Heat-pump-centered integrated community energy systems: Systems development, Consolidated Natural Gas Service Company

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, N. R.; Donakowski, T. D.; Foster, R. B.; Sala, D. L.; Tison, R. R.; Whaley, T. P.; Yudow, B. D.; Swenson, P. F.

1980-01-01

The heat actuated heat pump centered integrated community energy system (HAHP-ICES) is described. The system utilizes a gas fired, engine-driven, heat pump and commercial buildings, and offers several advantages over the more conventional equipment it is intended to supplant. The general nonsite specific application assumes a hypothetical community of one 59,000 cu ft office building and five 24 unit, low rise apartment buildings located in a region with a climate similar to Chicago. Various sensitivity analyses are performed and through which the performance characteristics of the HAHP are explored. The results provided the selection criteria for the site specific application of the HAHP-ICES concept to a real world community. The site-specific community consists of: 42 town houses; five 120 unit, low rise apartment buildings; five 104 unit high rise apartment buildings; one 124,000 cu ft office building; and a single 135,000 cu ft retail building.

A sensitivity model for energy consumption in buildings. Part 1: Effect of exterior environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lansing, F. L.

1981-01-01

A simple analytical model is developed for the simulation of seasonal heating and cooling loads of any class of buildings to complement available computerized techniques which make hourly, daily, and monthly calculations. An expression for the annual energy utilization index, which is a common measure of rating buildings having the same functional utilization, is derived to include about 30 parameters for both building interior and exterior environments. The sensitivity of a general class building to either controlled or uncontrolled weather parameters is examined. A hypothetical office type building, located at the Goldstone Space Communication Complex, Goldstone, California, is selected as an example for the numerical sensitivity evaluations. Several expressions of variations in local outside air temperature, pressure, solar radiation, and wind velocity are presented.

Non-destructive Testing (NDT) of metal cracks using a high Tc rf-SQUID and eddy current method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lu, D. F.; Fan, Chang-Xin; Ruan, J. Z.; Han, S. G.; Wong, K. W.; Sun, G. F.

1995-01-01

A SQUID is the most sensitive device to detect change in magnetic field. A nondestructive testing (NDT) device using high temperature SQUID's and eddy current method will be much more sensitive than those currently used eddy current systems, yet much cheaper than one with low temperature SQUID's. In this paper, we present our study of such a NDT device using a high temperature superconducting rf-SQUID as a gradiometer sensor. The result clearly demonstrates the expected sensitivity of the system, and indicates the feasibility of building a portable HTS SQUID NDT device with the help from cryocooler industry. Such a NDT device will have a significant impact on metal corrosion or crack detection technology.

Urban Teacher Academy Project Toolkit: A Guide to Developing High School Teaching Career Academies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berrigan, Anne; Schwartz, Shirley

There is an urgent need not only to attract more people into the teaching profession but also to build a more diverse, highly qualified, and culturally sensitive teaching force that can meet the needs of a rapidly changing school-age population. This Toolkit takes best practices from high school teacher academies around the United States and…

Upcoming planetary missions and the applicability of high temperature superconductor bolometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brasunas, J.; Kunde, V.; Moseley, H.; Lakew, B.

1990-01-01

Past and present planetary exploration is briefly reviewed, and the planned 1996 Cassini mission to Saturn and Titan is examined. The CIRS experiment aboard Cassini, which will retrieve information on the atmospheres of Titan and Saturn, is discussed. Ongoing efforts to build a high-sensitivity, high-Tc bolometer that would greatly improve detection in Titan's atmosphere are addressed.

Sensitization to epoxy resin systems in special flooring workers.

PubMed

Condé-Salazar, L; Gonzalez de Domingo, M A; Guimaraens, D

1994-09-01

The use of new products in building and public works is increasing, among them being special floor coverings containing epoxy resins and derivatives. These are used principally in heavily frequented areas, such as shopping precincts, hospitals, civic centres, etc., due to their high resistance to wear and tear, environmental factors, etc. In the last 2 years, we have studied 15 cases of men sensitized to epoxy resin, or derivatives, who worked with special floorings. Speed of sensitization, severity of lesions, and localization to the hands, face and legs were characteristic.

Non-destructive testing (NDT) of metal cracks using a high Tc rf-SQUID and eddy current method

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

Lu, D.F.; Fan, C.; Ruan, J.Z.

1994-12-31

A SQUID is the most sensitive device to detect change in magnetic field. A non-destructive testing (NDT) device using high temperature SQUIDs and eddy current method will be much more sensitive than those currently used eddy current systems, yet much cheaper than one with low temperature SQUIDs. In this paper, we present our study of such a NDT device using a high temperature superconducting rf-SQUID as a gradiometer sensor. The result clearly demonstrates the expected sensitivity of the system, and indicates the feasibility of building a portable HTS SQUID NDT device with the help from cryocooler industry. Such a NDTmore » device will have a significant impact on metal corrosion or crack detection technology.« less

36 CFR 910.31 - High architectural quality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... GENERAL GUIDELINES AND UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN OF DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE... the best contemporary design and planning concepts. Great care and sensitivity must be shown in the architectural treatment of new buildings, particularly in terms of massing, facade design (including materials...

On the matter of building high-frequency amplifiers minimally influenced by interstage stray reactances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

A, Volkov Y.

2017-01-01

The expedience of building wideband multistage amplifiers, the stages of which are connected with each other so, that the “modes of impedance mismatch” are realized, is justified. Those modes allow us to reduce considerably the sensitivity of amplifier transfer factors to the stray (constructional) capacitances and inductances of interstage circuits. The procedure of synthesizing the schematics of such amplifiers is proposed, the efficiency and clarity of which are provided by using the method of signal graphs.

Numerical Simulation and Mechanical Design for TPS Electron Beam Position Monitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsueh, H. P.; Kuan, C. K.; Ueng, T. S.; Hsiung, G. Y.; Chen, J. R.

2007-01-01

Comprehensive study on the mechanical design and numerical simulation for the high resolution electron beam position monitors are key steps to build the newly proposed 3rd generation synchrotron radiation research facility, Taiwan Photon Source (TPS). With more advanced electromagnetic simulation tool like MAFIA tailored specifically for particle accelerator, the design for the high resolution electron beam position monitors can be tested in such environment before they are experimentally tested. The design goal of our high resolution electron beam position monitors is to get the best resolution through sensitivity and signal optimization. The definitions and differences between resolution and sensitivity of electron beam position monitors will be explained. The design consideration is also explained. Prototype deign has been carried out and the related simulations were also carried out with MAFIA. The results are presented here. Sensitivity as high as 200 in x direction has been achieved in x direction at 500 MHz.

Analyzing the sensitivity of a flood risk assessment model towards its input data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glas, Hanne; Deruyter, Greet; De Maeyer, Philippe; Mandal, Arpita; James-Williamson, Sherene

2016-11-01

The Small Island Developing States are characterized by an unstable economy and low-lying, densely populated cities, resulting in a high vulnerability to natural hazards. Flooding affects more people than any other hazard. To limit the consequences of these hazards, adequate risk assessments are indispensable. Satisfactory input data for these assessments are hard to acquire, especially in developing countries. Therefore, in this study, a methodology was developed and evaluated to test the sensitivity of a flood model towards its input data in order to determine a minimum set of indispensable data. In a first step, a flood damage assessment model was created for the case study of Annotto Bay, Jamaica. This model generates a damage map for the region based on the flood extent map of the 2001 inundations caused by Tropical Storm Michelle. Three damages were taken into account: building, road and crop damage. Twelve scenarios were generated, each with a different combination of input data, testing one of the three damage calculations for its sensitivity. One main conclusion was that population density, in combination with an average number of people per household, is a good parameter in determining the building damage when exact building locations are unknown. Furthermore, the importance of roads for an accurate visual result was demonstrated.

Fotodensitometro realizzato con microscopio.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Giovanni, G.

1989-02-01

This work describes the chracteristics and use of a microphotometer suitable for the measure of photographic density of photos of stars. The optics is a normal microscope which projects the small photographic image of a star on the plate of a photodiode. This high sensitivity instrument is easy to build up.

Polarization-sensitive and broadband germanium sulfide photodetectors with excellent high-temperature performance.

PubMed

Tan, Dezhi; Zhang, Wenjin; Wang, Xiaofan; Koirala, Sandhaya; Miyauchi, Yuhei; Matsuda, Kazunari

2017-08-31

Layered materials, such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides and black phosphorene, have been established rapidly as intriguing building blocks for optoelectronic devices. Here, we introduce highly polarization sensitive, broadband, and high-temperature-operation photodetectors based on multilayer germanium sulfide (GeS). The GeS photodetector shows a high photoresponsivity of about 6.8 × 10 3 A W -1 , an extremely high specific detectivity of 5.6 × 10 14 Jones, and broad spectral response in the wavelength range of 300-800 nm. More importantly, the GeS photodetector has high polarization sensitivity to incident linearly polarized light, which provides another degree of freedom for photodetectors. Tremendously enhanced photoresponsivity is observed with a temperature increase, and high responsivity is achievable at least up to 423 K. The establishment of larger photoinduced reduction of the Schottky barrier height will be significant for the investigation of the photoresponse mechanism of 2D layered material-based photodetectors. These attributes of high photocurrent generation in a wide temperature range, broad spectral response, and polarization sensitivity coupled with environmental stability indicate that the proposed GeS photodetector is very suitable for optoelectronic applications.

Expanding the HAWC Observatory

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

Mori, Johanna

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Gamma-Ray Observatory is expanding its current array of 300 water tanks to include 350 outrigger tanks to increase sensitivity to gamma rays above 10 TeV. This involves creating and testing hardware with which to build the new tanks, including photomultiplier tubes, high voltage supply units, and flash analog to digital converters. My responsibilities this summer included preparing, testing and calibrating that equipment.

Micro Climate Simulation in new Town 'Hashtgerd'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sodoudi, S.; Langer, I.; Cubasch, U.

2012-04-01

One of the objectives of climatological part of project Young Cities 'Developing Energy-Efficient Urban Fabric in the Tehran-Karaj Region' is to simulate the micro climate (with 1m resolution) in 35ha of new town Hashtgerd, which is located 65 km far from mega city Tehran. The Project aims are developing, implementing and evaluating building and planning schemes and technologies which allow to plan and build sustainable, energy-efficient and climate sensible form mass housing settlements in arid and semi-arid regions ("energy-efficient fabric"). Climate sensitive form also means designing and planning for climate change and its related effects for Hashtgerd New Town. By configuration of buildings and open spaces according to solar radiation, wind and vegetation, climate sensitive urban form can create outdoor thermal comfort. To simulate the climate on small spatial scales, the micro climate model Envi-met has been used to simulate the micro climate in 35 ha. The Eulerian model ENVI-met is a micro-scale climate model which gives information about the influence of architecture and buildings as well as vegetation and green area on the micro climate up to 1 m resolution. Envi-met has been run with information from topography, downscaled climate data with neuro-fuzzy method, meteorological measurements, building height and different vegetation variants (low and high number of trees) Through the optimal Urban Design and Planning for the 35ha area the microclimate results shows, that with vegetation the microclimate in streets will be change: • 2 m temperature is decreased by about 2 K • relative humidity increase by about 10 % • soil temperature is decreased by about 3 K • wind speed is decreased by about 60% The style of buildings allows free movement of air, which is of high importance for fresh air supply. The increase of inbuilt areas in 35 ha reduces the heat island effect through cooling caused by vegetation and increase of air humidity which caused by trees evaporation.

Environmental performance of green building code and certification systems.

PubMed

Suh, Sangwon; Tomar, Shivira; Leighton, Matthew; Kneifel, Joshua

2014-01-01

We examined the potential life-cycle environmental impact reduction of three green building code and certification (GBCC) systems: LEED, ASHRAE 189.1, and IgCC. A recently completed whole-building life cycle assessment (LCA) database of NIST was applied to a prototype building model specification by NREL. TRACI 2.0 of EPA was used for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). The results showed that the baseline building model generates about 18 thousand metric tons CO2-equiv. of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and consumes 6 terajoule (TJ) of primary energy and 328 million liter of water over its life-cycle. Overall, GBCC-compliant building models generated 0% to 25% less environmental impacts than the baseline case (average 14% reduction). The largest reductions were associated with acidification (25%), human health-respiratory (24%), and global warming (GW) (22%), while no reductions were observed for ozone layer depletion (OD) and land use (LU). The performances of the three GBCC-compliant building models measured in life-cycle impact reduction were comparable. A sensitivity analysis showed that the comparative results were reasonably robust, although some results were relatively sensitive to the behavioral parameters, including employee transportation and purchased electricity during the occupancy phase (average sensitivity coefficients 0.26-0.29).

Resistive Plate Chambers with Gd-coated electrodes as thermal neutron detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbrescia, M.; Iaselli, G.; Mongelli, T.; Paticchio, V.; Ranieri, A.; Trentadue, R.

2003-12-01

Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) are wide spread, cheap, easy-to-build and large size detectors, used mainly to reveal ionizing particles in high energy experiments. Here a tecnique, consisting in coating the inner surface of the bakelite electrodes with a mixture of linseed oil and Gd2O3 will be reported; this allows to make RPCs sensitive also to thermal neutrons, making them suitable to be employed for industrial, medical or de-ming applications. This new type, position sensitive gas detector can be operated at atmospheric pressure, is lightweighted, has low γ-ray sensitivity, and is easy to handle even when large areas are to be covered.

Building Community in Cross Cultural Work Environments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Margie

1996-01-01

Discusses strategies to enhance cultural sensitivity in teachers serving families from different cultures: (1) examine elements of culture and stereotyping through stories and posters; (2) create an imaginary community to enhance sensitivity and team building; (3) examine influences on one's preferred child care practices; and (4) identify…

High resolution mapping of development in the wildland-urban interface using object based image extraction.

PubMed

Caggiano, Michael D; Tinkham, Wade T; Hoffman, Chad; Cheng, Antony S; Hawbaker, Todd J

2016-10-01

The wildland-urban interface (WUI), the area where human development encroaches on undeveloped land, is expanding throughout the western United States resulting in increased wildfire risk to homes and communities. Although census based mapping efforts have provided insights into the pattern of development and expansion of the WUI at regional and national scales, these approaches do not provide sufficient detail for fine-scale fire and emergency management planning, which requires maps of individual building locations. Although fine-scale maps of the WUI have been developed, they are often limited in their spatial extent, have unknown accuracies and biases, and are costly to update over time. In this paper we assess a semi-automated Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) approach that utilizes 4-band multispectral National Aerial Image Program (NAIP) imagery for the detection of individual buildings within the WUI. We evaluate this approach by comparing the accuracy and overall quality of extracted buildings to a building footprint control dataset. In addition, we assessed the effects of buffer distance, topographic conditions, and building characteristics on the accuracy and quality of building extraction. The overall accuracy and quality of our approach was positively related to buffer distance, with accuracies ranging from 50 to 95% for buffer distances from 0 to 100 m. Our results also indicate that building detection was sensitive to building size, with smaller outbuildings (footprints less than 75 m 2 ) having detection rates below 80% and larger residential buildings having detection rates above 90%. These findings demonstrate that this approach can successfully identify buildings in the WUI in diverse landscapes while achieving high accuracies at buffer distances appropriate for most fire management applications while overcoming cost and time constraints associated with traditional approaches. This study is unique in that it evaluates the ability of an OBIA approach to extract highly detailed data on building locations in a WUI setting.

High resolution mapping of development in the wildland-urban interface using object based image extraction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Caggiano, Michael D.; Tinkham, Wade T.; Hoffman, Chad; Cheng, Antony S.; Hawbaker, Todd J.

2016-01-01

The wildland-urban interface (WUI), the area where human development encroaches on undeveloped land, is expanding throughout the western United States resulting in increased wildfire risk to homes and communities. Although census based mapping efforts have provided insights into the pattern of development and expansion of the WUI at regional and national scales, these approaches do not provide sufficient detail for fine-scale fire and emergency management planning, which requires maps of individual building locations. Although fine-scale maps of the WUI have been developed, they are often limited in their spatial extent, have unknown accuracies and biases, and are costly to update over time. In this paper we assess a semi-automated Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) approach that utilizes 4-band multispectral National Aerial Image Program (NAIP) imagery for the detection of individual buildings within the WUI. We evaluate this approach by comparing the accuracy and overall quality of extracted buildings to a building footprint control dataset. In addition, we assessed the effects of buffer distance, topographic conditions, and building characteristics on the accuracy and quality of building extraction. The overall accuracy and quality of our approach was positively related to buffer distance, with accuracies ranging from 50 to 95% for buffer distances from 0 to 100 m. Our results also indicate that building detection was sensitive to building size, with smaller outbuildings (footprints less than 75 m2) having detection rates below 80% and larger residential buildings having detection rates above 90%. These findings demonstrate that this approach can successfully identify buildings in the WUI in diverse landscapes while achieving high accuracies at buffer distances appropriate for most fire management applications while overcoming cost and time constraints associated with traditional approaches. This study is unique in that it evaluates the ability of an OBIA approach to extract highly detailed data on building locations in a WUI setting.

Piezoresistive method for a laser induced shock wave detection on solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez-Romero, R.; Garcia-Torales, G.; Gomez Rosas, G.; Strojnik, M.

2017-08-01

A laser shock wave is a mechanical high-pressure impulse with a duration of a few nanoseconds induced by a high power laser pulse. We performed wave pressure measurements in order to build and check mathematical models. They are used for wave applications in material science, health, and defense, to list a few. Piezoresistive methods have been shown to be highly sensitive, linear, and highly appropriate for practical implementation, compared with piezoelectric methods employed in shock wave pressure measurements. In this work, we develop a novel method to obtain the sensitivity of a piezoresistive measurement system. The results shows that it is possible to use a mechanical method to measure pressure of a laser induced shock wave in nanosecond range. Experimental pressure measurements are presented.

Mesoporous TiO2 Yolk-Shell Microspheres for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells with a High Efficiency Exceeding 11%

PubMed Central

Li, Zhao-Qian; Chen, Wang-Chao; Guo, Fu-Ling; Mo, Li-E; Hu, Lin-Hua; Dai, Song-Yuan

2015-01-01

Yolk-shell TiO2 microspheres were synthesized via a one-pot template-free solvothermal method building on the aldol condensation reaction of acetylacetone. This unique structure shows superior light scattering ability resulting in power conversion efficiency as high as 11%. This work provided a new synthesis system for TiO2 microspheres from solid to hollow and a novel material platform for high performance solar cells. PMID:26384004

The Need to Develop Independent Intelligence: The Roles and Responsibilities of Teacher Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gomez, Doris Santoro

2006-01-01

This article builds a case for generating a new metaphor for teacher education that will sustain and nourish teacher intelligence. This intelligence requires that teacher educators prepare their students to be highly sensitive to dynamic classroom relations, to be aware of their positions as teachers, and to develop purposeful educational…

A Learning Framework for Control-Oriented Modeling of Buildings

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

Rubio-Herrero, Javier; Chandan, Vikas; Siegel, Charles M.

Buildings consume a significant amount of energy worldwide. Several building optimization and control use cases require models of energy consumption which are control oriented, have high predictive capability, imposes minimal data pre-processing requirements, and have the ability to be adapted continuously to account for changing conditions as new data becomes available. Data driven modeling techniques, that have been investigated so far, while promising in the context of buildings, have been unable to simultaneously satisfy all the requirements mentioned above. In this context, deep learning techniques such as Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) hold promise, empowered by advanced computational capabilities and bigmore » data opportunities. In this paper, we propose a deep learning based methodology for the development of control oriented models for building energy management and test in on data from a real building. Results show that the proposed methodology outperforms other data driven modeling techniques significantly. We perform a detailed analysis of the proposed methodology along dimensions such as topology, sensitivity, and downsampling. Lastly, we conclude by envisioning a building analytics suite empowered by the proposed deep framework, that can drive several use cases related to building energy management.« less

Responses to auxin signals: an operating principle for dynamical sensitivity yet high resilience

PubMed Central

Bravi, B.; Martin, O. C.

2018-01-01

Plants depend on the signalling of the phytohormone auxin for their development and for responding to environmental perturbations. The associated biomolecular signalling network involves a negative feedback on Aux/IAA proteins which mediate the influence of auxin (the signal) on the auxin response factor (ARF) transcription factors (the drivers of the response). To probe the role of this feedback, we consider alternative in silico signalling networks implementing different operating principles. By a comparative analysis, we find that the presence of a negative feedback allows the system to have a far larger sensitivity in its dynamical response to auxin and that this sensitivity does not prevent the system from being highly resilient. Given this insight, we build a new biomolecular signalling model for quantitatively describing such Aux/IAA and ARF responses. PMID:29410878

A methodological framework to support the initiation, design and institutionalization of participatory modeling processes in water resources management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halbe, Johannes; Pahl-Wostl, Claudia; Adamowski, Jan

2018-01-01

Multiple barriers constrain the widespread application of participatory methods in water management, including the more technical focus of most water agencies, additional cost and time requirements for stakeholder involvement, as well as institutional structures that impede collaborative management. This paper presents a stepwise methodological framework that addresses the challenges of context-sensitive initiation, design and institutionalization of participatory modeling processes. The methodological framework consists of five successive stages: (1) problem framing and stakeholder analysis, (2) process design, (3) individual modeling, (4) group model building, and (5) institutionalized participatory modeling. The Management and Transition Framework is used for problem diagnosis (Stage One), context-sensitive process design (Stage Two) and analysis of requirements for the institutionalization of participatory water management (Stage Five). Conceptual modeling is used to initiate participatory modeling processes (Stage Three) and ensure a high compatibility with quantitative modeling approaches (Stage Four). This paper describes the proposed participatory model building (PMB) framework and provides a case study of its application in Québec, Canada. The results of the Québec study demonstrate the applicability of the PMB framework for initiating and designing participatory model building processes and analyzing barriers towards institutionalization.

Measured solar ultraviolet radiation exposures of outdoor workers in Queensland in the building and construction industry.

PubMed

Gies, Peter; Wright, Jill

2003-10-01

The risk to outdoor workers of exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has been known for some time, particularly in the building and construction industry, where workers often use little in the way of protection against solar UVR. In recent years there have been attempts by authorities in Australia and in Queensland in particular, where UVR levels in spring and summer are very high to extreme, to instigate and to encourage the use of personal UVR protection by outdoor workers. To quantify UVR exposure of building and construction industry workers involved in typical outdoor work, a study was conducted using UVR-sensitive polysulphone film badges. The results indicated that the doses were significant, often well in excess of recommended exposure limits. The measured exposures varied between trades. Data on the use of personal UVR-protective equipment and the skin type of workers were also collected. Many of the workers had skin types that were sensitive to UVR and showed signs of sunburn. In summary, the study found that at-risk individuals were exposed to extreme levels of UVR, in most cases without adequate and appropriate sun protection.

A Wireless Fiber Photometry System Based on a High-Precision CMOS Biosensor With Embedded Continuous-Time Modulation.

PubMed

Khiarak, Mehdi Noormohammadi; Martianova, Ekaterina; Bories, Cyril; Martel, Sylvain; Proulx, Christophe D; De Koninck, Yves; Gosselin, Benoit

2018-06-01

Fluorescence biophotometry measurements require wide dynamic range (DR) and high-sensitivity laboratory apparatus. Indeed, it is often very challenging to accurately resolve the small fluorescence variations in presence of noise and high-background tissue autofluorescence. There is a great need for smaller detectors combining high linearity, high sensitivity, and high-energy efficiency. This paper presents a new biophotometry sensor merging two individual building blocks, namely a low-noise sensing front-end and a order continuous-time modulator (CTSDM), into a single module for enabling high-sensitivity and high energy-efficiency photo-sensing. In particular, a differential CMOS photodetector associated with a differential capacitive transimpedance amplifier-based sensing front-end is merged with an incremental order 1-bit CTSDM to achieve a large DR, low hardware complexity, and high-energy efficiency. The sensor leverages a hardware sharing strategy to simplify the implementation and reduce power consumption. The proposed CMOS biosensor is integrated within a miniature wireless head mountable prototype for enabling biophotometry with a single implantable fiber in the brain of live mice. The proposed biophotometry sensor is implemented in a 0.18- CMOS technology, consuming from a 1.8- supply voltage, while achieving a peak dynamic range of over a 50- input bandwidth, a sensitivity of 24 mV/nW, and a minimum detectable current of 2.46- at a 20- sampling rate.

Machine Learning Predictions of a Multiresolution Climate Model Ensemble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Gemma J.; Lucas, Donald D.

2018-05-01

Statistical models of high-resolution climate models are useful for many purposes, including sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, but building them can be computationally prohibitive. We generated a unique multiresolution perturbed parameter ensemble of a global climate model. We use a novel application of a machine learning technique known as random forests to train a statistical model on the ensemble to make high-resolution model predictions of two important quantities: global mean top-of-atmosphere energy flux and precipitation. The random forests leverage cheaper low-resolution simulations, greatly reducing the number of high-resolution simulations required to train the statistical model. We demonstrate that high-resolution predictions of these quantities can be obtained by training on an ensemble that includes only a small number of high-resolution simulations. We also find that global annually averaged precipitation is more sensitive to resolution changes than to any of the model parameters considered.

Piezoresistive Strain Sensors Made from Carbon Nanotubes Based Polymer Nanocomposites

PubMed Central

Alamusi; Hu, Ning; Fukunaga, Hisao; Atobe, Satoshi; Liu, Yaolu; Li, Jinhua

2011-01-01

In recent years, nanocomposites based on various nano-scale carbon fillers, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), are increasingly being thought of as a realistic alternative to conventional smart materials, largely due to their superior electrical properties. Great interest has been generated in building highly sensitive strain sensors with these new nanocomposites. This article reviews the recent significant developments in the field of highly sensitive strain sensors made from CNT/polymer nanocomposites. We focus on the following two topics: electrical conductivity and piezoresistivity of CNT/polymer nanocomposites, and the relationship between them by considering the internal conductive network formed by CNTs, tunneling effect, aspect ratio and piezoresistivity of CNTs themselves, etc. Many recent experimental, theoretical and numerical studies in this field are described in detail to uncover the working mechanisms of this new type of strain sensors and to demonstrate some possible key factors for improving the sensor sensitivity. PMID:22346667

Self-assembly of nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles: a new ratiometric UV-vis optical sensor for the highly sensitive and selective detection of Hg(2+) in aqueous solution.

PubMed

Ruan, Yudi; Wu, Lie; Jiang, Xiue

2016-05-23

Water-soluble nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles (N-CNPs) prepared by the one-step hydrothermal treatment of uric acid were found to show ratiometric changes in their UV-vis spectra due to Hg(2+)-mediated self-assembly. For the first time, such a property was developed into a UV-vis optical sensor for detecting Hg(2+) in aqueous solutions with high sensitively and selectively (detection limit = 1.4 nM). More importantly, this novel sensor exhibits a higher linear sensitivity over a wider concentration range compared with the fluorescence sensor based on the same N-CNPs. This work opens an exciting new avenue to explore the use of carbon nanoparticles in constructing UV-vis optical sensors for the detection of metal ions and the use of carbon nanoparticles as a new building block to self-assemble into superlattices.

Rydberg-atom based radio-frequency electrometry using frequency modulation spectroscopy in room temperature vapor cells.

PubMed

Kumar, Santosh; Fan, Haoquan; Kübler, Harald; Jahangiri, Akbar J; Shaffer, James P

2017-04-17

Rydberg atom-based electrometry enables traceable electric field measurements with high sensitivity over a large frequency range, from gigahertz to terahertz. Such measurements are particularly useful for the calibration of radio frequency and terahertz devices, as well as other applications like near field imaging of electric fields. We utilize frequency modulated spectroscopy with active control of residual amplitude modulation to improve the signal to noise ratio of the optical readout of Rydberg atom-based radio frequency electrometry. Matched filtering of the signal is also implemented. Although we have reached similarly, high sensitivity with other read-out methods, frequency modulated spectroscopy is advantageous because it is well-suited for building a compact, portable sensor. In the current experiment, ∼3 µV cm^-1 Hz^-1/2 sensitivity is achieved and is found to be photon shot noise limited.

High-speed spectral domain polarization- sensitive optical coherence tomography using a single camera and an optical switch at 1.3 microm.

PubMed

Lee, Sang-Won; Jeong, Hyun-Woo; Kim, Beop-Min

2010-01-01

We propose high-speed spectral domain polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (SD-PS-OCT) using a single camera and a 1x2 optical switch at the 1.3-microm region. The PS-low coherence interferometer used in the system is constructed using free-space optics. The reflected horizontal and vertical polarization light rays are delivered via an optical switch to a single spectrometer by turns. Therefore, our system costs less to build than those that use dual spectrometers, and the processes of timing and triggering are simpler from the viewpoints of both hardware and software. Our SD-PS-OCT has a sensitivity of 101.5 dB, an axial resolution of 8.2 microm, and an acquisition speed of 23,496 A-scans per second. We obtain the intensity, phase retardation, and fast axis orientation images of a rat tail tendon ex vivo.

Train-induced field vibration measurements of ground and over-track buildings.

PubMed

Zou, Chao; Wang, Yimin; Moore, James A; Sanayei, Masoud

2017-01-01

Transit-oriented development, such as metro depot and over-track building complexes, has expanded rapidly over the last 5years in China. Over-track building construction has the advantage of comprehensive utilization of land resources, ease of commuting to work, and provide funds for subway construction. But the high frequency of subway operations into and out of the depots can generate excessive vibrations that transmit into the over track buildings, radiate noise within the buildings, hamper the operation of vibration sensitive equipment, and adversely affect the living quality of the building occupants. Field measurements of vibration during subway operations were conducted at Shenzhen, China, a city of 10.62 million people in southern China. Considering the metro depot train testing line and throat area train lines were the main vibration sources, vibration data were captured in five measurement setups. The train-induced vibrations were obtained and compared with limitation of FTA criteria. The structure-radiated noise was calculated using measured vibration levels. The vertical vibration energy directly passed through the columns on both sides of track into the platform, amplifying vibration on the platform by up to 6dB greater than ground levels at testing line area. Vibration amplification around the natural frequency in the vertical direction of over-track building made the peak values of indoor floor vibration about 16dB greater than outdoor platform vibration. We recommend to carefully examining design of new over-track buildings within 40m on the platform over the throat area to avoid excessive vertical vibrations and noise. For both buildings, the measured vertical vibrations were less than the FTA limit. However, it is demonstrated that the traffic-induced high-frequency noise has the potential to annoy occupants on the upper floors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The energy performance of thermochromic glazing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diamantouros, Pavlos

This study investigated the energy performance of thermochromic glazing. It was done by simulating the model of a small building in a highly advanced computer program (EnergyPlus - U.S. DOE). The physical attributes of the thermochromic samples examined came from actual laboratory samples fabricated in UCL's Department of Chemistry (Prof I. P. Parkin). It was found that they can substantially reduce cooling loads while requiring the same heating loads as a high end low-e double glazing. The reductions in annual cooling energy required were in the 20%-40% range depending on sample, location and building layout. A series of sensitivity analyses showed the importance of switching temperature and emissivity factor in the performance of the glazing. Finally an ideal pane was designed to explore the limits this technology has to offer.

Impacts of Vegetation and Urban planning on micro climate in Hashtgerd new Town

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sodoudi, S.; Langer, I.; Cubasch, U.

2012-12-01

One of the objectives of climatological part of project Young Cities 'Developing Energy-Efficient Urban Fabric in the Tehran-Karaj Region' is to simulate the micro climate (with 1m resolution) in 35ha of new town Hashtgerd, which is located 65 km far from mega city Tehran. The Project aims are developing, implementing and evaluating building and planning schemes and technologies which allow to plan and build sustainable, energy-efficient and climate sensible form mass housing settlements in arid and semi-arid regions ("energy-efficient fabric"). Climate sensitive form also means designing and planning for climate change and its related effects for Hashtgerd New Town. By configuration of buildings and open spaces according to solar radiation, wind and vegetation, climate sensitive urban form can create outdoor thermal comfort. To simulate the climate on small spatial scales, the micro climate model Envi-met has been used to simulate the micro climate in 35 ha. The Eulerian model ENVI-met is a micro-scale climate model which gives information about the influence of architecture and buildings as well as vegetation and green area on the micro climate up to 1 m resolution. Envi-met has been run with information from topography, downscaled climate data with neuro-fuzzy method, meteorological measurements, building height and different vegetation variants (low and high number of trees) Through the optimal Urban Design and Planning for the 35ha area the micro climate results shows, that with vegetation the micro climate in street canopies will be change: - 2 m temperature is decreased by about 2 K - relative humidity increase by about 10 % - soil temperature is decreased by about 3 K - wind speed is decreased by about 60% The style of buildings allows free movement of air, which is of high importance for fresh air supply. The increase of inbuilt areas in 35 ha reduces the heat island effect through cooling caused by vegetation and increase of air humidity which caused by trees evaporation. The downscaled climate scenarios considering new urban planning strategies in 35ha will be presented till 2100.

Impacts of Vegetation and Urban planning on micro climate in Hashtgerd new Town

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sodoudi, Sahar; langer, Ines; Cubasch, Ulrich

2013-04-01

One of the objectives of climatological part of project Young Cities 'Developing Energy-Efficient Urban Fabric in the Tehran-Karaj Region' is to simulate the micro climate (with 1m resolution) in 35ha of new town Hashtgerd, which is located 65 km far from mega city Tehran. The Project aims are developing, implementing and evaluating building and planning schemes and technologies which allow to plan and build sustainable, energy-efficient and climate sensible form mass housing settlements in arid and semi-arid regions ("energy-efficient fabric"). Climate sensitive form also means designing and planning for climate change and its related effects for Hashtgerd New Town. By configuration of buildings and open spaces according to solar radiation, wind and vegetation, climate sensitive urban form can create outdoor thermal comfort. To simulate the climate on small spatial scales, the micro climate model Envi-met has been used to simulate the micro climate in 35 ha. The Eulerian model ENVI-met is a micro-scale climate model which gives information about the influence of architecture and buildings as well as vegetation and green area on the micro climate up to 1 m resolution. Envi-met has been run with information from topography, downscaled climate data with neuro-fuzzy method, meteorological measurements, building height and different vegetation variants (low and high number of trees) Through the optimal Urban Design and Planning for the 35ha area the microclimate results shows, that with vegetation the microclimate in street canopies will be change: • 2 m temperature is decreased by about 2 K • relative humidity increase by about 10 % • soil temperature is decreased by about 3 K • wind speed is decreased by about 60% The style of buildings allows free movement of air, which is of high importance for fresh air supply. The increase of inbuilt areas in 35 ha reduces the heat island effect through cooling caused by vegetation and increase of air humidity which caused by trees evaporation. The downscaled climate scenarios considering new urban planning strategies in 35ha will be presented till 2100.

Multi-scale modelling to evaluate building energy consumption at the neighbourhood scale.

PubMed

Mauree, Dasaraden; Coccolo, Silvia; Kaempf, Jérôme; Scartezzini, Jean-Louis

2017-01-01

A new methodology is proposed to couple a meteorological model with a building energy use model. The aim of such a coupling is to improve the boundary conditions of both models with no significant increase in computational time. In the present case, the Canopy Interface Model (CIM) is coupled with CitySim. CitySim provides the geometrical characteristics to CIM, which then calculates a high resolution profile of the meteorological variables. These are in turn used by CitySim to calculate the energy flows in an urban district. We have conducted a series of experiments on the EPFL campus in Lausanne, Switzerland, to show the effectiveness of the coupling strategy. First, measured data from the campus for the year 2015 are used to force CIM and to evaluate its aptitude to reproduce high resolution vertical profiles. Second, we compare the use of local climatic data and data from a meteorological station located outside the urban area, in an evaluation of energy use. In both experiments, we demonstrate the importance of using in building energy software, meteorological variables that account for the urban microclimate. Furthermore, we also show that some building and urban forms are more sensitive to the local environment.

Multi-scale modelling to evaluate building energy consumption at the neighbourhood scale

PubMed Central

Coccolo, Silvia; Kaempf, Jérôme; Scartezzini, Jean-Louis

2017-01-01

A new methodology is proposed to couple a meteorological model with a building energy use model. The aim of such a coupling is to improve the boundary conditions of both models with no significant increase in computational time. In the present case, the Canopy Interface Model (CIM) is coupled with CitySim. CitySim provides the geometrical characteristics to CIM, which then calculates a high resolution profile of the meteorological variables. These are in turn used by CitySim to calculate the energy flows in an urban district. We have conducted a series of experiments on the EPFL campus in Lausanne, Switzerland, to show the effectiveness of the coupling strategy. First, measured data from the campus for the year 2015 are used to force CIM and to evaluate its aptitude to reproduce high resolution vertical profiles. Second, we compare the use of local climatic data and data from a meteorological station located outside the urban area, in an evaluation of energy use. In both experiments, we demonstrate the importance of using in building energy software, meteorological variables that account for the urban microclimate. Furthermore, we also show that some building and urban forms are more sensitive to the local environment. PMID:28880883

A wearable and highly sensitive pressure sensor with ultrathin gold nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Shu; Schwalb, Willem; Wang, Yongwei; Chen, Yi; Tang, Yue; Si, Jye; Shirinzadeh, Bijan; Cheng, Wenlong

2014-02-01

Ultrathin gold nanowires are mechanically flexible yet robust, which are novel building blocks with potential applications in future wearable optoelectronic devices. Here we report an efficient, low-cost fabrication strategy to construct a highly sensitive, flexible pressure sensor by sandwiching ultrathin gold nanowire-impregnated tissue paper between two thin polydimethylsiloxane sheets. The entire device fabrication process is scalable, enabling facile large-area integration and patterning for mapping spatial pressure distribution. Our gold nanowires-based pressure sensors can be operated at a battery voltage of 1.5 V with low energy consumption (<30 μW), and are able to detect pressing forces as low as 13 Pa with fast response time (<17 ms), high sensitivity (>1.14 kPa-1) and high stability (>50,000 loading-unloading cycles). In addition, our sensor can resolve pressing, bending, torsional forces and acoustic vibrations. The superior sensing properties in conjunction with mechanical flexibility and robustness enabled real-time monitoring of blood pulses as well as detection of small vibration forces from music.

Analysis of building deformation in landslide area using multisensor PSInSAR™ technique.

PubMed

Ciampalini, Andrea; Bardi, Federica; Bianchini, Silvia; Frodella, William; Del Ventisette, Chiara; Moretti, Sandro; Casagli, Nicola

2014-12-01

Buildings are sensitive to movements caused by ground deformation. The mapping both of spatial and temporal distribution, and of the degree of building damages represents a useful tool in order to understand the landslide evolution, magnitude and stress distribution. The high spatial resolution of space-borne SAR interferometry can be used to monitor displacements related to building deformations. In particular, PSInSAR technique is used to map and monitor ground deformation with millimeter accuracy. The usefulness of the above mentioned methods was evaluated in San Fratello municipality (Sicily, Italy), which was historically affected by landslides: the most recent one occurred on 14th February 2010. PSInSAR data collected by ERS 1/2, ENVISAT, RADARSAT-1 were used to study the building deformation velocities before the 2010 landslide. The X-band sensors COSMO-SkyMed and TerraSAR-X were used in order to monitor the building deformation after this event. During 2013, after accurate field inspection on buildings and structures, damage assessment map of San Fratello were created and then compared to the building deformation velocity maps. The most interesting results were obtained by the comparison between the building deformation velocity map obtained through COSMO-SkyMed and the damage assessment map. This approach can be profitably used by local and Civil Protection Authorities to manage the post-event phase and evaluate the residual risks.

Design and testing of botanical thermotropic actuator mechanisms in thermally adaptive building coverings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrett, Ronald M.; Barrett, Ronald P.; Barrett, Cassandra M.

2017-09-01

This paper lays out the inspiration, operational principles, analytical modeling and coupon testing of a new class of thermally adaptive building coverings. The fundamental driving concepts for these coverings are derived from various families of thermotropic plant structures. Certain plant cellular structures like those in Mimosa pudica (Sensitive Plant), Rhododendron leaves or Albizia julibrissin (Mimosa Tree), exhibit actuation physiology which depends on changes in cellular turgor pressures to generate motion. This form of cellular action via turgor pressure manipulation is an inspiration for a new field of thermally adaptive building coverings which use various forms of cellular foam to aid or enable actuation much like plant cells are used to move leaves. When exposed to high solar loading, the structures use the inherent actuation capability of pockets of air trapped in closed cell foam as actuators to curve plates upwards and outwards. When cold, these same structures curve back towards the building forming large convex pockets of dead air to insulate the building. This paper describes basic classical laminated plate theory models comparing theory and experiment of such coupons containing closed-cell foam actuators. The study concludes with a global description of the effectiveness of this class of thermally adaptive building coverings.

Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation of multiple environmental factors for swine building assessment and control.

PubMed

Xie, Qiuju; Ni, Ji-Qin; Su, Zhongbin

2017-10-15

In confined swine buildings, temperature, humidity, and air quality are all important for animal health and productivity. However, the current swine building environmental control is only based on temperature; and evaluation and control methods based on multiple environmental factors are needed. In this paper, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) theory was adopted for multi-factor assessment of environmental quality in two commercial swine buildings using real measurement data. An assessment index system and membership functions were established; and predetermined weights were given using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) combined with knowledge of experts. The results show that multi-factors such as temperature, humidity, and concentrations of ammonia (NH 3 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) can be successfully integrated in FCE for swine building environment assessment. The FCE method has a high correlation coefficient of 0.737 compared with the method of single-factor evaluation (SFE). The FCE method can significantly increase the sensitivity and perform an effective and integrative assessment. It can be used as part of environmental controlling and warning systems for swine building environment management to improve swine production and welfare. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cavity-enhanced resonant photoacoustic spectroscopy with optical feedback cw diode lasers: A novel technique for ultratrace gas analysis and high-resolution spectroscopy.

PubMed

Hippler, Michael; Mohr, Christian; Keen, Katherine A; McNaghten, Edward D

2010-07-28

Cavity-enhanced resonant photoacoustic spectroscopy with optical feedback cw diode lasers (OF-CERPAS) is introduced as a novel technique for ultratrace gas analysis and high-resolution spectroscopy. In the scheme, a single-mode cw diode laser (3 mW, 635 nm) is coupled into a high-finesse linear cavity and stabilized to the cavity by optical feedback. Inside the cavity, a build-up of laser power to at least 2.5 W occurs. Absorbing gas phase species inside the cavity are detected with high sensitivity by the photoacoustic effect using a microphone embedded in the cavity. To increase sensitivity further, coupling into the cavity is modulated at a frequency corresponding to a longitudinal resonance of an organ pipe acoustic resonator (f=1.35 kHz and Q approximately 10). The technique has been characterized by measuring very weak water overtone transitions near 635 nm. Normalized noise-equivalent absorption coefficients are determined as alpha approximately 4.4x10(-9) cm(-1) s(1/2) (1 s integration time) and 2.6x10(-11) cm(-1) s(1/2) W (1 s integration time and 1 W laser power). These sensitivities compare favorably with existing state-of-the-art techniques. As an advantage, OF-CERPAS is a "zero-background" method which increases selectivity and sensitivity, and its sensitivity scales with laser power.

Flexible 3D porous CuO nanowire arrays for enzymeless glucose sensing: in situ engineered versus ex situ piled

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jianfei; Zhu, Yihua; Yang, Xiaoling; Chen, Wei; Zhou, Ying; Li, Chunzhong

2014-12-01

Convenient determination of glucose in a sensitive, reliable and cost-effective way has aroused sustained research passion, bringing along assiduous investigation of high-performance electroactive nanomaterials to build enzymeless sensors. In addition to the intrinsic electrocatalytic capability of the sensing materials, electrode architecture at the microscale is also crucial for fully enhancing the performance. In this work, free-standing porous CuO nanowire (NW) was taken as a model sensing material to illustrate this point, where an in situ formed 3D CuO nanowire array (NWA) and CuO nanowires pile (NWP) immobilized with polymer binder by conventional drop-casting technique were both studied for enzymeless glucose sensing. The NWA electrode exhibited greatly promoted electrochemistry characterized by decreased overpotential for electro-oxidation of glucose and over 5-fold higher sensitivity compared to the NWP counterpart, benefiting from the binder-free nanoarray structure. Besides, its sensing performance was also satisfying in terms of rapidness, selectivity and durability. Further, the CuO NWA was utilized to fabricate a flexible sensor which showed excellent performance stability against mechanical bending. Thanks to its favorable electrode architecture, the CuO NWA is believed to offer opportunities for building high-efficiency flexible electrochemical devices.Convenient determination of glucose in a sensitive, reliable and cost-effective way has aroused sustained research passion, bringing along assiduous investigation of high-performance electroactive nanomaterials to build enzymeless sensors. In addition to the intrinsic electrocatalytic capability of the sensing materials, electrode architecture at the microscale is also crucial for fully enhancing the performance. In this work, free-standing porous CuO nanowire (NW) was taken as a model sensing material to illustrate this point, where an in situ formed 3D CuO nanowire array (NWA) and CuO nanowires pile (NWP) immobilized with polymer binder by conventional drop-casting technique were both studied for enzymeless glucose sensing. The NWA electrode exhibited greatly promoted electrochemistry characterized by decreased overpotential for electro-oxidation of glucose and over 5-fold higher sensitivity compared to the NWP counterpart, benefiting from the binder-free nanoarray structure. Besides, its sensing performance was also satisfying in terms of rapidness, selectivity and durability. Further, the CuO NWA was utilized to fabricate a flexible sensor which showed excellent performance stability against mechanical bending. Thanks to its favorable electrode architecture, the CuO NWA is believed to offer opportunities for building high-efficiency flexible electrochemical devices. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: TEM images of CuO nanowires. SEM images of the composite film of CuO NWs in the Nafion binder. Flowchart of electrodes fabrication procedures. Current response time to addition of the glucose. Amperometric i-t test for the NWP under +0.35 V. Nyquist plot of the electrodes. SEM images of fractured parts of CuO nanowires at the NWP-Nafion film. Parameter comparison of enzymeless sensors for glucose detection. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr05620e

Pseudotargeted MS Method for the Sensitive Analysis of Protein Phosphorylation in Protein Complexes.

PubMed

Lyu, Jiawen; Wang, Yan; Mao, Jiawei; Yao, Yating; Wang, Shujuan; Zheng, Yong; Ye, Mingliang

2018-05-15

In this study, we presented an enrichment-free approach for the sensitive analysis of protein phosphorylation in minute amounts of samples, such as purified protein complexes. This method takes advantage of the high sensitivity of parallel reaction monitoring (PRM). Specifically, low confident phosphopeptides identified from the data-dependent acquisition (DDA) data set were used to build a pseudotargeted list for PRM analysis to allow the identification of additional phosphopeptides with high confidence. The development of this targeted approach is very easy as the same sample and the same LC-system were used for the discovery and the targeted analysis phases. No sample fractionation or enrichment was required for the discovery phase which allowed this method to analyze minute amount of sample. We applied this pseudotargeted MS method to quantitatively examine phosphopeptides in affinity purified endogenous Shc1 protein complexes at four temporal stages of EGF signaling and identified 82 phospho-sites. To our knowledge, this is the highest number of phospho-sites identified from the protein complexes. This pseudotargeted MS method is highly sensitive in the identification of low abundance phosphopeptides and could be a powerful tool to study phosphorylation-regulated assembly of protein complex.

Life Cycle Energy Assessment of a Multi-storey Residential Building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, Sourabh; Chandur, Arjun; Palaniappan, Sivakumar

2017-06-01

This study presents the findings of life cycle energy assessment of two multi-storey residential buildings. These buildings consist of a total of 60 homes. The usable floor area is 43.14 m2 (463.36 ft2) per home. A detailed estimation of embodied energy is carried out by considering the use of materials during building construction. Major contributors of embodied energy are found to be steel, cement and aluminum. Monthly building operation energy was assessed using a total of 2520 data samples corresponding to 3 years of building operation. Analysis of a base case scenario, with 50 years of service life and average monthly operation energy, indicates that the embodied energy and the operation energy account for 16 and 84% of the life cycle energy respectively. Sensitivity analysis is carried out to study the influence of service life and operation energy on the relative contribution of embodied energy and operation energy. It is found that the embodied energy represents as high as 31% of the life cycle energy depending upon the variation in the operation energy and the service life. Hence, strategies towards sustainable building construction should also focus on reducing the embodied energy in the design and construction phases in addition to operation energy.

The structure of paranoia in the general population.

PubMed

Bebbington, Paul E; McBride, Orla; Steel, Craig; Kuipers, Elizabeth; Radovanovic, Mirjana; Brugha, Traolach; Jenkins, Rachel; Meltzer, Howard I; Freeman, Daniel

2013-06-01

Psychotic phenomena appear to form a continuum with normal experience and beliefs, and may build on common emotional interpersonal concerns. We tested predictions that paranoid ideation is exponentially distributed and hierarchically arranged in the general population, and that persecutory ideas build on more common cognitions of mistrust, interpersonal sensitivity and ideas of reference. Items were chosen from the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders (SCID-II) questionnaire and the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire in the second British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity (n = 8580), to test a putative hierarchy of paranoid development using confirmatory factor analysis, latent class analysis and factor mixture modelling analysis. Different types of paranoid ideation ranged in frequency from less than 2% to nearly 30%. Total scores on these items followed an almost perfect exponential distribution (r = 0.99). Our four a priori first-order factors were corroborated (interpersonal sensitivity; mistrust; ideas of reference; ideas of persecution). These mapped onto four classes of individual respondents: a rare, severe, persecutory class with high endorsement of all item factors, including persecutory ideation; a quasi-normal class with infrequent endorsement of interpersonal sensitivity, mistrust and ideas of reference, and no ideas of persecution; and two intermediate classes, characterised respectively by relatively high endorsement of items relating to mistrust and to ideas of reference. The paranoia continuum has implications for the aetiology, mechanisms and treatment of psychotic disorders, while confirming the lack of a clear distinction from normal experiences and processes.

High pulse rate high resolution optical radar system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goss, W. C.; Burns, R. H.; Chi, K. (Inventor)

1973-01-01

The system is composed of an optical cavity with a laser and a mode locking means to build up an optical pulse. An optical switch is also provided within the cavity to convert the polarization of the optical pulse generated within the cavity. The optical switch comprises an electro-optical crystal driven by a time delayed driver circuit which is triggered by a coincident signal made from an optical pulse signal and a gating pulse signal. The converted optical pulse strikes a polarization sensitive prism and is deflected out of the cavity toward the pending target in the form of a pulse containing most of the optical energy generated by the laser in the pulse build-up period. After striking the target, the reflected energy is picked up by a transceiver with the total travel time of the pulse being recorded.

Structural Integrity of Intelligent Materials and Structures

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-03-01

Fortunately, one of the best biocompatible alloys in the class we are concerned with is NiTi . The main concern with regard to biocompatibility or...buildings, bridges and lifelines, and sensitive biocompatible medical instrumentation. The rebuilding and enhancement of our Nation’s...recoverable deflections. In addition, shape memory alloys are relatively lightweight, biocompatible , easy to manufacture and have a high force to weight ratio

How Students of Preschool Education Perceive Their Play Competences--An Analysis of Their Involvement in Children's Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vorkapic, Sanja Tatalovic; Katic, Vesna

2015-01-01

Preschool teachers play a very important but highly sensitive role in preschool children's play. It is therefore very important to build their play competences in a quality way. As this is not easily achieved, the main objective of the present study was to analyse the roles of students of preschool education in children's play. The study included…

Co3O4 based non-enzymatic glucose sensor with high sensitivity and reliable stability derived from hollow hierarchical architecture.

PubMed

Tian, Liangliang; He, Gege; Cai, Yanhua; Wu, Shenping; Su, Yongyao; Yan, Hengqing; Yang, Cong; Chen, Yanling; Li, Lu

2018-02-16

Inspired by kinetics, the design of hollow hierarchical electrocatalysts through large-scale integration of building blocks is recognized as an effective approach to the achievement of superior electrocatalytic performance. In this work, a hollow, hierarchical Co 3 O 4 architecture (Co 3 O 4 HHA) was constructed using a coordinated etching and precipitation (CEP) method followed by calcination. The resulting Co 3 O 4 HHA electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity in terms of high sensitivity (839.3 μA mM -1 cm -2 ) and reliable stability in glucose detection. The high sensitivity could be attributed to the large specific surface area (SSA), ample unimpeded penetration diffusion paths and high electron transfer rate originating from the unique two-dimensional (2D) sheet-like character and hollow porous architecture. The hollow hierarchical structure also affords sufficient interspace for accommodation of volume change and structural strain, resulting in enhanced stability. The results indicate that Co 3 O 4 HHA could have potential for application in the design of non-enzymatic glucose sensors, and that the construction of hollow hierarchical architecture provides an efficient way to design highly active, stable electrocatalysts.

Co3O4 based non-enzymatic glucose sensor with high sensitivity and reliable stability derived from hollow hierarchical architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Liangliang; He, Gege; Cai, Yanhua; Wu, Shenping; Su, Yongyao; Yan, Hengqing; Yang, Cong; Chen, Yanling; Li, Lu

2018-02-01

Inspired by kinetics, the design of hollow hierarchical electrocatalysts through large-scale integration of building blocks is recognized as an effective approach to the achievement of superior electrocatalytic performance. In this work, a hollow, hierarchical Co3O4 architecture (Co3O4 HHA) was constructed using a coordinated etching and precipitation (CEP) method followed by calcination. The resulting Co3O4 HHA electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity in terms of high sensitivity (839.3 μA mM-1 cm-2) and reliable stability in glucose detection. The high sensitivity could be attributed to the large specific surface area (SSA), ample unimpeded penetration diffusion paths and high electron transfer rate originating from the unique two-dimensional (2D) sheet-like character and hollow porous architecture. The hollow hierarchical structure also affords sufficient interspace for accommodation of volume change and structural strain, resulting in enhanced stability. The results indicate that Co3O4 HHA could have potential for application in the design of non-enzymatic glucose sensors, and that the construction of hollow hierarchical architecture provides an efficient way to design highly active, stable electrocatalysts.

Personal Costs and Benefits of Employee Intrapreneurship: Disentangling the Employee Intrapreneurship, Well-Being, and Job Performance Relationship.

PubMed

Gawke, Jason C; Gorgievski, Marjan J; Bakker, Arnold B

2017-12-28

Ample studies have confirmed the benefits of intrapreneurship (i.e., employee behaviors that contribute to new venture creation and strategic renewal activities) for firm performance, but research on the personal costs and benefits of engaging in intrapreneurial activities for employees is lacking. Building on job demands-resources and reinforcement sensitivity theories, we examined how employees' reinforcement sensitivity qualified the relationship among their intrapreneurial behavior, subjective well-being, and other-rated job performance. Using a sample of 241 employee dyads, the results of moderated mediation analyses confirmed that employee intrapreneurship related positively to work engagement for employees high (vs. low) in sensitivity to rewards (behavioral approach system), which subsequently related positively to innovativeness and in-role performance and negatively to work avoidance. In contrast, employee intrapreneurship related positively to exhaustion for employees high (vs. low) in sensitivity to punishments (behavioral inhibition system), which subsequently related positively to work avoidance and negatively to in-role performance (but not to innovativeness). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Building Integrated Active Flow Control: Improving the Aerodynamic Performance of Tall Buildings Using Fluid-Based Aerodynamic Modification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menicovich, David

By 2050 an estimated 9 billion people will inhabit planet earth and almost all the growth in the next 40 years will be in urban areas putting tremendous pressure on creating sustainable cities. The rapid increase in population, rise in land value and decrease in plot sizes in cities around the world positions tall or more importantly slender buildings as the best suited building typology to address the increasingly critical demand for space in this pressing urbanization trend. However, the majority of new tall building urban developments have not followed principles of environmental and/or sustainable design and incentives to innovate, both technological and economic, are urgently required. The biggest climatic challenge to the design, construction and performance of tall buildings is wind sensitivity. This challenge is further emphasized seeing two market driven trends: on one hand as urban population grows, land value rises while plot sizes decrease; on the other, more cost effective modular construction techniques are introducing much lighter tall building structures. The combination of the two suggests a potential increase in the slenderness ratio of tall buildings (typically less than 6:1 but stretching to 20:1 in the near future) where not-so-tall but much lighter buildings will be the bulk of new construction in densely populated cities, providing affordable housing in the face of fast urbanization but also introducing wind sensitivity which was previously the problem of a very limited number of super tall buildings to a much larger number of buildings and communities. The proposed research aims to investigate a novel approach to the interaction between tall buildings and their environment. Through this approach the research proposes a new relationship between buildings and the flows around, through and inside them, where buildings could adapt to better control and manage the air flow around them, and consequently produce significant opportunities to reduce material and energy consumption profiles of tall building. To date, the increasing use of light-weight and high-strength materials in tall buildings, with greater flexibility and reduced damping, has increased susceptibility to dynamic wind load effects that limit the gains afforded by incorporating these new materials. Wind, particularly fluctuating wind and its interaction with buildings induces two main responses; alongwind - in the direction of the flow and crosswind - perpendicular to the flow. The main risk associated with this vulnerability is resonant oscillations induced by von-Karman-like vortex shedding at or near the natural frequency of the structure caused by flow separation. Dynamic wind loading effects often increase with a power of wind speed greater than 3, thus increasingly, tall buildings pay a significant price in material to increase the natural frequency and/or the damping to overcome this response. In particular, crosswind response often governs serviceability (human habitability) design criteria of slender buildings. Currently, reducing crosswind response relies on a Solid-based Aerodynamic Modification (SAM), either by changing structural or geometric characteristics such as the tower shape or through the addition of damping systems. While this approach has merit it has two major drawbacks: firstly, the loss of valuable rentable areas and high construction costs due to increased structural requirements for mass and stiffness, further contributing towards the high consumption of non-renewable resources by the commercial building sector. For example, in order to insure human comfort within an acceptable range of crosswind response induced accelerations at the top of a building, an aerodynamically efficient plan shape comes at the expense of floor area. To compensate for the loss of valuable area compensatory stories are required, resulting in an increase in wind loads and construction costs. Secondly, a limited, if at all, ability to adaptively respond to fluctuating environmental conditions such as changes in wind direction or velocity over the height of building which could be of consequence if the conditions for which the building was designed for change due to, for example, changes in the built environment surrounding it. Fluidic-based Aerodynamic Modification (FAM) is a fundamentally different approach; instead of adjusting the solid material to improve the aerodynamic 'shape' of the structure, fluid-based flow control is used to manipulate the boundary layer characteristics. The local flow field is modified to 'view' the solid as a different shape, and thus, that solid will experience reduced loads.

Comprehensive care plus creative architecture.

PubMed

Easter, James G

2005-01-01

The delivery of high-quality, comprehensive cancer care and the treatment environment go hand in hand with the patient's recovery. When the planning and design of a comprehensive cancer care program runs parallel to the operational expectations and functional standards, the building users (patients, staff, and physicians) benefit significantly. This behavioral response requires a sensitive interface during the campus master planning, architectural programming, and design phases. Each building component and user functioning along the "continuum of care" will have different expectations, programmatic needs, and design responses. This article addresses the community- and hospital-based elements of this continuum. The environment does affect the patient care and the care-giving team members. It may be a positive or, unfortunately, a negative response.

Sensitivity analysis of water consumption in an office building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suchacek, Tomas; Tuhovcak, Ladislav; Rucka, Jan

2018-02-01

This article deals with sensitivity analysis of real water consumption in an office building. During a long-term real study, reducing of pressure in its water connection was simulated. A sensitivity analysis of uneven water demand was conducted during working time at various provided pressures and at various time step duration. Correlations between maximal coefficients of water demand variation during working time and provided pressure were suggested. The influence of provided pressure in the water connection on mean coefficients of water demand variation was pointed out, altogether for working hours of all days and separately for days with identical working hours.

Effects of static and dynamic higher-order optical modes in balanced homodyne readout for future gravitational waves detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Teng; Danilishin, Stefan L.; Steinlechner, Sebastian; Barr, Bryan W.; Bell, Angus S.; Dupej, Peter; Gräf, Christian; Hennig, Jan-Simon; Houston, E. Alasdair; Huttner, Sabina H.; Leavey, Sean S.; Pascucci, Daniela; Sorazu, Borja; Spencer, Andrew; Wright, Jennifer; Strain, Kenneth A.; Hild, Stefan

2017-03-01

With the recent detection of gravitational waves (GWs), marking the start of the new field of GW astronomy, the push for building more sensitive laser-interferometric gravitational wave detectors (GWDs) has never been stronger. Balanced homodyne detection (BHD) allows for a quantum-noise (QN) limited readout of arbitrary light field quadratures, and has therefore been suggested as a vital building block for upgrades to Advanced LIGO and third-generation observatories. In terms of the practical implementation of BHD, we develop a full framework for analyzing the static optical high-order modes (HOMs) occurring in the BHD paths related to the misalignment or mode matching at the input and output ports of the laser interferometer. We find the effects of HOMs on the quantum-noise limited sensitivity is independent of the actual interferometer configuration; e.g. Michelson and Sagnac interferometers are affected in the same way. We show that misalignment of the output ports of the interferometer (output misalignment) only affects the high-frequency part of the quantum-noise limited sensitivity (detection noise). However, at low frequencies, HOMs reduce the interferometer response and the radiation pressure noise (back-action noise) by the same amount and hence the quantum-noise limited sensitivity is not negatively affected in that frequency range. We show that the misalignment of the laser into the interferometer (input misalignment) produces the same effect as output misalignment and additionally decreases the power inside the interferometer. We also analyze dynamic HOM effects, such as beam jitter created by the suspended mirrors of the BHD. Our analyses can be directly applied to any BHD implementation in a future GWD. Moreover, we apply our analytical techniques to the example of the speed meter proof-of-concept experiment under construction in Glasgow. We find that for our experimental parameters, the performance of our seismic isolation system in the BHD paths is compatible with the design sensitivity of the experiment.

Cognitive capital, equity and child-sensitive social protection in Asia and the Pacific.

PubMed

Samson, Michael; Fajth, Gaspar; François, Daphne

2016-01-01

Promoting child development and welfare delivers human rights and builds sustainable economies through investment in 'cognitive capital'. This analysis looks at conditions that support optimal brain development in childhood and highlights how social protection promotes these conditions and strengthens the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Asia and the Pacific. Embracing child-sensitive social protection offers multiple benefits. The region has been a leader in global poverty reduction but the underlying pattern of economic growth exacerbates inequality and is increasingly unsustainable. The strategy of channelling low-skilled rural labour to industrial jobs left millions of children behind with limited opportunities for development. Building child-sensitive social protection and investing better in children's cognitive capacity could check these trends and trigger powerful long-term human capital development-enabling labour productivity to grow faster than populations age. While governments are investing more in social protection, the region's spending remains low by international comparison. Investment is particularly inadequate where it yields the highest returns: during the first 1000 days of life. Five steps are recommended for moving forward: (1) building cognitive capital by adjusting the region's development paradigms to reflect better the economic and social returns from investing in children; (2) understand and track better child poverty and vulnerability; (3) progressively build universal, child-sensitive systems that strengthen comprehensive interventions within life cycle frameworks; (4) mobilise national resources for early childhood investments and child-sensitive social protection; and (5) leverage the SDGs and other channels of national and international collaboration.

Plasma deposited polymers as gas sensitive films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radeva, E.; Georgieva, V.; Lazarov, J.; Vergov, L.; Donkov, N.

2012-03-01

The possibility is presented of producing thin plasma polymers with desired properties by using nanofillers. Composite films are synthesized from a mixture of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) and detonation nanodiamond particles (DNDs). The chemical structure of the composite consists of DNDs distributed in the polymer matrix. The effect of DNDs on the humidity and ammonia sorptive properties of the polymers obtained is studied by measuring the mass changes as a result of gas sorption by using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The results show that, in view of building a sensing element for measuring humidity, ammonia or other gases, it is possible to maximize the sensor sensitivity to a certain gas by using an appropriate concentration of DNDs in HMDSO. Thus, a high degree of sensor sensitivity, together with short response time and minimum hysteresis, can be achieved. Composites of plasma-polymerized HMDSO with DNDs can be used as gas sensitive layers for the development of quartz resonator sensors.

Effective moisture penetration depth model for residential buildings: Sensitivity analysis and guidance on model inputs

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

Woods, Jason; Winkler, Jon

Moisture buffering of building materials has a significant impact on the building's indoor humidity, and building energy simulations need to model this buffering to accurately predict the humidity. Researchers requiring a simple moisture-buffering approach typically rely on the effective-capacitance model, which has been shown to be a poor predictor of actual indoor humidity. This paper describes an alternative two-layer effective moisture penetration depth (EMPD) model and its inputs. While this model has been used previously, there is a need to understand the sensitivity of this model to uncertain inputs. In this paper, we use the moisture-adsorbent materials exposed to themore » interior air: drywall, wood, and carpet. We use a global sensitivity analysis to determine which inputs are most influential and how the model's prediction capability degrades due to uncertainty in these inputs. We then compare the model's humidity prediction with measured data from five houses, which shows that this model, and a set of simple inputs, can give reasonable prediction of the indoor humidity.« less

Effective moisture penetration depth model for residential buildings: Sensitivity analysis and guidance on model inputs

DOE PAGES

Woods, Jason; Winkler, Jon

2018-01-31

Moisture buffering of building materials has a significant impact on the building's indoor humidity, and building energy simulations need to model this buffering to accurately predict the humidity. Researchers requiring a simple moisture-buffering approach typically rely on the effective-capacitance model, which has been shown to be a poor predictor of actual indoor humidity. This paper describes an alternative two-layer effective moisture penetration depth (EMPD) model and its inputs. While this model has been used previously, there is a need to understand the sensitivity of this model to uncertain inputs. In this paper, we use the moisture-adsorbent materials exposed to themore » interior air: drywall, wood, and carpet. We use a global sensitivity analysis to determine which inputs are most influential and how the model's prediction capability degrades due to uncertainty in these inputs. We then compare the model's humidity prediction with measured data from five houses, which shows that this model, and a set of simple inputs, can give reasonable prediction of the indoor humidity.« less

High efficiency dye-sensitized solar cell based on novel TiO2 nanorod/nanoparticle bilayer electrode

PubMed Central

Hafez, Hoda; Lan, Zhang; Li, Qinghua; Wu, Jihuai

2010-01-01

High light-to-energy conversion efficiency was achieved by applying novel TiO2 nanorod/nanoparticle (NR/NP) bilayer electrode in the N719 dye-sensitized solar cells. The short-circuit current density (JSC), the open-circuit voltage (VOC), the fill factor (FF), and the overall efficiency (η) were 14.45 mA/cm2, 0.756 V, 0.65, and 7.1%, respectively. The single-crystalline TiO2 NRs with length 200–500 nm and diameter 30–50 nm were prepared by simple hydrothermal methods. The dye-sensitized solar cells with pure TiO2 NR and pure TiO2 NP electrodes showed only a lower light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 4.4% and 5.8%, respectively, compared with single-crystalline TiO2 NRs. This can be attributed to the new NR/NP bilayer design that can possess the advantages of both building blocks, ie, the high surface area of NP aggregates and rapid electron transport rate and the light scattering effect of single-crystalline NRs. PMID:24198470

Indoor air quality in green buildings: A case-study in a residential high-rise building in the northeastern United States.

PubMed

Xiong, Youyou; Krogmann, Uta; Mainelis, Gediminas; Rodenburg, Lisa A; Andrews, Clinton J

2015-01-01

Improved indoor air quality (IAQ) is one of the critical components of green building design. Green building tax credit (e.g., New York State Green Building Tax Credit (GBTC)) and certification programs (e.g., Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED)) require indoor air quality measures and compliance with allowable maximum concentrations of common indoor air pollutants. It is not yet entirely clear whether compliance with these programs results in improved IAQ and ultimately human health. As a case in point, annual indoor air quality measurements were conducted in a residential green high-rise building for five consecutive years by an industrial hygiene contractor to comply with the building's GBTC requirements. The implementation of green design measures resulted in better IAQ compared to data in references of conventional homes for some parameters, but could not be confirmed for others. Relative humidity and carbon dioxide were satisfactory according to existing standards. Formaldehyde levels during four out of five years were below the most recent proposed exposure limits found in the literature. To some degree, particulate matter (PM) levels were lower than that in studies from conventional residential buildings. Concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) with known permissible exposure limits were below levels known to cause chronic health effects, but their concentrations were inconclusive regarding cancer health effects due to relatively high detection limits. Although measured indoor air parameters met all IAQ maximum allowable concentrations in GBTC and applicable LEED requirements at the time of sampling, we argue that these measurements were not sufficient to assess IAQ comprehensively because more sensitive sampling/analytical methods for PM and VOCs are needed; in addition, there is a need for a formal process to ensure rigor and adequacy of sampling and analysis methods. Also, we suggest that a comprehensive IAQ assessment should include mixed mode thermal comfort models, semi-volatile organic compounds, assessment of new chemicals, and permissible exposure levels of many known indoor VOCs and bioaerosols. Plus, the relationship between energy consumption and IAQ, and tenant education on health effects of indoor pollutants and their sources may need more attention in IAQ investigations in green buildings.

Seismic Disaster Mitigation in Urban Area by using Building Vibration Observation of Weak Earthquake Ground Motion: an Approach of the IT Kyoshin Seismometer for Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takano, K.; Ito, T.

2010-12-01

There are a lot of buildings which is not experienced severe earthquakes in urban area. In Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake, it was presumed that 80 percent or more of the person was dead immediately after the earthquake by building collapse. Also in Haiti, a lot of buildings deprived of the life of persons. In order to prevent the earthquake damage of urban area, it is the most effective to make the building earthquake-proof. However, there are still a lot of buildings not made earthquake-proof in Japan though 15 years passed since Kobe Earthquake. In order to promote making of the building earthquake-proof, various approaches such as visualization of seismic hazard, education of disaster prevention and legal system for promotion are needed. We have developed the IT Kyoshin(strong motion) Seismometer for Building which is the observation system of the usual weak earthquake ground motion by installing a lot of acceleration sensors in building, and have been setting it up in some buildings of the University of Tokyo. We have also developed the visualization tool that can reproduce the building vibration during earthquake from the observed data. By this tool, we can successfully show where is more shaking in the building or what is the feature of building vibration easily. Such information contributes to not only promotion of making building earthquake-proof but also promotion of disaster prevention action such as fixation of bookshelf, making the safety area in building, etc. In addition, we proposed a concrete technique of the health investigation of buildings by using weak earthquake ground motion. Because there are 20 to 30 felt earthquakes in year in Tokyo area, it is possible to observe these building vibrations by using weak earthquake ground motions. In addition, we have developed the high sensitive ITK sensor which can observe from the microtremor to the felt earthquake in the place without the felt earthquake either.

Monitoring Intense Thunderstorms in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan Region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gatlin, Patrick; Cecil, Daniel; Case, Jonathan; Bell, Jordan; Petersen, Walter; Adhikary, Bhupesh

2016-01-01

Some of the most intense thunderstorms on the planet routinely occur in the Hindu-Kush Himalaya region(HKH) region where many government organizations lack the capacity needed to predict, observe and effectively respond to the threats and hazards associated with high impact convective weather. This project combines innovative numerical weather prediction, satellite-based precipitation and land imagery techniques into a high impact weather assessment toolkit (HIWAT) that will build the capabilities of national meteorological departments and other weather sensitive agencies in the HKH region to assess the potential threats and impacts of high impact convective weather.

Diode amplifier of modulated optical beam power

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

D'yachkov, N V; Bogatov, A P; Gushchik, T I

2014-11-30

Analytical relations are obtained between characteristics of modulated light at the output and input of an optical diode power amplifier operating in the highly saturated gain regime. It is shown that a diode amplifier may act as an amplitude-to-phase modulation converter with a rather large bandwidth (∼10 GHz). The low sensitivity of the output power of the amplifier to the input beam power and its high energy efficiency allow it to be used as a building block of a high-power multielement laser system with coherent summation of a large number of optical beams. (lasers)

KSC-06pd0259

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-12-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - Inside Orbital Sciences Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers attach segments of the Pegasus XL rocket that will launch the Space Technology 5 spacecraft later this month. ST5 contains three micro-satellites that will be positioned in a "string of pearls" constellation to perform simultaneous multi-point measurements of the Earth's magnetic field using highly sensitive magnetometers. The scheduled launch date is Feb. 28.

STUDIES OF COSMIC-RAY MUONS AND NEUTRONS IN A FIVE-STORY CONCRETE BUILDING.

PubMed

Chen, Wei-Lin; Sheu, Rong-Jiun

2018-05-01

This study thoroughly determined the flux and dose rate distributions of cosmic-ray muons and neutrons in a five-story concrete building by comparing measurements with Monte Carlo simulations of cosmic-ray showers. An angular-energy-dependent surface source comprising secondary muons and neutrons at a height of 200 m above ground level was established and verified, which was used to concatenate the shower development in the upper atmosphere with subsequent simulations of radiation transport down to ground level, including the effect of the terrain and studied building. A Berkeley Lab cosmic-ray detector and a highly sensitive Bonner cylinder were used to perform muon and neutron measurements on each building floor. After careful calibration and correction, the measured responses of the two detectors were discovered to be reasonably consistent with the theoretical predictions, thus confirming the validity of the two-step calculation model employed in this study. The annual effective doses from cosmic-ray muons and neutrons on the open roof of the building were estimated to be 115.2 and 35.2 μSv, respectively. Muons and neutrons were attenuated floor-by-floor with different attenuation factors of 0.97 and 0.78, and their resultant dose rates on the first floor of the building were 97.8 and 9.9 μSv, respectively.

Effects of exurban development and temperature on bird species in the southern Appalachians.

PubMed

Lumpkin, Heather A; Pearson, Scott M

2013-10-01

Land-use dynamics and climatic gradients have large effects on many terrestrial systems. Exurban development, one of the fastest growing forms of land use in the United States, may affect wildlife through habitat fragmentation and building presence may alter habitat quality. We studied the effects of residential development and temperature gradients on bird species occurrence at 140 study sites in the southern Appalachian Mountains (North Carolina, U.S.A.) that varied with respect to building density and elevation. We used occupancy models to determine 36 bird species' associations with building density, forest canopy cover, average daily mean temperature, and an interaction between building density and mean temperature. Responses varied with habitat requirement, breeding range, and migration distance. Building density and mean temperature were both included in the top occupancy models for 19 of 36 species and a building density by temperature interaction was included in models for 8 bird species. As exurban development expands in the southern Appalachians, interior forest species and Neotropical migrants are likely to decline, but shrubland or edge species are not likely to benefit. Overall, effects of building density were greater than those of forest canopy cover. Exurban development had a greater effect on birds at high elevations due to a greater abundance of sensitive forest-interior species and Neotropical migrants. A warming climate may exacerbate these negative effects. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Combining techniques for screening and evaluating interaction terms on high-dimensional time-to-event data.

PubMed

Sariyar, Murat; Hoffmann, Isabell; Binder, Harald

2014-02-26

Molecular data, e.g. arising from microarray technology, is often used for predicting survival probabilities of patients. For multivariate risk prediction models on such high-dimensional data, there are established techniques that combine parameter estimation and variable selection. One big challenge is to incorporate interactions into such prediction models. In this feasibility study, we present building blocks for evaluating and incorporating interactions terms in high-dimensional time-to-event settings, especially for settings in which it is computationally too expensive to check all possible interactions. We use a boosting technique for estimation of effects and the following building blocks for pre-selecting interactions: (1) resampling, (2) random forests and (3) orthogonalization as a data pre-processing step. In a simulation study, the strategy that uses all building blocks is able to detect true main effects and interactions with high sensitivity in different kinds of scenarios. The main challenge are interactions composed of variables that do not represent main effects, but our findings are also promising in this regard. Results on real world data illustrate that effect sizes of interactions frequently may not be large enough to improve prediction performance, even though the interactions are potentially of biological relevance. Screening interactions through random forests is feasible and useful, when one is interested in finding relevant two-way interactions. The other building blocks also contribute considerably to an enhanced pre-selection of interactions. We determined the limits of interaction detection in terms of necessary effect sizes. Our study emphasizes the importance of making full use of existing methods in addition to establishing new ones.

Cognitive capital, equity and child-sensitive social protection in Asia and the Pacific

PubMed Central

Samson, Michael; Fajth, Gaspar; François, Daphne

2016-01-01

Promoting child development and welfare delivers human rights and builds sustainable economies through investment in ‘cognitive capital’. This analysis looks at conditions that support optimal brain development in childhood and highlights how social protection promotes these conditions and strengthens the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Asia and the Pacific. Embracing child-sensitive social protection offers multiple benefits. The region has been a leader in global poverty reduction but the underlying pattern of economic growth exacerbates inequality and is increasingly unsustainable. The strategy of channelling low-skilled rural labour to industrial jobs left millions of children behind with limited opportunities for development. Building child-sensitive social protection and investing better in children's cognitive capacity could check these trends and trigger powerful long-term human capital development—enabling labour productivity to grow faster than populations age. While governments are investing more in social protection, the region's spending remains low by international comparison. Investment is particularly inadequate where it yields the highest returns: during the first 1000 days of life. Five steps are recommended for moving forward: (1) building cognitive capital by adjusting the region's development paradigms to reflect better the economic and social returns from investing in children; (2) understand and track better child poverty and vulnerability; (3) progressively build universal, child-sensitive systems that strengthen comprehensive interventions within life cycle frameworks; (4) mobilise national resources for early childhood investments and child-sensitive social protection; and (5) leverage the SDGs and other channels of national and international collaboration. PMID:28588990

Infiltration modeling guidelines for commercial building energy analysis

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

Gowri, Krishnan; Winiarski, David W.; Jarnagin, Ronald E.

This report presents a methodology for modeling air infiltration in EnergyPlus to account for envelope air barrier characteristics. Based on a review of various infiltration modeling options available in EnergyPlus and sensitivity analysis, the linear wind velocity coefficient based on DOE-2 infiltration model is recommended. The methodology described in this report can be used to calculate the EnergyPlus infiltration input for any given building level infiltration rate specified at known pressure difference. The sensitivity analysis shows that EnergyPlus calculates the wind speed based on zone altitude, and the linear wind velocity coefficient represents the variation in infiltration heat loss consistentmore » with building location and weather data.« less

Environmental Impacts of a Multi-Borehole Geothermal System: Model Sensitivity Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krol, M.; Daemi, N.

2017-12-01

Problems associated with fossil fuel consumption has increased worldwide interest in discovering and developing sustainable energy systems. One such system is geothermal heating, which uses the constant temperature of the ground to heat or cool buildings. Since geothermal heating offers low maintenance, high heating/cooling comfort, and a low carbon footprint, compared to conventional systems, there has been an increasing trend in equipping large buildings with geothermal heating. However, little is known on the potential environmental impact geothermal heating can have on the subsurface, such as the creation of subsurface thermal plumes or changes in groundwater flow dynamics. In the present study, the environmental impacts of a closed-loop, ground source heat pump (GSHP) system was examined with respect to different system parameters. To do this a three-dimensional model, developed using FEFLOW, was used to examine the thermal plumes resulting from ten years of operation of a vertical closed-loop GSHP system with multiple boreholes. A required thermal load typical of an office building located in Canada was calculated and groundwater flow and heat transport in the geological formation was simulated. Consequently, the resulting thermal plumes were studied and a sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the effect of different parameters like groundwater flow and soil type on the development and movement of thermal plumes. Since thermal plumes can affect the efficiency of a GSHP system, this study provides insight into important system parameters.

A S-Layer Protein of Bacillus anthracis as a Building Block for Functional Protein Arrays by In Vitro Self-Assembly.

PubMed

Wang, Xu-Ying; Wang, Dian-Bing; Zhang, Zhi-Ping; Bi, Li-Jun; Zhang, Ji-Bin; Ding, Wei; Zhang, Xian-En

2015-11-18

S-layer proteins create a cell-surface layer architecture in both bacteria and archaea. Because S-layer proteins self-assemble into a native-like S-layer crystalline structure in vitro, they are attractive building blocks in nanotechnology. Here, the potential use of the S-layer protein EA1 from Bacillus anthracis in constructing a functional nanostructure is investigated, and apply this nanostructure in a proof-of-principle study for serological diagnosis of anthrax. EA1 is genetically fused with methyl parathion hydrolase (MPH), to degrade methyl parathion and provide a label for signal amplification. EA1 not only serves as a nanocarrier, but also as a specific antigen to capture anthrax-specific antibodies. As results, purified EA1-MPH forms a single layer of crystalline nanostructure through self-assembly. Our chimeric nanocatalyst greatly improves enzymatic stability of MPH. When applied to the detection of anthrax-specific antibodies in serum samples, the detection of our EA1-MPH nanostructure is nearly 300 times more sensitive than that of the unassembled complex. Together, it is shown that it is possible to build a functional and highly sensitive nanosensor based on S-layer protein. In conclusion, our present study should serve as a model for the development of other multifunctional nanomaterials using S-layer proteins. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A Collaborative Approach for Providing Low-Cost ELF Monitoring from Ground and Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bleier, T. E.; Franklin, L.

2003-12-01

This paper describes a collaborative effort among several groups, including a small business (QuakeFinder,LLC), dozens of high schools in northern California, several universities (Stanford and Cal Poly SLO), and Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale to build a combined ground-based and space-based ELF monitoring system. The goal is to monitor and characterize the raw RF spectrum in the ELF band, and to look for pre- and post-earthquake signatures. Previous attempts at monitoring ELF signals associated with earthquakes have always been summarized with the statement, more data is needed. QuakeFinder is a small business that approached the problem with a different strategy. Rather than deploy a few, expensive, commercial high sensitivity, AC magnetometers on the ground, a collaboration was formed with high school physics classes to build a large number of medium sensitivity magnetometers from partially-assembled kits, and to deploy these sensors in a close spacing along the major California earthquake faults. The strategy was to have a 3-axis ELF ground monitor within 15 km of any large (>M5) quake-- before, during, and after the event. To date, 34 sites have been deployed (out of 50 planned), and they now collect and display daily averages from these 3-axis monitors on a web site (www.earthquaketracker.com). Likewise, satellite-based monitoring is severely restricted by the high cost of building and flying space-based ELF monitors. QuakeFinder formed a collaboration between Stanford Space System Development Laboratory and Lockheed Martin to design and build a nano-satellite (4.5 kg) whose mission was to collect ELF background signatures. QuakeFinder built and donated a single axis ELF (1-1000Hz) magnetometer payload and provided integration and a launch opportunity for "QuakeSat I". The satellite was launched on June 30, 2003 into a 820 km circular polar orbit, and has recorded natural signals (lightning, whistlers, auroral noise, and several unidentified signatures) as well as man-made (radar) signals. At this writing, it is early in the project, and more signal analysis and statistics are needed to determine if earthquake-related signals are present. The paper will report on the result of QuakeSat tasking over epicenters of >M6 earthquakes for post seismic correlations, and over seismically active areas worldwide for pre-seismic correlations of increasing ELF signals.

Tailored high-resolution numerical weather forecasts for energy efficient predictive building control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stauch, V. J.; Gwerder, M.; Gyalistras, D.; Oldewurtel, F.; Schubiger, F.; Steiner, P.

2010-09-01

The high proportion of the total primary energy consumption by buildings has increased the public interest in the optimisation of buildings' operation and is also driving the development of novel control approaches for the indoor climate. In this context, the use of weather forecasts presents an interesting and - thanks to advances in information and predictive control technologies and the continuous improvement of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models - an increasingly attractive option for improved building control. Within the research project OptiControl (www.opticontrol.ethz.ch) predictive control strategies for a wide range of buildings, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and representative locations in Europe are being investigated with the aid of newly developed modelling and simulation tools. Grid point predictions for radiation, temperature and humidity of the high-resolution limited area NWP model COSMO-7 (see www.cosmo-model.org) and local measurements are used as disturbances and inputs into the building system. The control task considered consists in minimizing energy consumption whilst maintaining occupant comfort. In this presentation, we use the simulation-based OptiControl methodology to investigate the impact of COSMO-7 forecasts on the performance of predictive building control and the resulting energy savings. For this, we have selected building cases that were shown to benefit from a prediction horizon of up to 3 days and therefore, are particularly suitable for the use of numerical weather forecasts. We show that the controller performance is sensitive to the quality of the weather predictions, most importantly of the incident radiation on differently oriented façades. However, radiation is characterised by a high temporal and spatial variability in part caused by small scale and fast changing cloud formation and dissolution processes being only partially represented in the COSMO-7 grid point predictions. On the other hand, buildings are affected by particularly local weather conditions at the building site. To overcome this discrepancy, we make use of local measurements to statistically adapt the COSMO-7 model output to the meteorological conditions at the building. For this, we have developed a general correction algorithm that exploits systematic properties of the COSMO-7 prediction error and explicitly estimates the degree of temporal autocorrelation using online recursive estimation. The resulting corrected predictions are improved especially for the first few hours being the most crucial for the predictive controller and, ultimately for the reduction of primary energy consumption using predictive control. The use of numerical weather forecasts in predictive building automation is one example in a wide field of weather dependent advanced energy saving technologies. Our work particularly highlights the need for the development of specifically tailored weather forecast products by (statistical) postprocessing in order to meet the requirements of specific applications.

A techno-economic assessment of grid connected photovoltaic system for hospital building in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mat Isa, Normazlina; Tan, Chee Wei; Yatim, AHM

2017-07-01

Conventionally, electricity in hospital building are supplied by the utility grid which uses mix fuel including coal and gas. Due to enhancement in renewable technology, many building shall moving forward to install their own PV panel along with the grid to employ the advantages of the renewable energy. This paper present an analysis of grid connected photovoltaic (GCPV) system for hospital building in Malaysia. A discussion is emphasized on the economic analysis based on Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and total Net Present Post (TNPC) in regards with the annual interest rate. The analysis is performed using Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER) software which give optimization and sensitivity analysis result. An optimization result followed by the sensitivity analysis also being discuss in this article thus the impact of the grid connected PV system has be evaluated. In addition, the benefit from Net Metering (NeM) mechanism also discussed.

Recent advances in plasmonic dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rho, Won-Yeop; Song, Da Hyun; Yang, Hwa-Young; Kim, Ho-Sub; Son, Byung Sung; Suh, Jung Sang; Jun, Bong-Hyun

2018-02-01

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are among the best devices in generating electrons from solar light energy due to their high efficiency, low-cost in processing and transparency in building integrated photovoltaics. There are several ways to improve their energy-conversion efficiency, such as increasing light harvesting and electron transport, of which plasmon and 3-dimensional nanostructures are greatly capable. We review recent advances in plasmonic effects which depend on optimizing sizes, shapes, alloy compositions and integration of metal nanoparticles. Different methods to integrate metal nanoparticles into 3-dimensional nanostructures are also discussed. This review presents a guideline for enhancing the energy-conversion efficiency of DSSCs by utilizing metal nanoparticles that are incorporated into 3-dimensional nanostructures.

Batch Fabrication of Ultrasensitive Carbon Nanotube Hydrogen Sensors with Sub-ppm Detection Limit.

PubMed

Xiao, Mengmeng; Liang, Shibo; Han, Jie; Zhong, Donglai; Liu, Jingxia; Zhang, Zhiyong; Peng, Lianmao

2018-04-27

Carbon nanotube (CNT) has been considered as an ideal channel material for building highly sensitive gas sensors. However, the reported H 2 sensors based on CNT always suffered from the low sensitivity or low production. We developed the technology to massively fabricate ultra-highly sensitive H 2 sensors based on solution derived CNT network through comprehensive optimization of the CNT material, device structure, and fabrication process. In the H 2 sensors, high semiconducting purity solution-derived CNT film sorted by poly[9-(1-octylonoyl)-9 H-carbazole-2,7-diyl](PCz) is used as the main channel, which is decorated with Pd nanoparticles as functionalization for capturing H 2 . Meanwhile, Ti contacts are used to form a Schottky barrier for enhancing transferred charge-induced resistance change, and then a response of resistance change by 3 orders of magnitude is achieved at room temperature under the concentration of ∼311 ppm with a very fast response time of approximately 7 s and a detection limit of 890 ppb, which is the highest response to date for CNT H 2 sensors and the very first time to show the sub-ppm detection for H 2 at room temperature. Furthermore, the detection limit concentration can be improved to 89 ppb at 100 °C. The batch fabrication of CNT film H 2 sensors with ultra-high sensitivity and high uniformity is ready to promote CNT devices to application for the first time in some specialized field.

Characteristics of the mean radiant temperature in high latitude cities—implications for sensitive climate planning applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindberg, Fredrik; Holmer, Björn; Thorsson, Sofia; Rayner, David

2014-07-01

Knowledge of how the mean radiant temperature ( T mrt ) is affected by factors such as location, climate and urban setting contributes to the practice of climate sensitive planning. This paper examines how T mrt varies within an urban setting and how it is influenced by cloudiness. In addition, variations of T mrt in three high latitude cities are investigated in order to analyse the impact of geographical context and climate conditions. Results showed large spatial variations between sunlit and shaded areas during clear weather conditions, with the highest values of T mrt close to sunlit walls and the lowest values in the areas shaded by buildings and vegetation. As cloudiness increases, the spatial pattern is altered and the differences are reduced. The highest T mrt under cloudy conditions is instead found in open areas where the proportion of shortwave diffuse radiation from the sky vault is high. A regional comparison between three Swedish coastal cities showed that T mrt during summer is similar regardless of latitudinal location. On the other hand, large differences in T mrt during winter were found. Shadows, both from buildings and vegetation are the most effective measure to reduce extreme values of T mrt . However, extensive areas of shadow are usually not desired within outdoor urban environments at high latitude cities. One solution is to create diverse outdoor urban spaces in terms of shadow and also ventilation. This would provide individuals with access to a choice of thermal environments which they can use to assist their thermal regulation, based on personal needs and desires.

Characteristics of the mean radiant temperature in high latitude cities--implications for sensitive climate planning applications.

PubMed

Lindberg, Fredrik; Holmer, Björn; Thorsson, Sofia; Rayner, David

2014-07-01

Knowledge of how the mean radiant temperature (T mrt ) is affected by factors such as location, climate and urban setting contributes to the practice of climate sensitive planning. This paper examines how T mrt varies within an urban setting and how it is influenced by cloudiness. In addition, variations of T mrt in three high latitude cities are investigated in order to analyse the impact of geographical context and climate conditions. Results showed large spatial variations between sunlit and shaded areas during clear weather conditions, with the highest values of T mrt close to sunlit walls and the lowest values in the areas shaded by buildings and vegetation. As cloudiness increases, the spatial pattern is altered and the differences are reduced. The highest T mrt under cloudy conditions is instead found in open areas where the proportion of shortwave diffuse radiation from the sky vault is high. A regional comparison between three Swedish coastal cities showed that T mrt during summer is similar regardless of latitudinal location. On the other hand, large differences in T mrt during winter were found. Shadows, both from buildings and vegetation are the most effective measure to reduce extreme values of T mrt. However, extensive areas of shadow are usually not desired within outdoor urban environments at high latitude cities. One solution is to create diverse outdoor urban spaces in terms of shadow and also ventilation. This would provide individuals with access to a choice of thermal environments which they can use to assist their thermal regulation, based on personal needs and desires.

Novel Methods to Explore Building Energy Sensitivity to Climate and Heat Waves Using PNNL's BEND Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burleyson, C. D.; Voisin, N.; Taylor, T.; Xie, Y.; Kraucunas, I.

2017-12-01

The DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been developing the Building ENergy Demand (BEND) model to simulate energy usage in residential and commercial buildings responding to changes in weather, climate, population, and building technologies. At its core, BEND is a mechanism to aggregate EnergyPlus simulations of a large number of individual buildings with a diversity of characteristics over large spatial scales. We have completed a series of experiments to explore methods to calibrate the BEND model, measure its ability to capture interannual variability in energy demand due to weather using simulations of two distinct weather years, and understand the sensitivity to the number and location of weather stations used to force the model. The use of weather from "representative cities" reduces computational costs, but often fails to capture spatial heterogeneity that may be important for simulations aimed at understanding how building stocks respond to a changing climate (Fig. 1). We quantify the potential reduction in temperature and load biases from using an increasing number of weather stations across the western U.S., ranging from 8 to roughly 150. Using 8 stations results in an average absolute summertime temperature bias of 4.0°C. The mean absolute bias drops to 1.5°C using all available stations. Temperature biases of this magnitude translate to absolute summertime mean simulated load biases as high as 13.8%. Additionally, using only 8 representative weather stations can lead to a 20-40% bias of peak building loads under heat wave or cold snap conditions, a significant error for capacity expansion planners who may rely on these types of simulations. This analysis suggests that using 4 stations per climate zone may be sufficient for most purposes. Our novel approach, which requires no new EnergyPlus simulations, could be useful to other researchers designing or calibrating aggregate building model simulations - particularly those looking at the impact of future climate scenarios. Fig. 1. An example of temperature bias that results from using 8 representative weather stations: (a) surface temperature from NLDAS on 5-July 2008 at 2000 UTC; (b) temperature from 8 representative stations at the same time mapped to all counties within a given IECC climate zone; (c) the difference between (a) and (b).

Thermoelectric effects in graphene at high bias current and under microwave irradiation.

PubMed

Skoblin, Grigory; Sun, Jie; Yurgens, August

2017-11-14

We use a split top gate to induce doping of opposite signs in different parts of a graphene field-effect transistor, thereby effectively forming a graphene thermocouple. The thermocouple is sensitive to the electronic temperature in graphene, which can be several hundred kelvin higher than the ambient one at sufficiently high bias current. Combined with the high thermoelectric power of graphene, this allows for i) simple measurements of the electronic temperature and ii) building thermoelectric radiation detectors. A simple prototype graphene thermoelectric detector shows a temperature-independent optical responsivity of around 400 V/W at 94 GHz at temperatures of 4-50 K.

Impact of warmer weather on electricity sector emissions due to building energy use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meier, Paul; Holloway, Tracey; Patz, Jonathan; Harkey, Monica; Ahl, Doug; Abel, David; Schuetter, Scott; Hackel, Scott

2017-06-01

Most US energy consumption occurs in buildings, with cooling demands anticipated to increase net building electricity use under warmer conditions. The electricity generation units that respond to this demand are major contributors to sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), both of which have direct impacts on public health, and contribute to the formation of secondary pollutants including ozone and fine particulate matter. This study quantifies temperature-driven changes in power plant emissions due to increased use of building air conditioning. We compare an ambient temperature baseline for the Eastern US to a model-calculated mid-century scenario with summer-average temperature increases ranging from 1 C to 5 C across the domain. We find a 7% increase in summer electricity demand and a 32% increase in non-coincident peak demand. Power sector modeling, assuming only limited changes to current generation resources, calculated a 16% increase in emissions of NOx and an 18% increase in emissions of SO2. There is a high level of regional variance in the response of building energy use to climate, and the response of emissions to associated demand. The East North Central census region exhibited the greatest sensitivity of energy demand and associated emissions to climate.

Radioimmunoassay measurement of creatine kinase bb in the serum of schizophrenic patients

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

Lerner, M.H.; Friedhoff, A.J.

1980-03-03

Brain type creatine kinase (BB) isoenzyme was measured using a highly sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay procedure in two schizophrenic populations. The data would indicate that in the schizophrenic populations examined there is insufficient tissue disruption to cause abnormal build-up of brain creatine kinase levels. However the possibility of a rapid removal of creatine kinase BB from the circulation exists. The elevated creatine kinase reported in acute schizophrenics is most likely not of brain origin.

KSC-06pd0262

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-12-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - Inside Orbital Sciences Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a worker underneath the tail of the Pegasus XL rocket completes installation of the fin. The Pegasus will launch the Space Technology 5 spacecraft later this month. ST5 contains three micro-satellites that will be positioned in a "string of pearls" constellation to perform simultaneous multi-point measurements of the Earth's magnetic field using highly sensitive magnetometers. The scheduled launch date is Feb. 28.

KSC-06pd0261

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-12-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - Inside Orbital Sciences Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a worker installs one of the fins on the aft skirt of the Pegasus XL rocket that will launch the Space Technology 5 spacecraft later this month. ST5 contains three micro-satellites that will be positioned in a "string of pearls" constellation to perform simultaneous multi-point measurements of the Earth's magnetic field using highly sensitive magnetometers. The scheduled launch date is Feb. 28.

KSC-06pd0258

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-12-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - Inside Orbital Sciences Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers move the aft skirt toward the Pegasus XL launch vehicle for mating. The Pegasus will launch the Space Technology 5 spacecraft later this month. ST5 contains three micro-satellites that will be positioned in a "string of pearls" constellation to perform simultaneous multi-point measurements of the Earth's magnetic field using highly sensitive magnetometers. The scheduled launch date is Feb. 28.

DNA decorated carbon nanotube sensors on CMOS circuitry for environmental monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yu; Chen, Chia-Ling; Agarwal, V.; Li, Xinghui; Sonkusale, S.; Dokmeci, Mehmet R.; Wang, Ming L.

2010-04-01

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with their large surface area, high aspect ratio are one of the novel materials which have numerous attractive features amenable for high sensitivity sensors. Several nanotube based sensors including, gas, chemical and biosensors have been demonstrated. Moreover, most of these sensors require off chip components to detect the variations in the signals making them complicated and hard to commercialize. Here we present a novel complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated carbon nanotube sensors for portable high sensitivity chemical sensing applications. Multiple zincation steps have been developed to ascertain proper electrical connectivity between the carbon nanotubes and the foundry made CMOS circuitry. The SWNTs have been integrated onto (CMOS) circuitry as the feedback resistor of a Miller compensated operational amplifier utilizing low temperature Dielectrophoretic (DEP) assembly process which has been tailored to be compatible with the post-CMOS integration at the die level. Building nanotube sensors directly on commercial CMOS circuitry allows single chip solutions eliminating the need for long parasitic lines and numerous wire bonds. The carbon nanotube sensors realized on CMOS circuitry show strong response to various vapors including Dimethyl methylphosphonate and Dinitrotoluene. The remarkable set of attributes of the SWNTs realized on CMOS electronic chips provides an attractive platform for high sensitivity portable nanotube based bio and chemical sensors.

Freely Suspended Two-Dimensional Electron Gases.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blick, Robert; Monzon, Franklin; Roukes, Michael; Wegscheider, Werner; Stern, Frank

1998-03-01

We present a new technique that has allowed us to build the first freely suspended two-dimensional electron gas devices from AlGaAs/GaAs/AlAs heterostructures. This technique is based upon specially MBE grown structures that include a sacrificial layer. In order to design the MBE layer sequence, the conduction band lineup for these samples was modelled numerically. The overall focus of this work is to provide a new approach for studies of the quantum mechanical properties of nanomachined structures. Our current experiments are directed toward use of these techniques for research on very high frequency nanomechanical resonators. The high mobility 2DEG system provides a unique approach to realizing wideband, extremely sensitive displacement detection, using the piezoelectric properties of GaAs to modulate a suspended nanometer-scale HEMT. This approach offers promise for sensitive displacement detectors with sub-nanometer resolution and bandwidths into the microwave range.

High sensitive THz superconducting hot electron bolometer mixers and transition edge sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, W.; Miao, W.; Zhou, K. M.; Guo, X. H.; Zhong, J. Q.; Shi, S. C.

2016-11-01

Terahertz band, which is roughly defined as 0.1 THz to 10 THz, is an interesting frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum to be fully explored in astronomy. THz observations play key roles in astrophysics and cosmology. High sensitive heterodyne and direct detectors are the main tools for the detection of molecular spectral lines and fine atomic structure spectral lines, which are very important tracers for probing the physical and chemical properties and dynamic processes of objects such as star and planetary systems. China is planning to build an THz telescope at Dome A, Antarctica, a unique site for ground-based THz observations. We are developing THz superconducting hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixers and transition edge sensors (TES), which are quantum limited and back-ground limited detectors, respectively. Here we first introduce the working principles of superconducting HEB and TES, and then mainly present the results achieved at Purple mountain Observatory.

Determining What We Stand for Will Guide What We Do: Community Priorities, Ethical Research Paradigms, and Research With Vulnerable Populations

PubMed Central

Treadwell, Henrie M.

2009-01-01

Prisoners, ex-offenders, and the communities they belong to constitute a distinct and highly vulnerable population, and research must be sensitive to their priorities. In light of recent suggestions that scientific experimentation involving prisoners be reconsidered, community-based participatory research can be a valuable tool for determining the immediate concerns of prisoners, such as the receipt of high-quality and dignified health care inside and outside prisons. In building research agendas, more must be done to ensure the participation of communities affected by the resulting policies. PMID:19141599

Thermoelectricity in atom-sized junctions at room temperatures

PubMed Central

Tsutsui, Makusu; Morikawa, Takanori; Arima, Akihide; Taniguchi, Masateru

2013-01-01

Atomic and molecular junctions are an emerging class of thermoelectric materials that exploit quantum confinement effects to obtain an enhanced figure of merit. An important feature in such nanoscale systems is that the electron and heat transport become highly sensitive to the atomic configurations. Here we report the characterization of geometry-sensitive thermoelectricity in atom-sized junctions at room temperatures. We measured the electrical conductance and thermoelectric power of gold nanocontacts simultaneously down to the single atom size. We found junction conductance dependent thermoelectric voltage oscillations with period 2e2/h. We also observed quantum suppression of thermovoltage fluctuations in fully-transparent contacts. These quantum confinement effects appeared only statistically due to the geometry-sensitive nature of thermoelectricity in the atom-sized junctions. The present method can be applied to various nanomaterials including single-molecules or nanoparticles and thus may be used as a useful platform for developing low-dimensional thermoelectric building blocks. PMID:24270238

A Crowdsourcing Framework for Medical Data Sets.

PubMed

Ye, Cheng; Coco, Joseph; Epishova, Anna; Hajaj, Chen; Bogardus, Henry; Novak, Laurie; Denny, Joshua; Vorobeychik, Yevgeniy; Lasko, Thomas; Malin, Bradley; Fabbri, Daniel

2018-01-01

Crowdsourcing services like Amazon Mechanical Turk allow researchers to ask questions to crowds of workers and quickly receive high quality labeled responses. However, crowds drawn from the general public are not suitable for labeling sensitive and complex data sets, such as medical records, due to various concerns. Major challenges in building and deploying a crowdsourcing system for medical data include, but are not limited to: managing access rights to sensitive data and ensuring data privacy controls are enforced; identifying workers with the necessary expertise to analyze complex information; and efficiently retrieving relevant information in massive data sets. In this paper, we introduce a crowdsourcing framework to support the annotation of medical data sets. We further demonstrate a workflow for crowdsourcing clinical chart reviews including (1) the design and decomposition of research questions; (2) the architecture for storing and displaying sensitive data; and (3) the development of tools to support crowd workers in quickly analyzing information from complex data sets.

A small MRI contrast agent library of gadolinium(III)-encapsulated supramolecular nanoparticles for improved relaxivity and sensitivity**

PubMed Central

Chen, Kuan-Ju; Wolahan, Stephanie M.; Wang, Hao; Hsu, Chao-Hsiung; Chang, Hsing-Wei; Durazo, Armando; Hwang, Lian-Pin; Garcia, Mitch A.; Jiang, Ziyue Karen; Wu, Lily

2010-01-01

We introduce a new category of nanoparticle-based T1 MRI contrast agents (CAs) by encapsulating paramagnetic chelated gadolinium(III), i.e., Gd3+·DOTA, through supramolecular assembly of molecular building blocks that carry complementary molecular recognition motifs, including adamantane (Ad) and β-cyclodextrin (CD). A small library of Gd3+·DOTA-encapsulated supramolecular nanoparticles (Gd3+·DOTA⊂SNPs) was produced by systematically altering the molecular building block mixing ratios. A broad spectrum of relaxation rates was correlated to the resulting Gd3+·DOTA⊂SNP library. Consequently, an optimal synthetic formulation of Gd3+·DOTA⊂SNPs with an r1 of 17.3 s−1mM−1 (ca. 4-fold higher than clinical Gd3+ chelated complexes at high field strengths) was identified. T1-weighted imaging of Gd3+·DOTA⊂SNPs exhibits an enhanced sensitivity with a contrast-to-noise ratio (C/N ratio) ca. 3.6 times greater than that observed for free Gd3+·DTPA. A Gd3+·DOTA⊂SNPs solution was injected into foot pads of mice, and MRI was employed to monitor dynamic lymphatic drainage of the Gd3+·DOTA⊂SNPs-based CA. We observe an increase in signal intensity of the brachial lymph node in T1-weighted imaging after injecting Gd3+·DOTA⊂SNPs but not after injecting Gd3+·DTPA. The MRI results are supported by ICP-MS analysis ex vivo. These results show that Gd3+·DOTA⊂SNPs not only exhibits enhanced relaxivity and high sensitivity but also can serve as a potential tool for diagnosis of cancer metastasis. PMID:21167594

The System Design, Engineering Architecture, and Preliminary Results of a Lower-Cost High-Sensitivity High-Resolution Positron Emission Mammography Camera.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuxuan; Ramirez, Rocio A; Li, Hongdi; Liu, Shitao; An, Shaohui; Wang, Chao; Baghaei, Hossain; Wong, Wai-Hoi

2010-02-01

A lower-cost high-sensitivity high-resolution positron emission mammography (PEM) camera is developed. It consists of two detector modules with the planar detector bank of 20 × 12 cm(2). Each bank has 60 low-cost PMT-Quadrant-Sharing (PQS) LYSO blocks arranged in a 10 × 6 array with two types of geometries. One is the symmetric 19.36 × 19.36 mm(2) block made of 1.5 × 1.5 × 10 mm(3) crystals in a 12 × 12 array. The other is the 19.36 × 26.05 mm(2) asymmetric block made of 1.5 × 1.9 × 10 mm(3) crystals in 12 × 13 array. One row (10) of the elongated blocks are used along one side of the bank to reclaim the half empty PMT photocathode in the regular PQS design to reduce the dead area at the edge of the module. The bank has a high overall crystal packing fraction of 88%, which results in a very high sensitivity. Mechanical design and electronics have been developed for low-cost, compactness, and stability purposes. Each module has four Anger-HYPER decoding electronics that can handle a count-rate of 3 Mcps for single events. A simple two-module coincidence board with a hardware delay window for random coincidences has been developed with an adjustable window of 6 to 15 ns. Some of the performance parameters have been studied by preliminary tests and Monte Carlo simulations, including the crystal decoding map and the 17% energy resolution of the detectors, the point source sensitivity of 11.5% with 50 mm bank-to-bank distance, the 1.2 mm-spatial resolutions, 42 kcps peak Noise Equivalent Count Rate at 7.0-mCi total activity in human body, and the resolution phantom images. Those results show that the design goal of building a lower-cost, high-sensitivity, high-resolution PEM detector is achieved.

Systems and methods for analyzing building operations sensor data

DOEpatents

Mezic, Igor; Eisenhower, Bryan A.

2015-05-26

Systems and methods are disclosed for analyzing building sensor information and decomposing the information therein to a more manageable and more useful form. Certain embodiments integrate energy-based and spectral-based analysis methods with parameter sampling and uncertainty/sensitivity analysis to achieve a more comprehensive perspective of building behavior. The results of this analysis may be presented to a user via a plurality of visualizations and/or used to automatically adjust certain building operations. In certain embodiments, advanced spectral techniques, including Koopman-based operations, are employed to discern features from the collected building sensor data.

Gene expression of a green fluorescent protein homolog as a host-specific biomarker of heat stress within a reef-building coral.

PubMed

Smith-Keune, C; Dove, S

2008-01-01

Recent incidences of mass coral bleaching indicate that major reef building corals are increasingly suffering thermal stress associated with climate-related temperature increases. The development of pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry has enabled rapid detection of the onset of thermal stress within coral algal symbionts, but sensitive biomarkers of thermal stress specific to the host coral have been slower to emerge. Differential display reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (DDRT-PCR) was used to produce fingerprints of gene expression for the reef-building coral Acropora millepora exposed to 33 degrees C. Changes in the expression of 23 out of 399 putative genes occurred within 144 h. Down-regulation of one host-specific gene (AmA1a) occurred within just 6 h. Full-length sequencing revealed the product of this gene to be an all-protein chromatophore (green fluorescent protein [GFP]-homolog). RT-PCR revealed consistent down-regulation of this GFP-homolog for three replicate colonies within 6 h at both 32 degrees C and 33 degrees C but not at lower temperatures. Down-regulation of this host gene preceded significant decreases in the photosynthetic activity of photosystem II (dark-adapted F (v)/F (m)) of algal symbionts as measured by PAM fluorometry. Gene expression of host-specific genes such as GFP-homologs may therefore prove to be highly sensitive indicators for the onset of thermal stress within host coral cells.

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

Juffmann, Thomas; Koppell, Stewart A.; Klopfer, Brannon B.

Feynman once asked physicists to build better electron microscopes to be able to watch biology at work. While electron microscopes can now provide atomic resolution, electron beam induced specimen damage precludes high resolution imaging of sensitive materials, such as single proteins or polymers. Here, we use simulations to show that an electron microscope based on a multi-pass measurement protocol enables imaging of single proteins, without averaging structures over multiple images. While we demonstrate the method for particular imaging targets, the approach is broadly applicable and is expected to improve resolution and sensitivity for a range of electron microscopy imaging modalities,more » including, for example, scanning and spectroscopic techniques. The approach implements a quantum mechanically optimal strategy which under idealized conditions can be considered interaction-free.« less

Superconducting Detector Arrays for Astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chervenak, James

2008-01-01

The next generation of astrophysics instruments will feature an order of magnitude more photon sensors or sensors that have an order of magnitude greater sensitivity. Since detector noise scales with temperature, a number of candidate technologies have been developed that use the intrinsic advantages of detector systems that operate below 1 Kelvin. Many of these systems employ of the superconducting phenomena that occur in metals at these temperatures to build ultrasensitive detectors and low-noise, low-power readout architectures. I will present one such system in use today to meet the needs of the astrophysics community at millimeter and x-ray wavelengths. Our group at NASA in collaboration with Princeton, NIST, Boulder and a number of other groups is building large format arrays of superconducting transition edge sensors (TES) read out with multiplexed superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID). I will present the high sensitivity we have achieved in multiplexed x-ray sensors with the TES technology and describe the construction of a 1000-sensor TES/SQUID array for microwave measurements. With our collaboration's deployment of a kilopixel TES array for 2 mm radiation at the Atacarna Cosmology Telescope in November 2007, we have first images of the lensed Cosmic Microwave Background at fine angular scales.

High sensitivity and label-free detection of Enterovirus 71 by nanogold modified electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Fang-Yu; Li, Hsing-Yuan; Tseng, Shing-Hua; Cheng, Tsai-Mu; Chu, Hsueh-Liang; Yang, Jyh-Yuan; Chang, Chia-Ching

2013-03-01

Enterovirus 71 (EV71), which is the most fulminant and invasive species of enterovirus, can cause children neurologic complications and death within 2-3 days after fever and rash developed. Besides, EV71 has high sequence similarity with Coxsackie A 16 (CA16) that makes differential diagnosis difficult in clinic and laboratory. Since conventional viral diagnostic method cannot diagnose EV71 quickly and EV71 can transmit at low viral titer, the patients might delay in treatment. A quick, high sensitive, and high specific test for EV71 detection is pivotal. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has been applied for detecting bio-molecules as biosensors recently. In this study, we try to build a detection platform for EV71 detection by nanogold modified EIS probe. The result shows that our probe can detect 3.6 VP1/50 μl (one EV71 particle has 60 VP1) in 3 minutes. The test can also distinguish EV71 from CA16 and lysozyme. Diagnosis of enterovirus 71 by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has the potential to apply in clinic.

A neurite quality index and machine vision software for improved quantification of neurodegeneration.

PubMed

Romero, Peggy; Miller, Ted; Garakani, Arman

2009-12-01

Current methods to assess neurodegradation in dorsal root ganglion cultures as a model for neurodegenerative diseases are imprecise and time-consuming. Here we describe two new methods to quantify neuroprotection in these cultures. The neurite quality index (NQI) builds upon earlier manual methods, incorporating additional morphological events to increase detection sensitivity for the detection of early degeneration events. Neurosight is a machine vision-based method that recapitulates many of the strengths of NQI while enabling high-throughput screening applications with decreased costs.

KSC-06pd0260

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-12-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - Inside Orbital Sciences Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers get ready to install one of the fins on the aft skirt of the Pegasus XL rocket that will launch the Space Technology 5 spacecraft later this month. ST5 contains three micro-satellites that will be positioned in a "string of pearls" constellation to perform simultaneous multi-point measurements of the Earth's magnetic field using highly sensitive magnetometers. The scheduled launch date is Feb. 28.

Quantitative biology of single neurons

PubMed Central

Eberwine, James; Lovatt, Ditte; Buckley, Peter; Dueck, Hannah; Francis, Chantal; Kim, Tae Kyung; Lee, Jaehee; Lee, Miler; Miyashiro, Kevin; Morris, Jacqueline; Peritz, Tiina; Schochet, Terri; Spaethling, Jennifer; Sul, Jai-Yoon; Kim, Junhyong

2012-01-01

The building blocks of complex biological systems are single cells. Fundamental insights gained from single-cell analysis promise to provide the framework for understanding normal biological systems development as well as the limits on systems/cellular ability to respond to disease. The interplay of cells to create functional systems is not well understood. Until recently, the study of single cells has concentrated primarily on morphological and physiological characterization. With the application of new highly sensitive molecular and genomic technologies, the quantitative biochemistry of single cells is now accessible. PMID:22915636

Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964, at Anchorage, Alaska: Chapter A in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: effects on communities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hansen, Wallace R.

1965-01-01

Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, is about 80 miles west-northwest of the epicenter of the March 27 earthquake. Because of its size, Anchorage bore the brunt of property damage from the quake; it sustained greater losses than all the rest of Alaska combined. Damage was caused by direct seismic vibration, by ground cracks, and by landslides. Direct seismic vibration affected chiefly multistory buildings and buildings having large floor areas, probably because of the long period and large amplitude of the seismic waves reaching Anchorage. Most small buildings were spared. Ground cracks caused capricious damage throughout the Anchorage Lowland. Cracking was mast prevalent near the heads or within landslides but was also widespread elsewhere. Landslides themselves caused the most devastating damage. Triggering of landslides by the earthquake was related to the physical-engineering properties of the Bootlegger Cove Clay, a glacial estuarine-marine deposit that underlies much of the Anchorage area. The Bootlegger Cove Clay contains zones of low shear strength, high water content, and high sensitivity that failed under the vibratory stress of the earthquake. Shear strength in sensitive zones ranged from less than 0.2 tsf to about 0.5 tsf; sensitivity ranged from about 10 to more than 40. Sensitive zones generally are centered about 10 to 20 feet above sea level, between zones of stiff insensitive clay. Many physical tests by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were directed toward analyzing the causes of failure in the Bootlegger Cove Clay and finding possible remedies. Strengths and sensitivities were measured directly in the field by means of vane shear apparatus. A4tterberg limits, natural water contents, triaxial shear, sensitivity, dynamic modulus, consolidation strength, and other properties were measured in the laboratory. Pulsating-load tests simulated earthquake loading. Most of the destructive landslides in the Anchorage area moved primarily by translation rather than by rotation. Thus, all the highly damaging slides were of a single structural dynamic family despite wide variations in size, appearance, and complexity. They slid on nearly horizontal slip surfaces after loss of strength in the Bootlegger Core Clay. Same failures are attributed to spontaneous liquefaction of sand layers. All translatory slides surmounted flat-topped bluffs bounded marginally by steep slopes facing lower ground. Destructive translatory slides occurred in the downtown area (Fourth Avenue slide and L Street slide), at Government Hill, and at Turnagain Heights. Less destructive slides occurred in many other places-mostly uninhabited or undeveloped areas. In most translatory slides, damage was greatest in graben areas at the head and in pressure-ridge areas at the toe. Many buildings inside the perimeters of slide blocks were little damaged despite horizontal translations of several feet. The large Turnagain Heights slide, however, was characterized by a complete disintegration and drastic lowering of the prequake land surface. Extensive damage back from the slide, moreover, was caused by countless tension cracks. An approximation of the depth of failure in the Bootlegger Cove Clay in the various slides may be obtained by using a geometric relationship herein called the "graben rule." Because the cross-sectional area of the graben at the head of the slide approximated the cross-sectional area of the space voided behind the slide block as the block moved outward, the depth of failure was equal to the area of the graben divided by the lateral displacement. This approximation supplements and accords with test data obtained from borings. The graben rule should apply to any translatory slide in which flowage of material from the zone of failure has not been excessive. Geologic evidence indicates that landslides similar to those triggered by the March 27 earthquake have occurred in the Anchorage area at various times in the past.

Building predictive in vitro pulmonary toxicity assays using high-throughput imaging and artificial intelligence.

PubMed

Lee, Jia-Ying Joey; Miller, James Alastair; Basu, Sreetama; Kee, Ting-Zhen Vanessa; Loo, Lit-Hsin

2018-06-01

Human lungs are susceptible to the toxicity induced by soluble xenobiotics. However, the direct cellular effects of many pulmonotoxic chemicals are not always clear, and thus, a general in vitro assay for testing pulmonotoxicity applicable to a wide variety of chemicals is not currently available. Here, we report a study that uses high-throughput imaging and artificial intelligence to build an in vitro pulmonotoxicity assay by automatically comparing and selecting human lung-cell lines and their associated quantitative phenotypic features most predictive of in vivo pulmonotoxicity. This approach is called "High-throughput In vitro Phenotypic Profiling for Toxicity Prediction" (HIPPTox). We found that the resulting assay based on two phenotypic features of a human bronchial epithelial cell line, BEAS-2B, can accurately classify 33 reference chemicals with human pulmonotoxicity information (88.8% balance accuracy, 84.6% sensitivity, and 93.0% specificity). In comparison, the predictivity of a standard cell-viability assay on the same set of chemicals is much lower (77.1% balanced accuracy, 84.6% sensitivity, and 69.5% specificity). We also used the assay to evaluate 17 additional test chemicals with unknown/unclear human pulmonotoxicity, and experimentally confirmed that many of the pulmonotoxic reference and predicted-positive test chemicals induce DNA strand breaks and/or activation of the DNA-damage response (DDR) pathway. Therefore, HIPPTox helps us to uncover these common modes-of-action of pulmonotoxic chemicals. HIPPTox may also be applied to other cell types or models, and accelerate the development of predictive in vitro assays for other cell-type- or organ-specific toxicities.

EUNIS; Extreme-Ultraviolet Normal-Incidence Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Roger J.; Davila, Joseph M.; Fisher, Richard R. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

GSFC is in the process of assembling an Extreme-Ultraviolet Normal Incidence Spectrometer called EUNIS, to be flown as a sounding rocket payload. The instrument builds on the many technical innovations pioneered by our highly successful SERTS experiment, which has now flown a total of ten times, most recently last summer. The new design will have somewhat improved spatial and spectral resolutions, as well as two orders of magnitude greater sensitivity, permitting high signal/noise EUV spectroscopy with a temporal resolution near 1 second for the first time ever. In order to achieve such high time cadence, a novel detector system is being developed, based on Active-Pixel-Sensor electronics, a key component of our design.

A Lower-Cost High-Resolution LYSO Detector Development for Positron Emission Mammography (PEM)

PubMed Central

Ramirez, Rocio A.; Zhang, Yuxuan; Liu, Shitao; Li, Hongdi; Baghaei, Hossain; An, Shaohui; Wang, Chao; Jan, Meei-Ling; Wong, Wai-Hoi

2010-01-01

In photomultiplier-quadrant-sharing (PQS) geometry for positron emission tomography applications, each PMT is shared by four blocks and each detector block is optically coupled to four round PMTs. Although this design reduces the cost of high-resolution PET systems, when the camera consists of detector panels that are made up of square blocks, half of the PMT’s sensitive window remains unused at the detector panel edge. Our goal was to develop a LYSO detector panel which minimizes the unused portion of the PMTs for a low-cost, high-resolution, and high-sensitivity positron emission mammography (PEM) camera. We modified the PQS design by using elongated blocks at panel edges and square blocks in the inner area. For elongated blocks, symmetric and asymmetrical reflector patterns were developed and PQS and PMT-half-sharing (PHS) arrangements were implemented in order to obtain a suitable decoding. The packing fraction was 96.3% for asymmetric block and 95.5% for symmetric block. Both of the blocks have excellent decoding capability with all crystals clearly identified, 156 for asymmetric and 144 for symmetric and peak-to-valley ratio of 3.0 and 2.3 respectively. The average energy resolution was 14.2% for the asymmetric block and 13.1% for the symmetric block. Using a modified PQS geometry and asymmetric block design, we reduced the unused PMT region at detector panel edges, thereby increased the field-of-view and the overall detection sensitivity and minimized the undetected breast region near the chest wall. This detector design and using regular round PMT allowed building a lower-cost, high-resolution and high-sensitivity PEM camera. PMID:20485510

Building livable communities with transit : planning, developing and implementing community-sensitive transit

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-09-01

This booklet presents some of the successes of the community-sensitive transportation facility development process. Although a comprehensive process is described here, not every project involves the full range of steps. By applying the techniques out...

Associations of indoor carbon dioxide concentrations, VOCS, environmental susceptibilities with mucous membrane and lower respiratory sick building syndrome symptoms in the BASE study: Analyses of the 100 building dataset

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

Apte, M.G.; Erdmann, C.A.

Using the 100 office-building Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation (BASE) Study dataset, we performed multivariate logistic regression analyses to quantify the associations between indoor minus outdoor CO{sub 2} (dCO{sub 2}) concentrations and mucous membrane (MM) and lower respiratory system (Lresp) Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms, adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, presence of carpet in workspace, thermal exposure, relative humidity, and a marker for entrained automobile exhaust. Using principal components analysis we identified a number of possible sources of 73 measured volatile organic compounds in the office buildings, and assessed the impact of these VOCs on the probability of presentingmore » the SBS symptoms. Additionally we included analysis adjusting for the risks for predisposition of having SBS symptoms associated with the allergic, asthmatic, and environmentally sensitive subpopulations within the office buildings. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for statistically significant, dose-dependant associations (p<0.05) for dry eyes, sore throat, nose/sinus congestion, and wheeze symptoms with 100-ppm increases in dCO{sub 2} ranged from 1.1 to 1.2. These results suggest that increases in the ventilation rates per person among typical office buildings will, on average significantly reduce the prevalence of several SBS symptoms, up to 80%, even when these buildings meet the existing ASHRAE ventilation standards for office buildings. VOC sources were observed to play an role in direct association with mucous membrane and lower respiratory irritation, and possibly to be indirectly involved in indoor chemical reactions with ozone that produce irritating compounds associated with SBS symptoms. O-xylene, possibly emitted from furniture coatings was associated with shortness of breath (OR at the maximum concentration = 8, p < 0.05). The environmental sensitivities of a large subset of the office building population add to the overall risk of SBS symptoms (ORs ranging from 2 to above 11) within the buildings.« less

Simulated building energy demand biases resulting from the use of representative weather stations

DOE PAGES

Burleyson, Casey D.; Voisin, Nathalie; Taylor, Z. Todd; ...

2017-11-06

Numerical building models are typically forced with weather data from a limited number of “representative cities” or weather stations representing different climate regions. The use of representative weather stations reduces computational costs, but often fails to capture spatial heterogeneity in weather that may be important for simulations aimed at understanding how building stocks respond to a changing climate. Here, we quantify the potential reduction in temperature and load biases from using an increasing number of weather stations over the western U.S. Our novel approach is based on deriving temperature and load time series using incrementally more weather stations, ranging frommore » 8 to roughly 150, to evaluate the ability to capture weather patterns across different seasons. Using 8 stations across the western U.S., one from each IECC climate zone, results in an average absolute summertime temperature bias of ~4.0 °C with respect to a high-resolution gridded dataset. The mean absolute bias drops to ~1.5 °C using all available weather stations. Temperature biases of this magnitude could translate to absolute summertime mean simulated load biases as high as 13.5%. Increasing the size of the domain over which biases are calculated reduces their magnitude as positive and negative biases may cancel out. Using 8 representative weather stations can lead to a 20–40% bias of peak building loads during both summer and winter, a significant error for capacity expansion planners who may use these types of simulations. Using weather stations close to population centers reduces both mean and peak load biases. Our approach could be used by others designing aggregate building simulations to understand the sensitivity to their choice of weather stations used to drive the models.« less

Simulated building energy demand biases resulting from the use of representative weather stations

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

Burleyson, Casey D.; Voisin, Nathalie; Taylor, Z. Todd

Numerical building models are typically forced with weather data from a limited number of “representative cities” or weather stations representing different climate regions. The use of representative weather stations reduces computational costs, but often fails to capture spatial heterogeneity in weather that may be important for simulations aimed at understanding how building stocks respond to a changing climate. Here, we quantify the potential reduction in temperature and load biases from using an increasing number of weather stations over the western U.S. Our novel approach is based on deriving temperature and load time series using incrementally more weather stations, ranging frommore » 8 to roughly 150, to evaluate the ability to capture weather patterns across different seasons. Using 8 stations across the western U.S., one from each IECC climate zone, results in an average absolute summertime temperature bias of ~4.0 °C with respect to a high-resolution gridded dataset. The mean absolute bias drops to ~1.5 °C using all available weather stations. Temperature biases of this magnitude could translate to absolute summertime mean simulated load biases as high as 13.5%. Increasing the size of the domain over which biases are calculated reduces their magnitude as positive and negative biases may cancel out. Using 8 representative weather stations can lead to a 20–40% bias of peak building loads during both summer and winter, a significant error for capacity expansion planners who may use these types of simulations. Using weather stations close to population centers reduces both mean and peak load biases. Our approach could be used by others designing aggregate building simulations to understand the sensitivity to their choice of weather stations used to drive the models.« less

Blinded Validation of Breath Biomarkers of Lung Cancer, a Potential Ancillary to Chest CT Screening

PubMed Central

Phillips, Michael; Bauer, Thomas L.; Cataneo, Renee N.; Lebauer, Cassie; Mundada, Mayur; Pass, Harvey I.; Ramakrishna, Naren; Rom, William N.; Vallières, Eric

2015-01-01

Background Breath volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been reported as biomarkers of lung cancer, but it is not known if biomarkers identified in one group can identify disease in a separate independent cohort. Also, it is not known if combining breath biomarkers with chest CT has the potential to improve the sensitivity and specificity of lung cancer screening. Methods Model-building phase (unblinded): Breath VOCs were analyzed with gas chromatography mass spectrometry in 82 asymptomatic smokers having screening chest CT, 84 symptomatic high-risk subjects with a tissue diagnosis, 100 without a tissue diagnosis, and 35 healthy subjects. Multiple Monte Carlo simulations identified breath VOC mass ions with greater than random diagnostic accuracy for lung cancer, and these were combined in a multivariate predictive algorithm. Model-testing phase (blinded validation): We analyzed breath VOCs in an independent cohort of similar subjects (n = 70, 51, 75 and 19 respectively). The algorithm predicted discriminant function (DF) values in blinded replicate breath VOC samples analyzed independently at two laboratories (A and B). Outcome modeling: We modeled the expected effects of combining breath biomarkers with chest CT on the sensitivity and specificity of lung cancer screening. Results Unblinded model-building phase. The algorithm identified lung cancer with sensitivity 74.0%, specificity 70.7% and C-statistic 0.78. Blinded model-testing phase: The algorithm identified lung cancer at Laboratory A with sensitivity 68.0%, specificity 68.4%, C-statistic 0.71; and at Laboratory B with sensitivity 70.1%, specificity 68.0%, C-statistic 0.70, with linear correlation between replicates (r = 0.88). In a projected outcome model, breath biomarkers increased the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of chest CT for lung cancer when the tests were combined in series or parallel. Conclusions Breath VOC mass ion biomarkers identified lung cancer in a separate independent cohort, in a blinded replicated study. Combining breath biomarkers with chest CT could potentially improve the sensitivity and specificity of lung cancer screening. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00639067 PMID:26698306

The Impact of Place in Building Human Capability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garlick, Steve

2014-01-01

While it is accepted that there are "sensitive" and "critical" periods of life during which certain human capabilities are more readily acquired, and where the multiplied returns on our investment in human capability building are more significant, it is also argued that there are place-based contexts (society, nature, culture,…

Monitoring honeybee venom immunotherapy in children with the basophil activation test.

PubMed

Žitnik, Simona E K; Vesel, Tina; Avčin, Tadej; Šilar, Mira; Košnik, Mitja; Korošec, Peter

2012-03-01

New in vitro methods are essential for developing better follow-up criteria for venom immunotherapy (VIT). Thirty-one children with a history of honeybee venom-induced systemic anaphylaxis were included in this prospective, single-blinded study. The basophil CD63 activation test (BAT) was assessed before starting VIT, at the end of the build-up phase (day 5), 6 months later, and after 2-4 yr of VIT. Basophil CD63 activation test allowed identification of the culprit insect in 74% of honeybee venom-allergic children. In comparison, IgE reactivity was single positive in only 52% of children. Five days after starting VIT, BAT was highly comparable to before VIT. However, after 6 months and further after 2-4 yr of VIT, a significant and approximately fourfold decrease was demonstrated in CD63 response at sub-maximal 0.1 μg/ml allergen concentration, which mainly represents cellular sensitivity. No such differences were found at a higher 1 μg/ml of allergen concentration. Person-to-person analyses showed that after 2-4 yr of VIT, a marked CD63 decrease was evident in 85% of children. In addition, elevated basophil sensitivity measured before VIT was associated with the appearance of side effects observed during the build-up phase of VIT. Basophil CD63 allergen-specific sensitivity seems to be a promising tool for monitoring protective immune response in honeybee VIT. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

IceVeto: Extended PeV neutrino astronomy in the Southern Hemisphere with IceCube

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

Auffenberg, Jan; Collaboration: IceCube Collaboration

IceCube, the world's largest high-energy neutrino observatory, built at the South Pole, recently reported evidence of an astrophysical neutrino flux extending to PeV energies in the Southern Hemisphere. This observation raises the question of how the sensitivity in this energy range could be further increased. In the down-going sector, in IceCube's case the Southern Hemisphere, backgrounds from atmospheric muons and neutrinos pose a challenge to the identification of an astrophysical neutrino flux. The IceCube analysis, that led to the evidence for astrophysical neutrinos, is based on an in-ice veto strategy for background rejection. One possibility available to IceCube is themore » concept of an extended surface detector, IceVeto, which could allow the rejection of a large fraction of atmospheric backgrounds, primarily for muons from cosmic ray (CR) air showers as well as from neutrinos in the same air showers. Building on the experience of IceTop/IceCube, possibly the most cost-effective and sensitive way to build IceVeto is as an extension of the IceTop detector, with simple photomultiplier based detector modules for CR air shower detection. Initial simulations and estimates indicate that such a veto detector will significantly increase the sensitivity to an astrophysical flux of ν{sub μ} induced muon tracks in the Southern Hemisphere compared to current analyses. Here we present the motivation and capabilities based on initial simulations. Conceptual ideas for a simplified surface array will be discussed briefly.« less

Wearable Resistive Pressure Sensor Based on Highly Flexible Carbon Composite Conductors with Irregular Surface Morphology.

PubMed

Kim, Kang-Hyun; Hong, Soon Kyu; Jang, Nam-Su; Ha, Sung-Hun; Lee, Hyung Woo; Kim, Jong-Man

2017-05-24

Wearable pressure sensors are crucial building blocks for potential applications in real-time health monitoring, artificial electronic skins, and human-to-machine interfaces. Here we present a highly sensitive, simple-architectured wearable resistive pressure sensor based on highly compliant yet robust carbon composite conductors made of a vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) forest embedded in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix with irregular surface morphology. A roughened surface of the VACNT/PDMS composite conductor is simply formed using a sandblasted silicon master in a low-cost and potentially scalable manner and plays an important role in improving the sensitivity of resistive pressure sensor. After assembling two of the roughened composite conductors, our sensor shows considerable pressure sensitivity of ∼0.3 kPa -1 up to 0.7 kPa as well as stable steady-state responses under various pressures, a wide detectable range of up to 5 kPa before saturation, a relatively fast response time of ∼162 ms, and good reproducibility over 5000 cycles of pressure loading/unloading. The fabricated pressure sensor can be used to detect a wide range of human motions ranging from subtle blood pulses to dynamic joint movements, and it can also be used to map spatial pressure distribution in a multipixel platform (in a 4 × 4 pixel array).

Thermodynamic Modeling and Dispatch of Distributed Energy Technologies including Fuel Cell -- Gas Turbine Hybrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLarty, Dustin Fogle

Distributed energy systems are a promising means by which to reduce both emissions and costs. Continuous generators must be responsive and highly efficiency to support building dynamics and intermittent on-site renewable power. Fuel cell -- gas turbine hybrids (FC/GT) are fuel-flexible generators capable of ultra-high efficiency, ultra-low emissions, and rapid power response. This work undertakes a detailed study of the electrochemistry, chemistry and mechanical dynamics governing the complex interaction between the individual systems in such a highly coupled hybrid arrangement. The mechanisms leading to the compressor stall/surge phenomena are studied for the increased risk posed to particular hybrid configurations. A novel fuel cell modeling method introduced captures various spatial resolutions, flow geometries, stack configurations and novel heat transfer pathways. Several promising hybrid configurations are analyzed throughout the work and a sensitivity analysis of seven design parameters is conducted. A simple estimating method is introduced for the combined system efficiency of a fuel cell and a turbine using component performance specifications. Existing solid oxide fuel cell technology is capable of hybrid efficiencies greater than 75% (LHV) operating on natural gas, and existing molten carbonate systems greater than 70% (LHV). A dynamic model is calibrated to accurately capture the physical coupling of a FC/GT demonstrator tested at UC Irvine. The 2900 hour experiment highlighted the sensitivity to small perturbations and a need for additional control development. Further sensitivity studies outlined the responsiveness and limits of different control approaches. The capability for substantial turn-down and load following through speed control and flow bypass with minimal impact on internal fuel cell thermal distribution is particularly promising to meet local demands or provide dispatchable support for renewable power. Advanced control and dispatch heuristics are discussed using a case study of the UCI central plant. Thermal energy storage introduces a time horizon into the dispatch optimization which requires novel solution strategies. Highly efficient and responsive generators are required to meet the increasingly dynamic loads of today's efficient buildings and intermittent local renewable wind and solar power. Fuel cell gas turbine hybrids will play an integral role in the complex and ever-changing solution to local electricity production.

Unstructured meshing and parameter estimation for urban dam-break flood modeling: building treatments and implications for accuracy and efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schubert, J. E.; Sanders, B. F.

2011-12-01

Urban landscapes are at the forefront of current research efforts in the field of flood inundation modeling for two major reasons. First, urban areas hold relatively large economic and social importance and as such it is imperative to avoid or minimize future damages. Secondly, urban flooding is becoming more frequent as a consequence of continued development of impervious surfaces, population growth in cities, climate change magnifying rainfall intensity, sea level rise threatening coastal communities, and decaying flood defense infrastructure. In reality urban landscapes are particularly challenging to model because they include a multitude of geometrically complex features. Advances in remote sensing technologies and geographical information systems (GIS) have promulgated fine resolution data layers that offer a site characterization suitable for urban inundation modeling including a description of preferential flow paths, drainage networks and surface dependent resistances to overland flow. Recent research has focused on two-dimensional modeling of overland flow including within-curb flows and over-curb flows across developed parcels. Studies have focused on mesh design and parameterization, and sub-grid models that promise improved performance relative to accuracy and/or computational efficiency. This presentation addresses how fine-resolution data, available in Los Angeles County, are used to parameterize, initialize and execute flood inundation models for the 1963 Baldwin Hills dam break. Several commonly used model parameterization strategies including building-resistance, building-block and building hole are compared with a novel sub-grid strategy based on building-porosity. Performance of the models is assessed based on the accuracy of depth and velocity predictions, execution time, and the time and expertise required for model set-up. The objective of this study is to assess field-scale applicability, and to obtain a better understanding of advantages and drawbacks of each method, and to recommend best practices for future studies. The Baldwin Hills dam-break flood is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, the flood caused high velocity, rapidly varied flow through a residential neighborhood and extensive damage to dozens residential structures. These conditions pose a challenge for many numerical models, the test is a rigorous one. Second, previous research has shown that flood extent predictions are sensitive to topographic data and stream flow predictions are sensitive to resistance parameters. Given that the representation of buildings affects the modeling of topography and resistance, a sensitivity to the representation of buildings is expected. Lastly, the site is supported by excellent geospatial data including validation datasets, and is made available through the Los Angeles County Imagery Acquisition Consortium (LAR-IAC), a joint effort of many public agencies in Los Angeles County to provide county-wide data. Hence, a broader aim of this study is to characterize the most useful aspects of the LAR-IAC data from a flood mapping perspective.

Hybrid graphene/geopolymeric cement as a superionic conductor for structural health monitoring applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saafi, M.; Piukovics, G.; Ye, J.

2016-10-01

In this paper, we demonstrate for the first time a novel hybrid superionic long gauge sensor for structural health monitoring applications. The sensor consists of two graphene electrodes and a superionic conductor film made entirely of fly ash geopolymeric material. The sensor employs ion hopping as a conduction mechanism for high precision temperature and tensile strain sensing in structures. The design, fabrication and characterization of the sensor are presented. The temperature and strain sensing mechanisms of the sensor are also discussed. The experimental results revealed that the crystal structure of the superionic film is a 3D sodium-poly(sialate-siloxo) framework, with a room temperature ionic conductivity between 1.54 × 10-2 and 1.72 × 10-2 S m-1 and, activation energy of 0.156 eV, which supports the notion that ion hopping is the main conduction mechanism for the sensor. The sensor showed high sensitivity to both temperature and tensile strain. The sensor exhibited temperature sensitivity as high as 21.5 kΩ °C-1 and tensile strain sensitivity (i.e., gauge factor) as high as 358. The proposed sensor is relatively inexpensive and can easily be manufactured with long gauges to measure temperature and bulk strains in structures. With further development and characterization, the sensor can be retrofitted onto existing structures such as bridges, buildings, pipelines and wind turbines to monitor their structural integrity.

DNP enhanced NMR with flip-back recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Björgvinsdóttir, Snædís; Walder, Brennan J.; Pinon, Arthur C.; Yarava, Jayasubba Reddy; Emsley, Lyndon

2018-03-01

DNP methods can provide significant sensitivity enhancements in magic angle spinning solid-state NMR, but in systems with long polarization build up times long recycling periods are required to optimize sensitivity. We show how the sensitivity of such experiments can be improved by the classic flip-back method to recover bulk proton magnetization following continuous wave proton heteronuclear decoupling. Experiments were performed on formulations with characteristic build-up times spanning two orders of magnitude: a bulk BDPA radical doped o-terphenyl glass and microcrystalline samples of theophylline, L-histidine monohydrochloride monohydrate, and salicylic acid impregnated by incipient wetness. For these systems, addition of flip-back is simple, improves the sensitivity beyond that provided by modern heteronuclear decoupling methods such as SPINAL-64, and provides optimal sensitivity at shorter recycle delays. We show how to acquire DNP enhanced 2D refocused CP-INADEQUATE spectra with flip-back recovery, and demonstrate that the flip-back recovery method is particularly useful in rapid recycling regimes. We also report Overhauser effect DNP enhancements of over 70 at 592.6 GHz/900 MHz.

Ethylene regulates Apple (Malus x domestica) fruit softening through a dose x time-dependent mechanism and through differential sensitivities and dependencies of cell wall-modifying genes.

PubMed

Ireland, Hilary S; Gunaseelan, Kularajathevan; Muddumage, Ratnasiri; Tacken, Emma J; Putterill, Jo; Johnston, Jason W; Schaffer, Robert J

2014-05-01

In fleshy fruit species that have a strong requirement for ethylene to ripen, ethylene is synthesized autocatalytically, producing increasing concentrations as the fruits ripen. Apple fruit with the ACC OXIDASE 1 (ACO1) gene suppressed cannot produce ethylene autocatalytically at ripening. Using these apple lines, an ethylene sensitivity dependency model was previously proposed, with traits such as softening showing a high dependency for ethylene as well as low sensitivity. In this study, it is shown that the molecular control of fruit softening is a complex process, with different cell wall-related genes being independently regulated and exhibiting differential sensitivities to and dependencies on ethylene at the transcriptional level. This regulation is controlled through a dose × time mechanism, which results in a temporal transcriptional response that would allow for progressive cell wall disassembly and thus softening. This research builds on the sensitivity dependency model and shows that ethylene-dependent traits can progress over time to the same degree with lower levels of ethylene. This suggests that a developmental clock measuring cumulative ethylene controls the fruit ripening process.

A review on nanomechanical resonators and their applications in sensors and molecular transportation

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

Arash, Behrouz; Rabczuk, Timon, E-mail: timon.rabczuk@uni-weimar.de; Jiang, Jin-Wu

2015-06-15

Nanotechnology has opened a new area in science and engineering, leading to the development of novel nano-electromechanical systems such as nanoresonators with ultra-high resonant frequencies. The ultra-high-frequency resonators facilitate wide-ranging applications such as ultra-high sensitive sensing, molecular transportation, molecular separation, high-frequency signal processing, and biological imaging. This paper reviews recent studies on dynamic characteristics of nanoresonators. A variety of theoretical approaches, i.e., continuum modeling, molecular simulations, and multiscale methods, in modeling of nanoresonators are reviewed. The potential application of nanoresonators in design of sensor devices and molecular transportation systems is introduced. The essence of nanoresonator sensors for detection of atomsmore » and molecules with vibration and wave propagation analyses is outlined. The sensitivity of the resonator sensors and their feasibility in detecting different atoms and molecules are particularly discussed. Furthermore, the applicability of molecular transportation using the propagation of mechanical waves in nanoresonators is presented. An extended application of the transportation methods for building nanofiltering systems with ultra-high selectivity is surveyed. The article aims to provide an up-to-date review on the mechanical properties and applications of nanoresonators, and inspire additional potential of the resonators.« less

Multi-pass transmission electron microscopy

DOE PAGES

Juffmann, Thomas; Koppell, Stewart A.; Klopfer, Brannon B.; ...

2017-05-10

Feynman once asked physicists to build better electron microscopes to be able to watch biology at work. While electron microscopes can now provide atomic resolution, electron beam induced specimen damage precludes high resolution imaging of sensitive materials, such as single proteins or polymers. Here, we use simulations to show that an electron microscope based on a multi-pass measurement protocol enables imaging of single proteins, without averaging structures over multiple images. While we demonstrate the method for particular imaging targets, the approach is broadly applicable and is expected to improve resolution and sensitivity for a range of electron microscopy imaging modalities,more » including, for example, scanning and spectroscopic techniques. The approach implements a quantum mechanically optimal strategy which under idealized conditions can be considered interaction-free.« less

Determining radiated sound power of building structures by means of laser Doppler vibrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roozen, N. B.; Labelle, L.; Rychtáriková, M.; Glorieux, C.

2015-06-01

This paper introduces a methodology that makes use of laser Doppler vibrometry to assess the acoustic insulation performance of a building element. The sound power radiated by the surface of the element is numerically determined from the vibrational pattern, offering an alternative for classical microphone measurements. Compared to the latter the proposed analysis is not sensitive to room acoustical effects. This allows the proposed methodology to be used at low frequencies, where the standardized microphone based approach suffers from a high uncertainty due to a low acoustic modal density. Standardized measurements as well as laser Doppler vibrometry measurements and computations have been performed on two test panels, a light-weight wall and a gypsum block wall and are compared and discussed in this paper. The proposed methodology offers an adequate solution for the assessment of the acoustic insulation of building elements at low frequencies. This is crucial in the framework of recent proposals of acoustic standards for measurement approaches and single number sound insulation performance ratings to take into account frequencies down to 50 Hz.

Nonlinear analyses and failure patterns of typical masonry school buildings in the epicentral zone of the 2016 Italian earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clementi, Cristhian; Clementi, Francesco; Lenci, Stefano

2017-11-01

The paper discusses the behavior of typical masonry school buildings in the center of Italy built at the end of 1950s without any seismic guidelines. These structures have faced the recent Italian earthquakes in 2016 without diffuse damages. Global numerical models of the building have been built and masonry material has been simulated as nonlinear. Sensitivity analyses are done to evaluate the reliability of the structural models.

Climate-driven endemic cholera is modulated by human mobility in a megacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez-Saez, Javier; King, Aaron A.; Rinaldo, Andrea; Yunus, Mohammad; Faruque, Abu S. G.; Pascual, Mercedes

2017-10-01

Although a differential sensitivity of cholera dynamics to climate variability has been reported in the spatially heterogeneous megacity of Dhaka, Bangladesh, the specific patterns of spread of the resulting risk within the city remain unclear. We build on an established probabilistic spatial model to investigate the importance and role of human mobility in modulating spatial cholera transmission. Mobility fluxes were inferred using a straightforward and generalizable methodology that relies on mapping population density based on a high resolution urban footprint product, and a parameter-free human mobility model. In accordance with previous findings, we highlight the higher sensitivity to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the highly populated urban center than in the more rural periphery. More significantly, our results show that cholera risk is largely transmitted from the climate-sensitive core to the periphery of the city, with implications for the planning of control efforts. In addition, including human mobility improves the outbreak prediction performance of the model with an 11 month lead. The interplay between climatic and human mobility factors in cholera transmission is discussed from the perspective of the rapid growth of megacities across the developing world.

3.8 Proposed approach to uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis in the next PA

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

Flach, Greg; Wohlwend, Jen

2017-10-02

This memorandum builds upon Section 3.8 of SRNL (2016) and Flach (2017) by defining key error analysis, uncertainty quantification, and sensitivity analysis concepts and terms, in preparation for the next E-Area Performance Assessment (WSRC 2008) revision.

Uncovering psychosocial needs: perspectives of Australian child and family health nurses in a sustained home visiting trial.

PubMed

Kardamanidis, Katina; Kemp, Lynn; Schmied, Virginia

2009-08-01

The first Australian trial of sustained nurse home visiting provided an opportunity to explore nurses' understanding of the situations that support mothers of infants to disclose personal and sensitive psychosocial information. Using a qualitative descriptive design, semi-structured interviews were conducted and transcripts were analysed drawing upon aspects of Smith's interpretative phenomenological analysis. Five themes pertaining to the experience of relationship building to foster disclosure of sensitive information emerged: (1) building trust is an ongoing process of giving and giving in return, (2) being 'actively passive' to develop trust, (3) the client is in control of the trust-relationship, (4) the association between disclosure of sensitive issues and a trust-relationship, and (5) empowerment over disclosure. This study provides a deeper understanding of how child and family health nurses develop relationships that lead women to entrust the nurse with personal, sensitive information, and may inform the practice of psychosocial needs assessment in other contexts.

Numerical Simulation of Dispersion from Urban Greenhouse Gas Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nottrott, Anders; Tan, Sze; He, Yonggang; Winkler, Renato

2017-04-01

Cities are characterized by complex topography, inhomogeneous turbulence, and variable pollutant source distributions. These features create a scale separation between local sources and urban scale emissions estimates known as the Grey-Zone. Modern computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques provide a quasi-deterministic, physically based toolset to bridge the scale separation gap between source level dynamics, local measurements, and urban scale emissions inventories. CFD has the capability to represent complex building topography and capture detailed 3D turbulence fields in the urban boundary layer. This presentation discusses the application of OpenFOAM to urban CFD simulations of natural gas leaks in cities. OpenFOAM is an open source software for advanced numerical simulation of engineering and environmental fluid flows. When combined with free or low cost computer aided drawing and GIS, OpenFOAM generates a detailed, 3D representation of urban wind fields. OpenFOAM was applied to model scalar emissions from various components of the natural gas distribution system, to study the impact of urban meteorology on mobile greenhouse gas measurements. The numerical experiments demonstrate that CH4 concentration profiles are highly sensitive to the relative location of emission sources and buildings. Sources separated by distances of 5-10 meters showed significant differences in vertical dispersion of plumes, due to building wake effects. The OpenFOAM flow fields were combined with an inverse, stochastic dispersion model to quantify and visualize the sensitivity of point sensors to upwind sources in various built environments. The Boussinesq approximation was applied to investigate the effects of canopy layer temperature gradients and convection on sensor footprints.

There's Something in the Air: Indoor Air Quality in Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, Edward A.

1994-01-01

Part 1 of this article, the first in a three-part series of articles that discuss indoor air quality (IAQ) issues affecting schools, provides a general overview of IAQ and discusses the three major health problems associated with IAQ: sick building syndrome, building-related illness, and multiple chemical sensitivity. (MLF)

Cosensitization of D-A-π-A quinoxaline organic dye: efficiently filling the absorption valley with high photovoltaic efficiency.

PubMed

Pei, Kai; Wu, Yongzhen; Li, Hui; Geng, Zhiyuan; Tian, He; Zhu, Wei-Hong

2015-03-11

In the efficient cosensitization, the pure organic sensitizers with high molecular extinction coefficients and long wavelength response are highly preferable since the dye loading amount for each dye in cosensitization is decreased with respect to single dye sensitization. A D-A-π-A featured quinoxaline organic sensitizer IQ21 is specifically designed. The high conjugation building block of 4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b:3,4-b']dithiophene (CPDT) is introduced as the π bridge, instead of the traditional thiophene unit, especially in realizing high molecular extinction coefficients (up to 66 600 M(-1) cm(-1)) and extending the light response wavelength. With respect to the reference dye IQ4, the slightly lower efficiency of IQ21 (9.03%) arises from the decrease of VOC, which offsets the gain in JSC. While cosensitized with a smaller D-π-A dye S2, the efficiency in IQ21 is further improved to 10.41% (JSC = 19.8 mA cm(-2), VOC = 731 mV, FF = 0.72). The large improvement in efficiency is attributed to the well-matched molecular structures and loading amounts of both dyes in the cosensitization system. We also demonstrated that coabsorbent dye S2 can distinctly compensate the inherent drawbacks of IQ21, not only enhancing the response intensity of IPCE, making up the absorption defects around low wavelength region of IPCE, but also repressing the charge recombination rate to some extent.

Distribution trend of high-rise buildings worldwide and factor exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Shao-Qiao

2017-08-01

This paper elaborates the development phenomenon of high-rise buildings nowadays. The development trend of super high-rise buildings worldwide is analyzed based on data from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, taking the top 100 high-rise buildings in different continents and with the time development and building type as the objects. Through analysis, the trend of flourishing of UAE super high-rise buildings and stable development of European and American high-rise buildings is obtained. The reasons for different development degrees of the regions are demonstrated from the aspects of social development, economy, culture and consciousness. This paper also presents unavoidable issues of super high-rise buildings and calls for rational treatment to these buildings.

Photonic crystal fiber sensing characteristics research based on alcohol asymmetry filling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Fu-quan; Luo, Yan; Li, Hai-tao; Peng, Bao-jin

2018-02-01

A new type of Sagnac fiber temperature sensor based on alcohol asymmetric filling photonic crystal fiber is proposed. First, the corrosion of photonic crystal fiber and the treatment of air hole collapse are carried out. Then, the asymmetric structure of photonic crystal fiber is filled with alcohol, and then the structure is connected to the Sagnac interference ring. When the temperature changes, the thermal expansion effect of filling alcohol will lead to the change of birefringence of photonic crystal fiber, so that the interference spectrum of the sensor will drift along with the change of temperature. The experimental results show that the interference red shift will occur with the increase of temperature, and the temperature sensitivity is 0.1864nm/ °C. The sensor has high sensitivity to temperature. At the same time, the structure has the advantages of high stability, anti electromagnetic interference and easy to build. It provides a new method for obtaining birefringence in ordinary photonic crystal fibers.

High-Performance Biomass-Based Flexible Solid-State Supercapacitor Constructed of Pressure-Sensitive Lignin-Based and Cellulose Hydrogels.

PubMed

Peng, Zhiyuan; Zou, Yubo; Xu, Shiqi; Zhong, Wenbin; Yang, Wantai

2018-06-19

Employing renewable, earth-abundant, environmentally friendly, low-cost natural materials to design flexible supercapacitors (FSCs) as energy storage devices in wearable/portable electronics represents the global perspective to build sustainable and green society. Chemically stable and flexible cellulose and electroactive lignin have been employed to construct a biomass-based FSC for the first time. The FSC was assembled using lignosulfonate/single-walled carbon nanotube HNO 3 (Lig/SWCNT HNO 3 ) pressure-sensitive hydrogels as electrodes and cellulose hydrogels as an electrolyte separator. The assembled biomass-based FSC shows high specific capacitance (292 F g -1 at a current density of 0.5 A g -1 ), excellent rate capability, and an outstanding energy density of 17.1 W h kg -1 at a power density of 324 W kg -1 . Remarkably, the FSC presents outstanding electrochemical stability even suffering 1000 bending cycles. Such excellent flexibility, stability, and electrochemical performance enable the designed biomass-based FSCs as prominent candidates in applications of wearable electronic devices.

Performance of the NOνA Data Acquisition and Trigger Systems for the full 14 kT Far Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norman, A.; Davies, G. S.; Ding, P. F.; Dukes, E. C.; Duyan, H.; Frank, M. J.; R. C. Group; Habig, A.; Henderson, W.; Niner, E.; Mina, R.; Moren, A.; Mualem, L.; Oksuzian, Y.; Rebel, B.; Shanahan, P.; Sheshukov, A.; Tamsett, M.; Tomsen, K.; Vinton, L.; Wang, Z.; Zamorano, B.; Zirnstien, J.

2015-12-01

The NOvA experiment uses a continuous, free-running, dead-timeless data acquisition system to collect data from the 14 kT far detector. The DAQ system readouts the more than 344,000 detector channels and assembles the information into an raw unfiltered high bandwidth data stream. The NOvA trigger systems operate in parallel to the readout and asynchronously to the primary DAQ readout/event building chain. The data driven triggering systems for NOvA are unique in that they examine long contiguous time windows of the high resolution readout data and enable the detector to be sensitive to a wide range of physics interactions from those with fast, nanosecond scale signals up to processes with long delayed coincidences between hits which occur at the tens of milliseconds time scale. The trigger system is able to achieve a true 100% live time for the detector, making it sensitive to both beam spill related and off-spill physics.

Ultra-Low-Power Smart Electronic Nose System Based on Three-Dimensional Tin Oxide Nanotube Arrays.

PubMed

Chen, Jiaqi; Chen, Zhuo; Boussaid, Farid; Zhang, Daquan; Pan, Xiaofang; Zhao, Huijuan; Bermak, Amine; Tsui, Chi-Ying; Wang, Xinran; Fan, Zhiyong

2018-06-04

In this work, we present a high-performance smart electronic nose (E-nose) system consisting of a multiplexed tin oxide (SnO 2 ) nanotube sensor array, read-out circuit, wireless data transmission unit, mobile phone receiver, and data processing application (App). Using the designed nanotube sensor device structure in conjunction with multiple electrode materials, high-sensitivity gas detection and discrimination have been achieved at room temperature, enabling a 1000 times reduction of the sensor's power consumption as compared to a conventional device using thin film SnO 2 . The experimental results demonstrate that the developed E-nose can identify indoor target gases using a simple vector-matching gas recognition algorithm. In addition, the fabricated E-nose has achieved state-of-the-art sensitivity for H 2 and benzene detection at room temperature with metal oxide sensors. Such a smart E-nose system can address the imperative needs for distributed environmental monitoring in smart homes, smart buildings, and smart cities.

Climate-sensitive urban design through Envi-Met simulation: case study in Kemayoran, Jakarta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusumastuty, K. D.; Poerbo, H. W.; Koerniawan, M. D.

2018-03-01

Indonesia as a tropical country which the character of its climate are hot and humid, the outdoor activity applications are often disrupted due to discomfort in thermal conditions. Massive construction of skyscrapers in urban areas are caused by the increase of human population leads to reduced green and infiltration areas that impact to environmental imbalances and triggering microclimate changes with rising air temperatures on the surface. The area that significantly experiences the rise of temperature in the Central Business District (CBD), which has need an analysis to create thermal comfort conditions to improve the ease of outdoor activities by an approach. This study aims to design the Kemayoran CBD through Climate Sensitive Urban Design especially in hot and humid tropical climate area and analyze thermal comfort level and optimal air conditioning in the outdoor area. This research used a quantitative method by generating the design using Climate Sensitive Urban Design principle through Envi-met 4.1 simulation program to find out the value of PMV, air temperature, wind speed and relative humidity conditions. The design area considers the configuration of buildings such as the distance between buildings, the average height, the orientation of the building, and the width of the road.

Origins of chemoreceptor curvature sorting in Escherichia coli

PubMed Central

Draper, Will; Liphardt, Jan

2017-01-01

Bacterial chemoreceptors organize into large clusters at the cell poles. Despite a wealth of structural and biochemical information on the system's components, it is not clear how chemoreceptor clusters are reliably targeted to the cell pole. Here, we quantify the curvature-dependent localization of chemoreceptors in live cells by artificially deforming growing cells of Escherichia coli in curved agar microchambers, and find that chemoreceptor cluster localization is highly sensitive to membrane curvature. Through analysis of multiple mutants, we conclude that curvature sensitivity is intrinsic to chemoreceptor trimers-of-dimers, and results from conformational entropy within the trimer-of-dimers geometry. We use the principles of the conformational entropy model to engineer curvature sensitivity into a series of multi-component synthetic protein complexes. When expressed in E. coli, the synthetic complexes form large polar clusters, and a complex with inverted geometry avoids the cell poles. This demonstrates the successful rational design of both polar and anti-polar clustering, and provides a synthetic platform on which to build new systems. PMID:28322223

A Crowdsourcing Framework for Medical Data Sets

PubMed Central

Ye, Cheng; Coco, Joseph; Epishova, Anna; Hajaj, Chen; Bogardus, Henry; Novak, Laurie; Denny, Joshua; Vorobeychik, Yevgeniy; Lasko, Thomas; Malin, Bradley; Fabbri, Daniel

2018-01-01

Crowdsourcing services like Amazon Mechanical Turk allow researchers to ask questions to crowds of workers and quickly receive high quality labeled responses. However, crowds drawn from the general public are not suitable for labeling sensitive and complex data sets, such as medical records, due to various concerns. Major challenges in building and deploying a crowdsourcing system for medical data include, but are not limited to: managing access rights to sensitive data and ensuring data privacy controls are enforced; identifying workers with the necessary expertise to analyze complex information; and efficiently retrieving relevant information in massive data sets. In this paper, we introduce a crowdsourcing framework to support the annotation of medical data sets. We further demonstrate a workflow for crowdsourcing clinical chart reviews including (1) the design and decomposition of research questions; (2) the architecture for storing and displaying sensitive data; and (3) the development of tools to support crowd workers in quickly analyzing information from complex data sets. PMID:29888085

EARTH, WIND AND FIRE: BUILDING METEOROLOGICALLY-SENSITIVE BIOGENIC AND WILDLAND FIRE EMISSION ESTIMATES FOR AIR QUALITY MODELS

EPA Science Inventory

Emission estimates are important for ensuring the accuracy of atmospheric chemical transport models. Estimates of biogenic and wildland fire emissions, because of their sensitivity to meteorological conditions, need to be carefully constructed and closely linked with a meteorolo...

Building energy modeling for green architecture and intelligent dashboard applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeBlois, Justin

Buildings are responsible for 40% of the carbon emissions in the United States. Energy efficiency in this sector is key to reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions. This work studied the passive technique called the roof solar chimney for reducing the cooling load in homes architecturally. Three models of the chimney were created: a zonal building energy model, computational fluid dynamics model, and numerical analytic model. The study estimated the error introduced to the building energy model (BEM) through key assumptions, and then used a sensitivity analysis to examine the impact on the model outputs. The conclusion was that the error in the building energy model is small enough to use it for building simulation reliably. Further studies simulated the roof solar chimney in a whole building, integrated into one side of the roof. Comparisons were made between high and low efficiency constructions, and three ventilation strategies. The results showed that in four US climates, the roof solar chimney results in significant cooling load energy savings of up to 90%. After developing this new method for the small scale representation of a passive architecture technique in BEM, the study expanded the scope to address a fundamental issue in modeling - the implementation of the uncertainty from and improvement of occupant behavior. This is believed to be one of the weakest links in both accurate modeling and proper, energy efficient building operation. A calibrated model of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation's LEED Gold, 3,400 m2 building was created. Then algorithms were developed for integration to the building's dashboard application that show the occupant the energy savings for a variety of behaviors in real time. An approach using neural networks to act on real-time building automation system data was found to be the most accurate and efficient way to predict the current energy savings for each scenario. A stochastic study examined the impact of the representation of unpredictable occupancy patterns on model results. Combined, these studies inform modelers and researchers on frameworks for simulating holistically designed architecture and improving the interaction between models and building occupants, in residential and commercial settings. v

77 FR 43084 - Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-23

... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act; Notification of... High- Performance Green Buildings, Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services Administration... download from the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Building Web site Library at-- http://www.gsa...

Simulation of probabilistic wind loads and building analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shah, Ashwin R.; Chamis, Christos C.

1991-01-01

Probabilistic wind loads likely to occur on a structure during its design life are predicted. Described here is a suitable multifactor interactive equation (MFIE) model and its use in the Composite Load Spectra (CLS) computer program to simulate the wind pressure cumulative distribution functions on four sides of a building. The simulated probabilistic wind pressure load was applied to a building frame, and cumulative distribution functions of sway displacements and reliability against overturning were obtained using NESSUS (Numerical Evaluation of Stochastic Structure Under Stress), a stochastic finite element computer code. The geometry of the building and the properties of building members were also considered as random in the NESSUS analysis. The uncertainties of wind pressure, building geometry, and member section property were qualified in terms of their respective sensitivities on the structural response.

Proceedings of Symposium on Analysis and Detection of Explosives (3rd) Held in Mannheim-Neuostheim (Germany, F.R.) on 10-13 July 1989

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-13

tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAOH) regenerant. Because of the cost of TBAOH, we recently procured an autoregenerant accessory (in essence , an ion exchange system...examples of each of the above), the Al Exfinder 150, Al Model 85 explosives detecting doorway (which was not used for searching bags) and the Jasmin ...The Jasmin Simtec Exdetex 2, (which is really designed for building search) proved to have a very high sensitivity and a very low false alarm rate but

Building an award-winning women's health ambulatory service and beyond.

PubMed

Allen, Lisa W; Maxwell, Susan; Greene, John F

2003-01-01

Many barriers exist for the provision of high-quality health care to inner-city minority women. The barriers include access to care, compliance problems, financial concerns, system navigation issues, as well as language barriers. This article describes the transition of the Women's Ambulatory Health Services at Hartford Hospital from a traditional clinic model to a culturally sensitive private practice model. The road to transition was paved by valuable input from staff as well as patients. The final product was a much more efficient, inviting model that catered to the needs of the community.

Ultrasensitive Wearable Soft Strain Sensors of Conductive, Self-healing, and Elastic Hydrogels with Synergistic "Soft and Hard" Hybrid Networks.

PubMed

Liu, Yan-Jun; Cao, Wen-Tao; Ma, Ming-Guo; Wan, Pengbo

2017-08-02

Robust, stretchable, and strain-sensitive hydrogels have recently attracted immense research interest because of their potential application in wearable strain sensors. The integration of the synergistic characteristics of decent mechanical properties, reliable self-healing capability, and high sensing sensitivity for fabricating conductive, elastic, self-healing, and strain-sensitive hydrogels is still a great challenge. Inspired by the mechanically excellent and self-healing biological soft tissues with hierarchical network structures, herein, functional network hydrogels are fabricated by the interconnection between a "soft" homogeneous polymer network and a "hard" dynamic ferric (Fe 3+ ) cross-linked cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs-Fe 3+ ) network. Under stress, the dynamic CNCs-Fe 3+ coordination bonds act as sacrificial bonds to efficiently dissipate energy, while the homogeneous polymer network leads to a smooth stress-transfer, which enables the hydrogels to achieve unusual mechanical properties, such as excellent mechanical strength, robust toughness, and stretchability, as well as good self-recovery property. The hydrogels demonstrate autonomously self-healing capability in only 5 min without the need of any stimuli or healing agents, ascribing to the reorganization of CNCs and Fe 3+ via ionic coordination. Furthermore, the resulted hydrogels display tunable electromechanical behavior with sensitive, stable, and repeatable variations in resistance upon mechanical deformations. Based on the tunable electromechanical behavior, the hydrogels can act as a wearable strain sensor to monitor finger joint motions, breathing, and even the slight blood pulse. This strategy of building synergistic "soft and hard" structures is successful to integrate the decent mechanical properties, reliable self-healing capability, and high sensing sensitivity together for assembling a high-performance, flexible, and wearable strain sensor.

Ruthenium-catalysed alkoxycarbonylation of alkenes with carbon dioxide.

PubMed

Wu, Lipeng; Liu, Qiang; Fleischer, Ivana; Jackstell, Ralf; Beller, Matthias

2014-01-01

Alkene carbonylations represent a major technology for the production of value-added bulk and fine chemicals. Nowadays, all industrial carbonylation processes make use of highly toxic and flammable carbon monoxide. Here we show the application of abundantly available carbon dioxide as C1 building block for the alkoxycarbonylations of industrially important olefins in the presence of a convenient and inexpensive ruthenium catalyst system. In our system, carbon dioxide works much better than the traditional combination of carbon monoxide and alcohols. The unprecedented in situ formation of carbon monoxide from carbon dioxide and alcohols permits an efficient synthesis of carboxylic acid esters, which can be used as detergents and polymer-building blocks. Notably, this transformation allows the catalytic formation of C-C bonds with carbon dioxide as C1 source and avoids the use of sensitive and/or expensive reducing agents (for example, Grignard reagents, diethylzinc or triethylaluminum).

Listening to the Third Voices of Pangasinan Students: Designing and Enacting Culturally Sensitive Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilder, Phillip

2015-01-01

This response builds upon Marie Paz Morales' "Influence of culture and language sensitive physics on science attitude achievement" by exploring how an expanded understanding of the ubiquitous nature of adolescent literacy practices and identities challenge traditional notions of "in school" and "out of school"…

Are Horses Like Zebras, or Vice Versa? Children's Sensitivity to the Asymmetries of Directional Comparisons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chestnut, Eleanor K.; Markman, Ellen M.

2016-01-01

Adults exhibit strong preferences when framing symmetrical relations. Adults prefer, for example, "A zebra is like a horse" to "A horse is like a zebra," and "The bicycle is near the building" to "The building is near the bicycle." This is because directional syntax requires more typical or prominent items…

A time-series study of sick building syndrome: chronic, biotoxin-associated illness from exposure to water-damaged buildings.

PubMed

Shoemaker, Ritchie C; House, Dennis E

2005-01-01

The human health risk for chronic illnesses involving multiple body systems following inhalation exposure to the indoor environments of water-damaged buildings (WDBs) has remained poorly characterized and the subject of intense controversy. The current study assessed the hypothesis that exposure to the indoor environments of WDBs with visible microbial colonization was associated with illness. The study used a cross-sectional design with assessments at five time points, and the interventions of cholestyramine (CSM) therapy, exposure avoidance following therapy, and reexposure to the buildings after illness resolution. The methodological approach included oral administration of questionnaires, medical examinations, laboratory analyses, pulmonary function testing, and measurements of visual function. Of the 21 study volunteers, 19 completed assessment at each of the five time points. Data at Time Point 1 indicated multiple symptoms involving at least four organ systems in all study participants, a restrictive respiratory condition in four participants, and abnormally low visual contrast sensitivity (VCS) in 18 participants. Serum leptin levels were abnormally high and alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) levels were abnormally low. Assessments at Time Point 2, following 2 weeks of CSM therapy, indicated a highly significant improvement in health status. Improvement was maintained at Time Point 3, which followed exposure avoidance without therapy. Reexposure to the WDBs resulted in illness reacquisition in all participants within 1 to 7 days. Following another round of CSM therapy, assessments at Time Point 5 indicated a highly significant improvement in health status. The group-mean number of symptoms decreased from 14.9+/-0.8 S.E.M. at Time Point 1 to 1.2+/-0.3 S.E.M., and the VCS deficit of approximately 50% at Time Point 1 was fully resolved. Leptin and MSH levels showed statistically significant improvement. The results indicated that CSM was an effective therapeutic agent, that VCS was a sensitive and specific indicator of neurologic function, and that illness involved systemic and hypothalamic processes. Although the results supported the general hypothesis that illness was associated with exposure to the WDBs, this conclusion was tempered by several study limitations. Exposure to specific agents was not demonstrated, study participants were not randomly selected, and double-blinding procedures were not used. Additional human and animal studies are needed to confirm this conclusion, investigate the role of complex mixtures of bacteria, fungi, mycotoxins, endotoxins, and antigens in illness causation, and characterize modes of action. Such data will improve the assessment of human health risk from chronic exposure to WDBs.

Building a Secure and Feature-rich Mobile Mapping Service App Using HTML5: Challenges and Best Practices

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

Karthik, Rajasekar; Patlolla, Dilip Reddy; Sorokine, Alexandre

Managing a wide variety of mobile devices across multiple mobile operating systems is a security challenge for any organization [1, 2]. With the wide adoption of mobile devices to access work-related apps, there is an increase in third-party apps that might either misuse or improperly handle user s personal or sensitive data [3]. HTML5 has been receiving wide attention for developing cross-platform mobile apps. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), by 2015, 80% of all mobile apps will be based in part or wholly upon HTML5 [4]. Though HTML5 provides a rich set of features for building an app, itmore » is a challenge for organizations to deploy and manage HTML5 apps on wide variety of devices while keeping security policies intact. In this paper, we will describe an upcoming secure mobile environment for HTML5 apps, called Sencha Space that addresses these issues and discuss how it will be used to design and build a secure and cross-platform mobile mapping service app. We will also describe how HTML5 and a new set of related technologies such as Geolocation API, WebGL, Open Layers 3, and Local Storage, can be used to provide a high end and high performance experience for users of the mapping service app.« less

Synthesis strategy: building a culturally sensitive mid-range theory of risk perception using literary, quantitative, and qualitative methods.

PubMed

Siaki, Leilani A; Loescher, Lois J; Trego, Lori L

2013-03-01

This article presents a discussion of development of a mid-range theory of risk perception. Unhealthy behaviours contribute to the development of health inequalities worldwide. The link between perceived risk and successful health behaviour change is inconclusive, particularly in vulnerable populations. This may be attributed to inattention to culture. The synthesis strategy of theory building guided the process using three methods: (1) a systematic review of literature published between 2000-2011 targeting perceived risk in vulnerable populations; (2) qualitative and (3) quantitative data from a study of Samoan Pacific Islanders at high risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Main concepts of this theory include risk attention, appraisal processes, cognition, and affect. Overarching these concepts is health-world view: cultural ways of knowing, beliefs, values, images, and ideas. This theory proposes the following: (1) risk attention varies based on knowledge of the health risk in the context of health-world views; (2) risk appraisals are influenced by affect, health-world views, cultural customs, and protocols that intersect with the health risk; (3) strength of cultural beliefs, values, and images (cultural identity) mediate risk attention and risk appraisal influencing the likelihood that persons will engage in health-promoting behaviours that may contradict cultural customs/protocols. Interventions guided by a culturally sensitive mid-range theory may improve behaviour-related health inequalities in vulnerable populations. The synthesis strategy is an intensive process for developing a culturally sensitive mid-range theory. Testing of the theory will ascertain its usefulness for reducing health inequalities in vulnerable groups. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Sibship size, sibling cognitive sensitivity, and children's receptive vocabulary.

PubMed

Prime, Heather; Pauker, Sharon; Plamondon, André; Perlman, Michal; Jenkins, Jennifer

2014-02-01

The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between sibship size and children's vocabulary as a function of quality of sibling interactions. It was hypothesized that coming from a larger sibship (ie, 3+ children) would be related to lower receptive vocabulary in children. However, we expected this association to be moderated by the level of cognitive sensitivity shown by children's next-in-age older siblings. Data on 385 children (mean age = 3.15 years) and their next-in-age older siblings (mean age = 5.57 years) were collected and included demographic questionnaires, direct testing of children's receptive vocabulary, and videos of mother-child and sibling interactions. Sibling dyads were taped engaging in a cooperative building task and tapes were coded for the amount of cognitive sensitivity the older sibling exhibited toward the younger sibling. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted and showed an interaction between sibship size and sibling cognitive sensitivity in the prediction of children's receptive vocabulary; children exposed to large sibships whose next-in-age older sibling exhibited higher levels of cognitive sensitivity were less likely to show low vocabulary skills when compared with those children exposed to large sibships whose siblings showed lower levels of cognitive sensitivity. Children who show sensitivity to the cognitive needs of their younger siblings provide a rich environment for language development. The negative impact of large sibships on language development is moderated by the presence of an older sibling who shows high cognitive sensitivity.

Visibly transparent polymer solar cells produced by solution processing.

PubMed

Chen, Chun-Chao; Dou, Letian; Zhu, Rui; Chung, Choong-Heui; Song, Tze-Bin; Zheng, Yue Bing; Hawks, Steve; Li, Gang; Weiss, Paul S; Yang, Yang

2012-08-28

Visibly transparent photovoltaic devices can open photovoltaic applications in many areas, such as building-integrated photovoltaics or integrated photovoltaic chargers for portable electronics. We demonstrate high-performance, visibly transparent polymer solar cells fabricated via solution processing. The photoactive layer of these visibly transparent polymer solar cells harvests solar energy from the near-infrared region while being less sensitive to visible photons. The top transparent electrode employs a highly transparent silver nanowire-metal oxide composite conducting film, which is coated through mild solution processes. With this combination, we have achieved 4% power-conversion efficiency for solution-processed and visibly transparent polymer solar cells. The optimized devices have a maximum transparency of 66% at 550 nm.

Mission Analysis for High Specific Impulse Deep Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, Robert B.; Polsgrove, Tara; Brady, Hugh J. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This paper describes trajectory calculations for high specific impulse engines. Specific impulses on the order of 10,000 to 100,000 sec are predicted in a variety of fusion powered propulsion systems. This paper and its companion paper seek to build on analyses in the literature to yield an analytical routine for determining time of flight and payload fraction to a predetermined destination. The companion paper will compare the results of this analysis to the trajectories determined by several trajectory codes. The major parameters that affect time of flight and payload fraction will be identified and their sensitivities quantified. A review of existing fusion propulsion concepts and their capabilities will also be tabulated.

Measurement of the cosmic ray e+ +e- spectrum from 20 GeV to 1 TeV with the Fermi Large Area Telescope.

PubMed

Abdo, A A; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; Atwood, W B; Axelsson, M; Baldini, L; Ballet, J; Barbiellini, G; Bastieri, D; Battelino, M; Baughman, B M; Bechtol, K; Bellazzini, R; Berenji, B; Blandford, R D; Bloom, E D; Bogaert, G; Bonamente, E; Borgland, A W; Bregeon, J; Brez, A; Brigida, M; Bruel, P; Burnett, T H; Caliandro, G A; Cameron, R A; Caraveo, P A; Carlson, P; Casandjian, J M; Cecchi, C; Charles, E; Chekhtman, A; Cheung, C C; Chiang, J; Ciprini, S; Claus, R; Cohen-Tanugi, J; Cominsky, L R; Conrad, J; Cutini, S; Dermer, C D; de Angelis, A; de Palma, F; Digel, S W; Di Bernardo, G; do Couto E Silva, E; Drell, P S; Dubois, R; Dumora, D; Edmonds, Y; Farnier, C; Favuzzi, C; Focke, W B; Frailis, M; Fukazawa, Y; Funk, S; Fusco, P; Gaggero, D; Gargano, F; Gasparrini, D; Gehrels, N; Germani, S; Giebels, B; Giglietto, N; Giordano, F; Glanzman, T; Godfrey, G; Grasso, D; Grenier, I A; Grondin, M-H; Grove, J E; Guillemot, L; Guiriec, S; Hanabata, Y; Harding, A K; Hartman, R C; Hayashida, M; Hays, E; Hughes, R E; Jóhannesson, G; Johnson, A S; Johnson, R P; Johnson, W N; Kamae, T; Katagiri, H; Kataoka, J; Kawai, N; Kerr, M; Knödlseder, J; Kocevski, D; Kuehn, F; Kuss, M; Lande, J; Latronico, L; Lemoine-Goumard, M; Longo, F; Loparco, F; Lott, B; Lovellette, M N; Lubrano, P; Madejski, G M; Makeev, A; Massai, M M; Mazziotta, M N; McConville, W; McEnery, J E; Meurer, C; Michelson, P F; Mitthumsiri, W; Mizuno, T; Moiseev, A A; Monte, C; Monzani, M E; Moretti, E; Morselli, A; Moskalenko, I V; Murgia, S; Nolan, P L; Norris, J P; Nuss, E; Ohsugi, T; Omodei, N; Orlando, E; Ormes, J F; Ozaki, M; Paneque, D; Panetta, J H; Parent, D; Pelassa, V; Pepe, M; Pesce-Rollins, M; Piron, F; Pohl, M; Porter, T A; Profumo, S; Rainò, S; Rando, R; Razzano, M; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Reposeur, T; Ritz, S; Rochester, L S; Rodriguez, A Y; Romani, R W; Roth, M; Ryde, F; Sadrozinski, H F-W; Sanchez, D; Sander, A; Saz Parkinson, P M; Scargle, J D; Schalk, T L; Sellerholm, A; Sgrò, C; Smith, D A; Smith, P D; Spandre, G; Spinelli, P; Starck, J-L; Stephens, T E; Strickman, M S; Strong, A W; Suson, D J; Tajima, H; Takahashi, H; Takahashi, T; Tanaka, T; Thayer, J B; Thayer, J G; Thompson, D J; Tibaldo, L; Tibolla, O; Torres, D F; Tosti, G; Tramacere, A; Uchiyama, Y; Usher, T L; Van Etten, A; Vasileiou, V; Vilchez, N; Vitale, V; Waite, A P; Wallace, E; Wang, P; Winer, B L; Wood, K S; Ylinen, T; Ziegler, M

2009-05-08

Designed as a high-sensitivity gamma-ray observatory, the Fermi Large Area Telescope is also an electron detector with a large acceptance exceeding 2 m;{2} sr at 300 GeV. Building on the gamma-ray analysis, we have developed an efficient electron detection strategy which provides sufficient background rejection for measurement of the steeply falling electron spectrum up to 1 TeV. Our high precision data show that the electron spectrum falls with energy as E-3.0 and does not exhibit prominent spectral features. Interpretations in terms of a conventional diffusive model as well as a potential local extra component are briefly discussed.

CA resist with high sensitivity and sub-100-nm resolution for advanced mask and device making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwong, Ranee W.; Huang, Wu-Song; Hartley, John G.; Moreau, Wayne M.; Robinson, Christopher F.; Angelopoulos, Marie; Magg, Christopher; Lawliss, Mark

2000-07-01

Recently, there is significant interest in using CA resists for electron beam (E-Beam) applications including mask making, direct write, and projection printing. CA resists provide superior lithographic performance in comparison to traditional non CA E-beam resists in particular high contrast, resolution, and sensitivity. However, most of the commercially available CA resists have the concern of airborne base contaminants and sensitivity to PAB and/or PEB temperatures. In this presentation, we will discuss a new improved ketal resist system referred to as KRS-XE which exhibits excellent lithography, is robust toward airborne base, compatible with 0.263 N TMAH aqueous developer and exhibits a large PAB/PEB latitude. With the combination of a high performance mask making E-beam exposure tool, high kV (75 kV) shaped beam system EL4+ and the KRS-XE resist, we have printed 75 nm lines/space features with excellent profile control at a dose of 13 (mu) C/cm2 at 75 kV. The shaped beam vector scan system used here provides an unique property in resolving small features in lithography and throughput. Overhead in EL4+ limits the systems ability to fully exploit the sensitivity of the new resist for throughput. The EL5 system, currently in the build phase, has sufficiently low overhead that it is projected to print a 4X, 16G, DRAM mask with OPC in under 3 hours with the CA resist. We will discuss the throughput advantages of the next generation EL5 system over the existing EL4+. In addition we will show the resolution of KRS-XE down to 70 nm using the PREVAIL projection printing system.

Hair-based sensors for micro-autonomous systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadeghi, Mahdi M.; Peterson, Rebecca L.; Najafi, Khalil

2012-06-01

We seek to harness microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technologies to build biomimetic devices for low-power, high-performance, robust sensors and actuators on micro-autonomous robot platforms. Hair is used abundantly in nature for a variety of functions including balance and inertial sensing, flow sensing and aerodynamic (air foil) control, tactile and touch sensing, insulation and temperature control, particle filtering, and gas/chemical sensing. Biological hairs, which are typically characterized by large surface/volume ratios and mechanical amplification of movement, can be distributed in large numbers over large areas providing unprecedented sensitivity, redundancy, and stability (robustness). Local neural transduction allows for space- and power-efficient signal processing. Moreover by varying the hair structure and transduction mechanism, the basic hair form can be used for a wide diversity of functions. In this paper, by exploiting a novel wafer-level, bubble-free liquid encapsulation technology, we make arrays of micro-hydraulic cells capable of electrostatic actuation and hydraulic amplification, which enables high force/high deflection actuation and extremely sensitive detection (sensing) at low power. By attachment of cilia (hair) to the micro-hydraulic cell, air flow sensors with excellent sensitivity (< few cm/s) and dynamic range (> 10 m/s) have been built. A second-generation design has significantly reduced the sensor response time while maintaining sensitivity of about 2 cm/s and dynamic range of more than 15 m/s. These sensors can be used for dynamic flight control of flying robots or for situational awareness in surveillance applications. The core biomimetic technologies developed are applicable to a broad range of sensors and actuators.

77 FR 2296 - Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; the Green Building Advisory Committee...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-17

... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; the Green Building Advisory Committee; Notification of Upcoming... teleconference meetings of the Green Building Advisory Committee (the Committee). The teleconference meetings are... Federal High Performance Green Buildings, Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services Administration...

Scalar Fluxes Near a Tall Building in an Aligned Array of Rectangular Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuka, Vladimír; Xie, Zheng-Tong; Castro, Ian P.; Hayden, Paul; Carpentieri, Matteo; Robins, Alan G.

2018-04-01

Scalar dispersion from ground-level sources in arrays of buildings is investigated using wind-tunnel measurements and large-eddy simulation (LES). An array of uniform-height buildings of equal dimensions and an array with an additional single tall building (wind tunnel) or a periodically repeated tall building (LES) are considered. The buildings in the array are aligned and form long streets. The sensitivity of the dispersion pattern to small changes in wind direction is demonstrated. Vertical scalar fluxes are decomposed into the advective and turbulent parts and the influences of wind direction and of the presence of the tall building on the scalar flux components are evaluated. In the uniform-height array turbulent scalar fluxes are dominant, whereas the tall building produces an increase of the magnitude of advective scalar fluxes that yields the largest component. The presence of the tall building causes either an increase or a decrease to the total vertical scalar flux depending on the position of the source with respect to the tall building. The results of the simulations can be used to develop parametrizations for street-canyon dispersion models and enhance their capabilities in areas with tall buildings.

HodDB: Design and Analysis of a Query Processor for Brick.

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

Fierro, Gabriel; Culler, David

Brick is a recently proposed metadata schema and ontology for describing building components and the relationships between them. It represents buildings as directed labeled graphs using the RDF data model. Using the SPARQL query language, building-agnostic applications query a Brick graph to discover the set of resources and relationships they require to operate. Latency-sensitive applications, such as user interfaces, demand response and modelpredictive control, require fast queries — conventionally less than 100ms. We benchmark a set of popular open-source and commercial SPARQL databases against three real Brick models using seven application queries and find that none of them meet thismore » performance target. This lack of performance can be attributed to design decisions that optimize for queries over large graphs consisting of billions of triples, but give poor spatial locality and join performance on the small dense graphs typical of Brick. We present the design and evaluation of HodDB, a RDF/SPARQL database for Brick built over a node-based index structure. HodDB performs Brick queries 3-700x faster than leading SPARQL databases and consistently meets the 100ms threshold, enabling the portability of important latency-sensitive building applications.« less

The Effects of the Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) System on Sensitivity in Mother-Infant Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nugent, J. Kevin; Bartlett, Jessica Dym; Von Ende, Adam; Valim, Clarissa

2017-01-01

The Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) system is a neurobehavioral observation tool designed to sensitize parents to infants' capacities and individuality and to enhance the parent-infant relationship by strengthening parents' confidence and practical skills in caring for their children. The NBO's focus on relationship building is intended for…

77 FR 24494 - Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-24

... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee; Notification of Upcoming... agenda for the May 9, 2012, meeting of the Green Building Advisory Committee Meeting (the Committee). The... Sandler, Designated Federal Officer, Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, Office of...

76 FR 35894 - Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Establishment of the Green Building Advisory...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-20

... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Establishment of the Green Building Advisory Committee AGENCY... announces the establishment of the Green Building Advisory Committee (the Committee), pursuant to Section... strategic plans, products and activities of the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings and...

Patient safety and systematic reviews: finding papers indexed in MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL.

PubMed

Tanon, A A; Champagne, F; Contandriopoulos, A-P; Pomey, M-P; Vadeboncoeur, A; Nguyen, H

2010-10-01

To develop search strategies for identifying papers on patient safety in MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL. Six journals were electronically searched for papers on patient safety published between 2000 and 2006. Identified papers were divided into two gold standards: one to build and the other to validate the search strategies. Candidate terms for strategy construction were identified using a word frequency analysis of titles, abstracts and keywords used to index the papers in the databases. Searches were run for each one of the selected terms independently in every database. Sensitivity, precision and specificity were calculated for each candidate term. Terms with sensitivity greater than 10% were combined to form the final strategies. The search strategies developed were run against the validation gold standard to assess their performance. A final step in the validation process was to compare the performance of each strategy to those of other strategies found in the literature. We developed strategies for all three databases that were highly sensitive (range 95%-100%), precise (range 40%-60%) and balanced (the product of sensitivity and precision being in the range of 30%-40%). The strategies were very specific and outperformed those found in the literature. The strategies we developed can meet the needs of users aiming to maximise either sensitivity or precision, or seeking a reasonable compromise between sensitivity and precision, when searching for papers on patient safety in MEDLINE, EMBASE or CINAHL.

Prediction of high incidence of dengue in the Philippines.

PubMed

Buczak, Anna L; Baugher, Benjamin; Babin, Steven M; Ramac-Thomas, Liane C; Guven, Erhan; Elbert, Yevgeniy; Koshute, Phillip T; Velasco, John Mark S; Roque, Vito G; Tayag, Enrique A; Yoon, In-Kyu; Lewis, Sheri H

2014-04-01

Accurate prediction of dengue incidence levels weeks in advance of an outbreak may reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this neglected disease. Therefore, models were developed to predict high and low dengue incidence in order to provide timely forewarnings in the Philippines. Model inputs were chosen based on studies indicating variables that may impact dengue incidence. The method first uses Fuzzy Association Rule Mining techniques to extract association rules from these historical epidemiological, environmental, and socio-economic data, as well as climate data indicating future weather patterns. Selection criteria were used to choose a subset of these rules for a classifier, thereby generating a Prediction Model. The models predicted high or low incidence of dengue in a Philippines province four weeks in advance. The threshold between high and low was determined relative to historical incidence data. Model accuracy is described by Positive Predictive Value (PPV), Negative Predictive Value (NPV), Sensitivity, and Specificity computed on test data not previously used to develop the model. Selecting a model using the F0.5 measure, which gives PPV more importance than Sensitivity, gave these results: PPV = 0.780, NPV = 0.938, Sensitivity = 0.547, Specificity = 0.978. Using the F3 measure, which gives Sensitivity more importance than PPV, the selected model had PPV = 0.778, NPV = 0.948, Sensitivity = 0.627, Specificity = 0.974. The decision as to which model has greater utility depends on how the predictions will be used in a particular situation. This method builds prediction models for future dengue incidence in the Philippines and is capable of being modified for use in different situations; for diseases other than dengue; and for regions beyond the Philippines. The Philippines dengue prediction models predicted high or low incidence of dengue four weeks in advance of an outbreak with high accuracy, as measured by PPV, NPV, Sensitivity, and Specificity.

Prediction of High Incidence of Dengue in the Philippines

PubMed Central

Buczak, Anna L.; Baugher, Benjamin; Babin, Steven M.; Ramac-Thomas, Liane C.; Guven, Erhan; Elbert, Yevgeniy; Koshute, Phillip T.; Velasco, John Mark S.; Roque, Vito G.; Tayag, Enrique A.; Yoon, In-Kyu; Lewis, Sheri H.

2014-01-01

Background Accurate prediction of dengue incidence levels weeks in advance of an outbreak may reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this neglected disease. Therefore, models were developed to predict high and low dengue incidence in order to provide timely forewarnings in the Philippines. Methods Model inputs were chosen based on studies indicating variables that may impact dengue incidence. The method first uses Fuzzy Association Rule Mining techniques to extract association rules from these historical epidemiological, environmental, and socio-economic data, as well as climate data indicating future weather patterns. Selection criteria were used to choose a subset of these rules for a classifier, thereby generating a Prediction Model. The models predicted high or low incidence of dengue in a Philippines province four weeks in advance. The threshold between high and low was determined relative to historical incidence data. Principal Findings Model accuracy is described by Positive Predictive Value (PPV), Negative Predictive Value (NPV), Sensitivity, and Specificity computed on test data not previously used to develop the model. Selecting a model using the F0.5 measure, which gives PPV more importance than Sensitivity, gave these results: PPV = 0.780, NPV = 0.938, Sensitivity = 0.547, Specificity = 0.978. Using the F3 measure, which gives Sensitivity more importance than PPV, the selected model had PPV = 0.778, NPV = 0.948, Sensitivity = 0.627, Specificity = 0.974. The decision as to which model has greater utility depends on how the predictions will be used in a particular situation. Conclusions This method builds prediction models for future dengue incidence in the Philippines and is capable of being modified for use in different situations; for diseases other than dengue; and for regions beyond the Philippines. The Philippines dengue prediction models predicted high or low incidence of dengue four weeks in advance of an outbreak with high accuracy, as measured by PPV, NPV, Sensitivity, and Specificity. PMID:24722434

Studies of Avalanche Photodiodes (APDS) as Readout Devices for Scintillating Fibers for High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vasile, Stefan; Shera, Suzanne; Shamo, Denis

1998-01-01

New gamma ray and charged particle telescope designs based on scintillating fiber arrays could provide low cost, high resolution, lightweight, very large area and multi radiation length instrumentation for planned NASA space exploration. The scintillating fibers low visible light output requires readout sensors with single photon detection sensitivity and low noise. The sensitivity of silicon Avalanche Photodiodes (APDS) matches well the spectral output of the scintillating fibers. Moreover, APDs have demonstrated single photon capability. The global aim of our work is to make available to NASA a novel optical detector concept to be used as scintillating fiber readouts and meeting the requirements of the new generations of space-borne gamma ray telescopes. We proposed to evaluate the feasibility of using RMD's small area APDs ((mu)APD) as scintillating fiber readouts and to study possible alternative (mu)APD array configurations for space borne readout scintillating fiber systems, requiring several hundred thousand to one million channels. The evaluation has been conducted in accordance with the task description and technical specifications detailed in the NASA solicitation "Studies of Avalanche Photodiodes (APD as readout devices for scintillating fibers for High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy Telescopes" (#8-W-7-ES-13672NAIS) posted on October 23, 1997. The feasibility study we propose builds on recent developments of silicon APD arrays and light concentrators advances at RMD, Inc. and on more than 5 years of expertise in scintillating fiber detectors. In a previous program we carried out the initial research to develop a high resolution, small pixel, solid-state, silicon APD array which exhibited very high sensitivity in the UV-VIS spectrum. This (mu)APD array is operated in Geiger mode and results in high gain (greater than 10(exp 8)), extremely low noise, single photon detection capability, low quiescent power (less than 10 (mu)W/pixel for 30 micrometers sensitive area diameter) and output in the 1-5 volt range. If successful, this feasibility study will make possible the development of a scintillating fiber detector with unsurpassed sensitivity, extremely low power usage, a crucial factor of merit for space based sensors and telescopes.

A novel duplex real time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for rubella virus with armored RNA as a noncompetitive internal positive control.

PubMed

Zhao, Lihong; Li, Ruiying; Liu, Aihua; Zhao, Shuping

2015-07-01

The objective of this study was to build and apply a duplex real time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for rubella virus. Firstly, a 60-bp-long armored RV RNA was constructed in the laboratory. Secondly, a duplex real time RT-PCR assay was established. Thirdly, the 60-bp-long armored RV RNA was used as an internal positive control (IPC) for the duplex real time RT-PCR. And finally the duplex real time RT-PCR assay was applied to detect RV RNA in clinical specimens. The in-house assay has a high amplification efficiency (0.99), a high analytical sensitivity (200 copies/mL), and a good reproducibility. The diagnostic specificity and sensitivity of the in-house assay were both 100%, due to the monitoring of the armored RV RNA IPC. Therefore, the in-house duplex real time quantitative RT-PCR assay is a specific, sensitive, reproducible and accurate assay for quantitation of RV RNA in clinical specimens. And noncompetitive armored RV RNA IPC can monitor RT-PCR inhibition and prevent false-negative and inaccurate results in the real time detection system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Energy Efficiency Potential in the U.S. Single-Family Housing Stock

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

Wilson, Eric J.; Christensen, Craig B.; Horowitz, Scott G.

Typical approaches for assessing energy efficiency potential in buildings use a limited number of prototypes, and therefore suffer from inadequate resolution when pass-fail cost-effectiveness tests are applied, which can significantly underestimate or overestimate the economic potential of energy efficiency technologies. This analysis applies a new approach to large-scale residential energy analysis, combining the use of large public and private data sources, statistical sampling, detailed building simulations, and high-performance computing to achieve unprecedented granularity - and therefore accuracy - in modeling the diversity of the single-family housing stock. The result is a comprehensive set of maps, tables, and figures showing themore » technical and economic potential of 50 plus residential energy efficiency upgrades and packages for each state. Policymakers, program designers, and manufacturers can use these results to identify upgrades with the highest potential for cost-effective savings in a particular state or region, as well as help identify customer segments for targeted marketing and deployment. The primary finding of this analysis is that there is significant technical and economic potential to save electricity and on-site fuel use in the single-family housing stock. However, the economic potential is very sensitive to the cost-effectiveness criteria used for analysis. Additionally, the savings of particular energy efficiency upgrades is situation-specific within the housing stock (depending on climate, building vintage, heating fuel type, building physical characteristics, etc.).« less

Effect of urban design on microclimate and thermal comfort outdoors in warm-humid Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yahia, Moohammed Wasim; Johansson, Erik; Thorsson, Sofia; Lindberg, Fredrik; Rasmussen, Maria Isabel

2018-03-01

Due to the complexity of built environment, urban design patterns considerably affect the microclimate and outdoor thermal comfort in a given urban morphology. Variables such as building heights and orientations, spaces between buildings, plot coverage alter solar access, wind speed and direction at street level. To improve microclimate and comfort conditions urban design elements including vegetation and shading devices can be used. In warm-humid Dar es Salaam, the climate consideration in urban design has received little attention although the urban planning authorities try to develop the quality of planning and design. The main aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between urban design, urban microclimate, and outdoor comfort in four built-up areas with different morphologies including low-, medium-, and high-rise buildings. The study mainly concentrates on the warm season but a comparison with the thermal comfort conditions in the cool season is made for one of the areas. Air temperature, wind speed, mean radiant temperature (MRT), and the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) are simulated using ENVI-met to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the existing urban design. An analysis of the distribution of MRT in the areas showed that the area with low-rise buildings had the highest frequency of high MRTs and the lowest frequency of low MRTs. The study illustrates that areas with low-rise buildings lead to more stressful urban spaces than areas with high-rise buildings. It is also shown that the use of dense trees helps to enhance the thermal comfort conditions, i.e., reduce heat stress. However, vegetation might negatively affect the wind ventilation. Nevertheless, a sensitivity analysis shows that the provision of shade is a more efficient way to reduce PET than increases in wind speed, given the prevailing sun and wind conditions in Dar es Salaam. To mitigate heat stress in Dar es Salaam, a set of recommendations and guidelines on how to develop the existing situation from microclimate and thermal comfort perspectives is outlined. Such recommendations will help architects and urban designers to increase the quality of the outdoor environment and demonstrate the need to create better urban spaces in harmony with microclimate and thermal comfort.

Effect of urban design on microclimate and thermal comfort outdoors in warm-humid Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

PubMed

Yahia, Moohammed Wasim; Johansson, Erik; Thorsson, Sofia; Lindberg, Fredrik; Rasmussen, Maria Isabel

2018-03-01

Due to the complexity of built environment, urban design patterns considerably affect the microclimate and outdoor thermal comfort in a given urban morphology. Variables such as building heights and orientations, spaces between buildings, plot coverage alter solar access, wind speed and direction at street level. To improve microclimate and comfort conditions urban design elements including vegetation and shading devices can be used. In warm-humid Dar es Salaam, the climate consideration in urban design has received little attention although the urban planning authorities try to develop the quality of planning and design. The main aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between urban design, urban microclimate, and outdoor comfort in four built-up areas with different morphologies including low-, medium-, and high-rise buildings. The study mainly concentrates on the warm season but a comparison with the thermal comfort conditions in the cool season is made for one of the areas. Air temperature, wind speed, mean radiant temperature (MRT), and the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) are simulated using ENVI-met to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the existing urban design. An analysis of the distribution of MRT in the areas showed that the area with low-rise buildings had the highest frequency of high MRTs and the lowest frequency of low MRTs. The study illustrates that areas with low-rise buildings lead to more stressful urban spaces than areas with high-rise buildings. It is also shown that the use of dense trees helps to enhance the thermal comfort conditions, i.e., reduce heat stress. However, vegetation might negatively affect the wind ventilation. Nevertheless, a sensitivity analysis shows that the provision of shade is a more efficient way to reduce PET than increases in wind speed, given the prevailing sun and wind conditions in Dar es Salaam. To mitigate heat stress in Dar es Salaam, a set of recommendations and guidelines on how to develop the existing situation from microclimate and thermal comfort perspectives is outlined. Such recommendations will help architects and urban designers to increase the quality of the outdoor environment and demonstrate the need to create better urban spaces in harmony with microclimate and thermal comfort.

Earthquake vulnerability assessment of buildings of ward no. 8 of Haldwani-Kathgodam Municipal Corporation, Uttarakhand, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bora, Kritika; Pande, Ravindra K.

2017-07-01

"Earthquake does not kill people; it is the building which kills people". Earthquake is a sudden event below the surface of the earth which results in vertical and horizontal waves that causes destruction. The main aim of this research is to bring into light the unplanned and non-engineered construction practices growing in the Urban areas. Lack of space and continuous migration from hills has resulted in Multistorey construction. The present study is based on primary data collection through Rapid Visual Screening for the assessment of vulnerability of buildings. "Haldwani-Kathgodam being a new Municipal Corporation located in the foot hills of Himalayas is facing same problem. The seismic zonation brings this area into zone 4 of damage risk. Therefore an assessment to estimate the risk of the built up environment is important. This paper presents a systematic and useful way of assessing physical vulnerability of buildings. The present paper will show how the growing pressure on urban area tends to make the built up environment vulnerable towards seismic activities. The challenge today is to make our living environment safe for living. The day by day growing population pressure on urban area as a migration trend in developing countries is leading to high rise building, no planning and reckless construction. For the sake of saving some money people usually do not take the approval from structural engineer. This unplanned and haphazard construction proves non-resistant towards earthquake and brings lives and properties to death and a stand still. The total no. of household in the current study area is 543 whereas the total population is 2497 (2011). The recent formation of Himalayas makes the area more sensitive towards seismic event. The closeness to the Main Boundary thrust brings it to zone 4 in the Seismic Zonation of India i.e., High Damage Risk Zone

Ultrafine and Fine Particulate Matter Inside and Outside of Mechanically Ventilated Buildings.

PubMed

Miller, Shelly L; Facciola, Nick A; Toohey, Darin; Zhai, John

2017-01-28

The objectives of this study were to measure levels of particulate matter (PM) in mechanically ventilated buildings and to improve understanding of filtration requirements to reduce exposure. With the use of an Ultra High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer and an Aerodyne Mass Spectrometer, ultrafine (0.055-0.1 μm) and fine (0.1-0.7 μm) indoor and outdoor PM was measured as a function of time in an office, a university building, and two elementary schools. Indoor particle levels were highly correlated with outdoor levels. Indoor and outdoor number concentrations in Denver were higher than those in Boulder, with the highest number concentrations occurring during summer and fall. The ratio of indoor-to-outdoor (I/O) PM was weakly but positively correlated with the amount of ventilation provided to the indoor environment, did not vary much with particle size (ranged between 0.48 and 0.63 for the entire size range), and was similar for each period of the week (weekend vs. weekday, night vs. day). Regression analyses showed that ultrafine indoor PM baseline concentrations were higher at night from nighttime infiltration. A lag time was observed between outdoor and indoor measurements. Weekday days had the shortest lag time of 11 min, and weekend nighttime lags when the HVAC was not in use were 50 to 148 min. Indoor-outdoor PM concentration plots showed ultrafine PM was more correlated compared to fine, and especially when the HVAC system was on. Finally, AMS data showed that most of the PM was organic, with occasional nitrate events occurring outdoors. During nitrate events, there were less indoor particles detected, indicating a loss of particulate phase nitrate. The results from this study show that improved filtration is warranted in mechanically ventilated buildings, particularly for ultrafine particles, and that nighttime infiltration is significant depending on the building design.

Ultrafine and Fine Particulate Matter Inside and Outside of Mechanically Ventilated Buildings

PubMed Central

Miller, Shelly L.; Facciola, Nick A.; Toohey, Darin; Zhai, John

2017-01-01

The objectives of this study were to measure levels of particulate matter (PM) in mechanically ventilated buildings and to improve understanding of filtration requirements to reduce exposure. With the use of an Ultra High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer and an Aerodyne Mass Spectrometer, ultrafine (0.055–0.1 μm) and fine (0.1–0.7 μm) indoor and outdoor PM was measured as a function of time in an office, a university building, and two elementary schools. Indoor particle levels were highly correlated with outdoor levels. Indoor and outdoor number concentrations in Denver were higher than those in Boulder, with the highest number concentrations occurring during summer and fall. The ratio of indoor-to-outdoor (I/O) PM was weakly but positively correlated with the amount of ventilation provided to the indoor environment, did not vary much with particle size (ranged between 0.48 and 0.63 for the entire size range), and was similar for each period of the week (weekend vs. weekday, night vs. day). Regression analyses showed that ultrafine indoor PM baseline concentrations were higher at night from nighttime infiltration. A lag time was observed between outdoor and indoor measurements. Weekday days had the shortest lag time of 11 min, and weekend nighttime lags when the HVAC was not in use were 50 to 148 min. Indoor-outdoor PM concentration plots showed ultrafine PM was more correlated compared to fine, and especially when the HVAC system was on. Finally, AMS data showed that most of the PM was organic, with occasional nitrate events occurring outdoors. During nitrate events, there were less indoor particles detected, indicating a loss of particulate phase nitrate. The results from this study show that improved filtration is warranted in mechanically ventilated buildings, particularly for ultrafine particles, and that nighttime infiltration is significant depending on the building design. PMID:28134841

Field-scale modeling of acidity production and remediation efficiency during in situ reductive dechlorination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brovelli, A.; Robinson, C. E.; Barry, D. A.; Gerhard, J.

2009-12-01

Enhanced reductive dechlorination is a viable technology for in situ remediation of chlorinated solvent DNAPL source areas. Although in recent years increased understanding of this technology has led to more rapid dechlorination rates, complete dechlorination can be hindered by unfavorable conditions. Hydrochloric acid produced from dechlorination and organic acids generated from electron donor fermentation can lead to significant groundwater acidification. Adverse pH conditions can inhibit the activity of dehalogenating microorganisms and thus slow or stall the remediation process. The extent of acidification likely to occur at a contaminated site depends on a number of factors including (1) the extent of dechlorination, (2) the pH-sensitivity of dechlorinating bacteria, and (3) the geochemical composition of the soil and water, in particular the soil’s natural buffering capacity. The substantial mass of solvents available for dechlorination when treating DNAPL source zones means that these applications are particularly susceptible to acidification. In this study a reactive transport biogeochemical model was developed to investigate the chemical and physical parameters that control the build-up of acidity and subsequent remediation efficiency. The model accounts for the site water chemistry, mineral precipitation and dissolution kinetics, electron donor fermentation, gas phase formation, competing electron-accepting processes (e.g., sulfate and iron reduction) and the sensitivity of microbial processes to pH. Confidence in the model was achieved by simulating a well-documented field study, for which the 2-D field scale model was able to reproduce long-term variations of pH, and the concurrent build up of reaction products. Sensitivity analyses indicated the groundwater flow velocity is able to reduce acidity build-up when the rate of advection is comparable or larger than the rate of dechlorination. The extent of pH change is highly dependent on the presence of calcite in soil, the availability of competing electron acceptors (in particular dissolved sulfates) and the efficiency with which microbes utilize electron donor. This work is part of SABRE (Source Area BioREmediation), a collaborative international research project that aimed to evaluate and improve enhanced bioremediation of chlorinated solvent source zones.

Transparent, flexible, and stretchable WS2 based humidity sensors for electronic skin.

PubMed

Guo, Huayang; Lan, Changyong; Zhou, Zhifei; Sun, Peihua; Wei, Dapeng; Li, Chun

2017-05-18

Skin-mountable chemical sensors using flexible chemically sensitive nanomaterials are of great interest for electronic skin (e-skin) application. To build these sensors, the emerging atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) layered semiconductors could be a good material candidate. Herein, we show that a large-area WS 2 film synthesized by sulfurization of a tungsten film exhibits high humidity sensing performance both in natural flat and high mechanical flexible states (bending curvature down to 5 mm). The conductivity of as-synthesized WS 2 increases sensitively over a wide relative humidity range (up to 90%) with fast response and recovery times in a few seconds. By using graphene as electrodes and thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as substrate, a transparent, flexible, and stretchable humidity sensor was fabricated. This senor can be well laminated onto skin and shows stable water moisture sensing behaviors in the undeformed relaxed state as well as under compressive and tensile loadings. Furthermore, its high sensing performance enables real-time monitoring of human breath, indicating a potential mask-free breath monitoring for healthcare application. We believe that such a skin-activity compatible WS 2 humidity sensor may shed light on developing low power consumption wearable chemical sensors based on 2D semiconductors.

Development of 0.5-5 W, 10K Reverse Brayton Cycle Cryocoolers - Phase II Final Report

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

Doty, F. D.; Boman, A.; Arnold, S.

2001-10-15

Miniature cryocoolers for the 8-30 K range are needed to provide 0.5-5 w of cooling to high sensitivity detectors (for long-wave-length IR, magnetism, mm-wave, X-ray, dark matter, and possibly y-ray detection) while maintaining low mass, ultra-low vibration, and good efficiency. This project presents a new approach to eliminating the problems normally encountered in efforts to build low-vibration, fieldable, miniature cryocoolers. Using the reverse Brayton Cycle (RBC), the approach applies and expands on existing spinner technology previously used only in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) probes.

How gas cools (or, apples can fall up)

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

Not Available

1987-01-01

This primer on gas cooling systems explains the basics of heat exchange within a refrigeration system, the principle of reverse-cycle refrigeration, and how a gas-engine-driven heat pump can provide cooling, additional winter heating capacity, and hot water year-round. Gas cooling equipment available or under development include natural gas chillers, engine-driven chillers, and absorption chillers. In cogeneration systems, heat recovered from an engine's exhaust and coolant may be used in an absorption chiller to provide air-conditioning. Gas desiccant cooling systems may be used in buildings and businesses that are sensitive to high humidity levels.

IPM Standards for Schools: A Program for Reducing Pest and Pesticide Risks in Schools and Other Sensitive Environments. Version 2.0.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Thomas A., Ed.

This guide presents Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practice standards for educational facilities to help schools become certified in providing effective and safe pest control. The guide is divided into two parts with three modules each for both buildings and grounds. The first module addresses building the IPM foundation to meet all legal…

What Drives Parents? A Case Sensitive Inquiry into Parents' Mode Preferences for the Journey to School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuniga, Kelly Draper

2010-01-01

This dissertation uses a case-sensitive approach to examine an active travel intervention's diverse target population. It builds on a series of travel choice models, and draws key conceptual themes from Chapin's (1974) human activity model, which highlights opportunity-related and propensity-related factors associated with behaviors. The research…

High Resolution PET with 250 micrometer LSO Detectors and Adaptive Zoom

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

Cherry, Simon R.; Qi, Jinyi

2012-01-08

There have been impressive improvements in the performance of small-animal positron emission tomography (PET) systems since their first development in the mid 1990s, both in terms of spatial resolution and sensitivity, which have directly contributed to the increasing adoption of this technology for a wide range of biomedical applications. Nonetheless, current systems still are largely dominated by the size of the scintillator elements used in the detector. Our research predicts that developing scintillator arrays with an element size of 250 {micro}m or smaller will lead to an image resolution of 500 {micro}m when using 18F- or 64Cu-labeled radiotracers, giving amore » factor of 4-8 improvement in volumetric resolution over the highest resolution research systems currently in existence. This proposal had two main objectives: (i) To develop and evaluate much higher resolution and efficiency scintillator arrays that can be used in the future as the basis for detectors in a small-animal PET scanner where the spatial resolution is dominated by decay and interaction physics rather than detector size. (ii) To optimize one such high resolution, high sensitivity detector and adaptively integrate it into the existing microPET II small animal PET scanner as a 'zoom-in' detector that provides higher spatial resolution and sensitivity in a limited region close to the detector face. The knowledge gained from this project will provide valuable information for building future PET systems with a complete ring of very high-resolution detector arrays and also lay the foundations for utilizing high-resolution detectors in combination with existing PET systems for localized high-resolution imaging.« less

Modeling nearshore morphological evolution at seasonal scale

USGS Publications Warehouse

Walstra, D.-J.R.; Ruggiero, P.; Lesser, G.; Gelfenbaum, G.

2006-01-01

A process-based model is compared with field measurements to test and improve our ability to predict nearshore morphological change at seasonal time scales. The field experiment, along the dissipative beaches adjacent to Grays Harbor, Washington USA, successfully captured the transition between the high-energy erosive conditions of winter and the low-energy beach-building conditions typical of summer. The experiment documented shoreline progradation on the order of 20 m and as much as 175 m of onshore bar migration. Significant alongshore variability was observed in the morphological response of the sandbars over a 4 km reach of coast. A detailed sensitivity analysis suggests that the model results are more sensitive to adjusting the sediment transport associated with asymmetric oscillatory wave motions than to adjusting the transport due to mean currents. Initial results suggest that alongshore variations in the initial bathymetry are partially responsible for the observed alongshore variable morphological response during the experiment. Copyright ASCE 2006.

Density functional theory (DFT) study of a new novel bionanosensor hybrid; tryptophan/Pd doped single walled carbon nanotube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoosefian, Mehdi; Etminan, Nazanin

2016-07-01

In order to explore a new novel L-amino acid/transition metal doped single walled carbon nanotube based biosensor, density functional theory calculations were studied. These hybrid structures of organic-inorganic nanobiosensors are able to detect the smallest amino acid building block of proteins. The configurations of amine and carbonyl group coordination of tryptophan aromatic amino acid adsorbed on Pd/doped single walled carbon nanotube were compared. The frontier molecular orbital theory, quantum theory atom in molecule and natural bond orbital analysis were performed. The molecular electrostatic potential and the electron density surfaces were constructed. The calculations indicated that the Pd/SWCNT was sensitive to tryptophan suggesting the importance of interaction with biological molecule and potential detecting application. The proposed nanobiosensor represents a highly sensitive detection of protein at ultra-low concentration in diagnosis applications.

Rydberg Dipole Antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stack, Daniel; Rodenburg, Bradon; Pappas, Stephen; Su, Wangshen; St. John, Marc; Kunz, Paul; Simon, Matt; Gordon, Joshua; Holloway, Christopher

2017-04-01

Measurements of microwave frequency electric fields by traditional methods (i.e. engineered antennas) have limited sensitivity and can be difficult to calibrate properly. A useful tool to address this problem are highly-excited (Rydberg) neutral atoms which have very large electric-dipole moments and many dipole-allowed transitions in the range of 1-500 GHz. Using Rydberg states, it is possible to sensitively probe the electric field in this frequency range using the combination of two quantum interference phenomena: electromagnetically induced transparency and the Autler-Townes effect. This atom-light interaction can be modeled by the classical description of a harmonically bound electron. The classical damped, driven, coupled-oscillators model yields significant insights into the deep connections between classical and quantum physics. We will present a detailed experimental analysis of the noise processes in making such measurements in the laboratory and discuss the prospects for building a practical atomic microwave receiver.

Electrical Surveillance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmerman, Jim

1992-01-01

Students examine the concepts of electrical circuits and switches by building their own alarm systems. Students apply their understanding by creating recorder, window, pressure sensitive, and lunch box alarms. (MDH)

Impact of ventilation systems and energy savings in a building on the mechanisms governing the indoor radon activity concentration.

PubMed

Collignan, Bernard; Powaga, Emilie

2017-11-23

For a given radon potential in the ground and a given building, the parameters affecting the indoor radon activity concentration (IRnAC) are indoor depressurization of a building and its air change rate. These parameters depend mainly on the building characteristics, such as airtightness, and on the nature and performances of the ventilation system. This study involves a numerical sensitivity assessment of the indoor environmental conditions on the IRnAC in buildings. A numerical ventilation model has been adapted to take into account the effects of variations in the indoor environmental conditions (depressurization and air change rate) on the radon entry rate and on the IRnAC. In the context of the development of a policy to reduce energy consumption in a building, the results obtained showed that IRnAC could be strongly affected by variations in the air permeability of the building associated with the ventilation regime. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of Machine Learning Algorithms to Propose a New Methodology to Conduct, Critique and Validate Urban Scale Building Energy Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pathak, Maharshi

City administrators and real-estate developers have been setting up rather aggressive energy efficiency targets. This, in turn, has led the building science research groups across the globe to focus on urban scale building performance studies and level of abstraction associated with the simulations of the same. The increasing maturity of the stakeholders towards energy efficiency and creating comfortable working environment has led researchers to develop methodologies and tools for addressing the policy driven interventions whether it's urban level energy systems, buildings' operational optimization or retrofit guidelines. Typically, these large-scale simulations are carried out by grouping buildings based on their design similarities i.e. standardization of the buildings. Such an approach does not necessarily lead to potential working inputs which can make decision-making effective. To address this, a novel approach is proposed in the present study. The principle objective of this study is to propose, to define and evaluate the methodology to utilize machine learning algorithms in defining representative building archetypes for the Stock-level Building Energy Modeling (SBEM) which are based on operational parameter database. The study uses "Phoenix- climate" based CBECS-2012 survey microdata for analysis and validation. Using the database, parameter correlations are studied to understand the relation between input parameters and the energy performance. Contrary to precedence, the study establishes that the energy performance is better explained by the non-linear models. The non-linear behavior is explained by advanced learning algorithms. Based on these algorithms, the buildings at study are grouped into meaningful clusters. The cluster "mediod" (statistically the centroid, meaning building that can be represented as the centroid of the cluster) are established statistically to identify the level of abstraction that is acceptable for the whole building energy simulations and post that the retrofit decision-making. Further, the methodology is validated by conducting Monte-Carlo simulations on 13 key input simulation parameters. The sensitivity analysis of these 13 parameters is utilized to identify the optimum retrofits. From the sample analysis, the envelope parameters are found to be more sensitive towards the EUI of the building and thus retrofit packages should also be directed to maximize the energy usage reduction.

CZT sensors for Computed Tomography: from crystal growth to image quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iniewski, K.

2016-12-01

Recent advances in Traveling Heater Method (THM) growth and device fabrication that require additional processing steps have enabled to dramatically improve hole transport properties and reduce polarization effects in Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) material. As a result high flux operation of CZT sensors at rates in excess of 200 Mcps/mm2 is now possible and has enabled multiple medical imaging companies to start building prototype Computed Tomography (CT) scanners. CZT sensors are also finding new commercial applications in non-destructive testing (NDT) and baggage scanning. In order to prepare for high volume commercial production we are moving from individual tile processing to whole wafer processing using silicon methodologies, such as waxless processing, cassette based/touchless wafer handling. We have been developing parametric level screening at the wafer stage to ensure high wafer quality before detector fabrication in order to maximize production yields. These process improvements enable us, and other CZT manufacturers who pursue similar developments, to provide high volume production for photon counting applications in an economically feasible manner. CZT sensors are capable of delivering both high count rates and high-resolution spectroscopic performance, although it is challenging to achieve both of these attributes simultaneously. The paper discusses material challenges, detector design trade-offs and ASIC architectures required to build cost-effective CZT based detection systems. Photon counting ASICs are essential part of the integrated module platforms as charge-sensitive electronics needs to deal with charge-sharing and pile-up effects.

Categorical QSAR models for skin sensitization based on local lymph node assay measures and both ground and excited state 4D-fingerprint descriptors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jianzhong; Kern, Petra S.; Gerberick, G. Frank; Santos-Filho, Osvaldo A.; Esposito, Emilio X.; Hopfinger, Anton J.; Tseng, Yufeng J.

2008-06-01

In previous studies we have developed categorical QSAR models for predicting skin-sensitization potency based on 4D-fingerprint (4D-FP) descriptors and in vivo murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) measures. Only 4D-FP derived from the ground state (GMAX) structures of the molecules were used to build the QSAR models. In this study we have generated 4D-FP descriptors from the first excited state (EMAX) structures of the molecules. The GMAX, EMAX and the combined ground and excited state 4D-FP descriptors (GEMAX) were employed in building categorical QSAR models. Logistic regression (LR) and partial least square coupled logistic regression (PLS-CLR), found to be effective model building for the LLNA skin-sensitization measures in our previous studies, were used again in this study. This also permitted comparison of the prior ground state models to those involving first excited state 4D-FP descriptors. Three types of categorical QSAR models were constructed for each of the GMAX, EMAX and GEMAX datasets: a binary model (2-state), an ordinal model (3-state) and a binary-binary model (two-2-state). No significant differences exist among the LR 2-state model constructed for each of the three datasets. However, the PLS-CLR 3-state and 2-state models based on the EMAX and GEMAX datasets have higher predictivity than those constructed using only the GMAX dataset. These EMAX and GMAX categorical models are also more significant and predictive than corresponding models built in our previous QSAR studies of LLNA skin-sensitization measures.

Far-Infrared Heterodyne Spectrometer for Sofia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Betz, A. L.

1998-01-01

The project goal was to evaluate the scientific capabilities and technical requirements for a far-infrared heterodyne spectrometer suitable for the SOFIA Airborne Observatory, which is now being developed by NASA under contract to the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). The conclusions detailed below include our specific recommendations for astronomical observations, as well as our intended technical approach for reaching these scientific goals. These conclusions were presented to USRA in the form of a proposal to build this instrument. USRA subsequently awarded the University of Colorado a 3-year grant to develop the proposed Hot-Electron micro-Bolometer (HEB) mixer concept for high frequencies above 3 THz, as well as other semiconductor mixer technologies suitable for high sensitivity receivers in the 2-6 THz frequency band.

Dielectric Sensors Based on Electromagnetic Energy Tunneling

PubMed Central

Siddiqui, Omar; Kashanianfard, Mani; Ramahi, Omar

2015-01-01

We show that metallic wires embedded in narrow waveguide bends and channels demonstrate resonance behavior at specific frequencies. The electromagnetic energy at these resonances tunnels through the narrow waveguide channels with almost no propagation losses. Under the tunneling behavior, high-intensity electromagnetic fields are produced in the vicinity of the metallic wires. These intense field resonances can be exploited to build highly sensitive dielectric sensors. The sensor operation is explained with the help of full-wave simulations. A practical setup consisting of a 3D waveguide bend is presented to experimentally observe the tunneling phenomenon. The tunneling frequency is predicted by determining the input impedance minima through a variational formula based on the Green function of a probe-excited parallel plate waveguide. PMID:25835188

High-sensitivity gas-mapping 3D imager and method of operation

DOEpatents

Kreitinger, Aaron; Thorpe, Michael

2018-05-15

Measurement apparatuses and methods are disclosed for generating high-precision and -accuracy gas concentration maps that can be overlaid with 3D topographic images by rapidly scanning one or several modulated laser beams with a spatially-encoded transmitter over a scene to build-up imagery. Independent measurements of the topographic target distance and path-integrated gas concentration are combined to yield a map of the path-averaged concentration between the sensor and each point in the image. This type of image is particularly useful for finding localized regions of elevated (or anomalous) gas concentration making it ideal for large-area leak detection and quantification applications including: oil and gas pipeline monitoring, chemical processing facility monitoring, and environmental monitoring.

Measurement of the Cosmic Ray e+ plus e- Spectrum from 20 GeV to 1 TeV with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

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

Abdo, Aous A.; /Naval Research Lab, Wash., D.C.; Ackermann, M.

Designed as a high-sensitivity gamma-ray observatory, the Fermi Large Area Telescope is also an electron detector with a large acceptance exceeding 2 m{sup 2}sr at 300 GeV. Building on the gamma-ray analysis, we have developed an efficient electron detection strategy which provides sufficient background rejection for measurement of the steeply-falling electron spectrum up to 1 TeV. Our high precision data show that the electron spectrum falls with energy as E{sup -3.0} and does not exhibit prominent spectral features. Interpretations in terms of a conventional diffusive model as well as a potential local extra component are briefly discussed.

Sensitivity of an Antarctic Ice Sheet Model to Sub-Ice-Shelf Melting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipscomb, W. H.; Leguy, G.; Urban, N. M.; Berdahl, M.

2017-12-01

Theory and observations suggest that marine-based sectors of the Antarctic ice sheet could retreat rapidly under ocean warming and increased melting beneath ice shelves. Numerical models of marine ice sheets vary widely in sensitivity, depending on grid resolution and the parameterization of key processes (e.g., calving and hydrofracture). Here we study the sensitivity of the Antarctic ice sheet to ocean warming and sub-shelf melting in standalone simulations of the Community Ice Sheet Model (CISM). Melt rates either are prescribed based on observations and high-resolution ocean model output, or are derived from a plume model forced by idealized ocean temperature profiles. In CISM, we vary the model resolution (between 1 and 8 km), Stokes approximation (shallow-shelf, depth-integrated higher-order, or 3D higher-order) and calving scheme to create an ensemble of plausible responses to sub-shelf melting. This work supports a broader goal of building statistical and reduced models that can translate large-scale Earth-system model projections to changes in Antarctic ocean temperatures and ice sheet discharge, thus better quantifying uncertainty in Antarctic-sourced sea-level rise.

CFD Simulation On The Pressure Distribution For An Isolated Single-Story House With Extension: Grid Sensitivity Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yahya, W. N. W.; Zaini, S. S.; Ismail, M. A.; Majid, T. A.; Deraman, S. N. C.; Abdullah, J.

2018-04-01

Damage due to wind-related disasters is increasing due to global climate change. Many studies have been conducted to study the wind effect surrounding low-rise building using wind tunnel tests or numerical simulations. The use of numerical simulation is relatively cheap but requires very good command in handling the software, acquiring the correct input parameters and obtaining the optimum grid or mesh. However, before a study can be conducted, a grid sensitivity test must be conducted to get a suitable cell number for the final to ensure an accurate result with lesser computing time. This study demonstrates the numerical procedures for conducting a grid sensitivity analysis using five models with different grid schemes. The pressure coefficients (CP) were observed along the wall and roof profile and compared between the models. The results showed that medium grid scheme can be used and able to produce high accuracy results compared to finer grid scheme as the difference in terms of the CP values was found to be insignificant.

76 FR 65511 - Office of Governmentwide Policy; Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; the Green...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-21

... Governmentwide Policy; Office of Federal High- Performance Green Buildings; the Green Building Advisory Committee... meeting of the Green Building Advisory Committee Meeting (the Committee). The meeting is open to the..., Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services...

Coupling an Ensemble of Electrons on Superfluid Helium to a Superconducting Circuit

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

Yang, Ge; Fragner, A.; Koolstra, G.

2016-03-01

The quantized lateral motional states and the spin states of electrons trapped on the surface of superfluid helium have been proposed as basic building blocks of a scalable quantum computer. Circuit quantum electrodynamics allows strong dipole coupling between electrons and a high-Q superconducting microwave resonator, enabling such sensitive detection and manipulation of electron degrees of freedom. Here, we present the first realization of a hybrid circuit in which a large number of electrons are trapped on the surface of superfluid helium inside a coplanar waveguide resonator. The high finesse of the resonator allows us to observe large dispersive shifts thatmore » are many times the linewidth and make fast and sensitive measurements on the collective vibrational modes of the electron ensemble, as well as the superfluid helium film underneath. Furthermore, a large ensemble coupling is observed in the dispersive regime during experiment, and it shows excellent agreement with our numeric model. The coupling strength of the ensemble to the cavity is found to be approximate to 1 MHz per electron, indicating the feasibility of achieving single electron strong coupling.« less

Towards a fully integrated optical gyroscope using whispering gallery modes resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amrane, T.; Jager, J.-B.; Jager, T.; Calvo, V.; Léger, J.-M.

2017-11-01

Since the developments of lasers and the optical fibers in the 70s, the optical gyroscopes have been subject to an intensive research to improve both their resolution and stability performances. However the best optical gyroscopes currently on the market, the ring laser gyroscope and the interferometer fiber optic gyroscope are still macroscopic devices and cannot address specific applications where size and weight constraints are critical. One solution to overcome these limitations could be to use an integrated resonator as a sensitive part to build a fully Integrated Optical Resonant Gyroscope (IORG). To keep a high rotation sensitivity, which is usually degraded when downsizing this kind of optical sensors based on the Sagnac effect, the resonator has to exhibit a very high quality factor (Q): as detailed in equation (1) where the minimum rotation rate resolution for an IORG is given as a function of the resonator characteristics (Q and diameter D) and of the global system optical system characteristics (i.e. SNR and bandwidth B), the higher the Q×D product, the lower the resolution.

An investigation of the well-water quality: immunosensor for pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa detection based on antibody-modified poly(pyrrole-3 carboxylic acid) screen-printed carbon electrode.

PubMed

Bekir, Karima; Bousimma, Feriel; Barhoumi, Houcine; Fedhila, Kais; Maaref, Abderrazak; Bakhrouf, Amina; Ben Ouada, Hafedh; Namour, Philippe; Jaffrezic-Renault, Nicole; Ben Mansour, Hedi

2015-12-01

In this report, we describe a new immunosensor designed for the detection and the quantification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria in water. The developed biosensing system was based on the immobilization of purified polyclonal anti P. aeruginosa antibodies on electropolymerized poly(pyrrole-3-carboxylic acid)/glassy carbon electrode. The building of the immunosensor step by step was evaluated by electrochemical measurements such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochemical signature of the immunosensor was established by the change of the charge transfer resistance when the bacteria suspended in solution became attached to the immobilized antibodies. As a result, stable and high sensitive impedimetric immunosensor was obtained with a sensitivity of 0.19 kΩ/decade defined in the linear range from 10(1) to 10(7) CFU/mL of cellular concentrations. A low detection limit was obtained for the P. aeruginosa bacteria and a high selectivity when other bacteria were occasioned as well as Escherichia coli. The developed immunosensor was applied in detecting pathogenic P. aeruginosa in well-water.

Energy demand of the German and Dutch residential building stock under climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olonscheck, Mady; Holsten, Anne; Walther, Carsten; Kropp, Jürgen P.

2014-05-01

In order to mitigate climate change, extraordinary measures are necessary in the future. The building sector, in particular, offers considerable potential for transformation to lower energy demand. On a national level, however, successful and far-reaching measures will likely be taken only if reliable estimates regarding future energy demand from different scenarios are available. The energy demand for space heating and cooling is determined by a combination of behavioral, climatic, constructional, and demographic factors. For two countries, namely Germany and the Netherlands, we analyze the combined effect of future climate and building stock changes as well as renovation measures on the future energy demand for room conditioning of residential buildings until 2060. We show how much the heating energy demand will decrease in the future and answer the question of whether the energy decrease will be exceeded by an increase in cooling energy demand. Based on a sensitivity analysis, we determine those influencing factors with the largest impact on the future energy demand from the building stock. Both countries have national targets regarding the reduction of the energy demand for the future. We provide relevant information concerning the annual renovation rates that are necessary to reach these targets. Retrofitting buildings is a win-win option as it not only helps to mitigate climate change and to lower the dependency on fossil fuels but also transforms the buildings stock into one that is better equipped for extreme temperatures that may occur more frequently with climate change. For the Netherlands, the study concentrates not only on the national, but also the provincial level, which should facilitate directed policy measures. Moreover, the analysis is done on a monthly basis in order to ascertain a deeper understanding of the future seasonal energy demand changes. Our approach constitutes an important first step towards deeper insights into the internal dynamics of the building sector and its climate sensitivity.

DESIGN OF MEDICAL RADIOMETER FRONT-END FOR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE

PubMed Central

Klemetsen, Ø.; Birkelund, Y.; Jacobsen, S. K.; Maccarini, P. F.; Stauffer, P. R.

2011-01-01

We have investigated the possibility of building a singleband Dicke radiometer that is inexpensive, small-sized, stable, highly sensitive, and which consists of readily available microwave components. The selected frequency band is at 3.25–3.75 GHz which provides a reasonable compromise between spatial resolution (antenna size) and sensing depth for radiometry applications in lossy tissue. Foreseen applications of the instrument are non-invasive temperature monitoring for breast cancer detection and temperature monitoring during heating. We have found off-the-shelf microwave components that are sufficiently small (< 5 mm × 5 mm) and which offer satisfactory overall sensitivity. Two different Dicke radiometers have been realized: one is a conventional design with the Dicke switch at the front-end to select either the antenna or noise reference channels for amplification. The second design places a matched pair of low noise amplifiers in front of the Dicke switch to reduce system noise figure. Numerical simulations were performed to test the design concepts before building prototype PCB front-end layouts of the radiometer. Both designs provide an overall power gain of approximately 50 dB over a 500 MHz bandwidth centered at 3.5 GHz. No stability problems were observed despite using triple-cascaded amplifier configurations to boost the thermal signals. The prototypes were tested for sensitivity after calibration in two different water baths. Experiments showed superior sensitivity (36% higher) when implementing the low noise amplifier before the Dicke switch (close to the antenna) compared to the other design with the Dicke switch in front. Radiometer performance was also tested in a multilayered phantom during alternating heating and radiometric reading. Empirical tests showed that for the configuration with Dicke switch first, the switch had to be locked in the reference position during application of microwave heating to avoid damage to the active components (amplifiers and power meter). For the configuration with a low noise amplifier up front, damage would occur to the active components of the radiometer if used in presence of the microwave heating antenna. Nevertheless, this design showed significantly improved sensitivity of measured temperatures and merits further investigation to determine methods of protecting the radiometer for amplifier first front ends. PMID:21779411

Fabrication of nanoporous thin-film working electrodes and their biosensing applications.

PubMed

Li, Tingjie; Jia, Falong; Fan, Yaxi; Ding, Zhifeng; Yang, Jun

2013-04-15

Electrochemical detection for point-of-care diagnostics is of great interest due to its high sensitivity, fast analysis time and ability to operate on a small scale. Herein, we report the fabrication of a nanoporous thin-film electrode and its application in the configuration of a simple and robust enzymatic biosensor. The nanoporous thin-film was formed in a planar gold electrode through an alloying/dealloying process. The nanoporous electrode has an electroactive surface area up to 40 times higher than that of a flat gold electrode of the same size. The nanoporous electrode was used as a substrate to build an enzymatic electrochemical biosensor for the detection of glucose in standard samples and control serum samples. The example glucose biosensor has a linear response up to 30 mM, with a high sensitivity of 0.50 μA mM⁻¹ mm⁻², and excellent anti-interference ability against lactate, uric acid and ascorbic acid. Abundant catalyst and enzyme were stably entrapped in the nanoporous structure, leading to high stability and reproducibility of the biosensor. Development of such nanoporous structure enables the miniaturization of high-performance electrochemical biosensors for point-of-care diagnostics or environmental field testing. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

WINERED: a warm near-infrared high-resolution spectrograph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeda, Yuji; Kobayashi, Naoto; Kondo, Sohei; Yasui, Chikako; Motohara, Kentaro; Minami, Atsushi

2006-06-01

We are developing a new near-infrared high-resolution (R max = 100,000) and high-sensitive spectrograph WINERED, which is specifically customized for short NIR bands at 0.9-1.35 μm. WINERED employs the following two novel approaches in the optical system: (1) portable design with a ZnSe immersion grating and (2) warm optics without any cold stops. These concepts result in several essential advantages as follows: easy to build, align, and maintain; these result in a short development time and low cost. WINERED employs a VIRGO HgCdTe 2k × 2k array by Raytheon as the detector. We are developing our own array control system that aims at a low readout noise (< 10 e -) with a readout time of about 3 sec. Our goal is to achieve a high sensitivity of R = 100,000 for a NIR spectroscopy of 15 mag and 17 mag point sources with 4 m and 10 m telescopes, respectively. We have just finalized the optical design and produced a prototype electronics, which are described in the companion papers by Yasui et al. and Kondo et al., respectively. We plan to complete this instrument by the end of 2008 and hope to attach it to various 4 to 10 m telescopes as a PI-type instrument.

Evaluation of possibility to increasing sustainability of high-rise buildings through use university intellectual property

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potekhin, Igor; Mischenko, Valeryi; Mottaeva, Angela; Zheltenkov, Alexander

2018-03-01

In this article explained approach of valuation of intellectual property of Voronezh State Technical University, as her usefulness to increasing the sustainability and ecological safety of high-rise building. High-rise building is main type of buildings in modern cities. They include large volume of material mass, high volume of energy using and high volume of emissions. Using innovation solutions to improving ecology safety of high-rise buildings has large potential to city in whole. Explained in the article methods of calculation of effects helps to value sustainable solutions of present and future generations. Thus usefulness of patents express through usefulness regarding to high-rise building, including for sustainable development.

Research on Energy-saving Shape Design of High School Library Building in Cold Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hui, Zhao; Weishuang, Xie; Zirui, Tong

2017-11-01

Considering climatic characteristics in cold region, existing high school libraries in Changchun are researched according to investigation of real conditions of these library buildings. Mathematical analysis and CAD methods are used to summarize the relation between building shape and building energy saving of high school library. Strategies are put forward for sustainable development of high school library building in cold region, providing reliable design basis for construction of high school libraries in Changchun.

Measurement of the Earth tides with a MEMS gravimeter.

PubMed

Middlemiss, R P; Samarelli, A; Paul, D J; Hough, J; Rowan, S; Hammond, G D

2016-03-31

The ability to measure tiny variations in the local gravitational acceleration allows, besides other applications, the detection of hidden hydrocarbon reserves, magma build-up before volcanic eruptions, and subterranean tunnels. Several technologies are available that achieve the sensitivities required for such applications (tens of microgal per hertz(1/2)): free-fall gravimeters, spring-based gravimeters, superconducting gravimeters, and atom interferometers. All of these devices can observe the Earth tides: the elastic deformation of the Earth's crust as a result of tidal forces. This is a universally predictable gravitational signal that requires both high sensitivity and high stability over timescales of several days to measure. All present gravimeters, however, have limitations of high cost (more than 100,000 US dollars) and high mass (more than 8 kilograms). Here we present a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device with a sensitivity of 40 microgal per hertz(1/2) only a few cubic centimetres in size. We use it to measure the Earth tides, revealing the long-term stability of our instrument compared to any other MEMS device. MEMS accelerometers--found in most smart phones--can be mass-produced remarkably cheaply, but none are stable enough to be called a gravimeter. Our device has thus made the transition from accelerometer to gravimeter. The small size and low cost of this MEMS gravimeter suggests many applications in gravity mapping. For example, it could be mounted on a drone instead of low-flying aircraft for distributed land surveying and exploration, deployed to monitor volcanoes, or built into multi-pixel density-contrast imaging arrays.

Analysis of Environmental Contamination resulting from ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Catastrophic incidents can generate a large number of samples with analytically diverse types including forensic, clinical, environmental, food, and others. Environmental samples include water, wastewater, soil, air, urban building and infrastructure materials, and surface residue. Such samples may arise not only from contamination from the incident but also from the multitude of activities surrounding the response to the incident, including decontamination. This document summarizes a range of activities to help build laboratory capability in preparation for analysis following a catastrophic incident, including selection and development of fit-for-purpose analytical methods for chemical, biological, and radiological contaminants. Fit-for-purpose methods are those which have been selected to meet project specific data quality objectives. For example, methods could be fit for screening contamination in the early phases of investigation of contamination incidents because they are rapid and easily implemented, but those same methods may not be fit for the purpose of remediating the environment to safe levels when a more sensitive method is required. While the exact data quality objectives defining fitness-for-purpose can vary with each incident, a governing principle of the method selection and development process for environmental remediation and recovery is based on achieving high throughput while maintaining high quality analytical results. This paper illu

An ATMND/SGI based label-free and fluorescence ratiometric aptasensor for rapid and highly sensitive detection of cocaine in biofluids.

PubMed

Wang, Jiamian; Song, Jie; Wang, Xiuyun; Wu, Shuo; Zhao, Yanqiu; Luo, Pinchen; Meng, Changgong

2016-12-01

A label-free ratiometric fluorescence aptasensor has been developed for the rapid and sensitive detection of cocaine in complex biofluids. The fluorescent aptasensor is composed of a non-labeled GC-38 cocaine aptamer which serves as a basic sensing unit and two fluorophores, 2-amino-5,6,7-trimethyl-1,8-naphthyridine (ATMND) and SYBR Green I (SGI) which serves as a signal reporter and a build-in reference, respectively. The detection principle is based on a specific cocaine mediated ATMND displacement reaction and the corresponding change in the fluorescence ratio of ATMND to SGI. Due to the high affinity of the non-labeled aptamer, the good precision originated from the ratiometric method, and the good fluorescence quantum yield of the fluorophore, the aptasensor shows good analytical performance with respect to cocaine detection. Under optimal conditions, the aptasensor shows a linear range of 0.10-10μM and a low limit of detection of 56nM, with a fast response of 20s. The low limit of detection is comparable to most of the fluorescent aptasensors with signal amplification strategies and much lower than all of the unamplified cocaine aptasensors. Practical sample analysis in a series of complex biofluids, including urine, saliva and serum, also indicates the good precision, stability, and high sensitivity of the aptasensor, which may have great potential for the point-of-care screening of cocaine in complex biofluids. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effective Energy Simulation and Optimal Design of Side-lit Buildings with Venetian Blinds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Tian

Venetian blinds are popularly used in buildings to control the amount of incoming daylight for improving visual comfort and reducing heat gains in air-conditioning systems. Studies have shown that the proper design and operation of window systems could result in significant energy savings in both lighting and cooling. However, there is no convenient computer tool that allows effective and efficient optimization of the envelope of side-lit buildings with blinds now. Three computer tools, Adeline, DOE2 and EnergyPlus widely used for the above-mentioned purpose have been experimentally examined in this study. Results indicate that the two former tools give unacceptable accuracy due to unrealistic assumptions adopted while the last one may generate large errors in certain conditions. Moreover, current computer tools have to conduct hourly energy simulations, which are not necessary for life-cycle energy analysis and optimal design, to provide annual cooling loads. This is not computationally efficient, particularly not suitable for optimal designing a building at initial stage because the impacts of many design variations and optional features have to be evaluated. A methodology is therefore developed for efficient and effective thermal and daylighting simulations and optimal design of buildings with blinds. Based on geometric optics and radiosity method, a mathematical model is developed to reasonably simulate the daylighting behaviors of venetian blinds. Indoor illuminance at any reference point can be directly and efficiently computed. They have been validated with both experiments and simulations with Radiance. Validation results show that indoor illuminances computed by the new models agree well with the measured data, and the accuracy provided by them is equivalent to that of Radiance. The computational efficiency of the new models is much higher than that of Radiance as well as EnergyPlus. Two new methods are developed for the thermal simulation of buildings. A fast Fourier transform (FFT) method is presented to avoid the root-searching process in the inverse Laplace transform of multilayered walls. Generalized explicit FFT formulae for calculating the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) are developed for the first time. They can largely facilitate the implementation of FFT. The new method also provides a basis for generating the symbolic response factors. Validation simulations show that it can generate the response factors as accurate as the analytical solutions. The second method is for direct estimation of annual or seasonal cooling loads without the need for tedious hourly energy simulations. It is validated by hourly simulation results with DOE2. Then symbolic long-term cooling load can be created by combining the two methods with thermal network analysis. The symbolic long-term cooling load can keep the design parameters of interest as symbols, which is particularly useful for the optimal design and sensitivity analysis. The methodology is applied to an office building in Hong Kong for the optimal design of building envelope. Design variables such as window-to-wall ratio, building orientation, and glazing optical and thermal properties are included in the study. Results show that the selected design values could significantly impact the energy performance of windows, and the optimal design of side-lit buildings could greatly enhance energy savings. The application example also demonstrates that the developed methodology significantly facilitates the optimal building design and sensitivity analysis, and leads to high computational efficiency.

Finding Words and Word Structure in Artificial Speech: The Development of Infants' Sensitivity to Morphosyntactic Regularities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marchetto, Erika; Bonatti, Luca L.

2015-01-01

To achieve language proficiency, infants must find the building blocks of speech and master the rules governing their legal combinations. However, these problems are linked: words are also built according to rules. Here, we explored early morphosyntactic sensitivity by testing when and how infants could find either words or within-word structure…

Dynamic facade module prototype development for solar radiation prevention in high rise building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sega Sufia Purnama, Muhammad; Sutanto, Dalhar

2018-03-01

Solar radiation is an aspect that high rise building must avoid. The problem is, if high rise building facade can’t overcome, the solar thermal will come in the building, and its affects on the increasing of room temperature above comfort range. A type of additional facade element that could solve solar thermal in high rise building is adding a sun shading. A dynamic facade is a shade plane in high rise building that can moved or changed on outside condition such as solar movement and intensity. This research will discuss the dynamic facade module prototype development in high rise building in Jakarta. This research will be finish through some step. (1) Static shading shadow simulation. (2) Dynamic facade concept design development. (3) Dynamic shading shadow simulation. (4) Making of dynamic facade module prototype. (5) Field test for the dynamic facade module prototype. The dynamic facade in Jakarta case will be effective to solve solar transmission in high rise building rather than static facade.

On the missing links in quantum dot solar cells: a DFT study on fluorophore oxidation and reduction processes in sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Muzakir, Saifful Kamaluddin; Alias, Nabilah; Yusoff, Mashitah M; Jose, Rajan

2013-10-14

The possibility of achieving many electrons per absorbed photon of sufficient energy by quantum dots (QDs) drives the motivation to build high performance quantum dot solar cells (QDSCs). Although performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), with similar device configuration as that of QDSCs, has significantly improved in the last two decades QDSCs are yet to demonstrate impressive device performances despite the remarkable features of QDs as light harvesters. We investigated the fundamental differences in the optical properties of QDs and dyes using DFT calculations to get insights on the inferior performance of QDSCs. The CdSe QDs and the ruthenium bipyridyl dicarboxylic acid dye (N3) were used as typical examples in this study. Based on a generalized equation of state correlating material properties and photoconversion efficiency, we calculated ground and excited state properties of these absorbers at the B3LYP/lanl2dz level of DFT and analyzed them on the basis of the device performance. Five missing links have been identified in the study which provides numerous insights into building high efficiency QDSCs. They are (i) fundamental differences in the emitting states of the QDs in the strong and weak confinement regimes were observed, which explained successfully the performance differences; (ii) the crucial role of bifunctional ligands that bind the QDs and the photo-electrode was identified; in most cases use of bifunctional ligands does not lead to a QD enabled widening of the absorption of the photo-electrode; (iii) wide QDs size distribution further hinders efficient electron injections; (iv) wide absorption cross-section of QDs favours photon harvesting; and (v) the role of redox potential of the electrolyte in the QD reduction process.

pH-Stable Eu- and Tb-organic-frameworks mediated by an ionic liquid for the aqueous-phase detection of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP).

PubMed

Qin, Jian-Hua; Wang, Hua-Rui; Han, Min-Le; Chang, Xin-Hong; Ma, Lu-Fang

2017-11-14

Two pH-stable luminescent metal-organic frameworks (LMOFs), {[Ln 2 (L) 2 (OH)(HCOO)]·[H 2 O]} n (Ln = Eu 1, Tb 2), based on a new π-conjugated organic building block involving both carboxylate and terpyridine groups were rationally synthesized under a combination of hydro/solvothermal and ionothermal conditions (H 2 L = 4'-(4-(3,5-dicarboxylphenoxy)phenyl)-4,2':6',4''-terpyridine). 1 and 2 are isostructural and feature noninterpenetrated open 3D condensed frameworks constructed by rod-shaped lanthanide-carboxylate building units. Their excellent water-stability and pH-stability allow them to be used in aquatic systems. 1 and 2 both exhibit selective and sensitive aqueous phase detection of the well-known nitroaromatic explosive environmental pollutant 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP), which is highly desirable for practical applications. The presence of a free pyridine group on the LMOF particle surface was strategically utilized for the purpose of exclusive TNP-sensing.

Magnetic stray-field studies of a single Cobalt nanoelement as a component of the building blocks of artificial square spin ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pohlit, Merlin; Porrati, Fabrizio; Huth, Michael; Ohno, Yuzo; Ohno, Hideo; Müller, Jens

2016-02-01

We use Focused Electron Beam Deposition (FEBID) to directly write Cobalt magnetic nanoelements onto a micro-Hall magnetometer, which allows for high-sensitivity measurements of the magnetic stray field emanating from the samples. In a previous study [M. Pohlit et al., J. Appl. Phys. 117 (2015) 17C746] [21] we investigated thermal dynamics of an individual building block (nanocluster) of artificial square spin ice. In this work, we compare the results of this structure with interacting elements to the switching of a single nanoisland. By analyzing the survival function of the repeatedly prepared state in a given temperature range, we find thermally activated switching dynamics. A detailed analysis of the hysteresis loop reveals a metastable microstate preceding the overall magnetization reversal of the single nanoelement, also found in micromagnetic simulations. Such internal degrees of freedom may need to be considered, when analyzing the thermal dynamics of larger spin ice configurations on different lattice types.

Sensitivities Affecting Heat and Urban Heat Island Effect on Local Scale Projected to Neighborhood Scale in Baltimore, Maryland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sze, C.; Zaitchik, B. F.; Scott, A.

2015-12-01

Urban regions are often impacted more by heat than adjacent rural areas, which is a phenomenon known as the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Urban areas are also highly heterogeneous and notoriously difficult to monitor using standard meteorological protocols—the hottest microclimates within a city often occur in locations that lack open, representative installation sites that are an adequate distance from buildings and direct heat sources. To investigate the challenges of monitoring urban heat, this study examines the sensitivity of temperature and humidity sensors currently used in a Baltimore UHI monitoring network to differences in sun exposure, material on which the data collecting instrument is attached, and land cover class of the vicinity. Sensitivity to sun exposure and attachment site can be interpreted as sources of uncertainty for urban heat monitoring, while sensitivity to land cover may reflect a true source of local temperature and humidity variability. In this study, we present results from a test deployment designed to assess the sensitivity of heat measurements to each of these three factors. We then apply these results to interpret measurements taken across the entire Baltimore UHI monitoring network. These results can then be used to improve heat measurements and more accurately represent and quantify the UHI effect on a broader scale, such as in neighborhoods or urban centers.

77 FR 66616 - Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-06

... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee; Notification of Upcoming... and agenda for the November 27, 2012, meeting of the Green Building Advisory Committee Meeting (the... Green Buildings, Office of Government-wide Policy, General Services Administration, 1275 First Street NE...

78 FR 21368 - Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-10

... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee; Notification of Upcoming... and agenda for the May 1, 2013, meeting of the Green Building Advisory Committee Meeting (the... Green Buildings, Office of Government-wide Policy, General Services Administration, 1275 First Street NE...

78 FR 56703 - Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-13

... Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Green Building Advisory Committee; Notification of Upcoming... Green Building Advisory Committee Meeting (the Committee) and the schedule for a series of conference..., Designated Federal Officer, [[Page 56704

University building safety index measurement using risk and implementation matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, A.; Arumsari, F.; Maryani, A.

2018-04-01

Many high rise building constructed in several universities in Indonesia. The high-rise building management must provide the safety planning and proper safety equipment in each part of the building. Unfortunately, most of the university in Indonesia have not been applying safety policy yet and less awareness on treating safety facilities. Several fire accidents in university showed that some significant risk should be managed by the building management. This research developed a framework for measuring the high rise building safety index in university The framework is not only assessed the risk magnitude but also designed modular building safety checklist for measuring the safety implementation level. The safety checklist has been developed for 8 types of the university rooms, i.e.: office, classroom, 4 type of laboratories, canteen, and library. University building safety index determined using risk-implementation matrix by measuring the risk magnitude and assessing the safety implementation level. Building Safety Index measurement has been applied in 4 high rise buildings in ITS Campus. The building assessment showed that the rectorate building in secure condition and chemical department building in beware condition. While the library and administration center building was in less secure condition.

Probabilistic seismic vulnerability and risk assessment of stone masonry structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abo El Ezz, Ahmad

Earthquakes represent major natural hazards that regularly impact the built environment in seismic prone areas worldwide and cause considerable social and economic losses. The high losses incurred following the past destructive earthquakes promoted the need for assessment of the seismic vulnerability and risk of the existing buildings. Many historic buildings in the old urban centers in Eastern Canada such as Old Quebec City are built of stone masonry and represent un-measurable architectural and cultural heritage. These buildings were built to resist gravity loads only and generally offer poor resistance to lateral seismic loads. Seismic vulnerability assessment of stone masonry buildings is therefore the first necessary step in developing seismic retrofitting and pre-disaster mitigation plans. The objective of this study is to develop a set of probability-based analytical tools for efficient seismic vulnerability and uncertainty analysis of stone masonry buildings. A simplified probabilistic analytical methodology for vulnerability modelling of stone masonry building with systematic treatment of uncertainties throughout the modelling process is developed in the first part of this study. Building capacity curves are developed using a simplified mechanical model. A displacement based procedure is used to develop damage state fragility functions in terms of spectral displacement response based on drift thresholds of stone masonry walls. A simplified probabilistic seismic demand analysis is proposed to capture the combined uncertainty in capacity and demand on fragility functions. In the second part, a robust analytical procedure for the development of seismic hazard compatible fragility and vulnerability functions is proposed. The results are given by sets of seismic hazard compatible vulnerability functions in terms of structure-independent intensity measure (e.g. spectral acceleration) that can be used for seismic risk analysis. The procedure is very efficient for conducting rapid vulnerability assessment of stone masonry buildings. With modification of input structural parameters, it can be adapted and applied to any other building class. A sensitivity analysis of the seismic vulnerability modelling is conducted to quantify the uncertainties associated with each of the input parameters. The proposed methodology was validated for a scenario-based seismic risk assessment of existing buildings in Old Quebec City. The procedure for hazard compatible vulnerability modelling was used to develop seismic fragility functions in terms of spectral acceleration representative of the inventoried buildings. A total of 1220 buildings were considered. The assessment was performed for a scenario event of magnitude 6.2 at distance 15km with a probability of exceedance of 2% in 50 years. The study showed that most of the expected damage is concentrated in the old brick and stone masonry buildings.

Gardening as vector of a humanization of high-rise building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lekareva, Nina; Zaslavskaya, Anna

2018-03-01

Article is devoted to issue of integration of vertical gardening into structure of high-rise building in the conditions of the constrained town-planning situation. On the basis of the analysis of the existing experience of design and building of "biopositive" high-rise building ecological, town-planning, social and constructive advantages of the organization of gardens on roofs and vertical gardens are considered [1]. As the main mechanism of increase in investment appeal of high-rise building the principle of a humanization due to gardening of high-rise building taking into account requirements of ecology, energy efficiency of buildings and improvement of quality of construction with minimization of expenses and maximizing comfort moves forward. The National Standards of Green construction designed to adapt the international requirements of architecture and construction of the energy efficient, eco-friendly and comfortable building or a complex to local conditions are considered [2,3].

Sensitivity of sea urchin fertilization to pH varies across a natural pH mosaic.

PubMed

Kapsenberg, Lydia; Okamoto, Daniel K; Dutton, Jessica M; Hofmann, Gretchen E

2017-03-01

In the coastal ocean, temporal fluctuations in pH vary dramatically across biogeographic ranges. How such spatial differences in pH variability regimes might shape ocean acidification resistance in marine species remains unknown. We assessed the pH sensitivity of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus in the context of ocean pH variability. Using unique male-female pairs, originating from three sites with similar mean pH but different variability and frequency of low pH (pH T  ≤ 7.8) exposures, fertilization was tested across a range of pH (pH T 7.61-8.03) and sperm concentrations. High fertilization success was maintained at low pH via a slight right shift in the fertilization function across sperm concentration. This pH effect differed by site. Urchins from the site with the narrowest pH variability regime exhibited the greatest pH sensitivity. At this site, mechanistic fertilization dynamics models support a decrease in sperm-egg interaction rate with decreasing pH. The site differences in pH sensitivity build upon recent evidence of local pH adaptation in S. purpuratus and highlight the need to incorporate environmental variability in the study of global change biology.

Monolithic-Structured Single-Layered Textile-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

PubMed

Yun, Min Ju; Cha, Seung I; Kim, Han Seong; Seo, Seon Hee; Lee, Dong Y

2016-10-06

Textile-structured solar cells are frequently discussed in the literature due to their prospective applications in wearable devices and in building integrated solar cells that utilize their flexibility, mechanical robustness, and aesthetic appearance, but the current approaches for textile-based solar cells-including the preparation of fibre-type solar cells woven into textiles-face several difficulties from high friction and tension during the weaving process. This study proposes a new structural concept and fabrication process for monolithic-structured textile-based dye-sensitized solar cells that are fabricated by a process similar to the cloth-making process, including the preparation of wires and yarns that are woven for use in textiles, printed, dyed, and packaged. The fabricated single-layered textile-based dye-sensitized solar cells successfully act as solar cells in our study, even under bending conditions. By controlling the inter-weft spacing and the number of Ti wires for the photoelectrode conductor, we have found that the performance of this type of dye-sensitized solar cell was notably affected by the spacing between photoelectrodes and counter-electrodes, the exposed areas of Ti wires to photoelectrodes, and photoelectrodes' surface morphology. We believe that this study provides a process and concept for improved textile-based solar cells that can form the basis for further research.

How can sensitivity analysis improve the robustness of mathematical models utilized by the re/insurance industry?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noacco, V.; Wagener, T.; Pianosi, F.; Philp, T.

2017-12-01

Insurance companies provide insurance against a wide range of threats, such as natural catastrophes, nuclear incidents and terrorism. To quantify risk and support investment decisions, mathematical models are used, for example to set the premiums charged to clients that protect from financial loss, should deleterious events occur. While these models are essential tools for adequately assessing the risk attached to an insurer's portfolio, their development is costly and their value for decision-making may be limited by an incomplete understanding of uncertainty and sensitivity. Aside from the business need to understand risk and uncertainty, the insurance sector also faces regulation which requires them to test their models in such a way that uncertainties are appropriately captured and that plans are in place to assess the risks and their mitigation. The building and testing of models constitutes a high cost for insurance companies, and it is a time intensive activity. This study uses an established global sensitivity analysis toolbox (SAFE) to more efficiently capture the uncertainties and sensitivities embedded in models used by a leading re/insurance firm, with structured approaches to validate these models and test the impact of assumptions on the model predictions. It is hoped that this in turn will lead to better-informed and more robust business decisions.

A fast scintillator Compton telescope for medium-energy gamma-ray astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloser, Peter F.; Ryan, James M.; Legere, Jason S.; Julien, Manuel; Bancroft, Christopher M.; McConnell, Mark L.; Wallace, Mark; Kippen, R. Marc; Tornga, Shawn

2010-07-01

The field of medium-energy gamma-ray astronomy urgently needs a new mission to build on the success of the COMPTEL instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. This mission must achieve sensitivity significantly greater than that of COMPTEL in order to advance the science of relativistic particle accelerators, nuclear astrophysics, and diffuse backgrounds, and bridge the gap between current and future hard X-ray missions and the high-energy Fermi mission. Such an increase in sensitivity can only come about via a dramatic decrease in the instrumental background. We are currently developing a concept for a low-background Compton telescope that employs modern scintillator technology to achieve this increase in sensitivity. Specifically, by employing LaBr3 scintillators for the calorimeter, one can take advantage of the unique speed and resolving power of this material to improve the instrument sensitivity while simultaneously enhancing its spectroscopic and imaging performance. Also, using deuterated organic scintillator in the scattering detector will reduce internal background from neutron capture. We present calibration results from a laboratory prototype of such an instrument, including time-of-flight, energy, and angular resolution, and compare them to simulation results using a detailed Monte Carlo model. We also describe the balloon payload we have built for a test flight of the instrument in the fall of 2010.

On the design of high-rise buildings with a specified level of reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolganov, Andrey; Kagan, Pavel

2018-03-01

High-rise buildings have a specificity, which significantly distinguishes them from traditional buildings of high-rise and multi-storey buildings. Steel structures in high-rise buildings are advisable to be used in earthquake-proof regions, since steel, due to its plasticity, provides damping of the kinetic energy of seismic impacts. These aspects should be taken into account when choosing a structural scheme of a high-rise building and designing load-bearing structures. Currently, modern regulatory documents do not quantify the reliability of structures. Although the problem of assigning an optimal level of reliability has existed for a long time. The article shows the possibility of designing metal structures of high-rise buildings with specified reliability. Currently, modern regulatory documents do not quantify the reliability of high-rise buildings. Although the problem of assigning an optimal level of reliability has existed for a long time. It is proposed to establish the value of reliability 0.99865 (3σ) for constructions of buildings and structures of a normal level of responsibility in calculations for the first group of limiting states. For increased (construction of high-rise buildings) and reduced levels of responsibility for the provision of load-bearing capacity, it is proposed to assign respectively 0.99997 (4σ) and 0.97725 (2σ). The coefficients of the use of the cross section of a metal beam for different levels of security are given.

Hydrophilic interaction chromatography-multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry method for basic building block analysis of low molecular weight heparins prepared through nitrous acid depolymerization.

PubMed

Sun, Xiaojun; Guo, Zhimou; Yu, Mengqi; Lin, Chao; Sheng, Anran; Wang, Zhiyu; Linhardt, Robert J; Chi, Lianli

2017-01-06

Low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) are important anticoagulant drugs that are prepared through depolymerization of unfractionated heparin. Based on the types of processing reactions and the structures of the products, LMWHs can be divided into different classifications. Enoxaparin is prepared by benzyl esterification and alkaline depolymerization, while dalteparin and nadroparin are prepared through nitrous acid depolymerization followed by borohydride reduction. Compositional analysis of their basic building blocks is an effective way to provide structural information on heparin and LMWHs. However, most current compositional analysis methods have been limited to heparin and enoxaparin. A sensitive and comprehensive approach is needed for detailed investigation of the structure of LMWHs prepared through nitrous acid depolymerization, especially their characteristic saturated non-reducing end (NRE) and 2,5-anhydro-d-mannitol reducing end (RE). A maltose modified hydrophilic interaction column offers improved separation of complicated mixtures of acidic disaccharides and oligosaccharides. A total of 36 basic building blocks were unambiguously identified by high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (MS). Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) MS/MS quantification was developed and validated in the analysis of dalteparin and nadroparin samples. Each group of building blocks revealed different aspects of the properties of LMWHs, such as functional motifs required for anticoagulant activity, the structure of heparin starting materials, cleavage sites in the depolymerization reaction, and undesired structural modifications resulting from side reactions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of internal gain assumptions in building energy calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christensen, C.; Perkins, R.

1981-01-01

The utilization of direct solar gains in buildings can be affected by operating profiles, such as schedules for internal gains, thermostat controls, and ventilation rates. Building energy analysis methods use various assumptions about these profiles. The effects of typical internal gain assumptions in energy calculations are described. Heating and cooling loads from simulations using the DOE 2.1 computer code are compared for various internal gain inputs: typical hourly profiles, constant average profiles, and zero gain profiles. Prototype single-family-detached and multifamily-attached residential units are studied with various levels of insulation and infiltration. Small detached commercial buildings and attached zones in large commercial buildings are studied with various levels of internal gains. The results indicate that calculations of annual heating and cooling loads are sensitive to internal gains, but in most cases are relatively insensitive to hourly variations in internal gains.

The indoor air we breathe.

PubMed Central

Oliver, L C; Shackleton, B W

1998-01-01

Increasingly recognized as a potential public health problem since the outbreak of Legionnaire's disease in Philadelphia in 1976, polluted indoor air has been associated with health problems that include asthma, sick building syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Symptoms are often nonspecific and include headache, eye and throat irritation, chest tightness and shortness of breath, and fatigue. Air-borne contaminants include commonly used chemicals, vehicular exhaust, microbial organisms, fibrous glass particles, and dust. Identified causes include defective building design and construction, aging of buildings and their ventilation systems, poor climate control, inattention to building maintenance. A major contributory factor is the explosion in the use of chemicals in building construction and furnishing materials over the past four decades. Organizational issues and psychological variables often contribute to the problem and hinder its resolution. This article describes the health problems related to poor indoor air quality and offers solutions. Images p398-a p399-a PMID:9769764

Employing ASHRAE Standard 62-1989 in urban building environments

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

Meckler, M.

1991-01-01

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a result of a complex relationship between the contamination sources in a building, the ventilation rate, and the dilution of the indoor air contaminant concentrations with outdoor air. This complex relationship is further complicated by outdoor sources used for dilution air and pollution sinks in a building which may modify or remove contaminants. This paper reports that the factors influencing IAQ in a building are: emissions from indoor contamination sources, dilution rate of outdoor ventilation air, quality of the outdoor dilution air, and systems and materials in a building that change the concentrations of contaminants.more » Emissions from contaminant sources in a building are the primary determinant of IAQ. They include building materials, consumer products, cleaners, furnishings, combustion appliances and processes, biological growth from standing water and damp surfaces and building occupants. These factors combined with the emissions from indoor air contamination sources such as synthetic building materials, modern office equipment, and cleaning and biological agents are believed to increase the levels of indoor air contamination. The physiological reactions to these contaminants, coupled with the psychosocial stresses of the modern office environment, and the wide range of human susceptibility to indoor air contaminants led to the classification of acute building sicknesses: sick building syndrome (SBS), building-related illness (BRI), and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).« less

49 CFR 397.71 - Federal standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... shall be considered. Sensitive areas include, but are not limited to, homes and commercial buildings... such as streams and lakes; and natural areas such as parks, wetlands, and wildlife reserves. (vii...

Environmental ground borne noise and vibration protection of sensitive cultural receptors along the Athens Metro Extension to Piraeus.

PubMed

Vogiatzis, Konstantinos

2012-11-15

Attiko Metro S.A., the state company ensuring the development of the Athens Metro network, has recently initiated a new extension of 7.6 km, has planned for line 3 of Athens Metro from Haidari to Piraeus "Dimotikon Theatre" towards "University of Piraeus" (forestation), connecting the major Piraeus Port with "Eleftherios Venizelos" International Airport. The Piraeus extension consists of a Tunnel Boring Machine, 2 tracks and, tunnel sections, as well as 6 stations and a forestation (New Austrian Tunnelling Method) at the end of the alignment. In order to avoid the degradation of the urban acoustic environment from ground borne noise and vibration during metro operation, the assessment of the required track types and possible noise mitigation measures was executed, and for each section and each sensitive building, the ground borne noise and vibration levels will be numerically predicted. The calculated levels were then compared with ground borne noise and vibration level criteria. The necessary mitigation measures were defined in order to guarantee, in each location along the extension, the allowable ground borne Noise and Vibration max. levels inside nearby sensitive buildings taking into account alternative Transfer Functions for ground borne noise diffusion inside the buildings. Ground borne noise levels were proven to be higher than the criterion where special track work is present and also in the case of the sensitive receptor: "Dimotikon Theatre". In order to reduce the ground borne noise levels to allowable values in these sections, the installation of tracks and special track work on a floating slab was assessed and recommended. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrophoretic build-up of multi nanoparticle array for a highly sensitive immunoassay

PubMed Central

Han, Jin-Hee; Kim, Hee-Joo; Sudheendra, L.; Hass, Elizabeth A.; Gee, Shirley J.; Hammock, Bruce D.; Kennedy, Ian M.

2012-01-01

One of the challenges in shrinking immunoassays to smaller sizes is to immobilize the biological molecules to nanometer-scaled spots. To overcome this complication, we have employed a particle-based immunoassay to create a nanostructured platform with a regular array of sensing elements. The technique makes use of an electrophoretic particle entrapment system (EPES) to immobilize nanoparticles that are coated with biological reagents into wells using a very small trapping potential. To provide useful information for controlling the trapping force and optimal design of the nanoarray, electrophoretic trapping of a nanoparticle was modeled numerically. The trapping efficiency, defined as the fraction of wells occupied by a single particle, was 91%. The performance of the array was demonstrated with a competitive immunoassay for a small molecule analyte, 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (214.2 g mole−1). The limit of detection determined with a basic fluorescence microscope was 0.006 μg l−1 (30 pM); this represented a sixteen-fold improvement in sensitivity compared to a standard 96-well plate-based ELISA; the improvement was attributed to the small size of the sample volume and the presence of light diffraction among factors unique to this structure. The EPES/nanoarray system promises to offer a new standard in applications that require portable, point-of-care and real-time monitoring with high sensitivity. PMID:23021853

Evaluating the Maturity of Cybersecurity Programs for Building Control Systems

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

Glantz, Clifford S.; Somasundaram, Sriram; Mylrea, Michael E.

The cyber-physical security threat to buildings is complex, non-linear, and rapidly evolving as operational and information technologies converge and connect buildings to cyberspace. Cyberattacks on buildings can exploit smart building controls and breach corporate networks, causing financial and reputational damage. This may result in the loss of sensitive building information or the disruption of, or damage to, the systems necessary for the safe and efficient operation of buildings. For the buildings and facility infrastructure, there is a need for a robust national cybersecurity strategy for buildings, guidance on the selection and implementation of appropriate cybersecurity controls for buildings, an approachmore » to evaluate the maturity and adequacy of the cybersecurity programs. To provide an approach for evaluating the maturity of the cybersecurity programs for building control systems, the US Department of Energy’s widely used Cybersecurity Capability and Maturity Model (C2M2) has been adapted into a building control systems version. The revised model, the Buildings-C2M2 (B-C2M2) provides maturity level indicators for cybersecurity programmatic domains. A “B-C2M2 Lite” version allows facility managers and building control system engineers, or information technology personnel to perform rapid self-assessments of their cybersecurity program. Both tools have been pilot tested on several facilities. This paper outlines the concept of a maturity model, describes the B-C2M2 tools, presents results and observations from the pilot assessments, and lays out plans for future work.« less

Comparison of integrated clustering methods for accurate and stable prediction of building energy consumption data

DOE PAGES

Hsu, David

2015-09-27

Clustering methods are often used to model energy consumption for two reasons. First, clustering is often used to process data and to improve the predictive accuracy of subsequent energy models. Second, stable clusters that are reproducible with respect to non-essential changes can be used to group, target, and interpret observed subjects. However, it is well known that clustering methods are highly sensitive to the choice of algorithms and variables. This can lead to misleading assessments of predictive accuracy and mis-interpretation of clusters in policymaking. This paper therefore introduces two methods to the modeling of energy consumption in buildings: clusterwise regression,more » also known as latent class regression, which integrates clustering and regression simultaneously; and cluster validation methods to measure stability. Using a large dataset of multifamily buildings in New York City, clusterwise regression is compared to common two-stage algorithms that use K-means and model-based clustering with linear regression. Predictive accuracy is evaluated using 20-fold cross validation, and the stability of the perturbed clusters is measured using the Jaccard coefficient. These results show that there seems to be an inherent tradeoff between prediction accuracy and cluster stability. This paper concludes by discussing which clustering methods may be appropriate for different analytical purposes.« less

Field study of thermal comfort in non-air-conditioned buildings in a tropical island climate.

PubMed

Lu, Shilei; Pang, Bo; Qi, Yunfang; Fang, Kun

2018-01-01

The unique geographical location of Hainan makes its climate characteristics different from inland areas in China. The thermal comfort of Hainan also owes its uniqueness to its tropical island climate. In the past decades, there have been very few studies on thermal comfort of the residents in tropical island areas in China. A thermal environment test for different types of buildings in Hainan and a thermal comfort field investigation of 1944 subjects were conducted over a period of about two months. The results of the survey data show that a high humidity environment did not have a significant impact on human comfort. The neutral temperature for the residents in tropical island areas was 26.1 °C, and the acceptable temperature range of thermal comfort was from 23.1 °C to 29.1 °C. Residents living in tropical island areas showed higher heat resistance capacity, but lower cold tolerance than predicted. The neutral temperature for females (26.3 °C) was higher than for males (25.8 °C). Additionally, females were more sensitive to air temperature than males. The research conclusions can play a guiding role in the thermal environment design of green buildings in Hainan Province. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

C-Depth Method to Determine Diffusion Coefficient and Partition Coefficient of PCB in Building Materials.

PubMed

Liu, Cong; Kolarik, Barbara; Gunnarsen, Lars; Zhang, Yinping

2015-10-20

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found to be persistent in the environment and possibly harmful. Many buildings are characterized with high PCB concentrations. Knowledge about partitioning between primary sources and building materials is critical for exposure assessment and practical remediation of PCB contamination. This study develops a C-depth method to determine diffusion coefficient (D) and partition coefficient (K), two key parameters governing the partitioning process. For concrete, a primary material studied here, relative standard deviations of results among five data sets are 5%-22% for K and 42-66% for D. Compared with existing methods, C-depth method overcomes the inability to obtain unique estimation for nonlinear regression and does not require assumed correlations for D and K among congeners. Comparison with a more sophisticated two-term approach implies significant uncertainty for D, and smaller uncertainty for K. However, considering uncertainties associated with sampling and chemical analysis, and impact of environmental factors, the results are acceptable for engineering applications. This was supported by good agreement between model prediction and measurement. Sensitivity analysis indicated that effective diffusion distance, contacting time of materials with primary sources, and depth of measured concentrations are critical for determining D, and PCB concentration in primary sources is critical for K.

Effective seismic acceleration measurements for low-cost Structural Health Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pentaris, Fragkiskos; Makris, John P.

2015-04-01

There is increasing demand on cost effective Structural Health Monitoring systems for buildings as well as important and/or critical constructions. The front end for all these systems is the accelerometer. We present a comparative study of two low cost MEMS accelaration sensors against a very sensitive, high dynamic range strong motion accelerometer of force balance type but much more expensive. A real experiment was realized by deploying the three sesnors in a reinforced concrete building of the premises of TEI of Crete at Chania Crete, an earthquake prone region. The analysis of the collected accelararion data from many seismic events indicates that all sensors are able to efficiently reveal the seismic response of the construction in terms of PSD. Furthermore, it is shown that coherence diagrams between excitation and response of the building under study, depict structural characteristics but also the seismic energy distribution. This work is supported by the Archimedes III Program of the Ministry of Education of Greece, through the Operational Program "Educational and Lifelong Learning", in the framework of the project entitled "Interdisciplinary Multi-Scale Research of Earthquake Physics and Seismotectonics at the front of the Hellenic Arc (IMPACT-ARC)" and is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund) and Greek national funds.

Push back to respond better: regulatory inhibition of the DNA double-strand break response.

PubMed

Panier, Stephanie; Durocher, Daniel

2013-10-01

Single DNA lesions such as DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) can cause cell death or trigger genome rearrangements that have oncogenic potential, and so the pathways that mend and signal DNA damage must be highly sensitive but, at the same time, selective and reversible. When initiated, boundaries must be set to restrict the DSB response to the site of the lesion. The integration of positive and, crucially, negative control points involving post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation, ubiquitylation and acetylation is key for building fast, effective responses to DNA damage and for mitigating the impact of DNA lesions on genome integrity.

Four-channel optically pumped atomic magnetometer for magnetoencephalography

PubMed Central

Colombo, Anthony P.; Carter, Tony R.; Borna, Amir; Jau, Yuan-Yu; Johnson, Cort N.; Dagel, Amber L.; Schwindt, Peter D. D.

2016-01-01

We have developed a four-channel optically pumped atomic magnetometer for magnetoencephalography (MEG) that incorporates a passive diffractive optical element (DOE). The DOE allows us to achieve a long, 18-mm gradiometer baseline in a compact footprint on the head. Using gradiometry, the sensitivities of the channels are < 5 fT/Hz1/2, and the 3-dB bandwidths are approximately 90 Hz, which are both sufficient to perform MEG. Additionally, the channels are highly uniform, which offers the possibility of employing standard MEG post-processing techniques. This module will serve as a building block of an array for magnetic source localization. PMID:27410816

Four-channel optically pumped atomic magnetometer for magnetoencephalography

DOE PAGES

Colombo, Anthony P.; Carter, Tony R.; Borna, Amir; ...

2016-06-29

We have developed a four-channel optically pumped atomic magnetometer for magnetoencephalography (MEG) that incorporates a passive diffractive optical element (DOE). The DOE allows us to achieve a long, 18-mm gradiometer baseline in a compact footprint on the head. Using gradiometry, the sensitivities of the channels are < 5 fT/Hz 1/2, and the 3-dB bandwidths are approximately 90 Hz, which are both sufficient to perform MEG. Additionally, the channels are highly uniform, which offers the possibility of employing standard MEG post-processing techniques. As a result, this module will serve as a building block of an array for magnetic source localization.

Plasmon waveguide resonance sensor using an Au-MgF2 structure.

PubMed

Zhou, Yanfei; Zhang, Pengfei; He, Yonghong; Xu, Zihao; Liu, Le; Ji, Yanhong; Ma, Hui

2014-10-01

We report an Au − MgF(2) plasmon waveguide resonance (PWR) sensor in this work. The characteristics of this sensing structure are compared with a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) structure theoretically and experimentally. The transverse-magnetic-polarized PWR sensor has a refractive index resolution of 9.3 × 10(-7) RIU, which is 6 times smaller than that of SPR at the incident light wavelength of 633 nm, and the transverse-electric-polarized PWR sensor has a refractive index resolution of 3.0 × 10(-6) RIU. This high-resolution sensor is easy to build and is less sensitive to film coating deviations.

Optical frequency standards for gravitational wave detection using satellite velocimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vutha, Amar

2015-04-01

Satellite Doppler velocimetry, building on the work of Kaufmann and Estabrook and Wahlquist, is a complementary technique to interferometric methods of gravitational wave detection. This method is based on the fact that the gravitational wave amplitude appears in the apparent Doppler shift of photons propagating from an emitter to a receiver. This apparent Doppler shift can be resolved provided that a frequency standard, capable of quickly averaging down to a high stability, is available. We present a design for a space-capable optical atomic frequency standard, and analyze the sensitivity of satellite Doppler velocimetry for gravitational wave astronomy in the milli-hertz frequency band.

Jet-images — deep learning edition

DOE PAGES

de Oliveira, Luke; Kagan, Michael; Mackey, Lester; ...

2016-07-13

Building on the notion of a particle physics detector as a camera and the collimated streams of high energy particles, or jets, it measures as an image, we investigate the potential of machine learning techniques based on deep learning architectures to identify highly boosted W bosons. Modern deep learning algorithms trained on jet images can out-perform standard physically-motivated feature driven approaches to jet tagging. We develop techniques for visualizing how these features are learned by the network and what additional information is used to improve performance. Finally, this interplay between physically-motivated feature driven tools and supervised learning algorithms is generalmore » and can be used to significantly increase the sensitivity to discover new particles and new forces, and gain a deeper understanding of the physics within jets.« less

Jet-images — deep learning edition

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

de Oliveira, Luke; Kagan, Michael; Mackey, Lester

Building on the notion of a particle physics detector as a camera and the collimated streams of high energy particles, or jets, it measures as an image, we investigate the potential of machine learning techniques based on deep learning architectures to identify highly boosted W bosons. Modern deep learning algorithms trained on jet images can out-perform standard physically-motivated feature driven approaches to jet tagging. We develop techniques for visualizing how these features are learned by the network and what additional information is used to improve performance. Finally, this interplay between physically-motivated feature driven tools and supervised learning algorithms is generalmore » and can be used to significantly increase the sensitivity to discover new particles and new forces, and gain a deeper understanding of the physics within jets.« less

The Intelligent System of Cardiovascular Disease Diagnosis Based on Extension Data Mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Baiqing; Li, Yange; Zhang, Lin

This thesis gives the general definition of the concepts of extension knowledge, extension data mining and extension data mining theorem in high dimension space, and also builds the IDSS integrated system by the rough set, expert system and neural network, develops the relevant computer software. From the diagnosis tests, according to the common diseases of myocardial infarctions, angina pectoris and hypertension, and made the test result with physicians, the results shows that the sensitivity, specific and accuracy diagnosis by the IDSS are all higher than the physicians. It can improve the rate of the accuracy diagnosis of physician with the auxiliary help of this system, which have the obvious meaning in low the mortality, disability rate and high the survival rate, and has strong practical values and further social benefits.

Dual-axis high-data-rate atom interferometer via cold ensemble exchange

DOE PAGES

Rakholia, Akash V.; McGuinness, Hayden J.; Biedermann, Grant W.

2014-11-24

We demonstrate a dual-axis accelerometer and gyroscope atom interferometer, which can form the building blocks of a six-axis inertial measurement unit. By recapturing the atoms after the interferometer sequence, we maintain a large atom number at high data rates of 50 to 100 measurements per second. Two cold ensembles are formed in trap zones located a few centimeters apart and are launched toward one another. During their ballistic trajectory, they are interrogated with a stimulated Raman sequence, detected, and recaptured in the opposing trap zone. As a result, we achieve sensitivities at μg/ √Hz and μrad/s/ √Hz levels, making thismore » a compelling prospect for expanding the use of atom interferometer inertial sensors beyond benign laboratory environments.« less

Measurement of the Cosmic Ray e + + e - Spectrum from 20 GeV to 1 TeV with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

DOE PAGES

Abdo, A. A.

2009-05-04

Designed as a high-sensitivity gamma-ray observatory, the Fermi Large Area Telescope is also an electron detector with a large acceptance exceeding 2 m 2 sr at 300 GeV. Building on the gamma-ray analysis, we have developed in this paper an efficient electron detection strategy which provides sufficient background rejection for measurement of the steeply falling electron spectrum up to 1 TeV. Our high precision data show that the electron spectrum falls with energy as E -3.0 and does not exhibit prominent spectral features. Finally, interpretations in terms of a conventional diffusive model as well as a potential local extra componentmore » are briefly discussed.« less

Mussel-inspired tough hydrogels with self-repairing and tissue adhesion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Zijian; Duan, Lijie; Yang, Yongqi; Hu, Wei; Gao, Guanghui

2018-01-01

The mussel-inspired polymeric hydrogels have been attractively explored owing to their self-repairing or adhesive property when the catechol groups of dopamine could chelate metal ions. However, it was a challenge for self-repairing hydrogels owning high mechanical properties. Herein, a synergistic strategy was proposed by combining catechol-Fe3+ complexes and hydrophobic association. The resulting hydrogels exhibited seamless self-repairing behavior, tissue adhesion and high mechanical property. Moreover, the pH-dependent stoichiometry of catechol-Fe3+ and temperature-sensitive hydrophobic association endue hydrogels with pH/thermo responsive characteristics. Subsequently, the self-repairing rate and mechanical property of hydrogels were investigated at different pH and temperature. This bio-inspired strategy would build an avenue for designing and constructing a new generation of self-repairing, tissue-adhesive and tough hydrogel.

Classification and virtual screening of androgen receptor antagonists.

PubMed

Li, Jiazhong; Gramatica, Paola

2010-05-24

Computational tools, such as quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR), are highly useful as screening support for prioritization of substances of very high concern (SVHC). From the practical point of view, QSAR models should be effective to pick out more active rather than inactive compounds, expressed as sensitivity in classification works. This research investigates the classification of a big data set of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)-androgen receptor (AR) antagonists, mainly aiming to improve the external sensitivity and to screen for potential AR binders. The kNN, lazy IB1, and ADTree methods and the consensus approach were used to build different models, which improve the sensitivity on external chemicals from 57.1% (literature) to 76.4%. Additionally, the models' predictive abilities were further validated on a blind collected data set (sensitivity: 85.7%). Then the proposed classifiers were used: (i) to distinguish a set of AR binders into antagonists and agonists; (ii) to screen a combined estrogen receptor binder database to find out possible chemicals that can bind to both AR and ER; and (iii) to virtually screen our in-house environmental chemical database. The in silico screening results suggest: (i) that some compounds can affect the normal endocrine system through a complex mechanism binding both to ER and AR; (ii) new EDCs, which are nonER binders, but can in silico bind to AR, are recognized; and (iii) about 20% of compounds in a big data set of environmental chemicals are predicted as new AR antagonists. The priority should be given to them to experimentally test the binding activities with AR.

An IoT-Based Solution for Monitoring a Fleet of Educational Buildings Focusing on Energy Efficiency.

PubMed

Amaxilatis, Dimitrios; Akrivopoulos, Orestis; Mylonas, Georgios; Chatzigiannakis, Ioannis

2017-10-10

Raising awareness among young people and changing their behaviour and habits concerning energy usage is key to achieving sustained energy saving. Additionally, young people are very sensitive to environmental protection so raising awareness among children is much easier than with any other group of citizens. This work examines ways to create an innovative Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) ecosystem (including web-based, mobile, social and sensing elements) tailored specifically for school environments, taking into account both the users (faculty, staff, students, parents) and school buildings, thus motivating and supporting young citizens' behavioural change to achieve greater energy efficiency. A mixture of open-source IoT hardware and proprietary platforms on the infrastructure level, are currently being utilized for monitoring a fleet of 18 educational buildings across 3 countries, comprising over 700 IoT monitoring points. Hereon presented is the system's high-level architecture, as well as several aspects of its implementation, related to the application domain of educational building monitoring and energy efficiency. The system is developed based on open-source technologies and services in order to make it capable of providing open IT-infrastructure and support from different commercial hardware/sensor vendors as well as open-source solutions. The system presented can be used to develop and offer new app-based solutions that can be used either for educational purposes or for managing the energy efficiency of the building. The system is replicable and adaptable to settings that may be different than the scenarios envisioned here (e.g., targeting different climate zones), different IT infrastructures and can be easily extended to accommodate integration with other systems. The overall performance of the system is evaluated in real-world environment in terms of scalability, responsiveness and simplicity.

Complex Rayleigh Waves Produced by Shallow Sedimentary Basins and their Potential Effects on Mid-Rise Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, M. D.; Castillo, J.; Massari, A.; Clayton, R. W.

2017-12-01

Earthquake-induced motions recorded by spatially dense seismic arrays in buildings located in the northern Los Angeles basin suggest the presence of complex, amplified surface wave effects on the seismic demand of mid-rise buildings. Several moderate earthquakes produced large-amplitude, seismic energy with slow shear-wave velocities that cannot be explained or accurately modeled by any published 3D seismic velocity models or by Vs30 values. Numerical experiments are conducted to determine if sedimentary basin features are responsible for these rarely modeled and poorly documented contributions to seismic demand computations. This is accomplished through a physics-based wave propagation examination of the effects of different sedimentary basin geometries on the nonlinear response of a mid-rise structural model based on an existing, instrumented building. Using two-dimensional finite-difference predictive modeling, we show that when an earthquake focal depth is near the vertical edge of an elongated and relatively shallow sedimentary basin, dramatically amplified and complex surface waves are generated as a result of the waveguide effect introduced by this velocity structure. In addition, for certain source-receiver distances and basin geometries, body waves convert to secondary Rayleigh waves that propagate both at the free-surface interface and along the depth interface of the basin that show up as multiple large-amplitude arrivals. This study is motivated by observations from the spatially dense, high-sample-rate acceleration data recorded by the Community Seismic Network, a community-hosted strong-motion network, currently consisting of hundreds of sensors located in the southern California area. The results provide quantitative insight into the causative relationship between a sedimentary basin shape and the generation of Rayleigh waves at depth, surface waves at the free surface, scattered seismic energy, and the sensitivity of building responses to each of these.

An IoT-Based Solution for Monitoring a Fleet of Educational Buildings Focusing on Energy Efficiency

PubMed Central

Akrivopoulos, Orestis

2017-01-01

Raising awareness among young people and changing their behaviour and habits concerning energy usage is key to achieving sustained energy saving. Additionally, young people are very sensitive to environmental protection so raising awareness among children is much easier than with any other group of citizens. This work examines ways to create an innovative Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) ecosystem (including web-based, mobile, social and sensing elements) tailored specifically for school environments, taking into account both the users (faculty, staff, students, parents) and school buildings, thus motivating and supporting young citizens’ behavioural change to achieve greater energy efficiency. A mixture of open-source IoT hardware and proprietary platforms on the infrastructure level, are currently being utilized for monitoring a fleet of 18 educational buildings across 3 countries, comprising over 700 IoT monitoring points. Hereon presented is the system’s high-level architecture, as well as several aspects of its implementation, related to the application domain of educational building monitoring and energy efficiency. The system is developed based on open-source technologies and services in order to make it capable of providing open IT-infrastructure and support from different commercial hardware/sensor vendors as well as open-source solutions. The system presented can be used to develop and offer new app-based solutions that can be used either for educational purposes or for managing the energy efficiency of the building. The system is replicable and adaptable to settings that may be different than the scenarios envisioned here (e.g., targeting different climate zones), different IT infrastructures and can be easily extended to accommodate integration with other systems. The overall performance of the system is evaluated in real-world environment in terms of scalability, responsiveness and simplicity. PMID:28994719

Simulated building energy demand biases resulting from the use of representative weather stations

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

Burleyson, Casey D.; Voisin, Nathalie; Taylor, Z. Todd

Numerical building models are typically forced with weather data from a limited number of “representative cities” or weather stations representing different climate regions. The use of representative weather stations reduces computational costs, but often fails to capture spatial heterogeneity in weather that may be important for simulations aimed at understanding how building stocks respond to a changing climate. We quantify the potential reduction in bias from using an increasing number of weather stations over the western U.S. The approach is based on deriving temperature and load time series using incrementally more weather stations, ranging from 8 to roughly 150, tomore » capture weather across different seasons. Using 8 stations, one from each climate zone, across the western U.S. results in an average absolute summertime temperature bias of 7.2°F with respect to a spatially-resolved gridded dataset. The mean absolute bias drops to 2.8°F using all available weather stations. Temperature biases of this magnitude could translate to absolute summertime mean simulated load biases as high as 13.8%, a significant error for capacity expansion planners who may use these types of simulations. Increasing the size of the domain over which biases are calculated reduces their magnitude as positive and negative biases may cancel out. Using 8 representative weather stations can lead to a 20-40% overestimation of peak building loads during both summer and winter. Using weather stations close to population centers reduces both mean and peak load biases. This approach could be used by others designing aggregate building simulations to understand the sensitivity to their choice of weather stations used to drive the models.« less

Record completeness and data concordance in an anesthesia information management system using context-sensitive mandatory data-entry fields.

PubMed

Avidan, Alexander; Weissman, Charles

2012-03-01

Use of an anesthesia information management system (AIMS) does not insure record completeness and data accuracy. Mandatory data-entry fields can be used to assure data completeness. However, they are not suited for data that is mandatory depending on the clinical situation (context sensitive). For example, information on equal breath sounds should be mandatory with tracheal intubation, but not with mask ventilation. It was hypothesized that employing context-sensitive mandatory data-entry fields can insure high data-completeness and accuracy while maintaining usability. A commercial off-the-shelf AIMS was enhanced using its built-in VBScript programming tool to build event-driven forms with context-sensitive mandatory data-entry fields. One year after introduction of the system, all anesthesia records were reviewed for data completeness. Data concordance, used as a proxy for accuracy, was evaluated using verifiable age-related data. Additionally, an anonymous satisfaction survey on general acceptance and usability of the AIMS was performed. During the initial 12 months of AIMS use, 12,241 (99.6%) of 12,290 anesthesia records had complete data. Concordances of entered data (weight, size of tracheal tubes, laryngoscopy blades and intravenous catheters) with patients' ages were 98.7-99.9%. The AIMS implementation was deemed successful by 98% of the anesthesiologists. Users rated the AIMS usability in general as very good and the data-entry forms in particular as comfortable. Due to the complexity and the high costs of implementation of an anesthesia information management system it was not possible to compare various system designs (for example with or without context-sensitive mandatory data entry-fields). Therefore, it is possible that a different or simpler design would have yielded the same or even better results. This refers also to the evaluation of usability, since users did not have the opportunity to work with different design approaches or even different computer programs. Using context-sensitive mandatory fields in an anesthesia information management system was associated with high record completeness rate and data concordance. In addition, the system's usability was rated as very good by its users. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sensitive Interviewing in Qualitative Research.

PubMed

Dempsey, Laura; Dowling, Maura; Larkin, Philip; Murphy, Kathy

2016-12-01

In this paper we focus on important considerations when planning and conducting qualitative interviews on sensitive topics. Drawing on experiences of conducting interviews with dementia caregivers, a framework of essential elements in qualitative interviewing was developed to emphasize study participants' needs while also providing guidance for researchers. Starting with a definition of sensitive research, the framework includes preparing for interviews, interacting with gatekeepers of vulnerable groups, planning for interview timing, and location, building relationships and conducting therapeutic interactions, protecting ethically vulnerable participants, and planning for disengagement. This framework has the potential to improve the effectiveness of sensitive interviewing with vulnerable groups. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Environmental Impact of Buildings--What Matters?

PubMed

Heeren, Niko; Mutel, Christopher L; Steubing, Bernhard; Ostermeyer, York; Wallbaum, Holger; Hellweg, Stefanie

2015-08-18

The goal of this study was to identify drivers of environmental impact and quantify their influence on the environmental performance of wooden and massive residential and office buildings. We performed a life cycle assessment and used thermal simulation to quantify operational energy demand and to account for differences in thermal inertia of building mass. Twenty-eight input parameters, affecting operation, design, material, and exogenic building properties were sampled in a Monte Carlo analysis. To determine sensitivity, we calculated the correlation between each parameter and the resulting life cycle inventory and impact assessment scores. Parameters affecting operational energy demand and energy conversion are the most influential for the building's total environmental performance. For climate change, electricity mix, ventilation rate, heating system, and construction material rank the highest. Thermal inertia results in an average 2-6% difference in heat demand. Nonrenewable cumulative energy demand of wooden buildings is 18% lower, compared to a massive variant. Total cumulative energy demand is comparable. The median climate change impact is 25% lower, including end-of-life material credits and 22% lower, when credits are excluded. The findings are valid for small offices and residential buildings in Switzerland and regions with similar building culture, construction material production, and climate.

Architecturally sensitive retrofitting of PV to a residential block in Greece to reduce its carbon footprint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panopoulou, Ismini

Photovoltaic power is a unique energy source, with wide distribution potential, which can be integrated within the fabric of individual buildings, transforming the power generation in a less large-scale and regionally located issue. As a result, photovoltaic power is a free, clean and silent electrical supply that can be introduced into cities and residential areas. Over the past years, grid-connected, distributed photovoltaic power systems have become an explosively growing sector worldwide. This trend is expected to be continued in the future and solar systems may become a common building element of building construction. In Greece, where the main focus of the project is concentrated, the extended sunshine and the incentives of the new Renewable Energy Sources law of 2006, give a different perspective in photovoltaic investments. In the case study of Vera Water Residence complex in Athens, the viability of an architecturally sensitive retrofitting of PV was examined, from both financial and environmental aspects. The project was concentrated in one of the complex's buildings which was modelled in TAS simulator in order for the annual heating and cooling loads to be estimated. A closer to the reality estimation of electricity demand was made through the annual electricity bills of the building. The proposed building integrated photovoltaic system was designed in terms of following and respecting the aesthetics of the existing architecture of the complex while being as efficient as possible. The annual energy output and C02 emissions reductions were then calculated through RETScreen software analysis according to the location of the project and the characteristics of the PV system. Finally, an economic analysis has been included to the study, considering the installation cost, the annual savings and the embodied energy of the system, in order for the payback period of the investment to be determined. Finally, a small sensitivity analysis concerning the effect of different factors influencing the feasibility of the PV investment was carried out and as it was expected it had significant effect on the initially calculated the payback period value. The expected future increase of fuel prices and the reduction of the investment's initial cost due to government grants, added to the prospect of new future tax incentive and subsidies, have made the prospect of the project more attractive while significantly reducing the payback period.

High-Performance Buildings – Value, Messaging, Financial and Policy Mechanisms

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

McCabe, Molly

At the request of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, an in-depth analysis of the rapidly evolving state of real estate investments, high-performance building technology, and interest in efficiency was conducted by HaydenTanner, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Program. The analysis objectives were • to evaluate the link between high-performance buildings and their market value • to identify core messaging to motivate owners, investors, financiers, and others in the real estate sector to appropriately value and deploy high-performance strategies and technologies across new and existing buildings • to summarize financial mechanisms that facilitate increased investment inmore » these buildings. To meet these objectives, work consisted of a literature review of relevant writings, examination of existing and emergent financial and policy mechanisms, interviews with industry stakeholders, and an evaluation of the value implications through financial modeling. This report documents the analysis methodology and findings, conclusion and recommendations. Its intent is to support and inform the DOE Building Technologies Program on policy and program planning for the financing of high-performance new buildings and building retrofit projects.« less

Sensitivity of fenestration solar gain to source spectrum and angle of incidence

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

McCluney, W.R.

1996-12-31

The solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) is the fraction of solar radiant flux incident on a fenestration system entering a building as heat gain. In general it depends on both the angle of incidence and the spectral distribution of the incident solar radiation. In attempts to improve energy performance and user acceptance of high-performance glazing systems, manufacturers are producing glazing systems with increasing spectral selectivity. This poses potential difficulties for calculations of solar heat gain through windows based upon the use of a single solar spectral weighting function. The sensitivity of modern high-performance glazing systems to both the angle ofmore » incidence and the shape of the incident solar spectrum is examined using a glazing performance simulation program. It is found that as the spectral selectivity of the glazing system increases, the SHGC can vary as the incident spectral distribution varies. The variations can be as great as 50% when using several different representative direct-beam spectra. These include spectra having low and high air masses and a standard spectrum having an air mass of 1.5. The variations can be even greater if clear blue diffuse skylight is considered. It is recommended that the current broad-band shading coefficient method of calculating solar gain be replaced by one that is spectral based.« less

The Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE) Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kogut, Alan J.; Chuss, David T.; Dotson, Jessie L.; Fixsen, Dale J.; Halpern, Mark; Hinshaw, Gary F.; Meyer, Stephan M.; Moseley, S. Harvey; Seiffert, Michael D.; Spergel, David N.;

The spatial frequencies influence the aesthetic judgment of buildings transculturally.

PubMed

Vannucci, Manila; Gori, Simone; Kojima, Haruyuki

2014-01-01

Recent evidence has shown that buildings designed to be high-ranking, according to the Western architectural decorum, have more impact on the minds of their beholders than low-ranking buildings. Here we investigated whether and how the aesthetic judgment for high- and low-ranking buildings was affected by differences in cultural expertise and by power spectrum differences. A group of Italian and Japanese participants performed aesthetic judgment tasks, with line drawings of high- and low-ranking buildings and with their random-phase versions (an image with the exact power spectrum of the original one but non-recognizable anymore). Irrespective of cultural expertise, high-ranking buildings and their relative random-phase versions received higher aesthetic judgments than low-ranking buildings and their random-phase versions. These findings indicate that high- and low-ranking buildings are differentiated for their aesthetic value and they show that low-level visual processes influence the aesthetic judgment based on differences in the stimuli power spectrum, irrespective of the influence of cultural expertise.

Fire in High Buildings. Fire Study No. 21.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galbreath, M.

Research into and measures of fire protection with regard to high building design are discussed with suggestions for proper building equipment, materials, and planning. The study outlines how smoke and toxic gases spread in high buildings through stairs, service shafts, air handling and heating equipment. The problems of basement fires, means of…

High-Q photonic resonators and electro-optic coupling using silicon-on-lithium-niobate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witmer, Jeremy D.; Valery, Joseph A.; Arrangoiz-Arriola, Patricio; Sarabalis, Christopher J.; Hill, Jeff T.; Safavi-Naeini, Amir H.

2017-04-01

Future quantum networks, in which superconducting quantum processors are connected via optical links, will require microwave-to-optical photon converters that preserve entanglement. A doubly-resonant electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a promising platform to realize this conversion. Here, we present our progress towards building such a modulator by demonstrating the optically-resonant half of the device. We demonstrate high quality (Q) factor ring, disk and photonic crystal resonators using a hybrid silicon-on-lithium-niobate material system. Optical Q factors up to 730,000 are achieved, corresponding to propagation loss of 0.8 dB/cm. We also use the electro-optic effect to modulate the resonance frequency of a photonic crystal cavity, achieving a electro-optic modulation coefficient between 1 and 2 pm/V. In addition to quantum technology, we expect that our results will be useful both in traditional silicon photonics applications and in high-sensitivity acousto-optic devices.

Modeling the risk of water pollution by pesticides from imbalanced data.

PubMed

Trajanov, Aneta; Kuzmanovski, Vladimir; Real, Benoit; Perreau, Jonathan Marks; Džeroski, Sašo; Debeljak, Marko

2018-04-30

The pollution of ground and surface waters with pesticides is a serious ecological issue that requires adequate treatment. Most of the existing water pollution models are mechanistic mathematical models. While they have made a significant contribution to understanding the transfer processes, they face the problem of validation because of their complexity, the user subjectivity in their parameterization, and the lack of empirical data for validation. In addition, the data describing water pollution with pesticides are, in most cases, very imbalanced. This is due to strict regulations for pesticide applications, which lead to only a few pollution events. In this study, we propose the use of data mining to build models for assessing the risk of water pollution by pesticides in field-drained outflow water. Unlike the mechanistic models, the models generated by data mining are based on easily obtainable empirical data, while the parameterization of the models is not influenced by the subjectivity of ecological modelers. We used empirical data from field trials at the La Jaillière experimental site in France and applied the random forests algorithm to build predictive models that predict "risky" and "not-risky" pesticide application events. To address the problems of the imbalanced classes in the data, cost-sensitive learning and different measures of predictive performance were used. Despite the high imbalance between risky and not-risky application events, we managed to build predictive models that make reliable predictions. The proposed modeling approach can be easily applied to other ecological modeling problems where we encounter empirical data with highly imbalanced classes.

Causes and Solutions for High Energy Consumption in Traditional Buildings Located in Hot Climate Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barayan, Olfat Mohammad

A considerable amount of money for high-energy consumption is spent in traditional buildings located in hot climate regions. High-energy consumption is significantly influenced by several causes, including building materials, orientation, mass, and openings' sizes. This paper aims to identify these causes and find practical solutions to reduce the annual cost of bills. For the purpose of this study, simulation research method has been followed. A comparison between two Revit models has also been created to point out the major cause of high-energy consumption. By analysing different orientations, wall insulation, and window glazing and applying some other high performance building techniques, a conclusion was found to confirm that appropriate building materials play a vital role in affecting energy cost. Therefore, the ability to reduce the energy cost by more than 50% in traditional buildings depends on a careful balance of building materials, mass, orientation, and type of window glazing.

Data and Analytics to Inform Energy Retrofit of High Performance Buildings

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

Hong, Tianzhen; Yang, Le; Hill, David

Buildings consume more than one-third of the world?s primary energy. Reducing energy use in buildings with energy efficient technologies is feasible and also driven by energy policies such as energy benchmarking, disclosure, rating, and labeling in both the developed and developing countries. Current energy retrofits focus on the existing building stocks, especially older buildings, but the growing number of new high performance buildings built around the world raises a question that how these buildings perform and whether there are retrofit opportunities to further reduce their energy use. This is a new and unique problem for the building industry. Traditional energymore » audit or analysis methods are inadequate to look deep into the energy use of the high performance buildings. This study aims to tackle this problem with a new holistic approach powered by building performance data and analytics. First, three types of measured data are introduced, including the time series energy use, building systems operating conditions, and indoor and outdoor environmental parameters. An energy data model based on the ISO Standard 12655 is used to represent the energy use in buildings in a three-level hierarchy. Secondly, a suite of analytics were proposed to analyze energy use and to identify retrofit measures for high performance buildings. The data-driven analytics are based on monitored data at short time intervals, and cover three levels of analysis ? energy profiling, benchmarking and diagnostics. Thirdly, the analytics were applied to a high performance building in California to analyze its energy use and identify retrofit opportunities, including: (1) analyzing patterns of major energy end-use categories at various time scales, (2) benchmarking the whole building total energy use as well as major end-uses against its peers, (3) benchmarking the power usage effectiveness for the data center, which is the largest electricity consumer in this building, and (4) diagnosing HVAC equipment using detailed time-series operating data. Finally, a few energy efficiency measures were identified for retrofit, and their energy savings were estimated to be 20percent of the whole-building electricity consumption. Based on the analyses, the building manager took a few steps to improve the operation of fans, chillers, and data centers, which will lead to actual energy savings. This study demonstrated that there are energy retrofit opportunities for high performance buildings and detailed measured building performance data and analytics can help identify and estimate energy savings and to inform the decision making during the retrofit process. Challenges of data collection and analytics were also discussed to shape best practice of retrofitting high performance buildings.« less

Cross-Talk Limits of Highly Segmented Semiconductor Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pullia, Alberto; Weisshaar, Dirk; Zocca, Francesca; Bazzacco, Dino

2011-06-01

Cross-talk limits of monolithic highly-segmented semiconductor detectors for high-resolution X-gamma spectrometry are investigated. Cross-talk causes false signal components yielding amplitude losses and fold-dependent shifts of the spectral lines, which partially spoil the spectroscopic performance of the detector. Two complementary electrical models are developed, which describe quantitatively the inter-channel cross-talk of monolithic segmented detectors whose electrodes are read out by charge-sensitive preamplifiers. The first is here designated as Cross-Capacitance (CC) model, the second as Split-Charge (SC) model. The CC model builds around the parasitic capacitances Cij linking the preamplifier outputs and the neighbor channel inputs. The SC model builds around the finite-value of the decoupling capacitance CC used to read out the high-voltage detector electrode. The key parameters of the models are individuated and ideas are shown to minimize their impact. Using a quasi-coaxial germanium segmented detector it is found that the SC cross-talk becomes negligible for decoupling capacitances larger than 1 nF, where instead the CC cross-talk tends to dominate. The residual cross-talk may be reduced by minimization of stray capacitances Cij, through a careful design of the layout of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) where the input transistors are mounted. Cij can be made as low as 5 fF, but it is shown that even in such case the impact of the CC cross-talk on the detector performance is not negligible. Finally, an algorithm for cross-talk correction is presented and elaborated.

Benchmarking Procedures for High-Throughput Context Specific Reconstruction Algorithms

PubMed Central

Pacheco, Maria P.; Pfau, Thomas; Sauter, Thomas

2016-01-01

Recent progress in high-throughput data acquisition has shifted the focus from data generation to processing and understanding of how to integrate collected information. Context specific reconstruction based on generic genome scale models like ReconX or HMR has the potential to become a diagnostic and treatment tool tailored to the analysis of specific individuals. The respective computational algorithms require a high level of predictive power, robustness and sensitivity. Although multiple context specific reconstruction algorithms were published in the last 10 years, only a fraction of them is suitable for model building based on human high-throughput data. Beside other reasons, this might be due to problems arising from the limitation to only one metabolic target function or arbitrary thresholding. This review describes and analyses common validation methods used for testing model building algorithms. Two major methods can be distinguished: consistency testing and comparison based testing. The first is concerned with robustness against noise, e.g., missing data due to the impossibility to distinguish between the signal and the background of non-specific binding of probes in a microarray experiment, and whether distinct sets of input expressed genes corresponding to i.e., different tissues yield distinct models. The latter covers methods comparing sets of functionalities, comparison with existing networks or additional databases. We test those methods on several available algorithms and deduce properties of these algorithms that can be compared with future developments. The set of tests performed, can therefore serve as a benchmarking procedure for future algorithms. PMID:26834640

High-Resolution Remote Sensing Image Building Extraction Based on Markov Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, W.; Yan, L.; Chang, Y.; Gong, L.

2018-04-01

With the increase of resolution, remote sensing images have the characteristics of increased information load, increased noise, more complex feature geometry and texture information, which makes the extraction of building information more difficult. To solve this problem, this paper designs a high resolution remote sensing image building extraction method based on Markov model. This method introduces Contourlet domain map clustering and Markov model, captures and enhances the contour and texture information of high-resolution remote sensing image features in multiple directions, and further designs the spectral feature index that can characterize "pseudo-buildings" in the building area. Through the multi-scale segmentation and extraction of image features, the fine extraction from the building area to the building is realized. Experiments show that this method can restrain the noise of high-resolution remote sensing images, reduce the interference of non-target ground texture information, and remove the shadow, vegetation and other pseudo-building information, compared with the traditional pixel-level image information extraction, better performance in building extraction precision, accuracy and completeness.

Sensitive Spin Detection Using An On-Chip Squid-Waveguide Resonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, Guang

Quantum computing gives novel way of computing using quantum mechanics, which furthers human knowledge and has exciting applications. Quantum systems with diluted spins such as rare earth ions hosted in single crystal, molecule-based magnets etc. are promising qubits candidates to form the basis of a quantum computer. High sensitivity measurement and coherent control of these spin systems are crucial for their practical usage as qubits. The micro-SQUID (direct-current micrometer-sized Superconducting QUantum Interference Device) is capable to measure magnetization of spin system with high sensitivity. For example, the micro-SQUID technique can measure magnetic moments as small as several thousand muB as shown by the study of [W. Wernsdorfer, Supercond. Sci. Technol. 22, 064013 (2009)]. Here we develop a novel on-chip setup that combines the micro-SQUID sensitivity with microwave excitation. Such setup can be used for electron spin resonance measurements or coherent control of spins utilizing the high sensitivity of micro-SQUID for signal detection. To build the setup, we studied the fabrication process of the micro-SQUID, which is made of weak-linked Josephson junctions. The SQUID as a detector is integrated on the same chip with a shorted coplanar waveguide, so that the microwave pulses can be applied through the waveguide to excite the sample for resonance measurements. The whole device is plasma etched from a thin (˜ 20nm) niobium film, so that the SQUID can work at in large in-plane magnetic fields of several tesla. In addition, computer simulations are done to find the best design of the waveguide such that the microwave excitation field is sufficiently strong and uniformly applied to the sample. The magnetization curve of Mn12 molecule-based magnet sample is measured to prove the proper working of the micro-SQUID. Electron spin resonance measurement is done on the setup for gadolinium ions diluted in a CaWO4 single crystal. The measurement shows clear evidence of the resonance signal from the 1st transition of the gadolinium ions' energy levels, which shows the setup is successfully built. Due to the high sensitivity of micro-SQUID and the ability to concentrate microwave energy in small areas of the chip, this setup can detect signals from a small number of spins (107) in a small volume (several mum 3).

Development of national standards related to the integrated safety and security of high-rise buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voskresenskaya, Elena; Vorona-Slivinskaya, Lubov

2018-03-01

The article considers the issues of developing national standards for high-rise construction. The system of standards should provide industrial, operational, economic and terrorist safety of high-rise buildings and facilities. Modern standards of high-rise construction should set the rules for designing engineering systems of high-rise buildings, which will ensure the integrated security of buildings, increase their energy efficiency and reduce the consumption of resources in construction and operation.

A high-performance and low cost SERS substrate of plasmonic nanopillars on plastic film fabricated by nanoimprint lithography with AAO template

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Long; Zhang, Qian; Lu, Yuanshen; Du, Wei; Li, Bin; Cui, Yushuang; Yuan, Changsheng; Zhan, Peng; Ge, Haixiong; Wang, Zhenling; Chen, Yanfeng

2017-06-01

As a powerful spectroscopy technique, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) can provide non-destructive and sensitive characterization down to a single molecular level. Aiming to the main challenges of high-performance SERS-active substrates for their real-world applications involving the ultra-sensitive and reproducible signals detection and signal uniformity with large-area, herein, a facile and reliable strategy based on combination of thermal imprinting polycarbonate (PC) film with porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) mold and E-beam evaporation of gold is provided to fabricate a high-quality SERS-active substrate consisting of ultra-dense hot-spots with large-area uniformity. Two kinds of sub-10 nm gaps were obtained, including the nanogaps between the neighboring gold coated PC-nanopillars and those between gold on the top of the nanopillars and that on the base, which actually build up a three-dimensional (3D) hot-spot network for high-performance SERS detection. The effect of structural parameters on SERS enhancement was investigated numerically and experimentally, and by optimizing the structural parameters, a remarkable average SERS enhancement factor up to of 1.4×108 is achieved and it shows an excellent reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 18%, which allows for enhanced practicability in the application of quantitative biochemical detection.

Magnetic field sensors using 13-spin cat states

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

Simmons, Stephanie; Karlen, Steven D.; Jones, Jonathan A.

2010-08-15

Measurement devices could benefit from entangled correlations to yield a measurement sensitivity approaching the physical Heisenberg limit. Building upon previous magnetometric work using pseudoentangled spin states in solution-state NMR, we present two conceptual advancements to better prepare and interpret the pseudoentanglement resource. We apply these to a 13-spin cat state to measure the local magnetic field with a 12.2 sensitivity increase over an equivalent number of isolated spins.

Flexible Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Based on Vertical ZnO Nanowire Arrays

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Flexible dye-sensitized solar cells are fabricated using vertically aligned ZnO nanowire arrays that are transferred onto ITO-coated poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrates using a simple peel-off process. The solar cells demonstrate an energy conversion efficiency of 0.44% with good bending tolerance. This technique paves a new route for building large-scale cost-effective flexible photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices. PMID:27502660

High sensitivity zero-biased magnetic field sensor based on multiphase laminate heterostructures with FeCuNbSiB nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Jing; Wen, Yumei; Li, Ping; Chen, Hengjia

2016-05-01

In this paper, a high sensitivity zero-biased magnetic field sensor based on multiphase laminate heterostructures consisting of FeCuNbSiB/Terfenol-D (Tb1-xDyxFe2)/PZT (Pb(Zr1-x,Tix)O3)/Terfenol-D/PZT/Ternol-D/FeCuNbSiB (FMPMPMF) is presented, whose ME coupling characteristics and sensing performances have been investigated. Compared to traditional Terfenol-D/PZT/Terfenol-D (MPM) and Terfenol-D/PZT/Terfenol-D/PZT/Terfenol-D (MPMPM) sensors, the zero-biased ME coupling characteristics of FMPMPMF sensor were significantly improved, owing to a build-in magnetic field in FeCuNbSiB/Terfenol-D layers. The optimum zero-biased resonant ME voltage coefficient of 3.02 V/Oe is achieved, which is 1.65 times as great as that of MPMPM and 2.51 times of MPM sensors. The mean value of low-frequency ME field coefficient of FMPMPMF reaches 122.53 mV/cm Oe, which is 2.39 times as great as that of MPMPM and 1.79 times of MPM sensors. Meanwhile, the induced zero-biased ME voltage of FMPMPMF sensor shows an excellent linear relationship to ac magnetic field both at the low frequency (1 kHz) and the resonant frequency (106.6 kHz). Remarkably, it indicates that the proposed zero-biased magnetic field sensor give the prospect of being able to applied to the field of highly sensitive ac magnetic field sensing.

Improving the Power Conversion Efficiency of Carbon Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells by Growing the Dots on a TiO₂ Photoanode In Situ.

PubMed

Zhang, Quanxin; Zhang, Geping; Sun, Xiaofeng; Yin, Keyang; Li, Hongguang

2017-05-31

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are highly promising since they can potentially solve global energy issues. The development of new photosensitizers is the key to fully realizing perspectives proposed to DSSCs. Being cheap and nontoxic, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have emerged as attractive candidates for this purpose. However, current methodologies to build up CQD-sensitized solar cells (CQDSCs) result in an imperfect apparatus with extremely low power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). Herein, we present a simple strategy of growing carbon quantum dots (CQDs) onto TiO₂ surfaces in situ. The CQDs/TiO₂ hybridized photoanode was then used to construct solar cell with an improved PCE of 0.87%, which is higher than all of the reported CQDSCs adopting the simple post-adsorption method. This result indicates that an in situ growing strategy has great advantages in terms of optimizing the performance of CQDSCs. In addition, we have also found that the mechanisms dominating the performance of CQDSCs are different from those behind the solar cells using inorganic semiconductor quantum dots (ISQDs) as the photosensitizers, which re-confirms the conclusion that the characteristics of CQDs differ from those of ISQDs.

Sensor Applications of Soft Magnetic Materials Based on Magneto-Impedance, Magneto-Elastic Resonance and Magneto-Electricity

PubMed Central

García-Arribas, Alfredo; Gutiérrez, Jon; Kurlyandskaya, Galina V.; Barandiarán, José M.; Svalov, Andrey; Fernández, Eduardo; Lasheras, Andoni; de Cos, David; Bravo-Imaz, Iñaki

2014-01-01

The outstanding properties of selected soft magnetic materials make them successful candidates for building high performance sensors. In this paper we present our recent work regarding different sensing technologies based on the coupling of the magnetic properties of soft magnetic materials with their electric or elastic properties. In first place we report the influence on the magneto-impedance response of the thickness of Permalloy films in multilayer-sandwiched structures. An impedance change of 270% was found in the best conditions upon the application of magnetic field, with a low field sensitivity of 140%/Oe. Second, the magneto-elastic resonance of amorphous ribbons is used to demonstrate the possibility of sensitively measuring the viscosity of fluids, aimed to develop an on-line and real-time sensor capable of assessing the state of degradation of lubricant oils in machinery. A novel analysis method is shown to sensitively reveal the changes of the damping parameter of the magnetoelastic oscillations at the resonance as a function of the oil viscosity. Finally, the properties and performance of magneto-electric laminated composites of amorphous magnetic ribbons and piezoelectric polymer films are investigated, demonstrating magnetic field detection capabilities below 2.7 nT. PMID:24776934

76 FR 13617 - Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings (OFHPGB); Notice of GSA Bulletin OFHPGB 2011...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-14

...-Performance Green Buildings (OFHPGB); Notice of GSA Bulletin OFHPGB 2011-OGP-1 AGENCY: Office of.... Procedures Bulletins regarding the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Building are located on the... Washington, DC 20405 OFFICE OF FEDERAL HIGH-PERFORMANCE GREEN BUILDINGS GSA Bulletin 2011-OGP-1 TO: Heads of...

High turnover of fungal hyphae in incubation experiments.

PubMed

de Vries, Franciska T; Bååth, Erland; Kuyper, Thom W; Bloem, Jaap

2009-03-01

Soil biological studies are often conducted on sieved soils without the presence of plants. However, soil fungi build delicate mycelial networks, often symbiotically associated with plant roots (mycorrhizal fungi). We hypothesized that as a result of sieving and incubating without plants, the total fungal biomass decreases. To test this, we conducted three incubation experiments. We expected total and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal biomass to be higher in less fertilized soils than in fertilized soils, and thus to decrease more during incubation. Indeed, we found that fungal biomass decreased rapidly in the less fertilized soils. A shift towards thicker hyphae occurred, and the fraction of septate hyphae increased. However, analyses of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and neutral lipid fatty acids could not clarify which fungal groups were decreasing. We propose that in our soils, there was a fraction of fungal biomass that was sensitive to fertilization and disturbance (sieving, followed by incubation without plants) with a very high turnover (possibly composed of fine hyphae of AM and saprotrophic fungi), and a fraction that was much less vulnerable with a low turnover (composed of saprotrophic fungi and runner hyphae of AMF). Furthermore, PLFAs might not be as sensitive in detecting changes in fungal biomass as previously thought.

In the Field Feasibility of a Simple Method to Check for Radioactivity in Commodities and in the Environment

PubMed Central

Alessandri, Stefano

2017-01-01

Introduction: Some release of radionuclides into the environment can be expected from the growing number of nuclear plants, either in or out of service. The citizen and the big organization could be both interested in simple and innovative methods for checking the radiological safety of their environment and of commodities, starting from foods. Methods: In this work three methods to detect radioactivity are briefly compared  focusing on the most recent, which converts a smartphone into a radiation counter. Results: The results of a simple sensitivity test are presented showing the measure of the activity of reference sources put at different distances from each sensor. Discussion: The three methods are discussed in terms of availability, technology, sensitivity, resolution and usefulness. The reported results can be usefully transferred into a radiological emergency scenario and they also offer some interesting implication for our current everyday life, but show that the hardware of the tested smart-phone can detect only high levels of radioactivity. However the technology could be interesting to build a working detection and measurement chain which could start from a diffused and networked first screening before the final high resolution analysis. PMID:28744409

Sensitivity analyses of acoustic impedance inversion with full-waveform inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Gang; da Silva, Nuno V.; Wu, Di

2018-04-01

Acoustic impedance estimation has a significant importance to seismic exploration. In this paper, we use full-waveform inversion to recover the impedance from seismic data, and analyze the sensitivity of the acoustic impedance with respect to the source-receiver offset of seismic data and to the initial velocity model. We parameterize the acoustic wave equation with velocity and impedance, and demonstrate three key aspects of acoustic impedance inversion. First, short-offset data are most suitable for acoustic impedance inversion. Second, acoustic impedance inversion is more compatible with the data generated by density contrasts than velocity contrasts. Finally, acoustic impedance inversion requires the starting velocity model to be very accurate for achieving a high-quality inversion. Based upon these observations, we propose a workflow for acoustic impedance inversion as: (1) building a background velocity model with travel-time tomography or reflection waveform inversion; (2) recovering the intermediate wavelength components of the velocity model with full-waveform inversion constrained by Gardner’s relation; (3) inverting the high-resolution acoustic impedance model with short-offset data through full-waveform inversion. We verify this workflow by the synthetic tests based on the Marmousi model.

Energy and IAQ Implications of Alternative Minimum Ventilation Rates in California Retail and School Buildings

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

Dutton, Spencer M.; Fisk, William J.

For a stand-alone retail building, a primary school, and a secondary school in each of the 16 California climate zones, the EnergyPlus building energy simulation model was used to estimate how minimum mechanical ventilation rates (VRs) affect energy use and indoor air concentrations of an indoor-generated contaminant. The modeling indicates large changes in heating energy use, but only moderate changes in total building energy use, as minimum VRs in the retail building are changed. For example, predicted state-wide heating energy consumption in the retail building decreases by more than 50% and total building energy consumption decreases by approximately 10% asmore » the minimum VR decreases from the Title 24 requirement to no mechanical ventilation. The primary and secondary schools have notably higher internal heat gains than in the retail building models, resulting in significantly reduced demand for heating. The school heating energy use was correspondingly less sensitive to changes in the minimum VR. The modeling indicates that minimum VRs influence HVAC energy and total energy use in schools by only a few percent. For both the retail building and the school buildings, minimum VRs substantially affected the predicted annual-average indoor concentrations of an indoor generated contaminant, with larger effects in schools. The shape of the curves relating contaminant concentrations with VRs illustrate the importance of avoiding particularly low VRs.« less

The ratio of effective building height to street width governs dispersion of local vehicle emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulte, Nico; Tan, Si; Venkatram, Akula

2015-07-01

Analysis of data collected in street canyons located in Hanover, Germany and Los Angeles, USA, suggests that street-level concentrations of vehicle-related pollutants can be estimated with a model that assumes that vertical turbulent transport of emissions dominates the governing processes. The dispersion model relates surface concentrations to traffic flow rate, the effective aspect ratio of the street, and roof level turbulence. The dispersion model indicates that magnification of concentrations relative to those in the absence of buildings is most sensitive to the aspect ratio of the street, which is the ratio of the effective height of the buildings on the street to the width of the street. This result can be useful in the design of transit oriented developments that increase building density to reduce emissions from transportation.

Fluorescent nanosensors via photoinduced polymerization of hydrophobic inorganic quantum dots for the sensitive and selective detection of nitroaromatics.

PubMed

Bai, Min; Huang, Shuina; Xu, Suying; Hu, Gaofei; Wang, Leyu

2015-02-17

We developed an efficient one-pot strategy for the preparation of hydrophilic amine-functionalized nanocomposites by using hydrophobic fluorescence quantum dots ZnS:Mn(2+)@allyl mercaptan (QDs@AM) as building blocks through novel light-induced in situ polymerization. The average size of as-prepared hydrophilic nanocomposites was ∼50 nm, which could be further tuned by varying the concentrations of the monomers. Importantly, these nanocomposites were further utilized for the facile, highly sensitive, and selective detection of nitroaromatics. The linear ranges for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) lie in 0.01-0.5 μg/mL and 0.05-8.0 μg/mL, respectively, barely interfered with by other nitroaromatics such as 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) and nitrobenzene (NB). Moreover, the novel surface modification method developed here offered a general strategy for fabricating hydrophobic nanocomposites with hydrophilic properties and indicated various potential applications including sensing and imaging.

Risk assessment of drought disaster in typical area of corn cultivation in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qi; Zhang, Jiquan; Wang, Chunyi

2017-05-01

This study assesses the risk of corn drought disaster in China under current climate conditions and builds a predictable relationship between drought disaster risk and yield losses. Two regions, Jilin and Henan, have been selected to represent two typical areas of corn cultivation. Risk is assessed from the aspects of hazard and vulnerability. Hazard presented as drought frequency and intensity. The sensitivity of corn to droughts that happened in different corn-growing stages and regional irrigation ability are used to reflect vulnerability. The results show that drought hazard and sensitivity in Jilin are much more serious than Henan, and irrigation ability is better in Henan. As a result, the drought disaster risk in Jilin is high; corn faces severe drought stress. The average corn yield loss rates during 1978-2010 in Jilin and Henan were 9.94 and 6.91 %, respectively. The correlation between corn yield losses and drought disaster risk is significant ( r = 0.711). The results can help to guide future agriculture planning and drought adaptation polices.

Fast-Neutron Survey With Compact Plastic Scintillation Detectors.

PubMed

Preston, Rhys M; Tickner, James R

2017-07-01

With the rise of the Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM), it is now practical to build compact scintillation detectors well suited to portable use. A prototype survey meter for fast-neutrons and gamma-rays, based around an EJ-299-34 plastic scintillator with SiPM readout, has been developed and tested. A custom digital pulse processor was used to perform pulse shape discrimination on-the-fly. Ambient dose equivalent H*(10) was calculated by means of two energy-dependent 'G-functions'. The sensitivity was calculated to be between 0.10 and 0.22 cps/(µSv/hr) for fast-neutrons with energies above 2.5 MeV. The prototype was used to survey various laboratory radiation fields, with the readings compared with commercial survey meters. The high sensitivity and lightweight nature of this detector makes it promising for rapid survey of the mixed neutron/gamma-ray fields encountered in industry and homeland security. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Reinforcement Sensitivity and Risk for Psychopathology Following Exposure to Violence: A Vulnerability-Specificity Model in Latino Youth

PubMed Central

Gudiño, Omar G.; Nadeem, Erum; Kataoka, Sheryl H.; Lau, Anna S.

2013-01-01

Urban Latino youth are exposed to high rates of violence, which increases risk for diverse forms of psychopathology. To current study aims to increase specificity in predicting responses by testing the hypothesis that youths’ reinforcement sensitivity–behavioral inhibition (BIS) and behavioral approach (BAS)–is associated with specific clinical outcomes and increases risk for the development of such problems following exposure to violence. Utilizing a short-term longitudinal design, Latino youth (N=168) provided reports of BIS/BAS and emotional/behavioral problems at Time 1, exposure to violence between Time 1 and Time 2, and clinical symptoms at Time 2. Results suggested that reinforcement sensitivity moderated the relation between violence exposure and psychopathology, such that increasing levels of BIS were associated with elevated risk for internalizing and posttraumatic stress symptoms following exposure to violence whereas BAS increased risk for externalizing problems. The importance of building on existing knowledge to understand minority youth psychopathology is discussed. PMID:22080366

Recording 13C-15N HMQC 2D sparse spectra in solids in 30 s

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kupče, Ēriks; Trébosc, Julien; Perrone, Barbara; Lafon, Olivier; Amoureux, Jean-Paul

2018-03-01

We propose a dipolar HMQC Hadamard-encoded (D-HMQC-Hn) experiment for fast 2D correlations of abundant nuclei in solids. The main limitation of the Hadamard methods resides in the length of the encoding pulses, which results from a compromise between the selectivity and the sensitivity due to losses. For this reason, these methods should mainly be used with sparse spectra, and they profit from the increased separation of the resonances at high magnetic fields. In the case of the D-HMQC-Hn experiments, we give a simple rule that allows directly setting the optimum length of the selective pulses, versus the minimum separation of the resonances in the indirect dimension. The demonstration has been performed on a fully 13C,15N labelled f-MLF sample, and it allowed recording the build-up curves of the 13C-15N cross-peaks within 10 min. However, the method could also be used in the case of less sensitive samples, but with more accumulations.

Nanovesicle-based bioelectronic nose platform mimicking human olfactory signal transduction.

PubMed

Jin, Hye Jun; Lee, Sang Hun; Kim, Tae Hyun; Park, Juhun; Song, Hyun Seok; Park, Tai Hyun; Hong, Seunghun

2012-05-15

We developed a nanovesicle-based bioelectronic nose (NBN) that could recognize a specific odorant and mimic the receptor-mediated signal transmission of human olfactory systems. To build an NBN, we combined a single-walled carbon nanotube-based field effect transistor with cell-derived nanovesicles containing human olfactory receptors and calcium ion signal pathways. Importantly, the NBN took advantages of cell signal pathways for sensing signal amplification, enabling ≈ 100 times better sensitivity than that of previous bioelectronic noses based on only olfactory receptor protein and carbon nanotube transistors. The NBN sensors exhibited a human-like selectivity with single-carbon-atomic resolution and a high sensitivity of 1 fM detection limit. Moreover, this sensor platform could mimic a receptor-meditated cellular signal transmission in live cells. This sensor platform can be utilized for the study of molecular recognition and biological processes occurring at cell membranes and also for various practical applications such as food screening and medical diagnostics. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Potential of 3D City Models to assess flood vulnerability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schröter, Kai; Bochow, Mathias; Schüttig, Martin; Nagel, Claus; Ross, Lutz; Kreibich, Heidi

2016-04-01

Vulnerability, as the product of exposure and susceptibility, is a key factor of the flood risk equation. Furthermore, the estimation of flood loss is very sensitive to the choice of the vulnerability model. Still, in contrast to elaborate hazard simulations, vulnerability is often considered in a simplified manner concerning the spatial resolution and geo-location of exposed objects as well as the susceptibility of these objects at risk. Usually, area specific potential flood loss is quantified on the level of aggregated land-use classes, and both hazard intensity and resistance characteristics of affected objects are represented in highly simplified terms. We investigate the potential of 3D City Models and spatial features derived from remote sensing data to improve the differentiation of vulnerability in flood risk assessment. 3D City Models are based on CityGML, an application scheme of the Geography Markup Language (GML), which represents the 3D geometry, 3D topology, semantics and appearance of objects on different levels of detail. As such, 3D City Models offer detailed spatial information which is useful to describe the exposure and to characterize the susceptibility of residential buildings at risk. This information is further consolidated with spatial features of the building stock derived from remote sensing data. Using this database a spatially detailed flood vulnerability model is developed by means of data-mining. Empirical flood damage data are used to derive and to validate flood susceptibility models for individual objects. We present first results from a prototype application in the city of Dresden, Germany. The vulnerability modeling based on 3D City Models and remote sensing data is compared i) to the generally accepted good engineering practice based on area specific loss potential and ii) to a highly detailed representation of flood vulnerability based on a building typology using urban structure types. Comparisons are drawn in terms of affected building area and estimated loss for a selection of inundation scenarios.

Combined effect of noise and vibration produced by high-speed trains on annoyance in buildings.

PubMed

Lee, Pyoung Jik; Griffin, Michael J

2013-04-01

The effects of noise and vibration on annoyance in buildings during the passage of a nearby high-speed train have been investigated in a laboratory experiment with recorded train noise and 20 Hz vibration. The noises included the effects of two types of façade: windows-open and windows-closed. Subjects were exposed to six levels of noise and six magnitudes of vibration, and asked to rate annoyance using an 11-point numerical scale. The experiment consisted of four sessions: (1) evaluation of noise annoyance in the absence of vibration, (2) evaluation of total annoyance from simultaneous noise and vibration, (3) evaluation of noise annoyance in the presence of vibration, and (4) evaluation of vibration annoyance in the absence of noise. The results show that vibration did not influence ratings of noise annoyance, but that total annoyance caused by combined noise and vibration was considerably greater than the annoyance caused by noise alone. The noise annoyance and the total annoyance caused by combined noise and vibration were associated with subject self-ratings of noise sensitivity. Two classical models of total annoyance due to combined noise sources (maximum of the single source annoyance or the integration of individual annoyance ratings) provided useful predictions of the total annoyance caused by simultaneous noise and vibration.

Optimal design of high-rise buildings with respect to fundamental eigenfrequency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alavi, Arsalan; Rahgozar, Reza; Torkzadeh, Peyman; Hajabasi, Mohamad Ali

2017-12-01

In modern tall and slender structures, dynamic responses are usually the dominant design requirements, instead of strength criteria. Resonance is often a threatening phenomenon for such structures. To avoid this problem, the fundamental eigenfrequency, an eigenfrequency of higher order, should be maximized. An optimization problem with this objective is constructed in this paper and is applied to a high-rise building. Using variational method, the objective function is maximized, contributing to a particular profile for the first mode shape. Based on this preselected profile, a parametric formulation for flexural stiffness is calculated. Due to some near-zero values for stiffness, the obtained formulation will be modified by adding a lower bound constraint. To handle this constraint some new parameters are introduced; thereby allowing for construction of a model relating the unknown parameters. Based on this mathematical model, a design algorithmic procedure is presented. For the sake of convenience, a single-input design graph is presented as well. The main merit of the proposed method, compared to previous researches, is its hand calculation aspect, suitable for parametric studies and sensitivity analysis. As the presented formulations are dimensionless, they are applicable in any dimensional system. Accuracy and practicality of the proposed method is illustrated at the end by applying it to a real-life structure.

Spaceborne imaging spectrometer for environmental assessment of the coastal ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Curtiss O.

1996-10-01

With half of the world's population living within 50 km of the coastal ocean the coast and adjacent land areas are heavily used for recreation, and for frequently conflicting uses, such as, fisheries, oil and gas production, disposal of wastes, transportation and naval operations. Coastal ecosystems are sensitive, highly productive systems which are being heavily impacted by human activities, but which are not adequately sampled by any present or planned spaceborne remote sensing system. To remedy that situation we propose building a coastal ocean imaging spectrometer (COIS) with adequate spectral and spatial resolution and high signal to noise to provide long term monitoring and real-time characterization of the coastal environment. COIS would provide a snapshot of the effects of human activities and natural processes, including runoff, tides, currents and storms, on the distributions of phytoplankton, suspended sediments, colored dissolved organic matter, including sediment resuspension and changes in bathymetry. COIS will also be an excellent tool to assess changing land use practices and the health of corps and natural vegetation on the adjacent land areas. This paper reviews the scientific rationale for such an instrument, and the recent scientific and engineering innovations that make it possible to build a small inexpensive spaceborne instrument to meet these requirements.

11. BUILDING NO. 620B. INTERIOR VIEW LOOKING NORTH, SHOWING PENDULUM ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

11. BUILDING NO. 620-B. INTERIOR VIEW LOOKING NORTH, SHOWING PENDULUM AND FRAME IN FOREGROUND, SHIELD FOR OPERATORS IN BACKGROUND. FRICTION TEST IS OBSERVED FROM BEHIND BLAST SHIELD BY A SERIES OF MIRRORS. ANVIL IN CENTER OF PENDULUM FRAME HOLDS EXPLOSIVE WHOSE SENSITIVITY TO FRICTION IS TO BE TESTED. PANS ON EITHER SIDE CATCH ANY UNBURNT EXPLOSIVE SLUNG FROM ANVIL DURING TEST TO PREVENT EXPLOSIVE HAZARD. - Picatinny Arsenal, 600 Area, Test Areas District, State Route 15 near I-80, Dover, Morris County, NJ

Disposal of Kitchen Waste from High Rise Apartment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ori, Kirki; Bharti, Ajay; Kumar, Sunil

2017-09-01

The high rise building has numbers of floor and rooms having variety of users or tenants for residential purposes. The huge quantities of heterogenous mixtures of domestic food waste are generated from every floor of the high rise residential buildings. Disposal of wet and biodegradable domestic kitchen waste from high rise buildings are more expensive in regards of collection and vertical transportation. This work is intended to address the technique to dispose of the wet organic food waste from the high rise buildings or multistory building at generation point with the advantage of gravity and vermicomposting technique. This innovative effort for collection and disposal of wet organic solid waste from high rise apartment is more economical and hygienic in comparison with present system of disposal.

Raspberry, not a car: context predictability and a phonological advantage in early and late learners’ processing of speech in noise

PubMed Central

Gor, Kira

2014-01-01

Second language learners perform worse than native speakers under adverse listening conditions, such as speech in noise (SPIN). No data are available on heritage language speakers’ (early naturalistic interrupted learners’) ability to perceive SPIN. The current study fills this gap and investigates the perception of Russian speech in multi-talker babble noise by the matched groups of high- and low-proficiency heritage speakers (HSs) and late second language learners of Russian who were native speakers of English. The study includes a control group of Russian native speakers. It manipulates the noise level (high and low), and context cloze probability (high and low). The results of the SPIN task are compared to the tasks testing the control of phonology, AXB discrimination and picture-word discrimination, and lexical knowledge, a word translation task, in the same participants. The increased phonological sensitivity of HSs interacted with their ability to rely on top–down processing in sentence integration, use contextual cues, and build expectancies in the high-noise/high-context condition in a bootstrapping fashion. HSs outperformed oral proficiency-matched late second language learners on SPIN task and two tests of phonological sensitivity. The outcomes of the SPIN experiment support both the early naturalistic advantage and the role of proficiency in HSs. HSs’ ability to take advantage of the high-predictability context in the high-noise condition was mitigated by their level of proficiency. Only high-proficiency HSs, but not any other non-native group, took advantage of the high-predictability context that became available with better phonological processing skills in high-noise. The study thus confirms high-proficiency (but not low-proficiency) HSs’ nativelike ability to combine bottom–up and top–down cues in processing SPIN. PMID:25566130

Raspberry, not a car: context predictability and a phonological advantage in early and late learners' processing of speech in noise.

PubMed

Gor, Kira

2014-01-01

Second language learners perform worse than native speakers under adverse listening conditions, such as speech in noise (SPIN). No data are available on heritage language speakers' (early naturalistic interrupted learners') ability to perceive SPIN. The current study fills this gap and investigates the perception of Russian speech in multi-talker babble noise by the matched groups of high- and low-proficiency heritage speakers (HSs) and late second language learners of Russian who were native speakers of English. The study includes a control group of Russian native speakers. It manipulates the noise level (high and low), and context cloze probability (high and low). The results of the SPIN task are compared to the tasks testing the control of phonology, AXB discrimination and picture-word discrimination, and lexical knowledge, a word translation task, in the same participants. The increased phonological sensitivity of HSs interacted with their ability to rely on top-down processing in sentence integration, use contextual cues, and build expectancies in the high-noise/high-context condition in a bootstrapping fashion. HSs outperformed oral proficiency-matched late second language learners on SPIN task and two tests of phonological sensitivity. The outcomes of the SPIN experiment support both the early naturalistic advantage and the role of proficiency in HSs. HSs' ability to take advantage of the high-predictability context in the high-noise condition was mitigated by their level of proficiency. Only high-proficiency HSs, but not any other non-native group, took advantage of the high-predictability context that became available with better phonological processing skills in high-noise. The study thus confirms high-proficiency (but not low-proficiency) HSs' nativelike ability to combine bottom-up and top-down cues in processing SPIN.

Field Test Data for Detecting Vibrations of a Building Using High-Speed Video Cameras

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

ARL-TR-8185 ● OCT 2017 US Army Research Laboratory Field Test Data for Detecting Vibrations of a Building Using High -Speed Video...Field Test Data for Detecting Vibrations of a Building Using High -Speed Video Cameras by Caitlin P Conn and Geoffrey H Goldman Sensors and...June 2016 – October 2017 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Field Test Data for Detecting Vibrations of a Building Using High -Speed Video Cameras 5a. CONTRACT

Stewart Air National Guard Base, NY, C-5M Painting Refurbishment Assessment

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-06

is asthma due to sensitization. After sensitization, any exposure , even to levels below the occupational exposure limit, can produce an asthmatic...Consultative Services Division provide a comprehensive exposure and risk assessment of the corrosion control process conducted on the C-5M in Building...101 at Stewart Air National Guard Base, NY. This facility was previously a fuels systems maintenance facility. At the time of this assessment, the

Numerical modelling of distributed vibration sensor based on phase-sensitive OTDR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masoudi, A.; Newson, T. P.

2017-04-01

A Distributed Vibration Sensor Based on Phase-Sensitive OTDR is numerically modeled. The advantage of modeling the building blocks of the sensor individually and combining the blocks to analyse the behavior of the sensing system is discussed. It is shown that the numerical model can accurately imitate the response of the experimental setup to dynamic perturbations a signal processing procedure similar to that used to extract the phase information from sensing setup.

A fiber air-gap Fabry-Pérot temperature sensor demodulated by using frequency modulated continuous wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Wanfu; Xie, Jianglei; Li, Yi; Xu, Ben; Kang, Juan; Shen, Changyu; Wang, Jianfeng; Jin, Yongxing; Liu, Honglin; Ni, Kai; Dong, Xinyong; Zhao, Chunliu; Jin, Shangzhong

In this study, a fiber in-line air-gap Fabry-Pérot interferometer (FPI) is fabricated by HF acid etching. For a low-cost and higher precise measurement, a demodulation system based on frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) technique is build up and demonstrated in this air-gap FPI. In temperature measurements, the temperature sensitivity is about 1.75 rad/°C by phase shift detection. We also test the long term performance of the system and the RMS error is about 0.04 rad, which corresponds to the temperature resolution of ~0.02 °C. It is much higher than the measurement resolution by using the traditional wavelength shift detection method. Our experiments show that the FMCW can provide a low-cost, high resolution and high speed interrogation solution to the fiber FPIs.

Bayesian network modelling of upper gastrointestinal bleeding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aisha, Nazziwa; Shohaimi, Shamarina; Adam, Mohd Bakri

2013-09-01

Bayesian networks are graphical probabilistic models that represent causal and other relationships between domain variables. In the context of medical decision making, these models have been explored to help in medical diagnosis and prognosis. In this paper, we discuss the Bayesian network formalism in building medical support systems and we learn a tree augmented naive Bayes Network (TAN) from gastrointestinal bleeding data. The accuracy of the TAN in classifying the source of gastrointestinal bleeding into upper or lower source is obtained. The TAN achieves a high classification accuracy of 86% and an area under curve of 92%. A sensitivity analysis of the model shows relatively high levels of entropy reduction for color of the stool, history of gastrointestinal bleeding, consistency and the ratio of blood urea nitrogen to creatinine. The TAN facilitates the identification of the source of GIB and requires further validation.

A wearable diffuse reflectance sensor for continuous monitoring of cutaneous blood content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakharov, P.; Talary, M. S.; Caduff, A.

2009-09-01

An optical diffuse reflectance sensor for characterization of cutaneous blood content and optimized for continuous monitoring has been developed as part of a non-invasive multisensor system for glucose monitoring. A Monte Carlo simulation of the light propagation in the multilayered skin model has been performed in order to estimate the optimal geometrical separation of the light source and detector for skin and underlying tissue. We have observed that the pathlength within the upper vascular plexus of the skin which defines the sensor sensitivity initially grows with increasing source-detector distance (SDD) before reaching a maximum at 3.5 mm and starts to decay with further increase. At the same time, for distances above 2.4 mm, the sensor becomes sensitive to muscle blood content, which decreases the specificity to skin perfusion monitoring. Thus, the SDDs in the range from 1.5 mm to 2.4 mm satisfy the requirements of sensor sensitivity and specificity. The hardware implementation of the system has been realized and tested in laboratory experiments with a venous occlusion procedure and in an outpatient clinical study in 16 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. For both testing procedures, the optical sensor demonstrated high sensitivity to perfusion change provoking events. The general build-up of cutaneous blood under the sensor has been observed which can be associated with pressure-induced vasodilation as a response to the sensor application.

Nanosphere Templating Through Controlled Evaporation: A High Throughput Method For Building SERS Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander, Kristen; Hampton, Meredith; Lopez, Rene; Desimone, Joseph

2009-03-01

When a pair of noble metal nanoparticles are brought close together, the plasmonic properties of the pair (known as a ``dimer'') give rise to intense electric field enhancements in the interstitial gap. These fields present a simple yet exquisitely sensitive system for performing single molecule surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SM-SERS). Problems associated with current fabrication methods of SERS-active substrates include reproducibility issues, high cost of production and low throughput. In this study, we present a novel method for the high throughput fabrication of high quality SERS substrates. Using a polymer templating technique followed by the placement of thiolated nanoparticles through meniscus force deposition, we are able to fabricate large arrays of identical, uniformly spaced dimers in a quick, reproducible manner. Subsequent theoretical and experimental studies have confirmed the strong dependence of the SERS enhancement on both substrate geometry (e.g. dimer size, shape and gap size) and the polarization of the excitation source.

Nanosphere Templating Through Controlled Evaporation: A High Throughput Method For Building SERS Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander, Kristen; Lopez, Rene; Hampton, Meredith; Desimone, Joseph

2008-10-01

When a pair of noble metal nanoparticles are brought close together, the plasmonic properties of the pair (known as a ``dimer'') give rise to intense electric field enhancements in the interstitial gap. These fields present a simple yet exquisitely sensitive system for performing single molecule surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SM-SERS). Problems associated with current fabrication methods of SERS-active substrates include reproducibility issues, high cost of production and low throughput. In this study, we present a novel method for the high throughput fabrication of high quality SERS substrates. Using a polymer templating technique followed by the placement of thiolated nanoparticles through meniscus force deposition, we are able to fabricate large arrays of identical, uniformly spaced dimers in a quick, reproducible manner. Subsequent theoretical and experimental studies have confirmed the strong dependence of the SERS enhancement on both substrate geometry (e.g. dimer size, shape and gap size) and the polarization of the excitation source.

Role of Process Control in Improving Space Vehicle Safety A Space Shuttle External Tank Example

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Safie, Fayssal M.; Nguyen, Son C.; Burleson, Keith W.

2006-01-01

Developing a safe and reliable space vehicle requires good design and good manufacturing, or in other words "design it right and build it right". A great design can be hard to build or manufacture mainly due to difficulties related to quality. Specifically, process control can be a challenge. As a result, the system suffers from low quality which leads to low reliability and high system risk. The Space Shuttle has experienced some of those cases, but has overcome these difficulties through extensive redesign efforts and process enhancements. One example is the design of the hot gas temperature sensor on the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), which resulted in failure of the sensor in flight and led to a redesign of the sensor. The most recent example is the Space Shuttle External Tank (ET) Thermal Protection System (TPS) reliability issues that contributed to the Columbia accident. As a result, extensive redesign and process enhancement activities have been performed over the last two years to minimize the sensitivities and difficulties of the manual TPS application process.

KSC-06pd0179

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-01-17

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers are moving the Space Technology 5 (ST5) spacecraft out of the Orbital Sciences Building 836 onto a truck for transfer to Building 1555. There it will be mated with the Pegasus XL launch vehicle. ST5 will be launched by a Pegasus XL rocket. The satellites contain miniaturized redundant components and technologies. Each will validate New Millennium Program selected technologies, such as the Cold Gas Micro-Thruster and X-Band Transponder Communication System. After deployment from the Pegasus, the micro-satellites will be positioned in a “string of pearls” constellation that demonstrates the ability to position them to perform simultaneous multi-point measurements of the magnetic field using highly sensitive magnetometers. The data will help scientists understand and map the intensity and direction of the Earth’s magnetic field, its relation to space weather events, and affects on our planet. With such missions, NASA hopes to improve scientists’ ability to accurately forecast space weather and minimize its harmful effects on space- and ground-based systems. Launch of ST5 is scheduled for Feb. 28 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Highly multiplexed targeted proteomics using precise control of peptide retention time.

PubMed

Gallien, Sebastien; Peterman, Scott; Kiyonami, Reiko; Souady, Jamal; Duriez, Elodie; Schoen, Alan; Domon, Bruno

2012-04-01

Large-scale proteomics applications using SRM analysis on triple quadrupole mass spectrometers present new challenges to LC-MS/MS experimental design. Despite the automation of building large-scale LC-SRM methods, the increased numbers of targeted peptides can compromise the balance between sensitivity and selectivity. To facilitate large target numbers, time-scheduled SRM transition acquisition is performed. Previously published results have demonstrated incorporation of a well-characterized set of synthetic peptides enabled chromatographic characterization of the elution profile for most endogenous peptides. We have extended this application of peptide trainer kits to not only build SRM methods but to facilitate real-time elution profile characterization that enables automated adjustment of the scheduled detection windows. Incorporation of dynamic retention time adjustments better facilitate targeted assays lasting several days without the need for constant supervision. This paper provides an overview of how the dynamic retention correction approach identifies and corrects for commonly observed LC variations. This adjustment dramatically improves robustness in targeted discovery experiments as well as routine quantification experiments. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Measuring relative-story displacement and local inclination angle using multiple position-sensitive detectors.

PubMed

Matsuya, Iwao; Katamura, Ryuta; Sato, Maya; Iba, Miroku; Kondo, Hideaki; Kanekawa, Kiyoshi; Takahashi, Motoichi; Hatada, Tomohiko; Nitta, Yoshihiro; Tanii, Takashi; Shoji, Shuichi; Nishitani, Akira; Ohdomari, Iwao

2010-01-01

We propose a novel sensor system for monitoring the structural health of a building. The system optically measures the relative-story displacement during earthquakes for detecting any deformations of building elements. The sensor unit is composed of three position sensitive detectors (PSDs) and lenses capable of measuring the relative-story displacement precisely, even if the PSD unit was inclined in response to the seismic vibration. For verification, laboratory tests were carried out using an Xθ-stage and a shaking table. The static experiment verified that the sensor could measure the local inclination angle as well as the lateral displacement. The dynamic experiment revealed that the accuracy of the sensor was 150 μm in the relative-displacement measurement and 100 μrad in the inclination angle measurement. These results indicate that the proposed sensor system has sufficient accuracy for the measurement of relative-story displacement in response to the seismic vibration.

INL High Performance Building Strategy

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

Jennifer D. Morton

High performance buildings, also known as sustainable buildings and green buildings, are resource efficient structures that minimize the impact on the environment by using less energy and water, reduce solid waste and pollutants, and limit the depletion of natural resources while also providing a thermally and visually comfortable working environment that increases productivity for building occupants. As Idaho National Laboratory (INL) becomes the nation’s premier nuclear energy research laboratory, the physical infrastructure will be established to help accomplish this mission. This infrastructure, particularly the buildings, should incorporate high performance sustainable design features in order to be environmentally responsible and reflectmore » an image of progressiveness and innovation to the public and prospective employees. Additionally, INL is a large consumer of energy that contributes to both carbon emissions and resource inefficiency. In the current climate of rising energy prices and political pressure for carbon reduction, this guide will help new construction project teams to design facilities that are sustainable and reduce energy costs, thereby reducing carbon emissions. With these concerns in mind, the recommendations described in the INL High Performance Building Strategy (previously called the INL Green Building Strategy) are intended to form the INL foundation for high performance building standards. This revised strategy incorporates the latest federal and DOE orders (Executive Order [EO] 13514, “Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance” [2009], EO 13423, “Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management” [2007], and DOE Order 430.2B, “Departmental Energy, Renewable Energy, and Transportation Management” [2008]), the latest guidelines, trends, and observations in high performance building construction, and the latest changes to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System (LEED 2009). The document employs a two-level approach for high performance building at INL. The first level identifies the requirements of the Guiding Principles for Sustainable New Construction and Major Renovations, and the second level recommends which credits should be met when LEED Gold certification is required.« less

Parametric study of extended end-plate connection using finite element modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mureşan, Ioana Cristina; Bâlc, Roxana

2017-07-01

End-plate connections with preloaded high strength bolts represent a convenient, fast and accurate solution for beam-to-column joints. The behavior of framework joints build up with this type of connection are sensitive dependent on geometrical and material characteristics of the elements connected. This paper presents results of parametric analyses on the behavior of a bolted extended end-plate connection using finite element modeling program Abaqus. This connection was experimentally tested in the Laboratory of Faculty of Civil Engineering from Cluj-Napoca and the results are briefly reviewed in this paper. The numerical model of the studied connection was described in detail in [1] and provides data for this parametric study.

A new class of monolithic seismometers and accelerometers for commercial and industrial applications: the UNISA folded pendulum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barone, F.; Giordano, G.

2017-04-01

In this paper we present monolithic implementations of tunable mechanical seismometers and accelerometers (horizontal, vertical and angular) based on the UNISA Folded Pendulum configuration, protected by three international patents and commercially available. Typical characteristics are measurement band 10-7 / 1kHz, sensitivity down to ≍ 10-15 m/ √ Hz, directivity > 104, weight < 1.5 kg, dimensions < 10 cm, coupled to a large insensitivity to environmental noises and capability of operating in ultra high vacuum and cryogenic environments. Typical applications of this class of sensors are in the field of earthquake engineering, seismology, geophysics, civil engineering (buildings, bridges, dams, etc.), space (inertial guide).

Superconductivity of Rock-Salt Structure LaO Epitaxial Thin Film.

PubMed

Kaminaga, Kenichi; Oka, Daichi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya; Fukumura, Tomoteru

2018-06-06

We report a superconducting transition in a LaO epitaxial thin film with the superconducting transition onset temperature ( T c ) at around 5 K. This T c is higher than those of other lanthanum monochalcogenides and opposite to their chemical trend: T c = 0.84, 1.02, and 1.48 K for LaX (X = S, Se, Te), respectively. The carrier control resulted in a dome-shaped T c as a function of electron carrier density. In addition, the T c was significantly sensitive to epitaxial strain in spite of the highly symmetric crystal structure. This rock-salt superconducting LaO could be a building block to design novel superlattice superconductors.

Conformations and charge distributions of diazocyclopropanes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borges, Itamar, Jr.

Three diazo-substituted cyclopropane compounds, which have been suggested as new potential high energy compounds, were studied employing the B3LYP-DFT/6-31G(d,p) method. Geometries were optimized. Distributed multipole analysis, computed from the B3LYP-DFT/6-31G(d,p) density matrix, was used to describe the details of the molecular charge distribution of the three molecules. It was verified that electron withdrawing from the C ring atoms and charge build-up on the N atoms bonded to the ring increased with the number of diazo groups. These effects were related to increased sensitivity to impact and easiness of C bond N bond breaking in the three compounds.

The Size Frequency Distribution of Small Main-Belt Asteroids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burt, Brian J.; Trilling, David E.; Hines, Dean C.; Stapelfeldt, Karl R.; Rebull, Luisa M.; Fuentes, Cesar I.; Hulsebus, Alan

2012-01-01

The asteroid size distribution informs us about the formation and composition of the Solar System. We build on our previous work in which we harvest serendipitously observed data of the Taurus region and measure the brightness and size distributions of Main-belt asteroids. This is accomplished with the highly sensitive MIPS 24 micron channel. We expect to catalog 104 asteroids, giving us a statistically significant data set. Results from this investigation will allow us to characterize the total population of small, Main-belt asteroids. Here we will present new results on the completeness of our study; on the presence of size distribution variations with inclination and radial distance in the belt; and early result on other archival fields.

Current Trends in Sensors Based on Conducting Polymer Nanomaterials

PubMed Central

Yoon, Hyeonseok

2013-01-01

Conducting polymers represent an important class of functional organic materials for next-generation electronic and optical devices. Advances in nanotechnology allow for the fabrication of various conducting polymer nanomaterials through synthesis methods such as solid-phase template synthesis, molecular template synthesis, and template-free synthesis. Nanostructured conducting polymers featuring high surface area, small dimensions, and unique physical properties have been widely used to build various sensor devices. Many remarkable examples have been reported over the past decade. The enhanced sensitivity of conducting polymer nanomaterials toward various chemical/biological species and external stimuli has made them ideal candidates for incorporation into the design of sensors. However, the selectivity and stability still leave room for improvement. PMID:28348348

Light-Trap: a SiPM upgrade for VHE astronomy and beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, J. E.; Cortina, J.; Guberman, D.

2016-11-01

Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy in the Very High Energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) regime has fast become one of the most interesting and productive sub-fields of astrophysics today. Utilizing the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Technique (IACT) to reconstruct the energy and direction of incoming gamma-ray photons from the universe, several source-classes have been revealed by previous and current generations of IACT telescopes (e.g. Whipple, MAGIC, HESS and VERITAS). The next generation pointing IACT experiment, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), will provide increased sensitivity across a wider energy range and with better angular resolution. With the development of CTA, the future of IACT pointing arrays is being directed towards having more and more telescopes (and hence cameras), and therefore the need to develop low-cost pixels with acceptable light-collection efficiency is clear. One of the primary paths to the above goal is to replace Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs) with Silicon-PMs (SiPMs) as the pixels in IACT telescope cameras. However SiPMs are not yet mature enough to replace PMTs for several reasons: sensitivity to unwanted longer wavelengths while lacking sensitivity at short wavelengths, small physical area, high cost, optical cross-talk and dark rates. Here we propose a novel method to build relatively low-cost SiPM-based pixels utilising a disk of wavelength-shifting material, which overcomes some of these drawbacks by collecting light over a larger area than standard SiPMs and improving sensitivity to shorter wavelengths while reducing background. We aim to optimise the design of such pixels, integrating them into an actual 7-pixel cluster which will be inserted into a MAGIC camera and tested during real observations. Results of simulations, laboratory measurements and the current status of the cluster design and development will be presented.

CCCP activation of the reconstituted NaK-pump.

PubMed

Yoda, A; Yoda, S

1990-08-01

In the NaK-ATPase proteoliposomes (PLs), the NaK-pump activity, Na+ uptake, and ATP hydrolysis were apparently enhanced by carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone (CCCP) and other ionophores without ion gradients. These ionophore effects were not cation specific. Without ionophores, the PL's ATPase activity fell to its steady-state value within 3 sec at 15 degrees C. This decrease in activity disappeared in the presence of CCCP. Since CCCP is believed to enhance proton mobility across the lipid bilayer and dissipate membrane potential (Vm), we postulated that a Vm build-up partially inhibits the PLs by changing the conformation of the NaK-pump, and that CCCP eliminated this partial inhibition. Since this activation required extracellular K+ and high ATP concentration in the PLs, CCCP must affect the conversion between the phosphorylated forms of NaK-ATPase (EP); this step has been suggested by Goldschlegger et al. (1987) to be the voltage-sensitive step (J. Physiol. (London) 387:331-355). Although cytoplasmic K+ accelerated the change of ADP- and K(+)-sensitive EP (E*P) to K(+)-sensitive ADP-insensitive EP (E2P), CCCP did not complete with cytoplasmic K+ when cytoplasmic Na+ was saturated. When the PLs were phosphorylated with 20 microM ATP and 20 microM palmitoyl CoA instead of with high concentration of ATP, CCCP increased the E*P content and decreased the ADP-sensitive K(+)-insensitive EP (E1P). The results described above suggest that CCCP affects the E1P to E*P change in the E1P----E*P----E2P conversion and that this reaction step is inhibited by Vm.

A ligation-triggered DNAzyme cascade for amplified fluorescence detection of biological small molecules with zero-background signal.

PubMed

Lu, Li-Min; Zhang, Xiao-Bing; Kong, Rong-Mei; Yang, Bin; Tan, Weihong

2011-08-03

Many types of fluorescent sensing systems have been reported for biological small molecules. Particularly, several methods have been developed for the recognition of ATP or NAD(+), but they only show moderate sensitivity, and they cannot discriminate either ATP or NAD(+) from their respective analogues. We have addressed these limitations and report here a dual strategy which combines split DNAzyme-based background reduction with catalytic and molecular beacon (CAMB)-based amplified detection to develop a ligation-triggered DNAzyme cascade, resulting in ultrahigh sensitivity. First, the 8-17 DNAzyme is split into two separate oligonucleotide fragments as the building blocks for the DNA ligation reaction, thereby providing a zero-background signal to improve overall sensitivity. Next, a CAMB strategy is further employed for amplified signal detection achieved through cycling and regenerating the DNAzyme to realize the true enzymatic multiple turnover (one enzyme catalyzes the cleavage of several substrates) of catalytic beacons. This combination of zero-background signal and signal amplification significantly improves the sensitivity of the sensing systems, resulting in detection limits of 100 and 50 pM for ATP and NAD(+), respectively, much lower than those of previously reported biosensors. Moreover, by taking advantage of the highly specific biomolecule-dependence of the DNA ligation reaction, the developed DNAzyme cascades show significantly high selectivity toward the target cofactor (ATP or NAD(+)), and the target biological small molecule can be distinguished from its analogues. Therefore, as a new and universal platform for the design of DNA ligation reaction-based sensing systems, this novel ligation-triggered DNAzyme cascade method may find a broad spectrum of applications in both environmental and biomedical fields.

Metasurface quantum-cascade laser with electrically switchable polarization

DOE PAGES

Xu, Luyao; Chen, Daguan; Curwen, Christopher A.; ...

2017-04-20

Dynamic control of a laser’s output polarization state is desirable for applications in polarization sensitive imaging, spectroscopy, and ellipsometry. Using external elements to control the polarization state is a common approach. Less common and more challenging is directly switching the polarization state of a laser, which, however, has the potential to provide high switching speeds, compactness, and power efficiency. Here, we demonstrate a new approach to achieve direct and electrically controlled polarization switching of a semiconductor laser. This is enabled by integrating a polarization-sensitive metasurface with a semiconductor gain medium to selectively amplify a cavity mode with the designed polarizationmore » state, therefore leading to an output in the designed polarization. Here, the demonstration is for a terahertz quantum-cascade laser, which exhibits electrically controlled switching between two linear polarizations separated by 80°, while maintaining an excellent beam with a narrow divergence of ~3°×3° and a single-mode operation fixed at ~3.4 THz, combined with a peak power as high as 93 mW at a temperature of 77 K. The polarization-sensitive metasurface is composed of two interleaved arrays of surface-emitting antennas, all of which are loaded with quantum-cascade gain materials. Each array is designed to resonantly interact with one specific polarization; when electrical bias is selectively applied to the gain material in one array, selective amplification of one polarization occurs. The amplifying metasurface is used along with an output coupler reflector to build a vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser whose output polarization state can be switched solely electrically. In conclusion, this work demonstrates the potential of exploiting amplifying polarization-sensitive metasurfaces to create lasers with desirable polarization states—a concept which is applicable beyond the terahertz and can potentially be applied to shorter wavelengths.« less

Metasurface quantum-cascade laser with electrically switchable polarization

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

Xu, Luyao; Chen, Daguan; Curwen, Christopher A.

Dynamic control of a laser’s output polarization state is desirable for applications in polarization sensitive imaging, spectroscopy, and ellipsometry. Using external elements to control the polarization state is a common approach. Less common and more challenging is directly switching the polarization state of a laser, which, however, has the potential to provide high switching speeds, compactness, and power efficiency. Here, we demonstrate a new approach to achieve direct and electrically controlled polarization switching of a semiconductor laser. This is enabled by integrating a polarization-sensitive metasurface with a semiconductor gain medium to selectively amplify a cavity mode with the designed polarizationmore » state, therefore leading to an output in the designed polarization. Here, the demonstration is for a terahertz quantum-cascade laser, which exhibits electrically controlled switching between two linear polarizations separated by 80°, while maintaining an excellent beam with a narrow divergence of ~3°×3° and a single-mode operation fixed at ~3.4 THz, combined with a peak power as high as 93 mW at a temperature of 77 K. The polarization-sensitive metasurface is composed of two interleaved arrays of surface-emitting antennas, all of which are loaded with quantum-cascade gain materials. Each array is designed to resonantly interact with one specific polarization; when electrical bias is selectively applied to the gain material in one array, selective amplification of one polarization occurs. The amplifying metasurface is used along with an output coupler reflector to build a vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser whose output polarization state can be switched solely electrically. In conclusion, this work demonstrates the potential of exploiting amplifying polarization-sensitive metasurfaces to create lasers with desirable polarization states—a concept which is applicable beyond the terahertz and can potentially be applied to shorter wavelengths.« less

Development of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assays for Detection and Quantification of Surrogate Biological Warfare Agents in Building Debris and Leachate▿

PubMed Central

Saikaly, Pascal E.; Barlaz, Morton A.; de los Reyes, Francis L.

2007-01-01

Evaluation of the fate and transport of biological warfare (BW) agents in landfills requires the development of specific and sensitive detection assays. The objective of the current study was to develop and validate SYBR green quantitative real-time PCR (Q-PCR) assays for the specific detection and quantification of surrogate BW agents in synthetic building debris (SBD) and leachate. Bacillus atrophaeus (vegetative cells and spores) and Serratia marcescens were used as surrogates for Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) and Yersinia pestis (plague), respectively. The targets for SYBR green Q-PCR assays were the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) region and recA gene for B. atrophaeus and the gyrB, wzm, and recA genes for S. marcescens. All assays showed high specificity when tested against 5 ng of closely related Bacillus and Serratia nontarget DNA from 21 organisms. Several spore lysis methods that include a combination of one or more of freeze-thaw cycles, chemical lysis, hot detergent treatment, bead beat homogenization, and sonication were evaluated. All methods tested showed similar threshold cycle values. The limit of detection of the developed Q-PCR assays was determined using DNA extracted from a pure bacterial culture and DNA extracted from sterile water, leachate, and SBD samples spiked with increasing quantities of surrogates. The limit of detection for B. atrophaeus genomic DNA using the ITS and B. atrophaeus recA Q-PCR assays was 7.5 fg per PCR. The limits of detection of S. marcescens genomic DNA using the gyrB, wzm, and S. marcescens recA Q-PCR assays were 7.5 fg, 75 fg, and 7.5 fg per PCR, respectively. Quantification of B. atrophaeus vegetative cells and spores was linear (R2 > 0.98) over a 7-log-unit dynamic range down to 101 B. atrophaeus cells or spores. Quantification of S. marcescens (R2 > 0.98) was linear over a 6-log-unit dynamic range down to 102 S. marcescens cells. The developed Q-PCR assays are highly specific and sensitive and can be used for monitoring the fate and transport of the BW surrogates B. atrophaeus and S. marcescens in building debris and leachate. PMID:17720820

Evaluating the Life Cycle Environmental Benefits and Trade-Offs of Water Reuse Systems for Net-Zero Buildings.

PubMed

Hasik, Vaclav; Anderson, Naomi E; Collinge, William O; Thiel, Cassandra L; Khanna, Vikas; Wirick, Jason; Piacentini, Richard; Landis, Amy E; Bilec, Melissa M

2017-02-07

Aging water infrastructure and increased water scarcity have resulted in higher interest in water reuse and decentralization. Rating systems for high-performance buildings implicitly promote the use of building-scale, decentralized water supply and treatment technologies. It is important to recognize the potential benefits and trade-offs of decentralized and centralized water systems in the context of high-performance buildings. For this reason and to fill a gap in the current literature, we completed a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the decentralized water system of a high-performance, net-zero energy, net-zero water building (NZB) that received multiple green building certifications and compared the results with two modeled buildings (conventional and water efficient) using centralized water systems. We investigated the NZB's impacts over varying lifetimes, conducted a break-even analysis, and included Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis. The results show that, although the NZB performs better in most categories than the conventional building, the water efficient building generally outperforms the NZB. The lifetime of the NZB, septic tank aeration, and use of solar energy have been found to be important factors in the NZB's impacts. While these findings are specific to the case study building, location, and treatment technologies, the framework for comparison of water and wastewater impacts of various buildings can be applied during building design to aid decision making. As we design and operate high-performance buildings, the potential trade-offs of advanced decentralized water treatment systems should be considered.

High Performance Schools--It's a No-Brainer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicklas, Mike

2002-01-01

A North Carolina middle school demonstrates that high performance, sustainable school buildings cost no more to build and are more comfortable and productive learning environments than conventional buildings. (Author)

Identifying housing that poisons: a critical step in eliminating childhood lead poisoning.

PubMed

Reyes, Nimia L; Wong, Lee-Yang; MacRoy, Patrick M; Curtis, Gerald; Meyer, Pamela A; Evens, Anne; Brown, Mary Jean

2006-01-01

The purpose of our study was to develop a method to identify and prioritize "high-risk" buildings in Chicago that could be targeted for childhood lead poisoning prevention activities. We defined "high-risk" buildings as those where multiple children younger than 6 years with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) had lived and where lead hazards were previously identified on environmental inspection. By linking 1997-2003 Chicago elevated blood lead surveillance, environmental inspection, and building footprint data, we found that 49,362 children younger than 6 years with elevated BLLs lived at 30,742 buildings. Of those, 67 were "high-risk" buildings and these were associated with 994 children with elevated BLLs. On average, 15 children with elevated BLLs had lived in each building (range: 10-53, median: 13). Almost two thirds (n = 43) of the high-risk buildings had two or more referrals for inspection to the same apartment or housing unit; of those, 40 percent (n = 17) failed to maintain lead-safe status after compliance. Linking blood lead surveillance, environmental inspection, and building footprint databases allowed us to identify individual high-risk buildings. This approach prioritizes lead hazard control efforts and may help health, housing, and environmental agencies in targeting limited resources to increase lead-safe housing for children.

iss014e15258

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-02-06

ISS014-E-15258 (26 Feb. 2007) --- Kwangju, South Korea is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 14 crewmember on the International Space Station. The Metropolitan City of Kwangju (or Gwangju) is the fifth largest urban area in South Korea with a population of 1.4 million people. It is a major economic and cultural center for the southern portion of the country, located in a geographic basin with high mountains to the east (the mountain of Mudeungsan to the east has a peak elevation of 1,140 meters) and more open plains to the west. The city is perhaps best known to the West as the location of the Gwangju Massacre in May 1980, during which civilian demonstrators were killed by government forces. This event has led to identification of the city within South Korea as "the shrine of Korean democracy." The most notable feature in this view is an interesting blue cast to the urbanized regions. Digital photographs capture the same red, green, and blue wavelengths of reflected light that human eyes are sensitive to (known as a "true-color" image), and urban areas typically appear in tones of grey. The distinctive blue-grey color of the Kwangju metropolitan area is the result of numerous blue building rooftops, present on both small residential buildings and large industrial buildings such as those located at center and right.

Stereo chromatic contrast sensitivity model to blue-yellow gratings.

PubMed

Yang, Jiachen; Lin, Yancong; Liu, Yun

2016-03-07

As a fundamental metric of human visual system (HVS), contrast sensitivity function (CSF) is typically measured by sinusoidal gratings at the detection of thresholds for psychophysically defined cardinal channels: luminance, red-green, and blue-yellow. Chromatic CSF, which is a quick and valid index to measure human visual performance and various retinal diseases in two-dimensional (2D) space, can not be directly applied into the measurement of human stereo visual performance. And no existing perception model considers the influence of chromatic CSF of inclined planes on depth perception in three-dimensional (3D) space. The main aim of this research is to extend traditional chromatic contrast sensitivity characteristics to 3D space and build a model applicable in 3D space, for example, strengthening stereo quality of 3D images. This research also attempts to build a vision model or method to check human visual characteristics of stereo blindness. In this paper, CRT screen was clockwise and anti-clockwise rotated respectively to form the inclined planes. Four inclined planes were selected to investigate human chromatic vision in 3D space and contrast threshold of each inclined plane was measured with 18 observers. Stimuli were isoluminant blue-yellow sinusoidal gratings. Horizontal spatial frequencies ranged from 0.05 to 5 c/d. Contrast sensitivity was calculated as the inverse function of the pooled cone contrast threshold. According to the relationship between spatial frequency of inclined plane and horizontal spatial frequency, the chromatic contrast sensitivity characteristics in 3D space have been modeled based on the experimental data. The results show that the proposed model can well predicted human chromatic contrast sensitivity characteristics in 3D space.

Enhancing Earth Observation Capacity in the Himalayan Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shrestha, B. R.

2012-12-01

Earth observations bear special significance in the Himalayan Region owing to the fact that routine data collections are often hampered by highly inaccessible terrain and harsh climatic conditions. The ongoing rapid environmental changes have further emphasized its relevance and use for informed decision-making. The International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), with a regional mandate is promoting the use of earth observations in line with the GEOSS societal benefit areas. ICIMOD has a proven track record to utilize earth observations notably in the areas of understanding glaciers and snow dynamics, disaster risk preparedness and emergency response, carbon estimation for community forestry user groups, land cover change assessment, agriculture monitoring and food security analysis among others. This paper presents the challenges and lessons learned as a part of capacity building of ICIMOD to utilize earth observations with the primary objectives to empower its member countries and foster regional cooperation. As a part of capacity building, ICIMOD continues to make its efforts to augment as a regional resource center on earth observation and geospatial applications for sustainable mountain development. Capacity building possesses multitude of challenges in the region: the complex geo-political reality with differentiated capacities of member states, poorer institutional and technical infrastructure; addressing the needs for multiple user and target groups; integration with different thematic disciplines; and high resources intensity and sustainability. A capacity building framework was developed based on detailed needs assessment with a regional approach and strategy to enhance capability of ICIMOD and its network of national partners. A specialized one-week training course and curriculum have been designed for different thematic areas to impart knowledge and skills that include development practitioners, professionals, researchers and scientists. These courses include relevant theoretical lectures on the specific themes and extensive hands-on exercises using remote sensing and GIS tools and techniques. A one-day policy workshop has been designed to raise awareness among managers and decision-makers. Within the framework of SERVIR-Himalaya, a specialized training and awareness course has been initiated targeting to the youth. This course focuses on utilizing earth observation to sensitize youth and help them better understand climate change in the Himalayas. Furthermore, ICIMOD is strengthening existing partnerships and developing new partnerships to keep pace with rapidly changing technological advancements in order to customize the capacity building needs for the region. ICIMOD is promoting the Himalayan University consortium to extend its capacity building efforts for a longer-term continuity and sustainability. Through the SERVIR-Himalaya initiative, it is aiming to build new capacity building components such as - NASA DEVELOP to engage student research, MYCOE programs for youth, and small grants programs for young researchers and professionals. As a regional center, ICIMOD wants to continue to build regional capacity with the ultimate goal to leverage geospatial information services for the societal benefits to the mountain communities and relevant stakeholders.

JUPITER PROJECT - JOINT UNIVERSAL PARAMETER IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF RELIABILITY

EPA Science Inventory

The JUPITER (Joint Universal Parameter IdenTification and Evaluation of Reliability) project builds on the technology of two widely used codes for sensitivity analysis, data assessment, calibration, and uncertainty analysis of environmental models: PEST and UCODE.

JUPITER PROJECT - MERGING INVERSE PROBLEM FORMULATION TECHNOLOGIES

EPA Science Inventory

The JUPITER (Joint Universal Parameter IdenTification and Evaluation of Reliability) project seeks to enhance and build on the technology and momentum behind two of the most popular sensitivity analysis, data assessment, calibration, and uncertainty analysis programs used in envi...

A prediction model based on an artificial intelligence system for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea.

PubMed

Sun, Lei Ming; Chiu, Hung-Wen; Chuang, Chih Yuan; Liu, Li

2011-09-01

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a major concern in modern medicine; however, it is difficult to diagnose. Screening questionnaires such as the Berlin questionnaire, Rome questionnaire, and BASH'IM score are used to identify patients with OSA. However, the sensitivity and specificity of these tools are not satisfactory. We aim to introduce an artificial intelligence method to screen moderate to severe OSA patients (apnea-hypopnea index ≧15). One hundred twenty patients were asked to complete a newly developed questionnaire before undergoing an overnight polysomnography (PSG) study. One hundred ten validated questionnaires were enrolled in this study. Genetic algorithm (GA) was used to build the five best models based on these questionnaires. The same data were analyzed with logistic regression (LR) for comparison. The sensitivity of the GA models varied from 81.8% to 88.0%, with a specificity of 95% to 97%. On the other hand, the sensitivity and specificity of the LR model were 55.6% and 57.9%, respectively. GA provides a good solution to build models for screening moderate to severe OSA patients, who require PSG evaluation and medical intervention. The questionnaire did not require any special biochemistry data and was easily self-administered. The sensitivity and specificity of the GA models are satisfactory and may improve when more patients are recruited.

Three centuries of multi-storied St. Petersburg

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavrov, Leonid; Perov, Fedor; Eremeeva, Aleksandra; Temnov, Vladimir

2018-03-01

The article is devoted to assessment of the role of high-rise buildings in the St. Petersburg historic city's ensemble. Features of formation of city architectural look, the conditions of city typical silhouette's appearance which is characterized by the contrast of a small number of high-rise structures with a low horizontal mass building are observed. The consequences of the emergence of a significant number of great height buildings, the silhouette of which conflicts with the traditional St. Petersburg landscape's compositional principles, are analyzed. The economic reasons of high-rise construction of residential and office buildings are given. The conclusions about the prospects of St. Petersburg high-rise construction in the light of city-building and economic factors are made.

Indoor transformer stations as predictors of residential ELF magnetic field exposure.

PubMed

Ilonen, K; Markkanen, A; Mezei, G; Juutilainen, Jukka

2008-04-01

Transformer stations in apartment buildings may offer a possibility to conduct epidemiological studies that involve high exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (MF), avoid selection bias and minimize confounding factors. To validate exposure assessment based on transformer stations, measurements were performed in thirty buildings in three Finnish cities. In each building, spot measurements in all rooms and a 24-h recording in a bedroom were performed in one apartment above a transformer station (AAT), in one first floor (FF) reference apartment, and one reference apartment on upper floors (UF). The apartment mean of spot measurements was 0.62 microT in the AATs, 0.21 microT in the FF and 0.11 microT in the UF reference apartments The 24-h apartment mean (estimated from the spot measurements and the bedroom 24-h recording) was 0.2 microT or higher in 29 (97%) AATs, in 7 (25%) FF and in 3 (10 %) UF reference apartments. The corresponding numbers for the 0.4 microT cut-off point were 19 (63%), 4 (14%), and 1 (3.3%). The higher MF level in the FF reference apartments indicates that they should not be considered "unexposed" in epidemiological studies. If such apartments are excluded, a transformer station under the floor predicts 24-h apartment mean MF with a sensitivity of 0.41 (or 0.58) and a specificity of 0.997 (or 0.97), depending on the MF cut-off point (0.2 or 0.4 microT). The results indicate that apartments can be reliably classified as high and low MF field categories based on the known location of transformer stations. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Long-term performance of passive materials for removal of ozone from indoor air.

PubMed

Cros, C J; Morrison, G C; Siegel, J A; Corsi, R L

2012-02-01

The health effects associated with exposure to ozone range from respiratory irritation to increased mortality. In this paper, we explore the use of three green building materials and an activated carbon (AC) mat that remove ozone from indoor air. We studied the effects of long-term exposure of these materials to real environments on ozone removal capability and pre- and post-ozonation emissions. A field study was completed over a 6-month period, and laboratory testing was intermittently conducted on material samples retrieved from the field. The results show sustained ozone removal for all materials except recycled carpet, with greatest ozone deposition velocity for AC mat (2.5-3.8 m/h) and perlite-based ceiling tile (2.2-3.2 m/h). Carbonyl emission rates were low for AC across all field sites. Painted gypsum wallboard and perlite-based ceiling tile had similar overall emission rates over the 6-month period, while carpet had large initial emission rates of undesirable by-products that decayed rapidly but remained high compared with other materials. This study confirms that AC mats and perlite-based ceiling tile are viable surfaces for inclusion in buildings to remove ozone without generating undesirable by-products. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The use of passive removal materials for ozone control could decrease the need for, or even render unnecessary, active but energy consuming control solutions. In buildings where ozone should be controlled (high outdoor ozone concentrations, sensitive populations), materials specifically designed or selected for removing ozone could be implemented, as long as ozone removal is not associated with large emissions of harmful by-products. We find that activated carbon mats and perlite-based ceiling tiles can provide substantial, long-lasting, ozone control. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Building the analytical response in frequency domain of AC biased bolometers. Application to Planck/HFI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauvé, Alexandre; Montier, Ludovic

2016-12-01

Context: Bolometers are high sensitivity detector commonly used in Infrared astronomy. The HFI instrument of the Planck satellite makes extensive use of them, but after the satellite launch two electronic related problems revealed critical. First an unexpected excess response of detectors at low optical excitation frequency for ν < 1 Hz, and secondly the Analog To digital Converter (ADC) component had been insufficiently characterized on-ground. These two problems require an exquisite knowledge of detector response. However bolometers have highly nonlinear characteristics, coming from their electrical and thermal coupling making them very difficult to model. Goal: We present a method to build the analytical transfer function in frequency domain which describe the voltage response of an Alternative Current (AC) biased bolometer to optical excitation, based on the standard bolometer model. This model is built using the setup of the Planck/HFI instrument and offers the major improvement of being based on a physical model rather than the currently in use had-hoc model based on Direct Current (DC) bolometer theory. Method: The analytical transfer function expression will be presented in matrix form. For this purpose, we build linearized versions of the bolometer electro thermal equilibrium. A custom description of signals in frequency is used to solve the problem with linear algebra. The model performances is validated using time domain simulations. Results: The provided expression is suitable for calibration and data processing. It can also be used to provide constraints for fitting optical transfer function using real data from steady state electronic response and optical response. The accurate description of electronic response can also be used to improve the ADC nonlinearity correction for quickly varying optical signals.

Chapter 5: Buildings (EERI Earthquake Reconnaissance Team Report: M7.8 Gorkha, Nepal Earthquake on April 25, 2015 and its Aftershocks)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kaushik, Hemant; Bevington, John; Jaiswal, Kishor; Lizundia, Bret; Shrestha, Surya

2016-01-01

The most common building typologies in Nepal are reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings with masonry infill walls, unreinforced masonry (URM) bearing wall buildings, and wood frame buildings (Figure 5-1). The RC frames with masonry infills are commonly constructed in urban and semi-urban areas. Most of these buildings are three to five stories high, and most privately owned buildings are non-engineered. High rise buildings (up to 17 stories high) are also found in Kathmandu, but their number is limited. Burnt clay bricks are widely used as masonry infill walls; external walls are generally one full brick thick (~ 230 mm), and internal walls are one half brick thick. URM bearing wall buildings are an obvious choice for the population in rural areas and the outskirts of cities, primarily to limit the material expenses. Such buildings are generally two to four stories high and constructed using burnt clay brick masonry or stone masonry with cement, lime, or mud mortar. In some of the older constructions, a different mortar known as Vajra (a mix of lime and brick dust) is also observed. These buildings have either wooden or reinforced concrete flooring. A hybrid type of construction also prevails in semi-urban and rural areas, where wood frames are used in the ground story front façade, and rest of the house is made of unreinforced masonry bearing walls. Wood frame houses (generally two to three stories high) are also observed in rural areas where the material for such construction is easily available.

Health sciences library building projects: 1994 survey.

PubMed Central

Ludwig, L

1995-01-01

Designing and building new or renovated space is time consuming and requires politically sensitive discussions concerning a number of both long-term and immediate planning issues. The Medical Library Association's fourth annual survey of library building projects identified ten health sciences libraries that are planning, expanding, or constructing new facilities. Two projects are in predesign stages, four represent new construction, and four involve renovations to existing libraries. The Texas Medical Association Library, the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre Library, and the Northwestern University Galter Health Sciences Library illustrate how these libraries are being designed for the future and take into account areas of change produced by new information technologies, curricular trends, and new ways to deliver library services. Images PMID:7599586

Potential Costs of Acclimatization to a Warmer Climate: Growth of a Reef Coral with Heat Tolerant vs. Sensitive Symbiont Types

PubMed Central

Jones, Alison; Berkelmans, Ray

2010-01-01

One of the principle ways in which reef building corals are likely to cope with a warmer climate is by changing to more thermally tolerant endosymbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) genotypes. It is highly likely that hosting a more heat-tolerant algal genotype will be accompanied by tradeoffs in the physiology of the coral. To better understand one of these tradeoffs, growth was investigated in the Indo-Pacific reef-building coral Acropora millepora in both the laboratory and the field. In the Keppel Islands in the southern Great Barrier Reef this species naturally harbors nrDNA ITS1 thermally sensitive type C2 or thermally tolerant type D zooxanthellae of the genus Symbiodinium and can change dominant type following bleaching. We show that under controlled conditions, corals with type D symbionts grow 29% slower than those with type C2 symbionts. In the field, type D colonies grew 38% slower than C2 colonies. These results demonstrate the magnitude of trade-offs likely to be experienced by this species as they acclimatize to warmer conditions by changing to more thermally tolerant type D zooxanthellae. Irrespective of symbiont genotype, corals were affected to an even greater degree by the stress of a bleaching event which reduced growth by more than 50% for up to 18 months compared to pre-bleaching rates. The processes of symbiont change and acute thermal stress are likely to act in concert on coral growth as reefs acclimatize to more stressful warmer conditions, further compromising their regeneration capacity following climate change. PMID:20454653

Potential costs of acclimatization to a warmer climate: growth of a reef coral with heat tolerant vs. sensitive symbiont types.

PubMed

Jones, Alison; Berkelmans, Ray

2010-05-03

One of the principle ways in which reef building corals are likely to cope with a warmer climate is by changing to more thermally tolerant endosymbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) genotypes. It is highly likely that hosting a more heat-tolerant algal genotype will be accompanied by tradeoffs in the physiology of the coral. To better understand one of these tradeoffs, growth was investigated in the Indo-Pacific reef-building coral Acropora millepora in both the laboratory and the field. In the Keppel Islands in the southern Great Barrier Reef this species naturally harbors nrDNA ITS1 thermally sensitive type C2 or thermally tolerant type D zooxanthellae of the genus Symbiodinium and can change dominant type following bleaching. We show that under controlled conditions, corals with type D symbionts grow 29% slower than those with type C2 symbionts. In the field, type D colonies grew 38% slower than C2 colonies. These results demonstrate the magnitude of trade-offs likely to be experienced by this species as they acclimatize to warmer conditions by changing to more thermally tolerant type D zooxanthellae. Irrespective of symbiont genotype, corals were affected to an even greater degree by the stress of a bleaching event which reduced growth by more than 50% for up to 18 months compared to pre-bleaching rates. The processes of symbiont change and acute thermal stress are likely to act in concert on coral growth as reefs acclimatize to more stressful warmer conditions, further compromising their regeneration capacity following climate change.

An Embedded 4-Channel Receive-Only RF Coil Array for fMRI Experiments of the Somatosensory Pathway in Conscious Awake Marmosets at 7T

PubMed Central

Papoti, Daniel; Yen, Cecil Chern-Chyi; Mackel, Julie B.; Merkle, Hellmut; Silva, Afonso C.

2014-01-01

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) has established itself as the main research tool in neuroscience and brain cognitive research. The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is a non-human primate model of increasing interest in biomedical research. However, commercial MRI coils for marmosets are not generally available. The present work describes the design and construction of a 4-channel receive-only surface RF coil array with excellent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) specifically optimized for fMRI experiments in awake marmosets in response to somatosensory stimulation. The array was designed as part of a helmet-based head restraint system used to prevent motion during the scans. High SNR was obtained by building the coil array using a thin and flexible substrate glued to the inner surface of the restraint helmet, so as to minimize the distance between the array elements and the somatosensory cortex. Decoupling between coil elements was achieved by partial geometrical overlapping and by connecting them to home-built low input impedance preamplifiers. In vivo images show excellent coverage of the brain cortical surface with high sensitivity near the somatosensory cortex. Embedding the coil elements within the restraint helmet allowed fMRI data in response to somatosensory stimulation to be collected with high sensitivity and reproducibility in conscious, awake marmosets. PMID:23696219

Meteorological air quality forecasting using the WRF-Chem model during the LMOS2017 field campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanier, C. O.; Abdioskouei, M.; Carmichael, G. R.; Christiansen, M.; Sobhani, N.

2017-12-01

The Lake Michigan Ozone Study (LMOS 2017) occurred during May and June 2017 to address the high ozone episodes in coastal communities surrounding Lake Michigan. Aircraft, ship, mobile lab, and ground-based stations were used in this campaign to build an extensive dataset regarding ozone, its precursors, and particulate matter. The University of Iowa produced high-resolution (4x4 km2 horizontal resolution and 53 vertical levels) forecast products using the WRF-Chem modeling system in support of experimental planning during LMOS 2017. The base forecast system used WRF-Chem 3.6.1 and updated National Emission Inventory (NEI-2011v2). In the updated NEI-2011v2, we reduced the NOx emissions by 28% based on EPA's estimated NOx trends from 2011 to 2017. We ran another daily forecast (perturbed forecast) with 50% reduced NOx emission to capture the sensitivity of ozone to NOx emission and account for the impact of weekend emissions on ozone values. Preliminary in-field evaluation of model performance for clouds, on-shore flows, and surface and aircraft sampled ozone and NOx concentrations found that the model successfully captured much of the observed synoptic variability of onshore flows. The model captured the variability of O3 well, but underpredicted peak ozone during high O3 episodes. In post-campaign WRF-Chem simulations, we investigated the sensitivity of the model to the hydrocarbon emission.

Laser Scanning System for Pressure and Temperature Paints

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sullivan, John

1997-01-01

Acquiring pressure maps of aerodynamic surfaces is very important for improving and validating the performance of aerospace vehicles. Traditional pressure measurements are taken with pressure taps embedded in the model surface that are connected to transducers. While pressure taps allow highly accurate measurements to be acquired, they do have several drawbacks. Pressure taps do not give good spatial resolution due to the need for individual pressure tubes, compounded by limited space available inside models. Also, building a model proves very costly if taps are needed because of the large amount of labor necessary to drill, connect and test each one. The typical cost to install one tap is about $200. Recently, a new method for measuring pressure on aerodynamic surfaces has been developed utilizing a technology known as pressure sensitive paints (PSP). Using PSP, pressure distributions can be acquired optically with high spatial resolution and simple model preparation. Flow structures can be easily visualized using PSP, but are missed using low spatial resolution arrays of pressure taps. PSP even allows pressure distributions to be found on rotating machinery where previously this has been extremely difficult or even impossible. The goal of this research is to develop a laser scanning system for use with pressure sensitive paints that allows accurate pressure measurements to be obtained on various aerodynamic surfaces ranging from wind tunnel models to high speed jet engine compressor blades.

Vectorial capacity and vector control: reconsidering sensitivity to parameters for malaria elimination

PubMed Central

Brady, Oliver J.; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Tatem, Andrew J.; Gething, Peter W.; Cohen, Justin M.; McKenzie, F. Ellis; Perkins, T. Alex; Reiner, Robert C.; Tusting, Lucy S.; Sinka, Marianne E.; Moyes, Catherine L.; Eckhoff, Philip A.; Scott, Thomas W.; Lindsay, Steven W.; Hay, Simon I.; Smith, David L.

2016-01-01

Background Major gains have been made in reducing malaria transmission in many parts of the world, principally by scaling-up coverage with long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying. Historically, choice of vector control intervention has been largely guided by a parameter sensitivity analysis of George Macdonald's theory of vectorial capacity that suggested prioritizing methods that kill adult mosquitoes. While this advice has been highly successful for transmission suppression, there is a need to revisit these arguments as policymakers in certain areas consider which combinations of interventions are required to eliminate malaria. Methods and Results Using analytical solutions to updated equations for vectorial capacity we build on previous work to show that, while adult killing methods can be highly effective under many circumstances, other vector control methods are frequently required to fill effective coverage gaps. These can arise due to pre-existing or developing mosquito physiological and behavioral refractoriness but also due to additive changes in the relative importance of different vector species for transmission. Furthermore, the optimal combination of interventions will depend on the operational constraints and costs associated with reaching high coverage levels with each intervention. Conclusions Reaching specific policy goals, such as elimination, in defined contexts requires increasingly non-generic advice from modelling. Our results emphasize the importance of measuring baseline epidemiology, intervention coverage, vector ecology and program operational constraints in predicting expected outcomes with different combinations of interventions. PMID:26822603

Poly(4-vinylphenylboronic acid) functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide nanosheets for simultaneous electrochemical determination of catechol and hydroquinone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Hui; Liu, Meihong; Cao, Zhenqian; Ji, Chunguang; Sun, Ying; Liu, Daliang; Wu, Shuyao; Zhang, Yu; Song, Xi-Ming

2017-10-01

Novel poly(4-vinylphenylboronic acid) (P4VPBA) functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide (PPy/GO) nanosheets, which combined the advantages of GO, PPy and PBA groups, were successfully prepared by a simple polymerization of 4-vinylphenylboronic acid (4VPBA) on the surface of pre-treated PPy/GO containing vinyl groups. Because of the synergistic effects of GO with excellent 2D structures and large surface area, PPy with good electronic conductivity and PBA with high recognition capability, P4VPBA/PPy/GO modified glassy carbon electrode presented excellent electrochemical sensing capabilities toward catechol (CC) and hydroquinone (HQ) with good stability, high sensitivity and selectivity, especially giving a large anodic peak potential difference between CC and HQ enough to well distinguish and simultaneously determine the two dihydroxybenzene isomers in their mixture. It is found that PBA groups on the surface of P4VPBA/PPy/GO nanosheets played an essential role for the discrimination and simultaneous electrochemical determination of CC and HQ, which may be due to the selective formation of stable cyclic esters by the covalent interaction between PBA groups and related molecules with a cis-diol in an alkaline aqueous solution. Therefore, P4VPBA/PPy/GO nanosheets can act as a good electrode material for building a steady electrochemical sensor for detecting the two dihydroxybenzene isomers with high sensitivity and selectivity.

Analysis of the Key and Difficult Points in the Engineering Construction Technology of the Steel Structures of a Super High-rise Building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dou, Lijun; Li, Hengxu

2017-07-01

In recent years, with the rapid development of the economy of China, the traditional building structure has not been able to meet the current people’s demands and the super high-rise building has become a symbol of a city. In the current period, the research on the super high-rise building in the architectural industry of China is late and the technical blanks exist in some construction difficulties in the super high-rise steel structures. Based on the above, a brief analysis and discussion on the difficult construction technology in the steel structures of a super high-rise building and some measures are presented for reference of the relevant personnel in this paper.

A high sensitivity momentum flux measuring instrument for plasma thruster exhausts and diffusive plasmas.

PubMed

West, Michael D; Charles, Christine; Boswell, Rod W

2009-05-01

A high sensitivity momentum flux measuring instrument based on a compound pendulum has been developed for use with electric propulsion devices and radio frequency driven plasmas. A laser displacement system, which builds upon techniques used by the materials science community for surface stress measurements, is used to measure with high sensitivity the displacement of a target plate placed in a plasma thruster exhaust. The instrument has been installed inside a vacuum chamber and calibrated via two different methods and is able to measure forces in the range of 0.02-0.5 mN with a resolution of 15 microN. Measurements have been made of the force produced from the cold gas flow and with a discharge ignited using argon propellant. The plasma is generated using a Helicon Double Layer Thruster prototype. The instrument target is placed about 1 mean free path for ion-neutral charge exchange collisions downstream of the thruster exit. At this position, the plasma consists of a low density ion beam (10%) and a much larger downstream component (90%). The results are in good agreement with those determined from the plasma parameters measured with diagnostic probes. Measurements at various flow rates show that variations in ion beam velocity and plasma density and the resulting momentum flux can be measured with this instrument. The instrument target is a simple, low cost device, and since the laser displacement system used is located outside the vacuum chamber, the measurement technique is free from radio frequency interference and thermal effects. It could be used to measure the thrust in the exhaust of other electric propulsion devices and the momentum flux of ion beams formed by expanding plasmas or fusion experiments.

EUNIS: An Extreme-Ultraviolet Normal-Incidence Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Roger J.; Davila, Joseph M.; Fisher, Richard R. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

GSFC is in the process of assembling an Extreme-Ultraviolet Normal-Incidence Spectrometer called EUNIS, to be flown as a sounding rocket payload. This instrument builds on the many technical innovations pioneered by our highly successful SERTS experiment over its past ten flights. The new design will have somewhat improved spatial and spectral resolutions, as well as 100 times greater sensitivity, permitting EUV spectroscopy with a temporal resolution near 1-second for the first time ever. To achieve such high time cadence, a novel Active-Pixel-Sensor detector is being developed as a key component of our design. The high sensitivity of EUNIS will allow entirely new studies of transient coronal phenomena, such as the rapid loop dynamics seen by TRACE, and searches for non-thermal motions indicative of magnetic reconnection or wave heating. The increased sensitivity will also permit useful EUV spectra at heights of 2-3-R$ \\odot$ above the limb, where the transition between the static corona and the solar wind might occur. In addition, the new design features two independent optical systems, more than doubling the spectral bandwidth covered on each flight. Its 300-370\\AA\\ bandpass includes He-II 304\\AA\\ and strong lines from Fe-XI-XVI, extending the current SERTS range of 300-355\\AA\\ to further improve our ongoing series of calibration under-flights for SOHO/CDS and EIT. The second bandpass of 170-230\\AA\\ has a sequence of very strong Fe-IX-XIV lines, and will allow under-flight support for two more channels on SOHO/EIT, two channels on TRACE, one on Solar-B/EIS, and all four channels on the STEREO/EUVI instrument. First flight of the new EUNIS payload is scheduled for 2002 October.

R&D in micro-nano-bio systems and contribution to pHealth.

PubMed

Lymberis, Andreas

2012-01-01

The capacity to research, develop and manufacture systems that employ components based on nano- and microstructures with biological functionality, and are capable to share, ubiquitously, information is at the forefront of worldwide competition. A new generation of advanced materials, processes and emerging technologies is building up enabling highly integrated, miniaturized and smart micro-nano-bio-systems to be engineered. These fast technology developments are also stimulating the explosive growth in life sciences, which is leading to an ever increasing understanding of life at the sub-cellular and molecular level. By bringing these parallel developments to biomedicine and health, ultrafast and sensitive systems can be developed to prevent illness, to support lifestyle, to make early diagnosis or treat diseases with high accuracy and less invasiveness, and to support body functions or to replace lost functionality. Such systems will enable the delivery of individualized health services with better access and outcomes at lower costs than previously deemed possible, making a substantial contribution to bringing healthcare expenditures under control and increase its productivity. The MNBS (Micro-Nano-Bio Systems) group of EU funded projects aims at speeding up the convergence of micro- and nanotechnology with the life sciences and accelerating the development of highly integrated diagnostic, monitoring and therapeutics devices. This paper presents R&D activities supported through the MNBS group that are relevant to pHealth and discusses directions to be taken in order to overcome the current problems. Finally, it addresses future challenges to build highly integrated and reliable systems including innovation and usability issues.

Building Awards | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Mountain campus is designed to meet the Gold or Platinum standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Research Facility. South Site Entrance Building South Site Entrance Building 2013 U.S. Green Buildings Building Awards Building Awards NREL's high-performance buildings are sustainability models for the

Building a Natural Language Processing Tool to Identify Patients With High Clinical Suspicion for Kawasaki Disease from Emergency Department Notes.

PubMed

Doan, Son; Maehara, Cleo K; Chaparro, Juan D; Lu, Sisi; Liu, Ruiling; Graham, Amanda; Berry, Erika; Hsu, Chun-Nan; Kanegaye, John T; Lloyd, David D; Ohno-Machado, Lucila; Burns, Jane C; Tremoulet, Adriana H

2016-05-01

Delayed diagnosis of Kawasaki disease (KD) may lead to serious cardiac complications. We sought to create and test the performance of a natural language processing (NLP) tool, the KD-NLP, in the identification of emergency department (ED) patients for whom the diagnosis of KD should be considered. We developed an NLP tool that recognizes the KD diagnostic criteria based on standard clinical terms and medical word usage using 22 pediatric ED notes augmented by Unified Medical Language System vocabulary. With high suspicion for KD defined as fever and three or more KD clinical signs, KD-NLP was applied to 253 ED notes from children ultimately diagnosed with either KD or another febrile illness. We evaluated KD-NLP performance against ED notes manually reviewed by clinicians and compared the results to a simple keyword search. KD-NLP identified high-suspicion patients with a sensitivity of 93.6% and specificity of 77.5% compared to notes manually reviewed by clinicians. The tool outperformed a simple keyword search (sensitivity = 41.0%; specificity = 76.3%). KD-NLP showed comparable performance to clinician manual chart review for identification of pediatric ED patients with a high suspicion for KD. This tool could be incorporated into the ED electronic health record system to alert providers to consider the diagnosis of KD. KD-NLP could serve as a model for decision support for other conditions in the ED. © 2016 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

The high throughput virtual slit enables compact, inexpensive Raman spectral imagers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gooding, Edward; Deutsch, Erik R.; Huehnerhoff, Joseph; Hajian, Arsen R.

2018-02-01

Raman spectral imaging is increasingly becoming the tool of choice for field-based applications such as threat, narcotics and hazmat detection; air, soil and water quality monitoring; and material ID. Conventional fiber-coupled point source Raman spectrometers effectively interrogate a small sample area and identify bulk samples via spectral library matching. However, these devices are very slow at mapping over macroscopic areas. In addition, the spatial averaging performed by instruments that collect binned spectra, particularly when used in combination with orbital raster scanning, tends to dilute the spectra of trace particles in a mixture. Our design, employing free space line illumination combined with area imaging, reveals both the spectral and spatial content of heterogeneous mixtures. This approach is well suited to applications such as detecting explosives and narcotics trace particle detection in fingerprints. The patented High Throughput Virtual Slit1 is an innovative optical design that enables compact, inexpensive handheld Raman spectral imagers. HTVS-based instruments achieve significantly higher spectral resolution than can be obtained with conventional designs of the same size. Alternatively, they can be used to build instruments with comparable resolution to large spectrometers, but substantially smaller size, weight and unit cost, all while maintaining high sensitivity. When used in combination with laser line imaging, this design eliminates sample photobleaching and unwanted photochemistry while greatly enhancing mapping speed, all with high selectivity and sensitivity. We will present spectral image data and discuss applications that are made possible by low cost HTVS-enabled instruments.

Helping safeguard Veterans Affairs' hospital buildings by advanced earthquake monitoring

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kalkan, Erol; Banga, Krishna; Ulusoy, Hasan S.; Fletcher, Jon Peter B.; Leith, William S.; Blair, James L.

2012-01-01

In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the National Strong Motion Project of the U.S. Geological Survey has recently installed sophisticated seismic systems that will monitor the structural integrity of hospital buildings during earthquake shaking. The new systems have been installed at more than 20 VA medical campuses across the country. These monitoring systems, which combine sensitive accelerometers and real-time computer calculations, are capable of determining the structural health of each structure rapidly after an event, helping to ensure the safety of patients and staff.

Measuring Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide from Space: The GOSAT and OCO-2 Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crisp, David

2011-01-01

The Japanese Greenhouse gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) is providing new insight into atmospheric carbon dioxide trends. The NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2)Mission will build on this record with increased sensitivity resolution, and coverage.

Application of tuned mass dampers in high-rise construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teplyshev, Vyacheslav; Mylnik, Alexey; Pushkareva, Maria; Agakhanov, Murad; Burova, Olga

2018-03-01

The article considers the use of tuned mass dampers in high-rise construction for significant acceleration and amplitude of vibrations of the upper floors under dynamic wind influences. The susceptibility of people to accelerations in high-rise buildings and possible means of reducing wind-induced fluctuations in buildings are analyzed. The statistics of application of tuned mass dampers in high-rise construction all over the world is presented. The goal of the study is to identify an economically attractive solution that allows the fullest use of the potential of building structures in high-rise construction, abandoning the need to build massive frames leading to over-consumption of materials.

High-rise buildings in the structure of an urbanized landscape and their influence on the spatial composition and image of the city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moor, Valery K.; Erysheva, Elena A.

2018-03-01

High-rise buildings play an important role in the spatial structure, composition and image of the city, as they are its spatial dominants and landmarks. The conditions of high-rise buildings perception in an urbanized landscape are changing in depending on the landscape-morphological conditions (the relief, the existence of the water area and the character of the coastline). Regularities of high-rise buildings' spatial organization in various natural-landscape situations are considered in the research; the basic principles of high-rise elements inclusion in structure of the urbanized landscape providing their harmonious interaction are formulated.

High-School Buildings and Grounds. Bulletin, 1922, No. 23

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bureau of Education, Department of the Interior, 1922

1922-01-01

The success of any high school depends largely upon the planning of its building. The wise planning of a high-school building requires familiarity with school needs and processes, knowledge of the best approved methods of safety, lighting, sanitation, and ventilation, and ability to solve the educational, structural, and architectural problems…

Sustainable and Net Zero Buildings on the NREL Campus | NREL

Science.gov Websites

NREL Campus Many of the high-performance buildings on NREL's South Table Mountain campus have achieved high-performance, sustainable buildings on the South Table Mountain (STM) campus as of FY17. The campus campus also reported 100% compliance with the Guiding Principles for High Performance Sustainable

The Spitzer/Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxy Extended Legacy Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perley, Daniel; Berger, Edo; Butler, Nathaniel; Cenko, S. Bradley; Chary, Ranga-Ram; Cucchiara, Antonino; Ellis, Richard; Fong, Wen-fai; Fruchter, Andrew; Fynbo, Johan; Gehrels, Neil; Graham, John; Greiner, Jochen; Hjorth, Jens; Hunt, Leslie; Jakobsson, Pall; Kruehler, Thomas; Laskar, Tanmoy; Le Floc'h, Emerich; Levan, Andrew; Levesque, Emily; Littlejohns, Owen; Malesani, Daniele; Michalowski, Michal; Prochaska, J. Xavier; Salvaterra, Ruben; Schulze, Steve; Schady, Patricia; Tanvir, Nial; de Ugarte Postigo, Antonio; Vergani, Susanna

2014-12-01

Long-duration gamma-ray bursts act as beacons to the sites of star-formation in the distant universe. GRBs reveal galaxies too faint and star-forming regions too dusty to characterize in detail using any other method, and provide a powerful independent constraint on the evolution of the cosmic star-formation rate density at high-redshift. However, a full understanding of the GRB phenomenon and its relation to cosmic star-formation requires connecting the observations obtained from GRBs to the properties of the galaxies hosting them. The large majority of GRBs originate at moderate to high redshift (z>1) and Spitzer has proven crucial for understanding the host population, given its unique ability to observe the rest-frame NIR and its unrivaled sensitivity and efficiency. We propose to complete a comprehensive public legacy survey of the Swift GRB host population to build on our earlier successes and push beyond the statistical limits of previous, smaller efforts. Our survey will enable a diverse range of GRB and galaxy science including: (1) to quantitatively and robustly map the connection between GRBs and cosmic star-formation to constrain the GRB progenitor and calibrate GRB rate-based measurements of the high-z cosmic star-formation rate; (2) to constrain the luminosity function of star-forming galaxies at the faint end and at high redshift; (3) to understand how the ISM properties seen in absorption in high-redshift galaxies unveiled by GRBs - metallicity, dust column, dust properties - connect to global properties of the host galaxies such as mass and age. Building on a decade of experience at both observatories, our observations will create an enduring joint Swift-Spitzer legacy sample and provide the definitive resource with which to examine all aspects of the GRB/galaxy connection for years and possibly decades to come.

Insulation Cork Boards-Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material.

PubMed

Silvestre, José D; Pargana, Nuno; de Brito, Jorge; Pinheiro, Manuel D; Durão, Vera

2016-05-20

Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB) are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A "cradle-to-cradle" environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows ( i.e. , uptakes and emissions), including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage-the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation-the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date "cradle-to-cradle" environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards.

Insulation Cork Boards—Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material

PubMed Central

Silvestre, José D.; Pargana, Nuno; de Brito, Jorge; Pinheiro, Manuel D.; Durão, Vera

2016-01-01

Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB) are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A “cradle-to-cradle” environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows (i.e., uptakes and emissions), including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage—the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation—the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date “cradle-to-cradle” environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards. PMID:28773516

Clinical Diagnosis of the Dampness and Mold Hypersensitivity Syndrome: Review of the Literature and Suggested Diagnostic Criteria

PubMed Central

Valtonen, Ville

2017-01-01

A great variety of non-specific symptoms may occur in patients living or working in moisture-damaged buildings. In the beginning, these symptoms are usually reversible, mild, and present irritation of mucosa and increased morbidity due to respiratory tract infections and asthma-like symptoms. Later, the disease may become chronic and a patient is referred to a doctor where the assessment of dampness and mold hypersensitivity syndrome (DMHS) often presents diagnostic challenges. Currently, unanimously accepted laboratory tests are not yet available. Therefore, the diagnosis of DMHS is clinical and is based on the patient’s history and careful examination. In this publication, I reviewed contemporary knowledge on clinical presentations, laboratory methods, and clinical assessment of DMHS. From the literature, I have not found any proposed diagnostic clinical criteria. Therefore, I propose five clinical criteria to diagnose DMHS: (1) the history of mold exposure in water-damaged buildings, (2) increased morbidity to due infections, (3) sick building syndrome, (4) multiple chemical sensitivity, and (5) enhanced scent sensitivity. If all the five criteria are met, the patient has a very probable DMHS. To resolve the current problems in assigning correct DMHS diagnosis, we also need novel assays to estimate potential risks of developing DMHS. PMID:28848553

Clinical Diagnosis of the Dampness and Mold Hypersensitivity Syndrome: Review of the Literature and Suggested Diagnostic Criteria.

PubMed

Valtonen, Ville

2017-01-01

A great variety of non-specific symptoms may occur in patients living or working in moisture-damaged buildings. In the beginning, these symptoms are usually reversible, mild, and present irritation of mucosa and increased morbidity due to respiratory tract infections and asthma-like symptoms. Later, the disease may become chronic and a patient is referred to a doctor where the assessment of dampness and mold hypersensitivity syndrome (DMHS) often presents diagnostic challenges. Currently, unanimously accepted laboratory tests are not yet available. Therefore, the diagnosis of DMHS is clinical and is based on the patient's history and careful examination. In this publication, I reviewed contemporary knowledge on clinical presentations, laboratory methods, and clinical assessment of DMHS. From the literature, I have not found any proposed diagnostic clinical criteria. Therefore, I propose five clinical criteria to diagnose DMHS: (1) the history of mold exposure in water-damaged buildings, (2) increased morbidity to due infections, (3) sick building syndrome, (4) multiple chemical sensitivity, and (5) enhanced scent sensitivity. If all the five criteria are met, the patient has a very probable DMHS. To resolve the current problems in assigning correct DMHS diagnosis, we also need novel assays to estimate potential risks of developing DMHS.

RPC PET: Status and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Couceiro, M.; Blanco, A.; Ferreira, Nuno C.; Ferreira Marques, R.; Fonte, P.; Lopes, L.

2007-10-01

The status of the resistive plate chamber (RPC)-PET technology for small animals is briefly reviewed and its sensitivity performance for human PET studied through Monte-Carlo simulations. The cost-effectiveness of these detectors and their very good timing characteristics open the possibility to build affordable Time of Flight (TOF)-PET systems with very large fields of view. Simulations suggest that the sensitivity of such systems for human whole-body screening, under reasonable assumptions, may exceed the present crystal-based PET technology by a factor up to 20.

The NOL Gap Test: Past, present, and future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacobs, S. J.; Price, D.

1980-01-01

A brief history of the development of the gap test is presented with emphasis on accumulated knowledge of how best to use it as a tool to assess relative shock sensitivity of explosives and propellants. Present information about the detonation process in build-up, steady state, and failure is used to show that failure diameter cannot give the desired shock sensitivity assessment. Suggestions are made for improving the test to an experiment. The use of spherical donors, water as attenuator, and camera instrumentation are briefly discussed.

Integration of next-generation sequencing in clinical diagnostic molecular pathology laboratories for analysis of solid tumours; an expert opinion on behalf of IQN Path ASBL.

PubMed

Deans, Zandra C; Costa, Jose Luis; Cree, Ian; Dequeker, Els; Edsjö, Anders; Henderson, Shirley; Hummel, Michael; Ligtenberg, Marjolijn Jl; Loddo, Marco; Machado, Jose Carlos; Marchetti, Antonio; Marquis, Katherine; Mason, Joanne; Normanno, Nicola; Rouleau, Etienne; Schuuring, Ed; Snelson, Keeda-Marie; Thunnissen, Erik; Tops, Bastiaan; Williams, Gareth; van Krieken, Han; Hall, Jacqueline A

2017-01-01

The clinical demand for mutation detection within multiple genes from a single tumour sample requires molecular diagnostic laboratories to develop rapid, high-throughput, highly sensitive, accurate and parallel testing within tight budget constraints. To meet this demand, many laboratories employ next-generation sequencing (NGS) based on small amplicons. Building on existing publications and general guidance for the clinical use of NGS and learnings from germline testing, the following guidelines establish consensus standards for somatic diagnostic testing, specifically for identifying and reporting mutations in solid tumours. These guidelines cover the testing strategy, implementation of testing within clinical service, sample requirements, data analysis and reporting of results. In conjunction with appropriate staff training and international standards for laboratory testing, these consensus standards for the use of NGS in molecular pathology of solid tumours will assist laboratories in implementing NGS in clinical services.

Shifting visions: "delegation" policies and the building of a "rights-based" approach to maternal mortality.

PubMed

Freedman, Lynn P

2002-01-01

"Rights-based" approaches fold human rights principles into the ongoing work of health policy making and programming. The example of delegation of anesthesia provision for emergency obstetric care is used to demonstrate how a rights-based approach, applied to this problem in the context of high-mortality countries, requires decision makers to shift from an individual, ethics-based, clinical perspective to a structural, rights-based, public health perspective. This fluid and context-sensitive approach to human rights also applies at the international level, where the direction of overall maternal mortality reduction strategy is set. By contrasting family planning programs and maternal mortality programs, this commentary argues for choosing the human rights approach that speaks most effectively to the power dynamics underlying the particular health problem being addressed. In the case of maternal death in high-mortality countries, this means a strategic focus on the health care system itself.

Far-Infrared Heterodyne Spectrometer for SOFIA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Betz, A. L.; Boreiko, R. T.

1998-01-01

This report summarizes work done under NASA Grant NAG2-1062 awarded to the University of Colorado. The project goal was to evaluate the scientific capabilities and technical requirements for a far-infrared heterodyne spectrometer suitable for the SOFIA Airborne Observatory, which is now being developed by NASA under contract to the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). The conclusions detailed below include our specific recommendations for astronomical observations, as well as our intended technical approach for reaching these scientific goals. These conclusions were presented to USRA in the form of a proposal to build this instrument. USRA subsequently awarded the University of Colorado a 3-year grant (USRA 8500-98-010) to develop the proposed Hot-Electron micro-Bolometer (HEB) mixer concept for high frequencies above 3 THz, as well as other semiconductor mixer technologies suitable for high sensitivity receivers in the 2-6 THz frequency band.

Effects of trees on momentum exchange within and above a real urban environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salesky, S.; Giometto, M. G.; Christen, A.; Egli, P. E.; Schmid, M. F.; Tooke, T. R.; Coops, N. C.; Parlange, M. B.

2017-12-01

Large-eddy simulations (LES) are used to gain insight into the effects of trees on momentum transfer rates characterizing the atmosphere within and above a real urban canopy. Several areas are considered that are part of a neighbourhood in the city of Vancouver, BC, Canada where a small fraction of trees are taller than buildings. In this area, eight years of continuous wind and turbulence measurements are available from a 30 m meteorological tower. Buildings and vegetation geometries are obtained from airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. In the LES algorithm, buildings are accounted through an immersed boundary method, whereas vegetation is parameterized via a location-specific leaf area density. LES are performed varying wind direction and leaf area densities. Surface roughness lengths (z0) from both LES and tower measurements are sensitive to the 0 ≤ LAI/λ < 3 parameter, where LAI is the leaf area index and λ is the frontal area fraction of buildings characterizing a given canopy. For instance, tower measurements predict a 19% seasonal increase in z0, slightly lower than the 27% increase featured by LES for the most representative canopy (leaves-off LAI/λ = 0.74, leaves-on LAI/λ = 2.24). Removing vegetation from such a canopy would cause a dramatic drop of approximately 50% in z0 when compared to the reference summer value. The momentum displacement height (d) from LES also consistently increases as LAI/λ increases, due to the disproportionate amount of drag that the (few) relatively taller trees exert on the flow. Within the urban canopy, the effects of trees are twofold: on one hand, they act as a direct momentum sink for the mean flow; on the other, they reduce downward turbulent transport of high-momentum fluid, significantly reducing the wind intensity at the heights where people live and buildings consume energy.

Transforming State-of-the-Art into Best Practice: A Guide for High-Performance Energy Efficient Buildings in India

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

Singh, Reshma; Ravache, Baptiste; Sartor, Dale

India launched the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in 2007, and a revised version in 2017 as ambitious first steps towards promoting energy efficiency in the building sector. Pioneering early adopters—building owners, A&E firms, and energy consultants—have taken the lead to design customized solutions for their energy-efficient buildings. This Guide offers a synthesizing framework, critical lessons, and guidance to meet and exceed ECBC. Its whole-building lifecycle assurance framework provides a user-friendly methodology to achieve high performance in terms of energy, environmental, and societal impact. Class A offices are selected as a target typology, being a high-growth sector, with significant opportunitiesmore » for energy savings. The practices may be extrapolated to other commercial building sectors, as well as extended to other regions with similar cultural, climatic, construction, and developmental contexts« less

Impact of pulse thermal processing on the properties of inkjet printed metal and flexible sensors

DOE PAGES

Joshi, Pooran C.; Kuruganti, Teja; Killough, Stephen M.

2015-03-11

In this paper, we report on the low temperature processing of environmental sensors employing pulse thermal processing (PTP) technique to define a path toward flexible sensor technology on plastic, paper, and fabric substrates. Inkjet printing and pulse thermal processing technique were used to realize mask-less, additive integration of low-cost sensors on polymeric substrates with specific focus on temperature, humidity, and strain sensors. The printed metal line performance was evaluated in terms of the electrical conductivity characteristics as a function of post-deposition thermal processing conditions. The PTP processed Ag metal lines exhibited high conductivity with metal sheet resistance values below 100more » mΩ/{whitesquare} using a pulse width as short as 250 μs. The flexible temperature and relative humidity sensors were defined on flexible polyimide substrates by direct printing of Ag metal structures. The printed resistive temperature sensor and capacitive humidity sensor were characterized for their sensitivity with focus on future smart-building applications. Strain gauges were printed on polyimide substrate to determine the mechanical properties of the silver nanoparticle films. Finally, the observed electrical properties of the printed metal lines and the sensitivity of the flexible sensors show promise for the realization of a high performance print-on-demand technology exploiting low thermal-budget PTP technique.« less

Polydopamine Nanotubes as an Effective Fluorescent Quencher for Highly Sensitive and Selective Detection of Biomolecules Assisted with Exonuclease III Amplification.

PubMed

Fan, Daoqing; Zhu, Xiaoqing; Zhai, Qingfeng; Wang, Erkang; Dong, Shaojun

2016-09-20

In this work, the effective fluorescence quenching ability of polydopamine nanotubes (PDANTs) toward various fluorescent dyes was studied and further applied to fluorescent biosensing for the first time. The PDANTs could quench the fluorophores with different emission frequencies, aminomethylcoumarin acetate (AMCA), 6-carboxyfluorescein (FAM), 6-carboxytetramethylrhodamine (TAMRA), and Cy5. All the quenching efficiencies reached to more than 97%. Taking advantage of PDANTs' different affinities toward ssDNA and dsDNA and utilizing the complex of FAM-labeled ssDNA and PDANTs as a sensing platform, we achieved highly sensitive and selective detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) DNA and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) assisted with Exonuclease III amplification. The limits of detection (LODs) of HIV DNA and ATP reached to 3.5 pM and 150 nM, respectively, which were all lower than that of previous nanoquenchers with Exo III amplification, and the platform also presented good applicability in biological samples. Fluorescent sensing applications of this nanotube enlightened other targets detection based upon it and enriched the building blocks of fluorescent sensing platforms. This polydopamine nanotube also possesses excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, which is suitable for future drug delivery, cell imaging, and other biological applications.

Quantitative laser diagnostic and modeling study of C2 and CH chemistry in combustion.

PubMed

Köhler, Markus; Brockhinke, Andreas; Braun-Unkhoff, Marina; Kohse-Höinghaus, Katharina

2010-04-15

Quantitative concentration measurements of CH and C(2) have been performed in laminar, premixed, flat flames of propene and cyclopentene with varying stoichiometry. A combination of cavity ring-down (CRD) spectroscopy and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) was used to enable sensitive detection of these species with high spatial resolution. Previously, CH and C(2) chemistry had been studied, predominantly in methane flames, to understand potential correlations of their formation and consumption. For flames of larger hydrocarbon fuels, however, quantitative information on these small intermediates is scarce, especially under fuel-rich conditions. Also, the combustion chemistry of C(2) in particular has not been studied in detail, and although it has often been observed, its role in potential build-up reactions of higher hydrocarbon species is not well understood. The quantitative measurements performed here are the first to detect both species with good spatial resolution and high sensitivity in the same experiment in flames of C(3) and C(5) fuels. The experimental profiles were compared with results of combustion modeling to reveal details of the formation and consumption of these important combustion molecules, and the investigation was devoted to assist the further understanding of the role of C(2) and of its potential chemical interdependences with CH and other small radicals.

FiGHTS: a preliminary screening tool for adolescent firearms-carrying.

PubMed

Hayes, D Neil; Sege, Robert

2003-12-01

Adolescent firearms-carrying is a risk factor for serious injury and death. Clinical screening tools for firearms-carrying have not yet been developed. We present the development of a preliminary screening test for adolescent firearms-carrying based on the growing body of knowledge of firearms-related risk factors. A convenience sample of 15,000 high school students from the 1999 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey was analyzed for the purpose of model building. Known risk factors for firearms-carrying were candidates for 2 models predicting recent firearms-carrying. The "brief FiGHTS score" screening tool excluded terms related to sexual behavior, significant substance abuse, or criminal behavior (Fi=fighting, G=gender, H=hurt while fighting, T=threatened, S=smoker). An "extended FiGHTS score," which included 13 items, was developed for more precise estimates. The brief FiGHTS score had a sensitivity of 82%, a specificity of 71%, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.84. The extended FiGHTS score had an area under the ROC curve of 0.90. Both models performed well in a validation data set of 55,000 students. The brief and extended FiGHTS scores have high sensitivity and specificity for predicting firearms-carrying and may be appropriate for clinical testing.

Public Health Adaptation to Climate Change in Large Cities: A Global Baseline.

PubMed

Araos, Malcolm; Austin, Stephanie E; Berrang-Ford, Lea; Ford, James D

2016-01-01

Climate change will have significant impacts on human health, and urban populations are expected to be highly sensitive. The health risks from climate change in cities are compounded by rapid urbanization, high population density, and climate-sensitive built environments. Local governments are positioned to protect populations from climate health risks, but it is unclear whether municipalities are producing climate-adaptive policies. In this article, we develop and apply systematic methods to assess the state of public health adaptation in 401 urban areas globally with more than 1 million people, creating the first global baseline for urban public health adaptation. We find that only 10% of the sampled urban areas report any public health adaptation initiatives. The initiatives identified most frequently address risks posed by extreme weather events and involve direct changes in management or behavior rather than capacity building, research, or long-term investments in infrastructure. Based on our characterization of the current urban health adaptation landscape, we identify several gaps: limited evidence of reporting of institutional adaptation at the municipal level in urban areas in the Global South; lack of information-based adaptation initiatives; limited focus on initiatives addressing infectious disease risks; and absence of monitoring, reporting, and evaluation. © The Author(s) 2015.

Insight into the Meligethes aeneus voltage-sensitive sodium channel structure and an attempt to select the best pyrethroid ligands.

PubMed

Obrępalska-Stęplowska, Aleksandra; Czerwoniec, Anna; Wieczorek, Przemysław; Wrzesińska, Barbara

2016-01-01

The voltage-sensitive sodium channel (VSSC) is a target for the pharmacological action of pyrethroids which are used in controlling pests, including those of agricultural importance. Among these is the pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus F.) - the most serious pest of Brassica napus. Owing to the heavy use of pyrethroids, a widespread build-up of resistance has occurred. The main cause of pyrethroid insensitivity in M. aeneus is considered to be an increased oxidative metabolism; however, the additional mechanism of resistance associated with mutations in the VSSC might contribute to this phenomenon. We generated a VSSC 3D model to study the docking affinities of pyrethroids to their target site within the channel. Our goal was to identify the pyrethroids for which docking affinity scores were high and not affected by potential mutations in the VSSC. We found that the docking scores of cypermethrin are hardly influenced by the appearance of point mutations. Additionally, tau-fluvalinate, deltamethrin and bifenthrin are VSSC ligands with high affinity scores. Our docking models suggest that point mutations in the VSSC binding pocket might affect the stability of ligand interactions and change the pattern of ligand docking locations, which might have a potential effect on VSSC gating properties. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Synthesis of thermo-responsive bovine hemoglobin imprinted nanoparticles by combining ionic liquid immobilization with aqueous precipitation polymerization.

PubMed

Wang, Yongmei; Yang, Chongchong; Sun, Yan; Qiu, Fengtao; Xiang, Yang; Fu, Guoqi

2018-02-01

Surface molecular imprinting over functionalized nanoparticles has proved to be an effective approach for construction of artificial nanomaterials for protein recognition. Herein, we report a strategy for synthesis of core-shell protein-imprinted nanoparticles by the functionalization of nano-cores with ionic liquids followed by aqueous precipitation polymerization to build thermo-responsive imprinted polymer nano-shells. The immobilized ionic liquids can form multiple interactions with the protein template. The polymerization process can produce thermo-reversible physical crosslinks, which are advantageous to enhancing imprinting and facilitating template removal. With bovine hemoglobin as a model template, the imprinted nanoparticles showed temperature-sensitivity in both dispersion behaviors and rebinding capacities. Compared with the ionic-liquid-modified core nanoparticles, the imprinted particles exhibited greatly increased selectivity and two orders of magnitude higher binding affinity for the template protein. The imprinted nanoparticles achieved relatively high imprinting factor up to 5.0 and specific rebinding capacity of 67.7 mg/g, respectively. These nanoparticles also demonstrated rapid rebinding kinetics and good reproducibility after five cycles of adsorption-regeneration. Therefore, the presented approach may be viable for the fabrication of high-performance protein-imprinted nanoparticles with temperature sensitivity. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Identifying Galactic Cosmic Ray Origins With Super-TIGER

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

deNolfo, Georgia; Binns, W. R.; Israel, M. H.; Christian, E. R.; Mitchell, J. W.; Hams, T.; Link, J. T.; Sasaki, M.; Labrador, A. W.; Mewaldt, R. A.;

Ocean acidification causes bleaching and productivity loss in coral reef builders.

PubMed

Anthony, K R N; Kline, D I; Diaz-Pulido, G; Dove, S; Hoegh-Guldberg, O

2008-11-11

Ocean acidification represents a key threat to coral reefs by reducing the calcification rate of framework builders. In addition, acidification is likely to affect the relationship between corals and their symbiotic dinoflagellates and the productivity of this association. However, little is known about how acidification impacts on the physiology of reef builders and how acidification interacts with warming. Here, we report on an 8-week study that compared bleaching, productivity, and calcification responses of crustose coralline algae (CCA) and branching (Acropora) and massive (Porites) coral species in response to acidification and warming. Using a 30-tank experimental system, we manipulated CO(2) levels to simulate doubling and three- to fourfold increases [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projection categories IV and VI] relative to present-day levels under cool and warm scenarios. Results indicated that high CO(2) is a bleaching agent for corals and CCA under high irradiance, acting synergistically with warming to lower thermal bleaching thresholds. We propose that CO(2) induces bleaching via its impact on photoprotective mechanisms of the photosystems. Overall, acidification impacted more strongly on bleaching and productivity than on calcification. Interestingly, the intermediate, warm CO(2) scenario led to a 30% increase in productivity in Acropora, whereas high CO(2) lead to zero productivity in both corals. CCA were most sensitive to acidification, with high CO(2) leading to negative productivity and high rates of net dissolution. Our findings suggest that sensitive reef-building species such as CCA may be pushed beyond their thresholds for growth and survival within the next few decades whereas corals will show delayed and mixed responses.

Spatial and temporal resolution effects on urban catchments with different imperviousness degrees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cristiano, Elena; ten Veldhuis, Marie-Claire; van de Giesen, Nick C.

2015-04-01

One of the main problems in urban hydrological analysis is to measure the rainfall at urban scale with high resolution and use these measurements to model urban runoff processes to predict flows and reduce flood risk. With the aim of building a semi-distribute hydrological sewer model for an urban catchment, high resolution rainfall data are required as input. In this study, the sensitivity of hydrological response to high resolution precipitation data for hydrodynamic models at urban scale is evaluated with different combinations of spatial and temporal resolutions. The aim is to study sensitivity in relation to catchment characteristics, especially drainage area size, imperviousness degree and hydraulic properties such as special structures (weirs, pumping stations). Rainfall data of nine storms are considered with 4 different spatial resolutions (3000m, 1000m, 500m and 100m) combined with 4 different temporal resolutions (10min, 5min, 3min and 1min). The dual polarimetric X-band weather radar, located in the Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research (CESAR) provided the high resolution rainfall data of these rainfall events, used to improve the sewer model. The effects of spatial-temporal rainfall input resolution on response is studied in three Districts of Rotterdam (NL): Kralingen, Spaanse Polder and Centrum district. These catchments have different average drainage area size (from 2km2 to 7km2), and different general characteristics. Centrum district and Kralingen are, indeed, more various and include residential and commercial areas, big green areas and a small industrial area, while Spaanse Polder is a industrial area, densely urbanized, and presents a high percentage of imperviousness.

High-Q photonic resonators and electro-optic coupling using silicon-on-lithium-niobate

PubMed Central

Witmer, Jeremy D.; Valery, Joseph A.; Arrangoiz-Arriola, Patricio; Sarabalis, Christopher J.; Hill, Jeff T.; Safavi-Naeini, Amir H.

2017-01-01

Future quantum networks, in which superconducting quantum processors are connected via optical links, will require microwave-to-optical photon converters that preserve entanglement. A doubly-resonant electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a promising platform to realize this conversion. Here, we present our progress towards building such a modulator by demonstrating the optically-resonant half of the device. We demonstrate high quality (Q) factor ring, disk and photonic crystal resonators using a hybrid silicon-on-lithium-niobate material system. Optical Q factors up to 730,000 are achieved, corresponding to propagation loss of 0.8 dB/cm. We also use the electro-optic effect to modulate the resonance frequency of a photonic crystal cavity, achieving a electro-optic modulation coefficient between 1 and 2 pm/V. In addition to quantum technology, we expect that our results will be useful both in traditional silicon photonics applications and in high-sensitivity acousto-optic devices. PMID:28406177

Tailored Electrospinning of WO₃ Nanobelts as Efficient Ultraviolet Photodetectors with Photo-Dark Current Ratios up to 1000.

PubMed

He, Zhiyang; Liu, Qiao; Hou, Huilin; Gao, Fengmei; Tang, Bin; Yang, Weiyou

2015-05-27

In this work, polycrystalline WO3 nanobelts were fabricated via an electrospinning process combined with subsequent air calcination. The resultant products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy in regard to the structures. It has been found that the applied voltage during the electrospinning process played the determined role in the formation of the WO3 nanobelts, allowing the controlled growth of the nanobelts. The ultraviolet (UV) photodetector assembled by an individual WO3 nanobelt exhibits a high sensitivity and a precise selectivity to the different wavelength lights, with a very low dark current and typical photo-dark current ratio up to 1000, which was the highest for any WO3 photodectectors ever reported. This work could not only push forward the facile preparation of WO3 nanobelts but also represent, for the first time, the possibility that the polycrystalline WO3 nanobelts could be a promising building block for the highly efficient UV photodetectors.

Development of an Abort Gap Monitor for High-Energy Proton Rings

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

Beche, J.-F.; Byrd, J.; De Santis, S.

2004-11-10

The fill pattern in proton synchrotrons usually features an empty gap, longer than the abort kicker raise time, for machine protection. This gap is referred to as the 'abort gap', and any particles, which may accumulate in it due to injection errors and diffusion between RF buckets, would be lost inside the ring, rather than in the beam dump, during the kicker firing. In large proton rings, due to the high energies involved, it is vital to monitor the build up of charges in the abort gap with a high sensitivity. We present a study of an abort gap monitormore » based on a photomultiplier with a gated microchannel plate, which would allow for detecting low charge densities by monitoring the synchrotron radiation emitted. We show results of beam test experiments at the Advanced Light Source using a Hamamatsu 5916U MCP-PMT and compare them to the specifications for the Large Hadron Collider.« less

Development of an abort gap monitor for high-energy proton rings

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

Beche, Jean-Francois; Byrd, John; De Santis, Stefano

2004-05-03

The fill pattern in proton synchrotrons usually features an empty gap, longer than the abort kicker raise time, for machine protection. This gap is referred to as the ''abort gap'' and any particles, which may accumulate in it due to injection errors and diffusion between RF buckets, would be lost inside the ring, rather than in the beam dump, during the kicker firing. In large proton rings, due to the high energies involved, it is vital to monitor the build up of charges in the abort gap with a high sensitivity. We present a study of an abort gap monitormore » based on a photomultiplier with a gated microchannel plate, which would allow for detecting low charge densities by monitoring the synchrotron radiation emitted. We show results of beam test experiments at the Advanced Light Source using a Hamamatsu 5916U MCP-PMT and compare them to the specifications for the Large Hadron Collider« less

Adaptive capacity of fishing communities at marine protected areas: a case study from the Colombian Pacific.

PubMed

Moreno-Sánchez, Rocío del Pilar; Maldonado, Jorge Higinio

2013-12-01

Departing from a theoretical methodology, we estimate empirically an index of adaptive capacity (IAC) of a fishing community to the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs). We carried out household surveys, designed to obtain information for indicators and sub-indicators, and calculated the IAC. Moreover, we performed a sensitivity analysis to check for robustness of the results. Our findings show that, despite being located between two MPAs, the fishing community of Bazán in the Colombian Pacific is highly vulnerable and that the socioeconomic dimension of the IAC constitutes the most binding dimension for building adaptive capacity. Bazán is characterized by extreme poverty, high dependence on resources, and lack of basic public infrastructure. Notwithstanding, social capital and local awareness about ecological conditions may act as enhancers of adaptive capacity. The establishment of MPAs should consider the development of strategies to confer adaptive capacity to local communities highly dependent on resource extraction.

Building a Database of Developmental Neurotoxitants: Evidence from Human and Animal Studies

EPA Science Inventory

EPA’s program for the screening and prioritization of chemicals for developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) necessitates the generation of a list of chemicals that are known mammalian developmental neurotoxicants. This chemical list will be used to evaluate the sensitivity, reliability...

[Identification of Systemic Contaminations with Legionella Spec. in Drinking Water Plumbing Systems: Sampling Strategies and Corresponding Parameters].

PubMed

Völker, S; Schreiber, C; Müller, H; Zacharias, N; Kistemann, T

2017-05-01

After the amendment of the Drinking Water Ordinance in 2011, the requirements for the hygienic-microbiological monitoring of drinking water installations have increased significantly. In the BMBF-funded project "Biofilm Management" (2010-2014), we examined the extent to which established sampling strategies in practice can uncover drinking water plumbing systems systemically colonized with Legionella. Moreover, we investigated additional parameters that might be suitable for detecting systemic contaminations. We subjected the drinking water plumbing systems of 8 buildings with known microbial contamination (Legionella) to an intensive hygienic-microbiological sampling with high spatial and temporal resolution. A total of 626 drinking hot water samples were analyzed with classical culture-based methods. In addition, comprehensive hygienic observations were conducted in each building and qualitative interviews with operators and users were applied. Collected tap-specific parameters were quantitatively analyzed by means of sensitivity and accuracy calculations. The systemic presence of Legionella in drinking water plumbing systems has a high spatial and temporal variability. Established sampling strategies were only partially suitable to detect long-term Legionella contaminations in practice. In particular, the sampling of hot water at the calorifier and circulation re-entrance showed little significance in terms of contamination events. To detect the systemic presence of Legionella,the parameters stagnation (qualitatively assessed) and temperature (compliance with the 5K-rule) showed better results. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

High-Rising Rec Centers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitney, Tim

2000-01-01

Examines how tight urban sites can yield sports spaces that favorably compare to their more rural campus counterparts. Potential areas of concern when recreation centers are reconfigured into high-rise structures are highlighted, including building codes, building access, noise control, building costs, and lighting. (GR)

Geo-information for sustainable urban development of Greater Dhaka City, Bangladesh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Günther, Andreas; Asaduzzaman, Atm; Bahls, Rebecca; Ludwig, Rüdiger; Ashraful Kamal, Mohammad; Nahar Faruqa, Nurun

2015-04-01

Greater Dhaka City (including Dhaka and five adjacent municipal areas) is one of the fastest developing urban regions in the world. Densely build-up areas in the developed metropolitan area of Dhaka City are subject to extensive restructuring as common six-storied buildings are replaced by higher and heavier constructions. Additional stories are built on existing houses, frequently exceeding the allowable bearing pressure on the subsoil as supported by the foundations. In turn, newly developing areas are projected in marshy areas modified by extensive, largely unengineered landfills. In many areas, these terrains bear unfavorable building ground conditions, and reliable geospatial information is a major prerequisite for risk-sensitive urban planning. Within a collaborative technical cooperation project between Bangladesh and Germany, BGR supports GSB in the provision of geo-information for the Capital Development authority (RAJUK). For general urban planning, RAJUK successively develops a detailed area plan (DAP) at scale 1 : 50000 for the whole Greater Dhaka City area. Geospatial information have not been considered in the present DAP. Within the project, GSB prepared a detailed geomorphologic map matching the DAP both in areal extent and scale. The geomorphological setting can be used as an important spatial proxy for the characterization of the subsurface since highly segmented, elevated terraces consisting of consolidated sandy Pliocene deposits overlain by stiff Plio-Pleistocene sediments are sharply bordered by low lying-areas. The floodplain and marsh areas are consisting of thick, mechanically weak Holocene fluvial sandy-silty sediments that are sometimes alternated by organic layers. A first expert-based engineering geological reclassification of the geomorphological map resulting in five building ground suitability classes is highly supported by the spatial analysis of extensive archive borehole information consisting of depth-continuous standard penetration test (SPT) observations, engineering geological sample analyses and lithological profiles. The database compiled within the project currently contains more than 1600 locations. The joining of the spatial geomorphological information with the borehole data allows a specific characterization of the building ground classes in terms of bearing capacities for different foundation designs, earthquake-induced subsoil liquefaction potentials and depth-to-engineering rock head considerations. First-order hazard and cost scenarios for several general types of projected settlements can already be broadly evaluated with the data presented in a small scale (DAP scale). However, detailed building ground surveys have to be performed at larger spatial scales (1 : 10000 - 1 : 5000) in areas assigned for new settlements. These involve regular spaced borehole observations, 3-D modeling of the subsurface and geophysical loggings. Within the project, specific representative pilot areas in different geomorphological settings are defined where detailed geospatial building ground investigations are conducted, providing a robust basis for sustainable urban planning related to natural and technological hazards and their associated risks.

The visual-landscape analysis during the integration of high-rise buildings within the historic urban environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akristiniy, Vera A.; Dikova, Elena A.

2018-03-01

The article is devoted to one of the types of urban planning studies - the visual-landscape analysis during the integration of high-rise buildings within the historic urban environment for the purposes of providing pre-design and design studies in terms of preserving the historical urban environment and the implementation of the reconstructional resource of the area. In the article formed and systematized the stages and methods of conducting the visual-landscape analysis taking into account the influence of high-rise buildings on objects of cultural heritage and valuable historical buildings of the city. Practical application of the visual-landscape analysis provides an opportunity to assess the influence of hypothetical location of high-rise buildings on the perception of a historically developed environment and optimal building parameters. The contents of the main stages in the conduct of the visual - landscape analysis and their key aspects, concerning the construction of predicted zones of visibility of the significant historically valuable urban development objects and hypothetically planned of the high-rise buildings are revealed. The obtained data are oriented to the successive development of the planning and typological structure of the city territory and preservation of the compositional influence of valuable fragments of the historical environment in the structure of the urban landscape. On their basis, an information database is formed to determine the permissible urban development parameters of the high-rise buildings for the preservation of the compositional integrity of the urban area.

Real-time Geomagnetic Data from a Raspberry Pi Magnetometer Network in the United Kingdom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Case, N.; Beggan, C.; Marple, S. R.

2017-12-01

In 2014, BGS and the University of Lancaster won an STFC Public Engagement grant to build and deploy 10 Raspberry Pi magnetometers to secondary schools across the UK to enable citizen science. The system uses a Raspberry Pi computer as a logging and data transfer device, connected to a set of three orthogonal miniature fluxgate magnetometers. The system has a nominal sensitivity of around 1 nanoTesla (nT), in each component direction (North, East and Down). This is around twenty times less sensitive than a current scientific-level instrument, but given its relatively low-cost, at about £250 ($325) per unit, this is an excellent price-to-performance ratio given we could not improve the sensitivity unless we spent a lot more money. The magnetic data are sampled at a 5 second cadence and sent to the AuroraWatch website at Lancaster University every 2 minutes. The data are freely available to view and download. The primary aim of the project is to encourage students from 14-18 years old to look at how sensors can be used to collect geophysical data and integrate it together to give a wider understanding of physical phenomena. A second aim is to provide useful data on the spatial variation of the magnetic field for analysis of geomagnetic storms, alongside data from the BGS observatory and University of Lancaster's SAMNET variometer network. We show results from the build, testing and running of the sensors including some recent storms and we reflect on our experiences in engaging schools and the general public with information about the magnetic field. The information to build the system and logging and analysis software for the Raspberry Pi is all freely available, allowing those interested to participate in the project as citizen scientists.

Damage monitoring in historical murals by speckle interferometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinsch, Klaus D.; Gulker, Gerd; Joost, Holger

2003-11-01

In the conservation of historical murals it is important to identify loose plaster sections that threaten to fall off. Electronic speckle interferometry in combination with acoustic excitation of the object has been employed to monitor loose areas. To avoid disadvantages of high sound irradiation of the complete building a novel directional audio-sound source based on nonlinear mixing of ultrasound has been introduced. The optical system was revised for optimum performance in the new environment. Emphasis is placed on noise suppression to increase sensitivity. Furthermore, amplitude and phase data of object response over the frequency-range inspected are employed to gain additional information on the state of the plaster or paint. Laboratory studies on sample specimen supplement field campaigns at historical sites.

Working with sports organizations and teams.

PubMed

McDuff, David R; Garvin, Michelle

2016-12-01

Athletes and coaches at all competitive levels will utilize sports performance and psychiatric services at very high rates if the services are offered on-site and free of charge and are broad in scope and culturally sensitive. Services should be available throughout the team year and cover areas such as team building, mental preparation, stress control, substance prevention, sleep and energy regulation, injury recovery, crisis intervention, and mental disorder treatment. The staff offering these services should be diverse by gender, profession, and culture, and the fees should be paid by the organization. When these services are endorsed by the team's leaders and integrated with the athletic training/medical/player development staff, their utilization will grow quickly and lead to positive outcomes individually and collectively.

All silicon electrode photocapacitor for integrated energy storage and conversion.

PubMed

Cohn, Adam P; Erwin, William R; Share, Keith; Oakes, Landon; Westover, Andrew S; Carter, Rachel E; Bardhan, Rizia; Pint, Cary L

2015-04-08

We demonstrate a simple wafer-scale process by which an individual silicon wafer can be processed into a multifunctional platform where one side is adapted to replace platinum and enable triiodide reduction in a dye-sensitized solar cell and the other side provides on-board charge storage as an electrochemical supercapacitor. This builds upon electrochemical fabrication of dual-sided porous silicon and subsequent carbon surface passivation for silicon electrochemical stability. The utilization of this silicon multifunctional platform as a combined energy storage and conversion system yields a total device efficiency of 2.1%, where the high frequency discharge capability of the integrated supercapacitor gives promise for dynamic load-leveling operations to overcome current and voltage fluctuations during solar energy harvesting.

Ultrasonic humidification for telecommunications

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

Longo, F.

1994-03-01

This article examines two installations which demonstrate that ultrasonic humidification is an excellent option for large-scale commercial installations. Many existing telephone switching centers constructed 20 to 30 years ago were equipped with electro-mechanical switching equipment that was not sensitive to humidity. Today's sophisticated solid-state telecommunications equipment requires specific levels of relative humidity to operate properly. Over the last several years, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott (formerly Rose Beaton + Rose) designed two of the largest ultrasonic humidification systems at telecommunications buildings located in Cheshire, Conn., and White Plains, N.Y. The Cheshire project was a retrofit to the existing system in a 1960smore » building; the White Plains project involved an upgrade to a totally new air handling system, including an ultrasonic humidification component, in a 1950s building.« less

The tension sensor of Photonic Crystal Fiber based on core-offset splicing and waist-enlarged fiber taper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Guangwei; Li, Qifeng; Li, Yunpu; Yang, Jiandong; Fu, Xinghu; Bi, Weihong; Li, Yanjun

2016-10-01

A tension sensor of Photonic Crystal Fiber(PCF) is presented based on core-offset splicing and waist-enlarged fiber taper. The tension response characteristics of the sensor are studied experimentally. To analyzing the modal interference, many samples with different PCF lengths between the two splicing areas, different core-offset distances and different waist-enlarged fiber taper diameters are fabricated and tested. When the tension range is 0 to 4000μɛ, the results show that the spectrum is blue shift with the increasing of the axial tension. The sensitivity is-2.1 pm/μɛ. The experimental results show that the tension sensitivity can be not influenced by the PCF lengths, the core-offset distances.The waist-enlarged fiber taper diameters and the tension sensor is very sensitive to axial tension and the relationship between the wavelength shift and tension is linearity. To determine the number of the interfering modes, the transmission spectra of these sensor is transformed by the fast fourier transform (FFT) method. There are several peaks in the spatial frequency spectra at these sensors. Only one cladding mode is dominantly excited, while the other cladding modes are weak. The spatial frequency is proportional to the differential mode group index. Compared with the traditional fiber sensor, this sensor has some advantages including the easily fabricated, simple structure and high sensitivity. It can be used in industrial production, building monitoring, aerospace and other fields.

Analysis & Tools to Spur Increased Deployment of “Waste Heat” Rejection/Recycling Hybrid Ground-source Heat Pump Systems in Hot, Arid or Semiarid Climates Like Texas

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

Masada, Glenn; Moon, Tess

2013-09-01

This project team analyzed supplemental heat rejection/recovery (SHR) devices or systems that could be used in hybrid ground source heat pump (HGHP) systems located in arid or semi-arid regions in southwestern U.S. Identification of effective SHR solutions would enhance the deployment of ground source heat pumps (GHP) in these regions. In a parallel effort, the team developed integrated GHP models that coupled the building load, heat pump, and ground loop subsystems and which could be applied to residential and commercial office buildings. Then GHP and HGHP performances could be compared in terms of operational performance and life-cycle costs. Several potentialmore » SHR devices were analyzed by applying two strategies: 1) to remove heat directly from the water in the ground loop before it enters the ground and 2) to remove heat in the refrigerant loop of the vapor compression cycle (VCC) of the heat pump so less heat is transferred to the water loop at the condenser of the VCC. Cooling towers, adsorption coolers, and thermoelectric liquid coolers were included in strategy 1, and expanded desuperheaters, thermosyphons, and an optimized VCC were included in strategy 2. Of all SHR devices analyzed, only the cooling tower provided a cost-effective performance enhancement. For the integrated GHP model, the project team selected the building load model HAMBASE and its powerful computational Simulink/MatLab platform, empirical performance map models of the heat pumps based upon manufacturers’ performance data, and a ground loop model developed by Oklahoma State University and rewritten for this project in Simulink/MatLab. The design process used GLHEPRO, also from Oklahoma State University, to size the borehole fields. The building load and ground loop models were compared with simulations from eQuest, ASHRAE 140-2008 standards, EnergyPlus, and GLHEPRO and were found to predict those subsystems’ performance well. The integrated GHP model was applied to a 195m 2 (2100ft 2) residential building and a 4,982m 2 (53,628ft 2) three-story commercial office building, and it ran 10-15 year simulations. The integrated GHP model and its Simulink platform provided residential data, ranging from seconds to years, and commercial office building data, ranging from minutes to years. A cooling tower model was coupled to the base case integrated GHP model for the residential building and the resulting HGHP system provided a cost-effective solution for the Austin, TX location. Simulations for both the residential and commercial building models were run with varying degrees of SHR (device/system not identified) and the results were found to significantly decrease installation costs, increase heat pump efficiency (lower entering water temperature), and prolong the lifetime of the borehole field. Lifetime cycle costs were estimated from the simulation results. Sensitivity studies on system operating performance and lifetime costs were performed on design parameters, such as construction materials, borehole length, borehole configuration and spacing, grout conductivity, and effects of SHR. While some of the results are intuitive, these studies provided quantitative estimates of improved performance and cost. One of the most important results of this sensitivity study is that overall system performance is very sensitive to these design parameters and that modeling and simulation are essential tools to design cost-effective systems.« less

Building Coverage Ratio at the Eastern Corridor of Jalan Ir. H. Djuanda Bandung

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Megayanti, T.; Widaningsih, L.; Minggra, R.; Dewi, N. I. K.

2018-01-01

Historically in the Colonial period, the Corridor of Jalan Ir. H. Juanda or better known as Jalan Dago was designed as a residential area. As the high development of commercial activity along of Bandung City, almost all of buildings in this area are turned its’ function to supported commercial activity. The change is shown in many aspects from the shape of the building and even occur in changing the old building into a new one due to a high intensity of this commercial activity. This paper investigates the use of Building Coverage Ratio regulation related to functional change in the Corridor of Jalan Ir. H. Juanda Bandung. The aim is to what extent the regulations related to Building Coverage area are implemented. This study used a descriptive qualitative method by conducting observation to identify buildings on the Corridor by dividing it into three segments. The results show quantitatively there is a lot of irrelevancies to Building Coverage Ratio regulation which is shown in the second and third segment. Most of the building in the first segment has in compliance with the regulation. However, to build a harmony in characters of City corridor is not only created by Building Coverage Ratio but also others parameters such as the land use, the shape of buildings, façade, and design concept. Thus, it is highly recommended to create a detail regulation regarding those parameters.

Structural and compositional features of high-rise buildings: experimental design in Yekaterinburg

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yankovskaya, Yulia; Lobanov, Yuriy; Temnov, Vladimir

2018-03-01

The study looks at the specifics of high-rise development in Yekaterinburg. High-rise buildings are considered in the context of their historical development, structural features, compositional and imaginative design techniques. Experience of Yekaterinburg architects in experimental design is considered and analyzed. Main issues and prospects of high-rise development within the Yekaterinburg structure are studied. The most interesting and significant conceptual approaches to the structural and compositional arrangement of high-rise buildings are discussed.

Kosol Kiatreungwattana | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Kosol Kiatreungwattana Kosol Kiatreungwattana Senior Engineer - Building and Renewable Energy experience in building energy systems and renewable technologies, building energy codes, LEED certified projects, sustainable high performance building design, building energy simulation analysis/optimization

Assessing geomorphic sensitivity in relation to river capacity for adjustment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reid, H. E.; Brierley, G. J.

2015-12-01

River sensitivity describes the nature and rate of channel adjustments. An approach to analysis of geomorphic river sensitivity outlined in this paper relates potential sensitivity based on the expected capacity of adjustment for a river type to the recent history of channel adjustment. This approach was trialled to assess low, moderate and high geomorphic sensitivity for four different types of river (10 reaches in total) along the Lower Tongariro River, North Island, New Zealand. Building upon the River Styles framework, river types were differentiated based upon valley setting (width and confinement), channel planform, geomorphic unit assemblages and bed material size. From this, the behavioural regime and potential for adjustment (type and extent) were determined. Historical maps and aerial photographs were geo-rectified and the channel planform digitised to assess channel adjustments for each reach from 1928 to 2007. Floodplain width controlled by terraces, exerted a strong influence upon reach scale sensitivity for the partly-confined, wandering, cobble-bed river. Although forced boundaries occur infrequently, the width of the active channel zone is constrained. An unconfined braided river reach directly downstream of the terrace-confined section was the most geomorphically sensitive reach. The channel in this reach adjusted recurrently to sediment inputs that were flushed through more confined, better connected upstream reaches. A meandering, sand-bed river in downstream reaches has exhibited negligible rates of channel migration. However, channel narrowing in this reach and the associated delta indicate that the system is approaching a threshold condition, beyond which channel avulsion is likely to occur. As this would trigger more rapid migration, this reach is considered to be more geomorphically sensitive than analysis of its low migration rate alone would indicate. This demonstrates how sensitivity is fashioned both by the behavioural regime of a reach and flow/sediment input from upstream. The approach to assess geomorphic river sensitivity outlined here could support 'room to move' or 'freedom space' approaches to river management by relating likely channel adjustments for the type of river under consideration to the area of land that is required to contain 'natural' patterns and rates of geomorphic functionality.

A High-Granularity Approach to Modeling Energy Consumption and Savings Potential in the U.S. Residential Building Stock

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

None

Building simulations are increasingly used in various applications related to energy efficient buildings. For individual buildings, applications include: design of new buildings, prediction of retrofit savings, ratings, performance path code compliance and qualification for incentives. Beyond individual building applications, larger scale applications (across the stock of buildings at various scales: national, regional and state) include: codes and standards development, utility program design, regional/state planning, and technology assessments. For these sorts of applications, a set of representative buildings are typically simulated to predict performance of the entire population of buildings. Focusing on the U.S. single-family residential building stock, this paper willmore » describe how multiple data sources for building characteristics are combined into a highly-granular database that preserves the important interdependencies of the characteristics. We will present the sampling technique used to generate a representative set of thousands (up to hundreds of thousands) of building models. We will also present results of detailed calibrations against building stock consumption data.« less

Evaluating investment in quality improvement capacity building: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Mery, Gustavo; Dobrow, Mark J; Baker, G Ross; Im, Jennifer; Brown, Adalsteinn

2017-01-01

Purpose Leading health systems have invested in substantial quality improvement (QI) capacity building, but little is known about the aggregate effect of these investments at the health system level. We conducted a systematic review to identify key steps and elements that should be considered for system-level evaluations of investment in QI capacity building. Methods We searched for evaluations of QI capacity building and evaluations of QI training programmes. We included the most relevant indexed databases in the field and a strategic search of the grey literature. The latter included direct electronic scanning of 85 relevant government and institutional websites internationally. Data were extracted regarding evaluation design and common assessment themes and components. Results 48 articles met the inclusion criteria. 46 articles described initiative-level non-economic evaluations of QI capacity building/training, while 2 studies included economic evaluations of QI capacity building/training, also at the initiative level. No system-level QI capacity building/training evaluations were found. We identified 17 evaluation components that fit within 5 overarching dimensions (characteristics of QI training; characteristics of QI activity; individual capacity; organisational capacity and impact) that should be considered in evaluations of QI capacity building. 8 key steps in return-on-investment (ROI) assessments in QI capacity building were identified: (1) planning—stakeholder perspective; (2) planning—temporal perspective; (3) identifying costs; (4) identifying benefits; (5) identifying intangible benefits that will not be included in the ROI estimation; (6) discerning attribution; (7) ROI calculations; (8) sensitivity analysis. Conclusions The literature on QI capacity building evaluation is limited in the number and scope of studies. Our findings, summarised in a Framework to Guide Evaluations of QI Capacity Building, can be used to start closing this knowledge gap. PMID:28219957

Terbium(III)/gold nanocluster conjugates: the development of a novel ratiometric fluorescent probe for mercury(II) and a paper-based visual sensor.

PubMed

Qi, Yan-Xia; Zhang, Min; Zhu, Anwei; Shi, Guoyue

2015-08-21

In this work, a novel ratiometric fluorescent probe was developed for rapid, highly accurate, sensitive and selective detection of mercury(II) (Hg(2+)) based on terbium(III)/gold nanocluster conjugates (Tb(3+)/BSA-AuNCs), in which bovine serum albumin capped gold nanoclusters (BSA-AuNCs) acted as the signal indicator and terbium(III) (Tb(3+)) was used as the build-in reference. Our proposed ratiometric fluorescent probe exhibited unique specificity toward Hg(2+) against other common environmentally and biologically important metal ions, and had high accuracy and sensitivity with a low detection limit of 1 nM. In addition, our proposed probe was effectively employed to detect Hg(2+) in the biological samples from the artificial Hg(2+)-infected rats. More significantly, an appealing paper-based visual sensor for Hg(2+) was designed by using filter paper embedded with Tb(3+)/BSA-AuNC conjugates, and we have further demonstrated its feasibility for facile fluorescent sensing of Hg(2+) in a visual format, in which only a handheld UV lamp is used. In the presence of Hg(2+), the paper-based visual sensor, illuminated by a handheld UV lamp, would undergo a distinct fluorescence color change from red to green, which can be readily observed with naked eyes even in trace Hg(2+) concentrations. The Tb(3+)/BSA-AuNC-derived paper-based visual sensor is cost-effective, portable, disposable and easy-to-use. This work unveiled a facile approach for accurate, sensitive and selective measuring of Hg(2+) with self-calibration.

Influence of the Terminal Electron Donor in D-D-π-A Organic Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole versus Bis(amine).

PubMed

Dai, Panpan; Yang, Lin; Liang, Mao; Dong, Huanhuan; Wang, Peng; Zhang, Chunyao; Sun, Zhe; Xue, Song

2015-10-14

With respect to the electron-withdrawing acceptors of D-A-π-A organic dyes, reports on the second electron-donating donors for D-D-π-A organic dyes are very limited. Both of the dyes have attracted significant attention in the field of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). In this work, four new D-D-π-A organic dyes with dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole (DTP) or bis(amine) donor have been designed and synthesized for a investigation of the influence of the terminal electron donor in D-D-π-A organic dye-sensitized solar cells. It is found that DTP is a promising building block as the terminal electron donor when introduced in the dithiophenepyrrole direction, but not just a good bridge, which exhibits several characteristics: (i) efficiently increasing the maximum molar absorption coefficient and extending the absorption bands; (ii) showing stronger charge transfer interaction as compared with the pyrrole direction; (iii) beneficial to photocurrent generation of DSCs employing cobalt electrolytes. DSCs based on M45 with the Co-phen electrolyte exhibit good light-to-electric energy conversion efficiencies as high as 9.02%, with a short circuit current density (JSC) of 15.3 mA cm(-2), open circuit voltage (VOC) of 867 mV and fill factor (FF) of 0.68 under AM 1.5 illumination (100 mW cm(-2)). The results demonstrate that N,S-heterocycles such as DTP unit could be promising candidates for application in highly efficient DSCs employing cobalt electrolyte.

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

Hong, Wen-Xu; Liu, Wei; Zhang, Yanfang

Occupational medicamentosa-like dermatitis induced by trichloroethylene (OMLDT) is an autoimmune disease and it has become a serious occupational health hazard. In the present study, we collected fasting blood samples from patients with OMLDT (n = 18) and healthy volunteers (n = 33) to explore serum peptidome patterns. Peptides in sera were purified using weak cation exchange magnetic beads (MB-WCX), and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and ClinProTools bioinformatics software. The intensities of thirty protein/peptide peaks were significantly different between the healthy control and OMLDT patients. A pattern of three peaks (m/z 2106.3, 2134.5, and 3263.67) wasmore » selected for supervised neural network (SNN) model building to separate the OMLDT patients from the healthy controls with a sensitivity of 95.5% and a specificity of 73.8%. Furthermore, two peptide peaks of m/z 4091.61 and 4281.69 were identified as fragments of ATP-binding cassette transporter family A member 12 (ABCA12), and cationic trypsinogen (PRRS1), respectively. Our findings not only show that specific proteomic fingerprints in the sera of OMLDT patients can be served as a differentiated tool of OMLDT patients with high sensitivity and high specificity, but also reveal the novel correlation between OMLDT with ABC transports and PRRS1, which will be of potential value for clinical and mechanistic studies of OMLDT. - Highlights: • Identify 30 differential protein/peptide peaks between OMLDT and healthy control • The test sensitivity and test specificity were 95.5% and 73.8%, respectively. • ABCA12 and PRSS1 were identified as potential biomarkers in OMLDT patients.« less

The many faces of population density.

PubMed

Mayor, Stephen J; Schaefer, James A

2005-09-01

Population density, one of the most fundamental demographic attributes, may vary systematically with spatial scale, but this scale-sensitivity is incompletely understood. We used a novel approach-based on fully censused and mapped distributions of eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) dreys, beaver (Castor canadensis) lodges, and moose (Alces alces)--to explore the scale-dependence of population density and its relationship to landscape features. We identified population units at several scales, both objectively, using cluster analysis, and arbitrarily, using artificial bounds centred on high-abundance sites. Densities declined with census area. For dreys, this relationship was stronger in objective versus arbitrary population units. Drey density was inconsistently related to patch area, a relationship that was positive for all patches but negative when non-occupied patches were excluded. Drey density was negatively related to the proportion of green-space and positively related to the density of buildings or roads, relationships that were accentuated at coarser scales. Mean drey densities were more sensitive to scale when calculated as organism-weighted versus area-weighted averages. Greater understanding of these scaling effects is required to facilitate comparisons of population density across studies.

Improving Estimates of Regional Infrasound Propagation by Incorporating Three-Dimensional Weather Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKenna, M. H.; Alter, R. E.; Swearingen, M. E.; Wilson, D. K.

2017-12-01

Many larger sources, such as volcanic eruptions and nuclear detonations, produce infrasound (acoustic waves with a frequency lower than humans can hear, namely 0.1-20 Hz) that can propagate over global scales. But many smaller infrastructure sources, such as bridges, dams, and buildings, also produce infrasound, though with a lower amplitude that tends to propagate only over regional scales (up to 150 km). In order to accurately calculate regional-scale infrasound propagation, we have incorporated high-resolution, three-dimensional forecasts from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) meteorological model into a signal propagation modeling system called Environmental Awareness for Sensor and Emitter Employment (EASEE), developed at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center. To quantify the improvement of infrasound propagation predictions with more realistic weather data, we conducted sensitivity studies with different propagation ranges and horizontal resolutions and compared them to default predictions with no weather model data. We describe the process of incorporating WRF output into EASEE for conducting these acoustic propagation simulations and present the results of the aforementioned sensitivity studies.

Tracking serum antibody response to viral antigens with arrayed imaging reflectometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mace, Charles R.; Rose, Robert C.; Miller, Benjamin L.

2009-02-01

Arrayed Imaging Reflectometry, or "AIR", is a new label-free technique for detecting proteins that relies on bindinginduced changes in the response of an antireflective coating on the surface of a silicon ship. Because the technique provides high sensitivity, excellent dynamic range, and readily integrates with standard silicon wafer processing technology, it is an exceptionally attractive platform on which to build systems for detecting proteins in complex solutions. In our early research, we used AIR chips bearing secreted receptor proteins from enteropathogenic E. coli to develop sensors for this pathogen. Recently, we have been exploring an alternative strategy: Rather than detecting the pathogen directly, can one immobilize antigens from a pathogen, and employ AIR to detect antibody responses to those antigens? Such a strategy would provide enhanced sensitivity for pathogen detection (as the immune system essentially amplifies the "signal" caused by the presence of an organism to which it responds), and would also potentially prove useful in the process of vaccine development. We describe herein preliminary results in the application of such a strategy to the detection of antibodies to human papillomavirus (HPV).

Cavity-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with optical feedback cw diode lasers for gas phase analysis and spectroscopy.

PubMed

Salter, Robert; Chu, Johnny; Hippler, Michael

2012-10-21

A variant of cavity-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (CERS) is introduced, in which diode laser radiation at 635 nm is coupled into an external linear optical cavity composed of two highly reflective mirrors. Using optical feedback stabilisation, build-up of circulating laser power by 3 orders of magnitude occurs. Strong Raman signals are collected in forward scattering geometry. Gas phase CERS spectra of H(2), air, CH(4) and benzene are recorded to demonstrate the potential for analytical applications and fundamental molecular studies. Noise equivalent limits of detection in the ppm by volume range (1 bar sample) can be achieved with excellent linearity with a 10 mW excitation laser, with sensitivity increasing with laser power and integration time. The apparatus can be operated with battery powered components and can thus be very compact and portable. Possible applications include safety monitoring of hydrogen gas levels, isotope tracer studies (e.g., (14)N/(15)N ratios), observing isotopomers of hydrogen (e.g., radioactive tritium), and simultaneous multi-component gas analysis. CERS has the potential to become a standard method for sensitive gas phase Raman spectroscopy.

Initial comparisons of modular-sized, integrated utility systems and conventional systems for several building types

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benson, H. E.; Monford, L. G., Jr.

1976-01-01

The results of a study of the application of a modular integrated utility system to six typical building types are compared with the application of a conventional utility system to the same facilities. The effects of varying the size and climatic location of the buildings and the size of the powerplants are presented. Construction details of the six building types (garden apartments, a high rise office building, high rise apartments, a shopping center, a high school, and a hospital) and typical site and floor plans are provided. The environmental effects, the unit size determination, and the market potential are discussed. The cost effectiveness of the various design options is not considered.

Evaluation of Stiffness Changes in a High-Rise Building by Measurements of Lateral Displacements Using GPS Technology

PubMed Central

Choi, Se Woon; Kim, Ill Soo; Park, Jae Hwan; Kim, Yousok; Sohn, Hong Gyoo; Park, Hyo Seon

2013-01-01

The outrigger truss system is one of the most frequently used lateral load resisting structural systems. However, little research has been reported on the effect of installation of outrigger trusses on improvement of lateral stiffness of a high-rise building through full-scale measurements. In this paper, stiffness changes of a high-rise building due to installation of outrigger trusses have been evaluated by measuring lateral displacements using a global positioning system (GPS). To confirm the error range of the GPS measurement system used in the full-scale measurement tests, the GPS displacement monitoring system is investigated through a free vibration test of the experimental model. Then, for the evaluation of lateral stiffness of a high-rise building under construction, the GPS displacement monitoring system is applied to measurements of lateral displacements of a 66-story high-rise building before and after installation of outrigger truss. The stiffness improvement of the building before and after the installation is confirmed through the changes of the natural frequencies and the ratios of the base shear forces to the roof displacements. PMID:24233025

[Evaluation of view points in forest park based on landscape sensitivity].

PubMed

Zhou, Rui; Li, Yue-hui; Hu, Yuan-man; Liu, Miao

2008-11-01

Based on topographical characteristics, five factors including comparative slope, comparative distance, mutual visibility, vision probability, and striking degree were chosen to assess the landscape sensitivity of major view points in Houshi National Forest Park. Spatial analysis in GIS was used for exploring the theory and method of landscape sensitivity of view points. The results showed that in the Park, there were totally 23 view points, but none of them reached up to class I. Among the 23 points, 10 were of class II , accounting for 43.5% of the total, 8 were of class III, accounting for 34.8%, and 5 were of classes IV and V, accounting for 21.7%. Around the view points of class II, the landscape should be strictly protected to maintain their natural feature; around the view points of class III, human-made landscape points should be developed according to the natural landscape feature, and wide tourism roads and small-size buildings could be constructed but the style of the buildings should be harmonious with surrounding nature landscape; while around the view points of classes IV and V, large-size multifunctional items and roads could be built to perfect the natural landscape. Through the multi-perspective and quantitative evaluation of landscape sensitivity, this study enriched the theory of landscape visual assessment and landscape apperception, and provided scientific base and direction for the planning and management of forest parks and other tourism areas.

Advanced Extended Plate and Beam Wall System in a Cold-Climate House

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

Mallay, Dave; Wiehagen, Joseph; Kochkin, Vladimir

This report presents the design and evaluation of an innovative wall system. This highly insulated (high-R) light-frame wall system for use above grade in residential buildings is referred to as Extended Plate & Beam (EP&B). The EP&B design is the first of its kind to be featured in a new construction test house (NCTH) for the DOE Building America program. The EP&B wall design integrates standard building methods and common building products to construct a high-R wall that minimizes transition risks and costs to builders.

Introduction to Cost Control Strategies for Zero Energy Buildings: High-Performance Design and Construction on a Budget (Fact Sheet)

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

Not Available

2014-09-01

Momentum behind zero energy building design and construction is increasing, presenting a tremendous opportunity for advancing energy performance in the commercial building industry. At the same time, there is a lingering perception that zero energy buildings must be cost prohibitive or limited to showcase projects. Fortunately, an increasing number of projects are demonstrating that high performance can be achieved within typical budgets. This factsheet highlights replicable, recommended strategies for achieving high performance on a budget, based on experiences from past projects.

EVALUATING THE SENSITIVITY OF SCREENING-LEVEL VAPOR INTRUSTION MODELS

EPA Science Inventory

Vapor intrusion is defined as the migration of volatile chemicals from the subsurface into overlying buildings. Volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) in soil or ground water can volatilize into soil gas and be transported towards the land surface where it can enter homes or busin...

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

None

SLAC is helping to build and test the LUX-ZEPLIN or LZ detector, one of the biggest and most sensitive detectors ever designed to catch hypothetical dark matter particles known as WIMPs. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory are on a quest to solve one of physics’ biggest mysteries: What exactly is dark matter – the invisible substance that accounts for 85 percent of all the matter in the universe but can’t be seen even with our most advanced scientific instruments? Most scientists believe it’s made of ghostly particles that rarely bump into their surroundings; that’s whymore » billions of dark matter particles might zip right through our bodies every second without us even noticing. Leading candidates for dark matter particles are WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles. Now SLAC is helping to build and test one of the biggest and most sensitive detectors ever designed to catch a WIMP – the LUX-ZEPLIN or LZ detector.« less

Shaw High School A Case Study in Rural High School Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Doris Terry

2004-01-01

Shaw High School is one of two schools making up the Shaw School District. The school is located in an old and once majestic building whose large concrete pillars still stand at the entrance. A small white house across the street holds the district administrative office. Several buildings, detached from the main building, house the cafeteria,…

Proposed strategies for designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City responding to critical urban issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Truong, Nguyen Hoang Long; Huan Giang, Ngoc; Binh Duong, Trong

2018-03-01

This paper aims at finding practical strategies for designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City responding to varied municipal issues. Two steps are made. Step-1 identifies the critical issues of Ho Chi Minh City which are associated with high-rise apartment building projects. Step-2 finds potential and applicable strategies which are solutions for the critical issues in Step-1 with reference of seven selected assessment methods. The study finds the set of 58 strategies applicable to designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City.

High Sensitive Precise 3D Accelerometer for Solar System Exploration with Unmanned Spacecrafts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savenko, Y. V.; Demyanenko, P. O.; Zinkovskiy, Y. F.

Solutions of several space and geophysical tasks require creating high sensitive precise accelerometers with sensitivity in order of 10 -13 g. These several tasks are following: inertial navigation of the Earth and Space; gravimetry nearby the Earth and into Space; geology; geophysics; seismology etc. Accelerometers (gravimeters and gradientmeters) with required sensitivity are not available now. The best accelerometers in the world have sensitivity worth on 4-5 orders. It has been developed a new class of fiber-optical sensors (FOS) with light pulse modulation. These sensors have super high threshold sensitivity and wide (up to 10 orders) dynamic range, and can be used as a base for creating of measurement units of physical values as 3D superhigh sensitive precise accelerometers of linear accelerations that is suitable for highest requirements. The principle of operation of the FOS is organically combined with a digital signal processing. It allows decreasing hardware of the accelerometer due to using a usual air-borne or space-borne computer; correcting the influence of natural, design, technological drawbacks of FOS on measured results; neutralising the influence of extraordinary situations available during using of FOS; decreasing the influence of internal and external destabilising factors (as for FOS), such as oscillation of environment temperature, instability of pendulum cycle frequency of sensitive element of the accelerometer etc. We were conducted a quantitative estimation of precise opportunities of analogue FOS in structure of fiber optical measuring devices (FOMD) for elementary FOMD with analogue FOS built on modern element basis of fiber optics (FO), at following assumptions: absolute parameter stability of devices of FOS measuring path; single transmission band of registration path; maximum possible inserted in optical fiber (OF) a radiated power. Even at such idealized assumptions, a calculated value in limit reached minimum inaccuracy of measuring, by analogue FOS, has been ˜ 10-4 %. Substantially accessible values are yet worse on 2-3 order. The reason of poor precise performances of measurers on the basis of analogue FOS is metrologically poor quality of a stream of optical radiation carrying out role of the carrier and receptor of the information. It is a high level of photon noise and a small blanket intensity level. First reason reflects the fact of discreteness of flow of high-energy photons, and it is consequence of second one - smallness, on absolute value, of inserted power into OF from available radiation sources (RS). Works on improvement of FO elements are carrying out. Certainly, it will be created RS allow to insert enough of power into standard OF. But simple increasing of optical flow power in measuring path of FOS will not be able to decide radically the problem of increasing of measuring prices: with raising of power in proportion of square root of its value there is raising a power of photon noises - 1000-times increase of power promises only 30-times increase of measuring precise; insertion into OF more large power (˜ 1 W for standard silicon OF) causes an appearance of non-linear effects in it, which destroying an operating principle of analogue FOS. Thus, it is needed to constatate impossibility of building, at that time, measurers of analogue FOS, concurated with traditional (electrical) measurers on measuring precise. At that all, advantages of FO, as basis of building of FO MD requires to find ways for decision of these problems. Analysis of problem of sensitivity of usual (analogue) FOS has brought us to conclusion about necessity of reviewing of principles of information signal forming in FOS and principles its next electronic processing. For radical increasing of accuracy of measurements with using FOS it is necessary to refuse analogue modulation of optical flow and to transfer to discreet its modulations, entering thus in optical flow new, non-optical, parameters, which will serve as recipients of the information. It allows to save up all advantages of FOS (carrier of information, as earlier, remains an optical flow), but problem of accuracy of measurements now will not be more connected with problem of measurement of low power intensity of optical flow - it is transferred from area of optical measurements in other, non-optical area, where there is no this problem, or it had been solved duly. It had been developed a new class of FOS with pulse modulation of radiation flow intensity at the Department of Design and Production of Redioelectronic Systems of National Technical University of Ukraine ``Kiev Polytechnic Institute''. PFOS have benefit differ from usual analogue FOS on high threshold sensitivity and wide dynamic range of measured values. As example there are described design and performances of proposed 3D accelerometer. High precision of accelerometer measurements on PFOS is provided by following: possibility of high precision measurements of time intervals, which serve as informative parameters in output pulse signal of PFOS; possibility of creating a high quality quartz oscillating system, which serves as sensitive element of PFOS; insensitiveness of metrological performances of the accelerometer to any parameter instabilities (time, temperature, etc.) of optical and electrical elements in measuring path of PFOS; digital processing of PFOS signal practically excludes processing errors; principle insensitiveness of PFOS to electromagnetic noises of any nature and any intensity; possibility of direct correction of measuring results, during their processing, for taking into account and excluding undesirable influences of any destabilizing factors are acting on PFOS. Quasi stationary approach The developed 3D accelerometer on PFOS of extra low accelerations has unique technical performances, that confirms our conclusions about potentially high metrological abilities of pulse FOS. It has the following performances (calculated): threshold sensitivity is (10 -9 ldots 10 -13) g (threshold is determine by customer with determination of sizes of sensor and electronic processing unit); dynamic range is 10 7 ldots 10 9 ; frequency range is 0 ldots 10 Hz; mass is 50 grams; size: length is 120 mm and diameter is 20 mm In addition, that it can be used as accelerometer properly, on its base it is possible to create the strapdown inertial systems (SIS) for spacecraft. Flight control is carried out in accordance to flight programe of spacecraft without support connection with external reference objects. These SIS allow: - direct control over changes of orbital parameter or flight track, caused by action of extra low but long time external force factors (braking action of planet atmosphere remains, sun wind pressure, etc.) on spacecraft; - checking correction of orbital parameters (spacecraft track) by including of low power spaceborne engine; The developed accelerometer can be also used as high sensitive gravimeter for geophysical investigations and geological explorations - anywhere, where it is required to measure extra low deviation of terrestrial gravity value. High sensitivity of described accelerometers allows to create, on its base, gradientometers of real system for investigation of Planet gravity field heterogeneity from spacecraft orbit. This opens possibilities of practical solution of number important tasks of Planet physics.

Adaptive Texture Synthesis for Large Scale City Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Despine, G.; Colleu, T.

2015-02-01

Large scale city models textured with aerial images are well suited for bird-eye navigation but generally the image resolution does not allow pedestrian navigation. One solution to face this problem is to use high resolution terrestrial photos but it requires huge amount of manual work to remove occlusions. Another solution is to synthesize generic textures with a set of procedural rules and elementary patterns like bricks, roof tiles, doors and windows. This solution may give realistic textures but with no correlation to the ground truth. Instead of using pure procedural modelling we present a method to extract information from aerial images and adapt the texture synthesis to each building. We describe a workflow allowing the user to drive the information extraction and to select the appropriate texture patterns. We also emphasize the importance to organize the knowledge about elementary pattern in a texture catalogue allowing attaching physical information, semantic attributes and to execute selection requests. Roofs are processed according to the detected building material. Façades are first described in terms of principal colours, then opening positions are detected and some window features are computed. These features allow selecting the most appropriate patterns from the texture catalogue. We experimented this workflow on two samples with 20 cm and 5 cm resolution images. The roof texture synthesis and opening detection were successfully conducted on hundreds of buildings. The window characterization is still sensitive to the distortions inherent to the projection of aerial images onto the facades.

Sources of propylene glycol and glycol ethers in air at home.

PubMed

Choi, Hyunok; Schmidbauer, Norbert; Spengler, John; Bornehag, Carl-Gustaf

2010-12-01

Propylene glycol and glycol ether (PGE) in indoor air have recently been associated with asthma and allergies as well as sensitization in children. In this follow-up report, sources of the PGEs in indoor air were investigated in 390 homes of pre-school age children in Sweden. Professional building inspectors examined each home for water damages, mold odour, building's structural characteristics, indoor temperature, absolute humidity and air exchange rate. They also collected air and dust samples. The samples were analyzed for four groups of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-VOCs (SVOCs), including summed concentrations of 16 PGEs, 8 terpene hydrocarbons, 2 Texanols, and the phthalates n-butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP). Home cleaning with water and mop ≥ once/month, repainting ≥ one room prior to or following the child's birth, and "newest" surface material in the child's bedroom explained largest portion of total variability in PGE concentrations. High excess indoor humidity (g/m³) additionally contributed to a sustained PGE levels in indoor air far beyond several months following the paint application. No behavioral or building structural factors, except for water-based cleaning, predicted an elevated terpene level in air. No significant predictor of Texanols emerged from our analysis. Overall disparate sources and low correlations among the PGEs, terpenes, Texanols, and the phthalates further confirm the lack of confounding in the analysis reporting the associations of the PGE and the diagnoses of asthma, rhinitis, and eczema, respectively.

The upper respiratory tract: mucous membrane irritation.

PubMed Central

Bascom, R

1991-01-01

Despite the widespread recognition that mucosal irritation is a cardinal feature of "sick-building syndrome," few data exist on the cause, natural history, or pathophysiology of upper respiratory mucous membrane irritation. The baseline prevalence of nasal symptoms among building occupants is often 20%, but in some studies it is as high as 50 to 60%. New techniques of nasal challenge and analysis of cells and mediators in nasal lavage fluid have proved useful in the assessment of rhinitis caused by antigens, cold air, and viruses, and these techniques are now being applied to the study the response to irritants. Human inhalation challenge studies have recently demonstrated a spectrum of sensitivity to environmental tobacco smoke, but the basis for this difference requires additional investigation. Animal and in vitro studies indicate that the chemosensitive neurons and airway epithelium may be critical targets for irritants that participate in the induction of inflammation. New research methods are needed, particularly to evaluate complaints of nasal congestion, drying, and irritation. Techniques should be developed that may be useful for field studies, where the health effects of a complex mixture are being assessed in a specific indoor environment. There exists a group of individuals who report a variety of symptoms on exposure to low levels of common volatile organic mixtures such as perfume, cigarette smoke, and cleaning agents. Some of these individuals report having occupied "sick buildings" during the time their symptoms began. Research is needed to understand the basis of their complaints, their etiology, and treatment. PMID:1821376

Computational Process Modeling for Additive Manufacturing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bagg, Stacey; Zhang, Wei

2014-01-01

Computational Process and Material Modeling of Powder Bed additive manufacturing of IN 718. Optimize material build parameters with reduced time and cost through modeling. Increase understanding of build properties. Increase reliability of builds. Decrease time to adoption of process for critical hardware. Potential to decrease post-build heat treatments. Conduct single-track and coupon builds at various build parameters. Record build parameter information and QM Meltpool data. Refine Applied Optimization powder bed AM process model using data. Report thermal modeling results. Conduct metallography of build samples. Calibrate STK models using metallography findings. Run STK models using AO thermal profiles and report STK modeling results. Validate modeling with additional build. Photodiode Intensity measurements highly linear with power input. Melt Pool Intensity highly correlated to Melt Pool Size. Melt Pool size and intensity increase with power. Applied Optimization will use data to develop powder bed additive manufacturing process model.

Constructive systems, load-bearing and enclosing structures of high-rise buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anatol'evna Korol', Elena; Olegovna Kustikova, Yuliya

2018-03-01

As the height of the building increases, loads on load-carrying structures increase dramatically, and as a result of the development of high-rise construction, several structural systems of such buildings have been developed: frame, frame-frame, cross-wall, barrel, box-type, box-to-wall ("pipe in pipe", "Trumpet in the farm"), etc. In turn, the barrel systems have their own versions: cantilever support of the ceilings on the trunk, suspension of the outer part of the overlap to the upper carrying console "hanging house" or its support by means of the walls on the lower bearing cantilever, intermediate position of the supporting cantilevers in height to the floor, from a part of floors. The object of the study are the structural solutions of high-rise buildings. The subject of the study is the layout of structural schemes of high-rise buildings, taking into account the main parameters - altitude (height), natural climatic conditions of construction, materials of structural elements and their physical and mechanical characteristics. The purpose of the study is to identify the features and systematization of structural systems of high-rise buildings and the corresponding structural elements. The results of the research make it possible, at the stage of making design decisions, to establish rational parameters for the correspondence between the structural systems of high-rise buildings and their individual elements.

Advanced earthquake monitoring system for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical buildings--instrumentation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kalkan, Erol; Banga, Krishna; Ulusoy, Hasan S.; Fletcher, Jon Peter B.; Leith, William S.; Reza, Shahneam; Cheng, Timothy

2012-01-01

In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the National Strong Motion Project (NSMP; http://nsmp.wr.usgs.gov/) of the U.S. Geological Survey has been installing sophisticated seismic systems that will monitor the structural integrity of 28 VA hospital buildings located in seismically active regions of the conterminous United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico during earthquake shaking. These advanced monitoring systems, which combine the use of sensitive accelerometers and real-time computer calculations, are designed to determine the structural health of each hospital building rapidly after an event, helping the VA to ensure the safety of patients and staff. This report presents the instrumentation component of this project by providing details of each hospital building, including a summary of its structural, geotechnical, and seismic hazard information, as well as instrumentation objectives and design. The structural-health monitoring component of the project, including data retrieval and processing, damage detection and localization, automated alerting system, and finally data dissemination, will be presented in a separate report.

Probabilistic risk analysis of building contamination.

PubMed

Bolster, D T; Tartakovsky, D M

2008-10-01

We present a general framework for probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) of building contamination. PRA provides a powerful tool for the rigorous quantification of risk in contamination of building spaces. A typical PRA starts by identifying relevant components of a system (e.g. ventilation system components, potential sources of contaminants, remediation methods) and proceeds by using available information and statistical inference to estimate the probabilities of their failure. These probabilities are then combined by means of fault-tree analyses to yield probabilistic estimates of the risk of system failure (e.g. building contamination). A sensitivity study of PRAs can identify features and potential problems that need to be addressed with the most urgency. Often PRAs are amenable to approximations, which can significantly simplify the approach. All these features of PRA are presented in this paper via a simple illustrative example, which can be built upon in further studies. The tool presented here can be used to design and maintain adequate ventilation systems to minimize exposure of occupants to contaminants.

The Extravert Advantage: How and When Extraverts Build Rapport With Other People.

PubMed

Duffy, Korrina A; Chartrand, Tanya L

2015-11-01

Extraverts are better than introverts at building rapport, but it remains unknown what they do behaviorally to better connect with other individuals. We hypothesized that extraverts mimic more than introverts as a way to build rapport; however, we predicted that this social skillfulness of extraverts emerges only when they are motivated to affiliate. In Study 1, we found that extraversion predicted increased mimicry when an affiliation goal was present, but not when an affiliation goal was absent. In Study 2, we found that mimicry mediates the relationship between extraversion and rapport, but only when an affiliation goal is present. Our findings are the first to identify a behavior that extraverts engage in that helps them build rapport. Furthermore, our studies show that this skillfulness of extraverts emerges only when they are motivated to affiliate, providing evidence in favor of the reward-sensitivity-as-core model of extraversion over the sociability-as-core model of extraversion. © The Author(s) 2015.

Low home ventilation rate in combination with moldy odor from the building structure increase the risk for allergic symptoms in children.

PubMed

Hägerhed-Engman, L; Sigsgaard, T; Samuelson, I; Sundell, J; Janson, S; Bornehag, C-G

2009-06-01

There are consistent findings on associations between asthma and allergy symptoms and residential mold and moisture. However, definitions of 'dampness' in studies are diverse because of differences in climate and building construction. Few studies have estimated mold problems inside the building structure by odor assessments. In a nested case-control study of 400 Swedish children, observations and measurements were performed in their homes by inspectors, and the children were examined by physicians for diagnoses of asthma, eczema, and rhinitis. In conclusion, we found an association between moldy odor along the skirting board and allergic symptoms among children, mainly rhinitis. No associations with any of the allergic symptoms were found for discoloured stains, 'floor dampness' or a general mold odor in the room. A moldy odor along the skirting board can be a proxy for hidden moisture problem inside the outer wall construction or in the foundation construction. There are indications that such dampness problems increase the risk for sensitization but the interpretation of data in respect of sensitization is difficult as about 80% of the children with rhinitis were sensitized. Furthermore, low ventilation rate in combination with moldy odor along the skirting board further increased the risk for three out of four studied outcomes, indicating that the ventilation rate is an effect modifier for indoor pollutants. This study showed that mold odor at the skirting board level is strongly associated with allergic symptoms among children. Such odor at that specific place can be seen as a proxy for some kind of hidden moisture or mold problem in the building structure, such as the foundation or wooden ground beam. In houses with odor along the skirting board, dismantling of the structure is required for an investigation of possible moisture damage, measurements, and choice of actions. In homes with low ventilation in combination with mold odor along the skirting board, there was even a higher risk of health effects. This emphasizes the need for the appropriate remediation as this is an ever increasing problem in poorly ventilated houses that are damp.

The Synergetic Effect of Cash Transfers for Families, Child Sensitive Social Protection Programs, and Capacity Building for Effective Social Protection on Children's Nutritional Status in Nepal.

PubMed

Renzaho, Andre M N; Chitekwe, Stanley; Chen, Wen; Rijal, Sanjay; Dhakal, Thakur; Dahal, Pradiumna

2017-12-04

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the synergetic effect of child sensitive social protection programs, augmented by a capacity building for social protection and embedded within existing government's targeted resource transfers for families on child nutritional status. A repeat cross-sectional quasi-experimental design with measures taken pre- (October-December 2009) and post- (December 2014-February 2015) intervention in the intervention and comparison district. The comparison district received standard social welfare services in the form of targeted resource transfers (TRTs) for eligible families. The intervention district received the TRTs plus a child cash payment, augmented by a capacity building for effective social protection outcomes. Propensity scores were used in difference-in-differences models to compare the changes over time between the intervention and control groups. Propensity score matched/weighted models produced better results than the unmatched analyses, and hence we report findings from the radius matching. The intervention resulted in a 5.16 (95% CI: 9.55, 0.77), 7.35 (95% CI: 11.62, 3.08) and 2.84 (95% CI: 5.58, 0.10) percentage point reduction in the prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting among children under the age, respectively. The intervention impact was greater in boys than girls for stunting and wasting; and greater in girls than boys for underweight. The intervention also resulted in a 6.66 (95% CI: 2.13, 3.18), 11.40 (95% CI: 16.66, 6.13), and 4.0 (95% CI: 6.43, 1.78) percentage point reduction in the prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting among older children (≥24 months). No impact was observed among younger children (<24 months). Targeted resource transfers for families, augmented with a child sensitive social protection program and capacity building for social protection can address effectively child malnutrition. To increase the intervention effectiveness on younger children, the child cash payment amount needs to be revisited and closely embedded into infant and young child feeding initiatives, but also adjusted to equate to 20% of household expenditure or more to maximize the diversity of food available to young children.

Open Source Tools for Numerical Simulation of Urban Greenhouse Gas Emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nottrott, A.; Tan, S. M.; He, Y.

2016-12-01

There is a global movement toward urbanization. Approximately 7% of the global population lives in just 28 megacities, occupying less than 0.1% of the total land area used by human activity worldwide. These cities contribute a significant fraction of the global budget of anthropogenic primary pollutants and greenhouse gasses. The 27 largest cities consume 9.9%, 9.3%, 6.7% and 3.0% of global gasoline, electricity, energy and water use, respectively. This impact motivates novel approaches to quantify and mitigate the growing contribution of megacity emissions to global climate change. Cities are characterized by complex topography, inhomogeneous turbulence, and variable pollutant source distributions. These features create a scale separation between local sources and urban scale emissions estimates known as the Grey-Zone. Modern computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques provide a quasi-deterministic, physically based toolset to bridge the scale separation gap between source level dynamics, local measurements, and urban scale emissions inventories. CFD has the capability to represent complex building topography and capture detailed 3D turbulence fields in the urban boundary layer. This presentation discusses the application of OpenFOAM to urban CFD simulations of natural gas leaks in cities. OpenFOAM is an open source software for advanced numerical simulation of engineering and environmental fluid flows. When combined with free or low cost computer aided drawing and GIS, OpenFOAM generates a detailed, 3D representation of urban wind fields. OpenFOAM was applied to model methane (CH4) emissions from various components of the natural gas distribution system, to investigate the impact of urban meteorology on mobile CH4 measurements. The numerical experiments demonstrate that CH4 concentration profiles are highly sensitive to the relative location of emission sources and buildings. Sources separated by distances of 5-10 meters showed significant differences in vertical dispersion of the plume due to building wake effects. The OpenFOAM flow fields were combined with an inverse, stochastic dispersion model to quantify and visualize the sensitivity of point sensors to upwind sources in various built environments.

Determining the market value of high-rise residential buildings based on evaluation of consumer properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolobova, Svetlana

2018-03-01

As you know, high-rise construction is an indicator of the practical implementation of advanced innovative technologies in the construction industry of the country. High-rise building inevitably comes to the big cities, in connection with the shortage and value of land. The life cycle of any construction project, including high-rise buildings consists of chains: of engineering survey - design-construction-operation. In the process of operation of a tall building, decisions about major repairs or reconstruction of a building are made for decision-making on further use. This article describes methods of assessing the consumer quality of high-rise residential buildings and the establishment of prices based on consumer characteristics of a tall residential building. It is proposed to assess the premises under their quality characteristics. The study was conducted to establish the influence of individual, comprehensive and integral indicators of comparable quality for effective quality living spaces. Simultaneously, there was established a relationship of quality with the consumer cost of housing, ultimately with the potential needs of owners, tenants of the home, lessor dwelling, or buyers of residential properties and other participants in the residential real estate market. This relationship further creates consumer requirements to quality standard of premises at a certain stage of socio-economic development.

Analysis of the Energy Performance of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Philip Merrill Environmental Center

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

Griffith, B.; Deru M.; Torcellini, P.

2005-04-01

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation designed their new headquarters building to minimize its environmental impact on the already highly polluted Chesapeake Bay by incorporating numerous high-performance energy saving features into the building design. CBF then contacted NREL to perform a nonbiased energy evaluation of the building. Because their building attracted much attention in the sustainable design community, an unbiased evaluation was necessary to help designers replicate successes and identify and correct problem areas. This report focuses on NREL's monitoring and analysis of the overall energy performance of the building.

Design and Implementation of Green Construction Scheme for a High-rise Residential Building Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yong; Huang, You Zhen

2018-06-01

This paper mainly studies the green construction scheme of a high-rise residential building project. From "four sections one environmental protection", saving material, water saving, energy saving, economical use of land and environmental protection conduct analysis and research. Adopting scientific, advanced, reasonable and economical construction technology measures, implementing green construction method. Promoting energy-saving technologies in buildings, ensuring the sustainable use of resources, Maximum savings of resources and energy, increase energy efficiency, to reduce pollution, reducing the adverse environmental impact of construction activities, ensure construction safety, build sustainable buildings.

Are Patients With Cancer Less Willing to Share Their Health Information? Privacy, Sensitivity, and Social Purpose.

PubMed

Grande, David; Asch, David A; Wan, Fei; Bradbury, Angela R; Jagsi, Reshma; Mitra, Nandita

2015-09-01

Growing use of electronic health information increases opportunities to build population cancer databases for research and care delivery. Understanding patient views on reuse of health information is essential to shape privacy policies and build trust in these initiatives. We randomly assigned nationally representative participants (N = 3,336) with and without prior cancer to six of 18 scenarios describing different uses of electronic health information. The scenarios varied the user, use, and sensitivity of the information. Participants rated each scenario on a scale of 1 to 10 assessing their willingness to share their electronic health information. We used conjoint analysis to measure the relative importance of each attribute (ie, use, user, and sensitivity). Participants with and without a prior diagnosis of cancer had a similar willingness to share health information (0.27; P = .42). Both cancer and noncancer participants rated the purpose of information use as the most important factor (importance weights, 67.1% and 45.6%, respectively). For cancer participants, the sensitivity of the information was more important (importance weights, 29.8% v 1.2%). However, cancer participants were more willing to share their health information when the information included more sensitive genetic information (0.48; P = .015). Cancer and noncancer respondents rated uses and users similarly. The information sharing preferences of participants with and without a prior diagnosis of cancer were driven mainly by the purpose of information reuse. Although conventional thinking suggests patients with cancer might be less willing to share their health information, we found participants with cancer were more willing to share their inherited genetic information. Copyright © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

TreePOD: Sensitivity-Aware Selection of Pareto-Optimal Decision Trees.

PubMed

Muhlbacher, Thomas; Linhardt, Lorenz; Moller, Torsten; Piringer, Harald

2018-01-01

Balancing accuracy gains with other objectives such as interpretability is a key challenge when building decision trees. However, this process is difficult to automate because it involves know-how about the domain as well as the purpose of the model. This paper presents TreePOD, a new approach for sensitivity-aware model selection along trade-offs. TreePOD is based on exploring a large set of candidate trees generated by sampling the parameters of tree construction algorithms. Based on this set, visualizations of quantitative and qualitative tree aspects provide a comprehensive overview of possible tree characteristics. Along trade-offs between two objectives, TreePOD provides efficient selection guidance by focusing on Pareto-optimal tree candidates. TreePOD also conveys the sensitivities of tree characteristics on variations of selected parameters by extending the tree generation process with a full-factorial sampling. We demonstrate how TreePOD supports a variety of tasks involved in decision tree selection and describe its integration in a holistic workflow for building and selecting decision trees. For evaluation, we illustrate a case study for predicting critical power grid states, and we report qualitative feedback from domain experts in the energy sector. This feedback suggests that TreePOD enables users with and without statistical background a confident and efficient identification of suitable decision trees.

Land surface temperature downscaling using random forest regression: primary result and sensitivity analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Xin; Cao, Chen; Yang, Yingbao; Li, Xiaolong; Shan, Liangliang; Zhu, Xi

2018-04-01

The land surface temperature (LST) derived from thermal infrared satellite images is a meaningful variable in many remote sensing applications. However, at present, the spatial resolution of the satellite thermal infrared remote sensing sensor is coarser, which cannot meet the needs. In this study, LST image was downscaled by a random forest model between LST and multiple predictors in an arid region with an oasis-desert ecotone. The proposed downscaling approach was evaluated using LST derived from the MODIS LST product of Zhangye City in Heihe Basin. The primary result of LST downscaling has been shown that the distribution of downscaled LST matched with that of the ecosystem of oasis and desert. By the way of sensitivity analysis, the most sensitive factors to LST downscaling were modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI)/normalized multi-band drought index (NMDI), soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI)/ shortwave infrared reflectance (SWIR)/normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference building index (NDBI)/SAVI and SWIR/NDBI/MNDWI/NDWI for the region of water, vegetation, building and desert, with LST variation (at most) of 0.20/-0.22 K, 0.92/0.62/0.46 K, 0.28/-0.29 K and 3.87/-1.53/-0.64/-0.25 K in the situation of +/-0.02 predictor perturbances, respectively.

The Ocean as a teaching tool: the first MOOC on Ocean Literacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santin, Selvaggia; Santoro, Francesca

2017-04-01

Education its broader understanding (in both formal and informal settings) serves as a high potential channel to reach young citizens. As a lack of sufficient 'Ocean Literacy' has been identified in many countries, this clearly presents a barrier for citizens to engage in ocean responsible behaviour or consider ocean-related careers. In order to sensitize and enable teachers and students to incorporate ocean literacy into educational programmes we build up a first Massive Open Online Course on Emma Platform, an European Multiple MOOC Aggregator that provides a system for the delivery of free, open, online courses in multiple languages from different European universities. Almost 500 students were enrolled from all over the world and we proposed a multi-perspective approach building on the UNESCO experience in the field of education for sustainable development. The course had two sections: a narrative format which introduces to the Ocean Literacy principles, focusing on how to incorporate them into lessons with tips, advice, references and activities; and an interactive section with webinairs which covers contemporary and emerging issues such as seafood, marine pollution and human health, simulating a "real-world experiences" with a problems-solutions approach.

Recruiting and retaining Arab Muslim mothers and children for research.

PubMed

Aroian, Karen J; Katz, Anne; Kulwicki, Anahid

2006-01-01

To describe successful and not-so-successful strategies for recruiting and retaining Arab Muslim immigrant women and their adolescent children for research. A longitudinal study of mother-child adjustment of Arab immigrants to the US is used for illustration. A panel of experts was assembled and provided culturally specific advice about gatekeepers, advertising, data collectors, data collection, and how to track and encourage participation at subsequent time points in the study. Most of the strategies recommended by the panel were overwhelmingly positive, including advice about data collectors, how to collect data, financial incentives, avoiding offending families, and personal contacts. Hiring data collectors who were able to establish personal and culturally appropriate relationships with study participants was the single most successful recruitment and retention strategy. Advice from cultural experts about which gatekeepers to engage and how to advertise for study participants was not productive. Researchers should not only assemble a panel of cultural experts to provide advice about group specific strategies to build trust and maintain cultural sensitivity, but also to budget generously for time for data collectors to build and maintain rapport with study populations who, like Arab immigrant women, highly value personal relationships.

Firefly Luciferin-Inspired Biocompatible Chemistry for Protein Labeling and In Vivo Imaging.

PubMed

Wang, Yuqi; An, Ruibing; Luo, Zhiliang; Ye, Deju

2018-04-17

Biocompatible reactions have emerged as versatile tools to build various molecular imaging probes that hold great promise for the detection of biological processes in vitro and/or in vivo. In this Minireview, we describe the recent advances in the development of a firefly luciferin-inspired biocompatible reaction between cyanobenzothiazole (CBT) and cysteine (Cys), and highlight its versatility to label proteins and build multimodality molecular imaging probes. The review starts from the general introduction of biocompatible reactions, which is followed by briefly describing the development of the firefly luciferin-inspired biocompatible chemistry. We then discuss its applications for the specific protein labeling and for the development of multimodality imaging probes (fluorescence, bioluminescence, MRI, PET, photoacoustic, etc.) that enable high sensitivity and spatial resolution imaging of redox environment, furin and caspase-3/7 activity in living cells and mice. Finally, we offer the conclusions and our perspective on the various and potential applications of this reaction. We hope that this review will contribute to the research of biocompatible reactions for their versatile applications in protein labeling and molecular imaging. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

NECTAr: New electronics for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vorobiov, S.; Bolmont, J.; Corona, P.; Delagnes, E.; Feinstein, F.; Gascón, D.; Glicenstein, J.-F.; Naumann, C. L.; Nayman, P.; Sanuy, A.; Toussenel, F.; Vincent, P.

2011-05-01

The European astroparticle physics community aims to design and build the next generation array of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), that will benefit from the experience of the existing H.E.S.S. and MAGIC detectors, and further expand the very-high energy astronomy domain. In order to gain an order of magnitude in sensitivity in the 10 GeV to >100TeV range, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will employ 50-100 mirrors of various sizes equipped with 1000-4000 channels per camera, to be compared with the 6000 channels of the final H.E.S.S. array. A 3-year program, started in 2009, aims to build and test a demonstrator module of a generic CTA camera. We present here the NECTAr design of front-end electronics for the CTA, adapted to the trigger and data acquisition of a large IACTs array, with simple production and maintenance. Cost and camera performances are optimized by maximizing integration of the front-end electronics (amplifiers, fast analog samplers, ADCs) in an ASIC, achieving several GS/s and a few μs readout dead-time. We present preliminary results and extrapolated performances from Monte Carlo simulations.

Recruiting and Retaining Arab Muslim Mothers and Children for Research

PubMed Central

Aroian, Karen J.; Katz, Anne; Kulwicki, Anahid

2006-01-01

Purpose To describe successful and not-so-successful strategies for recruiting and retaining Arab Muslim immigrant women and their adolescent children for research. Design and Methods A longitudinal study of mother-child adjustment of Arab immigrants to the US is used for illustration. A panel of experts was assembled and provided culturally specific advice about gatekeepers, advertising, data collectors, data collection, and how to track and encourage participation at subsequent time points in the study. Findings Most of the strategies recommended by the panel were overwhelmingly positive, including advice about data collectors, how to collect data, financial incentives, avoiding offending families, and personal contacts. Hiring data collectors who were able to establish personal and culturally appropriate relationships with study participants was the single most successful recruitment and retention strategy. Advice from cultural experts about which gatekeepers to engage and how to advertise for study participants was not productive. Conclusions Researchers should not only assemble a panel of cultural experts to provide advice about group specific strategies to build trust and maintain cultural sensitivity, but also to budget generously for time for data collectors to build and maintain rapport with study populations who, like Arab immigrant women, highly value personal relationships. PMID:17044343

Radar systems for the water resources mission. Volume 4: Appendices E-I

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, R. K.; Claassen, J. P.; Erickson, R. L.; Fong, R. K. T.; Hanson, B. C.; Komen, M. J.; Mcmillan, S. B.; Parashar, S. K.

1976-01-01

The use of a scanning antenna beam for a synthetic aperture system was examined. When the resolution required was modest, the radar did not use all the time the beam was passing a given point on the ground to build a synthetic aperture, so time was available to scan the beam to other positions and build several images at different ranges. The scanning synthetic-aperture radar (SCANSAR) could achieve swathwidths of well over 100 km with modest antenna size. Design considerations for a SCANSAR for hydrologic parameter observation are presented. Because of the high sensitivity to soil moisture at angles of incidence near vertical, a 7 to 22 deg swath was considered for that application. For snow and ice monitoring, a 22 to 37 deg scan was used. Frequencies from X-band to L-band were used in the design studies, but the proposed system operated in C-band at 4.75 GHz. It achieved an azimuth resolution of about 50 meters at all angles, with a range resolution varying from 150 meters at 7 deg to 31 meters at 37 deg. The antenna required an aperture of 3 x 4.16 meters, and the average transmitter power was under 2 watts.

Performance of masonry enclosure walls: lessons learned from recent earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vicente, Romeu Silva; Rodrigues, Hugo; Varum, Humberto; Costa, Aníbal; Mendes da Silva, José António Raimundo

2012-03-01

This paper discusses the issue of performance requirements and construction criteria for masonry enclosure and infill walls. Vertical building enclosures in European countries are very often constituted by non-load-bearing masonry walls, using horizontally perforated clay bricks. These walls are generally supported and confined by a reinforced concrete frame structure of columns and beams/slabs. Since these walls are commonly considered to be nonstructural elements and their influence on the structural response is ignored, their consideration in the design of structures as well as their connection to the adjacent structural elements is frequently negligent or insufficiently detailed. As a consequence, nonstructural elements, as for wall enclosures, are relatively sensitive to drift and acceleration demands when buildings are subjected to seismic actions. Many international standards and technical documents stress the need for design acceptability criteria for nonstructural elements, however they do not specifically indicate how to prevent collapse and severe cracking, and how to enhance the overall stability in the case of moderate to high seismic loading. Furthermore, a review of appropriate measures to improve enclosure wall performance and both in-plane and out-of-plane integrity under seismic actions is addressed.

Aircraft High-Lift Aerodynamic Analysis Using a Surface-Vorticity Solver

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olson, Erik D.; Albertson, Cindy W.

2016-01-01

This study extends an existing semi-empirical approach to high-lift analysis by examining its effectiveness for use with a three-dimensional aerodynamic analysis method. The aircraft high-lift geometry is modeled in Vehicle Sketch Pad (OpenVSP) using a newly-developed set of techniques for building a three-dimensional model of the high-lift geometry, and for controlling flap deflections using scripted parameter linking. Analysis of the low-speed aerodynamics is performed in FlightStream, a novel surface-vorticity solver that is expected to be substantially more robust and stable compared to pressure-based potential-flow solvers and less sensitive to surface perturbations. The calculated lift curve and drag polar are modified by an empirical lift-effectiveness factor that takes into account the effects of viscosity that are not captured in the potential-flow solution. Analysis results are validated against wind-tunnel data for The Energy-Efficient Transport AR12 low-speed wind-tunnel model, a 12-foot, full-span aircraft configuration with a supercritical wing, full-span slats, and part-span double-slotted flaps.

Using HAZUS-MH for modelling past coastal flooding events in Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, T.; Charvet, I.; Gunasekera, R.

2012-04-01

In regions at risk from natural hazards, the ability to pre-determine the vulnerability and exposure of buildings (residential, commercial, industrial and government) from multiple hazard scenarios, allows policy makers and businesses to put forward appropriate policies, planning and intervention methods to mitigate the financial impact. For this purpose, a number of catastrophe models have been developed to provide the decision makers with quantitative risk assessments based on science and engineering knowledge. One of the most sophisticated open source models currently available is HAZUS-MH. The software is a powerful tool for analysing potential losses from floods, hurricane winds, and earthquakes. It was initially designed by FEMA to work with US datasets and has proven to be a great resource for disaster management at both national and local level in order to plan and increase the awareness of the recovery process after a natural disaster. Methodologies have been introduced to export the HAZUS-MH model for global applications. However, currently the international community have been slow to act on this technology breakthrough. The applications of this project will focus on adapting the HAZUS-HM model to provide a reliable vulnerability assessment of Japan's building stock from tsunami flooding. A review of the different methodologies will be carried out and presented as guidance on the best practice. The numerical assessment reports will be compared to real scenarios based on field observations, financial bulletins and government reports. A sensitivity analysis will be carried out on the generation of bespoke datasets based on the quality and density of the available regional data. These results will be compared against results using proxy US datasets. In addition, the significance of regional building standards and practices will be incorporated into the model through the development of new damage functions. The level of confidence and sensitivity (building stock, vulnerability functions) of the results will be used in order to quantify the ability of the tool (and user) to accurately predict building damage and financial loss.

Architecture of high-rise buildings as a brand of the modern Kazakhstan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdrassilova, Gulnara; Kozbagarova, Nina; Tuyakayeva, Ainagul

2018-03-01

Using practical examples article reviews urban-planning and space-planning features of design and construction of high-rise buildings in Kazakhstan conditions; methods are identified that provide for structural stability against wind and seismic loads based on innovative technical and technological solutions. Article authors stress out the fashion function of high-rise buildings in the new capital of Kazakhstan, the Astana city.

78 FR 71625 - Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-29

...-specific glycan engineering method to conjugate the antibody to the small molecule drug auristatin F. The... results in enhanced sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy treatment and in healthy tissues reduces... tissue associated with the use of anthracycline chemotherapy. The current invention builds on the NIH's...

Building a New Command in Cyberspace

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

actor with a lap- top and a motive, we are chiefly focused on terrorists and well-organized cyber criminals . The former continue to grow more...so. Cyber criminals are more interested in the theft and exploitation of sensitive data that can bring them a profit, either directly through fraud

Building Intercultural Competence through Intercultural Competency Certification of Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janeiro, Maria G. Fabregas; Fabre, Ricardo Lopez; Nuno de la Parra, Jose Pablo

2014-01-01

The Intercultural Competency Certificate (CCI in Spanish) designed for the Universidad Popular Autonoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP University) is a theory based comprehensive plan to develop undergraduate students' intercultural competence. This Certificate is based in the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) developed by…

[Indoor air pollution by volatile organic compounds in large buildings: pollution levels and remaining issues after revision of the Act on Maintenance of Sanitation in Buildings in 2002].

PubMed

Sakai, Kiyoshi; Kamijima, Michihiro; Shibata, Eiji; Ohno, Hiroyuki; Nakajima, Tamie

2010-09-01

This study aimed to clarify indoor air pollution levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), especially 2-ethyl-1-hexanol (2E1H) in large buildings after revising of the Act on Maintenance of Sanitation in Buildings in 2002. We measured indoor air VOC concentrations in 57 (97%) out of a total of 61 large buildings completed within one year in half of the area of Nagoya, Japan, from 2003 through 2007. Airborne concentrations of 13 carbonyl compounds were determined with diffusion samplers and high-performance liquid chromatography, and of the other 32 VOCs with diffusion samplers and gas chromatography with a mass spectrometer. Formaldehyde was detected in all samples of indoor air but the concentrations were lower than the indoor air quality standard value set in Japan (100 microg/m3). Geometric mean concentrations of the other major VOCs, namely toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, p-dichlorobenzene and acetaldehyde were also low. 2E1H was found to be one of the predominating VOCs in indoor air of large buildings. A few rooms in a small number of buildings surveyed showed high concentrations of 2E1H, while low concentrations were observed in most rooms of those buildings as well as in other buildings. It was estimated that about 310 buildings had high indoor air pollution levels of 2E1H, with increase during the 5 years from 2003 in Japan. Indoor air pollution levels of VOCs in new large buildings are generally good, although a few rooms in a small number of buildings showed high concentrations in 2E1H, a possible causative chemical in sick building symptoms. Therefore, 2E1H needs particular attention as an important indoor air pollutant.

[Association of indoor air quality with physical health of users in a newly built school building in a university].

PubMed

Mori, Mihoko; Hara, Kunio; Miyakita, Takashi; Ishitake, Tatsuya

2011-01-01

Several users of a newly built school building in a university (new building) complained about their deteriorating physical health. We measured the air quality in the new building, an old school building and atmosphere in September 2007 and February 2008. We also conducted a questionnaire survey of subjective symptoms of users in the new building in February 2008. The university administrator took some remedial actions to improve the indoor air quality after the first measurement. In September 2007, the concentrations of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol in the new building were higher than those in the old building and atmosphere. Moreover, the concentrations of TVOCs exceeded the Japanese recommended guideline values. In February 2008, the concentrations of these substances in the new building were lower than the previous values. Out of the 177 users who were surveyed regarding subjective symptoms, 59 responded to the survey. In September 2007, 21 users felt that their physical health had deteriorated, while in February 2008, 12 users felt no deterioration. However, nine users still complained about the deterioration of their physical health. It was suggested that the improvement in the indoor air quality may be influenced by the decrease in room temperature. Even if the concentrations of VOCs are below the recommended guideline values, users with an enhanced sensitivity towards VOCs may lose their tolerance to low-level VOCs. Our findings suggested that a survey of the changes in the subjective symptoms of users should be conducted to evaluate the improvement in the indoor air quality of newly built buildings.

Fuzzy association rule mining and classification for the prediction of malaria in South Korea.

PubMed

Buczak, Anna L; Baugher, Benjamin; Guven, Erhan; Ramac-Thomas, Liane C; Elbert, Yevgeniy; Babin, Steven M; Lewis, Sheri H

2015-06-18

Malaria is the world's most prevalent vector-borne disease. Accurate prediction of malaria outbreaks may lead to public health interventions that mitigate disease morbidity and mortality. We describe an application of a method for creating prediction models utilizing Fuzzy Association Rule Mining to extract relationships between epidemiological, meteorological, climatic, and socio-economic data from Korea. These relationships are in the form of rules, from which the best set of rules is automatically chosen and forms a classifier. Two classifiers have been built and their results fused to become a malaria prediction model. Future malaria cases are predicted as Low, Medium or High, where these classes are defined as a total of 0-2, 3-16, and above 17 cases, respectively, for a region in South Korea during a two-week period. Based on user recommendations, HIGH is considered an outbreak. Model accuracy is described by Positive Predictive Value (PPV), Sensitivity, and F-score for each class, computed on test data not previously used to develop the model. For predictions made 7-8 weeks in advance, model PPV and Sensitivity are 0.842 and 0.681, respectively, for the HIGH classes. The F0.5 and F3 scores (which combine PPV and Sensitivity) are 0.804 and 0.694, respectively, for the HIGH classes. The overall FARM results (as measured by F-scores) are significantly better than those obtained by Decision Tree, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and Holt-Winters methods for the HIGH class. For the Medium class, Random Forest and FARM obtain comparable results, with FARM being better at F0.5, and Random Forest obtaining a higher F3. A previously described method for creating disease prediction models has been modified and extended to build models for predicting malaria. In addition, some new input variables were used, including indicators of intervention measures. The South Korea malaria prediction models predict Low, Medium or High cases 7-8 weeks in the future. This paper demonstrates that our data driven approach can be used for the prediction of different diseases.

The 10 Building Blocks of High-Performing Primary Care

PubMed Central

Bodenheimer, Thomas; Ghorob, Amireh; Willard-Grace, Rachel; Grumbach, Kevin

2014-01-01

Our experiences studying exemplar primary care practices, and our work assisting other practices to become more patient centered, led to a formulation of the essential elements of primary care, which we call the 10 building blocks of high-performing primary care. The building blocks include 4 foundational elements—engaged leadership, data-driven improvement, empanelment, and team-based care—that assist the implementation of the other 6 building blocks—patient-team partnership, population management, continuity of care, prompt access to care, comprehensiveness and care coordination, and a template of the future. The building blocks, which represent a synthesis of the innovative thinking that is transforming primary care in the United States, are both a description of existing high-performing practices and a model for improvement. PMID:24615313

Relevance feedback-based building recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jing; Allinson, Nigel M.

2010-07-01

Building recognition is a nontrivial task in computer vision research which can be utilized in robot localization, mobile navigation, etc. However, existing building recognition systems usually encounter the following two problems: 1) extracted low level features cannot reveal the true semantic concepts; and 2) they usually involve high dimensional data which require heavy computational costs and memory. Relevance feedback (RF), widely applied in multimedia information retrieval, is able to bridge the gap between the low level visual features and high level concepts; while dimensionality reduction methods can mitigate the high-dimensional problem. In this paper, we propose a building recognition scheme which integrates the RF and subspace learning algorithms. Experimental results undertaken on our own building database show that the newly proposed scheme appreciably enhances the recognition accuracy.

The 10 building blocks of high-performing primary care.

PubMed

Bodenheimer, Thomas; Ghorob, Amireh; Willard-Grace, Rachel; Grumbach, Kevin

2014-01-01

Our experiences studying exemplar primary care practices, and our work assisting other practices to become more patient centered, led to a formulation of the essential elements of primary care, which we call the 10 building blocks of high-performing primary care. The building blocks include 4 foundational elements-engaged leadership, data-driven improvement, empanelment, and team-based care-that assist the implementation of the other 6 building blocks-patient-team partnership, population management, continuity of care, prompt access to care, comprehensiveness and care coordination, and a template of the future. The building blocks, which represent a synthesis of the innovative thinking that is transforming primary care in the United States, are both a description of existing high-performing practices and a model for improvement.

Design of Reforma 509 with High Strength Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Stuart; Whitby, William; Easton, Marc

Reforma 509 is a high-rise building located in the heart of the Central Business District of Mexico City. The building is comprised of office, hotel, residential and parking and forms part of a cluster of tall buildings in the area. If completed today, Reforma 509 would be the tallest building in Mexico, at 238m. All of the building's gravity and lateral (wind and seismic) loads are carried by an architecturally expressed perimeter frame that is formed from highly efficient Steel Reinforced Concrete (SRC) columns coupled together by steel tube perimeter bracing. This paper investigates the implications of substituting a grade 50 (fy=345 MPa) carbon steel with a higher strength micro-alloyed grade 70 (fy=480 MPa) steel in the design of Reforma 509.

The Impact of High-Rise Buildings on the Living Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giyasov, Botir; Giyasova, Irina

2018-03-01

Urbanization as a socio-economic process manifested in the concentration of the population in modern big cities contributes to the development of high-rise building construction. With the development of education and culture, changing leisure habits, city residents put forward new architectural and functional requirements to the living environment and urban infrastructure. This calls for the creation of new types and forms of residential buildings, the structure of the city and transport networks. In addition, the need to develop high-rise building construction is justified by the growing demand for residential, public and administrative buildings and the lack of free space.The paper analyzes the development of high-rise building construction in urban areas. The problem of the impact of high-rise building construction in big cities on the living environment is considered. Using analytical methods, causes and sources of pollution, such as transport and engineering infrastructure have been identified. In some urban areas, there are zones with modified thermal conditions and air exchange resulting in the formation of the "urban heat island"The qualitative and quantitative characteristics of variations in temperature and wind speed with respect to the height of the building have been calculated, using the example of the Evolution Tower of the Moscow International Business Center ("Moscow City"). Calculation and comparative analysis for the cities of Moscow, Khanty-Mansiysk and Vladivostok has made it possible to assess the variation in temperature and wind speed and their impact on the living environment under different climatic conditions.

Exploring Environmental Variation in Residential Care Facilities for Older People.

PubMed

Nordin, Susanna; McKee, Kevin; Wijk, Helle; Elf, Marie

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore variation in environmental quality in Swedish residential care facilities (RCFs) using the Swedish version of the Sheffield Care Environment Assessment Matrix (S-SCEAM). Well-designed physical environments can positively impact on health and well-being among older persons with frail health living in RCFs and are essential for supporting person-centered care. However, the evidence base for informing the design of RCFs is weak, partly due to a lack of valid and reliable instruments that could provide important information on the environmental quality. Twenty RCFs were purposively sampled from several regions, varying in their building design, year of construction, size, and geographic location. The RCFs were assessed using S-SCEAM and the data were analyzed to examine variation in environmental quality between and within facilities. There was substantial variation in the quality of the physical environment between and within RCFs, reflected in S-SCEAM scores related to specific facility locations and with regard to domains reflecting residents' needs. In general, private apartments and dining areas had high S-SCEAM scores, while gardens had lower scores. Scores on the safety domain were high in the majority of RCFs, whereas scores for cognitive support and privacy were relatively low. Despite high building standard requirements, the substantial variations regarding environmental quality between and within RCFs indicate the potential for improvements to support the needs of older persons. We conclude that S-SCEAM is a sensitive and unique instrument representing a valuable contribution to evidence-based design that can support person-centered care.

No Concentration Decrease of House Dust Mite Allergens With Rising Altitude in Alpine Regions

PubMed Central

Grafetstätter, Carina; Prossegger, Johanna; Braunschmid, Herbert; Sanovic, Renata; Hahne, Penelope; Pichler, Christina; Thalhamer, Josef

2016-01-01

Purpose Several studies over the past 4 decades have indicated a significant reduction in house dust mite (HDM) and HDM allergen concentration in areas higher than 1,500 m above sea level. These have served as basis of allergen avoidance therapies for HDM allergy and asthma. However, modern construction techniques used in the insulation, heating, and glazing of buildings as well as global warming have changed the environmental parameters for HDM living conditions. The present study revisits the paradigm of decreasing HDM allergen concentrations with increasing altitude in the alpine region of Germany and Austria. Methods A total of 122 dust samples from different abodes (hotels, privates and mountain huts) at different altitudes (400-2,600 m) were taken, and concentrations of HDM allergens were analyzed. Humidity and temperature conditions, and numerous indoor environmental parameters such as fine dust, type of flooring, age of building, and frequency of cleaning were determined. Results HDM allergen concentrations did not significantly change with increasing altitude or relative humidity. At the level of indoor parameters, correlations could be found for different flooring types and the concentration of HDM allergens. Conclusions In contrast to the widespread view of the relationship between altitude and HDM allergen concentrations, clinically relevant concentrations of HDM allergens could be detected in high-lying alpine regions in Austria and Germany. These results indicate that improvement in conditions of asthmatic patients sensitized against HDMs during a stay at high altitude can no longer be ascribed to decreased levels of HDM allergens, instead, other mechanisms may trigger the beneficial effect. PMID:27126724

No Concentration Decrease of House Dust Mite Allergens With Rising Altitude in Alpine Regions.

PubMed

Grafetstätter, Carina; Prossegger, Johanna; Braunschmid, Herbert; Sanovic, Renata; Hahne, Penelope; Pichler, Christina; Thalhamer, Josef; Hartl, Arnulf

2016-07-01

Several studies over the past 4 decades have indicated a significant reduction in house dust mite (HDM) and HDM allergen concentration in areas higher than 1,500 m above sea level. These have served as basis of allergen avoidance therapies for HDM allergy and asthma. However, modern construction techniques used in the insulation, heating, and glazing of buildings as well as global warming have changed the environmental parameters for HDM living conditions. The present study revisits the paradigm of decreasing HDM allergen concentrations with increasing altitude in the alpine region of Germany and Austria. A total of 122 dust samples from different abodes (hotels, privates and mountain huts) at different altitudes (400-2,600 m) were taken, and concentrations of HDM allergens were analyzed. Humidity and temperature conditions, and numerous indoor environmental parameters such as fine dust, type of flooring, age of building, and frequency of cleaning were determined. HDM allergen concentrations did not significantly change with increasing altitude or relative humidity. At the level of indoor parameters, correlations could be found for different flooring types and the concentration of HDM allergens. In contrast to the widespread view of the relationship between altitude and HDM allergen concentrations, clinically relevant concentrations of HDM allergens could be detected in high-lying alpine regions in Austria and Germany. These results indicate that improvement in conditions of asthmatic patients sensitized against HDMs during a stay at high altitude can no longer be ascribed to decreased levels of HDM allergens, instead, other mechanisms may trigger the beneficial effect.

Specific features of modern multifunctional high-rise building construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manukhina, Lyubov; Samosudova, Natal'ja

2018-03-01

The article analyzes the main reasons for the development of high-rise building construction the most important of which-is a limitation of the urban areas and, consequently, the high price of land reserved for construction. New engineering and compositional solutions for the creation of new types of buildings are considered - complex technical designs of a large number of storeys completely meet the new requirements for safety and comfort. Some peculiarities of designing high-rise buildings and searching for optimal architectural and planning solutions are revealed since, with external architectural simplicity, high-rise buildings have complex structural and technological and space-planning solutions. We consider the specific features of a high-rise housing in various countries around the world, including Russia, such as the layout of the multi-storey residential buildings, depending on the climatic characteristics of the regions, assessment of the geological risk of the construction site, the choice of parameters and functional purpose of the sections of the territory of high-rise construction, location of the town-planning object for substantiating the overall dimensions of the building, assessment of changes aeration and engineering and hydrological conditions of the site. A special place in the article on the problems of improvement of the territory, the device of courtyards, landscaping, the device of playing and sports grounds. The main conclusion in the article is the following problem - when developing high-rise housing construction, the development of high-rise housing, and an increase in the population density in the territory of large cities of Russia, necessary to create a comfortable and safe level of residents living and not a decrease, but an improvement in the quality of the urban environment.

The influence of wind speed on airflow and fine particle transport within different building layouts of an industrial city.

PubMed

Mei, Dan; Wen, Meng; Xu, Xuemei; Zhu, Yuzheng; Xing, Futang

2018-04-20

In atmospheric environment, the layout difference of urban buildings has a powerful influence on accelerating or inhibiting the dispersion of particle matters (PM). In industrial cities, buildings of variable heights can obstruct the diffusion of PM from industrial stacks. In this study, PM dispersed within building groups was simulated by Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations coupled Lagrangian approach. Four typical street building arrangements were used: (a) a low-rise building block with Height/base H/b = 1 (b = 20 m); (b) step-up building layout (H/b = 1, 2, 3, 4); (c) step-down building layout (H/b = 4, 3, 2, 1); (d) high-rise building block (H/b = 5). Profiles of stream functions and turbulence intensity were used to examine the effect of various building layouts on atmospheric airflow. Here, concepts of particle suspension fraction and concentration distribution were used to evaluate the effect of wind speed on fine particle transport. These parameters showed that step-up building layouts accelerated top airflow and diffused more particles into street canyons, likely having adverse effects on resident health. In renewal old industry areas, the step-down building arrangement which can hinder PM dispersion from high-level stacks should be constructed preferentially. High turbulent intensity results in formation of a strong vortex that hinders particles into the street canyons. It is found that an increase in wind speed enhanced particle transport and reduced local particle concentrations, however, it did not affect the relative location of high particle concentration zones, which are related to building height and layout. This study has demonstrated the height variation and layout of urban architecture affect the local concentration distribution of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere and for the first time that wind velocity has particular effects on PM transport in various building groups. The findings may have general implications in optimization the building layout based on particle transport characteristics during the renewal of industrial cities. For city planners, the results and conclusions are useful for improving the local air quality. The study method also can be used to calculate the explosion risk of industrial dust for people who live in industrial cities.

Atmospheric Tracer Depletion Testing for Unfiltered Air In-Leakage Determination at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant

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

Sullivan, T. M.; Wilke, R. J.; Roberts, T.

Atmospheric Tracer Depletion tests were conducted at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant to quantify the unfiltered in-leakage (UI) into the Control Room (CR), Control Building (CB), and Equipment Rooms (ER) at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant. Wolf Creek has two independent charcoal filter Emergency Ventilation Systems (EVS) that can be used to purify air entering the control building and control room. The Bravo System contains a filtration system in Room 1501 in the Auxiliary Building for the Control Room and another filtration system (FGK02B) on Elevation 2016 for the Control Building. The Alpha system contains a filtration systemmore » in Room 1512 in the Auxiliary Building for the Control Room and another filtration system (FGK02A) on Elevation 2016 for the Control Building. The Atmospheric Tracer Depletion (ATD) test is a technique to measure in-leakage using the concentration of perfluorocarbon compounds that have a constant atmospheric background. These levels are present in the Control Room and Control Building under normal operating conditions. When air is supplied by either of the EVS, most of the PFTS are removed by the charcoal filters. If the concentrations of the PFTs measured in protected areas are the same as the levels at the output of the EVS, the in-leakage of outside air into the protected area would be zero. If the concentration is higher in the protected area than at the output of the filter system, there is in-leakage and the in-leakage can be quantified by the difference. Sampling was performed using state-of-the-art Brookhaven Atmospheric Tracer Samplers (BATS) air sampling equipment and analysis performed on Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) dedicated PFT analytical systems. In the Alpha test two tracers PMCH and mcPDCH were used to determine in-leakage into the control building. The analytical system was tuned to maximize sensitivity after initial analysis of the Alpha test. The increased sensitivity permitted accurate quantification of five isomers of the PFT PDCH (mtPDCH, pcPDCH, otPDCH, mcPDCH, and ptPDCH). These isomers were quantified in the low concentration samples in the Alpha test and in all samples in the Bravo test. The best estimates of UI (Rui) for the four zones are provided in Table ES-1. For the CB, this estimate averages the four tracers at the four elevations. For the CR, this estimate uses the four sampling units located in the Control Room.« less

Atmospheric Tracer Depletion Testing for Unfiltered Air In-Leakage Determination at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant

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

Sullivan, T. M.; Wilke, R. J.; Roberts, T.

Atmospheric Tracer Depletion tests were conducted at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant to quantify the unfiltered in-leakage (UI) into the Control Room (CR), Control Building (CB), and Equipment Rooms (ER) at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant. Wolf Creek has two independent charcoal filter Emergency Ventilation Systems (EVS) that can be used to purify air entering the control building and control room. The Bravo System contains a filtration system in Room 1501 in the Auxiliary Building for the Control Room and another filtration system (FGK02B) on Elevation 2016 for the Control Building. The Alpha system contains a filtration systemmore » in Room 1512 in the Auxiliary Building for the Control Room and another filtration system (FGK02A) on Elevation 2016 for the Control Building.The Atmospheric Tracer Depletion (ATD) test is a technique to measure in-leakage using the concentration of perfluorocarbon compounds that have a constant atmospheric background. These levels are present in the Control Room and Control Building under normal operating conditions. When air is supplied by either of the EVS, most of the PFTS are removed by the charcoal filters. If the concentrations of the PFTs measured in protected areas are the same as the levels at the output of the EVS, the in-leakage of outside air into the protected area would be zero. If the concentration is higher in the protected area than at the output of the filter system, there is in-leakage and the in-leakage can be quantified by the difference.Sampling was performed using state-of-the-art Brookhaven Atmospheric Tracer Samplers (BATS) air sampling equipment and analysis performed on Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) dedicated PFT analytical systems. In the Alpha test two tracers PMCH and mcPDCH were used to determine in-leakage into the control building. The analytical system was tuned to maximize sensitivity after initial analysis of the Alpha test. The increased sensitivity permitted accurate quantification of five isomers of the PFT PDCH (mtPDCH, pcPDCH, otPDCH, mcPDCH, and ptPDCH). These isomers were quantified in the low concentration samples in the Alpha test and in all samples in the Bravo test.The best estimates of UI (Rui) for the four zones are provided in Table ES-1. For the CB, this estimate averages the four tracers at the four elevations. For the CR, this estimate uses the four sampling units located in the Control Room.« less

Design and Optimization of Slot Aluminum Alloy Connectors of Photovoltaics Applied to High-rise Building Facades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Ya-Wei; Zhang, Hong-Mei; Dong, Jin-Zhi; Shi, Zhen-Hua

2016-05-01

Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) is a resort to save energy and reduce heat gain of buildings, utilize new and renewable energy, solve environment problems and alleviate electricity shortage in large cities. The area needed to generate power makes facade integrated photovoltaic panel a superb choice, especially in high-rise buildings. Numerous scholars have hitherto explored Building Facade Integrated Photovoltaic, however, focusing mainly on thermal performance, which fails to ensure seismic safety of high-rise buildings integrated photovoltaic. Based on connecting forms of the glass curtain wall, a connector jointing photovoltaic panel and facade was designed, which underwent loading position and size optimization. Static loading scenarios were conducted to test and verify the connector's mechanical properties under gravity and wind loading by means of HyperWorks. Compared to the unoptimized design, the optimized one saved material and managed to reduce maximum deflection by 74.64%.

Evaluation and specification of high build and special use waterborne pavement markings.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-01-01

High build waterborne traffic paints and highly retro-reflective elements were applied at various locations to evaluate their : practicality for use by NYSDOT Maintenance forces. In addition, highly reflective elements were applied within grooved in ...

Determining Methane Leak Locations and Rates with a Wireless Network Composed of Low-Cost, Printed Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, C. J.; Kim, B.; Zhang, Y.; Ng, T. N.; Beck, V.; Ganguli, A.; Saha, B.; Daniel, G.; Lee, J.; Whiting, G.; Meyyappan, M.; Schwartz, D. E.

2015-12-01

We will present our progress on the development of a wireless sensor network that will determine the source and rate of detected methane leaks. The targeted leak detection threshold is 2 g/min with a rate estimation error of 20% and localization error of 1 m within an outdoor area of 100 m2. The network itself is composed of low-cost, high-performance sensor nodes based on printed nanomaterials with expected sensitivity below 1 ppmv methane. High sensitivity to methane is achieved by modifying high surface-area-to-volume-ratio single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with materials that adsorb methane molecules. Because the modified SWNTs are not perfectly selective to methane, the sensor nodes contain arrays of variously-modified SWNTs to build diversity of response towards gases with adsorption affinity. Methane selectivity is achieved through advanced pattern-matching algorithms of the array's ensemble response. The system is low power and designed to operate for a year on a single small battery. The SWNT sensing elements consume only microwatts. The largest power consumer is the wireless communication, which provides robust, real-time measurement data. Methane leak localization and rate estimation will be performed by machine-learning algorithms built with the aid of computational fluid dynamics simulations of gas plume formation. This sensor system can be broadly applied at gas wells, distribution systems, refineries, and other downstream facilities. It also can be utilized for industrial and residential safety applications, and adapted to other gases and gas combinations.

Vectorial capacity and vector control: reconsidering sensitivity to parameters for malaria elimination.

PubMed

Brady, Oliver J; Godfray, H Charles J; Tatem, Andrew J; Gething, Peter W; Cohen, Justin M; McKenzie, F Ellis; Perkins, T Alex; Reiner, Robert C; Tusting, Lucy S; Sinka, Marianne E; Moyes, Catherine L; Eckhoff, Philip A; Scott, Thomas W; Lindsay, Steven W; Hay, Simon I; Smith, David L

2016-02-01

Major gains have been made in reducing malaria transmission in many parts of the world, principally by scaling-up coverage with long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying. Historically, choice of vector control intervention has been largely guided by a parameter sensitivity analysis of George Macdonald's theory of vectorial capacity that suggested prioritizing methods that kill adult mosquitoes. While this advice has been highly successful for transmission suppression, there is a need to revisit these arguments as policymakers in certain areas consider which combinations of interventions are required to eliminate malaria. Using analytical solutions to updated equations for vectorial capacity we build on previous work to show that, while adult killing methods can be highly effective under many circumstances, other vector control methods are frequently required to fill effective coverage gaps. These can arise due to pre-existing or developing mosquito physiological and behavioral refractoriness but also due to additive changes in the relative importance of different vector species for transmission. Furthermore, the optimal combination of interventions will depend on the operational constraints and costs associated with reaching high coverage levels with each intervention. Reaching specific policy goals, such as elimination, in defined contexts requires increasingly non-generic advice from modelling. Our results emphasize the importance of measuring baseline epidemiology, intervention coverage, vector ecology and program operational constraints in predicting expected outcomes with different combinations of interventions. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Preparations for the Advanced Scintillator Compton Telescope (ASCOT) balloon flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, T.; Bloser, P. F.; Legere, J. S.; Bancroft, C. M.; McConnell, M. L.; Ryan, J. M.; Wright, A. M.

2017-08-01

We describe our ongoing work to develop a new medium-energy gamma-ray Compton telescope using advanced scintillator materials combined with silicon photomultiplier readouts and fly it on a scientific balloon. There is a need in high-energy astronomy for a medium-energy gamma-ray mission covering the energy range from approximately 0.4 - 20 MeV to follow the success of the COMPTEL instrument on CGRO. We believe that directly building on the legacy of COMPTEL, using relatively robust, low-cost, off-the-shelf technologies, is the most promising path for such a mission. Fortunately, high-performance scintillators, such as Cerium Bromide (CeBr3) and p-terphenyl, and compact readout devices, such as silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), are already commercially available and capable of meeting this need. We are now constructing an Advanced Scintillator Compton Telescope (ASCOT) with SiPM readout, with the goal of imaging the Crab Nebula at MeV energies from a high-altitude balloon flight. We expect a 4-sigma detection at 1 MeV in a single transit. We present calibration results of the detector modules, and updated simulations of the balloon instrument sensitivity. If successful, this project will demonstrate that the energy, timing, and position resolution of this technology are sufficient to achieve an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity in the medium-energy gamma-ray band, were it to be applied to a 1 cubic meter instrument on a long-duration balloon or Explorer platform.

On the viability of exploiting L-shell fluorescence for X-ray polarimetry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weisskopf, M. C.; Sutherland, P. G.; Elsner, R. F.; Ramsey, B. D.

1985-01-01

It has been suggested that one may build an X-ray polarimeter by exploiting the polarization dependence of the angular distribution of L-shell fluorescence photons. In this paper the sensitivity of this approach to polarimetry is examined theoretically. The calculations are applied to several detection schemes using imaging proportional counters that would have direct application in X-ray astronomy. It is found, however, that the sensitivity of this method for measuring X-ray polarization is too low to be of use for other than laboratory applications.

Resolution experiments using the white light speckle method.

PubMed

Conley, E; Cloud, G

1991-03-01

Noncoherent light speckle methods have been successfully applied to gauge the motion of glaciers and buildings. Resolution of the optical method was limited by the aberrating turbulent atmosphere through which the images were collected. Sensitivity limitations regarding this particular application of speckle interferometry are discussed and analyzed. Resolution limit experiments that were incidental to glacier flow studies are related to the basic theory of astronomical imaging. Optical resolution of the ice flow measurement technique is shown to be in substantial agreement with the sensitivity predictions of astronomy theory.

The implementation of sea ice model on a regional high-resolution scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasad, Siva; Zakharov, Igor; Bobby, Pradeep; McGuire, Peter

2015-09-01

The availability of high-resolution atmospheric/ocean forecast models, satellite data and access to high-performance computing clusters have provided capability to build high-resolution models for regional ice condition simulation. The paper describes the implementation of the Los Alamos sea ice model (CICE) on a regional scale at high resolution. The advantage of the model is its ability to include oceanographic parameters (e.g., currents) to provide accurate results. The sea ice simulation was performed over Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea to retrieve important parameters such as ice concentration, thickness, ridging, and drift. Two different forcing models, one with low resolution and another with a high resolution, were used for the estimation of sensitivity of model results. Sea ice behavior over 7 years was simulated to analyze ice formation, melting, and conditions in the region. Validation was based on comparing model results with remote sensing data. The simulated ice concentration correlated well with Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) and Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI-SAF) data. Visual comparison of ice thickness trends estimated from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite (SMOS) agreed with the simulation for year 2010-2011.

[Extraction of buildings three-dimensional information from high-resolution satellite imagery based on Barista software].

PubMed

Zhang, Pei-feng; Hu, Yuan-man; He, Hong-shi

2010-05-01

The demand for accurate and up-to-date spatial information of urban buildings is becoming more and more important for urban planning, environmental protection, and other vocations. Today's commercial high-resolution satellite imagery offers the potential to extract the three-dimensional information of urban buildings. This paper extracted the three-dimensional information of urban buildings from QuickBird imagery, and validated the precision of the extraction based on Barista software. It was shown that the extraction of three-dimensional information of the buildings from high-resolution satellite imagery based on Barista software had the advantages of low professional level demand, powerful universality, simple operation, and high precision. One pixel level of point positioning and height determination accuracy could be achieved if the digital elevation model (DEM) and sensor orientation model had higher precision and the off-Nadir View Angle was relatively perfect.

48 CFR 36.104 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High-Performance and Sustainable Buildings (available at http... shall implement high-performance sustainable building design, construction, renovation, repair...

48 CFR 36.104 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High-Performance and Sustainable Buildings (available at http... shall implement high-performance sustainable building design, construction, renovation, repair...

Future premature mortality due to O3, secondary inorganic aerosols and primary PM in Europe--sensitivity to changes in climate, anthropogenic emissions, population and building stock.

PubMed

Geels, Camilla; Andersson, Camilla; Hänninen, Otto; Lansø, Anne Sofie; Schwarze, Per E; Skjøth, Carsten Ambelas; Brandt, Jørgen

2015-03-04

Air pollution is an important environmental factor associated with health impacts in Europe and considerable resources are used to reduce exposure to air pollution through emission reductions. These reductions will have non-linear effects on exposure due, e.g., to interactions between climate and atmospheric chemistry. By using an integrated assessment model, we quantify the effect of changes in climate, emissions and population demography on exposure and health impacts in Europe. The sensitivity to the changes is assessed by investigating the differences between the decades 2000-2009, 2050-2059 and 2080-2089. We focus on the number of premature deaths related to atmospheric ozone, Secondary Inorganic Aerosols and primary PM. For the Nordic region we furthermore include a projection on how population exposure might develop due to changes in building stock with increased energy efficiency. Reductions in emissions cause a large significant decrease in mortality, while climate effects on chemistry and emissions only affects premature mortality by a few percent. Changes in population demography lead to a larger relative increase in chronic mortality than the relative increase in population. Finally, the projected changes in building stock and infiltration rates in the Nordic indicate that this factor may be very important for assessments of population exposure in the future.