Workforce Information: A Critical Component of Coordinated State Early Care and Education Data Systems. Policy Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kipnis, Fran; Whitebook, Marcy

2011-01-01

The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) receives support from the Birth to Five Policy Alliance and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to assist states with early care and education (ECE) workforce systems development. Their efforts include membership in the Early Childhood Data Collaborative (ECDC), and their participation…

Integrated data collection on zoonoses in the European Union, from animals to humans, and the analyses of the data.

PubMed

Ammon, Andrea; Makela, Pia

2010-05-30

The European Community (EC) has been collecting for 15 years data on zoonoses and agents thereof that integrate the information from human cases and their occurrence in food and animals. The current data collection covers 11 zoonotic agents: Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria, verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC), Yersinia spp., Brucella, Mycobacterium bovis, Trichinella and Echinoccoccus, as well as rabies and food-borne outbreaks. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is assigned the tasks of examining the data collected and publishing the Community Summary Report. This Report is prepared in close collaboration with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) responsible for the surveillance of the communicable diseases in humans, and with EFSA's Zoonoses Collaboration Centre (ZCC, in the Technical University of Denmark). Member States report the data on animals, feed, food and food-borne outbreaks to EFSA's web-based reporting system and the data on the human cases are reported to ECDC's web-application for The European Surveillance System (TESSy). The flow and analysis of data are described as well as an outline of the future plans to improve the comparability of the data. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

European union standards for tuberculosis care.

PubMed

Migliori, G B; Zellweger, J P; Abubakar, I; Ibraim, E; Caminero, J A; De Vries, G; D'Ambrosio, L; Centis, R; Sotgiu, G; Menegale, O; Kliiman, K; Aksamit, T; Cirillo, D M; Danilovits, M; Dara, M; Dheda, K; Dinh-Xuan, A T; Kluge, H; Lange, C; Leimane, V; Loddenkemper, R; Nicod, L P; Raviglione, M C; Spanevello, A; Thomsen, V Ø; Villar, M; Wanlin, M; Wedzicha, J A; Zumla, A; Blasi, F; Huitric, E; Sandgren, A; Manissero, D

2012-04-01

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) jointly developed European Union Standards for Tuberculosis Care (ESTC) aimed at providing European Union (EU)-tailored standards for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of tuberculosis (TB). The International Standards for TB Care (ISTC) were developed in the global context and are not always adapted to the EU setting and practices. The majority of EU countries have the resources and capacity to implement higher standards to further secure quality TB diagnosis, treatment and prevention. On this basis, the ESTC were developed as standards specifically tailored to the EU setting. A panel of 30 international experts, led by a writing group and the ERS and ECDC, identified and developed the 21 ESTC in the areas of diagnosis, treatment, HIV and comorbid conditions, and public health and prevention. The ISTCs formed the basis for the 21 standards, upon which additional EU adaptations and supplements were developed. These patient-centred standards are targeted to clinicians and public health workers, providing an easy-to-use resource, guiding through all required activities to ensure optimal diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB. These will support EU health programmes to identify and develop optimal procedures for TB care, control and elimination.

Active cleaning technique for removing contamination from optical surfaces in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shannon, R. L.; Gillette, R. B.; Cruz, G. A.

1973-01-01

An active cleaning technique for removing contaminants from optical surfaces in space was investigated with emphasis on the feasibility of using plasma exposure as a means of in-situ cleaning. The major work accomplished includes: (1) development of an in-situ reflectometer for use in conjunction with the contaminant film deposition/cleaning facility; (2) completion of Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) filter treatment experiments to assess the effects of plasma exposure on the UV transmittance; (3) attempts to correlate the atomic oxygen flux with cleaning rate; (4) completion of in-situ butadien contamination/plasma cleaning/UV reflectance measurement experiments; (5) carbon cleaning experiments using various gases; (6) completion of silicone contamination/cleaning experiments; and (7) experiments conducted at low chamber pressures to determine cleaning rate distribution and contamination of surfaces adjacent to those being cleaned.

European Union Standards for Tuberculosis Care

PubMed Central

Migliori, G.B.; Zellweger, J.P.; Abubakar, I.; Ibraim, E.; Caminero, J.A.; De Vries, G.; D'Ambrosio, L.; Centis, R.; Sotgiu, G.; Menegale, O.; Kliiman, K.; Aksamit, T.; Cirillo, D.M.; Danilovits, M.; Dara, M.; Dheda, K.; Dinh-Xuan, A.T.; Kluge, H.; Lange, C.; Leimane, V.; Loddenkemper, R.; Nicod, L.P.; Raviglione, M.C.; Spanevello, A.; Thomsen, V.Ø.; Villar, M.; Wanlin, M.; Wedzicha, J.A.; Zumla, A.; Blasi, F.; Huitric, E.; Sandgren, A.; Manissero, D.

2012-01-01

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) jointly developed European Union Standards for Tuberculosis Care (ESTC) aimed at providing European Union (EU)-tailored standards for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of tuberculosis (TB). The International Standards for TB Care (ISTC) were developed in the global context and are not always adapted to the EU setting and practices. The majority of EU countries have the resources and capacity to implement higher standards to further secure quality TB diagnosis, treatment and prevention. On this basis, the ESTC were developed as standards specifically tailored to the EU setting. A panel of 30 international experts, led by a writing group and the ERS and ECDC, identified and developed the 21 ESTC in the areas of diagnosis, treatment, HIV and comorbid conditions, and public health and prevention. The ISTCs formed the basis for the 21 standards, upon which additional EU adaptations and supplements were developed. These patient-centred standards are targeted to clinicians and public health workers, providing an easy-to-use resource, guiding through all required activities to ensure optimal diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB. These will support EU health programmes to identify and develop optimal procedures for TB care, control and elimination. PMID:22467723

Observed and projected drivers of emerging infectious diseases in Europe.

PubMed

Semenza, Jan C; Rocklöv, Joacim; Penttinen, Pasi; Lindgren, Elisabet

2016-10-01

Emerging infectious diseases are of international concern because of the potential for, and impact of, pandemics; however, they are difficult to predict. To identify the drivers of disease emergence, we analyzed infectious disease threat events (IDTEs) detected through epidemic intelligence collected at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) between 2008 and 2013, and compared the observed results with a 2008 ECDC foresight study of projected drivers of future IDTEs in Europe. Among 10 categories of IDTEs, foodborne and waterborne IDTEs were the most common, vaccine-preventable IDTEs caused the highest number of cases, and airborne IDTEs caused the most deaths. Observed drivers for each IDTE were sorted into three main groups: globalization and environmental drivers contributed to 61% of all IDTEs, public health system drivers contributed to 21%, and social and demographic drivers to 18%. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that four of the top five drivers for observed IDTEs were in the globalization and environment group. In the observational study, the globalization and environment group was related to all IDTE categories, but only to five of eight categories in the foresight study. Directly targeting these drivers with public health interventions may diminish the chances of IDTE occurrence from the outset. © 2016 New York Academy of Sciences.

Comparing antibiotic consumption between two European countries: are packages an adequate surrogate for prescriptions?

PubMed

Watier, Laurence; Cavalié, Philippe; Coignard, Bruno; Brun-Buisson, Christian

2017-11-01

Defined daily doses (DDD) are the gold standard indicator for quantifying prescriptions. Since 2014, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has also been using the number of packages per 1,000 inhabitants per day (ipd), as a surrogate for prescriptions, to report antibiotic consumption in the community and to perform comparisons between European Union (EU) countries participating in the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption Network (ESAC-Net). In 2015, consumption was reported to range across Europe from 1.0 to 4.7 packages per 1,000 ipd. Our analysis showed that consumption of antibiotics for systemic use per 1,000 ipd was on average 1.3 times greater in France than in Belgium when considering prescriptions in the numerator, 2.5 times greater when considering packages and 1.2 times greater when considering DDD. As long as the same metrics are used over time, antibiotic consumption data aggregated and disseminated by ECDC are useful for assessing temporal trends at the European level and within individual countries; these data may also be used for benchmarking across EU countries. While DDD - although imperfect - are the most widely accepted metric for this purpose, antibiotic packages do not appear suitable for comparisons between countries and may be misleading.

Comparing antibiotic consumption between two European countries: are packages an adequate surrogate for prescriptions?

PubMed Central

Watier, Laurence; Cavalié, Philippe; Coignard, Bruno; Brun-Buisson, Christian

2017-01-01

Defined daily doses (DDD) are the gold standard indicator for quantifying prescriptions. Since 2014, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has also been using the number of packages per 1,000 inhabitants per day (ipd), as a surrogate for prescriptions, to report antibiotic consumption in the community and to perform comparisons between European Union (EU) countries participating in the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption Network (ESAC-Net). In 2015, consumption was reported to range across Europe from 1.0 to 4.7 packages per 1,000 ipd. Our analysis showed that consumption of antibiotics for systemic use per 1,000 ipd was on average 1.3 times greater in France than in Belgium when considering prescriptions in the numerator, 2.5 times greater when considering packages and 1.2 times greater when considering DDD. As long as the same metrics are used over time, antibiotic consumption data aggregated and disseminated by ECDC are useful for assessing temporal trends at the European level and within individual countries; these data may also be used for benchmarking across EU countries. While DDD - although imperfect - are the most widely accepted metric for this purpose, antibiotic packages do not appear suitable for comparisons between countries and may be misleading. PMID:29162212

Risk communication as a core public health competence in infectious disease management: Development of the ECDC training curriculum and programme.

PubMed

Dickmann, Petra; Abraham, Thomas; Sarkar, Satyajit; Wysocki, Piotr; Cecconi, Sabrina; Apfel, Franklin; Nurm, Ülla-Karin

2016-01-01

Risk communication has been identified as a core competence for guiding public health responses to infectious disease threats. The International Health Regulations (2005) call for all countries to build capacity and a comprehensive understanding of health risks before a public health emergency to allow systematic and coherent communication, response and management. Research studies indicate that while outbreak and crisis communication concepts and tools have long been on the agenda of public health officials, there is still a need to clarify and integrate risk communication concepts into more standardised practices and improve risk communication and health, particularly among disadvantaged populations. To address these challenges, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) convened a group of risk communication experts to review and integrate existing approaches and emerging concepts in the development of a training curriculum. This curriculum articulates a new approach in risk communication moving beyond information conveyance to knowledge- and relationship-building. In a pilot training this approach was reflected both in the topics addressed and in the methods applied. This article introduces the new conceptual approach to risk communication capacity building that emerged from this process, presents the pilot training approach developed, and shares the results of the course evaluation.

Impact of a Community-Based Programme for Motor Development on Gross Motor Skills and Cognitive Function in Preschool Children from Disadvantaged Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Draper, Catherine E.; Achmat, Masturah; Forbes, Jared; Lambert, Estelle V.

2012-01-01

The aims of the studies were to assess the impact of the Little Champs programme for motor development on (1) the gross motor skills, and (2) cognitive function of children in the programme. In study 1, 118 children from one Early Childhood Development Centre (ECDC) were tested using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2, and in study 2, 83…

Emerging infectious diseases not covered by routine vaccination in Europe in 2010-2015--the review of WHO and ECDC notifications for the National IHR Focal Point in Poland.

PubMed

Henszel, Łukasz; Janiec, Janusz; Izdebski, Radosław; Radziszewski, Franciszek; Polański, Piotr

2015-01-01

The National IHR Focal Point is a center set up by each Member State of the World Health Organization (WHO) in accordance with the International Health Regulations (2005). The International Health Regulations (IHR) were adopted on 23 May 2005 at the World Health Assembly and entered into force since 15 June 2007 as the legal instrument designed to help protect all countries from uncontrolled international spread of diseases and other urgent public health threats. According to Article 2 of IHR the purpose and scope of these Regulations are to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks, and which avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade. Primarily, the scope of IHR is to establish a system of early warning (in accordance with Article 6 and 7) with the functioning in each country National IHR Focal Point which is available at any time to communicate with WHO IHR Contact Points and other entities. The tasks of the National IHR Fo- cal Point in Poland which was appointed by the Minister of Health and runs in the Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health--National Institute of Hygiene from 1 September 2007 are the notification of events that may constitute a public health emergency of international concern occurring in Poland or abroad and the dissemination of this information to the WHO, other National IHR Focal Points or competent authorities responsible for public health. The task of the National IHR Focal Point in Poland is also the dissemination of WHO and ECDC notifications, including recommendation and risk assessment documents. The aim of this work is the review of WHO and ECDC notifications received by National IHR Focal Point in Poland in the period from 2010 to 2015 which were related to emerging infectious diseases not covered by routine vaccination programs or for which there are no effective vaccines that have occurred in the WHO European Region. The review includes verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O104: H4 infections, MERS-CoV infections, Ebola virus disease, malaria, dengue fever, West Nile fever, chikungunya and cholera.

Understanding the Fundamental Principles Underlying the Survival and Efficient Recovery of Multi-Scale Techno-Social Networks Following a WMD Event (A)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-07-01

Influenza H1N1 modeling working group meeting, European Center for Disease Control ECDC, Stockholm, 19 October 2010 (A.Vespignani, Panelist). We...dynamics and assessing non -pharmaceutical control interventions. METHODS: We modelled the movements of individuals, including patients not infected with...classification of urban areas according to quantitative risk assessment metrics of secondary E-WMD threats. 2. Optimal mobility control strategies informed by

ERS/ECDC Statement: European Union standards for tuberculosis care, 2017 update.

PubMed

Migliori, Giovanni Battista; Sotgiu, Giovanni; Rosales-Klintz, Senia; Centis, Rosella; D'Ambrosio, Lia; Abubakar, Ibrahim; Bothamley, Graham; Caminero, Jose Antonio; Cirillo, Daniela Maria; Dara, Masoud; de Vries, Gerard; Aliberti, Stefano; Dinh-Xuan, Anh Tuan; Duarte, Raquel; Midulla, Fabio; Solovic, Ivan; Subotic, Dragan R; Amicosante, Massimo; Correia, Ana Maria; Cirule, Andra; Gualano, Gina; Kunst, Heinke; Palmieri, Fabrizio; Riekstina, Vija; Tiberi, Simon; Verduin, Remi; van der Werf, Marieke J

2018-05-01

The International Standards for Tuberculosis Care define the essential level of care for managing patients who have or are presumed to have tuberculosis, or are at increased risk of developing the disease. The resources and capacity in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area permit higher standards of care to secure quality and timely TB diagnosis, prevention and treatment. On this basis, the European Union Standards for Tuberculosis Care (ESTC) were published in 2012 as standards specifically tailored to the EU setting. Since the publication of the ESTC, new scientific evidence has become available and, therefore, the standards were reviewed and updated.A panel of international experts, led by a writing group from the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), updated the ESTC on the basis of new published evidence. The underlying principles of these patient-centred standards remain unchanged. The second edition of the ESTC includes 21 standards in the areas of diagnosis, treatment, HIV and comorbidities, and public health and prevention.The ESTC target clinicians and public health workers, provide an easy-to-use resource and act as a guide through all the required activities to ensure optimal diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB. The content of this work is copyright of the authors or their employers. Design and branding are copyright ©ERS 2018.

Systematic review on tuberculosis transmission on aircraft and update of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control risk assessment guidelines for tuberculosis transmitted on aircraft (RAGIDA-TB).

PubMed

Kotila, Saara M; Payne Hallström, Lara; Jansen, Niesje; Helbling, Peter; Abubakar, Ibrahim

2016-01-01

As a setting for potential tuberculosis (TB) transmission and contact tracing, aircraft pose specific challenges. Evidence-based guidelines are needed to support the related-risk assessment and contact-tracing efforts. In this study evidence of TB transmission on aircraft was identified to update the Risk Assessment Guidelines for TB Transmitted on Aircraft (RAGIDA-TB) of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Electronic searches were undertaken from Medline (Pubmed), Embase and Cochrane Library until 19 July 2013. Eligible records were identified by a two-stage screening process and data on flight and index case characteristics as well as contact tracing strategies extracted. The systematic literature review retrieved 21 records. Ten of these records were available only after the previous version of the RAGIDA guidelines (2009) and World Health Organization guidelines on TB and air travel (2008) were published. Seven of the 21 records presented some evidence of possible in-flight transmission, but only one record provided substantial evidence of TB transmission on an aircraft. The data indicate that overall risk of TB transmission on aircraft is very low. The updated ECDC guidelines for TB transmission on aircraft have global implications due to inevitable need for international collaboration in contract tracing and risk assessment.

The Need for European Surveillance of CDI.

PubMed

Wiuff, Camilla; Banks, A-Lan; Fitzpatrick, Fidelma; Cottom, Laura

2018-01-01

Since the turn of the millennium, the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has continued to challenge. Over the last decade there has been a growing awareness that improvements to surveillance are needed. The increasing rate of CDI and emergence of ribotype 027 precipitated the implementation of mandatory national surveillance of CDI in the UK. Changes in clinical presentation, severity of disease, descriptions of new risk factors and the occurrence of outbreaks all emphasised the importance of early diagnosis and surveillance.However a lack of consensus on case definitions, clinical guidelines and optimal laboratory diagnostics across Europe has lead to the underestimation of CDI and impeded comparison between countries. These inconsistencies have prevented the true burden of disease from being appreciated.Acceptance that a multi-country surveillance programme and optimised diagnostic strategies are required not only to detect and control CDI in Europe, but for a better understanding of the epidemiology, has built the foundations for a more robust, unified surveillance. The concerted efforts of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) CDI networks, has lead to the development of an over-arching long-term CDI surveillance strategy for 2014-2020. Fulfilment of the ECDC priorities and targets will no doubt be challenging and will require significant investment however the hope is that both a national and Europe-wide picture of CDI will finally be realised.

Surface Cleaning of Iron Artefacts by Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koh, Y. S.; Sárady, I.

In this paper the general method and ethics of the laser cleaning technique for conservation are presented. The results of two experiments are also presented; experiment 1 compares cleaning of rust by an Nd:YAG laser and micro-blasting whilst experiment 2 deals with removing the wax coating from iron samples by a TEA CO2 laser. The first experiment showed that cleaning with a pulsed laser and higher photon energy obtained a better surface structure than micro blasting. The second experiment showed how differences in energy density affect the same surface.

Identifying the Infection Control Areas Requiring Modifications in Thoracic Surgery Units: Results of a Two-Year Surveillance of Surgical Site Infections in Hospitals in Southern Poland.

PubMed

Dubiel, Grzegorz; Rogoziński, Paweł; Żaloudik, Elżbieta; Bruliński, Krzysztof; Różańska, Anna; Wójkowska-Mach, Jadwiga

2017-10-01

Surgical site infection (SSI) is considered to be a priority in infection control. The objective of this study is the analysis of results of active targeted surveillance conducted over a two-year period in the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery Center in Bystra, in southern Poland. The retrospective analysis was carried out on the basis of results of active monitoring of SSI in the 45-bed Department of Thoracic Surgery at the Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery Center in Bystra between April 1, 2014 and April 30, 2016. Surgical site infections were identified based on the definitions of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) taking into account the time of symptom onset, specifically, whether the symptoms occurred within 30 d after the surgical procedure. Detection of SSI relied on daily inspection of incisions by a trained nurse, analysis of medical and nursing entries in the computer system, and analysis of all results of microbiologic tests taken in the unit and in the operating room. In the study period, data were collected regarding 1,387 treatment procedures meeting the registration criteria. Forty cases of SSI were detected yielding an incidence rate of 3%. Most cases (55%) were found in the course of hospitalization and 45% were detected after the patient's discharge. The SSIs were classified as follows: superficial, 37.5%; deep infections, 7.5%; and organ/space infection, 55%. Among patients who were diagnosed with SSI, most were male (77.5%). For patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score I-II the incidence rate was 2%; ASA score III or more, 3.7%. The incidence rate varied from 0.3% in clean surgical site to 6.5% in clean-contaminated site. The study validated the usefulness of targeted surveillance in monitoring SSIs in patients hospitalized in thoracic surgery departments. Surgical site infection surveillance identified areas of care requiring modifications, namely, organization of post-discharge and microbiologic diagnostics of infection cases.

[New insight into bacterial zoonotic pathogens posing health hazards to humans].

PubMed

Ciszewski, Marcin; Czekaj, Tomasz; Szewczyk, Eligia Maria

2014-01-01

This article presents the problem of evolutionary changes of zoonotic pathogens responsible for human diseases. Everyone is exposed to the risk of zoonotic infection, particularly employees having direct contact with animals, i.e. veterinarians, breeders, butchers and workers of animal products' processing industry. The article focuses on pathogens monitored by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which has been collecting statistical data on zoonoses from all European Union countries for 19 years and publishing collected data in annual epidemiological reports. Currently, the most important 11 pathogens responsible for causing human zoonotic diseases are being monitored, of which seven are bacteria: Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium bovis, Brucella spp., Coxiella burnetti and Verotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC)/Shiga-like toxin producing E. coli (STEC). As particularly important are considered foodborne pathogens. The article also includes new emerging zoonotic bacteria, which are not currently monitored by ECDC but might pose a serious epidemiological problem in a foreseeable future: Streptococcus iniae, S. suis, S. dysgalactiae and staphylococci: Staphylococcus intermedius, S. pseudintermedius. Those species have just crossed the animal-human interspecies barrier. The exact mechanism of this phenomenon remains unknown, it is connected, however, with genetic variability, capability to survive in changing environment. These abilities derive from DNA rearrangement and horizontal gene transfer between bacterial cells. Substantial increase in the number of scientific publications on this subject, observed over the last few years, illustrates the importance of the problem.

Evaluation of the Boson Chemiluminescence Immunoassay as a First-Line Screening Test in the ECDC Algorithm for Syphilis Serodiagnosis in a Population with a High Prevalence of Syphilis

PubMed Central

Qiu, Xin-Hui; Zhang, Ya-Feng; Chen, Yu-Yan; Zhang, Qiao; Chen, Fu-Yi; Liu, Long; Fan, Jin-Yi; Gao, Kun; Zhu, Xiao-Zhen; Zheng, Wei-Hong; Zhang, Hui-Lin; Lin, Li-Rong; Liu, Li-Li; Tong, Man-Li; Zhang, Chang-Gong

2015-01-01

We developed a new Boson chemiluminescence immunoassay (CIA) and evaluated its application with cross-sectional analyses. Our results indicated that the Boson CIA demonstrated strong discriminatory power in diagnosing syphilis and that it can be used as a first-line screening test for syphilis serodiagnosis using the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control algorithm or as a confirmatory test when combined with a patient's clinical history. PMID:25631792

Gonorrhoea and gonococcal antimicrobial resistance surveillance networks in the WHO European Region, including the independent countries of the former Soviet Union.

PubMed

Unemo, Magnus; Ison, Catherine A; Cole, Michelle; Spiteri, Gianfranco; van de Laar, Marita; Khotenashvili, Lali

2013-12-01

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae has emerged for essentially all antimicrobials following their introduction into clinical practice. During the latest decade, susceptibility to the last remaining options for antimicrobial monotherapy, the extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESC), has markedly decreased internationally and treatment failures with these ESCs have been verified. In response to this developing situation, WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have published global and region-specific response plans, respectively. One main component of these action/response plans is to enhance the surveillance of AMR and treatment failures. This paper describes the perspectives from the diverse WHO European Region (53 countries), including the independent countries of the former Soviet Union, regarding gonococcal AMR surveillance networks. The WHO European Region has a high prevalence of resistance to all previously recommended antimicrobials, and most of the first strictly verified treatment failures with cefixime and ceftriaxone were also reported from Europe. In the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA), the European gonococcal antimicrobial surveillance programme (Euro-GASP) funded by the ECDC is running. In 2011, the Euro-GASP included 21/31 (68%) EU/EEA countries, and the programme is further strengthened annually. However, in the non-EU/EEA countries, internationally reported and quality assured gonococcal AMR data are lacking in 87% of the countries and, worryingly, appropriate support for establishment of a GASP is still lacking. Accordingly, national and international support, including political and financial commitment, for gonococcal AMR surveillance in the non-EU/EEA countries of the WHO European Region is essential.

Laser cleaning of the contaminations on the surface of tire mould

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Yayun; Jia, Baoshen; Chen, Jing; Jiang, Yilan; Tang, Hongping; Wang, Haijun; Luan, Xiaoyu; Liao, Wei; Zhang, Chuanchao; Yao, Caizhen

2017-07-01

During the manufacturing of tires, surface pollutants on tire mould will lead to the production of unqualified tires. Tire moulds need to be regularly cleaned. Laser cleaning is recognized as a non-destructive, effective, precise and environmental friendly method. In this paper, laser cleaning was used to remove contaminants on tire mould surface. First, laser induced damage experiments were performed. The results showed that the roughness and hardness of the cast steel sample surface seldom changed under the energy range of 140.1-580.2 mJ laser irradiation 1 pulse and the energy range of 44.7-168.9 mJ laser irradiation 100 pulses. In the laser cleaning experiments, the cleaning thresholds and the optimal cleaning parameters were obtained. Results indicated that laser cleaning was safe and effective for tire mould contamination removal.

Evaluation of the boson chemiluminescence immunoassay as a first-line screening test in the ECDC algorithm for syphilis serodiagnosis in a population with a high prevalence of syphilis.

PubMed

Qiu, Xin-Hui; Zhang, Ya-Feng; Chen, Yu-Yan; Zhang, Qiao; Chen, Fu-Yi; Liu, Long; Fan, Jin-Yi; Gao, Kun; Zhu, Xiao-Zhen; Zheng, Wei-Hong; Zhang, Hui-Lin; Lin, Li-Rong; Liu, Li-Li; Tong, Man-Li; Zhang, Chang-Gong; Niu, Jian-Jun; Yang, Tian-Ci

2015-04-01

We developed a new Boson chemiluminescence immunoassay (CIA) and evaluated its application with cross-sectional analyses. Our results indicated that the Boson CIA demonstrated strong discriminatory power in diagnosing syphilis and that it can be used as a first-line screening test for syphilis serodiagnosis using the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control algorithm or as a confirmatory test when combined with a patient's clinical history. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Development of guidelines for the surveillance of invasive mosquitoes in Europe

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The recent notifications of autochthonous cases of dengue and chikungunya in Europe prove that the region is vulnerable to these diseases in areas where known mosquito vectors (Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti) are present. Strengthening surveillance of these species as well as other invasive container-breeding aedine mosquito species such as Aedes atropalpus, Aedes japonicus, Aedes koreicus and Aedes triseriatus is therefore required. In order to support and harmonize surveillance activities in Europe, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) launched the production of ‘Guidelines for the surveillance of invasive mosquitoes in Europe’. This article describes these guidelines in the context of the key issues surrounding invasive mosquitoes surveillance in Europe. Methods Based on an open call for tender, ECDC granted a pan-European expert team to write the guidelines draft. It content is founded on published and grey literature, contractor’s expert knowledge, as well as appropriate field missions. Entomologists, public health experts and end users from 17 EU/EEA and neighbouring countries contributed to a reviewing and validation process. The final version of the guidelines was edited by ECDC (Additional file 1). Results The guidelines describe all procedures to be applied for the surveillance of invasive mosquito species. The first part addresses strategic issues and options to be taken by the stakeholders for the decision-making process, according to the aim and scope of surveillance, its organisation and management. As the strategy to be developed needs to be adapted to the local situation, three likely scenarios are proposed. The second part addresses all operational issues and suggests options for the activities to be implemented, i.e. key procedures for field surveillance of invasive mosquito species, methods of identification of these mosquitoes, key and optional procedures for field collection of population parameters, pathogen screening, and environmental parameters. In addition, methods for data management and analysis are recommended, as well as strategies for data dissemination and mapping. Finally, the third part provides information and support for cost estimates of the planned programmes and for the evaluation of the applied surveillance process. Conclusion The ‘Guidelines for the surveillance of invasive mosquitoes in Europe’ aim at supporting the implementation of tailored surveillance of invasive mosquito species of public health importance. They are intended to provide support to professionals involved in mosquito surveillance or control, decision/policy makers, stakeholders in public health and non-experts in mosquito surveillance. Surveillance also aims to support control of mosquito-borne diseases, including integrated vector control, and the guidelines are therefore part of a tool set for managing mosquito-borne disease risk in Europe. PMID:23866915

Diverging effects of clean versus dirty money on attitudes, values, and interpersonal behavior.

PubMed

Yang, Qing; Wu, Xiaochang; Zhou, Xinyue; Mead, Nicole L; Vohs, Kathleen D; Baumeister, Roy F

2013-03-01

Does the cue of money lead to selfish, greedy, exploitative behaviors or to fairness, exchange, and reciprocity? We found evidence for both, suggesting that people have both sets of meaningful associations, which can be differentially activated by exposure to clean versus dirty money. In a field experiment at a farmers' market, vendors who handled dirty money subsequently cheated customers, whereas those who handled clean money gave fair value (Experiment 1). In laboratory studies with economic games, participants who had previously handled and counted dirty money tended toward selfish, unfair practices-unlike those who had counted clean money or dirty paper, both of which led to fairness and reciprocity. These patterns were found with the trust game (Experiment 2), the prisoner's dilemma (Experiment 4), the ultimatum game (Experiment 5), and the dictator game (Experiment 6). Cognitive measures indicated that exposure to dirty money lowered moral standards (Experiment 3) and reduced positive attitudes toward fairness and reciprocity (Experiments 6-7), whereas exposure to clean money had the opposite effects. Thus, people apparently have 2 contradictory sets of associations (including behavioral tendencies) to money, which is a complex, powerful, and ubiquitous aspect of human social life and cultural organization. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Final Report to the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, Title V Implementation Experience

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

In 2004, the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee established the Task Force on Title V Implementation Experience to report on stakeholder experience with implementation of the Title V operating permit program. This report details their recommendations.

Using the EC decision on case definitions for communicable diseases as a terminology source--lessons learned.

PubMed

Balkanyi, Laszlo; Heja, Gergely; Nagy, Attlia

2014-01-01

Extracting scientifically accurate terminology from an EU public health regulation is part of the knowledge engineering work at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). ECDC operates information systems at the crossroads of many areas - posing a challenge for transparency and consistency. Semantic interoperability is based on the Terminology Server (TS). TS value sets (structured vocabularies) describe shared domains as "diseases", "organisms", "public health terms", "geo-entities" "organizations" and "administrative terms" and others. We extracted information from the relevant EC Implementing Decision on case definitions for reporting communicable diseases, listing 53 notifiable infectious diseases, containing clinical, diagnostic, laboratory and epidemiological criteria. We performed a consistency check; a simplification - abstraction; we represented lab criteria in triplets: as 'y' procedural result /of 'x' organism-substance/on 'z' specimen and identified negations. The resulting new case definition value set represents the various formalized criteria, meanwhile the existing disease value set has been extended, new signs and symptoms were added. New organisms enriched the organism value set. Other new categories have been added to the public health value set, as transmission modes; substances; specimens and procedures. We identified problem areas, as (a) some classification error(s); (b) inconsistent granularity of conditions; (c) seemingly nonsense criteria, medical trivialities; (d) possible logical errors, (e) seemingly factual errors that might be phrasing errors. We think our hypothesis regarding room for possible improvements is valid: there are some open issues and a further improved legal text might lead to more precise epidemiologic data collection. It has to be noted that formal representation for automatic classification of cases was out of scope, such a task would require other formalism, as e.g. those used by rule-based decision support systems.

HIV continuum of care in Europe and Central Asia.

PubMed

Drew, R S; Rice, B; Rüütel, K; Delpech, V; Attawell, K A; Hales, D K; Velasco, C; Amato-Gauci, A J; Pharris, A; Tavoschi, L; Noori, T

2017-08-01

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) supports countries to monitor progress in their response to the HIV epidemic. In line with these monitoring responsibilities, we assess how, and to what extent, the continuum of care is being measured across countries. The ECDC sent out questionnaires to 55 countries in Europe and Central Asia in 2014. Nominated country representatives were questioned on how they defined and measured six elements of the continuum. We present our results using three previously described frameworks [breakpoints; Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets; diagnosis and treatment quadrant]. Forty countries provided data for at least one element of the continuum. Countries reported most frequently on the number of people diagnosed with HIV infection (37; 93%), and on the number in receipt of antiretroviral therapy (ART) (35; 88%). There was little consensus across countries in their approach to defining linkage to, and retention in, care. The most common breakpoint (>19% reduction between two adjacent elements) related to the estimated number of people living with HIV who were diagnosed (18 of 23; 78%). We present continuum data from multiple countries that provide both a snapshot of care provision and a baseline against which changes over time in care provision across Europe and Central Asia may be measured. To better inform HIV testing and treatment programmes, standard data collection approaches and definitions across the HIV continuum of care are needed. If countries wish to ensure an unbroken HIV continuum of care, people living with HIV need to be diagnosed promptly, and ART needs to be offered to all those diagnosed. © 2017 The Authors. HIV Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British HIV Association.

European Antibiotic Awareness Day, 2008 - the first Europe-wide public information campaign on prudent antibiotic use: methods and survey of activities in participating countries.

PubMed

Earnshaw, S; Monnet, D L; Duncan, B; O'Toole, J; Ekdahl, K; Goossens, H

2009-07-30

Antibiotic resistance is a major European and global public health problem and is, for a large part, driven by misuse of antibiotics. Hence, reducing unnecessary antibiotic use, particularly for the treatment of certain respiratory tract infections where they are not needed, is a public health priority. The success of national awareness campaigns to educate the public and primary care prescribers about appropriate antibiotic use in Belgium and France stimulated a European initiative coordinated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and named European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD), to take place each year on 18 November. Specific campaign materials, including key messages, logos, slogans and a media toolkit, were developed and made available for use in European countries. The focus of the first EAAD campaign was about not taking antibiotics for viral infections such as colds and flu. A post-campaign survey was conducted in January 2009. Thirty-two European countries participated in the first EAAD, producing information materials and implementing activities to mark EAAD. Media coverage peaked on 18 and 19 November. At EU level, EAAD was launched at a scientific meeting in the European Parliament, Strasbourg. The event received EU political engagement through support from the EU Commissioner for Health, the Slovenian and French EU Presidencies, and Members of the European Parliament. Critical factors that led to the success of the first EAAD were good cooperation and process for building the campaign, strong political and stakeholder support and development of campaign materials based on scientific evidence. Countries indicated wide support for another EAAD in 2009. For this purpose, ECDC is developing several TV spots as well as a second set of EAAD campaign materials targeting primary care prescribers.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) outbreaks: protection and management of exposed people in Europe, 2014/15 and 2016.

PubMed

Adlhoch, Cornelia; Brown, Ian H; Angelova, Svetla G; Bálint, Ádám; Bouwstra, Ruth; Buda, Silke; Castrucci, Maria R; Dabrera, Gavin; Dán, Ádám; Grund, Christian; Harder, Timm; van der Hoek, Wim; Krisztalovics, Katalin; Parry-Ford, Frances; Popescu, Rodica; Wallensten, Anders; Zdravkova, Anna; Zohari, Siamak; Tsolova, Svetla; Penttinen, Pasi

2016-12-08

Introduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus A(H5N8) into Europe prompted animal and human health experts to implement protective measures to prevent transmission to humans. We describe the situation in 2016 and list public health measures and recommendations in place. We summarise critical interfaces identified during the A(H5N1) and A(H5N8) outbreaks in 2014/15. Rapid exchange of information between the animal and human health sectors is critical for a timely, effective and efficient response. This article is copyright of ECDC, 2016.

Field experience silvicultural cleaning project in young spruce and fir stands in central Nova Scotia

Treesearch

Theodore C. Tryon; Thomas W. Hartranft

1977-01-01

Silvicultural cleaning production varied from .15 to .34 acres per man day using light weight chain saws in young Spruce and Fir stands in Central Nova Scotia. Direct labor and saw costs, in cleaning young softwood stands in Nova Scotia, can be expected to range generally from $55.00 to $90.00 per acre, depending on crew experience, stand density, and equipment used....

Clean Energy Generation and Dispatch in Reformed Wholesale Electricity Markets: Experience in the United States

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

Zhou, Shengru; Hurlbut, David J; Li, Ma

In recent years, the US electricity market has undergone several stages of reform, and gradually formed the market where the wholesale electricity price is determined by the supply and demand. The US electricity market also changes along with the rapid development of clean energy, forming a number of the market mechanisms that is specifically developed for clean energy power generation characteristics. On the basis of discussing the pricing mechanism of US electricity market, this paper analyzes the experience and practice of encouraging renewable energy development policy and clean energy dispatch from the angle of market mechanism and dispatching decision, andmore » puts forward the reference for clean energy dispatching in China.« less

Update on the MiniCLEAN dark matter experiment

DOE PAGES

Rielage, K.; Akashi-Ronquest, M.; Bodmer, M.; ...

2015-03-24

The direct search for dark matter is entering a period of increased sensitivity to the hypothetical Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP). One such technology that is being examined is a scintillation only noble liquid experiment, MiniCLEAN. MiniCLEAN utilizes over 500 kg of liquid cryogen to detect nuclear recoils from WIMP dark matter and serves as a demonstration for a future detector of order 50 to 100 tonnes. The liquid cryogen is interchangeable between argon and neon to study the A² dependence of the potential signal and examine backgrounds. MiniCLEAN utilizes a unique modular design with spherical geometry to maximize themore » light yield using cold photomultiplier tubes in a single-phase detector. Pulse shape discrimination techniques are used to separate nuclear recoil signals from electron recoil backgrounds. MiniCLEAN will be spiked with additional ³⁹Ar to demonstrate the effective reach of the pulse shape discrimination capability. Assembly of the experiment is underway at SNOLAB and an update on the project is given.« less

Comparison of laser regimes for stamp cleaning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radvan, Roxana N.; Dan, Suzana; Popovici, Nicoleta; Striber, J.; Savastru, Dan; Savastru, Roxana

2001-10-01

This paper presents a comparative study of the laser cleaning regimes applied to colored substrates with various chromatic characteristics, including colored paper and printed paper with different dpi (dots per inch) values. Tests are done under microscope with high precision techniques, using controlled Nd:YAG laser. The wavelength preponderantly used in the experiments is the Nd:YAG fundamental regime (1064 nm). Parallel experiments at 532 nm have been developed on difficult cases, or when the results were not satisfactory with 1064 nm. The main part of the work presents some results on stamp cleaning. Experimental results indicate that cleaning efficiency is correlated with the color of substrate, age of the ink on the stamp, color quality and paper quality.

Experience with wear-resistant materials at the Homer City Coal Cleaning Plant

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

Williams, W.R.

1984-10-01

The Homer City Coal Cleaning Plant is a multistream, dual-circuit facility with a total capacity of 1.22 x 10/sup 6/ Kg/hr (1200 TPH) raw feed and serves the three generating units of the Pennsylvania Electric Company's Homer City Generating Station. The complicated multi-cleaning circuit design requires considerably more power and piping (10.6 km/35,000 ft of plus 5 cm/2 in. process piping) than a more conventional plant of the same capacity. Coupled with the maintenance intensive aspects of the plant is the requirement to have a high availability due to the mine mouth-to-cleaning plant-to-generating station philosophy under which it operates. Thesemore » factors required a dedicated effort to improve equipment wear characteristics. Experiences in the use of a variety of wear and corrosion resistant materials at the Homer City Coal Cleaning Plant are described.« less

Contamination control and assay results for the Majorana Demonstrator ultra clean components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christofferson, C. D.; Abgrall, N.; Alvis, S. I.; Arnquist, I. J.; Avignone, F. T.; Barabash, A. S.; Barton, C. J.; Bertrand, F. E.; Bode, T.; Bradley, A. W.; Brudanin, V.; Busch, M.; Buuck, M.; Caldwell, T. S.; Chan, Y.-D.; Chu, P.-H.; Cuesta, C.; Detwiler, J. A.; Dunagan, C.; Efremenko, Yu.; Ejiri, H.; Elliott, S. R.; Gilliss, T.; Giovanetti, G. K.; Green, M. P.; Gruszko, J.; Guinn, I. S.; Guiseppe, V. E.; Haufe, C. R.; Hehn, L.; Henning, R.; Hoppe, E. W.; Howe, M. A.; Keeter, K. J.; Kidd, M. F.; Konovalov, S. I.; Kouzes, R. T.; Lopez, A. M.; Martin, R. D.; Massarczyk, R.; Meijer, S. J.; Mertens, S.; Myslik, J.; O'Shaughnessy, C.; Othman, G.; Poon, A. W. P.; Radford, D. C.; Rager, J.; Reine, A. L.; Rielage, K.; Robertson, R. G. H.; Rouf, N. W.; Shanks, B.; Shirchenko, M.; Suriano, A. M.; Tedeschi, D.; Trimble, J. E.; Varner, R. L.; Vasilyev, S.; Vetter, K.; Vorren, K.; White, B. R.; Wilkerson, J. F.; Wiseman, C.; Xu, W.; Yakushev, E.; Yu, C.-H.; Yumatov, V.; Zhitnikov, I.; Zhu, B. X.

2018-01-01

The Majorana Demonstrator is a neutrinoless double beta decay experiment utilizing enriched Ge-76 detectors in 2 separate modules inside of a common solid shield at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. The Demonstrator has utilized world leading assay sensitivities to develop clean materials and processes for producing ultra-pure copper and plastic components. This experiment is now operating, and initial data provide new insights into the success of cleaning and processing. Post production copper assays after the completion of Module 1 showed an increase in U and Th contamination in finished parts compared to starting bulk material. A revised cleaning method and additional round of surface contamination studies prior to Module 2 construction have provided evidence that more rigorous process control can reduce surface contamination. This article describes the assay results and discuss further studies to take advantage of assay capabilities for the purpose of maintaining ultra clean fabrication and process design.

PFGE standard operating procedures for Listeria monocytogenes: harmonizing the typing of food and clinical strains in Europe.

PubMed

Michelon, Damien; Félix, Benjamin; Vingadassalon, Noemie; Mariet, Jean-François; Larsson, Jonas T; Møller-Nielsen, Eva; Roussel, Sophie

2015-03-01

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen responsible for a severe disease known as listeriosis. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) coordinates a network of national public health laboratories (NPHLs) in charge of typing clinical strains. In food, it is the European Union Reference Laboratory for L. monocytogenes (EURL Lm), which manages a network of National Reference Laboratories (NRLs). A pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) standard operating procedure (EURL SOP) has been used routinely at the EURL Lm since 2007. The EURL Lm has recommended that NRLs use the EURL SOP, whereas the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), under contract for ECDC, requested that NPHLs use Halpins' SOP (HSOP) published in 2010 for the PulseNet USA network. An update of Halpins' SOP (uHSOP) was published in 2013. To facilitate the exchange of profiles among human and food European reference laboratories, it is crucial to ensure that the PFGE profiles obtained with these different SOPs are comparable. The aim here was to compare the EURL SOP with HSOP and uHSOP. The panel comprised 114 well-characterized SSI/EURL strains. All were characterized at the EURL using both the EURL SOP and uHSOP. Seventy of the 114 strains were also characterized at the SSI using HSOP. The EURL SOP and uHSOP produced indistinguishable combined (ApaI/AscI) profiles for the 114 strains tested. The EURL SOP and HSOP produced indistinguishable combined profiles for 69 of the 70 strains tested. One strain displayed for the AscI profile an additional low-intensity band at 184 kbp with HSOP. For this strain, SSI and EUR Lm had already observed the same profile from NPHLs and NRLs. However, this deviation is minor as it accounted for about 1% of all the 114 combined profiles. This study should facilitate the exchange of reproducible PFGE profiles among human and food reference laboratories.

Resistance patterns and outcomes in intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired pneumonia. Validation of European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classification of multidrug resistant organisms.

PubMed

Martin-Loeches, Ignacio; Torres, Antonio; Rinaudo, Mariano; Terraneo, Silvia; de Rosa, Francesca; Ramirez, Paula; Diaz, Emili; Fernández-Barat, Laia; Li Bassi, Gian Luigi; Ferrer, Miquel

2015-03-01

Bacterial resistance has become a major public health problem. To validate the definition of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) based on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classification. Prospective, observational study in six medical and surgical Intensive-Care-Units (ICU) of a University hospital. Three-hundred-and-forty-three patients with ICU-acquired pneumonia (ICUAP) were prospectively enrolled, 140 patients had no microbiological confirmation (41%), 82 patients (24%) developed ICUAP for non-MDRO, whereas 121 (35%) were MDROs. Non-MDRO, MDRO and no microbiological confirmation patients did not present either a significant different previous antibiotic use (p 0.18) or previous hospital admission (p 0.17). Appropriate antibiotic therapy was associated with better ICU survival (105 [92.9%] vs. 74 [82.2%]; p = 0.03). An adjusted multivariate regression logistic analysis identified that only MDRO had a higher ICU-mortality than non-MDRO and no microbiological confirmation patients (OR 2.89; p < 0.05; 95% CI for Exp [β]. 1.02-8.21); Patients with MDRO ICUAP remained in ICU for a longer period than MDRO and no microbiological confirmation respectively (p < 0.01) however no microbiological confirmation patients had more often antibiotic consumption than culture positive ones. Patients who developed ICUAP due to MDRO showed a higher ICU-mortality than non-MDRO ones and use of ICU resources. No microbiological confirmation patients had more often antibiotic consumption than culture positive patients. Risk factors for MDRO may be important for the selection of initial antimicrobial therapy, in addition to local epidemiology. Copyright © 2014 The British Infection Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antibiotic consumption and ventilator-associated pneumonia rates, some parallelism but some discrepancies

PubMed Central

Póvoa, Pedro

2017-01-01

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common infection in intensive care units (ICUs) but its clinical definition is neither sensitive nor specific and lacks accuracy and objectivity. New defining criteria were proposed in 2013 by the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) in order to more accurately conduct surveillance and track prevention progress. Although there is a consistent trend towards a decrease in VAP incidence during the last decade, significant differences in VAP rates have been reported and are persistently lower in NHSN and other American reports (0.0 to 4.4 VAP per 1,000 ventilator-days in 2012) compared to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) data (10 VAP per 1,000 ventilator-days in 2014). In the United States, VAP has been proposed as an indicator of quality of care in public reporting, and the threat of financial penalties for this diagnosis has put pressure on hospitals to minimize VAP rates that may lead to artificial lower values, independently of patient care. Although prevention bundles may contribute for encouraging reductions in VAP incidence, both pathophysiologic and epidemiologic factors preclude a zero-VAP rate. It would be expected from the trend of reduction of VAP incidence that the consumption of antibiotics would also decrease in particular in those hospitals with lowest VAP rates. However, ICU reports show a steadily use of antibiotics for nosocomial pneumonia in 15% of patients and both ECDC and NHSN data on antibiotic consumption showed no significant trend. Knowledge of bacterial epidemiology and resistance profiles for each ICU has great relevance in order to understand trends of antibiotic use. The new NHSN criteria provide a more objective and quantitative data based VAP definition, including an antibiotic administration criterion, allowing, in theory, a more comprehensive assessment and a reportable benchmark of the observed VAP and antibiotic consumption variability. PMID:29264367

Antibiotic consumption and ventilator-associated pneumonia rates, some parallelism but some discrepancies.

PubMed

Nora, David; Póvoa, Pedro

2017-11-01

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common infection in intensive care units (ICUs) but its clinical definition is neither sensitive nor specific and lacks accuracy and objectivity. New defining criteria were proposed in 2013 by the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) in order to more accurately conduct surveillance and track prevention progress. Although there is a consistent trend towards a decrease in VAP incidence during the last decade, significant differences in VAP rates have been reported and are persistently lower in NHSN and other American reports (0.0 to 4.4 VAP per 1,000 ventilator-days in 2012) compared to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) data (10 VAP per 1,000 ventilator-days in 2014). In the United States, VAP has been proposed as an indicator of quality of care in public reporting, and the threat of financial penalties for this diagnosis has put pressure on hospitals to minimize VAP rates that may lead to artificial lower values, independently of patient care. Although prevention bundles may contribute for encouraging reductions in VAP incidence, both pathophysiologic and epidemiologic factors preclude a zero-VAP rate. It would be expected from the trend of reduction of VAP incidence that the consumption of antibiotics would also decrease in particular in those hospitals with lowest VAP rates. However, ICU reports show a steadily use of antibiotics for nosocomial pneumonia in 15% of patients and both ECDC and NHSN data on antibiotic consumption showed no significant trend. Knowledge of bacterial epidemiology and resistance profiles for each ICU has great relevance in order to understand trends of antibiotic use. The new NHSN criteria provide a more objective and quantitative data based VAP definition, including an antibiotic administration criterion, allowing, in theory, a more comprehensive assessment and a reportable benchmark of the observed VAP and antibiotic consumption variability.

How to: Surveillance of Clostridium difficile infections.

PubMed

Krutova, M; Kinross, P; Barbut, F; Hajdu, A; Wilcox, M H; Kuijper, E J

2018-05-01

The increasing incidence of Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) in healthcare settings in Europe since 2003 has affected both patients and healthcare systems. The implementation of effective CDI surveillance is key to enable monitoring of the occurrence and spread of C. difficile in healthcare and the timely detection of outbreaks. The aim of this review is to provide a summary of key components of effective CDI surveillance and to provide some practical recommendations. We also summarize the recent and current national CDI surveillance activities, to illustrate strengths and weaknesses of CDI surveillance in Europe. For the definition of key components of CDI surveillance, we consulted the current European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) CDI-related guidance documents and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) protocol for CDI surveillance in acute care hospitals. To summarize the recent and current national CDI surveillance activities, we discussed international multicentre CDI surveillance studies performed in 2005-13. In 2017, we also performed a new survey of existing CDI surveillance systems in 33 European countries. Key components for CDI surveillance are appropriate case definitions of CDI, standardized CDI diagnostics, agreement on CDI case origin definition, and the presentation of CDI rates with well-defined numerators and denominators. Incorporation of microbiological data is required to provide information on prevailing PCR ribotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility to first-line CDI treatment drugs. In 2017, 20 European countries had a national CDI surveillance system and 21 countries participated in ECDC-coordinated CDI surveillance. Since 2014, the number of centres with capacity for C. difficile typing has increased to 35 reference or central laboratories in 26 European countries. Incidence rates of CDI, obtained from a standardized CDI surveillance system, can be used as an important quality indicator of healthcare at hospital as well as country level. Copyright © 2017 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent progress in heteronuclear long-range NMR of complex carbohydrates: 3D H2BC and clean HMBC.

PubMed

Meier, Sebastian; Petersen, Bent O; Duus, Jens Ø; Sørensen, Ole W

2009-11-02

The new NMR experiments 3D H2BC and clean HMBC are explored for challenging applications to a complex carbohydrate at natural abundance of (13)C. The 3D H2BC experiment is crucial for sequential assignment as it yields heteronuclear one- and two-bond together with COSY correlations for the (1)H spins, all in a single spectrum with good resolution and non-informative diagonal-type peaks suppressed. Clean HMBC is a remedy for the ubiquitous problem of strong coupling induced one-bond correlation artifacts in HMBC spectra of carbohydrates. Both experiments work well for one of the largest carbohydrates whose structure has been determined by NMR, not least due to the enhanced resolution offered by the third dimension in 3D H2BC and the improved spectral quality due to artifact suppression in clean HMBC. Hence these new experiments set the scene to take advantage of the sensitivity boost achieved by the latest generation of cold probes for NMR structure determination of even larger and more complex carbohydrates in solution.

Burden of Six Healthcare-Associated Infections on European Population Health: Estimating Incidence-Based Disability-Adjusted Life Years through a Population Prevalence-Based Modelling Study

PubMed Central

Eckmanns, Tim; Abu Sin, Muna; Ducomble, Tanja; Harder, Thomas; Sixtensson, Madlen; Velasco, Edward; Weiß, Bettina; Kramarz, Piotr; Monnet, Dominique L.; Kretzschmar, Mirjam E.; Suetens, Carl

2016-01-01

Background Estimating the burden of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) compared to other communicable diseases is an ongoing challenge given the need for good quality data on the incidence of these infections and the involved comorbidities. Based on the methodology of the Burden of Communicable Diseases in Europe (BCoDE) project and 2011–2012 data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) point prevalence survey (PPS) of HAIs and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals, we estimated the burden of six common HAIs. Methods and Findings The included HAIs were healthcare-associated pneumonia (HAP), healthcare-associated urinary tract infection (HA UTI), surgical site infection (SSI), healthcare-associated Clostridium difficile infection (HA CDI), healthcare-associated neonatal sepsis, and healthcare-associated primary bloodstream infection (HA primary BSI). The burden of these HAIs was measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Evidence relating to the disease progression pathway of each type of HAI was collected through systematic literature reviews, in order to estimate the risks attributable to HAIs. For each of the six HAIs, gender and age group prevalence from the ECDC PPS was converted into incidence rates by applying the Rhame and Sudderth formula. We adjusted for reduced life expectancy within the hospital population using three severity groups based on McCabe score data from the ECDC PPS. We estimated that 2,609,911 new cases of HAI occur every year in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA). The cumulative burden of the six HAIs was estimated at 501 DALYs per 100,000 general population each year in EU/EEA. HAP and HA primary BSI were associated with the highest burden and represented more than 60% of the total burden, with 169 and 145 DALYs per 100,000 total population, respectively. HA UTI, SSI, HA CDI, and HA primary BSI ranked as the third to sixth syndromes in terms of burden of disease. HAP and HA primary BSI were associated with the highest burden because of their high severity. The cumulative burden of the six HAIs was higher than the total burden of all other 32 communicable diseases included in the BCoDE 2009–2013 study. The main limitations of the study are the variability in the parameter estimates, in particular the disease models’ case fatalities, and the use of the Rhame and Sudderth formula for estimating incident number of cases from prevalence data. Conclusions We estimated the EU/EEA burden of HAIs in DALYs in 2011–2012 using a transparent and evidence-based approach that allows for combining estimates of morbidity and of mortality in order to compare with other diseases and to inform a comprehensive ranking suitable for prioritization. Our results highlight the high burden of HAIs and the need for increased efforts for their prevention and control. Furthermore, our model should allow for estimations of the potential benefit of preventive measures on the burden of HAIs in the EU/EEA. PMID:27755545

True Cost of Amateur Clean rooms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramsey, W. Lawrence

2005-01-01

This viewgraph document reviews the cost factors for clean rooms that are not professionally built, monitored or maintained. These amateur clean rooms are built because scientist and engineers desire to create a clean room to build a part of an experiment that requires a clean room, and the program manager is looking to save money. However, in the long run these clean rooms may not save money, as the cost of maintenance may be higher due to the cost of transporting the crews, and if the materials were of lesser quality, the cost of modifications may diminish any savings, and the product may not be of the same quality. Several examples are shown of the clean rooms that show some of the problems that can arise from amateur clean rooms.

National Clean Fleets Partnership (Fact Sheet)

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

None, None

2014-01-01

Clean Cities' National Clean Fleets Partnership establishes strategic alliances with large fleets to help them explore and adopt alternative fuels and fuel economy measures to cut petroleum use. The initiative leverages the strength of nearly 100 Clean Cities coalitions, nearly 18,000 stakeholders, and more than 20 years of experience. It provides fleets with top-level support, technical assistance, robust tools and resources, and public acknowledgement to help meet and celebrate fleets' petroleum-use reductions.

Mechanics of load-drag-unload contact cleaning of gecko-inspired fibrillar adhesives.

PubMed

Abusomwan, Uyiosa A; Sitti, Metin

2014-10-14

Contact self-cleaning of gecko-inspired synthetic adhesives with mushroom-shaped tips has been demonstrated recently using load-drag-unload cleaning procedures similar to that of the natural animal. However, the underlying mechanics of contact cleaning has yet to be fully understood. In this work, we present a detailed experiment of contact self-cleaning that shows that rolling is the dominant mechanism of cleaning for spherical microparticle contaminants, during the load-drag-unload procedure. We also study the effect of dragging rate and normal load on the particle rolling friction. A model of spherical particle rolling on an elastomer fibrillar adhesive interface is developed and agrees well with the experimental results. This study takes us closer to determining design parameters for achieving self-cleaning fibrillar adhesives.

High throughput determination of cleaning solutions to prevent the fouling of an anion exchange resin.

PubMed

Elich, Thomas; Iskra, Timothy; Daniels, William; Morrison, Christopher J

2016-06-01

Effective cleaning of chromatography resin is required to prevent fouling and maximize the number of processing cycles which can be achieved. Optimization of resin cleaning procedures, however, can lead to prohibitive material, labor, and time requirements, even when using milliliter scale chromatography columns. In this work, high throughput (HT) techniques were used to evaluate cleaning agents for a monoclonal antibody (mAb) polishing step utilizing Fractogel(®) EMD TMAE HiCap (M) anion exchange (AEX) resin. For this particular mAb feed stream, the AEX resin could not be fully restored with traditional NaCl and NaOH cleaning solutions, resulting in a loss of impurity capacity with resin cycling. Miniaturized microliter scale chromatography columns and an automated liquid handling system (LHS) were employed to evaluate various experimental cleaning conditions. Cleaning agents were monitored for their ability to maintain resin impurity capacity over multiple processing cycles by analyzing the flowthrough material for turbidity and high molecular weight (HMW) content. HT experiments indicated that a 167 mM acetic acid strip solution followed by a 0.5 M NaOH, 2 M NaCl sanitization provided approximately 90% cleaning improvement over solutions containing solely NaCl and/or NaOH. Results from the microliter scale HT experiments were confirmed in subsequent evaluations at the milliliter scale. These results identify cleaning agents which may restore resin performance for applications involving fouling species in ion exchange systems. In addition, this work demonstrates the use of miniaturized columns operated with an automated LHS for HT evaluation of chromatographic cleaning procedures, effectively decreasing material requirements while simultaneously increasing throughput. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1251-1259. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Plasma cleaning of ITER first mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moser, L.; Marot, L.; Steiner, R.; Reichle, R.; Leipold, F.; Vorpahl, C.; Le Guern, F.; Walach, U.; Alberti, S.; Furno, I.; Yan, R.; Peng, J.; Ben Yaala, M.; Meyer, E.

2017-12-01

Nuclear fusion is an extremely attractive option for future generations to compete with the strong increase in energy consumption. Proper control of the fusion plasma is mandatory to reach the ambitious objectives set while preserving the machine’s integrity, which requests a large number of plasma diagnostic systems. Due to the large neutron flux expected in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), regular windows or fibre optics are unusable and were replaced by so-called metallic first mirrors (FMs) embedded in the neutron shielding, forming an optical labyrinth. Materials eroded from the first wall reactor through physical or chemical sputtering will migrate and will be deposited onto mirrors. Mirrors subject to net deposition will suffer from reflectivity losses due to the deposition of impurities. Cleaning systems of metallic FMs are required in more than 20 optical diagnostic systems in ITER. Plasma cleaning using radio frequency (RF) generated plasmas is currently being considered the most promising in situ cleaning technique. An update of recent results obtained with this technique will be presented. These include the demonstration of cleaning of several deposit types (beryllium, tungsten and beryllium proxy, i.e. aluminium) at 13.56 or 60 MHz as well as large scale cleaning (mirror size: 200 × 300 mm2). Tests under a strong magnetic field up to 3.5 T in laboratory and first experiments of RF plasma cleaning in EAST tokamak will also be discussed. A specific focus will be given on repetitive cleaning experiments performed on several FM material candidates.

Plasma surface cleaning using microwave plasmas

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

Tsai, C.C.; Haselton, H.H.; Nelson, W.D.

1993-11-01

In a microwave electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source, reactive plasmas of oxygen and its mixture with argon are used for plasma-cleaning experiments. Aluminum test samples (0.95 {times} 1.9 cm) were coated with thin films ({le} 20 {mu}m in thickness) of Shell Vitrea oil and cleaned by using such reactive plasmas. The plasma cleaning was done in various discharge conditions with fixed microwave power, rf power, biased potential, gas pressures (0.5 and 5 mtorr), and operating time up to 35 min. The status of plasma cleaning has been monitored by using mass spectroscopy. Mass loss of the samples after plasmamore » cleaning was measured to estimate cleaning rates. Measured clean rates of low pressure (0.5 mtorr) argon/oxygen plasmas were as high as 2.7 {mu}/min. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to determine cleanliness of the sample surfaces and confirm the effectiveness of plasma cleaning in achieving atomic levels of surface cleanliness. In this paper, significant results are reported and discussed.« less

What Does A Clean Room Look Like at the National Ignition Facility? (360)

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

None

2017-03-31

Inside this Clean Room, engineering technicians use mechatronics to fabricate targets for NIF experiments. The goal is to improve our understanding of the universe and ensure the nation's nuclear stockpile.

Clean Cities Technical Assistance Project (Tiger Teams)

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

This two-page fact sheet describes Clean Cities' technical assistance (Tiger Teams) capabilities and projects, both completed and ongoing. Tiger Teams are a critical element of the Clean Cities program, providing on-the-ground consultation to help inform program strategies. The knowledge Tiger Team experts gain from these experiences often helps inform other alternative fuels activities, such as needed research, codes and standards revisions, and new training resources.

Status of the MiniCLEAN dark matter experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rielage, Keith

2009-10-01

MiniCLEAN utilizes over 400 kg of liquid cryogen to detect nuclear recoils from WIMP dark matter with a projected sensitivity of 2x10-45 cm^2 for a mass of 100 GeV. The liquid cryogen is interchangeable between argon and neon to study the A^2 dependence of the potential signal and examine backgrounds. MiniCLEAN utilizes a unique modular design with spherical geometry to maximize the light yield using cold photomultiplier tubes in a single-phase detector. Pulse shape discrimination techniques are used to separate nuclear recoil signals from electron recoil backgrounds. Particular attention is being paid to mitigating the backgrounds from contamination of surfaces by radon daughters during assembly. The design and assembly status of the experiment will be discussed. The projected timeline and future plans for staging the experiment at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Canada will be presented.

The Great Oil Spill Cleanup Contest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hampton, Elaine

1993-01-01

Presents an exciting way to acquaint students with current methods to clean up oil spills. Students also have the freedom to create new clean-up methods as they think through the problem and experiment to find effective solutions. (PR)

Identity, causality, and pronoun ambiguity.

PubMed

Sagi, Eyal; Rips, Lance J

2014-10-01

This article looks at the way people determine the antecedent of a pronoun in sentence pairs, such as: Albert invited Ron to dinner. He spent hours cleaning the house. The experiment reported here is motivated by the idea that such judgments depend on reasoning about identity (e.g., the identity of the he who cleaned the house). Because the identity of an individual over time depends on the causal-historical path connecting the stages of the individual, the correct antecedent will also depend on causal connections. The experiment varied how likely it is that the event of the first sentence (e.g., the invitation) would cause the event of the second (the house cleaning) for each of the two individuals (the likelihood that if Albert invited Ron to dinner, this would cause Albert to clean the house, versus cause Ron to clean the house). Decisions about the antecedent followed causal likelihood. A mathematical model of causal identity accounted for most of the key aspects of the data from the individual sentence pairs. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Indoor secondary pollutants from cleaning product and air freshener use in the presence of ozone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singer, Brett C.; Coleman, Beverly K.; Destaillats, Hugo; Hodgson, Alfred T.; Lunden, Melissa M.; Weschler, Charles J.; Nazaroff, William W.

This study investigated the formation of secondary pollutants resulting from household product use in the presence of ozone. Experiments were conducted in a 50-m 3 chamber simulating a residential room. The chamber was operated at conditions relevant to US residences in polluted areas during warm-weather seasons: an air exchange rate of 1.0 h -1 and an inlet ozone concentration of approximately 120 ppb, when included. Three products were used in separate experiments. An orange oil-based degreaser and a pine oil-based general-purpose cleaner were used for surface cleaning applications. A plug-in scented-oil air freshener (AFR) was operated for several days. Cleaning products were applied realistically with quantities scaled to simulate residential use rates. Concentrations of organic gases and secondary organic aerosol from the terpene-containing consumer products were measured with and without ozone introduction. In the absence of reactive chemicals, the chamber ozone level was approximately 60 ppb. Ozone was substantially consumed following cleaning product use, mainly by homogeneous reaction. For the AFR, ozone consumption was weaker and heterogeneous reaction with sorbed AFR-constituent VOCs was of similar magnitude to homogeneous reaction with continuously emitted constituents. Formaldehyde generation resulted from product use with ozone present, increasing indoor levels by the order of 10 ppb. Cleaning product use in the presence of ozone generated substantial fine particle concentrations (more than 100 μg m -3) in some experiments. Ozone consumption and elevated hydroxyl radical concentrations persisted for 10-12 h following brief cleaning events, indicating that secondary pollutant production can persist for extended periods.

Cleaning techniques for intense ion beam sources

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

Menge, P.R.; Cuneo, M.E.; Bailey, J.E.

Generation of high power lithium ion beams on the SABRE (1TW) and PBFA-X (20 TW) accelerators have been limited by the parallel acceleration of contaminant ions. during the beam pulse lithium is replaced by protons and carbon ions. This replacement is accompanied by rapid impedance decay of the diode. The contaminant hydrogen and carbon is believed to originate from impurity molecules on the surface and in the bulk of the lithium ion source and its substrate material. Cleaning techniques designed to remove hydrocarbons from the ion source have been employed with some success in test stand experiments and on SABRE.more » The test stand experiments have shown that a lithium fluoride (LiF) ion source film can accrue dozens of hydrocarbon monolayers on its surface while sitting in vacuum. Application of 13.5 MHz RF discharge cleaning with 90% Ar/10% O{sub 2} can significantly reduce the surface hydrocarbon layers on the LiF film. On SABRE, combinations of RF discharge cleaning, anode heating, layering gold between the source film (LiF) and its substrate, and cryogenic cathode cooling produced an increase by a factor of 1.5--2 in the quantity of high energy lithium in the ion beam. A corresponding decrease in protons and carbon ions was also observed. Cleaning experiments on PBFA-X are underway. New designs of contamination resistant films and Li ion sources are currently being investigated.« less

Multivariate methods for evaluating the efficiency of electrodialytic removal of heavy metals from polluted harbour sediments.

PubMed

Pedersen, Kristine Bondo; Kirkelund, Gunvor M; Ottosen, Lisbeth M; Jensen, Pernille E; Lejon, Tore

2015-01-01

Chemometrics was used to develop a multivariate model based on 46 previously reported electrodialytic remediation experiments (EDR) of five different harbour sediments. The model predicted final concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn as a function of current density, remediation time, stirring rate, dry/wet sediment, cell set-up as well as sediment properties. Evaluation of the model showed that remediation time and current density had the highest comparative influence on the clean-up levels. Individual models for each heavy metal showed variance in the variable importance, indicating that the targeted heavy metals were bound to different sediment fractions. Based on the results, a PLS model was used to design five new EDR experiments of a sixth sediment to achieve specified clean-up levels of Cu and Pb. The removal efficiencies were up to 82% for Cu and 87% for Pb and the targeted clean-up levels were met in four out of five experiments. The clean-up levels were better than predicted by the model, which could hence be used for predicting an approximate remediation strategy; the modelling power will however improve with more data included. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimization and analysis of NF3 in situ chamber cleaning plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Bing; Yang, James H.; Badowski, Peter R.; Karwacki, Eugene J.

2004-04-01

We report on the optimization and analysis of a dilute NF3 in situ plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition chamber cleaning plasma for an Applied Materials P-5000 DxL chamber. Using design of experiments methodology, we identified and optimized operating conditions within the following process space: 10-15 mol % NF3 diluted with helium, 200-400 sccm NF3 flow rate, 2.5-3.5 Torr chamber pressure, and 950 W rf power. Optical emission spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to endpoint the cleaning processes and to quantify plasma effluent emissions, respectively. The results demonstrate that dilute NF3-based in situ chamber cleaning can be a viable alternative to perfluorocarbon-based in situ cleans with added benefits. The relationship between chamber clean time and fluorine atom density in the plasma is also investigated.

NATO/CCMS PILOT STUDY - CLEAN PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES

EPA Science Inventory

The proposed objective of the NATO/CCMS Pilot on clean products and processes is to facilitate further gains in pollution prevention, waste minimization, and design for the environment. It is anticipated that the free exchange of knowledge, experience, data, and models will fost...

Strengthening Clean Energy Technology Cooperation under the UNFCCC: Steps toward Implementation

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

Benioff, R.; de Coninck, H.; Dhar, S.

2010-08-01

Development of a comprehensive and effective global clean technology cooperation framework will require years of experimenting and evaluation with new instruments and institutional arrangements before it is clear what works on which scale and in which region or country. In presenting concrete examples, this paper aims to set the first step in that process by highlighting successful models and innovative approaches that can inform efforts to ramp up clean energy technology cooperation. This paper reviews current mechanisms and international frameworks for global cooperation on clean energy technologies, both within and outside of the UNFCCC, and provides selected concrete options formore » scaling up global cooperation on clean energy technology RD&D, enabling environment, and financing.« less

Use of molecular oxygen to reduce EUV-induced carbon contamination of optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malinowski, Michael E.; Grunow, Philip A.; Steinhaus, Chip; Clift, W. Miles; Klebanoff, Leonard E.

2001-08-01

Carbon deposition and removal experiments on Mo/Si multilayer mirror (MLM) samples were performed using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light on Beamline 12.0.1.2 of the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Carbon (C) was deposited onto Mo/Si multilayer mirror (MLM) samples when hydrocarbon vapors where intentionally introduced into the MLM test chamber in the presence of EUV at 13.44 nm (92.3eV). The carbon deposits so formed were removed by molecular oxygen + EUV. The MLM reflectivities and photoemission were measured in-situ during these carbon deposition and cleaning procedures. Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) sputter-through profiling of the samples was performed after experimental runs to help determine C layer thickness and the near-surface compositional-depth profiles of all samples studied. EUV powers were varied from ~0.2mW/mm2 to 3mW/mm2(at 13.44 nm) during both deposition and cleaning experiments and the oxygen pressure ranged from ~5x10-5 to 5x10-4 Torr during the cleaning experiments. C deposition rates as high as ~8nm/hr were observed, while cleaning rates as high as ~5nm/hr could be achieved when the highest oxygen pressure were used. A limited set of experiments involving intentional oxygen-only exposure of the MLM samples showed that slow oxidation of the MLM surface could occur.

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

Rielage, K.; Akashi-Ronquest, M.; Bodmer, M.

The direct search for dark matter is entering a period of increased sensitivity to the hypothetical Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP). One such technology that is being examined is a scintillation only noble liquid experiment, MiniCLEAN. MiniCLEAN utilizes over 500 kg of liquid cryogen to detect nuclear recoils from WIMP dark matter and serves as a demonstration for a future detector of order 50 to 100 tonnes. The liquid cryogen is interchangeable between argon and neon to study the A² dependence of the potential signal and examine backgrounds. MiniCLEAN utilizes a unique modular design with spherical geometry to maximize themore » light yield using cold photomultiplier tubes in a single-phase detector. Pulse shape discrimination techniques are used to separate nuclear recoil signals from electron recoil backgrounds. MiniCLEAN will be spiked with additional ³⁹Ar to demonstrate the effective reach of the pulse shape discrimination capability. Assembly of the experiment is underway at SNOLAB and an update on the project is given.« less

The FEM Simulation on End Mill of Plastic Doors and Windows Corner Cleaning Based on Deform-3D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guoping; Huang, Zhenyong; Wang, Xiaohui

2017-12-01

In the plastic doors and windows corner cleaning process, the rotating speed, the feed rate and the milling cutter diameter are the main factors that affect the efficiency and quality of the of corner cleaning. In this paper, SolidWorks will be used to establish the 3D model of end mills, and use Deform-3D to research the end mill milling process. And using orthogonal experiment design method to analyze the effect of rotating speed, the feed rate and the milling cutter diameter on the axial force variation, and to get the overall trend of axial force and the selection of various parameters according to the influence of axial force change. Finally, simulate milling experiment used to get the actual axial force data to verify the reliability of the FEM simulation model. And the conclusion obtained in this paper has important theoretical value in improving the plastic doors and windows corner cleaning efficiency and quality.

Crude Oil Remote Sensing, Characterization and Cleaning with ContinuousWave and Pulsed Lasers

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-23

explained by strong pressure spikes during cavitation in liquid jets . These experiments were not directly tested for the pipe cleaning, but their results...analytical functions (like circular, elliptical and similar shapes). In our case of cylindrical symmetry of the oil film shape is defined by two...the high-pressure (50 – 100 atm) oil and water jets (with cavitations in narrow tubes) revealed a new potential for a more efficient cleaning of

Benzotriazole removal on post-Cu CMP cleaning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiying, Tang; Yuling, Liu; Ming, Sun; Shiyan, Fan; Yan, Li

2015-06-01

This work investigates systematically the effect of FA/O II chelating agent and FA/O I surfactant in alkaline cleaning solutions on benzotriazole (BTA) removal during post-Cu CMP cleaning in GLSI under the condition of static etching. The best detergent formulation for BTA removal can be determined by optimization of the experiments of single factor and compound cleaning solution, which has been further confirmed experimentally by contact angle (CA) measurements. The resulting solution with the best formulation has been measured for the actual production line, and the results demonstrate that the obtained cleaning solution can effectively and efficiently remove BTA, CuO and abrasive SiO2 without basically causing interfacial corrosion. This work demonstrates the possibility of developing a simple, low-cost and environmentally-friendly cleaning solution to effectively solve the issues of BTA removal on post-Cu CMP cleaning in a multi-layered copper wafer. Project supported by the Major National Science and Technology Special Projects (No. 2009ZX02308).

Active cleaning technique device

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shannon, R. L.; Gillette, R. B.

1973-01-01

The objective of this program was to develop a laboratory demonstration model of an active cleaning technique (ACT) device. The principle of this device is based primarily on the technique for removing contaminants from optical surfaces. This active cleaning technique involves exposing contaminated surfaces to a plasma containing atomic oxygen or combinations of other reactive gases. The ACT device laboratory demonstration model incorporates, in addition to plasma cleaning, the means to operate the device as an ion source for sputtering experiments. The overall ACT device includes a plasma generation tube, an ion accelerator, a gas supply system, a RF power supply and a high voltage dc power supply.

Abort Gap Cleaning for LHC Run 2

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

Uythoven, Jan; Boccardi, Andrea; Bravin, Enrico

2014-07-01

To minimize the beam losses at the moment of an LHC beam dump the 3 μs long abort gap should contain as few particles as possible. Its population can be minimised by abort gap cleaning using the LHC transverse damper system. The LHC Run 1 experience is briefly recalled; changes foreseen for the LHC Run 2 are presented. They include improvements in the observation of the abort gap population and the mechanism to decide if cleaning is required, changes to the hardware of the transverse dampers to reduce the detrimental effect on the luminosity lifetime and proposed changes to themore » applied cleaning algorithms.« less

"Times Are Changing": The Impact of HIV Diagnosis on Sub-Saharan Migrants' Lives in France.

PubMed

Gosselin, Anne; Lelièvre, Eva; Ravalihasy, Andrainolo; Lydié, Nathalie; Lert, France; Desgrées du Loû, Annabel

2017-01-01

Migrants account for 35% of HIV diagnoses in the European Union (ECDC/WHO 2014). Little is known about the impact of such a lifelong infection diagnosis on lives that are already disrupted by migration. In this paper, we assess the impact of HIV diagnosis on activity, union, well-being among African migrants living in France, the second group most affected by HIV after MSM. We compare it with the impact of the diagnosis of Hepatitis B, another lifelong infection affecting African migrants. We use the ANRS PARCOURS survey, a retrospective life-event survey led in 2012-2013 in 74 health structures in Paris greater area which collected 926 life histories of Sub-Saharan migrants living with HIV and 779 with Hepatitis B. We modelled the probability year by year since 18 years of age until data collection to lose one's activity, to experience a conjugal break up and degradation of well-being and we estimated the impact of migration and of HIV and Hepatitis B diagnoses on these probabilities, after adjustment on other factors, thanks to discrete-time logistic regressions. Migration entailed loss of activity and conjugal break up, though HIV diagnosis after migration did not statistically impact on these outcomes. Yet HIV diagnosis had a massive negative impact on well-being (aOR = 11.31 [4.64-27.56] for men and 5.75 [2.79-11.86] for women). This negative impact on well-being tended to diminish for persons diagnosed after 2004. The negative impact of HIV diagnosis on African migrants' well-being seems to be attenuated in the last decade, which hints at a normalization of the subjective experience of HIV diagnosis.

"Times Are Changing": The Impact of HIV Diagnosis on Sub-Saharan Migrants’ Lives in France

PubMed Central

Lelièvre, Eva; Ravalihasy, Andrainolo; Lydié, Nathalie; Lert, France; Desgrées du Loû, Annabel

2017-01-01

Background Migrants account for 35% of HIV diagnoses in the European Union (ECDC/WHO 2014). Little is known about the impact of such a lifelong infection diagnosis on lives that are already disrupted by migration. In this paper, we assess the impact of HIV diagnosis on activity, union, well-being among African migrants living in France, the second group most affected by HIV after MSM. We compare it with the impact of the diagnosis of Hepatitis B, another lifelong infection affecting African migrants. Methods We use the ANRS PARCOURS survey, a retrospective life-event survey led in 2012–2013 in 74 health structures in Paris greater area which collected 926 life histories of Sub-Saharan migrants living with HIV and 779 with Hepatitis B. We modelled the probability year by year since 18 years of age until data collection to lose one’s activity, to experience a conjugal break up and degradation of well-being and we estimated the impact of migration and of HIV and Hepatitis B diagnoses on these probabilities, after adjustment on other factors, thanks to discrete-time logistic regressions. Results Migration entailed loss of activity and conjugal break up, though HIV diagnosis after migration did not statistically impact on these outcomes. Yet HIV diagnosis had a massive negative impact on well-being (aOR = 11.31 [4.64–27.56] for men and 5.75 [2.79–11.86] for women). This negative impact on well-being tended to diminish for persons diagnosed after 2004. The negative impact of HIV diagnosis on African migrants’ well-being seems to be attenuated in the last decade, which hints at a normalization of the subjective experience of HIV diagnosis. PMID:28129342

Meissner effect in normal-superconducting proximity-contact double layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higashitani, Seiji; Nagai, Katsuhiko

1995-02-01

The Meissner effect in normal-superconducting proximity-contact double layers is discussed in the clean limit. The diamagnetic current is calculated using the quasi-classical Green's function. We obtain the quasi-classical Green's function linear in the vector potential in the proximity-contact double layers with a finite reflection coefficient at the interface. It is found that the diamagnetic current in the clean normal layer is constant in space, therefore, the magnetic field linearly decreases in the clean normal layer. We give an explicit expression for the screening length in the clean normal layer and study its temperature dependence. We show that the temperature dependence in the clean normal layer is considerably different from that in the dirty normal layer and agrees with a recent experiment in Au-Nb system.

Cleaning Data Helps Clean the Air

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donalds, Kelley; Liu, Xiangrong

2014-01-01

In this project, students use a real-world, complex database and experience firsthand the consequences of inadequate data modeling. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created the database as part of a multimillion dollar data collection effort undertaken in order to set limits on air pollutants from electric power plants. First, students…

Cleaning Our World through Reverse Graffiti

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randazzo, Gabe; LaJevic, Lisa

2013-01-01

Over the last decade artists have begun to experiment with "reverse pollution" techniques, such as reverse graffiti, which focuses on cleaning environmental surfaces. Having recently been introduced to the works of Moose, the artist known for inventing the reverse graffiti technique, the authors decided to design a curriculum to increase…

75 FR 51239 - Application(s) for Duty-Free Entry of Scientific Instruments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-19

... electrically conduction as well as insulation nanostructures prepared by in situ deposition onto clean surfaces. In-situ capacities allow the preparation of clean and well-defined nanostructures on pristine... these experiments. The instrument also has in-situ preparation capability and the ability to operate in...

Receiving and use of streams of monodisperse ice granules for cleaning and deactivation of surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boukharov, A.; Balashov, A.; Timohin, A.; Ivanov, A.; Holin, B.

2017-11-01

The most generally useful methods for cleaning and processing of surfaces are the sand-jets and shot blasting jets. Installations of this kind are used for cleaning of corrosion surfaces, the oil-dirt deposits, paint coatings. However the use of these installations follows to high investment and operational expenditure, larger risk of operators disease, the negative affect for a environment. These problems can be solved with the use of new cleaning method through application of mono-disperse (identical by the size and the form) ice granules of 300 - 1000 microns, accelerated by air stream in the nozzle device to the speed of 10 - 100 m/s. In view of the extreme complexity of the receiving such particles by means of cooling and the subsequent freezing of water drops are necessary additional experimental researches. For study of thermal processes of receiving mono-disperse ice granules the experimental installation was created and experiments on deactivation and cleaning of surfaces with pollution of various types are made. Experiments showed that by means of a stream of the accelerated ice granules it is rather successfully possible to delete oil-dirt deposits, outdated paint coats and rust. Besides, efficient deactivation of radioactive surfaces is possible. The coefficient deactivation of γ activity is highest.

Activation, orientation and landing of female Culex quinquefasciatus in response to carbon dioxide and odour from human feet: 3-D flight analysis in a wind tunnel.

PubMed

Lacey, E S; Cardé, R T

2011-03-01

This study investigated the interaction between carbon dioxide (CO(2) ) and human foot odour on activation, upwind orientation and landing of host-seeking female Culex quinquefasciatus (Say) (Diptera: Culicidae) in a wind tunnel. More mosquitoes landed on warmed glass beads coated with foot odour than on clean beads; adding a plume of 4% CO(2) did not influence the proportion of mosquitoes landing. A second experiment used 3-dimensional video tracking to assess flight performance. Activation was more rapid with CO(2) and with CO(2) + foot odour than with clean air or with foot odour alone. Upwind flights were fastest with CO(2) and with clean air, and slowest with foot odour; the CO(2) + foot odour treatment overlapped the previous three treatments in significance. Flight headings tended more towards due upwind with CO(2) and with clean air than with CO(2) + foot odour or with foot odour alone. In both experiments, many mosquitoes flew upwind in clean air. There was little evidence of females changing course upon entering or exiting the CO(2) plume or reacting to foot odour during flight. © 2010 The Authors. Medical and Veterinary Entomology © 2010 The Royal Entomological Society.

Cleaning Genesis Solar Wind Collectors with Ultrapure Water: Residual Contaminant Particle Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allton, J. H.; Wentworth, S. J.; Rodriquez, M. C.; Calaway, M. J.

2008-01-01

Additional experience has been gained in removing contaminant particles from the surface of Genesis solar wind collectors fragments by using megasonically activated ultrapure water (UPW)[1]. The curatorial facility has cleaned six of the eight array collector material types to date: silicon (Si), sapphire (SAP), silicon-on-sapphire (SOS), diamond-like carbon-on-silicon (DOS), gold-on-sapphire (AuOS), and germanium (Ge). Here we make estimates of cleaning effectiveness using image analysis of particle size distributions and an SEM/EDS reconnaissance of particle chemistry on the surface of UPW-cleaned silicon fragments (Fig. 1). Other particle removal techniques are reported by [2] and initial assessment of molecular film removal is reported by [3].

Data Cleaning in Mathematics Education Research: The Overlooked Methodological Step

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubbard, Aleata

2017-01-01

The results of educational research studies are only as accurate as the data used to produce them. Drawing on experiences conducting large-scale efficacy studies of classroom-based algebra interventions for community college and middle school students, I am developing practice-based data cleaning procedures to support scholars in conducting…

Determining the EDTA Content in a Consumer Shower Cleaner. An Introductory Chemistry Laboratory Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weigand, Willis A.

2000-10-01

At Altoona College, Chemistry 11 is offered to students as a preparatory course for the University's Chemical Principles course, Chem 12. A relevant laboratory is a source of motivation for the students to learn the chemistry. One way of making the laboratory relevant is to analyze the chemical components of consumer products. Several new shower-cleaning products have been introduced, which advertise that cleaning the shower is no longer necessary. The cleaners work using a combination of surfactants, alcohols, and a chelating agent. The Web site of a popular shower cleaner lists EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetate ion) as the chelating agent. The classic EDTA/calcium complexometric titration can be used to determine the EDTA content of the cleaner. This article describes the experiment to determine the EDTA content in a shower-cleaning product.

The MiniCLEAN Dark Matter Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schnee, Richard; Deap/Clean Collaboration

2011-10-01

The MiniCLEAN dark matter experiment exploits a single-phase liquid argon (LAr) detector, instrumented with photomultiplier tubes submerged in the cryogen with nearly 4 π coverage of a 500 kg target (150 kg fiducial) mass. The high light yield and large difference in singlet/triplet scintillation time-profiles in LAr provide effective defense against radioactive backgrounds through pulse-shape discrimination and event position reconstruction. The detector is also designed for a liquid neon target which, in the event of a positive signal in LAr, will enable an independent verification of backgrounds and provide a unique test of the expected A2 dependence of the WIMP interaction rate. The conceptually simple design can be scaled to target masses in excess of 10 tons in a relatively straightforward and economic manner. The experimental technique and current status of MiniCLEAN will be summarized.

Mental health indicators associated with oil spill response and clean-up: cross-sectional analysis of the GuLF STUDY cohort.

PubMed

Kwok, Richard K; McGrath, John A; Lowe, Sarah R; Engel, Lawrence S; Jackson, W Braxton; Curry, Matthew D; Payne, Julianne; Galea, Sandro; Sandler, Dale P

2017-12-01

Adverse mental health effects have been reported following oil spills but few studies have identified specific responsible attributes of the clean-up experience. We aimed to analyse the effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (Gulf of Mexico) disaster on the mental health of individuals involved in oil spill response and clean-up. We used data from the Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study, a cohort of workers and volunteers involved in oil spill clean-up after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. We included 8968 workers (hired after completing training for oil spill response and clean-up) and 2225 non-workers (completed training but were not hired) who completed a Patient Health Questionnaire-8 and four-item Primary Care PTSD Screen to assess for probable depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) indicators. Participants were recruited between March 28, 2011, and March 29, 2013. The mental health indicators were assessed at home visits done between May 12, 2011, and May 15, 2013. We used regression models to analyse the effect of potentially stressful job experiences, job type, and total hydrocarbon exposure on mental health indicators. Oil spill response and clean-up work was associated with increased prevalence of depression (prevalence ratio [PR] 1·22, 95% CI 1·08-1·37) and PTSD (PR 1·35, 95% CI 1·07-1·71). Among workers, individuals who reported smelling oil, dispersants, or cleaning chemicals had an elevated prevalence of depression (1·56, 1·37-1·78) and PTSD (2·25, 1·71-2·96). Stopping work because of the heat was also associated with depression (1·37, 1·23-1·53) and PTSD (1·41, 1·15-1·74), as was working as a commercial fisherman before the spill (1·38, 1·21-1·57; and 2·01, 1·58-2·55, respectively). An increase in exposure to total hydrocarbons appeared to be associated with depression and PTSD, but after taking into account oil spill job experiences, only the association between the highest amount of total hydrocarbons and PTSD remained (1·75, 1·11-2·76). Oil spill clean-up workers with high amounts of total hydrocarbon exposure or potentially stressful job experiences had an increased prevalence of depression and PTSD. These findings provide evidence that response and clean-up work is associated with adverse psychological effects and suggest the need for mental health services both before and after the event. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund and the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Options in Extraterrestrial Sample Handling and Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Papanastassiou, Dimitri A.

2000-01-01

This presentation mentions important service functions such as: sample preservation, hazard assessment, and handling. It also discuss how preliminary examination of samples is necessary for sample hazard assessment and for sample allocations. Clean facilities and clean sample handling are required. Conflicts, cross contamination issues will be present and need to be resolved. Extensive experience is available for extraterrestrial samples and must be sought and applied. Extensive experience is available in studies of pathogenicity and must be sought and applied as necessary. Advisory and oversight structures must also be in place

Surface cleaning for negative electron affinity GaN photocathode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Jianliang; Yin, Yingpeng; Gao, Youtang; Niu, Jun; Qian, Yunsheng; Chang, Benkang

2012-10-01

In the preparation process for negative electron affinity (NEA) GaN photocathode, the surface cleanness is very important to activation, it influences the sensitivity and stability of NEA GaN photocathode. The traditional corrosion methods based on oxidizing and dissolving can't remove oxygen (O) and carbon (C) on GaN surface effectively. How to get an ideal atom clean surface is still an important question at present. The cleaning techniques for GaN photocathode was studied by using NEA photocathode activation system and XPS surface analysis system. The experiment sample is p-type GaN doped with Mg, doped concentration is 1.37×1017 cm-3, the transfer rate is 3.08 cm2/V-S, and the thickness of activation layer is 0.51 μm, the substrate is 300 μm thick sapphire. The sample was dealed with chemical cleaning depuration at first. And to get the atom clean surface, the vacuum heat cleaning process was needed. The methods of chemical cleaning and the vacuum heating cleaning were given in detail. According to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of GaN surface after chemical cleaning and the vacuum degree curve of the activation chamber during the heat cleaning, the cleaning effect and the cleaning mechanism were discussed. After the effective chemical cleaning and the heating of 700 Centigrade degree about 20 minutes in ultrahigh vacuum system, the oxides and carbon contaminants on cathode surface can be removed effectively, and the ideal atom clean surface can be obtained. The purpose of heating depuration process is that not only to get the atom clean GaN surface, but also to guarantee the contents of Ga, N on GaN surface stabilize and to keep the system ultra-high vacuum degree. Because of the volatilization of oxide and carbon impurity on the cathode surface, the vacuum degree curve drops with the rising of temperature on the whole.

CLIP-COSY: A Clean In-Phase Experiment for the Rapid Acquisition of COSY-type Correlations.

PubMed

Koos, Martin R M; Kummerlöwe, Grit; Kaltschnee, Lukas; Thiele, Christina M; Luy, Burkhard

2016-06-27

The COSY experiment is an essential homonuclear 2D NMR experiment for the assignment of resonances. Its multiplet line shape, however, is often overly complicated, potentially leads to signal intensity losses, and is responsible for long minimum overall acquisition times. Herein, we present CLIP-COSY, a COSY-type experiment yielding clean in-phase peaks. It can be recorded within a few minutes and benefits from enhanced signal intensities for most cross-peaks. In combination with non-uniform sampling, the experiment times can be further reduced, and the in-phase multiplets enable the application of modern homonuclear decoupling techniques in both dimensions. As antiphase cancelations are avoided, CLIP-COSY can also be applied to macromolecules and other samples with broadened lines. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Catheter for Cleaning Surgical Optics During Surgical Procedures: A Possible Solution for Residue Buildup and Fogging in Video Surgery.

PubMed

de Abreu, Igor Renato Louro Bruno; Abrão, Fernando Conrado; Silva, Alessandra Rodrigues; Corrêa, Larissa Teresa Cirera; Younes, Riad Nain

2015-05-01

Currently, there is a tendency to perform surgical procedures via laparoscopic or thoracoscopic access. However, even with the impressive technological advancement in surgical materials, such as improvement in quality of monitors, light sources, and optical fibers, surgeons have to face simple problems that can greatly hinder surgery by video. One is the formation of "fog" or residue buildup on the lens, causing decreased visibility. Intracavitary techniques for cleaning surgical optics and preventing fog formation have been described; however, some of these techniques employ the use of expensive and complex devices designed solely for this purpose. Moreover, these techniques allow the cleaning of surgical optics when they becomes dirty, which does not prevent the accumulation of residue in the optics. To solve this problem we have designed a device that allows cleaning the optics with no surgical stops and prevents the fogging and residue accumulation. The objective of this study is to evaluate through experimental testing the effectiveness of a simple device that prevents the accumulation of residue and fogging of optics used in surgical procedures performed through thoracoscopic or laparoscopic access. Ex-vivo experiments were performed simulating the conditions of residue presence in surgical optics during a video surgery. The experiment consists in immersing the optics and catheter set connected to the IV line with crystalloid solution in three types of materials: blood, blood plus fat solution, and 200 mL of distilled water and 1 vial of methylene blue. The optics coupled to the device were immersed in 200 mL of each type of residue, repeating each immersion 10 times for each distinct residue for both thirty and zero degrees optics, totaling 420 experiments. A success rate of 98.1% was observed after the experiments, in these cases the device was able to clean and prevent the residue accumulation in the optics.

(Preoxidation cleaning optimization for crystalline silicon)

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

Not Available

1991-01-01

A series of controlled experiments has been performed in Sandia's Photovoltaic Device Fabrication Laboratory to evaluate the effect of various chemical surface treatments on the recombination lifetime of crystalline silicon wafers subjected to a high-temperature dry oxidation. From this series of experiments we have deduced a relatively simple yet effective cleaning sequence. We have also evaluated the effect of different chemical damage-removal etches for improving the recombination lifetime and surface smoothness of mechanically lapped wafers. This paper presents the methodology used, the experimental results obtained, and our experience with using this process on a continuing basis over a period ofmore » many months. 7 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.« less

Arsenic Remediation Enhancement Through Chemical Additions to Pump and Treat Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wovkulich, K.; Mailloux, B. J.; Stute, M.; Simpson, H. J.; Keimowitz, A. R.; Powell, A.; Lacko, A.; Chillrud, S. N.

2008-12-01

Arsenic is a contaminant found at more than 500 US Superfund sites. Since pump and treat technologies are widely used for remediation of contaminated groundwater, increasing the efficiency of contaminant removal at such sites should allow limited financial resources to clean up more sites. The Vineland Chemical Company Superfund site is extensively contaminated with arsenic after waste arsenic salts were stored and disposed of improperly for much of the company's 44 year manufacturing lifetime. Despite approximately eight years of pump and treat remediation, arsenic concentrations in the recovery wells can still be greater than 1000 ppb. The arsenic concentrations in the groundwater remain high because of slow desorption of arsenic from contaminated aquifer solids. Extrapolation of laboratory column experiments suggest that continuing the current groundwater remediation practice based on flushing ambient groundwater through the system may require on the order of hundreds of years to clean the site. However, chemical additions of phosphate or oxalic acid into the aquifer could decrease the remediation time scale substantially. Laboratory results from a soil column experiment using input of 10 mM oxalic acid suggest that site clean up of groundwater could be decreased to as little as four years. Pilot scale forced gradient field experiments will help establish whether chemical additions can be effective for increasing arsenic mobilization from aquifer solids and thus substantially decrease pump and treat clean up time.

Coal-cleaning plant refuse characterization

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

Cavalet, J.R.; Torak, E.R.

1985-06-01

This report describes a study performed for the Electric Power Research Institute's Coal Cleaning Test Facility in Homer City, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the study was to design a standard methods for chemically and physically classifying refuse generated by physical coal cleaning and to construct a matrix that will accurately predict how a particular refuse will react to particular disposal methods - based solely on raw-coal characteristics and the process used to clean the coal. The value of such a classification system (which has not existed to this point) is the ability to design efficient and economical systems for disposingmore » of specific coal cleaning refuse. The report describes the project's literature search and a four-tier classification system. It also provides designs for test piles, sampling procedures, and guidelines for a series of experiments to test the classfication system and create an accurate, reliable predictive matrix. 38 refs., 39 figs., 35 tabs.« less

Hydrogen Storage Experiments for an Undergraduate Laboratory Course--Clean Energy: Hydrogen/Fuel Cells

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bailey, Alla; Andrews, Lisa; Khot, Ameya; Rubin, Lea; Young, Jun; Allston, Thomas D.; Takacs, Gerald A.

2015-01-01

Global interest in both renewable energies and reduction in emission levels has placed increasing attention on hydrogen-based fuel cells that avoid harm to the environment by releasing only water as a byproduct. Therefore, there is a critical need for education and workforce development in clean energy technologies. A new undergraduate laboratory…

Constructing early warning information release system in towns enterprise clean production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuwen, Huixin; He, Xueqiu; Qian, Xinming; Yuan, Mengqi

2017-08-01

China’s industry boom has not only brought unprecedented prosperity, but also caused the gradual depletion of various resources and the worsening of the natural environment. Experts admit that China is facing serious environmental problem, but they believe that they can seek a new path to overcome it through joint efforts. Early warning information release and clean production are the important concepts in addressing the imminent crisis. Early warning information release system can monitor and forecast the risk that affects the clean production. The author drawn the experiences and lessons from developed countries, combined with China’s reality, put forward countermeasures and suggestions about constructing early warning information release system in process of Chinese town-scaled enterprises clean production.

Qualification of local advanced cryogenic cleaning technology for 14nm photomask fabrication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taumer, Ralf; Krome, Thorsten; Bowers, Chuck; Varghese, Ivin; Hopkins, Tyler; White, Roy; Brunner, Martin; Yi, Daniel

2014-10-01

The march toward tighter design rules, and thus smaller defects, implies stronger surface adhesion between defects and the photomask surface compared to past generations, thereby resulting in increased difficulty in photomask cleaning. Current state-of-the-art wet clean technologies utilize functional water and various energies in an attempt to produce similar yield to the acid cleans of previous generations, but without some of the negative side effects. Still, wet cleans have continued to be plagued with issues such as persistent particles and contaminations, SRAF and feature damages, leaving contaminants behind that accelerate photo-induced defect growth, and others. This paper details work done through a design of experiments (DOE) utilized to qualify an improved cryogenic cleaning technology for production in the Advanced Mask Technology Center (AMTC) advanced production lines for 20 and 14 nm processing. All work was conducted at the AMTC facility in Dresden, Germany utilizing technology developed by Eco-Snow Systems and RAVE LLC for their cryogenic local cleaning VC1200F platform. This system uses a newly designed nozzle, improved gaseous CO2 delivery, extensive filtration to remove hydrocarbons and minimize particle adders, and other process improvements to overcome the limitations of the previous generation local cleaning tool. AMTC has successfully qualified this cryogenic cleaning technology and is currently using it regularly to enhance production yields even at the most challenging technology nodes.

SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY A new cleaning process for the metallic contaminants on a post-CMP wafer's surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baohong, Gao; Yuling, Liu; Chenwei, Wang; Yadong, Zhu; Shengli, Wang; Qiang, Zhou; Baimei, Tan

2010-10-01

This paper presents a new cleaning process using boron-doped diamond (BDD) film anode electrochemical oxidation for metallic contaminants on polished silicon wafer surfaces. The BDD film anode electrochemical oxidation can efficiently prepare pyrophosphate peroxide, pyrophosphate peroxide can oxidize organic contaminants, and pyrophosphate peroxide is deoxidized into pyrophosphate. Pyrophosphate, a good complexing agent, can form a metal complex, which is a structure consisting of a copper ion, bonded to a surrounding array of two pyrophosphate anions. Three polished wafers were immersed in the 0.01 mol/L CuSO4 solution for 2 h in order to make comparative experiments. The first one was cleaned by pyrophosphate peroxide, the second by RCA (Radio Corporation of America) cleaning, and the third by deionized (DI) water. The XPS measurement result shows that the metallic contaminants on wafers cleaned by the RCA method and by pyrophosphate peroxide is less than the XPS detection limits of 1 ppm. And the wafer's surface cleaned by pyrophosphate peroxide is more efficient in removing organic carbon residues than RCA cleaning. Therefore, BDD film anode electrochemical oxidation can be used for microelectronics cleaning, and it can effectively remove organic contaminants and metallic contaminants in one step. It also achieves energy saving and environmental protection.

Experimental research on medium-frequency discharge cleaning in the HT-6M tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chengfu; Guo, Wenkang; Gu, Xuemao; Luo, Nanchang; Hu, Wanfen; Cheng, Shanhua; Qian, Chao

1989-04-01

Surface cleaning experiments of the wall of HT-6M tokamak chamber by medium-frequency discharge (MFD) in hydrogen has been monitored and analysed by. QMS and AES. After 300 min discharge, the signals with mass number 12 and 18 were 100 times less than their initial values. The concentration of C and O on the wall surface decreased to 26% and 5.8%, respectively. The cleaning efficiency of MFD has been compared with that of DC glow discharge. The results showed that the former was superior to the later in ability of water release.

Personal hygienic concerns in long term space flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

Data from numerous experiments and hardware inventories were scanned for Skylab personal hygiene use. A computer program was formulated for predicting the degree of man's involvement with personal hygiene needs. A tabulation was kept for such events as water intake, frequency of urination and defecation, accidents or events requiring clean-up, methods of clean-up, microbiological environment and shower water contamination.

Clean subglacial access: prospects for future deep hot-water drilling

PubMed Central

Pearce, David; Hodgson, Dominic A.; Smith, Andrew M.; Rose, Mike; Ross, Neil; Mowlem, Matt; Parnell, John

2016-01-01

Accessing and sampling subglacial environments deep beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet presents several challenges to existing drilling technologies. With over half of the ice sheet believed to be resting on a wet bed, drilling down to this environment must conform to international agreements on environmental stewardship and protection, making clean hot-water drilling the most viable option. Such a drill, and its water recovery system, must be capable of accessing significantly greater ice depths than previous hot-water drills, and remain fully operational after connecting with the basal hydrological system. The Subglacial Lake Ellsworth (SLE) project developed a comprehensive plan for deep (greater than 3000 m) subglacial lake research, involving the design and development of a clean deep-ice hot-water drill. However, during fieldwork in December 2012 drilling was halted after a succession of equipment issues culminated in a failure to link with a subsurface cavity and abandonment of the access holes. The lessons learned from this experience are presented here. Combining knowledge gained from these lessons with experience from other hot-water drilling programmes, and recent field testing, we describe the most viable technical options and operational procedures for future clean entry into SLE and other deep subglacial access targets. PMID:26667913

Studies of EUV contamination mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, Samual, Jr.; Malinowski, Michael E.; Steinhaus, Chip; Grunow, Philip A.; Klebanoff, Leonard E.

2002-07-01

Carbon contamination removal was investigated using remote RF-O2, RF-H2, and atomic hydrogen experiments. Samples consisted of silicon wafers coated with 100 Angstrom sputtered carbon, as well as bare Si-capped Mo/Si optics. Samples were exposed to atomic hydrogen or RF plasma discharges at 100 W, 200 W, and 300 W. Carbon removal rate, optic oxidation rate, at-wavelength (13.4 nm) peak reflectance, and optic surface roughness were characterized. Data show that RF- O2 removes carbon at a rate approximately 6 times faster RF- H2 for a given discharge power. However, both cleaning techniques induce Mo/Si optic degradation through the loss of reflectivity associated with surface oxide growth for RF-O2 and an unknown mechanism with hydrogen cleaning. Atomic hydrogen cleaning shows carbon removal rates sufficient for use as an in-situ cleaning strategy for EUVoptics with less risk of optic degradation from overexposures than RF-discharge cleaning. While hydrogen cleaning (RF and atomic) of EUV optics has proven effective in carbon removal, attempts to dissociate hydrogen in co-exposures with EUV radiation have resulted in no detectable removal of carbon contamination.

Nuclear air cleaning: the need for a change in emphasis

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

Carbaugh, E.H.

1982-11-01

The nuclear industry now has over 35 years of experience in nuclear air cleaning. This experience covers technology development, system design, operations, and maintenance. Much of the past experience has been directed towards technology development with particular emphasis on high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. Implementation of this technology has lagged its development by a number of years. A recent study examines the cause and frequencies of HEPA filter changeouts and failures. These data lead to a conclusion that a shift in emphasis from technology development to the training of personnel and the designing and maintaining of such systems ismore » needed. Some highlights of the data and a discussion of topics which should be addressed in training will be presented.« less

Staying sticky: contact self-cleaning of gecko-inspired adhesives.

PubMed

Mengüç, Yigit; Röhrig, Michael; Abusomwan, Uyiosa; Hölscher, Hendrik; Sitti, Metin

2014-05-06

The exceptionally adhesive foot of the gecko remains clean in dirty environments by shedding contaminants with each step. Synthetic gecko-inspired adhesives have achieved similar attachment strengths to the gecko on smooth surfaces, but the process of contact self-cleaning has yet to be effectively demonstrated. Here, we present the first gecko-inspired adhesive that has matched both the attachment strength and the contact self-cleaning performance of the gecko's foot on a smooth surface. Contact self-cleaning experiments were performed with three different sizes of mushroom-shaped elastomer microfibres and five different sizes of spherical silica contaminants. Using a load-drag-unload dry contact cleaning process similar to the loads acting on the gecko foot during locomotion, our fully contaminated synthetic gecko adhesives could recover lost adhesion at a rate comparable to that of the gecko. We observed that the relative size of contaminants to the characteristic size of the microfibres in the synthetic adhesive strongly determined how and to what degree the adhesive recovered from contamination. Our approximate model and experimental results show that the dominant mechanism of contact self-cleaning is particle rolling during the drag process. Embedding of particles between adjacent fibres was observed for particles with diameter smaller than the fibre tips, and further studied as a temporary cleaning mechanism. By incorporating contact self-cleaning capabilities, real-world applications of synthetic gecko adhesives, such as reusable tapes, clothing closures and medical adhesives, would become feasible.

Staying sticky: contact self-cleaning of gecko-inspired adhesives

PubMed Central

Mengüç, Yiğit; Röhrig, Michael; Abusomwan, Uyiosa; Hölscher, Hendrik; Sitti, Metin

2014-01-01

The exceptionally adhesive foot of the gecko remains clean in dirty environments by shedding contaminants with each step. Synthetic gecko-inspired adhesives have achieved similar attachment strengths to the gecko on smooth surfaces, but the process of contact self-cleaning has yet to be effectively demonstrated. Here, we present the first gecko-inspired adhesive that has matched both the attachment strength and the contact self-cleaning performance of the gecko's foot on a smooth surface. Contact self-cleaning experiments were performed with three different sizes of mushroom-shaped elastomer microfibres and five different sizes of spherical silica contaminants. Using a load–drag–unload dry contact cleaning process similar to the loads acting on the gecko foot during locomotion, our fully contaminated synthetic gecko adhesives could recover lost adhesion at a rate comparable to that of the gecko. We observed that the relative size of contaminants to the characteristic size of the microfibres in the synthetic adhesive strongly determined how and to what degree the adhesive recovered from contamination. Our approximate model and experimental results show that the dominant mechanism of contact self-cleaning is particle rolling during the drag process. Embedding of particles between adjacent fibres was observed for particles with diameter smaller than the fibre tips, and further studied as a temporary cleaning mechanism. By incorporating contact self-cleaning capabilities, real-world applications of synthetic gecko adhesives, such as reusable tapes, clothing closures and medical adhesives, would become feasible. PMID:24554579

Alternative, Green Processes for the Precision Cleaning of Aerospace Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maloney, Phillip R.; Grandelli, Heather Eilenfield; Devor, Robert; Hintze, Paul E.; Loftin, Kathleen B.; Tomlin, Douglas J.

2014-01-01

Precision cleaning is necessary to ensure the proper functioning of aerospace hardware, particularly those systems that come in contact with liquid oxygen or hypergolic fuels. Components that have not been cleaned to the appropriate levels may experience problems ranging from impaired performance to catastrophic failure. Traditionally, this has been achieved using various halogenated solvents. However, as information on the toxicological and/or environmental impacts of each came to light, they were subsequently regulated out of use. The solvent currently used in Kennedy Space Center (KSC) precision cleaning operations is Vertrel MCA. Environmental sampling at KSC indicates that continued use of this or similar solvents may lead to high remediation costs that must be borne by the Program for years to come. In response to this problem, the Green Solvents Project seeks to develop state-of-the-art, green technologies designed to meet KSCs precision cleaning needs.Initially, 23 solvents were identified as potential replacements for the current Vertrel MCA-based process. Highly halogenated solvents were deliberately omitted since historical precedents indicate that as the long-term consequences of these solvents become known, they will eventually be regulated out of practical use, often with significant financial burdens for the user. Three solvent-less cleaning processes (plasma, supercritical carbon dioxide, and carbon dioxide snow) were also chosen since they produce essentially no waste stream. Next, experimental and analytical procedures were developed to compare the relative effectiveness of these solvents and technologies to the current KSC standard of Vertrel MCA. Individually numbered Swagelok fittings were used to represent the hardware in the cleaning process. First, the fittings were cleaned using Vertrel MCA in order to determine their true cleaned mass. Next, the fittings were dipped into stock solutions of five commonly encountered contaminants and were weighed again showing typical contaminant deposition levels of approximately 0.00300g per part. They were then cleaned by the solvent or process being tested and then weighed a third time which allowed for the calculation of the cleaning efficiency of the test solvent or process.Based on preliminary experiments, five solvents (ethanol, isopropanol, acetone, ethyl acetate, and tert-butyl acetate) were down selected for further testing. When coupled with ultrasonic agitation, these solvents removed hydrocarbon contaminants as well as Vertrel MCA and showed improved removal of perfluorinated greases. Supercritical carbon dioxide did an excellent job dissolving each of the five contaminants but did a poor job of removing Teflon particles found in the perfluorinated greases. Plasma cleaning efficiency was found to be dependent on which supply gas was used, exposure time, and gas pressure. Under optimized conditions it was found that breathing air, energized to the plasma phase, was able to remove nearly 100% of the contamination.These findings indicate that alternative cleaning methods are indeed able to achieve precision levels of cleanliness. Currently, our team is working with a commercial cleaning company to get independent verification of our results. We are also evaluating the technical and financial aspects of scaling these processes to a size capable of supporting the future cleaning needs of KSC.

Proof of concept demonstration of novel technologies for lunar spacesuit dust mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manyapu, Kavya K.; De Leon, Pablo; Peltz, Leora; Gaier, James R.; Waters, Deborah

2017-08-01

A recent report by NASA identified dust/particulate mitigation techniques as a highly relevant study for future long-term planetary exploration missions (NASA, 2015). The deleterious effects of lunar dust on spacesuits discovered during the Apollo missions has compelled NASA to identify dust mitigation as a critical path for potential future lunar, asteroid and Mars missions. The complexity of spacesuit design has however constrained integrating existing dust cleaning technologies, formerly demonstrated on rigid surfaces, into the spacesuit system. Accordingly, this research is investigating novel methods to integrate dust mitigation technologies for use on spacesuits. We examine utilizing a novel combination of active and passive technologies integrated into the spacesuit outerlayer to alleviate dust contamination. Leveraging two specific technologies, the Electrodynamics Dust Shield (EDS) active technology and Work Function Matching Coating (WFM) passive technology, developed by NASA for rigid surfaces, we apply new high performance materials such as the Carbon Nanotube (CNT) flexible fibers to develop a spacesuit-integrated dust cleaning system. Through experiments conducted using JSC-1A lunar dust simulant on coupons made of spacesuit outerlayer material, feasibility of integrating the proposed dust cleaning system and its performance were assessed. Results from these preliminary experiments show that the integrated dust cleaning system is capable of removing 80-95% of dust from the spacesuit material demonstrating proof of concept. This paper describes the techniques and results from the experiments. Future challenges of implementing the proposed approach into fight suits are identified.

Behavioral factors affecting exposure potential for household cleaning products.

PubMed

Kovacs, D C; Small, M J; Davidson, C I; Fischhoff, B

1997-01-01

Behavioral experiments were performed on 342 subjects to determine whether behavior, which could affect the level of personal exposure, is exhibited in response to odors and labels which are commonly used for household chemicals. Potential for exposure was assessed by having subjects perform cleaning tasks presented as a product preference test, and noting the amount of cleaning product used, the time taken to complete the cleaning task, the product preference, and the exhibition of avoidance behavior. Product odor was found to affect product preference in the study with the pleasant odored product being preferred to the neutral and unpleasant products. Product odor was also found to influence the amount of product used; less of the odored products was used compared to the neutral product. The experiment also found that very few of the subjects in the study read the product labels, precluding analysis of the effect of such labels on product use. A postexperiment questionnaire on household cleaning product purchasing and use was administered to participants. The results indicate that significant gender differences exist. Women in the sample reported more frequent purchase and use of cleaning products resulting in an estimated potential exposure 40% greater than for the men in the sample. This finding is somewhat countered by the fact that women more frequently reported exposure avoidance behavior, such as using gloves. Additional significant gender differences were found in the stated importance of product qualities, such as odor and environmental quality. This study suggests the need for further research, in a more realistic use setting, on the impact of public education, labels, and product odor on preference, use, and exposure for different types of consumer products.

Tooth Surface Comparison after Air Polishing and Rubber Cup: A Scanning Electron Microscopy Study.

PubMed

Camboni, Sara; Donnet, Marcel

2016-03-01

To demonstrate, using microscopic observations, the difference between two well-known oral prophylaxis techniques: polishing paste and air polishing. The observations were performed on human enamel. Enamel samples were obtained from plaque-rich human teeth extracted for orthodontic or clinical purposes. In order to allow a reliable comparison between different applications, each enamel sample was divided into two parts: one underwent air-polishing, whereas polishing paste was applied to the other. AIR-FLOW® Master was selected together with AIR-FLOW® PLUS for the prophylaxis powder application. For the polishing-paste application, several different pastes where used, including Cleanic®, CCS®, Proxyt®, and SuperPolish. A comparative test control was also used by cleaning the enamel with sodium hypochlorite (6%). The enamel treated with AIR-FLOW PLUS showed a similar surface when compared to the control enamel; however, there was complete cleaning down to the tooth microstructure. On the other hand, use of the polishing paste resulted in an enamel surface that appeared abraded and flattened. Moreover, some of the natural irregular enamel surfaces demonstrated some filling in with debris. AIR-FLOW PLUS powder was able to more deeply clean without creating any damage to the enamel, making it suitable for regular cleaning treatments. The polishing pastes were found to abrade the enamel surface, to flatten it, and deposit debris into the microcavities. Both methods having different mechanical effects can therefore be considered as complementary, in that some patients experience a sense of "roughness" following a cleaning. A clinical recommendation for this experience would be to use the air polish first to clean the enamel surface, and follow with a little polishing paste to smooth the surface, if required.

Effect of housing conditions (clean vs. dirty) on growth performance and feeding behavior in growing pigs in a tropical climate.

PubMed

Renaudeau, D

2009-04-01

The effect of bad sanitary conditions on growth performance and feeding behaviour were studied on a total of 48 Large White pigs between 95 and 130 d of age. This experiment carried out during the hot season in a tropical humid climate. Two groups of 12 pigs each were housed in a clean environment in which the pens were disinfected thoroughly prior to stocking and maintained in a clean state by daily washing the pens and by weekly emptying the manure stored beneath the partial concrete floor. The dirty environment was achieved by not cleaning the pens prior to stocking or throughout the experiment and by storing the manure beneath the floor slats throughout the experimental period. The microbial pressure was increased by introducing 5 additional non experimental pigs near each experimental dirty pen. Feeding behaviour parameters were measured using automatic feed dispensers. Pigs housed in a clean environment consumed more feed (2.283 vs. 1.953 kg/d; P < 0.001) and grew faster (871 vs. 780 g/d; P < 0.05) than those housed in the dirty environment. No significant effect on treatment was reported for the feed conversion efficiency (2.70 kg/kg on average). The reduced average daily feed intake in dirty pens was associated with a reduction of the meal size (334 vs. 282 g/meal; P = 0.10) whereas the meal frequency was not affected by treatment (7.5 meals/d on average). The rate of feed intake was significantly higher in the clean than in the dirty environment (34.0 vs. 29.9 g/min; P < 0.05).

Tephra fall clean-up in urban environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayes, Josh L.; Wilson, Thomas M.; Magill, Christina

2015-10-01

Tephra falls impact urban communities by disrupting transport systems, contaminating and damaging buildings and infrastructures, and are potentially hazardous to human health. Therefore, prompt and effective tephra clean-up measures are an essential component of an urban community's response to tephra fall. This paper reviews case studies of tephra clean-up operations in urban environments around the world, spanning 50 years. It identifies methods used in tephra clean-up and assesses a range of empirical relationships between level of tephra accumulation and clean-up metrics such as collected tephra volume, costs, and duration of operations. Results indicate the volume of tephra collected from urban areas is proportional to tephra accumulation. Urban areas with small tephra accumulations (1,000 m3/km2 or an average of 1 mm thickness) may collect < 1% of the total deposit, whereas urban areas which experience large accumulations (> 50,000 m3/km2 or an average of 50 mm thickness) remove up to 80%. This relationship can inform impact and risk assessments by providing an estimate of the likely response required for a given tephra fall. No strong relationship was found between tephra fall accumulation and clean-up cost or duration for urban environments which received one-off tephra falls, suggesting that these aspects of tephra fall clean-up operations are context specific. Importantly, this study highlights the advantage of effective planning for tephra clean-up and disposal in potentially exposed areas.

75 FR 56986 - Argonne National Laboratory, et al.; Notice of Decision on Applications for Duty-Free Entry of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-17

... situ deposition onto clean surfaces. In- situ capacities allow the preparation of clean and well... evaluation of the properties to be studied in these experiments. The instrument also has in-situ preparation... viewed between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. in Room 3720, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Ave...

Halogen occultation experiment (HALOE) optical witness-plate program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harvey, Gale A.; Raper, James L.

1989-01-01

An optical witness plate program was implemented to monitor buildup of molecular contamination in the clean room during the assembly and testing of the Halogen Occulation Experiment (HALOE) instrument. Travel plates to monitor molecular contamination when the instrument is not in the clean room are also measured. The instrument technique is high-resolution transmission spectroscopy in the 3 micron spectral region using a Fourier transform spectrometer. Witness specimens of low index of refraction, infrared transmitting material are used for contaminant monitoring and for spectral signature analysis. Spectral signatures of possible molecular contamination are presented. No condensible volatile material contamination of HALOE optical witness specimens have yet been found.

Aligned interactions in cosmic rays

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

Kempa, J., E-mail: kempa@pw.plock.pl

2015-12-15

The first clean Centauro was found in cosmic rays years many ago at Mt Chacaltaya experiment. Since that time, many people have tried to find this type of interaction, both in cosmic rays and at accelerators. But no one has found a clean cases of this type of interaction.It happened finally in the last exposure of emulsion at Mt Chacaltaya where the second clean Centauro has been found. The experimental data for both the Centauros and STRANA will be presented and discussed in this paper. We also present our comments to the intriguing question of the existence of a typemore » of nuclear interactions at high energy with alignment.« less

Experimental study of fouling and cleaning of sintered stainless steel membrane in electro-microfiltration of calcium salt particles.

PubMed

Qin, Frank G F; Mawson, John; Zeng, Xin An

2011-05-30

Sintered stainless steel (SSS) microfiltration membranes, which served as electrode directly, were used for the experiment of separating Alamin, a calcium salt and protein containing particles, found in dairy processing. Fouling and cleaning of the SSS membranes under the application of an external electric field were studied. The imposed electric field was found, diverging the pH of permeate and retentate. This in turn altered the solubility of the calcium salt and impacted the performance of electro microfiltration membrane. Using electric field as an enhanced cleaning-in-place (CIP) method in back flushing SSS membrane was also studied.

Experimental Study of Fouling and Cleaning of Sintered Stainless Steel Membrane in Electro-Microfiltration of Calcium Salt Particles

PubMed Central

Qin, Frank G. F.; Mawson, John; Zeng, Xin An

2011-01-01

Sintered stainless steel (SSS) microfiltration membranes, which served as electrode directly, were used for the experiment of separating Alamin, a calcium salt and protein containing particles, found in dairy processing. Fouling and cleaning of the SSS membranes under the application of an external electric field were studied. The imposed electric field was found, diverging the pH of permeate and retentate. This in turn altered the solubility of the calcium salt and impacted the performance of electro microfiltration membrane. Using electric field as an enhanced cleaning-in-place (CIP) method in back flushing SSS membrane was also studied. PMID:24957615

Clean Assembly of Genesis Collector Canister for Flight: Lessons for Planetary Sample Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allton, J. H.; Stansbery, E. K.; Allen, C. C.; Warren, J. L.; Schwartz, C. M.

2007-01-01

Measurement of solar composition in the Genesis collectors requires not only high sensitivity but very low blanks; thus, very strict collector contamination minimization was required beginning with mission planning and continuing through hardware design, fabrication, assembly and testing. Genesis started with clean collectors and kept them clean inside of a canister. The mounting hardware and container for the clean collectors were designed to be cleanable, with access to all surfaces for cleaning. Major structural components were made of aluminum and cleaned with megasonically energized ultrapure water (UPW). The UPW purity was >18 M resistivity. Although aluminum is relatively difficult to clean, the Genesis protocol achieved level 25 and level 50 cleanliness on large structural parts; however, the experience suggests that surface treatments may be helpful on future missions. All cleaning was performed in an ISO Class 4 (Class 10) cleanroom immediately adjacent to an ISO Class 4 assembly room; thus, no plastic packaging was required for transport. Persons assembling the canister were totally enclosed in cleanroom suits with face shield and HEPA filter exhaust from suit. Interior canister materials, including fasteners, were installed, untouched by gloves, using tweezers and other stainless steel tools. Sealants/lubricants were not exposed inside the canister, but vented to the exterior and applied in extremely small amounts using special tools. The canister was closed in ISO Class 4, not to be opened until on station at Earth-Sun L1. Throughout the cleaning and assembly, coupons of reference materials that were cleaned at the same time as the flight hardware were archived for future reference and blanks. Likewise reference collectors were archived. Post-mission analysis of collectors has made use of these archived reference materials.

Evaluating exposure of pedestrians to airborne contaminants associated with non-potable water use for pavement cleaning.

PubMed

Seidl, M; Da, G; Ausset, P; Haenn, S; Géhin, E; Moulin, L

2016-04-01

Climate change and increasing demography press local authorities to look after affordable water resources and replacement of drinking water for city necessities like street and pavement cleaning by more available raw water. Though, the substitution of drinking by non-drinking resources demands the evaluation of sanitary hazards. This article aims therefore to evaluate the contribution of cleaning water to the overall exposure of city dwellers in case of wet pavement cleaning using crossed physical, chemical and biological approaches. The result of tracer experiments with fluorescein show that liquid water content of the cleaning aerosol produced is about 0.24 g m(-3), rending possible a fast estimation of exposure levels. In situ analysis of the aerosol particles indicates a significant increase in particle number concentration and particle diameter, though without change in particle composition. The conventional bacterial analysis using total coliforms as tracer suggests that an important part of the contamination is issued from the pavement. The qPCR results show a more than 20-fold increase of background genome concentration for Escherichia coli and 10-fold increase for Enterococcus but a negligible contribution of the cleaning water. The fluorescence analysis of the cleaning aerosol confirms the above findings identifying pavement surface as the major contributor to aerosol organic load. The physical, chemical and microbiological approaches used make it possible to describe accurately the cleaning bioaerosol and to identify the existence of significantly higher levels of all parameters studied during the wet pavement cleaning. Though, the low level of contamination and the very short time of passage of pedestrian in the zone do not suggest a significant risk for the city dwellers. As the cleaning workers remain much longer in the impacted area, more attention should be paid to their chronic exposure.

Effect of wave action on near-well zone cleaning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pen'kovskii, V. I.; Korsakova, N. K.

2017-10-01

Drilling filtrate invasion into the producing formation and native water accumulating of the near-well zone in well operation reduce the well productivity. As a result of that, depending on characteristic capillary pressure scale and differential pressure drawdown, oil production rate may become lower than expected one. In this paper, it is considered the hysteresis effects of capillary pressure after reversion of displacement. As applied to laboratory experiment conditions, the solution of problem of oil flow in formation model with a pressure drop on the model sides harmonically varied with time is presented. It was estimated a range of fluid vibration effective action on the near-well zone cleaning from capillary locking water. The plant simulating extraction of oil from formation using widely practised sucker-rod pump has been created. Formation model is presented as a slot filled with broken glass between two plates. In the process, natural oil and sodium chloride solution were used as working fluids. The experiments qualitatively confirm a positive effect of jack pumps on the near-well zone cleaning.

Utilizing Problem-Based Learning in Qualitative Analysis Lab Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hicks, Randall W.; Bevsek, Holly M.

2012-01-01

A series of qualitative analysis (QA) laboratory experiments utilizing a problem-based learning (PBL) module has been designed and implemented. The module guided students through the experiments under the guise of cleaning up a potentially contaminated water site as employees of an environmental chemistry laboratory. The main goal was the…

THE CLEAN ENERGY-ENVIRONMENT GUIDE TO ACTION ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Guide to Action identifies and describes sixteen clean energy policies and strategies that are delivering economic and environmental results for states. For each policy, the Guide describes: Objectives and benefits of the policy; Examples of states that have implemented the policy; Responsibilities of key players at the state level, including typical roles of the main stakeholders; Opportunities to coordinate implementation with other federal and state policies, partnerships and technical assistance resources; Best practices for policy design, implementation, and evaluation, including state examples; Action steps for states to take when adopting or modifying their clean energy policies, based on existing state experiences; Resources for additional information on individual state policies, legislative and regulatory language, and analytical tools and methods. States participating in the Clean Energy-Environment State Partnership Program will use the Guide to Action to: Develop their own Clean Energy-Environment Action Plan that is appropriate to their state; Identify the roles and responsibilities of key decision-makers, such as environmental regulators, state legislatures, public utility commissioners, and state energy offices; Access and apply technical assistance resources, models, and tools available for state-specific analyses and program implementation; and Learn from each other as they develop their own clean energy programs and policies.

Participant experiences of clean intermittent self-catheterisation, urinary tract infections and antibiotic use on the ANTIC trial - A qualitative study.

PubMed

McClurg, Doreen; Walker, Kerry; Pickard, Rob; Hilton, Paul; Ainsworth, Holly; Leonard, Kelly; Suresh, Sheeba; Nilsson, Annette; Gillespie, Nicola

2018-05-01

Recurrent urinary tract infections are a commonly reported problem in people who use clean intermittent self-catheterisation. Yet there is a lack of knowledge regarding both the impact on people's lives, the use of prophylactic anti-biotics and perceptions of patients on their use. To explore the views and experiences of adults who use clean intermittent self-catheterisation for long-term bladder conditions, with a focus on urinary tract infection experience and prophylactic antibiotic use. A qualitative descriptive study. Twenty-six semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with individuals recruited from the ANTIC Trial (Antibiotic treatment for intermittent bladder catheterisation: A randomised controlled trial of once daily prophylaxis). Participants were intermittent self-catheter users aged 18 years or older. Interviews took place between August 2015 and January 2016. Transcript data were analysed thematically. Three overarching topics were revealed with corresponding themes: the experiences of intermittent self-catheterisation and urinary tract infections (normalisation, perceived burden); attitudes towards antibiotics for urinary tract infection treatment (nonchalant attitudes, ambivalence towards antibiotic resistance); and experiences of low-dose prophylaxis antibiotics (habitual behaviour and supportive accountability). The emotional and practical burden of catheter use and urinary tract infection was considerable. Beliefs pertaining to antibiotic use were based on utility, gravity of need and perceived efficacy. These opinions were often influenced by clinician recommendations. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

77 FR 16548 - Clean Air Act Advisory Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-21

..., cultural, educational, and other considerations. --Experience working at the national level on local governments issues. --Experience working with air quality policy issues. --Executive management level... senior-level officials, develop policy recommendations to the Administrator, and prepare reports and...

[Botulism: Diagnosis and Therapy].

PubMed

Wendt, Sebastian; Eder, Ines; Wölfel, Roman; Braun, Peggy; Lippmann, Norman; Rodloff, Arne

2017-09-01

Background  Botulism is a rare, life-threatening, time-critical neuroparalytic disease that is frequently a subject of differential diagnostic considerations. But there is much uncertainty regarding diagnosis and therapy. Rapid diagnosis, early antitoxin dose, consistent food hygiene and the sensitization of the population can help to reduce incidence, morbidity and mortality. Methods  This overview is based on an epidemiological data inquiry (RKI, ECDC, CDC, WHO) and a selective literature research (pubmed till March 2017). Additionally, the German botulism guideline (2012) and own diagnostical experiences were taken into account. Results  The incidence of botulinum toxin intoxication induced by ubiquitous spore-forming Clostridium botulinum (main representative) is < 0.01/100 000 EU citizens. Foodborne botulism is a pure intoxication syndrome (most common form) due to improperly prepared or incorrectly stored food. Wound and infant botulism are kinds of "toxico-infections". A "bulbar" neuroparalysis is a main symptom progressing to a flaccid tetraparesis up to respiratory paralysis. Infant botulism is presented non-specific and is treated only symptomatically; but a special human-derived antitoxin is available at international pharmacies. In case of suspected foodborne or wound botulism antitoxin must be administered as soon as possible, which may also be effective 24 hours after symptoms onset. There is no evidence for adjuvant treatment except of intensive care unit (ICU) therapy. Conclusion  Despite typical symptomatology botulism is often diagnosed too late. Early antitoxin administration and ICU therapy are crucial for survival. A consultant laboratory should be contacted for advice. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Dry cleaning of Turkish coal

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

Cicek, T.

2008-07-01

This study dealt with the upgrading of two different type of Turkish coal by a dry cleaning method using a modified air table. The industrial size air table used in this study is a device for removing stones from agricultural products. This study investigates the technical and economical feasibility of the dry cleaning method which has never been applied before on coals in Turkey. The application of a dry cleaning method on Turkish coals designated for power generation without generating environmental pollution and ensuring a stable coal quality are the main objectives of this study. The size fractions of 5-8,more » 3-5, and 1-3 mm of the investigated coals were used in the upgrading experiments. Satisfactory results were achieved with coal from the Soma region, whereas the upgrading results of Hsamlar coal were objectionable for the coarser size fractions. However, acceptable results were obtained for the size fraction 1-3 mm of Hsamlar coal.« less

Removal of residual contamination from clean protective clothing

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

Hylko, J.M.; Miller, M.L.; Brehm, L.E.

This paper reports that during 1986, a small but significant number of skin contamination incidents at Northern States Power Company's Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant were believed to have been caused by residual contamination in dry-cleaned protective clothing. A survey of 24 other nuclear power plants in May and June of 1986 indicated that about half of these facilities had experienced instances of sweat-induced skin contamination on persons wearing laundered, clean protective clothing, and a simple experiment showed that perspiration was indeed capable of removing residual contamination from the 100% cotton fabric used in the Monticello Plant's coveralls. In order tomore » further study this problem, a series of tests were performed on samples of the plant's protective clothing coveralls to determine how effective wet washing methods would be in removing residual contamination from this clothing, which previously had been laundered exclusively by dry cleaning.« less

Otolith Trace Element Chemistry of Juvenile Black Rockfish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardin, W.; Bobko, S. J.; Jones, C. M.

2002-12-01

In the summer of 1997 we collected young-of -the-year (YOY) black rockfish, Sebastes melanops, from floating docks and seagrass beds in Newport and Coos Bay, Oregon. Otoliths were extracted from randomly selected fish, sectioned and polished under general laboratory conditions, and cleaned in a class 100 clean room. We used Laser Ablation - Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) to analyze elemental composition of the estuarine phase of the otoliths. While we observed differences in Mn/Ca ratios between the two estuaries, there was no statistical difference in otolith trace element chemistry ratios between estuaries using MANOVA. To determine if laboratory processing of otoliths might have impeded us from detecting differences in otolith chemistry, we conducted a second experiment. Right and left otoliths from 10 additional Coos Bay fish were randomly allocated to two processing methods. The first method was identical to our initial otolith processing, sectioning and polishing under normal laboratory conditions. In the second method, polishing was done in the clean room. For both methods otoliths went through a final cleaning in the clean room and analyzed with LA-ICPMS. While we did not detect statistical differences in element ratios between the two methods, otoliths polished outside the clean room had much higher variances. This increased variance might have lowered our ability to detect differences in otolith chemistry between estuaries. Based on our results, we recommend polishing otoliths under clean room conditions to reduce contamination.

Apparel for Cleaner Clean Rooms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

In the 1960s NASA pioneered contamination control technology, providing a base from which aerospace contractors could develop control measures. NASA conducted special courses for clean room technicians and supervisors, and published a series of handbooks with input from various NASA field centers. These handbooks extended aerospace experience to the medical, pharmaceutical, electronics, and other industries where extreme cleanliness is important. American Hospital Supply Company (AHSC) felt that high technology products with increasingly stringent operating requirements in aerospace, electronics, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment manufacturing demanded improvement in contamination control techniques. After studying the NASA handbooks and visiting NASA facilities, the wealth of information gathered resulted in Micro-clean non-woven garments and testing equipment and procedures for evaluating effectiveness.

Prevention and control of carbapenemase-producing organisms at a regional burns centre.

PubMed

Teare, L; Myers, J; Kirkham, A; Tredoux, T; Martin, R; Boasman, S; Wisbey, A; Charlton, C; Dziewulski, P

2016-06-01

In many parts of the world, carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs) are endemic. The transfer of medical patients from such countries to the UK requires us to have control systems in place to avoid onward transmission. This report describes the experience of a regional burns centre challenged by its first four cases of CPO in two separate incidents. Key learning from our experience was the importance of CPOs being considered in empirical antibiotics for any patient from an endemic area. Using contact plates, we demonstrated high bacterial counts after cleaning and we describe a terminal cleaning strategy along with the importance of continuing staff engagement and education. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Going clean: structure and dynamics of peptides in the gas phase and paths to solvation.

PubMed

Baldauf, Carsten; Rossi, Mariana

2015-12-16

The gas phase is an artificial environment for biomolecules that has gained much attention both experimentally and theoretically due to its unique characteristic of providing a clean room environment for the comparison between theory and experiment. In this review we give an overview mainly on first-principles simulations of isolated peptides and the initial steps of their interactions with ions and solvent molecules: a bottom up approach to the complexity of biological environments. We focus on the accuracy of different methods to explore the conformational space, the connections between theory and experiment regarding collision cross section evaluations and (anharmonic) vibrational spectra, and the challenges faced in this field.

A design of experiments test to define critical spray cleaning parameters for Brulin 815 GD and Jettacin cleaners

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keen, Jill M.; Evans, Kurt B.; Schiffman, Robert L.; Deweese, C. Darrell; Prince, Michael E.

1995-01-01

Experimental design testing was conducted to identify critical parameters of an aqueous spray process intended for cleaning solid rocket motor metal components (steel and aluminum). A two-level, six-parameter, fractional factorial matrix was constructed and conducted for two cleaners, Brulin 815 GD and Diversey Jettacin. The matrix parameters included cleaner temperature and concentration, wash density, wash pressure, rinse pressure, and dishwasher type. Other spray parameters: nozzle stand-off, rinse water temperature, wash and rinse time, dry conditions, and type of rinse water (deionized) were held constant. Matrix response testing utilized discriminating bond specimens (fracture energy and tensile adhesion strength) which represent critical production bond lines. Overall, Jettacin spray cleaning was insensitive to the range of conditions tested for all parameters and exhibited bond strengths significantly above the TCA test baseline for all bond lines tested. Brulin 815 was sensitive to cleaning temperature, but produced bond strengths above the TCA test baseline even at the lower temperatures. Ultimately, the experimental design database was utilized to recommend process parameter settings for future aqueous spray cleaning characterization work.

Power of one nonclean qubit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morimae, Tomoyuki; Fujii, Keisuke; Nishimura, Harumichi

2017-04-01

The one-clean qubit model (or the DQC1 model) is a restricted model of quantum computing where only a single qubit of the initial state is pure and others are maximally mixed. Although the model is not universal, it can efficiently solve several problems whose classical efficient solutions are not known. Furthermore, it was recently shown that if the one-clean qubit model is classically efficiently simulated, the polynomial hierarchy collapses to the second level. A disadvantage of the one-clean qubit model is, however, that the clean qubit is too clean: for example, in realistic NMR experiments, polarizations are not high enough to have the perfectly pure qubit. In this paper, we consider a more realistic one-clean qubit model, where the clean qubit is not clean, but depolarized. We first show that, for any polarization, a multiplicative-error calculation of the output probability distribution of the model is possible in a classical polynomial time if we take an appropriately large multiplicative error. The result is in strong contrast with that of the ideal one-clean qubit model where the classical efficient multiplicative-error calculation (or even the sampling) with the same amount of error causes the collapse of the polynomial hierarchy. We next show that, for any polarization lower-bounded by an inverse polynomial, a classical efficient sampling (in terms of a sufficiently small multiplicative error or an exponentially small additive error) of the output probability distribution of the model is impossible unless BQP (bounded error quantum polynomial time) is contained in the second level of the polynomial hierarchy, which suggests the hardness of the classical efficient simulation of the one nonclean qubit model.

Disinfection of rigid nasal endoscopes following in vitro contamination with Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Haemophilus influenzae.

PubMed

Bradford, Benjamin D; Seiberling, Kristin A; Park, Francine E; Hiebert, Jared C; Chang, Dennis F

2013-06-01

If not adequately cleaned, rigid nasal endoscopes (RNEs) have the potential to cause iatrogenic cross-contamination. To test the efficacy of various disinfection methods in reducing bacterial load on RNEs in vitro. In vitro model. Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Haemophilus influenzae contamination was separately induced on RNEs in vitro. Two experimental sets were completed. The RNEs were disinfected using the following protocols: 30-second scrub with antimicrobial soap (ABS) and water, 30-second scrub with 70% isopropyl alcohol (IA), 30-second scrub with ABS followed by 30-second scrub with IA, 30-second scrub with germicidal cloth, isolated 5-minute soak in an enzymatic soap solution, 5- and 10-minute soaks in ortho-phthalaldehyde, 0.55%, solution (Cidex OPA), and isolated 30-second rinse with tap water, all with 30-second precleaning and postcleaning rinses with tap water. Two sets of experiments (experiment sets A and B) were carried out with a 30-second tap water rinse after inoculation of each RNE. This was followed by immediate cleaning in set A and a 1-hour air-dry delay in set B. Otherwise there were no differences in the disinfection protocols between sets for each method noted. Effectiveness of various disinfection protocols in cleaning rigid nasal endoscopes experimentally inoculated with bacteria commonly found in the upper aerodigestive tract. Positive cultures following disinfection indicated ineffective or incomplete disinfection. Most cleaning methods were effective in eliminating S aureus, S pneumoniae, and H influenzae from the scopes following experimental contamination. Continued growth of P aeruginosa was found after all of the disinfection trials in experiment set A with the exception of a 10-minute immersion in Cidex OPA, and in set B except for the 10-minute Cidex OPA immersion and ABS plus IA trials. Most cleaning methods used in our trials appear to properly disinfect RNEs after in vitro inoculation with S aureus, S pneumoniae, and H influenzae. However, it appears that disinfectants may be less effective in cleaning rigid scopes experimentally inoculated with P aeruginosa. There is a paucity of published data regarding cross-contamination during rigid nasal endoscopy, and these results should guide future studies and to some extent practice to avoid iatrogenic spread of contamination.

A preliminary study of a new endodontic irrigation system: Clean Jet Endo.

PubMed

Nouioua, F; Slimani, A; Levallois, B; Camps, J; Tassery, H; Cuisinier, F; Bukiet, F

2015-03-01

The purpose of the present study was to assess the irrigant penetration and cleaning ability of a new irrigation system, the Clean Jet Endo (Produits Dentaires SA, Switzerland) in comparison to conventional irrigation followed or not by sonic activation. Irrigant penetration was evaluated on resin blocks simulators by measuring the methylene blue absorbance thanks to a UV/visible spectrophotometer and cleaning ability was assessed in an ex vivo experiment according to the debris score in an artificial canal extension before and after the final irrigation protocol. A statistical analysis was carried out in order to highlight the significant differences between the irrigation techniques. Clean Jet Endo permitted to better eliminate the methylene blue into the simulated canals. A significant difference between the 2 techniques was observed in the middle third (p = 0.005) as well as in the apical third (p < 0.2). An additional microscope observation (16X) confirmed that Clean Jet Endo@ usage led to a better penetration of irrigant within the lateral canals of the simulators. Likewise, this irrigating system permitted to better eliminate the debris in the lateral groove than the other techniques. In conclusion, our findings implied the potential of this new irrigation system to enhance root canal debridement and disinfection.

Cleaning efficiency enhancement by ultrasounds for membranes used in dairy industries.

PubMed

Luján-Facundo, M J; Mendoza-Roca, J A; Cuartas-Uribe, B; Álvarez-Blanco, S

2016-11-01

Membrane cleaning is a key point for the implementation of membrane technologies in the dairy industry for proteins concentration. In this study, four ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with different molecular weight cut-offs (MWCOs) (5, 15, 30 and 50kDa) and materials (polyethersulfone and ceramics) were fouled with three different whey model solutions: bovine serum albumin (BSA), BSA plus CaCl2 and whey protein concentrate solution (Renylat 45). The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of ultrasounds (US) on the membrane cleaning efficiency. The influence of ultrasonic frequency and the US application modes (submerging the membrane module inside the US bath or applying US to the cleaning solution) were also evaluated. The experiments were performed in a laboratory plant which included the US equipment and the possibility of using two membrane modules (flat sheet and tubular). The fouling solution that caused the highest fouling degree for all the membranes was Renylat 45. Results demonstrated that membrane cleaning with US was effective and this effectiveness increased at lower frequencies. Although no significant differences were observed between the two different US applications modes tested, slightly higher cleaning efficiencies values placing the membrane module at the bottom of the tank were achieved. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Online PH measurement technique in seawater desalination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Haibo; Wu, Kaihua; Hu, Shaopeng

2009-11-01

The measurement technology of pH is essential in seawater desalination. Glass electrode is the main pH sensor in seawater desalination. Because the internal impedance of glass electrode is high and the signal of pH sensor is easy to be disturbed, a signal processing circuit with high input impedance was designed. Because of high salinity of seawater and the characteristic of glass electrode, ultrasonic cleaning technology was used to online clean pH sensor. Temperature compensation was also designed to reduce the measurement error caused by variety of environment temperature. Additionally, the potential drift of pH sensor was analyzed and an automatic calibration method was proposed. In order to online monitor the variety of pH in seawater desalination, three operating modes were designed. The three modes are online monitoring mode, ultrasonic cleaning mode and auto-calibration mode. The current pH in seawater desalination was measured and displayed in online monitoring mode. The cleaning process of pH sensor was done in ultrasonic cleaning mode. The calibration of pH sensor was finished in auto-calibration mode. The result of experiments showed that the measurement technology of pH could meet the technical requirements for desalination. The glass electrode could be promptly and online cleaned and its service life was lengthened greatly.

Implementation Science to Accelerate Clean Cooking for Public Health

PubMed Central

Rosenthal, Joshua; Balakrishnan, Kalpana; Bruce, Nigel; Chambers, David; Graham, Jay; Jack, Darby; Kline, Lydia; Masera, Omar; Mehta, Sumi; Mercado, Ilse Ruiz; Neta, Gila; Pattanayak, Subhrendu; Puzzolo, Elisa; Petach, Helen; Punturieri, Antonello; Rubinstein, Adolfo; Sage, Michael; Sturke, Rachel; Shankar, Anita; Sherr, Kenny; Smith, Kirk; Yadama, Gautam

2017-01-01

Summary: Clean cooking has emerged as a major concern for global health and development because of the enormous burden of disease caused by traditional cookstoves and fires. The World Health Organization has developed new indoor air quality guidelines that few homes will be able to achieve without replacing traditional methods with modern clean cooking technologies, including fuels and stoves. However, decades of experience with improved stove programs indicate that the challenge of modernizing cooking in impoverished communities includes a complex, multi-sectoral set of problems that require implementation research. The National Institutes of Health, in partnership with several government agencies and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, has launched the Clean Cooking Implementation Science Network that aims to address this issue. In this article, our focus is on building a knowledge base to accelerate scale-up and sustained use of the cleanest technologies in low- and middle-income countries. Implementation science provides a variety of analytical and planning tools to enhance effectiveness of clinical and public health interventions. These tools are being integrated with a growing body of knowledge and new research projects to yield new methods, consensus tools, and an evidence base to accelerate improvements in health promised by the renewed agenda of clean cooking. PMID:28055947

US/China Energy and Environmental Technology Center (EETC) international business development and technology transfer

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

Hsieh, S.T.; Atwood, T.; Qiu Daxiong

1997-12-31

Since January 1997, the US/China Energy and Environmental Technology Center (EETC) in Beijing has been jointly operated by Tulane University and Tsinghua University. EETC is established to encourage the adoption of technologies for energy production with improved environmental performance which are essential for supporting economic growth and managing the Global Warming and Climate Change issues. International cooperation is critical to insure the environmental and energy security on a global basis. For example, the US has acquired a great deal of useful experience in clean coal technology which has been demonstrated with major utilities in commercial operations. The adaption of, andmore » the installation of, clean coal technology should be given high priority. Worldwide, the continuous exchange of information and technology between developed and developing nations relating to the current and future clean coal technologies is of great importance. Developed nations which possess environmental responsive technologies and financial resources should work closely with developing nations to facilitate technology transfer and trade of technologies. International cooperation will lower the cost of deploying clean coal technologies directed toward the clean production of energy. This paper presents the updated activities of EETC on facilitating technology transfer and promoting the clean use of coal to satisfy growing energy demand in China.« less

Dynamics of sustained use and abandonment of clean cooking systems: lessons from rural India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chalise, Nishesh; Kumar, Praveen; Priyadarshini, Pratiti; Yadama, Gautam N.

2018-03-01

Clean cooking technologies—ranging from efficient cookstoves to clean fuels—are widely deployed to reduce household air pollution and alleviate adverse health and climate consequences. Although much progress has been made on the technical aspects, sustained and proper use of clean cooking technologies by populations with the most need has been problematic. Only by understanding how clean cooking as an intervention is embedded within complex community processes can we ensure its sustained implementation. Using a community-based system dynamics approach, we engaged two rural communities in co-creating a dynamic model to explain the processes influencing the uptake and transition to sustained use of biogas (an anaerobic methane digester), a clean fuel and cooking technology. The two communities provided contrasting cases: one abandoned biogas while the other continues to use it. We present a system dynamics simulation model, associated analyses, and experiments to understand what factors drive transition and sustained use. A central insight of the model is community processes influencing the capacity to solve technical issues. Model analysis shows that families begin to abandon the technology when it takes longer to solve problems. The momentum in the community then shifts from a determination to address issues with the cooking technology toward caution in further adhering to it. We also conducted experiments using the simulation model to understand the impact of interventions aimed at renewing the use of biogas. A combination of theoretical interventions, including repair of non-functioning biogas units and provision of embedded technical support in communities, resulted in a scenario where the community can continue using the technology even after support is retracted. Our study also demonstrates the utility of a systems approach for engaging local stakeholders in delineating complex community processes to derive significant insights into the dynamic feedback mechanisms involved in the sustained use of biogas by the poor.

Cleaning and activation of beryllium-copper electron multiplier dynodes.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pongratz, M. B.

1972-01-01

Description of a cleaning and activation procedure followed in preparing beryllium-copper dynodes for electron multipliers used in sounding-rocket experiments to detect auroral electrons. The initial degreasing step involved a 5-min bath in trichloroethylene in an ultrasonic cleaner. This was followed by an ultrasonic rinse in methanol and by a two-step acid pickling treatment to remove the oxides. Additional rinsing in water and methanol was followed by activation in a stainless-steel RF induction oven.

The isolated chicken eye test as a suitable in vitro method for determining the eye irritation potential of household cleaning products.

PubMed

Schutte, K; Prinsen, M K; McNamee, P M; Roggeband, R

2009-08-01

Eye irritation is an important endpoint in the safety evaluation of consumer products and their ingredients. Several in vitro methods have been developed and are used by different industry sectors to assess eye irritation. One such in vitro method in use for some time already is the isolated chicken eye test (ICE). This investigation focuses on assessing the ICE as a method to determine the eye irritation potential of household cleaning products, both for product safety assurance prior to marketing and for classification and labeling decisions. The ICE involves a single application of test substances onto the cornea of isolated chicken eyes. Endpoints are corneal swelling, corneal opacity and fluorescein retention. The ICE results were compared to historic LVET data in this study due to availability of such in vivo data and the ability to correlate LVET to human experience data on the outcome of accidental exposures to household cleaning products in general. The results of this study indicate that the ICE test is a useful in vitro method for evaluating the eye irritation/corrosion potential and establishing classification and labeling for household cleaning products. For new product formulations, it is best used as part of a weight-of-evidence approach and benchmarked against data from comparable formulations with known eye irritation/corrosion profiles and market experience.

Laboratory Experiments on the Electrochemical Remediation of the Environment. Part 7: Microscale Production of Ozone

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibanez, Jorge G.; Mayen-Mondragon, Rodrigo; Moran-Moran, M. T.; Alatorre-Ordaz, Alejandro; Mattson, Bruce; Eskestrand, Scot

2005-01-01

Ozone is a powerful oxidant and disinfectant, which can be used to clean environment as well as obtain pure drinking water. A series of experiments to produce and test ozone with simple equipment and material are presented.

INVESTIGATION OF THE POTENTIAL ANTIMICROBIAL EFFICACY OF SEALANTS USED IN HVAC SYSTEMS

EPA Science Inventory

The paper gives results of an investigation of the potential antimicrobial efficacy of sealants used in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. Recent experiments confirm field experience that duct cleaning alone may not provide adequate protection from regrowth of fu...

SHUTTLE - PAYLOADS (STS-41G) - KSC

NASA Image and Video Library

1984-10-05

Payload canister transporter in Vertical Processing Facility Clean Room loaded with Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBS), Large Format Camera (LFC), and Orbital Reservicing System (ORS) for STS-41G Mission. 1. STS-41G - EXPERIMENTS 2. CAMERAS - LFC KSC, FL Also available in 4x5 CN

The influence of ozone on atmospheric emissions of gaseous elemental mercury and reactive gaseous mercury from substrates

USGS Publications Warehouse

Engle, M.A.; Sexauer, Gustin M.; Lindberg, S.E.; Gertler, A.W.; Ariya, P.A.

2005-01-01

Experiments were performed to investigate the effect of ozone (O 3) on mercury (Hg) emission from a variety of Hg-bearing substrates. Substrates with Hg(II) as the dominant Hg phase exhibited a 1.7 to 51-fold increase in elemental Hg (Hgo) flux and a 1.3 to 8.6-fold increase in reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) flux in the presence of O3-enriched clean (50 ppb O3; 8 substrates) and ambient air (up to ???70 ppb O3; 6 substrates), relative to clean air (oxidant and Hg free air). In contrast, Hgo fluxes from two artificially Hgo-amended substrates decreased by more than 75% during exposure to O3-enriched clean air relative to clean air. Reactive gaseous mercury emissions from Hg o-amended substrates increased immediately after exposure to O 3 but then decreased rapidly. These experimental results demonstrate that O3 is very important in controlling Hg emissions from substrates. The chemical mechanisms that produced these trends are not known but potentially involve heterogenous reactions between O3, the substrate, and Hg. Our experiments suggest they are not homogenous gas-phase reactions. Comparison of the influence of O3 versus light on increasing Hgo emissions from dry Hg(II)-bearing substrates demonstrated that they have a similar amount of influence although O3 appeared to be slightly more dominant. Experiments using water-saturated substrates showed that the presence of high-substrate moisture content minimizes reactions between atmospheric O3 and substrate-bound Hg. Using conservative calculations developed in this paper, we conclude that because O3 concentrations have roughly doubled in the last 100 years, this could have increased Hgo emissions from terrestrial substrates by 65-72%. ?? 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transonic Symposium: Theory, Application and Experiment, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foughner, Jerome T., Jr. (Compiler)

1989-01-01

Papers presented at the Transonic Symposium are compiled. The following subject areas are covered: National Transonic Facility status; transonic aerodynamics of slender wing-body configuration; laminar flow flight experiments; laminar flow wind tunnel experiments; computational support of X-29A flight experiment; transition location on a clean-up glove installed on a F-14 aircraft; and design studies for a laminar glove for the X-29 aircraft.

Health-care-associated infections in neonates, children, and adolescents: an analysis of paediatric data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control point-prevalence survey.

PubMed

Zingg, Walter; Hopkins, Susan; Gayet-Ageron, Angèle; Holmes, Alison; Sharland, Mike; Suetens, Carl

2017-04-01

In 2011-12, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) held the first Europe-wide point-prevalence survey of health-care-associated infections in acute care hospitals. We analysed paediatric data from this survey, aiming to calculate the prevalence and type of health-care-associated infections in children and adolescents in Europe and to determine risk factors for infection in this population. Point-prevalence surveys took place from May, 2011, to November, 2012, in 1149 hospitals in EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, and Croatia. Patients present on the ward at 0800 h on the day of the survey and who were not discharged at the time of the survey were included. Data were collected by locally trained health-care workers according to patient-based or unit-based protocols. We extracted data from the ECDC database for all paediatric patients (age 0-18 years). We report adjusted prevalence for health-care-associated infections by clustering at the hospital and country level. We also calculated risk factors for development of health-care-associated infections with use of a generalised linear mixed-effects model. We analysed data for 17 273 children and adolescents from 29 countries. 770 health-care-associated infections were reported in 726 children and adolescents, corresponding to a prevalence of 4·2% (95% CI 3·7-4·8). Bloodstream infections were the most common type of infection (343 [45%] infections), followed by lower respiratory tract infections (171 [22%]), gastrointestinal infections (64 [8%]), eye, ear, nose, and throat infections (55 [7%]), urinary tract infections (37 [5%]), and surgical-site infections (34 [4%]). The prevalence of infections was highest in paediatric intensive care units (15·5%, 95% CI 11·6-20·3) and neonatal intensive care units (10·7%, 9·0-12·7). Independent risk factors for infection were age younger than 12 months, fatal disease (via ultimately and rapidly fatal McCabe scores), prolonged length of stay, and the use of invasive medical devices. 392 microorganisms were reported for 342 health-care-associated infections, with Enterobacteriaceae being the most frequently found (113 [15%]). Infection prevention and control strategies in children should focus on prevention of bloodstream infections, particularly among neonates and infants. None. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Research on the experiment of reservoir water treatment applying ultrafiltration membrane technology of different processes.

PubMed

Zhang, Liyong; Zhang, Penghui; Wang, Meng; Yang, Kai; Liu, Junliang

2016-09-01

The processes and effects of coagulation-ultrafiltration (C-UF) and coagulation sedimentation-ultrafiltration (CS-UF) process used in the treatment of Dalangdian Reservoir water were compared. The experiment data indicated that 99% of turbidity removal and basically 100% of microorganism and algae removal were achieved in both C-UF and CS-UF process. The organic removal effect of CS-UF? process was slightly better than C-UF process. However, the organic removal effect under different processes was not obvious due to limitation of ultrafiltration membrane aperture. Polyaluminium chloride was taken as a coagulant in water plant. The aluminum ion removal result revealed that coagulant dosage was effectively saved by using membrane technology during megathermal high algae laden period. Within the range of certain reagent concentration and soaking time, air-water backwashing of every filtration cycle of membrane was conducted to effectively reduce membrane pollution. Besides, maintenance cleaning was conducted every 60 min. whether or not restorative cleaning was conducted depends on the pollution extent. After cleaning, recovery of membrane filtration effect was obvious.

Clean Room in the Zero Gravity Research Facility

NASA Image and Video Library

1968-07-21

A technician prepares a test sample in the Zero Gravity Research Facility clean room at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. The Zero Gravity Research Facility contained a drop tower which provided five seconds of microgravity during freefall in its 450-foot deep vacuum chamber. The facility has been used for a variety of studies relating to the behavior of fluids and flames in microgravity. During normal operations, a cylindrical 3-foot diameter and 11-foot long vehicle was used to house the experiments, instrumentation, and high speed cameras. The 4.5-foot long and 1.5-foot wide rectangular vehicle, seen in this photograph, was used less frequently. A 3-foot diameter orb was used for the special ten-second drops in which the package was pneumatically shot to the top of the tower then dropped. The facility also contained a control room, shop offices, tool and equipment rooms, and this clean room. The 242.5-foot long and 19.5-foot wide clean room was equipped with specialized cleaning equipment. In the 1960s the room was rated as a class 10,000 clean room, but I was capable of meeting the class 100 requirements. The room included a fume hood, ultrasonic cleaner, and a laminar flow station which operated as a class 100 environment. The environment in the clean room was maintained at 71° F and a relative humidity of 45- percent.

Environmental decontamination following occupancy of a burns patient with multiple carbapenemase-producing organisms.

PubMed

Garvey, M I; Bradley, C W; Jumaa, P

2016-06-01

Over the last decade, carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs) have spread worldwide, becoming a major public health concern. This article reports the authors' experience in dealing with a burns patient infected with CPOs, and the decontamination methods employed to render a burns shock room safe for re-use. The shock room was cleaned after being vacated, but environmental sampling cultured multiple CPOs. A second decontamination was undertaken comprising a detergent, steam and hypochlorite clean followed by hydrogen peroxide misting, and no CPOs were cultured after subsequent environmental sampling. A burns patient harbouring CPOs contaminates the surroundings heavily, so standard cleaning is insufficient to reduce the environmental bioburden. Copyright © 2016 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cleaning mechanism of particle contaminants on large aperture optical components by using air knife sweeping technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Longfei; Liu, Hao; Miao, Xinxiang; Lv, Haibing; Yuan, Xiaodong; Zhou, Hai; Yao, Caizhen; Zhou, Guorui; Li, Qin

2017-05-01

The cleaning mechanism of optical surface particle contaminants in the light pneumatic tube was simulated based on the static equations and JKR model. Cleaning verification experiment based on air knife sweeping system and on-line monitoring system in high power laser facility was set up in order to verify the simulated results. Results showed that the removal ratio is significantly influenced by sweeping velocity and angle. The removal ratio can reach to 94.3% by using higher input pressure of the air knife, demonstrating that the air knife sweeping technology is useful for maintaining the surface cleanliness of optical elements, and thus guaranteeing the long-term stable running of the high power laser facility.

Implementation of innovative pulsed xenon ultraviolet (PX-UV) environmental cleaning in an acute care hospital.

PubMed

Fornwalt, Lori; Riddell, Brad

2014-01-01

It is widely acknowledged that the hospital environment is an important reservoir for many of the pathogenic microbes associated with health care-associated infections (HAIs). Environmental cleaning plays an important role in the prevention and containment of HAIs, in patient safety, and the overall experience of health care facilities. New technologies, such as pulsed xenon ultraviolet (PX-UV) light systems are an innovative development for enhanced cleaning and decontamination of hospital environments. A portable PX-UV disinfection device delivers pulsed UV light to destroy microbial pathogens and spores, and can be used in conjunction with manual environmental cleaning. In addition, this technology facilitates thorough disinfection of hospital rooms in 10-15 minutes. The current study was conducted to evaluate whether the introduction of the PX-UV device had a positive impact on patient satisfaction. Satisfaction was measured using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. In 2011, prior to the introduction of the PX-UV system, patient HCAHPS scores for cleanliness averaged 75.75%. In the first full quarter after enhanced cleaning of the facility was introduced, this improved to 83%. Overall scores for the hospital rose from 76% (first quarter, 2011) to 87.6% (fourth quarter, 2012). As a result of this improvement, the hospital received 1% of at-risk reimbursement from the inpatient prospective payment system as well as additional funding. Cleanliness of the hospital environment is one of the questions included in the HCAHPS survey and one measure of patient satisfaction. After the introduction of the PX-UV system, the score for cleanliness and the overall rating of the hospital rose from below the fiftieth to the ninety-ninth percentile. This improvement in the patient experience was associated with financial benefits to the hospital.

Blades of Glory: An Energy.gov Mini-Doc – The 2016 Collegiate Wind Competition

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

Zayas, Jose; Newcomb, Charles

2016-06-06

In this short documentary, we follow three collegiate teams who are participating in this year’s U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition in New Orleans. Learn about their experiences and why the competition is important for America’s clean energy future. The competition provides undergraduates with real-world skills they need to enter tomorrow’s clean energy workforce by challenging them to develop and deliver a business plan, establish a deployment strategy, and build and test a wind turbine.

Evaluation of cleaners for photovoltaic modules exposed in an outdoor environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knapp, W. D.

1979-01-01

Power recovery of silicone encapsulated and glass covered photovoltaic modules, exposed for two years to a suburban environment, was measured after washing with a variety of cleaners including detergents, abrasive soap, and hydrocarbon solvents. Silicone encapsulated modules in operating environments may experience significant power losses or require extensive periodic cleaning. Glass front-faced modules in similar situations are much less affected. Organic hydrocarbon solvents or abrasives were found to be about five times more effective than mild detergents in cleaning encapsulated modules.

Reduction of Trapped-Ion Anomalous Heating by in situ Surface Plasma Cleaning

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-29

the trap chip temperature. To load ions, we initially cool 88Sr atoms into a remotely-located magneto - optical trap (MOT), then use a resonant push beam... trap heating rates [10]. Furthermore, some previous experiments have shown an improvement in the heating rates of surface-electrode ion traps after...rate when the trap chip is held at 4 K is not significantly improved by the plasma cleaning. While the observed frequency scaling is not the same in

Deep RNNs for video denoising

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xinyuan; Song, Li; Yang, Xiaokang

2016-09-01

Video denoising can be described as the problem of mapping from a specific length of noisy frames to clean one. We propose a deep architecture based on Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) for video denoising. The model learns a patch-based end-to-end mapping between the clean and noisy video sequences. It takes the corrupted video sequences as the input and outputs the clean one. Our deep network, which we refer to as deep Recurrent Neural Networks (deep RNNs or DRNNs), stacks RNN layers where each layer receives the hidden state of the previous layer as input. Experiment shows (i) the recurrent architecture through temporal domain extracts motion information and does favor to video denoising, and (ii) deep architecture have large enough capacity for expressing mapping relation between corrupted videos as input and clean videos as output, furthermore, (iii) the model has generality to learned different mappings from videos corrupted by different types of noise (e.g., Poisson-Gaussian noise). By training on large video databases, we are able to compete with some existing video denoising methods.

Abnormal Condition Monitoring of Workpieces Based on RFID for Wisdom Manufacturing Workshops.

PubMed

Zhang, Cunji; Yao, Xifan; Zhang, Jianming

2015-12-03

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been widely used in many fields. However, previous studies have mainly focused on product life cycle tracking, and there are few studies on real-time status monitoring of workpieces in manufacturing workshops. In this paper, a wisdom manufacturing model is introduced, a sensing-aware environment for a wisdom manufacturing workshop is constructed, and RFID event models are defined. A synthetic data cleaning method is applied to clean the raw RFID data. The Complex Event Processing (CEP) technology is adopted to monitor abnormal conditions of workpieces in real time. The RFID data cleaning method and data mining technology are examined by simulation and physical experiments. The results show that the synthetic data cleaning method preprocesses data well. The CEP based on the Rifidi(®) Edge Server technology completed abnormal condition monitoring of workpieces in real time. This paper reveals the importance of RFID spatial and temporal data analysis in real-time status monitoring of workpieces in wisdom manufacturing workshops.

Abnormal Condition Monitoring of Workpieces Based on RFID for Wisdom Manufacturing Workshops

PubMed Central

Zhang, Cunji; Yao, Xifan; Zhang, Jianming

2015-01-01

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been widely used in many fields. However, previous studies have mainly focused on product life cycle tracking, and there are few studies on real-time status monitoring of workpieces in manufacturing workshops. In this paper, a wisdom manufacturing model is introduced, a sensing-aware environment for a wisdom manufacturing workshop is constructed, and RFID event models are defined. A synthetic data cleaning method is applied to clean the raw RFID data. The Complex Event Processing (CEP) technology is adopted to monitor abnormal conditions of workpieces in real time. The RFID data cleaning method and data mining technology are examined by simulation and physical experiments. The results show that the synthetic data cleaning method preprocesses data well. The CEP based on the Rifidi® Edge Server technology completed abnormal condition monitoring of workpieces in real time. This paper reveals the importance of RFID spatial and temporal data analysis in real-time status monitoring of workpieces in wisdom manufacturing workshops. PMID:26633418

Influence of in-situ ion-beam sputter cleaning on the conditioning effect of vacuum gaps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Shinichi; Kojima, Hiroyuki; Saito, Yoshio

1994-05-01

An ion beam sputtering technique was used to clean the electrode surfaces of vacuum gaps. Ions of the sputtering gas were irradiated by means of an ion gun in a vacuum chamber attached to a breakdown measurement chamber. By providing in situ ion-beam sputter cleaning, this system makes it possible to make measurements free from contamination due to exposure to the air. The sputtering gas was He or Ar, and the electrodes were made of oxygen-free copper (purity more than 99.96%). An impulse voltage with the wave form of 64/700 microsecond(s) was applied to the test gap, and the pressure in the breakdown measurement chamber at the beginning of breakdown tests was 1.3 X 10-8 Pa. These experiments showed that ion-beam sputter cleaning results in higher breakdown fields after a repetitive breakdown conditioning procedure, and that He is more effective in improving hold- off voltages after the conditioning (under the same ion current density, the breakdown field was 300 MV/m for He sputtering and 200 MV/m for Ar sputtering). The breakdown fields at the first voltage application after the sputtering cleaning, on the other hand, were not improved.

Improving urban environment through public commitment toward the implementation of clean and healthy living behaviors.

PubMed

Hartini, Nurul; Ariana, Atika Dian; Dewi, Triana Kesuma; Kurniawan, Afif

2017-01-01

Some parts of northern Surabaya are slum areas with dense populations, and the majority of the inhabitants are from low-income families. The condition of these areas is seemingly different from the fact that Surabaya city has won awards for its cleanliness, healthy environment preservation, and maintenance. This study aimed at turning the researched site into a clean and healthy environment. The research was conducted using a quasi-experiment technique with a non-randomized design and pretest-posttest procedures. The research subjects were 121 inhabitants who actively participated in the public commitment and psychoeducation program initiated by the researchers to learn and practice clean and healthy living behaviors. The statistical data showed that there was a substantial increase in the aspects of public commitment ( t -value = 4.008, p = 0.001) and psychoeducation ( t -value = 4.038, p = 0.001) to begin and maintain a clean and healthy living behaviors. A public commitment in the form of a collective declaration to keep learning and practicing a clean and healthy living behaviors were achieved. This commitment followed by psychoeducation aimed at introducing and exercising such behaviors was found to have effectively increased the research subjects' awareness to actively participate in preserving environmental hygiene. Developing communal behaviors toward clean and healthy living in inhabitants residing in an unhealthy slum area was a difficult task. Therefore, public commitment and psychoeducation must be aligned with the formulation of continuous habits demonstrating a clean and healthy living behaviors. These habits include the cessation of littering while putting trash in its place, optimizing the usage of public toilets, planting and maintaining vegetation around the area, joining and contributing to the "garbage bank" program, and participating in the Green and Clean Surabaya competition.

Team Science: Organizing Classroom Experiments That Develop Group Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coffin, Marilyn

This book contains classroom experiments designed to promote group skills. Each lesson has 4 parts: a 3-minute set-up; 5-minute warm-up, 25-minute experiment, and 5-minute clean-up. During each part, each member of the group is responsible for performing a specific task. Included are 34 labs that cover a range of topics: observations, physical…

Laser paper cleaning: the method of cleaning historical books

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zekou, Evangelini; Tsilikas, Ioannis; Chatzitheodoridis, Elias; Serafetinides, Alexander A.

2016-01-01

Conservation of cultural heritage treasures is the most important issue for transferring knowledge to the public through the next generation of students, academics, and researchers. Although this century is authenticating e-books and information by means of electronic text, still historical manuscripts as content as well as objects are the main original recourses of keeping a record of this transformation. The current work focuses on cleaning paper samples by the application of pulsed light, which is interventional. Experiments carried out using paper samples that are artificially colonized with Ulocladium chartarum. Paper is treated by Nd:YAG laser light. The available wavelength is 1064 nm, at various fluences, repetition rates and number of pulses. Two types of paper are stained with fungi colonies, which grow on substrates of clean paper, as well as on paper with ink text. The first type of paper is Whatman No.1056, which is closer to pure cellulose. The second type of paper is a page of a cultural heritage book published in 1926. Cleaning is performed using laser irradiation, thus defining the damage threshold of each sample. The treatment on paper Watman showed a yellowing, especially on areas with high concentration of fungi. The second sample was more durable to the exposure, performing the best results at higher fluences. Eventually, the paper samples are characterized, with optical microscopy and SEM/EDX analyses, prior to and after cleaning.

Evaluating and improving terminal hygiene practices on broiler farms to prevent Campylobacter cross-contamination between flocks.

PubMed

Battersby, Tara; Walsh, D; Whyte, P; Bolton, D

2017-06-01

The objectives of this study were to evaluate current cleaning practices in broiler houses by testing a range of sites after cleaning and disinfection and to test the efficacy of the most commonly used methods in a commercial broiler house after flock harvesting. Cleaning procedures on 20 broiler houses (10 separate farms) were examined by testing a range of sampling points (feeders, drinkers, walls, etc.) for total viable count (TVC), total Enterobacteriaceae count (TEC) and Campylobacter spp. after cleaning and disinfection, using culture based methods. In a second experiment, the six most commonly used commercially available disinfectants and/or detergent products were evaluated. The results of the first study demonstrated that critical areas in 12 of the 20 broiler houses were not effectively cleaned and disinfected between flocks as the tarmac apron, ante-room, house door, feeders, drinkers, walls, columns, barriers and/or bird weighs were Campylobacter positive. Thermal fogging with the combination of potassium peroxymonosulfate, sulfamic acid and sodium chloride (5%, v/v) or the glutaraldehyde and quaternary ammonium complex (0.3%, v/v) were the most effective treatments while other disinfectant treatments were considerably less effective. It was therefore concluded that farmers should review their broiler house cleaning and disinfection procedures if Campylobacter cross-contamination between successive flocks is to be prevented. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implications of Adhesion Studies for Dust Mitigation on Thermal Control Surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaier, James R.; Berkebile, Stephen P.

2012-01-01

Experiments measuring the adhesion forces under ultrahigh vacuum conditions (10 (exp -10) torr) between a synthetic volcanic glass and commonly used space exploration materials have recently been described. The glass has a chemistry and surface structure typical of the lunar regolith. It was found that Van der Waals forces between the glass and common spacecraft materials was negligible. Charge transfer between the materials was induced by mechanically striking the spacecraft material pin against the glass plate. No measurable adhesion occurred when striking the highly conducting materials, however, on striking insulating dielectric materials the adhesion increased dramatically. This indicates that electrostatic forces dominate over Van der Waals forces under these conditions. The presence of small amounts of surface contaminants was found to lower adhesive forces by at least two orders of magnitude, and perhaps more. Both particle and space exploration material surfaces will be cleaned by the interaction with the solar wind and other energetic processes and stay clean because of the extremely high vacuum (10 (exp -12) torr) so the atomically clean adhesion values are probably the relevant ones for the lunar surface environment. These results are used to interpret the results of dust mitigation technology experiments utilizing textured surfaces, work function matching surfaces and brushing. They have also been used to reinterpret the results of the Apollo 14 Thermal Degradation Samples experiment.

Eww she sneezed! Contamination context affects children’s food preferences and consumption

PubMed Central

DeJesus, Jasmine M.; Shutts, Kristin; Kinzler, Katherine D.

2015-01-01

Does contextual information about disgust influence children’s food consumption and subjective experience of taste? Three- to 8-year-old children (N = 60) were presented with two identical foods, yet children were led to believe that one food had been contaminated by sneezing and licking, while the other was clean. When given the opportunity to eat the foods, 5- to 8-year-old children consumed more clean food and rated the clean food’s taste more positively; younger children did not distinguish between the foods. The relation between contamination and subjective taste held even among children who ate both foods and had direct evidence that they were identical. These data indicate that children’s consumption behavior and food preferences are influenced by information external to foods themselves. PMID:25558024

Friction, wear, and transfer of carbon and graphite to copper, chromium, and aluminum metal surfaces in vacuum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buckley, D. H.

1973-01-01

Sliding friction experiments were conducted with amorphous and fully graphitized carbons sliding on copper and on films of chromium and aluminum on copper. Auger emission spectroscopy analysis was used to monitor carbon transfer to the metal surfaces. Friction and wear were also measured. Metal surfaces were examined both in the clean state and with normal oxides present. Results indicate that different metals have an important effect on friction, wear, and transfer characteristics. With amorphous carbon, the least chemically active metal gave the highest wear and amount of carbon transfer. Both forms of carbon gave lower friction and wear and lower transfer rates when in contact with clean, as opposed to oxide-covered, chromium surfaces. With copper, the reverse was true; cleaning was detrimental.

Cleaning of nanopillar templates for nanoparticle collection using PDMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merzsch, S.; Wasisto, H. S.; Waag, A.; Kirsch, I.; Uhde, E.; Salthammer, T.; Peiner, E.

2011-05-01

Nanoparticles are easily attracted by surfaces. This sticking behavior makes it difficult to clean contaminated samples. Some complex approaches have already shown efficiencies in the range of 90%. However, a simple and cost efficient method was still missing. A commonly used silicone for soft lithography, PDMS, is able to mold a given surface. This property was used to cover surface-bonded particles from all other sides. After hardening the PDMS, particles are still embedded. A separation of silicone and sample disjoins also the particles from the surface. After this procedure, samples are clean again. This method was first tested with carbon particles on Si surfaces and Si pillar samples with aspect ratios up to 10. Experiments were done using 2 inch wafers, which, however, is not a size limitation for this method.

In situ dc oxygen‐discharge cleaning system for optical elements

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

Koide, Tsuneharu; Shidara, Tetsuo; Tanaka, Kenichiro

1989-07-15

In situ dc oxygen‐discharge cleaning arrangements have been developed at the Photon Factory for the removal of carbon contamination from optical surfaces. A high cleaning rate could be achieved by producing an oxygen plasma close to the optical elements with special care taken to avoid any harmful effects from the discharge; contaminant carbon was completely removed within a few hours, at most. This short exposure time and the use of dry oxygen gas resulted in a restoration of the original ultrahigh vacuum without a bakeout. Results with a Seya‐Namioka beamline for gas‐phase experiments showed a flux enhancement amounting to amore » factor of 50, and results with a grasshopper beamline showed a nearly complete recovery of the light intensity, even at the carbon K edge.« less

Monitoring the HIV continuum of care in key populations across Europe and Central Asia.

PubMed

Brown, A E; Attawell, K; Hales, D; Rice, B D; Pharris, A; Supervie, V; Van Beckhoven, D; Delpech, V C; An der Heiden, M; Marcus, U; Maly, M; Noori, T

2018-05-08

The aim of the study was to measure and compare national continuum of HIV care estimates in Europe and Central Asia in three key subpopulations: men who have sex with men (MSM), people who inject drugs (PWID) and migrants. Responses to a 2016 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) survey of 55 European and Central Asian countries were used to describe continuums of HIV care for the subpopulations. Data were analysed using three frameworks: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets; breakpoint analysis identifying reductions between adjacent continuum stages; quadrant analysis categorizing countries using 90% cut-offs for continuum stages. Overall, 29 of 48 countries reported national data for all HIV continuum stages (numbers living with HIV, diagnosed, receiving treatment and virally suppressed). Six countries reported all stages for MSM, seven for PWID and two for migrants. Thirty-one countries did not report data for MSM (34 for PWID and 41 for migrants). In countries that provided key-population data, overall, 63%, 40% and 41% of MSM, PWID and migrants living with HIV were virally suppressed, respectively (compared with 68%, 65% and 68% nationally, for countries reporting key-population data). Variation was observed between countries, with higher outcomes in subpopulations in Western Europe compared with Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Few reporting countries can produce the continuum of HIV care for the three key populations. Where data are available, differences exist in outcomes between the general and key populations. While MSM broadly mirror national outcomes (in the West), PWID and migrants experience poorer treatment and viral suppression. Countries must develop continuum measures for key populations to identify and address inequalities. © 2018 British HIV Association.

Determination of the clean-up efficiency of the solid-phase extraction of rosemary extracts: Application of full-factorial design in hyphenation with Gaussian peak fit function.

PubMed

Meischl, Florian; Kirchler, Christian Günter; Jäger, Michael Andreas; Huck, Christian Wolfgang; Rainer, Matthias

2018-02-01

We present a novel method for the quantitative determination of the clean-up efficiency to provide a calculated parameter for peak purity through iterative fitting in conjunction with design of experiments. Rosemary extracts were used and analyzed before and after solid-phase extraction using a self-fabricated mixed-mode sorbent based on poly(N-vinylimidazole/ethylene glycol dimethacrylate). Optimization was performed by variation of washing steps using a full three-level factorial design and response surface methodology. Separation efficiency of rosmarinic acid from interfering compounds was calculated using an iterative fit of Gaussian-like signals and quantifications were performed by the separate integration of the two interfering peak areas. Results and recoveries were analyzed using Design-Expert® software and revealed significant differences between the washing steps. Optimized parameters were considered and used for all further experiments. Furthermore, the solid-phase extraction procedure was tested and compared with commercial available sorbents. In contrast to generic protocols of the manufacturers, the optimized procedure showed excellent recoveries and clean-up rates for the polymer with ion exchange properties. Finally, rosemary extracts from different manufacturing areas and application types were studied to verify the developed method for its applicability. The cleaned-up extracts were analyzed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry for detailed compound evaluation to exclude any interference from coeluting molecules. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Supercritical CO2 Cleaning System for Planetary Protection and Contamination Control Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Ying; Zhong, Fang; Aveline, David C.; Anderson, Mark S.

2012-01-01

Current spacecraft-compatible cleaning protocols involve a vapor degreaser, liquid sonication, and alcohol wiping. These methods are not very effective in removing live and dead microbes from spacecraft piece parts of slightly complicated geometry, such as tubing and loosely fitted nuts and bolts. Contamination control practices are traditionally focused on cleaning and monitoring of particulate and oily residual. Vapor degreaser and outgassing bakeout have not been proven to be effective in removing some less volatile, hydrophilic biomolecules of significant relevance to life detection. A precision cleaning technology was developed using supercritical CO2 (SCC). SCC is used as both solvent and carrier for removing organic and particulate contaminants. Supercritical fluid, like SCC, is characterized by physical and thermal properties that are between those of the pure liquid and gas phases. The fluid density is a function of the temperature and pressure. Its solvating power can be adjusted by changing the pressure or temperature, or adding a secondary solvent such as alcohol or water. Unlike a regular organic solvent, SCC has higher diffusivities, lower viscosity, and lower surface tension. It readily penetrates porous and fibrous solids and can reach hard-to-reach surfaces of the parts with complex geometry. Importantly, the CO2 solvent does not leave any residue. The results using this new cleaning device demonstrated that both supercritical CO2 with 5% water as a co-solvent can achieve cleanliness levels of 0.01 mg/cm2 or less for contaminants of a wide range of hydrophobicities. Experiments under the same conditions using compressed Martian air mix, which consists of 95% CO2, produced similar cleaning effectiveness on the hydrophobic compounds. The main components of the SCC cleaning system are a high-pressure cleaning vessel, a boil-off vessel located downstream from the cleaning vessel, a syringe-type high-pressure pump, a heat exchanger, and a back pressure regulator (BPR). After soaking the parts to be cleaned in the clean vessel for a period, the CO2 with contaminants is flushed out of the cleaning vessel using fresh CO2 in a first-in-first-out (FIFO) method. The contaminants are either precipitating out in the boil-off container or being trapped in a filter subsystem. The parts to be cleaned are secured in a basket inside and can be rotated up to 1,400 rpm by a magnetic drive. The fluid flows within the vessel generate tangential forces on the parts surfaces, enhancing the cleaning effectiveness and shortening the soaking time. During the FIFO flushing, the pump subsystem pushes fresh CO2 into the cleaning vessel at a constant flow rate between 0.01 and 200 mL/min, while the BPR regulates the pressure in the cleaning vessel to within 0.1 bar by controlling the needle position in an outlet valve. The fresh CO2 gas flows through the heat exchanger at a given temperature before entering the cleaning vessel. A platinum resistance thermometer (PRT) reads the cleaning vessel interior temperature that can be controlled to within 0.1 K. As a result, cleaning vessel temperature remains constant during the FIFO flushing. There is no change in solvent power during FIFO flushing since both temperature and pressure inside the cleaning vessel remain unchanged, thus minimizing contaminants left behind. During decompression, both temperature and pressure are strictly controlled to prevent bubbles from generating in the cleaning vessel that could stir up the contaminants that sank to the bottom by gravity.

Microgravity

NASA Image and Video Library

1995-10-20

Onboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-73) Payload Commander Kathryn Thornton works with the Drop Physics Module (DPM) in the United States Microgravity Laboratory 2 (USML-2) Spacelab Science Module cleaning the experiment chamber of the DPM.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Saccoglossus kowalewskyi (Agassiz)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carey, D. A.; Farrington, J. W.

1989-08-01

Hydrocarbon extracts were analyzed from Saccoglossus kowalewskyi, a deposit-feeding enteropneust worm, and from surface sediments from Cape Cod, MA. Worms were held in experimental aquaria in sieved sediments and flowing seawater for four months and then fed sediments mixed with creosote, lampblack or clean sediment for two weeks as analogues of sediments containing degraded oil and pyrogenic compounds. Worms from all treatments contained polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in amounts and composition that indicate that the worms were contaminated with weathered No. 2 fuel oil before our experimental treatment and that the contamination persisted for four months in clean conditions. The contamination was not detected in the clean sediments used in the experiment. The worms accumulated steroid transformation products in greater abundance than the odd chain n-alkanes that dominated the sediment extractions. This may indicate selective assimilation of algal detritus and microbial products over salt marsh detritus. Worms, actively feeding during the experiment, contained 1-3 × 10 -6 g g -1 dry weight of unknown brominated compounds which were not detected in the sediments. These compounds are similar to bromopyrroles found elsewhere in enteropneusts, polychaetes and bacteria and may cause substantial interference in analyses for some industrial pollutants.

A Novel General Chemistry Laboratory: Creation of Biomimetic Superhydrophobic Surfaces through Replica Molding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Verbanic, Samuel; Brady, Owen; Sanda, Ahmed; Gustafson, Carolina; Donhauser, Zachary J.

2014-01-01

Biomimetic replicas of superhydrophobic lotus and taro leaf surfaces can be made using polydimethylsiloxane. These replicas faithfully reproduce the microstructures of the leaves' surface and can be analyzed using contact angle goniometry, self-cleaning experiments, and optical microscopy. These simple and adaptable experiments were used to…

Clean Air Now: Political Issues. Comparing Political Experiences, Experimental Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillespie, Judith A.; Lazarus, Stuart

The fourth unit to the second-semester "Comparing Political Experiences" course focuses on a specific, controversial, political issue. Using a documentary approach, this unit analyzes the concept of political change by examining the changes in Riverside, California, as that community confronts the issue of smog. The unit is divided into…

Liquid-Liquid Extraction of Insecticides from Juice: An Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radford, Samantha A.; Hunter, Ronald E., Jr.; Barr, Dana Boyd; Ryan, P. Barry

2013-01-01

A laboratory experiment was developed to target analytical chemistry students and to teach them about insecticides in food, sample extraction, and cleanup. Micro concentrations (sub-microgram/mL levels) of 12 insecticides spiked into apple juice samples are extracted using liquid-liquid extraction and cleaned up using either a primary-secondary…

LANL OPERATING EXPERIENCE WITH THE WAND AND HERCULES PROTOTYPE SYSTEMS

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

K. M. GRUETZMACHER; C. L. FOXX; S. C. MYERS

2000-09-01

The Waste Assay for Nonradioactive Disposal (WAND) and the High Efficiency Radiation Counters for Ultimate Low Emission Sensitivity (HERCULES) prototype systems have been operating at Los Alamos National Laboratory's (LANL's) Solid Waste Operation's (SWO'S) non-destructive assay (NDA) building since 1997 and 1998, respectively. These systems are the cornerstone of the verification program for low-density Green is Clean (GIC) waste at the Laboratory. GIC waste includes all non-regulated waste generated in radiological controlled areas (RCAS) that has been actively segregated as clean (i.e., nonradioactive) through the use of waste generator acceptable knowledge (AK). The use of this methodology alters LANL's pastmore » practice of disposing of all room trash generated in nuclear facilities in radioactive waste landfills. Waste that is verified clean can be disposed of at the Los Alamos County Landfill. It is estimated that 50-90% of the low-density room trash from radioactive material handling areas at Los Alamos might be free of contamination. This approach avoids the high cost of disposal of clean waste at a radioactive waste landfill. It also reduces consumption of precious space in the radioactive waste landfill where disposal of this waste provides no benefit to the public or the environment. Preserving low level waste (LLW) disposal capacity for truly radioactive waste is critical in this era when expanding existing radioactive waste landfills or permitting new ones is resisted by regulators and stakeholders. This paper describes the operating experience with the WAND and HERCULES since they began operation at SWO. Waste for verification by the WAND system has been limited so far to waste from the Plutonium Facility and the Solid Waste Operations Facility. A total of461 ft3 (13.1 m3) of low-density shredded waste and paper have been verified clean by the WAND system. The HERCULES system has been used to verify waste from four Laboratory facilities. These are the Solid Waste Operations Facility, the TA-48 Chemistry Facility, the Shops Facility, and the Environmental Facility. A total of 3150 ft3 (89.3 m3) of low-density waste has been verified clean by the HERCULES system.« less

Hybrid Taxis Give Fuel Economy a Lift, Clean Cities, Fleet Experiences, April 2009 (Fact Sheet)

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

Not Available

2009-04-01

Clean Cities helped Boston, San Antonio, and Cambridge create hybrid taxi programs. The hybrid taxis are able to achieve about twice the gas mileage of a conventional taxi while helping cut gasoline use and fuel costs. Tax credits and other incentives are helping both company owners and drivers make the switch to hybrids. Program leaders have learned some important lessons other cities can benefit from including learning a city's taxi structure, relaying benefits to drivers, and understanding the needs of owners.

On the neutralization in low energy ion scattering spectroscopy (leiss): He + ions on clean and oxygen covered Ni(001) surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preuss, E.

1981-10-01

A formula for the He + ion survival probability against neutralization is presented, which was derived from the fit of the azimuthal angular dependence of the Ni peak heights on clean and O covered Ni(001) surfaces observed in LEISS experiments and computer simulations. The formula contains a collision- and two Auger-type neutralization terms for the ion trajectories prolonged by multiple collisions above the "neutralization surface plane", which was assumed to be corrugated and shaped like muffin-tins.

Atomic hydrogen cleaning of EUV multilayer optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, Samuel, Jr.; Steinhaus, Charles A.; Clift, W. Miles; Klebanoff, Leonard E.; Bajt, Sasa

2003-06-01

Recent studies have been conducted to investigate the use of atomic hydrogen as an in-situ contamination removal method for EUV optics. In these experiments, a commercial source was used to produce atomic hydrogen by thermal dissociation of molecular hydrogen using a hot filament. Samples for these experiments consisted of silicon wafers coated with sputtered carbon, Mo/Si optics with EUV-induced carbon, and bare Si-capped and Ru-B4C-capped Mo/Si optics. Samples were exposed to an atomic hydrogen source at a distance of 200 - 500 mm downstream and angles between 0-90° with respect to the source. Carbon removal rates and optic oxidation rates were measured using Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiling. In addition, at-wavelength peak reflectance (13.4 nm) was measured using the EUV reflectometer at the Advanced Light Source. Data from these experiments show carbon removal rates up to 20 Ê/hr for sputtered carbon and 40 Ê/hr for EUV deposited carbon at a distance of 200 mm downstream. The cleaning rate was also observed to be a strong function of distance and angular position. Experiments have also shown that the carbon etch rate can be increased by a factor of 4 by channeling atomic hydrogen through quartz tubes in order to direct the atomic hydrogen to the optic surface. Atomic hydrogen exposures of bare optic samples show a small risk in reflectivity degradation after extended periods. Extended exposures (up to 20 hours) of bare Si-capped Mo/Si optics show a 1.2% loss (absolute) in reflectivity while the Ru-B4C-capped Mo/Si optics show a loss on the order of 0.5%. In order to investigate the source of this reflectivity degradation, optic samples were exposed to atomic deuterium and analyzed using low energy ion scattering direct recoil spectroscopy to determine any reactions of the hydrogen with the multilayer stack. Overall, the results show that the risk of over-etching with atomic hydrogen is much less than previous studies using RF discharge cleaning while providing cleaning rates suitable for EUV lithography operations.

Atomic hydrogen cleaning of EUV multilayer optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, Samuel, Jr.; Steinhaus, Charles A.; Clift, W. Miles; Klebanoff, Leonard E.; Bajt, Sasa

2003-06-01

Recent studies have been conducted to investigate the use of atomic hydrogen as an in-situ contamination removal method for EUV optics. In these experiments, a commercial source was used to produce atomic hydrogen by thermal dissociation of molecular hydrogen using a hot filament. Samples for these experiments consisted of silicon wafers coated with sputtered carbon, Mo/Si optics with EUV-induced carbon, and bare Si-capped and Ru-B4C-capped Mo/Si optics. Samples were exposed to an atomic hydrogen source at a distance of 200 - 500 mm downstream and angles between 0-90° with respect to the source. Carbon removal rates and optic oxidation rates were measured using Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiling. In addition, at-wavelength peak reflectance (13.4 nm) was measured using the EUV reflectometer at the Advanced Light Source. Data from these experiments show carbon removal rates up to 20 Å/hr for sputtered carbon and 40 Å/hr for EUV deposited carbon at a distance of 200 mm downstream. The cleaning rate was also observed to be a strong function of distance and angular position. Experiments have also shown that the carbon etch rate can be increased by a factor of 4 by channeling atomic hydrogen through quartz tubes in order to direct the atomic hydrogen to the optic surface. Atomic hydrogen exposures of bare optic samples show a small risk in reflectivity degradation after extended periods. Extended exposures (up to 20 hours) of bare Si-capped Mo/Si optics show a 1.2% loss (absolute) in reflectivity while the Ru-B4C-capped Mo/Si optics show a loss on the order of 0.5%. In order to investigate the source of this reflectivity degradation, optic samples were exposed to atomic deuterium and analyzed using low energy ion scattering direct recoil spectroscopy to determine any reactions of the hydrogen with the multilayer stack. Overall, the results show that the risk of over-etching with atomic hydrogen is much less than previous studies using RF discharge cleaning while providing cleaning rates suitable for EUV lithography operations.

Reducing detrimental electrostatic effects in Casimir-force measurements and Casimir-force-based microdevices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jun; Klimchitskaya, G. L.; Mostepanenko, V. M.; Mohideen, U.

2018-03-01

It is well known that residual electrostatic forces create significant difficulties in precise measurements of the Casimir force and the wide use of Casimir-operated microdevices. We experimentally demonstrate that, with the help of Ar-ion cleaning of the surfaces, it is possible to make electrostatic effects negligibly small compared to the Casimir interaction. Our experimental setup consists of a dynamic atomic force microscope supplemented with an Ar-ion gun and argon reservoir. The residual potential difference between the Au-coated surfaces of a sphere and those of a plate was measured both before and after in situ Ar-ion cleaning. It is shown that this cleaning decreases the magnitude of the residual potential by up to an order of magnitude and makes it almost independent of the separation. The gradient of the Casimir force was measured using ordinary samples subjected to Ar-ion cleaning. The obtained results are shown to be in good agreement both with previous precision measurements using specially selected samples and with theoretical predictions of the Lifshitz theory. The conclusion is made that the suggested method of in situ Ar-ion cleaning is effective in reducing the electrostatic effects and therefore is a great resource for experiments on measuring the Casimir interaction and for Casimir-operated microdevices.

Distribution Route Planning of Clean Coal Based on Nearest Insertion Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yunrui

2018-01-01

Clean coal technology has made some achievements for several ten years, but the research in its distribution field is very small, the distribution efficiency would directly affect the comprehensive development of clean coal technology, it is the key to improve the efficiency of distribution by planning distribution route rationally. The object of this paper was a clean coal distribution system which be built in a county. Through the surveying of the customer demand and distribution route, distribution vehicle in previous years, it was found that the vehicle deployment was only distributed by experiences, and the number of vehicles which used each day changed, this resulted a waste of transport process and an increase in energy consumption. Thus, the mathematical model was established here in order to aim at shortest path as objective function, and the distribution route was re-planned by using nearest-insertion method which been improved. The results showed that the transportation distance saved 37 km and the number of vehicles used had also been decreased from the past average of 5 to fixed 4 every day, as well the real loading of vehicles increased by 16.25% while the current distribution volume staying same. It realized the efficient distribution of clean coal, achieved the purpose of saving energy and reducing consumption.

Gold cleaning methods for preparation of cell culture surfaces for self-assembled monolayers of zwitterionic oligopeptides.

PubMed

Enomoto, Junko; Kageyama, Tatsuto; Myasnikova, Dina; Onishi, Kisaki; Kobayashi, Yuka; Taruno, Yoko; Kanai, Takahiro; Fukuda, Junji

2018-05-01

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have been used to elucidate interactions between cells and material surface chemistry. Gold surfaces modified with oligopeptide SAMs exhibit several unique characteristics, such as cell-repulsive surfaces, micropatterns of cell adhesion and non-adhesion regions for control over cell microenvironments, and dynamic release of cells upon external stimuli under culture conditions. However, basic procedures for the preparation of oligopeptide SAMs, including appropriate cleaning methods of the gold surface before modification, have not been fully established. Because gold surfaces are readily contaminated with organic compounds in the air, cleaning methods may be critical for SAM formation. In this study, we examined the effects of four gold cleaning methods: dilute aqua regia, an ozone water, atmospheric plasma, and UV irradiation. Among the methods, UV irradiation most significantly improved the formation of oligopeptide SAMs in terms of repulsion of cells on the surfaces. We fabricated an apparatus with a UV light source, a rotation table, and HEPA filter, to treat a number of gold substrates simultaneously. Furthermore, UV-cleaned gold substrates were capable of detaching cell sheets without serious cell injury. This may potentially provide a stable and robust approach to oligopeptide SAM-based experiments for biomedical studies. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental and body contamination from cleaning vomitus in a health care setting: A simulation study.

PubMed

Phan, Linh; Su, Yu-Min; Weber, Rachel; Fritzen-Pedicini, Charissa; Edomwande, Osayuwamen; Jones, Rachael M

2018-04-01

Environmental service workers may be exposed to pathogens during the cleaning of pathogen-containing bodily fluids. Participants with experience cleaning hospital environments were asked to clean simulated, fluorescein-containing vomitus using normal practices in a simulated patient room. Fluorescein was visualized in the environment and on participants under black lights. Fluorescein was quantitatively measured on the floor, in the air, and on gloves and shoe covers. In all 21 trials involving 7 participants, fluorescein was found on the floor after cleaning and on participants' gloves. Lower levels of floor contamination were associated with the use of towels to remove bulk fluid (ρ = -0.56, P = .01). Glove contamination was not associated with the number or frequency of contacts with environmental surfaces, suggesting contamination occurs with specific events, such as picking up contaminated towels. Fluorescein contamination on shoe covers was measured in 19 trials. Fluorescein was not observed on participants' facial personal protective equipment, if worn, or faces. Contamination on other body parts, primarily the legs, was observed in 8 trials. Fluorescein was infrequently quantified in the air. Using towels to remove bulk fluid prior to mopping is part of the recommended cleaning protocol and should be used to minimize residual contamination. Contamination on shoes and the floor may serve as reservoirs for pathogens. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Laser cleaning treatment of burnt paintings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antonopoulou-Athera, N.; Chatzitheodoridis, E.; Doulgerides, M.; Evangelatos, Ch.; Serafetinides, A. A.; Terlixi, A.

2015-01-01

Three samples taken from two paintings partly burned by fire are investigated for cleaning with lasers. The paintings belong to the collection of the National Gallery of Athens and were made by the great Greek artist Konstantinos Parthenis. To remove the damaged surface and achieve an acceptable restoration result, the optimum combination of fluence and wavelength are sought. Seven different wavelengths with a set of fluences where used, i.e., the five harmonics of a Nd:YAG laser (1064, 532, 355, 266, and 213 nm), a TEA 10.6 μm CO2 and a free running laser Er:YAG 2.94 μm. Characterization was performed prior and after the cleaning process by optical and electron microscopy and analysis (SEM/BSE EDS), as well as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The results of this work indicate that the wavelength in the visible spectrum (532 nm) with fluences between 0.1-0.4J/cm2 show the optimum cleaning. The optical microscopy observation shows that with these laser parameters the burnt layer was preferentially removed, exposing the original colors that Parthenis had used in these paintings. Electron microscopy imaging and chemical analysis revealed that the original texture and materials of these samples are preserved after irradiation. Since the damage varies along the surface of the painting, more experiments should be performed in order to find and optimize the full cleaning and characterization process for the homogeneous cleaning of the whole surface of the painting.

Preparation of Mica and Silicon Substrates for DNA Origami Analysis and Experimentation

PubMed Central

Pillers, Michelle A.; Shute, Rebecca; Farchone, Adam; Linder, Keenan P.; Doerfler, Rose; Gavin, Corey; Goss, Valerie; Lieberman, Marya

2015-01-01

The designed nature and controlled, one-pot synthesis of DNA origami provides exciting opportunities in many fields, particularly nanoelectronics. Many of these applications require interaction with and adhesion of DNA nanostructures to a substrate. Due to its atomically flat and easily cleaned nature, mica has been the substrate of choice for DNA origami experiments. However, the practical applications of mica are relatively limited compared to those of semiconductor substrates. For this reason, a straightforward, stable, and repeatable process for DNA origami adhesion on derivatized silicon oxide is presented here. To promote the adhesion of DNA nanostructures to silicon oxide surface, a self-assembled monolayer of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) is deposited from an aqueous solution that is compatible with many photoresists. The substrate must be cleaned of all organic and metal contaminants using Radio Corporation of America (RCA) cleaning processes and the native oxide layer must be etched to ensure a flat, functionalizable surface. Cleanrooms are equipped with facilities for silicon cleaning, however many components of DNA origami buffers and solutions are often not allowed in them due to contamination concerns. This manuscript describes the set-up and protocol for in-lab, small-scale silicon cleaning for researchers who do not have access to a cleanroom or would like to incorporate processes that could cause contamination of a cleanroom CMOS clean bench. Additionally, variables for regulating coverage are discussed and how to recognize and avoid common sample preparation problems is described. PMID:26274888

Quantitative assessment of the efficacy of spiral-wound membrane cleaning procedures to remove biofilms.

PubMed

Hijnen, W A M; Castillo, C; Brouwer-Hanzens, A H; Harmsen, D J H; Cornelissen, E R; van der Kooij, D

2012-12-01

Cleaning of high pressure RO/NF membranes is an important operational tool to control biofouling. Quantitative information on the efficacy of cleaning agents and protocols to remove biomass is scarce. Therefore, a laboratory cleaning test to assess the efficiency of cleaning procedures to remove attached biomass was developed. The major components of the test are (i) production of uniform biofilm samples, (ii) the quantification of the biomass concentrations with robust parameters and (iii) a simple test procedure with optimal exposure of the biofilm samples to the chemicals. The results showed that PVC-P is a suitable substratum for the production of uniform biofilm samples. ATP and carbohydrates (CH) as major components of the biofilm matrix for nucleotides (living bacterial cells) and extracellular polymeric substances EPS, respectively, were selected as robust biomass parameters. The removal of ATP and CH with the NaOH/Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) mixture, selected as a standard treatment at pH 12.0, was reproducible. The resistance of the EPS matrix against chemical cleaning was demonstrated by a low CH removal (32.8 ± 6.0%) compared to the ATP removal (70.5 ± 15.1%). The inverse relationship of biomass removal with the CH to ATP ratio (μg/ng) of the biofilms demonstrated the influence of the biomass characteristics on cleaning. None of the 27 chemicals tested (analytical-grade and commercial brands) in single step or in double-step treatments were significantly more effective than NaOH/SDS. Oxidizing agents NaOCl and H(2)O(2), the latter in combination with SDS, both tested as common agents in biofilm control, showed a significantly higher efficiency (70%) to remove biofilms. In the test, simultaneously, the efficiency of agents to remove precipitated minerals such as Fe can be assessed. Validation tests with Cleaning in Place (CIP) in 8 and 2.5-inch RO membrane pilot plant experiments showed similar ranking of the cleaning efficiency of cleaning protocols as determined in the laboratory tests. Further studies with the laboratory test are required to study the effect of cleaning conditions such as duration, temperature, shear forces as well as chemical conditions (concentrations, alternative agents or mixtures and sequence of application) on the efficiency to remove attached biomass. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Livestock-associated meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among human MRSA isolates, European Union/European Economic Area countries, 2013

PubMed Central

Kinross, Pete; Petersen, Andreas; Skov, Robert; Van Hauwermeiren, Evelyn; Pantosti, Annalisa; Laurent, Frédéric; Voss, Andreas; Kluytmans, Jan; Struelens, Marc J; Heuer, Ole; Monnet, Dominique L

2017-01-01

Currently, surveillance of livestock-associated meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) in humans in Europe is not systematic but mainly event-based. In September 2014, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) initiated a questionnaire to collect data on the number of LA-MRSA from human samples (one isolate per patient) from national/regional reference laboratories in European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries in 2013. Identification of LA-MRSA as clonal complex (CC) 398 by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was preferred, although surrogate methods such as spa-typing were also accepted. The questionnaire was returned by 28 laboratories in 27 EU/EEA countries. Overall, LA-MRSA represented 3.9% of 13,756 typed MRSA human isolates, but it represented ≥ 10% in five countries (Belgium, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia). Seven of the reference laboratories did not type MRSA isolates in 2013. To monitor the dispersion of LA-MRSA and facilitate targeted control measures, we advocate periodic systematic surveys or integrated multi-sectorial surveillance. PMID:29113628

Livestock-associated meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among human MRSA isolates, European Union/European Economic Area countries, 2013.

PubMed

Kinross, Pete; Petersen, Andreas; Skov, Robert; Van Hauwermeiren, Evelyn; Pantosti, Annalisa; Laurent, Frédéric; Voss, Andreas; Kluytmans, Jan; Struelens, Marc J; Heuer, Ole; Monnet, Dominique L

2017-11-01

Currently, surveillance of livestock-associated meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) in humans in Europe is not systematic but mainly event-based. In September 2014, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) initiated a questionnaire to collect data on the number of LA-MRSA from human samples (one isolate per patient) from national/regional reference laboratories in European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries in 2013. Identification of LA-MRSA as clonal complex (CC) 398 by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was preferred, although surrogate methods such as spa -typing were also accepted. The questionnaire was returned by 28 laboratories in 27 EU/EEA countries. Overall, LA-MRSA represented 3.9% of 13,756 typed MRSA human isolates, but it represented ≥ 10% in five countries (Belgium, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia). Seven of the reference laboratories did not type MRSA isolates in 2013. To monitor the dispersion of LA-MRSA and facilitate targeted control measures, we advocate periodic systematic surveys or integrated multi-sectorial surveillance.

Detection of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods sampled from a catering service in Apulia, Italy.

PubMed

Caggiano, Giuseppina; De Giglio, Osvalda; Lovero, Grazia; Rutigliano, Serafina; Diella, Giusy; Balbino, Stella; Napoli, Christian; Montagna, Maria Teresa

2015-01-01

Listeria monocytogenes is currently considered a relevant emerging food-borne pathogen. In particular, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) illustrates its widespread presence in different foods. In the present article, L. monocytogenes prevalence was estimated in cooked ready-to-eat foods sampled from a catering service in a Apulia city, southern Italy. The study was carried out from January to June 2014 in according to Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004, and ISO 11290-1:1996/Amd.1:2004 methods. Listeria spp. was isolated in 8.3% of the samples: L. monocytogenes was identified with the highest prevalence in potato gateau (66.6%), followed by rice dishes (11.1%), Listeria innocua was isolated from potato purea (11.1%) and cooked vegetables (11.1%). These preliminary results confirm the diffusion of the microorganism in ready-to-eat products; therefore, strategies aimed at protecting the consumers should be adopted. First of all, correct hygiene procedures should be followed and then microbiological tests should be implemented in order to early detect Listeria spp. (not only LM) contamination in cooked foods.

Measles elimination – review of event notifications sent to National IHR Focal Point between 2010 and 2016

PubMed

Izdebski, Radosław; Henszel, Łukasz; Janiec, Janusz; Radziszewski, Franciszek

The Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) in accordance with International Health Regulations (2005) were obliged to appoint National IHR Focal Points (N IHR FP), of which tasks include obtaining information concerning public health emergencies of international concern which occurred abroad or within the country. The aim of this work is the review of WHO, ECDC, National IHR Focal Points from the WHO Member States and The State Sanitary Inspection notifications related to measles received by National IHR Focal Point in Poland in the period from 2010 to 2016. During this period N IHR FP was informed about 79 events related to measles. These events include: 36 related to the outbreaks in different countries, 27 concerning individual cases, 14 related to the exposure in contact with a measles case during air travel and two concerning the implementation of the MMR vaccination programs. Despite the progress in implementing the measures included in the elimination of measles programs in Europe, there was a significant increase in the number of measles cases and outbreaks particularly in years 2010-2011.

Effects of Urechis unicinctus juveniles on chemical characteristics of organically contaminated coastal sediment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Kyoung Ho; Zhang, Zhifeng; Kim, Jae Min; Seon, Seung Chun; Shao, Mingyu

2010-03-01

Biological activities of marine benthos such as burrowing and feeding may change sediment characteristics. We conducted three experiments to examine the potential of using juveniles of a spoon worm Urechis unicinctus to improve the quality of organically contaminated coastal sediment. Sediment samples were collected from a site that was heavily contaminated with organic matter (Seonso) and two sites that were clean (Myo-do, Dolsan-do). Urechis juveniles, obtained by artificial fertilization and cultured in the laboratory, were introduced to the sediment (weight 3 kg, depth 10 cm) at a density of 500 individuals per aquarium (length 50 cm, width 35 cm, height 30 cm) (Experiment 1), or at densities ranging from 100 to 900 individuals per beaker (Experiment 2). To examine how sediment contamination can be modified by the effects of Urechis, 500 individuals (per aquarium) were exposed to the Seonso contaminated sediment that had been mixed with 0-100% clean sand (Experiment 3). Each experiment lasted two months and sediment samples were collected every 15 d to determine the several indexes of sediment quality, which included acid volatile sulfide (AVS), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total ignition loss (TIL). In Experiment 1, the existence of Urechis did not result in significant changes in quality indexes in the sediments collected from Myo-do, Dolsan-do. However, AVS, COD and TIL of the Seonso sediment all decreased significantly after co-incubation with Urechis juveniles for 30 to 45 d. Experiment 2 showed that a density of at least 300 juveniles per beaker was necessary to significantly reduce all three quality indexes, and the magnitude of reduction was positively correlated with juvenile density. Experiment 3 revealed that Urechis juveniles were effective in reducing the AVS, COD and TIL of the Seonso sediment that had been mixed with 60%, 80%, and 80% of clean sand, respectively. The results of the present study therefore indicated that juveniles of this spoon worm have the potential to be used to improve the quality of organically contaminated sediment in coastal waters.

Eww she sneezed! Contamination context affects children's food preferences and consumption.

PubMed

DeJesus, Jasmine M; Shutts, Kristin; Kinzler, Katherine D

2015-04-01

Does contextual information about disgust influence children's food consumption and subjective experience of taste? Three- to eight-year-old children (N = 60) were presented with two identical foods, yet children were led to believe that one food had been contaminated by sneezing and licking, while the other was clean. When given the opportunity to eat the foods, 5- to 8-year-old children consumed more clean food and rated the clean food's taste more positively; younger children did not distinguish between the foods. The relation between contamination and subjective taste held even among children who ate both foods and had direct evidence that they were identical. These data indicate that children's consumption behavior and food preferences are influenced by information external to foods themselves. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Substantiation of basic scheme of grain cleaning machine for preparation of agricultural crops seeds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giyevskiy, A. M.; Orobinsky, V. I.; Tarasenko, A. P.; Chernyshov, A. V.; Kurilov, D. O.

2018-03-01

The article presents data on the feasibility of the concept of a high-efficiency seed cleaner with the consistent use of the air flow in aspiration and the multi-tier placement of the sorting grids in grating mills. As a result of modeling, the directions for further improvement of air-screen seed cleaning machines have been identified: an increase in the proportion of sorting grids in the mills up to 70 ... 80% and an increase in the speed of the air flow in the channel of the pre-filter cleaning up to 8.0 m / s. Experiments have established the competence of using mathematical modeling of airflow in the pneumatic system with the use of a finite-volume method for solving hydrodynamic equations for substantiating the basic parameters of the pneumatic system.

/ital In/ /ital situ/ dc oxygen-discharge cleaning system for optical elements

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

Koide, T.; Shidara, T.; Tanaka, K.

1989-07-01

/ital In/ /ital situ/ dc oxygen-discharge cleaning arrangements have been developed at the Photon Factory for the removal of carbon contamination from optical surfaces. A high cleaning rate could be achieved by producing an oxygen plasma close to the optical elements with special care taken to avoid any harmful effects from the discharge; contaminant carbon was completely removed within a few hours, at most. This short exposure time and the use of dry oxygen gas resulted in a restoration of the original ultrahigh vacuum without a bakeout. Results with a Seya-Namioka beamline for gas-phase experiments showed a flux enhancement amountingmore » to a factor of 50, and results with a grasshopper beamline showed a nearly complete recovery of the light intensity, even at the carbon /ital K/ edge.« less

On the technological development of cotton primary processing, using a new drying-purifying unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agzamov, M. M.; Yunusov, S. Z.; Gafurov, J. K.

2017-10-01

The article reflects feasibility study of conducting research on technological development of cotton primary processing with the modified parameters of drying and cleaning process for small litter. As a result of theoretical and experimental research, drying and purifying unit is designed, in which in the existing processes a heat source, exhaust fans, a dryer drum, a peg-drum cleaner of cotton and the vehicle transmitting raw cotton from the dryer to the purifier will be excluded. The experience has shown that when a drying-purifying unit is installed (with eight wheels) purifying effect on the small litter of 34%, ie cleaning effect is higher than of that currently in operation 1XK drum cleaner. According to the research patent of RU UZ FAP 00674 “Apparatus for drying and cleaning fibrous material” is received.

MiniCLEAN-360: A liquid argon/neon dark matter detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rielage, Keith; DEAP/CLEAN Collaboration

2008-11-01

MiniCLEAN-360 utilizes 360 kg of liquid argon to detect the nuclear recoil from WIMP dark matter with a projected cross-section sensitivity of 10-45 cm2. To reach this planned sensitivity, a unique modular design is being developed with a spherical geometry to maximize light collection using PMTs. Pulse shape discrimination techniques separate nuclear recoil signal from the electron recoil backgrounds resulting from the beta decay of 39Ar and Compton scattering of gamma rays. The design allows for the replacement of the target material with liquid neon to examine any signal and backgrounds with a different sensitivity. It also provides research and development for a larger scale low energy solar neutrino experiment using neon (CLEAN: Cryogenic Low Energy Astrophysics with Noble gases) that plans to measure the pp-solar neutrino flux to 1%. Particular attention is being paid to mitigating the background from contamination of surfaces by radon daughters during assembly. The engineering design, radon mitigation plan, and various testing setups are presented. MiniCLEAN-360 anticipates the start of data collection in mid-2009 at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

Kinematic and kinetic improvements associated with action observation facilitated learning of the power clean in Australian footballers.

PubMed

Sakadjian, Alex; Panchuk, Derek; Pearce, Alan J

2014-06-01

This study investigated the effectiveness of action observation (AO) on facilitating learning of the power clean technique (kinematics) compared with traditional strength coaching methods and whether improvements in performance (kinetics) were associated with an improvement in lifting technique. Fifteen subjects (age, 20.9 ± 2.3 years) with no experience in performing the power clean exercise attended 12 training and testing sessions over a 4-week period. Subjects were assigned to 2 matched groups, based on preintervention power clean performance and performed 3 sets of 5 repetitions of the power clean exercise at each training session. Subjects in the traditional coaching group (TC; n = 7) received the standard coaching feedback (verbal cues and physical practice), whereas subjects in the AO group (n = 8) received similar verbal coaching cues and physical practice but also observed a video of a skilled model before performing each set. Kinematic data were collected from video recordings of subjects who were fitted with joint center markings during testing, whereas kinetic data were collected from a weightlifting analyzer attached to the barbell. Subjects were tested before intervention, at the end of weeks 2 and 3, and at after intervention at the end of week 4. Faster improvements (3%) were observed in power clean technique with AO-facilitated learning in the first week and performance improvements (mean peak power of the subject's 15 repetitions) over time were significant (p < 0.001). In addition, performance improvement was significantly associated (R = 0.215) with technique improvements. In conclusion, AO combined with verbal coaching and physical practice of the power clean exercise resulted in significantly faster technique improvements and improvement in performance compared with traditional coaching methods.

Effective EUVL mask cleaning technology solutions for mask manufacturing and in-fab mask maintenance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dietze, Uwe; Dress, Peter; Waehler, Tobias; Singh, Sherjang; Jonckheere, Rik; Baudemprez, Bart

2011-03-01

Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL) is considered the leading lithography technology choice for semiconductor devices at 16nm HP node and beyond. However, before EUV Lithography can enter into High Volume Manufacturing (HVM) of advanced semiconductor devices, the ability to guarantee mask integrity at point-of-exposure must be established. Highly efficient, damage free mask cleaning plays a critical role during the mask manufacturing cycle and throughout the life of the mask, where the absence of a pellicle to protect the EUV mask increases the risk of contamination during storage, handling and use. In this paper, we will present effective EUVL mask cleaning technology solutions for mask manufacturing and in-fab mask maintenance, which employs an intelligent, holistic approach to maximize Mean Time Between Cleans (MBTC) and extend the useful life span of the reticle. The data presented will demonstrate the protection of the capping and absorber layers, preservation of pattern integrity as well as optical and mechanical properties to avoid unpredictable CD-linewidth and overlay shifts. Experiments were performed on EUV blanks and pattern masks using various process conditions. Conditions showing high particle removal efficiency (PRE) and minimum surface layer impact were then selected for durability studies. Surface layer impact was evaluated over multiple cleaning cycles by means of UV reflectivity metrology XPS analysis and wafer prints. Experimental results were compared to computational models. Mask life time predictions where made using the same computational models. The paper will provide a generic overview of the cleaning sequence which yielded best results, but will also provide recommendations for an efficient in-fab mask maintenance scheme, addressing handling, storage, cleaning and inspection.

Cleaning Carbon Nanotubes by Use of Mild Oxygen Plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petkov, Mihail

2006-01-01

Experiments have shown that it is feasible to use oxygen radicals (specifically, monatomic oxygen) from mild oxygen plasmas to remove organic contaminants and chemical fabrication residues from the surfaces of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and metal/CNT interfaces. A capability for such cleaning is essential to the manufacture of reproducible CNT-based electronic devices. The use of oxygen radicals to clean surfaces of other materials is fairly well established. However, previously, cleaning of CNTs and of graphite by use of oxygen plasmas had not been attempted because both of these forms of carbon were known to be vulnerable to destruction by oxygen plasmas. The key to success of the present technique is, apparently, to ensure that the plasma is mild . that is to say, that the kinetic and internal energies of the oxygen radicals in the plasma are as low as possible. The plasma oxygen-radical source used in the experiments was a commercial one marketed for use in removing hydrocarbons and other organic contaminants from vacuum systems and from electron microscopes and other objects placed inside vacuum systems. In use, the source is installed in a vacuum system and air is leaked into the system at such a rate as to maintain a background pressure of .0.56 torr (.75 Pa). In the source, oxygen from the air is decomposed into monatomic oxygen by radio-frequency excitation of a resonance of the O2 molecule (N2 is not affected). Hence, what is produced is a mild (non-energetic) oxygen plasma. The oxygen radicals are transported along with the air molecules in the flow created by the vacuum pump. In the experiments, exposure to the oxygen plasma in this system was shown to remove organic contaminants and chemical fabrication residues from several specimens. Many high-magnification scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of CNTs were taken before and after exposure to the oxygen plasma. As in the example shown in the figure, none of these images showed evidence of degradation of CNT structures.

Precision Cleaning and Verification Processes Used at Marshall Space Flight Center for Critical Hardware Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caruso, Salvadore V.; Cox, Jack A.; McGee, Kathleen A.

1999-01-01

This presentation discuss the Marshall Space Flight Center Operations and Responsibilities. These are propulsion, microgravity experiments, international space station, space transportation systems, and advance vehicle research.

Adhesion and friction of iron and gold in contact with elemental semiconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buckley, D. H.; Brainard, W. A.

1977-01-01

Adhesion and friction experiments were conducted with single crystals of iron and gold in contact with single crystals of germanium and silicon. Surfaces were examined in the sputter cleaned state and in the presence of oxygen and a lubricant. All experiments were conducted at room temperature with loads of 1 to 50 grams, and sliding friction was at a sliding velocity of 0.7 mm/min. Results indicate that the friction nature of metals in contact with semiconductors is sensitive to orientation, that strong adhesion of metals to both germanium and silicon occurs, and that friction is lower with silicon than with germanium for the same orientation. Surface effects are highly sensitive to environment. Silicon, for example, behaves in an entirely brittle manner in the clean state, but in the presence of a lubricant the surface deforms plastically.

Cleaning and Disinfection of Bacillus cereus Biofilm.

PubMed

Deal, Amanda; Klein, Dan; Lopolito, Paul; Schwarz, John Spencer

2016-01-01

Methodology has been evolving for the testing of disinfectants against bacterial single-species biofilms, as the difficulty of biofilm remediation continues to gain much-needed attention. Bacterial single-species biofilm contamination presents a real risk to good manufacturing practice-regulated industries. However, mixed-species biofilms and biofilms containing bacterial spores remain an even greater challenge for cleaning and disinfection. Among spore-forming microorganisms frequently encountered in pharmaceutical manufacturing areas, the spores of Bacillus cereus are often determined to be the hardest to disinfect and eradicate. One of the reasons for the low degree of susceptibility to disinfection is the ability of these spores to be encapsulated within an exopolysachharide biofilm matrix. In this series of experiments, we evaluated the disinfectant susceptibility of B. cereus biofilms relative to disassociated B. cereus spores and biofilm from a non-spore-forming species. Further, we assessed the impact that pre-cleaning has on increasing that susceptibility. Methodology has been evolving for the testing of disinfectants against bacterial single-species biofilms, as the difficulty of biofilm remediation continues to gain much-needed attention. Bacterial single-species biofilm contamination presents a real risk to good manufacturing practice-regulated industries. However, mixed-species biofilms and biofilms containing bacterial spores remain an even greater challenge for cleaning and disinfection. Among spore-forming microorganisms frequently encountered in pharmaceutical manufacturing areas, the spores of Bacillus cereus are often determined to be the hardest to disinfect and eradicate. One of the reasons for the low degree of susceptibility to disinfection is the ability of these spores to be encapsulated within an exopolysachharide biofilm matrix. In this series of experiments, we evaluated the disinfectant susceptibility of B. cereus biofilms relative to disassociated B. cereus spores and biofilm from a non-spore-forming species. Further, we assessed the impact that pre-cleaning has on increasing that susceptibility. © PDA, Inc. 2016.

Experience with wear-resistant materials at the Homer City Coal Cleaning Plant

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

Williams, W.R.

1984-10-01

The Homer City preparation plant is a multi-stream, dual-circuit facility with a capacity of 1200 ton/hour raw feed. It serves 3 units of a neighbouring power station. Experience with a number of wear and corrosion resistant materials is described. It is emphasised that the successes and failures reported may be site-specific.

Environmental Learning Experiences for Grades Five and Six.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willoughby-Eastlake School District, Willoughby, OH.

The third of this series of three volumes on interdisciplinary environmental learning experiences for elementary students is aimed at grades 5 and 6 and deals with the comunity environment of the student. Titles of the eight units included in this volume are: Probleem Solving; How to Plan a Clean-up Campaign in the Local Community; Scars upon the…

Food Pyramids, Keeping Clean and Sex Talks: Pre-Service Teachers' Experiences and Perceptions of School Health Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinkinson, M.; Hughes, D.

2008-01-01

This paper reports findings from the first stage of an anticipated four-stage research project investigating the effectiveness of teacher education in health education. Prior to receiving any teacher education in health education, pre-service teachers (student teachers) were surveyed for their experiences of secondary school health education, and…

Zinc Biosorption by Seaweed Illustrated by the Zincon Colorimetric Method and the Langmuir Isotherm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Areco, Maria Mar; dos Santos Afonso, Maria; Valdman, Erika

2007-01-01

An experiment is conducted to promote biotechnology knowledge that is an emerging technology on cleaning treatment, showing the potential of seaweed to remove heavy-metal ions from solution. The rapid and accurate determination of zinc in aqueous solution by the zincon colorimetric method gives an interesting and simple experiment for any…

Cleaning products and air fresheners: emissions and resulting concentrations of glycol ethers and terpenoids.

PubMed

Singer, B C; Destaillats, H; Hodgson, A T; Nazaroff, W W

2006-06-01

Experiments were conducted to quantify emissions and concentrations of glycol ethers and terpenoids from cleaning product and air freshener use in a 50-m3 room ventilated at approximately 0.5/h. Five cleaning products were applied full-strength (FS); three were additionally used in dilute solution. FS application of pine-oil cleaner (POC) yielded 1-h concentrations of 10-1300 microg/m3 for individual terpenoids, including alpha-terpinene (90-120), d-limonene (1000-1100), terpinolene (900-1300), and alpha-terpineol (260-700). One-hour concentrations of 2-butoxyethanol and/or d-limonene were 300-6000 microg/m3 after FS use of other products. During FS application including rinsing with sponge and wiping with towels, fractional emissions (mass volatilized/dispensed) of 2-butoxyethanol and d-limonene were 50-100% with towels retained, and approximately 25-50% when towels were removed after cleaning. Lower fractions (2-11%) resulted from dilute use. Fractional emissions of terpenes from FS use of POC were approximately 35-70% with towels retained, and 20-50% with towels removed. During floor cleaning with dilute solution of POC, 7-12% of dispensed terpenes were emitted. Terpene alcohols were emitted at lower fractions: 7-30% (FS, towels retained), 2-9% (FS, towels removed), and 2-5% (dilute). During air-freshener use, d-limonene, dihydromyrcenol, linalool, linalyl acetate, and beta-citronellol) were emitted at 35-180 mg/day over 3 days while air concentrations averaged 30-160 microg/m3. While effective cleaning can improve the healthfulness of indoor environments, this work shows that use of some consumer cleaning agents can yield high levels of volatile organic compounds, including glycol ethers--which are regulated toxic air contaminants--and terpenes that can react with ozone to form a variety of secondary pollutants including formaldehyde and ultrafine particles. Persons involved in cleaning, especially those who clean occupationally or often, might encounter excessive exposures to these pollutants owing to cleaning product emissions. Mitigation options include screening of product ingredients and increased ventilation during and after cleaning. Certain practices, such as the use of some products in dilute solution vs. full-strength and the prompt removal of cleaning supplies from occupied spaces, can reduce emissions and exposures to 2-butoxyethanol and other volatile constituents. Also, it may be prudent to limit use of products containing ozone-reactive constituents when indoor ozone concentrations are elevated either because of high ambient ozone levels or because of the indoor use of ozone-generating equipment.

Inhalation of diesel engine exhaust increases bone mineral concentrations in growing rats.

PubMed

Watanabe, N; Nakamura, T

1996-03-01

Experiments were conducted to determine whether diesel engine exhaust affects bone metabolism in growing rats. The rats were assigned to three groups: those exposed to total diesel engine exhaust with 5.63 mg/m3 particulate matter, 4.10 ppm nitrogen dioxide, 8.10 ppm nitrogen monoxide; those exposed to filtered exhaust without particulate matter; and those exposed to clean air. Dosing experiments were performed for 3 months beginning at birth (6 h/day for 5 days/week). Bone mineral content (BMC) values in lumbar vertebral bone were significantly increased in both groups exposed to diesel exhaust (P < 0.01) compared to that of rats exposed to clean air. Bone mineral density (BMD) values were also significantly increased in both exposed groups, total exhaust (P < 0.01) and filtered exhaust (P < 0.001), compared to that of rats exposed to clean air. BMD values in the mid-femur were also significantly greater in animals exposed to diesel exhaust, total exhaust (P < 0.05), and filtered exhaust (P < 0.01), compared to that of those exposed to clean air. Urinary excretion of deoxypyridinolines, a biochemical marker for bone resorption, was significantly reduced in animals exposed to total diesel exhaust and filtered exhaust (P < 0.001, P < 0.01) compared to control. There was also a significant difference between the two exposure groups of diesel exhaust (P < 0.05). Since these effects were not inhibited by filtration, the gaseous phase of the exhaust was considered more responsible than particulate matter for reducing bone resorption.

Clean Cities case study : Barwood Cab Fleet study summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-05-21

Barwood Cab Fleet Study Summary is the second in a new series called 'Alternative Fuel Information Case Studies', designed to present real-world experiences with alternative fuels to fleet managers and other industry stakeholders.

Laser Techniques in Conservation of Artworks:. Problems and Breakthroughs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salimbeni, Renzo; Siano, Salvatore

2010-04-01

After more than thirty years since the first experiment in Venice, only in the last decade laser techniques have been widely recognised as one of the most important innovation introduced in the conservation of artworks for diagnostics, restoration and monitoring aims. Especially the use of laser ablation for the delicate phase of cleaning has been debated for many years, because of the problems encountered in finding an appropriate setting of the laser parameters. Many experimentations carried out on stone, metals and pigments put in evidence unacceptable side effects such as discoloration and yellowing after the treatment, or scarce cleaning productivity in respect of other techniques. Many research projects organised at European level have contributed to find breakthroughs in laser techniques that could avoid such problems. The choices of specific laser parameters better suited for cleaning of stone, metals and pigments are described. A series of validation case studies is reported.

Clean Floquet Time Crystals: Models and Realizations in Cold Atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Biao; Wu, Ying-Hai; Liu, W. Vincent

2018-03-01

Time crystals, a phase showing spontaneous breaking of time-translation symmetry, has been an intriguing subject for systems far away from equilibrium. Recent experiments found such a phase in both the presence and the absence of localization, while in theories localization by disorder is usually assumed a priori. In this work, we point out that time crystals can generally exist in systems without disorder. A series of clean quasi-one-dimensional models under Floquet driving are proposed to demonstrate this unexpected result in principle. Robust time crystalline orders are found in the strongly interacting regime along with the emergent integrals of motion in the dynamical system, which can be characterized by level statistics and the out-of-time-ordered correlators. We propose two cold atom experimental schemes to realize the clean Floquet time crystals, one by making use of dipolar gases and another by synthetic dimensions.

Colloid and materials science for the conservation of cultural heritage: cleaning, consolidation, and deacidification.

PubMed

Baglioni, Piero; Chelazzi, David; Giorgi, Rodorico; Poggi, Giovanna

2013-04-30

Serendipity and experiment have been a frequent approach for the development of materials and methodologies used for a long time for either cleaning or consolidation of works of art. Recently, new perspectives have been opened by the application of materials science, colloid science, and interface science frameworks to conservation, generating a breakthrough in the development of innovative tools for the conservation and preservation of cultural heritage. This Article is an overview of the most recent contributions of colloid and materials science to the art conservation field, mainly focusing on the use of amphiphile-based fluids, gels, and alkaline earth metal hydroxide nanoparticles dispersions for the cleaning of pictorial surfaces, the consolidation of artistic substrates, and the deacidification of paper, canvas, and wood. Future possible directions for solving several conservation issues that still need to be faced are also highlighted.

Markets for Clean Air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellerman, A. Denny; Joskow, Paul L.; Schmalensee, Richard; Montero, Juan-Pablo; Bailey, Elizabeth M.

2000-06-01

Markets for Clean Air provides a comprehensive, in-depth description and evaluation of the first three years' experience with the U.S. Acid Rain Program. This environmental control program is the world's first large-scale use of a tradable emission permit system for achieving environmental goals. The book analyzes the behavior and performance of the market for emissions permits, called allowances in the Acid Rain Program, and quantifies emission reductions, compliance costs, and cost savings associated with the trading program. The book also includes chapters on the historical context in which this pioneering program developed and the political economy of allowance allocations.

De-Trending Techniques: Methods for Cleaning Questionable Shock Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grillo, Vincent J.

2010-01-01

Not all zero shifted acceleration data can De-trended using this technique. DC shifts, improper AC coupling, Circuit noise/EMI/EMR, Equivalent RC circuit gain response/Circuit saturation(Slew Rate Limited), fixture grounding and wiring losses can all contribute to bad shock data being recorded. Some data that is zero-shifted or exhibit large instantaneous velocity shifts is inherently bad and a retest is warranted. Clean Acceleration-Time history data can be bad upon examining the Velocity & Displacement profiles. Laser Vibrometers provide a high level of accuracy for pyrotechnic shock testing. Engineering judgment and experience will determine the validity of Shock data.

The Atacama B-mode Search: Status and Prospect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusaka, Akito

2013-04-01

The Atacama B-mode Search (ABS) experiment is a 145 GHz polarimeter designed to measure the B-mode polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at degre angular scales. In January 2012, ABS has deployed 240 polarimeters employing transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers. ABS has unique advantages for the measurement of B modes. This includes a continuously rotating half-wave plate that provides fast and clean modulation, as well as systematically clean optics that consist of a cryogenic side-fed Dragone telescope and feedhorn coupled TES polarimeters. In this talk, we will present the status and prospect of ABS.

Blades of Glory: An Energy.gov Mini-Doc – The 2016 Collegiate Wind Competition

ScienceCinema

Zayas, Jose; Newcomb, Charles

2018-01-16

In this short documentary, we follow three collegiate teams who are participating in this year’s U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition in New Orleans. Learn about their experiences and why the competition is important for America’s clean energy future. The competition provides undergraduates with real-world skills they need to enter tomorrow’s clean energy workforce by challenging them to develop and deliver a business plan, establish a deployment strategy, and build and test a wind turbine.

The impact of psychosocial and organizational working conditions on the mental health of female cleaning personnel in Norway.

PubMed

Gamperiene, Migle; Nygård, Jan F; Sandanger, Inger; Waersted, Morten; Bruusgaard, Dag

2006-11-01

This study examined the association between psychosocial and organizational work conditions and mental health among women employed in the cleaning profession in Norway. Self-report questionnaires were mailed to 661 cleaning staff personnel from seven cleaning organizations in seven different cities across Norway. The response rate was 64%, of which 374 (88%) respondents were women. The questionnaires assessed socio-demographic information and employment history, work organization, and psychosocial working conditions. The Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL-25) was included to assess mental health. On average, respondents were 43 years old and reported 10.8 years of experience working in the cleaning industry. The proportion of women scoring a HSCL-25 equal to or above 1.75 was 17.5%, which was higher than the average prevalence of mental health problems among working Norwegian women (8.4%). A factor analysis of the questions specific to the psychosocial work environment identified the following four underlying dimensions: leadership, co-workers, time pressure/control, and information/knowledge. Two of these, poor satisfaction with leadership (OR = 3.6) and poor satisfaction with co-workers (OR = 2.3), were significantly related to mental health. In addition, having contact with colleagues less than once a day (OR = 2.4) and not being ethnically Norwegian (OR = 3.0) increased the risk for mental health problems. Mental health problems are frequent among female cleaning professionals in Norway. Our results indicate that quality of leadership, collaboration with co-workers, and ethnicity were significantly associated with mental health.

The impact of psychosocial and organizational working conditions on the mental health of female cleaning personnel in Norway

PubMed Central

Gamperiene, Migle; Nygård, Jan F; Sandanger, Inger; Wærsted, Morten; Bruusgaard, Dag

2006-01-01

Background This study examined the association between psychosocial and organizational work conditions and mental health among women employed in the cleaning profession in Norway. Methods Self-report questionnaires were mailed to 661 cleaning staff personnel from seven cleaning organizations in seven different cities across Norway. The response rate was 64%, of which 374 (88%) respondents were women. The questionnaires assessed socio-demographic information and employment history, work organization, and psychosocial working conditions. The Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL-25) was included to assess mental health. Results On average, respondents were 43 years old and reported 10.8 years of experience working in the cleaning industry. The proportion of women scoring a HSCL-25 equal to or above 1.75 was 17.5%, which was higher than the average prevalence of mental health problems among working Norwegian women (8.4%). A factor analysis of the questions specific to the psychosocial work environment identified the following four underlying dimensions: leadership, co-workers, time pressure/control, and information/knowledge. Two of these, poor satisfaction with leadership (OR = 3.6) and poor satisfaction with co-workers (OR = 2.3), were significantly related to mental health. In addition, having contact with colleagues less than once a day (OR = 2.4) and not being ethnically Norwegian (OR = 3.0) increased the risk for mental health problems. Conclusion Mental health problems are frequent among female cleaning professionals in Norway. Our results indicate that quality of leadership, collaboration with co-workers, and ethnicity were significantly associated with mental health. PMID:17078871

Well Wishes: A Case on Septic Systems and Well Water Requiring In-Depth Analysis and Including Optional Laboratory Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walczak, Mary M.; Lantz, Juliette M.

2004-01-01

The case of Well Wishes involves students in a thorough examination of the interaction among nitrogen-composed species in the septic systems and well water, which helps to clean household water. The case supports the attainment of five goals for students, and can be analyzed through classroom discussions or laboratory experiments.

Specimen loading list for the varying temperature experiment

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

Qualls, A.L.; Sitterson, R.G.

1998-09-01

The varying temperature experiment HFIR-RB-13J has been assembled and inserted in the reactor. Approximately 5300 specimens were cleaned, inspected, matched, and loaded into four specimen holders. A listing of each specimen loaded into the steady temperature holder, its position in the capsule, and the identification of the corresponding specimen loaded into the varying temperature holder is presented in this report.

A method for preparation and cleaning of uniformly sized arsenopyrite particles

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

Parthasarathy, Hariprasad; Baltrus, John P; Dzombak, David A

The oxidative dissolution of sulfide minerals, such as arsenopyrite (FeAsS), is of critical importance in many geochemical systems. A comprehensive understanding of their dissolution rates entails careful preparation of the mineral surface. Measurements of dissolution rates of arsenic from arsenopyrite are dependent on the size and degree of oxidation of its particles, among other factors. In this work, a method was developed for preparation and cleaning of arsenopyrite particles with size range of 150–250 μm. Four different cleaning methods were evaluated for effectiveness based on the removal of oxidized species of iron (Fe), arsenic (As) and sulfur (S) from themore » surface. The percentage oxidation of the surface was determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and surface stoichiometry was measured using scanning electron microscopy – energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Results indicate that sonicating the arsenopyrite particles and then cleaning them with 12N HCl followed by 50% ethanol, and drying in nitrogen was the most effective method. This method was successful in greatly reducing the oxide species of Fe while completely removing oxides of As and S from the arsenopyrite surface. Although sonication and acid cleaning have been widely used for mineral preparation, the method described in this study can significantly reduce grain size heterogeneity as well as surface oxidation, which enables greater control in surface and dissolution experiments.« less

A method for preparation and cleaning of uniformly sized arsenopyrite particles

DOE PAGES

Parthasarathy, Hariprasad; Baltrus, John P; Dzombak, David A; ...

2014-10-11

The oxidative dissolution of sulfide minerals, such as arsenopyrite (FeAsS), is of critical importance in many geochemical systems. A comprehensive understanding of their dissolution rates entails careful preparation of the mineral surface. Measurements of dissolution rates of arsenic from arsenopyrite are dependent on the size and degree of oxidation of its particles, among other factors. In this work, a method was developed for preparation and cleaning of arsenopyrite particles with size range of 150–250 μm. Four different cleaning methods were evaluated for effectiveness based on the removal of oxidized species of iron (Fe), arsenic (As) and sulfur (S) from themore » surface. The percentage oxidation of the surface was determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and surface stoichiometry was measured using scanning electron microscopy – energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Results indicate that sonicating the arsenopyrite particles and then cleaning them with 12N HCl followed by 50% ethanol, and drying in nitrogen was the most effective method. This method was successful in greatly reducing the oxide species of Fe while completely removing oxides of As and S from the arsenopyrite surface. Although sonication and acid cleaning have been widely used for mineral preparation, the method described in this study can significantly reduce grain size heterogeneity as well as surface oxidation, which enables greater control in surface and dissolution experiments.« less

Wabash River coal gasification repowering project -- first year operation experience

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

Troxclair, E.J.; Stultz, J.

1997-12-31

The Wabash River Coal Gasification Repowering Project (WRCGRP), a joint venture between Destec Energy, Inc. and PSI Energy, Inc., began commercial operation in November of 1995. The Project, selected by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) under the Clean Coal Program (Round IV) represents the largest operating coal gasification combined cycle plant in the world. This Demonstration Project has allowed PSI Energy to repower a 1950`s vintage steam turbine and install a new syngas fired combustion turbine to provide 262 MW (net) of electricity in a clean, efficient manner in a commercial utility setting while utilizing locally mined highmore » sulfur Indiana bituminous coal. In doing so, the Project is also demonstrating some novel technology while advancing the commercialization of integrated coal gasification combined cycle technology. This paper discusses the first year operation experience of the Wabash Project, focusing on the progress towards achievement of the demonstration objectives.« less

Screening materials with the XIA UltraLo alpha particle counter at Southern Methodist University

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

Nakib, M. Z.; Cooley, J.; Kara, B.

2013-08-08

Southern Methodist University houses one of five existing commercially available UltraLo 1800 production model alpha counters made by XIA LLC. The instrument has an electron drift chamber with a 707 cm{sup 2} or 1800 cm{sup 2} counting region which is determined by selecting the inner electrode size. The SMU team operating this device is part of the SuperCDMS screening working group, and uses the alpha counter to study the background rates from the decay of radon in materials used to construct the SuperCDMS experiment. We have studied four acrylic samples obtained from the MiniCLEAN direct dark matter search with themore » XIA instrument demonstrating its utility in low background experiments by investigating the plate-out of {sup 210}Pb and comparing the effectiveness of cleaning procedures in removing {sup 222}Rn progenies from the samples.« less

Meant to make a difference, the clinical experience of minimally invasive endodontics with the self-adjusting file system in India.

PubMed

Pawar, Ajinkya M; Pawar, Mansing G; Kokate, Sharad R

2014-01-01

The vital steps in any endodontic treatment are thorough mechanical shaping and chemical cleaning followed by obtaining a fluid tight impervious seal by an inert obturating material. For the past two decades, introduction and use of rotary nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) files have changed our concepts of endodontic treatment from conventional to contemporary. They have reported good success rates, but still have many drawbacks. The Self-Adjusting File (SAF) introduces a new era in endodontics by performing the vital steps of shaping and cleaning simultaneously. The SAF is a hollow file in design that adapts itself three-dimensionally to the root canal and is a single file system, made up of Ni-Ti lattice. The case series presented in the paper report the clinical experience, while treating primary endodontic cases with the SAF system in India.

[Integration and demonstration of key techniques in surveillance and forecast of schistosomiasis in Jiangsu Province III Development of a machine simultaneously integrating mechanized environmental cleaning and automatic mollusciciding].

PubMed

Wang, Fu-biao; Ma, Yu-cai; Sun, Le-ping; Hong, Qing-biao; Gao, Yang; Zhang, Chang-lin; Du, Guang-lin; Lu, Da-qin; Sun, Zhi-yong; Wang, Wei; Dai, Jian-rong; Liang, You-sheng

2016-02-01

To develop a machine simultaneously integrating mechanized environmental cleaning and automatic mollusciciding and to evaluate its effectiveness of field application, so as to provide a novel Oncomelania hupensis snail control technique in the large-scale marshlands. The machine simultaneously integrating mechanized environmental cleaning and automatic mollusciciding, which was suitable for use in complex marshland areas, was developed according to the mechanization and automation principles, and was used for O. hupensis snail control in the marshland. The effect of the machine on environmental cleaning and plough was evaluated, and the distribution of living snails was observed at various soil layers following plough. The snail control effects of plough alone and plough followed by mollusciciding were compared. The machine could simultaneously complete the procedures of getting vegetation down and cut vegetation into pieces, plough and snail control by spraying niclosamide. After plough, the constituent ratios of living snails were 36.31%, 25.60%, 22.62% and 15.48% in the soil layers at depths of 0-5, 6-10, 11-15 cm and 16-20 cm respectively, and 61.91% living snails were found in the 0-10 cm soil layers. Seven and fifteen days after the experiment, the mortality rates of snails were 9.38% and 8.29% in the plough alone group, and 63.04% and 80.70% in the plough + mollusciciding group respectively (χ²₇ d = 42.74, χ²₁₅ d = 155.56, both P values < 0.01). Thirty days after the experiment, the densities of snails were 3.02 snails/0.1 m² and 0.53 snails/ 0.1 m² in the soil surface of the plough alone group and the plough + mollusciciding group, which decreased by 64.92% and 93.60%, respectively, and the decrease rate of snail density was approximately 30% higher in the plough + mollusciciding group than that in the plough alone group. The machine simultaneously integrating mechanized environmental cleaning and automatic mollusciciding achieves the integration of mechanical environmental cleaning and automatic niclosamide spraying in the complex marshland areas, which provides a novel technique of field snail control in the large-scale setting in China.

Significant volume reduction of tank waste by selective crystallization: 1994 Annual report

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

Herting, D.L.; Lunsford, T.R.

1994-09-27

The objective of this technology task plan is to develop and demonstrate a scaleable process of reclaim sodium nitrate (NaNO{sub 3}) from Hanford waste tanks as a clean nonradioactive salt. The purpose of the so-called Clean Salt Process is to reduce the volume of low level waste glass by as much as 70%. During the reporting period of October 1, 1993, through May 31, 1994, progress was made on four fronts -- laboratory studies, surrogate waste compositions, contracting for university research, and flowsheet development and modeling. In the laboratory, experiments with simulated waste were done to explore the effects ofmore » crystallization parameters on the size and crystal habit of product NaNO{sub 3} crystals. Data were obtained to allows prediction of decontamination factor as a function of solid/liquid separation parameters. Experiments with actual waste from tank 101-SY were done to determine the extent of contaminant occlusions in NaNO{sub 3} crystals. In preparation for defining surrogate waste compositions, single shell tanks were categorized according to the weight percent NaNO{sub 3} in each tank. A detailed process flowsheet and computer model were created using the ASPENPlus steady state process simulator. This is the same program being used by the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) program for their waste pretreatment and disposal projections. Therefore, evaluations can be made of the effect of the Clean Salt Process on the low level waste volume and composition resulting from the TWRS baseline flowsheet. Calculations, using the same assumptions as used for the TWRS baseline where applicable indicate that the number of low level glass vaults would be reduced from 44 to 16 if the Clean Salt Process were incorporated into the baseline flowsheet.« less

Depletion of liver glutathione levels in rats: a potential confound of nose-only inhalation.

PubMed

Fechter, Laurence D; Nelson-Miller, Alisa; Gearhart, Caroline

2008-07-01

Nose-only inhalation exposure chambers offer key advantages to whole-body systems, particularly when aerosol or mixed aerosol-vapor exposures are used. Specifically, nose-only chambers provide enhanced control over the route of exposure and dose by minimizing the deposition of particles either on the subjects skin/fur or on surfaces of a whole-body exposure system. In the current series of experiments, liver, brain, and lung total glutathione (GSH) levels were assessed following either nose-only or whole-body exposures to either jet fuel or to clean, filtered air. The data were compared to untreated control subjects. Acute nose-only inhalation exposures of rats resulted in a significant depletion of liver GSH levels both in subjects that were exposed to clean, filtered air as well as those exposed to JP-8 jet fuel and to a synthetic jet fuel. Glutathione levels were not altered in lung or brain tissue. Whole-body inhalation exposure had no effect on GSH levels in any tissue for any of the treatment groups. A second experiment demonstrated that the loss of GSH did not occur if rats were anaesthetized prior to and during nose-only exposure to clean, filtered air or to mixed hydrocarbons. These data appear to be consistent with studies demonstrating depletion in liver GSH levels among rats subjected to restraint stress. Finally, the depletion of GSH that was observed in liver following a single acute exposure was reduced following five daily exposures to clean, filtered air, suggesting the possibility of habituation to restraint in the nose-only exposure chamber. The finding that placement in a nose-only exposure chamber per se yields liver GSH depletion raises the possibility of an interaction between this mode of toxicant exposure and the toxicological effects of certain inhaled test substances.

Clothes Cleaning Studies for Long Duration Manned Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tamsen, Maria

2015-01-01

Imagine how much could be saved in just 5 years if the garments that are sent to space are reduced by half. My project consisted in analyzing the efficiency of steam cleaning with and without pretreatment of selected garments. Crewmembers wear clothes for a certain period of time, and then these garments are discarded. Having crewmembers wearing their clothes for longer time while giving them the opportunity of reusing the garments (which at the moment is not possible) will reduce costs considerably. More importantly, it will build the path for sustaining human presence in deep space. In addition, reusing cleaned clothes will help crewmembers be in a more hygienic environment because the amount of trash will be reduced. By limiting the amount of garments that are sent, volume and mass will be reduced. As a result, there will be more space to pack other necessary goods. The main duties within the project were to develop a pre wash procedure that will be used for all of the fabrics (4 different fabrics were included in the experiment), to establish a time for the process of cleaning the garments with steam, to know the amount of oil and salt solution necessary to soil the fabric and that will be completely absorbed by the fabric, to determine the amount of chemical agent to use for removing the stains, to create a matrix with the SAS software that will have all the possible combinations to carry out during the experiment when soiling the shirts, to measure the stains before and after the steam process, to measure the cleanliness of the fabric before and after with the use of the Gray Scale for Staining, and to find out whether or not the observations are valid and useful.

Low-background Gamma Spectroscopy at Sanford Underground Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiller, Christopher; Alanson, Angela; Mei, Dongming

2014-03-01

Rare-event physics experiments require the use of material with unprecedented radio-purity. Low background counting assay capabilities and detectors are critical for determining the sensitivity of the planned ultra-low background experiments. A low-background counting, LBC, facility has been built at the 4850-Level Davis Campus of the Sanford Underground Research Facility to perform screening of material and detector parts. Like many rare event physics experiments, our LBC uses lead shielding to mitigate background radiation. Corrosion of lead brick shielding in subterranean installations creates radon plate-out potential as well as human risks of ingestible or respirable lead compounds. Our LBC facilities employ an exposed lead shield requiring clean smooth surfaces. A cleaning process of low-activity silica sand blasting and borated paraffin hot coating preservation was employed to guard against corrosion due to chemical and biological exposures. The resulting lead shield maintains low background contribution integrity while fully encapsulating the lead surface. We report the performance of the current LBC and a plan to develop a large germanium well detector for PMT screening. Support provided by Sd governors research center-CUBED, NSF PHY-0758120 and Sanford Lab.

ShellFit: Reconstruction in the MiniCLEAN Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seibert, Stanley

2010-02-01

The MiniCLEAN dark matter experiment is an ultra-low background liquid cryogen detector with a fiducial volume of approximately 150 kg. Dark matter candidate events produce ultraviolet scintillation light in argon at 128 nm and in neon at 80 nm. In order to detect this scintillation light, the target volume is enclosed by acrylic plates forming a spherical shell upon which an organic fluor, tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB), has been applied. TPB absorbs UV light and reemits visible light isotropically which can be detected by photomultiplier tubes. Two significant sources of background events in MiniCLEAN are decays of radon daughters embedded in the acrylic surface and external sources of neutrons, such as the photomultiplier tubes themselves. Both of these backgrounds can be mitigated by reconstructing the origin of the scintillation light and cutting events beyond a particular radius. The scrambling of photon trajectories at the TPB surface makes this task very challenging. The ``ShellFit'' algorithm for reconstructing event position and energy in a detector with a spherical wavelength-shifting shell will be described. The performance of ShellFit will be demonstrated using Monte Carlo simulation of several event types in the MiniCLEAN detector. )

Reusing Cleaned Up Superfund Sites: Ecological Use Where Waste is Left on Site

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The report draws from experiences at completedand current reuse projects, EPA technical guidance, and other sources to describe ecosystem characteristics and remediation approaches that have been used to accommodate ecological usesat Superfund sites wher

IMAX and Nikon Camera Sensor Cleaning

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-25

ISS042E182382 (01/25/2015) ---US astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore inspects one the cameras aboard the International Space Station Jan. 25, 2015, in preparation for another photo session of station experiments. Barry is the Commander of Expedition 42.

Chemistry Notes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Science Review, 1972

1972-01-01

Short articles describe preparation of clean iron sheet for corrosion experiments, models of crystalline structures using glass marbles, photographic production of diffraction grids for producing analogies of X-ray diffraction patterns, and a simple method of determining a reactivity series for the common metals. (AL)

Planetary quarantine: Supporting research and technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, D. M.

1975-01-01

Planetary quarantine strategies for advanced missions are described, along with natural space environment studies and post launch recontamination studies. Spacecraft cleaning and decontamination techniques and assay activities are reviewed. Teflon ribbon experiments and pyrolsis gas-liquid chromatography study are also considered.

Microform Reader Maintenance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Hal W.; Michaels, George H.

1985-01-01

Describes experiences in organizing a program of microform reader and reader/printer maintenance at Texas A & M's Sterling C. Evans Library and offers guidelines for regular machine maintenance and repair. Guidelines discussed relate to maintenance philosophy, general machine cleaning, troubleshooting, service contracts, supplies,…

The GSFC Combined Approach of ODC Stockpiling and Tribological Testing to Mitigate the Risks of ODC Elimination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Predmore, Roamer; LeBoeuf, Claudia; Hovanec, Andrew

1997-01-01

In response to the elimination of production of several Ozone Depleting Chemicals (ODC's) which have been widely used in successful space flight mechanism cleaning and lubricating procedures, GSFC developed and implemented an overall philosophy of mitigating the risks to flight hardware during the transition phase to ODC-free cleaning procedures. The short term leg of the philosophy was the stockpiling of an appropriate amount of ODC solvents such that all short term GSFC missions will be able to stay with or revert to heritage cleaning and lubricating procedures in the face of life issues. The long-term leg of that philosophy was the initiation of a several tier testing program that will deliver increasing amounts of information over the next few years, starting with accelerated lubricant life tests that compare lubricant life on surfaces cleaned with ODC solvents with lubricant life on surfaces cleaned with ODC-free solvents. While tribological testing, mechanism life testing and space-flight experience will ultimately bring us into the 21st century with environmentally friendly means of cleaning long-life precision mechanism components, many satellites will be launched over the next few years before a number of important tribological questions can be answered. In order to prepare for this challenge, the Materials Engineering Branch in cooperation with the Electromechanical Branch launched an intensive review of all ongoing missions. The failure risk was determined for each long-life lubricated mechanism based on a number of parameters, including 4 comparison of flight solvents used to clean the heritage/life test hardware. Also studied was the ability of the mechanism manufacturers to stockpile ODC's based on state laws and company policies. A stockpiling strategy was constructed based on this information and subsequently implemented. This paper provides an overview of the GSFC ODC elimination risk mitigation philosophy as well as a detailed examination of the development of the ODC stockpiling plan.

Remediation of Coal Tar by STAR: Self-Sustaining Propagation Across Clean Gaps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerhard, J.; Brown, J.; Torero, J. L.; Grant, G.

2016-12-01

Self-sustaining Treatment for Active Remediation (STAR) is an emerging remediation technique which utilizes a subsurface smouldering reaction to destroy non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPL) in situ. The reaction is self-sustaining in that, once ignited, the destructive smouldering front will propagate outwards using only the energy embedded in the contaminant. However, it is known that coal tar can occur as both a continuous pool as well as in distinct seams separated by clean intervals. This study evaluated the hypothesis that the smouldering reaction can cross or `jump' clean gaps by transferring enough heat through the gap to re-ignite the reaction in the contaminated region beyond. Column and 2D box experiments were performed at two scales to determine the maximum clean gap which could be jumped vertically and horizontally. Once the maximum gap had been determined, sensitivity to various in situ and engineering control parameters were explored including: coal tar layer thickness, soil permeability, moisture content, NAPL saturation, and air injection flowrate. High resolution thermocouples informed the progress of the reaction, continuous gas emissions analysis revealed when the reaction was active and dormant, and detailed excavation mapped the extent of remediation and whether gaps were successfully jumped. The work demonstrated that substantial clean gaps, approaching the limit of the laboratory scale, can be jumped by the smouldering reaction using convective heat transfer. Also observed in some cases was the mobilization of pre-heated coal tar into the clean gaps and the reaction's ability to propagate through and destroy coal tar both adjacent to and within the gaps. This work is providing new insights into the robust nature of the technology for in situ applications, and indicating how extreme the heterogeneity has to be before the reaction is interrupted and a new ignition location would be required.

The GSFC Combined Approach of ODC Stockpiling and Tribological Testing to Mitigate the Risks of ODC Elimination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Predmore, Roamer; Woods, Claudia; Hovanec, Andrew

1997-01-01

In response to the elimination of production of several Ozone Depleting Chemicals (ODCs) which have been widely used in successful space flight mechanism cleaning and lubricating procedures, GSFC developed and implemented an overall philosophy of mitigating the risks to flight hardware during the transition phase to ODC-Free cleaning procedures. One leg of that philosophy is the initiation of a several tier testing program which will deliver increasing amounts of information over the next few years, starting with original surface analysis comparisons between ODC and various ODC-Free cleaning technologies. The other leg is the stockpiling of an appropriate amount of ODC solvents such that all short term GSFC missions will be able to stay with or revert to heritage cleaning and lubricating procedures in the face of life issues. While tribological testing, mechanism life testing and space-flight experience will ultimately bring us into the 21st century with environmentally friendly means of cleaning long-life precision mechanism components, many satellites will be launched over the next few years with a number of important tribological questions unanswered. In order to prepare for this challenge, the Materials Engineering Branch in cooperation with the Electromechanical Branch launched an intensive review of all ongoing missions. The failure risk was determined for each long-life mechanism based on a number of parameters, including a comparison of flight solvents used to clean the heritage/life test hardware. Also studied was the ability of the mechanism manufacturers to stockpile ODCs based on state laws and company policies. A stockpiling strategy was constructed based on this information and subsequently implemented. This paper provides an overview of the GSFC ODC elimination risk mitigation philosophy as well as a detailed examination of the development of the ODC stockpiling plan.

Acetonitrile extraction and dual-layer solid phase extraction clean-up for pesticide residue analysis in propolis.

PubMed

Oellig, Claudia

2016-05-06

Propolis is a very complex mixture of substances that is produced by honey bees and is known to be a rather challenging matrix for residue analysis. Besides resins, flavonoids and phenols, high amount of wax is co-extracted resulting in immense matrix effects. Therefore a suitable clean-up is crucial and indispensable. In this study, a reliable solid phase extraction (SPE) clean-up was developed for pesticide residue analysis in propolis. The clean-up success was quickly and easily monitored by high-performance thin-layer chromatography with different detection possibilities. The final method consists of the extraction of propolis with acetonitrile according to the QuEChERS method followed by an effective extract purification on dual-layer SPE cartridges with spherical hydrophobic polystyrene-divinylbenzene resin/primary secondary amine as sorbent and a mixture of toluene/acetone (95:5, v/v) for elution. Besides fat-soluble components like waxes, flavonoids, and terpenoids, more polar compounds like organic acids, fatty acids, sugars and anthocyanins were also removed to large extent. Method performance was assessed by recovery experiments at spiking levels of 0.5 and 1mg/kg (n=5) for fourteen pesticides that are relevant for propolis. Mean recoveries determined by HPLC-MS against solvent standards were between 40 and 101%, while calculation against matrix-matched standards provided recoveries of 79-104%. Precision of recovery, assessed by relative standard deviations, were below 9%. Thus, the developed dual-layer SPE clean-up enables the reliable pesticide residue analysis in propolis and provides a suitable alternative to time-consuming clean-up procedures proposed in literature. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Asthma related to cleaning agents: a clinical insight

PubMed Central

Vandenplas, Olivier; D'Alpaos, Vinciane; Evrard, Geneviève; Jamart, Jacques; Thimpont, Joel; Huaux, François; Renauld, Jean-Christophe

2013-01-01

Objective To determine the agents causing asthmatic reactions during specific inhalation challenges (SICs) in workers with cleaning-related asthma symptoms and to assess the pattern of bronchial responses in order to identify the mechanisms involved in cleaning-related asthma. Design A retrospective case series analysis. Setting The study included all participants who completed an SIC procedure with the cleaning/disinfection products suspected of causing work-related asthma over the period 1992–2011 in a tertiary centre, which is the single specialised centre of the French-speaking part of Belgium where all participants with work-related asthma are referred to for SIC. Results The review identified 44 participants who completed an SIC with cleaning/disinfection agents. Challenge exposure to the suspected cleaning agents elicited a ≥20% fall in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) in 17 (39%) participants. The cleaning products that induced a positive SIC contained quaternary ammonium compounds (n=10), glutaraldehyde (n=3), both of these agents (n=1) and ethanolamines (n=2). Positive SICs were associated with a significant decrease in the median (IQR) value of the provocative concentration of histamine causing a 20% fall in FEV1 (PC20) from 1.4 (0.2–4.2) mg/mL at baseline to 0.5 (0.4–3.0) mg/mL after the challenge and a significant increase in sputum eosinophils from 1.8 (0.8–7.2)% at baseline to 10.0 (4.1–15.9)% 7 h after the challenge exposure while these parameters did not significantly change in participants with a negative SIC. Overall, 11 of 17 participants with positive SICs showed greater than threefold decrease in postchallenge histamine PC20 value, a >2% increase in sputum eosinophils, or both of these outcomes. Conclusions These data indicate that a substantial proportion of workers who experience asthma symptoms related to cleaning materials show a pattern of bronchial reaction consistent with sensitiser-induced occupational asthma. The results also suggest that quaternary ammonium compounds are the principal cause of sensitiser-induced occupational asthma among cleaners. PMID:24056489

Exploring the Cosmic Frontier, Task A - Direct Detection of Dark Matter, Task B - Experimental Particle Astrophysics

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

Matthews, John A.J.; Gold, Michael S.

This report summarizes the work of Task A and B for the period 2013-2016. For Task A the work is for direct detection of dark matter with the single-phase liquid argon experiment Mini-CLEAN. For Task B the work is for the search for new physics in the analysis of fluorescence events with the Auger experiment and for the search for the indirect detection of dark matter with the HAWC experiment.

Financial Incentives to Enable Clean Energy Deployment: Policy Overview and Good Practices

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

Cox, Sadie

Financial incentives have been widely implemented by governments around the world to support scaled up deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and practices. As of 2015, at least 48 countries have adopted financial incentives to support renewable energy and energy efficiency deployment. Broader clean energy strategies and plans provide a crucial foundation for financial incentives that often complement regulatory policies such as renewable energy targets, standards, and other mandates. This policy brief provides a primer on key financial incentive design elements, lessons from different country experiences, and curated support resources for more detailed and country-specific financial incentive designmore » information.« less

Oxygen and sulfur interactions with a clean iron surface and the effect of rubbing contact on these interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buckley, D. H.

1973-01-01

The interaction of sulfur and oxygen with an iron surface was studied with Auger spectroscopy analysis both statically and during sliding-friction experiments in a vacuum environment. Oxygen, hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, and sulfur dioxide were adsorbed to an iron surface. Results indicate that sulfide films formed on clean iron surfaces are completely displaced by oxygen. Hydrocarbons containing sulfur, such as methyl mercaptan, adsorb dissociatively. Less sulfur is adsorbed during sliding with hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan than in the absence of sliding. With both oxygen and sulfur dioxide, sliding did not affect the amount of material adsorbed to iron.

Wetlands Mitigation for Highway Impacts: A Nationwide Survey of State Practices

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-06-01

This report documents a review of Clean Water Act Section 404 mitigation projects undertaken in the contiguous United States that are applicable to highway development in Texas. In gathering the information about the experiences of transportation-rel...

Space to Ground: Clearing the Cosmos: 06/22/2018

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-06-21

A new experiment is looking at how to clean up the growing risk of space junk, and science on station was positively lit! NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

EXPERIENCES IN DESIGNING SOLVENTS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Solvents used throughout industry are chosen to meet specific technological requirements such as solute solubility, cleaning and degreasing, or being a medium for paints and coatings. With the increasing awareness of the human health effects and environmental risks of solvent use...

EXPERIENCES IN DESIGNING SOLVENTS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Solvents used throughout industry are chosen to meet specific technological requirements such as solute solubility, cleaning and degreasing, or being a medium for paints and coatings. With the increasing awareness of the human health effects and environmental tisks of solvent use...

Growth and survival of host pearl oyster Pinctada fucata martensii (Dunker, 1880) treated by different biofouling-clean methods in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Junhui; Yang, Chuangye; Wang, Qingheng; Du, Xiaodong; Deng, Yuewen

2018-07-01

Pearl oyster Pinctada fucata martensii is an economically important species farmed to produce round nucleated pearl in China. However, pearl oyster shells are commonly exposed to biofouling, which is manually cleaned. This study experimentally evaluates the effects of biofouling cleaning by Siganus fuscescens (Houttuyn, 1782) foraging on growth performance and pearl traits of host pearl oyster P. fucata martensii. Three groups designated as EG1, EG2 and EG3 were set in the experiment. In EG1, biofouling was manually cleaned every 2 weeks and oysters were cultured in natural sea conditions. In EG2, biofouling was cleaned by foraging behavior of S. fuscescens every 2 weeks and oysters were cultured in natural sea conditions. In EG3, oysters were farmed in the net cage where S. fuscescens were stored. The survival rate of EG2 was higher than those of EG1 and EG3 and the daily growth rates of length and weight of shell and the thickness and weight of pearl of EG3 were significantly larger than those of EG1 and EG2. The survival rate, daily growth rates of the length and weight of shell, and thickness and weight of pearl were not significantly different between EG1 and EG2. This study suggested S. fuscescens foraging could evidently improve survival of host pearl oyster, which is promising to improve pearl yield in pearl oyster farms in China.

Evaluation of food storage racks available on the Polish market in the hygienic context

PubMed

Grzesińska, Wiesława; Tomaszewska, Marzena; Bilska, Beata; Trafiałek, Joanna; Dziadek, Michał

Providing safe food products to the consumer depends on the material and technology used and adherence to hygienic practices, throughout the production process. The degree of microbial contamination of a surface is an important indicator of equipment cleanliness and effectiveness of cleaning and disinfection. Used material, construction solutions and quality of the applied devices also have an effect on hygienic status. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of the design and construction material of selected food storage racks, available on the Polish market, on their hygienic status. The study was based on determination of the capability of microbial growth on the surface of the racks and the effectiveness of their cleaning. Microbiological cleanliness on the surface of the racks was monitored by the contact plates which are able to estimate the total number of icroorganisms. Examination of effectiveness of cleaning was conducted by the use of ATP bioluminescence method. This experiment has proven a significant influence of adopted construction solutions on the hygienic status of the examined racks. Presence of antibacterial layer and a choice of the appropriate construction material characterized by a low surface roughness impedes the microbial growth and increases the effectiveness of cleaning. Design solutions have significant impact on the hygienic status of shelves. Selection of a suitable material for the construction of racks can greatly reduce the possibility of the development of microorganism, despite the low efficiency of the cleaning. The application of antimicrobial coatings inhibits microbial growth.

Mechanisms for dose retention in conformal arsenic doping using a radial line slot antenna microwave plasma source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueda, Hirokazu; Ventzek, Peter L. G.; Oka, Masahiro; Kobayashi, Yuuki; Sugimoto, Yasuhiro

2015-06-01

Topographic structures such as Fin FETs and silicon nanowires for advanced gate fabrication require ultra-shallow high dose infusion of dopants into the silicon subsurface. Plasma doping meets this requirement by supplying a flux of inert ions and dopant radicals to the surface. However, the helium ion bombardment needed to infuse dopants into the fin surface can cause poor dose retention. This is due to the interaction between substrate damage and post doping process wet cleaning solutions required in the front end of line large-scale integration fabrication. We present findings from surface microscopy experiments that reveal the mechanism for dose retention in arsenic doped silicon fin samples using a microwave RLSA™ plasma source. Dilute aqueous hydrofluoric acid (DHF) cleans by themselves are incompatible with plasma doping processes because the films deposited over the dosed silicon and ion bombardment damaged silicon are readily removed. Oxidizing wet cleaning chemistries help retain the dose as silica rich over-layers are not significantly degraded. Furthermore, the dosed retention after a DHF clean following an oxidizing wet clean is unchanged. Still, the initial ion bombardment energy and flux are important. Large ion fluxes at energies below the sputter threshold and above the silicon damage threshold, before the silicon surface is covered by an amorphous mixed phase layer, allow for enhanced uptake of dopant into the silicon. The resulting dopant concentration is beyond the saturation limit of crystalline silicon.

Is it clean or contaminated soil? Using petrogenic versus biogenic GC-FID chromatogram patterns to mathematically resolve false petroleum hydrocarbon detections in clean organic soils: a crude oil-spiked peat microcosm experiment.

PubMed

Kelly-Hooper, Francine; Farwell, Andrea J; Pike, Glenna; Kennedy, Jocelyn; Wang, Zhendi; Grunsky, Eric C; Dixon, D George

2013-10-01

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) reference method for the Canada-wide standard (CWS) for petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) in soil provides chemistry analysis standards and guidelines for the management of contaminated sites. However, these methods can coextract natural biogenic organic compounds (BOCs) from organic soils, causing false exceedences of toxicity guidelines. The present 300-d microcosm experiment used CWS PHC tier 1 soil extraction and gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) analysis to develop a new tier 2 mathematical approach to resolving this problem. Carbon fractions F2 (C10-C16), F3 (C16-C34), and F4 (>C34) as well as subfractions F3a (C16-C22) and F3b (C22-C34) were studied in peat and sand spiked once with Federated crude oil. These carbon ranges were also studied in 14 light to heavy crude oils. The F3 range in the clean peat was dominated by F3b, whereas the crude oils had approximately equal F3a and F3b distributions. The F2 was nondetectable in the clean peat but was a significant component in crude oil. The crude oil–spiked peat had elevated F2 and F3a distributions. The BOC-adjusted PHC F3 calculation estimated the true PHC concentrations in the spiked peat. The F2:F3b ratio of less than 0.10 indicated PHC absence in the clean peat, and the ratio of greater than or equal to 0.10 indicated PHC presence in the spiked peat and sand. Validation studies are required to confirm whether this new tier 2 approach is applicable to real-case scenarios. Potential adoption of this approach could minimize unnecessary ecological disruptions of thousands of peatlands throughout Canada while also saving millions of dollars in management costs. © 2013 SETAC.

A virtual clean room to teach USP 797 regulations for intravenous medications.

PubMed

Patel, Sheetal; Vincent, Ashley H; Abel, Steven R; Jacobs, Carolyn M; Dunlop, Steven R; Seibert, Megan

2011-02-10

To provide a virtual environment for pharmacy students to learn United States Pharmacopeia Chapter 797 (USP 797) requirements, while recognizing the role of pharmacists in the safe use of intravenous (IV) medications. A virtual laboratory was created that included stations for IV medications, product verification, medication safety, and patient cases pertaining to high-alert medications. Pharmacy students used 3-D glasses and a wireless controller to navigate through the session and identify violations of USP 797 regulations. Pre-assessments and post-assessments were administered to students who completed the session in each of the 2 years it was offered. In the first year, 88% of students strongly agreed or agreed that the sessions met their expectation. Following their APPE clerkship, 92% of these students felt the virtual IV room prepared them for the IV clean room experience. In the second year, 88% of students felt the experience enhanced their understanding of clean room procedures. After session completion, 75% of participants perceived medication errors to be more significant. Written examinations also were administered and students' mean scores improved significantly compared to those of students' prior to implementation of the session (89.6% in year 0; 91.2% in year 1; and 96.1% in year 2). The immersive virtual environment is a contemporary and effective way to teach USP 797 requirements and enhance the awareness of medication errors.

A Virtual Clean Room to Teach USP 797 Regulations for Intravenous Medications

PubMed Central

Patel, Sheetal; Abel, Steven R.; Jacobs, Carolyn M.; Dunlop, Steven R.; Seibert, Megan

2011-01-01

Objective To provide a virtual environment for pharmacy students to learn United States Pharmacopeia Chapter 797 (USP 797) requirements, while recognizing the role of pharmacists in the safe use of intravenous (IV) medications. Design A virtual laboratory was created that included stations for IV medications, product verification, medication safety, and patient cases pertaining to high-alert medications. Pharmacy students used 3-D glasses and a wireless controller to navigate through the session and identify violations of USP 797 regulations. Assessment Preassessments and postassessments were administered to students who completed the session in each of the 2 years it was offered. In the first year, 88% of students strongly agreed or agreed that the sessions met their expectation. Following their APPE clerkship, 92% of these students felt the virtual IV room prepared them for the IV clean room experience. In the second year, 88% of students felt the experience enhanced their understanding of clean room procedures. After session completion, 75% of participants perceived medication errors to be more significant. Written examinations also were administered and students' mean scores improved significantly compared to those of students' prior to implementation of the session (89.6% in year 0; 91.2% in year 1; and 96.1% in year 2). Conclusion The immersive virtual environment is a contemporary and effective way to teach USP 797 requirements and enhance the awareness of medication errors. PMID:21451759

Greening the consent decree: the ORD-NRMRL experience

EPA Science Inventory

The prevalence of combined and septic sewer overflows in most US cities has led to numerous enforcement actions under the Clean Water Act (1972). Contemporary circumstances require a more comprehensive redress of violations due to CSO activity. The integration of green infrastru...

42 CFR 483.15 - Quality of life.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... supervised social work experience in a health care setting working directly with individuals. (h) Environment. The facility must provide— (1) A safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment, allowing the... environment that promotes maintenance or enhancement of each resident's quality of life. (a) Dignity. The...

Early identification systems for emerging foodborne hazards.

PubMed

Marvin, H J P; Kleter, G A; Prandini, A; Dekkers, S; Bolton, D J

2009-05-01

This paper provides a non-exhausting overview of early warning systems for emerging foodborne hazards that are operating in the various places in the world. Special attention is given to endpoint-focussed early warning systems (i.e. ECDC, ISIS and GPHIN) and hazard-focussed early warning systems (i.e. FVO, RASFF and OIE) and their merit to successfully identify a food safety problem in an early stage is discussed. Besides these early warning systems which are based on monitoring of either disease symptoms or hazards, also early warning systems and/or activities that intend to predict the occurrence of a food safety hazard in its very beginning of development or before that are described. Examples are trend analysis, horizon scanning, early warning systems for mycotoxins in maize and/or wheat and information exchange networks (e.g. OIE and GIEWS). Furthermore, recent initiatives that aim to develop predictive early warning systems based on the holistic principle are discussed. The assumption of the researchers applying this principle is that developments outside the food production chain that are either directly or indirectly related to the development of a particular food safety hazard may also provide valuable information to predict the development of this hazard.

Public health microbiology in Germany: 20 years of national reference centers and consultant laboratories.

PubMed

Beermann, Sandra; Allerberger, Franz; Wirtz, Angela; Burger, Reinhard; Hamouda, Osamah

2015-10-01

In 1995, in agreement with the German Federal Ministry of Health, the Robert Koch Institute established a public health microbiology system consisting of national reference centers (NRCs) and consultant laboratories (CLs). The goal was to improve the efficiency of infection protection by advising the authorities on possible measures and to supplement infectious disease surveillance by monitoring selected pathogens that have high public health relevance. Currently, there are 19 NRCs and 40 CLs, each appointed for three years. In 2009, an additional system of national networks of NRCs and CLs was set up in order to enhance effectiveness and cooperation within the national reference laboratory system. The aim of these networks was to advance exchange in diagnostic methods and prevention concepts among reference laboratories and to develop geographic coverage of services. In the last two decades, the German public health laboratory reference system coped with all major infectious disease challenges. The European Union and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) are considering implementing a European public health microbiology reference laboratory system. The German reference laboratory system should be well prepared to participate actively in this upcoming endeavor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Incidence of multidrug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant and pan-drug-resistant bacteria in children hospitalized at Dr. Hasan Sadikin general hospital Bandung Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adrizain, R.; Suryaningrat, F.; Alam, A.; Setiabudi, D.

2018-03-01

Antibiotic resistance has become a global issue, with 700,000 deaths attributable to multidrug-resistance (MDR) occurring each year. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show rapidly increasing rates of infection due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The aim of the study isto describe the incidence of MDR, extensively drug-resistant (XDR) and pan drug-resistant (PDR) in Enterococcus spp., Staphylococcus aureus, K. pneumonia, Acinetobacter baumanii, P. aeruginosin, and Enterobacter spp. (ESKAPE) pathogens in children admitted to Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital. All pediatric patients having blood culture drawn from January 2015 to December 2016 were retrospectively studied. Data include the number of drawn blood culture, number of positive results, type of bacteria, sensitivity pattern. International standard definitions for acquired resistance by ECDC and CDC was used as definitions for MDR, XDR and PDR bacteria. From January 2015 to December 2016, 299 from 2.542 (11.7%) blood culture was positive, with Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus spp., Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter spp., respectively 5, 6, 24, 5, 20 with total 60 (20%). The MDR and XDR pathogen found were 47 and 13 patients, respectively.

Identifying components for programmatic latent tuberculosis infection control in the European Union

PubMed Central

Sandgren, Andreas; Vonk Noordegraaf-Schouten, Jannigje M; Oordt-Speets, Anouk M; van Kessel, Gerarda B; de Vlas, Sake J; van der Werf, Marieke J

2016-01-01

Individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) are the reservoir of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a population and as long as this reservoir exists, elimination of tuberculosis (TB) will not be feasible. In 2013, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) started an assessment of benefits and risks of introducing programmatic LTBI control, with the aim of providing guidance on how to incorporate LTBI control into national TB strategies in European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) Member States and candidate countries. In a first step, experts from the Member States, candidate countries, and international and national organisations were consulted on the components of programmatic LTBI control that should be considered and evaluated in literature reviews, mathematical models and cost-effectiveness studies. This was done through a questionnaire and two interactive discussion rounds. The main components identified were identification and targeting of risk groups, determinants of LTBI and progression to active TB, optimal diagnostic tests for LTBI, effective preventive treatment regimens, and to explore the potential for combining LTBI control with other health programmes. Political commitment, a solid healthcare infrastructure, and favourable economic situation in specific countries were identified as essential to facilitate the implementation of programmatic LTBI control. PMID:27589214

A suppression hierarchy among competing motor programs drives sequential grooming in Drosophila

PubMed Central

Seeds, Andrew M; Ravbar, Primoz; Chung, Phuong; Hampel, Stefanie; Midgley, Frank M; Mensh, Brett D; Simpson, Julie H

2014-01-01

Motor sequences are formed through the serial execution of different movements, but how nervous systems implement this process remains largely unknown. We determined the organizational principles governing how dirty fruit flies groom their bodies with sequential movements. Using genetically targeted activation of neural subsets, we drove distinct motor programs that clean individual body parts. This enabled competition experiments revealing that the motor programs are organized into a suppression hierarchy; motor programs that occur first suppress those that occur later. Cleaning one body part reduces the sensory drive to its motor program, which relieves suppression of the next movement, allowing the grooming sequence to progress down the hierarchy. A model featuring independently evoked cleaning movements activated in parallel, but selected serially through hierarchical suppression, was successful in reproducing the grooming sequence. This provides the first example of an innate motor sequence implemented by the prevailing model for generating human action sequences. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02951.001 PMID:25139955

An investigation of error characteristics and coding performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ebel, William J.; Ingels, Frank M.

1992-01-01

The performance of forward error correcting coding schemes on errors anticipated for the Earth Observation System (EOS) Ku-band downlink are studied. The EOS transmits picture frame data to the ground via the Telemetry Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) to a ground-based receiver at White Sands. Due to unintentional RF interference from other systems operating in the Ku band, the noise at the receiver is non-Gaussian which may result in non-random errors output by the demodulator. That is, the downlink channel cannot be modeled by a simple memoryless Gaussian-noise channel. From previous experience, it is believed that those errors are bursty. The research proceeded by developing a computer based simulation, called Communication Link Error ANalysis (CLEAN), to model the downlink errors, forward error correcting schemes, and interleavers used with TDRSS. To date, the bulk of CLEAN was written, documented, debugged, and verified. The procedures for utilizing CLEAN to investigate code performance were established and are discussed.

Dynamic measurements of the spreading of liquid metals in controlled atmospheres with in situ surface preparation and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peebles, D. E.; Peebles, H. C.; Ohlhausen, J. A.; Hurst, M. J.

1996-02-01

A specially designed ultrahigh vacuum in situ surface analysis and wetting system has been constructed to study the spreading of liquid metal solders on carefully prepared and well-characterized solid substrates. The system consists of a standard ultrahigh vacuum surface analysis chamber linked to a reaction chamber for wetting or other experiments at pressures up to atmospheric. A sophisticated video system allows real-time monitoring of the spreading of the liquid metal through both side and top views. An infrared imaging system allows accurate remote temperature measurements. Sample surfaces are prepared and spreading experiments performed without intermediate exposure of the surfaces to the contaminating atmospheres. Solder spreading is performed under 50 Torr of highly purified helium gas to allow for adequate thermal coupling between the solder and the substrate. Initial studies have been completed for the spreading of pure tin solder on copper substrates in the absence of any fluxing agent. Three types of copper substrate surfaces were investigated in these experiments: the sputter-cleaned, air-exposed, and the as-received surface. Surface chemical analysis by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed the air-exposed surface to consist of about 3 nm of Cu2O, while the as-received surface consisted of about 8 nm of Cu2O. The sputter-cleaned surface contained less than one monolayer (0.3 nm) of Cu2O. Spreading experiments utilizing a linear temperature ramp show that pure tin solder spreads readily on oxidized copper surfaces at elevated temperatures. The initiation temperature for rapid tin spreading on the as-received copper surface was 325 °C. Decreasing the thickness of the oxide on the surface lowered the observed temperature for the initiation of spreading and increased the rate of spreading. On the sputter-cleaned copper surface, rapid solder spreading was observed immediately upon melting of the solder.

A comparative study on laser induced shock cleaning of radioactive contaminants in air and water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Aniruddha; Prasad, Manisha; Bhatt, R. B.; Behere, P. G.; Biswas, D. J.

2018-03-01

Efficient removal of Uranium-di-oxide (UO2) particulates from stainless steel surface was effected by Nd-YAG laser induced plasma shock waves in air as well as in water environment. The propagation velocity of the generated shock wave was measured by employing the photo-acoustic probe deflection method. Monitoring of the alpha activity of the sample with a ZnS (Ag) scintillation detector before and after the laser exposure allowed the estimation of decontamination efficiency defined as the percentage removal of the initial activity. Experiments were carried out to study the effect of laser pulse energy, number of laser exposures, orientation of the sample, the separation between the substrate surface and the onset point of the shock wave on the de-contamination efficiency. The most optimised cleaning was found to occur when the laser beam impinged normally on the sample that was immersed in water and placed at a distance of ∼0.7 mm from the laser focal spot. Analysis of the cleaned surface by optical microscopes established that laser induced shock cleaning in no way altered the surface property. The shock force generated in both air and water has been estimated theoretically and has been found to exceed the Van der Waal's binding force for spherical contaminant particulate.

Capillary-Force-Assisted Clean-Stamp Transfer of Two-Dimensional Materials.

PubMed

Ma, Xuezhi; Liu, Qiushi; Xu, Da; Zhu, Yangzhi; Kim, Sanggon; Cui, Yongtao; Zhong, Lanlan; Liu, Ming

2017-11-08

A simple and clean method of transferring two-dimensional (2D) materials plays a critical role in the fabrication of 2D electronics, particularly the heterostructure devices based on the artificial vertical stacking of various 2D crystals. Currently, clean transfer techniques rely on sacrificial layers or bulky crystal flakes (e.g., hexagonal boron nitride) to pick up the 2D materials. Here, we develop a capillary-force-assisted clean-stamp technique that uses a thin layer of evaporative liquid (e.g., water) as an instant glue to increase the adhesion energy between 2D crystals and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for the pick-up step. After the liquid evaporates, the adhesion energy decreases, and the 2D crystal can be released. The thin liquid layer is condensed to the PDMS surface from its vapor phase, which ensures the low contamination level on the 2D materials and largely remains their chemical and electrical properties. Using this method, we prepared graphene-based transistors with low charge-neutral concentration (3 × 10 10 cm -2 ) and high carrier mobility (up to 48 820 cm 2 V -1 s -1 at room temperature) and heterostructure optoelectronics with high operation speed. Finally, a capillary-force model is developed to explain the experiment.

Maintaining flexible pavements : the long term pavement performance experiment SPS-3 5-year data analysis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-02-01

This report focuses on the Clean Air Act (CAAA) and the State Air Quality Implementation Plan (SIP) and the need for conformity with transportation measures and policies. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) has reinforced Fed...

LANL Experience Rolling Zr-Clad LEU-10Mo Foils for AFIP-7

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

Hammon, Duncan L.; Clarke, Kester D.; Alexander, David J.

2015-05-29

The cleaning, canning, rolling and final trimming of Low Enriched Uranium-10 wt. pct. Molybdenum (LEU-10Mo) foils for ATR (Advanced Test Reactor) fuel plates to be used in the AFIP-7 (ATR Full Size Plate In Center Flux Trap Position) experiments are summarized. Six Zr-clad foils were produced from two LEU-10Mo castings supplied to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) by Y-12 National Security Complex. Details of cleaning and canning procedures are provided. Hot- and cold-rolling results are presented, including rolling schedules, images of foils in-process, metallography and local compositions of regions of interest, and details of final foil dimensions and process yield.more » This report was compiled from the slides for the presentation of the same name given by Duncan Hammon on May 12, 2011 at the AFIP-7 Lessons Learned meeting in Salt Lake City, UT, with Los Alamos National Laboratory document number LA-UR 11-02898.« less

Plasma Surface Interactions Common to Advanced Fusion Wall Materials and EUV Lithography - Lithium and Tin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruzic, D. N.; Alman, D. A.; Jurczyk, B. E.; Stubbers, R.; Coventry, M. D.; Neumann, M. J.; Olczak, W.; Qiu, H.

2004-09-01

Advanced plasma facing components (PFCs) are needed to protect walls in future high power fusion devices. In the semiconductor industry, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) sources are needed for next generation lithography. Lithium and tin are candidate materials in both areas, with liquid Li and Sn plasma material interactions being critical. The Plasma Material Interaction Group at the University of Illinois is leveraging liquid metal experimental and computational facilities to benefit both fields. The Ion surface InterAction eXperiment (IIAX) has measured liquid Li and Sn sputtering, showing an enhancement in erosion with temperature for light ion bombardment. Surface Cleaning of Optics by Plasma Exposure (SCOPE) measures erosion and damage of EUV mirror samples, and tests cleaning recipes with a helicon plasma. The Flowing LIquid surface Retention Experiment (FLIRE) measures the He and H retention in flowing liquid metals, with retention coefficients varying between 0.001 at 500 eV to 0.01 at 4000 eV.

Dietary supplementation with a nucleotide-rich yeast extract modulates gut immune response and microflora in weaned pigs in response to a sanitary challenge.

PubMed

Waititu, S M; Yin, F; Patterson, R; Yitbarek, A; Rodriguez-Lecompte, J C; Nyachoti, C M

2017-12-01

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the short-term effect of supplementing a nucleotide-rich yeast extract (NRYE) on growth performance, gut structure, immunity and microflora of piglets raised under sanitary and unsanitary conditions. A total of 84, 21-day old piglets were used in this study; 42 piglets were raised in a room designated as the clean room that was washed once per week, whereas the other 42 piglets were raised in a room designated as the unclean room in which 7 kg of manure from the sow herd was spread on each pen floor on day 1 and 7 and the room was not washed throughout the experiment. The pigs were fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet without or with 0.1% NRYE. Each treatment had 7 replicate pens in each room, and each pen housed 3 pigs. Feed disappearance and BW were recorded on day 1 and 14. On day 14, one pig per pen was euthanized to collect ileum, mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen tissues, and cecum and colon digesta. Overall, NRYE supplementation did not affect growth performance in both clean and unclean conditions, improved kidney weight in both clean (P=0.0002) and unclean room (P<0.0001) and tended to improve the villus height/crypt depth ratio in the clean room (P=0.073). Supplementing NRYE was associated with upregulation of Ileal programmed cell death gene-1 (P=0.0003), interleukin (IL)-1β (P<0.0001), IL-6 (P=0.0003), IL-10 (P<0.0001) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (P<0.0001) in pigs raised in the unclean room. Supplementing the NRYE in pigs raised in the clean room suppressed growth of cecal Enterobacteriacea (P<0.0001) members and colonic Enterococcus spp. (P<0.019), improved proliferation of cecal Lactobacillus spp. (P<0.002) and colonic Clostridium cluster IV (P<0.011) and XVIa members (P<0.0002). Supplementing the NRYE in the unclean room improved proliferation of cecal Clostridium cluster IV (P<0.026) and suppressed proliferation of colonic Enterococcus spp. (P<0.037). In conclusion, supplementing the NRYE to piglets under unsanitary conditions improved ileal immune response by upregulating inflammatory cytokines, and positively modulated proliferation of beneficial gut bacteria and suppression of harmful ones in both clean and unclean rooms.

Innovative Instrumentation and Analysis of the Temperature Measurement for High Temperature Gasification

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

Seong W. Lee

The project entitled, ''Innovative Instrumentation and Analysis of the Temperature Measurement for High Temperature Gasification'', was successfully completed by the Principal Investigator, Dr. S. Lee and his research team in the Center for Advanced Energy Systems and Environmental Control Technologies at Morgan State University. The major results and outcomes were presented in semi-annual progress reports and annual project review meetings/presentations. Specifically, the literature survey including the gasifier temperature measurement, the ultrasonic application in cleaning application, and spray coating process and the gasifier simulator (cold model) testing has been successfully conducted during the first year. The results show that four factorsmore » (blower voltage, ultrasonic application, injection time intervals, particle weight) were considered as significant factors that affect the temperature measurement. Then the gasifier simulator (hot model) design and the fabrication as well as the systematic tests on hot model were completed to test the significant factors on temperature measurement in the second year. The advanced Industrial analytic methods such as statistics-based experimental design, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression methods were applied in the hot model tests. The results show that operational parameters (i.e. air flow rate, water flow rate, fine dust particle amount, ammonia addition) presented significant impact on the temperature measurement inside the gasifier simulator. The experimental design and ANOVA are very efficient way to design and analyze the experiments. The results show that the air flow rate and fine dust particle amount are statistically significant to the temperature measurement. The regression model provided the functional relation between the temperature and these factors with substantial accuracy. In the last year of the project period, the ultrasonic and subsonic cleaning methods and coating materials were tested/applied on the thermocouple cleaning according to the proposed approach. Different frequency, application time and power of the ultrasonic/subsonic output were tested. The results show that the ultrasonic approach is one of the best methods to clean the thermocouple tips during the routine operation of the gasifier. In addition, the real time data acquisition system was also designed and applied in the experiments. This advanced instrumentation provided the efficient and accurate data acquisition for this project. In summary, the accomplishment of the project provided useful information of the ultrasonic cleaning method applied in thermocouple tip cleaning. The temperature measurement could be much improved both in accuracy and duration provided that the proposed approach is widely used in the gasification facilities.« less

Application of Pulsed Electrical Fields for Advanced Cooling and Water Recovery in Coal-Fired Power Plant

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

Young Cho; Alexander Fridman

2009-04-02

The overall objective of the present work was to develop technologies to reduce freshwater consumption in a cooling tower of coal-based power plant so that one could significantly reduce the need of make-up water. The specific goal was to develop a scale prevention technology based an integrated system of physical water treatment (PWT) and a novel filtration method so that one could reduce the need for the water blowdown, which accounts approximately 30% of water loss in a cooling tower. The present study investigated if a pulsed spark discharge in water could be used to remove deposits from the filtermore » membrane. The test setup included a circulating water loop and a pulsed power system. The present experiments used artificially hardened water with hardness of 1,000 mg/L of CaCO{sub 3} made from a mixture of calcium chloride (CaCl{sub 2}) and sodium carbonate (Na{sub 2}CO{sub 3}) in order to produce calcium carbonate deposits on the filter membrane. Spark discharge in water was found to produce strong shockwaves in water, and the efficiency of the spark discharge in cleaning filter surface was evaluated by measuring the pressure drop across the filter over time. Results showed that the pressure drop could be reduced to the value corresponding to the initial clean state and after that the filter could be maintained at the initial state almost indefinitely, confirming the validity of the present concept of pulsed spark discharge in water to clean dirty filter. The present study also investigated the effect of a plasma-assisted self-cleaning filter on the performance of physical water treatment (PWT) solenoid coil for the mitigation of mineral fouling in a concentric counterflow heat exchanger. The self-cleaning filter utilized shockwaves produced by pulse-spark discharges in water to continuously remove scale deposits from the surface of the filter, thus keeping the pressure drop across the filter at a relatively low value. Artificial hard water was used in the present fouling experiments for three different cases: no treatment, PWT coil only, and PWT coil plus self-cleaning filter. Fouling resistances decreased by 59-72% for the combined case of PWT coil plus filter compared with the values for no-treatment cases. SEM photographs showed much smaller particle sizes for the combined case of PWT coil plus filter as larger particles were continuously removed from circulating water by the filter. The x-ray diffraction data showed calcite crystal structures for all three cases.« less

[Preparation for colonoscopy: types of scales and cleaning products].

PubMed

Lorenzo-Zúñiga, Vicente; Moreno-de-Vega, Vicente; Boix, Jaume

2012-08-01

Adequate bowel preparation is essential before a colonoscopy, allowing us to make a proper examination of the entire mucosa. The ideal method of colon cleansing should be fast, safe, and get a proper cleaning with minimal discomfort for the patient. Today we have a wide variety of colon cleansing products, information sometimes becomes confused. A good colon preparation depends partly on correct choice of the same, but also upon dietary restriction. Knowledge of all these products, with their advantages and limitations, we can make a better selection for each patient, and although the efficacy is comparable, is the experience of the browser, patient preferences, and the degree of compliance with the instructions preparation, which greatly influence the results.

The space technology demand on materials and processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dauphin, J.

1982-01-01

Space technologies which entail materials or process problems, such as clean satellites, thermal control materials with electrical conductivity, space stations and reusable hardware are reviewed. The statistical approaches to selection used are jeopardized by small production volumes, while the analogy methods are limited by experience. Commercially available materials are extensively used in order to cut development costs, e.g., solar panel adhesives are obtained by cleaning commercial silicones by molecular distillation. The long-life and reusable spacecraft requirements, e.g., for very thin laminates, which cannot be met by commercial products are discussed. Space agencies either meet needs themselves (NASA makes white conductive paint) or they develop solutions in partnership with manufacturers.

China experiments with solar-thermal power production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, Margaret

2009-04-01

Construction is due to start later this month on an experimental solar-thermal power plant in the shadow of China's Great Wall that will bring clean energy to 30 000 households by 2010. Built on the outskirts of Beijing at a cost of £10m, the 1.5MW Dahan plant will cover an area the size of 10 football pitches, and will serve as a platform for experiments on different solar-power technologies.

Estimating the HIV undiagnosed population in Catalonia, Spain: descriptive and comparative data analysis to identify differences in MSM stratified by migrant and Spanish-born population

PubMed Central

Campbell, Colin N J; Vives, Núria; Esteve, Anna; Ambrosioni, Juan; Tural, Cristina; Ferrer, Elena; Navarro, Gemma; Force, Lluis; García, Isabel; Masabeu, Àngels; Vilaró, Josep M; García de Olalla, Patricia; Caylà, Joan Artur; Miró, Josep M; Casabona, Jordi

2018-01-01

Objective Undiagnosed HIV continues to be a hindrance to efforts aimed at reducing incidence of HIV. The objective of this study was to provide an estimate of the HIV undiagnosed population in Catalonia and compare the HIV care cascade with this step included between high-risk populations. Methods To estimate HIV incidence, time between infection and diagnosis and the undiagnosed population stratified by CD4 count, we used the ECDC HIV Modelling Tool V.1.2.2. This model uses data on new HIV and AIDS diagnoses from the Catalan HIV/AIDS surveillance system from 2001 to 2013. Data used to estimate the proportion of people enrolled, on ART and virally suppressed in the HIV care cascade were derived from the PISCIS cohort. Results The total number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Catalonia in 2013 was 34 729 (32 740 to 36 827), with 12.3% (11.8 to 18.1) of whom were undiagnosed. By 2013, there were 8458 (8101 to 9079) Spanish-born men who have sex with men (MSM) and 2538 (2334 to 2918) migrant MSM living with HIV in Catalonia. A greater proportion of migrant MSM than local MSM was undiagnosed (32% vs 22%). In the subsequent steps of the HIV care cascade, migrants MSM experience greater losses than the Spanish-born MSM: in retention in care (74% vs 55%), in the proportion on combination antiretroviral treatment (70% vs 50%) and virally suppressed (65% vs 46%). Conclusions By the end of 2013, there were an estimated 34 729 PLHIV in Catalonia, of whom 4271 were still undiagnosed. This study shows that the Catalan epidemic of HIV has continued to expand with the key group sustaining HIV transmission being MSM living with undiagnosed HIV. PMID:29490955

A moving mesh unstaggered constrained transport scheme for magnetohydrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mocz, Philip; Pakmor, Rüdiger; Springel, Volker; Vogelsberger, Mark; Marinacci, Federico; Hernquist, Lars

2016-11-01

We present a constrained transport (CT) algorithm for solving the 3D ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations on a moving mesh, which maintains the divergence-free condition on the magnetic field to machine-precision. Our CT scheme uses an unstructured representation of the magnetic vector potential, making the numerical method simple and computationally efficient. The scheme is implemented in the moving mesh code AREPO. We demonstrate the performance of the approach with simulations of driven MHD turbulence, a magnetized disc galaxy, and a cosmological volume with primordial magnetic field. We compare the outcomes of these experiments to those obtained with a previously implemented Powell divergence-cleaning scheme. While CT and the Powell technique yield similar results in idealized test problems, some differences are seen in situations more representative of astrophysical flows. In the turbulence simulations, the Powell cleaning scheme artificially grows the mean magnetic field, while CT maintains this conserved quantity of ideal MHD. In the disc simulation, CT gives slower magnetic field growth rate and saturates to equipartition between the turbulent kinetic energy and magnetic energy, whereas Powell cleaning produces a dynamically dominant magnetic field. Such difference has been observed in adaptive-mesh refinement codes with CT and smoothed-particle hydrodynamics codes with divergence-cleaning. In the cosmological simulation, both approaches give similar magnetic amplification, but Powell exhibits more cell-level noise. CT methods in general are more accurate than divergence-cleaning techniques, and, when coupled to a moving mesh can exploit the advantages of automatic spatial/temporal adaptivity and reduced advection errors, allowing for improved astrophysical MHD simulations.

Cleaning Products and Air Fresheners: Emissions and ResultingConcentrations of Glycol Ethers and Terpenoids

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

Singer, Brett C.; Destaillat, Hugo; Hodgson, Alfred T.

2005-08-01

Experiments were conducted to quantify emissions and concentrations of glycol ethers and terpenoids from cleaning product and air freshener use in a 50-m{sup 3} room ventilated at {approx}0.5 h{sup -1}. Five cleaning products were applied full-strength (FS); three were additionally used in dilute solution. FS application of pine-oil cleaner (POC) yielded 1-h concentrations of 10-1300 {micro}g m{sup -3} for individual terpenoids, including {alpha}-terpinene (90-120), d-limonene (1000-1100), terpinolene (900-1300), and {alpha}-terpineol (260-700). One-hour concentrations of 2-butoxyethanol and/or dlimonene were 300-6000 {micro}g m{sup -3} after FS use of other products. During FS application including rinsing with sponge and wiping with towels, fractionalmore » emissions (mass volatilized/dispensed) of 2-butoxyethanol and d-limonene were 50-100% with towels retained, {approx}25-50% when towels were removed after cleaning. Lower fractions (2-11%) resulted from dilute use. Fractional emissions of terpenes from FS use of POC were {approx}35-70% with towels retained, 20-50% with towels removed. During floor cleaning with dilute solution of POC, 7-12% of dispensed terpenes were emitted. Terpene alcohols were emitted at lower fractions: 7-30% (FS, towels retained), 2-9% (FS, towels removed), and 2-5% (dilute). During air-freshener use, d-limonene, dihydromyrcenol, linalool, linalyl acetate, and {beta}-citronellol were emitted at 35-180 mg d{sup -1} over three days while air concentrations averaged 30-160 {micro}g m{sup -3}.« less

Hydrogel-coated feed spacers in two-phase flow cleaning in spiral wound membrane elements: a novel platform for eco-friendly biofouling mitigation.

PubMed

Wibisono, Yusuf; Yandi, Wetra; Golabi, Mohsen; Nugraha, Roni; Cornelissen, Emile R; Kemperman, Antoine J B; Ederth, Thomas; Nijmeijer, Kitty

2015-03-15

Biofouling is still a major challenge in the application of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes. Here we present a platform approach for environmentally friendly biofouling control using a combination of a hydrogel-coated feed spacer and two-phase flow cleaning. Neutral (polyHEMA-co-PEG10MA), cationic (polyDMAEMA) and anionic (polySPMA) hydrogels have been successfully grafted onto polypropylene (PP) feed spacers via plasma-mediated UV-polymerization. These coatings maintained their chemical stability after 7 days incubation in neutral (pH 7), acidic (pH 5) and basic (pH 9) environments. Anti-biofouling properties of these coatings were evaluated by Escherichia coli attachment assay and nanofiltration experiments at a TMP of 600 kPag using tap water with additional nutrients as feed and by using optical coherence tomography. Especially the anionic polySPMA-coated PP feed spacer shows reduced attachment of E. coli and biofouling in the spacer-filled narrow channels resulting in delayed biofilm growth. Employing this highly hydrophilic coating during removal of biofouling by two-phase flow cleaning also showed enhanced cleaning efficiency, feed channel pressure drop and flux recoveries. The strong hydrophilic nature and the presence of negative charge on polySPMA are most probably responsible for the improved antifouling behavior. A combination of polySPMA-coated PP feed spacers and two-phase flow cleaning therefore is promising and an environmentally friendly approach to control biofouling in NF/RO systems employing spiral-wound membrane modules. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comprehensive Census of Bacteria in Clean Rooms by Using DNA Microarray and Cloning Methods▿ †

PubMed Central

La Duc, Myron T.; Osman, Shariff; Vaishampayan, Parag; Piceno, Yvette; Andersen, Gary; Spry, J. A.; Venkateswaran, Kasthuri

2009-01-01

A census of clean room surface-associated bacterial populations was derived from the results of both the cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and DNA microarray (PhyloChip) analyses. Samples from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Multiple Testing Facility (LMA-MTF), the Kennedy Space Center Payload Hazard and Servicing Facility (KSC-PHSF), and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Spacecraft Assembly Facility (JPL-SAF) clean rooms were collected during the various assembly phases of the Phoenix and Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft. Clone library-derived analyses detected a larger bacterial diversity prior to the arrival of spacecraft hardware in these clean room facilities. PhyloChip results were in agreement with this trend but also unveiled the presence of anywhere from 9- to 70-fold more bacterial taxa than cloning approaches. Among the facilities sampled, the JPL-SAF (MSL mission) housed a significantly less diverse bacterial population than either the LMA-MTF or KSC-PHSF (Phoenix mission). Bacterial taxa known to thrive in arid conditions were frequently detected in MSL-associated JPL-SAF samples, whereas proteobacterial lineages dominated Phoenix-associated KSC-PHSF samples. Comprehensive bacterial censuses, such as that reported here, will help space-faring nations preemptively identify contaminant biomatter that may compromise extraterrestrial life detection experiments. The robust nature and high sensitivity of DNA microarray technologies should prove beneficial to a wide range of scientific, electronic, homeland security, medical, and pharmaceutical applications and to any other ventures with a vested interest in monitoring and controlling contamination in exceptionally clean environments. PMID:19700540

Comprehensive census of bacteria in clean rooms by using DNA microarray and cloning methods.

PubMed

La Duc, Myron T; Osman, Shariff; Vaishampayan, Parag; Piceno, Yvette; Andersen, Gary; Spry, J A; Venkateswaran, Kasthuri

2009-10-01

A census of clean room surface-associated bacterial populations was derived from the results of both the cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and DNA microarray (PhyloChip) analyses. Samples from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Multiple Testing Facility (LMA-MTF), the Kennedy Space Center Payload Hazard and Servicing Facility (KSC-PHSF), and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Spacecraft Assembly Facility (JPL-SAF) clean rooms were collected during the various assembly phases of the Phoenix and Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft. Clone library-derived analyses detected a larger bacterial diversity prior to the arrival of spacecraft hardware in these clean room facilities. PhyloChip results were in agreement with this trend but also unveiled the presence of anywhere from 9- to 70-fold more bacterial taxa than cloning approaches. Among the facilities sampled, the JPL-SAF (MSL mission) housed a significantly less diverse bacterial population than either the LMA-MTF or KSC-PHSF (Phoenix mission). Bacterial taxa known to thrive in arid conditions were frequently detected in MSL-associated JPL-SAF samples, whereas proteobacterial lineages dominated Phoenix-associated KSC-PHSF samples. Comprehensive bacterial censuses, such as that reported here, will help space-faring nations preemptively identify contaminant biomatter that may compromise extraterrestrial life detection experiments. The robust nature and high sensitivity of DNA microarray technologies should prove beneficial to a wide range of scientific, electronic, homeland security, medical, and pharmaceutical applications and to any other ventures with a vested interest in monitoring and controlling contamination in exceptionally clean environments.

Humus-assisted cleaning of heavy metal contaminated soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borggaard, Ole K.; Rasmussen, Signe B.

2016-04-01

Contamination of soils with non-degradable heavy metals (HMs) because of human acticities is globally a serious problem threatening human health and ecosystem functioning. To avoid negative effects, HMs must be removed either on-site by plant uptake (phytoremediation) or off-site by extraction (soil washing). In both strategies, HM solubility must be augmented by means of a strong ligand (complexant). Often polycarboxylates such as EDTA and NTA are used but these ligands are toxic, synthetic (non-natural) and may promote HM leaching. Instead naturally occurring soluble humic substances (HS) were tested as means for cleaning HM contaminated soils; HS samples from beech and spruce litter, compost percolate and processed cow slurry were tested. Various long-term HM contaminated soils were extracted with solutions of EDTA, NTA or HS at different pH by single-step and multiple-step extraction mode. The results showed that each of the three complexant types increased HM solubility but the pH-dependent HM extraction efficiency decreased in the order: EDTA ≈ NTA > HS. However, the naturally occurring HS seems suitable for cleaning As, Cd, Cu and Zn contaminated soils both in relation to phytoremediation of moderately contaminated soils and washing of strongly contaminated soils. On the other hand, HS was found unsuited as cleaning agent for Pb polluted calcareous soils. If future field experiments confirm these laboratory results, we have a new cheap and environmentally friendly method for solving a great pollution problem, i.e. cleaning of heavy metal contaminated soils. In addition, humic substances possess additional benefits such as improving soil structure and stimulating microbial activity.

EVALUATION OF CARBON BLACK SLURRIES AS CLEAN BURNING FUELS

EPA Science Inventory

Experiments were performed to examine the pumpability, atomization and combustion characteristics of slurries made of mixtures of carbon black with No. 2 fuel oil and methanol. Carbon black-No. 2 fuel oil and carbon black-methanol slurries, with carbon black contents of up to 50 ...

Down in the Dumps.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trotter, Andrew

1993-01-01

Under Superfund, the Environmental Protection Agency can compel parties, including school districts, that contributed hazardous substances to a site to clean it up or repay the government for cleanup costs. Describes New Jersey's experiences and lobbying efforts for Superfund reform in Congress, and advises actions to protect school districts from…

Use of Hyperspectral Aircraft Remote Sensing to Support Ecosystems Services Research in New England Lakes and Ponds

EPA Science Inventory

Northeastern lakes and ponds provide important ecosystem services to New England residents and visitors. These include the provisioning of abundant, clean water for consumption, agriculture, and industry as well as cultural services (recreation, aesthetics, and wilderness experie...

Trash Ecology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lind, Georgia J.

2004-01-01

A hands on activity involving density, frequency and biomass using transects, quadrats and a local good deed by cleaning up the neighborhood while practicing important techniques in ecology is detailed. The activity is designed for KCC-STEP, whose primary goal is to expand the scientific knowledge and research experiences of their students, who…

RELIABILITY OF THE ONE REPETITION-MAXIMUM POWER CLEAN TEST IN ADOLESCENT ATHLETES

PubMed Central

Faigenbaum, Avery D.; McFarland, James E.; Herman, Robert; Naclerio, Fernando; Ratamess, Nicholas A.; Kang, Jie; Myer, Gregory D.

2013-01-01

Although the power clean test is routinely used to assess strength and power performance in adult athletes, the reliability of this measure in younger populations has not been examined. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of the one repetition maximum (1 RM) power clean in adolescent athletes. Thirty-six male athletes (age 15.9 ± 1.1 yrs, body mass 79.1 ± 20.3 kg, height 175.1 ±7.4 cm) who had more than 1 year of training experience with weightlifting exercises performed a 1 RM power clean on two nonconsecutive days in the afternoon following standardized procedures. All test procedures were supervised by a senior level weightlifting coach and consisted of a systematic progression in test load until the maximum resistance that could be lifted for one repetition using proper exercise technique was determined. Data were analyzed using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC [2,k]), Pearson correlation coefficient (r), repeated measures ANOVA, Bland-Altman plot, and typical error analyses. Analysis of the data revealed that the test measures were highly reliable demonstrating a test-retest ICC of 0.98 (95% CI = 0.96–0.99). Testing also demonstrated a strong relationship between 1 RM measures on trial 1 and trial 2 (r=0.98, p<0.0001) with no significant difference in power clean performance between trials (70.6 ± 19.8 vs. 69.8 ± 19.8 kg). Bland Altman plots confirmed no systematic shift in 1 RM between trial 1 and trial 2. The typical error to be expected between 1 RM power clean trials is 2.9 kg and a change of at least 8.0 kg is indicated to determine a real change in lifting performance between tests in young lifters. No injuries occurred during the study period and the testing protocol was well-tolerated by all subjects. These findings indicate that 1 RM power clean testing has a high degree of reproducibility in trained male adolescent athletes when standardized testing procedures are followed and qualified instruction is present. PMID:22233786

Limited sterile processing capabilities for safe surgery in low-income and middle-income countries: experience in the Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Benin.

PubMed

Fast, Olive; Fast, Christina; Fast, Dan; Veltjens, Suzanne; Salami, Zouliha; White, Michelle C

2017-01-01

It is highly difficult to perform safe surgery without sterile instruments, yet the capacity to adequately clean, disinfect and sterilise surgical instruments in low-income and middle-income countries is largely unknown. Sterile Processing Education Charitable Trust developed an assessment tool and, in partnership with Mercy Ships, evaluated the sterile processing capacity in 59 facilities in Madagascar, Benin and the Republic of Congo. This data-driven analysis paper illustrates how lack of sterile processing capacity acts as a barrier to safe surgical care. Our tool identified widespread lack of knowledge of techniques and resources needed for sterile processing. Only 12% of workers in Republic of Congo and Benin had sterile processing training and none in Madagascar. None of the hospitals surveyed met basic standards for cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation as defined by the WHO/Pan American Health Organization. Examples of poor practice included lack of cleaning supplies (basic brushes and detergents), incorrect drying and storage of surgical instruments, and inattention to workflow causing cross-contamination. Bleach (sodium hypochlorite) solutions, damaging to instruments, were used universally. In our experience, using an assessment tool allowed identification of specific gaps in sterile processing capacity. Many of the gaps are amenable to simple solutions requiring minimal resources and achievable by most hospitals. We recommend that stakeholders seeking to strengthen surgical health systems in low-resource settings incorporate sterile processing capacity assessments and training into their programmes.

High resolution 4-D spectroscopy with sparse concentric shell sampling and FFT-CLEAN.

PubMed

Coggins, Brian E; Zhou, Pei

2008-12-01

Recent efforts to reduce the measurement time for multidimensional NMR experiments have fostered the development of a variety of new procedures for sampling and data processing. We recently described concentric ring sampling for 3-D NMR experiments, which is superior to radial sampling as input for processing by a multidimensional discrete Fourier transform. Here, we report the extension of this approach to 4-D spectroscopy as Randomized Concentric Shell Sampling (RCSS), where sampling points for the indirect dimensions are positioned on concentric shells, and where random rotations in the angular space are used to avoid coherent artifacts. With simulations, we show that RCSS produces a very low level of artifacts, even with a very limited number of sampling points. The RCSS sampling patterns can be adapted to fine rectangular grids to permit use of the Fast Fourier Transform in data processing, without an apparent increase in the artifact level. These artifacts can be further reduced to the noise level using the iterative CLEAN algorithm developed in radioastronomy. We demonstrate these methods on the high resolution 4-D HCCH-TOCSY spectrum of protein G's B1 domain, using only 1.2% of the sampling that would be needed conventionally for this resolution. The use of a multidimensional FFT instead of the slow DFT for initial data processing and for subsequent CLEAN significantly reduces the calculation time, yielding an artifact level that is on par with the level of the true spectral noise.

High Resolution 4-D Spectroscopy with Sparse Concentric Shell Sampling and FFT-CLEAN

PubMed Central

Coggins, Brian E.; Zhou, Pei

2009-01-01

SUMMARY Recent efforts to reduce the measurement time for multidimensional NMR experiments have fostered the development of a variety of new procedures for sampling and data processing. We recently described concentric ring sampling for 3-D NMR experiments, which is superior to radial sampling as input for processing by a multidimensional discrete Fourier transform. Here, we report the extension of this approach to 4-D spectroscopy as Randomized Concentric Shell Sampling (RCSS), where sampling points for the indirect dimensions are positioned on concentric shells, and where random rotations in the angular space are used to avoid coherent artifacts. With simulations, we show that RCSS produces a very low level of artifacts, even with a very limited number of sampling points. The RCSS sampling patterns can be adapted to fine rectangular grids to permit use of the Fast Fourier Transform in data processing, without an apparent increase in the artifact level. These artifacts can be further reduced to the noise level using the iterative CLEAN algorithm developed in radioastronomy. We demonstrate these methods on the high resolution 4-D HCCH-TOCSY spectrum of protein G's B1 domain, using only 1.2% of the sampling that would be needed conventionally for this resolution. The use of a multidimensional FFT instead of the slow DFT for initial data processing and for subsequent CLEAN significantly reduces the calculation time, yielding an artifact level that is on par with the level of the true spectral noise. PMID:18853260

Limited sterile processing capabilities for safe surgery in low-income and middle-income countries: experience in the Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Benin

PubMed Central

Fast, Olive; Fast, Christina; Fast, Dan; Veltjens, Suzanne; Salami, Zouliha

2017-01-01

It is highly difficult to perform safe surgery without sterile instruments, yet the capacity to adequately clean, disinfect and sterilise surgical instruments in low-income and middle-income countries is largely unknown. Sterile Processing Education Charitable Trust developed an assessment tool and, in partnership with Mercy Ships, evaluated the sterile processing capacity in 59 facilities in Madagascar, Benin and the Republic of Congo. This data-driven analysis paper illustrates how lack of sterile processing capacity acts as a barrier to safe surgical care. Our tool identified widespread lack of knowledge of techniques and resources needed for sterile processing. Only 12% of workers in Republic of Congo and Benin had sterile processing training and none in Madagascar. None of the hospitals surveyed met basic standards for cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation as defined by the WHO/Pan American Health Organization. Examples of poor practice included lack of cleaning supplies (basic brushes and detergents), incorrect drying and storage of surgical instruments, and inattention to workflow causing cross-contamination. Bleach (sodium hypochlorite) solutions, damaging to instruments, were used universally. In our experience, using an assessment tool allowed identification of specific gaps in sterile processing capacity. Many of the gaps are amenable to simple solutions requiring minimal resources and achievable by most hospitals. We recommend that stakeholders seeking to strengthen surgical health systems in low-resource settings incorporate sterile processing capacity assessments and training into their programmes. PMID:29225957

Working Smart Workbook. An Interactive Learning Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Los Angeles Unified School District, CA. Div. of Adult and Occupational Education.

This workbook accompanies an interactive videodisc used in the Working Smart workplace literacy project prepared for the hotel and food services industry in the Los Angeles, California area. The first instructional unit addresses preparing the work area, including stocking supplies and cleaning the work area. The second instructional unit covers…

Removal of perfluorocarboxylic acids from carpets treated with stain-resistant products--Indoor Air

EPA Science Inventory

Experiments were performed in the EPA research house to determine the level of perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) in carpets that had been treated with one of two commercial carpet-care liquids. The ability of household or commercial carpet cleaning machines using hot water or st...

Parent Involvement in the Early Years.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honig, Alice Sterling

Parents are young children's greatest resource, and quality parenting helps develop children's self-esteem. Every child needs caring parents to be teachers as well as nurturers. Parents can create learning experiences for their children in everyday activities, such as cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping. In addition to teaching, parents should…

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS AND EXPERIENCE CURVES FOR NITROGEN OXIDES CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES

EPA Science Inventory

This paper reviews the regulatory history for nitrogen oxides (NO_X) pollutant emissions from stationary sources, primarily in coal-fired power plants. Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is one of the six criteria pollutants regulated by the 1970 Clean Air Act where Nati...

Learning Fire Investigation the Clean Way: The Virtual Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Amanda; Dalgarno, Barney

2009-01-01

The effective teaching of fire investigation skills presents logistical challenges because of the difficulty of providing students with access to suitable fire damaged buildings so that they can undertake authentic investigation tasks. At Charles Sturt University (CSU), in the subject JST415, "Fire Investigation Cause and Origin…

EVALUATION OF GEOPHYSICAL METHODS FOR THE DETECTION OF SUBSURFACE TETRACHLOROETHYLENE (PCE) IN CONTROLLED SPILL EXPERIMENTS

EPA Science Inventory

Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), typically used as a dry cleaning solvent, is a predominant contaminant in the subsurface at Superfund Sites. PCE is a dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) that migrates downward into the earth, leaving behind areas of residual saturation and free prod...

Characterization of heterotrophic nitrifying bacteria with respiratory ammonification and denitrification activity--description of Paenibacillus uliginis sp. nov., an inhabitant of fen peat soil and Paenibacillus purispatii sp. nov., isolated from a spacecraft assembly clean room.

PubMed

Behrendt, Undine; Schumann, Peter; Stieglmeier, Michaela; Pukall, Rüdiger; Augustin, Jürgen; Spröer, Cathrin; Schwendner, Petra; Moissl-Eichinger, Christine; Ulrich, Andreas

2010-10-01

In the course of studying the influence of N-fertilization on N(2) and N(2)O flux rates in relation to soil bacterial community composition of a long-term fertilization experiment in fen peat grassland, a strain group was isolated that was related to a strain isolated from a spacecraft assembly clean room during diversity studies of microorganisms, which withstood cleaning and bioburden reduction strategies. Both the fen soil isolates and the clean room strain revealed versatile physiological capacities in N-transformation processes by performing heterotrophic nitrification, respiratory ammonification and denitrification activity. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences demonstrated that the investigated isolates belonged to the genus Paenibacillus. Sequence similarities lower than 97% in comparison to established species indicated a separate species position. Except for the peptidoglycan type (A4alpha L-Lys-D-Asp), chemotaxonomic features of the isolates matched the genus description, but differences in several physiological characteristics separated them from related species and supported their novel species status. Despite a high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between the clean room isolate ES_MS17(T) and the representative fen soil isolate N3/975(T), DNA-DNA hybridization studies revealed genetic differences at the species level. These differences were substantiated by MALDI-TOF MS analysis, ribotyping and several distinct physiological characteristics. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that the fen soil isolates and the clean room isolate ES_MS17(T) represented two novel species for which the names Paenibacillus uliginis sp. nov. (type strain N3/975(T)=DSM 21861(T)=LMG 24790(T)) and Paenibacillus purispatii sp. nov. (type strain ES_MS17(T)=DSM 22991(T)=CIP 110057(T)) are proposed. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Microgravity

NASA Image and Video Library

1991-04-03

The USML-1 Glovebox (GBX) is a multi-user facility supporting 16 experiments in fluid dynamics, combustion sciences, crystal growth, and technology demonstration. The GBX has an enclosed working space which minimizes the contamination risks to both Spacelab and experiment samples. The GBX supports four charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras (two of which may be operated simultaneously) with three black-and-white and three color camera CCD heads available. The GBX also has a backlight panel, a 35 mm camera, and a stereomicroscope that offers high-magnification viewing of experiment samples. Video data can also be downlinked in real-time. The GBX also provides electrical power for experiment hardware, a time-temperature display, and cleaning supplies.

Microgravity

NASA Image and Video Library

1995-08-29

The USML-1 Glovebox (GBX) is a multi-user facility supporting 16 experiments in fluid dynamics, combustion sciences, crystal growth, and technology demonstration. The GBX has an enclosed working space which minimizes the contamination risks to both Spacelab and experiment samples. The GBX supports four charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras (two of which may be operated simultaneously) with three black-and-white and three color camera CCD heads available. The GBX also has a backlight panel, a 35 mm camera, and a stereomicroscope that offers high-magnification viewing of experiment samples. Video data can also be downlinked in real-time. The GBX also provides electrical power for experiment hardware, a time-temperature display, and cleaning supplies.

[NOTES ASSISTED ENDOLUMENAL RECTAL RESECTION AND SPECIMEN EXTRACTION WITHOUT RECTAL STUMP OPENING - OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THIS NOVEL TECHNIQUE IN A PORCINE MODEL].

PubMed

Kvasha, Anton; Rosenthal, Eyal; Khalifa, Muhammad; Waksman, Igor

2017-05-01

Laparoscopic surgery has long been used for colon and rectal resection, and the laparoscopic-assisted approach has prevailed in surgical practice. While this technique includes the fashioning of an intra-corporeal anastomosis, it still requires an abdominal incision for specimen extraction. Elimination of the abdominal incision and its potential complications has been the motivation for the development of natural orifice specimen extraction (NOSE) techniques. Many of these techniques make use of an open rectal stump, which poses as a potential for intra-abdominal contamination. Our group has recently described a novel, NOTES assisted, clean, endoluminal rectal resection utilizing transabdominal and transanal approaches. In this paper we report the combined experience of two study groups: an open approach to the abdominal cavity and a laparoscopic approach to the peritoneal cavity. Ten female pigs were used for this research; 5 in a group using an open approach and 5 using a laparoscopic approach for the abdominal part of the procedure. During the procedure, the rectum was mobilized. An end-to-end circular stapler was used to create a recto-rectal intussusception and pull-through (IPT). The specimen was resected and extracted by making a full thickness incision through 2 bowel walls. The stapler was applied, and a recto-rectal anastomosis created. This was allowed to retract into the abdomen. Peritoneal fluid was sampled for bacteria, the pigs were sacrificed immediately after the experiment and necropsy was performed. All 10 pigs underwent an endoluminal rectal resection utilizing the trans-anal IPT technique. The proximal and distal resection margins remained approximated over the shaft of the anvil after bowel resection in all 10 subjects. A 2- to 4-mm resection margin, distal to the ligatures was accomplished consistently in all 10 subjects. No aerobic or anaerobic bacterial growth was observed in any of the peritoneal fluid samples. Our research demonstrated the feasibility of the described technique in both open and laparoscopic approaches to a clean endoluminal bowel resection and trans-anal specimen extraction without rectal stump opening. The fact that no bacterial growth was found in any of the peritoneal samples supports the initial classification of this novel technique as clean, as opposed to clean contaminated, which classifies all other techniques in use to date.

In vitro adhesion of Acanthamoeba castellanii to soft contact lenses depends on water content and disinfection procedure.

PubMed

Reverey, Julia F; Fromme, Roland; Leippe, Matthias; Selhuber-Unkel, Christine

2014-08-01

To compare the potential of different soft contact lenses to be contaminated with Acanthamoeba castellanii as a function of material parameters and cleaning procedures. Different unworn soft hydrogel and silicone hydrogel contact lenses were incubated with human pathogenic A. castellanii. The adhesion of the acanthamoebae was investigated on the contact lenses and put into relation to their material parameters. The efficacy of a recommended contact lens cleaning procedure in reducing A. castellanii adhesion was investigated. We found that material parameters such as elastic modulus, silicone content, ionic properties and swelling do not influence the adhesion of acanthamoebae to soft contact lenses. A material parameter that influenced adhesion significantly was the water content of the lens. With increasing water content, the adhesion of acanthamoebae increased. By following the cleaning instructions of the manufacturer the contamination of the lenses with A. castellanii could be reduced to a minimum, as shown both on contact lenses and in control experiments. With this study we show that for the tested lenses, the adhesion of A. castellanii to contact lenses is independent of the silicone content of the lens, but depends nonlinearly on the water content of the lens. Furthermore, we demonstrate that applying proper lens cleaning procedures minimizes the risk of acanthamoebae adhesion to contact lenses. Copyright © 2013 British Contact Lens Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inhalation exposure to cleaning products: application of a two-zone model.

PubMed

Earnest, C Matt; Corsi, Richard L

2013-01-01

In this study, modifications were made to previously applied two-zone models to address important factors that can affect exposures during cleaning tasks. Specifically, we expand on previous applications of the two-zone model by (1) introducing the source in discrete elements (source-cells) as opposed to a complete instantaneous release, (2) placing source cells in both the inner (near person) and outer zones concurrently, (3) treating each source cell as an independent mixture of multiple constituents, and (4) tracking the time-varying liquid concentration and emission rate of each constituent in each source cell. Three experiments were performed in an environmentally controlled chamber with a thermal mannequin and a simplified pure chemical source to simulate emissions from a cleaning product. Gas phase concentration measurements were taken in the bulk air and in the breathing zone of the mannequin to evaluate the model. The mean ratio of the integrated concentration in the mannequin's breathing zone to the concentration in the outer zone was 4.3 (standard deviation, σ = 1.6). The mean ratio of measured concentration in the breathing zone to predicted concentrations in the inner zone was 0.81 (σ = 0.16). Intake fractions ranged from 1.9 × 10(-3) to 2.7 × 10(-3). Model results reasonably predict those of previous exposure monitoring studies and indicate the inadequacy of well-mixed single-zone model applications for some but not all cleaning events.

Successful Cleaning and Study of Contamination of Si(001) in Ultrahigh Vacuum

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

Gheorghe, N. G.; Lungu, G. A.; Husanu, M. A.

2011-10-03

This paper presents the very first surface physics experiment performed in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) in Romania, using a new molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) installation. Cleaning of a Si(001) wafer was achieved by using a very simple technique: sequences of annealing at 900-1000 deg. C in ultrahigh vacuum: low 10{sup -8} mbar, with a base pressure of 1.5x10{sup -10} mbar. The preparation procedure is quite reproducible and allows repeated cleaning of the Si(001) after contamination in ultrahigh vacuum. The Si(001) single crystal surface is characterized by low energy electron diffraction (LEED), reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), and Auger electron spectroscopymore » (AES). The latter technique is utilized in order to investigate the sample contamination by the residual gas in the UHV chamber, as determined by a residual gas analyzer (RGA). Unambiguous assignment of oxidized and unoxidized silicon is provided; also, an important feature is that the LVV Auger peak at 90-92 eV cannot be solely attributed to clean Si (i.e. Si surrounded only by Si), but also to silicon atoms bounded with carbon. Even with a sum of partial pressures of oxygen and carbon containing molecules in the range of 5x10{sup -10} mbar, the sample is contaminated very quickly, having a (1/e) lifetime of about 76 minutes.« less

An erosion sensor based on a quartz crystal microbalance for quantitative determination of the cleaning efficiency in an ultrasonic vessel.

PubMed

Jüschke, M; Koch, C; Dreyer, T

2014-09-01

The efficiency of ultrasonic cleaning vessels cannot be measured directly in an easy way. In the presented work, a sensor is developed which quantitatively measures the ablation of a test layer. The sensor element is a quartz crystal which is coated with a sacrificial layer. Small changes in mass of this layer can be measured by a frequency shift of the crystal oscillation. For measurements, a 10 MHz AT-cut quartz crystal was used in a cleaning vessel working at 44.9 kHz. To determine the frequency shift by the ablation of the test layer, the quartz crystal was driven by a frequency generator sweeping the frequency in the range of the resonance frequency and a characteristic frequency was determined. The test layer which was applied to the quartz crystal consisted of silica microparticles suspended in varnish. In a preliminary experiment using a commercial cleaner it could be shown that significant changes in resonance frequency by cavitation effect could be detected. The initial frequency shift of the sacrificial layer is reproducible within 10%. The test layer can be adapted to the conditions of the cleaning vessel. By changing the electrical input power of the vessel, a threshold in the cavitation erosion was found. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microfluidic Mixing Technology for a Universal Health Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, Eugene Y.; Bae, Candice

2009-01-01

A highly efficient means of microfluidic mixing has been created for use with the rHEALTH sensor an elliptical mixer and passive curvilinear mixing patterns. The rHEALTH sensor provides rapid, handheld, complete blood count, cell differential counts, electrolyte measurements, and other lab tests based on a reusable, flow-based microfluidic platform. These geometries allow for cleaning in a reusable manner, and also allow for complete mixing of fluid streams. The microfluidic mixing is performed by flowing two streams of fluid into an elliptical or curvilinear design that allows the combination of the flows into one channel. The mixing is accomplished by either chaotic advection around micro - fluidic loops. All components of the microfluidic chip are flow-through, meaning that cleaning solution can be introduced into the chip to flush out cells, plasma proteins, and dye. Tests were performed on multiple chip geometries to show that cleaning is efficient in any flowthrough design. The conclusion from these experiments is that the chip can indeed be flushed out with microliter volumes of solution and biological samples are cleaned readily from the chip with minimal effort. The technology can be applied in real-time health monitoring at patient s bedside or in a doctor s office, and real-time clinical intervention in acute situations. It also can be used for daily measurement of hematocrit for patients on anticoagulant drugs, or to detect acute myocardial damage outside a hospital.

Comparison of Polytetrafluoroethylene Flat-Sheet Membranes with Different Pore Sizes in Application to Submerged Membrane Bioreactor

PubMed Central

Nittami, Tadashi; Hitomi, Tetsuo; Matsumoto, Kanji; Nakamura, Kazuho; Ikeda, Takaharu; Setoguchi, Yoshihiro; Motoori, Manabu

2012-01-01

This study focused on phase separation of activated sludge mixed liquor by flat-sheet membranes of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). A 20 liter working volume lab-scale MBR incorporating immersed PTFE flat-sheet membrane modules with different pore sizes (0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 μm) was operated for 19 days treating a synthetic wastewater. The experiment was interrupted twice at days 5 and 13 when the modules were removed and cleaned physically and chemically in sequence. The pure water permeate flux of each membrane module was measured before and after each cleaning step to calculate membrane resistances. Results showed that fouling of membrane modules with 0.3 μm pore size was more rapid than other membrane modules with different pore sizes (0.5 and 1.0 μm). On the other hand, it was not clear whether fouling of the 0.5 μm membrane module was more severe than that of the 1.0 μm membrane module. This was partly because of the membrane condition after chemical cleaning, which seemed to determine the fouling of those modules over the next period. When irreversible resistance (Ri) i.e., differences in membrane resistance before use and after chemical cleaning was high, the transmembrane pressure increased quickly during the next period irrespective of membrane pore size. PMID:24958174

Cleaning and passivation of copper surfaces to remove surface radioactivity and prevent oxide formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoppe, E. W.; Seifert, A.; Aalseth, C. E.; Bachelor, P. P.; Day, A. R.; Edwards, D. J.; Hossbach, T. W.; Litke, K. E.; McIntyre, J. I.; Miley, H. S.; Schulte, S. M.; Smart, J. E.; Warren, G. A.

2007-08-01

High-purity copper is an attractive material for constructing ultra-low-background radiation measurement devices. Many low-background experiments using high-purity copper have indicated surface contamination emerges as the dominant background. Radon daughters plate out on exposed surfaces, leaving a residual 210Pb background that is difficult to avoid. Dust is also a problem; even under cleanroom conditions, the amount of U and Th deposited on surfaces can represent the largest remaining background. To control these backgrounds, a copper cleaning chemistry has been developed. Designed to replace an effective, but overly aggressive concentrated nitric acid etch, this peroxide-based solution allows for a more controlled cleaning of surfaces. The acidified hydrogen peroxide solution will generally target the Cu +/Cu 2+ species which are the predominant surface participants, leaving the bulk of copper metal intact. This preserves the critical tolerances of parts and eliminates significant waste disposal issues. Accompanying passivation chemistry has also been developed that protects copper surfaces from oxidation. Using a high-activity polonium surface spike, the most difficult-to-remove daughter isotope of radon, the performance of these methods are quantified.

A model for choosing an automated ultraviolet-C disinfection system and building a case for the C-suite: Two case reports.

PubMed

Spencer, Maureen; Vignari, Michelle; Bryce, Elizabeth; Johnson, Helen Boehm; Fauerbach, Loretta; Graham, Denise

2017-03-01

Environmental disinfection has become the new frontier in the ongoing battle to reduce the risk of health care-associated infections. Evidence demonstrating the persistent contamination of environmental surfaces despite traditional cleaning and disinfection methods has led to the widespread acceptance that there is both a need for reassessing traditional cleaning protocols and for using secondary disinfection technologies. Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) disinfection is one type of no-touch technology shown to be a successful adjunct to manual cleaning in reducing environmental bioburden. The dilemma for the infection preventionist, however, is how to choose the system best suited for their facility among the many UV-C surface disinfection delivery systems available and how to build a case for acquisition to present to the hospital administration/C-suite. This article proposes an approach to these dilemmas based in part on the experience of 2 health care networks. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transfer of molybdenum disulfide to various metals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barton, G. C.; Pepper, S. V.

1977-01-01

Sliding friction experiments were conducted with molybdenum disulfide single crystals in contact with sputter cleaned surfaces of copper, nickel, gold, and 304 stainless steel. Transfer of the molybdenum disulfide to the metals was monitored with Auger electron spectroscopy. Results of the investigation indicate molybdenum disulfide transfers to all clean metal surfaces after a single pass over the metal surface with film thickness observed to increase with repeated passes over the same surfaces. Large particle transfer occurs when the orientation of the crystallites is other than basal. This is frequently accompanied by abrasion of the metal. Adhesion of molybdenum disulfide films occurred readily to copper and nickel, less readily to 304 stainless steel, and even less effectively to the gold, which indicates a chemical effect.

Visibility and social recognition as psychosocial work environment factors among cleaners in a multi-ethnic workplace intervention.

PubMed

Hviid, Kirsten; Smith, Louise Hardman; Frydendall, Karen Bo; Flyvholm, Mari-Ann

2012-12-24

This article focuses on the psychosocial work environment of immigrant cleaners at a Danish workplace. Today, many cleaners working in Danish cleaning jobs are women from the established immigrant communities, but also labour migrants from the newer EU member states have found their way to the cleaning industry. Studies have drawn attention to immigrants' low position in the cleaning industry and their increased risk of work injuries. This article is based on a case study of an intervention called "Make a Difference" designed to improve the work environment among cleaners at a multi-ethnic workplace. We used semi-structured interviews, photo logs, observation and participation to investigate how the cleaners experienced their work environment. The cleaners reported an overload of heavy work, related to the concept of a classroom's "readiness for cleaning", and they expressed strained social relations and communication in addition to a lack of social recognition and invisibility at the workplace, a school. We analysed these psychosocial work environmental problems by investigating the different forms of social relationships and communication within the group of cleaners, and between the cleaners and the teachers and pupils at the school. Moreover, we discussed why the intervention, based on training of language and cleaning skills and social interaction, only partially improved the cleaners' psychosocial work environment problems. In this article, we argue that social divisions based on ethnicity between the new and the established group of cleaners, combined with their marginal position and poor work organisation at the school, reinforced the cleaners' experiences of psychosocial work environment problems. This article suggests that increased effort towards social inclusion at work and improved work organisation, especially for the new labour migrants from newer EU-countries, should be considered.

Biosafety level 3 laboratory for autopsies of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome: principles, practices, and prospects.

PubMed

Li, Ling; Gu, Jiang; Shi, Xicheng; Gong, Encong; Li, Xingwang; Shao, Hongquan; Shi, Xueying; Jiang, Huijun; Gao, Xiaoqiang; Cheng, Daiyun; Guo, Lizhu; Wang, Hao; Shi, Xiaohong; Wang, Peizhi; Zhang, Qianying; Shen, Bing

2005-09-15

During the outbreak of the emergent severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) infection, >30% of the approximately 8000 infected persons were health care workers. The highly infectious nature of SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) compelled our pathologists to consider biosafety issues in the autopsy room and for tissue processing procedures. A specially designed biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) autopsy laboratory was constructed and divided into a clean area, a semicontaminated area, a contaminated area, and 2 buffer zones. High-efficiency particulate air filters were placed in the air supply and exhaust systems. Laminar air flow was from the clean areas to the less clean areas. The negative pressures of the contaminated, semicontaminated, and clean areas were approximately -50 pa, -25 pa, and -5 pa, respectively. Personal protective equipment, including gas mask, impermeable protective clothing, and 3 layers of gloves worn during autopsies; the equipment was decontaminated before it was allowed to exit the facility. Strict BSL-3 practices were followed. When a given concentration of particulate sarin simulant was introduced into the contaminated area, it could not be detected in either the semicontaminated area or clean area, and particles >0.3 microm in size were not detected in the exhaust air. A total of 16 complete postmortem examinations for probable and suspected SARS were performed during a 2-month period. Of these, 7 reported confirmed cases of SARS. None of the 23 pathologists and technicians who participated in these autopsies was infected with SARS-CoV. Our experience suggests that BSL-3 laboratory operating principles should be among the special requirements for performing autopsies of contaminated bodies and that they can safeguard the clinicians and the environment involved in these procedures.

Radio-Frequency Plasma Cleaning of a Penning Malmberg Trap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sims, William Herbert, III; Martin, James; Pearson, J. Boise; Lewis, Raymond

2005-01-01

Radio-frequency-generated plasma has been demonstrated to be a promising means of cleaning the interior surfaces of a Penning-Malmberg trap that is used in experiments on the confinement of antimatter. {Such a trap was reported in Modified Penning-Malmberg Trap for Storing Antiprotons (MFS-31780), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 29, No. 3 (March 2005), page 66.} Cleaning of the interior surfaces is necessary to minimize numbers of contaminant atoms and molecules, which reduce confinement times by engaging in matter/antimatter-annihilation reactions with confined antimatter particles. A modified Penning-Malmberg trap like the one described in the cited prior article includes several collinear ring electrodes (some of which are segmented) inside a tubular vacuum chamber, as illustrated in Figure 1. During operation of the trap, a small cloud of charged antiparticles (e.g., antiprotons or positrons) is confined to a spheroidal central region by means of a magnetic field in combination with DC and radiofrequency (RF) electric fields applied via the electrodes. In the present developmental method of cleaning by use of RF-generated plasma, one evacuates the vacuum chamber, backfills the chamber with hydrogen at a suitable low pressure, and uses an RF-signal generator and baluns to apply RF voltages to the ring electrodes. Each ring is excited in the polarity opposite that of the adjacent ring. The electric field generated by the RF signal creates a discharge in the low-pressure gas. The RF power and gas pressure are adjusted so that the plasma generated in the discharge (see Figure 2) physically and chemically attacks any solid, liquid, and gaseous contaminant layers on the electrode surfaces. The products of the physical and chemical cleaning reactions are gaseous and are removed by the vacuum pumps.

Alpha LAMP Integration Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oshiro, Richard; Sowers, Dennis; Gargiulo, Joe; Mcgahey, Mark

1994-01-01

This paper describes the activity recently completed to meet the simulated space environment requirements for the ground-based testing of an integrated Space Based Laser (SBL) system experiment. The need to maintain optical alignment in the challenging dynamic environment of the pressure recovery system required to simulate space dominated the design requirements. A robust system design was established which minimized the total program costs, most notably by reducing the cost of integrating the components of the experiment. The components of the experiment are integrated on an optical bench in a clean area adjacent to the vacuum chamber and moved on air bearings into the chamber for testing.

Review of high convergence implosion experiments with single and double shell targets

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

Delamater, N. D.; Watt, R. G.; Varnum, W. S.

2002-01-01

Experiments have been been performed in recent years at the Omega laser studying double shell capsules as an a1 teinative, 11011 cryogenic, path towards ignition at NTF. Double shell capsules designed to mitigate the Au M-band radiation asymmetries, were experimentally found to perform well in both spherical and cylindrical hohlraums, achieving near 1-D (-90 %) clean calculated yield at convergence comparable to that required for NIF ignition. Near-term plans include directly driven double shell experiments at Omega, which eliminates Au M-band radiation as a yield degradation m ec h an i s in.

The materials processing sciences glovebox

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Traweek, Larry

1990-01-01

The Materials Processing Sciences Glovebox is a rack mounted workstation which allows on orbit sample preparation and characterization of specimens from various experiment facilities. It provides an isolated safe, clean, and sterile environment for the crew member to work with potentially hazardous materials. It has to handle a range of chemicals broader than even PMMS. The theme is that the Space Station Laboratory experiment preparation and characterization operations provide the fundamental glovebox design characteristics. Glovebox subsystem concepts and how internal material handling operations affect the design are discussed.

ATS-6 - Synchronous orbit trapped radiation studies with an electron-proton spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, R. J.; Swanson, R. L.; Winckler, J. R.; Erickson, K. N.

1975-01-01

The paper discusses the University of Minnesota experiment on ATS-6 designed to study the origin and dynamics of high-energy electrons and protons in the outer radiation belt and in the near-earth plasma sheet. The experiment consists of two nearly identical detector assemblies, each of which is a magnetic spectrometer containing four gold-silicon surface barrier detectors. The instrument provides a clean separation between protons and electrons by the combination of pulse height analysis and magnetic deflection.

Contrast Enhancement of the LOASIS CPA Laser and Effects on Electron Beam Performance of LWFA

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

Toth, Csaba; Gonsalves, Anthony J.; Panasenko, Dmitriy

2009-01-22

A nonlinear optical pulse cleaning technique based on cross-polarized wave (XPW) generation filtering [1] has been implemented to improve laser pulse contrast, and consequently to control pre-ionization in laser-plasma accelerator experiments. Three orders of magnitude improvement in pre-pulse contrast has been achieved, resulting in 4-fold increase in electron charge and improved stability of both the electron beam energy and THz radiation generated as a secondary process in the gas-jet-based LWFA experiments.

A Test of Superradiance in an FEL Experiment

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

Boyce, R

We describe the design of an FEL Amplifier Test Experiment (FATE)1 to demonstrate the superradiant short bunch regime of a Free Electron Laser in the 1-3 {micro}m wavelength range starting from noise. The relevance to the LCLS X-ray FEL [1] proposal is discussed and numerical simulations are shown. It is numerically demonstrated for the first time with the 2-D code GINGER, that clean-up of noise in the superradiant regime occurs even at low power levels.

Development and verification of hardware for life science experiments in the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" on the International Space Station.

PubMed

Ishioka, Noriaki; Suzuki, Hiromi; Asashima, Makoto; Kamisaka, Seiichiro; Mogami, Yoshihiro; Ochiai, Toshimasa; Aizawa-Yano, Sachiko; Higashibata, Akira; Ando, Noboru; Nagase, Mutsumu; Ogawa, Shigeyuki; Shimazu, Toru; Fukui, Keiji; Fujimoto, Nobuyoshi

2004-03-01

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has developed a cell biology experiment facility (CBEF) and a clean bench (CB) as a common hardware in which life science experiments in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM known as "Kibo") of the International Space Station (ISS) can be performed. The CBEF, a CO2 incubator with a turntable that provides variable gravity levels, is the basic hardware required to carry out the biological experiments using microorganisms, cells, tissues, small animals, plants, etc. The CB provides a closed aseptic operation area for life science and biotechnology experiments in Kibo. A phase contrast and fluorescence microscope is installed inside CB. The biological experiment units (BEU) are designed to run individual experiments using the CBEF and the CB. A plant experiment unit (PEU) and two cell experiment units (CEU type1 and type2) for the BEU have been developed.

Use of a Modern Polymerization Pilot-Plant for Undergraduate Control Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mendoza-Bustos, S. A.; And Others

1991-01-01

Described is a project where students gain experience in handling large volumes of hazardous materials, process start up and shut down, equipment failures, operational variations, scaling up, equipment cleaning, and run-time scheduling while working in a modern pilot plant. Included are the system design, experimental procedures, and results. (KR)

Sealed Silver-oxide Cadmium Batteries for Space Flight, 1960 - 1977

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hennigan, Thomas J.

1978-01-01

A technical summary of design, development, and test activities with Silver-Oxide Cadmium Batteries at the Goddard Space Flight Center since 1960 is given. The flight experience of over 15 missions has demonstrated the sealed Silver-Oxide Cadmium Battery to be a viable energy storage device for missions requiring ultra-clean magnetic environment.

Impaired Waters and TMDLs: New Vision for the CWA 303(d) Program – An Updated Framework for Implementing the CWA 303(d) Program Responsibilities

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

A vision detailing enhancements made to the Clean Water Act 303(d) Program informed by the experience gained over the past two decades in assessing and reporting on water quality and in developing approximately 65,000 TMDLs.

A Tale of Two Teaching Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Kerri

2006-01-01

In 1989, an ambitious Princeton University senior had an idea. Inspired to bridge the educational gap in the United States, Wendy Kopp formed a pilot program where enthusiastic grads like her would flood inner city schools and clean up the proverbial neighborhood. She even gave it an imperative and patriotic moniker: Teach for America. Seventeen…

A large ultra-clean gas system with closed loop for the high-rate Outer Tracker at HERA-B

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hohlmann, Marcus

2003-12-01

The gas system for the Outer Tracker of the HERA-B experiment at DESY produces the desired counting gas mixture Ar/CF 4/CO 2 65:30:5 and circulates it through the detector at a flow rate of 20 m3/ h, i.e. ˜1 vol/ h. It controls flows and regulates pressures in all 26 OTR half-superlayers, purifies the gas upon return from the detector, and automatically performs a quantitative analysis of main and trace (O 2, N 2, H 2O) gas components for the common input and the outputs of all half-superlayers. The first running experience and the strategies employed during system construction to avoid any detector aging possibly induced by the gas system are discussed. The large system with major gas purification stations was constructed using only non-outgassing, "clean" materials and devices, such as stainless steel, PEEK, baked Viton, and metal bellows pumps. An epoxy glue was used extensively as a non-outgassing sealing material in applications with up to 100 bar pressure.

Maintenance and testing of anodized aluminum mirrors on the Whipple 10 m Whipple Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badran, H. M.; Weekes, T. C.

2001-08-01

Threshold energy sensitivity depends not only on the high reflectivity of the mirrors used in atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes but also on the maintenance of this reflectivity over months/years. The successful application of a mirror maintenance technique depends on the type of mirror coating and the contamination that must be removed. The uncovered mirrors in use on the 10-m Whipple gamma-ray telescope are anodized aluminum mirrors. A standard cleaning technique for such mirrors is not available. With the aim of extending the life of the aluminum coating exposed to the Mt ˙Hopkins environment, several cleaning procedures were tested on mirrors that had been exposed for three years. Evaluation of the most effective cleaners is presented. Preliminary results are also presented from a long-term experiment using newly coated mirrors at the proposed VERITAS site and at the current 10 m site. This experiment is designed to reveal the rates at which the reflectance degrades as a function of time, depth of anodization, storage direction, degree of covering, and maintenance procedures.

Field experience and performance evaluation of a medium-concentration CPV system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norton, Matthew; Bentley, Roger; Georghiou, George E.; Chonavel, Sylvain; De Mutiis, Alfredo

2012-10-01

With the aim of gaining experience and performance data from location with a harsh summer climate, a 70 X concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) system was installed in Janurary 2009 in Nicosia, Cyprus. The performance of this system has been monitored using regular current-voltage characterisations for three years. Over this period, the output of the system has remained fairly constant. Measured performance ratios varied from 0.79 to 0.86 in the winter, but fell to 0.64 over the year when left uncleaned. Operating cell temperatures were modeled and found to be similar to those of flat plate modules. The most significant causes of energy loss have been identified as originating from tracking issues and soiling. Losses due to soiling could account for a drop in output of 0.2% per day. When cleaned and properly oriented, the normalized output of the system has remained constant, suggesting that this particular design is tolerant to the physical strain of long-term outdoor exposure in harsh summer conditions. Regular cleaning and reliable tracker operation are shown to be essential for maximizing energy yield.

Laboratory preparedness for detection and monitoring of Shiga toxin 2-producing Escherichia coli O104:H4 in Europe and response to the 2011 outbreak.

PubMed

Rosin, P; Niskanen, T; Palm, D; Struelens, M; Takkinen, J

2013-06-20

A hybrid strain of enteroaggregative and Shiga toxin 2-producing Escherichia coli (EAEC-STEC) serotype O104:H4 strain caused a large outbreak of haemolytic uraemic syndrome and bloody diarrhoea in 2011 in Europe. Two surveys were performed in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries to assess their laboratory capabilities to detect and characterise this previously uncommon STEC strain. Prior to the outbreak, 11 of the 32 countries in this survey had capacity at national reference laboratory (NRL) level for epidemic case confirmation according to the EU definition. During the outbreak, at primary diagnostic level, nine countries reported that clinical microbiology laboratories routinely used Shiga toxin detection assays suitable for diagnosis of infections with EAEC-STEC O104:H4, while 14 countries had NRL capacity to confirm epidemic cases. Six months after the outbreak, 22 countries reported NRL capacity to confirm such cases following initiatives taken by NRLs and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Food- and Waterborne Disease and Zoonoses laboratory network. These data highlight the challenge of detection and confirmation of epidemic infections caused by atypical STEC strains and the benefits of coordinated EU laboratory networks to strengthen capabilities in response to a major outbreak.

West Nile Virus State of the Art Report of MALWEST Project

PubMed Central

Marka, Andriani; Diamantidis, Alexandros; Papa, Anna; Valiakos, George; Chaintoutis, Serafeim C.; Doukas, Dimitrios; Tserkezou, Persefoni; Giannakopoulos, Alexios; Papaspyropoulos, Konstantinos; Patsoula, Eleni; Badieritakis, Evangelos; Baka, Agoritsa; Tseroni, Maria; Pervanidou, Danai; Papadopoulos, Nikos T.; Koliopoulos, George; Tontis, Dimitrios; Dovas, Chrysostomos I.; Billinis, Charalambos; Tsakris, Athanassios; Kremastinou, Jenny; Hadjichristodoulou, Christos

2013-01-01

During the last three years Greece is experiencing the emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) epidemics. Within this framework, an integrated surveillance and control programme (MALWEST project) with thirteen associate partners was launched aiming to investigate the disease and suggest appropriate interventions. One out of seven work packages of the project is dedicated to the State of the Art report for WNV. Three expert working groups on humans, animals and mosquitoes were established. Medical databases (PubMed, Scopus) were searched together with websites: e.g., WHO, CDC, ECDC. In total, 1,092 relevant articles were initially identified and 258 of them were finally included as references regarding the current knowledge about WNV, along with 36 additional sources (conference papers, reports, book chapters). The review is divided in three sections according to the fields of interest: (1) WNV in humans (epidemiology, molecular characteristics, transmission, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, surveillance); (2) WNV in animals (epidemiological and transmission characteristics concerning birds, horses, reptiles and other animal species) and (3) WNV in mosquitoes (control, surveillance). Finally, some examples of integrated surveillance programmes are presented. The introduction and establishment of the disease in Greece and other European countries further emphasizes the need for thorough research and broadening of our knowledge on this viral pathogen. PMID:24317379

Including Alternative Resources in State Renewable Portfolio Standards: Current Design and Implementation Experience

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

Heeter, J.; Bird, L.

2012-11-01

Currently, 29 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have instituted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). An RPS sets a minimum threshold for how much renewable energy must be generated in a given year. Each state policy is unique, varying in percentage targets, timetables, and eligible resources. This paper examines state experience with implementing renewable portfolio standards that include energy efficiency, thermal resources, and non-renewable energy and explores compliance experience, costs, and how states evaluate, measure, and verify energy efficiency and convert thermal energy. It aims to gain insights from the experience of states for possible federal clean energymore » policy as well as to share experience and lessons for state RPS implementation.« less

Dangerous mixture of household detergents in an old-style toilet: a case report with simulation experiments of the working environment and warning of potential hazard relevant to the general environment.

PubMed

Minami, M; Katsumata, M; Miyake, K; Inagaki, H; Fan, X H; Kubota, H; Yamano, Y; Kimura, O

1992-01-01

A housewife cleaned toilet porcelain connected directly to a sewage storage tank with a mixture of cleaning agents; sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) solutions. She complained of insomnia on the night after cleaning and suffered from severe metabolic acidosis with extremely low blood pH, PCO2 and bicarbonate values. She recovered from the acidosis after bicarbonate transfusion, plasmapheresis and plasma exchange. Permanent blindness ensued, however, from the third day after the event. These clinical symptoms suggested that the toxic substances responsible were chloramine and methyl chloride. Their generation was confirmed by in-vitro experiments, mixing NaOCl, HCl and pooled urine from normal people. In the simulation, the methyl chloride level far exceeded (100,000 ppm) the maximal allowable concentration recommended (ca 400 ppm) by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Chloramine's toxic actions were confirmed using purified enzyme assay, and the inhibition of carbonic anhydrase and aldehyde dehydrogenase and the enhancement of superoxide dismutase activity were confirmed in neutral pH. The patient's clinical symptoms suggested that insomnia and permanent blindness seemed to be partly ascribable to chronic repetitive exposure to methyl chloride; catching a cold, drug intake and alcohol intake, in addition, precipitated the patient's visual loss. The possibility of this kind of intoxication with such a mixture of agents may lie latent in any situation where sewage or garbage are exposed to the open air.

Robust audio-visual speech recognition under noisy audio-video conditions.

PubMed

Stewart, Darryl; Seymour, Rowan; Pass, Adrian; Ming, Ji

2014-02-01

This paper presents the maximum weighted stream posterior (MWSP) model as a robust and efficient stream integration method for audio-visual speech recognition in environments, where the audio or video streams may be subjected to unknown and time-varying corruption. A significant advantage of MWSP is that it does not require any specific measurements of the signal in either stream to calculate appropriate stream weights during recognition, and as such it is modality-independent. This also means that MWSP complements and can be used alongside many of the other approaches that have been proposed in the literature for this problem. For evaluation we used the large XM2VTS database for speaker-independent audio-visual speech recognition. The extensive tests include both clean and corrupted utterances with corruption added in either/both the video and audio streams using a variety of types (e.g., MPEG-4 video compression) and levels of noise. The experiments show that this approach gives excellent performance in comparison to another well-known dynamic stream weighting approach and also compared to any fixed-weighted integration approach in both clean conditions or when noise is added to either stream. Furthermore, our experiments show that the MWSP approach dynamically selects suitable integration weights on a frame-by-frame basis according to the level of noise in the streams and also according to the naturally fluctuating relative reliability of the modalities even in clean conditions. The MWSP approach is shown to maintain robust recognition performance in all tested conditions, while requiring no prior knowledge about the type or level of noise.

Recolonization of bat roost by bat bugs (Cimex pipistrelli): could parasite load be a cause of bat roost switching?

PubMed

Bartonička, Tomáš; Růžičková, Lucie

2013-04-01

Roost ectoparasites are believed to have a negative impact on fitness of their hosts as birds or mammals. Previous studies were mostly focussed on the synchronization between reproduction cycles of ectoparasites and hosts living in infested roosts. However, to date, it has not been examined how fast ectoparasites colonize new, non-infested roosts and thus increasing the impact on the local populations of hosts. The parasite-host model was studied, including bat bugs Cimex pipistrelli and soprano pipistrelles Pipistrellus pygmaeus, where bat behaviour was observed which tended to reduce the parasite load in bat roosts. We investigated (1) whether bats change their roosting behaviour when we discontinued synchronization of their reproduction and the life cycle of the bat bugs and (2) how fast and which stages of bat bugs reoccupy cleaned roosts. In a 3-year field experiment, we removed all bat bugs from six bat boxes in each spring. Pipistrelles bred young in all non-infested boxes during these 3 years. In addition, 8 years of regular observations before this experiment indicate that bats avoided breeding in the same bat boxes at all. Bat bugs were found again in clean boxes in mid-May. However, their densities did not maximise before the beginning of June, before parturition. A re-appearance of bugs was observed after 21-56 days after the first bat visit. Adult bugs, mainly females, colonised cleaned boxes first though at the same time there were a lot of younger and smaller instars in non-manipulated roosts in the vicinity.

Bioclogging Effects Relevant to In-Situ Bioremediation of Organic Contaminants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bielefeldt, A. R.; Illangasekare, T.

2002-05-01

This presentation will summarize 5 years of laboratory experiments investigating the effects of biodegradation of organic contaminants on the hydrodynamic properties of saturated sand due to biomass accumulation. The contaminants studied included naphthalene, decane, diesel fuel, propylene glycol, and aircraft de-icing fluid (ADF). Most of the experiments were conducted in columns (~6 cm dia x 15 cm L). A wide range of environmental conditions were simulated including low to high organic loading (1.2 to 38,000 mg C/kg dry sand/d), various nutrient concentrations (C:N 3:1 to 5424:1), seepage velocity (0.5-11 m/d), and sand size (average diameter 0.19, 0.32, 0.49 mm). Changes in the hydraulic conductivity and dispersivity of the media over time and the biomass distribution in the sand at the end of the experiments were measured. In general, the hydraulic conductivity in the columns declined over time until a steady-state minimum was reached when the new biogrowth was balanced by endogenous decay and shear stress losses from the system. The minimum conductivity was generally 2 to 4 orders of magnitude below that of the clean sand. Dispersivity was evaluated using bromide tracer tests and monitoring the break-through curves. Dispersivity after biomass growth was always higher than that of the clean sand (up to 10x), but trends over time did not always consistently increase. Under selected conditions the dispersivity initially increased and then decreased, although never achieving a level below that of the clean sand. Final biomass concentrations in the sand at steady state ranged from 0.1 to 10 mg dry weight/g dry sand. In some experiments the biomass was evenly distributed through the sand while in others significantly more biomass was present at the column inlet. Some experiments were also conducted in larger 2-D tanks (122 cm L x 46 cm H x 6 cm W) which allowed the groundwater flow to route around local areas of bioclogging as would be likely to occur in subsurface environments. The implications of ignoring bioclogging effects of the magnitude measured in the experimental systems when predicting contaminant plumes in the subsurface will be illustrated using simple models that incorporate biokinetics and hydrodynamic effects. The models will show the importance of including bioclogging effects when designing enhanced in-situ bioremediation systems.

The impact of power clean ability and training age on adaptations to weightlifting-style training.

PubMed

James, Lachlan P; Comfort, Paul; Suchomel, Timothy J; Kelly, Vincent G; Beckman, Emma M; Haff, G Gregory

2018-03-14

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether weightlifting actions are a viable method for improving athletic performance amongst weaker, inexperienced lifters when compared to individuals with a greater power clean result, and hence weightlifting ability and experience. Two groups of males with distinctly different power clean performances (higher performance (HP): N = 8; BM = 78.1±4.0 kg; 1RM PC = 1.08±0.09 kgBM; lower performance (LP): N = 8; BM=82.6±14.0 kg; 1RM PC=0.78±0.1 kg·BM) and resistance training age (HP: resistance training experience=3.5±1.2 years; LP: resistance training experience=1.44±1.50 years) undertook 10 weeks of training involving weightlifting derivatives, in addition to supplemental ballistic and plyometric exercises. Testing of athletic performance (represented by measures derived from the countermovement jump) occurred at baseline, after five weeks of training, and after ten weeks of training. Both groups significantly improved across the majority of outcome variables following training (Hedges g=0.98-2.55, P≤0.01-0.05). Only the HP participants experienced significant changes at mid-test (g = 0.99-1.27, P ≤ 0.01-0.05), while no significant changes were revealed between mid- and post-test in this group. In contrast to this, the LP participants displayed a significant improvement in relative impulse (g=1.39, P<0.01) and rate of force development (g=1.91, P<0.01) during this final period (P<0.01). As weaker, inexperienced lifters underwent a significant and meaningful enhancement in maximal neuromuscular measures following weightlifting derivative focused training, practitioners should consider early implementation of such exercises. However, it is important for coaches to note that a delayed training effect might be present in weaker, less experienced lifters.

Investigation of the potential antimicrobial efficacy of sealants used in HVAC systems.

PubMed

Foarde, K K; VanOsdell, D W; Menetrez, M Y

2001-08-01

Recent experiments confirm field experience that duct cleaning alone may not provide adequate protection from regrowth of fungal contamination on fiberglass duct liner (FGDL). Current recommendations for remediation of fungally contaminated fiberglass duct materials specify complete removal of the materials. But removal of contaminated materials can be extremely expensive. Therefore, a common practice in the duct-cleaning industry is the postcleaning use of antimicrobial surface coatings with the implication that they may contain or limit regrowth. Little information is available on the efficacy of these treatments. This paper describes a study to evaluate whether three commercially available antimicrobial coatings, placed on a cleaned surface that 1 year previously had been actively growing microorganisms, would be able to prevent regrowth. The three coatings contained different active antimicrobial compounds. All three of the coatings were designed for use on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system components or interior surfaces of lined and unlined duct systems. Coating I was a polyacrylate copolymer containing zinc oxide and borates. Coating II was an acrylic coating containing decabromodiphenyl oxide and antimony trioxide. Coating III was an acrylic primer containing a phosphated quaternary amine complex. The study included field and laboratory assessments. The three treatments were evaluated in an uncontrolled field setting in an actual duct system. The laboratory study broadened the field study to include a range of humidities under controlled conditions. Both static and dynamic chamber laboratory experiments were performed. The results showed that two of the three antimicrobial coatings limited the regrowth of fungal contamination, at least in the short term (the 3-month time span of the study); the third did not. Before use in the field, testing of the efficacy of antimicrobial coatings under realistic use conditions is recommended because antimicrobials have different baseline activities and interact differently with the substrate that contains them and their local environment.

The Flow of Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Znidarsic, F.; Robertson, G. A.

In this paper, the flow of energy in materials is presented as mechanical waves with a distinct velocity or speed of transition. This speed of transition came about through the observations of cold fusion experiments, i.e., Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR) and superconductor gravity experiments, both assumed speculative by mainstream science. In consideration of superconductor junctions, the LENR experiments have a similar speed of transition, which seems to imply that the reactions in the LENR experiment are discrete quantized reactions (energy - burst vs. continuous). Here an attempt is made to quantify this new condition as it applies to electrons; toward the progression of quantized energy flows (discrete energy burst) as a new source of clean energy and force mechanisms (i.e, propulsion).

[Evaluation of Medical Instruments Cleaning Effect of Fluorescence Detection Technique].

PubMed

Sheng, Nan; Shen, Yue; Li, Zhen; Li, Huijuan; Zhou, Chaoqun

2016-01-01

To compare the cleaning effect of automatic cleaning machine and manual cleaning on coupling type surgical instruments. A total of 32 cleaned medical instruments were randomly sampled from medical institutions in Putuo District medical institutions disinfection supply center. Hygiena System SUREII ATP was used to monitor the ATP value, and the cleaning effect was evaluated. The surface ATP values of the medical instrument of manual cleaning were higher than that of the automatic cleaning machine. Coupling type surgical instruments has better cleaning effect of automatic cleaning machine before disinfection, the application is recommended.

Exploring surface cleaning strategies in hospital to prevent contact transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Lei, Hao; Jones, Rachael M; Li, Yuguo

2017-01-18

Cleaning of environmental surfaces in hospitals is important for the control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other hospital-acquired infections transmitted by the contact route. Guidance regarding the best approaches for cleaning, however, is limited. In this study, a mathematical model based on ordinary differential equations was constructed to study MRSA concentration dynamics on high-touch and low-touch surfaces, and on the hands and noses of two patients (in two hospitals rooms) and a health care worker in a hypothetical hospital environment. Two cleaning interventions - whole room cleaning and wipe cleaning of touched surfaces - were considered. The performance of the cleaning interventions was indicated by a reduction in MRSA on the nose of a susceptible patient, relative to no intervention. Whole room cleaning just before first patient care activities of the day was more effective than whole room cleaning at other times, but even with 100% efficiency, whole room cleaning only reduced the number of MRSA transmitted to the susceptible patient by 54%. Frequent wipe cleaning of touched surfaces was shown to be more effective that whole room cleaning because surfaces are rapidly re-contaminated with MRSA after cleaning. Wipe cleaning high-touch surfaces was more effective than wipe cleaning low-touch surfaces for the same frequency of cleaning. For low wipe cleaning frequency (≤3 times per hour), high-touch surfaces should be targeted, but for high wipe cleaning frequency (>3 times per hour), cleaning should target high- and low-touch surfaces in proportion to the surface touch frequency. This study reproduces the observations from a field study of room cleaning, which provides support for the validity of our findings. Daily whole room cleaning, even with 100% cleaning efficiency, provides limited reduction in the number of MRSA transmitted to susceptible patients via the contact route; and should be supplemented with frequent targeted cleaning of high-touch surfaces, such as by a wipe or cloth containing disinfectant.

The effect of an instant hand sanitizer on blood glucose monitoring results.

PubMed

Mahoney, John J; Ellison, John M; Glaeser, Danielle; Price, David

2011-11-01

People with diabetes mellitus are instructed to clean their skin prior to self-monitoring of blood glucose to remove any dirt or food residue that might affect the reading. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers have become popular when soap and water are not available. The aim of this study was to determine whether a hand sanitizer is compatible with glucose meter testing and effective for the removal of exogenous glucose. We enrolled 34 nonfasting subjects [14 male/20 female, mean ages 45 (standard deviation, 9.4)] years, 2 with diagnosed diabetes/32 without known diabetes]. Laboratory personnel prepared four separate fingers on one hand of each subject by (1) cleaning the second finger with soap and water and towel drying (i.e., control finger), (2) cleaning the third finger with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, (3) coating the fourth finger with cola and allowing it to air dry, and (4) coating the fifth finger with cola and then cleaning it with the instant hand sanitizer after the cola had dried. Finger sticks were performed on each prepared finger and blood glucose was measured. Several in vitro studies were also performed to investigate the effectiveness of the hand sanitizer for removal of exogenous glucose.z Mean blood glucose values from fingers cleaned with instant hand sanitizer did not differ significantly from the control finger (p = .07 and .08, respectively) and resulted in 100% accurate results. Blood glucose data from the fourth (cola-coated) finger were substantially higher on average compared with the other finger conditions, but glucose data from the fifth finger (cola-coated then cleaned with hand sanitizer) was similar to the control finger. The data from in vitro experiments showed that the hand sanitizer did not adversely affect glucose meter results, but when an exogenous glucose interference was present, the effectiveness of the hand sanitizer on glucose bias (range: 6% to 212%) depended on the surface area and degree of dilution. In our study, use of an instant hand sanitizer was compatible with the results of a blood glucose monitor and did not affect finger stick blood glucose results. However, depending on surface area, hand sanitizers may not be adequate for cleaning the skin prior to glucose meter testing. © 2011 Diabetes Technology Society.

The Effect of an Instant Hand Sanitizer on Blood Glucose Monitoring Results

PubMed Central

Mahoney, John J; Ellison, John M; Glaeser, Danielle; Price, David

2011-01-01

Background People with diabetes mellitus are instructed to clean their skin prior to self-monitoring of blood glucose to remove any dirt or food residue that might affect the reading. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers have become popular when soap and water are not available. The aim of this study was to determine whether a hand sanitizer is compatible with glucose meter testing and effective for the removal of exogenous glucose. Methods We enrolled 34 nonfasting subjects [14 male/20 female, mean ages 45 (standard deviation, 9.4)] years, 2 with diagnosed diabetes/32 without known diabetes]. Laboratory personnel prepared four separate fingers on one hand of each subject by (1) cleaning the second finger with soap and water and towel drying (i.e., control finger), (2) cleaning the third finger with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, (3) coating the fourth finger with cola and allowing it to air dry, and (4) coating the fifth finger with cola and then cleaning it with the instant hand sanitizer after the cola had dried. Finger sticks were performed on each prepared finger and blood glucose was measured. Several in vitro studies were also performed to investigate the effectiveness of the hand sanitizer for removal of exogenous glucose.z Results Mean blood glucose values from fingers cleaned with instant hand sanitizer did not differ significantly from the control finger (p = .07 and .08, respectively) and resulted in 100% accurate results. Blood glucose data from the fourth (cola-coated) finger were substantially higher on average compared with the other finger conditions, but glucose data from the fifth finger (cola-coated then cleaned with hand sanitizer) was similar to the control finger. The data from in vitro experiments showed that the hand sanitizer did not adversely affect glucose meter results, but when an exogenous glucose interference was present, the effectiveness of the hand sanitizer on glucose bias (range: 6% to 212%) depended on the surface area and degree of dilution. Conclusions In our study, use of an instant hand sanitizer was compatible with the results of a blood glucose monitor and did not affect finger stick blood glucose results. However, depending on surface area, hand sanitizers may not be adequate for cleaning the skin prior to glucose meter testing. PMID:22226262

Advanced Curation Protocols for Mars Returned Sample Handling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, M.; Mickelson, E.; Lindstrom, D.; Allton, J.

Introduction: Johnson Space Center has over 30 years experience handling precious samples which include Lunar rocks and Antarctic meteorites. However, we recognize that future curation of samples from such missions as Genesis, Stardust, and Mars S mple Return, will require a high degree of biosafety combined witha extremely low levels of inorganic, organic, and biological contamination. To satisfy these requirements, research in the JSC Advanced Curation Lab is currently focused toward two major areas: preliminary examination techniques and cleaning and verification techniques . Preliminary Examination Techniques : In order to minimize the number of paths for contamination we are exploring the synergy between human &robotic sample handling in a controlled environment to help determine the limits of clean curation. Within the Advanced Curation Laboratory is a prototype, next-generation glovebox, which contains a robotic micromanipulator. The remotely operated manipulator has six degrees-of- freedom and can be programmed to perform repetitive sample handling tasks. Protocols are being tested and developed to perform curation tasks such as rock splitting, weighing, imaging, and storing. Techniques for sample transfer enabling more detailed remote examination without compromising the integrity of sample science are also being developed . The glovebox is equipped with a rapid transfer port through which samples can be passed without exposure. The transfer is accomplished by using a unique seal and engagement system which allows passage between containers while maintaining a first seal to the outside environment and a second seal to prevent the outside of the container cover and port door from becoming contaminated by the material being transferred. Cleaning and Verification Techniques: As part of the contamination control effort, innovative cleaning techniques are being identified and evaluated in conjunction with sensitive cleanliness verification methods. Towards this end, cleaning techniques such as ultrasonication in ultra -pure water (UPW), oxygen (O2) plasma, and carbon dioxide (CO2) "snow" are being used to clean a variety of different contaminants on a variety of different surfaces. Additionally, once cleaned, techniques to directly verify the s rface cleanliness are being developed. Theseu include X ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) quantification, and screening with- contact angle measure ments , which can be correlated with XPS standards. Methods developed in the Advanced Curation Laboratory will determine the extent to which inorganic and biological contamination can be controlled and minimized.

Organic cleanliness of the Mars Science Laboratory sample transfer chain.

PubMed

Blakkolb, B; Logan, C; Jandura, L; Okon, A; Anderson, M; Katz, I; Aveni, G; Brown, K; Chung, S; Ferraro, N; Limonadi, D; Melko, J; Mennella, J; Yavrouian, A

2014-07-01

One of the primary science goals of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover, Curiosity, is the detection of organics in Mars rock and regolith. To achieve this, the Curiosity rover includes a robotic sampling system that acquires rock and regolith samples and delivers it to the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on board the rover. In order to provide confidence that any significant organics detection result was Martian and not terrestrial in origin, a requirement was levied on the flight system (i.e., all sources minus the SAM instrument) to impart no more than 36 parts per billion (ppb by weight) of total reduced carbon terrestrial contamination to any sample transferred to the SAM instrument. This very clean level was achieved by a combination of a rigorous contamination control program on the project, and then using the first collected samples for a "dilution cleaning" campaign of the sample chain prior to delivering a sample to the SAM instrument. Direct cleanliness assays of the sample-contacting and other Flight System surfaces during pre-launch processing were used as inputs to determine the number of dilution cleaning samples needed once on Mars, to enable delivery of suitably clean samples to the SAM experiment. Taking into account contaminant redistribution during launch thorough landing of the MSL on Mars, the amount of residue present on the sampling hardware prior to the time of first dilution cleaning sample acquisition was estimated to be 60 ng/cm(2) on exposed outer surfaces of the sampling hardware and 20 ng/cm(2) on internal sample contacting surfaces; residues consisting mainly of aliphatic hydrocarbons and esters. After three dilution cleaning samples, estimated in-sample contamination level for the first regolith sample delivered to the SAM instrument at the Gale Crater "Rocknest" site was bounded at ≤10 ppb total organic carbon. A Project decision to forego ejecting the dilution cleaning sample and instead transfer the first drill-acquired sample at the "John Klein" site to SAM resulted in an estimated level of terrestrial contamination of ≤430 ppb. The estimated terrestrial contamination for portions from the second drill-acquired sample, at Cumberland, was ≤69 ppb; the estimate for a future, third, drilled sample is ≤38 ppb. These levels are comparable in magnitude to the SAM instrument blanks at the nanomole level (as chlorohydrocarbon).

[Effects of illumination and seed-soaking reagent on seed germination of Solanum nigrum].

PubMed

Yang, Chuan-Jie; Wei, Shu-He; Zhou, Qi-Xing; Hu, Ya-Hu; Niu, Rong-Cheng

2009-05-01

To explore a rapid seed germination method for hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum, a germination experiment with different illumination and seed-soaking treatments was conducted in constant temperature box and greenhouse, with filter as burgeon base. Under illumination, the germination rate was about 5 times high of that without illumination (P < 0.05), indicating that illumination was one of the prerequisites for the seed germination of S. nigrum. All test seed-soaking reagents could significantly improve the germination rate of S. nigrum (P < 0.05), with the best effect of H2O2. The seeds treated with H2O2 had the shortest germination time. The germination rate of seeds soaked but without cleaning was 2-3 times as high as that of seeds soaked and cleaned with water.

Unusual Nature of Fingerprints and the Implications for Easy-to-Clean Coatings.

PubMed

Stoehr, Bastian; McClure, Stuart; Höflich, Alexander; Al Kobaisi, Mohammad; Hall, Colin; Murphy, Peter J; Evans, Drew

2016-01-19

Irrespective of the technology, we now rely on touch to interact with devices such as smart phones, tablet computers, and control panels. As a result, touch screen technologies are frequently in contact with body grease. Hence, surface deposition arises from localized inhomogeneous finger-derived contaminants adhering to a surface, impairing the visual/optical experience of the user. In this study, we examined the contamination itself in order to understand its static and dynamic behavior with respect to deposition and cleaning. A process for standardized deposition of fingerprints was developed. Artificial sebum was used in this process to enable reproducibility for quantitative analysis. Fingerprint contamination was shown to be hygroscopic and to possess temperature- and shear-dependent properties. These results have implications for the design of easily cleanable surfaces.

The selective cleaning behaviour of juvenile blue-headed wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum) in the Caribbean.

PubMed

Dunkley, Katie; Cable, Jo; Perkins, Sarah E

2018-02-01

Through the removal of parasites, dead skin and mucus from the bodies of visiting reef fish (clients), cleaner fish have a significant ecosystem function in the ecology of coral reefs. Cleaners gain nutrition from these interactions and through offering a 'service' are afforded protection from predators. Given these benefits, it is unclear why more fish do not engage in cleaning, and why part-time cleaning strategies exist. On coral reefs, dedicated species clean throughout their life, whereas some species are facultative, employing opportunistic and/or temporary cleaning strategies. Here, we investigate the cleaning behaviour of a facultative species to assess the relative importance of this interaction to the cleaner. Using a combination of focal and event sampling from a coral reef in Tobago, we show that cleaning is not an essential food source for facultative juvenile blue-headed wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum), as cleaning rate was unrelated to their foraging rate on the substrate. These wrasse displayed two cleaning strategies: stationary versus wandering cleaning, with cleaning frequency being highest for stationary cleaners. A specific cleaning location facilitated increased cleaning frequency, and wrasse cleaning rate decreased as cleaner or client abundance increased. We also compared juvenile blue-headed wrasse cleaning behaviour to a resident dedicated cleaner, the sharknose goby (Elacatinus evelynae), and showed that, in comparison, juvenile wrasse clean a narrower client range, predominately cleaning three species of gregarious free-ranging surgeonfish (Acanthurus spp.). The wrasse, however, frequently approached these clients without cleaning, which suggests that their selective cleaning strategy may be driven by the acquisition of a particular parasitic food source. Juvenile blue-headed wrasse are generalist foragers, and may thus be limited in their cleaning behaviour by their nutritional requirements, the availability of a suitable cleaning site, and fish density, which ultimately means that they do not adopt more dedicated cleaning roles within the reef community. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The gas heterogeneous flows cleaning technology from corona discharge field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogdanov, A.; Tokarev, A.; Judanov, V.; Vinogradov, V.

2017-11-01

A nanogold capture and extraction from combustion products of Kara-Keche coal, description the process: a coal preparation to experiments, nanogold introducing in its composition, temperature and time performance of combustion, device and function of experimental apparatus, gas-purification of the gas flow process and receiving combustion products (condensate, coke, ash, rags) is offerred.

The Problem of Sample Contamination in a Fluvial Geochemistry Research Experience for Undergraduates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andersen, Charles B.

2001-01-01

Introduces the analysis of a river as an excellent way to teach geochemical techniques because of the relative ease of sample collection and speed of sample analysis. Focuses on the potential sources of sample contamination during sampling, filtering, and bottle cleaning processes, and reviews methods to reduce and detect contamination. Includes…

A closer look at forests on the edge: future development on private forests in three states.

Treesearch

Eric White; Rhonda. Mazza

2008-01-01

Privately owned forests provide many public benefits, including clean water and air, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities. By 2030, 44.2 million acres of rural private forest land across the conterminous United States are projected to experience substantial increases in residential development. As housing density increases, the public benefits provided by...

Bringing Catalysis with Gold Nanoparticles in Green Solvents to Graduate Level Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raghuwanshi, Vikram Singh; Wendt, Robert; O'Neill, Maeve; Ochmann, Miguel; Som, Tirtha; Fenger, Robert; Mohrmann, Marie; Hoell, Armin; Rademann, Klaus

2017-01-01

We demonstrate here a novel laboratory experiment for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by using a low energy gold-sputtering method together with a modern, green, and biofriendly deep eutectic solvent (DES). The strategy is straightforward, economical, ecofriendly, rapid, and clean. It yields uniform AuNPs of 5 nm in diameter with high…

Science: Oil Slick.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VanCleave, Janice

2000-01-01

Presents a science experiment about oil spills and oil pollution for 7th- and 8th-grade science students. This variation on a method used by pollution control experts to clean up oil spills shows students how oil is collected after an oil spill, explaining that with this method, much of the damage from an oil spill can be averted. (SM)

Evaluating the use of laser radiation in cleaning of copper embroidery threads on archaeological Egyptian textiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdel-Kareem, Omar; Harith, M. A.

2008-07-01

Cleaning of copper embroidery threads on archaeological textiles is still a complicated conservation process, as most textile conservators believe that the advantages of using traditional cleaning techniques are less than their disadvantages. In this study, the uses of laser cleaning method and two modified recipes of wet cleaning methods were evaluated for cleaning of the corroded archaeological Egyptian copper embroidery threads on an archaeological Egyptian textile fabric. Some corroded copper thread samples were cleaned using modified recipes of wet cleaning method; other corroded copper thread samples were cleaned with Q-switched Nd:YAG laser radiation of wavelength 532 nm. All tested metal thread samples before and after cleaning were investigated using a light microscope and a scanning electron microscope with an energy dispersive X-ray analysis unit. Also the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique was used for the elemental analysis of laser-cleaned samples to follow up the laser cleaning procedure. The results show that laser cleaning is the most effective method among all tested methods in the cleaning of corroded copper threads. It can be used safely in removing the corrosion products without any damage to both metal strips and fibrous core. The tested laser cleaning technique has solved the problems caused by other traditional cleaning techniques that are commonly used in the cleaning of metal threads on museum textiles.

Development flight tests of JetStar LFC leading-edge flight test experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, David F.; Fischer, Michael C.

1987-01-01

The overall objective of the flight tests on the JetStar aircraft was to demonstrate the effectiveness and reliability of laminar flow control under representative flight conditions. One specific objective was to obtain laminar flow on the JetStar leading-edge test articles for the design and off-design conditions. Another specific objective was to obtain operational experience on a Laminar Flow Control (LFC) leading-edge system in a simulated airline service. This included operational experience with cleaning requirements, the effect of clogging, possible foreign object damage, erosion, and the effects of ice particle and cloud encounters. Results are summarized.

Ozone disinfection of home nebulizers effectively kills common cystic fibrosis bacterial pathogens.

PubMed

Towle, Dana; Baker, Vanisha; Schramm, Craig; O'Brien, Matthew; Collins, Melanie S; Feinn, Richard; Murray, Thomas S

2018-05-01

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) recommends routine nebulizer disinfection for patients but compliance is challenging due to the heavy burden of home care. SoClean® is a user friendly ozone based home disinfection device currently for home respiratory equipment. The objective of this study was to determine whether SoClean® has potential as a disinfection device for families with CF by killing CF associated bacteria without altering nebulizer output. Ozone based disinfection effectively kills bacterial pathogens inoculated to home nebulizer equipment without gross changes in nebulizer function. Common bacterial pathogens associated with CF were inoculated onto the PariLC® jet nebulizer and bacterial recovery compared with or without varied ozone exposure. In separate experiments, nebulizer output was estimated after repeated ozone exposure by weighing the nebulizer. Ozone disinfection was time dependent with a 5 min infusion time and 120 min dwell time effectively killing >99.99% bacteria tested including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Over 250 h of repeat ozone exposure did not alter nebulizer output. This suggests SoClean® has potential as a user-friendly disinfection technique for home respiratory equipment. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effect of hydraulically reversible and hydraulically irreversible fouling on the removal of MS2 and φX174 bacteriophage by an ultrafiltration membrane.

PubMed

ElHadidy, Ahmed M; Peldszus, Sigrid; Van Dyke, Michele I

2014-09-15

The effect of membrane fouling on the removal of enteric virus surrogates MS2 and φX174 bacteriophage by an ultrafiltration membrane was assessed under simulated full-scale drinking water treatment operating conditions. Filtration experiments of up to 8 days using either river or lake water ascertained how the membrane fouling layer affected virus removal. Organic carbon fractionation techniques identified potential foulants, including biopolymers, in the feed water and in the permeate. Hydraulically irreversible fouling could greatly improve the removal of both viruses at moderate and severe fouling conditions by up to 2.5 logs. Hydraulically reversible fouling increased virus removal only slightly, and increased removal of >0.5 log for both phage were only obtained under severe fouling conditions. The increase in virus removal due to irreversible and reversible fouling differed between the two water sources. As the degree of fouling increased, differences between the removal of the two phage decreased. Maintenance cleaning partially removed membrane foulants, however virus removal following maintenance cleaning was lower than that of the fouled membrane, it remained higher than that of the clean membrane. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tribological properties of boron nitride synthesized by ion beam deposition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miyoshi, K.; Buckley, D. H.; Spalvins, T.

1985-01-01

The adhesion and friction behavior of boron nitride films on 440 C bearing stainless steel substrates was examined. The thin films containing the boron nitride were synthesized using an ion beam extracted from a borazine plasma. Sliding friction experiments were conducted with BN in sliding contact with itself and various transition metals. It is indicated that the surfaces of atomically cleaned BN coating film contain a small amount of oxides and carbides, in addition to boron nitride. The coefficients of friction for the BN in contact with metals are related to the relative chemical activity of the metals. The more active the metal, the higher is the coefficient of friction. The adsorption of oxygen on clean metal and BN increases the shear strength of the metal - BN contact and increases the friction. The friction for BN-BN contact is a function of the shear strength of the elastic contacts. Clean BN surfaces exhibit relatively strong interfacial adhesion and high friction. The presence of adsorbates such as adventitious carbon contaminants on the BN surfaces reduces the shear strength of the contact area. In contrast, chemically adsorbed oxygen enhances the shear strength of the BN-BN contact and increases the friction.

Biofilm Removal Using Carbon Dioxide Aerosols without Nitrogen Purge.

PubMed

Hong, Seongkyeol; Jang, Jaesung

2016-11-06

Biofilms can cause serious concerns in many applications. Not only can they cause economic losses, but they can also present a public health hazard. Therefore, it is highly desirable to remove biofilms from surfaces. Many studies on CO2 aerosol cleaning have employed nitrogen purges to increase biofilm removal efficiency by reducing the moisture condensation generated during the cleaning. However, in this study, periodic jets of CO2 aerosols without nitrogen purges were used to remove Pseudomonas putida biofilms from polished stainless steel surfaces. CO2 aerosols are mixtures of solid and gaseous CO2 and are generated when high-pressure CO2 gas is adiabatically expanded through a nozzle. These high-speed aerosols were applied to a biofilm that had been grown for 24 hr. The removal efficiency ranged from 90.36% to 98.29% and was evaluated by measuring the fluorescence intensity of the biofilm as the treatment time was varied from 16 sec to 88 sec. We also performed experiments to compare the removal efficiencies with and without nitrogen purges; the measured biofilm removal efficiencies were not significantly different from each other (t-test, p > 0.55). Therefore, this technique can be used to clean various bio-contaminated surfaces within one minute.

A Deep Ensemble Learning Method for Monaural Speech Separation.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiao-Lei; Wang, DeLiang

2016-03-01

Monaural speech separation is a fundamental problem in robust speech processing. Recently, deep neural network (DNN)-based speech separation methods, which predict either clean speech or an ideal time-frequency mask, have demonstrated remarkable performance improvement. However, a single DNN with a given window length does not leverage contextual information sufficiently, and the differences between the two optimization objectives are not well understood. In this paper, we propose a deep ensemble method, named multicontext networks, to address monaural speech separation. The first multicontext network averages the outputs of multiple DNNs whose inputs employ different window lengths. The second multicontext network is a stack of multiple DNNs. Each DNN in a module of the stack takes the concatenation of original acoustic features and expansion of the soft output of the lower module as its input, and predicts the ratio mask of the target speaker; the DNNs in the same module employ different contexts. We have conducted extensive experiments with three speech corpora. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. We have also compared the two optimization objectives systematically and found that predicting the ideal time-frequency mask is more efficient in utilizing clean training speech, while predicting clean speech is less sensitive to SNR variations.

Further bacteriological evaluation of the TOUL mobile system delivering ultra-clean air over surgical patients and instruments.

PubMed

Thore, M; Burman, L G

2006-06-01

Two mobile TOUL-400 units (types 1 and 2) that produce an exponential ultra-clean air flow (EUA) via a mobile screen were evaluated (maximum height from floor to centre of screen: type 1, 1.4m; type 2, 1.6m). Bacterial deposition rates were lowered by >60% (P=0.001) over a table area of 1.7 m (length)x1.0m (width) with the TOUL-400 type 1 unit, and the mean air count at 1.0m from the screen was reduced from 23 to 1.6 colony-forming units (CFU)/m3 in experiments in a room with six air changes/h (ACH). The corresponding reductions were two- to three-fold greater in an operating room (OR) with 16 ACH due to higher bacterial contamination levels in the control experiments. The dramatic but localized reduction of the deposition rate recorded on one 14-cm settle plate (>2376-fold at 0.8m from the screen in the OR) apparently reflected the focus of the EUA. The impact of the TOUL-400 unit was underestimated by almost 100-fold by the air counts of bacteria recorded in parallel at the same sampling point (26.5-fold reduction). During sham coronary angiography and sham hip arthroplasty performed in a room with six ACH, ultra-clean air (<10 CFU/m3) was obtained over the incision area with the TOUL-400 type 2 unit when the EUA was undisturbed (maximum screen-wound distance 1.7 m). In actual coronary angiography (room with six ACH, screen-wound distance 2.0-2.3m) and various surgical procedures in the OR (screen-wound distance 1.4-1.8m), ultra-clean air was obtained at the wound in three of 18 instances, characterized by undisturbed air flow and a maximum distance of 1.8 m. The newly developed TOUL-300 surgical instrument table (1.3-1.7 x 0.6m), equipped at one end with the same EUA unit as the TOUL-400 unit, was evaluated for a room with six ACH and an OR with 16 ACH. It yielded ultra-clean air at 0.8m (1.9 CFU/m3, 96% reduction, P=0.01) and reduced the deposition rate by >60% over most of the table surface. Simplified positioning of the screen or a longer reach, plus a mechanism for precise focusing of the air flow on to the wound area would increase the clinical utility of the TOUL EUA system.

Limonene and tetrahydrofurfurly alcohol cleaning agent

DOEpatents

Bohnert, George W.; Carter, Richard D.; Hand, Thomas E.; Powers, Michael T.

1997-10-21

The present invention is a tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol and limonene cleaning agent and method for formulating and/or using the cleaning agent. This cleaning agent effectively removes both polar and nonpolar contaminants from various electrical and mechanical parts and is readily used without surfactants, thereby reducing the need for additional cleaning operations. The cleaning agent is warm water rinsable without the use of surfactants. The cleaning agent can be azeotropic, enhancing ease of use in cleaning operations and ease of recycling.

Limonene and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol cleaning agent

DOEpatents

Bohnert, G.W.; Carter, R.D.; Hand, T.E.; Powers, M.T.

1997-10-21

The present invention is a tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol and limonene cleaning agent and method for formulating and/or using the cleaning agent. This cleaning agent effectively removes both polar and nonpolar contaminants from various electrical and mechanical parts and is readily used without surfactants, thereby reducing the need for additional cleaning operations. The cleaning agent is warm water rinsable without the use of surfactants. The cleaning agent can be azeotropic, enhancing ease of use in cleaning operations and ease of recycling.

Optical effect of the contamination of infrared windows by the outgassing of materials in outer space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Silberman, E.

1975-01-01

The products and kinetics of outgassing from S13G paint were studied by using infrared absorption measurements of the material outgassed (using an evaporation cell and vacuum chamber). Two separate long-term experimental depositions from heated samples of the S13G paint were made. Before each experiment, the vacuum chamber and sample holder were carefully cleaned and outgassed to ensure that subsequent deposits on the colled-window were due only to the products evaporated from the sample. Results of experiments are listed and discussed.

Ion-beam technology and applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hudson, W. R.; Robson, R. R.; Sovey, J. S.

1977-01-01

Ion propulsion research and development yields a mature technology that is transferable to a wide range of nonpropulsive applications, including terrestrial and space manufacturing. A xenon ion source was used for an investigation into potential ion-beam applications. The results of cathode tests and discharge-chamber experiments are presented. A series of experiments encompassing a wide range of potential applications is discussed. Two types of processes, sputter deposition, and erosion were studied. Some of the potential applications are thin-film Teflon capacitor fabrication, lubrication applications, ion-beam cleaning and polishing, and surface texturing.

Research on a new wave energy absorption device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Zhongyue; Shang, Jianzhong; Luo, Zirong; Sun, Chongfei; Zhu, Yiming

2018-01-01

To reduce impact of global warming and the energy crisis problems caused by pollution of energy combustion, the research on renewable and clean energies becomes more and more important. This paper designed a new wave absorption device, and also gave an introduction on its mechanical structure. The flow tube model is analyzed, and presented the formulation of the proposed method. To verify the principle of wave absorbing device, an experiment was carried out in a laboratory environment, and the results of the experiment can be applied for optimizing the structure design of output power.

77 FR 44672 - Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-30

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts... a civil penalty of $1,750,000 to resolve its violations of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act... of coke oven gas. Under the Clean Water Act, Plaintiffs allege that Shenango violated the effluent...

40 CFR 423.11 - Specialized definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... chemical metal cleaning waste means any wastewater resulting from the cleaning of any metal process equipment with chemical compounds, including, but not limited to, boiler tube cleaning. (d) The term metal cleaning waste means any wastewater resulting from cleaning [with or without chemical cleaning compounds...

40 CFR 423.11 - Specialized definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... chemical metal cleaning waste means any wastewater resulting from the cleaning of any metal process equipment with chemical compounds, including, but not limited to, boiler tube cleaning. (d) The term metal cleaning waste means any wastewater resulting from cleaning [with or without chemical cleaning compounds...

Limonene and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol cleaning agent

DOEpatents

Bohnert, George W.; Carter, Richard D.; Hand, Thomas E.; Powers, Michael T.

1996-05-07

The present invention is a tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol and limonene or terpineol cleaning agent and method for formulating and/or using the cleaning agent. This cleaning agent effectively removes both polar and nonpolar contaminants from various electrical and mechanical parts and is readily used without surfactants, thereby reducing the need for additional cleaning operations. The cleaning agent is warm water rinsable without the use of surfactants. The cleaning agent can be azeotropic, enhancing ease of use in cleaning operations and ease of recycling.

Science Results and Lessons Learned from CubeSat: Colorado Space Weather Experiment (CSSWE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xinlin

The Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope integrated little experiment (REPTile) is a loaded-disc collimated solid-state particle telescope, designed, built, tested, and operated by a team of students at the University of Colorado. It is the only science payload onboard the Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment (CSSWE), a 3U CubeSat (10cm x 10cm x 30cm) launched into a low-Earth, 480km x 780km, and highly inclined (65 deg) orbit on 13 September 2012. REPTile measures differential fluxes of 0.58 to >3.8 MeV electrons and 9-40 MeV protons. These measurements, by themselves and in conjunction with other larger missions, are critical to understand the dynamics of these energetic particles. Miniaturizing a power- and mass-hungry particle telescope to return clean measurements from a CubeSat platform is challenging. To overcome these challenges, REPTile underwent a rigorous design and testing phase. Despite the limitations inherent with CubeSats, REPTile to date (still in operation) has returned more than 300 days of valuable science data, more than tripling its nominal mission lifetime of 90 days. The data are clean, as REPTile is able to clearly distinguish between particle species. Important science results using REPTile data, some of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals, will be presented in this presentation.

[Analysis and research on cleaning points of HVAC systems in public places].

PubMed

Yang, Jiaolan; Han, Xu; Chen, Dongqing; Jin, Xin; Dai, Zizhu

2010-03-01

To analyze cleaning points of HVAC systems, and to provides scientific base for regulating the cleaning of HVAC systems. Based on the survey results on the cleaning situation of HVAC systems around China for the past three years, we analyzes the cleaning points of HVAC systems from various aspects, such as the major health risk factors of HVAC systems, the formulation strategy of the cleaning of HVAC systems, cleaning methods and acceptance points of the air ducts and the parts of HVAC systems, the onsite protection and individual protection, the waste treatment and the cleaning of the removed equipment, inspection of the cleaning results, video record, and the final acceptance of the cleaning. The analysis of the major health risk factors of HVAC systems and the formulation strategy of the cleaning of HVAC systems is given. The specific methods for cleaning the air ducts, machine units, air ports, coil pipes and the water cooling towers of HVAC systems, the acceptance points of HVAC systems and the requirements of the report on the final acceptance of the cleaning of HVAC systems are proposed. By the analysis of the points of the cleaning of HVAC systems and proposal of corresponding measures, this study provides the base for the scientific and regular launch of the cleaning of HVAC systems, a novel technology service, and lays a foundation for the revision of the existing cleaning regulations, which may generate technical and social benefits to some extent.

[Effect of manual cleaning and machine cleaning for dental handpiece].

PubMed

Zhou, Xiaoli; Huang, Hao; He, Xiaoyan; Chen, Hui; Zhou, Xiaoying

2013-08-01

Comparing the dental handpiece' s cleaning effect between manual cleaning and machine cleaning. Eighty same contaminated dental handpieces were randomly divided into experimental group and control group, each group contains 40 pieces. The experimental group was treated by full automatic washing machine, and the control group was cleaned manually. The cleaning method was conducted according to the operations process standard, then ATP bioluminescence was used to test the cleaning results. Average relative light units (RLU) by ATP bioluminescence detection were as follows: Experimental group was 9, control group was 41. The two groups were less than the recommended RLU value provided by the instrument manufacturer (RLU < or = 45). There was significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). The cleaning quality of the experimental group was better than that of control group. It is recommended that the central sterile supply department should clean dental handpieces by machine to ensure the cleaning effect and maintain the quality.

Bio-Inspired Self-Cleaning Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Kesong; Jiang, Lei

2012-08-01

Self-cleaning surfaces have drawn a lot of interest for both fundamental research and practical applications. This review focuses on the recent progress in mechanism, preparation, and application of self-cleaning surfaces. To date, self-cleaning has been demonstrated by the following four conceptual approaches: (a) TiO2-based superhydrophilic self-cleaning, (b) lotus effect self-cleaning (superhydrophobicity with a small sliding angle), (c) gecko setae-inspired self-cleaning, and (d) underwater organisms-inspired antifouling self-cleaning. Although a number of self-cleaning products have been commercialized, the remaining challenges and future outlook of self-cleaning surfaces are also briefly addressed. Through evolution, nature, which has long been a source of inspiration for scientists and engineers, has arrived at what is optimal. We hope this review will stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration among material science, chemistry, biology, physics, nanoscience, engineering, etc., which is essential for the rational design and reproducible construction of bio-inspired multifunctional self-cleaning surfaces in practical applications.

Laser Ablation Cleaning of Self-Reacting Friction Stir Weld Seam Surfaces: A Preliminary Evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nunes, A. C., Jr.; Russell, C. K.; Brooke, S. A.; Parry, Q.; Lowrey, N. M.

2014-01-01

Anodized aluminum panels were cleaned by three lasers at three separate sites with a view to determining whether more economical laser cleaning might supplant current manual cleaning methods for preparation of surfaces to be welded by the self-reacting friction stir process. Uncleaned panels yielded welds exhibiting residual oxide defect (ROD) and failing at very low stresses along the trace of the weld seam. Manually cleaned panels yielded welds without ROD; these welds failed at nominal stress levels along an angled fracture surface not following the weld seam trace. Laser cleaned panels yielded welds failing at intermediate stress levels. The inadequacy of the laser cleaning processes leaves questions: Was the anodized aluminum test too stringent to represent actual cleaning requirements? Were the wrong laser cleaning techniques/parameters used for the study? Is the laser cleaning mechanism inadequate for effective preweld surface cleaning?

Genesis Solar Wind Sample 61422: Experiment in Variation of Sequence of Cleaning Solvent for Removing Carbon-Bearing Contamination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allton, J. H.; Kuhlman, K. R.; Allums, K. K.; Gonzalez, C. P.; Jurewicz, A. J. G.; Burnett, D. S.; Woolum, D. S.

2015-01-01

The recovered Genesis collector fragments are heavily contaminated with crash-derived particulate debris. However, megasonic treatment with ultra-pure-water (UPW; resistivity (is) greater than18 meg-ohm-cm) removes essentially all particulate contamination greater than 5 microns in size [e.g.1] and is thus of considerable importance. Optical imaging of Si sample 60336 revealed the presence of a large C-rich particle after UPW treatment that was not present prior to UPW. Such handling contamination is occasionally observed, but such contaminants are normally easily removed by UPW cleaning. The 60336 particle was exceptional in that, surprisingly, it was not removed by additional UPW or by hot xylene or by aqua regia treatment. It was eventually removed by treatment with NH3-H2O2. Our best interpretation of the origin of the 60336 particle was that it was adhesive from the Post-It notes used to stabilize samples for transport from Utah after the hard landing. It is possible that the insoluble nature of the 60336 particle comes from interaction of the Post-It adhesive with UPW. An occasional bit of Post-It adhesive is not a major concern, but C particulate contamination also occurs from the heat shield of the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) and this is mixed with inorganic contamination from the SRC and the Utah landing site. If UPW exposure also produced an insoluble residue from SRC C, this would be a major problem in chemical treatments to produce clean surfaces for analysis. This paper reports experiments to test whether particulate contamination was removed more easily if UPW treatment was not used.

Mobile zoned/exponential LAF screen: a new concept in ultra-clean air technology for additional operating room ventilation.

PubMed

Friberg, B; Lindgren, M; Karlsson, C; Bergström, A; Friberg, S

2002-04-01

A mobile screen (0.5 x 0.4 m) producing ultra-clean exponential LAF (air-flow central zone 0.6 m/s and peripheral zone 0.4 m/s) was investigated as an addition to conventional turbulent/mixing operating room ventilation. The evaluation was performed during strictly standardized sham operations reflecting conditions during major surgery. The study consisted of a pilot experiment designed to give high counts of sedimenting aerobic colony forming units (cfu). In a second main study, recording dust particles, air-borne and sedimenting aerobic cfu, the screen was associated with optimal operating room clothing. In the pilot experiment the use of the screen resulted in a substantial reduction of sedimenting bacteria from 3835-4940 to 0-390 cfu/m(2)/h. In the main study, the use of the additional LAF reduced the surface contamination from 416-329 to 7-78 cfu/m(2)/h up to 1.6 m from the screen (P=0.001-0.0001). Measured in the wound area the screen reduced the air counts of bacteria from 9-14 to 0.2-0.4 cfu/m(3) (P=0.008-0.0001) and a marked reduction of air-borne dust particles was recorded (P=0.007-0.009). In conclusion, the additional mobile LAF screen reduced the counts of aerobic air-borne and sedimenting bacteria-carrying particles as well as dust particles to the levels gained with complete ultra-clean LAF room ventilation. Thus, the screen might prove a valuable addition to operating room ventilation as well as in other areas where asepsis is essential. Copyright 2002 The Hospital Infection Society.

Alternative Fuels Data Center

Science.gov Websites

Clean Agriculture Clean Agriculture is a voluntary program that promotes the reduction of diesel cleaner fuels. Clean Agriculture is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Clean information, see the Clean Agriculture website. Point of Contact Jennifer Keller National Clean Diesel

Direct observation of small cluster mobility and ripening

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heinemann, K.; Poppa, H.

1976-01-01

Direct evidence is reported for the simultaneous occurrence of Ostwald ripening and short-distance cluster mobility during annealing of discontinuous metal films on clean amorphous substrates. The annealing characteristics of very thin particulate deposits of silver on amorphized clean surfaces of single-crystalline thin graphite substrates have been studied by in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) under controlled environmental conditions in the temperature range from 25 to 450 C. It was possible to monitor all stages of the experiments by TEM observation of the same specimen area. Slow Ostwald ripening was found to occur over the entire temperature range, but the overriding surface transport mechanism was short-distance cluster mobility. This was concluded from in situ observations of individual particles during annealing and from measurements of cluster size distributions, cluster number densities, area coverages, and mean cluster diameters.

Removal of volatile organic compounds (VOC`s) generated by Forest Product Industries using biofiltration technology

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

Gilliland, G.A.; Ramaswami, R.D.; Patel, D.N.

1995-12-31

Implementation of Clean Air Act Title V and the increasing environmental concerns of the public are imposing greater demands on the Forest Product industries to control their air emissions. As implementation of this Clean Air Act has begun, Forest Product Industries are recognizing the overall lack of historical emissions data, emissions testing information and knowledge of the economics of emission control technologies needed to reduce emissions. This study was undertaken to evaluate the types of VOC`s produced in drying and pressing wood composites, and determine how effective biofiltration technology could be used in reducing the levels of these products beforemore » they are released into the air. More specifically, the experiments were conducted to isolate microorganisms capable of degrading VOC`s and determine their biodegradation rates using bench scale biofilters.« less

Towards defect free EUVL reticles: carbon and particle removal by single dry cleaning process and pattern repair by HIM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koster, N. B.; Molkenboer, F. T.; van Veldhoven, E.; Oostrom, S.

2011-04-01

We report on our findings on EUVL reticle contamination removal, inspection and repair. We show that carbon contamination can be removed without damage to the reticle by our plasma process. Also organic particles, simulated by PSL spheres, can be removed from both the surface of the absorber as well as from the bottom of the trenches. The particles shrink in size during the plasma treatment until they are vanished. The determination of the necessary cleaning time for PSL spheres was conducted on Ru coated samples and the final experiment was performed on our dummy reticle. Finally we show that the Helium Ion Microscope in combination with a Gas Injection System is capable of depositing additional lines and squares on the reticle with sufficient resolution for pattern repair.

Mechanical vs. manual cleaning of hospital beds: a prospective intervention study.

PubMed

Hopman, J; Nillesen, M; de Both, E; Witte, J; Teerenstra, S; Hulscher, M; Voss, A

2015-06-01

Cleaning regimens for hospital beds were evaluated in the context of a rising prevalence of highly resistant micro-organisms and increasing financial pressure on healthcare systems. Dutch hospitals have to choose between standardized, mechanical bed-washers advised in national guidance and manual cleaning. To evaluate the quality of mechanical and manual bed-cleaning regimens. The multi-faceted analysis of bed-cleaning regimens consisted of three steps. In Step 1, the training of the domestic service team was evaluated. In Step 2, the cleaning quality of manual and mechanical regimens was assessed. Soiled beds, obtained at random, from different departments were evaluated using microbiological analysis (N = 40) and ATP (N = 20). ATP and microbiological contamination were measured in five predetermined locations on all beds. In Step 3, manual cleaning was introduced over a two-month pilot study at the surgical short-stay unit, and beds from other departments were processed according to the 'gold standard' mechanical cleaning. ATP levels were evaluated in three locations on 300 beds after cleaning. Training was found to improve the quality of cleaning significantly. Mechanical cleaning resulted in significantly lower ATP levels than manual cleaning. Mechanical cleaning shows less variation and results in consistently lower ATP levels than manual cleaning. Copyright © 2015 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Says Who?: Students Apply Their Critical-Analysis Skills to Fight Town Hall

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trimarchi, Ruth

2002-01-01

For some time the author looked for a tool to let students apply what they are learning about critical analysis in the science classroom to a relevant life experience. The opportunity occurred when a proposal to use environmentally friendly cleaning products in town buildings appeared on the local town meeting agenda. Using a copy of the proposal…

Early Preservice Teachers' Experiences of the Environment: A Case Study of Participation in a Community Outdoor Event

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Rooy, Wilhelmina

2017-01-01

Clean Up Australia Day is the country's largest community-based environmental annual event when participants work in teams to remove rubbish from their local environment. This article describes an interpretive study in which a sample of preservice primary teachers' (n = 30) responses to questions about their involvement in the event were evaluated…

Clean Photothermal Heating and Controlled Release from Near-Infrared Dye Doped Nanoparticles without Oxygen Photosensitization.

PubMed

Guha, Samit; Shaw, Scott K; Spence, Graeme T; Roland, Felicia M; Smith, Bradley D

2015-07-21

The photothermal heating and release properties of biocompatible organic nanoparticles, doped with a near-infrared croconaine (Croc) dye, were compared with analogous nanoparticles doped with the common near-infrared dyes ICG and IR780. Separate formulations of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles and liposomes, each containing Croc dye, absorbed strongly at 808 nm and generated clean laser-induced heating (no production of (1)O2 and no photobleaching of the dye). In contrast, laser-induced heating of nanoparticles containing ICG or IR780 produced reactive (1)O2, leading to bleaching of the dye and also decomposition of coencapsulated payload such as the drug doxorubicin. Croc dye was especially useful as a photothermal agent for laser-controlled release of chemically sensitive payload from nanoparticles. Solution state experiments demonstrated repetitive fractional release of water-soluble fluorescent dye from the interior of thermosensitive liposomes. Additional experiments used a focused laser beam to control leakage from immobilized liposomes with very high spatial and temporal precision. The results indicate that fractional photothermal leakage from nanoparticles doped with Croc dye is a promising method for a range of controlled release applications.

Wastewater treatment--adsorption of organic micropollutants on activated HTC-carbon derived from sewage sludge.

PubMed

Kirschhöfer, Frank; Sahin, Olga; Becker, Gero C; Meffert, Florian; Nusser, Michael; Anderer, Gilbert; Kusche, Stepan; Klaeusli, Thomas; Kruse, Andrea; Brenner-Weiss, Gerald

2016-01-01

Organic micropollutants (MPs), in particular xenobiotics and their transformation products, have been detected in the aquatic environment and the main sources of these MPs are wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, an additional cleaning step is necessary. The use of activated carbon (AC) is one approach to providing this additional cleaning. Industrial AC derived from different carbonaceous materials is predominantly produced in low-income countries by polluting processes. In contrast, AC derived from sewage sludge by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a regional and sustainable alternative, based on waste material. Our experiments demonstrate that the HTC-AC from sewage sludge was able to remove most of the applied MPs. In fact more than 50% of sulfamethoxazole, diclofenac and bezafibrate were removed from artificial water samples. With the same approach carbamazepine was eliminated to nearly 70% and atrazine more than 80%. In addition a pre-treated (phosphorus-reduced) HTC-AC was able to eliminate 80% of carbamazepine and diclofenac. Atrazine, sulfamethoxazole and bezafibrate were removed to more than 90%. Experiments using real wastewater samples with high organic content (11.1 g m(-3)) succeeded in proving the adsorption capability of phosphorus-reduced HTC-AC.

Clean Photothermal Heating and Controlled Release From Near Infrared Dye Doped Nanoparticles Without Oxygen Photosensitization

PubMed Central

Guha, Samit; Shaw, Scott K.; Spence, Graeme T.; Roland, Felicia M.; Smith, Bradley D.

2015-01-01

The photothermal heating and release properties of biocompatible organic nanoparticles, doped with a near-infrared croconaine (Croc) dye, were compared with analogous nanoparticles doped with the common near-infrared dyes ICG and IR780. Separate formulations of lipid-polymer-hybrid nanoparticles and liposomes, each containing Croc dye, absorbed strongly at 808 nm and generated clean laser-induced heating (no production of 1O2 and no photobleaching of the dye). In contrast, laser-induced heating of nanoparticles containing ICG or IR780 produced reactive 1O2 leading to bleaching of the dye and also decomposition of co-encapsulated payload such as the drug Doxorubicin. Croc dye was especially useful as a photothermal agent for laser controlled release of chemically sensitive payload from nanoparticles. Solution state experiments demonstrated repetitive fractional release of water soluble fluorescent dye from the interior of thermosensitive liposomes. Additional experiments used a focused laser beam to control leakage from immobilized liposomes with very high spatial and temporal precision. The results indicate that fractional photothermal leakage from nanoparticles doped with Croc dye is a promising method for a range of controlled release applications. PMID:26149326

Heavy metal remediation with Ficus microcarpa through transplantation and its environmental risks through field scale experiment.

PubMed

Luo, Jie; Cai, Limei; Qi, Shihua; Wu, Jian; Gu, Xiaowen Sophie

2018-02-01

The phytoremediation efficiency of various metals by Ficus microcarpa was evaluated through a real scale experiment in the present study. The root biomass production of the species varied significantly from 3.68 to 5.43 g because of the spatial heterogeneity of different metals. It would take 4-93 years to purify the excess Cd of the experimental site. Mercury was the most inflexible element which can barely be phytoremediated by F. microcarpa. After the species transplanted from the polluted soil to the clean site, Cd and Cu were transferred to the rhizosphere soil to different extent while the bulk soil was barely influenced. Relative to Cd and Cu, significantly fewer amounts of Pb and Hg were released. The highest concentrations of Cd, Cu, Hg and Pb in the clean soil were far below their corresponding safe thresholds for agricultural land after 3 months of the polluted plants were cultivated and metal concentrations of plant leaves were negligible, both indicated the low ecological risk of transplantation. Results from this study suggested a feasible disposal method for metal rich plants after phytoremediation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cavitation during wire brushing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Bo; Zou, Jun; Ji, Chen

2016-11-01

In our daily life, brush is often used to scrub the surface of objects, for example, teeth, pots, shoes, pool, etc. And cleaning rust and stripping paint are accomplished using wire brush. Wire brushes also can be used to clean the teeth for large animals, such as horses, crocodiles. By observing brushing process in water, we capture the cavitation phenomenon on the track of moving brush wire. It shows that the cavitation also can affect the surface. In order to take clear and entire pictures of cavity, a simplified model of one stainless steel wire brushing a boss is adopted in our experiment. A transparent organic tank filled with deionized water is used as a view box. And a high speed video camera is used to record the sequences. In experiment, ambient pressure is atmospheric pressure and deionized water temperature is kept at home temperature. An obvious beautiful flabellate cavity zone appears behind the moving steel wire. The fluctuation of pressure near cavity is recorded by a hydrophone. More movies and pictures are used to show the behaviors of cavitation bubble following a restoring wire. Beautiful tracking cavitation bubble cluster is captured and recorded to show.

[Detection of oil spills on water by differential polarization FTIR spectrometry].

PubMed

Yuan, Yue-ming; Xiong, Wei; Fang, Yong-hua; Lan, Tian-ge; Li, Da-cheng

2010-08-01

Detection of oil spills on water, by traditional thermal remote sensing, is based on the radiance contrast between the large area of clean water and the polluted area of water. And the categories of oil spills can not be identified by analysing the thermal infrared image. In order to find out the extent of pollution and identify the oil contaminants, an approach to the passive detection of oil spills on water by differential polarization FTIR spectrometry is proposed. This approach can detect the contaminants by obtaining and analysing the subtracted spectrum of horizontal and vertical polarization intensity spectrum. In the present article, the radiance model of differential polarization FTIR spectrometry is analysed, and an experiment about detection of No. O diesel and SF96 film on water by this method is presented. The results of this experiment indicate that this method can detect the oil contaminants on water without radiance contrast with clean water, and it also can identify oil spills by analysing the spectral characteristic of differential polarization FTIR spectrum. So it well makes up for the shortage of traditional thermal remote sensing on detecting oil spills on water.

Cleaning Genesis Sample Return Canister for Flight: Lessons for Planetary Sample Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allton, J. H.; Hittle, J. D.; Mickelson, E. T.; Stansbery, Eileen K.

2016-01-01

Sample return missions require chemical contamination to be minimized and potential sources of contamination to be documented and preserved for future use. Genesis focused on and successfully accomplished the following: - Early involvement provided input to mission design: a) cleanable materials and cleanable design; b) mission operation parameters to minimize contamination during flight. - Established contamination control authority at a high level and developed knowledge and respect for contamination control across all institutions at the working level. - Provided state-of-the-art spacecraft assembly cleanroom facilities for science canister assembly and function testing. Both particulate and airborne molecular contamination was minimized. - Using ultrapure water, cleaned spacecraft components to a very high level. Stainless steel components were cleaned to carbon monolayer levels (10 (sup 15) carbon atoms per square centimeter). - Established long-term curation facility Lessons learned and areas for improvement, include: - Bare aluminum is not a cleanable surface and should not be used for components requiring extreme levels of cleanliness. The problem is formation of oxides during rigorous cleaning. - Representative coupons of relevant spacecraft components (cut from the same block at the same time with identical surface finish and cleaning history) should be acquired, documented and preserved. Genesis experience suggests that creation of these coupons would be facilitated by specification on the engineering component drawings. - Component handling history is critical for interpretation of analytical results on returned samples. This set of relevant documents is not the same as typical documentation for one-way missions and does include data from several institutions, which need to be unified. Dedicated resources need to be provided for acquiring and archiving appropriate documents in one location with easy access for decades. - Dedicated, knowledgeable contamination control oversight should be provided at sites of fabrication and integration. Numerous excellent Genesis chemists and analytical facilities participated in the contamination oversight; however, additional oversight at fabrication sites would have been helpful.

Surface fixation of dried blood by glutaraldehyde and peracetic acid.

PubMed

Kampf, G; Bloss, R; Martiny, H

2004-06-01

The difficulties of successful prion inactivation by chemical agents has led to changes in recommendations regarding the reprocessing of instruments including flexible endoscopes. One of the changes is the preference for peracetic acid instead of glutaraldehyde in order to avoid fixation of organic material, but the surface fixation by various active agents has not been fully investigated. We used a standardized amount of dried blood soil on metal carriers (on average 22 mg). One part of the carriers was exposed to different disinfectants (four based on peracetic acid, three based on glutaraldehyde, two based on quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC), one based on QAC and amines, one based on phenols and one cleaning agent) and air dried. The difference compared with the non-exposed soiled carrier was taken as the measure of blood removal by exposure to the disinfectants. In addition the other part of the carriers was exposed to a cleaning agent and air dried. The cleaning agent itself was capable of removing more than 99% of the dried blood and served as a control for non-fixation. The rate of fixation of dried blood was calculated as the ratio of the weight of residual soil on 'soiled, disinfected and cleaned' carriers and on 'soiled and disinfected' carriers. All experiments were repeated eight times. Blood removal varied between 90.3% +/- 1.5% (phenol-based disinfectant) and < 10% (glutaraldehyde-based preparations). Fixation of the remainder was between 76.9 +/- 8.4% and 102.5 +/- 1.1% with glutaraldehyde and between 19.2% +/- 3.3% and 78.1% +/- 2.4% with peracetic acid. No other preparations showed a potential for blood fixation (< 1.3%). Our findings underline the potential for blood fixation, not only by glutaraldehyde, but also by peracetic acid, and support the evidence that effective cleaning should precede the chemical disinfection. Copyright 2004 The Hospital Infection Society

Mouse Cleaning Apparatus and Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Glenn L. (Inventor)

2005-01-01

The method of using the mouse pad cleaning apparatus is disclosed and claimed. The method comprises the steps of uncovering the mouse cleaning surface, applying the mouse and ball of the mouse to the cleaning surface, moving the mouse in a rotational pattern on the mouse cleaning surface, removing the mouse form the mouse cleaning surface, washing the cleaning surface, and covering the mouse cleaning surface. A mouse pad cleaning apparatus comprising a plurality of substrates, each said substrate having adhesive thereon, said plurality of substrates residing in and affixed to a receptacle. A single substrate having adhesive, which may be washable or non-washable, thereon may be employed. The washable adhesive may be an organopolysiloxane or gelatinous elastomer.

A Commercial IOTV Cleaning Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-12

manufacturer’s list price without taking into consideration of possible volume discount.  Equipment depreciation cost was calculated based on...Laundering with Prewash Spot Cleaning) 32 Table 12 Shrinkage Statistical Data (Traditional Wet Laundering without Prewash Spot Cleaning...Statistical Data (Computer-controlled Wet Cleaning without Prewash Spot Cleaning) 35 Table 15 Shrinkage Statistical Data (Liquid CO2 Cleaning

Clean Energy Solutions Center: Assisting Countries with Clean Energy Policy

Science.gov Websites

Energy Solutions Center: Assisting Countries with Clean Energy Policy NREL helps developing countries and adapting to climate change impacts, developing countries are looking for clean energy solutions supports clean energy scale-up in the developing world are knowledge, capacity, and cost. The Clean Energy

The “Common Solutions” Strategy of the Experiment Support group at CERN for the LHC Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girone, M.; Andreeva, J.; Barreiro Megino, F. H.; Campana, S.; Cinquilli, M.; Di Girolamo, A.; Dimou, M.; Giordano, D.; Karavakis, E.; Kenyon, M. J.; Kokozkiewicz, L.; Lanciotti, E.; Litmaath, M.; Magini, N.; Negri, G.; Roiser, S.; Saiz, P.; Saiz Santos, M. D.; Schovancova, J.; Sciabà, A.; Spiga, D.; Trentadue, R.; Tuckett, D.; Valassi, A.; Van der Ster, D. C.; Shiers, J. D.

2012-12-01

After two years of LHC data taking, processing and analysis and with numerous changes in computing technology, a number of aspects of the experiments’ computing, as well as WLCG deployment and operations, need to evolve. As part of the activities of the Experiment Support group in CERN's IT department, and reinforced by effort from the EGI-InSPIRE project, we present work aimed at common solutions across all LHC experiments. Such solutions allow us not only to optimize development manpower but also offer lower long-term maintenance and support costs. The main areas cover Distributed Data Management, Data Analysis, Monitoring and the LCG Persistency Framework. Specific tools have been developed including the HammerCloud framework, automated services for data placement, data cleaning and data integrity (such as the data popularity service for CMS, the common Victor cleaning agent for ATLAS and CMS and tools for catalogue/storage consistency), the Dashboard Monitoring framework (job monitoring, data management monitoring, File Transfer monitoring) and the Site Status Board. This talk focuses primarily on the strategic aspects of providing such common solutions and how this relates to the overall goals of long-term sustainability and the relationship to the various WLCG Technical Evolution Groups. The success of the service components has given us confidence in the process, and has developed the trust of the stakeholders. We are now attempting to expand the development of common solutions into the more critical workflows. The first is a feasibility study of common analysis workflow execution elements between ATLAS and CMS. We look forward to additional common development in the future.

Piezo-based motion stages for heavy duty operation in clean environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karasikov, Nir; Peled, Gal; Yasinov, Roman; Gissin, Michael; Feinstein, Alan

2018-02-01

A range of heavy duty, ultra-precise motion stages had been developed for precise positioning in semiconductor manufacturing and metrology, for use in a clean room and high vacuum (HV and UHV) environments, to meet the precision requirements for 7, 5 nm nodes and beyond. These stages are powered by L1B2 direct drive ultrasonic motors, which allows combining long motion range, sub-nanometer positioning accuracy, high stiffness (in the direction of motion), low power consumption and active compensation of thermal and structural drift while holding position. The mechanical design, material selection for clean room and high vacuum preparation techniques are reviewed. Test results in a clean room are reported for a two-axis (X-Y) stage, having a load capacity of 30 kg, a motion range of 450 mm, a positioning accuracy of < 1 nm, a maximum motion speed of > 200 mm/s and a < 2 nm position stability (3 sigma). Long term drift compensation to sub-nm level, against thermal drift, has been validated for more than 10 hours. Heavy duty operation in a high vacuum is exemplified via a single axis stage operating at 5E-7 Torr, having a moving mass of 0.96 kg, oriented against gravity. The stage is operated periodically (up and down) over a travel length of 45 mm. The motion profile has a trapezoidal shape with an acceleration of 1m/s2 and a constant velocity of 100 mm/s. The operational parameters (average absolute position error during constant velocity, motor force, dead zone level) remain stable over more than 370000 passes (experiment duration).

Long-term studies on the effects of nonvolatile organic compounds on porous media surface areas.

PubMed

Khachikian, Crist S; Harmon, Thomas C

2002-01-01

This paper investigates the long-term behavior of porous media contaminated by nonvolatile organic compounds (NVOC) in terms of specific interfacial surface area. Specifically, a natural sand, Moffett sand (MS), was contaminated with naphthalene and the surface area was measured repeatedly over time using nitrogen adsorption-desorption techniques. A field-contaminated sand affected by lamp-black material (LB) from former manufactured gas plant operations was also studied. Lampblack is a carbonaceous skeleton containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other hydrocarbons. It is hypothesized that soils contaminated by these types of chemicals will exhibit significantly less surface area than their clean counterparts. The surface areas for the contaminated MS samples increased toward their clean-MS values during the 700-h aging period, but achieved the clean values only after pentane extraction or heating at 60 degrees C. Heating at 50 degrees C failed to achieve a similar recovery of the clean-MS surface area value. Nonspecific mass loss tracked the increase in surface area as indirect evidence that naphthalene loss was the cause of the surface area increase. For the LB samples, aging at 100 degrees C produced a slight decrease in surface area and mass while aging at 250 degrees C caused the surface area to increase roughly threefold while the mass decreased by approximately 1%. These results suggest that, under moderate heating and over the time scale of this investigation, there is a redistribution of the complex contaminant mixture on the solid matrix. Greater temperatures remove mass more efficiently and therefore exhibited the surface area increase expected in this experiment.

Safety by design: effects of operating room floor marking on the position of surgical devices to promote clean air flow compliance and minimise infection risks.

PubMed

de Korne, Dirk F; van Wijngaarden, Jeroen D H; van Rooij, Jeroen; Wauben, Linda S G L; Hiddema, U Frans; Klazinga, Niek S

2012-09-01

To evaluate the use of floor marking on the positioning of surgical devices within the clean air flow in an operating room (OR) to minimise infection risk. Laminar flow clean air systems are important in preventing infection in ORs but, for optimal results, surgical devices must be correctly positioned. The authors evaluated floor marking in four ORs at an eye hospital using time series analysis. Through observations during 829 surgeries over a 20-month period, the positions of surgical devices were determined. Eight semistructured interviews with surgical staff were conducted to assess user experiences and team dynamics. Before marking, the instrument table was positioned completely within the laminar flow in only 6.1% of the cases. This increased to 36.1% and finally 53.8%. Mayo stands were increasingly positioned within the laminar flow: from 74.2% to 84.7%. The surgical lamp decreasingly obstructed flow: from 41.8% to 28.7%. At T3 (20 months), however, in 48.6% of the applicable cases the lamp was positioned in the flow again. Discussions and site visits between airside operators and surgical staff resulted in increasing awareness of specific risk areas in the OR. OR floor markings facilitated and stimulated safety awareness and resulted in significantly increased compliance with the positioning of surgical devices in the clean air flow. Safety and quality approaches in hospital care, therefore, should include a human factors approach that focuses on system design in addition to teaching clinical and non-technical skills.

Multi-year ground-based observations of aerosol-cloud interactions in the Mid-Atlantic of the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Siwei; Joseph, Everette; Min, Qilong; Yin, Bangsheng

2017-02-01

The U.S. Mid-Atlantic region experiences a wide variability of aerosol loading and frequent episodes of elevated anthropogenic aerosol loading associated with urban pollution conditions during summer months. In this study, multi-year ground-based observations (2006 to 2010) of aerosol and cloud properties from passive, active and in situ measurements at an atmospheric measurement field station in the Baltimore-Washington corridor operated by Howard University were analyzed to examine aerosol indirect effect on single-layer warm clouds including cloud optical depth (COD), liquid water path (LWP), cloud droplet effective radius (Re) and cloud droplet number concentration (Nd) in this region. A greater occurrence of polluted episodes and cloud cases with smaller Re (<7 μm) were found during the polluted year summers (2006, 2007 and 2008) than the clean year summers (2009 and 2010). The measurements of aerosol particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) were used to represent the aerosol loading under cloudy conditions. Significant negative relationships between cloud droplet Re and PM2.5 were observed. Cloud cases were separated into clean and polluted groups based on the value of PM2.5. The cloud droplet Re was found proportional to LWP under clean conditions but weakly dependent on LWP under polluted conditions. The Nd was proportional to LWP under polluted condition but weakly dependent on LWP under clean conditions. Moreover, the effects of increasing fine aerosol particles on modifying cloud microphysical properties were found more significant under large LWP than small LWP in this region.

Ultrasonic cleaning of conveyor belt materials using Listeria monocytogenes as a model organism.

PubMed

Tolvanén, Riina; Lunden, Janne; Korkeala, Hannu; Wirtanen, Gun

2007-03-01

Persistent Listeria monocytogenes contamination of food industry equipment is a difficult problem to solve. Ultrasonic cleaning offers new possibilities for cleaning conveyors and other equipment that are not easy to clean. Ultrasonic cleaning was tested on three conveyor belt materials: polypropylene, acetal, and stainless steel (cold-rolled, AISI 304). Cleaning efficiency was tested at two temperatures (30 and 45 degrees C) and two cleaning times (30 and 60 s) with two cleaning detergents (KOH, and NaOH combined with KOH). Conveyor belt materials were soiled with milk-based soil and L. monocytogenes strains V1, V3, and B9, and then incubated for 72 h to attach bacteria to surfaces. Ultrasonic cleaning treatments reduced L. monocytogenes counts on stainless steel 4.61 to 5.90 log units; on acetal, 3.37 to 5.55 log units; and on polypropylene, 2.31 to 4.40 log units. The logarithmic reduction differences were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software. The logarithmic reduction was significantly greater in stainless steel than in plastic materials (P < 0.001 for polypropylene, P = 0.023 for acetal). Higher temperatures enhanced the cleaning efficiency in tested materials. No significant difference occurred between cleaning times. The logarithmic reduction was significantly higher (P = 0.013) in cleaning treatments with potassium hydroxide detergent. In this study, ultrasonic cleaning was efficient for cleaning conveyor belt materials.

A United States perspective on long-term management of areas contaminated with radioactive materials.

PubMed

Jones, C Rick

2004-01-01

The US has far-reaching and extensive experience in the long-term management of areas contaminated with radioactive materials. This experience base includes the Department of Energy's continued follow-up with Hiroshima and Nagasaki from the 1940s at the Radiological Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima, Japan, the long-term management of the Marshall Islands Programme, the clean-up of the US nuclear weapons complex and the ongoing management of accident sites such as in Palomares, Spain. This paper discusses the lessons learnt and best practices gained from this far-reaching and extensive experience in the long-term management of areas contaminated with radioactive materials. Copyright 2004 Oxford University Press

78 FR 17229 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Amendment Under the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-20

... Act; the Clean Water Act; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; the Missouri Air Conservation Law; the Missouri Clean Water Law and the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Law On March 14, 2013..., the Missouri Air Conservation Law, the Clean Water Act, the Missouri Clean Water Law, the Resource...

9 CFR 354.241 - Cleaning of rooms and compartments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... compartments. Rooms, compartments, or other parts of the official plant shall be kept clean and in sanitary... light fixtures in the official plant shall be kept clean. (c) All docks and rooms shall be kept clean... rooms should be kept clean at all times. (e) Floors in live rabbit holding rooms shall be cleaned with...

9 CFR 354.241 - Cleaning of rooms and compartments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... compartments. Rooms, compartments, or other parts of the official plant shall be kept clean and in sanitary... light fixtures in the official plant shall be kept clean. (c) All docks and rooms shall be kept clean... rooms should be kept clean at all times. (e) Floors in live rabbit holding rooms shall be cleaned with...

Experimental Investigation of Ice Accretion Effects on a Swept Wing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wong, S. C.; Vargas, M.; Papadakis, M.; Yeong, H. W.; Potapczuk, M.

2005-01-01

An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effects of 2-, 5-, 10-, and 22.5-min ice accretions on the aerodynamic performance of a swept finite wing. The ice shapes tested included castings of ice accretions obtained from icing tests at the NASA Glenn Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) and simulated ice shapes obtained with the LEWICE 2.0 ice accretion code. The conditions used for the icing tests were selected to provide five glaze ice shapes with complete and incomplete scallop features and a small rime ice shape. The LEWICE ice shapes were defined for the same conditions as those used in the icing tests. All aerodynamic performance tests were conducted in the 7- x 10-ft Low-Speed Wind Tunnel Facility at Wichita State University. Six component force and moment measurements, aileron hinge moments, and surface pressures were obtained for a Reynolds number of 1.8 million based on mean aerodynamic chord and aileron deflections in the range of -15o to 20o. Tests were performed with the clean wing, six IRT ice shape castings, seven smooth LEWICE ice shapes, and seven rough LEWICE ice shapes. Roughness for the LEWICE ice shapes was simulated with 36-size grit. The experiments conducted showed that the glaze ice castings reduced the maximum lift coefficient of the clean wing by 11.5% to 93.6%, while the 5-min rime ice casting increased maximum lift by 3.4%. Minimum iced wing drag was 133% to 3533% greater with respect to the clean case. The drag of the iced wing near the clean wing stall angle of attack was 17% to 104% higher than that of the clean case. In general, the aileron remained effective in changing the lift of the clean and iced wings for all angles of attack and aileron deflections tested. Aileron hinge moments for the iced wing cases remained within the maximum and minimum limits defined by the clean wing hinge moments. Tests conducted with the LEWICE ice shapes showed that in general the trends in aerodynamic performance degradation of the wing with the simulated ice shapes were similar to those obtained with the IRT ice shape castings. However, in most cases, the ice castings resulted in greater aerodynamic performance losses than those obtained with the LEWICE ice shapes. For the majority of the LEWICE ice shapes, the addition of 36-size grit roughness to the smooth ice shapes increased aerodynamic performance losses.

Manual cleaning of hospital mattresses: an observational study comparing high- and low-resource settings.

PubMed

Hopman, J; Hakizimana, B; Meintjes, W A J; Nillessen, M; de Both, E; Voss, A; Mehtar, S

2016-01-01

Hospital-associated infections (HAIs) are more frequently encountered in low- than in high-resource settings. There is a need to identify and implement feasible and sustainable approaches to strengthen HAI prevention in low-resource settings. To evaluate the biological contamination of routinely cleaned mattresses in both high- and low-resource settings. In this two-stage observational study, routine manual bed cleaning was evaluated at two university hospitals using adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Standardized training of cleaning personnel was achieved in both high- and low-resource settings. Qualitative analysis of the cleaning process was performed to identify predictors of cleaning outcome in low-resource settings. Mattresses in low-resource settings were highly contaminated prior to cleaning. Cleaning significantly reduced biological contamination of mattresses in low-resource settings (P < 0.0001). After training, the contamination observed after cleaning in both the high- and low-resource settings seemed comparable. Cleaning with appropriate type of cleaning materials reduced the contamination of mattresses adequately. Predictors for mattresses that remained contaminated in a low-resource setting included: type of product used, type of ward, training, and the level of contamination prior to cleaning. In low-resource settings mattresses were highly contaminated as noted by ATP levels. Routine manual cleaning by trained staff can be as effective in a low-resource setting as in a high-resource setting. We recommend a multi-modal cleaning strategy that consists of training of domestic services staff, availability of adequate time to clean beds between patients, and application of the correct type of cleaning products. Copyright © 2015 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Washing away your sins in the brain: physical cleaning and priming of cleaning recruit different brain networks after moral threat

PubMed Central

Tang, Honghong; Lu, Xiaping; Su, Rui; Liang, Zilu; Mai, Xiaoqin

2017-01-01

Abstract The association between moral purity and physical cleanliness has been widely discussed recently. Studies found that moral threat initiates the need of physical cleanliness, but actual physical cleaning and priming of cleaning have inconsistent effects on subsequent attitudes and behaviors. Here, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the underlying neural mechanism of actual physical cleaning and priming of cleaning. After recalling moral transgression with strong feelings of guilt and shame, participants either actually cleaned their faces with a wipe or were primed with cleanliness through viewing its pictures. Results showed that actual physical cleaning reduced the spontaneous brain activities in the right insula and MPFC, regions that involved in embodied moral emotion processing, while priming of cleaning decreased activities in the right superior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus, regions that participated in executive control processing. Additionally, actual physical cleaning also changed functional connectivity between insula/MPFC and emotion related regions, whereas priming of cleaning modified connectivity within both moral and sensorimotor areas. These findings revealed that actual physical cleaning and priming of cleaning led to changes in different brain regions and networks, providing neural evidence for the inconsistent effects of cleanliness on subsequent attitudes and behaviors. PMID:28338887

Washing away your sins in the brain: physical cleaning and priming of cleaning recruit different brain networks after moral threat.

PubMed

Tang, Honghong; Lu, Xiaping; Su, Rui; Liang, Zilu; Mai, Xiaoqin; Liu, Chao

2017-07-01

The association between moral purity and physical cleanliness has been widely discussed recently. Studies found that moral threat initiates the need of physical cleanliness, but actual physical cleaning and priming of cleaning have inconsistent effects on subsequent attitudes and behaviors. Here, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the underlying neural mechanism of actual physical cleaning and priming of cleaning. After recalling moral transgression with strong feelings of guilt and shame, participants either actually cleaned their faces with a wipe or were primed with cleanliness through viewing its pictures. Results showed that actual physical cleaning reduced the spontaneous brain activities in the right insula and MPFC, regions that involved in embodied moral emotion processing, while priming of cleaning decreased activities in the right superior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus, regions that participated in executive control processing. Additionally, actual physical cleaning also changed functional connectivity between insula/MPFC and emotion related regions, whereas priming of cleaning modified connectivity within both moral and sensorimotor areas. These findings revealed that actual physical cleaning and priming of cleaning led to changes in different brain regions and networks, providing neural evidence for the inconsistent effects of cleanliness on subsequent attitudes and behaviors. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

Precision cleaning apparatus and method

DOEpatents

Schneider, T.W.; Frye, G.C.; Martin, S.J.

1998-01-13

A precision cleaning apparatus and method are disclosed. The precision cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning monitor further comprising an acoustic wave cleaning sensor such as a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), a flexural plate wave (FPW) sensor, a shear horizontal acoustic plate mode (SH--APM) sensor, or a shear horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH--SAW) sensor; and measurement means connectable to the sensor for measuring in-situ one or more electrical response characteristics that vary in response to removal of one or more contaminants from the sensor and a workpiece located adjacent to the sensor during cleaning. Methods are disclosed for precision cleaning of one or more contaminants from a surface of the workpiece by means of the cleaning monitor that determines a state of cleanliness and any residual contamination that may be present after cleaning; and also for determining an effectiveness of a cleaning medium for removing one or more contaminants from a workpiece. 11 figs.

Precision cleaning apparatus and method

DOEpatents

Schneider, Thomas W.; Frye, Gregory C.; Martin, Stephen J.

1998-01-01

A precision cleaning apparatus and method. The precision cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning monitor further comprising an acoustic wave cleaning sensor such as a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), a flexural plate wave (FPW) sensor, a shear horizontal acoustic plate mode (SH--APM) sensor, or a shear horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH--SAW) sensor; and measurement means connectable to the sensor for measuring in-situ one or more electrical response characteristics that vary in response to removal of one or more contaminants from the sensor and a workpiece located adjacent to the sensor during cleaning. Methods are disclosed for precision cleaning of one or more contaminants from a surface of the workpiece by means of the cleaning monitor that determines a state of cleanliness and any residual contamination that may be present after cleaning; and also for determining an effectiveness of a cleaning medium for removing one or more contaminants from a workpiece.

Latest technologies on ultrasonic cleaning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofstetter, Hans U.

2007-05-01

UCM-AG manufactures Ultrasonic Cleaning Machines for highest quality requirements. The company has the know-how for cleaning and supplies cleaning systems together with the cleaning process. With a UCM of Switzerland Cleaning System, the customer gets the system itself, the cleaning process with a guarantee for the specified result but also all auxiliary equipment needed for perfect results. Therefore UCM also supplies fixtures, linkage to existing automated fabrication facilities water treatment plants etc. Thus the UCM customer gets a turnkey installation - ready to operate and including know-how. UCM of Switzerland will describe the latest technology in ultrasonic precision cleaning on the example of a recent and sophisticated installation. The installation consists of three interlinked cleaning systems which operate completely automated. The 1st system is designed for pre-cleaning to remove waxes, pitch and protection lacquers with environmentally friendly solvents which are non hazardous to the health of the operators. The 2nd system cleans the parts prior to inspection and operates with neutral or slightly alkaline detergents. The 3rd system is designed for final cleaning prior to vacuum coating and perfect results are required. It combines cleaning tanks and DI-Water rinse with lift out and vacuum dryer. The installation combines the latest technologies in ultrasonic cleaning for precision optical components. The system employs multi frequency immersed ultrasonic transducers and special rinsing technologies The complete installation will be explained in detail; the concept in its whole, the lay out, the particular setup of each cleaning system etc. will be shown and explained together with construction particulars of the complete installation.

75 FR 11560 - Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-11

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act and Clean Air... for the Defendant's violations of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., and the Clean Air Act... including the installation of water effluent controls, the rerouting of air emissions through control...

Supersonic Gas-Liquid Cleaning System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kinney, Frank

1996-01-01

The Supersonic Gas-Liquid Cleaning System Research Project consisted mainly of a feasibility study, including theoretical and engineering analysis, of a proof-of-concept prototype of this particular cleaning system developed by NASA-KSC. The cleaning system utilizes gas-liquid supersonic nozzles to generate high impingement velocities at the surface of the device to be cleaned. The cleaning fluid being accelerated to these high velocities may consist of any solvent or liquid, including water. Compressed air or any inert gas is used to provide the conveying medium for the liquid, as well as substantially reduce the total amount of liquid needed to perform adequate surface cleaning and cleanliness verification. This type of aqueous cleaning system is considered to be an excellent way of conducting cleaning and cleanliness verification operations as replacements for the use of CFC 113 which must be discontinued by 1995. To utilize this particular cleaning system in various cleaning applications for both the Space Program and the commercial market, it is essential that the cleaning system, especially the supersonic nozzle, be characterized for such applications. This characterization consisted of performing theoretical and engineering analysis, identifying desirable modifications/extensions to the basic concept, evaluating effects of variations in operating parameters, and optimizing hardware design for specific applications.

Estimating the HIV undiagnosed population in Catalonia, Spain: descriptive and comparative data analysis to identify differences in MSM stratified by migrant and Spanish-born population.

PubMed

Reyes-Urueña, Juliana Maria; Campbell, Colin N J; Vives, Núria; Esteve, Anna; Ambrosioni, Juan; Tural, Cristina; Ferrer, Elena; Navarro, Gemma; Force, Lluis; García, Isabel; Masabeu, Àngels; Vilaró, Josep M; García de Olalla, Patricia; Caylà, Joan Artur; Miró, Josep M; Casabona, Jordi

2018-02-28

Undiagnosed HIV continues to be a hindrance to efforts aimed at reducing incidence of HIV. The objective of this study was to provide an estimate of the HIV undiagnosed population in Catalonia and compare the HIV care cascade with this step included between high-risk populations. To estimate HIV incidence, time between infection and diagnosis and the undiagnosed population stratified by CD4 count, we used the ECDC HIV Modelling Tool V.1.2.2. This model uses data on new HIV and AIDS diagnoses from the Catalan HIV/AIDS surveillance system from 2001 to 2013. Data used to estimate the proportion of people enrolled, on ART and virally suppressed in the HIV care cascade were derived from the PISCIS cohort. The total number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Catalonia in 2013 was 34 729 (32 740 to 36 827), with 12.3% (11.8 to 18.1) of whom were undiagnosed. By 2013, there were 8458 (8101 to 9079) Spanish-born men who have sex with men (MSM) and 2538 (2334 to 2918) migrant MSM living with HIV in Catalonia. A greater proportion of migrant MSM than local MSM was undiagnosed (32% vs 22%). In the subsequent steps of the HIV care cascade, migrants MSM experience greater losses than the Spanish-born MSM: in retention in care (74% vs 55%), in the proportion on combination antiretroviral treatment (70% vs 50%) and virally suppressed (65% vs 46%). By the end of 2013, there were an estimated 34 729 PLHIV in Catalonia, of whom 4271 were still undiagnosed. This study shows that the Catalan epidemic of HIV has continued to expand with the key group sustaining HIV transmission being MSM living with undiagnosed HIV. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

26 CFR 1.179A-1 - Recapture of deduction for qualified clean-fuel vehicle property and qualified clean-fuel vehicle...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... longer be propelled by a clean-burning fuel; (B) The vehicle is used by the taxpayer in a manner... vehicle property and qualified clean-fuel vehicle refueling property. 1.179A-1 Section 1.179A-1 Internal... of deduction for qualified clean-fuel vehicle property and qualified clean-fuel vehicle refueling...

The International Scientific Working Group on Tick-Borne Encephalitis (ISW TBE): Review of 17 years of activity and commitment.

PubMed

Kunze, Ursula

2016-04-01

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has been a growing public health problem in Europe and other parts of the world for the past 20 years. In 1999, in order to encourage the control of TBE, international experts created a new body: The International Scientific Working Group on Tick-Borne Encephalitis (ISW-TBE). This Working Group has been composed of internationally recognized scientific experts from tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEv)-endemic and non-endemic regions with extensive personal expertise in the field and a high level of commitment to improve the knowledge of TBE and to increase the public awareness of TBE. Since the foundation of the Working Group, ISW-TBE members meet annually. Every meeting is dedicated to a specific topic, and since 2004 a yearly conference report has been published to inform the scientific community about the latest developments. Among the specific issues that have been extensively discussed over the years were the following: clinical aspects of the disease, TBE in children and golden agers, epidemiology, possible causes for the increase in TBE incidence in Europe, TBE and awareness, TBE and travel, (low) vaccination rates, and the cooperation with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). This paper gives an overview of the most important activities and achievements of the ISW-TBE over the past 17 years. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of molecular typing of foodborne pathogens in European reference laboratories from 2012 to 2013

PubMed Central

Schjørring, Susanne; Niskanen, Taina; Torpdahl, Mia; Björkman, Jonas T; Nielsen, Eva Møller

2016-01-01

In 2012, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) initiated external quality assessment (EQA) schemes for molecular typing including the National Public Health Reference Laboratories in Europe. The overall aim for these EQA schemes was to enhance the European surveillance of food-borne pathogens by evaluating and improving the quality and comparability of molecular typing. The EQAs were organised by Statens Serum Institut (SSI) and included Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) and Listeria monocytogenes. Inter-laboratory comparable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) images were obtained from 10 of 17 of the participating laboratories for Listeria, 15 of 25 for Salmonella, but only nine of 20 for VTEC. Most problems were related to PFGE running conditions and/or incorrect use of image acquisition. Analysis of the gels was done in good accordance with the provided guidelines. Furthermore, we assessed the multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) scheme for S. Typhimurium. Of 15 laboratories, nine submitted correct results for all analysed strains, and four had difficulties with one strain only. In conclusion, both PFGE and MLVA are prone to variation in quality, and there is therefore a continuous need for standardisation and validation of laboratory performance for molecular typing methods of food-borne pathogens in the human public health sector. PMID:28006653

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) pilot point prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use.

PubMed

Zarb, P; Coignard, B; Griskeviciene, J; Muller, A; Vankerckhoven, V; Weist, K; Goossens, Mm; Vaerenberg, S; Hopkins, S; Catry, B; Monnet, Dl; Goossens, H; Suetens, C

2012-11-15

A standardised methodology for a combined point prevalence survey (PPS) on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals developed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control was piloted across Europe. Variables were collected at national, hospital and patient level in 66 hospitals from 23 countries. A patient-based and a unit-based protocol were available. Feasibility was assessed via national and hospital questionnaires. Of 19,888 surveyed patients, 7.1% had an HAI and 34.6% were receiving at least one antimicrobial agent. Prevalence results were highest in intensive care units, with 28.1% patients with HAI, and 61.4% patients with antimicrobial use. Pneumonia and other lower respiratory tract infections (2.0% of patients; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.8–2.2%) represented the most common type (25.7%) of HAI. Surgical prophylaxis was the indication for 17.3% of used antimicrobials and exceeded one day in 60.7% of cases. Risk factors in the patient-based protocol were provided for 98% or more of the included patients and all were independently associated with both presence of HAI and receiving an antimicrobial agent. The patient-based protocol required more work than the unit-based protocol, but allowed collecting detailed data and analysis of risk factors for HAI and antimicrobial use.

Survey of Clostridium difficile infection surveillance systems in Europe, 2011.

PubMed

Kola, Axel; Wiuff, Camilla; Akerlund, Thomas; van Benthem, Birgit H; Coignard, Bruno; Lyytikäinen, Outi; Weitzel-Kage, Doris; Suetens, Carl; Wilcox, Mark H; Kuijper, Ed J; Gastmeier, Petra

2016-07-21

To develop a European surveillance protocol for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), existing national CDI surveillance systems were assessed in 2011. A web-based electronic form was provided for all national coordinators of the European CDI Surveillance Network (ECDIS-Net). Of 35 national coordinators approached, 33 from 31 European countries replied. Surveillance of CDI was in place in 14 of the 31 countries, comprising 18 different nationwide systems. Three of 14 countries with CDI surveillance used public health notification of cases as the route of reporting, and in another three, reporting was limited to public health notification of cases of severe CDI. The CDI definitions published by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) were widely used, but there were differing definitions to distinguish between community- and healthcare-associated cases. All CDI surveillance systems except one reported annual national CDI rates (calculated as number of cases per patient-days). Only four surveillance systems regularly integrated microbiological data (typing and susceptibility testing results). Surveillance methods varied considerably between countries, which emphasises the need for a harmonised European protocol to allow consistent monitoring of the CDI epidemiology at European level. The results of this survey were used to develop a harmonised EU-wide hospital-based CDI surveillance protocol. This article is copyright of The Authors, 2016.

Developing a Stand Alone Sun Photometer for Ships and Buoys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, John N.

1997-01-01

During November and December 1995 the first Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE 1) was carried to characterize the aerosol physical and optical properties in the clean marine atmosphere near Tasmania in the South Pacific. As part of this effort, and with funding from this proposal, we installed a sun photometer on the R/V Discoverer and a spectro-photometer on the NOAA C-130 aircraft.

Voice of Experience: Little Square Pegs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Nicole

2013-01-01

The author got a bucket of water and a cloth and called her 3-year-old daughter, Gisella, to help her get things done. She had a "goal" in mind for her daughter; she wanted her to learn something simple like how to clean the table. But then she discovered that as Gisella dunked her little hand into the bucket, soapy water spilled over the edge. It…

Secure Container For Discarded Hypodermic Needles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Angelene M.

1992-01-01

Container designed for safe retention of discarded blood-collecting hypodermic needles and similar sharp objects used in life-science experiments aboard spacecraft. Needles inserted through self-closing lid and retained magnetically. They are inserted, sharp end first, through spring-loaded flap. Long needles and needles on syringes cannot turn around in container. Can be emptied, cleaned, and reused. Used on Earth to provide unusually secure containment of sharp objects.

Multiphoton Production and Detection of Atoms.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-04-01

photodissociation of metal ligand analogues of ferrocene would cleanly photodis- sociate to give metal atoms, producing atomic cobalt, ruthinium, nickel...in the exper- iments with triphenyl phosphine and phosphine , only at high I pressures, with a long-pulse (1 microsecond) laser. Sulphur atoms were...unassigned in our experiments. These probably originate in the poorly understood metastable SO state. Ashfold et.al., in their work on MPD/MPI on phosphine

Ultrasonic cleaning: Fundamental theory and application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuchs, F. John

1995-01-01

This presentation describes: the theory of ultrasonics, cavitation and implosion; the importance and application of ultrasonics in precision cleaning; explanations of ultrasonic cleaning equipment options and their application; process parameters for ultrasonic cleaning; and proper operation of ultrasonic cleaning equipment to achieve maximum results.

Effects of Humidity Swings on Adsorption Columns for Air Revitalization: Modeling and Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LeVan, M. Douglas; Finn, John E.

1997-01-01

Air purification systems are necessary to provide clean air in the closed environments aboard spacecraft. Trace contaminants are removed using adsorption. One major factor concerning the removal of trace contaminants is relative humidity. Water can reduce adsorption capacity and, due to constant fluctuations, its presence is difficult to incorporate into adsorption column designs. The purpose of the research was to allow for better design techniques in trace contaminant adsorption systems, especially for feeds with water present. Experiments and mathematical modeling research on effects of humidity swings on adsorption columns for air revitalization were carried out.

Life Sciences Research Facility automation requirements and concepts for the Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rasmussen, Daryl N.

1986-01-01

An evaluation is made of the methods and preliminary results of a study on prospects for the automation of the NASA Space Station's Life Sciences Research Facility. In order to remain within current Space Station resource allocations, approximately 85 percent of planned life science experiment tasks must be automated; these tasks encompass specimen care and feeding, cage and instrument cleaning, data acquisition and control, sample analysis, waste management, instrument calibration, materials inventory and management, and janitorial work. Task automation will free crews for specimen manipulation, tissue sampling, data interpretation and communication with ground controllers, and experiment management.

Marshburn works with Marangoni Experiment Hardware in Kibo

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-03-19

ISS035e006147 (19 March 2013) --- NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, Expedition 35 flight engineer, works on the Marangoni Inside core cleaning in the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module onboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station. Marangoni convection is the flow driven by the presence of a surface tension gradient which can be produced by temperature difference at a liquid/gas interface. The convection in liquid bridge of silicone oil is generated by heating the one disc higher than the other. Scientists are observing flow patterns of how fluids move to learn more about how heat is transferred in microgravity.

Effect of cage vs. floor litter environments on the pulmonary hypertensive response to intravenous endotoxin and on blood-gas values in broilers.

PubMed

Wang, W; Erf, G F; Wideman, R F

2002-11-01

Intravenous endotoxin has been shown to trigger a delayed pulmonary hypertensive response that varies widely in magnitude and duration among individual broilers. It was proposed that this individual variability may reflect immunological differences acquired during previous respiratory challenges that might have subsequently altered the endotoxin-initiated biochemical cascade. In Experiment 1, we tested the hypothesis that, when compared with broilers reared in clean stainless steel cages (Cage group), broilers reared on floor litter (Floor group) should experience a greater respiratory challenge and therefore may consistently exhibit a more enhanced pulmonary hypertensive response to intravenous endotoxin. Birds in the Cage group were grown in stainless steel cages at a low density (72 birds/8 m2 chamber), and fecal and dander materials were removed daily. Birds in the Floor group were reared on wood-shavings litter at a higher density (110 birds/8 m2 chamber). Pulmonary and systemic mean arterial pressures and blood-gas values were evaluated prior to and following the intravenous administration of 1 mg Salmonella typhimurium endotoxin. Broilers in the Floor and Cage groups exhibited pulmonary hypertensive responses to endotoxin that were very similar in terms of time of onset, duration, and magnitude, as well as variability in the response among individuals. Systemic hypotension also developed similarly in both groups following endotoxin injection. Blood-gas values indicated that the partial pressure of CO2 and the HCO3- concentration in arterial blood were higher (P < 0.05) in the Floor group than in the Cage group prior to and subsequent to the endotoxin injection. In Experiment 2, we reevaluated the effect of a dirty vs. a clean environment on blood-gas values using a different strain of broilers, and confirmed the negative impact of floor rearing on blood-gas values. We conclude that broilers reared on the floor inhaled litter dust and noxious fumes, which impaired pulmonary gas exchange and increased the arterial partial pressure of CO2 when compared with broilers reared in clean stainless steel cages. Nevertheless, the pulmonary hypertensive response to endotoxin did not differ between broilers reared on the floor and those in cages.

Benchmarks of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing

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

Sandor, Debra; Chung, Donald; Keyser, David

The Clean Energy Manufacturing Analysis Center (CEMAC), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), provides objective analysis and up-to-date data on global supply chains and manufacturing of clean energy technologies. Benchmarks of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing sheds light on several fundamental questions about the global clean technology manufacturing enterprise: How does clean energy technology manufacturing impact national economies? What are the economic opportunities across the manufacturing supply chain? What are the global dynamics of clean energy technology manufacturing?

MSWT-01, flood disaster water treatment solution from common ideas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ananto, Gamawan; Setiawan, Albertus B.; Z, Darman M.

2013-06-01

Indonesia has a lot of potential flood disaster places with clean water problems faced. Various solution programs always initiated by Government, companies CSR, and people sporadical actions to provide clean water; with their advantages and disadvantages respectively. One solution is easy to operate for instance, but didn't provide adequate capacity, whereas the other had ideal performance but more costly. This situation inspired to develop a water treatment machine that could be an alternative favor. There are many methods could be choosed; whether in simple, middle or high technology, depends on water source input and output result quality. MSWT, Mobile Surface Water Treatment, is an idea for raw water in flood area, basically made for 1m3 per hour. This water treatment design adopted from combined existing technologies and related literatures. Using common ideas, the highlight is how to make such modular process put in compact design elegantly, and would be equipped with mobile feature due to make easier in operational. Through prototype level experiment trials, the machine is capable for producing clean water that suitable for sanitation and cooking/drinking purposes although using contaminated water input source. From the investment point of view, such machine could be also treated as an asset that will be used from time to time when needed, instead of made for project approach only.

Bioturbation delays attenuation of DDT by clean sediment cap but promotes sequestration by thin-layered activated carbon.

PubMed

Lin, Diana; Cho, Yeo-Myoung; Werner, David; Luthy, Richard G

2014-01-21

The effects of bioturbation on the performance of attenuation by sediment deposition and activated carbon to reduce risks from DDT-contaminated sediment were assessed for DDT sediment-water flux, biouptake, and passive sampler (PE) uptake in microcosm experiments with a freshwater worm, Lumbriculus variegatus. A thin-layer of clean sediment (0.5 cm) did not reduce the DDT flux when bioturbation was present, while a thin (0.3 cm) AC cap was still capable of reducing the DDT flux by 94%. Bioturbation promoted AC sequestration by reducing the 28-day DDT biouptake (66%) and DDT uptake into PE (>99%) compared to controls. Bioturbation further promoted AC-sediment contact by mixing AC particles into underlying sediment layers, reducing PE uptake (55%) in sediment compared to the AC cap without bioturbation. To account for the observed effects from bioturbation, a mass transfer model together with a biodynamic model were developed to simulate DDT flux and biouptake, respectively, and models confirmed experimental results. Both experimental measurements and modeling predictions imply that thin-layer activated carbon placement on sediment is effective in reducing the risks from contaminated sediments in the presence of bioturbation, while natural attenuation process by clean sediment deposition may be delayed by bioturbation.

A Data Cleaning Method for Big Trace Data Using Movement Consistency

PubMed Central

Tang, Luliang; Zhang, Xia; Li, Qingquan

2018-01-01

Given the popularization of GPS technologies, the massive amount of spatiotemporal GPS traces collected by vehicles are becoming a new kind of big data source for urban geographic information extraction. The growing volume of the dataset, however, creates processing and management difficulties, while the low quality generates uncertainties when investigating human activities. Based on the conception of the error distribution law and position accuracy of the GPS data, we propose in this paper a data cleaning method for this kind of spatial big data using movement consistency. First, a trajectory is partitioned into a set of sub-trajectories using the movement characteristic points. In this process, GPS points indicate that the motion status of the vehicle has transformed from one state into another, and are regarded as the movement characteristic points. Then, GPS data are cleaned based on the similarities of GPS points and the movement consistency model of the sub-trajectory. The movement consistency model is built using the random sample consensus algorithm based on the high spatial consistency of high-quality GPS data. The proposed method is evaluated based on extensive experiments, using GPS trajectories generated by a sample of vehicles over a 7-day period in Wuhan city, China. The results show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method. PMID:29522456

The effect of biofouling in simulated Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) evaporator tubes at a potential site in Puerto Rico

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

Sasscer, D.S.; Morgan, T.O.; Tosteson, T.R.

1980-12-01

Since 29 January 1980, continuous flow of ocean surface water has been maintained through simulated Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) evaporator tubes in order to determine in situ, long-term effects of microbiofouling on heat exchanger efficiency. The experimental apparatus consists of two aluminum and two titanium modules mounted on a research platform moored at the potential OTEC site off Punta Tuna, Puerto Rico. The fouling resistance (R /SUB f/ ), a relative measure of heat transfer efficiency, is being monitored regularly, and the units have been cleaned four times. Postcleaning fouling rates (dR /SUB f/ /dt) for the aluminum unitsmore » have not changed significantly but are considerably higher than the initial fouling rates. At first, post-cleaning fouling rates for the titanium units were less than for the aluminum units, but this value has been progressively increasing and now all units are fouling at approximately the same rate. Cleaning with manually operated M.A.N. brushes did not reduce R /SUB f/ to zero. On four occasions, flow velocity through the units has been increased. Results from these experiments suggest that initially the fouling layer is easily dislodged from the tube surface but that, with time, it becomes more firmly attached.« less

Gas phase recovery of hydrogen sulfide contaminated polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kakati, Biraj Kumar; Kucernak, Anthony R. J.

2014-04-01

The effect of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on the anode of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and the gas phase recovery of the contaminated PEMFC using ozone (O3) were studied. Experiments were performed on fuel cell electrodes both in an aqueous electrolyte and within an operating fuel cell. The ex-situ analyses of a fresh electrode; a H2S contaminated electrode (23 μmolH2S cm-2); and the contaminated electrode cleaned with O3 shows that all sulfide can be removed within 900 s at room temperature. Online gas analysis of the recovery process confirms the recovery time required as around 720 s. Similarly, performance studies of an H2S contaminated PEMFC shows that complete rejuvenation occurs following 600-900 s O3 treatment at room temperature. The cleaning process involves both electrochemical oxidation (facilitated by the high equilibrium potential of the O3 reduction process) and direct chemical oxidation of the contaminant. The O3 cleaning process is more efficient than the external polarization of the single cell at 1.6 V. Application of O3 at room temperature limits the amount of carbon corrosion. Room temperature O3 treatment of poisoned fuel cell stacks may offer an efficient and quick remediation method to recover otherwise inoperable systems.

Visible-light induced anti-bacterial and self-cleaning waterborne polyacrylic coating modified with TiO2/polypyrrole nanocomposite; preparation and characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nosrati, Rahimeh; Olad, Ali; Maryami, Fatemeh

2018-07-01

Nowadays, self-cleaning technology is used in various industries to decreasing the time, energy consumption and costs of surface servicing as well as the increasing of surface durability. Self-cleaning and anti-bacterial coatings can be made by the addition of suitable additives to a polymer matrix with good properties. In the present research, TiO2/polypyrrole nanocomposites were prepared in different TiO2 to polypyrrole weight ratios and used in various percent as an additive in waterborne commercial grade polyacrylic latex. Characterization and evaluation of structural and morphological features of nanocomposites and coatings were performed by FTIR, XRD, UV-Vis and FESEM techniques. By the addition of prepared nanocomposites as an additive to the polyacrylic matrix, the hydrophilic, water resistant, anti-bacterial, and photocatalytic coatings were prepared. The TiO2 to polypyrrole weight ratio of TiO2/polypyrrole nanocomposites and the percent of nanocomposite additive in the polymeric matrix were optimized. According to the results, the coating containing 2% and 3% of TiO2/polypyrrole nanocomposite with TiO2 to polypyrrole weight ratio of 100:10 are proposed as the best coating formulations in the formulations examined in this work, due to their good properties in the most of experiments.

What determines real-world meal size? Evidence for pre-meal planning.

PubMed

Fay, Stephanie H; Ferriday, Danielle; Hinton, Elanor C; Shakeshaft, Nicholas G; Rogers, Peter J; Brunstrom, Jeffrey M

2011-04-01

The customary approach to the study of meal size suggests that 'events' occurring during a meal lead to its termination. Recent research, however, suggests that a number of decisions are made before eating commences that may affect meal size. The present study sought to address three key research questions around meal size: the extent to which plate-cleaning occurs; prevalence of pre-meal planning and its influence on meal size; and the effect of within-meal experiences, notably the development of satiation. To address these, a large-cohort internet-based questionnaire was developed. Results showed that plate-cleaning occurred at 91% of meals, and was planned from the outset in 92% of these cases. A significant relationship between plate-cleaning and meal planning was observed. Pre-meal plans were resistant to modification over the course of the meal: only 18% of participants reported consumption that deviated from expected. By contrast, 28% reported continuing eating beyond satiation, and 57% stated that they could have eaten more at the end of the meal. Logistic regression confirmed pre-meal planning as the most important predictor of consumption. Together, our findings demonstrate the importance of meal planning as a key determinant of meal size and energy intake. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dirt detection on brown eggs by means of color computer vision.

PubMed

Mertens, K; De Ketelaere, B; Kamers, B; Bamelis, F R; Kemps, B J; Verhoelst, E M; De Baerdemaeker, J G; Decuypere, E M

2005-10-01

In the last 20 yr, different methods for detecting defects in eggs were developed. Until now, no satisfying technique existed to sort and quantify dirt on eggshells. The work presented here focuses on the design of an off-line computer vision system to differentiate and quantify the presence of different dirt stains on brown eggs: dark (feces), white (uric acid), blood, and yolk stains. A system that provides uniform light exposure around the egg was designed. In this uniform light, pictures of dirty and clean eggs were taken, stored, and analyzed. The classification was based on a few standard logical operators, allowing for a quick implementation in an online set-up. In an experiment, 100 clean and 100 dirty eggs were used to validate the classification algorithm. The designed vision system showed an accuracy of 99% for the detection of dirt stains. Two percent of the clean eggs had a light-colored eggshell and were subsequently mistaken for showing large white stains. The accuracy of differentiation of the different kinds of dirt stains was 91%. Of the eggs with dark stains, 10.81% were mistaken for having bloodstains, and 33.33% of eggs with bloodstains were mistaken for having dark stains. The developed system is possibly a first step toward an on line dirt evaluation technique for brown eggs.

Treatment of surfaces with low-energy electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frank, L.; Mikmeková, E.; Lejeune, M.

2017-06-01

Electron-beam-induced deposition of various materials from suitable precursors has represented an established branch of nanotechnology for more than a decade. A specific alternative is carbon deposition on the basis of hydrocarbons as precursors that has been applied to grow various nanostructures including masks for subsequent technological steps. Our area of study was unintentional electron-beam-induced carbon deposition from spontaneously adsorbed hydrocarbon molecules. This process traditionally constitutes a challenge for scanning electron microscopy practice preventing one from performing any true surface studies outside an ultrahigh vacuum and without in-situ cleaning of samples, and also jeopardising other electron-optical devices such as electron beam lithographs. Here we show that when reducing the energy of irradiating electrons sufficiently, the e-beam-induced deposition can be converted to e-beam-induced release causing desorption of hydrocarbons and ultimate cleaning of surfaces in both an ultrahigh and a standard high vacuum. Using series of experiments with graphene samples, we demonstrate fundamental features of e-beam-induced desorption and present results of checks for possible radiation damage using Raman spectroscopy that led to optimisation of the electron energy for damage-free cleaning. The method of preventing carbon contamination described here paves the way for greatly enhanced surface sensitivity of imaging and substantially reduced demands on vacuum systems for nanotechnological applications.

In situ sputter cleaning of thin film metal substrates for UHV-TEM corrosion studies.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heinemann, K.; Poppa, H.

1973-01-01

A prerequisite for conducting valid corrosion experiments by in situ electron microscopy techniques is not only the achievement of UHV background pressure conditions at the site of the specimen but also the ability to clean the surface of the thin metal substrate specimen before initiation of the corrosive interaction. A miniaturized simple ion gun has been constructed for this purpose. The gun is small enough to be incorporated into an UHV electron microscope specimen chamber with hot stage in such a way as to permit bombardment of the substrate specimen while observing it by transmission electron microscopy TEM. It is shown that the ion beam generated is confined well enough to cause a sputtering removal of substrate material at a rate of approximately 5-10 A/min and to prevent the sputter deposition of contaminating material from the specimen holder.

Food-related coping strategies after Hurricane Andrew.

PubMed

Magnus, M H

1994-06-01

This telephone survey examined food-related coping strategies in Floridian households after Hurricane Andrew. Approximately 137 households of university faculty and staff who lived in hurricane-damaged areas were interviewed. The average respondent was a college-educated woman between 41 and 60 years old. Prevailing food-purchasing problems included food stores that were either closed, without perishable food, distant, or crowded. In the absence of electricity and water, changes in food preparation included preparation of meals without a stove, more frequent use of grills and canned food, simpler meals, and less cooking. Changes in kitchen cleanup included using more disposables, cleaning more often, washing dishes by hand, and cleaning up less often because of damage in the kitchen. Respondents indicated that the hurricane experience taught them that they should have acquired more general supplies (eg, coolers, thermoses, propane stoves, and gas burners), more water and ice, and more nonperishable foods before the hurricane.

Friction and wear of metals in contact with pyrolytic graphite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buckley, D. H.; Brainard, W. A.

1975-01-01

Sliding friction experiments were conducted with gold, iron, and tantalum single crystals sliding on prismatic and basal orientations of pyrolytic graphite in various environments, including vacuum, oxygen, water vapor, nitrogen, and hydrogen bromide. Surfaces were examined in the clean state and with various adsorbates present on the graphite surfaces. Auger and LEED spectroscopy, SEM, and EDXA were used to characterize the graphite surfaces. Results indicate that the prismatic and basal orientations do not contain nor do they chemisorb oxygen, water vapor, acetylene, or hydrogen bromide. All three metals exhibited higher friction on the prismatic than on the basal orientation and these metals transferred to the atomically clean prismatic orientation of pyrolytic graphite. No metal transfer to the graphite was observed in the presence of adsorbates at 760 torr. Ion bombardment of the graphite surface with nitrogen ions resulted in the adherence of nitrogen to the surface.

Field Analysis of Microbial Contamination Using Three Molecular Methods in Parallel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, H.; Stimpson, E.; Schenk, A.; Kish, A.; Damon, M.; Monaco, L.; Wainwright, N.; Steele, A.

2010-01-01

Advanced technologies with the capability of detecting microbial contamination remain an integral tool for the next stage of space agency proposed exploration missions. To maintain a clean, operational spacecraft environment with minimal potential for forward contamination, such technology is a necessity, particularly, the ability to analyze samples near the point of collection and in real-time both for conducting biological scientific experiments and for performing routine monitoring operations. Multiple molecular methods for detecting microbial contamination are available, but many are either too large or not validated for use on spacecraft. Two methods, the adenosine- triphosphate (ATP) and Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) assays have been approved by the NASA Planetary Protection Office for the assessment of microbial contamination on spacecraft surfaces. We present the first parallel field analysis of microbial contamination pre- and post-cleaning using these two methods as well as universal primer-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Effect of water on sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) removal from flue gas in a direct current corona discharge reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jiaxiang; Chi, Xiaochun; Dong, Limin

2007-05-01

A direct current (dc) corona discharge reactor composed of needle-plate electrodes in a glass container filled with flue gas was designed. To clarify the influence of water on discharge characteristics, water was introduced in the plasma reactor as electrode where plate electrode is immersed, under the application of dc voltage. Experiment results show that (1) corona wind forming between high-voltage needle electrode and water by corona discharge enhances the cleaning efficiency of flue gas due to the existence of water and the cleaning efficiency will increase with the increase of applied dc voltage within definite range and (2) both removal efficiencies of NOx and SO2 increased in the presence of water, which reach up to 98% for SO2, and about 85% for NOx under suitable conditions. These results play an important role in flue gas cleanup research.

The growth of oscillating bubbles in an ultrasound field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamauchi, Risa; Yamashita, Tatsuya; Ando, Keita

2017-11-01

From our recent experiments to test particle removal by underwater ultrasound, dissolved gas supersaturation is found to play an important role in physical cleaning; cavitation bubble nucleation can be triggered easily by weak ultrasound under the supersaturation and mild motion of the bubbles contributes to efficient cleaning without erosion. The state of gas bubble nuclei in water is critical to the determination of a cavitation inception threshold. Under ultrasound forcing, the size of bubble nuclei is varied by the transfer of dissolved gas (i.e., rectified diffusion); the growth rate will be promoted by the supersaturation and is thus expected to contribute to cavitation activity enhancement. In the present work, we experimentally study rectified diffusion for bubbles attached at glass surfaces in an ultrasound field. We will present the evolution of bubble nuclei sizes with varying parameters such as dissolved oxygen supersaturation, and ultrasound intensity and frequency. the Research Grant of Keio Leading-edge Laboratory of Science & Technology.

Minimal invasive control of paintings cleaning by LIBS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staicu, A.; Apostol, I.; Pascu, A.; Urzica, I.; Pascu, M. L.; Damian, V.

2016-03-01

In cultural heritage restoration and conservation, it has been proved that LIBS is an appropriate technique for pigments identification, analysis of multilayered paintings, and quantitative analysis of ancient materials. Generally, experiments involving the use of laser for paint cleaning and LIBS in order to identify the composition of the removed material are made. Here, we report LIBS studies on mastic and dammar varnishes removal using visible (532 nm) and UV (266 nm) laser pulses (5 ns) with fluences in the range 0.6-4.4 J/cm2. The studied varnish layers were on-purpose painted on glass supports or were part of several mock-up samples having dammar or mastic as final layer - gold foil, yellow ochre or cobalt blue egg tempera as painting layer - chalk or acrylic ground as link to an wooden support. LIBS was used to monitor the laser induced stepwise selective removal of the layers and to analyze their composition.

40 CFR 63.744 - Standards: Cleaning operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... system with equivalent emission control. (e) Exempt cleaning operations. The following cleaning...) Cleaning of aircraft and ground support equipment fluid systems that are exposed to the fluid, including... 40 Protection of Environment 11 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Standards: Cleaning operations. 63.744...

40 CFR 63.744 - Standards: Cleaning operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... system with equivalent emission control. (e) Exempt cleaning operations. The following cleaning...) Cleaning of aircraft and ground support equipment fluid systems that are exposed to the fluid, including... 40 Protection of Environment 11 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Standards: Cleaning operations. 63.744...

40 CFR 63.744 - Standards: Cleaning operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... system with equivalent emission control. (e) Exempt cleaning operations. The following cleaning...) Cleaning of aircraft and ground support equipment fluid systems that are exposed to the fluid, including... 40 Protection of Environment 11 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Standards: Cleaning operations. 63.744...

40 CFR 63.744 - Standards: Cleaning operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... system with equivalent emission control. (e) Exempt cleaning operations. The following cleaning...) Cleaning of aircraft and ground support equipment fluid systems that are exposed to the fluid, including... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Standards: Cleaning operations. 63.744...

40 CFR 63.744 - Standards: Cleaning operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... system with equivalent emission control. (e) Exempt cleaning operations. The following cleaning...) Cleaning of aircraft and ground support equipment fluid systems that are exposed to the fluid, including... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Standards: Cleaning operations. 63.744...

40 CFR 98.98 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... this definition. (1) In situ plasma process sub-type consists of the cleaning of thin-film production... within a broad process type. For example, the chamber cleaning process type includes in-situ plasma chamber cleaning, remote plasma chamber cleaning, and in-situ thermal chamber cleaning sub-types. Process...

40 CFR 98.98 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... this definition. (1) In situ plasma process sub-type consists of the cleaning of thin-film production... within a broad process type. For example, the chamber cleaning process type includes in-situ plasma chamber cleaning, remote plasma chamber cleaning, and in-situ thermal chamber cleaning sub-types. Process...

40 CFR 98.98 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... definition. (1) In situ plasma process sub-type consists of the cleaning of thin-film production chambers... within a broad process type. For example, the chamber cleaning process type includes in-situ plasma chamber cleaning, remote plasma chamber cleaning, and in-situ thermal chamber cleaning sub-types. Process...

Alternative Solvents and Technologies for Precision Cleaning of Aerospace Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grandelli, Heather; Maloney, Phillip; DeVor, Robert; Hintze, Paul

2014-01-01

Precision cleaning solvents for aerospace components and oxygen fuel systems, including currently used Vertrel-MCA, have a negative environmental legacy, high global warming potential, and have polluted cleaning sites. Thus, alternative solvents and technologies are being investigated with the aim of achieving precision contamination levels of less than 1 mg/sq ft. The technologies being evaluated are ultrasonic bath cleaning, plasma cleaning and supercritical carbon dioxide cleaning.

Cleaning Process Development for Metallic Additively Manufactured Parts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tramel, Terri L.; Welker, Roger; Lowery, Niki; Mitchell, Mark

2014-01-01

Additive Manufacturing of metallic components for aerospace applications offers many advantages over traditional manufacturing techniques. As a new technology, many aspects of its widespread utilization remain open to investigation. Among these are the cleaning processes that can be used for post finishing of parts and measurements to verify effectiveness of the cleaning processes. Many cleaning and drying processes and measurement methods that have been used for parts manufactured using conventional techniques are candidates that may be considered for cleaning and verification of additively manufactured parts. Among these are vapor degreasing, ultrasonic immersion and spray cleaning, followed by hot air drying, vacuum baking and solvent displacement drying. Differences in porosity, density, and surface finish of additively manufactured versus conventionally manufactured parts may introduce new considerations in the selection of cleaning and drying processes or the method used to verify their effectiveness. This presentation will review the relative strengths and weaknesses of different candidate cleaning and drying processes as they may apply to additively manufactured metal parts for aerospace applications. An ultrasonic cleaning technique for exploring the cleanability of parts will be presented along with an example using additively manufactured Inconel 718 test specimens to illustrate its use. The data analysis shows that this ultrasonic cleaning approach results in a well-behaved ultrasonic cleaning/extraction behavior. That is, it does not show signs of accelerated cavitation erosion of the base material, which was later confirmed by neutron imaging. In addition, the analysis indicated that complete cleaning would be achieved by ultrasonic immersion cleaning at approximately 5 minutes, which was verified by subsequent cleaning of additional parts.

DNA decontamination of fingerprint brushes.

PubMed

Szkuta, Bianca; Oorschot, Roland A H van; Ballantyne, Kaye N

2017-08-01

Genetic profiling of DNA collected from fingerprints that have been exposed to various enhancement techniques is routine in many forensic laboratories. As a result of direct contact with fingermark residues during treatment, there is concern around the DNA contamination risk of dusting fingermarks with fingerprint brushes. Previous studies have demonstrated the potential for cross-contamination between evidentiary items through various mechanisms, highlighting the risk of using the same fingerprint brush to powder multiple surfaces within and between crime-scenes. Experiments were performed to assess the contamination risk of reused fingerprint brushes through the transfer of dried saliva and skin deposits from and to glass surfaces with new unused squirrel hair and fiberglass brushes. Additional new unused brushes and brushes previously used in casework were also tested for their ability to contaminate samples. In addition, the ability to eradicate DNA from used squirrel hair and fiberglass fingerprint brushes was assessed using a 1% sodium hypochlorite solution and a 5% solution of a commercially available alternative, Virkon. DNA profiling results from surfaces contacted by treated and untreated brushes were compared to determine the effectiveness of the devised cleaning protocol. Brush durability was also assessed over multiple wash/rinse/dry cycles with both agents. Varying amounts of DNA-containing material were collected and transferred by squirrel hair and fiberglass brushes, with detectability on the secondary surface dependent on the biological nature of the material being transferred. The impact of DNA contamination from dirty fingerprint brushes was most apparent in simulations involving the transfer of dried saliva and brushes previously used in casework, while minimal transfer of touch DNA was observed. Alarmingly, large quantities of DNA were found to reside on new unused squirrel hair brushes, while no DNA was detected on new unused fiberglass brushes or brushes sold as DNA-free. Squirrel hair brushes were easily and effectively cleaned with both hypochlorite and Virkon, with no evidence of DNA transfer between exhibits by treated brushes. Brushes were still deemed useable after multiple cleaning cycles with either agent. In contrast, fiberglass bristles became tangled and matted when wet and could not be cleaned effectively using either method. It is recommended they are disposed of following use. Each laboratory should consider their current circumstances before adapting a cleaning method. The implementation of a program to monitor the effectiveness of the cleaning regime is also advised. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 420.110 - Applicability; description of the alkaline cleaning subcategory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... alkaline cleaning subcategory. 420.110 Section 420.110 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... Alkaline Cleaning Subcategory § 420.110 Applicability; description of the alkaline cleaning subcategory... alkaline cleaning baths to remove mineral and animal fats or oils from the steel, and those rinsing...

40 CFR 420.110 - Applicability; description of the alkaline cleaning subcategory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... alkaline cleaning subcategory. 420.110 Section 420.110 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... Alkaline Cleaning Subcategory § 420.110 Applicability; description of the alkaline cleaning subcategory... alkaline cleaning baths to remove mineral and animal fats or oils from the steel, and those rinsing...

40 CFR 420.110 - Applicability; description of the alkaline cleaning subcategory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... alkaline cleaning subcategory. 420.110 Section 420.110 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... Alkaline Cleaning Subcategory § 420.110 Applicability; description of the alkaline cleaning subcategory... alkaline cleaning baths to remove mineral and animal fats or oils from the steel, and those rinsing...

40 CFR 420.110 - Applicability; description of the alkaline cleaning subcategory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... alkaline cleaning subcategory. 420.110 Section 420.110 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... Alkaline Cleaning Subcategory § 420.110 Applicability; description of the alkaline cleaning subcategory... alkaline cleaning baths to remove mineral and animal fats or oils from the steel, and those rinsing...

40 CFR 420.110 - Applicability; description of the alkaline cleaning subcategory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... alkaline cleaning subcategory. 420.110 Section 420.110 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... Alkaline Cleaning Subcategory § 420.110 Applicability; description of the alkaline cleaning subcategory... alkaline cleaning baths to remove mineral and animal fats or oils from the steel, and those rinsing...

Effects of porous media preparation on bacteria transport through laboratory columns.

PubMed

Brown, Derick G; Stencel, Joseph R; Jaffé, Peter R

2002-01-01

Bacterial and colloid transport experiments related to environmental systems are typically performed in the laboratory, with sand often used as the porous media. In order to prepare the sand, mechanical sieving is frequently used to tighten the sand grain size distribution. However, mechanical sieving has been reported to provide insufficient repeatability between identical colloidal transport experiments. This work examined the deficiencies of mechanical sieving with respect to bacterial transport through sand columns. It was found that sieving with standard brass sieves (1) contaminates the sand with copper and zinc as a linear function of sieving time and (2) inefficiently sizes sand grains below 300 microm (the largest size examined in this study) due to rapid clogging of the sieves. A procedure was developed that allows utilization of brass sieves for sizing the sand grains and removes the metal contamination introduced from the sieves. Bacterial transport experiments utilizing this column preparation procedure gave repeatable breakthrough curves. Further examination of the effects of these treatments on bacterial transport showed interesting results. First, it was found that the metal contamination did not affect the clean-bed bacterial transport. Second. it was found that variations of the column flushing procedure did not alter the clean-bed breakthrough of the bacteria, but did alter the inter-particle blocking. Finally, it was found that the shape of the sand grains (oblong vs. rounded) significantly alters the bacterial transport. with the transport being dominated by the smallest dimension of the oblong grains.

Cleaning Management in Higher Education: Value for Money Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, Edinburgh.

This report identifies key management issues for senior managers and heads of cleaning departments in developing and reviewing cleaning services to support improvement and enhance cost effectiveness. The cleaning costs incurred by higher education institutions (HEIs) represent 2.7 percent of the total spent nationally on cleaning services for both…

15 CFR 922.132 - Prohibited or otherwise regulated activities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., clean vessel generator cooling water, clean bilge water, or anchor wash; (D) For a vessel less than 300... except clean vessel engine cooling water, clean vessel generator cooling water, vessel engine or generator exhaust, clean bilge water, or anchor wash. (iii) Discharging or depositing from beyond the...

15 CFR 922.82 - Prohibited or otherwise regulated activities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... cooling water, clean vessel generator cooling water, clean bilge water, or anchor wash; or (iv) Vessel... or other matter from a cruise ship except clean vessel engine cooling water, clean vessel generator cooling water, vessel engine or generator exhaust, clean bilge water, or anchor wash. (4) Discharging or...

Benchmark Study of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing | Advanced

Science.gov Websites

Manufacturing Research | NREL Benchmark Study of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing Benchmark Study of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing Through a first-of-its-kind benchmark study, the Clean Energy Technology End Product.' The study examined four clean energy technologies: wind turbine components

75 FR 59973 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Control of Volatile...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-29

...; Cleaning of high precision optics; Stripping; Janitorial cleaning; cleaning of resin, coating, ink, and... laboratories; Cleaning operations in medical device or pharmaceutical manufacturing; and Cleaning operations related to performance or quality assurance testing of coatings, inks, or adhesives. COMAR 26.11.19.09-1...

Asbestos-fiber reentrainment during dry vacuuming and wet cleaning of asbestos-contaminated carpet. Report for January 1988-July 1989

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

Kominsky, J.R.; Freyberg, R.W.

A study was conducted to evaluate the potential for asbestos fiber reentrainment during cleaning of carpet contaminated with asbestos. Two types of carpet cleaning equipment were evaluated at two carpet contamination levels. Airborne asbestos concentrations were determined before and during carpet cleaning. Overall, airborne asbestos concentrations were two to four times greater during the carpet cleaning activity. The level of asbestos contamination and the type of cleaning method used had no statistically significant effect on the relative increase of airborne asbestos concentrations during carpet cleaning.

Aqueous cleaning and verification processes for precision cleaning of small parts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Gale J.; Fishell, Kenneth A.

1995-01-01

The NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Materials Science Laboratory (MSL) has developed a totally aqueous process for precision cleaning and verification of small components. In 1990 the Precision Cleaning Facility at KSC used approximately 228,000 kg (500,000 lbs) of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) 113 in the cleaning operations. It is estimated that current CFC 113 usage has been reduced by 75 percent and it is projected that a 90 percent reduction will be achieved by the end of calendar year 1994. The cleaning process developed utilizes aqueous degreasers, aqueous surfactants, and ultrasonics in the cleaning operation and an aqueous surfactant, ultrasonics, and Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) in the nonvolatile residue (NVR) and particulate analysis for verification of cleanliness. The cleaning and verification process is presented in its entirety, with comparison to the CFC 113 cleaning and verification process, including economic and labor costs/savings.

Designing and Testing of Self-Cleaning Recirculating Zebrafish Tanks.

PubMed

Nema, Shubham; Bhargava, Yogesh

2016-08-01

Maintenance of large number of zebrafish in captive conditions is a daunting task. This can be eased by the use of recirculating racks with self-cleaning zebrafish tanks. Commercially available systems are costly, and compatibility of intercompany products has never been investigated. Although various cost-effective designs and methods of construction of custom-made recirculating zebrafish racks are available in literature, the design of self-cleaning zebrafish tanks is still not available. In this study, we report the design and method of construction of the self-cleaning unit, which can be fitted in any zebrafish tank. We validated the design by investigating sediment cleaning process in rectangular and cylindrical tank geometries using time lapse imaging. Our results suggest that for both tank geometries, the tanks fitted with self-cleaning unit provided superior sediment cleaning than the tanks fitted with overflow-drain unit. Although the self-cleaning unit could clean the sediment completely from both geometries over prolonged period, the cleaning of sediments was faster in the cylindrical tank than the rectangular tank. In conclusion, cost and efforts of zebrafish maintenance could be significantly reduced through the installation of our self-cleaning unit in any custom-made zebrafish tank.

Public-Private roundtables at the fourth Clean Energy Ministerial, 17-18 April 2013, New Delhi, India

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

Crowe, Tracey

2013-06-30

The Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) is a high-level global forum to share best practices and promote policies and programs that advance clean energy technologies and accelerate the transition to a global clean energy economy. The CEM works to increase energy efficiency, expand clean energy supply, and enhance clean energy access worldwide. To achieve these goals, the CEM pursues a three-part strategy that includes high-level policy dialogue, technical cooperation, and engagement with the private sector and other stakeholders. Each year, energy ministers and other high-level delegates from the 23 participating CEM governments come together to discuss clean energy, review clean energymore » progress, and identify tangible next steps to accelerate the clean energy transition. The U.S. Department of Energy, which played a crucial role in launching the CEM, hosted the first annual meeting of energy ministers in Washington, DC, in June 2010. The United Arab Emirates hosted the second Clean Energy Ministerial in 2011, and the United Kingdom hosted the third Clean Energy Ministerial in 2012. In April 2013, India hosted the fourth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM4) in New Delhi. Key insights from CEM4 are summarized in the report. It captures the ideas and recommendations of the government and private sector leaders who participated in the discussions on six discussion topics: reducing soft costs of solar PV; energy management systems; renewables policy and finance; clean vehicle adoption; mini-grid development; and power systems in emerging economies.« less

Characterization of occupational exposures to cleaning products used for common cleaning tasks--a pilot study of hospital cleaners.

PubMed

Bello, Anila; Quinn, Margaret M; Perry, Melissa J; Milton, Donald K

2009-03-27

In recent years, cleaning has been identified as an occupational risk because of an increased incidence of reported respiratory effects, such as asthma and asthma-like symptoms among cleaning workers. Due to the lack of systematic occupational hygiene analyses and workplace exposure data, it is not clear which cleaning-related exposures induce or aggravate asthma and other respiratory effects. Currently, there is a need for systematic evaluation of cleaning products ingredients and their exposures in the workplace. The objectives of this work were to: a) identify cleaning products' ingredients of concern with respect to respiratory and skin irritation and sensitization; and b) assess the potential for inhalation and dermal exposures to these ingredients during common cleaning tasks. We prioritized ingredients of concern in cleaning products commonly used in several hospitals in Massachusetts. Methods included workplace interviews, reviews of product Materials Safety Data Sheets and the scientific literature on adverse health effects to humans, reviews of physico-chemical properties of cleaning ingredients, and occupational hygiene observational analyses. Furthermore, the potential for exposure in the workplace was assessed by conducting qualitative assessment of airborne exposures and semi-quantitative assessment of dermal exposures. Cleaning products used for common cleaning tasks were mixtures of many chemicals, including respiratory and dermal irritants and sensitizers. Examples of ingredients of concern include quaternary ammonium compounds, 2-butoxyethanol, and ethanolamines. Cleaning workers are at risk of acute and chronic inhalation exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOC) vapors and aerosols generated from product spraying, and dermal exposures mostly through hands. Cleaning products are mixtures of many chemical ingredients that may impact workers' health through air and dermal exposures. Because cleaning exposures are a function of product formulations and product application procedures, a combination of product evaluation with workplace exposure assessment is critical in developing strategies for protecting workers from cleaning hazards. Our task based assessment methods allowed classification of tasks in different exposure categories, a strategy that can be employed by epidemiological investigations related to cleaning. The methods presented here can be used by occupational and environmental health practitioners to identify intervention strategies.

Characterization of occupational exposures to cleaning products used for common cleaning tasks-a pilot study of hospital cleaners

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background In recent years, cleaning has been identified as an occupational risk because of an increased incidence of reported respiratory effects, such as asthma and asthma-like symptoms among cleaning workers. Due to the lack of systematic occupational hygiene analyses and workplace exposure data, it is not clear which cleaning-related exposures induce or aggravate asthma and other respiratory effects. Currently, there is a need for systematic evaluation of cleaning products ingredients and their exposures in the workplace. The objectives of this work were to: a) identify cleaning products' ingredients of concern with respect to respiratory and skin irritation and sensitization; and b) assess the potential for inhalation and dermal exposures to these ingredients during common cleaning tasks. Methods We prioritized ingredients of concern in cleaning products commonly used in several hospitals in Massachusetts. Methods included workplace interviews, reviews of product Materials Safety Data Sheets and the scientific literature on adverse health effects to humans, reviews of physico-chemical properties of cleaning ingredients, and occupational hygiene observational analyses. Furthermore, the potential for exposure in the workplace was assessed by conducting qualitative assessment of airborne exposures and semi-quantitative assessment of dermal exposures. Results Cleaning products used for common cleaning tasks were mixtures of many chemicals, including respiratory and dermal irritants and sensitizers. Examples of ingredients of concern include quaternary ammonium compounds, 2-butoxyethanol, and ethanolamines. Cleaning workers are at risk of acute and chronic inhalation exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOC) vapors and aerosols generated from product spraying, and dermal exposures mostly through hands. Conclusion Cleaning products are mixtures of many chemical ingredients that may impact workers' health through air and dermal exposures. Because cleaning exposures are a function of product formulations and product application procedures, a combination of product evaluation with workplace exposure assessment is critical in developing strategies for protecting workers from cleaning hazards. Our task based assessment methods allowed classification of tasks in different exposure categories, a strategy that can be employed by epidemiological investigations related to cleaning. The methods presented here can be used by occupational and environmental health practitioners to identify intervention strategies. PMID:19327131

Cleanliness audit of clinical surfaces and equipment: who cleans what?

PubMed

Anderson, R E; Young, V; Stewart, M; Robertson, C; Dancer, S J

2011-07-01

Current guidelines recommend regular cleaning of clinical equipment. We monitored items on a surgical ward for predominant user, hand-touch frequency, cleaning responsibilities and measurement of organic soil. Equipment was assessed in triplicate against a cleanliness benchmark of 100 relative light units (RLU) using the Hygiena® ATP system. There were 44 items, of which 21 were cleaned by clinical support workers (CSWs), five by domestic staff; three by nurses, three by doctors, and 12 with no designated cleaning responsibility. Geometric mean RLUs ranged from 60 to 550/100 cm² for small items such as hand-gel containers, bed control, blood pressure cuff and clinical notes; with similar values of 80-540/100 cm² RLU for larger items such as electrocardiogram machine, defibrillator, trolleys and tables. Overall geometric mean was 249/100 cm² RLU for all surfaces, with 84% (37 of 44) items exceeding the 100RLU benchmark. Of 27 items cleaned by clinical staff, 24 (89%) failed the benchmark. Of 12 sites with no cleaning specification, 11 (92%) failed the benchmark. Three of seven 'clean' sites (<100/100 cm² RLU) were cleaned by domestic staff. Average log(10) RLU of surfaces cleaned by domestics were 64% lower compared with surfaces cleaned by CSWs (95% confidence interval: 35%, 80%; P=0.019). In conclusion, clinical equipment frequently demonstrates high levels of organic soil, whether or not items have assigned cleaning responsibility. These findings suggest that cleaning practices for clinical equipment may require review, along with education of staff with specific cleaning responsibilities. Copyright © 2011 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cleaning at Home and at Work in Relation to Lung Function Decline and Airway Obstruction.

PubMed

Svanes, Øistein; Bertelsen, Randi J; Lygre, Stein H L; Carsin, Anne E; Antó, Josep M; Forsberg, Bertil; García-García, José M; Gullón, José A; Heinrich, Joachim; Holm, Mathias; Kogevinas, Manolis; Urrutia, Isabel; Leynaert, Bénédicte; Moratalla, Jesús M; Le Moual, Nicole; Lytras, Theodore; Norbäck, Dan; Nowak, Dennis; Olivieri, Mario; Pin, Isabelle; Probst-Hensch, Nicole; Schlünssen, Vivi; Sigsgaard, Torben; Skorge, Trude D; Villani, Simona; Jarvis, Debbie; Zock, Jan P; Svanes, Cecilie

2018-05-01

Cleaning tasks may imply exposure to chemical agents with potential harmful effects to the respiratory system, and increased risk of asthma and respiratory symptoms among professional cleaners and in persons cleaning at home has been reported. Long-term consequences of cleaning agents on respiratory health are, however, not well described. This study aimed to investigate long-term effects of occupational cleaning and cleaning at home on lung function decline and airway obstruction. The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) investigated a multicenter population-based cohort at three time points over 20 years. A total of 6,235 participants with at least one lung function measurement from 22 study centers, who in ECRHS II responded to questionnaire modules concerning cleaning activities between ECRHS I and ECRHS II, were included. The data were analyzed with mixed linear models adjusting for potential confounders. As compared with women not engaged in cleaning (ΔFEV 1  = -18.5 ml/yr), FEV 1 declined more rapidly in women responsible for cleaning at home (-22.1; P = 0.01) and occupational cleaners (-22.4; P = 0.03). The same was found for decline in FVC (ΔFVC = -8.8 ml/yr; -13.1, P = 0.02; and -15.9, P = 0.002; respectively). Both cleaning sprays and other cleaning agents were associated with accelerated FEV 1 decline (-22.0, P = 0.04; and -22.9, P = 0.004; respectively). Cleaning was not significantly associated with lung function decline in men or with FEV 1 /FVC decline or airway obstruction. Women cleaning at home or working as occupational cleaners had accelerated decline in lung function, suggesting that exposures related to cleaning activities may constitute a risk to long-term respiratory health.

Correlating Cleaning Thoroughness with Effectiveness and Briefly Intervening to Affect Cleaning Outcomes: How Clean Is Cleaned?

PubMed Central

Hosford, Eve; Ong, Ana; Richesson, Douglas; Fraser, Susan; Kwak, Yoon; Miller, Sonia; Julius, Michael; McGann, Patrick; Lesho, Emil

2016-01-01

Objectives The most efficient approach to monitoring and improving cleaning outcomes remains unresolved. We sought to extend the findings of a previous study by determining whether cleaning thoroughness (dye removal) correlates with cleaning efficacy (absence of molecular or cultivable biomaterial) and whether one brief educational intervention improves cleaning outcomes. Design Before-after trial. Setting Newly built community hospital. Intervention 90 minute training refresher with surface-specific performance results. Methods Dye removal, measured by fluorescence, and biomaterial removal and acquisition, measured with culture and culture-independent PCR-based assays, were clandestinely assessed for eight consecutive months. At this midpoint, results were presented to the cleaning staff (intervention) and assessments continued for another eight consecutive months. Results 1273 surfaces were sampled before and after terminal room cleaning. In the short-term, dye removal increased from 40.3% to 50.0% (not significant). For the entire study period, dye removal also improved but not significantly. After the intervention, the number of rooms testing positive for specific pathogenic species by culturing decreased from 55.6% to 36.6% (not significant), and those testing positive by PCR fell from 80.6% to 53.7% (P = 0.016). For nonspecific biomaterial on surfaces: a) removal of cultivable Gram-negatives (GN) trended toward improvement (P = 0.056); b) removal of any cultivable growth was unchanged but acquisition (detection of biomaterial on post-cleaned surfaces that were contaminant-free before cleaning) worsened (P = 0.017); c) removal of PCR-based detection of bacterial DNA improved (P = 0.046), but acquisition worsened (P = 0.003); d) cleaning thoroughness and efficacy were not correlated. Conclusion At this facility, a minor intervention or minimally more aggressive cleaning may reduce pathogen-specific contamination, but not without unintended consequences. PMID:27196635

Correlating Cleaning Thoroughness with Effectiveness and Briefly Intervening to Affect Cleaning Outcomes: How Clean Is Cleaned?

PubMed

Clifford, Robert; Sparks, Michael; Hosford, Eve; Ong, Ana; Richesson, Douglas; Fraser, Susan; Kwak, Yoon; Miller, Sonia; Julius, Michael; McGann, Patrick; Lesho, Emil

2016-01-01

The most efficient approach to monitoring and improving cleaning outcomes remains unresolved. We sought to extend the findings of a previous study by determining whether cleaning thoroughness (dye removal) correlates with cleaning efficacy (absence of molecular or cultivable biomaterial) and whether one brief educational intervention improves cleaning outcomes. Before-after trial. Newly built community hospital. 90 minute training refresher with surface-specific performance results. Dye removal, measured by fluorescence, and biomaterial removal and acquisition, measured with culture and culture-independent PCR-based assays, were clandestinely assessed for eight consecutive months. At this midpoint, results were presented to the cleaning staff (intervention) and assessments continued for another eight consecutive months. 1273 surfaces were sampled before and after terminal room cleaning. In the short-term, dye removal increased from 40.3% to 50.0% (not significant). For the entire study period, dye removal also improved but not significantly. After the intervention, the number of rooms testing positive for specific pathogenic species by culturing decreased from 55.6% to 36.6% (not significant), and those testing positive by PCR fell from 80.6% to 53.7% (P = 0.016). For nonspecific biomaterial on surfaces: a) removal of cultivable Gram-negatives (GN) trended toward improvement (P = 0.056); b) removal of any cultivable growth was unchanged but acquisition (detection of biomaterial on post-cleaned surfaces that were contaminant-free before cleaning) worsened (P = 0.017); c) removal of PCR-based detection of bacterial DNA improved (P = 0.046), but acquisition worsened (P = 0.003); d) cleaning thoroughness and efficacy were not correlated. At this facility, a minor intervention or minimally more aggressive cleaning may reduce pathogen-specific contamination, but not without unintended consequences.

Cleaning practices and cleaning products in nurseries and schools: to what extent can they impact indoor air quality?

PubMed

Wei, W; Boumier, J; Wyart, G; Ramalho, O; Mandin, C

2016-08-01

In the framework of a nationwide survey on indoor air quality conducted from September 2009 to June 2011 in 310 nurseries, kindergartens, and elementary schools in all regions of France, cleaning practices and products were described through an extensive questionnaire completed on-site by expert building inspectors. The questionnaire included the cleaning frequencies and periods, cleaning techniques, whether windows were open during cleaning, and the commercial names of the products used. Analysis of the questionnaire responses showed that cleaning was generally performed daily for furniture and floors. It was performed mostly in the evening with wet mopping and with one or more windows open. Five hundred eighty-four different cleaning products were listed, among which 218 safety data sheets (SDSs) were available and analyzed. One hundred fifty-two chemical substances were identified in the SDSs. The typical substances in cleaning products included alcohols, chlorides, terpenes, aldehydes, and ethers; more than half of them are irritants. Two endocrine disruptors, 2-phenylphenol and Galaxolide, were identified in two cleaning products used every day to clean the floors, in seven kindergartens and in a nursery respectively. Eleven reactive substances containing C=C double bonds, mostly terpenes, were identified in a wide variety of cleaning products. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

On-farm comparisons of different cleaning protocols in broiler houses.

PubMed

Luyckx, K Y; Van Weyenberg, S; Dewulf, J; Herman, L; Zoons, J; Vervaet, E; Heyndrickx, M; De Reu, K

2015-08-01

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of 4 cleaning protocols designed to reduce the bacteriological infection pressure on broiler farms and prevent food-borne zoonoses. Additionally, difficult to clean locations and possible sources of infection were identified. Cleaning and disinfection rounds were evaluated in 12 broiler houses on 5 farms through microbiological analyses and adenosine triphosphate hygiene monitoring. Samples were taken at 3 different times: before cleaning, after cleaning, and after disinfection. At each sampling time, swabs were taken from various locations for enumeration of the total aerobic flora and Enterococcus species pluralis ( SPP:). In addition, before cleaning and after disinfection, testing for Escherichia coli and Salmonella was carried out. Finally, adenosine triphosphate swabs and agar contact plates for total aerobic flora counts were taken after cleaning and disinfection, respectively. Total aerobic flora and Enterococcus spp. counts on the swab samples showed that cleaning protocols which were preceded by an overnight soaking with water caused a higher bacterial reduction compared to protocols without a preceding soaking step. Moreover, soaking of broiler houses leads to less water consumption and reduced working time during high pressure cleaning. No differences were found between protocols using cold or warm water during cleaning. Drinking cups, drain holes, and floor cracks were identified as critical locations for cleaning and disinfection in broiler houses. © 2015 Poultry Science Association Inc.

A single-dose regimen for antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent perioperative infection in urological clean and clean-contaminated surgery.

PubMed

Higuchi, Yoshihide; Takesue, Yoshio; Yamada, Yusuke; Ueda, Yasuo; Suzuki, Toru; Aihara, Kinue; Maruyama, Takuo; Kondoh, Nobuyuki; Nojima, Michio; Yamamoto, Shingo

2011-04-01

A single dose of antimicrobial prophylaxis (AMP) was administered parenterally for the prevention of perioperative infection in a total of 788 patients undergoing urological surgery, including 380 endoscopic-instrumental, 328 clean, and 80 clean-contaminated operations performed at our institute between January 2007 and December 2009. Surgical site infections (SSIs), urinary tract infections (UTIs), and remote infections (RIs) were prospectively surveyed. The definition for a single dose of AMP allowed for the administration of an additional dose of an antimicrobial during surgery if the procedure was longer than 3 h, but not for the parenteral or oral administration at the end of the procedure in the recovery room, or at a later time over a period of more than 24 h. UTI was observed in 12 (3.2%) patients after endoscopic-instrumental operation, 1 (0.3%) after clean operation, and 1 (0.9%) after clean-contaminated operation. SSI was observed in 2 (0.6%) patients after clean operation but in none after clean-contaminated operations. RI was observed in 1 (0.3%) patient after endoscopic-instrumental operation, 3 (0.9%) after clean operation, and none after clean-contaminated operations. A single-dose regimen of AMP was effective and feasible for the prevention of perioperative infections, including SSIs, UTIs, and RIs, in endoscopic-instrumental, clean, and clean-contaminated urological surgical procedures.

Evaluation of a Biological Pathogen Decontamination Protocol for Animal Feed Mills.

PubMed

Huss, Anne R; Cochrane, Roger A; Deliephan, Aiswariya; Stark, Charles R; Jones, Cassandra K

2015-09-01

Animal feed and ingredients are potential vectors of pathogenic bacteria. Contaminated ingredients can contaminate facility equipment, leading to cross-contamination of other products. This experiment was conducted to evaluate a standardized protocol for decontamination of an animal feed manufacturing facility using Enterococcus faecium (ATCC 31282) as an indicator. A pelleted swine diet inoculated with E. faecium was manufactured, and environmental samples (swabs, replicate organism detection and counting plates, and air samples) were collected (i) before inoculation (baseline data), (ii) after production of inoculated feed, (iii) after physical removal of organic material using pressurized air, (iv) after application of a chemical sanitizer containing a quaternary ammonium-glutaraldehyde blend, (v) after application of a chemical sanitizer containing sodium hypochlorite, (vi) after facility heat-up to 60 8 C for 24 h, (vii) for 48 h, and (viii) for 72 h. Air samples collected outside the facility confirmed pathogen containment; E. faecium levels were equal to or lower than baseline levels at each sample location. The decontamination step and its associated interactions were the only variables that affected E. faecium incidence (P < 0.0001 versus P > 0.22). After production of the inoculated diet, 85.7% of environmental samples were positive for E. faecium. Physical cleaning of equipment had no effect on contamination (P = 0.32). Chemical cleaning with a quaternary ammonium-glutaraldehyde blend and sodium hypochlorite each significantly reduced E. faecium contamination (P < 0.0001) to 28.6 and 2.4% of tested surfaces, respectively. All samples were negative for E. faecium after 48 h of heating. Both wet chemical cleaning and facility heating but not physical cleaning resulted in substantial E. faecium decontamination. These results confirmed both successful containment and decontamination of biological pathogens in the tested pilot-scale feed mill.

Optimizing process and equipment efficiency using integrated methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Elia, Michael J.; Alfonso, Ted F.

1996-09-01

The semiconductor manufacturing industry is continually riding the edge of technology as it tries to push toward higher design limits. Mature fabs must cut operating costs while increasing productivity to remain profitable and cannot justify large capital expenditures to improve productivity. Thus, they must push current tool production capabilities to cut manufacturing costs and remain viable. Working to continuously improve mature production methods requires innovation. Furthermore, testing and successful implementation of these ideas into modern production environments require both supporting technical data and commitment from those working with the process daily. At AMD, natural work groups (NWGs) composed of operators, technicians, engineers, and supervisors collaborate to foster innovative thinking and secure commitment. Recently, an AMD NWG improved equipment cycle time on the Genus tungsten silicide (WSi) deposition system. The team used total productive manufacturing (TPM) to identify areas for process improvement. Improved in-line equipment monitoring was achieved by constructing a real time overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) calculator which tracked equipment down, idle, qualification, and production times. In-line monitoring results indicated that qualification time associated with slow Inspex turn-around time and machine downtime associated with manual cleans contributed greatly to reduced availability. Qualification time was reduced by 75% by implementing a new Inspex monitor pre-staging technique. Downtime associated with manual cleans was reduced by implementing an in-situ plasma etch back to extend the time between manual cleans. A designed experiment was used to optimize the process. Time between 18 hour manual cleans has been improved from every 250 to every 1500 cycles. Moreover defect density realized a 3X improvement. Overall, the team achieved a 35% increase in tool availability. This paper details the above strategies and accomplishments.

Aerodynamic Effects of Simulated Ice Accretion on a Generic Transport Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Broeren, Andy P.; Lee, Sam; Shah, Gautam H.; Murphy, Patrick C.

2012-01-01

An experimental research effort was begun to develop a database of airplane aerodynamic characteristics with simulated ice accretion over a large range of incidence and sideslip angles. Wind-tunnel testing was performed at the NASA Langley 12-ft Low-Speed Wind Tunnel using a 3.5 percent scale model of the NASA Langley Generic Transport Model. Aerodynamic data were acquired from a six-component force and moment balance in static-model sweeps from alpha = -5deg to 85deg and beta = -45 deg to 45 deg at a Reynolds number of 0.24 x10(exp 6) and Mach number of 0.06. The 3.5 percent scale GTM was tested in both the clean configuration and with full-span artificial ice shapes attached to the leading edges of the wing, horizontal and vertical tail. Aerodynamic results for the clean airplane configuration compared favorably with similar experiments carried out on a 5.5 percent scale GTM. The addition of the large, glaze-horn type ice shapes did result in an increase in airplane drag coefficient but had little effect on the lift and pitching moment. The lateral-directional characteristics showed mixed results with a small effect of the ice shapes observed in some cases. The flow visualization images revealed the presence and evolution of a spanwise-running vortex on the wing that was the dominant feature of the flowfield for both clean and iced configurations. The lack of ice-induced performance and flowfield effects observed in this effort was likely due to Reynolds number effects for the clean configuration. Estimates of full-scale baseline performance were included in this analysis to illustrate the potential icing effects.

Cruise ship environmental hygiene and the risk of norovirus infection outbreaks: an objective assessment of 56 vessels over 3 years.

PubMed

Carling, Philip C; Bruno-Murtha, Lou Ann; Griffiths, Jeffrey K

2009-11-01

Norovirus infection outbreaks (NoVOs) occur frequently in closed populations, such as cruise ship passengers. Environmental contamination is believed to play an important role in NoVO propagation. Trained health care professionals covertly evaluated the thoroughness of disinfection cleaning (TDC) of 6 standardized objects (toilet seat, flush handle or button, toilet stall inner handhold, stall inner door handle, restroom inner door handle, and baby changing table surfaces) with high potential for fecal contamination in cruise ship public restrooms, by means of a previously validated novel targeting method. Fifty-six cruise ships (approximately 30% of 180 vessels operated by 9 large cruise lines) were evaluated from July 2005 through August 2008. Overall, 37% (range, 4%-100%; 95% confidence interval, 29.2%-45.4%) of 8344 objects in 273 randomly selected public restrooms were cleaned daily. The TDC did not differ by cruise line and did not correlate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vessel Sanitation Program inspection scores (r(2), .002; P = .75). More than half the vessels had overall TDC scores <30%, although several of these low-scoring ships had near-perfect CDC sanitation scores. The mean TDC of the 3 ships evaluated within 4 months before a NoVO (10.3%) was substantially less than the mean TDC of the 40 ships that did not experience NoVOs (40.4%) (P < .004). An objective evaluation of public restroom environmental hygiene on 56 cruise ships found that only 37% of selected toilet area objects were cleaned on a daily basis. Low TDC scores may predict subsequent NoVO-prone vessels. Enhanced public restroom cleaning may prevent or moderate NoVOs on cruise ships.

Impact of virus surface characteristics on removal mechanisms within membrane bioreactors.

PubMed

Chaudhry, Rabia M; Holloway, Ryan W; Cath, Tzahi Y; Nelson, Kara L

2015-11-01

In this study we investigated the removal of viruses with similar size and shape but with different external surface capsid proteins by a bench-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR). The goal was to determine which virus removal mechanisms (retention by clean backwashed membrane, retention by cake layer, attachment to biomass, and inactivation) were most impacted by differences in the virus surface properties. Seven bench-scale MBR experiments were performed using mixed liquor wastewater sludge that was seeded with three lab-cultured bacteriophages with icosahedral capsids of ∼30 nm diameter (MS2, phiX174, and fr). The operating conditions were designed to simulate those at a reference, full-scale MBR facility. The virus removal mechanism most affected by virus type was attachment to biomass (removals of 0.2 log for MS2, 1.2 log for phiX174, and 3 log for fr). These differences in removal could not be explained by electrostatic interactions, as the three viruses had similar net negative charge when suspended in MBR permeate. Removals by the clean backwashed membrane (less than 1 log) and cake layer (∼0.6 log) were similar for the three viruses. A comparison between the clean membrane removals seen at the bench-scale using a virgin membrane (∼1 log), and the full-scale using 10-year old membranes (∼2-3 logs) suggests that irreversible fouling, accumulated on the membrane over years of operation that cannot be removed by cleaning, also contributes towards virus removal. This study enhances the current mechanistic understanding of virus removal in MBRs and will contribute to more reliable treatment for water reuse applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of lasing parameters on the cleaning efficacy of laser-activated irrigation with pulsed erbium lasers.

PubMed

Meire, Maarten A; Havelaerts, Sophie; De Moor, Roeland J

2016-05-01

Laser-activated irrigation (LAI) using erbium lasers is an irrigant agitation technique with great potential for improved cleaning of the root canal system, as shown in many in vitro studies. However, lasing parameters for LAI vary considerably and their influence remains unclear. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the influence of pulse energy, pulse frequency, pulse length, irradiation time and fibre tip shape, position and diameter on the cleaning efficacy of LAI. Transparent resin blocks containing standardized root canals (apical diameter of 0.4 mm, 6% taper, 15 mm long, with a coronal reservoir) were used as the test model. A standardized groove in the apical part of each canal wall was packed with stained dentin debris. The canals were filled with irrigant, which was activated by an erbium: yttrium aluminium garnet (Er:YAG) laser (2940 nm, AT Fidelis, Fotona, Ljubljana, Slovenia). In each experiment, one laser parameter was varied, while the others remained constant. In this way, the influence of pulse energy (10-40 mJ), pulse length (50-1000 μs), frequency (5-30 Hz), irradiation time (5-40 s) and fibre tip shape (flat or conical), position (pulp chamber, canal entrance, next to groove) and diameter (300-600 μm) was determined by treating 20 canals per parameter. The amount of debris remaining in the groove after each LAI procedure was scored and compared among the different treatments. The parameters significantly (P < 0.05, Kruskal-Wallis) affecting debris removal from the groove were fibre tip position, pulse length, pulse energy, irradiation time and frequency. Fibre tip shape and diameter had no significant influence on the cleaning efficacy.

Visibility and Social Recognition as Psychosocial Work Environment Factors among Cleaners in A Multi-Ethnic Workplace Intervention

PubMed Central

Hviid, Kirsten; Smith, Louise Hardman; Frydendall, Karen Bo; Flyvholm, Mari-Ann

2012-01-01

This article focuses on the psychosocial work environment of immigrant cleaners at a Danish workplace. Today, many cleaners working in Danish cleaning jobs are women from the established immigrant communities, but also labour migrants from the newer EU member states have found their way to the cleaning industry. Studies have drawn attention to immigrants’ low position in the cleaning industry and their increased risk of work injuries. This article is based on a case study of an intervention called “Make a Difference” designed to improve the work environment among cleaners at a multi-ethnic workplace. We used semi-structured interviews, photo logs, observation and participation to investigate how the cleaners experienced their work environment. The cleaners reported an overload of heavy work, related to the concept of a classroom’s “readiness for cleaning”, and they expressed strained social relations and communication in addition to a lack of social recognition and invisibility at the workplace, a school. We analysed these psychosocial work environmental problems by investigating the different forms of social relationships and communication within the group of cleaners, and between the cleaners and the teachers and pupils at the school. Moreover, we discussed why the intervention, based on training of language and cleaning skills and social interaction, only partially improved the cleaners’ psychosocial work environment problems. In this article, we argue that social divisions based on ethnicity between the new and the established group of cleaners, combined with their marginal position and poor work organisation at the school, reinforced the cleaners’ experiences of psychosocial work environment problems. This article suggests that increased effort towards social inclusion at work and improved work organisation, especially for the new labour migrants from newer EU-countries, should be considered. PMID:23263660

NREL's Impact Grows Through the Clean Energy Solutions Center and the New

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Clean Energy Design Studio - Continuum Magazine | NREL NREL's Impact Grows Through the Clean Energy Solutions Center and the New Clean Energy Design Studio The Clean Energy Solutions Center (Solutions Center) helps governments design and adopt policies and programs that support the deployment of