the PGA, ShakingAlarm can provide an accurate PGA estimation immediately before the arrival of the observed PGA. This unique advantage produces sufficient lead time for hazard assessment and emergency response, which is unavailable for traditional shakemap, which are based on only the PGA observed in real time. The performance of ShakingAlarm was tested with six M > 5.5 inland earthquakes from 2013 to 2016. Taking the 2016 M6.4 Meinong earthquake simulation as an example, the predicted PGA converges to a stable value and produces a predicted shake map and an isocontour map of the predicted PGA within 16 seconds of earthquake occurrence. Compared with traditional regional EEW system, ShakingAlarm can effectively identify possible damage regions and provide valuable early warning information (magnitude and PGA) for risk mitigation.

  10. Acceleration characteristics of human ocular accommodation.

    PubMed

    Bharadwaj, Shrikant R; Schor, Clifton M

    2005-01-01

    Position and velocity of accommodation are known to increase with stimulus magnitude, however, little is known about acceleration properties. We investigated three acceleration properties: peak acceleration, time-to-peak acceleration and total duration of acceleration to step changes in defocus. Peak velocity and total duration of acceleration increased with response magnitude. Peak acceleration and time-to-peak acceleration remained independent of response magnitude. Independent first-order and second-order dynamic components of accommodation demonstrate that neural control of accommodation has an initial open-loop component that is independent of response magnitude and a closed-loop component that increases with response magnitude.

  11. Seismic Hazard Assessment for the Baku City and Absheron Peninsula, Azerbaijan

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Babayev, Gulam R.

    2006-03-23

    This paper deals with the seismic hazard assessment for Baku and the Absheron peninsula. The assessment is based on the information on the features of earthquake ground motion excitation, seismic wave propagation (attenuation), and site effect. I analyze active faults, seismicity, soil and rock properties, geological cross-sections, the borehole data of measured shear-wave velocity, lithology, amplification factor of each geological unit, geomorphology, topography, and basic rock and surface ground motions. To estimate peak ground acceleration (PGA) at the surface, PGA at the basic rock is multiplied by the amplification parameter of each surface layers. Quaternary soft deposits, representing a highmore » risk due to increasing PGA values at surface, are studied in detail. For a near-zone target earthquake PGA values are compared to intensity at MSK-64 scale for the Absheron peninsula. The amplification factor for the Baku city is assessed and provides estimations for a level of a seismic motion and seismic intensity of the studied area.« less

  12. Microseismicity of Blawan hydrothermal complex, Bondowoso, East Java, Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maryanto, S.

    2018-03-01

    Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), hypocentre, and epicentre of Blawan hydrothermal complex have been analysed in order to investigate its seismicity. PGA has been determined based on Fukushima-Tanaka method and the source location of microseismic estimated using particle motion method. PGA ranged between 0.095-0.323 g and tends to be higher in the formation that containing not compacted rocks. The seismic vulnerability index region indicated that the zone with high PGA also has a high seismic vulnerability index. This was because the rocks making up these zones were inclined soft and low-density rocks. For seismic sources around the area, epicentre and hypocentre, have estimated base on seismic particle motion method of single station. The stations used in this study were mobile stations identified as BL01, BL02, BL03, BL05, BL06, BL07 and BL08. The results of the analysis particle motion obtained 44 points epicentre and the depth of the sources about 15 – 110 meters below ground surface.

  13. Up-to-date Probabilistic Earthquake Hazard Maps for Egypt

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gaber, Hanan; El-Hadidy, Mahmoud; Badawy, Ahmed

    2018-04-01

    An up-to-date earthquake hazard analysis has been performed in Egypt using a probabilistic seismic hazard approach. Through the current study, we use a complete and homogenous earthquake catalog covering the time period between 2200 BC and 2015 AD. Three seismotectonic models representing the seismic activity in and around Egypt are used. A logic-tree framework is applied to allow for the epistemic uncertainty in the declustering parameters, minimum magnitude, seismotectonic setting and ground-motion prediction equations. The hazard analysis is performed for a grid of 0.5° × 0.5° in terms of types of rock site for the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration at 0.2-, 0.5-, 1.0- and 2.0-s periods. The hazard is estimated for three return periods (72, 475 and 2475 years) corresponding to 50, 10 and 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years. The uniform hazard spectra for the cities of Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan and Nuwbia are constructed. The hazard maps show that the highest ground acceleration values are expected in the northeastern part of Egypt around the Gulf of Aqaba (PGA up to 0.4 g for return period 475 years) and in south Egypt around the city of Aswan (PGA up to 0.2 g for return period 475 years). The Western Desert of Egypt is characterized by the lowest level of hazard (PGA lower than 0.1 g for return period 475 years).

  14. Seismic hazard assessment in the megacity of Blida (Algeria) and its surrounding regions using parametric-historic procedure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bellalem, Fouzi; Talbi, Abdelhak; Djellit, Hamou; Ymmel, Hayet; Mobarki, Mourad

    2018-03-01

    The region of Blida is characterized by a relatively high seismic activity, pointed especially during the past two centuries. Indeed, it experienced a significant number of destructive earthquakes such as the earthquakes of March 2, 1825 and January 2, 1867, with intensity of X and IX, respectively. This study aims to investigate potential seismic hazard in Blida city and its surrounding regions. For this purpose, a typical seismic catalog was compiled using historical macroseismic events that occurred over a period of a few hundred years, and the recent instrumental seismicity dating back to 1900. The parametric-historic procedure introduced by Kijko and Graham (1998, 1999) was applied to assess seismic hazard in the study region. It is adapted to deal with incomplete catalogs and does not use any subjective delineation of active seismic zones. Because of the lack of recorded strong motion data, three ground prediction models have been considered, as they seem the most adapted to the seismicity of the study region. Results are presented as peak ground acceleration (PGA) seismic hazard maps, showing expected peak accelerations with 10% probability of exceedance in 50-year period. As the most significant result, hot spot regions with high PGA values are mapped. For example, a PGA of 0.44 g has been found in a small geographical area centered on Blida city.

  15. A digitally controlled AGC loop circuitry for GNSS receiver chip with a binary weighted accurate dB-linear PGA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gang, Jin; Yiqi, Zhuang; Yue, Yin; Miao, Cui

    2015-03-01

    A novel digitally controlled automatic gain control (AGC) loop circuitry for the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver chip is presented. The entire AGC loop contains a programmable gain amplifier (PGA), an AGC circuit and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), which is implemented in a 0.18 μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process and measured. A binary-weighted approach is proposed in the PGA to achieve wide dB-linear gain control with small gain error. With binary-weighted cascaded amplifiers for coarse gain control, and parallel binary-weighted trans-conductance amplifier array for fine gain control, the PGA can provide a 64 dB dynamic range from -4 to 60 dB in 1.14 dB gain steps with a less than 0.15 dB gain error. Based on the Gaussian noise statistic characteristic of the GNSS signal, a digital AGC circuit is also proposed with low area and fast settling. The feed-backward AGC loop occupies an area of 0.27 mm2 and settles within less than 165 μs while consuming an average current of 1.92 mA at 1.8 V.

  16. Analysis of socket preservation using polylactide and polyglycolide (PLA-PGA) sponge: a clinical, radiographic, and histologic study.

    PubMed

    Madan, Rohit; Mohan, Ranjana; Bains, Vivek K; Gupta, Vivek; Singh, G P; Madan, Mani

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the extraction socket healing and dimensional changes following alveolar ridge preservation using polylactide and polyglycolide (PLA-PGA) sponge. Fifteen patients were selected for alveolar socket preservation immediately following tooth extraction. Monoradicular maxillary and mandibular teeth were evaluated. The selected sockets had intact sockets walls with a minimum of 7 mm of residual alveolar bone height. The test sites were thoroughly debrided and grafted with PLA-PGA sponge, while the control sites underwent natural healing. Computed tomography (CT) measurements were taken at baseline and 6 months. After 6 months of healing, final CT measurements were performed, and trephine core biopsy specimens were obtained for histologic analysis. Implants were placed immediately after biopsy harvesting. All subjects completed the study, and all sites healed without adverse events and allowed for implant placement. The mean difference in socket height, width, and density after 6 months was statistically significantly higher in the test sites compared with control sites. Clinical measurement at the midbuccal site of the alveolar socket showed a mean loss of 2.45 ± 0.67 mm in the control group, compared with a mean gain of 1.28 ± 0.58 mm in the test group. All test sites showed minimal ridge alterations, and statistically significant differences were observed between the test and control sites with respect to bone composition and horizontal and vertical bone loss, indicating that PLA-PGA sponge is suitable for alveolar ridge preservation.

  17. High peak current acceleration of narrow divergence ions beams with the BELLA-PW laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Steinke, Sven; Ji, Qing; Treffert, Franziska; Bulanov, Stepan; Bin, Jianhui; Nakamura, Kei; Gonsalves, Anthony; Toth, Csaba; Park, Jaehong; Roth, Markus; Esarey, Eric; Schenkel, Thomas; Leemans, Wim

    2017-10-01

    We present a parameter study of ion acceleration driven by the BELLA-PW laser. The laser repetition rate of 1Hz allowed for scanning the laser pulse duration, relative focus location and target thickness for the first time at laser peak powers of above 1 petawatt. Further, the long focal length geometry of the experiment (f\\65) and hence, large focus size provided ion beams of reduced divergence and unprecedented charge density. This work was supported by Office of Science, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231 and Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) funding from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

  18. A Study of the Oxidation Behaviour of Pile Grade A (PGA) Nuclear Graphite Using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Tomography (XRT).

    PubMed

    Payne, Liam; Heard, Peter J; Scott, Thomas B

    2015-01-01

    Pile grade A (PGA) graphite was used as a material for moderating and reflecting neutrons in the UK's first generation Magnox nuclear power reactors. As all but one of these reactors are now shut down there is a need to understand the residual state of the material prior to decommissioning of the cores, in particular the location and concentration of key radio-contaminants such as 14C. The oxidation behaviour of unirradiated PGA graphite was studied, in the temperature range 600-1050°C, in air and nitrogen using thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray tomography to investigate the possibility of using thermal degradation techniques to examine 14C distribution within irradiated material. The thermal decomposition of PGA graphite was observed to follow the three oxidation regimes historically identified by previous workers with limited, uniform oxidation at temperatures below 600°C and substantial, external oxidation at higher temperatures. This work demonstrates that the different oxidation regimes of PGA graphite could be developed into a methodology to characterise the distribution and concentration of 14C in irradiated graphite by thermal treatment.

  19. Equations for estimating horizontal response spectra and peak acceleration from western North American earthquakes: A summary of recent work

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Boore, D.M.; Joyner, W.B.; Fumal, T.E.

    1997-01-01

    In this paper we summarize our recently-published work on estimating horizontal response spectra and peak acceleration for shallow earthquakes in western North America. Although none of the sets of coefficients given here for the equations are new, for the convenience of the reader and in keeping with the style of this special issue, we provide tables for estimating random horizontal-component peak acceleration and 5 percent damped pseudo-acceleration response spectra in terms of the natural, rather than common, logarithm of the ground-motion parameter. The equations give ground motion in terms of moment magnitude, distance, and site conditions for strike-slip, reverse-slip, or unspecified faulting mechanisms. Site conditions are represented by the shear velocity averaged over the upper 30 m, and recommended values of average shear velocity are given for typical rock and soil sites and for site categories used in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program's recommended seismic code provisions. In addition, we stipulate more restrictive ranges of magnitude and distance for the use of our equations than in our previous publications. Finally, we provide tables of input parameters that include a few corrections to site classifications and earthquake magnitude (the corrections made a small enough difference in the ground-motion predictions that we chose not to change the coefficients of the prediction equations).

  20. Strong ground motion inferred from liquefaction caused by the 1811-1812 New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Holzer, Thomas L.; Noce, Thomas E.; Bennett, Michael J.

    2015-01-01

    Peak ground accelerations (PGAs) in the epicentral region of the 1811–1812 New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes are inferred from liquefaction to have been no greater than ∼0.35g. PGA is inferred in an 11,380  km2 area in the Lower Mississippi Valley in Arkansas and Missouri where liquefaction was extensive in 1811–1812. PGA was inferred by applying liquefaction probability curves, which were originally developed for liquefaction hazard mapping, to detailed maps of liquefaction by Obermeier (1989). The low PGA is inferred because both a shallow (1.5 m deep) water table and a large moment magnitude (M 7.7) earthquake were assumed in the analysis. If a deep (5.0 m) water table and a small magnitude (M 6.8) earthquake are assumed, the maximum inferred PGA is 1.10g. Both inferred PGA values are based on an assumed and poorly constrained correction for sand aging. If an aging correction is not assumed, then the inferred PGA is no greater than 0.22g. A low PGA value may be explained by nonlinear site response. Soils in the study area have an averageVS30 of 220±15  m/s. A low inferred PGA is consistent with PGA values estimated from ground‐motion prediction equations that have been proposed for the New Madrid seismic zone when these estimates are corrected for nonlinear soil site effects. This application of liquefaction probability curves demonstrates their potential usefulness in paleoseismology.

  1. Eco-friendly combination of the immobilized PGA enzyme and the S-Phacm protecting group for the synthesis of Cys-containing peptides.

    PubMed

    Góngora-Benítez, Miriam; Basso, Alessandra; Bruckdorfer, Thomas; Royo, Miriam; Tulla-Puche, Judit; Albericio, Fernando

    2012-12-07

    Enzyme-labile protecting groups have emerged as a green alternative to conventional protecting groups. These groups introduce a further orthogonal dimension and eco-friendliness into protection schemes for the synthesis of complex polyfunctional organic molecules. S-Phacm, a Cys-protecting group, can be easily removed by the action of a covalently immobilized PGA enzyme under very mild conditions. Herein, the versatility and reliability of an eco-friendly combination of the immobilized PGA enzyme and the S-Phacm protecting group has been evaluated for the synthesis of diverse Cys-containing peptides. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  2. Value of a novel PGA-collagen tube on recurrent laryngeal nerve regeneration in a rat model.

    PubMed

    Suzuki, Hiroshi; Araki, Koji; Matsui, Toshiyasu; Tomifuji, Masayuki; Yamashita, Taku; Kobayashi, Yasushi; Shiotani, Akihiro

    2016-07-01

    Nerbridge (Toyobo Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan) is a novel polyglycolic acid (PGA) tube that is filled with collagen fibers and that facilitates nerve fiber expansion and blood vessel growth. It is biocompatible and commercially available, with governmental approval for practical use in Japan. We hypothesized that the PGA-collagen tube would promote regeneration of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). This hypothesis was examined in a rat axotomy model of the RLN. Prospective animal study. The axotomy model was established by transection of the left RLN in adult Sprague-Dawley rats. The cut ends of the nerve were bridged using Nerbridge (Toyobo Co., Ltd.) with a 1-mm gap (tube-treatment group) or direct sutures (sutured-control group). Left vocal fold mobility, nerve conduction velocity, morphology, and histology were assessed after 15 weeks. Fifteen weeks after treatment, nerve fiber connections were observed macroscopically in both groups, and more clear myelinated fibers and better prevention of laryngeal muscle atrophy were observed in the tube-treatment group compared with the sutured-control group. However, vocal fold movement recovery was not observed in either group, and the conduction velocity of the RLN did not differ between the two groups. Better nerve regeneration was observed in the tube-treatment group. The combination therapy with molecular or gene therapy might be an effective strategy to improve vocal fold movement. The PGA-collagen tube has the potential to promote regeneration of the RLN and to be a scaffold for drug administration in these combination therapies. N/A. Laryngoscope, 126:E233-E239, 2016. © 2015 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

  3. Peak horizontal acceleration and velocity from strong-motion records including records from the 1979 imperial valley, California, earthquake

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Joyner, William B.; Boore, David M.

    1981-01-01

    We have taken advantage of the recent increase in strong-motion data at close distances to derive new attenuation relations for peak horizontal acceleration and velocity. This new analysis uses a magnitude-independent shape, based on geometrical spreading and anelastic attenuation, for the attenuation curve. An innovation in technique is introduced that decouples the determination of the distance dependence of the data from the magnitude dependence.

  4. Site specific seismic hazard analysis and determination of response spectra of Kolkata for maximum considered earthquake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shiuly, Amit; Sahu, R. B.; Mandal, Saroj

    2017-06-01

    This paper presents site specific seismic hazard analysis of Kolkata city, former capital of India and present capital of state West Bengal, situated on the world’s largest delta island, Bengal basin. For this purpose, peak ground acceleration (PGA) for a maximum considered earthquake (MCE) at bedrock level has been estimated using an artificial neural network (ANN) based attenuation relationship developed on the basis of synthetic ground motion data for the region. Using the PGA corresponding to the MCE, a spectrum compatible acceleration time history at bedrock level has been generated by using a wavelet based computer program, WAVEGEN. This spectrum compatible time history at bedrock level has been converted to the same at surface level using SHAKE2000 for 144 borehole locations in the study region. Using the predicted values of PGA and PGV at the surface, corresponding contours for the region have been drawn. For the MCE, the PGA at bedrock level of Kolkata city has been obtained as 0.184 g, while that at the surface level varies from 0.22 g to 0.37 g. Finally, Kolkata has been subdivided into eight seismic subzones, and for each subzone a response spectrum equation has been derived using polynomial regression analysis. This will be very helpful for structural and geotechnical engineers to design safe and economical earthquake resistant structures.

  5. Point-source stochastic-method simulations of ground motions for the PEER NGA-East Project

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Boore, David

    2015-01-01

    Ground-motions for the PEER NGA-East project were simulated using a point-source stochastic method. The simulated motions are provided for distances between of 0 and 1200 km, M from 4 to 8, and 25 ground-motion intensity measures: peak ground velocity (PGV), peak ground acceleration (PGA), and 5%-damped pseudoabsolute response spectral acceleration (PSA) for 23 periods ranging from 0.01 s to 10.0 s. Tables of motions are provided for each of six attenuation models. The attenuation-model-dependent stress parameters used in the stochastic-method simulations were derived from inversion of PSA data from eight earthquakes in eastern North America.

  6. Longitudinal Dependence of SEP Peak Intensities as Evidence of CME-Driven Shock Particle Acceleration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lario, D.; Roelof, E. C.; Decker, R. B.

    2014-05-01

    Multi-spacecraft observations of solar energetic particle (SEP) events allow us to estimate the longitudinal distributions of SEP peak intensities. By fitting a Gaussian functional form to the ensemble of SEP peak intensities measured by two or more spacecraft as a function of the longitudinal distance between the associated parent solar flare and the footpoint labels of the magnetic field lines connecting each spacecraft with the Sun, we found that such distributions are not centered at nominal well-connected flare longitudes but slightly offset to the west of the associated flare (Lario et al. 2006, 2013). We offer an interpretation of this result in terms of long-lived particle injection from shocks driven by the associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs). By assuming that (i) CME-driven shocks are centered on the longitude of the associated solar flare, (ii) the injection of shock accelerated particles maximizes at the nose of the shock which propagates radially outward from the Sun, and (iii) SEP particle injection from the shock starts at a certain distance above the solar surface, we infer an average radial distance where shocks are located when peak intensities in the prompt component of the SEP events are observed. We estimate the heliocentric distance of the CME-driven shock when particle injection from the shock maximizes and conclude that the injection of ˜20 MeV protons and near-relativistic electrons maximizes well inside ˜0.2 AU.

  7. 6SLN-lipo PGA specifically catches (coats) human influenza virus and synergizes neuraminidase-targeting drugs for human influenza therapeutic potential.

    PubMed

    Sriwilaijaroen, Nongluk; Suzuki, Katsuhiko; Takashita, Emi; Hiramatsu, Hiroaki; Kanie, Osamu; Suzuki, Yasuo

    2015-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop a new compound to overcome influenza epidemics and pandemics as well as drug resistance. We synthesized a new compound carrying: (i) Neu5Acα2-6Galβ1-4GlcNAc (6SLN) for targeting immutable haemagglutinins (HAs) unless switched from human-type receptor preference; (ii) an acyl chain (lipo) for locking the compound with the viral HA via hydrophobic interactions; and (iii) a flexible poly-α-L-glutamic acid (PGA) for enhancing the compound solubility and for coating the viral surface, precluding accessibility of the PGA-coated virus to the negatively charged sialic acid on the host cell surface. 6SLN-lipo PGA appears to subvert binding of pandemic H1 and seasonal H3 HAs to receptors, as assessed by using guinea pig erythrocytes, which is critical for virus entry into host cells for multiplication. It shows high potency with IC50 values in the range of 300-500 nM against multiplication of both influenza pandemic H1N1/2009 and seasonal H3N2/2004 viruses in cell culture. It acts in synergism with either of the two FDA-approved neuraminidase inhibitor (NAI) clinical drugs, zanamivir (Relenza(®)) and oseltamivir carboxylate (active form of Tamiflu(®)), and it has the potential to aid NAI drugs to achieve complete clearance of the virus from the culture. 6SLN-lipo PGA is a new potential candidate drug for influenza control and is an attractive candidate for use in combination with an NAI drug for minimized toxicity, delayed development of resistance, prevention and treatment with the potential for eradication of human influenza. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. A Study of the Oxidation Behaviour of Pile Grade A (PGA) Nuclear Graphite Using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Tomography (XRT)

    PubMed Central

    Payne, Liam; Heard, Peter J.; Scott, Thomas B.

    2015-01-01

    Pile grade A (PGA) graphite was used as a material for moderating and reflecting neutrons in the UK’s first generation Magnox nuclear power reactors. As all but one of these reactors are now shut down there is a need to understand the residual state of the material prior to decommissioning of the cores, in particular the location and concentration of key radio-contaminants such as 14C. The oxidation behaviour of unirradiated PGA graphite was studied, in the temperature range 600–1050°C, in air and nitrogen using thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray tomography to investigate the possibility of using thermal degradation techniques to examine 14C distribution within irradiated material. The thermal decomposition of PGA graphite was observed to follow the three oxidation regimes historically identified by previous workers with limited, uniform oxidation at temperatures below 600°C and substantial, external oxidation at higher temperatures. This work demonstrates that the different oxidation regimes of PGA graphite could be developed into a methodology to characterise the distribution and concentration of 14C in irradiated graphite by thermal treatment. PMID:26575374

  9. Correlation of ground motion and intensity for the 17 January 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Boatwright, J.; Thywissen, K.; Seekins, L.C.

    2001-01-01

    We analyze the correlations between intensity and a set of groundmotion parameters obtained from 66 free-field stations in Los Angeles County that recorded the 1994 Northridge earthquake. We use the tagging intensities from Thywissen and Boatwright (1998) because these intensities are determined independently on census tracts, rather than interpolated from zip codes, as are the modified Mercalli isoseismals from Dewey et al. (1995). The ground-motion parameters we consider are the peak ground acceleration (PGA), the peak ground velocity (PGV), the 5% damped pseudovelocity response spectral (PSV) ordinates at 14 periods from 0.1 to 7.5 sec, and the rms average of these spectral ordinates from 0.3 to 3 sec. Visual comparisons of the distribution of tagging intensity with contours of PGA, PGV, and the average PSV suggest that PGV and the average PSV are better correlated with the intensity than PGA. The correlation coefficients between the intensity and the ground-motion parameters bear this out: r = 0.75 for PGA, 0.85 for PGV, and 0.85 for the average PSV. Correlations between the intensity and the PSV ordinates, as a function of period, are strongest at 1.5 sec (r = 0.83) and weakest at 0.2 sec (r = 0.66). Regressing the intensity on the logarithms of these ground-motion parameters yields relations I ?? mlog?? with 3.0 ??? m ??? 5.2 for the parameters analyzed, where m = 4.4 ?? 0.7 for PGA, 3.4 ?? 0.4 for PGV, and 3.6 ?? 0.5 for the average PSV.

  10. A High Peak Current Source for the CEBAF Injector

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yunn, Byung; Sinclair, Charles; Krafft, Geoffrey

    1992-07-01

    The CEBAF accelerator can drive high power IR and UV FELs, if a high peak current source is added to the existing front end. We present a design for a high peak current injector which is compatible with simultaneous operation of the accelerator for cw nulear physics (NP) beam. The high peak current injector provides 60 A peak current in 2 psec long bunches carrying 120 pC charge at 7.485 MHz. At 10 MeV that beam is combined with 5 MeV NP beam (0.13pC, 2 psec long bunches at 1497 MHz) in an energy combination chicane for simultaneous acceleration inmore » the injector linac. The modifications to the low-energy NP transport are described. Results of optical and beam dynamics calculations for both high peak current and NP beams in combined operation are presented.« less

  11. Stochastic shock response spectrum decomposition method based on probabilistic definitions of temporal peak acceleration, spectral energy, and phase lag distributions of mechanical impact pyrotechnic shock test data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hwang, James Ho-Jin; Duran, Adam

    2016-08-01

    Most of the times pyrotechnic shock design and test requirements for space systems are provided in Shock Response Spectrum (SRS) without the input time history. Since the SRS does not describe the input or the environment, a decomposition method is used to obtain the source time history. The main objective of this paper is to develop a decomposition method producing input time histories that can satisfy the SRS requirement based on the pyrotechnic shock test data measured from a mechanical impact test apparatus. At the heart of this decomposition method is the statistical representation of the pyrotechnic shock test data measured from the MIT Lincoln Laboratory (LL) designed Universal Pyrotechnic Shock Simulator (UPSS). Each pyrotechnic shock test data measured at the interface of a test unit has been analyzed to produce the temporal peak acceleration, Root Mean Square (RMS) acceleration, and the phase lag at each band center frequency. Maximum SRS of each filtered time history has been calculated to produce a relationship between the input and the response. Two new definitions are proposed as a result. The Peak Ratio (PR) is defined as the ratio between the maximum SRS and the temporal peak acceleration at each band center frequency. The ratio between the maximum SRS and the RMS acceleration is defined as the Energy Ratio (ER) at each band center frequency. Phase lag is estimated based on the time delay between the temporal peak acceleration at each band center frequency and the peak acceleration at the lowest band center frequency. This stochastic process has been applied to more than one hundred pyrotechnic shock test data to produce probabilistic definitions of the PR, ER, and the phase lag. The SRS is decomposed at each band center frequency using damped sinusoids with the PR and the decays obtained by matching the ER of the damped sinusoids to the ER of the test data. The final step in this stochastic SRS decomposition process is the Monte Carlo (MC

  12. Strong motion observations and recordings from the great Wenchuan Earthquake

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Li, X.; Zhou, Z.; Yu, H.; Wen, R.; Lu, D.; Huang, M.; Zhou, Y.; Cu, J.

    2008-01-01

    The National Strong Motion Observation Network System (NSMONS) of China is briefly introduced in this paper. The NSMONS consists of permanent free-field stations, special observation arrays, mobile observatories and a network management system. During the Wenchuan Earthquake, over 1,400 components of acceleration records were obtained from 460 permanent free-field stations and three arrays for topographical effect and structural response observation in the network system from the main shock, and over 20,000 components of acceleration records from strong aftershocks occurred before August 1, 2008 were also obtained by permanent free-field stations of the NSMONS and 59 mobile instruments quickly deployed after the main shock. The strong motion recordings from the main shock and strong aftershocks are summarized in this paper. In the ground motion recordings, there are over 560 components with peak ground acceleration (PGA) over 10 Gal, the largest being 957.7 Gal. The largest PGA recorded during the aftershock exceeds 300 Gal. ?? 2008 Institute of Engineering Mechanics, China Earthquake Administration and Springer-Verlag GmbH.

  13. On the dependency of the decay of ground motion peak values with distance for small and large earthquakes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dujardin, Alain; Courboulex, Françoise; Causse, Matthieu; Traversa, Paola; Monfret, Tony

    2013-04-01

    Ground motion decay with distance presents a clear magnitude dependence, PGA values of small events decreasing faster than those of larger events. This observation is now widely accepted and often taken into account in recent ground motion prediction equations (Anderson 2005, Akkar & Bommer 2010). The aim of this study is to investigate the origin of this dependence, which has not been clearly identified yet. Two main hypotheses are considered. On one hand the difference of ground motion decay is related to an attenuation effect, on the other hand the difference is related to an effect of extended fault (Anderson 2000). To study the role of attenuation, we realized synthetic tests using the stochastic simulation program SMSIM from Boore (2005). We build a set of simulations from several magnitudes and epicentral distances, and observe that the decay in PGA values is strongly dependent on the spectral shape of the Fourier spectra, which in turn strongly depends on the attenuation factor (Q(f) or kappa). We found that, for a point source approximation and an infinite value of Q (no attenuation) there is no difference between small and large events and that this difference increases when Q decreases. Theses results show that the influence of attenuation on spectral shape is different for earthquakes of different magnitude. In fact the influence of attenuation, which is more important at higher frequency, is larger for small earthquakes, whose Fourier acceleration spectrum has predominantly higher frequencies. We then study the effect of extended source using complete waveform simulations in a 1D model. We find that when the duration of the source time function increases, there is a larger probability to obtain large PGA values at equivalent distances. This effect could also play an important role in the PGA decay with magnitude and distance. Finally we compare these results with real datasets from the Japanese accelerometric network KIK-net.

  14. Probabilistic Relationships between Ground‐Motion Parameters and Modified Mercalli Intensity in California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Worden, C.B.; Wald, David J.; Rhoades, D.A.

    2012-01-01

    We use a database of approximately 200,000 modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) observations of California earthquakes collected from USGS "Did You Feel It?" (DYFI) reports, along with a comparable number of peak ground-motion amplitudes from California seismic networks, to develop probabilistic relationships between MMI and peak ground velocity (PGV), peak ground acceleration (PGA), and 0.3-s, 1-s, and 3-s 5% damped pseudospectral acceleration (PSA). After associating each ground-motion observation with an MMI computed from all the DYFI responses within 2 km of the observation, we derived a joint probability distribution between MMI and ground motion. We then derived reversible relationships between MMI and each ground-motion parameter by using a total least squares regression to fit a bilinear function to the median of the stacked probability distributions. Among the relationships, the fit to peak ground velocity has the smallest errors, though linear combinations of PGA and PGV give nominally better results. We also find that magnitude and distance terms reduce the overall residuals and are justifiable on an information theoretic basis. For intensities MMI≥5, our results are in close agreement with the relations of Wald, Quitoriano, Heaton, and Kanamori (1999); for lower intensities, our results fall midway between Wald, Quitoriano, Heaton, and Kanamori (1999) and those of Atkinson and Kaka (2007). The earthquakes in the study ranged in magnitude from 3.0 to 7.3, and the distances ranged from less than a kilometer to about 400 km from the source.

  15. The Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Graft Copolymers Composed of γ-PGA Backbone and Oligoesters Pendant Chains

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kwiecień, Iwona; Radecka, Iza; Kowalczuk, Marek; Jelonek, Katarzyna; Orchel, Arkadiusz; Adamus, Grażyna

    2017-10-01

    The novel copolymers composed of poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) and oligoesters have been developed. The structures of the obtained copolymers including variety of end groups were determined at the molecular level with the aid of electrospray ionization multistage mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn). The fragmentation experiment performed for the selected sodium adducts of the copolymers confirmed that the developed methods lead to the formation of graft copolymers composed of poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) backbone and oligoesters pendant chains. Moreover, it was established that fragmentation of selected sodium adducts of graft copolymers proceeded via random breakage of amide bonds along the backbone and ester bonds of the oligoesters pendant chains. Considering potential applications of the synthesized copolymers in the area of biomaterials, the hydrolytic degradation under laboratory conditions and in vitro cytotoxicity tests were performed. The ESI-MSn technique applied in this study has been proven to be a useful tool in structural studies of novel graft copolymers as well as their degradation products. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  16. Ground-motion prediction from tremor

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Baltay, Annemarie S.; Beroza, Gregory C.

    2013-01-01

    The widespread occurrence of tremor, coupled with its frequency content and location, provides an exceptional opportunity to test and improve strong ground-motion attenuation relations for subduction zones. We characterize the amplitude of thousands of individual 5 min tremor events in Cascadia during three episodic tremor and slip events to constrain the distance decay of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV). We determine the anelastic attenuation parameter for ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) to a distance of 150 km, which is sufficient to place important constraints on ground-motion decay. Tremor PGA and PGV show a distance decay that is similar to subduction-zone-specific GMPEs developed from both data and simulations; however, the massive amount of data present in the tremor observations should allow us to refine distance-amplitude attenuation relationships for use in hazard maps, and to search for regional variations and intrasubduction zone differences in ground-motion attenuation.

  17. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Klein, Fred W.

    A significant seismic hazard exists in south Hawaii from large tectonic earthquakes that can reach magnitude 8 and intensity XII. This paper quantifies the hazard by estimating the horizontal peak ground acceleration (PGA) in south Hawaii which occurs with a 90% probability of not being exceeded during exposure times from 10 to 250 years. The largest earthquakes occur beneath active, unbuttressed and mobile flanks of volcanoes in their shield building stage.

  18. Ebola Vaccination Using a DNA Vaccine Coated on PLGA-PLL/γPGA Nanoparticles Administered Using a Microneedle Patch.

    PubMed

    Yang, Hung-Wei; Ye, Ling; Guo, Xin Dong; Yang, Chinglai; Compans, Richard W; Prausnitz, Mark R

    2017-01-01

    Ebola DNA vaccine is incorporated into PLGA-PLL/γPGA nanoparticles and administered to skin using a microneedle (MN) patch. The nanoparticle delivery system increases vaccine thermostability and immunogenicity compared to free vaccine. Vaccination by MN patch produces stronger immune responses than intramuscular administration. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. Evaluation of Horizontal Seismic Hazard of Shahrekord, Iran

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Amiri, G. Ghodrati; Dehkordi, M. Raeisi; Amrei, S. A. Razavian

    2008-07-08

    This paper presents probabilistic horizontal seismic hazard assessment of Shahrekord, Iran. It displays the probabilistic estimate of Peak Ground Horizontal Acceleration (PGHA) for the return period of 75, 225, 475 and 2475 years. The output of the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis is based on peak ground acceleration (PGA), which is the most common criterion in designing of buildings. A catalogue of seismic events that includes both historical and instrumental events was developed and covers the period from 840 to 2007. The seismic sources that affect the hazard in Shahrekord were identified within the radius of 150 km and the recurrencemore » relationships of these sources were generated. Finally four maps have been prepared to indicate the earthquake hazard of Shahrekord in the form of iso-acceleration contour lines for different hazard levels by using SEISRISK III software.« less

  20. Peake in Columbus with sensor

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-01-26

    ISS046e024411 (01/26/2016) --- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Timothy Peake prepares to install a space acceleration measurement system sensor inside the European Columbus module aboard the International Space Station. The device is used in an ongoing study of the small forces (vibrations and accelerations) on the International Space Station resulting from the operation of hardware, crew activities, dockings and maneuvering. Results generalize the types of vibrations affecting vibration-sensitive experiments.

  1. Peak power in the hexagonal barbell jump squat and its relationship to jump performance and acceleration in elite rugby union players.

    PubMed

    Turner, Thomas S; Tobin, Daniel P; Delahunt, Eamonn

    2015-05-01

    Recent research suggests that jump squats with a loaded hexagonal barbell are superior for peak power production to comparable loads in a traditional barbell loaded jump squat. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between relative peak power output during performance of the hexagonal barbell jump squat (HBJS), countermovement jump (CMJ) height, and linear acceleration speed in rugby union players. Seventeen professional rugby union players performed 10- and 20-m sprints, followed by a set of 3 unloaded CMJs and a set of 3 HBJS at a previously determined optimal load corresponding with peak power output. The relationship between HBJS relative peak power output, 10- and 20-m sprint time, and CMJ height was investigated using correlation analysis. The contribution of HBJS relative peak power output and CMJ height to 10- and 20-m sprint time was investigated using standard multiple regression. Strong, significant, inverse correlations were observed between HBJS relative peak power output, 10-m sprint time (r = -0.70, p < 0.01), and 20-m sprint time (r = -0.75, p < 0.01). A strong, significant, positive correlation was observed between HBJS relative peak power output and CMJ height (r = 0.80, p < 0.01). Together, HBJS relative peak power output and CMJ height explained 46% of the variance in 10-m sprint time while explaining 59% of the variance in 20-m sprint time. The findings of the current study demonstrate a significant relationship between relative peak power in the HBJS and athletic performance as quantified by CMJ height and 10- and 20-m sprint time.

  2. Seismic hazard analysis with PSHA method in four cities in Java.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elistyawati, Y.; Palupi, I. R.; Suharsono

    2016-11-01

    In this study the tectonic earthquakes was observed through the peak ground acceleration through the PSHA method by dividing the area of the earthquake source. This study applied the earthquake data from 1965 - 2015 that has been analyzed the completeness of the data, location research was the entire Java with stressed in four large cities prone to earthquakes. The results were found to be a hazard map with a return period of 500 years, 2500 years return period, and the hazard curve were four major cities (Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, and the city of Banyuwangi). Results Java PGA hazard map 500 years had a peak ground acceleration within 0 g ≥ 0.5 g, while the return period of 2500 years had a value of 0 to ≥ 0.8 g. While, the PGA hazard curves on the city's most influential source of the earthquake was from sources such as fault Cimandiri backgroud, for the city of Bandung earthquake sources that influence the seismic source fault dent background form. In other side, the city of Yogyakarta earthquake hazard curve of the most influential was the source of the earthquake background of the Opak fault, and the most influential hazard curve of Banyuwangi earthquake was the source of Java and Sumba megatruts earthquake.

  3. Ground motion observations of the 2014 South Napa earthquake

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Baltay, Annemarie S.; Boatwright, John

    2015-01-01

    Using the ground‐motion data compiled and reported by ShakeMap (Wald et al., 2000), we examine the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV), as well as the pseudospectral acceleration (PSA) at periods of 0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 s. At the higher frequencies, especially PGA, data recorded at close distances (within ∼20  km) are very consistent with the GMPEs, implying a stress drop for this event similar to the median for California, that is, 5 MPa (Baltay and Hanks, 2014). At all frequencies, the attenuation with distance is stronger than the GMPEs would predict, which suggests the attenuation in the Napa and San Francisco Bay delta region is stronger than the average attenuation in California. The spatial plot of the ground‐motion residuals is positive to the north, in both Napa and Sonoma Valleys, consistent with increases in amplitude expected from both the directivity and basin effects. More interestingly, perhaps, there is strong ground motion to the south in the along‐strike direction, particularly for PSA at 1.0 s. These strongly positive residuals align with an older, Quaternary fault structure associated with the Franklin or Southampton fault, potentially indicating a fault‐zone‐guided wave.

  4. Seismic hazard assessment of the Province of Murcia (SE Spain): analysis of source contribution to hazard

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    García-Mayordomo, J.; Gaspar-Escribano, J. M.; Benito, B.

    2007-10-01

    A probabilistic seismic hazard assessment of the Province of Murcia in terms of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral accelerations [SA( T)] is presented in this paper. In contrast to most of the previous studies in the region, which were performed for PGA making use of intensity-to-PGA relationships, hazard is here calculated in terms of magnitude and using European spectral ground-motion models. Moreover, we have considered the most important faults in the region as specific seismic sources, and also comprehensively reviewed the earthquake catalogue. Hazard calculations are performed following the Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) methodology using a logic tree, which accounts for three different seismic source zonings and three different ground-motion models. Hazard maps in terms of PGA and SA(0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 s) and coefficient of variation (COV) for the 475-year return period are shown. Subsequent analysis is focused on three sites of the province, namely, the cities of Murcia, Lorca and Cartagena, which are important industrial and tourism centres. Results at these sites have been analysed to evaluate the influence of the different input options. The most important factor affecting the results is the choice of the attenuation relationship, whereas the influence of the selected seismic source zonings appears strongly site dependant. Finally, we have performed an analysis of source contribution to hazard at each of these cities to provide preliminary guidance in devising specific risk scenarios. We have found that local source zones control the hazard for PGA and SA( T ≤ 1.0 s), although contribution from specific fault sources and long-distance north Algerian sources becomes significant from SA(0.5 s) onwards.

  5. A unified classification model for modeling of seismic liquefaction potential of soil based on CPT

    PubMed Central

    Samui, Pijush; Hariharan, R.

    2014-01-01

    The evaluation of liquefaction potential of soil due to an earthquake is an important step in geosciences. This article examines the capability of Minimax Probability Machine (MPM) for the prediction of seismic liquefaction potential of soil based on the Cone Penetration Test (CPT) data. The dataset has been taken from Chi–Chi earthquake. MPM is developed based on the use of hyperplanes. It has been adopted as a classification tool. This article uses two models (MODEL I and MODEL II). MODEL I employs Cone Resistance (qc) and Cyclic Stress Ratio (CSR) as input variables. qc and Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) have been taken as inputs for MODEL II. The developed MPM gives 100% accuracy. The results show that the developed MPM can predict liquefaction potential of soil based on qc and PGA. PMID:26199749

  6. A unified classification model for modeling of seismic liquefaction potential of soil based on CPT.

    PubMed

    Samui, Pijush; Hariharan, R

    2015-07-01

    The evaluation of liquefaction potential of soil due to an earthquake is an important step in geosciences. This article examines the capability of Minimax Probability Machine (MPM) for the prediction of seismic liquefaction potential of soil based on the Cone Penetration Test (CPT) data. The dataset has been taken from Chi-Chi earthquake. MPM is developed based on the use of hyperplanes. It has been adopted as a classification tool. This article uses two models (MODEL I and MODEL II). MODEL I employs Cone Resistance (q c) and Cyclic Stress Ratio (CSR) as input variables. q c and Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) have been taken as inputs for MODEL II. The developed MPM gives 100% accuracy. The results show that the developed MPM can predict liquefaction potential of soil based on q c and PGA.

  7. Citizen earthquake alert using near real time PGA estimation from a local array combining a variety of accelerometric instruments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Melis, Nikolaos S.; Konstantinou, Konstantinos; Kalogeras, Ioannis; Sokos, Efthimios; Tselentis, G.-Akis

    2017-04-01

    It is of a great importance to assess rapidly the intensity of a felt event in a highly populated environment. Rapid and reliable information plays a key role to decision making responses, by performing correctly the first steps after a felt ground shaking. Thus, it is important to accurately respond to urgent societal demand using reliable information. A strong motion array is under deployment and trial operation in the area of Patras, Greece. It combines: (a) standard accelerometric stations operated by the National Observatory of Athens, Institute of Geodynamics (NOA), (b) QCN-type USB MEMS acceleration sensors deployed in schools and (c) P-alert MEMS acceleration devices deployed in public sector buildings as well as in private dwellings. The array intends to cover the whole city of Patras and the populated suburbs. All instruments are operating in near real time and they are linked to a combined Earthworm - SeisComP3 server at NOA, Athens. Rapid intensity estimation can be also performed by the P-alert accelerometers locally, but the performance of a near real time intensity estimation system is under operation at NOA. The procedure is based on observing the maximum PGA value at each instrument and empirically estimate the corresponding intensity. The values are also fed to a SeisComP3 based ShakeMap procedure that is served at NOA and uses the scwfparam module of SeisComP3. Earthquake activity has been recorded so far from the western Corinth Gulf, the Ionian Islands and Achaia-Elia area, western Peloponnesus. The first phase involves correlation tests of collocated instruments and assessment of their performance to low intensity as well as to strongly felt events in the Patras city area. Steps of expanding the array are also under consideration, in order to cover the wider area of northwestern Peloponnesus and Ionian islands.

  8. SENSITIVITY OF STRUCTURAL RESPONSE TO GROUND MOTION SOURCE AND SITE PARAMETERS.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Safak, Erdal; Brebbia, C.A.; Cakmak, A.S.; Abdel Ghaffar, A.M.

    1985-01-01

    Designing structures to withstand earthquakes requires an accurate estimation of the expected ground motion. While engineers use the peak ground acceleration (PGA) to model the strong ground motion, seismologists use physical characteristics of the source and the rupture mechanism, such as fault length, stress drop, shear wave velocity, seismic moment, distance, and attenuation. This study presents a method for calculating response spectra from seismological models using random vibration theory. It then investigates the effect of various source and site parameters on peak response. Calculations are based on a nonstationary stochastic ground motion model, which can incorporate all the parameters both in frequency and time domains. The estimation of the peak response accounts for the effects of the non-stationarity, bandwidth and peak correlations of the response.

  9. NGA-West2 equations for predicting vertical-component PGA, PGV, and 5%-damped PSA from shallow crustal earthquakes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stewart, Jonathan P.; Boore, David M.; Seyhan, Emel; Atkinson, Gail M.

    2016-01-01

    We present ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) for computing natural log means and standard deviations of vertical-component intensity measures (IMs) for shallow crustal earthquakes in active tectonic regions. The equations were derived from a global database with M 3.0–7.9 events. The functions are similar to those for our horizontal GMPEs. We derive equations for the primary M- and distance-dependence of peak acceleration, peak velocity, and 5%-damped pseudo-spectral accelerations at oscillator periods between 0.01–10 s. We observe pronounced M-dependent geometric spreading and region-dependent anelastic attenuation for high-frequency IMs. We do not observe significant region-dependence in site amplification. Aleatory uncertainty is found to decrease with increasing magnitude; within-event variability is independent of distance. Compared to our horizontal-component GMPEs, attenuation rates are broadly comparable (somewhat slower geometric spreading, faster apparent anelastic attenuation), VS30-scaling is reduced, nonlinear site response is much weaker, within-event variability is comparable, and between-event variability is greater.

  10. Proton beam spatial distribution and Bragg peak imaging by photoluminescence of color centers in lithium fluoride crystals at the TOP-IMPLART linear accelerator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Piccinini, M.; Ronsivalle, C.; Ampollini, A.; Bazzano, G.; Picardi, L.; Nenzi, P.; Trinca, E.; Vadrucci, M.; Bonfigli, F.; Nichelatti, E.; Vincenti, M. A.; Montereali, R. M.

    2017-11-01

    Solid-state radiation detectors based on the photoluminescence of stable point defects in lithium fluoride crystals have been used for advanced diagnostics during the commissioning of the segment up to 27 MeV of the TOP-IMPLART proton linear accelerator for proton therapy applications, under development at ENEA C.R. Frascati, Italy. The LiF detectors high intrinsic spatial resolution and wide dynamic range allow obtaining two-dimensional images of the beam transverse intensity distribution and also identifying the Bragg peak position with micrometric precision by using a conventional optical fluorescence microscope. Results of the proton beam characterization, among which, the estimation of beam energy components and dynamics, are reported and discussed for different operating conditions of the accelerator.

  11. Hair dye-incorporated poly-γ-glutamic acid/glycol chitosan nanoparticles based on ion-complex formation.

    PubMed

    Lee, Hye-Young; Jeong, Young-Il; Choi, Ki-Choon

    2011-01-01

    p-Phenylenediamine (PDA) or its related chemicals are used more extensively than oxidative hair dyes. However, permanent hair dyes such as PDA are known to have potent contact allergy reactions in humans, and severe allergic reactions are problematic. PDA-incorporated nanoparticles were prepared based on ion-complex formation between the cationic groups of PDA and the anionic groups of poly(γ-glutamic acid) (PGA). To reinforce PDA/PGA ion complexes, glycol chitosan (GC) was added. PDA-incorporated nanoparticles were characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier- transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Nanoparticles were formed by ion-complex formation between the amine groups of PDA and the carboxyl groups of PGA. PDA-incorporated nanoparticles are small in size (<100 nm), and morphological observations showed spherical shapes. FT-IR spectra results showed that the carboxylic acid peak of PGA decreased with increasing PDA content, indicating that the ion complexes were formed between the carboxyl groups of PGA and the amine groups of PDA. Furthermore, the intrinsic peak of the carboxyl groups of PGA was also decreased by the addition of GC. Intrinsic crystalline peaks of PDA were observed by XRD. This crystalline peak of PDA was completely nonexistent when nanoparticles were formed by ion complex between PDA, PGA, and GC, indicating that PDA was complexed with PGA and no free drug existed in the formulation. During the drug-release experiment, an initial burst release of PDA was observed, and then PDA was continuously released over 1 week. Cytotoxicity testing against HaCaT human skin keratinocyte cells showed PDA-incorporated nanoparticles had lower toxicity than PDA itself. Furthermore, PDA-incorporated nanoparticles showed reduced apoptosis and necrosis reaction at HaCaT cells. The authors suggest that these microparticles are ideal candidates for a vehicle for

  12. Reassessment of probabilistic seismic hazard in the Marmara region

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kalkan, Erol; Gulkan, Polat; Yilmaz, Nazan; Çelebi, Mehmet

    2009-01-01

    In 1999, the eastern coastline of the Marmara region (Turkey) witnessed increased seismic activity on the North Anatolian fault (NAF) system with two damaging earthquakes (M 7.4 Kocaeli and M 7.2 D??zce) that occurred almost three months apart. These events have reduced stress on the western segment of the NAF where it continues under the Marmara Sea. The undersea fault segments have been recently explored using bathymetric and reflection surveys. These recent findings helped scientists to understand the seismotectonic environment of the Marmara basin, which has remained a perplexing tectonic domain. On the basis of collected new data, seismic hazard of the Marmara region is reassessed using a probabilistic approach. Two different earthquake source models: (1) the smoothed-gridded seismicity model and (2) fault model and alternate magnitude-frequency relations, Gutenberg-Richter and characteristic, were used with local and imported ground-motion-prediction equations. Regional exposure is computed and quantified on a set of hazard maps that provide peak horizontal ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration at 0.2 and 1.0 sec on uniform firm-rock site condition (760 m=sec average shear wave velocity in the upper 30 m). These acceleration levels were computed for ground motions having 2% and 10% probabilities of exceedance in 50 yr, corresponding to return periods of about 2475 and 475 yr, respectively. The maximum PGA computed (at rock site) is 1.5g along the fault segments of the NAF zone extending into the Marmara Sea. The new maps generally show 10% to 15% increase for PGA, 0.2 and 1.0 sec spectral acceleration values across much of Marmara compared to previous regional hazard maps. Hazard curves and smooth design spectra for three site conditions: rock, soil, and soft-soil are provided for the Istanbul metropolitan area as possible tools in future risk estimates.

  13. Peaks in Phase Space Density: A Survey of the Van Allen Probes Era

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boyd, A. J.; Turner, D. L.; Reeves, G. D.; Spence, H. E.

    2017-12-01

    One of the challenges of radiation belt studies is the differentiation between acceleration mechanisms, particularly local acceleration and radial diffusion. This is often done through careful examination of phase space density profiles in terms of adiabatic coordinates. In particular, local acceleration processes produce growing peaks in phase space density. Many previous studies have shown clear observations of these features for individual events. However, it remains unclear how often and where these growing peaks are observed over a long time period. With the availability of several years of high quality observations from multiple spacecraft, we now have an opportunity to quantify phase space density profiles not only for multiple events, but also across a wide range of energies. In this study, we examine phase space density from more than four years of data from the Van Allen Probes and THEMIS to determine the statistical properties of the observed peaks in phase space density. First, we determine how often growing peaks are observed. Second, we examine where the peaks are located in terms of the adiabatic invariants mu, K and L* and how these locations relate to geomagnetic indices, solar wind conditions and the plasmapause location. Third, we explore how these peaks evolve in time. Together, these results will reveal the relative importance of different acceleration processes and how these affect the various electron populations within the radiation belt.

  14. Induction linear accelerators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Birx, Daniel

    1992-03-01

    Among the family of particle accelerators, the Induction Linear Accelerator is the best suited for the acceleration of high current electron beams. Because the electromagnetic radiation used to accelerate the electron beam is not stored in the cavities but is supplied by transmission lines during the beam pulse it is possible to utilize very low Q (typically<10) structures and very large beam pipes. This combination increases the beam breakup limited maximum currents to of order kiloamperes. The micropulse lengths of these machines are measured in 10's of nanoseconds and duty factors as high as 10-4 have been achieved. Until recently the major problem with these machines has been associated with the pulse power drive. Beam currents of kiloamperes and accelerating potentials of megavolts require peak power drives of gigawatts since no energy is stored in the structure. The marriage of liner accelerator technology and nonlinear magnetic compressors has produced some unique capabilities. It now appears possible to produce electron beams with average currents measured in amperes, peak currents in kiloamperes and gradients exceeding 1 MeV/meter, with power efficiencies approaching 50%. The nonlinear magnetic compression technology has replaced the spark gap drivers used on earlier accelerators with state-of-the-art all-solid-state SCR commutated compression chains. The reliability of these machines is now approaching 1010 shot MTBF. In the following paper we will briefly review the historical development of induction linear accelerators and then discuss the design considerations.

  15. Scaling A Moment-Rate Function For Small To Large Magnitude Events

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Archuleta, Ralph; Ji, Chen

    2017-04-01

    Since the 1980's seismologists have recognized that peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV) scale differently with magnitude for large and moderate earthquakes. In a recent paper (Archuleta and Ji, GRL 2016) we introduced an apparent moment-rate function (aMRF) that accurately predicts the scaling with magnitude of PGA, PGV, PWA (Wood-Anderson Displacement) and the ratio PGA/2πPGV (dominant frequency) for earthquakes 3.3 ≤ M ≤ 5.3. This apparent moment-rate function is controlled by two temporal parameters, tp and td, which are related to the time for the moment-rate function to reach its peak amplitude and the total duration of the earthquake, respectively. These two temporal parameters lead to a Fourier amplitude spectrum (FAS) of displacement that has two corners in between which the spectral amplitudes decay as 1/f, f denotes frequency. At higher or lower frequencies, the FAS of the aMRF looks like a single-corner Aki-Brune omega squared spectrum. However, in the presence of attenuation the higher corner is almost certainly masked. Attempting to correct the spectrum to an Aki-Brune omega-squared spectrum will produce an "apparent" corner frequency that falls between the double corner frequency of the aMRF. We reason that the two corners of the aMRF are the reason that seismologists deduce a stress drop (e.g., Allmann and Shearer, JGR 2009) that is generally much smaller than the stress parameter used to produce ground motions from stochastic simulations (e.g., Boore, 2003 Pageoph.). The presence of two corners for the smaller magnitude earthquakes leads to several questions. Can deconvolution be successfully used to determine scaling from small to large earthquakes? Equivalently will large earthquakes have a double corner? If large earthquakes are the sum of many smaller magnitude earthquakes, what should the displacement FAS look like for a large magnitude earthquake? Can a combination of such a double-corner spectrum and random

  16. HB-EGF embedded in PGA/PLLA scaffolds via subcritical CO2 augments the production of tissue engineered intestine.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yanchun; Nelson, Tyler; Cromeens, Barrett; Rager, Terrence; Lannutti, John; Johnson, Jed; Besner, Gail E

    2016-10-01

    The ability to deliver sustained-release, biologically active growth factors through custom designed tissue engineering scaffolds at sites of tissue regeneration offers great therapeutic opportunity. Due to the short in vivo half-lives of most growth factors, it is challenging to deliver these proteins to sites of interest where they may be used before being degraded. The application of subcritical CO2 uses gas-phase CO2 at subcritical pressures ranging from 41 to 62 bar (595-913 PSI) which avoids foaming by reducing the amount of CO2 dissolved in the polymer and maintains completely reversible plasticization. In the current study, heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) was embedded into polyglycolic acid (PGA)/Poly-l-latic acid (PLLA) scaffolds via subcritical CO2 exposure for the production of tissue engineered intestine (TEI). PGA fiber morphology after subcritical CO2 exposure was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the distribution of HB-EGF embedded in the scaffold fibers was detected by HB-EGF immunofluorescent staining. In vivo implantation of HB-EGF-embedded scaffolds confirmed significantly improved TEI structure as a result of local delivery of the trophic growth factor. These findings may be critical for the production of TEI in the treatment of patients with short bowel syndrome in the future. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. An alternative approach to probabilistic seismic hazard analysis in the Aegean region using Monte Carlo simulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weatherill, Graeme; Burton, Paul W.

    2010-09-01

    The Aegean is the most seismically active and tectonically complex region in Europe. Damaging earthquakes have occurred here throughout recorded history, often resulting in considerable loss of life. The Monte Carlo method of probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) is used to determine the level of ground motion likely to be exceeded in a given time period. Multiple random simulations of seismicity are generated to calculate, directly, the ground motion for a given site. Within the seismic hazard analysis we explore the impact of different seismic source models, incorporating both uniform zones and distributed seismicity. A new, simplified, seismic source model, derived from seismotectonic interpretation, is presented for the Aegean region. This is combined into the epistemic uncertainty analysis alongside existing source models for the region, and models derived by a K-means cluster analysis approach. Seismic source models derived using the K-means approach offer a degree of objectivity and reproducibility into the otherwise subjective approach of delineating seismic sources using expert judgment. Similar review and analysis is undertaken for the selection of peak ground acceleration (PGA) attenuation models, incorporating into the epistemic analysis Greek-specific models, European models and a Next Generation Attenuation model. Hazard maps for PGA on a "rock" site with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years are produced and different source and attenuation models are compared. These indicate that Greek-specific attenuation models, with their smaller aleatory variability terms, produce lower PGA hazard, whilst recent European models and Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) model produce similar results. The Monte Carlo method is extended further to assimilate epistemic uncertainty into the hazard calculation, thus integrating across several appropriate source and PGA attenuation models. Site condition and fault-type are also integrated into the hazard

  18. Measurement of heat load density profile on acceleration grid in MeV-class negative ion accelerator.

    PubMed

    Hiratsuka, Junichi; Hanada, Masaya; Kojima, Atsushi; Umeda, Naotaka; Kashiwagi, Mieko; Miyamoto, Kenji; Yoshida, Masafumi; Nishikiori, Ryo; Ichikawa, Masahiro; Watanabe, Kazuhiro; Tobari, Hiroyuki

    2016-02-01

    To understand the physics of the negative ion extraction/acceleration, the heat load density profile on the acceleration grid has been firstly measured in the ITER prototype accelerator where the negative ions are accelerated to 1 MeV with five acceleration stages. In order to clarify the profile, the peripheries around the apertures on the acceleration grid were separated into thermally insulated 34 blocks with thermocouples. The spatial resolution is as low as 3 mm and small enough to measure the tail of the beam profile with a beam diameter of ∼16 mm. It was found that there were two peaks of heat load density around the aperture. These two peaks were also clarified to be caused by the intercepted negative ions and secondary electrons from detailed investigation by changing the beam optics and gas density profile. This is the first experimental result, which is useful to understand the trajectories of these particles.

  19. Pics d'accélération du mouvement sismique observés lors du séisme de Chichi à Taiwan : application à l'estimation de l'aléa sismiqueAnalysis of peak ground accelerations during the Chichi earthquake, Taiwan: application to seismic hazard evaluation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, Tsui-Yu; Cotton, Fabrice; Angelier, Jacques; Shin, Tzay-Chyn

    2001-07-01

    Attenuation laws are widely used in order to estimate the peak ground acceleration that may occur at a given locality during an earthquake, for hazard evaluation purposes. However, these simplified laws should be regarded acceptable only in the first approximation, because numerous significant parameters at the local and regional scales are often ignored. We examined the relationship between distance and peak acceleration based on examples from the dense accelerometric network of Taiwan, specifically for the Chichi destructive earthquake. We thus observed significant discrepancies between the predicted and observed accelerations, resulting from (1) near-field saturation, (2) amplification in sedimentary basins, and (3) hanging wall effect. We mapped the residual accelerations (difference between observed and predicted peak ground accelerations). This highlights the role of the regional structure, independently revealed by the geological analysis, as a significant factor that controls the transmission of the seismic accelerations.

  20. Global evaluation of erosion rates in relation to tectonics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hecht, Hagar; Oguchi, Takashi

    2017-12-01

    Understanding the mechanisms and controlling factors of erosion rates is essential in order to sufficiently comprehend bigger processes such as landscape evolution. For decades, scientists have been researching erosion rates where one of the main objectives was to find the controlling factors. A variety of parameters have been suggested ranging from climate-related, basin morphometry and the tectonic setting of an area. This study focuses on the latter. We use previously published erosion rate data obtained mainly using 10Be and sediment yield and sediment yield data published by the United States Geological Survey. We correlate these data to tectonic-related factors, i.e., distance to tectonic plate boundary, peak ground acceleration ( PGA), and fault distribution. We also examine the relationship between erosion rate and mean basin slope and find significant correlations of erosion rates with distance to tectonic plate boundary, PGA, and slope. The data are binned into high, medium, and low values of each of these parameters and grouped in all combinations. We find that groups with a combination of high PGA (> 0.2.86 g) and long distance (> 1118.69 km) or low PGA (< 0.68 g) and short distance (< 94.34 km) are almost inexistent suggesting a strong coupling between PGA and distance to tectonic plate boundary. Groups with low erosion rates include long distance and/or low PGA, and groups with high erosion rates include neither of these. These observations indicate that tectonics plays a major role in determining erosion rates, which is partly ascribable to steeper slopes produced by active crustal movements. However, our results show no apparent correlation of slope with erosion rates, pointing to problems with using mean basin-wide slope as a slope indicator because it does not represent the complex slope distribution within a basin.

  1. Characterization of GaN nanowires grown on PSi, PZnO and PGaN on Si (111) substrates by thermal evaporation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shekari, Leila; Hassan, Haslan Abu; Thahab, Sabah M.

    2012-06-20

    In this research, we used an easy and inexpensive method to synthesize highly crystalline GaN nanowires (NWs); on different substrates such as porous silicon (PSi), porous zinc oxide (PZnO) and porous gallium nitride (PGaN) on Si (111) wafer by thermal evaporation using commercial GaN powder without any catalyst. Micro structural studies by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope measurements reveal the role of different substrates in the morphology, nucleation and alignment of the GaN nanowires. The degree of alignment of the synthesized nanowires does not depend on the lattice mismatch between wires and their substrates. Further structural and opticalmore » characterizations were performed using high resolution X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Results indicate that the nanowires are of single-crystal hexagonal GaN. The quality and density of grown GaN nanowires for different substrates are highly dependent on the lattice mismatch between the nanowires and their substrates and also on the size of the porosity of the substrates. Nanowires grown on PGaN have the best quality and highest density as compared to nanowires on other substrates. By using three kinds of porous substrates, we are able to study the increase in the alignment and density of the nanowires.« less

  2. Influence of Spatial Variation in Ground Motion Peak Acceleration on Local Site Effects Estimation at Bucovina Seismic Array (BURAR) Romania

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghica, D. V.; Radulian, M.; Popa, M.; Grecu, B.

    2006-05-01

    Basically, array processing techniques require a high signal coherency across the seismic site; therefore the local crustal velocities below the station, signal amplitude differences between array elements and local noise conditions, resulting in local site effects will affect calculation of phase arrival times, propagation velocities and ground motion amplitudes. In general, array techniques assume a homogenous structure for all sites, and a simple relief correction is taking in account for the data analysis. To increase the results accuracy, individual element corrections must be applied, based on the biases factors systematically observed. This study aims at identifying the anomalous amplitude variations recorded at the Bucovina Seismic Array (BURAR) and at explaining their influence on site effects estimation. Maximum amplitudes for the teleseismic and regional phases in four narrow frequency bands (0.25-0.5Hz; 0.5-1Hz; 1-2Hz; 1.5-3Hz) are measured. Spatial distribution of ground motion peak acceleration in BURAR site, for each band, is plotted; a different behavior was observed at frequencies below 2Hz. The most important aspect observed is the largest amplitude exhibited by BUR07 across the whole array at high frequencies (an amplification factor of about two). This can be explained by the different geology at BUR07 site (mica schist outcrops), comparing with the rest of elements (green schist outcrops). At the lowest frequencies (0.25-0.5Hz), BUR09 peak amplitudes dominate the other sites. Considering BUR07 as reference site, peak acceleration ratios were investigated. The largest scattering of these ratios appears at the highest frequencies (1.5-3Hz), when the weight of over unit values is about 90 %. No azimuth and distance dependence was found for these effects, suggesting the absence of the dipping layer structures. Although an increase of the ratio values is noticed for epicentral distance between 8000 and 10000 km, for frequencies over 1 Hz. The

  3. Review: Progress in rotational ground-motion observations from explosions and local earthquakes in Taiwan

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lee, William H K.; Huang, Bor-Shouh; Langston, Charles A.; Lin, Chin-Jen; Liu, Chun-Chi; Shin, Tzay-Chyn; Teng, Ta-Liang; Wu, Chien-Fu

    2009-01-01

    Rotational motions generated by large earthquakes in the far field have been successfully measured, and observations agree well with the classical elasticity theory. However, recent rotational measurements in the near field of earthquakes in Japan and in Taiwan indicate that rotational ground motions are 10 to 100 times larger than expected from the classical elasticity theory. The near-field strong-motion records of the 1999 Mw 7.6 Chi-Chi, Taiwan, earthquake suggest that the ground motions along the 100 km rupture are complex. Some rather arbitrary baseline corrections are necessary in order to obtain reasonable displacement values from double integration of the acceleration data. Because rotational motions can contaminate acceleration observations due to the induced perturbation of the Earth’s gravitational field, we started a modest program to observe rotational ground motions in Taiwan.Three papers have reported the rotational observations in Taiwan: (1) at the HGSD station (Liu et al., 2009), (2) at the N3 site from two TAiwan Integrated GEodynamics Research (TAIGER) explosions (Lin et al., 2009), and (3) at the Taiwan campus of the National Chung-Cheng University (NCCU) (Wu et al., 2009). In addition, Langston et al. (2009) reported the results of analyzing the TAIGER explosion data. As noted by several authors before, we found a linear relationship between peak rotational rate (PRR in mrad/sec) and peak ground acceleration (PGA in m/sec2) from local earthquakes in Taiwan, PRR=0.002+1.301 PGA, with a correlation coefficient of 0.988.

  4. IMPULSIVE ACCELERATION OF CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS. II. RELATION TO SOFT X-RAY FLARES AND FILAMENT ERUPTIONS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bein, B. M.; Berkebile-Stoiser, S.; Veronig, A. M.

    2012-08-10

    Using high time cadence images from the STEREO EUVI, COR1, and COR2 instruments, we derived detailed kinematics of the main acceleration stage for a sample of 95 coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in comparison with associated flares and filament eruptions. We found that CMEs associated with flares reveal on average significantly higher peak accelerations and lower acceleration phase durations, initiation heights, and heights, at which they reach their peak velocities and peak accelerations. This means that CMEs that are associated with flares are characterized by higher and more impulsive accelerations and originate from lower in the corona where the magnetic fieldmore » is stronger. For CMEs that are associated with filament eruptions we found only for the CME peak acceleration significantly lower values than for events that were not associated with filament eruptions. The flare rise time was found to be positively correlated with the CME acceleration duration and negatively correlated with the CME peak acceleration. For the majority of the events the CME acceleration starts before the flare onset (for 75% of the events) and the CME acceleration ends after the soft X-ray (SXR) peak time (for 77% of the events). In {approx}60% of the events, the time difference between the peak time of the flare SXR flux derivative and the peak time of the CME acceleration is smaller than {+-}5 minutes, which hints at a feedback relationship between the CME acceleration and the energy release in the associated flare due to magnetic reconnection.« less

  5. Effect of Response Reduction Factor on Peak Floor Acceleration Demand in Mid-Rise RC Buildings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Surana, Mitesh; Singh, Yogendra; Lang, Dominik H.

    2017-06-01

    Estimation of Peak Floor Acceleration (PFA) demand along the height of a building is crucial for the seismic safety of nonstructural components. The effect of the level of inelasticity, controlled by the response reduction factor (strength ratio), is studied using incremental dynamic analysis. A total of 1120 nonlinear dynamic analyses, using a suite of 30 recorded ground motion time histories, are performed on mid-rise reinforced-concrete (RC) moment-resisting frame buildings covering a wide range in terms of their periods of vibration. The obtained PFA demands are compared with some of the major national seismic design and retrofit codes (IS 1893 draft version, ASCE 41, EN 1998, and NZS 1170.4). It is observed that the PFA demand at the building's roof level decreases with increasing period of vibration as well as with strength ratio. However, current seismic building codes do not account for these effects thereby producing very conservative estimates of PFA demands. Based on the identified parameters affecting the PFA demand, a model to obtain the PFA distribution along the height of a building is proposed. The proposed model is validated with spectrum-compatible time history analyses of the considered buildings with different strength ratios.

  6. Probabilistic seismic hazard at the archaeological site of Gol Gumbaz in Vijayapura, south India

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Patil, Shivakumar G.; Menon, Arun; Dodagoudar, G. R.

    2018-03-01

    Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) is carried out for the archaeological site of Vijayapura in south India in order to obtain hazard consistent seismic input ground-motions for seismic risk assessment and design of seismic protection measures for monuments, where warranted. For this purpose the standard Cornell-McGuire approach, based on seismogenic zones with uniformly distributed seismicity is employed. The main features of this study are the usage of an updated and unified seismic catalogue based on moment magnitude, new seismogenic source models and recent ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) in logic tree framework. Seismic hazard at the site is evaluated for level and rock site condition with 10% and 2% probabilities of exceedance in 50 years, and the corresponding peak ground accelerations (PGAs) are 0.074 and 0.142 g, respectively. In addition, the uniform hazard spectra (UHS) of the site are compared to the Indian code-defined spectrum. Comparisons are also made with results from National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA 2010), in terms of PGA and pseudo spectral accelerations (PSAs) at T = 0.2, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.25 s for 475- and 2475-yr return periods. Results of the present study are in good agreement with the PGA calculated from isoseismal map of the Killari earthquake, {M}w = 6.4 (1993). Disaggregation of PSHA results for the PGA and spectral acceleration ({S}a) at 0.5 s, displays the controlling scenario earthquake for the study region as low to moderate magnitude with the source being at a short distance from the study site. Deterministic seismic hazard (DSHA) is also carried out by taking into account three scenario earthquakes. The UHS corresponding to 475-yr return period (RP) is used to define the target spectrum and accordingly, the spectrum-compatible natural accelerograms are selected from the suite of recorded accelerograms.

  7. Superconducting traveling wave accelerators

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Farkas, Z.D.

    1984-11-01

    This note considers the applicability of superconductivity to traveling wave accelerators. Unlike CW operation of a superconducting standing wave or circulating wave accelerator section, which requires improvement factors (superconductor conductivity divided by copper conductivity) of about 10/sup 6/ in order to be of practical use, a SUperconducting TRaveling wave Accelerator, SUTRA, operating in the pulsed mode requires improvement factors as low as about 10/sup 3/, which are attainable with niobium or lead at 4.2K, the temperature of liquid helium at atmospheric pressure. Changing from a copper traveling wave accelerator to SUTRA achieves the following. (1) For a given gradient SUTRAmore » reduces the peak and average power requirements typically by a factor of 2. (2) SUTRA reduces the peak power still further because it enables us to increase the filling time and thus trade pulse width for gradient. (3) SUTRA makes possible a reasonably long section at higher frequencies. (4) SUTRA makes possible recirculation without additional rf average power. 8 references, 6 figures, 1 table.« less

  8. Stability of submarine slopes in the northern South China Sea: a numerical approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Liang; Luan, Xiwu

    2013-01-01

    Submarine landslides occur frequently on most continental margins. They are effective mechanisms of sediment transfer but also a geological hazard to seafloor installations. In this paper, submarine slope stability is evaluated using a 2D limit equilibrium method. Considerations of slope, sediment, and triggering force on the factor of safety (FOS) were calculated in drained and undrained ( Φ=0) cases. Results show that submarine slopes are stable when the slope is <16° under static conditions and without a weak interlayer. With a weak interlayer, slopes are stable at <18° in the drained case and at <9° in the undrained case. Earthquake loading can drastically reduce the shear strength of sediment with increased pore water pressure. The slope became unstable at >13° with earthquake peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.5 g; whereas with a weak layer, a PGA of 0.2 g could trigger instability at slopes >10°, and >3° for PGA of 0.5 g. The northern slope of the South China Sea is geomorphologically stable under static conditions. However, because of the possibility of high PGA at the eastern margin of the South China Sea, submarine slides are likely on the Taiwan Bank slope and eastern part of the Dongsha slope. Therefore, submarine slides recognized in seismic profiles on the Taiwan Bank slope would be triggered by an earthquake, the most important factor for triggering submarine slides on the northern slope of the South China Sea. Considering the distribution of PGA, we consider the northern slope of the South China Sea to be stable, excluding the Taiwan Bank slope, which is tectonically active.

  9. Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) for Ethiopia and the neighboring region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ayele, Atalay

    2017-10-01

    Seismic hazard calculation is carried out for the Horn of Africa region (0°-20° N and 30°-50°E) based on the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) method. The earthquakes catalogue data obtained from different sources were compiled, homogenized to Mw magnitude scale and declustered to remove the dependent events as required by Poisson earthquake source model. The seismotectonic map of the study area that avails from recent studies is used for area sources zonation. For assessing the seismic hazard, the study area was divided into small grids of size 0.5° × 0.5°, and the hazard parameters were calculated at the center of each of these grid cells by considering contributions from all seismic sources. Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) corresponding to 10% and 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years were calculated for all the grid points using generic rock site with Vs = 760 m/s. Obtained values vary from 0.0 to 0.18 g and 0.0-0.35 g for 475 and 2475 return periods, respectively. The corresponding contour maps showing the spatial variation of PGA values for the two return periods are presented here. Uniform hazard response spectrum (UHRS) for 10% and 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years and hazard curves for PGA and 0.2 s spectral acceleration (Sa) all at rock site are developed for the city of Addis Ababa. The hazard map of this study corresponding to the 475 return periods has already been used to update and produce the 3rd generation building code of Ethiopia.

  10. Cost optimization of reinforced concrete cantilever retaining walls under seismic loading using a biogeography-based optimization algorithm with Levy flights

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aydogdu, Ibrahim

    2017-03-01

    In this article, a new version of a biogeography-based optimization algorithm with Levy flight distribution (LFBBO) is introduced and used for the optimum design of reinforced concrete cantilever retaining walls under seismic loading. The cost of the wall is taken as an objective function, which is minimized under the constraints implemented by the American Concrete Institute (ACI 318-05) design code and geometric limitations. The influence of peak ground acceleration (PGA) on optimal cost is also investigated. The solution of the problem is attained by the LFBBO algorithm, which is developed by adding Levy flight distribution to the mutation part of the biogeography-based optimization (BBO) algorithm. Five design examples, of which two are used in literature studies, are optimized in the study. The results are compared to test the performance of the LFBBO and BBO algorithms, to determine the influence of the seismic load and PGA on the optimal cost of the wall.

  11. Strong motion simulation by the composite source modeling: A case study of 1679 M8.0 Sanhe-Pinggu earthquake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Bo-Yan; Shi, Bao-Ping; Zhang, Jian

    2007-05-01

    In this study, a composite source model has been used to calculate the realistic strong ground motions in Beijing area, caused by 1679 M S8.0 earthquake in Sanhe-Pinggu. The results could provide us the useful physical parameters for the future seismic hazard analysis in this area. Considering the regional geological/geophysical background, we simulated the scenario earthquake with an associated ground motions in the area ranging from 39.3°N to 41.1°N in latitude and from 115.35°E to 117.55°E in longitude. Some of the key factors which could influence the characteristics of strong ground motion have been discussed, and the resultant peak ground acceleration (PGA) distribution and the peak ground velocity (PGV) distribution around Beijing area also have been made as well. A comparison of the simulated result with the results derived from the attenuation relation has been made, and a sufficient discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of composite source model also has been given in this study. The numerical results, such as the PGA, PGV, peak ground displacement (PGD), and the three-component time-histories developed for Beijing area, have a potential application in earthquake engineering field and building code design, especially for the evaluation of critical constructions, government decision making and the seismic hazard assessment by financial/insurance companies.

  12. Possible Mechanisms for Generation of Anomalously High PGA During the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pavlenko, O. V.

    2017-08-01

    Mechanisms are suggested that could explain anomalously high PGAs (peak ground accelerations) exceeding 1 g recorded during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake ( M w = 9.0). In my previous research, I studied soil behavior during the Tohoku earthquake based on KiK-net vertical array records and revealed its `atypical' pattern: instead of being reduced in the near-source zones as usually observed during strong earthquakes, shear moduli in soil layers increased, indicating soil hardening, and reached their maxima at the moments of the highest intensity of strong motion, then reduced. We could explain this assuming that the soils experienced some additional compression. The observed changes in the shapes of acceleration time histories with distance from the source, such as a decrease of the duration and an increase of the intensity of strong motion, indicate phenomena similar to overlapping of seismic waves and a shock wave generation, which led to the compression of soils. The phenomena reach their maximum in the vicinity of stations FKSH10, TCGH16, and IBRH11, where the highest PGAs were recorded; at larger epicentral distances, PGAs sharply fall. Thus, the occurrence of anomalously high PGAs on the surface can result from the combination of the overlapping of seismic waves at the bottoms of soil layers and their increased amplification by the pre-compressed soils.

  13. Ground Motion Prediction Models for Caucasus Region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jorjiashvili, Nato; Godoladze, Tea; Tvaradze, Nino; Tumanova, Nino

    2016-04-01

    Ground motion prediction models (GMPMs) relate ground motion intensity measures to variables describing earthquake source, path, and site effects. Estimation of expected ground motion is a fundamental earthquake hazard assessment. The most commonly used parameter for attenuation relation is peak ground acceleration or spectral acceleration because this parameter gives useful information for Seismic Hazard Assessment. Since 2003 development of Georgian Digital Seismic Network has started. In this study new GMP models are obtained based on new data from Georgian seismic network and also from neighboring countries. Estimation of models is obtained by classical, statistical way, regression analysis. In this study site ground conditions are additionally considered because the same earthquake recorded at the same distance may cause different damage according to ground conditions. Empirical ground-motion prediction models (GMPMs) require adjustment to make them appropriate for site-specific scenarios. However, the process of making such adjustments remains a challenge. This work presents a holistic framework for the development of a peak ground acceleration (PGA) or spectral acceleration (SA) GMPE that is easily adjustable to different seismological conditions and does not suffer from the practical problems associated with adjustments in the response spectral domain.

  14. A spatio-temporal model for probabilistic seismic hazard zonation of Tehran

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hashemi, Mahdi; Alesheikh, Ali Asghar; Zolfaghari, Mohammad Reza

    2013-08-01

    A precondition for all disaster management steps, building damage prediction, and construction code developments is a hazard assessment that shows the exceedance probabilities of different ground motion levels at a site considering different near- and far-field earthquake sources. The seismic sources are usually categorized as time-independent area sources and time-dependent fault sources. While the earlier incorporates the small and medium events, the later takes into account only the large characteristic earthquakes. In this article, a probabilistic approach is proposed to aggregate the effects of time-dependent and time-independent sources on seismic hazard. The methodology is then applied to generate three probabilistic seismic hazard maps of Tehran for 10%, 5%, and 2% exceedance probabilities in 50 years. The results indicate an increase in peak ground acceleration (PGA) values toward the southeastern part of the study area and the PGA variations are mostly controlled by the shear wave velocities across the city. In addition, the implementation of the methodology takes advantage of GIS capabilities especially raster-based analyses and representations. During the estimation of the PGA exceedance rates, the emphasis has been placed on incorporating the effects of different attenuation relationships and seismic source models by using a logic tree.

  15. Distributions of strong ground motion due to dynamic ruptures across a bimaterial fault: Implications for seismic hazard analyses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuan, Jie; Zhu, Shoubiao

    2016-12-01

    We perform 2-D finite element calculations of mode II rupture along a bimaterial interface governed by regularized rate- and state-dependent friction law, with the goal of understanding how the bimaterial interface influences the strong ground motion. By comparison with properties of rupture in a homogeneous solid, we found that bimaterial mechanism is important for earthquake ruptures and influences the strong ground motion significantly. The simulated results show that mode II rupture evolves with propagation distance along a bimaterial interface to a unilateral wrinkle-like pulse in the direction of slip on the compliant side of the fault, namely in the positive direction. Strong ground motion caused by seismic waves emanated from the rupture propagation is asymmetrically distributed in space. The computed peak ground acceleration (PGA) is high in the near-fault region. Particularly, PGA is much larger in the region on the side in the positive direction. In addition, it is greater in the more compliant area of the model than that in the stiffer area with corresponding locations. Moreover, the differential PGA due to bimaterial effect increases with increasing degree of material contrast across the fault. It is hoped that the results obtained in this investigation will provide some implications for seismic hazard assessment and fault rupture mechanics.

  16. Geometric effects resulting from the asymmetry of dipping fault: Hanging wall/ footwall effects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Dong; Xie, Li-Li; Hu, Jin-Jun

    2008-05-01

    Root-mean-square distance D rms with characteristic of weighted-average is introduced in this article firstly. D rms can be used to capture the general proximity of a site to a dipping fault plane comparing with the rupture distance D rup and the seismogenic distance D seis. Then, using D rup, D seis and D rms, the hanging wall/footwall effects on the peak ground acceleration (PGA) during the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake are evaluated by regression analysis. The logarithm residual shows that the PGA on hanging wall is much greater than that on footwall at the same D rup or D seis when the D rup or D seis is used as site-to-source distance measure. In contrast, there is no significant difference between the PGA on hanging wall and that on footwall at the same D rms when D rms is used. This result confirms that the hanging wall/footwall effect is mainly a geometric effect caused by the asymmetry of dipping fault. Therefore, the hanging wall/footwall effect on the near-fault ground motions can be ignored in the future attenuation analysis if the root-mean-square distance D rms is used as the site-to-source distance measure.

  17. Influence of angular acceleration-deceleration pulse shapes on regional brain strains.

    PubMed

    Yoganandan, Narayan; Li, Jianrong; Zhang, Jiangyue; Pintar, Frank A; Gennarelli, Thomas A

    2008-07-19

    Recognizing the association of angular loading with brain injuries and inconsistency in previous studies in the application of the biphasic loads to animal, physical, and experimental models, the present study examined the role of the acceleration-deceleration pulse shapes on region-specific strains. An experimentally validated two-dimensional finite element model representing the adult male human head was used. The model simulated the skull and falx as a linear elastic material, cerebrospinal fluid as a hydrodynamic material, and cerebrum as a linear viscoelastic material. The angular loading matrix consisted coronal plane rotation about a center of rotation that was acceleration-only (4.5 ms duration, 7.8 krad/s/s peak), deceleration-only (20 ms, 1.4 krad/s/s peak), acceleration-deceleration, and deceleration-acceleration pulses. Both biphasic pulses had peaks separated by intervals ranging from 0 to 25 ms. Principal strains were determined at the corpus callosum, base of the postcentral sulcus, and cerebral cortex of the parietal lobe. The cerebrum was divided into 17 regions and peak values of average maximum principal strains were determined. In all simulations, the corpus callosum responded with the highest strains. Strains were the least under all simulations in the lower parietal lobes. In all regions peak strains were the same for both monophase pulses suggesting that the angular velocity may be a better metric than peak acceleration or deceleration. In contrast, for the biphasic pulse, peak strains were region- and pulse-shape specific. Peak values were lower in both biphasic pulses when there was no time separation between the pulses than the corresponding monophase pulse. Increasing separation time intervals increased strains, albeit non-uniformly. Acceleration followed by deceleration pulse produced greater strains in all regions than the other form of biphasic pulse. Thus, pulse shape appears to have an effect on regional strains in the brain.

  18. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Akasaka, Hiroaki; Sasaki, Ryohei, E-mail: rsasaki@med.kobe-u.ac.jp; Miyawaki, Daisuke

    Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a polyglycolic acid (PGA) spacer through physical and animal experiments. Methods and Materials: The spacer was produced with surgical suture material made of PGA, forming a 3-dimensional nonwoven fabric. For evaluation or physical experiments, 150-MeV proton or 320-MeV carbon-ion beams were used to generate 60-mm width of spread-out Bragg peak. For animal experiments, the abdomens of C57BL/6 mice, with or without the inserted PGA spacers, were irradiated with 20 Gy of carbon-ion beam (290 MeV) using the spread-out Bragg peak. Body weight changes over time were scored, and radiation damage to the intestine wasmore » investigated using hematoxylin and eosin stain. Blood samples were also evaluated 24 days after the irradiation. Long-term thickness retention and safety were evaluated using crab-eating macaques. Results: No chemical or structural changes after 100 Gy of proton or carbon-ion irradiation were observed in the PGA spacer. Water equivalency of the PGA spacer was equal to the water thickness under wet condition. During 24 days' observation after 20 Gy of carbon-ion irradiation, the body weights of mice with the PGA spacer were relatively unchanged, whereas significant weight loss was observed in those mice without the PGA spacer (P<.05). In mice with the PGA spacer, villus and crypt structure were preserved after irradiation. No inflammatory reactions or liver or renal dysfunctions due to placement of the PGA spacer were observed. In the abdomen of crab-eating macaques, thickness of the PGA spacer was maintained 8 weeks after placement. Conclusions: The absorbable PGA spacer had water-equivalent, bio-compatible, and thickness-retaining properties. Although further evaluation is warranted in a clinical setting, the PGA spacer may be effective to stop proton or carbon-ion beams and to separate normal tissues from the radiation field.« less

  19. Some Key Features of the Strong-Motion Data from the M 6.0 Parkfield, California, Earthquake of 28 September 2004

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Shakal, A.; Haddadi, H.; Graizer, V.; Lin, K.; Huang, M.

    2006-01-01

    The 2004 Parkfield, California, earthquake was recorded by an extensive set of strong-motion instruments well positioned to record details of the motion in the near-fault region, where there has previously been very little recorded data. The strong-motion measurements obtained are highly varied, with significant variations occurring over only a few kilometers. The peak accelerations in the near fault region range from 0.13g to over 1.8g (one of the highest acceleration recorded to date, exceeding the capacity of the recording instrument The largest accelerations occurred near the northwest end of the inferred rupture zone. These motions are consistent with directivity for a fault rupturing from the hypocenter near Gold Hill toward the northwest. However, accelerations up to 0.8g were also observed in the opposite direction, at the south end of the Cholame Valley near Highway 41, consistent with bilateral rupture, with rupture southeast of the hypocenter. Several stations near and over the rupturing fault recorded relatively weak motions, consistent with seemingly paradoxical observations of low shaking damage near strike-slip faults. This event had more ground-motion observations within 10 km of the fault than many other earthquakes combined. At moderate distances peak horizontal ground acceleration (PGA) values dropped off more rapidly with distance than standard relationships. At close-in distance the wide variation of PGA suggests a distance-dependent sigma may be important to consider. The near-fault ground-motion variation is greater than that assumed in ShakeMap interpolations, based on the existing set of observed data. Higher density of stations near faults may be the only means in the near future to reduce uncertainty in the interpolations. Outside of the near-fault zone the variance is closer to that assumed. This set of data provides the first case where near-fault radiation has been observed at an adequate number of stations around the fault to allow

  20. Rotational motions from the 2016, Central Italy seismic sequence, as observed by an underground ring laser gyroscope

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simonelli, A.; Igel, H.; Wassermann, J.; Belfi, J.; Di Virgilio, A.; Beverini, N.; De Luca, G.; Saccorotti, G.

    2018-05-01

    We present the analysis of rotational and translational ground motions from earthquakes recorded during October/November, 2016, in association with the Central Italy seismic-sequence. We use co-located measurements of the vertical ground rotation rate from a large ring laser gyroscope (RLG), and the three components of ground velocity from a broadband seismometer. Both instruments are positioned in a deep underground environment, within the Gran Sasso National Laboratories (LNGS) of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN). We collected dozens of events spanning the 3.5-5.9 Magnitude range, and epicentral distances between 30 km and 70 km. This data set constitutes an unprecedented observation of the vertical rotational motions associated with an intense seismic sequence at local distance. Under the plane wave approximation we process the data set in order to get an experimental estimation of the events back azimuth. Peak values of rotation rate (PRR) and horizontal acceleration (PGA) are markedly correlated, according to a scaling constant which is consistent with previous measurements from different earthquake sequences. We used a prediction model in use for Italy to calculate the expected PGA at the recording site, obtaining consequently predictions for PRR. Within the modeling uncertainties, predicted rotations are consistent with the observed ones, suggesting the possibility of establishing specific attenuation models for ground rotations, like the scaling of peak velocity and peak acceleration in empirical ground-motion prediction relationships. In a second step, after identifying the direction of the incoming wave-field, we extract phase velocity data using the spectral ratio of the translational and rotational components.. This analysis is performed over time windows associated with the P-coda, S-coda and Lg phase. Results are consistent with independent estimates of shear-wave velocities in the shallow crust of the Central Apennines.

  1. High Peak Power Test and Evaluation of S-band Waveguide Switches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nassiri, A.; Grelick, A.; Kustom, R. L.; White, M.

    1997-05-01

    The injector and source of particles for the Advanced Photon Source is a 2856-MHz S-band electron-positron linear accelerator (linac) which produces electrons with energies up to 650 MeV or positrons with energies up to 450 MeV. To improve the linac rf system availability, an additional modulator-klystron subsystem is being constructed to provide a switchable hot spare unit for each of the five exsisting S-band transmitters. The switching of the transmitters will require the use of SF6-pressurized S-band waveguide switches at a peak operating power of 35 MW. Such rf switches have been successfully operated at other accelerator facilities but at lower peak powers. A test stand has been set up at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) Klystron Factory to conduct tests comparing the power handling characteristics of two WR-284 and one WR-340 switches. Test results are presented and their implications for the design of the switching system are discussed.

  2. Ground motions at the outermost limits of seismically triggered landslides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jibson, Randall W.; Harp, Edwin L.

    2016-04-01

    Over the last few decades, we and our colleagues have conducted field investigations in which we mapped the outermost limits of triggered landslides in four earthquakes: 1987 Whittier Narrows, California (M 5.9), 1987 Superstition Hills, California (M 6.5), 1994 Northridge, California (M 6.7), and 2011 Mineral, Virginia (M 5.8). In an additional two earthquakes, 1976 Guatemala (M 7.5) and 1983 Coalinga, California (M 6.5), we determined limits using high-resolution aerial photographic interpretation in conjunction with more limited ground investigation. Limits in these earthquakes were defined by the locations of the very smallest failures (< 1 m^3) from the most susceptible slopes that can be identified positively as having been triggered by earthquake shaking. Because we and our colleagues conducted all of these investigations, consistent methodology and criteria were used in determining limits. In the six earthquakes examined, we correlated the outermost landslide limits with peak ground accelerations (PGA) from ShakeMap models of each earthquake. For the four earthquakes studied by field investigation, the minimum PGA values associated with farthest landslide limits ranged from 0.02-0.08 g. The range for the two earthquakes investigated using aerial photographic interpretations was 0.05-0.11 g. Although PGA values at landslide limits depend on several factors - including material strength, topographic amplification, and hydrologic conditions - these values provide an empirically useful lower limiting range of PGA needed to trigger the smallest failures on very susceptible slopes. In a well-recorded earthquake, this PGA range can be used to identify an outer boundary within which we might expect to find landsliding; in earthquakes that are not well recorded, mapping the outermost landslide limits provides a useful clue about ground-motion levels at the mapped limits.

  3. Player Monitoring in Indoor Team Sports: Concurrent Validity of Inertial Measurement Units to Quantify Average and Peak Acceleration Values

    PubMed Central

    Roell, Mareike; Roecker, Kai; Gehring, Dominic; Mahler, Hubert; Gollhofer, Albert

    2018-01-01

    The increasing interest in assessing physical demands in team sports has led to the development of multiple sports related monitoring systems. Due to technical limitations, these systems primarily could be applied to outdoor sports, whereas an equivalent indoor locomotion analysis is not established yet. Technological development of inertial measurement units (IMU) broadens the possibilities for player monitoring and enables the quantification of locomotor movements in indoor environments. The aim of the current study was to validate an IMU measuring by determining average and peak human acceleration under indoor conditions in team sport specific movements. Data of a single wearable tracking device including an IMU (Optimeye S5, Catapult Sports, Melbourne, Australia) were compared to the results of a 3D motion analysis (MA) system (Vicon Motion Systems, Oxford, UK) during selected standardized movement simulations in an indoor laboratory (n = 56). A low-pass filtering method for gravity correction (LF) and two sensor fusion algorithms for orientation estimation [Complementary Filter (CF), Kalman-Filter (KF)] were implemented and compared with MA system data. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between LF and MA data but not between sensor fusion algorithms and MA. Higher precision and lower relative errors were found for CF (RMSE = 0.05; CV = 2.6%) and KF (RMSE = 0.15; CV = 3.8%) both compared to the LF method (RMSE = 1.14; CV = 47.6%) regarding the magnitude of the resulting vector and strongly emphasize the implementation of orientation estimation to accurately describe human acceleration. Comparing both sensor fusion algorithms, CF revealed slightly lower errors than KF and additionally provided valuable information about positive and negative acceleration values in all three movement planes with moderate to good validity (CV = 3.9 – 17.8%). Compared to x- and y-axis superior results were found for the z-axis. These findings demonstrate that IMU

  4. Preliminary map of peak horizontal ground acceleration for the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake of January 17, 1995, Japan - Description of Mapped Data Sets

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Borcherdt, R.D.; Mark, R.K.

    1995-01-01

    The Hanshin-Awaji earthquake (also known as the Hyogo-ken Nanbu and the Great Hanshin earthquake) provided an unprecedented set of measurements of strong ground shaking. The measurements constitute the most comprehensive set of strong- motion recordings yet obtained for sites underlain by soft soil deposits of Holocene age within a few kilometers of the crustal rupture zone. The recordings, obtained on or near many important structures, provide an important new empirical data set for evaluating input ground motion levels and site amplification factors for codes and site-specific design procedures world wide. This report describes the data used to prepare a preliminary map summarizing the strong motion data in relation to seismicity and underlying geology (Wentworth, Borcherdt, and Mark., 1995; Figure 1, hereafter referred to as Figure 1/I). The map shows station locations, peak acceleration values, and generalized acceleration contours superimposed on pertinent seismicity and the geologic map of Japan. The map (Figure 1/I) indicates a zone of high acceleration with ground motions throughout the zone greater than 400 gal and locally greater than 800 gal. This zone encompasses the area of most intense damage mapped as JMA intensity level 7, which extends through Kobe City. The zone of most intense damage is parallel, but displaced slightly from the surface projection of the crustal rupture zone implied by aftershock locations. The zone is underlain by soft-soil deposits of Holocene age.

  5. Magnitude Estimation for Large Earthquakes from Borehole Recordings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eshaghi, A.; Tiampo, K. F.; Ghofrani, H.; Atkinson, G.

    2012-12-01

    We present a simple and fast method for magnitude determination technique for earthquake and tsunami early warning systems based on strong ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) in Japan. This method incorporates borehole strong motion records provided by the Kiban Kyoshin network (KiK-net) stations. We analyzed strong ground motion data from large magnitude earthquakes (5.0 ≤ M ≤ 8.1) with focal depths < 50 km and epicentral distances of up to 400 km from 1996 to 2010. Using both peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV) we derived GMPEs in Japan. These GMPEs are used as the basis for regional magnitude determination. Predicted magnitudes from PGA values (Mpga) and predicted magnitudes from PGV values (Mpgv) were defined. Mpga and Mpgv strongly correlate with the moment magnitude of the event, provided sufficient records for each event are available. The results show that Mpgv has a smaller standard deviation in comparison to Mpga when compared with the estimated magnitudes and provides a more accurate early assessment of earthquake magnitude. We test this new method to estimate the magnitude of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and we present the results of this estimation. PGA and PGV from borehole recordings allow us to estimate the magnitude of this event 156 s and 105 s after the earthquake onset, respectively. We demonstrate that the incorporation of borehole strong ground-motion records immediately available after the occurrence of large earthquakes significantly increases the accuracy of earthquake magnitude estimation and the associated improvement in earthquake and tsunami early warning systems performance. Moment magnitude versus predicted magnitude (Mpga and Mpgv).

  6. On the Prediction of Ground Motion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lavallee, D.; Schmedes, J.; Archuleta, R. J.

    2012-12-01

    Using a slip-weakening dynamic model of rupture, we generated earthquake scenarios that provided the spatio-temporal evolution of the slip on the fault and the radiated field at the free surface. We observed scenarios where the rupture propagates at a supershear speed on some parts of the fault while remaining subshear for other parts of the fault. For some scenarios with nearly identical initial conditions, the rupture speed was always subshear. For both types of scenarios (mixture of supershear and subshear speeds and only subshear), we compute the peak ground accelerations (PGA) regularly distributed over the Earth's surface. We then calculate the probability density functions (PDF) of the PGA. For both types of scenarios, the PDF curves are asymmetrically shaped and asymptotically attenuated according to power law. This behavior of the PDF is similar to that observed for the PDF curves of PGA recorded during earthquakes. The main difference between scenarios with a supershear rupture speed and scenarios with only subshear rupture speed is the range of PGA values. Based on these results, we investigate three issues fundamental for the prediction of ground motion. It is important to recognize that recorded ground motions during an earthquake sample a small fraction of the radiation field. It is not obvious that such sampling will capture the largest ground motion generated during an earthquake, nor that the number of stations is large enough to properly infer the statistical properties associated with the radiation field. To quantify the effect of under (or low) sampling of the radiation field, we design three experiments. For a scenario where the rupture speed is only subshear, we construct multiple sets of observations. Each set is comprised of 100 randomly selected PGA values from all of the PGA's calculated at the Earth's surface. In the first experiment, we evaluate how the distributions of PGA in the sets compare with the distribution of all the PGA. For

  7. Diffusive Shock Acceleration and Reconnection Acceleration Processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zank, G. P.; Hunana, P.; Mostafavi, P.; Le Roux, J. A.; Li, Gang; Webb, G. M.; Khabarova, O.; Cummings, A.; Stone, E.; Decker, R.

    2015-12-01

    Shock waves, as shown by simulations and observations, can generate high levels of downstream vortical turbulence, including magnetic islands. We consider a combination of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) and downstream magnetic-island-reconnection-related processes as an energization mechanism for charged particles. Observations of electron and ion distributions downstream of interplanetary shocks and the heliospheric termination shock (HTS) are frequently inconsistent with the predictions of classical DSA. We utilize a recently developed transport theory for charged particles propagating diffusively in a turbulent region filled with contracting and reconnecting plasmoids and small-scale current sheets. Particle energization associated with the anti-reconnection electric field, a consequence of magnetic island merging, and magnetic island contraction, are considered. For the former only, we find that (i) the spectrum is a hard power law in particle speed, and (ii) the downstream solution is constant. For downstream plasmoid contraction only, (i) the accelerated spectrum is a hard power law in particle speed; (ii) the particle intensity for a given energy peaks downstream of the shock, and the distance to the peak location increases with increasing particle energy, and (iii) the particle intensity amplification for a particular particle energy, f(x,c/{c}0)/f(0,c/{c}0), is not 1, as predicted by DSA, but increases with increasing particle energy. The general solution combines both the reconnection-induced electric field and plasmoid contraction. The observed energetic particle intensity profile observed by Voyager 2 downstream of the HTS appears to support a particle acceleration mechanism that combines both DSA and magnetic-island-reconnection-related processes.

  8. Tibial Acceleration and Spatiotemporal Mechanics in Distance Runners During Reduced-Body-Weight Conditions.

    PubMed

    Moran, Matthew F; Rickert, Brendan J; Greer, Beau K

    2017-05-01

    Treadmills that unload runners via a differential air-pressure (DAP) bladder (eg, AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill) are commonly used to reduce effective body weight (BW) in a clinical setting. However, the relationship between the level of unloading and tibial stress is currently unknown. To determine the relationship between tibial impact acceleration and level of BW unloading during running. Cross-sectional. University motion-analysis laboratory. 15 distance runners (9 male, 6 female; 20.4 ± 2.4 y, 60.1 ± 12.6 kg). Peak tibial acceleration and peak-to-peak tibial acceleration were measured via a uniaxial accelerometer attached to the tibia during a 37-min continuous treadmill run that simulated reduced-BW conditions via a DAP bladder. The trial began with a 10-min run at 100% BW followed by nine 3-min stages where BW was systematically reduced from 95% to 60% in 5% increments. There was no significant relationship between level of BW and either peak tibial acceleration or peak-to-peak tibial acceleration (P > .05). Both heart rate and step rate were significantly reduced with each 5% reduction in BW level (P < .01). Although ground-reaction forces are reduced when running in reduced-BW conditions on a DAP treadmill, tibial shock magnitudes are unchanged as an alteration in spatiotemporal running mechanics (eg, reduced step rate) and may nullify the unloading effect.

  9. Poly(γ-glutamic acid)-coated lipoplexes loaded with Doxorubicin for enhancing the antitumor activity against liver tumors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qi, Na; Tang, Bo; Liu, Guang; Liang, Xingsi

    2017-05-01

    The study was to develop poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA)-coated Doxorubicin (Dox) lipoplexes that enhance the antitumor activity against liver tumors. γ-PGA-coated lipoplexes were performed by electrostatistically attracting to the surface of cationic charge liposomes with anionic γ-PGA. With the increasing of γ-PGA concentration, the particle size of γ-PGA-coated Dox lipoplexes slightly increased, the zeta potential from positive shifted to negative, and the entrapment efficiency (EE) were no significant change. The release rate of γ-PGA-coated Dox lipoplexes slightly increased at acidic pH, the accelerated Dox release might be attributed to greater drug delivery to tumor cells, resulting in a higher antitumor activity. Especially, γ-PGA-coated Dox lipoplexes exhibited higher cellular uptake, significant in vitro cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells, and improved in vivo antitumor efficacy toward HepG2 hepatoma-xenografted nude models in comparison with Dox liposomes and free Dox solution. In addition, the analysis results via flow cytometry showed that γ-PGA-coated Dox lipoplexes induce S phase cell cycle arrest and significantly increased apoptosis rate of HepG2 cells. In conclusion, the presence of γ-PGA on the surface of Dox lipoplexes enhanced antitumor effects of liver tumors.

  10. Rotational Acceleration during Head Impact Resulting from Different Judo Throwing Techniques

    PubMed Central

    MURAYAMA, Haruo; HITOSUGI, Masahito; MOTOZAWA, Yasuki; OGINO, Masahiro; KOYAMA, Katsuhiro

    2014-01-01

    Most severe head injuries in judo are reported as acute subdural hematoma. It is thus necessary to examine the rotational acceleration of the head to clarify the mechanism of head injuries. We determined the rotational acceleration of the head when the subject is thrown by judo techniques. One Japanese male judo expert threw an anthropomorphic test device using two throwing techniques, Osoto-gari and Ouchigari. Rotational and translational head accelerations were measured with and without an under-mat. For Osoto-gari, peak resultant rotational acceleration ranged from 4,284.2 rad/s2 to 5,525.9 rad/s2 and peak resultant translational acceleration ranged from 64.3 g to 87.2 g; for Ouchi-gari, the accelerations respectively ranged from 1,708.0 rad/s2 to 2,104.1 rad/s2 and from 120.2 g to 149.4 g. The resultant rotational acceleration did not decrease with installation of an under-mat for both Ouchi-gari and Osoto-gari. We found that head contact with the tatami could result in the peak values of translational and rotational accelerations, respectively. In general, because kinematics of the body strongly affects translational and rotational accelerations of the head, both accelerations should be measured to analyze the underlying mechanism of head injury. As a primary preventative measure, throwing techniques should be restricted to participants demonstrating ability in ukemi techniques to avoid head contact with the tatami. PMID:24477065

  11. Rotational acceleration during head impact resulting from different judo throwing techniques.

    PubMed

    Murayama, Haruo; Hitosugi, Masahito; Motozawa, Yasuki; Ogino, Masahiro; Koyama, Katsuhiro

    2014-01-01

    Most severe head injuries in judo are reported as acute subdural hematoma. It is thus necessary to examine the rotational acceleration of the head to clarify the mechanism of head injuries. We determined the rotational acceleration of the head when the subject is thrown by judo techniques. One Japanese male judo expert threw an anthropomorphic test device using two throwing techniques, Osoto-gari and Ouchi-gari. Rotational and translational head accelerations were measured with and without an under-mat. For Osoto-gari, peak resultant rotational acceleration ranged from 4,284.2 rad/s(2) to 5,525.9 rad/s(2) and peak resultant translational acceleration ranged from 64.3 g to 87.2 g; for Ouchi-gari, the accelerations respectively ranged from 1,708.0 rad/s(2) to 2,104.1 rad/s(2) and from 120.2 g to 149.4 g. The resultant rotational acceleration did not decrease with installation of an under-mat for both Ouchi-gari and Osoto-gari. We found that head contact with the tatami could result in the peak values of translational and rotational accelerations, respectively. In general, because kinematics of the body strongly affects translational and rotational accelerations of the head, both accelerations should be measured to analyze the underlying mechanism of head injury. As a primary preventative measure, throwing techniques should be restricted to participants demonstrating ability in ukemi techniques to avoid head contact with the tatami.

  12. Mechanisms Underlying Isovolumic Contraction and Ejection Peaks in Seismocardiogram Morphology

    PubMed Central

    Gurev, Viatcheslav; Tavakolian, Kouhyar; Constantino, Jason; Kaminska, Bozena; Blaber, Andrew P.; Trayanova, Natalia A.

    2012-01-01

    A three-dimensional (3D) finite element electromechanical model of the heart is employed in simulations of seismocardiograms (SCGs). To simulate SCGs, a previously developed 3D model of ventricular contraction is extended by adding the mechanical interaction of the heart with the chest and internal organs. The proposed model reproduces the major peaks of seismocardiographic signals during the phases of the cardiac cycle. Results indicate that SCGs record the pressure of the heart acting on the ribs. In addition, the model reveals that the rotation of the rib with respect to the heart has a minor effect on seismocardiographic signal morphology during the respiratory cycle. SCGs are obtained from 24 human volunteers and their morphology is analyzed. Experimental results demonstrate that the peak of the maximum acceleration of blood in the aorta occurs at the same time as the global minimum of the SCG. It is confirmed that the first SCG peak after the electrocardiogram R-wave corresponds to aortic valve opening, as determined from the impedance cardiogram (p = 0.92). The simulation results reveal that the SCG peaks corresponding to aortic valve opening and the maximum acceleration of blood in the aorta result from ventricular contraction in the longitudinal direction of the ventricles and a decrease in the dimensions of the ventricles due to the ejection of blood, respectively. PMID:23105942

  13. Maps Showing Seismic Landslide Hazards in Anchorage, Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Jibson, Randall W.; Michael, John A.

    2009-01-01

    The devastating landslides that accompanied the great 1964 Alaska earthquake showed that seismically triggered landslides are one of the greatest geologic hazards in Anchorage. Maps quantifying seismic landslide hazards are therefore important for planning, zoning, and emergency-response preparation. The accompanying maps portray seismic landslide hazards for the following conditions: (1) deep, translational landslides, which occur only during great subduction-zone earthquakes that have return periods of =~300-900 yr; (2) shallow landslides for a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.69 g, which has a return period of 2,475 yr, or a 2 percent probability of exceedance in 50 yr; and (3) shallow landslides for a PGA of 0.43 g, which has a return period of 475 yr, or a 10 percent probability of exceedance in 50 yr. Deep, translational landslide hazard zones were delineated based on previous studies of such landslides, with some modifications based on field observations of locations of deep landslides. Shallow-landslide hazards were delineated using a Newmark-type displacement analysis for the two probabilistic ground motions modeled.

  14. Maps showing seismic landslide hazards in Anchorage, Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Jibson, Randall W.

    2014-01-01

    The devastating landslides that accompanied the great 1964 Alaska earthquake showed that seismically triggered landslides are one of the greatest geologic hazards in Anchorage. Maps quantifying seismic landslide hazards are therefore important for planning, zoning, and emergency-response preparation. The accompanying maps portray seismic landslide hazards for the following conditions: (1) deep, translational landslides, which occur only during great subduction-zone earthquakes that have return periods of =300-900 yr; (2) shallow landslides for a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.69 g, which has a return period of 2,475 yr, or a 2 percent probability of exceedance in 50 yr; and (3) shallow landslides for a PGA of 0.43 g, which has a return period of 475 yr, or a 10 percent probability of exceedance in 50 yr. Deep, translational landslide hazards were delineated based on previous studies of such landslides, with some modifications based on field observations of locations of deep landslides. Shallow-landslide hazards were delineated using a Newmark-type displacement analysis for the two probabilistic ground motions modeled.

  15. Monte Carlo simulation for slip rate sensitivity analysis in Cimandiri fault area

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pratama, Cecep, E-mail: great.pratama@gmail.com; Meilano, Irwan; Nugraha, Andri Dian

    Slip rate is used to estimate earthquake recurrence relationship which is the most influence for hazard level. We examine slip rate contribution of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), in probabilistic seismic hazard maps (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years or 500 years return period). Hazard curve of PGA have been investigated for Sukabumi using a PSHA (Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis). We observe that the most influence in the hazard estimate is crustal fault. Monte Carlo approach has been developed to assess the sensitivity. Then, Monte Carlo simulations properties have been assessed. Uncertainty and coefficient of variation from slip rate formore » Cimandiri Fault area has been calculated. We observe that seismic hazard estimates is sensitive to fault slip rate with seismic hazard uncertainty result about 0.25 g. For specific site, we found seismic hazard estimate for Sukabumi is between 0.4904 – 0.8465 g with uncertainty between 0.0847 – 0.2389 g and COV between 17.7% – 29.8%.« less

  16. Electron acceleration in downward auroral field-aligned currents

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cran-McGreehin, Alexandra P.; Wright, Andrew N.

    2005-10-01

    The auroral downward field-aligned current is mainly carried by electrons accelerated up from the ionosphere into the magnetosphere along magnetic field lines. Current densities are typically of the order of a few μ Am-2, and the associated electrons are accelerated to energies of several hundred eV up to a few keV. This downward current has been modeled by Temerin and Carlson (1998) using an electron fluid. This paper extends that model by describing the electron populations via distribution functions and modeling all of the F region. We assume a given ion density profile, and invoke quasi-neutrality to solve for the potential along the field line. Several important locations and quantities emerge from this model: the ionospheric trapping point, below which the ionospheric population is trapped by an ambipolar electric field; the location of maximum E∥, of the order of a few mVm-1, which lies earthward of the B/n peak; the acceleration region, located around the B/n peak, which normally extends between altitudes of 500 and 3000 km; and the total potential increase along the field line, of the order of a few hundred V up to several kV. The B/n peak is found to be the central factor determining the altitude and magnitude of the accelerating potential required. Indeed, the total potential drop is found to depend solely on the equilibrium properties in the immediate vicinity of the B/n peak.

  17. Combining Diffusive Shock Acceleration with Acceleration by Contracting and Reconnecting Small-scale Flux Ropes at Heliospheric Shocks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    le Roux, J. A.; Zank, G. P.; Webb, G. M.; Khabarova, O. V.

    2016-08-01

    Computational and observational evidence is accruing that heliospheric shocks, as emitters of vorticity, can produce downstream magnetic flux ropes and filaments. This led Zank et al. to investigate a new paradigm whereby energetic particle acceleration near shocks is a combination of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) with downstream acceleration by many small-scale contracting and reconnecting (merging) flux ropes. Using a model where flux-rope acceleration involves a first-order Fermi mechanism due to the mean compression of numerous contracting flux ropes, Zank et al. provide theoretical support for observations that power-law spectra of energetic particles downstream of heliospheric shocks can be harder than predicted by DSA theory and that energetic particle intensities should peak behind shocks instead of at shocks as predicted by DSA theory. In this paper, a more extended formalism of kinetic transport theory developed by le Roux et al. is used to further explore this paradigm. We describe how second-order Fermi acceleration, related to the variance in the electromagnetic fields produced by downstream small-scale flux-rope dynamics, modifies the standard DSA model. The results show that (I) this approach can qualitatively reproduce observations of particle intensities peaking behind the shock, thus providing further support for the new paradigm, and (II) stochastic acceleration by compressible flux ropes tends to be more efficient than incompressible flux ropes behind shocks in modifying the DSA spectrum of energetic particles.

  18. Within-Event and Between-Events Ground Motion Variability from Earthquake Rupture Scenarios

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crempien, Jorge G. F.; Archuleta, Ralph J.

    2017-09-01

    Measurement of ground motion variability is essential to estimate seismic hazard. Over-estimation of variability can lead to extremely high annual hazard estimates of ground motion exceedance. We explore different parameters that affect the variability of ground motion such as the spatial correlations of kinematic rupture parameters on a finite fault and the corner frequency of the moment-rate spectra. To quantify the variability of ground motion, we simulate kinematic rupture scenarios on several vertical strike-slip faults and compute ground motion using the representation theorem. In particular, for the entire suite of rupture scenarios, we quantify the within-event and the between-events ground motion variability of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and response spectra at several periods, at 40 stations—all approximately at an equal distance of 20 and 50 km from the fault. Both within-event and between-events ground motion variability increase when the slip correlation length on the fault increases. The probability density functions of ground motion tend to truncate at a finite value when the correlation length of slip decreases on the fault, therefore, we do not observe any long-tail distribution of peak ground acceleration when performing several rupture simulations for small correlation lengths. Finally, for a correlation length of 6 km, the within-event and between-events PGA log-normal standard deviations are 0.58 and 0.19, respectively, values slightly smaller than those reported by Boore et al. (Earthq Spectra, 30(3):1057-1085, 2014). The between-events standard deviation is consistently smaller than the within-event for all correlations lengths, a feature that agrees with recent ground motion prediction equations.

  19. Ground motion simulation for the 23 August 2011, Mineral, Virginia earthquake using physics-based and stochastic broadband methods

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sun, Xiaodan; Hartzell, Stephen; Rezaeian, Sanaz

    2015-01-01

    Three broadband simulation methods are used to generate synthetic ground motions for the 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake and compare with observed motions. The methods include a physics‐based model by Hartzell et al. (1999, 2005), a stochastic source‐based model by Boore (2009), and a stochastic site‐based model by Rezaeian and Der Kiureghian (2010, 2012). The ground‐motion dataset consists of 40 stations within 600 km of the epicenter. Several metrics are used to validate the simulations: (1) overall bias of response spectra and Fourier spectra (from 0.1 to 10 Hz); (2) spatial distribution of residuals for GMRotI50 peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity, and pseudospectral acceleration (PSA) at various periods; (3) comparison with ground‐motion prediction equations (GMPEs) for the eastern United States. Our results show that (1) the physics‐based model provides satisfactory overall bias from 0.1 to 10 Hz and produces more realistic synthetic waveforms; (2) the stochastic site‐based model also yields more realistic synthetic waveforms and performs superiorly for frequencies greater than about 1 Hz; (3) the stochastic source‐based model has larger bias at lower frequencies (<0.5  Hz) and cannot reproduce the varying frequency content in the time domain. The spatial distribution of GMRotI50 residuals shows that there is no obvious pattern with distance in the simulation bias, but there is some azimuthal variability. The comparison between synthetics and GMPEs shows similar fall‐off with distance for all three models, comparable PGA and PSA amplitudes for the physics‐based and stochastic site‐based models, and systematic lower amplitudes for the stochastic source‐based model at lower frequencies (<0.5  Hz).

  20. Simulation of double stage hall thruster with double-peaked magnetic field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ding, Yongjie; Li, Peng; Sun, Hezhi; Wei, Liqiu; Xu, Yu; Peng, Wuji; Su, Hongbo; Li, Hong; Yu, Daren

    2017-07-01

    This study adopts double permanent magnetic rings and four permanent magnetic rings to form two symmetrical magnetic peaks and two asymmetrical magnetic peaks in the channel of a Hall thruster, and uses a 2D-3V PIC-MCC model to analyze the influence of magnetic strength on the discharge characteristic and performance of Hall thrusters with an intermediate electrode and double-peaked magnetic field. As opposed to the two symmetrical magnetic peaks formed by double permanent magnetic rings, increasing the magnetic peak value deep within the channel can cause propellant ionization to occur; with the increase in the magnetic peak deep in the channel, the propellant utilization, thrust, and anode efficiency of the thruster are significantly improved. Double-peaked magnetic field can realize separate control of ionization and acceleration in a Hall thruster, and provide technical means for further improving thruster performance. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Physics of Ion Beam Sources", edited by Holger Kersten and Horst Neumann.

  1. End-Group Effects on the Properties of PEG-co-PGA Hydrogels

    PubMed Central

    Bencherif, Sidi A.; Srinivasan, Abiraman; Sheehan, Jeffrey A.; Walker, Lynn M.; Gayathri, Chakicherla; Gil, Roberto; Hollinger, Jeffrey O.; Matyjaszewski, Krzysztof; Washburn, Newell R.

    2009-01-01

    A series of resorbable poly(ethylene glycol)-co-poly(glycolic acid) macromonomers have been synthesized with the chemistries from three different photopolymerizable end-groups (acrylates, methacrylates, and urethane methacrylates). The aim of the study is to examine the effects of the chemistry of the cross-linker group on the properties of photocross-linkable hydrogels. PEG-co-PGA (4KG5) hydrogels were prepared by photopolymerization with high vinyl group conversion as confirmed by 1H NMR spectroscopy using DOSY 1D pulse sequence. Our study reveals that the nature of end-groups in a moderately amphiphilic polymer can adjust the distribution and size of the micellar configuration in water leading to changes in the macroscopic structure of hydrogels. By varying the chemistry of the cross-linker group (diacrylates; DA, dimethacrylates; DM, and urethane dimethacrylates; UDM), we determined that the hydrophobocity of a single core polymer consisting of poly(glycolic acid) could be fine-tuned leading to significant variations in the mechanical, swelling, and degradation properties of the gels. In addition, the effects of cross-linker chemistry on cytotoxicity and proliferation were examined. Cytotoxicity assays showed that all the three types of hydrogels (4KG5 DA, DM, and UDM) were biocompatible and the introduction of RGD ligand enhanced cell adhesion. However, differences in gel properties and stability differentially affected the spreading and proliferation of myoblast C2C12 cells. PMID:19328754

  2. Two-color ionization injection using a plasma beatwave accelerator

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schroeder, C. B.; Benedetti, C.; Esarey, E.

    Two-color laser ionization injection is a method to generate ultra-low emittance (sub-100 nm transverse normalized emittance) beams in a laser-driven plasma accelerator. A plasma beatwave accelerator is proposed to drive the plasma wave for ionization injection, where the beating of the lasers effectively produces a train of long-wavelength pulses. The plasma beatwave accelerator excites a large amplitude plasma wave with low peak laser electric fields, leaving atomically-bound electrons with low ionization potential. A short-wavelength, low-amplitude ionization injection laser pulse (with a small ponderomotive force and large peak electric field) is used to ionize the remaining bound electrons at a wakemore » phase suitable for trapping, generating an ultra-low emittance electron beam that is accelerated in the plasma wave. Using a plasma beatwave accelerator for wakefield excitation, compared to short-pulse wakefield excitation, allows for a lower amplitude injection laser pulse and, hence, a lower emittance beam may be generated.« less

  3. Two-color ionization injection using a plasma beatwave accelerator

    DOE PAGES

    Schroeder, C. B.; Benedetti, C.; Esarey, E.; ...

    2018-01-10

    Two-color laser ionization injection is a method to generate ultra-low emittance (sub-100 nm transverse normalized emittance) beams in a laser-driven plasma accelerator. A plasma beatwave accelerator is proposed to drive the plasma wave for ionization injection, where the beating of the lasers effectively produces a train of long-wavelength pulses. The plasma beatwave accelerator excites a large amplitude plasma wave with low peak laser electric fields, leaving atomically-bound electrons with low ionization potential. A short-wavelength, low-amplitude ionization injection laser pulse (with a small ponderomotive force and large peak electric field) is used to ionize the remaining bound electrons at a wakemore » phase suitable for trapping, generating an ultra-low emittance electron beam that is accelerated in the plasma wave. Using a plasma beatwave accelerator for wakefield excitation, compared to short-pulse wakefield excitation, allows for a lower amplitude injection laser pulse and, hence, a lower emittance beam may be generated.« less

  4. Recent Improvements to the Finite-Fault Rupture Detector Algorithm: FinDer II

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, D.; Boese, M.; Heaton, T. H.

    2015-12-01

    Constraining the finite-fault rupture extent and azimuth is crucial for accurately estimating ground-motion in large earthquakes. Detecting and modeling finite-fault ruptures in real-time is thus essential to both earthquake early warning (EEW) and rapid emergency response. Following extensive real-time and offline testing, the finite-fault rupture detector algorithm, FinDer (Böse et al., 2012 & 2015), was successfully integrated into the California-wide ShakeAlert EEW demonstration system. Since April 2015, FinDer has been scanning real-time waveform data from approximately 420 strong-motion stations in California for peak ground acceleration (PGA) patterns indicative of earthquakes. FinDer analyzes strong-motion data by comparing spatial images of observed PGA with theoretical templates modeled from empirical ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs). If the correlation between the observed and theoretical PGA is sufficiently high, a report is sent to ShakeAlert including the estimated centroid position, length, and strike, and their uncertainties, of an ongoing fault rupture. Rupture estimates are continuously updated as new data arrives. As part of a joint effort between USGS Menlo Park, ETH Zurich, and Caltech, we have rewritten FinDer in C++ to obtain a faster and more flexible implementation. One new feature of FinDer II is that multiple contour lines of high-frequency PGA are computed and correlated with templates, allowing the detection of both large earthquakes and much smaller (~ M3.5) events shortly after their nucleation. Unlike previous EEW algorithms, FinDer II thus provides a modeling approach for both small-magnitude point-source and larger-magnitude finite-fault ruptures with consistent error estimates for the entire event magnitude range.

  5. A seismic hazard uncertainty analysis for the New Madrid seismic zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cramer, C.H.

    2001-01-01

    A review of the scientific issues relevant to characterizing earthquake sources in the New Madrid seismic zone has led to the development of a logic tree of possible alternative parameters. A variability analysis, using Monte Carlo sampling of this consensus logic tree, is presented and discussed. The analysis shows that for 2%-exceedence-in-50-year hazard, the best-estimate seismic hazard map is similar to previously published seismic hazard maps for the area. For peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration at 0.2 and 1.0 s (0.2 and 1.0 s Sa), the coefficient of variation (COV) representing the knowledge-based uncertainty in seismic hazard can exceed 0.6 over the New Madrid seismic zone and diminishes to about 0.1 away from areas of seismic activity. Sensitivity analyses show that the largest contributor to PGA, 0.2 and 1.0 s Sa seismic hazard variability is the uncertainty in the location of future 1811-1812 New Madrid sized earthquakes. This is followed by the variability due to the choice of ground motion attenuation relation, the magnitude for the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes, and the recurrence interval for M>6.5 events. Seismic hazard is not very sensitive to the variability in seismogenic width and length. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

  6. Calculating the radiation characteristics of accelerated electrons in laser-plasma interactions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, X. F.; Graduate School of Engineering, Utsunomiya University, 7-1-2 Yohtoh, Utsunomiya 321-8585; Yu, Q.

    2016-03-15

    In this paper, we studied the characteristics of radiation emitted by electrons accelerated in a laser–plasma interaction by using the Lienard–Wiechert field. In the interaction of a laser pulse with a underdense plasma, electrons are accelerated by two mechanisms: direct laser acceleration (DLA) and laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). At the beginning of the process, the DLA electrons emit most of the radiation, and the DLA electrons emit a much higher peak photon energy than the LWFA electrons. As the laser–plasma interaction progresses, the LWFA electrons become the major radiation emitter; however, even at this stage, the contribution from DLA electronsmore » is significant, especially to the peak photon energy.« less

  7. Velocity spectrum for the Iranian plateau

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bastami, Morteza; Soghrat, M. R.

    2018-01-01

    Peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration values have been proposed in most building codes/guidelines, unlike spectral velocity (SV) and peak ground velocity (PGV). Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of spectral velocity and peak ground velocity in the design of long period structures (e.g., pipelines, tunnels, tanks, and high-rise buildings) and evaluation of seismic vulnerability in underground structures. The current study was undertaken to develop a velocity spectrum and for estimation of PGV. In order to determine these parameters, 398 three-component accelerograms recorded by the Building and Housing Research Center (BHRC) were used. The moment magnitude (Mw) in the selected database was 4.1 to 7.3, and the events occurred after 1977. In the database, the average shear-wave velocity at 0 to 30 m in depth (Vs30) was available for only 217 records; thus, the site class for the remaining was estimated using empirical methods. Because of the importance of the velocity spectrum at low frequencies, the signal-to-noise ratio of 2 was chosen for determination of the low and high frequency to include a wider range of frequency content. This value can produce conservative results. After estimation of the shape of the velocity design spectrum, the PGV was also estimated for the region under study by finding the correlation between PGV and spectral acceleration at the period of 1 s.

  8. Five parameters for the evaluation of the soil nonlinearity during the Ms8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake using the HVSR method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ren, Yefei; Wen, Ruizhi; Yao, Xinxin; Ji, Kun

    2017-08-01

    The consideration of soil nonlinearity is important for the accurate estimation of the site response. To evaluate the soil nonlinearity during the 2008 Ms8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake, 33 strong-motion records obtained from the main shock and 890 records from 157 aftershocks were collected for this study. The horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) method was used to calculate five parameters: the ratio of predominant frequency (RFp), degree of nonlinearity (DNL), absolute degree of nonlinearity (ADNL), frequency of nonlinearity (fNL), and percentage of nonlinearity (PNL). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the soil nonlinearity level of 33 strong-motion stations and to investigate the characteristics, performance, and effective usage of these five parameters. Their correlations with the peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV), average uppermost 30-m shear-wave velocity ( V S30), and maximum amplitude of HVSR ( A max) were investigated. The results showed that all five parameters correlate well with PGA and PGV. The DNL, ADNL, and PNL also show a good correlation with A max, which means that the degree of soil nonlinearity not only depends on the ground-motion amplitude (e.g., PGA and PGV) but also on the site condition. The fNL correlates with PGA and PGV but shows no correlation with either A max or V S30, implying that the frequency width affected by the soil nonlinearity predominantly depends on the ground-motion amplitude rather than the site condition. At 16 of the 33 stations analyzed in this study, the site response showed evident (i.e., strong and medium) nonlinearity during the main shock of the Wenchuan Earthquake, where the ground-motion level was almost beyond the threshold of PGA > 200 cm/s2 or PGV > 15 cm/s. The site response showed weak and no nonlinearity at the other 14 and 3 stations. These results also confirm that RFp, DNL, ADNL, and PNL are effective in identifying the soil nonlinearity behavior. The identification

  9. Seismic fragility formulations for segmented buried pipeline systems including the impact of differential ground subsidence

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pineda Porras, Omar Andrey; Ordaz, Mario

    2009-01-01

    Though Differential Ground Subsidence (DGS) impacts the seismic response of segmented buried pipelines augmenting their vulnerability, fragility formulations to estimate repair rates under such condition are not available in the literature. Physical models to estimate pipeline seismic damage considering other cases of permanent ground subsidence (e.g. faulting, tectonic uplift, liquefaction, and landslides) have been extensively reported, not being the case of DGS. The refinement of the study of two important phenomena in Mexico City - the 1985 Michoacan earthquake scenario and the sinking of the city due to ground subsidence - has contributed to the analysis of the interrelation ofmore » pipeline damage, ground motion intensity, and DGS; from the analysis of the 48-inch pipeline network of the Mexico City's Water System, fragility formulations for segmented buried pipeline systems for two DGS levels are proposed. The novel parameter PGV{sup 2}/PGA, being PGV peak ground velocity and PGA peak ground acceleration, has been used as seismic parameter in these formulations, since it has shown better correlation to pipeline damage than PGV alone according to previous studies. By comparing the proposed fragilities, it is concluded that a change in the DGS level (from Low-Medium to High) could increase the pipeline repair rates (number of repairs per kilometer) by factors ranging from 1.3 to 2.0; being the higher the seismic intensity the lower the factor.« less

  10. COMBINING DIFFUSIVE SHOCK ACCELERATION WITH ACCELERATION BY CONTRACTING AND RECONNECTING SMALL-SCALE FLUX ROPES AT HELIOSPHERIC SHOCKS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Le Roux, J. A.; Zank, G. P.; Webb, G. M.

    2016-08-10

    Computational and observational evidence is accruing that heliospheric shocks, as emitters of vorticity, can produce downstream magnetic flux ropes and filaments. This led Zank et al. to investigate a new paradigm whereby energetic particle acceleration near shocks is a combination of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) with downstream acceleration by many small-scale contracting and reconnecting (merging) flux ropes. Using a model where flux-rope acceleration involves a first-order Fermi mechanism due to the mean compression of numerous contracting flux ropes, Zank et al. provide theoretical support for observations that power-law spectra of energetic particles downstream of heliospheric shocks can be harder thanmore » predicted by DSA theory and that energetic particle intensities should peak behind shocks instead of at shocks as predicted by DSA theory. In this paper, a more extended formalism of kinetic transport theory developed by le Roux et al. is used to further explore this paradigm. We describe how second-order Fermi acceleration, related to the variance in the electromagnetic fields produced by downstream small-scale flux-rope dynamics, modifies the standard DSA model. The results show that (i) this approach can qualitatively reproduce observations of particle intensities peaking behind the shock, thus providing further support for the new paradigm, and (ii) stochastic acceleration by compressible flux ropes tends to be more efficient than incompressible flux ropes behind shocks in modifying the DSA spectrum of energetic particles.« less

  11. Systolic peak detection in acceleration photoplethysmograms measured from emergency responders in tropical conditions.

    PubMed

    Elgendi, Mohamed; Norton, Ian; Brearley, Matt; Abbott, Derek; Schuurmans, Dale

    2013-01-01

    Photoplethysmogram (PPG) monitoring is not only essential for critically ill patients in hospitals or at home, but also for those undergoing exercise testing. However, processing PPG signals measured after exercise is challenging, especially if the environment is hot and humid. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm that can detect systolic peaks under challenging conditions, as in the case of emergency responders in tropical conditions. Accurate systolic-peak detection is an important first step for the analysis of heart rate variability. Algorithms based on local maxima-minima, first-derivative, and slope sum are evaluated, and a new algorithm is introduced to improve the detection rate. With 40 healthy subjects, the new algorithm demonstrates the highest overall detection accuracy (99.84% sensitivity, 99.89% positive predictivity). Existing algorithms, such as Billauer's, Li's and Zong's, have comparable although lower accuracy. However, the proposed algorithm presents an advantage for real-time applications by avoiding human intervention in threshold determination. For best performance, we show that a combination of two event-related moving averages with an offset threshold has an advantage in detecting systolic peaks, even in heat-stressed PPG signals.

  12. An Adiabatic Phase-Matching Accelerator

    DOE PAGES

    Lemery, Francois; Floettmann, Klaus; Piot, Philippe; ...

    2018-05-25

    We present a general concept to accelerate non-relativistic charged particles. Our concept employs an adiabatically-tapered dielectric-lined waveguide which supports accelerating phase velocities for synchronous acceleration. We propose an ansatz for the transient field equations, show it satisfies Maxwell's equations under an adiabatic approximation and find excellent agreement with a finite-difference time-domain computer simulation. The fields were implemented into the particle-tracking program {\\sc astra} and we present beam dynamics results for an accelerating field with a 1-mm-wavelength and peak electric field of 100~MV/m. The numerical simulations indicate that amore » $$\\sim 200$$-keV electron beam can be accelerated to an energy of $$\\sim10$$~MeV over $$\\sim 10$$~cm. The novel scheme is also found to form electron beams with parameters of interest to a wide range of applications including, e.g., future advanced accelerators, and ultra-fast electron diffraction.« less

  13. An Adiabatic Phase-Matching Accelerator

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lemery, Francois; Floettmann, Klaus; Piot, Philippe

    2017-12-22

    We present a general concept to accelerate non-relativistic charged particles. Our concept employs an adiabatically-tapered dielectric-lined waveguide which supports accelerating phase velocities for synchronous acceleration. We propose an ansatz for the transient field equations, show it satisfies Maxwell's equations under an adiabatic approximation and find excellent agreement with a finite-difference time-domain computer simulation. The fields were implemented into the particle-tracking program {\\sc astra} and we present beam dynamics results for an accelerating field with a 1-mm-wavelength and peak electric field of 100~MV/m. The numerical simulations indicate that amore » $$\\sim 200$$-keV electron beam can be accelerated to an energy of $$\\sim10$$~MeV over $$\\sim 10$$~cm. The novel scheme is also found to form electron beams with parameters of interest to a wide range of applications including, e.g., future advanced accelerators, and ultra-fast electron diffraction.« less

  14. Continuous estimates on the earthquake early warning magnitude by use of the near-field acceleration records

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jun; Jin, Xing; Wei, Yongxiang; Zhang, Hongcai

    2013-10-01

    In this article, the seismic records of Japan's Kik-net are selected to measure the acceleration, displacement, and effective peak acceleration of each seismic record within a certain time after P wave, then a continuous estimation is given on earthquake early warning magnitude through statistical analysis method, and Wenchuan earthquake record is utilized to check the method. The results show that the reliability of earthquake early warning magnitude continuously increases with the increase of the seismic information, the biggest residual happens if the acceleration is adopted to fit earthquake magnitude, which may be caused by rich high-frequency components and large dispersion of peak value in acceleration record, the influence caused by the high-frequency components can be effectively reduced if the effective peak acceleration and peak displacement is adopted, it is estimated that the dispersion of earthquake magnitude obviously reduces, but it is easy for peak displacement to be affected by long-period drifting. In various components, the residual enlargement phenomenon at vertical direction is almost unobvious, thus it is recommended in this article that the effective peak acceleration at vertical direction is preferred to estimate earthquake early warning magnitude. Through adopting Wenchuan strong earthquake record to check the method mentioned in this article, it is found that this method can be used to quickly, stably, and accurately estimate the early warning magnitude of this earthquake, which shows that this method is completely applicable for earthquake early warning.

  15. Rupture directivity of moderate earthquakes in northern California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Seekins, Linda C.; Boatwright, John

    2010-01-01

    We invert peak ground velocity and acceleration (PGV and PGA) to estimate rupture direction and rupture velocity for 47 moderate earthquakes (3.5≥M≥5.4) in northern California. We correct sets of PGAs and PGVs recorded at stations less than 55–125 km, depending on source depth, for site amplification and source–receiver distance, then fit the residual peak motions to the unilateral directivity function of Ben-Menahem (1961). We independently invert PGA and PGV. The rupture direction can be determined using as few as seven peak motions if the station distribution is sufficient. The rupture velocity is unstable, however, if there are no takeoff angles within 30° of the rupture direction. Rupture velocities are generally subsonic (0.5β–0.9β); for stability, we limit the rupture velocity at v=0.92β, the Rayleigh wave speed. For 73 of 94 inversions, the rupture direction clearly identifies one of the nodal planes as the fault plane. The 35 strike-slip earthquakes have rupture directions that range from nearly horizontal (6 events) to directly updip (5 events); the other 24 rupture partly along strike and partly updip. Two strike-slip earthquakes rupture updip in one inversion and downdip in the other. All but 1 of the 11 thrust earthquakes rupture predominantly updip. We compare the rupture directions for 10 M≥4.0 earthquakes to the relative location of the mainshock and the first two weeks of aftershocks. Spatial distributions of 8 of 10 aftershock sequences agree well with the rupture directivity calculated for the mainshock.

  16. A semi-empirical analysis of strong-motion peaks in terms of seismic source, propagation path, and local site conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kamiyama, M.; Orourke, M. J.; Flores-Berrones, R.

    1992-09-01

    A new type of semi-empirical expression for scaling strong-motion peaks in terms of seismic source, propagation path, and local site conditions is derived. Peak acceleration, peak velocity, and peak displacement are analyzed in a similar fashion because they are interrelated. However, emphasis is placed on the peak velocity which is a key ground motion parameter for lifeline earthquake engineering studies. With the help of seismic source theories, the semi-empirical model is derived using strong motions obtained in Japan. In the derivation, statistical considerations are used in the selection of the model itself and the model parameters. Earthquake magnitude M and hypocentral distance r are selected as independent variables and the dummy variables are introduced to identify the amplification factor due to individual local site conditions. The resulting semi-empirical expressions for the peak acceleration, velocity, and displacement are then compared with strong-motion data observed during three earthquakes in the U.S. and Mexico.

  17. Understanding the magnitude dependence of PGA and PGV in NGA-West 2 data

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Baltay, Annemarie S.; Hanks, Thomas C.

    2014-01-01

    The Next Generation Attenuation‐West 2 (NGA‐West 2) 2014 ground‐motion prediction equations (GMPEs) model ground motions as a function of magnitude and distance, using empirically derived coefficients (e.g., Bozorgniaet al., 2014); as such, these GMPEs do not clearly employ earthquake source parameters beyond moment magnitude (M) and focal mechanism. To better understand the magnitude‐dependent trends in the GMPEs, we build a comprehensive earthquake source‐based model to explain the magnitude dependence of peak ground acceleration and peak ground velocity in the NGA‐West 2 ground‐motion databases and GMPEs. Our model employs existing models (Hanks and McGuire, 1981; Boore, 1983, 1986; Anderson and Hough, 1984) that incorporate a point‐source Brune model, including a constant stress drop and the high‐frequency attenuation parameter κ0, random vibration theory, and a finite‐fault assumption at the large magnitudes to describe the data from magnitudes 3 to 8. We partition this range into four different magnitude regions, each of which has different functional dependences on M. Use of the four magnitude partitions separately allows greater understanding of what happens in any one subrange, as well as the limiting conditions between the subranges. This model provides a remarkably good fit to the NGA data for magnitudes from 3

  18. Self-accelerating parabolic beams in quadratic nonlinear media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dolev, Ido; Libster, Ana; Arie, Ady

    2012-09-01

    We present experimental observation of self-accelerating parabolic beams in quadratic nonlinear media. We show that the intensity peaks of the first and second harmonics are asynchronous with respect to one another in the two transverse coordinates. In addition, the two coupled harmonics have the same acceleration within and after the nonlinear medium. We also study the evolution of second harmonic accelerating beams inside the quadratic media and their correlation with theoretical beams.

  19. Bacillus anthracis Capsular Conjugates Elicit Chimpanzee Polyclonal Antibodies That Protect Mice from Pulmonary Anthrax.

    PubMed

    Chen, Zhaochun; Schneerson, Rachel; Lovchik, Julie A; Dai, Zhongdong; Kubler-Kielb, Joanna; Agulto, Liane; Leppla, Stephen H; Purcell, Robert H

    2015-08-01

    The immunogenicity of Bacillus anthracis capsule (poly-γ-D-glutamic acid [PGA]) conjugated to recombinant B. anthracis protective antigen (rPA) or to tetanus toxoid (TT) was evaluated in two anthrax-naive juvenile chimpanzees. In a previous study of these conjugates, highly protective monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against PGA were generated. This study examines the polyclonal antibody response of the same animals. Preimmune antibodies to PGA with titers of >10(3) were detected in the chimpanzees. The maximal titer of anti-PGA was induced within 1 to 2 weeks following the 1st immunization, with no booster effects following the 2nd and 3rd immunizations. Thus, the anti-PGA response in the chimpanzees resembled a secondary immune response. Screening of sera from nine unimmunized chimpanzees and six humans revealed antibodies to PGA in all samples, with an average titer of 10(3). An anti-PA response was also observed following immunization with PGA-rPA conjugate, similar to that seen following immunization with rPA alone. However, in contrast to anti-PGA, preimmune anti-PA antibody titers and those following the 1st immunization were ≤300, with the antibodies peaking above 10(4) following the 2nd immunization. The polyclonal anti-PGA shared the MAb 11D epitope and, similar to the MAbs, exerted opsonophagocytic killing of B. anthracis. Most important, the PGA-TT-induced antibodies protected mice from a lethal challenge with virulent B. anthracis spores. Our data support the use of PGA conjugates, especially PGA-rPA targeting both toxin and capsule, as expanded-spectrum anthrax vaccines. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  20. TEM PSHA2015 Reliability Assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Y.; Wang, Y. J.; Chan, C. H.; Ma, K. F.

    2016-12-01

    The Taiwan Earthquake Model (TEM) developed a new probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) for determining the probability of exceedance (PoE) of ground motion over a specified period in Taiwan. To investigate the adequacy of the seismic source parameters adopted in the 2015 PSHA of the TEM (TEM PSHA2015), we conducted several tests of the seismic source models. The observed maximal peak ground acceleration (PGA) of the ML > 4.0 mainshocks in the 23-year data period of 1993-2015 were used to test the predicted PGA of PSHA from the areal and subduction zone sources with the time-independent Poisson assumption. This comparison excluded the observations from 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, as this was the only earthquake associated with the identified active fault in this past 23 years. We used tornado diagrams to analyze the sensitivities of these source parameters to the ground motion values of the PSHA. This study showed that the predicted PGA for a 63% PoE in the 23-year period corresponded to the empirical PGA and the predicted numbers of PGA exceedances to a threshold value 0.1g close to the observed numbers, confirming the parameter applicability for the areal and subduction zone sources. We adopted the disaggregation analysis from a hazard map to determine the contribution of the individual seismic sources to hazard for six metropolitan cities in Taiwan. The sensitivity tests of the seismogenic structure parameters indicated that the slip rate and maximum magnitude are dominant factors for the TEM PSHA2015. For densely populated faults in SW Taiwan, maximum magnitude is more sensitive than the slip rate, giving the concern on the possible multiple fault segments rupture with larger magnitude in this area, which was not yet considered in TEM PSHA2015. The source category disaggregation also suggested that special attention is necessary for subduction zone earthquakes for long-period shaking seismic hazards in Northern Taiwan.

  1. Rail accelerators for space transportation: An experimental investigation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zana, L. M.; Kerslake, W. R.; Sturman, J. L.

    1986-01-01

    An experimental program was conducted at the Lewis Research Center with the objective of investigating the technical feasibility of rail accelerators for propulsion applications. Single-stage, plasma driven rail accelerators of small (4 by 6 mm) and medium (12.5 by 12.5 mm) bores were tested at peak accelerating currents of 50 to 450 kA. Streak-camera photography was used to provide a qualitative description of plasma armature acceleration. The effects of plasma blowby and varying bore pressure on the behavior of plasma armatures were studied.

  2. A link between occupant and vehicle accelerations during common driving tasks.

    PubMed

    Mathias, Anne C; Shibata, Peggy A; Sprague, James K

    2014-01-01

    When evaluating occupant motions during driving tasks, it is desirable to have a well-established correlation between vehicle and occupant accelerations. Therefore, this study demonstrated a methodology to quantify accelerations experienced by the driver of a passenger vehicle and compare them to associated vehicle motions. Acceleration levels were measured at the seat and the driver’s head, cervical spine, and lumbar spine during six non-collision driving tasks. Tasks included mounting a 127 mm (5 in) -high curb, crossing railroad tracks, driving on a rough road, braking heavily from 13.4 m/s (30 mph), having a 89 mm (3.5 in)-diameter roller sequentially pass under two tires, and dropping one tire from a 171-mm (6.75 in) height. The driver experienced peak resultant accelerations of similar magnitudes across all trials. Peak body accelerations were less than 1.2 g, including 0.82 g lumbar acceleration during heavy braking and 0.88 g head acceleration during the curb mount. These preliminary measurements are comparable to or lower than accelerations experienced during non-driving activities such as sitting quickly. This study contributes to the scientific understanding of accelerations experienced by vehicle occupants and demonstrates the potential to relate vehicle and occupant accelerations during common driving activities that do not involve collisions.

  3. Scaled accelerographs for design of structures in Quetta, Baluchistan, Pakistan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bhatti, Abdul Qadir

    2016-12-01

    Structural design for seismic excitation is usually based on peak values of forces and deformations over the duration of earthquake. In determining these peak values dynamic analysis is done which requires either response history analysis (RHA), also called time history analysis, or response spectrum analysis (RSA), both of which depend upon ground motion severity. In the past, PGA has been used to describe ground motion severity, because seismic force on a rigid body is proportional to the ground acceleration. However, it has been pointed out that single highest peak on accelerograms is a very unreliable description of the accelerograms as a whole. In this study, we are considering 0.2- and 1-s spectral acceleration. Seismic loading has been defined in terms of design spectrum and time history which will lead us to two methods of dynamic analysis. Design spectrum for Quetta will be constructed incorporating the parameters of ASCE 7-05/IBC 2006/2009, which is being used by modern codes and regulation of the world like IBC 2006/2009, ASCE 7-05, ATC-40, FEMA-356 and others. A suite of time history representing design earthquake will also be prepared, this will be a helpful tool to carryout time history dynamic analysis of structures in Quetta.

  4. Heavy ion acceleration in the radiation pressure acceleration and breakout afterburner regimes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petrov, G. M.; McGuffey, C.; Thomas, A. G. R.; Krushelnick, K.; Beg, F. N.

    2017-07-01

    We present a theoretical study of heavy ion acceleration from ultrathin (20 nm) gold foil irradiated by high-intensity sub-picosecond lasers. Using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, three laser systems are modeled that cover the range between femtosecond and picosecond pulses. By varying the laser pulse duration we observe a transition from radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) to the relativistic induced transparency (RIT) regime for heavy ions akin to light ions. The underlying physics of beam formation and acceleration is similar for light and heavy ions, however, nuances of the acceleration process make the heavy ions more challenging. A more detailed study involving variation of peak laser intensity I 0 and pulse duration τFWHM revealed that the transition point from RPA to RIT regime depends on the peak laser intensity on target and occurs for pulse duration {τ }{{F}{{W}}{{H}}{{M}}}{{R}{{P}}{{A}}\\to {{R}}{{I}}{{T}}}[{{f}}{{s}}]\\cong 210/\\sqrt{{I}0[{{W}} {{{cm}}}-2]/{10}21}. The most abundant gold ion and charge-to-mass ratio are Au51+ and q/M ≈ 1/4, respectively, half that of light ions. For ultrathin foils, on the order of one skin depth, we established a linear scaling of the maximum energy per nucleon (E/M)max with (q/M)max, which is more favorable than the quadratic one found previously. The numerical simulations predict heavy ion beams with very attractive properties for applications: high directionality (<10° half-angle), high fluxes (>1011 ions sr-1) and energy (>20 MeV/nucleon) from laser systems delivering >20 J of energy on target.

  5. The location of the tibial accelerometer does influence impact acceleration parameters during running.

    PubMed

    Lucas-Cuevas, Angel Gabriel; Encarnación-Martínez, Alberto; Camacho-García, Andrés; Llana-Belloch, Salvador; Pérez-Soriano, Pedro

    2017-09-01

    Tibial accelerations have been associated with a number of running injuries. However, studies attaching the tibial accelerometer on the proximal section are as numerous as those attaching the accelerometer on the distal section. This study aimed to investigate whether accelerometer location influences acceleration parameters commonly reported in running literature. To fulfil this purpose, 30 athletes ran at 2.22, 2.78 and 3.33 m · s -1 with three accelerometers attached with double-sided tape and tightened to the participants' tolerance on the forehead, the proximal section of the tibia and the distal section of the tibia. Time-domain (peak acceleration, shock attenuation) and frequency-domain parameters (peak frequency, peak power, signal magnitude and shock attenuation in both the low and high frequency ranges) were calculated for each of the tibial locations. The distal accelerometer registered greater tibial acceleration peak and shock attenuation compared to the proximal accelerometer. With respect to the frequency-domain analysis, the distal accelerometer provided greater values of all the low-frequency parameters, whereas no difference was observed for the high-frequency parameters. These findings suggest that the location of the tibial accelerometer does influence the acceleration signal parameters, and thus, researchers should carefully consider the location they choose to place the accelerometer so that equivalent comparisons across studies can be made.

  6. Ground motions at the outermost limits of seismically triggered landslides

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Jibson, Randall W.; Harp, Edwin L.

    2016-01-01

    Over the last few decades, we and our colleagues have conducted field investigations in which we mapped the outermost limits of triggered landslides in four earthquakes: 1987 Whittier Narrows, California (M 5.9), 1987 Superstition Hills, California (M 6.5), 1994 Northridge, California (M 6.7), and 2011 Mineral, Virginia (M 5.8). In an additional two earthquakes, 1976 Guatemala (M 7.5) and 1983 Coalinga, California (M 6.5), we determined limits using high‐resolution aerial‐photographic interpretation in conjunction with more limited ground investigation. Limits in these earthquakes were defined by the locations of the very smallest failures (<1  m3) from the most susceptible slopes that can be identified positively as having been triggered by earthquake shaking. Because we and our colleagues conducted all of these investigations, consistent methodology and criteria were used in determining limits. In the six earthquakes examined, we correlated the outermost landslide limits with peak ground accelerations (PGAs) from ShakeMap models of each earthquake. For the four earthquakes studied by field investigation, the minimum PGA values associated with farthest landslide limits ranged from 0.02g to 0.08g. The range for the two earthquakes investigated using aerial‐photographic interpretations was 0.05–0.11g. Although PGA values at landslide limits depend on several factors, including material strength, topographic amplification, and hydrologic conditions, these values provide an empirically useful lower limiting range of PGA needed to trigger the smallest failures on very susceptible slopes. In a well‐recorded earthquake, this PGA range can be used to identify an outer boundary within which we might expect to find landsliding; in earthquakes that are not well recorded, mapping the outermost landslide limits provides a useful clue about ground‐motion levels at the mapped limits.

  7. Fast Metabolite Identification in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Metabolomic Studies: Statistical Peak Sorting and Peak Overlap Detection for More Reliable Database Queries.

    PubMed

    Hoijemberg, Pablo A; Pelczer, István

    2018-01-05

    A lot of time is spent by researchers in the identification of metabolites in NMR-based metabolomic studies. The usual metabolite identification starts employing public or commercial databases to match chemical shifts thought to belong to a given compound. Statistical total correlation spectroscopy (STOCSY), in use for more than a decade, speeds the process by finding statistical correlations among peaks, being able to create a better peak list as input for the database query. However, the (normally not automated) analysis becomes challenging due to the intrinsic issue of peak overlap, where correlations of more than one compound appear in the STOCSY trace. Here we present a fully automated methodology that analyzes all STOCSY traces at once (every peak is chosen as driver peak) and overcomes the peak overlap obstacle. Peak overlap detection by clustering analysis and sorting of traces (POD-CAST) first creates an overlap matrix from the STOCSY traces, then clusters the overlap traces based on their similarity and finally calculates a cumulative overlap index (COI) to account for both strong and intermediate correlations. This information is gathered in one plot to help the user identify the groups of peaks that would belong to a single molecule and perform a more reliable database query. The simultaneous examination of all traces reduces the time of analysis, compared to viewing STOCSY traces by pairs or small groups, and condenses the redundant information in the 2D STOCSY matrix into bands containing similar traces. The COI helps in the detection of overlapping peaks, which can be added to the peak list from another cross-correlated band. POD-CAST overcomes the generally overlooked and underestimated presence of overlapping peaks and it detects them to include them in the search of all compounds contributing to the peak overlap, enabling the user to accelerate the metabolite identification process with more successful database queries and searching all tentative

  8. Biomechanical tolerance of whole lumbar spines in straightened posture subjected to axial acceleration.

    PubMed

    Stemper, Brian D; Chirvi, Sajal; Doan, Ninh; Baisden, Jamie L; Maiman, Dennis J; Curry, William H; Yoganandan, Narayan; Pintar, Frank A; Paskoff, Glenn; Shender, Barry S

    2018-06-01

    Quantification of biomechanical tolerance is necessary for injury prediction and protection of vehicular occupants. This study experimentally quantified lumbar spine axial tolerance during accelerative environments simulating a variety of military and civilian scenarios. Intact human lumbar spines (T12-L5) were dynamically loaded using a custom-built drop tower. Twenty-three specimens were tested at sub-failure and failure levels consisting of peak axial forces between 2.6 and 7.9 kN and corresponding peak accelerations between 7 and 57 g. Military aircraft ejection and helicopter crashes fall within these high axial acceleration ranges. Testing was stopped following injury detection. Both peak force and acceleration were significant (p < 0.0001) injury predictors. Injury probability curves using parametric survival analysis were created for peak acceleration and peak force. Fifty-percent probability of injury (95%CI) for force and acceleration were 4.5 (3.9-5.2 kN), and 16 (13-19 g). A majority of injuries affected the L1 spinal level. Peak axial forces and accelerations were greater for specimens that sustained multiple injuries or injuries at L2-L5 spinal levels. In general, force-based tolerance was consistent with previous shorter-segment lumbar spine testing (3-5 vertebrae), although studies incorporating isolated vertebral bodies reported higher tolerance attributable to a different injury mechanism involving structural failure of the cortical shell. This study identified novel outcomes with regard to injury patterns, wherein more violent exposures produced more injuries in the caudal lumbar spine. This caudal migration was likely attributable to increased injury tolerance at lower lumbar spinal levels and a faster inertial mass recruitment process for high rate load application. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. J Orthop Res 36:1747-1756, 2018. Published 2017. This article is a U

  9. Synchronous acceleration with tapered dielectric-lined waveguides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lemery, F.; Floettmann, K.; Piot, P.; Kärtner, F. X.; Aßmann, R.

    2018-05-01

    We present a general concept to accelerate nonrelativistic charged particles. Our concept employs an adiabatically-tapered dielectric-lined waveguide which supports accelerating phase velocities for synchronous acceleration. We propose an ansatz for the transient field equations, show it satisfies Maxwell's equations under an adiabatic approximation and find excellent agreement with a finite-difference time-domain computer simulation. The fields were implemented into the particle-tracking program astra and we present beam dynamics results for an accelerating field with a 1-mm-wavelength and peak electric field of 100 MV /m . Numerical simulations indicate that a ˜200 -keV electron beam can be accelerated to an energy of ˜10 MeV over ˜10 cm with parameters of interest to a wide range of applications including, e.g., future advanced accelerators, and ultra-fast electron diffraction.

  10. Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment for Himalayan-Tibetan Region from Historical and Instrumental Earthquake Catalogs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rahman, M. Moklesur; Bai, Ling; Khan, Nangyal Ghani; Li, Guohui

    2018-02-01

    The Himalayan-Tibetan region has a long history of devastating earthquakes with wide-spread casualties and socio-economic damages. Here, we conduct the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis by incorporating the incomplete historical earthquake records along with the instrumental earthquake catalogs for the Himalayan-Tibetan region. Historical earthquake records back to more than 1000 years ago and an updated, homogenized and declustered instrumental earthquake catalog since 1906 are utilized. The essential seismicity parameters, namely, the mean seismicity rate γ, the Gutenberg-Richter b value, and the maximum expected magnitude M max are estimated using the maximum likelihood algorithm assuming the incompleteness of the catalog. To compute the hazard value, three seismogenic source models (smoothed gridded, linear, and areal sources) and two sets of ground motion prediction equations are combined by means of a logic tree on accounting the epistemic uncertainties. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration (SA) at 0.2 and 1.0 s are predicted for 2 and 10% probabilities of exceedance over 50 years assuming bedrock condition. The resulting PGA and SA maps show a significant spatio-temporal variation in the hazard values. In general, hazard value is found to be much higher than the previous studies for regions, where great earthquakes have actually occurred. The use of the historical and instrumental earthquake catalogs in combination of multiple seismogenic source models provides better seismic hazard constraints for the Himalayan-Tibetan region.

  11. Quantifying Dynamic Changes in Plantar Pressure Gradient in Diabetics with Peripheral Neuropathy.

    PubMed

    Lung, Chi-Wen; Hsiao-Wecksler, Elizabeth T; Burns, Stephanie; Lin, Fang; Jan, Yih-Kuen

    2016-01-01

    Diabetic foot ulcers remain one of the most serious complications of diabetes. Peak plantar pressure (PPP) and peak pressure gradient (PPG) during walking have been shown to be associated with the development of diabetic foot ulcers. To gain further insight into the mechanical etiology of diabetic foot ulcers, examination of the pressure gradient angle (PGA) has been recently proposed. The PGA quantifies directional variation or orientation of the pressure gradient during walking and provides a measure of whether pressure gradient patterns are concentrated or dispersed along the plantar surface. We hypothesized that diabetics at risk of foot ulceration would have smaller PGA in key plantar regions, suggesting less movement of the pressure gradient over time. A total of 27 participants were studied, including 19 diabetics with peripheral neuropathy and 8 non-diabetic control subjects. A foot pressure measurement system was used to measure plantar pressures during walking. PPP, PPG, and PGA were calculated for four foot regions - first toe (T1), first metatarsal head (M1), second metatarsal head (M2), and heel (HL). Consistent with prior studies, PPP and PPG were significantly larger in the diabetic group compared with non-diabetic controls in the T1 and M1 regions, but not M2 or HL. For example, PPP was 165% (P = 0.02) and PPG was 214% (P < 0.001) larger in T1. PGA was found to be significantly smaller in the diabetic group in T1 (46%, P = 0.04), suggesting a more concentrated pressure gradient pattern under the toe. The proposed PGA may improve our understanding of the role of pressure gradient on the risk of diabetic foot ulcers.

  12. Interfacial electron transfer of glucose oxidase on poly(glutamic acid)-modified glassy carbon electrode and glucose sensing.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Xuechou; Tan, Bingcan; Zheng, Xinyu; Kong, Dexian; Li, Qinglu

    2015-11-15

    The interfacial electron transfer of glucose oxidase (GOx) on a poly(glutamic acid)-modified glassy carbon electrode (PGA/GCE) was investigated. The redox peaks measured for GOx and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) are similar, and the anodic peak of GOx does not increase in the presence of glucose in a mediator-free solution. These indicate that the electroactivity of GOx is not the direct electron transfer (DET) between GOx and PGA/GCE and that the observed electroactivity of GOx is ascribed to free FAD that is released from GOx. However, efficient electron transfer occurred if an appropriate mediator was placed in solution, suggesting that GOx is active. The PGA/GCE-based biosensor showed wide linear response in the range of 0.5-5.5 mM with a low detection limit of 0.12 mM and high sensitivity and selectivity for measuring glucose. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. A proposal for antiparallel acceleration of positrons using CEBAF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tiefenback, M.; Wojtsekhowski, B.

    2018-05-01

    We present a scheme for positron beam acceleration in CEBAF antiparallel to the normal electron path, requiring no change in polarity of the magnet systems. This feature is essential to the principal benefit: enabling extremely simple configuration changes between conventional (clockwise) e- acceleration and counter clockwise e+ acceleration. Additionally, it appears possible to configure the accelerating cavity phases to support concurrent acceleration of the electron and positron beams. The last mode also may enable use of the higher peak current electron beam for system diagnostics. The inherent penalty of the concurrent mode in acceleration efficiency and increased energy spread may render this a commissioning-only diagnostic option, but the possibility appears worthy of consideration.

  14. Hoof accelerations and ground reaction forces of Thoroughbred racehorses measured on dirt, synthetic, and turf track surfaces.

    PubMed

    Setterbo, Jacob J; Garcia, Tanya C; Campbell, Ian P; Reese, Jennifer L; Morgan, Jessica M; Kim, Sun Y; Hubbard, Mont; Stover, Susan M

    2009-10-01

    To compare hoof acceleration and ground reaction force (GRF) data among dirt, synthetic, and turf surfaces in Thoroughbred racehorses. 3 healthy Thoroughbred racehorses. Forelimb hoof accelerations and GRFs were measured with an accelerometer and a dynamometric horseshoe during trot and canter on dirt, synthetic, and turf track surfaces at a racecourse. Maxima, minima, temporal components, and a measure of vibration were extracted from the data. Acceleration and GRF variables were compared statistically among surfaces. The synthetic surface often had the lowest peak accelerations, mean vibration, and peak GRFs. Peak acceleration during hoof landing was significantly smaller for the synthetic surface (mean + or - SE, 28.5g + or - 2.9g) than for the turf surface (42.9g + or - 3.8g). Hoof vibrations during hoof landing for the synthetic surface were < 70% of those for the dirt and turf surfaces. Peak GRF for the synthetic surface (11.5 + or - 0.4 N/kg) was 83% and 71% of those for the dirt (13.8 + or - 0.3 N/kg) and turf surfaces (16.1 + or - 0.7 N/kg), respectively. The relatively low hoof accelerations, vibrations, and peak GRFs associated with the synthetic surface evaluated in the present study indicated that synthetic surfaces have potential for injury reduction in Thoroughbred racehorses. However, because of the unique material properties and different nature of individual dirt, synthetic, and turf racetrack surfaces, extending the results of this study to encompass all track surfaces should be done with caution.

  15. Lower Arm Muscle Activation during Indirect-Localized Vibration: The Influence of Skill Levels When Applying Different Acceleration Loads.

    PubMed

    Padulo, Johnny; Di Giminiani, Riccardo; Dello Iacono, Antonio; Zagatto, Alessandro M; Migliaccio, Gian M; Grgantov, Zoran; Ardigò, Luca P

    2016-01-01

    We investigated the electromyographic response to synchronous indirect-localized vibration interventions in international and national table tennis players. Twenty-six male table tennis players, in a standing position, underwent firstly an upper arms maximal voluntary contraction and thereafter two different 30-s vibration interventions in random order: high acceleration load (peak acceleration = 12.8 g, frequency = 40 Hz; peak-to-peak displacement = 4.0 mm), and low acceleration load (peak acceleration = 7.2 g, frequency = 30 Hz, peak-to-peak displacement = 4.0 mm). Surface electromyography root mean square from brachioradialis, extensor digitorum, flexor carpi radialis, and flexor digitorum superficialis recorded during the two vibration interventions was normalized to the maximal voluntary contraction recording. Normalized surface electromyography root mean square was higher in international table tennis players with respect to national ones in all the interactions between muscles and vibration conditions (P < 0.05), with the exception of flexor carpi radialis (at low acceleration load, P > 0.05). The difference in normalized surface electromyography root mean square between international table tennis players and national ones increased in all the muscles with high acceleration load (P < 0.05), with the exception of flexor digitorum superficialis (P > 0.05). The muscle activation during indirect-localized vibration seems to be both skill level and muscle dependent. These results can optimize the training intervention in table tennis players when applying indirect-localized vibration to lower arm muscles. Future investigations should discriminate between middle- and long-term adaptations in response to specific vibration loads.

  16. Lower Arm Muscle Activation during Indirect-Localized Vibration: The Influence of Skill Levels When Applying Different Acceleration Loads

    PubMed Central

    Padulo, Johnny; Di Giminiani, Riccardo; Dello Iacono, Antonio; Zagatto, Alessandro M.; Migliaccio, Gian M.; Grgantov, Zoran; Ardigò, Luca P.

    2016-01-01

    We investigated the electromyographic response to synchronous indirect-localized vibration interventions in international and national table tennis players. Twenty-six male table tennis players, in a standing position, underwent firstly an upper arms maximal voluntary contraction and thereafter two different 30-s vibration interventions in random order: high acceleration load (peak acceleration = 12.8 g, frequency = 40 Hz; peak-to-peak displacement = 4.0 mm), and low acceleration load (peak acceleration = 7.2 g, frequency = 30 Hz, peak-to-peak displacement = 4.0 mm). Surface electromyography root mean square from brachioradialis, extensor digitorum, flexor carpi radialis, and flexor digitorum superficialis recorded during the two vibration interventions was normalized to the maximal voluntary contraction recording. Normalized surface electromyography root mean square was higher in international table tennis players with respect to national ones in all the interactions between muscles and vibration conditions (P < 0.05), with the exception of flexor carpi radialis (at low acceleration load, P > 0.05). The difference in normalized surface electromyography root mean square between international table tennis players and national ones increased in all the muscles with high acceleration load (P < 0.05), with the exception of flexor digitorum superficialis (P > 0.05). The muscle activation during indirect-localized vibration seems to be both skill level and muscle dependent. These results can optimize the training intervention in table tennis players when applying indirect-localized vibration to lower arm muscles. Future investigations should discriminate between middle- and long-term adaptations in response to specific vibration loads. PMID:27378948

  17. Instrumental intensity distribution for the Hector Mine, California, and the Chi-Chi, Taiwan, earthquakes: Comparison of two methods

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sokolov, V.; Wald, D.J.

    2002-01-01

    We compare two methods of seismic-intensity estimation from ground-motion records for the two recent strong earthquakes: the 1999 (M 7.1) Hector Mine, California, and the 1999 (M 7.6) Chi-Chi, Taiwan. The first technique utilizes the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and velocity (PGV), and it is used for rapid generation of the instrumental intensity map in California. The other method is based on the revised relationships between intensity and Fourier amplitude spectrum (FAS). The results of using the methods are compared with independently observed data and between the estimations from the records. For the case of the Hector Mine earthquake, the calculated intensities in general agree with the observed values. For the case of the Chi-Chi earthquake, the areas of maximum calculated intensity correspond to the areas of the greatest damage and highest number of fatalities. However, the FAS method producees higher-intensity values than those of the peak amplitude method. The specific features of ground-motion excitation during the large, shallow, thrust earthquake may be considered a reason for the discrepancy. The use of PGA and PGV is simple; however, the use of FAS provides a natural consideration of site amplification by means of generalized or site-specific spectral ratios. Because the calculation of seismic-intensity maps requires rapid processing of data from a large network, it is very practical to generate a "first-order" map from the recorded peak motions. Then, a "second-order" map may be compiled using an amplitude-spectra method on the basis of available records and numerical modeling of the site-dependent spectra for the regions of sparse station spacing.

  18. Toppling analysis of the Echo Cliffs precariously balanced rock

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Veeraraghavan, Swetha; Hudnut, Kenneth W.; Krishnan, Swaminathan

    2017-01-01

    Toppling analysis of a precariously balanced rock (PBR) can provide insight into the nature of ground motion that has not occurred at that location in the past and, by extension, can constrain peak ground motions for use in engineering design. Earlier approaches have targeted 2D models of the rock or modeled the rock–pedestal contact using spring‐damper assemblies that require recalibration for each rock. Here, a method to model PBRs in 3D is presented through a case study of the Echo Cliffs PBR. The 3D model is created from a point cloud of the rock, the pedestal, and their interface, obtained using terrestrial laser scanning. The dynamic response of the model under earthquake excitation is simulated using a rigid‐body dynamics algorithm. The veracity of this approach is demonstrated through comparisons against data from shake‐table experiments. Fragility maps for toppling probability of the Echo Cliffs PBR as a function of various ground‐motion parameters, rock–pedestal interface friction coefficient, and excitation direction are presented. These fragility maps indicate that the toppling probability of this rock is low (less than 0.2) for peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV) lower than 3  m/s2 and 0.75  m/s, respectively, suggesting that the ground‐motion intensities at this location from earthquakes on nearby faults have most probably not exceeded the above‐mentioned PGA and PGV during the age of the PBR. Additionally, the fragility maps generated from this methodology can also be directly coupled with existing probabilistic frameworks to obtain direct constraints on unexceeded ground motion at a PBR’s location.

  19. The laser accelerator-another unicorn in the garden

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hand, L. N.

    1981-07-01

    Some proposed techniques for using laser beams to accelerate charged particles was reviewed. Two specific ideas for grating type accelerating structures are discussed. Speculations are presented about how a successful laser accelerator could be used in a multipass collider; a type of machine which would have characteristics intermediate between those of synchrotrons and linear (single pass) colliders. No definite conclusions about practical structures for laser accelerators are reached, but it is suggested that a serious effort be made to design a small prototype machine. Achieving a reasonable luminosity demands that the accelerator either be a cw machine or that laser peak power requirements to be much higher than those presently available. Use of superconducting gratings requires a wavelength in the sub-millimeter range.

  20. Neutron Source from Laser Plasma Acceleration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiao, Xuejing; Shaw, Joseph; McCary, Eddie; Downer, Mike; Hegelich, Bjorn

    2016-10-01

    Laser driven electron beams and ion beams were utilized to produce neutron sources via different mechanism. On the Texas Petawatt laser, deuterized plastic, gold and DLC foil targets of varying thickness were shot with 150 J , 150 fs laser pulses at a peak intensity of 2 ×1021W /cm2 . Ions were accelerated by either target normal sheath acceleration or Breakout Afterburner acceleration. Neutrons were produced via the 9Be(d,n) and 9Be(p,n) reactions when accelerated ions impinged on a Beryllium converter as well as by deuteron breakup reactions. We observed 2 ×1010 neutron per shot in average, corresponding to 5 ×1018n /s . The efficiencies for different targets are comparable. In another experiment, 38fs , 0.3 J UT3 laser pulse interacted with mixed gas target. Electrons with energy 40MeV were produced via laser wakefield acceleration. Neutron flux of 2 ×106 per shot was generated through bremsstrahlung and subsequent photoneutron reactions on a Copper converter.

  1. rf breakdown tests of mm-wave metallic accelerating structures

    DOE PAGES

    Dal Forno, Massimo; Dolgashev, Valery; Bowden, Gordon; ...

    2016-01-06

    In this study, we explore the physics and frequency-scaling of vacuum rf breakdowns at sub-THz frequencies. We present the experimental results of rf tests performed in metallic mm-wave accelerating structures. These experiments were carried out at the facility for advanced accelerator experimental tests (FACET) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The rf fields were excited by the FACET ultrarelativistic electron beam. We compared the performances of metal structures made with copper and stainless steel. The rf frequency of the fundamental accelerating mode, propagating in the structures at the speed of light, varies from 115 to 140 GHz. The traveling wavemore » structures are 0.1 m long and composed of 125 coupled cavities each. We determined the peak electric field and pulse length where the structures were not damaged by rf breakdowns. We calculated the electric and magnetic field correlated with the rf breakdowns using the FACET bunch parameters. The wakefields were calculated by a frequency domain method using periodic eigensolutions. Such a method takes into account wall losses and is applicable to a large variety of geometries. The maximum achieved accelerating gradient is 0.3 GV/m with a peak surface electric field of 1.5 GV/m and a pulse length of about 2.4 ns.« less

  2. A proposal for antiparallel acceleration of positrons using CEBAF

    DOE PAGES

    Tiefenback, M.; Wojtsekhowski, B.

    2018-05-01

    Here, we present a scheme for positron beam acceleration in CEBAF antiparallel to the normal electron path, requiring no change in polarity of the magnet systems. This feature is essential to the principal benefit: enabling extremely simple configuration changes between conventional (clockwise) e - acceleration and counter clockwise e + acceleration. Additionally, it appears possible to configure the accelerating cavity phases to support concurrent acceleration of the electron and positron beams. The last mode also may enable use of the higher peak current electron beam for system diagnostics. The inherent penalty of the concurrent mode in acceleration efficiency and increasedmore » energy spread may render this a commissioning-only diagnostic option, but the possibility appears worthy of consideration.« less

  3. A proposal for antiparallel acceleration of positrons using CEBAF

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tiefenback, M.; Wojtsekhowski, B.

    Here, we present a scheme for positron beam acceleration in CEBAF antiparallel to the normal electron path, requiring no change in polarity of the magnet systems. This feature is essential to the principal benefit: enabling extremely simple configuration changes between conventional (clockwise) e - acceleration and counter clockwise e + acceleration. Additionally, it appears possible to configure the accelerating cavity phases to support concurrent acceleration of the electron and positron beams. The last mode also may enable use of the higher peak current electron beam for system diagnostics. The inherent penalty of the concurrent mode in acceleration efficiency and increasedmore » energy spread may render this a commissioning-only diagnostic option, but the possibility appears worthy of consideration.« less

  4. Synchronous acceleration with tapered dielectric-lined waveguides

    DOE PAGES

    Lemery, Francois; Floettmann, Klaus; Piot, Philippe; ...

    2018-05-25

    Here, we present a general concept to accelerate non-relativistic charged particles. Our concept employs an adiabatically-tapered dielectric-lined waveguide which supports accelerating phase velocities for synchronous acceleration. We propose an ansatz for the transient field equations, show it satisfies Maxwell's equations under an adiabatic approximation and find excellent agreement with a finite-difference time-domain computer simulation. The fields were implemented into the particle-tracking program {\\sc astra} and we present beam dynamics results for an accelerating field with a 1-mm-wavelength and peak electric field of 100~MV/m. The numerical simulations indicate that amore » $$\\sim 200$$-keV electron beam can be accelerated to an energy of $$\\sim10$$~MeV over $$\\sim 10$$~cm. The novel scheme is also found to form electron beams with parameters of interest to a wide range of applications including, e.g., future advanced accelerators, and ultra-fast electron diffraction.« less

  5. Intermittent Lagrangian velocities and accelerations in three-dimensional porous medium flow.

    PubMed

    Holzner, M; Morales, V L; Willmann, M; Dentz, M

    2015-07-01

    Intermittency of Lagrangian velocity and acceleration is a key to understanding transport in complex systems ranging from fluid turbulence to flow in porous media. High-resolution optical particle tracking in a three-dimensional (3D) porous medium provides detailed 3D information on Lagrangian velocities and accelerations. We find sharp transitions close to pore throats, and low flow variability in the pore bodies, which gives rise to stretched exponential Lagrangian velocity and acceleration distributions characterized by a sharp peak at low velocity, superlinear evolution of particle dispersion, and double-peak behavior in the propagators. The velocity distribution is quantified in terms of pore geometry and flow connectivity, which forms the basis for a continuous-time random-walk model that sheds light on the observed Lagrangian flow and transport behaviors.

  6. Characterization of Vertical Impact Device Acceleration Pulses Using Parametric Assessment: Phase 3 Wiaman Seat

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-07-01

    711 HPW/RHCPT) and their in-house technical support contractor , Infoscitex, conducted a series of tests to identify the performance capabilities of...Cell Seat Configuration Drop Ht . (in) Mean Peak Acceleration (G) Mean Velocity Change (ft/s) SH1 WS1 20 80.08 ± 3.71 13.54 ± 0.49 SH2...6. Test Matrix for VID Response with WS2 Test Cell Seat (Felt) Configuration Drop Ht . (in) Mean Peak Acceleration (G

  7. A Method for Estimation of Death Tolls in Disastrous Earthquake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pai, C.; Tien, Y.; Teng, T.

    2004-12-01

    Fatality tolls caused by the disastrous earthquake are the one of the most important items among the earthquake damage and losses. If we can precisely estimate the potential tolls and distribution of fatality in individual districts as soon as the earthquake occurrences, it not only make emergency programs and disaster management more effective but also supply critical information to plan and manage the disaster and the allotments of disaster rescue manpower and medicine resources in a timely manner. In this study, we intend to reach the estimation of death tolls caused by the Chi-Chi earthquake in individual districts based on the Attributive Database of Victims, population data, digital maps and Geographic Information Systems. In general, there were involved many factors including the characteristics of ground motions, geological conditions, types and usage habits of buildings, distribution of population and social-economic situations etc., all are related to the damage and losses induced by the disastrous earthquake. The density of seismic stations in Taiwan is the greatest in the world at present. In the meantime, it is easy to get complete seismic data by earthquake rapid-reporting systems from the Central Weather Bureau: mostly within about a minute or less after the earthquake happened. Therefore, it becomes possible to estimate death tolls caused by the earthquake in Taiwan based on the preliminary information. Firstly, we form the arithmetic mean of the three components of the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) to give the PGA Index for each individual seismic station, according to the mainshock data of the Chi-Chi earthquake. To supply the distribution of Iso-seismic Intensity Contours in any districts and resolve the problems for which there are no seismic station within partial districts through the PGA Index and geographical coordinates in individual seismic station, the Kriging Interpolation Method and the GIS software, The population density depends on

  8. PeakWorks

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    2016-11-30

    The PeakWorks software is designed to assist in the quantitative analysis of atom probe tomography (APT) generated mass spectra. Specifically, through an interactive user interface, mass peaks can be identified automatically (defined by a threshold) and/or identified manually. The software then provides a means to assign specific elemental isotopes (including more than one) to each peak. The software also provides a means for the user to choose background subtraction of each peak based on background fitting functions, the choice of which is left to the users discretion. Peak ranging (the mass range over which peaks are integrated) is also automatedmore » allowing the user to chose a quantitative range (e.g. full-widthhalf- maximum). The software then integrates all identified peaks, providing a background-subtracted composition, which also includes the deconvolution of peaks (i.e. those peaks that happen to have overlapping isotopic masses). The software is also able to output a 'range file' that can be used in other software packages, such as within IVAS. A range file lists the peak identities, the mass range of each identified peak, and a color code for the peak. The software is also able to generate 'dummy' peak ranges within an outputted range file that can be used within IVAS to provide a means for background subtracted proximity histogram analysis.« less

  9. Extremely High Peak Power Obtained at 29 GHZ Microwave Pulse Generation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rostov, V. V.; Gunin, A. V.; Romanchenko, I. V.; Pedos, M. S.; Rukin, S. N.; Sharypov, K. A.; Shunailov, S. A.; Ul'maskulov, M. R.; Yalandin, M. I.

    2017-12-01

    The paper presents research results on enhancing the peak power of microwave pulses with sub- and nanosecond length using a backward-wave oscillator (BWO) operating at 29 GHz frequency and possessing a reproducible phase structure. Experiments are conducted in two modes on a high-current electron accelerator with the required electron beam power. In the first (superradiation) mode, which utilizes the elongated slow-wave structure, the BWO peak power is 3 GW at 180 ns pulse duration (full width at halfmaximum, FWHM). In the second (quasi-stationary) mode, the BWO peak power reaches 600 MW at 2 ns pulse duration (FWHM). The phase spread from pulse to pulse can vary from units to several tens of percent in a nanosecond pulse mode. The experiments do not show any influence of microwave breakdown on the BWO power generation and radiation pulse duration.

  10. Modular compact solid-state modulators for particle accelerators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zavadtsev, A. A.; Zavadtsev, D. A.; Churanov, D. V.

    2017-12-01

    The building of the radio frequency (RF) particle accelerator needs high-voltage pulsed modulator as a power supply for klystron or magnetron to feed the RF accelerating system. The development of a number of solid-state modulators for use in linear accelerators has allowed to develop a series of modular IGBT based compact solid-state modulators with different parameters. This series covers a wide range of needs in accelerator technology to feed a wide range of loads from the low power magnetrons to powerful klystrons. Each modulator of the series is built on base of a number of unified solid-state modules connected to the pulse transformer, and covers a wide range of modulators: voltage up to 250 kV, a peak current up to 250 A, average power up to 100 kW and the pulse duration up to 20 μsec. The parameters of the block with an overall dimensions 880×540×250 mm are: voltage 12 kV, peak current 1600 A, pulse duration 20 μsec, average power 10 kW with air-cooling and 40 kW with liquidcooling. These parameters do not represent a physical limit, and modulators to parameters outside these ranges can be created on request.

  11. Analysis on the time and frequency domains of the acceleration in front crawl stroke.

    PubMed

    Gil, Joaquín Madera; Moreno, Luis-Millán González; Mahiques, Juan Benavent; Muñoz, Víctor Tella

    2012-05-01

    The swimming involves accelerations and decelerations in the swimmer's body. Thus, the main objective of this study is to make a temporal and frequency analysis of the acceleration in front crawl swimming, regarding the gender and the performance. The sample was composed by 31 male swimmers (15 of high-level and 16 of low-level) and 20 female swimmers (11 of high-level and 9 of low-level). The acceleration was registered from the third complete cycle during eight seconds in a 25 meters maximum velocity test. A position transducer (200Hz) was used to collect the data, and it was synchronized to an aquatic camera (25Hz). The acceleration in the temporal (root mean square, minimum and maximum of the acceleration) and frequency (power peak, power peak frequency and spectral area) domains was calculated with Fourier analysis, as well as the velocity and the spectrums distribution in function to present one or more main peaks (type 1 and type 2). A one-way ANOVA was used to establish differences between gender and performance. Results show differences between genders in all the temporal domain variables (p<0.05) and only the Spectral Area (SA) in the frequency domain (p<0.05). Between gender and performance, only the Root Mean Square (RMS) showed differences in the performance of the male swimmers (p<0.05) and in the higher level swimmers, the Maximum (Max) and the Power Peak (PP) of the acceleration showed differences between both genders (p<0.05). These results confirms the importance of knowing the RMS to determine the efficiency of the swimmers regarding gender and performance level.

  12. A New Insight into Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis for Central India

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mandal, H. S.; Shukla, A. K.; Khan, P. K.; Mishra, O. P.

    2013-12-01

    The Son-Narmada-Tapti lineament and its surroundings of Central India (CI) is the second most important tectonic regime following the converging margin along Himalayas-Myanmar-Andaman of the Indian sub-continent, which attracted several geoscientists to assess its seismic hazard potential. Our study area, a part of CI, is bounded between latitudes 18°-26°N and longitudes 73°-83°E, representing a stable part of Peninsular India. Past damaging moderate magnitude earthquakes as well as continuing microseismicity in the area provided enough data for seismological study. Our estimates based on regional Gutenberg-Richter relationship showed lower b values (i.e., between 0.68 and 0.76) from the average for the study area. The Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis carried out over the area with a radius of ~300 km encircling Bhopal yielded a conspicuous relationship between earthquake return period ( T) and peak ground acceleration (PGA). Analyses of T and PGA shows that PGA value at bedrock varies from 0.08 to 0.15 g for 10 % ( T = 475 years) and 2 % ( T = 2,475 years) probabilities exceeding 50 years, respectively. We establish the empirical relationships and between zero period acceleration (ZPA) and shear wave velocity up to a depth of 30 m [ V s (30)] for the two different return periods. These demonstrate that the ZPA values decrease with increasing shear wave velocity, suggesting a diagnostic indicator for designing the structures at a specific site of interest. The predictive designed response spectra generated at a site for periods up to 4.0 s at 10 and 2 % probability of exceedance of ground motion for 50 years can be used for designing duration dependent structures of variable vertical dimension. We infer that this concept of assimilating uniform hazard response spectra and predictive design at 10 and 2 % probability of exceedance in 50 years at 5 % damping at bedrocks of different categories may offer potential inputs for designing earthquake resistant

  13. Efficient Optical Energy Harvesting in Self-Accelerating Beams

    PubMed Central

    Bongiovanni, Domenico; Hu, Yi; Wetzel, Benjamin; Robles, Raul A.; Mendoza González, Gregorio; Marti-Panameño, Erwin A.; Chen, Zhigang; Morandotti, Roberto

    2015-01-01

    We report the experimental observation of energetically confined self-accelerating optical beams propagating along various convex trajectories. We show that, under an appropriate transverse compression of their spatial spectra, these self-accelerating beams can exhibit a dramatic enhancement of their peak intensity and a significant decrease of their transverse expansion, yet retaining both the expected acceleration profile and the intrinsic self-healing properties. We found our experimental results to be in excellent agreement with the numerical simulations. We expect further applications in such contexts where power budget and optimal spatial confinement can be important limiting factors. PMID:26299360

  14. Berkeley Proton Linear Accelerator

    DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

    Alvarez, L. W.; Bradner, H.; Franck, J.; Gordon, H.; Gow, J. D.; Marshall, L. C.; Oppenheimer, F. F.; Panofsky, W. K. H.; Richman, C.; Woodyard, J. R.

    1953-10-13

    A linear accelerator, which increases the energy of protons from a 4 Mev Van de Graaff injector, to a final energy of 31.5 Mev, has been constructed. The accelerator consists of a cavity 40 feet long and 39 inches in diameter, excited at resonance in a longitudinal electric mode with a radio-frequency power of about 2.2 x 10{sup 6} watts peak at 202.5 mc. Acceleration is made possible by the introduction of 46 axial "drift tubes" into the cavity, which is designed such that the particles traverse the distance between the centers of successive tubes in one cycle of the r.f. power. The protons are longitudinally stable as in the synchrotron, and are stabilized transversely by the action of converging fields produced by focusing grids. The electrical cavity is constructed like an inverted airplane fuselage and is supported in a vacuum tank. Power is supplied by 9 high powered oscillators fed from a pulse generator of the artificial transmission line type.

  15. Plasma Wake-field Acceleration in the Blow-out Regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barov, Nikolai; Rosenzweig, James

    1999-11-01

    Recent experiments at Argonne National Laboratory, investigating the blow-out regime of the plasma wake-field accelerator, are discussed. These experiments achieved stable underdense (beam denser than the ambient plasma density) beam transport, and measured average acceleration of 25 MV/m, corresponding to peak wave fields of over 60 MVm. A comparison of the results to simulation is given, and the physics of the system is discussed. Potential for improvements in performance and achieved acceleration gradient, as well as accelerated beam quality are examined within the context of the next generation of experiments at the Fermilab Test Facility. The status of these experiments will be given.

  16. 9 GeV energy gain in a beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerator

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Litos, M.; Adli, E.; Allen, J. M.

    2016-02-15

    An electron beam has gained a maximum energy of 9 GeV per particle in a 1.3 m-long electron beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerator. The amount of charge accelerated in the spectral peak was 28.3 pC, and the root-mean-square energy spread was 5.0%. The mean accelerated charge and energy gain per particle of the 215 shot data set was 115 pC and 5.3 GeV, respectively, corresponding to an acceleration gradient of 4.0 GeV m -1 at the spectral peak. Moreover, the mean energy spread of the data set was 5.1%. Our results are consistent with the extrapolation of the previously reported energymore » gain results using a shorter, 36 cm-long plasma source to within 10%, evincing a non-evolving wake structure that can propagate distances of over a meter in length. Wake-loading effects were evident in the data through strong dependencies observed between various spectral properties and the amount of accelerated charge.« less

  17. Electrostatic acceleration of helicon plasma using a cusped magnetic field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harada, S.; Baba, T.; Uchigashima, A.; Yokota, S.; Iwakawa, A.; Sasoh, A.; Yamazaki, T.; Shimizu, H.

    2014-11-01

    The electrostatic acceleration of helicon plasma is investigated using an electrostatic potential exerted between the ring anode at the helicon source exit and an off-axis hollow cathode in the downstream region. In the downstream region, the magnetic field for the helicon source, which is generated by a solenoid coil, is modified using permanent magnets and a yoke, forming an almost magnetic field-free region surrounded by an annular cusp field. Using a retarding potential analyzer, two primary ion energy peaks, where the lower peak corresponds to the space potential and the higher one to the ion beam, are detected in the field-free region. Using argon as the working gas with a helicon power of 1.5 kW and a mass flow rate of 0.21 mg/s, the ion beam energy is on the order of the applied acceleration voltage. In particular, with an acceleration voltage lower than 150 V, the ion beam energy even exceeds the applied acceleration voltage by an amount on the order of the electron thermal energy at the exit of the helicon plasma source. The ion beam energy profile strongly depends on the helicon power and the applied acceleration voltage. Since by this method the whole working gas from the helicon plasma source can, in principle, be accelerated, this device can be applied as a noble electrostatic thruster for space propulsion.

  18. Efficient injection of radiation-pressure-accelerated sub-relativistic protons into laser wakefield acceleration based on 10 PW lasers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, M.; Weng, S. M.; Wang, H. C.; Chen, M.; Zhao, Q.; Sheng, Z. M.; He, M. Q.; Li, Y. T.; Zhang, J.

    2018-06-01

    We propose a hybrid laser-driven ion acceleration scheme using a combination target of a solid foil and a density-tailored background plasma. In the first stage, a sub-relativistic proton beam can be generated by radiation pressure acceleration in intense laser interaction with the solid foil. In the second stage, this sub-relativistic proton beam is further accelerated by the laser wakefield driven by the same laser pulse in a near-critical-density background plasma with decreasing density profile. The propagating velocity of the laser front and the phase velocity of the excited wakefield wave are effectively lowered at the beginning of the second stage. By decreasing the background plasma density gradually from near critical density along the laser propagation direction, the wake travels faster and faster, while it accelerates the protons. Consequently, the dephasing between the protons and the wake is postponed and an efficient wakefield proton acceleration is achieved. This hybrid laser-driven proton acceleration scheme can be realized by using ultrashort laser pulses at the peak power of 10 PW for the generation of multi-GeV proton beams.

  19. Site specific probabilistic seismic hazard analysis at Dubai Creek on the west coast of UAE

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shama, Ayman A.

    2011-03-01

    A probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) was conducted to establish the hazard spectra for a site located at Dubai Creek on the west coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The PSHA considered all the seismogenic sources that affect the site, including plate boundaries such as the Makran subduction zone, the Zagros fold-thrust region and the transition fault system between them; and local crustal faults in UAE. PSHA indicated that local faults dominate the hazard. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) for the 475-year return period spectrum is 0.17 g and 0.33 g for the 2,475-year return period spectrum. The hazard spectra are then employed to establish rock ground motions using the spectral matching technique.

  20. Radiobiological effectiveness of laser accelerated electrons in comparison to electron beams from a conventional linear accelerator.

    PubMed

    Laschinsky, Lydia; Baumann, Michael; Beyreuther, Elke; Enghardt, Wolfgang; Kaluza, Malte; Karsch, Leonhard; Lessmann, Elisabeth; Naumburger, Doreen; Nicolai, Maria; Richter, Christian; Sauerbrey, Roland; Schlenvoigt, Hans-Peter; Pawelke, Jörg

    2012-01-01

    The notable progress in laser particle acceleration technology promises potential medical application in cancer therapy through compact and cost effective laser devices that are suitable for already existing clinics. Previously, consequences on the radiobiological response by laser driven particle beams characterised by an ultra high peak dose rate have to be investigated. Therefore, tumour and non-malignant cells were irradiated with pulsed laser accelerated electrons at the JETI facility for the comparison with continuous electrons of a conventional therapy LINAC. Dose response curves were measured for the biological endpoints clonogenic survival and residual DNA double strand breaks. The overall results show no significant differences in radiobiological response for in vitro cell experiments between laser accelerated pulsed and clinical used electron beams. These first systematic in vitro cell response studies with precise dosimetry to laser driven electron beams represent a first step toward the long term aim of the application of laser accelerated particles in radiotherapy.

  1. Pulsed power accelerator for material physics experiments

    DOE PAGES

    Reisman, D.  B.; Stoltzfus, B.  S.; Stygar, W.  A.; ...

    2015-09-01

    We have developed the design of Thor: a pulsed power accelerator that delivers a precisely shaped current pulse with a peak value as high as 7 MA to a strip-line load. The peak magnetic pressure achieved within a 1-cm-wide load is as high as 100 GPa. Thor is powered by as many as 288 decoupled and transit-time isolated bricks. Each brick consists of a single switch and two capacitors connected electrically in series. The bricks can be individually triggered to achieve a high degree of current pulse tailoring. Because the accelerator is impedance matched throughout, capacitor energy is delivered tomore » the strip-line load with an efficiency as high as 50%. We used an iterative finite element method (FEM), circuit, and magnetohydrodynamic simulations to develop an optimized accelerator design. When powered by 96 bricks, Thor delivers as much as 4.1 MA to a load, and achieves peak magnetic pressures as high as 65 GPa. When powered by 288 bricks, Thor delivers as much as 6.9 MA to a load, and achieves magnetic pressures as high as 170 GPa. We have developed an algebraic calculational procedure that uses the single brick basis function to determine the brick-triggering sequence necessary to generate a highly tailored current pulse time history for shockless loading of samples. Thor will drive a wide variety of magnetically driven shockless ramp compression, shockless flyer plate, shock-ramp, equation of state, material strength, phase transition, and other advanced material physics experiments.« less

  2. The beat in laser-accelerated ion beams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schnürer, M.; Andreev, A. A.; Abicht, F.; Bränzel, J.; Koschitzki, Ch.; Platonov, K. Yu.; Priebe, G.; Sandner, W.

    2013-10-01

    Regular modulation in the ion velocity distribution becomes detectable if intense femtosecond laser pulses with very high temporal contrast are used for target normal sheath acceleration of ions. Analytical and numerical analysis of the experimental observation associates the modulation with the half-cycle of the driving laser field period. In processes like ion acceleration, the collective and laser-frequency determined electron dynamics creates strong fields in plasma to accelerate the ions. Even the oscillatory motion of electrons and its influence on the acceleration field can dominate over smoothing effects in plasma if a high temporal contrast of the driving laser pulse is given. Acceleration parameters can be directly concluded out of the experimentally observed modulation period in ion velocity spectra. The appearance of the phenomenon at a temporal contrast of ten orders between the intensity of the pulse peak and the spontaneous amplified emission background as well as remaining intensity wings at picosecond time-scale might trigger further parameter studies with even higher contrast.

  3. Sensitivity analysis of seismic hazard for the northwestern portion of the state of Gujarat, India

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Petersen, M.D.; Rastogi, B.K.; Schweig, E.S.; Harmsen, S.C.; Gomberg, J.S.

    2004-01-01

    We test the sensitivity of seismic hazard to three fault source models for the northwestern portion of Gujarat, India. The models incorporate different characteristic earthquake magnitudes on three faults with individual recurrence intervals of either 800 or 1600 years. These recurrence intervals imply that large earthquakes occur on one of these faults every 266-533 years, similar to the rate of historic large earthquakes in this region during the past two centuries and for earthquakes in intraplate environments like the New Madrid region in the central United States. If one assumes a recurrence interval of 800 years for large earthquakes on each of three local faults, the peak ground accelerations (PGA; horizontal) and 1-Hz spectral acceleration ground motions (5% damping) are greater than 1 g over a broad region for a 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years' hazard level. These probabilistic PGAs at this hazard level are similar to median deterministic ground motions. The PGAs for 10% in 50 years' hazard level are considerably lower, generally ranging between 0.2 g and 0.7 g across northwestern Gujarat. Ground motions calculated from our models that consider fault interevent times of 800 years are considerably higher than other published models even though they imply similar recurrence intervals. These higher ground motions are mainly caused by the application of intraplate attenuation relations, which account for less severe attenuation of seismic waves when compared to the crustal interplate relations used in these previous studies. For sites in Bhuj and Ahmedabad, magnitude (M) 7 3/4 earthquakes contribute most to the PGA and the 0.2- and 1-s spectral acceleration ground motion maps at the two considered hazard levels. ?? 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. The Effect of the Accelerometer Operating Range on Biomechanical Parameters: Stride Length, Velocity, and Peak Tibial Acceleration during Running

    PubMed Central

    Kiesewetter, Pierre; Milani, Thomas L.

    2018-01-01

    Previous studies have used accelerometers with various operating ranges (ORs) when measuring biomechanical parameters. However, it is still unclear whether ORs influence the accuracy of running parameters, and whether the different stiffnesses of footwear midsoles influence this accuracy. The purpose of the present study was to systematically investigate the influence of OR on the accuracy of stride length, running velocity, and on peak tibial acceleration. Twenty-one recreational heel strike runners ran on a 15-m indoor track at self-selected running speeds in three footwear conditions (low to high midsole stiffness). Runners were equipped with an inertial measurement unit (IMU) affixed to the heel cup of the right shoe and with a uniaxial accelerometer at the right tibia. Accelerometers (at the tibia and included in the IMU) with a high OR of ±70 g were used as the reference and the data were cut at ±32, ±16, and at ±8 g in post-processing, before calculating parameters. The results show that the OR influenced the outcomes of all investigated parameters, which were not influenced by tested footwear conditions. The lower ORs were associated with an underestimation error for all biomechanical parameters, which increased noticeably with a decreasing OR. It can be concluded that accelerometers with a minimum OR of ±32 g should be used to avoid inaccurate measurements. PMID:29303986

  5. Foot strike pattern differently affects the axial and transverse components of shock acceleration and attenuation in downhill trail running.

    PubMed

    Giandolini, Marlene; Horvais, Nicolas; Rossi, Jérémy; Millet, Guillaume Y; Samozino, Pierre; Morin, Jean-Benoît

    2016-06-14

    Trail runners are exposed to a high number of shocks, including high-intensity shocks on downhill sections leading to greater risk of osseous overuse injury. The type of foot strike pattern (FSP) is known to influence impact severity and lower-limb kinematics. Our purpose was to investigate the influence of FSP on axial and transverse components of shock acceleration and attenuation during an intense downhill trail run (DTR). Twenty-three trail runners performed a 6.5-km DTR (1264m of negative elevation change) as fast as possible. Four tri-axial accelerometers were attached to the heel, metatarsals, tibia and sacrum. Accelerations were continuously recorded at 1344Hz and analyzed over six sections (~400 steps per subject). Heel and metatarsal accelerations were used to identify the FSP. Axial, transverse and resultant peak accelerations, median frequencies and shock attenuation within the impact-related frequency range (12-20Hz) were assessed between tibia and sacrum. Multiple linear regressions showed that anterior (i.e. forefoot) FSPs were associated with higher peak axial acceleration and median frequency at the tibia, lower transverse median frequencies at the tibia and sacrum, and lower transverse peak acceleration at the sacrum. For resultant acceleration, higher tibial median frequency but lower sacral peak acceleration were reported with forefoot striking. FSP therefore differently affects the components of impact shock acceleration. Although a forefoot strike reduces impact severity and impact frequency content along the transverse axis, a rearfoot strike decreases them in the axial direction. Globally, the attenuation of axial and resultant impact-related vibrations was improved using anterior FSPs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Performance-based methodology for assessing seismic vulnerability and capacity of buildings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shibin, Lin; Lili, Xie; Maosheng, Gong; Ming, Li

    2010-06-01

    This paper presents a performance-based methodology for the assessment of seismic vulnerability and capacity of buildings. The vulnerability assessment methodology is based on the HAZUS methodology and the improved capacitydemand-diagram method. The spectral displacement ( S d ) of performance points on a capacity curve is used to estimate the damage level of a building. The relationship between S d and peak ground acceleration (PGA) is established, and then a new vulnerability function is expressed in terms of PGA. Furthermore, the expected value of the seismic capacity index (SCev) is provided to estimate the seismic capacity of buildings based on the probability distribution of damage levels and the corresponding seismic capacity index. The results indicate that the proposed vulnerability methodology is able to assess seismic damage of a large number of building stock directly and quickly following an earthquake. The SCev provides an effective index to measure the seismic capacity of buildings and illustrate the relationship between the seismic capacity of buildings and seismic action. The estimated result is compared with damage surveys of the cities of Dujiangyan and Jiangyou in the M8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, revealing that the methodology is acceptable for seismic risk assessment and decision making. The primary reasons for discrepancies between the estimated results and the damage surveys are discussed.

  7. Development of damage probability matrices based on Greek earthquake damage data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eleftheriadou, Anastasia K.; Karabinis, Athanasios I.

    2011-03-01

    A comprehensive study is presented for empirical seismic vulnerability assessment of typical structural types, representative of the building stock of Southern Europe, based on a large set of damage statistics. The observational database was obtained from post-earthquake surveys carried out in the area struck by the September 7, 1999 Athens earthquake. After analysis of the collected observational data, a unified damage database has been created which comprises 180,945 damaged buildings from/after the near-field area of the earthquake. The damaged buildings are classified in specific structural types, according to the materials, seismic codes and construction techniques in Southern Europe. The seismic demand is described in terms of both the regional macroseismic intensity and the ratio α g/ a o, where α g is the maximum peak ground acceleration (PGA) of the earthquake event and a o is the unique value PGA that characterizes each municipality shown on the Greek hazard map. The relative and cumulative frequencies of the different damage states for each structural type and each intensity level are computed in terms of damage ratio. Damage probability matrices (DPMs) and vulnerability curves are obtained for specific structural types. A comparison analysis is fulfilled between the produced and the existing vulnerability models.

  8. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rutqvist, Jonny; Cappa, Frédéric; Rinaldi, Antonio P.

    In this paper, we present model simulations of ground motions caused by CO 2 -injection-induced fault reactivation and analyze the results in terms of the potential for damage to ground surface structures and nuisance to the local human population. It is an integrated analysis from cause to consequence, including the whole chain of processes starting from earthquake inception in the subsurface, wave propagation toward the ground surface, and assessment of the consequences of ground vibration. For a small magnitude (M w =3) event at a hypocenter depth of about 1000m, we first used the simulated ground-motion wave train in anmore » inverse analysis to estimate source parameters (moment magnitude, rupture dimensions and stress drop), achieving good agreement and thereby verifying the modeling of the chain of processes from earthquake inception to ground vibration. We then analyzed the ground vibration results in terms of peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV) and frequency content, with comparison to U.S. Geological Survey's instrumental intensity scales for earthquakes and the U.S. Bureau of Mines' vibration criteria for cosmetic damage to buildings, as well as human-perception vibration limits. Our results confirm the appropriateness of using PGV (rather than PGA) and frequency for the evaluation of potential ground-vibration effects on structures and humans from shallow injection-induced seismic events. For the considered synthetic M w =3 event, our analysis showed that the short duration, high frequency ground motion may not cause any significant damage to surface structures, but would certainly be felt by the local population.« less

  9. Modeling of induced seismicity and ground vibrations associated with geologic CO 2 storage, and assessing their effects on surface structures and human perception

    DOE PAGES

    Rutqvist, Jonny; Cappa, Frédéric; Rinaldi, Antonio P.; ...

    2014-05-01

    In this paper, we present model simulations of ground motions caused by CO 2 -injection-induced fault reactivation and analyze the results in terms of the potential for damage to ground surface structures and nuisance to the local human population. It is an integrated analysis from cause to consequence, including the whole chain of processes starting from earthquake inception in the subsurface, wave propagation toward the ground surface, and assessment of the consequences of ground vibration. For a small magnitude (M w =3) event at a hypocenter depth of about 1000m, we first used the simulated ground-motion wave train in anmore » inverse analysis to estimate source parameters (moment magnitude, rupture dimensions and stress drop), achieving good agreement and thereby verifying the modeling of the chain of processes from earthquake inception to ground vibration. We then analyzed the ground vibration results in terms of peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV) and frequency content, with comparison to U.S. Geological Survey's instrumental intensity scales for earthquakes and the U.S. Bureau of Mines' vibration criteria for cosmetic damage to buildings, as well as human-perception vibration limits. Our results confirm the appropriateness of using PGV (rather than PGA) and frequency for the evaluation of potential ground-vibration effects on structures and humans from shallow injection-induced seismic events. For the considered synthetic M w =3 event, our analysis showed that the short duration, high frequency ground motion may not cause any significant damage to surface structures, but would certainly be felt by the local population.« less

  10. Exploring the mechanical basis for acceleration: pelvic limb locomotor function during accelerations in racing greyhounds (Canis familiaris)

    PubMed Central

    Williams, S. B.; Usherwood, J. R.; Jespers, K.; Channon, A. J.; Wilson, A. M.

    2009-01-01

    Summary Animals in their natural environments are confronted with a regular need to perform rapid accelerations (for example when escaping from predators or chasing prey). Such acceleration requires net positive mechanical work to be performed on the centre of mass by skeletal muscle. Here we determined how pelvic limb joints contribute to the mechanical work and power that are required for acceleration in galloping quadrupeds. In addition, we considered what, if any, biomechanical strategies exist to enable effective acceleration to be achieved. Simultaneous kinematic and kinetic data were collected for racing greyhounds undergoing a range of low to high accelerations. From these data, joint moments and joint powers were calculated for individual hindlimb joints. In addition, the mean effective mechanical advantage (EMA) of the limb and the `gear ratio' of each joint throughout stance were calculated. Greatest increases in joint work and power with acceleration appeared at the hip and hock joints, particularly in the lead limb. Largest increases in absolute positive joint work occurred at the hip, consistent with the hypothesis that quadrupeds power locomotion by torque about the hip. In addition, hindlimb EMA decreased substantially with increased acceleration – a potential strategy to increase stance time and thus ground impulses for a given peak force. This mechanism may also increase the mechanical advantage for applying the horizontal forces necessary for acceleration. PMID:19181903

  11. Impact Accelerations of Barefoot and Shod Running.

    PubMed

    Thompson, M; Seegmiller, J; McGowan, C P

    2016-05-01

    During the ground contact phase of running, the body's mass is rapidly decelerated resulting in forces that propagate through the musculoskeletal system. The repetitive attenuation of these impact forces is thought to contribute to overuse injuries. Modern running shoes are designed to reduce impact forces, with the goal to minimize running related overuse injuries. Additionally, the fore/mid foot strike pattern that is adopted by most individuals when running barefoot may reduce impact force transmission. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of the barefoot running form (fore/mid foot strike & decreased stride length) and running shoes on running kinetics and impact accelerations. 10 healthy, physically active, heel strike runners ran in 3 conditions: shod, barefoot and barefoot while heel striking, during which 3-dimensional motion analysis, ground reaction force and accelerometer data were collected. Shod running was associated with increased ground reaction force and impact peak magnitudes, but decreased impact accelerations, suggesting that the midsole of running shoes helps to attenuate impact forces. Barefoot running exhibited a similar decrease in impact accelerations, as well as decreased impact peak magnitude, which appears to be due to a decrease in stride length and/or a more plantarflexed position at ground contact. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  12. Electrostatic acceleration of helicon plasma using a cusped magnetic field

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Harada, S.; Mitsubishi Heavy Industry ltd., 16-5 Konan 2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8215; Baba, T.

    2014-11-10

    The electrostatic acceleration of helicon plasma is investigated using an electrostatic potential exerted between the ring anode at the helicon source exit and an off-axis hollow cathode in the downstream region. In the downstream region, the magnetic field for the helicon source, which is generated by a solenoid coil, is modified using permanent magnets and a yoke, forming an almost magnetic field-free region surrounded by an annular cusp field. Using a retarding potential analyzer, two primary ion energy peaks, where the lower peak corresponds to the space potential and the higher one to the ion beam, are detected in themore » field-free region. Using argon as the working gas with a helicon power of 1.5 kW and a mass flow rate of 0.21 mg/s, the ion beam energy is on the order of the applied acceleration voltage. In particular, with an acceleration voltage lower than 150 V, the ion beam energy even exceeds the applied acceleration voltage by an amount on the order of the electron thermal energy at the exit of the helicon plasma source. The ion beam energy profile strongly depends on the helicon power and the applied acceleration voltage. Since by this method the whole working gas from the helicon plasma source can, in principle, be accelerated, this device can be applied as a noble electrostatic thruster for space propulsion.« less

  13. Sustained Accelerated Idioventricular Rhythm in a Centrifuge-Simulated Suborbital Spaceflight.

    PubMed

    Suresh, Rahul; Blue, Rebecca S; Mathers, Charles; Castleberry, Tarah L; Vanderploeg, James M

    2017-08-01

    Hypergravitational exposures during human centrifugation are known to provoke dysrhythmias, including sinus dysrhythmias/tachycardias, premature atrial/ventricular contractions, and even atrial fibrillations or flutter patterns. However, events are generally short-lived and resolve rapidly after cessation of acceleration. This case report describes a prolonged ectopic ventricular rhythm in response to high G exposure. A previously healthy 30-yr-old man voluntarily participated in centrifuge trials as a part of a larger study, experiencing a total of 7 centrifuge runs over 48 h. Day 1 consisted of two +Gz runs (peak +3.5 Gz, run 2) and two +Gx runs (peak +6.0 Gx, run 4). Day 2 consisted of three runs approximating suborbital spaceflight profiles (combined +Gx and +Gz). Hemodynamic data collected included blood pressure, heart rate, and continuous three-lead electrocardiogram. Following the final acceleration exposure of the last Day 2 run (peak +4.5 Gx and +4.0 Gz combined, resultant +6.0 G), during a period of idle resting centrifuge activity (resultant vector +1.4 G), the subject demonstrated a marked change in his three-lead electrocardiogram from normal sinus rhythm to a wide-complex ectopic ventricular rhythm at a rate of 91-95 bpm, consistent with an accelerated idioventricular rhythm (AIVR). This rhythm was sustained for 2 m, 24 s before reversion to normal sinus. The subject reported no adverse symptoms during this time. While prolonged, the dysrhythmia was asymptomatic and self-limited. AIVR is likely a physiological response to acceleration and can be managed conservatively. Vigilance is needed to ensure that AIVR is correctly distinguished from other, malignant rhythms to avoid inappropriate treatment and negative operational impacts.Suresh R, Blue RS, Mathers C, Castleberry TL, Vanderploeg JM. Sustained accelerated idioventricular rhythm in a centrifuge-simulated suborbital spaceflight. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(8):789-793.

  14. Improved specific productivity in cephalexin synthesis by immobilized PGA in silica magnetic micro-particles.

    PubMed

    Bernardino, Susana M S A; Fernandes, Pedro; Fonseca, Luís P

    2010-12-01

    There is a marked trend in pharmaceutical industry towards the replacement of classical organic methods by "green" alternatives that minimize or eliminate the generation of waste and avoid, where possible, the use of toxic and/or hazardous reagents and solvents. In this work the kinetically controlled synthesis of cephalexin by soluble and penicillin G acylase immobilized in sol-gel micro-particles with magnetic properties was performed in aqueous media with PGME and 7-ADCA as substrates, at different concentrations of substrate, temperature, pH, enzyme to substrate ratio and acyl donor to nucleophile ratio. Excess acyl donor had a strong effect on cephalexin productivity. A PGME/7-ADCA ratio of 3 was considered optimum. A maximum specific productivity of 5.9 mmol h(-1), gbiocatalyst(-1) at 160 mM 7-ADCA, 480 mM PGME and low enzyme to substrate ratio at 32.5 U mmol(-1) 7-ADCA was obtained with immobilized PGA in full aqueous medium, suggesting that diffusional limitations were minimized when compared with other commercial biocatalysts. A half-life of 133 h for the immobilized biocatalyst was estimated during cephalexin synthesis in the presence of 100 mM 7-ADCA and 300 mM PGME, in 50 mM Tris/HCl at pH 7.2 and 14°C. These results compare quite favorably with those previously reported for the kinetically controlled synthesis of cephalexin. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Slot-coupled CW standing wave accelerating cavity

    DOEpatents

    Wang, Shaoheng; Rimmer, Robert; Wang, Haipeng

    2017-05-16

    A slot-coupled CW standing wave multi-cell accelerating cavity. To achieve high efficiency graded beta acceleration, each cell in the multi-cell cavity may include different cell lengths. Alternatively, to achieve high efficiency with acceleration for particles with beta equal to 1, each cell in the multi-cell cavity may include the same cell design. Coupling between the cells is achieved with a plurality of axially aligned kidney-shaped slots on the wall between cells. The slot-coupling method makes the design very compact. The shape of the cell, including the slots and the cone, are optimized to maximize the power efficiency and minimize the peak power density on the surface. The slots are non-resonant, thereby enabling shorter slots and less power loss.

  16. Site correction of stochastic simulation in southwestern Taiwan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lun Huang, Cong; Wen, Kuo Liang; Huang, Jyun Yan

    2014-05-01

    Peak ground acceleration (PGA) of a disastrous earthquake, is concerned both in civil engineering and seismology study. Presently, the ground motion prediction equation is widely used for PGA estimation study by engineers. However, the local site effect is another important factor participates in strong motion prediction. For example, in 1985 the Mexico City, 400km far from the epicenter, suffered massive damage due to the seismic wave amplification from the local alluvial layers. (Anderson et al., 1986) In past studies, the use of stochastic method had been done and showed well performance on the simulation of ground-motion at rock site (Beresnev and Atkinson, 1998a ; Roumelioti and Beresnev, 2003). In this study, the site correction was conducted by the empirical transfer function compared with the rock site response from stochastic point-source (Boore, 2005) and finite-fault (Boore, 2009) methods. The error between the simulated and observed Fourier spectrum and PGA are calculated. Further we compared the estimated PGA to the result calculated from ground motion prediction equation. The earthquake data used in this study is recorded by Taiwan Strong Motion Instrumentation Program (TSMIP) from 1991 to 2012; the study area is located at south-western Taiwan. The empirical transfer function was generated by calculating the spectrum ratio between alluvial site and rock site (Borcheret, 1970). Due to the lack of reference rock site station in this area, the rock site ground motion was generated through stochastic point-source model instead. Several target events were then chosen for stochastic point-source simulating to the halfspace. Then, the empirical transfer function for each station was multiplied to the simulated halfspace response. Finally, we focused on two target events: the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake (Mw=7.6) and the 2010 Jiashian earthquake (Mw=6.4). Considering the large event may contain with complex rupture mechanism, the asperity and delay time for each

  17. Application and evaluation of a rapid response earthquake-triggered landslide model to the 25 April 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gallen, Sean F.; Clark, Marin K.; Godt, Jonathan W.; Roback, Kevin; Niemi, Nathan A

    2017-01-01

    The 25 April 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake produced strong ground motions across an approximately 250 km by 100 km swath in central Nepal. To assist disaster response activities, we modified an existing earthquake-triggered landslide model based on a Newmark sliding block analysis to estimate the extent and intensity of landsliding and landslide dam hazard. Landslide hazard maps were produced using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital topography, peak ground acceleration (PGA) information from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ShakeMap program, and assumptions about the regional rock strength based on end-member values from previous studies. The instrumental record of seismicity in Nepal is poor, so PGA estimates were based on empirical Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) constrained by teleseismic data and felt reports. We demonstrate a non-linear dependence of modeled landsliding on aggregate rock strength, where the number of landslides decreases exponentially with increasing rock strength. Model estimates are less sensitive to PGA at steep slopes (> 60°) compared to moderate slopes (30–60°). We compare forward model results to an inventory of landslides triggered by the Gorkha earthquake. We show that moderate rock strength inputs over estimate landsliding in regions beyond the main slip patch, which may in part be related to poorly constrained PGA estimates for this event at far distances from the source area. Directly above the main slip patch, however, the moderate strength model accurately estimates the total number of landslides within the resolution of the model (landslides ≥ 0.0162 km2; observed n = 2214, modeled n = 2987), but the pattern of landsliding differs from observations. This discrepancy is likely due to the unaccounted for effects of variable material strength and local topographic amplification of strong ground motion, as well as other simplifying assumptions about source characteristics and their

  18. Simulation of strong ground motion parameters of the 1 June 2013 Gulf of Suez earthquake, Egypt

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Toni, Mostafa

    2017-06-01

    This article aims to simulate the ground motion parameters of the moderate magnitude (ML 5.1) June 1, 2013 Gulf of Suez earthquake, which represents the largest instrumental earthquake to be recorded in the middle part of the Gulf of Suez up to now. This event was felt in all cities located on both sides of the Gulf of Suez, with minor damage to property near the epicenter; however, no casualties were observed. The stochastic technique with the site-dependent spectral model is used to simulate the strong ground motion parameters of this earthquake in the cities located at the western side of the Gulf of Suez and north Red Sea namely: Suez, Ain Sokhna, Zafarana, Ras Gharib, and Hurghada. The presence of many tourist resorts and the increase in land use planning in the considered cities represent the motivation of the current study. The simulated parameters comprise the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), Peak Ground Velocity (PGV), and Peak Ground Displacement (PGD), in addition to Pseudo Spectral Acceleration (PSA). The model developed for ground motion simulation is validated by using the recordings of three accelerographs installed around the epicenter of the investigated earthquake. Depending on the site effect that has been determined in the investigated areas by using geotechnical data (e.g., shear wave velocities and microtremor recordings), the investigated areas are classified into two zones (A and B). Zone A is characterized by higher site amplification than Zone B. The ground motion parameters are simulated at each zone in the considered areas. The results reveal that the highest values of PGA, PGV, and PGD are observed at Ras Gharib city (epicentral distance ∼ 11 km) as 67 cm/s2, 2.53 cm/s, and 0.45 cm respectively for Zone A, and as 26.5 cm/s2, 1.0 cm/s, and 0.2 cm respectively for Zone B, while the lowest values of PGA, PGV, and PGD are observed at Suez city (epicentral distance ∼ 190 km) as 3.0 cm/s2, 0.2 cm/s, and 0.05 cm/s respectively for Zone A

  19. Pulsed electromagnetic acceleration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jahn, R. G.; Vonjaskowsky, W. F.; Clark, K. E.

    1973-01-01

    Direct measurements of the power deposited in the anode of a multimegawatt MPD accelerator using thermocouples attached to a thin shell anode reveal a dramatic decrease in the fractional anode power from 50% at 200 KW input power to less than 10% at 20 MW power. The corresponding local power flux peak at a value of 10,000 W/sq cm at the lip of the anode exhaust orifice, a distribution traced to a corresponding peak in the local current density at the anode. A comparison of voltage-current characteristics and spectral photographs of the MPD discharge using quartz, boron nitride and plexiglas insulators with various mass injection configurations led to the identification of different voltage modes and regions of ablation free operation. The technique of piezoelectric impact pressure measurement in the MPD exhaust flow was refined to account for the effects due to probe yaw angle.

  20. Considerations in comparing the U.S. Geological Survey one‐year induced‐seismicity hazard models with “Did You Feel It?” and instrumental data

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    White, Isabel; Liu, Taojun; Luco, Nicolas; Liel, Abbie

    2017-01-01

    The recent steep increase in seismicity rates in Oklahoma, southern Kansas, and other parts of the central United States led the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to develop, for the first time, a probabilistic seismic hazard forecast for one year (2016) that incorporates induced seismicity. In this study, we explore a process to ground‐truth the hazard model by comparing it with two databases of observations: modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) data from the “Did You Feel It?” (DYFI) system and peak ground acceleration (PGA) values from instrumental data. Because the 2016 hazard model was heavily based on earthquake catalogs from 2014 to 2015, this initial comparison utilized observations from these years. Annualized exceedance rates were calculated with the DYFI and instrumental data for direct comparison with the model. These comparisons required assessment of the options for converting hazard model results and instrumental data from PGA to MMI for comparison with the DYFI data. In addition, to account for known differences that affect the comparisons, the instrumental PGA and DYFI data were declustered, and the hazard model was adjusted for local site conditions. With these adjustments, examples at sites with the most data show reasonable agreement in the exceedance rates. However, the comparisons were complicated by the spatial and temporal completeness of the instrumental and DYFI observations. Furthermore, most of the DYFI responses are in the MMI II–IV range, whereas the hazard model is oriented toward forecasts at higher ground‐motion intensities, usually above about MMI IV. Nevertheless, the study demonstrates some of the issues that arise in making these comparisons, thereby informing future efforts to ground‐truth and improve hazard modeling for induced‐seismicity applications.

  1. Evaluation Seismicity west of block-lut for Deterministic Seismic Hazard Assessment of Shahdad ,Iran

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ney, B.; Askari, M.

    2009-04-01

    Evaluation Seismicity west of block-lut for Deterministic Seismic Hazard Assessment of Shahdad ,Iran Behnoosh Neyestani , Mina Askari Students of Science and Research University,Iran. Seismic Hazard Assessment has been done for Shahdad city in this study , and four maps (Kerman-Bam-Nakhil Ab-Allah Abad) has been prepared to indicate the Deterministic estimate of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) in this area. Deterministic Seismic Hazard Assessment has been preformed for a region in eastern Iran (Shahdad) based on the available geological, seismological and geophysical information and seismic zoning map of region has been constructed. For this assessment first Seimotectonic map of study region in a radius of 100km is prepared using geological maps, distribution of historical and instrumental earthquake data and focal mechanism solutions it is used as the base map for delineation of potential seismic sources. After that minimum distance, for every seismic sources until site (Shahdad) and maximum magnitude for each source have been determined. In Shahdad ,according to results, peak ground acceleration using the Yoshimitsu Fukushima &Teiji Tanaka'1990 attenuation relationship is estimated to be 0.58 g, that is related to the movement of nayband fault with distance 2.4km of the site and maximum magnitude Ms=7.5.

  2. Analysis of the ground motions from the MW 7.8 Gorkha and MW 7.3 Dolakha earthquakes in Nepal in 2015

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martin, S. S.; Hough, S. E.; Gahalaut, V. K.; Joshi, A.; Landes, M.; Bossu, R.

    2016-12-01

    While the 25 April 2015 MW7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake took a heavy toll in Nepal, damage and fatalities were lower than expected. There is thus an urgent need to understand ground motions from the mainshock and largest aftershock. We collected 3,831 accounts of macroseismic effects that include sufficient information to assign intensities. To assess intensities reliably, we apply EMS guidelines with an appreciation for issues associated with macroseismic effects of earthquakes in the Indian subcontinent. We as also analyze 21 available strong motion recordings. Available data are consistent with the peak ground acceleration (PGA) versus intensity relationship of Worden et al. (2012). We use this relationship to estimate peak ground acceleration (PGAEMS) from all intensities. For nearest-fault distances (RRUP<200km), PGAEMS is consistent with the Atkinson and Boore (2003) (AB03) subduction zone ground motion prediction equation (GMPE); at greater distances, instrumental PGA values are consistent with AB03, while PGAEMS is systematically higher. We use PGAEMS values within 200 km to investigate the variability of ground motions using the AB03 GMPE as a baseline. Across the near-field region, PGAEMS is higher by a factor of 2.0-2.5 towards the northern edge of the rupture compared to the near-field region nearer to the southern, up-dip edge of the rupture. Inferred de-amplification in the deepest part of the Kathmandu valley supports the conclusion that former lake-bed sediments experienced a pervasive non-linear response during the mainshock (Dixit et al., 2015). Ground motions were amplified in the southern Gangetic basin, but were relatively low in the northern basin. The overall distribution of ground motions and damage during the Gorkha earthquake thus reflects a combination of complex source, path, and site effects. We also analyze ground motions for the 12 May 2015 Dolakha aftershock, which we conclude was likely a high stress-drop event.

  3. Seismic hazards at Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, Hawaii

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klein, Fred W.

    1994-04-01

    A significant seismic hazard exists in south Hawaii from large tectonic earthquakes that can reach magnitude 8 and intensity XII. This paper quantifies the hazard by estimating the horizontal peak ground acceleration (PGA) in south Hawaii which occurs with a 90% probability of not being exceeded during exposure times from 10 to 250 years. The largest earthquakes occur beneath active, unbuttressed and mobile flanks of volcanos in their shield building stage. The flanks are compressed and pushed laterally by rift zone intrusions. The largest earthquakes are thus not directly caused by volcanic activity. Historic earthquakes (since 1823) and the best Hawaiian Volcano Observatory catalog (since 1970) under the south side of the island define linear frequency-magnitude distributions that imply average recurrence intervals for M greater than 5.5 earthquakes of 3.4-5 years, for M greater than 7 events of 29-44 years, and for M greater than 8 earthquakes of 120-190 years. These estimated recurrences are compatable with the 107 year interval between the two major April 2, 1868 (M(approximately)7.9) and November 29, 1975 (M=7.2) earthquakes. Frequency-magnitude distributions define the activity levels of 19 different seismic source zones for probabilistic ground motion estimations. The available measurements of PGA (33 from 7 moderate earthquakes) are insufficient to define a new attenuation curve. We use the Boore et al. (1993) curve shifted upward by a factor of 1.2 to fit Hawaiian data. Amplification of sites on volcanic ash or unconsolidated soil are about two times those of hard lava sites. On a map for a 50 year exposure time with a 90% probability of not being exceeded, the peak ground accelerations are 1.0 g Kilauea's and Mauna Loa's mobile south flanks and 0.9 g in the Kaoiki seismic zone. This hazard from strong ground shaking is comparable to that near the San Andreas Fault in California or the subduction zone in the Gulf of Alaska.

  4. An extended stochastic method for seismic hazard estimation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abd el-aal, A. K.; El-Eraki, M. A.; Mostafa, S. I.

    2015-12-01

    In this contribution, we developed an extended stochastic technique for seismic hazard assessment purposes. This technique depends on the hypothesis of stochastic technique of Boore (2003) "Simulation of ground motion using the stochastic method. Appl. Geophy. 160:635-676". The essential characteristics of extended stochastic technique are to obtain and simulate ground motion in order to minimize future earthquake consequences. The first step of this technique is defining the seismic sources which mostly affect the study area. Then, the maximum expected magnitude is defined for each of these seismic sources. It is followed by estimating the ground motion using an empirical attenuation relationship. Finally, the site amplification is implemented in calculating the peak ground acceleration (PGA) at each site of interest. We tested and applied this developed technique at Cairo, Suez, Port Said, Ismailia, Zagazig and Damietta cities to predict the ground motion. Also, it is applied at Cairo, Zagazig and Damietta cities to estimate the maximum peak ground acceleration at actual soil conditions. In addition, 0.5, 1, 5, 10 and 20 % damping median response spectra are estimated using the extended stochastic simulation technique. The calculated highest acceleration values at bedrock conditions are found at Suez city with a value of 44 cm s-2. However, these acceleration values decrease towards the north of the study area to reach 14.1 cm s-2 at Damietta city. This comes in agreement with the results of previous studies of seismic hazards in northern Egypt and is found to be comparable. This work can be used for seismic risk mitigation and earthquake engineering purposes.

  5. The LeRC rail accelerators: Test designs and diagnostic techniques

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zana, L. M.; Kerslake, W. R.; Sturman, J. C.; Wang, S. Y.; Terdan, F. F.

    1983-01-01

    The feasibility of using rail accelerators for various in-space and to-space propulsion applications was investigated. A 1 meter, 24 sq mm bore accelerator was designed with the goal of demonstrating projectile velocities of 15 km/sec using a peak current of 200 kA. A second rail accelerator, 1 meter long with a 156.25 sq mm bore, was designed with clear polycarbonate sidewalls to permit visual observation of the plasma arc. A study of available diagnostic techniques and their application to the rail accelerator is presented. Specific topics of discussion include the use of interferometry and spectroscopy to examine the plasma armature as well as the use of optical sensors to measure rail displacement during acceleration. Standard diagnostics such as current and voltage measurements are also discussed.

  6. Gender differences in head-neck segment dynamic stabilization during head acceleration.

    PubMed

    Tierney, Ryan T; Sitler, Michael R; Swanik, C Buz; Swanik, Kathleen A; Higgins, Michael; Torg, Joseph

    2005-02-01

    Recent epidemiological research has revealed that gender differences exist in concussion incidence but no study has investigated why females may be at greater risk of concussion. Our purpose was to determine whether gender differences existed in head-neck segment kinematic and neuromuscular control variables responses to an external force application with and without neck muscle preactivation. Forty (20 females and 20 males) physically active volunteers participated in the study. The independent variables were gender, force application (known vs unknown), and force direction (forced flexion vs forced extension). The dependent variables were kinematic and EMG variables, head-neck segment stiffness, and head-neck segment flexor and extensor isometric strength. Statistical analyses consisted of multiple multivariate and univariate analyses of variance, follow-up univariate analyses of variance, and t-tests (P < or = 0.05). Gender differences existed in head-neck segment dynamic stabilization during head angular acceleration. Females exhibited significantly greater head-neck segment peak angular acceleration (50%) and displacement (39%) than males despite initiating muscle activity significantly earlier (SCM only) and using a greater percentage of their maximum head-neck segment muscle activity (79% peak activity and 117% muscle activity area). The head-neck segment angular acceleration differences may be because females exhibited significantly less isometric strength (49%), neck girth (30%), and head mass (43%), resulting in lower levels of head-neck segment stiffness (29%). For our subject demographic, the results revealed gender differences in head-neck segment dynamic stabilization during head acceleration in response to an external force application. Females exhibited significantly greater head-neck segment peak angular acceleration and displacement than males despite initiating muscle activity earlier (SCM only) and using a greater percentage of their maximum

  7. [A peak recognition algorithm designed for chromatographic peaks of transformer oil].

    PubMed

    Ou, Linjun; Cao, Jian

    2014-09-01

    In the field of the chromatographic peak identification of the transformer oil, the traditional first-order derivative requires slope threshold to achieve peak identification. In terms of its shortcomings of low automation and easy distortion, the first-order derivative method was improved by applying the moving average iterative method and the normalized analysis techniques to identify the peaks. Accurate identification of the chromatographic peaks was realized through using multiple iterations of the moving average of signal curves and square wave curves to determine the optimal value of the normalized peak identification parameters, combined with the absolute peak retention times and peak window. The experimental results show that this algorithm can accurately identify the peaks and is not sensitive to the noise, the chromatographic peak width or the peak shape changes. It has strong adaptability to meet the on-site requirements of online monitoring devices of dissolved gases in transformer oil.

  8. Testing relativistic electron acceleration mechanisms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Green, Janet Carol

    2002-09-01

    electrons with energy >=4.0 MeV becoming more peaked at 90° during the storm recovery phase. The observation is consistent with but does not confirm the model. Our tests indicate that relativistic electrons are accelerated by an internal source acceleration mechanism but we do not identify a unique mechanism.

  9. The light ion pulsed power induction accelerator for ETF

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mazarakis, M.G.; Olson, R.E.; Olson, C.L.

    1994-12-31

    Our Engineering Test Facility (ETF) driver concept is based on HERMES III and RHEPP technologies. Actually, it is a scaled-down version of the LMF design incorporating repetition rate capabilities of up to 10 Hz CW. The preconceptual design presented here provides 200-TW peak power to the ETF target during 10 ns, equal to 2-MJ total ion beam energy. Linear inductive voltage addition driving a self-magnetically insulated transmission line (MITL) is utilized to generate the 36-MV peak voltage needed for lithium ion beams. The {approximately} 3-MA ion current is achieved by utilizing many accelerating modules in parallel. Since the current permore » module is relatively modest ({approximately}300 kA), two-stage or one-stage extraction diodes can be utilized for the generation of singly charged lithium ions. The accelerating modules are arranged symmetrically around the fusion chamber in order to provide uniform irradiation onto the ETF target. In addition, the modules are fired in a programmed sequence in order to generate the optimum power pulse shape onto the target. This design utilizes RHEPP accelerator modules as the principal power source.« less

  10. Analysis of real-time head accelerations in collegiate football players.

    PubMed

    Duma, Stefan M; Manoogian, Sarah J; Bussone, William R; Brolinson, P Gunnar; Goforth, Mike W; Donnenwerth, Jesse J; Greenwald, Richard M; Chu, Jeffrey J; Crisco, Joseph J

    2005-01-01

    To measure and analyze head accelerations during American collegiate football practices and games. A newly developed in-helmet 6-accelerometer system that transmits data via radio frequency to a sideline receiver and laptop computer system was implemented. From the data transfer of these accelerometer traces, the sideline staff has real-time data including the head acceleration, the head injury criteria value, the severity index value, and the impact location. Data are presented for instrumented players for the entire 2003 football season, including practices and games. American collegiate football. Thirty-eight players from Virginia Tech's varsity football team. Accelerations and pathomechanics of head impacts. : A total of 3312 impacts were recorded over 35 practices and 10 games for 38 players. The average peak head acceleration, Gadd Severity Index, and Head Injury Criteria were 32 g +/- 25 g, 36 g +/- 91 g, and 26 g +/- 64 g, respectively. One concussive event was observed with a peak acceleration of 81 g, a 267 Gadd Severity Index, and 200 Head Injury Criteria. Because the concussion was not reported until the day after of the event, a retrospective diagnosis based on his history and clinical evaluation suggested a mild concussion. The primary finding of this study is that the helmet-mounted accelerometer system proved effective at collecting thousands of head impact events and providing contemporaneous head impact parameters that can be integrated with existing clinical evaluation techniques.

  11. Multimegawatt cyclotron autoresonance accelerator

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hirshfield, J.L.; LaPointe, M.A.; Ganguly, A.K.

    1996-05-01

    Means are discussed for generation of high-quality multimegawatt gyrating electron beams using rf gyroresonant acceleration. TE{sub 111}-mode cylindrical cavities in a uniform axial magnetic field have been employed for beam acceleration since 1968; such beams have more recently been employed for generation of radiation at harmonics of the gyration frequency. Use of a TE{sub 11}-mode waveguide for acceleration, rather than a cavity, is discussed. It is shown that the applied magnetic field and group velocity axial tapers allow resonance to be maintained along a waveguide, but that this is impractical in a cavity. In consequence, a waveguide cyclotron autoresonance acceleratormore » (CARA) can operate with near-100{percent} efficiency in power transfer from rf source to beam, while cavity accelerators will, in practice, have efficiency values limited to about 40{percent}. CARA experiments are described in which an injected beam of up to 25 A, 95 kV has had up to 7.2 MW of rf power added, with efficiencies of up to 96{percent}. Such levels of efficiency are higher than observed previously in any fast-wave interaction, and are competitive with efficiency values in industrial linear accelerators. Scaling arguments suggest that good quality gyrating megavolt beams with peak and average powers of 100 MW and 100 kW can be produced using an advanced CARA, with applications in the generation of high-power microwaves and for possible remediation of flue gas pollutants. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}« less

  12. Peak Running Intensity of International Rugby: Implications for Training Prescription.

    PubMed

    Delaney, Jace A; Thornton, Heidi R; Pryor, John F; Stewart, Andrew M; Dascombe, Ben J; Duthie, Grant M

    2017-09-01

    To quantify the duration and position-specific peak running intensities of international rugby union for the prescription and monitoring of specific training methodologies. Global positioning systems (GPS) were used to assess the activity profile of 67 elite-level rugby union players from 2 nations across 33 international matches. A moving-average approach was used to identify the peak relative distance (m/min), average acceleration/deceleration (AveAcc; m/s 2 ), and average metabolic power (P met ) for a range of durations (1-10 min). Differences between positions and durations were described using a magnitude-based network. Peak running intensity increased as the length of the moving average decreased. There were likely small to moderate increases in relative distance and AveAcc for outside backs, halfbacks, and loose forwards compared with the tight 5 group across all moving-average durations (effect size [ES] = 0.27-1.00). P met demands were at least likely greater for outside backs and halfbacks than for the tight 5 (ES = 0.86-0.99). Halfbacks demonstrated the greatest relative distance and P met outputs but were similar to outside backs and loose forwards in AveAcc demands. The current study has presented a framework to describe the peak running intensities achieved during international rugby competition by position, which are considerably higher than previously reported whole-period averages. These data provide further knowledge of the peak activity profiles of international rugby competition, and this information can be used to assist coaches and practitioners in adequately preparing athletes for the most demanding periods of play.

  13. PeakRanger: A cloud-enabled peak caller for ChIP-seq data

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), coupled with massively parallel short-read sequencing (seq) is used to probe chromatin dynamics. Although there are many algorithms to call peaks from ChIP-seq datasets, most are tuned either to handle punctate sites, such as transcriptional factor binding sites, or broad regions, such as histone modification marks; few can do both. Other algorithms are limited in their configurability, performance on large data sets, and ability to distinguish closely-spaced peaks. Results In this paper, we introduce PeakRanger, a peak caller software package that works equally well on punctate and broad sites, can resolve closely-spaced peaks, has excellent performance, and is easily customized. In addition, PeakRanger can be run in a parallel cloud computing environment to obtain extremely high performance on very large data sets. We present a series of benchmarks to evaluate PeakRanger against 10 other peak callers, and demonstrate the performance of PeakRanger on both real and synthetic data sets. We also present real world usages of PeakRanger, including peak-calling in the modENCODE project. Conclusions Compared to other peak callers tested, PeakRanger offers improved resolution in distinguishing extremely closely-spaced peaks. PeakRanger has above-average spatial accuracy in terms of identifying the precise location of binding events. PeakRanger also has excellent sensitivity and specificity in all benchmarks evaluated. In addition, PeakRanger offers significant improvements in run time when running on a single processor system, and very marked improvements when allowed to take advantage of the MapReduce parallel environment offered by a cloud computing resource. PeakRanger can be downloaded at the official site of modENCODE project: http://www.modencode.org/software/ranger/ PMID:21554709

  14. Laser-driven ion acceleration at BELLA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bin, Jianhui; Steinke, Sven; Ji, Qing; Nakamura, Kei; Treffert, Franziska; Bulanov, Stepan; Roth, Markus; Toth, Csaba; Schroeder, Carl; Esarey, Eric; Schenkel, Thomas; Leemans, Wim

    2017-10-01

    BELLA is a high repetiton rate PW laser and we used it for high intensity laser plasma acceleration experiments. The BELLA-i program is focused on relativistic laser plasma interaction such as laser driven ion acceleration, aiming at establishing an unique collaborative research facility providing beam time to selected external groups for fundamental physics and advanced applications. Here we present our first parameter study of ion acceleration driven by the BELLA-PW laser with truly high repetition rate. The laser repetition rate of 1Hz allows for scanning the laser pulse duration, relative focus location and target thickness for the first time at laser peak powers of above 1 PW. Furthermore, the long focal length geometry of the experiment (f ∖65) and hence, large focus size provided ion beams of reduced divergence and unprecedented charge density. This work was supported by the Director, Office of Science, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

  15. Relativistic Electron Acceleration with Ultrashort Mid-IR Laser Pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Feder, Linus; Woodbury, Daniel; Shumakova, Valentina; Gollner, Claudia; Miao, Bo; Schwartz, Robert; Pugžlys, Audrius; Baltuška, Andrius; Milchberg, Howard

    2017-10-01

    We report the first results of laser plasma wakefield acceleration driven by ultrashort mid-infrared laser pulses (λ = 3.9 μm , pulsewidth 100 fs, energy <20 mJ, peak power <1 TW), which enables near- and above-critical density interactions with moderate-density gas jets. We present thresholds for electron acceleration based on critical parameters for relativistic self-focusing and target width, as well as trends in the accelerated beam profiles, charge and energy spectra which are supported by 3D particle-in-cell simulations. These results extend earlier work with sub-TW self-modulated laser wakefield acceleration using near IR drivers to the Mid-IR, and enable us to capture time-resolved images of relativistic self-focusing of the laser pulse. This work supported by DOE (DESC0010706TDD, DESC0015516); AFOSR(FA95501310044, FA95501610121); NSF(PHY1535519); DHS.

  16. New Intensity Attenuation in Georgia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsereteli, N. S.; Varazanashvili, O.; Tibaldi, A.; Bonali, F.; Gogoladze, Z.; Kvavadze, N.; Kvedelidze, I.

    2016-12-01

    In seismic-prone zones, increase of urbanization and infrastructures in turn produces increase of seismic risk that is mainly related to: the level of seismic hazard itself, the seismic resistance of dwelling houses, and many other factors. The relevant objectives of the present work is to improve the regional seismic hazard maps of Georgia, by implementing state-of-the art probabilistic seismic hazard assessment techniques and outputs from recent national and international collaborations. Seismic zoning is the identification of zones of similar levels of earthquake hazard. With reference to seismic zoning by ground motion assessment, the shaking intensity essentially depends on i) regional seismicity, ii) attenuation of ground motion with distance, iii) local site effects on ground motion. In the last decade, seismic hazard assessment is presented in terms of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), Peak Ground Velocity (PGV), or other recorded parameters. But there are very limited strong motion dataset in Georgia. Furthermore, vulnerability of buildings still is estimated for intensity, and there are no information about correlation between the distribution of ground motion recorded parameters and damage. So, macroseimic Intensity is still a very important parameter for strong ground motion evaluation. In the present work, we calibrated intensity prediction equations (IPE) for the Georgian dataset based on about 78 reviewed earthquakes. Metadata for Intensity (MSK 64 scale) were constrained and predictionequations for various types of distance (epicentral and hypocentral distance, Joyner-Boore distance, closest distance to the fault rupture plane) were calibrated. Relations between intensity and PGA values were derived. For this we used hybrid-empirical ground motion equation derived for Georgia and run scenario earthquakes for events with macroseismic data.

  17. Measurement of Impact Acceleration: Mouthpiece Accelerometer Versus Helmet Accelerometer

    PubMed Central

    Higgins, Michael; Halstead, P. David; Snyder-Mackler, Lynn; Barlow, David

    2007-01-01

    Context: Instrumented helmets have been used to estimate impact acceleration imparted to the head during helmet impacts. These instrumented helmets may not accurately measure the actual amount of acceleration experienced by the head due to factors such as helmet-to-head fit. Objective: To determine if an accelerometer attached to a mouthpiece (MP) provides a more accurate representation of headform center of gravity (HFCOG) acceleration during impact than does an accelerometer attached to a helmet fitted on the headform. Design: Single-factor research design in which the independent variable was accelerometer position (HFCOG, helmet, MP) and the dependent variables were g and Severity Index (SI). Setting: Independent impact research laboratory. Intervention(s): The helmeted headform was dropped (n = 168) using a National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) drop system from the standard heights and impact sites according to NOCSAE test standards. Peak g and SI were measured for each accelerometer position during impact. Main Outcome Measures: Upon impact, the peak g and SI were recorded for each accelerometer location. Results: Strong relationships were noted for HFCOG and MP measures, and significant differences were seen between HFCOG and helmet g measures and HFCOG and helmet SI measures. No statistically significant differences were noted between HFCOG and MP g and SI measures. Regression analyses showed a significant relationship between HFCOG and MP measures but not between HFCOG and helmet measures. Conclusions: Upon impact, MP acceleration (g) and SI measurements were closely related to and more accurate in measuring HFCOG g and SI than helmet measurements. The MP accelerometer is a valid method for measuring head acceleration. PMID:17597937

  18. Analysis of Movement Acceleration of Down's Syndrome Teenagers Playing Computer Games.

    PubMed

    Carrogi-Vianna, Daniela; Lopes, Paulo Batista; Cymrot, Raquel; Hengles Almeida, Jefferson Jesus; Yazaki, Marcos Lomonaco; Blascovi-Assis, Silvana Maria

    2017-12-01

    This study aimed to evaluate movement acceleration characteristics in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) and typical development (TD), while playing bowling and golf videogames on the Nintendo ® Wii™. The sample comprised 21 adolescents diagnosed with DS and 33 with TD of both sexes, between 10 and 14 years of age. The arm swing accelerations of the dominant upper limb were collected as measures during the bowling and the golf games. The first valid measurement, verified by the software readings, recorded at the start of each of the games, was used in the analysis. In the bowling game, the groups presented significant statistical differences, with the maximum (M) peaks of acceleration for the Male Control Group (MCG) (M = 70.37) and Female Control Group (FCG) (M = 70.51) when compared with Male Down Syndrome Group (MDSG) (M = 45.33) and Female Down Syndrome Group (FDSG) (M = 37.24). In the golf game the groups also presented significant statistical differences, the only difference being that the maximum peaks of acceleration for both male groups were superior compared with the female groups, MCG (M = 74.80) and FCG (M = 56.80), as well as in MDSG (M = 45.12) and in FDSG (M = 30.52). It was possible to use accelerometry to evaluate the movement acceleration characteristics of teenagers diagnosed with DS during virtual bowling and golf games played on the Nintendo Wii console.

  19. The ShakeOut earthquake source and ground motion simulations

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Graves, R.W.; Houston, Douglas B.; Hudnut, K.W.

    2011-01-01

    The ShakeOut Scenario is premised upon the detailed description of a hypothetical Mw 7.8 earthquake on the southern San Andreas Fault and the associated simulated ground motions. The main features of the scenario, such as its endpoints, magnitude, and gross slip distribution, were defined through expert opinion and incorporated information from many previous studies. Slip at smaller length scales, rupture speed, and rise time were constrained using empirical relationships and experience gained from previous strong-motion modeling. Using this rupture description and a 3-D model of the crust, broadband ground motions were computed over a large region of Southern California. The largest simulated peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV) generally range from 0.5 to 1.0 g and 100 to 250 cm/s, respectively, with the waveforms exhibiting strong directivity and basin effects. Use of a slip-predictable model results in a high static stress drop event and produces ground motions somewhat higher than median level predictions from NGA ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs).

  20. Effects of acceleration rate on Rayleigh-Taylor instability in elastic-plastic materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Banerjee, Arindam; Polavarapu, Rinosh

    2016-11-01

    The effect of acceleration rate in the elastic-plastic transition stage of Rayleigh-Taylor instability in an accelerated non-Newtonian material is investigated experimentally using a rotating wheel experiment. A non-Newtonian material (mayonnaise) was accelerated at different rates by varying the angular acceleration of a rotating wheel and growth patterns of single mode perturbations with different combinations of amplitude and wavelength were analyzed. Experiments were run at two different acceleration rates to compare with experiments presented in prior years at APS DFD meetings and the peak amplitude responses are captured using a high-speed camera. Similar to the instability acceleration, the elastic-plastic transition acceleration is found to be increasing with increase in acceleration rate for a given amplitude and wavelength. The experimental results will be compared to various analytical strength models and prior experimental studies using Newtonian fluids. Authors acknowledge funding support from Los Alamos National Lab subcontract(370333) and DOE-SSAA Grant (DE-NA0001975).

  1. Earthquake hazard and risk assessment based on Unified Scaling Law for Earthquakes: Greater Caucasus and Crimea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kossobokov, Vladimir G.; Nekrasova, Anastasia K.

    2018-05-01

    We continue applying the general concept of seismic risk analysis in a number of seismic regions worldwide by constructing regional seismic hazard maps based on morphostructural analysis, pattern recognition, and the Unified Scaling Law for Earthquakes (USLE), which generalizes the Gutenberg-Richter relationship making use of naturally fractal distribution of earthquake sources of different size in a seismic region. The USLE stands for an empirical relationship log10 N(M, L) = A + B·(5 - M) + C·log10 L, where N(M, L) is the expected annual number of earthquakes of a certain magnitude M within a seismically prone area of linear dimension L. We use parameters A, B, and C of USLE to estimate, first, the expected maximum magnitude in a time interval at seismically prone nodes of the morphostructural scheme of the region under study, then map the corresponding expected ground shaking parameters (e.g., peak ground acceleration, PGA, or macro-seismic intensity). After a rigorous verification against the available seismic evidences in the past (usually, the observed instrumental PGA or the historically reported macro-seismic intensity), such a seismic hazard map is used to generate maps of specific earthquake risks for population, cities, and infrastructures (e.g., those based on census of population, buildings inventory). The methodology of seismic hazard and risk assessment is illustrated by application to the territory of Greater Caucasus and Crimea.

  2. Measuring saccade peak velocity using a low-frequency sampling rate of 50 Hz.

    PubMed

    Wierts, Roel; Janssen, Maurice J A; Kingma, Herman

    2008-12-01

    During the last decades, small head-mounted video eye trackers have been developed in order to record eye movements. Real-time systems-with a low sampling frequency of 50/60 Hz-are used for clinical vestibular practice, but are generally considered not to be suited for measuring fast eye movements. In this paper, it is shown that saccadic eye movements, having an amplitude of at least 5 degrees, can, in good approximation, be considered to be bandwidth limited up to a frequency of 25-30 Hz. Using the Nyquist theorem to reconstruct saccadic eye movement signals at higher temporal resolutions, it is shown that accurate values for saccade peak velocities, recorded at 50 Hz, can be obtained, but saccade peak accelerations and decelerations cannot. In conclusion, video eye trackers sampling at 50/60 Hz are appropriate for detecting the clinical relevant saccade peak velocities in contrast to what has been stated up till now.

  3. Automated peak picking and peak integration in macromolecular NMR spectra using AUTOPSY.

    PubMed

    Koradi, R; Billeter, M; Engeli, M; Güntert, P; Wüthrich, K

    1998-12-01

    A new approach for automated peak picking of multidimensional protein NMR spectra with strong overlap is introduced, which makes use of the program AUTOPSY (automated peak picking for NMR spectroscopy). The main elements of this program are a novel function for local noise level calculation, the use of symmetry considerations, and the use of lineshapes extracted from well-separated peaks for resolving groups of strongly overlapping peaks. The algorithm generates peak lists with precise chemical shift and integral intensities, and a reliability measure for the recognition of each peak. The results of automated peak picking of NOESY spectra with AUTOPSY were tested in combination with the combined automated NOESY cross peak assignment and structure calculation routine NOAH implemented in the program DYANA. The quality of the resulting structures was found to be comparable with those from corresponding data obtained with manual peak picking. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

  4. Angular Impact Mitigation System for Bicycle Helmets to Reduce Head Acceleration and Risk of Traumatic Brain Injury

    PubMed Central

    Hansen, Kirk; Dau, Nathan; Feist, Florian; Deck, Caroline; Willinger, Rémy; Madey, Steven M.; Bottlang, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Angular acceleration of the head is a known cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI), but contemporary bicycle helmets lack dedicated mechanisms to mitigate angular acceleration. A novel Angular Impact Mitigation (AIM) system for bicycle helmets has been developed that employs an elastically suspended aluminum honeycomb liner to absorb linear acceleration in normal impacts as well as angular acceleration in oblique impacts. This study tested bicycle helmets with and without AIM technology to comparatively assess impact mitigation. Normal impact tests were performed to measure linear head acceleration. Oblique impact tests were performed to measure angular head acceleration and neck loading. Furthermore, acceleration histories of oblique impacts were analyzed in a computational head model to predict the resulting risk of TBI in the form of concussion and diffuse axonal injury (DAI). Compared to standard helmets, AIM helmets resulted in a 14% reduction in peak linear acceleration (p < 0.001), a 34% reduction in peak angular acceleration (p < 0.001), and a 22% to 32% reduction in neck loading (p < 0.001). Computational results predicted that AIM helmets reduced the risk of concussion and DAI by 27% and 44%, respectively. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that AIM technology could effectively improve impact mitigation compared to a contemporary expanded polystyrene-based bicycle helmet, and may enhance prevention of bicycle-related TBI. Further research is required. PMID:23770518

  5. Accelerated deforestation in the humid tropics from the 1990s to the 2000s

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Do-Hyung; Sexton, Joseph O.; Townshend, John R.

    2015-05-01

    Using a consistent, 20 year series of high- (30 m) resolution, satellite-based maps of forest cover, we estimate forest area and its changes from 1990 to 2010 in 34 tropical countries that account for the majority of the global area of humid tropical forests. Our estimates indicate a 62% acceleration in net deforestation in the humid tropics from the 1990s to the 2000s, contradicting a 25% reduction reported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Forest Resource Assessment. Net loss of forest cover peaked from 2000 to 2005. Gross gains accelerated slowly and uniformly between 1990-2000, 2000-2005, and 2005-2010. However, the gains were overwhelmed by gross losses, which peaked from 2000 to 2005 and decelerated afterward. The acceleration of humid tropical deforestation we report contradicts the assertion that losses decelerated from the 1990s to the 2000s.

  6. The September 19, 1985 Michoacan Earthquake: Aftershock acceleration data recorded by a temporary installation of strong motion instruments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Munguía, Luis; Simila, Gerry W.; McNally, Karen C.; Thompson, Howard

    1986-06-01

    We describe acceleration signals recorded for nine aftershocks of the September 19, 1985 Michoacan earthquake. To obtain this data set, three A-700 Teledyne-Geotech digital strong-motion instruments were operated temporarily at two sites on the José María Morelos (La Villita) Dam, and at a site located at about 12 km to the west of the town of Zihuatanejo. Peak horizontal accelerations of 0.005 g to 0.031 g were recorded at epicentral distances between 10 and 75 km, for earthquakes with magnitude (mb) between 4.5 and 5.3. It was observed that the peak accelerations recorded at a site on the embankment of the dam (near the crest ) are approximately three times those recorded on the abutment bedrock portion of the dam. Although these sites were spatially separated by no more than 300 m, differences among their records are also significant. Waveforms recorded at the embankment site look more complex than those from the abutment site. This fact, as well as the higher peak accelerations on the embankment, provides evidence of a strong influence of the structure of the dam on the ground motion at the embankment site.

  7. Generation and characterization of electron bunches with ramped current profiles in a dual-frequency superconducting linear accelerator.

    PubMed

    Piot, P; Behrens, C; Gerth, C; Dohlus, M; Lemery, F; Mihalcea, D; Stoltz, P; Vogt, M

    2012-01-20

    We report on the successful experimental generation of electron bunches with ramped current profiles. The technique relies on impressing nonlinear correlations in the longitudinal phase space using a superconducing radio frequency linear accelerator operating at two frequencies and a current-enhancing dispersive section. The produced ~700-MeV bunches have peak currents of the order of a kilo-Ampère. Data taken for various accelerator settings demonstrate the versatility of the method and, in particular, its ability to produce current profiles that have a quasilinear dependency on the longitudinal (temporal) coordinate. The measured bunch parameters are shown, via numerical simulations, to produce gigavolt-per-meter peak accelerating electric fields with transformer ratios larger than 2 in dielectric-lined waveguides. © 2012 American Physical Society

  8. First results with the novel petawatt laser acceleration facility in Dresden

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schramm, U.; Bussmann, M.; Irman, A.; Siebold, M.; Zeil, K.; Albach, D.; Bernert, C.; Bock, S.; Brack, F.; Branco, J.; Couperus, JP; Cowan, TE; Debus, A.; Eisenmann, C.; Garten, M.; Gebhardt, R.; Grams, S.; Helbig, U.; Huebl, A.; Kluge, T.; Köhler, A.; Krämer, JM; Kraft, S.; Kroll, F.; Kuntzsch, M.; Lehnert, U.; Loeser, M.; Metzkes, J.; Michel, P.; Obst, L.; Pausch, R.; Rehwald, M.; Sauerbrey, R.; Schlenvoigt, HP; Steiniger, K.; Zarini, O.

    2017-07-01

    We report on first commissioning results of the DRACO Petawatt ultra-short pulse laser system implemented at the ELBE center for high power radiation sources of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. Key parameters of the laser system essential for efficient and reproducible performance of plasma accelerators are presented and discussed with the demonstration of 40 MeV proton acceleration under TNSA conditions as well as peaked electron spectra with unprecedented bunch charge in the 0.5 nC range.

  9. Studies on the S-band bunching system with the Hybrid Bunching-accelerating Structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pei, Shi-Lun; Gao, Bin

    2018-04-01

    Generally, a standard bunching system is composed of a standing-wave (SW) pre-buncher (PB), a traveling-wave (TW) buncher (B) and a standard accelerating structure. In the industrial area, the bunching system is usually simplified by eliminating the PB and integrating the B and the standard accelerating structure together to form a β-varied accelerating structure. The beam capturing efficiency for this kind of simplified system is often worse than that for the standard one. The hybrid buncher (HB) has been proved to be a successful attempt to reduce the cost but preserve the beam quality as much as possible. Here we propose to exclusively simplify the standard bunching system by integrating the PB, the B and the standard accelerating structure together to form a Hybrid Bunching-accelerating Structure (HBaS). Compared to the standard bunching system, the one based on the HBaS is more compact, and the cost is lowered to the largest extent. With almost the same beam transportation efficiency (∼70%) from the electron gun to the linac exit, the peak-to-peak (p-to-p) beam energy spread and the 1 σ emittance of the linac with the HBaS are ∼20% and ∼60% bigger than those of the linac based on the split PB/B/standard accelerating structure system. Nonetheless, the proposed HBaS can be widely applied in the industrial linacs to greatly increase the beam capturing efficiency without fairly increasing the construction cost.

  10. Artificial stimulation of auroral electron acceleration by intense field aligned currents

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Holmgren, G.; Bostrom, R.; Kelley, M. C.; Kintner, P. M.; Lundin, R.; Bering, E. A.; Sheldon, W. R.; Fahleson, U. V.

    1979-01-01

    A cesium-doped high explosion was detonated at 165 km altitude in the auroral ionosphere during quiet conditions. An Alfven wave pulse with a 200-mV/m electric field was observed, with the peak occurring 135 ms after the explosion at a distance of about 1 km. The count rate of fixed energy 2-keV electron detectors abruptly increased at 140 ms, peaked at 415 ms, and indicated a downward field-aligned beam of accelerated electrons. An anomalously high-field aligned beam of backscattered electrons was also detected. The acceleration is interpreted as due to production of an electrostatic shock or double layer between 300 and 800 km altitude. The structure was probably formed by an instability of the intense field-aligned currents in the Alfven wave launched by the charge-separation electric field due to the explosion.

  11. Simulation study of the sub-terawatt laser wakefield acceleration operated in self-modulated regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hsieh, C.-Y.; Lin, M.-W.; Chen, S.-H.

    2018-02-01

    Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) can be accomplished by introducing a sub-terawatt (TW) laser pulse into a thin, high-density gas target. In this way, the self-focusing effect and the self-modulation that happened on the laser pulse produce a greatly enhanced laser peak intensity that can drive a nonlinear plasma wave to accelerate electrons. A particle-in-cell model is developed to study sub-TW LWFA when a 0.6-TW laser pulse interacts with a dense hydrogen plasma. Gas targets having a Gaussian density profile or a flat-top distribution are defined for investigating the properties of sub-TW LWFA when conducting with a gas jet or a gas cell. In addition to using 800-nm laser pulses, simulations are performed with 1030-nm laser pulses, as they represent a viable approach to realize the sub-TW LWFA driven by high-frequency, diode-pumped laser systems. The peak density which allows the laser peak power PL˜2 Pc r of self-focusing critical power is favourable for conducting sub-TW LWFA. Otherwise, an excessively high peak density can induce an undesired filament effect which rapidly disintegrates the laser field envelope and violates the process of plasma wave excitation. The plateau region of a flat-top density distribution allows the self-focusing and the self-modulation of the laser pulse to develop, from which well-established plasma bubbles can be produced to accelerate electrons. The process of electron injection is complicated in such high-density plasma conditions; however, increasing the length of the plateau region represents a straightforward method to realize the injection and acceleration of electrons within the first bubble, such that an improved LWFA performance can be accomplished.

  12. Angle-dependent modulated spectral peaks of proton beams generated in ultrashort intense laser-solid interactions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Su, L. N.; Hu, Z. D.; Zheng, Y.

    2014-09-15

    Proton acceleration from 4 μm thick aluminum foils irradiated by 30-TW Ti:sapphire laser pulses is investigated using an angle-resolved proton energy spectrometer. We find that a modulated spectral peak at ∼0.82 MeV is presented at 2.5° off the target normal direction. The divergence angle of the modulated zone is 3.8°. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reveal that self-generated toroidal magnetic field at the rear surface of the target foil is responsible for the modulated spectral feature. The field deflects the low energy protons, resulting in the modulated energy spectrum with certain peaks.

  13. Peak intensity measurement of relativistic lasers via nonlinear Thomson scattering.

    PubMed

    Har-Shemesh, Omri; Di Piazza, Antonino

    2012-04-15

    The measurement of peak laser intensities exceeding 10(20) W/cm(2) is in general a very challenging task. We suggest a simple method to accurately measure such high intensities up to about 10(23) W/cm(2), by colliding a beam of ultrarelativistic electrons with the laser pulse. The method exploits the high directionality of the radiation emitted by ultrarelativistic electrons via nonlinear Thomson scattering. Initial electron energies well within the reach of laser wake-field accelerators are required, allowing in principle for an all-optical setup. Accuracies of the order of 10% are theoretically envisaged. © 2012 Optical Society of America

  14. The Auroral Field-aligned Acceleration - Cluster Results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vaivads, A.; Cluster Auroral Team

    The four Cluster satellites cross the auroral field lines at altitudes well above most of acceleration region. Thus, the orbit is appropriate for studies of the generator side of this region. We consider the energy transport towards the acceleration region and different mechanisms for generating the potential drop. Using data from Cluster we can also for the first time study the dynamics of the generator on a minute scale. We present data from a few auroral field crossings where Cluster are in conjunction with DMSP satellites. We use electric and magnetic field data to estimate electrostatic po- tential along the satellite orbit, Poynting flux as well as the presence of plasma waves. These we can compare with data from particle and wave instruments on Cluster and on low latitude satellites to try to make a consistent picture of the acceleration region formation in these cases. Preliminary results show close agreement both between in- tegrated potential values at Cluster and electron peak energies at DMSP as well as close agreement between the integrated Poynting flux values at Cluster and the elec- tron energy flux at DMSP. At the end we draw a parallels between auroral electron acceleration and electron acceleration at the magnetopause.

  15. Numerical modeling of laser-driven ion acceleration from near-critical gas targets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tatomirescu, Dragos; Vizman, Daniel; d’Humières, Emmanuel

    2018-06-01

    In the past two decades, laser-accelerated ion sources and their applications have been intensely researched. Recently, it has been shown through experiments that proton beams with characteristics comparable to those obtained with solid targets can be obtained from gaseous targets. By means of particle-in-cell simulations, this paper studies in detail the effects of a near-critical density gradient on ion and electron acceleration after the interaction with ultra high intensity lasers. We can observe that the peak density of the gas jet has a significant influence on the spectrum features. As the gas jet density increases, so does the peak energy of the central quasi-monoenergetic ion bunch due to the increase in laser absorption while at the same time having a broadening effect on the electron angular distribution.

  16. Calibration of strong motion models for Central America region and its use in seismic hazard assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Climent, A.; Benito, M. B.; Piedra, R.; Lindholm, C.; Gaspar-Escribano, J.

    2013-05-01

    We present the results of a study aimed at choosing the more suitable strong-motion models for seismic hazard analysis in the Central America (CA) Region. After a careful revision of the state of the art, different models developed for subduction and volcanic crustal zones, in tectonic environment similar to those of CA, were selected. These models were calibrated with accelerograms recorded in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador. The peak ground acceleration PGA and Spectral Acceleration SA (T) derived from the records were compared with the ones predicted by the models in similar conditions of magnitude, distance and soil. The type of magnitude (Ms, Mb, MW), distance (Rhyp, Rrup, etc) and ground motion parameter (maximum horizontal component, geometrical mean, etc ) was taken into account in the comparison with the real data. As results of the analysis, the models which present a best fit with the local data were identified. These models have been applied for carrying out seismic hazard analysis in the region, in the frame of the RESIS II project financed by the Norwegian Foreign Department and also by the Spanish project SISMOCAES. The methodology followed is based on the direct comparison between PGA and SA 5 % damped response values extracted from actual records with the corresponding acceleration values predicted by the selected ground-motion models for similar magnitude, distance and soil conditions. Residuals between observed and predicted values for PGA, and SA (1sec) are calculated and plotted as a function of distance and magnitude, analyzing their deviation from the mean value. Besides and most important, a statistical analysis of the normalized residuals was carry out using the criteria proposed by Scherbaum et al. (2004), which consists in categorizing ground motion models based in a likelihood parameter that reflects the goodness-of-fit of the median values as well as the shape of the underlying distribution of ground motion residuals. Considering

  17. Measurement of inflight shell areal density near peak velocity using a self backlighting technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pickworth, L. A.; Hammel, B. A.; Smalyuk, V. A.; MacPhee, A. G.; Scott, H. A.; Robey, H. F.; Landen, O. L.; Barrios, M. A.; Regan, S. P.; Schneider, M. B.; Hoppe, M., Jr.; Kohut, T.; Holunga, D.; Walters, C.; Haid, B.; Dayton, M.

    2016-05-01

    The growth of perturbations in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) capsules can lead to significant variation of inflight shell areal density (ρR), ultimately resulting in poor compression and ablator material mixing into the hotspot. As the capsule is accelerated inward, the perturbation growth results from the initial shock-transit through the shell and then amplification by Rayleigh-Taylor as the shell accelerates inwards. Measurements of ρR perturbations near peak implosion velocity (PV) are essential to our understanding of ICF implosions because they reflect the integrity of the capsule, after the inward acceleration growth is complete, of the actual shell perturbations including native capsule surface roughness and “isolated defects”. Quantitative measurements of shell-ρR perturbations in capsules near PV are challenging, requiring a new method with which to radiograph the shell. An innovative method, utilized in this paper, is to use the self-emission from the hotspot to “self- backlight” the shell inflight. However, with nominal capsule fills there is insufficient self-emission for this method until the capsule nears peak compression (PC). We produce a sufficiently bright continuum self-emission backlighter through the addition of a high-Z gas (∼ 1% Ar) to the capsule fill. This provides a significant (∼10x) increase in emission at hυ∼8 keV over nominal fills. “Self backlit” radiographs are obtained for times when the shock is rebounding from the capsule center, expanding out to meet the incoming shell, providing a means to sample the capsule optical density though only one side, as it converges through PV.

  18. Airy Wave Packets Accelerating in Space-Time

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kondakci, H. Esat; Abouraddy, Ayman F.

    2018-04-01

    Although diffractive spreading is an unavoidable feature of all wave phenomena, certain waveforms can attain propagation invariance. A lesser-explored strategy for achieving optical self-similar propagation exploits the modification of the spatiotemporal field structure when observed in reference frames moving at relativistic speeds. For such an observer, it is predicted that the associated Lorentz boost can bring to a halt the axial dynamics of a wave packet of an arbitrary profile. This phenomenon is particularly striking in the case of a self-accelerating beam—such as an Airy beam—whose peak normally undergoes a transverse displacement upon free propagation. Here we synthesize an acceleration-free Airy wave packet that travels in a straight line by deforming its spatiotemporal spectrum to reproduce the impact of a Lorentz boost. The roles of the axial spatial coordinate and time are swapped, leading to "time diffraction" manifested in self-acceleration observed in the propagating Airy wave-packet frame.

  19. AN ACCELERATION MECHANISM FOR NEUTRON PRODUCTION IN Z-PINCH DISCHARGES,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    A model has been developed for the acceleration of deuterons in the tightly compressed column of a z-pinch discharge, in particular that of a plasma ... focus discharge. It was assumed that an annular current distribution undergoes a rapidly contracting transition to an axially peaked distribution, and

  20. Demonstration of a positron beam-driven hollow channel plasma wakefield accelerator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gessner, Spencer; Adli, Erik; Allen, James M.; An, Weiming; Clarke, Christine I.; Clayton, Chris E.; Corde, Sebastien; Delahaye, J. P.; Frederico, Joel; Green, Selina Z.; Hast, Carsten; Hogan, Mark J.; Joshi, Chan; Lindstrøm, Carl A.; Lipkowitz, Nate; Litos, Michael; Lu, Wei; Marsh, Kenneth A.; Mori, Warren B.; O'Shea, Brendan; Vafaei-Najafabadi, Navid; Walz, Dieter; Yakimenko, Vitaly; Yocky, Gerald

    2016-06-01

    Plasma wakefield accelerators have been used to accelerate electron and positron particle beams with gradients that are orders of magnitude larger than those achieved in conventional accelerators. In addition to being accelerated by the plasma wakefield, the beam particles also experience strong transverse forces that may disrupt the beam quality. Hollow plasma channels have been proposed as a technique for generating accelerating fields without transverse forces. Here we demonstrate a method for creating an extended hollow plasma channel and measure the wakefields created by an ultrarelativistic positron beam as it propagates through the channel. The plasma channel is created by directing a high-intensity laser pulse with a spatially modulated profile into lithium vapour, which results in an annular region of ionization. A peak decelerating field of 230 MeV m-1 is inferred from changes in the beam energy spectrum, in good agreement with theory and particle-in-cell simulations.

  1. Two types of peak emotional responses to music: The psychophysiology of chills and tears

    PubMed Central

    Mori, Kazuma; Iwanaga, Makoto

    2017-01-01

    People sometimes experience a strong emotional response to artworks. Previous studies have demonstrated that the peak emotional experience of chills (goose bumps or shivers) when listening to music involves psychophysiological arousal and a rewarding effect. However, many aspects of peak emotion are still not understood. The current research takes a new perspective of peak emotional response of tears (weeping, lump in the throat). A psychophysiological experiment showed that self-reported chills increased electrodermal activity and subjective arousal whereas tears produced slow respiration during heartbeat acceleration, although both chills and tears induced pleasure and deep breathing. A song that induced chills was perceived as being both happy and sad whereas a song that induced tears was perceived as sad. A tear-eliciting song was perceived as calmer than a chill-eliciting song. These results show that tears involve pleasure from sadness and that they are psychophysiologically calming; thus, psychophysiological responses permit the distinction between chills and tears. Because tears may have a cathartic effect, the functional significance of chills and tears seems to be different. We believe that the distinction of two types of peak emotions is theoretically relevant and further study of tears would contribute to more understanding of human peak emotional response. PMID:28387335

  2. Enhanced Production of Poly-γ-glutamic Acid by Bacillus licheniformis TISTR 1010 with Environmental Controls.

    PubMed

    Kongklom, Nuttawut; Shi, Zhongping; Chisti, Yusuf; Sirisansaneeyakul, Sarote

    2017-07-01

    Bacillus licheniformis TISTR 1010 was used for glutamic acid-independent production of poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA). A fed-batch production strategy was developed involving feedings of glucose, citric acid, and ammonium chloride at specified stages of the fermentation. With the dissolved oxygen concentration controlled at ≥50% of air saturation and the pH controlled at ~7.4, the fed-batch operation at 37 °C afforded a peak γ-PGA concentration of 39.9 ± 0.3 g L -1 with a productivity of 0.926 ± 0.006 g L -1  h -1 . The observed productivity was nearly threefold greater than previously reported for glutamic acid-independent production using the strain TISTR 1010. The molecular weight of γ-PGA was in the approximate range of 60 to 135 kDa.

  3. Potential applications of the dielectric wakefield accelerators in the SINBAD facility at DESY

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nie, Y. C.; Assmann, R.; Dorda, U.; Marchetti, B.; Weikum, M.; Zhu, J.; Hüning, M.

    2016-09-01

    Short, high-brightness relativistic electron bunches can drive ultra-high wakefields in the dielectric wakefield accelerators (DWFAs). This effect can be used to generate high power THz coherent Cherenkov radiation, accelerate a witness bunch with gradient two or three orders of magnitude larger than that in the conventional RF linear accelerators, introduce energy modulation within the driving bunch itself, etc. The paper studies potential applications of the DWFAs in the SINBAD facility at DESY. The simulations show that the ultra-short relativistic bunches from the SINBAD injector ARES can excite accelerating wakefields with peak amplitudes as high as GV/m at THz frequencies in proper DWFA structures. In addition, it illustrates that the DWFA structure can serve as a dechirper to compensate the correlated energy spread of the bunches accelerated by the laser plasma wakefield accelerator.

  4. High gradient tests of metallic mm-wave accelerating structures

    DOE PAGES

    Dal Forno, Massimo; Dolgashev, Valery; Bowden, Gordon; ...

    2017-05-10

    This study explores the physics of vacuum rf breakdowns in high gradient mm-wave accelerating structures. We performed a series of experiments with 100 GHz and 200 GHz metallic accelerating structures, at the Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests (FACET) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. This paper presents the experimental results of rf tests of 100 GHz travelling-wave accelerating structures, made of hard copper-silver alloy. The results are compared with pure hard copper structures. The rf fields were excited by the FACET ultra-relativistic electron beam. The accelerating structures have open geometries, 10 cm long, composed of two halves separated bymore » a variable gap. The rf frequency of the fundamental accelerating mode depends on the gap size and can be changed from 90 GHz to 140 GHz. The measured frequency and pulse length are consistent with our simulations. When the beam travels off-axis, a deflecting field is induced in addition to the decelerating longitudinal field. We measured the deflecting forces by observing the displacement of the electron bunch and used this measurement to verify the expected accelerating gradient. We present the first quantitative measurement of rf breakdown rates in 100 GHz copper-silver accelerating structure, which was 10 –3 per pulse, with peak electric field of 0.42 GV/m, an accelerating gradient of 127 MV/m, at a pulse length of 2.3 ns. The goal of our studies is to understand the physics of gradient limitations in order to increase the energy reach of future accelerators.« less

  5. High gradient tests of metallic mm-wave accelerating structures

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dal Forno, Massimo; Dolgashev, Valery; Bowden, Gordon

    This study explores the physics of vacuum rf breakdowns in high gradient mm-wave accelerating structures. We performed a series of experiments with 100 GHz and 200 GHz metallic accelerating structures, at the Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests (FACET) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. This paper presents the experimental results of rf tests of 100 GHz travelling-wave accelerating structures, made of hard copper-silver alloy. The results are compared with pure hard copper structures. The rf fields were excited by the FACET ultra-relativistic electron beam. The accelerating structures have open geometries, 10 cm long, composed of two halves separated bymore » a variable gap. The rf frequency of the fundamental accelerating mode depends on the gap size and can be changed from 90 GHz to 140 GHz. The measured frequency and pulse length are consistent with our simulations. When the beam travels off-axis, a deflecting field is induced in addition to the decelerating longitudinal field. We measured the deflecting forces by observing the displacement of the electron bunch and used this measurement to verify the expected accelerating gradient. We present the first quantitative measurement of rf breakdown rates in 100 GHz copper-silver accelerating structure, which was 10 –3 per pulse, with peak electric field of 0.42 GV/m, an accelerating gradient of 127 MV/m, at a pulse length of 2.3 ns. The goal of our studies is to understand the physics of gradient limitations in order to increase the energy reach of future accelerators.« less

  6. An updated geospatial liquefaction model for global application

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Zhu, Jing; Baise, Laurie G.; Thompson, Eric M.

    2017-01-01

    We present an updated geospatial approach to estimation of earthquake-induced liquefaction from globally available geospatial proxies. Our previous iteration of the geospatial liquefaction model was based on mapped liquefaction surface effects from four earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Kobe, Japan, paired with geospatial explanatory variables including slope-derived VS30, compound topographic index, and magnitude-adjusted peak ground acceleration from ShakeMap. The updated geospatial liquefaction model presented herein improves the performance and the generality of the model. The updates include (1) expanding the liquefaction database to 27 earthquake events across 6 countries, (2) addressing the sampling of nonliquefaction for incomplete liquefaction inventories, (3) testing interaction effects between explanatory variables, and (4) overall improving model performance. While we test 14 geospatial proxies for soil density and soil saturation, the most promising geospatial parameters are slope-derived VS30, modeled water table depth, distance to coast, distance to river, distance to closest water body, and precipitation. We found that peak ground velocity (PGV) performs better than peak ground acceleration (PGA) as the shaking intensity parameter. We present two models which offer improved performance over prior models. We evaluate model performance using the area under the curve under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) and the Brier score. The best-performing model in a coastal setting uses distance to coast but is problematic for regions away from the coast. The second best model, using PGV, VS30, water table depth, distance to closest water body, and precipitation, performs better in noncoastal regions and thus is the model we recommend for global implementation.

  7. VLF Wave Local Acceleration & ULF Wave Radial Diffusion: The Importance of K-Dependent PSD Analysis for Diagnosing the cause of Radiation Belt Acceleration.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ozeke, L.; Mann, I. R.; Claudepierre, S. G.; Morley, S.; Henderson, M. G.; Baker, D. N.; Kletzing, C.; Spence, H. E.

    2017-12-01

    We present results showing the temporal evolution of electron Phase Space Density (PSD) in the outer radiation belt during the most intense geomagnetic storm of the last decade which occurred on March 17th 2015. Based on observations of growing local PSD peaks at fixed first and second adiabatic invariants of M=1000 MeV/G and K=0.18 G1/2Re respectively, previous studies argued that the outer radiation belt flux enhancement that occurred during this storm resulted from local acceleration driven by VLF waves. Here we show that the vast majority of the outer radiation belt consisted of electrons with much lower K-values than 0.18 G1/2Re, and that at these lower K-values there is no clear evidence of growing local PSD peaks consistent with that expected from local acceleration. Contrary to prior studies we show that the outer radiation belt flux enhancement is consistent with inward radial diffusion driven by ULF waves and present evidence that the growing local PSD peaks at K=0.18 G1/2Re and M=1000 MeV/G result from pitch-angle scattering of lower-K electrons to K=0.18 G1/2Re. In addition, we also show that the observed outer radiation belt flux enhancement during this geomagnetic storm can be reproduced using a radial diffusion model driven by measured ULF waves without including any local acceleration. These results highlight the importance of careful analysis of the electron PSD profiles as a function of L* over a range of fixed first, M and second K, adiabatic invariants to correctly determine the mechanism responsible for the electron flux enhancements observed in the outer radiation belt.

  8. Guided post-acceleration of laser-driven ions by a miniature modular structure

    PubMed Central

    Kar, Satyabrata; Ahmed, Hamad; Prasad, Rajendra; Cerchez, Mirela; Brauckmann, Stephanie; Aurand, Bastian; Cantono, Giada; Hadjisolomou, Prokopis; Lewis, Ciaran L. S.; Macchi, Andrea; Nersisyan, Gagik; Robinson, Alexander P. L.; Schroer, Anna M.; Swantusch, Marco; Zepf, Matt; Willi, Oswald; Borghesi, Marco

    2016-01-01

    All-optical approaches to particle acceleration are currently attracting a significant research effort internationally. Although characterized by exceptional transverse and longitudinal emittance, laser-driven ion beams currently have limitations in terms of peak ion energy, bandwidth of the energy spectrum and beam divergence. Here we introduce the concept of a versatile, miniature linear accelerating module, which, by employing laser-excited electromagnetic pulses directed along a helical path surrounding the laser-accelerated ion beams, addresses these shortcomings simultaneously. In a proof-of-principle experiment on a university-scale system, we demonstrate post-acceleration of laser-driven protons from a flat foil at a rate of 0.5 GeV m−1, already beyond what can be sustained by conventional accelerator technologies, with dynamic beam collimation and energy selection. These results open up new opportunities for the development of extremely compact and cost-effective ion accelerators for both established and innovative applications. PMID:27089200

  9. Seismic hazard maps of Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tanner, J.G.; Shedlock, K.M.

    2004-01-01

    The growth of megacities in seismically active regions around the world often includes the construction of seismically unsafe buildings and infrastructures due to an insufficient knowledge of existing seismic hazard and/or economic constraints. Minimization of the loss of life, property damage, and social and economic disruption due to earthquakes depends on reliable estimates of seismic hazard. We have produced a suite of seismic hazard estimates for Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. One of the preliminary maps in this suite served as the basis for the Caribbean and Central and South America portion of the Global Seismic Hazard Map (GSHM) published in 1999, which depicted peak ground acceleration (pga) with a 10% chance of exceedance in 50 years for rock sites. Herein we present maps depicting pga and 0.2 and 1.0 s spectral accelerations (SA) with 50%, 10%, and 2% chances of exceedance in 50 years for rock sites. The seismicity catalog used in the generation of these maps adds 3 more years of data to those used to calculate the GSH Map. Different attenuation functions (consistent with those used to calculate the U.S. and Canadian maps) were used as well. These nine maps are designed to assist in global risk mitigation by providing a general seismic hazard framework and serving as a resource for any national or regional agency to help focus further detailed studies required for regional/local needs. The largest seismic hazard values in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America generally occur in areas that have been, or are likely to be, the sites of the largest plate boundary earthquakes. High hazard values occur in areas where shallow-to-intermediate seismicity occurs frequently. ?? 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. St. Louis area earthquake hazards mapping project; seismic and liquefaction hazard maps

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cramer, Chris H.; Bauer, Robert A.; Chung, Jae-won; Rogers, David; Pierce, Larry; Voigt, Vicki; Mitchell, Brad; Gaunt, David; Williams, Robert; Hoffman, David; Hempen, Gregory L.; Steckel, Phyllis; Boyd, Oliver; Watkins, Connor M.; Tucker, Kathleen; McCallister, Natasha

    2016-01-01

    We present probabilistic and deterministic seismic and liquefaction hazard maps for the densely populated St. Louis metropolitan area that account for the expected effects of surficial geology on earthquake ground shaking. Hazard calculations were based on a map grid of 0.005°, or about every 500 m, and are thus higher in resolution than any earlier studies. To estimate ground motions at the surface of the model (e.g., site amplification), we used a new detailed near‐surface shear‐wave velocity model in a 1D equivalent‐linear response analysis. When compared with the 2014 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Model, which uses a uniform firm‐rock‐site condition, the new probabilistic seismic‐hazard estimates document much more variability. Hazard levels for upland sites (consisting of bedrock and weathered bedrock overlain by loess‐covered till and drift deposits), show up to twice the ground‐motion values for peak ground acceleration (PGA), and similar ground‐motion values for 1.0 s spectral acceleration (SA). Probabilistic ground‐motion levels for lowland alluvial floodplain sites (generally the 20–40‐m‐thick modern Mississippi and Missouri River floodplain deposits overlying bedrock) exhibit up to twice the ground‐motion levels for PGA, and up to three times the ground‐motion levels for 1.0 s SA. Liquefaction probability curves were developed from available standard penetration test data assuming typical lowland and upland water table levels. A simplified liquefaction hazard map was created from the 5%‐in‐50‐year probabilistic ground‐shaking model. The liquefaction hazard ranges from low (60% of area expected to liquefy) in the lowlands. Because many transportation routes, power and gas transmission lines, and population centers exist in or on the highly susceptible lowland alluvium, these areas in the St. Louis region are at significant potential risk from seismically induced liquefaction and associated

  11. Demonstration of a positron beam-driven hollow channel plasma wakefield accelerator

    DOE PAGES

    Gessner, Spencer; Adli, Erik; Allen, James M.; ...

    2016-06-02

    Plasma wakefield accelerators have been used to accelerate electron and positron particle beams with gradients that are orders of magnitude larger than those achieved in conventional accelerators. In addition to being accelerated by the plasma wakefield, the beam particles also experience strong transverse forces that may disrupt the beam quality. Hollow plasma channels have been proposed as a technique for generating accelerating fields without transverse forces. In this study, we demonstrate a method for creating an extended hollow plasma channel and measure the wakefields created by an ultrarelativistic positron beam as it propagates through the channel. The plasma channel ismore » created by directing a high-intensity laser pulse with a spatially modulated profile into lithium vapour, which results in an annular region of ionization. A peak decelerating field of 230 MeV m -1 is inferred from changes in the beam energy spectrum, in good agreement with theory and particle-in-cell simulations.« less

  12. Demonstration of a positron beam-driven hollow channel plasma wakefield accelerator

    PubMed Central

    Gessner, Spencer; Adli, Erik; Allen, James M.; An, Weiming; Clarke, Christine I.; Clayton, Chris E.; Corde, Sebastien; Delahaye, J. P.; Frederico, Joel; Green, Selina Z.; Hast, Carsten; Hogan, Mark J.; Joshi, Chan; Lindstrøm, Carl A.; Lipkowitz, Nate; Litos, Michael; Lu, Wei; Marsh, Kenneth A.; Mori, Warren B.; O'Shea, Brendan; Vafaei-Najafabadi, Navid; Walz, Dieter; Yakimenko, Vitaly; Yocky, Gerald

    2016-01-01

    Plasma wakefield accelerators have been used to accelerate electron and positron particle beams with gradients that are orders of magnitude larger than those achieved in conventional accelerators. In addition to being accelerated by the plasma wakefield, the beam particles also experience strong transverse forces that may disrupt the beam quality. Hollow plasma channels have been proposed as a technique for generating accelerating fields without transverse forces. Here we demonstrate a method for creating an extended hollow plasma channel and measure the wakefields created by an ultrarelativistic positron beam as it propagates through the channel. The plasma channel is created by directing a high-intensity laser pulse with a spatially modulated profile into lithium vapour, which results in an annular region of ionization. A peak decelerating field of 230 MeV m−1 is inferred from changes in the beam energy spectrum, in good agreement with theory and particle-in-cell simulations. PMID:27250570

  13. Peak Politics: Resource Scarcity and Libertarian Political Culture in the United States

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schneider-Mayerson, Matthew

    My dissertation uses the "peak oil" movement as a lens to analyze the convergence of apocalyptic environmental thinking and libertarian political culture in the recent United States. The "peak oil" movement was a twenty-first century American social movement of Americans who came to believe that oil depletion and other environmental problems would lead to the imminent collapse of global industrial society. Dedicated adherents developed a rich subculture, primarily online, and prepared themselves for the "post-carbon" future by conserving energy, changing occupations, and even purchasing land. Drawing on surveys of over 1,500 participants, ethnographic research, discourse analysis of peak oil websites and literary analysis of subcultural fiction, my research reveals a group of mostly white, male, liberal Americans struggling with the perceived threat of economic, environmental and geopolitical decline while the country undergoes a broad shift in political culture: the continued rise of libertarian ideals, accelerated by the influence of Internet technology. I view this apocalyptic subculture in the context of petroleum dependence, eco-apocalyptic discourses, the environmental discourse of "limits to growth," white masculinity, climate change, and the influence of conservative individualism on American political culture.

  14. Brookhaven National Laboratory's Accelerator Test Facility: research highlights and plans

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pogorelsky, I. V.; Ben-Zvi, I.

    2014-08-01

    The Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at Brookhaven National Laboratory has served as a user facility for accelerator science for over a quarter of a century. In fulfilling this mission, the ATF offers the unique combination of a high-brightness 80 MeV electron beam that is synchronized to a 1 TW picosecond CO2 laser. We unveil herein our plan to considerably expand the ATF's floor space with an upgrade of the electron beam's energy to 300 MeV and the CO2 laser's peak power to 100 TW. This upgrade will propel the ATF even further to the forefront of research on advanced accelerators and radiation sources, supporting the most innovative ideas in this field. We discuss emerging opportunities for scientific breakthroughs, including the following: plasma wakefield acceleration studies in research directions already active at the ATF; laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), where the longer laser wavelengths are expected to engender a proportional increase in the beam's charge while our linac will assure, for the first time, the opportunity to undertake detailed studies of seeding and staging of the LWFA; proton acceleration to the 100-200 MeV level, which is essential for medical applications; and others.

  15. MO-F-16A-02: Simulation of a Medical Linear Accelerator for Teaching Purposes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Carlone, M; Lamey, M; Anderson, R

    Purpose: Detailed functioning of linear accelerator physics is well known. Less well developed is the basic understanding of how the adjustment of the linear accelerator's electrical components affects the resulting radiation beam. Other than the text by Karzmark, there is very little literature devoted to the practical understanding of linear accelerator functionality targeted at the radiotherapy clinic level. The purpose of this work is to describe a simulation environment for medical linear accelerators with the purpose of teaching linear accelerator physics. Methods: Varian type lineacs were simulated. Klystron saturation and peak output were modelled analytically. The energy gain of anmore » electron beam was modelled using load line expressions. The bending magnet was assumed to be a perfect solenoid whose pass through energy varied linearly with solenoid current. The dose rate calculated at depth in water was assumed to be a simple function of the target's beam current. The flattening filter was modelled as an attenuator with conical shape, and the time-averaged dose rate at a depth in water was determined by calculating kerma. Results: Fifteen analytical models were combined into a single model called SIMAC. Performance was verified systematically by adjusting typical linac control parameters. Increasing klystron pulse voltage increased dose rate to a peak, which then decreased as the beam energy was further increased due to the fixed pass through energy of the bending magnet. Increasing accelerator beam current leads to a higher dose per pulse. However, the energy of the electron beam decreases due to beam loading and so the dose rate eventually maximizes and the decreases as beam current was further increased. Conclusion: SIMAC can realistically simulate the functionality of a linear accelerator. It is expected to have value as a teaching tool for both medical physicists and linear accelerator service personnel.« less

  16. NMRNet: A deep learning approach to automated peak picking of protein NMR spectra.

    PubMed

    Klukowski, Piotr; Augoff, Michal; Zieba, Maciej; Drwal, Maciej; Gonczarek, Adam; Walczak, Michal J

    2018-03-14

    Automated selection of signals in protein NMR spectra, known as peak picking, has been studied for over 20 years, nevertheless existing peak picking methods are still largely deficient. Accurate and precise automated peak picking would accelerate the structure calculation, and analysis of dynamics and interactions of macromolecules. Recent advancement in handling big data, together with an outburst of machine learning techniques, offer an opportunity to tackle the peak picking problem substantially faster than manual picking and on par with human accuracy. In particular, deep learning has proven to systematically achieve human-level performance in various recognition tasks, and thus emerges as an ideal tool to address automated identification of NMR signals. We have applied a convolutional neural network for visual analysis of multidimensional NMR spectra. A comprehensive test on 31 manually-annotated spectra has demonstrated top-tier average precision (AP) of 0.9596, 0.9058 and 0.8271 for backbone, side-chain and NOESY spectra, respectively. Furthermore, a combination of extracted peak lists with automated assignment routine, FLYA, outperformed other methods, including the manual one, and led to correct resonance assignment at the levels of 90.40%, 89.90% and 90.20% for three benchmark proteins. The proposed model is a part of a Dumpling software (platform for protein NMR data analysis), and is available at https://dumpling.bio/. michaljerzywalczak@gmail.compiotr.klukowski@pwr.edu.pl. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  17. rf breakdown measurements in electron beam driven 200 GHz copper and copper-silver accelerating structures

    DOE PAGES

    Dal Forno, Massimo; Dolgashev, Valery; Bowden, Gordon; ...

    2016-11-30

    This study explores the physics of vacuum rf breakdowns in subterahertz high-gradient traveling-wave accelerating structures. We present the experimental results of rf tests of 200 GHz metallic accelerating structures, made of copper and copper-silver. These experiments were carried out at the Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests (FACET) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The rf fields were excited by the FACET ultrarelativistic electron beam. The traveling-wave structure is an open geometry, 10 cm long, composed of two halves separated by a gap. The rf frequency of the fundamental accelerating mode depends on the gap size and can be changedmore » from 160 to 235 GHz. When the beam travels off axis, a deflecting field is induced in addition to the longitudinal field. We measure the deflecting forces by observing the displacement of the electron bunch and use this measurement to verify the expected accelerating gradient. Furthermore, we present the first quantitative measurement of rf breakdown rates in 200 GHz metallic accelerating structures. The breakdown rate of the copper structure is 10 –2 per pulse, with a peak surface electric field of 500 MV/m and a rf pulse length of 0.3 ns, which at a relatively large gap of 1.5 mm, or one wavelength, corresponds to an accelerating gradient of 56 MV/m. For the same breakdown rate, the copper-silver structure has a peak electric field of 320 MV/m at a pulse length of 0.5 ns. For a gap of 1.1 mm, or 0.74 wavelengths, this corresponds to an accelerating gradient of 50 MV/m.« less

  18. Earthquake Hazard Analysis Use Vs30 Data In Palu

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rusydi, Muhammad; Efendi, Rustan; Sandra; Rahmawati

    2018-03-01

    Palu City is an area passed by Palu-Koro fault and some small faults around it, causing the Palu of city often hit by earthquake. Therefore, this study is intended to mapped the earthquake hazard zones. Determination of this zone is one of aspect that can be used to reducing risk of earthquake disaster. This research was conducted by integrating Vs30 data from USGS with Vs30 from mikrotremor data. Vs30 data from microtremor used to correction Vs30 from USGS. This Results are then used to determine PeakGround Acceleration (PGA) can be used to calculate the impact of earthquake disaster. Results of the study shows that Palu City is in high danger class. Eight sub-districts in Palu City, there are 7 sub-districts that have high danger level, namely Palu Barat, PaluTimur, Palu Selatan, Palu Utara, Tatanga, Mantikulore and Tawaeli.

  19. Shock-wave proton acceleration from a hydrogen gas jet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cook, Nathan; Pogorelsky, Igor; Polyanskiy, Mikhail; Babzien, Marcus; Tresca, Olivier; Maharjan, Chakra; Shkolnikov, Peter; Yakimenko, Vitaly

    2013-04-01

    Typical laser acceleration experiments probe the interaction of intense linearly-polarized solid state laser pulses with dense metal targets. This interaction generates strong electric fields via Transverse Normal Sheath Acceleration and can accelerate protons to high peak energies but with a large thermal spectrum. Recently, the advancement of high pressure amplified CO2 laser technology has allowed for the creation of intense (10^16 Wcm^2) pulses at λ˜10 μm. These pulses may interact with reproducible, high rep. rate gas jet targets and still produce plasmas of critical density (nc˜10^19 cm-3), leading to the transference of laser energy via radiation pressure. This acceleration mode has the advantage of producing narrow energy spectra while scaling well with pulse intensity. We observe the interaction of an intense CO2 laser pulse with an overdense hydrogen gas jet. Using two pulse optical probing in conjunction with interferometry, we are able to obtain density profiles of the plasma. Proton energy spectra are obtained using a magnetic spectrometer and scintillating screen.

  20. Embedded Streaming Deep Neural Networks Accelerator With Applications.

    PubMed

    Dundar, Aysegul; Jin, Jonghoon; Martini, Berin; Culurciello, Eugenio

    2017-07-01

    Deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) have become a very powerful tool in visual perception. DCNNs have applications in autonomous robots, security systems, mobile phones, and automobiles, where high throughput of the feedforward evaluation phase and power efficiency are important. Because of this increased usage, many field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based accelerators have been proposed. In this paper, we present an optimized streaming method for DCNNs' hardware accelerator on an embedded platform. The streaming method acts as a compiler, transforming a high-level representation of DCNNs into operation codes to execute applications in a hardware accelerator. The proposed method utilizes maximum computational resources available based on a novel-scheduled routing topology that combines data reuse and data concatenation. It is tested with a hardware accelerator implemented on the Xilinx Kintex-7 XC7K325T FPGA. The system fully explores weight-level and node-level parallelizations of DCNNs and achieves a peak performance of 247 G-ops while consuming less than 4 W of power. We test our system with applications on object classification and object detection in real-world scenarios. Our results indicate high-performance efficiency, outperforming all other presented platforms while running these applications.

  1. Co-seismic landslide topographic analysis based on multi-temporal DEM-A case study of the Wenchuan earthquake.

    PubMed

    Ren, Zhikun; Zhang, Zhuqi; Dai, Fuchu; Yin, Jinhui; Zhang, Huiping

    2013-01-01

    Hillslope instability has been thought to be one of the most important factors for landslide susceptibility. In this study, we apply geomorphic analysis using multi-temporal DEM data and shake intensity analysis to evaluate the topographic characteristics of the landslide areas. There are many geomorphologic analysis methods such as roughness, slope aspect, which are also as useful as slope analysis. The analyses indicate that most of the co-seismic landslides occurred in regions with roughness, hillslope and slope aspect of >1.2, >30, and between 90 and 270, respectively. However, the intersection regions from the above three methods are more accurate than that derived by applying single topographic analysis method. The ground motion data indicates that the co-seismic landslides mainly occurred on the hanging wall side of Longmen Shan Thrust Belt within the up-down and horizontal peak ground acceleration (PGA) contour of 150 PGA and 200 gal, respectively. The comparisons of pre- and post-earthquake DEM data indicate that the medium roughness and slope increased, the roughest and steepest regions decreased after the Wenchuan earthquake. However, slope aspects did not even change. Our results indicate that co-seismic landslides mainly occurred at specific regions of high roughness, southward and steep sloping areas under strong ground motion. Co-seismic landslides significantly modified the local topography, especially the hillslope and roughness. The roughest relief and steepest slope are significantly smoothed; however, the medium relief and slope become rougher and steeper, respectively.

  2. Earthquake Hazard and Risk Assessment based on Unified Scaling Law for Earthquakes: Altai-Sayan Region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kossobokov, V. G.; Nekrasova, A.

    2017-12-01

    We continue applying the general concept of seismic risk analysis in a number of seismic regions worldwide by constructing regional seismic hazard maps based on morphostructural analysis, pattern recognition, and the Unified Scaling Law for Earthquakes, USLE, which generalizes the Gutenberg-Richter relationship making use of naturally fractal distribution of earthquake sources of different size in a seismic region. The USLE stands for an empirical relationship log10N(M, L) = A + B·(5 - M) + C·log10L, where N(M, L) is the expected annual number of earthquakes of a certain magnitude M within an seismically prone area of linear dimension L. We use parameters A, B, and C of USLE to estimate, first, the expected maximum credible magnitude in a time interval at seismically prone nodes of the morphostructural scheme of the region under study, then map the corresponding expected ground shaking parameters (e.g. peak ground acceleration, PGA, or macro-seismic intensity etc.). After a rigorous testing against the available seismic evidences in the past (usually, the observed instrumental PGA or the historically reported macro-seismic intensity), such a seismic hazard map is used to generate maps of specific earthquake risks for population, cities, and infrastructures (e.g., those based on census of population, buildings inventory, etc.). This, USLE based, methodology of seismic hazard and risks assessment is applied to the territory of Altai-Sayan Region, of Russia. The study supported by the Russian Science Foundation Grant No. 15-17-30020.

  3. The Long-term Impacts of Earthquakes on Economic Growth

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lackner, S.

    2016-12-01

    The social science literature has so far not reached a consensus on whether and how earthquakes actually impact economic growth in the long-run. Several hypotheses have been suggested and some even argue for a positive impact. A general weakness in the literature, however, is the predominant use of inadequate measures for the exogenous natural hazard of an earthquake. The most common problems are the lack of individual event size (e.g. earthquake dummy or number of events), the use of magnitude instead of a measure for surface shaking, and endogeneity issues when traditional qualitative intensity scales or actual impact data is used. Here we use peak ground acceleration (PGA) as the ground motion intensity measure and investigate the impacts of earthquake shaking on long-run economic growth. We construct a data set from USGS ShakeMaps that can be considered the universe of global relevant earthquake ground shaking from 1973 to 2014. This data set is then combined with World Bank GDP data to conduct a regression analysis. Furthermore, the impacts of PGA on different industries and other economic variables such as employment and education are also investigated. This will on one hand help to identify the mechanism of how earthquakes impact long-run growth and also show potential impacts on other welfare indicators that are not captured by GDP. This is the first application of global earthquake shaking data to investigate long-term earthquake impacts.

  4. Quasi-monoenergetic proton acceleration from cryogenic hydrogen microjet by ultrashort ultraintense laser pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, A.; Tibai, Z.; Hebling, J.; Fülöp, J. A.

    2018-03-01

    Laser-driven proton acceleration from a micron-sized cryogenic hydrogen microjet target is investigated using multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. With few-cycle (20-fs) ultraintense (2-PW) laser pulses, high-energy quasi-monoenergetic proton acceleration is predicted in a new regime. A collisionless shock-wave acceleration mechanism influenced by Weibel instability results in a maximum proton energy as high as 160 MeV and a quasi-monoenergetic peak at 80 MeV for 1022 W/cm2 laser intensity with controlled prepulses. A self-generated strong quasi-static magnetic field is also observed in the plasma, which modifies the spatial distribution of the proton beam.

  5. Quasi-monoenergetic laser-plasma acceleration of electrons to 2 GeV

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Xiaoming; Zgadzaj, Rafal; Fazel, Neil; Li, Zhengyan; Yi, S. A.; Zhang, Xi; Henderson, Watson; Chang, Y.-Y.; Korzekwa, R.; Tsai, H.-E.; Pai, C.-H.; Quevedo, H.; Dyer, G.; Gaul, E.; Martinez, M.; Bernstein, A. C.; Borger, T.; Spinks, M.; Donovan, M.; Khudik, V.; Shvets, G.; Ditmire, T.; Downer, M. C.

    2013-01-01

    Laser-plasma accelerators of only a centimetre’s length have produced nearly monoenergetic electron bunches with energy as high as 1 GeV. Scaling these compact accelerators to multi-gigaelectronvolt energy would open the prospect of building X-ray free-electron lasers and linear colliders hundreds of times smaller than conventional facilities, but the 1 GeV barrier has so far proven insurmountable. Here, by applying new petawatt laser technology, we produce electron bunches with a spectrum prominently peaked at 2 GeV with only a few per cent energy spread and unprecedented sub-milliradian divergence. Petawatt pulses inject ambient plasma electrons into the laser-driven accelerator at much lower density than was previously possible, thereby overcoming the principal physical barriers to multi-gigaelectronvolt acceleration: dephasing between laser-driven wake and accelerating electrons and laser pulse erosion. Simulations indicate that with improvements in the laser-pulse focus quality, acceleration to nearly 10 GeV should be possible with the available pulse energy. PMID:23756359

  6. Analysis of the ability of catcher's masks to attenuate head accelerations on impact with a baseball.

    PubMed

    Shain, Kellen S; Madigan, Michael L; Rowson, Steven; Bisplinghoff, Jill; Duma, Stefan M

    2010-11-01

    The goals of this study were to measure the ability of catcher's masks to attenuate head accelerations on impact with a baseball and to compare these head accelerations to established injury thresholds for mild traumatic brain injury. Testing involved using a pneumatic cannon to shoot baseballs at an instrumented Hybrid III headform (a 50th percentile male head and neck) with and without a catcher's mask on the head. The ball speed was controlled from approximately 26.8 to 35.8 m/s (60-80 mph), and the regulation National Collegiate Athletic Association baseballs were used. Research laboratory. None. Catcher's masks and impact velocity. The linear and angular head accelerations of the Hybrid III headform. Peak linear resultant acceleration was 140 to 180 g without a mask and 16 to 30 g with a mask over the range of ball's speed investigated. Peak angular resultant acceleration was 19 500 to 25 700 rad/s without a mask and 2250 to 3230 rad/s with a mask. The Head Injury Criterion was 93 to 181 without a mask and 3 to 13 with a mask, and the Severity Index was 110 to 210 without a mask and 3 to 15 with a mask. Catcher's masks reduced head acceleration metrics by approximately 85%. Head acceleration metrics with a catcher's mask were significantly lower than contemporary injury thresholds, yet reports in the mass media clearly indicate that baseball impacts to the mask still occasionally result in mild traumatic brain injuries. Further research is needed to address this apparent contradiction.

  7. High fat diet promotes achievement of peak bone mass in young rats.

    PubMed

    Malvi, Parmanand; Piprode, Vikrant; Chaube, Balkrishna; Pote, Satish T; Mittal, Monika; Chattopadhyay, Naibedya; Wani, Mohan R; Bhat, Manoj Kumar

    2014-12-05

    The relationship between obesity and bone is complex. Epidemiological studies demonstrate positive as well as negative correlation between obesity and bone health. In the present study, we investigated the impact of high fat diet-induced obesity on peak bone mass. After 9 months of feeding young rats with high fat diet, we observed obesity phenotype in rats with increased body weight, fat mass, serum triglycerides and cholesterol. There were significant increases in serum total alkaline phosphatase, bone mineral density and bone mineral content. By micro-computed tomography (μ-CT), we observed a trend of better trabecular bones with respect to their microarchitecture and geometry. This indicated that high fat diet helps in achieving peak bone mass and microstructure at younger age. We subsequently shifted rats from high fat diet to normal diet for 6 months and evaluated bone/obesity parameters. It was observed that after shifting rats from high fat diet to normal diet, fat mass, serum triglycerides and cholesterol were significantly decreased. Interestingly, the gain in bone mineral density, bone mineral content and trabecular bone parameters by HFD was retained even after body weight and obesity were normalized. These results suggest that fat rich diet during growth could accelerate achievement of peak bone mass that is sustainable even after withdrawal of high fat diet.

  8. Dynamic modeling of injection-induced fault reactivation and ground motion and impact on surface structures and human perception

    DOE PAGES

    Rutqvist, Jonny; Cappa, Frederic; Rinaldi, Antonio P.; ...

    2014-12-31

    We summarize recent modeling studies of injection-induced fault reactivation, seismicity, and its potential impact on surface structures and nuisance to the local human population. We used coupled multiphase fluid flow and geomechanical numerical modeling, dynamic wave propagation modeling, seismology theories, and empirical vibration criteria from mining and construction industries. We first simulated injection-induced fault reactivation, including dynamic fault slip, seismic source, wave propagation, and ground vibrations. From co-seismic average shear displacement and rupture area, we determined the moment magnitude to about M w = 3 for an injection-induced fault reactivation at a depth of about 1000 m. We then analyzedmore » the ground vibration results in terms of peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV), and frequency content, with comparison to the U.S. Bureau of Mines’ vibration criteria for cosmetic damage to buildings, as well as human-perception vibration limits. For the considered synthetic M w = 3 event, our analysis showed that the short duration, high frequency ground motion may not cause any significant damage to surface structures, and would not cause, in this particular case, upward CO 2 leakage, but would certainly be felt by the local population.« less

  9. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rutqvist, Jonny; Cappa, Frederic; Rinaldi, Antonio P.

    We summarize recent modeling studies of injection-induced fault reactivation, seismicity, and its potential impact on surface structures and nuisance to the local human population. We used coupled multiphase fluid flow and geomechanical numerical modeling, dynamic wave propagation modeling, seismology theories, and empirical vibration criteria from mining and construction industries. We first simulated injection-induced fault reactivation, including dynamic fault slip, seismic source, wave propagation, and ground vibrations. From co-seismic average shear displacement and rupture area, we determined the moment magnitude to about M w = 3 for an injection-induced fault reactivation at a depth of about 1000 m. We then analyzedmore » the ground vibration results in terms of peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV), and frequency content, with comparison to the U.S. Bureau of Mines’ vibration criteria for cosmetic damage to buildings, as well as human-perception vibration limits. For the considered synthetic M w = 3 event, our analysis showed that the short duration, high frequency ground motion may not cause any significant damage to surface structures, and would not cause, in this particular case, upward CO 2 leakage, but would certainly be felt by the local population.« less

  10. Estimation of Static Coulomb Stress Change and Strong Motion Simulation for Jiuzhaigou 7.0 Earthquake Base on SENTINEL-1 Insar Data Inversion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, W. H.; Luo, Y.; Jiao, Q. S.

    2018-04-01

    On August 8, 2017, an earthquake of M 7.0 occurred at Jiuzhaigou. Based on the Sentinel-1 satellite InSAR data, we obtained coseismic deformation field and inverted the source slip model. Results show that this event is dominated by strike slip, and the total released seismic moment is 8.06 × 1018 Nm, equivalent to an earthquake of Mw 6.57. We calculated static stress changes along strike and dip direction, and the static stress analysis show that the average stress drop are at low level, which may be responsible for the low level of ground motion during Jiuzhaigou earthquake. The coseismic Coulomb stress changes are calculated base on the inverted slip model, which revealed that 82.59 % of aftershocks are located in the Coulomb stress increasing area, 78.42 % of total aftershocks may be triggered by the mainshock aftershock, indicating that the mainshock has a significant triggering effect on the subsequent aftershocks. Based on stochastic finite fault model, we simulated regional peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV) and the intensity, and results could capture basic features associated with the ground motion patterns. Moreover, the simulated results reflect the obvious rupture directivity effect.

  11. Role of awareness in head-neck acceleration in low velocity rear-end impacts.

    PubMed

    Kumar, S; Narayan, Y; Amell, T

    2000-03-01

    Fourteen normal healthy seated and restrained young adults were delivered rear-end impacts of four intensities of acceleration. The chair was delivered a regulated and controlled pneumatic blow using a 30 cm cylinder to cause an acceleration of 0.5, 0.9, 1.1 and 1.4g. The accelerated chair was stopped suddenly by impacting the stopper at the other end of the 2 m long friction reduced track. In one set of trials, subjects were informed about the impending impact and in the other they were blindfolded and provided with loud auditory input to eliminate cues of the impact. The accelerations of the chair, shoulder and head of the participating subjects were measured triaxially and compared between levels of acceleration and expectation. The multiple analyses of variance revealed that the peak acceleration was significantly affected by the gender (P < 0.01), intensity of impact (P < 0.001), and expectation (P < 0.0001). The accelerations were significantly different in different axes (P < 0.001). A significant two-way interaction between acceleration and expectation (P < 0.03), and expectation and axes of acceleration (P < 0.02) would imply that awareness of the impending impact serves to significantly reduce the level of accelerations of head and neck.

  12. Sprint Acceleration Mechanics: The Major Role of Hamstrings in Horizontal Force Production

    PubMed Central

    Morin, Jean-Benoît; Gimenez, Philippe; Edouard, Pascal; Arnal, Pierrick; Jiménez-Reyes, Pedro; Samozino, Pierre; Brughelli, Matt; Mendiguchia, Jurdan

    2015-01-01

    Recent literature supports the importance of horizontal ground reaction force (GRF) production for sprint acceleration performance. Modeling and clinical studies have shown that the hip extensors are very likely contributors to sprint acceleration performance. We experimentally tested the role of the hip extensors in horizontal GRF production during short, maximal, treadmill sprint accelerations. Torque capabilities of the knee and hip extensors and flexors were assessed using an isokinetic dynamometer in 14 males familiar with sprint running. Then, during 6-s sprints on an instrumented motorized treadmill, horizontal and vertical GRF were synchronized with electromyographic (EMG) activity of the vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, and gluteus maximus averaged over the first half of support, entire support, entire swing and end-of-swing phases. No significant correlations were found between isokinetic or EMG variables and horizontal GRF. Multiple linear regression analysis showed a significant relationship (P = 0.024) between horizontal GRF and the combination of biceps femoris EMG activity during the end of the swing and the knee flexors eccentric peak torque. In conclusion, subjects who produced the greatest amount of horizontal force were both able to highly activate their hamstring muscles just before ground contact and present high eccentric hamstring peak torque capability. PMID:26733889

  13. Time-dependent Electron Acceleration in Blazar Transients: X-Ray Time Lags and Spectral Formation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lewis, Tiffany R.; Becker, Peter A.; Finke, Justin D.

    2016-06-01

    Electromagnetic radiation from blazar jets often displays strong variability, extending from radio to γ-ray frequencies. In a few cases, this variability has been characterized using Fourier time lags, such as those detected in the X-rays from Mrk 421 using BeppoSAX. The lack of a theoretical framework to interpret the data has motivated us to develop a new model for the formation of the X-ray spectrum and the time lags in blazar jets based on a transport equation including terms describing stochastic Fermi acceleration, synchrotron losses, shock acceleration, adiabatic expansion, and spatial diffusion. We derive the exact solution for the Fourier transform of the electron distribution and use it to compute the Fourier transform of the synchrotron radiation spectrum and the associated X-ray time lags. The same theoretical framework is also used to compute the peak flare X-ray spectrum, assuming that a steady-state electron distribution is achieved during the peak of the flare. The model parameters are constrained by comparing the theoretical predictions with the observational data for Mrk 421. The resulting integrated model yields, for the first time, a complete first-principles physical explanation for both the formation of the observed time lags and the shape of the peak flare X-ray spectrum. It also yields direct estimates of the strength of the shock and the stochastic magnetohydrodynamical wave acceleration components in the Mrk 421 jet.

  14. TIME-DEPENDENT ELECTRON ACCELERATION IN BLAZAR TRANSIENTS: X-RAY TIME LAGS AND SPECTRAL FORMATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lewis, Tiffany R.; Becker, Peter A.; Finke, Justin D., E-mail: pbecker@gmu.edu, E-mail: tlewis13@gmu.edu, E-mail: justin.finke@nrl.navy.mil

    2016-06-20

    Electromagnetic radiation from blazar jets often displays strong variability, extending from radio to γ -ray frequencies. In a few cases, this variability has been characterized using Fourier time lags, such as those detected in the X-rays from Mrk 421 using Beppo SAX. The lack of a theoretical framework to interpret the data has motivated us to develop a new model for the formation of the X-ray spectrum and the time lags in blazar jets based on a transport equation including terms describing stochastic Fermi acceleration, synchrotron losses, shock acceleration, adiabatic expansion, and spatial diffusion. We derive the exact solution formore » the Fourier transform of the electron distribution and use it to compute the Fourier transform of the synchrotron radiation spectrum and the associated X-ray time lags. The same theoretical framework is also used to compute the peak flare X-ray spectrum, assuming that a steady-state electron distribution is achieved during the peak of the flare. The model parameters are constrained by comparing the theoretical predictions with the observational data for Mrk 421. The resulting integrated model yields, for the first time, a complete first-principles physical explanation for both the formation of the observed time lags and the shape of the peak flare X-ray spectrum. It also yields direct estimates of the strength of the shock and the stochastic magnetohydrodynamical wave acceleration components in the Mrk 421 jet.« less

  15. Peak tree: a new tool for multiscale hierarchical representation and peak detection of mass spectrometry data.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Peng; Li, Houqiang; Wang, Honghui; Wong, Stephen T C; Zhou, Xiaobo

    2011-01-01

    Peak detection is one of the most important steps in mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. However, the detection result is greatly affected by severe spectrum variations. Unfortunately, most current peak detection methods are neither flexible enough to revise false detection results nor robust enough to resist spectrum variations. To improve flexibility, we introduce peak tree to represent the peak information in MS spectra. Each tree node is a peak judgment on a range of scales, and each tree decomposition, as a set of nodes, is a candidate peak detection result. To improve robustness, we combine peak detection and common peak alignment into a closed-loop framework, which finds the optimal decomposition via both peak intensity and common peak information. The common peak information is derived and loopily refined from the density clustering of the latest peak detection result. Finally, we present an improved ant colony optimization biomarker selection method to build a whole MS analysis system. Experiment shows that our peak detection method can better resist spectrum variations and provide higher sensitivity and lower false detection rates than conventional methods. The benefits from our peak-tree-based system for MS disease analysis are also proved on real SELDI data.

  16. Imprint of Rupture Directivity From Ground Motions of the 24 August 2016 Mw6.2 Central Italy Earthquake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ren, Yefei; Wang, Hongwei; Wen, Ruizhi

    2017-12-01

    An Mw6.2 earthquake occurred in Central Italy on 24 August 2016. The objective of this study was to reveal the imprint of rupture directivity using the strong motion recordings. The strong motion stations were separated into two groups: southeast (SE) and northwest (NW). The effects of rupture directivity on the peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV), and pseudo spectral acceleration (PSA) were investigated. The observed values of these parameters were compared with predicted values derived from ground motion prediction equations. The results showed that the residuals between the observed and predicted PGAs, PGVs, and PSAs at periods of T < 1 s were correlated significantly with azimuth angle and generally larger in the NW sector, reflecting that the observed PGAs, PGVs, and short-period PSAs in the NW sector were generally larger than observed in the SE sector. These phenomena are accordant with the theoretical law that the rupture directivity causes higher amplitudes in the forward direction compared with the backward direction. Finally, selected source rupture parameters were inverted using PGAs and PGVs. This revealed that the rupture was predominantly unilateral rupture, the major rupture was likely at an azimuth of 360°, and the length of the major rupture was proportional to 70%-100% of the total ruptured fault, confirming that rupture directivity caused the differences in the ground motions observed in the SE and NW sectors.

  17. Potential clinical impact of laser-accelerated beams in cancer ion therapy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Obcemea, Ceferino

    2016-09-01

    In this article, I present three advantages of plasma-accelerated ion beams for cancer therapy. I discuss how: 1. low-emittance and well-collimated beams are advantageous in proximal normal tissue-sparing; 2. highly-peaked quasi-monoenergetic beams are ideal for fast energy selection and switching in Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS) as a treatment delivery; 3. high fluence and ultra-short pulse delivery produce collective excitations in the medium and enhance the stopping power. This in turn produces denser ionization track signatures (spurs, blobs, etc.) in target tumors, higher linear energy transfer, higher Bragg peak, and higher radiobiological effectiveness at the micro-level.

  18. Acceleration of domain wall movement by photoirradiation in perovskite-type cobaltite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Okimoto, Y.; Kurashima, M.; Seko, K.; Ishikawa, T.; Onda, K.; Koshihara, S.; Kyomen, T.; Itoh, M.

    2011-04-01

    Femtosecond reflection spectroscopy was performed on a perovskite-type cobalt oxide, namely, Pr0.5Ca0.5CoO3, that undergoes a photoinduced spin-state transition. After photoirradiation at 30 K, the time profile of the reflectance change shows a broad peak reflecting the propagation of the photodomain (about 60 Co sites per one photon). Analysis of the peak position indicates the sudden increase of the velocity of the propagation with increasing the excitation intensity. Such acceleration with increase in fluence originates from an abrupt sound velocity change driven by a cooperative photoinduced structural transition.

  19. Correlated peak relative light intensity and peak current in triggered lightning subsequent return strokes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Idone, V. P.; Orville, R. E.

    1985-01-01

    The correlation between peak relative light intensity L(R) and stroke peak current I(R) is examined for 39 subsequent return strokes in two triggered lightning flashes. One flash contained 19 strokes and the other 20 strokes for which direct measurements were available of the return stroke peak current at ground. Peak currents ranged from 1.6 to 21 kA. The measurements of peak relative light intensity were obtained from photographic streak recordings using calibrated film and microsecond resolution. Correlations, significant at better than the 0.1 percent level, were found for several functional relationships. Although a relation between L(R) and I(R) is evident in these data, none of the analytical relations considered is clearly favored. The correlation between L(R) and the maximum rate of current rise is also examined, but less correlation than between L(R) and I(R) is found. In addition, the peak relative intensity near ground is evaluated for 22 dart leaders, and a mean ratio of peak dart leader to peak return stroke relative light intensity was found to be 0.1 with a range of 0.02-0.23. Using two different methods, the peak current near ground in these dart leaders is estimated to range from 0.1 to 6 kA.

  20. Low Emittance, High Brilliance Relativistic Electron Beams from a Laser-Plasma Accelerator

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brunetti, E.; Shanks, R. P.; Manahan, G. G.

    2010-11-19

    Progress in laser wakefield accelerators indicates their suitability as a driver of compact free-electron lasers (FELs). High brightness is defined by the normalized transverse emittance, which should be less than 1{pi} mm mrad for an x-ray FEL. We report high-resolution measurements of the emittance of 125 MeV, monoenergetic beams from a wakefield accelerator. An emittance as low as 1.1{+-}0.1{pi} mm mrad is measured using a pepper-pot mask. This sets an upper limit on the emittance, which is comparable with conventional linear accelerators. A peak transverse brightness of 5x10{sup 15} A m{sup -1} rad{sup -1} makes it suitable for compact XUVmore » FELs.« less

  1. Pikes Peak, Colorado

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brunstein, Craig; Quesenberry, Carol; Davis, John; Jackson, Gene; Scott, Glenn R.; D'Erchia, Terry D.; Swibas, Ed; Carter, Lorna; McKinney, Kevin; Cole, Jim

    2006-01-01

    For 200 years, Pikes Peak has been a symbol of America's Western Frontier--a beacon that drew prospectors during the great 1859-60 Gold Rush to the 'Pikes Peak country,' the scenic destination for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, and an enduring source of pride for cities in the region, the State of Colorado, and the Nation. November 2006 marks the 200th anniversary of the Zebulon M. Pike expedition's first sighting of what has become one of the world's most famous mountains--Pikes Peak. In the decades following that sighting, Pikes Peak became symbolic of America's Western Frontier, embodying the spirit of Native Americans, early explorers, trappers, and traders who traversed the vast uncharted wilderness of the Western Great Plains and the Southern Rocky Mountains. High-quality printed paper copies of this poster are available at no cost from Information Services, U.S. Geological Survey (1-888-ASK-USGS).

  2. Accelerated time-resolved three-dimensional MR velocity mapping of blood flow patterns in the aorta using SENSE and k-t BLAST.

    PubMed

    Stadlbauer, Andreas; van der Riet, Wilma; Crelier, Gerard; Salomonowitz, Erich

    2010-07-01

    To assess the feasibility and potential limitations of the acceleration techniques SENSE and k-t BLAST for time-resolved three-dimensional (3D) velocity mapping of aortic blood flow. Furthermore, to quantify differences in peak velocity versus heart phase curves. Time-resolved 3D blood flow patterns were investigated in eleven volunteers and two patients suffering from aortic diseases with accelerated PC-MR sequences either in combination with SENSE (R=2) or k-t BLAST (6-fold). Both sequences showed similar data acquisition times and hence acceleration efficiency. Flow-field streamlines were calculated and visualized using the GTFlow software tool in order to reconstruct 3D aortic blood flow patterns. Differences between the peak velocities from single-slice PC-MRI experiments using SENSE 2 and k-t BLAST 6 were calculated for the whole cardiac cycle and averaged for all volunteers. Reconstruction of 3D flow patterns in volunteers revealed attenuations in blood flow dynamics for k-t BLAST 6 compared to SENSE 2 in terms of 3D streamlines showing fewer and less distinct vortices and reduction in peak velocity, which is caused by temporal blurring. Solely by time-resolved 3D MR velocity mapping in combination with SENSE detected pathologic blood flow patterns in patients with aortic diseases. For volunteers, we found a broadening and flattering of the peak velocity versus heart phase diagram between the two acceleration techniques, which is an evidence for the temporal blurring of the k-t BLAST approach. We demonstrated the feasibility of SENSE and detected potential limitations of k-t BLAST when used for time-resolved 3D velocity mapping. The effects of higher k-t BLAST acceleration factors have to be considered for application in 3D velocity mapping. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Laser acceleration of protons using multi-ion plasma gaseous targets

    DOE PAGES

    Liu, Tung -Chang; Shao, Xi; Liu, Chuan -Sheng; ...

    2015-02-01

    We present a theoretical and numerical study of a novel acceleration scheme by applying a combination of laser radiation pressure and shielded Coulomb repulsion in laser acceleration of protons in multi-species gaseous targets. By using a circularly polarized CO₂ laser pulse with a wavelength of 10 μm—much greater than that of a Ti: Sapphire laser—the critical density is significantly reduced, and a high-pressure gaseous target can be used to achieve an overdense plasma. This gives us a larger degree of freedom in selecting the target compounds or mixtures, as well as their density and thickness profiles. By impinging such amore » laser beam on a carbon–hydrogen target, the gaseous target is first compressed and accelerated by radiation pressure until the electron layer disrupts, after which the protons are further accelerated by the electron-shielded carbon ion layer. An 80 MeV quasi-monoenergetic proton beam can be generated using a half-sine shaped laser beam with a peak power of 70 TW and a pulse duration of 150 wave periods.« less

  4. Body acceleration distribution and O2 uptake in humans during running and jumping

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bhattacharya, A.; Mccutcheon, E. P.; Shvartz, E.; Greenleaf, J. E.

    1980-01-01

    The distribution of body acceleration and associated oxygen uptake and heart rate responses are investigated in treadmill running and trampoline jumping. Accelerations in the +Gz direction were measured at the lateral ankle, lumbosacral region and forehead of eight young men during level treadmill walking and running at four speeds and trampoline jumping at four heights, together with corresponding oxygen uptake and heart rate. With increasing treadmill speed, peak acceleration at the ankle is found always to exceed that at the back and forehead, and acceleration profiles with higher frequency components than those observed during jumping are observed. Acceleration levels are found to be more uniformly distributed with increasing height in jumping, although comparable oxygen uptake and heat rates are obtained. Results indicate that the magnitude of the biomechanical stimuli is greater in trampoline jumping than in running, which finding could be of use in the design of procedures to avert deconditioning in persons exposed to weightlessness.

  5. Acceleration modules in linear induction accelerators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Shao-Heng; Deng, Jian-Jun

    2014-05-01

    The Linear Induction Accelerator (LIA) is a unique type of accelerator that is capable of accelerating kilo-Ampere charged particle current to tens of MeV energy. The present development of LIA in MHz bursting mode and the successful application into a synchrotron have broadened LIA's usage scope. Although the transformer model is widely used to explain the acceleration mechanism of LIAs, it is not appropriate to consider the induction electric field as the field which accelerates charged particles for many modern LIAs. We have examined the transition of the magnetic cores' functions during the LIA acceleration modules' evolution, distinguished transformer type and transmission line type LIA acceleration modules, and re-considered several related issues based on transmission line type LIA acceleration module. This clarified understanding should help in the further development and design of LIA acceleration modules.

  6. Peak Experience Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scott, Daniel G.; Evans, Jessica

    2010-01-01

    This paper emerges from the continued analysis of data collected in a series of international studies concerning Childhood Peak Experiences (CPEs) based on developments in understanding peak experiences in Maslow's hierarchy of needs initiated by Dr Edward Hoffman. Bridging from the series of studies, Canadian researchers explore collected…

  7. Performances of the Alpha-X RF gun on the PHIL accelerator at LAL

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vinatier, T.; Bruni, C.; Roux, R.; Brossard, J.; Chancé, S.; Cayla, J. N.; Chaumat, V.; Xu, G.; Monard, H.

    2015-10-01

    The Alpha-X RF-gun was designed to produce an ultra-short (<100 fs rms), 100 pC and 6.3 MeV electron beam with a normalized rms transverse emittance of 1π mm mrad for a gun peak accelerating field of 100 MV/m. Such beams will be required by the Alpha-X project, which aims to study a laser-driven plasma accelerator with a short wavelength accelerating medium. It has been demonstrated on PHIL (Photo-Injector at LAL) that the coaxial RF coupling, chosen to preserve the gun field cylindrical symmetry, is perfectly understood and allows reaching the required peak accelerating field of 100 MV/m giving beam energy of 6.3 MeV. Moreover, a quite low beam rms relative energy spread of 0.15% at 3.8 MeV has been measured, completely agreeing with simulations. Dark current, quantum efficiencies and dephasing curves measurements have also been performed. They all show high values of the field enhancement factor β, which can be explained by the preparation of the photocathodes. Finally, measurements on the transverse phase-space have been carried out, with some limitations given by the difficult modelization of one of the PHIL solenoid magnets and by the enlargement of the beam transverse dimensions due to the use of YAG screens. These measurements give a normalized rms transverse emittance around 5π mm mrad, which does not fulfill the requirement for the Alpha-X project.

  8. Direct acceleration in intense laser fields used for bunch amplification of relativistic electrons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Braenzel, J.; Andreev, A. A.; Ehrentraut, L.; Schnürer, M.

    2017-05-01

    A method, how electrons can be directly accelerated in intense laser fields, is investigated experimentally and discussed with numerical and analytical simulation. When ultrathin foil targets are exposed with peak laser intensities of 1x1020 W/cm2 , slow electrons ( keV kinetic energy), that are emitted from the ultrathin foil target along laser propagation direction, are post-accelerated in the transmitted laser field. They received significant higher kinetic energies (MeV), when this interaction was limited in duration and an enhanced number of fast electrons were detected. The decoupling of the light field from the electron interaction we realized with a second separator foil, blocking the transmitted laser light at a particular distance and allowing the fast electrons to pass. Variation of the propagation distance in the laser field results in different energy gains for the electrons. This finding is explained with electron acceleration in the electromagnetic field of a light pulse and confirms a concept being discussed for some time. In the experiments the effect manifests in an electron number amplification of about 3 times around a peak at 1 MeV electron energy. Measurements confirmed that the overall number in the whole bunch is enhanced to about 109 electrons covering kinetic energies between 0.5 to 5 MeV. The method holds promise for ultrashort electron bunch generation at MeV energies for direct application, e.g. ultra-fast electron diffraction, or for injection into post accelerator stages for different purposes.

  9. High fat diet promotes achievement of peak bone mass in young rats

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Malvi, Parmanand; Piprode, Vikrant; Chaube, Balkrishna

    Highlights: • High fat diet helps in achieving peak bone mass at younger age. • Shifting from high fat to normal diet normalizes obese parameters. • Bone parameters are sustained even after withdrawal of high fat diet. - Abstract: The relationship between obesity and bone is complex. Epidemiological studies demonstrate positive as well as negative correlation between obesity and bone health. In the present study, we investigated the impact of high fat diet-induced obesity on peak bone mass. After 9 months of feeding young rats with high fat diet, we observed obesity phenotype in rats with increased body weight, fatmore » mass, serum triglycerides and cholesterol. There were significant increases in serum total alkaline phosphatase, bone mineral density and bone mineral content. By micro-computed tomography (μ-CT), we observed a trend of better trabecular bones with respect to their microarchitecture and geometry. This indicated that high fat diet helps in achieving peak bone mass and microstructure at younger age. We subsequently shifted rats from high fat diet to normal diet for 6 months and evaluated bone/obesity parameters. It was observed that after shifting rats from high fat diet to normal diet, fat mass, serum triglycerides and cholesterol were significantly decreased. Interestingly, the gain in bone mineral density, bone mineral content and trabecular bone parameters by HFD was retained even after body weight and obesity were normalized. These results suggest that fat rich diet during growth could accelerate achievement of peak bone mass that is sustainable even after withdrawal of high fat diet.« less

  10. Experimental characterization of a coaxial plasma accelerator for a colliding plasma experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiechula, J.; Hock, C.; Iberler, M.; Manegold, T.; Schönlein, A.; Jacoby, J.

    2015-04-01

    We report experimental results of a single coaxial plasma accelerator in preparation for a colliding plasma experiment. The utilized device consisted of a coaxial pair of electrodes, accelerating the plasma due to J ×B forces. A pulse forming network, composed of three capacitors connected in parallel, with a total capacitance of 27 μF was set up. A thyratron allowed to switch the maximum applied voltage of 9 kV. Under these conditions, the pulsed currents reached peak values of about 103 kA. The measurements were performed in a small vacuum chamber with a neutral-gas prefill at gas pressures between 10 Pa and 14 000 Pa. A gas mixture of ArH2 with 2.8% H2 served as the discharge medium. H2 was chosen in order to observe the broadening of the Hβ emission line and thus estimate the electron density. The electron density for a single plasma accelerator reached peak values on the order of 1016 cm-3 . Electrical parameters, inter alia inductance and resistance, were determined for the LCR circuit during the plasma acceleration as well as in a short circuit case. Depending on the applied voltage, the inductance and resistance reached values ranging from 194 nH to 216 nH and 13 mΩ to 23 mΩ, respectively. Furthermore, the plasma velocity was measured using a fast CCD camera. Plasma velocities of 2 km/s up to 17 km/s were observed, the magnitude being highly correlated with gas pressure and applied voltage.

  11. Muon Acceleration Concepts for NuMAX: "Dual-use" Linac and "Dogbone" RLA

    DOE PAGES

    Bogacz, S. A.

    2018-02-01

    In this paper, we summarize the current state of a concept for muon acceleration aimed at a future Neutrino Factory. The main thrust of these studies was to reduce the overall cost while maintaining performance by exploring the interplay between the complexity of the cooling systems and the acceptance of the accelerator complex. To ensure adequate survival for the short-lived muons, acceleration must occur at high average gradient. The need for large transverse and longitudinal acceptances drives the design of the acceleration system to an initially low RF frequency, e.g., 325 MHz, which is then increased to 650 MHz asmore » the transverse size shrinks with increasing energy. High-gradient normal conducting RF cavities at these frequencies require extremely high peak-power RF sources. Hence superconducting RF (SRF) cavities are chosen. Finally, we consider two cost effective schemes for accelerating muon beams for a stageable Neutrino Factory: exploration of the so-called "dual-use" linac concept, where the same linac structure is used for acceleration of both H - and muons and, alternatively, an SRF-efficient design based on a multi-pass (4.5) "dogbone" RLA, extendable to multi-pass FFAG-like arcs.« less

  12. Generation and Characterization of Electron Bunches with Ramped Current Profiles in a Dual-Frequency Superconducting Linear Accelerator

    DOE PAGES

    Piot, P.; Behrens, C.; Gerth, C.; ...

    2011-09-07

    We report on the successful experimental generation of electron bunches with ramped current profiles. The technique relies on impressing nonlinear correlations in the longitudinal phase space using a superconducing radiofrequency linear accelerator operating at two frequencies and a current-enhancing dispersive section. The produced {approx} 700-MeV bunches have peak currents of the order of a kilo-Ampere. Data taken for various accelerator settings demonstrate the versatility of the method and in particular its ability to produce current profiles that have a quasi-linear dependency on the longitudinal (temporal) coordinate. The measured bunch parameters are shown, via numerical simulations, to produce gigavolt-per-meter peak acceleratingmore » electric fields with transformer ratios larger than 2 in dielectric-lined waveguides.« less

  13. [AUTONOMIC CONTROL OF HEART RATE, BLOOD LACTATE AND ACCELERATION DURING COMBAT SIMULATION IN TAEKWONDO ELITE ATHLETES].

    PubMed

    Cerda-Kohler, Hugo; Aguayo Fuentealba, Juan Carlos; Francino Barrera, Giovanni; Guajardo-Sandoval, Adrián; Jorquera Aguilera, Carlos; Báez-San Martín, Eduardo

    2015-09-01

    the aim of the study was to measure the heart rate recovery, blood lactate and movement acceleration during simulated taekwondo competition. twelve male subjects who belong to the national team, with at least five years of experience participated in this research. They performed a simulated combat to evaluate the following variables: (i) Blood lactate after one minute recovery between each round, (ii) Heart rate recovery (HRR) at thirty and sixty seconds in each minute rest between rounds, (iii) Peak acceleration (ACCp) in each round performed. The significance level was set at p < 005. the results showed no significant differences between winners and losers in the HRR at both, thirty and sixty seconds (p > 0.05), blood lactate (p > 0.05), peak acceleration (p > 0.05) and the average acceleration of combat (p = 0.18). There was no correlation between delta lactate and ACCp (r = 0.01; p = 0.93), delta lactate and HRR (r = -0.23; p = 0.18), and ACCp and HRR (r = 0.003; p = 0.98). these data suggest that studied variables would not be decisive in the simulated combat outcomes. Other factors such as technical-tactical or psychological variables could have a significant impact on athletic performance. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  14. Fabrication and Characterization of Woodpile Structures for Direct Laser Acceleration

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McGuinness, C.; Colby, E.; England, R.J.

    2010-08-26

    An eight and nine layer three dimensional photonic crystal with a defect designed specifically for accelerator applications has been fabricated. The structures were fabricated using a combination of nanofabrication techniques, including low pressure chemical vapor deposition, optical lithography, and chemical mechanical polishing. Limits imposed by the optical lithography set the minimum feature size to 400 nm, corresponding to a structure with a bandgap centered at 4.26 {micro}m. Reflection spectroscopy reveal a peak in reflectivity about the predicted region, and good agreement with simulation is shown. The eight and nine layer structures will be aligned and bonded together to form themore » complete seventeen layer woodpile accelerator structure.« less

  15. Estimated cause of extreme acceleration records at the KiK-net IWTH25 station during the 2008 Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Japan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ohmachi, Tatsuo; Inoue, Shusaku; Mizuno, Ken-Ichi; Yamada, Masato

    During the 2008 Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake in Japan (MJ =7.2), extremely high accelerations were recorded at the KiK-net IWTH25 (Ichinoseki-nishi) station. The peak acceleration in the vertical component of the surface record was about 4 g where g is acceleration due to gravity, and the upward acceleration in the surface record was much larger than the downward acceleration. Some researchers have suggested that the ground surface was tossed into the air like a body on a trampoline. However, additional features found in the surface record suggest rocking motion accompanied with downward impact of the station with the ground. For example, there are many vertical peaks that can be found to occur at the same time as the horizontal peaks. After obtaining information about the station, in-situ investigations, shake-table experiments, and numerical simulations were conducted to determine the fundamental characteristics of the rocking motion and to reproduce the acceleration time histories of the surface record by using the bore-hole record at a depth of 260 m as the input motion. Prior to the numerical simulation, the wave velocities of subsurface layers were evaluated from Fourier spectra of both records, which showed that the velocities were reduced considerably during the main shock. A 2-D FEM code capable of handling separation and impact between the elements was used for the numerical simulation. Simulation results are shown in Figs. 17 and 18 indicating the impact between the IWTH25 station and the ground at around 4 sec when the acceleration in the vertical direction was about 4 g. Three kinds of acceleration time histories are shown with fairly good agreement between the simulated and observed time histories, suggesting the influence of the station is included in the record. It is also indicated that the vertical acceleration at the free surface without the influence of the IWTH25 station is about 1.6 g.

  16. Seismic performance evaluation of RC frame-shear wall structures using nonlinear analysis methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Jialiang; Wang, Qiuwei

    To further understand the seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) frame-shear wall structures, a 1/8 model structure is scaled from a main factory structure with seven stories and seven bays. The model with four-stories and two-bays was pseudo-dynamically tested under six earthquake actions whose peak ground accelerations (PGA) vary from 50gal to 400gal. The damage process and failure patterns were investigated. Furthermore, nonlinear dynamic analysis (NDA) and capacity spectrum method (CSM) were adopted to evaluate the seismic behavior of the model structure. The top displacement curve, story drift curve and distribution of hinges were obtained and discussed. It is shown that the model structure had the characteristics of beam-hinge failure mechanism. The two methods can be used to evaluate the seismic behavior of RC frame-shear wall structures well. What’s more, the NDA can be somewhat replaced by CSM for the seismic performance evaluation of RC structures.

  17. Atypical soil hardening during the Tohoku earthquake of March 11, 2011 ( M w = 9.0)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pavlenko, O. V.

    2017-10-01

    Based on the records of KiK-net vertical arrays, models of soil behavior down to depths of 100-200 m in the near-fault zones during the Tohoku earthquake are examined. In contrast to the regular pattern observed during strong earthquakes, soft soils have not broadly demonstrated nonlinear behavior, or a reduction (with the onset of strong motions) and recovery (after strong motions finished) of the shear modulus in soil layers. At the stations where anomalously high peak ground accelerations were recorded (PGA > 1g), the values of the shear modulus in soil layers increased with the onset of strong motions and reached a maximum when motions were the most intensive, which indicated hardening of soils. Soil behavior was close to linear, here. The values of the shear moduli decrease along with a decrease in intensity of strong ground motions, and at soft soil stations, this was accompanied by a stepwise decrease in the frequency of motion.

  18. Magnesium diboride coated bulk niobium: a new approach to higher acceleration gradient

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Teng; Wolak, M. A.; Xi, X. X.; Tajima, T.; Civale, L.

    2016-10-01

    Bulk niobium Superconducting Radio-Frequency cavities are a leading accelerator technology. Their performance is limited by the cavity loss and maximum acceleration gradient, which are negatively affected by vortex penetration into the superconductor when the peak magnetic field at the cavity wall surface exceeds the vortex penetration field (Hvp). It has been proposed that coating the inner wall of an SRF cavity with superconducting thin films increases Hvp. In this work, we utilized Nb ellipsoid to simulate an inverse SRF cavity and investigate the effect of coating it with magnesium diboride layer on the vortex penetration field. A significant enhancement of Hvp was observed. At 2.8 K, Hvp increased from 2100 Oe for an uncoated Nb ellipsoid to 2700 Oe for a Nb ellipsoid coated with ~200 nm thick MgB2 thin film. This finding creates a new route towards achieving higher acceleration gradient in SRF cavity accelerator beyond the theoretical limit of bulk Nb.

  19. Magnesium diboride coated bulk niobium: a new approach to higher acceleration gradient.

    PubMed

    Tan, Teng; Wolak, M A; Xi, X X; Tajima, T; Civale, L

    2016-10-24

    Bulk niobium Superconducting Radio-Frequency cavities are a leading accelerator technology. Their performance is limited by the cavity loss and maximum acceleration gradient, which are negatively affected by vortex penetration into the superconductor when the peak magnetic field at the cavity wall surface exceeds the vortex penetration field (H vp ). It has been proposed that coating the inner wall of an SRF cavity with superconducting thin films increases H vp . In this work, we utilized Nb ellipsoid to simulate an inverse SRF cavity and investigate the effect of coating it with magnesium diboride layer on the vortex penetration field. A significant enhancement of H vp was observed. At 2.8 K, H vp increased from 2100 Oe for an uncoated Nb ellipsoid to 2700 Oe for a Nb ellipsoid coated with ~200 nm thick MgB 2 thin film. This finding creates a new route towards achieving higher acceleration gradient in SRF cavity accelerator beyond the theoretical limit of bulk Nb.

  20. Magnesium diboride coated bulk niobium: a new approach to higher acceleration gradient

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Civale, Leonardo; Tan, Teng; Wolak, M.; Xi, Xiaoxing; Tajima, Tsuyoshi

    Bulk niobium Superconducting Radio-Frequency cavities are a leading accelerator technology. Their performance is limited by the cavity loss and maximum acceleration gradient, which are negatively affected by vortex penetration into the superconductor when the peak magnetic field at the cavity wall surface exceeds the vortex penetration field (Hvp). It has been proposed that coating the inner wall of an SRF cavity with superconducting thin films increases Hvp. In this work, we utilized Nb ellipsoids to simulate an inverse SRF cavity and investigate the effect of coating it with magnesium diboride layer on the vortex penetration field. A significant enhancement of Hvp was observed. At 2.8 K, Hvp increased from 2100 Oe for an uncoated Nb ellipsoid to 2700 Oe for a Nb ellipsoid coated with 200 nm thick MgB2 thin film. This finding creates a new route towards achieving higher acceleration gradient in SRF cavity accelerator beyond the theoretical limit of bulk Nb.

  1. Magnesium diboride coated bulk niobium: a new approach to higher acceleration gradient

    PubMed Central

    Tan, Teng; Wolak, M. A.; Xi, X. X.; Tajima, T.; Civale, L.

    2016-01-01

    Bulk niobium Superconducting Radio-Frequency cavities are a leading accelerator technology. Their performance is limited by the cavity loss and maximum acceleration gradient, which are negatively affected by vortex penetration into the superconductor when the peak magnetic field at the cavity wall surface exceeds the vortex penetration field (Hvp). It has been proposed that coating the inner wall of an SRF cavity with superconducting thin films increases Hvp. In this work, we utilized Nb ellipsoid to simulate an inverse SRF cavity and investigate the effect of coating it with magnesium diboride layer on the vortex penetration field. A significant enhancement of Hvp was observed. At 2.8 K, Hvp increased from 2100 Oe for an uncoated Nb ellipsoid to 2700 Oe for a Nb ellipsoid coated with ~200 nm thick MgB2 thin film. This finding creates a new route towards achieving higher acceleration gradient in SRF cavity accelerator beyond the theoretical limit of bulk Nb. PMID:27775087

  2. BESTIA - the next generation ultra-fast CO 2 laser for advanced accelerator research

    DOE PAGES

    Pogorelsky, Igor V.; Babzien, Markus; Ben-Zvi, Ilan; ...

    2015-12-02

    Over the last two decades, BNL’s ATF has pioneered the use of high-peak power CO 2 lasers for research in advanced accelerators and radiation sources. In addition, our recent developments in ion acceleration, Compton scattering, and IFELs have further underscored the benefits from expanding the landscape of strong-field laser interactions deeper into the mid-infrared (MIR) range of wavelengths. This extension validates our ongoing efforts in advancing CO 2 laser technology, which we report here. Our next-generation, multi-terawatt, femtosecond CO 2 laser will open new opportunities for studying ultra-relativistic laser interactions with plasma in the MIR spectral domain, including new regimesmore » in the particle acceleration of ions and electrons.« less

  3. Peak high-frequency HRV and peak alpha frequency higher in PTSD.

    PubMed

    Wahbeh, Helané; Oken, Barry S

    2013-03-01

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is difficult to treat and current PTSD treatments are not effective for all people. Despite limited evidence for its efficacy, some clinicians have implemented biofeedback for PTSD treatment. As a first step in constructing an effective biofeedback treatment program, we assessed respiration, electroencephalography (EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV) as potential biofeedback parameters for a future clinical trial. This cross-sectional study included 86 veterans; 59 with and 27 without PTSD. Data were collected on EEG measures, HRV, and respiration rate during an attentive resting state. Measures were analyzed to assess sensitivity to PTSD status and the relationship to PTSD symptoms. Peak alpha frequency was higher in the PTSD group (F(1,84) = 6.14, p = 0.01). Peak high-frequency HRV was lower in the PTSD group (F(2,78) = 26.5, p < 0.00005) when adjusting for respiration rate. All other EEG and HRV measures and respiration were not different between groups. Peak high-frequency HRV and peak alpha frequency are sensitive to PTSD status and may be potential biofeedback parameters for future PTSD clinical trials.

  4. Tilt perception during dynamic linear acceleration.

    PubMed

    Seidman, S H; Telford, L; Paige, G D

    1998-04-01

    Head tilt is a rotation of the head relative to gravity, as exemplified by head roll or pitch from the natural upright orientation. Tilt stimulates both the otolith organs, owing to shifts in gravitational orientation, and the semicircular canals in response to head rotation, which in turn drive a variety of behavioral and perceptual responses. Studies of tilt perception typically have not adequately isolated otolith and canal inputs or their dynamic contributions. True tilt cannot readily dissociate otolith from canal influences. Alternatively, centrifugation generates centripetal accelerations that simulate tilt, but still entails a rotatory (canal) stimulus during important periods of the stimulus profiles. We reevaluated the perception of head tilt in humans, but limited the stimulus to linear forces alone, thus isolating the influence of otolith inputs. This was accomplished by employing a centrifugation technique with a variable-radius spinning sled. This allowed us to accelerate the sled to a constant angular velocity (128 degrees/s), with the subject centered, and then apply dynamic centripetal accelerations after all rotatory perceptions were extinguished. These stimuli were presented in the subjects' naso-occipital axis by translating the subjects 50 cm eccentrically either forward or backward. Centripetal accelerations were thus induced (0.25 g), which combined with gravity to yield a dynamically shifting gravitoinertial force simulating pitch-tilt, but without actually rotating the head. A magnitude-estimation task was employed to characterize the dynamic perception of pitch-tilt. Tilt perception responded sluggishly to linear acceleration, typically reaching a peak after 10-30 s. Tilt perception also displayed an adaptation phenomenon. Adaptation was manifested as a per-stimulus decline in perceived tilt during prolonged stimulation and a reversal aftereffect upon return to zero acceleration (i.e., recentering the subject). We conclude that otolith

  5. Generation of quasi-monoenergetic heavy ion beams via staged shock wave acceleration driven by intense laser pulses in near-critical plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, W. L.; Qiao, B.; Shen, X. F.; You, W. Y.; Huang, T. W.; Yan, X. Q.; Wu, S. Z.; Zhou, C. T.; He, X. T.

    2016-09-01

    Laser-driven ion acceleration potentially offers a compact, cost-effective alternative to conventional accelerators for scientific, technological, and health-care applications. A novel scheme for heavy ion acceleration in near-critical plasmas via staged shock waves driven by intense laser pulses is proposed, where, in front of the heavy ion target, a light ion layer is used for launching a high-speed electrostatic shock wave. This shock is enhanced at the interface before it is transmitted into the heavy ion plasmas. Monoenergetic heavy ion beam with much higher energy can be generated by the transmitted shock, comparing to the shock wave acceleration in pure heavy ion target. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that quasi-monoenergetic {{{C}}}6+ ion beams with peak energy 168 MeV and considerable particle number 2.1 × {10}11 are obtained by laser pulses at intensity of 1.66 × {10}20 {{W}} {{cm}}-2 in such staged shock wave acceleration scheme. Similarly a high-quality {{Al}}10+ ion beam with a well-defined peak with energy 250 MeV and spread δ E/{E}0=30 % can also be obtained in this scheme.

  6. Measuring Your Peak Flow Rate

    MedlinePlus

    ... Living with Asthma > Managing Asthma Measuring Your Peak Flow Rate Download Instructions A peak flow meter is ... to use. Who Benefits from Using a Peak Flow Meter? Many healthcare providers believe that people who ...

  7. Scaling magnetized liner inertial fusion on Z and future pulsed-power accelerators

    DOE PAGES

    Slutz, Stephen A.; Stygar, William A.; Gomez, Matthew R.; ...

    2016-02-04

    In this study, the MagLIF (Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion) concept [S. A. Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010)] has demonstrated fusion–relevant plasma conditions [M. R. Gomez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 155003 (2014)] on the Z accelerator with a peak drive current of about 18 MA. We present 2D numerical simulations of the scaling of MagLIF on Z as a function of drive current, preheat energy, and applied magnetic field. The results indicate that deuterium-tritium (DT) fusion yields greater than 100 kJ could be possible on Z when all of these parameters are at the optimum values:more » i.e., peak current = 25 MA, deposited preheat energy = 5 kJ, and B z = 30 T. Much higher yields have been predicted [S. A. Slutz and R. A. Vesey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 025003 (2012)] for MagLIF driven with larger peak currents. Two high performance pulsed-power accelerators (Z300 and Z800) based on linear-transformer-driver technology have been designed [W. A. Stygar et al., Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 18, 110401 (2015)]. The Z300 design would provide 48 MA to a MagLIF load, while Z800 would provide 65 MA. Parameterized Thevenin-equivalent circuits were used to drive a series of 1D and 2D numerical MagLIF simulations with currents ranging from what Z can deliver now to what could be achieved by these conceptual future pulsed-power accelerators. 2D simulations of simple MagLIF targets containing just gaseous DT have yields of 18 MJ for Z300 and 440 MJ for Z800. The 2D simulated yield for Z800 is increased to 7 GJ by adding a layer of frozen DT ice to the inside of the liner.« less

  8. Scaling magnetized liner inertial fusion on Z and future pulsed-power accelerators

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Slutz, Stephen A.; Stygar, William A.; Gomez, Matthew R.

    In this study, the MagLIF (Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion) concept [S. A. Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010)] has demonstrated fusion–relevant plasma conditions [M. R. Gomez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 155003 (2014)] on the Z accelerator with a peak drive current of about 18 MA. We present 2D numerical simulations of the scaling of MagLIF on Z as a function of drive current, preheat energy, and applied magnetic field. The results indicate that deuterium-tritium (DT) fusion yields greater than 100 kJ could be possible on Z when all of these parameters are at the optimum values:more » i.e., peak current = 25 MA, deposited preheat energy = 5 kJ, and B z = 30 T. Much higher yields have been predicted [S. A. Slutz and R. A. Vesey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 025003 (2012)] for MagLIF driven with larger peak currents. Two high performance pulsed-power accelerators (Z300 and Z800) based on linear-transformer-driver technology have been designed [W. A. Stygar et al., Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 18, 110401 (2015)]. The Z300 design would provide 48 MA to a MagLIF load, while Z800 would provide 65 MA. Parameterized Thevenin-equivalent circuits were used to drive a series of 1D and 2D numerical MagLIF simulations with currents ranging from what Z can deliver now to what could be achieved by these conceptual future pulsed-power accelerators. 2D simulations of simple MagLIF targets containing just gaseous DT have yields of 18 MJ for Z300 and 440 MJ for Z800. The 2D simulated yield for Z800 is increased to 7 GJ by adding a layer of frozen DT ice to the inside of the liner.« less

  9. The Peak Flow Working Group: test of portable peak flow meters by explosive decompression.

    PubMed

    Pedersen, O F; Miller, M R

    1997-02-01

    In 1991, 50 new Vitalograph peak flow meters and 27 previously used mini-Wright peak flow meters were tested at three peak flows by use of a calibrator applying explosive decompression. The mini-Wright peak flow meters were also compared with eight new meters. For both makes of meter there was an excellent within-meter and between-meter variation. The accuracy, however, was poor, with a maximal overestimation of true flows of 50 and 70 L.min-1 in the interval from 200 to 400 L.min-1 for the Vitalograph and mini-Wright meters, respectively. The deviation is explained by the physical characteristics of the variable orifice peak flow meters. They have been supplied with equidistant scales, which give non-linear readings.

  10. Physiological and perceptual responses to incremental exercise testing in healthy men: effect of exercise test modality.

    PubMed

    Muscat, Kristina M; Kotrach, Houssam G; Wilkinson-Maitland, Courtney A; Schaeffer, Michele R; Mendonca, Cassandra T; Jensen, Dennis

    2015-11-01

    In a randomized cross-over study of 15 healthy men aged 20-30 years, we compared physiological and perceptual responses during treadmill and cycle exercise test protocols matched for increments in work rate - the source of increased locomotor muscle metabolic and contractile demands. The rates of O2 consumption and CO2 production were higher at the peak of treadmill versus cycle testing (p ≤ 0.05). Nevertheless, work rate, minute ventilation, tidal volume (VT), breathing frequency (fR), inspiratory capacity (IC), inspiratory reserve volume (IRV), tidal esophageal (Pes,tidal) and transdiaphragmatic pressure swings (Pdi,tidal), peak expiratory gastric pressures (Pga,peak), the root mean square of the diaphragm electromyogram (EMGdi,rms) expressed as a percentage of maximum EMGdi,rms (EMGdi,rms%max), and dyspnea ratings were similar at the peak of treadmill versus cycle testing (p > 0.05). Ratings of leg discomfort were higher at the peak of cycle versus treadmill exercise (p ≤ 0.05), even though peak O2 consumption was lower during cycling. Oxygen consumption, CO2 production, minute ventilation, fR, Pes,tidal, Pdi,tidal and Pga,peak were higher (p ≤ 0.05), while VT, IC, IRV, EMGdi,rms%max, and ratings of dyspnea and leg discomfort were similar (p > 0.05) at all or most submaximal work rates during treadmill versus cycle exercise. Our findings highlight important differences (and similarities) in physiological and perceptual responses at maximal and submaximal work rates during incremental treadmill and cycle exercise testing protocols. The lack of effect of exercise test modality on peak work rate advocates for the use of this readily available parameter to optimize training intensity determination, regardless of exercise training mode.

  11. Accelerator system and method of accelerating particles

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wirz, Richard E. (Inventor)

    2010-01-01

    An accelerator system and method that utilize dust as the primary mass flux for generating thrust are provided. The accelerator system can include an accelerator capable of operating in a self-neutralizing mode and having a discharge chamber and at least one ionizer capable of charging dust particles. The system can also include a dust particle feeder that is capable of introducing the dust particles into the accelerator. By applying a pulsed positive and negative charge voltage to the accelerator, the charged dust particles can be accelerated thereby generating thrust and neutralizing the accelerator system.

  12. Peak power ratio generator

    DOEpatents

    Moyer, Robert D.

    1985-01-01

    A peak power ratio generator is described for measuring, in combination with a conventional power meter, the peak power level of extremely narrow pulses in the gigahertz radio frequency bands. The present invention in a preferred embodiment utilizes a tunnel diode and a back diode combination in a detector circuit as the only high speed elements. The high speed tunnel diode provides a bistable signal and serves as a memory device of the input pulses for the remaining, slower components. A hybrid digital and analog loop maintains the peak power level of a reference channel at a known amount. Thus, by measuring the average power levels of the reference signal and the source signal, the peak power level of the source signal can be determined.

  13. Peak power ratio generator

    DOEpatents

    Moyer, R.D.

    A peak power ratio generator is described for measuring, in combination with a conventional power meter, the peak power level of extremely narrow pulses in the gigahertz radio frequency bands. The present invention in a preferred embodiment utilizes a tunnel diode and a back diode combination in a detector circuit as the only high speed elements. The high speed tunnel diode provides a bistable signal and serves as a memory device of the input pulses for the remaining, slower components. A hybrid digital and analog loop maintains the peak power level of a reference channel at a known amount. Thus, by measuring the average power levels of the reference signal and the source signal, the peak power level of the source signal can be determined.

  14. THREE-DIMENSIONAL NON-VACUUM PULSAR OUTER-GAP MODEL: LOCALIZED ACCELERATION ELECTRIC FIELD IN THE HIGHER ALTITUDES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hirotani, Kouichi

    2015-01-10

    We investigate the particle accelerator that arises in a rotating neutron-star magnetosphere. Simultaneously solving the Poisson equation for the electro-static potential, the Boltzmann equations for relativistic electrons and positrons, and the radiative transfer equation, we demonstrate that the electric field is substantially screened along the magnetic field lines by pairs that are created and separated within the accelerator. As a result, the magnetic-field-aligned electric field is localized in higher altitudes near the light cylinder and efficiently accelerates the positrons created in the lower altitudes outward but does not accelerate the electrons inward. The resulting photon flux becomes predominantly outward, leadingmore » to typical double-peak light curves, which are commonly observed from many high-energy pulsars.« less

  15. Peak-flow characteristics of Virginia streams

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Austin, Samuel H.; Krstolic, Jennifer L.; Wiegand, Ute

    2011-01-01

    Peak-flow annual exceedance probabilities, also called probability-percent chance flow estimates, and regional regression equations are provided describing the peak-flow characteristics of Virginia streams. Statistical methods are used to evaluate peak-flow data. Analysis of Virginia peak-flow data collected from 1895 through 2007 is summarized. Methods are provided for estimating unregulated peak flow of gaged and ungaged streams. Station peak-flow characteristics identified by fitting the logarithms of annual peak flows to a Log Pearson Type III frequency distribution yield annual exceedance probabilities of 0.5, 0.4292, 0.2, 0.1, 0.04, 0.02, 0.01, 0.005, and 0.002 for 476 streamgaging stations. Stream basin characteristics computed using spatial data and a geographic information system are used as explanatory variables in regional regression model equations for six physiographic regions to estimate regional annual exceedance probabilities at gaged and ungaged sites. Weighted peak-flow values that combine annual exceedance probabilities computed from gaging station data and from regional regression equations provide improved peak-flow estimates. Text, figures, and lists are provided summarizing selected peak-flow sites, delineated physiographic regions, peak-flow estimates, basin characteristics, regional regression model equations, error estimates, definitions, data sources, and candidate regression model equations. This study supersedes previous studies of peak flows in Virginia.

  16. Comparison of Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPE) for Chile and Canada With Recent Chilean Megathust Earthquakes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herrera, C.; Cassidy, J. F.; Dosso, S. E.

    2017-12-01

    The ground shaking assessment allows quantifying the hazards associated with the occurrence of earthquakes. Chile and western Canada are two areas that have experienced, and are susceptible to imminent large crustal, in-slab and megathrust earthquakes that can affect the population significantly. In this context, we compare the current GMPEs used in the 2015 National Building Code of Canada and the most recent GMPEs calculated for Chile, with observed accelerations generated by four recent Chilean megathrust earthquakes (MW ≥ 7.7) that have occurred during the past decade, which is essential to quantify how well current models predict observations of major events.We collected the 3-component waveform data of more than 90 stations from the Centro Sismologico Nacional and the Universidad de Chile, and processed them by removing the trend and applying a band-pass filter. Then, for each station, we obtained the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), and by using a damped response spectra, we calculated the Pseudo Spectral Acceleration (PSA). Finally, we compared those observations with the most recent Chilean and Canadian GMPEs. Given the lack of geotechnical information for most of the Chilean stations, we also used a new method to obtain the VS30 by inverting the H/V ratios using a trans-dimensional Bayesian inversion, which allows us to improve the correction of observations according to soil conditions.As expected, our results show a good fit between observations and the Chilean GMPEs, but we observe that although the shape of the Canadian GMPEs is coherent with the distribution of observations, in general they under predict the observations for PGA and PSA at shorter periods for most of the considered earthquakes. An example of this can be seen in the attached figure for the case of the 2014 Iquique earthquake.These results present important implications related to the hazards associated to large earthquakes, especially for western Canada, where the probability of a

  17. Coulomb-driven energy boost of heavy ions for laser-plasma acceleration.

    PubMed

    Braenzel, J; Andreev, A A; Platonov, K; Klingsporn, M; Ehrentraut, L; Sandner, W; Schnürer, M

    2015-03-27

    An unprecedented increase of kinetic energy of laser accelerated heavy ions is demonstrated. Ultrathin gold foils have been irradiated by an ultrashort laser pulse at a peak intensity of 8×10^{19}  W/  cm^{2}. Highly charged gold ions with kinetic energies up to >200  MeV and a bandwidth limited energy distribution have been reached by using 1.3 J laser energy on target. 1D and 2D particle in cell simulations show how a spatial dependence on the ion's ionization leads to an enhancement of the accelerating electrical field. Our theoretical model considers a spatial distribution of the ionization inside the thin target, leading to a field enhancement for the heavy ions by Coulomb explosion. It is capable of explaining the energy boost of highly charged ions, enabling a higher efficiency for the laser-driven heavy ion acceleration.

  18. High-efficiency acceleration in the laser wakefield by a linearly increasing plasma density

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dong, Kegong; Wu, Yuchi; Zhu, Bin

    The acceleration length and the peak energy of the electron beam are limited by the dephasing effect in the laser wakefield acceleration with uniform plasma density. Based on 2D-3V particle in cell simulations, the effects of a linearly increasing plasma density on the electron acceleration are investigated broadly. Comparing with the uniform plasma density, because of the prolongation of the acceleration length and the gradually increasing accelerating field due to the increasing plasma density, the electron beam energy is twice higher in moderate nonlinear wakefield regime. Because of the lower plasma density, the linearly increasing plasma density can also avoidmore » the dark current caused by additional injection. At the optimal acceleration length, the electron energy can be increased from 350 MeV (uniform) to 760 MeV (linearly increasing) with the energy spread of 1.8%, the beam duration is 5 fs and the beam waist is 1.25 μm. This linearly increasing plasma density distribution can be achieved by a capillary with special gas-filled structure, and is much more suitable for experiment.« less

  19. Peak High-Frequency HRV and Peak Alpha Frequency Higher in PTSD

    PubMed Central

    Oken, Barry S.

    2012-01-01

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is difficult to treat and current PTSD treatments are not effective for all people. Despite limited evidence for its efficacy, some clinicians have implemented biofeedback for PTSD treatment. As a first step in constructing an effective biofeedback treatment program, we assessed respiration, electroencephalography (EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV) as potential biofeedback parameters for a future clinical trial. This cross-sectional study included 86 veterans; 59 with and 27 without PTSD. Data were collected on EEG measures, HRV, and respiration rate during an attentive resting state. Measures were analyzed to assess sensitivity to PTSD status and the relationship to PTSD symptoms. Peak alpha frequency was higher in the PTSD group (F(1,84) = 6.14, p = 0.01). Peak high-frequency HRV was lower in the PTSD group (F(2,78) = 26.5, p<0.00005) when adjusting for respiration rate. All other EEG and HRV measures and respiration were not different between groups. Peak high-frequency HRV and peak alpha frequency are sensitive to PTSD status and may be potential biofeedback parameters for future PTSD clinical trials. PMID:23178990

  20. Atypical soil behavior during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake ( Mw = 9)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pavlenko, Olga V.

    2016-07-01

    To understand physical mechanisms of generation of abnormally high peak ground acceleration (PGA; >1 g) during the Tohoku earthquake, models of nonlinear soil behavior in the strong motion were constructed for 27 KiK-net stations located in the near-fault zones to the south of FKSH17. The method of data processing used was developed by Pavlenko and Irikura, Pure Appl Geophys 160:2365-2379, 2003 and previously applied for studying soil behavior at vertical array sites during the 1995 Kobe (Mw = 6.8) and 2000 Tottori (Mw = 6.7) earthquakes. During the Tohoku earthquake, we did not observe a widespread nonlinearity of soft soils and reduction at the beginning of strong motion and recovery at the end of strong motion of shear moduli in soil layers, as usually observed during strong earthquakes. Manifestations of soil nonlinearity and reduction of shear moduli during strong motion were observed at sites located close to the source, in coastal areas. At remote sites, where abnormally high PGAs were recorded, shear moduli in soil layers increased and reached their maxima at the moments of the highest intensity of the strong motion, indicating soil hardening. Then, shear moduli reduced with decreasing the intensity of the strong motion. At soft-soil sites, the reduction of shear moduli was accompanied by a step-like decrease of the predominant frequencies of motion. Evidently, the observed soil hardening at the moments of the highest intensity of the strong motion contributed to the occurrence of abnormally high PGA, recorded during the Tohoku earthquake.

  1. Trunk acceleration for neuroprosthetic control of standing: a pilot study.

    PubMed

    Nataraj, Raviraj; Audu, Musa L; Kirsch, Robert F; Triolo, Ronald J

    2012-02-01

    This pilot study investigated the potential of using trunk acceleration feedback control of center of pressure (COP) against postural disturbances with a standing neuroprosthesis following paralysis. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were trained to use three-dimensional trunk acceleration as input to predict changes in COP for able-bodied subjects undergoing perturbations during bipedal stance. Correlation coefficients between ANN predictions and actual COP ranged from 0.67 to 0.77. An ANN trained across all subject-normalized data was used to drive feedback control of ankle muscle excitation levels for a computer model representing a standing neuroprosthesis user. Feedback control reduced average upper-body loading during perturbation onset and recovery by 42% and peak loading by 29% compared with optimal, constant excitation.

  2. Effects of Vertical Direction and Aperture Size on the Perception of Visual Acceleration.

    PubMed

    Mueller, Alexandra S; González, Esther G; McNorgan, Chris; Steinbach, Martin J; Timney, Brian

    2016-02-06

    It is not well understood whether the distance over which moving stimuli are visible affects our sensitivity to the presence of acceleration or our ability to track such stimuli. It is also uncertain whether our experience with gravity creates anisotropies in how we detect vertical acceleration and deceleration. To address these questions, we varied the vertical extent of the aperture through which we presented vertically accelerating and decelerating random dot arrays. We hypothesized that observers would better detect and pursue accelerating and decelerating stimuli that extend over larger than smaller distances. In Experiment 1, we tested the effects of vertical direction and aperture size on acceleration and deceleration detection accuracy. Results indicated that detection is better for downward motion and for large apertures, but there is no difference between vertical acceleration and deceleration detection. A control experiment revealed that our manipulation of vertical aperture size affects the ability to track vertical motion. Smooth pursuit is better (i.e., with higher peak velocities) for large apertures than for small apertures. Our findings suggest that the ability to detect vertical acceleration and deceleration varies as a function of the direction and vertical extent over which an observer can track the moving stimulus. © The Author(s) 2016.

  3. The magnitude of translational and rotational head accelerations experienced by riders during downhill mountain biking.

    PubMed

    Hurst, Howard T; Atkins, Stephen; Dickinson, Ben D

    2018-03-21

    To determine the magnitude of translational and rotational head accelerations during downhill mountain biking. Observational study. Sixteen male downhill cyclists (age 26.4±8.4years; stature 179.4±7.2cm; mass 75.3±5.9kg) were monitored during two rounds of the British Downhill Series. Riders performed two runs on each course wearing a triaxial accelerometer behind the right ear. The means of the two runs for each course were used to determine differences between courses for mean and maximum peak translational (g) and rotational accelerations (rad/s 2 ) and impact duration for each course. Significant differences (p<0.05) were revealed for the mean number of impacts (>10g), FW=12.5±7.6, RYF=42.8±27.4 (t (22.96) =-4.70; p<0.001; 95% CI=17.00 to 43.64); maximum peak rotational acceleration, FW=6805.4±3073.8rad/s 2 , RYF=9799.9±3381.7rad/s 2 (t (32) =-2.636; p=0.01; 95% CI=680.31 to 5308.38); mean acceleration duration FW=4.7±1.2ms, RYF=6.5±1.4ms (t (32) =-4.05; p<0.001; 95% CI=0.91 to 2.76) and maximum acceleration duration, FW=11.6±4.5ms, RYF=21.2±9.1 (t (29.51) =-4.06; p=0.001; 95% CI=4.21 to 14.94). No other significant differences were found. Findings indicate that downhill riders may be at risk of sustaining traumatic brain injuries and course design influences the number and magnitude of accelerations. Copyright © 2018 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Equivalent peak resolution: characterization of the extent of separation for two components based on their relative peak overlap.

    PubMed

    Dvořák, Martin; Svobodová, Jana; Dubský, Pavel; Riesová, Martina; Vigh, Gyula; Gaš, Bohuslav

    2015-03-01

    Although the classical formula of peak resolution was derived to characterize the extent of separation only for Gaussian peaks of equal areas, it is often used even when the peaks follow non-Gaussian distributions and/or have unequal areas. This practice can result in misleading information about the extent of separation in terms of the severity of peak overlap. We propose here the use of the equivalent peak resolution value, a term based on relative peak overlap, to characterize the extent of separation that had been achieved. The definition of equivalent peak resolution is not constrained either by the form(s) of the concentration distribution function(s) of the peaks (Gaussian or non-Gaussian) or the relative area of the peaks. The equivalent peak resolution value and the classically defined peak resolution value are numerically identical when the separated peaks are Gaussian and have identical areas and SDs. Using our new freeware program, Resolution Analyzer, one can calculate both the classically defined and the equivalent peak resolution values. With the help of this tool, we demonstrate here that the classical peak resolution values mischaracterize the extent of peak overlap even when the peaks are Gaussian but have different areas. We show that under ideal conditions of the separation process, the relative peak overlap value is easily accessible by fitting the overall peak profile as the sum of two Gaussian functions. The applicability of the new approach is demonstrated on real separations. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Osteoporosis: Peak Bone Mass in Women

    MedlinePlus

    ... Osteoporosis: Peak Bone Mass in Women Osteoporosis: Peak Bone Mass in Women Bones are the framework for ... that affect peak bone mass. Factors Affecting Peak Bone Mass A variety of genetic and environmental factors ...

  6. PULSAR OUTER-GAP ELECTRODYNAMICS: HARDENING OF SPECTRAL SHAPE IN THE TRAILING PEAK IN THE GAMMA-RAY LIGHT CURVE

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hirotani, Kouichi, E-mail: hirotani@tiara.sinica.edu.tw

    2011-06-01

    The spectral characteristics of the pulsed gamma-ray emission from outer-magnetospheric particle accelerators are investigated. Either positrons or electrons are accelerated outward by the magnetic-field-aligned electric field to emit gamma rays via the curvature process. Since the particles move along relatively straight paths in the trailing side of a rotating magnetosphere, they attain higher Lorentz factors to emit more energetic gamma rays than those in the leading side. It is first demonstrated that the cutoff energy of the curvature radiation evolves with the rotation phase owing to the variation of the curvature radii of the particle paths and maximizes at amore » slightly later phase of the trailing peak in the gamma-ray light curve.« less

  7. Impact Crater with Peak

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    (Released 14 June 2002) The Science This THEMIS visible image shows a classic example of a martian impact crater with a central peak. Central peaks are common in large, fresh craters on both Mars and the Moon. This peak formed during the extremely high-energy impact cratering event. In many martian craters the central peak has been either eroded or buried by later sedimentary processes, so the presence of a peak in this crater indicates that the crater is relatively young and has experienced little degradation. Observations of large craters on the Earth and the Moon, as well as computer modeling of the impact process, show that the central peak contains material brought from deep beneath the surface. The material exposed in these peaks will provide an excellent opportunity to study the composition of the martian interior using THEMIS multi-spectral infrared observations. The ejecta material around the crater can is well preserved, again indicating relatively little modification of this landform since its initial creation. The inner walls of this approximately 18 km diameter crater show complex slumping that likely occurred during the impact event. Since that time there has been some downslope movement of material to form the small chutes and gullies that can be seen on the inner crater wall. Small (50-100 m) mega-ripples composed of mobile material can be seen on the floor of the crater. Much of this material may have come from the walls of the crater itself, or may have been blown into the crater by the wind. The Story When a meteor smacked into the surface of Mars with extremely high energy, pow! Not only did it punch an 11-mile-wide crater in the smoother terrain, it created a central peak in the middle of the crater. This peak forms kind of on the 'rebound.' You can see this same effect if you drop a single drop of milk into a glass of milk. With craters, in the heat and fury of the impact, some of the land material can even liquefy. Central peaks like the one

  8. Two-dimensional angular energy spectrum of electrons accelerated by the ultra-short relativistic laser pulse

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Borovskiy, A. V.; Galkin, A. L.; Department of Physics of MBF, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, 1 Ostrovitianov Street, Moscow 117997

    The new method of calculating energy spectra of accelerated electrons, based on the parameterization by their initial coordinates, is proposed. The energy spectra of electrons accelerated by Gaussian ultra-short relativistic laser pulse at a selected angle to the axis of the optical system focusing the laser pulse in a low density gas are theoretically calculated. The two-peak structure of the electron energy spectrum is obtained. Discussed are the reasons for its appearance as well as an applicability of other models of the laser field.

  9. Effect of gear ratio on peak power and time to peak power in BMX cyclists.

    PubMed

    Rylands, Lee P; Roberts, Simon J; Hurst, Howard T

    2017-03-01

    The aim of this study was to ascertain if gear ratio selection would have an effect on peak power and time to peak power production in elite Bicycle Motocross (BMX) cyclists. Eight male elite BMX riders volunteered for the study. Each rider performed three, 10-s maximal sprints on an Olympic standard indoor BMX track. The riders' bicycles were fitted with a portable SRM power meter. Each rider performed the three sprints using gear ratios of 41/16, 43/16 and 45/16 tooth. The results from the 41/16 and 45/16 gear ratios were compared to the current standard 43/16 gear ratio. Statistically, significant differences were found between the gear ratios for peak power (F(2,14) = 6.448; p = .010) and peak torque (F(2,14) = 4.777; p = .026), but no significant difference was found for time to peak power (F(2,14) = 0.200; p = .821). When comparing gear ratios, the results showed a 45/16 gear ratio elicited the highest peak power,1658 ± 221 W, compared to 1436 ± 129 W and 1380 ± 56 W, for the 43/16 and 41/16 ratios, respectively. The time to peak power showed a 41/16 tooth gear ratio attained peak power in -0.01 s and a 45/16 in 0.22 s compared to the 43/16. The findings of this study suggest that gear ratio choice has a significant effect on peak power production, though time to peak power output is not significantly affected. Therefore, selecting a higher gear ratio results in riders attaining higher power outputs without reducing their start time.

  10. Prediction of peak response values of structures with and without TMD subjected to random pedestrian flows

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lievens, Klaus; Van Nimmen, Katrien; Lombaert, Geert; De Roeck, Guido; Van den Broeck, Peter

    2016-09-01

    In civil engineering and architecture, the availability of high strength materials and advanced calculation techniques enables the construction of slender footbridges, generally highly sensitive to human-induced excitation. Due to the inherent random character of the human-induced walking load, variability on the pedestrian characteristics must be considered in the response simulation. To assess the vibration serviceability of the footbridge, the statistics of the stochastic dynamic response are evaluated by considering the instantaneous peak responses in a time range. Therefore, a large number of time windows are needed to calculate the mean value and standard deviation of the instantaneous peak values. An alternative method to evaluate the statistics is based on the standard deviation of the response and a characteristic frequency as proposed in wind engineering applications. In this paper, the accuracy of this method is evaluated for human-induced vibrations. The methods are first compared for a group of pedestrians crossing a lightly damped footbridge. Small differences of the instantaneous peak value were found by the method using second order statistics. Afterwards, a TMD tuned to reduce the peak acceleration to a comfort value, was added to the structure. The comparison between both methods in made and the accuracy is verified. It is found that the TMD parameters are tuned sufficiently and good agreements between the two methods are found for the estimation of the instantaneous peak response for a strongly damped structure.

  11. PeakVizor: Visual Analytics of Peaks in Video Clickstreams from Massive Open Online Courses.

    PubMed

    Chen, Qing; Chen, Yuanzhe; Liu, Dongyu; Shi, Conglei; Wu, Yingcai; Qu, Huamin

    2016-10-01

    Massive open online courses (MOOCs) aim to facilitate open-access and massive-participation education. These courses have attracted millions of learners recently. At present, most MOOC platforms record the web log data of learner interactions with course videos. Such large amounts of multivariate data pose a new challenge in terms of analyzing online learning behaviors. Previous studies have mainly focused on the aggregate behaviors of learners from a summative view; however, few attempts have been made to conduct a detailed analysis of such behaviors. To determine complex learning patterns in MOOC video interactions, this paper introduces a comprehensive visualization system called PeakVizor. This system enables course instructors and education experts to analyze the "peaks" or the video segments that generate numerous clickstreams. The system features three views at different levels: the overview with glyphs to display valuable statistics regarding the peaks detected; the flow view to present spatio-temporal information regarding the peaks; and the correlation view to show the correlation between different learner groups and the peaks. Case studies and interviews conducted with domain experts have demonstrated the usefulness and effectiveness of PeakVizor, and new findings about learning behaviors in MOOC platforms have been reported.

  12. K-t GRAPPA-accelerated 4D flow MRI of liver hemodynamics: influence of different acceleration factors on qualitative and quantitative assessment of blood flow.

    PubMed

    Stankovic, Zoran; Fink, Jury; Collins, Jeremy D; Semaan, Edouard; Russe, Maximilian F; Carr, James C; Markl, Michael; Langer, Mathias; Jung, Bernd

    2015-04-01

    We sought to evaluate the feasibility of k-t parallel imaging for accelerated 4D flow MRI in the hepatic vascular system by investigating the impact of different acceleration factors. k-t GRAPPA accelerated 4D flow MRI of the liver vasculature was evaluated in 16 healthy volunteers at 3T with acceleration factors R = 3, R = 5, and R = 8 (2.0 × 2.5 × 2.4 mm(3), TR = 82 ms), and R = 5 (TR = 41 ms); GRAPPA R = 2 was used as the reference standard. Qualitative flow analysis included grading of 3D streamlines and time-resolved particle traces. Quantitative evaluation assessed velocities, net flow, and wall shear stress (WSS). Significant scan time savings were realized for all acceleration factors compared to standard GRAPPA R = 2 (21-71 %) (p < 0.001). Quantification of velocities and net flow offered similar results between k-t GRAPPA R = 3 and R = 5 compared to standard GRAPPA R = 2. Significantly increased leakage artifacts and noise were seen between standard GRAPPA R = 2 and k-t GRAPPA R = 8 (p < 0.001) with significant underestimation of peak velocities and WSS of up to 31 % in the hepatic arterial system (p <0.05). WSS was significantly underestimated up to 13 % in all vessels of the portal venous system for k-t GRAPPA R = 5, while significantly higher values were observed for the same acceleration with higher temporal resolution in two veins (p < 0.05). k-t acceleration of 4D flow MRI is feasible for liver hemodynamic assessment with acceleration factors R = 3 and R = 5 resulting in a scan time reduction of at least 40 % with similar quantitation of liver hemodynamics compared with GRAPPA R = 2.

  13. PolyaPeak: Detecting Transcription Factor Binding Sites from ChIP-seq Using Peak Shape Information

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Hao; Ji, Hongkai

    2014-01-01

    ChIP-seq is a powerful technology for detecting genomic regions where a protein of interest interacts with DNA. ChIP-seq data for mapping transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) have a characteristic pattern: around each binding site, sequence reads aligned to the forward and reverse strands of the reference genome form two separate peaks shifted away from each other, and the true binding site is located in between these two peaks. While it has been shown previously that the accuracy and resolution of binding site detection can be improved by modeling the pattern, efficient methods are unavailable to fully utilize that information in TFBS detection procedure. We present PolyaPeak, a new method to improve TFBS detection by incorporating the peak shape information. PolyaPeak describes peak shapes using a flexible Pólya model. The shapes are automatically learnt from the data using Minorization-Maximization (MM) algorithm, then integrated with the read count information via a hierarchical model to distinguish true binding sites from background noises. Extensive real data analyses show that PolyaPeak is capable of robustly improving TFBS detection compared with existing methods. An R package is freely available. PMID:24608116

  14. A comparison of observed and predicted ground motions from the 2015 MW7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hough, Susan E.; Martin, Stacey S.; Gahalaut, V.; Joshi, A.; Landes, M.; Bossu, R.

    2016-01-01

    We use 21 strong motion recordings from Nepal and India for the 25 April 2015 moment magnitude (MW) 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake together with the extensive macroseismic intensity data set presented by Martin et al. (Seism Res Lett 87:957–962, 2015) to analyse the distribution of ground motions at near-field and regional distances. We show that the data are consistent with the instrumental peak ground acceleration (PGA) versus macroseismic intensity relationship developed by Worden et al. (Bull Seism Soc Am 102:204–221, 2012), and use this relationship to estimate peak ground acceleration from intensities (PGAEMS). For nearest-fault distances (RRUP < 200 km), PGAEMS is consistent with the Atkinson and Boore (Bull Seism Soc Am 93:1703–1729, 2003) subduction zone ground motion prediction equation (GMPE). At greater distances (RRUP > 200 km), instrumental PGA values are consistent with this GMPE, while PGAEMS is systematically higher. We suggest the latter reflects a duration effect whereby effects of weak shaking are enhanced by long-duration and/or long-period ground motions from a large event at regional distances. We use PGAEMS values within 200 km to investigate the variability of high-frequency ground motions using the Atkinson and Boore (Bull Seism Soc Am 93:1703–1729, 2003) GMPE as a baseline. Across the near-field region, PGAEMS is higher by a factor of 2.0–2.5 towards the northern, down-dip edge of the rupture compared to the near-field region nearer to the southern, up-dip edge of the rupture. Inferred deamplification in the deepest part of the Kathmandu valley supports the conclusion that former lake-bed sediments experienced a pervasive nonlinear response during the mainshock (Dixit et al. in Seismol Res Lett 86(6):1533–1539, 2015; Rajaure et al. in Tectonophysics, 2016. Ground motions were significantly amplified in the southern Gangetic basin, but were relatively low in the northern basin. The overall distribution of ground motions

  15. iShake: Mobile Phones as Seismic Sensors (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dashti, S.; Reilly, J.; Bray, J. D.; Bayen, A. M.; Glaser, S. D.; Mari, E.

    2010-12-01

    Emergency responders must “see” the effects of an earthquake clearly and rapidly so that they can respond effectively to the damage it has produced. Great strides have been made recently in developing methodologies that deliver rapid and accurate post-earthquake information. However, shortcomings still exist. The iShake project is an innovative use of cell phones and information technology to bridge the gap between the high quality, but sparse, ground motion instrument data that are used to help develop ShakeMap and the low quality, but large quantity, human observational data collected to construct a “Did You Feel It?” (DYFI)-based map. Rather than using people as measurement “devices” as is being done through DYFI, the iShake project is using their cell phones to measure ground motion intensity parameters and automatically deliver the data to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for processing and dissemination. In this participatory sensing paradigm, quantitative shaking data from numerous cellular phones will enable the USGS to produce shaking intensity maps more accurately than presently possible. The phone sensor, however, is an imperfect device with performance variations among phones of a given model as well as between models. The sensor is the entire phone, not just the micro-machined transducer inside. A series of 1-D and 3-D shaking table tests were performed at UC San Diego and UC Berkeley, respectively, to evaluate the performance of a class of cell phones. In these tests, seven iPhones and iPod Touch devices that were mounted at different orientations were subjected to 124 earthquake ground motions to characterize their response and reliability as seismic sensors. The testing also provided insight into the seismic response of unsecured and falling instruments. The cell phones measured seismic parameters such as peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV), peak ground displacement (PGD), and 5% damped spectral accelerations well

  16. Magnesium diboride coated bulk niobium: a new approach to higher acceleration gradient

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tan, Teng; Wolak, M. A.; Xi, X. X.

    2016-10-24

    Bulk niobium Superconducting Radio-Frequency cavities are a leading accelerator technology. Their performance is limited by the cavity loss and maximum acceleration gradient, which are negatively affected by vortex penetration into the superconductor when the peak magnetic field at the cavity wall surface exceeds the vortex penetration field (H vp). It has been proposed that coating the inner wall of an SRF cavity with superconducting thin films increases H vp. In this work, we utilized Nb ellipsoid to simulate an inverse SRF cavity and investigate the effect of coating it with magnesium diboride layer on the vortex penetration field. A significantmore » enhancement of H vp was observed. At 2.8 K, H vp increased from 2100 Oe for an uncoated Nb ellipsoid to 2700 Oe for a Nb ellipsoid coated with ~200 nm thick MgB 2 thin film. In conclusion, this finding creates a new route towards achieving higher acceleration gradient in SRF cavity accelerator beyond the theoretical limit of bulk Nb.« less

  17. Spatiotemporal processing of linear acceleration: primary afferent and central vestibular neuron responses

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Angelaki, D. E.; Dickman, J. D.

    2000-01-01

    Spatiotemporal convergence and two-dimensional (2-D) neural tuning have been proposed as a major neural mechanism in the signal processing of linear acceleration. To examine this hypothesis, we studied the firing properties of primary otolith afferents and central otolith neurons that respond exclusively to horizontal linear accelerations of the head (0.16-10 Hz) in alert rhesus monkeys. Unlike primary afferents, the majority of central otolith neurons exhibited 2-D spatial tuning to linear acceleration. As a result, central otolith dynamics vary as a function of movement direction. During movement along the maximum sensitivity direction, the dynamics of all central otolith neurons differed significantly from those observed for the primary afferent population. Specifically at low frequencies (peaked in phase with linear velocity, in contrast to primary afferents that peaked in phase with linear acceleration. At least three different groups of central response dynamics were described according to the properties observed for motion along the maximum sensitivity direction. "High-pass" neurons exhibited increasing gains and phase values as a function of frequency. "Flat" neurons were characterized by relatively flat gains and constant phase lags (approximately 20-55 degrees ). A few neurons ("low-pass") were characterized by decreasing gain and phase as a function of frequency. The response dynamics of central otolith neurons suggest that the approximately 90 degrees phase lags observed at low frequencies are not the result of a neural integration but rather the effect of nonminimum phase behavior, which could arise at least partly through spatiotemporal convergence. Neither afferent nor central otolith neurons discriminated between gravitational and inertial components of linear acceleration. Thus response sensitivity was indistinguishable during 0.5-Hz pitch oscillations and fore-aft movements

  18. Ground Motion Prediction Model Using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems: An Example Based on the NGA-West 2 Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ameur, Mourad; Derras, Boumédiène; Zendagui, Djawed

    2018-03-01

    Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS) are used here to obtain the robust ground motion prediction model (GMPM). Avoiding a priori functional form, ANFIS provides fully data-driven predictive models. A large subset of the NGA-West2 database is used, including 2335 records from 580 sites and 137 earthquakes. Only shallow earthquakes and recordings corresponding to stations with measured V s30 properties are selected. Three basics input parameters are chosen: the moment magnitude ( Mw), the Joyner-Boore distance ( R JB) and V s30. ANFIS model output is the peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV) and 5% damped pseudo-spectral acceleration (PSA) at periods from 0.01 to 4 s. A procedure similar to the random-effects approach is developed to provide between- and within-event standard deviations. The total standard deviation (SD) varies between [0.303 and 0.360] (log10 units) depending on the period. The ground motion predictions resulting from such simple three explanatory variables ANFIS models are shown to be comparable to the most recent NGA results (e.g., Boore et al., in Earthquake Spectra 30:1057-1085, 2014; Derras et al., in Earthquake Spectra 32:2027-2056, 2016). The main advantage of ANFIS compared to artificial neuronal network (ANN) is its simple and one-off topology: five layers. Our results exhibit a number of physically sound features: magnitude scaling of the distance dependency, near-fault saturation distance increasing with magnitude and amplification on soft soils. The ability to implement ANFIS model using an analytic equation and Excel is demonstrated.

  19. Ground Motion Prediction Model Using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems: An Example Based on the NGA-West 2 Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ameur, Mourad; Derras, Boumédiène; Zendagui, Djawed

    2017-12-01

    Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS) are used here to obtain the robust ground motion prediction model (GMPM). Avoiding a priori functional form, ANFIS provides fully data-driven predictive models. A large subset of the NGA-West2 database is used, including 2335 records from 580 sites and 137 earthquakes. Only shallow earthquakes and recordings corresponding to stations with measured V s30 properties are selected. Three basics input parameters are chosen: the moment magnitude (Mw), the Joyner-Boore distance (R JB) and V s30. ANFIS model output is the peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV) and 5% damped pseudo-spectral acceleration (PSA) at periods from 0.01 to 4 s. A procedure similar to the random-effects approach is developed to provide between- and within-event standard deviations. The total standard deviation (SD) varies between [0.303 and 0.360] (log10 units) depending on the period. The ground motion predictions resulting from such simple three explanatory variables ANFIS models are shown to be comparable to the most recent NGA results (e.g., Boore et al., in Earthquake Spectra 30:1057-1085, 2014; Derras et al., in Earthquake Spectra 32:2027-2056, 2016). The main advantage of ANFIS compared to artificial neuronal network (ANN) is its simple and one-off topology: five layers. Our results exhibit a number of physically sound features: magnitude scaling of the distance dependency, near-fault saturation distance increasing with magnitude and amplification on soft soils. The ability to implement ANFIS model using an analytic equation and Excel is demonstrated.

  20. Verification of 1921 peak discharge at Skagit River near Concrete, Washington, using 2003 peak-discharge data

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mastin, M.C.; Kresch, D.L.

    2005-01-01

    The 1921 peak discharge at Skagit River near Concrete, Washington (U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station 12194000), was verified using peak-discharge data from the flood of October 21, 2003, the largest flood since 1921. This peak discharge is critical to determining other high discharges at the gaging station and to reliably estimating the 100-year flood, the primary design flood being used in a current flood study of the Skagit River basin. The four largest annual peak discharges of record (1897, 1909, 1917, and 1921) were used to determine the 100-year flood discharge at Skagit River near Concrete. The peak discharge on December 13, 1921, was determined by James E. Stewart of the U.S. Geological Survey using a slope-area measurement and a contracted-opening measurement. An extended stage-discharge rating curve based on the 1921 peak discharge was used to determine the peak discharges of the three other large floods. Any inaccuracy in the 1921 peak discharge also would affect the accuracies of the three other largest peak discharges. The peak discharge of the 1921 flood was recalculated using the cross sections and high-water marks surveyed after the 1921 flood in conjunction with a new estimate of the channel roughness coefficient (n value) based on an n-verification analysis of the peak discharge of the October 21, 2003, flood. The n value used by Stewart for his slope-area measurement of the 1921 flood was 0.033, and the corresponding calculated peak discharge was 240,000 cubic feet per second (ft3/s). Determination of a single definitive water-surface profile for use in the n-verification analysis was precluded because of considerable variation in elevations of surveyed high-water marks from the flood on October 21, 2003. Therefore, n values were determined for two separate water-surface profiles thought to bracket a plausible range of water-surface slopes defined by high-water marks. The n value determined using the flattest plausible slope was 0

  1. Peak capacity and peak capacity per unit time in capillary and microchip zone electrophoresis.

    PubMed

    Foley, Joe P; Blackney, Donna M; Ennis, Erin J

    2017-11-10

    The origins of the peak capacity concept are described and the important contributions to the development of that concept in chromatography and electrophoresis are reviewed. Whereas numerous quantitative expressions have been reported for one- and two-dimensional separations, most are focused on chromatographic separations and few, if any, quantitative unbiased expressions have been developed for capillary or microchip zone electrophoresis. Making the common assumption that longitudinal diffusion is the predominant source of zone broadening in capillary electrophoresis, analytical expressions for the peak capacity are derived, first in terms of migration time, diffusion coefficient, migration distance, and desired resolution, and then in terms of the remaining underlying fundamental parameters (electric field, electroosmotic and electrophoretic mobilities) that determine the migration time. The latter expressions clearly illustrate the direct square root dependence of peak capacity on electric field and migration distance and the inverse square root dependence on solute diffusion coefficient. Conditions that result in a high peak capacity will result in a low peak capacity per unit time and vice-versa. For a given symmetrical range of relative electrophoretic mobilities for co- and counter-electroosmotic species (cations and anions), the peak capacity increases with the square root of the electric field even as the temporal window narrows considerably, resulting in a significant reduction in analysis time. Over a broad relative electrophoretic mobility interval [-0.9, 0.9], an approximately two-fold greater amount of peak capacity can be generated for counter-electroosmotic species although it takes about five-fold longer to do so, consistent with the well-known bias in migration time and resolving power for co- and counter-electroosmotic species. The optimum lower bound of the relative electrophoretic mobility interval [μ r,Z , μ r,A ] that provides the maximum

  2. Human occupants in low-speed frontal sled tests: effects of pre-impact bracing on chest compression, reaction forces, and subject acceleration.

    PubMed

    Kemper, Andrew R; Beeman, Stephanie M; Madigan, Michael L; Duma, Stefan M

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pre-impact bracing on the chest compression, reaction forces, and accelerations experienced by human occupants during low-speed frontal sled tests. A total of twenty low-speed frontal sled tests, ten low severity (∼2.5g, Δv=5 kph) and ten medium severity (∼5g, Δv=10 kph), were performed on five 50th-percentile male human volunteers. Each volunteer was exposed to two impulses at each severity, one relaxed and the other braced prior to the impulse. A 59-channel chestband, aligned at the nipple line, was used to quantify the chest contour and anterior-posterior sternum deflection. Three-axis accelerometer cubes were attached to the sternum, 7th cervical vertebra, and sacrum of each subject. In addition, three linear accelerometers and a three-axis angular rate sensor were mounted to a metal mouthpiece worn by each subject. Seatbelt tension load cells were attached to the retractor, shoulder, and lap portions of the standard three-point driver-side seatbelt. In addition, multi-axis load cells were mounted to each interface between the subject and the test buck to quantify reaction forces. For relaxed tests, the higher test severity resulted in significantly larger peak values for all resultant accelerations, all belt forces, and three resultant reaction forces (right foot, seatpan, and seatback). For braced tests, the higher test severity resulted in significantly larger peak values for all resultant accelerations, and two resultant reaction forces (right foot and seatpan). Bracing did not have a significant effect on the occupant accelerations during the low severity tests, but did result in a significant decrease in peak resultant sacrum linear acceleration during the medium severity tests. Bracing was also found to significantly reduce peak shoulder and retractor belt forces for both test severities, and peak lap belt force for the medium test severity. In contrast, bracing resulted in a significant

  3. Analysis of bias voltage dependent spectral response in Ga0.51In0.49P/Ga0.99In0.01As/Ge triple junction solar cell

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sogabe, Tomah; Ogura, Akio; Okada, Yoshitaka

    2014-02-01

    Spectral response measurement plays great role in characterizing solar cell device because it directly reflects the efficiency by which the device converts the sunlight into an electrical current. Based on the spectral response results, the short circuit current of each subcell can be quantitatively determined. Although spectral response dependence on wavelength, i.e., the well-known external quantum efficiency (EQE), has been widely used in characterizing multijunction solar cell and has been well interpreted, detailed analysis of spectral response dependence on bias voltage (SR -Vbias) has not been reported so far. In this work, we have performed experimental and numerical studies on the SR -Vbias for Ga0.51In0.49P/Ga0.99In0.01As/Ge triple junction solar cell. Phenomenological description was given to clarify the mechanism of operation matching point variation in SR -Vbias measurements. The profile of SR-Vbias curve was explained in detail by solving the coupled two-diode current-voltage characteristic transcend formula for each subcell.

  4. Blast-Induced Acceleration in a Shock Tube: Distinguishing Primary and Tertiary Blast Injury

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-10-01

    these well-defined exposure conditions, anesthetized rats are used to simultaneously record intracranial pressure (ICP), intravascular pressure , and...blast flow conditions (e.g. peak static and total pressure , positive phase duration, and impulse) and acceleration and displacement of a wide range of...resultant pressure responses in varied compartments in concert with the neuropathological, neurochemical, and neurobehavioral consequences of exposures

  5. Acceleration and Propagation of Anomalous Cosmic Rays and Near-Relativistic Electrons in the Heliosheath

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roelof, E. C.

    2017-12-01

    Voyager 1/2 LECP observations at the termination shock (TS) crossings established that energetic ions (40keV-1MeV) appeared to be locally accelerated "termination shock particles", and since then have exhibited remarkably steady and similar intensities at both spacecraft throughout the heliosheath (HS). On the other hand, the anomalous cosmic rays (ACRs, 4-80 MeV total energy H, He, and O ions) increased more or less steadily across the shock and then gradually peaked years later. All the time in the HS, the ACRs at each spacecraft exhibited a striking "common spectrum", i.e., closely similar intensity histories when ordered by total energy. Near-relativistic electrons (30 keV-1 MeV) exhibited seemingly mutually inconsistent behavior while the two Voyagers transited the shock and HS, with the VGR2 electrons peaking at the shock, but later disappearing for a year (in 2010) and then slowly recovering, as opposed to the less variable VGR1 electrons whose remarkably smooth time history (2008-2012) was very similar to the VGR1 ACRs. Consequently, shock acceleration seems to be operating locally at the TS along with another spatially distributed acceleration/transport mechanism within the HS. The "reservoir" equation (Roelof, AIP Conf. Proc., 1500, 174-179 and 180-184, 2012) offers quantitative explanations for many of these apparently disparate observations. Meso-scale gradients and curvatures in the magnetic field produce transverse transport of energetic particles and (in direct consequence) "transverse compressive" acceleration that relates the fractional rate of momentum d(lnp)/dt=-(1/3)div(Vperp) to the divergence of the component of the plasma velocity transverse to the magnetic field. However, this acceleration rate must compete with the extinction rate of singly-charged ions due to charge exchange with the cold interstellar neutral H-atoms that permeate the HS. The agreement of the Voyager 1/2 LECP observations with the acceleration/extinction processes has

  6. Reducing process delays for real-time earthquake parameter estimation - An application of KD tree to large databases for Earthquake Early Warning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yin, Lucy; Andrews, Jennifer; Heaton, Thomas

    2018-05-01

    Earthquake parameter estimations using nearest neighbor searching among a large database of observations can lead to reliable prediction results. However, in the real-time application of Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems, the accurate prediction using a large database is penalized by a significant delay in the processing time. We propose to use a multidimensional binary search tree (KD tree) data structure to organize large seismic databases to reduce the processing time in nearest neighbor search for predictions. We evaluated the performance of KD tree on the Gutenberg Algorithm, a database-searching algorithm for EEW. We constructed an offline test to predict peak ground motions using a database with feature sets of waveform filter-bank characteristics, and compare the results with the observed seismic parameters. We concluded that large database provides more accurate predictions of the ground motion information, such as peak ground acceleration, velocity, and displacement (PGA, PGV, PGD), than source parameters, such as hypocenter distance. Application of the KD tree search to organize the database reduced the average searching process by 85% time cost of the exhaustive method, allowing the method to be feasible for real-time implementation. The algorithm is straightforward and the results will reduce the overall time of warning delivery for EEW.

  7. Peak phosphorus - peak food? The need to close the phosphorus cycle.

    PubMed

    Rhodes, Christopher J

    2013-01-01

    The peak in the world production of phosphorus has been predicted to occur in 2033, based on world reserves of rock phosphate (URR) reckoned at around 24,000 million tonnes (Mt), with around 18,000 Mt remaining. This figure was reckoned-up to 71,000 Mt, by the USGS, in 2012, but a production maximum during the present century is still highly probable. There are complex issues over what the demand will be for phosphorus in the future, as measured against a rising population (from 7 billion to over 9 billion in 2050), and a greater per capita demand for fertiliser to grow more grain, in part to feed animals and meet a rising demand for meat by a human species that is not merely more populous but more affluent. As a counterweight to this, we may expect that greater efficiencies in the use of phosphorus - including recycling from farms and of human and animal waste - will reduce the per capita demand for phosphate rock. The unseen game changer is peak oil, since phosphate is mined and recovered using machinery powered by liquid fuels refined from crude oil. Hence, peak oil and peak phosphorus might appear as conjoined twins. There is no unequivocal case that we can afford to ignore the likelihood of a supply-demand gap for phosphorus occurring sometime this century, and it would be perilous to do so.

  8. Enhanced laser radiation pressure acceleration of protons with a gold cone-capillary

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lv, Chong; Xie, Bai-Song; Wan, Feng; Hou, Ya-Juan; Jia, Mo-Ran; Sang, Hai-Bo; Hong, Xue-Ren; Liu, Shi-Bing

    2017-03-01

    A scheme with a gold cone-capillary is proposed to improve the protons acceleration, and involved problems are investigated by using the two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is demonstrated that the cone-capillary can efficiently guide and collimate the protons to a longer distance and result in a better beam quality with a dense density ≥ 10 n c , monoenergetic peak energy E k ˜ 1.51 GeV , spatial emittance ˜ 0.0088 mm mrad with divergence angle θ ˜ 1.0 ° and diameter ˜ 0.5 μ m . The enhancement is mainly attributed to the focusing effect by the transverse electric field generated by the cone as well as the capillary, which can prevent greatly the protons from expanding in the transverse direction. Comparable to without the capillary, the protons energy spectra have a stable monoenergetic peak and divergence angle nearby 1.0 ° in longer time. Besides, the efficiency of acceleration depending on the capillary length is explored, and the optimal capillary length is also achieved. Such a target may be beneficial to many applications such as ion fast ignition in inertial fusion, proton therapy and so on.

  9. Trunk Acceleration for Neuroprosthetic Control of Standing – a Pilot Study

    PubMed Central

    Audu, Musa L.; Kirsch, Robert F.; Triolo, Ronald J.

    2013-01-01

    This pilot study investigated the potential of using trunk acceleration feedback control of center of pressure (COP) against postural disturbances with a standing neuroprosthesis following paralysis. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were trained to use three-dimensional trunk acceleration as input to predict changes in COP for able-bodied subjects undergoing perturbations during bipedal stance. Correlation coefficients between ANN predictions and actual COP ranged from 0.67 to 0.77. An ANN trained across all subject-normalized data was used to drive feedback control of ankle muscle excitation levels for a computer model representing a standing neuroprosthesis user. Feedback control reduced average upper-body loading during perturbation onset and recovery by 42% and peak loading by 29% compared to optimal, constant excitation. PMID:21975251

  10. Controlling laser driven protons acceleration using a deformable mirror at a high repetition rate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Noaman-ul-Haq, M.; Sokollik, T.; Ahmed, H.; Braenzel, J.; Ehrentraut, L.; Mirzaie, M.; Yu, L.-L.; Sheng, Z. M.; Chen, L. M.; Schnürer, M.; Zhang, J.

    2018-03-01

    We present results from a proof-of-principle experiment to optimize laser driven protons acceleration by directly feeding back its spectral information to a deformable mirror (DM) controlled by evolutionary algorithms (EAs). By irradiating a stable high-repetition rate tape driven target with ultra-intense pulses of intensities ∼1020 W/ cm2, we optimize the maximum energy of the accelerated protons with a stability of less than ∼5% fluctuations near optimum value. Moreover, due to spatio-temporal development of the sheath field, modulations in the spectrum are also observed. Particularly, a prominent narrow peak is observed with a spread of ∼15% (FWHM) at low energy part of the spectrum. These results are helpful to develop high repetition rate optimization techniques required for laser-driven ion accelerators.

  11. How to use your peak flow meter

    MedlinePlus

    Peak flow meter - how to use; Asthma - peak flow meter; Reactive airway disease - peak flow meter; Bronchial asthma - peak flow meter ... your airways are narrowed and blocked due to asthma, your peak flow values drop. You can check ...

  12. A Bayesian model for highly accelerated phase-contrast MRI.

    PubMed

    Rich, Adam; Potter, Lee C; Jin, Ning; Ash, Joshua; Simonetti, Orlando P; Ahmad, Rizwan

    2016-08-01

    Phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging is a noninvasive tool to assess cardiovascular disease by quantifying blood flow; however, low data acquisition efficiency limits the spatial and temporal resolutions, real-time application, and extensions to four-dimensional flow imaging in clinical settings. We propose a new data processing approach called Reconstructing Velocity Encoded MRI with Approximate message passing aLgorithms (ReVEAL) that accelerates the acquisition by exploiting data structure unique to phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging. The proposed approach models physical correlations across space, time, and velocity encodings. The proposed Bayesian approach exploits the relationships in both magnitude and phase among velocity encodings. A fast iterative recovery algorithm is introduced based on message passing. For validation, prospectively undersampled data are processed from a pulsatile flow phantom and five healthy volunteers. The proposed approach is in good agreement, quantified by peak velocity and stroke volume (SV), with reference data for acceleration rates R≤10. For SV, Pearson r≥0.99 for phantom imaging (n = 24) and r≥0.96 for prospectively accelerated in vivo imaging (n = 10) for R≤10. The proposed approach enables accurate quantification of blood flow from highly undersampled data. The technique is extensible to four-dimensional flow imaging, where higher acceleration may be possible due to additional redundancy. Magn Reson Med 76:689-701, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. A Bayesian Model for Highly Accelerated Phase-Contrast MRI

    PubMed Central

    Rich, Adam; Potter, Lee C.; Jin, Ning; Ash, Joshua; Simonetti, Orlando P.; Ahmad, Rizwan

    2015-01-01

    Purpose Phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) is a noninvasive tool to assess cardiovascular disease by quantifying blood flow; however, low data acquisition efficiency limits the spatial and temporal resolutions, real-time application, and extensions to 4D flow imaging in clinical settings. We propose a new data processing approach called Reconstructing Velocity Encoded MRI with Approximate message passing aLgorithms (ReVEAL) that accelerates the acquisition by exploiting data structure unique to PC-MRI. Theory and Methods ReVEAL models physical correlations across space, time, and velocity encodings. The proposed Bayesian approach exploits the relationships in both magnitude and phase among velocity encodings. A fast iterative recovery algorithm is introduced based on message passing. For validation, prospectively undersampled data are processed from a pulsatile flow phantom and five healthy volunteers. Results ReVEAL is in good agreement, quantified by peak velocity and stroke volume (SV), with reference data for acceleration rates R ≤ 10. For SV, Pearson r ≥ 0.996 for phantom imaging (n = 24) and r ≥ 0.956 for prospectively accelerated in vivo imaging (n = 10) for R ≤ 10. Conclusion ReVEAL enables accurate quantification of blood flow from highly undersampled data. The technique is extensible to 4D flow imaging, where higher acceleration may be possible due to additional redundancy. PMID:26444911

  14. Pickup ion acceleration in the successive appearance of corotating interaction regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsubouchi, K.

    2017-04-01

    Acceleration of pickup ions (PUIs) in an environment surrounded by a pair of corotating interaction regions (CIRs) was investigated by numerical simulations using a hybrid code. Energetic particles associated with CIRs have been considered to be a result of the acceleration at their shock boundaries, but recent observations identified the ion flux peaks in the sub-MeV to MeV energy range in the rarefaction region, where two separate CIRs were likely connected by the magnetic field. Our simulation results confirmed these observational features. As the accelerated PUIs repeatedly bounce back and forth along the field lines between the reverse shock of the first CIR and the forward shock of the second one, the energetic population is accumulated in the rarefaction region. It was also verified that PUI acceleration in the dual CIR system had two different stages. First, because PUIs have large gyroradii, multiple shock crossing is possible for several tens of gyroperiods, and there is an energy gain in the component parallel to the magnetic field via shock drift acceleration. Second, as the field rarefaction evolves and the radial magnetic field becomes dominant, Fermi-type reflection takes place at the shock. The converging nature of two shocks results in a net energy gain. The PUI energy acquired through these processes is close to 0.5 MeV, which may be large enough for further acceleration, possibly resulting in the source of anomalous cosmic rays.

  15. The influence of acceleration loading curve characteristics on traumatic brain injury.

    PubMed

    Post, Andrew; Blaine Hoshizaki, T; Gilchrist, Michael D; Brien, Susan; Cusimano, Michael D; Marshall, Shawn

    2014-03-21

    To prevent brain trauma, understanding the mechanism of injury is essential. Once the mechanism of brain injury has been identified, prevention technologies could then be developed to aid in their prevention. The incidence of brain injury is linked to how the kinematics of a brain injury event affects the internal structures of the brain. As a result it is essential that an attempt be made to describe how the characteristics of the linear and rotational acceleration influence specific traumatic brain injury lesions. As a result, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the characteristics of linear and rotational acceleration pulses and how they account for the variance in predicting the outcome of TBI lesions, namely contusion, subdural hematoma (SDH), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and epidural hematoma (EDH) using a principal components analysis (PCA). Monorail impacts were conducted which simulated falls which caused the TBI lesions. From these reconstructions, the characteristics of the linear and rotational acceleration were determined and used for a PCA analysis. The results indicated that peak resultant acceleration variables did not account for any of the variance in predicting TBI lesions. The majority of the variance was accounted for by duration of the resultant and component linear and rotational acceleration. In addition, the components of linear and rotational acceleration characteristics on the x, y, and z axes accounted for the majority of the remainder of the variance after duration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Acceleration of polarized protons and deuterons in the ion collider ring of JLEIC

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kondratenko, A.; Kondratenko, M.; Filatov, Yu. N.

    2017-07-01

    The figure-8-shaped ion collider ring of Jefferson Lab Electron-Ion Collider (JLEIC) is transparent to the spin. It allows one to preserve proton and deuteron polarizations using weak stabilizing solenoids when accelerating the beam up to 100 GeV/c. When the stabilizing solenoids are introduced into the collider's lattice, the particle spins precess about a spin field, which consists of the field induced by the stabilizing solenoids and the zero-integer spin resonance strength. During acceleration of the beam, the induced spin field is maintained constant while the resonance strength experiences significant changes in the regions of "interference peaks". The beam polarization dependsmore » on the field ramp rate of the arc magnets. Its component along the spin field is preserved if acceleration is adiabatic. We present the results of our theoretical analysis and numerical modeling of the spin dynamics during acceleration of protons and deuterons in the JLEIC ion collider ring. We demonstrate high stability of the deuteron polarization in figure-8 accelerators. We analyze a change in the beam polarization when crossing the transition energy.« less

  17. Peak-flow frequency relations and evaluation of the peak-flow gaging network in Nebraska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Soenksen, Philip J.; Miller, Lisa D.; Sharpe, Jennifer B.; Watton, Jason R.

    1999-01-01

    Estimates of peak-flow magnitude and frequency are required for the efficient design of structures that convey flood flows or occupy floodways, such as bridges, culverts, and roads. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Nebraska Department of Roads, conducted a study to update peak-flow frequency analyses for selected streamflow-gaging stations, develop a new set of peak-flow frequency relations for ungaged streams, and evaluate the peak-flow gaging-station network for Nebraska. Data from stations located in or within about 50 miles of Nebraska were analyzed using guidelines of the Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data in Bulletin 17B. New generalized skew relations were developed for use in frequency analyses of unregulated streams. Thirty-three drainage-basin characteristics related to morphology, soils, and precipitation were quantified using a geographic information system, related computer programs, and digital spatial data.For unregulated streams, eight sets of regional regression equations relating drainage-basin to peak-flow characteristics were developed for seven regions of the state using a generalized least squares procedure. Two sets of regional peak-flow frequency equations were developed for basins with average soil permeability greater than 4 inches per hour, and six sets of equations were developed for specific geographic areas, usually based on drainage-basin boundaries. Standard errors of estimate for the 100-year frequency equations (1percent probability) ranged from 12.1 to 63.8 percent. For regulated reaches of nine streams, graphs of peak flow for standard frequencies and distance upstream of the mouth were estimated.The regional networks of streamflow-gaging stations on unregulated streams were analyzed to evaluate how additional data might affect the average sampling errors of the newly developed peak-flow equations for the 100-year frequency occurrence. Results indicated that data from new stations, rather than more

  18. Evaluation of different time domain peak models using extreme learning machine-based peak detection for EEG signal.

    PubMed

    Adam, Asrul; Ibrahim, Zuwairie; Mokhtar, Norrima; Shapiai, Mohd Ibrahim; Cumming, Paul; Mubin, Marizan

    2016-01-01

    Various peak models have been introduced to detect and analyze peaks in the time domain analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. In general, peak model in the time domain analysis consists of a set of signal parameters, such as amplitude, width, and slope. Models including those proposed by Dumpala, Acir, Liu, and Dingle are routinely used to detect peaks in EEG signals acquired in clinical studies of epilepsy or eye blink. The optimal peak model is the most reliable peak detection performance in a particular application. A fair measure of performance of different models requires a common and unbiased platform. In this study, we evaluate the performance of the four different peak models using the extreme learning machine (ELM)-based peak detection algorithm. We found that the Dingle model gave the best performance, with 72 % accuracy in the analysis of real EEG data. Statistical analysis conferred that the Dingle model afforded significantly better mean testing accuracy than did the Acir and Liu models, which were in the range 37-52 %. Meanwhile, the Dingle model has no significant difference compared to Dumpala model.

  19. Origin of weak lensing convergence peaks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Jia; Haiman, Zoltán

    2016-08-01

    Weak lensing convergence peaks are a promising tool to probe nonlinear structure evolution at late times, providing additional cosmological information beyond second-order statistics. Previous theoretical and observational studies have shown that the cosmological constraints on Ωm and σ8 are improved by a factor of up to ≈2 when peak counts and second-order statistics are combined, compared to using the latter alone. We study the origin of lensing peaks using observational data from the 154 deg2 Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey. We found that while high peaks (with height κ >3.5 σκ , where σκ is the rms of the convergence κ ) are typically due to one single massive halo of ≈1 015M⊙ , low peaks (κ ≲σκ ) are associated with constellations of 2-8 smaller halos (≲1 013M⊙ ). In addition, halos responsible for forming low peaks are found to be significantly offset from the line of sight towards the peak center (impact parameter ≳ their virial radii), compared with ≈0.25 virial radii for halos linked with high peaks, hinting that low peaks are more immune to baryonic processes whose impact is confined to the inner regions of the dark matter halos. Our findings are in good agreement with results from the simulation work by Yang et al. [Phys. Rev. D 84, 043529 (2011)].

  20. Multiscale peak detection in wavelet space.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Zhi-Min; Tong, Xia; Peng, Ying; Ma, Pan; Zhang, Ming-Jin; Lu, Hong-Mei; Chen, Xiao-Qing; Liang, Yi-Zeng

    2015-12-07

    Accurate peak detection is essential for analyzing high-throughput datasets generated by analytical instruments. Derivatives with noise reduction and matched filtration are frequently used, but they are sensitive to baseline variations, random noise and deviations in the peak shape. A continuous wavelet transform (CWT)-based method is more practical and popular in this situation, which can increase the accuracy and reliability by identifying peaks across scales in wavelet space and implicitly removing noise as well as the baseline. However, its computational load is relatively high and the estimated features of peaks may not be accurate in the case of peaks that are overlapping, dense or weak. In this study, we present multi-scale peak detection (MSPD) by taking full advantage of additional information in wavelet space including ridges, valleys, and zero-crossings. It can achieve a high accuracy by thresholding each detected peak with the maximum of its ridge. It has been comprehensively evaluated with MALDI-TOF spectra in proteomics, the CAMDA 2006 SELDI dataset as well as the Romanian database of Raman spectra, which is particularly suitable for detecting peaks in high-throughput analytical signals. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves show that MSPD can detect more true peaks while keeping the false discovery rate lower than MassSpecWavelet and MALDIquant methods. Superior results in Raman spectra suggest that MSPD seems to be a more universal method for peak detection. MSPD has been designed and implemented efficiently in Python and Cython. It is available as an open source package at .

  1. Peak-discharge frequency and potential extreme peak discharge for natural streams in the Brazos River basin, Texas

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Raines, Timothy H.

    1998-01-01

    The potential extreme peak-discharge curves as related to contributing drainage area were estimated for each of the three hydrologic regions from measured extreme peaks of record at 186 sites with streamflow-gaging stations and from measured extreme peaks at 37 sites without streamflow-gaging stations in and near the Brazos River Basin. The potential extreme peak-discharge curves generally are similar for hydrologic regions 1 and 2, and the curve for region 3 consistently is below the curves for regions 1 and 2, which indicates smaller peak discharges.

  2. Scaling magnetized liner inertial fusion on Z and future pulsed-power accelerators

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Slutz, S. A.; Stygar, W. A.; Gomez, M. R.

    The MagLIF (Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion) concept [S. A. Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010)] has demonstrated fusion–relevant plasma conditions [M. R. Gomez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 155003 (2014)] on the Z accelerator with a peak drive current of about 18 MA. We present 2D numerical simulations of the scaling of MagLIF on Z as a function of drive current, preheat energy, and applied magnetic field. The results indicate that deuterium-tritium (DT) fusion yields greater than 100 kJ could be possible on Z when all of these parameters are at the optimum values: i.e., peak current = 25 MA, deposited preheatmore » energy = 5 kJ, and B{sub z} = 30 T. Much higher yields have been predicted [S. A. Slutz and R. A. Vesey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 025003 (2012)] for MagLIF driven with larger peak currents. Two high performance pulsed-power accelerators (Z300 and Z800) based on linear-transformer-driver technology have been designed [W. A. Stygar et al., Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 18, 110401 (2015)]. The Z300 design would provide 48 MA to a MagLIF load, while Z800 would provide 65 MA. Parameterized Thevenin-equivalent circuits were used to drive a series of 1D and 2D numerical MagLIF simulations with currents ranging from what Z can deliver now to what could be achieved by these conceptual future pulsed-power accelerators. 2D simulations of simple MagLIF targets containing just gaseous DT have yields of 18 MJ for Z300 and 440 MJ for Z800. The 2D simulated yield for Z800 is increased to 7 GJ by adding a layer of frozen DT ice to the inside of the liner.« less

  3. Can You Hear That Peak? Utilization of Auditory and Visual Feedback at Peak Limb Velocity.

    PubMed

    Loria, Tristan; de Grosbois, John; Tremblay, Luc

    2016-09-01

    At rest, the central nervous system combines and integrates multisensory cues to yield an optimal percept. When engaging in action, the relative weighing of sensory modalities has been shown to be altered. Because the timing of peak velocity is the critical moment in some goal-directed movements (e.g., overarm throwing), the current study sought to test whether visual and auditory cues are optimally integrated at that specific kinematic marker when it is the critical part of the trajectory. Participants performed an upper-limb movement in which they were required to reach their peak limb velocity when the right index finger intersected a virtual target (i.e., a flinging movement). Brief auditory, visual, or audiovisual feedback (i.e., 20 ms in duration) was provided to participants at peak limb velocity. Performance was assessed primarily through the resultant position of peak limb velocity and the variability of that position. Relative to when no feedback was provided, auditory feedback significantly reduced the resultant endpoint variability of the finger position at peak limb velocity. However, no such reductions were found for the visual or audiovisual feedback conditions. Further, providing both auditory and visual cues concurrently also failed to yield the theoretically predicted improvements in endpoint variability. Overall, the central nervous system can make significant use of an auditory cue but may not optimally integrate a visual and auditory cue at peak limb velocity, when peak velocity is the critical part of the trajectory.

  4. Peak broadening and peak shift pole figures investigations by STRESS-SPEC diffractometer at FRM II

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gan, W. M.; Randau, C.; Hofmann, M.; Brokmeier, H. G.; Mueller, M.; Schreyer, A.

    2012-02-01

    This paper studied for the first time peak intensity, peak position and FHWM pole figures with one time measurement at the neutron diffractometer STRESS-SPEC via in-situ tensile deformation on austenitic steel. Fibre distribution with its evolution from central tensile direction to normal direction of these three kinds of pole figures was obtained. Variation of peak position and FWHM can be correlated to the reorientation of the texture component.

  5. Intra-pulse transition between ion acceleration mechanisms in intense laser-foil interactions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Padda, H.; King, M.; Gray, R. J.

    Multiple ion acceleration mechanisms can occur when an ultrathin foil is irradiated with an intense laser pulse, with the dominant mechanism changing over the course of the interaction. Measurement of the spatial-intensity distribution of the beam of energetic protons is used to investigate the transition from radiation pressure acceleration to transparency-driven processes. It is shown numerically that radiation pressure drives an increased expansion of the target ions within the spatial extent of the laser focal spot, which induces a radial deflection of relatively low energy sheath-accelerated protons to form an annular distribution. Through variation of the target foil thickness, themore » opening angle of the ring is shown to be correlated to the point in time transparency occurs during the interaction and is maximized when it occurs at the peak of the laser intensity profile. Corresponding experimental measurements of the ring size variation with target thickness exhibit the same trends and provide insight into the intra-pulse laser-plasma evolution.« less

  6. Compact all-fiber interferometer system for shock acceleration measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Jiang; Pi, Shaohua; Hong, Guangwei; Zhao, Dong; Jia, Bo

    2013-08-01

    interferometer system measured shock acceleration with peak accelerations of ~100,000 m/s2 and the durations of ~0.2 ms which are conformed to the results of the shock acceleration calibration system. The measured relative error of the acceleration is within 3%.

  7. A model to forecast peak spreading.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-04-01

    As traffic congestion increases, the K-factor, defined as the proportion of the 24-hour traffic volume that occurs during the peak hour, may decrease. This behavioral response is known as peak spreading: as congestion grows during the peak travel tim...

  8. Particle Acceleration by Cme-driven Shock Waves

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Reames, Donald V.

    1999-01-01

    In the largest solar energetic particle (SEP) events, acceleration occurs at shock waves driven out from the Sun by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Peak particle intensities are a strong function of CME speed, although the intensities, spectra, and angular distributions of particles escaping the shock are highly modified by scattering on Alfven waves produced by the streaming particles themselves. Element abundances vary in complex ways because ions with different values of Q/A resonate with different parts of the wave spectrum, which varies with space and time. Just recently, we have begun to model these systematic variations theoretically and to explore other consequences of proton-generated waves.

  9. Simulations of radiation pressure ion acceleration with the VEGA Petawatt laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stockhausen, Luca C.; Torres, Ricardo; Conejero Jarque, Enrique

    2016-09-01

    The Spanish Pulsed Laser Centre (CLPU) is a new high-power laser facility for users. Its main system, VEGA, is a CPA Ti:Sapphire laser which, in its final phase, will be able to reach Petawatt peak powers in pulses of 30 fs with a pulse contrast of 1 :1010 at 1 ps. The extremely low level of pre-pulse intensity makes this system ideally suited for studying the laser interaction with ultrathin targets. We have used the particle-in-cell (PIC) code OSIRIS to carry out 2D simulations of the acceleration of ions from ultrathin solid targets under the unique conditions provided by VEGA, with laser intensities up to 1022 W cm-2 impinging normally on 20 - 60 nm thick overdense plasmas, with different polarizations and pre-plasma scale lengths. We show how signatures of the radiation pressure-dominated regime, such as layer compression and bunch formation, are only present with circular polarization. By passively shaping the density gradient of the plasma, we demonstrate an enhancement in peak energy up to tens of MeV and monoenergetic features. On the contrary linear polarization at the same intensity level causes the target to blow up, resulting in much lower energies and broader spectra. One limiting factor of Radiation Pressure Acceleration is the development of Rayleigh-Taylor like instabilities at the interface of the plasma and photon fluid. This results in the formation of bubbles in the spatial profile of laser-accelerated proton beams. These structures were previously evidenced both experimentally and theoretically. We have performed 2D simulations to characterize this bubble-like structure and report on the dependency on laser and target parameters.

  10. First muon acceleration using a radio-frequency accelerator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bae, S.; Choi, H.; Choi, S.; Fukao, Y.; Futatsukawa, K.; Hasegawa, K.; Iijima, T.; Iinuma, H.; Ishida, K.; Kawamura, N.; Kim, B.; Kitamura, R.; Ko, H. S.; Kondo, Y.; Li, S.; Mibe, T.; Miyake, Y.; Morishita, T.; Nakazawa, Y.; Otani, M.; Razuvaev, G. P.; Saito, N.; Shimomura, K.; Sue, Y.; Won, E.; Yamazaki, T.

    2018-05-01

    Muons have been accelerated by using a radio-frequency accelerator for the first time. Negative muonium atoms (Mu- ), which are bound states of positive muons (μ+) and two electrons, are generated from μ+'s through the electron capture process in an aluminum degrader. The generated Mu- 's are initially electrostatically accelerated and injected into a radio-frequency quadrupole linac (RFQ). In the RFQ, the Mu- 's are accelerated to 89 keV. The accelerated Mu- 's are identified by momentum measurement and time of flight. This compact muon linac opens the door to various muon accelerator applications including particle physics measurements and the construction of a transmission muon microscope.

  11. Microbial production and chemical transformation of poly-γ-glutamate.

    PubMed

    Ashiuchi, Makoto

    2013-11-01

    Poly-γ-glutamate (PGA), a novel polyamide material with industrial applications, possesses a nylon-like backbone, is structurally similar to polyacrylic acid, is biodegradable and is safe for human consumption. PGA is frequently found in the mucilage of natto, a Japanese traditional fermented food. To date, three different types of PGA, namely a homo polymer of D-glutamate (D-PGA), a homo polymer of L-glutamate (L-PGA), and a random copolymer consisting of D- and L-glutamate (DL-PGA), are known. This review will detail the occurrence and physiology of PGA. The proposed reaction mechanism of PGA synthesis including its localization and the structure of the involved enzyme, PGA synthetase, are described. The occurrence of multiple carboxyl residues in PGA likely plays a role in its relative unsuitability for the development of bio-nylon plastics and thus, establishment of an efficient PGA-reforming strategy is of great importance. Aside from the potential applications of PGA proposed to date, a new technique for chemical transformation of PGA is also discussed. Finally, some techniques for PGA and its derivatives in advanced material technology are presented. © 2013 The Author. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

  12. Sinking during earthquakes: Critical acceleration criteria control drained soil liquefaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Clément, C.; Toussaint, R.; Stojanova, M.; Aharonov, E.

    2018-02-01

    This article focuses on liquefaction of saturated granular soils, triggered by earthquakes. Liquefaction is defined here as the transition from a rigid state, in which the granular soil layer supports structures placed on its surface, to a fluidlike state, in which structures placed initially on the surface sink to their isostatic depth within the granular layer. We suggest a simple theoretical model for soil liquefaction and show that buoyancy caused by the presence of water inside a granular medium has a dramatic influence on the stability of an intruder resting at the surface of the medium. We confirm this hypothesis by comparison with laboratory experiments and discrete-element numerical simulations. The external excitation representing ground motion during earthquakes is simulated via horizontal sinusoidal oscillations of controlled frequency and amplitude. In the experiments, we use particles only slightly denser than water, which as predicted theoretically increases the effect of liquefaction and allows clear depth-of-sinking measurements. In the simulations, a micromechanical model simulates grains using molecular dynamics with friction between neighbors. The effect of the fluid is captured by taking into account buoyancy effects on the grains when they are immersed. We show that the motion of an intruder inside a granular medium is mainly dependent on the peak acceleration of the ground motion and establish a phase diagram for the conditions under which liquefaction happens, depending on the soil bulk density, friction properties, presence of water, and peak acceleration of the imposed large-scale soil vibrations. We establish that in liquefaction conditions, most cases relax toward an equilibrium position following an exponential in time. We also show that the equilibrium position itself, for most liquefaction regimes, corresponds to the isostatic equilibrium of the intruder inside a medium of effective density. The characteristic time to relaxation is

  13. Sinking during earthquakes: Critical acceleration criteria control drained soil liquefaction.

    PubMed

    Clément, C; Toussaint, R; Stojanova, M; Aharonov, E

    2018-02-01

    This article focuses on liquefaction of saturated granular soils, triggered by earthquakes. Liquefaction is defined here as the transition from a rigid state, in which the granular soil layer supports structures placed on its surface, to a fluidlike state, in which structures placed initially on the surface sink to their isostatic depth within the granular layer. We suggest a simple theoretical model for soil liquefaction and show that buoyancy caused by the presence of water inside a granular medium has a dramatic influence on the stability of an intruder resting at the surface of the medium. We confirm this hypothesis by comparison with laboratory experiments and discrete-element numerical simulations. The external excitation representing ground motion during earthquakes is simulated via horizontal sinusoidal oscillations of controlled frequency and amplitude. In the experiments, we use particles only slightly denser than water, which as predicted theoretically increases the effect of liquefaction and allows clear depth-of-sinking measurements. In the simulations, a micromechanical model simulates grains using molecular dynamics with friction between neighbors. The effect of the fluid is captured by taking into account buoyancy effects on the grains when they are immersed. We show that the motion of an intruder inside a granular medium is mainly dependent on the peak acceleration of the ground motion and establish a phase diagram for the conditions under which liquefaction happens, depending on the soil bulk density, friction properties, presence of water, and peak acceleration of the imposed large-scale soil vibrations. We establish that in liquefaction conditions, most cases relax toward an equilibrium position following an exponential in time. We also show that the equilibrium position itself, for most liquefaction regimes, corresponds to the isostatic equilibrium of the intruder inside a medium of effective density. The characteristic time to relaxation is

  14. PARTICLE ACCELERATOR

    DOEpatents

    Teng, L.C.

    1960-01-19

    ABS>A combination of two accelerators, a cyclotron and a ring-shaped accelerator which has a portion disposed tangentially to the cyclotron, is described. Means are provided to transfer particles from the cyclotron to the ring accelerator including a magnetic deflector within the cyclotron, a magnetic shield between the ring accelerator and the cyclotron, and a magnetic inflector within the ring accelerator.

  15. A randomized pilot study of optimization of cardiac resynchronization therapy in sinus rhythm patients using a peak endocardial acceleration sensor vs. standard methods.

    PubMed

    Ritter, Philippe; Delnoy, Peter Paul H M; Padeletti, Luigi; Lunati, Maurizio; Naegele, Herbert; Borri-Brunetto, Alberto; Silvestre, Jorge

    2012-09-01

    Non-response rate to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) might be decreased by optimizing device programming. The Clinical Evaluation on Advanced Resynchronization (CLEAR) study aimed to assess the effects of CRT with automatically optimized atrioventricular (AV) and interventricular (VV) delays, based on a Peak Endocardial Acceleration (PEA) signal system. This multicentre, single-blind study randomized patients in a 1 : 1 ratio to CRT optimized either automatically by the PEA-based system, or according to centres' usual practices, mostly by echocardiography. Patients had heart failure (HF) New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III/IV, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <35%, QRS duration >150 or >120 ms with mechanical dyssynchrony. Follow-up was 1 year. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who improved their condition at 1 year, based on a composite of all-cause death, HF hospitalizations, NYHA class, and quality of life. In all, 268 patients in sinus rhythm (63% men; mean age: 73.1 ± 9.9 years; mean NYHA: 3.0 ± 0.3; mean LVEF: 27.1 ± 8.1%; and mean QRS duration: 160.1 ± 22.0 ms) were included and 238 patients were randomized, 123 to PEA and 115 to the control group. At 1 year, 76% of patients assigned to PEA were classified as improved, vs. 62% in the control group (P= 0.0285). The percentage of patients with improved NYHA class was significantly (P= 0.0020) higher in the PEA group than in controls. Fatal and non-fatal adverse events were evenly distributed between the groups. PEA-based optimization of CRT in HF patients significantly increased the proportion of patients who improved with therapy, mainly through improved NYHA class, after 1 year of follow-up.

  16. Rare isotope accelerator project in Korea and its application to high energy density sciences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chung, M.; Chung, Y. S.; Kim, S. K.; Lee, B. J.; Hoffmann, D. H. H.

    2014-01-01

    As a national science project, the Korean government has recently established the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) with the goal of conducting world-class research in basic sciences. One of the core facilities for the IBS will be the rare isotope accelerator which can produce high-intensity rare isotope beams to investigate the fundamental properties of nature, and also to support a broad research program in material sciences, medical and biosciences, and future nuclear energy technologies. The construction of the accelerator is scheduled to be completed by approximately 2017. The design of the accelerator complex is optimized to deliver high average beam current on targets, and to maximize the production of rare isotope beams through the simultaneous use of Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) and In-Flight Fragmentation (IFF) methods. The proposed accelerator is, however, not optimal for high energy density science, which usually requires very high peak currents on the target. In this study, we present possible beam-plasma experiments that can be done within the scope of the current accelerator design, and we also investigate possible future extension paths that may enable high energy density science with intense pulsed heavy ion beams.

  17. Studies of Ion Acceleration from Thin Solid-Density Targets on High-Intensity Lasers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Willis, Christopher R.

    Over the past two decades, a number of experiments have been performed demonstrating the acceleration of ions from the interaction of an intense laser pulse with a thin, solid density target. These ions are accelerated by quasi-static electric fields generated by energetic electrons produced at the front of the target, resulting in ion energies up to tens of MeV. These ions have been widely studied for a variety of potential applications ranging from treatment of cancer to the production of neutrons for advanced radiography techniques. However, realization of these applications will require further optimization of the maximum energy, spectrum, or species of the accelerated ions, which has been a primary focus of research to date. This thesis presents two experiments designed to optimize several characteristics of the accelerated ion beam. The first of these experiments took place on the GHOST laser system at the University of Texas at Austin, and was designed to demonstrate reliable acceleration of deuterium ions, as needed for the most efficient methods of neutron generation from accelerated ions. This experiment leveraged cryogenically cooled targets coated in D2 O ice to suppress the protons which typically dominate the accelerated ions, producing as many as 2 x 1010 deuterium ions per 1 J laser shot, exceeding the proton yield by an average ratio of 5:1. The second major experiment in this work was performed on the Scarlet laser system at The Ohio State University, and studied the accelerated ion energy, yield, and spatial distribution as a function of the target thickness. In principle, the peak energy increases with decreasing target thickness, with the thinnest targets accessing additional acceleration mechanisms which provide favorable scaling with the laser intensity. However, laser prepulse characteristics provide a lower bound for the target thickness, yielding an optimum target thickness for ion acceleration which is dependent on the laser system. This

  18. [Coexistence of Addison-Biermer's anaemia with endocrine glands' dysfunctions].

    PubMed

    Kuliszkiewicz-Janus, Malgorzata; Bednarek-Tupikowska, Grazyna; Rózycka, Beata; Dereń, Izabela

    2004-11-01

    Addison-Biermer's anaemia is an autoimmune disease. It may coexist with other auto-aggressive diseases, precede them or join the other existing autoimmune diseases. It most often accompanies the Hashimoto disease but also may coexist polyglandular autoimmune syndrome (PGA). Three types of PGA are distinguished: PGA1--Blizzard's Syndrome, PGA2--Schmidt's Syndrome, and PGA3. The latter, unlike the remaining ones, is characterized by normal function of adrenal glands. Addison-Biermer's anaemia occurrence may be often difficult to diagnose as coexisting illnesses might ouflage its clinical symptoms. The aim of this paper was to analyse patients with different types of PGA with coexisting Addison-Biermer's anaemia. Group of 24 individuals was analysed: 2 women with PGA1, 10 patients with PGA2, 10 patients with PGA3. In 2 remaining ones PGA was not confirmed. Addison-Biermer's anaemia occurred in 7 patients (2 with PGA2 and 5 with PGA3 syndrome). Decreased concentration of vitamin B12 was diagnosed in 3 individuals among 24 examined patients (1 with type 3 and 2 with type 2), as well in 2 patients with unconfirmed PGA. Addison-Biermer's anaemia was not observed in patients with PGA1. We observed that megaloblastic anaemia occurred characteristic schedule depending on appearance of autoimmune diseases: in PGA2--many years after other immunopathies were found, in PGA3--as first auto-aggressive disease. Our analysis suggests the necessity of detailed check-ups on patients with Addison-Biermer's anaemia, as with time they may develop other diseases, especially hypothyroidism and/or PGA failure. On the contrary, in individuals with thyroid gland diseases and PGA syndromes further checkups should be megaloblastic anaemia-sensitive. In both cases it is important to consider substitutive treatment. The possibility of family coexisting both pernicious anaemia and autoimmune endocrinopathies needs diagnostics of members of the patient's family.

  19. [Use of antagonistic Bacillus subtilis bacteria for treatment of nosocomial urinary tract infections].

    PubMed

    Pushkarev, A M; Tuĭgunova, V G; Zaĭnullin, R R; Kuznetsova, T N; Gabidullin, Iu Z

    2007-01-01

    Effect of Bactisporin--a probiotic, containing spores of aerobic Bacillus subtilis 3H bacterium--for complex treatment of patients with nosocomial urinary tract infections was studied. 68 Cultures of different species of conditionally pathogenic bacteria were isolated from urine of the patients. Susceptibility of the isolated cultures to antibiotics before and after application of B. subtilis 3H metabolites was determined. The metabolites were accumulated on potato-glucose agar (PGA) while bacterium was cultivated on kapron membranes placed on surface of the medium. Influence of obtained metabolites on isolated strains was assessed by cultivation of each strain in metabolites-rich PGA during 24 h. Metabolites of B. subtilis led to decrease in resistance of isolated uropathogenic microflora to antibiotics. Use of Bactisporin in complex treatment of nosocomial urinary tract infections resulted in accelerated elimination of causative microorganism.

  20. Acceleration Modes and Transitions in Pulsed Plasma Accelerators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Polzin, Kurt A.; Greve, Christine M.

    2018-01-01

    Pulsed plasma accelerators typically operate by storing energy in a capacitor bank and then discharging this energy through a gas, ionizing and accelerating it through the Lorentz body force. Two plasma accelerator types employing this general scheme have typically been studied: the gas-fed pulsed plasma thruster and the quasi-steady magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) accelerator. The gas-fed pulsed plasma accelerator is generally represented as a completely transient device discharging in approximately 1-10 microseconds. When the capacitor bank is discharged through the gas, a current sheet forms at the breech of the thruster and propagates forward under a j (current density) by B (magnetic field) body force, entraining propellant it encounters. This process is sometimes referred to as detonation-mode acceleration because the current sheet representation approximates that of a strong shock propagating through the gas. Acceleration of the initial current sheet ceases when either the current sheet reaches the end of the device and is ejected or when the current in the circuit reverses, striking a new current sheet at the breech and depriving the initial sheet of additional acceleration. In the quasi-steady MPD accelerator, the pulse is lengthened to approximately 1 millisecond or longer and maintained at an approximately constant level during discharge. The time over which the transient phenomena experienced during startup typically occur is short relative to the overall discharge time, which is now long enough for the plasma to assume a relatively steady-state configuration. The ionized gas flows through a stationary current channel in a manner that is sometimes referred to as the deflagration-mode of operation. The plasma experiences electromagnetic acceleration as it flows through the current channel towards the exit of the device. A device that had a short pulse length but appeared to operate in a plasma acceleration regime different from the gas-fed pulsed plasma

  1. Design of a Ram Accelerator mass launch system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1988-01-01

    The Ram Accelerator, a chemically propelled, impulsive mass launch system, is presented as a viable concept for directly launching acceleration-insensitive payloads into low Earth orbit. The principles of propulsion are based on those of an airbreathing supersonic ramjet. The payload vehicle acts as the ramjet centerbody and travels through a fixed launch tube that acts as the ramjet outer cowling. The launch tube is filled with premixed gaseous fuel and oxidizer mixtures that combust at the base of the vehicle and produce thrust. Two modes of in-tube propulsion involving ramjet cycles are used in sequence to accelerate the vehicle from 0.7 km/sec to 9 km/sec. Requirements for placing a 2000 kg vehicle into a 500-km circular orbit, with a minimum amount of onboard rocket propellant for orbital maneuvers, are examined. It is shown that in-tube propulsion requirements dictate a launch tube length of 5.1 km to achieve an exit velocity of 9 km/sec, with peak accelerations not to exceed 1000 g's. Aerodynamic heating due to atmospheric transit requires minimal ablative protection and the vehicle retains a large percentage of its exit velocity. An indirect orbital insertion maneuver with aerobraking and two apogee burns is examined to minimize the required onboard propellant mass. An appropriate onboard propulsion system design to perform the required orbital maneuvers with minimum mass requirements is also determined. The structural designs of both the launch tube and the payload vehicle are examined using simple structural and finite element analysis for various materials.

  2. Accelerating protons to therapeutic energies with ultraintense, ultraclean, and ultrashort laser pulses

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bulanov, Stepan S.; Brantov, Andrei; Bychenkov, Valery Yu.

    2008-05-15

    Proton acceleration by high-intensity laser pulses from ultrathin foils for hadron therapy is discussed. With the improvement of the laser intensity contrast ratio to 10{sup -11} achieved on the Hercules laser at the University of Michigan, it became possible to attain laser-solid interactions at intensities up to 10{sup 22} W/cm{sup 2} that allows an efficient regime of laser-driven ion acceleration from submicron foils. Particle-in-cell (PIC) computer simulations of proton acceleration in the directed Coulomb explosion regime from ultrathin double-layer (heavy ions/light ions) foils of different thicknesses were performed under the anticipated experimental conditions for the Hercules laser with pulse energiesmore » from 3 to 15 J, pulse duration of 30 fs at full width half maximum (FWHM), focused to a spot size of 0.8 {mu}m (FWHM). In this regime heavy ions expand predominantly in the direction of laser pulse propagation enhancing the longitudinal charge separation electric field that accelerates light ions. The dependence of the maximum proton energy on the foil thickness has been found and the laser pulse characteristics have been matched with the thickness of the target to ensure the most efficient acceleration. Moreover, the proton spectrum demonstrates a peaked structure at high energies, which is required for radiation therapy. Two-dimensional PIC simulations show that a 150-500 TW laser pulse is able to accelerate protons up to 100-220 MeV energies.« less

  3. Accelerating protons to therapeutic energies with ultraintense, ultraclean, and ultrashort laser pulses

    PubMed Central

    Bulanov, Stepan S.; Brantov, Andrei; Bychenkov, Valery Yu.; Chvykov, Vladimir; Kalinchenko, Galina; Matsuoka, Takeshi; Rousseau, Pascal; Reed, Stephen; Yanovsky, Victor; Krushelnick, Karl; Litzenberg, Dale William; Maksimchuk, Anatoly

    2008-01-01

    Proton acceleration by high-intensity laser pulses from ultrathin foils for hadron therapy is discussed. With the improvement of the laser intensity contrast ratio to 10−11 achieved on the Hercules laser at the University of Michigan, it became possible to attain laser-solid interactions at intensities up to 1022 W∕cm2 that allows an efficient regime of laser-driven ion acceleration from submicron foils. Particle-in-cell (PIC) computer simulations of proton acceleration in the directed Coulomb explosion regime from ultrathin double-layer (heavy ions∕light ions) foils of different thicknesses were performed under the anticipated experimental conditions for the Hercules laser with pulse energies from 3 to 15 J, pulse duration of 30 fs at full width half maximum (FWHM), focused to a spot size of 0.8 μm (FWHM). In this regime heavy ions expand predominantly in the direction of laser pulse propagation enhancing the longitudinal charge separation electric field that accelerates light ions. The dependence of the maximum proton energy on the foil thickness has been found and the laser pulse characteristics have been matched with the thickness of the target to ensure the most efficient acceleration. Moreover, the proton spectrum demonstrates a peaked structure at high energies, which is required for radiation therapy. Two-dimensional PIC simulations show that a 150–500 TW laser pulse is able to accelerate protons up to 100–220 MeV energies. PMID:18561651

  4. Seismic hazard map of North and Central America and the Caribbean

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Shedlock, K.M.

    1999-01-01

    Minimization of the loss of life, property damage, and social and economic disruption due to earthquakes depends on reliable estimates of seismic hazard. National, state, and local government, decision makers, engineers, planners, emergency response organizations, builders, universities, and the general public require seismic hazard estimates for land use planning, improved building design and construction (including adoption of building construction codes), emergency response preparedness plans, economic forecasts, housing and employment decisions, and many more types of risk mitigation. The seismic hazard map of North and Central America and the Caribbean is the concatenation of various national and regional maps, involving a suite of approaches. The combined maps and documentation provide a useful regional seismic hazard framework and serve as a resource for any national or regional agency for further detailed studies applicable to their needs. This seismic hazard map depicts Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) with a 10% chance of exceedance in 50 years. PGA, a short-period ground motion parameter that is proportional to force, is the most commonly mapped ground motion parameter because current building codes that include seismic provisions specify the horizontal force a building should be able to withstand during an earthquake. This seismic hazard map of North and Central America and the Caribbean depicts the likely level of short-period ground motion from earthquakes in a fifty-year window. Short-period ground motions effect short-period structures (e.g., one-to-two story buildings). The highest seismic hazard values in the region generally occur in areas that have been, or are likely to be, the sites of the largest plate boundary earthquakes.

  5. Urban seismic risk assessment: statistical repair cost data and probable structural losses based on damage scenario—correlation analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eleftheriadou, Anastasia K.; Baltzopoulou, Aikaterini D.; Karabinis, Athanasios I.

    2016-06-01

    The current seismic risk assessment is based on two discrete approaches, actual and probable, validating afterwards the produced results. In the first part of this research, the seismic risk is evaluated from the available data regarding the mean statistical repair/strengthening or replacement cost for the total number of damaged structures (180,427 buildings) after the 7/9/1999 Parnitha (Athens) earthquake. The actual evaluated seismic risk is afterwards compared to the estimated probable structural losses, which is presented in the second part of the paper, based on a damage scenario in the referring earthquake. The applied damage scenario is based on recently developed damage probability matrices (DPMs) from Athens (Greece) damage database. The seismic risk estimation refers to 750,085 buildings situated in the extended urban region of Athens. The building exposure is categorized in five typical structural types and represents 18.80 % of the entire building stock in Greece. The last information is provided by the National Statistics Service of Greece (NSSG) according to the 2000-2001 census. The seismic input is characterized by the ratio, a g/ a o, where a g is the regional peak ground acceleration (PGA) which is evaluated from the earlier estimated research macroseismic intensities, and a o is the PGA according to the hazard map of the 2003 Greek Seismic Code. Finally, the collected investigated financial data derived from different National Services responsible for the post-earthquake crisis management concerning the repair/strengthening or replacement costs or other categories of costs for the rehabilitation of earthquake victims (construction and function of settlements for earthquake homeless, rent supports, demolitions, shorings) are used to determine the final total seismic risk factor.

  6. Predicting Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Prevalence and Local Distribution after an Earthquake with Scarce Data.

    PubMed

    Dussaillant, Francisca; Apablaza, Mauricio

    2017-08-01

    After a major earthquake, the assignment of scarce mental health emergency personnel to different geographic areas is crucial to the effective management of the crisis. The scarce information that is available in the aftermath of a disaster may be valuable in helping predict where are the populations that are in most need. The objectives of this study were to derive algorithms to predict posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptom prevalence and local distribution after an earthquake and to test whether there are algorithms that require few input data and are still reasonably predictive. A rich database of PTS symptoms, informed after Chile's 2010 earthquake and tsunami, was used. Several model specifications for the mean and centiles of the distribution of PTS symptoms, together with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence, were estimated via linear and quantile regressions. The models varied in the set of covariates included. Adjusted R2 for the most liberal specifications (in terms of numbers of covariates included) ranged from 0.62 to 0.74, depending on the outcome. When only including peak ground acceleration (PGA), poverty rate, and household damage in linear and quadratic form, predictive capacity was still good (adjusted R2 from 0.59 to 0.67 were obtained). Information about local poverty, household damage, and PGA can be used as an aid to predict PTS symptom prevalence and local distribution after an earthquake. This can be of help to improve the assignment of mental health personnel to the affected localities. Dussaillant F , Apablaza M . Predicting posttraumatic stress symptom prevalence and local distribution after an earthquake with scarce data. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(4):357-367.

  7. Monte Carlo simulations of particle acceleration at oblique shocks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baring, Matthew G.; Ellison, Donald C.; Jones, Frank C.

    1994-01-01

    The Fermi shock acceleration mechanism may be responsible for the production of high-energy cosmic rays in a wide variety of environments. Modeling of this phenomenon has largely focused on plane-parallel shocks, and one of the most promising techniques for its study is the Monte Carlo simulation of particle transport in shocked fluid flows. One of the principal problems in shock acceleration theory is the mechanism and efficiency of injection of particles from the thermal gas into the accelerated population. The Monte Carlo technique is ideally suited to addressing the injection problem directly, and previous applications of it to the quasi-parallel Earth bow shock led to very successful modeling of proton and heavy ion spectra, as well as other observed quantities. Recently this technique has been extended to oblique shock geometries, in which the upstream magnetic field makes a significant angle Theta(sub B1) to the shock normal. Spectral resutls from test particle Monte Carlo simulations of cosmic-ray acceleration at oblique, nonrelativistic shocks are presented. The results show that low Mach number shocks have injection efficiencies that are relatively insensitive to (though not independent of) the shock obliquity, but that there is a dramatic drop in efficiency for shocks of Mach number 30 or more as the obliquity increases above 15 deg. Cosmic-ray distributions just upstream of the shock reveal prominent bumps at energies below the thermal peak; these disappear far upstream but might be observable features close to astrophysical shocks.

  8. Hubbert's Peak: A Physicist's View

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McDonald, Richard

    2011-11-01

    Oil and its by-products, as used in manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation, are the lifeblood of today's 7 billion-person population and our 65T world economy. Despite this importance, estimates of future oil production seem dominated by wishful thinking rather than quantitative analysis. Better studies are needed. In 1956, Dr. M.King Hubbert proposed a theory of resource production and applied it successfully to predict peak U.S. oil production in 1970. Thus, the peak of oil production is referred to as ``Hubbert's Peak.'' Prof. Al Bartlett extended this work in publications and lectures on population and oil. Both Hubbert and Bartlett place peak world oil production at a similar time, essentially now. This paper extends this line of work to include analyses of individual countries, inclusion of multiple Gaussian peaks, and analysis of reserves data. While this is not strictly a predictive theory, we will demonstrate a ``closed'' story connecting production, oil-in-place, and reserves. This gives us the ``most likely'' estimate of future oil availability. Finally, we will comment on synthetic oil and the possibility of carbon-neutral synthetic oil for a sustainable future.

  9. Analysis of WBV on standing and seated passengers during off-peak operation in KL monorail

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hasnan, K.; Bakhsh, Q.; Ahmed, A.; Ali, D.; Jamali, A. R.

    2018-03-01

    In this study, the Whole-Body Vibration (WBV) was analyzed on the standing and seated passenger during off-peak operating hours when train was on the track. The experiments were conducted on two car train at one constant location (bogie-1, which is near to driver’s cabin) during downward direction from KL sentral station towards Titiwangsa station. The aim of this study was to analyze that, in which posture of passenger’s exposures the maximum level of WBV. Since, one passenger was performed the whole journey in standing posture whereas, the other passenger was in seated posture. The result obtained from experiments for the RMS accelerations (Arms), maximum acceleration (Amax) and minimum acceleration (Amin) during the trip. As per standard ISO 2631-1, the daily vibration exposure (A8), Vibration Dose value (VDV) and Crest Factor (CF) of this trip for both standing and sitting orientations were calculated. Results shows that the seated passenger was exposed to longer periods of continuous vibration as compared to the standing passenger. Whereas, the Vibration Dose value (VDV) value was greater than the action value as per ISO 2631-1 and within the limit values. The study concluded that whole body vibration transmitted towards both passengers either standing or seated during their journey. But in overall results comparison of both orientations, the seated passengers gained higher vibration than the standing one.

  10. The influence of visual feedback from the recent past on the programming of grip aperture is grasp-specific, shared between hands, and mediated by sensorimotor memory not task set.

    PubMed

    Tang, Rixin; Whitwell, Robert L; Goodale, Melvyn A

    2015-05-01

    Goal-directed movements, such as reaching out to grasp an object, are necessarily constrained by the spatial properties of the target such as its size, shape, and position. For example, during a reach-to-grasp movement, the peak width of the aperture formed by the thumb and fingers in flight (peak grip aperture, PGA) is linearly related to the target's size. Suppressing vision throughout the movement (visual open loop) has a small though significant effect on this relationship. Visual open loop conditions also produce a large increase in the PGA compared to when vision is available throughout the movement (visual closed loop). Curiously, this differential effect of the availability of visual feedback is influenced by the presentation order: the difference in PGA between closed- and open-loop trials is smaller when these trials are intermixed (an effect we have called 'homogenization'). Thus, grasping movements are affected not only by the availability of visual feedback (closed loop or open loop) but also by what happened on the previous trial. It is not clear, however, whether this carry-over effect is mediated through motor (or sensorimotor) memory or through the interference of different task sets for closed-loop and open-loop feedback that determine when the movements are fully specified. We reasoned that sensorimotor memory, but not a task set for closed and open loop feedback, would be specific to the type of response. We tested this prediction in a condition in which pointing to targets was alternated with grasping those same targets. Critically, in this condition, when pointing was performed in open loop, grasping was always performed in closed loop (and vice versa). Despite the fact that closed- and open-loop trials were alternating in this condition, we found no evidence for homogenization of the PGA. Homogenization did occur, however, in a follow-up experiment in which grasping movements and visual feedback were alternated between the left and the right

  11. Use of the CEBAF Accelerator for IR and UV Free Electron Lasers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yunn, Byung; Sinclair, Charles; Leemann, Christoph

    1992-08-01

    The CEBAF superconducting linac is capable of accelerating electron beams suitable for driving high-power free-electron lasers. The 45 MeV injector linac with a 6 cm period wiggler can produce kilowatt output powers of infrared light (3.6-17 micrometer), while the 400 MeV north linac can produce ultraviolet light (~200 nm) at similar powers. The FELs require the addition of a high-peak intensity electron source (~ 60 A peak current) and extraction beam lines to wigglers with appropriate electron and photon optics. FEL operation is compatible with simultaneous baseline CEBAF nuclear physics operation. A design for a CEBAF-based FEL facility has beenmore » developed. The current status of the FEL project is reported.« less

  12. Selective deuterium ion acceleration using the Vulcan petawatt laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krygier, A. G.; Morrison, J. T.; Kar, S.; Ahmed, H.; Alejo, A.; Clarke, R.; Fuchs, J.; Green, A.; Jung, D.; Kleinschmidt, A.; Najmudin, Z.; Nakamura, H.; Norreys, P.; Notley, M.; Oliver, M.; Roth, M.; Vassura, L.; Zepf, M.; Borghesi, M.; Freeman, R. R.

    2015-05-01

    We report on the successful demonstration of selective acceleration of deuterium ions by target-normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) with a high-energy petawatt laser. TNSA typically produces a multi-species ion beam that originates from the intrinsic hydrocarbon and water vapor contaminants on the target surface. Using the method first developed by Morrison et al. [Phys. Plasmas 19, 030707 (2012)], an ion beam with >99% deuterium ions and peak energy 14 MeV/nucleon is produced with a 200 J, 700 fs, > 10 20 W / cm 2 laser pulse by cryogenically freezing heavy water (D2O) vapor onto the rear surface of the target prior to the shot. Within the range of our detectors (0°-8.5°), we find laser-to-deuterium-ion energy conversion efficiency of 4.3% above 0.7 MeV/nucleon while a conservative estimate of the total beam gives a conversion efficiency of 9.4%.

  13. Automated asteroseismic peak detections

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    García Saravia Ortiz de Montellano, Andrés; Hekker, S.; Themeßl, N.

    2018-05-01

    Space observatories such as Kepler have provided data that can potentially revolutionize our understanding of stars. Through detailed asteroseismic analyses we are capable of determining fundamental stellar parameters and reveal the stellar internal structure with unprecedented accuracy. However, such detailed analyses, known as peak bagging, have so far been obtained for only a small percentage of the observed stars while most of the scientific potential of the available data remains unexplored. One of the major challenges in peak bagging is identifying how many solar-like oscillation modes are visible in a power density spectrum. Identification of oscillation modes is usually done by visual inspection that is time-consuming and has a degree of subjectivity. Here, we present a peak-detection algorithm especially suited for the detection of solar-like oscillations. It reliably characterizes the solar-like oscillations in a power density spectrum and estimates their parameters without human intervention. Furthermore, we provide a metric to characterize the false positive and false negative rates to provide further information about the reliability of a detected oscillation mode or the significance of a lack of detected oscillation modes. The algorithm presented here opens the possibility for detailed and automated peak bagging of the thousands of solar-like oscillators observed by Kepler.

  14. Impact of Thermal Degradation of Cyanidin-3-O-Glucoside of Haskap Berry on Cytotoxicity of Hepatocellular Carcinoma HepG2 and Breast Cancer MDA-MB-231 Cells.

    PubMed

    Pace, Eric; Jiang, Yuanyuan; Clemens, Amy; Crossman, Tennille; Rupasinghe, H P Vasantha

    2018-01-27

    Cyanidin-3 -O -glucoside (C3G), the predominant anthocyanin in haskap berries ( Lonicera caerulea L.), possesses antioxidant and many other biological activities. This study investigated the impact of temperature and pH on the degradation of the C3G-rich haskap fraction. The effect of the thermal degradation products on the viability of hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 and breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells was also studied in vitro. Using column chromatography, the C3G-rich fraction was isolated from acetone extracts of haskap berries. The C3G stability in these fractions was studied under elevated temperatures (70 °C and 90 °C) at three different pH values (2.5, 4, and 7) by monitoring the concentration of C3G and its major degradation products, protocatechuic acid (PCA) and phloroglucinaldehyde (PGA), using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Significant degradation of C3G was observed at elevated temperatures and at neutral pH. Conversely, the PCA and PGA concentration increased at higher pH and temperature. Similar to C3G, neutral pH also has a prominent effect on the degradation of PGA, which is further accelerated by heating. The C3G-rich fraction exhibited dose-dependent inhibitory effects on cell metabolic activity when the HepG2 cells were exposed for 48 h. Interestingly, PGA but not PCA exhibited cytotoxic effects against both MDA-MB-231 and HepG2 cells. The results suggest that thermal food processing of haskap could influence its biological properties due to the degradation of C3G.

  15. 27 CFR 9.140 - Atlas Peak.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Atlas Peak. 9.140 Section... THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.140 Atlas Peak. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this section is “Atlas Peak.” (b...

  16. Analysis of the significance of the measurement of acceleration with respect to lateral laxity of the anterior cruciate ligament insufficient knee.

    PubMed

    Yoshimura, I; Naito, M; Hara, M; Zhang, J

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess dynamically the lateral thrust of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) insufficient knees, and from the findings determine any relationship between ACL insufficiency and the later development of osteoarthritis (OA). We investigated 80 knees in 40 patients awaiting ACL reconstruction and 25 knees of 25 patients, which had undergone ACL reconstruction. An acceleration sensor was fixed to the anterior tibial tubercle and this 'acted' in two directions--medial lateral and perpendicular. The peak value of the lateral acceleration immediately after heel strike was significantly greater in the ACL insufficient knees when compared to their opposite normal knees. When the periods from injury were compared, the lateral thrust of the injured side after 3 years or more was significantly greater than in the first 3 years. There was no significant difference between the normal knees and the ACL reconstructed knees. The results indicated that the lateral acceleration peak value was significantly greater in the ACL insufficient knees than in their opposite normal knees.

  17. Electron acceleration and high harmonic generation by relativistic surface plasmons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cantono, Giada; Luca Fedeli Team; Andrea Sgattoni Team; Andrea Macchi Team; Tiberio Ceccotti Team

    2016-10-01

    Intense, short laser pulses with ultra-high contrast allow resonant surface plasmons (SPs) excitation on solid wavelength-scale grating targets, opening the way to the extension of Plasmonics in the relativistic regime and the manipulation of intense electromagnetic fields to develop new short, energetic, laser-synchronized radiation sources. Recent theoretical and experimental studies have explored the role of SP excitation in increasing the laser-target coupling and enhancing ion acceleration, high-order harmonic generation and surface electron acceleration. Here we present our results on SP driven electron acceleration from grating targets at ultra-high laser intensities (I = 5 ×1019 W/cm2, τ = 25 fs). When the resonant condition for SP excitation is fulfilled, electrons are emitted in a narrow cone along the target surface, with a total charge of about 100 pC and energy spectra peaked around 5 MeV. Distinguishing features of the resonant process were investigated by varying the incidence angle, grating type and with the support of 3D PIC simulations, which closely reproduced the experimental data. Open challenges and further measurements on high-order harmonic generation in presence of a relativistic SP will also be discussed.

  18. Physicochemical stability and biological activity of Withania somnifera extract under real-time and accelerated storage conditions.

    PubMed

    Patil, Dada; Gautam, Manish; Jadhav, Umesh; Mishra, Sanjay; Karupothula, Suresh; Gairola, Sunil; Jadhav, Suresh; Patwardhan, Bhushan

    2010-03-01

    Stability testing at preformulation stages is a crucial part of drug development. We studied physicochemical stability and biological activity of Withania somnifera (ashwagandha) dried root aqueous extract during six months real-time and under accelerated storage conditions. The characteristic constituents of ashwagandha roots include withanolides such as withaferin A and withanolide A. We modified and validated the HPLC-DAD method for quantitative measurement of withanolides and fingerprint analysis. The results suggest a significant decline in withaferin A and withanolide A content under real and accelerated conditions. The HPLC fingerprint analysis showed significant changes in some peaks during real and accelerated storage (> 20 %). We also observed incidences of clump formation and moisture sensitivity (> 10 %) under real-time and accelerated storage conditions. These changes were concurrent with a significant decline in immunomodulatory activity (p < 0.01) during the third month of the accelerated storage. Thus, adequate control of temperature and humidity is important for WSE containing formulations. This study may help in proposing suitable guidance for storage conditions and shelf life of ashwagandha formulations. (c) Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart . New York.

  19. Evaluation of site effects on ground motions based on equivalent linear site response analysis and liquefaction potential in Chennai, south India

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nampally, Subhadra; Padhy, Simanchal; Trupti, S.; Prabhakar Prasad, P.; Seshunarayana, T.

    2018-05-01

    We study local site effects with detailed geotechnical and geophysical site characterization to evaluate the site-specific seismic hazard for the seismic microzonation of the Chennai city in South India. A Maximum Credible Earthquake (MCE) of magnitude 6.0 is considered based on the available seismotectonic and geological information of the study area. We synthesized strong ground motion records for this target event using stochastic finite-fault technique, based on a dynamic corner frequency approach, at different sites in the city, with the model parameters for the source, site, and path (attenuation) most appropriately selected for this region. We tested the influence of several model parameters on the characteristics of ground motion through simulations and found that stress drop largely influences both the amplitude and frequency of ground motion. To minimize its influence, we estimated stress drop after finite bandwidth correction, as expected from an M6 earthquake in Indian peninsula shield for accurately predicting the level of ground motion. Estimates of shear wave velocity averaged over the top 30 m of soil (V S30) are obtained from multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW) at 210 sites at depths of 30 to 60 m below the ground surface. Using these V S30 values, along with the available geotechnical information and synthetic ground motion database obtained, equivalent linear one-dimensional site response analysis that approximates the nonlinear soil behavior within the linear analysis framework was performed using the computer program SHAKE2000. Fundamental natural frequency, Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) at surface and rock levels, response spectrum at surface level for different damping coefficients, and amplification factors are presented at different sites of the city. Liquefaction study was done based on the V S30 and PGA values obtained. The major findings suggest show that the northeast part of the city is characterized by (i) low V S30 values

  20. Systematic analysis of nonlinear ground motion and temporal changes of material properties produced by small and medium earthquakes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, C.; Peng, Z.; Ben-Zion, Y.

    2009-12-01

    Recent studies based on spectral ratio analysis have found clear temporal changes of material properties in the shallow crust and around active fault zones during large earthquakes with peak ground acceleration (PGA) larger than 100-200 gals (e.g., Sawazaki et al., GRL, 2006; Rubenstein et al., JGR, 2007; Wu et al., GJI, 2009). The temporal evolution of properties is generally characterized by a clear drop of resonant frequency and increased damping, followed by logarithmic recoveries with time. The shift in resonant frequency and damping are considered two hallmarks of nonlinear response associated with increasing material damage. However, an existing damage can produce similar changes in resonance curves with increasing wave amplitude, even in cases when the material damage does not increase (Lyakhovsky et al., GJI, 2009). In such cases the recovery of resonance properties with reduced source amplitude should be essentially instantaneous. It is important to distinguish with in situ seismic data nonlinear wave propagation effects that reflect fixed vs. evolving material damage. Here we systematically analyze temporal changes of material properties and nonlinear response associated with small and medium earthquakes, using seismic data recorded by the Japanese Strong Motion Network KIK-Net, a temporary 10-station PASSCAL seismic network along the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey, and the borehole and surface stations around the Parkfield section of the San Andreas fault. We compute the spectral ratios of windowed records from a pair of target and reference stations, and apply the sliding-window to the entire seismic records including the pre-event noise, P and S waves, and the early and late S-coda waves. We choose small and medium events to reduce the effects from additional material damage and use small sliding-window size to capture the subtle changes in the spectral ratios. The spectral ratio traces from windows within certain PGA ranges are then stacked to

  1. Probabilistic seismic hazard characterization and design parameters for the Pantex Plant

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bernreuter, D. L.; Foxall, W.; Savy, J. B.

    1998-10-19

    The Hazards Mitigation Center at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) updated the seismic hazard and design parameters at the Pantex Plant. The probabilistic seismic hazard (PSH) estimates were first updated using the latest available data and knowledge from LLNL (1993, 1998), Frankel et al. (1996), and other relevant recent studies from several consulting companies. Special attention was given to account for the local seismicity and for the system of potentially active faults associated with the Amarillo-Wichita uplift. Aleatory (random) uncertainty was estimated from the available data and the epistemic (knowledge) uncertainty was taken from results of similar studies. Special attentionmore » was given to soil amplification factors for the site. Horizontal Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) and 5% damped uniform hazard spectra were calculated for six return periods (100 yr., 500 yr., 1000 yr., 2000 yr., 10,000 yr., and 100,000 yr.). The design parameters were calculated following DOE standards (DOE-STD-1022 to 1024). Response spectra for design or evaluation of Performance Category 1 through 4 structures, systems, and components are presented.« less

  2. Experimental and analytical studies on multiple tuned mass dampers for seismic protection of porcelain electrical equipment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bai, Wen; Dai, Junwu; Zhou, Huimeng; Yang, Yongqiang; Ning, Xiaoqing

    2017-10-01

    Porcelain electrical equipment (PEE), such as current transformers, is critical to power supply systems, but its seismic performance during past earthquakes has not been satisfactory. This paper studies the seismic performance of two typical types of PEE and proposes a damping method for PEE based on multiple tuned mass dampers (MTMD). An MTMD damping device involving three mass units, named a triple tuned mass damper (TTMD), is designed and manufactured. Through shake table tests and finite element analysis, the dynamic characteristics of the PEE are studied and the effectiveness of the MTMD damping method is verified. The adverse influence of MTMD redundant mass to damping efficiency is studied and relevant equations are derived. MTMD robustness is verified through adjusting TTMD control frequencies. The damping effectiveness of TTMD, when the peak ground acceleration far exceeds the design value, is studied. Both shake table tests and finite element analysis indicate that MTMD is effective and robust in attenuating PEE seismic responses. TTMD remains effective when the PGA far exceeds the design value and when control deviations are considered.

  3. How angry was the ancient Greek god Poseidon in 141/142 A.D.?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Şahin, Murat; Elitez, İrem; Yaltırak, Cenk

    2017-04-01

    Poseidon, also known as "God of Sea" or "Earth-Shaker", was one of the Olympian's Gods in the Greek mythology. It was a common belief that Poseidon shows his rage by tsunamis and earthquakes. So, the how angry Poseidon in 141/142 A.D.? According to the historical records, the whole area including Lycian cities and Rhodes was affected by a destructive earthquake and a following tsunami in 141/142. After these events the emperor of Greeks made donations to the Lycian cities and Rhodes for their recovery with relative to the damage and importance of the city. 141/142 earthquake had a considerable amount of damage on 28 ancient cities. With respect to the historical catalogues, this earthquake had at least 9-10 intensity and caused a tsunami in Rhodes and harbour of the ancient city of Patara. In this study, we try to restrict the magnitude of the event by using PGA (peak ground acceleration), MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity), tsunami modelling and amount of aids. Our preliminary results suggest that this event has to be bigger or equal magnitude 8.

  4. Seismic hazard evaluation of the Oman India pipeline

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Campbell, K.W.; Thenhaus, P.C.; Mullee, J.E.

    1996-12-31

    The proposed Oman India pipeline will traverse approximately 1,135 km of the northern Arabian Sea floor and adjacent continental shelves at depths of over 3 km on its route from Ra`s al Jifan, Oman, to Rapar Gadhwali, India. The western part of the route crosses active faults that form the transform boundary between the Arabian and Indian tectonic plates. The eastern terminus of the route lies in the vicinity of the great (M {approximately} 8) 1829 Kutch, India earthquake. A probabilistic seismic hazard analysis was used to estimate the values of peak ground acceleration (PGA) with return periods of 200,more » 500 and 1,000 years at selected locations along the pipeline route and the submarine Indus Canyon -- a possible source of large turbidity flows. The results defined the ground-shaking hazard along the pipeline route and Indus Canyon for evaluation of risks to the pipeline from potential earthquake-induced geologic hazards such as liquefaction, slope instability, and turbidity flows. 44 refs.« less

  5. Electromagnetic and geometric characterization of accelerated ion beams by laser ablation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nassisi, V.; Velardi, L.; Side, D. Delle

    2013-05-01

    Laser ion sources offer the possibility to get ion beam useful to improve particle accelerators. Pulsed lasers at intensities of the order of 108 W/cm2 and of ns pulse duration, interacting with solid matter in vacuum, produce plasma of high temperature and density. The charge state distribution of the plasma generates high electric fields which accelerate ions along the normal to the target surface. The energy of emitted ions has a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution which depends on the ion charge state. To increase the ion energy, a post-acceleration system can be employed by means of high voltage power supplies of about 100 kV. The post acceleration system results to be a good method to obtain high ion currents by a not expensive system and the final ion beams find interesting applications in the field of the ion implantation, scientific applications and industrial use. In this work we compare the electromagnetic and geometric properties, like emittance, of the beams delivered by pure Cu, Y and Ag targets. The characterization of the plasma was performed by a Faraday cup for the electromagnetic characteristics, whereas a pepper pot system was used for the geometric ones. At 60 kV accelerating voltage the three examined ion bunches get a current peak of 5.5, 7.3 and 15 mA, with a normalized beam emittance of 0.22, 0.12 and 0.09 π mm mrad for the targets of Cu, Y, and Ag, respectively.

  6. PEAK LIMITING AMPLIFIER

    DOEpatents

    Goldsworthy, W.W.; Robinson, J.B.

    1959-03-31

    A peak voltage amplitude limiting system adapted for use with a cascade type amplifier is described. In its detailed aspects, the invention includes an amplifier having at least a first triode tube and a second triode tube, the cathode of the second tube being connected to the anode of the first tube. A peak limiter triode tube has its control grid coupled to thc anode of the second tube and its anode connected to the cathode of the second tube. The operation of the limiter is controlled by a bias voltage source connected to the control grid of the limiter tube and the output of the system is taken from the anode of the second tube.

  7. Accelerating Improvements in the Energy Efficiency of Room Air Conditioners (RACs) in India: Potential, Cost-Benefit, and Policies (Interim Assessment)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Abhyankar, Nikit; Shah, Nihar; Park, Won Young

    Falling AC prices, increasing incomes, increasing urbanization, and high cooling requirements due to hot climate are all driving increasing uptake of Room Air Conditioners (RACs) in the Indian market. Air conditioning already comprises 40-60% of summer peak load in large metropolitan Indian cities such as Delhi and is likely to contribute 150 GW to the peak demand in 2030. Standards and labeling policies have contributed to improving the efficiency of RACs in India by about 2.5% in the last 10 years (2.5% per year) while inflation adjusted RAC prices have continued to decline. In this paper, we assess the technicalmore » feasibility, cost-benefit, and required policy enhancements by further accelerating the efficiency improvement of RACs in India. We find that there are examples of significantly more accelerated improvements such as those in Japan and Korea where AC efficiency improved by more than 7% per year resulting in almost a doubling of energy efficiency in 7 to 10 years while inflation adjusted AC prices continued to decline. We find that the most efficient RAC sold on the Indian market is almost twice as efficient as the typical AC sold on the market and hence see no technology constraints in a similar acceleration of improvement of efficiency. If starting 2018, AC efficiency improves at a rate of 6% instead of 3%, 40-60 GW of peak load (equivalent to connected load of 5-6 billion LED bulbs), and over 75 TWh/yr (equivalent to 60 million consumers consuming 100 kWh/month) will be saved by 2030; total peak load reduction would be as high as 50 GW. The net present value (NPV) of the consumer benefit between 2018-2030 will range from Rs 18,000 Cr in the most conservative case (in which prices don’t continue to decline and increase based estimates of today’s cost of efficiency improvement) to 140,000 Cr in a more realistic case (in which prices are not affected by accelerated efficiency improvement as shown by historical experience). This benefit is

  8. The Boson peak in supercooled water.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Pradeep; Wikfeldt, K Thor; Schlesinger, Daniel; Pettersson, Lars G M; Stanley, H Eugene

    2013-01-01

    We perform extensive molecular dynamics simulations of the TIP4P/2005 model of water to investigate the origin of the Boson peak reported in experiments on supercooled water in nanoconfined pores, and in hydration water around proteins. We find that the onset of the Boson peak in supercooled bulk water coincides with the crossover to a predominantly low-density-like liquid below the Widom line TW. The frequency and onset temperature of the Boson peak in our simulations of bulk water agree well with the results from experiments on nanoconfined water. Our results suggest that the Boson peak in water is not an exclusive effect of confinement. We further find that, similar to other glass-forming liquids, the vibrational modes corresponding to the Boson peak are spatially extended and are related to transverse phonons found in the parent crystal, here ice Ih.

  9. Acceleration of auroral electrons in parallel electric fields

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kaufmann, R. L.; Walker, D. N.; Arnoldy, R. L.

    1976-01-01

    Rocket observations of auroral electrons are compared with the predictions of a number of theoretical acceleration mechanisms that involve an electric field parallel to the earth's magnetic field. The theoretical models are discussed in terms of required plasma sources, the location of the acceleration region, and properties of necessary wave-particle scattering mechanisms. We have been unable to find any steady state scatter-free electric field configuration that predicts electron flux distributions in agreement with the observations. The addition of a fluctuating electric field or wave-particle scattering several thousand kilometers above the rocket can modify the theoretical flux distributions so that they agree with measurements. The presence of very narrow energy peaks in the flux contours implies a characteristic temperature of several tens of electron volts or less for the source of field-aligned auroral electrons and a temperature of several hundred electron volts or less for the relatively isotropic 'monoenergetic' auroral electrons. The temperature of the field-aligned electrons is more representative of the magnetosheath or possibly the ionosphere as a source region than of the plasma sheet.

  10. Covariant Uniform Acceleration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Friedman, Yaakov; Scarr, Tzvi

    2013-04-01

    We derive a 4D covariant Relativistic Dynamics Equation. This equation canonically extends the 3D relativistic dynamics equation , where F is the 3D force and p = m0γv is the 3D relativistic momentum. The standard 4D equation is only partially covariant. To achieve full Lorentz covariance, we replace the four-force F by a rank 2 antisymmetric tensor acting on the four-velocity. By taking this tensor to be constant, we obtain a covariant definition of uniformly accelerated motion. This solves a problem of Einstein and Planck. We compute explicit solutions for uniformly accelerated motion. The solutions are divided into four Lorentz-invariant types: null, linear, rotational, and general. For null acceleration, the worldline is cubic in the time. Linear acceleration covariantly extends 1D hyperbolic motion, while rotational acceleration covariantly extends pure rotational motion. We use Generalized Fermi-Walker transport to construct a uniformly accelerated family of inertial frames which are instantaneously comoving to a uniformly accelerated observer. We explain the connection between our approach and that of Mashhoon. We show that our solutions of uniformly accelerated motion have constant acceleration in the comoving frame. Assuming the Weak Hypothesis of Locality, we obtain local spacetime transformations from a uniformly accelerated frame K' to an inertial frame K. The spacetime transformations between two uniformly accelerated frames with the same acceleration are Lorentz. We compute the metric at an arbitrary point of a uniformly accelerated frame. We obtain velocity and acceleration transformations from a uniformly accelerated system K' to an inertial frame K. We introduce the 4D velocity, an adaptation of Horwitz and Piron s notion of "off-shell." We derive the general formula for the time dilation between accelerated clocks. We obtain a formula for the angular velocity of a uniformly accelerated object. Every rest point of K' is uniformly accelerated, and

  11. Source Rupture Process for the February 21, 2011, Mw6.1, New Zealand Earthquake and the Characteristics of Near-field Strong Ground Motion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meng, L.; Shi, B.

    2011-12-01

    The New Zealand Earthquake of February 21, 2011, Mw 6.1 occurred in the South Island, New Zealand with the epicenter at longitude 172.70°E and latitude 43.58°S, and with depth of 5 km. The Mw 6.1 earthquake occurred on an unknown blind fault involving oblique-thrust faulting, which is 9 km away from southern of the Christchurch, the third largest city of New Zealand, with a striking direction from east toward west (United State Geology Survey, USGS, 2011). The earthquake killed at least 163 people and caused a lot of construction damages in Christchurch city. The Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) observed at station Heathcote Valley Primary School (HVSC), which is 1 km away from the epicenter, is up to almost 2.0g. The ground-motion observation suggests that the buried earthquake source generates much higher near-fault ground motion. In this study, we have analyzed the earthquake source spectral parameters based on the strong motion observations, and estimated the near-fault ground motion based on the Brune's circular fault model. The results indicate that the larger ground motion may be caused by a higher dynamic stress drop,Δσd , or effect stress drop named by Brune, in the major source rupture region. In addition, a dynamical composite source model (DCSM) has been developed to simulate the near-fault strong ground motion with associated fault rupture properties from the kinematic point of view. For comparison purpose, we also conducted the broadband ground motion predictions for the station of HVSC; the synthetic seismogram of time histories produced for this station has good agreement with the observations in the waveforms, peak values and frequency contents, which clearly indicate that the higher dynamic stress drop during the fault rupture may play an important role to the anomalous ground-motion amplification. The preliminary simulated result illustrated in at Station HVSC is that the synthetics seismograms have a realistic appearance in the waveform and

  12. Analyzing radial acceleration with a smartphone acceleration sensor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vogt, Patrik; Kuhn, Jochen

    2013-03-01

    This paper continues the sequence of experiments using the acceleration sensor of smartphones (for description of the function and the use of the acceleration sensor, see Ref. 1) within this column, in this case for analyzing the radial acceleration.

  13. Simulations of ion acceleration from ultrathin targets with the VEGA petawatt laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stockhausen, Luca C.; Torres, Ricardo; Conejero Jarque, Enrique

    2015-05-01

    The Spanish Pulsed Laser Centre (CLPU) is a new high-power laser facility for users. Its main system, VEGA, is a CPA Ti:Sapphire laser which, in its final phase, will be able to reach petawatt peak powers in pulses of 30 fs with a pulse contrast of 1 : 1010 at 1 ps. The extremely low level of pre-pulse intensity makes this system ideally suited for studying the laser interaction with ultrathin targets. We have used the particle-in-cell (PIC) code OSIRIS to carry out 2D simulations of the acceleration of ions from ultrathin solid targets under the unique conditions provided by VEGA, with laser intensities up to 1022Wcm-2 impinging normally on 5 - 40 nm thick overdense plasmas, with different polarizations and pre-plasma scale lengths. We show how signatures of the radiation pressure dominated regime, such as layer compression and bunch formation, are only present with circular polarization. By passively shaping the density gradient of the plasma, we demonstrate an enhancement in peak energy up to tens of MeV and monoenergetic features. On the contrary linear polarization at the same intensity level causes the target to blow up, resulting in much lower energies and broader spectra. One limiting factor of Radiation Pressure Acceleration is the development of Rayleigh-Taylor like instabilities at the interface of the plasma and photon fluid. This results in the formation of bubbles in the spatial profile of laser-accelerated proton beams. These structures were previously evidenced both experimentally and theoretically. We have performed 2D simulations to characterize this bubble-like structure and report on the dependency on laser and target parameters.

  14. Female acceleration tolerance: effects of menstrual state and physical condition.

    PubMed

    Heaps, C L; Fischer, M D; Hill, R C

    1997-06-01

    The literature contains a paucity of information on female tolerance to high sustained acceleration. With women now flying high-performance aircraft, gender-specific factors that may affect female acceleration tolerance have become increasingly important. The purpose of this investigation was to determine how menstrual state and physical condition affect acceleration tolerance. We hypothesized the menstrual cycle would have no effect on acceleration tolerance and that a positive correlation would exist between physical fitness level and tolerance to high sustained acceleration. Centrifuge exposures on 8 female subjects consisted of a relaxed gradual-onset run (0.1 G.s-1) to the visual endpoint, a rapid-onset run (6 G.s-1) to +5 GZ for 15 s, and a +4.5 to +7 GZ simulated aerial combat maneuver (SACM) to physical exhaustion. Acceleration tolerance data were collected at onset of menstruation and 1, 2 and 3 weeks following the onset for two complete menstrual cycles. On separate days, body composition, anaerobic power output and peak oxygen uptake were determined. Retrospective data from 10 male subjects who had performed the +4.5 to +7 GZ SACM were analyzed and compared to these data. Analysis of variance revealed no significant difference in relaxed tolerance or SACM duration between the four selected menstrual cycle time points. Time-to-fatigue on the +4.5 to +7 GZ SACM was positively (p < or = 0.05) correlated with absolute fat-free mass (r = 0.87) and anaerobic power production (r = 0.76) in female subjects. However, when these variables were adjusted for total body mass, the significant correlations no longer existed. No correlation was found between SACM duration and absolute (L min-1) nor relative (ml.kg-1.min-1) aerobic fitness. Time-to-fatigue during the SACM was not significantly different between male and female subjects (250 +/- 97 and 246 +/- 149 s, respectively).

  15. Improved performance of laser wakefield acceleration by tailored self-truncated ionization injection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Irman, A.; Couperus, J. P.; Debus, A.; Köhler, A.; Krämer, J. M.; Pausch, R.; Zarini, O.; Schramm, U.

    2018-04-01

    We report on tailoring ionization-induced injection in laser wakefield acceleration so that the electron injection process is self-truncating following the evolution of the plasma bubble. Robust generation of high-quality electron beams with shot-to-shot fluctuations of the beam parameters better than 10% is presented in detail. As a novelty, the scheme was found to enable well-controlled yet simple tuning of the injected charge while preserving acceleration conditions and beam quality. Quasi-monoenergetic electron beams at several 100 MeV energy and 15% relative energy spread were routinely demonstrated with a total charge of the monoenergetic feature reaching 0.5 nC. Finally these unique beam parameters, suggesting unprecedented peak currents of several 10 kA, are systematically related to published data on alternative injection schemes.

  16. Influence of Upper-Body Exercise on the Fatigability of Human Respiratory Muscles

    PubMed Central

    TILLER, NICHOLAS B.; CAMPBELL, IAN G.; ROMER, LEE M.

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Purpose Diaphragm and abdominal muscles are susceptible to contractile fatigue in response to high-intensity, whole-body exercise. This study assessed whether the ventilatory and mechanical loads imposed by high-intensity, upper-body exercise would be sufficient to elicit respiratory muscle fatigue. Methods Seven healthy men (mean ± SD; age = 24 ± 4 yr, peak O2 uptake [V˙O2peak] = 31.9 ± 5.3 mL·kg−1·min−1) performed asynchronous arm-crank exercise to exhaustion at work rates equivalent to 30% (heavy) and 60% (severe) of the difference between gas exchange threshold and V˙O2peak. Contractile fatigue of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles was assessed by measuring pre- to postexercise changes in potentiated transdiaphragmatic and gastric twitch pressures (Pdi,tw and Pga,tw) evoked by supramaximal magnetic stimulation of the cervical and thoracic nerves, respectively. Results Exercise time was 24.5 ± 5.8 min for heavy exercise and 9.8 ± 1.8 min for severe exercise. Ventilation over the final minute of heavy exercise was 73 ± 20 L·min−1 (39% ± 11% maximum voluntary ventilation) and 99 ± 19 L·min−1 (53% ± 11% maximum voluntary ventilation) for severe exercise. Mean Pdi,tw did not differ pre- to postexercise at either intensity (P > 0.05). Immediately (5–15 min) after severe exercise, mean Pga,tw was significantly lower than pre-exercise values (41 ± 13 vs 53 ± 15 cm H2O, P < 0.05), with the difference no longer significant after 25–35 min. Abdominal muscle fatigue (defined as ≥15% reduction in Pga,tw) occurred in 1/7 subjects after heavy exercise and 5/7 subjects after severe exercise. Conclusions High-intensity, upper-body exercise elicits significant abdominal, but not diaphragm, muscle fatigue in healthy men. The increased magnitude and prevalence of fatigue during severe-intensity exercise is likely due to additional (nonrespiratory) loading of the thorax. PMID:28288012

  17. Influence of Upper-Body Exercise on the Fatigability of Human Respiratory Muscles.

    PubMed

    Tiller, Nicholas B; Campbell, Ian G; Romer, Lee M

    2017-07-01

    Diaphragm and abdominal muscles are susceptible to contractile fatigue in response to high-intensity, whole-body exercise. This study assessed whether the ventilatory and mechanical loads imposed by high-intensity, upper-body exercise would be sufficient to elicit respiratory muscle fatigue. Seven healthy men (mean ± SD; age = 24 ± 4 yr, peak O2 uptake [V˙O2peak] = 31.9 ± 5.3 mL·kg·min) performed asynchronous arm-crank exercise to exhaustion at work rates equivalent to 30% (heavy) and 60% (severe) of the difference between gas exchange threshold and V˙O2peak. Contractile fatigue of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles was assessed by measuring pre- to postexercise changes in potentiated transdiaphragmatic and gastric twitch pressures (Pdi,tw and Pga,tw) evoked by supramaximal magnetic stimulation of the cervical and thoracic nerves, respectively. Exercise time was 24.5 ± 5.8 min for heavy exercise and 9.8 ± 1.8 min for severe exercise. Ventilation over the final minute of heavy exercise was 73 ± 20 L·min (39% ± 11% maximum voluntary ventilation) and 99 ± 19 L·min (53% ± 11% maximum voluntary ventilation) for severe exercise. Mean Pdi,tw did not differ pre- to postexercise at either intensity (P > 0.05). Immediately (5-15 min) after severe exercise, mean Pga,tw was significantly lower than pre-exercise values (41 ± 13 vs 53 ± 15 cm H2O, P < 0.05), with the difference no longer significant after 25-35 min. Abdominal muscle fatigue (defined as ≥15% reduction in Pga,tw) occurred in 1/7 subjects after heavy exercise and 5/7 subjects after severe exercise. High-intensity, upper-body exercise elicits significant abdominal, but not diaphragm, muscle fatigue in healthy men. The increased magnitude and prevalence of fatigue during severe-intensity exercise is likely due to additional (nonrespiratory) loading of the thorax.

  18. Community Petascale Project for Accelerator Science and Simulation: Advancing Computational Science for Future Accelerators and Accelerator Technologies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Spentzouris, P.; /Fermilab; Cary, J.

    The design and performance optimization of particle accelerators are essential for the success of the DOE scientific program in the next decade. Particle accelerators are very complex systems whose accurate description involves a large number of degrees of freedom and requires the inclusion of many physics processes. Building on the success of the SciDAC-1 Accelerator Science and Technology project, the SciDAC-2 Community Petascale Project for Accelerator Science and Simulation (ComPASS) is developing a comprehensive set of interoperable components for beam dynamics, electromagnetics, electron cooling, and laser/plasma acceleration modelling. ComPASS is providing accelerator scientists the tools required to enable the necessarymore » accelerator simulation paradigm shift from high-fidelity single physics process modeling (covered under SciDAC1) to high-fidelity multiphysics modeling. Our computational frameworks have been used to model the behavior of a large number of accelerators and accelerator R&D experiments, assisting both their design and performance optimization. As parallel computational applications, the ComPASS codes have been shown to make effective use of thousands of processors. ComPASS is in the first year of executing its plan to develop the next-generation HPC accelerator modeling tools. ComPASS aims to develop an integrated simulation environment that will utilize existing and new accelerator physics modules with petascale capabilities, by employing modern computing and solver technologies. The ComPASS vision is to deliver to accelerator scientists a virtual accelerator and virtual prototyping modeling environment, with the necessary multiphysics, multiscale capabilities. The plan for this development includes delivering accelerator modeling applications appropriate for each stage of the ComPASS software evolution. Such applications are already being used to address challenging problems in accelerator design and optimization. The Com

  19. Method and apparatus for current-output peak detection

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    De Geronimo, Gianluigi

    2017-01-24

    A method and apparatus for a current-output peak detector. A current-output peak detector circuit is disclosed and works in two phases. The peak detector circuit includes switches to switch the peak detector circuit from the first phase to the second phase upon detection of the peak voltage of an input voltage signal. The peak detector generates a current output with a high degree of accuracy in the second phase.

  20. Maintaining stable radiation pressure acceleration of ion beams via cascaded electron replenishment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, X. F.; Qiao, B.; Chang, H. X.; Zhang, W. L.; Zhang, H.; Zhou, C. T.; He, X. T.

    2017-03-01

    A method to maintain ion stable radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) from laser-irradiated thin foils is proposed, where a series of high-Z nanofilms are placed behind to successively replenish co-moving electrons into the accelerating foil as electron charging stations (ECSs). Such replenishment of co-moving electrons, on the one hand, helps to keep a dynamic balance between the electrostatic pressure in the accelerating slab and the increasing laser radiation pressure with a Gaussian temporal profile at the rising front, i.e. dynamically matching the optimal condition of RPA; on the other hand, it aids in suppressing the foil Coulomb explosion due to loss of electrons induced by transverse instabilities during RPA. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that a monoenergetic Si14+ beam with a peak energy of 3.7 GeV and particle number 4.8× {10}9 (charge 11 nC) can be obtained at an intensity of 7 × 1021 W cm-2 and the conversion efficiency from laser to high energy ions is improved significantly by using the ECSs in our scheme.

  1. Peak distortion effects in analytical ion chromatography.

    PubMed

    Wahab, M Farooq; Anderson, Jordan K; Abdelrady, Mohamed; Lucy, Charles A

    2014-01-07

    The elution profile of chromatographic peaks provides fundamental understanding of the processes that occur in the mobile phase and the stationary phase. Major advances have been made in the column chemistry and suppressor technology in ion chromatography (IC) to handle a variety of sample matrices and ions. However, if the samples contain high concentrations of matrix ions, the overloaded peak elution profile is distorted. Consequently, the trace peaks shift their positions in the chromatogram in a manner that depends on the peak shape of the overloading analyte. In this work, the peak shapes in IC are examined from a fundamental perspective. Three commercial IC columns AS16, AS18, and AS23 were studied with borate, hydroxide and carbonate as suppressible eluents. Monovalent ions (chloride, bromide, and nitrate) are used as model analytes under analytical (0.1 mM) to overload conditions (10-500 mM). Both peak fronting and tailing are observed. On the basis of competitive Langmuir isotherms, if the eluent anion is more strongly retained than the analyte ion on an ion exchanger, the analyte peak is fronting. If the eluent is more weakly retained on the stationary phase, the analyte peak always tails under overload conditions regardless of the stationary phase capacity. If the charge of the analyte and eluent anions are different (e.g., Br(-) vs CO3(2-)), the analyte peak shapes depend on the eluent concentration in a more complex pattern. It was shown that there are interesting similarities with peak distortions due to strongly retained mobile phase components in other modes of liquid chromatography.

  2. Accelerators, Beams And Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators And Beams

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Siemann, R.H.; /SLAC

    Accelerator science and technology have evolved as accelerators became larger and important to a broad range of science. Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams was established to serve the accelerator community as a timely, widely circulated, international journal covering the full breadth of accelerators and beams. The history of the journal and the innovations associated with it are reviewed.

  3. The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility for Diagnostic Development for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parker, C. E.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Birkel, A.; Kabadi, N. V.; Lahmann, B.; Milanese, L. M.; Simpson, R. A.; Sio, H.; Sutcliffe, G. D.; Wink, C.; Frenje, J. A.; Li, C. K.; Seguin, F. H.; Petrasso, R. D.; Leeper, R.; Ruiz, C. L.; Sangster, T. C.

    2016-10-01

    The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility utilizes a 135-keV linear electrostatic ion accelerator, DT and DD neutron sources, and two x-ray sources for development and characterization of nuclear diagnostics for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF. The accelerator generates DD and D3He fusion products through the acceleration of D+ ions onto a 3He-doped Erbium-Deuteride target. Accurately characterized fusion product rates of around 106 s-1 are routinely achieved. The DT and DD neutron sources generate up to 6x108, and 1x107 neutrons/s, respectively. One x-ray generator is a thick-target W source with a peak energy of 225 keV and a maximum dose rate of 12 Gy/min; the other uses Cu, Mo, or Ti elemental tubes to generate x-rays with a maximum energy of 40 keV. Diagnostics developed and calibrated at this facility include CR-39-based charged-particle spectrometers, neutron detectors, and the particle Time-Of-Flight (pTOF) and Magnetic PTOF CVD-diamond-based bang time detectors. The accelerator is also a valuable hands-on tool for graduate and undergraduate education at MIT. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DoE, SNL, LLE and LLNL.

  4. The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility for Diagnostic Development for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sio, H.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Birkel, A.; Doeg, E.; Frankel, R.; Kabadi, N. V.; Lahmann, B.; Manzin, M.; Simpson, R. A.; Parker, C. E.; Sutcliffe, G. D.; Wink, C.; Frenje, J. A.; Li, C. K.; Seguin, F. H.; Petrasso, R. D.; Leeper, R.; Hahn, K.; Ruiz, C. L.; Sangster, T. C.; Hilsabeck, T.

    2017-10-01

    The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility utilizes a 135-keV, linear electrostatic ion accelerator; DT and DD neutron sources; and two x-ray sources for development and characterization of nuclear diagnostics for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF. The accelerator generates DD and D3He fusion products through the acceleration of D+ ions onto a 3He-doped Erbium-Deuteride target. Accurately characterized fusion product rates of around 106 s- 1 are routinely achieved. The DT and DD neutron sources generate up to 6×108 and 1×107 neutrons/s, respectively. One x-ray generator is a thick-target W source with a peak energy of 225 keV and a maximum dose rate of 12 Gy/min; the other uses Cu, Mo, or Ti elemental tubes to generate x-rays with a maximum energy of 40 keV. Diagnostics developed and calibrated at this facility include CR-39-based charged-particle spectrometers, neutron detectors, and the particle Time-Of-Flight (pTOF) and Magnetic PTOF CVD-diamond-based bang time detectors. The accelerator is also a valuable hands-on tool for graduate and undergraduate education at MIT. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DoE, SNL, LLE and LLNL.

  5. Commnity Petascale Project for Accelerator Science And Simulation: Advancing Computational Science for Future Accelerators And Accelerator Technologies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Spentzouris, Panagiotis; /Fermilab; Cary, John

    The design and performance optimization of particle accelerators are essential for the success of the DOE scientific program in the next decade. Particle accelerators are very complex systems whose accurate description involves a large number of degrees of freedom and requires the inclusion of many physics processes. Building on the success of the SciDAC-1 Accelerator Science and Technology project, the SciDAC-2 Community Petascale Project for Accelerator Science and Simulation (ComPASS) is developing a comprehensive set of interoperable components for beam dynamics, electromagnetics, electron cooling, and laser/plasma acceleration modelling. ComPASS is providing accelerator scientists the tools required to enable the necessarymore » accelerator simulation paradigm shift from high-fidelity single physics process modeling (covered under SciDAC1) to high-fidelity multiphysics modeling. Our computational frameworks have been used to model the behavior of a large number of accelerators and accelerator R&D experiments, assisting both their design and performance optimization. As parallel computational applications, the ComPASS codes have been shown to make effective use of thousands of processors.« less

  6. Extended Acceleration in Slot Gaps and Pulsar High-Energy Emission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor); Muslimov, Alex G.; Harding, Alice K.

    2003-01-01

    We revise the physics of primary electron acceleration in the "slot gap" (SG) above the pulsar polar caps (PCs), a regime originally proposed by Arons and Scharlemann (1979) in their electrodynamic model of pulsar PCs. We employ the standard definition of the SG as a pair-free space between the last open field lines and the boundary of the pair plasma column which is expected to develop above the bulk of the PC. The rationale for our revision is that the proper treatment of primary acceleration within the pulsar SGs should take into account the effect of the narrow geometry of the gap on the electrodynamics within the gap and also to include the effect of inertial frame dragging on the particle acceleration. We show that the accelerating electric field within the gap, being significantly boosted by the effect of frame dragging, becomes reduced because of the gap geometry by a factor proportional to the square of the SG width. The combination of the effects of frame dragging and geometrical screening in the gap region naturally gives rise to a regime of extended acceleration, that is not limited to favorably curved field lines as in earlier models, and the possibility of multiple-pair production by curvature photons at very high altitudes, up to several stellar radii. We present our estimates of the characteristic SG thickness across the PC, energetics of primaries accelerated within the gap, high-energy bolometric luminosities emitted from the high altitudes in the gaps, and maximum heating luminosities produced by positrons returning from the elevated pair fronts. The estimated theoretical high-energy luminosities are in good agreement with the corresponding empirical relationships for gamma-ray pulsars. We illustrate the results of our modeling of the pair cascades and gamma-ray emission from the high altitudes in the SG for the Crab pulsar. The combination of the frame-dragging field and high-altitude SG emission enables both acceleration at the smaller

  7. Permanent-magnet energy spectrometer for electron beams from radiotherapy accelerators

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McLaughlin, David J.; Shikhaliev, Polad M.; Matthews, Kenneth L.

    2015-09-15

    Purpose: The purpose of this work was to adapt a lightweight, permanent magnet electron energy spectrometer for the measurement of energy spectra of therapeutic electron beams. Methods: An irradiation geometry and measurement technique were developed for an approximately 0.54-T, permanent dipole magnet spectrometer to produce suitable latent images on computed radiography (CR) phosphor strips. Dual-pinhole electron collimators created a 0.318-cm diameter, approximately parallel beam incident on the spectrometer and an appropriate dose rate at the image plane (CR strip location). X-ray background in the latent image, reduced by a 7.62-cm thick lead block between the pinhole collimators, was removed usingmore » a fitting technique. Theoretical energy-dependent detector response functions (DRFs) were used in an iterative technique to transform CR strip net mean dose profiles into energy spectra on central axis at the entrance to the spectrometer. These spectra were transformed to spectra at 95-cm source to collimator distance (SCD) by correcting for the energy dependence of electron scatter. The spectrometer was calibrated by comparing peak mean positions in the net mean dose profiles, initially to peak mean energies determined from the practical range of central-axis percent depth-dose (%DD) curves, and then to peak mean energies that accounted for how the collimation modified the energy spectra (recalibration). The utility of the spectrometer was demonstrated by measuring the energy spectra for the seven electron beams (7–20 MeV) of an Elekta Infinity radiotherapy accelerator. Results: Plots of DRF illustrated their dependence on energy and position in the imaging plane. Approximately 15 iterations solved for the energy spectra at the spectrometer entrance from the measured net mean dose profiles. Transforming those spectra into ones at 95-cm SCD increased the low energy tail of the spectra, while correspondingly decreasing the peaks and shifting them to

  8. Permanent-magnet energy spectrometer for electron beams from radiotherapy accelerators.

    PubMed

    McLaughlin, David J; Hogstrom, Kenneth R; Carver, Robert L; Gibbons, John P; Shikhaliev, Polad M; Matthews, Kenneth L; Clarke, Taylor; Henderson, Alexander; Liang, Edison P

    2015-09-01

    The purpose of this work was to adapt a lightweight, permanent magnet electron energy spectrometer for the measurement of energy spectra of therapeutic electron beams. An irradiation geometry and measurement technique were developed for an approximately 0.54-T, permanent dipole magnet spectrometer to produce suitable latent images on computed radiography (CR) phosphor strips. Dual-pinhole electron collimators created a 0.318-cm diameter, approximately parallel beam incident on the spectrometer and an appropriate dose rate at the image plane (CR strip location). X-ray background in the latent image, reduced by a 7.62-cm thick lead block between the pinhole collimators, was removed using a fitting technique. Theoretical energy-dependent detector response functions (DRFs) were used in an iterative technique to transform CR strip net mean dose profiles into energy spectra on central axis at the entrance to the spectrometer. These spectra were transformed to spectra at 95-cm source to collimator distance (SCD) by correcting for the energy dependence of electron scatter. The spectrometer was calibrated by comparing peak mean positions in the net mean dose profiles, initially to peak mean energies determined from the practical range of central-axis percent depth-dose (%DD) curves, and then to peak mean energies that accounted for how the collimation modified the energy spectra (recalibration). The utility of the spectrometer was demonstrated by measuring the energy spectra for the seven electron beams (7-20 MeV) of an Elekta Infinity radiotherapy accelerator. Plots of DRF illustrated their dependence on energy and position in the imaging plane. Approximately 15 iterations solved for the energy spectra at the spectrometer entrance from the measured net mean dose profiles. Transforming those spectra into ones at 95-cm SCD increased the low energy tail of the spectra, while correspondingly decreasing the peaks and shifting them to slightly lower energies. Energy calibration

  9. ITALIAN PEAK AND ITALIAN PEAK MIDDLE ROADLESS AREAS, IDAHO AND MONTANA.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Skipp, Betty; Lambeth, Robert H.

    1984-01-01

    The Italian Peak and Italian Peak Middle Roadless Areas, in southwestern Montana and east-central Idaho, contain areas of probable mineral-resource potential based on combined geologic, geophysical, and geochemical studies and prospect examination. Small areas along the western, southern, and northeastern boundaries of the roadless areas have probable mineral resource potential for zinc, lead, silver, and uranium. An area of probable resource potential just east of and including a part of the Birch Creek mining district, may contain stratabound and fault-controlled silver and base metals, even though geochemical anomalies are low, and extensive prospecting has not identified any significant mineralization. The roadless areas are a part of the overthrust belt, and oil and gas possibilities must be assessed.

  10. DOUBLE-PEAKED NARROW-LINE ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI. II. THE CASE OF EQUAL PEAKS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Smith, K. L.; Shields, G. A.; Salviander, S.

    Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with double-peaked narrow lines (DPAGNs) may be caused by kiloparsec-scale binary AGNs, bipolar outflows, or rotating gaseous disks. We examine the class of DPAGNs in which the two narrow-line components have closely similar intensity as being especially likely to involve disks or jets. Two spectroscopic indicators support this likelihood. For DPAGNs from Smith et al., the 'equal-peaked' objects (EPAGNs) have [Ne V]/[O III]ratios lower than for a control sample of non-double-peaked AGNs. This is unexpected for a pair of normal AGNs in a galactic merger, but may be consistent with [O III] emission from a rotatingmore » ring with relatively little gas at small radii. Also, [O III]/H{beta} ratios of the redshifted and blueshifted systems in the EPAGN are more similar to each other than in a control sample, suggestive of a single ionizing source and inconsistent with the binary interpretation.« less

  11. Relationships between Electroencephalographic Spectral Peaks Across Frequency Bands

    PubMed Central

    van Albada, S. J.; Robinson, P. A.

    2013-01-01

    The degree to which electroencephalographic spectral peaks are independent, and the relationships between their frequencies have been debated. A novel fitting method was used to determine peak parameters in the range 2–35 Hz from a large sample of eyes-closed spectra, and their interrelationships were investigated. Findings were compared with a mean-field model of thalamocortical activity, which predicts near-harmonic relationships between peaks. The subject set consisted of 1424 healthy subjects from the Brain Resource International Database. Peaks in the theta range occurred on average near half the alpha peak frequency, while peaks in the beta range tended to occur near twice and three times the alpha peak frequency on an individual-subject basis. Moreover, for the majority of subjects, alpha peak frequencies were significantly positively correlated with frequencies of peaks in the theta and low and high beta ranges. Such a harmonic progression agrees semiquantitatively with theoretical predictions from the mean-field model. These findings indicate a common or analogous source for different rhythms, and help to define appropriate individual frequency bands for peak identification. PMID:23483663

  12. Ground motion models used in the 2014 U.S. National Seismic Hazard Maps

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rezaeian, Sanaz; Petersen, Mark D.; Moschetti, Morgan P.

    2015-01-01

    The National Seismic Hazard Maps (NSHMs) are an important component of seismic design regulations in the United States. This paper compares hazard using the new suite of ground motion models (GMMs) relative to hazard using the suite of GMMs applied in the previous version of the maps. The new source characterization models are used for both cases. A previous paper (Rezaeian et al. 2014) discussed the five NGA-West2 GMMs used for shallow crustal earthquakes in the Western United States (WUS), which are also summarized here. Our focus in this paper is on GMMs for earthquakes in stable continental regions in the Central and Eastern United States (CEUS), as well as subduction interface and deep intraslab earthquakes. We consider building code hazard levels for peak ground acceleration (PGA), 0.2-s, and 1.0-s spectral accelerations (SAs) on uniform firm-rock site conditions. The GMM modifications in the updated version of the maps created changes in hazard within 5% to 20% in WUS; decreases within 5% to 20% in CEUS; changes within 5% to 15% for subduction interface earthquakes; and changes involving decreases of up to 50% and increases of up to 30% for deep intraslab earthquakes for most U.S. sites. These modifications were combined with changes resulting from modifications in the source characterization models to obtain the new hazard maps.

  13. Hubbert's Peak -- A Physicist's View

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McDonald, Richard

    2011-04-01

    Oil, as used in agriculture and transportation, is the lifeblood of modern society. It is finite in quantity and will someday be exhausted. In 1956, Hubbert proposed a theory of resource production and applied it successfully to predict peak U.S. oil production in 1970. Bartlett extended this work in publications and lectures on the finite nature of oil and its production peak and depletion. Both Hubbert and Bartlett place peak world oil production at a similar time, essentially now. Central to these analyses are estimates of total ``oil in place'' obtained from engineering studies of oil reservoirs as this quantity determines the area under the Hubbert's Peak. Knowing the production history and the total oil in place allows us to make estimates of reserves, and therefore future oil availability. We will then examine reserves data for various countries, in particular OPEC countries, and see if these data tell us anything about the future availability of oil. Finally, we will comment on synthetic oil and the possibility of carbon-neutral synthetic oil for a sustainable future.

  14. Solid-State Powered X-band Accelerator

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Othman, Mohamed A.K.; Nann, Emilio A.; Dolgashev, Valery A.

    2017-03-06

    In this report we disseminate the hot test results of an X-band 100-W solid state amplifier chain for linear accelerator (linac) applications. Solid state power amplifiers have become increasingly attractive solutions for achieving high power in radar and maritime applications. Here the performance of solid state amplifiers when driving an RF cavity is investigated. Commercially available, matched and fully-packaged GaN on SiC HEMTs are utilized, comprising a wideband driver stage and two power stages. The amplifier chain has a high poweradded- efficiency and is able to supply up to ~1.2 MV/m field gradient at 9.2 GHz in a simple testmore » cavity, with a peak power exceeding 100 W. These findings set forth the enabling technology for solid-state powered linacs.« less

  15. Fermilab | Tevatron | Accelerator

    Science.gov Websites

    Leading accelerator technology Accelerator complex Illinois Accelerator Research Center Fermilab temperature. They were used to transfer particles from one part of the Fermilab accelerator complex to another center ring of Fermilab's accelerator complex. Before the Tevatron shut down, it had three primary

  16. PEAK READING VOLTMETER

    DOEpatents

    Dyer, A.L.

    1958-07-29

    An improvement in peak reading voltmeters is described, which provides for storing an electrical charge representative of the magnitude of a transient voltage pulse and thereafter measuring the stored charge, drawing oniy negligible energy from the storage element. The incoming voltage is rectified and stored in a condenser. The voltage of the capacitor is applied across a piezoelectric crystal between two parallel plates. Amy change in the voltage of the capacitor is reflected in a change in the dielectric constant of the crystal and the capacitance between a second pair of plates affixed to the crystal is altered. The latter capacitor forms part of the frequency determlning circuit of an oscillator and means is provided for indicating the frequency deviation which is a measure of the peak voltage applied to the voltmeter.

  17. Capturing Structural Dynamics in Crystalline Silicon Using Chirped Electrons from a Laser Wakefield Accelerator

    PubMed Central

    He, Z.-H.; Beaurepaire, B.; Nees, J. A.; Gallé, G.; Scott, S. A.; Pérez, J. R. Sánchez; Lagally, M. G.; Krushelnick, K.; Thomas, A. G. R.; Faure, J.

    2016-01-01

    Recent progress in laser wakefield acceleration has led to the emergence of a new generation of electron and X-ray sources that may have enormous benefits for ultrafast science. These novel sources promise to become indispensable tools for the investigation of structural dynamics on the femtosecond time scale, with spatial resolution on the atomic scale. Here, we demonstrate the use of laser-wakefield-accelerated electron bunches for time-resolved electron diffraction measurements of the structural dynamics of single-crystal silicon nano-membranes pumped by an ultrafast laser pulse. In our proof-of-concept study, we resolve the silicon lattice dynamics on a picosecond time scale by deflecting the momentum-time correlated electrons in the diffraction peaks with a static magnetic field to obtain the time-dependent diffraction efficiency. Further improvements may lead to femtosecond temporal resolution, with negligible pump-probe jitter being possible with future laser-wakefield-accelerator ultrafast-electron-diffraction schemes. PMID:27824086

  18. Capturing Structural Dynamics in Crystalline Silicon Using Chirped Electrons from a Laser Wakefield Accelerator

    DOE PAGES

    He, Z. -H.; Beaurepaire, B.; Nees, J. A.; ...

    2016-11-08

    Recent progress in laser wakefield acceleration has led to the emergence of a new generation of electron and X-ray sources that may have enormous benefits for ultrafast science. These novel sources promise to become indispensable tools for the investigation of structural dynamics on the femtosecond time scale, with spatial resolution on the atomic scale. Here in this paper, we demonstrate the use of laser-wakefield-accelerated electron bunches for time-resolved electron diffraction measurements of the structural dynamics of single-crystal silicon nano-membranes pumped by an ultrafast laser pulse. In our proof-of-concept study, we resolve the silicon lattice dynamics on a picosecond time scalemore » by deflecting the momentum-time correlated electrons in the diffraction peaks with a static magnetic field to obtain the time-dependent diffraction efficiency. Further improvements may lead to femtosecond temporal resolution, with negligible pump-probe jitter being possible with future laser-wakefield-accelerator ultrafast-electron-diffraction schemes.« less

  19. Peak Experiences: Some Empirical Tests.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wuthnow, Robert

    1978-01-01

    This article presents findings regarding peak experiences from a systematic random sample of 1,000 persons in the San Francisco-Oakland area. Evidence is presented on the incidence of peak experiences, on the kinds of life styles which tend to be associated with these experiences, and on some of the social implications that these experiences have.…

  20. Laser-wakefield accelerators as hard x-ray sources for 3D medical imaging of human bone

    PubMed Central

    Cole, J. M.; Wood, J. C.; Lopes, N. C.; Poder, K.; Abel, R. L.; Alatabi, S.; Bryant, J. S. J.; Jin, A.; Kneip, S.; Mecseki, K.; Symes, D. R.; Mangles, S. P. D.; Najmudin, Z.

    2015-01-01

    A bright μm-sized source of hard synchrotron x-rays (critical energy Ecrit > 30 keV) based on the betatron oscillations of laser wakefield accelerated electrons has been developed. The potential of this source for medical imaging was demonstrated by performing micro-computed tomography of a human femoral trabecular bone sample, allowing full 3D reconstruction to a resolution below 50 μm. The use of a 1 cm long wakefield accelerator means that the length of the beamline (excluding the laser) is dominated by the x-ray imaging distances rather than the electron acceleration distances. The source possesses high peak brightness, which allows each image to be recorded with a single exposure and reduces the time required for a full tomographic scan. These properties make this an interesting laboratory source for many tomographic imaging applications. PMID:26283308

  1. The effect of blood acceleration on the ultrasound power Doppler spectrum

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matchenko, O. S.; Barannik, E. A.

    2017-09-01

    The purpose of the present work was to study the influence of blood acceleration and time window length on the power Doppler spectrum for Gaussian ultrasound beams. The work has been carried out on the basis of continuum model of the ultrasound scattering from inhomogeneities in fluid flow. Correlation function of fluctuations has been considered for uniformly accelerated scatterers, and the resulting power Doppler spectra have been calculated. It is shown that within the initial phase of systole uniformly accelerated slow blood flow in pulmonary artery and aorta tends to make the correlation function about 4.89 and 7.83 times wider, respectively, than the sensitivity function of typical probing system. Given peak flow velocities, the sensitivity function becomes, vice versa, about 4.34 and 3.84 times wider, respectively, then the correlation function. In these limiting cases, the resulting spectra can be considered as Gaussian. The optimal time window duration decreases with increasing acceleration of blood flow and equals to 11.62 and 7.54 ms for pulmonary artery and aorta, respectively. The width of the resulting power Doppler spectrum is shown to be defined mostly by the wave vector of the incident field, the duration of signal and the acceleration of scatterers in the case of low flow velocities. In the opposite case geometrical properties of probing field and the average velocity itself are more essential. In the sense of signal-noise ratio, the optimal duration of time window can be found. Abovementioned results may contribute to the improved techniques of Doppler ultrasound diagnostics of cardiovascular system.

  2. Piezoelectric particle accelerator

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kemp, Mark A.; Jongewaard, Erik N.; Haase, Andrew A.

    2017-08-29

    A particle accelerator is provided that includes a piezoelectric accelerator element, where the piezoelectric accelerator element includes a hollow cylindrical shape, and an input transducer, where the input transducer is disposed to provide an input signal to the piezoelectric accelerator element, where the input signal induces a mechanical excitation of the piezoelectric accelerator element, where the mechanical excitation is capable of generating a piezoelectric electric field proximal to an axis of the cylindrical shape, where the piezoelectric accelerator is configured to accelerate a charged particle longitudinally along the axis of the cylindrical shape according to the piezoelectric electric field.

  3. EDITORIAL: Laser and plasma accelerators Laser and plasma accelerators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bingham, Robert

    2009-02-01

    This special issue on laser and plasma accelerators illustrates the rapid advancement and diverse applications of laser and plasma accelerators. Plasma is an attractive medium for particle acceleration because of the high electric field it can sustain, with studies of acceleration processes remaining one of the most important areas of research in both laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. The rapid advance in laser and accelerator technology has led to the development of terawatt and petawatt laser systems with ultra-high intensities and short sub-picosecond pulses, which are used to generate wakefields in plasma. Recent successes include the demonstration by several groups in 2004 of quasi-monoenergetic electron beams by wakefields in the bubble regime with the GeV energy barrier being reached in 2006, and the energy doubling of the SLAC high-energy electron beam from 42 to 85 GeV. The electron beams generated by the laser plasma driven wakefields have good spatial quality with energies ranging from MeV to GeV. A unique feature is that they are ultra-short bunches with simulations showing that they can be as short as a few femtoseconds with low-energy spread, making these beams ideal for a variety of applications ranging from novel high-brightness radiation sources for medicine, material science and ultrafast time-resolved radiobiology or chemistry. Laser driven ion acceleration experiments have also made significant advances over the last few years with applications in laser fusion, nuclear physics and medicine. Attention is focused on the possibility of producing quasi-mono-energetic ions with energies ranging from hundreds of MeV to GeV per nucleon. New acceleration mechanisms are being studied, including ion acceleration from ultra-thin foils and direct laser acceleration. The application of wakefields or beat waves in other areas of science such as astrophysics and particle physics is beginning to take off, such as the study of cosmic accelerators considered

  4. VASQUEZ PEAK WILDERNESS STUDY AREA, AND ST. LOUIS PEAK, AND WILLIAMS FORK ROADLESS AREAS, COLORADO.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Theobald, P.K.; Bielski, A.M.

    1984-01-01

    A mineral-resource survey was conducted during the years 1979-82 in the Vasquez Peak Wilderness Study Area and in the St. Louis Peak and Williams Fork Roadless Areas, central Front Range, Colorado. Probable resource potential for the occurrence of copper, lead, zinc, and silver in massive sulfide deposits has been identified in calcareous metamorphic rocks in the northern part of the St. Louis Peak Roadless Area and in the southern part of the Williams Fork Roadless Area. A probable resource potential for vein-type uranium deposits is identified along the Berthoud Pass fault zone in the eastern part of the Vasquez Peak Wilderness Study Area. A large area encompassing the eastern and southeastern part of each of the three areas has probable and substantiated potential for either high-grade lead-zinc-silver vein deposits, or larger, lower-grade clustered vein deposits. A probable resource potential for stockwork molybdenum deposits related to porphyry molybdenum type mineralization exists beneath the lead-zinc-silver-rich veins. The nature of the geologic terrane indicates little likelihood for the occurrence of organic fuels.

  5. Peak water limits to freshwater withdrawal and use

    PubMed Central

    Gleick, Peter H.; Palaniappan, Meena

    2010-01-01

    Freshwater resources are fundamental for maintaining human health, agricultural production, economic activity as well as critical ecosystem functions. As populations and economies grow, new constraints on water resources are appearing, raising questions about limits to water availability. Such resource questions are not new. The specter of “peak oil”—a peaking and then decline in oil production—has long been predicted and debated. We present here a detailed assessment and definition of three concepts of “peak water”: peak renewable water, peak nonrenewable water, and peak ecological water. These concepts can help hydrologists, water managers, policy makers, and the public understand and manage different water systems more effectively and sustainably. Peak renewable water applies where flow constraints limit total water availability over time. Peak nonrenewable water is observable in groundwater systems where production rates substantially exceed natural recharge rates and where overpumping or contamination leads to a peak of production followed by a decline, similar to more traditional peak-oil curves. Peak “ecological” water is defined as the point beyond which the total costs of ecological disruptions and damages exceed the total value provided by human use of that water. Despite uncertainties in quantifying many of these costs and benefits in consistent ways, more and more watersheds appear to have already passed the point of peak water. Applying these concepts can help shift the way freshwater resources are managed toward more productive, equitable, efficient, and sustainable use. PMID:20498082

  6. Peak-flow characteristics of Wyoming streams

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Miller, Kirk A.

    2003-01-01

    Peak-flow characteristics for unregulated streams in Wyoming are described in this report. Frequency relations for annual peak flows through water year 2000 at 364 streamflow-gaging stations in and near Wyoming were evaluated and revised or updated as needed. Analyses of historical floods, temporal trends, and generalized skew were included in the evaluation. Physical and climatic basin characteristics were determined for each gaging station using a geographic information system. Gaging stations with similar peak-flow and basin characteristics were grouped into six hydrologic regions. Regional statistical relations between peak-flow and basin characteristics were explored using multiple-regression techniques. Generalized least squares regression equations for estimating magnitudes of annual peak flows with selected recurrence intervals from 1.5 to 500 years were developed for each region. Average standard errors of estimate range from 34 to 131 percent. Average standard errors of prediction range from 35 to 135 percent. Several statistics for evaluating and comparing the errors in these estimates are described. Limitations of the equations are described. Methods for applying the regional equations for various circumstances are listed and examples are given.

  7. The persistence of directivity in small earthquakes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Boatwright, J.

    2007-01-01

    We derive a simple inversion of peak ground acceleration (PGA) or peak ground velocity (PGV) for rupture direction and rupture velocity and then test this inversion on the peak motions obtained from seven 3.5 ??? M ??? 4.1 earthquakes that occurred in two clusters in November 2002 and February 2003 near San Ramon, California. These clusters were located on two orthogonal strike-slip faults so that the events share the same approximate focal mechanism but not the same fault plane. Three earthquakes exhibit strong directivity, but the other four earthquakes exhibit relatively weak directivity. We use the residual PGAs and PGVs from the other six events to determine station corrections for each earthquake. The inferred rupture directions unambiguously identify the fault plane for the three earthquakes with strong directivity and for three of the four earthquakes with weak directivity. The events with strong directivity have fast rupture velocities (0.63????? v ??? 0.87??); the events with weak directivity either rupture more slowly (0.17????? v ???0.35??) or bilaterally. The simple unilateral inversion cannot distinguish between slow and bilateral ruptures: adding a bilateral rupture component degrades the fit of the rupture directions to the fault planes. By comparing PGAs from the events with strong and weak directivity, we show how an up-dip rupture in small events can distort the attenuation of peak ground motion with distance. When we compare the rupture directions of the earthquakes to the location of aftershocks in the two clusters, we find than almost all the aftershocks of the three earthquakes with strong directivity occur within 70?? of the direction of rupture.

  8. Do In Situ Observations Contain Signatures of Intermittent Fast Solar Wind Acceleration?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matteini, L.; Horbury, T. S.; Stansby, D.

    2017-12-01

    Disentangling local plasma properties and Solar origin structures in in situ data is a crucial aspect for the understanding of solar wind acceleration and evolution. This is particularly challenging at 1 AU and beyond, where structures of various origin have had time to interact and merge, smoothing out their main characteristics. Observations of more pristine plasma closer to the Sun are therefore needed. In preparation of the forthcoming Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe missions, Helios observations as close as to 0.3 AU - although old, not yet fully exploited - can be used to test our expectations and make new predictions. Recent observations (Matteini et al. 2014, 2015) have outlined the presence of intense (up to 1000km/s) and short-living velocity peaks that ubiquitously characterize the typical profile of the fast solar wind at 0.3 AU, suggesting that these features could be remnants of processes occurring in the Solar atmosphere and a signature of intermittent solar wind acceleration from coronal holes. We discuss results about statistics of these events, characterizing their physical properties and trying to link them with typical Solar temporal and spatial scales. Finally we also discuss how these velocity peaks will likely affect the future in situ exploration of the inner heliosphere by Solar Orbiter and the Parker Solar Probe.

  9. A Study on the Relationship between Disaster and Spectral Intensity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yeh, Yeong-Tein; Kao, Ching-Yun

    2010-05-01

    Nowadays, the structural environment is becoming so complicated that an index, which can better assess earthquake damage than the originally defined intensity scale and PGA, is needed. Housner [1] suggested that spectral intensity (SI) can be a risk index of an earthquake. After Housner some earthquake engineers keep on exploring different period range of SI and its application [2-5]. The study of Matsumura [4] shows that SI is a better measure of earthquake intensity for a wide range of frequencies with a good correlation with damage than peak ground acceleration (adequate to structures with shorter natural period) and peak ground velocity (adequate to structures with longer natural period). Recently, Jean [6] investigated earthquake intensity attenuation law and site effect of strong ground motion using earthquake records in Taiwan area. Their results show that SI is a better earthquake damage index than PGA. This study enhanced the SI concept proposed by Jean [6]. The spectral intensity was separated into three periods, short period (acceleration controlled period), medium period (velocity controlled period), and long period (displacement controlled period). The average spectral intensity of short period, medium period, and long period can be an earthquake damage index of low-rise buildings, buildings of medium height, and high-rise buildings. Since average value of a certain data is meaningful when the data has a small variance, the start and end points of the three periods are calculated by statistical method so that the data at each period has minimum variance. Finally, the relationship between disaster and spectral intensity of 1999 Taiwan Chi-Chi earthquake was investigated in this study. [1] Housner, G. W. (1952). "Spectrum intensity of strong-motion earthquakes," in Proc. Sym. Earthq. Blast Eeff. on Stru., EERI, U.C.L.A.. [2] Hidalgo.P. and R. W.Clough (1974). "Earthquake simulator study of a reinforced concrete frame," Report UCB/EERC-74/13, EERC

  10. Predicting Peak Flows following Forest Fires

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elliot, William J.; Miller, Mary Ellen; Dobre, Mariana

    2016-04-01

    Following forest fires, peak flows in perennial and ephemeral streams often increase by a factor of 10 or more. This increase in peak flow rate may overwhelm existing downstream structures, such as road culverts, causing serious damage to road fills at stream crossings. In order to predict peak flow rates following wildfires, we have applied two different tools. One is based on the U.S.D.A Natural Resource Conservation Service Curve Number Method (CN), and the other is by applying the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) to the watershed. In our presentation, we will describe the science behind the two methods, and present the main variables for each model. We will then provide an example of a comparison of the two methods to a fire-prone watershed upstream of the City of Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, where a fire spread model was applied for current fuel loads, and for likely fuel loads following a fuel reduction treatment. When applying the curve number method, determining the time to peak flow can be problematic for low severity fires because the runoff flow paths are both surface and through shallow lateral flow. The WEPP watershed version incorporates shallow lateral flow into stream channels. However, the version of the WEPP model that was used for this study did not have channel routing capabilities, but rather relied on regression relationships to estimate peak flows from individual hillslope polygon peak runoff rates. We found that the two methods gave similar results if applied correctly, with the WEPP predictions somewhat greater than the CN predictions. Later releases of the WEPP model have incorporated alternative methods for routing peak flows that need to be evaluated.

  11. The Role of Linear Acceleration in Visual-Vestibular Interactions and Implications in Aircraft Operations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Correia, Manning J.; Luke, Brian L.; McGrath, Braden J.; Clark, John B.; Rupert, Angus H.

    1996-01-01

    While considerable attention has been given to visual-vestibular interaction (VVI) during angular motion of the head as might occur during an aircraft spin, much less attention has been given to VVI during linear motion of the head. Such interaction might occur, for example, while viewing a stationary or moving display during vertical take-off and landing operations Research into linear VVI, particularly during prolonged periods of linear acceleration, has been hampered by the unavailability of a programmable translator capable of large excursions We collaborated with Otis Elevator Co. and used their research tower and elevator, whose motion could be digitally programmed, to vertically translate human subjects over a distance of 92.3 meters with a peak linear acceleration of 2 meters/sec(exp 2) During pulsatile or sinusoidal translation, the subjects viewed moving stripes (optokinetic stimulus) or a fixed point source (light emitting diode, led, display), respectively and it was generally found that. The direction of linear acceleration relative to the cardinal head axes and the direction of the slow component of optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) determined the extent of VVI during concomitant stripe motion and linear acceleration. Acceleration along the z head axis (A(sub z)) produced the largest VVI, particularly when the slow component of OKN was in the same direction as eye movements produced by the linear acceleration and Eye movements produced by linear acceleration are suppressed by viewing a fixed target at frequencies below 10 Hz But, above this frequency the suppression produced by VVI is removed. Finally, as demonstrated in non-human primates, vergence of the eyes appears to modulate the vertical eye movement response to linear acceleration in humans.

  12. Passive radio frequency peak power multiplier

    DOEpatents

    Farkas, Zoltan D.; Wilson, Perry B.

    1977-01-01

    Peak power multiplication of a radio frequency source by simultaneous charging of two high-Q resonant microwave cavities by applying the source output through a directional coupler to the cavities and then reversing the phase of the source power to the coupler, thereby permitting the power in the cavities to simultaneously discharge through the coupler to the load in combination with power from the source to apply a peak power to the load that is a multiplication of the source peak power.

  13. Global Peak in Atmospheric Radiocarbon Provides a Potential Definition for the Onset of the Anthropocene Epoch in 1965.

    PubMed

    Turney, Chris S M; Palmer, Jonathan; Maslin, Mark A; Hogg, Alan; Fogwill, Christopher J; Southon, John; Fenwick, Pavla; Helle, Gerhard; Wilmshurst, Janet M; McGlone, Matt; Bronk Ramsey, Christopher; Thomas, Zoë; Lipson, Mathew; Beaven, Brent; Jones, Richard T; Andrews, Oliver; Hua, Quan

    2018-02-19

    Anthropogenic activity is now recognised as having profoundly and permanently altered the Earth system, suggesting we have entered a human-dominated geological epoch, the 'Anthropocene'. To formally define the onset of the Anthropocene, a synchronous global signature within geological-forming materials is required. Here we report a series of precisely-dated tree-ring records from Campbell Island (Southern Ocean) that capture peak atmospheric radiocarbon ( 14 C) resulting from Northern Hemisphere-dominated thermonuclear bomb tests during the 1950s and 1960s. The only alien tree on the island, a Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), allows us to seasonally-resolve Southern Hemisphere atmospheric 14 C, demonstrating the 'bomb peak' in this remote and pristine location occurred in the last-quarter of 1965 (October-December), coincident with the broader changes associated with the post-World War II 'Great Acceleration' in industrial capacity and consumption. Our findings provide a precisely-resolved potential Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) or 'golden spike', marking the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch.

  14. Hardware accelerator for molecular dynamics: MDGRAPE-2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Susukita, Ryutaro; Ebisuzaki, Toshikazu; Elmegreen, Bruce G.; Furusawa, Hideaki; Kato, Kenya; Kawai, Atsushi; Kobayashi, Yoshinao; Koishi, Takahiro; McNiven, Geoffrey D.; Narumi, Tetsu; Yasuoka, Kenji

    2003-10-01

    We developed MDGRAPE-2, a hardware accelerator that calculates forces at high speed in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. MDGRAPE-2 is connected to a PC or a workstation as an extension board. The sustained performance of one MDGRAPE-2 board is 15 Gflops, roughly equivalent to the peak performance of the fastest supercomputer processing element. One board is able to calculate all forces between 10 000 particles in 0.28 s (i.e. 310000 time steps per day). If 16 boards are connected to one computer and operated in parallel, this calculation speed becomes ˜10 times faster. In addition to MD, MDGRAPE-2 can be applied to gravitational N-body simulations, the vortex method and smoothed particle hydrodynamics in computational fluid dynamics.

  15. Source-to-accelerator quadrupole matching section for a compact linear accelerator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seidl, P. A.; Persaud, A.; Ghiorso, W.; Ji, Q.; Waldron, W. L.; Lal, A.; Vinayakumar, K. B.; Schenkel, T.

    2018-05-01

    Recently, we presented a new approach for a compact radio-frequency (RF) accelerator structure and demonstrated the functionality of the individual components: acceleration units and focusing elements. In this paper, we combine these units to form a working accelerator structure: a matching section between the ion source extraction grids and the RF-acceleration unit and electrostatic focusing quadrupoles between successive acceleration units. The matching section consists of six electrostatic quadrupoles (ESQs) fabricated using 3D-printing techniques. The matching section enables us to capture more beam current and to match the beam envelope to conditions for stable transport in an acceleration lattice. We present data from an integrated accelerator consisting of the source, matching section, and an ESQ doublet sandwiched between two RF-acceleration units.

  16. Peak capacity, peak-capacity production rate, and boiling point resolution for temperature-programmed GC with very high programming rates

    PubMed

    Grall; Leonard; Sacks

    2000-02-01

    Recent advances in column heating technology have made possible very fast linear temperature programming for high-speed gas chromatography. A fused-silica capillary column is contained in a tubular metal jacket, which is resistively heated by a precision power supply. With very rapid column heating, the rate of peak-capacity production is significantly enhanced, but the total peak capacity and the boiling-point resolution (minimum boiling-point difference required for the separation of two nonpolar compounds on a nonpolar column) are reduced relative to more conventional heating rates used with convection-oven instruments. As temperature-programming rates increase, elution temperatures also increase with the result that retention may become insignificant prior to elution. This results in inefficient utilization of the down-stream end of the column and causes a loss in the rate of peak-capacity production. The rate of peak-capacity production is increased by the use of shorter columns and higher carrier gas velocities. With high programming rates (100-600 degrees C/min), column lengths of 6-12 m and average linear carrier gas velocities in the 100-150 cm/s range are satisfactory. In this study, the rate of peak-capacity production, the total peak capacity, and the boiling point resolution are determined for C10-C28 n-alkanes using 6-18 m long columns, 50-200 cm/s average carrier gas velocities, and 60-600 degrees C/min programming rates. It was found that with a 6-meter-long, 0.25-mm i.d. column programmed at a rate of 600 degrees C/min, a maximum peak-capacity production rate of 6.1 peaks/s was obtained. A total peak capacity of about 75 peaks was produced in a 37-s long separation spanning a boiling-point range from n-C10 (174 degrees C) to n-C28 (432 degrees C).

  17. Poly-N-acetylglucosamine mediates biofilm formation and detergent resistance in Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans

    PubMed Central

    Izano, Era A.; Sadovskaya, Irina; Wang, Hailin; Vinogradov, Evgeny; Ragunath, Chandran; Ramasubbu, Narayanan; Jabbouri, Saïd; Perry, Malcolm B.; Kaplan, Jeffrey B.

    2008-01-01

    Clinical isolates of the periodontopathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans form matrix-encased biofilms on abiotic surfaces in vitro. A major component of the A. actinomycetemcomitans biofilm matrix is PGA, a hexosamine-containing polysaccharide that mediates intercellular adhesion. In this report we describe studies on the purification, structure, genetics and function of A. actinomycetemcomitans PGA. We found that PGA was very tightly attached to A. actinomycetemcomitans biofilm cells and could be efficiently separated from the cells only by phenol extraction. A. actinomycetemcomitans PGA copurified with LPS on a gel filtration column. 1H-NMR spectra of purified A. actinomycetemcomitans PGA were consistent with a structure containing a linear chain of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues in β(1,6) linkage. Genetic analyses indicated that all four genes of the pgaABCD locus were required for PGA production in A. actinomycetemcomitans. PGA mutant strains still formed biofilms in vitro. Unlike wild-type biofilms, however, PGA mutant biofilms were sensitive to detachment by DNase I and proteinase K. Treatment of A. actinomycetemcomitans biofilms with the PGA-hydrolyzing enzyme dispersin B made them 3 log units more sensitive to killing by the cationic detergent cetylpyridinium chloride. Our findings suggest that PGA, extracellular DNA and proteinaceous adhesins all contribute to the structural integrity of the A. actinomycetemcomitans biofilm matrix. PMID:17851029

  18. Impact of Thermal Degradation of Cyanidin-3-O-Glucoside of Haskap Berry on Cytotoxicity of Hepatocellular Carcinoma HepG2 and Breast Cancer MDA-MB-231 Cells

    PubMed Central

    Pace, Eric; Jiang, Yuanyuan; Clemens, Amy; Crossman, Tennille

    2018-01-01

    Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G), the predominant anthocyanin in haskap berries (Lonicera caerulea L.), possesses antioxidant and many other biological activities. This study investigated the impact of temperature and pH on the degradation of the C3G-rich haskap fraction. The effect of the thermal degradation products on the viability of hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 and breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells was also studied in vitro. Using column chromatography, the C3G-rich fraction was isolated from acetone extracts of haskap berries. The C3G stability in these fractions was studied under elevated temperatures (70 °C and 90 °C) at three different pH values (2.5, 4, and 7) by monitoring the concentration of C3G and its major degradation products, protocatechuic acid (PCA) and phloroglucinaldehyde (PGA), using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Significant degradation of C3G was observed at elevated temperatures and at neutral pH. Conversely, the PCA and PGA concentration increased at higher pH and temperature. Similar to C3G, neutral pH also has a prominent effect on the degradation of PGA, which is further accelerated by heating. The C3G-rich fraction exhibited dose-dependent inhibitory effects on cell metabolic activity when the HepG2 cells were exposed for 48 h. Interestingly, PGA but not PCA exhibited cytotoxic effects against both MDA-MB-231 and HepG2 cells. The results suggest that thermal food processing of haskap could influence its biological properties due to the degradation of C3G. PMID:29382057

  19. Increased photoelectron transmission in High-pressure photoelectron spectrometers using "swift acceleration"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Edwards, Mårten O. M.; Karlsson, Patrik G.; Eriksson, Susanna K.; Hahlin, Maria; Siegbahn, Hans; Rensmo, Håkan; Kahk, Juhan M.; Villar-Garcia, Ignacio J.; Payne, David J.; Åhlund, John

    2015-06-01

    A new operation mode of a HPXPS (high-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) analyzer is evaluated on a HPXPS system fitted with an Al Kα X-ray source. A variety of metal foil samples (gold, silver and copper) were measured in different sample gas environments (N2 and H2O), and a front aperture diameter of 0.8 mm. The new design concept is based upon "swiftly" accelerating the photoelectrons to kinetic energies of several keV after they pass the analyzer front aperture. Compared to the standard mode, in which the front section between the two first apertures is field-free, this gives a wider angular collection and a lower tendency for electron losses in collisions with gas molecules within the analyzer. With the swift-acceleration mode we attain, depending on the experimental conditions, up to about 3 times higher peak intensities in vacuum and about 10 to 20 times higher peak intensities in the 6-9 mbar regime, depending on kinetic energy. These experimental findings agree well with simulated transmission functions for the analyzer. The new mode of operation enables faster data acquisition than the standard mode of operation, particularly valuable in a home laboratory environment. Further demonstrations of performance are highlighted by measurements of the valence band structure in dye-sensitized solar cell photoelectrodes under a 2 mbar H2O atmosphere, a molecularly modified surface of interest in photoelectrochemical devices.

  20. Achieving Stable Radiation Pressure Acceleration of Heavy Ions via Successive Electron Replenishment from Ionization of a High-Z Material Coating

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, X. F.; Qiao, B.; Zhang, H.; Kar, S.; Zhou, C. T.; Chang, H. X.; Borghesi, M.; He, X. T.

    2017-05-01

    A method to achieve stable radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) of heavy ions from laser-irradiated ultrathin foils is proposed, where a high-Z material coating in front is used. The coated high-Z material, acting as a moving electron repository, continuously replenishes the accelerating heavy ion foil with comoving electrons in the light-sail acceleration stage due to its successive ionization under laser fields with Gaussian temporal profile. As a result, the detrimental effects such as foil deformation and electron loss induced by the Rayleigh-Taylor-like and other instabilities in RPA are significantly offset and suppressed so that stable acceleration of heavy ions are maintained. Particle-in-cell simulations show that a monoenergetic Al13 + beam with peak energy 3.8 GeV and particle number 1 010 (charge >20 nC ) can be obtained at intensity 1 022 W /cm2 .

  1. Plasma block acceleration based upon the interaction between double targets and an ultra-intense linearly polarized laser pulse

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Yanxia; Wang, Jiaxiang; Hora, Heinrich; Qi, Xin; Xing, Yifan; Yang, Lei; Zhu, Wenjun

    2018-04-01

    A new scheme of plasma block acceleration based upon the interaction between double targets and an ultra-intense linearly polarized laser pulse with intensity I ˜ 1022 W/cm2 is investigated via two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The targets are composed of a pre-target of low-density aluminium plasma and an overdense main-target of hydrogen plasma. Through intensive parameter optimization, we have observed highly efficient plasma block accelerations with a monochromatic proton beam peaked at GeVs. The underlying mechanism is attributed to the enhancement of the charge separation field due to the properly selected pre-target.

  2. RF conditioning and beam experiments on 400 keV RFQ accelerator at BARC

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gupta, Shrikrishna; Rao, S.V.L.S.; Kumar, Rajesh, E-mail: sgupta@barc.gov.in

    2014-07-01

    A 400 keV Radio-frequency quadrupole accelerator (RFQ) has been designed, developed and tested at BARC. This will be used as a neutron generator (via D-T reaction). The RFQ operates at a resonant frequency of 350 MHz and needs an RF power of ∼ 60 kW to accelerate the deuteron beam to 400 keV within a length of 1.03 m. Though the RFQ is designed for deuteron beam, it was tested by accelerating both the proton and deuteron beams to their designed values of 200 and 400 keV respectively. The proton and deuteron beam experiments required peak RF power of approx.more » 15 kW and 60 kW respectively at 350 MHz. The RF power from the tetrode amplifier and coaxial transmission lines is coupled to the cavity by a coaxial loop coupler. As the coupler and cavity operated at vacuum of better than 2e-6 torr, extensive RF conditioning of the cavity and coupler was performed to reach at the desired power levels. (author)« less

  3. Double temporal sparsity based accelerated reconstruction of compressively sensed resting-state fMRI.

    PubMed

    Aggarwal, Priya; Gupta, Anubha

    2017-12-01

    A number of reconstruction methods have been proposed recently for accelerated functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data collection. However, existing methods suffer with the challenge of greater artifacts at high acceleration factors. This paper addresses the issue of accelerating fMRI collection via undersampled k-space measurements combined with the proposed method based on l 1 -l 1 norm constraints, wherein we impose first l 1 -norm sparsity on the voxel time series (temporal data) in the transformed domain and the second l 1 -norm sparsity on the successive difference of the same temporal data. Hence, we name the proposed method as Double Temporal Sparsity based Reconstruction (DTSR) method. The robustness of the proposed DTSR method has been thoroughly evaluated both at the subject level and at the group level on real fMRI data. Results are presented at various acceleration factors. Quantitative analysis in terms of Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and other metrics, and qualitative analysis in terms of reproducibility of brain Resting State Networks (RSNs) demonstrate that the proposed method is accurate and robust. In addition, the proposed DTSR method preserves brain networks that are important for studying fMRI data. Compared to the existing methods, the DTSR method shows promising potential with an improvement of 10-12 dB in PSNR with acceleration factors upto 3.5 on resting state fMRI data. Simulation results on real data demonstrate that DTSR method can be used to acquire accelerated fMRI with accurate detection of RSNs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Peak experiences of psilocybin users and non-users.

    PubMed

    Cummins, Christina; Lyke, Jennifer

    2013-01-01

    Maslow (1970) defined peak experiences as the most wonderful experiences of a person's life, which may include a sense of awe, well-being, or transcendence. Furthermore, recent research has suggested that psilocybin can produce experiences subjectively rated as uniquely meaningful and significant (Griffiths et al. 2006). It is therefore possible that psilocybin may facilitate or change the nature of peak experiences in users compared to non-users. This study was designed to compare the peak experiences of psilocybin users and non-users, to evaluate the frequency of peak experiences while under the influence of psilocybin, and to assess the perceived degree of alteration of consciousness during these experiences. Participants were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling from undergraduate classes and at a musical event. Participants were divided into three groups, those who reported a peak experience while under the influence of psilocybin (psilocybin peak experience: PPE), participants who had used psilocybin but reported their peak experiences did not occur while they were under the influence of psilocybin (non-psilocybin peak experience: NPPE), and participants who had never used psilocybin (non-user: NU). A total of 101 participants were asked to think about their peak experiences and complete a measure evaluating the degree of alteration of consciousness during that experience. Results indicated that 47% of psilocybin users reported their peak experience occurred while using psilocybin. In addition, there were significant differences among the three groups on all dimensions of alteration of consciousness. Future research is necessary to identify factors that influence the peak experiences of psilocybin users in naturalistic settings and contribute to the different characteristics of peak experiences of psilocybin users and non-users.

  5. Extragalactic Peaked-spectrum Radio Sources at Low Frequencies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Callingham, J. R.; Gaensler, B. M.; Sadler, E. M.

    We present a sample of 1483 sources that display spectral peaks between 72 MHz and 1.4 GHz, selected from the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array (GLEAM) survey. The GLEAM survey is the widest fractional bandwidth all-sky survey to date, ideal for identifying peaked-spectrum sources at low radio frequencies. Our peaked-spectrum sources are the low-frequency analogs of gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) and compact-steep spectrum (CSS) sources, which have been hypothesized to be the precursors to massive radio galaxies. Our sample more than doubles the number of known peaked-spectrum candidates, and 95% of our sample have a newly characterized spectral peak.more » We highlight that some GPS sources peaking above 5 GHz have had multiple epochs of nuclear activity, and we demonstrate the possibility of identifying high-redshift ( z > 2) galaxies via steep optically thin spectral indices and low observed peak frequencies. The distribution of the optically thick spectral indices of our sample is consistent with past GPS/CSS samples but with a large dispersion, suggesting that the spectral peak is a product of an inhomogeneous environment that is individualistic. We find no dependence of observed peak frequency with redshift, consistent with the peaked-spectrum sample comprising both local CSS sources and high-redshift GPS sources. The 5 GHz luminosity distribution lacks the brightest GPS and CSS sources of previous samples, implying that a convolution of source evolution and redshift influences the type of peaked-spectrum sources identified below 1 GHz. Finally, we discuss sources with optically thick spectral indices that exceed the synchrotron self-absorption limit.« less

  6. Can Accelerators Accelerate Learning?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santos, A. C. F.; Fonseca, P.; Coelho, L. F. S.

    2009-03-01

    The 'Young Talented' education program developed by the Brazilian State Funding Agency (FAPERJ) [1] makes it possible for high-schools students from public high schools to perform activities in scientific laboratories. In the Atomic and Molecular Physics Laboratory at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), the students are confronted with modern research tools like the 1.7 MV ion accelerator. Being a user-friendly machine, the accelerator is easily manageable by the students, who can perform simple hands-on activities, stimulating interest in physics, and getting the students close to modern laboratory techniques.

  7. Individual vision and peak distribution in collective actions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, Peng

    2017-06-01

    People make decisions on whether they should participate as participants or not as free riders in collective actions with heterogeneous visions. Besides of the utility heterogeneity and cost heterogeneity, this work includes and investigates the effect of vision heterogeneity by constructing a decision model, i.e. the revised peak model of participants. In this model, potential participants make decisions under the joint influence of utility, cost, and vision heterogeneities. The outcomes of simulations indicate that vision heterogeneity reduces the values of peaks, and the relative variance of peaks is stable. Under normal distributions of vision heterogeneity and other factors, the peaks of participants are normally distributed as well. Therefore, it is necessary to predict distribution traits of peaks based on distribution traits of related factors such as vision heterogeneity and so on. We predict the distribution of peaks with parameters of both mean and standard deviation, which provides the confident intervals and robust predictions of peaks. Besides, we validate the peak model of via the Yuyuan Incident, a real case in China (2014), and the model works well in explaining the dynamics and predicting the peak of real case.

  8. Detailed Experimental Study of Ion Acceleration by Interaction of an Ultra-Short Intense Laser with an Underdense Plasma

    PubMed Central

    Kahaly, S.; Sylla, F.; Lifschitz, A.; Flacco, A.; Veltcheva, M.; Malka, V.

    2016-01-01

    Ion acceleration from intense (Iλ2 > 1018 Wcm−2 μm2) laser-plasma interaction is experimentally studied within a wide range of He gas densities. Focusing an ultrashort pulse (duration  ion plasma period) on a newly designed submillimetric gas jet system, enabled us to inhibit total evacuation of electrons from the central propagation channel reducing the radial ion acceleration associated with ponderomotive Coulomb explosion, a mechanism predominant in the long pulse scenario. New ion acceleration mechanism have been unveiled in this regime leading to non-Maxwellian quasi monoenergetic features in the ion energy spectra. The emitted nonthermal ion bunches show a new scaling of the ion peak energy with plasma density. The scaling identified in this new regime differs from previously reported studies. PMID:27531755

  9. Peak data for U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations, Texas network and computer program to estimate peak-streamflow frequency

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Slade, R.M.; Asquith, W.H.

    1996-01-01

    About 23,000 annual peak streamflows and about 400 historical peak streamflows exist for about 950 stations in the surface-water data-collection network of Texas. These data are presented on a computer diskette along with the corresponding dates, gage heights, and information concerning the basin, and nature or cause for the flood. Also on the computer diskette is a U.S. Geological Survey computer program that estimates peak-streamflow frequency based on annual and historical peak streamflow. The program estimates peak streamflow for 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, and 100-year recurrence intervals and is based on guidelines established by the Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data. Explanations are presented for installing the program, and an example is presented with discussion of its options.

  10. In vitro evaluation of new functional properties of poly-γ-glutamic acid produced by Bacillus subtilis D7.

    PubMed

    Lee, Na-Ri; Go, Tae-Hun; Lee, Sang-Mee; Jeong, Seong-Yun; Park, Geun-Tae; Hong, Chang-Oh; Son, Hong-Joo

    2014-04-01

    We investigated the functionality of poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA), which is produced by Bacillus subtilis D7, for its potential applications in medicine and cosmetics. The γ-PGA had angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition activity. ACE inhibition activity was dependent on the γ-PGA concentration; the highest ACE inhibition activity was observed at 1.25 mg/l of γ-PGA. IC50 (0.108 mg/ml) of the γ-PGA was lower than that of standard ACE inhibitory drug, N-[(S)-mercapto-2-methylpropionyl]-L-proline (0.247 mg/ml). The γ-PGA also had water-holding capacity and hygroscopicity. Furthermore, the γ-PGA inhibited growth of some pathogenic bacteria, including Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia and Esherichia coli. The γ-PGA exhibited a good metal adsorption capacity; Cr (VI) adsorption capacity of γ-PGA increased with decreasing pH, and the maximal adsorption was observed at pH 2. Our results suggest that γ-PGA may be expected to be widely applied in cosmetics, biomedical and environmental industries with the feature of being less harmful to humans and the environment.

  11. Accelerations in Flight

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Doolittle, J H

    1925-01-01

    This work on accelerometry was done at McCook Field for the purpose of continuing the work done by other investigators and obtaining the accelerations which occur when a high-speed pursuit airplane is subjected to the more common maneuvers. The accelerations obtained in suddenly pulling out of a dive with well-balanced elevators are shown to be within 3 or 4 per cent of the theoretically possible accelerations. The maximum acceleration which a pilot can withstand depends upon the length of time the acceleration is continued. It is shown that he experiences no difficulty under the instantaneous accelerations as high as 7.8 G., but when under accelerations in excess of 4.5 G., continued for several seconds, he quickly loses his faculties.

  12. Ground Motion Prediction Equations for Western Saudi Arabia from a Reference Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiuchi, R.; Mooney, W. D.; Mori, J. J.; Zahran, H. M.; Al-Raddadi, W.; Youssef, S.

    2017-12-01

    Western Saudi Arabia is surrounded by several active seismic zones such as the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba where a destructive magnitude 7.3 event occurred in 1995. Over the last decade, the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) has deployed a dense seismic network that has made it possible to monitor seismic activity more accurately. For example, the network has detected multiple seismic swarms beneath the volcanic fields in western Saudi Arabia. The most recent damaging event was a M5.7 earthquake that occurred in 2009 at Harrat Lunayyir. In terms of seismic hazard assessment, Zahran et al. (2015; 2016) presented a Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) for western Saudi Arabia that was developed using published Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) from areas outside of Saudi Arabia. In this study, we consider 41 earthquakes of M 3.0 - 5.4, recorded on 124 stations of the SGS network, to create a set of 442 peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV) records with a range of epicentral distances from 3 km to 400 km. We use the GMPE model BSSA14 (Boore et al., 2014) as a reference model to estimate our own best-fitting coefficients from a regression analysis using the events occurred in western Saudi Arabia. For epicentral distances less than 100 km, our best fitting model has different source scaling in comparison with the GMPE of BSSA14 adjusted for the California region. In addition, our model indicates that the peak amplitudes have less attenuation in western Saudi Arabia than in California.

  13. Seismic hazard in Hawaii: High rate of large earthquakes and probabilistics ground-motion maps

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Klein, F.W.; Frankel, A.D.; Mueller, C.S.; Wesson, R.L.; Okubo, P.G.

    2001-01-01

    The seismic hazard and earthquake occurrence rates in Hawaii are locally as high as that near the most hazardous faults elsewhere in the United States. We have generated maps of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration (SA) (at 0.2, 0.3 and 1.0 sec, 5% critical damping) at 2% and 10% exceedance probabilities in 50 years. The highest hazard is on the south side of Hawaii Island, as indicated by the MI 7.0, MS 7.2, and MI 7.9 earthquakes, which occurred there since 1868. Probabilistic values of horizontal PGA (2% in 50 years) on Hawaii's south coast exceed 1.75g. Because some large earthquake aftershock zones and the geometry of flank blocks slipping on subhorizontal decollement faults are known, we use a combination of spatially uniform sources in active flank blocks and smoothed seismicity in other areas to model seismicity. Rates of earthquakes are derived from magnitude distributions of the modem (1959-1997) catalog of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's seismic network supplemented by the historic (1868-1959) catalog. Modern magnitudes are ML measured on a Wood-Anderson seismograph or MS. Historic magnitudes may add ML measured on a Milne-Shaw or Bosch-Omori seismograph or MI derived from calibrated areas of MM intensities. Active flank areas, which by far account for the highest hazard, are characterized by distributions with b slopes of about 1.0 below M 5.0 and about 0.6 above M 5.0. The kinked distribution means that large earthquake rates would be grossly under-estimated by extrapolating small earthquake rates, and that longer catalogs are essential for estimating or verifying the rates of large earthquakes. Flank earthquakes thus follow a semicharacteristic model, which is a combination of background seismicity and an excess number of large earthquakes. Flank earthquakes are geometrically confined to rupture zones on the volcano flanks by barriers such as rift zones and the seaward edge of the volcano, which may be expressed by a magnitude

  14. Targeted Changes of the Cell Wall Proteome Influence Candida albicans Ability to Form Single- and Multi-strain Biofilms

    PubMed Central

    Walker, Louise A.; Martin-Yken, Hélène; Dague, Etienne; Legrand, Mélanie; Lee, Keunsook; Chauvel, Murielle; Firon, Arnaud; Rossignol, Tristan; Richard, Mathias L.; Munro, Carol A.; Bachellier-Bassi, Sophie; d'Enfert, Christophe

    2014-01-01

    Biofilm formation is an important virulence trait of the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. We have combined gene overexpression, strain barcoding and microarray profiling to screen a library of 531 C. albicans conditional overexpression strains (∼10% of the genome) for genes affecting biofilm development in mixed-population experiments. The overexpression of 16 genes increased strain occupancy within a multi-strain biofilm, whereas overexpression of 4 genes decreased it. The set of 16 genes was significantly enriched for those encoding predicted glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-modified proteins, namely Ihd1/Pga36, Phr2, Pga15, Pga19, Pga22, Pga32, Pga37, Pga42 and Pga59; eight of which have been classified as pathogen-specific. Validation experiments using either individually- or competitively-grown overexpression strains revealed that the contribution of these genes to biofilm formation was variable and stage-specific. Deeper functional analysis of PGA59 and PGA22 at a single-cell resolution using atomic force microscopy showed that overexpression of either gene increased C. albicans ability to adhere to an abiotic substrate. However, unlike PGA59, PGA22 overexpression led to cell cluster formation that resulted in increased sensitivity to shear forces and decreased ability to form a single-strain biofilm. Within the multi-strain environment provided by the PGA22-non overexpressing cells, PGA22-overexpressing cells were protected from shear forces and fitter for biofilm development. Ultrastructural analysis, genome-wide transcript profiling and phenotypic analyses in a heterologous context suggested that PGA22 affects cell adherence through alteration of cell wall structure and/or function. Taken together, our findings reveal that several novel predicted GPI-modified proteins contribute to the cooperative behaviour between biofilm cells and are important participants during C. albicans biofilm formation. Moreover, they illustrate the power of using signature

  15. Global catalog of earthquake rupture velocities shows anticorrelation between stress drop and rupture velocity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chounet, Agnès; Vallée, Martin; Causse, Mathieu; Courboulex, Françoise

    2018-05-01

    Application of the SCARDEC method provides the apparent source time functions together with seismic moment, depth, and focal mechanism, for most of the recent earthquakes with magnitude larger than 5.6-6. Using this large dataset, we have developed a method to systematically invert for the rupture direction and average rupture velocity Vr, when unilateral rupture propagation dominates. The approach is applied to all the shallow (z < 120 km) earthquakes of the catalog over the 1992-2015 time period. After a careful validation process, rupture properties for a catalog of 96 earthquakes are obtained. The subsequent analysis of this catalog provides several insights about the seismic rupture process. We first report that up-dip ruptures are more abundant than down-dip ruptures for shallow subduction interface earthquakes, which can be understood as a consequence of the material contrast between the slab and the overriding crust. Rupture velocities, which are searched without any a-priori up to the maximal P wave velocity (6000-8000 m/s), are found between 1200 m/s and 4500 m/s. This observation indicates that no earthquakes propagate over long distances with rupture velocity approaching the P wave velocity. Among the 23 ruptures faster than 3100 m/s, we observe both documented supershear ruptures (e.g. the 2001 Kunlun earthquake), and undocumented ruptures that very likely include a supershear phase. We also find that the correlation of Vr with the source duration scaled to the seismic moment (Ts) is very weak. This directly implies that both Ts and Vr are anticorrelated with the stress drop Δσ. This result has implications for the assessment of the peak ground acceleration (PGA) variability. As shown by Causse and Song (2015), an anticorrelation between Δσ and Vr significantly reduces the predicted PGA variability, and brings it closer to the observed variability.

  16. Seismological, geodetic, macroseismic and historical context of the 2016 Mw 6.7 Tamenglong (Manipur) India earthquake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gahalaut, V. K.; Martin, Stacey S.; Srinagesh, D.; Kapil, S. L.; Suresh, G.; Saikia, Saurav; Kumar, Vikas; Dadhich, Harendra; Patel, Aqeel; Prajapati, Sanjay K.; Shukla, H. P.; Gautam, J. L.; Baidya, P. R.; Mandal, Saroj; Jain, Ashish

    2016-10-01

    The 2016 Mw 6.7 Tamenglong earthquake (in the state of Manipur in northeastern India) on 4 January 2016 at 04:35 Indian Standard Time (3 January, 23:05 UTC) was the strongest earthquake to strike Manipur since 1988. Using data from Indian stations, we constrain the hypocentral depth of the mainshock at 59 ± 3.8 km and determine a strike-slip mechanism with a moderate reverse component on a steeply dipping plane. Though coseismic offsets from GPS measurements from four nearby sites were inadequate to provide further constraints on the focal mechanism, they were consistent with the magnitude and hypocentral depth of the earthquake. The epicentre of the mainshock was located 15-km west of the Churachandpur Mao Fault (CMF) but it was unrelated to this structure and was instead a typical intra-slab earthquake within the Indian plate. A strong motion instrument at the Loktak Power Station (LOK), 56-km from the epicentre, recorded a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.027g while a PGA of 0.103g was recorded at Shillong (SHL) at an epicentral distance of 111-km. We also present macroseismic observations from 461 locations in north-eastern India and the adjacent areas for this earthquake. The highest intensities ( 7 EMS) were observed in the Manipur Valley and in the hills to the west while shaking was perceptible as far as Delhi and Jaipur. Lastly, we present a catalogue of 333 felt earthquakes in Manipur from 1588 ± 1 CE to 1955 derived from the royal chronicle of the kings of Manipur known as the Cheitharon Kumpapa, discuss important historical earthquakes in the region, and also estimate intensity magnitudes for the 1852 (MI 6.5 ± 0.8), 1869 (MI 7.1 ± 0.7), 1880 (MI 6.3 ± 0.7) and 2016 (MI 6.8 ± 0.8) earthquakes.

  17. Another Look at Strong Ground Motion Accelerations and Stress Drop

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baltay, A.; Prieto, G.; Ide, S.; Hanks, T. C.; Beroza, G. C.

    2010-12-01

    The relationship between earthquake stress drop and ground motion acceleration is central to seismic hazard analysis. We revisit measurements of root-mean-square (RMS) acceleration, arms, using KikNet accelerometer data from Japan. We directly measure RMS and peak acceleration, and estimate both apparent stress and corner frequencies using the empirical Green’s function (eGf) coda method of Baltay et al. [2010]. We predict armsfrom corner frequency and stress drop following McGuire and Hanks [1980] to compare with measurements. The theoretical relationship does a good job of predicting observed arms. We use four earthquake sequences in Japan to investigate the source parameters and accelerations: the 2008 Iwate-Miyagi earthquake; the off-Kamaishi repeating sequence; and the 2004 and 2007 Niigata events. In each data set, we choose events that are nearly co-located so that the path term to any station is constant. Small events are used as empirical Green’s functions to correct for propagation effects. For all sequences, we find that the apparent stress averages ~1 MPa for most events. Corner frequencies are consistent with Mo-1/3 scaling. We find the ratio of stress drop and apparent stress to be 5, consistent with the theoretical derivation of Singh and Ordaz [1994], using a Brune [1970] spectra. armsis theoretically proportional to stress drop and the inverse square root of the corner frequency. We show that this calculation can be used as a proxy for armsobservations from strong motion records, using recent data from the four earthquake sequences mentioned above. Even for the Iwate-Miyagi mainshock, which experienced over 4 g’s of acceleration, we find that apparent stress, stress drop and corner frequency follow expected scaling laws and support self-similarity.

  18. A Bayesian and Physics-Based Ground Motion Parameters Map Generation System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramirez-Guzman, L.; Quiroz, A.; Sandoval, H.; Perez-Yanez, C.; Ruiz, A. L.; Delgado, R.; Macias, M. A.; Alcántara, L.

    2014-12-01

    We present the Ground Motion Parameters Map Generation (GMPMG) system developed by the Institute of Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The system delivers estimates of information associated with the social impact of earthquakes, engineering ground motion parameters (gmp), and macroseismic intensity maps. The gmp calculated are peak ground acceleration and velocity (pga and pgv) and response spectral acceleration (SA). The GMPMG relies on real-time data received from strong ground motion stations belonging to UNAM's networks throughout Mexico. Data are gathered via satellite and internet service providers, and managed with the data acquisition software Earthworm. The system is self-contained and can perform all calculations required for estimating gmp and intensity maps due to earthquakes, automatically or manually. An initial data processing, by baseline correcting and removing records containing glitches or low signal-to-noise ratio, is performed. The system then assigns a hypocentral location using first arrivals and a simplified 3D model, followed by a moment tensor inversion, which is performed using a pre-calculated Receiver Green's Tensors (RGT) database for a realistic 3D model of Mexico. A backup system to compute epicentral location and magnitude is in place. A Bayesian Kriging is employed to combine recorded values with grids of computed gmp. The latter are obtained by using appropriate ground motion prediction equations (for pgv, pga and SA with T=0.3, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 s ) and numerical simulations performed in real time, using the aforementioned RGT database (for SA with T=2, 2.5 and 3 s). Estimated intensity maps are then computed using SA(T=2S) to Modified Mercalli Intensity correlations derived for central Mexico. The maps are made available to the institutions in charge of the disaster prevention systems. In order to analyze the accuracy of the maps, we compare them against observations not considered in the

  19. Measuring peak expiratory flow in general practice: comparison of mini Wright peak flow meter and turbine spirometer.

    PubMed Central

    Jones, K P; Mullee, M A

    1990-01-01

    OBJECTIVE--To compare measurements of the peak expiratory flow rate taken by the mini Wright peak flow meter and the turbine spirometer. DESIGN--Pragmatic study with randomised order of use of recording instruments. Phase 1 compared a peak expiratory flow type expiration recorded by the mini Wright peak flow meter with an expiration to forced vital capacity recorded by the turbine spirometer. Phase 2 compared peak expiratory flow type expirations recorded by both meters. Reproducibility was assessed separately. SETTING--Routine surgeries at Aldermoor Health Centre, Southampton. SUBJECTS--212 Patients aged 4 to 78 presenting with asthma or obstructive airways disease. Each patient contributed only once to each phase (105 in phase 1, 107 in phase 2), but some entered both phases on separate occasions. Reproducibility was tested on a further 31 patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE--95% Limits of agreement between measurements on the two meters. RESULTS--208 (98%) Of the readings taken by the mini Wright meter were higher than the corresponding readings taken by the turbine spirometer, but the 95% limits of agreement (mean difference (2 SD] were wide (1 to 173 l/min). Differences due to errors in reproducibility were not sufficient to predict this level of disagreement. Analysis by age, sex, order of use, and the type of expiration did not detect any significant differences. CONCLUSIONS--The two methods of measuring peak expiratory flow rate were not comparable. The mini Wright meter is likely to remain the preferred instrument in general practice. PMID:2142611

  20. The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility for education and advanced diagnostics development for OMEGA, Z and the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petrasso, R.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Armstrong, E.; Han, H. W.; Kabadi, N.; Lahmann, B.; Orozco, D.; Rojas Herrera, J.; Sio, H.; Sutcliffe, G.; Frenje, J.; Li, C. K.; Séguin, F. H.; Leeper, R.; Ruiz, C. L.; Sangster, T. C.

    2015-11-01

    The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility utilizes a 135-keV linear electrostatic ion accelerator, a D-T neutron source and two x-ray sources for development and characterization of nuclear diagnostics for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF. The ion accelerator generates D-D and D-3He fusion products through acceleration of D ions onto a 3He-doped Erbium-Deuteride target. Fusion reaction rates around 106 s-1 are routinely achieved, and fluence and energy of the fusion products have been accurately characterized. The D-T neutron source generates up to 6 × 108 neutrons/s. The two x-ray generators produce spectra with peak energies of 35 keV and 225 keV and maximum dose rates of 0.5 Gy/min and 12 Gy/min, respectively. Diagnostics developed and calibrated at this facility include CR-39 based charged-particle spectrometers, neutron detectors, and the particle Time-Of-Flight (pTOF) and Magnetic PTOF CVD-diamond-based bang time detectors. The accelerator is also a vital tool in the education of graduate and undergraduate students at MIT. This work was supported in part by SNL, DOE, LLE and LLNL.